After The Fall

Well the arrival in Las Pegasus was different considering it was at night. But it might as well have been in the day time with the level of activity the city was experiencing.

The last few weeks had been spent traveling all over Equestria. Turns out Vinyl had spared no expense when planning the trip. Probably because the Princess had insisted on covering it all but still. All their destinations were unique. From the city in the trees they departed to a city in the clouds. Twilight had to use a cloud walking spell for the few days they were there but it was still fun. From a town that rested on the edge of a cliff to one underground in a crystal cave. Dax never knew that Equestria had such a wide variety of environments. Vinyl had been a good sport about everything. Dax had dragged the Dj all over every city or town they landed in. He’d learned a lot about the country he currently found himself a citizen of and its inhabitants. Normally there would be First Contact Procedures to follow but those kind of went out the window the moment the AC died and when Dax had taken a few bullets for Vinyl.

While Dax was learning and partying at the local clubs with Vinyl, the rest of their friends had gone about on their own escapades. Rarity and Fluttershy had done a significant amount of shopping. Twilight had bought at least an entire library full of books at each town. Applejack had expanded her cooking skills and taste pallet at each stop. Pinkie Pie had… well no one quite knew what Pinkie Pie had done. It was still a mystery that even had Dax perplexed. For some reason the girl was emitting some type of radiation that even Dax didn’t know about it. He gave up trying to understand her when she apparently violated the laws of physics as he knew them for the fifteenth time. Rainbow Dash had gone off and done a lot of flying, even getting arrested in Terminus for flying through an active diamond mine. Luckily for her she was released when the rest of the element bearers showed up to bail her out. She later ran into her idol Spitfire who seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere.

Strange. Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts weren’t wearing their spandex normal Wonderbolt flight suits. Come to think of it, they weren’t even in casual pilot’s garb.

This had Rainbow Dash a bit confused and she voiced her concerns more than once that something seemed off about her idols. Spitfire seemed stressed to her, how she knew this was interesting but when you idolize someone like that you’re bound to pick up a few things. When she ran into them they were wearing greenish grey flight suits and removing helmets from their heads. Spitfire seemed to try to be friendly but had little time to speak to Rainbow.

Things like that tipped Rainbow off that something was up but she couldn’t quite place it. Normally Soarin’ was always on Spitfire’s arm but those affectionate gestures seemed to be missing. The entire team actually appeared to be on edge.

But the others quickly assured her that nothing was wrong and the Wonderbolts were probably just on a training exercise but Dax wasn’t so sure. With the planes that buzzed their yacht a few weeks ago and now this, something was up. Dax hadn’t gotten a good look at the planes but the sound their engines made indicated they were jets. And after seeing what this society was capable of technologically it was likely jets were limited to the military.

But Dax didn’t let that bother him and had shoved those thoughts from his mind. Ajax would have his head if she learned he wasn’t taking the time to ‘get some R and R and maybe even some T and A’ on this trip. He laughed as the last part was likely not to happen.

But now back to the present. Their yacht had just come over the mountains. They had been heading south east towards the sea. They cleared the last peak and soon the city came into view.

They all gasped at the sight of it. Before them, laid out like a carpet was a series of bright lights. Each on looked like a gem but in fact each one was part of a building. There were millions of them. There were towers that rose into the sky. Everything had a glow to it. The sea side town extended into the sea. Various artificial hexangular pieces of land dotted the harbor, each with a series of buildings. The city was alive with activity, even at this late hour. From one edge of the city to the other there always looked like there was something going on.

They bay was a slight crescent shape with the city going around the edge. At the mouth there was a light house that over looked the city. Farther up in the sky was the cloud part of the city. Various platforms and tiers floated above the town. Each one glowed with color as their own skyscrapers and buildings lit up the night. There were various sidewalks and streets that went across vast canyons that served as ground level roads. The streets on the ground weren’t even visible in some cases as a fog had drifted over some parts of the town.

There were a few stadiums dotting the city floor and floating in the clouds above. Las Pegasus seemed to be the capital of the world.

“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Yeah… whoa,” Dax said.

Vinyl laughed, “Look at you guys! First time seeing the party capital of the world! Gawking! Ha ha! I remember when I first showed up here.”

“Really?” Dax said more as a statement than a question.

“Yup, it was my first time on tour. Was only in my teens when I came here and this place blew my mind. There’s so much shit here even I haven’t seen all of it. But I do know a few places here and there that can really light up your world.”

“Well good for you girl,” Rainbow laughed, “You know any good places to fly around here?”

“Uh, did you fucking see this place? It’s a playground for all you fly boys and girls,” Vinyl grinned, “But if you ask me it’s just a waste of time. There’s A LOT more to do here than just fly around.”

“Like?”

“I don’t know, the fucking list is like a thousand miles long! Dax, you’ve been around haven’t you? What do you do for fun when you’re in a place like this?”

“I never got days off,” he said glumly, “And the nearest place anywhere like this is in enemy territory in the Sol System.”

“Enemy territory? What do you mean by that?” Vinyl asked.

“Nothing, forget I said anything.”

“Okay…” Rainbow Dash said, “Hey Rarity! You and Fluttershy planning on doing any partying while we’re here?!”

“Egad! A lady would never subject herself to such… animalistic forms of entertainment.”

Vinyl turned and pretended to vomit. Dax laughed.

“Yeah whatever Rarity,” The Dj laughed, “Those ‘animalistic forms of entertainment’ are what makes this city worth coming to! Come on, I bet even Dax’s society parties like this.”

“I doubt it Vinyl darling. A people as sophisticated as Dax’s couldn’t possible still entertain themselves like that.”

“I don’t know Rarity,” Twilight said, “There have been a lot of similarities between our two societies. Maybe…”

Rarity tore herself away from the yacht’s wheel, “It’s not true; is it Dax?”

Dax gave a sheepish grin, “It is. Sorry to disappoint? But my people have come up with a lot more crazier ways to entertain themselves than cities like this.”

“Ooh really?” Vinyl grinned, “Like?”

“That’s a story for another day my little Dj,” Dax laughed walking over to the bow of the ship. It was around midnight and thus the city was bustling about as if it was day time.

“Ya know,” Vinyl laughed, “You suck sometimes.”

“Gee, thanks. So what’re we gonna do while we’re here?”

“Dude, the better question is what aren’t we gonna do?”

“Well I’m gonna get some sleep so my sleep cycle doesn’t get messed up.”

“Uh, why?”

“One, it’s midnight, two, I don’t want to be a grunge  monkey when I wake up again.”

“A grunge monkey?” Vinyl giggled.

“Dude, you must not know how this place works,” Rainbow Dash said falling from the masts onto the deck, “This city is out of sync with the rest of the world. Day time is night to them and Night time is day. Work days last about like five hours before everyone goes off and parties like hell. Even I know that.”

“Okay, weird but not unheard of.”

“So when we land we’ll probably want to get something to eat,” Vinyl said, “Considering we’ll be here for like a week.”

“Cool,” Dax said, “So when are we landing?”

“I dunno. Rarity! When are we landing?!”

“Now! Now would you please be quiet and let me fly the boat?!” Rarity shouted across the deck, drawing the attention of everyone on the deck.

“Geez, girl. Just asking, calm down,” Vinyl laughed.

“Hmph.”

***

The yacht landed on the edge of the town at one of the city’s docks. The dock itself was connected to a tall tower that functioned as both a dock and hotel. Two walkways cradled the boat as it landed. Soon after, the motley crew exited the yacht.

“Alright!” Vinyl said, “Whats-”

“See ya!” Rainbow said running off and taking off into the sky.

“Come on Dear!” Rarity said grabbing Fluttershy and in almost a cartoon like style running off into the tower and probably towards the shopping centers.

“Ah’ll be seein ya’ll later!” AJ said hefting a bag and walking off towards the walkways that served as sidewalks between each building and intersection in the large urban jungle.

“There’s some books and a few museums I wanna see while I’m here so I’ll meet you all back here later,” Twilight said.

“BYE!” Pinkie said before vanishing into thin air.

“-first,” Vinyl finished with a dejected expression. She sighed, pulling her shades off.

“Hey,” Dax said, “I’m still here.”

“Yeah I guess,” Vinyl sighed.

Dax gave her a smile, “Come on.”

The Dj looked confused, “Where are we going? You don’t even know your way around this city.”

“That’s the point. Get lost, don’t go back to the yacht, and see where we are in a week.”

“I like the sound of that,” Vinyl grinned as they started walking. Now that they were up close to the city it seemed like one gigantic high tech mall. They layout was remarkably similar with how the streets and walkways on the upper part of the city worked. But there was nothing really remarkable about the top third of the city. In fact it was the only remotely sane part of the party town. Everything else that was worth seeing or experiencing or rutting or smoking or dancing on or injecting into your blood stream or gambling on or kissing or fucking or inhaling or hearing or… did I miss anything? Eh whatever, was down in the lower parts of the city.

Heh Dax you are so going down, Vinyl thought.

They soon reached a large ramp like area in the street. Various vehicles drove past them as they walked along the sidewalk. A few bikes, cars, motor cycles; all sorts of vehicles flew down the well-lit road.

“Alright, so here’s the deal, we’re gonna go rent a car for the week,” Vinyl beamed, “I’ve got the money so I can afford it. Plus I have a gig or two booked here and I want to arrive in style. You dig?”

“Yup. And I believe we have a bet to settle?”

Vinyl perked up with a grin, “Hell yeah. And you are so gonna lose.”