The Parasite

Carnage spent the entire night having the most marvelous time he's had since his ship crashed down on Equus all those months ago. With no nagging voice in his mind and no alien morals to distract him, he was able to travel for miles around eating whoever he wished. He mostly killed individuals that wouldn't be noticed as missing, though he also took the time to watch the streets for gang activity and eat those humans as well, so that he had more acceptable deaths to report to his host later. He also planned what he was going to say in the morning. Sunset would no doubt be upset with him for the deaths of those three police officers back at the apartment. But he would just tell her they were in the way and he got a little excited after his first kill. She will likely still scold him, but nonetheless accept it. And since he came clean, he could then convince her not to look for the news herself and instead just get to enjoying her spring break.

It's gotten so easy to manipulate her lately. He was sure it would be fine.

It was only when he saw the first signs of daybreak that he decided to head back to the hotel. He found a suitable place to hide himself several blocks away, taking on Sunset's appearance for the rest of the trip. He smiled cordially to the few people he passed by, waving at the early morning surfers running to the beach. He was quite happy with how things were going, and to think, he had a whole week of this to look forward to.

The Sun was peeking over the horizon when he made it back inside the hotel. He could feel Sunset's conscious beginning to struggle to wake up. He kept it subdued until he was upstairs and had gone into their room, laying down and getting comfortable. Then he closed his eyes and handed motor control back over to the other, finally allowing her brain's melatonin and acetylcholine levels to adjust naturally. It wasn't long until she was waking up.

“Mm, is it morning?” Sunset asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and sitting up slightly. Her vision was hazy and she still felt very tired.

Carnage's head and neck emerged from her, along with a tendril he used to pat her back. “It's sunrise. You're free to go back to sleep if you wish.”

“Guess I'm still in college mode. I think I'm gonna sleep in a little longer.” Sunset yawned, laying back down and shifting slightly onto her side, gazing at the window. “Could you open the curtains?”

He stretched a tendril out to slide the curtains apart, letting natural light in. Sunset smiled at the colors beginning to fill the sky.

“That's so pretty.” Despite saying she wanted to sleep in, Sunset stayed awake a while longer to watch the sunrise. “So, how was last night?”

“Wonderful. Look.” Carnage brought up his memories of killing Gold Wishes, letting Sunset see and hear everything. “I killed that cult leader you were so pissed off about.”

“Oh! Great to hear, I hope those poor people she's brainwashed can get back to their normal lives with her gone.”

“Hopefully! You should have seen the way she begged to be saved, but no deity intervened! Haha, guess those are the mysterious ways she preached about.”

Sunset laughed. “Yeah, guess so. Ah, and I see the cops showed up...” She was still watching the memory. She made a face when she saw Carnage react by mangling the body further and pouring the blood into his mouth in full sight of the officers. Carnage even felt a pang of empathy from her when she saw the officers double over and throw up.

Carnage also recalled how he leaped forward and tore into a few of them, eating huge chunks of them before fleeing the scene. He let the memories fade there, and Sunset blinked before turning and giving him an outraged look.

“You killed cops?” she demanded. “I said we weren't going to be doing that!”

“I know what you said! But they were right there and in my way and I was still hungry!”

“They weren't in the way, you were able to leave the other way!”

“Yes, but I didn't think about it, I just attacked! I got carried away, you know how it is... you remember the prison.”

“Ugh. See, this is why I prefer being aware of what you're doing when you hunt, so I can stop you from doing stuff like that.”

“So there was some collateral damage. But that happens sometimes. We've taken on such a huge burden. We can't make things better without a few sacrifices. Look, see who else I killed last night.” Carnage showed her the several different gangs he had found and destroyed, using memories from the people he consumed to find their leaders and take them out. “I made so many places safer. Isn't that worth the loss of a few good lives?”

“I don't want any good people to suffer,” Sunset replied.

“Well, how do you know those cops were fully good? I didn't check their memories but they might have gotten up to unsavory things too.”

“I don't like to just assume that about people. That's why I only like us going after people who have been proven to do horrible things.”

“Yes. I know why you have the preferences you do. I let myself go wild last night. I'll be more cautious tonight.”

“Okay. Good.” Sunset sighed and plumped up her pillow, resting her head back down on it. “Thanks for at least being honest about attacking those cops.”

“I figured you'd be more upset if you found out about it on the news later, rather than me just telling you now.”

“Yeah, I probably would have been. But to be honest, I probably won't check the news too much. I mean, I'm supposed to be vacationing. So, I'll just let you do your thing and I'll have my own fun.”

“Excellent idea.”

“Just keep reporting back to me on who you kill, okay?”

“Can do.”

“Great. I'm gonna go back to sleep, don't get up to too much trouble without me.”

“I won't.” He watched her fall asleep again, though it was a lighter sleep than earlier. He figured she'd be back up again in no time, especially since the room was steadily growing brighter from the rising Sun. He examined the room as he waited, stretching himself over to the desk where a small assortment of coffee and teas were available. He flicked through the different bags and took the lid off the coffee maker, checking out the inside. It was a very simple design that appeared capable of brewing a single cup's worth at a time. Sunset would no doubt like that.

He picked up the room service menu and brought it back over to the bed, reading through it. Sunset would likely go downstairs for the complimentary breakfast, but he was curious to see what they had.

One read of the menu later and he was bored, tossing it onto the nightstand. There really wasn't much to do when his host was sleeping. There were only so many times he could think about his future goals before he got tired of that and wanted to actually put his plans into action. He was growing weary of patience. As soon as the right moment presented itself, he was going to strike.

Even his usual pastime of browsing Sunset's memories had grown dull, but he decided to do it again, not having any better ideas. He looked back at her time before that pony princess Twilight came to Canterlot High and turned the other students against her. Sunset was proud back then. Manipulative, aware of her power and flaunting it, ruling over the weak. She was amazing. It was disappointing to see how far she's fallen. Of course she claimed that friendship made her stronger, and perhaps it did in a sense. Her magic was certainly an advantage. But she didn't use it to control anymore. She used it to protect. She used it to inspire.

It was good that he bonded with her. Now he was bringing back her desire for power. He was taking that passion for helping others and channeling it into their hunting. All to make the world better, he convinced her. Some were being destroyed so that others could rise. This was messy, it was hard, but it was right. And she believed him. Even if she argued with him at times, she was changing because of him. And if she refused to reach her full potential, he would make her.

He could feel the incredible magic that waited in the very core of her being. And one day, he would harness all of it.

The Sun had risen quite high into the sky by now. Even with none of the lights on, the room was so bright that Sunset could no longer stay asleep. She stretched and opened her eyes, glancing at the alarm clock nearby.

“It's been a couple hours,” Carnage informed her. “You seem more rested.”

“Yeah, I feel better now. Real hungry, though. Weird, considering how much you must have eaten last night.”

“Our transformations use a lot of our energy. We should eat again. The hotel provides breakfast.”

“Yeah, good idea. We can eat. But let me put on my bathing suit so I can go to the beach afterward.”

“Go ahead.” He went under her skin while she got ready, switching out her street clothes for a flame pattern bikini top and trunks with a skirt over them, along with plain pink sandals. She pulled a towel around her shoulders, tossed her phone and a room key into a small handbag, and headed into the bathroom to freshen up.

Once done, she took a few moments to pose in front of the mirror, checking herself out. She felt her arms, which have gotten noticeably more toned since she bonded with Carnage. She had to admit, she looked pretty good, though she wouldn't mind getting some abs.

You already have an abdomen.

No, like a six-pack. Not one of those real obvious ones, but like... a little bit of definition around here wouldn't hurt. She gestured to her stomach.

I'm sure I could make you look that way if you want. We've consumed more than enough proteins and fat for me to reshape you.

I'll just go ahead and stay like this for a while.

Whatever you say.

Once satisfied with her appearance, Sunset left the room. She made sure it had locked behind her before going downstairs. It was a little strange just wandering around a hotel in her bathing suit, but she wasn't the only one doing it, so she got over her shyness fairly quickly. She got more than one appreciative glance thrown her way, and couldn't help but walk with more confidence.

She felt amusement from Carnage but he didn't comment on it.

The hotel offered a fairly diverse buffet for breakfast. Sunset walked up and down the line a few times before deciding on what she wanted, going over to the waffle maker and pouring batter into it.

She consulted Carnage on his preferences as she waited for the waffle to cook, and once she had moved it onto her plate, she piled another plate up with bacon, a slice of ham, and some sausage patties. Along with scrambled eggs and toast. With strawberry jelly.

She was pretty hungry so she agreed to everything he asked for, taking the food to a table before going back for a drink, deciding on apple juice. She sat down and browsed her phone while she ate, seeing what her friends were up to. Twi was already hanging out with her older brother, the two of them appearing to be at a museum. Shining Armor was pretending to scold her as she leaned on an exhibit with a clearly marked 'Do Not Touch' sign. Classic.

Rainbow was still in the Canterlot area but was apparently looking forward to the track and soccer field having less people on them. Fluttershy claimed to be visiting the zoo every single day, though midway through the week she was also going to go to a water park with some friends. Applejack unfortunately still had work to do at the farm, but said she would try to make it to the water park event. Pinkie had gone home to her family and wasn't posting much on social media, while Rarity was chronicling nearly everything she was up to and listing out her spring break plans for all to see. Mall trips, fashion shows, plays, movies, spa and hairstylist visits. There was a good chance she would return to her classes with a completely different hairstyle and sense of fashion. She just wouldn't be Rarity otherwise.

Sunset looked at Zinnia's MyStable page. Zinnia had a few days off work and didn't seem to have much planned besides just relaxing. Her most recent posts were fun facts about different flowers, along with songs she enjoyed. She didn't have many personal posts. Though her most recent was her endorsing a blog that told people how to plant bee-friendly gardens, which had plenty of information on which native flowers different states and countries should use. Fluttershy had liked the post and commented that she was going to have plenty of flowers for bees as soon as she had her own place. Zinnia liked that.

Sunset wrote, Those flowers all look lovely! Of course, beauty is in the eye of the bee-holder.

Carnage groaned.

Sunset whispered, No regrets, to him and posted the comment.

She then set the phone down as she finished her breakfast, having gone through it pretty quickly even while distractedly browsing the Internet. She was nibbling on the last bit of toast when she saw an exasperated emoji pop up in response to her comment, and Fluttershy said, Haha. BEEauty. She had added an adorable picture of a bee with a top hat edited onto it.

Sunset snorted. She had the best friends.

With breakfast done, she threw away her trash and put her dishes on the designated tray, then headed outside. It was already comfortably warm and as soon as she crossed onto the sand of the beach, she took her sandals off and went barefoot. She was sure it would burn later, but right now the sand was pleasant between her toes. She jogged toward the water, checking where the tide was and laying her towel down a good ways above the damp sand. She hid her stuff carefully under the towel and then headed out toward the ocean.

The waves crashed with a pleasant roar, the sunlight glistening invitingly across the surface, and she wasted no time diving in. A brief chill went through her but she quickly got used to the temperature, swimming out until her feet lost contact with the ocean floor and she had to keep herself afloat. She treaded the water for a while as she just took in the sound and scent of the sea, so at peace that she could almost fall asleep to it.

You think there are sharks out here?

Sunset opened her eyes at that, giving the water an unsure glance. Then she shrugged and said, “Probably but shark attacks are more rare than getting killed by a vending machine.”

People get killed by vending machines? HAH!

Sunset dipped her head underwater to soak her hair, came up to take a deep breath, and went back under to search for shells. It wasn't difficult finding one. As soon as she closed her hand around one, she went back up. Where she was immediately buffeted by a wave before she could open her eyes. She coughed as saltwater got in her nose, covering her face and dropping the shell.

Her symbiote merely laughed at her. She rubbed her eyes off and opened them, looking around, but she had no clue where the shell went. Well, more where that came from. She dove back down. Hopefully she had an entire collection by week's end. She planned on coming home with plenty of souvenirs for her friends!