The cottage in the sky just outside Cloudsdale was filled with bustling, commotion, and clattering. The noises, judged by how dark the house was during dusk and the hushing noises if the fuss got too noticeable, proved that the ponies inside were frantically preparing for something. Inside the house, a mare and a stallion were rushing to pack some belongings as quickly as possible. A colt, awakened by the clatter, stepped down from the upper floor of the cottage. All three of the ponies were Pegasi.
"Where are we headed?" the colt asked. He had a certain desire for information, but knew his limits. He was eighteen years old, sported a sliver-grey coat, shiny golden eyes, a long onyx black mane with a yellow streak through the middle flowing freely behind his head and just over his forehead, and a similarly-colored, well-groomed tail that stood and curved out. Inside, he was timid and easily startled, but not frightened. He was also very welcoming to any pony, but sometimes his hesitance got the better of him, in which case he would remain silent.
No response came from the stallion or mare.
"Can some pony please answer me? Where are we going?" he asked yet again.
"Well, if you must know, Leon, we are moving." responded the mare. She was warmhearted, and had the natural protective instinct any mother had. Because of this, she would not tell her son, Leon, where they were really headed.
I may have asked more than I should have. The young foal could not keep the conversation going, and he lowered his ears. He immediately shut his mouth and lowered his head. His mother sensed the grief inside him, and wanted to say something to make him feel better.
"Look, I know how you must feel, leaving all your friends in Cloudsdale behind. But where we're going, I'm sure you'll make new ones in no time!" she stated.
"But what about my friends here? What about Derpy? What about my training at flight camp? I'm not allowed to fly yet!"
Derpy Hooves, as she was named, was a clumsy Pegasus foal who lived nearby Leon. She was very sensitive about herself because of her eyes being inverted, but Leon had made good friends with the Pegasus. He never knew why, but Derpy always had an appetite for muffins of any kind. She had also attended the same flight camp Leon was taught in, and together had made the best of training. Derpy was not the fastest flier, but to her control was much more important than anything speed offered. She had also taught Leon how to use his wings as extra appendages, an invaluable skill which replaced the usual practice of him using his forelegs to grip objects. Both ponies were "blank flanks"; ponies who had not earned their cutie mark during their adolescent and teenage years, and were constantly picked on because of it.
"Derpy will come over to say goodbye, and you can still write to each other constantly. I know that you had good friends here. And where we're going, you'll still be able to attend flight camp," his mother answered him.
"Can I ask where exactly we are moving to? Is it far from Cloudsdale?" Leon questioned with uneasiness.
"I don't think you know about this land. It's not far from Cloudsdale at all. It is only about thirty minutes from here. The province is called Coltifornia, and the city we'll be moving to is Caelum Lux. If you would like to, rest before we leave."
With that, Leon bowed his head in remorse and headed to his room. He fell onto his clouded bed, and even the plush, comforting feel of the bed couldn't ease his pain. He laid there, with nothing on his mind, until it fogged up with deep thoughts of sleep.
...
Awakening five hours later at the break of dawn, Leon sat up, walked out of his room, and into the living room. He still seemed down, and his parents had waited for him to wake up. They could plainly see the sadness on his face. They smiled, looked at him, and escorted him to the kitchen. As they did, grief turned to amazement as Leon saw many of his friends from flight camp, including Derpy. She placed down two plates of muffins with her wings.
"Hey, look! Leon!" she exclaimed.
The crowd of young foals turned to Leon, and a cheer erupted from all of them. He really didn't think this was a good time to cheer, but he was nonetheless satisfied that many ponies took the time to do this. He went over to the table and said hello to the others he recognized, all of them five years younger than Leon. A cyan filly with a mane containing streaks of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, named Rainbow Dash, was trying hard to stay still, anticipation inside her. Two purple fillies with silver manes that appeared identical to each other also had arrived to the gathering, one named Flitter and the other named Cloud Chaser. Two colts, one a dull brown with a beige mane and the other a light orange with a coffee mane, each snickered in the far end of the table, constantly harassing Rainbow, though she turned to glare at them, and they immediately stopped.
He reached over for a muffin, and Derpy couldn't help but laughing. The other ponies did not get why she laughed, but they each added their voice to the laughter. The whole kitchen was filled with laughter. Leon couldn't help but feel as if the laughter was directed towards him, and he lowered his ears.
"Why is every pony laughing?" he asked quietly, blushing as he did.
"Oh, we just know that you shouldn't be so down in the dumps. Even though you're leaving, we all got together to get you something," Derpy said. With that, she pulled from the living room two boxes; one seemed flat but wide, and another was a sizeable package with holes on the side. Leon wondered what were in the boxes, especially the one with holes on the side.
It seems to be something living, something that can breathe in the box. But what? He thought about what creature, or pony, could possibly be in the large box.
Derpy set both down on the table with her wings. The smaller of the two was inscribed with the phrase "Magnus Trot Antrorsum." He knew what the translation was in Pony Latin, but did not know what the phrase was supposed to mean, but somehow knew it was something to do with him moving. The Great Trot Forward... He slowly opened the package, and revealed to everyone in the room a strange necklace, made of platinum and embedded with a red, gleaming gem of some sort. He looked puzzled and amazed, and asked who the gift was from.
Silence was the only response he received. He accepted it as an answer, and placed the beautiful chain back in the box. He then turned to the larger box, and proceeded to open it, until Derpy chimed in.
"Don't open that one yet. It needs to stay in the box until it's ready to be opened."
"What? When will that be?" Leon asked confusedly.
"You'll know it when it happens," she hinted.
Rainbow seemed as though she was trying hard not to reveal something, and Leon knew that she was trying to not spoil the surprise.
Leon set the box down with his wings, placing a smile on Derpy's face. He then turned to look at everyone, with both a mixture of happiness and remorse in him. "Thank you, every pony... for everything. I can say that Coltifornia will not be the same as here, but I will try to write. I'm glad I got to know many awesome friends here, and that they actually came to say goodbye." There was sadness in him now, and he remained quiet.
"All right, we're just about ready to go," his mother said.
"Goodbye, every pony." He stopped, and headed to Derpy. "Goodbye, Derpy." He hugged her, and she him. Tears filled their eyes, not knowing how long he would be gone.
"Bye, Leon. Make sure to write to us, OK?" she said, sadness in her voice.
"I will, no doubt about it." With that, he slowly walked out the door and left. Every pony remained quiet, and they too slowly left with a feeling of emptiness.
...
Leon and his family rode a cloud to Coltifornia, using their wings to power their flight, while the moving cloud followed them through the sky. They had reached their destination without any hitch, as the sky was clear and bright. Leon was glad that their new home was not far from Cloudsdale, and when he could fly, he would come back to visit. But for now, this new place would have to do. Leon felt uneasiness in his stomach thinking about what the ponies here were like.
Caelum Lux, as the city was called, was a city in the sky much like Cloudsdale, but much larger. It housed many large buildings that Leon only heard of in Cloudsdale; one of them was a large rectangular palace lined with marble columns and topped with a pristine dome. This building was known as Highlander Heights, an extravagant building placed on the top of a hill of clouds where royalty once lived, but has since been empty and preserved as a monument. Another interesting location caught Leon's eye; the Trotter Tower, a mysterious building in which its origin and purpose were unclear, but was also preserved as the tallest building in Coltifornia.
Maybe I can get to know the place better from some local ponies. But where should I go? Do I ask any pony? Leon thought deeply. Well, I'll find out soon enough. I've got to help settle in. The moving van pulled up just behind the cloud they rode on, and Leon galloped to the back of the van. The pony driving it went along the side and appeared next to Leon and opened the back. She was Derpy's mother, Ditzy, who owned a moving company and helped out in any way she could with the move.
"There you go, Leon. Hope you like it here. I hear the house is very roomy," Ditzy said.
"Thank you, ma'am! Do you know anything about this town?" Leon inquired.
"This city is the largest city in the clouds in Equestria, and was once home to royalty. But that was a long time ago. Now, the city is relatively isolated from the rest of Equestria. This city has modernized, as ponies can do just about anything with relatively low effort. You name it, and I'm sure you can find it here." Ditzy explained. Leon knew she was informed about the city, but then he realized that she had been just about everywhere.
"Who ruled here so long ago that mysteriously disappeared?" Leon asked.
"I'm not sure, but I know some locals who have heard about that legend. If you want my advice, head to the library." Ditzy said.
Leon helped his parents and Ditzy unload the contents of the van and place them in the house. He also brought with him the large box that his friends had given him. Sometime after getting settled in, he had himself a hay sandwich. Eating made him think much more clearly, and decided he would head to the library first. He left the house, but not before his mother stopped him.
"Are you heading out?" she asked him.
"Yeah, mom. I heading to the city's library to figure out more about it," Leon responded.
"That's fine with me. Just be careful not to fall off the clouds. Come back soon, because you have your test day at flight camp," she advised.
His mother had always warned him about this, and he took the warning as though failing to abide by it would result in a punishment far more severe than any dungeon. He had only seen the world below once, when he and his family stayed in Canterlot for a few weeks, but had never explored the world outside his own home. He didn't know what dwell in the abyss below the new city, and fear took hold of him every time he looked down. He knew if he fell from the clouds, there was a good chance he wouldn't fly back up.
"I will. I don't ever think I'll make it out of there if I do fall in." Leon replied. He then left the house, heading to the outer city of Caelum Lux. The library Ditzy had told him about was very close, and he reached it in about five minutes. He saw how large it was, and how extravagantly built it was. He walked in, and was surprised with the large number of ponies inside. He went up to the librarian, seated behind a large desk looking through multiple books. He didn't want to bother her, so he waited for her to finish. He waited… and waited… and finally had enough of waiting.
"Excuse me," Leon squeaked, barely audible.
The librarian looked down at the young colt, and Leon quickly lowered his ears. "I'm terribly sorry, is there something you are looking for?" she responded.
"Yes, there is. I would like to find a book explaining this city... please," Leon said, ears still lowered.
"Yes, I have one right here." She handed him a rather large book. He thanked her, took the book, sat down, and flipped open to the first page. On it was a picture of Highlander Heights, looking as beautiful and pristine as ever. But something was different about it; it depicted many ponies inside the house, lining up to see the royal family; compromised of the king of the city then, King Caelum, his queen, and the prince. All of them seemed to be happy with each other and their subjects.
He then flipped to the next page he was looking for; the abandonment of the palace. It depicted some desperate and violent battle between the ponies loyal to the royalty and the rebel ponies. It was a sad sight, seeing ponies fight and kill each other. The next photo showed the family, before fleeing with the loyalists, appearing to hide the prince, who was only a colt at the time, in the Trotter Tower. There was no further information regarding the family, or the prince.
Something had caused the ponies to be upset with the royal family. But what? He sat there, but did not think too much of the past. He then returned the book to the librarian and bid farewell. He had a short walk home, but the setting sun reminded him of his training session tomorrow.
He entered the house; he saw his mother and father sitting in the living room, which was decorated with the furniture from their old home. They saw him enter and greeted him, and he greeted back. He was tired, and went up to his new room, which provided a breathtaking view of both Caelum Lux and the "abyss" below. The abyss glowed brightly in the sunset, and many small specks of light dotted the ground below. He looked over at the large box Derpy had told him not to open, and continued to wonder what it was. He stopped wondering, lay on his fluffy bed, and fell into a deep sleep.