Lilac had talked Shadow's ears off for two straight hours. Fortunately she had managed to escape by telling her she needed to go back to her room and then go out and explore the village, a tale which though true was also partially a lie. Shadow figured Lilac would not follow her up to her room which would shake fer off Shadows tail for a bit allowing for an escape later. While the pony was indeed friendly and enjoyable to listen too the day to day drudgery mixed with local gossip, politics and Equestrian "politics" was so boring and unintelligent she was at risk of falling asleep while listening to it.

Having returned to her room at last she began to open up some of the "extras" that Valkardian had packed for her. He was thorough in his packing, making certain she would have whatever she might need that would not cause trouble either should it be found. As to why he though she would need some of these things... Well... Best not stop to think about it and also offer a prayer she would not need it. Placing the crossbow back into the magical bag and tying it off Shadow decided it would be for the best to hide this bag someone nopony would find it less they come into possession of all her armor and other equipment. Exactly what did Valkardian think would happen by sending her back up here?

The trip out of the inn was quick and Lilac had waved her off. First would be to get her hands on an Equestrian paper, not a local one if she could help it but one of the national papers to see what was going on in Equestria in general. On the other hand judging by what Lilac had said there would be next to nothing of importance in it not that there ever was anything important printed in it that Shadow could ever recall the few times she read the "Equestrian Times." Many odd looks were thrown her way strolling through down the main road towards the local bazaar mixed with the occasional hushed conversation and a good dose of fear on every other face.

Finding a pony selling papers was no problem and bits were no issue. Paper in hand Shadow headed off to a quiet corner to glance over the paper and upon looking at the front page a pang of worry struck her nerves. The headline read "Celestia battles rumors of leadership failures and inability to protect Equestria!" Putting the paper aside and glancing over the others she bought not one of them had anything what so ever about any rumors or anything at all really. All the other papers basically had headlines that read the same: Everything is fine, be on your way. It did not take a genius to know what was going on either, Celestia was controlling the presses and squashing editors or anyone who was trying to print anything against her but somehow one press in Western Equestria had managed to print out a whole bunch of these without getting shut down.

This realization made her worry just a bit that what Valkardian had said was true and beginning to boil over if one of the major papers dared to print this on the front page. To even admit that anything might be out of the ordinary was one thing but this was directly challenging her authority and that meant someone else with a lot of money and power was pushing back now. Going back to the first paper and glancing over the article quickly it was clear to see that somepony had a death wish. One failure after another was pointed out and not just little ones but massive, glaring ones that had threatened to overthrow ponies very lives and only through a lot of luck had Equestria made it out on top. Most recent was pointing out the near miss with a "Crystal Empire" that had come back from the dead somehow and an ancient evil along with it. Again, pure luck saved the day or so the paper claimed.

Reading between the lines it was clear to her that this article was carefully crafted giving mostly truth but also a dose of lies to plant seeds of doubt in the readers mind. To bend them slowly to another point of view by twisting one or two details. Stopping her reading and staring up and around at the ponies going about their daily lives Shadow wondered when she had begun to gain such an inquisitive and critical view of things. Years ago this paper would have been blasphemy and been tossed aside but now it was not. Instead it was something to be torn apart and studied carefully for details as to what was really going on.

Valkardian. He was the one who did this. He was the one who had taught her to think and see the world this way, to tear it apart and analyze it one piece at a time without believing anypony or anything until she had seen all sides. Folding the paper back up and shoving it into her bag Shadow stood and looked around for any other ponies who were reading the same paper. Most were gone already but here and there one or two were riveted by the paper's contents and two were arguing heatedly over its message.

"So its begun, just like he said it would..." It was time to start her vacation then, there was nothing that could be said or done and besides which Shadow could care less right now about what happened to Celestia or a bunch of nobles in a power feud. The beach would be a nice stop. Yes, that is what she was going to do, go to the beach, enjoy the water, sand and sun.

Stretching off into the distance the aqua blue waters gently bent and weaved in waves off and beyond the horizon while nary a cloud marked the sky and the occasional king-fisher flitted to and fro. Smaller waves gently lapped at the sands slowly removing any trace of her hoof-print at she walked along allowing the water to wash over her hooves as she strolled along. There was nary a soul to be seen on the beach and that was just fine, she had it all to herself just about without interruptions or prying, fear filled eyes.

It was almost surreal to her going from cave life one day and the vibrant colors, glowing fungi and mushrooms to such a bright world where colors were sharp and crystal clear. She had seen the ocean before but that had been near Manehatten and that was as close as she ever wanted to get to a metropolitan city. So many ponies crammed into one small space was just not natural and wrong, that and they were notoriously stuck up and rude, she was certain Equestria would be better off if the ocean welled up and swallowed them whole.

Kicking at a shell while continuing her little walk down the beach Shadow wondered when the world above had lost its majesty. Once upon a time the ocean was amazing in its colors the forests majestic in their depth and variety of life and colors. Now though it all seemed rather bland compared to what she had seen in the caves, the caves far below her were a bright, vast rainbow of all colors, hues even neon glowing plants that altered their color when touched. The world under the sun was just... Bland by comparison now. Looking out over the vast body of water it too lost its impressiveness compared to the cave lakes with their glowing fish and underwater plants that could be seen clearly from the surface.

Shadow let out a troubled sigh, this was not how vacations were supposed to go. One went on vacations to get away and relax not walk around in a daze missing and wanting to go back to where you just escaped from. Her ears picked up the sound of somepony approaching and turning quickly the pursuing stallion stopped dead for a moment before approaching again.

"Hey cutie, want to hang out for a bit?" Shadows eye twitched. The amber colored stallion just wiggled his eyebrows at her and smiled. "Come on, your a guardmare out on vacation right? Lets go somewhere private and blow off a little steam."

"Piss off." The words left her mouth before Shadow realized it and the stallion was taken back just a bit by the tone but still not deterred.

"Oh come on, well have fun! We can hit up the local tavern for a bit..." He kept droning on about how wonderful it would be and at no expense to her, he would take care of it all and they could have a nice long night together afterwords. No strings attached of course, just a night of drunken revelry and debauched sex.

Shadow grimaced internally. Was he seriously trying to quietly flex his body to entice her? Somehow this display of physique was supposed to impress her and convince her to partake in a one night stand with somepony she did not know, never would and who... You know what, if this was any indication of where Equestria was going it was doomed to tartarus or worse. Morals were slipping fast.

"I said piss off you damned slut." Leering at him the stallion eyed her carefully for a minute and started to turn to leave before opening his mouth but was greeted by a vicious snarl from Shadow that made his eyes bulge and he hastily walked off. Her eyes followed him back to his little gaggle of friends before her eyes went somewhat back to normal before she quickly turned and walked off a little quicker.

"So that's why he thought I was a guardsmare..." Shadow muttered to herself as she kept walking briskly down the beach thinking back to what she had seen: it turns out some Equestrian military was vacationing here as well and she had just scared one off. Well, no loss on her part so long as they did not try anything else.

Walking around back up from the beach and along some low cliffs Shadow passed a middle aged fisherpony with a long white mane who just looked at her and chuckled before going back to fishing. The sound of his laugh made her start for a moment and eyeing him carefully she continued on her way back towards the village. Two weeks. Two weeks and so far the first day was utterly boring.

Strolling back into the village and looking around for a minute a building quickly grabbed her attention: bakery. Even if this vacation turned out to be a bust there was one thing Shadow could partake in and enjoy greatly: sweets. Most ponies could eat their weight in sugar if given the chance but Shadow was not one of them usually. Today though would be an exception to this rule seeing as her diet of sugary treats was limited to cave fruit and that boiled fruit or those weird chewy fruit sticks that Valkardian kept around. He probably kept them in such quantities because they kept and she surmised he also forgot to eat quite often so they were a quick substitute.

Overly sugary treats greeted her eyes after opening the door and strolling in. The air was so sweet it could make teeth rot just by opening the mouth and breathing deep of the sweet, confectionery laden air. Cakes, pies, sweet rolls, jelly rolls, cookies, fudge and more were all stored neatly behind glass counters along with a magical ice-cream box advertising sundaes to milkshakes. Her eyes hungrily drank in everything in the room one at a time as a smile graced her lips. While enjoying the "great outdoors" might be a bust there was no reason not to partake in the other things of life and enjoy her two weeks. Starting today she would make it her duty to eat just about every sweet thing on the menu before her two weeks were up even if she collapsed in a sugar induced coma.

A purple mare stood behind the counter watching her with a large smile plastered on her face content to just watch Shadow greedily take in everything around her and drool slightly at the prospects before her. Settling on a chocolate fudge cake she ordered a double helping and ice-cream to boot and with a smile was served at one of the tables to enjoy her teeth rotting treat.

Shadow enjoyed every bite of the soft cake with its delectable frosting one slow bite at a time. The ice-cream was perfect as well with its nuts and fruits blended perfectly. She just sat there with a dreamy look on her face and wings twitching in joy as she took her time enjoying the sweet bounty she had purchased.

Continuing to eat her mind drifted back to the world around her and its goings on as now and then a pony would enter, order and leave or sit at a table and eat. Raspberry Tart had gone in the back to keep baking or do whatever she was doing now that there were no customers again leaving Shadow to sink into her own thoughts. Interesting pony Raspberry was she thought, they had talked for just a minute but from her she had gleaned a few things.

First was that the other "vacationers" were indeed a mix of guards from Las Pegasus or military personnel, they had arrived the same day as her out of the blue thus they mistook her as one of them since Shadow was armed. They were unfortunately staying at the same inn as her but that could not be helped, something else she learned was they had a local garrison of four that manned a guard tower on the Eastern side of the village watching for any dangerous critters that tried to sneak in not that it ever happened, save for the occasional racoon or opossum getting into town and terrorizing the local garbage cans.

Unlike her they were only staying one week which meant that she would have the inn all to herself again in a week and not be bothered by them if they failed to take a hint. She doubted very much they would cause problems unless their curiosity got the better of them but Shadow was not going to correct any notions that she was not in fact a guardmare if it meant they would avoid her for a little while longer. Every little bit of misdirection would make her vacation smoother. Then again when had she begun to hold such extreme distrust of them to begin with?

One last lick finished off anything she missed on the plate and Raspberry just smiled before coming over to take it away. "You must not get very good food if you polish the plate and bowl like that. They feeding you properly?"

Shadow just smiled at her and dodged the question "What other stores are around here?"

"Well the bazaar is the general place everypony goes but there is also Inkline's book store, Nick-Nacks trading post, Cobblers Smithy..." As Shadow listened to the short little list one thing stuck out to her "You have a bank out here of all things? Why? There are what... Five-hundred or so ponies?"

Raspberry acted like she was not sure how to respond to that for a minute before she just shrugged and remarked the bank owned large swaths of the surrounding land. They were a minor branch of a larger Canterlot corporate bank run by some far off noble that nopony knew the name off. The bookstore sounded like a wonderful stop but Shadow had an idea pop into her head and decided to do a little fishing instead.

"What did you think of that article I saw in one of the papers this morning? The one about Celestia..." Shadow had acted innocent in her question and the look on Raspberry's face changed from a smile as a flash of anger shot across for a moment. "Yes I did see that but I refused to buy a paper that would dare question her! Celestia has been nothing but kind, loving and forgiving to us all and to just attack her like that is... Its just wrong! She's not perfect but nopony is! I wish I knew who wrote that article so I could give them a piece of my mind!"

Shadow just smiled and nodded along as Raspberry continued her little tirade, it amazed her that they could be so ignorant of the truth. Celestia was not perfect, that was very true, she was a pony just like anypony else... However, she had so ignored problems and turned a blind eye to possible dangers they were biting her in the ass now. Was it arrogance? Or simply burying ones head in the sand and hoping no one notices your flank sticking up in the air?

Excusing herself she slipped out of the bakery after promising to be back tomorrow and every day after for more of Raspberry's sweet treats and happily strolled down the street towards Inkline's bookstore, maybe this vacation wouldn't be so bad after all.

It was a quaint little bookstore that hardly took up one small room of Inkline's home and the selection left much to be desired. Valkardian's private library had spoiled her terribly and now that she could see what most ponies considered a "decent" selection of material it made sense why he wanted nothing to do with them. Simple and small minded hardly covered it if this is what the bulk of the population considered top quality reading material.

Shelf after shelf held nothing but pathetic or trashy romance novels that made her brain weep or adventure stories that were laughable to anypony that knew anything about physics or had ever set one hoof outside their village. As she flipped through another book bored to tears with its contents she realized that once upon a time she fell into that same category. These were some of the same books she had read and thought good but now that she had learned so much more and could look back to where she was.

"Excuse me, is this all you have in stock or...?" Shadow had given up trying to find anything worth reading. Out of all the books she had poured over only one had gotten her attention and hoping that Inkline had more to choose from tucked away for those rare customers who were pickier in their reading material. He simply gestured her into a room that could be considered a closet that held older tomes and books.

"These are... Well. They are not cheap compared to what is out front but might garner your interest, I also have a box of books that just showed up today if you wish to see them later after I unpack them. I must warn you some of these are rather old and if you damage them you must pay for them." Nodding to him Inkline turned and left her to browse to her hearts content. This selection was indeed much better than out front but still quite stale compared to what she was used too.

So far three books stood out amongst the few lines, one was a very old book of tales, another of myths and legends which she had grabbed immediately and begun to leaf through quickly deciding she had to buy it, books like this reminded her of the books her great grandfather kept in his little library. The last however was rather odd in that it was brand new and about the Crystal Empire. Wondering if Inkline had unpacked his box yet she left the closet room and placed the four books on the counter and called out and waited.

Inkline quickly appeared and when prompted he showed her the new arrivals which were just as droll as the others on the shelves. One did stand out in that it was a very thin little black book without any markings what so ever. Its contents however were a whole other matter entirely. Within was a book written most likely by the same ones who published that article in the paper and went into far greater depth and even spoke of new ideologies that should be followed with a heavy dose of who should be allowed to govern in this new order they dreamed of. How quaint. Overthrow one monarch so they can place another unnamed one on the throne.

Haggling over the books took a little time, Inkline was not willing to bend very much on the private stock books but that was understandable to an extent and Shadow left his bookstore happy with the still rather steep expense but the books were worth it. Choosing to head back towards the beach to read quietly on the cliffs overlooking the ocean she sat under one of the trees and began browsing the black book.

The sun was going to set soon and it was time to get back to the inn for dinner. She had read right through lunch in the little black book of white lies and insanity yet still she had to keep reading. Something was just... Wrong. Not with the books message no. Something was missing from the book and every fiber of her being screamed that there was more to this little book that had been left out for convenience. The bulk of the book was dedicated to taking apart pony theory and philosophy, morals and ethics while warping and rebuilding them into something else more perverse. What had Valkardian called this system? Medieval?

Whatever this new philosophy was called it was a perverse blend of the worst of every theory out there that admired those who held power above all others and stomped on the rest if they got in the way, while also promising equality would somehow be maintained and that everypony would benefit from this system even if they were not smart enough or powerful enough to hold those high seats. It was the work of a madpony to say the least and if any bought into this it would end very badly for most.

Then again, if whoever was in power had enough sense to leave everypony else alone it probably would work. All would be left alone to their own ends until they had something that the tyrant wanted then they would learn the system is rather... Lopsided. Promises only worked if you had the power to keep it and since it excluded them well... Shadow flipped another page over and kept reading deeper into this madness knowing that soon it would probably pervade Equestria if whoever wrote it got their way. Even if they failed to outright take over if enough bought into this it would end in mass bloodshed and slavery if they won.

Looking up at the darkening sky as it changed colors to bright oranges, hues of red and pink that bounced off the clouds that had moved in she looked took a moment to look around at her surroundings again. All day and not a soul to be seen save that fisherpony who had been there all day long. He never looked around, just sat there focused on fishing happily and once in a while would bring something up, keep it, toss it back and then repeat baiting the hook and casting the line again.

Madness and mayhem was around the bend and yet she could bet bits to donuts that the rest of Equestria was like that fisherpony right now: blissfully ignorant of the hell bearing down upon them. Hell. What an interesting word she had been taught. Mmm... Donuts. Her mind bounced back and forth between subjects for a moment before she decided to pack it up for the day and go see if Raspberry's bakery was still open and if she had any donuts left. Doubtful, but just maybe. The fisherpony barely paid her any attention when she stood and left, simply going back to what he was doing, shoving another fish into a bag.

The return to the village was very quick and without interruption but there was a small commotion in the bazaar. Deciding to see what it was Shadow kept her distance and stayed within earshot of the bickering duo. Two guards were having it out with the newspaper stand pony over something she could gather, they were making demands and being refuted since the other had paid for them and wanted compensation.

Piecing things together as the argument continued it was clear now that on-high had decided to confiscate the papers but the orders had only just reached this little backwater village. Whoever gave the order to have them seized was playing into the authors hands perfectly. By lashing out more and more they legitimized the claims made and more authority eroded away since it made Celestia look afraid of what was being published. Or was she?

Whoever was behind this was being methodical in tarnishing her image further and it would not take any stretch of the imagination to believe that they could not orchestrate a "recall" on the papers. Was she overthinking this? No... Maybe... Still, this was more engaging than anything else today. Finally the guards settled on paying for half of what was left but the paper pony had to allow them to see what was being sold first. "Thus censorship was born in Equestria" Shadow thought to herself. Maybe all this was just one big ruse, maybe the other papers REFUSED to carry the article at all and only the one due to bribery or sharing political ideology.

Raspberry Tart was a standard example of Equestrian thinking now what Shadow thought on it turning and walking off with her bag of donuts. The other papers did not carry it due to Celestia censoring them but because of blind loyalty and faith. Now that faith was being slowly eroded soon others would pick it up eventually because each seizure legitimized them and when Celestia eventually did crack down on the publishers it would tip the boat over the razors edge. Loose, loose situation. If she suffered just one, single setback like the Canterlot Invasion or Discord getting loose...

Returning to the inn was quick and most now ignored the bat pony that walked down the street munching on her cargo. Lilac was happy as could be to see her and wanted to know all about her day and Shadow happily gave her a string of truth and lies to sate the others appetite before asking about room service. Lilac was more than happy to take an order to the cook and deliver it to her room. Shadow made her request and waved at Lilac with a smile as she mounted the stairs and made her way back to room #12. What would tomorrow bring? Probably less than today now that all the "mysteries" of the Equestria had already been laid bare to her.

Pulling the newspaper from her bag and looking at it Shadow decided to save it and show it to Valkardian when she got back along with that little black book. If she could get him to more than lift an eyebrow at it would be enough, he had predicted this would probably happen and though she knew he had his own "ways" of staying informed... Well it would be a gesture on her part to show she had taken his lessons to heart. Carefully putting them into her giant-little bag for safe storage she looked out the window and waited for her dinner to be delivered. Tomorrow would be utterly boring.