Dishonored, the last Assassin.

CHAPTER 1. OF SUCH THINGS

"This mine is fascinating, It must date back at lest 15,000 years." Professor Dig Dug said, Searching by the light of his headlamp.Carefully stepping over stones and rubble. As he kept walking down the mineshaft, he kept pointing out the distinct differences.

"Over there is a human mine cart, Notice how its the same width and length but taller, Built specifically for their workers, And over there notice how the handle on that pickaxe is ribbed and has grooves, Possibly to improve their grip." Slowly following the professor, Speed Scribe wrote everlything he said.

Barely avoiding the rocks that kept trying to trip her, She followed the Professor trying to keep her mind off of how the dark seemed to be trying to smother her, And on what professor Dig Dug was saying, As he rounded a corner Speed Scribe hurried behind him. Only to find a giant empty cavern, The Professor was silent for the first time since he entered the mine and Speed Scribe was proof reading what she wrote.

She was so concentrated on checking her work she didn't even notice the professor was right in front of her, Staring at something as of yet unseen by her. Concealed by the shadows that seem as if the light was a enemy.

Suddenly professor Dig Dug spoke, So suddenly that she jumped at the sound of his voice. "Go to the castle as fast as you can and inform the princesses that we found something." Then Professor Dig Dug reached in his bag and pulled out a ball of string tied it around a stalagmite or maybe a stalagtite, Speed could never remember which was which.

"Here take this and unroll it on your way, I'm going to stay here and study this some before they arrive, And hurry." As she left she heard the professor say. "Fascinating. Just fascinating."

At which she turn around to see what he was looking at and immediately wished that she didn't, Without a moment of hesitation, Speed Scribe run as fast as she could without dropping the small ball of string only slowing down to unroll the string.

The thoughts kept running though my mind over and over and over. Once, I was asked if i dream, Of course I dream, Everyone dreams, Then I was asked what I dream of. I replied with the future, The past, The faces.

Even now I dream, Only now I dream of the past, So much in fact it seems like awake and asleep are much the same, And it only gets harder to tell the difference. I been imprisoned in this state for17,531 years, Don't ask me how I know, I don't even know.

All that keeps going though my mind is the memory of my trial, If you can call a one sided argument a trial. The dreams are all the same, I'm being escorted to the courtroom. I've been completely disarmed and shackled wirst to wirst, Ankle to ankle, And a iron collar around my neck that has a length of chain running from it though a loop in the center of the chains attached to my wirst and continues down to my ankles, In case I try to fight or run.

I was being led to the room when I noticed the guards were Templars, And a chill ran down my spine. Not only that but Palladians. "Great so they drag you guys from your fight with the demora to escort me, Huh I must be really important if the grand master of the Templars thought you guys had to escort me, And not just the royal guard." I say. They kept quiet and I stopped trying to talk to them.

Soon after we reached the door and I was left in a room with three chairs, And two cushions, For the equine rulers no doubt. I stood in the center of the room standing still and I waited for the trial to begin, It was a long wait and I wasn't so foolish as to make myself comfortable.

After some time had passed the king and the Grand Master of the Templars came in and sat down without a word. I remained silent untill the Equines showed up, The King of day and the Queen of night, Siblings, Not married.

I waited while they all starred at me, Like a piece of art to be appraised. All but the Templar Grand Master, Who looked at me like I was just something he found on the sole of his boot, Not the High Master of the Cloak and Daggers, The second highest rank.

I was fully aware of the fact that Templars despised the Assassin, More so then the rest of the Cloak and Daggers, Whose tactics were saw as dishonorable and beneath them, Dsputes between the Templars and Assassins were only becoming more common.

As they starred at me I kept finding my though turning to who's chair was empty, A moment of uncomfortable silence passed when the door opened and I heard the unmistakable silence of a assassin.

I didn't turn my head to see who it was, I could tell by the uneasy look on the Templar's face. There was only one person I knew who could make the leader of the Templars scarred, And as my heart skipped a beat as Ra Do Kah walked in on glided feet.

'He nevers makes a sound.' I thought as I saw him take his place on the center of the semi-circle in front of me on the left of the King of the humans and on the right of the Equine King of day.

Then I wake up, As much as someone whose mind was imprisoned in A body of stone. Never to age, Never to die, My punishment is to wait until I'm called upon, A fate worse the death, I was crused to survive.

At the edge of my thoughts I note someone speaking but I merely assumed that I imagined it, Like so many times before. "I must have gone crazy after all these years with no one to talk to, I'm only surprised I lasted this long." I thought.

The day was uneventful and exceptionally hot. It was like the whole castle was placed in a kiln or oven and left to bake.

As the day moved on, Princess Luna walked the halls and gazed at the artwork on the walls wishing she had something to do, Just as she finished that thought, She heard hoof steps and looked over at her sister and a strange earth pony.

"Hello Luna, this is Speed Scribe and she works for Professor Dig Dug" said Celestia.

Luna looked at the tan earth pony who was covered in black coal dust, So much she looked more like she was black not tan, and only the dust falling off of her, Slowly making a small pile that gave the illusion away.

"Hello there ma'am, I assume that the Professor found something interesting" Luna said, with perhaps a bit too much hope steeping into her voice.

"Your highness, Professor Dig Dug found something in the mine. The abandoned human one... He seemed ...excited. And he sent me to infrom you two and ask you to come see. He wouldn't have asked if it was just a pickaxe or shovel. I saw it for only a moment, but..."

The young scholar stood silent for a moment, But when she spoke again, It was as if she was only barely keeping from crying.

"It's a monster craved in stone, In such detail I am unsure if anyone pony or human could create such horror. Standing opposite from a statue of a human in strange garments. Starring at each other." When she finished Luna looked at her sister in disbelief only to notice Celestia was starring out the window at the royal gardens as if deep in thought.

"What do you want to do." Luna said as she stepped next to her sister and looked out the window and watch the wind make the trees and flowers wave. After a few moments Celestia spoke. "We owe it to the humans coming though the portals to find out as much about the ancient humans that lived here before even our birth, What they were like, Where did they go, And why? Why did they leave?"

Luna looked at her and wondered what a couple of statues were going to tell them about ancient humans, Then wondered what two statues were doing at the bottom of the deepest human mine found yet, And why was it built like a labyrinth. The research teams had to be very careful when they explored this mine which was built with completely no sense of direction, unlike the others found so far which always had a clear and obvious path to the main tunnel marked.

Luna had been in a couple of the human mines and found that particular one was easily the most confusing and mind numbing one. "OK so we go there and help Professor Dig Dug research a couple of boring old statues." Luna said to Celestia.

"And what would you rather do, Walk around and look at art you've seen dozens of times, Boiling in the heat, Or would you rather go see something few ponies have ever seen before. On a interesting side note I hear it's quite cool in those mines, Right Speed."

"Yes your majesty." Scribe replied, Not in any way eager to return to that cavern, That mine, that statue was radiating pure malice and hate, Like it was built out of rage itself.

She followed the Princesses trying, unsuccessfully, to forget what she saw. Then trying to ignore the fact that she would have to return to that cavern.

Professor Dig Dug was so entrapped by his studies he hardly heard the distinct Clip-Clop of hooves walking towards him.

"So this is what you wanted us to see Professor." Intoned a kind, If slightly annoyed voice. The Professor looked over and bowed to the royal sisters.

"Yes and no Princess Luna this is what compelled me to summon you two." As the Professor walked over to a statue of...something. Luna thought she could have stay at the palace, maybe have tea in the royal gardens again.

"Notice the semi human design, it's not entirely like a human, It does appear to stand on two legs but looks as if it would be just as comfortable on all fours. Notice the face twisted in a fierce snarl and the teeth and claws looks like a timberwolfs except of stone."

After a few minutes of pointing out more and more frightening differences he turned and walked over to the other statue and started describing it in detail while Luna and Celestia starred at it in wonder.

"Look at how it places it's legs and feet, Left one foward pointing at the other statue, Right foot at a 90 degree angle and with it's right leg bent like it is in the middle of jumping at the other statue, Possibly these statues tell a tale of human lore, a fight between a great hero and his adversary, possibly even a human King, but look, At his clothes not traditional armor, not even fancy clothes. In fact the only thing that resembles armor is there on his left shoulder the one closest to the other statue. And notice the sword."

Luna was snapped out of her trance much like how a young fillie at a boring school lecture suddenly wakes up when the teacher says something even remotely interesting.

"Sword?" Luna asks looking at the statue with renewed interest searching for the sword.

"In his right hand beside his leg"Said Professor Dig Dug.

As Luna walked around the back of it she kick something, Using her telekinesis to pick it up she looked up at a simple but very long sword. How it could hold that thing without breaking its wrist was beyond her. She then returned her attention to what she picked up and was walking around to the front of it when she glanced at its left arm, Running parallel to its torso when she noticed something in its left hand, It looked like a handle of a knife but with no blade.

"Care to explain Professor?"

"Huh oh yes yes, I was trying to measure to height of the statue Miss Luna, When I stumbled and my measuring stick just barely touched the sword and it was cut clean in half, See."

He held up a measuring stick that lost at lest a third of its length.

"Amazing how sharp the stone is. I assume this mine is at lest 15,000 years old and this sword, Though stone is incredibly sharp"

Luna looked at the handle in the statues left hand and asked the most pressing question"What is that for?" Pointing at it Professor Dig Dug and Celestia walked pver and starred.

The day was going fine for Twilight and her friends, So far no-one had anything better to do on such a unusually hot day.

Rainbow Dash was busy napping on her cloud, Applejack's work was all caught up for the day, Pinkie Pie had no parties to plan, Rarity had no dresses to make, Fluttershy just finished feeding the animals for the day, and Twilight was busy reorganizing the library for the new shipment of books for the human section.

The day was going just fine for her and she was going to read a particularly interesting book on humans forms of currency. The simple fact was of all the subjects of human life, Their money was always a strange topic to Twilight. How they could have their money travel though wires and empty space without magi was a engrossing subject to her. Suddenly she heard a knock on the door.

As Derpy waited st the door, she couldn't shake what The Doctor had said. "I will return, Someday, Sometime when all seems lost, nock four times and I'll answer." That was why she only knocked three times on Twilights door. Suddenly the door opened and Derpy immediately asked."Is Twilight here Spike? I got a package for her."

"Yeah, one second." As the little dragon closed the door, Derpy was left alone with her thoughts. Luckily it wasn't to long a wait.

"Hello Derpy." "Hi Twilight, hold on it's somewhere in here." As Derpy looked she soon realized it wasn't in her bag, Frantically dumping the pony post on the ground.

"Oh it must be here somewhere. Where is it. I've never lost mail before. Oh here it is."

Picking a small box off the ground, Derpy gave it to Twilight.

"Thanks. Any idea who's it's from?"

"No not a clue he was wearing a hood, so I couldn't see his face."

"Ok thanks Derpy, bye."

Twilight shut the door and went to her room to open the strange box. The box was about the size of her hoof and was light as the feathers on her wings. Setting it down on a desk she looked it over searching for a address, A note, Anything.

Finding nothing she proceeded to find a way to open it. She could see small hinges on one side, opening it prove problematic until she used her magic. When she looked in she was shocked to find a ring with a piece of paper rolled up inside of it and the ring was incredibly, amazingly, incredibly simple. Twilight used her magic to pick the ring and pulled the paper out. She read the paper in a flash, mainly because it only had six words on it, "As We Draw Our Sacred Swords."

Strange very strange thought Twilight, then she looked at the ring turning it around and saw a small symbol on the outside. What a strange shape. She thought. It kind of looks like the letter A but the little bar is too far down, come to think of it, It's also looks curved into itself like the bar was being pulled towards the angle.

Spike came into the room and nearly ran into the desk, Only the fact that Twilight was between him and the desk stopped him.

"OW, Spike what the hay?"

"Sorry Twilight Princess Celestia sent this." Spike gave her a scroll with bold red letters on it, URGENT, As she read the scroll Twilight looked at Spike and spoke quickly. "Spike hurry around town and get our friends and bring them to the train station, I'll be there."

"Twilight whats going on?"

"Just go and be quick, please Spike, this is no time for questions."

As Spike ran out of the library, Twilight put the box with the ring and note in a bag and packed in a hurry.

"Today just got interesting. But what, And why?, Why now?" Twlight pondered this as she packed. Only too late Twilight tought she should've asked Derpy if he was a pony or person.