The Next Element Bearers · 4:29am May 10th, 2014
I've always wondered about this ever since Celestia said in Return of Harmony that she is "no longer connected to the Elements." Her and Luna were their original bearers, but for some unknown reason the Elements "abandoned" them, so to speak, and went on to new bearers, the current Mane Six. So does that mean that eventually the Elements will move on to yet another six bearers? I mean obviously when the current six die they will no longer be the Element bearers, but the real question is can and will this happen within their lifetimes? Is this even possible?
I personally think yes. In my strange and fucked up headcanon (you guys really have no idea lol) I see the Elements leaving Twi and the gang when they become middle aged and go to the next generation. Why? Well, in my view the six will be too old to continue saving the day, and the burden is better placed on the next generation anyway since it will now be their world to mold and protect, not Twi and the gang's; they had their turn. I actually have all six new Element bearers as ocs (the Next Six), and plan on showcasing them on my last fic on this site (before I run away and leave forever), but that's a long time away.
What do you all think?
I agree one hundred percent
2094557
It'd be interesting to see how the Mane Six react to losing their status as Element bearers and deal with no longer being as "special" as they used to be. Technically they're no longer the bearers now, but that was a voluntary thing and they still are connected, so it doesn't count.
im up for it.
I just wrote out my headcanon for this, but it was confusing, so I'll put it in list form.
1. All mane six become alicorns, and are immortal.
2. Luna and Celestia step down and give up leadership of Equestria to the Mane Six, and become hermits.
3. Equestria becomes by far the most powerful nation in the world, and expands it's borders. Everfre forest is cut down.
4. Through the stress of ruling a country and the grating of nerves over a thousand years, the mane six no longer are friends.
5. An evil rises up and six new ponies take up the mantle the Elements of Harmony.
Now, a lot of this will probably never happen in the show, but I think the Mane Six becoming alicorns will. Because six alicorn dolls will make Hasbro a ton of money, so they'll want it. And in someone's tweet it said that Twilight will not outlive her friends. This may be taken as Twilight is not immortal, but it might also mean that all of the mane six will become immortal. Do I want this to happen? No. Do I think it will happen? Yes.
Note: Celestia and Luna might not have been the first bearers of the elements. They could have been some other creatures (not necessarily ponies) who had it before Celestia and Luna, and put the elements of harmony back in the tree at some point.
2095932
My headcannon is pretty different:
1. Something happens that turns Equestria into a land where the magic of friendship no longer holds any importance. Basically, shit happens and friendship ain't what it used to be.
2. A new enemy comes and the Mane Six try to Element beam him, but find that the Elements no longer work. They initially think they're broken, but then realize that they're no longer connected to them.
3. A kingdom wide search for the new bearers is conducted and the new six are found. They are from the new generation of magic of friendshipless ponies and initially can't even get the Elements to work due to not being friends with one another. The reason the title of Element bearer is given to them is because they are from the contemporary younger generation and only they can fix this friendshipless world since they were born in it.
I like my reason for the new younger generation getting the burden since in history they're usually the ones changing the world. Since in my version the Mane Six aren't immortal this all happens 25 to 30 years in the future.
Personally, my head-canon is very different from that. It is my assumption that Twilight Sparkle (and possibly the rest of the mane six) were destined to be the Elements true bearers, and that after their passing the Elements will never lend their powers to another. Celestia and Luna were only allowed to wield the elements because Twilight and co. would not arise for at least another millennia, and Discord needed to be cleared from the board. I think this is also the reason that Celestia was unable to purge Luna of the nightmare forces and why the box never unveiled itself to her and Luna. They were never meant to be anything more than stopgap to ensure that Harmony did not fall completely before Twilight's time and thus were not capable of wielding the Elements to their full power. Twilight, on the other hand, is meant to use the magic of friendship to destroy disharmony for all time and end history, ushering in a utopia for ponies wherein the magic of the elements and the box are unnecessary.
2126293
See, I just can't believe that because I don't see the Mane Six being able to fully win in their lifetimes. There has to be some evil left over for the next generation to face.
I also think that the Elements renew their bearers form time to time. At first it were Celestia+Luna the ones that had the 6 elements, but then Celestia inherited them all after Luna got evil. As you saw in that fic of mine, my headcanon says that Spike got half of the elements because he pretty much displays strong traits related to them. Plus, given the fact that Twilight is an alicorn she should hold her element for a few hundreds of yers before it left her.
2211484
Hmm... You bring up an interesting point with Spike. If a pony shows a lot of loyalty for example, could they also bear the Element of Loyalty? What if there was a pony that was more loyal than Dash?
I disagree with your second part though. I don't see the whole Element switching thing having to do with whether or not a bearer is an alicorn or immortal. I see it more as the current bearers are now unfit to protect friendship and another six must now do it. Kind of like how the next generation always has to fix the mistakes of the previous.
2211484
Oh and thanks for writing that fic. I haven't actually read it yet but I definitely will! About time someone wrote about this topic.
2211741 Diferent headcanons give birth to diferent great stories
2211750
Agreed. Do you actually have the next bearers ("the next six" as I like to call them) as characters? Once again I haven't read the fic yet so if they're there then nvm.
I got all six in my head and already pretty developed as characters.
2211884 I just mentioned the next element of magic. I don't intend to develop it any further, you see. The objective of my fic was to have Twilight waking Spike from one of his 100 years naps and talking about how things changed. But I did have in mind to have 6 new characters (one for each element)
2211938
Just finished reading the fic. Dude, you REALLY need to expand on the new Element bearer. You could even make another story with him as the hero fighting villains along with the rest of the new bearers. The possibilities are endless!
2212112 I'm not sure how to expand it, actually. I can't come up with anmy good plotline to follow up that oneshot. But, in the future, if I have inspiration, I'll try write about it some more.
2212406
I guess you can start by thinking about your element bearers and who they are. That's how I started. Also, start thinking about how Equestria is in the future you created. From there at least you got the characters and the setting. That's all I had and got three stories in my mind with villains and everything.
If you got any ideas drop em by me