Eagle opened his eyes to find himself still snuggling with Rainbow Dash in her bed. They both were extremely exhausted from the previous night’s activities. Rainbow was snoring lightly in her sleep, causing Eagle to chuckle to himself. He gave her a kiss on her forehead, which effectively woke her from her slumber.

“Morning,” Rainbow said.

“Hey,” Eagle replied simply.

“Really? “Hey”? That’s it?”

“What?”

“We just made love last night, slept like animals, and now, as we’re waking up, all you’ve got is “hey”?” Rainbow asked amusingly.

“Well… yeah,” Eagle answered. Rainbow rolled her eyes and gave him a light shove as the two started to laugh. They kissed each other once before they sat up in the bed. Eagle wiped his eyes out and let out a manticore-like yawn.

“Whoa,” Rainbow said in surprise.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“No, no, I actually liked that. It sounded really cool. Do it again!”

“I don’t think I can really make myself yawn like that,” Eagle replied. Yet, the moment after he said that, he let out another yawn. “Never mind.” Rainbow shoved him again as she got out of bed. Eagle followed suit, but as Rainbow went for the door, he started to gear up again.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Rainbow asked him.

“Yeah, uh, I can’t really stay. I’ve gotta head up to Canterlot, remember. I didn’t plan on staying overnight, but after what we did last night, I was just too exhausted. So seriously, I gotta get going. In broad daylight, it’ll be much harder to get into the castle,” Eagle explained.

“I don’t get it. Why do you have to sneak in? I’m sure if you just show up, the guards will just take you to Celestia.”

“Have you been watching the news at all since I started being the Assassin? The Manehattan Guard don’t have the right mind to kill me on sight, but I’m sure the Equestrian Guard might think differently. I need to be careful.” Rainbow let out an annoyed sigh.

“Fine,” she said, still annoyed at how quickly Eagle Eye was leaving her. With everything on except his mask and hood, Eagle walked over to her and lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes.

“Hey, how ‘bout I come straight back here when I’m done? We’ll spend a few days together before I head off to destroy the Dark Flames. I’ll need all the moral support I can get too. What do you say?” Eagle asked. Rainbow looked at him still with an annoyed look, but it changed to a soft smile.

“Fine. But you better not keep me waiting,” Rainbow said.

“I don’t plan too.” With that, Eagle put on his mask and pulled up his hood. He stood at the window for a moment. He looked back at Rainbow with his blue eyes in one moment, closed his eyes, and then looked at her with his now red eyes.

“I still think that’s a little creepy,” Rainbow said.

“Eh, I think it’s cool,” Eagle said. The two laughed before Eagle jumped out the window and flew through the skies. Rainbow ran over to the window and watched as Eagle flew off to Canterlot.

The fly to Canterlot took Eagle Eye about thirty minutes. It wasn’t necessarily a far distance to fly, but the wind wasn’t being to kind to Eagle on this day. The breeze was powerful, and wanted only to fight against Eagle. He wouldn’t have it though. With a small amount of effort, Eagle finally arrived at Canterlot.

He arrived on the edge of the city. There were a few guard patrols around the city, all of which were Equestrian Guard members.

“This might not be as hard as I thought,” Eagle thought to himself. As one more patrol passed by his position, he snuck behind them across the street. He then climbed up to the rooftop of the building he was next to using his hookblades. Even though Eagle could just fly up, he still found great joy from climbing up.

From the rooftop, Eagle could scan most of the area he was in. There was a good distance between his position and the castle. But, if he started to fly, he would be much easier to spot. And of course, while being on the rooftops wouldn’t exactly make him invisible, it would certainly be much stealthier than flying or walking on the ground.

With his destination set, Eagle started running across the rooftops. He hopped across gaps, hurtled over the shorter smoke stacks, climbed over the taller ones, and flew over wide gaps. It was always exhilarating for Eagle to run across the rooftops like this. Canterlot was new territory too, which made the experience even more fun. He didn’t know what to expect, which made it more of a challenge, which in turn made it more fun.

The run to the castle didn’t take very long, much to Eagle’s surprise. He stood on a rooftop just outside the castle’s gate. Scanning over the castle, Eagle could see guards posted at every position of interest. Infiltrating it would be no easy task. However, being a Pegasus, getting over the gate would be much easier for Eagle.

Mapping out a plan of infiltration, Eagle took off from his perch point and flew over the gate. He was careful not to draw unneeded attention to himself. Now that he was over the gate, he didn’t want to risk being spotted in the skies. So, to make things a little easier, he landed on the ground and started to sneak around the main courtyard.

Dodging patrols along the way, and using whatever cover he could find, Eagle found himself in the Statue Garden of the castle. There were statues everywhere, each one representing something different. Eagle quickly noticed an entrance directly into the castle, but there were guards at the entrance. Maneuvering around the garden, Eagle made his way to a safe spot to observe the guards. He needed to get them away from the door, but he didn’t want to kill them either.

Looking around, Eagle found a large sized rock, one that would easily cause a well-placed distraction. Eagle picked up the rock in his hoof and quickly chucked it at one of the guards. It hit the guard square in his helmet, and quickly earned the guard’s attention.

“What the heck?” the guard said in surprise.

“What,” the other guard asked.

“I just got nailed in the head by this rock,” the guard said, kneeling down to look at it. “It came from over there,” he continued, pointing towards where Eagle was.

“You’re just paranoid,” the other guard said.

“I’m gonna check it out.”

“You’re wasting your time.” But it was of no use. The guard was already walking over to where Eagle was. As soon as the guard turned the corner, Eagle jumped out, locked the guard in a sleeper hold, and knocked him out. Eagle tried not to make a sound, but with the guard’s bulky armor, it was difficult to stay silent.

“Hey, what happened?” the second guard called over. Eagle jumped up and hovered in place as the second guard came around the corner. All he found was his partner knocked out on the ground. Before he could react, Eagle dropped down and knocked him out.

“Well, that was easy,” Eagle said to himself. With the entrance clear, Eagle Eye entered the castle. It was much larger than he had expected, but he should probably have expected more than he did. This was, after all, the castle of Princesses Celestia and Luna.

Getting over the sudden surprise of everything, Eagle started to make his way through the castle. He was heading for the Throne Room, where he would hopefully find Princess Celestia. But, Eagle soon figured out that sneaking around on the floor of the castle wouldn’t work. There were guards stationed at almost every set of doors. Eagle had to think of something else.

Looking up, Eagle noticed multiple beams and bars that held the castle together. They could most certainly be used to sneak through the castle. Silently, Eagle flew up to the roof and landed on one of the beams. From there, he started to jump through the castle across the various beams and bars.

Soon enough, Eagle managed to find the Throne Room. The entrance doors were quite large, and there were five guards stationed outside. There was no way Eagle could get in through that door.

“Think Eagle. You managed to take out two. Maybe five won’t be so bad. Or, of course, I could leave them. There seems to be a few windows that I could take to get back outside, and I would most likely be able to get back in there using a window in the Throne Room. Hmm, decisions, decisions,” Eagle thought to himself. He certainly did have a few options to approach this. But, the stealth option seemed more plausible. The Equestrian Guard had much better training than that of the Manehattan Guard.

Using the windows in the hallway, Eagle snuck back outside. He then used one of the windows to the Throne Room to sneak into the large yet beautiful room. It was so elegant, much more so than Eagle expected. He really needed to step up his expectations for this place.

Making his way to the center of the roof above the room, he saw Princess Celestia sitting on her throne. Eagle Eye had never seen the Princess in person. He had seen images of her, but never the real pony. She was every bit as beautiful as the images portrayed. But with her mane actually flowing, she looked even better. Again, Eagle needed to step up some of his expectations. He didn’t expect her to be this elegant.

But, Eagle had no time to admire the ruler of Equestria. He still needed her help. But, for him to talk to her, he would obviously need to reveal himself. The only option he really had was to drop down and present himself.

“Well… here goes nothing,” Eagle thought to himself. Jumping off his perch point, Eagle dropped to the floor, slowing his descent with his wings as he landed. Immediately, the guards in the room took notice of the robed stallion. They all drew their weapons, ready to combat the threat. The Princess too was surprised by the sudden intruder to her Throne Room.

“You must be the Assassin. I have heard a great deal about you. I am surprised you were daring enough to try to assassinate me though. I’m afraid you will have no such luck. Guards, engage!” Celestia ordered. Eagle quickly took notice of the guards as they charged towards him.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Eagle shouted, raising his hoofs up to try to stop them. Celestia raised her hoof to stop the guards. They all stopped in place, waiting for another order.

“I’m not here to kill you,” Eagle said.

“Is that so? Then tell me, what has brought you here Assassin?” Celestia asked. Eagle quickly decided that if he was to gain Celestia’s trust, he would need to reveal his identity. He had been thinking that the entire time he was getting to the castle. Now, he had to make the choice. The decision was obvious for Eagle however. He removed his hood and mask and revealed himself for who he really was.

“Please, call me Eagle Eye. As I said, I am not here to kill you. I have a favor to ask in fact. Actually, it might not even be a favor. You might consider it a service to Equestria,” Eagle started.

“Explain,” Celestia responded.

“You see, your highness, one year ago, my mother and sister were killed in the fatal attack on Manehattan by the Dark Flames of Heaven. I decided to dedicate myself to bring about their downfall. Just yesterday, I discovered the location of the headquarters of the Dark Flames of Heaven. It has been kept hidden within the Everfree Forest. They have been using the technology at their disposal to mask their location, using a large and convincing image projector. I wasn’t expecting much from the headquarters, but what I found was quite daunting,” Eagle explained.

“How daunting exactly?” Celestia asked.

“Quite, to say the least. The entirety of the headquarters probably takes up at least one thousand acres, and the tallest structure was about three hundred stories tall. There were soldiers scattered around the place, and their numbers have to be ten times as much as they had during the attack on Manehattan. They have airships all around the air space of the complex. Believe me when I say that they are planning something bad. With the forces at their master’s disposal, how could they not be?”

Everything Eagle had said was the truth, but that didn’t necessarily mean that the Princess would believe him. And, quite frankly, she didn’t.

“Why should I believe you, Eagle Eye?” she asked him.

“Why? Well… uh… I didn’t actually think this far ahead. Well, if anything, you should believe me because I’m your first real lead on where the Dark Flames are. If you need reason to believe what I’ve said, think of that. I know that you have had the Equestrian Guard searching for the Dark Flames for years now, longer than I have. Now, you don’t even have just a lead to them, but you have their exact location,” Eagle explained. “Plus, remember back to the attack on the Manehattan Guard Department Station. I was in there during that attack. Hell, I was the reason for the attack. The right hoof pony to the Master, Ice Storm, and the Master himself, both made appearances. I fought against both of them, managing to kill Ice Storm, and discover the Master’s identity.”

“Really? Who might the Master be then?” Celestia asked.

“My father,” Eagle answered simply. As his words sunk in, the Princess started to scan over the stallion before her. Either he had a really good poker face, or he was really telling the truth. Eagle Eye was looking at her with great conviction. Something told her that he was telling the truth.

“Very well Eagle Eye. I believe you,” she said.

“Wait… really? You do?”

“Yes. The evidence you have provided me is quite impressive. As you said, the Equestrian Guard has been searching long and hard for these murderers. If we could finally be rid of them, it would be quite a boon for Equestria. But, I have one more question.”

“Shoot,” Eagle said.

“How do I know that you are not one of them?” The question came as a bit of a shock to Eagle. He had never been asked that by anypony. And even in Manehattan, nopony ever considered him to be a soldier of the Dark Flames of Heaven, even the Manehattan Guard. Eagle didn’t have a real answer to the question.

“Well, aside from me not wearing their armor, I have always been opposed to their methods, ideals, and doings. I despise them with all of my heart. Believe me when I say that I would do anything to see them destroyed. They took my mother and sister away from me. Why wouldn't I want them gone?” Eagle’s argument wasn’t perfect, but for Princess Celestia, it was good enough.

“Very well then. What is it you require?” Celestia asked.

“Well, we’ll need at least ten thousand Equestrian Guards. That’s about the number of soldiers the Dark Flames have. And, you’ll need some sort of air support. If you want to take out their airships, you’ll need it. You need to have your guards armed with the most powerful weapons you have, and they need to be wearing fire-proof armor. The spell that the Dark Flames’ Unicorn soldiers use is quite dangerous. I would actually consider that you and your sister attend the battle. Your powers would be quite useful. I know that everything I’m requesting of you may seem a bit drastic, if not suspicious even, but believe me when I say that you’ll need all the firepower and ponypower you can get.” Celestia nodded her head in recognition.

“I’ll see to it at once. Perhaps my sister could lend the aid of the Lunar Guard as well. We shall most certainly be in attendance during the battle. I would also expect you to be there. Am I correct?” Celestia asked.

“Yes. Amidst the chaos of the battle, I’ll make my way through the complex, find my father, and silence him forever. And then, we eliminate any remaining soldiers of the Dark Flames of Heaven.” Eagle’s tone had become much more serious rather than defensive. He knew that now he had the Princess on his side, so it was most certainly time to take everything with a lot more of a serious attitude.

“I understand. When shall we attack then?” the Princess asked.

“Hmm… well, you will most certainly need a few days to prepare your soldiers. I suppose I could return here and lead you all straight to the complex when the time comes.”

“I may have a better idea. As my sister and I prepare our soldiers, we shall begin to move soldiers to the outskirts of the forest. If we all move at once, it may draw the wrong kind of attention. We need to move on their position in steady increments. Once all of our men are in position, we shall wait until you arrive at our camp. It will be easy for you to find, yet quite difficult for our enemies to find. I have a spell that will be able to shield our presence from those with evil in their hearts,” Celestia explained.

“Wow, that’s cool. But yeah, I think that may work better. So, you’ll move the soldiers as you see fit, and then you’ll wait for me?” Eagle asked.

“Correct,” Celestia answered.

“Then I guess we’re set. So, I’ll meet up with you again in one week.”

“Very well. I suggest you prepare whatever you deem necessary. If the battle ahead of us is as grand as you make it out to be, we will all need to be prepared.”

“Indeed,” Eagle said, putting his mask back on and pulling up his hood. “See you in one week then,” Eagle finished, turning and walking over towards the window he entered from.

“Hold one moment, Eagle Eye,” Celestia said, stopping him. “One more question.” Eagle turned around to face her. “Are you sure you will be up to the task? If what you say is true, then you will be eliminating your own father.”

“Your highness, I have been ready to kill him since the day I discovered who he truly was. I’ve just been waiting for the right time to do it.” With that, Eagle climbed up to the window and flew out into the skies, heading back to Ponyville.

Author's Notes:

It's almost here everyone! The final battle! Will Eagle Eye's plan lead him to his father? Will Eagle finally be able to claim vengeance on the murderers of his family? Will there be a truly epic battle?! You'll have to wait for the first two questions, but the third one is a definite YES!