The Cutie Re-Mark

{{Infobox television episode | series = [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]] | image = | caption = | season = 5 | episode = 25 and 26 | writer = Josh Haber | director = * Denny Lu * [[Jayson Thiessen]] (consulting) | music = | editor = | airdate = {{Start date|2015|11|28}} | length = 44 minutes (combined) | guests = | prev = [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 5#ep115|The Mane Attraction]] | next = [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 6#ep118|The Crystalling]]"<hr>"[[My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Friendship Games]] | season_article = My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (season 5) | episode_list = List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes }} "'''The Cutie Re-Mark'''" is the collective name for the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth episodes of the [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 5|fifth season]] of the [[Animated series|animated]] television series ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' as well as the 116th and 117th episodes of the series overall. Written by Josh Haber and directed by Denny Lu, the two episodes center around [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Starlight Glimmer|Starlight Glimmer]], who tries to take revenge from the [[Mane 6]] by going back in time and preventing them from ever meeting each other. Released on November 28, 2015, the plot of the episode received mixed reviews from critics. {{Who|date=March 2026}}

== Plot == At the School for Gifted Unicorns, [[Twilight Sparkle]] gives a lecture about [[cutie mark]]s and tells how she and her friends got their cutie marks. Twilight gets nervous after briefly seeing [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Starlight Glimmer|Starlight Glimmer]] in the audience, who disappears immediately. After finishing the lecture, Twilight, together with [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Spike|Spike]] who was accompanying her during the school visit, returns to the Castle of Friendship. In the throne room, they find Starlight, who has returned to seek for revenge after Twilight and her friends [[The Cutie Map|ruined her "utopian" society]].

Using [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Pillars of Old Equestria|Star Swirl the Bearded]]'s time travel spell, Starlight travels back in time with a portal to the point [[Rainbow Dash]] [[The Cutie Mark Chronicles|performed her first Sonic Rainboom]] in [[Equestria#Cloudsdale|Cloudsdale]], which allowed Twilight and her friends to obtain their cutie marks at the same time. Twilight and Spike follow her, but are unable to prevent Starlight from using her magic to stop Rainbow Dash. The portal re-opens and the trio are back to the present again, where they find [[Equestria#Ponyville|Ponyville]] desolate and near deserted.

At Sweet Apple Acres, which is now a heavily industrialized apple-processing plant, Twilight and Spike encounter [[Applejack (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|Applejack]], who doesn't remember either of them. She explains that [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Crystal Empire characters|King Sombra]] returned and forced all [[Equestria#Other ponies|Crystal ponies]] into his army in a war against Equestria, with the rest of the [[Mane Six]] being a part of [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Princess Celestia|Princess Celestia]]'s army. Hearing this, Twilight reuses the spell to take them back to the past again. However, Starlight altered the spell to arrive earlier than Twilight and proceeds to talk with the bullies of filly [[Fluttershy]], making them befriend each other.

With Fluttershy no longer being bullied, Rainbow Dash does not have to perform the Sonic Rainboom and refuses after Twilight asks her to do so. The portal takes them to the present for a second time, where Ponyville is covered with dense trees. The duo land in another alternate present, where they encounter several ponies, including Fluttershy and [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Pinkie Pie|Pinkie Pie]] with spears, accusing them of being disguised [[Equestria#Changelings|Changelings]] and try to destroy them.

Twilight and Spike insist that they are not Changelings. A potion brewed by [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Everfree Forest characters|Zecora]] shows they come from a different reality, calming everyone down. Zecora takes them to a forest camp where they are hiding and explains that [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Changeling characters|Queen Chrysalis]] took over Equestria after [[A Canterlot Wedding|her attack on Canterlot]] was successful. Upon hearing this, Twilight explains the whole situation with Starlight. Suddenly, Chrysalis and her Changeling army attack the camp. Twilight and Spike immediately go back to the Cutie Map and return to the past, where Starlight is waiting for them.

Now back in Cloudsdale, Twilight fights with Starlight in a magic battle, attracting the attention of Rainbow Dash and the bullies, preventing the Sonic Rainboom from happening again. The portal pulls Twilight and Spike to the future for a third time. They land in a forest during nighttime, where they are chased to the Castle of the Two Sisters by [[Wolf|timberwolves]]. In the castle, the duo meet [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Princess Luna|Nightmare Moon]], the evil alter-ego of Princess Luna, who [[Friendship Is Magic (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|returned after a thousand years]] of imprisonment, banishing Celestia to the moon and started ruling Equestria in eternal night, also having [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters#Rarity|Rarity]] and Rainbow Dash working for her.

After hearing of their experience with time travel, Nightmare Moon demands to know how they did it, taking Spike hostage. Twilight takes her to the Cutie Map, unexpectedly frees Spike, and returns to the past. Twilight and Spike repeatedly fail to stop Starlight from altering the past and are now trapped in a [[time loop]], creating alternate versions of Equestria ruled by [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Lord Tirek|Lord Tirek]], [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Discord|Discord]] and [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Las Pegasus characters|Flim and Flam]].

Twilight and Spike then forcibly take Starlight through the portal with them so she can see the consequences of her actions. This time, they arrive in a deserted wasteland. Starlight refuses to believe them and shows them her own childhood, revealing that she lost touch with her friend [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters#Crystal Empire characters|Sunburst]] after he earned his cutie mark and left to study magic in Canterlot. This led her to believe that cutie marks ruin friendships. Back in Cloudsdale in the past, Starlight, desperate to prove her point, threatens to rip the time scroll in half, but Twilight convinces her to give friendship another chance, and all three return to the unaltered present together. After consulting with her friends, Twilight takes Starlight on as her student, and her friends accept her as a friend as well.

== Production == A two-minute animatic was shown at the 2015 [[San Diego Comic-Con International|San Diego Comic-Con]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKQKtHco1bI|title=Season 5 Finale Animatic From SDCC 2015|work=YouTube|date=2015-07-10|accessdate=2015-07-10}}</ref> In both episodes, each featured character was designed by Kora Kosicka and Fernanda Ribeiro.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=R_dart|number=670644292960948224|title=Man, this finale|author=Rebecca Dart|date=November 28, 2015|accessdate=December 1, 2021}}</ref> The season finale was the final time [[Jayson Thiessen]] was involved with the show as his attention completely shifted to directing [[My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)|the 2017 theatrical movie based on the series]].<ref>{{cite tweet|user=goldenrusset|number=670650449641377792|title=The season 5 finale marks the end of my 6 year run Directing MLP:FIM TV series|author=Jayson Thiessen|date=November 28, 2015|accessdate=December 1, 2021}}</ref> The only song featured in the episodes is "Friends Are Always There For You", which is sung by Starlight Glimmer and the Mane Six in the second part. The song was composed by [[Daniel Ingram (composer)|Daniel Ingram]], with the [[mandolin]] part being made by Caleb Chan.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=calebthechan|number=530476210737147907|title=Rainy day|author=Caleb Chan|date=November 6, 2014|accessdate=December 1, 2021}}</ref>

== Broadcast and reception == The two episodes aired back-to-back on [[Discovery Family]] on November 28, 2015. According to the [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen household ratings]], the season 5 finale viewed by approximately 0.06 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of broadcast and had a total of 325.000 viewers.<ref name=CRM>{{cite web|url=http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-saturday-cable-originals-network-update-11-28-2015.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151202214406/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-saturday-cable-originals-network-update-11-28-2015.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 2, 2015|title=Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.28.2015|author=Mitch Metcalf|work=Showbuzz Daily|date=December 2, 2015|access-date=December 2, 2015}}</ref>

Daniel Alvarez from ''Unleash the Fanboy'' gave the episode 8 out of 10 stars.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|author=Daniel Alvarez|url=http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-the-cutie-re-mark-review/138574|title=My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic "The Cutie Re-Mark" Review|date=November 30, 2015|access-date=December 1, 2021|archive-date=October 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030123904/http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-the-cutie-re-mark-review/138574|url-status=live}}</ref> Alvarez said that the show has reputation of reforming antagonists, which is "often labeled negatively." He added that the redemption part of the story has been done well, but this was "at the expense of Starlight Glimmer’s role as a villain", whom he labelled as "one of the show’s finest antagonists."<ref name="auto"/> ''[[Screen Rant]]'' ranked "The Cutie Re-Mark" the seventh-best season finale according to [[IMDb]], with Part 1 and Part 2 getting a rating of 8.3 and 8.2 out of 10 respectively.<ref>{{cite web |title=My Little Pony: Every Season Finale, Ranked According to IMDb |url=https://screenrant.com/my-little-pony-season-finale-best-worst-imdb |website=[[Screen Rant]] |access-date=June 10, 2021 |date=November 21, 2019 |first=Carly |last=Olsen |archive-date=June 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610124913/https://screenrant.com/my-little-pony-season-finale-best-worst-imdb/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Home media == The two part season finale is part of the "Exploring the Crystal Empire" [[DVD region code#1|Region 1]] DVD by [[Shout! Factory]] which was made available in stores on February 7, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/tv/animation/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-exploring-the-crystal-empire|title=My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Exploring The Crystal Empire|publisher=[[Shout! Factory]]|date=November 4, 2016|access-date=November 4, 2016|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512053024/https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-exploring-the-crystal-empire|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also available complete Season 5 DVD Set released on July 12, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Season Five |url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-five?product_id=4664 |publisher=[[Shout! Factory]] |access-date=May 26, 2021 |archive-date=May 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526023925/https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-season-five?product_id=4664 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links == * {{IMDb episode|4534344|The Cutie Re-Mark – Part 1}} * {{IMDb episode|4534346|The Cutie Re-Mark – Part 2}}

{{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes|5|state=expanded}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutie Re-Mark, The}} [[Category:My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes]] [[Category:2015 American television episodes]] [[Category:2015 Canadian television episodes]]