Home at last! Servants quickly pulled the control crystals out of the portal after she was through, Shadow marched quickly down the hallway standing tall before she realized she still had all her armor and gear on. Never once had it crossed her mind to leave all this stuff behind, passing the bedroom she decided on a bath, stripping all the gear off she swore she was light as a feather. One of the requirements at the camp was to FLY as well wearing all her armor, later more weight was added at Valkardians request till she swore she could feel her back breaking but it never did. Scrubbing down and thinking back on the past several months she realized she could now probably outrun an earth pony with full pack and pass a pegasus like they were standing still since if she were not carrying a full pack.

Rinsing off she looked at the hot, steaming water and decided against it, she did not want to fall asleep and drown after having just finished her "advanced lessons." That would be a horrible end to a happy day, the torture was over. Sleep clouding her vision she slipped into the bedroom, dropped her towel and crawled into the bottom of the bed. Servants would no doubt have clothing ready for her tomorrow; may as well enjoy this wonderful silky bed as long as she can before Valkardian gave her another test.

Vision returned to him, something was wrapped around him snoring quietly. Eyes snapping open he glanced down to see an arm and part of a wing thrown over his chest. Valkardians head jerked to the side to confirm his suspicion, Shadow was wrapped around him snoring. When and HOW did she get back so quickly without his noticing? The last test should have taken two or three days at most, one day to judge her pace, the second to pass the test properly. Mind reaching out he found the answer: Shadow had aced the test on the first try and rushed straight back last night, nearly thirty hours on her hooves.

Well that would explain why she did not notice him when she got in, too exhausted; it also explained why she was back so early. What it did NOT explain was why she was naked and why he had never noticed. Hmm... Perhaps she was so used to being sheltered here and only woken by servants that she had forgone clothing? Perhaps... There was no threat to his person to cause any warning either... More loopholes to look into.

Shadow gripped his side a little more pressing in and mumbling, he could feel every detail and at his age it should not disturb him like it was. He liked it though. Sighing to himself a devious thought crossed his mind, closing his eyes he laid his head back down.

Soft and warm, so soft, so warm... Shadow kept squeezing into whatever it was that kept giving off warmth, after those six months of total hell this was the most relaxed she ever felt. Whatever the day would hold could wait, damn the servants and their incessant poking with brooms if they tried to route her from the silky heaven. She was fairly certain that if they tried she could take the lot of them now without breaking a sweat, sweat, that is something she did not want to do for many years, bathing had been... Rare... In the camp. Every third day two buckets of ice cold water, soap, washcloth and towel. This was civilization, the most wonderful civilization she could imagine.

A soft hum escaped her lips and she snuggled deeper into the warm thing when a stifled chuckle made its way to her ears. Mumbling and shifting she moved her head up causing more chuckling and cracked an eye open. She was so damn dead.

This was probably the most adorable thing he had ever seen and having been around as long as he had and spying on the world above just as long... That meant something. She was trying to bury herself in his side, her head laid across his stomach and when she began to move around it tickled like crazy. Sniffling his laughter did not work, he wanted to keep watching the scene unfold a little longer but she was waking up and as her head rubbed along his skin, two weary eyes cracking open and looking at him his chuckling could not be helped, her fur just tickled too much to hold it back. When her eyes finally opened and the gears ground forward she froze, he knew that look already, the fur on her face started to stick out forming a "blush" on her face.

"Morning Shadow, you passed your test early and I was not expecting you back so soon as you can see. Then again I was not expecting you to jump into bed with me and use me as a heater either..."

"Uhh, geh... Umm..." Coherent sentences Shadow she reminded herself, a rather wicked grin kept staring back at her. Slowly peeling herself off of him she sat back on the bed. "Sorry!... Master! I... Ahh... Was very tired last night and did not know you were here! Yes I passed the test, forgot to leave my equipment at the camp though... I should probably go now..."

Valkardian sat up and his gaze wandered down, she followed it realizing she was stark naked where he on the other hand was wearing something at least. "No, no, that's alright, you not only passed your test you aced it. You can sleep in as long as you want today and do not concern yourself about the equipment, it was for training only, I will have servants send it back eventually." Getting up from the bed he dressed himself and walked to the door. "Oh and Shadow... Nice tits."

Shadows mouth dropped open as he quickly stepped out and the door shut. Growling to herself she looked around for clothes but found none, if what he said was true the servants would not have prepared anything for her yet. She was NOT going to trapes around the hallway naked either, her towel from last night was gone. Here's hoping he has a servant deliver something soon... But... He had said she could sleep in as long as she wanted... Flopping back down onto the sheets and pulling them over her she closed her eyes again. Both nightmare and happy enigma, what WAS he? Each time she figured him out he would go and do or say something that threw her off.

Clothes would be delivered, gear sent off, new gear ready... Food, yes, inform servants to serve her again, everything is back on schedule... Yes that would do. Valkardian walked down the hallway with a dumb grin on his face, the last time he had pulled anything on anyone had been Celestia and it did NOT bear fruit like this had. At his age he should not have given that last remark but nor could he help himself either, the look on her face had been priceless, being able to see it through the guards eyes was perfect. A moment he would keep stored away forever whenever he wanted a smile.

Urg... More armor and weapons... Shadow donned her new equipment quickly, they were a perfect fit for her, the helmet did not slip around, the single heavy plate was gone, replaced by segmented armor. Her boots were also lighter, almost weightless, the bastard HAD put a lead plate in it she found out. The shield was half the weight and the sword as well, they were emblazoned with symbols and the shield was painted strangely, a combination of purple, red and gold. Entering the hall he waited for her and told her to stop and look into a mirror for a minute.

Two servants had brought a full body mirror and she could not believe her eyes, it was her alright but... Walking up to it she gawked at herself, she looked every part the soldier, her arms had grown a bit, getting thicker with muscle, legs, wings, all had cords of muscle now rather than the limp squishy stuff before the training. Everything was hardened, ready for a fight.

A clap brought her back and the servants pulled the mirror away and just as quickly she was ushered out into the gardens and along a side of the building. A perfectly flattened area covered in sand waited, she now knew what this place was for... Sparring. A groan escaped her as they entered the large area, when she had tended the gardens she wondered what it was for, now... She hated standing within its boundaries.

"Alright, lets see what you have learned, attack me." All she could do was stare at him, was he serious? She was armed, he was not, no armor either. "Come on Shadow, this is probably the best chance you will ever get to stab me to death and not face my anger for it. Come on now, attack me." Hoisting her shield and quickly drawing her sword she lurched forward.

The world spun for a moment and she was flat on her back. She had stabbed, missed, aimed for the leg to cut, he pulled away again and when she went for his balls he laughed and side stepped her. Turning to face him a boot had come up and hit the shield sending her spinning and flying backwards. She understood how Ruby must have felt when he kicked her off the steps. Jumping back to her hooves she shook her head and advanced again, there was no telling how long it went on, every time she would attack he stepped aside and would push her away or occasionally throw a punch or kick sending the bat pony to her knees or flat on her back.

Huffing she looked him in the eyes as they stalked each other "Master, do tell, whats the point of all this? Are you just toying with me or is there some point to this?" Valkardian suddenly stopped and pointed at her, she flinched thinking something was going to happen but it did not. "Simple Shadow, there is only so much you could learn in the camp, you learned to fight as a UNIT, now you are going to learn to fight ALONE. You have already stopped just going straight for the kill, you are now thinking before you act, you are minding your flanks and back..." His hand moved back and forth as he explained how her fighting stance had already changed.

"When will my training finally be over then?" A hum escaped him as he thought about it "Maybe never, one never stops learning until you die. Right now though, focus on the present." His arm moved so fast she could not keep track of it, a moment later a sword was in his hand, Shadow slowly stepped back as he advanced with it pointed straight at her. "Why are you retreating? You still have a shield, you can always block with it..." Grimacing she met his gaze "something tells me that wont save me."

"Oh? Then what WILL save you?"

"Divine intervention?"

"HAH! No it wont, courage and determination will. Remember your training and fight already!"

Lurching forward again she began to match his movements, he dodged to the left she followed stabbing quickly all along the way. When a servants came out with their lunches she could have sworn it had been longer than that. His mind games were horrible but she had to admit they worked, she was learning and quickly. As they ate she realized this was the first time they had eaten TOGETHER, at the same table no less. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself for now.

Training resumed only now she was being guided along carefully, her armor and equipment cast aside in favor of unarmed combat. The lessons were very simple but she was assured they would get much, much harder as time went along. She had a month and a half to burn all she could into her brain and then her life would depend on everything she knew. At the end of the second week she was doing better, he had begun to introduce her to new weapons as well.

"Recognize this?" He held up a spear and she recognized it immediately, tossing it to and catching it easily she examined it. A worthless, useless piece of crap. This was the spear she had come down here with, tried to stab that stone horror with and failed. It had been broken and then repaired, the spear head was loose as it had been then, the shaft half rotten. "Yes, this is my spear."

"Very good, do you want to fight me with it?"

"No, the head is too loose an the shaft to rotten and warped." She offered it back and he took it from her.

"Learning quickly... Have a look over here and take your pick."

Shadow followed his hand, a stand had been set up, pulling a heavy cloth from it an assortment of weapons presented itself. Axes, swords, spear... Things she did not recognize. "Take your pick and heft them a bit, when you are ready we will train a little with each one." As her eyes wandered some... Stood out... Troglodyte weapons. Picking them up she weighed them, swung them a little. There was no grace to their design, only pure brute force. One was a little to big to lift, it was not even on the rack simply set aside. "Beware the ones wielding those, big brutes, usually 8ft tall or thereabouts. One blow can crack a shield, two or three... You can imagine."

Settling on a longsword and stepping into place she stood at the ready and lessons continued, each day a new weapon. Before long she had tried them all including the troglodyte weapons, for those he had simply magicked up a target for her to swing at. Only a creature of frightening strength could wield such awful weapons with any degree of success. It was alright he had reassured her, they might be strong but their... "Intelligence" as he had explained it was something that left a lot to be desired.

Training was over he had declared one evening and leaving suddenly, a few days later she was to join him in his private study with all due haste. Shadow knew her way around pretty well now, many sections were still unknown but the private study was down the main hall, left and straight back. A servant opened the door for her and Valkardian never once looked at her, eyes closed concentrating as he held a large blue crystal in one hand. Blue wisps of magic escaped from the lids. One of the servants ushered her to a seat and she sat across from him looking worried. His face was in deep concentration, was the invasion starting? Were they going to leave and was she going to fight?

"Master?... Valkardian?" His one free hand stopped stroking his beard for a moment before he continued. "New events in the world above, I thought you might like to know about them..." She waited and waited but he never spoke. "Well are you going to tell me or not or did you have me come here for nothing?" She could swear his eyes locked on her THROUGH his eyelids for a moment. "Place your hand on the crystal." Scooting her chair forward she extended a hand carefully and touched the glowing crystal.

Energy shot through her hand and she was seeing the world above through the eyes of something else... A bird in a tree? "Focus on the beginning and you will see what I have seen." Shadow focused and she saw Princess Cadence fighting a bug pony, a queen, being beaten soundly then teleported away in a burst of green flame. The tall creature then assumed the others form... Things seemed to move faster or slower as she willed it, skipping boring bits and fast forwarding to more interesting parts. Mind controlled the captain of the guard, infiltrating more bugs into the population... She recognized the harmony bearers, everypony knew them.

It went on like this, skipping around from different viewpoints, blank spaces where his spies could not see. Soon she was caught up in events and now the time was current, only one of the ponies figured it out apparently and now joined the princess in caves, Valkardian must have a great number of spies in the capital and wherever those two were... The day went by with her watching events unfold one second at a time. One of the spies moved to gain a better vantage point when the shield over the city fell, all tartarus broke loose. Bugs were racing through the streets beating down anypony in their way, not killing though, capturing. The guards were overwhelmed and apparently couldn't even slow them down, falling near instantly.

Though disturbing as it was, she was now seeing the capital city from different views all at the same time and like she was THERE too. Her master did not cut corners on spying. The "battle" if she could even call it that was over in a mere moment, Celestia and the rest captured in the blink of an eye, Queen Chrysalis had taken over, the spies could even pass the voices along. Just as quickly as she won, she lost. All the spied suddenly fled the city, something about what the princess and her soon to be husband were doing. The ensuing explosion that blew the bug ponies away was all the explanation she needed.

As quickly as they had fled, they were right back again, keeping silent vigil, the vision began to blur and fade and Shadow was again looking at Valkardian. His eyes opened and he leaned back in the chair leaving the crystal on the desk, his jaw worked back and forth, a deadly serious look on his face.

"Master, whats wrong? Were you hoping Chrysalis and the bugs would win?"

Hands rubbing slowly in thought "No, I am troubled by something far more serious, oh and you know damn well they are called changelings, I taught you that, never call them bugs unless as an insult. Then pray you win the fight or that they kill you quickly."

"Then what troubles you? Did Chrysalis do something wrong?"

"Not really, I have "deals" with all the hives across the planet, the queens have long lives, Chrysalis knows I exist... More or less. I caution each new queen about lusting for power, doing so means draining others of theirs. To make a long story short, if she had won... I would have killed her. She would have left Equestria in ruins, caused me problems in the long run no doubt but that is all a moot point now. I didnt have to lift a finger YET and that is the problem."

"She will try again, is that the problem?"

"Oh no, she is too arrogant, she is a good strategist but... She underestimates her enemies constantly. The danger is that Celestias throne is weakened by this turn of events."

"I thought you hated each other, wouldnt that be a good thing?"

"Not at all, I actually like them in many ways despite being enemies. Celestia and Luna however are known quantities. I know what to expect of them, they will never challenge me again, they are content to keep the status quo as it is as am I. The problem is not everyon has agreed with Celestia being in power, Steelshod was the first, despite his demise others of power continue on. They would like nothing more than to usurp the throne for themselves, having been defeated so quickly and OPENLY no less... It is a major blow to Celestia's image and power base, she will appear less powerful and more meek, which she is mind you but no one called her out on it till now. A "meek" Celestia... Never thought I would say that..."

"But what enemies? The nobles? Zebras? Arabians? Griffons?"

"No, no... Well yes, the nobles will be a major threat to her power base now, enough disagree with her to cause serious problems if they tried but that is all. The others you named? PAH! They are a minor nuisance at best, in her back pocket at worst. I was not able to teach you EVERYTHING about Equestrian history yet, there are still chapters you need to know. Celestia and myself have made many enemies in our time, many still live though they keep to themselves. Some were banished, others turned to stone, this turn of events may give one of them that still lives the opening they are looking for to get the nobility to side with them and turn on her."

"So turn the nobles against Celestia and Luna then take over the country for themselves while everyone doubts her ability to protect them" Shadow was quite curious as to who these "others" were.

"Correct, her loosing so fast only added fuel to the fire, all they have to do is stoke it and allow it to breathe deep. I very much doubt that this will be last of it, but only time will tell WHO will make the first move against her."

"Are you not going to intervene and stop them before they act?"

"NO."

Valkardian stood up and left the room with the crystal, Shadow sat there thinking it all over, why would he help someone who wanted him dead? Then again he wanted to keep the "status quo" as he put it, why not stop it NOW then? Why would he not act ahead of them? Was something stopping him? A servant tapped her shoulder and led her to dinner and a bath, when she was turning in for the night one brought another letter for her to write, one of many so far. Upon completion it gave a few in return, the one on top was from Valkardian: "We leave day after tomorrow, have your gear and weapons ready, the troglodytes are moving up from the lower caves a little late so there is a little more time to prepare." She glanced over the others, letter from mother and her sister Moonglow, they can wait until tomorrow.