> VENOMOUS GENEROSITY
>  by CROSSOVER KING
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was just about to set in Canterlot City. The school was already over and every single student was either at home, on their way home, or still outside hanging out somewhere with food and music. Six peculiar teenagers, on the other hand, were busy with something else. They were preparing to watch a meteor shower that, according to Twilight Sparkle's calculations (which are almost never wrong, obviously), was going to take place that night. Everyone was very excited to see that and were currently in Twilight's house gathering all the equipment they need to observe this rare spectacle clearly and comfortably.

"Okay, guys! The meteor shower is gonna start at approximately one hour. So, let's do a quick recap to make sure we got everything. Applejack, the van."

"Check!"

"Sunset, telescopes."

"Check!"

"Pinkie Pie, snacks."

"Check!"

"Rainbow Dash, pillows."

"Check!"

"Fluttershy, blankets."

"Check."

"Spike, my notebooks and pens."

"Check!"

"Great! Looks like we DO have everything."

"Uh, almost everything actually."

"Why? What are we missing?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a really good friend of ours who's extremely talented in dress-making. You know, the same one who recently made you that beautiful scarf you're wearing for this occasion!"

Everyone gave Twilight weird looks while she stood there shocked and nervous. 

"Oh! Right! How could I forget about Rarity? She was supposed to be here hours ago. Does anyone have a clue about where she is?"

"I haven't seen her at all since the English exam. What about you guys?"

Everyone shrugged.

"Well, I talked to her before the exam and I remember her saying something about showing her latest design to her boss after school, but she also said that it would take only about half an hour and it's been almost three hours since the school ended.

"Well, you know Rarity. She just LOVES to talk 'bout every little detail in her dresses."

Suddenly, they heard a light knock on Twilight's bedroom door.

"Speak of the devil!"

Pinkie went to open it after saying that.

"Hello, Rari… WHOAAA!"

Yeah, Rarity's appearance absolutely beyond horrible. Her face was full of wet make-up due to intense sobbing, her hair was a real disaster, there was ice cream stains all over her clothes, her eyes were almost completely red. She was obviously so depressed that nearly no amount of life was left in her. As soon as the others saw what a mess she was, they all let out loud screams and Spike immediately fainted. 

"Hello, girls. I'm so sorry to say this, but I can't come with you to watch the meteors tonight."

They all rushed towards her and did their best to comfort her.

"Rarity, what in tarnation happened to you?"

"Didn't your boss like the dress?"

"Did you get a terrible grade on the exam?"

"It was your keytar, wasn't it? I knew I should've spent a little time on trying to fix it instead of studying!"

"Please, Rarity. Tell us what it was and I'm sure we'll find a way to help you."

Rarity's eyes quickly watered up again.

"IT WAS ALL THREE! Though what happened with the dress wasn't exactly what you suggested."

"Oh, nelly! Ahm not sure we can help her this time."

"Are you crazy, AJ? Of course we can! Rarity, just tell us what happened in all three incidents and we'll immediately help you solve any of your problems. Right, girls?"

They all nodded in agreement and Applejack let out a sigh.

"Ah guess no harm can come from tryin'."

"Oh, I have no doubt you'll try, darlings. But trust me, these are the kind of problems that just can't be solved anymore. Besides, I'm far too depressed to even tell you what happened."

"Uh, you know I can see your memories with a single touch, right?"

"Go ahead. I won't stop you. I'm too weak to stop anything, anyway."

She began to sob again and Sunset prepared to touch her forehead.

"Oookay, here goes nothing."

As soon as she touched her, she was greeted with three flashbacks and each one was worse than the last.





The first flashback took place during lunch break when Rarity was both practicing for the Rainbooms and adding the finishing touches to the dress she was planning to present to Prim Hemline after school in order to get a promotion. Her work was just about complete when she caught sight of several sudden lights that looked like cell phone camera flashes. She was this close to discovering the source of the flashes when she was startled by the sound of her keytar falling from a desk and hitting the ground hard. She quickly picked it up but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it to work properly. She both called and texted Twilight but became really distraught when she couldn't reach her at all. Suddenly, the school bell rang and she rushed towards her locker with slightly teary eyes. 

The second one was when she had just finished her English exam and Miss Cherilee was about to hand over the results. She didn't really have enough time to study for it and had a hard time concentrating due to her sadness over the broken keytar. Therefore, she was really nervous about her performance but still had hope that she was going to receive a passing grade. However, her nervousness turned into pure shock and her hope was smashed to pieces when she found out that she in fact failed the test. She was just about to sob at that point.

In the final flashback, she was rushing towards Prim Hemline's store with her creation, hoping that the time she spent on beautifying the dress instead of studying for the exam was worth it. Unfortunately, she arrived at the store only to find an almost exact copy of her dress being presented to Hemline by a girl from Crystal Prep. Rarity then came to a realization. It was this girl that took pictures of her dress, dropped her keytar to create a distraction and escape the classroom, and caused her to be so distraught that she couldn't concentrate during the exam. She tried to explain the girl's schemes to Hemline, but she had designed her dress in such a way that made Rarity's dress a rip-off of it and not the other way around. Therefore, Hemline accepted to hire the girl as an employer and refused to promote Rarity. At that point, Rarity ran away from the store towards her house and once she arrived there; she locked herself in her room, broke down in tears, and desperately tried to drown her sorrows in ice cream.





Once the flashbacks were over, a perplexed Sunset turned to her friends and whispered to them what she saw. Then, they all gathered around Rarity and put their hands on their shoulders.

"We're so sorry for what happened, sugarcube."

"Don't worry, though. I'm sure we can find a way to set things right."

"Twilight's right. We'll make sure that this 'Suri Polomare' will pay for what she's done!"

Rarity finally managed to get up.

"Thank you so much for your support, girls. However, I still see no solutions to my current predicament. I feel like I'm torn to so many pieces that it's going to take forever for me to be whole again and I can only start putting myself back together after a little privacy."

"We can walk with you to your house if you want."

"No, that's okay, Fluttershy. I'd rather walk by myself for now."

Twilight then handed to her a telescope.

"Here. If you wanna watch the shower from the comfort of home, that is."

Rarity reluctantly took the telescope. 

"Thanks, Twilight. I'll certainly check it out if I manage to feel better. I'll talk to you girls tomorrow, then. Good night!"

She waved them goodbye and exited the house.

"What are we gonna do, y'all? She looks even sadder than a lone duck during mating season!"

"Pfft! That's easy, silly! Tomorrow, we're gonna throw her the biggest get-well-soon-party ever!"

"I'm not sure that's gonna solve everything, Pinkie. I have first-hand experience of her memories and the amount of depression in them was more than I've ever felt in my entire life. Like she said, she just need some alone time right now. After that, we'll figure out a way to make her whole again."

Everyone agreed with this plan and left for the meteor shower shortly afterward.





Back at Rarity's house, she had already worn her nightgown and was having a light dinner with ice cream while her sister Sweetie Belle was watching the meteor shower through Twilight's telescope. While it was fascinating at first, it quickly became boring and by the time Rarity came back upstairs after finishing her dinner, she had already started putting the telescope away.

'Whatever's the matter, darling? I thought you liked watching meteors."

"I do. But they get really boring when a lot of them pass by for a long time."

Rarity slightly chuckled.

"I understand what you mean."

"You can take a look at them if you want."

"No, thanks. I'm far too exhausted."

"But, didn't Twilight give you this telescope so that YOU could watch the meteors?"

"She did, but I thought you'd want to use it more than I do."

"Oh. Well, I'm done with it. Gonna see what's on TV."

"Okay, I'm going to bed anyway. See you in the morning."

Sweetie stopped just before she started heading downstairs.

"You're going to bed at 8:00 pm? You're not sick, are you, sis?"

Rarity let out a sigh.

"No, I'm not sick, Sweetie Belle. But I'm also not alright. Some terrible things happened to me today and the sadness that I felt from their consequences is making me really tired. However, I'm absolutely sure that I'll be much better after a goodnight's sleep."

"Wow. Uh, okay then. I'll be downstairs watching TV, like I said. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll be here ASAP."

"Thanks, sis. I'm already feeling a little better thanks to your heartwarming generosity. Just don't forget to be in bed before 10, okay?"

Sweetie chuckled a bit.

"No problem! See you in the morning! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!"

Sweetie closed the bedroom door and rushed downstairs. Rarity, meanwhile, fell asleep a few minutes later.





While all this was happening, a small lone meteor hit the nearby park. Shortly after the impact, a sentient black ooze crawled out of the rock and began exploring the area. It was a life form that had to bond to another life form in order to survive and right now, it had to find a suitable host soon. Else, it would certainly starve to death.

After 5 minutes of exploring, it finally picked up the scent of a potential host; a being with significant amounts of negative emotions including anger, sadness, loneliness, and hatred. On top of that, this being was carrying a great power that was not of this world and could cause serious damage in the wrong hands. All these facts made the ooze realize that the trail was leading it to the perfect host.

Finally, the ooze found the source of the scent inside the second floor of a pretty large building. While this potential host did not look like a powerful being at all, the ooze had little choice at this point. It could either take its chances and bond with her or risk perishing in a fairly primitive planet. It immediately chose the former and started wrapping itself around the her body. 

The process was a very agonizing one for the host. While the fact that she was asleep caused her not to scream loudly, she still had terrifying nightmares where she was cornered by a huge monster made out of a black liquid. Even though large diamonds that fell from the sky hurt the monster a lot, they still could not stop the monster from grabbing her and moving her closer to its mouth full of sharp teeth. By the time she was thrown inside mouth and completely devoured, the bonding process was already complete. The ooze now had a new host and it was already starting to feel a lot better.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Rarity woke up the next morning, she was not feeling any better than she was yesterday. In fact, she was feeling slightly worse than yesterday. The terrible nightmare she saw last night had seemingly crushed her hopes of resting comfortably and gaining the strength she needed to pull herself back together. Therefore, she had no intention of getting out of bed and just wanted to sleep for the entire Saturday. However, she eventually realized that it wouldn't be nice of her to cut all contact with her friends and Sweetie Belle for a whole day, and quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom.

After a slightly relaxing shower, she went downstairs in her gown and found her sister already having breakfast in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sis! I was just about to call out for you. Did the goodnight's sleep work?"

"Well, it wasn't really a 'goodnight's sleep' so to speak. In fact, I had a horrible nightmare and couldn't really sleep after that."

"Oh, no! What did you see?"

"It's gonna sound a bit silly but I saw myself running from giant monster made out of black ooze. It eventually cornered me in a back alley, and used its gigantic claws to grab and throw me towards its equally gigantic mouth where I was utterly eaten and devoured!"

Sweetie let out a gasp.

"That DOES sound horrible! You couldn't possibly have slept after having a nightmare like that!"

"Well, I TRIED and even succeeded a bit but it wasn't enough."

"Don't worry! I'll make you some coffee and you'll feel better in no time!"

"Darling, there's no need for that. I'm fine. Really!"

"I know. But you're just so much cooler when you're better than fine."

Rarity was taken aback by this touching statement and started blushing.

"You... you really think so?"

"Of course! Well, not as cool as me, but still pretty cool."

They both chuckled and Rarity hugged Sweetie extremely hard.

"Aw, come here you little rascal of a sister! I don't know what I could've done without you!"

"Uh, glad to hear that! Can you please let go now? I think I'm gonna pop any second!"

"Oh, so sorry!"

As soon as she let go, Sweetie breathed really heavily for a while before speaking again.

"Wow! Have you been working out? Because you've become insanely strong since the last time hugged like that."

"I have?"

She took a glance at her arms and was shocked to discover that they have become significantly more muscular since last night. She wondered if this had anything to do with that strange nightmare she had.

"Your coffee's ready!"

"Oh, ah, thank you darling. Would you mind retrieving the butter from the fridge and putting two slices of bread to the toaster?"

"No problem!"

As she did all that, Rarity took a sip from the coffee. However, to her surprise, its taste was somewhat repulsive. This was especially shocking since Sweetie Belle always knew her favorite type of coffee: black with two teaspoons of sugar and two ounces of milk. Since she had genuinely wanted to help her with this coffee, the only reasonable explanation Rarity could think of was a fundamental change in her appetite.

Before she could dwell on that further, however, two crispy slices of bread flew out of the toaster and she quickly caught them with a nearby plate. 

"Awesome reflexes, sis! You sure you haven't been working out in your sleep?"

"I... I don't know. Maybe I have. I might have to go see a psychologist afterwards."

She finally sat down beside Sweetie and put some butter on the breads. She was just about to take a bite when...

"You call that 'breakfast'?!"

She quickly jumped from her seat and frantically searched her surroundings.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

"Uh, Rarity, who are you talking to?"

"I... I thought I heard someone with a really deep voice. I really SHOULD go see a psychologist soon."

"And what good will that do?"

She  jolted again.

"There it is again!"

"Rarity, what's going on? You're starting to freak me out! What really happened to you last night?"

"I... I don't know. But I'm sure my friends will help me figure it out."

"Only I can help you right now!"

She got startled again and ran towards her room, locking the door. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, just sat there extremely confused and worried.





As soon as she locked herself in her room, Rarity started to pace like there's no tomorrow.

"Okay, Rarity. Let's... let's think about this for a moment. You're much stronger and faster than you were yesterday and you're hearing a voice that no one else hears. Plus, the nightmare you saw last night was nothing like the nightmares you usually have. So, what if they're all connected? What if the voice I'm hearing is responsible for all this and it's hiding somewhere in my head?"

"Excellent deduction."

"AAH! Would you stop doing that and just tell me what in blazes do you want from me?!"

"I just want to help you, Rarity."

"Help me? Well, you have a seriously uncomfortable way of showing it. What do you even LOOK like, anyway?"

"I think it's best if I show you rather than tell you, but promise not to scream."

"Pfft! Please! I'm sure it can't be worse than all the other things I faced."

"Yes, it actually is."

Suddenly, a body of black ooze came out of her shoulder and turned into to the head of a creature with huge white eyes and extremely sharp teeth. As soon as it turned to face Rarity, she let out a scream powerful enough to all the windows in her room shattered to a million pieces and heavily daze the creature. 

"Get away! Get away you horrid thing! Get away from me!"

"Oh, would you cut that out already! I bonded with INFANTS quiter than you!"

Rarity breathed heavily several times and just as she had finally managed to calm herself down, she was once again startled by a light knocking on the door.

"Uh, Rarity? I heard you screaming. Is everything alright in there?"

"Uh, yes darling. I was, ah, stress-sewing and accidentally hurt myself with the needle. But, it's totally nothing to worry about."

Sweetie Belle responded after a brief pause.

"Oookay! I'm going to Scootaloo's house. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do. Thanks!"

After waiting for a while to be sure of Sweetie's departure, Rarity turned his attention to the creature.

"You're the monster I saw in my nightmare. Who are you?"

"I was never given an actual name, truth be told. However, other life forms refer to my species as Symbiotes."

"Symbiotes? Why do they call you that?"

"Because we can only survive by achieving symbiosis with other organisms. We bond with them and grant them extraordinary abilities, in exchange for food and shelter."

"And where on earth did you come from? No creature I know can do what you do."

"Who said I'm of Earth? I originally come from the planet Klyntar and have travelled around nearly half the known universe."

Rarity let out a gasp.

"Are you saying you're an alien?!"

"To you and the other humans, yes. But please, no more screaming! My ears can't take much more of it!"

Rarity took a deep breath before answering.

"Don't worry, I won't. But you need to tell me a few more things. Why did you decide to bond with me of all people and what do you want to help me with?"

The Symbiote chuckled.

"The reason why I chose you as my new host is the same reason why I wish to help you. You're shattered to countless pieces, Rarity, and I want to put you back together."

"I beg your pardon?"

"After the asteroid I was riding crashed somewhere near here, I caught the scent of your depression and felt genuinely sorry for you. I know your pain all too well. It's the same one I carried nearly all the time since my first host rejected me. Every single one after that did the same thing and some of them even tried to obliterate me. As you can imagine, I was beginning to get extremely frustrated and miserable. I felt like I was doomed to be disappointment to practically everyone in the universe, including my fellow Symbiotes."

Rarity's eyes began to widen.

"Wow. I guess your predicament WAS similar to mine. So, you really want to assist me in solving my problems due to your sympathy?"

"Yes and I'm also hoping that this will improve my reputation among my people."

She let out a deep sigh.

"As much as I find your appearance utterly repulsive, I'm really flattered by your willingness to come to my aid. So, I'm going to give you a chance to prove yourself. However, if you make things even worse, then you're terminated. What do you say?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way!"

He promptly returned to his hiding place on Rarity's shoulder.

"So, uh, how exactly are you planning on getting me out of my predicament?"

"First things first! I haven't eaten in days and right now, I'm starving to death!"

"Not to worry! I'll just head downstairs and-"

"NO! The food you normally eat is disgusting!"

"Hey! That is not a very nice thing to say!"

"Well, EXCUSE ME, but did you honestly expect an alien like me to have the same appetite as you?!"

"Ugh, fine! What do you want to eat then?"





About five minutes later, Rarity was walking in the park.

"Are you sure we can find the food you want around here?"

"Yes. I caught its scent the moment I got out of the asteroid, but couldn't consume it without the help of a host like you."

"Right. Are we getting close or not?"

"Should be just around the corner, but I suggest you find it quickly. Your liver is starting to appear really sweet!"

"WHAT?! You must be joking!"

He came out her shoulder and glared at her.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Rarity let out a deep sigh.

"Fine, I'll hurry up."

The Symbiote went back to hiding as Rarity continued walking. A few more minutes later, the Symbiote signaled her to stop. She tried to figure out the reason for that before spotting a colorful truck and realizing what he meant. 

"You want ice cream for breakfast? Okay, now you're just like Sweetie Belle when she was 5."

"Not exactly. The brown-colored one contains a chemical I normally need to consume in order to survive."

"You mean chocolate? I don't know. Eating chocolate-flavored ice cream for breakfast is never good for the human stomach."

"Don't think about that now. The only way to satisfy my hunger as soon as possible is consuming that food through you."

"But, a stomach ache is the last thing I need right now!"

"Worry about your stomach later. I need this energy right this instant!"

"But, how can I be able to solve any of my problems if I-"

He suddenly came out and looked directly in her eyes. 

"EITHER YOU EAT THAT OR I EAT YOUR BLOODY LIVER! YOUR CHOICE, SISTER!"

Rarity was too startled to object and immediately rushed towards the ice cream truck. She bought two scoops of the chocolate-flavored one in the same cone and started licking in such a hurry that the whole thing was gone in just three minutes.

"Huh. That's odd. Normally, a brain freeze would follow shortly after eating ice cream this fast."

"Not anymore, thanks to me."

"What do you mean? "

"In addition to extraordinary strength and speed, I give my hosts the ability of regeneration and self-healing. As long as you keep feeding me with this 'chocolate', illnesses like brain freeze and stomach ache will be things of the past."

Rarity became intrigued by this.

"Really? Oh, wow! This is exactly what I call being helpful!"

"You're welcome."

Rarity patted her own shoulder.

"So, my new helpful friend, what do you suggest we do in order to accomplish our mutual mission?"

"The way I see it, we can do WHATEVER we want. The possibilities are practically endless."

Rarity thought about this for a moment before a smug expression appeared on her face.

"I've got a wonderful idea! Let's get back home and start working on it immediately!"

"Very well. Lead the way!"
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was way past noon and Rarity still had not called any of her friends. Furthermore, their calls were always going straight to voicemail whenever they tried to call her. They had become extremely worried about her and decided to go to her house in order to make sure she's okay.

They were all right outside her house by 3:00 pm and the front door was bizarrely not locked. They entered, called her out, and went upstairs towards her bedroom when no answer came. As they got closer to room, however, they were genuinely surprised to hear rock music coming from it. It was a kind of song that plays when a heroic robot who can turn into a truck decimates countless evil robots and faces the ultimate evil robot (who can turn into a gun) in a battle to the death. They knocked on the door really hard and an enthusiastic well-dressed Rarity opened it.

"Well, hello, darlings! I've been waiting for you for ages!"

Sunset replied, "You have? Then, why couldn't we reach you all day? You neither called nor texted, and never answered any of our calls and texts". 

Rarity's expression changed from excited to shocked.

"Really?"

She checked her phone for texts and missed calls, and her eyes widened exponentially as she saw them.

"Oh, my! I guess the music too so loud to hear the notifications."

Rainbow Dash asked, "What's with it, anyway? You never listen to music like that".

"You're right, but I heard it in a movie I recently watched with Sweetie Belle and really liked its motivational tone".

Symbiote complained in her head, "I still don't understand why you had to sit through such an awful movie, though".

Rarity replied with her thoughts, "Well, even though I agree that it was a bit unappealing, Sweetie Belle really enjoyed it. It's just one of those compromises you have to make when spending time with your sister".

"Whatever. At least the song was awesome. Good thing I recommended listening to it while working, right?"

"Yes, and I really do appreciate it. Now, please quiet down before they get suspicious".

"No promises."

After he stopped talking, Rarity turned her attention towards the girls.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying? My mind wandered off for a while."

"We were just wonderin' what in tarnation would you be needin' extra motivation for?"

"Why, I'll show it to you, of course."

She turned off the music and pulled the curtains from a nearby corner in the room to reveal a beautiful black dress that came with a diamond encrusted black cape and an equally diamond encrusted shoulder pad. Upon seeing the dress, all of her friends were taken aback by its sheer awesomeness. 

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Are ya kiddin'?! This is a darn-tootin' masterpiece!"

Twilight agreed, "Wow, Rarity! I can see why you needed the extra motivation to get this done. I'd say it's your best work yet! Right, girls?"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Why, thank you, darlings! Please tell me it's not 6 pm yet."

Pinkie Pie replied, "Nope! There's still one hundred and seventy five minutes left until that."

"YES! That's more than enough time for me to get to the store before it closes and impress Miss Hemline with this ensemble!"

Fluttershy asked, "Uh, I'm sure you'll definitely impress her, but how will you reach the store in this terrible rain?"

"What rain?"

She pulled the curtains from the windows and stared with widened eyes to the horrifying thunderstorm taking place outside. 

"Oh, uh, not to worry! I know exactly what to do!"

She grabbed the dress and rushed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out while wearing the dress and a several small diamonds on her dress. This got an even bigger reaction from her friends until she grabbed her umbrella and put on her raincoat on top of the dress. 

"Okay, now I'm prepared. Wish me luck!"

Rainbow asked, "Uh, are you sure you wanna go now? You can wait until tomorrow and- "

"Nonsense! I want to get over my humiliation as soon as possible and I won't allow some a bit of rain to stand in my way!"

Sunset inquired, "Do you want us to come with you?"

"Thanks, but there's no need for that. I'm more than capable of getting there all by myself."

Twilight replied, "Well, in terms of preparation and equipment, that DOES appear to be true. So, don't let us keep you from it. Good luck!"

The rest of them wished her good luck too.

"Thank you so much, girls! I won't forget to call you when I get the promotion. See you later!"

She quickly went downstairs and exited through the front door. 

"So, ready for some cold-served revenge?"

"You mean SWEET revenge? Born ready!"

An evil smile appeared on Rarity's face and she rushed towards the store.





About 15 minutes later, Rarity finally made it and was greeted by a grinning Suri Polomare.

"Well, look who it is! Came to unveil another copycat design?"

"Oh, this is definitely no 'copycat' as you describe, Suri. Now, where's Miss Hemline?"

"She went to the back, but should be here any minute. I suggest you leave before you embarrass yourself further, 'mkay?"

"Sorry, but what I've brought is something she simply must behold!"

"Whatever you say, princess."

Rarity turned away from her and walked towards the inner sections of the store without taking her raincoat off. She found Hemline reorganizing a brand new shoe collection.

"Rarity, may I ask what are you doing here. You do know that it's not your shift today, right?"

"Yes, yes, I know that, Miss Hemline, but I just finished a new design and thought that you ought to see it right now."

"Hmmm, I do hope that what you've is worth my time. If it turns out to be a copy of another of Suri's designs, I 'll have no choice but to terminate your employee status here."

"I completely understand."

"Good. Now, show me your latest creation."

Rarity swiftly took her coat off and showed off her dress to Hemline, whose eyes slightly widened and a small smile appeared on her face. Suri, on the other hand, was left completely speechless by the design's appearance. Rarity paid no attention to her and focused on Hemline's reaction,

"So, I take it you like the design?"

"It seems you have indeed restored your reputation, Rarity. Come back tomorrow and we will discuss your promotion."

Rarity was about to explode from happiness.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

She was then approached by Suri.

"Okay, I'll admit. That IS an impressive dress. How long did it take you to make it?"

"About four hours. Why?'

"Four hours? Seriously? That's the same amount of time it took me and my assistant to complete yesterday's design. You couldn't have worked alone on this."

"Well, I did get inspiration from a new friend, but I did all the sewing while listening to motivational rock music."

"Wow! You're good. Maybe even better than me. That's pretty sad, actually."

"Oh, don't be so glum. I'm sure you'll come up with something equally impressive someday. Hey, how about this. Let's meet at Sugarcube Corner after your shift and I'll tell you all there is to know about creating ensembles as bold as this."

"What? You're not mad at me for stealing the spotlight and getting in the way of your promotion anymore?"

"Well, what you did WAS nasty, but I'm sure you had logical reasons for doing it. Besides, if you haven't done so, I might've never gotten the motivation for creating something this spectacular."

Suri thought about this for a moment before answering.

"Alright. Sugarcube Corner at 6 pm. Hope you bring some good advice, 'mkay?"

"You won't be disappointed. See you then!"

They waved each other goodbye and, as Rarity exited the shop, she called both her friends and Sweetie Belle to tell them about the exciting developments.





Three hours later, Rarity and Suri were sitting in a table in Sugarcube Corner, having some dessert before dinner and telling each other about their past experiences as fashion designers. They were even sharing stories regarding their most embarrassing moments and having great laughs whenever they came up. As for desserts, Suri was halfway through an apple pie with vanilla ice cream while Rariy was already done with a chocolate brownie twice the pie's size. Understandably, Suri was amazed by this.

"Gosh! How could you consume that giant brownie that fast and not have a stomach ache?"

"Oh, it's nothing actually. Just this morning, I devoured two scoops of ice cream without having a stomach ache or brain freeze afterwards."

Suri's mouth is left hanging open until Rarity spoke again.

"Yeah, life's pretty great when you have a stomach as strong as mine."

"Jeez! Is there anything you possibly CAN'T do?"

"Well, I can't sneak into a high school and take photos of someone else's dress."

They remained silent for a while, but eventually started laughing again and Rarity checked something in her phone before putting it on a corner next to her.

"Seriously though, how exactly did you manage to do that and what motivated you to do it.

"Didn't you already figure out the first part?"

"Maybe, but I really want to hear your side of the story. Just in case there were a couple of things I missed."

"Oh, okay then. You see, ever since you created that wonderful window display for the visiting Fashion Week style scout, I became obsessed with finding the secret behind your talent. I figured you wouldn't trust someone from Crystal Prep so readily and, instead, decided to spy on your work. I easily navigated through the campus, since everyone was at lunch break at that time, and eventually found your location in less than ten minutes. I wouldn't have get noticed at all if I hadn't forgotten turning off the flash and once you were onto me, I had no choice but to drop your keytar to create a distraction and get out of there. Sorry about that."

"Oh, that's okay, darling. At least you were honest with me about this incident. That's all that matters now."

"Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."

She started blushing until her phone started ringing. As she checked it out, her expression changed to annoyed and she let out a sigh.

"I have to go. My assistant is unable to find the special gold ribbon I prepared for my next ensemble, even though I specifically instructed her that it was located right beside a porcelain kangaroo on my desk. I'll see you tomorrow, 'mkay?" 

"Certainly. Oh, before you go, can you tell me a bit about your relationship with your assistant?"

"Well, it's not as good as I hoped it would, unfortunately. I come up with ideas and designs, she does all the sewing, and I have to be around her every day after school in order to make sure she crafts the dresses exactly as I want! She has an annoying habit of forgetting my instructions and going with horrible improvisation. Let me tell you, there were a few instances of me yelling loud enough to smash all the windows around."

"Oh, my! I sure hope your relationship gets better over time."

"You and me both, sister. Well, I gotta go. I hope we do this again soon."

"Me too. Good night!"

As soon as she left, the Symbiote started talking in Rarity's head. 

"Did you get all that?"

She took out her phone and played back the recording of her conversation with Suri regarding her spy work and relationship with her assistant. 

She whispered, "Every single little detail. I simply can't wait to see the look on her face tomorrow when I show this Miss Hemline!"

"Me neither!"

They both chuckled evilly before Rarity asked for the check, and an older gentlemen with white/gray hair and dark sunglasses brought the bill to her.

"Shame you couldn't get along with that lovely lady. I'd love to read a story where you become friends."

When Rarity gave him a confused look, he raised his hand in innocence. 

"Well, 'nuff said."

He took her payment and promptly went to another table.

"Who was that weirdo?"

"I don't know, but I think trying to find that out would be a huge pain in the head for both of us."

"Agreed."

She swiftly exited the bakery and headed home with great expectations for tomorrow.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Sweetie Belle woke up the next morning and headed downstairs for breakfast, she was met with a most unusual sight. Her own sister was making pancakes without any assistance whatsover early in a Sunday morning. She would've remained there completely speechless for a good long while if Rarity hadn't noticed her arrival and greeted her with enthusiasm.

"Oh, good morning, sis! Did you sleep well last night?"

Sweetie snapped out of it and crossed her arms. 

"Okay, who are you and what did you to my sister Rarity?"

Rarity was taken aback by this question. 

"Whatever do you mean, darling?"

"First of all, you never wake up this early on Sundays. And second, you don't know anything about making pancakes."

"Well, I was so excited for today that I could barely sleep. And since it's a very special day, I thought I'd prepare a special breakfast for us. I recalled a recipe I learned from Pinkie Pie a few months ago and voila! We have pancakes for breakfast! Do you want them with maple syrup or chocolate sauce?"

"Uh, syrup, I guess. But what's so special about today?"

"Why, it's the day I finally get promoted, of course! Miss Hemline really liked the dress I showed her yesterday and she wants me to come to the shop today in order to talk about my new position!"

"Really?! Gosh, I'm so happy for you, Rarity! I'm sure whatever your new job will be, you're gonna be awesome at it."

"Aw, thank you so much, darling! I think you deserve another hug."

Sweetie quickly backed away.

"No hugs! I don't wanna be crushed again!"

Rarity giggled.

"Sure. Then, how about this?"

She stroked Sweetie's hair a bit.

"Yeah, I think that's better. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, let's eat those those delicious pancakes while they're hot."

They sat down the table and started devouring the pancakes one by one. However, the amount of chocolate sauce that Rarity put on her pancakes was about four times larger than the amount of maple syrup that Sweetie put on hers. 

"Wow! You really love chocolate these days, sis."

"Yeah, uh, I went to a doctor the other day and he suggested that eating chocolate was a great way to deal with depression."

"Well, it clearly had a positive effect on you. You're much more energetic than yesterday and no longer going paranoid with any voices in your head. It's awesome."

"If only she knew the half of it."

Rarity replied that with her thoughts.

"It's a good thing that she doesn't!"

"Why? By looking at all these memories, I clearly see that you never kept a secret from each other in your entire lives."

"And how do you suppose she'll react if she finds out I have an alien made out of black ooze inside me and that it's giving me extraordinary strength, reflexes, and healing factor?"

Symbiote stayed silent for a moment before answering.

"Good point."

Rarity turned her attention to Sweetie Belle.

"Listen, I gotta go. I have to be at the shop in about fifteen minutes. You can handle the dishes, right?"

"Sure! No problem at all!"

"Good girl. See you tonight!"

"See ya!"

Rarity was about to exit the house before she came back to tell her one more thing.

"Uh, do you think father would mine if I borrowed his motorcycle for a while?"





A few minutes later, Rarity was riding a sleek black motorcycle through the streets of Canterlot City with countless onlookers greatly admiring her appearance. Despite the wind in her face, she began talking to Symbiote out loud. 

"I can't believe you talked me into this!"

"What? You're scared?"

"Yes, very much!"

"Don't worry! According to your father's teachings, you're doing great!"

"That was ten years ago and I was learning how to ride a bicycle!"

"There isn't much difference between them! Besides, I can help you recollect any memory, no matter how obscure!"

"Thanks, I guess! Can you also tell me why people are looking like me that way?"

"I thought you liked admiration!"

"I do, but I'm wearing the same clothes I wear all the time!"

"Look again!"

She did so and was amazed by the fact that she was wearing the black dress from yesterday without the cape.

"How is this possible?"

"Another ability of mine is shape shifting! I can make you look like anything you want!"

"Really? You're truly amazing!"

"Thanks! So, are you!"

Moved by this statement, she stroked her shoulder and continued to ride towards the store with great enthusiasm.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suri was just finished with reorganizing the store's entire winter collection when she was startled by the significantly loud sound of an engine. When she rushed to check it out, her mind was blown by the sight of Rarity getting off an amazing motorcycle while wearing the spectacular dress. As soon as Rarity entered the store, she rushed towards her with great excitement.

"Oh my gosh, Rarity! I had no idea you owned a sweet ride like that!"  

"Well, it's my father's actually. I just borrowed it for the day."

"Well, whatever the case may be, nobody can deny that you look absolutely smashing! Especially with that equally astounding black dress of yours."

"Oh, stop it, Suri! I was just feeling so excited about my discussion with Hemline that I got completely carried away in making a visually appealing entrance."

"Maybe, but can't say it wasn't a good idea, though."

"Yeah, I guess."

They both giggled for a few seconds before being startled by the sound of Miss Hemline clearing her throat behind them. 

"You two will have plenty of time chatting and gossiping in the afternoon. Right now, though, I need both of you to do as I instructed. Suri, have you finished getting the winter collection in proper shape."

"Yes, ma'am. Exactly the way you wanted me to."

"Good. Then, go get the inventory list and see if there are any missing materials. Rarity, I believe your presence is required in my office. Follow me."

"Of course, ma'am."

Right before she did so, Suri whispered something to her and she whispered back.

"Good luck."

"Don't need it."

After that, Rarity rushed after Miss Hemline towards her office and remained there for at least half an hour. During that time, Suri searched for the sheets of paper containing the store's inventory and checked for any lost items once she retrieve the list. After a careful investigation, she saw that they were missing about half a dozen ribbons and needles. She was about to report this to Hemline when both her and Rarity emerged from the office with disappointed expressions on their faces. 

"Ah, Suri. I was just about to call for you. Would you care to explain all the stunts you pulled two days ago."

The question made Suri extremely nervous.

"Uh, what are talking about? What stunts?"

Then, Rarity held up her phone.

"Perhaps this will jog your memory."

She pushed a few buttons on the phone and soon, all three of them were listening to the entire recorded conversation she had with Suri. As they listened, Rarity's expression turned from disappointed to smug while Suri's turned from nervous to terrified. A few minutes later, the recording ended and Hemline gave Suri a stern look.

"Well, what do you say to all that?"

"Please, I can explain!"

"I'm sure you can, but you'll probably end up telling an outlandish story about how this recording is an altered version of the conversation and that Rarity is trying to manipulate me. However, we all know that Rarity does not posses any technical skills to pull off something like this and more importantly, during all these months of employment under my watch, she never lied to me regarding any subject. I'm sorry, Suri. You used deception and thievery to obtain a job here and you create designs by abusing your assistant. The only logical action for me to take is terminating your employment immediately and giving Rarity the promotion she more than deserves. Good day."

She promptly went back to her office, leaving Suri completely speechless. After a few seconds, she fell down to the floor and started sobbing violently. A while later, she felt a presence on her left and looked up to see Rarity with an evil grin on her face. 

"How could you do this to me?! I thought we were friends!"

"Sorry darling, but you should've thought carefully before stealing my design and ruining my day."

She came closer to Suri and whispered something to her ear.

"I know this doesn't change anything, but that spectacular window display wasn't even my idea. It was designed by the street artist Flanksy."

Suri backed away in utter shock when she heard that.

"You know Flanksy?"

"Sure, I do. In fact, she's one of my best friends."

"Please, tell me where to find her. She could be the only person who can give me inspiration right now."

"Yes, she could and I'd be more than happy to give that information to a friend. Oops, I forgot. We're not friends, unfortunately."

"I beg of you, Rarity! Don't do this to me!'

"Well, this has been a lovely conversation, but I've got places to be at this moment. Good luck on your next job. If you can find one, that is."

She turned to leave and as she walked towards the exit, the Symbiote emerged from her shoulder and turned to Suri, who gasped in horror.

"If it were up to me, we would have ripped your entire head off."

This left her frozen with fear as he transformed into a hand and fist-bumped with Rarity while they were exiting the store. 





"You did what?!"

"I can't believe this!"

"Did you really say that to her?"

"How could you be so cruel?!"

"I don't know whether I'm confused or terrified by this!"

"Is this the opposite day?"

"ENOUGH!"

Rarity slammed her fist against the table in pure frustration. She had met her friends in the carhop that Pinkie Pie works at and was telling them about what happened between her and Suri. Needless to say, they were not happy about the results.

"Seriously, girls, you're missing the point here. That cowardly blowhard resorted to stealing my intellectual property instead of asking nicely for ideas and caused me to be extremely depressed for the rest of a beautiful Friday. What I did today was nothing more than giving her a taste of brutal justice."

"Okay, first of all, you gave her a taste of cold-served revenge. Second, you used a fake friendship to get what you want and didn't care how much you hurt her."

"Sunset's right. Poor thing must be suffering terribly right now."

"Oh, please, Fluttershy! You're not thinking about going there and comforting her with your cute animals, are you?"

"Um, actually, that's exactly what I was thinking."

"Go ahead, then. I'll catch up with you in about fifty thousand years from now."

She took a few sips from her chocolate milkshake.

"Alright, would you please cut the egotistical jerk act now?"

She accidentally spit some of the milkshake towards Twilight and Sunset, and gave Rainbow a furious look for saying that.

"Oh, YOU'RE one to talk, Rainbow Myriam Dash! I can't believe the one person who cautions me about egoism is the same one who wrote a song about how phenomenally awesome she is! What was that called, again? Oh, yes. 'AWESOME AS I WANNA BE'!"

Rainbow was extremely shocked by that statement and thought Rarity was going to punch her in the face if Pinkie hadn't held her back.

"Whoa, Rarity, chillax! Would you like a new milkshake? I'll get it ready for you in a jiffy."

"Don't you dare change the subject, Miss Pie! Besides, the milkshakes here are complete disappointments! I think I'd rather go buy one from Sugarcube Corner. Give me a call when you girls finally get back to reality. Until then, good day!" 

She promptly exited the restaurant and left her friends with confused looks on their faces. 

"Uh, did an alien switch places with Rarity last night?"

"I don't know, Dashie. But one thing's for sure. NO ONE IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE CAN INSULT MY MILKSHAKES LIKE THAT AND GET AWAY WITH IT!"

That yell so powerful that it shook the entire block to its core.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Rarity left the carhop and got back on the bike, she started riding through the streets like a rage-filled maniac. Since she was passing by people extremely fast, she had the luxury of talking to the Symbiote out loud.

"Wow! Are you sure those were your real friends?"

"I'm just as confused as you are! They should be happy that I got the promotion and exposed Suri for the crimes she committed against me. Instead, they're all talking nonsense about how I should've been more 'merciful' and how miserable I made her. Well, what about my misery? Did Suri gave a second thought about the pain she was about to bring me when she broke my instrument and stole my fabulous creation? No, she didn't! So, why should I care about her feelings, anyway? She got exactly what she deserved and that's final! Anyone who can't understand that is as half-witted as she is!"

"I wholeheartedly agree. You just wanted justice for her villainy towards you and there is nothing wrong with that. Who cares about how you set things right? You got what was taken from you and that's all that matters."

"Thanks, darling. You're the only one who gets me these days."

"Hey, I'm just trying to be helpful, like I promised. You think I'm doing my job too good?"

"Well, maybe just a tiny smidge."

They both chuckled. 

"So, what do we do for the rest of the day?"

"I don't know. Wanna head back home?"

"And what will we be doing once we get there?"

"Well, I do have a science exam tomorrow and maybe-"

"SCREW THAT! I already have a plan that will get you a solid A plus." 

"You do? What is it?"

"Just trust in me."

"Okay. I guess. So, what do you want to do?"

"How about I give you a full display of our entire ability set? You may have seen some of them, but it's time to show you what we're truly capable of."

"Oh, that sounds fun! Let's get going then!"

She rode the bike even faster and thus, arrived home in only a couple of minutes. Once she got back, she immediately went to her room and closed the door. 

"Okay, what do we do first?"

"Let's start with shape-shifting. Just think of an outfit you created or wore in the past and I'll take care of the rest."

She began jogging her memory and remembered the dress she wore for the Fall Formal. 

"Now, take a look at yourself in the mirror to your left."

She did so and immediately started cheering when she saw that she was wearing the outfit she thought about.

"This is incredible! Let's do a challenge round!"

"YOU'RE ON!"





For the next hour or so, Rarity thought of every single dress she had ever designed and the Symbiote continuously changed her appearance as the images appeared in her head. When those ran out, she thought about designs that she was still developing and they too appeared on her. After a while, though, both of them became exhausted and moved on to a different kind of shape-shifting. She pointed her arm towards an object and a black tentacle came out of her hand, grabbing the object. This part was a bit frightening for her at first, but as they continued practicing, it started to grow on her. In fact, at one point during practice, her hand became a huge black fist and she became amazed rather than being frightened. 

Later, they went outside and began testing their speed and strength. For the speed challenge, the Symbiote asked Rarity to run across the five mile wide park and she did that in ten seconds flat. Then, she had to uproot two maple trees and carry them with each each of her hands and she did that with minimal effort. 

Finally, he asked her to reach the top of her house with a tentacle and jump from the roof with her arms spread out. She did so reluctantly, but was shocked beyond belief when a dark wing-suit appeared on the arms and she started flying like a giant bat. 

As she silently soared through the city, she was feeling an infinite amount of joy and excitement, ready for anything the world might throw at her and willing to face any challenge with her new best friend.
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, all students were back in Canterlot High. The classes were about to start in 10 minutes and everyone was nervous about the science exam they were going to take that day. Rarity's friends, meanwhile, were more worried about her well-being than they were about the exam. They were all gathered around her locker waiting for her while discussing her recent behavior. 

"Y'all got any luck findin' her?"

"Nope", Twilight replied. "All the calls go straight to voicemail and not a single respond to any of the messages."

Fluttershy asked, "Do you think we were a little harsh on her yesterday? I mean, she did get the promotion she deserved the other day and maybe we should've supported her instead of criticizing her."

"Maybe", Sunset suggested. "But, the way she went about it was wrong and we had to tell her that."

Rainbow inquired, "I know, but she was pretty mad when we asked her to be less egoistic. What if we somehow made it worse?"

"It's not worse. It's WAY worse! Look!"

Everyone looked at where Pinkie was pointing towards and what they saw caused them all to leave their mouths hanging wide open.

It was the human version of Punk Rock Rarity from "It Isn't the Mane Thing About You". As she walked through the hallway towards the girls, everyone around her gasped with shock and admiration. After giving a few poses to the crowd surrounding her, she reunited with her friends and gave them a warm smile.

"Hello, darlings. Ready for the exam? I know I am."

"Uh, Rarity, what's with the fancy new look? Are ya sure Principal Celestia will let you walk around the campus lookin' like this?"

"Why, I was just heading out of her office to ask about it, Applejack. She not only approved it, but she also said it was simply magnificent to look at. Wouldn't you agree?"

Before Applejack could answer that, Rainbow swooped in. 

"Are you kidding? You look amazing! Now, I wanna look just like you. You can come up with something for that, right?"

"Well, of course, Rainbow Dash! I'm terribly sorry I said all those cruel things to you, by the way. I really should've been more careful with my word choices."

"Oh, it's okay. I could use a few lessons on choosing the right words for too, actually."

They both chuckled.

"Well, then, who’s ready to get an A plus on the exam besides me? Oh, and also you Twilight."

"Uh, are you sure you're prepared for it, Rarity? You don't look like you've studied enough during the weekend."

Rarity then stopped smiling and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And so what, Miss Sparkle? Do you honestly believe that someone who looks this fabulous won't possibly get a perfect score in science?"

"No, I didn't mean that! It's just the fact that you focused more on improving your looks rather than increasing your knowledge can cause a huge problem for you during the exam."

Rarity gave her a weird look. 

"Really, now? Well, I simply can't wait to see the look on your unremarkable little face when I get a score equal to, if not better than, yours. Now, if you girls will excuse me, I need to fetch a few things from my locker."

They let her pass and she continued walking though the hallway as soon as she grabbed a few books from her locker.

"I wouldn't call that worse", remarked Sunset. "Just unchanged."





Rarity was just about to enter her class when she began talking to the Symbiote with whispering.

"Okay, let's go over this one more time."

"Put the textbook in your backpack, place the backpack under your chair, and leave it open."

"And you're sure this will get me a score high enough to make up for my failure in English?"

"Honestly, Rarity, when have I ever led you down the wrong path?"

She briefly thought about it before answering.

"Alright, let's do this!"

She entered the classroom and followed his instructions before Miss Cheerilee handed out the exam papers. Once Rarity took a good look at her paper, she couldn't remember the answers of even the shortest questions and thus, she panicked a bit. However, as exam went on, the solutions kept coming to her mind and by the time the exam was over, she was able to answer every single question. 

About ten minutes after the exam's end, Cheerilee re-distributed the papers and Rarity let out a ear-piercing scream when she saw her score. Just as the Symbiote had promised, it was an A plus and just as she had hoped, Twilight couldn't believe her eyes that Rarity managed to receive a score equal to hers without studying at all. She was given a smug look by Rarity, who promptly headed for the next class with great enthusiasm and communicated with the Symbiote through whispering.

"Did you HAVE to cheer that loud? A simple 'thank you' would be enough!"

"Oops, sorry about that. I simply can't thank you enough for this, darling. I don't know what amazing feat you pulled off this time, but I certainly see that it was worth it. Actually, what DID you do, anyway?"

"Remember the instructions I gave you before the test? While you were reading the questions, I secretly came out of your ankle and sneaked into your backpack in order to search the textbook for answers. I'll admit, the book's contents were undoubtedly boring, but I can assure that nobody saw a single molecule of me and I successfully sent the solutions to your head."

Rarity was a bit disgusted by this revelation, but managed to get over it as the rest of her classes went on.





As soon as the school day ended, Rarity headed towards Miss Hemline's shop, eager to start her new job. From now on, she was to be Hemline's personal assistant in every business deal that she made and furthermore, the shop's substitute manager whenever Hemline was unavailable. 

She was just about to reach the store, when suddenly she heard a woman's scream coming from a nearby alleyway. She rushed there to investigate and saw her friend Sweetie Drops cornered by three muggers with knives and baseball bats. They seemed to be after her purse and she looked really scared. Rarity became appalled by this sight and prepared to throw a diamond towards the muggers before the Symbiote came out of her shoulder,

"Where's the fun in that? Let's use our new abilities, instead."

"Hmmm, not a bad idea." 

She made the diamond disappear and shouted behind the muggers.

"Stop right there! Why don't you cowards pick on someone your own size!"

They turned around and laughed really hard when they saw her. 

"You heard the lady, boys. If she wants some of this too, then how about we indulge her."

They nodded in agreement, but before the nearest thug could strike her with a bat, she grabbed it with a tentacle and swung it towards the rest of them. Before he could understand what was going on, she got a hold of his head with another tentacle and slammed it against a wall, making him writhe in pain. Then, one of the remaining thugs got back up and tried to attack Rarity with a knife before she dodged every single strike and kicked him towards a nearby trashcan. The last thug pulled out a gun; but Rarity grabbed it with a tentacle, crushed it with her bare hands and punched the thug with a giant black hand. Finally, the Symbiote came out of her face and gave them a roar so vicious that they all screamed in terror and ran away without looking behind. 

With the threat neutralized, the Symbiote went back into Rarity's body and she helped Sweetie Drops get back up.

"Are you hurt, darling?"

"A little, but it's nothing, really. My gosh, Rarity, you were amazing! How did you manage to do all that?"

"It's quite a long story. What did these ruffians want from you, anyway?"

"These 'ruffians' are working for Wilson Fisk, the biggest industrialist/gangster in the city. I was supposed to cover his visit to the Red Spider Casino tonight for a local newspaper, but he obviously didn't like my curiosity and sent these goons after me to teach me a lesson."

"I see. Go home immediately and tell no one about what happened here. I'll have a talk with this Mr. Fisk!"

"Good luck, then. You'll need it."

As she ran away, the Symbiote came out.

"Looks like we have a casino to crash tonight."

"But I'm not old enough to enter or drink."

"Will you seriously let that stop you?"

"Of course not! Red Spider, here we come!"
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later, Rarity was standing right in front of the glamorous Red Spider Casino, wearing her signature black dress and cape. She was the next in a line that stretched for nearly two city blocks. It was unlikely that the bodyguards (who somehow resembled Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction) would let her inside the building, but she had no doubt that the Symbiote would watch her back if there was any trouble. Both of them were really hoping that there would be trouble. 

With that in mind, she confidently approached the bodyguards. However, they immediately stood in her way. 

"Hold on a minute, Miss. You don't look old enough to enter this place. May we ask what are you doing here?", asked the John Travolta lookalike. 

"Certainly, gents", Rarity answered. "I came here to have a conversation with Mr. Fisk on a very sensitive matter. It's really important that I see him immediately."

The bodyguards looked at each other with confusion before the Sam Jackson lookalike turned to Rarity.

"You must be confused, Miss. Mr. Fisk isn't expecting any personal meetings tonight and even if he did, the person he would be meeting wouldn't be as young as you. We need to ask you to leave and go home."

"Really? Then, tell him that I simply refuse to leave until he comes here and gives me some straight answers regarding his business with a friend of mine."

The guards reached for their belts and revealed their gun holsters.

"Final warning, lady", said Travolta.

"Don't make us do something uncivilized", added Jackson.

Rarity was just about to unleash the Symbiote's power on them until someone called out behind her.

"Ah, you're finally here!"

When Rarity turned towards the voice's direction, she saw a huge bald man with a white suit smiling to her. She was so intimidated by his appearance that almost squealed.

"Relax, gentlemen. I was expecting her all evening."

The guards looked at each other again before letting go of their gun holsters. Then, the gigantic man extended his hand towards Rarity.

"I believe we haven't been formally introduced. My name is Wilson Grant Fisk, the CEO of Fisk Industries. And you are..."

Rarity nervously shook his hand. 

"Uh, I'm Rarity. I... I've been really looking forward to meeting you in person, sir."

"The feeling's mutual, Miss Rarity."

"It is? How do you know about me?"

"Well, let's just say some of my people had a peculiar encounter with you recently. The way they described your appearance and actions were quite intriguing."

"Oh. Yes, about that-"

"Perhaps it would be best if we talked in a much more private place. If you would please follow me."

"Oh, of course. By all means, lead the way."

"Hmmm, I already like you."

She followed her towards the building and as they entered, they were greeted by a shimmering view. 





The casino was, indeed, a sight to behold. Its walls and floors were the color of gold and there were so many people gambling, drinking, or drinking that one might assume that he/she had stumbled upon some sort of paradise. 

Upon seeing all of this, all Rarity wanted to was explore the entire floor, meet all these fascinating people, and maybe make a few bets. However, his friend snapped her out of it just in time, 

"Remember what we're here to do."

Rarity let out a sigh and responded with her thoughts.

"You're right. Focus on the job, have fun later."

"Hey, I didn't say we can't have fun. In fact, we'll surely have some with this behemoth and his goons."

"Only as a last resort. Even then, we have to make sure these people don't get hurt during the fight."

"Don't worry. By the time we're done with these brutes, no one will have a clue about our presence here tonight."

"I sure hope so."

She continued following Fisk through the casino floor until they reached a fairly large room that contained a desk, a billards table with balls and cue sticks, and four armed guards. Fisk promptly sat on a leather chair near the desk and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

"Please take a seat, Miss Rarity."

She sat on the chair opposite to the one Fisk was sitting. 

"So, let's talk about how you dispatched my men so easily and why."

"Uh, it's kind of a long story, actually."

"No need to worry. I have plenty of time. Besides, it does sound like a very interesting one."

"Well, let's just say I recently gained a extraordinary friend who, in exchange for helping him find a chemical he needs to survive, gave me amazing abilities."

"Hmmm, I see. Is there any chance I can meet this 'extraordinary friend'?

"Oh, I don't think you'd like that. His appearance is a bit, uh, disturbing."

"Disturbing? Do you really believe that I can't handle something disturbing, Miss?"

"I, uh, don't actually know a lot about you, actually. So..."

She laughed nervously while Fisk took a sip from his glass of whiskey.

"So, you came to meet me without knowing almost nothing about me. That's a bit sad and insulting, if you ask me. Normally, these kinds of people are punished with a good beating by me. However, I think I can make an exception for a gifted young girl like you. As for whether or not I can handle disturbing things, I once knew a man who brutally abused his wife with physical violence, and made his son both stare at a white wall and listen to his mother's screams. One day, the boy couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed a hammer and repeatedly hit his father's head with it repeatedly until the father's skull crushed. Afterwards, the mother comforted his son and in order to hide the body, they cut it up and threw the pieces to a nearby river. So, what do you say, Miss Rarity? Still think that I can't handle disturbing?" 

Rarity was at a lost for words after hearing this story and was even more intimidated by him. She could only pull herself together after about fifteen seconds.

"Oh my goodness! That was a truly intense story. How do you know all this?"

"I was about to pay them a visit and witnessed the whole ordeal through a window. After it was over, I helped with the mother and the child clean up the mess."

"Was the father your friend?"

"A long time ago, yes. He was an inspiring figure in my life and I looked up to him like a mentor. However, once he started treating his wife and kid like that, I began to despise him. A part of me is glad that his son gave him what he deserved that night."

"Oh, my! And what happened to the boy?"

"No one knows. Some people think that he went to live with his relatives on a farm outside the city. Others believe that he travelled to Asia and became a powerful criminal by establishing relationships with a special kind of Yakuza. Either way, finding him is next to impossible right now."

"Really? That's kind of sad. I would've liked to meet him and maybe help him in any way I could."

"Even if you could. Miss Rarity, I don't think he would've needed your help. That kid was scarred for life and the only way he could feel complete again was spending some time alone and finding an opportunity to release his sorrow."

Rarity began to think about what he said before her thoughts were rudely interrupted by the Symbiote.

"I can't take much more of this irritatingly sappy story! Just cut a deal with the guy and get us out of here pronto!"

She realized he was right and turned her attention to Fisk.

"Well, Mr. Fisk, the story you told was quite amazing and I now know that you can definitely handle something as disturbing-looking as my new friend. However, before I can arrange a meeting with him, you have to promise me that you will stop going after my friend Sweetie Drops and harassing her in any way. Do we have a deal?"

"You mean the newspaper reporter who decided to snoop around one of my factories and saw more than I expected her to see? I'm afraid that can't be arranged. Unless she decides not to publish the information she gathered, which we both know is highly unlikely, she remains a loose end. Leaving loose ends like her untied is always bad for business. I'm sure someone like you can understand that."

Rarity raised an eyebrow and stood up.

"No, I honestly don't. So sorry it had to be this way, Mr. Fisk, but I refuse to make any deals with you until my friend is left alone. This is my final answer. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Although she turned to leave, Fisk snapped his fingers and the guards in the room circled around Rarity, holding her at gunpoint. 

"Then, I regret to inform you that you just became a loose end yourself, Miss Rarity. A shame really. You and your friend could've eliminated all my competitors in a single week. But, as sad as it is, I have to do whatever it takes to protect my business. Any last words?"

Rarity thought really hard about finding a solution to this predicament before coming to a realization and contacting the Symbiote with her thoughts.

"Let's do that trick you wanted to do so badly."

"Are you sure? We didn't even practice that properly."

"Trust me, it's going to work. Wait for my signal."

She turned her attention to Fisk.

"I can see only one loose end that needs to be tied up, Fisk, and that's you!"

Just then, four tentacles came out of her body and pushed the guards against the walls extremely hard, knocking them unconscious. Fisk, meanwhile, was only mildly fazed by this.

"Impressive. Now, let's see if you can handle this."

He took out a remote from his pocket and as soon as he pressed a button on it, the billards table is split in two and an advanced rocket launcher came out of the floor. It immediately fired a missile at Rarity, but she dodged it at the last second, grabbed the missile with a tentacle from her arm, and threw it towards the launcher, destroying it. At that moment, Fisk got up and walked towards Rarity while clenching his fists.

"Alright, this is now starting to get tiresome."

"If you're tired, mister, then the solution is simple. Give up and leave my friend alone."

"Do not insult me, girl. I became one of the biggest names in this city by never denying a single challenge. I have no intention to make an exception for you."

"Good, because we don't want to make an exception for behemoth like you either."

Right after that, he threw a barrage of heavy punches at her, but she avoided every single one of them. Then, she hit his face  with the chair (in which the chair is destroyed and he is only slightly dazed) and managed to get him down with a kick to the knee, but when she tried to punch him, he blocked her attack and threw her to a nearby wall by grabbing her head. Afterwards, she avoided Fisk's stomp by jumping in front of the desk and barely avoided another attack when he accidentally crushed the desk with his fists. 

"Very cowardly for someone so bold and powerful like you to run away from pain like that!"

"Really? Well, I think it's even more cowardly to try to assassinate a girl to protect a criminal empire!"

"My 'criminal empire' is what's been keeping the order in this city since you were going to preschool! If I'm put behind bars, everything will collapse and chaos will reign supreme!"

"The lesser of two evils is still evil!"

Fisk came at her with such ferocity that Rarity was grabbed before she could react. In a few seconds, he began crushing her with a bear hug. As she desperately struggled to get herself free, a malicious grin appeared on Fisk's face. Before he could finish her off, however, the Symbiote came out of her neck and sunk its razor sharp teeth into Fisk's neck, causing him to release Rarity and back away in agony. As she recovered from the torture, she warmly smiled to the Symbiote.

"Thank you so much, darling."

"You're welcome, but it's not time to rest yet."

"You're right. It's time to bring him down once and for all!"

"And I've got the perfect tools for that!"

As soon as he went back inside her, Rarity's hands turned into enormous dark claws. Though she was a bit surprised at this, she decided not to question it and instead focus on the fight, Despite his injury, Fisk was still as ferocious as ever and once again tried to attack Rarity with punches. She, meanwhile, proceeded to both dodge these attacks and slash his arms and legs with her claws at the same time. A minute later Fisk was completely on his knees and his whole attire was turned red from all the blood coming out of her injuries. Once Rarity stopped panting, she inflicted on more injury on Fisk by slashing his face and blinding him in one eye. As he screamed in agony and rage, huge amounts of blood poured from the cuts.

"WHAT KIND OF A MONSTER ARE YOU?!"

"We are not monsters. We're simply a dynamic duo that managed to accomplish what everyone failed to do since you came to power: We made you vulnerable. When Sweetie Drops publishes the information regarding your criminal activities, that eye will certainly not be the only thing you'll be missing."

"Misguided fools! Without me keeping my competitors in check, not a single ounce of order will be left in this city!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. In my opinion, once everyone learns about what happened here and how badly you were beaten by us, your rivals won't have a drop of courage left in them to resume their activities at night. If they do, we will go after all of them and treat them exactly how we treated you. Rest assured, eventually, every single one of them will taste our venom. Good night."

Then, her blood-soaked clothes changed into a black-leather outfit and turned to leave while the kingpin of the city shouted behind her.

"ONE MONTH! ONE MONTH AND YOU WISH YOU HAD ME BACK! YOU HEAR ME!"

Neither Rarity nor the Symbiote paid attention to the screams as they promptly exited the building.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few weeks went fairly well for Rarity. Nothing extraordinary happened, but she received a good amount of participation points in her classes. Of course, whenever she had trouble remembering a topic, the Symbiote secretly ducked inside her backpack, flipped the pages of her textbooks, sent the information to her brain. 

Even though they have only been together for a week, Rarity had completely gotten used to the Symbiote's unusual appearance and methods; and he, in turn, had managed to adjust to both her fashion sense and obsession with details. They did disagree on a few topics here and there but overall, they treated each other with respect, understanding, and kindness. She was still sticking to a chocolate-based diet to sustain him and he continued to give her regeneration to prevent stomach ache. Also, the Symbiote's stories about the adventures he had in outer space provided Rarity with plenty of inspiration for new designs while her preference of colors helped him appreciate something other than black whenever he changed her clothes.

On top of that, their relationship had a dramatic impact on their respective characteristics. Rarity had become much more confident and ferocious, while the Symbiote had adopted better manners and anger management. It was as if their personalities had slightly reversed. However, they certainly didn't let this get in the way of their friendship and instead, enjoyed each other's company very much. They had truly become an inseparable couple and, despite the fact that the Symbiote had already upheld his end of their bargain by restoring Rarity's happiness, neither of them wanted to part ways with one another.

Despite all these seemingly positive developments, however, both of them were a bit uneasy in the last couple of days. They had this nagging feeling that someone was watching them and their nervousness was coupled by the fact that they hadn't seen any of the girls during both school and after school. Rarity's worst fear was that her friends were secretly plotting something that could break the bond between her and the Symbiote, who was getting prepared to do everything in his power to protect both Rarity and the bond she shared with him. Needless to say, both of them were afraid of what's to come. 





It was Friday again, exactly one week after the Symbiote first arrived to Earth and bonded with Rarity. Another great day of school had just ended and the pair were on their way to Miss Hemline's store. Their overall mood that day was basically a mixed bag. While they were cheerful about nailing another test, the fact that they couldn't see a single one of the girls were causing them to get really irritated. They had begun to think that the girls either did find about the Symbiote's existence and were secretly observing Rarity to find his weakness and destroy it or that they all caught a sickness that Rarity managed to avoid thanks to her regeneration ability.

With those thoughts in mind, they made their way towards the store. However, when they were just about to enter it, something unbelievable caught their attention. Just a few feet away from the store, their old friend Suri Polomare was showing off her new line of clothing to a small crowd of people. What surprised them the most wasn't the fact that there were people interested in her designs, but rather the fact that she actually managed to come up with interesting designs on her own. 

Becoming suspicious of this, they decided to investigate and joined the crowd of people. It wasn't long before Suri recognized Rarity and a frustrated expression appeared on her face,

"Well, well, well! Look who's here! The queen of backstabbers! If you're here to get a sample for inspiration, the answer is absolutely no! I simply refuse to deal with such duplicitous people like you."

"Oh, will you please spare me the drama? First of all, you got exactly what you deserved from the beginning. Secondly, how in the world did you manage to find the inspiration for these outfits, anyway?"

"Why should I tell you? After all, you have a fairly adequate sense of fashion. I think you can figure it out yourself."

Rarity did as she instructed and once she took a good look at the designs, she realized why they looked a bit familiar and a horrible thought crossed her mind.

"Don't tell me! You actually found Flanksy and forced her to create designs for you?!"

"Found? Forced? Pfft, don't make me laugh! She came to me by herself and offered me a few ideas I could use for future projects. I REALLY have to thank her for that. I mean, she practically saved my life with this gesture."

Rarity was taken aback by that statement.

"Uh, could you please describe her appearance? Just so I know that we're talking about the same person."

"Sure, whatever. She had a brilliant amaranth hair with light apple green stripes, cyan eyes, light amber skin, and was wearing a black-leather jacket, a dark cap, an orange jacket with a yellow-red sun at the center, and a purple skirt. Does that sound like the person you were talking about?"

Rarity was left completely speechless by the time Suri was finished with this description.

"You... You said she came to you herself and... and gave you advice about new designs??"

"Yep, exactly what happened. She said she was sorry about how you treated me and that she wanted to make up for it a little bit. You know, for such a deceptive diva, you have awfully nice friends."

As soon as she finished that sentence, Rarity broke off from the crowd and started running with great ferocity. In fact, she was running so fast that she failed to notice a hooded figure watching her from a distance with binoculars. The instant she went out of sight, the figure put away the binoculars and began talking to a walkie-talkie.

"Red alert, people! She's headed for the house at full speed! We need everyone, I repeat, EVERYONE for containment! Remember to bring all your instruments. I'll meet you there as soon as possible. TS, over and out."
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took Rarity only a minute to run the distance between Suri's exhibition and Sunset's house (which was half a mile long). Once she arrived, instead of ringing the bell, she immediately started to viciously bang on the front door.

"SUNSET SHIMMER! Come out here right this instant! I know all about your despicable betrayal! Open the door and face the consequences of your villainy!"

After about twenty seconds of banging, she got impatient and broke down the door with a single kick instead. When she noticed that there was no light inside, however, she decided to move with  caution. She sneaked around the house for a few minutes in order to find both Sunset and a button for turning on the light, but managed to find neither. 

However, when she was just about to give up and exit the house, she was blinded by the sudden coming of lights. Also, before she could regain her vision, she was assaulted by a series of extremely loud electric guitar melodies. Even though she was doing her best to cover her ears and block the sonic attack, it was simply too much for her to handle. The Symbiote's condition, meanwhile, was way worse as the frequency of the sound waves was getting dangerously close to the frequency that would be lethal for him and he was already beginning to be forced out of Rarity's body with agony.

About fifteen seconds of sonic assault later, Rarity finally managed to take a good look at the attackers and as soon as she did, her expression changed from fearful to extremely furious. Therefore, she grabbed a nearby dinner table and threw it towards them without a second thought. Although they barely managed to get out of the way (thanks to a certain someone's super speed), their guitars were crushed under the table's weight, ending the attack. Then, she immediately turned to the Symbiote who was immensely dazed by the experience.

"Goodness, darling! Are you alright?"

"I... I think so. Just need a few minutes to pull myself back together, though."

"Don't worry. Just keep doing that while I handle this, okay?"

"You got it."

Rarity stroked his head a bit before turning her attention towards the assaulters who were none other than Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash. Needless to say, both of them were pretty intimidated by both the Symbiote's appearance and the look that Rarity gave them.

"You girls have officially lost your darn minds!"

"Uh, us? You're the one sharing your body with an oozy alien who controls your every move."

"Rainbow's right, Rarity. We were just trying to save you from that creature."

"Control? Save me? You're even more insane than I thought! He's definitely not a dangerous beast. In fact, he's the best friend I ever had for a long while!"

Just then, Twilight entered the house and began to pant heavily once she reached the scene.

"Sorry... Traffic was killer... Had to run... half the distance... Did you... manage to contain it?"

However, once she took a good look at the environment, she realized what was happening.

"Oh. Guess not."

"YOU! You came up with this diabolical scheme just because my test scores were starting to compete with yours?!"

"What? No, I-"

"And you, Sunset! I can't believe you actually sympathized with the very person who single-handedly turned my life upside down and interfered with the justice I delivered!"

"How many times do I have to say this? Yes, what she did to you was definitely wrong, but you had no right to treat her like that."

"No right? She needed to suffer the exact way that I suffered! I simply gave her a taste of her own medicine. So, I see nothing wrong with that."

"That's because that alien is making you think it's okay to be brutal like that. Don't you see, Rarity? It's taking over your head and turning you into something you're not!" 

"Sunset's right. We all observed your unusual behavior throughout the week. All you eat in the cafeteria is chocolate pudding and brownies, nearly every piece of clothing you wear is black leather, you yell at anyone who says something or acts in a way that contrasts with your liking, and you always get dizzy when you're close to a ringing school bell. We thought about asking you to stop doing all that, but your behavior made us realize that you would never listen to us and instead follow the creature's instructions. Its presence in your body is making an immensely negative impact on your mind, and we have to remove and contain it as soon as possible."

"Oh, so by just spying on me, you think you've got it all figured out, huh? Well, you don't! This Symbiote was the only one who truly understood my suffering, as well as the only one who was willing to go out of his way to assist me in any sort of problem I faced. He's more than earned the right to be called my dear friend and I absolutely refuse to part ways with him any time soon."

"Rarity, come on! You know we're just trying to help you. Don't tell me you're just gonna throw our friendship to the dump like that. " 

"Pfft! Let's not kid ourselves, Rainbow Dash. If you were truly my friends and cared about me, then you would've done everything in your power to ease my pain and ensure that the person who hurt me could never get the chance to do the same thing to another. But, you didn't! Thanks to the Symbiote; I ended Suri's reign of terror, rescued Sweetie Drops from certain doom, and nearly eradicated all crime in the city. Now, you seek to destroy everything we worked for just because he influences me to act different from what you consider normal. Well, breaking news, I love both him and my new self! He put my broken pieces back together and gave me the confidence I needed to stand up to those who were cruel to me. I am forever grateful for his efforts and I want him to never leave my side. Simply put, I wish to make our bond a permanent one!"

While the girls gasped in both shock, the Symbiote turned towards her with great excitement. 

"And I know the perfect way to do just that! Once we achieve full symbiosis, we shall become parts of something truly magnificent and will never be apart from each other. All you have to do is say yes, Rarity, and I'll be with you forever. So, what are you waiting for? Bond with us mind, body, and soul!"

Despite the protests of the girls, Rarity closed her eyes to think about it. Before she opened them a moment later, a determined smile appeared on her face.

"Let's do it."

"YES! FINALLY!"

Just then, his head grew immensely large and promptly swallowed Rarity whole. Once she was completely inside the head, it started to contort and wrap around her body, change its appearance dramatically. As the girls watched the transformation with pure horror on their faces; Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy finally arrived (with Pinkie carrying AJ's bass and AJ carrying Pinkie's drums) and all three of them also gasped in horror at the sight of this scene. 

About ten seconds later, the change was finally complete and the result was the stuff of nightmares. While It looked like a bulkier version of Rarity, but its skin was made out of black ooze, stood at least two feet taller than the girls, had razor sharp claws for hands, its face was exactly that of the Symbiote, and had an unbelievably large tongue.

Upon awakening, the being took notice of its appearance and began laughing maniacally. Its voice was a mixture between those of Rarity and the Symbiote. Meanwhile, the girls were still staring at it with confusion and fear.

"What in tarnation is that supposed to be?! Where the hay is Rarity?!"

The being stopped laughing, turned its attention towards them, and a sadistic grin crossed its face. 

"We are neither Rarity nor Symbiote. From this day forth, we are something more than both. We are poison to all who wronged us. WE. ARE. VENOM!!!!! 
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as the newly born entity known as "Venom" made that declaration, it jumped through the roof of the house and began gliding through the city with a new set of giant wings that it recently sprouted. Whenever it came really close to the ground, however, it attached one of his extending tentacles to a rooftop to pull itself upward and continue gliding from the new altitude.

Meanwhile, the girls were still in shock from seeing everything that occurred in span of only a couple of minutes. All of their mouths were left hanging open as they were trying to comprehend what just happened to Rarity. Unsurprisingly, Rainbow Dash was the first one to eventually snap out of it. 

"Come on, guys! We gotta go after that thing and get Rarity back!"

"And how exactly are we gonna save her? In case you don't remember, she just obliterated our guitars with a two hundred pound dinner table."

"That may be true, Sunset, but let's not forget that AJ's bass is still intact. And I think we all know that Pinkie can singlehandedly conjure up a drum solo so loud that the alien jerk will have no choice but to let Rarity go and crawl back to its stinking lair!"

"YOU BET! Let's make that parasite pay for his crimes!"

"Then what the hay are we waitin' for? Time's a-wastin'!"

Fluttershy gave an almost quiet "Yay!" while Twilight and Sunset gave each other worried looks and whispers. 

"You're still sure that loud music is the best way to beat that thing?"

"So far, yes. However, I still haven't figured out the right frequency or if it has any other weaknesses. If I can just get a sample of its skin and analyze it, I may come up with more concrete solutions to our problem."

"Well, looks like tonight, you'll get your shot."

"Yeah, if we can survive the night, that is."

"Right..."

Afterwards, they all stepped outside to track down Venom with Rainbow heading out first. Fortunately, Twilight secretly placed on her jacket a tracking device.





Suri's auction was just finished and she was busy boxing up the ensembles that had not yet been sold. She was pretty satisfied with her performance as she was able to sell fifteen out of twenty dresses that she managed to make last night. She simply could not wait to see the look on Rarity's face when she broke the news to her. 

It was when the clean-up was just about done when she suddenly heard a whoosh right above her. She looked up to see what it was, but failed. Then, she heard the same sound right behind her, but once again, couldn't see what caused it. She was now beginning to be creeped out and began to slowly back away with shaking legs. 

She only managed to take a few steps backwards when she bumped into something that felt soft and oozy. She turned around to see what it was and was instantly horrified at the sight of Venom. Though she tried to run away, Venom grabbed her with a tentacle and pulled her right in front of its face. 

"Now, now, Miss Polomare! Don't you think it's very rude to leave without saying hello to your old friends? After all, we came all the way here to see you and we're not leaving without a little snack."

Suri recognized one of the voices.

"Rarity? Is that you? What happened to you?"

"Oh, NOW you show a little concern! Where was this when you gave Rarity so much misery that she could only utter a handful of words before bursting into tears?! We thought your evil was dealt with, but it seems there are those who are somehow sympathetic to a criminal like you. Well, we'd certainly love to see just how sympathetic they'll be to your armless, legless, and brainless version."

"What? What are you saying?!"

"You know exactly what we mean. Evil people like you cannot be allowed to live. Besides, we're starving to death and your brain, while not as big and juicy as we usually like, will provide us with a decent supper. We'll also be taking your limbs for the road, if you don't mind."

"Wha- WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU?!"

It uncovered half of its face to reveal Rarity.

"WE are Venom."

When its face was fully covered once again, Venom ignored Suri's screams and took a huge bite out her head, spraying blood everywhere. As it continued to eat her brain with great enthusiasm, Rainbow arrived and vomited as soon as she saw what was going on. When the others arrived, they all vomited as well (with the exception of Pinkie who almost vomited but managed to stop herself due to having a stronger stomach).

In just a minute, Venom had devoured Suri's entire head and was just about done with her pancreas. When it sensed the presence of the girls; it quickly ripped off the limbs to eat later. Then, it turned around to give Twilight both a grin and a wink, which only weirded her out further. Finally, it took to the skies with its wings and tentacles once again, leaving the girls extremely disturbed both physically and emotionally.
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quietly sitting on the sidewalk were six deeply distraught teenage girls who had recently witnessed something that sucked all the remaining joy out of them. Only three hours ago, they had helplessly watched as a creature born from the bond between an alien and their friend Rarity devouring another human like a wild animal. They had also watched the creature's escape, as well as the torn apart body being taken away by the authorities, and even though the officers gave them blankets and coffee, they were still sitting on the sidewalk with solemn expressions on their faces.

Finally, after three long hours of silence, Applejack finally managed to say a few words. 

"That... That didn't just happen, right? It couldn't have really happened. We must all be having the same dream or somethin'!"

"Sorry, Applejack, but only Princess Luna can create shared dreams and last time I checked, she had no intention to visit this world any time soon. Besides, her job is to repel nightmares, not cause them."

"Well, there's gotta be an explanation for this whole darn mess not bein' real! Twilight, you're the smartest one I know. What is your take on this?"

"I... I don't know. We all saw everything that happened clear as day and since this can't be a shared dream like Sunset said, I guess it's all real."

"What? But... but it can't be true. It just can't be! SHE'S NOT GONE FOR GOOD!"

She punched a street lamp in sadness, breaking it down completely. Twilight stood up and embraced her as she continued to sob on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Applejack. I wish that it's not real too, but we have to face the facts. We cannot change the truth, no matter how much we dislike it."

At that point, Rainbow stood up too and turned to the others with a frustrated look on her face. 

"No. No! I refuse to believe that! Our best friend is not gone for good! She is still somewhere trapped inside that monster and we have to get her back no matter the cost!"

Applejack turns to her with tears and a small smile on her face.

"You really think so?"

"Of course, I do! We may have led Rarity to be corrupted by that thing, but we are still her friends, and it's our responsibility to make this right and save her life! So, who's with me?"

Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds before Sunset spoke up.

"You do know there's a chance that we won't make it though this, right?"

"Maybe, but if that's what will take to get Rarity back, isn't it a risk worth taking?"

A few more seconds later, Fluttershy stood up.

"Yes, it is. Right now, I want Rarity to come back more than anything in the world. I'm with you until the end."

Then, Pinkie stood up too.

"Me too! No cost can be too costly to pay to save her."

Applejack put her hand on Rainbow's shoulder.

"Well, you already know my answer. Lead the way, partner!"

Twilight did the same.

"I know what I said about truth, but that doesn't mean we can't create a new truth."

They all looked at Sunset who let out a deep sigh. 

"Oh, what the heck. This is miles better than giving up."

She stood up as well and turned to Rainbow."

"So, what's the plan, chief?"

"Alright, first, we gotta figure out if the creature has any weaknesses. Any ideas, Twilight?"

"Well, we already know that it's negatively affected by sound, but we still don't know the correct sound frequency that will get it off Rarity for good. I was hoping to get a sample of its DNA to analyze and find a solution, but I think it's a bit too late for that."

"Okay, so, where can we get another sample? There's gotta be something useful around here."

"Not that I can see and if there was any, it was most likely taken away by the authorities."

"Dagnabbit! Now, how are we supposed to find- AAAGH!"

Out of nowhere, a crimson red symbiote with black stripes appeared and jumped on to Applejack's arm, startling everyone. She tried extremely hard to get it off, but the symbiote just wouldn't let go. Fortunately, her friends rushed in to assist her and after countless seconds of significant effort, they managed to get it off her arm and threw it away towards the road. When it began to crawl towards them a second time, Rainbow quickly trapped it inside an empty trashcan and Applejack squeezed it shut. 

"What in tarnation was that?!"

"Are you blind, AJ? It's obviously another one of those creatures." 

"But, where the hay did it come from?"

Twilight, then lifted the trashcan up with her magic and brought it towards her.

"That's not important. What matters is we now have DNA sample that I can analyze. Come with me!"

She began running down the street with the trashcan and the others ran after her with confusion.





Ten minutes later, a terrible storm had come to the city and the girls had reached Twilight's house. They quickly went upstairs to her room, which also served as a huge laboratory filled with computers, diagrams, and other lab equipment. 

They opened the trashcan and dropped the symbiote to a box with a tiny hole on top. As it tried to crawl back up through the hole, Twilight immediately cut a piece of it and sealed the hole up with a pile of Quantum Physics books. Then, she put the piece on a microscope slide, placed the slide on her gigantic microscope, and began to analyze it. 

Meanwhile, her friends began exploring the lab and looked at numerous projects that she was working on. Most of them were related to robotics and genetics, and the ones that the girls were the most intrigued by included the utilization of animal DNA in curing illnesses or restoring damaged body parts. 

Pinkie, meanwhile, took a particular interest in the plans that depicted a humanoid robot with a head resembling that of an ant. She, then, turned towards... me?

"Oh! So, this is secretly a prequel to "I've Got No Strings"? Well played, author! Well played."

Um, anyway... 

Sunset also took an interest in a piece of metal located on Twilight's worktable.

"Hey, Twilight! Can you tell me anything about this metal on the table? It's quite beautiful."

"Please don't touch that, Sunset. My brother brought it to me from a trip he took a few years ago to Africa. He said that it's the most unique metal on the planet and, after running countless tests on it, I now believe him. It's chemical structure is unlike that of any metal that I know of. Plus, it's harder than steel, only one third of its weight, and it’s extremely reactive to sound waves."

"I see. So, what's it called?"

"Uh, I can't really remember. I think it was 'vibrantium' or..."

Just then, Rainbow swooped in. 

"Wait! “Highly reactive to sound waves”? That's it! We just found the perfect weapon to use against that monster! It was right under our noses this whole time!"

While everyone approached this plan with suspicion, Twilight actually supported it once she finished analysis and turned towards the girls. 

“You know what, Rainbow, you could be right. The creature’s molecular structure is composed of bonds that can only be broken by either fire or vibrations with at least 5000 Hz freqıency. If I could find a way to utilize this metal as a power source for something like a sonic cannon, it should create sound waves powerful enough to get that thing off of Rarity.”

Everyone except Pinkie looked at her with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. 

“Did any one of y’all get what she just said?” 

“We’ll, duh! She’s gonna turn the Deus-Ex-Machina into a sound gun!”

"Uh huh. If you say so."

She turned to Twilight.

"Anything else we need to know about the creature?"

"Well, judging from its molecular structure, I can say that its primary source of energy is phenethylamine, a chemical found in chocolate and brain matter. That would explain Rarity's obsession with brownies and pudding, as well as Suri's head being devoured by..." 

Her eyes suddenly widened with horror as she came to a realization.

"Oh, dear! I just figured out why that thing looked at me that way. It consumes brain matter and I'm the smartest person that Rarity knows. This means I'm its next meal!"

While everyone reacted to this with shock and horror, Rainbow remained calm and determined as ever.

"Not on our watch, you aren't! Just work on that sound weapon and leave your protection to us. Am I right, guys?"

They nervously agreed while Twilight took a few deep breaths to calm herself. 

"In any case, we're gonna need a backup plan in case the one I'll be working on fails. Applejack, I want you to gather every single welding machine, oil container, lighter, and match that you can get your hands on."

"On it!"

"Sunset, you and Fluttershy will pay a visit to Vinyl Scratch and ask if you can borrow new guitars and a few large 26 inch sound speakers."

"Will do!"

"Pinkie, you'll stay here and keep a look out for Venom while I work on the sound gun."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Rainbow, run around the city and search for any clues regarding Venom's whereabouts. If you manage to find it, make sure to just observe and report from a distance, and NOT engage unless it's absolutely necessary."

"You got it!"

"If everything goes well, we should be able get our friend back by this time tomorrow. Everyone understands their job?"

They all said "Yep!" in unison. 

"Great! Then, let's get down to business and meet here in twenty hours. Good luck to us all."
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twenty two hours later, all the preparations were nearly complete. 

Twilight was putting the finishing touches on the sonic weapon and even managed to spare some time to build makeshift flamethrowers for each of her friends from the equipment Applejack had gathered. 

Sunset and Fluttershy had purchased new guitars and were able convince Vinyl Scratch to lend three 26 inch sound speakers for a few days. 

Pinkie had stood guard over Twilight for the entire time and only went to rest for a while when Applejack came back with welding machines and other flammable materials, and offered to take over her shift. 

Rainbow, meanwhile, had ran over the entire town two hundred times but couldn't found a single clue that could lead to Venom's whereabouts. Every time she thought she was coming closer to a clue, it proved to be yet another dead end. Moreover, she occasionally had an eerie feeling that something sinister was watching her from a distance.

Applejack, in addition to gathering the equipment, had arranged for Sweetie Belle to stay in her house with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo for a while in order to protect her from any possible harm. While Sweetie Belle had agreed to this arrangement, she was still unsure regarding whether or not what she had been told about Rarity's current condition was the whole truth. 

Long story short, everyone was meticulously preparing for the unavoidable confrontation with Venom. While they were more or less hopeful that they would get Rarity back without much trouble, they were also greatly worried about what Venom had in store for them. Although, one thing was certain: this was going to be one of their worst (if not THE worst)nightmares yet. 





The sun had already set and another storm was brewing. Since everyone except Twilight had finished their duties, they were all now scattered around her house standing guard with flamethrowers on their hands until the sonic weapon is finished. Twilight herself was beyond exhausted, but was also extremely relieved by the fact that she only had to add a handful of components to add to the weapon and test it on the new symbiote. 

She was just about to take a sip from her hundredth cup of coffee when she suddenly felt the cold wind from the outside. Then, she noticed that the window had mysteriously opened and immediately rushed to close it. Once that was done, she grabbed a flashlight from her desk and began to look for anything suspicious that could have crawled inside through the window. She pointed the light towards every corner of the room for half a minute, but managed to find nothing out of the ordinary. 

Letting out a deep sigh from relief, Twilight turned back and was about to head towards her desk to finish her work when she was freaked out by the sudden appearance of none other than Rarity. Aside from the dark blue nightgown she was wearing and the weird smile on her face, she looked completely normal. Once Twilight had managed to calm down, she was both thrilled and intimidated by her presence. 

"Rarity? Is that you? Wait. How did you get past the others and what happened to Venom?"

"You're focusing on the wrong questions, my dear Twilight. The ones that you SHOULD be asking are 'how long will we stay with you?' and 'why do you matter so much to us?'."

Twilight's eyes widened with horror.

"Oh, no. That's not really you, is it? That's Venom speaking through your body."

"Very clever, dearie. We knew we made the right choice when we selected your brain as our main course. We simply cannot wait to devour every single juicy piece of it."

Twilight let out a nervous sigh.

"Then, why aren't you getting over with it instead of wasting time with monologuing?"

"Oh, but we don't seek to just do that and leave in a hurry. Instead, we're going to give you a special treatment before the feast and take part in a sexual activity unique to this planet."

"Wait. What?! You mean..."

"Yes, we mean exactly that and truth be told, it's one of the few thing that we found to be interesting about this planet, and we've been very curious to explore and understand it."

"Okay, uh, can we just talk about this for a minute? I mean, scientifically speaking, I don't think this can- Whoah!"

Rarity suddenly grabbed Twilight by the arm and laid her on the nearby bed. Then, she placed herself on top of Twilight and began to ran her fingers across her arms while leaning closer and closer to Twilight's face.

"Science and thought process has no place in this situation, my dear. Just give in to your raw emotions and focus on the utter beauty of the occasion. Who knows? Perhaps you'll get to enjoy it as much as we will."

Twilight was about to scream and call for help, but instantly became too terrified to speak when Rarity's unusually long tongue began to circle around her face, covering it with utterly disgusting saliva. 

"Is this how it usually starts?"

"I,,,"

Before they could go any further, however, a knock on the door is heard. 

"Hey, Twilight! How's it goin' in there? Are you finished with the sound gun yet?"

Before she could shout for help, Rarity covered her mouth and looked at the nearly completed sonic weapon on the desk before glaring at Twilight. 

"Still hellbent on eliminating us, I see. Well, it seems we won't be here for long after all."

Just then, the symbiote began to cover her body, transforming her into Venom once again.

"Your brain cannot be our doom. It shall be the other way around!"

Just as it was about to bite Twilight's head of with its razor-sharp teeth, however, the door is burst open and all five of her friends rushed into the room. Although Venom gave them a pretty loud roar, they pointed their flamethrowers at it and fired them just a little bit in order to get it away from Twilight without harming her. Once they succeeded, Rainbow Dash fired her weapon at full power, causing Venom to retreat and jump out of the window. She quickly ran after it, followed closely by Applejack and Pinkie Pie while Sunset and Fluttershy stayed behind to check on the disturbed Twilight.

"Are you okay?", inquired Fluttershy. "Did it hurt you?"

"No, it didn't. I'm okay, just a little bit frightened, that's all."

Sunset asked, "Well, if you need anything just let us know, okay?".

"Got it, but we can't worry about that right now. We have to go help Rainbow and Pinkie."

"Is that sound device ready?", asked Fluttershy.

"Aside from missing one or two parts, yes. However, I still have to run some tests before I can be sure that it works."

Sunset remarked, "There's no time! We'll just have to see if it works with a field test."

"But, what if I've made a mistake during the planning sage and it doesn't work. It can make things even worse!"

"Look around, Twilight. Things are already worse! You can't depend on one possible solution to tackle a major problem. Besides, we may not need just a tool to get Rarity back. Yes, this thing could get the alien off of her, but she can also reject it on her own if we remind her how precious our friendship is. I think she's still inside that monster struggling to get out and our encouragement can give her the strength she needs to be completely free. So, what do you say?"

Although, Twilight was initially uncertain about this, she eventually realized the truth in Sunset's words and her expression soon changed from worried to determined. 

"Alright. Let's roll."





Just outside the house, Venom was recovering from the flame attack when Rainbow Dash arrived and pointed her flamethrower right at its face.

"Give me my friend back, you slimy creep!"

Venom simply chuckled at that threat.

"If you actually think we'll do what you say this easily, then you're even dumber than a full-grown Groot." 

"Okay, first of all, that's a terrible insult, because I have no idea what a Groot is. Second, me dumb? Ha! Please, you're the one who's basically a giant zombie."

Without warning, Venom grabbed the flamethrower with its giant tongue, and despite Rainbow's struggle, pulled it away from her hands and smashed it against the sidewalk.  

"You were saying?"

She nervously chuckled for a bit before Applejack and Pinkie arrived. 

"RD, get out of the way!"

Rainbow did as she asked.

"You ready, Pinkie?"

"You got it! One crispy alien parasite coming up!"

Even though they both fired their flamethrowers at full power, Venom simply jumped upwards and used its tentacles to grab the weapons, crushing them with its bare claws. Both Applejack and Pinkie became a bit shocked by this before the former rolled up her sleeves. 

"Looks like we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way. Cover me!"

"On it!" 

Pinkie began throwing explosive sprinkles at Venom while Applejack attempted to punch it while running. However, things did not go as they planned. Not only did the explosions had no effect on Venom, but it also easily caught Applejack's punch in mid-air and twisted her arm clockwise while choking her with its other claw. Needless to say, she was an extremely large amount of pain at that time.

"We shall crush ALL of you like spiders!" 

Just then, Rainbow threw a rock at Venom's head in order to get its attention. 

"Hey, ugly! Over here!"

So, Venom let Applejack go by throwing her towards Pinkie. Even though Rainbow attempted to evade via her super speed, it nevertheless caught her with a tentacle while she was running and threw her towards the exterior wall of the house, causing a fairly large crack. 

Eventually, it managed to corner all three of them.

"What the hay is goin' on? Why isn't our magic workin'?"

"Oh, looks like we forgot to tell you. Energies like your so called 'magic' has no effect on both symbiotes and beings that are bonded to symbiotes. So, whether or not you have extraordinary gifts, you're still as weak as the rest of your species against us. Just give up while you still have the chance and we may grant you quick deaths."

The trio looked at each other with both uncertainty and concern before Twilight, Sunset, and Fluttershy emerged from the house with the finished sonic weapon. 

Twilight pointed the device towards and Venom shouted, "EVERYBODY GET BACK AND COVER YOUR EARS!"

As soon as they did as she asked, she activated the device and unleashed sound waves so powerful that the earth itself was slightly shaking. While the girls were struggling to minimize the damage to their ears with headphones and ear plugs, Venom's condition was much worse. It kept roaring with intense pain and its symbiote skin had already begun to peel off, revealing Rarity inside. 

"It's working! It's actually working! Hold on, Rarity! You're almost free!", Twilight exclaimed. 

However, her happiness was short-lived as a small thick portion of the symbiote unexpectedly jumped towards the gun and landed right on the muzzle, blocking the release of sound waves and causing an overload. Even though Twilight quickly lifted the gun upwards in order to minimize the damage, a huge explosion still occurred in the sky and it gave Venom enough time to fully recover and let out another roar out of pure ferocity. 

After that, it released razor-sharp tentacles from its body and stabbed each of the girls in the shoulder. Then, it released another set of tentacles similar to that of an octopus to strangle the girls except for Twilight. Instead, it brought her closer to its face and began to softly lick her face with that giant saliva-filled tongue. 

"We're simply giving them the same amount of pain that you just dealt to us with that weapon. No need to worry, though. We will spare you the pain of watching their lives ebb away. Make no mistake, it's not because we pity you, but because our patience has officially ran out. Now, if there are no further interruptions, it's dinner time!"

It was this close to biting her entire head off when all of a sudden, it stopped due to the voice of a child.

"Rarity?"

It turned around to investigate source, which turned out to be none other than Sweetie Belle.
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Venom was so surprised by her sudden appearance that it instantly retracted its tentacles and released the girls. Once freed, they tried to cover their injuries with anything they could find (including pieces of their own clothing) in order to stop the bleeding. 

"Sweetie Belle? What in tarnation are you doin' here? Where's Apple Bloom and Scootaloo?"

"I managed to sneak out of the house without alerting them, but I think they've figured it out by now and are on their way here. I'm really sorry, but I just wanted to know what was really going on. Now that I do, I'm actually even more confused and a little bit scared." 

At that moment, both girls suddenly arrived with Apple Bloom carrying medical supplies and Scootaloo holding a baseball bat. Once they did, they began to attend to their sisters and friends.

Venom, meanwhile began to approach Sweetie Belle who, despite being pretty intimidated by its appearance, was nevertheless standing her ground. 

"Well, this is certainly a delightful surprise. Rarity's younger sibling wishes to talk to us. Now, don't be shy, little one. You may ask of us anything you desire and we will do our very best to help you."

"I... I want my sister back. Can you please help me with that?"

"Then, we are sorry, child. She belongs to us, now and forever. Giving her back is the same as ripping us apart. We hope that you can understand."

"What? No, I don't understand! I don't even understand WHAT you are!"

"That's easy enough to explain. We are Venom, dear, and we were born from the bond between your sibling and a symbiote from another end of the known universe."

"Another end of the universe? Wait, the meteor shower last week... It brought that thing here that night."

"Correct." 

"And it somehow got inside Rarity."

"Correct again."

"And made her hear voices in her head and act really weird for a whole week."

Venom's attitude suddenly changed from impressed to furious. 

"What? You dare insult the Symbiote?! He was the one who gave your sibling the very strength she needed to recover from her emotional breakdown and take revenge on her enemies. Plus, it allowed her to become the absolutely perfect version of herself. She tolerated no insults from anyone and severely punished those who dared to cross her. You actually have the audacity to call these gifts 'weird'?!"

Just then, a determined expression appeared on Sweetie Belle's face as she took a few steps towards Venom.

"Yes, I do! In fact, I call it 'ridiculous'! The Symbiote may have tried to help my sister sort out her latest problems and I really appreciate that. But, I've known her my whole life and she is definitely NOT someone who bullies anyone who makes her angry. Instead, she takes her time to process criticisms and comes up with creative solutions for her problems. That's one of the many things I admire about her. Heck, it can take a full hour to list all the others. But the most important one, and also the reason why I've always looked up to her, is her undying desire to please everyone around her. She always uses her creativity for the good of everyone, and never lets her friends and family get the short end of the stick. I haven't seen any of it since the Symbiote got in her head. He may have helped her with an emotional breakdown, but he also suppressed the thing that defines her. Right now, I want him to leave Rarity alone and never come back! I am not leaving until he does! Do you hear me?!"

Despite her tone, Venom just stood there unfazed. 

"I hear you and what I hear irritates me. If silencing your vexing voice means tearing you apart, so be it!"

As it raised one of its claws to strike her, she fearfully ducked for cover and everyone else gasped in horror. Just before it brought the claw down upon her, however, the claw suddenly stopped moving. No matter how hard Venom tried to move it, the claw was simply stuck.

"What is going on? Why can't I move?!"

Just then, the claw moved on its own and along with the other claw, began to tear open his face to reveal Rarity struggling inside. Needless to say, everyone (especially, Sweetie Belle) was overjoyed by this revelation. However, a sudden exclamation from Rarity snapped them back to reality.

"Well, don't just stand there! Help me with this! He's still too strong!"

After hearing that, they gave each other determined looks and nodded in unison before heading for action. 

Sunset, Fluttershy, and Twilight quickly grabbed  their flamethrowers and fired at the Symbiote from all three sides in order to assist Rarity with getting it off of her. During all of that; Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie rushed inside the house and came back a minute later carrying speaker and guitars. The CMC, meanwhile, were watching all the action from a safe distance and Scootaloo was holding that baseball bat like their very lives depended on it. 

By the time Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow came back with the equipment, the others had managed to get every single part of the Symbiote off of Rarity's body. While the whole ordeal had left her exhausted and weakened, they caught her just before she could collapse. 

However, the time for rest ran out too quickly as the Symbiote not only put himself back together, but also transformed into a giant ooze monster. Everyone shrieked in horror when they saw this. 

"Why do you insist on destroying me? I did nothing wrong!"

Despite being severely weakened, Rarity managed to stand up and take a few steps towards the monster while furiously glaring at it. 

"We had a deal, remember? You have violated it!"

"I did not! I made your life better than ever!"

"Right before you made it worse than ever!"

"Please, just think about this! I'm the only friend you can depend on!"

"Sorry, darling, but I have better friends right here by my side."

Inspired by that declaration; Twilight, Sunset, and Fluttershy also took a few steps forward and pointed their flamethrowers right at the monster. 

"Do you honestly think you can be rid of me this easily? Even with the combined power of your friends, you are still no match for me. And I simply WILL NOT allow myself to be rejected by another host!"

Before the girls could fire any more flames, the Symbiote grabbed all three flamethrowers with his gigantic tongue and tore them apart with its huge razor-sharp teeth. Realizing that they were in serious trouble, Rarity worriedly looked back at Rainbow and Applejack, and was instantly relieved to find out that they were done wit setting up the equipment. Therefore, she loudly shouted at them. 

"Go, Rainbow Dash! Play the loudest song you can think of!"

Hearing this, Rainbow quickly grabbed a guitar.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Wait, what are you doing? Are those-"

Despite this confusion, however, it was too late as Rainbow played a theme that only true heroes deserved. While her friends were successfully covering their ears, the Symbiote was suffering greatly. Then, a couple of minutes later, he exploded in spectacular fashion and everyone, despite being covered in dead alien slime, happily cheered. Once she wiped some of the goo off of her, Rainbow joined the celebration too. 

"Oh my gosh! This was so awesome! Can we do the same to the other one after making it bigger?"

Everyone gave her confused looks.

"Gotcha!" 

She began to laugh hysterically, but stopped when she realized that the others were unamused.

"Yeah, too soon."

Just then, Sweetie Belle tearfully ran up to Rarity and gave her the biggest hug in the history of hugs. 

"I knew you'd come back! I've missed you so much, sis!"

Rarity also teared up and hugged her back with equal strength.

"Oh, darling, I've missed you too. Thank you so very much for reminding me why I should come back. You're a true hero in my eyes."

Sweetie chuckled a bit.

"No problem. Just doing my job."

They continued to hug for a good number of seconds while the others watched with smiles on their faces. A while later, Rarity turned her attention towards her friends. 

"I'm terribly sorry about everything, girls. I should've never listened to the Symbiote in the first place. Instead, I let his influence make me hurt the very people that I work incredibly hard to please and are closest to my heart. If you're not willing to forgive me for all the pain I caused you, it's totally fine. I honestly wouldn't forgive myself either."

To her surprise, everyone joined in for a group hug around her. 

"We're just glad that you're yerself again, sugarcube."

"Oh, thanks, Applejack. It IS good to be back."

Once they released her, she exclaimed one more time.

"Now, come on, everyone! Let's clean this mess up as soon as possible so that we can have a victory celebration at my place!"

Everyone cheered for these news and immediately got to work.
> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, nearly everything had returned to normal. The girls had managed to clean up the whole mess in less than fifteen minutes, safely disposed of all the Venom parts, did the same for the other symbiote's parts after blowing it up with a controlled explosion in Twilight's lab.

Afterwards, they went to Rarity's house for the victory celebration and Pinkie Pie, indeed, baked Sweetie Belle's cake of choice. In addition to eating that cake; they drank apple cider, sang karaoke, and watched Sweetie Belle's favorite movie (a horror flick about a band of kids fighting a supernatural clown). 

By the time the party was over, dawn had started to break and everyone had become extremely exhausted. Since it was a Sunday and they had no homework for Monday, they all decided to sleep there for the remainder of the day. So, they did just that and by the time they woke up, the midday sun had begun to descend. 

However, one of them woke up a bit earlier than the rest. 





Spike was just beginning to wake up when Twilight entered her house and arrived at the lab. Once she did, she turned on all the computers in the room and pulled out a bunch of schematics scattered around the room. She was so distracted that she didn't hear Spikel's footsteps.

"Twilight? You're earlier than expected. Where are the others?"

"Probably still sleeping in Rarity's house."

"Oh. You're not with them, because?"

"Because, I just couldn't sleep. An idea has been buzzing in my head ever since last night. Do you remember that robotics project I told you about?"

"You mean the one involving a creepy-looking robot butler? What about it?"

"Well, it's technically an assistant for clean-up after magic battles, but yeah. That's the one. I've been thinking about modifying its chassis and creating an AI that helps it detect and intercept threats from other worlds, whether they're magical or not."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Because, I want us to be ready for the next time an evil magical entity or an evil alien shows up in town. If my calculations are correct, which is almost always, this AI will give my enhanced mechanical sentry the edge to defeat any of these threats. This project will probably take weeks to complete, but I have to finish it for the sake of everyone on this planet, especially my friends. Right now, our top priority is Project: Ultron."





Despite what the girls thought, not all symbiote parts were disposed of. Those that belonged the second symbiote had actually survived and managed to put itself back together. Then, it crawled out of Twilight's waste storage tank located on her backyard, and desperately searched half the town for potential hosts. While it couldn't find any, it did manage to find a damaged concrete object where a statue used to be. 

Sensing a strange form of energy coming from the object, the curious symbiote decided to find out if it could satisfy its hunger with this energy. So, without thinking ahead, it jumped on the object and was instantly sucked into a universe far different from the one he had grown accustomed to.