Preview Of Next Upcoming 'Ask The Swapped Ponies' · 9:37am Sep 11th, 2014
Draziw Asks:
Dear Twilight,
Do you believe cutie marks are a manifestation of a pony's destiny or a representation of a pony's driving interest?
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
My personal belief is that the former stems from the latter, that a pony’s driving interest plays a large part in determining her destiny. Here’s an example: if swimming is my passion, then I am destined to get wet. If garbage collecting is my passion, I am destined to get stinky.
She smiles.
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
And I believe that cutie marks play into both.
DRAZIW
If a cutie mark is linked to destiny, would that mean a pony's destiny is undetermined until his or her cutie mark finally appears? Or is it set at birth and later revealed through the cutie mark?
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
It can be tempting to believe that one’s life is ‘set at birth,’ but I don’t. I think back to some of those alternate universes which I saw in my dreams. Like me, those other Twilight Sparkles were born as unicorns with a phenomenal level of magic power. But one became a farmer. One became Captain of the Wonderbolts. And I became the Element of Magic.
She smiles.
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
So it’s not so much who you were born, as how you decide to use the abilities you were given at birth. As well as your overall attitude, and how you react to things. And birth is too early for anything like that.
DRAZIW
If a cutie mark's meaning has to be interpreted, does that mean a single cutie mark can have multiple meanings?
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
It can. Depends on the pony.
DRAZIW
How does The Swap know which meaning to use as a compulsion for the affected pony? How does The Swap even know how to interpret the cutie mark in the first place?
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
(laughs a little)
You don’t wanna know HOW close I almost came to saying, ‘You should go ask the Swap.’
She sits herself on the couch.
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
Let’s see… I think The Swap first considers what’s possible on a PHYSICAL scale. Take Rarity, as she is now. The old Rainbow Dash… her biggest ambition was to become a Wonderbolt. But unicorns can’t be Wonderbolts, any more than they can live underwater. So the Swap settled on having Rarity refocus on weather. From there… um… it interprets the cutie mark like… like a… what’s it called… like a caricature! Yes! Let’s say you have a nose that’s slightly larger-than-average. Sit in front of a caricaturist, and she’ll make that nose your entire face. Whatever’s most conspicuous about you as a person; it’ll take it and exaggerate it further. That’s how the Swap would interpret your personality traits, and pass them onto another.
this view of MLP's "destiny" is totes canon
[Princess Celestia]
Your destiny's uncertain
And that's sometimes hard to take
But it will become much clearer
With every new choice you make