The dangers of Cutie Marks

[SilverStarApple 849]

It's possible that the Cutie Marks give minor bonus abilities/aptitudes to the ponies at the cost affecting the mental state of the afflicted pony, like the Cursed Seals in Naruto.

For example, Twilight Sparkle gains a hyper-orderly mind perfect for remembering spells, organising things, becoming a great leader and ruler... but it also makes her a shut-in with serious issues that have to be slowly worked through.

[MysticShine 529]

To me, the Cutie Mark is the representation of pony's talent. Their talent is already integrated with their soul before they are born, the Cutie Mark is just physical proof.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

"Season 5 will really delve more into how the magic of cutie marks and friendship can impact those around you," teases Hasbro Studios Executive Director, Brian Lenard.

 

 

 

I mean...do I even NEED to reiterate my head canon at this point? Hasbro is basically trumpeting my theory as canon already. I'm quite thrilled about this X3. 

[Buck Testa 5,503]

The dangers of Cutie Marks, fully realized in the span of two episodes. 

 

As reiterated innumerable times throughout the course of this thread, I postulated that Cutie marks were designed as a form of behavioral management. The normal, beneficial variety is designed to empower and encourage a pony's special talents in the least invasive ways possible, lightly nudging them in the direction of where they should go from the time they are fillies till they "discover" their talent on their own. These cutie marks operate separately from the pony as a pseudo consciousness connected to one another, and through their influences brought the elements of Harmony together. This is more evident than ever now that these episodes have come to light, as the cutie marks responded to a threat to their authority from Starlight Glimmer and her Equal Sign cutie marks.

 

The equal sign Cutie marks, again as I've said many times over, are a malicious form of cutie mark designed to actively repress a ponies special talents and manage their behavior to act a certain way, even dictating how big their smiles are. These cutie marks as well are not truly part of the pony, but are separate from them. 

 

[Abia 258]

As reiterated innumerable times throughout the course of this thread, I postulated that Cutie marks were designed as a form of behavioral management. The normal, beneficial variety is designed to empower and encourage a pony's special talents in the least invasive ways possible, lightly nudging them in the direction of where they should go from the time they are fillies till they "discover" their talent on their own. These cutie marks operate separately from the pony as a pseudo consciousness connected to one another, and through their influences brought the elements of Harmony together. This is more evident than ever now that these episodes have come to light, as the cutie marks responded to a threat to their authority from Starlight Glimmer and her Equal Sign cutie marks.

Um, I didn't interpret the episode that way at all. I didn't think that the cutie marks themselves had much negative control over ponies. I thought the equals sign was more a... a lack of a cutie mark? Maybe? No, but more than just the change in cutie mark, it was the taking away of a pony's inner energy. The effect the change in cutie mark had on the ponies was shockingly similar to Tirek's draining of life magic (or whatever it was)--something that also modified their cutie marks. A cutie mark is kind of the essence of a pony. Tirek taking it away basically stole from the ponies all the life and energy they had. Starlight Glimmer made the cutie marks much weaker but still existent, which made the ponies weaker but still capable of basic activities.

When Tirek took the cutie marks/pony magic, he took away all their abilities. He made them equal in strength, didn't he? Drained Alicorns were just as useless as drained Earth ponies. What Starlight Glimmer did was basically a milder version of this.

 

The equal sign Cutie marks, again as I've said many times over, are a malicious form of cutie mark designed to actively repress a ponies special talents and manage their behavior to act a certain way, even dictating how big their smiles are. These cutie marks as well are not truly part of the pony, but are separate from them.

I don't think this is true. The ponies were still capable of smiling normally, as we saw when the mane six were lured into Sugar Belle's basement. Their smiles slackened even in public. In the song, it was shown that Starlight Glimmer was the one really reinforcing the identical grinning. I don't think that had to do with the cutie marks, but was something entirely under the control of Starlight. She, in turn, taught others to teach others to smile that way.

[Namename. 275]

*Gets Cutie Mark for short-term memory loss*

 

"Hey, look, my Cutie Mark."

 

*Ten Seconds*

 

"Hey, look, my Cutie Mark."

 

*Ten Seconds*

 

"Hey, look..."

[Buck Testa 5,503]

@Abia Did you NOT see their equal sign cutie mark glow black in response to them attempting to access their special talents? They were not simply just there, they were actively repressing the ponies. Obviously they can resist, but when they weren't fighting their smiles were plastered on the whole time. That's what the brainwashing was for, to stop the resistance entirely. 

Edited April 5, 2015 by Buck Testa

[Sunny Fox 5,935]

These episodes don't change anything. The equals cutie marks were not autonomous, they were from a spell designed by Starlight Glimmer. As for them clearly reacting when the ponies struggle against their enforced sameness, it's impossible to be sure whether the marks themselves react, or whether it's the magic that creates them that reacts, and they simply signal in response. Any "behavioural control" could just as easily be due to the magic as to the cutie mark.

 

The ponies smile because anypony who doesn't gets another round of brain washing, courtesy of SG. As soon as the ponies are alone, the forced smiles drop off, and they express themselves entirely normally.

 

Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, so whatever is driving the magic is guiding them to places where they can create genuine friendship, based on acceptance of diversity, rather than the false friendship based on enforced sameness. It need not have anything to do with the cutie marks per se.

 

The idea that cutie marks have minds is neither strengthened (nor weakened, of course) by these episodes. But I guess you're entitled to your headcanon.

[Justin_Case001 4,860]

This is an interesting headcanon, but I'm going to have to side with those who have said that a cutie mark does not force a pony to do anything.  Cutie pox was a disease, so that's different.  In MMC cure, it was more than just shuffling the marks--the elements of harmony were shuffled.  That's different and more severe than switching the marks.  That is why their memories/identities were f*cked up.

 

I believe that a pony is free to do anything they wish, regardless of their mark.  If Applejack wanted to be a fashion designer, then there is nothing stopping her.  Irl, people have talents, and people have things they suck at.  The mark just shows your talent to the world.  Nothing more.  It doesn't amplify one's talents once it appears.  It is simply a tattoo displaying what the talent is.  Nothing more.  Starlight Glimmer (Sunset Glimmer, Starlight Shimmer, Sunlight...GAAHH!  That's gonna get confusing) did not simply take away their marks.  You could (sorry for being a bit graphic) cut a few layers of skin off to remove a pony's mark, and it wouldn't change their talent.  The mark might even reappear when the skin heals.  In fact, I should think it would.  No, what Starlight did was cast a spell that actually removes their talents.  (Kind of an odd premise, that she could do that in the first place, but whatever.)  The marks came with it.  It's not the mark that give them their talent, it's the other way around.  It would just be like if I got a tattoo of an figure skate blade.  I do not believe cutie marks have any special powers.

 

That said, if a person irl has a talent and gives it their all and fails, they are going to be bummed out.  Same with the ponies.  But that's just life.  I don't believe it's any sort of behavioral control method.  Also, I believe that in the vast majority of cases, a pony's (or person's) talent(s) is probably going to be something they enjoy.  I don't think there's a whole lot of cases of people having a special gift for something that they despise doing.  I know it happens, but I'm just saying that I don't think it's common.  So, the majority of the time, I don't think ponies will be/feel pressured to do what their mark says, because they will naturally enjoy using that talent.

 

That said, I think there is an INCREDIBLE opportunity here for an episode(s) where a pony (it would have to be somepony we haven't met) dreams of doing something that contradicts what her cutie marks says.  Others would tell her she can't, but she wouldn't listen and declare that she can be anything, and would succeed in the end.  It would basically be a Gattaca story, the ultimate triumph of the pony spirit.  I think that would be amazing, and possibly the best moral the show could ever teach--Don't ever let anyone tell you what you can't do.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Justin_Case001

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, so whatever is driving the magic is guiding them to places where they can create genuine friendship, based on acceptance of diversity, rather than the false friendship based on enforced sameness. It need not have anything to do with the cutie marks per se.

 

You SAW the magic! Their very seats in the castle have their cutie marks, their cutie marks glowed when they summoned the map, the symbols of the cutie marks went over the objects of interest, the cutie marks LITERALLY GLOWED to inform them they finished their mission! How is that NOT related to their cutie marks? Why do bronies feel the need to just discount cutie marks as just marks on a flank, I don't get it. 

This is an interesting headcanon, but I'm going to have to side with those who have said that a cutie mark does not force a pony to do anything.  Cutie pox was a disease, so that's different.  In MMC cure, it was more than just shuffling the marks--the elements of harmony were shuffled.  That's different and more severe than switching the marks.  That is why their memories/identities were f*cked up.

 

I believe that a pony is free to do anything they wish, regardless of their mark.  If Applejack wanted to be a fashion designer, then there is nothing stopping her.  Irl, people have talents, and people have things they suck at.  The mark just shows your talent to the world.  Nothing more.  It doesn't amplify one's talents once it appears.  It is simply a tattoo displaying what the talent is.  Nothing more.  Starlight Glimmer (Sunset Glimmer, Starlight Shimmer, Sunlight...GAAHH!  That's gonna get confusing) did not simply take away their marks.  You could (sorry for being a bit graphic) cut a few layers of skin off to remove a pony's mark, and it wouldn't change their talent.  The mark might even reappear when the skin heals.  In fact, I should think it would.  No, what Starlight did was cast a spell that actually removes their talents.  (Kind of an odd premise, that she could do that in the first place, but whatever.)  The marks came with it.  It's not the mark that give them their talent, it's the other way around.  It would just be like if I got a tattoo of an figure skate blade.  I do not believe cutie marks have any special powers.

 

That said, if a person irl has a talent and gives it their all and fails, they are going to be bummed out.  Same with the ponies.  But that's just life.  I don't believe it's any sort of behavioral control method.  Also, I believe that in the vast majority of cases, a pony's (or person's) talent(s) is probably going to be something they enjoy.  I don't think there's a whole lot of cases of people having a special gift for something that they despise doing.  I know it happens, but I'm just saying that I don't think it's common.  So, the majority of the time, I don't think ponies will be/feel pressured to do what their mark says, because they will naturally enjoy using that talent.

 

That said, I think there is an INCREDIBLE opportunity here for an episode(s) where a pony (it would have to be somepony we haven't met) dreams of doing something that contradicts what her cutie marks says.  Other would tell her she can't, but she wouldn't listen and declare that she can be anything, and would succeed in the end.  It would basically be a Gattaca story, the ultimate triumph of the pony spirit.  I think that would be amazing, and possibly the best moral the show could ever teach--Don't ever let anyone tell you what you can't do.

IF cutie marks were NOTHING MORE THAN MAGICLESS Tattoos(what?) then Why, Oh why, please tell me this here, do they constantly, CONSTANTLY focus on them? 

 

on there own, each bit of evidence COULD be refuted, but together its what is called a TREND. Each piece that is related to cutie marks brings into question on why they get so much attention if they mean nothing? 

 

It would just be bad story telling in general if the cutie marks literally amounted to nothing after they've spent so much time on them. 

 

These are not humans, these are not people who live in a free society, These are Equestrians, one of the only known races in that world to have cutie marks in the first place who live under the rule of a MAGICAL Autocracy. 

 

LITERALLY THE OFFICIAL SITE AND MERCHANDISING EVEN CHANGED THEIR PITCH FROM RAINBOW POWER TO CUTIE MARK MAGIC (which entirely refutes the idea that they are just powerless tattoos, though I would of liked a cooler bit of evidence lol) , what more do you need? even their merchandise is hailing for this. 

 

Edited April 5, 2015 by Buck Testa

[Justin_Case001 4,860]

LITERALLY THE OFFICIAL SITE AND MERCHANDISING EVEN CHANGED THEIR PITCH FROM RAINBOW POWER TO CUTIE MARK MAGIC (which entirely refutes the idea that they are just powerless tattoos, though I would of liked a cooler bit of evidence lol) , what more do you need? even their merchandise is hailing for this.

Calm yourself.  It's just my opinion.  You're free to think what you wish.  But I disagree that toys labeled "cutie mark magic" is proof that they are indeed magical.  Friendship is "magic", too, but it's just figurative, a metaphor.  Their friendship is strong and helps them to accomplish a great many things, but it's not literally magical, a supernatural force.  Before everyone yells and screams at me for saying that, stop and think for a second; the elements of harmony are magical, but friendship is not literally magical.  "The magic of friendship" is a figure of speech.  And I never said cutie marks mean nothing.  They are very meaningful.  Why would they give them so much attention if they're not magical, you ask?  Why not?  Something doesn't need to be magical to give it attention.  And guess I should clarify that I concede that they have some magical basis, in order to appear out of nowhere.  And of course the six's marks activate the map, so there's a magical connection there.  I just don't believe that they are performance enhancing, or compulsion causing.  I do not believe they affect nor have any control over pony's behavior.  They are not prisoners to their marks.  The pony isn't any different after the mark appears; they just know what their talent is. 

 

It's also worth considering that if the marks had as much influence as you suggest, then their talents would have changed in MMC.  But they did not.  Having their marks shuffled did nothing to their talents.  They were given a different mark, but they obviously sucked at that new thing.  The mark did not give them the talent.  And what's more, they retained their own talents.  By using their talents, it reminded them of who they were, and fixed the elements and their memories.  They demonstrated their talents while still having the wrong marks.  To reiterate, the wrong marks had no affect on their talents whatsover.  Yes, they are magical in nature, so I guess my first post was poorly worded.  I just reject the idea that they control the ponies in any way.  (And as I said before, the reason they were compelled to do each other's jobs in MMC is because the elements messed up their memories, not from having the wrong mark.)  But this is all just my opinion.  I could be wrong.  Please don't be mad at me.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Justin_Case001

[Twinkfeather 54]

I have a question. Practice makes perfect, what if you practiced enough and got better at something else than you were your natural talent? Would your mark change?

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Calm yourself.  It's just my opinion.  You're free to think what you wish.  But I disagree that toys labeled "cutie mark magic" is proof that they are indeed magical.  Friendship is "magic", too, but it's just figurative, a metaphor.  Their friendship is strong and helps them to accomplish a great many things, but it's not literally magical, a supernatural force.  Before everyone yells and screams at me for saying that, stop and think for a second; the elements of harmony are magical, but friendship is not literally magical.  "The magic of friendship" is a figure of speech.  And I never said cutie marks mean nothing.  They are very meaningful.  Why would they give them so much attention if they're not magical, you ask?  Why not?  Something doesn't need to be magical to give it attention.  And guess I should clarify that I concede that they have some magical basis, in order to appear out of nowhere.  And of course the six's marks activate the map, so there's a magical connection there.  I just don't believe that they are performance enhancing, or compulsion causing.  I do not believe they affect nor have any control over pony's behavior.  They are not prisoners to their marks.  The pony isn't any different after the mark appears; they just know what their talent is. 

 

It's also worth considering that if the marks had as much influence as you suggest, then their talents would have changed in MMC.  But they did not.  Having their marks shuffled did nothing to their talents.  They were given a different mark, but they obviously sucked at that new thing.  The mark did not give them the talent.  And what's more, they retained their own talents.  By using their talents, it reminded them of who they were, and fixed the elements and their memories.  They demonstrated their talents while still having the wrong marks.  To reiterate, the wrong marks had no affect on they're talents whatsover.  Yes, they are magical in nature, so I guess my first post was poorly worded.  I just reject the idea that they control the ponies in any way.  (And as I said before, the reason they were compelled to do each other's jobs in MMC is because the elements messed up their memories, not from having the wrong mark.)  But this is all just my opinion.  I could be wrong.  Please don't be mad at me.

I'm not mad, I like the caps lock lol. Have you ever seen something that seemed SO obvious to you but no one else saw it? I feel like I got a Cassandra Complex  over here.  Its enough to make me face desk but I'm not mad, I'm just really sure I'm right. 

 

Friendship is literal magic just as its figurative, this is proven from the elements themselves

 

I never said normal cutie marks grants special talents, they augment them, while the equal sign ones repressed them, I've said that innumerable times. The cutie mark finds the talent and configures itself to do just that, if a cutie mark made for another pony were switched of course its not going to work right. That being said, I pose a challenge. My point with MMC is that they THOUGHT that was their talent, that theirs and others memories were altered to fit this idea, because its "what their cutie mark was telling them" 

 

and if those god awful toy designs tell me anything, I have a feeling that cutie marks are going to be augmenting the mane sixes talents even further this season, if you look at that picture again you'll see the marks have spread across their flanks to the rest of their body in sort of a "rainbow power" kind a way. 

 

I could be wrong too, though I HIGHLY doubt I am at this point, there is just so many things pointing to it being possible and nothing really disproving it. 

Edited April 5, 2015 by Buck Testa

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

I think cutie marks are simply just a representation of who you are. And in the last episodes It seems like when the cutie marks of friends unite they create a powerful magic or something.

[Abia 258]

Did you NOT see their equal sign cutie mark glow black in response to them attempting to access their special talents? They were not simply just there, they were actively repressing the ponies.

Good point. Still, I think this has to have significance beyond that of just cutie marks. I think the cutie mark itself, the spot on the flank, is likely an outward representation of something much deeper and more powerful happening on the inside. Tirek's draining magic and Starlight's equalizing magic wasn't changing the cutie mark directly (though that might have been the intention, consciously), but was removing the special talent, and the removal of the special talent then changed/removed the cutie mark. The cutie marks glowed gray to remind the ponies that the thing inside was missing, but it was the missing inside bit that actually repressed them.

 

Cutie marks represent the special talents, the identities of ponies, but they marks on the flanks don't have any actual relevance, in my opinion. The actual physical marks are only confirmations of what lies within.

 

To illustrate… it's like a heart beating out of a cartoon character's chest. The heart represents love, but the love doesn't come from the heart. It's deeper than that.

 

 

Obviously they can resist, but when they weren't fighting their smiles were plastered on the whole time. That's what the brainwashing was for, to stop the resistance entirely.

We have no way of telling whether or not the smiles were caused by the change in cutie marks.

 

I have a question. Practice makes perfect, what if you practiced enough and got better at something else than you were your natural talent? Would your mark change?

I think a pony could, definitely, do something like this. But the special talent is the thing that a pony is most passionate and most naturally skilled at, so chances are they wouldn't be interested in pursuing something else very vigorously.

[That One Pone 584]

Regarding Zecora, it could probably be a hand-me-down assuming that Zebras were a descendant of the Pony.

It could very possibly be a case of Pony Genetics - Cutie Marks were a feature of ponies and so their descendents would have it too. This seems entirely likely until we meet a Zebra without a cutie mark, which then brings us to the fact that perhaps Cutie Marks are indeed a genetical feature, and perhaps it could lack that specific gene. It may also open up describing how some ponies may not have a CM Gene, hence why they can't find their special talent.

 

Assuming that Cutie Marks define something you are good at - perhaps it's just something that runs in the family, for example the Apple family having Apple-related cutie marks.

 

I would type more, but I've run out of time. I'm not up to speed on anything canonical at the moment so this will probably conflict the common understanding.

[Fractured 2,683]

I'm not mad, I like the caps lock lol. Have you ever seen something that seemed SO obvious to you but no one else saw it? I feel like I got a Cassandra Complex  over here.  Its enough to make me face desk but I'm not mad, I'm just really sure I'm right. 

 

Friendship is literal magic just as its figurative, this is proven from the elements themselves

 

I never said normal cutie marks grants special talents, they augment them, while the equal sign ones repressed them, I've said that innumerable times. The cutie mark finds the talent and configures itself to do just that, if a cutie mark made for another pony were switched of course its not going to work right. That being said, I pose a challenge. My point with MMC is that they THOUGHT that was their talent, that theirs and others memories were altered to fit this idea, because its "what their cutie mark was telling them" 

 

and if those god awful toy designs tell me anything, I have a feeling that cutie marks are going to be augmenting the mane sixes talents even further this season, if you look at that picture again you'll see the marks have spread across their flanks to the rest of their body in sort of a "rainbow power" kind a way. 

 

I could be wrong too, though I HIGHLY doubt I am at this point, there is just so many things pointing to it being possible and nothing really disproving it. 

I blame Hasbro's lazy approach to non cast character's cutie marks.

You'd have a point with cutie marks configuring behaviors. Except literally the first explanation we get tells us that they're symbolic. As in, representations of who you are, not what you do. Because just like this:

Does not force Cheerilee to be Equestria's creepiest gardener, this:

Does not mean the yellow one can only take care of butterflies. Pick any cast character, and you'll find it's the same idea; cutie marks cannot possibly represent a pony's full set of talents, nor their personality.

We have no way of telling whether or not the smiles were caused by the change in cutie marks.

It's worth noting that, in the episode itself:

 

Twilight wasn't smiling when she got her cutie mark taken. Blue pony definitely wasn't smiling when SG tossed him in the briggs for disobeying him. Nobody was smiling during the end chase scene.

 

Edited April 5, 2015 by Corona de Adamas

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Regarding Zecora, it could probably be a hand-me-down assuming that Zebras were a descendant of the Pony.

It could very possibly be a case of Pony Genetics - Cutie Marks were a feature of ponies and so their descendents would have it too. This seems entirely likely until we meet a Zebra without a cutie mark, which then brings us to the fact that perhaps Cutie Marks are indeed a genetical feature, and perhaps it could lack that specific gene. It may also open up describing how some ponies may not have a CM Gene, hence why they can't find their special talent.

 

Assuming that Cutie Marks define something you are good at - perhaps it's just something that runs in the family, for example the Apple family having Apple-related cutie marks.

 

I would type more, but I've run out of time. I'm not up to speed on anything canonical at the moment so this will probably conflict the common understanding.

Zecora (I think) comes from a specific tribe of Zebra Luna found in the Tale of Two Sisters (this is what I gathered from wiki's anyway) and that type of Zebra is the only other known in that world to have cutie marks besides Equestrian Ponies. I don't know WHY this Zebra tribe has cutie marks, but if we meet them in the show I'm sure something would come to light about it. 

 

 

 

Good point. Still, I think this has to have significance beyond that of just cutie marks. I think the cutie mark itself, the spot on the flank, is likely an outward representation of something much deeper and more powerful happening on the inside. Tirek's draining magic and Starlight's equalizing magic wasn't changing the cutie mark directly (though that might have been the intention, consciously), but was removing the special talent, and the removal of the special talent then changed/removed the cutie mark. The cutie marks glowed gray to remind the ponies that the thing inside was missing, but it was the missing inside bit that actually repressed them. Cutie marks represent the special talents, the identities of ponies, but they marks on the flanks don't have any actual relevance, in my opinion. The actual physical marks are only confirmations of what lies within.

 

 

If you look back in the pages and pages of discussion on this (not going to make you though, this topics gone on for a long while) I state in this theory that the cutie marks have influence over the ponies before they even appear on the flank, like the Rainboom event where even Rarity was dragged by a horn to a specific spot to have her "realize on her own" what her special talent is. I still find it fascinating how people don't find that little segment as interesting or hinting at something larger. While so many want to separate this "something deeper" with the cutie mark, I'm trying to get people to see they are connected and its going to be a huge part of this season. I'm sure of it!

 

Let me ask you this, if cutie marks weren't a vital part of the equation, then why have the equal sign at all? Why not make them Blank Flanks? It would of had the same effect wouldn't it? But no it wouldn't, because the cutie marks were actively monitoring and repressing the ponies talents, especially pinkie who uses hers almost all the time if this is to be believed. 

 

I blame Hasbro's lazy approach to non cast character's cutie marks.

You'd have a point with cutie marks configuring behaviors. Except literally the first explanation we get tells us that they're symbolic. As in, representations of who you are, not what you do. Because just like this:

cheerilee_cutie_mark_vector_by_uxyd-d519yv3.png

Does not force Cheerilee to be Equestria's creepiest gardener, this:

fluttershy_cutie_mark_vector_by_ancientkale-d40r27q.png

Does not mean the yellow one can only take care of butterflies. Pick any cast character, and you'll find it's the same idea; cutie marks cannot possibly represent a pony's full set of talents, nor their personality.

I don't use the background ponies in my theory (Its just even more blatantly obvious with them is all), in fact in all my examples I've used cast characters, so no I wouldn't blame that

 

To counter that, what does the pony themselves see in the cutie mark? Wouldn't it configure itself into something that the pony who has it would understand and interpret in the way its meant to? That is why Rainbow Dash's cutie mark is the way it is, because it has special relevance to Dash and is made FOR Dash. A pony like Rarity would misinterpret the marks meaning and not have the special talent to use it, which is exactly what happened in MMC. Cheerilee's and Flutters cutie marks are the way they are because it effectively tells THEM what their special talent is. 

 

I'm telling all of you, This season is the Season of Cutie Mark Magic, and I'm going to be proven right on this. I have no doubts left. 

Edited April 5, 2015 by Buck Testa

[Knight Hadron 372]

Don't forget that Dash couldn't fly fast with the equal cutie mark, making the cutie mark actively repress her talents. I think that her real cutie mark urges those talents onwards, and exemplifies them. So, no, cutie marks don't force, but they alter the talents, in a positive or negative way.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Knight Hadron

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

There's a lot more I could say about this, especially in light of the premiere. But basically: cutie marks started out as a simple and nice idea to denote what a pony is good at. The weirdness of them having names related to their talents before they even found out what they were was always noticed, but we let it slide.

 

Magical Mystery Cure took that nice idea and made it extremely problematic by throwing "destiny" into the mix. Suddenly ponies' cutie marks did not just symbolize their talents or paths in life, they were their talents and paths in life. I can't emphasize enough what an incredibly BAD IDEA this was.   G4 and its basic canon were founded on Lauren Faust's dream of a simple, quality show that tells little girls they can be anything they want to be. Destiny does not fit that vision. But they threw it in there anyway and now they have to deal with it.

 

And in the Season 5 premiere, M.A. Larson did deal with it. He and Scott Sonneborn wrote an episode that followed the unfortunate "cutie mark=identity" path and made something great out of it. They also introduced a villain who subtly acknowledges the monster he created two years ago and says, "the entire cutie mark system is wrong"--although she has her own reasons. The new cutie mark canon will never be okay with me, but at least in this season, they are trying to make the best of it.  -_-

[Sunny Fox 5,935]

You SAW the magic! Their very seats in the castle have their cutie marks, their cutie marks glowed when they summoned the map, the symbols of the cutie marks went over the objects of interest, the cutie marks LITERALLY GLOWED to inform them they finished their mission! How is that NOT related to their cutie marks? Why do bronies feel the need to just discount cutie marks as just marks on a flank, I don't get it. 

Sorry, my last sentence in that paragraph was unclear. That was my flub, I apologize. What I meant is that there is something guiding the Princess of Friendship, but that guiding force is not necessarily sentient cutie marks. If I use a laser pointer to tease my cat, the red dot doesn't have a mind, it moves where I want it to. Now you could counter that with an invocation of Occam's Razor (the cutie marks seem to move with purpose, therefore it's simpler to assume they have purpose rather than that they are being controlled by something else) but that doesn't take into account where the Cutie Map comes from. Ultimately it comes from the Elements of Harmony. (The Map was created by the castle. The castle was created by the Rainbow Power box. The box was created by the Tree of Harmony. The Tree of Harmony holds the Elements of Harmony.) If the buck (no pun intended) stops with the cutie marks, that leaves all that other stuff unexplained. Or in other words, the cutie marks still have to pass a version of the Turing Test.

 

A separate point, but nothing in the new episodes helps to answer any of the concerns I noted in a post on the previous page. Your theory still needs to account for those things.

 

That said, there certainly seems to a thematic element that changes from Season to Season: S1 - Friendship Reports; S2 - Everypony writes reports; S3 - Alicorns; S4 - Rainbow Power Keys. Looks like Season 5 is going with cutie mark magic as its theme, so maybe your theory is what the writers intend, in which case, you will be vindicated at some point. Or maybe something will come along to blow your theory out of the water. Time will tell.

 

Keep on preaching, brother Buck!

 

PS- What's with the Comic Sans font?

[Justin_Case001 4,860]

Have you ever seen something that seemed SO obvious to you but no one else saw it? I feel like I got a Cassandra Complex  over here.  Its enough to make me face desk but I'm not mad, I'm just really sure I'm right.

Yeah, well, what can I tell you?  Humans are strange creatures.  Cause that's how I feel about my theory.  Anyway, I don't have anything else to say on the matter.

 

@@Sunny Fox: Are you still seeing the comic sans?  I believe it was just an April Fools thing.  It's all back to arial for me, thank Celestia.  That's weird.

 

*EDIT*

Why do bronies feel the need to just discount cutie marks as just marks on a flank, I don't get it.

Acutally, I did think of one last thing to say.  I'd like to take a shot an answering this.  This is just a theory, a guess, mind you.  Perhaps it's because it's easier to relate to something that's more like you are.  If the marks are just (magically appearing) symbols that show your talent to the world, that's something each of us can relate to more easily than performance enhancing, behavior controlling augmentations.  Each of us has a talent that makes us special, just waiting to be discovered.  Some of us have found it, many of us are still looking.  We all dream that finding our talent will be as special as a pony earning their cutie mark.  If the ponies' marks are just symbols to show their natural talents, maybe it makes it easier for us to imagine that each of us can be just as special.  We'll never have super power or magic that will enhance our talents, but we can share out talents with the world and look to the ponies as role models.  Maybe it's easier to do that if they're not magical.  Maybe it's easier to see ourselves in them.  Just a theory.  Hope it made sense.  Ok, I'm done.  That's all I got.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Justin_Case001

[Buck Testa 5,503]

 

 

PS- What's with the Comic Sans font?

 

 

Not a clue, I don't THINK I was using it O.o. 

 

And yes, the sentience thing is probably going to be the hardest thing to prove, but like I've said in other places I see them as sentient in the same way the Harry Potter wands are sentient. The wand chooses the wizard just as the Mark configures itself for the pony, if that makes sense. 

[Abia 258]

I state in this theory that the cutie marks have influence over the ponies before they even appear on the flank, like the Rainboom event where even Rarity was dragged by a horn to a specific spot to have her "realize on her own" what her special talent is. I still find it fascinating how people don't find that little segment as interesting or hinting at something larger. While so many want to separate this "something deeper" with the cutie mark, I'm trying to get people to see they are connected and its going to be a huge part of this season. I'm sure of it!

The Rarity horn-dragging is a great example for your theory, actually. That’s interesting.

Okay, but if the special talents are, on occasion, “discovered” by force, is that a bad thing? We’ve never seen a pony who is unhappy with their special talent. There may be something divine behind the cutie mark process, be it sentient or not. But it’s the natural process, that’s what matters. The natural cutie marking doesn’t fail. It’s only when ponies try to mess with cutie marks (Star Swirl with his unfinished spell, Starlight Glimmer with her Sameness) that unhappiness is created.

 

Let me ask you this, if cutie marks weren't a vital part of the equation, then why have the equal sign at all? Why not make them Blank Flanks? It would of had the same effect wouldn't it? But no it wouldn't, because the cutie marks were actively monitoring and repressing the ponies talents, especially pinkie who uses hers almost all the time if this is to be believed.

Honestly? There are several possibilities here. It may just be to produce the placebo effect. It might be that Starlight Glimmer herself is unaware of the insignificance of cutie marks alone. Or, more likely in my opinion, she was actually giving them a special talent that was represented by the cutie mark. The talent she gave was being equal/average, and she just mass duplicated it.

 

I’m gonna reiterate my original theory (which should totally have been canon because it’s way better than the canon) (I didn’t post the theory in this thread but I did post it on MLPF somewhere) about Starlight Glimmer. It was apparent early on that Starlight was much more brightly colored than the other ponies affected with Sameness. I thought it was probably because Starlight had the original = cutie mark, and the special talent that went with it: being average, a constant variable if you will in the learning-about-your-cutie marks experiment. Starlight was envious about cutie marks with more notable talents (hey… I guess that does enforce your headcanon! Hmm) and developed her philosophy. Then she replicated her sameness onto other ponies and created a perfectly equal society. The dark magic involved in creating duplicate cutie marks and talents is what sapped away the ponies’ strengths and colors.

 

what does the pony themselves see in the cutie mark? Wouldn't it configure itself into something that the pony who has it would understand and interpret in the way its meant to? That is why Rainbow Dash's cutie mark is the way it is, because it has special relevance to Dash and is made FOR Dash. A pony like Rarity would misinterpret the marks meaning and not have the special talent to use it, which is exactly what happened in MMC. Cheerilee's and Flutters cutie marks are the way they are because it effectively tells THEM what their special talent is.

Yes, of course it would change to work with the pony’s unique interpretation and personality and talent. I don’t really understand what your argument is here…?

 

I'm telling all of you, This season is the Season of Cutie Mark Magic, and I'm going to be proven right on this. I have no doubts left.

You sound like someone on a religious crusade.

 

All that said… you’ve started to convince me, and while I don’t agree with your principle (that cutie marks have the potential to be inherently bad; I think destiny in MLP combines with special talents/cutie marks to create the happiest course of life for a pony), I’m starting to think that cutie marks do have some significance beyond being butt tattoos.

 

To summarize my new opinion: Yes, something supernatural is behind the assignment of cutie marks/special talents. However, if left alone, this force does nothing but good. It is only when ponies attempt to change the course of nature that things go wrong.

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

I can see why Starlight Glimmer thought that due to having a cutie mark some might think they're better than others, it sort of rains true to humans and our strengths and weaknesses, some humans think they're better than others simply because they excel at something someone else doesn't. Still I don't think just because someone is good at something and the other isn't means they're better, it just means they have a strength someone else doesn't.