It was supposed to be just another mission. So why then did friendship fail?
Chrysalis had attacked again, this time with an even larger force of Changelings. Her army pillaged Canterlot, turning what had been a normal sunny summer afternoon into hours of horror. The Changeling force had captured Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor, leaving Princess Celestia with no choice but to flee or be captured herself. As usual, Twilight and her friends adorned the Elements of Harmony and confronted Chrysalis and her minions to save the day. They let themselves be taken over by the feeling of their friendship so they could fire a beam of pure harmony at her, just as they had done against Nightmare Moon and Discord. Except this time, nothing happened. The beam never fired. Twilight and her friends had failed.
Equestria would have been left to rot under the Changelings if it was not for Princess Celestia, who had returned shortly after to defeat Chrysalis and drive her army away. Equestria would live to see another sunrise, but the bearers of harmony were left with the physical representation of their friendship broken. Twilight and her friends retreated to her treehouse's basement, where they now sat around a table with one thought in mind: Where they now broken also?
Silence hung over the room, bearing down on everyone as they dwelled on the events of the day. The silence persisted until Rainbow Dash said "They have to be broken. I'm telling you."
"I already told you, nothing's wrong with them," Twilight said, restraining herself from sounding rude. "Princess Celestia checked them multiple times. I made sure of it. I didn't believe it at first either, but the Princess assured me that this is... normal."
Applejack scoffed at the notion. "Normal, huh? So we're gunna call it normal now when something stops working. Next thing ya know yer gunna be calling a broken door 'normal' too."
"The Elements aren't like other objects, though," Twilight said. "Don't forget, they left Princess Celestia too, which is why they went to us. Looking back, it should've been more obvious that they'd leave us too eventually."
"Not this soon, though," Pinkie Pie said, frowning the most out of everyone. "Princess Celestia was like a thousand years old when they left her. We're not old, right?"
Silence overtook the room again. Twilight and her friends made sure to look away from one another so they wouldn't have to answer any more difficult questions. The tension continued bearing down until Fluttershy asked "So, does this mean our friendship is broken now too?"
"What, no," Dash shouted.
"Of course not," Applejack said.
"Absolutely not," Rarity shouted.
The three glanced at one another, wondering if their answers were the truth they felt in their heart, or denial.
Twilight hung her head as she thought over how to best give her answer. "The Elements represent our fated bond. Who knows, maybe without being fated to wield the Elements we wouldn't have gotten our cutie marks together. Maybe we wouldn't have become friends."
Dash slammed her hooves over the wooden table, causing it to shake. "And why not? We're awesome together. Each one of us represents the best parts of friendship, and it's not like we wouldn't have been ourselves if we weren't destined to use the Elements. What, I suddenly wasn't gonna be loyal if destiny or whatever didn't make me an Element bearer?"
"It's not that simple," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia is the one who indirectly introduced us to each other by sending me to Ponyville. And looking back, she probably only did that because she knew Nightmare Moon was returning and the Elements had to be used again to save Equestria. If we weren't fated to bear the Elements, then who knows if Princess Celestia would've sent me to Ponyville? Maybe we would've met some other way? Or maybe not?" Memories of the lonely days when she'd stay alone studying in her room in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns swirled through her thoughts, giving her pause. "Maybe I still would've been that pony who studied all day and had no time for friendship."
"I beg you to stop talking in that way," Rarity said. "You make it seem like the Elements were the only thing keeping us together. Like we shall stop being friends without them."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "I never said that, Rarity. I'm just saying that," she needed a moment to think of the best way to respond, "they were what created us, in a way. Who we each are right now versus before."
"That's a sack of hay and you know it," Applejack said. "We were friends because of our bond with one another. No piece of jewelry can match up to what I feel when I'm with ya'll. Besides, ya can even make the case that losing the Elements will make us stronger. Just look at how close Princess Celestia and Luna have gotten lately, and that's after they lost the Elements."
Applejack's theory lifted the tension a bit, causing everyone to breath a little more easily.
"But Princess Celestia and Luna weren't as close before," Fluttershy said.
Pinkie sighed. "Yeah. What if it works in opposite for us since we were friends from the start?"
"Enough!" Applejack yelled. "Everypony who thinks we'll stop being friends now, raise their hoof. If not, I don't want to hear this again."
Seconds passed as she shot her friends a glare, waiting for the first pony to raise their hoof. Her friends hung their heads as they pondered their answers. Would their bond weaken now that they were no longer the chosen heroes of Equestria? Their hearts told them no, as it was their shared memories, both good and bad, that was the foundation of their friendship. So why then couldn't they shake off this feeling that losing the Elements had made their friendship less special? Perhaps it was because their friendship was no longer the fuel for the most powerful weapons in Equestria. Their friendship was now just another ordinary friendship. But it was still friendship, and that was something destiny could never take away from them.
Applejack continued waiting, only for no one to raise their hooves.
"Good," Applejack smiled. "Now that we got that nonsense out of the way, I do have something of value we should discuss." Everyone focused their gaze on her. "Now that we no longer got a superweapon on our side, how are we gonna protect Equestria? Princess Celestia saved our behinds this time, but let's face it, that won't happen every time."
Dash raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking how we should fight?"
Applejack gave her a smirk. "Nope. What's I'm blabbering 'bout is finding the next bearers."
Everyone else gasped at the idea. In fact, the thought seemed offensive at first. Were they all that replaceable that the Elements had already found six new ponies? But the more they pondered the idea, the more it made sense. If the Elements had transferred from Princess Celestia and Luna to Twilight and her friends, then surely they had transferred again. It took everyone except Applejack a moment to come to terms with the idea of replacements, after which they shared a nod. That left one question remaining: Who were these six ponies?
"I've been thinking this over ever since the Elements failed to fire," Applejack said. "The new bearers are alive right now."
"And you're so sure of that because...?" Dash asked.
"She's right," Twilight said. "The Elements are a force for good. They wouldn't leave Equestria without defenders. The only thing is, how do we find these ponies? How do we start?"
"Perhaps we already know them?" Rarity said with a dazzle in her eyes. "We know the who's who of Equestria, after all. Surely the Elements went to ponies who are qualified."
Applejack cracked a laugh. "A bit elitist, but I like the thought. I reckon they can be anypony, though, since we were average ponies for the most part before the Elements chose us."
"And who says they have to be ponies!" Pinkie shouted with glee. "They could be zebras, hippogriffs, seaponies, or even yaks."
Everyone giggled at the image of large, hairy yaks struggling to make the tight Elements fit over themselves.
"I can only dream they're from other kingdoms. The unity that would bring would be incredible," Twilight said, smiling. She gazed up, lost in thought. "The next bearers are out there somewhere, and it's up to us to find them."
Dash flapped her wings, lifting herself off her chair so she could hover over the table. "I just know the pony next in line for my Element is gonna be awesome. It's not like the Elements would pick any old pony to replace me."
Rarity chuckled at Dash's comment. "I just hope our replacements can do the job. It would be grave indeed if they were unfit."
"We'll make 'em fit if that's the case," Applejack said, leaning back in her chair.
Silence overtook the room; except this time everyone smiled and no longer feared looking at one another. The weight of losing the Elements still bore down on everyone, but the way Twilight and her friends now saw it, it was better to look to the future instead of dwelling on the past.
"I'm drained," Rarity said, stretching. "Oh, I have an idea," she sat up in excitement. "How about we all go to the spa? On me, of course."
Everyone shared a laugh before Applejack said "Good to see you haven't changed. I could use an hour to relax. What do the rest o' ya say?"
Everyone wasted no time before standing and walking upstairs to the main door, everyone except Twilight that is, who stayed in her basement. "You're not coming, darling?" Rarity asked from atop the stairwell.
"Nah," Twilight said. "Have fun, girls. I'll join next time."
And with that, Twilight's friends left the treehouse and closed the door behind them, leaving her in silence.
A set of footsteps approached Twilight from the main room upstairs. The staircase creaked as the sound of the footsteps neared, until Spike stood in front of her. "You didn't tell them, did you?" he asked, shaking his head, "why the Elements left you guys."