One Year Later . . .
"You are ready."
Noble Virtue stood by the armoire that sat collecting dust in the corner of the cottage as Sterling looking on. Sterling trotted around Virtue and gave him a proud smile as he opened the doors to the large closet. Inside the armoire sat the sole object Virtue had been striving towards for the last year-and-a-half.
"Before we begin, you'll have to forgive me. I've made a small adjustment to the uniform but it shall protect you nonetheless if not more than it previously did." Stated the old veteran.
Virtue tilted his head in wonder as Sterling removed the suit from it's case and draped it over the young trainee. Virtue felt an overwhelming sense of pride as the rugged leather caressed his fur, contouring to his form as it enveloped him.
All that was missing was the helmet.
"Where's the-
"Helmet?" Sterling cut in, "I took the initiative and had an old friend who works as a tailor fashion you a hood. It's not as flashy but you'll blend in with the crowd better."
"But, but the helmet was the best part!" Whined Virtue.
"Sure, but it's best you appear as inconspicuous as possible when you go after your targets. You'll be harder to spot therefore it'll be easier to escape once the job is done."
Virtue draped the colorless hood over his head, flicking it on and off to get a feel of the sewn material brushing past his mane.
"It's nice . . . I guess."
He sighed in disappointment, yet straightened up when Sterling approached him with a sword enveloped in his magic. With a voice as firm as steel, he began reciting the oath of the royal guard.
"Noble Virtue, do you pledge your life unto the ever-lasting duties of the royal guard?"
"I do."
"Do you swear to uphold the rights of all living things and defend them valiantly when necessary?"
"I do."
"Do you swear to pledge your life to your princesses and the citizens of Equestria, even to put it at risk when need be with complete, unhesitant action?"
"I do."
"Noble Virtue, with the authority vested in me, I dub thee a Royal Guard of Equestria. May you defend her and her ponies bravely and with honor for all eternity."
Three Weeks Later . . .
Merchant King awoke from his slumber in a grandiose king sized bed he'd bought from Quills, Sofas and Beds, the largest Quill, Sofa and Bed department store in Equestria, and slipped into his finest morning gown. His house, nothing less than a mansion, had been paid off by the innumerable amount of money he had procured from ponies in debt to him.
Heck, just about everypony in the Ponyville slums owed Merchant King. He owned all the houses in that district.
"Another profitable day." Spoke Merchant King after a long yawn.
He headed downstairs and sat in his dining room, awaiting the meal that was already on it's way from the kitchen.
"Your breakfast, Mr. King." Spoke the chef.
"Ah, of course. You poached the omelet wonderfully again Mr. Chives. I might just consider giving you a raise."
"Really sir?"
"No. Now, please leave me be and go back to scraping a living off of whatever you do when you're not cooking for me." Said Merchant King, dismissing his cook as he flicked the newspaper in front of his snout.
The newspaper was a window into the outside world for Merchant King, who often found himself watching leisurely on the sideline as events unfolded right outside his manor. Living a comfortable life in a tumultuous era like now was no small pleasure, and Merchant King enjoyed milking every second of it. The headlines today were nothing worthy of a glance, aside from the dwindling number of columnists who bitched and moaned about "unfair treatment", it was still yesterdays news.
"Pfft, Bucking Plebs think they own the town. A quick demonstration should straighten them up just fine. Mr. Biceps?" Called out Merchant.
A buff, surly Pegasus emerged from the doorway wearing a vest with the initials "M.K." draped over his white fur.
"What do you think of rousing the boys and collecting from some of our debtors?" He asked smugly.
Bulk Biceps cracked a toothy grin and grunted distinctively, yelling in reply.
"YEAH!"
Merchant King chortled and downed his coffee in one clean gulp, slamming the mug with finality down on the table.
"Good, it's about time we paid a visit to the Ponyville Slums anyway."
"His name is Merchant King. You probably know him." Said Sterling.
"He enjoys frequenting the brothels around here and extorting the local population out of their hides. He's known for his cruelty, physically and financially, and he pays off the guards to turn a blind eye towards his operations. He's also your first target."
Noble Virtue and Sterling sat over a small coffee table in the dimly lit cottage. The plan for today was simple. Graduate from practice and begin learning on the job.
"What's the point?" Noble Virtue asked blatantly. "I've completed all your training, mastered the art of combat, perfected my skills of stealth and incognito; I should move on to the princess and her cronies. They're more important than some sleazy extortionist."
Sterling shook his head in disappointment.
"Your training is hardly complete. Think of this as your final exam, a test to truly determine if you're ready. The death of Merchant King will not only prove your worth, but it will lift the spirits of the ponies in this district. If we rid Ponyville of him, we will gain the support of the population and show you are more than a rebellious vagrant."
Virtue Huffed in defeat, sighing in acceptance.
"Fine. How do you suppose I get to him anyway? He's always locked away in that mansion of his!"
Sterling smirked and brandished a small map of the Ponyville Slums, spreading it lengthwise over the table.
"Easy. Word has it that our friend Merchant King is up for a stroll this afternoon to collect his "dues". You will strike here. Ensure his death is made public. Let the good ponies of Ponyville know that an enforcer has arrived to dole out some long-awaited punishment."
"Easier said than done. How should I make my escape? There's bound to be at least a hundred guards breathing down my neck by the time I get out." Asked Virtue.
"Ah. A mutual friend of ours, Mrs. Whooves, has agreed to park her mail cart in the alleyway behind the grocery store here. She'll come by shortly after you deal with Merchant King and roll you away, as long as you are hidden within the cart of course."
"Oh, so she knows it's happening then?"
"To an extent. She has been given a menial understanding of the situation." Said Sterling, dismissing the young assassin with a hoof.
"Right then," Confirmed Virtue, "Kill Merchant King, escape out the side through the alley, and hide in the mail cart."
"Good, it's settled. There shall be a reckoning today child, and you will be our sword of justice. Now go forth, and light the spark that will kindle the flame of revolution."
He had been tailing them for twenty minutes now. Merchant King and his cronies paraded up and down the streets roughing up anyone that had owned even a cent to Merchant's operation. The anger welled up inside Virtue, boiling to dangerous levels. He had seen at least thirty store owners, families and pedestrians abused in some way by Merchant King's goons that it was making him sick. But he was forced to think rationally. Too soon, and his window of escape would shut.
He needed to be patient.
"Ho-ho, what do we have here?"
Four of Merchant King's goons had surrounded the local flower pony, Roseluck, and began circling her flower stand. Encompassed by a protective ring of his thugs, Merchant King approached the distraught florist and grinned smugly, leaning lazily on her wagon as he plucked a carnation and pinned it to his suave vest.
"Well well well, we're certainly having a fine morning today, aren't we Rosy?" He chided.
"We are Mr. Merch-"
"Yeah, great. Tell me, how's the little ones? They in school yet?"
"Tulip just entered grade school, my youngest is still-"
"Mhm, right. Hey uh, you got my money Rosy? This wagon sure did cost a lot, y'know? Not to mention all this product. It sure was generous of me to kickstart your little business here, wasn't it?"
Roseluck squirmed in place, stammering a gibbered reply. Merchant King didn't seem to hear any of it.
"Tsk tsk tsk, gets a little difficult for guys like me around here when they start losing money Rosy. Makes me quite the angry stallion, and lately, I've been really angry. Stuff that you, or I, wouldn't like happens when I get angry. Wouldn't you say so, Mr. Biceps?"
Merchant King stepped back off the wagon as the large white pegasus on his left surged forward, delivering a powerful kick to the flower cart, tumbling flower and wagon aside onto the hard cobblestone. Roseluck flew to the ground and gawked over her destroyed livelihood, scooping up whatever flowers she could with her forelimbs, on the verge of tears. Merchant King waved a hoof and beckoned his posse onward.
"End of the month Rosy. You got till the end of the month."
Noble Virtue had already turned away.
Any longer, and he probably would've galloped down to street level and socked the Bucker right in the snout. Now that his target had moved on, Virtue needed to relocate to a more advantageous position. The intersection where he planned to murder Merchant King was coming up, and he was losing his nerve. Up until now, he had never killed anypony.
"Alright Sterling, help me out here." Virtue spoke to himself.
The sweat began to bead down his forehead as he faced the gap in the two buildings he'd perched himself on. He may not have been able to fly, but Sterling did supply him with some vicious fighting claws called "Griffon Talons" used mainly for melee purposes. However, they found it surprisingly useful for scaling walls and woodwork. A mere gesture of the hoof and the talons would protrude, just like the lance blade hidden in the folds of his armor.
"Okay, legs apart, shoulders level, and . . . JUMP!"
The young Stallion cascaded across the roof and extended his talons, clutching onto the shingles of the small warehouse he had landed on. It loosened some, but his grip held firm and he pulled himself up.
"Not too shabby Noble, not too shabby." He said, patting himself on the back.
Another crash and a hysterical scream caught the assassins attention, drawing his gaze toward the center of town where Merchant King was likely to be.
"Well Merchant King, one of us isn't walking away from this today and the way I see it, it's not going to be me."
Noble Virtue extended his claws and jumped.
When he reached the rooftop overlooking the target area, Noble Virtue was already audience to about a hundred citizens, all gathered around Merchant King who had his hooves wrapped around a stallion's mane. His goons formed another protective ring around their employer, squaring off the crowd from Merchant King while he worked. It was Thunderlane, a down-on-his-luck Pegasus, and his face was contorted into a terrible grimace of pain, wincing as Merchant King's grip tightened even further.
"See this? THIS is what happens when you ingrates don't pay up!" Roared Merchant, bringing his hoof down hard on Thunderlane's cheek.
The crowd gasped and murmured, desperately looking for someone to build up the courage to do something. Luckily for them, Noble Virtue was perched on a small ledge, directly above the crooked guild leader. He took a deep breath, remembering Sterling's words as they rang through his mind.
Remember, timing is everything. The lance takes approximately two seconds to fully deploy and you want to make sure you have your target on the tip of the blade after one second has passed. Finally, aim for the neck, always angling the blade so that it punctures the center.
"Alright, here goes nothing."
Noble Virtue deeply inhaled and leapt from the ledge.
Two hours earlier . . .
Silently biding his time in the corner, Noble pondered his thoughts in the corner of Sterling's cottage as he readied himself mentally for the task at hoof. A normal pony would've either backed out by now or given into emotion. But Noble Virtue had all but given up. He instead allowed himself to seethe in his anger and wallow in his sorrow, channeling the energy to use it against his faltering nerves. A long sigh escaped the young assassins mouth as the time for action grew nearer and nearer.
While all his feelings whirled around in his head, in his heart, he remembered.
"Mom, Dad? Penumbra? I . . . I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for you dad. I'm sorry I couldn't save you or mom. I let you all down, you especially Penny. I wish . . . I wish it'd been me. Goddess I wish it had been me back there instead of you. Now, now I'm going to make it all up. I'm going to make it all up to you and Equestria. I'm gonna do something about all of this and make sure it never happens again. I'm not terribly proud of all the ponies I'm going to murder but everything I do, I do for you and everyone that has been wronged under Twilight Sparkle."
The fall from start to finish lasted only five seconds, but to Virtue it was an eternity. The air flowing through his mane almost came to a dead halt as he dropped gracefully from the ledge. The world slowed to a stop as Virtue caught himself in mid-air, getting an interesting view of his surroundings from an odd perspective. The crowd below him ranged from mares and stallions all different in height, age, and build. Merchant King's creased, disgruntled face as he pounded Thunderlane's bruised and bloody face to a pulp.
And in the corner of his eye, near the back of the crowd stood Sterling, paused in time with his young recruit.
Noble Virtue released the mechanism on the lance and aimed true, measuring the short distance to his target's throat.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One meter.
Shunk!
All in an instant the crowd reacted, guards whirled around in shock, and Merchant King fell pinned to the ground by Noble's lance. He retracted the blade and Merchant King stared up into the Colt's eyes, both shocked and surprised.
And for a moment, the world seemed to dematerialize around the two as time slowed to a halt. Just the two of them.
Predator and Prey.
"Wh-why? Why have you done this?" Stuttered Merchant King.
Noble Virtue looked at the dying stallion in pitiful contempt, seeing toward answering the poor soul before he passed.
"You sought to rob these ponies of their livelihoods. Extorting them whenever the chance arose and roughing them up when they can't pay your insane "dues".
Merchant King chuckled, sputtering blood on the floor before him.
"Ha! Extortion? I'm merely collecting the debts owed to me by these ingrates. *Cough* *Cough* You killed me, because I was being unfair? I wasn't playing nicely? *Cough*
"Your methods are unnecessary and cruel. The ponies here can rest easy now with you gone." Said Noble.
"Wake up kid. Without me, none of those lowlifes would've been able to afford to stay in business. Now without me, where the hell do you think they'll get their funding? Their debts will just move on to the next loan distributor in town. You . . . you've solved nothing kid. You spry little shit . . . go play hero . . . see how far . . . you get . . ."
With that, Merchant King, leader of the merchant guild in Ponyville, breathed his last breath as the light left his eyes forever.
Reality snapped back to Noble Virtue as the world around him erupted into chaos. The crowd turned and ran, running in fear before the guards turned up asking for suspects. Merchant King's thugs looked at their boss's limp body and stared back at Noble.
A moment of realization pinged among the goons, and in a fit of burning rage, they charged Noble Virtue.