Thunderclap gazed down at Twilight with mild amusement, moving along to trimming her hooves. “Tell me, are you comfortable? If I knew you were coming I'd have put down a pillow for them to throw you on.”

The others snickered and Twilight scowled. “I don't know what kind of operation you're running here, but you need to let me go, now.”

“I'd love to, but there's just one small problem. See, you interfered with one of my friends. He was working, on my orders, to collect a debt we were owed. So by threatening him, you threatened me.”

“He threatened that shopkeeper first,” Twilight replied. “I can't just stand idly by while another pony is in trouble. So I ran him off. I didn't know he was with your... group. I'm sorry.”

“You're sorry. Ah, well, that fixes everything, doesn't it?” Thunderclap asked.

Twilight glanced around uncomfortably at the others. “Um, yes?” she said hopefully.

Thunderclap gestured to someone, and one of Twilight's wings was stretched out and sharp pain radiated from the wrist. She cried out, instinctively trying to yank it away, only to find it immobile. She looked back and saw that it was pinned to the floor with a dagger. Her breath caught, mind struggling to process the sight.

“Guess again,” Thunderclap replied.

That bitch! Let's kill her! Venom screamed.

Wait, hold on, let me talk to her for just a while longer!

Ugh, okay but she's going to die slowly and painfully once I get a hold of her!

Twilight looked back up at the mare, taking a steadying breath. Venom helpfully blocked her from feeling the pain of the blade, but she was still aware of it there, sticking straight through her wing. “Okay, it doesn't fix things. So what should I do to apologize?”

“Now that's more like it. Listen up, Sparkles. You need to stay out of our way. I don't care if you're a princess, I wouldn't even care if you were Celestia. No one messes with my gang. Those who do rarely live to brag about it. If you were anyone else, I'd slit your throat without hesitation and string your carcass up in the street as a warning. But since you're a princess, well, I guess I can let you live. But I'm going to make sure you never forget how much you fucked up.”

“Surely we can settle this without violence,” Twilight said.

Thunderclap pointed, and Twilight's other wing was stabbed to the floor. She winced, Venom's influence the only thing keeping her from screaming. “I don't think we can. We didn't get to be the roughest, most feared gang in Fillydelphia by being nonviolent. When we have a problem with someone, we get rid of them. You're no different.”

“What do you think this'll accomplish?” Twilight demanded. “You hurt me, and I'll bring the wrath of every alicorn of Equestria on you. We can easily wipe out your pathetic gang.”

“No you won't. Because when we're done with you, you may be alive, but I'll guarantee you'll never speak of this. We're going to break you, Sparkles. Break you into so many pieces you'll beg for death, and we won't give it. And when you go crawling back home you'll be so shattered you'll never want to talk about this to anyone. Besides... your fellow princesses won't know where to find us if we never let you find out where we are.” Thunderclap stood, walking out from around the table and motioning for the gangsters to back away. They did, all except for two large stallions that kept Twilight pinned.

Thunderclap tilted her head as she examined her, before commenting, “Maybe I'll even cut off your tongue and gouge your eyes out before letting you go.” Then she stomped down hard on Twilight's face, making her cry out. “With that magic-nullifying ring around your horn, you're completely powerless. How pathetic, that even a mighty alicorn can be so easily overpowered by us regular ponies.” She shoved Twilight's face into the floor, rubbing it harshly into the wood until fur was torn out and her skin was raw and bleeding. Then she backed away and sat down, watching her closely. “Alright, I think I've said enough. Why don't the rest of y'all take care of her for me.”

“You really don't want to do that,” Twilight warned as she was slowly surrounded. Venom once again kept her from feeling any pain, and despite the blood trickling down her face, she lifted her head and stared them down with a smug smile.

They paused, glancing at their leader, who barked, “She can't use her magic and she's tied up! Fuck her up!”

Gaining confidence, they came closer, smirking and twirling their knives, looking her over like a piece of meat.

“No, you really don't want to do that,” Twilight repeated, narrowing her eyes and focusing all her magic into her horn. It glowed vividly, and she felt the ring around it start to crack. The others stopped again.

“Ma'am, what if she breaks the ring?” one of them asked.

“She won't be able to break it if you hurt her badly enough!” Thunderclap yelled. “Now get to it, I wanna see those pretty eyes in a vase on my desk!”

Twilight was kicked over onto her side, and she screamed as one of her wings was dislodged from the floor, the knife slipping and cutting a wider gash into her wing arm. Okay, she's played victim long enough.

She snapped the ropes on her hind legs apart and slammed her back hooves into the closest attacker, so hard he was thrown straight up and hit the ceiling. She twisted out of the way, and he hit the ground with a sick thud and passed out. She overcharged her magic to the point that it was painful, but it broke the ring, allowing her to shoot out a wave of magic that threw them all back.

Panting, she pulled the knives out of her wings and threw them, putting them right through the skulls of the stallions who had held her down earlier. They collapsed, and she picked herself up. She felt a pang of regret, but at least it had killed them instantly. She surveyed the rest of the room.

Thunderclap had been thrown through the table, and she clutched her shoulder as she got up. She stared at Twilight. “You're stronger than I thought. But no matter. There's still only one of you, and dozens of us.” She slammed her hoof into a button on the wall, and an alarm started blaring.

Twilight reeled back, clutching her ears as Venom screamed in pain in her mind. Black tendrils shot out of them, and they pulled themselves up toward the roof, finding and smashing the speaker until the noise stopped.

What was that about? Twilight asked.

High-pitched noises like that are... very painful for me.

Really? Huh, that would have been helpful to know.

Before Venom could reply, there were shouts from down below, and several blades were sunk deep into Twilight's hind legs and used to pull her down. She shouted, but with Venom's power flowing through her, it was more out of anger than pain.

“That's it, I warned you.” They dropped to the floor, and Venom took over. They grew in size, all the blades being ejected from their body, and several tendrils erupted from them, seizing everyone in the room and disarming them. By snapping their forelegs and horns off.

Cries and screams of agony filled the room, and Venom grinned savagely. They brought all the gangsters together, their tendrils binding them tightly, and Venom opened their mouth wide, letting them see their glinting teeth and hungry tongue.

“What the fuck are you?!” Thunderclap shouted, finally showing fear.

“We are Venom.” Venom brought her close, reveling in the horror and regret in her eyes. “And you are one tasty-looking snack.” Then they snapped their jaws over her head, tearing it from her shoulders with an easy twisting motion. The others began screaming and begging for release, promising to go straight, they would never hurt anyone again just so long as they were spared.

“Pathetic!” Venom roared once they had swallowed. “You're only begging for mercy because you've been caught! You know what you've been doing in this gang is monstrous but you stayed anyway, and many of you...” They jabbed tendrils into the others' heads, soaking in their memories. “Many of you enjoyed it! You're all filth and you deserve to die! You had your chance to leave but you didn't, and now you will pay the price!” They pulled the tendrils out and began tearing through heads and bodies, swallowing all the juicy bits and drinking the blood, grinning with a manic glee the entire time.

More gang members poured into the room, but they froze upon seeing the carnage Venom was leaving. A few of the braver ones charged forward, but they were quickly slain and consumed as well, causing the rest to lose their nerve and run.

We can't let them get away, Twilight said, mind almost gone in an unfamiliar yet intoxicating haze of bloodlust.

Right you are, Princess. Then let's get them. Venom charged after them. Their hooves grew claws as they ran, and they used them for traction, pouring on the speed as they chased down the gangsters. They vaguely realized they seemed to be in an old apartment building, but it seemed to have been completely taken over by the Gutbusters. The wallpaper hung from the walls in tatters, and cigarette butts and beer bottles littered the halls.

Venom used their magic to slam the front door shut and deadbolt it, then seized the remaining gangsters and pulled them all back toward them. Then they tackled them, tearing their throats out with their jaws while driving their claws deep into their stomachs.

It wasn't even a fight, it was simply a massacre. All the knives glanced harmlessly off Venom's skin, and the few that had managed to get guns found that the bullets bounced off as well.

Venom tore them all apart in minutes, and then piled up the bodies, before laying across them and tearing chunks of meat off. Every so often a stray gang member would make their way toward the door to escape, and Venom would pick them off too and add them to the pile.

But finally, no one else approached them and Twilight pulled her mind away from Venom's, staring in horror at what they were doing. She had thought she was mentally prepared to kill bad guys, but she hadn't expected to brutally attack and rip apart dozens of ponies like this.

Oh, dear Celestia, I... we totally went crazy back there.

I suppose you could call it that. But admit it, that was the most satisfying thing we've ever done. We just took down an entire gang, by ourselves. Or at least, if this wasn't all of them... we took down their leader and decimated their forces. They won't be able to carry on, they will collapse, and Fillydelphia will be just a little bit safer. Plus... this is probably one of the most delicious meals I've had since getting here. Venom broke a skull open and chowed down on the brain.

Twilight shuddered. Yes, but... look at what we did to them! Oh, I'm... I'm gonna be sick.

Don't you dare!

Twilight retched, and Venom covered their mouth firmly with a layer of slime, growling. Bile rose in their throat, but with some struggling, they were able to swallow it and keep their food down.

They gulped, and Twilight said, Okay, I think I'm okay. Can we just... leave now, please?

Venom nodded, and they turned, breaking the front door down and heading out. They did a quick loop around the building, but all other exits had been blocked off except for a single fire escape. They flew up to it, noting that the ladder was down. A few ponies had escaped out this way.

“No matter,” they muttered. “After what we did to the rest of their gang, they're probably running right to turn themselves in.”

They started to fly away, then paused, and went down to street level to check the building's address. Then they walked over to the nearest payphone and dialed the emergency number.

They waited while it rung, and when the operator asked them what their emergency was, Venom said, “Please send someone out to 23896 Willow Street. We're right next to it and some sort of massacre seems to have happened, there are dead bodies everywhere.”

“Yes, sir. We're sending a squad out now, but can you give me any more information? Are there any survivors? Is the perpetrator still nearby?”

“No, no, it's just the bodies. Any survivors made sure they got far away from us. You really should hurry, I think you'll find the victims to be very interesting.” Venom hung up the phone before the operator could say anything more, opening their wings and flying to a building across from the apartment, setting down on the roof. Venom's skin sank back under Twilight's coat, and she gave herself a small shake once she had full control back, looking herself over. They had no injuries, just like when they had fought out of the Life Aura Center. Even the gaping holes through her wings had closed up and there was no pain at all.

All that meat allowed me to heal everything those bastards did to you, Venom said. You're welcome.

Thank you. I still feel bad about doing that to them though...

Why? We saw their memories. They were monsters. They've hurt countless ponies. They've tortured, raped, killed. They deserved what we did.

Twilight sighed but nodded. This was what she had set out to do, after all. She knew it wasn't going to be clean. But thanks to her and Venom, Fillydelphia will be just a little safer. Perhaps their actions would even scare other gangs into disbanding as well.

And if they don't, we'll kill them too.

Right, but we'll need to be much more careful than that... We were seen coming here, and while I doubt we'll be suspected this time, we don't want these sorts of deaths to become a pattern.

I suppose you're right. We'll work on it.

Twilight knelt down, resting her forelegs across the ledge and watching the street below, waiting for the police to arrive. She wanted to make sure this was all cleaned up.

It took several minutes, but finally several armed officers trotted up, a few of them pulling armored wagons. But they wouldn't be finding anyone to arrest today.

They announced their presence, and while a couple went to check out the phone booth, the rest went into the building. Twilight's ears perked forward, and soon she heard cries of alarm. Several ponies hurried back out, one finding his way to the side of the building and throwing up, and a few of the others got on their radios to call for paramedics.

Paramedics? We didn't leave anyone alive, Venom said.

Yes, but it's protocol. They need medical professionals to determine causes of death. And possibly to collect the bodies, but with the mess we made they'll probably need a dedicated biohazard team out here.

Venom snickered. Indeed.

They waited around for a while, watching as the area was roped off and more emergency responders showed up. It quickly became a huge ordeal, as the cops recognized the victims as Gutbusters and identified the body of Thunderclap, which they could only do via her cutie mark, as her head was gone and so far has not been located.

Twilight uncomfortably rubbed her stomach and decided she's seen enough. She crept over to the other side of the roof and flew down, hurrying through alleyways until she was back in a much more well-lit part of the city, and she could find a bench to collapse on, sighing.

Want me to take us home?

Yes, please. She felt exhausted, and thankfully let herself drift off while Venom took control of their body and had them stand up, heading for the train station. She was somewhat aware of everything, but mostly just hovered in a state somewhere between awake and asleep, thoughts off in a cloud.

They seemed to be back in Ponyville within minutes, and Venom took them home. Once he had laid them down in Twilight's bed, he spoke. Are you alright?

Sure, she replied.

I only ask because you seem to have, well. Mentally shut down, is the best way I can describe it. I'm feeling very little from you.

I'm just trying to adjust to the reality of what we just did. If I let myself feel too much, I might start crying.

Then cry if it will help. You shouldn't try to turn off your emotions. I can sense you trying to block off your memories of what we did. But that won't change that we did it. You should be proud of what we accomplished. Yes, we. You wanted to do that just as much as I did, remember?

Twilight sighed and shifted to get more comfortable, laying on her side. Then she reached out a hoof and tapped the pillow next to hers. Understanding, Venom manifested a body so he could lay across from her, gazing at her with clear concern. He was so alien and strange, but Twilight felt safe with him next to her.

“I know we did the right thing,” she said, deciding this deserved to be said out loud. “But it's still so hard, knowing I took so many lives. I'm a murderer. I can't help but think I could have changed some of those ponies. Made them better. I've helped change countless other lives, why I couldn't I do the same with them?” She closed her eyes, tears finally streaming down her cheeks. “Starlight was right. I was too quick to judge, too quick to decide they all deserved death.”

Warm hands grasped her face, and she opened her eyes, startled to see that Venom had leaned in closer. He gently wiped the tears away, and said, “Maybe you could have changed them. But then, maybe they wouldn't have listened. Maybe they were just bad. Rotten to the core. Like...” She could feel him combing through her mind for an appropriate comparison, then said, “Like diseased branches on a tree. And what do you do when the branches can't be saved?” He came even closer, mouth inches from Twilight's. “You prune them.”

Twilight swallowed and pulled away, rolling onto her other side. “Maybe. But ponies aren't branches on a tree. Maybe some of them were beyond redemption, but I doubt all of them were.”

“Then think of it this way. They knew exactly who you were. Princess of Friendship. An alicorn, a being with godlike power that could have destroyed them even without me being there. They had to have known of your feats. You tried to talk things out. They refused. They refused, and they were going to do awful, unspeakable things to you just because you chased off one of their buddies. Who you didn't even know was with their gang. You acted in self-defense. Tell me, do your 'almost anypony can be redeemed' beliefs apply to those who are actively trying to mutilate you?”

Twilight's ears laid back. “No,” she said firmly. “They don't. I fought back to save myself.”

“Exactly. We fought back. And we won. And we ensured no other pony will ever suffer at their hooves.” Venom crept up behind her, wrapping his arms around her barrel. She almost pulled away, but he was so warm and comforting, and she let herself lean back against him. His body seemed to melt around hers, enveloping her. “We did the right thing.”

Twilight looked over her shoulder. His large opal eyes met hers, and after a moment, she pressed their foreheads together. “Right. I guess so. I still kinda regret it though.”

“Of course you do. You're a pony, and your kind simply detests violence. Well, most of you do, anyway. We saw today that there are exceptions. In fact, I'd wager that there are more exceptions than you like to admit.”

“We promote a culture of love and understanding, but yes, there are definitely those who want nothing to do with that, who are cruel and manipulative and will do anything to get what they want.”

“Yes. But we know how to deal with those sorts, don't we?” Venom continued wrapping around her.

“We do.” She closed her eyes, sinking into his embrace. He felt almost liquid as he covered her head and pulled it to his chest, but he wasn't smothering at all. He felt like the world's greatest weighted blanket. Despite everything they ate giving them plenty of energy, she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep like this.

“Then sleep, Princess. I've got you.”

So she went to sleep, comfortable in her symbiote's embrace.