The Cutie Mark Chronicles

"This town is full of ponies who have cutie marks. Why don't we ask them how they did it?"

- Apple Bloom

The Cutie Mark Chronicles is the twenty-third episode of season one of the series. In this episode, the Cutie Mark Crusaders seek out the other ponies in order to learn how they acquired their cutie marks.

Summary
The Cutie Mark Crusaders (Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle) continued their attempt to find their special talents by trying their hooves at zip-lining as a suggestion from Spike. Unfortunately, they only reached the middle of the line and stopped 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 suggests she was the "coolest, bravest, fastest" flier from Cloudsdale.

Along the way, they stopped in front of a group of rabbits that have swiped some of Applejack's apples. Coincidentally, they bumped into Apple Bloom's older sister seconds later. The Crusaders decided to ask AJ about how she got her cutie mark.

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 regal Equestrians, AJ tells them how much she loves the city with her new high-society accent, but she causes a raise of eyebrows when she mentions the life she left behind. She quickly grew dissapointed of the city life and became homesick, missing her simpler farm life and wondering what her big brother and grandmother were up to. Just then, she saw a beautiful rainbow across the sky that points towards Ponyville. Applejack made up her mind to returns home. Accepting her old farm life, her cutie mark appeared: a trio of red apples.

Just as she finished her story, she saw the rabbits and chased them once more. With the exception of Scootaloo, the others 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 ducklings across the road. Hearing what the fillies were up to, she stated that she earned her cutie mark because of Dash.

Fluttershy: The Field
Fluttershy was virtually the weakest flier in a summer flight camp. In fact she could only flutter for a few seconds before falling. Two male pegasus ponies spared no expense in making fun of her. Suddenly, a blue pegasus with rainbow-colored hair stood between them and told them to leave the poor flier alone. The duo then challenged her to a race. All three make a quick start, but the force of the wind threw Fluttershy off of the clouds and towards the earth below. She would have 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 because this was the first time she had ever been "down to earth" before. She then heard an explosion behind her. Looking up, she saw a gorgeous wave of colors throughout the blue sky. She gathered the forest animals that were frightened by the blast and calmed them down. Her new love and communication of all animals earned her a cutie mark showing three pink butterflies.

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

Rarity: The Rock
Rarity was in charge of costumes 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 on the verge of fading. Her horn glowed soon afterward, pulling her away from her house, away from the outskirts of Ponyville. To where, she has no idea. She was comically dragged up and down mountains much like a rollercoaster. Her horn led her all the way to a rocky plateau and right into a huge rock. While she furiously lamented about being "dragged" all the way to a rock by her horn, she 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.

Not wanting to be bored any further, Scootaloo pushed her friends out so they could find Dash and hopefully hear a more exciting story. The three crusaders Twilight, but were stuck hearing her cutie mark story.

Twilight Sparkle: The Exam
Twilight was eager to join the festivities of the Summer Sun Celebration that took place in Canterlot. Seeing the ruler of Equestria raise the sun inspired her to study everything there was about magic. Her parents noticed their daughter's interest and enrolled her into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The only thing in the way of her dream is an entrance exam she was required to pass. The test was to hatch a dragon's egg, which Twilight failed to perform under the pressure of the judges. Just as she was about to give up and apologize for wasting the testers' time, she heard a boom from outside. Inexplicably, her magical energy was triggered. The egg hatched, revealing a purple baby dragon. However, she soon lost control and caused chaos inside the exam room, making the dragon grow to immense size, turning her parents into potted plants, and causing the judges to levitate. Princess Celestia, having seen the event from outside, stood next to Twilight and placed her hoof on her, making Twilight's magic wear off and returning everything to normal. Celestia complimented Twilight on her raw power and offered to take Twilight under her wing as her new protege in order to control it. Twilight bursted into cries of happiness, but Celestia added one other thing -- she pointed out to Twilight that a cutie mark appeared on her flank: A large purple star with several white stars surrounding it.

The Crusaders left a cheerfully-skipping Twilight to find Dash once again, riding their cart pulled by Scootaloo's scooter. Unexpectedly, Pinkie Pie appeared inside their cart, complete with riding helmet. She learned that the fillies were trying to find out how to get their cutie mark, the pink pony recommended heading to Sugarcube Corners. Offering to tell her tale on their way to the bakery, the group reluctantly accepted.

Pinkie Pie: The Smile
Surprisingly, Pinkamina Diane Pie's life was not a bright one back in her childhood, working at a rock farm with her family. It was a humdrum place outside of Ponyville. No one smiled, or played. They just worked. She heard an explosion from the sky, followed by a light tremor. She then saw a wave of colors, turning the gray world around her blue. For the first time in her life, she felt pure happiness. She was so overwhelmed by the colorful rainbow, that she wanted to "smile forever", and even more so, wanted to spread happiness. This gave her an idea, The next day, she invited her family to a party she created inside the farm silo, filled with balloons, streamers, music, and cake. However, it seemed as if they didn't like it... but soon enough they all smiled and their melencholy was gone..

As they danced with their new-found joy, Pinkie's cutie mark appeared, showing a set of blue and yellow balloons.

Reaching Sugarcube Corners, the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally found Rainbow Dash, along with the rest of her friends. Having heard of the fillies' interest in her cutie mark, the Dash told them her story.

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. The race began with Rainbow Dash in the lead, and soon one of the bullies crashed into a nearby cloud-pillar. Dash was bumped by the other bully and veered off course. She caught up and took the lead again. She told the Cutie Mark Crusaders about how she found 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, performed 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.

The moment the story ended, Twilight and the others had epiphany: the very blast they saw, or heard, came from Rainbow Dash, and had inspired their goals and helped them earn their cutie marks. They believed that they were destined to become friends before they even knew one another. Sensing a deeper connection in their friendship, they formed a group hug, while the two Cutie Mark Crusaders pulled a slightly irate Scootaloo into a group hug of their own.

While writing Twilight's latest report about how one's connection can lead to a future friendship, Spike wondered about this form of sapiness, to which she replied, "Just write it, Spike."

Major Events

 * The Cutie Mark Crusaders consulted Twilight and her friends on how they get their cutie marks in the first place.
 * Cloudsdale was also revealed to be Fluttershy's hometown.
 * Twilight's parents were revealed in this episode.
 * Pinkie Pie's full name, Pinkamena Diane Pie, is finally mentioned in this episode.
 * The Sonic Rainboom during Rainbow Dash's race led to the events of the other ponies earning their cutie marks. This also led to their fate as the wielders of the Elements of Harmony.
 * Princess Celestia's powers to raise the sun is fully shown in this episode.

Quotes

 * Scootaloo: Tree sap and pine needles, but no cutie mark.
 * Sweetie Belle: Plan "B"?
 * Scootaloo: Yeah... You know where we can find a cannon at this hour?


 * Scootaloo: We can start with the coolest pony in Ponyville...
 * Apple Bloom: Applejack!
 * Sweetie Belle: Rarity!
 * Scootaloo: No, you guys. I said "cool". You know what I'm talking about. She's fast. She's tough. She's not afraid of anything.
 * AB/SB: Pinkie Pie?
 * Scootaloo: No! The greatest flier to ever come out of Cloudsdale.
 * AB/SB: ...Fluttershy?
 * Scootaloo: NO! Rainbow Dash!


 * Fluttershy: You'd never guess, but when I was little I was very shy. And a very weak flyer.


 * Rarity: I had no idea where my horn was taking me, but unicorn magic doesn't happen without a reason. I knew this had to do with my love of fashion, and maybe even my cutie mark. I knew that this was... my destiny !


 * Young Rarity: A ROCK?!! That's my destiny?! What is your problem, horn?! I followed you all the way out here for a rock?! *growl* Dumb rock!


 * Pinkie Pie: And that's how Equestria was made!
 * Scootaloo: Wha... Huh?


 * Sweetie Belle: Oh c'mon. She's just being Pinkie Pie.

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.
 * The music that plays during Pinkie Pie's first party is the same music used in Swarm of the Century to take the parasprites back to the Everfree forest.
 * Twilight Sparkle's mother resembles the original Twilight from the first generation of My Little Pony.
 * This episode explains how Twilight and her friends were fated to meet each other in Friendship is Magic, part 1 and part 2 and later become wielders of the Elements of Harmony.