What is The Cutie Map's Purpose?

[bwrosas 253]

Ever since season 5, the Cutie Map has become a central point to send the entire Mane 6 or just one or two out on missions, or either different characters outside of the Mane group on missions. But what is it's true purpose outside that, here I try to find out.

 

Comments are Welcomed

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2017 by bwrosas

[CypherHoof 26,483]

Depends on where you stand

From the outside looking in, it's a plot device to let the writers set up any combo of characters ,anywhere on the map that they choose, so long as it is to "solve a friendship problem"

From a Pony point of view though, it is how the Tree of Harmony is directing its agents to where they are needed - having earned their right to be on team friendship by acquiring a chest key

Spoiler

which doesn't explain Starlight of course, but then, what does?

 

[Jeric 46,894]

It's a narrative device that they can use at will to explore the world, and send our protagonists and main characters to locations outside of Ponyville. It helps facilitate the spread of friendships, or the repair of friendships as that is the source of magic and harmony in the Pony world. 

Either that or the Tree of Harmony feeds on Friendship and is like the witch in Hansel and Gretel and fattening the Ponies up for a smorgasbord later on. 

[Goat-kun 2,532]

Make no mistake, the lustrous surface of that unfathomable monolith hides within the transcendental core a truth, boiling and twisting like black tar in a pit of madness and malice. This vile heart permeates these lands with its uncanny corruption. Destroy it, or witness the end.

[Scrubbed user 3,417]

A plot device to make Hasbro more money.

"DHX introduced a new character? Can we market it, and for how much?"

[Hierok 11,833]

Since it is connected to the tree of harmony, I'm guessing it's purpose is to maintain the harmony in Equestria. 

[DonMaguz 1,023]

Since even Celestia didn't know how to open the harmony chest and didn't know what was going to happen when it was opened, I'd like to imagine that the tree was planted by either Starswirl the Bearded or Celestia's and Lunas's parents to provide help to the sisters on their duty to run and glow the recently founded Equestria. The Cutie Map is just a product of the tree that help them more actively.

Edited July 20, 2017 by DonMaguz

[BadHorse 39]

It's a magic macguffin that only exists to look pretty and randomly send our characters to solve typical domestic conflicts in an attempt to create the illusion that the show currently has some kind of progression or over-arching story until the staff actually figure out the direction they want to take the series.

[KH7672 1,604]

4 minutes ago, BadHorse said:

It's a magic macguffin that only exists to look pretty and randomly send our characters to solve typical domestic conflicts in an attempt to create the illusion that the show currently has some kind of progression or over-arching story until the staff actually figure out the direction they want to take the series.

Well I mean it kind of makes sense they need that illusion element so that nothing progresses too much to contradict the movie. I can't say it's good but maybe a better direction will be taken after the movie.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,700]

On 7/11/2017 at 1:00 PM, bwrosas said:

Ever since season 5, the Cutie Map has become a central point to send the entire Mane 6 or just one or two out on missions, or either different characters outside of the Mane group on missions. But what is it's true purpose outside that, here I try to find out.

 

Comments are Welcomed

 

 

 

Much like the Spell that twilight finished to become an alicorn, the map HAS no purpose; its there to give the writers a narrative tool that will be discarded and forgotten not unlike the other 5 writing letters to celestia as her students in S2, or how the journal was discarded after twilight's kingdom.

It really had no defined purpose behind it, which is why all its missions have basically been glorified WOW daily quests with no real importance to them aside from the starlight one.

 

Ironically, the most important person in relation to the map has been starlight (the mission to stop her was the only remotely important one, she's done more with the map as a power source than the mane six ever have, and her map mission, fixing celestia and luna's relationship, is the only remotely important other one)

[cmarston1 5,965]

It's a plot device used to get the mane 6 to leave Ponyville so they could engage in certain plot lines.

[Hierok 11,833]

4 hours ago, cmarston1 said:

It's a plot device used to get the mane 6 to leave Ponyville so they could engage in certain plot lines.

To help the writers find stories for the show. 

[Thrond 3,272]

It exists solely to irritate me specifically. It feeds off of my anger and frustration. 

In all seriousness... yeah, it's a plot device with no in-universe explanation. Its purpose is seemingly to guide the mane six to friendship problems they can help solve to maintain harmony in Equestria, but I don't know how the mane six figured it out. By its second appearance, they just took it at face value and did whatever it says with no further questions, despite having no idea what it is or how it works. Mostly though, I think it's just there so the writers can make stories happen without needing to come up with a contrived explanation or stuff the cold open with exposition.