MLP Theory #1: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's special talent. · 7:12pm Mar 18th, 2015
I don't know what brought this on, but maybe I just wanted to get some of my personal thoughts about certain aspects of the fandom out there, and since I don't have a youtube channel (yet) I figured I'd start doing it here. So this is my first MLP Theory, hopefully the first of many.
This theory is about Ponyville's local alpha bitch and her personal leech, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They're one of the more controversial characters in the fandom from my perspective. Some people like them, and see that there's more to them then meets the eye. Like with most bullies, they probably have a lot of personal issues and insecurities that they deal with as well.
But then you have those people who just see them as the worst ponies in Equestria. Even though Equestria has things like fire breathing dragons, three headed demons dogs, Tirek, Chrysalis, Sombra before he was killed (this is a kids show, right? I'm just checking): yet somehow two fillies at least 8 years old are worse than ALL of that.
Yeah... okay.
In this blog post, I'm also going to tag my story Beautiful Monster, for those who want to see my interpretation of these two in canon, and how they met. So I'm not going into why they are the way they are in this blog post. Instead, I'm going to focus on their Cutie Marks, and what their special talents are.
And yes, they have special talents. REAL special talents.
I can already hear people reading this thinking "Their special talents are just mooching off of their parents!" "Diamond Tiara is her daddy's little princess, and Silver Spoon gets spoon fed everything in her life!" "You read too deeply into everything!"
Yeah, I probably do, but I'm an interesting person because of it. And I actually have proof that I'm not just talking out of my ass here.
First of all, let's look at how Cutie Marks work. There are two episodes that give us a lot of insight on how Cutie Marks work. First there's Cutie Pox. Apple Bloom gets a number of different Cutie Marks, and each one gives her a different talent that she has to follow no matter what. Such as tap dancing, or speaking random French. There's also the Magical Mystery Cure, where the Mane 6 end up switching Cutie Marks. The interesting thing here is that they have each other's special talents, but they're horrible at them. What this shows though is that the Cutie Mark is something significant, and whatever it is, the pony who has it can't ignore it.
But that doesn't really prove that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have meaningful talents. It just proves that their Cutie Marks actually mean something to them. So, how do we know that their Cutie Marks actually give them talents of some sort. The evidence is in the very fillies they torment.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders.
These three fillies try everything to get their Cutie Marks, and some of them are pretty significant. They also truly believe that their talents will be these things. This means that you can't convince yourself into getting a special talent.
For example, Silver Spoon couldn't have decided that she would spend the rest of her life being a spoiled rich brat that gets handed everything to her on a silver platter and get a Cutie Mark. Cutie Marks appear when the pony hears their calling, or realizes what they're truly good at. From what I've seen, everyone has something that they're good at in Equestria. So their Cutie Marks probably came when whey learned what it is that makes them special.
"But Sapphire!!! Diamond Tiara's Cutie Mark is just a diamond tiara, and Silver Spoon's Cutie Mark is a Silver Spoon!!! Their names are their Cutie Marks!!!"
Yes, that is true. However, we see this in a lot of ponies. Princess Celestia's Cutie Mark is the sun, and her name is derived from the word "celestial" referring to the sun. Princess Luna's Cutie Mark is the moon, and her name actually comes from the term "lunar" which refers to the moon. The name "Luna" actually means moon, I think. Don't quote me on that.
Let's look at the Apple Family though. Everyone here has an apple themed name. Likewise, they all have a Cutie Mark with an apple in it, or with some sort of apple aspect to it. Granny Smith (that isn't her real name, I'm sure) has an Apple Pie for a Cutie Mark. Also, Applejack, who has three apples as her Cutie Mark. Her special talent has something to do with keeping the family together, or being connected to her family, as she gained her Cutie Mark when she learned that she was supposed to be with her family.
Then there's Rarity, who has three diamonds as her Cutie Mark. Her name does sort of have that feel of a precious stone, or something that is rare to find. Rainbow Dash has a rainbow colored lightning bolt, yeah... you get it.
So the whole name argument isn't valid either.
That being said, what are Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's special talents?
Well, here's my theory.
Diamond Tiara's special talent is being a leader. Ponies listen to her, and she can easily get what she wants. We see this in how she is her daddy's little princess, how she seems to be able to get herself out of any sort of trouble unless there's hard evidence against her. Also, she was the head of the school newspaper. Some people wonder what Cheerilee was thinking in giving her the job, but I personally think that's a symbol of her talent. She was good at leading. The only problem came from her lack of maturity. Special talents can be used for both good and evil after after all. This talent could easily be signified with a crown or tiara, which is a symbol of female leadership.
Now Silver Spoon is tougher, as we don't know as much about her. As far as we can tell, she's just the follower to Diamond Tiara. But wait, she has a Cutie Mark too. And based off what we've gone over so far, it has to mean something. There are a number of ways to interpret Silver Spoon's Cutie Mark from my perspective.
1: Silver Spoon's special talent is knowing the value of something on sight. I used this for Beautiful Monster as Silver Spoon's talent, and its the one I tend to use the most these days now that I'm better at writing. The spoon on her flank could actually represent the antique spoon that she appraised on sight to get her Cutie Mark, and possibly saved her father's business or someone else's. This could also attribute to her friendship with Diamond Tiara in canon as she's convinced that there's a lot of value in that relationship, and maybe there is. Silver Spoon might gain something important being close to Diamond Tiara, whether that be financial security, protection, or something that Silver Spoon currently holds in high regard, position in society. Her talent allows her to see the affects of certain investments, friendships, or actions. Her problem here would be similar to Diamond Tiara, lack of maturity. She's putting value in things that don't really matter. Yeah, being close to Diamond Tiara does have benefits, but maybe she doesn't realize yet that her behavior actually stops her from making truly meaningful relationships that'll last longer. She wants instant gratification, but doesn't realize what she's missing.
I have another theory about Silver Spoon though.
2: Silver Spoon's special talent is giving information and advice. What does a spoon do? You use a spoon to eat, drink soup, and spoon feeding is often used to describe giving advice to someone in small pieces. Her Cutie Mark then is a physical representation of what she does to others, which would be the perfect mirror to Diamond Tiara's special talent. Diamond Tiara stays in front, moving the masses, inspiring others. Silver Spoon on the other hand, stays in the shadows, pushing others forward with her words, avoiding attention perhaps due to shyness or simply a love of being the puppeteer (believe me, those people exist. I know someone just like that, actually). Maybe this is why she and Diamond Tiara are so close. Either Diamond Tiara depends on Silver Spoon's advice, or Silver Spoon is secretly pushing Diamond Tiara to do what she wants. Either way, with this theory, it's Silver Spoon that's pulling the strings.
Now, none of these talents make them bad ponies. In another theory, I'll go into what makes them who they are and possibly what their future could be.
But now I want to hear from you guys. What do you think Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's special talents are? Do you think they have talent, or are they just spoiled brats. And why do you think that way. I really want to know.
Finally, if you have any ideas for theories you want me to speak on, post that in the comments as well.
Very interesting points, but I feel like Applejack's name comes from an alcoholic beverage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(beverage)
Why is there no like button on blog posts!? I want to save this for future reference. I really like your first theory on Silver Spoon's Cutie Mark.
another lol theory for Diamond's cutie mark is that she is good at being a royal pain.
Minor correction; Luna is in fact the proper name of our planet's moon. The planet itself is called Terra. Our sun is named Sol.
2889168 I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully the next one I ever do will be just as good.
2889742 Thank you. That goes with what I was thinking actually.
Huh, an abstract theory of DT and SS's talents, that's new to me. Normally, I see fans portraying their talents in a literal sense with Diamond Tiara being a jeweler and Silver Spoon being...a chef or was it a silversmith(can't recall) Either way, their talents tend to intertwine in that regard.
However, I do like your theory as well since it follows the abstract concept of what kind of talent a cutie mark represents, like Cheerilee's own cutie mark. It could be something literal or somewhat obscure.
brb following real quick
2890606 I feel like in canon, their special talents would be something like this, as a lot of Cutie Marks seem to represent a somewhat abstract concept, like you pointed out with Cheerilee. I think Cutie Marks are meant to show what it is that makes each pony special, rather than showing off the one thing they can do.
Also, what sort of talents would a rich pony really have? What kind of talents really match someone who's a master of making money. I doubt menial labor is even an option for these two.
Hmm, it looks like your theory about Diamond Tiara being able to get people to do what she wants was right in some regards. :)
3489724 I KNOW!!!
I was freaking out! This means that I actually know what I'm talking about!
I like this theory. It's very convincing. I'm adopting it as a headcanon now