"This is, without a doubt, the absolute best thing to have happened since I picked up sword and shield and headed north into Ledomare!" Eagle Eye exclaimed, his bright eyes aglaze with the amber light from the nearby campfire.
Bellesmith giggled lightly. She turned her head to the side from where she squatted on her haunches, attempting to get a peak at him through her peripheral. "I think you're dramatizing just a tad bit."
"You kidding?!" He squeaked, then forced her to tilt her head back forward. "I'd gladly leap off a cliff just to dream of hair like this, much less be given the opportunity of straightening it out!" Sitting behind her, the petite stallion resumed stroking the brush through her earthen brown mane, drawing the tangles loose and plucking each errant leaf and speck of forest from the mare's silken threads. "This is the stuff of royalty, girl! I'm not even kidding!"
"Heh... well, that's certainly a sweet compliment," Belle remarked. Her soft voice echoed against the pale walls of the ruined stone enclosure surrounding them. A ceiling of granite and thick marble pillars blocked any chance the firelight had of reaching the dim canopy of Foxtaur above. Around the, the forest brimmed with crickets and the hushed murmur of nocturnal life. "To be honest, I think everyday about cutting it short."
The air reverberated with what resembled a hydrogen zeppelin catching fire and collapsing in the center of Eagle Eye's chest. "Perish the thought! This is the most gorgeous thing to have graced Foxtaur since Zenith and Phoenix tossed my starweave winter coat to the Ursa Major in central Xona!"
"Ooooh..." Belle winced, hissing through her teeth as Eagle Eye tugged and brushed at her mane. "How horrible! Starweave is expensive! Why'd they do that?"
"Meh," Eagle Eye shrugged, squinting carefully at his telekinetic brushwork stretched out in front of him. "Because the coat existed. Why else?"
"I think you let the two of those guys pick on you waaaaay too much."
"Yeah, well, I'd rather be surrounded by manageable enemies than ones who'd kill me at the drop of a spear." Eagle Eye managed a bitter smile. "Besides, they won't ever do anything seriously bad to me. At least not while Crimson is around."
Belle slightly nodded, carefuly not to mess up his attentive care. "I see..."
"I bet you have this horrible idea of us," Eagle Eye said.
"No! Not at all!"
"We pick on each other so much..."
Belle smiled. "As stallions tend to do."
Eagle Eye froze, blinking. He smirked. "Heh. I never thought about it that way."
"Can I ask you something, Mr. Eye?"
"Please, call me EE," he said with a gentle grin. "And you can ask me anything, so long as you keep your head still enough that I can brush each strand straight."
"Very well." Belle took a deep breath and spoke. "Why did a pony like you jump into battle to begin with?"
Eagle Eye paused again, this time raising an eyebrow. "'A pony like me'...?"
"Er..." Belle fidgeted, gazing guiltily at his shadow against the wall beyond her. "I mean a pony that... that..."
"Would rather be beautyifying manes and drawing butterflies than spilling blood?"
"Uhm..." Her ears drooped as she smiled helplessly. "Yeah..."
Eagle Eye shrugged, returning faithfully to the mare's chestnut hairdo. "The talent's always been in the family, I guess. It's really hard to shake tradition, even if you really want to. Heh... I should know." He inhaled slowly while plucking a few strands of moss from the female fugitive's mane. "Besides, Xona is bad news for this whole continent, and if Ledomare falls, Franzington to the south is likely to go next, and I can't be having any of that. I... I don't enjoy taking lives, but I like the idea of my family being murdered or relocated even less."
"I don't know if I could be that brave," Bellesmith remarked, gazing thinly into the shadows of the stone ruins around them. "To believe in something so much that I'm willing to do the unthinkable to protect it." She tilted her head towards him again. "Your family must be really proud of you..."
Eagle Eye was dead silent.
Belle gulped. "Right?" she stammered.
He breathed evenly, his brushstrokes of her hair a slow and methodic thing at this point. "They... tolerate me. Or, that is, they did for a while. Things got hairy there at the end..."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean right until I moved into the central mercenary camp of the Blades Guild—"
"No, I mean, how do you mean it 'got hairy' with your family?"
"Well, maybe not so much my family," Eagle Eye said with a hissing breath. "More like with my dad..."
"Ponies of the south country are all about tradition, right? Isn't he a soldier too?"
"Twenty years retired."
"And he's not proud of his own son?"
"Last time we saw each other, he didn't exactly call me 'son.'"
"I..." Belle's lip quivered. She gulped. "I-I'm so sorry, EE, I didn't realize..." She sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything."
"No..."
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's alright," Eagle Eye said in a soft tone, briefly laying a hoof on her shoulder. "It's not like I haven't told the story before, dozens of times." His nostrils flared, but he maintained composure as he said, "Franzington is a lot like your Confederacy. The only reason it hasn't been annexed is because it's mountain country, and that isn't exactly easy to... well... to conquer."
"Right." Belle nodded ever so slightly. "I gotcha."
"But that doesn't change the fact that we still hold many of the same values—especially that of sacred matrimony. Only, y'know, in Franzington... back home, things are a bit more... eh... rigid."
"Rigid? How so, if I may ask?"
"With tradition comes guidelines, parameters that are set to make sure that future ponies mimic said tradition." He brushed a long lock of her hair and smoothed it along the other chestnut strands. "And, well, this kind of puts a choke-hold on tolerance—heheheh—to say the least." He gulped and fidgeted slightly as he said, "Take yourself and Pilate, for example. You're the happiest, most loving couple I think I've ever seen. But if you tried to say your vows down in Franzington... er... well..."
"Life wouldn't be very easy for us," Belle said with a calm expression. "I'm hardly surprised, EE. I'd be lying if I said that Pilate and I haven't run into ponies with that kind of an opinion before."
"It's totally wrong, of c-course!"
"Heehee... it's okay. I know you're only explaining the rules back home. Still..." She tilted her head towards him again. "For what it's worth, you've not done a single thing to insult me or my beloved."
"Because I know that what you have is sacred," Eagle Eye said softly. "And nopony should ever make you feel bad for when true love grips ahold of your heart, soul, and body." He lingered on the last few words, and then his lavender ears drooped in the camplight. "I only wish my dad felt the same way about things as I do..."
Belle was silent, her brown eyes wandering across the floor of the ruins.
With a deep sigh, Eagle Eye continued brushing. "The last time I saw him, he told me never to come back to the village." He gulped dryly but maintained a solid voice. "He said that I'd be more of a true son to him if I died in combat than allowed myself to live and 'make an abomination out of my beloved.'"
"That's... horrible," Belle squeaked.
"That's life," Eagle Eye said, though his smile dissolved any bitterness in his tone. "And the challenge in life is not being dealt with obstacles, but learning how to surpass them. I'll always love my father, but I know that I'll never be allowed back in his household. He's something of a powerful pony too; I doubt I'll even get to move back into my village after me and the stallions get back from all this mess. Especially now that—on top of all things, well—I'm a deserter."
"If... if that's the case... Then what are you going back for?" Belle glanced back at him. "You are going back to Franzington, right?"
"Well..."
"Isn't that the plan? Isn't that what all of you are fighting for?"
"Yeah... I guess..."
"You guess?" Belle squinted. "Well, are you or aren't you?"
"I wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for all the stuff that Crimson did. He had faith in our own virtues when nopony else did. Even if I died under his command, I'd be happy knowing that I fought for what was right—and I disobeyed orders for even greater righteousness." He smiled softly. "We've all talked about gathering Crimson's and Phoenix's clans and moving further south to an unsettled part of the mountains beyond Franzington. We'd start a farm or something. It doesn't matter. Anything's better than being on the run." He gulped. "Or being pariahs."
"So, that's it, then? You and Zenith and Crimson's and Phoenix's families?"
"You make it sound like a bad thing."
"It's just that... You could have been with your family," Belle murmured. "And they'll be at your backdoor, just a stone's throw away across the mountains."
"Sure, I guess..."
"Wouldn't that haunt at you? Constantly?"
"I... I..." Eagle Eye fidgeted. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I guess... I don't really care where I end up, to be p-perfectly honest," he said in a wavering voice, then reopened his moist optics with a tender smile. "I think I'll be fine with living anywhere, so long as it met one parameter—a guidline set by me and me alone, not Franzington."
"And what's that?"
He stirred for a few seconds before practically whispering, "I just want to have somepony to come home to, is all." He choked briefly and murmured forth, "More than anything in the world, I just want somepony to love... somepony to trust." He sniffled, but smiled bravely. "Even my family's house wouldn't be a home to me if I couldn't have that. So... I'll be searching... I guess..."
Belle bit her lip. She smiled with a slight sparkle to her eyes. "I really hope you get to find your beloved someday, Eagle Eye."
"Hmmm... Yes. But right now," he said in a kindly tone as he started twisting her mane into delicate little braids. "What I really wanna do is make your mane look perfect."
"Heeheehee... sure thing. That sounds lovely, EE."
"The best things in life are."
Waits for the Star Wars thing to happen.
Shell: EE. I am your father!
- Okay so it's not Shell, but you get the idea. I wonder if EE's father will feature in the story at any point, and play some pivotal role. maybe with this Zenith crystal stuff. After all, the other end of the crystal could be to someone back home rather than to Xonan military.
Aww, EE and Belle get to have a bit of girl talk.
2090378
):(, I'll do fifty push-ups if you make that happen!
Little bit of backstory for EE, giving us a bit of insight into his family life and motivations. I'm a little worried that somepony in Ledomare (probably Shell) will somehow make EE believe that they can fix his family situation in exchange for turning on RD and the others. He fits the historical profile of most traitors: not overly respected and has personal problems. EE seems naive enough to be convinced that he's actually doing the right thing by turning in his companions to the Confederacy, possibly with the reassurance that nothing will happen to his friends. It's not likely, but it's possible.
Oh yeah, EE is definitely the flamboyant type.
I just realized EE reminds me of Donut from Red Vs. Blue.
Swing On This - Alice In Chains
"This is the stuff of royalty, girl! I'm not even kidding!"
- The Bellemare theory just added some foreshadowing to it's Info-banks.
"reopened his moist optics"
- EE is confirmed to be a robot. A flamboyant robot.
Queer eye for the straight mare.
Does anypony else remember that show?
Hey wait a minute... Pilate is not here!?
2090893
Don't you mean Eagle Eye for the Straight Mare?
Seriously, though, Eagle Eye is simply too great a character to not hang around for a while. At the very least, he's not going to be simply killed off easily. Either he's going to go on to be successful in life and leave everyone having had a great experience, or he's going to sacrifice himself all noble-like and make all of us teary and depressed.
...on further reflection, where's Pilate? Shouldn't he be here by now?
EDIT:
2090908
EXACTLY.
2090459
I don't think they'll try and convince EE they can fix his familial situation, it was never in the plans to start with. If anything, Zenith will want to ditch EE, and so it really depends on Crimson's thoughts at this point in the story.
2090908
2090951
Had to dry some optics.
whew... the calm before the storm?
That was really heart-warming.
Eagle Eye is best new character.
Shame all this love and attention he's getting is just him getting set up to die.
In a few chapters we'll probably learn that EE looks up to Crmson in a big-brother way, and the next thing we know he'll have a fillyfriend.
Perhaps petite, sensitive Eagle Eye will hit it off with the scary, foreboding metal-mare bounty hunter. Okay so that won't happen, but what a fun ship to think about
Man, Eagle Eye is getting the spotlight. Lucky kid.
With RD already lesbo and now this with EE Im beginning to this issue is personal for Imploding hmm?
Yeah, this is not a good sign.
See all that touching backstory?
Imploding Colon lives to wreck that shit.
Expect EE to be dead upon the morrow.
That... was a touching chapter, Scolon. Well done.
2090378 I didn't think of that...
Nonetheless, it would be interesting to see how the whole "father" thing played out.
2091921
Why must you depress me so?
So long, EE. I get the distinct impression you won't be around much longer.
God EE's story is..... dark.
He really at first doesn't seem like the kind of Pony to have such a horrible history like he does. But then, I guess if you have a personality like his in a nation full of mercenaries, things like that will happen.
But wow, I reckon all of you guys who are suggesting that EE will be gone very shortly are correct. Dam IC, you beautiful bugger. I love how you make us essentially come closer to a character, and then essentially tear it to pieces. It's a horrible feeling, but that's partly why we're all reading this.
Goodbye EE.
You had a good run while it lasted.
Onwards.
Did EE turn into Rarity in the beginning?
Okay, you're forgiven for the OOC of the last chapter if it resulted in this. It's great seeing Eagle Eye get fleshed out a little more, even if your ability to come up with increasingly-more-awkward synonyms for "eyes" is somewhat frustrating ("optics", really?).
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So all of this EE backstory was rather unexpected, but welcome all the same. After hearing about his relationship with his father and everything else in his past, I only feel even worse for him. We've said that EE doesn't deserve all the teasing he gets, but this chapter really drives that point home in an emotional way. And the he had that emotional moment about finding his beloved at the end which was really, really sad. It's cool that Imploding is still fleshing out his characters while all of the other stuff is going on. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Aw, EE! That's an odd sounding sentence fragment, but the heart-warming-ness of the character building demanded it! EE better not die. Him and Crimson need to survive so they can have their little farm in the mountains where EE makes fabulous clothing out of the wool from the sheep that Crimson tends to. It'll be great, you'll all see.
Well, I think I can fit a few more chapters in before I collapse from exhaustion - onward!
2090908 Don't panic.
2091921 It sort of unsettles me to think that I'm the only one around here who doesn't know how this is going to end yet, but I swear to whatever comes to mind: if Eagle Eye and Crimson won't have a sappy, disgustingly cute gay happy ending with Crimson carrying EE into the sunset towards a romantic honeymoon while whispering cheesy things into his ears, I'm gonna wreck it. I'm gonna wreck it so hard.
Also:
That has to be one of the most colourful images I ever encountered. Just sayin'.
Ugh... Stupid traditionalists refusing to love their own children because their beliefs don't match up in a particular area.
I don't even want them to agree with his lifestyle, I just want them to love him no matter what.
grace,
-Psyco Josho
2155816 Rabbits, George! We can raise Rabbits, right?!
"Yes Lenny"
Aw, EE's story is so sad.
Stay strong, EE.
EE truly reminds me of
well
me
our love for hair
our super gay crush
our
uh
status as being apart of the mammalian class
I like EE.
Eagle Eye is by far the best hairdressing mercenary pony ever.
Hmn, not sure if I dislike Zenith and Phoenix (for what they did to that coat) or Eagle Eye's dad (for being himself) more.
My companion sense is tingling
Prediction, crimson dies as xeno and Phoenix betray rd and co. In the confusion rd comes back and ee joins up to head east, x and p get executed by shell for deserting
6355777
He really is.
And while what Zenith and Phoenix did was spiteful, petty, and cruel. Eagle's father is family. At the end of the day, when's all said in done, family's all you got left. The fact that his father, and by extension the entire village that Eagle lives in said to never return and he would be better off dead. That is leagues worst than Z and P's gay bashing. If only because it was done by family which in turn turned an entire village against him.
6521415
It might be petty and vindictive of me. But I hope they get something worse than a quick execution. Z and P deserve so much worse.
I've come to realize this whole series is a metaphor for growing up. Rainbow used to be a happy pony that had fun, party with friends. It was all candy and sunshine. But when her friends died, she couldn't process it. She got angry and attacked. Now she is flying east, seeing how dark and scary the world really is. This is one of the most beautiful storied I have ever read, and I can't wait to get to the next story!
Huzzah! Character development!
wow, that sentence alone at the end hits hard.
like an old 90's tv show before the canned applaud and fade to black
Can any pony Find MEEEE!
Somepony tooooooooo, loooooooove
08/30/2019
03:03 UTC
9807983
You beat me to it!
Anyways, I think I like 2E even more now, because behind all that fabulosity, he has a genuine and touching story. Someone has mentioned it, but those last few lines really got to me. I loved this little talk.
EE's gonna friggin bite it isn't he