Of Cutie Marks and Blank Flanks

[Kitsune the Wolfdog]

I have been working on an MLP:FIM original character. Part of the reason that I decided my character would typically wear a dress is because I haven't been able to decide on a cutie mark. The character wears clothes to cover her "blank flank". That has been bothering me some because I didn't want to step outside of the in universe rules with the character. It's the reason she is a unicorn instead of an alicorn  . So yeah, an adult without a cutie mark? It doesn't really work with what we have seen with the show, right? Well... not entirely true it seems. http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_ponies this is a list of all known ponies. While it doesn't tell us all the cutie marks, it does describe several, and more importantly, it tells us who doesn't have a cutie mark!

Burnt Oak, Chilly Puddle, Flounder and Forest Spirit. According to mlp.wikia, these ponies do not have cutie marks. I think there are more, but I stopped checking there. Eiffel's cutie mark isn't visible in his picture but is briefly seen in the show making this an oversight. Candy Mane has no visible cutie mark. It was stated that in one instance this is an oversight, but she has been in several episodes where this is not addressed.

I was watching "A Dog and Pony Show" and was surprised to see that Sapphire Shores didn't have a cutie mark. According to her wikia page, it was an oversight and her toy design has one, but as the quote below shows, it is clearly not the same pony.
"G3 Sapphire Shores also has a seashell cutie mark while G4 Sapphire Shores has no visible cutie mark due to a design oversight,[1] though the mystery pack toy line depicts G4 Sapphire Shores with a seashell cutie mark as well. It is also worth noting that the toy is a Unicorn and not an Earth pony."

So that brings me to my point. Can an adult pony not have a cutie mark? You get one when you discover your one true talent. Is it possible that even an extremely successful and well known pony could not have a cutie mark? You would assume that her cutie mark would be related to her eventual occupation, but that may not be the case. And what about the other ponies who apparently don't have cutie marks? Is it possible for a pony to never get a cutie mark, ever? Is the cutie predestined? Meaning that if you take a different path in life ( Like the CMC are trying to do? silly fillies  ) it will never appear? If Applejack had never seen that sonic rainboom and realized her place was at home and instead stayed with her relatives, would she have never gotten her cutie mark?

Summarizing question: Is it possible to have an adult pony without a cutie mark, and are the predestined? What does everypony think?

[Alsek]

If your special special talent is something like, "Apples," and you work on an apple farm growing up,  you're probably likely to encounter it and experience it very quickly.  Hence,  Apple Jack.  If your special special talent is magic itself,  and you're a unicorn?  Also likely that you'll discover this rather quickly... Like twilight.


However,  What if your talent is something you would have to be older and more experienced to encounter at all?  What if your special talent is,  for example,  medicine?

Means going through school  and then medical school  and then clinicals,  and then at some point whenever the defining moment is that you discover it's your passion.  Due to cost and years of time involved,  you might never discover it in that case.

[Kitsune the Wolfdog]

your first part about Applejack and Twilight is kinda my point. It was only because of the sonic rainboom that they got their cutie marks. Twilight was flunking her entrance exam and Applejack was staying with the oranges. If Rainbow Dash had failed or they had missed it they might never have gotten their cutie marks... That was kinda the point about that episode.

Your second point though was exactly what I wanted everyponies opinion on. Is a ponies cutie mark destined to be a certain symbol? If so, is it possible for somepony to take a different path in life and never get their cutie mark? I suppose this is moving into in universe "meaning of life" type questions about fate, but the real question is more about the cutie marks.

Thanks for your answer! I can't wait to see what everypony else thinks!