The cute-ceañera that day was one of Pinkie’s bests. A town-wide celebration — literally, since the party hadn’t been able to stay confined to Sugarcube Corner — had taken up the entire day of work. Every pony in the little village had taken a day off to attend, though they could hardly choose not to — the party covered the entire village, after all.

It had been one of the, if not the absolute best day in Sweetie Belle’s life, not just because of Pinkie’s party, though that had been a major factor. No, today’s happiness would be attributed to the thing which lay on her flank. The thing which she still needed to look at every five seconds to ensure herself that yes, it was still there, and yes, today hadn’t been a dream.

Her cutie mark, the purplish image which lay emblazoned upon her flank. Not just her cutie mark, but her cutie mark — hers, and hers alone. It was a dream come true.

The image seemed to glint slightly as Sweetie walked along the dirt paths characteristic of Ponyville. Today, on the day that was the happiest day of Sweetie Belle’s life, she was content.

Today, on the day that was supposed to be the happiest day of Sweetie Belle’s life, she felt a small, odd tinge of sadness.

Evening saw the little unicorn filly heading towards a bench. On this bench, Twilight Sparkle sat, looking silently up at the sky above. Clouds floated across the wide expanse with quiet grace, moving slowly through a orange-tinted sky.

There was just a brief moment of pause as Sweetie clambered onto the bench beside Twilight. She didn’t seem to notice her new companion — or if she did, she didn’t show it.

Not wanting to disturb Twilight, Sweetie gazed out onto Ponyville. They were nowhere near where the main body was, and the area around them was relatively quieter. Leaning back onto the bench, Sweetie sat in silent contemplation. Her mind was buzzing.

“Sweetie? Shouldn’t you be with your friends?”

Startled, she started slightly, turning to face Twilight.

She wore a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I didn’t to startle you.”

“It’s fine, Twilight,” Sweetie said. “Guess I should’ve been paying more attention.”

Twilight nodded, before turning away to look at the party around them. “Pinkie’s really outdone herself this time, hasn’t she? I’ve never seen a party this big before,” she said after a moment, before tilting her head. “Except the Grand Galloping Gala, but then, that doesn’t really count.”

“Yeah, it’s a great party!” Sweetie rubbed her stomach subconsciously. She’d never felt so stuffed full of candies and sweet treats before today.

Twilight turned to face Sweetie again, her eyes glinting with some slight curiosity. “Don’t you want to enjoy it with your friends, Sweetie? It’s your cute-ceañera, after all.”

“I’m just taking a break, that’s all,” Sweetie answered. “It’s a great party, but it’s kinda exhausting too.”

Sweetie lapsed into silence after that, her eyes gazing around with the faraway look that inevitably shows up whenever somepony is thinking too deeply.

Twilight noticed. “Is there something on your mind, Sweetie?”

“Huh?” Sweetie started, again. “Oh…” She hesitated for a moment, before speaking. “...yeah, I guess so.”

Twilight’s expression was slightly concerned. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Um…” Sweetie began, her tone reluctant. “It’s… it’s about my cutie mark.”

“Your cutie mark? What about it?” Twilight leaned closer, eyes shining curiously.

“Well…” Sweetie began, before blushing somewhat sheepishly. “Nevermind, it’s really silly.”

“Sweetie!” Twilight said in mock anger. “You can’t just tell me that after building it up like that! Besides,” she continued, tone softening as the mirth vanished, “I can see that you’re pretty bothered by it.”

“Oh, alright,” Sweetie said, somewhat reluctantly. ‘But… promise me you won’t laugh!” Inwardly, though, she was relieved to finally have somepony to talk to about this.

“Alright, I won’t laugh,” Twilight scooted closer, and her voice turned serious. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Okay,” Sweetie began, slowly, hesitantly. “Do you ever get the feeling sometimes that, like, maybe you got the wrong cutie mark?”

“The wrong cutie mark? No, I can’t say that I have,” Twilight said, before putting a hoof on her chin thoughtfully, “although, I once knew this colt from my class who felt that way sometimes… wait.” Twilight’s tone became worried. She leaned in, asking with a low whisper, “You’re not… unhappy with your cutie mark, are you?”

“What? Nonono!” Sweetie waved her hooves frantically in the air. “Nothing like that!” Perhaps that hadn’t been the best way to start the conversation.

“Oh, good.” Twilight leaned back, obviously relieved. “I wouldn’t know what to do if you were. But then what are you trying to say, exactly?”

“Well…” Sweetie paused, retreading a path of thought which she had followed not long ago.

Sweetie was, by no mean, an old or experienced pony. The young unicorn filly was nary twelve years old, in fact. Yet these few years of her life had given her plenty of time to see lots of amazing things, amazing talents which other ponies had. She’d never reflected on it before today, but now…

“There are lots of ponies that I admire, Twilight,” Sweetie started speaking slowly, carefully considering her words. “Lots of special talents that I admire, too.”

And this was true, for there were many ponies in her life who she found worthy of admiration. Twilight’s talent at magic, Fluttershy’s natural affinity with animals, her sister’s flair for creating, and a whole, long list of gifts and special talents which she saw regularly in her life.

“And…?” Twilight probed, beckoning Sweetie to continue.

“And even before I got my cutie mark, I was thinking of all kinds of things I wanna be when I grow up. But then today, I got my cutie mark.” She paused again, a wide grin spreading across her face before it was replaced with a more serious expression. “And now all those just seem like… impossible dreams, y’know? Not,” she corrected, hurriedly, “not that I’m unhappy with my cutie mark or anything, just that I feel like I’m…” She gestured with her hooves, searching for the right words.

“Missing out on something?” Twilight supplied helpfully.

“Yeah!” Sweetie nodded emphatically. “Cuz, I never knew what I would be, so I told myself that I could be anything, you know?” She shrugged, before giggling with sheepish nervousness. “I know it’s silly.”

Twilight sat in silence for a moment. Sweetie shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she studied Twilight’s expression, trying to gauge what she thought of the idea. Was Twilight going to mock her for it? Laugh at the silly idea?

The silence stretched on for a moment longer. Unable to bear it anymore, Sweetie said, “Nevermind, I guess it’s really silly—”

“It’s not silly at all, Sweetie!” Twilight interjected, rather firmly. “It’s just that I’d never thought of it like that before.”

“Oh. Okay, then, what do you think?” Sweetie asked, perking up slightly. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“From what I see,” Twilight said, “what you’re sad over is missed opportunites, right? It’s not silly to be sad over missed opportunities, even if they’re over cutie marks. I think it’s good that you talked to somepony about it. Just keeping it bottled up because you think it’s silly wouldn’t help, would it?”

“Alright, then. But what should I do, then?” Sweetie looked up at Twilight.

“Well, first of all,” Twilight smiled. “a cutie mark doesn’t tell you that you’re bad at everything else, does it? It just tells you what you’re good at.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t exactly tell me I’m good at anything else, either!” protested Sweetie.

“Yes, but,” Twilight hesitated, considering how best to answer the question. Then she continued, “Alright, Sweetie, let me ask you a question,”

Curious, Sweetie tilted her head. “A question?”

“Yes. Just a simple one. What is a cutie mark?”

“Well,” Sweetie began, thinking back to that lesson where Miss Cheerilee had talked about them. “It’s the mark that appears when somepony discovers the thing that makes them different from everypony else, their special talent,” she said, quoting from the lesson. “Why?” She looked at Twilight with a puzzled frown, but the alicorn only gave a small smile in return.

“Alright, then, now another question.” Twilight paused, before speaking. “Is Princess Celestia a good ruler of Equestria?”

“Huh? Well of course!” Sweetie answered immediately, her tone confused. “But why would you ask that, Twilight? Isn’t it a little obvious?”

Twilight smiled enigmatically. “You’re missing the point, Sweetie.” Casting around, she pulled a picture of the Princess off a poster on a nearby wall. “Now, Sweetie,” she said, handing the picture to her. “What is Princess Celestia’s cutie mark?”

“A sun,” Sweetie said, “but I still don’t get—”

“Do you see any crown on her cutie mark? Maybe a picture of Equestria? Anything that would suggest that her special talent is ruling?”

The simple, epiphanous truth hit Sweetie hard. She blinked. “...no.” Another blink. “Oh.”

Twilight laughed at Sweetie’s blank expression, causing her to glare at Twilight. Inside, though, the gears of her mind were whirring. Thinking about it, Princess Luna’s cutie mark didn’t have any ‘ruling’ symbol on it, either.

She almost missed Twilight’s next words. “You see, Sweetie, a cutie mark isn’t a symbol to tell you what you’re going to be when you grow up. It’s not your identity; it might not even be your special talent, sometimes.” Twilight’s words were thoughtful. She spoke with a soft tone, her eyes as faraway as Sweetie’s had been a few moments earlier. “It’s more of a...guide.”

“A guide?”

Twilight’s eyes refocused on Sweetie. “Yes. You’ve seen a lot of ponies with amazing special talents, Sweetie, but let’s put that aside for now. Instead, think of what these ponies do outside of their special talents. Because, you see,” she continued, words coming out slowly, thoughtfully, “it’s not just the Princess who can do things other than her special talent.

“Take Pinkie, for instance. Her cutie mark marks her as being good at throwing parties. But then, that’s not all she does, is it? She’s great at cheering ponies up, she’s amazing at making friends, and I know for a fact that she can be extremely skilled at organising as well. How do you think she keeps track of all those birthdays?” Twilight smiled softly down at Sweetie.

“But that’s still so close to what her cutie mark is, though!” Sweetie said, doubtfully.

“You’re right,” Twilight said, nodding, “but let’s take another pony. Rarity — her cutie mark is three diamonds. There’s nothing there that says she could be a brilliant dressmaker, or a fashionista, but look at where she is now.”

“Hmm…” Sweetie considered this idea thoughtfully. In truth, she had never noticed these little details in her life before. Perhaps she still could be whatever she wanted to be when she grew up...

This new understanding released a river of pent-up worry which she didn’t even know she had. It was silly, in hindsight; the idea that she would grow up to be good at nothing other than helping other ponies find the meaning of their cutie marks seemed utterly ridiculous, now. Yet though the previous question had been answered, it still left one small, niggling thought in her brain.

She thought of Miss Cheerilee. Her special talent was clearly teaching other ponies. But her cutie mark was a picture of three flowers. Not students, nor some kind of teaching implement, but flowers. It was so different — separate, even — that…

“But then what is a cutie mark, Twilight?” Sweetie repeated Twilight’s previous question. “If it’s not just a pony’s special talent, then what does it mean?”

This question’s effect on Twilight was not immediately visible. For a few moments the Princess of Friendship sat perfectly still, thinking deeply.

When she finally did speak, her voice had lost much of the ‘teacher’ tone which she had been speaking with before. “I… I don’t know, Sweetie.” She hesitated. “I’ve never thought about it like that before…” She faded off into thoughtful silence.

Around them, the party continued, though it seemed as though there was a small bubble of peace around the bench, where no other pony had intruded upon. And inside that bubble, Sweetie and Twilight sat, just thinking.

Then Twilight broke the silence. “But then,” she began, looking at Sweetie’s cutie mark, “I don’t think that’s for me to answer, Sweetie. You’re the Cutie Mark Crusader, not me.”

“Me?” Sweetie’s voice held a modicum of surprise, and just a tiny tint of apprehension. “But that’s such a huge question, Twilight! How am I supposed to answer that?”

“I don’t know.” The tiny smile returned on Twilight’s face as she looked out upon the party. “But I do know that you won’t be answering it alone.”

“Sweetie Belle! Where’ve you been? We’ve been looking all over for you!” Scootaloo’s voice entered Sweetie’s ear, causing her to turn in surprise. The other two crusaders were running quickly towards the bench.

“Oh, hi, Twilight!” Applebloom screeched to a halt first. “Er, we ain’t interruptin’ anything, are we?”

“No, we just got finished.”

“Oh, good! C’mon, Sweetie, Pinkie’s starting a game of Pin the Tail on the Pony!” Scootaloo tugged at Sweetie’s hoof, her wings buzzing.

“Alright, alright! Stop pulling me!” Sweetie cried, as she was physically forced off her seat.

“No time, it’s already starting! Now let’s go!” Scootaloo shouted as the three Crusaders ran off, leaving Twilight sitting on the bench.

Overhead, the clouds glowed orange as the sun slowly sank below the horizon. As Sweetie looked up at the beautiful sight, she was filled with a burst of energy, a burst of determination.

And then she smiled.

Author's Note

What's so fun about Pin the Tail on the Pony, anyway?