The Venom Inside

Hello, there… we didn’t see you there. Huh? What do we mean by “we?” Well, allow us to explain. You see, we are Lightning Dust and at the same time, we are not… we are Venom, a creature born from the nightmares of every last pony, good and evil alike, sworn to protect Los Pegasus… oh, yes, we had dreams, goals, and hopes for the future. We once wanted to be a Wonderbolt, the best fliers in Equestria. We were on the brink of realizing that dream. We had been accepted at the Wonderbolts Academy. In fact, we had even been made a Team Leader. But, all our dreams came crashing down, just because of a little flaw in the plan! That multicolored hotshot Rainbow Dash stole what should rightfully be ours! Spitfire kicked us out and we had no choice but to move to Los Pegasus and get a pathetic job as an underpaid, overworked waitress in a dingy diner… the next time we see Dash, oh, boy is she gonna wish she were never born as we rip her apart piece by piece! Oh, but if we’d known just how much our life was going to change, we’d have simply grinned and bore it…

Let us tell you how we became Los Pegasus’s guardian…

~

A light turquoise pegasus mare with a gold mane and tail with yellow stripes in it flopped down on her bed. Her name was Lightning Dust, and she had just gotten back from double overtime at the Hayloft Cafe… again.

It isn’t supposed to be like this… I’m supposed to have my own Wonderbolt team! On my rise to becoming captain! thought Lightning Dust. I’m not supposed to be squandering my talents as some lowly waitress! Well, at least I get my heart’s desire in my dreams...

As Lightning Dust fell asleep, however, she dreamed of the worst day of her life…

“That… was… awesome!” cried Lightning Dust, floating as she spoke.

“‘Awesome?! My friends could’ve been smashed to pieces!” said Rainbow Dash.

Lightning Dust smirked as she took to the skies. “Yeah, but they weren’t, right? Although, I can’t say the same for those clouds! We totally wiped them out with that tornado! The other cadets will out there for days trying to bust as many clouds as we did!” she said, extending her hoof for a hoofbump

At this, the other cadets glared at Lightning Dust, including Rainbow Dash.

“A hoofbump?! Seriously?” said Rainbow Dash, shoving Dust’s hoof away. “You made me clip my wing, you sent the other cadets into serious tailspins,on the obstacle  course, and you unleashed a tornado that nearly demolished my friends!”

“Yeah, and?” said Lightning Dust.

“And, I get that you wanna be the best. So do I, but you’re going about it in the wrong way,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Well, the Wonderbolts don’t seem to think so! After all, they made me the leader and you the wingpony,” said Lightning Dust with a sneer.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, they did,” she said…

Mere moments later, Lightning Dust was told to come to the runway. There, she found two guards, along with Captain Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, who were talking.

“You were right. Being the best should never come at the expense of our fellow ponies. Being a Wonderbolt isn’t about how far you can push yourself, it’s about pushing yourself in the right direction. You’ve shown that you’re capable of doing just that,” said Spitfire. She motioned for the two guards to bring Lightning Dust forward, before she ripped the Team Leader badge off of Lightning Dust’s uniform…

Suddenly, the dream changed…

Lightning Dust was flying faster than she knew she possibly could… that multicolored hotshot was in Los Pegasus, and now it was time to use her new power to put her in her place: six feet under a rounded stone that read “Rainbow Dash.” In no time, she found her prey.

“I wonder why Lightning Dust was acting so weird… and what was she talking about ‘a new breed of pony?’ Something tells me she knows something about that Venom creature… better find the- OOF!” cried Rainbow Dash as Lightning Dust plowed in to her.

“Don’t you just hate it when somepony gets the drop on you, Dash? We know we do,”said Lightning Dust in a darker, more monstrous voice than her own.

“Who are you?! Scratch that, what are you? And how do you know my name?” cried Rainbow Dash.

“We are the twilight of your pathetic little existence! We are Venom!”snarled Lightning Dust, right before what seemed to be a laser blast hit her…

Lightning Dust woke up panting… she looked at the clock next to her.

“Oh, crap, I’m late for work!” yelled Lightning Dust as she hurried out the door.

~

“DUST! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!” roared Greasy Steve, Lightning Dust’s boss. He was a tan Earth Pony with a gray mane and tail and a chef’s hat cutie mark.

“Sorry, sir… I guess I overslept,” said Lightning Dust.

“You guess?  You guess?! Maybe I should make you guess about finding a new job!” snarled Steve.

A Pegasus stallion with a gray coat, a dirty blonde mane and tail approached Steve. “Hey, leave her alone,” he said.

Lightning Dust blushed. The stallion was named North Star, who was working his way through college, where he majored in Biology… and she kinda had a crush on him.

“You stay out of this, college boy!” said Steve.

“All right, then… good luck trying to find somepony who gets half as much work done in the kitchen… or the dishroom,” said North Star with a smirk, knowing he had just set his boss between a rock and a hard place.

Greasy Steve moaned. “Oh, all right… but, listen very carefully, Dust: if you’re late again, you’re through. Now, go and get ready,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” said Lightning Dust.

As soon as Steve was out of earshot, Lightning Dust said, ”Thanks for saving my ass back there.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. Say, I was… er, thinking… and you know how the Grand Galloping Gala is in two weeks, right?” asked North Star.

Getting a hunch to where this was going, Lightning Dust said, “Y-yes?” He’s going to ask me out, he’s going to ask me out, he’s going to ask me out! was the thought that raced through her mind.

“W-well… I was wondering if… maybe… you wanted to be my date?” asked North Star nervously. Lightning opened her mouth to give a response but all that came out was nothing but air. The restaurant hung in silence for a short period before North sighed a little. “I get it Dust. You’re probably busy that week anyways. Sorry I asked.” He said in a bitter tone that Lightning could instantly tell meant he was very upset with the silence.

You idiot! Why are you not talking! Lightning’s brain was yelling at her. She scrambled for something to say but still couldn’t find anything to say. The rest of her shift was utterly depressing after this little exchange.

~

A few hours into her shift and the familiar “DING!” sound came up meaning that the last customer had left and the restaurant would close. Lightning, sighing as she did so, hung up the mop and started to walk out. She barely even had a hoof outside of the place when the rain came down.

“OH COME ON!” She roared to the high heavens as she flapped her wings and flew off. She continued to fly until she passed by a familiar sight, something she thought she wouldn’t ever see again.

~

High up in the skies of Equestria a meteor was coming down fast and hard. It zoomed towards the planet but if a pony looked hard enough they would see that the meteor seemed to steer itself. The being inside could feel the heat from the outside of its compartment and knew that it must have arrived at it’s destination… its final doom.

Lightning walked slowly up the stairs into the First Faustian Church, each one was drenched in rain, and soon found herself staring at the double decker doors that lead to the inside and warmth. She pushed them open and practically fell into the sanctuary before she stood up. She trotted forward and took a spot by a pew…. that was underneath a stain glass window with all of the Elements Of Harmony including the mare that ruined her life. I can’t even cry my heart out without her parading herself over me. Lightning said in her mind as she glared at the window.

~

The meteor finally broke through but the occupant could feel that it wasn’t the planet that its species had banished it to be trapped on but instead a whole world that was teeming with life. It crashed landed outside a very big building but the rain covered up the sound of it landing. The occupant soon broke free of its prison and started to flow forth. It appeared to be a black oily substance but soon it moved by itself and soon latched onto a nearby spider which started to climb into the building.

~

“Hey Faust…. been awhile huh?” Lightning asked as she stared up at the mural for a giant pony with a red flowing mane and wings. “The name’s…. Lightning Dust. But that’s not what’s important. I-I come before you…. humbled… and humiliated... to ask you one…. simple request…. I want you to kill Rainbow Dash.” She said, paying no heed to the giant black spider above her. Said spider suddenly started to twitch a bit before it fell to it’s side and the ooze started to drip down.

“Ugh, nasty…”, said Lightning Dust, trying to shake the goo off. “Wait a second…  what is this stuff?” Slowly, more of the goo latched onto Lightning.  “Get off of me!”

But, why would we do that, Lightning Boltamius Dust? No, we shall  aid you in your quest to destroy this… Rainbow Dash. And, better yet, by the might of you own hoof!  Besides, we find deities like this… Faust, did you call him? Well, they work too slowly, if at all, whispered a dark and sinister voice.

“And… I suppose you, whatever the Tartarus you are, want something in return?” asked Lightning.

What we want is for you to bond with us, in mind, body, and spirit… in return, you shall have the power to extract your revenge, whispered the voice.

“All right, let’s do this and put that bitch Rainbow Dash in her grave,” snarled Lightning Dust.

Slowly but surely, the ooze began to spread over Lightning’s body. Her mane and tail turned ghostly white as her wings turned more demonic. Her muscles also grew larger.  By the time the process was finished, Lightning had demonic white eyes, long monstrous fangs, and a long, serpent-like, tongue.

“RAINBOW DASH IS NOTHING MORE THAN A TREACHEROUS SNAKE… AND WE ARE HER VENOM COME BACK TO BITE HER!” snarled the creature. “Now… let’s see what we can do!”

The creature that was once Lightning Dust spread her demonic wings and let out a roar, before flying through the stain glass window with the Elements of Harmony...