Most Important Element?

[Cheesy G Nacho 88]

Out of the Elements of Harmony, which do you truly think is THE MOST IMPORTANT in a great friendship with another?  What Element do you look for in another person?  Personally, I think honesty is the most important one, but let's hear what you guys have to say for it!

 

And I have no idea what forum this belongs in :/

[Eliash147 159]

Loyalty Would be important from experience

[Visual Spectrum 1,932]

I would say it would be honesty. A honest friend is a true friend and would not abandon you, so that would have loyalty. You know you can count on them. Honesty is something I personally look for in a friend.

[Megas 27,571]

They're all equally important

[NiceVillains 244]

Technically, the one that is most likely to break friendships up when removed. Which could very well be loyalty.

[Jeric 46,850]

None is more important than the other, and all six are not limited to just their standard definition that one normally associates with the term.

 

Laughter isn't just making people smile, it is also about encouragement and hope

 

Generosity can also be forgiveness (magnanimous)

 

Kindness is also empathy

 

Loyalty is also attributed with a trans-personal community driven desire to improve others

 

Honesty is also about openness and communication.

 

Magic is Friendship right? Magic binds the elements together. That means that without one of the above there can be no Magic. There can be no sustainable or fulfilling friendship. 

 

 

Liars, backstabbers, jerks, self-centered, selfish and unforgiving, negative people tend to lead to ... conflict. Also Muggles.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

They all have a part to play. While in theory you could have one without the other; it really takes the whole lot to have a strong & true friendship.

 

And honestly, @Jeric said it best, so I'll leave it at that.

[Miles 2,512]

Here's a kicker... I'm going to break this up two ways - one: in the show; two: IRL...

 

In the show: Magic.  

 

IRL: None of the above.  

 

Wait... WHAT?

 

Yes, I feel that there is an element IRL that is not explicitly given in the show.  

 

And what that be?

 

Mutual consciousness.  

 

Uhhh... what now?

 

The number 1 element of friendship IRL is a deep, strong connection, kind of like a sixth sense.  A true friend is someone who knows how you're feeling, what you believe, and knows your logic - whenever you are together.  It creates a special bond because a true friend understands you, and is a part of you.  It's something that can't be broken easily at all once achieved.  A true friend is someone who, just by looking at you, knows what you're thinking.  A true friend is someone who could effectively substitute [for] you in a situation where you couldn't be, as to thus tell <what would think/do/say> in basically any situation.

After saying this, I have contemplated a bit about my own friends.  And now I'm smiling thinking of the person who could do that for me.  We've grown up together.  He's like a brother to me.  Even though we've gone separate routes after high school - I'm at a different college - we still have this bond.  And it's grown so deep I don't think it will ever fade.

 

 

 

You'll never see this, Ben, but you are a part of me that will never fade.  You are my true friend.

But, that's okay... because I know what you're response would be.  You wouldn't, and don't have to say anything.  I just know.  I... just... know.

 

 

[Spagem 505]

Obviously Magic.

 

Honesty. Why?

 

I would say it would be honesty. A honest friend is a true friend and would not abandon you, so that would have loyalty. You know you can count on them. 

This right here. 

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

Obviously they're all important. Each element is a critical component of friendship. Subtract any of them and relationships strain or falter, though it may take a while and many incidents for it to occur. Had I to choose one as paramount though, it would be loyalty. Actions speak louder than words, as people are quick to point out at any opportunity, and nothing demonstrates genuine friendship and depth of feeling than remaining by one's side through travails, fear, insecurity, and loneliness. I exhibit the other elements to everyone I meet to the best of my ability: being honest (though tactful), generous to those in need, and showing common kindness and courtesy (an easy feat, and one that often gets you the same treatment in return), but loyalty is something more intimate. Loyalty carries a greater risk for heartache when the other person doesn't reciprocate. All of us who have walked this earth for nearly two decades or more have been there at some point in our lives, haven't we? If not, I'm sure you will eventually. Trust is a component of loyalty, and as Pinkie taught us, losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend, forever.

 

In all of my friendships I've come up short in some capacity. There have been times where in either frustration with the other person or due to painful circumstances in my personal life or at work, I've not been very kind. Perhaps even lashing out at them without warrant. I've told those "little white lies" we all try to rationalize, although somewhere deep inside we're still berated by our conscious. There have been times where I've held back of my possessions or time when somebody else could have used either because I was simply feeling too stingy, and I knew they would pull through easily enough anyway. Always I'll come to my senses and patch things up with my friends where necessary, and they've always been forgiving. Probably because it's all part of human nature and they know they've done the same or been so tempted. Likewise, nearly every friend of mine has so transgressed against me, and I too forgave them for it.

 

However, to leave somebody destitute materially or emotionally, helpless, when it's within one's power to pull them up, is not so easy to brush off. Even worse, renouncing a friend for the sake of convenience or to gain acceptance with another person or group of people. Sometimes it's not even something so drastic or life-altering. Only being a friend to somebody when things are going good and vanishing in times of need, rendering the person little more than a plaything, for example. You don't just sweep that under the rug. People get mad to hear of robberies, muggings, murders, vandalism, and political corruption, as do I, but nothing enrages me beyond reason like somebody who leaves their family or abuses someone who entrusts their safety to them — betrayal. Of all the foolish mistakes I've made and no doubt will repeat so long as I live, forsaking a friend will not be one of them. I've been there. I know the pain not only of loss, but of being discarded, and that's not something I'll inflict on another.

 

 

Above all, my friends have my loyalty. Maybe I can't always be there for them no matter how much I want to be. Maybe I'll hurt them in trying to help them. Reality can be cruel like that. Regardless, I'll always stand by them through thick and thin whenever it's within my ability, and I'll sacrifice whatever I need to in order to ensure they're alright. So long as we stick by each other like that, we can work through anything else. Lose that sense of loyalty, allow such trust to go unrequited, and everything falls apart.

 

 

On the other hand, acts of loyalty can do more than all the rest combined to strengthen a relationship...

 

---

 

Oh, hey, look! An opportunity to relate something to Star Trek! Can't pass up this opportunity!

 

Actually, I'm going to let Picard explain most of it in an anecdotal fashion. Some context needs to be provided first due to the premise of this episode as one really needs to catch it from the beginning. He's stranded on a planet with the captain of an alien ship that the Federation has never been able to communicate with. The reason is because although their universal translator can make sense of their words, it can't make sense of the grammar. Basically, this race communicates entirely by metaphor. Every thought is conveyed by citing an event that happened in their mythology or history. Picard is speaking with him after they fought a fierce creature and trying to learn more about why he was brought to that planet and how their language works. I think their situation and that of the story the alien captain is telling teaches an important lesson about the nature and significance of loyalty in a relationship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tl;dr - loyalty

[Miles 2,512]

[loyalty]

 

After reading your post, I kind of wish I had stated in my post that I think loyalty is very important as well.  But in a way, with how I explained everything in my post, I think loyalty goes hand in hand (implicitly) with what I said about mutual consciousness.  I mean, to have such a strong mutual bond with someone, it's basically a given that you are loyal to each other.

 

---

 

I also didn't explain why I chose magic for the show... when I said that, I wasn't specifically referring to Twilight's magic (as being her element), but rather, general, over-arching magic.  

 

Let me elaborate here:

 

before they had their elements given to them, they already had a pre-existing bond.  They all represented their elements without knowing it.  It was an implicit "given" so-to-speak.  This bond in and of itself represents the magic [of friendship].  So, I guess in a way, what I mean is that you don't need to have explicitly known elements to successfully have the magic of friendship.

 

Which, again, falls hand in hand with my explanation of mutual consciousness -  ergo, you just know without [it] being said.  That is the magic of friendship; a powerful bond.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Well when refering to the show, magic would be the most important element of "friendship" as it is the element that binds all the other 5 together. Like a strong glue it keeps the 5 together and whole and far more potent than they ever would be on their own. It is the "force" of the frienship is magic world. Binding all the important elements together in a way that none of the other single elements can accomplish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for in reality, money. Because dolla dolla bills y'all.

[Unravelings 70]

I remember studying ethics at school and there was this stuff about the hierarchy of values by Max Scheler.

I'm sure you can rank them by importance if you use Max Scheler's theory.

 

look it up, im dumb

 

[Cheesy G Nacho 88]

All such good and insightful answers!!!

I didn't expect to start a feels train for some of you!

[Abia 258]

Having a friend who can only act on one element would be having a very poor friend indeed. However, if I were to choose a sole element, I would pick loyalty. Loyalty is what binds friends to each other. It gives a reason to be generous, honest, a motivation for making people smile and a longterm benefit to being kind. Loyalty is what I mainly look for in my friends, as I want someone who I can call a companion, someone who will stick by my side. Even if they are unable to make me smile or help out when I'm having a difficult time, I know that they will at least be present for me, which to me matters more than anything.

[Metemponychosis 1,260]

My opinion is that every single one of them is just as important as the others. I think that is the message that in the very first episode.

Despite only one being stuck in a princess...

 

Maybe I'm just too picky... But I think that one can't really go without the others. Kinda Utopian, though.

[The Crimson Cross 7,532]

Kindness can be enough to save someone's life, and life is a very precious thing.

I think they're all of the same importance, but I believe the power of kindness is the most powerful! 

[Rainboom Dash 1,056]

Magic is probably the most important. It ties all the other elements together.

[Darker 1,351]

Magic, of course, the only one that bothered Discord.

[RDashFan85 46]

They're all important in my opinion. You need to have all of those traits in your life. It's sad to say that a lot of bronies don't have any if those qualities At all.

[Bronyshock 3]

Honesty. Without it everyone would be a liar and a cheat. Makes sense right?

[Athena-hime15 17]

The element of kindness. 

Edited August 26, 2014 by Athena-hime15

[RDashFan85 46]

Honesty. Without it everyone would be a liar and a cheat. Makes sense right?

But the thing is everyone is already a liar tho. So no one is honest in this dark world we live in.

[epzik8 92]

In the show, it's magic because "magic makes it all complete" and Twilight Sparkle is the leader of the Mane Six. But the other five elements have also been used for good things.

[RDashFan85 46]

I'll say kindness I guess since I've seen some kindness In this world.