Cutie mark/symbol dilemma responseI honestly don't think of cutie mark vs. symbols as a DILEMMA, per se, but more of a taste of personal taste. But before I tell you guys my opinion on this topic, I'll explain what both are.
Cutie marks are symbols that are earned by a pony as a sign of maturity when they discover their special talent. It coincidentally correlates with their name in most cases. For example, a pony by the name of Spitfire has a spit of fire as a cutie mark.
Symbols are symbols that the ponies (even young ones, usually) have. Names are less commonly correlated with them, though the main cast all are connected.
Almost EVERYONE would agree that, by these descriptions, cutie marks are better. In Tales stories, symbols are almost consistently referred to as 'cutie marks' if referenced at all (they are not the type of thing that is commonly reflected upon in Tales literature).
BUT, the thing is, people don't read into these things. People rarely even form headcanons about these things in this fandom, where characters are the focus. That's okay. I'm an oddball, and I know it. I don't even focus on symbols in my stories, as a matter of fact; I hardly ever mention them! However, I've thought about this and thought of an interesting conclusion so I could use 'symbol' over 'cutie mark' in my stories.
Symbols in Tales are more
symbolic, if you will, for me. They don't show a talent or liking for something most of the time; they represent
personality traits. Very rarely do symbols dictate career choice. (Granted, in FiM, too much emphasis is put on 'special talent.' Some ponies do things unrelated to their talents.)
For example, you have Clover Bloom. She has a four-leafed clover as her symbol (two if you go by the toy). This represents her innate luckiness in my world, though there is a good chance that you figured similar out without thinking it through. Sweetheart is the same; she expresses kindness, specifically
sweetness.
But the others aren't nearly as obvious. Take Starlight. Her symbol is of a yellow star surrounded by four blue stars. A pony with a cutie mark of that type would probably be an astronomer. You might just think that it was tattooed on at birth if you didn't think about it.
But in my world, Notes' world, Star's symbol represents her leadership. How she's a
bright, shining star. She just happens to like skygazing on the side, as a coincidence.
Patch, in my storyverse, has
zero interest in sewing. But she's Patch. She has a patch as her symbol. If it was a cutie mark, bronies think that she sews.
No. There were jobs that needed sewing in Tales (Play's the Thing and Princess Problems, for example). Bon Bon has a talent at sewing in my world, so she took care of both of those (as she did in the show). Not Patch.
That's because Patch has a symbol, not a cutie mark. Her symbol represents resilience. As a YouTube commenter said once, "like a patch sewn onto torn clothing." She is rough-and-tumble, not into knitting, sewing or anything like that. Furthermore, Patch is great at handiwork. She has knowledge of electricity, of woodwork; heck, in the comics she even built a
go cart. Not a soapbox derby car, but some version of a
legit race car. Her symbol in my world, ergo, means "rough-and-tumble, resilient, handy pony."
One might argue that the boys, Melody and Bon Bon (even Bright Eyes) are different in this respect. To explain, ponies in my universe earn symbols in two different ways.
- (Most commonly) A parent will name their child, and their symbol will appear shortly after. Alternately, a symbol will appear and a parent will name a pony after their symbol.
- (More rarely) A parent will name their child prematurely, after a heirloom or a name they particularly like, and they will get a symbol unrelated to it later.
In Bon Bon's case, I think that her mark represents 'sweetness' to some extent, though it does influence her love of eating. Bon Bon, it should be noted, makes cookies and cakes, not candies.
I think Bright Eyes' dad named Bright Eyes after her mom, who was named Bright in some measure. Either before or afterwards, she got her symbol to represent her intelligence (not a love of reading).
Teddy's parents thought that a teddy bear would be his symbol because he once loved a teddy bear so much. Instead, surprise, he got a comb to represent something else that he probably has yet to discover.
Ace's name was symbolic in his talent for others, and may also have been somewhat genetic. He got a symbol and happened to get into soccer, but I believe it actually means he is sporty and athletic.
Lancer is a heirloom. My headcanon father for him is patriotic. He happens to be like a boy-scout and got either a fleur-de-lis (boy scout symbol) sword or banana symbol in response.
Melody has a talent for music, and is the only one I haven't figured out in symbols.
But there is an implication here: in Tales,
names are influential to deciding character. Not too much, per se, but it is possible, at least in the case that a pony is named and then their symbol appears. Sweetheart, Starlight, Clover and Patch are especially that way. This opens a whole load of possibilities for mysteries that I won't reflect upon in this post.
But anyway, these are my thoughts on the "cutie mark/symbol dilemma" as you put it. It is a matter of opinion, really. I prefer thinking of it this way because it is more interesting than even cutie marks to me. But it's just my take.
