What'cha thinking about?

Poll results: Best mane horse?

Twiggle Piggle
29.27% 12 votes
Marshmallow
17.07% 7 votes
Manic Depression
17.07% 7 votes
That other one
14.63% 6 votes
Buttercream
12.20% 5 votes
Blue Fast
9.76% 4 votes

Poll ends . 41 votes cast so far.

FeatherTrap
Boot badge - It's Bootiful
Chatty Kirin - A user who has reached a combined 1000 forum posts or comments.
A toast - Incredibly based
Artist -
Liberty Belle - Sings the song of the unchained

Knight of Boops
I was making an AU design for my OC to be more like a cowboy, and it raised a question in my mind. A question that I would like to ask the Think Tank here on PB-  
Okay, I know that’s quite the term there, but it’s more polite then “Screeching Autistic Horse-Cloppers”, so I’m going with that.
 
The question is this: In an AU, if the circumstances surrounding a pony’s life and upbringing change, the conditions that make them develop their personality and outlook on life, the skills they have at their disposal, everything. Does it make sense for their Cutie Mark to be different?
 
The Cutie Mark is supposed to be a symbolic representation of a pony’s special talent, that manifests on their body. We know that it’s inherently magical in nature, not a natural part of their biology. This is evidenced by the fact that Cutie Marks can be “taken”, either by magic suited to the task (Starlight’s Wand of Communism) or by simply draining ponies of their natural magic (Tirek giving the SUCC).
 
On the flip side, we know that the Cutie Pox can “give” marks and special talents, albeit in an uncontrollable and unfavourable fashion. This would imply that a pony’s special talent is in some way a sort of natural, subconscious magic. It comes to them as instinctively as breathing.
 
ADDTIONAL NOTE: Okay, Officer Hotpants here just reminded me of something else: Cutie Marks can be swapped under certain conditions. We all know the episode where Starlight managed to swap Celestia’s and Luna’s marks, and in doing so they seemingly lost their own powers and dominions over their own respective celestial entities whilst gaining that of the other. Further evidence for Special Talents being natural pony magic, rather then a biological component.
 
So that’s the point I’m wondering about: Is a pony’s special talent something innate, or something they develop?
FeatherTrap
Boot badge - It's Bootiful
Chatty Kirin - A user who has reached a combined 1000 forum posts or comments.
A toast - Incredibly based
Artist -
Liberty Belle - Sings the song of the unchained

Knight of Boops
@Officer Hotpants  
If you’re asking about my OC specifically-since that was what caused me to think about this in the first place…nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnno. :/
 
If you mean generally speaking, what do you mean? Are you referring to the Princesses?
 
Oh yes, let me edit that part in, gimmie a sec.
Barhandar
Fried Chicken - Attended an april fools event
Artist -
Liberty Belle - Sings the song of the unchained (Cheeky Breeky)

@FeatherTrap  
Innate, same way humans are inclined one way or the other, and thus subject to development in same manner, and also interpretation (Rarity isn’t a gem miner, Rarity is a fashion designer). MMC and CMC’s cutie marks are bullshit, you can’t bruteforce your cutie mark to be something you’re not actually good at like “being a cutie mark crusader” and it doesn’t indicate your “destiny”, merely things you’re going to be really good at.
 
Incidentally MMC would be a much better story if, instead of shoehorned “hurr durr desteenee pony with this cutie mark must always do the same career the one it belonged to originally did”, it would’ve reinterpreted the cutie marks, with the M5 being both good and happy at whatever “new” (relative to Twilight’s memories) things they do, and remembering it as the way it always was and hence doubting and resisting Twilight, and her having to persuade her friends and decide overall if it’s worth going back.
Syntax quick reference: **bold** *italic* ||hide text|| `code` __underline__ ~~strike~~ ^sup^ %sub%

Detailed syntax guide