Senza Aria had often wondered if it’s possible to renounce your cutie mark. Is a talent still a talent if you don’t utilize it anymore? Her mother had always said that even if you have a very special talent, it still takes effort and dedication for it to grow into something more. A talent is just a diamond in the rough, it needs to be polished and taken care of for it to turn in a skill that will shine and bedazzle all others. But are you obliged to do so? Does life still has a purpose besides practicing your special talent? Senza wished she didn’t have her cutie mark. That she didn’t feel obliged to honour it, because everyone could see it.
She remembered how happy she was when she got it. Being an earth pony in Canterlot isn’t always easy. Being surrounded by unicorns, practicing magic and reading books sometimes made her feel like she wasn’t special, like she wasn’t good enough. She did have some friend at school but she never felt truly at home there. Even if home was a large house in the outsides of Canterlot, with a small garden where roses, rhododendrons, marigold, rosemary, lilies, and even some strawberries grew. Her mother loved that garden, and so did Senza. But that was a long time ago, and the flowers would probably be withered and overgrown. She hadn’t been in that house for years, not since the accident. Her father and she now lived in Ponyville, in a house with an even larger garden that she never tended to. She didn’t love to be in the garden anymore, as she didn’t love to play the piano anymore. Sometimes she felt like she didn’t love anything anymore, or even anyone.
Her parents were there when she got her cutie mark. They had both helped to teach her how to play, when she was still just a little filly. She had always played at home, with only them as her public, until her first school play. She didn’t want to be on stage, so she auditioned for a part in the band, and her teacher was amazed by her talent on the piano. On the night of the performance, everypony was moved by her play, and that’s when she realized she would always want to reach out and touch other ponies by her piano play. And that’s how she got her cutie mark: a few piano keys with a music note next to it. Her parents applauded the loudest, and her mother had cried many tears of joy. And after that, Senza had played the piano every day.
