I leaned against the balcony outside Eric's room overlooking the city. Part of me hoped the see the black clothing of the Reaper of the Crystal Empire, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Honestly, his behavior since his fight with Toxic Dust troubled me. It had been days since his victory over the thestral, yet he still acted as if the ghost of the poison user was haunting him: he was constantly looking around and keeping his distance from everyone.

Then the day came where he took a train and left Canterlot. And even as I glanced to the train station in hope, it remained cruelly devoid of the man who had saved my life.

So lost in thought was I that I almost didn’t notice the tears forming in my eyes. Not until a hand brushed my shoulder. Jumping in fright, I whirled on the intruder, fearing for a moment it would be another assassin. But my heart slowed at the sight of Rainbow Dash, her face filled with concern.

“Princess Luna?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh… Rainbow Dash,” I greeted, wiping my eyes. "Did you need something?"

At first, she said nothing, following my gaze to the train station.

“I’m worried about him too,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “He was one of the only people that I thought was cool.”

I hummed, watching the train station myself. “I don’t understand,” I admitted. "Why did he leave without so much as a goodbye?"

Rainbow Dash fidgeted. “Well… he didn’t leave without saying anything,” she admitted.

I turned to her in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“He asked me if I knew someone who could brew miracles,” Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug. “I told him the only one I knew was Zecora.”

Zecora! The zebra flashed in my mind! I know where he is! I realized. I have a chance to see him again! The mere thought brightened my features like the full moon brightens the night.

Hugging Rainbow Dash in thanks, I rushed to the exit and made my way to the sea train. Guards and Rainbow Dash herself tried to dissuade me, but I would not be sated.

Though, as it was, I didn’t need to go far. I had just managed to make my way to the train station when the man himself stepped off an arriving train.

“Eric!” I greeted, ready to sweep him into a hug.

But… the second Eric saw me, he backed away. The look in his eyes. It was as if I was Nightmare Moon once more.

“Eric?” I asked, fearing what had made him so scared. “What’s wrong?!”

"I… need you… to stay away,” he whispered, putting his hands up.

But my eyes widened in horror. His hands were blood red! He looked as if he had soaked them in blood!

“Your hands!” I stammered. “What…?”

But then he groaned. His hands clutched over his heart.

“Eric!” I screamed. I jumped to help him, but he dodged away from me.

“DON’T!” he barked. “Don’t touch me!”

And my heart tore in two as he ran from me.

I didn’t understand. What had Zecora done to him?

On the outside I was a calm as an undisturbed pond. On the inside I was freaking out.

The poison on my shin was already spreading down to my knee and foot.

I tried desperately to remember my One-Piece Lore. In One Piece, the poison killed in twelve hours. But it looked like it was spreading faster than that. To make matters worse, I remembered that the warden’s red poison had no cure.

But then I also remembered; I wasn’t just in One Piece. I was in Equestria! They had magic. Lady Luck had to have something in here that could help me.

The first thing that popped into my mind regarding medicine was that zebra. The one that spoke only in rhymes and lived in the Everfree Forest… Zecora!

But I couldn’t just rush off half-blind. This wasn’t just Equestria either; it was a hybrid fusion of both One Piece and My Little Pony. What if there were differences?

“Don’t just believe what you’re told,” Sombra's father had warned. “Double-check everything!”

Luna was safe. She’d still have Rainbow Dash… Rainbow Dash! Using my shadows, I tracked down the cyan pegasus. When I found her, I kept my distance, but managed to get her attention with a shadow flare.

“Rainbow Dash,” I hissed. “I need to know if there’s anyone who can brew miracles!” Please still live in the same area, my thoughts couldn’t help but add.

"Brew a miracle?” Rainbow Dash replied. “The only person I know who can do that is possibly Zecora. But she tends to live away from society. Deep in the Everfree Forest."

“Near Ponyville?” I asked, mentally remembering the town.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Why, do you…?”

But I left with a quick, “Thanks.” Leaving her staring at the shadows puzzled and beyond lost.

Teleporting from the castle, I bought a ticket and boarded the sea train to Ponyville. The ride was mostly eventless, save for some thug trying to mug a few people. I didn’t even need to use my shadows that much; I just grabbed the idiot and threw him out the window.

Though it was a good thing he wasn’t more dangerous. By the time the sea train drifted into Ponyville, I could feel a pained numbing sensation in my thigh.

It’s spreading too fast, I thought fearfully. Seizing my belt, I tied it around the upper part of my thigh. I need to hurry.

With nothing but hope pushing me on, I made my way to the Everfree, taking great care not to let the poison spread from me… or to anyone else.

For better or worse, the ponies made it easy for me. The minute they saw me, they screamed and fled into their homes.

Figures I thought. Ponyville always did overreact over the littlest things. Well, all the better that they stay out of my way.

But, of course, I eventually had to deal with those ponies. The type that just had to be heroes.

I had just reached the edge of the Everfree when I heard the sound of heavy hooves hitting the ground.

Move, my instincts yelled, and I leaped to the left. Mere seconds later, a cream-colored bull with red hair bulldozed past me like a train, ramming into one of the trees of the Everfree and nearly uprooting it.

Yet, as the bull staggered back… my eyes widened when the bull shrunk. In seconds, a young mare with twin horns on her head and a pair of cloven hooves for feet stood before me. Seconds later, two more landed by her side; a purple falcon that shifted into a mare with orange fur and a purple mane, and a bird shrouded in white flames that shifted into a third young mare with a violet and pink mane and white fur.

“Ah,” I realized. “The Ox-Ox Fruit Model: Bull, The Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Falcon, and the Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Phoenix!" I started to call forth my shadow claws, only for the shadows to dissipate when my heart throbbed; a grim reminder of my situation.

“Wait…” the falcon pony noted. “Were those… shadows?” She turned to the bull pony. “Maybe he’s like us, Apple Bloom.”

“But he’s a pirate,” the bull pony insisted. “Ain’t he?”

“Girls,” the phoenix pony said. “I think he’s hurt."

My heart gave another throb, sending me to my knees. For a moment, I breathed, waiting for the pain to subside. When it got to a point I could tolerate, I faced my fellow Devil Fruit users, finding them to have returned to full normal.

As I expected, it was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“You okay, mister?” Scootaloo asked, kneeling before me.

“I’m great,” I gasped out, my tone cold. “Just dying.”

The three jumped back.

“Oh, gosh,” Apple Bloom whimpered. “I’m sorry I attacked you, mister. We thought you were a pirate.”

“Well,” I mumbled, standing back up. “If I was… you should have had your phoenix friend strike first. Remember that for the next pirate.”

Without waiting to gauge their reactions, I continued to limp into the Everfree. However, their voices rang in my ears once more.

“Wait a minute!” Sweetie Belle yelped. “You can’t go in there!”

“I know it’s dangerous,” I confirmed. “But I need to find Zecora.” I turned as an ominous rustling sounded form the bushes. “She’s the only one who can help me at this point.”

I was hoping that would be enough to make them back off. But I got a little better than that, when Apple Bloom gasped in realization.

“We know where she lives!” she claimed.

“Come on,” Scootaloo said. “We’ll take you to her.”

Without much choice, I limped after them as they forged into the forest. As we made progress, my eyes drifted to the falcon wings on Scootaloo’s back.

“Do any of your sisters know about your Devil Fruits?” I asked.

The three looked at me in confusion.

“Devil Fruits?” Apple Bloom asked. “What’re those?”

“Your powers,” I confirmed sternly. “Do your sisters know about your powers.”

The three looked towards each other, but their silence said a lot more than any excuse they were probably coming up with. I sighed, not giving them the chance to start explaining.

“If you’re worried about me telling your sisters; don’t be,” I assured them. “I’m not going to force you to tell them. But you shouldn't keep secrets from your family.”

Oh, you’re one to talk, I couldn’t help but chastise myself. Indeed, I probably sounded like a massive hypocrite.

But, thankfully, I didn’t get the time to dwell on it. A giant timber wolf jumped from the foliage. The three yelped, Scootaloo starting to shift into a falcon. But I was quicker on the draw, and a shadow blast quickly reduced the creature to sticks and stones. And aggravated my heart again.

“Mister?!” the CMC called in worry, as I fell to my knees again.

“I’m fine,” I barked, clutching my chest as the pain seemed to ease off. “And don’t call me mister; makes me sound old.” I looked up at them with a grin. “Name’s Eric.”

Our trek through the Everfree forest was a bit easier after that. The CMC seemed to relax a bit around me, knowing that I wasn’t some mysterious evil pirate, and even the wildlife seemed to know not to mess with us. Before long, we finally came across the tree hut of the rhyming zebra. Quickening my pace, I slammed my fist against the door.

“A knock will not help your stride,” the deep African voice emanated from behind us. “For whom you seek is right outside.”

I spun around, smiling as I beheld Zecora. Her face was hidden by her cloak and hood, but I could see her striped arm hooked under a basket.

“Just the zebra I was looking for,” I admitted. Carefully, I lifted my pants leg, showing the red of my poison. “I need a potion that can cure a pretty powerful poison.”

“Hm,” the zebra hummed. Setting her basket aside, she flipped her hood back, revealing her impressive Mohawk. Settling herself down, she peered at my infected skin. After a moment of study, she stood and raced into her home.

I followed her in, the CMC keeping a safe distance from me, and watched as the zebra pulled book after book off her shelf. Eventually, she found one with no picture or title, and began flipping through its pages. With a cry of discovery, she turned to me.

“This poison should fill you with dread,” she admitted. “By all accounts, you should be dead.”

Despite her somber tone, my poisoned heart couldn’t help but leap. She had a picture of the Venom-Venom fruit! Taking the book carefully from her hands, I flipped through it, finding every devil fruit from One-Piece written in this apparently blank book.

“How did you get this?” I asked incredulously.

“The journal cost more than one bit,” Zecora admitted. “But the contents there-in, I wrote it.”

"But how?" I asked. "No one seems to know what a Devil Fruit is! How could you write all this down?"

“They have surfaced across Equestria’s kingdom,” Zecora declared. “And one I ate gave much wisdom.”

I nodded. “The Wisdom-Wisdom fruit,” I confirmed, handing the book back to the zebra. She flipped back to the venom-venom fruit, her eyes narrowing in concentration.

“Now, to answer your wish,” she continued. “I will need the little ones to find me a fish.”

"You got it Zecora,” Apple Bloom said with a nod. And together, the three fillies raced from the house.

“Um… what’s the fish going to do?” I asked.

Zecora merely gave me a coy grin before indicating my pants. At first, I didn’t understand, but then it slowly dawned on me why she’d send the CMC away.

“Oh…” I mumbled, my heart fluttering at the idea of stripping before this woman – even if she was more of a zebra lady than an actual human.

“Please, your heart has enough dread,” Zecora insisted, motioning to my shirt. “Let me see how far the poison has spread.”

With my heart still fluttering, I removed my shirt and pants. But I didn't have long to be nervous about de-robing; the poison had made it halfway up my stomach. Even Zecora hissed and made a sign to ward off devils.

“It has progressed farther than you last looked,” she declared, racing to her cauldron. “We must hurry before your life is hooked!”

As I hurriedly re-dressed myself, Zecora started tossing various liquids and herbs into her brew. Several times, she consulted her journal, murmuring to herself in a strange, vaguely African language. When the brew began to boil and bubble, Zecora dipped a bowl into the mixture and made her way over to me.

“Drink, and never mind its bite,” Zecora insisted, handing me the bowl. “It should dull the poison’s might.”

Despite her warning about ‘bite,’ I didn’t find the liquid all that distasteful. Clearly, the zebra had yet to drink straight Crystal Empire moonshine. Plus, as the concoction trickled down my throat, a sigh of relief escaped me. The pain that had racked my body for the past hour was subsiding by a massive margin.

“I appreciate the aid,” I confessed. “But I don’t suppose that brew stopped it completely, eh?”

Zecora winced sheepishly. “Two of your Devil Fruits might render it moot,” she said. “The Heal-Heal Fruit, and the Horm-Horm Fruit.”

“And… you wouldn’t happen to know where they are?”

She sadly shook her head. “A fetch quest, you must unfortunately brave,” she said. “For without those fruits, you should prepare your grave.”

Despite her somber tone, I still felt my eyes beam with renewed hope. I had no idea where the Heal-Heal Fruit was. But I more than remembered where the Horm-Horm fruit had ended up.

“Thank you, Zecora,” I said, opting to bow rather than risk infecting her with a hug or handshake. “You’ve been a huge help.”

Though, before I could walk out, the door slammed open. Right into my face. I swore, clutching my nose, as Scootaloo burst in.

“Oh! Sorry, Eric,” Scootaloo stammered, panic cracking her voice. “But Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom are in trouble!”

I was still collecting myself, but my instincts pricked at the mention of trouble. “What happened?” I asked.

“Changelings!”

That was all I needed to hear. Careful not to bowl into the young mare, I plunged into my shadow, tracking down the ponies.

I found them on their knees, their eyes tinted green as they stared off into some fantasy in their heads. A trio of changelings were in front of them.

Yet… as I drew closer, I realized one of them was fighting the other two. This… ‘ally,’ I guess I could call him, had blue-ish green hair and blue eyes. He wore grey pants, black leather books, and a brown and green tunic with fur on his shoulders. Two daggers were clutched in both hands, and a bow was slung over his shoulder. I remembered reading that most changelings had either wings or a horn, but this one had both!

"Stand down!” the odd changeling ordered his brethren. “Return to your hive!”

“Our Queen needs ponies,” the winged changeling hissed. “Think of their love! The drones they could spawn…”

I fumed at their implications. My anger was only calmed by the sight of some sort of gas wafting off the friendly changeling. Whatever it was, it seemed to be protecting Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

“You should think about yourselves first,” the friendly changeling hissed back, before he launched a cloud of the gas at the pair.

The winged changelings gagged, clutching at their necks before falling to their knees.

"W-What magic is this?" coughed the horned changeling.

“Not magic,” the odd changeling admitted, the gas returning to his outstretched arm. “Poison gas.”

With that, the changeling soldiers fell to the ground, giving one last twitch apiece before going still with death.

For a moment, I didn’t know what to do. But, when the changeling turned back towards the girls, I took a step between them, giving him a warning glare. Thankfully, he sheathed his daggers and raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm not going to hurt them,” he assured me. "Right now, they’re stuck in a trance. An Illusion that shows them their happiest memory."

His horn glowed a green color, and a magic aura of the same color enveloped his hand.

"And in turn causes them to pour love from their very being,” he added.

With a shiver through my core, I noticed his hands were shaking.

He's resisting the urge to feed on their love,I realized. Maybe he can be trusted. At least a little.

My trust in him only increased as the young mares' eyes suddenly returned to normal. They collapsed to the ground, panting as if they had both run a mile.

“Apologies,” the changeling said. "The others managed to feed on them for quite a bit before I could intervene. They'll be out of it for a while."

I knelt next to the mares, but didn’t dare touch them, instead using shadow tendrils to lift them up. I glanced up at the changeling.

"Who are you?” I asked. “You're not like any the other changelings I've faced.”

He smiled softly. “True enough,” he admitted. He gave a small bow. “My name is Echo Silhouette. King of Silhouette Hive.”

I blinked in shock. “Don’t changelings only have queens?” I asked. “Like honey bees?” As I asked, I made my way back to Zecora's. He trailed behind me, almost like he was trying not to be seen.

“Normally,” he admitted. “As far as I’m aware, I’m the only changeling king. Unlike other changelings, I only feed when I need to. As my mother did.”

As we talked, we made it to the clearing outside of Zecora’s hut.

“Then I recommend you stay out here,” I advised. “These girls only know the bad changelings. And there’s an orange one who’s a little too gung-ho.” I turned to the door. “Kinda like her sister figure…”

I opened the door… only to have said orange one charge out, arms spread to give me a hug.

“Eric!” she cheered.

Without thinking, I yanked her shadow up, blocking her from me. But as I blocked her, the shadow’s eyes came to life, burning red and hateful.

“You’re not good enough to be Rainbow’s sister,” It snarled spitefully. “You can only fly because of that Devil Fruit thing. You can't even stop a few changelings! Pretty pathetic don't ya think?”

With a yell of shock, I released control of the filly’s shadow, forcing it back to the ground where it belonged. When I looked up, Scootaloo was stepping back, shock mixing with grief on her face.

“I’m sorry, Scootaloo,” I whispered, wishing I could wipe the tears forming in her eyes away. “But I can’t let you touch me.” I indicated my leg. “The poison I have is severely contagious.”

Scootaloo didn’t respond, staring at where her shadow was. With a sigh of regret, I set her friends on Zecora’s bed, and turned back to Canterlot. I felt Echo’s presence following me, but I didn’t have time for the changeling king.

Right now, I needed to find Photo Finish.

Venom Arc Ch.3

So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a comment down below telling me what you think

and here is our Author Oc given life by Ranbro
Name: Echo Silhouette.
Race:changeling
Devil Fruit: Gas-Gas Fruit

Thanks for letting me use him

if you want your Oc in this fanfic just put this in the comments or meesage me
Name:
Race:
Description:
Devil Fruit:(optional)
Backstory:(Their backstory will determine whether or not if I can use them)

Next Update