Brightness and Contrast

by StPinkie

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1277

How St. Pinkie got her Cutie Mark

For those who want to know how my alicorn OC got her cutie mark, here it is. Its a bit of a mouthful though so be prepared for some light reading!

Published 2015-09-08 18:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-08 18:20:02 UTC

A Walk in the Park

St. Pinkie grew up waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Luck was on and off for her but she tried to make the best of what she had even when life threw lemons at her. She sported a rainbow of a mane that would make any designer or artist cringe but she doesn't care. She loves colours and takes good care of her multicoloured mane. Many times she was told to dye it to one colour or to have it permanently changed. Well, it's obvious she wants to keep it. Screw what others' think (My kinda attitue IRL, hence an Alicorn because I honestly couldn't be bothered with what people say about her. I like her just like that).

I'm someone who believes that a good OC is one who has a cutie mark story. We all know cutie marks are a reflection of talent but how did one get that cutie mark? That's a journey worth talking about. In my case, St. Pinkie shares her story with one of my life events.

And if you haven't already known, I'm pretty much a Pinkie Pie in real life - I love parties, I worked as a decorator before, I can bake and I love big colourful balloons!

So it goes like this. One Sunday night when St. Pinkie got pretty bored (probably because the internet was down or she had no one to hang out with) she decided to take a walk to the town square. You know, to enjoy the scenery by night and clear her mind before going back to the grind on Monday.

It was a quiet night, not much was going on. Shops were packing up for the evening and ponies were headed home. Pinks decided to take a little longer route through the park (the one known for the "Welcome Princess Celest" banner). From the looks of it there was a garden party earlier in the day and there were still some decorations by the picnic area - some streamers, paper cups and candy wrappers. But something caught her eye, something big. She looked up and saw a big glittering pink heart-shaped balloon floating. It was tied to the fence haphazardly near a rubbish bin, like somewhat waiting to be taken down and tossed out with the rest of the trash. There was no one else in the park and it was getting dark and she really liked the balloon. It was big, pink, heart shaped and it was sparkling. What's not to love about it?

Needless to say she untied the balloon from the fence, tied the string to her hoof and started her walk home via the town square since the street lights were already on.

Just as she was reaching home, a little filly walked up to her and asked "Hey. That's a really pretty balloon! Where'd you get it?". She could see it in the little filly's eyes that she wanted one too, so she looked behind her shoulder only to see the neon signboard outside Sugarcube Corner switch off, indicating that they were closed for the night.

So she looked up at the balloon and back at the little filly and after a few seconds, untied the balloon from her wrist and extended her hoof to the little filly.

"I know you want one. Here! You can have mine!"

And the smile on the little filly's face was bigger than any smile St. Pinkie had ever seen. Her little eyes brightened up with so much joy that they could rival the street lights on the road to Town Square. The little filly let out an adorable "Really? Thank you so much!" before taking the string with her mouth and giving Pinks a hug.

Home was not too far away so St. Pinkie was in the comfort of her bedroom just a few minutes later. Usually she would take a nice long shower and brush her long, colourful mane. Tonight, however the bath was anything but nice. She felt conflicted with herself. It was a very pretty balloon she gave away. From the moment she untied it to the moment she gave it away she was waiting to bring it home and just stare at it and see it sparkle in the ambient light of her bedroom, tie funny things to it and see if it can lift anything and perhaps even doodle something cute on it with a soft paintbrush.

Nope. None of that now. Buying a balloon like that wouldn't be the same either. She knew that if she were to go buy one for herself it would cost as much as a day's lunch. Besides, Sugarcube Corner was closed for the evening already.

She had some dissonance going on. She was bitter about giving away that balloon. Finders keepers isn't it? She found it, why couldn't she keep it? The other half of her was happy because she made somepony else smile. While it is hard to forget how pretty the balloon was she thought about the little filly and perhaps how she's climbing into bed with the balloon tied to a bedknob, and the sparkles of the glitter on it reflecting in her eyes. That little girl was definitely going to sleep with a big smile.

That was enough to tip the scale for St. Pinkie. She, too, started to smile while the shower was pouring over her mane and coat. She felt something on her flank so she got the loofah with her magic and turned to wash it off.

That's when she saw it - Two balloons, one heart-shaped and the other star-shaped with intertwined strings were right there on her flank, glowing from their fresh appearance. Her destiny was decided right at the moment she chose to smile rather than frown about it.

After drying up from the shower, it was time for bed. She had to get up early for work the next day anyway. As she turned off the lights and settled into bed, a big smile came to her face and stayed there. Before drifting off to sleep she let out a couple of giggles and was just bubbling with happiness for getting a beautiful cutie mark in something she felt really strongly about - happiness.

She may have been a late bloomer with her cutie mark but it felt perfect. Thinking back, she wouldn't have had it any other way.

And that's how she became a decorator like me - bringing happiness into ponies'/people's lives with balloons and parties! :)

P.S. But no, I don't take very good care of my hair. I would, however, if it were rainbow coloured!

Author's Note

My life event was similar - I was in 1Utama with my family one weekend to spend time, so I went for a walkabout and found an abandoned helium balloon which of course, I took. Just about half an hour later, a guy tapped on my shoulder asking where I got it from because his kid wanted one. So without thinking too much (since even I didn't know how to get one) I just gave him the balloon. I pretty much had the same thoughts afterwards when I went home, but I still felt happy.

Note: In cases where alicorns are not allowed into the fray because or rules or limitations, St. Pinkie exists as a unicorn who wears a pair of wings she bought at a halloween costume sale. She liked them and she also dreamt of being able to fly so she wears it as a part of her daily outfit.