Taquita had never gone to TACO for advice. Likewise, TACO had never offered advice to Taquita. Their father/daughter relationship at this point was mostly ceremonial.

But something nagged at Taquita. She'd been alive for a while now, and she still hadn't received her cutie mark. She watched as babbies emerged from their blister packs, and a mere two weeks later figured out what was going on and became Old Enough. There must have been something she was doing wrong.

So the best way for her to go about this was to talk to an adult and ask them how they figured out their purpose in life.

"Dad...." Taquita started, "I have a question I need your assistance with..."

"OH CRAP. I knew this day was coming. Listen, when a mommy Phony and and daddy Phony love each other very much...."

"DAD! NO! That's not what I was going to ask." She put her head down and slowly backed away while muttering, "I knew this was a bad idea."

TACO put his hoof on her, and wrangled her back in. In a father-like and uncharacteristic way, he gave her a hug. "What did you want to ask me about?"

She squirmed a little, but Taquita was trapped now; she had to continue the discussion. "When you were my age," she gulped, "how did you figure out your purpose in life?"

A glowing smile spread on TACO's face, "That's an easy one! I was staring at myself in the mirror and thinking about how amazing I was, and how much of a badass I was. Then, BAM! This sweet cutie mark appeared on my flank. My purpose in life is to be AWESOME and love myself and have others love me. Especially the ladies. My life is all about loving the ladies."

"So, it's that easy?"

"Yeah, it's that easy."

"Then why haven't I gotten my cutie mark yet?"

That stopped him. TACO thought about it. As always, thinking was not his strong point. "I usually see you with your nose in a book, or writing in your journal. Have you thought about something related to that?"

"Of course I ha--" Taquita started before cutting herself off. Actually, she hadn't thought about it much. She could have kicked herself. This whole time she was busy being sad and mopy that she hadn't thought of her writing as anything more than a hobby. It wasn't really that obvious, was it? Was it that simple?

Also, this entire time she was thinking about how much she hated her family, and her father in particular, but she really should have been focusing on love. TACO had a weird way of showing it, but he did care about her and her brothers a lot. She knew her purpose in life wasn't to love herself the way her father's was, but her cold heart had been thawing lately.

Taquita thought back on all the lessons she had learned. Uncle Honey taught her about kindness by building a secret hideaway for her. Morning Glory showed her how giving to others can be the best gift you can give yourself. Silly little Waddle made her laugh, and she discovered friendship can be found in odd places. Together with her brother, Draft Punk, she learned that being loyal to those around you was more important than looking out for your own interests. And finally, she was taught the importance of always being honest by her best friend End of an Era.

Ender. Taquita cared very much for her. It felt awkward right now though, and maybe Taquita's gloomy disposition was getting in the way of her enjoying life.

Of course, she realized that it was still okay to be sad sometimes. That was the way things worked. And whenever she felt really morose, Taquita always picked up her pencil and paper and wrote about it.

It really was that easy? Wasn't it?

Taquita freed herself from TACO's well-meaning grapple, and went to her room and began to write about all aspects of life and being. The poems all still had her usual dark tone, but there was an added beauty in that darkness.

Hours went by. She wasn't sure at what point in time her cutie mark appeared, but she did see it as she passed her reflection in the mirror. Taquita gave herself a satisfactory smile, and went to bed proud of herself and her day.