Activation of a Cutie Mark - A Wordy Analysis

[Fluttershy's Squid 46]

It is implied each of the CMC has a talent. A general consensus is that Applebloom should get a hammer (carpentry), Sweetibelle gets a music note (singing), and Scootaloo gets a scooter (scootering).

However, despite performing these talents numerous times none of them has received their mark yet.

Wouldn't they have earned a mark with how often they are doing each of these things?

 

One prevailing theory is that in order to receive your mark, you must utilize your talent in a truly spectacular way. For example, Rainbowdash always loved flying but she didn't receive her mark until performing the Sonic Rainboom. This would make sense as none of the CMC's have really done anything great with their possible talents.

 

It might be possible though that if a cutie mark doesn't immediately appear when performing a talent the pony may give up that pursuit in search of another. As shown in numerous episodes, the CMC gave trial runs to activities including farming, mind reading, hair dressing, and comedy. Each of these proved unsuccessful, and were ultimately abandoned.

 

But what if one of these activities was one of their talents, and it had been dismissed?

 

In the episode "Stare Master", Applebloom and the others test out carpentry on some of Fluttershy's furniture with poor results. Based on past CMC habits, this will be crossed off of their potential talent list and they will move on to new pursuits. I believe that eventually Applebloom, like all ponies, will be drawn back to their true talent eventually, but missing her skill on the first pass could severely delay receiving her mark.

 

 

 

 

?

I guess what I'm trying to say is...

 

Do you think its possible to not realize your talent in the frantic search for a cutie mark, only further delaying its arrival as you move on to other pursuits? Or will your talent shine through and become apparent?

 

And what does it really take to get your mark? Doing something awesome? Acknowledging your talent? Singing a song about it? Is it completely random and varies from pony to pony?

[Hat988 108]

I thought it appears when the pony has recognised their special talent. They might do the activities beforehand, like with Applebloom building something or Twilight learning magic as a filly, but the mark appears when they realise those were the activities they want to do forever.

[Mayuen 77]

Ninja'd xD

I believe you earn your cutie mark when you acknowledge your talent, even though you maybe have had the talent for years.

[Brook 663]

That's deep dude, real deep.

 

I think it truely does take something special to aquire your cutie mark, but I also doubt that's why the CMC's haven't got their yet. I think it's because, as you said, they are doing too many things and delaying getting their cutie marks.

 

In general I think it's not right to try to do EVERYTHING (like the CMC does), or to be obssessed with getting a cutie mark, what they should do is just try to have fun with what they like, it's more than likely for them to get a cutie mark that way anyway, because they're already good at it.

 

What I'm saying is that it doesn't really matter if you do something special, but you probably shouldn't. Cutie marks come naturelly, as do things to do with your talent.

[Heart's Desire 181]

I just kind of figured it happens when they "find themselves". When they have that one moment that they realize "oh, this is who I am!" Of course in reality this is something that not everyone learns at a young age, if at all, but it's an important lesson and something to look forward to for the youngsters watching.

 

In a perfect world the thing you were meant to do will find you whether you are looking for it or not. Because of that I think that ponies will always be drawn to what their special talent is, even if they aren't doing it to get their cutie mark. We're supposed to think that they enjoy it so much, or it's so much of a part of who they are that they will always return to it.

 

All in all I think cute marks are a good idea. It has to cut down on that pesky "traveling the country to find yourself" moment people have after high school.

 

Also, I always thought Sweetiebell would look great with two silver bells over a "ribbon" of a musical staff with notes.

[Klopp 2,050]

Ignore the spoiler if you are disinterested in a lengthy wall of pointless analysis. The bit afterwards is the good part anyways

(The spoiler is the bit that is most relevant to the topic though, just sayin'.)

 

 

In order for me to come to a conclusion, I must first go into detail on how each of the mane six got their Cutie Marks.

 

 

Applejack: She started off at Sweet Apple Acres, working for the family orchard. However,she did not accept this, and wanted to go abroad to the city Manehatten. After realizing this was not what she wanted, and seeing the rainbow leading back to Ponyville, she came to a conclusion that her ultimate goal was to help her Brother run Sweet Apple Acres, and provide the best apple in all of Equestria!

 

What's it mean?: What this boils down to is simply acceptance. She already had the abilities, she just needed to accept the fact that this was what she was meant to do.

 

 

Fluttershy: All she needed to do was fall down to the surface, and instantly she fell in love with nature! It was only natural for the animals surrounding her to enjoy her presence, and not a single one was afraid until the explosive rainbow frightened them into their hidey-holes. With her extreme caring nature, and seeing there was no more to be afraid of, she was able to instantly calm them down with her timid voice, that is absolutely impossible to fear.

 

What's it mean?: All she needed was a bit of discovery, and the right set of circumstances to find she was meant to be one with nature.

 

 

Rarity: Her passion for design is clear from the start of the flashback, but obviously that was not her special talent, not at all. Her own magic clearly knew what was needed in order to get the job done, as it drug her all the way to a rock containing the most glorious gems! Gems and her passion for design blended perfectly together to make her understand what her true special talent was: Finding beautifully epic gems with her horn.

 

What's it mean?: It meant that Rarity's horn knows it's own abilities, and all she needed was to wait for it to do it's stuff. In the end, her magic knew what to do all on it's own.

 

 

Twilight Sparkle: Her desire, passion, inspiration and ability are all one in the same; Magic. Even though she tried her best, she could only manage a few small spells of little worth, up until her exam. Then nothing happened when she tried as hard as she could. Then what happened? Well, just like Rarity her own magic took over. The rainboom exploded, her horn went crazy, doing a bajillion different things at once, and her Cutie Mark appeared when Celestia came in and fixed everything, asking her to be her pupil.

 

What's it mean?: It means the same thing as Rarity; her magic knew her own talent all along. All I can say is that this must be how it works for Unicorns.

 

 

Pinkie Pie: Boring old rock farm life was something she hated. She had no clues for her special talent at all while she slaved away on the rock farm. Then finally, the Rainboom came along and gave her something new, something exciting and out of the ordinary! She got out of this horrible mood, and instantly realized there was more to this world than just grubby old rock-farming! She took the initiative to share this inner happiness with her family, and boy did she do a marvelous job in doing so! I wish I had been there for her first party! :3

 

What's it mean?: Pinkie Pie had a few different things happen to bring about her Cutie Mark. First she dealt with discovery. Seeing the rainboom and knowing there was something out there that could make her happy! Then comes a test of her Abilities. Was she able to make her family happy by throwing a party? Well, we'll answer that with the final one which is Acceptance. As soon as she discovered they were EXTREMELY pleased with her party, she was able to accept that THIS was what she was meant to do!

 

 

Rainbow Dash: No doubt that right from the start she was meant to be a flyer, and it was what she loved to do. She was fast, and she knew it for sure. She clearly accepted the fact that she was a grand flyrer, she had confidence in her abilities, all she needed was that one thing to prove that she was the fastest pegasus in Equestria! That thing was the Sonic Rainboom, of course, and it was such an amazing feat that it brought out her Cutie Mark!

 

What's it mean?: It would seem that she had everything the other ponies had before she even got her Cutie Mark. Acceptance of what she wanted to do, and the ability to do it. But she hadn't quite discovered her actual talent, which was, in fact, performing Sonic Rainbooms.

 

 

One last thing to add: We learned at the end of the Cutie Mark Chronicles Episode that all of the Mane 6 were tied together by their cutie mark discoveries by the Sonic Rainboom. If this is how it typically works with best pony friends, then we can assume that the same thing will happen to all of the CMC as well. One event that allows the three of them to discover their talents at the same time, and earn their Cutie Marks simultaneously. (Which I'm sure the writers have in mind to do already, if they intend to even give them their marks.)

 

 

Alrighty, now for some fun conclusions! It would seem that it takes three different things for you to acquire your Cutie Mark, 4 if you are a Unicorn.

• Discovery of what you are really damn good at.

• Acceptance that it is what you are meant to do.

• Doing something so awesome that your Cutie Mark just suddenly appears there.

• (UNICORNS ONLY!) Random event in which your horn takes over and makes you do crazy shtuff.

It's quite clear that the three of the CMC have not acquired any of those things, and yesh, but I do not attribute that to their attempts at finding their cutie marks. I'm going to assume the three will earn their cutiemarks at the same time, for some heroic act in which they save the day. Below is an example of what I believe will happen in a future episode.

 

 

 

The three of the CMC will be faced with an impossible situation, where Equstria is being invaded by flying demon pony things. Sweetie Belle will suddenly have her horn take over, and shoot a massive laser beam that kills a hell of a lot of the flying demon ponies. Applebloom will use her engenuity to invent an airplane that can seat the three, and Scootaloo will be the pilot, showing off her fantastic maneuverability and graceful flying skills. Her wings shall unfortunately be too small to fly on her own. Now, Sweetie belle will be on top of the plane, using her laser beams to knock out the flying demons the whole time, with accuracy that in unrivaled by anyone else in Equestria.

 

After the three kill off the Demon ponies, they land to find their Cutie Marks on their flanks, and everypony is their to thank them for saving the day! :3

 

 

PS: Thumbs up if you actually read the whole spoiler.

[silvadel 1,393]

Well first off, at the cutie mark crusader's age -- pretty much all of the other ponies have their cutie marks already. That said I do not think it generally has to be as hard or dramatic as they are making it out to be or even how the mane 6 got theirs. I mean I would expect that if it required somepony to have some dramatic success with a talent that is extant and acknowledged that a significant number of ponies would never find their marks at all. Plus some marks are a lot more abstract. If anything the unicorns do seem to have it easier -- their horn gives them a hint/nudge/push if they haven't found it yet.

[kirbyboi 588]

Well, like everyone else is saying, a pony doesn't get a cutie mark unless thet recongnize their talent. In the episode where the CMC enter in the talent show, it becomes obvious what their talenrs are. However, they themselves don't realize it, so that's why their roles in their song get mixed up.

 

Sweetie Belle didn't apreciate her singing talent, and the same with the others. That's also why they didn't earn their cutie marks.

 

I hope they do soon though!

[Aerial~Shot 177]

I would guess a pony has to acknowledge his/her talent to earn the cutie mark, or use it in something spectacular such as the sonic rainboom. Remember, Twist said she always liked making sweets, but she got her cutie mark only when she acknowledged it as her "super special talent".

[HungryTroll 137]

Agree with Misso Klopp and almost all other, main mistake of CMC that they not acknowledging their talents, I think they can already recive cutie marks if only they understands that.

But there are ponies I cant understand.

For example - eldery pony with pipe cutie mark - how the hell he have recived it?

More than that - Mr. Greenhooves - it's looks like he have no cutie mark at all!

Edited September 1, 2012 by HungryTroll

[pinkiefan1287 610]

As everyone else has said, They need to acknowledged their talent. Maybe they also have to do the thing they are good at a few times before the mark appears.

[NyxChick12345 5]

They need to realize it is their special talent. And in My Little Pony, it is obvious that destiny exists, so they would probably discover their destiny in a very special and remembrable way

[Discovery Dream 592]

You have to realize what your talent is, which the CMC haven't done yet. They haven't acknowledged that they have these talents. Scootaloo is interested in flying even though what she's really good at is scootering. Sweetie Belle is interested in tailoring and she'll need to conquer her stage fright to earn her cutie mark. Apple Bloom wants to be like Applejack. They don't know their own talents yet, so therefore no mark.

Also, Apple Bloom gets a paintbrush because she doesn't want a hammer on her flank.

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I think they have to accept that that's their talent. I also agree with your point that trying to get a cutie mark will get you nowhere, because your not focusing enough on each possible thing.