Wherein Twilight Recalls that Starlight Knows Alot About Them
"I've read every book on the subject," said Twilight Sparkle, looking over one of those books. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had come to ask her a strange question: Was there a way for a griffon to get a cutie mark? "And I've never read a thing about any creature other than a pony getting a cutie mark," she continued.
"But Twilight," said Scootaloo, "Gabby flew all the way here so we could help her. There's got to be something we can do." The three fillies' expressions were so downcast, Twilight wished she could do something to help them, but she simply had never heard of anything like what they were asking.
"Say," said Sweetie Bell, "Is there some kind of spell you can whip up to make her mark appear?" The three fillies' expressions turned to those of hope. That did not make the truth any easier to give.
"Um, I don't know if any of you remember," Twilight said, "But using magic to get a cutie mark never really works out all that well." She made a gesture with her hoof and gave a sly smile. That was one of the CMC's more memorable adventures.
"Oooh. Riight," the three said in unison. They remembered THAT incident all too well.
"Crusaders, I'm sorry," Twilight said, using her magic to put the books she had gathered back in their proper place, "But while I can't say that it's utterly impossible, the chances of Gabby getting an actual mark are... pretty slim. Everything I've ever learned tells me. It's just not going to happen." She knew this news was disappointing, and she hated that she had to be the one to break it. What good was a princess that could not help her subjects? Still, it was probably best that they learn to accept the things they cannot change.
"Oh no," said Apple Bloom, "Poor Gabby. What the apples are we ever going to tell her?"
The crusader's lips actually started to tremble on hearing this new. If only there was something...
"Of course," said Twilight, pointedly not looking directly at the Crusaders, to avoid being infected by their mood, "Not to long ago, I would have said the same thing about taking a pony's cutie mark."
Sweetie Bell perked up as it dawned on her. "Of course! Starlight Glimmer! She managed to remove ponies' cutie marks, so maybe she can give one to a griffon!"
"That's right, she's basically Equestria's leading expert on cutie mark magic," Applebloom said, "I bet she knows tons of stuff about it that isn't in any book!"
"Now girls," Twilight said admonishingly, "I don't want you to get your hopes up too much. Removing cutie marks from ponies that already have them is a lot different from making a cutie mark appear on something that doesn't have one."
"We know," Scootaloo said in a more even tone than Sweetie Bell had had, though it was obvious she was concealing her excitement, "It couldn't hurt to ask though, right?"
"Just try not to remind her too much of what she did," Twilight said, "She's trying to move on, and she's still sensitive about that."
It took only a few minutes to find Starlight Glimmer in one of the castle's numerous alcoves, studying some tome or other. The CMC excitedly outlined the situation for her.
"I've never heard of a griffon getting a cutie mark," Starlight said, pondering, "Did you ask Twilight?"
"Yes!" Applebloom said, "But she hadn't heard of anything either, so we thought..."
"That maybe you might know more about cutie mark spells than she does," Sweetie Bell continued.
"Since you removed a whole village's cutie marks... oop!" Scootaloo finished, quickly putting her hoof over her mouth as she realized she had strayed into forbidden territory.
"It's alright," Starlight said, though her face and tone showed that she was uncomfortable, "I hadn't thought about altering that spell for other uses, though. Maybe I could do something..."
Starlight Glimmer grabbed a quill with her magic and scribbled a bit on some parchment. The Crusaders looked on hopefully. Starlight stopped after only a second, though, and looked at them with a dissappointed expression. The younger pony's expressions quickly became downcast in response to the look from their elder.
"I'm sorry, but at best, I could take somepony else's cutie mark and put it on Gabby," Starlight said."
"Huh," said Scootaloo, "What if we found somepony who didn't want their cutie mark, then? Remember Troubleshoes?"
"Yeah, but we helped him figure out what his cutie mark really meant for him, and he was fine," Applebloom replied, "So it'd kinda be against our whole purpose as Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"Hmmm..." all three thought in unison.
"I don't think it would be a good idea anyway," Starlight said, "Even the ponies in the village who asked for me to remove their cutie marks came to regret it eventually." She did not add 'when they found out I violated their trust by lying about giving up mine', but the thought was written on her face.
"I... guess one of us could give Gabby our cutie mark?" Sweetie Bell said hesitantly. The others were shocked at the suggestion. They had worked so hard for their cutie marks! They did consider it for a moment, though. It was part of their mission, they felt, to consider all avenues for helping someone with a cutie mark problem.
"Yeah, but even assuming we could agree on who it would be, would Gabby accept that?" Scootaloo said.
"I guess not," Sweetie Bell said, "Gabby is so nice, she's never want someone else to give up their cutie mark for her."
"Yeah," Applebloom said dejectedly, "I guess this is a dead-end, too."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help," Starlight said, "But... maybe her lack of a cutie mark isn't really the problem?"
"Huh?" the crusaders said in unison.
"What do you mean?" Applebloom asked.
"Well, I thought my problem was with cutie marks, and the way some people get them before their friends," she said, "But really, my problem was not with cutie marks, but with how I handled a friend moving away." Her voice shook a little. While she had reconnected with Sunburst in the past few months, a wound that had festered for years was not something that healed quickly.
"But what is it that Gabby really wants?" Applebloom asked.
"Hmmm," the crusaders again said in unison as they thought about it.
"I know!" Scootaloo said, "It's just like what we usually do with ponies. We help her find her purpose!"
"Hey yeah!" Sweetie Bell said excitedly.
"Let's go!" Applebloom said. The three dashed off down the hall, nearly forgetting about Starlight Glimmer.
"Thanks Ms. Starlight!" Applebloom called over her flank as they turned a corner.
Starlight smiled, glad she had been able to help, and went back to her work.
The Crusaders rushed back to the clubhouse to find Gabby. What happened there? Well, that is a story that has already been told.
Author's Note
The first bit is, of course, a simple adaptation of a scene in the episode "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks". I left it in so that there was some sense of set-up. At the end, it seems likely that events would have proceeded much as in the episode, skipping the scene outside the castle.
While this was initially just my attempt to both fill in what I felt was an oversight (though perhaps time was a concern) and drop in some of my musings about Starlight's impressive cutie mark spell that has never been brought up again. Admittedly for good reason: it's likely not something she would want people to talk about. It would, however, have fit nicely in this episode. I eventually realized it also would not have left the audience wondering where Starlight is if she supposedly lives in the castle with Twilight, and would not have significantly impacted the episode. I also found that I have an easier time making an interesting adaptation of events on a screen than writing interesting things from scratch, but that is another matter.
Addendum: Wherein the Equalist Mark is Brought Up
Addendum: Wherein the Equalist Mark is Brought Up
"I guess not," Sweetie Bell said, "Gabby is so nice, she's never want someone else to give up their cutie mark for her."
"Yeah," Applebloom said dejectedly, "I guess this is a dead-end, too."
"Oh, wait," Scootaloo said, "Rainbow Dash said they all got these weird equals sign cutie marks when you... uhhh, when their cutie marks were taken. Could Gabby get one of those.
"But wouldn't she lose her special talent?" Applebloom asked.
"Well, what is her talent?" Sweeite Bell asked.
"Good question. But whatever it is, she DID say she'd love whatever cutie mark she got," Scootaloo said.
"Ok crusaders," Applebloom said, "Before we get into this, we should ask, would that even work?" The trio looked at Starlight hopefully.
Starlight thought about it for a moment. What would that do? Gabby was highly energetic... was that her talent? Would it suppress that? Moral implications aside, though, there was another potential problem. Starlight shook her head. The fillies deflated.
"I never intended the spell to work that way," Starlight said, "I'd have to start over practically from scratch to make a free-standing equalist mark. It would take a week in the best case, and with my friendship lessons and other duties, and the inevitable false starts, it could take moons."
"Oh, and Gabby's gotta get back to Griffinstone sooner than that," Scootaloo said.
"And it probably still would not work out well," Starlight said, "Do you really want her to lose her special talent?"
"No," the Crusaders said in unison.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help," Starlight said, "But... maybe her lack of a cutie mark isn't really the problem?"
Author's Note
I came up with this bit after a comment made on the original story. I thought about just inserting this as an edit, but on reflection I feel it would make the scene too long and interrupt the flow. So consider this an alternate line of questioning. I could still edit it back in, but then those who had already read it would miss this.
