Doodle Dot's Journey

I hope Rider was right about this place being a good place to start. Dot lifted her head from the window of the train. She could see the train station inching towards her. Her heart started racing. She lived on a farm her whole life, and now she’s going to live in a town. She’s been to bigger places before, like Canterlot and Manehattan, but those cities had an advantage that Ponyville didn’t have. Nopony would notice you. She knew, since she went to school in a small town herself, that everypony that lived in Ponyville will know that she’s a stranger from the minute she steps off the train. Everypony knew everypony, and she would stick out like a sore hoof with both her looks and her unique cutie mark.

The train screeched to a halt. This is it, she thought.

“This is Ponyville,” said the conductor. “Please check your overhead luggage rack for any personal belongings.”

Dot’s horn glowed purple as her luggage levitated towards her. That simple task reminded her of her vacations with her family. She would use her magic to carry things, while her family had to use their mouths and hooves. She was used to being the brunt of the family jokes being the only unicorn in the family until her youngest brother was born. Raised in a family of Earth Ponies, she was stronger than most unicorns. Both her parents were Earth Ponies, and her younger brother and sister were too. Only her youngest brother was a unicorn like her. She put her suitcases on the ground and swept her seat to make sure she didn’t leave anything behind. Using her magic, she picked up her suitcases and slowly walked towards the door.

“Have a great time in Ponyville,” said the conductor as she passed by him.

“Thanks”, she replied with a smile. I’ll try.

The smell of fresh air burst into her nose as she took her first step off the train. She was fixated by the homey sense that seemed to blanket the town. She looked around to see some ponies waiting for loved ones and going on or off the train. Darnit, Rain Rider, you’re late. She walked under the awning to shade herself from the sun.

She noticed a colt staring at her. His eyes were fixated on her backside. Dot had been used to this her entire life. Not only was her cutie mark something that no pony had ever seen before, she had a white blotch on her rump. It looked like someone had dropped a paint bucket on her. She was born with it, something nopony in her family had before. Her cutie mark made it worse with the staring. She and a few select ponies knew what her cutie mark actually was. It looked like a gray square with a silver pen hovering over it.

She was used to the staring, but felt comforted when she noticed the colt’s mother telling her son not to stare at other ponies. But she knew that the mother was probably staring too, just when she wasn’t looking. A flap of wings cut her out of her thoughts. A light purple Pegasus dropped down right beside her.

The sudden appearance of a pony startled her and she almost trip on her hooves. She knew who this pony was just by the mere scent of him. “Rider! Don’t do that!”

The Pegasus smiled a large toothy grin. “You know you still love me.”

Dot tried to look angry at the purple Pegasus, but couldn’t help but break a smile and let out a laugh. “You know my weakness. It’s good to see you again, Rain Rider.”

Dot leaned her head against Rain Rider’s neck. Her chin rested on his shoulder. Rain Rider was a tall Pegasus, but he called everypony else short. His head wrapped around her neck.

“It’s good to see you too, Dottie. I’m so glad we can live closer together now. My house isn't too far away, just a five minute flight, but it's a cloud house. I wish you could come see my house. Maybe we can ask Twilight if she could put a spell on you so you can walk on the clouds.”

“Like Twilight Sparkle?”

Rain Rider’s ear twitched. “Yeah. You know her?”

“Well, she was one of the ponies who helped me a few years ago with finding who I am. She lives here now?”

“She moved here just before I did. She’s an Alicorn Princess now.”

“She’s an Alicorn!?”

“Um… yeah… you didn’t hear the news in Hoofington? I’m know Hoofington is small, but even the smallest hamlets in Equestria heard the news.”

“My sister having two surgeries kept me out of the loop with things.” Dot had sudden flashbacks of her mother and her youngest brother waiting in a room for hours, knowing her sister was being operated on as they spoke.

Rain Rider lifted his head off Dot’s neck and looked into her purple eyes. “How is Daisy?”

“She’s doing really well. She’s officially fully recovered and is helping my dad on the farm.”

“That’s good. Well, I should show you your new place.” Rain Rider flapped his wings, lifting himself in the air. With his hooves, he grabbed both suitcases that Dot brought in.

Though Dot loved it when Rider carried her things for her, she knew that her bags were heavy and that Rider would hurt himself. “Rider, I can carry them, you’ll strain your wings! My entire room is in there.”

“Nope, you carried them to the train, and I’ll carry them to your house.”

“Rider!”

“Still gonna carry them.”

There was no use fighting with Rain Rider. He was always very persistent and stubborn when it came to helping his marefriend. Even though he struggles with reoccurring injuries, he would do anything for his mare.

Rain Rider flew ahead over a street while Dot walked behind him. She could feel the stares, but they weren’t aimed just at her rump. She’s the new pony. She was going to be noticed. Top that with her white rump defect and her unknown cutie mark, as well as her vibrant purple and red mane and tail, she seemed like an alien to them. The only thing that seemed normal about her was her purple eyes and her light blue body. She knew she would turn heads. She strained to hear if anypony was talking about her, but it was of no use. She had hearing problems ever since she was a little filly. She usually needed ponies to repeat sentences to her because she couldn’t hear them. She truly was a fish out of water here in Ponyville.

She noticed a blue blur fly above her and Rain Rider and stop almost right in front of him. It was a blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail.

“Is this your marefriend?” the blue Pegasus asked Rain Rider.

“Yes it is. Dot, this is my friend, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Doodle Dots.”

“Doodle Dots, hey? Mind if I call you Doodles?” Rainbow Dash asked. But Dot didn’t hear it. She knew Rainbow Dash spoke, but she didn’t understand what she said.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Mind if I call you Doodles?”

“Well, normally ponies call me Dot, but you can call me Doodles.” Dot kind of liked the new nickname. It was better than the other names ponies would call her.

Rainbow Dash turned to Rain Rider, who were both hovering above the street. “We’re going to have our annual Running of the Leaves next week. I was wondering if you’d like to race me. No flying, though. It’s an Earth Pony tradition. I probably have an edge on you, since I actually race and you just shoot balls into a net and all…” Rainbow kept talking, but Dot couldn’t hear anything else. This Rainbow Dash seemed really rude and arrogant! She knew about the Running of the Leaves. They had it in Hoofton and her family participated in it all the time. Dot hated it. She wasn’t an athletic pony, despite all her siblings being athletic. She always was one of the last ponies to cross the finish line. She would try to get out of the race when her father had to stay and work in the fields during harvest. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

Rain Rider made a snorting noise and said, “You forget, Rainbow, that I grew up in an Earth Pony family. I did my fair share of running when I was little. And I never back down from a challenge.” Rain Rider and Rainbow Dash bumped hooves and she said something and took off, a rainbow streak following behind her. Dot didn’t hear what Rainbow Dash said, but she assumed Rainbow Dash said something along the lines of, “Good bye.”

Rain Rider landed beside Dot. She noticed that his shoulders, knees, back and wings were hurting, but she did not say anything. Rain Rider hated to be told that he was hurt. Rain Rider was always accident prone, so when his shoulders, back or knees weren’t bothering him, he would somehow hurt himself somewhere else. Usually his forelegs took the brunt of the accident proneness. He had many faint scars up to his elbows. His most prominent scar was a chunk out of his left ear. He also had some nicks on his back hooves, usually from tripping on a stone.

“Here’s your house.” Rain Rider said as he pointed towards a blue and pink house. The house very exquisite, seeming almost frilly.

“I’m living above a fashion store?” Dot said, sounding frustrated.

Rain Rider nudged her forearm. “Not just any fashion store. The Carousel Boutique. I figured that one artist should live near another artist.”

“I don’t design clothes. I draw pictures.”

“Don’t care, she’s still an artist. You’ll be living in the back of the building. There’s a spare room on the top floor. You’ll have your own bathroom. But you’ll have to share the kitchen. And one perk is that in this room, you’ll be closer to me.” Rain Rider grinned again. His grins always made Dot smile. “I’ll help you move in.”

“Thanks.” Dot picked up one suitcase before Rain Rider could pick it up and the two headed into the store.

Inside was pink all around. Mannequins in dresses and suits sat in different corners of the room. Clothing hung on hangers that were placed strategically to capture the eye and create a flow. A white mare with a purple, curly mane and tail stood by a bare mannequin, laying different coloured fabric on it. Rain Rider shut the door, and the slam of the door made the white mare’s ear twitch and she turned towards them. Her red glasses sat comfortably on her nose.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, home of the finest dresses you’ll find anywhere. My name is Rarity. How can I help you?”

“Hey Rarity, its Rain Rider.”

The mare, Rarity, seemed to suddenly get flustered and nervous, as if she saw a ghost.

“THE Rain Rider? As in the defense player on the Rain Storm Basketball team?” Dot had almost forgotten that Rain Rider made it on one of the top basketball teams. The Rain Cyclones were a group of Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies who played against other teams in Equestria. Rain Rider was the main Pegasus Forward on the team. In Equestrian Basketball, the rule was two unicorns, two Pegasi and one Earth Pony on the court at all times. Unicorn on Unicorn, Earth Pony on Earth Pony, Pegasus on Pegasus. The unicorns could only use their magic to dribble and throw the ball, while the Pegasus could only fly a certain height. If a Pegasus were to shoot, they had to have two of their hooves planted on the court. The Earth Ponies are usually at the disadvantage, for the Unicorns could use their magic and the Pegasi were high enough to dribble the ball with their hooves. Earth Ponies who play basketball have to learn how to run on three legs and dribble a ball at the same time, as well as use their chins to dribble. They usually had to bump the ball off their heads in order to throw the ball.  Rarity smiled at Rain Rider and blinked her eyes. Dot felt slight anger towards the white mare flirting with her coltfriend. “Why, how can I help you? Do you need a suit for your next big game?”

“No, no, I’m not here for myself. I’m here for my marefriend, Doodle Dots. She’s the one moving into your spare room.”

Rarity’s smile faltered for a second before beaming again. “Oh, you are Doodle Dots! Welcome to Ponyville. My name is Rarity, and I’m going to be your landlord.” She extended a hoof towards her.

“Nice to meet you, Rarity,” Dot almost had to cough out as she shook Rarity’s hoof. Dot’s smile was fake, as she already seemed to dislike her new landlord.

With a whip of her purple bangs, Rarity smiled at both of them, saying, “I’ll lead you to your room. Sweetie Belle, keep an eye out for customers, okay?”

Out from a room came a small white filly with a pink and purple curly mane and tail. She was licking her lips as she trotted over to towards the door. “Sure thing, big sis.”

“Walk this way,” Rarity said as she made her way towards the room Sweetie Belle came out of. Dot’s horn glowed again as she picked up one of her suitcases. Rain Rider grabbed her other suitcase with his teeth and struggled to lift the heavy bag.

Rarity led the couple towards the kitchen. She lifted a hoof and said, “This is where we will eat. It is up to you whether you want to eat with us or not. We do expect you to pay your own groceries. That is where the second fridge is. You are free to use our appliances and kitchen stuff for cooking. Just make sure you clean it up after you’re done.” She walked towards the stairs and climbed up. Rain Rider took the opportunity to use his wings to carry the suitcase up the stairs. With a flap, he followed behind Dot who levitated her other suitcase with almost great ease. At the second floor, Rarity stopped and pointed towards three doors. “The door on the far right is Sweetie Belle’s room, the door in the middle is my room and the door on the left is our bathroom. You’ll have your own bathroom, so you do not need to worry about waking us up in the middle of the night. Your room is up here.” She continued up another flight of stairs.

Man, this is a nice place. Maybe I can learn to enjoy this place.

The flight of stairs came to an end to two doors. One was the bathroom, and one would be her room. Rarity opened the door into a large, room. The room was bare. The ceiling was cone shaped with a skylight just above. The walls were circular.

“This will be your room. As you can see, lots of room for you to do your art stuff.”

Yup, Rider told her I was an artist and didn’t specify what kind of artist I am. Good ole Rider.

“The view is wonderful from here. I hope you’re not afraid of heights.”

Dot chuckled, “I’m dating a Pegasus. I don’t have a fear of heights.”

“Perfect. Now the bathroom is ready for you. We do not have a bed, so you’re going to have to get yourself some things before you sleep. I hope that’s not a problem.”

“No, it’s not.”

Rarity smiled, “Perfect. The key is hanging on a nail by the door. I want you to use the backdoor when the store isn’t open. Also, my little sister tends to go to bed around 8 and I go to bed around 10. I don’t care when you go to bed, but just remember to be quiet around those times. We’re willing to make you supper tonight if you want to join.”

“Oh sure, I’ll try to make it. Rider and I will just do some unpacking and shopping.”

“Perfect. Well, I better get back to work. I’ll leave you two to unpack.” Rarity gave a quick glance at Rain Rider and walked out of the room.

Immediately, Dot unzipped her suitcases with her magic. A few dresses laid within one suitcase, but the majority carried her toiletries and items from her room. Another one was full of mechanical parts. Rain Rider flew up to the ceiling and tapped on the skylight. “Hm, doesn’t seem to open. Oh well, I can always get your attention just by knocking.”

“And scare me again. Actually, this skylight is perfect. It will be able to give my computer power. I just need to assemble it.”

Rain Rider landed beside Dot, examining the different parts. “I still don’t understand how you can use and fix that thing.”

“Well, it was made for me. All the experts in Equestria came to Canterlot to help the Princess and the top Magic students to create this computer and tablet for me. Only they and I know how to work it.” The pieces of the machine levitated as the parts started coming together to form a whole.

Rain Rider trotted over to her other suitcases and took out the few dresses she had. He spotted the door for the closet and started hanging them up. “How does that thing work again?”

“It works on the power of the sun and moon. There’s a charger that fills up from the sunlight and powers the computer. It can give me quite a lot of power to help me with my art. At night, another charger fills from the moonlight, in case the sun charger runs out. The moon charger is like a backup. I know I’ve had to use that moon charger before. Sometimes I’ll stay awake all night just to draw.”

“You’re a crazy mare,” Rain Rider said.

Rain Rider and Dot spent half the afternoon unpacking and putting her items into their place. All her clothes were in the closet. Her picture frames were all hung up. Her computer was assembled and sitting under the skylight. Attached to the computer was a gray rectangular board with a silver pen sitting right beside it. It was her tablet, the image of her cutie mark. Dot put her empty suitcases into the closet and the couple went to the furniture store. They got her bed and a desk for her computer to sit on. It just so happens that to their luck, a large, muscular white Pegasus with small wings and blonde mane and tail was there to help them carry the bed and desk to her room. Rain Rider and Dot assembled the bed and desk together. They put the bed sheets she brought with her on the bed and put her computer and tablet on the desk. Behind the computer were two canisters. One was glowing a faint yellow light. This was the canister that held the sunlight to give power to the computer.

Rain Rider left to go for practice, as it was the start of the new basketball season. Dot decided to join Rarity and Sweetie Belle for supper. They had made dandelion sandwiches with salad and had pop for drinks. For desert, they had Apple Fritters. Throughout the supper, Dot got to know Rarity more, and her dislike was soon gone. Rarity seemed like a very nice pony, though could be over dramatic and into herself. But she gave up her parent’s old bedroom just for Dot, so Dot had a good time. She noticed that Sweetie Belle was looking at her rump, and Sweetie Belle never brought it up.

The sun started to set as Dot headed towards her room. Now she was going to get started on her work. Her computer would have enough solar charge to keep it going until the lunar charge was complete. Her room felt like her home now. She decided to relax. Rain Rider would have a hard practice and would want to rest his wings, since he carried her suitcase. She started up her computer and her screen flashed to life. The screen went to a program, and Dot’s horn glowed to pick up the silver pen. Touching the pen to the gray rectangle, a cursor on the screen formed, following the movements of the pen. Soon the pen was moving all over the tablet, creating blue and red lines on the computer. Her scribbles turned into a rough outline of two ponies: one unicorn and one Pegasus. She then made her cursor smaller and made the colour black. She then outlined the scribbles into the fine lines of two ponies. She quickly threw in some detail, and she ended up with a cartoon lined art of her and Rain Rider.

The sketch didn’t seem to take a long time, but the moon was high in the sky when she finished. She decided to call it a night as she get herself into the bed. Squirming under the covers, she thought one last though before her fell asleep.

Welcome to Ponyville. I think I might like this place after all.