Chapter 21: Dark Dealings
Knelt over the black mass in the woods was Eddie Brock, who was keeping an eye on the very thing. Though a battle between two mighty competitors broke out just moments prior, all was silent in that section of the Everfree. The whooshing of low wind crept by them at a slow pace, disturbing only the grass on the ground. He wasn't focused on anything at all but what was before him, though. He had a responsibility, and he'd be damned if he screwed up and failed. So he kept a keen eye on the mass below him, the thing that was working to heal the wounded pony within it.
The symbiote was covered around Fluttershy as though oil was spilled on top of her, covering her completely. Parts of it were splayed on the ground below her such as loose tendrils or small puddles that hadn't quite attached completely yet. They were signs of a fresh bondage between a symbiote and host. Fortunately, symbiotes were capable of healing and repairing damage to their host's bodies. Brock wouldn't be standing there and would Fluttershy would have been long gone by then if they could not.
They were relatively fast, too. Depending on the wound, the healing would either take a few seconds or a few minutes to fully heal the host body. Given that Fluttershy was heavily wounded, added with the fact that the symbiote had just joined with her, Eddie figured that it would take a bit before she would be up and running again. He would stay by her side the whole time, that was certain. He wouldn't let anything interrupt the symbiote or harm her, for he could still put up a fight with just himself.
The bird from before stood next to Eddie, feeling uncertain of what was to come. It no longer cared about its broken wing, almost forgetting about it. No, his only concern was for the pegasus, if she would be alright, because the bird had no idea what the black stuff was supposed to do. So the only thing he could do was wait, and so the two of them stayed near Fluttershy.
Eddie took a glance at the bird from the corner of his eye, sensing the thing's discomfort. He turned his head towards the bird as he spoke, "She'll be alright. Trust me, she'll make it out of this." He looked back at the symbiote-covered Fluttershy before continuing, "Then we can take care of your wing." At that, the bird felt a little bit less anxious, and they continued waiting.
"Amazing."
Eddie spun his head around while reaching for a thick branch with one arm before standing on the defensive. The bird quickly waddled behind him as he looked around the woods and shouting, "Who's there!?! Show yourself!"
"Be careful what you wish for, Eddie..." Brock had his eyes on a sharp lookout, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the voice originated from; it sounded like it came from all directions at once. His eyes caught movement to his right, so he spun that direction and gripped the branch like a baseball bat, ready to strike at whoever was to come. In the darkness of the woods, he saw a shape emerging, but as it got closer, he realized there wasn't something coming out of the darkness coming-- the darkness itself was coming closer.
Eddie's eyes widened while muttering, "Oh, shit..." It wasn't just darkness, but black smog crawling out of the foliage and carpeting the perimeter of the clearing. The same black smoke that had terrorized ponies and had launched an assault on Eddie's mind circled around the clearing, trapping them within it. At the edge directly in front of the small group, a mound of smoke and smog rose from the ground, about as tall as Eddie. Then, a rough shape sprouted from the top, with flickers of smoke wrapping around to concentrate the shape. It was roughly rectangular and looked outward, about a foot or so in their direction. A gap split between the base of the rectangle and further around the edges to the sides of the shape, smoke leaking into the air from the corners of both sides.
By the end of it, Eddie could recognize it as a rough, incomplete outline of a muzzle from a pony, only featuring what could be called a mouth with nothing more to it. That same chuckle that Eddie found himself hating more and more erupted all around, the "lips" of the head roughly matching and synchronizing with movements of actual lips. "Missed me, Eddie?" It asked, mocking sincerity.
"Yeah, I was hoping to humiliate you again." Brock said as he glared at the entity, wishing to wipe that ridiculous grin -at least, that's what it looked like- off the thing's face.
"Such hostility, but why?" The shadowy mound hovered a bit closer to the group, but what worried Eddie was the fact that the smoke on the ground also closing in with his movement. He spoke again with a calm tone, "You know, I had originally thought that you alone were this Venom, a creature with two skins." He shook his head with another low chuckle. "But now? I get it. That other thing in your head along with you are both that creature. And I must say, it is one heck of an organism." It crept closer, ignoring Brock's threats. "So powerful, so unique... I tried to have you under my control..." He spoke the last bit in disappointment, like a kid who couldn't get a toy he wanted.
"Yeah, I remember that." Brock growled out, readying himself for another brawl for the day.
"Yes, I bet you do. Before you came along, I had plans, ways to work past threats, but when you came? You became an obstacle, a threat..." It inched closer again, shrinking the smoky circle around Eddie and the others. "Perhaps you could've taken me on, possibly won, even." The head shifted above, his eyeless gaze going past Eddie and towards the symbiote and Fluttershy. "But now you're separated..."
The cloudy figure began closing the distance between them again, and the ring around the group was only a few yards away by then. Fearing for the safety of Fluttershy and his other, along with the fact that he didn't have many other options, he charged the cloudy figure head on with a rage filled roar directed completely at the dark force before him. "Ha! Eddie, you really are pathetic!" Right as Eddie was about to go for a horizontal strike at the head, a thick ray of smoke erupted from the base of the dark creature and blasted Eddie off his feet and into the air. The smokey appendage came so fast that Brock couldn't even utter from the impact before the smokey beam rammed him into the back of a tree with the force of a rocket.
"Gyaaahhh!" A painful shout forced itself out of Brock's throat. Unfortunately for him, the smokey creature was either really pissed off or didn't get the concept of mercy. The cloudy limb, still holding him by the torso, yanked him from the cracks in the tree right onto the ground below, where his face and chest were forced to bear the burden of hitting it with an audible thud.
The smoke on the ground had parted away to welcome Brock's landing with the ground, as did the tendril finally relinquished its hold on him and returned to the mound of smoke in a blink of an eye. By the end of it, Eddie felt two concerning things: a sharp, flaring an unyielding pain in his left shoulder, and his ribs shared the same problem. All in all, the man didn't feel too hot.
Eddie gritted his teeth with his eyes screwed shut, trying desperately to shut out the pain as he used his right arm to push against the ground and raise himself. He was making steady progress to stand, but the shadowy figure spoke with amusement in his voice as he did so. "Oh, Eddie. Didn't you know? You're nothing without that goo. You're powerless to stand against me." When the man shakily got to his knees and feet, he lifted his head up to see the mound hovering directly over Fluttershy and the symbiote, appearing to inspect the mass by every square inch like he was trying to find something hidden on it.
"Ah, yes." The black figure continued. "This really is a great opportunity here. You and that goo separated, and an Element as well. This really should be taken advantage of." Brock forced himself back on his legs, ignoring the pain the best he could. He thought of what he could do, how he could get himself and the others out of that sticky situation, but a good plan didn't make itself present in his head. It was then that he heard the figure sigh, sounding disappointed yet again. "So I'm hating myself for not taking it."
Eddie froze at his spot upon hearing those words. Shocked, he looked at the mound in disbelief with a tone matching it, "You're... not?" He was relieved that they wouldn't die there, but he still couldn't quite believe that the entity before them wouldn't go for the kill.
"Nope. Not today." Immediately after he finished, the smoke that carpeted the forest floor flew back into the woods, leaving only the dark figure in the center. As the bird hurriedly waddled towards Eddie with the smoke gone, the shadowy figure chanted in an ancient tongue, "Tenebris devoret." The world around both the man and the bird vanished into a cold, empty darkness of nothingness, devoid of anything but them. There was no visible floor they stood on, but yet they stood like there was one.
This took the two by surprise as it would most others. Eddie slowly looked around, trying to find something other than the limitless void all around. He muttered under his breath, "Where are we...?"
"Somewhere private, where we can remain uninterrupted." Again, the voice had no origin, for it rang out from everywhere all at once. "Consider this your lucky day. I have an offer for you."
The man huffed, looking left and right while speaking loudly, "A deal with you is probably like a deal with the Devil."
"I don't know who that is, but fine. Before I begin though, I want to make myself perfectly clear..." Something constricted around Eddie's throat before jerking him up in the air as he gagged and tried to pry the unwelcome thing off. The voice continued, sounding more serious and much more aggressive, "The only reason I am doing this is because I can't kill you-- no, in fact, I can kill you, right here and now. Just one swift move and your neck would be bent in a way it isn't meant to be bent. The same goes for that goo and Element under it."
Brock continued to try and pry the force around his throat off, kicking in the air in hopes of striking whatever was holding him, hitting nothing, unfortunately. "But if I did that... well, there's a chance I'd leave a trace of my magic whether I knew it or not. Despite how idiotic the princesses are, even they wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. Especially now since that ugly oaf of a god is now buddy-buddy with you, it'd be even more dangerous for me. It might fall on chance, but I can't take the risk, not now."
Whatever force held Brock released its grip, and he fell to his hands and knees with a soft thud. He coughed as he used a hand to rub his throat, trying to relieve the stress it went through. "Every thing I do, even right now, is leaving excess energy," the voice sighed despondently, continuing in a matching tone, "and killing something tends to leave a good amount of it. That's the unfortunate cost of my magic. But now," the voice returned to a calmer tone, still having a way of imposing authority, "you understand why I can't do this now. Which leads us back to my offer."
Eddie brought himself back up to his feet, grunting out, "Not interested."
"Just be quiet and listen. You and your pal stop this. Both of you quit the fighting, the saving, everything. You stop interfering, and..." Colors began to seep through the confines of the darkness to Eddie's surprise. They appeared as random splotches of color, like a can of paint was spilled all over the background, streaks racing across the empty canvas and lighting up the atmosphere as much as they could. His brows furrowed when he began to notice that the colors weren't forming just some random splotches or streaks, but that they were making some sort of scenery, some new environment around them. When the colors eradicated the darkness and formed more accurate details, shapes, lighting, along with everything needed to make a realistic picture, Eddie's eyes widened in disbelief.
He found himself standing on an empty street in the center of a city in broad daylight; but that was no ordinary city. It wasn't anywhere in Equestria, but on Earth.
It was Manhatten.
Everything about it was perfectly accurate, from the skyscrapers soaring to the skies and littered alleyways to the smell of gasoline and cracked sidewalks along the streets. The only notable thing that was off was the lack of people occupying the city; there weren't any. No pedestrians inside or out, no cars honking or cruising by, nor was their the consistent sounds that always accompany large crowds in any city. Still, the scenery was so real that it captured Brock with its familiarity.
"... you'll get to go back to your world."
Two columns of white stood across from each other, disconnected. Something broke through them, that was clear. A mistake, one that would be fixed.
Two, small, black strands wired all around them and linked up to the points where they were disconnected. Then, the two strands bridged the gap between the columns, creating a black bar. Now as one, the blackness removed itself from the material onto the next broken area. When it left, there weren't two broken columns, but a single, healthy one.
A fixed rib.
Far from that area was another damaged one, just not with bones. Ripped patches of red mushy chunks scattered around through a sea of a deep red liquid. All that might have poured out through a gap, but more of the black substance blocked it from escaping. Hundreds of small and black tendrils swam through the mess like a vast, polluted ocean, one they intended to clean. When the swarm of black mass passed through, all the red chunks behind them weren't scattered, but they were aligned and connected to one another properly. The red sea surrounding also became cleaner, and flowed in between like rivers just as it was meant to.
Another patch of flesh and blood made fresh and new again.
All over the host body where areas were damaged or distorted, the black mass was there to replenish it. The black mass, the Klyntar, had come far in healing and repairing Fluttershy's broken body. It was so in tune with fixing her that all power, concentration, focus, everything, was dedicated to the task. It couldn't hear or see what was going on outside, but it trusted its true host to defend itself and Fluttershy while it was in the process of repairing her.
Not long after and with the final act of stitching the skin back together, the symbiote finished. The pony still rested, but she was absolutely healed. She would wake up like she did every morning and see another day. The symbiote felt at ease, relieved even. Since that was done, it could return to Eddie and all of them could go back to Fluttershy's cottage and resume their daily lives.
With the symbiote still covered over Fluttershy, multiple tentacles and tendrils grouped together above her before a head with distorted features formed above it. The head looked similar to Venom's, its white eyes peering around expectantly... but its human host was nowhere in sight. That couldn't be, the symbiote knew, something wasn't right. It knew Eddie wouldn't just leave them like that. Also, though it wasn't really too important, the bird appeared missing as well. The symbiote didn't have to look long for clues, for the ground all around was caked in black and grey cinders. Upon the sight, it immediately realized one thing: the entity of smoke was there.
Panic seeped into it immediately. Its head swiveled around in hopes of finding its host somewhere among the wreckage, but only dreadful disappointment greeted it when no man was in sight. Eddie was a strong human, that was for sure, but the symbiote didn't think his chances against a magical entity such as the smoke would result in a victory for him. Desperate to find him, the symbiote began to crawl on the ground in a search for Eddie. It quickly stopped when it felt fur brush against its mass, a certain reminder of its current host. It looked back at Fluttershy's resting form with uncertain eyes.
There was no way that the symbiote could just leave her there, that was for sure. Only question was: should it bring her back to her home first, or search for Eddie? It wasn't an easy one to answer, at least not for the muddled alien. After some thinking, the Klyntar came to a conclusion: it would search around a bit for Eddie, and if it couldn't find him and there was nothing to track, it would bring Fluttershy back to her cottage, then get help from someone who would be good in that scenario.
After all, while the symbiote was capable of many things, it could do little with or against magic. Probably one like Discord, it thought, he was powerful and capable. Maybe Twilight, if he wasn't around. Lots of choices to choose from, but that wasn't the time to think about it, not then.
Having conviction, the black mass of the symbiote receded back to Fluttershy, still covering her completely. Like a bedsheet draped over her, it began tightening and constricting around her. Not choking or harming, just merely tightening around her. The pony just laid there for a few moments, until a hoof twitched. Where her left eye would've been at, a thin white line streaked across it. Then, the line grew, curved, rounded, forming what could be called an eye.
The symbiote had many different species of hosts before, it was time to add a pony to the roster.
The words didn't immediately reach Eddie, as he was still in shock at where he was. His breath was caught in his throat as he studied the sight all around him, finding it to be almost exactly as he remembered it. Hell, he could even make out his shitty apartment in the distance. "But--how did you...?" is all his stunned mind could muster.
Another amused chuckle rang out, that time having a distinct origin. Eddie spun his head right to see a large wisp of smoke flow out of an alley and curl into the air above the street. "I might have only been in your head for a few minutes," a crack formed on the end of the wisp before a mouth formed to accompany the thing's words. "but it was enough to understand basic concepts about you. Not that it takes a genius to guess that you're not from Equestria or anywhere on this world."
The city around Eddie captivated him at first, but he was not about to fall for the smoke's tricks. He glared at the smoke hovered above him, clearly not buying it. "Even if I did believe you, the princesses are one step ahead of you."
That caused the smoke to erupt in uproarious laughter, angering Eddie that much more. "Oh, you poor, naive soul." The voice mockingly said once his laughter died down. "You really think they can send you back?"
"I trust them to do it more than you, that's for damn sure."
"Really? Think about it, Eddie." The head of the smokey tendril wavered closer to the ground, staring into Eddie. "Celestia and Luna are powerful, there's no doubt about that. But the only thing they've used such power for was raising and lowering the sun and moon and Luna's dream walking. Beyond that, their skills are simply lacking in terms of what they could achieve. That also means, unfortunately for you, that they have little knowledge of how to access other dimensions, especially your own. I wouldn't expect them to get anywhere close to unlocking it, if I were you."
Eddie dusted off the smoke's reasoning with a snort, challenging, "And what makes you think you have a better chance at doing so?"
"Oh, I can certainly get you back... unqaim liberi." As he finished, the city around the three started to be replaced by another large splotch of color that stretched in all directions until it covered the city completely, morphing into a new scenery around them. Eddie wasn't too startled by the change-- he knew something would happen once the voice began chanting again. In fact, the area he found themselves in wasn't anything alarming at all. It was daytime in the hoax world, smooth grass below the man's feet with trees scattered around. Not enough to block out the sun, but enough to make the whole area covered in shade.
The slithering smoke didn't say anything as Eddie continued inspecting the scenery around him, trying to find something special about it; after all, the smoke wouldn't have created it if it didn't hold some meaning. Though he recognized it to be part of the edge of the Everfree, he saw no significance to it. He was about to question the lingering smoke, until his mind clicked. Doing another take on the woods with a confused expression worn, he began to realize that the very location he was at was where he and his other first landed in Equestria upon their accidental teleportation incident.
"Recognize it?" The wisp of smoke glided a few yard in front of Eddie, forming a small cloud of the black smog. "Your entrance to Equestria caused a massive surge of energy and magic. I, like many others felt it, even if it was for a brief moment. I came and investigated a few hours after it happened, and though nothing physical was there, plenty was offered in all forms of energy."
Eddie was about to cross his arms, but the stabbing pain in his left shoulder reminded him it probably was not a good idea to use his left arm so much. Slightly flinching, he shrugged his right shoulder with a, "So?"
"So, I dug into the source more." the voice spoke with some irritation, but his voice soon returned to his original tone. "And I found a link of energy, just like the others. This one was different, though. All the others were jumbled into that area, but that certain one led away from the rest. I followed it, but it led nowhere, at least that's what I had originally thought. I could still briefly pick it up with my senses, so I tried something... else."
Brock quirked an eyebrow with, "What do you mean 'something else?'"
The smoke chuckled mirthfully before responding, speaking in joy at Eddie's frustration. "Oh, sorry Eddie, but that's my little secret, mine alone; however, I can tell you the outcome of it." The man, though still annoyed at the smoke before him, remained silent to hear the rest. "Essentially, that lone strand of energy traveled long and far, but not here, not in this world. It soared beyond this existence and into another."
Though he didn't know if the smoke was lying or not, Eddie had to know if he crossed over. "Did you actually go there-- to Earth?"
"No. Though I could cross over, it would have taken a few days, as the same would be for you. It was a curious sight, but it was not at the forefront of my mind at the time. Had I known what came over and what a pain it'd be, then I would've found a way across sooner." Though the smoke raised points that could be valid, Eddie was still hesitant in believing it. The cloud of smoke could see the hesitation in Eddie's face and released an exhausted sigh. "Eddie," it began with dull tone. "I want you and that thing gone, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to kill you. If getting you out of the way means sending both of you somewhere beyond here, then I'll do it."
The cloud inched closer to Eddie, attempting to convince him more. "Think about it. You know about half the population hates you two, you know. Why stay here with ungrateful roaches when you can go back to where you're appreciated? I bet your friends and family miss you, too. Is Equestria really worth it, Eddie? Wouldn't you rather head back to your home? To go rest in your house again and spend the rest of your life there? You can have all of that back again. All you have to do is get your pet and yourself to get out of the way. Do we have a deal?"
Perhaps those words would have convinced some other person, convinced them that home life was better than staying in a land full of ponies. While Eddie and his other undoubtedly wanted to return to Earth, the black cloud didn't account for what their lives on Earth were actually like. Because of that, Brock scoffed as a smirk pulled at his lips. "Yeah, right."
With him clearly not taking the situation so seriously, finding it more comedic even, left the smoke flabbergasted. "What?" He spat out, before furiously roaring, "What do you mean, 'yeah, right'!?!"
Eddie huffed as he jabbed a finger in the smoke's direction, already completely tired of the smoke. "Let me explain some things, pal. Let's just assume I do think you're telling the truth and you can send me back. Well, your little speech didn't do much convincing seeing as how none of those are true." That time, it was Eddie who chuckled and the smoke who was angered by it. He might have even fully laughed, if his damaged ribs would allow it. "You think how some ponies and others think of me here is bad? Please, at least they have the decency not to sick their police or guards on us, 'cause that's what happens most the time back home.
"Friends and family? I have a few friends back on Earth I can trust, and the number isn't huge. As for family, they're either gone or couldn't care less about me, so that's not a huge reason to go back. Home? You mean my shitty apartment that smells like someone died there half the time? Hell, the guest bedroom in the palace is better than my own, dammit!"
The smoke stayed silent, even as Eddie continued. "It doesn't matter, though. None of that would change a thing." He was certainly done with the smoke's game for the day, so he would get his point across clearly. "My symbiote and I protect innocents, no matter where we are or what they are. So until you're gone, we're not headin' home. No deal."
The shadow's voice didn't come at first; it just hovered silently in place. Brock didn't speak a word as well, only glaring at the entity. Finally, it spoke in barely contained rage. "Eddie, I really want to crush you right now. Do you know that?"
"And I want to beat you into the ground right now. Did you know that?"
The cloud flickered with wisps of smoke bulging out as if the thing's anger was about to break out. "Fine." It spat out, "You had your chance, but you spat in my face. Enjoy Equestria while you can, Eddie. It'll be your resting place."
"Not if we find you first." The two stood in silence for a bit, neither one making a move.
"I can't kill you now... but at least I get the pleasure of witnessing you break some bones." Eddie's brows shot up and before he could protest, it spoke in an ancient tongue, "Evanescunt tenebris." Just as fast as the hoax world had come into existence, the environment blended and vanished into thin air, placing Eddie and the bird back into Equestria with the smoke no longer in sight.
Problem was, they weren't standing on solid ground. Transported dozens of feet above the tree line, they both could only stare at the ground with trepidation as gravity took hold an viciously yanked them back down. The bird tried to flap its wings, but the one broken wing would not allow any escape. Brock gritted his teeth and braced his arms over his face to prepare for the impact that was to come.
Exhaustion and lightheaded, that was what Fluttershy felt. At least, that's what she could feel once she could think again. Even then, she couldn't think clearly, like her mind was fogged. She was in a state similar to being half awake, being able to see and hear around her, but not really able to recognize or comprehend them like she would normally. In fact, her mind kept on drifting to what she was doing and trying to figure out what was going on as well.
All she could see was herself moving through the Everfree at a steady pace, looking at the ground and surrounding trees from time to time. That didn't feel odd. What did feel off, though, was that she didn't really feel herself moving around. It was more like her body was on autopilot, or something else taking the wheel and moving around.
Her mind wandered back to what was going on, trying to understand and comprehend. She knew she must've blacked out or fallen asleep at some point, but she couldn't quite recall when she came to. Suddenly, flashes streaked across her mind. No, not flashes, images. She saw images in her mind, images in the Everfree, though they were brief and somewhat difficult to make out. First she was in a small clearing, caring for a bird. Then, Venom arrived, but he seemed upset at her. His mouth was moving, but no noise came out. After that, they all walked through the woods until an enormous snake ambushed them, one that Venom fought. Finally, looking up as a massive boulder descended upon her.
It was just a dream, she thought. There was no way she would actually survive something that heavy crashing down on her. Her mind relaxed and softened, knowing that she was just asleep. The sight before her confirmed that assumption very much. An outstretched hoof was gripping a timberwolf by the throat, lifting it in the air. Many things were wrong about that image that she could tell immediately. First and foremost, she would never treat an animal like that, no matter how misbehaved they were acting. Another thing, that was clearly not her. The hoof holding the poor animal was nearly all black with only a white streak breaking down the leg parting the black.
Another weary factor was the anger she felt. That might not of been too weird, if it was hers. She could feel it like it was, but she could distinctly tell that the raw emotion did not belong to her. She must have been looking through the eyes of another pony, she figured.
The timberwolf itself looked down at the pony with a mixture of anger and fear, both growling and whimpering. Fluttershy of course felt sympathetic towards the wooden wolf, and hoped that the pony she spectated would feel the same. Unfortunately, she didn't feel any sympathy within the pony, and her heart dropped when the hoof hurled the timberwolf next to a tree, smashing the hoof straight through its head. The sheer act alone caused her to gasp loudly, one that the pony made.
Her mind froze. She had just gasped, yet she could feel the pony doing the exact same like the pony was her. That act and realization must have sprung something in her head, because she could use her senses again. She felt the ground like she was standing there. She smelled the aroma of the woods as if she was there. She heard the brushing of leaves and grass as if she was standing right at that very spot.
She was having a vivid dream, she hastily thought. No way was she really there, she tried to convince herself. As if to disprove her argument, whatever force controlled the body vanished, and she felt herself within the body... surely not her body. Upon realizing this, she nervously raised a forehoof to inspect it. It was the same, the pitch black hoof with a single white streak flowing down it. She took a shallow breath as she also felt some force tingle within her, something around and inside of her.
She felt like she was in some sort of material, but that same material felt like it was raveled and weaved into her as well. Then, her eyes widened as the rest of the memories flashed in her head. After the boulder had hit her, she barely clanged onto the last of her life as Venom knelt down by her and looked at her with sorrow. Then, he talked to himself before the black mass that made him up crawled off Eddie Brock and onto her. She remembered, in her panic, Eddie told her it would help her, that she would be fine.
Dread struck her like a wrecking ball when she finally realized she was definitely not dreaming. Panic didn't even begin to describe how she felt then. After a few seconds of some rapid inhaling and exhaling, she began looking around for a source of water. She needed to confirm her suspicions, even though they were already clear as day. Luckily for her, she spotted a small pond near some foliage to her left. She wasted no time rushing straight towards it, darting past the bushes and braking right in front of the water. Normally, running through bushes would leave some marks, but she didn't feel a thing; in fact, the bushes broke against her as she pushed past them.
She was breathing hard, not from tiredness, but of what she was seeing in her reflection. That pony in the water couldn't have been her, for it looked almost nothing like her. The pony in the reflection was tall and large, almost about the height of Princess Cadence. The pony had a mane and tail in the style of hers, but they were a shiny white instead of the usual soft pink. The rest of the body was the same inky black that she had found on her hoof, only it wasn't a coat of fur, but appeared glossy and almost gooey. The wings had sharp features as well, looking more like a raven's than a pegasus' wings, and with the tip reaching the pony's flank. Three features stood out the most to her, however.
One: where the pony's eyes should have been were blank, white, rounded and curved crescent shapes, somewhat resembling eyes themselves. When her eyes shot up from the sight, the white patches simultaneously shot and curved up, accurately resembling her surprise. Secondly, where the pony's mouth should have been, well, there was none. The black skin went over it like it was never there. Finally and most notably, a large, eye-catching, brightly white spider on her torso.
The design was similar to Venom's, finally telling her what she recalled truly happened. The spider's body was emblazoned there, proudly displaying itself with its two sharp fangs above its head. The abdomen ran down between the pony's legs. The bottom legs streaked down onto the pony's forelegs all the way down to the tip of the hooves. The rest of the legs ran along the sides except for the top two, which angled sharply above the joints of the wings. The legs that ran along the sides also sharply curved up onto the pony's back, where she assumed there was another white spider with a similar pattern.
She had trouble believing it, but she knew that pony was her. All of that was a lot to take in for her, leaving her to mumble out, "O-oh... my..."
'Fluttershy.'
Said pony must have jumped at least ten feet in the air with a startled scream that broke the surrounding sounds of the forest. Barely landing straight, she began to look around in a panic for the source of the voice. "H-hello!?!" she called out, hoping to Celestia whoever it was didn't have bad intentions. "Is... is somepony there?"
'Not some pony.'
"Aaah!" Fluttershy spun around again, trying to find whoever was speaking. She couldn't pinpoint exactly where it came from, yet it sounded so terribly close to her. All she could make out of it was that whoever it was, or at least sounded like, was male. "Who's there!?!" she cried out.
'Don't need to be scared, Fluttershy. Does this help?' Out of the corner of her eye, something black snaked around into the air and in her line of sight. The black tendril before her ended with a pair of sharp, white eyes and a pair of chompers to accompany it, which certainly didn't comfort Fluttershy one bit; instead, the thing's face caused her to turn tail and dash away with a speed faster than a professional athlete, all the while screaming her head off. Her heightened speed and physical attributes went by unnoticed to her, as she was more concerned about getting far away from that creature. Perhaps she would have been more rational, but she had already been through so much through one day, and a mare such as herself could only handle so much in a short span of time.
She galloped through foliage and plants alike, pushing past to get, hopefully in the right direction, back to her cottage or at the very least out of the Everfree. As she was galloping, she felt her left hind leg pull back like it was tied to something, promptly halting her run and causing her tumble into a heap. She scrambled back up to resume her escape, but the same hind leg was held on by something, making her unable to flee. With trepidation, she looked behind herself to see a thick, black, wire-like line morph from her leg and wrap itself next to a nearby tree trunk.
She trembled, feeling like she had nowhere to go, no place to hide. Then, to her surprise, she felt something sliding down her barrel, face, and legs at once, with something peeling off of her. She gasped at the sight of the black material uncovering and sliding down her torso and legs before pooling onto the ground. She was relieved but also confused when she saw her normal buttery fur where the black substance once was, but she didn't think much on that as the black substance spilled onto the ground, forming a small puddle.
The puddle grew larger to her discomfort, and before she knew it, the puddle pulled itself up and formed into the shape of a skinny torso with two, lanky arms that linked into the pool below it. To finish it off, a head formed at the top, sporting a pair of milky white eyes and a mouth. She heard the voice in her head again speak slowly, 'Don't be afraid, it's only me.'
By then, the pegasus was both confused and spooked, but her eyes lit up when she realized just who the voice likely belonged to. "Are you... symbiote?"
'A symbiote, yes.'
Fluttershy felt the greatest relief from that, loosening her muscles and and effectively calming her. She felt a bit silly, even. The symbiote was obviously with her just by looking at herself, so it was a given that the voice belonged to it as well. "Oh, thank Celestia!" She shook her head with a sigh before looking at the symbiote before her with a small smile. "I thought I was in danger for a moment there."
'Fluttershy, something I must tell you.'
"Um, sure-- wait." She looked at the alien inquisitively, asking, "Where's Eddie? Or the bird?"
'Yes... about that...'
One second. One, long, blissful, merciful second. That was the amount of time Eddie received after awaking of feeling sweet nothing. Every nanosecond went by slowly, and for a moment, he thought he was fine. One second, however, is not a long time. Once it ended, everything in his body crashed like a massive train wreck. His muscles, bones, everything, screamed out in agony, including himself.
He barely cracked his eyes open but shut them immediately when colors and light assaulted his eyes, too much for his head to handle or comprehend at the moment. He panted, taking shallow breaths to at least keep himself awake. He wasn't thinking about his other, or Fluttershy, or what had just happened. His mind was only focused on the pain screeching along his body, demanding to be taken care of. He dared move his right arm an inch, testing his capabilities. It wasn't as bad as when he initially awoke, but he doubted he would be up and walking any time soon.
After a few minutes of laying there, he slowly cracked his eyes open again. That time, he better handled it and began opening them all the way. Looking up, he saw tall trees all around with broken branches scratched trunks with some blood littered around, no doubt where he had crashed through. Gasping for air again, he closed his eyes as he realized he was stuck there, trapped in the blasted forest. And with another blissful moment, he fell unconscious again.
He briefly regained, barely, conscious again, but he dared not open his eyes yet again. Though the pain echoed across his body, he could roughly make out a noise coming into earshot. He heard four, heavy footsteps come closer to him. Then, he heard something sniffing him, before whatever it was gently gripped his legs before dragging him across the ground. Eddie didn't have to time to react, as his mind slipped into darkness again.
"What!?! Oh no, no no, no!"
'Bad, really bad. Couldn't find him while you rested.'
"Both of them!?!"
'Who...? Oh, yes, the bird, too.'
"Wait, aren't you worried about the little guy, too?"
'... No time to linger, we must continue our search.'
The symbiote had just told Fluttershy what it saw when it finished healing her and what it though might have happened. They both agreed that something terrible must have happened, that was for sure. Having encountered the smoke and its lackeys, she dreaded what it could be doing to the two or where it could have taken them. What worried her the most was that neither the Klyntar or herself had a clue of their whereabouts. There was no trail, no clear destination, nothing. For the while that the symbiote had been wandering the woods, it found not a single trace of where the smoke went to.
Though she had a bad feeling that Eddie or the bird weren't anywhere near them, she didn't want to give up in case they were. What if they weren't, though? That was the question which shook her most. Because if they searched the wrong place, and it was too late to come to them.... She didn't want to think about that, so she hoped, almost prayed, that they were alright, or would be able to hold out until either they or somepony found them. "Okay then," she started out, "which way do you think they are?"
'Don't know, haven't been any signs.' That served to only concern the pegasus more, but the alien continued, 'Been traveling through woods towards your cottage, could find help if we can't find him-- them.'
"Oh, good idea!" Even during the unsettling case they were on, she lit up at the idea, so she pondered, "Maybe Discord could help?"
'Hope so, but for now...' the mass of the symbiote which had removed itself from Fluttershy began to move back to her, linking and morphing on her to her surprise. Feeling herself covered completely again, she briefly thought about the concept of an alien parasite living within her. The sentence alone would deter, disgust, or creep out a lot of ponies, especially her on a normal day, but she didn't really feel that way.
Even if she never somewhat knew the symbiote or was saved by it, she still didn't feel violated with it living in her. It never felt uncomfortable to her when the symbiote was raveled around her or in her, but more like a warm sea flowing inside her that reminded her she was never alone. Instead of feeling something invading her, she felt something protecting her with its substance. All of that had to to with her being linked to the symbiote, in a way. Was that the bonding Eddie had told her about? He explained it the best he could to her at some point, but she didn't quite get it. Then and there, she was starting to, but there had to be more to it.
'...we should continue.'
Fluttershy shook herself out of her haze before she spoke with conviction. "Right!" She nodded and trotted, keeping a steady pace while looking out.
Though she knew they were on a mission, she had many questions for the symbiote. Such as how it was able to completely heal her body, especially in the course of just a few minutes. She had completely forgotten about the wounds for a bit, so remembering them again came to a surprise on how she was perfectly healthy at the time. She was just about to thank the symbiote, until they both heard rustling bushes dead ahead of them.
She paused and stood still, cautiously watching as a wooden leg popped out of the bushes. Her nerves settled down when the creature revealed itself to be only a timberwolf. The animal stood a few yards in front of her, growling as it stood in a defensive stance. Where Fluttershy saw a creature that was possibly hungry, upset, or anything she'd love to help with, the Klyntar saw a nuisance in their path.
Lighting up at the opportunity, she spoke to the alien within her, "What do you think's wrong with him?"
All she got in response was a cold, 'Don't know and doesn't concern us. It is in our way.'
"Now, now," she gently berated, "there's no need to be rude to the poor guy. There's a simple way to take care of this little problem."
'I agree...' Cold intentions swelled in Fluttershy's head, but they were not hers.
She spoke contently and certainly, ignoring those thoughts in her head. "All we have to do is..." she raised up a hoof like she was about to point out an answer. The two answered simultaneously, "Comfort him!"
'Kill it.'
Her eyes shot upwards as her figure froze on the spot, comprehending what the alien just said. As for the symbiote, it was smart enough to know that the answer it gave probably wasn't a good one for its pony host. Too late for take-backs, though. "What!?!" She shouted out, shocked to the core. Apparently, the whole display seemed a bit odd to the timberwolf, as it tilted its head and looked at her like she was crazy.
'...With kindness. Kill it with kindness.'
She had a hard time believing the alien, and its lie was caught when she looked over to her raised hoof, only to see six sharp spikes jutting from the base. She interrogated the symbiote with, "Then what's that!?!"
'A... backscratcher...' A wave of anxiety hit Fluttershy's head, but she recognized the feeling immediately: lying. She rarely ever lied, and if she did, it usually was for the best, so she knew how it felt. She could feel it in her just like it was her doing it, but she knew better. Just like her thoughts and emotions were visible to the symbiote, so was its.
"Your lying! I can feel it!"
The Klyntar knew the gig was up, so it resigned with, 'Fine, I did think of killing it.' It continued with distaste, 'Forgot about how much of an animal lover you are.'
Briefly taken aback by this, Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and questioned, "What does that mean?"
The symbiote was blunt with its response of, 'You're too soft for your own good.'
"No, I am not!" Before things got too heated, Fluttershy paused, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes again, speaking softly, "Listen," she began calmly, to which the symbiote remained silent, so she assumed it was listening. "I know sometimes you and Eddie had to... kill". That word alone may as well have been the plague by how she felt just by discussing it. "And I bet that other timberwolf gave you no choice as well."
She paused in mid-speech, hoping that was actually true. She was afraid of the answer she might get, but she needed to know. "Y-you did do it because you needed to, right?" She hesitantly asked.
'Thought it was necessary, yes.'
"And when you say necessary, you mean you gave it a chance and tried a less... violent method first... right?"
'It had a chance to live before it attacked,' it firmly stated. 'It gave up that chance when it tried to pounce us.' Fluttershy, though disheartened by the answer, didn't want to start up another argument, especially at a time like that. One thing that kept on bothering her, though, was how it became apparent that the Klyntar seemed uncaring towards other animals and creatures. 'We're wasting our time, look.' And she did, and she found herself a bit surprised to see the timberwolf no longer standing in its spot. She spund her head around and yielded the same results as well.
"Where--?"
'It doesn't matter.' The symbiote cut in, 'We need to go now. Need get back to your cottage and get help, fast.'
"Right..." She picked up on a faster pace through the woods, knowing that the symbiote was right about where they needed to be and what to do. Still, she couldn't help but feel despondent. She knew the symbiote meant well and saved innocents, such as how it saved her.
She just wished it had the same sentiment for animals as well.
Aches, aches all over his body, that was what entered his senses first. It wasn't as bad as when he awoke for the first time, but he wasn't going to attempt to move much any time soon. The second thing he felt was something soft under him, definitely not the cold ground of the outdoors. His hearing shortly picked up again, and all assortments of noises were around to give him a killer headache. He groaned, wanting nothing more than to return to sweet, sweet, slumber.
A consistent tapping on his cheek, however, ceased that notion to his irritation. He tried to ignore the small jabbing, but he patience soon gave away when the tapping simply didn't stop. Good thing his right arm -at least from his elbow to his hand- worked fine, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to swat whatever was annoying him away. Whatever it was must have been small, because he felt it sail away from him. He briefly heard chattering, like something was frustrated, but it was not his concern. A content smile stretched on his lips as he began to feel sleep overtake him yet again.
A part of his mind listened in to the noises around him, and he heard heavy foot steps clambering towards him. Normally, that would warrant concern, but he was too tired to care. Oh, well. Nap time. Sadly, a torrent of ice cold water splashing across his face killed the mood.
Eddie's head jerked up as he spat the water out of his mouth. After a few moments of spitting, coughing, and taking a gulp of air, he squinted his eyes open. As fast as the water splashed his face, the haze around his mind vanished and he was fully awake. The first thing he saw was a large bear standing on its hind legs and holding an empty bucket over his face. The look on the bear's face told him that he was likely annoyed.
"Where...?" He quietly mumbled, turning his head to look around. His eyes widened in bafflement at seeing the familiar living room of Fluttershy's cottage. "What the...?" He looked down to see himself laying on the couch of the room. What stuck out more was that he wasn't wearing a shirt, but bandages were professionally wrapped around his left arm to form a sort of arm cast, along with warm, wet clothes covering parts of him that were heavily bruised, ripped, or any other form of harsh damage taken. Rapid tapping sounds to his right diverted his attention to its source to see a ticked-off bunny with crossed arms and with one foot constantly tapping the surface of the table it stood on.
Eddie was confused by all of that, and a frustrated bunny only added to it. His face cringed when he though that Angel was probably the one he swatted away. "Uh, sorry about that." He said awkwardly. Angle snorted before shrugging his shoulders, though still wearing his frown. Eddie took that as a sort of way of saying he forgave him, but was still peeved. He tried to sit up, but the bear's paw swept down to gently, but firmly, keep him down in place. The bear shook his head at him, telling Brock that it wouldn't be wise to get up.
Though he wanted to at least sit, he understood that his body might not have been up to the task at the time. So he opted to ask the obvious question of, "How'd I get here?" To that, the bear proudly patted his own stomach. While a bear dragging a man through the woods would usually end badly, Eddie was grateful that this bear was in the woods at the time. He nodded his head in appreciation with, "Thanks."
Angel began squeaking before hopping on the edge of the couch and pressing his paw into Eddie's arm, seeming to demand something. He was about to question what Angel wanted, until his eyes shot up upon realizing one thing: neither Fluttershy nor his other were present. "No... shit!" His sudden outburst startled both Harry and Angel, but he slightly sat up and rattled on before they could do anything. "Fluttershy-- we found her," Both animals dipped their heads in after that, listening much more intently after that. "We were walking back, 'till some giant snake attacked us. We killed it, but Fluttershy..." He looked over at the two and spoke solemnly, "She got hurt, bad."
An unsettling silence filled the room, and both Angel and Harry stared wide-eyed. Eddie continued, but steadily got faster and more hysterical. "So to save her, I joined her with my symbiote, and things would've been fine-- if it wasn't for that damn smoke. I-I don't know if it did anything to them-- it took me somewhere, I don't know where, but it looked just like back on Earth! He tried to cut me a deal, that if we didn't do anything, he'd send us back home. I told him to fuck off, he got pissed, and the next thing you know, I get dropped off a couple hundred feet in the air!"
By the time he finished, Eddie took large sums of air to calm his nerves while the bunny and the bear looked at each other, nodding their heads in silent agreement. They looked back at the bewildered Brock with looks he'd call 'aggressive determination.' Angel blew air out of his mouth while waving his paws around, then Harry raised a fist and punched it into his open paw, growling menacingly while doing so. Brock got the message, and he looked at them, dumbfounded. "You're gonna try to actually fight the smoke?"
They both nodded their heads with arrogant smiles. Eddie sighed and shook his head despondently. "Appreciate the fighting spirit, but that's easier said than done." Angel rolled his eyes and waved him off, like he was saying, 'nonsense.' Harry began walking towards the door, to which Eddie half-shouted, "Wait-- you're not really going to... guys, I'm serious!" Angel patted his arm as if to reassure him before hopping onto the floor to join his bear-ally. "He's not even there, anymore! We need to focus on finding Fluttershy and my other!"
For better or for worse, Brock got what he wanted when the door suddenly slammed open, causing Angel and Harry to jump back a bit. "Sorry for not knocking, Fluttershy, but this is important!" Hastily spoke a feminine voice before a unicorn rushed in past the two stunned animals. Whoever it was, was preoccupied carrying and levitating a variety of books, papers, maps, and multitudes of other documents. Her face was blocked from Eddie's view, but he could see the rest of her features.
She had a very light-purple coat, almost to the point of being pink. She had a cutie mark depicting a glimmering star with a blue wisp wavering from it. The mare also had a purple mane and tail with a single turquoise stripe streaking through them.
Eddie didn't speak, not because he did it intentionally, but because he simply didn't know what to do at that moment. So, like Angel and Harry were doing, he stared at her, his mind too flabbergasted to think of what to do. "I know it's been about a month," she sounded eager as she continued, "but the trip was worth it!" She trotted right in front of the table before she began sorting through her various items. "'Cause guess what I found!" Eddie's mind fumbled for anything to calm the room once it would get from bad to worse. Unfortunately, he drew blanks. "I got a..." she levitated the items around her away a bit, showing off a mare with an excited grin for a brief moment. That grin was shattered upon the sight of Eddie. "a..." All of the objects within her grasp fell to the ground once her magical hold ceased.
Brock looked over to Angel and Harry, pleading to them with a look to help out with that awkward situation. Unfortunately, they were just as startled as he was. Getting desperate and wanting to kill the silence in the room, he fumbled from his mouth, "So, uh... can you help a guy out?"
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So we now have an injured Eddie, teaming up with Angel, Harry and Starlight, while Venomshy charges about the forest, with the symbiote and its host at odds from their different approaches to conflict resolution.
This is gonna be good
cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1200/1*2i2d1-0yLHxYvCxcMDMdrA.gif
And here comes Starlight, fantastic; also, the shadow guy is sounding like a complete idiot right about now, I really don't care how many threats he's saying that he'll harm or kill someone, but seriously everything he's done so far sounds way to idiotic, I mean we don't even know why he's doing all this and all its down is aggravate the heck out of Venom. I mean if your going to give the deal about something the other party wants, at least know about the party and don't blatantly go for the whole "friends and family" shtick.
9053293
fixed.
9053267
Ironic, considering those 'names,' aren't names, they're some of 'THE NAMES' to remember that, honestly, are far more important to remember because of how above Odin and Galactus they are (again, barring Marvel taking the stupid pills and forgetting or not caring). Really, they're what Poke-tards THINK the creation trio are... and even beyond that, to speak in terms YOU could understand. ;P
9021675
Best line.
9117221
It happened in the comics a couple years ago, I think at 2010 or 2011.
9117221
It was in the comics before the show, he went by Agent Venom, now Eugene "Flash" Thompson wears the Anti-Venom Symbiote while keeping the appearance of Agent Venom even if he goes by Anti-Venom. Eddie was the original host of the Anti-Venom Symbiote, but is now re-bonded with the Venom Symbiote and is Venom once more.
I demand another chapter be released! Starlight Glimmer, my favorite pony, just showed up and now met Eddie Brock. I must see her reaction to Venom himself!
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dude. c h i l l.
is supposed to be umquam.
Do you still continue this? I had a nice Venom story already, but I wasn't exactly happy how many symbionts teams we got that where possibly better than Venom and his parter. I don't need the main char to always win, but I hate to see them stop being unique because it's always something like the whole main six getting involved and stuff like that in everything special Twilight does or Celestia getting assured a mighty position.
I like something different like maybe one or two of Twilights friends and a whole bunch of other characters getting a taste of the same power. Either that or there is some other challange for Venom and partner and they stay unique.
Well, it’s almost been a year since an update, or even a notice of existence, just wondering if there’s an upcoming update or if you’re going to make anything for this story anymore.
Wow, this is awful.
Hey man, are you gonna update this anytime soon?