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Description
The ponies twain sat for a few moments, time labored by the faithful ticking of the clock, steadily announcing its own life in the otherwise silent parlor. The incessant ticking finally saw interruption at the hooves of the curious and forgiving pink one.

"Ohh, is that all? No biggie. My friends and I totally whooped some bad guys back in the day. Even trounced a fellow pony, and a king at that, although he was more of a big, scary, shadow nightmare pony king who turned everyone in the kingdom into slaves. Terrible stuff, really. But the girls and I were able to send that sorry dictator packin' back into the darkness and save the day, as usual. Haahhhh, good times. Thanks for the nostalgia trip, Eagle."

Convinced Pinkie might have a natural talent for guiding conversation to an expected end, of which she herself may not be aware, Eagle Slash clarified a major detail of his deed.
"You treat with me gently, Pinkie, but in fact, the fallen was no foe. Nay, he in fact was a former friend. You have my permission to despise me now."

It took another brief pause before his words gradually caused a physical reaction in the poor mare. What could only be described as deflation of a balloon, her mane settled in on itself in a seeming resignation of depression. Her blue irises dilated to a level of unpleasant shock. Most grievous of all, her eternal smile took a blow and slouched from her muzzle. Even so, she attempted to reason decency out of him.

"..uuhhhh, um, f-, f-, fr-, frieeeeennnnd?! I don't get it. Why? How? He must not have been a friend before the end, right? You said he was a former friend, right? That must mean he turned into a really bad pony and that's why you did what you did, right? Please tell me I'm right so I can understand..."

Eagle Slash plainly saw the tears of heartbreak threatening to blur Pinkie's vision and settled into his seat to begin his explanation.

"Please, take a seat, Miss Pie. Have some of your tea. I'll try to make this brief. Time was, a pony of my profession was not altogether uncommon, however the situation wasn't so dark as you might imagine. Assassins were organized and only took on specific missions, never slaying lawlessly. It was typically a family business, as was the case in mine, and the majority of our lives is spent in training, sharpening ourselves to utmost physical shape and efficiency, being possessed of a high degree of celerity. Even so, the noble Princess Celestia stood against our way of life and we met her in proud opposition. We tried to persuade her that life was worth taking on very special occasion, and she was convinced that there was always another way. Looking back, I should have expected I'd meet her eyes upon being caught finishing my first, and by all means final, assignment. As cruel as it appears, that assignment was the slaying of my friend, Kaiser Goodblood. Please understand I took no pleasure in my work, and never did. His dying wish was to gift the key to this lavish abode to me, though I'm still unsure as to why. Though we held one another in congenial regard, our families took to passionate rivalry which oftentimes proved to be less than pleasant. I don't know the place of my birth, but I recall as a foal I and my kin made our way to the prosperous town of Baltimare, where the Goodblood's seemed well-established and believed we Slashes arrived to strong arm our way onto their turf, their family business and reputation having preceded ours. It took several years of proving to them we were no threat, at least to their business. My father Fell Slash took every opportunity he had to attempt to show them that perhaps our clans could work together toward our mutual goals, but Imperator and Regnant, Kaiser's grandfather and father, respectively, had other plans. As our parents had dealings with each other, Kaiser and I met on occasion and grew to hold a somewhat jaded respect for one another. We each thought the other peerless, save for ourselves. He boasted he could strike down the greatest amount of ponies in the least amount of time, followed by my rejoinder that I could fell just one, as long as he was the most dangerous pony around. Which made it all the more tragic the day the black horseshoe, the symbol of our woeful obligation, arrived at our door, and I realized that Kaiser was to be my mark. I readied my things and prepared for a struggle, knowing I could not betray my upbringing, and also quite sure Kaiser would fight back with stout-hearted might. He presented a challenge to my skills; I would be required to make the deed swift and silent. After many years of training in anticipation of this small speck of time which meant everything, I could finally show my parents their investment in me was not wasted. I didn't have a good start. I'm uncertain as to how, but it appears that this cutie mark of mine, the three slash marks, I was born with. Not a birthmark that never went away, nor an actually gash in my side, but the certain symbol of my purpose in life. Some thought I'd bring quietus and ruin to the family, while few, such as my mother, believed that power would be directed at our foes instead. My father took me on in good faith as my lifelong trainer. I had much to prove to him, to all of them. However, even though it was my job, it rightfully painted me a criminal, a pony no longer in keeping with the harmony the princesses have worked so hard to maintain for so long in this land, a pony walking in shame and aimless defeat for the rest of his wretched life. I'm here now because I held the ordnance of the black horseshoe in higher esteem than her highness' royal decree."

Eagle Slash recalled the bitterness of being caught by Celestia's guardsponies, and then the relief of the miraculous circumstances surrounding his resultant trial set in, and the tears of those harrowing moments nearly resurfaced. He took a moment to calm down and spoke again.

"...I'm sorry, Pinkie. That....was anything but brief. However now that the tale is more or less told, I've business with one Princess Twilight Sparkle, under whose guidance I should begin to recompile my life, to refine and redefine my value on life, to strive for good, whatever shape it may take for me. It's likely my parents have gone into hiding once word of my capture reached them. Those of our profession tend to disrupt the surrounding community as little as possible, avoiding detection and whenever possible, leaving no trace of our existence. If they are pursued, their investigators will quickly lose their scent, following a trail colder than ice. I'm certain Princess Celestia thought of this as she decided to send me here. She's come to know our ways to a degree, though she's also proven herself to be trustworthy with such knowledge."

Eagle Slash looked down at his mug and found it surprisingly empty, given all the talking he'd done. He concluded his little monologue forthwith.

"And now I must go about obtaining the knowledge of the whereabouts of her highness Princess Twilight, that I may catch her up on things and begin my tutelage under her wing."

Pinkie at once slurped up the remainder of her tea and saw almost immediate return of her usual Pinkie self, hair re-inflated to its natural curls, blue eyes returned to acceptable Pinkie levels, and the winning smile returned to her Pinkie face as she gave an answer to what she'd just heard.

"Don't worry so much, Eagle. You're not a bad pony. You just had a really hard choice to make. I don't think I could choose if I had to. But, anyway, I'm happy you want to go see Twilight. You'll just love her, and everypony else, too. C'mon, I'll show you where she lives. Maybe she can use her science to study that "cutie mark" or whatever it is, cuz that is definitely not natural."

At this moment, Eagle thought to himself that perhaps Pinkie held office as a member of Princess Twilight's court, given the informal way of addressing her he'd just heard. They both rose to leave and make for Twilight's haunt.

"Alright then, Pinkie. Lead the way."

Along the way, Eagle noticed that what once was the pleasant noise of soft ice crunching shiftily with every hoofstep transformed into something otherly; he now treaded upon loud snow, the voice of it crying out public accusation, more real to his ears now that his confession was heard by a local, the word of his deed having reached the good Ponyvilleans, as much as his willpower to outlive his past. He proceeded onward.
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Description
The ponies twain sat for a few moments, time labored by the faithful ticking of the clock, steadily announcing its own life in the otherwise silent parlor. The incessant ticking finally saw interruption at the hooves of the curious and forgiving pink one.

"Ohh, is that all? No biggie. My friends and I totally whooped some bad guys back in the day. Even trounced a fellow pony, and a king at that, although he was more of a big, scary, shadow nightmare pony king who turned everyone in the kingdom into slaves. Terrible stuff, really. But the girls and I were able to send that sorry dictator packin' back into the darkness and save the day, as usual. Haahhhh, good times. Thanks for the nostalgia trip, Eagle."

Convinced Pinkie might have a natural talent for guiding conversation to an expected end, of which she herself may not be aware, Eagle Slash clarified a major detail of his deed.
"You treat with me gently, Pinkie, but in fact, the fallen was no foe. Nay, he in fact was a former friend. You have my permission to despise me now."

It took another brief pause before his words gradually caused a physical reaction in the poor mare. What could only be described as deflation of a balloon, her mane settled in on itself in a seeming resignation of depression. Her blue irises dilated to a level of unpleasant shock. Most grievous of all, her eternal smile took a blow and slouched from her muzzle. Even so, she attempted to reason decency out of him.

"..uuhhhh, um, f-, f-, fr-, frieeeeennnnd?! I don't get it. Why? How? He must not have been a friend before the end, right? You said he was a former friend, right? That must mean he turned into a really bad pony and that's why you did what you did, right? Please tell me I'm right so I can understand..."

Eagle Slash plainly saw the tears of heartbreak threatening to blur Pinkie's vision and settled into his seat to begin his explanation.

"Please, take a seat, Miss Pie. Have some of your tea. I'll try to make this brief. Time was, a pony of my profession was not altogether uncommon, however the situation wasn't so dark as you might imagine. Assassins were organized and only took on specific missions, never slaying lawlessly. It was typically a family business, as was the case in mine, and the majority of our lives is spent in training, sharpening ourselves to utmost physical shape and efficiency, being possessed of a high degree of celerity. Even so, the noble Princess Celestia stood against our way of life and we met her in proud opposition. We tried to persuade her that life was worth taking on very special occasion, and she was convinced that there was always another way. Looking back, I should have expected I'd meet her eyes upon being caught finishing my first, and by all means final, assignment. As cruel as it appears, that assignment was the slaying of my friend, Kaiser Goodblood. Please understand I took no pleasure in my work, and never did. His dying wish was to gift the key to this lavish abode to me, though I'm still unsure as to why. Though we held one another in congenial regard, our families took to passionate rivalry which oftentimes proved to be less than pleasant. I don't know the place of my birth, but I recall as a foal I and my kin made our way to the prosperous town of Baltimare, where the Goodblood's seemed well-established and believed we Slashes arrived to strong arm our way onto their turf, their family business and reputation having preceded ours. It took several years of proving to them we were no threat, at least to their business. My father Fell Slash took every opportunity he had to attempt to show them that perhaps our clans could work together toward our mutual goals, but Imperator and Regnant, Kaiser's grandfather and father, respectively, had other plans. As our parents had dealings with each other, Kaiser and I met on occasion and grew to hold a somewhat jaded respect for one another. We each thought the other peerless, save for ourselves. He boasted he could strike down the greatest amount of ponies in the least amount of time, followed by my rejoinder that I could fell just one, as long as he was the most dangerous pony around. Which made it all the more tragic the day the black horseshoe, the symbol of our woeful obligation, arrived at our door, and I realized that Kaiser was to be my mark. I readied my things and prepared for a struggle, knowing I could not betray my upbringing, and also quite sure Kaiser would fight back with stout-hearted might. He presented a challenge to my skills; I would be required to make the deed swift and silent. After many years of training in anticipation of this small speck of time which meant everything, I could finally show my parents their investment in me was not wasted. I didn't have a good start. I'm uncertain as to how, but it appears that this cutie mark of mine, the three slash marks, I was born with. Not a birthmark that never went away, nor an actually gash in my side, but the certain symbol of my purpose in life. Some thought I'd bring quietus and ruin to the family, while few, such as my mother, believed that power would be directed at our foes instead. My father took me on in good faith as my lifelong trainer. I had much to prove to him, to all of them. However, even though it was my job, it rightfully painted me a criminal, a pony no longer in keeping with the harmony the princesses have worked so hard to maintain for so long in this land, a pony walking in shame and aimless defeat for the rest of his wretched life. I'm here now because I held the ordnance of the black horseshoe in higher esteem than her highness' royal decree."

Eagle Slash recalled the bitterness of being caught by Celestia's guardsponies, and then the relief of the miraculous circumstances surrounding his resultant trial set in, and the tears of those harrowing moments nearly resurfaced. He took a moment to calm down and spoke again.

"...I'm sorry, Pinkie. That....was anything but brief. However now that the tale is more or less told, I've business with one Princess Twilight Sparkle, under whose guidance I should begin to recompile my life, to refine and redefine my value on life, to strive for good, whatever shape it may take for me. It's likely my parents have gone into hiding once word of my capture reached them. Those of our profession tend to disrupt the surrounding community as little as possible, avoiding detection and whenever possible, leaving no trace of our existence. If they are pursued, their investigators will quickly lose their scent, following a trail colder than ice. I'm certain Princess Celestia thought of this as she decided to send me here. She's come to know our ways to a degree, though she's also proven herself to be trustworthy with such knowledge."

Eagle Slash looked down at his mug and found it surprisingly empty, given all the talking he'd done. He concluded his little monologue forthwith.

"And now I must go about obtaining the knowledge of the whereabouts of her highness Princess Twilight, that I may catch her up on things and begin my tutelage under her wing."

Pinkie at once slurped up the remainder of her tea and saw almost immediate return of her usual Pinkie self, hair re-inflated to its natural curls, blue eyes returned to acceptable Pinkie levels, and the winning smile returned to her Pinkie face as she gave an answer to what she'd just heard.

"Don't worry so much, Eagle. You're not a bad pony. You just had a really hard choice to make. I don't think I could choose if I had to. But, anyway, I'm happy you want to go see Twilight. You'll just love her, and everypony else, too. C'mon, I'll show you where she lives. Maybe she can use her science to study that "cutie mark" or whatever it is, cuz that is definitely not natural."

At this moment, Eagle thought to himself that perhaps Pinkie held office as a member of Princess Twilight's court, given the informal way of addressing her he'd just heard. They both rose to leave and make for Twilight's haunt.

"Alright then, Pinkie. Lead the way."

Along the way, Eagle noticed that what once was the pleasant noise of soft ice crunching shiftily with every hoofstep transformed into something otherly; he now treaded upon loud snow, the voice of it crying out public accusation, more real to his ears now that his confession was heard by a local, the word of his deed having reached the good Ponyvilleans, as much as his willpower to outlive his past. He proceeded onward.
-------------------/-/-/-------------------