After leaving his overlong meeting with the trader from outside the walls, Tips felt both like a fool and a gullible simpleton. Sure, he had drunk with the pony and conversed about what could scarcely be shared between the pair, but truly he barely even knew the stallion. The trades-pony bought his hard to find booze and then moved on with his life. It was business. Business with a customer that could pay far better than most. So why would he lie to him like that? Why would he make up such a ridiculous fable to try and get a rise out of him? He loved the drink that Tips sold—that was evident enough. So why would he risk such a thin strand of friendship on such a cruel joke?

Two months and a day following that odd afternoon capped off by that heated conversation and Tips thought perhaps there was something more to it all. The evidence was not presented to him in full but it was there… and it was only building.

“I erected these walls years ago to protect you from what lies beyond.”

Scanning up and up the tall crystal tower, Tips had to place a leg over his eyes to block out the shine shimmering off every glowing edge and crevice. On the hanging balcony stood the black stallion Sombra, overlooking the crowd he had amassed some minutes prior. Attendance at his speeches had always been mandatory. Tips had found ways of skipping plenty of these longwinded affairs in his life, but today he wanted to hear each and every word from the King’s rigid mouth. Something about it all felt off, to him. Something about it all felt odd.

“As your leader and King, I am only trying to protect my citizens as best I can,” Sombra told the thousands standing below him, his voice cutting richly across the courtyard as he amplified his voice with a thin red aura around his horn. “What lies over those walls in nothing but a desolate and depraved world. It is unfit to live in and to allow access to it would go against everything I stand for. I only wish to protect you all—my subjects, my citizens. Your life will be spent inside these walls, for the safety of all.” He slowly surveyed the mass of idle ponies, seemingly taking in each and every one of them with his glowing red and green eyes. “You all know what happens to those that try and leave my city. To do so will only doom the rest of your kind. Rumors of the outside world will also be dealt with accordingly—and with severity. Live in the present—live in the now and realize your life begins and ends inside the Empire. But always know, as your King I only wish for one thing:

“And that is to help.”

Once the voice of the King had plucked itself from his ears, Tips hurried back to his little alley he called makeshift-home and immediately uncovered the clear jug he had been hiding amongst some overturned trash. He had been saving it for a special occasion (since retrieving more would again put him in a highly unyielding situation), but after hearing Sombra’s speech he thought now might be a fine time to crack it open.

With his teeth he undid the cork and drank an inch from the bottle—burning clear liquid that awoke the senses all while it did its best to numb the remainder of them. It was fantastic stuff. If he was caught with it, he’d probably find himself facing one fantastic death, too.

Sombra had always been the creative sort when it came to “disciplining” any level of wrongdoers. The only difference was those caught and punished never had the chance to learn from their mistakes.

Tips shuddered and drank another mouth full. Warmth spread in his chest while he sat in a cold puddle on the ground. He needed time to think.

He said he himself, “Two months and no dinners. Two months and no dinners.”

On the last day of each month King Sombra forcefully invited six citizens of the Empire to his tower for a feast in his halls. Each time only one returned. That remaining guest never said a word of what went on inside. For years that had remained the norm, as the final day of each month came and went and the entire city hovered on pins and needles from the possibility that their name could be read. And now suddenly that had stopped.

Whole Trade or Sure Trade or whatever his name was came on the last day of each month to sell whatever he was selling and for two months now he had been missing. Tips at first had reserved judgment that their last conversation kept the trades-pony at bay, but avoiding the Empire entirely? There had to be something more to it all.

He knocked his hoof against his jug, echoing a dull ring down the deserted strip of dim side street. “And now Queenie makes another speech about the dangers from the rest of the world. Another one—so soon after the last.”

He pulled from his jug and leaned on the cool brick wall behind him to ponder.

Something had Sombra scared. Something had him change his routine in the last little while. Could it all have to do with that little conversation between the two of them? From their discussion of magical alicorns and Princesses and a vast world that lay far away from the Empire?

Tips had never been one to dream but for the first time in a while he honestly wanted to.

“Could Princesses be real?” he asked to no one at all.

He intended to find out.

Fortune made her way from the courtyard after hearing everything King Sombra had to say and somehow could still hear the hurried hoofsteps of someone close behind. While everyone else begrudgingly made their exit methodically in the direction of either work or home, Fortune went in a completely different direction—one she hoped would clear up a few things that had been bugging her over the last few weeks.

A few streets away and the lull of marching ponies faded considerably. Another street over and through a thin alley she trotted, and now the single set of constant hooves behind her quickened in their step. Not bothering to face her pursuer, she galloped around a sharp corner and bolted to the side, snuggling tight to the edges of a dilapidated building. The hoofsteps of her follower grew and grew until they broke into a trot. Once around the corner, the light blue pegasus came to a sudden halt, craning his neck to determine which direction to go.

“You’re kinda’ creepy, you know that?” she called to him, causing him to spin slowly around, the half-hooked grin of his already devouring a good portion of his face. It was that damn pegasus from the mine. The one that had warned her about using magic and then made fun of her name. But hadn’t he been staring at her more than once while she worked? And what was his stupid name again?

Then she remembered just how odd this whole short chase had been.

Did he want to get caught? she honestly contemplated. Or is he just an idiot?

He blew a strand of hair from his eyes, visibly winded from the sprint. “I just wanted to exchange notes, is all. Sometimes when Sombra gets going I tend to get sleepy. You heard everything, though. Right?”

“I heard the same that everyone else did,” she said bluntly, still wary of being pursued in such a fashion. “Don’t go outside the walls. Outside is bad. Nothing’s there. Same old, same old.”

He took a few steps towards her. “Hmm. Sounds a lot like last months speech, doesn’t it?”

She lowered her brow, not exactly sure where this all might be leading. “I heard Sombra was like… a hundred or so years old. You try and stay fresh after that much time.”

The pegasus smiled at her. It warmed his face, but still she could see something of concern underneath his expression. Finally she had to question him.

“Why are you following me?” she asked thickly. “And why do you keep such a distance from me at the mine and yet I feel you watching me? It’s not as flattering as it might sound in your head.” She paused, before spitting out, “Dexter,” like it was a curse word.

This time his grin ate his face whole. “So you do remember me!”

Fortune groaned and started back the way she entered the alley.

“Hey! Wait up!” he called. “I just wanted to talk!”

“Then talk,” she called back.

Dexter came to her side and trotted along. Even out of the corner of her eye she could tell he was mentally working away on something.

“You still practicing your levitation skills?” he said casually.

“Only at home. Only at night. I thought you were the one that told me not to bother with that?”

“I don’t know if I put it that way. Just to… be careful is all. You never know who might be watching.”

She stopped to glare at him. “So that means that you watch me and follow me around so that you make sure no one of interest is watching me?”

He said slowly, “Sort of.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re an interesting fellow?”

“Nope.”

“I’m surprised.” She huffed out a breath and ran a hoof through her mane. She regarded the jubilant pegasus and tried to get a read on what he must be contemplating about. That eerie vibe she had felt when she first heard him coming had ebbed from her mind, replaced with an odd sense of pity and simple lack of understanding. Did he just want a friend in this cold, scary world? Could she really blame him for that? Is that why—

“I need a favor,” he said openly, a good dose of naivety exiting his face.

Oh, now I see, she mused.

“A big one.”

He might seem moronic on the outside, but he’s anything but.

She asked, “And why would I?”

“Because we’re friends.”

“This is our second conversation together!” she blurted out.

He leaned in close. “And haven’t they both been wonderful?”

Fortune narrowed her eyes. “You must have a screw loose up there. You’ve spent too much time in the mine—hit in the head with too many rocks.”

“I’m only offering a favor for a favor,” he said. “You help me and I help you.”

“Why would I need your help?”

“Because you’re about to be placed in a new work zone. As in next week, if your earnings haven’t increased by a lot.”

She took a step back and felt a hint of warmth behind both eyes. A hollow feeling entered her stomach—an uncontrollable sensation of not being in control of anything at all. In the short time spent in the mine she had sincerely tried as hard as she could, learned as much of the trade from viewing others and even building a bit of muscle in each leg. She had thought she was getting better—she knew she was. And yet it seemed it wasn’t enough. But there was something much larger than that running through her fervent head at that moment.

She mumbled in a near whisper, “That would place me in my third job. That would mean I’d need to be screened again; checked to see if I’m physically fit to contribute. That might put me in front of Sombra. And what if it turns out I’m not fit for anything?”

Fortune continued her hurried diatribe until she felt a leg on her shoulder. She glanced to the pegasus again and was relieved to find an odd sight on his face. No smile. No grin. Only a solid look of concern.

“That’s why I’m going to help you out,” he reassured her. “I’ll teach you the best way to break rock and if that doesn’t work, I’ll share a bit of what I bring in. I’m usually up in the count as is.” He paused. “But that still means I need something from you.”

She chewed her tongue nervously. “What?”

“I need you to levitate something for me. About the weight of a small rock, and perhaps half a dozen meters. One way and back.”

She stared into his eyes, desperately wanting to believe it could all be as easy as that. “Why can’t you just grab it yourself?”

“Because I’m not supposed to.”

A new bundle of nerves tightened in her gut. “This is starting to sound illegal.”

“It is. But you’ll only be there for a minute and then it’s all on me. This’ll solely be my mission.”

She would regret asking a moment after, and yet she had to know. “And what mission is that, Dexter?”

A hint of a grin touched his lips again. “I’m going to kill the King, of course.”

For a long while after making his speech, King Sombra watched as each of his loyal citizens lazily marched away from the Crystal tower, heads bent and eyes weary. He wanted to read something more on each of them—something to inform him that he had made the right decision, but truthfully he could not tell.

Since the two months that had passed since he did away with the pesky outsider and his little tasty treats, Sombra sensed nothing of unusual worth in his Empire. It still filled him with the calming taste of dread mixed with subdued fear. It was prevalent in every corner of his land and nothing had swayed its flavor. For that he was glad.

Retreating from the many onlookers outside, Sombra’s mare assistant came to him and without question began straightened his long cape while removing any such bits of dirt or rubbish. A few moments later he felt his long mane pulled back as she brought a thick brush from the top of his head all the way back to his shoulders. One such assistant—many, many assistants ago—had the gall to try and remove his crown for easier access to his rich hair. That had been silly of her. He had had so much fun with her in the last forty-four hours of her life. Thoughts like these brought such odd smiles to his usually dark face.

“Did you enjoy my speech?” he said to his busy assistant.

She nodded hurriedly and kept pace with the brush. How she did it so fast and with such precision still fascinated the King. Keeping quiet was also a very clever notion of hers, although he knew she’d stumble eventually. It was only a matter of time. But he had always found it was such a joy to watch them pretend not to drown, even if it would overtake them all in the end.

“I agree,” he said. “It was good.”

The moment Sombra had returned to his Empire once dealing with the trades-pony, he had collapsed the entire hall surrounding the well-kept hidden door to the outer wall. He only did this right after tasking the workers that oversaw the delivery of each monthly preserves examine the darkened corridor that fed out into the world. Not a single one of them had time to react as the shattered rocks came tumbling down, instantly burying their careless mistake along with their bodies.

They should have been watching that simpleton of a barterer, he thought. They should have kept an eye on him and told him where he’d gone.

Although Sombra had known what he had said, the location of such talks still eluded him. He knew it was underground and the entrance lay obscured. The recipient of such dialogue also remained out of his grasp—but who would ever believe in such a tale? One of alicorns and Princesses and sunshine and rainbows beyond the wall?

He fixed his hardened gaze on his mare assistant, who was promptly tucking away her small tools. “You trust in your King, do you not?”

She faced him before nodding, even including a one-legged bow.

“And could you ever imagine anyone else controlling such an Empire?”

She said timidly, “Only you, my King.”

“I’m glad we agree,” Sombra said, before turning to face the open archway again, the afternoon sky glowing a brilliant orange beyond the tips of his mammoth dark barrier. “Before you go, summon Patience and Grace for me. I have the oddest of feelings our Empire might be in need of protection. Tell them their father wants to speak with them urgently.”

An hour later, the rough sound of a pair of wings beating hard against the air pulled Sombra from his thoughts. When he heard both sets of sharp claws gingerly step across his marble floor, he knew his children had arrived.

They were always in the mood to play.

Wander Lust rubbed both blinking eyes a final quick time and eventually came to the conclusion that what he was seeing must actually be true. (Although he’d probably only be completely sure once the wife came back and made sure he hadn’t fallen asleep in the sun again…)

“Oh Celestia, that’s big,” he said for the forth time as he slowly glimpsed one end before panning to the rest. Yet it seemed that for every inch of bluish crystal wall he took in, there was still another thousand feet he had somehow missed. It was the discovery of a lifetime, he knew. The largest problem then was trying to keep his inner excitement to himself and not start tap-dancing where he stood.

A whole city not on the map? he thought ecstatically. How does that even happen?

Just when he thought of trotting back to the campsite in search of a pair of trusty binoculars, a set of voices behind him clouded such notions.

“Look, sweet sister. It’s another one!”

“How right you are, dear brother. How they keep finding their way out here is simply divine.”

Wander spun and found the second largest oddity of his day. Two tall, white and gold griffins viewed him with widening interest. The one with the lower voice had splotches of black around his head, while the higher pitched one—did it say “sweet sister”?—had a head of perfect white with a bare hint of light blue around the eyes. Both beaks on each griffin looked as sharp as razors, while every claw on their talons softly caressed the dirt underneath.

Wander should have been petrified by the unnatural curiosity evident in their stare, but his latest find had overcome a good many of his senses.

“Do you live there?” he asked them. “In that big… crystal thing?”

“You mean the Empire,” the white-headed one said, smiling. “Yes, we do. Along with our father and his subjects. He’s very good to us.”

I should have grabbed my notebook before speaking with them, Wander thought. This is instant bestseller material!

“What are your names?” he asked.

The taller of the two with the black around his head said, “I am named Patience, and my sister is named Grace. Those are the names our father gave us.”

Wander took a few steps towards them, unnoticing of the rising hunger in their eyes.

“Is that a whole city of griffins?” He pointed at the thick crystal wall.

Patience shook his head. “No. We are unique from the rest. Unlike you.”

“So they’re ponies in there?” Wander questioned, still trotting a little closer.

Patience turned to his sister. “Do you think we should show him the Empire?”

Grace watched Wander while she delicately licked the edges of her beak. “He seems curious enough. And you know what father wants done with curious outsiders.”

Suddenly Wander’s mind was alight with a couple blaring alarms.

“Let me just wait for my wife,” he cautiously told the foreboding pair. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon. And then we can all go.” He wormed a goofy grin to his lips, felt in break down around the edges.

Without a word between the siblings, Patience and Grace took to the air and in tandem swooped towards the shocked pony. In that short amount of time he had managed to turn and gallop two steps in the opposite direction, before two sets of incredibly sharp claws dug deep into his shoulders and upper barrel. While screaming away he was effortlessly swept into the air, steadily gliding towards the mammoth wall of crystal he had been so interested in only moments prior. Small drops of fresh blood spattered against the earth… far, far below.

Being an advantageous adventurer for most of his life, Wander should have been encapsulated by the sites he was being presented with. Sadly, he only concern at the time was the blindingly painful grips hooked into his body, and the fact he was born an Earth pony and not a well trained pegasus.

“I want to show him the tower first, dear brother!” Grace yelled above the wind.

“No, no. Let’s take him around the wall first, sweet sister!” Patience called back.

Not coming to a complete conclusion of which deviation to take, both siblings went in opposite directions, bringing along their screaming and thrashing tourist as well. Both shoulders dislocated first before his body ripped down the middle, sending large chunks of warm pony meat to the green ground below.

In the twenty minutes before Wander Lust’s wife returned to their empty camp, Patience and Grace feasted on his cooling remains.

Then with added strength they gave another tour of their hidden Empire.