//------------------------------//
// Las Pegasus 
// Story: The Adventures of Trenderhoof 
// by polishgirl 
//------------------------------//

	I visited Sunburst and Moonlight often. About once a week. Their new daughter was beautiful. (I did bother to learn her name, but I won’t tell you her name. not just yet.) She was an earth pony. Luminous like her mom, but solid like her dad and me. She had a pearl white coat, sea foam green mane, and amethyst eyes. Those two ponies were the proudest parents I’ve ever seen. The little one could read and write already despite being only about six months old, and was getting ready to go to school. They said since this little one was such a cinch, they were thinking about another one. Neither had heard from the other mare Moonlight was going to marry, so that was good. 
I decided to go on another adventure once I was sure Sunburst was fine. So, I went and seen the Crystal Empire. It was a disaster. King Sombra’s eyes were now green with red irises, and had a purple miasma surrounding it. His horn, now longer and completely stained with blood, crackled with a black electricity. When I seen him he was standing on the balcony of his castle. The same place where I seen his father, it was a startling contrast, and made me rethink Sunburst’s suddenly very rational fear. It didn’t take me long to realize I didn’t want to be here. So, I decided to visit dear old mom and dad, and then I was on my way to Las Pegasus. 
Mom and Dad were thrilled to see me, they remarked on how much I’ve grown, and how handsome I was. They asked if I had a wife, kids, anything. No, I didn’t have any of that, and that was ok with me. They weren’t okay with it, but they’ll live. They asked about my camera, and of course, I had to tell them I forgot it. A long time ago in the crystal kingdom. They were sad about that, but it only unleashed MANY MANY more questions about the crystal kingdom. I answered them as best I could. Even the ones about King Sombra and his dad. They had a bit of information for me too. Apparently they found out about the old king's death. They told me that every church bell in the kingdom tolled five times. A beat for each century he was king. I layed over at my parents house for about a week. They fed me well. Better than when I was a kid. Then off I went.
Las Pegasus, here I come! Free, and 21(ish)! I had two ways I could get there. Through the Everfree forest, and the Ghastly Gorge, or by boat. I think, since I’m not a pegasus, and the Everfree forest is far from being free from monsters, the answer is obvious. Boat it is. When I arrived at the docks I again, had options. Steam, or row. I don’t know about you, but I am NOT rowing all the way to Las Pegasus. Especially by myself. The steamer was nice. Filled with all sorts of modern day fancy things. A nice little tavern, sleeping bunks, a chef. The works. My ticket was inexpensive, all I had to do was swab the deck. I know, the ship sounds like a pirate ship, but it wasn’t. You could clean part of the ship, or pay for a ticket. I’m cheap, have no money, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have anything better to do. So, cleaning and cleaning, and a little more cleaning is all I did. Well, maybe not ALL. I did see several lovely mares who came to visit me, and listened. Lots of listening…. I heard LOTS of interesting things. Who was with who, and who was plotting against who… Like I said, LOTS of interesting things. I was beginning to think that riding on this ship was a very bad idea, and might be a pirate ship after all. 
By the time we reached Las Pegasus two assassinations had been avoided, apparently the captain was an important, and wealthy man, who many people wanted dead. Only three sailors died, and the deck was perfectly clean no matter how much blood seemed to accumulate. It certainly gave you a strong stomach. The view of Las Pegasus was like nothing I had ever seen, beautiful ponies in costume dancing along every sidewalk and terrace, buildings shaped like famous landmarks, and signs pointing in every direction, in almost every language you could imagine. I spoke Equestrian (now ‘Old Equestrian’) so I followed those. I’d hate to find out what lay in the other directions. I’d seen some pretty shady looking ponies, and I didn’t want to end up like the sailors on my ship. Since I’d made it to one of the biggest cities in the world, and still had no money, I decided to get a job. I worked at the Casino Royale, a simple enough place. I counted bits in the machines. Which kept me busy enough at night, and it meant I didn’t need to deal with the ponies playing the games during the day. 
I made seven bits a night working there, which wasn’t bad wage at the time. I found a nice little halfway house, with the sweetest old pony, who made some divine pies. She kept me fed, and kept my room clean, which was enough for me. She also never asked questions when costumed mares followed me home. Eventually I saved up enough to take a pegasus express back to Neighagra Falls to see my favorite pony, and her lover. So, through my lovely old lady caretaker, I arranged for my room to be rented out while I was gone, and I made my way to the landing strip. I was scheduled to fly with a sky blue pegasus named Cloudburst. She was friendly, and quite competitive. She seemed to always be ready for a race, and dared anyone who came near her to race. Nopony ever accepted since she always won. My flight to Neighagra Falls was enjoyable, Cloudburst kept up polite conversation. She even told me a little bit about the area, and her home, Cloudsdale. The carriage I rode in was nice, and quite comfortable. When we landed I thanked Cloudburst for carrying me all that way, and even gave her a tip. On my way to Sunburst’s place I seen the most peculiar pony. A bit small to be running around on her own, she was midnight blue, with the prettiest blue eyes I had ever seen.