The shimmering, silver moon hung above the clouds like a ornate blade of unspeakable beauty as it brightly illuminated the grand city of Cloudsdale and all of it’s glory. A lone shadowy figure, features hidden behind dark sunglasses and an olive drab trench coat could be seen casually strolling across the long cotton like plateaus of the floating city, towards the general location of the iconic weather factories.
It may have been hard to see due to the lack of light, but the figure in question had dark brown fur with a raven black mane styled messily. The figure hummed a jaunty little tune to himself as he playfully dangled a sharp curved knife from his hoof by the coiled length of tightly braided paracord attached to it. Taking a whiff or two of the clean air around him at several hundred feet in the air, he approaches his destination.
The weather factory was, for lack of a better explanation, a mass of clouds mounded and molded together by the pegasi to properly house all of their unique weather making machineries. It was large, imposing, and surprising open for an enclosed space and was lined wall to wall with countless numbers of weather machines. Even though it was supposed to be closed for night, a faint orange glow could be seen emanating from within the foreman’s office.
Gently sidling up against the entryway of the office, the figure leaned his ear towards the door and easily pierced just a sliver of his blade into the cloud wall. Feeling the gentle vibration from the handle of the knife and using his acute sense of hearing, the figure eavesdropped on the conversation that was happening within while doing his best to track the number of occupants in the room.
“Hmm... vibration doesn’t travel that well through cloud walls...” noted the figure “I’ll have to adjust my actions accordingly. Although...” pressing his ear up against the wall even further, the conversation was made even clearer given how it was really just a mass of condensed water vapors that separated him and the other people in the office “How do pegasi get any privacy around here?” he asked no one in particular.
“-ore of the wine, please” a gruff voice spoke from within “Heh heh heh... this is the life, ain’t it boys?” the gruff voice asked in which several muffled voices replied fervently “Ever since we passed that water bill we’ve been rolling around in the bits and we didn’t even have to lift a hoof! Ah ha ha ha ha! Shows those earth ponies who's really in charge, am I right?”
“Hmm... ten, no... twelve ponies in total” the figured whispered in his thoughts “Could be more but...”
“You said it, boss” a nasally voice of a presumable underling spoke out “That ought to stick it to those dirt lovers. We’ll see how long they last without rainwater! Nyeh heh heh heh”
“...Tsk, that’s all that I needed to hear” the figure grinned on the inside, betraying his outward expression as he leaned away from the wall and then began walking right into the office as if he was practically being invited into into it “Hello, gentleponies”
The whole room grew silent and the jovial feel that they were all experiencing just moments earlier evaporated without a trace, leaving behind only the air of confusion and aggression. The many ponies in the room took aggressive stances, some even had a multitude of weapons readied as they stared down the unwanted intruder.
“Eh? And just who the heck are you?” the gruff voice now identified as a rather portly purple pegasus demanded “Talk fast otherwise me and the boys are going to have to teach ya a lesson on eavesdropping” he huffed.
“...You ponies might have heard of me” the figure bowed politely “My name is Arachnid” just like that, the angered expression Arachnid’s peers had were drained away from their faces, leaving them about as white as a ghost. The big boss trembled uncontrollably from Arachnid’s mere presence, literally losing control of his bladder as a result of the fear that he felt rising within.
“A-A-Arachn-ni-ni-nid!?” the boss shouted, his overwhelming fear making him entirely unaware of his urine soaked self “As in, the infamous assassin who never failed a kill! B-b-but what are you doing here!? I heard you were an earth pony!”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Arachnid snarked “Regardless of the reason, foreman Thunder Storm, I’m here to take your life” he announced as he pulled out his knife “Any last words?”
“W-wait! Please, hear me out!” Thunder Storm pleaded “L-look! Whoever’s paying for you to kill me, I’ll doub- no, I’ll triple that amount if you kill them instead. T-think about it!”
“Oh, you poor, poor deluded fool” Arachnid began twirling his knife around with his hoof “You act as though money is a driving factor for me wanting to kill you. I’ll give you credit though, you’re about half right. I need to eat too, you know? Normally I would’ve accepted any old regular contract, but this here is a custodian’s business”
“Eh!? What do you mean!?” Thunder shouted.
“On a personal level, I don’t like ponies like you. Corrupt fat cats who think they can get away by undermining those weaker in power than they are and reaping all of the benefits of their own selfish actions” Arachnid explained “Simply put, I’m taking out the trash”
“I-I refuse to die like this!” Thunder Storm cried out “Everyone! Kill, Arachnid! Kill him and I will pay you enough to retire young with your own mansions!” Without so much as a moment of hesitation, his once fear stricken gaggle of lackeys all snapped up at the offer of money and viciously charged at the assassin with renewed vigor. Brandishing weapons of the bat and boards variety, they foolishly entered the Arachnid’s web.
Within the blink of an eye, Arachnid gripped onto his knife and activated a hidden trigger. With the trigger pulled, the knife’s inner spring mechanism sent the scalpel like blade flying towards the first unsuspecting individual that it came in contact with at high speeds. With surgical precision, the blade pierced into the skull of one of the pegasi like a hot knife through butter, cutting clean through the bridge of his nose and into his brain.
Lashing out the blade, Arachnid’s aggressors came to horrifying conclusion that his ballad of blood was only beginning, and that he had more than one trick up his sleeve. His first trick came in the form of the braided paracord that was wrapped around the knife. In actuality, it was no ordinary string but rather a unique nylon thread that had been woven and braided multiple times to form a deceptively thin yet powerful and adaptive wire.
With the tensile strength of several hundred pounds and durability of a thick slab of hardened steel, he performed his second trick. Arachnid whipped his knife towards the nearest target who was frozen out of fear, stabbing him in the head as well before he rapidly sprinted past all of them. Using the unlucky stallion as an anchor point, he skillfully dodged any attack thrown at him and proceeded to deftly wrap the thread around the remaining pegasi necks.
Pulling with almost little to no effort, the steel thread tensed up and cut itself through the fleshy necks of the pegasi. Rings of blood were trickling down around each and every one of their necks as they slowly gagged upon their own spittle before meeting their grisly by being simultaneously beheaded all at once. In a single awe filled moment, Arachnid had cut down eleven pegasus like so much wheat.
Rhythmically, the heads and bodies collapsed onto the cloud floor like dominoes. Deceased and without their magic to keep them afloat upon the cloud platform, they all sank down, sending their lifeless corpses hurtling towards earth like rain during the storm and staining the cloud itself with a deep shade of crimson.
Pulling the trigger once more, the knife’s inner mechanism reeled the blade back into the socket of the handle where it was fitted snugly back into place before turning his attention over to the terrified foreman. Remaining as expressionless as ever, he only tilted his head to the side like a curious dog eyeing a meal.
Seizing the single moment of pause to his advantage, foreman Thunder Storm tried to take a swing at him in a last ditch effort to save his own hide. This action proves to be futile as Arachnid blocked the sluggish strike with his right hoof, swiftly stabbing his knife into the foreman’s lower jaw in retaliation. Though the blade didn’t go all the way through, it went far enough to pierce his tongue while just barely scraping the roof of his mouth.
“Come now, be honest. Did you really think you could’ve stopped me?” Arachnid asked as he slowly twisted the knife. Screeches of agony and a sickening gurgle could be heard coming from the bleeding mouth of the foreman as he writhed in pain. Whether he was enjoying tormenting the foreman in his final moment or not, Arachnid didn’t clearly show it.
“I may be a dangerous killer for hire, that much is true... but know that before you die, you’re much worse than I will ever be you scumbag” as the foreman helplessly pawed at Arachnid’s forelegs, one final twist of the knife with just a wee bit of pressure on the handle sends the blade shooting up towards his head where the very tip could be seen barely jutting out the top of his dome.
“There, that should do it...”
* * *
Arachnid stayed at the scene of the crime and quietly observed his work with a sigh of discontent leaving his breathe. He wiped his bloodied knife up against his fur, cleaning it up and doing his best to get rid of all the blood before it dried onto the blade. Humming the same tune that he was earlier before completing the job, he became engrossed in the moment before another unexpected guest made themselves known.
“It’s not nice to sneak up ponies, Hornet” Arachnid spoke as he witnessed the mirror shine on the side of his knife. Gleaming from the reflection, a peculiar pegasus landed behind him. Her coat was a stunning shade of yellow while her brown mane was styled in a tight bun that was held in place by a single fountain pen. She wore a pair of thin rimmed round glasses and had on a beige and black striped vest with a modest beige skirt to complete the look.
“My, my, Arachnid” said Hornet as she took a gander around the office. Taking in the blood soaked portions of the cloud, she let out a long winded sigh and shook her head in displeasure “You’re getting incredibly sloppy for someone who’s suppose to be the best killer that the Custodian assassin’s guild has to offer” she remarked “Is something the matter?”
“What makes you say that?” Arachnid asked, almost oblivious to his own handiwork “I got the job done like I always had. It really doesn’t matter if you get results, right?”
“Normally that would be the case. However, your work has always been quick, clean, and efficient” said Hornet “But as of late, you’ve been much more unrestful with the kills, far more unforgiving and a smidge more... expressive on how you handle things. Are you developing an ego or is it something that I should be more concerned about?” she asked.
“Hmm... funny. The Hornet, a pegasus assassin known for her cold demeanor and nasty habit of finishing off her prey with her favorite pen and leaving haikus inked in the victim’s blood is worried for someone like me?” Arachnid asked incredulously “I’m surprised. For a moment, it sounded like you genuinely cared about me...” he slowly approached Hornet and gently caressed the side of her cheeks.
“Do I have to remind you that our relationship is purely platonic? Intimate relationships between co-workers are prohibited in the guild” Hornet brushed away Arachnid’s hoof, but a faint blush dimly lit her cheeks up as she readied herself to reach for her trusty pen. It was then that the metaphorical light bulb went off above her head and she relaxed her stance “Really? Is that why your performance have been slipping lately?”
“...I don’t know what you’re talking about” Arachnid seized up, something very uncharacteristic of him. But even for a master assassin such as himself, it is still a challenge to avoid being thoroughly probed by a woman.
“I assume that you also knew nothing about that little speech before you killed foreman Thunder Storm then?” asked Hornet with a raise of her eyebrow “Know before you die, you’re much worse than I’ll ever be. Is that ringing any bells?”
“...”
“So the merciless Arachnid has developed a conscience? Albeit a morally twisted one. You can’t seriously be attempting to justify your own existence, are you?” Hornet inquired “And then there's love. Arachnid, try to get these foolish thoughts out of your head. They’re not good for assassins such as ourselves. We’re here to conduct business, nothing more, nothing less. Shape up or else” she threatened.
“...Fine, fine. I’ll... I’ll shape up, I swear” replied Arachnid as he relaxed his whole body “On the same note, how is the cleanup going? Wouldn’t want some random ponies to find those bodies now, do we?”
“It’s going swimmingly. Body Bag is cleaning and disposing of any evidence that may link his death back to you” said Hornet “Your reputation will live on though. Equestria will have yet another reason to fear the Arachnid” she concluded with a fiendish smile “I’ll not taunt you any further about the drop in your performance. Complete this next contract and maybe, just maybe you’ll get a little peck on the cheek as a reward” she teased.
“What? Another contract, as in right now?” Arachnid calmly asked “I haven’t had any time to prepare. In fact, I’m not sure the cloud walking spell that unicorn casted on me is going to last much longer”
“Don’t worry, this isn’t that hard of a task. You should be able to complete it before the next hour” replied Hornet as she pulled out as slip of paper from out of her vest pocket and passed it over to Arachnid “The target’s name is Welch”
“So I’m taking it that his name reflects his actions then?”
“More than you would think” Hornet pulled out a small notepad from her other vest pocket. Adjusting her glasses, she read aloud a record of Welch’s action “He’s a dirtbag from Manehattan who’s practically drowning in debt. I would wager he decided to finally cut his losses and jumped ship. He’s hiding out here, waiting for the situation to cool down a bit. He has no idea about us though”
“So he’s a small fry, eh? You’re right, this’ll be quick” Arachnid hid away his knife back into his coat and began to exit the office. But as he approached the door, he stopped and barely glanced over the side of his shoulder “Two contracts in one night. You’ll keep that promise, right?”
“It’ll be our little secret” Hornet replied with perhaps the most normal smile that she could conjure “Now go on. Welch’s death awaits”
“I’m looking forward to that peck on the cheek” without so much as another word, Arachnid darted off to his target’s destination under the light of the moon.
* * *
Somewhere far on the more seedier side of Cloudsdale, in an area where it was incredible hard to discern hospitable buildings and businesses with the average cloud, the sounds of a drunken rant and beatings could faintly be heard from within the confines a sleazy roach motel. The kind of motel that doesn’t give a damn about what goes on inside each and every of the individual rooms that they provide.
“You stupid, worthless piece of shit!” a scraggly navy blue pegasus with a grayish mane shouted brought down his hoof upon a poor little filly, striking her and leaving a nasty cut on the side of her head “This is all your fault! If you hadn’t came along I wouldn’t even be in this mess! I’d still be single and winning the slots instead instead of spending my hard earn money on a mistake like you!”
The poor filly, no older than six or seven years of age, couldn’t say anything back. Her lips were badly swollen and part of her eye was obscured by the free flowing blood that came from her fresh cut. She choked back her sobs, opting out to curl into a ball and weeping until the pain that crippled her body subsided. Shrinking underneath Welch’s gaze, she could do nothing at at.
“Tsk, be glad that I still need you to make money” Welch slurred as he fell back into his seat, taking another swig for his ill gained bottle of cheap liquor “Get out of here and don’t come back until you find something worth pawning off you mistake!” he yelled as the filly picked herself up with what little energy she had left and and hurriedly exited the room. Leaving Welch all alone in his room as he drank away the night away.
“You know, that brand of liquor got sued for having a rat stuck in one of the bottles” said Arachnid as his disembodied voice caused Welch to jump off of his seat and assume an aggressive stance.
“Grr... who’s there!” shouted Welch “Show yourself punk!”
“Welch, it looks like you’ve failed to make your payments... again” taunted Arachnid “Running away isn't going to help you know. Make it easy for me and just let me kill you”
“Bah! If you’re another wannabe errand boy then I’ve got news for you pal! I’ve sent punks like you to the hospital before!” Welch shouted in his drunken rage “I’m not afraid to knock you down a peg or two!”
“Oh, really?” before Welch even had a chance to make another hasty retort to Arachnid, he felt some several coils of thread wrap itself around his legs, wings, and mouth before he was was forcefully pull from out of the motel room and into the open air where he dangled from the thread like bait on a the hook of a fishing pole “Come now, that was almost too easy”
“Mmhmm! Mmhmm!” Welch cried out in despair, only to become tangled further in Arachnid’s web.
“Aw... what happened to all that swagger from earlier? I’ll admit, you have some stones for threatening Arachnid”
“MMM! MMPH! MMPH! MMPH!” Welch squirmed and shuffled side to side in a futile attempt to escape “MMPH! MMMM! MMPH!”
“Uh, what’s that? You’ve got some last words that you want to say? Perhaps you want to get good with whatever god you worship before you croak” said Arachnid as he skillfully unwrapped the threads from Welch’s mouth “Alright. Speak now or forever hold your peace”
“W-wait! Please, just give me some more time! I-I’ll pay them all off, I swear!” Welch pleaded “Have a heart pal! It’s my damn kid’s fault that I’m buried in so much debt! Not mine! If I’d just used protection like my ma said I should then that little gremlin wouldn’t even be running around ruining anyone’s lives and you wouldn’t have to kill me!”
“...Welch, I’ve read your files. You aren’t fooling anyone. You’re a gambling addict with horrible financial management who enjoys blowing all his loans on the slot machines and cards. And that was before your kid came into the picture” though Arachnid did his best to keep his expression as neutral as he can, he couldn't help but form a cold, hardened scowl across his face.
“Putting all of that blame on a kid, your own kid for problems that you caused yourself? And I thought I was bad... killing you would be doing everyone a service” tilting his hoof, he stringed the thread around Welch’s neck and then angled his body just right until he could see Welch turn from blue to purple. With the proper knot, Arachnid watched with neutral amusement as the pegasus’ own weight led him to a slow death through asphyxiation.
“AcK! P-Please! Let me live! I promise I-ugh! Uuuhhhhh....” before long, Welch ran out of precious oxygen and his pupils dilated into lifeless orbs of useless photoreceptors, turning in a mass of dead weight and future plant fertilizer.
“Easy” said Arachnid as he observed his own work “Quick, clean, and efficient. I haven't lost my touch at al”
“Daddy?” a young, innocent voice spoke out from behind, causing Arachnid to rapidly turn around and drop Welch’s corpse onto the earth. The filly before him had a butter colored coat that appeared matted with a light pink mane covering part of her face. Her body was bruised and battered beyond belief. How she was still moving was entirely beyond him. Her blood soaked fur did little to help him remain composed when the situation turned itself on its head.
“Crap!” he thought “A witness! How could I be so careless!?” Arachnid was frozen in his spot. He was at a crossroad with his moral compass pointed in the black area. The filly before him was a witness, and that meant that even if she was a filly, she had to die for witnessing who he is and what he did. But something from within, fought back. His twisted conscience came into light and he found himself unable to react properly.
“She must be the daughter Welch was talking about. She saw me. I have to kill her, but...”
* * *
“Do you remember that day, Arachnid?” Fluttershy asked as looked up in a sky reminiscing about her past “That was the day that we first met each other. I was still little then, still scared of the world and shy about everything around it. But you... you help me in my time of need. You could’ve killed me, you should’ve. But instead, you took me in, showed me your skills and passed them onto me” a single tear streaked down her face.
“I had the best time being with you. I thought I was just worthless, just garbage with wings but you fought with every fiber of your being to prove that I wasn’t. Even if you didn't show it often, I could tell, you enjoyed being a father of that lost filly, more than when you were working as an assassin. The cruel killer that everyone knew had this side to him that he kept from the world, a side that he was too confused to understand that he even had”
“That’s why... that’s why...” Fluttershy broke down to her haunches, tears freely flowing as he unleashed a torrent of raw emotion from her being. She was hysterical, losing herself in the sorrow that gripped onto her body as she wailed out in the open clutching onto a familiar knife. Before her was a burial mound with a big stone set behind it. On the stone was the image of a spider in its web. The burial of the Arachnid.
“I miss you every day of my life... why did you have to leave me...?”
