Eagle Eye slowly opened his eyes to the warm light seeping into the room through the curtains. He let out a soft moan of exhaustion and tried to turn his head. He felt extremely sore, and was barely able to twist his head around to look around the room. He had no idea where he was, and it hurt his head even more to try to figure that out. So, he rested his head on the pillow and spoke out softly.

“Hello?” he said, waiting for a response. Nothing. “Is anypony there?” Still no answer.

Eagle looked down to his body, which was banged up in many areas. His armor was scraped up, dented, and in some areas, completely cracked open. His chest was especially bad, with a huge gash left behind by his father. Thankfully, it had been bandaged and healed, for the most part. On many other areas of his body, his fur had been partially lost, and he had suffered from many other scars and cuts. His entire body felt like a mass of pain, and if not that, then he was just too sore to do anything.

Eagle then heard the door to the room open. He slowly turned his head to see who had entered. It was Princess Luna.

“Finally awake,” she said, walking over to him. Eagle nodded and managed to crack a small smile.

“Yeah. I’m just so bucking sore,” Eagle said, letting out another moan of annoyance.

“I apologize. Our medical staff was only able to do so much,” Luna told him. Eagle’s eyes shot open when he realized he was not wearing his mask or hood.

“Uh… how many ponies saw my face?”

“None. My sister and I used a spell on the medics so that they would forget your identity. We know how important secrecy is to you.” Eagle sighed a pleasant sigh of relief.

“So… we won.”

“Indeed we did, Eagle Eye. After you defeated your father, the forces of the Dark Flames of Heaven practically crumbled under out assault. We are still hunting down the remnants of the group, but hopefully, within a few more days, they shall be completely eliminated.” Eagle’s smile grew a little larger as he looked up to the ceiling.

“So, I take it nopony has come to visit me.”

“No. We assumed you wanted your identity to remain a complete secret, so we made sure that nopony knew you were here.”

“Princess Luna, do you think I could have a visitor?” Eagle asked.

“Of course. But, who would that be?” Luna responded.

“Rainbow Dash,” Eagle said. Luna raised an eyebrow to him.

“I thought you didn’t want anypony to know your identity.”

“She already knows. It’s fine, trust me. Just, please bring her here. I told her I would go to her after the battle. She probably thinks I’m dead right now.” Luna nodded to Eagle with a warm smile on her face. She turned around and headed for the door. But, before she left, she asked him one last question.

“Was it easy?” she asked.

“To kill my father…” Eagle thought for a moment on what to say. He knew his answer. “Yes. I would be lying if I said it was difficult for me to kill him.”

Luna nodded and exited the room.

A few hours later, a knock came from the door to Eagle’s room. Eagle looked over to the door to see it slowly open. Standing there were Princess Celestia and Rainbow Dash.

“Hello Eagle Eye. I believe somepony is here to see you,” Princess Celestia said, smiling at him. The expression on Rainbow Dash’s face was a mixture of happiness and sadness. She was crying tears of joy to see him. She jolted over to him and wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Uh, Dash… hurting me!” Eagle managed to croak out from under her vice grip. She let go and smiled at him.

“Sorry. I just can’t believe you’re alive. I thought you were dead. After that whole complex was destroyed, nopony in Ponyville knew what to think,” Rainbow said, which caught Eagle’s attention.

“Wait… the complex was destroyed?” Eagle asked. He turned his gaze to Celestia.

“After we finished dealing with the soldiers, we had our soldiers demolish the headquarters. Nothing but rubble lies in the wake of the Dark Flames of Heaven,” Celestia explained. Eagle simply nodded and looked back to Rainbow Dash.

“Cool,” he said, smiling at her. Rainbow giggled.

“Cool? More like awesome! Eagle, don’t you realize what this means?!” she asked ecstatically.

“Um… no?”

“Their gone forever! You saved the world! Heck, all of Equestria thinks you’re a hero now!” Eagle gave her a confused stare.

“My confusion seems to have no end today. Care to explain?” Eagle asked Rainbow Dash.

“The Princesses made sure that you were given proper credit for your actions. The Equestrian newspapers were filled with details about the battle, and the biggest part of it all was the presence of the Assassin on the battlefield! You’re a hero!” Rainbow said happily, kissing him on the lips. Eagle was still confused.

“Wait, Princess, you made me out to be a hero?” Eagle asked.

“My sister and I thought it was the right thing to do,” Celestia said. “In fact, we added a statue of the Assassin in the Statue Gardens to commemorate your heroic deeds,” Celestia told him.

“Princess, I appreciate everything, really. But, I’m just not the hero type.”

“Eagle, just shut up and let it be. You’re a hero! Why aren’t you freaking out over this?!” Rainbow asked.

“Because it was never really my aim to become a hero,” Eagle answered.

“Well that sucks, because you’re a hero now.” There was no way around Rainbow’s perspective on the matter, so Eagle simply sighed and rolled his eyes at her. She giggled at him and kissed him again.

“I’ll leave you two to yourselves,” Celestia said, leaving the room. She closed the door, giving Eagle Eye and Rainbow Dash some privacy. The two Pegasi stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before bringing their lips together for a passionate kiss.

“Do you have any idea how scared I was?!” Rainbow Dash asked her coltfriend.

“Rainbow Dash, scared? Who are you and what have you done with the real Dash?” Eagle joked.

“Seriously! I thought you were dead!”

“I’m sorry, honestly. I kind of got my flank kicked by my father, and then I wound up passing out in the top floor of the headquarters.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and kissed Eagle again.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said.

“Thanks Dash,” Eagle responded. The two kissed once more.

“So, what was it like?” Rainbow asked.

“The whole thing? Well, to be honest, it was a complete rush of adrenaline. There was never a moment where I wasn’t doing something. We started by rushing the base completely. Then, I broke off from the main group of soldiers and infiltrated the base. Then, I turned off that hologram thing that they used so Sharp Side could help me get to the top floor a bit quicker.”

“So that’s why everypony in Ponyville could see the headquarters!” Rainbow cut him off.

“I guess so. What was that like?” Eagle asked.

“It was crazy. Literally everypony in Ponyville stopped what they were doing to watch the fireworks. It was so sweet!” Eagle chuckled as she squished her face.

“Yeah, I can imagine. After that, I got to the top floor and fought my father. We had a little dramatic moment where we both revealed our identities to each other. And then… we fought… and I won.”

“Was it hard to kill him?” Rainbow asked. Eagle looked into her eyes with in every manner of seriousness.

“No, it wasn’t. He was strangling me, and I quickly stabbed him in the neck. It was easy. And, something about it made it enjoyable for me,” Eagle confessed to her. Rainbow simply nodded to him.

“Well, it’s over now. The Dark Flames of Heaven are gone, Equestria is safe, and we’re together,” she said, wrapping him in a soft hug. Eagle kissed her on the cheek and smiled.

“You’re right. It’s over.” Rainbow let go of him and the two kissed each other once again.

“I love you Eagle Eye.”

“I love you too Rainbow Dash.”

A large theoretical weight had just been lifted from Eagle’s shoulders. And, for the first time since the day Eagle Eye became the Assassin, his life seemed to be turning out for the better.

Author's Notes:

This is just a sweet little transitional chapter from the battle into what comes next. This story isn't over just yet. There's still a little bit left for Eagle Eye to go through. So, get ready for the technical second act of the story, which will last for probably only three to four chapters. And, these next few chapters probably won't be that long either. So, to simplify: story not done, a few more chapters to come, and stuff! Whoopie!