A hooded being skulked in the shadows of the Canterlot side streets under the starry night sky. Rain poured down as thunder boomed in the distance, making the air around the hooded one reverberate. There were barely any ponies out and about since the rain made them prefer to stay indoors. The hooded one's destination was in sight, about a few blocks away. However, just when he was about to continue onwards, he stopped and hid in an alleyway. The rain pitter-pattered on his clothes and the puddles formed on the cold ground. He stood still like a statue, as if trying to blend in with the surroundings. His mind was focused and clear, he had a task to complete tonight, but there was one last part he needed to settle. After about ten minutes of waiting, another stranger walked by the alleyway. The stranger stopped just a few feet away, almost as if he was contemplating something. The hooded stranger panned his eyes to the one standing just by him until he turned around to glance over his shoulder.
His face was that of a zebra's. He looked much older than most of the ponies who lived in Canterlot. The hooded stranger noticed that his eyes were filled with sorrow and regret, and possibly a hint of frustration and disappointment.
"...Were you followed?" The hooded stranger asked bluntly.
The zebra sighed and shook his head slightly. "No..." The zebra replied. His voice sounded as if he was broken. "He...he's no doubt out fooling around with some other poor bastard's wife."
"I'm not here to talk about your personal issues," the hooded stranger said strictly. "My superiors informed me you wanted to speak me before the job. So out with it."
"Of course," the zebra said, nodding sadly. "No doubt, you already know all that he's done. I truly wish it didn't have to come down to this, but nothing I ever did made him stop. All I want is to return home." The zebra reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a tribal knife, wrapped in old cloth. "I brought this with me from my homeland. And I want you to do something once he's dead."
"I am already equipped for this," the hooded stranger replied.
"It was our way, in days gone by," the zebra said back. "And I want you to do as I describe and tell him something before he dies. I...I want him to carry this message with him."
the hooded stranger stared at the wrapped knife for a moment before taking it from the zebra. "I'll admit, this whole job is quite the clusterfuck, among the many other jobs I've had. Especially considering who the client is."
"I understand," the zebra said and cleared his throat. "Just listen to me carefully so that I do not have to say it again."
The hooded stranger slowly opened the door to the hotel room after managing to unlock it. The time was almost near, and he took his position. He stepped into the bathroom and closed it just enough to peek through the crack. He said nothing and was as silent as the shadows of darkness themselves. As he waited, there was a part of him that felt that this was just deserved. He brushed his thumb against the hilt of the knife that was given to him as he waited and stared through the crack of the door. Just then, the pivotal moment he had been anticipating arrived as the hotel room door opened and he heard a voice.
"Yes, dad, I understand." Through the crack, he saw a much younger zebra stallion lazily walk through while talking to someone on his cell phone.
"Nothing happened, I assure you. That stallion was making a big fuss over a misunderstanding. Why would I sleep with his wife? Ponies here are just too soft in the head." The stranger slowly opened the bathroom door as the zebra stallion scoffed.
"Dad, if I were even remotely stupid enough to go out of my way to sleep with a married mare, then I didn't really learn my lesson from back home." The hooded stranger walked up behind the zebra; his footsteps almost nonexistent they were so quiet.
"Look, it's late, I'm tired, let's just call it a day, okay? We need all the rest we can get for that party tomorrow." The hooded stranger stopped just behind the zebra, and even then the stallion didn't notice him yet. "Yes, I love you too, pop. Goodnight."
The zebra stallion hung up the call and the hooded stranger managed to glance over his shoulder to see him texting. The zebra chuckled to himself when he saw an image of a mare taking a nude selfie while propping her bare breasts up and a closeup shot of her marehood. The hooded stranger instantly recognized the mare as the one mentioned in his report.
"Heh, oh how I will love the screams you'll make," the zebra said in a smug tone as he was about to respond. Just then, his ear flicked a little which made him pause. It all happened in slow motion as the zebra turned around and the hooded stranger's arm thrusted right at the zebra's chest.
SHUNK!
KA-POW!
Silence...it was deathly quiet as the zebra's eyes shot open when he saw the hooded stranger staring back at him under the shadow of his hood just as the thunder boomed from outside. The zebra couldn't make heads or tails what had just happened due to shock, which made his phone slip out of his hand. The hooded stranger remained silent as the zebra slowly looked down to see a blade sticking out from under the hooded stranger's sleave and into his chest. Blood trickled out from the wound and the zebra began to find it hard to breathe.
"Wh...What...?" The zerba said in a shaky voice. The hooded stranger yanked his blade out from the zebra's chest, and it retracted back under his sleeve. The zebra stumbled back a few feet before he collapsed on his back with a heavy thump. He tried to move, but his body wasn't listening to him. "Who...Who are you...?"
"That's not the right question...Zakia," the stranger replied, using the zebra's name. "Oh yes, Zakia, I know who you are." Zakia's mind was swimming with dizziness and confusion as his breathing became more labored. "I assume you are having trouble breathing. That's because there's blood filling up your lungs. In a couple minutes, you're going to asphyxiate, pass out, but you shouldn't be feeling any pain right now. Which, by the way, is a mercy for all you've done."
Zakia tried to say something, but his strength to talk had already left him.
"You have been quite the busy stallion," the hooded stranger said as he paced around the dying zebra. "Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Vanhoover, Appleloosa, Dodge Junction, even that quaint little town Ponyville. And now you've set your sights here in Canterlot. All those places, multiple reports of mares breaking up with their coltfriends or divorcing their husbands just because you couldn't keep it in your fucking pants. And just when you’re about to get what’s coming to you, you manage to slip away.”
Zakia's eyes grew heavy as the hooded stranger continued. "What was your plan this time, Zakia? Go to that fancy party you mentioned? Meet up with a one Princess Cadence and her mother-in-law? Who, by the way, are both also married, and sleep with them? Put them under your sick spell of manipulation and ruin a couple more marriages?"
Zakia made a gurgling sound from his mouth as the blood oozing from his chest pooled onto the floor.
“That is correct, Zakia, that is why you are going to die this night. Your actions of adultery and destroying lives and relationships comes to an end. I am well aware that there are plenty of other scumbags in this world but you, my friend, are quite possibly the scummiest of them all,” the hooded stranger said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. “In the end, you made the mistake of getting too attached to one of your victims for the first time. Which is why you decided to stay in Canterlot instead of escaping to another city.”
The ringing in Zakia’s ears grew louder as his breathing became heavier and raspy.
“Well, I suppose none of that really matters anymore, now that you’re about thirty seconds away from my task being completed,” the hooded stranger said. “But before you set off to Hell, there’s one thing I must tell you as part of this job.”
The hooded stranger took out the knife given to him and untapped the cloth. Despite his faded vision, Zakia could still make out what the knife looked like. The faint feeling of shock and despair filled his weak-beating heart.
“Your father told me to pass on a message to you,” the hooded stranger said as he knelt down by Zakia’s head, reading the blade against his scalp. The last thing Zakia felt was the blade cutting into his head. “He said, I tried…”
“It’s done,” the hooded stranger said as he handed the older zebra both the knife and a bloody cloth. “For what it’s worth, you have my condolences.”
“Thank you,” the older stallion said with a heavy sigh. “It pains me a great deal to do this to my own blood, but Zakia left me no choice. I fear it wouldn’t be an exaggeration if I said his actions would have brought ruin to this wonderful country.”
“You should head back home right now so that you can avoid any pariah,” the hooded stranger suggested. “With a known name like yours, it’s only a matter of time before someone points fingers at you.”
“I have already made the necessary preparations,” the older zebra said. “My only hope is the elders of my home will allow me to come back once I present them with this.” The zebra frowned as he tucked the cloth and knife away in his satchel. “Gods curse me, for what I have done…”
As the zebra walked away, the hooded figure felt a twinge of pity for him. He couldn’t imagine the burden he now held for the rest of his life. The hooded stranger watched the zebra walk away into the rainy night until he was out of sight. He then turned and walked in a different direction, and disappeared in the shadows and heavy rain.
