Why You Should Always Read Terms and Conditions Twice
Manehattan was a land of opportunity.
If you had a dream, a vision of greater future towards which you strived, and you stopped at nothing to achieve your goals, then the city’s unique ambiance was a promise of reaping the sweet fruit of your labor within weeks of starting up your own business. A classy bistro with pleasantly lazy smooth jazz pouring from the speakers? Great idea! An antiquity store with overpriced rubbish for the naive? You’ve got it! A pawn shop specializing in removing your cutie mark for bits? Sure, go for—actually, don’t go for it. Starlight Glimmer’s Shop of Sameness had opened a little over a month ago and was doing great, so it would be unwise to go against her now.
Come to think of it, going against her any other day was a mistake too.
“It is a fine day we’re having, Miss Glimmer, isn’t it?”
“Gentlecolts!” Starlight replied, waving at the two newcomers. “What a pleasure to see you again in my humble store! Please, do come in!”
Flim and Flam, the entrepreneurial duo of salespony brothers nonpareil approached the mare, each following one of the long, identical carpets installed across the floor. Much like the general decor of the store, the carpets brought to mind the equality sign similar to Starlight Glimmer’s own cutie mark which had become a trademark of her business. They lead to a glass counter filled with a variety of magical symbols stored in elegant flasks, all of which had a tag with identical price on it.
“Humble?” Flim said, nonchalantly resting against the counter. “Humble is hardly the word I’d use for a place under the management of such an extraordinary mare!”
Starlight brought a smile to her face, as gentle as it was fake. “Please, I am in no way better than anyone else. I simply happen to be the right pony at the right place,” she said, pointing up at one of the four wooden tablets hanging over the counter. Each had a maxim to which Starlight adhered in her shop and life.
ALL PONIES ARE EQUAL
“But, enough flattery. What can I do for you?”
Flam answered in place of his twin. “My brother and I are pleased to inform that our latest endeavor was a success. We’ve earned a handful of bits over the amount you lent us, and we’d like to request our cutie marks back.” He pointed at his flank where two black bars of equality had been magically manifested. “As much as I enjoyed this little change, it is time for us to get our apples back.”
“Certainly. Do remind me, were those full fruits, halves, or maybe cores?”
“A quarter of an apple for me,” Flim said, “and three quarters for my brother.”
If it wasn’t for the professional demeanor she had to uphold, Starlight would wince at this glaring example of nature’s disproportionality. There would be no harmony amongst the ponies until all unfairness of their cutie marks had been properly equalized. All in due time, she thought.
She took a quick glance over the commodities she had on display. Little symbols floated inside like captured twittermites, silently buzzing with magical energy of the talent they held within. Her store had cutie marks in all kinds of shapes and colors, from puffer fishes and shining stars to polyhedral dice and old books, but nothing inside the counter appeared like apples.
“We have more good news!” Flam said. “Your help was exactly what we needed during these troubled times, Miss Glimmer. It’s not easy being a freelancing businesscolt nowadays, you know? The market is full of ponies on the make who want to earn a fortune in one day. Still, tapping into our own wit and skills we’ve managed to outsmart our competition and make a considerable profit. This is why we would like to give you a round, eight percent tip for your help.”
Starlight pointed upwards to another of her maxims.
ALL DEALS ARE EQUAL
“That is mighty kind of you, but I couldn’t accept even a bit above my regular provision. Not only would that be against the Equestrian Trade Law, but it would also show my customers that I do not follow my own philosophy. Imagine what bad publicity it would attract to my little business!”
“I see, and I respect that. We at the Flim Flam Brothers understand the value of a good name.”
Upon eyeing the counter and finding nothing more than a pear cutie mark and a juicy orange one, Starlight beamed and turned to the stallions. “Gentlecolts! I’m happy to announce that your old cutie marks will no longer be a burden to you, for they had found a new owner! Isn’t that wonderful?”
The brothers looked upon each other. “A new owner?”
“Well, my Shop of Sameness wouldn’t be a proper store if I was only buying cutie marks, would it? How else would I make revenue if not by selling them back?”
Flam was first to protest. “How is that? You’re running a pawn shop, not an auction house! Aren’t pawn shops supposed to lent money in exchange for valuables, but under the mutual agreement that said valuables can be reclaimed when the owner returns?”
“If the said owner returns in time, yes,” Starlight replied, taking out an elegant binder from under the counter. She flipped a couple of pages, all identical in contents except for the signatures. “Ah, there it is. See, point seven of our agreements clearly states: The cutie mark will be returned to the service acquirer if claimed within one week from the initial transaction. Our deal was sealed April 16th, so as of midnight April 23rd two days ago I am the legal owner of your cutie marks. Or I would be, if I hadn’t sold them yesterday.”
Flim and Flam read the whole agreement again. Being the ponies of their profession they knew the binding force of such a document, and could not deny the fact that they had somehow signed a contract which put them at a disadvantage. Their signatures were a proof that they had indeed agreed to Shop of Sameness’ terms and conditions.
Flam threw a frigid stare at his inseparable business associate. “A word, brother of mine,” he said, leading Flim to the side while Starlight politely feigned disinterest in their conversation. “How is it we didn’t know about this clause? Didn’t I tell you to read the agreement and make sure it’s a clear deal?”
“But, brother! Reading and managing documents has always been your department. Why would I want, or even need to read it if I knew you’ll be doing that for both of us anyway?”
“Perhaps because you asked for a change? You asked if you could manage the administrative branch of our association for this deal instead of me, and I agreed. That would hold you responsible for this unfortunate outcome.”
Flim shook his head. “I would never dream of taking your place! While I indeed asked for that privilege, I have quite explicitly stated that I’m interested in taking charge only after this particular deal. Say, if we were to make one right now, I would gladly take the helm of our proverbial ship and do my best to analyze the agreement word by word, sentence by sentence, and clause by clause to make sure we come on top!” he said. “This is why I believe the deal with Miss Glimmer was your responsibility.”
“I, on the other hoof, believe quite the opposite, my dear brother,” Flam replied, his voice quick to turn into a venomous drawl. “You’ve got us into this mess and you’ll get us out, understood?”
With Flam’s hoof pressing his chest, the moustache-less stallion had no choice but to forfeit. He was younger by a whole eight seconds, so in times of crisis it was usually better to rely on what Flam said. Besides, he valued his voice way too much to let his brother choke him to the last of his breath.
They turned back to Starlight whose smile would make anyone believe she wasn’t eavesdropping.
“I have a feeling you gentlecolts are quite attached to your old cutie marks,” she said. “It’s perfectly natural. The liberated ponies who switched to the one I bear all agree that it feels unnatural, maybe even weird for a week or two, but then it’s all for the better! However, if you are so keen on getting a cutie mark back, then who I am to judge? Say, how about you pick something from the offer?”
Flim stuck to the glass, his eyes shining like those of a foal in the candy shop during sales. “This is quite a collection, don’t you think, brother?”
“Don’t talk to me, brother.”
Starlight pointed at a flask with a fiery blaze captured inside. “This one here I have recently acquired from a charming pegasus mare. She used to be a Wonderbolt, you know, but she decided to make her contribution to the society by becoming a professional whistler. Those are really hard to come by nowadays!” She moved over another flask. “This was donated by a fashion critic fed up with his boring, one-dimensional life. Oh, and this one belonged to a writer who is now breeding silkworms in the San Palomino Desert. They both couldn’t be happier about their choices!” Starlight said. “There is choice aplenty, but of course I cannot recommend any of them as better.”
ALL CUTIE MARKS ARE EQUAL
“Look, Flam! This cross-eyed dolphin looks exactly like you after your third round of cider! Minus the horn, mustache, and of course cider itself, but he has your stare! Or how about one of these hourglasses? There’s a pair, we could both have the same cutie mark!”
“If I were to care about something else than apples on my flank, then I’d be born into a different family, with a different brother by my side.”
Flim shook his head. “Forgive him, Miss Glimmer. It seems we’ll not be making a deal today, much to my own disappointment,” he said. “Could you at least tell us the names of those ponies who bought our cutie marks? Perhaps we could find them and settle the issue personally?”
“I’ll check the registry,” Starlight said, diving under the counter for another binder. “Yes, I remember selling them both to a single pony, so that should narrow down your search. She was a blank flank convinced that getting a cutie mark is the single most important thing in life.” The mare let out a sweet and utmost fraudulent giggle. “Those kids, am I right? They have so much to learn! Still, she had a big bag of bits so I treated her with respect and care, just like I treat all my customers.”
ALL CUSTOMERS ARE EQUAL
Seeing the other stallion lightening up, Flim nudged him on the side. “What do you say to that, brother of mine? Convincing a filly to give up her cutie marks shouldn’t be too much of a problem?”
“I couldn’t agree more, dear brother!”
“Oh, you two should have seen her face!” Starlight said. “She said that her family would be so proud. Apparently your cutie marks fit greatly to what her relatives do for a living.”
Much like his brother, Flim felt a sudden itch which had become their reflex reaction to words like family, sweet, apple, or acres ever since their fateful visit to Ponyville. Flam massaged his temples in an act of defiance against what he had realized, while Flam was taking deep breaths to vent out the tremendous stress which overwhelmed him. Out of the two, Flam needed much less to get upset, which he made clear as he stormed the counter.
“The name, Miss Starlight! What was the name of that filly?”
“Some Apple Bloom of Ponyville. Why, you know her?”
Flam groaned, Flim moaned, then they both sighed.
“You could say so,” Flam said, then turned to his brother. “Well, we’re doomed.”
“Doomed?” Flim replied. “Isn’t every problem but an opportunity in disguise? Apples or not, they are easily fooled. We’ve done it several times in the past and we’ll do it again. We’ll think of something to get our cutie marks back, I promise.”
“What, like blackmailing the filly? Kidnapping her granny? Eating out their zap apple jam? Brother, please, we’ll be running with our tails between our legs in no time. You know how protective about her family that nasty cowgirl can be!”
Flim frowned. “Apple or not, I would prefer you to not call her like that, dear brother.”
“Stupid sentimentalist.”
“Heartless horse.”
Flam exploded. “Suit yourself! I’m getting my cutie mark back no matter what! If nothing else, I’ll do it just to remind you that my apple’s three quarters is the amount of work I do in our association! I should have known better than to rely on you!”
Flim turned his back at him. “Oh, is that so? In that case I’m getting back mine to remind you that I only cause one fourth of the trouble we have to go through! And then I’ll start my own association!”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
Starlight came from behind the counter. The last thing she needed was having her store demolished by the two bickering stallions. She could probably capture one or two escaping cutie marks if their vessels got broken, but not all at once. She worked so hard on getting them and she’d hate to see her effort go in vain.
“Gentlecolts! Please!” she exclaimed. “You’re both exceptional stallions who couldn’t be a better representation of equality. Your looks, your apparel, even the shape of your ears. If it isn’t too much of a trouble, I would wish there was no discord between the two of you, so that all the ponies could see that sameness brings the peace and understanding so vital for the modern society. Now please, reach out to each other and show me some big, happy smiles!”
Flim and Flam stood resentful for a while longer, but eventually they both breathed a sigh of regret.
“Miss Glimmer is right,” Flam said, taking off his hat and putting it next to his chest. “I do hope you’ll accept my apologies, Flim. You may be a sentimentalist, but you’re far from being stupid. You are a brother of mine, after all.”
Flim mirrored the gesture. “I accept, and I’m sorry as well, Flam. I should have listened to you more carefully, and I promise to be a better brother from now on. After all, we’re in this together—”
“—always—”
“—and forever!”
Starlight’s eyes widened as the two brothers threw their hats in the air, swirled in unison, and burst into a song while flawlessly catching the falling headgear.
We’re in this together, always, and forever!
Always together, brothers side by side!
Though our life sometimes gets tough,
Where we’re from we’re sure enough,
Because we’re brothers, salesponies nonpareil!
We’re in this together, always, and forever!
Always together, brothers side by side!
Time for us to make a leave,
Prove the Apples they’re naive,
We’re Flim and Flam, the swindlers number one!
Not questioning why her customers’ visit had spontaneously combusted into a musical number, Starlight joined in.
You’re in this together, always, and forever!
Always together, brothers side by side!
Don’t get tricked into the thinking,
That you’re better than your sibling,
Because you’re equals, like everypony else!
Already at the door, Flim smiled ear to ear. “I didn’t know you could sing so well, Miss Glimmer!”
“Not better than anypony else,” Starlight replied, pointing to the first maxim once more. “After all, everypony is equal. I wish you good luck in your endeavors, gentlecolts!”
Tipping their hats, the two brothers left the store and got on their peculiar mode of locomotion parked outside. Starlight smiled, for once genuinely and not for show. Of all the things she had to leave behind in her old town, she missed the communal singing the most. Seeing all those ponies move and sing in perfect sync with one another was really something. Heartwarming, even.
She shook her head. There was no time for silly sentiments now. She checked the masking powder covering her real cutie mark, then returned behind the counter. She looked up. Here, the four wooden tablets displayed a maxim quite different from what her customers saw while entering the store. This sentence Starlight wanted to keep for herself, not only because it was the natural extension of all four, but also because it provided her with motivation to carry on with her ingenious plan of bringing Harmony to Equestria once and for all.
BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
Hello there! Thank you for reading my story. I am no longer writing pony fiction, but if you want to support my current creative endeavor, check out my content on Twitch! 
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Hello and welcome to Starlight Glimmer's Shop of Sameness!
After watching the opening episodes of Season 5 I couldn't help but wonder why Starlight Glimmer took Twilight and the Gang's cutie marks as she was making her escape. I have a feeling there's something sinister behind that, like she was collecting cutie marks to create an ultimate cutie mark to rule the world or something.
In this story, running the mayor's office is no longer an option, so Starlight sets a pawn shop in Manehattan to get those cutie marks from the simple and innocent ponies. While Flim and Flam are far from innocent, they seem to have fallen into Starlight's perfectly legitimate trap! Will they get their apples back, or will they live to the end of their days with black bars on their flanks?
And this is why legitimate villains living under the cover of law are the toughest to deal with. The Mane Six could walk right into her store, confront her with her misdeeds...and have no choice but to walk right back out again without having accomplished anything. Starlight using a pawnshop to collect Cutie Marks? Headcanon accepted.
5905218
You're right, Starlight would be impossible to take down without perhaps a decree from Canterlot. Then again, that would result in a social upheaval which would eventually plunge Equestria into anarchy for a couple of decades.
Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you see my take on Starlight in this story feasible!
THIS. IS. AMAZING!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! AN' AH HAVE TWO NEW CUTIE MARKS TOO! ;D
Hahaha. Thank you for sharing! I had so much fun.
You're a wonderful writer.
5905397
Hey, it's great to hear you've enjoyed the story! I also had a lot of fun writing the characters for it.
Enjoy your cutie marks, and remember to tell your friends that Starlight Glimmer's Shop of Sameness is open Monday through Saturday, 8AM to 4PM!
Damn you, Starlight! There's no way we can compete with those prices!
5905747
If you can 't fight something, join it! Equality is the only way, and with that everypony wins!
5905780 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I wish I could add this to my favoirtes list, but I know you wouldn't approve of such flagrant favoritism.
5905803
Why, I'm sure Starlight wouldn't have anything against you giving a fav to a story in which she stars, as long as you remember that there are other stories about her that need some love, too! How does it work for you?
5905786
Shh, there, there. You seem to be having a nightmare, but there's a remedy to that. You can't have a nightmare if you never dream, so just stop fighting now that you're amongst your equals, your friends. Everything is going to be just fine.
5905870 So in other words, if I favorite every story involving Glimmer on the entire website, then she's ok with it?
5905889
In the end, she didn't care about anypony but herself, right? I think she's okay with whatever helps her achieve her goals. Unfortunately at this point we can't tell much about her motivations, but here's hoping that we see more of her throughout Season 5.
Till all are Equal.
5905261
I was thinking more of the notion that Twilight shows up to arrest her for her crimes but can't because she's already been arrested and sentenced to X thousand hours of community service so that arresting her again would fall afoul of double jeopardy.
Alternatively, I was half-expecting Flim and Flam to sue Starlight and have the case somehow end up in front of Twilight, who has no choice before the law but to rule in favor of her onetime captor.
Legitimate villains are fun.
Again, great story. Can we hope for a sequel in which Flim and Flam attempt to retrieve their destinies from the deathgrip of Applebloom? Or another Tale of Glimmer's Shop? This is a very neat premise.
5905935
Her real motivation is simple: her CM represent excellence, something difficult to archieve when all other ponies excels in some particular area... unless their special talents are removed.
5907900
Sounds like reversed Sunset Shimmer to me. She wanted to become better than the rest by bettering herself (at least in the comic), while Starlight wants to appear better by worsening the rest.
5906994
"...and we shall have... peace."
5905218
5905261
Hate to be contrary, but Starlight could be charged with at least six counts of assault, seven counts of unjust imprisonment, and four counts of attempted murder. Five if you count Twilight teleporting in to block the attack.
So, no, barring a royal pardon for her crimes she could be lawfully arrested by the first cop who sees her.
5908734
I agree with the first two, but the attempted murder part would be difficult to prove in court because we don't really know what kind of spell was she casting. Should we get CSI: Canterlot on that? These guys will check the arcane residue, trajectory of the beam, and enhance the whole picture hundredfold - that's how it works, I swear! Then again, there are no cops in Equestria to arrest Starlight. The only institutionalized power akin to that is the Royal Guard, but they're mostly representative.
This is such a great story, and it suggests some fantastic ideas, both the idea that the Flim Flam brothers are distantly related to the Apples, and Starlight having the ability to actually switch existing cutie marks and special talents. That could actually be a really valuable service in Equestria. If almost everypony gets their cutie mark at the age of ten, how many ponies would trade theirs later in life if they could?
I really hope to see a sequel to this story.
BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
Ah... Those happy memories of reading Animal Farm. Or flashbacks, at any rate.
'Though I'll add to the voices requesting the story of Flim and Flam attempting to retrieve their cutie marks from Applebloom.
5909288
Exchanging cutie marks sounds like a fun idea. "Hey, man, you're super fast, can I borrow your cutie mark for a weekend 'cause I want to impress that filly. She only dates guys who can keep up with her!" ~ "Sure, why not. I wanted to play some chess the other day with my dad, but I could never figure out the rules. I could really use something over which I could bond with him, you know?" ~ "Great! Let's go to Miss Glimmer's shop!"
Following that, I had another idea. What would you say if someone was making an extract from cutie marks, like a potion that would give you a particular talent for a short period of time? Or, for a darker touch, let's make it an illegal drug!
5908767
We might not know, but I strongly suspect it was the Cutie Mark Removal spell. Without their marks, Double Diamond et al. couldn't stop her from running, and she'd have at least some marks with her as she fled...
5909324
Orwell did a fantastic job on that one. The concept of equality presented through that line felt fitting to Starlight's philosophy for me. As for the sequel, it is unlikely at the moment, but you've just pushed my thinking to right tracks. Apple Bloom is the only CMC I am yet to write about, so maybe there's a story in that. Tell you what, I'll give it some more thought.
5909405 I know you are saying that a sequel is unlikely but if you do decide to write one, I know it will be spectacular.
5909378
I wonder if Starlight is a one-trick pony and can only manipulate cutie marks, or does her magic have broader application. But I agree with what you're saying: during a sudden confrontation someone like her would not hesitate to use the best weapon she had in her magical arsenal, and ripping off their marks sounds like a logical move.
5909649
Don´t forget her shields and "imma firin mah lazer"
5909374 I like the first part, but as for making temporary cutie marks an illegal drug... When you combine the CMC's desperation with Apple Bloom's potion making abilities, you're pretty much guaranteed a Scarface-style story where the Crusaders start a burgeoning drug empire, only to be brought down as they "get high on their own supply," Tony Montana-style.
5908734
Don't forget TREASON! because this is a medieval dictatorship and there generally isn't much legal scope for crossing your demi-divine rulers and getting away with it. Starlight's liable to end up staring down a cockatrice or decamping to a lunar penal colony if her case crosses the wrong princessly desk.
I love the way you played the twins off each other, especially the barbs they shot about what their cutie marks "really" mean (and I have a feeling that's an argument they've had quite often in the past). But the final line just seals the deal. Have a fave and an upvote!
5907275
Community service for Starlight? What kind of punishment is that? She loves doing stuff for the collective good of others! At least that would be her official stand. As for the sequel, right now I'm leaning towards the former premise you've mentioned, with Flim and Flam. No promises, though.
5909481
Only as spectacular as Apple Bloom with Flim and Flam cutie marks can be.
5910046
Pew-pew, I'm a battlecorn.
5910661
Before: Cutie Mark Crusaders Pharmacists! Yay!
*half of Ponyville gets addicted*
After: Cutie Mark Crusaders Rehab Squad! Yay!
5910680
And then, once she's incarcerated, Starlight Redemption with Starlight Glimmer and Morgan Freeman - coming this summer!
5911712
Thank you kindly! It was my first time writing Flim and Flam (and I don't think I have ever read how other authors portray them), so I'm glad you liked them in this story.
5910680 Simple solution, all Starlight has to do is take the princesses' cutie marks and she can take Equestria for herself. That old flag would be replaced by a white flag with a black equal sign on it.
5909374
We've seen the effect in "Magical Mystery Cure." Cutie marks are causing the compulsion to occupy yourself with your special talent ("this is what my cutie mark is telling me") but they appear only as external manifestations of the actual talents, which stay with the pony. A cutie mark might encourage the chess player to fly fast and the fast flier to play chess, but they would be still be as bad at that as they were initially.
Now, the replacement "equal sign" mark was a nasty piece of work - suppressing any natural talents, leaving the ponies in question to suck at whatever they'd do. Blank flank's talent is merely hidden. An "equal" pony's is suppressed, absent entirely.
5912766
So what you're saying is that cutie marks are the magical software to their biological hardware. Which makes a cutie mark nothing but a glorified notification indicating that you've finally found what you had inside you all along. Now, you're talking about cutie mark causing the need to make use of that hardware, but here's a question: do cutie marks amplify the talent itself and the execution of tasks related to what you can do? There has to be some power hidden within them since that's how Tirek could get stronger, by consuming that power. Would Twilight as we know her have the same magical capabilities if she had a different cutie mark?
5912863
Tirek was consuming more than just cutie marks. There are more layers of indirection.
Now, take into account following known factors:
- Failure to exercise the talent properly - compulsion not causing desired effects - causes distress and psychotic episodes (Party of One, Suited for Success, Applebucking Season, Lesson Zero, Best Night Ever, Sonic Rainboom):
- Blocking out the talent leaves the pony without the cutie mark, "grey" and devoid of energy (Twilight's Kingdom, the Cutie Map):
- Compulsion is guided by the cutie mark without care what the talent really is. It will compel the pony to do what it says, disregarding what the talent really is (Magical Mystery Cure). As the pony lacks skill in the substitute activity and the effects are far from adequate, the failure to fulfil the compulsion causes psychosis.
The talent may be replaced as well, and it will work fine. (Cutie Pox)
The talent may not be manifested by the cutie mark. It will be still active, but lacking compulsion, the pony won't execute that talent ("Call of the Cutie", most CMC episodes) but their failure and failure to perform the special talent doesn't have adverse effects (outside of collateral damage of ineptly performed alternate activities).
- The cutie mark doesn't prevent the pony from learning and performing other activities, and the talent may even make them quite superior if they synergize or at least don't conflict. It still demands the pony to perform the primary activity often, and *above all* it prevents the pony from performing the primary activity *badly*.
Let us imagine a pony with a muffin for a cutie mark, a talented baker. The baker may be a cook, a foalsitter, and a dozen other things, but they must bake something two-three times a month or they'd become restless, irritable and lacking concentration. Still, as long as the monthly quota of muffins is met, the baker is free to do whatever they will with the rest of their free time.
Now, a movie director places a special order: a tray of muffins burned to crisp, needed as a movie prop, as one of the actors plays a filly who just can't bake, and they need a tray of burnt muffins to show that. The baker feels uncomfortable and anxious taking the order. He prepares the dough expertly, then needs to force his hoof to turn the oven dial to 60 minutes instead of the standard 40. When the 40 minutes tick by, nothing wrong happens. Then the next 20 minutes become the most gruelling, torturous period of life of the cook, causing extreme distress and discomfort as the muffins turn to burnt bitter crisps, becoming the proper movie prop - but failing at being delicious muffins!
When delivering the order, the cook will be a nervous wreck. The only thing that can fix it would be baking several trays of truly excellent muffins...
Yep, creepy.
What happens in "Cutie Map" is the cutie marks removed (removing the compulsion but leaving the talent in place) and then a substitute, special cutie mark placed, which disables the special talent:
It may be that it was really acting as a genuine cutie mark: with compulsion to be mediocre. Since excelling at it, by excelling at anything, would cause distress, it wasn't exactly the same [grey] level as with Tirek, who just stole everything, but it still makes acting out your talent (regardless of the cutie mark, per BlankFlank clause) to conflict with the compulsion. Tirek -stole- the talents. Starlight just blocked them out. (and since being mediocre is perfectly attainable for anyone, it wasn't causing the Cutie Mark Failure class psychosis - ponies could satisfy the compulsion).
5913183
First off, there's a sound logic behind your analysis and I greatly enjoyed reading it.
What bugs me is that you're acknowledging that a pony can have his or her talent replaced and working just fine (your example under mentioning the cutie pox), but you don't agree that a chess player who'd get a "speed" cutie mark could be faster than usual. Aren't those two conflicting?
During The Cutie Pox Apple Bloom had many different cutie marks which caused a compulsion to perform the talents they represented. The basic loop—
—if fulfilled for each of those talents and their respective cutie marks. What's important is that she preformed all activities flawlessly (to the point where physical limitations were in the way, of course) despite not having any of these actual talent inside her. Where did she get those, then? They weren't innate, they were given to her because of the effects of the cutie pox. A slight change to the basic loop—
—would explain the phenomenon. A cutie mark is the external representation of a pony's capability to act in a specialized way (their talent), it forces the bearer to act accordingly to the cutie mark's meaning (compulsion), but it also contains a capability to do so. Otherwise the cutie pox could not cause the effects we've seen.
With that in mind, I'd say that giving a cutie mark to a pony not only forces them to act accordingly to the instructions encoded within, but also grants them a degree of proficiency, so a nerd with a Wonderbolt's cutie mark will fly faster. Probably not as fast as the said Wonderbolt, because his hardware has limitation even the best software cannot fix, but definitely faster than before.
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If they used Starlight's services, nope. Exchanging cutie marks, retaining original talents. The "Magical Mystery Cure" episode.
Talents aren't entirely innate; they are bound tighter than cutie marks, but they can be added, stolen or replaced just as well (and independently from cutie marks). Cutie Pox adds a number of sets of [talent + cutie mark]. While a single of them wouldn't be much of a problem, as their number grows the number and intensity of compulsions becomes unmaintainable.
Your two-sided arrow is problematic in "Magical Mystery Cure" context again: The cutie mark naturally appears as a result of a talent, and has a compulsion bound to that talent, but it doesn't generate or influence that talent to any degree, only facilitates its use. And if the cutie mark is replaced, it's completely ignorant of the fact it's on a different pony and the talent is no longer there. It still causes compulsion of the talent it was originally bound to, completely regardless of the fact the talent is not there!
Pinkie wouldn't need much to be able to keep Sweet Apple Acres from turning postapocalyptic if having the apples for cutie mark compelled her to run them. Rarity might be poor at cloud management, but she wouldn't be this disastrous. Their cutie marks compelled them to act but they didn't give them a shade of skill.
There's one more interesting case: Discord. The ponies retained their cutie marks, and their talents, but their *compulsions* got reversed.
In the past I discussed this quite a bit, in character, on my Fallout:Equestria-related ask blog so if you're interested about my other conclusions, you can check these entries.
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I can't agree with your statement that the cutie pox gives sets of talent plus cutie mark. Such illness couldn't suddenly change Apple Bloom's inner capability to do something she's never done before, which suggest the talent was encoded in the cutie mark she was given. It seems that a cutie mark's capabilities are presented differently between The Cutie Pox and Magical Mystery Cure, and there's not much we can do about it. The premise of the former episode supports my claim, the latter yours.
Above all, we seem to have different interpretations of what Starlight actually did in The Cutie Map. You see her un-marking spell as something which does not affect the talent in any way besides blocking it, while I see it as something which takes away the talent carried inside the cutie mark as well, and because of that can be given to somepony else. I feel this is a direct result of our different takes on what a cutie mark is. You say that a cutie mark does not generate talent, I say it does.
Let's agree to disagree on that?
I bet she makes all of her employees sign "non-compete" agreements.
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I honestly can't think of anyone who'd agree to work for her. The ponies of Equestria usually take great pride in their talents and uniqueness, so unless she un-marked someone and brainwash them with her propaganda, I doubt there was a pony who'd assist her in her shop willingly.
5915855 You think so? That pride sounds like a very small sacrifice if they needed money, and work was scarce, and this store offered median wage instead of minimum wage.
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How to get a median wage? How to form a union and fight for your rights? How to convince your employer that you deserve that raise? Starlight Glimmer and her team of experts will happily answer those question on the next episode of My Little Labor Market: Workforce is Magic! Only on
Discovery Familythe Hub.There is one thing someone with connections higher-up could do to stop her (aside from trying her for assaulting, kidnapping, and imprisoning a princess); redefining what a cutie mark is, in a legal sense.
Considering how big a role it plays in a pony's magic, personality, memory, and skillset, it shouldn't be too hard to get it defined as an organ, which would make her business illegal. She couldn't be punished as it wasn't defined as such during the time she ran the business, but if she tried to keep the shop running--or attempted to do remove anypony's cutie mark, for that matter--she'd be committing a crime. Cutie mark transplants could become a thing, as could cutie mark donors... but considering that cutie marks don't just stop working and that everypony will get one eventually, there likely wouldn't be as many donors as there would be ponies trying to sell. And she'd need to go to med school to get licensed to remove cutie marks.
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That's an interesting idea, though I doubt they could redefine such a big factor overnight. It would probably take weeks of listening to experts on biology, ethics, magic, and cutiemarkology, which is enough time for someone as smart as Starlight to prepare a backup plan.
Hallo sir and or ma'am. Your story has been accepted into The Goodfic Bin. I am sorry for getting to you so late, I know that you have been waiting quite some time.
Of you would like to read your review click -----> Here <-----
5941362
Nothing like some good news to start the day!
You don't need to apologize. You guys at TGB are doing a great job, so being patient is a small price to pay for your service to the community. May we meet again around another story I'll throw at you!
5941362 Someone forgot the ribbon. Don't worry—I got it.
i.imgur.com/GizVyc0.png
Congrats, Prane.
~BikerPon3
5942490
Pwetty, pwetty wibbon!
Thanks!
all are equal, but some are more equal than others. that's straight from animal farm, I hope i'm not the only one to get the reference.