History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles

** Rarity's encounter with [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey a giant monolithic black rock]]. Complete with a fanfare that [[Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra sounds similarly familiar]]. This part also brings to mind the scene in ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'' in which the main duo also come before a great big rock (Rarity's complaints about it have a similar tone to Tulio's) after thinking that it led to their main goal (which in both cases, turns out to be true). The part in which some seismic disturbance (the Sonic Rainboom) causes the monolithic black rock to break apart to reveal its main point (jewels) also could bring to mind the 2001 based "monolith" cartoons from ''Series/TheElectricCompany1971''.

* {{Jerkass}}: The examiners overseeing Twilight's entrance test, who are not at all patient or kind to a nervous little filly sitting the most important exam of her life. One of them sternly says, "We don't have all day."

** Rarity's encounter with [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey a giant monolithic black rock]]. Complete with a fanfare that [[Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra sounds similarly familiar]]. This part also brings to mind the scene in ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'' in which the main duo also come before a great big rock (Rarity's complaints about it have a similar tone to Tulio's) after thinking that it led to their main goal (which in both cases, turns out to be true).

* DispelMagic: In Twilight's flashback, Princess Celestia intervenes to calm down Twilight from her surge of WildMagic, dispelling all its effects -- inclinding changing back her parents from potted plants to their normal form, or returning Spike to his baby size.

* RapidFireYes: When Twilight Sparkle recalls the day that she passed her entrance exam at the Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, and also got her cutie mark in the process, she jumped for joy and repeatedly shouting "Yes!" while circling and hopping around, to the point that she emulated that in the present day much to the confusion of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the other restaurant patrons.

** The animals Fluttershy encounters in her flashback

** Rarity's encounter with [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey a giant monolithic black rock]]. Complete with a fanfare that [[Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra sounds similarly familiar]].
*** This part also brings to mind the scene in ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'' in which the main duo also come before a great big rock (Rarity's complaints about it have a similar tone to Tulio's) after thinking that it led to their main goal (which in both cases, turns out to be true).

** Twilight's glowing eyes and Celestia calm down hug are reminiscent of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' where Aang would go into the Avatar State and Katara would have to calm him down. GenderFlip on Aang, anyone?

''... [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E13HearthsWarmingEve and that's how Equestria was made!]]'' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Maybe one day we'll tell you about how Pinkie Pie got her Cutie Mark!]] [[BrickJoke It's a real gem!]]

* MythologyGag: Twilight's mom is essentially the original Twilight from G1, with white fur instead of light pink fur and fewer stripes. It's especially noticeable when you look at Lauren's concept designs for the gang. It also counts as a MythologyGag to the original concept of the series, where Twilight was supposed to be TheProtagonist before being color-swapped into Twilight Sparkle.

** We're given no indication of how they got stuck hearing Twilight's story, which of course just makes it funnier.

** In Pinkie's flashback while Pinkie was seen with a flat mane and tail like the other Pie members, she stands out from the rest of them because she's the only member who is brightly colored, instead of neutral earth tones of the rest of her family. This could serve as a literal foreshadowing to her discovering her talent.
** Fluttershy is the only pony shown with a different filly design, with hers being much more more lankier than normal.

* FunSize: [[https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/8/1/63746.gif Newborn!Spike]]. Extra tiny. Extra cute.

* RiddleForTheAges: Why was Spike's egg in Canterlot?

-->'''Restaurant patron''': Are you okay, ma'am?\\
'''Twilight Sparkle''': ''[embarrassed grin]'' Uh... ''yes''.

-->'''Pinkie Pie''': I'd never felt joy like that before! It felt so good, I just wanted to keep smiling forever!

* WhenSheSmiles: The sight of Rainbow's Sonic Rainboom in the sky causes Pinkie to smile for the first time.

%%

%%->'''Scootaloo:''' Agghhh! Why don't we ever smash into Rainbow Dash?
->'''Pinkie Pie:''' You're looking for Rainbow Dash? If I was her, I'd be at Sugarcube Corner! Of course, if I was anyone I'd be at Sugarcube Corner. Hey! I have an idea! Wanna go to Sugarcube Corner?

'''Fluttershy:''' When Fluttershy was at summer flight camp, she was the weakest flier out of all the young pegasi there. As such, she was bullied a lot, until one day when Rainbow Dash stood up for her, challenging the bullies to a race. During the race, Fluttershy was knocked off a cloud and sent plummeting towards the ground below, only to be saved by a swarm of butterflies. Having never met earth animals before, the young pegasus was instantly enraptured, but a sudden explosion scared them all away. Fluttershy carefully coaxed them out of hiding, discovering her [[TheBeastMaster instinctive rapport with animals]] (and her cutie mark) in the process. Though she never found out what happened with the pegasus race...

'''Rarity:''' While the young unicorn was trying to perfect costumes for a school play, her horn's magic activated and began pulling in the direction of some mysterious source (dragging the rest of Rarity along with it). When it finally came to rest, she found herself standing in front of a huge rock in the middle of nowhere. She found this destiny underwhelming to say the least, until a nearby explosion broke it open and revealed that it was full of colorful gemstones. Inspired, she incorporated the gems into her costumes, wowing the crowd and earning her cutie mark.

'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Inspired by the sight of Princess Celestia raising the sun in the Summer Sun Celebration Twilight resolved to learn all she could about magic. Her parents decided to enroll her in the princess's special academy for talented unicorns. While Twilight was excited at first, she was nervous at the thought of passing the entrance exam. During the exam itself, she was set the task of hatching a dragon egg, and all her best efforts failed her. Just as she was about to admit defeat, a far-off explosion startled her into losing control of her magic. The egg hatched (revealing a certain purple-and-green baby dragon...), but her uncontrolled magic ran wild, causing chaos in the examination room. Celestia herself intervened, calming Twilight down and offering to become her personal mentor to help the young unicorn tame her astonishing powers. Topping off this amazing day was the appearance of Twilight's new cutie mark.

'''Pinkie Pie:''' Back when Pinkie was a filly, she lived a dull, humorless existence on a rock farm with her family. One day, an explosion shook the farm (and her ramrod-straight mane and tail), followed by a rainbow. The beautiful sight of the rainbow was enough to make Pinkie smile for the first time, and she was determined to make everyone around her just as happy. So, the next day, she threw her very first party just for her family. The results made her parents and sisters smile for the first time, giving Pinkie her new purpose in life and her cutie mark.

* OffModel:
** After the Pie Family sees Pinkie's party, we see a wide shot of Pinkie from the front; look closely and you can see her cutie mark, which isn't supposed to appear until seconds later.
** At the start of the race, an earth pony can be seen watching the race on a cloud -- Rainbow says only pegasi can walk on clouds. Although there is a spell in-universe that allows earth ponies and unicorns to walk on clouds.

** At the start of the race, an earth pony can be seen watching the race on a cloud - Rainbow says only pegasi can walk on clouds. Although there is a spell in-universe that allows earth ponies and unicorns to walk on clouds.

* SeriesContinuityError: The egg Spike hatches out of during Twilight's entrance exam is purple with darker purple spots, but in "Friendship is Magic, part 1", Spike said his egg was purple and green. However, this could be that Spike is an UnreliableNarrator (or Twilight corrected him in front of Fluttershy).

--->'''Pinkie Pie:''' There was no talking; there was no smiling. [sigh] There were only rocks.

----> '''Apple Bloom:''' See anything?

* FunSize: Newborn!Spike. Extra tiny. Extra cute.

* PowerIncontinence: Twilight suffering from this gave her her cutie mark. She made the entrance jury float, turned her parents [[BalefulPolymorph into plants]], and turned the baby dragon she was supposed to hatch into an adult dragon on the nation's capital before being calmed down.

* NonStandardCharacterDesign: In Pinkie's flashback while Pinkie was seen with a flat mane and tail like the other Pie members, she stands out from the rest of them because she's the only member who is pink, instead of grey, brown or tan. This could serve as a literal foreshadowing to discovering her talent.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cutie-Mark-Chronicles_6752.jpg]]
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* AdultFear: Three young fillies using a makeshift zip line in an attempt to discover their true talents. Becomes even more so when said line catches fire and breaks.

* FurryConfusion: There are horse carriage sounds in the background in Applejack's flashback of arriving in Manehattan. The carriages are never actually shown. Ponies do in fact pull carriages and carts for a living. [[FridgeBrilliance It's probably exactly the same thing as being a bus or cab(or rickshaw) driver]]. This was shown in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel previous episode]] and future episodes.

* ForWantOfANail: If Rainbow Dash didn't perform her first Sonic Rainbooms as a filly, Fluttershy wouldn't have discovered her ability to talk to animals, Pinkie wouldn't have smiled for the first time and thrown a party for her family, Applejack wouldn't have discovered she truly belongs in Ponyville, Rarity wouldn't have become TheFashionista, and Twilight would've blown her entrance exam.

* GrowlingGut: Happens to Applejack near the end of her story due to the small Manehatten dinner portions being insufficient for her appetite.