Heat.
The scorching heat of the sun pounds down onto the asphalt and concrete sidewalks of the City of Dreams. It's so hot that it wouldn't be a surprise if the roads melted into a molten sludge. None of this mattered to Keltin though, a 'go-big-or-go-home' type, though he hasn't struck anything big yet. The name of the city was misleading. Keltin moved to the city just a few years ago after his mother died, in hopes of catching his big break. Unfortunately, though, it was anything but a big break.

"Phew," Keltin sighs, wiping the sweat from his brow with his hoof. "It hasn't been this hot since I moved here. Serves me for believing my dreams would come true in a desert..."

Pedestrians of all kinds were shuffling about, commuting to work. Ponies, gryphons, dragons, and even changelings lived among each other in relative harmony. The skies were crowded with a variety of flying species while the roads were as lively as ever with the countless grounded species.

"Ah," A gruffy, but oddly gentle voice came from behind Keltin, "'s that you, Kelt'n?"

Turning his head to see the voice behind him, Keltin is greeted with the sight of somebody he vaguely recognized, though he couldn't quite figure it out. "Uh, do I know you?" He asked.

With a hearty chuckle from the voice, an elderly gryphon, he jabs Keltins flank end, seemingly as a friendly gesture. "'Course you do! It's your 'ol physics teacher!"

Thinking for a moment, Keltin looks over the old gryphon again. "Mr. Wemsworth?" He asks, still not entirely sure.

With another hearty chuckle, the gryphon responds, "Ya rem'ber my name! But do ya rem'ber my classes?"

Keltin laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "It's been like, eight years. There's no way I'd be able to remember all that stuff," He pauses for a moment, realizing what exactly he said, "But! It's not like I haven't forgotten entirely!"

The old gryphon, Wemsworth, smiles, "You never were the cooperat've type," By now, the crowded sidewalk was a little less crowded, and Wemsworth took a few steps forward. "Well, I'm off! Take care, Kelt'n!" He says in a cheery tone before taking off down the sidewalk. Meanwhile, Keltin took the sidewalk that forked off in the opposite direction of the one his old teacher went down.

As he made his way past countless shops and apartments and business buildings, Keltin couldn't help but think about how he ended up where he was. Just a few years ago, he was by his mothers side while she was on her death bed, just minutes before her time passed. He could vividly remember how all of it went down.

4 Years Ago

The soft buzz of a magic medical crystal filled the otherwise quiet hospital room, the cool autumn air breezing in through the open window above the bed. In the bed lay a sickly bat pony, coincidently named Autumn. Keltins mother. And there, slumped on the ground with his head rest on the side of the bed was Keltin himself. Staring at the wall opposite of him.

"None of this is real... Right..?" He mumbles to himself, drained of all feeling. Dry tears staining the fur below his eyes. "This is all just a bad dream..." He mutters, looking over to his mother, her breathes short and shallow, and a pained expression on her sleeping face.

Keltin was only freshly 16, and he was already losing his mother. His father, whose name he never wants to hear, ran off on Keltins 6th birthday. As far as he knew, he didn't have any family other then his mother, so Keltin would have nowhere to go should his mother die. He was afraid he'd end up in an orphanage, or left out on the streets of his backwater hometown, or that a worse fate might befall him. But more then anything else, he was sad. Devastated. It could be his teen angst, but he felt as if he lost all ability to feel emotion. Aside from sadness, of course. It was when he was deep in thought, almost intentionally trying to give himself an existential crisis when a doctor entered to room.
"Erm, mister... Blaze, was it?" The doctor questioned, a more or less somber tone to his voice.

"That's not my name." Keltin says, plainly. Keeping his eyes on his bedridden mother, though still fully listening for the doctor, the evening breeze from outside blowing through Keltins mane and fur.

The doctor is silent for a moment, confused. He backs out of the room for a moment, looking up above the door. Room 04. It was the right room, so the doctor figured he must be correct. Before the doctor could say anything, Keltins answers the question before its even asked. "That was my fathers last name. And then he abandoned us." He says, followed by a moment of silence. Getting to his hooves, he turns around to face the doctor. "My last name is Sky, like my mother."

Stepping back into the room fully, the doctor closes the door behind him and bows, both apologetically and as a greeting. "Yes, sorry about that, Mr. Sky." The doctor makes his way to the side of the bed opposite of Keltin, levitating a small box from his box to the table next to the bed. "Here's the thing that was requested." The doctor says, checking his clipboard for a moment before nodding to himself, and leaving the room in silence.

Before he knew it, Keltin was once again in the mostly quiet room alone, with his mother. Looking to the box on the other side of the bed, Keltin smiles to himself, though it was more of a pained smile then anything. Keltin trots around the bed to the other side, extending a hoof to open the lid when he reached it. Inside was a little wooden figure on a pedestal, as well as a little winding key beside it. Twisting the key a few times, a somber yet beautiful jingle starts playing as the sculpted figure begins to rotate.

"They actually went and got that little thing." A voice speaks out. Keltin snaps his head to the left, seeing his mother facing him. "I'm surprised they could even find our house." She says, extending a hoof, looking at the box Keltin had.

Keltin puts the box into Autumns hoof before embracing her for as good of a hug as he could give, considering Autumn was still laying down. "I thought you were asleep. Are you alright?" Keltin asks, then sitting down on the side of the bed facing his mother.

Autumn does her best to give him a comforting smile, though its clear it isn't easy for her to do. "I'm doing fine, don't worry about it." She says, doing her best to sit up in the bed. She winds the key of the box up a few times, before letting it go so the song could play.

A few moments pass.

"You know, this little music box has been passed down for... Well a long time," Autumn begins, putting it down on the side table as it continues playing, watching it intently. "My mother, and my mothers mother, and their mothers mother were all bat ponies. My mother gave it to me when she passed." She says, looking over to Keltin. "And soon, I'll be passing it on to you."

Knowing what that implied, Keltin couldn't help but lower his head, trying not to imagine that scenario. "I wish that wasn't the case..." He says, unable to cry despite wanting to. "I don't know what I'm gonna do alone." Keltin looks back up at his mother, who is now laying back looking up at the ceiling, smiling weakly.

"You're a smart young stallion, I know you'll do just fine." She says, yawning after a few moments. "I've been moving around more then the doctors said I should. Thank you for staying here with me," Autumn says with a pause, "You truly are the best son I could have ever asked for." Autumn closes her eyes, the music box stops and once again the beeping of the magic medical crystal fills the air, gradually beeper slower, and slower, and slower. Until...

Silence.

Present Day

As Keltin rounded a corner, the entrance to his humble little pawn shop came into view. 'Keltins Odds & Ends', it was called. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it served it's purpose. As he approached the front door, a fast, dark figure zooms through the sky, directly towards him. "Look out!" The figure calls out, but before Keltin can even react, CRASH!
Next thing he knew, Keltin was on the ground on his back. Looking around, he couldn't see anything. Then he felt something moving on his chest. Looking down Keltin could see a small, dark pegasus.

"Dammit Raine, again?" He asked, a little frustrated, but otherwise unaffected. The small pony gets up, hoping off Keltins chest and landing on her hooves.

"Sorry... I lost control..." She says, backing away nervously, her ears folding down as she figits with the ground with her hoof.

Grunting as he brings himself to his hooves, Keltin shakes off before turning to the pegasus. "You've said the same thing three times in a row now," He begins, turning back to the door of his shop, fishing the key out of his saddle bag. "Huh? Where's my key?" He says, a little panicked. He begins searching around, all the while a mischievous smirk begins to form on Raines face. "You mean this key?" She asks, lifting her right wing to reveal Keltins shop key tucked away.

Keltins looks to his side at Raine, and sees his key. "Give." He says plainly, trying to be intimidating.

"Come and get it yourself." Raine responds, still smiling. "You wouldn't let me get away with stealing it, would you?"

Keltin sighs, and approaches Raine, clearly annoyed. "I'm not playing games today, Raine. Just giv-"

Raine lowers her wing and jumps back away from Keltin. "You'll just have to take it by force." She says, now in a readied stance as if she were about to fight.

Keltin rolls his eyes, then points behind Raine. "Look out!" He shouts. Raine snaps around, looking in every direction frantically. "Where?!" She exclaims. Within the few moments of confusion, Keltin knocks Raine in the back of her head, knocking her to the ground as the key to the shops slips out from under her wing. "Ow! The hell was that for?" Raine yells, jumping back to her hooves and facing Keltin angrily.

Keltin chuckles to himself and picks up the key off the ground before turning the the door and unlocking it. "You're never gonna become a successful thief if you fall for the oldest trick in the book," He says, pushing the door open after he hears the clicking of the lock. "Also," He begins, "Please stop flying into me whenever you get here early."

Raine smirks, already having forgot about what Keltin did, "Early? Does that mean you recognize me as an employee?" She questioned, happily trotting to the door alongside Keltin. "Guess you'll have to start paying me~" She says, before her expression drops to a more serious tone. "I'll be expecting double pay, choose my own hours, free lunch, a place to actually liv-" She cuts herself off, realizing Keltin had already entered the shop and closed the door. "hey! Wait!" She exclaims, grabbing the door handle and pulling on it - but it doesn't open.

"Get lost, kid." Keltin says, straight faced, though his words are muffled by the glass.

"Kid?! I'm 19, three years younger then you!" Raine says, angrily.

Keltin turns around and trots away from the window, "You look and act 12."

Raine huffs, banging on the door, though no response is seen or heard. "Fine, whatever. Never liked your little shop anyways!" She lied through her teeth as she unfurled her wings and took off into the sky.

A Few Hours Later

Ring ding. The sound of the bell on the counter goes off, and Keltin emerges from the backroom of his pawn shop. "Hello?" He asked, meeting eyes with his customer. Eyes he recognized. Keltin shuffles up to the counter and clears his throat, "Good afternoon, Mayor. How can I help you today?"

The customer before Keltin was the Mayor of the City of Dreams. A tall, though slim earth pony with pale white fur and ash white mane. She had pearly white eyes, and white rimmed glasses to match. Looking around the shop, the Mayor then points to the sign placed above Keltins head. "Are you Keltin, the owner of this fine establishment?" She asks, her soothing voice filling the otherwise silent shop.

Keltin nods, bowing slightly to show his respect, "That me, and this is my little slice of happiness." He responds, lying mostly to himself.

The Mayor sighs a breathe of relief, and looks Keltin straight in the eyes. "Do you know my daughter, per chance?"

...Silence.

"Eh? Your daughter?" Keltin asks, confused.

"Yes," The Mayor begins. "I was told she had been sneaking out recently, and has been spotted here." She explains, Keltin growing even more confused. "Sorry," Keltin begins, "Who?"

"Ah, apologies. MY daughter, Raine. A small pegasus, colors opposite of mine? She's a mischievous one." A few moments pass after the mayors words, Keltin still processing what he just heard. And then he realized it.

A little afraid, and a lot worried, Keltin trips over his own words. "Uhm, well, I mean, I-" CRASH!

"Ow!" A very familiar voice shouts from the backroom. Recognizing the voice, the mayor looked to the entry way of the room. "Raine, darling?" She questions, looking back to Keltin, confused?

"Huh?" Keltin says, also confused. "Raine?" He repeats. And then immediately snaps around to face the backroom. "Raine?!" He rushes into the room, immediately greeted by Raine, laying sprawled on the floor with dirt and grime. Confused, He looks around, and sees one of the ceiling panels are gone. "Did you... Did you break in through the ceiling..?" Keltin questions, now more disappointed then anything.

"Urgh... Ow..." Is all Raine could manage to respond with, though she does look up at Keltin. "Tell my mom it's not me, I reall-"

"Your daughter broke into my shop, she's right here. Please, remove her immediately." Keltin says plainly, already peeking out of the backroom out at the mayor, "I mean no offense, of course."

...Silence.

"Well, I see she has made herself at home. Please, do take care of her." The mayor says, very obviously trying to not laugh at her daughters antics. "I thank you for taking care of her when she chose to run away." And with that, the mayor turned tail and hurried out of the shop before Keltin could protest.

"Good job, idiot." Raine says. Keltin turns his head to see Raine was back on her hooves, facing Keltin.

"What... Just happened?" Keltin asks, himself more then anything.

Pushing past Keltin, Raine hops the counter to a more open area, stretching and readjusting her wings. "She's convinced I've been sneaking out to some lover or something," Once she's done stretching, Raine shakes the dirt and grime off of her dirtying some of Keltins odds and ends in the process, "Honestly, that woman."

BANG!

To Be Continued(?)

Author's Note

I've always written little stories for myself and myself alone, so this is my first time writing one with other readers in mind. That being said, hopefully its at least par for the quality here on FimFic.

Bookmark the story, like it, let me know if you want to see more and all that other jazz when it comes to stories.

I'm constantly developing and changing this new universe, and I also think the idea of some audience participation would be pretty cool, so by all means drops some ideas or suggestions down in the comments. I may or may not expand on the ideas given.

Take care.
WWA, out.