//------------------------------// // Venom Returns: Part 3 (The Unmasking) // Story: The Amazing Spider Mare: The Symbiote Saga // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Spider Mare chased on after for Venom through tunnel after tunnel, dripping water providing the only sound as she continued to search for the symbiote. All of a sudden, as Spider Mare turned a corner, there was Venom! "Not so fast, little spider," he laughed, before hopping through a series of gates that slammed shut behind him. "What's all this?! Another game?!" Spider Mare demanded. "More like a puzzle," Venom called. "Let's give that big brain of yours a workout. If you'll look around, you should see a couple of switches. Figure out the right combination, and all the doors will open. Better hurry though, we wouldn't want to miss your big unmasking." "Hate to disappoint you, Venom, but there's not going to be an unmasking." Spider Mare replied. "We'll just see about that, won't we?" Venom taunted. "Now go ahead, see if you can figure out this little puzzle. Cheese Sandwich won't last much longer." "Just hang on, Cheese Sandwich. Once I get out of this sewer maze, I'll find a way to rescue you from Venom's clutches, even if it's the last thing I do," Spider Mare thought to herself, before she turned her attention to a series of four switches, each lit up by a different colored light. "I don't want to find out what sort of penalties Venom might have in mind for a wrong answer, so I'd better get it right on the first try." Spider Mare examined each of the switches carefully, memorizing which switches opened (or closed) what doors. "Geez, what is taking you so long?!" Venom demanded impatiently. "It's not that hard, Spider Mare. A child could figure it out in seconds! What's wrong? Do you give up?!" "Of course I don't, I just needed a little time to think," Spider Mare replied. "And you know the old saying 'Canterlot wasn't built in a day'." "Just get it over with, make your move!" Venom demanded. "Or are we gonna have to crawl through the walls and do it for you?!" Spider Mare proceeded to flip the switches in the following order: Green, Red, Blue, Yellow. Just as she predicted, upon flipping the yellow switch, all the gates were opened up! "Ooh, look on the big brain on Spidey!" Venom exclaimed with exaggerated confidence. "Too bad that big brain of yours can't help the pony you love most! But don't worry, we'll take good care of Cheese Sandwich, after we take care of you." "Can we get out of these sewers, please?" Spider Mare asked. "You do realize there's a reason ponies don't come down here, right?" "And here we thought you wanted your humiliation to be out of the public eye. If you're really so eager to publicly exposed and humiliated, that's fine by us," Venom cackled, before he disappeared yet again. "It's your funeral, Spider Mare." Spider Mare was relieved when she was able to finally climb out of the sewers, and back into broad daylight. "I'm definitely going to need a bath tonight," she thought to herself. "Now, I've got to be careful, knowing Venom he's bound to be right behind me." Sure enough, the familiar serpentine like laugh of Venom soon reached Spider Mare's ears. Spider Mare spun around and found herself face to face with the symbiote. "Hello, Spidey." Venom greeted. "I hate when I'm right." Spider Mare muttered to herself, and shifted into a defensive stance. She had no idea what Venom was going to try, but she couldn't afford to be caught off guard. "Hope you've said your prayers, because in a matter of moments you're going to wish you were dead," Venom smirked. "And the worst part is, all of Equestria will be around to see it." "Whatever you're trying won't work." Spider Mare insisted. "We shall see." Venom replied, preparing to swipe at Spider Mare with his claws. Spider Mare easily dodged Venom's attack, and prepared to strike back at him, only for Venom to turn into slime and disappear beneath her feet. "Hey, you could never do that before! That's cheating!" she complained. "You said it yourself, all's fair in love and war," Venom replied, as he resurfaced behind Spider Mare, grabbed her and pinned her to the ground. "Ready for your close up, Miss. Pie?" "No!" Spider Mare protested. "Wrong answer!" Venom said angrily, shooting out a stream of webbing that left Spider Mare squirming about like a fly trapped in a spider's web. "That should hold you until we're ready. Hey, everypony, get your cameras over here, right now!" Within seconds, rookie and experienced photographers alike gathered in the center of town. They immediately began prepping their cameras, while other reporters wrote notes or talked amongst themselves and others. "Well, would you look at that?" Venom laughed, as he grabbed Spider Mare and held her tightly. "Look at the crowd that's turned up for the unmasking!" Then, to the reporters and photographers he said. "You're all looking for the scoop of the century, right? Well, look no further than right here! Mares and gentlestallions, we give you: 'Spider Mare: The Unmasking'!" But before Venom could grab Spider Mare's mask and rip it off, Spider Mare (reacting quickly) fired out a stream of webbing that managed to snag one of the photographers cameras. "Hey, that's my camera!" the photographer exclaimed. "Give it back!" "Sorry about this," Spider Mare said in reply, as she smashed the camera over Venom's head, shattering the lense! With Venom distracted, Spider Mare kicked hard and broke free from his grasp! "There's a reason they call it a 'Secret' identity," she added, before she quickly covered the remaining cameras with small balls of webbing. "Let this be a lesson to all of you, never trust the word of some giant alien spider creature." Venom was incredibly furious when he realized what Spider Mare had managed to do. "You really are a bothersome little pest, Spider Mare!" he hissed. "And we've had enough of it!" He then charged at Spider Mare not unlike the way The Rhino had a few nights back. Spider Mare hastily jumped out of the way, as Venom continued to run, blinded by rage. "Don't you realize how many ponies you'll hurt doing this?" she asked Venom. "Oh, we know exactly how many ponies your secrets would hurt!" Venom replied. "And you've robbed us of the chance to see them all turn against you!" He proceeded to turn around and charge at Spider Mare once again. "All of you, get out of here, now!" Spider Mare demanded. "Forget the scoop, think about your lives!" The photographers and journalists, quickly realizing the danger of the situation, headed Spider Mare's words and fled. "Should've heeded your own advice, Spider Mare!" Venom hissed angrily, as he tackled Spider Mare. and then picked her up and hurled her into an empty building due to be demolished the next day! A huge cloud of dust rose into the air, as Venom cackled with glee. "If we can't humiliate you, we'll at least have the pleasure of destroying you and completing our mission!" he vowed. Spider Mare barely had time to dig herself out of the pile of rubble, before Venom appeared and tried to swipe at her again. "Cheese Sandwich, I know you're in there!" Spider Mare pleaded. "Don't let the symbiote control you! You've got to fight it before somepony gets hurt!" "How many times must we tell you?!" Venom furiously responded. "There is NO Cheese Sandwich, only Venom! And you are in our way, Spider Mare!" "In your way?" Spider Mare asked. "You continue to thwart our attempts to humiliate you, and the longer you stay alive the more our anger grows!" Venom explained. "If you would just give up now, we could finally bring Cheese Sandwich around to our way of thinking!" "Aha! So Cheese Sandwich can hear me!" Spider Mare realized. "You're losing control, Venom. Whether you admit it or not." Venom growled, and roared loudly. "Cheese Sandwich, you stubborn fool! You'll ruin everything!" he complained, as he tried to fight for control. It turned out to be a losing battle, Venom hissed, growled, and roared. But eventually, Cheese Sandwich managed to emerge from inside the symbiote. Or at least, most of him did, the lower part of his body was still encased in the symbiote. "Cheese Sandwich!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, lifting up her mask. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" "Pinkie, please!" Cheese Sandwich pleaded. "I've only got a little time to tell you this! Don't worry about me, just don't let Venom hurt anypony else! Destroy him, no matter what it takes!" "But I can't, I'd be destroying you as well" Pinkie replied. "There's gotta be another way!" "I've tried to fight it, Pinkie. Honestly, I've tried," Cheese Sandwich said sadly, as the symbiote began to envelope him and take control once again. "But I..... can't.... fight it... anymore!" "Rest easy, Cheese Sandwich," Venom taunted. "Venom is here to stay. Soon it will all be over, and you'll never see your precious Pinkie Pie again." "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Pinkie replied, puling down her spider mask. But although she was able to take up a fighting stance, her body felt exhausted. It had been a long day, complete with not one, not two, but three battles with Venom. Coupled with the chases through town and the sewers, Spider Mare's stamina was all but drained. "Your actions say one thing, but your body says another," Venom smirked. "Our dance is far from over, Spider Mare. We could keep this up for hours, but it seems you are not so fortunate. We need a little time to make sure Cheese Sandwich won't interfere with our plans. But we will return, you can be sure of that. And when we do, we'll finally settle the score between us once and for all!" And laughing like there was no tomorrow, Venom disappeared yet again. Spider Mare was quite furious to lose Venom yet again, this time she was sure she'd come close to freeing Cheese Sandwich from the symbiote's control. "Venom!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "I'll chase you to the ends of the world if I have to, you can't escape me! Do you hear me?! I WILL find a way to rescue Cheese Sandwich!" "Pinkie, stop!" Twilight demanded. She had flown to the scene of the showdown as soon as word had leaked out, only to arrive in time to see Venom disappear. "Out of my way, Twilight! I have to go after him!" Pinkie Pie said furiously. "Not like this!" Twilight replied. "You're no good to anyone when you get riled up like this." "I don't care, I'll move mountains if I have to! I'm not going to lose Cheese Sandwich, not when I'm this close to freeing him!" Pinkie protested. "Pinkie, please, you have to calm down," Twilight insisted. "Don't let your anger blind you. like it did before. I know how you feel." "No you don't, stop pretending that you do! You can't possibly imagine what I suffer, and don't come up with some sob story to make me feel otherwise!" Pinkie replied, pushing Twilight away. "You're right, I can't imagine what you're going through," Twilight said to Pinkie Pie. "But I do know that this isn't going to solve anything. It won't bring Cheese Sandwich back, you'll just be playing into Venom's claws." "But if I don't do anything, Cheese Sandwich is a goner!" Pinkie said angrily. "I'm not telling you to throw in the towel," Twilight explained. "What I'm asking is for you to calm down and think rationally about your next move. If you come back to the castle with me, together we can work on a strategy to defeat Venom and save Cheese Sandwich," Then Twilight plugged her nose. "After you've had a bath, you smell like you crawled out of the sewers." "Actually I did, it's a long story." Pinkie Pie chuckled nervously. "Well, you'll have plenty of time to tell me about it." Twilight replied, and led Pinkie away.