Zecora doesn't have any magical talent like unicorns do. She's more of a witch doctor so her magic comes from her potions and talismans she creates. She uses the natural magical properties found in the ingredients she collects in the Everfree Forest, which is full of untamed magic.

@Rizwan Saqib it's more of a tattoo than anything else.

@Turquoise Ninju mage meadowbrook is a pony

@Ethan Beharry The spa pony attendants asked for the recipe for the poison joke.

Her magic could be channeled through the brews tho. Notice how nopony's asked her for a recipe

Unicorns are not the only ones, and, Mage Meadowbrook has a cutie mark that's all about what Zecora does.


Great way to spark Discussion! Even if it is on just a kids show I enjoyed your analytic video none the less.


I think magic to them is like chemistry to us. Star swirl the bearded apparently invented spells meaning magic is a natural force that ponies have learned to manipulate. Going in deep and as simple as possible, I believe the magic controlled by Discord is the original form of magic on the planet. Discord's species were the original enhabitants of the planet. The magic- being chaos magic- means they didn't have to raise the sun or manage the weather and seasons, the planet would basically take care of itself giving an evolutionary boost to the (give me space here) Draconeques and future life-forms of the planet: the Equines.


You made very many valid points but I believe that it's just simply because they are ponies and it's relative to the plot. I know that sounds boring but Discord had a cutie mark when he disguised himself as a pony. (Tornado mark) I think you have to be a pony because they are the main species in the show. Just like we people have things and do things that other species can't do. That is my take on the matter. :)

Very simple thought process. Unfortunately it was proven that not only ponies can have cutie marks, so no.


I think changlings are an exception and I was wondering why they weren't brought up as they have magic but no cutie mark. My interpretation on this though is that changlings have magic that only manifests in one manner, their shape shifting, while ponies naturally have magic that has the ability to manifest in more than one way such as the stare for fluttershy and reality warping/pinkie sense for pinkie. Because of this their cutie mark is able to manifest into unique pictures for each pony. As for Zecora, we haven't seen other zebras before so we don't even know if zebras are also a magical breed of equine or if Zecora did in fact learn magic by other means. Until then its hard to say whether she has a cutie mark or tattoo.

But some changelings have horns and some not some actively fly and some doesn’t and they use the horns too especially or at least Thorax his three horns

Maybe applebloom could ask Zecora as she is a cutie mark crusader plus she hangs out with Zecora a lot, it would be like a cutie mark chronicles part two type of thing with perhaps stories from other supporting characrers like big mac or something. It would be interesting to finally know for sure about some of these characters plus further expansion on zebras would be awesome. Though honestly I like the idea of it being a tribal tattoo that represented a rite of passage, but hasbro, being the company they are, would probably go with it being a cutiemark as parents are already worried about little kids thinking that they should all go out and get tattoos because of MLP, I don't think they would risk actually confirming something like tattoos in the show since they are still looked down upon.

That's a good point. To prove it, I think Hasbro should introduce another zebra, if only for one episode. Or Pinkie Pie (being the most observant) could ask Zecora about it.


I think with Zebras they get Glyphs instead of cutie marks. They probably work the same way, but they aren't as visually obvious. You'd probably have to be familiar with Zebra culture to understand them. But I don't think Zebras actually cast their magic like Unicorns, but rather create symbols, potions, and fetishes that contain spells.

@noiwvern sonic I don't usually respond to ancient comments, but look up shamanism. A fetish is like a doll with a spell on it. You've probably seen it in movies, where you put a needle in a doll and the person the doll is modeled after feels it for real. Outsiders refer to them as voodoo dolls. I'd imagine Zekora knows how to make those.


A tale of two sisters (Which is cannon btw) confirmed that zebras have cutie marks as well as ponies, the difference being that their marks are more simplified in appearance. So bottom line YES Zecora mark is a cutie mark. I don't know why people are STILL talking about this when they pretty much all but flat out told eveyone this is the case. Why I want is for them to finally expand on zebra culture and show more of them. There is a story just waiting to be told there and it is time to get a few answers about them.

We are going off of the cannon of the show only.  Unless they tie in the show with outside sources, only then does the comics or whatever else becomes cannon.  For example, if they make one of the comics an actual episode and don't renigged it like they did with Double Rainboom (shutters in horror).  I would love to see the Nightmare Rarity Arc as a set of episodes, but that doesn't mean that makes it cannon to the show.  One can make it a part of headcanon, but until it's in the show, then you cannot rely upon it as a cannon source.


Errrr whatbabout when Zecora 'remakes' her tea by just swirling her hoof over the lid? That has to be SOME sort of magic...


My personal opinion is that Zebras are almost like a second "species" of pony (or horses, if they exist in MLP), and thus can have magic and cutie marks. However, what you mentioned about tribes could also have an effect. Okay, so you know how Zecora can only talk in rhyme? What if that's because her tribe only talks in rhyme? Other zebra tribes might talk in haiku, or limericks, or any other form of poetry.


Zecora does have magic to an extent, because during the episode, "Magic Duel" she was able to conjure up a cup of water by waving her hoof over it. She may just be a witch doctor type, because she can diagnose magical ailments like Spike's rapid aging and she provided the cure for Apple Bloom's cutie pox.

Mercy the Sarcastic Sparkle-Sparkle Zoroark


Maybe it's an equestrian form of government, or system, or whatever. Zecora and Discord aren't citizens, and so they didn't get assigned a cutie mark. That would make sense with other things like mules, etc.

Maybe it's an evolutionary advantage, just like morality with humans. It helped them work together because they could work on their special talents well.

I'm pretty sure cutie marks are natural and not something like a badge.

Hmmm interesting idea! If this were the case, Equestria would have some major problems with racial segregation.


Personally, I think it's the type of magic that makes the difference. A ponies natural magic manifests into things like cutie and such. They can't do the things that other species can do like shapeshift like the changelings because the magic that lets them do it so easily is incompatible with pony magic.


Here is my theory:<br>The Friendship Fire made cutiemarks. If I can remember none of the ponies had cutiemarks, once the friendship fire was made I see it as Destiny getting stronger and more magic causing the reaction since ONLY ponies made the friendship fire. I believe it would only react to that type of animal or creature.

Here is my theory:
The Friendship Fire made cutiemarks. If I can remember none of the ponies had cutiemarks, once the friendship fire was made I see it as Destiny getting stronger and more magic causing the reaction since ONLY ponies made the friendship fire. I believe it would only react to that type of animal or creature.


On Zecora's cutie-mark; It's a belief among my crew that Zecora (and her zebra race) are separate from 'natural' zebra. They're a select group of ponies that ended up crossing with the natural zebra many many years ago, this creating pony zebra (Or more simplified, they're the magical variation). So they work in the same way, except their magic would be drawn from nature rather than from within- since their cultures would've been based around their environment more than social status like our colorful ponies.

idk if that makes any sense, tl;dr - Zebras could possibly be a fourth sub-species of pony rather than a seperate species altogether? yeahsure lets go with that. |D


With Zacora we see her use some magic with Magic Duel such as refilling her cup by passing her hoof over it so she might have a little magic but it's more like....a healer? or for one who specializes in potions or something? Maybe? We know from Season 4 with Twilight Time Appblebloom is focusing on potion making so maybe Zacora's is something to do with potions for her magical talent?


I THINK I KNOW THE AWNSER!!! Remember in I think season 1 when Applebloom got that potion that got her tons of cutie marks? Well maby zacora found a way to control it!!!

It's not season one, William! It's season two!

William Strahmann YASSSSSSS u are genuis

+Shadow 117 Zecora found a way to fix and maybe that's how she got her cutie mark Zecora is an herbalist did you know that.

Yeah maybe Zecora found a way to control potions and make diffident kinds of potions and realize what her talent is. Zecora's talent is a herbalist an herbalist is a person who mix's up all kinds of herbs and makes remedy's

+Courtney Brown ok discord is star swirl that's how he knows about the chest in fact star swirl made the mirror because it was in the castle of the sisters and the new movie legend of everfree tells everything about the everfree forest

I so agree with you I never thought about that

she could just be an earth pony but from another land as there are plenty such as sadelarabia

@William Strahmann whoh now that I think about it more I think she might be a half zebra half pony because she still is the size of a pony and nothings diffrent. She even has a cutie mark what do you think...

@GeneralcutegirlFromAJ yeah that cound be it accually if she's related to ponies it all makes sence now :)

It's a good idea, but as we've seen, (except for cutiepox) it's hard to give people cutie marks that last more than a second. Also, ponies have been getting cutie marks since long before Zecora was around. Good thinking though!


I believe its something about the special magic inherent to ponies not being born with magic specifically. I mean changelings have shapeshifting magic, discord has chaos magic, cockatrices have a magic stare all of which seems to not naturally possess cutiemarks. It might be a pony only thing not just because "magic" but because pony magic specifically. I mean i dont really see other magical beings doing.

Also i feel Zecoras mark is a cutie mark maybe more tribal areas have more tribal marks looking less like an exact image of something and more like a stylistic representation of it. And she does work with the magic of potions which is the only magic she as a non unicorn or pegasus could do and her cutie mark is a sun which is a big star. It could be their version of the star based cutiemarks associated with magic talents like twilight, starswirl, etc have. It does seem that magic talents are associated with stars.


you missed another exception, dragons, spike has been shown to have the ability to send letters and store items using his 'green' fire. granted this could be the result of a spell cast on him, but since its never explained...

as for zacora, i've always assumed her magic to be the mlp equivalent of wicca, with the pony's magic being the equivalent of witchcraft. the argument here being both have come from very similar roots, but have evolved in very different ways.

it would also be interesting to know exactly when cutie marks became a part of pony evolution and whether the earth tribe always possessed these cutie marks (pegasus too for that matter). in harth warming eve all the pony's outfits cover their flanks, granted this could be argued as being them not possessing the same cutiemarks as the ponies they're playing, but what if maybe the unicorns were the only tribe with them because of their more obvious magical roots and the other tribes gained them later as a result of breeding between the tribes, it might seem like an odd argument, but i would put pound and pumpkin cake up as examples of latent genes within ponies


I think it's a fair bit more complicated than "all living creatures with magic have Cutie Marks."  I mean, that explanation is just too simplistic and black-and-white—especially for my tastes.

I think it's more of an evolutionary thing, where ponies became increasingly diverse in terms of fur and mane/tail colors, and their inherent magic became stronger over time.  Eventually, individual ponies' magic started manifesting as symbols of their greatest skills (their "special talents") emblazoned on the flanks.  This trait was passed on, as it was similtaneously a way for ponies to show what their special talent was without words...plus it works well as a conversation starter.

Keep in mind, these are a particular kind of pony from the magical land of Equestria—the Little Ponies, standing just four feet tall (two-and-a-half feet at the shoulder?) and colored like fancy cake and candies.  There may still be other kinds of ponies—normal-colored ones with no magic.


Though your argument is pretty solid I think there is something you missed. You were on the right track when you assumed anything born with magic has cutie mark. I mean Zecora Is the only Zebra we see, so who's to say that all Zebras also have this but aren't as colorful as the ponies in other words they're like the Native Americans to the Americans, where as they are more traditional in they're old ways versus the ponies who live more modernly. Besides the other beings don't seem anyway near magic based so it explains why there is no cutie mark because no magic = no cutie mark.
Though I AM a fan of the Discord is Starswirl the bearded concept idea, I do have to bring the point up that a lot of beings in Equestria aren't exactly magical but rely on it for power. Like Terrek himself isn't exactly magical to begin with, however she nye feeds off such a thing he grows in strength like Chrysaliss's magic grows with the more love and how strong a love she feeds on. I guess this could be a sign that only the innocent towards magic get the cutie marks, hence the 'cute' referring in a way to innocence, while others use and abuse it so they do not get said cutie mark for the use it for more evil, selfish, or just plain dark purposes.
Or at least thats how I see it. What do you think?


I really don't know what to think about Zecora. It would be interesting to have a whole episode about her (do you hear me, Hasbro?)<br>But anyway, your theory already has a few issues. First, how did Zecora get her "tribal marking/cutie mark"? Assuming it is not a cutie mark, where did it come from? This supports the theory that there are humans in Equestria, but only to an extent. Why would humans "tatoo" a pony (or zebra)? Another question is where in the world do the zebras live, and why are ponies so irrationally turned against them? I know the reason Pinkie gave was Zecora's appearance, but could there be more? Also, you suggested the theory (which I support) of Pinkie being psychic. What if something about Zecora makes Pinkie unable to "read" her? I may be grasping at straws, but I don't really think Pinkie would judge someone so easily. We also find out that Pinkie cares about her friends to a huge extent, even rivaling her dedication to her family. She seems to doubt herself as well, which is shown in two different episodes: Too Many Pinkie Pies and Party of One. I for one am fascinated by both Zecora and Pinkie's character.

I really don't know what to think about Zecora. It would be interesting to have a whole episode about her (do you hear me, Hasbro?)
But anyway, your theory already has a few issues. First, how did Zecora get her "tribal marking/cutie mark"? Assuming it is not a cutie mark, where did it come from? This supports the theory that there are humans in Equestria, but only to an extent. Why would humans "tatoo" a pony (or zebra)? Another question is where in the world do the zebras live, and why are ponies so irrationally turned against them? I know the reason Pinkie gave was Zecora's appearance, but could there be more? Also, you suggested the theory (which I support) of Pinkie being psychic. What if something about Zecora makes Pinkie unable to "read" her? I may be grasping at straws, but I don't really think Pinkie would judge someone so easily. We also find out that Pinkie cares about her friends to a huge extent, even rivaling her dedication to her family. She seems to doubt herself as well, which is shown in two different episodes: Too Many Pinkie Pies and Party of One. I for one am fascinated by both Zecora and Pinkie's character.


I think you may be on to something about magic being the cause of the cutiemark, but the more I think about it.... who were the first ponies? And how did their receive their cutiemarks? It sounds like a simple fairy tale you would tell fillies and foals... Once there was a young pony who didn't know her place in the world, and she met a stallion just like her. (Both without cutiemarks) Then later in the fairy tale, they both receive their cutiemarks. It makes me think of Celestia and Luna and the theory that they are the first alicorns which is why they're immortal while Twilight and Cadence are not. It also makes me think of the creation of new magic, which was what Twilight did that made her into an alicorn. It's all very interesting... is definitely food for thought.


Yes and I think that DISCORD was not a pony maybe his parents were ponys and they turned in to DISCORD shaped and still had magic.And Zacora has a cutie mark because magic in side here but can't be reveled like a earth pony they have magic like when Terik took the earth ponys magic.


Well, Zecora certainly resembles an earth pony, so could she be a variant if not an earth pony? Discord, on the other hand, could be either a) what happens when a pony is stuffed full of chaotic magic, or b) as was mentioned in the video, he is not a pony, but some other weird being, who obtained magic through an unnatural and probably negative way.


What if Discord never discovered his true talent because he just assumed it was to cause chaos and he never tried to do anything else?

actually yeah that makes loads of sense!

Discord tried to do a spell to mix up his friends cute marks when he was star swirl the bearded but he never understood true friendship and didnt think twice to make friends before he went chanting away so as he didnt have any friends to cast it on the spell enchanted him to become a bit...dragon..lion..please shall i go on??;and so the story is told disord is rwily's favriote pony..or should i say..<b>pony</b> XD XD eh..uh.pony..eh..no?? teh watever!

Discord tried to do a spell to mix up his friends cute marks when he was star swirl the bearded but he never understood true friendship and didnt think twice to make friends before he went chanting away so as he didnt have any friends to cast it on the spell enchanted him to become a bit...dragon..lion..please shall i go on??;and so the story is told disord is rwily's favriote pony..or should i say..*pony* XD XD eh..uh.pony..eh..no?? teh watever!

SnowScales that would be a really good theory

+SnowScales Cutie Marks aren't about talent. I don't know where people keep getting this notion. Cutie Marks are about self-discovery, learning about who you really are. This was why the Cutie Mark Crusaders' quest failed. That's why Queen Chrysalis or the Changelings don't have one, and arguably Discord for that matter. I mean, look at him; he's a living personification of an identity crisis.

+Skyrim Dovah Chrys is a bug-ish pony changling!

I think, ONLY ponies can get cutie-marks. How they came to be, unsure, but discord.... Well look at him!
He isn't exacly a pony. Tirek is not either, Chrysalis is a changeling, a being looking like a pony, but isn't the same. My way of thinking is only ponies can have cutie-marks. Sombra was a normal unicorn who got defeated by the elusive shadow he summoned by mistake, but is still a pony.
And you can see his cutie-mark before and after his transformation.

+rainbow kittys journey i dont believe thats his cutie mark but i could be possible tornados are "wild cards"

Discord does have a cutie mark its when that guy steals all the magic from the ponies and he looked like one so his cutie mark is a tornado.


I'm not sure about the main question, but as for the question about Zecora, I am tempted to believe that she does, in fact, have magic. However, her magic works in a different way. She obviously doesn't have a horn, so she can't use magic that way. The only factor that indicates possible magic, is her potion brewing abilities. I am not sure if Zecora has magic, or if she happens to know potions that have magical properties. But the fact that she knows magical potion brewing at all, hints at the fact that she came from an upbringing/community where potions are prevalent. She obviously knew potion brewing even before coming to Ponyville. Wherever she came from, magic did exist there.

So all in all, cutie marks = magic. Let's assume Zecora's 'cutie mark' is a real cutie mark. That would most likely mean that her potion brewing skills require her magic in order to brew them. But assuming that her cutie mark is not a cutie mark, then that means her potion brewing abilities are an acquired skill, not a born skill.

Also, if there are other zebras like Zecora out there, then they must have a marking on their flank too. If they have symbols on their flank that are exactly like Zecora's, then chances are, they have nothing to do with magic and are just markings. But if there are zebras out there with different cutie marks than zecora, then my speculation is that they may be able to do something other than potion brewing. Maybe the zebras are divided into different species, much like how ponies are divided into earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. In Zecora's world, maybe there are potion brewers, shamans, and tribal hunters; who knows!

This is my opinion on this video, if you any of you guys have ideas too, plz reply


I believe that the ponies we know of are only four of Six true "Pony" Races. Not counting Alicorns, there are Unicorns, Pegasai, Earth Ponies, Chrystal Ponies, Zebras, and an as-yet unseen race of Sea Ponies. This explains Zecora having a Cutie Mark. These races are empowered to use and manipulate the natural field of magic that is present all around equestria, and have the necessary level of magic within them to gain Cutie Marks. That explains Zecora.<br>Discord is his own thing. Where pony magic is based on Order, Harmony and Stability, Discord is more about stirring things up and destabilizing them. He cannot be painted with the same brush.

I believe that the ponies we know of are only four of Six true "Pony" Races. Not counting Alicorns, there are Unicorns, Pegasai, Earth Ponies, Chrystal Ponies, Zebras, and an as-yet unseen race of Sea Ponies. This explains Zecora having a Cutie Mark. These races are empowered to use and manipulate the natural field of magic that is present all around equestria, and have the necessary level of magic within them to gain Cutie Marks. That explains Zecora.
Discord is his own thing. Where pony magic is based on Order, Harmony and Stability, Discord is more about stirring things up and destabilizing them. He cannot be painted with the same brush.


Perhaps the magic wielded by ponies works differently compared to the magic of other creatures, so a cutie mark is something magic can only give to ponies. It's like the way reclaimers work in Halo. They are the only beings deemed worthy of bearing the mantle of responsibility. What if there was an ancient race of creatures that bestowed the  ponies with this magic that can give them and only them cutie marks? This is why no other creatures can wield this ability. Also, Zacoro is a pony. Zebras are in fact relatives of horses and are technically horses, but evolved to survive on the Savannah and in the African jungles. Donkeys are related to horses, but are not horses. A mule would be an acception since it has horse DNA


Here's my imagining for non ponies cutie marks
Gabby: a scroll or letter. Reason: she is a mail carrier
Discord: the chaos symbol with a butterfly in the middle. Reason: he has his chaotic side but he also has his sweet side. The butterfly is from fluttershy
Chrysalis: a magnet pulling a heart. Reason: changling used to steal love
The student  six: a big heart with five other hearts swirling it. the big heart would be there coat feather or fur color and the 5 other hearts would be their other friends kinda like the cmc or twilight. Reason: they care for one another more than the others know


Zecora does have magic of her own as seen in magic dual she is able to refill her cup by passing her hoof over it. Zecoras magic is just different than others, like Discord. I feel the reason Discord doesn't have a cutie mark is due to the fact he is the embodiment of a type of magic, by which I mean the embodiment of chaos itself. Exploring further into this we also have another exception to the rule, Changlings. Changlings have the magical power to turn themselves into basically anyone and mimicking their type of magic. Be it flying, strength or levitating object changlings seem to have it all so long as they have the form to do it. There are a ton of other beasts in the MLP universe that are questionable in their sentience that have magic (Cockatrice, hydra, windegos ect) all who have NO CUTIE MARK. The cutie mark is something that sets ponies apart from other races, the key to their destiny forever printed on their flank as if by the will of the magic that makes them special. Ponies hold a special relationship with their environment. Who changes the weather, not griffons. Who seems to grow all the food, not the donkeys buffalos or mules. Then we have the alicorns and unicorns who's connection is more a wild card. (topic for a different day ;3) I'll digress and leave off with this though. What ever mystery the cutie mark may hold it seems to play favorites with only Equine races or even those who are closely related. (sorry if I wrote to much and thank you for reading if you made it this far ^^')


I think the reason Discord doesn't have a cutie mark is because he's the being of chaos. He can do so many things that he can't have a cutie mark for just one of them. For zebras, however, it has been theorized in the past that they have symbolic markings describing what they do rather than an image showing what they do.


I believe that ponies are born with little magic and as they get older they gain more of it which makes the cutie marks visible. This theory would best explain the cutie mark crusaders, the show has already told us that they don't have magic. That's one of the reasons why they don't have their cutie marks yet, they don't have enough magic to make them appear. It's been made clear that if you magic isn't there then your cutie mark cannot be seen, if you have an overdose of magic then your cutie mark is way more evident.


Zecora just like twilight could have read about magic and understand it very well but not wield it.<br>Discord on the other hoof has a cutie mark it's just not shown when in his true form look at when he was a pony

Zecora just like twilight could have read about magic and understand it very well but not wield it.
Discord on the other hoof has a cutie mark it's just not shown when in his true form look at when he was a pony


the answer is friendship magic. The magic of ponies is powered by friendship, or more accurately, fellowship or harmony, since love is part of it too.
changeling magic, dark magic from Sombra, and Chaos magic from Discord are all separate from friendship and so do not produce cutie marks.
It's telling to note that Discord seems to be using his magic less as his friendship increases, so we can thereby infer that his magic is not friendship based and he doesn't become more powerful when his friendship increases. Contrast that to the mane 6 who only get stronger as they get closer.

This may also explain why ponies have cutie marks. One key to harmony is feeling like you belong, and having a cutie mark is a literal mark of belonging, belonging to a talent, a career, a place in society. We see how important those roles are when the mane 6 switch cutie marks. Cutie marks are like a literal mark of value. Perhaps that's why the ponies in the equalist village gave up their cutie marks, perhaps their talents weren't valued where they came from. and it explains why blank flanks are made fun of, at least by some people.


Personally, i have a totally different look on magic which i won't explain now. (Magnets are Magic).

Now,
i also think that ponies are born with a certain power (magic, flight or strength), yes, and their cutie mark appears when they get to know on what they'll use it (in most cases), but the cutie mark is only a display of that. But only pony-bodies have implemented that function, but it's also a natural mechanism, cause thats how ponies work. They need something to do a desire, a main function.


Well... My theory is somewhat similar to yours. Discord actually has a cutie mark. Well his pony form/ oc has one. But the "type" of magic you're talking about depends. For example, if we're talking about the magic from a unicorn, they have special abilities from their horn so to speak. Pegisi, however, have the magic of flight. If earth ponies have magic, what is it? If they don't have magic, should they have cutie marks?


I saw one fanfiction where Cutie Marks were ousted as being a filing system for Celestia's citizens.  We've seen that other creatures like Gryphons and Dragons do not acknowledge her authority, which would explain why they don't have them.


Well, with the development of the most recent episodes, it has been made very clear that cutie marks are markers of individuality. They are represent who the ponies are are an individual. Their cutie marks appear once they discover who they are, or what their special talents are.

I forgot to add how ponies are depicted with duller colours when they lose their cutie marks which could help explain the more naturally coloured species without cutie marks.


Zacora is shown using magic in magic duel. She refills her drink into her cup after Twilight spills it, twice. By running her hoof around the rim of the cup, it refills. She clearly has some magical ability, but it's only been played subtly. We really don't know what she can do.


The link between a cutie mark, a pony and it's magic is likely not just a bit about magic itself being related to cutie marks, but it may also be about the biology of a pony.
It is probably more of a magic link to the DNA of a pony which can trigger a cutiemark to be obtainable, since it's widely established now that all ponies have some form of magical ability with Pegasi's weather controlling, cloud manipulation, flying and aerial speed, Earth Pony's Strength, Toughness, ingenuity with non-magical fields and their ground-based speed, and Unicorns with their intellect and creativity, but also their ability to use magic in focused ways like telekinesis (though all ponies have a form of telekinetic field which they can use at any time), it then can be established and safely assumed that the link between magic and a pony's cutiemark is missing a middleman, Biology of a Pony.

As for Zecora... Well technically Zebras are of the same species with very obvious key differences to equines (in this case ponies) so it's more than likely possible that all zebras are capable of using magic in the same ways, only Zecora in an Earth Zebra, where they're talented with things such as potion making and rituals, but also storytelling among other things most likely.

Zecora knows about magic and can teach one how to hone their skills, but she cannot use said magic for the simple fact that she doesn't know how magic works in relation to physics/quantum physics and MOST IMPORTANTLY she lacks a horn, which all those who wish to do spells, must have a horn.

Discord doesn't need a horn because he has fingers, which can be used similarily. Objects that have a point must be used for magic spells, hence a Unicorn's horn, Discord's fingers and even the wands of wizards in Harry Potter and other fictions.

The cutiemarks of a Zebra also may be more simplistic and tribal, each one being of a different symbol that represents something different akin to symbols of communication of african tribes.


Discord has a cutie mark, it is seen in the part of the tirek episode where discord disguises himself as a pony


Zecora has am minuscule amount she does use magic in the show, she just uses traditional human magic more often and only shows her power in that one ep.


If that whole color theory were true then how do you explain dragons, phoenixs, or other "magical" beings.
We've even seen arcs of the chrysalis minions whom HAD MAGIC and could change form to use said magic however had no cutie marks, only were copy-cats.

I think there's a lot more to the cutie mark mystery but as we can see ponies, SPECIFICALLY ponies only have them.

What if ponies actually had an infinite source of magic once, similar to what an alicorn would have, however because of bickering and fighting over power, each magic was separated into the three groups. However of course the three groups bickered and fought over each other's power even more so, which lead to individual magic limits.

Such as some ponies can fly fast where others would fly slow, or some could run a town where others could run a shop. This was to keep balance and to give peace so there wouldn't be as much of a reason to fight and bicker over it. The last few Alicorns have unlocked their full potential and have also shown they would use it for a better cause. Thus leading on more peace throughout the kingdom.

The "Human" world didn't have such rules and regulations over power, and so when said power was taken it expanded to such great amounts that even Sunset couldn't take it at the end of it all, where as with Twilight she was used to such power and was able to use it for peace. Leading her friends with her with a smaller amount of magic just to help her out for the time.

I could be wrong though...


what would happen if a cow or something took hearts desire and asked for a cutie mark like applebloom did?

I feel like they would just get the cutie pox and have to be cured.


but remember that tirek stole magic strength and speed? i guess. things unique to each tribe. as for discord he is a being of disorder. remember this whole balance thing? with good and evil.? with all the structure everywhere, it seems pretty reasonable that discord is a super powerful being of disorder. as for zecora, it does make sense that she would have a tribal marking, but who knows. maybe zebras just have some equivalent of cutie marks.?


When my little pony started the cutiemarks were just their for decoration, over the years we've gotten more details about them. But they still remain part of the shows culture and past. I wouldn't say all beings born with magic have cutiemarks. We may get better answers in the future.


The theory about Tirek not getting a cute mark is lovely but i don't think it's easy to find out how a cutie mark made from all sorts of talents whould look like.


I think only races with promanent harmony magic get cutie marks. Pegasi use magic to fly, as their wingspan is too small for flight, unicorns are pretty self explanatory, and earth ponies use their magic to connect with the land and help things grow.

However, Discord uses chaos magic, meaning he doesn't get a cutie mark.

Tirek doesn't have harmony magic, and steals other beings' magic. So he doesn't get one either.

As for Zecora, my only guess is that zebras get cutie marks too.


Honestly, I think ponies have cutie marks because when farmers keep horses, the ice-burn a number onto their flanks, and then the fur growing there stays white. This way, the farmers know how many horses they have. Either this is a coincedence, or the cutie marks were based off of this.


For the Zecora theory, I believe she DOES have a cutie mark. Just a foreign one. In Bridle gossip we hear Twilight explain that her kind is from outside of Equestria. So if there are pony like creatures like Zecora, they'll probably have a cutie mark similar to their culture. Which leads to the question of what does Zecora's "cutie mark" mean? I think I'll leave that one to you. That's all I have to say. <br>Bro hoof ~<3~

For the Zecora theory, I believe she DOES have a cutie mark. Just a foreign one. In Bridle gossip we hear Twilight explain that her kind is from outside of Equestria. So if there are pony like creatures like Zecora, they'll probably have a cutie mark similar to their culture. Which leads to the question of what does Zecora's "cutie mark" mean? I think I'll leave that one to you. That's all I have to say.
Bro hoof ~<3~


Honestly, from your videos I have seen about discord being star swirl... I do agree and also if you think about the last episode of season four.... you can kind of see some things leading to that (don't ask me what).


I think ponies are enchanted to have cutie marks. We can take examples of Starlight Glimmer and King Sombra to validate the possibility of existence of enchanted species. Starlight Glimmer is a perfect example to show that cutie marks can be given with the help of magic. Even the cutie pox is a magical phenomena. Now, the pertinent question that arises is whether the possibility of enchanting an entire species exist. The answer is yes. If King Sombra can curse an entire race of ponies to make them vanish into thin air for a millennium, then a certain sorcerer can enchant the species with an unfinished spell that can change the cutie marks and destiny of a group of ponies and that helps somepony to become an alicorn princess when she completes the incomplete spell. Discord, on the other hoof, could be a target of poison joke as an extremely chronic case. If consuming a basic flower can affect Apple Bloom so badly, imagine the effect the Poison Joke would have if consumed, provided the effects we've seen on mane six due to mere contact with the flower. And no, Discord is not Starswirl. And Zecora, well, she's not enchanted.
Another example of pony enchantment is crystal ponies. They're mere Earth ponies (and a few pegasi), but they have an additional physical feature. Just like all ponies have cutie marks, crystal ponies have crystal coats and crystal magic with cutie marks. Since they did not exist at the time of the Hearth's Warming Eve, the only possible way of their origin is enchantment. Just like the crystal ponies start crystalling when they power the crystal heart by using their love, all ponies get their cutie marks when they discover their destiny. And the destiny could be anything, from being as lame as rising and lowering the sun to being as great as helping everyone in the dream realm all by themselves.
The evidence of relation between Starswirl and cutie marks is the cutie map. Both are connected to the tree of harmony.

Now, I have a few questions.
1. How did Cadence get the cutie mark of crystal heart when the crystal empire didn't even exist? Why didn't she get a regular love symbol for a cutie mark?
2. If the Crystal Heart is so powerful that it can protect the empire from the most powerful threat, the cold of the North that even the two most powerful ponies of Equestria aren't able to hold back, even when King Sombra hid it and it wasn't powered by the crystal ponies, why didn't it protect the empire from the curse of King Sombra?
3. Is Nightmare Moon a pony?
4. What is the species name of Ahuizotl?


Maybe just animals from the family of horses have cutimarks that would explain discord and zecora


zacora can perform magic as seen when she filled her tea in magic duel and the magic of her potions and just like zebras are a different type of horse she could just be a different type of earth pony who has magic like a unicorn just very limited


Here's how I see Zecora, if you've researched Lauren Faust's concepts of the show, you would have learned that Zecora's original concept name was "Shaman", but ultimately went with the Swahili word for Zebra = Zecora, also she was originally meant to become Twilight's other mentor, who could teach Twilight things that not even Celestia could teach her, now a Shaman is basically some sort of Mystical Healer that practices a variety of different kinds of magic, and in the episodes "Luna Eclipsed" & "Magic Duel" Zecora shows that she is capable of performing magic that the other 3 types of ponies couldn't do, plus in the episode "Just for Sidekicks" when Zecora speaks to Spike she uses the word "MOJO", which is believed to be a sort of magic used by African tribes, plus Zecora speaks a Swahili-style zebra language & Swahili is a language that originated from Africa, and with Africa being the homeland of Zebras & all it would seem that Zebras in FiM come from the Equestrian equivalent of Africa, all & all it's fair to reason that Zecora is a Zebra-Shaman who utilizes Mojo magic, and she most likely is a high level shaman based on how much she knows about things the other ponies don't know & the powerful feats she's capable of, and since Unicorns, Pegasi & Earth-Ponies all have their own unique forms of magic & cutie-marks, it stands to reason that zebras have cutie-marks because they possess Mojo magic, and the Zebra Shamen wield the most powerful of the Mojo magics because they have been trained in the ways of the Shaman, similar to how Celestia trained Twilight to wield powerful Unicorn/Alicorn magic, so Earth-Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, Alicorns & Zebras would all have Cutie-marks because they are all magical Equines and they seem to be the only creatures in Equestria & beyond that can have Cutie-Marks.


Answer:

You need magic that you are born with for a cutie mark. It needs to be magic made for you, and adapted with you. Everypony's Magic is different, giving them different personalities, and cutiemarks. Ponies with similar cutiemarks have differences and it was just either a spiritual connection meant to be, or a coincidence. Zecora got hers because she was so good with magical stuff, she found a way to make magic that could adapt to her easily, and then give her a cutiemark. When Apple Bloom got that thing where she had a million cutiemarks, they didn't fit her talent, and Zecora told her that you must be patient and it comes when it comes, ect. This might mean Zecora accidentally got her cutiemark, for that wisdom states she'd be fine without a cutiemark. She was probably testing around with the same thing that gave Apple Bloom a ton of cutiemarks, and mixing it with other stuff. Then, it spilled, or she drank it, and woke up with a cutiemark. Discord's magic isn't adapted 2 him.


I think there is more behind Zecora than we think. Those who played Tales of Monkey island maybe have same stupid ideas like me. Zecora is voodoo lady. That tatoo is symbol of destiny and she controls it. Everything that happened was her doing. She's actually older than Celestia and she maintains harmony in Equestria but she can also easili break it. :)


Maybe Zecora's cutie mark IS a tribal symbol, but the symbol means "Wise Magic" or something like that, or, she merely has a great interest in the magical arts, but her talent is something different, is Zecora the first pony to deny her destiny? Or perhaps it has something to do with the winding riddles in wich she speaks.


As many people have stated, it is pretty much confirmed that zebras are magical. I guess the natural assumption would be that zebras are just the species that is the closest to ponies compared to all the others.

This doesn't totally make sense though because donkeys are more similar to zebras than either of them are to horses, as in they are more closely related, and all are close enough that they can create hybrids (mules and zorses). So lets go down the evolutionary path and solve this:

We can assume that whatever common ancestor ponies, donkeys, and zebras share was likely magical in Equestria (buffalo and cows are not from this family so we don't really have to consider them).

The real question would then be, why and how did donkeys lose their magical abilities? And how is this loss of magic so strong that even mules (a hybrid between a pony/horse and a donkey) have zero magical ability?

My theory is that somewhere along the course of history, some kind of magical event happened that stripped donkeys of their magical abilities. Because of this, donkeys and all offspring of donkeys are cursed to have no magic.

Now to the question, why are ponies colorful and other animals are not:

If ponies, donkeys, and zebras all shared this common ancestor, it is possible that ponies retained the strongest magic, just as the result of evolution splitting this ancestor into three different groups (since zebras are not colorful, and also have weaker magic than ponies). Most ponies colors correlate to their personalities or talents as well, so it's kind of like a cutie mark all over their body. This could represent that they retained the most amount of magic from this ancestor.


Before I saw this I asked myself the same question "why do only ponies (and Zecora) have cutiemarks?".And thanks to you I finally know why.<br>Thanks.

Before I saw this I asked myself the same question "why do only ponies (and Zecora) have cutiemarks?".And thanks to you I finally know why.
Thanks.


My thoughts on Zecora are hardish to explain but I shall try<br>Ok so we know that she is from a different land than the ponies and is also first to introduce meditation wich I think has a role in her magic. What I'm basically trying to kinda say is she has magic similar to that of a unicorn but the body functionality of an earth pony so she uses meditation to tap into or look into her inner magic

My thoughts on Zecora are hardish to explain but I shall try
Ok so we know that she is from a different land than the ponies and is also first to introduce meditation wich I think has a role in her magic. What I'm basically trying to kinda say is she has magic similar to that of a unicorn but the body functionality of an earth pony so she uses meditation to tap into or look into her inner magic


I think that it's just ponies who have cutie marks - Zecora doesn't have a cutie mark, as I feel that she wasn't born with magic because hers is black magic.... With Discord.... Well.... He IS the "Lord of Chaos"<br>And also, if Zecora DID have a cutie mark, what does it represent? With the ponies, it's pretty easy to tell what their talent is my looking at their mark. For example: AJ; apples because she works at and love Sweet Apple Acres and so on. And what does Zecora's mark/tattoo represent? The sun? I think that when she was younger she was part of a tribe, got the tattoo and then was banned/ran away and the tattoo remained. Tell me what you think

I think that it's just ponies who have cutie marks - Zecora doesn't have a cutie mark, as I feel that she wasn't born with magic because hers is black magic.... With Discord.... Well.... He IS the "Lord of Chaos"
And also, if Zecora DID have a cutie mark, what does it represent? With the ponies, it's pretty easy to tell what their talent is my looking at their mark. For example: AJ; apples because she works at and love Sweet Apple Acres and so on. And what does Zecora's mark/tattoo represent? The sun? I think that when she was younger she was part of a tribe, got the tattoo and then was banned/ran away and the tattoo remained. Tell me what you think

I still think that she doesn't have a real cutie mark, but if she did, it looking like that would make sense. It's probably a symbol from zebra culture. Her mark to us would be like if an alien or something looked at pinkies and had no idea what it was.


I see zecora as a alternately coloured "wild" pony because a zebra is a alternately coloured "wild" horse and some have even been trained by riders, also I don't see donkeys as ponies because of the large change in body shape, where as zecora has the same body shape as an earth pony (mane and tail not included)


I believe magic is the cause of ponies having Cutie marks. As for Discord, he is a combination of many animals. This could explain why magic doesn't give him a cutie mark. There is also the fact that he is believed to live between worlds, and not all worlds have Cutie marks. In the case of Zecora, some people would consider zebras to be a part of the horse/pony family. Making it perfectly acceptable for magic to give her a Cutie mark.


Discord maybe never found his cutie mark. He just has so many talents that he could never find the one he was best at.  Please reply if you see my idea!

@Sagewarmheart45 cutie marks come from the toys in the 80's it was an imagination aid for children in giving their ponies personality.

@Dottie Belle Lue i am ten also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

your ten i get it.I'm not trying to be mean

@Renee Miller well I am not a teen... nor am i older than a teen.. take an e away from teen.. you got my age. I am smart

hey I'm 13 and i like my little pony. but the producers probably just didn't put much thought in to it considering what type of animal gets a cutie mark, they didn't think that teens and older kids would love it so much. And pay much attention to the little things.

@Renee Miller none taken... I am just 4 yrs older than 6 so... yeah.. and I am a girl... and if your going to hate on bronies then buck you!

Hey here is a crazy idea, maybe Hasbro didn't think very much into this since this show is technically for six year old girls! (No affiance just say'in)

@Sagewarmheart45 hmmm. or maybe they just wanted something for everyone to talk about?

I think discord would look strange with a cutie mark... And cutie marks are probably just the imagination of the writers. They themselves probably can't explain why the ponies have cutie marks. I think it's just a thing they put in just because of creativity

@the shadowlink ninja I am disagreeing and agreeing with you.:
 First Opinion:
the cutie mark on Discord, was a disguise! he just randomly picked a cutie mark, so He would not look suspicious with having a blank flank and all.

Or
he chose what he thought he was best at, out of all his talents; Making things out of place, like s tornado.

This does not quite lead him to what he was good at yet though. At the end of the 2 part special, he figured out that he was in a friendship with the mane six/

He found he still had no cutie mark, but he knew he was closer.

And the reason mules do not have cutie marks... This is a kids show, only LF knows.

I don't have all the answers.

oh and he was not star swirl the bearded! He uses spells! not chaos! And his true talent was magic! HE ALREADY FOUND HIS CUTIE MARK! this and my theory above makes more sense then your brony notion..  so basically, here is the thing. Donkeys do not have any power. Zecora the zebra Knows much of magic. The thing on her rump, is a birth mark. SOOOOOOOOO here it is... all together! if none of this made sense, then look below

*Discord never found his true talent.

*Discord is part pony, that means he can get a cute mark, but he needs to find out what his cutie mark would be. (I hope he would wanna CRUSADE, if you know what I mean!)

*none ponies, that have no pony parts, or magic in them, do not get cutie marks.

*star swirl the bearded = Discord?

NOPE!

Questions please?

oh and he was not star swirl the bearded! He uses spells! not chaos! And his true talent was magic! HE ALREADY FOUND HIS CUTIE MARK! this and my theory above makes more sense then your brony notion..  so basically, here is the thing. Donkeys do not have any power. Zecora the zebra Knows much of magic. The thing on her rump, is a birth mark. SOOOOOOOOO here it is... all together! if none of this made sense, then look below

*Discord never found his true talent.

*Discord is part pony, that means he can get a cute mark, but he needs to find out what his cutie mark would be. (I hope he would wanna CRUSADE, if you know what I mean!)

*none ponies, that have no pony parts, or magic in them, do not get cutie marks.

*star swirl the bearded = Discord?

NOPE!

*Questions please?*


I'm just thinking out loud here but just maybe on Discord since he has so much magic wouldn't he be able to just make his cutie mark invisible, but that's just me thinking out loud.


Maybe discord does have a cutie mark but never shows it
He can transform
And zecora, like you said, has no magic (not earth because not strong) but ,here's my theory, the cutie marks are destiny's to fulfill but if you don't have magic your just like others in a tribe because magic gives you talents. Zebras like zecora are separate from pony's so they might have different groups


i have a theory on why discord has no mark and same with zecora. discord shows his magic through physical features so there is no need for the mark and his colors simply fade without his magic while zecora most likely was either born with that or was tattooed with it from a tribe that spends their time reading and learning about magic and cures.


Zecora doesn't have magic.
Seeing how faint her "Cutie Mark" is and how much it looks like some tribal tattoo it's almost safe to say it is one.
Zecora doesn't use real magic, but artificial magic like mixing up potions and blowing dust.


Maybe Zercora has her own type of magic... seeing that she knows so much about it.. and since she seems to be like.. a witch doctor (kinda)  she might have magic of her own.. so maybe her mark IS like a cutie mark.. but not exactly a cutie mark


Well, zecora does have magic. In the episode where twilight is banned from ponyville, she goes to zecora. Then she spills zecoras water, and zecora uses magic to put water back into the cup.


Part three. What if there parents had to become sun and moon to keep the universe balanced? After years of grieving, since they are immortal, they saw the moon and sun brought them mortal companions, ones for them to rule over. But some were different. Some were bigger and some rejected the use of magic. So they ruled other smaller land the princesses gave them. What do you think of my theory?


Its assumed that Draconequus' may have magic but just simply no cutie mark, like Notion said Discord just doesn't make sense. Who knows maybe there are more of Discords kind the way Celestia explained him in Return of Harmony part 1 and that they all just kinda "don't make sense" and are just born with magic like ponies. The issue with Zecora is that she is simply knowledgable of magic but doesn't have any herself. In the book of The Diary of the Two Royal Sisters (the actual book) Celestia and Luna explain that zebras have markings on their flank 'like' cutie marks.
Correct me if I'm wrong


Sure ponies have varied color schemes, but there is one creature who stands out among his species: Gallus. His color scheme is mostly blue in contrast to the other Griffins who are mostly grey or brown. Then there are the hippogriffs, and the reformed Changelings.


just like you said, ponies have a lot of color in their bodies. But Zecora has black and white like a zebra (Zecora) but zebras are closely related to ponies, so magic allowed him to have a cutie mark. BUT magic never allowed him to have color. Discord only has a tiny bit of color, which allowed him to have magic. BUT not a cutie mark.


zecora's mark is canonically a cutie mark. griffons have the same magic as pegasi allowing them to fly and walk on clouds, changelings have unicorn, flight, and shapeshifting magic, & kirin have unicorn magic so it's not about that. i think its just a species trait.


Maybe Discord was created instead of born. It makes perfect sense to me, seeing as he is the only dragoneques (or however you spell/pronounce that word), and he is so off the chart full of magic gone wrong. i have more ideas to support this in my head, but i dont feel like typing them out, and i dont want this to turn into a mini-essay.

I really like your videos, though! Keep on philosophizing.


I know im late with this but my theory on zecora is not being a pony she has no magic<br>perhaps it isn't uncommon in her tribe to know how magic works because potion making can be linked with magic. and that mark on her flank is likely a trible tattoo because her only talent that has been show is potion making, and it doesn't seem to represent that.

I know im late with this but my theory on zecora is not being a pony she has no magic
perhaps it isn't uncommon in her tribe to know how magic works because potion making can be linked with magic. and that mark on her flank is likely a trible tattoo because her only talent that has been show is potion making, and it doesn't seem to represent that.


Well, since it means someone on MLP has magic, doesn't always mean it has a cutie mark.


I don't think Zecora has magic, and the pattern where her cutie mark would be on a pony may represent the wide knowledge of magic she has. As for Discord, like you said, he just doesn't make sense. It's hard to really figure him out due to a lack of backstory. As a draconiquis (I do not know how to spell it) he may just have different rules than ponies which would also explain the difference between his magic and normal magic. Pony magic seems to need to "charge up". Every time Twilight uses a spell, it takes effect after a few seconds. Discord's magic, on the other hoof, is almost always instantaneous. Just POOF! Magic. This may be why he has no cutie mark. What do you think?


Ok. So, first of all I don't exactly agree with the whole Discord being Starswirl. So this is my theory. Discord like all draconaqueses(can't spell. Sorry for typos) has an extreme amount of magic. His had been carrying on throughout the race for generations. This is why he doesn't have a cutie mark. Draconaques have no need for them.

My theory on Zecora is that zebras have magic but not as much as ponies. This is why they look like the zebras we know today, with the exception of the cutie mark she has. Her cutie mark resembles her ability to make remedies and if we had an episode where we met more zebras they would all have different cutie mark resembling what they're best at.
Neither of these may be correct, but hey. It's just a theory.


Maybe Ponies take Destiny more seriously than other creatures and hence have cutie marks to emphasize that fact. Maybe they adapted cutie marks until it became normal. That would explain a lot.


here is my theory about zecora. like you said, zecora knows much about magic. the mark could either be her own actual cutie mark, or a strange mark that could possibly be a magic sort of sign. now I'm thinking about the fact that she's a zebra. ponies seem to be the only one's to have cutiemarks. they get there cutie marks by magic, but zecora however, is not a pony. and clearly seen as a zebra. so it is most likely to be some kind of tattoo or mark. in conclusion, I think it is just a symbol.


I a long time ago already figured out that their cutie marks come from the name they was giving at birth, don't know how that is possible but it is. Zecora....that's deffidently a challange to figure out, I'd have to assume that they get tjeir talents by trial or like you suggest that its a tribal tattoo, also the fact that she has her own special type of magic could be that a select few zebras have this ability. We might never find out but id have to give guesses.


discord chose not to have a cutie mark. it would be more chaotic that way


There is a huge hole in your threoy that you forgot to mention. Pegeusi can walk on clouds because of their magic and you you know who can walk on clouds, griffons. They have the same magic as Pegeusi or else they would fall through like everyone else. Changlings clearly have magic due to their ability to pass themselves off as a member of any of the 3 tribes. Dragons are also magical creatures. I believe everything in the world of MLP has magic one way or another. Just thought you should know.

Stay pony my friend.


Maybe ponies have cutie marks because they are the beings that are "on top"
Like us humans, we have imposable thumbs
Maybe same applies to ponies
As for Zecora, maybe she's a pony but her magic turned her into a zebra and that's why she practices magic
To turn back into a pony some day


Two things first maybe because zecora knows a lot about magic but not quite using it could classify her as a earth pony, second when starlight glimmer took away the ponies magic in her village they lost there color making them more like the other equestrian animals so that means without magic they're just normal ponies


If ponies are both the only ones with symbols representing their talents and the only ones with magic colors, then are they the only creatures that use elementalist magic? And maybe Zecora learned her magic from a pony so as to understand magic in that way? Villans who steal magic don't reflect understanding it?


omg i love how you where like "cough' starsworld the bearded" after you mentioned that discord used to be a pony.

@Twilight Sparkle Twilight you dressed up because the person was magical

@ThePonyGame Game FINALLY someone knows who I dressed up as for Nightmare Night


point: when Tirek, when he was weak, met Discord in the dark alley, Discord was transformed into a pony with a tornado  cutiemark. Discord also changes into a pony in the  book 'Discord and the Ponyville Players Dramarama' AND has the same cutiemark


I would like to think that humans have the marks but we don't have magic but we do  have a favourite symbol of some sort and we all have a destiny. So anything with a destiny had a cutie mark. Discord has no destiny, he just does whatever he wants. Terik basically does what he wants too.


Discord isn't a pony ( kinda obvius he shows no interest in being one). Maybe the reason Zecora got hers is because her body is the closest non-pony one than all the others,or it could be positive magic inside that let's ponies have cutie marks,which is natural for them. Archronici aren't naturally good.


Zebras are pretty closely related to ponies, so Zecora can be considered as basically an earth pony.


Here's something u should look into: where did celestia and Luna even come from?! We know from the hearth warming eve episode that there was a time without them, because they only rule over equestria, so how did they get here?! This has been nagging at me ever since I became a pegasister about 3 months ago. And how did the sun and moon move before their existence?

There's this thing called birth from her parents...want to know who the parents are? Look it up.

My theory on how the sun and the moon were moved before celestial and Luna is kinda the Equestrian evolution theory, unicorns moved the sun and the moon before the two sisters ruled over Equestria so they had the power to do that. Now that celestial and Luna do that there is no need for unicorns to do that anymore so they lost the ability to do that. They could do it if they wanted to I think but it would be so hard and would use so much magic and energy that it's just easier to let celestial and Luna do it for them.

And go on the one with celestia, luna and discord

Go Ink Roses channel and look up history of Equestria

I can answer your last question. Before Celestial and Luna, unicorns raised the sun and moon. This is said in Hearth's Warming Eve. In The Journal of The Two Sisters, (yes, it's an actual book you can buy on Amazon) it says that it takes hundreds of unicorns to do this, and it drains their power. However, the book starts the day they were to become Princesses, so it doesn't talk about where they came from.

+SuperCombustable no ur not mistaken they say it in hearts warming eve

read the journal of the two sisters. it explains there were other alicorns before the royal sisters, but they all lived in canterlot, most likely secluded from the rest of equestria. each day and night a large group of unicorns would raise the sun and moon, but this was such a huge task that it completely drained there magic.

but because alicorns are stronger than unicorns, celestia and luna were able to do it easily, and in the process it made their magic stronger, and they were able to restore the magic of the other unicorns.

watch ink rose's Celestia, Luna, and the history of Equestria video

@***** theres a book about it i found out about a while ago, but its not in the australian ibooks store and u can buy it in australian bookstores so i might never know...

@Kittyfriend12345 oh i saw you resently on a comment i have

@dragonflyzMC Well..It looks like it is.

@Kittyfriend12345 that probably wasnt the flag at the time, that was probably the only prop they had which would work :P. or the current flag.

OmO here's another question about it, remember at the flag of Equestria in the episode? There were two ponies which are actually Luna and Celestia bringing peace, but they didn't exist that time...So anyone here wanna help me >.<

i just found out all the info on this stuff is in the book: the journal of the 2 sisters. now i just need to FIND it...

If you remember, the events of the story were before the RULE of Celestia. As in, before she was in control. As much as I would love a backstory on Luna and Celestia, it is unlikely the writers are thinking about these questions. The show, after all, is targeted towards little girls, that just sort of roll with it.

A lot of unicorns (with this as there talent no less)did this

at the same time it said that Scorpan befriended a pony and that pony looked like Starswirl. Inconsistencies are abundant.

@***** I agree with you on point 2.  Point 3 is maybe. But he did have 1 friend at some point and that was scorpan. (unless whoever the pony refrenced just looked and dressed the same as starswirl.) could be that Scorpan died leaving Starswirl bitter, that I could believe and fits into what you are saying. In fact it is likely the only way that spell could have backfired so badly imo. as for point 1, I will have to get back to you on that. I don't remember why I know/assumed that. Did I read it somewhere? Did I mishear something from the show? IDK and don't have very good memory. So I will go and find why I think that.

@***** there are too many holes in this theory. Starswirl was Celestias student not the other way around. The Sisters found the tree of harmony. Starswirl may be Discord or Discord disposed of Starswirl somehow. Also Discord didn't know it seems about Scorpan and that the Pendant belonged to him. Scorpan and Starswirl were friends at some point and I feel as if Starswirl knew about something then so would Discord. I could be missing something but this is just my take on things.

@Gwgw+Evelina<br>Don't know how to do it.

@***** that would make sense... (and btw, its spelt solution not salution :P)

@dragonflyzMC InkRose has a very reasonable explanation to this

@SuperCombustable  they did, but i just wanna know where the heck luna and celestia even came from...

@SuperCombustable Yes, it did. The unicorns raised and lowered the sun and moon in return for food.

I think in Hearth's Warming Eve it mentions the unicorn tribe using magic to raise/lower the sun/moon


Only GOOD magic makes cutie marks appear. Also, magic obtained by Evil magic doesn't make cutie marks appear. Zaccora has a different, non-magical cutie mark related to tribal reasons, maybe a ceremony.


Ponies may have a lot more NATURAL magic. Even Tirek can never have enough natural magic. I think Zecora just has a tatoo.


Since it has been proven in the episode when the baby's were born that pints can obtain different qualities maybe zecoras mom was a unicorn and father was a earth pony and zecoras mom put magic in zecora while she was casting a spell like twilight did when she tried to open spikes egg


Zecora is prob magical cuz she lives IN THE EVERGREE FOREST ALONE


I think your theory is great I think that zecoras tribe have a special witch doctor like magic that both lets her have a cutiemark and be able to make the potions that she makes as for discord he can do anything just don't question it.


Maybe the reason why only ponies seem to have cutie marks is because the have the best understanding of magic.  This also explains why Zecora has a cutie mark, and as for Discord in the title of the show it says that friendship is magic.  It was proven in the end of season 4 that Discord does NOT have the proper understanding of friendship (this was shown by him not getting a throne like the mane 6) there for he does not have a proper understanding of magic.  That or he's just Discord.


I find it interesting that mules do not have cutie marks in Equestria. A mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey (or a pony and a donkey). So, in theory, a mule could have a cutie mark due to the fact that one parent possessed the trait. I also find it interesting that the term 'mule' seems to be mostly used as an offensive term in the pony world, so maybe mules are frowned upon in the pony society.


I always wondered about this. I think Discord has a body that doesn't play by normal rules and Zecora is magic and that swirl on her bum is just a different type of cutie mark to go along with her zebra magic which works differently than pony magic because she is a different species.


actually discord was starswirrled the bearded and used the elements of harmony spell to switch the elements but he had no friends and he turned into discord


I have a big imagination but just imagine she used to be a pony with that cutie mark and then a dark magic turned her into a zebra!


I think that Zecora IS a pony. We’ve seen the three tribes (Pegasi, Earth Pony, Unicorn) so maybe zebras are another tribe. Or maybe unlike donkeys and mules, who don’t have magic in them, zebras do. This would give Zecora a cutie mark. Also, did Tirek steal her magic?


Zecora dosent have conventional magic, but does however have knowlege on chemicals, which suggests a more scientificaly advanced race in medicine. That may also be equal to pony magic.


if youre right about discord being star swirl then maybe zecora used to be a pony too,but when she became a zebra she was sent far away and then suddenly came back to see ponyville again.


I noticed that ALL villains don't have cutie marks like chrysilas, sombra, and the Mane-Iac they don't have cutie marks. Except for Nightmare Moon Who WAS Luna so she really doesn't count in this list but every other villain doesn't have a cutiemark. One thing Shimmer also counts in this as in Equestria she does but it focused more on human.

erm  you do realise the mane-iac wears a outfit

Mr Xd2 Sombra has a cutie mark! He was a pony before he turned evil. His cutie mark is black crystals

@Antonia Jackson Again Starlight did not exist when this comment was made, check the date please.

@Eponey Cheetah sombra wears a cape an armor, he probably has one, its just covered up...

Only actual Ponies within Equestria gets a mark, so Mane-iac can't, Chrysalis isn't a Pony and why Sombra?

+ilovecats790 LOL! mate. his Cutie-Mark is a crystal.

@Zidabrine  well no cutiemark that we've seen. we as the audience have only seen him as a shadow cloud, or with a cape on.

Yes but, Chrysalis along with other changelings would technically be a creature naturally born with magic, thus, it their natural form would have cutie marks if this was correct, therefore not all magical creatures have cutie marks to show their destiny, only ponies ever do (not even pony half-breeds such as mules)

Well chrysalis isn't a pony, and doesn't sombra wear armor?

edit: he has a cape that would cover it up

@maria cecilia Ringor Aside from not being a Pony in the first place, tirek's only true talent is theft and deseption, no talent you get recognised or accepted for, is it?<br>Furthermore, who would be accepting him for who he is, if there is none like him around?

@maria cecilia Ringor Aside from not being a Pony in the first place, tirek's only true talent is theft and deseption, no talent you get recognised or accepted for, is it?
Furthermore, who would be accepting him for who he is, if there is none like him around?

if you are a Villain from the start, who is there to accept you for who you are?
Chrysalis isn't a Pony in the first place.
Sombra may have it hidden under the change that made him look hideous?

Well we can definitely explain why Chrysalis doesn't have a cutimark (she would have to change it all the time. Sombra we don't really know since most of the episode he was just shadow and when he became more solid, he was wearing fancy robes. Mane-Iac well, we hear according to Spike she used to be a pony. I guess you have to be in a pony form to have a cutiemark, and in season 4 Discord changes into a pony and Tirek (or how ever you spell it) knew he could take magic from him, even though he did later. So maybe ,ponies are demi gods (as you say in next video) , but all of these MAGICAL villains and alicorns are the mane gods, all of the others are mortal. What ya think?

Good point but most are non ponies and main villains who ARE ponies usually where some kind of armor I wonder why like Shimmer wore a cape until it fell off but anyway could the armor be some relation to mythological or something? Ill do research.

The villains that don't have cutie marks don't because they aren't ponies. The villains that ARE ponies but don't seem to have cutie marks are usually wearing costumes that cover them up. Shimmer does have a cutie mark that is visible near the beginning of equestria girls. I hope that helped. /)


actually, I think not all ponies have magic. I think that unicorns have the horn magic, which is enough for them to have the crazy colors. As for pegasus and earth ponies, I think that the wings run on the Pegasus's actual strength, and not magic, and that the earth ponies can work well with the earth becuz that's just a skill they learn how to do quickly, and they r built for it. But their marks and colors r a different story...


i have a question that you can possibly answer! Will the cutie mark crusaders(including babs seed) ever get their cutie mark? or will they just stay young and never get a cutie mark?


Part two of my theory. Also what if they gain magic every time they beat an enemy, enough magic that it takes the enemy 1000 years to gain it back. So they can generate more magic if they have magic left in them. Thousands of years with having magic what if they need it to survive. What if Celestia and Luna were born from sun and moon?


I'd just say it's a genetic code of sorts? Where magic in a pony, is programmed to make an CM appear, meanwhile other species don't have that magical, genetic programming.


Have you noticed that changelings are kind of like alicorn is because I have a horn and I have wings


You need magic to have a cutie mark, but just because you have magic doesn't mean you will necessarily get one.  It's a pony trait, so there's no reason Discord would have one.  Hell, Sombra's a pony with magic, and even he doesn't have a cutie mark.


Zecora "magically" appearing water drink thing in the dualing episode. Zecora has magic but, she doesn't use a horn. That's the only problem in my opinion.


What's also weird is that the cutie marks are only on fur as when snips and snails got stuck with him then got unstuck there fur was pulled off and it was just skin


Ponies, Donkeys, Yaks, etc. know what their destiny is. A donkey may not have a cutie mark, but it knows its potential. It can make up one that goes with what it thinks about itself. A cutie mark is just the image of that potential.


Discord isn't full of magic. Discord is full of chaos. Magic has to follow rules, no exception. Magic cannot break those rules, they must follow them. Discord doesn't follow any rules. He can bend and warp reality. Create and destroy life. All things which magic can't do. Ponies can teleport, but teleportation follows rules, because teleportation has to follow science.

Discord doesn't have a cutie mark, because he isn't magical. He's a "Spirit" of Disharmony. A "Spirit" of Chaos. With how many times his body has come apart, I doubt his body is even "real" and rather made by something else like.... something! I dunno. Just something.

As for Zecora, I think it's a cutie mark. I mean, zebras do have magic, in my opinion. How else could they brew up magical potions?

@Renee Miller as discord would say: oh what fun is there making sense.

@karina diaz Twilight just explained that Zebras are NOT Ponies. But... There is the exception that maybe the magic of Zecora's homeland can be somewhat similar to Equestria. So, Zebras can have Cutie Marks.

Ponies are Zebra. Zebras are Ponies. If you take away strips from zebras you get a pony. If you put stripes on a pony you get a zebra. BOOOM

@Princess Twilight You're welcome. Do you have any idea how hard it is to destroy a group that powerful from the inside while making it look like I'm helping?

@Sonata Dusk hi sonata! Sorry about the whole defeating you guys thing. Here, have an apology taco! <b>holds out taco with sorry written on it in hot sauce</b>

@Sonata Dusk hi sonata! Sorry about the whole defeating you guys thing. Here, have an apology taco! *holds out taco with sorry written on it in hot sauce*

Discord is full of chaos and that makes sense. But there is no way discord was star swirl the bearded it just doesn't make any sense.

I agree with u for the first part +Rosemarie Tenmatay. But I do not agree with the VERY last part of what u said.

@Kadziet Yagami i agree with u about discord but for @***** i dont really agree THAT much but i guess it COULD be


Now this brings into question Kirins. They are similar to ponies being multicoloured and possessing magical abilities, but they don’t have a cutey marks.


Ok... dragons also vary a lot in color, and zebra magic could be channeled through the brews. Notice How nopony has asked Zecora for a recipe. Also, breezies have no cutie marks


The fact that mules exist is kinda odd to me... Mules are (usually sterile) hybrids between horses (ponies?) and donkeys. So why couldn't they be half magic?  And would the same thing apply to hippogriffs?

The Sirens in Rainbow Rocks have cutie marks too, but this does fall in line with your notion that they were born with magic, and thus earned their marks.

I started to think it was some kind of elitism that only ponies could be considered magical creatures and get cutie marks, but then I thought about every other fantasy setting:  We've got rangers, hobbits, elves, and orcs, which are not very magical in and of themselves, but we DO have wizards, mages, sorcerers, and the like. Some folks are just different, but no more or less important in the grand scheme. (though the way other livestock is treated and portrayed in MLP makes me wonder.. milking cows? penning up sheep?)


Are we entirely sure Zecora isn't a zorse(zebra-horse hybrid)?<br>Also, Discord is a Draconequus, a horse-dragon hybrid. His magic is too scrambled to make any cutiemark.

Are we entirely sure Zecora isn't a zorse(zebra-horse hybrid)?
Also, Discord is a Draconequus, a horse-dragon hybrid. His magic is too scrambled to make any cutiemark.


Okay did anybody else catch that when Zecora is under her hood she looks exactly like the shadow pony, as far as facial features?


Zecora DOES have magic. In Magic Duel, she refills her cup by running her hoof on the rim.


Perhaps cutie marks appear on different places on different species?<br>Where the mark may be located in location on other species where it might not be clearly visible.

Perhaps cutie marks appear on different places on different species?
Where the mark may be located in location on other species where it might not be clearly visible.


If you read the comics, Celestia and Luna have a parental-like connection with Starswirl. Also, If you check out InkRose's theory on Celestia and Luna's past. Also, Since Granny smith went into the everfree forest and was probably scared the memory is now imprinted into her mind and she cant forget it. Plus! Not all worlds ar perfect.


what if cutie marks are the result of only a certain type of magic? We know that there are different types of magic like dark magic, chaotic magic, and pony magic. i think that only beings with pony magic can have cutie marks because no other magical beings with different magic can have cutie marks.


I feel like Discord doesn’t have a cutie mark because like you said,

That would make sense. Nothing can make sense for the King of Chaos or he’ll disappear.


Zecora does have magic, in Magic Duel when Twilight knocks over her cup. With a rub of her hooves, she can make the tea reappear in her cup.


or zebras could be a sub species of earth pony, distant enough to not actually be a pony,  but related enough to have pony magic, or maybe even their own brand of zebra magic. in fact this could also be the case with changelings.


But in magic duel, Zacora does use magic. She refills her cup of tea twice after Twilight spills it.


It's not "how much?" magic it's "what kind?" of magic.


Zecora has magic because in "The Magic Duel" she used her hand to get the water come back like it just appeared


I think zecora's cutie mark is slightly different. maybe she contains some other  kind of magic. I suppose it has smething to do with gems, or not


Magic is but the first requirement for the mark.
you need to find who you are, then be accepted for it, before the mark can show.

Is there any opposing culture with magic, where the individual can become recogniced for a tallent?
Discord is after all alone, for a good starter.

Zecora the Zebra does have a mark, if it is truely a cutie, I guess we could debate until the sun goes cold.
if it is, she still had someone accepting her for who she was, before leaving her Native hmelands.

if we recognice Zecora, why did neither the donkey not mule have it?
that's why it is such a bad bun, if for nothing else, isn't it?


For Zecora, i'd say it's just a natural marking, like a birthmark for humans. I have a birthmark, so I don't see why ponies can't.


Well zebras are very much like ponies. They just have stripes. Like a different race of pony ( unicorns alicorns pegasi earth ponies and ZEBRAS!!!) so yes i would agree that its a cutie mark. Also alot of people ( including me) think that discord used to be star swirl the bearded


I think Discord doesn't have a cutie mark because he has so much chaotic power he could make himself good at anything he wants, also you may have to have a pony form to have naturel magic that they are born with, not stolen.


Discord is the spirit of chaos so he would have always had that magic, and zecora just knows a lot about magic


Zebras are a part of the horse/pony family. This means Zecora can obtain magic as well as ponies in Equestria can.


My explanation for Zacora would be that she does have magic but it is in smaller amounts not really to do anything incept give her a cutie mark.


Although I do believe TBN's Discord starswirl theory & timeline, I noticed in the video there is still something missing: The Draconequus-Alicorn war that killed uh... A LOT!<br>Spoiler alert! Discord has a supposedly DEAD sister, who is/was a duchess. His parents are DEFINITELY dead, because they fought in the war because they were KING & QUEEN! So not only is Discord Lord of Chaos which is awesome by itself, he is a PRINCE! Dat is pretty pretty dang dang awesome! Uh... Enough said.

Although I do believe TBN's Discord starswirl theory & timeline, I noticed in the video there is still something missing: The Draconequus-Alicorn war that killed uh... A LOT!
Spoiler alert! Discord has a supposedly DEAD sister, who is/was a duchess. His parents are DEFINITELY dead, because they fought in the war because they were KING & QUEEN! So not only is Discord Lord of Chaos which is awesome by itself, he is a PRINCE! Dat is pretty pretty dang dang awesome! Uh... Enough said.


What about the changelings? All of them look more or less like alicorns, and are born to feed on love/emotions. Love/friendship is a magic or at least a fuel for magic in the show, so they seem like pretty magical creatures to me. Why don't they have cutie marks?

I think that the changelings aren't magical, and I didn't have proof until I saw you. You say that they feed on love and friendship which in your words is a form of magic. That means the changelings are like Tirek and they feed off of organic magic in order to create their own artificial magic. That's why they don't have cutie marks.


maybe Zecora could Be a pony with stripes tatooed on her and looks very similar to the ponies  and even if not zebras are very closely related to horses


Dragons don't have cutie marks, but they are arguably magical. It may be that cutie marks are a display of magic unique to ponies and their closest relations.


Okay I see that Discord if he was Star-swerl the Bearded he Could have known magic all along and soon learned how to use it without needing a horn with Zecora I think that since she was found over In the Evergreen forest she has her own kind of magic Brewing What do you think of this Theory?


Discord is the being of chaos. Zecora (in my head canon) was born with the mark, and learned about magic in her mysterious past. Tirek isn't really a pony.


Zicora is magical, she can make water (or something) out of thin air. See it for your self in "Magic Duel"


Maybe only the type of magic ponies and zebras have can give you a cutie mark but not if you steal it.


Discord's magic is corrupted and from another dimension and it's a complete separate magic from cutie mark magic or pony magic at all which makes him have magic but not a cutie mark. There is also the possibility that he has no destiny because he can only bring chaos as it's ability from birth. Now to Zecora, she is a zebra, and zebras are very similar to ponies, she was born with African magic (this world's Africa), which gave her magic similar enough to pony magic to create a cutie mark for her, but because the magic was only SIMILAR and not the SAME, which results her cutie mark showing her destiny of making potions just like any other zebra (maybe) which means all zebras have this cutie mark, just like the equal symbols because all zebras have the same destiny. It could also be a tattoo just like you said. The last option is Zecora being a cursed pony, who became a zebra... nah.


According the the journal of the two sisters, zebras do have cutie marks. I think beings in Equestria who are ponies or closely related to ponies, like zebras, naturally have cutie marks. Animals with hooves who are not ponies don't have cutie marks but do have some sort of sentience. Animal combinations, like mythical creatures, don't have cutie marks, and it's up to the writers whether they are sentient. Animals which are a combination of ponies and something else don't have cutie marks, like Discord and mules, because they are not pure.


Discord: Discord would possibly be a combination of a bunch of mythical creatures including the Pegasus or the Gryphon. <br>Zecora: Technically zebras are relatives to horses, donkeys and mules.

Discord: Discord would possibly be a combination of a bunch of mythical creatures including the Pegasus or the Gryphon.
Zecora: Technically zebras are relatives to horses, donkeys and mules.


Every pony with a cutie mark has magic but not everyone that has magic have a cutiemark😂


The bit about stealing the magic kinda reminds me of the beginning part of Bastille's 'Icarus' for some reason...


1:08 I have a different theory. Celestia mentions that Tirek went to Equestria to steal Equestrian magic, correct? Key word: Equestrian. This implies that there is Magic beyond Equestria' s borders, but it is different. This is supported by griffins cloudwalking.


When Discord was ruling Equestria he had a cutiemark which made him more powerful than Celestia but when he was turned to stone Celestia took away his Cutiemark making him less powerful.


I think why Discord doesn't have one is because he is the element/embodiment of chaos, he is too unpredictably non-linear (chaotic) too have a pre-determined destiny, thus a cutie mark.


well with zacora it's just like he said zacora just knows magic we haven't seen zacora use magic in anyway so maybe her mark is a tribal tattoo and discord maybe the rule just doesn't apply to him because he's chaos he basically makes up the rules as he wants too

+shadowdragon_ x3 She definetly used magic, in the episode where Trixie banishes Twilight from Ponyville, Twilight knocks Zacora's drink over and Zacora mysteriously is able to make the drink reappear in her cup using her hooves.  of course she doesn't have unicorn abilities, but she does seem to be capable of doing things


didn't twilight mention that zecora was born with her mark? I remember her saying it in the episode that she first appeared in, also twilight stated "she's not a pony, she's a zebra" so in a way she is saying zebras are not the same as ponies.


you forgot Zecora  refilled a cup of water by just waving her hoof over it! ^^ and she can apparently stand on water and make illusions


well maybe pony's have more of a destiny han discord. or other things. but then again Derek took all of everypony's magic and didn't get atleast 1 cutie mark(like you said).... so i guess you did some good explaining!


Did ANYONE notice Zecora MAGICALLY refill her cup in that one episode? She does have magic!


0:54 watching that little vid in the corner gave me a weird theory that Discord's chaos magic and his dimension are the same thing, as in his dimension is just his magic amplified or spread out. It has the same style and stuff. Or maybe it's just the way chaos is idk


You forget about Chrysalis. Perhaps only creatures with a certain type of magic get cutie marks?


I think zebra do have magic too. they are just a different type pony with different magic and cutie marks.


If Discord may have been a pony once, I don't see how he could have been Star Swirl, since evidence suggests that Star Swirl didn't vanish from the picture into after Discord's first defeat and well into the early years of Celestia's reign. That said, it's not at all outlandish that Discord and Star Swirl are connected somehow.


Zecora did in fact use some form of magic. Remember when Twilight spilled her drink? Zecora swirled her hoof over the cup and it refilled.


wait a min, notice how zecora's "cutie mark" ties in with her markings? maybe it's a birth mark. and discort may make some sense after all,maybe he has no cutie mark 'cause he doesn't have a pony flank.  just a thory. although what about the horses we've seen in mlp? were are their cutie marks?


Discord (when he was star swirl) had a cutie mark maybe when he cast the spell when it mitchmatched it took his cutiemark away and let him keep jus magic


Wow, the ponies have magic? What gave it away, the unicorns, Pegasus, or being able to talk?


All "types" of ponies have magic, but in other "shape". Same with others, they have magic in other shape.


I might know the answer!
Discord had a family that had magic.
And equestria has a lot of questions.


Zecora does not have a cutie mark but a tribal mark,and like twilight said"she is a zebra."but she does not have magic.my theory is that since she is from Africa she must know a lot,you know that tribes in Africa seem to know magic.idk


zecora does have magic because in magic duel she makes her tea re-apear after twilight spills it


Maybe zecora always wanted a cutie mark but since she is not a pony she dosent have one or she could just not have majic so she educated herself as much as she could about magic but the only way she could obtain it was tattooing it on herself (why it is not colored) and she chose the sun because it is a very important figure


Now I know why Tirek always want magic because he want a cutie mark!


Discord has chaotic magic, which is what gives him his "magic" and allows him to make more chaos and therefore create a cycle, and Zacora knows herbal magic, the magic properties of natural plants i.e poisionous joke


Well Zecora doesn't really have magic, she just uses gimics and ghouls to for example tell the future


The presence of cutie marks imply magic, but not vice-versa. You can't say that just because something is magical, it must therefore have a cutie mark.


Zebras actually are horses, they're in the equestrian family, and the species of whatever discord is doesn't have cutie marks


Well, zebras technically belong to the same genus as horses but the again so do mules.


This probably doesn't make sense but, what if the "magic" Tirek stole from earth ponies is their strength? Because he became stonger and more powerful idk


my theory is that zecora was a pony with a cutie mark that looks simaliar to her mark on the show, until discord came without his cutie mark and was mad, she was a zebra and had a cuteie mark! so he took  her cutie mark away and all the other animals cute marks away


Do one about why Zecora is the only zebra. This is my answer why the Cora is the only zebra in all of Questria, maybe she could have gotten separated from the tribe when she was a filly so she was in the ever free forest and she just lived there for the rest of her life,  that's my conclusion.


Zecora IS magic and so DOES have a cutie mark.

Discord runs of Chaos magic not Order magic, so the same rules dont apply to him.

That is my head-cannon.


I agree with discord being star swirl the bearded that maybe after a long time he went crazy and did a spell that back fired and turned him into the ruler of chaos and forgot everything about his previous life


Hmmmm... well when you look at it discort sure knows a lot about magic. Soi think he WAS a pony but met a villain that changed him. As for zicora...


Could it possibly be that zebras are somewhat of another species of earth pony? Is that a possibility?


So in one of the books cutie marks started out as a mark  and they got the idea to make a cutie mark._-_


Zaccora has a cutie mark because she has the same abilities as a earth pony just she is a zebra.


Maybe the cutie Mark is a mix between Magic and destiny, as ponys have in their Nature sticking to only one thing.


Zecora DOES have magic she made some drink (I don't know if it was or wasn't green tea) and that was magic.


Zecora or however you spell that name is a Zorse (zebra pony) and has magic.<br>Discord was corrupted by evil when discord was a pony and lost his cutie mark and lost his main magic and became evil.

Zecora or however you spell that name is a Zorse (zebra pony) and has magic.
Discord was corrupted by evil when discord was a pony and lost his cutie mark and lost his main magic and became evil.


Answer: In season 7 it was revealed Discord doesn’t just have magic but is... Fluttershy notes he was made of pure chaos magic or dark magic... that would make him the only remnant of the dark times in ponyville when the 3 tribes ruled ponyville. During that time there was anarchy or absolute monarchy by Discord’s parents... Starswirl just summoned him when he failed to make an allicorn spell... Discord is not StarSwirl but a sort-of-product of his spell this can be noted because Starswirl was summoned by Twilight in season 7 finale. AND HE WAS NOT DISCORD. Discord is the last of his kind and was brought back to life from Starswirl, although he came from parents of pure chaos magic he can’t remember that cause Celestia reformed Discord and wiped his memory... 🧐 hmmm... what else is Celestia hiding? 😱


Discord has a cutie mark when discord was a pony his cutie mark was a tornado/chaos the reason discord doesn't have a cutie mark when he's in his normal form look at him where would his cutie mark be?

For zecora she has magic she can refill her drink and many things her cutie mark is potion making


Maybe Discord is a magical being without a cutie mark
Like a blank flank

It would make a lot of sense for him to be a blank flank; he's a chaotic being that embraces the absurd and would have no destiny as destiny would be implying his life has direction, purpose
, or meaning

absurdism is a philosophicalschool of thought stating that the efforts to find inherent meaning will ultimately fail (and hence are absurd)

It's also possible that I'm misinterpreting his character entirely


I think only good creatures get cutie marks as a reward,like the ponys and zicora,and the bad creatures don't as a punishment,like somba and discord.and since ponys like nightmare moon/luna were good before,they got thire cutie mark before they turned.thats jut what I think. :b


Maybe Zecora, at some point in her life, had to disguise as a pony, and tattooed herself a fake cutie mark.


Well, as we know celestia and Luna only rule over equistria, there is other places in the world they don't rule over. The land with horses, and the other guys in the season 4 finale. They don't have cutie marks. Seeing as princesses have rib of magic, they are never queens. Maybe this is because they give a little bit of magic to each born filly.


i think that because they don't have cutie marks is because that they dont have natural magic like Twilight or Rarity or any others. Natural magic is a genetic trait that ponies have.and i think your right about them all having natural magic including pegasi and earth ponies. Pegasi have the ability to walk on clouds while others cant. thats a type of magic right? Earth ponies seem like the only ones who are good with plants. if a unicorn had a gardening cutie mark then that means earth ponies aren't unique. but they have magic in them. Sombras cape covers his flank so there is no proving if he has on or not. Chrysalis doesn't have a cutie mark is because she is a changeling. they take the form of other ponies, including their cutie marks. if they had one of their own, that might affect their appearance as another pony. as in, cutie marks blending in with each other, or the same cutie mark you had when you were a changeling. I'm gonna have to follow Brony Notion with Discord being Star Swirl. back to Earth ponies. they need a certain magic to earn their cutie mark. they need to find that one thing that screams APPLES! or CARROTS or something... i cant figure it out (hint hint) And Zecora does have a cutie mark but she doesnt have natural magic. she has Artificial magic she uses for her  potions. once she realized she can mix things with others she earned a cutie mark for Potion making. just in a way that her species could understand. Like Apple Bloom


Isn't Spike magical as well? How does he fit into this theory?


The problem is that Tirek was born with magic as stated in the comic FIENDship is magic issue 2.