“Each day of war takes us farther from all we could hope to be or do. We gain nothing but heartbreak, and lose everything we cherish.”
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Timbucktu. A whimsical word, nowadays used to signify a far-off place.
The remains of an ancient empire^, Timbucktu is a massive cloud city- part of Neighpon- that sits firmly over the Anaguma no gētou~ei^^, or if you want specifics, the corner connecting it to the Karasu no gēto.^^^ Another cloud kingdom, Vaporia, currently exists, travelling across the Grey Ocean. However, this airborne country, while larger, could never match the splendor of ancient Timbucktu.
Like Vaporia, what remains of Timbucktu is composed of a special kind of ley-infused cloud material, permitting such a massive body of cloud to exist. The cities are constructed of a mixture of cloud and enchanted material, allowing for non-flight capable races to live and walk there, though today the only races that dwell there are kirin, tengu, and changelings, with a few pegasi and griffins.
In its heyday, however, Timbucktu travelled across the Great Pelagic Ocean, from Ib'xian and Carrea to Concordia and North Griffonia. It was ruled by a bygone race of ponies, pegasi with glittering, jewel-like eyes.
These were the ancestors of what are known today as the "Twinkle-Eyes". Though they are now varied, ranging in the typical unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony varieties, they retain the jewel-like eyes of their ancestors.
However, all they can say is that their ancestors came from Timbucktu, and that no one knew how the city fell.
***
Neighpon. The name evokes a sense of power, and a vision of many exotic locales.
One of the three major world powers, Neighpon is famous for being the ancestral home of the changelings, though many other races can make that claim as well. Neighpon has four islands. North Island is mostly changelings, South Island is Kirin, and the West island is a mix, but is mostly ibex, since it is closest to Ib'xian. Foal Island has a single population of mostly changelings and Breezies.
For nearly three hundred years, the Scaragowa Shogunate ruled over the Changeling homeland for the figurehead monarch. The Shogunate met its climatic end soon after the arrival of Princess Celestia's airships and the forcible opening of the Changeling Kingdom to Western trade following centuries of the Shogunate's isolationist policy of Sakoku which cut the kingdom off from its neighbors for centuries.
After a subsequent bloody civil war between the Shogunate and the Royal Court, the defeated Shogunate was officially ended and the Roachanov Restoration followed, in which the monarch was restored absolute power, as well as the status of a living Kami. The current dynasty, the House of Roachanov^^^^, has ruled the Changeling Kingdom undisputedly and with an iron hoof for four hundred years and still going strong, gradually making the kingdom a great power in the Far East of the World and a leading competitor in world influence. Although it has historically developed a bitter rivalry against Equestria, it has formed good relations with other powers such as the Griffin Empire, and trust between Equestria and Neighpon has been restored thanks to the efforts of Chrysalis' son.^^^^^
The reigning monarch is Queen Chrysalis Roachanov, noted for carrying on her family's far-right nationalistic policies (her imperialist and expansionist foreign policies in particular) and well known for her very nearly successful conquest attempt of the city of Canterlot. However, her other military campaigns for territory have proved successful, now making the size and population of the kingdom the largest it has ever been.*
It is an interesting note that Timbucktu became abandoned shortly after Chrysalis ascended to the throne. It is also worth mentioning that the Royal Archives contain the only written information on Timbucktu, but are written as such:
BY ORDER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT HAS BEEN ALTERED TO OMIT CERTAIN FACTS
Timbucktu was a cloud kingdom that existed 200 years ago. Ruled by King Orion, the population consisted of a unique race of pegasi with glittering eyes.
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The kingdom fell when ███████████ ███████████████ ██████████ ████████████ ██
All in all, there's obviously a story here....