You didn’t manage to get much sleep that night. You took to sitting and thinking about everything that had happened up to this point. The King, the rebels and of course the brutal execution you bore witness to. The plan Spyglass gave you is easy to do, all you need is the opportunity to get out for once.

The fire crackles gently in front of you, sending small embers of burning wood through the air. It’s relaxing, exactly what you need to calm your nerves. You’ve never sat in front of a real fire like this before as you always lived in the city, with central heating and warm clothes. A part of you misses the simpler days of lazing about and reading fan fiction, away from the civil conflict and malicious dark magicians.

Another part of you secretly enjoys it. Your inner fan boy is screaming in delight at every small interaction with another. It’s not quite what you had in mind, but it’s certainly more interesting than what you used to do on weekends, but you could do without nearly being murdered by an overzealous rebel.

The fire is starting to die down now, the wood provided being burnt down to blackened pieces of charcoal. A small pile of wood lies next to the pit. You don’t want to leave your comfortable place of the sofa though. You glare at the offending wood and will it to fly into the fire. You jump out of your fur when a red aura wraps around a log and chucks it in. So that’s how telekinesis works! This magic stuff is easy.

You don’t know where to go from here. Sombra has far too much power for you to handle, he easily evaded your clumsy attack. You managed to knock yourself out without his input. There’s no way you can take him in a direct confrontation.

Somebody knocks on the door, without waiting for permission it swings open to reveal your two personal guards. An unspoken order is given and you reluctantly trudge to them. Once again you find yourself being escorted to the throne room.

The staff has returned to their duties after a short absence. You wonder how much they know about the events of the previous day. Maybe they’d be less willing to work here if they had to clean up the large pool of blood Sombra made.

A slow trickle of scowling ponies leaving the double doors indicates that court has been adjourned for the day, some of them utter obscenities and dry teary eyes in the presence of family members. You don’t quite understand why Sombra holds court, especially when he never actually listens to the wishes of his citizens.

Some glare at you with visible disdain. The guards move in slightly, ensuring that the majority of your body was out of view. You feel nervous, what kind of rumors could they be spreading about you? Having a guard escort couldn’t be good for your public image. You spy Sombra at the very end of the room; he pushes away a pesky advisor and quickly descends the stairs. The other ponies scatter as the King approaches not wishing to draw his ire.

The guards follow the crowd to make sure they leave the castle in an orderly manner, leaving you stood next to the man you tried to kill just hours earlier. A million ex-girlfriends can’t match up to how awkward you feel right now. Thankfully Sombra doesn’t comment. You follow him down another set of winding corridors. You hope he doesn’t know about last night’s escapade.

“Today, we are going for a walk. I hope this won’t be too much for you to handle?” He asks with a light touch of teasing, uncharacteristic of him, you think.

Sombra’s personality is bipolar in your eyes. He swings from post to post. With others he seems on edge, ready to burst out into violence or cruelty, but you can readily attack him when given the opportunity only for him to start cracking jokes at you the next day. He doesn’t want to kill you, for obvious reasons, but he also doesn’t seem to like you.

Maybe the cruel tyrant angle only comes out when he needs to put the boot down, the execution of the rebels being one of those moments. Or maybe he’s just insane and screwing with you again. You haven’t been around him enough to reach a final judgment, but you really don’t want to. It seems today you have no choice.

The guards and staff clear a path through the hallways. Sombra quickly begins to descend into the lobby you entered upon your arrival. “I’ve decided to give you a little treat, we’re going outside.” He declares as a pair of guards hold open the modest wooden doors to give you your first real glimpse of the outside world. You smile, finally! He must trust you enough to let you out now.

It’s truly a sight to behold. A long crystal road stretches off into the horizon, flanked by rows and rows of crystal buildings. The freeform nature of the crystals gives the city an organic look. Rough window frames and doorways, and other little pieces of architecture are carved from the tough material; the ponies are like a colony of ants.

“Let us go.” He orders briskly before trotting out into the center.

You must have only inhabited the second floor. A large circular courtyard takes up the large space, a precariously places crystal ceiling hanging above. Ponies trot to and fro in the intersection, talking with friends. A small group of foals play tag much to the displeasure of their talking parents.

The streets are constructed from all sides, branching off into smaller ones like a large snowflake. The familiar sound of the market faire you heard in the garden reach your twitching ears. A rush of new sounds and sights distract you from the grim reality of your situation. You can’t begin to imagine how Sombra managed to get things this way. The uninformed could easily misconstrue that the empire is ruled by Cadence.

Sombra nudges you. You drag your attention away from the vibrant city and follow behind him. His stature catches the attention of several crystal ponies, who begin to face him and bow. He ignores them and continues onwards. As you walk away from them you can’t help but hear the whispers and gasps of shock, what’s with them?

The blue sky is a nice change from the murky palace. It’s the first real sunlight you’ve had in nearly a week aside from your breath trip to the palace garden, which didn’t end on the best terms. The hustle and bustle of the city is also a welcome change. The palace was nearly always un-naturally silent. You went out of your way to make noise when you are on your own, or listen in on the conversations that pass by your door. They never say anything interesting though.

Sombra doesn’t pay anybody much mind as he confidently struts through the streets. You’d think he’d have a contingent of guards to escort him, but given the show of power yesterday you doubt he would need them. The streets are aesthetically similar, with shiny crystal paving and shiny crystal houses, filled with shiny crystal ponies.

Beyond the superficial appearance and behavior of the citizens surrounding you, you can’t help but notice the little things. Like how dirty certain parts of the roads are, piles of trash on some corners indicating a lack of proper services and the overriding sense that everything isn’t quite right. The ponies look healthy enough, but they have hollow smiles and nervous dispositions. Even when you’re far away from the center they continue to grovel and bow as you pass by.

Eventually the houses begin to get smaller and smaller. You must be headed to a less affluent area of the empire. Here the ponies aren’t quite as eager to bow, even yelling a few choice curses his way. “Son of a whore!” One brave stallion shouts from a group. Sombra’s face twitches slightly, but his usual stoicism remains firmly in place.

"They don’t know what’s good for them.” He mutters. “Pay attention Rose.” He snaps as you approach another large plaza. Unlike the palace plaza this one is much livelier as a small market has been set up. Makeshift huts and stands form a large maze which you could easily get lost in. Ponies hustle from shop to shop, haggling with the owners and sizing up different items.

There’s a large variety, from your position outside you can already see various food items, different styles of clothing and even toy shops selling second hand toys to foals and parents alike. “Welcome to the Crystal market.” Sombra declares. You look to him in confusion, why did he bring you here? “I’ve decided that we need to reach some kind of understanding. We do work in close quarters to one another after all.”

“Thief!” A female voice shouts from within the crowd.

A scrappy looking colt sprints from the crowd, carrying a dirty bundle. A pair of guards burst out after him, chasing him down. He looks back in panic and attempts to ditch his load in a nearby garbage pile, but in his distracted state they easily manage to tackle and restrain him. He thrashes and flails, but the strong guards have in locked down.

“It’ll be the pits for you kid.” One of them warns, pulling him to his hooves. “Don’t push your luck scum.” Several ponies gather around and watch the scuffle. The other backs away and retrieves the package from the pile before trotting back to the market; you assume he’s returning it. He comes back empty hooved and helps drag him away.

“I can’t abide by thievery.” Sombra comments. “I believe in the rule of law, a strong hoof to keep things in shape.” You don’t respond.

“I see your skepticism.”

You shake your head. “I can see what’s in front of me; some of them aren’t too fond of you.”

“Of course they aren’t. Zealots tend to hate what they don’t understand. We can’t have anypony messing with the status quo now can we?”

He scoffs. “I just wanted to show you what I work for so that you might think of me as something more than a heartless murderer.”

“What do you work for?” You ask.

“My people, the crystal ponies. We have a lot more in common than they might think. One day, maybe they will bow to me in respect rather than fear.” He sighs and chuckles. “But until then, I give them the performance they expect of me.”

“I’m not convinced.” You jab. He turns and walks away; you look back to the market for a moment before trotting to catch up with him.

“Very well. We’ll just have to visit somewhere else.”

You walk for another ten minutes, eventually coming to the very outskirts of the city. The crystal paving gives way to poorly maintained dirt roads. Several farms stretch across the green pastures. You wonder what they grow here, from the looks of things some kind of berry as rows of bushes take up much of the space.

You didn’t notice it back in the city, but it’s very clear that the sky is curved in a dome like shape, almost as if it’s been painted on. As you get closer and closer, you can see that there isn’t a horizon, just a solid line where the ground ends and the sky begins. Your head begins to hurt slightly from the optical trick, it looked so real from the middle.

Sombra comes to a stop at the blue wall. You can tell now that it circumnavigates the entire city, cutting away the ground that should be there. “Do you ever wonder what lurks beyond this city?” Sombra begins. He pokes at the wall with a hoof, causing it to ripple like water. “I know all too well. Not just the cold tundra of the north, but the strong creatures that this environment breeds. They come for us, smash against our walls and consume us.”

His horn begins to glow. His aura slowly begins to spread across the sky in front of you, opening a transparent window to what lies outside. Violent gusts of snow hammer the illusionary wall; it’s so intense that you can’t see anything.

“The snow blinds us. The monsters come for us. The strong try to protect us.” He chants.

“Animals?” You deadpan.

“Who said anything about animals?” He scowls, shutting the window, the blue sky taking its place. He grows visibly frustrated. “The greedy attempt to doom us. Such is the nature of the sun and the moon.”

He must be talking about Celestia and Luna! “Come, we have much more to see.” He ushers you away from the sky and back towards the road. You think back on his words. For an opportunity to meet those monsters, you’d give anything.

Sombra might think he’s winning you over with his practiced speeches and semi-happy citizens, but you aren’t biting. He’s unwittingly showed off his biggest weakness. He keeps all of his people under using fear, without it, he’s finished. You need to go have another talk with Spyglass.

As you approach the city once again, you decide to bite the bullet. “I was wondering, why am I being kept in my room all day?”

“I don’t want you to get involved with any of those dangerous rebels.” He responds curtly. “I accept that most of the threat has been nullified, yet I don’t feel safe having my guest wander to where she could so easily get hurt.”

“Well, sitting in my room all day is incredibly boring. Can I please be given a bit of space to walk around the palace again?” That’s right Rose, suck up to him. He stops for a moment to consider your request.

He concedes. “One of the two outside your door shall escort you.” Damn! It’s not perfect, finding space to write that message is going to be harder than you thought.

“Good.” You respond with a fake smile. “I look forward to it.”

The rest of the tour is uneventful at best. You can tell Sombra is avoiding certain areas of the city by his winding route through the streets. The crime problem must be much worse than you first thought; Ponies driven into crime and poverty, for a reason that you can’t see with the naked eye. Either Sombra was telling the truth about the rebellion, or he’s lying to cover up his mistakes.

Thankfully the tour comes to an end an hour later. Sombra escapes back into his throne room while one of your guards is ordered to escort you. He doesn’t talk much; you stand there awkwardly for a few moments. “I’d like to visit the library.” He just nods. You wonder if he’s going to say anything but he turns on the spot and begins to walk away. He must be taking you there, how nice of him. You can’t really remember where the library is anyway.

You come to the familiar double doors and walk in behind the stallion. The library is just as deserted as last time; however a friendly face shines from behind the reception desk. It’s the mare who greeted you when you first arrived. She’s still wearing the same little red bow-tie from the first day, although her hair is noticeably styled in a new manner. It’s much shorter now and cuts off in a bob.

The guard flinches slightly as she runs towards you. “Hi!” She greets enthusiastically. “Long time no see!” His muscles tense as the mare brings you into a surprising hug. This is the first real contact with another pony since you got here. You lift a hoof and return the hug gently. No matter how brainwashed she may be its good to have somepony without a vested interest in you beyond being friends.

You remember her acting differently though, maybe she was tired and not brainwashed? She did have some serious eye bags after all. You glance to her left and spot a red post box perched upon the wooden desk, right, you should get this out of the way.

The guard deflates slightly as the hug continues. You tap her back a few times and she hops back, blushing slightly. “Whoops. Sorry, I like hugs.” You chuckle as she rubs the back of her head sheepishly. The guard rolls his eyes and walks away to the sitting area. Not exactly the most responsible thing to do when guarding the King’s personal guest.

You need to get that note written before he notices you though. You turn to the blushing guide. “Do you have a pen and paper I can use?” She perks up and trots back behind the desk, emerging with a quill and paper. You look back to see the guard nose deep in a magazine, a prominent photo of a mare in some rather raunchy clothes featuring on the page. Typical.

“What do you want the paper for?” She asks innocently. You pull them to you and grasp the quill in a shaky telekinetic field. It wobbles slightly due to your inexperience but it’s stable enough to write what you want. You really don’t want to answer her, but it’s an equal risk to not. Either way she can go running to the guards about it, something you’d rather not have happen. She pushes a small pot of black ink into your reach.

“A message for a friend. He wanted to know how things are going over here.” You dip the quill into the ink and write out that the spyglass has been dropped in small letters.

“That’s a short message.” She comments. Shit! You need to add something more. In the paltry space above the vital code phrase you quickly scribble a made up story. It’s difficult to fit the phrase into something that could be considered non-suspicious, but you do your best.

“He was never one for heavy reading.” You bullshit. Her face remains neutral before breaking into a small smile.

“He sounds nice.” She strokes an idle hoof through her white mane. “It’s always nice to have somepony to talk to.” It trails down to tug on her collar and tie. A look of unease flashes on her face, the implication isn’t lost on you.

“If you ever want to talk, come by my room. I’d be happy to have the company.” You finish off your message with a flourish of ink. She breaks into a genuine grin. You quietly slip the letter into the red box.

“I’d like that.”