Button threw his saddlebag onto his bed, he heard the small voice let out a grunt. "Do you know what you have done?!" Button yelled.
No reply. Button heard a metal lid open up, and the helium voice exclaimed, "mm, there's food in here!" Then the little ninja popped out of the bag, with a half-eaten sandwich in its hoof. "Want a bite?"
Button shook his head, not as much to say no thanks, but in an attempt to make everything make sense. "Who are you?" He asked with a voice that almost broke.
The little ninja let out an annoyed sigh. "Do we really have to go through all of that? But I will poke you if you call me a doll." He warned, and held out his little metal sword.
Button stared at the ninja, who calmly placed the little sword back in his belt. "But what are you?"
"You first, who and what are you?" The ninja asked back almost accusingly.
"I'm a pony, Button Mash..."
"I see." The little ninja nodded thoughtfully, then bowed his head respectfully. "Well, I am as you can see a ninja. Nice to meet you Button Mash the pony."
The door suddenly went up, and his mother trotted in with a smile. "Button, I thought I heard you come home. Gibson has already left for Manehatten, I'm sorry if you hurried home to see him off." She said that last part with a worried expression.
It took Button a second to catch up to what she was saying. He glanced over at the ninja, who was limp once again, pretending to be lifeless. He looked back at his mom with a small smile. "Uhm, it's fine mom, I'll just write to him later."
"Are you sure?" His mother asked, and Button nodded. "Alright, honey. I'll just go down and start dinner." She was about to turn around and walk out, but she stopped up as she spotted the doll. "Why does your ninja doll have a sandwich?"
Button looked back at the ninja, who did indeed still hold on to the sandwich. "Uhm, it was hungry..?"
Love Tap smirked, then rolled her eyes. "Very funny," she said as she trotted over and took the sandwich. "I'm happy to see you like your ninja doll, but try not to make it messy. It was from your uncle Stardust after all."
"Okay, mum..."
"I'll call when dinner is ready." And with that she left the room, and closed the door behind her.
Button let out an exhausted sigh. Then he looked at the ninja, glaring a little. "Why did you create so much trouble for me back at school?"
The little ninja sat up, glaring at Button. "Somepony had to do something." He pointed at Button accusingly. "You clearly weren't going to do anything!"
"I couldn't do anything, Bulky would have killed me."
The ninja snorted. "You really are a coward. Heeelp, some brat is bullying me at school, heeelp, I don't have the guts to talk to a filly. Hells bells, write a book, and call it Pity & Whining." The little ninja crawled out from the bag, and jumped down onto the floor, trotting back and forth. "Bulky is just a foal, just like you."
"But he'll-"
"Stop being so dramatic, as if you have any problems."
Button yelled. "You don't think I have any problems?"
The little ninja took a hold of a pillow, and threw it right into Button's face. "I'm a warrior, so excuse me if I'm having a hard time taking your childish problems seriously."
Button let out a heavy sigh, and looked down into the ninja's black button eyes. They looked really friendly, despite the harsh tone. "So what am I supposed to do?"
The ninja jumped back onto Button's bed, and padded a spot beside him. Button came closer, and sat down beside the ninja, although he kept some space between them. The doll looked at him with a serious expression, or at least he thought it looked serious. It was hard to tell with the hood and the eyes.
"You can keep running away with your tail between your legs, or you can fight."
Button let out a small laugh. "I can't fight..."
The ninja snorted. "Can't? What do you know about what you can and can't do before you even try?" The ninja had a point, but Button was pretty sure he couldn't fly, even if he hadn't thrown himself out his window to try. The little ninja stood up. "I'll help you," he yelled.
"You?"
"I'm your new best friend. I've promised to help you, and you've promised to help me!" The ninja trotted closer to Button, and then held out his tiny hoof.
Button reached down and touched the soft plushie hoof, shaking it gently. This was the strangest day in Button's life, no contest. "Do you have a name?" He asked.
"My name is..." The little ninja thought for a moment. "Taiko."
"Taiko?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
Button shook his head. "Not at all, but, can I ask you something?"
Taiko nodded. "Of course."
"What do you need my help with?"
Taiko nodded, and stuck his hoof into his suit, and pulled some paper out. "You can read, right?"
Button let out a little bemused chuckle. "Sure, can't you?"
Instantly Taiko reached for the sword, and before Button knew it, it flew past his head, and got stuck in the wall behind him with a loud smack. It happened so quickly that Button didn't even get a chance to be shocked. Taiko looked pretty happy with himself. "Let's just say I'm good at other things, okay?"
Button gulped. "Of course, sorry..." He reached down and took the piece of paper. Only when he got it did he realize it was some sort of business card. "Ponyville museum, assistant archivist, Hasty Notes."
"Hasty Notes..." Taiko repeated in a low voice, then nodded to himself. "I need to find him!"
"This guy?" Button asked, looking at the card once again. "Why?"
"You don't need to know that yet. The more important thing is that we find him and fast."
Button Mash raised an eyebrow. He already got a bad feeling from this, but decided not to ask more into it yet. "Uhm, okay... Well it says Ponyville museum, so I guess he works there."
"Do you know where it is?"
"Sure, it's right here in Ponyville. We're actually going there on a fieldtrip the day after tomorrow." Button smiled, feeling a little proud he knew something the ninja didn't.
"Perfect! That means fate is with me!" Taiko let out a little chuckle.
Button frowned. "Will you tell me what is going on?"
Taiko shook his head. "All in good time. First things first, I need you to tell me where I am, and what year it is!"