Which pony do you think doesn't deserve her element?

[MysticWolficorn 75]

Just curious because there's alot of people who think some ponies don't deserve their element.

Edited October 18, 2020 by MysticWolficorn

[Sunny Fox 5,894]

A word of warning... threads like these tend to go off-rail, and become basically a place for users to hate on their least favourite pony. I've seen it happen before. But I'm old and jaded, so let's hope for the best...

That said, I think the Mane Six all embody/deserve their element pretty well for the most part. They do sometimes act counter to them (and not just when Discord is, y'know, Discording them), and you could find examples of this for each of them if you want. So I respectfully abstain from voting.

(I'd suggest a "None of them" and "All of them" option for the poll too)

[Flutterstep 40,156]

I think Rainbow is less loyal, but the most honest out of her friends, so she should get that element instead.  The same goes for Applejack, being more loyal and less honest, not always voicing her opinion when needed. 

[Concerned Bystander 2,858]

Lets face it, we all know that Rainbow Dash is the real element of honesty but the writers made that mistake way back in the second episode and were kind of stuck with it after that.  Because of that, Applejack can't really be honesty, and loyalty would probably be a better fit for her anyway because of her strong family ties.  Then you have Rarity, aside from the occasional gesture is she really that generous?

[DubWolf 15,738]

It’s not the characters’ fault, I just don’t think the writers put that much thought into how some of them would show their element.

Obviously magic, kindness, laughter, honesty, those are self explanatory. Fluttershy is always kind, Pinkie tried to make everyone smile (literally), AJ ... tells the truth? I don’t think it’s very easy to really show “loyalty” or “generosity” all that well. Early on people didn’t really Rarity as generous. The only way she really showed it well enough was giving part of her tail hair for what’s his name’s mustache. Dash demonstrating so withholding from the Shadow Bolts. Although for a while it wasn’t so obvious, so it felt.

Generosity doesn’t have to be material donations; could just be giving your time or doing something selfless often. Loyalty.... what was Dash loyal to? I think all the friends were loyal to each other. Maybe a different element would suit her. Loyalty seems like something anyone could have, but it’s going to be shown different for all.
 

Agree with @Concerned Bystander. AJ has a big loyalty to her family. If when we mean loyalty we tend to mean people (like how dogs are loyal to humans), she’s got it when it comes to family.

Edited October 17, 2020 by WWolf

[Nsxile 19,720]

5 hours ago, Flutterstep said:

I think Rainbow is less loyal, but the most honest out of her friends, so she should get that element instead.  The same goes for Applejack, being more loyal and less honest, not always voicing her opinion when needed. 

I disagree and I think she fits her element the best e.g. in Wonderbolts Academy she was prepared to give up her dream for her friends, in Sonic Rainboom, rather than letting Rarity, her competitor (who was supposed be supporting her rather than competing against her), and the Wonderbolts fall to their deaths, she instead went after them and saved them, in Over A Barrel, she was pretty much the only one to go looking for Spike after he had been captured by the Buffalo, in Dragon Quest, she goes with Rarity and Twilight to keep on eye Spike and ultimately put herself in danger when she had no real obligation to (and also went to the butterfly migration with Fluttershy, when she had no obligation to (and Fluttershy didn't return the favour)), in The Cutiemark Chronicles she sticks up for Fluttershy against the bullies (and her decision to do so ultimately leads to the events of the Sonic Rainboom and the Mane Six receiving their cutiemarks (thus creating the connection between them)), in Sleepless In Ponyville, she saves Scootaloo from falling down a waterfall and even takes her under her wing by the end of the episode, in May The Best Pet Win! she chooses to have tank as her pet even though he's slow, boring and had none of the qualities she was originally looking for in a pet and is shown to have grown to secretly show affection for him in Just For Sidekicks. And even the worst episodes like TMMDW still show why she is the bearer of that element e.g. in the aforementioned episode, after being humiliated and having her fanbase stolen by her hypocritical friends (including Applejack), she still sticks with them in the end.

Also RD lied about eating the cake in MMMystery On The Friendship Express, and at many other points in the show... The element of honesty really doesn't fit her. Nor does the element of loyalty fit Applejack (especially in the case of her friends, considering her role in TMMDW, The Last Roundup and 28 Pranks Later).

[EpicEnergy 21,447]

I think they all deserve their elements! 

[HedonismBot 208]

10 hours ago, Sunny Fox said:

That said, I think the Mane Six all embody/deserve their element pretty well for the most part. They do sometimes act counter to them (and not just when Discord is, y'know, Discording them), and you could find examples of this for each of them if you want. So I respectfully abstain from voting.

My thoughts exactly. If anything, letting them be vulnerable to temptation (while acting in accordance with their element in the end) adds to their character.

[Jesse Terrence 2,390]

9 hours ago, Flutterstep said:

I think Rainbow is less loyal, but the most honest out of her friends, so she should get that element instead.  The same goes for Applejack, being more loyal and less honest, not always voicing her opinion when needed. 

You just adressed something we used to talk a lot about back in the early fandom days xD

The whole thing was so notorious that swaping their elements became a running gag on Friendship is Witchcraft.

As much as I love AJ as a character, she's not honest as much as she probably should, going to extremes such as hiding away just to not admit truths she doesn't like. However, her family values make her loyalty shine brighter than her honesty.

As for Dash, she's short on being loyal, being too prone to fall to temptations all the time (such as the whole games thing with the representation dilema, as an obvious example on her flaws regarding loyalty).

She seems to admit easier to hard truths than AJ does as well, and she's far more blunt on droping opinions than any other pony from the mane 6.

The deeper I look into it, the more it looks like they were wrote swaped regarding their element.

Now, as for the other characters, Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershutter are on point. Would argue Twi was out of element in the movie, but the magic element is not the element of friendship. All in all, we barely know what the hay is it about. The show was never quite dedicated to explain what her element was about, and more often than not they played it in the most literal manner, so we could say it is what it says on the thin.

Now, Rarity is a huge problem here. She doesn't quite live up to be generous. She's passionate to her craft and bussiness, but not the same can be said about her being genuinely generous. She gives gifts away and tips workers often, but more than being a generous act it could be a matter of customs and good manners. So I guess she really isn't a good example on her element. She's more kindness oriented than generous oriented, but we already have a diehard kind one.

My pick would be RD, AJ and Rarara, being AJ and RD just swaped.

[Splashee 28,471]

Twilight Sparkle, or should I say Princess Twilight Sparkle?

 

She used magic, her own element to become a princess, and let her friends suffer because of it. And then of course, she stole a pearl, and made her friends cry! And lastly, she outlived them. What an element bearer indeed!

[MysticWolficorn 75]

I always thought Rarity never acted like her element. She makes Spike do all her dirty work, and made him give his birthday present to her. Definetely the element of Generousity everyone.

Edited November 10, 2020 by MysticWolficorn