The sun rose over the city of Manehattan. Already the streets were bustling with ponies going about their daily lives in the big city. Whether they be going to work, shopping, hanging out, or anything else, life was good for the ponies of Manehattan. Some ponies took to more practical things like trying their luck at daytime robberies and thieveries, but the local authorities would always handle such things. Life was just as it always should be in Manehattan.

Some ponies, however, lived life a little better in Manehattan. One such pony was Eagle Eye. The twenty year old Pegasus stallion lied in bed, deep in his sleep. Even though the sun was beginning to rise, he had no plans for the morning except to sleep in. He lightly snored in his sleep. He was quite the heavy sleeper, but the one thing that could always wake him up was his younger Unicorn sister, Ruby. Eagle Eye was awoken by a knock on the door.

“Wha… who is it?” he said. He didn’t like being woken up, especially when he didn’t have anything to do but sleep. Ruby entered the room and used her magic to move shades to let in the sunlight. Eagle shielded his eyes from the sudden light entering his room. “Ruby, what are you doing?” The light red mare stood in front of her brother. She was levitating a brush, using it to brush out her purple and green highlighted mane.

“You promised me you would take me out to help look for a dress for my date,” she said. Ruby was two years younger than Eagle Eye, but she still sometimes acted a little childish. She continued to brush her hair as Eagle looked back to her.

“Yeah, I promised I would take you at like three o’clock, not eleven in the morning. Let me sleep.” Seeing as though he was already awake, Eagle Eye sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. “Seriously, what is the big deal anyway?” Ruby looked at him crossly with her dark green eyes.

“The big deal, big brother, is that I have a date tomorrow, and I still don’t have a dress!” Ruby replied. Her voice almost screeched a bit, but she managed to contain herself. Eagle groaned a bit before trying to get out of bed.

“Alright, alright, I just don’t see why you had to wake me up.”

“I want to go now. I remember passing a store yesterday on my way home with a perfect dress, but a lot of other mares were looking at it too. I want to be able to get it!”

“Ok, why not have Mom or Dad take you?” he asked.

“Well, Mom went out for a morning walk with Sharp Side’s mother, and Dad still isn’t home,” Ruby replied, finishing brushing her hair.

“What?! He said he would be home last night! I mean, yeah, by the time we were all asleep, but still, he said last night! Damn.” Eagle always got pissed when his father stayed away on trips. He would always promise to come home at some point, only to wind up coming home two days later, or sometimes even a full week after.

“Eagle, you know he’s a busy stallion.”

“I know that, it just seems that he’s always too busy. I guess that’s part of being a grown stallion. Oh well, I guess since I’m up I might as well take you to get your precious dress. Just let me have some breakfast and then we can get going.” Ruby smiled and kissed her brother on the cheek before trotting out of his room and downstairs to the kitchen.

The white stallion was left in his room alone. He picked himself up off of his bed and walked over to his full body mirror. He quickly brushed his red, lion-like mane out. Eagle would always suffer from bad bed hair. But, he easily became a pro at fixing his mane up in a perfect way that suited him just fine. He took a moment to straighten out his chin hair, which was also red, just like his mane. He gave his neck a few quick twists, stretched out his wings, and finally went down to the kitchen.

Ruby was waiting for him with a stack of hay seed waffles waiting for him. She smiled at him and presented him his breakfast. He awkwardly smiled back to her.

“What are doing?” he asked her. She stopped smiling and pulled him over to his seat.

“Can you just eat already?! I wanna go and get that dress!”

“Yeah, you made that clear in my room. Just let me watch some of the news and eat my breakfast. I’m sure the dress will be there,” Eagle replied.

“Fine.” Ruby turned on the TV and turned it to the news. There was apparently some breaking news regarding an on rise terrorist group.

“The organization known as the Dark Flames of Heaven has struck once again, this time in southern Fillydelphia. The group of about five hundred men managed to destroy a small neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Sadly, no ponies are reported to have survived the attack. All that remained of the attack were the ominous purple colored flames. The same flames had been left behind in the other attacks of the organization. The Equestria Royal Guard is still working on tracking down this terrorist group and destroying them. We will have more information on this story as it develops.” Eagle turned off the TV shortly after the report finished.

“Hey, what’s up?” Ruby asked.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing about those bastards! They kill innocent ponies and nopony can stop them. It’s driving me insane! I swear, I just want to do something myself about these guys!”

“Eagle, you may be a good fighter and have a really nice aim with an assault rifle, but you’re no killer. Besides, we don’t need you to do any of those sorts of things. We all love you just the way you are.” Ruby kissed him on the cheek again. He started to calm down and smiled to his sister.

“Although you can sometimes be a brat, you always do manage to liven me up. Thanks little sister,” he said, and he ruffled her mane a bit. She started to laugh.

“Hey, hey, don’t mess up my mane, I just finished brushing it.”

“Yeah, right in the middle of my room!” Eagle responded jokingly. The two continued to laugh as Eagle finished his breakfast. He was a bit of a quick eater anyway, which made his sister very happy. She quickly levitated his dish into the sink and dragged him out the door.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Do you even have enough bits to buy this dress?”

“As a matter of fact I do, now come on!” she replied, and continued to drag him down the street to the local dress shop.

Only a few meters of walking left Eagle feeling a little beat. He had gotten home a little late the night before and had planned to sleep until at least one o’clock. He had plans to get something to eat with his best friend Sharp Side at two, but seeing as though he was already out, he would probably just meet up with Sharp Side a little early. Eagle continued to yawn as he and Ruby walked down the street. She started to get a little annoyed.

“Stop yawning!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you woke me up so damn early.”

“It’s not my fault you decided to get home at two in the morning,” she retorted. Eagle was about to say something, but instead groaned in slight defeat. Ruby lightly chuckled as her brother turned his head away from her. “Look, I’m sorry I woke you, but I just really want to have a good date tomorrow.”

“What is so important about this date?” Eagle asked. Ruby stopped dead in her tracks.

“Eagle Eye, I have been waiting to go on a date with Sharp Side for way too long. I had practically hounded him down until he finally said yes. I just want everything to be perfect.” Eagle rolled his eyes at his sister. He still didn’t see what she saw in Sharp Side. Yes, he had been Eagle’s best friend since colthood, but Sharp Side wasn’t the coolest stallion around. That’s not to say Sharp Side was an outcast. He was, in fact, anything but. Eagle and Sharp were actually two very well-known stallions around their area. Eagle was very well known in Flight Camp, and Sharp Side made a name for himself in Magic School. The two couldn’t be closer as friends. Eagle Eye just thought that Sharp Side didn’t seem to fit right with Ruby. Call it brotherly love or something else. But, Eagle didn’t think too much about it, and Sharp Side actually seemed to have a thing for Ruby. It may have taken a while for it to come to that, but it still happened.

“Alright, alright, I get it. Sheesh, I am so glad I am not mare.”

“You always say that,” Ruby responded.

“Because it’s true!” Ruby laughed at his response. Eagle couldn’t help but smile and chuckle. He loved to see his sister happy. His family meant the world to him. Even though his father was, a little distant, Eagle loved him no less. His mother was probably one of the greatest mothers around Manehattan. Basically, Eagle Eye loved his family to no end.

Continuing down the street, Eagle and Ruby finally reached the dress shop. The dress Ruby had seen was still available, and she shrieked at the sight of it. Eagle covered his ears from the high pitched sound.

“Sweet Celestia, it’s just a dress! Besides, I think you’ve worn prettier dresses before,” Eagle said. Ruby practically heard him and rushed inside to buy the dress. Eagle sighed and trotted in.

The shop had the scent of a million perfumes. There were dresses as far as the eye could see. Eagle Eye had been in some pretty girly stores before, but this one took the cake. He walked up to Ruby, he was talking to one of the employees about the dress. Ruby started to hop in place as the employee said that the dress was available and ready for purchase.

“I’ll take it!” Ruby said, containing herself to not shriek. Eagle made her stop hopping and raised an eyebrow at her. Ruby awkwardly smiled at him and then back to the employee.

“Um, please,” Ruby added. Eagle Eye smiled and chuckled. He liked to make sure that his sister kept her manners when in public, no matter how much it embarrassed either of them. The employee got the dress, wrapped it up, and brought it to the counter. Ruby got out her bits and payed for the dress. She felt like the happiest mare in Manehattan. She was too excited to even speak.

“Thank you,” Eagle Eye said for his sister. He led Ruby out of the shop with her dress. She was a ball of joy, letting out a screech of happiness as they started back home. “Calm yourself, please! You got your damn dress!”

“I’m sorry, I’m just so happy!” The dress was really nice. It was a dark shade of blue, and along the rims of the dress, there were sapphire stones engraved into the stitching. The dress literally sparkled in the sunlight. Ruby could only imagine what it would do in the moonlight. Eagle didn’t care much for the dress, but he had to admit that it was beautiful.

“You’re getting too worked up over this. I’m sure Sharp Side will be glad to be with you no matter what you wear,” Eagle Eye said.

“I know that, but I just want to impress him.”

“You do know that you have known him for just as long I have right? I hope you realize who you are trying to impress.” Ruby raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t care if he enjoys playing with knives more than you do, or has a brain the size of Equestria. I want to impress him.” Eagle rolled his eyes and they continued to walk back home. Sharp Side was anything but stupid. He was in fact one of the smartest stallions in Manehattan. But, along with that, Sharp Side had a huge thing for knives, so much so that his cutie mark was a butterfly knife. Eagle Eye sometimes didn’t know what to think of his best friend.

Entering their home, Ruby walked up to her room, still levitating her dress. Eagle sighed and followed her up the stairs. He went into his room. After being awoken, he had planned to meet Sharp Side earlier, but it was too early. Sharp Side was probably still asleep. Eagle opted to continue writing parts of his novel.

Although Eagle had a small need for speed at times and a fighter’s spirit, he loved to write. He had written two short stories, and was now working on a full novel. During his school days, he would often be found writing down ideas for stories and books. But, unlike other authors, Eagle Eye didn’t sign his works with his signature. Instead, he signed them with a symbol. He described it as an unfinished, upside-down heart. To put the whole description in short, he called it his Crest. Eagle’s Crest.

Think of a heart. From the bottom, the heart moves upward. But, where the lines would join to complete the heart, there is a small space left empty. Also, the curves of the heart are a little bit more drawn out. They could sort of be called jagged, but not very much so. The space left unfinished would have a small, crescent moon-like shape. But, in the center, there was a jut in the crescent that went into the space in the heart. Now, take that whole shape, and flip it. Add on a pair of eagle wings, and you have Eagle’s Crest. This Crest became a part of Eagle Eye, and it would ultimately become his cutie mark.

Eagle Eye’s story was basically about a love-struck stallion who had been chasing after the mare of his dreams since colthood. But, the mare passes away in a terrible accident. It is revealed to have not been an accident at all. It was actually the coltfriend of the mare. The stallion sets out for revenge, and in the end, kills the stallion that murdered the mare of his dreams. But, Eagle Eye was stuck, almost in a stage of writer’s block. He had finished the act of the love-struck stallion killing the mare’s coltfriend, but he couldn’t figure out where to go from there. Eagle thought for about 20 minutes, but he ultimately decided to just leave his work alone. He sighed and left his room.

Walking down the stairs, Eagle heard the door opening. He saw his mother, Sky Dove, enter the house. She was a Pegasus pony, just like Eagle Eye. She had a light blue coat, light purple mane, and dark blue eyes. She was middle aged, about 48 years old. Her cutie mark was a heart with a pair of wings, which symbolized her care for her family, and her love for the sky. The way the traits got tossed around in this family was weird though. Eagle Eye got his being a Pegasus and blue eyes from his mother, but his red mane and white coat from his father. His father, Fire Streak, was a Unicorn. Hence, Ruby was born a Unicorn as well. She inherited her mother’s purple hair, but her father’s green eyes. Her cutie mark, however, mimicked her father’s in a way. Hers was a ruby stone, but in the center was a small flame. The genome tree in this family was certainly something unique. They weren’t at all a weird family, it’s just that they had a wide variety, so to speak.

Sky Dove smiled at her son as he walked up to her. She kissed him on the cheek, and he returned the kiss.

“Good morning Eagle, sleep well?” she asked her son.

“Not really. Ruby woke me up at eleven to go shopping for her dress. She wound up buying one, but because she was so worried that it wouldn’t be there at three o’clock, we just had to go now,” Eagle Eye responded.

“At least you kept your promise to her.”

“Yeah, a few hours too soon though,” Eagle responded. Dove smiled and kissed him on the cheek again.

“You really are a great brother to her, you know that right?”

“Of course I do Mom. For me, family comes first. I do whatever I have to do to keep us all safe and happy. Wow, would you listen to me? I sound more like a father than Dad.” Eagle Eye immediately regretted saying that. “I… crap.”

“Don’t worry Eagle Eye. I know that you love him, and he knows it too. He can’t help it if his work always needs him. Besides, were it not for his work, we wouldn’t be living in such a great home, or have all of the great things that we have.”

“I know, I know. I just wish that he could be around more.”

“Well, he should be getting back today. He’ll probably get back by the time you are finished with lunch with Sharp Side. Are you two going to discuss… the date?” As Dove finished her sentence, she quieted down a bit, hoping Ruby didn’t hear her.

“Probably, but don’t worry, I’m not gonna try to talk him out of it or anything. I’m actually probably gonna try to encourage him a bit more. He isn’t hesitant or anything, but I think I may need to give him a little more umph is all.” Dove smiled at her son and walked into the kitchen.

“Well, what time will you be leaving?” she asked from the kitchen. He followed her to find she was making something for lunch.

“Actually, I should be going in about ten minutes. I’ll probably just go now. So, I’ll see you later I guess,” Eagle replied. Dove nodded.

“Alright. Just please don’t go hounding anymore mares than you two already have.”

“Mom! I don’t “hound” mares! Besides, he already has a date with Ruby tomorrow.” Dove simply laughed at her son’s overreaction.

“I’m joking Eagle. Just go out and have a good lunch.” Eagle chuckled and smiled to his mother.

“Gotcha. See you later,” he said, and he walked out the door.

Sharp Side tinkered in his workshop, which was really just his backyard garage. Sharp Side was the same age as Eagle Eye, but he was born a few months younger than his best friend, making Eagle Eye older. He knew a great many things about knives and building things, but his passion was mostly for the knives. He was trying to get his new twin-blade butterfly knife to work properly.

“If I just move the second blade here…” he mumbled to himself. “Oh, oh, hot daddy, I think I’ve got it!” he shouted out, quickly toning himself down. He slid the blade as he imagined to a better position. Finishing his modification, he closed up the blade. He tried to make it fly open, only to have the second knife fly out and fall to the floor with a clang. Sharp Side moaned in defeat.

“You know, it would help to actually clamp the knife down to the rotator in the mechanism,” Sharp Side heard a voice say. He turned to see Eagle Eye. He looked back to his knife. The green Unicorn stallion face hoofed himself and ran his hoof through his blue and orange highlighted hair.

“Well buck me up the flank, no wonder it flew off. I guess I forgot to secure it.”

“You’re sense of profanity never ceases to amuse me Sharpy,” Eagle Eye said jokingly. He picked up the knife in his mouth and dropped it on Sharp Side’s work bench. “Now stop playing with your knives. I wanna go get some lunch already.”

“Fair enough I suppose,” Sharp Side replied, placing his knife model down on the bench. As he placed it down, Eagle Eye spotted a black… thing.

“What the heck is that?” he asked, pointing to whatever the mechanism was.

“Oh, it’s a gun model I’ve been working on.”

“That’s a gun? All I see is a stock with a freaking hole in it. It’s like something a desperate stallion shoves his junk into,” Eagle replied. They both started to laugh.

“And you say my profanity is amusing. Man, we really need to stop being so rude,” Sharp Side replied. They looked at each other, only to burst out in laughter once again. The laughter died down shortly after. “Anyway, it’s a gun model I’ve been working on. I realized that trigger weapons are a pain in the flank to use. It’s just an idea, but we can discuss that later. Come on, you saying that you’re hungry is making me hungry,” Sharp finished. Sharp opened the garage door and led Eagle Eye out to the front of the house. They started to walk down the street into the city.

Carriages zoomed through the streets of downtown Manehattan. Busy ponies bustled on the sidewalks, not caring who they bumped into. Street vendors sold whatever they had to the ponies dumb enough to buy the cheap products. Eagle Eye and Sharp Side were right where they belonged.

They arrived at their favorite eatery, Home of 100 Pizzas. This place served whatever kind of pizza a pony could think of. Personally, Eagle Eye would always prefer some regular cheese pizza. Sharp Side on the other hand was always adventurous, always opting to eat the uncommon choices. His favorite, however, was the apple pizza.

The two picked up two slices of their respective favorites and sat down in some of the outside seats to eat. Although Eagle Eye’s mother said that they shouldn’t hound any mares, she didn’t say that they couldn’t look. Sharp Side didn’t care much about having a marefriend, but he was cool with going out with Ruby. Eagle Eye, on the other hand, really wanted to find that special somepony. They started to observe some of the slow walkers in the crowds.

“Hey, what about her Eagle?” Sharp Side asked, pointing to a pink mare with blue hair.

“Nah, not my type,” Eagle replied.

“Dude, that’s your excuse for everypony I point out to you. Eagle, you really need to lower your priorities a bit.”

“My priorities are quite fair. Besides, I know the kind of mare I want to be with. Hell, I was with that mare for a while too.”

“Yeah, but she left you, so you need to move on from that kind of mare. What if you get stuck with somepony like her and the same thing happens again?” Sharp Side asked his friend.

“She didn’t leave me, I left her. She was a great mare, but she was just too, I don’t know, intense for me.”

“Well, from what you have told me, she was the most competitive mare at Flight Camp. I still can’t believe you two were a thing at that age.”

“Well, neither can I. I guess we didn’t think of it that way at first, but as we got older, we sort of realized it. But, she wanted to become a Wonderbolt and stay loyal to Ponyville so badly that I just couldn’t really stay with her,” Eagle said.

“I don’t get what your deal is with Ponyville,” Sharp replied.

“Ponyville isn’t the problem, it’s just that I live in the city, and she lives there. Going back and forth is bothersome for me.”

“You are one of the fastest flyers around, and from what you tell me, she is the fastest in Equestria. Although I find that hard to believe, it’s what you told me.”

“Well, she is. Dude, have you ever heard of any other pony performing a Sonic Rainboom? I think not,” Eagle said in a bit of a boisterous tone.

“Eagle, I didn’t know what a Sonic Rainboom was until two years ago, and you told me about her six years ago. You assumed I knew already, until you finally showed me in that book,” Sharp responded, finishing his first slice of pizza.

“Well it’s not my fault you don’t know Pegasus stuff. Aside from that, I hear she’s one of the Elements of Harmony now,” Eagle said, taking a bite of his pizza.

“See, I know what those are. I don’t suppose you know which one?”

“Sadly, I don’t. All I know is that she is one… I think.” Sharp Side couldn’t help but laugh at Eagle’s uncertainty. “Yeah, yeah, laugh at Eagle Eye for not knowing every single thing there is to know about the most powerful artifacts in Equestria,” Eagle said, finishing his first slice.

“Whatever man. Anyway, how’s Ruby doing? She ready for tomorrow?” Sharp asked.

“You have no freaking idea. She woke me up at eleven to go buy a freaking dress.”

“She’s wearing a dress?” Sharp asked.

“It wasn’t the fanciest thing ever, but it was really pretty. She wants to impress you,” Eagle said, waving his hooves in the air.

“Wow, I guess I should dress up a bit then.” Eagle Eye immediately face hoofed himself.

“That’s not the point. She is trying too hard to impress you, even though you two have known each other for so long.”

“Well, I did deny her requests to go out with me about two other times. So, I can imagine that she wants to make sure I stay. Honestly, I have kind of lightened up to her. She really is a great mare to hang around. I think I can make it all work out.”

“Man, you’ve come a long way from not liking her that much,” Eagle replied, finishing his first slice of pizza, while Sharp was finishing up his second already.

“Yeah, I guess so. Hey, what are you doing after this? My mom is trying to get me to help her with this huge work project, and I want to stay out of the house as long as I possibly can,” Sharp Side said.

“I’m not doing much. You can come over if you want. My mom said my dad should be home by the time we get back though, so I’ll probably take a few minutes with him. You can hang in my room for a bit while we talk, that is, if he is even home when we get there.” Eagle Eye was confident his father wouldn’t be home.

“You really think he neglects you guys don’t you?” Sharp asked.

“It’s not that man, it’s just that he is never around. I get that he is a busy stallion and all, but I just wish he would spend more time with us when he actually is home. I don’t know, I guess I’ll talk to him if he’s home,” Eagle said, finishing his second slice of pizza.

“Well, you want to go now?” Sharp Side asked.

“Yeah, why not,” Eagle replied. They payed for their pizza and headed back to Eagle Eye’s house.

Walking into the house, Eagle Eye and Sharp Side were greeted by Sky Dove and Ruby. They seemed to be waiting for Eagle Eye to come home, and they were smiling at him as he and Sharp Side entered. At the first sight of Sharp Side, Ruby started to blush. She gave him a little wave hello, which he returned. Sky Dove simply giggled at her daughter, but kept smiling at Eagle Eye.

“What?” Eagle Eye simply asked.

“Honey, you can come in now,” Sky Dove called into the kitchen. From the kitchen entered Fire Streak, Eagle Eye’s father. Eagle Eye immediately smiled and rushed to hug his father.

“I missed you too son,” he said, chuckling a bit. Eagle Eye refused to let go of the grey colored stallion. His mane was a very dark shade of red, and his eyes were dark green. His voice had a certain quality to it that made it so comforting. His name rang true, as his cutie mark was a powerful flame with a streak of smoke trailing off of it. Fire Streak was also middle aged, about three years older than Sky Dove. He held his son close to himself.

“Sorry Dad, I just missed you,” Eagle Eye said, letting his father go. “It’s good to see you again Dad.”

“It’s good to see you too son. I missed you all so much,” Fire Streak replied. “Mother tells me you are doing well.”

“Yeah, for the most part. My damn novel hasn’t been going anywhere since I came to this one spot, but I’m working around it,” Eagle Eye said. His father nodded and turned to Sharp Side.

“It is good to see you again Sharp Side. My wife tells me you are taking my daughter out for a date tomorrow.” Sharp Side blushed slightly.

“Yes sir, I am,” Sharp Side replied.

“Well, I hope it all goes well. I better not hear anything bad about it though.”

“You won’t have a thing to worry about sir,” Sharp Side assured. Fire Streak smiled and nodded. He turned back to his son.

“Well, I guess you will want to talk, won’t you?”

“Yeah,” Eagle Eye replied.

“Um, I’ll just go upstairs. I’ll wait for you Eagle,” Sharp Side said. He headed upstairs to Eagle’s room, giving Ruby a small wink as he passed her. She smiled back to him.

“We are actually going to go out for a while Fire. We are going to buy something for dinner. We shouldn’t be too long,” Sky Dove said. She kissed her husband on the cheek. “It’s good to have you back dear.” Fire Streak returned the kiss.

“It’s great to be back darling,” he replied. “We’ll see you when you get back.” Sky Dove and Ruby headed out to the market, leaving Eagle Eye with his father. Fire Streak turned to Eagle Eye, who proceeded to the kitchen.

“Well, are you going to ask?” Fire Streak questioned.

“I make it that obvious?” Eagle replied.

“Son, it’s no mystery that you ask me every time I come home. It’s almost more obvious than that I will actually be leaving again soon. Go ahead, ask.” Eagle Eye sighed and turned to his father, who had entered the kitchen.

“When are you leaving again?” Eagle Eye asked.

“In five days,” Fire Streak replied. Eagle Eye rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “Son, it isn’t my fault. The company needs me to go on these trips. If I could make it so I wouldn’t have to be leaving all the time, I would make it so, but I can’t. I’m sorry Eagle Eye.”

“It’s not just that Dad. Even when you have time to spend with your family, you don’t spend it with us. You usually spend it working more than you should have to,” Eagle responded.

“Son, I’m sorry, truly I am. But, I promise you, after this next trip, things will be different. The company thinks that this may be my last big trip. I may be able to start working solely in Manehattan. Then, we can spend as much time together as you want. In fact, the only thing I have to do work related before I leave is right now. I’m meeting somepony downtown in a few minutes. But, after that, I will be free for the rest of my time here. If you want to do something together, we can do it.” Eagle Eye looked to his father.

“Anything?”

“Anything.” Eagle Eye smiled.

“Well, the Wonderbolts are actually going to be performing at the Coliseum on Monday. Sharp Side can’t go, not that he would really want to go anyway. Ruby doesn’t want to go, and Mom has to work on Monday.” Eagle Eye’s mother was a nurse at a local hospital. She was very gifted at her career, and it is why she has the heart in the center of her cutie mark. “Can we go?” Eagle finished.

“Son, of course we can go. Will we need tickets?” Fire asked.

“I already got them,” Eagle quickly replied.

“You already got two tickets? Who would the second one have been for?”

“Well, I figured I could just sell it at the Coliseum if I couldn’t bring anypony else. But, now that you’re going, I won’t need to sell it. Thanks Dad.” Fire Streak smiled at his son.

“Of course son, anything to make you happy.” They hugged each other. Eagle Eye didn’t hate his father in the slightest. He loved him with all his heart, just as much as the rest of his family. Eagle really felt safe in his father’s arms, and he honestly felt that there was no other pony he could trust more. Fire Streak released his son.

“Now, I should get going. My co-workers don’t like to be kept waiting. Don’t worry, we will spend the night together, as a family. I promise son.”

“Thanks Dad,” Eagle replied. They gave each other another quick hug. Fire Streak ruffled Eagle’s mane before walking out the door. “Man I love that guy,” Eagle said softly to himself. He made his way up to his room.

Upon entering his room, Eagle found Sharp Side reading his unfinished novel.

“Enjoying the story?” Eagle asked, startling Sharp Side.

“Well, yeah, actually. You finally got to the big death scene for the murderer. You said before that you were stuck?” Sharp Side asked.

“Yeah. I don’t know where to make the story go. I don’t want the main character to get in trouble or anything, but it seems like that will have to happen. I’m just really stuck.”

“What if he ran away?” Sharp Side asked. Eagle Eye immediately face hoofed himself.

“Why the buck didn’t I think of that?” Sharp Side started to laugh.

“I see you decided to put your Crest on the story finally.”

“Of course I put that on the story. My Crest is my signature dude. You of all ponies should know that.”

“I know that, I was just surprised when the last time I read this, it wasn’t there.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why I forgot about it, but at least it’s there now.” Sharp Side got up out of Eagle Eye’s desk. He lounged himself on Eagle Eye’s bed and let out a sigh. “Yeah, make yourself at home you shmuck,” Eagle Eye said jokingly.

“Hey, I can’t help it. You have a really comfortable bed.”

“Yeah, I know. I guess I could write a bit. Hell, you came up with the idea for the continuation. Why don’t you help me a bit more?” Eagle asked. Sharp Side sat up in Eagle’s bed and started to think.

“Well, seeing as though you’re up to the part where the whole revenge killing happens, you need to make a transition. I noticed that you just left it at the main character killing the coltfriend of the mare. Maybe you could make the main character feel regret or guilt for what he has done, and then he runs off.” Sharp Side’s suggestions were great. They were exactly what Eagle Eye needed to continue his story.

“Dude, you are a genius.”

“I know,” Sharp Side said, basking in his own “greatness.”

“Don’t let it go to your head. Anyway, I guess I’ll write for a bit.” Eagle Eye began to continue his story. With these new ideas, the story was finally progressing after the one week of Eagle Eye suffering from writer’s block. Sharp Side watched his friend write away, until suddenly, they heard a knocking on the front door. Eagle Eye stopped writing, and Sharp Side got up from the bed.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the mailpony,” Eagle replied. He got up from his desk and headed downstairs to the front door. Sharp Side followed, but stayed on the steps to upstairs. Eagle Eye opened the door and was greeted by the mailpony.

“Hello there. I have a letter addressed to Eagle Eye. Are you him?” the mailpony asked.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Eagle replied. Eagle took the mail from the mailpony.

“There you go. Have a nice day,” the mailpony called back as he started to walk away.

“You too, and thank you,” Eagle called back, closing the door.

“Who’s it from?” Sharp Side asked.

“Let’s go get my mail opener in my room and find out.” Eagle and Sharp went back into Eagle’s room. Eagle opened the letter and started to read it.

“Well, what is it? Who’s it from?” Sharp Side asked.

“It’s a letter, from…” but Eagle Eye stopped dead as he noticed the name of the sender.

“Who?” Sharp Side asked again. Eagle Eye lowered the letter and looked at Sharp Side with a surprised expression.

“Rainbow Dash.”

Author's Notes:

Wow, this was a long chapter, and it's only the first one. For me, at least, this was long. I plan for most of the parts for this story to be about this long. I want a minimum of 3000 words per part. Anyway, this part is obviously to show how Eagle Eye's life is. It's supposed to give you the general description of who he is and how he is doing. The following chapters will definitely be more exciting and not as, well, normal.

Just to give you all the general reminder if it was unclear, Eagle Eye and his mother Sky Dove are Pegasi, and Ruby and the father Fire Streak and Unicorns. I hope I made the descriptions of each of them clear.

And just to make it clear, Eagle Eye's Crest and cutie mark are basically my avatar with actual wings instead of the ones in my avatar. In other words, the Crest and mark are the Assassin's Crest with eagle wings. On my user page, Eagle Eye has my avatar for a cutie mark, but in this story, there are actual wings instead of the ones in my avatar. I think I've made that clear enough.