Celestia, the Princess, the legend, the subject of tales which had only grown more distorted over centuries until all hope of making ponies believe the true had been lost. One. Luna, restored, her last connection to the pony Celestia had once been. Two. And there, for all but the survivors, the count stopped.

"We were six..." she whispered.

She felt the body press against her, the wing draped across her back. For a moment, she didn't know whose it was.

"We are six," Luna whispered back.

A Total Eclipse Of The Fun

It's one of the foundation stones of the 'verse.

History says the sisters split the Elements between them. History claims they defeated Discord by themselves. History is a lie. There was another sextet. A different group. But the records have been lost, and ponies believe what they wish...

I've been placing pieces here and there. Little glimpses into that distant before. I know a few people have been trying to assemble them. And in the most recent story, I put down an edge piece: that Luna once drew constellations in what astronomers call The Barding Of The Ancients, and that those patterns are there in memory of those who were lost a long time ago.

*nods* Right. It's the last of the surviving record to be acknowledged by modern ponies. They just don't know who those constellations are dedicated to, and likely never will.

So with that detail given out, it seemed as if it was time for this thread: to compile the information we do have, and letting people take their guesses.

Here's some of what we've got...

#3

"You seem to be a reasonable pony."

"You seem to be the world's worst judge of character."

One minor detail: in that exchange, Celestia is the second speaker.

In those moments when they had somehow been led to joy by the one who did it best, those desperate seconds when they'd needed beauty more than anything.

A Total Eclipse Of The Fun

"Then how did it get that name?" Anise verbally threw herself off the cliff.

And from Luna, the second false stallion voice of the night, a merry one tinged with an accent which the cooks had never heard before and never would again, sounds lost more than a millennium in the past. "'Let's hurry up and see if we can reach some kind of inn at the next barricade point, or she might try to make that mix again.'"

The moment froze.

Celestia's eyes closed. Long seconds passed, turned into an epoch of a minute, and they did not open again.

"...sister... I am sorry... I should not have..."

"Forget it." And still her eyes did not open: they simply moved behind the lids, slowly, looking at things which no longer existed.

Princesses Can't Cook

Constellation: unknown
Element: Laughter
Race: unknown
Gender: stallion

For the most part, this one is still standing in the shadows.

#4

"You have no experience. You have no chance. You're a fool chasing a fool's dream, too stupid to know it's impossible and too determined to stop. And the only thing I can do in the face of such idiocy -- is come with you and make sure you don't kill too many other ponies along the way."

A Total Eclipse Of The Fun

"Who saw the horns first?" Celestia asked. "I remember the shout... she did, didn't she? She was the only one who knew what they meant. For everypony else, they were legend. But he was trying to look up, see what we were, and his horns poked over the top of the cover..."

"A shout?" Luna contradicted. "No, it was an order. Battle formations, and we didn't even know what those were yet, much less how to assume them..."

Princesses Can't Cook

"Or... Luna, do you remember --?"

And the voice which answered was not entirely that of her sibling, who had always been skilled at imitation -- and that was not the whole of it. "'-- a triple corona around your horns. One strike each, a single moment of hard, sharp contact. Simultaneous. The backlash will hit -- and that will end it. Mutually assured destruction. If you two ever need it, for any reason... remember that. If there's nothing else I can still give you in life, then let me at least grant you the gift of a death...'"

Celestia smiled. Part of it was in thanks.

"I miss her," Luna said, and there was too much in the words.

"I do too."

A Mark Of Appeal

Constellation: the Commander
Element: unknown
Race: pegasus (confirmed here for the first time)
Gender: mare

I always want to give the Group members a little something in these threads. What little we have about this one suggests a military background, and for the era, that leans towards pegasi -- not to mention that the horn-spotting could have been done from the air. So I'll say it officially: pegasus, along with admitting that in A Mark Of Appeal, she's the pony Luna was quoting.

#5

"Stay down."

"If they find out you're hiding us --"

"-- then use the time they spend killing me to escape. Stay down."

A Total Eclipse Of The Fun

Constellation: unknown
Element: unknown
Race: unknown
Gender: unknown

Basically, all we know about this one so far is that the pony existed.

#6: Star Swirl (confirmed)

"We need you."

"So you do. What do I need?"

"The chance to be truly needed?"

A Total Eclipse Of The Fun

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, there was a unicorn who was a great caster. The strongest of his generation. And for a time, that was enough. He invented spells, he created magics no pony had ever seen before and a few nopony ever saw again. The spells he didn't finish were legends themselves. An amazing talent. On par with you, actually. Obviously well above me.

The thing was -- it wasn't enough.

This caster lived right around the time history says the Princesses came into view for the first time. He was a contemporary of them, and I don't just mean living in the same period. He knew them, they knew him. From what some elements of the stories say -- and there are variations: I'm putting things together here and making some leaps which I think are landing on solid ground -- they were friends. There's even a hint that -- well -- with your own transformation, maybe you've thought about the idea of a before. I never did until I started researching this -- or at least I hadn't for a very long time. But dig deep enough and unearth that: the concept that for some ponies, there was not only a time when they might have thought about before, but there are stories which suggest before existed.

He might have known them before. Think about that. I did. A lot.

And he also knew them after.

He started to wonder -- why not him?

Triptych

"Very well," Luna conceded. "But as little as I wish to begin with one particular subject -- you have brought it up. And therefore, I would like to remove it from the list immediately." The next two words were spat. "That spell. Is there any chance that this is the place it can finally do something other than damage?"

Which got Celestia to sigh. "I still can't cast it. Admittedly, I never tried that hard while you were -- away. Or at all. I didn't want to study it too closely... it was almost leaving that last bit of dignity intact, Luna, a way of honoring who he'd been before... But I don't know how it works. I don't know how it creates those side effects -- making everypony for acres around think the new was always the true, just for starters. As it currently exists in its flawed or incomplete form, depending on whether you still think it's broken or just unfinished --" an argument they'd had in the deep past "-- it is a spectacular abomination of a failure. And it won't help. Even if one of us mastered it now, we'd still need a second pony, a volunteer to be switched -- and it would be like the first time. The marks transfer and -- the important part this time around -- the talents are driven into latency. But the first situation which would require that buried talent to be expressed starts unraveling the working and brings it all back. Somehow find that volunteer, learn how to cast the spell -- and then we'd still need to keep her away from any situation where sex appeal would be of benefit for the rest of her life. Which is an isolation level equal to what she had already. I would consider using it if I thought it would do any good, Luna -- but it won't. At most, we'd buy her a few days, even at the risk and cost of casting that -- thing."

A Mark Of Appeal

Did they kill him? I think it's possible.

Triptych

Constellation: the Magician
Element: likely Magic, but it hasn't been officially confirmed
Race: unicorn
Gender: stallion

So now you know. He was part of that group. One of the six. And then... something happened.

#7?

Was there a companion? Someone like Spike: not a Bearer, but who traveled with them and helped keep them alive?

We don't know.

Not yet.

Then: there. Now: gone.

I miss you.

Before the last time...

I love you.

...there was this.

I feel you.

And now this is here again.

(Totality)

Come back to me.

4559589
Well, that blows my theory out of the water.

4559594

Sorry about that. When I first tried to put the thread up, I got an error message. The second try placed the thread, but lost the text. I'm rewriting the post now.

4559606
Is it bad that I thought you were being completely earnest, and that I thought this was nothing out of the ordinary around these parts?

4559610

4559617
*Feels very guilty*

4559589
Is it wrong that I laughed a little at this? It was just so unexpected.

4559631
4559656

Fixed.

That Pinkie face is great for guilt, isn't it?

4559671
I really need to reread all those stories

*Looks over at current reading pile: The Wind in the Willows, Moby Dick, The Aeneid.*

*Deep sigh*

4559671
It is surprisingly effective as a guilt-inducer.

--
And dang, it's exciting to see all these pieces put in one place like this. I haven't really seen the concept of the Sisters being a part of a greater whole done irt the Elements of Harmony very much.

4559589

I am pretty convinced that #4 and #5 are Loyalty and Generosity, though which one is which I can't say for sure. If I had to make a decision, I'd probably say #4 is Loyalty, if only because it seems fitting for a military pony.

On another note, it's a little intimidating how those few hints are spread out over more than two dozen stories and well over a hundred thousand words. Short of a pony with a conspiracy theorist cutie mark seeing this thread, I can only imagine how much longer it will be before we can make any decent deductions.

4559905

Short of a pony with a conspiracy theorist cutie mark seeing this thread

This pony actually exists.

4559589
I've been taking mental notes, but given this compilation, I feel like they should've been physical. Still, fascinating all around.

#4 definitely seems like either Loyalty or Generosity. I'm leaning towards the latter, but data is scarce on the ground.

Of course, there's the matter of which Elements the sisters themselves bore. Laughter's definitely out, Magic probably, Loyalty and/or Generosity possibly. (#5 offers only a single datum to work with, and that act could be seen as kind, generous, loyal, or nonindicative, depending on the wider context.) Honestly is definitely still on the docket. Kindness is under consideration. Given her plain-spokenness, especially in the modern political climate, I want to say Luna bore Honesty. Celestia could potentially be Kindness, which would make #4 and #5 Generosity and Loyalty, but don't ask me which is which just yet. And, of course, that all assumes Star Swirl really did bear Magic...

Ah, speculating based on the smallest crumbs of evidence. It's like I'm in the MS Paint Adventures fora again.

4559934

I find this chapter title to be highly offensive to the local cattle.
...of maybe that's just what the local cattle wants me to think?

(P.S.: Of course someone already wrote a story about that. Though I think I still prefer the concept of Schadenfreude)

4559589

Was there a companion? Someone like Spike: not a Bearer, but who traveled with them and helped keep them alive?
We don't know.
Not yet.

All aboard the HYPE TRAIN!

4561693

...it's a long way off, if it ever comes at all.

We're talking Episode X: A Blatant Grab For Cash long.

I know that you tend to keep shipping out of the Continuum. This fandom seems to have more than its fair share at times.

But I am compelled to ask, did either of the sisters take a fellow Element Bearer as a lover?

Is the reason bi-sexual Luna has so much trouble with same-sex partners because she is comparing them to the Commander?

(Or am I reading too much into this, like the fandom always does?)

I've never read the comics or the books, so there might be additional hints there.
In the show, it's stated (ICR where) Starswirl found (or made) the Elements & the Princesses used them to defeat Discord. Maybe SS was the 1st Element of Magic. However, it is also stated (Magical Mystery Cure) that Starswirl couldn't complete his spell because he didn't completely understand friendship, so maybe not.

The only other clue is that Celestia used all the Elements against Luna & broke them. It is strongly implied that there were no more Element Bearers after that & C left them in the castle.

And now, with the latest chapter of Triptych, we have a wealth of new information. While she may not be the most reliable source, she did confirm that Star Swirl bore Magic, and Commander Hurricane bearing Honesty would fit the previously available material for #4, especially the constellation.
(Can't help but note how this torpedoes much of my earlier speculation.)

Furthermore, according to her, there was a companion.

And, as an added bit of inference, we know from A Mark of Appeal that Celestia and Luna were the same tribe before their ascension. If we assume the same even tribal distribution, which is by no means guaranteed, we already have a unicorn and a pegasus. That would imply that the sisters were earth ponies.

5321745

That is interesting and if correct has certain implications for the Earth Pony conspiracy whenever it started.

Do we actually know if all six were ponies? Or ponies of the current types?

5321993
Per a blog-post by the author, we do know something of the make-up of the Discordian Era Bearers: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/701617/your-hearths-warming-gift-a-glimpse-of-the-original-six

Celestia & Luna: Earth Pony sisters, with Luna as Bearer of Generosity

Starswirl the Bearded: Unicorn Stallion and Bearer of Magic who only joined up because Discord humiliated him by proving Starswirl wasn't powerful enough to ward off his chaotic magics (his beard is a Discord-given curse), ultimately betrayed the group out of jealousy over Celestia & Luna's ascension

Zephyra: Pegasus Mare Bearer of Honesty

A nameless Pegasus Stallion, implied to be the Bearer of Laughter

A second Unicorn Stallion, bearer of either Kindness or Loyalty

A male minotaur, who seems to have been the "Spike" of the group

5857183
Based on the description of the second unicorn, I'd say odds favor him being Kindness rather than Loyalty. Especially "To, in a world without it, show a little kindness." Bit of a tipoff there.

5857561
I've decided when he shows up, I'll read him with Doctor Wolf's voice.

This is the FIRST group.

Estee doesn't take S4 onwards as canon to the Triptych verse
However, even leaving S4 Princess Twilight out of it, It was stated in the pilot that the Elements were used to send Nightmare Moon to her Lunar exile. Since both princesses defeated Starswhirl & he died before Luna's exile, there must have been a second group to defeat NMM.

This makes the Mane 6 the third group of Element Bearers