Chapter 1

Author's Notes:

This is a very long story that changes tune and writing style many times. Enjoy!

Also did a little editing. 4/3/18

Barren, desolate, cold, boring and isolated. This cave was just one more cave in Equestria, one more dry, empty hole that had lacked any and all charm. To another set of eyes however it was fascinating; a world to explore, a yet uncharted (mostly) wilderness of wonder.

At least that is the way she saw caves and mines, any deep, dark hole really, it was also why she was here, Shadow Wing was overjoyed at the prospect of finding out what lay deep within, maybe a long forgotten dragons hoard? Maybe a part of the long forgotten Diamond Dog kingdom that fell from greed and internal fighting a millennia ago?

It did not matter to her, but what DID matter was that this cave was... Special. A DANGEROUS kind of special, the kind that kept anypony from ever daring to set foot in it after what had happened a century ago. The map clutched in her hands was the last proof of this, the only remaining memory of what had transpired in this cave: a simple well worn parchment map. It had belonged to her grandfather, an explorer for his unfortunate... Accident.

Whatever happened down there had scarred him horribly, both mentally and physically, his back had one hell of a scar to prove it. Everyone figured he had woken up some beast down below while not paying attention to where he was going, got attacked, fled, died huddled in a ball decades later still sobbing about it. Still, whenever he was lucid she loved listening to his stories, especially about caves, he had even drawn a complete map for her from memory after the original disappeared. Unlike her grandfather though, she was ready!

Like the rest of her species she could see VERY well in the dark, she had brought plenty of iron rations, water and a solid spear to defend herself with though she had no idea how to use it. Then again, it did not really matter, just point the sharp end at the target and let the charging monster impale itself, that or keep poking with the sharp point till it fled.

Years had she dreamed of this and now with one step she would be following the same trail he had, retracing his steps and going deeper than he ever had! Taking one last solid breath of fresh, forest air Shadow took one hooved step forward into the dark cave and started a journey that would take her farther than she ever expected as a pair of eyes watched quietly.

Two or three days? Her wind up watch ticked so loudly in the tunnel it made her nervous, she was dangerously close now to where her grandfather had left off, she had detoured around that area, well tried too... Unfortunately the system all joined at that one point, she would have to pass through it to go deeper. Well, hopefully whatever had BEEN there was now gone, easy, easy, unless it WAS a dragon that nearly got him so long ago.

Then again... Dragons did not burrow THIS deep into the earth, not unless it was a particularly large hidden hoard? Buried deep so no others would find it... Eh, oh well. Picking her pack back up she lazily flapped her wings and floated down the tunnel again, walking when her wings were tired or flying when her legs got tired... It had been a while since she had needed a torch though, the first day the caved had been utterly barren, pitch black, only her screeing helped her find the way without a torch. Here however, the cave had started to become... Glowy?

All around her strange fungi and moss grew in little patches giving off and eerie light, with her heightened senses though it made seeing in the dark much easier for her, still, she had never heard nor read about anything like this. Studying caves was a passion of hers, what critters lived below, plants (if any and what few did were VERY few) and so on. In all her years nothing came close to what these strange little fungi and mosses were.

Two things she DID make out clearly though without having to guess about it was a very clear cutting, clawing mark on the wall and a blood splatter, this must be where he was attacked. She immediately stopped, readied her spear and slowly began to inch her way forward, tufted ears perked catching the reverberations of her low screeing as she stalked forward. Nothing had happened, nothing at all, maybe whatever was here had left long ago, but be damned if she was going to drop her guard.

Inching forward she entered a narrower tunnel, to low for her to fly but narrow enough that anything that moved would be unable to get around her. Down and down past the strange glowing mosses till she entered and a small chamber, still to low to fly but another tunnel lay directly ahead. "This must have been that creatures nest" was all she could think though there were no signs of a nest of any kind in the cave. Oh well, onward. Entering the far tunnel she suddenly regretted entering this cave network.

"Demon from Tartarus" was all that came to mind, she was too caught up with looking around the cave as she was leaving it and failed to look ahead, from a small alcove a monster from the depths of hell had stepped out. All little Shadow could do was look up at it, at all over 6' 2" the thing loomed over her, claws, fangs, wings, red glowing eyes and... Made of stone?

Must be the odd light, but that no longer mattered, it moved forward and she moved back. Remembering her spear she leveled it and began to wonder just how effective a bronze spear would actually BE against a stone demon. With a heavy flick of its stone hand the spearhead was snapped from the shaft and it silently stalked forward at a quicker pace. Pray. That was all she could do, pray to all the sacred fruit trees of the world and the holy mango and plum trees that when she bolted for the far exit there would NOT be another one blocking the way.

Giving out a loud scree to find out if anything was behind her she readied to bolt when the monstrosity did something unexpected. It reached an arm up and began dragging its claws on the stone ceiling, the resulting screech mad her ears hurt and lay tightly against her head as she flinched. Well, that was it, best to just run like hell and keep praying.

Flapping her wings to propel herself backwards quickly she spun quickly and made to run like hell was on her hooves for it was. All this accomplished was a harsh stop and a grunt as something grabbed and threw her to the cave floor.

A figure sat in a chair holding a crystal with its eyes closed. This was interesting, a little bat pony had once again tried to infiltrate the cave network, strangely enough following exactly the same path as one had many decades ago. Since then new precautions had been taken, the last one got away, this one would not be so lucky. The last he needed was the outside world taking an undue interest in the caves and its goings on.

Still, better safe than sorry, last time he had elected to allow his stone guardians to deal with things themselves... That did not go so well, they were mighty useful but without a brain they... Well without a brain they could only do so much, this was why that last one escaped. Best to block off the exit, just in case and best to do it himself.

The little pony had passed right past him not a moment ago, a real pretty little thing too, midnight blue fur, slightly glowing blue eyes and some kind of dark purplish mane and tail with a light blue stripe, strange but it suited her lithe figure. Shame though, in a few moments she would be dead. Waiting till she was well down the tunnel and almost to the prepared chamber did he enter the tunnel after her and quietly walk along, arms almost folded in his robes.

A terrified shriek pierced the gloom, she must have run into the gargoyle, there was no sound of ripping flesh so she must have been able to avoid it in time. Oh well, this was EXACTLY why he had come along and also placed additional security, with a wave another gargoyle slid from a hidden side compartment and blocked the only exit, ordered to not move but to block the way he quickened his pace.

In his mind he could see her poking with her spear till the construct batted the spearhead off, followed by her sudden screeing. A smile came to his face quickly and with a thought the gargoyle cut off her screeing with its claws raking the ceiling. She was a smart one, he gave her that, using her screech to "look" behind her before turning on an enemy. Wings flaring out she beat the air rapidly and spun to escape launching her body across the chamber rapidly but unfortunately for her... Straight into his waiting hand, in an instant he had ripped her "staff" away and slammed her into the wall and watched as she slid to the floor dazed.

Her pack had taken the bulk of the impact, exploding and sending papers and other things flying. Tossing away the shaft he beckoned to the now waiting gargoyle to finish the job, it began moving forward from the far side of the room as he willed one of her papers into the air to get a better look at it. A map, a very FAMILIAR map...

Pain. Pain, dizziness and oh damn there were two of them now! Her senses quickly returned as adrenaline pounded through her small frame, eyes snapping up to the figure standing over her she realized this was NOT the same demon but a different one, robes, tall, hunched over her a little... Oh damn the other one is coming over, why is it taking my map? Curiosity died quickly as a clawed hand reached for her throat, one razor sharp claw extended, she started sobbing.

Scanning the map as the gargoyle reached down the sudden sobbing brought his mind back to reality, a quick mental command changed its orders and instead of slashing her throat it grabbed her and roughly hoisted her up for him to get a better look at her. As she dangled from its grip he opened his mouth and slowly began speaking.

"Where did you get this map?"

Well that took it all, almost die, survive, almost die again and now here she was dangling in the air, sobbing, knowing that as soon as it lost interest she was going to die a horrible death. The robed figure asked something but she could not make out anything over her sobbing and all she could mutter was "please dont kill me." It stared at her a minute, waiting before asking in a clear deep voice the same question. "My grandpa" was all she could squeek out.

Damn it all.

Quietly cursing in his mind he kept staring at her, that map had been taken and now sat in his collection, been a hell of a task tracking that crazy bat down and getting the map. Somehow, it had managed to make another and pass it on to family for some reason. The only reason he spared the gibbering wreck was because he WAS a gibbering wreck. No one believed him!

Killing him would have drawn too much attention. But now, in his caves was one of his progeny, carrying an exact copy, sobbing, begging for her life. Glaring into her eyes and letting out a small snarl words left his mouth that honestly she could not understand why he was asking: "WHY?!"

Not dead yet and that counts for something, it even bothered to ask WHY so that must mean there is at least some tiny, itty bitty chance of getting out of this alive. "I wont tell anyone! I swear by the moon and all the fruit of the world I wont tell a soul! Ever!"

A laugh was what she got and the monster holding her tightened its grip. "Killing you would silence you NOW and I would never have to give it a second thought."

"Others might come looking for me!" Well that was true, others might, she was young, obviously had family, the ponies were a very "homogeneous" group with large families and herds... "I can always just seal this entrance with magic and no one will ever know this tunnel network existed."

Now what the hell could she say to that? Her mind raced wildly before she blurted out "You would have done that already after my grandpa was here, so this path MUST be important!" Not the best choice of words she had to admit, in fact saying that would probably mean she WAS going to die, saying that made it sound like she was a scout for some army.

His mouth twitched at hearing that, smart girl this one. Maybe too smart, then again he was starting to enjoy this pointless banter, it had been... Well... Quite some TIME since he had talked to anyone. Lets see what happens when I really PUSH her...

"That just means I have all the more reason to kill you bat, turn you to ash on the spot and leave not a trace! I can just kill whoever else comes, hell I can even put a giant pony eating lizard down here and have it eat anyone who tries to follow! No one would know the difference!"

Still not dead, that means she still has a chance! "Yes but that would draw attention! Others would come to kill the lizard to keep ponies safe! Ponies will be CRAWLING through this cave with magic and weapons!"

"I will collapse the damned cave then and just dig a new one!"

"Your probably too lazy to do that!" Oh crap that was not what she wanted to say.

She was right, he was too lazy to do that, all that damned bother... The skeleton crews that would be needed, tools, oversight, the decades it would take... "I could always erase your memory..."

"If you did that then other ponies would know someone did it! My family would come looking for me and find out!"

"I could always stage your death outside in the forest..."

Well he had her on that one, but still, he kept talking so there must be SOME reason he was keeping her alive, was he amused? Toying with her? She was considerably calmer now that the immediate threat of death had passed. She had even stopped to just stare at this giant brute that was glaring at her.

Strange beast, bearded, blue eyed and sickly pale white flesh. It must have been down here a LOONNNGGG time... Its patience seemed to run out and the stone thing tightened its grip more and in a rush to stave off death by strangulation little Shadow blurted out words that she knew she would regret for the rest of her short, horrible life: "I'll be your slave!"

Chapter 2

A cough escaped his lips, now he had been around a mighty long time, seen all manner of hell and usually been either the cause of or the focus of. This however, this was new, in all his uncountable years never had he expected anyone to beg for their life and offer to be his slave. Hell, he had plenty of others in the past in positions like this but NONE had ever offered to be his slave. None. Yet this little bat had just made the offer in exchange for her life.

Still regretting her words she also noted that those rueful worlds had caught her captor by surprise, even made him cough in surprise. She had nailed it, now just keep going! "I will be your slave if you dont kill me, letters! I can even fabricate letters to my family saying im fine! No one will ever know, i'll even tell them I am traveling the world, they'll never know or have a return address!" As she finished this another realization came to mind: HE could fabricate the letters on her behalf after the first few! Oh damn now what do I say...

Clever girl, he liked her, the sudden change of hope to worry on her face meant she just realized the same thing he already knew: He could fabricate the letters and just kill her, lost in a tragic shipwreck... Still, she was clever and he liked clever folks or at least he used too being utterly tactless himself. Hiding a grin that threatened to come to his face he decided to pretend he was unaware of that last fact of this newly proposed "deal" of theirs. Leaning forward and hissing into her face his words made her eyes pop: "Deal."

What have you gotten yourself into Shadow? The moment he hissed the word "deal" to her she knew her life was over, she might live a few horrible months, maybe a year... Then he would no longer need her, the crisis would be over and once again she would be expendable. What HAD made her offer that deal anyway? Was it the fact he was male and she was playing on it? Maybe so but it looked like he could care less, then again she had caught him looking her over or maybe that was simply... "Examing the goods before buying at the market" and by the moon she hoped to hell that was not the case. Looking back up all she saw was a pale hand reaching for her head and letting out a small scream all went black as she fell unconcious as it touched her.

If nothing else this should be a very... "Interesting" next few months was all he could think, his spell had put her out like a light and now all he had to do was get her back home. With a sigh he commanded the gargoyle to release her and gather the fallen materials and stuff them into a bag he conjured up. Sending the guardians back to their posts he carried the bag in one hand and floated her body in his magic with the other and started off. This was going to be a VERY interesting first month with his new "slave."

She woke with a start, jumping up screaming and thrashing, it had all been a bad dream! Just a bad dream! Then reality sunk in, she was in a pitch black room, stone, her scree told her no way out, she was simply sealed in a 5x6ft stone coffin. Her life as a slave was starting out just perfect... She thumped on the walls and shouted till she thumped on one side and the wall swung open, with a thud she fell out of the room into the light and looked around. All around her were tables, archaic lab equipment and other things she had no idea what they were. Brain in a jar, alchemical things? What looked like dried plants? Shadows eyes settled on a figure staring at her bemusedly over a table on the far side as it continued to riffle through her things. This was a lab, and that could be very bad for her health.

Staring at her face as it went from shock, curiosity and then to horror he decided it was time to pipe up. "Good, your awake, here is your first job slave bat: the shelves need put back in the closet and get all the cleaning equipment put away." The look on her face was priceless.

"Cleaning closet?" Turning to look back she realized that it was indeed a closet, stacked off to one side in the room were cleaning materials and shelves that had one been in the room. "You locked me in the cleaning closet?"

Letting out a sigh he stopped going over her journal "YES. I do not make a HABIT of keeping dangerous creatures and experiments locked in cages in my HOME. I had to have somewhere to put you so when you woke up you wouldn't immediately try to run away or break anything. Figured the cleaning closet would work, has a nice tight seal too so the chemical smells dont lea..." Dammnit why was he explaining himself to a slave? "Slave! Get your furry ass in gear and get that stuff put away!"

"I have a name asshole! Shadow Moon! And quit going through my diary!" Realization slapped her hard across the face as she finished shouting, she had not just told off just anypony, she had just told off the creature that "owned" her and could kill her at any moment she figured and by the look on his face, he just might.

A very interesting first month indeed... He had NEVER liked anyone talking back to him and being short tempered did not help matters any but being yelled at by his new slave...

Horror etched itself across her face as he slowly brought one finger up into the air while starring daggers at her. Well, this was it, puff your chest out, close your eyes and accept death with some dignity.

There never was any intention of killing her for this outburst, he found it quite funny in a way thought it still angered him but seeing her puff her chest out a bit, close her eyes, grimace and stand there shaking like a leaf made finishing his spell all the sweeter. A snap echoed in the room followed by a yelp as his spell shocked her rump resulting in her wings flaring and jumping into the air. Trying not to laugh he let out a growl at her "Back to work... Slave Shadow Moon."

That hurt, it was like getting zapped by a small lightning bolt when one flew too close to a rowdy one. Almost staring daggers back at him she caught herself and slammed her mouth shut before tempting fate again. Grabbing the first shelf and heaving it moved bit by bit, slowly being drug along as she worked it back into the cleaning closet. It took a while but she managed it and all he did was watch every now and then. After shelving the last of the strange jars of cleaning materials and closed the door and turned to her new "master" and coughed quietly.

Now what... Glancing up from his reading he studied Shadow: sweaty, worn and tired. Putting the materials away was all he DID have for her to do. Long ago he had created enough servants to take care of everything: laundry, cooking, cleaning, guarding... Hell he had been absently thinking on and off about what to have her do next the whole time while occasionally watching her struggle with the heavy shelves. Nothing had come to mind yet. Well, things HAD come to mind but those jobs were already filled or he simply did those things himself. The little bat just stood there quietly waiting further instructions, absently he thought a command for her to just sit for a bit before realizing that she was not one of the constructs who could just be "commanded" mentally. "SIT."

Simple enough, looking around though, finding a chair would be a problem, she made her way towards a chair before she was suddenly grabbed by unseen forced and plopped into a chair and swung around the room till she was sitting across from him. "When I give you an order carry it out QUICKLY." Faking a smile she nodded "yes masterrr....?"

Leaning back in his seat he eyed her, well he knew of one way to kill some time, get some answers and also learn a little about his new slave. "You will call me Master Valkardian." Then came the barrage of questions, height: 5'2", age: 20, family, friends, hometown, occupation, cutie mark: cave with a map and on and on. Shadow was fairly certain he was only half listening as he continued to thumb through her diary. What felt like an eternity finally ended and he stopped, dropped the little book on the table and stood rapidly. Shadow flinched thinking that something had not met his expectations but instead he waved her up. Simply pointing behind her he told her to follow the servants and bathe, change and be ready for further instructions.

What was behind her though, that made her freeze and the blood run cold, two skeletal creatures waiting quietly flanking the doorway, she had not heard anyone enter... Now she knew why... Hooves faltering she shakily walked forward, quick realization that THIS might be her fate if she angered him. Without a word one simply turned and left, the other waited, once in the hall the last followed behind her closely. "Still expecting me to make a run for it..." This thought hung with her as they guided her through the hallways, she had to admit the place was very fancy, wide halls, not very high ceilings though... Still, she had to admit the place was indeed VERY fancy. Elaborate carvings adorned the walls as well though after seeing what they depicted she quit looking: battles, carnage, death, destruction but also quite a few nice ones that appeared to tell the tale of how this place came to be... Sort of. That strange moss was growing in giant chandaleres above giving off a funny light that make it very easy to see and before long the leading skeleton stopped, swung open a door and stepped aside.

Now THIS was fancy, very, very, very fancy. This was what she expected a royal bathroom to look like, elaborate tile floors with various, what she assumed were cave flora and fauna depicted. Steam rose off the clear water which had an odd glow to it caused by the moss above. While Shadow stood there admiring the scene a skeleton of what looked like a weird lizard thing walked in carrying a bundle, presented it to her and left. Clothes, oh well, first a bath... And it proved to be the most relaxing she ever had, after just soaking in the hot water for a time she suddenly realized that "Master Valkardian" might come calling if she took too long. Then again, no skeletons had entered to usher her out either, it was spooky how they quietly stalked the hallway, she had passed a few on the way here, they simply wandered around carrying things, sweeping, dusting or just standing at doors waiting.

Slipping from the water and drying off she stared at the package that had been given to her, there was a stone table along the wall with towels and other things so she had left it there. Unwrapping the simple bundle her eyes nearly popped from her skull, he expected her to wear THIS?! Better question: what the HELL was he DOING with something like this in the first place?! Looking back to where she had left her clothes she found the pile gone, apparently while soaking one of the skeletons had checked in on her and taken her clothes away. Pulling the garments out and holding them up her face changed color just looking at it.

Valkardian had left the door to his study open so he could hear her, though the baths were a good distance off from his study (dampness wrecked havoc on his tomes) he had figured one of two things would happen. First, if she opened that ancient package first she would scream and try and run or two she would bathe first THEN scream and run. Either way, he could care less, she was his property now by her own admission. As such, if he could not put her ass to work then he would at least get to stare at her occasionally. Besides, that package had been left in storage for who knows how long after he would up with it when some damned fool had... Well that was a story for another time, she was on her way. Neither had she screamed and run nor refused to don it, the threat of death can do that, then again she WAS wrapped in a large towel as she stormed into his study escorted closely by his "servants."

Degrading, that's what this was... Maybe it would be best to have just accepted death back in the tunnel, no then she might be one of these skeletal servers. They didn't have their souls trapped in there did they? Oh pony gods she hoped not. On other hand she had bigger problems, he was staring at her over a massive book with a less than amused look on his face. Holding the towel a little tighter around her body she tried not to glare at him.

"You were to wear the clothes given to you not the TOWEL." With a motion of his hand the towel disappeared revealing her to him, he had to admit it fit quite well, then again the servant dedicated to keeping his wardrobe functioning had done a good job doing last minute alterations. He had eyeballed her properly and by the new look on her face as she desperately tried to cover herself with arms and wings. "SHOW ME." His voice was slow and hard but she got the point and with a mighty mental struggle showed him the outfit. To say it was skimpy was an understatement, more like "dancing harem girl." Still, he was a man not a woman so he had nothing stored away for anyone but himself to wear and he was not sharing his cloths with her, it would be too dangerous; especially with all the enchantments woven into his garments. Oh well, at least it fit so she would not be running around naked, that was a relief, it was distracting enough having her here.

Ogling, that's what he was doing the dirty bastard, he was ogling her! Well if he thinks she is going to dance or strip he can forget it, especially if he thinks she is going to sleep in bed with him! She knew how books went that had a girl like her dressed like this. Eyes shifting back to his hellishly large tome he waved her off and she was about to sigh in relief except for what came out next. "Take her to my chambers, you will sleep there, oh I dont want you damaging that, leave it on a hangar while you sleep or something..." Still waving his hand dismissively her jaw dropped. Like hell.

"Like TARTARUS I am going to sleep with you! I may be your slave but..." Her shouting caused him to look up, he had returned to his reading and his own thoughts after waving her off and now she was changing colors and shouting for some reason. Oh well, here we go again. "I can still just kill you and use you anyway." He beckoned at a skeletal servant but she did not take note of the gesture. Instead Shadows jaw dropped and a furious look crossed her face. "You SICK PERVERTED BASTARD!"

Chapter 3

Confused, that would describe his mental state, he could understand her getting mad over the clothes but oh well, it was that or nothing and her old clothes were too dirty. Now she was standing there ranting at him calling him a "necrophiliac" and "corpse rutter" and other words and things that he had no idea what they were or meant.

She kept going till he suddenly lurched to his feet and stormed around the table and towered over her, this was the first time she gotten a good look at him. Intimidating and spooky were two very good words, standing at just over 6' tall with blazing blue eyes, pale whitish, pink skin, the kind of pale that allowed her to see the veins. A white silvery beard and long hair of matching color, he looked the portrait of a man who aged rapidly without his face aging beyond its late thirties.

As he looked down at her with a portrait of utter fury, the kind of fury that would leave her as nothing more than a dusting of soot on the floor Shadow realized she may have just overdone it a bit. He was a solid built fellow too she realized, maybe he would not burn her into the floor, maybe he would break every bone in her body. Still, ears laid back she found herself pinned to the wall as he kept yelling at her, fear had shut out everything he was saying but she did catch one bit. "And FURTHERMORE I am NOT having SEX WITH YOU!"

"Wait, what?" Her entire rebuttle was two short lived words as he stared her shrinking form down. "Your not... Going to have your way with me?" Now it was his turn to change colors and look confused again. "No of course not! I only have the one bedroom! Its not like I ever built this place with the intention of having guests! Where in the hell WOULD you sleep? On the floor?! I will not have any servant or slave of mine sleeping on the floor but YOU are trying my patience!"

Oh, well this is embarrasing. "But what about the clothes?" He leaned back from her and went back to his table and sat down again "Its all I had in storage, its a long story but it will have to do till clothes can be made." He already knew what started all this and his anger dissipated now that he knew she was drawing the wrong conclussion. "I have little to no use for my chambers anymore since long ago I got over the need for sleep, played hell on my senses for a time but..." There he goes again, explaining himself to his slave. Snapping his mouth shut for a moment he looked up and glared at her again "Go to bed, I will have my servants wake you when its time for you to continue your dutied. Leave." Waving his hand she found herself floating out the door with the other servants. The doors shut with a quiet thud and she was quickly ushered down the halls again.

Grand, opulent, overdone perhaps. Valkardian must have been bored when he or whoever designed this room drew it up, it was massive, more like a museum for all the random things laying around, an entire library was arranged on one side, a bed big enough for a large herd in the center, low to the floor but it looked very plush. She assumed the other doors led to wardrobes. Armor, weapons were also plentiful along with... Trophies... Skulls, a dragons head was mounted on one wall. Shadow gave the weapons a look then thought better of it, something told her that even IF she were armed it wouldnt make a lot of difference. For one thing all the armor and weapons were made to fit HIM and looked WELL WORN. Secondly, even if she got lucky, there were enough skeletons out there to overwhelm her wings or not and she had no idea how to get out ANYWAY. Best to just buy her time and pray that one day he slips and gives her a chance to get away.

Stripping off and laying on the bed left her feeling wierd, looking up she found out why, two servants guarded the door, armed. How had she NOT noticed them before? Oh well, the bed was plusher than it looked, she sank into the silk sheets and sighed, whatever tomorrow would bring, it would. There was nothing she could do about it so best sleep and be ready for whatever nefarious torture and hell he had planned for her. Yanking a sheet over herself Shadows mind drifted back to a concern of hers: what would become of her when she was no longer needed? It did not last long however, sleep overtaking her mind as she quickly slipped away in the beds silky embrace.

What to do with her... Hmm... At least she was asleep, he would need to figure out something for sleeping arrangements though... Letting a slave sleep in his bed... No, then again at least she had not tried anything after seeing his "collection." At any rate he had a short list of things for her to do now, too short but at least his new slave would have SOMETHING to do other than stand around. He had to admit, having her around livened things up for the first time in... Memory failed him but it was livelier and she was quite amusing if nothing else, a pain in the ass but amusing all the same. Tomorrow her work would begin, first she would dust the murals in the hallway then if she did not botch that... He would allow her to work outside the house in his garden but time would tell. Stopping suddenly he remember a very important fact: she needed to eat. No, a slave would not eat at his personal table, she already had his chambers and was using his bath. Sending out a series of commands that sent servants skuttling through the halls he was now certain that come "morning" she would be fully capable of being fed, watered and cleaned up after. A table would be set up in the banquet hall, he had commanded his servents to keep it "simple and primitive." A chair, table, what else would she need, food would be prepared from the stock available and that would be that. Clothes... Oh well he would get around to that later, she could wear some strips of cloth from storage if it came to that. Not giving anything another thought he turned back to his reading.

Poking, something was poking her, it just kept poking till Shadow opened her eyes whisking her away from a happy dream of orchards and succulent fruits. Turning over and looking up a servant was using a broom to poke her, eyes nearly bugging out she almost let out a scream before calming down, she was still HERE. Climbing off the bed she quickly dressed in what amounted to string and wishful thinking. Afraid, yes Shadow you should be terrified, PETRIFIED at this situation but for whatever reason it did not terrify her at all. True, she was scared of him but last night any terror she may have held melted away, he had not raped, killed or reduced her to ash after her outburst. However slaves were supposed to be treated this was likely not it, then again today was the day her work started and that might change. What WAS he anyway? Would asking get her zapped again or worst? Strange how a mortifying experience was turning more curious. Expecting to be given the broom she reached for it after dressing only for the servant to hold it away from her and leave. Following it outside another pointed and she dutifully followed.

These murals were damned disturbing, they were on every wall including the grand dining hall she now sat in. If this is how her new master treated slaves... She didn't mind one bit. Sitting at the head of a large table decked out in finery it made her feel more like a princess than a slave. Silk tablecloth, fine dining-ware, silverware, crystal goblet and some kind of wine jug all for her. Grinning like a fool Shadow waited as her skeletal butler loped its way over to her carrying a tray of something... It smelled good that was true, as it set the tray down and began to serve her she finally got a good look at it. Mushrooms... Lots and lots of mushrooms... And THINGS. The "main dish" assuming that's what it indeed was... Held an array of mushrooms cooked and seasoned three different ways, a bowl of what appeared to be black gruel was placed beside it. None of it smelled bad, it smelled delicious, taking a testing taste of the seared mushrooms a smile spread across her face, this was delicious! With some trepidation Shadow eyed the bowl, carefully picking up a spoon and poking the contents. "What is this?" Taking a spoonful she smelled it, whatever this stuff was it smelled sweet and after tasting it indeed it was. Bit chewy and had a crunch to it but very sweet. Unidentifiable Sweet Thing, that's what she would call this, reaching for the jug on the table a skeletal hand shot out making her jump. It did not go for her but instead grabbed the jug and poured the contents into her goblet before placing it down and stepping away, going rigid. Grand dining hall, full course breakfast, wine, fancy table, actual SILVERware, private butler to serve her... Oh yes, she could get used to this.

Yes, that might work, Shadow should be here soon too... Looking over at the doorway a servant led a beaming Shadow into the room, maybe she was one of those masochistic types. No one in their right mind would be smiling like that and nearly hopping in place while a slave and head nearly on the chopping block. Ack, orders, yes her orders. "Slave, your job for the next few days is dusting the murals in the halls, a servant will give you what you need, off with you." Waving a hand dismissively at her and turning back to the experiment he caught a happy "Yes master Valkardian!" before she was ushered away. Turning to look back he muttered and shook his head before going back to the experiment. Clothes would soon be in production for her in the next few days, getting the skeletons reprogrammed on short notice was no small feat, nor was getting the patterns! She had best be worth it.

Duster in hand Shadow lazily flapped her wings, the murals in this hall were much bigger than the others, this was a "primary" hall she guessed, this place must be HUGE! A true palace hidden away... Somewhere. Dusting was easy, every once in a while a servant would lope down the hall to check on her before leaving, that was another thing, there was nothing scary about them at all. The ones with glowing blue eyes ignored her, they seemed to be the soldiers, always armed and marching around quietly. The yellow ones cleaned, lavender served, whoever this Valkardian was he was a very organized stallion-thing. Even the doors had some weird script chiseled into them or above on the frame. The only scary thing down here so far was these nightmarish murals. So far she had cleaned quite a bit, most depicted history of some time long forgotten or simply not IN pony books. Shadow found herself dusting and studying the murals at the same time, every once in a while a servant would come along and bat at her with a broom to get her cleaning again but she had since learned to listen for their quiet clacking sound.

So far she had dusted off one depicting some "paleo-pony period" rendition showing the various ponies killing each other with sticks and stones, others showed bug ponies starting fights. The worst of them however was whenever HE made an appearance, in one mural he was harvesting them and their dead to make servants. Maybe he was not so nice after all... Actually, as she thought about it going back to dusting the next mural in the series, everything so far showed him either intervening to stop the fighting or downright stomping out the competition. Maybe he was an evil neutral? The day seemed to go on till some skeletons arrived and ushered her down, the little convoy carried a small table, chair and other things. They quickly set up a table for her and adorned it quickly, setting out food and more wine. Yes, life was good, very good.

Must be time for dinner... His stomach growled and standing he walked out into the hall. "I wonder where she is now..." A simple thought allowed him to glimpse her through the eyes of a servant passing by, she had made good progress but she could be faster. "Hmm... Best go see how good a job she is doing..." Muttering to himself and stalking down the halls he eventually rounded a bend bringing her into sight. What the devil was she doing? Ah, she is... Studying the murals? Quietly making his way over he stood behind her as the little hovering bat quietly beat her wings examining the mural she had just dusted off. A bit of pride filled him looking at it, one of his finer moments indeed. "Learn anything USEFUL or are you lazing about?"

Damn! Normally she heard them coming but, oh wait this is worse. Descending to the floor and turning slowly she looked up at the face of a bemused master. "Oh, um... Yes! Am I not allowed to study them or...?" Looking over her his eyes tracing over the mural "No, you are free to study them so long as you do your job." Lifting a finger and pointing "A proud moment, a hive queen almost took over the three pony races and enslaved them. Was not much interested in allowing the changelings to concentrate their power like that so I stopped it, best to keep the factions divided and feuding. She had it in her head to be empress and even march against ME one day!" Scoffing at the notion he continued "A few words in the proper ears however put a stop to it, got my revenge on the bitch too, while she was busy loosing the war on three fronts I harvested her hive from behind, dug right into it and wiped most of them out. When she returned to the hive I captured her and well..." An army swept to the left and Shadow followed it, her master was running the changeling queen through and then raising her body as a servant... How very... FINAL. The pony army that showed up later it seemed had no idea what had happened as no trace was left, not one body. They were none the wiser.

"Um, master, is something wrong? I know its only been... Two days? But you never personally checked on me before, is something wrong?" Valkardians head turned and looked down and a toothy grin showed, he always enjoyed teaching history but that was long ago, he could not help but smile. "No, I came to get something to eat."

Oh crap he has sharp teeth! Vampony! The pale skin, living underground, undead servants! No wonder he had wined and dined her! All this was to keep her blood nice and tasty! "AH! Um! Batponies are poisonous! Very bad for vampony health! My blood would only make you very sick master Valkardian! Oh please dont suck my blood, please dont suck my blood..."

The last pleading part came out a low mutter that she just kept muttering leaving him there to just stare at this deranged little bat. Utterly insane, bouts of madness, good worker! Cheery, but deranged. That or she was just very good at assuming the worst and he always did that but she made him look like an amateur at it. Then again... The pale skin and all the rest of it... With a heavy sigh he shook his head "I am NOT a vampire. Besides, if I wanted your blood I would just magic it away... Then again I SHOULD take a sample, see if you have lead poisoning or something..." Continuing to mutter Shadow sighed in relief but that old question popped back into her head. "Master? What ARE you anyway? I have never seen a stallion like you before nor read about anything like you..."

Stepping back to reality his gaze drifted back down to his little slave. "I am ME, if you refer to species well... I gave up those petty notions long ago, I am simply who I am and that is all that matters, not this fleshy thing. Also, I am not a stallion, I am a MAN. All that matters to you is that I am MASTER Valkardian." Looking around again he felt hunger pangs, oh well, time to eat... Might be nice to have an actual flesh and blood servant for once too... "Slave, come with me." Continuing to stalk down the hall she dutifully followed him to his own private dining room, this was not that darned banquet hall he had made so long ago only to have it become useless. Then again he had assigned it for her use but oh well, she could eat in that drafty barn till hell froze over. A wave of his hand brought the doors open and leading her into his dining room.

Not as big as where she had eaten... Smaller, more private, familial in a way. The decor here was not grim but more scenic, quite nice really. The table was as opulent as possible: solid marble and polished to a sheen with fancy gold inlay. What looked more like a throne sat at the head, the table seemed to be big enough for some sixteen or so ponies but there was only the one "chair." Doors lead off the far side and braziers brought a bright magical light to the room, this was concentrated royal dining room for one. Sitting down with a tired huff she followed over and stood waiting, duster still in hand. Moments later he looked up and it and floated off into the hands of a servant. "Follow that one, YOU will be serving me tonight." He really liked to wave his hands out. Following it brought her into a grand cooking chamber, most of the servants though stood around idly, the place was built to feed an army but there was no army. Why had he gone to so much trouble to do all this then just abandon it? A "waiter" brought a tray over for her to carry while another carried a bottle and goblet on a silver tray. Oh well, if this was the extent of "slave labor" she could put up with it.

Having a pretty little thing deliver your meal after hell only knows how long is quite nice for a change. Being served by skeletons forever gets old after a time and having a new, pretty face makes things less droll and drab. On the other hand, having said serving slave be an attractive little thing dressed in a skimpy outfit is simply an additional perk. Maybe having a slave wasnt such a bad idea after all... Then again...

I have no idea what I am doing. Shadow stood there with the tray in her arms, it was too large for her but she managed, bit heavy too... Remembering her breakfast she quickly placed the tray down on the table and removed the silver lid, it looked similar to what she had eaten but with more courses, all of them made of mushrooms or THINGS. He must REALLY love his mushrooms... Setting the plates before him carefully she haphazardly started to lay them out after the first three. A sigh escaped him as he began to teach her proper placement and soon she was done, stepping back the other servant came forward, placed two goblets, filled one from the red bottle then poured water in the other and stepped away.

Being served was nice even thought she had no idea what she was doing, then again the bat learned quickly and listened well. Taking his time eating he simply enjoyed having an actual SERVANT for once but the silence was boring. "Have you been given enough sustenance? Water? Did the servants show you where the bathroom is?"

"Yes! The food is quite good and the wine was excellent! I had no idea you treated your slaves so well, at first I thought I might get gruel and water or something, not a private dining hall, table and all this fancy... Dining stuff. Its very kind of you master!"

Wait a second. Spoon almost to his mouth he began to rethink the orders given out last night, he had ordered the servants too... Oh dammit. They were only programmed for serving lavishly. That means they... No wonder she was so happy and bouncing around. *Sigh* Too much bother to go through all that programming again to create a handful of specialized servants just for her though. At least the banquet hall was getting used and she was now less likely to cause trouble. Continuing to eat, other questions came to mind. "Tell me, what did you learn from the murals?"

"That you dont like getting involved unless it might affect you personally." Well that was very true, for the most part at least from what she gathered, only once had he done anything "nice" in any of the murals she saw not counting the bug pony one... That was more a "you rub my back I rub yours." A nod was all she got in response to her answer. "I also learned that you are... Ancient... ANCIENT, ancient. Old as the princesses old or older. Are you older than them?"

"Yes, keep dusting and you will probably come across a mural with them eventually. We are quite "different" in age though, on the other hand I never got out as much as they did or... Experiment... As much as they did either." A smile crept onto his face. "Tell me, how much DO you know about those two sisters?"

"They are the rulers of Equestria, bringer of sun and moon, peace, harmony, unifiers of the country..." On and on she listed what she knew of them, all of it textbook jargon hammered into her head as a filly. Still, he seemed to find it amusing, he had stopped eating and had leaned back in his chair to listen and occasionally chuckle or guffaw at what she had said only to motion her to continue. After finishing her little speech with the occasional question thrown in he stood quietly and informed her that was all for the day, to go get dinner herself and retire for the day. Many questions did she have, many, many, many. Especially about him laughing hard when she mentioned how Celestia and Luna had brought peace and prosperity. Harmony? He guffawed. Protectors who drove off evil invading armies? He gagged on his soup.

For an almighty, terrifying evil bastard as the murals depicted... Shadow was having a hard time believing it, yes what he had done was... Well, just EVIL but something was missing, especially with his reaction to her story, something was just plain WRONG in how he responded, like he knew a big secret or something, a secret she wanted to know. However, that would have to wait, master had left her alone, one last parting bit was that by going through the kitchen she could reach her own dining room. Indeed she did, then again Shadow could understand why he prefered the other room, it WAS nicer abliet much smaller. Then again, how often does one get to dine in a royal banquet hall at a private table, servants, fine wine, food... They even brought desert! Wierd stuff it was, was it pudding or cake? A hybrid? Oh well, it tasted wonderful. Still, it would be nice to have someone to talk to while eating. That one slapped her in the face hard, having her serve him, she suddenly understood what it meant having someone to eat with, talk to or even listen to while eating. Especially if he had been down here as long as she was supposing he had been.

A bath could wait for another day, he had to finish up that experiment, everything was laid out, commands given, all that was left was to carry on and wait for tomorrow. It had been the nicest dinner he had in... Forever, what a funny little bat she was, what grand, tall tales she regaled to him. HAH! She made those two sound like saints! They were anything BUT! Then again... If HE was any measure to go by... Well... They WERE saints. Still, he couldnt help but chuckle, she had really got into her story telling, if she enjoyed telling stories so much he wondered what else she might tell him if asked, maybe dinners would stay interesting for a time. Who knows, if she kept studying the murals she might just learn something NEW and... "Different" about her reveried leaders. Now THAT would be fun to see, what would the look on her face be when she started to dust... What section was it? Section TWO... Yes... Section TWO was where those two entered. He would need to leave a spy to record her expression after seeing that section.

Once again she was led to her... Well HIS/HER chambers, did he EVER sleep? The servant stood by quietly as she stripped making her feel wierd, placing her "clothes" down it picked them up and left, maybe it was going to clean them? Exchange them with something new? No, he said this was it till new clothes could be made and he did not want her prancing around naked to distract him. Kind of touching to know he thought of her as beautiful to the point of distracting... Then again kind of creepy when she associated the face with the thought. Never mind, the bed bad already been fixed at some point after she got up, if she could say anything about his servents they kept the place IMMACULATE. More dusting tomorrow but for tonight... Soft, oh so soft silky softness and sleep.

Chapter 4

Valkardian was beating the stuffing out of the pony, literally, in every way possible. Shadow was still on dusting duty, so far most of the murals had been gory but this was special. Frankly, she had no idea what made the ponies so mad but they had tried to lynch Valkardian for it and were now suffering the concequences. Examing it all over again it appeared he taught them how to make a windmill to grind flour more effectively, as to WHY he would do so eluded her... Something made them mad about his appearance and some kind of royal pony had lead a mob against him. The result was the rest of the ponies were magically stuck to the ground unable to move while he absolutely throtted the royal. Little bits and pieces of him had come off, the mural was sectioned showing step by step what happened and frankly... It hurt to look at the mural. When it ended her master simply pulped the unicorn magically and left but not before taking quite a load of sacks with him. Flour? Had he seriously gone through of all that just to get some sacks of flour?

Lunchtime, grumbling and turning from the tome Valkardian shuffled down the hall, Shadow had been doing well, every night for the past two days she was his server at dinnertime. Frankly he was having dinner quite often now, eating four days in a row was quite new, usually he just used magic to maintain himself. Today though, today would bring something new, she had done well, narry a peep unless asked, he had something that NEEDED done and this would be the perfect time to start her on it. Maybe a bit too early but oh well, one must test the waters. Stalking the hall he found her, examining a mural he recognized quite quickly.

"Curious as to why I helped them, was attacked then reduced the one to jelly?" Upon hearing the voice Shadow nearly jumped from her hide, for whatever reason he liked to sneak up on her and always with a question. "Yes, why?"

"I wanted flour to make bread with, wheat, rye and barley does not grow down here naturally. Also, what they produced back then was far too course for my liking, I showed them how to make mills and power them with the wind in exchange for flour. However, the noble in charge after learning the secrets took exception to my nature and led a mob to burn me for the crime of demonism and sorcery." Leaning toward the mural and examing it further he stopped, read and leaned away. "Lord Scriptwrite. Yes that was his name." Pointing to a patch of writing Shadow looked, she had seen this wierd script all over the place but still could not read it. Frankly, this was the first time he had translated anything for her, up till now she was simply associating symbols with words she knew, like the wierd script over the kitchen doors. Walking away leaving her to think on it before remembering why he was there "Oh, tomorrow your job changes, I have more important things for you to do outside."

Watching him walk off Shadow could not help but wonder what that meant but there was one word which piqued her interest: OUTSIDE. He was letting her OUT of the mansion and out into... Whatever... A massive cave most likely. Still, she was going OUTSIDE! Dusting happily knowing that tomorrow would bring more freedom the rest of the "day" rushed by, more grusome murals, he did not have her serve him that night. Her own dinner was... Well it was wierd, she wondered if he was messing with him, a loaf of BREAD sat on the table that night. The servant brought it out and plopped it down with her mushroom stew, whatever it was made of... Black but most certainly not any kind of grainy smell or flavor that she knew. Still, it was good, along with the wierd "fruit preserves" that came with it, no butter but then again... If there HAD been "butter" on the table she would not have touched it, what kind of monster down here would be milked? A giant bug? None of that mattered, it tasted good and tomorrow she was going OUT!

Today was the day he let her out. Mistake? Maybe, with wings she might try to fly off but considering how deep they were it would get her nowhere. The slave could spend a lifetime trying to navigate this continent spanning labrynth of caves and tunnels and never get out without a healthy dose of luck, that and getting past more of his defenses. Collecting her after she was done with breakfast he led her to a pair of double doors. This had been hidden from her along with all the windows with a simple illusion spell till now, best to not let her get any ideas too soon. Then again letting her out was still too soon. Giving one of the doors a pull and stepping out into the cavern air Shadow followed. Before them lay his grand, immense garden, part food source, pleasure and alchemical. This was his pride and joy and it needed tending, servents were assigned already but some jobs were far to precise and delicate for skeletal hands to manage. Opening his mouth to begin giving instructions the words never had a chance to form, beside him a little bat was making the wierdest and loudest squeel and scree yet.

Shadow was bouncing, bouncing in place, wings flared out, excitement, pure, unrestrained excitement, what lay before her was why she loved to explore. A wall sealed this part of the cave off in the far distance from bottom to top but between the two... A forest, a forest of giant mushrooms, some kind of "trees" that had long, draping moss for instead of leaves. Some mushrooms went up to the ceiling, swaying gently, the ceiling of the gave glowed widly with blue moss and fungi. Everything was glowing actually, the ground was covered in vast sheets of something that glowed green, violet and other pastel colors. Plants, oh the plants! A brook bubbled in the distance leading to a large pond that snaked along a wall. Were those crops? On one side neat rows of mushrooms were being tended to by servants, a beautiful polished granite walk way led off into the distance towards the wall. So much to see, so little time!

Bouncing into the air his slave flew off quickly zooming one way then another, seeming incapable of making up her mind which way to go first. Squeeling, she zoomed up to a tree and began blathering and asking questions a mile a minute. Touching the moss that served as grass, sniffing the "flowers" that grew, poking, prodding, one of the fruit trees he had created though seemed to become a focal point for her attention. Grabbing a fallen one and smelling it she promptly blitzed up till she was in his face and asking a million questions about the fruit. Was it edible? What was it called? Name of the tree? A look of unbridled joy was firmly written on her face as she zoomed off to keep examining his garden. *Sigh* With a flick of the hand she appeared before him, held firmly in a magical grip. "You will be TENDING my garden and crops, your jobs are listed on this scroll, it is written in Equish so you can understand it. Follow the instructions to the letter and..." She was vibrating.

Shadow could not contain herself, the moment Valkardian said SHE was responsible for the garden, tending it! She could not contain herself, though held firmly by some invisible force she could not contain her joy, with a loud happy scree she was vibrating in place. All she could do was cheer "yes, yes, yes" over and over again. But wait! That meant she was responsible for the pond too! "Are there fish in the pond? What about crayfish? Are there animals that need tending too as well?"

Now the garden was his pride and joy, the pond stocked with cave fish and all manner of critter, but he had never gotten THIS excited over tending to any of it. True, great enjoyment was taken from this simple task but this crazy little bat slave of his was going over the top. "Yes, here." Dropping her uncerimoniously from his magical grip she immediately bounded up to him and snatched the scroll from his grip and began reading. "You will also need this..." A leather pack floated over to her. "Everything you need is in there, also there is a book detailing that is poisonious, if I catch you eating from my garden without permission you will be punished. Your lunch will be brought to you HERE, there are three crystals in the pack, the white one will produce a bright white light if you need it. Blue will aid you in some tasks, its all in the scroll. Use the pink one for questions. Oh, wear this." An amulet quickly found its way around her neck, it was quite elegant, silver chain with blue gem inlays. "That will keep you "safe" in the event you piss off my fauna or flora. A servant will retrieve you when the day is over, you will probably be at this for the next week or two." With that he walked off and left her there giggling in glee.

This was the best day of her life! She had come here to explore, been made a slave but now she had a book and was ordered to tend a garden that from what stories were told... DWARFED the royal gardens in Canterlot! Not only that! But she was also given leave to learn all about it from the book! Better yet, Master Valkardian had even given her a really pretty amulet to protect her! Maybe that should cause some worry as to what was in the garden but his parting words about "not pissing anything off" just meant he was concerned! It also meant she was not due for the chopping block anytime soon! Trusting her to a task that admittedly could not be done by the servents meant she was becoming more useful, maybe even indespensable! The scroll was quite long but detailed, apparently it started with the plants from the door and went out, there was even a map of the garden in the bag, basic though, no doubt to NOT help her if she tried to escape. Judging by the far wall... That would not be possible without GREAT effort.

Skimming the book as she worked proved enlightening, it was a VERY thorough, detailed book complete with hand drawn colored pictures. Bound in leather and in perfect Equish... WHY did he have a book, obviously written by himself in EQUISH when EVERYTHING she had seen so far was in that wierd alien script? The book was too old to have been made recently, did he have one made just in case one day? Still, her duties were easy, too easy even. Servants had already kept the garden in perfect health, her only job was to sow some seed or dust here and there, snip something back, collect two or three of this and that. Once in a while a servant would come by and collect the snippings and leave with them. Shadow had to admit, the glowing moss was soft as could be, made weird rippling, glowy colors as she walked over it though. Kind of enchanting really, then again the whole scene around her was surreal, turns out the tree was quite safe and was probably part of that weird fruit mix she was given.

Amongst all the other tools and things in the pack she found one of the outside compartments contained a leathery fruit snack wrapped in wax paper. He really was very kind to her despite it all, though something told her a good part of it was probably his own inattention and boredom. None of that mattered though, one additonal crystal tucked away even told the time! Assuming she knew how time worked down here and so it went on, each day, same royal treatment, then off to the gardens. Shadow loved every second of it too.

Sometime on what she figured was the fourth day Shadow found herself at the pond, taking a few minutes to explore it a little she found the water slightly warm and also... Full of life. This was one of many things that made her wonder, caves are COLD and DARK by definition, this cave was anything BUT. It was warm, bright and full of life, impossibly so. Magic or was there volcanic activity nearby that kept it warm? Both? The air was certainly clean from all the plantlife, walking along the edge of the pond she bumped into a servant by mistake. It stumbled to one side before turning to face her. Without thinking she uttered an apology to it seeing it was there throwing some kind of fungi out into the water for the fish and critters to eat.

"Parrdonn Misstresss." Shadow was floored. It spoke! THIS servant actually SPOKE! For DAYS she had greeted them, talked to them and tried all kinds of things to make them talk but none ever did! Yet this one was speaking somehow! The voice was slow, wispy and clearly female, hollow as if speaking through a tunnel and those ruby eyes... They had slits! None of the others were this unique! "Who are you?" Turning back towards her bowing its head "Ruby Althaxia." Turning back to its task Shadow kept examing it before a sick reality dawned on her: this was a bug pony. Had been... Looking at its jagged horn a memory flashed in her head: Her master had destroyed a hive long ago and cut down their queen... A queen with red eyes (the murals were VERY detailed) and oh... She understood what he had done with them now... They became more "servants" and this one... This one was probably the queen. "QUEEN Ruby Althaxia?" Testing the waters she got more than she bargained for.

The servant spun towards her, furry, hatered and pure rage burning in its eyes "Yesss, but no more, now..." The skeleton seemed to be at war with itself on what to do next. "Was queen, now servant of Master Valkardian, my liege, my lord, my... *growl* king." Backing away slowly its eyes followed her, reaching towards her amulet and praying it would keep this thing back the former queen suddenly seemed to be yanked away. "Doess mistress neeed annyythhingg..." It slumped back down and began to feed the aquatic life again, taking her chance Shadow muttered a quick "no" and fled.

It made sense now, perfect, terrifying sense: the other servants couldnt talk to her because they COULDNT, they were puppets on a string, they had no soul. This one however, THIS one had a soul TRAPPED inside it, fully aware of the world around it but BOUND to its tasks and incapable of lashing out, at least she hoped so. Thats also why he put her in the garden, the other servants were not just incapable of tending to things because they were not "smart enough" but because without the ability to THINK they COULDNT properly tend a garden like this. They were merely programmed to do as instructed over and over again except for one, a prisoner in her own "body," doomed to work as a slave out of spite or was it punishment? Whichever it was... Shadow had newfound fear of her master and also a longing hope SHE would not share the same fate. Her lesson today was "do not anger master."

The amulet had activated, he sensed it and just as quickly left his task behind and raced out to see what was going on, teleportation was impossible here, his defenses did not allow it; so much so HE could not teleport either... Well not ENTIRELY true. Stepping out and looking he easily caught side of the terrified little bat slave as she flew from one end of the cave widly to the other before setting near the fields. Glancing toward the pond in the distance he pinged the closest servants... Ah, that made sense, his little slave had met "the queen" in all her enslaved glory. It also meant she was just fine, most likely just shocked but that would fade. Deciding it better to leave her to think it over he stepped back inside and closed the grand metal door. It would give her something to think about if she crossed him, then again he only did that to his most hated enemies but she did not need to know that.

Commands were quickly sent out all the same, in one hour a servant would collect and bring her in for the day cutting it four hours short, guards would be added as well. A simple oversight on his part, so used to not being threatened in his own garden a little fact eluded him: while it was not dangerous to HIM it might prove fatal to her and too QUICKLY for him to respond. The amulet had been his precaution but thinking it over again it would be best to have some additional protection in place, just in case. That little bat was just too amusing and funny to have her die on him just yet.

Chapter 5

Working in the gardens had been wonderful but the list had finally tarrowed, she was utterly bored to tears. Tending the crops was boring, painfully so, still, she knew where her food was coming from now, hundreds of long rows of mushrooms and even a field of some wierd version of grain. Once in a while a farmer would come along and rework whatever she had done wrong, all in all the days had become a blurr, not once had she been tasked with serving her master's dinner. For that matter, he was completely absent, her skimpy outfit was gone and replaced by simple but functional every day clothes. Once in a great while she would see the only true horror of the place limp by in the distance: Ruby. It still gave Shadow chills seeing her never mind thinking about it, yes, it was better to be around the regular, mindless, souless servants than the "special" one. Speaking of which, Ruby was walking along the path towards the entrace.

Fish, fish... Hmm, fish had not been on the menu for some time, that might taste good for a change... Also he could not remember if the bat needed the extra protein or not... Better safe than sorry, servants gathered what he needed and had it ready at the door. It was nice getting out and doing some fishing once in a while, stepping out, tackle and rod in hand Valkardian's eyes settles on one of his toys: Ruby. Loping up slowly to deposit her basket for another servant to retrieve, Ruby was forbidden from entering his home, doomed to labor away in the gardens and when he felt particullary spiteful: the fields.

"A wonderful afternoon to you my little cockroach." Beaming down at Ruby her skeletal figure went rigit and those red eyes so full of hate and malice darted up. "Master..." Her jaws were grinding, she was too easy to tease and that made it all the sweeter.

"I see you are being a good slave and staying busy as always, maybe I should assign you to mucking out the fertilizer bins... I have company now and she needs looking after. Wouldnt want my little bat getting so dirty she can not come inside." If there was one thing that always remained true of Ruby over the thousands of years was threatening her with the filthiest jobs.

A dangerous gleam came to the Rubies eyes before worry set in "I have been good master, I beg you not to demean me so." Well that was hardly true. "Good? You tried to attack my little bat just a few days ago. Yes, you will be mucking out the bins, if you ever so much as look at her wrong you will stay IN the bins for a few years." Ruby did not back off however, instead she lurched forward to attack before the magic which bound her halted Ruby just a foot away, clawed hands reaching desperately for his throat. Smiling, which only made her eyes glow with rage Valkardian kicked her away with a quick boot to the chest sending Ruby sprawling and clattering down the steps.

Yes Ruby, you are indeed persistent, had it not been for your undying desire to see me dead you might have become boring. Keeping such thoughts to himself and continuing the treck to the pond Ruby stood and glowered. "Remember cockroach, you are bound like this because it was YOU who broke the deal not I. No one even remembers you nor your hive having ever existed and I still intend to keep you around a few thousand more. Begone." Turning and loping away and letting out a long chain of curses Ruby went on her way, bound to always obey. It was a darn good thing he had put all those bindings on her so long ago, otherwise little Shadow might not have been so lucky. Ruby was the type to kill his only "guest" just to spite him if she found even the SLIGHTEST way around his compulsion and binding spells. The other day she had, but the amulet thwarted that, still a few months mucking the fertilizer bins would solve that AND keep her away from Shadow. Humming to himself at killing two birds with one stone Valkardian was on his way, today there would be fish on the menu.

Shadow had slowed work to an absolute crawl when Valkardian had come out, even slower when Ruby had lunged at him. A farmer began poking her with a hoe but she had an idea and played on it, so long as she APPEARED to be working at an acceptable pace they would leave her alone, another would always come along and take over and "fix" what she had done "wrong." A loophole and as she kept watching, one she prayed to all the holy beings out there that she would NEVER be caught exploiting. Only catching little bits and pieces as their voices rose and fell it was apparent he was goading her on and Ruby was eager to bite. Valkardian kicking Ruby off the porch though had made Shadow jump, it had not been a hard kick but none the less Ruby went sprawling. Never make master so angry he hits you, it might result in broken bones.

After the two had long gone Shadow was once again back to work, a small smile was on her face though, master was too used to being ALONE. So used to it that he never bothered to control his voice, she had clearly caught the threat to Rubies well being should she make any attempt on Shadows person. Having been down here so long her already acute batpony hearing was even sharper. Yet, master left with a fishing pole? Strange, she figured he had servants tend to everything, yet he was clearly going fishing, maybe he LIKED to get his hands dirty unlike the other stuck up nobility. He certainly fit the bill, to pull all this off he had to be smart, even acting like a stuck up noble at times the way he just gestured at her to go away. Later she spied him going back in with a few fish, guess that meant she would be on serving detail again, if there was anything Shadow learned from their "dinners" was that he called her out on "fancier" nights and apparently greatly enjoyed hearing her talk. Fish was fancy, a fish actually so odds were good she would be donning "that" again tonight.

If he was going to eat fancy then he was certainly going to have her serve the food, fine food served by a pretty slave made the food taste all the better. Still, she would need washing up after being in the fields, a new schedule for her was quickly sent out, bathe her first, dress up then to the kitchen to serve. This would also solve ANOTHER of his problems: one bathroom meant they both bathed in the same place, a slave should NEVER be allowed to bathe in their masters bathroom but still... It was that or have buckets taken outside all the time, too much bother. Since she would bathe first, he could bathe in peace later without having to concern himself with her and also she would smell less like a mushroom field and more like a good, proper, CLEAN servant.

Nailed it, not long after going in a servant came out and collecter her, ushering her into the bathroom first as always. Instead of the "slave harem" outfit as she dubbed it there was a much fancier dress waiting for her. Tight fighting, red, gold trim and went to her ankles, if this was her new serving dress she liked it, nowhere near as embarrasing, simple though, guess the servants had a hard time going from "stallion" to "mare" clothing on short notice. Off to the kitchens then, retrieve the tray, serve him, talk, eat, sleep.

Valkardian had to admit she looked quite charming in the dress, tonight though he felt like conversing, it was a good day, it had been... A century? Since he had last jabbed at Ruby let alone gotten such a reaction, usually Ruby held it in. It was a fun day. "Tell me Shadow, how are you faring in the fields?"

Well this was ockward, he never asked anything like that before. "Fine Master Valkardian, very boring compared to the garden, how was your day?" That had come out all wrong, like a serving pony at some fast food chain when asked the same question, then again, she WAS a serving pony now.

Questions went back and forth, most of it simple, pointless banter but the longer it went on the more concerned she got, was he getting bored of her already? No, he had this dress made... Did he really just want to... Talk? This might be her chance... As the banter went on the opportunity presented itself finally: "Master, why is Ruby different? Is that my fate or...?" Without missing a beat Valkardian gave off a small, twisted laugh.

"No, she is indeed special, one of the precious, precious few. Long ago we had a deal and she broke it, not only broke it but even tried to kill me, for her insolance and betrayal I harvested her hire for servants and soldiers. Ruby on the other hand... She I made an undead thrall, bound to me, doomed to forever serve me and call me her lord and liege so that she never forgets her place." Damn, he was doing it again, explaining himself to someone, a SLAVE no less! When someones curiosity became greater than their fear he had always been happy to explain things to the simple minded or just plain curious.

Such thoughts were quickly banished however, his little slave had apparently figured that out, this was not the first time she had done this and that she had slipped it in... Well, she was either daring or very concerned, probably both. That she WOULD slip it in rather than just confront him though... "Tell me, are you worried about yourself or Ruby? Or are you trying to find out if you can slip your own questions in my conversation to get answers?"

Shadow flinched, he figured it out, then again considering how ancient he was, there was really no surprise. A bigger problem loomed, now that he knew and threw it in her face, was he going to be angry or dismissive? Looking to her fasters face Shadows heart sank, if he had been angry... So be it, dismissive? Outstanding. Completely BLANK? That was bad, best err on the side of caution. "Concerned for my own soul master should I ever anger you or become useless."

"Liar."

Up a creek without a paddle. Doomed. In very, very deep shit. Run? No, nowhere to run too. Grovel? Maybe, he always seemed amused by whatever she did or said. That or stand here and just sweat and fidget until he says something else? No, he was still staring at her blankly. "You are correct master, I want to know more about Ruby, am concerned with my own fate and I also slipped the question in to get those answers and hoping you would answer them without being angry..."

This was indeed amusing, her ears were splayed back, wings twitching as if she wanted to bolt, downcast eyes. Shadow had told him the TRUTH though but not instantly either, she had thought about it a bit, he had almost opened his mouth again before finally speaking the truth. Others would have run, most lied further, precious FEW ever dared to think then speak the truth. The little bat had thought it through some and given a straight answer, smart girl.

Shadow did not know whether to be relived or worried as a smile graced his lips at first. "Very wise of you. I am going to retire for the night, you can go and eat your own dinner." Standing and leaving Shadow to her own thoughts she could not help but sigh in relief. Not only was her master not mad he had even smiles, amused apparently. "Shadow, you really should not flirt with death like that" she mumbled to herself while helping to clear the table. Dinner tonight was lavish, roast fish, sauce, "bread" and all manner of tasty treats. Her nerves however,did not calm, too scared to drink touch much wine less she become drunk which would only make matters worse... Trying to calm herself she accidentaly breathed while swalling food and wound up having a coughing fit. Grabbing her goblet to wash it down only made things go from bad to worse when the servant touched her back. No doubt it was trying to help but having a skeletal hand touch her resulted in a yelp, more coughing and one failed attempt to stand. Wine and food went everywhere, most of it however wound up on her.

"My little slave is not entirely truthful but cannot be blamed when the threat of death hangs overhead. Told the truth in the end though... Clever too, testing the water like that or perhaps extordinarily brave? Foolish?" Valkardian's thoughts rambled on as he slipped in the hot water to soak for a while. "Maybe she has more potential that as a simple slave... A test, yes that might work, give her a test, a book will do..." One spell later his head slipped under the water, air would not be a problem now.

At least he would not see her like this, especially the new dress which was now ruined, maybe a servant would clean it quickly before it stained so he would never know. Stripping off the dress and handing it off to a passing servant Shadow slipped into the bathroom and just realized her master might be there... No, it was empty, good! She needed another bath, her fur was soaked with wine, sauce and other bits and pieces of food. Washing off only took a minute but her nerves... Shadows stomach was still flipping back and forth, tonight had been too close, now with shot nerves a hot soak sounded wonderful. Stepping into the water she failed to notice the large shadow in the water.

Valkardian's eyes snapped open in an instant, the sound of something thudding on the marble so close snapped him from his thoughts. Water distorted whatever the sound was, a foot? Had a servant glitched and entered the bath? Turning his head and sitting upright quickly all was answered quickly as his eyes fell on a very naked, scared, no terrified bat that was also very naked.

When the water parted and something surged up from it Shadow's wings had shot out and now she stood there stiffly, when realization of WHO was in the bath with her sunk in well...

A deer in the headlights, that description was most apt for the situation, the bat just stood there, wings out, eyes bugging out, mouth slightly open. Millions of questions surged back and forth but none had a chance to escape his mouth before she started to babble and stutter widly. Not one word of it was intelligable though, instead his eyes wandered, yes, he could accept having a slave with a figure like her and with hips like that childbearing will never be an issue. Letting her shapely form sink in her babbling came to an end. "Please dont kill me."

Watching Shadow plop down into the water after her near whisper of a last request and begin sobbing was too much. She didnt even try to hide herself, instead letting him continue to stare.

Was a quick death her fate? If this kept up a heart attack would get her first. Shadow simply hoped that the punishment would be swift and relatively painless. Instead what filtered into her ears was laughter. Looking up Valkardian just sat there looking at her while laughing his ass off. Standing to take his leave she caught a glimpse of something else but that laughter drowned out all other thoughts. He simply left her there, sitting drooped over expecting the worst which would never come.

Closing the door behind him Valkardian decided it best to hide himself from her with distance, he could not stop laughing and he did not want to see his slave to see him in this state any further. Walking down the hall a simple spell dried him off and clothes would instead be delivered to his study. As he walked his eyes moved down his body, he had to admit, she was quite attractive and no others had caused this bodily reaction. It was a grand day indeed and continuing his walk he began humming to himself.

Chapter 6

Days had passed, all of them the same: Breakfast, fields, bath, dinner, sleep and repeat. Valkardian was nowhere to be seen and despite having days to calm her nerves Shadow still made certain to poke her head into the bath and call his name before going in. Still on edge over it, especially with him just laughing it off and leaving. Today would be another day of dull drudgery, after breakfast though she was escorted by a servent in the opposite direction she was expecting. Twisting and turning, passing through a giant set of double doors and continuing down a grand hallway that she had never been in Shadow was curious as to where it was taking her.

Stopping in front of two silvery doors with depictions of all manner of creature and plant the servant stepped aside and motioned her forward. Looking up at the door which stood a good six feet taller than her and pushing Shadow had to admit, this door would make even Celestia rather jealous. The door swung in easily, not a sound despite its obviously immense weight. What she saw took her breath away: it was a library and not JUST any old library. The room was immense, polished black granite walls and floors, stone shelves that stood a full nine feet tall, stuffed with books and tomes. The far wall must have been over three hundred yards away and another set of double doors, was there another room just like this one?

Walking around since no servant was in sight Shadow took her time, each shelf was numbered and marked in alien script but below it was Equish. Apparently this room housed general information on history, biology, magic, engineering, flora, fauna and so it kept going. Each towering shelf held what must be thousands and thousands of years of carefully collected material. One thing that was missing however was a FICTION section, maybe it was somewhere farther in or beyond the other set of doors.

Shadow kept walking and examining for a time before finally calling out, no response. Maybe he was rewarding her? Giving her a day off? Never take a gift mango for granted, she decided to pick a book to read. Browsing was hard but she finally settled on history, Valkardian had asked at great length about the history of the world above only to scoff. If that was the case, he MUST have some books showing the OTHER side of the coin. Sure enough, the history section was set up by date, from the oldest to the most recent which was strangely up to date... Stranger still was it ended and there was so much space stretching off that Valkardian must be expecting many, many thousands of years MORE to be added.

He had scoffed at her telling of Celestia and Luna's history... Which meant the year must be... Yes! The heavy book slipped free easily and making her way over to the center of the room she took a seat at one of the several tables she had seen earlier. Lighting was no issue, crystals gave off a strong, bright white light that made it easy to read. The idea of looking up Rubies history had crossed her mind first, but then again she had no idea what year that would have been. Curiosity grew and grew however as to the "true" history of Celestia and Luna and quickly opening the book she began to read.

Time slipped by as Shadow continued to read, rivetted to the book, slowly, chapter by chapter she continued on. Story after story, event after event... Impossible things, impossible meetings, discussions, decisions... This was just not possible, never had she HEARD of such things let alone that CELESTIA or LUNA was behind it! To make matters worse Shadow checked the book and found it was just the FIRST volume of what must have been fifty-five on the shelf all marked similarly.

"This cant be right, they could never have done that, WHY would they have done that?" Valkardian must be a liar, there is just NO WAY IN TARTARUS that the regal, kind, generous and motherly sisters would ever do such things!

A simple invisibility spell was all it took followed by silence and with that he was able to walk along with her quietly observing her every move. These books were precious and he was not about to let her harm them not that she would, had he suspected she might he would NEVER have allowed her into the library to begin with. So far the test was going well, she had taken advantage of her situation and made a decision for herself without his having to tell her anything. Even better was she had picked a book from the Equestrian section, namely the Celestia-Luna timeline and began reading immediately.

Smiling as he stood to one side of the small circular room in the middle of the shelves Valkardian felt rather proud of her, she was trying to find out the truth. Not only had she NOT gone looking into the flora and fauna which was suspected, no, instead Shadow had looked at almost everything before settling on THIS particular book series. The true, unedited history of Equestria, written by none other than Valkardian, with lots of servant help of course; writing all of this was not easy let alone organizing each book chronologically.

When his little slave began mumbling about impossibilities the smile only grew and grew, not once did she stop reading, instead continuing on and on, one chapter after another. Never did Shadow toss the book aside, laugh or berate what was written. Instead she just kept reading and the look on her face became more intent, looking for any little error that might tell her what was written was a lie. Deciding to leave her alone to her own thoughts and reading material he silently left, Shadow never noticed one of the doors mysteriously open and close silents, too absorbed in her reading to notice.

One of the servants walked up to her and led her away for the day though "led" was a bit of a stretch. Shadow had fought with it to stay and keep reading which resulted in more showing up and carrying her out like a basket case. Bathing and eating in record time she rushed back to the library to find the doors barred with servants armed with brooms, apparently she would have to wait for another day.

Day after day she was led back, her meals were downed faster and faster in her rush to get more reading done. Not once did Valkardian call for her or show his face, apparently he was content to leave her there to read so she did just that. Some books were quite a bit smaller that others, apparently little had happened for some years then trouble would start all over again. Deals made and broken, backstabbing, insidious betrayals some deserved others not. A sneaking suspicion began to fill her that considering how the books never blamed anyone, simply stating who did what, when, where and how that what was written here... WAS the truth. Each book what perfectly written in chronological order, devoid of any personal opinion or insights. She simply had to keep reading to learn more. Once in a while a note was made to see another book for further details and now her table turned desk was piled high with books and tomes.

One day Shadow had found a servant and asked it for parchment and quill, sure enough it brought it to her and only after did she realize that this was probably a set up. "Oh well, too late for that" she thought and continued on, she was intent to learn as much as she could. By far the bloodiest and most gruesome of her reading though was the history of the three tribes. Every battle was laid out, assassinations, poisoning, it was all there but not in the books she had read growing up. Never was there a mention as to how a pony as ignorant, backwards, inbred and retarded as Chancellor Puddinghead in any of Equestrias history books, it was simply glossed over.

Here, on the other hand it was laid out in perfect detail, the previous Chancellor dying via poisoning by Celestia. Luna using her dream warping ability to convince the Earth Ponies to choose the most inferior candidate or the world would end, she learned a new word that day: Subliminal Messaging. Luna had kept up with it for months before hand, dropping little hints here and there, building them up and when the day arrived it hit the tribe like a freight train. Sure enough, they unanimously decided to put the village idiot in charge and their spiral to collapse began.

The same could be said of the other two tribes as well: careful control of breeding and pampering to result in the most snobbish princes taking over. An "accident" that left only Commander Hurricane left to take power, so hot headed and egotistical that she is the LAST you want leading a nation. All three of them poisoned slowly night after night with dreams and visions and so it went on, every grisly detail of their rise to power and fall. What made Shadow stop however was the windigo's, how they came to be and then released... It was the first time she had stopped reading just to sit back and sob quietly.

If Shadow was sobbing while reading that particular book then it must be time to drive the nail into the coffin. Valkardian had watched her via a servant for over three weeks, he doubted she had any idea that much time had passed. It was rather funny, just about every other day his servants had to cart her out, one day she had even gone down kicking and screaming not wanting to leave. Curiosity and the desire to know the truth FAR outweighed any personal bias or brainwashing, this endeared her to him greatly.

Walking up to her she never once looked up, continuing to scan the pages with a glare, occasionally making a note but never noticing his presence. Clearing his throat loudly had not worked either and not wanting to wait all day for his slave to snap out of it he floated her quill and ink away as a precaution before laying a hand on her head. The reaction was instantaneous, she tried to jump from her seat, wings flared out but nothing was knocked over. Her big eyes slowly traced up his form before looking him in the eyes.

"Enjoying your reading?" Removing his hand Valkardian glanced down at the book, she was coming along nicely in her reading. "Yes Master, I am reading about the aftermath of the tribes uniting now." Shadow stared at him, was he going to end her time here? Was she going back out to the gardens or fields?

"Master... May I ask a question?" A chair floated over and he took a seat beside and silently stared at her a minute.

"You mean can you ask MANY questions" he corrected her.

"Yes, many, many questions, but first... The Wendigo's, those are a creation of Celestia and Luna?"

A smirk came to his face, rather than ask if what he wrote was the truth, she was instead seeking clarity, good, very good. "Yes, they did, the three tribes had resisted their attempts to rule over them for about... What does the book say? Two centuries? Three? Been too long for me to remember the dates anymore... The whole plan was concocted by Celestia herself, to put the tribes in such a state that they could no longer resist their attempts to command them. This (motioning to the book) was just the first phase of her plan. ORIGINALLY she had planned to drive them down, scare them, make them desperate for a neutral party to lead them but then... Well, instead they formed a COUNCIL that would rule the three tribes. Her plan BACKFIRED. Still, she is no fool and had backup plans, just keep reading you will see how it worked out. I am rambling again... Wendigo's, yes... They were to drive the final nail in the coffin, the feud was set, the fuse lit and now she only had to watch. When the fighting reached it's peak the wheels ground forward, snow and ice blanketed the land, thousands began to die from the cold or starvation as the years wore on and supplies depleted. Again, the two came forward to "aid them" but instead of bowing down they left to find a new homeland. They did but again the feuding destroyed the land. To make a long story short, Celestia's plan did not put her in power but provided a permanent reminder as to WHY the pony tribes must embrace harmony."

Leaning back and watching her reaction he continued "Now if you doubt what is written is the truth lets apply some logic: First of all why is it that the flag the three tribes chose on that auspicious day was of the TWO SISTERS and not a combination of the three tribes?" He let that sink in a moment before continuing "Also, why did the sisters not just intervene from the START? If they are indeed "saints" they would have nipped it in the bud or at least pressured them to unite sooner than later. Instead thousands died from the cold and thousands more from starvation. Their only attempt was AFTER the fact not before." Shadow's eyes focused quickly "Wait, how do you KNOW what they were planning?"

"A damn fine question" he thought. "Simple, I stole their plans and copied them, the two have never been very good at keeping secrets, their plans were carefully written out and I simply nicked them, made copies magically and they were none the wiser. They are stored away in one of the other wings if you wish to see them." It looked as if a sledgehammer had struck Shadow, her face was contorted in rage and then it looked like she was going to cry.

"Why would they do something so cruel?" Her voice was beginning to break.

"Power, greed, lust for what others have, at the time the two were petty, self proclaimed "princesses" without a kingdom, only one castle. Now mind you, as you keep reading you will find they "softened" in time. This is where Celestia and Luna began to DEEPLY regret their actions and change their ways but unfortunately for many... It would be a few more centuries. The last great act Celestia made as tyrant was the fall of the Griffon Kingdom by denying them aid when they needed it to stay unified. Still, as she grew older I guess the weight of countless lives weighed heavily on her and broke her at some point. Now you simply know her as the kind, loving motherly ruler you all adore. I am one of the last who knows the truth, she on the other hand buried it or had all the books and scrolls burned to prevent any disharmony coming from this should it ever come to light."

Looking at him a minute before speaking a further question "So its not ALL a lie? Her personality, who she is... She really has become a better pony?" Shadow struggled with her words. "Correct, today she is a paramount of virtue but not so in her younger days, all that blood and terror tempered her. Back then I did try to talk her out of a great deal of her decisions but they were both so hard headed..." Ears snapping up Shadow perked up "You tried to talk them OUT of it? Why? Arnt you... Unspeakably evil or trying to be?"

Valkardian's eyes narrowed at this jab "Yes, because back then, before all... THIS!" He gestured angrily to the pile of books. "Began I was quite smitten with them, in fact I sought their hands. Now by pony logic and by MOST logic I am evil and shall make no attempt to DENY that FACT... Almost never have I TOYED with others like they did, if I am going to kill... I will, the end. I will not play cat and mouse, scheme, poison or anything of the sort unless it is most dire. Ruby is your best example that you know of when I go against basic principles, choosing to snare, trap, enslave and then toy with my enemy for millennia. My being close to them at times made it all the easier to steal their plans as well." Shadow could not believe her ears, Valkardian just admitted to seeking BOTH Celestia and Luna's hand in marriage? Curiosity wormed its way up but she crushed it, best leave that one be, then again, what would Equestria look like today HAD he succeeded?

"Master Valkardian... If you sought their hands in marriage and are not married to them now and instead live down here... What happened?" Looking at her he had no intention of telling her that, at least not yet at any rate, there was so much more to do and teach her, things were progressing wonderfully. "That is for another day. Now then, YOU have a letter to write." Giving her a piece of parchment, quill and inkwell he stood. "Write your letter home and address it, I will make certain it is delivered promptly."

Watching him leave she glanced back down at the writing materials; her family... Already forgotten in the rush of current events and now these revelations. This would be an interesting letter home, but remembering that her master would probably read it before sending it Shadow decided to be more cautious in her approach. The letter home turned out to be quite simple, she was fine, had found a world undreamed of and would tell them all about it when she got back one day and that might be some time. Standing from her seat a servant approached and held its hand out. Giving it the letter it in return gave her a note. She was to pick out a book or two from either the non-fiction or fiction (east wing) and take them with her, she would be back in the gardens for a short time and upon completion she would be allowed back into the library. Since she would be allowed back in she left the history books behind, deciding to read something more relaxing, another pair of silver double doors lead her off into the fiction part of the library. It was surprisingly well stocked, grabbing two that got her interest she left with the servant.

How many days, months or even years would it be before what she learned today would not plague her mind? Valkardian had no reason to lie, even offering her clarity and admitting to things she had not asked about. No, it was the truth, she hardly knew him but one thing stood out about his character: he was hopelessly honest.

Chapter 7

Toiling in the gardens brought no joy the past couple of days, most of her time was spent just staring off absentmindedly into the distance. No matter how many times she tried to convince herself he had lied or not told the WHOLE truth it just never worked out, after all she read so much of Equestrian history suddenly made sense. The good, bad and ugly had been laid out for her to see and no matter how she tried to push it aside the thoughts kept creeping back to haunt her. In fact it was so bad she had gotten very little done the past few days, today she just sat and stared out over the pond.

Strangely no servants bothered her, they avoided her, only collecting her or bringing food. Valkardian must have left her here to think it all over, was he toying with her now? No, if that were true he would have put her right back to work, not given her all the time she needed. Sighing, Shadow stood up and went back to tending the mushrooms and mosses near the waters edge. If she ever wanted to get back into the library she would have to finish her tasks and quickly, though disturbing she was intent on learning the rest of the story about the rise of Equestria.

Preparations were complete, now Valkardian just had to wait for Shadow to finish her tasks. They were few compared to the first time she had been sent out, that was very much on purpose, until his slave calmed down she would not be able to focus on what he had prepared for her. It had been a very LONG time since he had done anything like this but the thought of it brought him a degree of happiness and joy. The real test was if Shadow recovered from her shock and was still willing to listen to him, if she recovered and wanted to know more...

All the tasks had been completed and Shadow had to admit that she felt calmer now, tending the garden had helped, she had to admit Valkardian knew what he was doing. Today however, instead of being ushered outside or to his study the servants had left her stumped. Gone were the usually work or serving clothes, instead there was a simple pair of blue tunic, trousers and red robe. After dressing and looking herself over in a mirror Shadow left the room and a servant waited patiently holding a book bag, handing it over and beckoning she followed. Going through the contents a bit it dawned on her what was going on, the contents were blank journals, charcoal pencils, ink wells, quills, parchment and... So THAT is what he was up to.

Stepping into the library she was led off to a different side and into another wing of the library, this one seemed to serve as part museum and library. A table was prepared on one side along with everything needed to hold a class for one. Tomes were stuffed and stacked high on library trollies, scrolls were heaped all over the place. Whatever he was planning she was going to be here for some time.

Grabbing the last tome that might prove useful and heading back to the "classroom" he had set up Valkardian was well aware of Shadows presence, the servant had informed him of her arrival. Walking up one of the long hallways created by the immense bookshelves he quickly strode up beside her. "Have a seat and lay your materials out, you have been to school before yes?" A small nod from her he continued "Good, sit, I will find out what you know FIRST then we will begin." Gesturing to the chair Shadow quickly sat and began to lay her journals and other materials out, without glancing back he caught the end of a question: why?

"Simple, when I first brought you here I figured you would make a useful slave and eventually get rid of you either by release or killing you. However, you became so amusing it intrigued me, not only that you showed intellect, curiosity, desire to know the truth, courage, daring and even bravery; all things considered that is no small feat. I decided to test you by allowing you into my library to see what you would DO when confronted with endless possibilities. That you would go straight for Equestrian history after I planted that seed of doubt in your mind, not only did you not scoff at what was written, you desired to know more. Your fighting tooth and nail with my servants proved your desire to KNOW outweighed fear of repercussions and also... Well more importantly than anything it showed you were willing to rethink everything you know about the world and its rulers. A willingness to "rock the boat" and see it for what it is rather than what you have been TOLD it is."

Taking a long breath he continued "This endeared you to me greatly little Shadow, I happen to believe... Unlike those ABOVE... That a mind is a terrible thing to waste, especially one that shows your degree of curiosity and willingness to learn. Never if given the chance will I allow a travesty like that to pass, therefor you will be my student from now until I say otherwise. Your mind is sharp along with your tongue at times, I will not allow that to go to waste. Bear in mind that does NOT mean you will be getting out of here (gesturing around him) and going home, it means you will learn and hopefully develop into something greater than..." Valkardian stopped to grit his teeth while looking up as if he was seeing the world above "Than some simple minded, inferior, though amusing and jolly... Brainwashed pony that thinks the world is all sunshine and cakes." His head snapped back to her and a glow was apparent in his blue eyes. "Does that answer your question and do you understand what I have said?"

Shadow let his speech sink in a moment before nodding slowly "Yes Master." How odd, he had never before called her by NAME, it was always BAT or SLAVE, maybe a combination. Never, EVER had he simply called her SHADOW. What wise the price of failure in his "class?" Best not to find out, who knows, this might be incredibly interesting if this room was anything to go by.

Week after week passed, each lesson was simple at first, mostly her listening, asking a question now and then, being shown around the various museum pieces. What had excited her was when he went into depth one day on the flora and fauna. Apparently when he first came the caves were mostly devoid of life, through magical tinkering and genetic manipulation (which usually ended in failure) he had managed to create a vast host of new plant and animal life. There were even a kind of "cave bee" that pollinated the crops and "flowers" throughout the cave system.

What struck her though was just how MUCH wildlife there was, apparently his garden was quite limited, it was made for his personal use and as such he would not permit the other creatures of life into it less problems occur. When pressed as to what kind he simply explained it as a "cycle of life and death" as one plant or animal gets out of control till it causes problems, dies off, replaced by another and on it goes. He preferred to keep his garden just the way it was and only occasionally (apparently every century or so) add a new plant here or there.

Journal after journal was filled, scrolls packed with scribbles and it was not enough. Shadow was enjoying every moment of her classes, including the ones on the servants themselves. When asked why he was allowing her to know something that might bite him in the flank he only smiled and said: "Betraying me is the least of your problems" and kept going with the lesson. That worried her, so he had figured she MIGHT use this information against him, then again... What was out there in those tunnels?

A question answered a few months later, he bounced her back and forth on history, alchemy, biology and even astronomy of all things. Creatures existed in those tunnels from before his time that made her shiver, true nightmares. Some would drain her blood, others dissolve her slowly from the inside out like the giant spiders. the worst though were the ones that put a parasite on the spine and attached to the brain feeding on it, laying eggs in the stomach and as he described it: "Infest the host from the inside, hatch, consume the organs leaving the vital ones intact so the host lives. The final stage the maggots consume the muscle and other tissues while a neuro-toxin keeps the host alive. After two days they cacoon in the body and..." To make matters worse he had a living "hologram" as he called it showing the process stage by stage. Not that it mattered, he never got to finish, Shadow was retching on the floor. All he did was smirk at this before magic cleaned the floor and herself as well.

Many horrors lurked down here, waylaying her fears though saying that they rarely left the deeper caves, preferring the deep, dark, hot and humid atmosphere to the dryer, cooler habitat above where they were. Also, it was easy to kill them and stop the infestation, even after infection one could break free, the parasite needed a few days to take effect. A simple cave moss killed them immediately, eggs included. Simply ingesting it was enough to stop it. Shadow had begun to memorize every single healing moss, plant and fungi in the caves. Oh how vast these caves were...

Riveted to her seat one class covered the vastness of the cave network, layer upon layer, some mere tunnels others grand caves like the one they were in, his home sat in a corner gallery. Cities could be swallowed up by the caves and despite their age some magic kept them stable, explaining it simply as the magic that bound all creation of this "pocket dimension" together.

A field trip! She was being taken on a field trip! She had written a few more letters home, even getting letters BACK somehow... Apparently he had set up a fake post office box somewhere out there on the world above just for her that kept moving so it seemed that she was always moving around as well, still exploring the world. He was thorough. Today though she was going to see a part of history, a "living museum" as he put it to "ancient history." Valkardian explained that they would be transported most of the way, the last two days hike would be on foot. He even asked if she intended to try and escape since she would be close to the surface.

Truthfully she had said no, there was so much more she wanted to learn and after the lesson on the caves... However evil he might be, it was still safer to be with him than on her own, not to mention she had no idea what part they would be in not that it would help to have known that either. The "portal" as he called it was housed securely in a side chamber, completely inert till special crystals were placed in a specific order, no one would be able to use it from EITHER end until this was done he explained. Kept anyone from sneaking in. Somewhere far away a group of servants were placing matching crystals in place, thus the system would turn on and a functioning portal would lead off to somewhere.

Placing the last crystal in place and gesturing the runes glowed and the portal opened, she could see servants on the other side waiting. She went first of course, twitching with each step before Valkardian finally told her to just push the fear aside and get on with it. Hopping through one side and appearing somewhere else made her feel funny for a second but it passed, he was right behind her and off they went. A large force of guards waited, these were... Different, to say the least. They looked more like true soldiers than simple guards. VERY heavily armed, covered in plate armor, helmets, burning red or blue eyes. Counting quickly there must be around two hundred of them, were they for her safety, imprisonment or... HIS safety? She did not want to find out.

Why not just "teleport" she had asked... That can be detected he said... The hike was rough and hard, once upon a time long, long ago a road had run through the caves to where they were going, but that was not near the "new" portal system the old one having been shut down because of whatever happened. A single large tent was magically produced each night, she had a cot to herself while he usually left and stayed outside doing... Something, she asked he brushed her question off.

The past few months she felt less and less like a slave and more a student, she WAS a student but still, he had kind of? Treated her like a slave at first though more like a maid, now however he called her by name regularly. What would happen when this ended? Was this field trip the beginning of the end? There is no way he would spend this much time teaching her to simply turn around and kill her, she knew that but it made her worry all the same. Was she to be a "protege" of his? Not possible, she had no magic and he was burning up with it, she was fairly certain he could give Celestia one heck of a run for her money, quietly admitting to herself she never found out one way or the other if that were true. Tomorrow they would arrive and her field trip would begin in earnest, staring at the canopy above with its strange blue glowing crystal she slipped off to sleep at its glow diminished.

Chapter 8

Many things had Shadow expected to see but not THIS, the ruins that stretched out before her made her both curious and sick at heart. Once upon a time a small town had existed here, a lake stretched out into the distance, the remnants of fields and orchards remained. It was like something preserved the place, a testament to whatever calamity had struck. Burn marks, craters, buildings looked like they had exploded outwards while others caved in or simply burned as they stood. Everything was made from stone for the most part so the markings were clear, he ushered her into the town and told her she could stay as long as she wanted and look around. When her curiosity was sated he would explain what happened.

Walking down the alleys Shadow's heart sank more and more, charred skeletons or piles of ash were all that remained of the inhabitants, was this Valkardians doing? Going into a building that was better preserved she found a skeleton that had a spear stuck in its rib-cage, fear sunk in as she kept looking at the skeleton. How had she missed it? Was she so struck with what had happened she failed to notice WHO had lived here? The skeletons were not of cave creatures, gryphon, yak or any of the other lifeforms she had learned about from her Master, no these were ponies. Not all the same though, rushing building to building and skeleton to skeleton to find out more she found that almost all were her own species.

Shadow had to know what happened, running down the alleys she yelled his name and got an answer, racing on she popped out into what had been the town square. A blasted fountain sat in the middle and Valkardian sat quietly on one of the remaining benches patiently. So many questions overwhelmed her but there was only one real question: "What happened?"

Standing and leading her towards one end of the town Valkardian began the story slowly. "Around a thousand six-hundred years ago or so Celestia, Luna and myself came to blows. You asked me once what had happened between us, (gesturing around him at the ruins) this was the aftermath that solidified out hostility. I was not the only one who sough to woo them, the two had begun to calm themselves CONSIDERABLY compared to their younger centuries. It was at this time I once again had anything to do with them, when one is immortal the "learning curve" is skewed heavily, life becomes cheap, very cheap and to them it was cheaper for a long time. When the pain and suffering sank in they began to mend their ways quite quickly, seeking to alleviate the misery of the world around them. Mind you they were a far short from being saints, none the less something about their sudden change got my attention."

"They even began to listen to me, taking some lessons here and there to heart like not being tyrants that had to control every waking moments of their subjects lives. A century wore on and we grew closer and closer, I became somewhat infatuated with them their change was so deep... Another suitor came along named Lord Star Steelshod, strange name... A true manipulator that one, would have made Celestia proud back in the day. He tried to gain their favor as well and I must admit he was better at it than I was, the real problem though in it all was those two sisters."

"Because of their sudden change of heart they had begun to shut their ears, eyes and minds to the harsh reality of the world, they only wanted to see the GOOD in other's and the world around them. Even to the point that it would bite them in the ass quite often but they wanted to distance themselves completely from their past and become "good" monarchs. When Steelshod succeeded in wooing them I had already warned them about who he really was, that it would be a mistake. Rather than listen however, they balked at me believing this was some ploy to save face after having lost to the "better stallion" as they put it. Catch was that Steelshod was no fool, he never kept his plans in writing, only in his head and even then magically protected himself from Luna's prying eyes."

"Still, where there is a will there is a way, through spies and magical manipulations I had learned enough to know his plans for them, I shared what I knew anyway with those two sisters but I was thrown out. Let it not be said that I am entirely black hearted, I did what I had to do and the day before their wedding I slew Steelshod. Understandably the two went into a rage and vowed revenge on me for my "despicable, cowardly act." Precautions had already been taken in my domain but... (he stopped to look around) It was not enough that time."

"This cave was well defended against brigands and other creatures but with the recent change of heart that Celestia and Luna had I made the mistake of not fortifying this place farther. Now I HAD suspected they were spying on me, rightly so... Yet I figured they would not exterminate a town of innocents to get back at me. This town's name was Moss Dell, around six hundred lived here and they were mostly bat pony, they had some dealings with me not much. They would pay me tribute for keeping them safe and all was well, governing themselves and frankly I stayed away from them for the most part."

"Somehow Celestia learned of this place and on the night of their vow against me the two gathered as many as they could and rushed here. Back then I did not have the spy grid I do now and let it never be said that Celestia and Luna are not deviously clever when they want to be... Despite my precautions they slipped around them and struck, the small force I had stationed here was overwhelmed quickly and they, well you can see what they did. No one was spared, every last inhabitant was put to the sword on the spot, some escaped, most did not. Those two well and truly outwitted me here and I made my own vow: That it would be the last time."

"After the massacre they could not find their way deeper though they tried. The road that lead to the other portal was their first attempt but a brave few destroyed the crystals after letting others escape cutting them off for good. The two had no choice but to turn back when a few days later they got word that I had counter attacked and wiped out several villages towns and a city. Turning their forces around they rushed back to the surface while I then pulled back. A stalemate ensued, they tried to send forces down this path several times and even tried other caves, all were wiped out and the entrances sealed. The last force to come here found the entrance above sealed off and a stone stele in its place that said: "Dare to invade my domain again and a bloody harvest shall be brought against you." They heeded the warning and left, since then... Silence."

He stopped and looked at her with a hard expression for a long moment. "Make no mistake Shadow that if you assume the worst of me, that I am black hearted you are right, I have slain the innocent and harvested them in the tens of thousands willingly and happily. Any who threaten mine are dealt with one way or another, I do not go seeking fights or power, content with what I have and willing to leave the world above alone." Watching her reaction change to fear he continued "I preserved this place with a great deal of magic, a silent tomb, a mausoleum to my mistake and a silent reminder. You are free to look around, we will stay another day, take advantage of it."

What could she say to that? She was terrified of him now, he had so easily admitted to wiping out populations happily for the sake of revenge, then again so had Celestia... Looking at him was like looking into the past when as he said "life was cheap, very cheap." Life meant little to him, then again he did not go seeking conflict. True, he had assassinated Steelshod but that made sense, he cared for the sisters greatly and would not allow someone to use them. She needed time to think, walking off and exploring more of the ruins her heart sunk more and more. What he said was true, not even the fillies or colts were spared, one had an arrow embedded in their skull, another was pinned in place on the floor, the force of the spear blow so strong it pierced the stone.

All this innocent life lost and they were not even "his" people, they were more like trading partners, he offered protection, they offered something in return. Bodies? No, she doubted that, they would have FLED back to the surface or called for help! Maybe they had? No, he had left them alone, they even governed themselves. Stumbling Shadow looked up to see she was in front of some kind of larger building, almost like an ancient government building with its pillars and large double doors.

The doors had long been blown inward by what she assumed was magic, it was definitely a government building, the large room held a large stone table that once seated three, the wall had a clear imprint of a bat pony, blasted to atoms and the outline left marked perfectly against the wall. Part of her was delighted that he had so quickly wrecked havoc on the sisters people for this, she had to stop though, SHE was one of them, a citizen of Equestria. Was the purpose of today to turn her against them? If so, it was working to a small degree. The place was perfectly preserved, no flesh though... Maybe he had preserved the place years later? That made sense, the Equestrians used this as a route for attack he said. So they KNEW what they had done and did not care... Like those who died here were beneath them.

Picking up a scroll and unfurling it she could not understand a word of it, whatever language they used was alien to her. Leaving the building she kept wandering, orchards, fields had all been thoroughly torched, occasionally a skeleton or simply a blood stain on rocks. Sitting on the lakes edge and looking out she wondered how many skeletons lay at the bottom, those who tried to flee over the waters to never make it. Why in the name of Tartarus did his murdering all those ponies bother her less and less? Why was she feeling more and more anger at the two Deity rulers and less for her master?

Valkardian walked calmly through the streets, visiting buildings and looking in, solemn reminders of his failure to take things seriously. It had been a problem of his, always brushing things off for a later date, even now he was guilty of it but this time it worked out. His little slave was off somewhere doing something, a wraith was following her quietly, unseen from the shadows so he would know if she was in danger. Rounding a bend he came to his destination, the graveyard. True, he had never really visited this place much when they were alive, in fact he had visited it quite often, even fought and killed here years after. Another little vow of his was to not allow "them" to set one foot in the town again, it held true, none had. All had been slain in the tunnels above, one bloody battle after another till finally he sealed it up and placed the marker outside. Walking up to a tunnel and reading the inscription he stepped forward with purpose and disappeared inside.

Shadow had stared into the lake for some time, tears streaming both in sadness and rage when she caught sight of Valkardian on the far end of the lake. Watching him walk through what appeared to be a graveyard before disappearing into a cave she stood and flew after him. Spying would probably get her in a tremendous amount of trouble but right now she had more questions and curiosity as to where he was going and that outweighed consequences. The graveyard was more stone tomb's that actual "graves" in the traditional sense, no dirt, no grave. So the townsponies had taken to carving stone coffins and placing them, the poorer appeared to have been stuffed in a hole and sealed inside with names and dates written on the marker. All of it was that weird script she could not make out.

Shadow glided down and walked as quietly as she could toward the cave entrance, slipping inside and following the tunnel down, steps were hewn from the rock and the walls held stone shelves with skeletal remains resting on them. These were catacombs, so her master was not harvesting their dead in return for protection, that much was obvious now. Winding her way down the sound of his voice made its way to her ears. It stopped and she carefully made her way farther down before stopping to listen.

Curious as ever, still unaware she was being followed he had been aware of her following him and entering the catacombs. Now she was hiding in the darkness listening for him. "You can stop spying on me and just enter the chamber Shadow. You might learn something." The sound of wings brushing against the stone meant she had jumped, the quiet sound of hooves slowly approached and she entered the room at a snails pace. "Master, I am sorry for spying on you..." Cutting her off he waved her over "You are too curious to know better, it is in your nature, now come here, I want to show you someone." Standing beside him in the soft glow of a small ball of light in the ceiling Shadow looked down at a finely carved sarcophagus.

The being carved into it looked much like a bat pony, hands folded over her chest. "Shadow, allow me to introduce you to the late Councilor Redfang. A vampire or "vampony" as you call them in your mythology. One of the last three rulers of Mossdell." Staring down Shadow wondered something. "Master, if you preserved the town, how come she is buried? I thought you left it as it was." Valkardian turned his head towards her "Because this one was one of the very few I knew, she did not die HERE either, she was wounded fatally during the attack and died shortly after the portal closed. Her last request to me was to be entombed here amongst her friends and family. This chamber houses her entire family." Looking around another question popped into her head "Arnt vamponies evil? Your evil but are vamponies really evil like the tales say?"

She was curious as ever he noted "Not always, tell me Shadow, which makes for a better story: The Vampony that saved the hamlet from hellhounds or the vampony that burned the village to the ground using hellhounds while draining their blood and turning them into thralls?"

"Oh... That makes sense." Shadow had to admit the later made for a better bedtime story to scare fillies and colts. He pointed at the sarcophagi "This one fits a bit of both, Redfang or "Blood Lilly" as she preferred to be called could do both. It is why she was elected to the council, a perfect combination of virtue and devilry, scared of nothing and not afraid of getting her hands dirty. We wrote each other back and forth for quite some time, she was over... Four hundred? Years old I think. She had burned villages to the ground, enslaved some, freed others. Then again when "youth" left her, she was born a vampony by the way she calmed down and decided to viciously protect those she cared about. She had lost most of her "mundane" friends in her battles, with few left she wanted to protect them. Life gained value almost overnight and she moved here and with her little ragtag band of marauders in tow they quickly built this place up from a hamlet into a town. Over the course of one-hundred and fifty some odd years it became a town."

"I guess you could say she was the first REAL "ruler" of the town, before her the other petty chiefs never bothered to plan expansion or anything, she turned it all around and organized their growth carefully. Luna speared her in the street as she left her home to see about the commotion, take this whichever way you wish Shadow... Either fortunately or UN-fortunately for her it was not a killing blow, Luna went off to kill some other unlucky inhabitant and a friend grabbed her and drug her away in the chaos. They managed to get her to my portal where precious few other survivors made it through and sent her along with them. She died before making it mind you but they decided to send her anyway... A touching though illogical act, none the less it did serve a purpose."

"Seeing her dead enraged me and within two days the first hamlets were burning and two days after that the first towns were being put to the sword. If Celestia and Luna were willing to forgo their "wise and motherly" ways then you can bet your ass I was out for blood." He placed a hand on the cold stone surface and stared "Shadow, as you leave this room and travel the town above, there is a large mansion with long dead flower beds out front and an iron gate. Two pillars are engraved with Blood Lillie's cutie mark, that was her home. Go inside and look around if you wish and learn something about her." As Shadow left the room which felt colder and colder a voice trailed after her "When you live as long as we have you will find friends are truly a rare and precious commodity."

Finding the mansion was easy, it was the only one with two pillars with a cutie mark on it of lilies, what a strange cutie mark for a creature of evil. Was she really evil or was it perspective? Shadow pondered this as she entered the building, it was damaged, scorch marks here and there, obviously someone had put up quite a bit of a fight. Each room was the opposite of what she expected of an evil vampony, instead of dark, dull, drab and creepy it was quite pleasant. Beautiful murals adorned the walls, none grisly like Valkardian's, elaborate tile-work adorned the floors with frescoes of stars, plants, forests, cave life and ponies.

Climbing the stairs she checked the bedrooms, things were indeed remarkably preserved. Checking a bookshelf she found only one of them in a quasi-early Equish. This town must have been destroyed long ago before Celestia set forth the Equestrian Standard. That would make this place more than... A thousand years old at least? Scanning it and replacing it she kept browsing, some had pictures carefully etched out. Buried in the back one was that made her heart stop, it had ponies in it in all manner of positions. Placing it back quickly she tried another room.

This room was special, very special, so special Shadow felt her blood run cold. It was a little fillies room. She almost tiphoofed around the room avoiding one side, refusing to even look. It was sickening, the curiosity to go there and look, knowing, the revulsion but still that powerful compulsion to go look. Taking a deep breath she turned and walked awkwardly towards it, scared to death of looking in. Staring down was an empty crib soaked with blood, clearly somepony had taken a sharp object and driven it down with tremendous force causing the center to buckle slightly. Shadow fled the room, not even the newborns were spared.

Perspective rushed over her as she sat on the steps outside the mansion sobbing, she knew with all her being she should NOT be crying over the death of evil monsters. But she was. This was just a bad dream, there was no way this was real. Monsters and villains did not have families, everypony knew that. They just existed, they existed to be hunted down by a valiant knight or hero and be cast down or slain. Evil did not have families or children, they did not marry, prosper and have lives. No, evil was sick and twisted, incapable of love or compassion, evil did not like nice things preferring the grotesque. Everything she had seen just shattered that, everything she had been taught as a filly was crashing down around her.

Blood Lilly loved reading, nature, family, friends and was married, she even had a baby. Nothing about that building spoke of evil or wrongdoing, the babies room was not grotesque at all, in fact Shadow wished she could have a room that beautiful for her own one day if that day ever came. Blood Lilly even liked... Adult activities, perhaps a little too much from how well worn that book was. These ponies had done NOTHING to ANYONE yet they had suffered extermination for it, by virtue they ASSOCIATED with someone ELSE occasionally. In return as retribution, tens of thousands had been reaped like a field of grain who also had nothing to do with the feud, they too had committed the same crime: Association. Maybe a little more, they had been EQUESTRIANS and it was Equestrians who perpetrated this crime. Thoughts and conflicting emotions swirled and pounded her head and she swore her soul hurt. Lifting her head from her hands Shadow did the only thing she could do, she screamed with all her might.

Chapter 9

The unholy, grief riddled howl that echoed through the massive cavern told him that Shadow had come to an inescapable truth: The world was not black and white and that she had just learned today's lesson: PERSPECTIVE. It would be best to give her another day just to be safe, there was one more place to visit on her little "field trip" as she had put it, one last place to BURN that perspective into place. Calling away his soldiers and wraiths to return to their patrols and stations, her howl had triggered a combat reaction in them; now the soldiers were in full combat mode and seeking targets. Sitting on his bench he watched the long empty and shattered fountain. Shadow had her regrets, he had his own as well, long ago he had promised to come visit his friend and her family, promises made and broken.

Staring at a blood stain and the skeleton smashed against the bench Valkardian turned back to his pondering, this place was indeed a lesson learned. Every plan set into motion since this crushing defeat was based on the lessons learned here, this place had never been his, hell he never paid them any attention, it was their lives and they all left each other alone. Blood Lilly had quietly hinted that he should take a little more interest, it would be good for him. Deaf ears. Now they had paid the price for his actions, as ancient as he was he should have known better, that Celestia would have aimed for the EASIEST target rather than assume she would be "wise" and calm down then listen to reason later. No, he made a mistake, a big one, one that he had rectified.

The howling had stopped, she was either too tired to scream or passed out, standing he took one last hard look at the destruction around him. There had been one thing Blood Lilly HAD gotten him to agree too and he was not going to let this one slip through his fingers.

Shadow was too exhausted from screaming and sobbing to move, she just laid there sobbing quietly now on the cold stone staring up. She jumped when a familiar face appeared and looked down at her, part of her wanted to scream why he had not done more, the other wanted to beat him for murdering so many. Too exhausted to do either she settled on sobbing and letting the thoughts stew, Celestia had wiped out a town of bystanders and in return Valkardian had repaid the kindness shown in spades many times over no doubt. What she did not expect was for him to reach down and pick her up.

There was no struggle, to words or fighting, just silence as he carried her off, evil was supposed to be cold but he was not, the warmth coming off of felt wonderful compared to the cold stone. He was still evil but he did not fit any of the cut and clean categories, too strange, one moment sinister the next caring and compassionate. Maybe he was just psychotic, a madman with the powers of a deity if he had beaten Celestia away so handily. An evil madman who had friends once, who cared so much for them he had burned part of Equestria to the ground for it. One who had loved, given it up and accepted the consequences. What was the meaning of good and evil then if the lines were so blurred?

She hardly noticed him entering the tent and placing her on the cot and covering her, he stopped near the flap and told her that tomorrow there was one more thing to see before they left back home. The way he said "home" made her shiver, was it her home now? Still a slave, part student, what was she then? Gripping the covers Shadow covered her head and curled into a ball and tried to shut it all out.

Too soon, it was too soon, she had only just woken up, just laying there and rubbing her face to get the fur unstuck from all the tears. A servant brought her a warm meal a little later along with a bucket of water and a cloth. Eating and wiping herself down she left the tent and looked around, master was sitting near a small magical fire, just staring off into the distance. It was eerie seeing him like this, the past few months she had come to know him a little better through his lessons. He was a good teacher, keeping things simple, easy to follow and understand, taking what she assumed to be joy in each lesson he gave. Honest, logical, straightforward, tactless and a bit of an airhead at times. The last part was a dangerous thought she knew, but still, she had to remind him of what the lesson was about several times because of his tendency to ramble on when teaching a subject he seemed to enjoy.

Now, seeing him like this, regret and a touch of sadness apparent in his eyes it worried her, she had gained a whole new perspective on the world yesterday and now she understood. Good and evil were not so simple to understand, she could not just brush things off one way or another, everyone had their reasons (usually) for doing what they did, sometimes it was wrong, other times right. Or... Other times it could be so muddied and gray it was impossible to say who WAS right or wrong, only a series of bloody back and forth battles; right and wrong having died somewhere along the lines at the start of it all.

Approaching carefully Shadow stopped a few feet away before opening her mouth to speak, it was hard to speak to him, she could see him with more clarity now but that only made things more conflicted. "Master, are we going home today?"

Looking over to Shadow their eyes met, his cold and calculating "Yes, but first there is one more place I want to show you, it will only take an hour to get there." Standing he marched off towards a road that led down a side tunnel, Shadow in tow along with a force of soldiers tailing.

The trip was grisly, skeletons speckled the road now and then, blood stains were everywhere, somepony had dragged themselves along the wall trying to stand before someone cut them with such force there was a deep cut in the stone wall and a severed skeleton below. Arrows poked out of some skeletons, all shot in the back as they had fled down the tunnel, young or old did not matter in the battle. Some held hands, others wrapped around trying to protect others as they fell. She could only imagine what this nightmare would have looked like then let alone now.

Blood stains seemed to increase as they got closer to their destination, shattered armor, weapons and helmets littered the road leading to a large archway, the metal doors blasted off their hinges. Some had died trying to crawl into this chamber, the road was so littered with skeletons now she had to step carefully, Valkardian walked through the archway and disappeared inside. Trying to follow quickly she gave up walking and flew inside being gentle with her wings to not disturb the bones. Inside was a mess, blood coated the walls and an inactive portal stood.

Shards of broken crystal covered the floor, somepony had even tried to shatter the portal itself, trying to deface the runes. Valkardian stood to one side quietly and allowed her to examine the room, it looked as if several had made a last stand here to keep someone from gaining control of the portal and at the last minute destroyed the control crystals robbing Celestia and Luna of access to any survivors.

Watching her for a minute, it was not until she looked at him that Valkardian spoke. "The battle ended very quickly, too quickly. Celestia's shock troopers burst through the defenses so fast my soldiers could not respond in time not that it would have mattered. The only thing that saved any of them was Celestia had ordered everyone put to the sword. By the time she realized they had an escape route already planned it was too late to get them all. Luna was left to finish mopping up those hiding while Celestia lead a force down the tunnel after those fleeing. Part of the deal I had with them was that if my soldiers FAILED to protect them, plan B was to come here, a magically sealed room and a small platoon of soldiers guarding it. The servants assigned to the portal would activate it, allow them through and then seal it behind them."

"A major problem in this THEORY of a plan was that it was never rehearsed nor did it have a contingency for what to do if the enemy was ALREADY inside the town when the order to evacuate was given. They all knew the plan true but not how EXACTLY it was to work. The town had its own guard's and militia force but most of them died near instantly in the first attack, the survivors rallied the rest and tried to cover the retreat which turned into a route. Most of those who made it here were those farthest away from the epicenter of the battle, while Celestia knew of the town, she had no idea there was a portal till the last second. Had she known I doubt any would have made it this far."

"The portal was held open as long as logically possible, when the first of her forces began to stream down the tunnel the doors were to be closed, soldiers ushered any of the surviving guard and militia inside before closing the doors and sealing them." Looking at the bones littering the room for a minute he continued "Some of them decided to stay behind and make damn sure no one followed, problem was they did not know about the plan and took it upon themselves to destroy the portal. The servants did not stop them of course, they were carrying out the final stages of the plan so they allowed it and even helped it along." Pointing here and there at skeletons with unique helmets and armaments "Some fifteen died here pointlessly thinking they were saving others without ever realizing that they did not have to stay behind. Celestia blew the doors open after a few attempts and you can see what she did." Valkardian walked to the back of the room where one body was mangled heavily. "This one, I have no idea what his name was and I had no intention then of disturbing his soul to find out, was tortured to find out where they fled. Judging from the torture he refused to talk." Shadow looked as he gestured, the pony had been cut to pieces apparently, fingers cut off and thrown away, then the hands, hooves and on up it went. Even the eye sockets bore scorch marks like his eyes had been burned out.

"Celestia and Luna let themselves go when they attacked, there was no mercy, pity or remorse on their part. It started a war which lasted some five years, this was their first and only victory, they lost every battle after this one. Over five major invasions were made into the caves from various points, two here, this being the aftermath of one. All met the same fate, less than half made it out alive and no bodies were ever found afterwords when they came back. I recycled their dead and used them as my own soldiers. Every battle they lost their numbers dwindled and mine grew or in the last battle, doubled. To this day their forces make no attempt what so ever to enter my caves, no magical probing, no scouts. NOTHING. So the silent, battle-less war rages on quietly between us. Questions?"

Looking at the tortured remains a question formed itself "What happened to the survivors?" Shadow looked expectantly at him, a glimmer of hope written on her face. "The refugees survived, they had to stay in a camp for a long time mind you, it was not easy getting what they needed to the location for a week or so but it all worked out for them in the end. Since I was busy burning the world above to the ground there was plenty of time to loot, frankly I could care less for looting but I took advantage of the situation and had my soldiers cart off enough to clothe and feed an army. It all worked out in the end." Valkardian began to leave the room but before he could leave she had another question: "Where did they go? Did they stay in the caves or go above?" There was no answer, she was left to make her own assumptions, they obviously never came back.

Following him back to town he told her there was one more thing he had to do yet, it would not take very long and to explore more if she so desired but be ready to leave. "Curiosity killed the cat" popped into her head, what could he possibly need to do? Make certain the magic was holding? Visit another grave? Deciding to follow him around he made his way to the outskirts of a small orchard, the strange trees were still an enigma, how they managed to survive in so little soil and that it had to be brought from above... A patch of flowers grew where the waters edge and orchard met, strange, red things that they were. Picking one he walked off to the graveyard, Shadow following a short distance behind.

Again he descended the steps, only this time telling her to hurry up and follow, to quit stalking him. Hurriedly catching up they wound their way down to the tomb of Blood Lilly. Making a quiet mumble over her tomb he placed the flower at the base where a bundle of them laid. Standing he turned to her "the fighting in the house was her husband, Irontip, he is entombed over there, her newborn Amethyst is over there."

Shadow followed his finger as he pointed out sarcophagi and even pointed out a few on the shelves. All but one of her family had died in the attack, the entirety of Irontips family and extended died in the attack. There was no trace that they had ever existed except this one tomb, unknown to the world above. "How old was Amethyst?" Shadow kept eying the tiny stone coffin. "She was... Six months old I think." Walking over he looked down at it, reading. "I marked each one as best I could for "date of birth and death" as best I knew it. Blood Lilly had written me when she gave birth so hers is the only one with an ACCURATE date of birth." He left the chamber not long after, taking one last look before walking out and heading up the stairs, Shadow followed quietly.

"You have a few minutes still before we leave, you can take one last look around if you want. I will call you when it is time to go." Leaving her at the mouth of the catacombs Valkardian walked off, she looked around at the graveyard before heading towards the orchard.

Through the eyes of the wraith that followed her Valkardian watched as Shadow picked a cave flower and walked back into the catacombs, going below she laid the flower at the tiny coffin and mumbled before standing and leaving quickly. This one was worth it so far, he wondered what would happen in the following months, it was almost that time again.

Shadow stood, something just seemed right about what she had done, not leaving a flower at Blood Lillie's did not bother her, she never knew her and frankly had no idea what kind of pony she was. It wouldn't feel quite right to have left a flower for her but Amethyst... This little one whatever her origins did not deserve what she got, it just wasn't right. As she left the chamber taking one last look at Blood Lillie's sarcophagi she noticed the single flower Valkardian left and the bundle beside it. How long had he been coming here?

Chapter 10

The return home had been long and silent, not a word spoken, Shadow simply walked along quietly too caught up in her own thoughts to care. Even the servants left her alone to think, after entering the portal and emerging in his home she began to wonder what was next. Whatever she expected it was nothing more than a continuation of things as they were, more classes, lectures and learning. A week went by as nothing more than a blur before she finally snapped out of her stupor and began to ask more questions though not dealing with her usual lessons. His response had been to have her write them all down and wait till the end of the week when the lessons change.

Today was that day, it had been a week, she had several scrolls filled with questions left unanswered. Taking her seat and looking at the board it simply said: "History, Philosophy, Morals and Ethics." All the books had been removed from her table, even the massive pile Valkardian kept for himself was gone, replaced by four heavy tomes. Speak the devil, he entered not long after and quickly took his place and flipped open the first book before looking at her.

"As you should have guessed today I will be knitting everything you have learned so far together, we will be covering things more broadly and unlike before, I will add my own thoughts to matter and have you speak your own. Rather than listen you will be required to think on what you have learned and form your own opinion of matters and express them to some degree. It does not matter if they are not well formulated, you simply need to have your own opinion and speak it. While that covers the History and Philosophy, the Morals and Ethics will require you to challenge and explain your beliefs. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

A simply "no" was all she said and he immediately went into history and philosophy, most of it explaining what the ancient philosophies were, their morals, ethics, etc. Questions and answers, he would press her to explain herself whether she agreed with them or not. Now and then he would stop and ask if one of the questions she had written down applied and she would ask.

Two days later he was now back to the sisters timeline and her questions and the arguing began. "How could you possibly justify "harvesting" an entire town of ponies? That was morally and ethically wrong! No pony would ever think to do such a thing, well maybe Celestia and Luna but still!" He had taken to simply sitting down, no writing was done on the board, he simply stared at her blankly and answered: "I do NOT justify it morally or ethically. I did it because I needed more bodies, they were not my own, enemies no less, they had what I wanted so I went and took it."

Her jaw dropped. "That's HORRIBLE!"

Valkardian simply smiled at her "That depends on how you look at it, was it so wrong when Celestia burned Fisher's Cove to the ground? They were her enemies. Or is it you object because I killed them then took the bodies? Yes the ponies were "innocent" but they served a lord who was my enemy, one who had gotten it into his mind to war with me. All I did was simply kill two birds with one stone. I nipped a possible invasion in the butt and grew my numbers at the same time."

"That's hardly any excuse! You could have targeted HIM and left the ponies alone!"

"Maybe, but that would be a large risk, assuming I DID successfully kill him, some other noble would have taken over and maybe carried out his plans. My action was more straightforward, never underestimate the power of TERROR on your enemy."

Shadow balked at this "HAH! You certainly have the power to of singled them ALL out and dealt with them! There would have been no to little risk, all you did was make more enemies, had you singled them out then perhaps the ponies might have even, somehow, thought better of you."

Sighing he leaned back "You also forgot that then, like today, ponies believed their rulers were ordained by "gods." Their right to rule was and still is considered DIVINE, some today however now see it as more a genetic thing, they have proper breeding so they get to rule. No amount of singling them out would have worked and it would not have set a precedence. After my attack they clearly understood the price of challenging me."

She let out a "humph" at this "You could still of at least TRIED to spare them, you were older and wiser, you should be better than them!"

"HAH! Be BETTER than them? What is the standard then? Ignore them like Celestia does today till it bites her in the ass? Negotiate and they keep plotting? One should never leave their enemies alive unless there is some outstanding reason for it. I COULD have razed the entire kingdom to the ground but I singled out just the one town and wiped it from the map. Yes, I killed the babies in their cribs but all the neighboring kingdoms backed down immediately. By reaping my bloody harvest at the start it meant more would not die later. I SAVED lives by slaughtering a handful of innocents."

A shiver ran down her spine at this, he was too calm about this though history had proven him largely right. "Murder can never be justified!"

"Oh REALLY now Shadow? Murder can never be justified? What IS the definition of murder then? To kill without reason or just cause? Have they changed the dictionary for the millionth time yet to suit their political correctness? I killed, no I slaughtered those ponies for a damn good reason. You lack perspective Shadow, all you see is the bodies, families and lives lost. You do not see that had I not their army would have tried to march on me again and again as the decades wore on. They would have lost no doubt, but the cost in lives would have been higher as more forces were levied or conscripted. Families would have been torn apart, rage and anger against me would have mounted. Instead, by singling one town out and destroying it there was no rage only fear and terror if they dared to think of warring with me."
Taking a deep breath before continuing "Also I did not attack the town I was trading with, I attacked a different one, true some might of had family in the other but all the same I mitigated the damage somewhat."

Shadow was flustered "Murder is still murder. Master."

"Maybe to you Shadow, however I want you to remember this for as long as you live: All is simply a matter of perspective. One's freedom fighter is another's terrorist, murder to one is justice to another. The only thing that makes a difference is if you personally agree with the justifications given. It is all opinion at the end of the day or more aptly it can be looked at this way: Where are YOU standing when that first allow is let fly?"

The last part had her, that was correct, no one went about murdering USUALLY knowing it was wrong, they all thought they were doing what was right either for others or themselves. Where she stood when the arrow flew... That disturbed her, she had to admit silently that it was eerily true, she had no "dog in the fight" as he once put it, all the wars Equestrian's had fought so long ago did not bother her one bit usually. It was not HER family suffering through it, being enslaved by one side or cut down by the other.

*Cough* "Shadow, did you know, right now, there is a war going on the other side of this world? Right now what I call "Asiatic ponies" are butchering each other in a bid for the emperors crown. How do you feel about that?"

Her head snapped up "Nothing... Its bad but... Oohhh..." Shadows eyes grew as realization dawned on her.

His smile grew "You are catching on. Now lets continue with the lesson."

More lessons, they just kept coming day after day. More arguing, debate, Shadow had to admit this was FAR more interesting (thought scary and creepy at times) than any classes she ever had growing up. Why couldn't her classes have been this interesting? Her teachers only ever had them memorize definitions, dates and then cough it back up on demand, there was no requirement to UNDERSTAND what they were learning, no WHY's only absolutes. Valkardian though was making her justify her every belief and pointed out its flaws not that SHE was not doing the same with his. If she nailed him on one (which had been... RARE) it usually came down to "no one is perfect" and moving on.

"So tell me why is Celestia justified in her attempts to "rehabilitate" those deemed evil or why NOT?"

That had stumped her, Celestia had a history (only recent) of doing so, teaching others to embrace, forgive and forget. To simply welcome them back with open arms and have them join the great big herd and go on their merry way. "Umm... She is and is not?"

"Shadow, give a straight answer, do not answer a question with a question unless you require clarity."

"Oh, ah... She is, some have committed minor crimes, they can mend their ways, others though like Sombra are just too evil to be worth it."

"Like me?"

She flinched. "Well... Maybe? I really dont want to answer that one..."

"Go ahead, speak the truth."

"You are beyond redeeming, nothing would ever make you change your ways, nothing, you are set in stone and reinforced with steel. However, you are also not... All? Bad... Evil... Your not wicked or cruel most of the time, you uphold your end of the deal, help others, save lives in your own sick twisted way..." Valkardian just sat there quietly and listened as she kept going.

"So then, you would say that Celestia and Luna are redeemed and "good" now compared to then? So their crimes, though grand in scale are forgivable?"

What? Just a moment ago she finished explaining why he was not redeemable and forever "evil" and now this? "They changed their ways and now try to guide other ponies to a better future so yes."

"Would you have said that of them back THEN?"

....."No..."

"Allow me to clarify for you then, I am set in my ways, I do not argue that what I do is "moral or ethical" by YOUR standards, I have my own standards, written here in this book. I do NOT forgive NOR forget, I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty either. Unlike Celestia I do not see the world through rose colored glasses, I see both the good and bad and deal with it in the most efficient manner possible. Does this make me evil? Absolutely. Do I still care about others? Yes. Frankly I do not want to see any harm come to anyone less the deserve it, on the other hand I could care less, it is their lives, let them live it for good or ill. I do not kill wantonly, each time I kill it is measured and carefully calculated. My reasoning is my own and if others choose to see it as murder, so be it, all that matters is that I know the truth."

"Now Celestia, she is the opposite of me and that endears her to me in some ways, it is why I tried to win her hand so long ago. She believes in benevolence towards all minus a tiny few (pointing to himself) and is more than happy to allow psycho's back into the population so long as they have atoned somehow. On the other hand I would simply kill them now and never give them the chance to try again."

She had to admit that he was indeed hopelessly honest. "Master, you are either utterly psychotic yourself or just damned impossible to understand. I dont know which and it scares me." All he did was smile at her for a minute "True, then again one can not live as long as I have without being a little... Crazy."

Her brain was hurting, it had been more than one straight week of debate, from morning till a break at lunch, starting again till it was time for her dinner, bath and bed. Almost all of her questions were exhausted, only a few remained. Valkardian was off his rocker at times but he also made a great deal of sense as the lessons wore on, his approach was to "deal with it now and never allow it to become a problem later" and if that meant wiping out villages, towns or even a city, so be it. The Dog Wars had been FAR more interesting to discuss morally and ethically than it had been to learn about.

Greedy invaders that tore apart everything in their reckless lust for wealth. They warred with everyone if they even assumed profit was possible, enslaving whole towns and dragging them beneath the earth to dig up precious gems and metals. They had been utterly crushed over time and it took time, they bred and matured like rabbits... Eventually they were reduced to nothing, their underground kingdoms silent tombs of their past glory. Valkardian explained that they never really breached the cave system to the point it became a problem for HIM but all the same, he was not going to allow them the chance.

Strangely enough, Celestia was fighting them on the surface, hunting their colonies down while below Valkardian exterminated them one cave at a time. Neither side ever met, he made certain to keep his distance, something about her inability to see the greater threat at hand if they DID meet. Shadow admitted at the end of the lesson that the near extermination of the species had been justifiable, leaving only a handful of terrified remnants. Celestia had magically altered them to be less hostile and... Carnivorously inclined towards ponies. Cutting back their fertility and bringing the species to a slow crawl. Master admitted he had planned the same thing, the dogs proved to be an excellent source of skeleton workers and he hated to see them wiped out completely.

Today though she was giddy, he explained this was the last class before she moved on to "advanced studies" which he warned would be "absolute hell, but if she focused it would be worth the pain and misery." She had been a little scared at that but he brushed it off and told her it was nothing she was not more than capable of passing at this point. Today though, today was a special subject and THAT is why she was so giddy: Bat pony history.

The history of her race was usually absent in books, they existed but had never been a part of the unification, only appearing in the books much, MUCH later and then on the verge of Nightmare Moons attempt to take over. Those who sided with Nightmare had largely been her own kind and after the brief one month war her kind had been viciously persecuted and chased out. The books back home admitted this was wrong, that ponies acted rashly towards the whole not the few responsible. Still, no book ever said WHY they sided with Nightmare let alone how the bat ponies ever became Equestrians in the first place. Even today they were seen in a bad light, preferring to stay far away in isolated colonies. That was another question she had, why were there so FEW of them?

Sitting through the lecture which at times became part debate Shadow's ears kept lowering, her people were once a nation in the North Eastern part of Equestria, refused unity preferring isolation and neutrality. Vamponies were not common then but they did exist in numbers and largely stayed amongst the bat ponies to aid in obscurity, keeping slaves taken from elsewhere to stay sated in their appetites. The system had worked, at least until Celestia and Luna took over, logically, as Valkardian pointed out, they did NOT want a powerful nation sitting on their border. Especially one that had "evil" living in their midst keeping slaves and thralls, the catch being Equestria was not much better in that regard at this point.

Tension mounted and finally Celestia invaded, gained, lost, gained again and lost again. Her people were every bit as devious as possible in fighting, able to fight as well at night as during the day and being able to fly as a whole they wreaked bloody havoc. It came to head when patience ran out and Celestia decided to just burn all the forests away in that part of Equestria, driving them back bit by bit as the scorched earth policy destroyed farmland bit by bit. Not that it worked entirely either, many lived in giant caves in the mountains, they would remain the biggest and longest lasting holdout.

Fifty years, deforestation was no small feat and even with the two deity like sisters it took time. They even poisoned a river magically to wipe out towns and cities to bring the war to a close sooner, the river and surrounding land only recovered a few centuries ago Valkardian noted. Well that explained why the grasslands now existed... A surrender was forced when Celestia and Luna made a large magical attack on the population, nightmares at night and blazing forests during the day. Bit by bit in the last five years of the war more surrendered till the cave's remained, they were never conquered, they simply "vanished" en masse. Shadow probed for an answer as to where they went but he ignored her.

The nail in the coffin came with Nightmare Moon's coup de tat, volunteers joined her with the promise that in return they would regain their homeland, this backfired. Celestia won, banished Nightmare to the moon and took precautions of her own. Not willing to allow them to try again she had magically sterilized a large portion of them secretly through tainted food shipments, "gifts" to show her goodwill towards them. It also doubled as a modifier to their genes cutting back reproduction to a rate that would keep them where they were at present: around 2.5% of the total population of Equestria.

Since then Celestia erased their history, wrote them out of the rest, even burying their aiding Nightmare, harmony must be preserved at ANY cost. Valkardian had scoffed at this, harmony cannot purvey without its challenges and hurdles. Erasing all of it merely weakened the nation, without conflict they can not grow, only become set in their ways, slothful and ignorant of the truth. "One must be challenged both in mind and soul to grow, Celestia has gouged that out with a rusty spoon" he proclaimed.

There was nothing to say to this, no questions not that he would answer the one about where her people had gone that held out. Conflicting emotions were burning again, Celestia was not so motherly again, logical, but it still burned in how she treated others who tried to avoid her narrow minded view of how the world should work. Shadows ears perked back up when Valkardian placed a large book in front of her, it was written in that script she had seen in Mossdell.
"That, Shadow, is the REAL language of your people, it was called Krethe, that book is a copy of one given to me by Blood Lilly, she took to languages among other things and recorded your peoples tongue. This is your copy, one of my scribes finished it a few days ago. Once you learn your language you will be able to read the books of your ancestors, their literature, poems, philosophy, history, so on. First, you must learn to read and speak it."

"Will you be teaching me how to speak it?"

"Not for a while, languages were never something I could take to very well."

"Your not from this world, I know that now the more I know about you yet you speak Equus very well..."

Valkardian burst out laughing at this "Shadow, not ONCE have I spoken to you in Equus! I am speaking my OWN language right now, you on the other hand "hear" me because the magic of this world translates it." With a few motions of his hands he spoke again and it was the weirdest language she ever heard and a moment later she could understand him again. "That is what I sound like without the magic translating, then again I CAN speak Equus rather well but your language, your REAL language is one of the few I have any degree of mastery. Now, that concludes your lessons, tomorrow you begin your advanced studies, a servant will collect you and you will follow them wherever they go. A letter with instructions has already been prepared for you, all you need to do is read it and carry them out."

"How long will these advanced studies last?"

"Hmm... Probably five to six months, then your REAL training begins."

Leaving the library Shadow followed a servant to the bathroom. So it all started tomorrow, the "advanced studies" or whatever that meant. Worry worked its way up, what did he mean by her real training would begin after that?

Chapter 11

This was hell, absolute hell but damn it all she was going to pass these so called "advanced lesson." The armor chaffed, the shield was too damned heavy and never mind the sword and gear she had to lug around. Shadow marched along at a rapid pace, hunched over, grunting with each step, wings drooped, arms limp at her side. The weight of that damned shield had made her arm go numb and the pack which was loaded with stones or lead bricks, she could not remember what the soldier had loaded it with today, made her bend over heavily. Three pilum in her spare hand along with a pickaxe, tent poles and a pot hanging at the end were slung over her shoulder precariously. If she dared slow the trailing soldier would start smacking her with that damned stick it had.

Vision was limited for a moment as her helmet slipped forward and obscured her vision, with a tired grunt and heave she lifted her shield and shoved it back into place, the heavy boots she wore thudded with each step. Shadow was convinced there was a lead plate hidden in there somewhere. Still, it would be worth it she kept telling herself, all those lessons about the dangers of the caves and now this... If this was the test she had to pass to be allowed out into the world again she would grit her teeth and bear it, at least that is what she convinced herself this was all about. She really hoped it was the truth and not just some ploy of his before going back to more lessons and lectures.

Day after day was the same, wake up randomly, eat fast, don her equipment, run like hell in a big circle in the cave, grab more gear and then spend hours on end hiking in said circle. All the while that damned soldier was right behind her, poking her to go faster or smacking her if she slowed too much or heavens help her if she fell again: grab her roughly, hoist her up with one arm and gut punch her and shove her forward again pointing with that thrice damned stick. She hated that stick, she wanted to break it over the skeletons head.

Every two days Valkardian would make an appearance though, checking and leaving just as quickly. The first visit she had raced, tripped and frankly made a fool of herself rushing over to him begging for the punishment to stop. Whatever she did wrong she was sorry and please stop the torture. He did not laugh nor smile, just looked down at her and informed her if she ever expected to leave his ground she would have to know how to defend herself, she was an investment now and he would not have her falling pray to some mundane death. "Suck it up and get through it" was what he said before leaving.

The food was decent though a far cry from what she was used too, now she was cooking more and more of her own meals. A small cookbook had been given to her with various recipes and all could be made in that one pot of hers which also served as bowl. What was worse was after the first two weeks the soldier had taken to waking her at odd hours and rushing her about wildly then returning her to bed. Being able to fall asleep in seconds was starting to come naturally, she had brought the book on Krethe language with her, it was the only thing she had been allowed to bring other than some simple pants, tunics and underwear. No time to read though, always too tired. She would kill Valkardian even if it was the death of her if this was not worth it.

One month passed and the routine suddenly changed, instead of just lugging all this around she was learning how to use it. Valkardian came daily for the first week, teaching her to use the shield and short-sword properly, adjustments were made to her armor, adjustments she had to make herself no less. "Being able to maintain your armor and weapons is imperative" he said. Well it fit quite nicely now that she had found out she was adjusting the wrong straps. He must have never told her how to do that out of spite or maybe he figured she would figure it out on her own.

Now every day she would get up at a regular time, eat, attack a pole, throw pilum's at targets that kept getting farther away, run around, allow a soldier to hammer on her shield as she tried to keep blocking and all around it was a great improvement. Still, Shadow wanted to at least stab Valkardian, that note had said nothing about any of this only to "obey the instructors to the letter and take only the bag provided, leave everything else behind, you may take one book of your choosing." Damn him.

Two more months passed and during the third she now two sparring partners, they followed her everywhere she went. A letter informed her more would be joining later, now as she loped along from one course to the next they either stood aside waiting or followed her, going through the same paces as her. Sometimes the soldier in charge would turn one of them on her and the fight was on, at first they went easy on her, as more weeks passed they became increasingly violent. Shadow was convinced that had they not been armed with either a wooden spear or sword she would have died several times had this been real.

All the cuts and bruises though were always healed come the next day, she already knew about the various medical flora and fungi and she had been issues a small pouch containing packets. Valkardian one day carefully explained each one in detail and how to use it, even how to neutralize poisons and neurotoxins. She listened closely, be damned if she was going to become a victim of one of those parasites in the lower caves. Sometime in the fourth month though was when all the training took on a whole new meaning.

"Aim for these parts, here... And here... Stab quickly and retreat, if the opportunity presents itself and the target has not gone down stab again in another location. Make short, quick stabs with the tip or cuts, remember never over extend yourself, dont worry about missing a chance, just bide your time." Valkardian kept talking as she sat on the cave flooring watching the hologram of an Equestrian soldier, the imagine would flick back and forth now and then between fully armed and nude. He just kept pointing out more weak points on the pony body, how to identify weak points in the armor and so on.

The lessons took on stranger and stranger meaning as he explained how to bring down pegasi, unicorns, yaks, zebras, hippogriffs, griffons, dragons and on the lessons went. Was he preparing her for a journey in the caves or all out war? And with WHO? He had even explained the various "deity" races of the world and how to bring them down, albeit with INSANE effort and an ungodly amount of luck if not caught unprepared. It was the final lesson on body anatomy in battle that she had an idea of what she was in for: Troglodytes.

Horrific, warped, dark, malicious and by the sun and moon were they ugly. Ranging between five feet tall or a towering eight they inhabited the lower caves, they multiplied rapidly once their numbers got going and would consume everything in their path. They were the machinations of a long dead "demi-god" that had wanted servants of his own and it did not go very well in the end. Now they would break loose, terrorize the world above and caves below every hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty years depending on the gestation cycle. Valkardian explained he had not wiped them out because they were THE "go to source" of bones and fertilizer for crops.

Shadow wretched only a little at that last bit, better them than her. Valkardian had kept them in check for millennia, harvesting them regularly so they would not cause problems above anymore which would mean problems coming back DOWN searching for the source of the infestation. Dumb, wild and unruly they were easily cut down, their sheer strength and numbers though was a big problem, he reassured her however that his forces had grown so great from their "donations" that their breaking loose and going on a rampage was near nill. Still, the odd scouting party would sometimes make a break for it, failing no less but still the danger was there.

They had even formed "communities" and a hierarchy, the biggest led, the rest obeyed or got eaten. Too small? Eaten. Their lives were primitive and simple, weapons of stone and wood from the cave trees or quite often: bone, lots of bone armor she noted looking at the hologram of the brute.

Training went back to normal for a day or two after he completed his seminars on how to kill just about any living and non-living thing she had ever dreamed of and wished she had never known about. Five months in and now she was marching around in a larger formation, listening to silent magical commands in her mind or loud, screeching ones from horns or bangs on metal drums. How a skeleton played a horn was beyond her but they did, without lungs... Must be magic.

Rarely did the soldier smack her with a stick anymore, each drill was so hammered into her that it came naturally now. Studying her language had been back on the list, no longer feeling too exhausted to read and it was a strange language compared to what she knew.

Six months later she was woken by servants not a soldier, the camp was deserted except for the one with its stick. Leaving her tent a servant gave her a note, scanning it her orders were very simple: This was the last test, she had to march in full gear down the road to the marker, touch it and march back again within the allotted time. When she could accomplish that the servants would bring her back. Donning her gear she quickly set off down the road not waiting, this was it, the last test and she intended for it to be the last DAY as well.

It had been a long boring hike, the almighty stick bearer on her heels the entire way to the marker and back again. Back in the camp before she knew it the tent was still there and the soldier simply walked off leaving her alone with the servants. Shadow wanted to leave and leave NOW, marching up to them she said "lets go" and they quickly led her away and to the portal she had used to arrive and stepping through left the training grounds behind.

Valkardian was tired, he had been preparing for the coming onslaught for months now when he was not instructing Shadow, if she intended to be allowed to roam the caves she had to be able to fight and fight well. He had fought off so many incursions he was fairly certain how this one would go only this time, little Shadow would be joining the fighting later on when it was time to clean up. It would give her a chance to put her training to use, see the blood and gore, get over it and then he could let her roam without worry. Should she do well in the coming cave war she would be rewarded though it was really just one more test.

That final marching test should keep her busy for a day more, that bat showed immense promise already not only as a scholar but a fighter. Going into his bedroom and quickly stripping down he looked around, the last day all to himself, not being able to sleep in his own bed at will had been annoying but the entertainment this situation brought was worth it. Climbing into the top of the bed he sunk down and yanked sheets over his head and quickly fell asleep, tomorrow she would be back.

Chapter 12

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.

Chapter 13

Geared up and ready to go. Shadow waited in the hall, Valkardian said it would be a minute more and they would be off, something to do with realigning the portal and a last minute checklist. Nervous, that was the word she was looking for, they were going to face an invasion, not only that but SHE was going to fighting this little war. How? Not a clue. Considering how the caves looked (what little she had seen so far) the fighting would be cramped and from masters own words: very, very bloody.

Stepping from the portal room a servant beckoned her in and hefting her new equipment she walked in, the portal was ready and glowing, another room waited them lined with soldiers. They went through and emerged in the chambers, the portal quickly being shut down behind them. Valkardian stood still for a minute, his eyes glowing a bit more she noted, whenever he was commanding them be it the servants, soldiers, farmers or any of the other's his eyes always had a magical glow. With a quick gesture he took off and left the room, Shadow racing to keep up with his fast pace.

The building they were in quickly emptied out into a courtyard where soldiers were assembled in blocks, not just any soldiers though, these were troglodyte skeletons. So he was using their own against them... That certainly had a fear factor, facing down your own in battle, she asked as they quickly walked along and the only answer was "psychological warfare." Whatever works she guessed. Mounting a stairwell and climbing to the top they emerged on the parapet. The wall was high, dizzyingly high, there was a second, lower wall some two hundred yards out, deep spike filled pits and beyond that she strained to make out details.

The cave was wide and long with a slight downward slope, several tunnels connected here, she could make out two massive tunnels in the distance. The cavern floor was dense with glowing moss and what she assumed was mushrooms. No trees of any kind grew, just dense moss covering everything. The strange part was that there had been no moss in between the first and second wall let alone the courtyard.

"Master, why does the moss not grow here and what happened to the trees?"

"Simply put, I keep the trees cut so there is nothing to block the view or fire lines, also without trees there is no cover. The moss grows thickly down there because that is the FIRST wall ever built here, what we are standing on is the second built after the first battle. The moss grows only beyond that one wall because the ground there is a thick matting of dead trogoldyte's. The ones that could not use used as soldiers, servants and so on were left to rot, they turned into fertilizer for the various mosses and mushrooms and over the millennia soil formed and what you see now is the result. The moss is DENSE because it gets so much fertilizer every century and a half or two. This would be RICH farmland if it were not for the dangers lurking beyond these walls."

He scanned the caves one last time before heading down Shadow tailing close behind "Shadow, my fortresses in these lower regions are the dividing line between the "safer" upper levels and the nightmares below. They serve their purpose well, step beyond these walls and your life is in terrible danger."

The "keep" as he called it was carved directly into the cavern wall, rising some five levels with arrow slits and bigger ones that held ballista. The portal was on the ground floor and farther in, soldiers would arrive through it shortly she was warned and she was free to explore the keep, should the enemy breach the second wall this keep was her "last stand." Valkardian assured her the odds were ridiculously low of that happening again, the enemy had only twice managed to absolutely overrun the walls and courtyard before being thrown back. A second keep was across the cave, simpler in design, it only housed archers, ballista and a small company of crossbow soldiers.

Walking the narrow halls was boring though, no carvings, just rough floors and walls, this place was built for a single purpose: WAR. There were no frills, every turn was a choke-point, minimal rooms and doors. Standing behind a ballista she examined the beast of a machine, it was made of some wood but mostly metal. Even the "string" was metal, a dense woven cable of metal, even with the gears the sheer amount of brute power required to operate this thing was beyond her. Smaller ones existed elsewhere, so why did he have something like THIS put in? She knew all about the monstrosities down below already and that the troglodytes would use them to "breach" the wall if they got the chance. Examining one of the bolts laid against the wall she wondered if the monsters really WERE that strong or if this was overkill.

Most of the rooms held supplies, extra weapons, shields, armor but more than anything there were bins heaped upon bins marked arrows or bolts. One room held nothing but pilum, thousands and thousands of them right to the ceiling. Just how many troglodytes was he expecting to attack? That had been left out in her lessons other than to say "swarm." Two rooms had been prepared, one was Valkardians usual room, this time Shadow had a smaller room all to herself. They were the only rooms in the whole place that were cozy, polished floors and walls, bed, dresser, armor stand and a weapons stand too. Sitting on her bed she twiddled her thumbs, this waiting was boring.

A soldier had been sent to collect Shadow, he had everything in place, a force already waiting on the far side of the outer wall, it would appear Shadow would be getting some extra lessons ahead of schedule. Watching her arrive he led her off through the gatehouses and soon they stood out on the dense moss field, a large host of soldiers at the ready. She kept staring at him trying to figure out what he was doing.

"The enemy chief seems to be one of the very RARE "smart" ones, it only sent a few scouting parties up before we arrived. Rather than wait on it to "organize" its swarm I am going to draw it out by engaging one of its smaller groups. This will set off a chain reaction as the swarm itself rushes up to join the battle, we will be gone by then and once they have begun swarming they can not be stopped. Their leader will simply push them forward in waves to attack, whatever plan forgotten in the desire to slaughter and eat."

*Hump* "They are so hell bent on fighting they never realize they are up against the dead until the battle is on and even then their pea sized brains are incapable of changing their swarming behavior, they just keep coming till they are all wiped out. Frenzied, that is the word."

"Master, where will I be?"

"Oh, you will be with me the entire time, stay close and whatever happens do not get separated from me, when the order to fall back goes out we will be moving quickly and you do NOT want to be left behind."

Shadow nodded and just as quickly the first companies began to march down one of the massive tunnels, it was like watching a snake slither off the way the soldiers linked up one company behind another. Joining in the middle they set off. Looking at him a question popped up: "Master, why are you not wearing armor?"

"Who said I was not?"

He had not even glanced at her, near as she could tell there was no armor on his head or hands, maybe it was hidden under the robes? No shield but then he had hidden that sword from her during training under the robes somehow.

The march continued for a short time before a fight broke out, scouting party she was told. It only took a moment and the march continued and after many bends and twists, side tunnels and turns she was completely lost. If she were to be left behind now she would never find her way back now. With a lurch the pace suddenly quickened and soon she felt Valkardian pushing her to one side as the rear companies rushed past and began forming up.

This cave was not as grand as the other, smaller, narrower, only one entrance and exit, they were on the high ground looking down and looking farther down she saw a small group of the enemy. Troglodytes sat munching on one of their own and now were turning their large, milky white eyes up to the ranks of soldiers above.

"Come on you stupid bastards, you can see us already, what does it take to make your tiny minds work? Attack!"

Shadows head had snapped towards him at this sudden outburst, turning back the troglodytes kept staring and finally one jumped up, panicked and ran down the tunnel. The rest of them watched it go, turned back, acted confused then scampered after it. Valkadian had not been joking when he said they were "dumber than hell" and dense as a lead brick. A small electrical shock touched her ear and worked its way into her mind, jumping she saw he had touched her ear.
"Shadow, I linked you into the magic that I use to control my forces without the need for words, sound or signal, you will be able to hear every command now."

Never had his mouth moved, she could hear him in her head clearly, his face was watching the far tunnel intently. Curiosity wormed its way up as her ears suddenly picked up distant fighting and banging. Sounds echoed up and into the cavern, it was eerie hearing them and they were most certainly coming. Pounding of weapons and feet grew louder and louder. Gargling, howling and other strange noises greeted her ears and only grew in number and volume, a couple burst through the tunnel and raced wildly forward.

"Ready weapons."

Hearing the command Shadow watched as the ranks quickly brought their shields up and weapons were readied a moment later "hold ground, defend, kill" entered her mind and the first of the troglodytes slammed into the front ranks and were cut down instantly. Not a moment later the "swarm" emerged from the tunnel, fear lanced through her stomach, they poured out like a tidal wave, all manner of sizes. Some were huge, lumbering ones, other creatures were with them, "tamed" and used as war beasts.

"You are in for a treat today Shadow, they brought their siege breakers with them..."

Looking back and forth between Valkardian and the oncoming wave she was sick with worry and doubt, if he had not been standing there so calmly she would have bolted. This was too much, just too damned much for them to handle.
"Army, sheath weapon, pilum ready, first rank, throw, down. Second rank, throw, down, third rank..."

Commands flowed out as rank by rank threw their pilum with staggering force, they did not even arch out like her own did, Shadow had to aim high and allow it to drop into the target. The soldiers simply aimed nearly straight ahead and threw, ducked and the rank behind repeated the process. Four ranks hurtled their pilum into the ranks, the spacing in the command allowed a spacing that meant the pilum were rarely wasted.

"Army, ready weapons, hold ground, defend, kill."

All as one the soldiers were back up in a flash and as the troglodtyes slammed into the formations the killing began in earnest. Rarely did a soldier fall, very rarely, the enemy threw themselves, biting and snapping or flailing wildly which had no effect agaist the shields let alone armor. The bigger ones however would swing hard, usually killing some of their own in the process before lumbering in and getting cut down by the furious stabbing of the soldiers.

Two arms reached out at the enemy, Shadow watched back and forth quietly as Valkardian muttered something and an explosion of light shot out from his hands. Lightning burned and blasted its way through the enemy swarm, he had aimed for the largest concentration of "siege breakers" and now they fell dead, bodies charred.

It did not stop either, the killing just kept going, her ears hurt from all the ruckus, every once in a while the order to "rotate" would go out and the soldiers in front would slip back and another take their place. He had explained in one lesson this was to prevent their shields from breaking, the soldiers NEVER tired but the constant pounding could eventually shatter shields creating holes in the line. For HER it was a bigger threat, she could tire and fall or if the shield broke too...

How long had they been here? the bodies had piled up, he had begun to march them forward very slowly, in fact this was boring to her. It was like mowing grass, whenever the war beasts appeared he shot them down, if they grouped too much he burned them away.

Her attention was quickly drawn to the extreme right, some bigger ones had instead of just rushing head on now clambered up the wall and hurtled themselves over the lines and behind them. "Shadow, ready, face right!" Without even thinking she brought her shield up, faced them and drew her sword. Most of them died quickly when the rear rank about faced and cut them down. A few however had seen the two standing on their own.

Animalistic brains in gear they were racing towards the "weakest" of the herd, isolated and thus an easy target they loped and sprang forward with frightening speed. She was shaking when one of the smaller ones that was leading the way leapt at her. "Shadow! Stab it to death!" His voice rank in her head and with a scream that was part fear and panic and one part battle cry she shoved her sword forward and felt the blow land. She was thrown back by the impact of the creature slamming into her shield. Stabbing wildly now she just kept slamming her sword into it again and again, wet, sloppy sounds came to her ear as it gurgled and slid off her shield.

Panting and staring at it she never heard the command to get down, standing there first looking at the body then back up as the other two reached her. The one towered over her, a full eight feet tall and hefting its weapon, her ears would have flattened back had her helmet prevented it. Throwing herself to one side she avoided the blow and a split second later the creature fell dead, its body blazing. The next command she did hear: "Shadow, finish the last one quickly!" Back up she rushed forward and plowed into it, the last smaller one was staring at the one on fire trying to figure out what happened. Ramming it with her shield it fell back and thrusting quickly it let out a gargled cry and fell, standing over it Shadow kept stabbing till it stopped moving.

Standing back and looking down she nearly retched but she felt a solid "thump" through her helmet. Jumping and spinning Valkardian was eyeing her up and down, she relaxed a moment then the situation hit her all over again.
"Shadow, steady on, the battle is just about over, be ready to go or I will have soldiers drag you away."

He turned away from her focusing on the battle again, taking a deep breath and pushing it aside like she had been taught she looked forward again, sure enough the enemy wave was thinning out quickly. Some were already running away and soon it became a stampede as they flowed away from the soldiers and down the tunnel.

"Army, about face, section 1 return to base, section 2 follow..."

Commands went out for a moment as the soldiers quickly formed up and marched away rapidly. Remembering the warning she joined Valkardian again in the middle as they moved at a quickened pace. Along the way he warned her that no matter what just keep moving forward, they had to get back inside, seal the gate and be ready, it would be a matter of hours before the main forces combined and rushed the fortress.

Shadow felt like running, she wanted to get behind those massive, safe, well defended walls. The "nightmare ballista's" as she had dubbed them made sense, a pilum would have a hard time dropping the bigger ones. Praying all the way she hoped there were either too few beasts or more than enough ballista's to halt them. Valkardian knew what he was doing and had kept preparing the defenses over the millennia but still, she wanted to make absolutely certain.

Chapter 14

Great haste was made when they came into view of the fortress to get inside, seeing it from a new angle gave her greater appropriation for its design. From the front it was truly formidable, the towers on the lower level held ballista on top and the second level back was dotted with small catapults and hellishly large ballista. The ramparts were now teeming with soldiers standing at the ready, the points of spears could be seen, the natural glow of the fungi making them glisten eerily. Rushing through the gates and onto the second level the soldiers peeled off and formed up in the space between the two walls, joining neatly into another force already waiting.

Behind them the gates ground and groaned as they were slowly shut and skeletons began to bar and reinforce them. As they passed beyond the second wall distant pounding could be heard echoing up the various tunnels, the sound though faint was gentle but held a foreboding of what was to come.

He led her back into the fortress and quickly about faced and promptly checked her over, looking down at herself Shadow realized just how much blood covered everything. Telling her to wait he took off and she paused to look herself over, her chest was mostly clean, her sword arm was drenched in blood, taking her helmet off for a moment it was no longer a steely color but painted dark red, almost black. Her shield was the worst, it even had a piece of skin stuck to it on the outside, the more she looked the more the bile rose in throat, stomach threatening to heave from the smell that now assaulted her. Somehow this had all been ignored but looking at it and thinking...

Such thoughts ended when Valkardian's voice caught her ears, he brought her a small bag and told her to follow him. His pace had slowed now, taking his time, examining more ranks of soldiers as they passed on their way to a tower. Climbing up he led her onto the parapets and took the bag from her and opened it. Eyes going wide he pulled first a bow then quiver from it and gave them to her. Quiver slung snugly over her armor she was given the pouch and told to attach it to her belt. There were over forty quiver's in the bag, each one containing twenty-five arrows. When she used up one, put it back and grab another, keep her shield close and lean it against the crenelations but do not leave it unattended or a passing soldiers might collect it.

"Master, I only ever shot a bow once and that was when you were training me... I fired five arrows and that was it." He smiled at her and patted her shoulder "Dont worry, your about to get a LOT of practice. You are free to wander this wall as you please, remember to duck when they throw stones or other objects!" Leaving her there he disappeared into a tower leaving her alone with the other soldiers. All around her archers were standing rigidly at attention, waiting for commands. As she walked down the line looking out, picking a place that would give her the best view she settled in beside a rank of crossbow soldiers.

Looking them over she decided to call them "crossbow's of doom," they were huge, more like a small ballista's than crossbows. Only the skeletons had the raw power needed to draw the string into place, she would need another pony to help and a winch to pull it back. Clacking caught her attention as the catapults began to be drawn back into firing position, even from her odd vantage point she could just make out the movements on the towers above. Staring below at the first wall the same was being done with ballista's mounted on the tops of the towers, two dense formations had drawn up below now, the gates were left open for a hasty retreat she guessed.

Thudding and pounding grew louder in the distance, glaring at the massive tunnels ahead she was almost trying to burn away the darkness to see just a little deeper. A shout caught her attention and looking at the tower above her Valkardian was peering down at her, and pointed with a heavily armored hand towards the tunnels. "About an hour and the first waves will arrive! Only start firing when the other archers fire, aim high on your first shot and see where it goes then adjust your aim!" He popped back out of sight quickly and Shadow looked back out over the cave. She had not signed up for this when she became an explorer.

*Thud... Thud... Thud...* It was getting a little louder as the minutes ticked by, she glanced to her little "clock" crystal she had kept from so many months ago. This waiting and pounding was going to kill before the trog's ever had a chance too... Trog's... Why was she calling them that now? Why was she not distraught over the idea of killing them? It was very un-pony like to actually look forward, however slightly, to killing another living being. No, she did not see them as living beings, they were monsters and deserved to die after what she had seen. Eating their own kind? Even stopping their attack to drag some dead away to start eating right there on the battlefield? How sick and twisted was the madpony that had made them?

No, they deserved to die and she was going to kill as many as she could. Wait, no, this was WRONG, ponies dont kill! Ponies believe in peace and harmony! Damn Valkardian and his mind games! What was he trying to do to her? The thudding suddenly increased in tempo and became louder, a kind of "war chant" was now audible though soft and distant. To her ears it sounded like gargling, hissing and screeching, maybe to them it sounds terrifying but right now it only put her more on edge. Fear was gone, now only the desire to kill remained, any as vile as the trog's deserved whatever was coming to them.

Looking at the time again she let out a sigh and leaned against the parapet, if what he said was true it would be another twenty minutes before they got there. Sounds really DID carry well in the caves. Unfortunately, the tunnels leading into the massive cavern were so far if that if one DID pop into the cavern she would not see it unless it was a bigger one. Commands suddenly flooded through her mind, she tuned them out, they were not meant for her. Archers notched arrows, the crossbow's were drawn and loaded.

"This is it..." Mumbling to herself, her own bow had an arrow notched as she waited impatiently, the sounds were much louder now, almost as loud as they had been in that first battle. "Any second now..." A mass of movement on the wall below caught her attention, archers suddenly drew and aimed then held ready. The ones near her had taken no action so she waited... And waited... A chorus of screeching and hissing blared out from the largest of the tunnels as the swarm poured out, massive war beasts at the front they barreled forward.

Below the archers let fly a volley and the ballista's fired shortly after, it hardly made a dent in the tide, a few beasts fell crushing some trog's that were too dumb to get out of the way. Each hole was promptly filled right back in and they just kept pouring out. Volley after volley, even the catapults were flinging stones into them grinding trog and beast alike to pulp. No matter how a big hole was punched it filled right back in again, soon the other tunnels were pouring more of them into the fight.

Around her the archers suddenly drew back and readied a volley, the command was audible in her mind but like the other crystal, she could tune the commands in or out with focus. Drawing her own bow back she found it was difficult but do-able. "Loose, repeat" the command was followed instantly all around her, they fired, prepared another volley and kept repeating the command over and over again. Her own lone arrow arched up and into the distance, with great difficulty the followed its path into the distance where it hit something. Well, with that many of them it was impossible to miss.

Adjusting her aim, the shots were now landing somewhere beyond the front of the first wall, every once in a while a magical blast would make the cave echo. Very quickly she fell into her own quiet rhythm, she could not even begin to keep up with the archers or the slower crossbows but Valkardian said to get in LOTS of practice. So she did, lots and lots of practice.

An eternity had passed, quivers had been used up, skeletons rushed along the parapet carrying more of them and issuing them out including to her, taking the spent quiver's away. Well, she was saving quivers now at least, she had only used three from the magical bag on her belt, the rest had been hand delivered. What worried her though was when pilum were being placed in and around her, were they about to breach the wall? Sure the Trog's war beasts had kept hammering on the gates to no avail, whatever magic guarded them was too strong to breach with simple pounding she guessed.

It had begun to get boring, notch, aim and fire, the pilums were laid out, three to each soldier on the wall including three for her, which made six since she had brought three to start with. Only once did she have to swat a soldiers hand that went for her shield and in a loud clear voice "NO!" This seemed to work, it simply stopped, looked at her a moment then lumbered off.

Below her new developments were starting to take place: ballista's were quickly unhooked and removed and rushed through the gate below. A few minutes later the archers rushed from the towers below then the walls and fell behind the ranks of soldiers below and reformed. It was not long before she understood why: the pile of corpses in front of the first wall was now so high it reached the parapet!

Not long after the wall was abandoned they swarmed over it, leaping to their death's on the other side. "Too dumb to use the stairs..." Shadow watched in mild amusement as the trog's blindly threw themselves forward, incapable of anything but a blood frenzy and unable or unwilling to realize there was a hefty drop at the back of the wall they just climbed. Bodies started to pile up quickly enough, soon some were only suffering broken legs and arms. Occasionally some would use the stairs, the war beasts seemed to figure this out the quickest. Yet they still drug their broken bodies forward, so pumped full of whatever it was they felt no pain. The archers and crossbows had kept firing but not at the "jumpers" she termed them, instead firing over the wall into the distance.

"And these are the "smart" ones... By the holy peach how can they get any dumber?" Shadow had long quit firing, instead just watching quietly, now and then Valkardian would peek over and check on her, she would wave. Once she called out how in tartarus these were the "smarter" ones and he just laughed. He was enjoying this...

Then again, so was she, very, very un-pony like. She should feel ashamed of herself but as she kept watching it seemed like this was more a case of pest control than killing. Kind of like putting out poison for cockroaches except instead of poison your using boulders, arrows, bolts and every once in a while a "doom bolt" would zip out and impale a war-beast or if it missed: make one hell of a furrow in the trog's ranks.

"Hey Shadow! Watch this!" He was pointing at the ranks below and she peeked down and the soldiers below began to bang on their shields and stomp an armored foot. *Thud, thump, thud, thump* she kept watching and listening and the result was near instant, an enraged noise rose up from the trog's, part gurgle part howl they came even faster, now hurtling themselves even farther off the wall below, bypassing the mounting corpse pile and splattering on the harder stone floor. Evil cackling was all she caught from the tower above as the soldiers stopped a few minutes later but the results continued for a while longer.

At some point during all of this a servant emerged from the tower Valkardian was in carrying a tray with a goblet and pitcher. Watching it make its way over to her it presented the tray and taking the goblet she took a drink. Watered down wine... Still, it was quite good, cold and refreshing. Placing the goblet back it turned and left her to keep watching. Moments later Valkardian yelled her name, they cushion of corpses below was now getting high enough that the trog's were surviving the jump and making it to the ranks of soldiers in number.

Readying her bow again she began to fire, missing several times. Steadying herself she kept practicing her aim and soon was more or less hitting her targets, the bigger ones just shrugged the blow off and kept going, the smaller ones usually fell almost instantly. Quiver after quiver her aim kept getting better, her arm was sore and her fingers hurt but she kept firing anyway. Below the wall the soldiers were now in a furious battle, the trog's were coming over the wall so fast the wall was now obscured from vision.

How many had she killed? Shadow had lost count after eighty nine, she had made a bit of a game of it even. Picking out one unlucky bastard in the lot, tracking it and bringing it down. A smile came to her face each time one fell on the first shot. Stopping for a brief moment to scan for targets she saw one climb into a tower holding a strip of something.

"Slingers!" Shadow did not even realize she said it aloud till Valkardian called back that they were rather "later" in getting to the battle and to keep her head down, one hit would put an eye out or crack a skull open. Taking his advice she ducked back after each shot. More of them clambered into the towers and soon the sound of stones smacking into the crenelations filled her ears. Valkardian seemed to not give two hoots about it, the soldiers heavy metal helmets protected them very well from these small nuisances. She, on the other hand...

There was a new game afoo: see how many slingers she could kill, not that it mattered. Her aim had greatly improved with all the practice, more than ten hours on the wall and still no end in sight. Notching another arrow she leaned out quickly, aimed and let the arrow zip off at the tower below, just barely peeking around the crenelation to see if it hit. A trog slipped from the tower and fell into the pile of bodies below, Shadow grinned.

"Kathdars!" Shadows head shot up to the tower, Valkardian leaned out for just a moment and pointed. She knew what that was, one of the biggest war beasts, normally they were the first into the fight but now they seemed to be the last. The trog's fury was starting to relent somewhat. Maybe it would be over soon, she was sore from all this archery practice.

The lumbering hulks entered her vision and her eyes grew, she had been told how big they were but actually seeing one was something else. Three of them entered the cave and crushed everything under them as they began to barrel forward. Magic, stone, doom bolts and everything else slammed into them and one by one they fell. The last almost made it, leaping forward before a bolt through an eye brought it down.

As the battle kept raging below more kathdars emerged and like those before were cut down. This seemed to have an effect on the trog's, their minds were tiny but entering a cave covered one end to the other in thick sheets of bodies and now their most fearsome beast caused them to hesitate. Sensing the battle was nearing its end the order to advance was given and the soldiers below though reduced in number marched forward on the attack.

It was the straw that broke the camels back, now on the receiving end of the assault the trog's began to scamper back bit by bit. Soon the slingers were throwing themselves out of the towers to get away. Shadow had taken back up firing at them again, below another formation of soldiers marched out and drew up behind those advancing. The route was on, by the time the soldiers marched up the hill of corpses to the wall the trog's were now in full flight, scampering down the tunnels gargling and hissing in terror as they went.

She watched for a bit as the soldiers stabbed any of the wounded to death as the advance continued. The cave was devoid of "life" now, the trog's had all fled leaving the dead and wounded behind. Cleaning this all up would be... Something else. Valkardian had a soldier bring her up to the tower, he simply ignored her and beckoned out over the battlefield.

From this vantage point it was a sight to behold, the tower was located at just the right height to give him a perfect view of the carnage, from her part of the wall she had only seen a fraction of what was going on at any given moment.

"You have a week to rest up and recover, by then most of the bodies that are useful will have been removed and prepared. After that we are marching down that tunnel and hunting their chief down, it escaped in the fight, this one is smart enough to not join the frenzy. The second time the walls were overrun was because one of the "smart" one got away and came back, they can live a long time and it knew just enough from the one defeat to try again. It had the front ranks run up with debris and formed a pile of stone and dead bodies for the others to climb. That one was a clever little bugger, it must have really burned its brain for a century to come up with that plan."

Turning Valkardian faced her, Shadow caught a glimpse of a helmet in one hand, so he WAS wearing a helmet during the fight, had she just not noticed, so bent on fighting to realize it? She was glad to have not noticed, it was a frightening looking thing of black metal with red and blue runes engraved on it forming patterns. His gauntlets were the same, poking her nose she realized she was staring and straightened up. "Go and get a bath, food and sleep." Waving her off she happily left the tower, climbing down the stairs and returning to her room. Servants brought some buckets of warm water, stripping, cleaning her equipment then herself she dropped onto her bed and staring absently at the ceiling Shadow wondered what her family would say if they could see her now. A pony that delighted in murder, no, not murder, killing... That was still wrong, no she had been right all along: this was pest control and she couldn't wait to kill more of them.

Chapter 15

Author's Notes:

Not sure when the next chapter will come out, be it in another day or a week. Not sure how to write it and get it all bound together in the stories continuity. So you one or two followers of this story... Hope you enjoy the newest chapter before things calm down again.

Also this chapter is a divergence from previous ones in some ways in how it was written, word use and sentence structure.

A skeletal hand gripped her shoulder and shook till she sat up in her bed, quickly dawning her regalia Shadow quickly left her room and went straight to the "planning room" to await her orders. It had been a week to the day now and the air was thick with a choking miasma that followed her wherever she went. Death and decay and over-taken the cave before the servants could even begin to move half the putrid corpses that filled it, their stench when alive was bad enough but now it was tenfold worse; the heavy use of lime did little to reduce the odor that perforated everything. Valkardian did not even look at her when Shadow entered the room preferring to simply beckon and point to a map laid out on the large table before her.

"We leave today and are going to follow this route... I doubt they will launch any assaults or have ambushes laid for the column. We should be to one of their colonies in about two days time..." Valkardian continued to drone on explaining his plan in detail to her not that it really mattered to Shadow anyway, she was simply a pawn in this little war of his that would go where she was told and when. "One squad will be assigned to you to aid in mopping up the harder to reach areas. Questions?"

Her head snapped up from the map at this declaration and stared at him wide eyed. He was giving her a squad to command? "No, yes! How do I command them?" This was indeed a surprise considering she was still a slave but then again he rarely treated her like one and as time went along that became more true, Shadow was more an armed servant than slave. Valkardian began to drone on about how to command them and even handed her a scroll with a list of commands to give before ushering her out of the room with instructions to simply go to the grounds outside and wait. It had been a short wait when ten soldiers marched up and waited for her and after going through the scroll a few times she had a good hang of things, Valkardian appeared a short while later and the ten departed to rejoin their cohort and Shadow found herself in an odd position just behind them and in front of another cohort on her own.

Marching out through the gates and being able to see the battlefield up close brought up an urge to vomit. Cave insects crawled over the corpses eating and breeding over the vast field of carnage. Fortunately servants had cleared a wide path through the field of slaughter and Shadow was grateful for her heavy boots as each step brought a sickening, putrid squelch; a path had been cleared but the oozing rot remained. The long column quickly turned and began to slither its way down one of the large tunnels while the pace quickened since there was no longer anything to slip and slide on. It took hours before the air became "cleaner" to her nose yet the stench had perforated her fur and clothing making the smell inescapable.

Long hours passed as the march continued on and every so often she would see a corpse off to the side of the path they followed giving the impression some of the wounded tried to escape but bled out at different points along the way. Shadow could not help but glance around her as they marched deeper into trog territory, the fear of an ambush still played out in her mind even though Valkardian had told her the odds were low on the first day or two of the march; after that however...

Shadow's ears twitched nervously as the column wound its way through the tunnel. A day and a half had passed already and now they would arrive at any time and her first "real" battle would begin despite being assigned as mop-up. This was so unbelievably different from the last two battles he had witnessed or partaken in. There would be no grand walls to protect her from hard nor any real assistance from Valkardian, Shadow would be on her own with ten soldiers and if she messed up well... The shattered remains of a soldier were a quiet reminder of what could happen to her at any moment or with a single false step, scouts had been sent ahead and discovered an ambush and destroyed it quickly but even from her position farther back the sound's had carried quite well. A monstrous trog had been waiting around a bend and as the soldier made the bend it slammed it so hard with a club that the skeleton shattered to pieces as armor was rent from sheer impact.

Eyes peeled forward she knew the odds of it happening to her right now were low but Valkardian had already explained her task in the coming battle with great detail that did little to quench her growing dread. Just a week ago she had looked forward to this quite eagerly but now that she would be fighting them on a much more personal and even battlefield doubts cropped up. "Remember your training and you will be fine." Yes, he had said that over and over as if knowing her thoughts (and perhaps he was spying on them) but it did little to allay concerns.

Banging and drumming began to echo up from somewhere in the distance and her heart began to battle for dominance of her throat. Sounds of battle began to increase and trickle back as the pace picked up again while a heavy, echoing *boom* made the cavern floor quiver ever so slightly. Valkardian had moved forward not long ago and if he was already slinging spells at them there must be a lot of them left than previously believed. A fast march became a loping rush as the soldiers surged forward into an expansive cave that continued off into the distance, everything seemed to wriggle and writhe with activity as Shadow jogged into the cave.

Eyes growing wide she beheld the troglodtye "colony" that stretched off into the distance and what a sight to behold it was. Pony architecture was either graceful or charming but there was no charm or grace to anything in this cave, instead it looked as if a madpony had created this place and used tartarus and a garbage dump as their schematic while sowing total chaos for good measure. Trog buildings haphazardly loomed up several stories winding their way around stalagmites and stalactites in bizarre patterns while other structures leaned against each other in a wild battle for domination and support. How this nightmarish city held itself together without collapsing or burning down was beyond her.

Each cohort quickly moved into position forming an ever widening line and Shadow followed dutifully behind hers as they took up a position towards the middle left of the ever increasing battle. Shadow found herself slowly moving forward with them as each rotation of the front line brought her one rank closer to the front. Holding on to the armor of the skeleton to her front she ground her teeth in anticipation of what was to come and what seemed like an eternity of wait ended when the word "rotate" slipped into her head again. In a flash the soldier in front of her stepped quickly back and to her right and pushed its way back between the tightly packed ranks and before she knew what was going on Shadow was confronted with a troglodyte throwing itself against her shield with reckless abandon, pounding and stabbing wildly with a short spear.

Shadow almost screamed for a second before her training kicked it and with one swift motion she drew her sword and stabbed at the creatures face. Bile rose up and threatened to overcome her attempts to hold it down as her blade slammed into the troglodytes eye causing it to burst and send slimy fluids over her hands, face and arm. Snapping her sword hand back she watched as everything seemed to slow down, the trog was dead and falling backwards as fluids flowed down its face only for another to push the body aside just as fast and slam its body into her shield and a fast duck on her part was all that saved her face from being torn off. Stabbing around her shield she felt something and stabbed rapidly a few more times for good measure, each trust made whatever was battering her shield slow to a halt.

Recovering and looking forward wide eyed and shaking slightly as adrenaline coursed through her veins she quickly stabbed another one much like the first then another and another. When the order to rotate buzzed in the back of her mind barely heard it let alone paid attention to the command. If it were not for a sudden yank on her armor that sent her backwards she would have remained there stabbing away furiously at them. Remembering the order Shadow began to scoot her way back down the narrow, tight corridor between the soldiers and soon found herself at the back of the ranks again sweating profusely and trembling while clutching her sword in a death grip and looking wild eyed.

Before she could rotate forward again though ten soldiers in front of her stepped back rapidly and marched to her left and she followed automatically as she had been instructed to do. Their path took them down the length of the first formation and towards a small alcove. Unlike the fortress cave this grand chamber had little nooks and crannies all over the place, most were smoldering high above as Valkardian kept pouring fire into them as the formation ground its way forward.

The cavern floor was a mess of corpses already, the army had advanced more than four hundred yards already by her guess and now her little group were stepping over bodies and the occasional shattered remains of a soldier. A small tunnel opened up before them and led into another, smaller chamber. First task at hand she stopped to consider her actions for a moment, she did want want to appear cowardly to Valkardian who was no doubt watching her even if only partially but then again she did not want to be the first one round the bend and wind up like that soldier she had seen.

"You, go first, kill anything that moves except me." Shadow had been assured that they would most certainly not attack or kill her without his express orders so there was no chance on her to foul up the orders but still it was better to be safe than sorry. Following the soldier close behind a part of her said this was cowardly but another part reminded her that they were not living to begin with and could be replaced while she on the other hand only had one life to give. "Better you than me big guy..." Muttering this to the possibly doomed soldier in front of her she checked behind her and the other followed in single file as they worked their way through the short passage into the adjoining chamber.

Not a moment after entering something jumped on the soldier from her right and began to batter at it and without thinking Shadow stabbed it in the side quickly and it fell away. "Form line! Advance! Kill!" The words had left her mouth before she even realized it and just as quickly the other nine soldiers rushed in and formed up and not a moment too soon either. Just as the last soldier stepped into line several trogs hurled themselves at them from the walls and in front. Shadow was busy beating them away from the soldiers backs as they advanced forward with a slow, deadly precise pace.

Two hundred yards later she ordered a halt and looked around the soldiers at the ramshackle buildings before them. Looking around with a small degree of wonder that her first little command had gone so well she took the time to examine the damage done: about fifty of them lay dead behind them and as her eyes scanned more could be seen cowering in their huts and one had its head stuffed under something with its body sticking out thinking it was hidden. They were indeed cowardly when you killed enough of them she though reaching for a pouch that held the next part of her orders: burn it all.

Pulling a red glowing crystal from a pouch she held it carefully and ordered the soldiers back to the entrance and form a wall so nothing would escape. Standing before them she lifted her arm and pointed the crystal straight ahead and using the command word fire spat forth and lashed its way into the huts causing them to burst into flame, the surrounding ones quickly joining in. Dropping the crystal back into her pouch she hefted her shield again and ran like a bat possessed towards her little line and realized she could have done this just as easily farther back. Any second thoughts or lessons learned from this first action were banished as the burning trog's surged out of their huts and towards her some howling angrily others gurgling in terror trying to flee the flames.

Shadow dove past her line and spun in time to block a blow and the battle was back on, most of them were on fire as they came the magical fire melting their flesh off releasing a sickening odor in the air of burning filth and something else that was indescribable. "Next time stand IN the line while using the crystal" Shadow chided herself they kept battling off the troglodytes.

Alcove after alcove it went on like this, Valkardian had assigned another ten to her for one of the larger alcoves and she was grateful for them and wished she had more still. A new tactic had made itself apparent to her: so long as she could clearly see the target the soldiers did not have to enter the alcove or cave proper. Instead they could seal up the exit and she could stand sandwiched amongst them and blast the huts from a distance for the same effect and less hassle. So far her little trick was working wonders and if she gave the cave another good blast or two depending on its size there was little fighting to be had in fact.

Valkardian was pleased with her developments and reminded her that he had given her all those crystals to use so use them! That little pouch was a true wonder seeing as it was stuffed with them somehow without bursting but magic is magic and she was not going to complain if it meant she could keep blasting them out of hiding without having to go in after them.

Clearing out another adjoining cave Shadow emerged from the tunnel coughing from the smoke filled air. Fire had taken root in the colony and the air was dense with a chocking smog that reeked of burning flesh yet despite it Shadow could still see where she was going well enough. Valkardian had called a halt now that the fires blazed out of control and was driving the trog's either into them or away and in all honesty she could see no point in advancing till the fired burned out less they risk themselves in the inferno.

"We will camp here and let the fires burn down a bit. Tomorrow the march will resume down the Eastern tunnel towards their largest hive..." Valkardian had the map out and was showing Shadow the route, order of battle and again reminding her of her own duties. The purpose of this battle was much simpler and more precise than the last: Kill their chief. Doing so would cause mass chaos and make the culling easier since the only one capable of holding the swarm together would be dead. Killing it would also mean they would be less likely to attack and make herding them into dead end tunnels easier.

"How are we herding them with just this one army? We passed a dozen tunnels on the way here and they can flee down any one of them." She had to admit it was odd that this once force alone would manage this, were there more columns out there?

"I never said this was the only army, there are nine others doing the same thing and driving them down the tunnel network towards assigned areas, other, smaller forces are sealing off side tunnels to make certain they go where I want them to go."

"Your commanding ten armies at the same time? How is that even possible? You have skeletal wizards or something I dont know about?"

Valkardian gave her a look that she could one of two ways: she was either insane or right and Shadow could not decide which. Instead, he simply ignored her, went back to explaining the plan then rolled up the map and released her for the night. There were benefits to being the only other living thing in the army Shadow thought as she left: A tent all to herself and servants bringing her food and drink, one even brought a bucket of water Valkardian had magicked up and she was grateful for it; it took a lot of scrubbing to get the gore and stench out her fur.

March, march, march... That is all they had done for days on end now and it was a routine Shadow did not care for very much. How far had they traveled? Were they really any closer or just winding in circles herding the enemy to their doom? The drudgery was only alleviated by the occasional spat now and that when some piddly little group of trog's was unable to flee fast enough or blundered into them from a side tunnel. A single assurance had been given last night though: soon. What a wonderful assurance that was, it was the same assurance given a few days ago and they were still marching.

Still, it was not all bad. Along the way her little force had grown to some twenty with another sixty in reserve that Valkardian held back as replacements for any she lost. So far Shadow had lost ten soldiers and in return her retribution had left her feeling rather happy; the number of trog's she had laid waste too were at least over one or two thousand at this point, magic had helped a great deal in that though... None the less every time she lost a soldier she could not help but become furious over it and more than once had burned out a cave while wearing a devilish grin.

Since that first colony they had only stopped three times to burn out the odd smaller one and staying only long enough to make certain the job was done properly before moving on. Every single time Shadow's little force had been sent forward to deal with the problem while the main column kept marching. Trog's were industrious little buggers though, each little colony burned so far had only been built recently and going on what Valkardian said they were remnants of the force that assaulted the fortress or fled the larger colony.

Finally, two days and they were finally going to finish this little campaign and head back! She was overjoyed when his voice echoed in her mind that they had arrived and would be deploying at once. A cacophony rose up in the distance once more in warning of their approach as the trog's began to stir themselves up into a battle frenzy but the columns of soldiers kept rushing forward down the tunnel. There was a problem in the coming battle that had been addressed somewhat long ago: unlike the first colony which was spread out in a wide cavern this one was very long and somewhat narrower especially at the entrance.

Whoever could shatter the front ranks of the enemy first could pin the other in and turn a large battle into a long, drawn out affair that Valkardian was trying to avoid. Like herself he was eager to kill them but also not interested in prolonging the affair and considering the numbers involved here it would not be hard to turn this battle into another siege.

Explosions made the floor vibrate and quiver from the shockwave that roared down the tunnel and Shadow found herself using her wings to hover at times to stay steady. One blast after another roared out in rapid succession making her ears pound and ache. The juggernaut of soldiers kept surging forward all the same, heedless of whatever awaited them and as the explosions grew louder and louder till it reached a deafening crescendo and in a sudden blast of bright light Shadow was no longer in the tunnel but the cave itself. All around her the cohorts fanned out forming up in large V's that were punching a hole through the oncoming swarm and widening the gap.

Total chaos reigned in this cave as Valkardian fired off one spell after another blowing great holes in the trog's ranks or the occasional blast of electricity that snaked through their ranks felling them in a fanning swath. Almost on instinct she pulled a crystal from her pouch and held it tightly using her shield hands thumb just in case. A moment later the cohort she was following surged off to the left and began plowing through trog's with reckless abandon while Shadow's little force followed hot on their heels picking off stragglers.

Unlike previous battles which were textbook this was farthest from it: the goal was to widen the gap by any means necessary and keep moving forward with all due haste. A silent mission has burning in all their minds to seize the widest part of the cave some eight hundred yards ahead and hold it so that the entire force could deploy in depth. Unfortunately the trog's had no intention of allowing it and were throwing everything at them including war beasts and two kathdars which caused more damage to the trog's than the army facing them.

Shadow quickly found herself without any real orders and left to her own volition on the left flank of the battlefield. Because of the chaotic nature of this engagement she would plug a gap here or there till another cohort would arrive and push past and keep moving forward again leaving her with nothing to do. So far only one side tunnel had presented itself and two good blasts from a crystal took care of things quite nicely. While the formations ground their way forward more weapons were brought to bear against the trog's and archers and crossbows showed up and began to decimate the oncoming waves.

Never had she dreamed of seeing a city put to the sword but she was witnessing it in full living color, audio and smell. A momentary lull occurred when the soldiers seized the widest part of the cave which was in excess of a thousand yards wide and as she watched Shadow gained an appreciation for how wild this battle really was. The colony had been built towards the back of the cave and the entire front patch they stood on had been a mustering field for trogs and war-beast alike. No huts adorned this wasted landscape.

Looming up and touching the ceiling high above stood the "colony" itself in all its decrepit glory, a truly mad mixture that hurt to look at and was covered in trog's clambering in all directions either trying to get down to fight or up to flee and many were falling off in the mad rush and splattering on the hard floor below. The single massive tunnel leading away in the distance was a moot point Valkardian had told her, it was a lake. Three smaller ones joined halfway in and would need to be seized rapidly and held to prevent them from escaping. Even now two columns carved a bloody swath through the enemies ranks in an attempt to seize them. Unfortunately the last one was on the other side and unreachable and Valkardian had sent gargoyles and special crystals ahead to seal it off somehow.

Which meant Shadow was stuck on the left flank of the city and would be responsible for whatever little alcoves she found and after watching the city for a moment as it began to burst into flame starting with the highest towers... She was okay with that.

Rounding the bend of a tunnel the trog's had carved long ago her little force popped into a nursery of sorts. Shocked for a moment by what she saw Shadow hesitated as her eyes drank in the scene before her.

Eggs. So many eggs. Hatched, hatching and the hatchlings of all ages scampered around the cave killing, eating or swarming over each other while some beat others into submission. They were a barbaric species where only the largest ruled and the strongest survived while all others served either as servants or food. She could not help but gag at the sight, this was the first actual nursery she had been in; the first colony had a large on in the center which had burned and the other three minor colonies had none YET. Revulsion filled her heart and soul as the little monsters kept up their bloody games of murder and cannibalism. Soldiers stood ready to advance but she recalled them as a crystal was raised towards the nightmare before her.

While total war raged outside in the city Shadow was at war with herself. The pony in her said what was about to happen was unquestionably wrong and evil while the other newer half Valkardian had taught her said this was a good thing and must be done. Dont! They are babies! They dont know what they are doing, simply acting as they have been taught from the moment they hatched! Another part screamed out in disgust that they deserved far worse than what they were about to get, that they were monsters and deserved no pity. Burn them, burn them all and be done with it!

During her hesitation the hatchlings had begun to take notice of the intruders in the nursery and began to eye them hungrily but none more so than Shadow. Fresh meat. Slowly they began to slink towards her as if they were stalking prey with hunger and malice burning in their glazed eyes.

To hell with Celestia and her teachings, these things do not deserve life or compassion. There is no such thing as reformation, some things must simply die and if that makes her a murdering baby killer so be it. While she did not agree with Valkardian on everything she agreed with him on this: Some things simply deserve to die. Their lives hold no value what so ever except as fertilizer and she was more than happy to help; should this make her less a pony... Well... That no longer bothered her. She would do what needed to be done not what was deemed "right" or "moral" by pony standards.

In a blink fire blasted out from the crystal in wave after wave setting the large chamber ablaze. Watching them scream in agony as their eyes popped from the heat and flesh melted from the bones Shadow just smiled as she watched them burn. Turning and leaving the nursery she left five to make certain none escaped and headed back into the warzone to find more targets.

Fighting raged on now in the city outskirts as the flames burned down the towers driving them into the waiting ranks below. Shadow watched in wonder for a minute as flaming trog's threw themselves to their death from high above. "Shadow, there is a tunnel to your front left, burn them out." Valkardian's voice snapped her back to reality and turning her head she saw the rough outline far ahead and ordered her soldiers forward.

Fear and worry were gone now, the last vestiges that challenged what she was doing had been stamped out or shouted down and all that remained was a desire to see this through to the end. Marching forward the din of battle continued but had quieted now that Valkardian was no longer slinging fiery death at anything that moved and as she glanced out over the cave he was simply hovering in the air and protected by a bubble watching the battle rage below.

Stepping into the tunnel she sent three ahead since it was so much wider while the other seventeen followed close behind her. As they kept going deeper into the carved tunnel she wondered if Valkardian had found and killed the chief yet, he was acting very calm now compared to when the battle first started; maybe he had found and killed it outright in the first rush to seize the high-ground.

Entering the chamber two of the three soldiers ahead of her were suddenly beset upon by a swarm of larger trog's that tore into them while the last one was simply smashed into the floor by the biggest club she had ever seen. "Attack!" was all she managed to below out before something grabbed her and yanked hard. Shadow was thrown to her right and began stabbing wildly and heard the gargles of a dying trog and jumping to her feet had just enough time to take in what had happened.

The trog chieftain had hidden itself in this little niche hoping to be ignored and leaving the rest of the colony to die. Her eyes kept going up following the contours of the giant wreathed in leather and bone armor as it kept swinging its club. Two more of her soldiers were simply lifted up and tossed like rag dolls sending them clattering into the far wall while others rushed the tunnel to seal it and her inside with them.

Staggering to her feet more attention was drawn to her as a few turned their gaze on her and attacked only to be cut down just as quickly as she nimbly dodged them. Drawing on her link with Valkardian she was going to call out but all that she managed to scream was "found hi..." before a blow lifted her and sent her spiraling deeper into the cave and into a rough hut.

While the hut had cushioned her somewhat it did little to lessen the blow from the chieftains club and it was already coming after her. Head swimming and having a hard time standing she sank herself deeper into the ruined hut as another clumsy blow splintered the building sending debris flying. Dodging deeper amongst the ruined hut and slipping out a large hole she began to play a dangerous game of hide and seek. Her shield was gone and from the throbbing in her arm she probably had a fracture or a break but fortunately her grip had been strong enough not to loose her sword. As the brute pounded more huts out of existence in its wild pursuit to find her she kept dodging, running and crawling.

The ceiling was too low to fly and though the huts had occupants they were too terrified of their chiefs berserk onslaught to care about one bat pony as they were too focused on scattering to find a new hiding place. Soldiers had forced the breach though and had entered the cave proper but a swarm of trog's was between them and her now. Hiding under some fallen rubble it passed by and kept swinging at the huts. Shadow retched as she slid backwards, the trog's skinned their own and used their leather to make the huts.

Drawing out a crystal she tried to focus the blast down as much as possible, too much she would immolate herself amongst all the rubble and too little would only piss the chieftain off and considering how it was acting already that was something she wanted to avoid. Doing her best to clear her head she left a blast loose and caught the chieftain squarely in the back but instead of killing it the creature simply ripped the leather covering off and tossed them down and lunged.

Snatching a pole and leveling it with the rushing beast she prayed hard this would work as she watched the chief fall on the jagged end and impale itself. "Yes! Got you, you bastard!" Shadow was elated as it stopped its forward momentum and pulled back but that happiness was short lived. Reaching a heavy hand up it yanked the pole from its chest and let out a snarl that gave her a grand view of its rows of jagged, grotesque teeth. Lumbering forward again Shadow snatched up her sword and made one last go at it.

Its attack was interrupted as a blast of fire seared through the creatures side nearly catching her as well. Spinning towards it's attacker it swung its club out in a wild, crazed arch and missed Valkardian as he ducked under it and with a quick swing of a longsword nearly cut its arm off. With a howl of anger it swung its partially amputated arm in a back-swing with the same effect only now the arm was shorn off by a second blow.

Staring in bewilderment at her change of fate she only caught faintly Valkardian yelling at her "Jump the bastard from behind already and sever its spinal cord like I taught you!" He was too busy to fight it alone, trog's swarmed him from all around and with one hand he fought the chief and the other sent magic lashing out into the oncoming rabble.

Lurching to her feet sword at the ready and racing forward Shadow flapped her wings a few times to pick up speed and close the distance faster and latched onto the creatures back burying her sword to the hilt and began sawing haphazardly but with great vigor.

Hanging on was near impossible as it began thrashing wildly to and fro while the only thing keeping her in place were the thumbs on her wings and a death-grip on the sword in the creatures neck. Blood was spraying everywhere blinding her but she held on and kept trying to saw through its immense next as muscle and sinew gave way to her sharp blade. Hitting bone she began to bend and twist the blade trying to find a gap between the plates and soon found one and with a couple quick sawing motions the massive bulk beneath her shuddered and fell to the floor twitching and spasming. A dull *thuck* sound followed not long after and without looking she knew Valkardian had given its brain a good hard stab just to be sure.

Valkardian looked down at the little bat hanging on to the creatures back like her life depended on it and it had, now however she just sat there shaking like a leaf with her hands still gripping her sword till he could swear the fur on her knuckles had turned white. Blood had soaked her so thoroughly that her fur had turned black and her eyes though open were vacant and somewhat black from blood getting into them, he would assume she were a statue if it were not for the shaking and sharp, haggard, heavy breaths.

Looking around the burning cave he sheathed his sword and walked over to the little bat pony and put a hand on her shoulder while another kept her sword in place. "Shadow, let go of your sword and stand up." Slowly she shakily complied and pulling her sword from the dead chieftain he sheathed it for her and began to look her over.

"You are very lucky, that amulet I gave you is probably all that saved you from being crushed, your wings are damaged but you'll be..." Valkardians words died in his throat as Shadow slumped down to the floor now that the adrenaline had died off. Pulling a vial from a pouch and placing it to her lips he managed to get her to swallow it down without coughing it up. Magic cleared her eyes of blood and grime as he kept examining her passed out form.

She would be just fine indeed and picking her up he worked his way out of the smoldering cave and back into the vast cave beyond.

She bolted to her hooves and drew her sword just as quickly and began to scan her surroundings with wild eyes. This was not her tent but the larger one Valkardian used and he was nowhere to be seen. A lone servant watched her quietly from the entrance as she sheathed her sword and examined herself, the aches and pains were gone and her eyesight restored but the blood and gore still soaked her head to hoof. Gingerly stretching her wings a bit and checking them they too were just fine almost as if she had not been injured at all. He had laid her on a sheet on the floor no doubt to keep all the blood from soaking the cot he had brought that was understandable, she would not have been happy if he had dumped her on her own bedroll like this.

Only the sound of distant crackling could be heard and stepping out of the tent she looked into the distance and watched as the colony burned brightly, illuminating the cave like an artificial sun. It was easy to find him floating above the ranks watching the city burn while the heat wafted over them. "Master, is it over now?"

"No, the fires have spread and now most of the survivors are caught down along the edge of the lake. Once the fires die down the attack will begin again and yard by yard the city will be cleared, I suspect they will try and burrow back into the ruins anywhere they can to hide." Valkardian turned his gaze down at her "You however, will not be taking part in the fighting, your job here is done."

Flapping her wings she rose into the air beside him and looked out at the burning ruins as his bubble expanded to encompass her. "So we killed the chief then?"

He chortled briefly before looking back at her "Indeed you did Shadow. I am not certain whether you are the luckiest pony alive or the most UN-lucky."

"What do you mean?"

"Consider your circumstances for a minute."

"Ah..." Shadow had to admit her circumstances changed wildly and at random but then again... "I am lucky."

He watched her for a minute as she just hung there flapping in the large shield bubble that held them both. "Really? How so." Turning his gaze back towards the city they watched a few trog's pop out of some burning huts far off on the Western side and scamper off deeper into the cave towards the lake.

"I know that my circumstances are bad and that you could still kill me at any moment but after what I have seen and learned... I would not trade it for anything, when I left home all I wanted was to explore and see the world and I have seen incredible things. Impossible things that no pony would ever believe. Despite my masters sociopathy and evil he has also shown great kindness when he could have just as easily left me to die since my usefulness ran out." Shadow was playing on a hunch on this one and she could only hope that it would pan out in her favor.

All she got in response however was a humm from Valkardian as he gazed at her thoughtfully for a minute then back to the flaming ruins. Whatever he was thinking he was unwilling to say at the moment but a lack of words or hostility on his part was also good. It meant that her life was still secure and that he was unwilling to send her back into the fight also meant her life had value to him be it out of kindness or ulterior motive she decided.

His own thoughts however remained his own as he watched the fires and the occasional collapse in the distance. Shadow was indeed correct, her usefulness had run out now but he would not kill nor harm her despite that fact. She had become too... Endearing and today was just one more example of it in how she fought so hard against the chieftain despite being incapable of winning on her own not that it stopped her from trying. This little bat was strange as could be and he liked it.

Chapter 16

Shadow Moon lay sprawled out atop one of the giant mushroom that grew in the immense cave known as Valkardians "garden." It had been three days since he had sent her back ahead of him since he was too busy raising the dead trog's for use in his army or as servants, a process she had seen a little of and found too disturbing to watch and had instead been sent back to her new "home" to rest while be took care of that and "other matters" that she did not wish to ask about. One of the first things upon her return was to take a bath and clean weapons, armor and hand the now ruined tunic and pants she had been wearing off to a servant. Resting on the top of the giant, flat mushroom cap had been a whimsical idea to get a better view of the immense cave and also partly out of privacy from prying eyes; she had a strong feeling she was being watched at times and right now that was the last thing she wanted, this was her time to rest and relax.

Rolling onto her stomach and staring out at the distant gate that led through the impenetrable wall which sealed off the cave from the outside world many thoughts continued to plague her mind. Foremost was how Valkardian had simply left her yet again to fend for herself more or less without so much as a second though. He had not even bothered to collect all the leftover fire crystals that still remained in her belt pouch for whatever reason. Surely he knew that with so many days at her disposal it would be quite easy to collect enough water and rations to make an escape and with the crystals, a clear understanding of how his fortifications worked (or did not at times) as well as how the soldiers behaved... Well if nothing else she could make a damned good attempt at getting away and Shadow was certain there was even a map tucked away somewhere in the endless labyrinth of a library to aid in her escape if she had only bothered to look. Why hadn't she looked?

Ruby was mucking out the compost bin in the distance and that only brought more questions to mind: Valkardian was acting awfully strange towards her anymore. True, he was still staying locked away in his laboratory or private study but the more she thought about it the stranger it became. More than once she swore he had smiled at her not because of circumstance but just from seeing her assuming of course that twitch at the side of his face was indeed a smile. Little things that just kept adding up and making her wonder more and more about what he was really thinking and had planned for her. Then again how could she find out? Asking him would only cause problems and then again he could always lie though she not think of one single instance when he had ever lied to her; he was far too honest for that. The battle with the trog chieftain came back to mind and while it was quite fuzzy and put her nerves on edge a single image kept coming back to mind: Valkardians face.

While everything else may have been fuzzy one of the last things she clearly remembered was how he had put his hand over hers as she sat on the corpse shaking and stared into her eyes not with that blank, dead expression he always wore. No, she could swear his face was a mixture of pride and deep seeded worry for her well being. Valkardian had even carried her off to his tent and seen after her while also leaving a servant behind to keep an eye on her well-being. He could have just as easily left her at her own tent on makeshift bedding but had instead elected to keep her closer to his person. What game was he playing? Was it all a game? Once Shadow had caught him muttering to himself that she was too amusing but that would not explain everything only a part of his actions.

How could she find out the truth? What would she have to do, without asking that would result in a clear answer as to what he truly thought of her and find out once and for all if she was indeed still a slave or had become more. How... Sitting up and stretching her wings out till they shuddered slightly Shadow shifted into a sitting position and stretched her back. It was wonderful to be out of all that armor again. Blinking slowly and staring off at the lake as if it held some deep, hidden answer to her questions a possibility flared to mind. It was insane, risky, dangerous and could very easily get her into a whole mess of trouble but then again it might also yield everything and more. Shadow cracked a devious grin and gathering her clothing flittered up into the air and off to the lake. Valkardian had stated his intentions with absolute clarity more than two years ago now but that did not mean intentions did not change. This plan just might work.

Valkardian stepped through the portal and breathed a great sigh of relief as he walked briskly down the halls of his palace. Such massive summoning's always took it out of him for a few weeks, raising an army of skeletons in the thousands at one time was no easy task even with his extensive knowledge, training, crystals to enhance the spells power and a summoning chamber covered in runes and inscriptions all boosting his power. It would be nice to get out of his robes and dawn something clean for the first time in a week. Everything smelled like rotting flesh and other unmentionable things but that was the price he had to pay to maintain his empire of solitude, a price he was willing to pay if it meant what lay above stayed above.

First things first though, a bath, change of clothes and something to eat. Yes, that would do nicely. Shadow? Hmm... No, he wanted to sleep and that meant... Well he would make arrangements for that later, besides she should be waking up soon and they could simply trade off sleeping times. Why in the hell was he thinking that? He could just kick her out of the bedroom and lock the door. No, he was not going to do that to her. Continuing his brisk pace down the hallway another matter popped to mind: her broken amulet. It was ancient to begin with and was not one of his finest works, farthest from it in fact considering it was one of his most ancient attempts and was not really meant for what it had suffered. Well that mattered little now. The amulet had done its duty above and beyond in protecting her from a blow that would had not only killed a pony but reduced them to a puddle of goo or driven them like stake into the stone floor.

What to replace it with however was a new problem. He had taken one of the oldest left and given it to her figuring it would be enough and it HAD been but then again it was a museum piece more than anything else which narrowed the possibilities down. That only left the "newest" of the collection he had kept and they were... Unique... Compared to the older ones. Was it wise to give her one of his better ones? Maybe, maybe not. Shadow had made no attempt to escape during her week off despite having more than enough means to have done so now that he thought about it, she was no fool either and he was willing to bet she had thought about it and figured it all out but had chosen NOT to. Fear? No. One thing was certain now and that was she had little to no fear of him anymore not that she ever really "feared" him after that first week anyway. Oh well, she would be the recipient of one of his finer works of art.

A servant had come to collect her after breakfast and was now leading her off to her "masters" private study. Shadow had seen him return and his haggard appearance was all the indication she needed that it was now or never to put her little plan into motion. Though it was a simple plan, even childish it would probably work perfectly against someone who liked to overthink things like Valkardian did. The last thing he would ever suspect would be this little set up of hers and if it panned out...

The silver door was open as she entered the room and Valkardian quietly stood up and collected an ornate box from his desk and approached her. It was an opulent stone box with elaborate silver inlaid swirls and an engraving of a shield. Valkardian simply held it out to her and Shadow carefully took the box and opened it. Her eyes lit up at the contents of the box, while the box had been beautifully done the amulet inside was breathtaking in design and inlay. A medium sized amulet lay in the center of the box with silver chain and lifting it from its confines to get a better look her eyes only widened at finely crafted and detailed it was. It was made from gold with silver edges that seemed to bend and swirl gracefully outlining the amulet, runes were inlaid in a black or red metal of some kind in a rounded pattern that enhanced the beauty of the bright blue gem in the center which seemed to be pulsing as if alive with bending and twisting magical powers.

Jaw hanging open as she continued to hold the amulet as if it were a delicate flower that would be destroyed with the slightest movement Shadow began to wonder if she still needed her plan but decided she would enact it soon enough, tonight in fact, she had to know now more than ever.

"That is a replacement for the one you lost to that chieftain you killed. You will find this one has many more... Attributes to it than your old one if you focus on it, the rest is written on the inside of the lid and since you read Krethe it should not be a problem."

Staring at the inscriptions inside the lid Shadow smiled to herself. It was indeed written in her language and as she kept reading her smile only grew at what the amulet did simply by wearing it. Shadow topped reading for a moment as a thought panged in the back of her mind: when did she stop considering Equus "her" language and had instead adopted "Krethe" was her native language? Quickly looking up at Valkardian she beamed at him "Thank you Valkardian, this is a most wonderful gift! Thank you!"

It was her first little stunt and it had been ad-libbed to fit the situation at hand and it had worked! Not only did he not reprimand her for leaving off "master" but instead he had that weird little smile of his written clearly on his face and his eyes showed only happiness as he quickly went back to his usual dead look before sitting. So far so good.

"Good, now I am going to rest while you do... Whatever you were going to do, you will act as servant at dinner tomorrow when I am not as tired. Oh, you are also going to go on vacation soon so think about what you plan to take. Now off with you." Waving a hand Valkardian ushered her out and the servant led her away and back to the central hallway before leaving her to her own thoughts.

Putting on the amulet Shadow felt its power course through her body making her stronger, faster and in general much harder to kill, it was a good feeling, a powerful feeling. Was Valkardian insane? Who would ever allow a mere slave to possess such an artifact of immense power? Then again this was only her second enchanted item besides those crystals. Maybe he trusted her not to try anything? Arrogance? No, he had smiled and that meant there was far more to this. Continuing to walk slowly down the hall holding the amulet up in front of her face something else slapped her all at once: vacation?

So this week off was not her vacation? Where were they going? No he had said SHE was going on a vacation so that meant he was probably not going to follow her wherever it was she was being sent. The caves? Above? Another ruin? Where? It was not long before her pace became a happy little skip down the hallway and into the gardens. What would she take or would he pack for her again? How much would be provided or was he sending her off into the wilds to fend for herself? That sounded glorious but also terrifying to a small degree since she knew what lurked in the shadows of the expansive cave network beyond the protection of the walls. No, she would focus on her plan instead, she was going to be his serving girl again and that meant small talk but this time it would be more than that. Shadow could only hope this part of her plan did not bring his wrath down on her but still, it was worth a shot be it a long one.

Shadow dawned her special set of clothing for serving tonight and checked herself over in the mirror one last time to make certain. This was a wild risk but if this paid off she would have her answers even if they scared the dickens out of her. Valkardian was still showing signs of fatigue so he would be more apt to make mistakes and slip or so she hoped and this would be her last chance to play out the last of her plan and go fishing for answers. If the first part of tonight went well then there was always her "hail-Celestia" part that would either get her zapped right then and there or well... She was not sure what his response might be if it was in her favor. Sure it was embarrassing as tartarus but. No. She would not dwell on it, it was time for actions and there was no going back.

Entering the kitchen proper Shadow accepted one of the trays and walked off to the private dining room where her victim waited unknowingly in his grand chair with eyes half closed in fatigue.

Valkardian sat quietly without any signs of movement as Shadow and the other servants entered the room and laid the meal out, she poured him more wine than usual and stepped to one side and waited quietly. After a loud *ahem* on her part he finally stirred his eyes snapping open fully and head jerking towards her. Shadow smiled at him and adding some honey to her voice said "dinner is served Valkardian" before pretending not to look at him. No response. Good, she was getting awfully "familiar" with him for a slave servant and now that the water was tested and not boiling she could dip a little more.

Watching him eat for a little bit and drink she began to wonder what his alcohol tolerance was and considering his great age he might have a very high tolerance. Then again that was not why she had given it to him. The point had never been to get him inebriated to any degree but simply relax a little bit and with any luck at all it would also act as an indicator when she popped her last question. Shifting herself around a little to make some noise without it being too obvious, more of an antsy sound as if she were a little bored from just standing there than impatience to draw his attention those blue eyes of his moved over to her figure and expanded a little.

Now that she had his attention she moved and weaved her body just slightly enough to keep his eyes on her and considering how his facade had just cracked and continued to degrade it was working but it was time to do some fishing. "Thank you again for the amulet but aren't you worried I might use it to escape?" Shadow added just the slighest sway to her hips and watched as his eyes darted first then back up quickly. "No. You could have before and did not. Are you planning on escaping?"

Valkardians eyes narrowed a bit and criticize her carefully as Shadow stopped moving "I dont know." It was a truthful answer but also one that would change very quickly after tonight. "Are you planning on doing to me what you did to Ruby?" Hopefully this would catch him off guard enough that he would give a straight answer without thinking it through but to be sure she traced a hand across her midsection with just a hint of enticement and it worked as his eyes snapped to the new movement for a minute. "No, that is not your fate."

"What is?" Well she might as well keep fishing while she had him so distracted with eyes that kept lurching back and forth as she kept making small movements to keep him focused on her. Shadow was not sure how much longer this would work but she had to keep belting out questions as fast as possible before he recovered. So far her assumption had been spot on: he was ancient and well "traveled" but what she had picked up was that he had never "experienced" anything alluring or erotic. Playing on his lack of knowledge was a wild shot but it was paying off, at least until his logical side took over again.

"I dont know anymore..." Valkardians voice trailed off before his head jerked back to his meal and Shadow carefully went back to her bored stature. The moment had passed but the fish had taken the bait and been reeled in. There was just one last thing to do but that meant getting off topic and then slap him upside the head with her question which would be so random that it would catch him off guard.

"You said I was gong on "vacation" soon. Will I be staying here or going into the caves for a time? How long will it be?"

Valkardian ignore her for a few minutes, eating slowly and eyes narrowing a bit before he finally leaned back in his seat and stretched his back a bit. "That will remain a secret until I send you there, you will not be conscious when you go but you will be well protected." He pointed to her amulet for a moment. Shadow switched her tail as bit and shifted her body slightly to draw his eyes down and it worked. Bit by bit Valkardian was getting ever so slightly flustered by what she was doing but his iron will was holding him quite well so far.

This was a very dangerous game. He had gone back to eating but his eyes kept twitching and jerking towards her every so often now, she had refilled his goblet twice now so it was working to some degree at least. Now to flay the fish alive.

Shadow had gone statue still for a minute waiting for his eyes to focus on his dinner again. Waiting until he picked up his goblet again she held back her question until he had just begun to take a drink: "You still like my tits?"

The result was instantaneous, Shadow leaned forward and lifted her breasts and bounced them a bit in his face while Valkardian had a spasm attack in the midst of taking a drink and turning his head all at the same time. Coughing, sputtering and wheezing from wine going down the wrong tube his wild eyes were now glued to her chest as he kept wheezing. Shadow continued to feign total innocence and quickly grabbed one of the extra napkins from the servants wine tray and played the part of "concerned maid" to the best of her ability even touching him.

Valkardian did not push her away or zap her, instead he simply snatched up his own cloth and began to wipe himself down quickly and averted his gaze. Standing quickly she half expected retribution to fall on her but instead he simply gave her one last look which was a portrait of confusion, desire and a good deal of someone lost in the woods with no idea what to do next. Instead he simply turned and left quietly still coughing but never once saying a word just leaving her to stand there quietly as servants entered and began to clean up.

It had worked. Shadow's smile grew as she tossed the napkin onto a tray one of the servants carried. Valkardian was too honest for his own good but also had proven he had little to no experience with the feminine wiles and she had played on it heavily and came out with her life and a plethora of answers. He had no intention of harming her let alone killing her and using her as a servant and that was a great weight off her shoulders. As to why well... Apparently he had begun to like her more than he would openly admit.

Servants continued to clean up as Shadow hummed happily to herself hoping that if she waited long enough Valkardian would disappear to wherever thus leaving the coast clear so she could turn in for the night. Hopefully this stunt of hers would not cause him to cancel her vacation but something told her that was highly doubtful at this point.

Waiting for a little while longer than usual she finally headed off for bed with a smug grin on her face. Entering the bedroom Shadow began to strip off her carefully chosen garb. It had worked just as she had hoped it would, in fact it had done more than that by giving her a bit of entertainment to boot. Two years ago her hint had been when he had her dress up in that skimpy outfit and serve him and while that was before she had any real change of cloths the telltale hints had been there. How he looked at her changed ever so slowly, at first simply ignoring her most of the time and as time went along she caught him glancing at her more and more depending on what she wore.

Looking at her modified outfit Shadow wore an impish grin. Finding the tailors room last year had been a boon for tonight. All manner of cloth was available for whatever uses he needed them for from clothing, drapery or fine see through silks he used in his museum. She had added a see through silk wrap around her waist and some around the bikini to help draw his eyes to the movement. Whoever had made that skimpy harem outfit had been a real pervert but it also saved her sanity tonight. By copying it somewhat she had managed to make a sort of "replica" out of near see through silk and while her attempt was simple and far from perfect it had worked quite well. She would have to thank her sister for teaching her so much about sewing her own clothes if she ever saw her again.

Valkardian sat in his study with the door closed tapping his fingers slowly on the book he had been reading. His mind was far too distracted to read now after what had happened in his private dining room. Shadow had caught him so off guard with her subtle swaying, rubbing and... Damn that crazy little bat. A loud sigh escaped him as he slumped down in the chair and stared out beyond the ceiling with a thousand yard stare.

She had baited a trap for him carefully and it had started days ago when he had given her the amulet. At first he had simply ignored how she had addressed him since it mattered little anymore, he could frankly care less but that little omission had snared him. Now tonight, in his own home no less a pony had played him for a fool and made him look the fool.

As he continued to dwell on the questions asked it was rather apparent as to why she had: every question save the last one was geared to her survival or being enslaved forever like Ruby. It was a simple, straightforward plan and sure enough it proved to be so simple he completely failed to see it until it was too late. How long had she been planning this? Days? Months? A year? No, she had to ad lib when the amulet was presented, she had no idea he was going to give it to her. His jaw bent back and forth grinding slowly as the gears in his head tore away at her actions. That last question though...

Sitting upright again and stretching his neck around images of her kept popping back into his head. Shadow was devious and caniving in every way possible when she chose to be. Playing her feminine side perfectly and choosing her timing carefully he had milked him for information without a single complaint or rebuttal. A thousand or more years ago he would have zapped her then and there but it had been more than two millennia since anyone had well and truly tried such tactics on him and not in such a manner as this.

A small laugh escaped his lips. Shadow had actually brought out an answer for the both of them tonight and one he had not even bothered to stop and really think about: he cared more for her than he let on and now she knew it as well. She was not a slave anymore more a companion and sometimes maid or servant though she enjoyed tending the garden far too much to consider it servitude.

Laughter began to fill the room slowly at first then building up and morphing into a loud and joyous bellow. Valkardian clapped his hands a few times as he leaned back still laughing with a large smile on his face which was a most rare occasion for him; Shadow had played a dangerous game of guile and wit, not only had she played it quite well for a surface pony but had succeeded perfectly. This little bat had guts, a brain and used them both and more quite well. He liked her more and more as the months wore on and tonight she had proven why he liked her so much.

Chapter 17

Valkardian had ignored her for three days after her little stunt, choosing to stay out of sight while he planned whatever dastardly punishment awaited her. Shadow had not thought about that when she drew up her plan: that he would just as quickly figure it out and punish her for it. Then again it was not unusual for him to just ignore her presence either. Shadow had begun to worry a little after the second day that it had been a mistake but now that she was following him down a stairwell lit only by a magical orb he had conjured up she wondered if he had a torture rack waiting for her deep below.

All of this was dispelled when they leveled out into another hallway with ornate doors and murals and approached a pair of grandiose doors that stood out more than the ones above with its runic inscriptions and symbols that warned of a painful end to anyone who dared to try and enter without permission. Valkardian stopped in front of the doors and turned to face Shadow and watched her for a minute quietly with that blank gaze of his which made Shadows fears well back up.

"Do you know what this is Shadow?" He gestured at the doors behind him eyes narrowing.

"Torture room?" It was a fair guess after what she had done.

A smirk came to his face as he kept watching her. "No, this is the treasury. You will need some money where I am sending you. Your performance during the battle was exceptional and you even killed a chieftain which is no small feat considering your lack of experience. Also, after that little game of yours a few days ago..." His voice lowered as he stooped over her ever so slightly making Shadow feel very small as his gaze bore into her. "I decided that if you had the guts to try something like that you should be rewarded. It is very doubtful any living being above would have the audacity to think up let alone try what you did under the circumstances. Especially since the art of seduction is all but lost to those living above. Well done Shadow." Valkardian gave her a dangerous smile and Shadow understood it perfectly: dont do it again.

"Now then, I have one final lesson before you go off on your vacation... Tell me, what would you do if you had all the gold and jewels in the world?"

The question hit her like a freight train. Just how much was he planning on giving her? WHERE was she going?! How long? "I... Ummm... Probably buy a mansion, lots and lots of land, hire lots of servants, finest clothing, food... I dont really know." Her expression changed as she began to think about it more and more.

"Take your time, what would you DO, what would be the most important thing you would do?" Valkardian waited patiently as she kept thinking the question over. If there was one thing she knew was that he never asked a question just because, there was always an ulterior motive behind it. This was not a lesson at all but just one more test that could result in her being smitten where she stood having fallen out of his good graces.

Shadow took a deep breath and let it out slowly and looked up again "I would probably use it to do what is good for me and my family."

Watching her expression carefully he knew she was telling the truth. "Really? Hmm... A fair answer, you would not try and save the world? End poverty and famine? Perhaps more?"

"No, I have a feeling no amount of money would solve those problems."

He smiled a little at her "True, now tell me Shadow, how much is this worth?" Valkardian turned and used a key and a series of mumbled words she could not understand before pushing on the great double doors. They swung inward easily and magical lighting flared to life in the vast chamber beyond bringing a bright glare to her eyes as she stared slack jawed at the hoard before her.

Valkardian led her inside and simply gestured out at the immense wealth that lay before her. There was enough gold and gems in this room to make dragons burn up with envy and rage, enough gold and silver to make the nobles of Canterlot swoon over whoever held the smallest fraction of it. Shadow walked out into the chamber and made her way around the vast piles of gold, silver, gems and now that she looked closer: jewelry, furniture, chalices and countless priceless artifacts and artworks made of gold including a massive gold statue of a pony that bore a resemblance to Celestia.

Flying above the hoard she flew slowly to and fro looking down in wonder at the glittering masses below, Valkardian simply ignored her taking a seat on an opulent golden throne that had been set out on one side choosing to just stare with a bored expression as the piles. Shadow flew back to him landed a few feet away unable to take her eyes off the piles of glittering treasure.

"Do you have an answer? How much is all this worth?"

Shadow barely heard him ask the question but he patiently waited on her and finally she tore her eyes away from it and stared back at him. "You could buy Equestria with this. Anything. You could buy all the dragons of the world and still have enough to buy nations."

Valkardian stroked his beard a moment gazing at her thoughtfully "Really? It is worth that much?"

"Yes and more, like that statue back there..."

"Ah that, a statue of Celestia and Luna's mother though I have forgotten her name." A smile broke out on his face "Stolen by the dogs long, long ago. It's theft helped push Celestia over the edge in declaring war on them, how they managed to nip that statue I will never know but they did. Catch is I found it in their capital city before Celestia arrived and nipped it from the dogs first and now it is a part of my collection. I guess she assumed they melted it down or perhaps... Perhaps she knows that I have it and is unwilling to risk trying to get it back."

Standing he slowly made his way towards the closest pile and magically brought a large handful up and floated it to Shadow. "So this here would do what?"

Shadow accepted the massive handful of gold that spilled out over her cupped hands and clinked on the floor below. "enough to buy a small house I suppose..." She held them up and examined them, some were ancient Bits while others were from other nations long lost, one was a dog coin emblazoned with the likeliness of some canid king from long ago. Looking back up at him she continued "I would have to count their value out to know."

"Hm... They are worth a kingdoms ransom and hold immense value to you. Why?"

"Their gold, golds valuable..." She wore a quizzical look as she stared at him.

"Says who?" Valkardian went back to staring at the pile leaving her to think it over.

"Uhh... Everypony? It's why everyone works so hard to get as many of them as they can, to use for food, shelter..."

"You miss the point Shadow, what makes the gold valuable, not as a medium for trade but what makes it worth suffering, fighting and killing for?"

Shadow looked back at the gold in her hands suddenly realizing their weight, it was a fair question that she had no real answer to "Rarity?"

"Not at all, silver is also used and once copper and bronze. Canterlot is covered in gold and silver to the point Celestia should have her "royal guard" handing out gold bricks for free on street corners." He picked up a rather large coin form the pile and held it up for her to see.

"The answer Shadow is that none of this has value, it is quite worthless. Absolutely worthless in truth. It is a medium of trade at best and a mark of avarice otherwise. You know what this is worth?" Valkardian dropped the coin and stomped on it. "Nothing." He ground his boot against the coin. "It holds value because you GIVE it value, you believe it has value when it does not, it is just one more metal among many that has its uses now and then. All of this is not worth one damned thing" gesturing out at the massive room.

"What has value is what you KNOW. Knowledge is more powerful than gold and silver, with knowledge you can control others and bend them to your will. You can even use it to amass great wealth though greed will blind you in time as your desire to have more takes over. If you were to die right now you could not take one coin with you for it is useless and meaningless. What you can take is your knowledge, no one can take that away from you. What you have learned here will be with you forever while this... Metal... Is just a fleeting moment in time. You may be able to purchase comfort with it but you can never purchase happiness, only distractions."

Shadow dwelled on what he had just said and stared down at her hands again while he walked off deeper into the chamber. It was true, you can not take it with you when you die but heavens above that has never stopped anyone from trying. Knowledge is worth infinitely more than any amount of gold... Looking out into the room she wondered why he had such a hoard if he believed that. Following him quickly she caught up with him "If you believe it is so worthless why DO you have so much of it?"

He never stopped or changed stride as he continued on his way "To the victors goes the spoils. Long ago I was at war with others quite often and took to collecting things like artwork, gold, silver and so on. All I did was have it piled in here as a measure of my accomplishments, proof of how many I had defeated, once upon a time I did put value on such things but that quickly wore off as anyone with any amount of sense realizes that money has no value, life does. For me that meant knowledge, the knowledge to crush anyone who got in my way or take whatever I wanted to further my own ends."

*Sigh* Eventually I had enough to fill this room and began to only take choice pieces like that statue, artwork that held value in its beauty. One can potentially enrich their lives with such things but in the end only knowledge matters for beauty itself is fleeting. I suppose you could also say all that well and truly matters is ones SOUL and again no amount of gold will improve a soul, instead it acts like a rot driving others to insane ends to hoard and protect it. Look at the nobles in Canterlot or any of the so called "wealthy" above, I doubt they have changed in millennia, eager to please those who have money and devilish towards others if it means getting more of it."

Stopping and turning to Shadow he gave her a long tired look "And for those who do not have enough of it... Well you are to blame and must serve your betters because if you do not have enough wealth you are lesser for it and must be kept far away and out of sight less it "dirty" them in some way. You are measured as a success or failure not by mind and spirit... But by this... Garbage..." A boot kicked coins away sending them skittering. "Bah... I will have you read more books on the problems caused by greed some other time. For now its time to get you ready for your trip. Follow."

Shadow quietly followed him out of the room and back up the stairs where a line of servants were waiting with hands grasping bags and other things. She had a strong feeling he kept that hoard as a silent reminder of something, what she did not know. Walking down the line of servants she collected the bags and other items offered including a longword and dagger which took her rather by surprise. No armor though. Dawning her equipment quickly Valkardian just beckoned for her to follow and led her to the portal room and through it to a foreign cave.

"You will be put to sleep for a time, when you awaken you are free to do as you wish so long as you do not cause me problems now or in the future. The pouch on your side has sufficient funds to see you through your vacation, when your time is up I will recall you here along with everything you have on your person or in these two bags. A crystal is in one pouch that tells you how long you have left, be ready in advance to leave because I am not sending you back for anything. Your destination is a little village on the surface that is out of the way, consider it a reward for killing the chieftain. You have two weeks to yourself. You can request a faster recall by using the crystal in the box in your backpack marked with a star. Questions?"

She was going back to the surface? He really trusted her not to run away or did he have something planted on her? Object? Spell? "I could try and run off..."

"You could try but you know full well I will come and GET you if I have too, running to anyone and telling them will only make matters worse for yourself in the long run. You are still my prisoner Shadow. Besides I doubt you will run off to tell Celestia anyway."

So now she was just a prisoner not a slave... That was a marked improvement. He was also right about fleeing to Canterlot for protection, she wanted nothing to do with the rulers of Equestria let alone the city and its stuck up inhabitants. A faint fear climbed her back at what might happen not at Valkardians hands but Celestia's if she got her hands on her, who would be worse? The one below who could care less or the one above who is trying to keep the truth buried? Her eyes darted to Valkardian who had a small grin on his face, is was as if he knew what she just realized.

"I am ready, but what is the name of the place I am going?"

"A coastal village called Brightflower. Population 540. Enjoy your stay." His hands began moving and Shadow felt herself drift off into a deep slumber as servants caught her before she collapsed on the floor.

She was out cold and would stay that way for a couple of hours, long enough to deposit her and be off. Another spell morphed his form into that of a middle aged white unicorn stallion with a long gray mane. Lifting Shadow up magically he teleported a short distance to the outside world amongst some trees and began the trek into the village. She would never know just how close some of his portals were to the surface.

Light was coming through the window as her eyes slowly opened and oh how it burned. Shadow covered her eyes from the suns glare and sat up in bed grumbling. Her eyes had become accustomed to the eerie gloom of the caves and magical lighting over the past two years and now being suddenly bombarded by the bright rays made her eyes water and sting. Still, she had two weeks to enjoy herself before going back down which she had to admit was quite the surprise and she had to admit rather inconceivable that he would make such a gesture.

Sliding off the bed and drawing the shades Shadow began to look around the room. It was a very nice room with a large bed and her bags were neatly set off to one side along with her sword, dagger and money pouch. Her amulet was wrapped around the handle of the sword, she recalled Valkardian had removed it from her neck during the rush to get her ready to go... So it would anypony from putting her to sleep magically... Handy. Putting it back on she had to admit it made her feel a great deal safer not that the ponies of this village would be a threat or ponies in general.

Strapping on her sword and dagger Shadow spied a paper magically "stapled" to the door, it was hard to miss with its flaring red glow. He did not want her to miss this paper whatever it said. Pulling it down it reminded her of the details and that she had two weeks paid stay at the inn, room #12. Keys were on the nightstand... She folded it up and tucked it into her pocket and quickly headed walked into the hallway. It had been two years and there were things she wanted to do and see and she was not going to waste any time.

Hurrying she made it to a set of stairs at the end of the hall and down below into the inn itself where a single yellow mare worked the desk reading a paper. Approaching her the mare looked up and smiled "Morning! Anything I can help you with?" Shadow thought about it a moment "Breakfast?" The mare looked at her strangely for a moment before pointing to another door "Breakfast is being served right now, that door leads to the attached kitchen and dining room."

Shadow thanked her and walked through the doors into the mostly deserted room. Only three others were present and they did not even bother to look up from their eating. A short stallion spotted her from behind a counter and brightened up immediately "Breakfast? Drink? Both?" Taking a set away from the others and with her back to the wall she simply nodded at him as he brought a menu over. "Just call when your ready to order." He walked off and into the kitchen where a hushed conversation made its way to her ears.

Right now she could care less, flipping open the menu was a shock for her. A diet consisting of mushrooms and other cave things for two years made things like flowers, salads, fruit, oats and other breakfast items sound like a foreign luxury. Checking her pouch she found it was more than loaded with gold bits of all demoninations she would ever need. As to how Valkardian got his hands on these considering all he had below were more ANCIENT coins... Well she didnt want to know what bank or mint he had knocked off to furnish her with such a wealth of brand new bits. Maybe he just traded in something for them?

The menu was more important right now and picking out a few small items she called for the waiter. He poked his head out and looked at her oddly for a moment as she beckoned him over. What a grand breakfast this would be too as she read off what she wanted one item at a time while he just stared at her with the most peculiar look on his face. Indeed the cook and the other customers were also staring at her and the mare at the desk in the other room was even poking her head through the door to stare.

Eyes scanning the others Shadow finally turned back to the waiter. "Well?" He kept staring at her for a minute fidgeting before finally speaking "Uhh... Could you say that again?" He pointed to items on the menu and Shadow growled at him and began pointing out what she wanted and repeated herself again. The waiter quickly jotted it down and took off quickly while she began to stare at her onlookers again. "What?!" Her voice was sharp and clear causing the other patrons jump and look away and go back to eating quickly.

Looking at the mare peaking around the door at her Shadow just eyed her with a quiet glare until she entered the room and walked over. "Mind if I sit?" The mare was worried and Shadow just beckoned at her and watched as the yellow pony sat down across from her. "Uhm, I have to ask because the stallion who brought you in last night spoke clearly but do you... Speak Equus?"

Shadow sat upright and raised an eyebrow at this. Of course she did! She had been speaking perfectly clear this whole time! "Yes of course I do!" Nodding at the other mare who looked worriedly at her "Well you might want to speak it because we dont have a clue what your saying..."

This little proclamation struck her hard. Had that bastard put a spell on her? No... Wait... Realization hit when she remembered that part of her Krethe lessons was to quit speaking in Equus and replace every word including in her writing. She had completely forgotten that minor detail for a year and now it was biting her in the flank. Struggling to remember she quickly belted out the first things that came to mind "Ah, yes... Uhm, I forgot for a minute..."

The other mare just smiled at her "Thats alright, you must be from a long way off if Equus is not your native language... Where are you from?" This situation was getting more peculiar by the minute and Shadow began to realize that unless she did something fast it would only get worse. "I have been exploring for years now but I am from Equestria, just got used to not speaking it... Ever..."

"Well my name is Lilac, what brings you back? I bet you have stories to tell!"

Oh how true that was. Leaning back and eyeing the eagerly waiting mare she decided to err on the side of caution and just give snippets starting from when she left to finding the upper level caves without giving anything away. Breakfast arrived and turning the tables Shadow asked Lilac about how things in Equestria had changed while she had been gone for years and to not leave out details. She regretting it to a degree but it worked as Lilac drolled on and on about Changeling invasions, Crystal empire and the list wore on and on into mundane pointless details that would bore anypony to death but being a polite pony she listened and nodded along anyway.

Chapter 18

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.

Chapter 19

Laying wide awake Shadow glanced over at the clock beside her bed and read off the time for the hundredth time: 3:45AM. Damn Valkardian. Damn him. When she was in the caves keeping track of the time was never important since servants took care of everything and near as she could tell he owned not one clock in the whole damned place. For all this time he was sending her to bed at around seven to eight at night and waking her at 3:30AM sharp and now her body was perfectly adjusted to this routine and as she lay there cursing quietly she tried to focus on other things while waiting for the sun to rise in the next couple of hours.

Nothing was working though and no amount of willpower would force her to fall asleep again. She was wide awake and would just have to lay there or get up and do something until the staff awoke and opened the inn up for the day. Sliding out of bed and fishing out a book she lit a candle and brought it over to her rooms little table and sat down to read.

Thoughts plagued her mind and for one was her lack of dreams. All her life she had dreamed but since she met him they had all but stopped, relegated to the odd dream that only came over a concern of hers. Tonight was no different with a mind beset by questions and worry about what would happen now that somepony was making a go for the throne while Celestia still sat on it. Her family would undoubtedly suffer if the ones behind the article and book got their way since her family was far from noble and twice as far from having any degree of "power." Well save her far as she could tell considering what she had been killing in the caves. If that did not count for something nothing would.

The incident at the beach had come back to haunt her somewhat. Popping to mind now and then, not that she had acted wrongly for certain but it was what she had done. She had growled at a pony and told them to piss off. Not only that but had done so with enough force that it made a full fledged soldier back down but then again knowing far more about pony anatomy and psychology than before... Was not terribly hard to do.

But she had growled! Almost snarled at him! It made her happy but when had she gone from acting like a proper pony that simply said "no thank you" while smiling and walking off to what her mother would call a barbaric brute? Had she done this back in her village without a doubt her mother would have known in minutes and a stinging slap would have awaited her along with many hours or weeks of berating and reminders she needs to be civil. Why should she be civil to such... Halfwits? Insects?

Closing the book again knowing that until she solved this mental dilemma of hers no reading could be done Shadow sat back in the chair and stretched out best she could and stared off into the distance. Maybe this was how Valkardian felt, surrounded by idiots. Happy, jolly nitwits that wouldn't know the truth if it up and bit them on the flank. Was Raspberry in the same category then?

Locking herself deep below in the caves and left to her own ends for all time only returning to the surface to interact when it suited her, avoiding the foolish denizens above who knew not what they do or why... Valkardian's life sounded rather logical and not so terrible now. It made perfect sense in fact considering what happened the one time he stuck his neck out for those he cared about. He was willing to kill to protect them even from themselves and they had retaliated with all the violence they could bring to bear against him and killed... No murdered one of his closest friends.

Would she kill another pony for her family without a second thought?... Shadow's eyes turned down towards the book on the table as she ran her fingers along the spine thoughtfully. Light just appeared on the horizon, she had been lost in her thoughts for hours and had not realized it was 6AM now. Maybe the inn was finally open, maybe Lilac was up. However, that also meant the "other" guests were up as well and would be downstairs...

A groan escaped her lips at the thought of just seeing those fools again. "Give me the solitude of the caves back again" Shadow bemoaned.

Waiting another hour and a half had been near hell but hopefully it meant that the other guests were either staying in late or have already eaten and left already. The sounds of hooves had filtered through the door at seven and died off so most of them were up and gone now. Opening the door and heading down Shadow was greeted once again by a smiling Lilac who waved her over.

"Guards came and posted a note for everyone to read this morning!"

"Oh? What about? Racoon bandits wanted for stealing rotten potatoes?"

Lilac either ignored the sarcasm or failed to notice. "No, something about a newspaper, they are collecting them due to... Uhh... Well its on the note over there." She gestured to a board on the wall with a large sheet of paper stretched over it. Approaching it Shadow read it aloud "Attention! Equestrian Tribune papers recalled for... Yesterday... Due to libel, disinformation and defaming... Turn them in at local guard post... Yada yada..."

"Huh." Turning away and looking back at Lilac, Shadow feigned ignorance as to what it was about just shrugging and in turned asked Lilac if she knew anything about what was printed in the paper. Shadow had noted the notice had left out any details what so ever about WHY it was defamation and libel. The other pony had no idea since she had refused to read it due to the papers headline.

Heading into the dining room and taking a seat she ordered her breakfast and sat back. "Well, whoever is behind this is sifting the wheat from the chaff rather quickly. Only those with doubts will read it to begin with causing an uproar and giving them an idea of their support base before they make a move... Clever." Ponies were prone to bouts of extreme passion and they were playing on it heavily for their own ends.

Her breakfast arrived and was reminded about the flier out in the hall and politely shrugging it off she ate and headed out into the village for a walk. It was a nice little village, quiet and small with a homey feel to it. Strolling just beyond the village and into the outskirts a small gaggle of ponies were gathered near a home pleading with a very well dressed stallion carrying a suitcase with a guard backing him up.

Shadow felt like a spy this being the second time she tucked herself out of sight and mind in order to pry on what was going on. Then again it was not like there was anything else to do today or any day after this till she went home. Home? Which was her home now? The family home back in the forest or the one in the caves below?

"Overstuffed, strutting, fat, greasy, fat nosed, smelly peacock." Shadow could smell him from her hiding spot at a good distance which was another "gift" inheritted from living below for so long. Smells, sights and sounds were easier to pick up on now that her senses were more honed. The stallion in the suit was hardly looking at the other group with his nose held in the air as if to look at them would defile his person somehow.

Poverty sucked, that was true and now this family was getting the boot. Since they could not make the ever increasing payment demands they were being ousted for not making the newest demand. "So much for harmony at any price, well unless you have the bits to back it up." Muttering Shadow kept watching and listening as pleading fell on deaf ears while the other demanded they either uphold the contract or get out, it was not his fault they did not read the fine print.

The guard on the other hand was trying desperately not to take sides as if doing so would somehow get him into trouble and probably would. "Coward." When had following orders, the law and covering your own flank become more important than doing whats RIGHT? Even if it meant butting heads with higher powers you must do what you believe is right. Well that's what she had been taught as of late. Celestia more or less taught this but there was a stronger adherence to authority and law than anything else. Couple that with the general inability of ponies to make decisions for themselves preferring (and being encouraged no less) to hand over responsibility to government officials or Celestia herself only compounded problems.

It was all fun and games till the piper sent his bill then it was a mad rush to see who could grab a chair. This sorry lot had failed to grab a chair in time. The banker read off a condition loudly that the family could have at any time challenged and taken it up with higher authorities but failed to do so in the time allotted. A mare rebutted him saying the paperwork involved took longer to fill out than the time given and was always weeks behind schedule meaning they had to refile.

Not his problem, pay up or get out. Eyes bore into the guard who kept shrinking back in what Shadow found a hilarious turn of events. He was now trying to hide behind the banker who was demanding he "do his duty" and evict the family while the guard kept refusing to take sides. So this was what things looked like before a government collapses in on itself. She imagined this was going on all across the nation now that Celestia would soon be too caught up in political upheaval to "benevolently aid her little ponies" in their day to day lives. One fat pony was already playing his cards and too early at that not that he would fail most likely.

With a flair the stallion raised his arm high and shook his fist declaring that tomorrow the guards would be brought out en masse to evict them and to be out before then or everything in the house would be seized to pay off the overdue payment. Any attempt to stop them would result in legal proceedings and as the blathered on in an endless puff of hot air and legalese the family looked like somepony had kicked them hard in the collective balls.

Leaving them to try and work out their now shattered lives the banker strode off to a waiting cart with the guard closely at heel. An "old adage" Valkardian taught her came to mind as she watched him "obey the laws and his orders" no doubt to one day brag about his service: "He who pays the piper picks the tune." Dangerous and very true. She scoffed at him quietly as he ran after the cart trying to keep up with the bulbous banker. This would make a wonderful story for the foals one day: "what did you do daddy? I kicked ponies out of their homes and destroyed their lives because the one who controls the money told me too."

Turning and heading back into town she decided to stop at the bazaar and browse for a while scanning the nick-knacks and various fruits and vegetables being sold. All around it was a very good assortment that covered just about anything one needed day to day and one stall even had pots and cooking implements for sale amongst many other things.

It was about eleven going by her little time crystal when she entered Raspberry's bakery and scanned the selection again. While nowhere to be seen for a little while it gave Shadow plenty of time to browse without feeling watched until Raspberry came out with more confectioneries and put them on display.

"I will have that jelly roll and tea!" Shadow smiled at Raspberry and waited at the register for her to bring her order. When she brought the tea and went for the jelly roll however she stopped and looked back "Wait, you want a slice... Right?" Shadow shook her head "no, the roll." Raspberry looked a little surprised at this but brought it out and asked if she wanted it boxed to go as well whereupon she took the middle road of one slice to eat the rest boxed to go.

Sipping her tea quietly and enjoying the roll while watching Raspberry from the corner of her eye a thought came to mind. "Hey, do you know whats going on with the bank evicting ponies from their homes?" Yes, she was on vacation but considering her options were death by boredom, watch grass grow, walk along a lifeless beach or watch a fisherpony catch fish... Well that and read, she needed something to distract herself with.

"Oh that, yes, been several lately. The bank and realtor decided to advertise our village as a "retirement village" and they dont want farmer's or anything icky to be seen which might dissuade ponies with a lot of money investing here. We got together at the town hall and voiced our concerns about it. Even wrote Celestia! Anyway, since the bank and some noble own just about everything there is nothing she can do or us for that matter. Celestia said it was a great opportunity to develop our village into a town, grow, prosper and that there would be bumps along the way." Raspberry smiled but it was forced.

"How are a bunch of old dying ponies moving in going to make your village grow and prosper?!"

"Ah, well a few of us asked that but we never got a response. Frankly we like our village just the way it is and want to keep it that way! Everypony here knows everypone else and we get along great. Anyway the realtor and bank began to offer huge sums of bits for anyone willing to sell out and move away so half the farmers on the outskirts took the bits and left. Those that refused to being hounded legally and the bank paid to have our village "zoned" so now those farms are listed as being in residential zones so they have to stop farming or sell. So far they have refused."

Shadow watched Raspberries expression for a minute "What about the local guards? They could turn on the bank and realtor and refuse to have anything to do with it at least. Put them at the mercy of the angry public..."

Raspberry's jaw went slack at this. "That's vigilantyism! You cant do that!"

"And why not? Sounds like the only real reason things are falling apart around here is because of the zoning which is causing job loss making others loose their homes... It also looks like the bank and realtor are using this to increase payments since the land is valued more for development..." Shadow was prodding Raspberry along a path and hoping something would dawn on her.

"The laws the law! Our representative, who we elected... Promised us she would take this up and she did! There was nothing she could do since the motion was struck down immediately in Canterlot by the Parliament. We just have to live with it that's all. Besides, those of us who have lived here own our homes and are keeping them, no one is making us sell out. In fact since they built that subdivision and moved in all those old ponies my business had increased! I am making 7% more a year and growing!"

Raspberry was brain-dead. Completely, utterly brain-dead. Shadow would have groaned but kept it to herself, harmony came with a pile of bits. So long as you had the bits you had harmony and these self deluded fools could only see bits not their soul being squeezed dry. Looking back at her Shadow hazard another question: "What about those who just lost their home today?"

The purple pony moved her mouth to say something then closed it for a minute. "They will just have to move somewhere else and get a job there instead or take one of the new jobs being opened up here in the future."

"Has it ever crossed your mind that nopony should have to leave their home, not now or ever to find happiness because someone else wants to make more money? Your affixing a price to harmony and while your village with have it, it will not be true harmony, only purchased." Why in the name of tartarus was she starting to sound like Valkardian now?

There was no response to this just a moving mouth that tried to come up with an answer to justify her seeing old friends shunted away while those who came to make their lives got the boot all because of a 7% increase of sales that would probably compound in the next year or two. What was the price of friendship and harmony?

Leaving the bakery behind she wandered around for hours just looking and watching ponies go about their lives. If there was one thing she could appreciate about the surface compared to back there was life. There was life all around her now in every house and stall and street walking here and there going to who knows where but it was life and it was wonderful. Indeed a far cry from being one of two life forms in the caves and isolation was the norm not the exception. Valkardian showed this some times when he had her join him for dinner. He too got lonely now and then it would appear.

As she kept walking an older pony got her attention "You have wandered past here four times already carrying that box. You looking for somepony or lost?" This snapped her out of it and glancing over at the old stallion the gears began to grind. Shaking head she thanked him for his concern and made her way to the outskirts and spotted the house from the other day.

It was a small farm house that was being emptied out by guards under the watchful eye of what she assumed was the bankers assistant or a clerk who was recording everything being brought out and the family was nowhere to be seen. Walking up to them the clerk eyed her with suspicion "Anything I can help you with miss?" Her sweet voice belied the cold, dead look in her eyes.

"Where is the family that lived here?"

"Do you have business with them Miss...?"

"Ruby. Miss Ruby. I am just curious as to where they went." What a lie but every instinct told her to lie like her life depended on it.

"I am sorry but I can not give you that information." The gray mare turned away and went back to recording while a guard began to eye Shadow curiously. Choosing to go while the going was good "Ruby" walked away and back into the village, her vacation might be cut a little short if this kept up.

With a little luck and a lot of asking around she found them staying at another farm having moved into the barn for the time being while they figured out where they were going to next. Leaving them the box with a handful of bits Shadow walked off, it wasn't much but it was enough to help without drawing suspicion. With the local guard in the bankers back pocket and most of the others "unhappy" with what was going on up more than happy to keep their mouths shut in exchange for bits... Better to be safe than sorry.

Three days had passed and the family had left to another part of Equestria to rebuild their lives or at least try too. Already their home had been torn down a sign had gone up declaring it the site of a future housing development for retirees. Stopping by the town hall and talking to an aide resulted in the development plan being rolled out before her. Golf courses, senior center, tennis courts, the list went on. When the banker and realtor got done the forests would be gone replaced by carpets of buildings and golf courses.

With enough bits you can do anything and claim it to be for the good of others while lining your pockets from the suckers who answer the call. She left the office disgusted with the locals. They would keep their village but everything that made it what they love would be torn down, erased from existence in the name of progress.

Wandering into the edge of the forest and taking a seat below a large oak Shadow pondered what Celestia's so called harmony really meant. Maybe this place was an exception to the rule? This was only one location out of all Equestria after all but a sinking feeling told her she was watching the edge of a ship as it passed over the falls on its way to destruction. Even before meeting Valkardian and learning everything she had it was no secret Parliament was loaded almost exclusively with nobility and bankers who were corrupt but they always kept it low enough to not antagonize Celestia.

Still, that did not make it right and that Celestia had indeed locked some of them up for their crimes it was never for very long and always resulted in a public apology and a promise to do good. How blind was she? Was this a game of balancing the scales or had she become so self deluded in her own ideology she could no longer see the vipers surrounding her?

Shadow had to admit she greatly admired Celestia despite everything, she had done amazing acts of good for the ponies of Equestria. Literacy, health care, roads, rail lines, so much good had been done but now it seemed it was slipping away like all things did with time. Time was eroding it all away and now the empire she had built was dangling from the precipice and Celestia fiddled while the torch bearers set the world alight.

Meandering through the village and soaking in how it looked knowing that one day soon this would all be gone she made her way slowly back to the inn but was stopped along the way. Three ponies blocked her way one of whom was the fat banker she had seen before and was flanked by two guards one of whom she recognized from the day of the eviction.

"Evening Miss "Ruby," I understand you have been causing problems and I am just here to remind you that we do not like trouble makers in our little village."

The short, fat little greasy furred toad of a stallion in front of her smiled up but his eyes were hostile and seeking. He was more disgusting up close than at a distance. "If asking questions is causing trouble I weep for this little speck of a village and its inhabitants." She hid her glare as best she could but the odor made her cringe, he must have swam in cologne in an attempt to hide it.

"I understand you are here on vacation, I hope you enjoy it but just dont be causing problems young miss. Good day to you." He walked past her but the guards stayed still watching her carefully.

One of them finally spoke up after eyeing her up and down carefully. "What business do you have carrying lethal weapons?"

"I need no excuse to protect my person."

"I asked you a question, answer it."

"First who the hell are you to question me?" It was a fight starter but she was not about to back down to these bastards no matter what after what she had seen not that she would anyway if they were saints of virtue and kindness.

"I am guard of the peace by royal decree, now answer my question! Why do you carry lethal weapons?!"

"Because I can and dont care what you or anypony else thinks."

"Hand them over."

"Like hell I will." The response was automatic and without a second thought and already ponies were slowing down and had begun to gather and watch.

"That's an order! Now undo your sword belt and back away slowly!"

"Oh piss off. Your no master of mine and I sure as hell am not your servant." She thought about flying away but that would mean leaving everything at the inn behind, her words were not helping matters any but she also knew that they were already looking for an excuse to start with and they would have kept prodding till they invented one.

The blue mare on her left made the first move by stepping forward and attempting to grab her arm and a moment later the one to her front moved to her other flank and as one they rushed her. Shadow's movements were a blur as she stepped back and left rapidly and elbowed the guardsmare hard in the gut then grabbed her and used the mare as a bludgeon against the stallion by slamming her into him.

Ponies that had gathered to watch recoiled at this sudden change of events and seeing the two guards collapse and struggle back to their hooves made them back off. Shadow caught sight of the toad of a banker turning tail quickly and scampering off through the crowd calling for more guards. So much for her vacation. Oh well, may as well make it count.

Soon as the guards were back up they came at her again and once more Shadow went after the shorter mare landing a hard blow to her gut while grabbing the arm meant to strike her bending and twisting it violently still she screamed it pain. Bending her over fast and keeping the mare between herself and the other guard she bent her over and kneed her hard resulting in a sick thudding sound and a vomiting mare on the ground.

At first the stallion backed off a bit then changed his mind and slowly reached for his sword but Shadow was quicker closing the distance and putting her hand over the pommel keeping it trapped while kneeing him between the legs leaving him crumpled on the ground holding his jewels gurgling in pain.

As Shadow turned to go back to the inn and began to walk the crowd parted like water before her in silence. Well, they would be coming for her but she had taken out two of four local guards. Unless they brought that group of vacationers into it their odds were not good. Picking up her pace Shadow decided to gather her things and check out a week early, this was not a vacation, a vacation would be spending two weeks in the cavern gardens all to herself not this.

Lilac greeted her with a smile when she entered with a brisk step and informed her she was checking out early and would be back down shortly with the room key. Lilac went to ask why but Shadow just called back she had to get back on the road earlier than she thought. In truth she was more worried about Valkardian, he had left a crystal to get his attention if she were in trouble and right now she needed it.

Entering her room quickly and gathering up everything she had left out Shadow began to stuff her bags and prepare to make a hasty exit. Maybe she would leave the keys on the bed, just yell down the hall and go out the window or was she being paranoid? True, she had just beaten the hell out of two guards and most likely left one with a little internal injury but her instinct said she needed to get out right now while she could. Stuffing things into bags faster and faster and slinging her backpack on she almost reached the door when it flew open and a small mob of guards carrying spears and swords burst into the room.

Letting out a grumble of a sight Shadow eyed them down, they were the other vacationers drafted up quickly and armed and as it stood... Well she knew that the first two would die but the rest would get her, there was no way out of this one and with the window closed... Shadow dropped the bag she was holding and snarled at them. Even if they locked her up there was one promise she remembered: That if she did not make the recall Valkardian would come after her. She pittied the poor bastards who stood before her.

Author's Notes:

For those who read this: Heard a song and as I have written Shadow's character and expanded her, grown her into what she is becoming this song fits her quite well: see what ive become.

As I keep expanding on her this song will become truer and truer. She is a dangerous little bat now.