As the balloon drifted ever further up, we inevitably broke through the cloud cover and my mind was not ready for what I was about to see.
It was enough to get me standing up on my hind legs, forehooves placed perilously against the basket door, as I gaped over the edge of it at the sight now laid out before my eyes.
A number of bridges connected platforms on which elaborate resorts had been built, featuring architectural styles found around Earth.
Luna had hinted at humans having once been in this world, but they had already been delegated to mythical status even a thousand years ago.
This place had it all; a building reminiscent of an Asian tower with one of those red gates in front of it, a building making me think of the Taj Mahal in India, and even more contemporary steel and concrete buildings found in New York or, dare I say, Manehattan.
There was a tower somewhat built like the Eiffel Tower from Paris, France, and there was one styled like the leaning tower of Pisa, from Italy. At the back of it all was a large building styled like a pegasus wearing one of those Mexican hats with a big rim to it, a blue rollercoaster looping back and forth through it.
Their mustache was made of lights, and their wings were obviously the building's east and west extensions. I was sure no such building actually existed back on Earth.
As the balloon rose even higher up I could make up more buildings; Pyramids from Egypt in the background behind the main complex to the left.
There was even a circus tent with a ferris wheel which I had not spotted before because of an odd half-moon/half-sun shaped structure before the complex I thought was like the Taj Mahal.
In the center of it all was a large fountain, and closer to us still was a balloon landing spot on which one other balloon was still in the process of loading passengers.
This place above the clouds was huge.
Just counting the skyscrapers in the distance, something I was far more used to due to having grown up in an American town than any of the other places, there must have been room for at least thousands of ponies to live up here in what must be many, many hotels sprinkled around the gaming halls and attractions.
But, given what Trixie had said about most workers living down below, I considered that the cost of living here amidst all the glamour was probably only something the very rich could afford.
It reminded me so much of Las Vegas back on Earth, which made me realise Trixie had been right to suggest this was not a place for younger ponies like myself.
If gambling and substance abuse was rife up here, I was going to have to try to stay out of trouble until we went back down.
The balloon finally started to descend, as a number of pegasi came flying up toward us.
They guided the balloon down toward one of the empty spots on the landing platform, where other ponies wearing orange vests were waving us down with lit up orange glowsticks.
I was still leaning on the basket door and could clearly see the few ponies down there wanting to board; far less than the queue down in the lower city wanting to come up.
"We are approaching the landing pad. You should probably get your foal back in the basket, miss," the balloon pony remarked.
"She's The Great and Powerful Trixie's assistant, not her foal," Trixie huffed at the suggestion.
I winced at hearing those words, and turned away from looking over Los Pegasus with all of its splendour.
Trixie saw the shock on my face, then sighed and pulled me to her with her magic.
She wrapped her right forehoof around my withers and pressed me close to her chest, the gem holding her cloak together up front pressing into my left cheek.
"At least, not yet," she added in a clear attempt to ward off an emotional outburst from me.
The mares in the basket with us didn't care why Trixie said what she did, they just responded with the oohs and aahs of seeing a parent dote over their child as if Trixie's first sentence hadn't happened.
I just stood a little disheveled at this sudden mental snap back and forth.
Why did those words hit me so hard? We were just going to get me listed as her adopted daughter for registration's sake, so I could go about Equestria without questions being raised, weren't we?
If I were registered as her daughter, then Trixie could take care of me without anypony throwing me into an orphanage or something like that.
But we had grown together and shared our insecurities since leaving Ponyville.
It had been less than a week, but we had bonded and I needed to have that promised relationship as much as I needed Trixie to win the contest.
Maybe I just desperately needed a form of stability?
I had lived a calm life in Ponyville, if I forgot about Trixie's outbursts for a moment.
Nightmare Night had upended all of that; Luna suddenly taking an interest in me, Trixie deciding to take us onto the road... gone were my peaceful days spent in Ponyville.
Trixie becoming my adopted mom was a sort of anchor point for me; somepony to return to when things became too much for me to deal with on my own.
Somepony who also had her own issues and could empathise with my troubles fitting in in this world which she had grown up in.
Trixie did say we were performing while out here in Los Pegasus, but those few words had cut me suddenly, and deeply.
I let out a deep sigh and tried to push it out of my head.
Trixie cared for me, in her own unique way, and I shouldn't let a few random words get to me like that.
A promise was made, but we weren't there yet.
By her own words; not yet.
I pulled away from Trixie with a smile.
"I'm fine," I trusted to her.
"In that case, can you move away from the door so I may let everypony out?" the balloon operator suggested.
As soon as I scooted over while muttering an embarrassed excuse, they moved for the latch on the basket's door and opened it up.
"There you go, everypony. Welcome to Las Pegasus," they spoke to the group of us still in the basket with them.
The balloon's passengers all filed out of the basket onto the balloon landing zone, Trixie and myself included.
Some of them had baggage with them, like Trixie's suitcase, and they all filed out toward the exit as they were eager to get to their respective resorts to enjoy what this place had to offer.
Trixie held back a little, giving me a cursory glance.
"That was careless of Trixie," she muttered. "She had her mind on the upcoming performance."
"It's fine," I waived away. "The Great and Powerful Trixie needs to show her stuff. We can talk about it later, back in the wagon."
Trixie gave a tired nod toward me at my suggestion.
"Thank you, Fuu. Trixie needs to prepare mentally, but you will have her full attention again after the contest," she promised.
"You did say we are performing right now. I'm just The Great and Powerful Trixie's assistant right now. Don't worry too much," I declared, trying to look like I could take it all on.
"If you ladies would like to leave the platform, there are other ponies waiting to board," one of the worker ponies with the orange lights remarked.
Trixie narrowed her eyes under the rim of her large hat, but then strode off toward the platform exit with a huff, the suitcase hovering beside her again.
I just fell in line behind her, letting Trixie lead the way while trying to keep my emotions under control.
It was going to be very easy to get distracted in this place, and our relationship woes needed to be put on the backburner until we returned to the wagon.
My focus now should be on supporting Trixie with, what was probably going to be, the most important performance of her life.
Trixie led us down the balloon port and toward the first of the bridges, and I noticed there were no railings set up on the edge of the platform we were on.
The clouds were right there beside the platform, looking soft and fluffy and fuzzy now we were above them, rather than the dark blanket of dread we saw hanging over us in the undercity.
The only thing between us and the clouds were a number of flimsy blue ropes hung between golden poles, but I could easily duck underneath them.
"Don't step off the path, Fuu," Trixie warned, glancing back at me. "Only pegasi can walk on clouds; you would fall straight through."
I subconsciously took a half step away from the clouds.
"Thank you for the warning, Great and Powerful Trixie," I returned as I tried to push away the thoughts of what would happen if I did fall through the clouds.
I would be a Fuu pancake as I met the ground somewhere down below, to be sure.
Even if there was probably levitation magic in this world, I was not aware of how to cast it, and my little puffs of light and smoke were not going to help me in any way, shape, or form.
I just made sure to keep up with Trixie as she made it across the first bridge and to a platfrom from with three more branched out.
Trixie took the center bridge toward the fountain on the next platform, rounded around it counter-clockwise, then the center bridge coming off that platform.
She was leading us straight to the big building shaped like a pony.
I knew she had mentioned going for the center stage in this place, but I didn't realise she meant the center stage in literally the biggest resort building here.
Once more I felt a feeling of dread settle over me; This was such a high goal to set, and Trixie's track record didn't suggest she could put up a show like the ones I'd expect in a place like this.
The big golden double doors opened up as we approached them, the large figure of an earthpony stallion standing on his back legs in an excitable pose splitting down the middle as it did.
Noise came flooding out to meet us as we walked into the main hall of the complex, and I subconsciously lowered my ears a little to protect them from the audible onslaught.
This hall was filled to the brim with ponies going to and fro through the huge building.
A big statue stood in the center; the same earthpony stallion with his excitable pose stood above the crowds above a multi-layered fountain.
Trixie moved with determination, crossing the hall without waiting for me to follow her.
I cast some passing glances to my left and right as I tried to stick as close to her as possible, the crowd density not making it easy on me.
This was clearly not a place for little foals like myself; everypony around me was taller than me, and they were not paying attention to someone as small as myself in the least bit.
Some of them were headed to a restaurant in this direction, others yet were going toward an arcade hall, then some ran off toward the ticket booth for the rollercoaster I had seen from outside.
Trixie was not headed for any of these; she was going straight for a theater with the name Pone Fantastique.
Posters on the wall suggested the various performers already contracted for the theater, and one of them in particular drew my attention.
The poster advertising a magic show showed two stallions stood opposite one another, artsy lines and sparkles between them as if they had just cast a magic spell not unlike the flashes of light Trixie had taught me.
One of these stallions was a purple earthpony with a green mane, tail, and bristly mustache, while the other was a blue unicorn with a lighter blue mane and tail.
That blue unicorn looked almost exactly like Trixie, and I slowed down just enough pondering it that I lost sight of her in the crowds.
I stood still for a moment, then found her doubling back through the crowds until she found me again.
"You're too small for this place, Fuu," Trixie sighed. "Stick close to The Great and Powerful Trixie so she doesn't have to come back for you."
"Sorry," I apologized. "I was distracted for just a moment."
"A moment is enough to get lost in this place. Stick close," Trixie repeated.
She turned back to continue on her way, and I did as instructed; practically breathing in the hairs on her tail as I stuck close enough that she occasionally swatted my nose with it.
With Trixie's legs just ahead of me, my vision narrowed to just what I could see past them, and while I noticed we walked out of the crowd to a slightly calmer area, I was not sure where exactly we were going.
Another pony's legs stood waiting beside a stand of sorts, and Trixie made straight for them.
"Sorry, miss. The theater is closed for maintenance today," a weary masculine voice suggested. "We apologize for the inconvenience."
"The Great and Powerful Trixie has an invitation," Trixie huffed, producing the same document she had shown to the balloon operator down in the lower city again.
A moment of relative silence passed, but most of what I could see was just legs and tailhairs.
I could only guess that the other pony was reading the document Trixie had produced.
"Well, that's a surprise. Go ahead, then. If you need to freshen up before heading for the stage area, dressing room two should be empty," the stallion offered.
Trixie started off without giving a reply, and I walked on after her, until I suddenly felt a tug of magic lifting me up from the ground.
"Where do you think you're going, little lady?" the unicorn stallion wondered as he peered at me.
Trixie turned to face the both of us and sighed out deeply.
"She's with The Great and Powerful Trixie," she pointed out. "Let go of her assistant, please."
"Assistant? This little thing?" the unicorn scoffed.
"Hey..." I protested, flailing my legs a bit as I was still being held in mid-air.
Trixie stood her ground and narrowed her eyes at the stallion.
"Trixie will have you know that her assistant protected a group of ponies from being mauled by a wild ursa minor," she boasted on my behalf.
I must have looked confused, as I could not remember having done such a thing, but the stallion lowered me to the ground nonetheless.
"An ursa minor, you say?" he pondered, looking me over again.
"That's what Trixie said. Now, come along, Fuu," Trixie huffed.
The stallion shrugged and waved me on. "Off you go, kid."
I rushed after her into the theater, but raised my eyebrow at her as I came up beside her.
"When did I fight an ursa minor?" I asked.
"You protected us from a bear just this morning," Trixie offered back.
"That wasn't an ursa minor. I think it was a grizzly or something," I protested.
"Details, details," Trixie wafted away. "It sounds better the way Trixie put it."
"Except for it being a lie," I grumbled.
"Embellishment of the truth," Trixie corrected me. "You did protect a group of ponies from a bear, after all."
"We hardly count as a group," I sighed.
"A group of two ponies is still a group," Trixie decided stubbornly.
I rolled my eyes at that answer but decided against keeping the conversation going further.
Trixie followed a few signs set up in the theater lobby to direct contestants to the backstage area, and we soon walked past the dressing rooms.
She walked right by dressing room two, even if the stallion at the door had offered it for our use.
"Didn't the guard say we should use dressing room two?" I pointed out.
Trixie turned her head toward me with a snort.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie already has her hat and cloak on. Does she need anything else?"
"I thought more like we could take a small break," I mumbled.
"It is imperative that the Great and Powerful Trixie signs in for the contest," Trixie reminded me.
"You can go take a rest in the dressing room after that if you want, Fuu," she offered after a moment of thoughtful silence. "It is likely it won't be Trixie's turn for a while due to our late arrival."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," I reasoned as I followed her through the backstage area.
"Hmm-mm," Trixie just hummed in response.
We finally arrived to the side of the stage where a few other ponies were waiting for their turn to show off their worth on stage.
A unicorn mare turned as she noticed our approach and peered at us over the edge of the clipboard she had floating in the air in front of her.
"Name?" she demanded.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie proclaimed boldly.
A few of the gathered contestants turned their heads to look in our direction at the sound of her voice, some chuckling among themselves, while others were clearly sizing up their competition.
While Trixie answered the questions from the unicorn mare with her clipboard, I let my eyes wander over the group waiting to be called up on stage.
It was immediately clear to me that not all of them were here to perform magic on stage, as Trixie was.
Going just by their outfits and what attributes they had with them, there were maybe two or three magicians like Trixie, but also a small number of acrobats dressed in skintight sparkly outfits, animal trainers with their pets, clowns with their equine faces painted up, and some other performers dressed too ambiguously for me to figure out their gig by looks alone.
All of them, earthpony, pegasus, and unicorn alike, were waiting for their turn to go up on stage and show what they could do.
The lure of getting a job to perform on the center stage here in this Equestrian version of Las Vegas was too tempting.
"Well, it will be a question whether we have time for you today," the unicorn with her clipboard muttered. "Some of the previous acts have gone over time. The way this is going we'll have to continue into tomorrow."
"Are you telling the Great and Powerful Trixie she rushed over here for no reason?" Trixie scoffed.
"Oh no, you barely made it in time as it is," the other mare returned matter-of-factly. "Your invitation should list clearly that signups are only open until noon and that's..."
A clock somewhere in the building chimed just as the unicorn paused momentarily, a smile spreading on her lips as she heard it.
"Now. So, if anypony else comes in, they are officially too late," the unicorn decided, then spoke up in a louder voice as she addressed those gathered beside the stage. "It is lunch time, everypony. We will resume the auditions in an hour's time."
The clipboard pony and some of the artists wandered off toward the dressing rooms and the exit, while others remained where they stood.
"Oh, I'm just too nervous to eat," one of the acrobats exclaimed, which another nearby agreed with wholeheartedly.
I turned my attention to Trixie instead, instantly noticing the dark expression on her face.
"Is something wrong, oh Great and Powerful Trixie?" I wondered in a soft enough voice for the others to not overhear.
Trixie glanced in my direction, then shook her head. "No, nothing."
I frowned at her. "Oh, come on. It's plastered over your face."
"The Great and Powerful Trixie will retreat to her dressing room," Trixie decided instead of answering me.
She marched off with her suitcase still hovering through the air beside her, and I felt obliged to hurry after her.
"Dressing room two," I called to her, just to remind her.
"Trixie is aware," she huffed as she hoofed it for the room in question.
We walked into dressing room two to find it empty as most of the other contestants had gone off to find lunch somewhere else or were still waiting beside the stage.
Trixie put her suitcase off to the side and shoved the door closed behind me with her magic.
"Did you hear that pony, Fuu?" she demanded. "Even while we made it here in time, Trixie might not be able to perform today because the other contestants have gone over time? Don't they know who Trixie is?"
I knew better than to interrupt her as Trixie was orating, so I just shrugged a little and tried to not draw her ire upon myself.
"If they only knew the amazing magical prowess of the Great and Powerful Trixie, they would give her the center stage without needing an audition!" Trixie decided.
"I'm sure they would, mom," I offered back to her, as Trixie clearly needed to hear some support in the face of yet another thing which had gone wrong.
"But now they pause for lunch time and we will have to wait until the others have had their turn? Bah," the blue unicorn before me grumbled.
She sighed a moment later as if she had made up her mind, and her expression softened.
"Trixie might as well get us both some lunch. Wait for her here, Fuu?" she suggested in a warmer tone of voice.
I blinked up at Trixie at her suggestion, but then gave a slow nod in reply. "Yes mom."
Trixie managed a brief smile in my direction, before turning to the door and exiting through it without another word spoken between us.
I briefly looked around in the empty dressing room, not immediately knowing what else to do.
Several mirrors with lights set around them were placed on one side of the room, while the other side had racks with outfits hanging from them.
A few seats here and there allowed for resting on between performances, and there was a lone door near the back of the room which was slightly ajar and clearly held a toilet in it.
There was a knock on the door and I turned to face it again.
"Er, come in?" I squeaked out in surprise.
The door opened and a blue unicorn stallion walked in, his purple eyes quickly scanning the room as he did.
His light blue mane was partly covered by a large yellow top hat with a purple band around it and he was wearing a purple coat with yellow accents over a frilled dress shirt. A purple bowtie complemented the outfit.
He was clearly an older gentleman, and he carried himself with the grace of somepony who was known to being in the public eye.
I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing, and it appeared like he was having a similar moment of confusion as a moment passed between us where we were both just taking the other in.
Finally, then, he broke the silence between us and coughed uneasily.
"I'm sorry, I was told the 'Great and Powerful Trixie' was using this dressing room?" he wondered.
"Yeah, she is," I agreed, much to his consternation.
"Excuse me for asking, but exactly how old are you?" he asked tentatively.
"Who's asking?" I countered. "You look an awful lot like my mom..."
"Your mom?" he repeated, then let out a nervous chuckle. "Ah, you mean you're not... Okay, that's good."
"It is?" I wondered, tilting my head sideways.
"Yes, yes, that means you're obviously not mine. I couldn't take care of a foal as young as you in my line of work," he stumbled.
I stared at him, then slowly blinked once.
"I mean, not that I wouldn't, if you were mine," he continued awkwardly.
"Who are you again?" I repeated.
"No recognition at all, is there?" he sighed, momentarily looking sad about it, but then recovered himself.
Taking his top hat off his head, he swung it through the air in front of him and broke into an enigmatic smile.
"The name's Jack Pot, from the magician duo Jack Pot and Big Bucks, one of the longest running magic shows in Equestrian history, and part of the Pony Fantastique theater's founding members," he introduced himself as if he was performing on stage right now.
"Oookay," I responded, not knowing how to respond to that.
Again a sad look flashed across Jack Pot's face.
"You are obviously too young to have experienced the heydays of our show," he realised. "What's your name?"
"Fuu," I answered truthfully.
"And you're sure you're not Spectacle's daughter?" he queried. "You're about as forthcoming with information as she was the day we met."
I sat down on my rear end and just tilted my head at him. "Who's Spectacle?"
"You said you were here with your mom, didn't you?" he reminded me.
"Yes," I agreed with a nod. "My mom; The Great and Powerful Trixie."
Again that look of relief on Jack Pot's face. "Given I had sent the invitation to Spectacle, that must mean this Trixie is her daughter, then."
He frowned immediately after and took a few steps closer to me. "But if you don't know who your grandmare is, that must mean...?"
I finally put two and two together. "Wait, grandmare? You're talking about Trixie's mom?"
"If Spectacle is her mother, then yes I am," Jack Pot agreed. "You act as if you've never met her."
"Well, I haven't," I pointed out. "Trixie and I met up near Ponyville a few months ago and she's taken me in as her daughter since I didn't have other family here in Equestria."
"She doesn't really talk about her family," I added to get that out of the way.
Jack Pot looked like I had just pulled a rabbit out of his hat.
"So you're adopted?" he reiterated to make sure.
"Well, not yet. Trixie said we're going to sign the papers after her performance," I explained calmly. "We were already running late getting here."
"She's last on the list of contestants, so she will most likely get her chance tomorrow at the earliest," Jack noted, seeming to find some peace in the answers I had given him.
"I must say I'm surprised that you are adopted; you could pass for a younger version of Spectacle," he chuckled.
"You're, what, six?" Jack Pot considered, sizing me up.
"Sure, that works," I replied noncommittingly. "I've been going to school back in Ponyville, so why not?"
"You should be about that age when your cutiemark will show itself, so you can't be older than that," the unicorn pondered to himself.
I thought back to the CMC back in Ponyville and how I had just been whisked away from them by Trixie.
"Funny you should say that," I laughed wryly. "My friends don't have their cutiemarks yet either and they're about my age as well."
Jack Pot took a few steps into the room and looked at me intently.
"Your eyes have a depth to them which I would not have expected on a filly your age," he mused. "Like you have an old soul."
I felt my cheeks flush and expressly looked away from him to break the spell.
Jack stood pondering just a few paces before me for a moment longer, then recovered and took his hat off of his head again.
"In any case, well met young Fuu. I was hoping to meet your mother, but I will have to wait until I see her take the stage," he reasoned.
I looked back at him and his purple eyes looking at me from under that blue unicorn horn and slight overhang of his lighter blue mane, and smiled up weakly at him.
It was so obvious that he was Trixie's dad, and I would hate for her to miss being able to meet with him before she went on stage.
"I could let her know you're looking for her?" I suggested in an effort to be helpful. "She's only out to get sandwiches for lunch, she could be back any moment."
"Ah, I'm afraid I will be too busy judging the performances late into today and early again tomorrow," he warded off.
While Jack put his hat back on his head, I thought back to those game shows from back home on Earth where people would go on stage to strut their stuff.
The shows themselves only lasted a short hour when aired, but they were day-long ordeals just for the first rounds.
"That's a shame, I'm sure she would have wanted to meet you," I sighed sadly.
"Alas, perhaps after the contest is over?" he suggested. "Just don't call me your grandsire when we do, young Fuu. Your soon-to-be mother may be my daughter, but that doesn't mean I'm past my prime just yet."
I blinked at this sudden display of insecurity about his age, but then slowly nodded.
"Sure, as long as you don't call me 'young' Fuu. I'm just Fuu," I offered back.
"Then we shall call one another Jack and Fuu, next we meet," he agreed with a smile. "I'll look forward to seeing your mom on stage when it's her turn."
"Why not now?" Trixie's voice interjected.
Jack turned to face the doorway where Trixie stood defiantly staring at him.
"Hi dad," she stated dryly while a couple of sandwiches hovered in the air beside her.