"Whew!" Bon Bon exclaimed, trotting briskly onto a sidewalk. "What a breeze!" She lifted her muzzle towards the orange sky. "I wasn't expecting that!"
"Yeah, B-Squared," Lyra remarked. "The desert isn't all hot, y'know."
"Wait until it's nighttime," Vinyl droned, resting her headphones around her neck. The group shuffled down a line of shopping malls connected to the main station. "You'll want to be inside for when that happens. Trust me."
"Still, such... such a refreshing sensation!" Bon Bon remarked.
"Heh... this dry-as-crud air?" Lyra smirked. "It won't be 'refreshing' for much longer. Trust me."
"I should have brought something breezy! Like a sundress!" She winced, glancing behind her. "That reminds me, Vinyl. Where's your stuff?"
"Hmmm?"
"You know... your instruments and turntable and—"
"Oh. They should be arriving via pegasus shipping," Vinyl said.
"Really?" Rainbow asked, floating above the group. "Did you order through Banner Company?"
"Nah. A Fillydelphia group," Vinyl explained. "Farrier and Son."
"Heh..." Rainbow smirked. "Not a bad choice."
"Wait..." Bon Bon's muzzle scrunched. "How come you airlifted your equipment and yet you took the train?"
"Mrmmfff..." Vinyl shuffled in mid-step. "I hate flying."
"Pffft..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Go figure."
"Would you like to call a cab?" Lyra remarked.
"We don't have to be at the hotel for a few hours, and this is kinda/sorta you guys' vacation," Vinyl said, shrugging. "We can hoof it. I mean... what's the hurry?"
"I know! I know!" Caramel bounced and skipped, grinning. "Eee-hee-hee! I wanna see the neon lights and cloud projections and strobing fountains—"
"Uhh... Caramel?" Lyra frowned. "It's daytime, Einstallion."
"Erm... right..." Caramel's tail and ears drooped. "But... uhm... they start projecting stuff on the clouds before sunset, r-right?"
"See for yourself," Vinyl said, pointing forward.
As Caramel peered, Rainbow Dash squinted.
Just over the nearest concrete ridge of shopping malls, the urban heart of Las Pegasus proper loomed. Rainbow Dash saw a myriad of thick looming hotels—most of them congregating in two or three dense lines along the once barren desert valley. Off towards the east, bordering the dead center of the sprawl, there stood an enormously tall tower. The elaborately curved structure needled its way towards the sky... where it met a perfectly round disc of densely-packed clouds. It was difficult to see from their location, but if Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes just right she could spot the summits of several skyscrapers balanced atop the stationary cloud city itself.
"Oh wow... it's even bigger than I thought it was!" Caramel cooed. He pointed excitedly. "Can... can we actually go up there?"
"I don't see why not," Vinyl remarked. "Unicorns have worked with pegasi to make Upper LP accessible to non-winged ponies over the years. I think they call it... the Hover District?"
"That true, Rainbow Dash?" Bon Bon asked.
"How should I know?" Rainbow Dash shrugged in mid-glide. "I was foaled in Cloudsdale. Just because I'm a pegasus doesn't mean I know every flying city inside and out." She took a breath, smiling slightly. "Still, from the look of it... I'd say it's pretty cool."
"I'm partial to Lower LP myself," Vinyl said. "It's where my gig is tonight."
"And our hotel too, I trust?" Bon Bon said.
"Mmmhmmm."
"Well, I suppose we could save Upper Las Pegasus for tomorrow." Bon Bon looked ahead at her lime green friend. "What do you say, Lyra?"
"I gotta piss like there's no tomorrow. Where's a friggin' Taco Buck?"
Bon Bon sighed through a tired smile. "Well... at least this stroll will be good on the eyes."