Pony Without a Cutie Mark?

[Script Chime 182]

If anyone knows me well enough they know I love designing and making cutie marks for people. Its a big hobby of mine. Typically I make cutie marks for other people and for my own personal characters but when it came to making a cutie mark for my OC I was found kind of stuck. I'm at the age where if I was in the show where I would be expected to have found my special talent and know what I want to do in life but I didn't. I had no real aspirations and I don't know where I want to go in life. I still don't but I figured something out 

It got me thinking, is it possible that there could be a mare or stallion without a cutie mark? Somepony who doesn't know what their special talent is or what they want to do in life. They have no clear destiny and don't know where to go. This wouldn't mean they're not trying. It would just mean they're not sure. What would this pony look like and be like? Would they have given up trying to find their special talent or would they actively try and find it? 

Now granted people equate getting your cutie mark to going through puberty and in a way I can see that. But I think of cutie marks as the process of learning about yourself through high school. You know what direction you want to go but you still have a bit to learn

I feel having a pony without their cutie mark trying to earn one would be a good lesson for kids. You don't need to know exactly what you want to be in life at a certain point. Now there are a few ways this could fail. 

1. The pony is accidentally written as lazy or as carefree without the stress of looking for a cutie mark. This could come off to kids like its OK not to know where you want to go in life and that's OK but it doesn't matter if you try or not

2. The stallion or mare gets their cutie mark after very little effort. I really don't feel like I need to say why that approach wouldn't work.

3. The character ends up a pony version of Gabby the griffin. That's just lazy. Though I'm sure a pony with the element of Gabby's determination is something that could fit.

 

Anyway what do you think about all of this?

Edited June 6, 2018 by Script Chime

[Props Valroa 26,046]

I personally feel it is possible. Someone who would reject the idea all together and not let go of that.

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,125]

I never did like the concept of Cutie Marks because they seemed rather unnecessary and useless. 

The show itself can't seem to make up its mind on what Cutie Marks are. At in the early seasons, Cutie Marks represented you "special talent." But in the later seasons, they represented what you wanted to do with your life. We don't we know where Cutie Marks came from or how they work.

Also, in the early seasons, the CMC treated Cutie Marks as if they were a status symbol, and they would do anything and everything to get them. They apparently didn't care what the Cutie Marks were of, just as long as they get them. They saw Cutie Mark as if they determined your worth as a pony and getting them was a matter of life and death.

It was obvious that they were very insecure that they were blank flanks.

So, yeah, I see absolutely no purpose for Cutie Marks. Either explain them or get rid of them. 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

3 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

I never did like the concept of Cutie Marks because they seemed rather unnecessary and useless. 

The show itself can't seem to make up its mind on what Cutie Marks are. At in the early seasons, Cutie Marks represented you "special talent." But in the later seasons, they represented what you wanted to do with your life. We don't we know where Cutie Marks came from or how they work.

Not sure that is true; our first explaination of a cutie mark was from a school filly responding to a teacher's question - it may have been widely off the mark,  It is pretty vague though; we have Luna saying it is "just a reflection of who you are" but equally, we have Starswirl's "mark of one's destiny, singled out, fulfilled", Twilight's "unicorns only have magic that reflects their special talent, unless their special talent IS magic" and the instances where we have seen a cutie mark glow (Cadence when she became the Crystal Princess, RaRa when she sang honestly and with an open heart, and of course Diamond Tiara during her reformation)

While you can understand that Faust had to find some way to explain why the toys... erm, the ponies had cutie marks, it would seem that possession of one gives a magic boost to SOMETHING that matches an affinity the pony already has (possibly preferring name-based affinities too, hence so many ponies getting marks that relate to their name) but that they aren't necessarily their future careers (such as we see with the haiku pony, the mustache pony, and so forth)

 

3 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

Also, in the early seasons, the CMC treated Cutie Marks as if they were a status symbol, and they would do anything and everything to get them. They apparently didn't care what the Cutie Marks were of, just as long as they get them. They saw Cutie Mark as if they determined your worth as a pony and getting them was a matter of life and death.

And yet clearly that is how they were being treated by their peer group; you got a party when you got your cutie mark, but were insulted and bullied if you were still a "blank flank" - the more mature Luna points out that you can't get a cutie mark that doesn't suit you, as it reflects "who you truely are", and of course we have the Equestrian Girls comment about "showing the truest part of oneself".

I have considered that possibly the magic of Equestria, and hence Equestria itself, is at least semi-sentient, and is trying to help the ponies that live there - but can only do it once per pony, so waits until it can find a Mark that it feels is the best match for that individual - and if that helps pony society as a whole, all the better (but if its just a collectable pin badge cuitie mark because the pony loves collecting pin badges, then so be it).

 

3 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

It was obvious that they were very insecure that they were blank flanks.

There is clearly a social stigma in their peer group that comes from being a blank flank - especially after almost all the class has theirs. This childish view of cutie marks though, while voiced by fillies, was engineered by Faust - so we don't really know for sure how much of the more mature "adult" view we see from other characters represents the world mythos or just the view of non-Faust writers in the post-Faust period.

3 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

So, yeah, I see absolutely no purpose for Cutie Marks. Either explain them or get rid of them. 

 

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,125]

51 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

There is clearly a social stigma in their peer group that comes from being a blank flank - especially after almost all the class has theirs. This childish view of cutie marks though, while voiced by fillies, was engineered by Faust - so we don't really know for sure how much of the more mature "adult" view we see from other characters represents the world mythos or just the view of non-Faust writers in the post-Faust period.

We're never gonna hear the origin of Cutie Marks nor their function, how they appear, or their purpose, are we? 

Speaking of adult, I have a NSFW theory about Cutie Marks that foes makes sense, if you wanna hear it. 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

27 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

We're never gonna hear the origin of Cutie Marks nor their function, how they appear, or their purpose, are we? 

Probably not; we are into the final season now, and such a fundemental "reveal" seems unlikely, given they have resurrected a older-generation meta-villain for the arc...

 

27 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

Speaking of adult, I have a NSFW theory about Cutie Marks that foes makes sense, if you wanna hear it. 

Probably needs to be at most PG, even in a spoiler box....

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,125]

7 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

Probably not; we are into the final season now, and such a fundamental "reveal" seems unlikely, given they have resurrected an older-generation meta villain for the arc.

You noticed that, after the CMC get their Cutie Marks, Cutie Marks are basically never mentioned again, other than that episode with Gabby?

There are too many unknowns in this show. Aside from Cutie Marks, alicorns are also a big mystery.
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7 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

Probably needs to be at most PG, even in a spoiler box.

What do you mean? 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

49 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

You noticed that, after the CMC get their Cutie Marks, Cutie Marks are basically never mentioned again, other than that episode with Gabby?

There are two CMC episodes in S6, both (as usual) focussed on cutie marks. S7's first CMC outing was focussed more on Rarity and Sweetie Belle's relationship, but did have CMC tasks; there is a brief mention during Fame and Misfortune and the full-on CMC cutie mark camp outing in Marks and recreation. S8 was less mark focussed though; the first CMC was a Map episode again and set at Mt Eris (hence, no cutie marks!) and the second a School episode that gave us Crazy Glow's first outing. So pretty true for S8, for S6/7, not so much.

 

49 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

There are too many unknowns in this show. Aside from Cutie Marks, alicorns are also a big mystery.

Sort of. Certainly the non-show material can't be relied on, meaning we have very limited facts to draw on.

We do know that, prior to the Royal Sisters being elevated, the unicorns raised the Sun and the Moon (and that the Royal Sisters use unicorn powers to do so).

We also know that Starswirl mentored the Royal Sisters, and that a spell to give earth ponies (and also unicorns) wings exists, as Twi uses one on Rarity.

Cadence would seem to be about the same age as Shining Armour (although there is no guarantee of that, I guess) and was clearly destined to become the Crystal Princess; she was the first we see in-show to have a glowing cutie mark as she achieves her destiny, and is the mother to the only pony known who was BORN an Alicorn, not promoted to being one.

Twilight was clearly coached and mentored along her path to becoming an Alicorn; she was taught Alicorn magic by Celestia which gives us a strange Alicorn focus around those episodes - S2 25/26 we meet Cadence for the first time ever, S3 E1/2 Cadance becomes the Crystal Princess and Twilight uses Alicorn magic for the first time. Similarly, in the somewhat truncated S3, E13 gives us the rather hasty elevation of Twilight, and the following S4 E1/E2 give us the interesting fact that Zecora knows potions that can only be used with Alicorn magic.

Only other thing we know really is that there is at least one Alicorn stallion in las pegasus, although that could be an animation error

[Jedishy 3,542]

On 6/6/2018 at 1:51 PM, Script Chime said:

It got me thinking, is it possible that there could be a mare or stallion without a cutie mark?

Its possible I would suppose in lore. But it would rare and honestly unlikely based on what they show we have seen thus far. 

On 6/6/2018 at 1:51 PM, Script Chime said:

( Points 1/2/3 ) Anyway what do you think about all of this?

I think this could be a good lesson/episode for the CMC. They always seem to help people not just find their cutie mark but also WHAT that mark means. See how they help Trouble Shoes and to a funnier extent Bulky 

4 hours ago, Millennium Shadow said:

At in the early seasons, Cutie Marks represented you "special talent." But in the later seasons, they represented what you wanted to do with your life. We don't we know where Cutie Marks came from or how they work.

Yea because your special talent could not be tied to what you want to do in life or your most prominent trait... nah no way.  So I mean its not like all of those things are tied together throughout the show if you pay attention. Or that they all can mean the same thing phrased from different points of view nope no way that could be the case. 

4 hours ago, Millennium Shadow said:

It was obvious that they were very insecure that they were blank flanks.

 

Children insecure about not meeting the same societal milestone as their peers? OMG noo waaaay. 

 

2 hours ago, Millennium Shadow said:

There are too many unknowns in this show. Aside from Cutie Marks, alicorns are also a big mystery.

Its called soft magic and is one of two ways of writing a magical system. It leaves openings for plot over pointless rules for the sake of appeasing the people that will always find something to hate on. 

4 hours ago, Millennium Shadow said:

So, yeah, I see absolutely no purpose for Cutie Marks. Either explain them or get rid of them. 

I guess Yoda must get tossed into the reactor shaft with Palpatine because for years so much was unknown about either of them and Yoda is and always will be a mystery. Why leave things for the fans to interpret and have fun with right? I mean who could ever want that? 

 

[Goat-kun 2,498]

Harmony marks each drone according to its capabilities so that they can all perform their designated tasks without needless confusion. The appearance of a mark just signifies that a drone is ready for use. A pony serving another deity would not possess a cutie mark.

 

Remain calm and buy our toys!

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

When the animatics of The Mane Attraction was premiered, people thought Rara was earning her cutie mark on stage. Come to think of that, it would have been more dramatic if it would be that. But even confused adults like Trouble Shoes or Zephyr Breeze does have it's cutie mark, so I think it is also associated with physical maturity as well.

But I think adults without purpose of life is too much of a depressing concept to put in a magical ponyland cartoon TV show.

[CypherHoof 26,479]

13 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

When the animatics of The Mane Attraction was premiered, people thought Rara was earning her cutie mark on stage.

i assumed that was what happened at the camp talent show, but noticed when I rewatched that she already had her cutie mark earlier in the sequence. But of course it glowed during the talent show just as it does in the "just a pony" finale.

[Will Guide 21,325]

I once thought of writing a story where a human turned Stallion had no Cutie Mark and ends up getting it to appear as his memories are restored. In the end, he wrote to the CMC pre-Season 4 that if he, a full grown stallion, can get his Cutie Mark to appear then so could the Crusaders. He was so proud of them when they finally got them quite some time later.