Naturally I will re-write this in first person, and the OC already has three stories to his name, this is basically something that I came-up with.

One idea I had a few days ago was that Arcanum Folklore got his cutie mark in a traumatizing fashion. He was a young colt, about ten years of age. He was in Erenn (The Ancient Celtic name of Ireland), the land of his ancestors with his father Compass Lore, and a Unicorn noble from Canterlot, let's call him Irontrack. In a large somewhat luxurious tent in a foggy green field next to the ruins of a small castle with glowing Celtic Runes on it's somehow still intact entrance.

With Irontrack came an Earthen (Earth Pony) maid named Vapor Whistle. Compass Lore and Irontrack were sitting in a small oak table drinking tea, while Vapor Whistle cheerfully served it. Dr. Compass Lore, and Antiquarian and Sorcerer under the employment of the Equestrian Civil Service, ws there doing research into the appearance of ghosts near the castle of the legendary Druids of the Tuatha De Danann that raised a storm to stop the Melisians from invading. It was an ancient place near a forest whose trees grew wild and felt as if it where more than meets the eye. The castle itself was small, but made of large stone, carefully carved, design not medieval, but strange, western ancient but not Greek or Romulous. The site was older than the princesses by more than four-thousand years at the very least.

Miss Whistle was fond of the young boy, he was curious and often tried to impress her with the odd trick or two, felt he had some sort of boyhood crush. Which she found hilarious, like one that some boys have on their school teachers. As for Compass Lore and Irontrack they spent more time arguing, at first because Compass wasn't to fond of him and did everything in his power to leave the sight that he would get his report once the research was properly done.

Irontrack on the otherhoof insisted that just because Celestia had trust in a Celtic Sorcerers abilities doesn't mean that he wasn't going to let him take the glory of what he considers to be initially his discovery. Specially not caring that that Celtic Sorcerer said that the place was already well known by the Celt, and their ilk for centuries and a place belonging to the Fay, that even if it was seemingly abandoned, it first had to be inspected and then seek out the fay to see if they are willing to bargain for it before any proper Antiquarian and Archaeological work would be done there. He considered that immigrant was more interested in scarring him out of his fame in order to further his own status rather than help, even if technically Irontracker was the stranger in what is by all standards the home of the Celtic Unicorns.

At some point Irontraker went out of his way to say that as the son of an Earth-pony and Unicorn union little Lore must not be even able to lift a small stone with magic. Compass Lore undignified and ready to commit murder at the drop of hat. Called to his son to heat the tea, the boy did, then he asked of him to lift the crate with his tools and books, he did so with ease, and finally told him to spin three gold coins on the table and start a small flame in the center at the same time. He did so without problem.

And with that Compass Lore looked at Irontrak's face with the sort of smug smile one has when they prove their point so absolutely that a drink was in order. While Irontrak's eye twitched as he stared thinking on how his own three sons where so abysmal in their studies and grades that they failed to get into Celestia's School for Gifted unicorns twice over, yet the boy he looked at was younger than his sons by two years yet used magic at a skilled Unicorn Swordstallion's level. The bastard Compass even gloated of the training that he had been putting the boy through since he could write his own name at four.... At which point they were ready to to come to blows.

Unbeknownst to the two grown stallions in the large tent. Miss Vapor Whistle had seemingly vanished into thin air. The boy took a black vest, laid the crate down gently, and then left the tent, he noticed Miss Vapor Whistle's fancy maid hat. He then heard a faint scream, a faint scream in Vapor Whistle's voice in the direction of the ruined castle...

The boy galloped, and went through the entrance, he saw drops of blood, fresh blood, he was scared, more scared that he had ever been on that point in his life, but he dared not scream or run away. He trotted carefully to an open oaken door, accented with gold. It was the entrance, into the main building right after the wall. He galloped in, and in there he saw darkness, so he lit a flame, floated it above his head, he had a hard time concentrating due to fear so it was hard to keep that small flame in front of him going until he found a dusty torch next to the door behind him. He lit it as quickly as he could and then held it on his small foal mouth. He kept going into the darkness following corridors, halls, and hallways. Until he reached room with a craved battle on it;s side among unicorns and long eared ponies. on the bottom of that wall a large gap, a hole large enough for an adult pony to crawl under. And he saw Miss Vapor Whistle her top half still in her maid dress, she looked at the boy Folklore, and screamed to gallop away, begged him, the boy didn't listen he floated the torch nearby and tried to bull her out of there, and he couldn't, something was pulling her back yet he kept trying to pull her away form that hole.

He heard a crunch, and ripping, and Miss Vapor Whistle started screaming again and crying in agony the young boy had never heard before until she stopped suddenly and he somehow could somewhat mover her, he began to drag her away. Untill he came to face with a small old pony no bigger than him with long ears, with bony scales on his forehead and a long wooden pipe wearing a fur coat seemingly made from a wolf. He was greyish blue much like him, and he smiled with sharp pointy teeth. He started laughing for some reason, laughing like someone who told a really funny joke to him. Then the laughing stopped immediately and the boy the colt Folklore say a fire iron through the skewered through his heart and he was bleeding gold blood, holding that fire iron was the boys father Compass Lore, behind his father was Lord Irontrack holding a lantern to light the way. Compass lore pulled the fire iron out of what is unbeknownst to young Folklore was called a Leprechaun, and then both father and son, Folklore and Compass Lore saw Lord Irontrack swarmed and seemingly being eaten alive by a dozens of Leprechauns and so both father and son left galloping dragging the seemingly unconscious Miss Vapor Whistle along.

Eventually father and son reached the outside of the castle in the foggy weather.

They looked at each other as they took deep breaths trying to process what happened. Then they both looked to Miss Vapor Whistle, and what they saw....

Miss Vapor Whistles bottom legs and waist were gone, ripped, or more likely bitten off- her bloodied entrails dragging behind her her eyes wide open. Her dress torn from the waist down....

Then the boy, young Arcanum Folklore knew what the little blue old-pony was laughing about...

The boy and his father then dig a hole three meters deep, they closed the eyes of Miss Vapor Whistle, and bury her they then pyrokinetically torch the hole, and then they pay their respects. Followed by them filling the hole. At that point Miss Vapor Whistle was dead and buried.

A day had past, and the young ten year old Folklore was in a hotel room looking at the ceiling still not believing everything that happened.

Then he looked to the door and there he saw Miss Vappor trail, glowing blue, and translucent like a mix between glass and fog. The grown twenty year old mare knelled down to him looked at him in the eye and kissed him the cheek.

Then she became mere blue smoke, and the young colt began to weep, desperately trying to hold the smoke in the air to no avail. His father galloped in and opened the door only to see the boy weeping on the hotel room floor and and on his rump something surprising the ancient symbol, the Eye of Horus and that was the boys cutie mark.

The gist? A unicorn foal tried to find and save his first crush which happened to be an adult Mare, only to think that he succeeded, then learning that he failed, and then buried her, and then getting a goodbye kiss on the cheek from her ghost as a thank you for trying. And he gets his Cutie-Mark because of that little kiss. Then weep in memory of the events....

That is going to need a ton of therapy.

6409622 Why did he get a protection cutie mark if he sucks at protecting?

6409635
More like a detection one, one of the things about the Eye of Horus is that its meaning is not really straightforward protection, it's observation. Meaning that by looking for danger one know where to best avoid it.

Basically he is more of an offensive sorcerer that looks for where trouble is rather than keep ponies safe. Basically knowledge is power and knowledge of danger is more important.

Plus I sort of hate the whole "Protection" special talent and the idea that a special talent is something unique to you and you can never fail. Twilight up until she got her wings often performed magic recklessly causing problems for everyone. She was wild power, power that did far more that she herself could understand.

I look at all the OC's that have their "Protection" special talents and realize that they are all Mary Sue bastards with a serious problem.

No the special talent is actually "perception", notice what other cannot for one reason or another. As for his inability to save the maid.... He was a kid. You expect me to actually allow his first rescue of something horrible to be successful? The fact that he had the audacity to try at all was a bit nuts, and his father had to go in and save him in the end.

Many including the Pinkerton Detective Agency and many detective agencies used the Eye of Providence and the Eye of Horous as their logos because they gave the idea that they could look where no one else could, most cutie marks are subjective, and often have the meaning that their bearers give them rather that what the symbol or object actually is.

The Eye of Horus also had several meanings, not just protection, it meant healing.

There are seven differenthieroglyphsused to represent the eye, most commonly "ir.t" in Egyptian, which also has the meaning "to make or do" or "one who does".^[5]In Egyptian myth the eye was not the passive organ of sight but more an agent of action, protection or wrath.

The Eye of Horus was represented as a hieroglyph, designatedD10inGardiner's sign list.^[12]It is represented in theUnicodecharacter block for Egyptian hieroglyphs as U+13080 (𓂀).^[13]

As many problems that face symbols of the ancient world is that you also have to understand them as the people that made them understood them. To the Ancient Egyptians there is no difference between protection and punishment, they happily would use fear to insure their safety. As such, what you think can be a replacement for the shield as a symbol of protection is actually a symbol of wrath and authority.

Funny how things are.

But If you feel that it's maddening and that I am an idiot then I'll also point out that Cutie Marks are not important at all. They be indicators of what you believe you represent but in the end their influence is just to you, not the universe. There is no grater destiny only your will and what you want to do with existence, the whole classical idea of what a Cutie Mark is made from childish and optimistic "the world has a plan for us" mindset, when in reality the world doesn't care.

Basically what a Cutie Mark is means different things to different Equine cultures, and no one has the absolute authority on it, nor should they.

Or you know, I am just an idiot that wanted something to meant "perception" because it is one of the things it means from a more modern 19th century standpoint, instead of me choosing to be a purist.

But that is just me.

6409794 Wow, you certainly went all out with that comment. I certainly have my answer now.