The Purpose of the Cutie Map

Time for a ramble!!

I felt it’s been up in the air for a long time what the cutie map is really about.
Of course we know the surface of it. The map is a magic mcguffin summoning chosen ponies to deal with ‘friendship problems’ on different scales.

But why? And, I suspect the original purpose behind all this, whatever it may be, might gone off track over time.

Let’s take a look at that, while I Ramble.

So, what do we know of the map?

It appeared with Princess Twilight’s Castle, or Castle Friendship, when created by the Tree of Harmony to replace the lost library and provide a more royal base of operation to the young alicorn.

The map activated the first time when all of the Mane Six was together in their thrones provided along with map and castle.

The map chooses specific ponies, at first solely only the Mane Six, and shows them where to go with no further directions on what to do. But it has a clear end goal in mind, as it also signals to the map when their mission is complete.

The Map’s name, Cutie Map, refers to its choice of communication by the use of ponies’ cutiemarks, and by the episode title it was first introduced in. As well as being a play on the word Cutiemark, and without that context “Cutie Map” isn’t the most dignified name. Although usually just refered to on show as “The Map”.

So, what kind of missions do the map send its ponies to, and for what purpose?

Missions of Season 5 - Communities

The first mission (The Cutie Map, s5ep1-2) included all of the Mane Six and sent them to Starlight Glimmer’s village. With nothing to let the Mane Six know what it was even about, why they were chosen to go where and what any of it meant.

The mission turning out to stop a cult and its charismatic leader. A small growing society with a spreading ideology, climaxing with the leader FORCING ponies, a princess even, to join her cult without the softer convincing used on her subjects. The cult was ended with the members having their cutiemarks returned and their leader running away.

Next mission (The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, s5ep8) sent two ponies, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, outside of Equestrian boarders and to the griffon kingdoms. Specifically the falling apart town of Griffonstone which had lost a great artifact in the past. A society crumbling until provided new means to prosper through a new ideology of working together instead of focusing personal greed. It was not all fixed in one go, but a seed planted to hope it would grow and change things.

Rarity and Applejack is sent to Manehattan (Made in Manehattan, s5ep16), to save community from losing touch with each other and remember that a small thing done by each can together make something bigger.

And then Twilight and Fluttershy (The Hoofield and McColts, s5ep23) goes to stop an old family feud between two clans with settlements close by unable to coexist until solving how to work together instead of against one another.

The full 5th season the Map’s focus is on saving communities from falling apart. The scale is bigger. A cult spreading, growing to a point where free will is no longer an option on whether or not one is to join. A foreign town fallen from glory in need of new directions. A city community that used to be the driving example of working together to help one another. Two clans wasting their resources on fighting (with inspiration from a real life clan feud which had a plenty of a death count).

Then Starlight Glimmer returned at the end of season 5 and repurposed the Map to power a time travel spell. The Map no longer summoning certain ponies by their cutiemarks, but stays an anchor in the different timelines for Twilight to keep traveling back and look for a way to fix things.

Then things changed. The Map had to be reactivated by Twilight Sparkle the now reformed Starlight Glimmer in the start of season 6, to once again call ponies in for friendship missions.

Magic Mishaps and Small Scale Problems

The missions had changed. Instead of sending ponies to save communities, the focus became a much smaller scale. A couple of shop owners with a failing business. A lying business owner manipulating his staff. Wonderbolt cadets in need of tutoring to pass their class.

Following that Twilight Sparkle in season 7 (Celestial Advice, s7ep1) uses the map for a spell to create images of her worries about sending Starlight Glimmer away.

Shortly after the map gets accidentally teleported by Trixie (All Bottled Up, s7ep2).

After that (A Royal Problem, s7ep10) the Map only sends ONE pony on a friendship mission, Starlight Glimmer, to help the Royal Sisters with their personal problems between the two of them.

Spike, the first ever non-pony summoned by the map, is tasked to fix the friendship problem he was causing himself (Triple Threat, s7ep15), by not trusting his friends to get along and instead cause a war between them.

From saving communities, the Map had scaled down to smaller problems one wouldn’t think would need outsiders from afar should be needed to fix. Two Wonderbolt students might fail. That’s a teacher’s job to realize and fix. One could argue it’s about helping the Mane Six to develop further as they each learn lessons from their missions.

The Map proves it’s still in for the big scale when providing clues in the season finale Shadow Play (s7ep26-27) on where to find the Pony of Shadow and let the Pillars and Elements work together to save a lost pony while also banishing a dark force. AFTER Starswirl manipulates it to show his own ideas where to look first.

Then the map goes back to smaller scale problems afterwards. A hippogiff kid is unsure whether to live with Mom or Dad (Surf And/Or Turf, s8ep6), the summoned ponies being the Cutiemark Crusaders. Sunbursts get called all the way from the Crystal Kingdom to go with Starlight to fix their relationship with their parents (The Parent Map, s8ep8).

Unseen Future and Technical Issues

Did the Map change from the magic manipulation and breaking over time? Or do these small scale cases still fulfill whatever grand scheme the Map is plotting?

That, of course, alludes to there actually being a grand scheme behind the Map. Why does it send ponies on friendship missions? Why certain ponies for certain places? In the start the focus was on whole communities and the long term effects the actions on the missions will have. It seemed grander.

Then the Map was manipulated by a time spell, to be fixed by magic of a unicorn and an alicorn. Ponies like Twilight who saw small issues to be the same scale as big ones. Did they change the original setting to something they figured was as good? Unintentionally of course.

The Map isn’t invulnerable towards magic manipulation, seems like any pony can effect the Map. Trixie teleported it while still learning magic beyond her usual skills. Or are these smaller cases just more densed down issues which can have a greater effect later on?

After all, in time travel we learned any slightest change in the past can and will change the future greatly. Even if only interrupting a race between foals in different manners. Potentially, the Map is seeing ahead and knows to change little things in the presence to preserve the future.

Two young cadets needed in the Wonderbolts as individual talents instead of relying on one another to succeed. What do they mean to the future of Equestria? After all, they are joining a military force. Spike was actively told by the Map to cut that crap out and stop causing an incident between two powerful nations by not trusting they could get along. Dragons and Changelings are great allies to keep after all.

But then there is saving a failing restaurant, usurping a hotel and casino manager, helping a kid to deal with life in two homes and fix the relationship with parents for two side characters.

Is the Map funked up from its original purpose, or are there still a grand plan behind it all? Was there ever a grand plan to begin with?

Map of Wonders Friendship

What IS the Map? It grew with the Castle Friendship into existence from where the Tree of Harmony planted its power. The Tree of Harmony and Elements in general still mysterious forces. Even those who originally planted the Tree of Harmony had no clues what it would become.

Is it directly linked to the Elements? Linked to the Tree of Harmony? The Tree was first planted merely to save a seed of the grand magic of the Pillars of Equestria before they sent themselves to Limbo. They had n o other plan beyond hoping this seed could grow to a force that could help protect Equestria.

The Tree was later discovered by the Royal Sisters, who took the Elements it held to defeat Discord with their power and the representation of the values the Pillars used to stand for.

Without the Elements, after 1000 years the Tree of Harmony faltered in its duty to protect Equestria. Unable to hold back the vines Discord planted ages ago and thus let havoc loose. Reunited with the Elements the Tree could once again protect Equestria, rendering even the Everfree Forest so little a threat that ponies constantly wander in and out of it freely now.

In return the Tree created a Chest of Harmony the Mane Six could only unlock with special keys they earned through understanding both sides of their respective Element.

This unlocked the Rainbow Powers that temporarily gave the Mane Six the super powers to defeat the big bad at the time. Leaving a discussion for the fans whether it was the power of the box or just the unlocked potential within the Mane Six themselves.

The Chest itself is brought to Ponyville by the Friendship Rainbow Super Duper Powah of Dah Tree of Harmony And Stuff, where it is planted where the destroyed Golden Oak Library used to be and creates the Castle Friendship along with the Map.

Is the Chest the Map? Is the Chest the Castle? Or were both things a gift from within the Chest? Might the Chest still be somewhere within the castle or underneath it?

That is hard to tell.

Is this an ever growing force that will keep creating more McGuffins, or is the faulty map the last twitches of this exhausted magic source of power still struggling to keep Equestria safe?

Hard to say.

Conclusion(?)

Harmony, Friendship, Cutie, Castle, Elements, Chests, Boxes, Trees, Maps and so on. All coming from one seed those who planted it had no idea what it would grow to be.

How does these things know what to do and how. What rules and guidelines do these forces follow? The Elements turned a living spirit into an eternity of stone imprisonment, another was banished to a thousands years on the moon, before purged from the evil within caused by jealousy.

The stationary Tree suppresses danger and negative influences on the land.

The Chest unboxed new wonders and real estate.

The Map sends ponies out on seemingly random quests with no rhyme or reason on WHY, starting from saving communities to just helping individuals on small scales they could solve themselves or at least not be a catastrophe when lost, least of all to the unrelated ponies who got sent out to fix the problems in the first place.

So, will we ever truly know? Will any of these things ever truly be explained or will ponies just continue to shrug it off and just roll with it until a new mcguffin is revealed?

Who knows?

Personally… I still think SOMETHING is the driving force of all of this. And I feel it can all be tracked back to the Tree itself, the driving force starting this chain.

Each thing we got from the Tree, the Element, the Chest, the Castle, the Map, each is planted by the tree for a purpose. Setting its own seeds of power to grow new artifacts. Just like it once was seeded to become a new protective force. It is a new life, made up of magic force, acting like any other life. Spreading its seeds to carry on its purpose.

Each thing that comes from the Tree each given their own purpose.

But as with anything happen seemingly at random without a first planned purpose, these items are created with more intention than actual plan. They are just fruits of different flavours, each happening to help in saving the day in different ways. Shaped by the needs sensed from the ponies around them.

The driving force is not one of thought. It is a pure magic force simply acting like a plant, setting its seeds to grow into more magic force with a physical form. The Castle of Friendship carries Twilight’s cutiemark. Provided with thrones for each of the Element Bearers. Because they all effected the Elements of Harmony, before they were returned to the tree. Before the Mane Six, the Elements were shaped like simple gems, even when used by the Princesses. The Tree holds the mark of the Sun and Moon, the first to find the Tree and use its fruits, the Elements. All these things shape based on who interact and influence them.

Will it stretch too thin or keep growing stronger? We don’t know.

The Map? Ah yes, the original subject of this whole ramble.

The Map may seem faulty, and I believe it very well might be from magic mishaps in the past. But as random as its actions and choices may seem, both before and after the first magic mishap, is driven by a specific force. Time. It foresees the past, presence and future. It provides clues to fix tiny in the timeline before they turn into a problem for a yet unseen future. Was this the original purpose? Or a side effect from Starlight’s time travel?

Was is in the start only meant to fix settled communities? And then moved to fix minor issues to save an unknown future?

I like to think so.

But this is just me rambling my own thoughts. Thank you if you managed to get through this whole wall of text if you made it this far.