//------------------------------// // The Harsh Truth of Cutie Marks Part 2 (Apple Bloom) // Story: Aftermath of a Fallen Star // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// Aftermath of A Fallen Star By Rated Ponystar Edited by The Unnamed Pawn and Commander X5 Pre-Read by: Magic Man and Chaotic Note The Harsh Truth of Cutie Marks Part 2 (Apple Bloom’s POV) NOTE: For some reason a blog post I put up didn't get notified. I changed Diamond Tiara's dream from being a teacher to an actress at the advice of my editors. *** After her little outburst, Diamond Tiara needed a few minutes to calm down, and I needed a moment to get my mind sorted through everything that had happened today. The one thing that I was finding very hard to believe the most was the concept that anypony could hate their cutie mark. It was unheard of to me. However, the real question in my mind was about this horrible truth about cutie marks that Diamond Tiara wanted me to know. We sat on her bed in silence, staring over the wreckage left in the room. Despite my need for answers, I kept quiet until Diamond Tiara was ready to talk. I think that was the first time we ever had a moment where we weren’t trying to rip each others heads off. The awkward silence passed as she finally started to speak,. “What do you know about cutie marks?” “Um, ain’t they yer special talent? What yer meant to do in life?” “You have the first part right. They tell us what our special talent is,” she pointed at her own flank. “My talent is making jewlery. So my future is suppose to do something with jewelry, right?” She then growled and stomped her hoof on the bed. “But I don’t want to be a jeweler! I want to be an actress! I wanna be a star in Applewood!” “No offence, Diamond Tiara, but Ah hardly ever seen ya act, well except when yer lyin’ to adults,” I pointed out. “That’s because I keep it a secret...” muttered Diamond Tiara. “You know that theater studio on Greengrass Road? I’ve been taking lessons there without anypony knowing.  I’ve been lying to my dad, and everypony, by saying I’m taking jewelry making classes at Mr. Cutter’s! I’ve had to bribe him every week to lie, and if they found out I would be in trouble!” Diamond Tiara shouted, panic clear in her voice. “But I love to act. I love the idea of performing in Applewood. Getting rich and famous for my skills while being loved by everypony. I want the whole world to look at me as an idol! But I can’t have that if I’m so nopony jewel maker or distributor.” I kinda rolled my eyes when I heard this. She was still a diva, even when she was pouring her heart out to me. It even made me wonder how much of her being a bully was just acting itself? “Apple Bloom,” Tiara said, gritting her teeth, “let me ask you a question? Let’s say you want to be a politician when you grow up? You love dealing with politics, and you want to do it for the rest of your life. However, your cutie mark is something that is related to animals. You have such high ambitions and dreams, and you’re good at what you do when you play the political field. Maybe you even have enough talent to be a mayor of a city. Do you think you’ll make it?” “Well, if Ah love it so much, and Ah try real hard, then Ah’ll be able to do it, right?” I asked, but Diamond Tiara shook her head. “No, you won’t. Because our society will not let you become a politician. They will force you to do something in animals,” answered Diamond Tiara, much to my shock. “Whatever mark that you have on your flank is the destiny you’ll have to live with whether you love it or not.” “W-what?” I asked, growing paler. “Th-they can’t force anypony to do that? Can they?” “I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. I even had to have my private teachers explain it to me,” said Diamond Tiara, grimly. “No pony in Equestria is allowed to have a job, career, or even a lifestyle that doesn’t relate to their cutie mark. The law claims that it’s to keep harmony in our world, and to ensure that each job is done by the best pony possible due to their talent.” “That doesn’t seem so bad-” I was interrupted as Diamond Tiara growled and stomped again. “But what they don’t tell you is that you have no choice in the manner! You have to do that specific job for the rest of your life! The moment you get your cutie mark, your fate is decided without you choosing what you want to do! You want to be a doctor? Tough luck, you’re a farmer because you got a plowing cutie mark! What about police officer? Too bad, you are a construction pony because your flank has a nail and hammer on it! You can’t even join the Royal Guards if your cutie mark can’t be used in someway for the defense of Equestria.” “That can’t be true for every job out there!” I shouted in denial. I wanted to think this wasn’t true, that I had no choice in what I was going to become in life. “What about Derpy Hooves! She’s a mailpony, yet her cutie mark is a bunch of bubbles!” “There are jobs that anypony can take regardless of your cutie mark, but they are ones that are all custodial or public service jobs such as janitors and mailponies. Those jobs are there for the ones who can’t make a living off their cutie marks because of these laws. The reason Derpy Hooves is a mailpony is because there is no job that requires bubble blowing. She could be a great baker because of those muffins of hers, but she doesn’t have a baking or cooking cutie mark. She’s stuck in that mail job for the rest of her life, along with every other pony who had the rotten luck to get a talent that’s not associated with a decent job.” My eyes widened as what Diamond Tiara said started to make sense. I never did think about what I was going to do with my life, I was a filly after all. All I wanted was a cutie mark so I could feel special like the rest of the fillies and colts. But what if I did get a cutie mark in something other than what I wanted to do with my life? What if I was forced to do something I didn’t like? “But... but plenty of ponies love havin’ their jobs be related around their special talent! Like Rarity and Fluttershy!” “Rarity’s skill in gems can still be used for fashion. You have seen her clothes, right? And last I checked, Fluttershy took care of pets for free. She’s not a licensed vet or anything. I don’t know how she  lives off her cottage without a job, but she does,” replied Diamond Tiara, “I’m not saying that everypony hates the idea, but it’s not fair for those of us that have no choice. I should be free to choose my own destiny, not have it decided for me,” whispered Diamond Tiara, crossing her forelegs. “That’s why I supported Princess Twilight Sparkle. She wanted to give all ponies a chance to explore new areas outside of their cutie marks. A chance to adapt and change our lives by being free to choose what they want to be.” “That doesn’t sound so bad, so why not have that?” I asked. “Do you ever read history?!” she asked, which made me rub the back of my neck in embarrassment. History wasn’t one of my favorite subjects. Most of the time I spent that class doodling. “When Equestria was formed, ponies were forced to work to survive. They decided that everypony should be given a job based on their cutie mark since their special talent would make sure they could get the job done perfectly. That’s understandable for the start of a nation, but even two thousand years later, nopony changed that stupid old law.” “Why?” I asked, raising my eyebrow. “Why would anypony want to keep things so... the same?” “One word: control,” answered Diamond Tiara, shaking her head. “Which race does most of the labor, farming, and down and dirty jobs? Earth ponies. Most earth ponies get cutie marks related to their physical strength or something earth related. Many pegasi get ones with military and weather so they often are in charge of that. And unicorns? Politics, teaching, and magic. They are always the ones who make most of the laws in everything. And almost all of the nobles in the Council are unicorns, save for a few.: She paused to take a quick breath. “And guess who makes most of the laws of our society along with the princesses? Who else besides her has power to change the country? After Luna’s banishment, she needed their help to run the nation for a thousand years, and who did she give power to? The council, and any of those ‘traditionalist’ ponies.” The gears in my head were starting to turn. “Wait a darn minute, are ya sayin’ that... they keep it this way on purpose? Why?” “They claim that the way we live our lives is fine. Having this system where we keep our professions tied to our special talent makes us happy, and keeps Equestria moving with the best possible ponies there are. But in reality, it’s to make sure that nopony rises above the status they were born into. Very few ever break it, like Miss Cheerilee...” “Miss Cheerilee? But her cutie mark was that she made students smile when she taught, right?” I asked in disbelief, still remembering the story she told students many times. “Are... are ya sayin’ she lied?” “She has to in order to keep her job, and not get arrested for falsifying her credentials,” muttered Diamond Tiara. “I told her my problems when I got my cutie mark, and she confessed that her cutie mark was centered around gardening, not teaching. She sympathized with me when I told her I wanted to be an actress and she explained that she lied to get the job she wanted. It was tough, but they were convinced when they saw students smiling as she taught during her training.” “What... what would happen if she was caught?” I asked, frighteningly. Miss Cheerilee was one of the nicest adults I knew, and one of the best teachers ever. She had won many awards for Celestia’s sake. I never wanted anything bad to happen to her. “She would be taken to jail... just  like my nanny,” said Diamond Tiara as she gazed back at the photo of Strawberry Star. “My nanny... she was my first friend. The one adult in my life who I could count on for anything. My mother...” she growled, “... left us for some richer stallion in Manehatten. My dad loves me, but he’s always busy working. I was all alone until I had Strawberry Star. She read me stories at night, played games with me during the day. And she even took care of me when I was sick. Before I met Silver Spoon, she was the most important pony in my life.” “What... happened to her?” I asked, but I had a bad feeling in my stomach. “... one of the butlers said that she had a fake cutie mark when he saw her take it off in her room. It turned out her special talent was ice cream making, but she wanted to be a nanny. So she faked her cutie mark to have a chance to live out her dream because she was denied every nanny job. Having a fake cutie mark and falsifying your credentials is illegal, so they arrested her,” muttered Diamond Tiara, tears flowing down her eyes as she hunched over. “I tried to stop them from taking her away. I begged and screamed for them to stop, but my dad refused to do anything. The last thing she said to me was... was that she loved me like I was her own daughter, and to be a good girl...” I started seeing Diamond Tiara in a new light as tears slid down my cheeks. Bully or not, that was a horrible thing to go through at such a young age. A few seconds later, I found myself hugging her as she cried on my shoulders. While I felt pity for her, I also felt rage at the thought of arresting a pony who was clearly good at her job, even if she faked her cutie mark to get it in the first place. There was also fear. Fear for myself and my friends for when we will get our cutie marks. What if our talents won’t be related to be the careers we wanted in our lives? What if we will be stuck in jobs that weren’t our dream? “... I’ve tried to learn where she is now, but my dad still refuses to do anything out of embarrassment,” muttered Diamond Tiara, shaking her head. “When that happened, I realized that cutie marks were not as glamorous as I thought they would be. Ponies have the right to be different, and have their own passions. It’s who we are as individuals, yet, we shouldn’t be forced to have our lives decided by them. We should be free to choose what we want to be, regardless of our cutie marks.” Diamond Tiara sighed, “But with Princess Twilight dead, her efforts to make such a world exist is gone. She was my only hope to give me, and others, a future where we wouldn’t be subjected to fate...” It was all a bit much for a filly like me to deal with. I realize now that Diamond Tiara had grown up far faster than the rest of us because of what happened to her. And the actual revelation that we lived in a world where one single thing determined your future was just... scary. I wondered how many other ponies were like Diamond Tiara’s nanny or Miss Cheerilee, hiding their passions in fear? How many ponies forced themselves to live a life they didn’t want to have? How could Princess Celestia agree to something like this? I felt my world had shattered a bit, and I didn’t know what to do. But then I remembered something that Applejack told me when she came back from the trial. My face grew into a smile as I shouted out, “Yes, it can still happen!” “Huh?” murmured Tiara, raising her eyebrow. “Diamond, mah sister was at the trial for those that killed Twilight. She said that Princess Celestia was goin’ to make sure every plan Twilight had was gonna to come true. She swore it!” I nearly shouted with joy. “She... she did?” asked Diamond Tiara with wide eyes. “You mean... there is a chance?” “Ah know there is a chance, but ya can do somethin’ as well. Yer gonna inherit some o yer Pa’s fortune and contacts when ya become an adult, right? Why not use it to help make those changes happen?” “Wait... you... want me to do it? Don’t you hate me?” asked Diamond Tiara. “Ah...” I bit my lip. “Ah don’t like ya, but Ah guess Ah don’t want to see ya be miserable about not chasin’ yer dream. Beside, we both wanna honor Twilight, right? If yer stickin’ up for her like ya did to Silver Spoon when she was bad mouthin’ her, then Ah guess that makes us out on the same team.” For a moment, Diamond Tiara stared at her hooves for a bit, pondering on what I said. “Do you.. really think things will change? That I can be an actress regardless?” “Ah guess so...” “... thanks...” The two of us stared at each  in silence. It was... it was the first time she ever thanked me for something. We sat there, looking at each other with uncertainty on what this meant. Maybe if I had done something, we could have become friends, but instead I just nodded and said, “Um, well. Ah’m glad yer okay now... Ah’m going to go now.” “Y-yeah, sure... bye,” she replied as I slowly left the room. *** The next day, I told the other Crusaders that we needed to have an emergency meeting at the clubhouse. When we arrived, I looked at my two friends and all that we had in our special fort which was for the purpose of one thing: finding our cutie marks. I didn’t know if we would still keep such a goal in mind when I told them the truth I had learned. “What’s up, Apple Bloom. What was so important that you wanted to talk to us about?” asked Scootaloo as she and Sweetie Belle sat down. We were all wearing our capes... the last day we ever wore them. “Girls... it’s about cutie marks... what they really are in today’s world...” *** The Little Apple would sometimes see the Jeweled Diva occasionally Between the dozens of photographers they would stare at each other They would give a small nod of respect and smile And turn away back to their own lives.