The morning after the Friendship Games dawned bright and clear in Canterlot.
Rarity hummed to herself as she studied her reflection in the mirror. "Ugh," she complained. "My eyes are positively puffy...I believe a trip to the spa is in order sometime soon. Perhaps the others would like to accompany me!" She clasped her hands together. "A spa day for all of us! That would be lovely!"
She picked up her brush and began brushing tangles out of her hair. After everything that had happened with the Friendship Games and that whole dreadful episode with Twilight Sparkle turning into a monster, Rarity had been so exhausted upon returning home that she had utterly neglected herself.
A nice, long, luxurious bath was in order.
Rarity shed her terrycloth robe and hung it on the hook on the door. As she turned toward the tub, her nude reflection in the mirror caught her eye. She paused, blinking, and turned her head slowly to stare at herself.
High upon her hip was some sort of tattoo, depicting three clear blue diamonds.
Shaking her head and blinking her eyes to clear them, she rubbed at her hip with a thumb. She then wet her hand and rubbed some more, then grabbed a washcloth, wet it, and vigorously scrubbed.
The tattoo remained.
After careful consideration, Rarity did the only thing she could think to do:
She screamed and fainted.
* * * * *
Pinkie Pie giggled as she examined her hips from every conceivable angle, including some that were not physically possible. "Floaty balloons!" she said, prodding the three balloons on her hip with a finger. "Wonder where they came from?"
* * * * *
Fluttershy's heart hammered in her chest as she pressed her back up against the wall of the bathroom. Cautiously, nervously, she peered out of the corner of her eye at her reflection in the mirror.
The three pink butterflies were still on her bare hip.
She squeaked and shrank in on herself, curled up into a shivering ball on the cold tile floor.
"Oh my goodness...I really hope Mom and Dad don't kill me..."
* * * * *
Applejack stared at her reflection in the mirror. Three ripe red apples gleamed on her hip.
Her right eyebrow slowly rose two inches.
"Well now. Ain't that somethin'."
* * * * *
Rainbow Dash stared at her hip, head tilted and brow furrowed in confusion. "Huh."
She scratched the tattoo on her hip—a cloud and a three-colored lightning bolt—then shrugged and got dressed.
* * * * *
Sunset Shimmer grimaced as she looked over the panicked texts she'd received from her friends. "Well, this'll be fun to explain," she said. She sent out a text to everyone, telling them to meet at Rarity's place, then set out. She stopped on the way to pick up donuts for her friends.
When she arrived, she found the girls lounging around Rarity's living room. Rarity was being theatrical, Fluttershy had her hair covering her face and was making herself as small as possible, Pinkie Pie was telling jokes and laughing, Rainbow Dash was...asleep actually, and Applejack had her arms crossed and was idly kicking one booted foot in the air.
"Sorry girls, I got here as fast as I could," Sunset said. "I brought donuts!"
"WOOHOO!" Pinkie cheered, bounding over and liberating the donut box from her.
Sunset frowned. "For everybody," she clarified.
"I know!" Pinkie said around the frosted donut she had in her mouth. She set the box down on the living room table. The others, even Rarity, each took a donut.
Sunset sat down, crossing her legs. "So...I got the impression from your texts that something's up," she said.
"You could say that," Applejack said dryly.
"Sunset Shimmer, dear," Rarity said, "I...I know so many strange things have happened to us, what with the magic of friendship giving us pony ears and tails and...and everything else, but..." She coughed, blushing faintly. "I...honestly don't know how to phrase this delicately—"
Pinkie took off her skirt and panties and shook her hip in Sunset's face. "Look!"
"PINKIE!" the others yelled.
Sunset massaged the bridge of her nose, then sighed. She stood and lifted the edge of her camisole and pulled down the side of her tights just enough to show the others the two-tone blazing sun emblem on her own hip. "I'm guessing the rest of you woke up with one of these too?"
"Yep," Rainbow said.
"You got it," Applejack agreed.
"What...what does it mean?" Fluttershy asked timidly. "What's going on?"
Sunset straightened out her clothes, then sat back down. "Remember when I said I understood why you all ponied up? That it was because each of you expressed your own true nature, the thing that makes each of you special?" The others nodded. "Well, I...didn't really realize at the time exactly what I was describing, or the implications..." She laughed. "And I really should have. Honestly, I've been away from Equestria too long..."
"So what's the deal?" Rainbow asked. "Is this like, some kind of permanent pony-up?"
"Sort of," Sunset said. "Not entirely. Not exactly." She paused. "They're, well...your Cutie Marks."
The others stared at each other blankly.
Rainbow snorted. "Our WHAT?" she snickered.
Sunset shot her an irritated look. "In Equestria, there's a special kind of magic that everypony has. It's the magic of Cutie Marks." She stood up and walked around the room as she spoke. "When a pony discovers his or her special talent, the thing that defines who they are and what their destiny is, a mark appears on their flank. It's...a big deal. Young colts and fillies can't wait for the day when their Cutie Mark appears. It's...kind of an affirmation of who you are, who you're destined to be." She looked around at her friends. "Rarity. You throw yourself into designing and creating beautiful clothes and costumes. You're passionate about sharing your love of fashion."
Rarity preened. "It's true."
"When you went on a design spree to make all those different uniforms for the Friendship Games, you ponied up. It's because you were expressing your individual style...your talent and enthusiasm for creating beauty and sharing it with your friends." Sunset turned to Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie. When you turned that sad, boring party where nobody was having fun into a bright, cheerful celebration and everybody started laughing and having a good time—"
"I ponied up because I was making everybody happy and that's what makes me happy?"
"Exactly!" Sunset smiled and turned to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy blinked, then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I...was sharing my love of animals with Twilight, and...and showing her kindness..."
"Your kind, gentle nature and your love of animals is what makes you special," Sunset said. "So you ponied up."
"And I ponied up because I'm awesome!" Rainbow cheered.
Sunset laughed and shook her head. "No, Rainbow Dash. You ponied up that first time because you displayed your loyalty to Canterlot High, and the second time because you showed your loyalty to your friends by saving me on the motocross track."
Rainbow grinned. "Hey, I can never leave a friend hangin'."
"An' me?" Applejack asked.
"You were honest and forthright with Twilight," Sunset said. "You helped a friend in need, showed her what she needed to do and reassured her with your honest nature."
"Huh," Applejack said, shrugging. "An' here Ah'd'a thought mah special talent woulda had somethin' t' do with apples."
Sunset laughed.
"And what about you, darling?" Rarity asked.
Sunset smiled. "I...rediscovered my Cutie Mark." She chuckled. "My special talent was always magic, but...I never really understood my Cutie Mark until now." She looked at her friends. "I was destined to...to shine the light of friendship. To embrace the magic of friendship and...and harness that magic to do great things." She looked down. "I guess...it took a long time for me to understand that."
"So...what do these magic bootie marks do?" Rainbow asked.
Sunset shrugged. "They don't really do anything. They just mean you know who you are and what your destiny is."
Rainbow frowned. "That's...really dumb," she said.
Sunset arched an eyebrow. "I seem to remember saying something similar about the rivalry with Crystal Prep, and you all jumping down my throat for not getting it." She shook her head. "Cutie Marks are a really big deal in Equestria. Bigger than you can possibly imagine."
"It almost sounds like it's...puberty," Fluttershy said. Then her eyes widened, and she blushed. "Eep! Don't...don't mind me, I—"
"Actually, you're not far off," Sunset said. "Ponies usually get their Cutie Marks when they're young fillies and colts, anywhere from seven to about eleven." She frowned. "Ponies who don't get their Cutie Mark by the time they're eleven or so tend to get teased, especially if they're the only one in their class who doesn't have it yet."
Rarity gave Sunset a concerned look. "Were...were you teased for being a late bloomer, darling?"
Sunset snorted. "Puh-lease. I was one of the first to get mine." She sighed. "You know what I was like before...before Princess Twilight came here."
"Oh. You...you were the bully then, weren't you?"
Sunset sighed. "I did...give this one filly a pretty hard time," she said. She chuckled ruefully. "I've been paying for it here in this world ever since the Fall Formal, too."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow asked.
Sunset smiled wryly. "The filly I used to tease was a unicorn named Beatrix Lulamoon. Or, as she liked to call herself, the Great and Powerful Trixie."
Stunned silence met this proclamation.
"Well. How 'bout that," Applejack said.
"So," Rainbow said slowly. "Magic tramp stamps forever?"
Sunset rolled her eyes and groaned. "Yes, Rainbow Dash. Magic tramp stamps forever."
"Well, as long as there's an explanation for it that makes sense," Rainbow said. "Who's up for a Daring Do movie?"
Oh come on, Sunset Shimmer. You have to admit, it's pretty funny when she puts it like that.
"She" is a mistype.
Hmm. Humans discovering cutie marks after a dramatic magical showdown. That sounds rather familiar.
Well, as long as this doesn't lead into the universe falling apart around their ears—and the author's note makes it clear that it won't—they should be fine.
Not much to say about the second entry, but I did read and enjoy it. This looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. I look forward to more.
Can I please see a clip of their Cutie Marks? I've watched the scenes a bunch of times, and I can't find them.
I honestly never thought of that one before!
You think they'd get away with doing this in the movies?
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I think i might enjoy this fic. It seems like it'll be nice and mellow.
6478614 It's just a thing MythrilMoth came up with. Honestly, kinda wish I'd though of it first. It's a neat-o concept. Aaaaanyway, I don't think Hasbro could get way with human booty shots the way they do plot shots... Unfortunately.
Plot shots... Has that been used before? If not, It'sa mine. I coined it. Everyone saw it.
This was interesting. Your interpretation of why they discovered their cutie-marks is very well sustained by the scenes seen in the movie.
Although, I can't help to notice that Human!Rarity's and Human!Pinkie's "discoveries" do bear some resemblance with the way Pony!Rarity and Pony!Pinkie each discovered their Cuitie Marks, while the rest of the Human!Six discovered why each represent their Element of Harmony, whith Sunset standing as the Element of Magic.
Maybe I'm looking too much into it, or maybe it is another thing the writers didn't want to be consistent about
Also: Beatrix? Headcanon Accepted!
HAHAHAHA!!!!!
I loved how the reactions were so in character, but not to the point where it seems that you're forcing it. By that I mean in some stories--Fluttershy is a good example--she will be written way to timid and underdeveloped. But yours was good.
EG universe "Booty-marks" is now headcanon.
For Five score divided by four...
I wonder if they'll get some equivalent of the Cutie Map as well.
If it happen to them then Twilight......
Rainbow always has her priorities right.
Thank you Rainbow Dash.
I like this. It got me thinking about the implications of humans with cutie marks. Even though it's just a slice of life girls talking chapter, and a good one at that, I could almost see it as the opening chapter of a big story somehow.
Also, I laughed at Fluttershy's reaction to her mark.
*Checks for sex tag*
Theeere you are. Wouldn't be a Mythril fic without it.
"I was destined to...to shine the light of friendship"
Is this canon? If not, that should be canon.
The sun represents her ability to shine light upon the magic of friendship... I like it!
Obvious question: Is a hyperventilating Sci-Twi looking at a lavender-and-white starburst on her hips and wondering how the heck she's going to explain this one?
Naturally (assuming she hasn't been transferred yet) the Shadowbolts will be cool with it.
LEMON ZEST: "Hey! Cool tat, Sparkle!"
SOUR SWEET: "Yeah, it's really you...! As you're going to be at that common public school from now on!"
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After Friendship Games, I was certain that 'Magic' and 'Friendship' were different Elements in the human world; Sunset is the Bearer of the Element of Friendship and Twilight is the Bearer of the Element of Magic.
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adding to this 'should-be' moment, one might also believe it should be a beacon of light for those who have strayed from the light to follow, to find themselves back on the path of friendship
6478968 I know a few people who use that as Trixie's real name, myself included.
There's something missing from this conversation. EG humans may not have cutie marks on their thighs but they do have a tendency to wear clothing and/or jewelry bearing the image of their ponysona's mark. I've always wondered how they latch on to them.
Incidentally that was something that annoyed me about the show. They didn't let Sunset be smart enough to figure out what the trigger for ponying-up was when it was easy enough to figure out.
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What do you mean it sounds familiar?
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I see it as a "the smarter you are, the less likely you are to figure it out" senario. To us, it's obvious, but to someone like Sunset who has studied the intricate nuances of magic for who knows how many years? Her default is probably something like "if it's magic, it's going to complicated", or something like that.
This ending sold the story to me: you got somebody to say "tramp stamp" in context to the conversation without any hint of joking or teasing whatsoever.
Young Sunset being jerk to a blank-flank Trixie, who is now overcompensating for her lateness in getting a cutie mark? Didn't ever think of that, but man it fits well!
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indeed it does.
Head canon excepted!
"booty marks" is now the term I'm using for EqG.
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Check out FOME's Oversaturation
Well, that was entertaining. Magic Tramp Stamps forever. XD I'll have to read the rest.
She squeaked and shrank in on herself, curled up into a shivering ball on the cold tile floor.
"Oh my goodness...I really hope Mom and Dad don't kill me..."
THAT SO FITS!!!!
I LOVE how in Equestria Girls Magic is just accepted as is and they GET ON with their lives.
And makes me wonder if Sunset has been trying to HELP this world's Trixie. (Since both have the same insecurities and are willing to shout from roof tops about how great they are when the truly arrogant see no need to shout from roof tops BECAUSE they consider their greatness an obvious fact.)
Rainbow Dash's sarcasm works really well because she just shrugs it all off as being normal, yet the same can't be said with Rarity whose reaction was pretty much expected. Also, I laughed when Pinkie took the initiative regarding showing Sunset her Cutie Mark, for that's just the kind of thing one would expect from her.
This is why Applejack's eyebrows are the best character.
Umm... Sunset? The season five premiere would like to have a word with you.
Ok, I think it's been said before, but I'll say it again: Generosity is a fundamental part of both Rarities' (pony and human) respective personalities, and both have a passion for dress-making, but Pony Rarity's cutie mark does not represent either generosity or dress-making. Her cutie mark means her talent is gem-finding .
That's the same mistake made in the Season 3 finale
6834565 Well, it's highly debatable whether or not Rarity is actually generous. Personally, I don't think she is, especially since the only episode meant to showcase her 'generosity' (the Manehattan one) had her expect something in return.
So hypothetically, if someone outside the mane six, say Lyra, were to pony up, would they do so because of their talent or because of their best quality/element?
Applejack's eyebrow raised... two INCHES? Well, off we go!
6479222 Well, her body hasn't been removed, but her mind certainly seems a bit confused.
6942536 It's probably worth mentioning that Rarity's Element was originally meant to be INSPIRATION. That is, that was Lauren Faust's original intention, for her creative talent and drive to act as an inspiration to others. Executive meddling in the early stages of production changed that to 'generosity', and the writing staff has been working to reconcile the difference ever since. To be fair to Rarity, too: Applejack's not exactly a paragon of truth, Twilight's STILL an introvert, Fluttershy has a nasty streak a mile wide if you get her out of her shell, RD's pride and temper get in the way of her loyalties, and even Pinkie's obnoxious nature can run counter to her Element. Toying with the characters' flaws dddddddddhave given us some of the show's best episodes, and honestly it helps flesh them out that they're NOT in perfect sync with their Elements of Harmony. Knowing the real reason for the apparent disparity helps, though, eh?
Magic Tramp Stamps FOREVER!!!
7557574 Yes... I can feel your laughter. Let the merriment flow through you! Give in to your sense of humor!
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I would worry more about Zephyr Breeze.
6581872 As would the Season 3 finale.
7000956 Has anypony seen my eyebrow?
Interesting way of looking at Sunset's mark though it begs the question of how she got the mark in the first place? Hoping that gets explained in one of these, but yeah this was good. The humor was on point, Sunset schooling everybody like the best pony she is and the explanations made sense. Wonder if Sci-Twi got her mark here or if she gets hers during the Camp Everfree fiasco?
Hehehehe, awesome
7000956
I don't know what I just watched... but I loved it.
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I don't get it. What does 25 have to do with this scene?
8248526
It's a reference to another story on this site that contains a similar scene early on. That story is actually quite infamous, the admins around here had to set a rule in place about spinoffs after the basic premise started spreading like wildfire. The math problem... well, let's just say math is the very last thing that anyone in THAT universe needs to be concerned about. It's a really long read, and a bit heavy in tone for this site, but a ton of fun all the same and quite well-written. Here's a link, have fun! I know I did.
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/93383/five-score-divided-by-four
- Headwind