The Cutie Mark Chronicles

The Cutie Mark Chronicles is the 23rd episode in the first season of the series.

Summary
The Cutie Mark Crusaders: Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle continue their attempt to find their special talents by trying their hooves at zip-lining at a suggestion from Spike. Unfortunately, they only stopped at the middle of the line before it broke, causing them to crash through a nearby tree. Once again, there was no cutie mark; just a covering of pine needles and tree sap. It was then that Apple Bloom remembered: there were plenty of ponies in Ponyville with their marks, and thought to ask how they discovered them. The Crusaders took off to search for answers, starting with Rainbow Dash, who Scootaloo suggested was the "coolest, bravest, fastest" flier from Cloudsdale.

Along the way, they stopped in front of a group of rabbits that had swiped some of Applejack's apples. Coincidentally, they bumped into Apple Bloom's older sister seconds later. Since AJ was already here, the Crusaders decided to ask her first...

Applejack: The City
Before she became one of her family's best apple gatherers, she was more interested in the sophisticated life. AJ left the farm and into the big city of Manehattan. She joined her Aunt and Uncle Orange, who promised to shape up the little filly into that of elegance. During an evening get-together with some of the other egal Equestrians, AJ told them how much she loved the city with her new voice, but caused a raise of eyebrows when she mentioned the life she left behind. As time passed, she grew homesick and wondered what her big brother and grandmother were up to. Just then, she saw a beautiful Rainbow across the sky and towards Ponyville. Applejack made up her mind and returned home. Accepting her farm life, her flank showed a trio of apples.

Just as she finished her story, she saw the rabbits and chased them once more. With the exception of Scootaloo, the other loved the sweet story, and so they continued their trip to find Rainbow Dash.

They came to an abrupt stop near Fluttershy, who was helping a family of ducks across the road. Hearing what the fillies were up to, she stated that she earned her cutie mark because of Dash...

Fluttershy: The Fields
Fluttershy was virtually the weakest flier in a Summer flight camp. In fact she can only flutter for a few seconds before falling. Two male Pegasi took no restraints in making fun of her. Suddenly, a blue Pegasus with rainbow hair stood between them, telling them to leave the poor flier alone. The duo then challenged her to a race. All three made a quick start, but the force of the wind threw Fluttershy off of the clouds and towards the earth below. She would have had suffered a gruesome impact... if not for a giant swarm of butterflies. She was carried into the fields, where she gazed upon the wonder of so many creatures, especially this was the first time she had ever been "down to earth" before. She then heard an explosion behind her. Looking up, was a gorgeous wave of colors throughout the blue sky. She gathered the forest animals that were frightened by the blast, calming them calm. Her new love and communication of all animals earned her a cutie mark showing three pink butterflies.

Scootaloo was more anxious than ever to find Dash, since Fluttershy was not able to watch the remainder of her friend's race. Sweetie Belle suggested they could find her sister Rarity about it. Somehow, they ended up helping the unicorn with her latest work. Hearing their continuing pursuit of their cutie mark, she remembered a time when she was got hers...

Rarity: The Boulder
Rarity was in charge of costumes back during a school play. She was praised by her teacher, but it wasn't enough that the costumes were "nice". They needed to be spectacular. Obsessively crafting clothes, she wondered if her dream of being a fashion designer was fading. Her horn glowed soon afterward, pulling her away from her house. Away from Ponyville. Away from the outskirts. To where, she had no idea. Her horn led her all the way to the rocky plateau and right into a huge rock. She furiously lamented why her horn "dragged" her all the way here. She soon heard a blast, following a sight of boundless colors in the air. The shock waves split the boulder in half, revealing a vein of gems. She used this pile of crystals to decorate the costumes. The audience watching were in awe of the bejeweled set. Rarity's inspiration, not to mention her new ability to track down hidden gems, gave her a cutie mark of three blue diamonds.

Scootaloo pushed her friend out so they can find Dash and hopefully hear a more exciting story. They hoped Twilight Sparkle would have answers, but instead she told them her story of when she was in Canterlot.

Twilight Sparkle: The Exam
Twilight did not start out as Princess Celestia's pupil from the get-go. She joined in the festivities of the Summer Sun Celebration, that took place in Canterlot before she arrived in Ponyville. Seeing the ruler of Equestria raise the sun inspired her in studying anything and everything there is about magic. Her parents noticed their daughter's interest and enrolled her into a school for gifted unicorns. The only thing in the way of her dream was an entrance exam she was required to pass.The test was to hatch a dragon's egg, which, as it turns out, was a difficult task for a pony of her age. Just as she was about to fail, she heard a boom and a triggered her magical energy. The egg hatched, revealing a baby dragon. However, she lost control and caused chaos inside the exam room, speeding up the dragon's age, turning her parents into plants, and causing the judges to levitate. Her power wore off, causing everything to go back to normal. Princess Celestia witness all this happening from outside. She was so intrigued by the child's raw power, she offered to take Twilight under her wing, making the little unicorn her new portage. Twilight was so excited, she almost did not notice her flank not showing a purple star with a set of white stars around it.

The Crusaders left the overexcited unicorn and find Dash once again. Pinkie Pie joined them who decides to tell them about her cutie mark on the way.

Pinkie Pie: The Party
Surprisingly, the pink pony's life was boring back then. Her family worked at a local rock farm. Long story short, it was a humdrum place outside of Ponyville. No one smiled. They just worked. She soon saw a wave of color, turning the grey world around her blue. For the first time in her life, she felt true happiness. She was so astounded by the colorful rainbow, she wanted to smile forever, and even more so, wanted to spread happiness. The next day, she invited her family to a party inside the farm silo, filled with balloons, streamers, music, and cake. However, it seemed as if they didn't like it...

Until she saw them struggle to smile. Soon, their permanent frowns were turned upside down. As they danced with their new found happiness, Pinkie cutie mark appeared, showing a set of balloons.

Reaching Sugarcube Corners, they finally found Rainbow Dash, along with the rest of her friends.

Rainbow Dash: The Race
Taking place where Fluttershy's story left off, Dash and the two bully pegasi began their race. They were to fly through the cloud rings toward the finish line. One of the bullies crashed out of the race. Dash was in the lead, and was bumped by the other bully and veered off course. She had little time to regain her senses before trying to catch up. She developed a love for the adrenaline and excitement of gaining so much speed. Her desire to win helped her beat the bullies, and most of all, perform the ultimate trick that was only told in legends: the SONIC RAINBOOM! She won the race, and obtained her mark; a rainbow colored lighting bolt.

It was at this point that Dash's friends remembered hearing, or seeing, the very blast that inspired their goals and helped them earn their cutie marks. Everything was connected thanks to Rainbow Dash's race.

Could they have been destined to be friends before they even knew each other?

Trivia

 * Before the episode premiere, the viewers had been presented with a trailer and a chance to vote on how they think Rainbow Dash earned her cutie mark. The results had no effect on which ending would be aired, but were simply a guess on which was the most accurate. There were three possibilities:
 * Sonic Rainboom - Rainbow Dash challenges Fluttershy's bullies for a race. She enjoys it so much, that she almost forgets about winning. Trying to catch up with the competitors, she breaks the sound barrier and performs the first sonic rainboom ever. (This was revealed to be the true story of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. She mentioned her "first race" in Call of the Cutie, and the Sonic Rainboom was mentioned in the episode with the same name).
 * Born to Fly - Rainbow Dash practices to impress the Blue Thunders with her flying tricks. She doesn't get into the team, but discovering her true talent is good enough.
 * Dash of Lightning - Rainbow Dash retells the Arthurian legend about retrieving the Lightning Bolt in the Stone. Nobody believes her until they see that she indeed got a lighting bolt cutie mark.
 * The short tune that plays when Fluttershy helps the ducks cross is Five Little Ducks.
 * There's a reference to the black monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, complete with a Thus Spake Zarathustra sound-alike fanfare, which occurs when Rarity is mysteriously drawn to a... giant monolith.
 * The ponies on Twilight Sparkle's entrance exam board refer to her as "Ms Sparkle", even though Sparkle is actually part of her first (and presumably only) name.
 * The blackboard on the wall behind Twilight features the same diagram and the same equation as the blackboard in Call of the Cutie.
 * One of the fillies that young Rarity designs a costume for appears to be a young Cheerilee.