Thoughts on Cutie Marks · 1:42am Mar 27th, 2013
In Magical Mystery Cure, Rarity gets Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark. And because of what it’s telling her, she tries to control the weather. I’m curious about whether that’s a magical imperative (“Must. Obey. Cutie mark.”) or just social conditioning (“What am I supposed to do today? Well, this says I control the weather, and the magic symbol on my butt never lied to me before.”) but we’ll get to discussing that in a moment. The first thing I want to talk about is something I’m sure many other people noticed as well.
Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark isn’t about controlling the weather. At least, not from what she told us in the Cutie Mark Chronicles.
So there are a couple of reasons this might have happened. First, Dash might have been wrong/lying about her cutie mark. Man, would that suck for her, if she actually got it for busting through a cloud, and her destiny is to work for weather patrol forever. Second, the show writers messed up or were being lazy. They either forgot what Dash’s cutie mark means, or else they couldn’t think of anything funny to make Rarity do in terms of going really fast. This is probably true, but less than satisfying from a writing standpoint.
Third, and my personal headcanon, Dash’s cutie mark symbolizes both her “need for speed” (I love/hate how Dash talks like a radical 80’s character sometimes,) and her talents with weather, and many other things about Dash.
This theory goes that a cutie mark is a symbol of the whole pony, not just one special talent. So it has meanings both literal and symbolic, and a pony (or fanfic writer) could spend a lot of time meditating on just what each one means.
To give credit where credit is due, I first started thinking about this when I read MilesProwers06’s The Cupcake Chronicles ). It’s the ultimate Dash-Loses-Her-Wings fic, the ultimate Cupcakes-fix-fic, and while the story and writing can be uneven sometimes, it’s worth a read. Anyway, once Dash has lost her wings, there’s some time spent on reinterpreting her cutie mark. That got me thinking, how many ways can a cutie mark be interpreted?
The answer is, a lot. Take the cloud and rainbow lightning; It could symbolize the sonic rainboom, speed, weather, things from the sky that (seem to) touch the ground, things in the sky that are attention-grabbing, extremes, or a lack of subtlety.
And all of those can apply to Rainbow Dash. In a way, she is the cloud and rainbow lightning. It’s her symbol.
You can do the same thing with others of the mane six- Fluttershy’s butterflies say much more about her than that she loves the ground. Pinkie’s balloons are an interesting choice for an earth pony who defies physics and loves parties. In Three Little Apples I mentioned the idea that AJ’s apples stand for her and her siblings. Then of course, you have Twilight’s cutie mark giving us the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Yeah, about that. . . like all symbols you can start getting a little crazy with cutie marks. (Rule of thumb, when numerology gets involved, you’re in Crazytown.)
Along these same lines, there's the fascinating (to me, at least) matter of the effects of cutie marks on pony interactions. Think about it, a pony sees an attractive pony on the train- how long do they spend analyzing that pony's cutie mark? Do they use it to come up with a good way of introducing themselves to that pony? Might they strike up a conversation just because the pony has an interesting cutie mark? Would they avoid a pony they'd never met because the cutie mark seemed lower class/upper class/silly/boring?
This brings me back to the question from the beginning: Is a cutie mark a magical imperative, or a social/psychological one?
I can be convinced either way, but I’m going to go with social, for two reasons. First, because we do occasionally see ponies in occupations and settings that have nothing to do with their cutie marks (for example, Hayseed Turnip Truck seems to be making a go of it as a window washer in the big city, despite his turnip cutie mark,) and second, because it makes sense of Rarity’s behavior in Magical Mystery Cure- her cutie mark wasn’t literally “telling” her to mess with the weather, that was her interpretation of what was on her flank when she woke up that morning.
Any arguments in the other direction?
Also, all of this being said, I really want to run a collab to collect short little stories about how ponies other than the mane six got their cutie marks. The problem is that I’m the worst editor in the world, and that I may or may not have time to edit all of the stories. Is anyone out there interested in being co-organizer with me? I was planning to run it through the Collab Cage, and hoping to make it similar to The Album.
I think one gains a cutie mark when they realize their special talent, but it represents more than just that one thing. Twilight's cutie mark indicates her talent for magic, but it also help define her bookish nature, her inquisitive spirit, etc.
Rainbow received her cutie mark when she realized she loves speed, but it represents her pegasus nature.
As for why Rarity was trying to control the weather with it, I just chalk that up to sloppy writing. That whole episode was sloppy, in my opinion.
950152
Well, in theory Cheerilee was doing something teacher-related when it showed up, but I agree that it seems like she doesn't have to be a teacher.
I'd be willing to at least try and give you a hand on co-organize, if need be. I'm pretty busy a good chunk of the time myself, but I'd still be willing to help.
I'm going with 'Rarity's memory was futzed with so that she thought she enjoyed and was good at weather control, and the spell wouldn't let her see that that wasn't actually true'.
Ooh, I just realized: Rarity et al were all in the advanced stages of Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome! That might be a good way to think of it.
TL;DR version? :3
I think the show messed up the cutie mark canon. I fOrget the episode title by when Apple bloom tried to obtain her cutie Mark unethically she immediately began to perform said special talent. Yet you end up with ponies with Cutie marks that make no sense to their job.
950250
But the question is, why weather? It's not what Dash's cutie mark means (according to her.) Pinkie, Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy seemed to have guessed/understood what their incorrect cutie marks meant. But Rarity seems to suggest that it was just a guess- that they cutie marks weren't requiring them to do those things.
My personal headcanon is a bit of a mix between magical imperative and social/psychological motivator. Personally, I like your headcanon better, but it doesn't square with "The Cutie Pox". Now, obviously that episode is a bit of a one-off on cutie marks – we never see anypony else behaving like that – but there's no sense of mental disconnect for the characters in the story, no moment where they ask each other, "Why is this happening? Cutie marks don't work like that, right?" Similarly, Rarity's story from "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" doesn't quite fit the mold of the other stories. Her magic dragged her out into the wilderness where she basically got her cutie mark flung at her.
So I don't think that we can discount there being some sort of magical thing at work here, but I think we'd clearly be wrong-headed to think that's the only thing going on, too.
If I had to innovate some headcanon I could put into words, I'd probably stake out a position like the following:
A cutie mark is a magical expression of the core of a pony's self, and the drives that make up their personality. We rarely see this in practice, because there's rarely a disconnect, and a pony with a correct cutie mark is going to behave (tautologically) in perfect accord with that cutie mark. When a pony somehow winds up with the wrong cutie mark, however, it's going to twist her/his motivations and attitudes toward what she/he should be doing with her/his life – but it acts as a reinforcer, not a forcer, so an incorrect cutie mark will come into conflict with a pony's inherent (but no longer reinforced) personality. In a Freudian sense, it's like an ego-amplifier. The situation with Apple Bloom is so extreme purely because she doesn't have a cutie mark yet, and so she's not experienced with the magical side of it. Having one (or a bunch) that conflict with her own inherent personality overwhelms her, because she's not acclimatized to the magical effects cutie marks cause and because these aren't reinforcers as cutie marks are supposed to be, so it does become a de facto forcer for her.
That'd probably be the clearest I can get it with the available evidence, but then again, that's just my headcanon.
ETA: To clear up how that relates on Rarity w/ Dash's cutie mark, she's extracting one element of the whole that is Dash and latching onto it. She could extract any element, since the cutie mark is a reinforcer for all of Dash's personality, but weather manipulation is the best fit for her own inherent creative tendencies, and so that's where it pushes her.
Or the writers are lazy. Probably true, but I'm kinda liking this new headcanon.
I swear I post a comment or reply on this topic every two to three days since Magical Mystery Cure came out, and this will be my second ranting on this topic today. The only consolation I have is that if I were a pony, in Ponyville, I would probably be giving the exact same rant.
Fillies and gentlecolts, I would like to call your attention to a simple but often overlooked truth. Cutie Marks do directly indicate anything, all they do is symbolize vaguely what a pony's special talent is. I'll just pick a few random ponies here in the crowd to demonstrate:
Rarity's cutie mark is three gems. Is she a jeweler? A geologist? A miner? No, she is a dressmaker, whose special talent is making things shine.
Fluttershy is not a lepidopterist. She is a Game Warden. Her special talent is talking to animals.
Rainbow Dash's cutie mark is a cloud shooting a rainbow lightening bolt. her special talent is not shooting rainbow lightening bolts That would be pretty awesome though Be quiet Dash-- her special talent is flying faster than every other pony in Equestria.
Pinkie is not a balloon expert, she a master of fun. Twilight Sparkle's special talent isn't astronomy. Ditzy Do's skills do not center around blowing bubbles, and Mr. Waddles does a lot more with his life than smoke a pipe.
Cheerilee is my favorite example here. Her Cutie Mark is sunflowers. Her special talent is not, however, sunflowers. Or even growing sunflowers. Her special talent is teaching, and we all know what a special talent that is. Her Cutie Mark is not a textbook, a chalkboard, a ruler and pencil, or a schoolhouse. Her Cutie Mark is smiling sunflowers, which represent the smiles she brings to those she teaches.
My point is that Cutie marks are not Pictographs of a ponies talent that can be "read" conclusively! Why do we all assume Lyra plays the lyre? Who plays a lyre anyway? She's a poet. Octavia's Cutie Mark is a treble clef, but she found her musical voice in cello and double bass, which are written in the bass clef. The only pony I know whose Cutie Mark is a picture of her special talent and career all rolled into one is Applejack. She is the exception, fillies and gentlecolts; we cannot assume all ponies flanks are as honest and forthright as Applejack's.
Which brings me to my next point: not all of us are lucky enough to be able to find paying work exercising our special talents all day, most of us need to find a trade. We all strive to find one close to our talents, but do you really think anypony gets a cutie mark in trash collecting? Applejack and Cheerilee are downright lucky: their special talents are valuable skills necessary to the community. Rarity and Fluttershy had to get specialized schooling to learn trades that would allow them to put their talents to use economically. Rainbow Dash, Ditzy Do, even Twilight Sparkle all had to get day jobs not really related to their talents just to pay the bills; even if only until they can practice and learn enough to earn a living doing them. Dash can't get paid just to go fast, so she works for the Weather Service until she becomes a good enough flyer to join the Wonderbolts. In the meantime, rent's got to be paid.
My point, fillies and gentlecolts, is that we all need to take a step back and rethink what Cutie marks really mean. They are secret symbols, that can be misinterpreted, even the ones on our own flanks. Don't trust the mark on your butt, listen instead to your hearts and minds and do what is right. Thank you for listening.
On the other hoof, my butt has never lied to me.
I've actually noticed that the pony races seems to have specific cutie mark motifs.
Earth Ponies generally have food, fruits, or something related to a presumably blue collar profession
Pegasi have sports or weather/air related cutiemarks
Unicorns have more abstract cutie marks, eg Rarity's diamonds and Twilight's star, relating to magic, or astronomy.
Yeah, I'd put the whole Rarity controlling the weather thing down to the writers not being able to come up with anything else for her to do. Its not like she can fly, and it seems like Dash's Cutie Mark represents freedom, speed and power in the more abstract sense, so short of having Rarity zip around like she's hopped up on caffeine, there didn't seem like much else they could do for her. To analyze, I'd go with Rarity just interpreting it that way. The whole episode (and I did enjoy it) kind of futzed around with all the known Cutie Mark lore they'd come up with previously.
How does having a different Cutie Mark randomly one day make you forget everything you are and who you're loyal to? IE, AJ completely abandoning the farm, or Flutterhsy ditching her animal buddies and suddenly forgetting that she was good at taking care of them? The concept was interesting, I just don't think they had enough time to properly carry it out. Long story short, I think the Cutie Mark thing is psychological. Whatever someone is doing when they gain it would obviously indicate what it might mean, but I think in the end its up to the individual to interpret it themselves and choose the most relevant meaning, and that's why the Mane 6 just went with the jobs their counterparts had when they found out about the mix up.
Whoa, sorry for the wall-o-text that didn't really say anything. I'm still in essay writing mode, apparently
950274
I've always written that off as an effect of the potion, rather than the cutie mark. . .
950251
No such thing in bookplayer-world. Sorry.
950306
Isn't that kind of what I was saying?
950298
I actually really like this headcanon. Can I have it too?
Leave that to the pinkie expert. her cutie mark means her special talent is making others happy and throwing parties which is what Fluttershy can't do. that's why Fluttershy failed to cheer everyone up but when Pinkie came in everyone instantly got happy.
i think that episode killed every cutie mark headcanon there is in this fandom. that's why i didn't like this season i hate how the characters acted. Dash's cutie mark has more meaning to it like you said about TCC where she lost her wings. wouldn't Rarity's special talent be finding gems? and seeing applejack cry was just the last straw for me no one makes applejack miserable and gets way with it. so if anyone got more questions about pinkie you know who to ask.
My guess on this topic is more of a social condition thing. The conditioning that the students in Ponyville have been told that a pony's cutie mark is what they are meant to do. And while some of them may not seem correct in the literal sense, it no the less is told in several episodes that they are to do what it says.
In regards to the Rainbow Dash/ Rarity Switch, i would have to say that Rarity's impression of Rainbow Dash's duties in Ponyville may have triggered her weather control powers. and while i admit that it doesn't seem correct, i put it down to Rainbow Dash applying her skill towards something useful. If she has the speed to control the weather simply by running into it and she does it quickly, I see her mark making sense.
Rainbow Dash may have her mark by being quick, but socially acceptable uses are few and far between. So applying it to the weather, at least to her seemed logical.
950306 I play the lyre....
I am pretty sure it is this. Unless they wanted to show her piloting some kind of vehicle I don't really know how they could show an earth pony or unicorn really going fast. Also the fact that the show is suppose to be all ages probably makes it easier to swap the day jobs of each pony instead of inventing new ways to show the same cutie mark that might confuse some viewers.
That might make for a few awkward moments.
I actually started reading Cupcake Chronicles a while ago, but something about the writing just really put me off; I got through about the first third before I dropped it.
950350
All yours!
Well... okay, it's my headcanon too, so I guess it's not all yours, but you know wha—
Hey, why is the band playing? I haven't been talking that long yet. Did you see how long Roberto Begnini went on for? No, stop it. I'm not leaving the stage until I'm good and ready. I don't care if you're already running over. You should have budgeted your time better. This thing always goe—
Oh what the h*ll!? Now you cut my mike!? This is not cool, Academy. I'm gonna... well... Okay, fine, I'm not gonna do anything except complain on Twitter, but still. You guys are jerks.
950338 Sorry, I was in rant mode and sorta forgot who my audience was...
950361 For a living?
Kidding, kidding! My real problem with that is how everyone seems to assume that since her cutie mark is a lyre she must therefore be a lyrist and that's that. Cutie Marks aren't that simple. And I like the idea of her as a poet for no reason whatsoever.
950152
Have you ever read Smiling Flowers? I think you'd like it.
950298 This is like the best way of thinking about it I have ever heard/read and I shall remember it always. If I could bookmark a comment I would do that, because damn it just...clicks so well. But at least I can now thumbs up comments, so have one you excellent person you.
I would write my opinion but it has been pretty much summed up in the blog or in other comments.
950371
I had that thought too.
"Um, er. . . wow, that's a fascinating cutie mark you have!"
950416
It's a cool topic, and I'm glad bookplayer posted on it. I always like when things get me thinking. I might try to toss out a blog of my own a little later (after I finish up the project report that I have due tonight) and see if I can elaborate it any more. I'll let you know if I do.
950426
I feel so caddish. Every time I come over to your blog, my mind just goes to a place it never normally goes. Between my in-poor-taste Hie-ho Silver joke, to wanting to post a link to Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" because of 950306's comment, to the obligatory...
"How d'ya like them apples?"
950279
Hmm. Okay, let's flip the question around: if Rainbow's talent is speed, why does she have a Mark that would be much better suited for a weather-control job? Rainbow Dash is the odd one out here, the link between her talent and her Mark is a pretty big stretch. Now, the spell doesn't work by directly switching destinies; it switches the symbols, and then gives each pony a destiny based on their new Mark. But the spell is kind of dumb, and can't do metaphorical interpretations, it can only do literal ones. Rainbow Dash has a butterfly Mark, so she gets a butterfly-based destiny. Pinkie has an apple Mark, so she gets an apple-based destiny. Rarity has a cloud Mark, so she gets a cloud-based destiny. (But if Rarity's Mark is equally metaphorical, why didn't Applejack's destiny change similarly? Well, it did! But it changed from 'bringing out a pony's inner beauty' to 'putting lots of gems on dresses', so nopony really noticed.)
Or, how about this: If Rainbow Dash is off in the forest taking care of the animals, she obviously can't also be Ponyville's weather captain anymore. But the spell can't just leave Ponyville without a weather captain; that's too big of a discrepancy, and the spell can't cover it up. And it can't make some other pegasus be the weather captain, because the spell can only directly affect the 'main 5'. So, it has to put Rarity in charge of the weather. And yes, it is stupid. No, it doesn't make much sense. The spell agrees with you that it involves an unsatisfactory level of hoof-waving. But, the spell can't find any better way to do things.
950457 That made me laugh. My jimmies are slowly getting unrustled over here.
950464 I agree that RD's cutie mark is the most abstract (or at least tied with Twilight's) but I felt the biggest weakness in the episode was that they didn't switch talents, they switched day jobs.
One example: Fluttershy still had her talent for talking to animals. Dash did not gain this talent. She just looked at her butt, say butterflies, probably had a rather hilarious freak-out (can you imagine humanized Dash waking up and seeing that she got a butterfly tattoo after heavy drinking last night? Let your imagination run with that-- oh sorry tangent), and said to herself "okay time to go be a game warden." I could make the same argument with any of the Mane Six.
Bleah. I really want to ignore that episode rather than try to adjust my headcanon to account for it. The only comprimise I can make is to assume that most ponies in Equestria tend to be quick to judge based on cutie marks, not just bronies.
Now I have to be honest here, when I first met my wife, for a few seconds she was just a mare. A beautiful mare, yes, but she was still just another stranger. And then I saw her cutie mark, and I crashed into love. I was in absolute awe, shocked motionless by this vision of a very special soul that was precious and amazing beyond compare. My world reoriented itself around that symbol. And then that picture was shattered by a pair of hooves. As I lost consciousness, I knew that I had found a new destiny: Her.
The main essentials of the story in Magical Mystery Cure would be the following list:
1. The Cutie Mark.
2. "Action Sets", or sets of actions/responsibilities that one would associate with the cutie mark.
3. Urges to perform those "Action Sets" based on the Cutie Mark. This is referred to as the Mane Five's "Destiny" during the song.
4. Autobiographical memories, or chronological memories that lead up to the present.
5. Skill sets, or mechanical / biomechanical / thaumaturgical skills, in form of non-verbal/muscle memories.
From the episode, we see the rest of the Mane Five performing the action sets that belong to the original owners on their Cutie Marks, without realizing that those action sets are different from the sets they used to have; the only thing they feel wrong about is the disconnect between their skill sets and the action sets they have an urge to perform(destiny). Furthermore, when it came to the moment when they were asked to perform their own sets of actions based on their own skill, they clearly mention that they have never done those actions before. This implies that their autobiographical memories are not retained during the forced Cutie Mark transfer process.
Summary of above paragraph:
=> Cutie Mark, Action Sets, Urges: Swapped.
=> Talents: Retained.
=> Memories: Unknown.
This end result can be achieved in two ways:
1. The "unfinished" spell did not leave much of the original sets of memories, and only left the Cutie Mark and urge to perform based on the cutie mark, essentially rendering the Mane Five as husks.
2. The "unfinished" spell has reconstructed five complete sets of autobiographical memories that span for more than a few days, based on the cutie mark and the skill set of the Mane Five.
Then, after the Mane Five perform actions that are outside the Action Sets but within their skill sets, Twilight attaches the Mane Five's respective Elements to their owners. This results in a complete restoration of their Cutie Mark, urges(Destinies) and autobiographical memories.
If we follow end result 1, it can be safely said that the intact autobiographical memories of the Element bearers were stored within their respective elements, temporarily transferred to their elements before they were merged back to their owners.
End result 2 involves extensive modification of the autobiographical memory, and the modification/reverting process seems to be needlessly complicated for the purpose of the show, so I'll go for result 1. At least result 2 got made into another fanfiction.
Then, what can we deduce from the whole episode?
1. Starswhirl's unfinished spell removes the autobiographical memories from the subjected Element bearers, somehow stores those sets of memories within the elements, and then randomly swaps the Cutie Marks and their associated urges between the Element bearers.
2. Cutie Marks seem to represent urges to perform actions associated to the Mark. Those actions are directly related to the original owner's talent set, and can be used as an identifier to original owner's talent set(albeit nebulously). However, it results in neither modification or enhancement of the owner's skill set, or "talent" ; the talent is always there all along. (This may or may not be in conflict with S2E05 Cutie Pox; the talents associated with all those Cutie Marks may be a result of the plant Heart's Desire.)
The two gaping holes of the episode would be:
1. The function of Twilight's "Finished" version of Starswhirl's spell has nothing to do with the function of the original spell. I still have no idea what kind of magic Twilight actually created.
2. Rarity did not perform a Sonic Rainboom. Either the writers forgot about the origins of RD's cutie mark, or they thought it was inappropriate for a TV-Y show(as it may result in her jumping down the cliff. Where is that fanart...).
Idea: cutie marks are more a representation of destiny than talent. It is Applejack's destiny to work with apples as much as her skill set, It is Fluttershy's destiny to work with animals, etc.
The destiny can be an ongoing activity (teaching) or a specific action at one point in a pony's life (become an alicorn) but the former is far more common.
The skill set to fulfill the destiny may or may not be present at the time the cutie mark appears. (Applejack, Dash, and Twi were already good at their skill-sets, Fluttershy and Pinkie had never done anything like that before)
Colliary: Dash's cutie mark represents her destiny, which is not "to perform a sonic rainboom," otherwise she would have fulfilled her entire life's purpose at around eight years of age. Her destiny is something else. I theorize her destiny is "become a Wonderbolt" (or the captain thereof).
Rarity, having acquired Dash's cutie mark, has a subconscious push to become a Wonderbolt. She looks at the sky, not really sure why she is compelled to do so, and, being Rarity, thinks that's rather untidy and tries to make it look good.
If the incomplete spell had been left longer, Rarity would have become extremely interested in the Wonderbolt, following their careers, going to air shows, and so on.
Might be a companion story to Unforeseen Consequences in all that.
It's late and I'm going to bed in a few, so I won't be writing a novel as some have done here.
Daniel Ingram, when asked, said that the spell Twilight cast in Magical Mystery Cure changed the past and didn't simply alter cutie marks. Rarity could very well have earned her cutie mark doing weather related things (although I fail to see how) when that's the case, as opposed to her performing a Sonic Rainboom. Obviously, this opens up a lot of implications and things for speculation alongside plenty of loopholes... but it does explain that particular part of the episode.
Edit: I'd participate in that collab. It'd be good to stretch my might-as-well-be-OC writing skills.
Also,
"Symbols are the key to telepathy. The mind wraps its secrets in symbols; when we discover the symbols that shape our enemy's thought, we can penetrate the vault of his mind."
-- Lady Deirdre Skye, "Our Secret War"
Seems like Alpha Centauri has predicted all this mess more than 15 years ago.
I don't write, but I would help with your project.
I personally attribute it to what we're seeing in many fan comics on deviant art and the like. The cutie mark mismatches reflect an alternate universe where who they are and their talents result in a different timeline and the Mane Six trying to do those jobs reflects where those timelines would have lead them in that alternate universe superimposed on versions that have none of the actual experiences, memories, or skills to perform the job. Pinkie Pie (with straight hair, more on this) earns her cutie mark delivering an apple pie to Sweet Apple Acres to Big Mac. Her interactions with him make hm happy and she earns Applejack's cutie mark of three apples which helps represent the togetherness of the Apple family and Pinkie Pie takes Applejack's place completing Big Mac's family but from a romantic point. Then in someone else showed Applejack remaining in Manehattan, her Aunt Orange cheering her up when she is lonely by drawing with her, and what follows is a story of how Applejack received Rarity's cutie mark through artistic creativity involved in painting and designing dresses. I'll have to look again to find some links but both were featured on EQ daily. I don't think they were drawn by the same artist but they fit well together. Applejack doesn't return to Sweet Apple Acres and Pinkie Pie cheers up Big Mac and develops a romantic relationship with him. One recurring theme seems to be that there wasn't a sonic rainboom. Pinkie's hair isn't poofy which occured when she saw the rainboom and Applejack remains in Manehattan because the rainboom didn't guide her home. I'm curious as to how the story of the other three would play out since their cutie marks are all linked to Rainbow Dash performing that one act... almost like magic... holy crap! Rainbow Dash is going to be the next princess! Breakfast is ruined forever!
I'm an editor. I like to think I'm pretty good at it, too. What would the exact job entail for such an endeavour as a collab?
WHY must you always put a thought provoking ESSAY as your blog entries? I would LOVE to read what other people respond, but I have no TIME >_< So, here is what my interpretation of the cutie marks is:
It's MORE than just the cutie marks that make up what a pony does - it's their name as well. I mean, what is the coincidence that Fluttershy, who has butterflies on her butt, is also incredibly shy? So I guess I'm going with a mix of social mandate and numerology..hehe, yeah, numerology. How unfair that your name is supposed to define so much about who you are as a person when you didn't even choose it!! I looked up my name once, it was really frighteningly accurate!
I try not to think TOO much about pony names and cutie marks because when it comes to ponies like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, it just drives me insane. Their special talents are to be...entitled? How do you discover that? "Oh, daddy bought me a new tiara for my birthday! This feels like....my DESTINY!" *bling bling bling*
....That was the sound of the cutie mark appearing.
And you forgot, and I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but Rarity's special talent isn't making dresses - it's finding gems!
SOOooooooo, I think destiny is what you make of it, in the end. Because Yeah, RD was all "speed demon"-y about it, but she DID clear that sky in ten seconds flat when she needed to. And Rarity didn't even use gems when sewing, I don't think, but she uses her gems that she finds to make fabulous clothing, so....win?
SEE! You broke my brain! This is why I try not to make OC's, it drives me INSANE!
Hmm... I wonder how ponies would be towards a pony that nopony knows the cutie mark of? Would they not notice that they hadn't seen it until it's mentioned, or would they be super curious?
Well... In chapter 9 of my story I talk something about it, I made a flashback into Dash's fillyhood and say that she realizes the lightning bolts represent her love for speed and etc. yet she's still not sure of what the cloud means, but she' was going to have weather classes next year, so maybe she's a natural. I believe that sometimes, cutie marks have two meanings, or "parts" but since you can only get your cutie mark once, once you realize the biggest part, or one of the parts of your talent, the other is shown, so you can find out what it is easier.
*Waves limb eagerly* Oh hell yes! I would love to help organize/edit a collab like that. Toss me a pm and we can wor out details? I myself would love to see this/another collab have ponies thinking over what their cutie marks mean akin to your blog post.
950416, 950350
As promised, I tried to give my earlier comment a more thorough treatment if you're interested. It's a great question, and I had a lot of fun thinking about it!
Also, to bookplayer, I don't think I'm in a position to really help edit a big collaboration, but I'd certainly be happy to contribute if you'd like.
Hi,
I think that'd be a great collaboration, and I'd love to be a part of it.
JMH
Magical Mystery Cure can't be used to analyze cutie marks or how they effect how the ponies lives. The spell didn't just change their cutie marks, it changed their entire destiny's (interpret that however you like). It changed their history, their future, their memory, everything.
It's impossible to tell how much of their behavior was determined by their new cutie marks, and how much was determined by their changed histories.
Unless cutie marks=destiny, then all bets are off.
Bit late to the party, but I had a thought this morning after watching Mystery Cure again last night, and I remembered seeing this blog a week ago.
The characters' new behaviour seemed not so much to do with what the cutie mark symbol itself represented. It seemed more like each character was behaving in a way that they thought the original owner should behave...
My theory is that a cutie mark, to ponies, is like a face to humans. We associate a face with a person - their personality, our memories of them - and I believe cutie marks are the same way for ponies.
For example, looking from Applejack's perspective, we would see Rarity as our friend - an overly dramatic, frou-frou dress maker. We would associate her cutie mark with those qualities. Therefore, when Applejack was given Rarity's mark, her behaviour changed to mimic what she expected of Rarity, if that makes sense. She started making dresses, and acting like a bit of a drama queen (crying and all that).
How the affected ponies determine their 'destiny' seems to have very little to do with what the cutie mark, as an image, represents. If that were the case, Applejack would be hunting down gems, Fluttershy would be throwing parties and Rarity would be makin' rainbows.
But they aren't - they're acting in such a way to mimic their friends' behaviour...
-Rarity's impression of Rainbow is that she is a weather pony by trade, so she takes that job upon herself.
-Rainbow sees Fluttershy as somepony who takes care of animals. So, as above.
-Fluttershy sees Pinkie Pie as a pony who makes people smile with her silly behaviour.
-And Pinkie sees Applejack as someone dedicated to her farm, who also happens to have a very distinct accent.
That's how the thought first came to me. In no way can I imagine that a picture of three apples (AJ's cutie mark) could be associated with a southern accent. Except the fact that it is Applejack's mark, and Pinkie sees the accent as a defining trait of her farmpony friend.
Does that all make sense? If anyone's still watching this thread, what do you think?
In any case, thanks for provoking the thought, bookplayer. I'm sure I'll find some way to use this theory in a story somewhere.