Chapter 05.5 : The assasination of the Commander

Third year of the war.
The solar forces hadn't been sucessful in breaking into the country, and were hidden in the Crystal Empire, launching small operations in Equestria, in hope of enrolling more rebels, and shaking the foundations of the country with guerillas. But the Tyrant was confident, and the raids had proven to be succesfull : no one dared openly opose her. She ruled upon lambs and sheeps, basking in their obediance. There were food shortages all around the country, and now, they all depended on her. What was Celestia going to do ? Grow crops ? No. Twilight was their only savior.

But some ponies wanted things to change, from the inside. No need for them to rebel themselves ; they believed even more could be achieved when climbing the ranks of the Tyrant's army. One of those ponies was a young stallion, who had enrolled at the beginning of the war. A stallion coming from one of the poorest areas of Equestria, in a small village from the west, on top of the mountains. And this would be the night he'd rise.

With the fall of the Commander Dare, came the rise of Golden Shield.
This was the assasination that would turn the tide in the war.

***

The poise, the elegance, the stance, the charisma, all characteristics of what made the high ranking officers of Canterlot what they were, stars shining in Equestria's sky, their simmering medals illuminating their perfectly trimmed deep purple military uniforms. The protectors of the Princess, the defenders of the innocent people.
Tonight, those stars were shining bright in Canterlot for a reason. They had recently defeated the solar forces in the East, and they celebrated. The third year of the war had just begun, and for the executives, it was the beginning of a great era. The fallen princess was hiding in the Crystal Empire, and the few guerillas she tried to lead towards success, always seemed to fail. The Dusk forces had the upper hoof, it had become very clear, so they felt they had not much to worry about. It would only be a matter of time before they'd completely anihilate Celestia and her traitors of followers.

They saw Celestia as weak, a failing godess who murdered her own sister when she saw that her power was crumbling. She wasn't able to defeat Nightmare Moon, Discord, or the changelings. Twilight did. So it was only natural that the soldiers chose her ranks, she was strong, and had plans of expanding Equestria to finally assert dominance over the races that had threatened Equestria over the centuries. Celestia had been passive on the throne, choosing to never involve herself in conflicts. And how did that work out for Equestria ? Always on the brink of the war with the griffins, estranged to the zebra, and seen as weak by everypony in the neighboring regions. Equestria needed change, it needed power. And Twilight was their new beacon of light, leading the way into the war against the mad fallen princess, the traitor who had slain Luna, the coward who fled her own kingdom.

And tonight, all the most important noble ponies of Canterlot were gathered in the grand hall, dining and drinking to their desire, thanks to Twilight Sparkle. Commanders, sergeants, politicans, models and actors, laywers, anypony who was important was there. It was the night of the year. The Princess hadn't joined the party ; of course, she was very busy, it was understandable, and the politicans played their games well enough without her. Games that the Commander Dare did not participate in.

"Son," said the large, brown stallion to his subordinate, "I'm glad that the war'll soon be over so I can stop attending those pointless parties."

The Commander was drinking some wine, away from the other ponies, in a corner of the room. In front of him, his young sergeant, that the Commander had picked himself, a young soldier that he had seen on the battlefield and had taken an interest into. The sergeant smiled.

"Ah, I mean, you're probably enjoying this soirée," chuckled Dare. "You didn't have those kind of events in your village, eh ?"

"No sir," responded Golden Shield, his sergeant.

"Well, you don't have to stick around with me. You're young, go have fun, drink with some of these models and actresses. Thell them a bunch of stories about the battlefield and they'll think of you as some sort of war hero, and they'll be all over you."

"No thank you sir, I actually rather enjoy your company."

The Commander smiled.

"You're making this country proud, Shield, fighting for it. Soon enough, we'll end the war, and everything will go back to the way it was."

Golden Shield smiled at him.
The way it was ? No thanks. The sergeant wanted change. He had seen poverty, he had experienced it. He knew the feeling of hunger, tearing your insides apart. He knew what it was like to see sick, malnourished ponies die just because they couldn't afford medicine. He knew that, if you were born poor, you'd stay poor. You were nothing, no one, and you'd die being nopony.

The Commander was a good person, who fought because it was the right thing to do ; avenging the Lunar Princess, defeating the traitor coward that was Celestia, and bring peace to Equestria again, that were his goals, goals of a stallion who had always followed his instincts, trusting himself to do the right thing. But he was born in Canterlot, and even though he had seen the horrors of the battlefield, he thought that the end of the war would stop these atrocities. But those acts of barbary, and savagery, were not products of the war. It came from desperation, and Shield knew that simply ending the conflict wouldn't stop the cruelty of life. Evil had taken root in Equestria, deep in its core. The war couldn't stop now, the Tyrant needed to release her rage and fury into the world first. Equestria didn't need to go back to the way it was.

Equestria needed to burn, to rise from its ashes. It needed to die and be reborn again.

***

Shadow Puppet drank from his thermos, before starting to munch on a twig of grass. He wished he could light a cigarette, badly. But even the tiniest bit of smoke could get him spotted, and he wasn't about to risk it all for a cig. It was warm, and if there had been a moon, it would've been a beautiful night to stargaze. But he had a job to do.

The dark stallion had managed to secure himself a discreet spot in the mountain, with a clear view on the castle. He looked down through his binoculars and he saw only a blur at first, but he adjusted the focus. Finally, the picture took shape. The grand hall of the castle, with the dozens and dozens of ponies attending the gala. Satisfied, Shadow lowered his binoculars. The wind wasn't too strong, and the view was clear. It was perfect.

This would be a piece of cake for the mercenary sniper. He took out his firearm, and laid down on the edge of the abyss. He made himself as comfortable as possible, and took his binoculars. Now, he just had to wait. Wait for the opportunity to strike.

***

"May I ask you a question, sir ?" asked Golden Shield.

"Sure, whatever you want, kiddo."

"Why don't you enjoy those kind of parties ? Weren't you raised in Canterlot ?"

Dare let out a laugh, and patted his sergeant on the back. He then plunged his gaze inside Shield's, his look full of an almost fatherly compassion.

"Do you want to know why I picked you as my sergeant, even though you were a simple soldier ?"

Golden Shield didn't respond immediatly, surprised by the question.

"Yes sir."

"I'll tell you. Look around you, Shield. Look at the people. Tell me what you see, when you compare them to me."

The white stallion looked up, and scanned the room he was in, and then glared at the Commander, and at the hall again. Those ponies, even the high ranked officers, looked like they never had left this castle. And it was true, in a way. The politicians decided of the future of the country without even caring about what was happening outside their precious walls. The models and actors, the journalists and designers, they only knew of riches and fame. The officers ? When their soldiers fought, they were on the back of the lines, sitting safe in a camp, or in a tank, or they weren't even there.

But the Commander Dare... He was different. Even though he sported many medals, they were poorly attached on his uniform, that was a bit small on him, not tailored the right way. His mane was badly brushed, badly styled, and he looked rough around the edges. He was known for going in the dirt with his soldiers, being on the front lines, getting hurt and shot at. He gave his water to the soldiers who lost their gourds, and rescued the wounded, from all camps. If there was a stallion that inspired Shield, despite their different world views, it was Dare.

"You're not like them," responded Shield. "You're... truer. You don't hide."

"And that's why I picked you," smiled the Commander, exposing his battered teeth. "You're not you're background, you're not your origins. You're what you decide. You remind me of myself in that way, I never felt at ease in Canterlot, and you never liked your hometown. You come from a poor, small village and you didn't even know how to read when you entered my ranks. But you didn't wallow in your own self pity, you never thought of yourself as smaller; because you're not. Nopony is unimportant."

Dare was the first pony that had believed in Shield, who saw his potential. He took him under his wing, taught him how to read, gave him books to study, let him tag along in meetings and galas like this one. He talked to him like an equal, not some worm that he could step on and kill in an instant. To Dare, he was someone. He could be anyone. Anything he wanted to achieve, he could. And he would. Dare, in a way, was more of a father figure to Shield than the man who ha raised him, a useless drunk, always too intoxicated to try and care for him. And the Commander saw his sergeant as a son, he who had never tried to settle down and have a family of his own. They were close, very close, and that's why Shield knew that Dare would forgive him. Forgive the awful thing he'd do. Golden Shield raised his glass, and drank.

"Let's fetch another drink," said the white stallion.

The Commander followed him, as they stood near one of the beautiful glass stained windows. Golden Shield glared at the mountains.

***

Shadow looked Golden Shield straight in the eye. For a second he thought the stallion had seen him, and he felt sweat dripping from his temple. But no, the sergeant was just gazing at the scenery, and he soon began talking with the Commander again.
The shooter took another sip of coffee. It had a terribly bitter taste. Time passed, slowly, as he kept his eyes behind the lenses of his binoculars, scanning for the slightest movement.
He cocked his gun.

***

"Oh, Commander !"

A unicorn approached the pair. Fleur de Lys. With a smile too wide to not be forced, she greeted the Commander and his sergeant. Dare bowed his head.

"Miss Fleur," he said. "It's a pleasure to see you here."

"I'm planning to say a few words to the crowd," said Fleur with a dishonnest excitement. "Your sergeant here told me all about your recent success in the East. Apparently, you were fighting for the Princess's glory on the front lines, hoof in hoof with our courageous soldiers..."

"Shield is praising me," chuckled Dare. "Victory wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the bravery of my troops. I was only accompanying them."

Fleur laughed, a little too loud and a little too hard.

"Come now, come now, you're too humble... Anyways, this young stallion here proposed you say a few words with me, so you can tell everypony here how we so beautifully rose as the victors of this battle."

"I'm not sure I..."

Golden Shield interrupted his superior, shaking his head in agreement.

"I think it'll be nice to have you, the real hero of this war," he said while glaring judgily at the useless politicians present, "finally be put on the spotlight. Please, sir."

"Well... Alright, alright. I'll have another glass first, though."

The two stallions laughed.

***

Shadow Puppet lowered his binoculars. He blinked several times. Staying so long with his eyes glued to the contact lenses had dried them out. Once the pain passed, he took out his binoculars again, and tucked his rifle into the crook of his shoulder. He watched. The Commander and Fleur de Lys had come forward, and the ponies around them cheered as the unicorn started her speech, and Dare awkwardly looked around him. He was more than a kilometer from the target, and yet he could see him perfectly. The Commander was there, everyone was there.

And everyone was going to see.

He breathed softly. He emptied his lungs, held his breath, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet took slightly over a second to reach its target.

Commander Dare's head exploded.

***

The assasin had reached the bottom of the mountain. He had hurried himself to hide his traces and leave as quickly as possible. He could already hear the pegasi sentinels searching for him, but hiding himself in the shadows, he escaped their gaze. He was satisfied with himself, knowing the job had been cleanly done. The money had been given in advance, and all he had to do now, was disappear.

As he trotted in a gravel path, Shadow Puppet felt an ache in his stomach, that quickly transformed into a terrible pain, piercing through him. The stallion allowed himself a short break from his run, and grabbed his sides, trying to ease the hurt, but it wouldn't stop. He tried to fight the urge to vomit that had seized him, but couldn't stop himself from puking, coughing up blood with the vomit. He chocked and puked again, as he felt his throat swell up and getting tighter. His tongue had turned purple, and his eyes blodshot.

Shadow Puppet collapsed, and from his bag, his thermos fell out. The coffee. He would take the secret of who had commissioned the assasination of the Commander to the grave.

***

Golden Shield gazed at the mountains.

The Commander was a good stallion. But good stallions couldn't change the world. The Commander wanted for the war to stop, and for Equestria to become again what it used to be. Shield also wanted for the war to end, but not just the war, this era of the country needed to end as well, everything needed to be wiped out, and somepony needed to get their hooves dirty. Somepony needed to be the villain of the story, all in the name of change. Commander Dare had taught Shield that he could be anypony he wanted.

And this night, Golden Shield decided he'd be Equestria's anihilator and savior. He'd destroy the corruption of the country and build a better one on its warm ashes. With the Tyrant, he'd crush Celestia, then their other enemies, the world, and finally, themselves, so everything could be new again. He smiled an empty smirk.

The Commander Dare died that night. And Golden Shield was reborn.

Author's Note

When I first created Golden Shield, I knew I didn't want him to just be an ass. He's definitely a bad person, but is he really a villain though ? Is idealism truly going to change the world ? I really enjoy writing him, and even though he now is more calculating and ruthless, this was him at the beginning. After all, everything he did, he did to get to his goal.
Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice. Hope you enjoyed your read !