The Very Rare Cutie Mark of Mara Dust

by Leila Drake

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Sad
Length: 3276

How a little Earth Pony discovered her slighty creepy special talent.

Mara Dust is just a regular twenty-year-old Earth Pony - but there is one thing that sets her apart from everypony else her age: She still has no Cutie Mark! Trying to start a new life in a foreign town and hiding her blank flank under a vest, she decides to move to Ponyville - but too soon her embarrassing secret gets discovered.
But luckily for her, she has moved to the one place where friendship can overcome anything… or not?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-27 11:13:52 UTC

Chapter One - The New Mare in Town

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.

Chapter Two - A Pale Pony and an Accident

Chapter 2

A Pale Pony and a Blank Flank

Only a minute later there was another knock at the door. When Mara opened, the orange pony from the town square was standing in front of her.

"Hi, I'm Applejack, a friend of Pinkie's. Well, who isn't... But anyway, I'm here to take you to the party."

"So she did start a party for me?", Mara asked. "I asked her not to but--"

"Nice try, sugarcube, but trust me, when Pinkie wants a party, a party is what you get."

"So did she send you to make sure I actually come?"

"Nah, not really", Applejack answered. "She realized that you haven't been to Sugarcube corner yet, since you're new and all..."

"That makes sense. Well, I suppose it won't hurt to get to know some ponies.

"I noticed you in the town square selling apples. Were those from the apple trees I saw on my way here? They looked really delicious!"

"They don't just look delicious, just wait until you taste one. You know what? When the party's over, I'll give you a basket full of some. The Apple family is Ponyville's No. 1 apple provider after all!", Applejack said, smiling proudly.

"If you haven't eaten any of our apples yet you haven't eaten any real apples at all!"

"Mara! I'm so glad you came! I talked to my best friends right away and they all promised to come so here we are! Even though you said that you don't want a party but come on, everybody likes parties! And Fluttershy-" Pinkie dragged Mara closer to a graceful pony with a light pink mane "-said if you don't want one then maybe we could just invite less guests so you don't get too...uh,..."

"Overwhelmed.", Fluttershy completed Pinkie's sentence with a very small voice.

"But Pinkie", a purple unicorn made her way through the crowd, "that doesn't sound like you at all. Didn't you say the more ponies, the better the party? Plus, I counted at least twenty ponies..."

"Well, duh. I had to do sooo much work and stuff today that it's okay. There's still a cake and everything, aaand since it's dark, I started a corn barbecue! Come on, Twilight will take you to the back of the house!"

"And this is Rainbow Dash! She's the most amazing flier in all of Equestria, you should see her Sonic Rainboom, it's incredible", Pinkie Pie concluded the introductions. Mara's head buzzed from all the names. At least she would be able to remember this one, Rainbow Dash's mane was a real giveaway.

Mara had already taken some cake and grilled corn and had to admit that all of it tasted really good. They had played Pin the Tail on the Pony, maybe not the kind of game Mara was used to, but despite her expectation it had turned out to be a lot of fun. Nopony could beat Pinkie Pie, though. She kept bouncing around, constantly talking about why all the ponies she had invited were so much fun to be with. She had even sung a welcome song for Mara which had embarrassed her a little.

Now that most of the ponies were dancing and talking to each other, Mara was not in the main focus of attention anymore and started to relax a bit.

That was when she noticed that Pinkie had not actually introduced her to all the ponies present.

There was a very strange pony standing right next to Derpy. She was a pegasus as well but something about her seemed to be... off. Her mane was moving as if in a breeze even though there was no wind and it was a very pale blue just like her coat. But it was not the pony's general appearence that striked Mara as odd, not even the watery grey eyes or the blurry Cutie Mark.

What really shocked Mara was that she could see right through her. Everypony else, including Derpy, completely ignored the see-through pegasus, who stared back at Mara with a frown.

Mara felt reminded of herself when she saw the pegasus standing in the crowd but completely ignored by it. So she went over to her.

"Hi, what's your name?"

"Huh? I'm Derpy, I brought you the mail earlier. Don't you remember?" The mail mare looked a bit disappointed.

"Ah, of course I do, I actually meant - "

"Who? Everypony else is talking and stuff." Derpy did not show the least sign of noticing the other pegasus, who kept staring at Mara but did not reply.

"N-nevermind", Mara stuttered. "So, how are you? Do you deliver the mail in all of Ponyville?"

As the conversation went on Mara kept trying to include the pale blue pony now and then but everytime she mentioned her or tried to talk to her directly, Derpy shot an irritated glance at her as if she was wondering who Mara was talking to. Eventually she gave up and ignored the pegasus like everypony else.

When the party was over and most of the guests had left, Pinkie's five best friends, along with Derpy, Morning Dusk and three exited but slightly tired-looking fillies, helped to clean up the mess. Applejack was dragging a bucket of water to the fire and lifted it to extinguish the remaining flames.

"Watch out, Applebloom!" One of the fillies had started to run around, followed by the other two, and bumped into the grill. It fell over and spilled the amber right over Mara's vest which started to glow and then burn.

"Oh no!" Mara tried to extinguish the starting fire on her vest by hitting it with her hooves but it did not work, the fire just kept getting bigger. She started to feel the heat advance to her fur and began to panic, running around the room and looking for something wet to dive into.

Applejack tried to catch up with her, shouting: "Wait, I still got the bucket!", but Mara didn't stop. Her vest was on fire, why should she stop running!

She was stopped by Rainbow Dash who jumped into her way and gave Twilight the chance to use her magic. The unicorn's horn started to glow: the magic ripped the vest off Mara's body just in time.

The sighs of relief were followed by a gasp of surprise when everypony noticed Mara's blank flank.

"Errr, Mara", Rainbow Dash asked nervously, "what... happened to your Cutie Mark?"

Prologue

Prologue

Everypony knows that, given time, each pony discovers their special talent. Sometimes a pony has more than one gift, but there is always that one thing that he or she is best at, the talent which leads them to their destiny and is symbolized by the Cutie Mark on their flanks.

Many stories have been told about the famous ponies' Cutie Marks - but there was one pony that had the most peculiar talent. It was so rare that it took her way longer than most ponies to figure it out.

The most important reason for this was the fact that Ponyville was one of the most peaceful, quiet places in all of Equestria.... well, that is if you overlooked the weird incidents that were usually taken care of (and sometimes caused) by the six most famous ponies in town. But those were usually resolved so quickly that the time of real danger was short and very few ponies got harmed. Quite often the events did not even take place in Ponyville itself.

Our certain pony had already given up upon her quest to find her special talent. She had been living in Fillydelphia for quite a while now but her missing Cutie mark had made her most uncomfortable amongst other ponies. It always got her into the center of attention – who had ever heard of a fully grown-up pony without a Cutie Mark? It was the most embarrassing thing imaginable!

At first she hid away from the public, then, when she could not bear the loneliness anymore, she crafted a vest that hid her blank flank and finally gathered enough courage to mingle with the city's ponies again. But she had not anticipated her reputation so in the end the vest did not help at all.

Even her family was embarrassed being seen with her. Her brother used to pretend that she did not exist. He was still just a colt but had already gotten his Cutie Mark and her parents constantly kept reminding her of that, desperately trying to encourage her to try new things in order to earn her own.

Our pony did have some talents, of course. She could sing well, she could draw well - and she was even better at fixing old machines and objects. Still she had no Cutie Mark, though. It was very frustrating and made her really angry sometimes. It was no use, so she tried to forget about it.

So she hid, and after that did not work, she left the city to start a new life somewhere else, at a place where nopony knew about her blank flank. Maybe when she got accepted there, she would live in peace despite her not having any special talent that was worth a Cutie Mark.

Eventually that certain pony was bound to find out the truth – a truth which was both scary and reassuring, a truth that changed her life and that of everypony around her forever.

This is the story of the Earth Pony called Mara Dust.