The sorrowful stories of the ponies who decided to give up their cutie marks and become equal.
Throughout Equestria, ponies cherish the unique symbols upon their rumps, which boldly represent their special talents and life long passions.
However, for a select few, gaining their cutie marks and realising what makes them special has caused nothing but heart ache and despair. It is these ponies who form the cutie markless; a group lead by Starlight Glimmer - a powerful unicorn with the ability to remove a ponies cutie mark, and replace it with one which represents nothing but equality.
So who exactly are these ponies? And why did they decide to give up something as precious as their individuality?
I was always so proud of my cutie mark. After all, it represented my great passion for partying and my incredibly skilled balloon crafting! I could make pretty much anything; animals, bridges, houses, you name it! I thought that my cutie mark represented the special talent which singled me out among my peers, and made me unique and different from every pony else... but I was sadly mistaken.
Ever since I was a young foal, I always loved having fun. I grew up in a small family; just me, my mom, my dad, and my younger brother Bubblegum. Me and Bubblegum were pretty tight; I loved that little guy from the moment he was born. We were always playing together, laughing together, and best of all, having pretend parties with all of our toys.
When we both became a little older, I threw my brother the best birthday party in the history of birthday parties. There were tons of games to be played, cakes and other snacks to be eaten, and a huge bouncy castle! I invited all of his friends, and we were all having a fantastic time… but the best was yet to come.
In honor of my little brothers third birthday, I had been practicing making balloon animals for days on end, and I had gotten pretty good at it. I was going to put on a show to 'wow' all of the fillies and colts at the party, and make my little brother proud. So, after everyone had finished their cake, I gathered every ponies attention and took out my balloons.
I started off pretty simple. A few unicorns and earth ponies, moving on to pegasi – it was pretty tricky getting their wings right at first. The youngsters all clapped and cheered, and I handed them out to the crowd one by one. When each and every one of the fillies and colts had their own balloon pony, I attempted something very special for Bubblegum.
Taking my largest balloon (which was purple, to match his coat) I took a deep breathe, and blew into it before knotting the end. Then I took a deep blue - the same cool colour as Bubblegum’s mane. I twisted them around one another and created my first ever balloon alicorn! It was amazing; three times as big as my previous creations, with a long flowing mane and tail. I handed it to Bubblegum, and he smiled the biggest most wonderful smile that I had ever seen.
Then, out of nowhere, my rump started to glow... and it appeared. A cutie mark depicting a wonderful balloon animal surrounded by streamers! It wasn’t an alicorn - more like a bob-tailed poodle - but it closely resembled the very first one I had ever made successfully. The crowd cheered louder than ever, and I was over the moon about finally discovering my special talent!
Of course - despite this being the biggest thing to ever happen to me - I still refused to allow myself to steal any more of the limelight. It was Bubblegum’s birthday, after all.
~
A few years went by, and me and Bubblegum eventually grew up and went our separate ways. He left to study ecology - he was always kind of an egg head like that. As for myself, I moved away, to a cool little town where my passion for partying was loved and appreciated by all. I started my own party business, stocking all kinds of decorations, food, and accessories required for all of your party throwing needs. I also rented myself out as an entertainer and became an expert at balloon crafting. It was a good life… nay, a great life.
Until one day, when he showed up.
I remember his face so vividly; that brown curly mane and tanned coat, those huge green eyes, and that cutie mark - which still makes little sense to me.
At first he seemed like a pretty regular guy, albeit oddly dressed. We asked if he was just passing through our town, and he told us that he was on a serious mission. Well, ‘serious’ wasn’t really a word that we came across very often, in our fulfilled, party having lives. A few of the townsfolk were a little confused by his seemingly solemn attitude, but I felt it my duty to get this fella to lighten up a bit, and show him the awesome ways of our town.
All I wanted to do, was throw an amazing street party to celebrate his arrival. But to my great surprise, at the very mention of this idea, the pony removed his dark cowboy hat, and told me he 'had it covered'. I didn’t understand what he meant by this at first, but I was about to find out.
Turns out this shady colt was not so shady after all. He started prancing around, and singing at the top of his lungs about how he was a super-duper party pony. It wasn’t long before the other ponies joined in (all but myself) and he started showing us what he could do.
The guy had serious skills. I mean sure, I always kept a handy stock of balloons in my mane for all balloon-animal emergencies, but it was as though this pony could pull an entire party out of nowhere; giant cakes, pinatas, enormous bowls of punch, even roller coasters! The colt introduced himself as Cheese Sandwich, and threw the most amazing party that I had ever seen, like, ever. I watched along with the other ponies, feeling both impressed, and a little defeated.
Then, it happened. Cheese Sandwich finished his song, and took not one, not two, but about twenty balloons of all shapes and colours. He took a deep breath and began twisting them to make a huge multi-coloured balloon alicorn in mere seconds. It was bigger and brighter than almost anything I had made. And he just crafted it in a flash and then went on to do other amazing stuff, without even breaking a sweat. My mind was blown as I gawked at the marvelous work of this outsider.
How could this be? That guy could do everything I could do, only bigger, faster ...better. I had flashbacks of Bubblegum’s party, of how my little brother beamed when I handed him the pitiful two coloured alicorn that I had created way back then. I looked sorrowfully at my cutie mark; what good was my special talent, if some other pony was better than me at it? Surely this Cheese Sandwich guy was more worthy of my cutie mark than I was.
The more I watched him, the more my heart wrenched, and I felt a feeling that I had never felt before. It was worse than sadness, worse than anger, worse than jealousy; it was the feeling of being completely useless. No pony in town needed me anymore; not now they had him. Saddened, I abandoned my store, removed the balloons from my mane, and left the town which I had called home for many years. No pony followed me or tried to stop me, in fact I don’t think they even noticed that I was gone.
Then, I heard an elegant voice calling my name.
“Party Favor? Party Favor, what’s wrong?” A beautiful pink coated unicorn, with a curly purple and cyan blue mane, was looking at me with the most sympathetic eyes.
“H…how do you know my name?” I asked, startled.
“Why, every pony knows your name around here!” The unicorn replied, “You’re the pony who’s special talent is to throw incredible parties, and your balloon creations are simply the best.”
I sighed, “Thanks... but you’re wrong. I’m not the best… at anything, and neither is my work.”
“Now why in Equestria would you say that?” She asked, “even your cutie mark is a balloon animal, you must be very proud of your special talent.”
“I don’t have a special talent.” I scowled; maybe she was trying to be nice, but her words were just getting me down. I tried to continue walking.
“Are you unhappy because some pony else is better than you?” The unicorn called after me, before adding, “what about the other ponies? how do you think they felt when you were showing off your ‘special talent’?"
I paused. What did she mean? My parties always made other ponies happy, my balloon animals bought smiles to all of their faces, I never made any pony feel useless… did I?
The mare trotted over and caught up with me, “The whole idea of ‘special talents’ is just a cruel trick played upon us ponies by our cutie marks. Being the best at something only causes hurt and jealousy, to all of those who aren’t as good as you. I can see that you are finally starting to get a little taste of that yourself.”
Now that made me think. Was this true? The way I was feeling at that moment - is that the same way that I was making other ponies feel when I was showing off my skills? Were all the ponies that had attended my parties and seen my balloon shows really happy watching me being so much better than them at something? Or had I spent my whole life making others feel miserable and useless because they couldn’t do what I did? The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
She continued,
“Cutie marks are terrible things; they make you believe that others are beneath you, or that you are below others. They either give you a selfish sense of pride, or a longing sense of envy . Wouldn’t it be much better if we didn’t have them at all? If we were all equal? That way, no pony would ever have to feel the way that you do now.”
“No pony would ever feel this terrible,” I began to agree, “No pony would ever be better or worse than any pony else, at anything…”
“Nope.” The mare smiled, “everypony would be equal and happy, together.”
I felt myself becoming a little emotional at the thought, “If only, that could happen...”
To my surprise, the mare gave a large grin and replied,
“I have already made it happen.”
“Wh…what do you mean?” I lifted my head in curiosity.
She extended her hoof invitingly,
“Come with me to my little town." She smiled, "every pony is welcome there, and every pony there is happy. We all live together peacefully, without our cutie marks.”
That is when I took a first glance at the mares flank. Instead of some colourful cutie mark representing a special talent, she had two grey lines - an equal’s sign.
“I have a magical staff, with the ability to remove cutie marks.” She told me, “we replace them with this symbol, which represents how we are all equal, in every way.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. All of this pain, all of this hurt, it could all be taken away just like that? I was being welcomed into a town, where I wouldn’t be able to hurt or offend any pony else, and no pony else would be able to hurt or offend me. None of this would matter anymore - I would be free.
“That… sounds wonderful.” I couldn’t help but sniffle a little.
The unicorn put her hoof around me tenderly, “Then Party Favor, I would be very happy to welcome you into our family, let me take you to the village. By the way, my name is Starlight Glimmer.”
You know what’s weird about gaining your cutie mark? Sometimes it can be so obvious to the ponies around you what your special talent is, but you never actually realise it yourself.
It was kind of like that for me. Every pony was always telling me, “Sugar Belle, these cupcakes are delicious!” or “Sugar Belle, when are you going to make another cherry pie?” but I never once considered myself to be anything more than a simple mare who enjoyed baking tasty treats to enjoy with my family and friends.
When my cutie mark arrived, I wasn’t expecting it at all. Despite my love of baking, I never realised that I was good enough to consider it my special talent. I was just happily going about my day, icing a few cakes and rolling out some dough, and suddenly there it was; an image of delightful cupcake with a cherry on top; it was so cute, so whimsical, and so… perfect! Receiving my cutie mark made me more dedicated towards my baking than ever before.
My Cutesinara was really special. I told every pony that I now realised it must my destiny to make delicious cakes for ponies throughout Equestria. From the North, South, East and West, they would travel far and wide just to get a taste of my delicious desserts! Therefore, I had created a bunch of new recipes, and at my Cutesinara I asked my friends to decide which ones were keepers. To my surprise, every one of my new creations received fantastic feedback!
I started making my tasty treats and selling them at market stalls and other events, but usually I just spent the money on more ingredients. It wasn’t much of a profit, but I didn’t mind; all I wanted to do was make ponies happy, being told that my cakes were delicious was reward enough. However, I was now more certain than ever that baking was what I wanted to do in life, so when I grew old enough I took on a job at the local café, to learn how to turn my passion into a career.
It was wonderful! My desserts were really popular, and the kind boss was always saying how they were a credit to the business. I happily baked away for hours on end, pleased to know that my talent was appreciated and helping the café to become more and more recognised by the day.
Of course I always dreamed about having a place of my own, but that was a lot harder than it sounded. It wasn’t just about having the most delicious food; there was stock taking, money handling, customer service... I had a lot to learn, and it was going to be tough, but it was also pretty exciting.
Over time, the once quiet café gained more and more customers. That meant more money, and soon the business was able to expand. The kitchen was enlarged, more staff were hired, and ponies travelled from all over Equestria to try our famous desserts, just as I always dreamed they would. The place got busier and busier… and we had to work harder and harder to please every pony. My shifts slowly became longer, and more and more hectic…
“I didn’t order coffee cake! I ordered chocolate cake!” I heard an angry mare shouting from the diner one afternoon.
“I’m so sorry mam!” The nervous waitress replied, “I’ll have a chocolate cake made for you right away. Sugar Belle! Sugar Belle! We need another chocolate cake over here!”
“Another?” I gasped, “but I already have four carrot cakes to make and….”
“You’ll have to put those on hold.” She replied sternly, “the rest of her table all have their desserts.”
As quickly as I could, I took out one of the chocolate sponge bases I had prepared a little earlier. I cut it in half to fill it with cream and…. we were completely out of cream.
“There’s no more cream!” I panicked, trying to get the attention of a nearby chef.
“Sugar Belle, I’m busy with my apple pies.” She replied in a stressed tone, “You’ll have to use something else.”
“Where is my dessert?” The customer bellowed impatiently,
“Something else… but I… urmm… jam!” I darted over to the cupboard and filled the cake with raspberry jam. It’s not how I would usually make a chocolate cake, but I couldn’t keep all of the customers waiting. I handed it over the counter to the waitress, hoping for the best, and then I heard another angry voice.
“Where are our carrot cakes? We’ve been waiting ten minutes!”
I dashed off to finish the cakes that I had started earlier. It was our custom to draw a carrot with icing on top of each one. I did my best to keep a steady hoof, even with all of the flustered staff around me darting about, trying to get their orders out on time.
That’s when I smelt burning. For a moment nothing triggered, but when I finally realised where it was coming from, my hoof slipped and the icing carrot was no longer recognisable.
“The oven!!” I gasped, and hurried to the back of the kitchen.
As I feared, a dark smoke was coming from the door. I opened it to find a tray of singed, overflowing batter. I couldn’t believe it; I had left the banana muffins in for too long.
This was bad; an entire tray of desserts, ruined by my carelessness.
“Where are our carrot cakes?” The customers shouted,
“This is supposed to be cream, not jam!” The mare from before was cursing the waitress for my doing.
“We have no more apples!” One of the other staff ran into the kitchen to tell us. “Wait… where is all that smoke coming fro...” Suddenly, every pony in the kitchen turned to face me.
They saw everything; the burnt muffins, the smoking oven, and the tears which filled my eyes.
I ran.
As I galloped out of the crowded café, and through the streets, my emotions suddenly caught up with me. I wasn’t happy working at that place any more, and I was definitely no longer a credit to the team. Maybe baking had been a fun hobby when I was young and naive - when other ponies thought it was cute how much I loved making cakes for them and having little stalls - but how could I be so terrible at something which was supposed to be my destiny?
The events of that day had proven that I really wasn’t a good baker after all. So… why did I have this cutie mark? Why did the image on my rump display such a delicious looking cupcake when I just made stupid singed muffins and carrot cakes with scribbles upon them? Everything was a mess; I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
That’s when I met her.
“Sugar Belle, where are you off to in such a hurry?” A pretty unicorn with a streaked mane approached me from behind.
“Who… are you?” I sobbed, “how do you… know me?”
“How do I know you? Why, your desserts are famous throughout Equestria! You turned that rusty old café into a successful landmark with your special talent!” The mare replied kindly.
“T…thanks.” I forced a smile, “but I’m starting to think that I no longer have a… special… talent.”
“Now why would you say that?” She tilted her head, “your cutie mark is a clear representation of what a fantastic baker you are!”
“No.” I answered, “I proved today that I’m not fit to have a cutie mark like this, and I’m certainly not a fantastic baker. I’m just a failure.”
“Now now,” the unicorn tried to comfort me, “just because you cannot live up to your cutie mark, doesn’t make you a failure.”
I looked up, what did she mean by that? Of course it did!
“Who ever heard of a pony being terrible at their special talent?” I asked. “I’ve let the café down! I’ve let every pony down!”
The mare hugged me, then replied,
“Cutie marks give false hope to ponies, dictating their fate and deciding their place in the world. Once you have one, it’s almost as though you’re trapped. You think you must excel in whatever skill your cutie mark represents, and if you cannot do that, then you are worthless.”
“Yes.” I looked up at her, “that is exactly… how I feel. I always enjoyed baking before I had a cutie mark, because I wanted to… not because I felt like I had to.”
She nodded in agreement, and then continued;
“I believe that ponies would be much happier living their lives free of their cutie marks and special talents. If we were all the same, there would be no such thing as failure, or success, and you would never let any pony down, ever again.”
“Ponies… without talents….” I pondered. “I guess that wouldn’t make much of a difference to me, since I don’t really have one to lose. That kind of freedom would feel pretty liberating right now.”
“Then Miss Sugar Belle, I would like to personally invite you to come and stay in our town. The ponies there do not have to live up to the expectations of their cutie marks, as they have no cutie marks to live up to!”
“Huh?!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “No cutie marks? How is that possible?”
“I have a magical staff which can remove the cutie marks of ponies, and replace them with this symbol.” The mare pointed to her flank, it had a really simple image upon it that was like no cutie mark that I had ever seen before; it was an equal’s sign.
“This symbol represents our way of life. Every pony in our town is equal, no pony is any better, or any worse, than any pony else. Likewise, they are not pressured to live up to any expectations. I know I speak for every pony there when I say that we would be very happy to have you join us.”
“So I would never be able to let any pony down again? I wouldn’t have this constant pressure, I could just enjoy my life and relax? That sounds… wonderful.” I replied.
“Then welcome to our family!” The unicorn hugged me, “My name is Starlight Glimmer.”
I love the cold! I grew up in the snowy mountains; it was an exciting life. Me and the other ponies would go sledding, snowboarding and skiing every day, we used to hold competitions and race each other. We would even create trophies out of ice and award them to the winners. They lasted quite a while, so long as we always kept them outside.
Me and my four best friends were still pretty young when we created the Snow Games; a series of fun activities rolled into one event. Whoever won the most trophies was considered the overall champion. Our first Snow Games was just a fun little project for us mountain ponies, but it soon became much more than that!
Once we had finished each one of the fun challenges and races, we celebrated by putting our ice trophies together on a podium - which was admittedly nothing more than a large rock. Then, as we stepped back to admire them, the five of us amazingly gained our cutie marks at the exact same time! Each one somehow represented the event we had created together, at the frozen paradise we called home.
My pal Glacier particularly enjoyed the snowball fight tournament, and was blessed with five snowballs upon her rump. Snowdrift acquired a cute snow-mare; she used to build small ones and place them in each of her ice trophies! Speaking of which, the oldest among us, Black Ice - who was the champion of our first snow games - actually had an ice trophy as his cutie mark, representing his great victory! Finally, my friend Sprinkle received a cute picture of a snow cone. She had spent the majority of the Snow Games making them for the spectators.
As for me, I gained three beautiful snowflakes. I was pretty happy, because they were similar to the design I’d created for the flag on my sled. At that moment, we all knew that these cutie marks meant we were destined to host the Snow Games and compete in them every year.
Over time, more and more ponies attended the annual event. Some even traveled from distant towns to watch or compete. We started including fun games for the fillies, and more difficult challenges for the experienced athletes. I got pretty used to winning, as our lifestyles gave us an edge over most of the other ponies, who weren’t used to the cold, snowy, and often windy weather conditions.
On the tenth anniversary of the Snow Games, we were all raring to go. I entered myself into pretty much everything, but it was the skiing I was particularly looking forward to. I hadn’t lost a skiing race to date, and we had a bunch of new challengers that year.
When it was time for the race, we took our places atop one of the steepest mountains; this particular event was for experienced skier’s only. Black Ice had entered - as I knew he would. Like me, he never backed out of a challenge. The two of us considered one another friendly rivals, but he somehow always beat me, just by a few trophies. However, this year we were currently tied, and winning the race would finally put me in the lead!
The referee blew the whistle, and with a huge push I set off down the mountain, passing most of the other ponies with great ease. The snow was particularly thick on this course, and it was tougher to steer, some of the other competitors were having a hard time. I maneuvered left and right, dodging tree’s and rocks, and finally overtook Black Ice. It was then that I knew, the race was in the bag.
As I imagined the trophy that I would receive for my 10 year winning streak in this event, I suddenly noticed a blue pegasus pony swerve across my line of vision on her ski's. I had never seen her before, but she was pretty skilled, making light tracks as she gracefully passed by.
That’s when I realised that I was no longer in the lead! So I pushed with all my might and caught up to the mare, but as one of us glided to the left, the other glided to the right, and we were pretty much neck on neck.
The mare winked as she crossed in front of me once more,
“Oh, you’re on!” I gave a forceful push, and accelerated at great speed.
I had never traveled so fast before. My ski’s dug into the snow, creating a deep trail as I furiously pushed harder and harder, trying to regain my first place. I was the running champion; I couldn’t lose to some outsider! I had to admit though, she was pretty fast, and by the time I had finally overtaken her, I actually felt myself starting to sweat.
Nevertheless, I was the lead once again, but this time I didn’t let my guard down. I ski'd like I had never ski'd before, from left to right down the mountain, heavily kicking up snow… and then once again, she passed me.
“What the… how is she….” I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Then I noticed that the pegasus wasn’t swiftly gliding any more. She looked as though she was in a state of panic, and was forcing herself forwards as though her life depended on it.
“Look out!” She shouted in my direction.
That’s when I heard a rumbling noise, gradually getting louder and louder. It was coming from behind me…
My careless competitive attitude had caused me to forget the most important rule of skiing: where the snow is thick, you must ski lightly and as streamline as possible. If you take too much snow with you, it can cause an avalanche!
Turns out that is exactly what my reckless racing had done. A sheet of snow was heading straight for us. Black Ice was going as fast as he could, but to my utter horror he was soon caught up in it, and came tumbling down the mountain as the avalanche gathered more and more snow, growing in size as it approached me and the pegasus.
It was no use; we couldn’t escape it, and we soon suffered the same fate as Black Ice. What was worse, the snow continued down the mountain, heading towards the crowds below. Some of the ponies scrambled just in time, and some of the pegasi lifted unicorn's and earth ponies into the air out of danger; but many others were impounded.
When finally I regained consciousness, I looked around to see my friends slowly coming around too. Most of them were holding their heads; they had been injured by the avalanche.
“I think my wings broken!” The pegasus pony was trying to fly, but couldn’t.
"My head.... hurts!" Cried a stallion.
“We need to call an ambulance!” A mare shouted. “No, a bunch of ambulances!”
As I looked around at my fellow ponies writhing in pain, tears filled my eyes. I was careless, and put winning the race before the safety of my friends. I couldn’t stand to look at the damage I had caused, and so I shakily got to my feet and quietly left the scene, to curse myself in private. When I was sure that I was out of sight, I took a backwards glance at the catastrophe, and then at my ski’s, which had landed upright in the snow. I couldn’t believe what I had done. There was no way I could ever go back there, or be a part of the Snow Games ever again.
So, with tears now streaming from my eyes, I left.
I didn’t get far however, before bumping into a brightly coloured unicorn, with a rather odd cutie mark that looked like an equal’s sign.
“Double Diamond… what on earth happened here?” She tilted her head,
“It… it was an avalanche!” I whimpered, “an avalanche that I caused… wait, how do you know my name?”
“You… caused this?” She looked up at the humongous piles of snow which now lay around the base of the mountain. Then proceeded to answer my question, “Of course I know your name. You and your friends founded the Snow Games, and you hold them every year!”
“I… I don’t want to have anything to do with the Snow Games anymore.” I said, “I got way too obsessed. I wanted to become the champion so badly, that I didn’t consider the safety of any pony.”
“So, you’re leaving the mountains?” She asked,
I nodded. “If I stay here, my competitiveness might get the better of me again. And even if it didn’t, it would be heart breaking to watch. I just want to get away from here, and forget that any of this ever happened.”
“But Double Diamond, isn't this your destiny? Why, even your cutie mark represents your passion for the Snow Games!” She seemed awfully curious,
My cutie mark? I glanced sadly at my rump.
“Yeah. I guess no matter where I go, this symbol will always be here, to remind me that today, I put my friends in danger.”
“That’s going to make it pretty tough for you to move on…” The unicorn pondered, “cutie marks can be such burdens. Frequently reminding you of who are supposed to be, even if you no longer wish to be that pony. Why don’t you just let me remove it for you?”
“Huh? Remove my cutie mark?” I didn't understand.
“Why of course!" The mare reassured me, "I’ve removed the cutie marks of many ponies. We have our own little community, where we have all started a new life, free from our past mistakes. I replace every cutie mark with a wonderful symbol, representing nothing but equality. There are no challenges in our town; no winners, and no losers.”
“No winners…” I was hesitant for a while, “my competitive nature would never get the better of me again. I would never put any pony at risk, and I wouldn’t be burdened by this mark, reminding me of my past.”
The more I considered the unicorn’s offer, the more it sounded like my best option. I had nowhere else to go, after all.
“I’ll do it.” I replied, “I’ll give up my cutie mark if it means getting a fresh start, and living a life where I cannot cause any harm to my fellow ponies.”
Being a Pegasus pony is awesome. Sure, unicorns get the magic, and earth ponies get all the nature skills, but I wouldn’t trade my wings for the world. The feeling of the wind against my feathers as I soar through the sky is simply irreplaceable.
I was at the top of the class at Flight School, closely followed by my best friend Dusk Diver. She was a little quiet compared to me, but equally as cool and ambitious. Whilst I was all about speed and efficiency, Dusk Diver was really into precision and aerodynamics. We balanced each other out amazingly, and were pretty inseparable.
Every night after school, me and Dusk Diver would stay out late honing our skills. We supported and encouraged one another, certain that some day all of these private sessions would majorly pay off; perhaps in the future, we would even become Wonderbolts!
I was one of the first in my class to get a cutie mark; it was a partially eclipsed moon, with two silver feathers surrounding it. I had a lot of fun showing it off at Flight School.
The other fillies and colts thought my cutie mark was so cool. I still remember the way they all gathered around excitedly, as the majority of them still didn't have their own cutie marks yet.
“What does it mean?” They asked excitedly,
“It means that I’m destined for greatness.” I bragged, “It represents my greatest passion in life, and the dedication I put into developing this passion. Dusk Diver and I practice flying every night after school until after dark. We might even become Wonderbolts some day!"
Most of the class were pretty impressed, but then one kid had to ruin it;
“B…but if you and Dusk Diver have been training together every night…” he asked, “then how come she still doesn’t have her cutie mark yet?”
Suddenly all ponies eyes turned to Dusk, who blushed and remained silent.
I flew over and put a hoof around my friend,
“Ponies get their cutie marks at different times.” I explained, “Dusk will get hers soon, I’m sure of it!”
Dusk Diver smiled gratefully at me,
“Thank you.” She whispered.
Over the next few days I noticed the other young pegasi suddenly became really motivated. They started trying harder in classes, and even taking up optional activities to try and figure out their special talents. At first I was happy to be such a good influence on my fellow classmates, but when Dusk Diver started missing out on our night-flying sessions to work on various projects herself, I started to wonder if perhaps I had gained my cutie mark a little too soon.
This didn’t matter for long however, as one day Dusk turned up to class with a huge grin on her face, and a wonderful cutie mark. It was a beautiful swirling silver cloud with a white glowing outline. Dusk Diver couldn't stop beaming with delight as she explained it to me. She had recently discovered the art of cloud shaping and decided to give it a try, soon realizing she had a natural knack for the craft. Her cutie mark appeared after she had completed her latest mini-cloud sculpture, which was a challenging pattern using delicate alto-cumulus clouds.
It wasn’t long before the other ponies in our class all started to receive their cutie marks, by the time we had finished Flight School, we all had a clear idea of what we wanted to do with our lives.
Dusk Diver had a very structured plan. She had decided to become a weather pony.
“It’s so cool how they collect the water, create and transfer the clouds, then break them down accordingly.” She told me, "I'd love to be able to do that."
“You’d make an incredible weather pony, they’d be lucky to have you.” I smiled supportively, but secretly felt a little lonely; life would be pretty weird without my friend by my side every day.
Dusk must have picked up on this; I've never been much good at hiding my feelings.
“You should apply for the weather team too, Night Glider.” She suggested, “we could work together!”
“I’m not sure…” I replied, “I see myself as more of an athlete than a worker pony.”
“But you can learn so much!” Dusk tried to convince me with her enthusiasm, “We could really push our limits. And next summer, we can try out for the Wonderbolt Academy together!”
At that moment, my mind was made up.
The Wonderbolt Academy was a cool training camp for ponies who wanted to someday join the greatest flyers in Equestria. I wished I could have gone straight from Flying School Graduate to Wonderbolt, but only the best of the best get accepted into the Academy; I could definitely use more practice.
So me and Dusk Diver tried out for the weather team, and of course we both got in. I enjoyed the job far more than I expected to, and became a natural in no time, getting my tasks completed at the speed of light and helping the other ponies with their own duties. Dusk Diver was exceptional at breaking down the big bulky clouds, and creating delicate stratus clouds in the evening, she had a tender touch and her work really stood out.
The months went by, and then one day I was called into the office by the boss, and just like that... I got promoted to Supervisor.
It was awesome; the other weather ponies really respected me. Every morning I would fly over to each team, announce the weather schedule and assign the ponies to their duties. I would salute them and wish them luck, being sure to check in and lend a hoof from time to time. I was pretty busy, and often stayed up late fixing the skies.
A few month's passed by, and then one night after work, Dusk Diver tapped me on the shoulder timidly and handed me a piece of paper. It was an application for the Wonderbolt Academy, which started in three month's time. I hugged my friend and thanked her; due to all of my new responsibilities on the weather team, I had completely forgotten about applying for the Academy. The two of us immediately filled out the forms, and posted them the following morning.
Three months later, I was pacing up and down outside my cloud home, when the mail pegasus arrived. He handed me a large letter, and I instantly recognised the iconic seal. My heart pounding, I teared the letter open and my heart filled with joy; I had been accepted! Excitedly, I flew over to Dusk Diver’s place. We lived close by, so the mail pegasus had probably already delivered her own acceptance letter.
However, when I arrived, Dusk was scrunching up a piece of paper, and crying her eyes out. I didn’t have to ask what was wrong.
“Dusk.” I held out my hoof to try and comfort her, but she turned away.
“I’m clearely not good enough to be a Wonderbolt.” She sobbed.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say. I glanced around silently and noticed all of the clouds surrounding Dusk Diver's home were sculpted or arranged beautifully; she was an incredibly talented pony.
Then, I said it.
“Maybe... you’re not supposed to be a Wonderbolt.”
My friend turned back to me,
“How could you say that?" She broke down, "you’ve always been so much better than me at everything. You were top of the class at school, you were the first to get your cutie mark, you’re a supervisor weather pony, and now you’re going to become a Wonderbolt. It’s not fair!”
“But… Dusk… you can do all kinds of things that I can’t do…” I started to explain, but she wouldn't listen.
“I don’t need your pity, Night Glider.” She wept,
“Pity? What do you mean? I’m your friend!” I tried to put a hoof around her, but Dusk Diver just pushed me off.
“Well, maybe I don’t want your friendship either.” She threw the letter into the wind, and flew away.
Those words hurt. Me and Dusk Diver had been friends almost all of our lives; just how long has she been feeling this way? The more I thought about it, the more I realised how I would feel if it was the other way around. Dusk Diver was the one who always paid attention during lectures, she was the one who always wanted to become a weather pony, she was the one who knew when to apply for the Wonderbolt Academy. Yet I had breezed through life, without even trying.
For the first time in my life, I didn't feel like flying, or like being around my fellow pegasi. I glided down to the ground, to be alone.
"Night Glider... what are you doing down here?" An unfamiliar voice addressed me, I turned to see a pinkish unicorn following behind.
"Who are you?" I asked her, "and how do you know who I am?"
"Of course I know who you are!" She chuckled, "you're the supervisor of the weather ponies. I see you racing through the skies all the time, you do an amazing job."
"T...thanks." I mumbled, "but I never wanted to be a weather pony, it was a stupid mistake."
"Oh?" She looked surprised, "Then... why did you?"
I thought about it for a moment, and when I realised the answer, I broke down and started to cry, spilling my heart to this complete stranger. I guess I just needed to get things off my chest... after all, there was no harm in telling this unicorn my problems, right?
"I wanted to be close to my friend." I explained through tears, "but I got sidetracked. I was always one step ahead and never gave her time to catch up. She was far more important to me than flying ever was, I was just too dense to see that before, and now it's too late."
"You can't help it if you're naturally better than some pony else." The unicorn told me, "it's in your nature. I see ponies like you every day; ponies who lose their friends because their differences drive them apart. Their destinies take them in opposite directions. Woudn't it be much better if every pony was matched, in skill and talent? If our destiny was simply to live together peacefully. No pony outshining any pony else, no pony crushing any other ponies dreams?"
I nodded, "yeah."
"I can make it happen." She winked, ”I have a special rod which can remove a ponies cutie mark, replacing it with a symbol that represents equality, and unity."
"What?" I gasped, "that's... incredible. Do you think that Dusk Diver would like me again if I was the same as her?"
The unicorn shook her head,
"You will never be the same as her," She answered, "Dusk Diver still has her special talent, she will never be your friend again, but if you come with me, I can promise you a life of peace and happiness. You will be surrounded by friends who will never be envious of you, because you will all be one big family. Friendship is far more important than special talents, after all."
I dried my eyes and considered the option,
"I've already lost my best friend," I concluded, "if I stay the way I am, I may never be able to hold onto another friend for as long as I live. I'd rather lose my skills, than be alone for the rest of my life."
"I promise you, you will not regret your choice." The unicorn patted me on the back, "my name is Starlight Glimmer. Please, let me take you to our town, where you will make many, many new friends."
