The Venom Inside (Version 1.2)

“Whoo, boy! That monster must really have it in for ya, Dash! Ya sure ya didn’t do anythin’ to get on its bad side?” asked Applejack as she, the Wonderbolts, and the rest of the Mane 6 watched the doctor patch up Rainbow’s latest injuries from her fight with Venom.

Rainbow sighed. “Well, Lightning sure seems to think so… she’s tried very, very hard to kill me. TWICE now,” she said.

“Wait… that big black monster’s name is Lightning? You’d think it’d go with something a bit more frightening, like Mephiles or Dark Gaia,” said Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow shook her head. “No, Lightning, as in, Lightning Dust, is the name of the pony inside the big black monster. The big black monster’s name is Venom,” explained Rainbow.

“Lightning Dust? As in, the Lightning Dust you were wingpony to?” said Spitfire, surprised at this revelation.

“Yep, the very same one… only now she’s covered in some kinda black sludge that’s giving her superpowers, with the side effect of making her a vicious, brutal monster Tartarus-bent on killing me… to be honest, the only things that I think could stop her is a rock concert or some conveniently-placed metal poles… I still don’t get why she’s referring to herself in plural, though,” explained Rainbow.

Twilight and Fluttershy both seemed thoughtful at this notion. “New abilities…” said Twilight.

“Enhanced strength and speed…” said Fluttershy.

A second later, they both shouted the same word.

“SYMBIOTE!”

“A what?”

“A symbiote is a creature that needs to bond with a host in order to survive. One example of a symbiotic relationship is clownfish and anemones. The clownfish keeps the anemone safe from plankton and other things that could harm it," explained Fluttershy.

 Twilight nodded in agreement. "And in return, the anemone allows the clownfish to live among it tentacles, whereas other creatures would be stung," she said.

Spitfire nodded. "So, this... symbiote, is giving Lightning Dust powers beyond the dreams of normal ponies... but, what's it getting from her?" she asked.

Just then, the hotel room's phone rang. Spitfire answered it and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" said Spitfire.

A dark laugh rang out through the speaker. "Hello, Captain... it's us," the voice said.

Everypony shuddered at the sound of that voice. They all knew who it was.

"Lightning Dust? Is that you?" asked Spitfire.

"You're only half right, Captain. We are Venom. We have more power than we've ever imagined. And we're going to use it to slaughter Rainbow Dash, and paint the town red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet with her blood," hissed Venom.

"Lightning, I'm not sure if you're realizing it, but that black gunk you found is twisting your mind. It's some kind of symbiote. You may be getting superpowers from it now, but it's also getting something from you, too. You need to destroy it," said Twilight.

 There was a pause. Before long, that dark laugh returned. "Do you really think we care about that? All of our hopes and dreams were destroyed because of Rainbow Dash! Besides, how can we give this up? After all this time slaving away at a broken down diner, dreaming about the life that should be ours, praying for a way to knock Dash off her high and mighty pedestal, we're finally getting what we've always wanted... we're finally a somepony now," hissed Venom, before the phone clicked.

...

Venom was, as she always was, smiling at the little victory she achieved.

"Was that REALLY necessary?” Venom asked its host.

“Of course it was,” Lightning Dust replied easily as the suit receded into her body. “Besides, we’re a predator, aren’t we? And don’t most predators put on a show of intimidation?”

“You have a fair point… but, we still doubt that was necessary.” Venom repeated.

“Oh, who really cares in the end,” said Lightning. “The point is, we’ve upset Rainbow Dash and made her nervous… she’ll be looking over her shoulder every time she sets hoof out of her hotel, worrying that we’ll be lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce and end her pathetic little life. Besides, we have bigger fish to fry. The Grand Galloping Gala is in two days time, and we still need to find an affordable dress… I wonder if Fancy Pants Fashion has anything within my price range…”

“We have a better idea. Imagine any dress you want… any kind.” Venom told her. Lightning did as she was told.

Before the pegasus' eyes, the symbiote that lived within her leaked out. But, instead of transforming into a black monster, the black goo morphed into a beautiful teal blue dress and made her hair hangout with little bangs on the side of her head.

"Wow... this is... this is beautiful! Why didn't you tell me you could do this?! We could've disguised ourselves as Dash and framed her for something!" exclaimed Lightning.

‘You know we could STILL do that right? Not EVERYPONY knows who We are. Some even think We’re a hero,’ the suit pointed out.

"True... except, that little nag has a princess in her corner, and they're the most powerful ponies in Equestria... aside from us, of course. Even so, it'd be our word against theirs, and nopony dares-

‘So you mean to tell Us that Rainbow Dash’s friends are in effect….. Blackmail? As in… the courts would be too SCARED to stand up to them if one of them is accused of a crime? That’s abuse of power…. something We can use to our advantage,’ the suit stated with a dark chuckle.

“How in the-”

‘If you’ve travelled as long as We have you start seeing similarities between justice systems. We picked up a few.’

"Interesting... there's just one little flaw in that plan, despite it's brilliance," said Lightning.

'And that is?'

"Our voice. Rainbow Dash is a big-time celebrity, being an Element of Harmony and all," said Lightning.

‘Oh? You mean she sounds a little bitlike this Dusty?’ the symbiote suddenly said in Rainbow’s voice.

Lightning blinked several times. "Suddenly, I'm thinking about a new career as a secret agent... let's ruin Rainbow... after the Gala. But, first things first... time to put on the ritz!" said Lightning.