> The Count of Marete Colto > by crashlanding12 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Mareseille- The Return of the Ship Called the Pegasus > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mareseille- The Return of the Ship Called the Pegasus The city of Mareseille felt very familiar with its bustling air. Two friends were spending the day down by the docks, which was one of the best places to stay and shop at. “Do you think Discord’s returning today, Fluttershy?” One mare said. Her name was Twilight Sparkle; she was a purple unicorn with a long, blue, pink, and purple mane. She had a book in her hooves and was wearing a heavy dress of pink and yellow. She was the daughter of a Marquis and a Marquise. Twilight was twenty-one years of age, and was very smart. The other mare, whom Twilight was talking to, Fluttershy, was a yellow pegasus with a light pink mane. Fluttershy was wearing a green and blue dress, similar to Twilight’s. Fluttershy was a daughter of two poor ponies, but was popular around Mareseille. She was a few years younger than Twilight, at the age of eighteen. “I hope so. He’s been gone for a month and a week,” she responded. “Actually,” Twilight answered, “He’s been gone for a month, a week, and a day.” She closed her book. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Pegasus was a great ship, owned by the Apple family. The ship had travelled to Canterlot to retrieve a shipment of building materials and furniture. The Pegasus finally returned to the docks of Mareseille after thirty eight days at sea. The ship’s crew was overjoyed. Discord, the second mate of the ship, was most ecstatic. Discord wasn’t a normal stallion. In fact, he himself wasn’t complete sure what to call a male of his species. He was a rare species, a draconequus, and lived normally among the ponies of Mareseille. He was a creature composed of other animals. He looked out at the Mareseille docks from the crow’s nest. Discord was wearing a sailor’s attire of: a white shirt, tan pants, and a pair of loafers. He was happy to return to his lovely fiancée. “Excited to get back to your fiancée?” A voice called from the deck. The voice was from Applejack, first mate of the ship. He was taking over for the captain, Monsieur Cranky, who died of brain-fever during the trip. Applejack was one of the owners of the ship. He was twenty five years old, older than Discord, who was nineteen. He had his blond mane in a ponytail, and was wearing an outfit similar to Discord’s and the rest of the crew members. Discord slid down the ladder of the crow’s nest. “Why wouldn’t I be excited? We’ve been separated for what’s felt like forever. I miss her so much.” Applejack rolled his eyes. He wasn’t too fond of Discord and his blabbering. He was actually quite jealous of his lifestyle. Applejack lived in a small house on the docks with three other ponies, and he lived with a special somepony. “Applejack!” A young voice called from the helm, “Can you help us?!” The voice was from Applejack’s younger sister, Apple Bloom, who was standing on another young filly’s back, trying to steer the wheel. “Excuse me for a second.” Applejack said to Discord, walking towards his sister. Apple Bloom was standing on an orange pegasus’ back, the wheel in her hooves. Two other young fillies, one an orange earth pony, the other a white unicorn, were sitting on the ground playing with a deck of cards. “I left you fillies alone for five minutes!” He took the wheel out of his sister’s hooves, sending her and her friend to the ground. Discord walked to the side of the ship, looking back to the docks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Pegasus arrived in the docks of Mareseille, the sailors retreating from the ship. The cabin foals were the first to run off the ship, running to their respective parent or guardian. “You look quite gloomy up there, Discord!” A voice called from the docks. Discord look down, seeing Big Macintosh, owner of the Apple Family Shipping Company. He was a stallion of twenty seven, recently married, and the caretaker of his family. He had a short orange mane, a red coat, and wore a raggedy short sleeve shirt and long pants. “Is everything alright? Where’s Cranky?” Macintosh yelled. Discord headed off the boat. “He passed of brain fever off the coast of Manehatten. It was a sad send off, Monsieur Macintosh.” Setting his hoof on the dock, Discord sighed. He was happy to be back in Mareseille, although the ship was a second home to him. “Applejack, there you are!” Big Macintosh called out to his brother. Applejack was helping some ponies move the cargo off the ship, so he did not hear him. “It’s still such a shame that Cranky passed.” Macintosh sighed and motioned a hoof for Discord to follow him into an old wooden building on the docks. The two story building had wooden walls, a wooden floor, and an old sign in the front with ‘Apple Family Shipping Company’ painted on. The inside of the building was a simple office, with a door on the left that led into a kitchen and the stairs to the bedrooms of the house. The office was tidy, with the exception of the desk, which had paper and books strewn about. Macintosh sat down in the chair behind the desk. “Could you get Applejack for me? I need to talk to him as well.” Discord nodded and called out to Applejack, who looked over with anger. Applejack stomped over to the office. "What is it? What do you need?" He said. "I wanted to talk to you. Both of you, if you two don't mind," Macintosh said. "Please, sit down." He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. "Now, we all know about Captain Cranky's passing, and I was thinking of who should be captain if something were to happen." He paused for a moment, writing something down with a quill, then continued. "Applejack, you are my beloved brother, but you will remain first mate to the Pegasus while Discord shall be the captain. Congratulations Discord." Applejack was in shock. His own brother chose somepony else over him to captain a ship he practically owned. "B-But Big Mac, he's way less experienced than me! He's younger than me as well! Can't you just think this over?" Applejack pleaded. "My decision is final, Applejack. You are excused." Macintosh responded. Applejack got out of his seat and walked out of the office angrily. Discord wasn't surprised by his actions; Applejack could get angry easily. "Shouldn't you go too? I'm sure your fiancée will want to hear this, don't you think?" Macintosh chuckled. "Yes, yes, of course. Thank you, Monsieur Macintosh." Discord got up from his chair, bowing. "Would you happen to know where she is?" "Cheerilee said she saw her at the beach when she went out this morning. I'm sure Fluttershy is still there." "Thank you again." Discord left the office, heading down to the beach. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy walked closer to the shore line. She motioned for Twilight to go out in the sea with her. “You’re willing to get your dress soaked?” Twilight said, not letting her eyes leave her book. Fluttershy giggled in response and put her front hooves in the water. “Excuse me, mademoiselles,” A voice called out from the docks. A young unicorn stallion walked onto the beach. He had a long, gray and blue mane, a light gray coat, and green eyes. He wore a long, white shirt, and a pair of black trousers. “May I talk to Mademoiselle Fluttershy?” “Sombra,” Twilight scoffed, closing her book. “What are you doing here? “Like I said,” Sombra continued, “I want to speak with Fluttershy, Mademoiselle Sparkle.” He strolled to the shoreline and grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof. “W-What do you want, Sombra?” Fluttershy said, trying to pull away. Everypony in town knew Sombra, for he was very popular in the town of Mareseille. He worked at the Apple Family’s Shipping Company, so he knew Discord and Fluttershy through that. “I have a question to ask of you, mademoiselle,” Sombra brought Fluttershy’s face to his own. “Will you marry me?” “W-Well, I-I’m honored, but I love Discord, for we’re to be married soon.” Fluttershy sighed in relief as he let go of her. “You’re going to wait two years for that monster to get his captain’s papers?” “Yes, and he’s not a monster, he’s just… different,” Fluttershy responded. “You’ll still love him even if he were to die?” “If he were to die, I would die of grief soon after.” Fluttershy said confidently. “Fluttershy! Fluttershy!” The three ponies on the beach heard a distant yell from the docks. It was Discord, who floated down to where they were. “Speak of the devil,” Twilight said, turning a page in her book. Discord ran over to Fluttershy and Sombra, sweeping his fiancée off her hooves, accidentally knocking over Sombra while doing so. The young pegasus squealed in delight as she was lifted up. Discord let out a hearty chuckle, spinning her around. Sombra on the other hoof was on the other spectrum of happy. He had landed in the muddy sand of the shoreline, getting his nice clothes ruined to some extent. He got up, shaking the sand off of him and his clothes, and angrily walked back up the beach to the docks. "Discord! I'm so glad you're back!" Fluttershy giggled, taking a breath as Discord stopped spinning her. "How was the trip?" Discord placed her back down on her hooves. "Enough about the trip! I'm captain now!" Discord exclaimed. "Oh my Celestia, Discord! Do you know what this means?" "Well, I don't have my captain's papers yet... Monsieur Macintosh said in about a week or two." He looked down at her sadly. Fluttershy giggled. "That's better than waiting two years." "Good grief," Twilight said, closing her book. The two shared an embrace and a short kiss, before spending the rest of their day until sunset (along with Twilight, who had nothing better to do) at the beach. > The Stable: A Tavern Most Important Later In This Story > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Stable: A Tavern Most Important Later In This Story The Stable was a popular place to go to or visit in Mareseille, either a citizen, tourist, or otherwise. Most ponies who ate or drank there were regulars, returning there once a week or so to catch up on gossip, or be with friends. It was on the night of which the previous chapter and it's situations had happened, the return of Discord to his fiancée, that three friends gathered at The Stable to discuss. All three of them stallions, one in particular looking quite gloomy, his head resting with his cheek against the table's wooden surface. "Ah, don't look so down, Sombra!" A scruffy voice commented. "Sure, you got refused by one of the most beautiful mares in Mareseille, but come on! Look at yourself! I'm sure there's somepony else out there for ya!" The voice was from Prosecutor Rainbow Dash, a stallion of twenty seven. He had a light blue coat, a short rainbow mane, and pink eyes. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants, and brown loafers. “Shut it, Dash,” Sombra grumbled. “Don’t be an arse.” The rainbow maned stallion put up his hooves in surrender, muttering a curse to the unicorn under his breath. The other stallion at the table was as angry and sad as Sombra, but stayed quiet. “Do you three need anything? Cider maybe?” A unicorn waitress walked up to the table. She had a blue coat, a light blue mane, and purple eyes. She had a short-skirted, long-sleeved purple dress with white leggings covering the remainder of her back legs. She had a wire mane clip on one ear. “Trixie,” Applejack spoke up, “Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot right now?” The blue unicorn was taken aback at this, taking a step away from the table. “That’s just Chrysalis, idiots,” Sombra muttered, lifting his head from the table. “Isn’t that right? Changeling?” “Fine. Fine. It’s me. My boss doesn’t like it when I’m in my normal form ‘cause ‘I scare some of the guests, blah, blah, blah, nag, nag, nag.’” Chrysalis motioned with her hooves for a moment, then cleared her throat. “Anyways, did you need anything?” “Three ciders, I guess,” Rainbow Dash said. Chrysalis nodded and headed back to the kitchen. AJ crossed his hooves and pouted slightly, getting a concerned look from Rainbow. “You’re down in the dumps as well?” Rainbow asked, “Are both of you mad for the same reason or…” Applejack shrugged. "It's all that stupid draconequus' fault," Sombra mumbled. "You mean Monsieur Discord?" Chrysalis interrupted, "You are friends with him, are you not?" Chrysalis placed down the tray she'd been carrying with her magic on the table. Each stallion took a mug, and she pulled over a stool. "What's your deal with him?" "My brother chose him over me for captain of the Pegasus. I'm much older than him; it's ridiculous," AJ said, responding with a frown. Chrysalis nodded her head. “Alright, I suppose that is a bit weird, but that’s only your side on the situa-” “W-We need to do something about him,” Sombra interrupted. “What do you mean, Sombra?” questioned Applejack. “He’s ruined us,” Sombra smirked, “...So we ruin him.” Rainbow looked at the gray unicorn with a look of concern. “Uh, Sombra… Please don’t go crazy on us.” “I agree with him, Dash. You don’t understand ‘cause he didn’t do anything to you,” AJ stated. “I’ll leave you three to ‘plotting’ somepony’s demise,” Chrysalis mocked. She picked up the tray with her magic and walked back to the kitchen. “You two are serious?” Dash said, taking a drink, “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?” Sombra was going argue back at the prosecutor, but was interrupted by the commotion of the other patrons in the tavern. Most of the ponies were looking at the entrance, where a certain chimera and shy pegasus were standing. “It looks like they’re making an announcement,” Applejack said. Sombra was happy he had his back towards the entrance. “We’re just stopping by for a minute or two. Don’t need to make a big deal of it,” Discord stated, “Could we talk to the manager?” Chrysalis gestured to the stairs leading to the second level. “Thunderlane’s upstairs, Monsieur and Madame The Draconequus.” Fluttershy silently nodded her head. She didn’t like all of these ponies staring at her like this. “Merci,” Discord said, walking up the stairs, Fluttershy following behind. “They don’t make a bad couple…” Sombra glared angrily at the pegasus, drinking some of his cider. “So… What are we going to do about him?” AJ asked. “Well…”