Theory How Cutie Marks Work

[Superstars111 79]

When I first started MLP, I thought the idea of a Cutie Mark was rather stupid. Just some random mark that means nothing. But then we got Call of the Cutie. While it wasn't my favorite episode as a story itself, it did give some valuable information. Suddenly, Cutie Marks made sense. Suddenly, they were interesting. And since I really like understanding how things work, I've been coming up with theories about how they work. So, I'm looking to put my thoughts here, and see what people think on the subject. This is a detailed analysis thread about how Cutie Marks work, since I enjoy figuring things out.

 

Keep in mind also, this isn't about whether you like the idea of Cutie Marks or not, but rather, how they work.

(Also, just to get this out of the way, Filthy Rich's Cutie Mark didn't change. His dad, Stinkin' Rich, had the cent, not him.)

 

We've seen that Cutie Marks represent special talent, mixed in a sense with personality as well as destiny. We've also seen that "a Cutie Mark won't change you, no matter what you get." Getting your Cutie Mark involves personal discovery. You won't get something that you hate just because you're good at it, and you won't get something you're bad at just because you like it.

 

So getting a Cutie Mark doesn't change who you are, but losing it does. We've seen that ponies that lose their Cutie Marks also lose their special talents. In addition, even though your cutie mark won't change you, we saw something very different in The Cutie Pox, where the Cutie Marks not only gave Apple Bloom abilities, but forced her to use them. The forcing and the multiple marks were results of the pox, but I do think this makes it rather clear that cutie marks carry talents with them. But if you need the talent in order to discover your cutie mark, which carries the talent with it, what then?

 

My theory is that when somepony discovers his or her special talent, destiny, "certain something that makes her special," etc., the Cutie Mark appears and fuzes with the talent, amplifying it. This means that if your Cutie Mark is taken from you, you lose the talent, since the talent has melded with the ability.

 

Keep in mind that the abilities are rather broad. Remember that Twilight said most unicorns only have magic that relates to their special talent, like Rarity having her gem-finding spell. Fluttershy's Cutie Mark represents her ability, but also her personality and what she's like. Rather than being good at one specific thing, I think the Cutie Marks mark a style. For example, I enjoy reading, writing, logic, classical music, English country dancing, theater, competetive forensics, and so on. I have a variety of things that I enjoy and things that I'm good at. But my Cutie Mark would sum up my essense. Like in The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, when Twilight tells Rarity that she has a descerning eye, and has her work accordingly. The gems represent her discerning eyes, even though it isn't direct. The gems don't show a simple ability, but an essense.

 

Of course, my theory does have an issue, with a few possible solutions. In Magical Mystery Cure, we see the Cutie Marks mixed up. It doesn't seem to grant new abilities, and when they go back to their old jobs, they still have their original talents. Possibility one is that their Cutie Marks didn't actually change. Maybe the picture is just something that represents the Cutie Mark, and their pictures changed, but not the marks themselves. Or rather... I'm not sure how to explain this bit, since the mark is obviously the picture itself. Maybe there's the essense of the mark that fuzed with the talent and the image of the mark that changed. The image would be a physical representation of the mark, that is to say. Kind of like body, soul, and spirit, which are all tied together, but are still different. Ponies would have their talents (soul, or essense), and when they got their Cutie Marks (body, or physical representation) it would fuse and amplify the talent (making spirit, or the will to continue in that area and do better). So it's possible that when their Cutie Marks swapped, the only thing that swapped was the physical representation, or the "body" of the Cutie Mark.

Another possibility is that the Cutie Marks are removable, but not transferable. Meaning that if the Cutie Mark is removed, it takes the talent with it, but if it's given to somepony else, the talent returns to the original owner without the amplification.

 

What do you think? Does my theory make sense, or is it missing something? Or have I missed a key fact that would tear it to shreds? Do you have any thoughts on how Cutie Marks work?

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

You should chat to @@Buck Testa, the OP of this thread right here. Some of your ideas are quite similar.

 

As for me, I think they're simply a sign that a pony has discovered their destiny. Where that destiny ultimately originates is somewhat ineffable.

[Buck Testa 5,505]

You should chat to @@Buck Testa, the OP of this thread right here. Some of your ideas are quite similar.

 

As for me, I think they're simply a sign that a pony has discovered their destiny. Where that destiny ultimately originates is somewhat ineffable.

lol yus I am one of the biggest voices of that particular theory aren't I (whether or not that's a good thing is debatable XD)

 

however Luna kind of threw my old theory  out the window with the floating Pinkie Pie in the Chicken costume. I do believe they have some amplification/repressive abilities, but I'm going to let the season play out a bit more before I form the next version of the theory. 

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

lol yus I am one of the biggest voices of that particular theory aren't I (whether or not that's a good thing is debatable XD)

 

however Luna kind of threw my old theory  out the window with the floating Pinkie Pie in the Chicken costume. I do believe they have some amplification/repressive abilities, but I'm going to let the season play out a bit more before I form the next version of the theory. 

Well, that is the scientific method:

Good luck!

[The Awesome One 1,315]

There is some omnipresent magical force in Equestria that is keeping a watch on everypony while waiting for them to find out what they're meant to do in their life before slapping a tattoo on their flank.

[Plato's Pony 455]

There is some omnipresent magical force in Equestria that is keeping a watch on everypony while waiting for them to find out what they're meant to do in their life before slapping a tattoo on their flank.

 

This is the most logical theory I've heard so far.

 

 

 

One of my theories is that the cutie mark is a magical bacteria that lives inside of you until you do a certain action (what you're destined to do).  Then, it travels outside where it is permanently embedded in your flank and creates some kind of connection with your brain, which is a possible explanation for why you lose your special talent when you lose your cutie mark.  You're brain is losing the connection with the bacteria that gives you that talent.  This is also a possible explanation for why cutie marks cannot be interchanged, since they are all meant to connect with a certain brain.

[Superstars111 79]

There is some omnipresent magical force in Equestria that is keeping a watch on everypony while waiting for them to find out what they're meant to do in their life before slapping a tattoo on their flank.

 

That is possible. If the Tree of Harmony has something to do with the Cutie Marks, then maybe it supplies the physical representation that bonds to the soul and amplifies it? Or, if you take another approach to my post over here, it's also possible that the amplification comes first, which the tree supplies, and that forms the mark itself.

 

 

One of my theories is that the cutie mark is a magical bacteria that lives inside of you until you do a certain action (what you're destined to do).  Then, it travels outside where it is permanently embedded in your flank and creates some kind of connection with your brain, which is a possible explanation for why you lose your special talent when you lose your cutie mark.  You're brain is losing the connection with the bacteria that gives you that talent.  This is also a possible explanation for why cutie marks cannot be interchanged, since they are all meant to connect with a certain brain.

 

That is a possibility, but it doesn't seem likely. In Magical Mystery Cure, they didn't lose their talents. The talents didn't just not work with the others, they didn't leave the original pony in the first place. Also, Sweetie Belle sings quite a bit, and Twist made candy, but the mark doesn't appear until you realize it's your talent.

 

lol yus I am one of the biggest voices of that particular theory aren't I (whether or not that's a good thing is debatable XD)

 

however Luna kind of threw my old theory  out the window with the floating Pinkie Pie in the Chicken costume. I do believe they have some amplification/repressive abilities, but I'm going to let the season play out a bit more before I form the next version of the theory. 

 

You, sir, have inspired me. Not that I agreed with everything you said in your thread, but I did find much of what was brought up to be fascinating.

Based on what we've seen in the show, I think that the triune nature of Cutie Marks is the only explanation that's left. Or at least, that I can see. That is to say, there's the body, spirit, and soul, and the Cutie Mark can be broken in a variety of methods, depending on the method used.

But one thing that I've still been wondering about, is where do the pictures come from? And how do the ponies tell what they mean? After all, the pictures aren't all things that are found in nature. Candy canes are pony-made, for one small example. Tiaras and spoons as well. My theory here is that the pony subconciously chooses his or her own Cutie Mark. But how do they know what it means, then, when it changes in some special case like Magical Mystery Cure? "It's what my Cutie Mark is telling me." And why is it that they aren't forced out of jobs that don't match their Cutie Marks? For example, in The Last Roundup. Applejack got a job at a cherry orchard, even though her Cutie Mark is clearly made up of apples. The others didn't even have fruit on their flanks, and they were also accepted. My theory here is that each pony can "see" what their own mark means, but not anypony else's.

In Death Note, there's a deal that can be made to get special eyes that allow you to see the name and life expectancy of a person. (I'm only part-way into that series, though, so I'm just using this as an example. ) My theory is that each pony has these special eyes that allow them to "see" the interpretation of their own Cutie Marks. But they can't see anypony else's. The mane six were suspicious of Applejack, since they knew her well, but anypony else would just assume that Applejack's Cutie Mark was more broad than it seemed, as this is rather common among Cutie Marks.

This particular theory does have a bit of a hole with Troublehooves (I think that was his name?), since he didn't know what his own Cutie Mark meant. It's possible that he refused to see what was right in front of him for some reason, but I'm not sure.

[Little Red 1,529]

Wow, those are great theories. They're all super legit. I can't think of anything at all to add actually. XD