"I've read every book on the subject," said Twilight Sparkle, looking over one of those books. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had come to ask her a strange question: Was there a way for a griffon to get a cutie mark? "And I've never read a thing about any creature other than a pony getting a cutie mark," she continued.
"But Twilight," said Scootaloo, "Gabby flew all the way here so we could help her. There's got to be something we can do." The three fillies' expressions were so downcast, Twilight wished she could do something to help them, but she simply had never heard of anything like what they were asking.
"Say," said Sweetie Bell, "Is there some kind of spell you can whip up to make her mark appear?" The three fillies' expressions turned to those of hope. That did not make the truth any easier to give.
"Um, I don't know if any of you remember," Twilight said, "But using magic to get a cutie mark never really works out all that well." She made a gesture with her hoof and gave a sly smile. That was one of the CMC's more memorable adventures.
"Oooh. Riight," the three said in unison. They remembered THAT incident all too well.
"Crusaders, I'm sorry," Twilight said, using her magic to put the books she had gathered back in their proper place, "But while I can't say that it's utterly impossible, the chances of Gabby getting an actual mark are... pretty slim. Everything I've ever learned tells me. It's just not going to happen." She knew this news was disappointing, and she hated that she had to be the one to break it. What good was a princess that could not help her subjects? Still, it was probably best that they learn to accept the things they cannot change.
"Oh no," said Apple Bloom, "Poor Gabby. What the apples are we ever going to tell her?"
The crusader's lips actually started to tremble on hearing this new. If only there was something...
"Of course," said Twilight, pointedly not looking directly at the Crusaders, to avoid being infected by their mood, "Not to long ago, I would have said the same thing about taking a pony's cutie mark."
Sweetie Bell perked up as it dawned on her. "Of course! Starlight Glimmer! She managed to remove ponies' cutie marks, so maybe she can give one to a griffon!"
"That's right, she's basically Equestria's leading expert on cutie mark magic," Applebloom said, "I bet she knows tons of stuff about it that isn't in any book!"
"Now girls," Twilight said admonishingly, "I don't want you to get your hopes up too much. Removing cutie marks from ponies that already have them is a lot different from making a cutie mark appear on something that doesn't have one."
"We know," Scootaloo said in a more even tone than Sweetie Bell had had, though it was obvious she was concealing her excitement, "It couldn't hurt to ask though, right?"
"Just try not to remind her too much of what she did," Twilight said, "She's trying to move on, and she's still sensitive about that."
It took only a few minutes to find Starlight Glimmer in one of the castle's numerous alcoves, studying some tome or other. The CMC excitedly outlined the situation for her.
"I've never heard of a griffon getting a cutie mark," Starlight said, pondering, "Did you ask Twilight?"
"Yes!" Applebloom said, "But she hadn't heard of anything either, so we thought..."
"That maybe you might know more about cutie mark spells than she does," Sweetie Bell continued.
"Since you removed a whole village's cutie marks... oop!" Scootaloo finished, quickly putting her hoof over her mouth as she realized she had strayed into forbidden territory.
"It's alright," Starlight said, though her face and tone showed that she was uncomfortable, "I hadn't thought about altering that spell for other uses, though. Maybe I could do something..."
Starlight Glimmer grabbed a quill with her magic and scribbled a bit on some parchment. The Crusaders looked on hopefully. Starlight stopped after only a second, though, and looked at them with a dissappointed expression. The younger pony's expressions quickly became downcast in response to the look from their elder.
"I'm sorry, but at best, I could take somepony else's cutie mark and put it on Gabby," Starlight said."
"Huh," said Scootaloo, "What if we found somepony who didn't want their cutie mark, then? Remember Troubleshoes?"
"Yeah, but we helped him figure out what his cutie mark really meant for him, and he was fine," Applebloom replied, "So it'd kinda be against our whole purpose as Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"Hmmm..." all three thought in unison.
"I don't think it would be a good idea anyway," Starlight said, "Even the ponies in the village who asked for me to remove their cutie marks came to regret it eventually." She did not add 'when they found out I violated their trust by lying about giving up mine', but the thought was written on her face.
"I... guess one of us could give Gabby our cutie mark?" Sweetie Bell said hesitantly. The others were shocked at the suggestion. They had worked so hard for their cutie marks! They did consider it for a moment, though. It was part of their mission, they felt, to consider all avenues for helping someone with a cutie mark problem.
"Yeah, but even assuming we could agree on who it would be, would Gabby accept that?" Scootaloo said.
"I guess not," Sweetie Bell said, "Gabby is so nice, she's never want someone else to give up their cutie mark for her."
"Yeah," Applebloom said dejectedly, "I guess this is a dead-end, too."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help," Starlight said, "But... maybe her lack of a cutie mark isn't really the problem?"
"Huh?" the crusaders said in unison.
"What do you mean?" Applebloom asked.
"Well, I thought my problem was with cutie marks, and the way some people get them before their friends," she said, "But really, my problem was not with cutie marks, but with how I handled a friend moving away." Her voice shook a little. While she had reconnected with Sunburst in the past few months, a wound that had festered for years was not something that healed quickly.
"But what is it that Gabby really wants?" Applebloom asked.
"Hmmm," the crusaders again said in unison as they thought about it.
"I know!" Scootaloo said, "It's just like what we usually do with ponies. We help her find her purpose!"
"Hey yeah!" Sweetie Bell said excitedly.
"Let's go!" Applebloom said. The three dashed off down the hall, nearly forgetting about Starlight Glimmer.
"Thanks Ms. Starlight!" Applebloom called over her flank as they turned a corner.
Starlight smiled, glad she had been able to help, and went back to her work.
The Crusaders rushed back to the clubhouse to find Gabby. What happened there? Well, that is a story that has already been told.
Starlight could be a therapist.
I'm pretty sure the name "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" is a reference to the novel "The Fault in Our Stars"
Why is there no "back-up story" tag on this site? There should be one.
Feels like the kind of scene that would have been cut for time.
7563451 I am aware of that. I suppose in theory it COULD reference the original Shakespeare quote, but that seems unlikely ("The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings"). Not sure how that's relevant here though.
7563956 Agreed. There are a LOT of stories that could use it.
7563958 That was not my intent going in, but I realized on completion that it really could have been.
7563967
Sorry...that was meant as a compliment. "ONe that could slip right into the show...but they'd probably cut because they needed that extra sixty seconds."
7564835 No, I took it as a compliment. I'd say "sorry for the confusion" here but that starts a chain of apologies, so I'll take the advice of "Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness" and say "Thank you."
I was saying more that my intent was not to write something that necessarily fit a small space: I originally thought it might spiral off into a long tangent where they actually try it, but as I thought about it, I realized that did not fit the characters, so it wound up, as you said, like something that might have been there but was cut for time. I wasn't actually addressing the quality one way or the other. XP
7563967
Why unlikely? The show already referenced Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Milli Vanilli, Friends and the Hatfields and McCoys in episode titles. All references kids probably wouldn't get at first.
Though it would be great to have an episode with an exchange officer from the Zebra lands joins Twilight's Guard, she develops a crush on him and makes him her personal attache, and Flash Sentry is heartbroken and Spike is furious that he was promoted past him/replaced him as #1 assistant and the two begin plotting revenge.
https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/12/28/508425__safe_oc_humanized_princess+luna_princess+celestia_comic_fanfic_artist-colon-hazurasinner_shakespeare_henry+v.jpeg
https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/1/30/538362__safe_oc_twilight+sparkle_pinkie+pie_applejack_humanized_princess+luna_princess+celestia_comic_open+mouth.jpg
https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/1/30/538363__safe_oc_twilight+sparkle_rainbow+dash_pinkie+pie_humanized_princess+luna_princess+celestia_comic_soarin%27.jpg
7565239 Because the movie and book are more in the public consciousness, and their plot is sliiightly more relevant to the episode. Not to say that the writers aren't aware of the origin, I just don't think that was the reason.
...Was that last bit Othello?
7565267 Or given this post, Henry V? I've not seen/read that one, but I have read Othello so that's what sprung to mind.
7565610
Othello and Henry V.
It's a damn shame The Hollow Crown version of Henry V was such a disappointment.
Even though Tom Hiddleston's performances in The Hollow Crown probably made a few of his Loki fangirls' heads explode with his charismatic prettyboyism, cutting out The Southampton Plot and the interaction between the Celtic captains was unforgivable.
7565721 ...Yeah not seen that so I don't know what to say about it. XP Fans ruin everything, though. :P
Hmmmmmm
Didn't Starlight give them that equals cutie mark though?
Sure, Gabby would have lost her talent of helping others, but she would have gotten the cutie mark.
Just a thought.
7565950 I'm assuming the two were linked. We don't know that for sure, but I had to assume something about it. I'm also assuming that by modifying the spell (I mentioned that) Starlight could leave a blank flank behind.
However, if we assume the equals sign was separate, while it probably doesn't change the outcome, it would add additional discussion. Gabby probably would not be happy with that outcome... but then she did say "whatever it is." I doubt Starlight would want to do that, though, so likely she would talk them out of that... hmmm.... I have to ponder on this. If I can come up with something good, I might revise this story to add that bit.
Noooooooo don't do that!