VENOMOUS GENEROSITY

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!"