The Very Rare Cutie Mark of Mara Dust

Chapter 1

The new Mare in Town

As Mara Dust approached the colorful little town nestled between fields and trees, she could not help but admire the sight. This place sure was smaller than Fillydelphia but it looked much more friendly than the city she had left several weeks ago. But perhaps she just felt that way because she knew nopony in the entire village knew her.

With high hopes, Mara walked over the town square of Ponyville and absentedly adjusted the pale purple vest that covered her flank. She had made sure that it put emphasis on her mane which was a deep purple - since her almost sickly gray and green coat was clean but not the most beautiful color.

At this time of the day many ponies went and flew about, working, delivering items, shopping, playing, talking or simply enjoying the view. In the middle of the town square an orange pony with a yellow mane was selling apples. Three little fillies raced across her stand, giggling and laughing and greeting the Apple-pony without slowing down. In another corner several ponies sat on haystacks, enjoying their lunch. It was the most peaceful atmosphere Mara had ever experienced. Nopony threw weird glances at her, nopony made odd or even offensive remarks about her blank flank.

The days of her journey had been peaceful, too, but finally being among other ponies again was such a relief that Mara let out a deep sigh. The silence of the roads had given her comfort but she was definitely a city pony. How could she have lived without the noise and the air of business for this long? Mara had chosen to go by herself instead of using the train for two reasons. First, she wanted to see some natural environment once in a while and second, the long journey calmed her down and postponed the inevitable day she would have to meet new ponies.

But now that she had arrived at her destination, she was determined to make the best of it. After having her own lunch at the restaurant she had seen on her way to the center of the city, Mara decided that she needed to find a place to stay temporarily - before she could get her own apartment. There had to be some kind of inn or hotel somewhere, hadn't there?

Her train of thought got interrupted when a pink Earth Pony with three balloons as a Cutie Mark bounced by, then stopped right at her table and stared at her intensely while drawing in air so deeply that Mara got worried the pony would injure herself. Her mane was as bouncy as the rest of her and she seemed terribly excited to see Mara, grinning widely.

"Hhhhhh! A new face! You're new here, aren't you?! What's your name?"

Mara got only as far as „Mara Dust--“ as the pink pony resumed talking at an incredible speed.

"I knew it! I knew you were new here! You've got that 'Oh, this is a nice little town' look all over your face and it's really a nice and fun town, Mara Dust! All my bestest friends live in here and we always have a lot of fun and – oh my gosh, I haven't intoduced myself yet, have I? I'm Pinkie Pie and I aaalways throw a party for newcomers and since you were sitting here with that newcomer look I knew right away and I just have to prepare a welcome party for you! This is gonna be the greatest fun ever and you'll get the chance to meet all the ponies of Ponyville and I can show you around the most awesome and fun places and then we can find you a place to stay and throw another party there--"

"Wait, wait, wait", Mara nervously interrupted the pony which had introduced herself as Pinkie Pie.

"What is it? What'cha wanna say?", Pinkie asked and bounced around while her bright blue eyes gazed at Mara's silver ones, giving her full attention.

"Actually", Mara murmured, "I am not really the pony for parties and such... I am just looking for a new home and if you could help me that would be great but please: No party, alright?"

"Aww, don't be such a spoilsport", Pinkie Pie beamed. "I organize just the bestest parties in all of Equestria, even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna like them, so it must be true, right? You are gonna love it!" And without any further words, she bounced away, leaving behind an overwhelmed and worried Mara.

"Oh Celestia, a welcoming party! This is the last thing I want", Mara groaned as she covered her face with her hooves.

I wonder if there is actually a way to convince her not to start that party. Probably not, she thought.

Maybe Pinkie was just excited for the moment and would leave Mara alone if she insisted on it. Until then, she would have to find an inn and prepare herself to get "introduced" to Ponyville and its inhabitants...

With a satisfied smile, Mara put the keys into the pocket of her vest. She had been lucky after all. The owner of the inn had even offered her an apartment to rent for however long she needed. Mara had promised to pay her rent each month on time, starting tomorrow – if she liked the apartment and wanted to stay there. The apartment itself was not in the same house as the restaurant so she would have to go to the edge of town to have a look at it.

Morning Dusk, the blue-coated stallion who owned the inn had been so nice that Mara had started suspecting that the Unicorn was not just interested in offering her an apartment. Brushing that thought aside, she felt relieved that she had not yet depleted her savings so she could take her time to find some work. Mara was confident that her talents in repairing and restoring things would get her a job easily. Things got broken all the time.

On her way to the apartment, Mara was deep in thought. The last bit of her journey here had been pretty exhausting. She was not really used to walking over such a great distance. The view had been really awesome, though, Apple trees as far as the eye could see, seemingly going on forever. Mara had to remember to buy some apples from the orange pony. They had looked so delicious that it had taken all her willpower not to pick any apples by herself. Now it would be good to have the chance to rest for a while--

Oh right, that is if Pinkie Pie lets me, she added.

Wow, this is nice, Mara thought as she approached the house. It stood next to a magnificent Oak tree that had been transformed into a library. But the two-story house was not so bad, either. Its roof was covered in straw. To small chimneys reached for the sky and the window panels and door were painted in a warm dark red color. As it seemed, Mara had gotten an entire house in her care. This came as a surprise but after some calculations she realized that the apartments in Fillydelphia had to be much more expensive than those in a small town such as Ponyville. Well, she certainly would not  be the pony complaining about it. An entire house! Mara got excited and happily turned the key at the front door.

Inside there was every furniture a pony needed to start a household. In the opposite corner of the one-room story there was a stove. In front of it stood a stout wooden table with some benches for sitting down and somepony had been considerate enough to add another table at the left wall for working or studies and a slightly torn red sofa in the corner between the table and the stove. A flight of stairs led up into the other room of her new home.

Since it was starting to get dark, the Earth Pony started a little fire in the stove, using the leftover wood inside. Morning Dusk had mentioned that the former owner had moved out less than six weeks ago. The entire house was still in quite good shape. She would only have to get a new cover for the sofa. Maybe a brown one, that would look quite nice along with the table and door color.

After making herself some tea, Mara sat down at said sofa and relaxed – until there was a hesistant knock at the door.

Mara got up and curiously opened the door by a few inches. At least she had remembered to keep the vest on.

There stood a grey pegasus outside with an untidy bright blond mane, yellow, slightly unfocused eyes and a Cutie Mark that looked like bubbles. She was carrying a large bag around her neck.

"Hello!", Mara greeted the mail mare.

"Hi!", the pegasus beamed. "Is your name Mara Dust?"

"Yes, it is. I'm new in town."

"Oh, great! I'm Ditzy Doo, but my friends call me Derpy, guess why", the mail mare said. She added an insecure laugh while her eyes looked at both Mara's face and the doorframe at once. Then Derpy seemed to get focused again and took an envelope from her bulky bag. "Well, here you go, it's a letter for you! Have a nice day!"

"Thanks, you too!", Mara replied and took the letter, returning Derpy's smile. The pegasus flapped her wings and flew off while Mara closed the door and opened the letter.

With a start she jumped back. Several pieces of confetti zoomed out of the envelope as Mara dropped the letter. Mara picked up the paper and realized that it was an invitation from Pinkie. The happy way the invitation was written immediately made her smile.

Maybe going to a party that Pinkie Pie had prepared would not be so bad after all.