the foothills [Lore] Marelia

[Bellosh]

Marelia - A Snowy Mountain Retreat

 

When ponies envision a stereotypic idyllic alpine village, there’s a very good chance they might be thinking of the small community of Marelia. High up in the Eponnine Mountains, Marelia is so inconvenient to access on hoof that airborne carriages are just about the only practical way to get in or out. That however does nothing to damper the village’s popularity in Equestria as a winter resort.

 

Marelia is not a particular busy town during the summer months, visited mostly by those ponies with an interest in hiking. During the quiet summer months, most villagers make a living off farming, although this growing season never takes long. Winter is always scheduled early and with tons of snow in Marelia, but thanks to the hard work of its elite weather team throughout the season crippling blizzards are prevented and avalanches controlled.

 

When winter is in full swing, flocks of ponies come into town via constant air carriage service from Trottingham, Stalliongrad, and Hoofenheim... whenever the weather ponies aren’t tasked with dumping more snow in the Marelia region, that is. All the usual comforts of a winter resort can be found in the village: lodges, ice-skating rinks, hot tubs, and chairlifts leading up the slopes. As it probably goes without saying, Marelia is a hub for almost every type of winter sport imaginable, and has hosted its fair share of Equestrian Games in the past.

 

Aside from the ski slopes and hiking trails, the other major point of interest in the area is the old Marelia Watchtower to the northwest. Marking the northern terminus of the Eponnines, the tall tower house of stone used to function as one of many sentry posts for the then-nascent Royal Equestrian Army. Decommissioned many decades ago when the REA no longer saw the need for such isolated facilities, the Marelia Watchtower happens to be the most intact specimen of its kind, and is nowadays open to tourists who desire to glimpse commanding views of Zherbenok Bay and the Delamare River Valley....

~Hitchhiker's Guide to Equestria