//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17: Not the Megaphone... 
// Story: Venomous Uprising 
// by Paco-El-Taco 
//------------------------------//

The man and the Spirit of Chaos stood as the bubble around them vanished in a flash of light. Before them was the former predator, nothing but charred bones and various, yet minor, other substances. Both were happy with the results of the defeated foe, but Discord's jovial spirit was replaced with a sigh, as he complained, "Oh, Celestia's going be upset at me for this." 
Eddie looked over to Discord curiously with a, "How so?" 
"Well, even though this thing tried to kill you, and probably other ponies, she'll be cranky that I ended the thing." 
Eddie looked back at the deceased Xenophage, as he asked, "Well, how else were you supposed to stop it?" 
Discord raised up his eagle claw as he started, "Let's see... turning it to stone, teleporting it somewhere, or, admittedly not my specialty, with the magic of friendship." 
Eddie blinked in confusion as he looked back at Discord with an adjacent expression. "... I don't think the... 'magic of friendship' method would've worked in this scenario." 
Discord nodded with, "Sometimes friendship doesn't quite cut it." 
Brock was about to continue before he was cut off from pain flaring in the gashes that the unconscious symbiote was slowly healing. He clenched his teeth and held his stomach with eyes screwed shut as he leaned over and groaned from the pain. Discord's brows rose as he stated, "You don't look so good." 
Eddie managed to get out, "Nngh... not helping. My other could get this fixed, but..."
"Your other?" Discord took only a moment before he realized who Eddie was talking about. "Ah, yes, that symbiote in you. Well, no need to fret, Eddie ol' pal, I'll get 'em up in a jiffy!" As he finished, he snapped his talons with a wide smile as another small, yet bright flash erupted from the snap. Having looked right at the flash, Eddie quickly brought his other arm up as he tried to blink away the effects of the flash with some annoyance for no warning of the flash, but he didn't voice it. Discord saved his life, and it wasn't a big deal to him. Once he felt his vision was well enough, he removed his arm away from his face and looked over to see what Discord had done, but his eyes went wide at the sight that was before him.
There, in a small floating bed in front of Discord and under covers, was the slumbering symbiote in humanoid form. Discord analyzed the Klyntar before him with a curious look, noting how it was even slightly snoring and drooling, with eyes lidded to near-slits. He hummed in thought before speaking, "Sure would be rude to just wake the guy up." Eddie had no response as he remained in his stunned stance. He didn't know if Discord somehow conjured up a mental projection of the symbiote to see, or if he literally summoned it out of his own body, and in form as well. Eddie still felt his other within him, so he figured it must have been the former option. Discord lightly tapped the symbiote, another surprise to Eddie that Discord could make physical contact with it as well. He lightly shook the symbiote as he gently called, "Wakey, wakey, Symby, you're not dead." 
Eddie continued to stare, not having spoken a word, and was still trying to comprehend Discord's magics and interactions on the other. After a few more tries of gently waking the symbiote, Discord was getting impatient, and decided to pull out the big guns. "Well, I tried it the nice way..." He then spawned a megaphone into existence in his lion paw, and held it over the sleeping form of the symbiote. Brock's eyes widened as he held an arm out, nearly shouting, "Wait, wait, don't--!" 
It was too late, however, as Discord shouted into the microphone and onto the symbiote, "Wake up! You're not dead yet! You have to get up!"
Having just gone through slumber, only to suddenly be awoken by loud sounds, the symbiote responded in its own appropriate way-- by screeching in confusion, bewilderment, and, of course, pain. 'Skkrriiieeeeehhh!!!' Some tendrils formed and wavered from the noise as it instantly leaped out of the bed, fumbled in the covers, and landing in the ground in a heap. It fumbled around in the covers before aggressively shredding through them with its claws. Once the Klyntar was free of its confines, it swiveled its head around while lying on the ground, trying to figure out what was going on. The last thing it recalled was taking the blast from the Xenohpage before it fell into unconsciousness. Being outside, both outdoors and out of its host's body, drove even more panicked confusion through its mind. 
In fact, the first thing the symbiote noticed was that it woke up in humanoid form that was not of its doing. Though the alien was not thinking about it at the time, the microphone's loud sound at point blank surprisingly didn't hurt all that much; it felt like nothing more than a sting.  Finally, the symbiote asked to no one in particular, 'We... we're not dead?' 
It was then that the symbiote noticed the draconequus standing over it with a megaphone in paw, and received, "No! You are very much alive!" 
The second set of highly loud noises sent the symbiote into a frenzied panic, as it thrust its left arm up with a snarl and the black claw busted the megaphone into pieces as the symbiote looked up at its attacker with the edges of its eyes twisted and curled, prepared for battle despite the many questions it had. 
Brock saw his other half in a viscous, frenzied state, and knew he had to calm it down. "No, symbiote, don't!" Eddie shouted as he hurriedly stepped over to the two and behind the Klyntar. "He's on our side!" 
The voice of Eddie broke the symbiote's hostility in an instant, causing it to twirl its head around in surprise as the pair of large white eyes looked at the man. 'Eddie? Where are we? What happened?' The alien within wearily glared at Discord. 'Who's this?' 
Discord, during the Klyntar's assault on his megaphone, only glanced down at the broken tool with a disappointed look, not noticing or ignoring the symbiote's clear aggression, only muttering, "Aw, that one actually lasted awhile." Once he heard the rudely awoken alien ask who he was, however, he gladly took that as his part to introduce himself to Eddie's other half. He slunk over to the other side of the symbiote while draping his lion arm around the stunned, yet cautious Klyntar, bringing it up about eye level with Discord. "Glad you asked, Symby! I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos! And," He brought his head closer with a proud smirk, "The one who saved you from that squid-thingamajig." 
Any thoughts the symbiote might have had on attacking Discord vanished at the last statement. Its confusion was spread across its face, and when Discord saw, he chuckled as turned so he and the alien were facing what remained of the Xenophage. Its eyes rose in disbelief from the sight of the dead predator. The Spirit of Chaos grinned triumphantly and arrogantly as he continued with a jolly voice, "Oh, but there's no need to thank me. It's my way of repaying you for defending Fluttershy; she's the one who counts." Discord's eyes traveled to his left at the sound of a cough. He saw Eddie with one brow raised accompanied by an inquisitive look. Discord was silent for but a moment as he caught what Eddie meant. "Oh, and those other ponies, too... I guess. I actually wouldn't have minded seeing Applejack or Rainbow getting beaten up a bit; those two have such overconfidence in themselves." 
'Really saved us?' 
Eddie broke in the conversation, confirming the truth with, "He did. He came in on some train made of... doughnuts."
"I do like dramatic entrances."
Eddie waved an arm, showing off the land around them. "Teleported us here, then made one fiery finisher." He nodded his head towards the charred bones. While the symbiote was somewhat weary of Discord, it lost the hostility toward him, replaced with gratitude. "But, I want to know," Eddie stepped closer to Discord with a curious look. "How can you bring him out here and touch him at all?" The symbiote, who was still draped in Discord's arm, looked over to him as well, curious at how he managed such a thing. 
"So, you want to know, eh?" Discord placed his eagle arm on Eddie's shoulder, as he put his head between the two, adopting a serious look, and whispered, "...magic."
Eddie sighed in mild annoyance as he pulled his head back, muttering, "Yeah, that's how everything here works, doesn't it?" 
"Pretty much." Discord saw the change in his expression, and decided to at least fill in some details. "Well, if you want to know exactly what I did, it's simple." Both Eddie and the symbiote were listening closer as Discord continued. "I found out that Symby here speaks to you through thoughts, or telepathically, if we're being technical." He turned his head towards the symbiote's. "So, to wake you up after that alien was dealt with, I just summoned you here as your own mental image. Difference is, I'm able to interact with you like any normal guy!"Eddie supposed that was the best answer he was going to get, and the symbiote was content. "I do have one question for you, though."
'Me?' it was a little surprised but didn't stop Discord from asking. 
"Yes. Most don't like it when I use a megaphone right in their faces, but you really had a bad reaction to it. What's that about?"
Eddie tensed a bit, and he could see his other slightly stiffening as well. Due to the symbiote before them being another mental projection, and with it actually inside Eddie like always, the sound from the megaphone did little to no harm to it. Being awoken by the sounds a point blank, however, still gave the symbiote quite a surprise. They both knew that the symbiote's weakness of extremely loud sounds was knowledge that none of the ponies or anything in Equestria knew, and they wanted to keep it that way. They weren't mistrusting of Discord by any means, perhaps the symbiote was still a bit unsure, but they didn't want that kind of information landing in the wrong hooves. 
"Let me guess, just not a morning kind of guy?" Discord asked once he noticed that the symbiote had no immediate response. Thinking that answer to be appropriate, the Klyntar nodded with a thin mouth. He shrugged with an, "Alright, then. Oh! and," Discord began to snicker as he pointed a talon at the symbiote, who was relieved that he hadn't furthered his questions of the reaction to the megaphone. "That reminds me, fantastic job with Luna! I wish I was there to see all that you've done!" 
'With what?'
Eddie sighed as he asked with dullness in his voice, "You're not talking about this feud between those two, are you?" 
"Oh, I most certainly am!" Discord looked back at the curious symbiote as he continued, "It always is a blast to mess around with the sisters, but you? The way you got on Luna's nerves at Canterlot, the way you screwed with her in the dream realm, and, though simple, calling her on her age? Symby, you are one spectacular, gooey guy! You know, you and I should really prank her hard some time. I think we would make an excellent duo at that!" 
The symbiote's previous caution was washed away as it looked on at Discord with confusion, its voice matching its expression. 'You... support this?' There wasn't any caution in its voice, but genuine curiosity.
"Well, yeah! I always enjoy a good laugh and all jokes. Besides, ol' Lulu probably deserves it for something."
Eddie's rose a brow with, "Lulu?"
Discord chuckled some more before he continued, "Oh, yeah. She hates being called that by anypony other than Celestia."
'Good to know...' Said the symbiote as a toothy smile embraced its face. It looked over to Discord with the same smile, pointed a talon of its own at him, and said, '... you're neat.' The symbiote wasn't too sure of Discord at first, but the alien was finally won over. Despite the initial reaction with the megaphone, it realized that Discord still saved it and Eddie from its predator. Not only that, but another that enjoyed messing with the annoying pony princess, Luna? The symbiote was sold on Discord being a great guy. Plus, the alien didn't mind being called "Symby."
Discord, upon hearing what the symbiote said, looked to the sky with a pose, acting humble as he said, "I aim to please." 
"Wait," Eddie said as he looked over to the draconequus, confused, with, "How did you find out about the dream incident?" 
"Simple. I kept on bothering Luna until she told me what black and gooey here did."
"Something tells me you two are gonna get along just fine."
Discord nodded with, "Well, now that everything's settled, how about I send us back to Ponyville? I might stop by Fluttershy's, and I'm sure she would be pleased having you two over." 
Before the symbiote could respond or Eddie having thought about it, Brock's eyes widened with dread as he shouted out, "Oh, shit!" 
The symbiote immediately asked what was wrong, but Discord took it the wrong way. "Hey, visiting Fluttershy isn't bad at all!" 
"No, not that!" Eddie approached Discord as he grabbed his shoulders and nearly shouted again, "Twilight! We fucking forgot Twilight! She might still be up on that roof, bleeding half to death!" 
Discord's eyes widened as he muttered, "Oh, yeah... I honestly forgot about her...."  He pulled away from Eddie and the symbiote as he called over his shoulder, "I won't be too long!" And with a snap of his talons, accompanied by a flash of light, Discord vanished.
"What is he--?" Eddie was cut off again as another surge of searing pain erupted from the gashes from his torso, causing him to clutch it as he knelt over and took sharp breaths. The symbiote, having just noticed Eddie's condition after all the oddities that had occurred, reacted effectively, as its physical form within and around Eddie began rapidly stitching and fixing the wounds back together, up to the point where the gashes were replenished again. After releasing a breath of relief from the pain, Brock spoke up, "Thanks, pal."
'Bonded, Eddie. Take care of each other.' 
Eddie thought that Discord went to help Twilight, so he and his other opted to wait around. It wasn't long until another flash of light popped out of nowhere, bringing one Spirit of Chaos. Discord walked up to the two, a calm look adorning his face. "So," Eddie began, "Is she alright?" 
"She's fine; it's funny, actually. I went to the roof where she was at, being attended to by medics and such, and oh boy, was she surprised once her wounds up and disappeared. She saw me, started asking things all hysterically, wondering if you two were okay and such. I explained what happened, and everything was fine. Well, until the point when I told her that that thing was killed. 
"She was freaking out and became mad, saying things like," His head, to the surprise of Eddie and the symbiote, morphed into Twilight's head, and his voice mimicked hers perfectly. "Why did you kill it when you had other ways to subdue it!?! Even if it has murdered innocents and almost Eddie, there were better ways to go about it! Yada yada yada, stuff, stuff, and more stuff!" His head shifted back into his usual one, rolling his eyes with a huff. "She doesn't realize that sometimes drastic measures have to be taken in situations like this." 
Eddie nodded in agreement as he looked over to the remains of the Xenophage. "Even if it left Equestria, it would've gone to other worlds and preyed upon the defenseless." He looked back to Discord with, "Other than that, anything else happened over there?" 
Discord hummed as he recounted. "Well, apparently she, after I assured her that you two were alright, has to stay at the city longer, see if some ponies were injured, calculate the damage, stuff like that. Also, at some point, either she or a squad of guards are going to come her to secure what's left of that." He finished the last part by nodding to the pile of bones and blood. "She said she would probably be busy with all these tasks, and knowing Celestia, she's probably going to lower the sun not too long. She wanted to ask questions to you about that thing and more, but I told her you two were probably a bit taxed already from the whole thing, so she requested me to take you back to her palace." 
'Good, must return. Must rest soon, Eddie. Learning more about this dream realm....' 
While Eddie looked over to the symbiote with a questioning look, Discord snickered as he added comically, "Well, I hope you use it well." 
Eddie shook his head, though with a small smile, and, "It's like you two have a serious grudge against Luna or something." He looked to Discord as he spoke, "So, I guess you're just gonna teleport us back now?" 
"Actually, I was thinking of something... else." Both Eddie and the symbiote looked at the draconequus with confused looks before Discord snapped his talons. After the inevitable flash of light appeared then disappeared, Eddie's eyes widened and the symbiote's perked up once they noticed they were standing on a pink cloud gliding across the forest they were just next to. Their surprised states were then accompanied by confusion once they looked across them. There was a brown wooden table, Discord in a chair across from them, two more chairs on their side, and covered dishes strewn about it. 
"Discord, why are we up here, and why...?" Eddie paused as he sniffed the air, detecting a scent he never thought he'd smell in Equestria, never thought he'd be so happy to smell again. The symbiote, too, detected it via Eddie's senses, immediately recognizing it with a savage grin. 
Discord lightly chuckled at their reactions as he explained, "Well, you see, three things. One: I haven't had dinner yet, and I doubt you two have as well. Two: We are indeed flying to Ponyville, but I want to spend this time getting to know one another better. I'm sure we each have exotic stories to share. Third: Normally I can't do this out here, not because it's illegal, but because it's looked down upon by ponies and some other races. But," Discord pointed his talon at Eddie. "You eat meat," Then the symbiote. "You eat meat," Finally, he pointed at himself. "I eat meat, and though it isn't actually real in order to respect the races these are similar to, I believe you'll find its taste just like the originals." 
The pans covering the dishes levitated off the plates to reveal the glorious goods within them: meat. All in their righteousness, there they were, foods that nopony would be caught dead eating. There were cheeseburgers with bacon, ribs with barbecue drizzled over them, buffalo wings with buffalo sauce, and, perhaps the most alluring, one of the largest steaks ever, sizzling in its tray. "So," Discord began, even though he knew he had them based on how their eyes glued hungrily to the food, "would you two like to join me?" 
The symbiote, its eyes never leaving the meat, placed a claw on Eddie's back, before its mental image seemed to have been sucked into Eddie, like sand being sucked in a vacuum cleaner. Eddie took a seat as he looked at Discord with an apathetic look. "Well, Discord, it's official." Brock and his other desired the food greatly, but they though they, especially since the symbiote would have been just a mental image, could use a stronger pair of chompers. Skinny laces of black lines ran across Eddie's head and rapidly converged on his face, when a thin line appeared, opening up in a massive jaw packed with dagger-like teeth, two white eyes popping up, hunger clearly shown in them. 
"You've won us over." Venom spoke with a large grin that he almost always wore. 
Discord released a hearty laugh. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He spoke eagerly. "Let's dig in!" And with that, the Spirit of Chaos and that most Wicked of Webslingers began their feast. 





The sun would be lowered soon after, he knew. With that draconequus and human gone, he could claim what he really wanted -and he had to be fast before Twilight Sparkle or any other pony arrived at the site. For days now, he had been observing the alien -Xenophage, he believed it called itself- in Fillydelphia, and he was quite impressed by what he saw. A patient, intelligent, powerful predator. He watched the Xenophage do its various things in the city: morphing into common furniture, killing and devouring ponies, all that and more. 
At first he thought that the ponies of the city were the alien's prey, but it turned out they were cannon fodder to lure in its true prey, Venom. He was very impressed but also excited, for he thought that, perhaps, he could have used the Xenophage for his own. What truly captured his attention, though, was the golden substance that the alien shot from its maw at Venom and the effects it had on him. The liquid seemingly, instantly, weakened Venom greatly, hindering the human, to almost no power. He thought for sure that the Xenophage would have eliminated Venom, which would have been great. One possible threat down, then he could have dominated the Xenophage to obey its will, greatly helping his plans. 
Unfortunately, the eagerness and joy got killed off thanks to that idiotic draconequus. He couldn't have interfered lest he be spotted, so he was forced to watch. While he was sorely angry and disappointed, he found himself confused and curious when the human and draconequus were speaking to a third member that wasn't there... or perhaps he couldn't see. During their conversation, he heard bits of "symbiote" and Eddie's "other half". He was beginning to think there was more to Venom than what he initially thought. After all, that black creature within the human's mind was still unexplained to him.
During that moment, however, it mattered not. He drifted over to the corpse of the alien, analyzing it. It was a shame there was no revival spell to use, especially since what remained were only bones and blood. Something caught his eye, though, something he was looking for. It wasn't much, only a few ounces of it perhaps, but valuable to him nonetheless. The same golden liquid that reduced Venom's ability to fight. He still wasn't sure if he'd have to get rid of him later, but if he had to, there was a chance he could replicate the effects of the liquid before him. Perhaps it couldn't be replicated perfectly, or not at all, but even a small bit would be an advantage.
With that thought in his mind, he gathered the liquid and hurried off towards his hideout. 





"... And that's how we all stopped the changelings some time back."
"What happened to this Chrysalis?"
"Oh, she refused to join the rest of the changelings and their new ways, so she retreated into the Bad Lands."
"Don't you think she might come back for revenge?"
"Pfft, she can't do much without her army anymore, so I doubt it." Discord reached down to his plate to grab a handful of food, but only the plate and crumbs came to his sense of touch. He looked across the table and saw that Venom, too, had finished -devoured- all his food, using his tongue to clean the crumbs on his teeth. Looking at Venom, he spoke in a curious tone, "Speaking of 'where are they now?', what happened to those Life Foundation symbiotes you were talking about?"
"All the hosts died awhile back, and as far as I know, their symbiotes died not too long afterwards. Only my symbiote and a few more remain on Earth."  Venom's face also adopted a similar curious expression, as he asked, "And what about this Starlight pony? We haven't seen her at all since our first night at the palace." 
Discord shrugged his shoulders and replied, "She just might have been out of Ponyville for awhile; you might see her sometime later." Discord looked at the land around them, spotting Ponyville approaching them. "Ah, here we are now." He looked back at Venom with another smile. "Well, you two, it's been one interestingly fun day, I'd say; unfortunately, this is where we split paths." The draconequus stood from his seat as the cloud slowly hovered above the palace. 
The Lethal Protector stood, as well, with his own grin, and spoke, "Yes, it has been. Until we meet again, Discord."
When they were above the palace, Discord waved his paw with, "Tata!" And vanished in a flash of light. The moon had already risen by the time they arrived at Ponyville, and nearly nopony was out on the street, and those that were didn't notice the wicked webslinger stretch down from a long strand of web right in front of the doors to the palace. 
The symbiote unraveled and withdrew into Eddie as he made his way to his room. He didn't see Spike anywhere, but he figured he was asleep. The events of the day taxed him, so he had no desire to stay up much longer. He went into his room, prepared for sleep, covered himself in covers, and shut his eyes. It didn't take long for sleep to overtake him, though he had a feeling that if Luna showed up, the Klyntar would have something in store for her.





Princess Luna was wandering around in the dream realm, having already gone a few hours into the night. The dreams of ponies had been calm ones that night: few nightmares, mostly good dreams, and the such. She couldn't stop worrying, though. Earlier that day, her sister received a letter from Twilight Sparkle, explaining the situation that was beheld in Fillydelphia. Apparently, Twilight said that both Eddie and the symbiote thought the murderer to have been another symbiote. Luna and Celestia had awaited in eagerness and anxiousness for a report. 
They were both baffled at Twilight's next letter, which did not arrive until late in the day, and what was described in it. Some alien predator hunted down Eddie and the symbiote, and possibly would've had them for a meal; fortunately, Discord arrived on the scene and took care of the predator. And by 'took care of', killed it. Luna couldn't disagree with Discord's method, for it got rid of a predator that murdered innocents, and would have likely continued if left alive. Twilight and Celestia, however, did not seem too pleased about it. 
Their thoughts didn't concern her at that moment, though. No, at that moment, she wanted to go to Eddie and the symbiote to make sure they were indeed alright. Yes, even the symbiote... though she did think it was also a good opportunity to get payback at it for calling her old. She flew over the realm, stopping here and there to aid a pony entrapped in a nightmare, coming up to Ponyville. She swiftly landed on the ground and slowly trotted to where Twilight's palace was in the waking world, noticing only two doors there at the time. Relief swelled in her when she saw that one of them belonged to Eddie's, the other one Spike's. Luna figured that Twilight must have stayed in Fillydelphia for one reason or another. With Eddie slumbering, she knew that both him and the Klyntar were alright.
That knowledge in mind, she sighed in relief, until a mischievous smirk adorned her muzzle. Perhaps, she thought, it was a good time to strike back at that little, black, wretched Klyntar. Nothing cruel, just something enough to where she'd laugh some. She sauntered over to the door, taking careful steps, as she believed that the symbiote might have been behind the door, thinking it could pull a fast one on her. 
"Sneaking, Luna? Can't sneak on me." The immediate and unexpected voice from behind her caused the Princess of the Night to yelp, startled, and bounce up in the air while twirling around in a bit of a panic. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the symbiote before her stood with narrowed eyes and a not-amused frown. "Not very princess-like." 
The princess shook her head as if she was trying to clear the shock from her mind. Still with a look of unconstrained disbelief, she nearly shouted at the one before her, "How are you even here!?! Nopony should be able to walk among here without my magic! How are you able to exit Eddie's dream!?!" It was true, for as long as Luna had ventured the dream realm, no creature, save for the Tantabus, was able to exit their dreams into the realm at their own will. Only those with Luna's aid could do so, and yet the alien in front of her managed to do what was considered impossible, without magic, no less. 
"You forget, Luna," the symbiote started, as if what she said was ridiculous , "I'm not a pony. I can do many things, and learn so much more. Been only some days, but solution was simple." As it finished, a round and smooth tendril flicked up from the heel of the symbiote's foot, catching Luna's eye. Her sight followed the tendril, twirling all around the ground, until it looped around and into Eddie's dream, the door having been cracked open to allow the tendril passage. 
The irked princess sighed in frustration as she brought a hoof to her face while shutting her eyes, trying to drive away the stress that was building within her. "You mean to tell me, that what took me years over years of training, with the most complex and complicated of spells, might I add, to be able to roam the realm of dreams, only took you days to figure out, and all you had to do was stretch yourself from a dream to here?" 
"Yes." 
Luna groaned audibly as she finally met the symbiote's eyes, speaking dully, "I think I really hate you right about now." 
"Now you know how I felt earlier." It looked across the landscape, spotting the doors to what it assumed to be entrances to other ponies' dreams. Luna quirked a brow when the Klyntar strode past her with a look she couldn't figure out. "All dreams are connected here? You manage them?" 
Momentarily taken back by the symbiote's change of attitude, she slowly followed behind, as she answered, "Well, all the dreams from those resting in this world, yes. And I do assist anypony enduring a nightmare, or helping when they may need it. That's how it has been for centuries with little to no disturbance in this realm." 
The alien looked around its shoulder, repeating, "Centuries?"
Luna stopped firmly in her tracks as she glared at the symbiote, speaking directly, "Do not even think of calling me old."
To that, the symbiote turned to face her, tips of its eyes risen and a thin-lipped mouth. It responded rhetorically, "What's the average life span of a pony?" 
Luna, again, was taken aback by the sudden question, but hesitantly answered with a failing glare, "Well, around seventy years, but--"
"Said you are over one thousand years of age. Is that true?"
She felt herself faltering even more, forcing out the answer, "Well... yes, but--"
"By a standard pony's age, you are very much old." Before Luna could give off a remark, the symbiote shook its head with a huff, speaking again but with some agitation in its voice, "Shouldn't feel offended, age shows you've lived long. I am old by both human and pony standards. Might even be older than you." 
Luna scoffed as she walked next to the symbiote, the both of them continuing along, glaring some into each other. "You sound like you've done so much in your life. Might you indulge me on your 'great' experiences?" 
The symbiote understood the sarcasm laced in the question quite well, but it answered truthfully regardless. "Been to many worlds, bonded with different hosts, seen numerous civilizations. I Have always practiced Klyntar traditions and culture, all relating to my kind and hosts, sacred bonds, sacred to us. Only some time ago, though, did I devote to defending innocents with a host. Glad that host is Eddie, too." Luna was a bit surprised at an honest answer like that, but she could only listen more as the symbiote turned its head to face her, a large frown and harsh glare on its face. "Can't remember everything, but I know I've done and experienced many things, both good and bad. And you? Caring for dreams, yes, but what else?" 
Slightly shocked at first, Luna looked ahead with a dignified expression and spoke as if she were humble. "Oh, you know, I'm only the co-ruler of Equestria, bringer of the night, and a defender of Equestria." 
"Oh, yes." The symbiote chuckled as it strode past Luna. "Can't forget about the great princess Lulu, not at all."
At that moment, Luna's breath was hitched in her throat, wide eyes accompanying the visage. She stuttered between anger and surprise, "H-how... who told you that!?!"
The symbiote looked back at her with a victorious grin, with, "Discord is a great pal indeed." 
Luna muttered under her breath, "Discord...." Of course, she figured, he'd help the symbiote in anyway to get at her for entertainment. She fumed to herself, the symbiote's small giggles and chuckles feeding the fire within her. That fire was extinguished when she spotted a familiar door to a certain pony's dream. The mischievous smirk she wore awhile back returned again as an idea lit up in her head. She hid that smirk the best she could as she turned to the symbiote with, "Say, I'm curious, have you ever, oh, I don't know, had your own party?"
It was the Klyntar's turn to be taken aback by the unexpected change of attitude, but it answered, unsure of Luna's intention, "No. Been to parties, but without knowledge of others, and did not celebrate in anything."
"Not even back at your world?" Luna continued with hidden glee, though she held some curiosity at the fact the symbiote apparently never had its own party. She might have felt pity, if it didn't go for the low blow.
The Klyntar shook its head, still with uncertainty, continuing, "Not part of Klyntar tradition."
Luna enveloped the suddenly startled symbiote in her aura of magic with a sinister and excited grin. "Oh, I know just the pony that can fix that!" With her hoof, she flung the door open, tossing the symbiote in, following inside with an eager grin soon afterwards. 
After disgracefully landing in a heap, the alien scurried to get up, taking in the new scenery before itself. It appeared that both it and Luna were then indoors, in a bright, large, wooden room, with colorful balloons and streamers all around. Plenty of decorations lit up the place, and there were even chocolates! The symbiote's gazing was interrupted when a cheerful humming echoed off the walls, resonating with the room. Its eyes enlarged in surprise when it spotted the pink pony, Pinkie Pie, hopping around on her tail around the room while holding a red ball on the tip of her muzzle with her usual grin.
"Pinkie Pie, my friend!" The Princess of the Night's voice rang across the room stopping Pinkie in mid-bounce. She quickly turned her head over to see Princess Luna and a skinny creature that resembled Venom but wasn't him. It took only a moment for her to figure out just what that creature was, as she gasped loudly and rushed up to the two with a grin. 
"Princess Luna!" she turned to the stunned symbiote, grabbing it by its shoulders and shaking it rapidly, "you must be the symbiote! Oh, I have so much stuff we could talk about or do! Oh this is so amazing, I could just--!"
Pinkie's rambling ended when Luna abruptly put a hoof on her muzzle to quickly silence her. "Yes, yes, that's good, but," She quickly mimicked an expression of sympathy and pity, her tone matching said feelings. "This poor, poor creature, has lived a long time, perhaps longer than me, but not once in its life did anypony ever throw it a party... not even a single birthday party." 
"What!?!" The Klyntar, who was already confused by then, was in for another ride, as the pink pony pulled its face to hers, as she spoke in a broken whisper, "Is it true? Not a single party?"
"No...?"
Pinkie looked as though she were about to let loose some tears of sympathy for the symbiote, and Luna felt bad at that moment for upsetting Pinkie, but her demeanor stiffened as she stood on two legs to be closer to height with the symbiote. She had a determined look, because that is what she felt. That statement settled it for her; she was going to give the poor little symbiote the best damn first party ever. "Listen here, nopony should ever have to live a life with no parties, and I'm going to make double-extra-sure that you get an epic one. To prove it, I'll Pinkie Promise!" 
As she was going through the motions of the Pinkie Promise, the symbiote looked back at Luna with suspicion and narrowed eyes. She was already at the door, however with a chuckle but not before calling back. "Oh, and Pinkie! He can be a bit shy, but this is for his own benefit, so don't let him leave until he tells you exactly what you want to know. Farewell!" With that, the Princess of the Night left, though she couldn't quite close the door due to the symbiote's tendril stopping it from closing. 
The symbiote looked back at the pink party pony, who had inched up to its face with a large grin. And it looked back, too, stunned, unsure, and uncomfortable, even. Aside from Luna and a few others, Pinkie is one of the few that the symbiote actually ever had any interaction with that wasn't a host. "Sooo..." She began, leaning closer. "What flavor do you like more: vanilla or chocolate?" The symbiote would soon afterwards understand how all this was part of Luna's revenge.