Twilight gave Shadow a concerned look as she heard Shadow groan.

“Ah, do you have a problem with me going to the Crystal Kingdom and meeting my family?” Twilight asked with some anger in her voice.

“Not at all Princess. I've got a problem with the frozen powdered death that falls from the sky and covers the ground, that's my problem Princess.” Shadow answered with a small shrug causing Twilight to look confused. Shadow gave her a few seconds to figure out what he had said before informing her.

“Snow, Princess. I've got a problem with snow... and the cold. Never been a fan of it.” He told her with a amused flat tone and small grin.

“Oh,” Twilight responded with a knowing tone, “I've never heard snow referred to like that before.” Shadow gave a simply shrug before turning his head to look out the window giving the message he didn't want to talk any more at the moment.

The pair sat in silence for several minutes before the train began to move away from the station.

After a minute of moving and still looking out the window Shadow asked Twilight a question.

“So Princess, what made you choose to take a risk on me?” Twilight gave a small startled jump and gasp before answering.

“Um, well it seemed like the right thing to do. I didn't think you should have been kicked out of the Guard because you made a mistake. Even it was a really, really big one.” She gave in reply as she rubbed a hoof on the back of her head and as she did Shadow turned to look at her.

“Thanks Princess. I honestly wasn't excepting for any of you Princesses, especially you, to let me into their Guard.” Shadow told her with appreciation clearly evident in his voice. Twilight gave nervous laugh and a small blush.

“Um, you're welcome. What were you thinking would happen?”

“That Celestia would bounce my flank out of the Guard, I'd collect a big bag o' bits for wrongful termination, and then spend must of it irresponsibly on booze and mares.” Shadow told her with a carefree tone and shrug.

Twilight rolled her eyes at his disrespect for her mentor and poorly thought out plan.

“What do you think of how things have turned out?” She wanted to know causing Shadow roll both his eyes and head as he groaned.

“Convenient, suspicious, contrived, convoluted, unlikely, unbelievable, disbelieve, surreal, skeptical, uncertain... I think those are all the words I know to describe what I think about what happened back in the castle.” He rattled off with nervous energy before calming down before giving a snort of humor and disbelief.

“Wow, really?” Was Twilight's reply resulting in Shadow giving a small laugh.

“Such an elegant reply Princess. I'm almost speechless, almost.” He teased with good humor in his voice as he smiled.

“Well, I was expected an answer that reflected what I saw when you stood up to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Not for you to say the almost complete opposite.” Twilight told him with annoyance and confusion in her tone.

Shadow again gave a shrug before turning away to look out the window ending any further conversation. Twilight gave a groan of frustration as she resigned to finishing the ride in silence as she crossed her forelegs for several seconds.

As she unfolded them she looked over Shadow again since he was closer. This time she was able to see his rank devices on his collar, his name tape and above that was a pair of black wings on his left side of his chest.

Between the wings was a vertical spear with the blade pointing down in front of a crossed set of lighting bolts.

On the right side opposite of his name was a worn patch. At first glance it appeared to be replication of a simply 'Hello, I'm' name sticker. However, she actually read it Twilight realized it was and shook her head as she read it in its entirety.

'Hello, I'm A Badass!' After reading the patch Twilight decided to simply read for the rest of the trip.

As the sun began to set the train approached Ponyville. As the trained closer Shadow started to feel worried.

He saw a simply town with no apparent night life, entertainment of any real fun, full of farming, and simply country life. As he came to his personal conclusion he began to bounce his forehead off the window he was looking out as he groaned.

“Um, what's the matter Shadow?” Twilight asked as she looked out the window and put here book down to find the cause of his distress with concern and worry.

“Ponyville looks soooooo boring! Why would anyone voluntarily want to live here? If it wasn't because of orders I wouldn't be living here.” He answered as he stopped banging his head and simply rolled it against the glass.

Twilight was taken back by Shadow's answer and she paused for a second before speaking.

“Well, I have to admit I felt the same way when I was first told I would be coming to Ponyville. After I made some friends and settled in Ponyville really grew on me, maybe you'll go through the same.” Twilight told Shadow with a warm encouraging voice as she look at Ponyville.

Shadow turned his head to look at Twilight while keeping it against the glass to give her a look of are you serious and disbelieve with as much sarcasm as he physically could.

“Well you never know.” Twilight weakly replied as she returned her book to her saddlebag.

Turning back to Shadow she began to tell him a little about Ponyville at the ponies that resided within.
Her voice reminded Shadow of the teachers he had growing up and soon tuned Twilight out like he had with his old teachers.

She continued to lecture up to the train came to a stop at the tiny train station that served Shadow's new posting. Before the train came to a complete stop he stood and began to move to the exit and as he did Twilight spoke up.

“Oh, so as you can see, Ponyville has a variety of ponies an activities to do.” Twilight was forced to quickly wrap up her lecture.

“Yes Princess. Please stand back while I gave the platform a quick look.” Shadow said over his shoulder as he walked down the aisle. Shadow didn't see the puzzled look Twilight was giving him.

Before the train had stopped Shadow opened the door to the car on the side of the platform and stuck his head out.

The wind blowing around him reminded him of flying and folded his ears down to cut down on the noise. His goggles let him use look at the platform without any hindrance.

With a critical eyes he looked over the platform and the ponies standing around. At first glance nothing seemed abnormal until he looked at a pink bouncing earth pony. For a few seconds he stared at the pony as he came to a conclusion.

'Not a threat, just excited to meet somepony, or the wait for the train is over.' Shadow told himself as he pulled his head back into the train car. He continued to stand at the door until the train came to a complete stop and was looking at the over energized pink pony he now saw was a mare.

Raising an eyebrow he gave a flap of his wings and launched himself into flight. After a brief second he landed in front of the mare. Before he could ask her what so was so excited about the mare acted.

She took a loud deep inhale before yelling excitedly in Shadow's face.

“I GOT TO PLAN A WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY!” Before she gave one last bounce and disappearing in a cloud of dust leaving Shadow lost and confused.

Turning around he headed back to the car to talk with Twilight but before he saw her standing at the door.

“Well everything looks normal Princess, well except one over energized pink mare screaming about a party.” Shadow informed Twilight as he walked up to her.

“Yes, I heard Pinkie as I was walking to the door. She's probably off to get the girls and get them to the library to plan. Which is where we'll be heading Shadow.” Twilight explained as she gave her wings a stretch.

“Understood Princess, but we'll have to wait until I get my bags before heading out.” Shadow accepted then told Twilight as he turned and tilted his head towards the luggage car.

“Oh, I forgot that you checked your bags.”

The two then turned and walked over to the collection area and waited. As they did both of them got looks and heard whispers but couldn't make anything out.

Both were surprised when after a minute a unicorn mare was pushing a cart with her magic towards the two with Shadow's bags.

Shadow turned his head to look at Twilight at raised an eyebrow in suspicion which Twilight gave a confused shrug.

“Sorry for the wait Princess Twilight. Here are your um, companion's bag.” The mare told Twilight as she used her teal magic to remove them from the cart.

“Um, thank you for the help.” Twilight returned with a weak and confused smile as the mare turned and left with the cart.

“That normal around here?” Shadow asked as he started to put his bags on his back.

“No not really. It was a little weird.” She returned as she watch the mare.

“Okay.” Shadow said in confusion he moved to get his duffle bag on his back. After several seconds he was ready to leave.

“Can you lead the way Princess?” Shadow asked with a naughty grin and humor in his voice looking at Twilight.

“NO!” Twilight shouted as her wings flared out and she blushed. “Um, I mean he can walk beside me,” she quickly added as she settled her wings back against her sides, “You're never going to let me forget what you said earlier are you?” Twilight added as she started to walk away with frustration and embarrassment in her voice and posture.

Shadow gave a chuckle before he answered with humor, “No Princess, prob'ly not.” The Princess gave a sigh of frustration as her head momentarily hang down.

After a walk of a few minutes the pair came to Twilight's library. Shadow stopped while Twilight kept walking.

“Wait, do you live here? In the library, where you work?” He asked confused and bewildered at the large tree.

Twilight stopped and turned around before answering.

“Why yes, I do live in the library. Which I preform the duties of librarian doing normal hours.” Twilight informed Shadow with pride in her voice as she waved a hood at her home.

Shadow gave a groan as he tilted his head back and looked at the sky before letting his head fall.

“I'm going to basically be a security guard at a library.” He mumbled to himself as he looked at the dirt in front of him before looking up.

“So Princess, were will I be staying?” He asked as he walked up to Twilight. She gave him a lost and confused look as she narrowed her eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean Princess is where will I be quartered while I'm here in Ponyville?” Shadow asked as he used his wings to point out Ponyville around them. Twilight was stunned silent and took a second to recovery.

“Wow, I hadn't thought about where your would be staying,” Twilight stated with embarrassment, “but I guess you can stay in the basement. It has plenty of room.” She finished with as she tapped her chin with a hoof.

Shadow gave a small yell of frustration as he realized he'd be back underground.

“I'm not really happy with being underground for both personal and professional reasons but I'll make due.” Shadow told Twilight clearly not happy with the current situation.

“Why is being underground so bad?” Twilight inquired forgetting Shadow's anger.

“Well, as a pegasus being underground has always made me feel uncomfortable and uneasy since I can't get to the sky. Professionally, it puts me at a disadvantage at providing security due to sight and sound barriers.” He told Twilight as he opened his wings to stretch them as he talked.

“Well those are good points but at the moment it's all we can do. I'm sorry.” Twilight returned as before she turned to walk to the front door of the library.

“Nothing to do 'bout it at the moment Princess but thanks.”

“You're welcome. Now let me introduce you to Spike.” Twilight said with happiness returning to her voice.

“What's a spike?” Shadow asked as he moved back to Twilight's side.

“Who. Spike's a who and his my number one assistant.” She replied as she opened the door.

“Spike! I'm back!” She yelled out as she walked inside. As Shadow walked through the door he heard somepony walking door stairs.

“Welcome back Twilight! How was your tr,” a young male voice called out only to suddenly stop mid word.

“BANDIT! THERE'S A BANDIT BEHIND YOU TWILIGHT!” The voice yelled out in fear and panic.

As the yelling started Shadow beat his wings to get himself above Twilight and see you was doing all the yelling.

“SPIKE! Calm down that's not a bandit. It's my new guard and for the time being he'll be staying with us in the basement.” Twilight calmly explained to the now identified source of the yelling for Shadow.

As he touched back down on the ground Spike spoke up.

“Oh. That's cool, but you don't have a guard.” The baby dragon calmly stated as he stopped running around getting a sigh from Twilight. Shadow was confused at how quickly the little dragon had switched from panic to calm.

“Yes, that was correct but now I do have one and Sergeant Shadow Walker will be helping me form my guard.” Twilight informed Spike as she walked towards a door.

“This leads down to the basement Shadow. Why don't you head down and get conformable while I wait for the girls to show up.” She let Shadow know as she opened and held the door for him.

Shadow gave a halfhearted shrug before he moved to head into the basement.

“I'll call you up when the girls get here okay?” Twilight asked as Shadow came up to her side.

“Sounds okay Princess. Quick question what time do I start tomorrow?” Shadow asked as he stopped at the door frame. Twilight paused for a second before answering.

“Well, since tomorrow is the weekend I say you can official start after the weekend is over. Does that work for you?” Twilight told him before inquiring if it was a problem.

“That perfectly fine with me Princess.” Shadow returned with a smile on his face before taking to the air and gliding down to the basement floor.

After landing on the floor Shadow looked around the basement to get a feel for it and get the layout in his head. After a couple minutes he decided to drop his bags near the far wall from a small window and near the stairs.

With the bags off his back he spent some time unpacking his duffle bag to pull out several items before repacking the rest. With the items he pulled out he started to setup a spot to sleep.

Using two towels, a washcloth, and old t-shirt Shadow was able to make a bed with sheets and pillow. Satisfied with his sleeping spot he turned to his saddle bags.

Opening the flaps he started to pull two items out. The first was the bottle of liquor that he had gotten from his room. The next was a small box that he set down near his pillow for use later. With the box on the floor he picked the bottle up.

Holding the bottle with his wings he grabbed the cap in his teeth and twisted it off before spitting it to the ground.

“Not going to be needing that.” He told himself before taking a sniff of the bottle causing him to give a harsh cough before smiling.

He started to hum to himself as he aimlessly walked around and looked at the weird equipment around him. After a minute he brought the bottle to his lips and took a sip.

Several minutes and sips later he heard Twilight call down.

“Shadow the girls are here! You can come up now!” She yelled down with excitement. Shadow didn't yell back but simply started his walk up the stairs to meet up with Twilight and her friends.

'Well, at least this day is almost over. Shouldn't be anymore problems.' Shadow thought to himself as he was sipping the bottle and walking into the library's main room.

As he brought his head back down to level Shadow saw Twilight, Spike, and five other mares.

“Darling um, your guard seems to be ah, ah bit uncouth.” The white unicorn spoke with an accent that to Shadow screamed of privileged nobility when she saw him drinking the liquor from the bottle.

Before Shadow could respond he heard a vaguely familiar voice.

“YOU'RE THE PONY I SAW A THE TRAIN STATION!” the pink pony from earlier yelled out as she pointed at Shadow.

“Yes and yes I am.” Shadow told the two that had spoke before sipping the bottle again.

“Calm down Pinkie, ya don't what ta scare the fella. But looking at'em I don't see that happ'ning.” The second earth pony explained to the pink one as she pinned a pink tail to the floor with a hoof. The accent reminded Shadow of the uneducated farmers he had ran into through his service.

“Woah! You're a member of the Heavy Assault! That's so cool! Not as cool as the Wonderbolts but close.” Shadow heard the cyan coated pegasus blurt out.

“Pfft, Wonderbolts, bunch of posers.” He bluntly stated before taking another sip as the pegasus gave a gasp of shock.

“Take that back!” She cried out pointing a hoof a Shadow. Before Shadow could reply he was only able to say that he heard a soft voice but not the words come from behind the rainbow maned pegasus.

Shadow turned his head to get a look at the hiding pegasus that when he saw the pink mane struck him as familiar. After several seconds of looking at her he spoke up.

“Your quiet friend seems really familiar to me for some reason that I can't put my hoof on.” Shadow told the group as he started to swirl the bottle he was holding with his wing.

The mares in front of him started to share looks of confusion before the white unicorn spoke up.

“Yes, our dear friend Fluttershy was a very successful fashion model at one time dear.” The unicorn explained to Shadow as she moved to wrap a leg around the nervous pegasus.

Shadow's eyes darted up in surprise as he suddenly remembered the magazines the pegasus was in and tilted the bottle back to take a long sip.

“Although I must confess, I'm taken back that a stallion such as yourself would be looking at fashion magazines.” The unicorn added as she gave Shadow a look over as she draped a leg over the pink maned pegasus.

“Yeah! Why would you be looking at Fluttershy in those fancy magazines?!” The loud cyan pegasus demanded floating towards Shadow.

Taking a large gulp before removing the bottle from his lips and then giving a harsh cough Shadow spoke.

“Stress relief.” With that two word response Shadow had managed to make his day worse.