//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Clash of the Symbiotes // Story: The Element of Perseverance (Venom Crossover) // by PlasmaBolt305 //------------------------------// I jumped and jumped for goodness knows how long before I came to a stop at the top of a desolated mountain that overlooked Ponyville and The Everfree Forest. I transformed back into my normal self and stared at the view before fresh tears flowed down my face. “What is wrong with me?!” I sobbed “Why is my life so difficult?!” Venom came out of my body- still attached of course- and looked at me sadly, “I am sorry for the outcome of this Manny but what happened has happened and it can’t be changed.” “But why is love so hard?” I asked still in tears “Love is something that everybody sees differently but only two beings can think the same about each other which leads to them having a relationship eventually. The point is Manny, you were chosen as The Element of Perseverance for a reason, you don’t give up no matter what happens between you and your goal.” Venom said with confidence in his tone I thought about that but my mind kept reeling back to what Spike said… Abomination “What if Spike’s right?” I said “What if I am just an abomination?” Venom scowled, “Don’t say that! We are not an abomination at all, we are a hero who protects the innocents and fulfills our promises, remember that vow you made for your parents? You must live up to it and together we can investigate what happened to them!” The topic of my parents knocked some sense into me and sent a jolt in my body when my memories came flying back of the dream I had, the letter and the pony named Flame Warrior. I got back up to my hooves and looked towards Canterlot which was in the distance and confidence blazed in my body as I looked at Venom. “Alright, let’s do it!” I exclaimed as Venom smiled and nodded before disappearing back into my body. Suddenly, I heard a roar and something slammed into me and sent off the mountain but not before Venom shot out a black tentacle and latched me back onto the mountain and swung me back up to the top to be greeted by… nothing. “What the?” I asked confused as to why there was nothing up here but something clearly pushed me off the mountain and tried to kill me. “I don’t understand.” Venom said confusingly “I didn’t see anything slam into us, unless it is invisible.” “How can it be inv-” I started to respond before something punched me square in the face, grab my tail and tossed me into a rock which I slammed into painfully. I groaned as I got back up, still in pain even though my healing factor was actively trying to repair my injuries, and looked around trying to see what was attacking me. “I’m going to have to take over, for your own safety.” Venom said before transforming me into his biped form and sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent of the attacker. “I got something but its very… peculiar.” Venom reported “What do you mean ‘peculiar’?” I asked “It’s the smell of a organism but it smells like… oxygen.” Venom explained  “So you mean… the air is attacking us?” I asked obviously confused by the description “Not exactly, someone or something is in the form of air but somehow is attacking us with solid force.” Venom elaborated I looked around- since me and Venom share the same body- and looked at my surroundings to try and spot anything out of the ordinary but didn’t see anything at all. I returned back to my normal form and took in deep breathes to calm myself down and think properly but I got a yawn instead of a proper thought. “You need sleep, Manny.” Venom insisted “I will watch over you so rest assured that your safe up here.”  “Thanks Venom, I greatly appreciate it.” I thanked my friend before resting my body against the ground and closed my eyes and drifted off into the dream realm. I appeared in what looks to be a closed room with a table that had scrolls, potions and boxes. I tried to move but I was strapped to a table with all my limbs tied up and I realised that I was in Quetzo’s laboratory… again. “So… you host my arch nemesis, huh? Pathetic.” A voice said from the darkness in front of me, it was a creepy and glass-breaking voice. I peered into the darkness trying to locate the speaker but saw nothing but blackness. I heard a scratch to my left and turned my head that way to see… nothing. I turned my head to the right to see a red face with milky white curved eyes and rows of sharp teeth before the figure bit into my face and crushed my skull with its powerful jaws, I opened my mouth and screamed in pain. “I AM THE HUNTER THAT ALWAYS FINDS HIS PREY!!!” The figure yelled “AAAAAAHHHH!!!” I screamed out and sweating heavily as I looked around to see that it was nighttime and I was still on the top of the mountain. I was panting heavily as I looked at the ground, my mind trying to process what I just saw. “Manny, are you alright?” Venom asked with concern  “Ya, I’m ok.” I lied “You are not ok Manny, what was your dream?” Venom asked seriously I took a deep breath before responding. “I had a dream that I was back in Quetzo’s lab but instead of Quetzo, there was this figure that said I host his arch nemesis which is you and he looked like you but red and a lot more scarier also he said he is the hunter who always catches his prey.” I recalled my dream Venom was quiet when I recalled my dream to him so I’m not sure if he is thinking about what to say or he knows what I’m talking about. “Venom, who was that?” I asked “This is bad, this is very bad, that figure is Carnage, the most ruthless symbiote of my kind. Carnage is a heartless symbiote who hurts, tortures, and kills organisms for his own amusement.” Venom explained in a fearful tone I was disliking this Carnage more as Venom went on with his history, killing organisms for his amusement, that is just messed up and if he came to Ponyville… I shivered involuntarily at the thought of that. “Did you happen to beat him the first time you two met?” I asked and mentally hoping the answer was yes. “No I didn’t, Carnage is much more powerful than me because he can create weapons faster than I can and also he can give himself huge buffs in strength, durability and speed. He defeated me when I tried to stop him the first time but the second time I managed to put him down but he escaped before I could finish him off.” Venom explained This got me worried because if it came to a standoff between us and Carnage, he can make himself powerful enough to do serious damage before my healing factor can kick in. “We have bad news though.” Venom suddenly said “What could be more worse than Carnage?” I asked “You have been asleep for two days.” Venom replied “WHAT!!!” I shouted as my voice echoed throughout the valley “You were utterly exhausted yesterday, I didn’t extend your sleep or anything, this is your doing, not mine.” Venom explained My head spun around as I looked at the peak of the mountain I’ve been asleep for two days… what would the girls think? “We need to get to town.” I declared as I got back on my hooves “Fast.” “Well then, let’s… wait a second.” Venom said as he paused for a second “I smell something.” “What is it?” I asked as I looked around, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary “It smells very familiar but I can’t seem to get anymore information from the scent, its almost if… I can’t sense its presence at all.” Venom realised “So then what do we-” I started saying before Venom pulled me out of the way using his tentacle just in time for a red spike to appear where I was. I shook out of the sudden move and looked at the figure that was right in front of me only to realise that this was not going to end well. The figure was similar to Venom with the same white eyes and sharp teeth but was red and black. It had an evil and murderous presence aura that entered my mind and it was giving me bloodthirsty ideas but I shook it off and focused on the figure who laughed in amusement. “I see that you have gotten a stronger host Venom but he will soon end up like the rest of them once I am finished with you.” The figure said I wanted to respond but Venom warned me in my mind, “Don’t respond, he wants you to be angry when you fight so you can be reckless and easy to kill!” I decided to take his warning and looked at the figure before asking the question I feared the most, “Who are you?!” The figure smiled with his sharp teeth, “Haven’t you figured out who I am?” That statement confirmed my fears because it meant that I was staring at Carnage… The Carnage that killed for his amusement and the symbiote that defeated Venom by making himself stronger… which meant I was going to die. “You are not going to die, we fight well as a team, we can defeat him.” Venom reminded me “I know.” I whispered so Carnage couldn’t hear  “So Venom, would you like a rematch? Because this time you won’t walk away from this alive, none of you!!!” Carnage laughed before he charged me with incredible speed I morphed into Venom and charged to meet him but Carnage shot out a dagger that impaled our leg and he grabbed our throat and threw us off the mountain. Venom summoned out wings for us as we fell and flew back towards the top of the mountain to see Carnage jumping at us with claws extended. My fighting skills came into thought and we shot out a tentacle that grabbed Carnage’s face and we slammed him into the mountain before Venom flew towards him and started to punch Carnage deeper into the mountain. Before we can do more serious damage, one of Carnage’s hands became a sharp dagger that he graciously stabbed into our chest before kicking us off of him with both legs and sent us into the woods, destroying trees along the way. We got back up and pulled the dagger out of our chest before I asked, “How did you beat him last time?” “When I fought him last time, he was weaker and inexperienced with his abilities with a host but now he has the ability to manipulate the host’s mind and plague them with fake thoughts and murderous intentions. In the past, the host that Carnage used was fighting him with his willpower which made it easier to defeat him but now the host is corrupted with Carnage’s evil mind.” Venom explained “INCOMING!!!” I shouted as Carnage was coming towards us with spikes shooting out from his body as it rained down on us but thanks to my enhanced senses and Venom’s reflexes, we managed to evade all of them. Carnage landed on the ground and looked at us with an evil smirk, “I see your host is stronger than the average mortal.” Venom looked at him with absolute hatred and took his battle stance while I was busy figuring out Carnage’s fighting style. “But I am stronger.” Carnage said as he opened his hand and a blade about 6 feet long and it was crooked and hooked. “We can’t let that hit us.” Venom warned “It won’t do us damage because of your healing but it will be tough to remove.” “Oh you think I am the same Carnage as before.” Carnage laughed “Your host may have a healing factor but these blades right here can fracture that little healing factor of yours.” Venom’s eyes widened at that statement but had no time to respond as Carnage began violently throwing the blades at rapid speed and we were dodging pretty well until we got stabbed. I felt a pain shot up my leg as I looked down and saw that one of the spikes had hit its mark and the wound… wasn’t healing. I tried to rip it out but another spike impaled our arm and Venom roared in rage as he caught another spike and threw it at Carnage who effortlessly dodged it as he came charging towards us. We tried to move but Carnage must’ve hit a pressure point because I couldn’t move at all and Venom was trying to move but it wasn’t working. Carnage gave us an uppercut and grabbed our leg and swung us into air before slamming us onto a rock which broke on impact. The pain was like nothing I ever felt before as Carnage began punching us and stabbing us with murderous intent and then stopping to savor the moment. “Let’s make this more exciting.” Carnage said as he extended a hand which transformed into a claw with extremely sharp edges. I felt my healing kick in but it was healing me slower than usual, I started feeling my body again and my arm shot out to punch Carnage but he grabbed it and stabbed his claws into my elbow. What happened next shocked me. Venom retreated back into my body and I was left in my normal pony form, on the ground and still bleeding from the spikes still embedded in me with a side of pure shock on my face. Carnage smiled evilly at me, “You should have never relied on Venom because sooner or later he will let you down.” Carnage grabbed one of my hindlegs and threw me into the air and as I sailed through the air, I saw that I was heading straight into Ponyville plus I think it must be my head but I’m pretty sure I saw an Ursa Minor drinking milk from a giant milk container. I crashed into the ground almost right in front of Ursa Minor which caused it to start getting angry and it increased my currently injured state to become extremely painful. I was the center of a little crater that I graciously made and the spikes were imbedded in my right foreleg and one in the kneecap of my left hindleg. I was breathing heavily as blood oozed out of my injuries. I still remained conscious as I opened my eyes and carefully lifted my head to look around and saw a familiar cyan pegasus flying towards me. “ALRIGHT, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU AR-!” Rainbow Dash started shouting she gasped loudly, “MANNY, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!” I tried to get up but I couldn’t because the pain is just too much for me. Rainbow Dash helped me up before she saw the spikes that were embedded in my legs. “What happened! Who did that?!” Rainbow Dash asked out loud “Carnage… coming here… run.” I wheezed out “Who’s Carnage?” Rainbow Dash asked confused “Rainbow Dash!” a voice shouted I looked in the direction of the voice to see Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack rushing towards her before they spotted me and gasped. “Manny, where were you, we were worried!!” Twilight exclaimed in sobs as she embraced me in a hug as so did the other girls. “SUGARCUBE, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!” Applejack shouted and pointed to my injuries “What happened, Manny?” Twilight asked in shock as she stared at my wounds “Carnage… run… run!-” I managed to say before something grabbed my legs and slammed me into the ground. “THERE”S NOWHERE TO RUN MANNY!!!” Carnage roared as he came charging towards me and delivered a solid punch to my face which sent me crashing into a building. I was finding it harder and harder to breathe as I tried to move myself but my body let me down and I couldn’t move at all. “MANNY!!!” Twilight shouted and she shot a beam of magic at Carnage who took the hit and didn’t even flinch. “You fool.” Carnage said and he shot out his hand which grasped Twilight by the throat and pulled her towards him, “I’m gonna enjoy killing you.” Twilight’s eyes widened as she struggled in Carnage’s grasp but he held a strong grip as he increased his tightness on Twilight’s throat. Whatever happened next is very fuzzy. I roared in rage and my body responded by getting up with no pain at all, charging Carnage and delivering a powerful back kick to his face which made him drop Twilight and look at me. I ripped the spikes out of my wounds which caused blood to spurt out but a second later the wound healed like if it was never there. Venom gave me his hands as I grasped the two blades and charged Carnage with unbelievable speed and stabbed one in his chest and the other one in his head. Carnage roared in anger and tried to punch me but I caught it and broke his arm with a loud SNAP! Which caused Carnage to recoil in pain as I hammered him with punches and kicks. Before I could kill him, Carnage disappeared in a fume of red smoke and I stood there breathing heavily as I stared at the spot where he vanished. Blood roared in my ears as anger and rage were pumping the adrenaline in my blood fueling my body with extra energy and I just want to kill- no, no, no, what am I doing? I looked at the girls who were staring at me in shock and looked scared when my gaze fell on them. I hung my head down and began walking out of town before I was stopped by Twilight. “Manny, wait!” Twilight called out and I turned around to see her running towards me and did the last thing I expected her to do… she hugged me. The embrace lasted for five seconds before Twilight released it and looked at with her tearful eyes, “Don’t go.” she said softly I smiled with tears in my eyes and nodded while Twilight smiled in response and walked me back to the girls who smiled at me. “Thank goodness your okay!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she hugged me very tightly and shed some tears. “We thought ya were dead, sugarcube!” Applejack said as she joined the hug “I’M GOING TO THROW A PARTY TO CELEBRATE!!!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she hugged me which made me fold my ears against my head I released the hug from Pinkie and looked at the last person to give me a hug… Spike Spike ran at me and gave me a big hug which I happily returned because well I got over the grudge and I can never hold it against anypony… including a friend. “I’m sorry Manny, I’m sorry that I made you leave!” Spike sobbed as he hugged me “It’s alright, I got over it. I gotta admit though I might give myself that name if I become a superhero.” I joked Spike chuckled as well and released the hug and the girls gathered around me. “Spike, what did you mean ‘you made him leave’?” Twilight asked in an angry tone Spike turned a little pale when all the girls gave him a serious look that basically said ‘don’t lie to us.’ “I… called Manny… an… uhh… abomination.” Spike stuttered out  “YOU WHAT!” Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight shouted “Even though he hurt my feelings.” I glared at them “I forgive him because a true friend never holds a grudge against others, no matter how bad it is.” “Well as long as you forgive him, I suppose I don’t have to punish him.” Twilight said as she looked at Spike “Good but now that that’s settled, who was that guy?” Rarity asked I took a deep breath and told them about Carnage and what he was capable of doing. “What… why would he…” Twilight wanted to say but didn’t want to finish her thought. “Carnage is heartless and won’t hesitate to kill anyone that gets in his way.” I said sadly “I thought I wasn’t gonna save you.” Twilight hugged me for a couple seconds before releasing it and saying, “But you did so don’t worry, I’m fine.” Twilight assured me I yawned loudly which caused the girls to yawn as well. “Well, I guess I’ll go get some sleep, if I can.” “Well Goodnight Manny!” Rainbow Dash said and she flew off into the sky The other girls wished me goodnight and I walked back into my house in The Everfree Forest and looked at the house. The house was just the way I left it when I first bonded with Venom which speaking of which made me wonder if he’s alright because he hasn’t talked to me since Carnage but I decided to deal with it tomorrow as I got in bed and fell into deep sleep.