Latrodectus Mactans

Golden rays of sunlight roused her from sleep, pierced her sensible gray eyes. It lured her, wanted her to open the two orbs and greet the glorious red sky of the new day, wanted her to enjoy the beauty of the rising sun - a gem of Princess Celestia´s powers!

But she wasn´t like most ponies who jumped out of their bed with the first sunlight creeping over the horizon, a happy tune on their lips.
No, not her, not today!
Because today was one of these days she wished she never had to wake up...

Sighing she turned in her bed and pulled the blanket over her head. But the thin sheets she used in summer didn´t provide the best protection against the Princess´ merciless sun. One last time she tried to force herself back to sleep, back to the soothing realm of dreams where nothing bad ever happened.
But eventually, will lost against the burning solar orb and her eyes slowly fluttered open. Suppressing a yawn the mare stretched herself on her side of the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping pegasus next to her with her unfurled coriaceous wings.
After some satisfying audible clunks the Thestral lay relaxed there on her bedside and faced the stallion next to her.

Rain Dove, so his name, was still peacefully asleep.
Only looking at him, evoked pictures and feelings from the past night inside the mare. It had been a night of bliss and pleasure, the thick scent of sweat and love that still permeated the room evidence of their passion.
In front of her inner eyes, she saw his happy face, his calm cyan eyes filled with gratitude, anticipation and lust. She felt his hooves stroking through her red mane and exploring every inch of her. She felt his light brown fur brushing against her black one while their bodies slowly coalesced into one being, their heartbeats synchronizing and playing a fulminating symphony that culminated in wonderful moments of shared utter bliss and satisfaction.

Though, the handsome stallion that shared the bed with her was not her coltfriend. Both of them knew this wasn´t meant to last more than one night. One might thought the beautiful colt with the white mane and tail was just a regular fling, a pleasurable one-night stand after a short flirt at a bar or party.
Rain Dove wasn´t that either.
He was...sort of a customer.
And no, the Thestral was no escort nor was this a brothel!

But still, there was a link between them...

She sighed and turned to stare at the ceiling.
Life was hard as a Thestral, especially as one that didn´t serve Princess Luna as one of her famous Lunar Guards and didn´t earn much money. Ever since she had that accident at a fair back in her youth she missed half of her left wing. From that day, she gave jugglers and ice-cream a wide berth.

Just don´t ask...

Anyway, from that day, her flying ability of course was more than a little bit restricted, so there was no chance in getting a place in the army anymore.
And as a Thestral, intimidating in her appearance, especially with her unusual and dark coloration, it was hard for the mare to find a job anywhere else. Normal ponies in general avoided the bat-winged creatures of the night. They had the reputation to be thieves, uncouth and rogue, or to lure little foals away from their parents and bring them to their dark caves where they gobble them up or make them their slaves.

All of this was, of course, complete and utter nonsense.
But especially Canterlot´s nobility liked to stick to these old lies.
Okay, maybe, at a time without Luna and her Lunar Guard not all of it had been lies...

But nonetheless, after many months of searching she finally had found a small job as a barkeeper in one of the few dives of Canterlot´s (primary inofficial) red-light district, where of course no noble ever would set hoof into and never would admit to even know such a thing existed.
Regarding this, she saw some of them quite often pass the windows of her workplace at night. She even served drinks to them every now and then. Though, even with the low payment and the doubtful neighborhood, it was enough to provide her with all the necessities. She had a small flat at the edge of the city near the cliffs with a fantastic view. Granted, the house was shabby and in dire need of renovation, if not condemned, but it was enough for her.
The furniture in her small bedsitter didn´t look any better.

Though, all of this was nothing compared to the thing that made life really expensive for her.

That one thing was food.

It was the curse of every Thestral - or at least every Thestral without the Royal Guard´s payment.
Because what they needed, was meat.
Thestrals were predators, armored with sharp fangs and teeth to capture their prey, to tear through its flesh and veins and crush its bones. It was part of their nutrition, part of their life. The hunt part of their tradition.

Of course, the vegetarian ponies despised it. It paved the way for even more rumors and for them to dislike her kind to the fullest extent.
Only a few griffin traders sold it, illegal of course, and only in the darkest alleys of the city...
...and at horrendous prices!
Even Princess Luna wasn´t completely spared by this. Everypony knew about her special Guard. And everypony also knew, that she imported tons of fresh meat from the griffin nation to the castle to provide for her soldiers. Rumors even said she had hunters and butchers working for her.

Even the Thestral wondered herself, if these rumors were true...

Of course, she could keep herself up with the vegetarian food of the normal ponies. But she wouldn´t survive it.
Not for long time.
Her body demanded meat, screamed for it!

Finally, her name had given her a solution.

Latrodectus Mactans.
Black Widow, named after her coat´s and mane´s coloration.

Of course, Black didn´t think of this possibility from the start, to do it like her eponym. It all started two years back with a cute handsome stallion who had found his way into the bar she worked at. He had been depressed and wanted to drown his tears in some cheap alcohol. Life had been very rough with him. He got fired, his savings were spent, his foals and wife died in an accident...

It was the same pattern, she noticed, time and time again.
No job, no money, no family, no future...

Black had tried to comfort him, she always tried to comfort them, encouraged them to look ahead to may find a new way, new chances in life. Eventually, the two of them had ended in bed together and enjoyed a night just as passionate as the last one.

And then, the next morning arrived.

It may sounded stupid and mushy, but Black knew she had fallen in love with him. She wanted him to stay with her, to find a way out of his misery together. But he just had smiled and refused her offer.
"You are worth so much more than me." he had told her. "I gave up fighting a long time ago. All I can hope for is a quick and painless death to join my loved ones..."
She didn´t want to believe him, wanted to keep him, but she couldn´t help herself. His eyes had told her everything, told her that all of his words were true, that his soul really had stopped fighting and just sought relief in death.

She gave it to him, gave him what he craved.
It broke her heart.
But she would never forget the gratefulness she saw in his eyes the moment he passed away.
And that´s when Black knew she did the right thing...

Was she a monster?
That was the nagging question that always popped up in her mind, every time she had another stallion or mare lying in bed next to her.

They all knew what waited for them in the end. She told them, sealed the deal.
One night for one kill.
None of them had to stay. None of them had to stay the course and was free to go at any time. None of them had to die.
Though, nopony who ever stayed till the next morning ever wanted to go.
They all stayed...

There was a rustling next to her. Reluctant, she looked to her left.
And what she saw, was the same thing she always saw: gratefulness and calmness, emitted by a glowing pair of old-looking azure orbs, accompanied by a sympathetic and anticipating smile.
Rain Dove, thrown out, betrayed and left by his wife, children taken away by her as well with no chance of seeing them again, no other family members left to take him up, his job lost to industrialization, taken over by a machine.

He would stay till the end.
It was just the same pattern as always.

He gave a simple nod and Black knew it was time.
Slowly she snuggled closer to him and wrapped him in a soothing hug, more soothing to her than to him. She wanted to make this moment last, wanted to give him time to change his mind. She didn´t want to kill, but she had to.
For him.
And for her own bodily needs.

She felt his heartbeat, calm but with a pinch of anticipation. Her head came closer to his and her eyes closed. Gently, their lips connected.
It was no kiss born out of lust and need. There was no tongue, no indication of passion.
Just gratitude.
A 'thank you for everything' from both.
Leisurely, Black rolled them both over so she was on top. Never did the kiss break. Their hooves started to wander about their bodies, placating each other, calming nerves, though sparing any intimate places. This wasn´t meant to go that way...

After what seemed like hours, the kiss broke. Black pulled her head back and looked down at her 'trapped' prey. Excitement, but also pure care for the being below her filled her body. What she saw, was yet the same as always: anticipation, thankfulness and a silent goodbye.
Agonizingly slow, she dropped into his embrace and her lips rose to brush one last time against his lips and then his cheek. Kiss by soft and caring kiss, she left a trail of soft pecks along his cheek, chin and throat until finally she reached her destination: his neck.

The moment was close now, oh so close, but there was still time. The stallion beneath had still time to stop her, to hold her back, to throw her off, run away and never come back.
But he wouldn´t.
She knew it.
Her kiss lingered on his neck a few moments longer, giving him a feeling of total safety. He was in good hooves.
Her mouth opened and started to enclose the crook of his neck. Sharp fangs softly grazed his fur and the skin beneath, sending a small shiver of excitement and anticipation down his body. Finally, he got what he craved oh so much.

One last time, Black held herself back, delaying the inevitable moment, giving Rain Dove one more time to change his mind. A hoof trailed up her back to her mane and gently stroked it, soothing her, calming her nerves.
She closed her eyes...

And then, her fangs closed, tearing through his skin and into his flesh.
But there was no gasp, no sign of any pain.
Just a relieved sigh, as if freed from a ton´s weight.

Immediately, she felt the sweet nectar of life flood her muzzle and she gulped it down greedily. After all this time, she knew exactly which veins she had to cut to let his blood leave him as fast as possible, to make his passing as painless as possible.
Death had not to be an unpleasant experience.
Her way was quick and easy.
The blood loss made the victim black out and from there, they wouldn´t feel very much anymore. It was like softly falling asleep after having drunk one too much.
And with her, lying there on top of him, sucking at his bleeding neck and caressing him with her gently stroking hooves, it was a very intimate experience as well.

In the end, it was kinda like a kiss.
Death´s kiss.

More and more, Black´s belly filled with the ever flowing claret and she felt the heart´s beat of the body beneath her increase, a crescendo fulminating in everlasting silence. The moment was close, so close. There was no escape anymore. The first few moments, she could have stopped, could have bandaged the wound and dragged him to a doctor.
Now, it was too late.
But of course, he didn´t want to turn back.
She saw the big smile on his face, saw the relieve it told of.

He panted heavily, tried to stay awake for a few more moments.
Four last words escaped his throat:
"T-Thank...y-you...B-B-Black...W-W-Wi-Wid-dow..."
One long last sigh left his lips and then, Rain Dove finally blacked out and fell into the deep sleep he had searched for such a long time.
Soon after that, Black at last felt his heart giving its last beat.

Rain Dove, a father, unloved and betrayed by his family, a stallion without work, without visions and hopes and dreams, was dead.

It was the moment she finally, finally stopped holding herself back. A loud sob left her lips, releasing the pent up liquid in her eyes, trailing down her cheeks in thick streams of tears, drenching the gone stallion´s shoulder beneath her and mixing with his blood, making it taste salty.

There was a small garden in the backyard of her house. And a small bed of flowers she called her own. Twenty-five colorful blooming roses adorned it.
This afternoon, she would go to the flower shop.
Today, a twenty-sixth rose had joined the others.

How many would it be at her life´s end?
Hundreds?
Thousands?

Which color the rose should have, she didn´t know yet. Definitely not red. They would never be red! Red was reserved for only the very first rose.

The red rose.
The symbol of love.
Of the love she had killed...

And yet again, there lingered the same agonizing torturing question in her head:

Was she a monster?

Author's Note

Edit: Deleted the cover and changed the long description. This should now prevent people from thinking this is about 'a giant spider', as Diamond Sparkle kindly pointed out. It should look now a little bit more 'professional'...

PS: At all those who want to rape the dislike-button now just because of Black´s infamous red-maned black-coated coloration:
I did my homework. And this is simply just how a black widow looks like! Black with a red pattern! I can´t just change nature for you!