Y'know, I bet most of you won't even read this. It's just the same crap again. I'm tired... I'm stressed... I'm depressed... and I can't think straight.

Here's my problem. I become depressed again whenever I see Fluttershy, but it's even more so whenever I see her interact with her element of harmony.

This is my problem with the show in general now. The characters aren't relatable anymore. Call me selfish, but whenever I see the main 6 interact with their element of harmony, it just reminds me of everyone else's as well as my own inferiority. Think about it. They possess something that nopony else in Equestria possesses. I can't look at them as regular ponies now. I see them as deities, called to action whenever Equestria itself is in danger, or when a "friendship problem" arises. They're called by a supernatural force, and nopony will ever possess that kind of power. They portrayed the elements in the beginning as these stand-alone artifacts wielded by the one who possesses their respective elements. Now, they've been embedded in the ponies themselves, elevating them to a higher, almost god-like status. They even have a giant map of Equestria with thrones around it with their cutie marks. When the show tries to portray these ponies as normal, everyday ponies, I just can't buy it anymore. I think that's why they've been introducing new characters and focusing on others in more recent episodes.

That's why I introduced the idea of theoretical elements in my story Loveliest of Trees, explained in chapter 14:

"Hidden elements, if you will," Twilight said. "The elements originate from the Tree of Harmony, and the book noted the empty branches on the tree. The theory was that the empty branches represent dormant elements, waiting to be uncovered. It even went as far as to say the elements that exist now were once dormant as well, suggesting that it's just the nature of the elements. Once an individual with a particular trait emerges, a new element is born."

The show describes the elements as only being able to be wielded by one who possesses that trait. Couldn't anypony possess them then if they show a certain trait? I think the main 6 was just in the right place at the right time, and got lucky. Now they're like pony demigods or something. It's just not relatable anymore. I introduced the above concept to open the idea of other elements that haven't been discovered yet. It would make sense since there are empty, fruitless branches on the tree of harmony. And who's to say there are only 6 elements? Why aren't there 7, or 8, or 12? Aren't generosity and kindness similar in a way? Aren't loyalty and honesty similar in a way? I created the elements of empathy, acceptance, and compassion in my story, the first one going to my OC. They're all quite similar in a way, but with their own distinctions. This would make it more open.

The concept and mechanics of the elements of harmony really began to bother me when Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks came out. Again, these are not normal girls. They're something more, elevated above normal social life. They're not normal, they're demigods. It kills the relatability for me because I nobody else in that universe could ever hope to be like them. As flaky as the pony-up mechanics are, the way they describe them, it doesn't even seem to require the element of harmony status. Based on "showing your true side of yourself" or playing your main instrument, and with the presence of equestrian magic in the world since Twilight's visit, shouldn't everyone be able to pony up once they discover their true self? Like getting your cutie mark in the pony universe. It would make more sense to me, especially if the pony and human worlds really are that linked. These rules are extremely flaky and abstract for ponying up, but it doesn't change the fact that these characters are basically demigods now. Then everyone else doesn't even bat an eye when they do pony up. Are you that desensitized? It just bothers me.

Did Sunset Shimmer discover her own element of harmony in Rainbow Rocks? Or did she discover her "true self"? Why else would she pony up?

In the beginning of the show, the elements were only used in dire situations. When Equestria itself was in danger of being destroyed, usually, and only at the premiere or finale of each season. Then came season 4. Think about season 4 for a bit. There was one episode where each of the main 6 discovered the true meaning of their element, and it was physically manifested within them as a rainbow glow in their eye. Then they receive an item that glows with a rainbow shimmer at the end. It physically manifested. That just screams at me that they're demigods, and not normal ponies. Then the season 4 finale happens, and you realize the entire season was based around the elements of harmony, with them opening the box and unleashing Rainbow Power, again something only they can do. Not even the princesses can wield it. They use it to win, and it becomes Twilight's castle, as well as the six thrones with the main 6s' cutie marks and the Cutie Map.

Then season 5 is where it really started to fall apart for me, with the introduction of the cutie map. Now whenever a "friendship problem" arises, the members of the main 6 are explicitly called by the tree of harmony to solve it. Again, even the princesses aren't that powerful. The princesses have practically become obsolete at this point. The main 6 is being called to solve problems now. How can you even portray them as normal ponies after doing all of this?

Even the ending of season 3 with the scrambled cutie marks. Again, these ponies are so linked to this supernatural force that their special symbol has been mixed up. The colors and shapes of the gems on the elements are mixed up, and thus the cutie marks are messed up to.

Couldn't somepony else wield this magic? And how did Twilight even summon the elements in the first place? And how could she assign each of them an element based on one task they completed? Couldn't Lyra Heartstrings have gone with them and rescued Twilight from falling? By the show's logic, Lyra would be the element of honesty and Applejack would be the background character. Derpy could've seen the splinter in the manticore, and earned the element of kindness, while Fluttershy is in the background. See what I'm saying? The rules are such that anypony can wield it, and the main 6 was just in the right place at the right time. If the elements can be "reassigned" so-to-speak so easily, shouldn't it just be as simple as "X represents the element of Y because of Z"? Just say that in close proximity to the elements themselves, and bam you're a wielder now. Yet the elements are so permanently embedded in the main 6 that nobody can even hope to be as great as them.

Even some characters feel inferior to them. Like Big Macintosh in Brotherhooves Social, the scene that really touched me, but bothered me as well. Big Mac says he's jealous of Applejack because she's the hero of the Apple family. "Always rushin' off to save Equestria, and I'm just here on the farm. Nothing special, nobody's hero." Apple Bloom used to look up to him, but now Applejack is a hero because of her element of harmony status. It makes Big Mac insecure about himself. He's practically invisible to the world now, and even invisible to somepony who used to think the world of him. This is my problem with the series and the elements of harmony in general. It elevates these characters so much that they're not relatable, and greater than other ponies in the world. Even some of the characters within the show are starting to recognize this. Starlight Glimmer has to wait on her knees for the main 6 to decide her fate. What happened to the other three princesses? Twilight's a princess, sure, but she still has a superior, doesn't she?

Zephyr Breeze says Fluttershy has saved Equestria tons of times. It's because he's afraid of failure, but also because (I'm guessing) he's insecure about being inferior to his sister. He'll never be that great. This is all theoretical, I just want to remind you. I could be totally wrong. I'm just trying to make you think about the undertones a bit.

The 100th episode special wasn't even focused on the main 6. It was focused on background ponies. Want to know why? It might be because Hasbro realized these characters have become too big, and need to give the spotlight to the other ponies for once. The elements of harmony aren't everything, y'know? They had to divert the attention. If they were just normal ponies, don't you think they would've focused on the main 6 andnot the background ponies? This is purely theoretical. I could be completely wrong. I did like this episode because the main 6 wasn't the focus of the show.

What I would've preferred was the elements to only be used in the beginning of the show, but have the main 6 just be normal everyday ponies. Kind of like Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney in How I Met Your Mother. They're the focus of the story, but not elevated above normal status. Should the Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence (maybe Twilight) still be the most powerful in Equestria? Well, they're not. Not without Equestria's greatest defense in their arsenal they're not.

Maybe even have the elements kept safely somewhere else

I could have my head way up my ass about this, because it is technically a kids show and is supposed to be fantastical, but it doesn't change the fact that I used to really like the show, and Hasbro has molded it such that I can't watch it without feeling inferior. I haven't watched a single episode of S6, and I probably won't. Call me cynical, but I don't find enjoyment in the show anymore.

If you can, that's great. Keep watching. I won't deny that it's a great show, and it's amazing what it's become, but I can't watch it anymore because of everything I just said.

The elements of harmony have taken these characters and made them completely unrelatable. With Fluttershy, not only can I not ever love her, I don't even feel worthy. I'm a normal human, and she's a demigod. And I do know she doesn't exist and never will, but it makes me feel bad about myself and who I am when I see how great she and all these characters are. Call me selfish, but it's how I feel.

For me, the elements of harmony have become toxic. I can't watch the show because of the notion of the elements of harmony in the background.

Call be a cynical bastard, but these ponies were more relatable when the elements of harmony weren't usedevery episode, or at least as often as they have been. Only in dire situations. I didn't like season 4 and 5 being totally based around the elements.

This may have been an extremely selfish post, but I needed to vent just a little bit. I must have some kind of point in here, right?

Maybe I just rambled and wasted your time. I'm sorry.