Question? Did we ever find out what happens if a pony’s cutie mark gets injured? Does it get affected? What about when a pony dies? My headcannon right now is that when a pony dies, the Cutie Mark fades…no two ponies have the same cutie mark…but, if a pony dies their cutie mark disappears leaving their flank blank again, later on their cutie mark’s design and shape can make a reappearance in the future but on another pony. In other words, ALL cutie marks are in circulation, so if, for an example, when Granny Smith died, her cutie mark would vanish leaving the corpse’s flank blank…later on in the future, that SAME apple pie cutie mark MAY make its appearance again…but on filly or colt in a future generation. So, if this was true, due to Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Rarity’s cutie mark being tie to the Elements of Harmony, and assuming that Twilight’s immortal…she will have to leave her friends forever…but, if the Elements can’t be wielded without their owners’ lives and cutie marks, those five crucial cutie marks will fade off the Mane 5’s flanks…but, they are now in “circulation” and all Twilight has to do to get the Elements of Harmony BACK is keep an eye on all the foals in Equestria, and wait for her friends cutie marks to turn up later. Many moons may pass before the Mane 5’s cutie marks make their appearance, but eventually…Twilight, who has been waiting for her friends’ cutie marks to return, knows the ONLY cutie mark that would be able to be recognized is Rainbow Dash’s whose cutie mark is the most iconic of her friends’ cutie marks…thousands of moons later, Twilight gets the news…a young earth pony has just earned a cutie mark…the cutie mark is three balloons, two blue with yellow strings and one yellow with a blue string…Her friend Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark has just made its reappearance after over a thousand moons and Twilight knows due to her friends’ cutie marks, the others have to have appeared…and they have…Twilight seeks out the new 5 ponies (unfortunately not Sunny’s friends and befriends them as the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony!