Are ponies born with cutie marks? (G1)

[DappledHazel]

I noticed the newborn and baby ponies already have cutie marks, are they born with it?

If so, I think that makes more sense then in G4, if they don't have a cuite mark and you gotta give em' a name.. How do you know what to name him/her? Usually their cuitemarks have to do with their name. (AppleJack's cuite mark has apples, Rainbow Dash has a rainbow, ect.) So what if you got a pony that you call Muddy and they end up being really clean so their cuite mark is the opposite, do you just change their name? (I love G4 eitherway, the whole cuite mark thing doesn't seem right.)

[NigheanRuadh]

Yes, the G1 babies have always had symbols.  (They weren't called cutie marks back then.)  Except for some versions of Ember.  I'm not sure why she didn't.  As you pointed out, even the newborns and teeny tinies have symbols. 

[DappledHazel]

Yes, the G1 babies have always had symbols.  (They weren't called cutie marks back then.)  Except for some versions of Ember.  I'm not sure why she didn't.  As you pointed out, even the newborns and teeny tinies have symbols. 

Okay 

[LadyMoondancer]

Yes, they're born with symbols.  All except poor Ember.

(Sidenote, Lauren Faust had Ember as a kid--the purple with pink hair one--and that where the inspiration for the whole "getting your cutie mark" idea came from.  She mentioned it on her Twitter once.)

My personal headcanon is that baby ponies are born looking similar to their parents, but when they reach puberty they develop their own colors and their own unique symbol, and also choose a new name.  I think it would be a bummer if Baby Surprise had to answer to "Baby Surprise" her entire life and constantly get mixed up with her mom, ha ha!

[Haruna]

One could argue either way. I think that the people who made G1 may not have deeply considered whether a pony is born with a symbol/cutie mark, but since their newborns and teeny tiny ponies had symbols, I guess they decided they were born with symbols. Interesting that you mention Ember, NigheanRuadh; I wonder if at the beginning of the G1 line, the creators thought that baby ponies might not be born with symbols because they hadn't discovered their magic yet or something; I'm remembering Ember's lines in "Rescue From Midnight Castle" where she's asking Twilight what she'll be able to do someday (fly like Firefly, or disappear like Twilight, something like that), and Twilight says, "You'll grow up to be your own special little pony." (And then dragons appear and kidnap her. ) Anyway, I think eventually, as the line went on, the G1 creators decided that every pony, even the very youngest, got a symbol.

When my sister and I played with our ponies, we thought it was too embarrassing and made no sense that a pony should be born with a babyish symbol -- say, a bottle or a baby rattle -- and then have to grow up and keep that humiliating symbol, so we would pretend that as they grew into slightly older baby ponies they got a more mature symbol which they then kept all their lives.

Edit: Oh, I remember reading that about Lauren Faust, Lady Moondancer. Very interesting. And I've also wondered about the babies who are named after their mothers. I love those babies, but it would get annoying to always have to distinguish yourself from your mother. I have some experience with this in real life, as my brother has my dad's exact name (the name's been passed down for a long time). People always have to distinguish between my dad and brother. It's not too bad, but it can be a hassle and sometimes pretty funny.

[Leave a Whisper]

Yes. They're born with their symbols. In any toy Animal line, especially toy horses, it is very common for the youngsters to look like their parents.

There are individual baby ponies, that don't have official adult counterparts. Like the Sparkle babies, Baby Cuddles, Baby Ember, the Baby Brothers, etc.

In terms of production this makes sense. You can create cute family units and moms and babies by creating then to be identical, lazy from a creative standpoint, but efficient.

Most of my babies are individuals and have/will have parents chosen for them based on color combo, symbol or whatever clicks.

[BlushingBlue]

When my sister and I played with our ponies, we thought it was too embarrassing and made no sense that a pony should be born with a babyish symbol -- say, a bottle or a baby rattle -- and then have to grow up and keep that humiliating symbol

This bit of Fridge Logic always bugged me as well. It's all well and good for a baby pony to have a babyish symbol like a rattle, bib, mobile, dolly -- definitely not a horse head on a stick though, seriously what the heck!? -- but these babies are presumably going to be adults one day, and then what? Unless they're never going to grow up at all, which makes the whole situation terrifying instead of merely cruel.

Baby Glory, et al, didn't bother me quite as much since they're of magical origin. So they're more like... time-frozen clones of the originals? Now that I really think about it, it's not actually less weird...

[LadyMoondancer]

Maybe all the babies with "baby-ish" symbols go on to work in daycares. 

The "make a baby look just like mom" was a pretty brilliant marketing tactic.  I remember flipping OUT when Moondancer, my favorite pony, had a baby pony released.  My mom ended up getting her for me as a "prize" for finishing swimming lessons.

At the time I didn't question at all why she looked like a tiny clone of mom.  Kid logic!

[MJNSEIFER]

I hope no one minds me saying this, but I personally think that this is one of the things that G4 did better (and I'm sure I could find at least one thing that each generation, or even each show did better than the other, so don't think this is some anti pre-FIM thing).  Maybe this is because I started to be a true fan with FIM, and I latched on to the whole idea of a cutie mark representing the talent of the pony, and that logic can (in my opinion) be applied to the earlier generations if you want it to (some you have to use your imagination with, but the same applies to G4, if what Cheerilee said was any indication).

Because of this, I kind of feel that being born with a symbol that represents your talent, or at least what you're going to enjoy doing just doesn't flow very well for me.  I'm sure this sounds strange to people who grew up with G1, or anything before G4, but I really love the earn your cutie mark storyline, at least back when the show seemed to have a clear view of what it was (which, in my opinion, wouldn't have been hard to maintain).  You're probably thinking that the whole thing about cutie marks representing a ponies talent is exclusive to G4, and in a sense it is, but in another sense, it's the only generation that confirmed it was.

In previous generations, there are various cutie marks, or symbols if you prefer, that could easily be viewed as representing the pony's talent; pony's who were written as being musical in someway were often given musical symbols as cutie marks, while ponies who were good at sports were given appropriate symbols to match.  Sometimes, it seemed to be something else, like maybe what the pony enjoyed the most, rather than what they were good at, but ultimately, the idea of a cutie mark representing the "special talent" of a pony, doesn't have to be just a G4 thing, and it isn't too far out for it to be incorporated into headcanons of the earlier generations.

The idea of symbols or cutie marks matching the name of the pony is kind of exaggerated (so I'm glad you said "usually", DappledHazel),  but I do sort of see your point, and there are some ponies in all generations, who's names not only match their cutie marks, but make it a coincidence that it did so, even before they earned it (even though, this is only canon in FIM).  However, there are some ponies where, even in a world where cutie marks are earned, that an alternative idea of how that pony got their name can be found, even if it matches their cutie mark - take the ponies you mentioned for example; Rainbow Dash would have been born with rainbow colors, and since it's possible that G4 pegasus ponies are at least temporarily born with flight, she could have "dashed" all over the place as a foal, and received her name that way.  Furthermore, naming your foal after something apple-related appears to be an Apple Family tradition, so Applejack would have most likely have gotten an "apple" name either way.

[Ponyfan]

I think Ember was the very first baby pony? I also agree with Haruna that they seemd to be going for the "your symbol appears when you discover your special talent" but by the time Hasbro produced the other Baby Ponies they decided they were born with a symbol. I wish Hasbro would have remembered Ember and showed what her symbol was and her talent.


Ponyfan

[Al-1701]

I think it would be a bummer if Baby Surprise had to answer to "Baby Surprise" her entire life and constantly get mixed up with her mom, ha ha!

I actually changed "Baby" to "Little" in my works.  When I included colts in this system, they have "Junior" after their name.

I have a similar headcannon that G1 ponies are born resembling their parents and grow in their adult coats, manes, and symbols through puberty and take on a new name.  It seems to be a really popular explanation.  Perhaps a little more symbolic too.  You start out as a reflection of your parents, but as you gain knowledge for yourself, you build your own identity.  And symbols are more a representation of your tastes, abilities, and values rather than your "special talent".

Like, I've taken Wind Whistler's symbol of whistles to represent her value for fairness.  Being logical but also moral, she sees being fair as a virtue.  It isn't her special talent (readily absorbing, understanding, and using information as well as pattern recognition are), and her favorite hobby is singing.  However, the value of fairness is what defines her.  Thus, whistles symbolize her, the tools of referees, police, and other upholders of fairness.

[MJNSEIFER]

I think Ember was the very first baby pony? I also agree with Haruna that they seemd to be going for the "your symbol appears when you discover your special talent" but by the time Hasbro produced the other Baby Ponies they decided they were born with a symbol. I wish Hasbro would have remembered Ember and showed what her symbol was and her talent.


Ponyfan

There's a version of Ember with a star as her symbol.  She doesn't appear to have a backcard story, so there's no real clue as to what it could mean, if you want symbols/cutie marks to have meaning.  I don't think the storytape mentions anything about it, but it's been a while since I heard it (on YouTube).

http://www.mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Ember%27s_Dream

[Blue Haired Ken Doll]

Never thought of it that way, cool observation

[PuddingPie]

as for Ponies like Baby Surprise and Baby Lickety Split, i always assumed that as they got older they were allowed to pick their own names based on their talents and experiences. maybe their cutie marks change and deviate a little bit, but not majorly.

i like to think of it from a Harvest Moon perspective: each new gen of Ponies are descendants of the old ones, even if they have similar names :O

[Al-1701]

There's a version of Ember with a star as her symbol.  She doesn't appear to have a backcard story, so there's no real clue as to what it could mean, if you want symbols/cutie marks to have meaning.  I don't think the storytape mentions anything about it, but it's been a while since I heard it (on YouTube).

Oh yeah, the one where the villain is a wig maker who wants to steal the Rainbow ponies' manes and tails to make wigs for rich people in...New York City.

Pace Cowboys:  "New York City?"

Yeah, nothing about Ember's symbol, though symbols were not given much in universe attention.  It was a visual representation of you.