The Venom Inside (Version 1.2)

Meanwhile, in a secret lab, an earth pony wearing a trench coat and welding goggles sat in front of a large screen, watching the footage of Venom fighting Killerwatt. He analyzed the brute strength of the creature. The way it fought was sheer... beauty.

This could be just what I need for my experiments, thought the mysterious pony, who seemed to be operating the viewing device with four robotic tentacles, each equipped with a pincher claw. "Time to send out one of my... boys," muttered Dr. Octopus as he used his arms to send a message.

~

Lightning snuck her way back into her apartment which was easier said than done as she, or rather Venom, was trying to avoid the paparazzi trying to ask about who she was. Thrilled as she was about this they still didn’t hold a candle to the thrill she had when she was hurting Rainbow Dash.

'Well do you know any other way to hurt her BESIDES bum rushing her in a loaded colosseum?’asked the symbiote.

"Well... I suppose there's always a good-old-fashioned sneak attack. We can set up a little trap and hit her when she's not looking...  her defenses will be down... then squash goes Rainbow when she's looking the other way. You like?" said Lightning.

'Hmm... it's pretty risky... but, promise us something. If this plan doesn't work, we get to kill her our way,' said the symbiote.

"Agreed. Now, then, I believe I need to make a call," said Lightning.

~

Meanwhile in a fancy penthouse in Los Pegasus a sleeping pegasus was disturbed by his phone ringing in the middle of the night. “Now who in the nine realms of Tartarus could that be?” asked the stallion mostly to himself. He slowly got out of his bed and walked over to the noise maker. He picked it up and was surprised by who it was.

“Hi North!” exclaimed a very excited sounding Lightning Dust

“L-Lightning? Why are you calling me at this hour?”

"Oh, no reason, just wanted to tell you something. And that something is yes. I will go with you to the Grand Galloping Gala!" said Lightning Dust.

North Star beamed. "That's the best news I've heard all day. Well, aside from those two creatures showing up. You know, the big black thing and that electric pony, Electro or whatever she was called," he said.

"Actually, the politically correct term is 'Killerwatt,' But, what's your interest in them?" asked Lightning.

"Yeah, I'm not supposed to tell you. Well, I should get back to bed. I start my new job tomorrow," said North.

Lightning chuckled a little. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Good night, North," said Lightning Dust. As North hung up the phone he couldn’t help but wince as his hoof scratched at a spot on his neck. “Faust dammit. This thing just won’t go away.” he grumbled as he itched the spot with a slightly twitching hoof.

~

The following morning, Rainbow Dash made her way down the street towards the Hayloft Cafe, part of her expecting an attack by that big black monster.

It doesn't make any sense. Why would that thing try to kill me and Spitfire only to go and play hero? Maybe it's some kind of sociopath. Maybe sometimes it's good and sometimes it's evil, thought Rainbow.

So caught up was Rainbow in her thoughts that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and thus walked directly into a turquoise pegasus mare, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey, watch it!" said Lightning Dust as she picked herself up. "Wait... Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow looked at the mare she'd run into. “Lightning? Is that… are you really here?” asked Rainbow.

“Rainbow…. what are YOU doing here? And what the buck happened to your face?"asked Lightning with venom in her voice.

"Yeesh. Can't say I like the whole emo thing you got going with the mane and the jacket, but I suppose... I was here for the Wonderbolts Air Show, but then..." said Rainbow.

"But then, what?" said Lightning.

"But then, this huge black... thing attacked me and the Wonderbolts. It did this to my face and almost shredded my back," said Rainbow, pointing at her disfigurement with her hoof.

Lightning looked at Rainbow's injuries with what looked triumph in her eyes. “Really? Tell me about it,” said Lightning in a needy kind of tone.

“Um… okay? It was… well for starters it was big and had huge serrated teeth. Its skin was black as the night and it had a spider-like symbol on it’s chest but that wasn’t the creepiest part though,” said Rainbow who said these things as though they were disgusting pieces of filth she found in a trash can. Lightning noticed and quietly growled to herself

“Well…. maybe you and those Wonderbolts did something to offend it,” offered Lightning Dust.

"Only one problem with that theory: according to both Fluttershy and Twilight, no such creature has ever been previously recorded in the entire history of Equestria. And I know I certainly haven't come across anything like it before," said Rainbow.

"Hmm... perhaps this has something to do with some of the... rumors I've heard lately," said Lightning.

Rainbow cocked her head. "What rumors?" she asked.

Lightning Dust smiled. "Well... I hear tell that there's a new breed of pony coming out of the woodwork that is evolution. Very fast, very strong, and if provoked, very deadly," she said, a certain something in her voice.

Said something made Rainbow Dash feel a little uneasy. "Riiight. Well, I'll see you around!" said Rainbow, taking to the skies.

Lightning Dust watched her go, a sinister smirk crossing her face.

"It is now officially showtime," said Lightning, before she ducked into an alleyway and transformed into Venom...

…

 As Rainbow Dash soared through the skies, she was feeling troubled by Lightning’s new darker demeanor.

“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 black creature… better find the- OOF!” cried Rainbow Dash as something big and black plowed in to her.

"Don’t you just hate it when somepony gets the drop on you, Dash? We know we do,” said the creature

“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 Venom, her hoof transforming into a razor-sharp claw which slashed across Rainbow’s chest as she and Rainbow Dash flew through the air like drunken sailors.

Rainbow gave Venom a quick kick with her hind legs and tried to escape the demonic creature who wanted her dead for reasons unknown.

“Oh, you don’t get off that easy!” snarled Venom, shooting a web that caught Rainbow in the back. Venom then started reeling in her catch.

Trapped in a vice-like grip, Rainbow struggled to escape Venom’s grasp. Venom then did something that not only grossed out Rainbow, but the pony inside the suit as well: she stuck out her long tongue and proceeded to actually lick Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, we can’t wait to eat your brains… provided you actually have one in that rock you call a skull,” hissed Venom.

“First off, that’s just wrong, secondly, get some breath mints, and third… what did I ever do to you?”

“Aw somepony wants to play the guessing game? Well, since we’re feeling generous how about we just show you instead,” joked Venom as the symbiotic mask slid back, revealing the face of Lightning Dust.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped as she looked into the face of her former Wonderbolt Academy friend/rival. She had been the one behind the mask of that monster. “L-Lightning?! What in Faust’s name happened to you?! How’d you end up like this? Did somepony experiment on you?” asked Rainbow.

“Aw, the direct approach. Well, if you must know… you did this to me! All I ever wanted was to become a Wonderbolt like my grandfather had been. But, because of you, my dreams went up in smoke! I’ve been slaving away at a derelict diner ever since!” snarled Lightning as she pounded Rainbow in the face before tossing her away.

A little dazed, Rainbow said, “Lightning, we can find another way to settle this!”

“You’re so right. How’s about… humiliation? Kinda like how you humiliated me. Only with a lot more violence and physical bodily harm. So, where was I? Oh, yeah,” said Lightning, a tentacle launching at Rainbow, who barely got out of the way.

“One dreary rainy day, I was praying for Faust to wipe you off the face of the Earth, when he decided to give me the power to do it myself. With my new power…” continued Lightning, before the mask slid back over her face. “We will destroy you. And nopony will miss you.”

With that, Venom flew full-on towards Rainbow, her front hooves forming razor-sharp claws once again.

Rainbow, not wanting to get shredded, had no choice but to fly away as fast as she could.

“Predictable, Dash. No matter how fast you fly, we’ll always be faster,” said Venom, before taking off after her prey.

Crud! This is not going well! What do I do?! What do I…. wait…. the stadium. Lightning and whatever that thing she’s wearing… they hated the loud noises. Rainbow thought a moment before Venom knocked her into a construction yard, having caught up due to her speed. There was also a sickening crunch sound when Rainbow hit the ground and a yell of sheer pain as Rainbow saw that her right wing was bent at a very awkward angle. The wing was broken. Venom then landed in front of her smiling all the while.

“GET UP! Come on Rainbow get up! We only damaged one wing! You can still use your hooves to stand so get up! Come on, come on! Pull yourself together! THE FUN HAS JUST BEGUN!” snarled the black monster.

Rainbow stood up, and looked at her attacker dead in the eye. “If this is the way you want it, fine!” she said, before running at Venom and giving her a well-timed mule kick, which actually caused Venom to stagger.

“We were hoping it wouldn’t be this easy. Then again, you know what they say, it’s all fun and games until somepony gains more power than they ever dreamed of,” said Venom, her fanged mouth splitting into a demonic grin. “And that’s when the realfun begins.”

Venom swiped at Rainbow Dash, who used some fancy hoofwork to avoid the monster’s claws. It was at that point that Rainbow found what she was looking for: a set of long hollow pipes sitting above them on a wooden platform supported by planks.

If I can get her to knock out the beams, it should cause those pipes to fall… then I’ll be able to turn the tides in this fight, thought Rainbow, who proceeded to carry out her plan.

“Rah! Hold still, you pathetic little nag!” snarled Venom, who shot a tentacle at Rainbow Dash, who dove out of the way just in the nick of time.

The tentacle hit the beam, which caused the wooden platform to shift towards the two fighters, which in turn caused the metal pipes to fall. The noise of the pipes hitting the concrete rang out like bells.

And it drove Venom up the walls.

“Rarrrgh! Knock it off you pathetic little mare! It hurts!” yelled Venom, hissing and roaring as the pipes continued to fall.

“Why? This is music to my ears!” said Rainbow, before she picked up one of the fallen pipes and began smacking it alongside durable metal support beams, which only increased Venom’s agony.

Lightning! Get us out of here! Please! begged the symbiote.

Lightning Dust mustered every ounce of her willpower to try to get away from the excruciatingly painful noise. She could not, would not, lose the only living creature that truly understood what she was going through. Understood her desire for revenge better than any friend ever could.

It took almost everything she had left in the tank, but Venom managed to get away from the painful noise.

Rainbow Dash then dropped the pipe and flopped onto her back. She’d managed to chase off Venom for now, but the pony inside of that monster, Lightning Dust, was almost like a rogue copy of herself. Tough, fierce, and absolutely, undeniably,  unstoppable.

With that weird goop on her… she might be even tougher than Tirek. Still, at least she has some weakness, thought Rainbow, before passing out.