//------------------------------//
// Road Trip Part Two: Big City Big Shots 
// Story: Chaos and Harmony 
// by MLP Fangirl 
//------------------------------//

As the two pegasi were pulling the chariot, a thought came across Aurora's mind. "Um, Twilight? Sorry, to bother you but, uh, where are we going first?" 
Twilight took out the map.
 "Well, I say we work our way up. Start in the southernmost cities and go from there. And according to the map, the closest city is Los Pegasus. That okay with you, guys?" The vote was unanimous. 
"Okay! Sounds good. Come on, Steel! Pick up the pace," Aurora urged.
"Excuse me for being concerned for the safety of our passengers. Especially since we have a princess on board," retorted the stubborn stallion.
Aurora leaned over to Pinkie and whispered, "Think you can liven this guy up? He's been nothing but a big stick-in-the-mud since this morning. Always 'Don't do this or don't do that'. Get him to loosen up," She finished with a smirk.
The pink mare gave the royal guard an understanding nod. "Don't worry. I'll get a smile out of him," Pinkie assured Aurora,"Want to hear a funny story?" The talking began quieting down. "Okay, when I was filly, me and my sister Marble would always play in the snow. Maud didn't because she hated the cold, which I don't understand. How could anypony possibly hate snow? Sure, it's cold, and can give you the sniffles, but if you're all bundled up, you wouldn't get--"
"You were saying, Pinkie?" Applejack interrupted.
"Oh, right! Well, we would play in the snow for hours and hours. One day, my sister betted that I couldn't stay outside an entire night. Naturally, I accepted the challenge. If I won, she would have to give up her marshmallows for hot cocoa for a whole week. If she won, I'd have to clean her room up for her. We didn't tell Ma and Pa because we knew they wouldn't let us. So, one night, when my parents had gone out of town for the evening, I snuck out of the house. Marble knew about it, so she stayed in my room and locked all the doors to make sure I wouldn't come inside. Here comes the funny part. About four hours into the night, a sound woke me up. I saw two ponies coming towards me. My first thought was to defend myself. I started gathering snowballs. When they were about ten feet away, " she snickered here," I started chucking them as hard as I could. The two ponies didn't stand a chance. They were caught by surprise and were easy targets. After I had congratulated myself for a job well done, I went to see who it was. Turned out it was my mom and dad! And boy were they mad!" Everyone was laughing, including Steel Blade. 
"Oh, man, Pinkie! That's hilarious! Did they punish you?" Rainbow asked, wiping a tear away.
"I got a cold the next day. They said that was punishment enough." Pinkie replied with a giggle.
The group noticed that they were approaching the city of Los Pegasus. Los Pegasus was the home of Applewood Studios, where most of the movies played these days came from. Los Pegasus buzzed with rich ponies similar to those in Canterlot. The only difference was that these wealthy ponies didn't have the pompousness of Canterlot nobles. The chariot landed and the ponies got off. Once again, ponies all around were shocked to see Discord roaming around and having the Mane Six unconcerned. Discord, unfazed by their surprise, already had his camera out and began snapping photos. From the multi-colored signs to the three-story tall buildings, nothing escaped Discord and his unquenchable curiosity. 
"I don't believe this city was around when I was ruling. Considering all the modern technology in this town, it's probably fairly new," assumed the draconeques.
"It's relatively new," Twilight began explaining," It's development began in 897 when a group of wealthy ponies known as the "Rich Tribes" wanted to  construct their own city. They were called the Rich Tribes because they had each type of pony tribe in their group, you know, unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies. Anyway, knowing they had the funds to do so, they went to Princess Celestia for permission which she granted. She gave them a charter for a piece of land, and within a few months, these ponies had built their very own little city which they called Los Pegasus. If only those ponies could see what progress this city has achieved. Los Pegasus is where most of our modern technology comes from. From what I've heard, they're working on a device that will allow ponies to communicate with each other far distances without the use of mail delivery. I believe it's called a phone. I cannot wait to see how it works."
"I can't believe we're in Los Pegasus. The home to many celebrities. Do you think we'll meet any?" Rainbow asked hopefully.
"I certainly hope so. I, for one, would like to meet Madame de Signa," Rarity was met with blank stares, "Oh, don't tell me you've never heard of her. Madame de Signa is the most popular fashion designer in all of Equestria! I mean, she created the polo sweater, the leather jacket, and so much more. My dream has always been to show her my work and see what she thinks. Oh, how I'd love to meet her!" Rarity replied dreamily.
"I'm just happy to be here. Some of the best artists live in this city. I'm hoping to meet one of them." Aurora said.
"We are not here to have fun. We are here to--"
"To escort the Princess and keep her safe. I know that. You don't need to keep reminding me. I've been in the royal guard long enough to know what I can and can't do.  And unless you can find me a rule in the royal guard manual that says that we're not allowed to have fun, I am going to enjoy my time here. Whether you like it or not." She walked past Steel Blade with her nose in the air, clearly annoyed by him.
Spike was looking around, amazed at all the bright and glowing signs and buildings. He kept walking until he felt something underneath his feet. The purple dragon lifted his little foot and found a flyer stuck to it. After he read it, he widened his eyes and ran to Twilight.
"Twilight! Twilight! I found this poster. Read what it says!" Spike spoke out quickly. Twilight took the paper with her magic and began reading. She gave the same response. "NO WAY!!! Book Signing by A.K. Yearling!? She's the author of Daring Do!"
"Let me see that!" Rainbow zoomed in front of Twilight's vision. " The author of Daring Do?! We have to go! NOW! It starts in thirty minutes!" She glanced over at a clock tower which read 11:30.
"Who's Daring Do?" Discord asked.
Rainbow's jaw dropped.  "You seriously need to catch up with the world, dude. You've missed out on way too much. Daring Do is only the awesomest book character ever. She's not even real, yet she's SO cool. Any author that can make up adventures and characters like that are OKAY in my book. Daring Do's about on the same level of awesome as me. We're both really awesome." Everypony spontaneously rolled their eyes.
"Well, if we want to make it, I think we should leave now. I mean, if you want to," Fluttershy suggested shyly.
"Fluttershy is right! The exhibition hall where this thing is being held is all the way across town. So, let's stop talking and start walking!" Pinkie shouted.
"I'm not gonna even ask how you knew that." Applejack mumbled.
"I lived here for two years before I joined the royal guard. I know where it is. Follow me," Steel Blade instructed. The group followed the stallion through the bustling crowd of busy ponies. Some ponies moved out of the way because of Twilight, but even though a princess was present, that didn't change the fact that Los Pegasus was a very busy city. About fifteen minutes later, Rarity bumped into something or rather somepony. A cultured accent spoke up. 
" Oh, quite sorry, deary. I was not paying attention to where my legs were carrying me. Are you all right?" Rarity had no words. Standing in front of her was Madame de Signa. Her idol was standing right in front of her. "Wait a moment! Aren't you Rarity? The Element of Generosity as well as the spectacular dress designer?" The fashion mare asked.
"I-I-I, yes, I am! You're Madame de Signa! I am a big supporter of your work. Your designs are simply marvelous," Rarity complimented.
"Oh, please, my work is old news. I should be the one complimenting you. For a young mare, your outfits truly are amazing. Did you go to a special fashion school?"
"No, actually. You see my special talent is designing and finding the beauty of things. So, it's basically my destiny to become a fashion designer." Rarity and Madame de Signa went into a lengthy conversation about different fabrics and stuff of that nature. Pinkie was playing with a ball she found on the street, Fluttershy was talking to a robin, Applejack was talking to Aurora and Steel Blade, and Spike was helping Discord take pictures. Rainbow and Twilight kept glancing nervously at the clock. They knew that if Rarity kept talking, they'd be late for the book signing. They didn't want to interrupt Rarity, so they decided to go on ahead. 
Twilight spoke up for a brief moment. "Excuse me, everypony. Could you pay attention for a little bit? I'm sure you all have something you'd like to see in this city. If you want to go, that's fine, but once you're done, head on over to Best Suites. That's the hotel we'll be staying at for the night.  We'll meet there in three hours. Once we're all together, we'll check in. Sound good?" She got a yes from everyone. After that, the group separated.
Discord went with Rainbow and Twilight to see if everything said about Daring Do was true. Discord, obviously, was not a fan of reading, but he thought he ought to give it a try. The trio, along with Steel Blade and Aurora, arrived at the book signing. There was a long line. Discord didn't feel like waiting. He bent down and whispered to Twilight, "You know, now would be a good time to abuse your power." 
"I don't like abusing my authority. Besides, I'm sure the line will move fast," Twilight replied.
Aurora gave a small smile. "Announcing Her Royal Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle! And Element of Loyalty Rainbow Dash!" The ponies in line gave collective gasps and immediately bowed. They also moved out of the way. 
"That was easy," Aurora complimented herself.
"I don't know whether or not to thank you or to scold you, " Twilight teased.
"I say scold," Steel Blade remarked. Aurora just stuck her tongue out.
"We're wasting time! I've got a book that needs to be signed." Rainbow flew up to the front of the line. She was meeting A.K. Yearling. This day couldn't get any better. "Ms. Yearling, I would just like to say that your books are totally awesome. Daring Do is incredible. Your books are the only books I read."
A.K. Yearling smiled. "Hey, thanks. You're Rainbow Dash, right? Princess Twilight is here too, right? If you didn't know, I'm giving out my newest book: Daring Do and the Underworld Demons. For the average customer, it's twelve bits. But I'm giving it to you two for free. It's wrong to charge royalty and one of Equestria's heroes."
Discord spoke up,"What about me? Do I get a free book?"
She looked at him curiously, but then her face lit up. "Yes! You know why? You just gave me a great idea for my next book. I'm calling it: Daring Do and the Chaos Wielder. You'll be in Daring Do's next adventure, Discord. You don't mind if I make you evil, do you?"
"Go ahead. It'll be fun hearing kids having nightmares about me. Don't make me a megalomaniac, though. That's far too cliché." Discord answered with a wink.
"Thank you, Ms. Yearling. That's very kind of you. I'll have you know that your series is one of my personal favorites as well. I can't wait to read this one." Twilight said.
"Can royal guards get them free, too?" Aurora inquired hopefully.
"Sorry, you have to pay like everypony else. I'll lower the price by two. You can pay ten bits." The author decided.
"That's fine with me. Steel, you want one?" Aurora asked politely.
"I'll take one for my daughter. So, I'll pay the full amount." He insisted. 
"Stick-in-the-mud," Aurora muttered under her breath.
Eventually, all of the ponies had had their books signed, and a new one along with it. The group headed over to Best Suites to meet up with the others. All in all, it had been a pretty good day, and this was only the beginning. The fun was just getting started.