@Endrel  
While I know she played as Barbie, I know her more from anime as Sango, Nana and Greenback Jane.

@Endrel  
When she takes over the world, everypony will have to wear pretty dresses and have tea parties.

You know, I just realized, these smiles, Starlight’s trying to turn them all into Barbies!
 
Search up the roles of Starlight’s voice actress if you don’t get the joke.

@drumpowa  
Whatever, the case, I’m very interested in seeing what happens when Starlight shows up again.
 
>>866601 (deleted)

@LanceOmikron  
It’s a possibility that it could be spells from Eastern unicorn side of spell casting. Starlight, despite lying about the Staff of Sameness, seemed correct about Meadow Brook and the enchanted items; so there can be a modicum of truth that there are spells that fall into the grey area rather than good/evil magic. Remember the reforming spell?

@LanceOmikron  
I guess so, maybe Starlight modified it to better suit her needs, it might make more sense that it would be an out-dated method that Celestia doesn’t want others to replicate.

@Endrel  
With that explanation, I get the sense that Starlight adapted her spellwork from really ancient methods of prisoner control. Such stuff would simply be considered inequine in modern Equestria. Plus, if the unmarking method was still used in modern Equestrian prisons, I have a feeling that Twilight would have recognized it.

@LanceOmikron  
Going back to my prison explanation, the dulling of the personality would’ve made sure that rebellions would happen less, or the prisoners would be more cooperative.

@Endrel  
You’re right, it’s very possible that the personality-dulling was a result of the equal mark. We saw that the equal mark’s effect grew stronger over time (explaining why the mane six’s personalities were pretty much intact at first), and as the townsponies proved, the dulling effect could be resisted if they had the proper motivation.

@LanceOmikron  
Sorry to cut in, but Fluttershy’s personality wasn’t dulled, she didn’t become more callous or heartless because her cutie mark left, she just was unable to understand animals. Rarity’s drama-queen tendencies weren’t taken away, Rainbow Dash was still acting rather brash, and Twilight was still able to do a leader-roll. In-fact the only ones who seemed to have a personality quirk directly connected to their cutie mark got dulled, Applejack’s countryisms being connected to Apple upbringing, and Pinkie’s joy connected to her ability to give others joy.  
I think that the equal cutie mark is somewhat of an extreme power-limiter, maybe Starlight was a warden for a prison who would “equalize” prisoners who had special talents that could help them break out.

@drumpowa  
On the nature of cutie marks and talent-magic, I interpret it a little differently:
 
The cutie mark does contain magic, specifically the magic related to a pony’s special talent (alternatively, one could say that the CM is simply an image that represents a pony’s talent-magic). Starlight Glimmer’s spell pulls that talent-magic out of a pony, but unlike Tirek’s draining ability it only pulls out the talent-magic, leaving behind the baseline magic that all ponies share (the stuff that allows for unicorn telekinesis and pegasus flight/cloudwalking, etc).
 
Now, the talent-magic not only contains the talent itself, but also contains the inclination to perform that talent as well as the natural tendencies that go along with that talent. In theory, you could swap a cutie mark onto a different pony, and they’d become immediately proficient at that talent, and even become similar to the pony who first had it. But wait, didn’t Magical Mystery Cure disprove that? It may have proved that marks could be swapped, but the ReMane five sucked at performing each other’s talents. Right? Not necessarily.
 
See, the spell swapped their talent-magic just fine. The problem was that the talent-magic wasn’t used to the new body, and vise-versa. Essentially, the ReMane five weren’t properly synchronized with their new talent-magic, causing it to manifest imperfectly. Since swapping talent-magic also swaps the natural tendencies that go along with the talent, It would make sense that this would end up altering the new user’s personality to be more similar to the original owner of the magic (essentially creating a mix of the two personalities). But since the synchro rate was so low, this effect only manifested as an unnatural, inexplicable compulsion to perform the talent they now had.
 
In theory, if Applejack (for example) had a 100% synchro rate with Rarity’s magic, she’d likely become Applejewel for real.
 
Since the talent-magic houses a part of a pony’s personality, that’s why their personalities dulled when Starlight Glimmer pulled it out of them.

@JP
 
@requiem-dirge
 
@LanceOmikron  
I’ve been contemplating this since that episode came out; here are my thoughts:
 
First off, I attribute the cutie mark as a confirmation of the conscious (what makes you, “you”) so IMO it isn’t powered. In Magical Mystery Cure, we get more info explaining that in pony culture, they view it as their “destiny”. This obvious since they know their purpose from that point on; their destination. (Higher powers need not apply). Twilight affixed a spell that randomized her friends CMs. Seeing as how her friends did not do great work with the other pony’s work, the mark isn’t tied to the magic; it’s tied the identity. This is why Twi said their true “selves” (or the self, singular) have been altered or swapped. That’s why they were having existential crises over why they were bad at what they thought was their “destiny”.
 
Bringing this over to the S4 Finale where Tirek was capable completely draining any raw magic, it practically sucked their soul from their bodies; with no magic their was no magic to display the CM. It doesn’t kill them, or even leave them as soulless husks but it severely drains them and heavily depowers ponies and draconequus. Then in “The Cuite Map” with what Starlight Glimmer did to separating the mark and replacing it with an equal sign, it seems congruent with what I said earlier. It replaces ones identity with one that is equal. It also appears to be magical as it suppresses their powers (RD’s speed, FS’s animal talk) and their identities (AJ’s countryisms, PP’s exuberance). The difference between Starswirl’s spell and Starlight’s spell is that Starswirl’s is permanent and changed at the core while Glimmer’s is temporary and done from the surface.
 
Now with that primer said, I would say that IMO the cutie mark can NOT be destroyed and if it can I would say it would cause a mental/psychotic breakdown, but again I would think that it would require a large amount of energy to destroy. New destiny? If one has a breakdown and a mental condition or amnesia I’d say extremely rare but possible. Reminds me of an anime called Golden Time.
 
The death of a pony? Well first off, I don’t think that magic will just disappear, personally due to 1st law of thermodynamics. So Tirek keeps their magic and Glimmer may or may not keep the CMs; it could evaporate upon air contact or just remain aimless as there is no magic to go back to.
 
However I’ll say this. That upon death, does it remain in a pony or not? I could go either way. If magic is released upon death then, then CM disappears akin to “giving up the ghost”, their “giving up the magic”. I would think as the last breath is taken, it’s slowly released into the air and probably the same way for more violent deaths. If the magic remains, the CM stays but then their essentially batteries for any grave-robber to utilize as energy outside of gruesome insta-kills. Too bad for the Hearts and Hooves Day closed casket funeral.
 
 
cross-exams, rebuttals welcome

These smiles are nothing but sugar coated frowns and lies. I must find the truth to make them realize that an utopia is impossible to achieve.

@JP  
I suppose that’s possible. We still know very little about cutie mark separation, after all. I want to say that the mark would continue to exist. Otherwise, Tirek would have been kinda SOL if all the magic he ate disappeared once the ponies it came from all died.
 
Though even if they disappeared upon the owner’s death, Glimmer might have decided to kill them anyway to eliminate any witnesses. That way, she could go somewhere else and start a new town.

@requiem-dirge  
If they can pull themselves up from the inevitable depression that follows the cutie mark destruction, then maybe there’s a chance.

@JP  
What if a Cutie Mark is destroyed, instead? How would it affect its owner? Would it be possible for a pony to create a new destiny for themselves?

@LanceOmikron  
Do cutie marks continue to exist/have power after their owner dies? Maybe her collection would have been useless if she had killed the ponies?

@drumpowa  
I also get the sense that it being a kids show is the only thing that stopped Starlight from outright murdering everypony once it was clear that the villagers had all turned against her. She could have totally done it.

Imagine, if Starlight really wanted to break them, she would’ve isolated them and subjected them to far longer brainwashing than a kid’s show probably could get away with.

@JP
 
I don’t see no cutie mark. Only a pissed off draconequus.
 
Besides, Starlight already attempted it on Spike.

Imagine Discord’s reaction to this.
 
Imagine if Discord somehow got equalized.

@Killian_Joy  
That’s the intent of it. It’s a frightening what-if.

Pinkie looks like her mum.

Pinkie would NEVER smile like that. Even her normal fake smiles look more convincing then that.

@Killian_Joy
 
With the most horrible figurative masks ever seen on ponies…