The Symbiote

by SpyroForLife


13. Telling the Truth

Luckily, the royal guards had no problem getting Blazing back to Canterlot, where he was given a cell in the palace dungeons. He apparently hadn't even spoken the whole way, just sitting quietly in the transport wagon and looking out the window.

The princesses ensured that the guards knew to keep a close eye on him and screen any visitors. He could talk to any of his lawyers and employees, but he was not to be left unattended with guests under any circumstances. All the collected evidence was turned over to the palace legal department, and after briefing them on everything and telling them what they would need to investigate, Twilight was finally able to go back to Ponyville.

Though she had just woken up a few hours ago, she was so exhausted that she didn't even teleport, simply taking a train back and napping along the way. Venom got her up when it reached Ponyville station, and she headed back to her castle.

Things went well, huh? she asked, going into the kitchen to make an early lunch.

His head and neck formed, and he gave her a light headbutt. “Well enough, although I wish we had found the others.”

“Me too, but don't worry, I'm sure they'll get them tracked down soon.”

After lunch, Twilight got to thinking that Blazing's arrest was going to be all over the news soon. Along with the usual misinformation and hearsay that went with such a well-known pony getting arrested. She needed to get her friends together and tell them the truth before they got the wrong idea about what happened. She was not just going to talk to them about the center, though. It was time for her to come clean about Venom himself.

He was hesitant, but he could see in her memories that she could trust them, so he agreed to talk to them. They set out to get all of Twilight's friends together. Starlight and Spike were easy to find, as they lived in the castle. Starlight went ahead to the map room while Spike flew out to gather Fluttershy and Rainbow. Meanwhile, Twilight went to find Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack.

Applejack was right in town browsing the market, and she offered to run and grab Rarity while Twilight went for Pinkie, which would save some time. Twilight agreed, and soon was returning to the castle, with Pinkie bouncing along beside her.

“How are you today?” Twilight asked just to make conversation.

“Super duper!” Pinkie replied. “I spent all night foalsitting Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, and got today off!”

“Oh, sorry to interrupt then, but this is very important.”

“No problem! You're my friend and I always have time for friends! I was just gonna rearrange the rock candy display anyway and then read comics, so...”

“I still don't want to take up too much of your free time. But this shouldn't take too long.”

They entered the castle, going into the map room. It was several more minutes before all of Twilight's friends were gathered, but once they were, she closed the door and approached the table.

“Sorry for calling you all together on such short notice,” she said.

“Ah don't sweat it, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “Somethin's clearly on your mind.”

“Oh yes. Something very big is on my mind. In my mind, you could say.”

Venom snickered quietly.

“What is it, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Alright, so... does everypony here know about the Life Aura Center?”

They all did and nodded in agreement.

Twilight continued, “Alright. So, I snuck in there a couple days ago and found out a lot of really disturbing stuff.”

“Dang,” Rainbow said. “I mean, awesome, but that seems a little unlike you.”

“Celestia asked me to,” Twilight explained.

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“So what'd you find?” Fluttershy asked.

“Okay, so, everypony knows they do experiments with pony subjects, right? But everypony thinks that the patients fully understand what they're going through, they've signed waivers that explain everything, and they can still walk away if they don't want to go through with it. But the truth is, they can't. Some of the sickest, most desperate ponies... are imprisoned there. They aren't told everything that's going to happen to them, and then they're locked up. And the scientists there have been infesting them with these creatures that can supposedly heal them.”

“What kind of creatures?” Fluttershy sat forward, very interested now.

“Aliens,” Twilight replied.

The others exchanged glances, and then looked at her, most with disbelief.

“Aliens?” Starlight stated. “You're kidding.”

“No, I'm not. They're called the Klyntar and they seek to bond with other creatures in a sort of mutualistic symbiosis. They benefit their host by giving them enhanced strength and endurance, and they can even heal them from serious injuries or illnesses. And that's what Blazing has been testing.”

“I want to believe you, but I hope you understand that aliens is quite an outrageous claim to make and one that needs a lot of proof,” Starlight started.

“Is this proof enough for you?” Twilight interrupted. “Venom, come here.”

Venom flowed out from her shoulders, wrapping himself around her middle and lifting his head up to the same height as hers, giving the others a toothy grin. “Hello, ladies. And Spike.”

Rarity fell out of her chair, Fluttershy gasped, and Pinkie bounced up and down in her seat. “Cool, a real live space alien! Hi!”

“Hi,” Venom replied.

“That is so awesome!” Rainbow jumped up and came over to look more closely, along with Spike.

“This is so creepy,” Spike commented, curiously prodding Venom's cheek. Venom narrowed his eyes but allowed it. “Is it uh... painful at all?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, he's not hurting me. As long as I keep him fed. Otherwise, he's likely to start eating me from the inside out to keep from starving.”

Rarity, who had been helped up by Applejack, made a face at that. “Ew, he would do that?”

“Obviously it would be a last resort,” Venom replied. “But yes, I do need certain foods. My species requires a chemical that on your planet is usually found in the brains of living beings, though it's also conveniently found in chocolate. Which I'm sure Twilight appreciates because she thinks chocolate tastes better than brains.”

“I'm gonna have to agree with her on that one,” Rainbow said.

“Well how would you know, have you eaten brains?” Pinkie questioned.

“What? Of course not, gross!”

“Then how would you know chocolate tastes better?” Pinkie sang.

“I mean, I don't have a basis for comparison but I'm just gonna assume-”

“Ooh, careful, you know what they say happens when you assume! It just makes an-”

“And that's why Blazing's patients die whenever he tests a Klyntar, or symbiote, on them,” Twilight said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “They can't get that chemical they need so they start cannibalizing the host, mainly their brain though they go after whatever other organs they find tasty too.”

“I'm especially fond of livers, so chewy,” Venom said. “But hearts are good too.”

“So... the Life Aura Center has a bunch of these guys imprisoned and has been testing them on ponies?” Rainbow asked. Twilight nodded, and she let out a whistle. “Freaky. So what are you doing about it?”

“That's the thing, I actually just did something about it. Me and the other princesses went in there earlier this morning and arrested Blazing, and got a bunch of evidence. Now he can be convicted.”

“Alright! Way to go!” Rainbow clapped, prompting the others to do the same.

Twilight waited for them to settle down, and said, “Unfortunately, he moved all the symbiotes, along with the patients he was testing them on. We're still looking for them.”

“Oh, my,” Rarity said with a frown. “I hope you find them.”

“Me too. We found out how Blazing got them out but it may take a while to find where he took them.”

“So how in the hay did you end up with one of them varmints?” Applejack questioned. Venom whipped his head around to glare at her, and she said, “Ah, sorry, not varmint, um... creature?”

“No, he's totally a varmint,” Twilight laughed.

“Rude!”

“When I snuck into the center the other night, I disguised myself as one of their employees, a doctor named Blue Bell. But Blazing saw me and ended up dragging me off to try and save one of the test subjects who was going into cardiac arrest. A stallion named Rock Break. I did what I could, but I'm not a doctor, I just know CPR and your typical first aid stuff. I couldn't save him, and Venom, who had been in his body, jumped to mine. Rock died and Blazing was planning on holding onto me as a new test subject, but then realized I wasn't actually Blue Bell, since they have DNA scanners.” Twilight scuffed the ground lightly with a hoof. “My memories are um, a bit blurry after that, since Venom took over.”

Venom scoffed. “Yeah right. Then I'll tell them what happened. Blazing tried to use a spell to force Twilight to drop her disguise, and she resisted. A couple guards attacked her to try and distract her, so then I took over. Not entirely, mind you, but I gave her a small nudge to use her magic and blast those bastards across the room.” The others seemed taken aback by his language, except Rainbow, who grinned.

Twilight nodded. “Right. So I pushed them all back and got ready to run, while telling myself I had to keep them from lowering my disguise. I couldn't let them recognize me. And that's when Venom really started helping me. By making us look like this.” The transformation felt completely natural by now. Venom coated her body with his own in seconds, lifting them higher into the air and sharpening their vision.

Fluttershy and Spike scrambled backward, Starlight tensed, Rarity clutched Applejack with a frightened squeal. Even Pinkie seemed surprised, though she soon went back to smiling and pranced around them.

“Whoa, that's so cool, that'd make an awesome Nightmare Night costume!” she exclaimed.

“Twilight, darling, are you... okay, under there?” Rarity asked.

Venom smiled widely. “Twilight's fine. But this form... well, consider it a physical manifestation of our combined strength.” They considered that for a moment, then commented, “Seems we have much of Twilight's vocabulary now as well, haha.”

Spike opened his wings, flapping up to their head so he could cautiously touch their face. “So... it's still you in there.” He turned their head about, then hugged them. “Oh, Twilight, no wonder you've been weirdly into eating meat lately.”

“Into what?!” Rarity demanded.

“Huh, so that's why the freezer has so much meat in it now, I was starting to wonder,” Starlight said.

“Well, as long as you're not in any pain, I'm okay with this,” Spike continued. “In fact, now that I think about it, this is kinda cool.”

“She does look pretty awesome like that,” Rainbow agreed.

“Definitely a pony I wouldn't want to mess with,” Applejack said.

“You're just so... goopy,” Rarity said with a frown.

Venom turned to her, reaching out a hoof. “We may look that way, but don't worry, it doesn't stick.” They rubbed a hoof across her cheek, and she flinched back, but upon touching her cheek she found that it was still dry and soft.

“Huh. Alright then.”

“Thanks for being so understanding,” Venom said, looking around at each of them. “We really appreciate it. But you can't tell anyone else about this. We have to introduce the symbiotes to Equestria carefully, likely whenever we hold Blazing's trial. So keep this quiet for now.”

They all agreed to keep it secret, and Venom receded back from Twilight's body, manifesting himself into the usual head at the end of that long, slimy neck.

Fluttershy hesitantly approached him, and he watched her closely. Then she rubbed a hoof under his chin, and his eyes widened slightly, before closing, and he leaned into the stroking. “Mm, that's... that's rather pleasant.”

“Heh, guess we aren't so different,” Fluttershy said. “Even creatures from other planets like getting scritches, huh?”

“Scritches? Is that what you call this? Marvelous! Twilight, why haven't you given me scritches?!”

Twilight couldn't help but laugh. “I didn't think a powerful, vicious space alien like yourself would like something as gentle as scritches.”

“Well you thought wrong, didn't ya, Princess?!” With that, Venom returned to rubbing his head happily against Fluttershy's hoof.

That seemed to greatly relax the others, and they all came closer, chatting with Twilight about what she went through at the center and how she's learned to get along with Venom. They were shocked to hear that she bit a pony's head off, though slightly appeased by the fact that he deserved it. They were fascinated by how powerful they were together, how they took down dozens of armed guards by themselves and got out without a single scratch.

“Kinda makes me want a symbiote,” Rainbow said.

“I gotta say, I can see the benefits,” Applejack agreed.

“I'm sure the others would have no problem bonding with willing hosts like you,” Venom said. “However, we can't go bonding with ponies all willy-nilly. First, the host will have to be willing to provide us with the nutrition we need. And then, even more importantly, they need to be compatible. Much like receiving a blood or organ transplant, the host must be a match. I got very lucky with Twilight, that she matches with me so perfectly. We can stay together for as long as we want with no ill effects. Meanwhile, I could bond with one of you, and end up being rejected by your body after a couple days. Which is a very unpleasant affair, let me tell you.”

“Can you tell if you're a match immediately, or does it take a while?” Twilight asked curiously.

“We can usually tell within minutes of connecting. But it takes around forty-eight hours to know for sure. Because that's about when an incompatible host's immune system will start attacking us. Not fun.”

Twilight nodded. “I see. Well, I'm glad I was a match then. So, girls... would you be okay with taking on the other symbiotes? If any of them can match you? I only ask because once we free them, they'll either go back to their planet, or they'll stay here. And if they stay on Equus, they'll need hosts.”

The others discussed it, and Twilight weighed in on the pros and cons. After a few minutes, she had assurance that Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Spike were all on board with taking a symbiote if needed. Fluttershy was more hesitant and said she needed time to think about it, and Rarity and Starlight refused.

“But Rarity, whatever happened to that generosity I've heard so much about?” Venom teased.

She stared, then groaned and said, “It's nothing against your species, and I'll do anything else to help you, but... I simply do not want to share my body with another creature. I like the privacy of my mind, thank you very much.”

Venom shrugged. “Can't argue that I suppose.”

“Same for me,” Starlight said. “I'm really happy that you and Twilight get along so much, and I hope the other symbiotes are rescued quickly and are able to find ponies to share a body with, but I just don't want to have someone else in my head like that, able to tap into my memories, control my body... it just gives me the creeps. Sorry.”

“That's fine, the best host is always one that's willing,” Venom said.

“So, you need to find where Blazing hid the rest of the symbiotes, and then you need to rescue them?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. I'll let you know once I have more information but right now, all we know is that Blazing managed to move all of his symbiote experiments somewhere else and we're trying to track them down.”

“Well, if you need anything, we're here,” Rainbow assured her.

“That's right, we're here to help,” Rarity agreed.

“Here, here,” Applejack said.

“I second that!” Pinkie said.

Twilight smiled and wrapped them into a group hug. Helped by Venom's tendrils, which had quickly but respectfully reached out to pull them all in. “Thank you, everypony. Thanks for being so understanding.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy replied, giving Twilight a nuzzle. The others all did the same, and she giggled, beaming at their affection.

“So this is friendship,” Venom observed, cocking his head as he watched them. Then he moved in so he could join the crowd, allowing his own lips to curl into a smile when the others slid forelegs around him. “I think I like it.”