Your Human and You: A Tale of Silence

Chapters

Prologue: The last job
Chapter 1: A new world (edit)
Chapter 2: Dreams of the past.
Chapter 3: A step to the future
Chapter 4: The meeting.

Prologue: The last job

The Mega-city loomed out over me as I sat on my perch on the tallest building. I enjoyed the view for a little bit as I munched away at my breakfast. I had pulled off my mask and hood, letting my short black hair out to cool its sweat in the warm breeze. I was just over the smog layer and the air was chilled and crisp. The first rays of the sun broke through the buildings and shone deep into the smog. It would never reach the streets below, but it still tried.

The cityscape below was one of turmoil and strife. People could barely get by with the work they could get, while the wealthy lived above it all and hardly lifted a finger to help. Nearly everything in this city was owned, or run by Ares Macro. From old New York to Detroit, it was in their hands. Even me sometimes, but only if they paid through the nose. I was the best at what I did.

I was a Shadowrunner. I was an off the books consultant, information broker, gofer, and assassin for anyone with the creds. Most of the people I worked for or with were “Smiths”; no name, no face, no trace handlers that hand down jobs or missions to the cheapest or the best runners. Not a one of us were in the system or in the books. We worked for cash, cred sticks, or favors.

If you were a Runner, you were free. Nothing tied you to one place unless you let it, and no one owned you. I was in this part of town for two reasons, work, and the view. The work was the mini disc in my belt pouch, and the view was spectacular. I popped the last of my bagel into my mouth and rose to my feet. I brushed the crumbs off my gray gi and dawned my hood. I pulled up the mask as I stepped over to the edge of my ledge and gazed down at the passing cars below.

I felt at peace up here. This was the only place to see the sun, in all its glory, as it rose in the morning or set at the end of the day. I checked the time with my Ocular implant's HUD; sixteen hours till sunset, two till Mac's opened and thirty minutes till I had to meet “Mr. Smith”. Taking a deep breath, I leaned forward and jumped.

For most of my life, I had trained. Stealth, computer use, hacking, mystic defense, fighting, weapons, and guns were all I knew for fifteen years. From the time I was five, I was taught to be a ninja. My teachers were kind but firm with my training, making sure not to break me but strengthen me. Ninjutsu and Bushido were drilled into me, each with their own skills that I mastered. So a fall from this height was nothing I couldn't handle.

I felt like I was flying as I fell. The wind roared past my ears and my heart raced with adrenaline as I plunged into the smog cloud. Soon the darkness of the smog gave way to the lights of the city below me. Neon signs and flashing ads for drinks and food, filled my vision as I came to my first obstacle, rush hour traffic on the Sky Bridge.

The Sky Bridge was less a bridge and more a path through the air that the traffic takes each day. Hover cars, Cargo transports, and Metro transports rushed by as I plummeted toward them. I could see the look of some of the drivers as they saw me, falling at full speed right at them. I smiled under my mask as I got closer.

Horns blared as I zipped through the first layer with little resistance, but the next three layers of traffic required some twisting and shifting of my weight to slow down. As I hit about midway through traffic, I pulled out a thin cable with a small grappling hook on one end. Still falling, I spun the hook and tossed it onto the underbelly of a passing hover car on the lowest level of traffic. The cable pulled tight and changed my fall path, slowing me to a more manageable speed.

I felt the pull in my shoulder as the cable pulled taut, burning as the socket fought to stay in place. To ease the pain I let the cable slide a bit, dropping me a bit as I swung at the nearest building. I pulled up and snapped the hook off the hover car with a flick of the cable. I fell at just the right angle to hit the wall and start to slide down the face of the building until I hit a ledge I could stand on.

I was three stories up from the street and looked around for “Smith”. A street gang of Trolls and Orcs stomped up the road, pushing aside anyone that couldn't get out of the way fast enough. This gang was nothing to worry about, but it was their boss that I had to keep my eye on. He was a tall troll that went by the name of Danny “Tripod” O'Dowd. Tripod had risen to their leader in just under a month using his fist, hammer, and Peacekeeper.

They passed me by without looking up, something most people don't do nowadays. I let out a quiet sigh and resumed my scan of the street for my “Smith”. People passed underneath me going about their daily lives, never noticing me. No one ever looked up, ever.

“Mr. Smith” came strolling around a corner into my view. He wore a black tailored suit with a with undershirt and a black tie. If you passed him on the street you would think nothing of him, even if he bumped into you. He was average in every way, making him perfect for his job.

I grinned under my mask as I silently dropped down into the early morning crowd, unnoticed. I shadowed him right up to the bar where we were to meet, easy even with my gi on. The bar was called the Long Shot, and it was small, smoky and dark. Just my speed.

I slipped into the bar smoothly, ducking into the dark bar room and found where he had sat down. I slid into a chair opposite him, started to hack his network connection, and sent him my opener.

What is the music of life? I sent the text and waited for him to reply with his part.

“Silence, dear brother, silence,” he said as he set aside the menu. “Did you get it?”

I set the mini disk on the table and waited for him to check it. He picked it up and plugged it into a reader and waited for the info to pop up on his HUD. He skimmed over the info and nodded.

“Good work, same payment as last time?” He asked as I nodded.

He slid a credit stick across the table to me and went back to his menu.

I turned to leave he stopped me.

“We have one more job if you're interested?”

I stopped and looked at him.

“It's a basic breaking and entering,” he said. “My client wants something broken and we think you're the best for this kind of thing.”

The lab I was to hit was high in the Ares building, the 65th floor. The ledge was just big enough for me to sit on, just under the smog cloud. I held myself close to the window's field and waited for my hacker bug to get through the firewall. My HUD flashed that I had gained control of the field and could take it down when I was ready for entry. I turned down the tint, just enough to see inside, checking for guards on patrol inside.

No one passed by as the sun sank behind the buildings in the west. I hit the command and rolled into the building as the field flashed off for only a second. That should only appear as a glitch on the network, letting me work without interruption. The room I had gained access to was a small office, just a desk, and some chairs. I slipped around the desk and to the door.

The hallway outside the room was dark and quite. I cleared it before I went to a terminal that could give me a map to what I needed. The download went easy, I didn't even need to hack into the computer to find it. The map said that the R&D Department was just down the hall and to my left, but locked tight. When I arrived at the door, I spotted the card reader that kept people like me out.

Tech was easy to pass if you knew where to fiddle with it. I popped it's faceplate from the card reader and got a look at the circuitry inside. A few crossed wires and one flick to the power source and I was in the door, no fuss no muss.

The lab was a little on the small side, only a few tables with equipment and beakers and one large object covered in a tarp filled it. I double checked the sign on the door, just in case I was in the wrong room. “Ares Weapons R and D,” was what it said. Too bad this whole thing felt like a bad prank or a trap.

I walked up to the tarp, it being the only thing in this room that I could assume I was to break. I pulled the tarp off and stared at the thing. Several keystones with runes carved into them formed a circle, and each rune was joined by circuitry and copper coils. The runes seemed to glow with some unknown arcane power that resonated within the keystones. This thing was a meshing of technology and magic never seen before.

As I stood there shocked, the lights came on and two beefy hands grabbed my shoulders. Before I knew it I was sitting in front of the keystone ring with my hands tied behind my back, and standing there before me was none other than Damien Knight, the second largest shareholder of Ares Macro. He was a full head taller than me, even though I was only five foot four. His face made me think of a wolf, with his predatory blue eyes and sharp jaw line. His nose had a hook to it and looked like it was broken a few times in the past. But what got me the most was his mane of white hair.

He looked to be in his mid twenty's, but that hair gave it away. This man was much older than me, maybe even than my master. I didn't panic at his presence, but he still unnerved me.

“Good work, Danny,” he said calmly. “You can leave now.”

“What 'bout me pay,” a gruff voice behind me replied.

Damien pulled out a black cred-stick and tossed it to him, over my head.

“That should suffice.”

As the troll left, I looked up at my captor. Damien Knight. He leaned against one of the tables and looked at me. His tailored suit was a dark blue, pen striped with light gray lines, and a red tie. He oozed power and grace with every move he made. His eyes loomed over me watching for any sign of movement as he waited for something.

“You know, finding you was harder than I thought it would be,” he said. “You should be proud of your skills.”

As he spoke I grasped the fingers on my cybernetic right hand and pulled. It popped off without a sound and let the ropes keeping me tied slide off my wrist.

“It was like a game of chess that I played with an old friend. I had to let several things fall just to see catch a glimpse of who you were, and even then you were still hard to see.”

I reattached my hand and pulled out one of my knives, letting it slide up my sleeve as I readied to move.

“It took three tries on an old security camera just to get a clear view of you. I even had to find an old VHS player with hookups for modern computers.”

With my other hand, I readied a smoke bomb and waited for him to finish.

He pulled out a small remote and pushed a button on it. The keystones began to hum as power was given to them. A purple light began to emanate from the air in the center of the ring as the power surged and swirled about. Soon the fabric of reality itself ripped asunder and a vortex of color spun within the ring.

“This is what you were meant to break, right,” Damien asked me. “This is a gateway. To where we don't know. Everything we put through it loses signal the moment it goes through. Now normally we would just throw in the towel on this project. But I see potential in it! If we know where it went we could find new weapons. Technology! Or even magic! It would finally put us on the map in those markets. The money alone from discovered slaves we could bring through would TRIPLE our stocks.”

This man had lost his mind! His face held a manic grin that could put the Grim Reaper to shame. I had no choice, this thing had to go, no matter the cost. I crushed the glass ball that was my smoke bomb and let the concealing miasma fill the room.

Ninjas. Never give us time.

I jumped to my feet and ran to the ring. When I found it I had only seconds before my smoke would clear and Damien would find me. I drew forth my katana and cut the circuitry between stones, shattering the circuit board and breaking the circle. The whole thing shuttered and sputtered as the power stopped.

It was at that moment that my world exploded. Power jumped through my sword and into my arm, burning the flesh and numbing the nerves as it went. The gateway began to draw in my smoke, clearing the air for Damien to see my handy work. As my smoke cleared, parts of the broken ring were sucked into the portal, and then it got even more hectic. The portal grew in size and power. Papers from the table flew about in the room as a powerful wind began to draw everything towards the destabilized hole in reality.

“You fool!” Damien screamed over the din. “What have you done?!”

He gripped the table he was leaning against as the wind started to pull him off his feet. It had grown strong enough that he was struggling to keep a hold on the table. I, on the other hand, had nothing to grab onto or to weigh me down. I was swept off my feet and into the portal I went.

The last thing I saw as I left that world was the mouth of the gateway slamming shut behind me.

If I had a voice I would be screaming in terror and pain. Light and dark assaulted my sight and screams and whispers filled my ears. It felt like I was being torn apart by demons and rebuilt by angels. The final torture was the taste, I could taste colors and smell thoughts, my brain could not process all of the information and it was making me sick. Vertigo took the last of my sanity as I fell, pulled in every direction and weightlessness at the same time.

I was in hell.

I don't know how long I was like that until I felt the solid pull of gravity on my body. I fell a short distance and was meet with cold, hard ground. When my vision came back, all I could see was white. Then I felt the cold wet sensation of snow on my skin and through my gi. I was laying in a snow drift about three feet high.

My gi was not meant for winter, so I could feel every aspect of the cold. The air was chilly on my now wet gi and I could fee the burns on my arm starting to hurt and sting from the water and cold. I rose enough to see where I was but fell back as my head spun from the experience I had just had. That was when my stomach decided to have a word with my mouth and attempt empty its continence. I ripped my mask down and began to violently empty my stomach onto the snow covered floor.

After I finished retching, I sat back, let out a grunt and spit the nasty taste of bile out of my mouth. I looked at the place I landed in and cringed, all the colors were bright even in the dying sunlight. In the distance, I could see a small gathering of buildings that must be the start of a city, so I stood and made to go to it.

As I rose I felt the pain in my leg and looked down. It was broken. The bone protruded from the skin and had torn the leg of my gi, which was now turning red. I must have broken it when I fell, but why didn't I feel it. Then it hit me, I was in shock from everything that had happened to me.

Steeling my resolve, I started to crawl through the snow to the buildings.

As I came closer, I started to shake from the cold and loss of blood. As my sense of pain came back, I let out a mute scream. I grunted and growled the last few feet until I fell into a street. Bloody, bruised and now concussed, I tried to make noise for help. The knife in my sleeve slipped out as I flailed about and I grabbed it. I slammed it into the rocky road I lay upon as hard as I could.

The ringing metal got something's attention. A pony, in a stetson hat, filled my vision. It had large green eyes and a rather emotive face, having a look of concern on it. I was ready to see the rider when it spoke.

“You don't look too good, sugar cube,” the heavy southern accent made my mind go blank.

I looked on in fear as she looked me over.

“Burns and a broken leg. I wonder if you were one of the pit fighter humans? Was there a fight near here,” a second softer voice chimed in. “We need to get him to the hospital right away!”

The orange one nodded and moved to get under me. Instead, I used her to push myself up and leaned on her back. I could walk, just as long as it stayed by my side. That was when I saw the source of the second voice.

A butter yellow, winged pony with a pink mane and tail stared at me as I leaned on the orange one. She began to fret over me as I tried to get the orange one moving when I toppled over. Pain crawled up my leg, burning away any other feeling I was having at that moment. I had shattered my leg before, but something was off about this pain.

Before I could do anything, the yellow one scooped me up and dragged me off. Before we arrived, I had blacked out.

Chapter 1: A new world (edit)

I awoke and listened, not moving a muscle. I heard no sound other than my own breathing and the soft beep of machines. The room smelled of antiseptic and bleach, so I was either in a lab or a hospital. I opened my eyes. The natural one adjusted to the light as the other booted up my HUD. Both finished about the same time and I slowly investigated the area around me.

I was in a hospital bed. Strapped down with soft cuffs and a few straps, naked. Save for the bandages on my arms and a cast on my leg. The room was was white and warm with only a few chairs and the bed I was on. An old light hung from the ceiling and there was also a lamp on the nightstand beside the bed which provided the only lighting the room. I took all this in and tested the cuffs that held my arms. They held tight.

I was captured but didn't want to act yet. I needed to see what this place was before I acted. I needed information. I had the time to spare, so I waited and listened.

“But did you see the scars on him?” one voice asked. It was feminine and concerned about something.

“Yes, nurse, I did see the scars and the knives and sword.” This one was masculine and mildly annoyed. “And yes, you still need to go check on him, we need a set of vitals on him. He is restrained so you have nothing to fear.”

The door opened and I was shocked. Into my room walked a winged pony. She had an off white coat and a green mane and tale. She stopped when she saw me looking at her. Fear filled her eyes as she met mine. She backed out the door and called for the doctor.

“What do you mean he's awake, he should still be sedated,” the male voice called back.

A horned pony stepped past the first and walked in. he was slightly taller than the first and had a brown coat. His black mane and tail swished as he trotted into the room. He paused as well when I looked him over. He didn't hold fear in his eyes, but shock.

They stared for a second then the doctor walked in the room.

“Well, I guess we could get started on the tests then.”

In minutes I was moved to a new room with a table. Then I was released from my bed and placed in a chair, and left to sit for a bit. During this time, I found they have magic. I was used to magic, I even used a little magic in my work.The magic I used could be broken by an effort of will greater than the casters own.This magic, the magic that the ponies used, I could not fight. I saw that it came from their horns and was somewhat panicked when I was lifted off the bed and placed in the chair.

As I sat there I tested my leg. The pain was tolerable when I was sitting with it on the floor, but if I put weight on it the pain would escalate to feel like a river of magma in my leg. They had placed my leg in a plaster cast, immobilizing my foot but not my knee. The cast was light but restricting for the things I wanted to do.

I had stopped when the door to my room opened and another pony entered with an apple. I saw the apple and my stomach started to rumble. He placed the apple before me and waited. I looked at him and then to the apple and waited on him to make a move. He pushed the apple to me and pulled out a clipboard and feather quill.

I picked up the apple and looked at it carefully, looking for any imperfections and signs of tampering. Nothing was wrong with the thing so I brought it to my lips. Just before I was going to take a bite, the apple was pulled from my grasp. I was confused until he put it back into my hand, it was a test for hostility. I had a dog that the masters let me have for a bit during my training and they tested it like that. So I played the test for the fifth time when I reached over and thumped him in the horn and snatched my apple from the air.

He was shocked as I snacked on the apple and waited for the next test. He then pulled my chair out and walked around the table to me. He held up his hoof and moved it around for me to follow with my eyes. I did so still munching away on my apple. He paused as I opened my mouth to take another bite and then had me set the apple down. Pulling my lips up he looked at my teeth.

One of the implants I had was poison packs in my throat with the injectors in my teeth. They appeared to be elongated canines. The pony gawked at my teeth until I pulled away and went back to my apple. This thing was delicious, so much so that I even ate the core.

After my apple, I looked around as the pony observed me. His clipboard was floating beside him with the quill scratching away at the paper on it. I wondered what was on the paper for a bit until he set it down and sighed. I picked it up and read what was written there, much to his curiosity.

Subject 7,

Unknown name or owner assumed wild used for fighting.

Several scars are present on the subject, including one across the neck, perhaps a debarking scar. Eyes are of different color, could be a genetic abnormality. Branding on the left shoulder could mark an owner or the fighting ring he was in, turning over to the guards for their investigation. Burns on arm are consistent with electrical burns, perhaps a magic or disciplinary act. Burns cover left hand to shoulder but start on the right arm just above the wrist. Test show non-aggressive but still wonder. Eyes seem to function properly, no known cataracts or eye infections. Teeth seem to be filed to points on the canines, perhaps for the fighting. Recommend pound until the investigation concludes.

I tossed it back onto the table and looked at the pony, waiting for some kind of answer for the pound thing. I was not going to the pound, I was human not an animal. He sighed as he sat down in his chair.

“I don't know who could have done this to you, I promise the guards will find them and the will be punished for their cruelty,” he said sadly. “I just hope we can find you a good home to go to.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, no one was cruel to me. I had earned all of my scars from training, my work or from failing. My hand went to my throat as a reflex when I remembered the day I lost my voice forever. It was the final leg of my training when my dojo, my home, came under attack. I lost my hand and eye that day as well, to the leader of a rival clan.

“Hey, you'll be okay,” he said as he patted my head. “I know it will be hard but you will be in a good place.”

I couldn't take it, I never liked being patronized and this was worse than that. I was not an animal, I had intelligence, I had free will. I snatched the clipboard back up and the pen and began to write out something for his little report.

I will not go to the Pound! And where is my equipment?

I held my sign up for him to see and waited. He scratched his head as he looked at the words I had written, but said nothing.

“Well that is something,” he said. “You can draw some interesting pictures, kinda like that brand on your shoulder.”

I looked at the paper confused. I was so mad at him I didn't realize I had written in kanji instead of English. I face palmed. I started to write something else, this time in English when I felt the pull of magic on the clipboard. I snorted and held on, I was going to win this fight and prove I was smart.

STOP Pulling! Was all I got onto the paper before it was pulled all the way out of my grasp.

He didn't even look at the words as he motioned for me to get back in bed. I refused and pointed at the board. Magic enveloped me and lifted me onto the bed. I fought with all my will, but nothing would stop me from being placed on the bed. The straps were placed on my wrists and ankles as the bed was pushed back to the room I was in when I awoke. When he left, I did what I should have done, to begin with. I popped my hand off and set myself free.

I doused all the light in the room and waited for one of the ponies to walk in. I didn't have to wait long. The door opened and in trotted the little nurse that was so afraid of me. I let it sink in that the room was dark before I acted.

I slipped out the door and closed it behind me, sealing her in that darkness. Her muffled screams got the attention of some of the other staff, getting them to open the door as ducked around them to the desk. I needed something to distract them longer than a screaming nurse and I had just the thing. A big red lever sat on the wall to my right labeled FIRE.

I pulled it and let the confusion begin. Ponies began to hustle about in practiced routes, closing a door or pulling patients out and moving them down the hall. As they did this I moved with a few of them until I saw a guard with my things floating beside him as he helped the ponies move everyone out. As I passed, I grabbed and pulled my things out of his magical grasp. He shouted but the press of ponies stopped him from pursuing me. I play like the dumb human they thought I was and ducked back and forth in the crowd until it led outside.

I gimped through the snow with the crowd until I saw the perfect place to hide and get dressed. I dashed into a house and checked my things. My gi was cut in some places but it was nothing that I couldn't handle with a needle and some thread, I would just need to find warmer clothes for the near future and I should able to make it through the winter and maybe longer.

I donned my gi and started looking through the pockets in my belt. I found the vial I was looking for after a short search, a tube of gray and black liquid that looked like metal. I then pulled out a hypodermic needle and jabbed it into the tube's top. I pulled a good dose of the sludge and the readied my leg. I found a spot just above the cast and jabbed the needle into my calf. I pushed the dose into the muscle and readied myself for the pain to come.

Nanites, tiny robots that can only be seen with a microscope, rushed into my leg. They began to repair any damage that was done to it from the break and then started in on the bone. Tissue began to knit together and bone began to mend as pain rushed up and down my leg, feeling like my leg was burning from the inside out. It took two minutes for the pain to subside, but to me, it felt like an eternity.

When it was done I stood and tested the leg. I still felt pain but I could live with it. I pulled out a knife and started in on the cast to set my foot free. With that done I looked around for something I could use as warmer clothes and a sewing kit to repair my gi.

The building I was in was a shop for clothing and such so I was in luck. I started to rummage around, grabbing a small box kit and some fabric that I could use to insulation for my gi. I had to work fast as the sun was starting to rise in the east, signaling the residents getting up. I had little time to get out and find a place to lay low.

I nabbed a bag off the wall and stuffed my prizes into it. I double checked that I had everything I would need and moved to the door. That was when I heard the gasp. Looking over my shoulder I saw a white horned pony. Her mane and tail were up in curlers and she was in a nightgown. The whole picture was ridiculous and I couldn't help but smile before I dashed out the door.

I could hear her scream from outside and I dashed through the snow into the morning light. I moved into the town and stayed in the alleys, looking for someplace to stay. I looked for hours until I was on the outskirts of the city. That was when I realized that this was not the big city I thought it was, I managed to walk all the way around it before the morning was out. I stayed out of sight, for the most part, I was still spotted but nothing seemed to happened.

I found a building just outside of town that I could use as a safe house. The building was falling apart on the outside but was strong enough for life on the inside. I check the place for firewood and a place to lay down. I found an old bed and some old wooden chairs that were broken. Though the front door hung on one hinge, I managed to get it closed. None of the windows were broken, so when I lit the fire in the fireplace I was able to keep the room warm.

I settled into the bed and started to work on my gi. I repaired the fabric and added the insulation for the winter work I would be doing. After that was done the sun was beginning to set and I needed to find more wood and something more than an apple to eat. The firewood would be easy to find in this town, it was right next to a forest, it was the food that would prove trying. I let the sun fall once more on this new world before I headed out.

The moon began to rise over the snow-covered hill as I climbed out of my new safe house. Now warm and rested, I set to work. I pulled out a piece of paper and sketched a rough map of the town and its important buildings, but mostly I wanted information. I tracked down the library, town hall, the market and finally the guard shacks. After I marked these on my map I then went to work finding a stable source of food. I found a grocery store with just enough food that if I stole from them, it wouldn't be noticed.

I took only what I needed to survive and moved on to the library. The door was locked, but that wouldn't stop me. I scoped the place out for anything I could use as an entrance or a place to spy on the ponies within. I found a window and looked into it.

The lights were out inside, but I could see a form within. It was stretched out on the couch and breathing slowly. Whatever it was, it was asleep and that meant I should be clear, as long as I stayed quiet. I checked the windows and found one that was unlocked, opened it and slipped inside. I stepped as lightly as possible through the main room of the library. I started to hunt for the books I would need to find, a history book, a book on law and finally a book on humans. With my new books in my hand, I slipped back out of the library and started back to my safe house.

Once I was back I set the pack down and set to securing my new place of residence. I checked the windows for locks and I made the door stick to its frame. I set some of the rooms aside for training and meditation and one for a poison lab. After that, I set a few simple traps to warn me if anyone was coming into my home.

I had just finished blacking out the windows when the sun started to rise. With a list of work that I would need to do and a few things I would need for my rooms, I settled into bed and started to read up on my new world.

Chapter 2: Dreams of the past.

I had read for so long that I had fallen asleep without preparing my mind for the night. To sleep unprepared was to risk invasions of the mind from magic users that called themselves the Dreamwalkers. I drifted off into slumber without a defense for the Dreamwalkers of my world. If I were back in my world, the dreams would start in an instant, giving a sign that a target was ready. The Dreamwalkers would probe my mind for memories, knowledge, or just someway to turn me to their side. Some even had ways of programing my subconscious with a key phrase to take control of me. As part of my training I could defend against such attacks without setting up defenses before I sleep, but it was better to give yourself an edge.

For the first time in years I had forgotten to defend myself from such attacks and yet, none came. Instead I just dreamed. My dream started with me working in the dojo of my old home. I watched as a younger me worked through a kata he had just learned. I remembered that it was the last one I needed to learn, as it was just days before the masters would give me the final test. I watched as the younger me worked through the movements with slow grace. Each of my movements were like dance steps as they flowed from one to another. Before I could finish watching the other me, I was pulled further into the dream memory.

I sat on my knees with my head down and one fist on the ground waiting for my master to finish the briefing and send me on my way. I was garbed in the ninja gi Master had gifted me that morning. He was sending me on my first solo mission, to gather information on Knight and his operations in America. I listened intently and when he finished, I asked my last question to him.

“Do you think I can do this on my own?” I asked. I was always doubting myself when it came to my training.

“No, my son,” my master replied. “If you can, you will come back. If not, you will die.” That was my master, truth, no matter how bad it hurts. “If you do this, you will be a True Shinobi.”

I remembered the feeling I got when he said that, my heart racing with excitement and fear. I was ready for this mission. I remembered the days of planning that I put into this job, just to make sure I would come back. I was ready for anything, to bad I wasn't ready for what was going to happen.

My dream rushed forward to the day I left to do the mission. I was to poison my target and get out without being seen or detected. I slipped into the building and maneuvered past the guards, into a small room that I needed. The ceiling tiles gave me quick access to the rafters above. The rafters that led to the dining room that my target was in right now. The dream rushed forward once more.

I braced my ankles against the beams and then my knees. I then let my upper body gently fall until it stopped swinging. I reached into my belt and pulled out the vial holding the poison. I slowly uncorked it, pulled out my dropper and took a dose out of the vial. A single drop of the poison was all I needed to get into his glass and then I could leave.

I leveled the dropper over the drink and then held my breath. One drop formed on the end of my tool as I squeezed the poison out. The drop plummeted down, right into my target's glass. I let out the breath I was holding and made to leave.

I continued to use the rafters to make good my escape until I found the room I first climbed into them. I cracked the door and checked for guards, by now they should be running around looking for the killer. But they were not there, not even a noise.

I moved through the halls, but there was nothing. I checked the blueprints and went to the security room to look at the cameras. My target lay dead, face down in a plate of food with a spilled drink, but there was no one in the room with him or in the halls. This had me worried.

I checked the feed to see if I was spotted, but I wasn't there. I watched him die just to see what happened, but after he fell over the recording cut off and no new data was left. All of my training told me this was a trap. As I dashed out the door, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

Just before I turned to see what had set my danger sense off, something touched the back of my neck at the base of my skull and fired a bolt of electricity down my spine.

I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

As I came to, I felt a burning in my right shoulder. My vision swam as I looked up at the culprit and pondered what was going on. I thought this was a dream, you can't feel pain in a dream. That was when I noticed the man standing before me.

He was a tall man with dark hair and darker eyes. He wore a business suit and had a scar that ran across his face, marring his boyish good looks. I remembered him from seeing him talking with my master. That was when it hit me, he hired my clan for this job!

“Damien was right about you shadow types,” he said. “You even picked up on the trap before it snapped closed on you.” His voice was rough, like stones being ground together. I couldn't see much of him in the low light.

“You are the first assassin that ever saw it coming,” he gloated. “I may have a use for you, just after I tie up the last few loose ends.”

“What... loose ends,” I croaked.

“Why, the rest of your clan, of course,” he said mockingly. “I can't have this little job traced back to me, now can I.”

I looked up shocked. This man was talking like he had already won. He was talking like I would help him even though he killed my clan.

“What makes you think I would ever work for you,” I snarled.

“Your new implants will be installed shortly,” he said matter-of-factly. “After that it's just the obedience program that they put into prison implants.”

As he turned to leave, I made to lunge at him but was stopped. My right hand was strapped to the wall by a metal cuff. This made him laugh a little at me as I made to pull on the cuff.

“It's an auto weld cuff that only I know the code to, so stop struggling. I'll see you when this is all over and we can get started on that job offer of yours. The soldiers should be arriving soon.”

With that he walked out leaving me alone, with only time and a need to escape. I pulled on the cuff to test the strength of the weld and saw that I couldn't break it without some help. My tools were hung on a wall across from me but out of reach. I was losing hope, until I saw the stone sitting in front of me.

I could touch the stone with the tips of my fingers, just enough to pull it slightly closer. I needed to hurry if I wanted to make it to my home before those soldiers did. With all my might I struggled against my restraint to reach the stone that would be my freedom. I brushed it with my fingertips, careful to not push it farther away. Slowly, I pulled it closer until I managed to get it close enough to pick up.

With the stone in my hand I turned to work on the cuff holding me to the wall. I banged the rock against the metal with all the strength I could muster, but I only dented it. As I hit my binding, the rock began to shatter against the metal's hardness, I was losing hope.

I had to escape. I couldn't fail. The metal cut into my hand as it bent beneath my blows, cutting off the blood flow to it. That gave me an idea, I couldn't pull my hand free, but I could get my wrist free. I was desperate, I was panicking and I had to act.

The first blows shattered bone and tore into the flesh. The pain was great, but I fought it down. I used the rock to cut the skin and tendons, giving me room to start pulling. I couldn't control my hand with all the muscular damage, so I just started to pull. I felt like an animal in panic, pulling until the flesh rips off the bone and the shattered stubs of my wrist remained.

As the flesh finally came loose, I turned to run out only to be faced with something new. My mind reeled as I gawked at the thing before me. The pain of my freshly severed hand came to mind but that strangely merely felt like background static. It was then I remembered the dream. I had lived this already and was only seeing a memory of my past.

The thing before me was something from my new world. It was a horned and winged pony that was a little taller than me. It was a dark blue with an ethereal blue mane and tail, and the moon plastered all over it. It looked like it was going to be sick from the fact that I had ripped of my own hand off, but shock at the fact that I did it to begin with.

To me, it was a Dreamwalker. I slammed my defenses down on it, rocking the mental plane we were on. That pulled it out of its shock and made it look hard at me. Anger began to build in it's eyes as I started the process of waking myself from sleep while dreaming. The fog of sleep started to lift as it shouted something, but I couldn't hear it over the din that my minds defenses was making.

Soon I sat bolt upright in the little room that I had set aside for sleeping, only to hear a pop and a voice behind me.

“You can not hide in the waking world from me, human,” it boomed out. The voice was feminine, but forceful. “Your dream said you lost your hand, yet there it is still attached, how odd.”

On instinct I started to roll out of my makeshift bed but was grabbed by the blue aura that was pony magic. My struggles went unnoticed as I was lifted out of the blankets and set in a chair. I stiffened as she came close to me and looked me in the eyes.

“I saw that memory,” she said. “You lost your hand, but you still have it. How?”

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“I know you are smart, I know of another like you.”

That shocked me. According to the book I read, humans were nothing more than animals, beasts of burden or show pets. Some were trained to work as attack animals, but that was just for illegal fights.

“How is it you still have a hand?”

I raised my right hand and grasped it with my left, and then pulled it off. Her eyes went wide with fear as I replaced it and flexed the fingers. “How is that possible,”she mumbled. She was quiet for a second, but then she asked something strange.

“Can you speak?”

I was taken aback by that, but shook my head. I then lifted my chin and pointed to the scar on my throat.

“You were debarked?”

Again I shook my head. I slowly reached into my belt and produced one of my knives. I then pointed from the knife to the scar under my chin. She looked shocked at what I was implying.

“Did that happen here or at your home,” she asked still shocked.

I shook my head. This was going nowhere and I was starting to wonder how I could get away from this magic using pony. Nothing stuck out for an escape route, but I was still looking.

“I could heal it, you know. Magic could repair that for you.”

That made me freeze. I locked eyes with her and gave her a dark look. I don't like being teased, and getting my voice back was something I had given up on. It was always too expensive or had too much chance of malfunctioning. Yet here was this pony, offering to cast a two million cred spell for free, without even looking at the damage first. My look turned to a glare as she started to speak again.

“Let me get you something to write with and then we can talk in earnest.”

Her horn lit up with the blue aura that was her magic and paper and a quill and ink appeared before me bobbing gently in her magical grip. I was shocked by her display of power. No one could teleport, it was impossible. And yet here she was, defining everything I knew about magic. This pony scared me.

I took the paper, quill and ink and started to write, keeping an eye on her the whole time.

Why do you want to help me?

She read what I had put to paper and looked at me, questioning.

“Because you are wounded, broken. That and speaking is so much easier.”

I'm not broken, I lost my voice because I failed to stop something from destroying my home. I wrote that down and she looked up at me in shock and sympathy.

“How did you fail?”

My master was killed by men working for the man from my dream. I let her read that and then started in on the painful memory.

I had just escaped after taking my hand off, but I still had to get back. It was a three hour run from where I was to my home and I didn't even find the exit for a good thirty minutes. By that time the crew had dug in and was starting to waver in their conviction to attack a ninja dojo. At that time of the attack, sixty of my brothers were there and defended our home with honor. They brought two powered armor and thirty heavily armed men.

I stopped there, I didn't want to relive that pain. The pony understood and looked at me as I sat there in my memories.

“You couldn't stop them, could you?”

I nodded, unable to muster the strength to write.

“Would you like me to heal you now,” she asked after giving me a moment.

How would I repay you?

“There is no need for repayment, It is a simple enough spell for me and I do this to see if you really can speak.”

I raised my eyebrow at her, questioning her reason.

What do you mean by that?

“I know someone who is like you that can't speak because of some magic that brought him here. I want to know if it affects you as well.”

Then test away. I have forgotten what my voice sounds like after so many years.

She nodded and lit her horn. The magic reached into my body, starting at my chest and started to move up. When it reached my throat, it stopped and began to heat up the air inside it. Pain began to grow as the heat reached my lungs. That fire spread through my body in one agonizing second and then it was done.

And I screamed. Not very loud, mind you. But I still screamed. As I did I fell to the floor, my body twitching. With each spasm came a new pain, but they were fading. When I stopped twitching, I looked up and tried to speak.

“Thank you.”

It came out nothing more that a harsh whisper, but it was still speech. For the first time in years, I could talk.

Author's Note

Special thanks to my Editor Corneredbadger.
Check him out and give him some props.

Chapter 3: A step to the future

Luna had left, giving me time to recover from my ordeal. My body still ached as I stretched my limbs in the morning sun. My leg throbbed, but it eased as I let the bone settle by taking my weight off it. The pain wasn't that bad but it would make me limp for a bit. I wanted to test just how far I could push it before I had to stop.

I stood outside in the crisp snow letting the wind blow my hood back. With my hair out I could feel the gentle breeze and smell the sharp cold of the air. My gi was modified for winter so the bite of the cold wasn't that bad, but I couldn't stay out too long.The bright blue sky was a stark contrast to the dull brown of my home and the air that bit at my throat did so from cold, not the toxic fumes. For the first time in my life I knew what clean air smelled and tasted like. The yard of the house was covered in fresh snow all the way to the birch wood forest. Man, i had a big yard.

As I stood and basked in the glory of this new world, I thought back to last night with the Princess. After she healed my voice I had to lay down and rest, but I talked to her, asking about this world. She told me that she was one of the two rulers of this place, holding sovereignty over the night while her sister rules the day. I learned that she and a few people knew of one other human like me.

When I questioned her about that she said that I should go talk to them and find out about it there. It was then that the question of where I came from was raised. I was only slightly less forthcoming than she was, telling her about the city and the corporations. I told her of the races that I had grown up knowing, the dwarves, elves, orcs and trolls. When I got to the point of my coming here I spoke of the portal and how I stopped Damien from coming here like he planned.

She saw that I was tired and needed rest, so she bid me farewell and said she would send for me to meet her and her sister at a later date. I wondered what I was going to do about that when something caught my attention. Something had taking to watching me.

In the sky above me sat the only cloud in the sky, and peeking over the edge of this cloud was a rainbow colored mane and red eyes on a blue pony face. I raised an eyebrow as I looked up at her until I saw something else. Just to my left and in front of me was a pink pony with pink mane and tale. This one was putting down a trampoline and had an air horn. I pulled up my mask to keep the smile hidden.

With one mighty jump, the pink one bounded up to where the cloud sitter was and let loose the air horn. Before I could blink, the cloud sitter was plummeting right at me. I was ready to catch her when her wings flared out and let her swoop up to hover before me. She looked around, wide eyed and breathing hard, for the thing that scared her when she saw the pink one giggling on the ground beside her trampoline.

“Pinky,” she huffed. “You got me.... good one...”

'Pinky' giggled some more and held out the air horn, giving it a good blast just for effect. She then stuffed the horn into her mane and started to scoop some snow into a ball. Her grin widened as I saw the blue pony ready a snowball herself. Seeing that they were about to engage in snow combat I decided to move back and watch them.

“Well, Dashy,” Pinky piped up in a sweet voice. “I think that makes us even for the last one you pulled on me.”

I stepped away as the two started to fling snow at each other. I climbed up to the top of my safe house and watched the two play in the snow. As I watched three younger ponies trotted up and joined in the fun. They laughed and played, and I watched and wondered. This world was not ready for the likes of me. I was Shinobi, ninja, an assassin in a world that had little to no strife.

I was so deep in thought, I missed the snowball careening toward me. It connected and filled my vision with the white powder. As I scraped the snow off my face I saw all the ponies looking at me in fear. The playing had stopped because they were afraid that they had made the human mad....

I needed a little more fun in my life. Plus I could do with a little winter training.

One of the ponies had ducked under the overhang of the roof and was just asking for the snow dump of the year. So I obliged. I started to push the snow off the roof and dump most of it onto the little filly, all the while packing a snowball of my own. When the snow finished its fall I went airborne and tossed my snowball like one of my knifes. It gently arched through the air and collided with a shocked “Dashy's” face. I rolled across the ground, scooping up more snow as I went. When I hit my feet I held two snowballs and waited for the stunned ponies to move.

Pinky was the first to strike. From her mane, she pulled a cannon and started to stuff snow into the muzzle. While she did this the three fillies pulled their friend from the snow pile and readied their own snowballs and Dashy scooped up a good sized snowball for herself.

“GET THE HUMAN!!!” they all cried together.

Soon I was dodging and weaving, the snowballs whizzing past me as the ponies giggled and laughed. I dipped down every chance I packed and tossed another snowball at one of the ponies or tried to catch one of the snowballs and toss it back. Pinky's cannon became my main target as it fired the largest and most wet projectiles, so I started working toward it with a snowball the size of my head. Before Pinky could react, I used the snowball to clog and snuff the fuse hole. That was when I was tackled into the snow by Dashy.

She jumped up as the rest of them got me with the last few snowballs they had and then proclaimed victory over the funny human. She giggled as I rose, brushed the snow off my gi. I sighed contently as I worked the feeling back into my left hand and worked to fight off the cold from my wet clothing. As I turned to leave they started talking

“What do you say we all go down to Sugarcube Corner and celebrate our victory with hot coco,” Pinky proclaimed.

“What about the human,” Dashy asked.

“He's just going to go into his house and workout some more.”

That made me stop dead. I looked over my shoulder to see that the others had a look of confusion at what she said, but I still had to wait. Just to see what they would say.

“Pinky,” Dashy piped up. “You are so random.”

The five of them trotted off in the direction of town as I watched. I gave the pink one a dark look, wondering if she knew something that I didn't. She was one I would have to keep an eye on, just to be safe.

Once they were out of sight I trudged into my safe house and stripped out of my gi and hung it in front of the fire I had going in the fireplace. Four days and I still hadn't made this place something I could use. The only room I could use was the main room and it was covered in dust, dirt and god only knew what. The bed I had pulled down was no better, I had taken it outside on the first night and beat the dust and dirt out of it before I made to lay in it. I needed supplies and tools, brooms and rags, cleaning chemicals, wood and repair tools. I had lucked out with the paint, but I needed to go out and find these things.

I sighed. I couldn't focus on the problem, I needed to focus on the solution. But first I need to get focused, and the best way I knew to do that was to train. I pushed the bed out of the way and cleared a large area in the center of the room. I started with my stretches, then moved to the workout. I stood on my hands and pushed, keeping balance and doing vertical push-ups then moving to one hand then the other. I tried a one finger push-up, but the strain on my finger was too much and I fell over. Leave it to me to try something I saw on holo-vid.

I moved to the next part, jumping into the rafters of the ceiling, I hooked my feet and hung for a second. I then started to touch my toes. From there I worked every other part of my body, completing my workout portion of my training. The next thing was the katas. As I went through the movements I could feel my body relax.

Sweat covered my body as I sat down and leaned against the bed. I was about to draw a bath when I heard something outside. Voices were coming up the path to where I was staying.

“Are you sure someone will be there,” the first asked. It sounded like a male with a deep, gravely bass voice.

“Yep, the princess said it was just outside Ponyville. An old rundown home. She said we couldn't miss it.” This one was male to, but his was a tenor.

I checked my gi and found it dry. I rushed as I put it on and jumped into the rafters overhead. There I waited for whatever may happen.

“Just knock and announce us before we enter and everything should be fine,” the tenor said.

A heavy knock sounded on the door and I heard the bass call out “Royal Guard, we are here by order of Princess Luna.”

I waited for a second just to see what would happen. The door knob turned and the door was pushed open revealing the forms of two ponies, one an earth pony the other a unicorn. They walked in, looking around for what I could only guess to be me. They were each wearing gold plait armor that covered their back, flank and chest. They each had a helm under one of their forelegs, letting them walk with a bit of a stagger.

“Well somepony's been here.” The earth pony said.

“Look over here,” the unicorn was pointing at the bed. “Now what kind of sword is that?”

On the bed sat my master's katana. Its long, slightly curved blade was sheathed in the dark wood of his home. He told me many things about it, but never where it was. The two walked over to the sword and picked it up. They looked it over with a critical eye as I silently began to cast my spell.

Ghost sounds was a simple trick, but it was so hard to cast. Ever since I had lost my hand and eye, I was slowly losing my spells. I had seen it before in other magic users, but I wanted to see if I could still cast. This world that I landed in was saturated with Path, the air practically pulsed with it. Maybe, just maybe, I could cast my spells once more.

Path was just a term used by spell casters from my world to describe the ambient magic flowing in the air. Most casters call it that, other call it aether or mana. My master called it the Chi of the world. Master had taught me to use the Path like I used my body's chi, to turn and change the world around me.

The Path rippled as I ran my hands through it, forming the spell around my fingers. I could feel the power as my spell finished forming, letting me cast out my true hand. My spell worked, I could feel the sound fill the room. I twisted and moved the sound into words, then unleashed them upon the Guards.

“That is mine,” my spell spoke, booming from all around them. “Why have you invaded my sanctum?”

That made them jump out of there skin. My katana clattered to the floor as it was released from the unicorn's magic. The earth pony bumped into his partner as he backed up, his head snapping around looking for the source of the voice. As they stumbled around looking for me, my spell started to fail, sputtering and making ripples in the path around me.

“We... We are here on orders to bring you to Canterlot,” the unicorn spoke up. “The Princesses would like to meet you.”

I stayed in the rafters as the last of my spell petered out. As that happened I pondered what they said. If the princesses wanted to see him, why hadn't they come and instead sent guards to fetch him? This felt like a trap.

I dropped down from my rafters, silently landing behind them. I stayed in the shadow and worked my way around to their front. I reached out of the shadows and pulled my sword back in with me, I didn't want it to fall into their hooves. Once I had it, I made my move. I wanted answers from them and I knew just how to get them.

I pulled a cord out of my tool belt and readied to move. The unicorn was my first target, I wanted to remove the most resistance and magic users would always pose the biggest problem. I dashed out of the shadows and brought the cord around his hooves, tripping him and sending him to the floor. I then spun and kicked the earth pony hard in the barrel. I heard something pop and he gasped as he slid across the hardwood floor. Turning back to the unicorn, I wrapped the cord around his hooves and tied his legs together. I then dove onto the earth pony.

As we rolled across the floor I drew out one of my knifes and pressed it to his throat. I had everything in hand and as the magi tried to untangle himself from my cord, I readied my next move. The earth pony started to struggle under my knife until I turned him to his companion and firmly grasped his mane. I leaned up so I could whisper into his ear.

“Tell your friend to stand down.”

That got him to stop moving completely. “Don't move, this one's got a knife on me.”

The unicorn looked up and froze.

“Good,” I said. “Now tell me why you are really here.”

“The Princesses wanted an audience, they sent us to fetch you so as to not raise suspicion of the public. With us here it just looks like a removal of a wild human,” his voice broke with his fear as he spoke. His story hadn’t changed, while that could mean it was the truth it could also mean he was a well trained operative. I decided to chance it.

“If this is a trap,” I hissed into his ear. “You will be dead in three heartbeats and your friend over there will meet the same fate in two more.”

Author's Note

HUGE shout out to Corneredbadger
That guy works his plot off and still helps me with editing.

Anyway, sorry bout the long wait. I just hope this doesn't become a common thing.

Chapter 4: The meeting.

The train ride went smoothly. When we boarded, we were given our own car and we just sat there. The unicorn tried to cast some spells but I stopped him with a quick flick of his horn. His earth pony friend winced with every breath, telling me that I had broken his ribs with that kick. The trip was spent in silence, but I didn't mind.

The walk to the train was interesting. I keep my hands together at the wrists to look like I was under control and bound. I also had to leave my katana, but I still had many weapons at my disposal. I still had my knives and chains along side my many bombs, I just hope I didn't need to use any of them.

When the train finally stopped, I did a quick check of all my gear. Lock picks, check. Knives, check. Diamond cutting cord, check. Flash bangs and smoke bombs, check. Caltrops, check. Shuriken, check. Grappling hook and climbing cord, check. I had everything I would need to escape if things went south.

The guards rose and escorted me from the train onto the platform, making it look like a basic transfer of a prisoner. As we disembarked, I pulled up my mask, just for the comfort that it provided. The crowd around the platform gave us some space as we passed through them. I mostly watched the shops and crowds as we walked, looking for a quick way out of the city if I needed it.
The city itself was beautiful, with marble and stone were everywhere. We walked past several places that had a “No Humans Allowed” sings outside the door. But one place made me stop in my tracks. Scratches, a restaurant that catered to both human and ponies, stood out on a street corner. Its big flashing sign competing with another blinking out Doughnut Joe's.

We finally reached the castle gates where we were stopped.

“Why are you to bringing a human here,” the guard at the gate asked curtly.

“Princess summoned him, we’re taking him there now,” the unicorn responded.

Before anything else was said, a large white winged and horned pony came up the path to the front gate. Her mane and tail were tri-colored and whipped back and forth in an ethereal fashion. But what drew my attention was the crown upon her head. As she stepped up to us, the guards knelt down in a bow.

“Princess Celestia, good evening.”

The princess tittered at the guards, covering her snout with a hoof.

“Rise, my little ponies. I'm here to collect our guest,” she spoke with a gentle voice. “Follow me, stranger.”

She led me through the gates and into the courtyard. As we walked I surveyed the place for an escape route. Bushes would provide cover for a mad dash to the gate, but not much else. The path through the courtyard was a fairly long one, about fifty meters from the gate to the front doors, making a straight run out of the question.

The front doors were a grand affair, all tall strong wood and beautiful carvings. They seemed to be heavy, but Celestia pushed them open with little effort. The inside of the castle was bright and well light, giving me little shadows to work with if I needed to run. The halls wound this way and that as we walked, leaving me somewhat confused with the layout. Even my mapping program was starting to glitch.
She led me through the castle, passed several guards, into a room where Luna sat waiting. The room was elegant in design, a few painting on the wall and a table small enough for four to sit comfortably. The table was made of highly polished wood, giving the dark wood a reflective surface. But what got my attention the most was the plate full of meat sitting atop the table.

The princesses had gathered meat for me, and had even cooked it. The tray containing the meat was piled high with what looked like beef. The meat smelled delicious, even if it was off putting to the princesses.

“Sit, enjoy the meal we have,” Celestia said as she sat at the table herself. “You have nothing to fear, sister told me of your meeting.”
I looked at the table and couldn't help but hear my stomach growl. The table was low enough that I could sit on the floor and still eat comfortably, so I settled down with my legs crossed and grabbed a plate.

Though most of the food was veteran fair, the spread was a sight to see. Steamed greens from green beans to broccoli and fried red and yellow peppers with cucumbers and lettuce with tomatoes and fresh spinach. White and brown rice were mixed with an assortment of other things that made my mouth water. So I loaded up my plate with the food and added some of the meat to the top.

I reached into my belt pouch and produced a set of chopsticks and tucked into my meal. The vegetables were cooked to perfection, soft with just enough snap that gave a satisfying crunch. The meat tasted Divine as I popped a chunk into my mouth. I hummed happily as I consumed my meal.

My bliss was interrupted by a sense that something was watching me. As a Shinobi, I had trained myself to build a sixth sense to alert me to unknown or unseen dangers. It felt like a pull on my attention or the twitch of a thought that would build as the danger grew closer.
When I felt this pull, I set my plate down so I could have one of my hands free in case I needed to react. As the pull became stronger, I let the knife in my sleeve slide into my palm and waited.

I didn't have to wait long. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow move where none should. With a flick of my wrist, I sent the knife flying and rolled back to my feet. I pulled free my chain and stood at the ready.
The shadow turned out to be a pony. He had a dark gray coat and a lighter mane and tale. He wore a dark red suit vest and a crimson orb pendant with bat wings clasping a small scarf that was tucked into the vest. The most striking thing about this pony was his wings. His wings, that were flared out with the shock of having a knife sticking in the wall just in front of his snout, were leathery and had a claw at the fold.

He turned and eyed me as he folded his wings and hooked them at his chest with the claws.

"I do hope you intended to miss with that throw, I would like to not bleed all over the floor," he said with a smirk. "That would be a grievous waste of blood."

Luna and Celestia stared openly as I returned my chain to my belt and returned to my seat.

“Sister, what did you say he was,” Celestia asked.

Luna turned to the knife in the wall. “He called himself a Shinobi, though he didn't say much about what they did.”

“Well, I think we found out some of what they do,” said the bat pony.

I chose that moment to speak. “A Shinobi is known by another name. We are called Ninja.”

They looked confused at that. It never occurred to me that this world never had ninja or their like. All save for the bat pony, whose jaw had nearly fallen off his face.

“Shinobi trained to be shadows, to never be seen unless we want you to see us,” I started to explain. “From a young age, we are taught the way of Ninjutsu. How to escape sight or to blind into a crowd, how to use our environment to move around unseen and how to get into places we really shouldn't be. We learn how to make smoke bombs and flash powder, how to conceal something small on our body and to trick someone with words or movements. We were trained to gather information and to sabotage anything that may cause a problem.

“We learn about magic and how to counter it. Some of us even learn how to use it. Sabotage, espionage, infiltration, security, and gathering information from others are a few things we also learn.”

I let this sink in before I dropped the true bomb on them.

“But, what my clan was truly trained to do is to kill. There really is no nice way of putting it. We are trained in poisons and their applications, how to make them and where to find the ingredients. We learn where on the body to strike for the cleanest kill or crippling blow.”

That takes them by storm, even the bat pony is pulled from his stupor by the shock.

“My clan believes that death is an art, and should only be used as a last resort. But we still must learn how to perfect that art. Sadly that is why I am one of the last of my clan.”

I can't help but sigh at this thought. Being the last of something is never a good thing. It means an end to something, leaving nothing to build the beginning of something else. Its so final, like history that will never be found again.

“You are the last Shinobi,” asked the bat pony.

“No, just the last of my clan.”

“How did you become the last,” Celestia asked.

“After my first solo mission, I was captured and chained to a wall by the man who hired my clan. He said that there could be no witnesses and had men moving to burn my dojo to the ground and kill everyone there. I cut off my own hand to escape and tried to beat him to my home, but I arrived too late.”

I shuttered at the memory before continuing. “By the time I got there, only five of us remained to defend against the force of two hundred. We stood for an hour fighting to take back our home, but we were pushed back, nearly missing our chance to escape. When we escaped, those that were left took a vow. We swore to seek revenge, no matter how long it took."

The bat pony cocked his eyebrow and asks, "Did you ever get that revenge?"

"No, time and someone else got to him first," I sighed. “We were left adrift after that day, never to reform our clan. I lost contact with the other four before I came here.”

“So what will you do now,” Luna asked.

“The only thing I can do,” I say with a determined look. “I will train and wait for a job to present itself.”

They stared at me for a moment, confused and a little shocked at what I just said. This made me sigh.

"I have nothing else," I said. "I don't know this world, or how it works. I don't know if the rules are the same, or if the things I use to do would get me thrown in prison. My talents don’t fall into anything within a ‘normal life.’”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Luna said with a sad smile. “My sister and I have been looking into a few things and will continue looking. But we may have use for you and your talents, now that we know what they are.”

This gives me pause. They were looking into a few things? Were they looking into disposing of me? Or were they after some of the secrets that I held? I did my best to hide my discomfort at this statement as my mind raced to formulate a plan of escape.

“In the meantime,” Celestia piped up. “I’m sure you would like to stay somewhere safer than where you are staying now.”

My paranoia kicked into high gear at her words. I began to go over the map in my hud. I tracked our path, but I would need more than that to get out.

“Sister,” Luna chastised. “There is no need for that.” She then turned to me. “If you would like, we can put you up here in the castle for the night. It might give you some peace and quiet, Ponyville tends to get hectic over the winter.”

This did little to settle me, but I wasn’t about to go dashing into a city I didn’t know, through guards and servants that may cause more trouble than I needed right now.

So I took the offer with a hesitant nod.