Eagle slowly opened his eyes. He was in an incredible amount of pain, with his head still throbbing, yet feeling very light at the same time. He let out a low groan, which made him start to cough a bit. He wanted to lift up one of his hooves to massage his head, but he was too weak. He had lost too much blood during his battle with the Master.

‘The Master…’ Eagle had revealed the cutie mark of that very stallion moments before he was forced to fly off to Ponyville. That cutie mark was the same one as his father’s.

‘My father couldn’t be…’ Eagle thought to himself. He let out another moan. He decided to think on it more when he wasn’t in immense pain. He took this time now to figure out where he was. Looking around, he saw that the walls, and even the bed he was laying on, were made of clouds. He must have been in Cloudsdale, and more specifically, the home of Rainbow Dash. He just knew it was her place from all the posters of the Wonderbolts hanging up.

Eagle then looked down to the rest of his body. His chest had about three large cuts through it, and two small holes where he had been shot. He tried to get a better look by moving his head, but it just brought him even more pain. He tried to move his wings, but his right wing was still in pain from the strike of the Master. That same strike left Eagle Eye without his wing blades. But, aside from the major injuries, all Eagle really had on him were a lot of cuts and bruises. His eyes were no doubt still black from the beating he received from the Captain of the Manehattan Guard. Eagle let his head rest back on the soft pillow and sighed.

“About time you woke up,” a familiar voice said. It came from the doorway. Standing there was Rainbow Dash. Eagle turned his head and gave her a weak smile.

“Hey Dash,” Eagle said. He didn’t know what else to say to her.

“How you feeling?”

“What do you think?” Eagle asked back.

“I could probably get a better idea if you weren’t wearing all your stuff,” Rainbow said. Eagle gave her a confused look, then looked back down to his body. He completely missed the fact that he was still in his robes. His hidden blades had been removed, and his rifle wasn’t on his back, but everything else was still there.

“Oh, hehe, right, Sharp Side’s spell…” Eagle said, looking at Rainbow. “He made it so only I can remove my robes and stuff. It’s so if I’m ever captured, nopony can figure out who I am,” Eagle explained.

“Well it sure makes helping you a lot tougher too.” Using what little strength he had, Eagle lifted his right hoof up and removed his hood and mask. Rainbow Dash then cringed a bit at what she saw.

“Yeah, I know, not pretty,” Eagle said, dropping his hoof back down and letting his mask fall on the floor. Rainbow walked over and sat on the bed next to him.

“I hope you know that I was really worried about you,” Rainbow said, giving him a gentle nudge.

“I am well aware Rainbow, don’t you worry, and I’m sorry. Getting captured by the Manehattan Guard was one thing, but for the MGD Building to be attacked by the Dark Flames as well was just a little too much.” Rainbow let out a sigh and laid herself down next to him in the bed.

“So, how long was I out?” Eagle asked.

“Well… about three days,” Rainbow said, giving him a sheepish smile. He let out a heavy exhale and looked to the ceiling.

“Damn…” was all he could say. “Was there anything you could do to help me?”

“Not much. I tried to heal up your chest, but I couldn’t do much with your robes on. Your face was untouchable too with your mask on. I was able to stop any bleeding you may have suffered, but as far as healing your visible injuries, there wasn’t much to be done.” Eagle nodded and looked to her.

“Hey, at least you tried, and that’s what matters. Thanks Dash,” he said. She leaned in and softly kissed him.

“Just don’t scare me like that again, okay?”

“Not so sure about that, but I can most certainly try,” he said, putting on a smile for her. She giggled and kissed him again.

“Now, how about we try to get this stuff off of you so we can see how bad you are?” Rainbow asked.

“Sure, just give me a minute,” Eagle said, slowly sitting up. Doing so made him start to breathe a bit more heavily, but it wasn’t too serious. Using what strength he had, he started to undo any straps on him. Getting off the main part of the robes was easy, but the under parts were a bit more tricky. They had to be taken off over Eagle’s head, which hurt him a bit. But, after a few minutes, Eagle and Rainbow managed to get off all of his gear.

Taking a look at how bad Eagle really was, Rainbow let out a soft gasp. The cuts on Eagle’s chest were much bigger than he believed, his torso was badly bruised, and his face seemed to look even worse now.

“Why do you have to put yourself in danger like this?” Rainbow asked.

“Like you’ve never put yourself in danger,” Eagle responded. Rainbow let out a huff and walked out of the room. She returned shortly after with a health kit. She opened it and pulled out some of the gauze. She firstly bandaged up Eagle’s wing. She then pulled out some bandages and antibiotic ointment.

“This might sting a bit,” she said. She started to spread the ointment on Eagle’s chest. He immediately cringed and let out a loud groan. Once the painful part was over, Rainbow put a few bandages over the cuts, then finished by wrapping gauze around his chest.

With the worst behind him, he helped Rainbow finish patching him up, placing bandages over his multiple cuts and scars. She gave him an icepack for his eyes, which he held in place for about ten minutes before it became a bit too much to hold, at least with the amount of strength he had in him. Rainbow held it in place for him. Doing so, however, brought her eyes to meet with his. He looked right into her eyes and smiled.

“Hey, um, can you change your eyes back?” Rainbow asked. Eagle let out a soft chuckle, closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, they were blue again.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much,” she responded, bringing him into a passionate kiss. Eagle broke the kiss and looked out the window. He took a moment to breathe and think.

“Look Dash, I know we haven’t been seeing each other a lot as of late, but I gotta get going,” Eagle said, trying to get up. He was quickly pushed back down onto the bed by Rainbow.

“You aren’t going anywhere mister. Not only have we not been seeing each other, but you’re way to hurt to not only go back to Manehattan, but to go out in public,” Rainbow responded. “You’re staying here with me until you’re better.” Eagle gave her a deadpanned look and just blinked.

“But…”

“Not buts, Eagle. You’re staying with me until you’re fully healed, or at least don’t look like road kill,” Rainbow said, giggling at her own joke. Eagle let out a defeated sigh, but then perked up a bit.

“Maybe I could use a break. I mean, I have been risking my neck for Manehattan for a while now after all. I deserve some time off,” Eagle said.

“There you go. So what do you say we go have something to eat?” Rainbow asked.

“Please tell me you’re not cooking.” She gave him a little shove as he began to laugh.

“No, I’m not cooking. I had some leftover pizza from yesterday, so I figured we could eat that,” Rainbow said, standing up from her bed.

“Well that all depends on the time.”

“Why?”

“Because, I don’t want pizza for breakfast,” Eagle said, letting out a short chuckle.

“If you couldn’t tell by looking out the window, it’s the nighttime. If you looked at the clock, you’d know that it’s seven pm.” Eagle looked back out the window, now realizing that the stars were out.

“Man I am really not doing good right now,” he said, letting his head fall back onto the pillow. Rainbow giggled again and started to walk out the door. Eagle lifted his head back up and stopped her.

“What, you’re not going to help me?” he asked her. She let out a sigh and walked back.

“You’re so lazy,” she said, helping him off the bed.

“Only sometimes,” Eagle said. They both laughed as they headed out of Rainbow’s room and to the kitchen.

Rainbow already had the pizza box on the table. Eagle opened the box to find three slices left. They weren’t warm, but they weren’t extremely cold, so they didn’t need to be heated. Rainbow helped him to sit down and then sat across from him. They both took one slice each and started to eat.

“Even a little cold, pizza is still good,” Eagle said, swallowing his first bite.

“Duh,” Rainbow said. As they continued to eat, Eagle found himself getting lost in the sight of Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be unaware of his gaze. He hadn’t seen her in a while, especially like this. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at her. Doing so now helped him realize what he already knew. She was awesome.

“Looking for something?” she asked, catching his gaze. Eagle shook his head and broke his stare. He looked at her, and she looked back with a smile.

“Eh, no, it’s just I haven’t seen you in a while. You look great, as usual.” Rainbow simply rolled her eyes and took another bite of her pizza. “What?” Eagle asked, chuckling after.

“You’re so stupid sometimes,” Rainbow said.

“Yeah, but I’m your stupid.”

“You do realize that doesn’t make any sense?”

“So does your face!” Eagle started to laugh, while Rainbow got up from her seat, walked over to him, and gave him a light smack on the head.

“Stop talking please,” Rainbow said, giggling.

“Nah, I know how much you like it,” Eagle responded, laughing and finishing his pizza.

“Not as much as I like this…” Rainbow brought Eagle into another passionate kiss. That kiss turned into a lip lock for dominance. They both started to push against each, moving their tongues into each other’s mouths. Eagle managed to bring one hoof behind Rainbow and held her close. Rainbow did the same, but she soon started to run her hoof through his red, lion-like mane. They broke the kiss and started to pant a bit.

“I see you haven’t gotten any worse at that,” Eagle said with a smile.

“That’s not the only thing…” Rainbow gave him a seductive smile, but Eagle quickly caught on to what she was getting at.

“Oh no, Dash, you said it yourself. I am hurt, and am in no condition to… you know,” Eagle said, pushing her away a bit.

“Don’t be a baby,” she said, moving back towards him.

“You want this blood all over you?” With that, Rainbow looked at his chest and backed away. “That’s what I thought.”

“Yeah, yeah, just try to make yourself heal quicker,” Rainbow said, almost in a complaining type of tone.

“Yeah, because I totally have Unicorn powers,” Eagle joked. Rainbow simply gave him a shove and sat back in her seat. She quickly finished her first slice then looked to the remaining one. Eagle did the same. They then looked at each other.

“Split it?” Eagle asked.

“You wish,” Rainbow said, grabbing the slice and taking a bite. Eagle watched her eat up that slice of pizza, until she had two bites left. “Just for you, you get one bite.” Rainbow held the slice in front of Eagle, but as he went to take a bite, she pulled it back.

“Seriously?” The only response Eagle got was Rainbow taking another bite and walking over to him. Eagle soon found himself once again locking lips with Rainbow Dash. After a moment, he felt something go into his mouth, but it wasn’t her tongue. Breaking the kiss, Eagle started to chew.

“Well?” Rainbow asked.

“That was both clever and delicious, thank you,” he said, giving her a smile and a chuckle. She finished the slice and then sat back down.

“You’re welcome,” Rainbow finally said. “So, now that we’re done with our sexual antics for the day, you wanna tell me what the hay happened at the MGD Building?” Rainbow asked. Eagle’s smile immediately faded and turned into a defeated look. He looked away from her and just thought.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“No, no, it’s fine, I’m just trying to think where to start,” Eagle said, interrupting her. He let out an exhale and started to speak.

“Well, I guess I should start with how I got captured…” Eagle went on to tell Rainbow Dash of how he had stopped the High Roller gang in Manehattan. After that, he was tailed and captured by the Manehattan Guard. He told her of his beating from the Captain of the Guard and how he thought that the Assassin was nothing but a criminal and a vigilante. Then came the attack. Eagle told Rainbow of how he had to get through the station and get his gear. He told her of his taxing fight with Ice Storm, and then the fight with the Master.

“Here’s the part that may surprise you…”

“Oh yeah, like the rest wasn’t surprising, just tell me,” Rainbow responded.

“As I was fighting the Master, I managed to remove a chunk of his armor that was protecting his lower torso and flank. But, as I stabbed him with my blade, I noticed his cutie mark. It was the same one as my father’s.” Rainbow looked at Eagle with a shocked expression.

“You don’t think…”

“I don’t know Dash. I’m hoping that what I saw wasn’t true, and that I was just imagining it, or maybe it just looked like my father’s cutie mark. I’ll just have to piece it all together when I get home.” Eagle rubbed his eyes and lowered his head.

“Well, whether or not it was your father, at least you have a lead for finding the Master,” Rainbow said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

“I guess so…” Eagle had no idea what to think of it. He didn’t want it to be true, but the overlying facts made it so difficult for it not to be. “Well, I guess that’s all there is to tell. After that point, the Master nearly killed me, but more of the Guards were coming, so he retreated. I flew out of the city and came here.” With his story finished, Rainbow nodded and stood up.

“Well, seeing as though it’s getting late, you wanna hit the hay?” she asked.

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Rainbow smiled and led Eagle Eye back to her room. The two got into the bed and snuggled up together.

“I love you Eagle Eye. Don’t leave me,” Rainbow said.

“I love you too Rainbow Dash, and I promise, I will never leave you.” With those last few words, the two fell asleep.

Eagle found himself alone, in the ruins of the East District of Manehattan. He looked around, confused as to how he got there. It all felt so real to him, yet at the same time, he still felt as though he were in a dream. He looked at his body to see that he was still scarred and beaten, but he felt fine. Everything just seemed so strange.

Suddenly, a path lit up in front of Eagle Eye. It trailed through the ruinous streets of the East District. Eagle saw this light trail through a path filled with destroyed buildings, broken glass, rusty bars, and most importantly, the bodies of dead ponies. Eagle took a large gulp and slowly began to walk through the city.

Eagle hopped over any large pieces of debris, making sure not to hurt himself. While he felt fine, he knew getting hurt wouldn’t do him any good. He made sure to steer clear of any rusty pieces of metal, and not to step on any of the sharp shards of broken glass. But, the hardest thing to avoid was almost the easiest. It was all the dead ponies. Staying away from them was simple, but Eagle just couldn’t keep his eyes off of the bodies. There were so many of them that it just tore away at him.

Eagle started to get the feeling as though he were being watched. He kept avoiding any dangerous things in the environment, but what started to happen was terrifying. The heads of the dead ponies all started to turn to Eagle Eye. Their eyes opened to reveal bright, glowing red eyes. They were all staring him down with hellish looks that would scare a foal to death, literally. Eagle could even feel himself shaking at the glares.

“The Assassin is just a vigilante,” one mare spoke.

“He doesn’t care about us,” said one stallion.

“He wasn’t there to save us.”

“He let us all die at the hooves of the Dark Flames of Heaven.”

“Where were you then Assassin?”

“Why did you let us all die?”

The taunts and cries from all these dead ponies ate away at Eagle Eye, and they all seemed very familiar. He had heard very similar words such as these from the visions of his mother and sister. But now, he was hearing everything on a different level. These voices couldn’t even belong to a pony. They were demonic and cryptic, and they sent chills down not just Eagle’s spine, but his whole body as well.

But, even with all of these voices calling to him, and dead ponies staring at him, Eagle kept walking through the destroyed city. But, he started to hear something from behind him. He turned to see an average sized building was now standing tall behind him. It was completely intact, with not a scratch on it. It was so out of place in this environment, so why was it there? Eagle’s answer came when it started to tip over. Eagle was quick to react, as he took off in the opposite direction. The ominous sound of the tall building toppling over kept getting closer and closer, until it finally hit the ground. Eagle was sent flying through the streets of the city, landing with a painful thud on the hard ground.

Eagle shook his head and stood up, coughing through the dust that had formed from the crashing of the building. When the dust cleared, Eagle looked himself over, finding that he was now covered in dirt and shards of glass. What came next though nearly paralyzed him. The bodies of the dead ponies started to rise up from the ruins of the building. They all looked at him with their demonic red eyes. In a split second, they all jumped towards Eagle. Before he could even try to stop them, he put his hooves in front of his face to protect himself. When nothing seemed to happen, Eagle lowered his hooves.

Eagle suddenly found himself in a dark, dry field. He looked around, seeing nothing but dry, tan pieces of grass. Every piece felt weird under his hooves. There were no remnants of the destroyed East District in sight, and now Eagle was confused beyond belief. He shook his head and decided to start walking through the field. He could feel every piece of grass starting to break under the weight of his hooves. He just kept walking, until two tombstones came in his path. The names read Sky Dove and Ruby.

“Celestia no,” Eagle said, slowing down his pace. He stopped in front of the tombstones, and got a closer look at the horrid writings on them.

Sky Dove’s tombstone read, “You killed us,” while Ruby’s read, “Why didn’t you save us?” Eagle started to hyperventilate, and he wanted to back away, but he just couldn’t. He felt an invisible force stopping him from moving. Suddenly, he saw the torn, beaten bodies of his mother and sister rise up from the ground. They were just as beaten and charred as the previous bodies he had seen, but their eyes were even more piercing and demonic than the others. They shot straight through Eagle, and he was now truly paralyzed by their glares.

“You’re the worst brother ever!” Ruby shouted at him.

“You are not my son!” Sky Dove shouted as well.

Eagle wanted to move away so badly, but he couldn’t. He stood there as these two demonic beings kept walking towards him.

“You are weak, Assassin!” a voice called from behind. Eagle turned to see the Master of the Dark Flames of Heaven. His eyes were no longer the shade of purple that Eagle remembered, but the shade of red he had been seeing throughout this nightmare. But, when the Master removed his helmet, he revealed himself as Fire Streak. Eagle could literally feel his heart both drop and break all in the same moment. But, while still heartbroken, he was also petrified at what he was seeing. While his father wasn’t as demonic and beaten as the others, he was still just as terrifying, maybe even more so.

“No…” Eagle said.

“You are pathetic and weak. You are no son of mine. I tried to convince you, but you denied my offer to become one of us! Now die, like your mother and sister!” Fire Streak shouted. The two mares pounced on Eagle from behind. Eagle tried to get them off, but suddenly, charred hooves started to reach out of the ground and grab onto him. He struggled to get free, but to no avail. With his mother and sister pressing him into the ground, the hooves that were coming from the ground started to drag Eagle Eye into the dirt.

“No, let me go!” Eagle shouted, still trying to struggle. But he couldn’t break free. It was useless. Just before he was fully buried, he looked back to his armor clad father, only to see him laughing.

“Goodbye, “son”,” Fire Streak said, putting a demonic touch on the word son. Everything suddenly went black. With his last breath, Eagle shouted out.

“NOOOO!”

“NOOOO!” Eagle shouted again, shooting up in the bed. He was hyperventilating beyond belief, and started to feel around his body with his hooves. He was shaking uncontrollably and letting out short, uneven panting noises. Rainbow Dash woke up next to him.

“Eagle, what’s wrong?!” she asked, sitting up and holding him. She tried to look into his eyes, but he was shaking too much for her to do so.

“Th-They... th-the ponies… M-Mom… R-Ruby…” Eagle said, now rocking himself back and forth. He started to whimper like a colt. Rainbow held him close in her arms and started to rub his mane.

“Hey, don’t worry, it was just a dream. Focus on me,” she said, trying to comfort him. He looked her dead in the eyes.

“This w-wasn’t… a-a dream…” He started to cry and let his head fall into Rainbow’s chest. She ran her hoof through his mane, still trying to comfort him.

“I’m here for you Eagle. Just let it out.” Eagle did just that and continued to cry. Never before in his life had Eagle been as scared as he was then and there. What he had just been through was the most terrifying thing he had ever been put through. The two Pegasi didn’t fall asleep again for another two hours. Rainbow held Eagle close the entire time, while Eagle simply cried. This was one nightmare he would not soon forget.

Author's Notes:

This has got to be the most demonic, darkest thing I have ever written. I literally went from a semi-happy tone, to full on cryptic. I seriously hope you guys enjoyed Eagle's little nightmare, because I certainly enjoyed writing it, as weird as that may sound.