//------------------------------// // Road Trip Part Four: The City of Love and Lights // Story: Chaos and Harmony // by MLP Fangirl //------------------------------// After leaving Appleloosa, the gang headed northeast. They visited Baltimare, Unicorn Island, and Salt Lick City. Soon they would be approaching Mareis, Prance, the most romantic city in Equestria. The ponies,obviously, were not going to look for a special somepony. They were going to be playing the part of tourist. Mareis had a lot of famous attractions to offer, such as, the Eiffoal Tower; the Arc de Trotumphé; the Loove Museum; and many more. For most ponies, getting to go to Mareis would be just a dream. However, when you are close friends with a princess, let's just say you get some privileges. "Oh, I cannot believe we are going to Mareis! It's only the most romantic city in all of Equestria. It has always been a dream of mine to come to this city and have some handsome stallion sweep me off my hooves," Rarity stated dreamily," After all, Mareis isn't called the City of Love for nothing." "Blegh! Rares! Only you would care about that lovey dovey nonsense. I want to see how high the Eiffoal Tower is. And if any of you know, please do NOT tell me. I'll find out when I fly to the top," Rainbow said. "I can't wait to sink my teeth into some tasty gorgonzola!" Pinkie exclaimed. Everyone looked at her. "What? Prench ponies make really good cheese." "I bet I could make better," Discord proclaimed," But I'm not planning on ruining anypony's business. How much longer?" "We're approaching the city now," Aurora answered," Wow! I never thought I'd be going to Mareis. I've only seen pictures. It's so much cooler in real life." "I met my wife here," Steel Blade said nostalgically," Great memories were made here." "Feeling sentimental, are we? I didn't peg you as the type," Aurora said smugly. He didn't even bother responding. "I'm going to announce our arrival. Fluttershy, Spike, I want you to come with me," Twilight said. "Okay." "Yes, I get to do something important. I'm usually always overlooked," He mumbled the last part under his breath. The two winged ponies descended and flew towards the great city. "Whew! I didn't think I'd ever come here," Applejack said," Upper class cities were never ones to attract ma attention." "I feel the same way, AJ. This place is loaded with all that romance-y junk. No stallion will even try and flirt with me. I'll make sure of it," Rainbow replied as she punched her hoof. "Ahem. We have arrived," Steel announced. Ponies from all around came to greet them. At least, they were about to. Every pony quickly backed away when they saw Discord. Discord sighed shamefully. "Of course. That's always the immediate reaction." The Mane Six heard this and realized what they had to do. "Everypony! Please do not back away! Discord has changed. He's good now. My friends can back me up," Twilight said. "She's right. I was given the task of reforming Discord. I'll admit, it was hard at first. But once we showed him the importance of friendship, Discord had changed his chaotic ways." Fluttershy smiled at the draconeques. "Discord's one of my bestest friends. He's really fun! He makes every day an adventure!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I will admit, I was very reluctant to the idea of befriending Discord. It took some time, but I realized that even the Spirit of Chaos could have a change of heart," Rarity stated. "He's also become a big help around Ponyville. He helps out the townsfolk as much as he can. Us included," Applejack said. "Heh. I never have to worry about boring days anymore. With him around, boredom doesn't exist," Rainbow snickered. Needless to say, Discord was deeply touched by this. The ponies of Prance now had a basic idea of how the draconeques behaved. The mayor of Mareis, Madame Coquette, slowly walked towards the group. "Is this all true?" She asked in a thick Prench accent. "Every single word," Twilight assured her. Madame Coquette thought about it for moment. "Very well. We will let him stay. But if he misbehaves in anyway, I will have to ask him to leave.Oui?" The ponies all nodded in agreement. The townsponies began to disperse. "Thanks for speaking on my behalf, everypony. But honestly, I deserved it. They had every reason to run away. After all I've--" "Stop right there, Discord. You're current actions are making up for your past mistakes. Don't dwell on the past." Twilight put a reassuring hoof on his paw. "Thanks. Now, then. Mareis, Prance. One of the most refined places in Equestria. Let's start touring." "Great! Fluttershy, Spike, and I will get going now." Rarity levitated a smitten Spike onto her back. She was about to run off, when a magenta aura stopped her. "Now, hold on a second, Rarity. We need to go over a few things. First, get into groups. We don't want a repeat of what happened in Baltimare. Rainbow," Twilight gave the Pegasus a pointed look. "Hey, that mare looked a dude. I didn't mean to offend her. I bet a ton of other ponies got that wrong," Rainbow said crossing her arms. "Anyway, please make sure you're with somepony you know. We don't need anypony getting lost. Secondly, if for some reason you forget where we parked the chariot, it's right next to La Café de Prance. If you don't remember where that is, get a map. And lastly, meet us back at the chariot in, shall we say, four hours. Plenty of time to go sightseeing. That sound like a plan?" Everypony unanimously agreed. "Great! See you all at 3:00." The group once again separated. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike went to go shopping. Applejack and Rainbow went to check out the Eiffoal Tower. Pinkie had decided to check out the local cheese shops to sample some delicious dairy. That left Discord, Twilight, Aurora, and Steel Blade to tour the rest of Mareis. They went to see the Arc de Trotumphé and also visited the Loove Museum, the most famous art museum in Equestria. There they saw many great paintings from Leonardo DiHoovsie, Raphayal, Michelhoofgelo, and many more. After that, they decided to dine at the Prench Café. A very dignified environment. "Well, talk about high class. These ponies are about as nose-uppity as Canterlot nobles," Aurora bemused. "They dwell in a cultured society. They were raised and taught proper etiquette when they were but foals. I know because my wife is Prench," Steel Blade said. He saw Aurora mocking him with her hoof which he promptly decided to ignore. "Mareis is truly a beautiful city. These ponies also know how to treat royalty. They aren't giving me too little or too much attention, " Twilight mentioned. "If I were my old self, this place would be in total chaos. These ponies wouldn't even know the term proper," Discord joked. Their waiter came and took their orders. "I wonder if food here tastes better than Mexicoltan food. Those tacos will be hard to beat." "Honey, no!" cried a mare from the other side of the room. A little filly about five years old ran up to Discord. She was a white unicorn with a strawberry blond mane. She looked at Discord strangely. "What are you, monsieur? You're definitely not a pony," the little filly noted. "Angel!" The mare, apparently the mother, caught up to her," Pardon moi, monsieur, you must forgive her. She is a very curious little filly." "It's fine. I'll answer any questions she wants to ask. Go ahead and ask, Angel," She was about to open her mouth when he interrupted her," Oh, wait, your first question. Well, little one, I am known as a draconeques. As you can see, I have the head of a pony, and body parts of several different animals. But you can call me Discord." He extended a lion paw. Angel tenderly placed her hoof in it, and they shook hooves. "Why do you look like that? Did you used to be a pony? Did a potion spill on you turning you into that?" Discord chuckled and happily began answering. Twilight had a smile on her face. Discord's done it again. Eventually, they bid Angel and her mother good-bye. The ponies all met up at the chariot. They all talked about how their day went. Rarity had like five bags floating next to her indicating she bought quite a few things. Rainbow figured out that the Eiffoal Tower was about 980 hooves high, which she had to admit was pretty high. Pinkie brought cheese to share for everyone. Every pony could safely say they had a good day. "Where to next?" Pinkie asked. Twilight was about to answer when Spike interrupted with a burp. "A letter to you, Twi." Spike handed her the letter. She quickly skimmed it. Her face deflated a bit. "Sorry, everypony. I'm afraid our next destination will have to be home. Celestia needs me in Canterlot. I'm sure you guys have been feeling homesick. But I hope you all had fun. Aurora and Steel Blade, take us back to Ponyville." The two pegasi saluted and everyone boarded the carriage. They took off and headed in the direction of Ponyville. This had been an awesome trip. An experience that wouldn't leave Discord's head for a long time. Equestria was a great place. Now, Discord had to wait for the next new thrill to come, which wouldn't be very long.