Sharp Side sat at his workbench patiently. He had been trying to connect with Eagle Eye for hours, but nothing seemed to be working. He knew for sure that Eagle had to be hurt. Sharp Side wasn’t even sure though if Eagle had survived the attack on the MGD Station. The attack was all over the news. Lives had been lost, blood had been shed, and the building that housed the protectors of the city was partially in ruin. Surprisingly, the building managed to survive the brutal onslaught of the Dark Flames of Heaven, but it didn’t stop the loss of life.

Sharp Side heard a quite knock on the back door to his garage. He immediately looked to the door in surprise. He got up and walked over to the door. Upon opening it, he was greeted by a battered Eagle Eye. Eagle had been much worse though, so Sharp Side had no idea of the true extent of Eagle’s injuries.

“Eagle!” Sharp Side said in surprise. He was about to wrap his best friend in a bear hug, but he remembered how bad of a shape Eagle was in, so he refrained himself from doing so.

“Hey Sharpy,” Eagle greeted. Eagle walked past his friend and sat down on one of the chairs in the garage. Sharp Side looked to his friend with a surprised expression.

“What the hell is that? “Hey Sharpy?” You almost die, you’re gone for a whole week, and you come back looking like this, and all you can say to me is “Hey Sharpy”?” Sharp Side asked, his tone bursting with annoyance.

“Well… yeah,” Eagle answered simply. Sharp Side shook his head.

“Shit. Talk about abrupt.”

“Hey I’m sorry, okay. I’ve had a few near-death-experiences as of late, so as you can probably imagine, I’m not in the greatest of moods. Although, the one week I spent with Rainbow Dash sure did help.”

“So that’s where you were!” Sharp Side said in relief. “I thought you were starving out in the Everfree Forest or something.”

“No, no, nothing like that. I flew straight to Ponyville when the Dark Flames began to retreat from the MGD Building. Everything was chaos in there. And… I think my father might be the Master of the Dark Flames.” Those last words left Sharp Side speechless. The two stallions stared into each other’s eyes, Sharp Side with a look of disbelief, and Eagle with a look of sorrow.

“That… that can’t be true.”

“I knocked off a piece of the Master’s armor, and revealed his cutie mark. It was the same as my father’s. I’m not sure if what I saw was real, but as far as I’m concerned, the Master of those bucking terrorists is the same stallion that lives in my own home.” Sharp Side still couldn’t say much on the subject. How could Eagle’s father be the leader of the Dark Flames of Heaven?

“Well… I won’t second guess your judgment, albeit a little questionable at the moment. But, I believe you. It would have been a lot easier to do so though if I could have seen what you were doing during the attack,” Sharp Side said.

“Yeah. I don’t know why the camera and mic weren’t working. I tried to get you on the line a few times, but nothing happened.”

“The MGD is surrounded by spells that block out unwanted communications. That would include our communications. I tried getting past the spells, but nothing worked,” Sharp Side explained.

“Well, that makes sense… wait, how do you know that?” Eagle asked.

“My brother is in the MGD, remember? It thought I told you that.”

“Hmm, maybe you did. Man, I haven’t talked to him in a while. Where’s he been?” Eagle asked.

“He’s been away in Baltimare working with the forces there for two years now. He was slated to be there for only a few months, but the training got more rigorous, and he got into it all a lot. So, he opted to stay,” Sharp Side informed.

“Hmm. Well, alright then. But, I guess we should get back to business,” Eagle said.

“Right. So, if you really think your father is the Master, why don’t you just end all of this tonight. So far, you father hasn’t suspected a thing about you being the Assassin. He’d never think that he would be targeted like this. He believes that he’s been safe from being discovered, but we’ve discovered him now.”

“True, and now that I’m thinking on it, every time my father went away on a “business trip”, an attack by the Dark Flames would happen. Those trips were probably just him going on missions with his shite terrorist group.” Sharp Side nodded in agreement.

“That really does make sense doesn’t it? Even during the attack on Manehattan that one night, he wasn’t here for it. He was away.” Sharp Side was about to continue, but he suddenly realized something. And Eagle realized it too.

“If he’s the Master,” Eagle started. He looked at Sharp Side, his eyes starting to tear up a bit. “That makes him responsible for the deaths of my mother and sister.” Sharp Side’s eyes were also starting to tear up a bit.

“Eagle, I think we both know what needs to be done.” Eagle didn’t want to admit it, but he knew it to be true. He had to kill his father.

“I’ll do it. I’ll stay here until tonight. I’ll head home… and I’ll kill him… tonight. But, wait, is my father even home?” Eagle asked.

“He is, actually. He came over before and asked if I had seen you. I was witty enough to say you were in Ponyville with Rainbow Dash. He just thanked me and went on his way. I guess that wasn’t a lie after all,” Sharp Side said, letting out a little chuckle.

“Yeah… I guess it’s settled then,” Eagle stated simply.

“Yep,” Sharp Side replied. The two decided to lounge back in their chairs and wait for the night to fall.

As the night finally fell upon Manehattan, Eagle sat up in his chair and readied himself. Sharp Side got his computer ready and managed to reconnect with Eagle Eye’s mic set. The two shared an abrupt goodbye as Eagle set off for his home.

Eagle landed on the roof of his home with a soft landing. He didn’t know if his father was asleep or not. If he was, Eagle would have the perfect chance to kill him. Fire Streak was quite the heavy sleeper, and he wouldn’t wake up at the sound of Eagle Eye’s soft, sneaky hoofsteps. Eagle peered in through the window to Fire Streak’s room to find his father fast asleep.

“Perfect,” Sharp Side called to Eagle. “Just sneak in and kill him. It’ll be easy.”

“Yeah… easy.” Eagle slowly opened the window and snuck into the room. He didn’t bother to close it, seeing as though he might need an exit window… literally. Eagle stood up fully above his father. If this stallion truly was the murderer of Eagle’s mother and sister, then he deserved death. Eagle raised his left front hoof, extending his hidden blade.

“You, my own father, took from me what was most precious. They were your own, and you betrayed them. I have no forgiveness. Requiescat in pace father,” Eagle thought to himself, as he readied his blade for the plunge. But, staring down at the stallion, Eagle realized something.

This wasn’t right. He couldn’t do it.

Eagle slowly lowered his hidden blade and re-sheathed. He let a tear roll down his face and turned around to the window.

“Eagle! What are you doing?!” Sharp Side called to his friend. Eagle didn’t respond. He simply jumped out the window and hovered outside the room. He closed the window and flew off into the city of Manehattan. He needed to be alone. If he was truly going to kill his father, he would need more time to come to terms with it.

“Not yet… father.”

Author's Notes:

I am fully aware that this chapter is a lot shorter than the previous ones, but they can't all be super long. Hey, at least I got a chapter out for this story. This is mostly just a chapter to build up what is to come. I'll just say it right now that the next chapter will take place six months after this point in the story. That's all I got for now. GO NUTS!