@Background Pony #4388
As discord has proven…anyone can be an alicorn princess with a snap of his fingers.

@Background Pony #4388  

Spike can’t be a Alicorn because he a dragon, he will be more as the Dragon guardian of Harmony who Protect the Alicorn of Harmony!

@Background Pony #CFBF  
Spike would be best suited for the element of compromise.  
And Starlight the element of repentance.  
Shining being bravery seems fitting, but he could also be devotion, though that is close to loyalty.

@Background Pony #5909  
He’s the alicorn princess of affirmative action.

@O’Shaunal  
I’d think the element of forgiveness would be less about who forgives you and more about how forgiving you are of others.
 
Which is why I think Sunset deserves it. Yes, she gets angry, but she recognizes that her anger isn’t helpful and tries to make peace, even in cases when it would be completely justifiable for her to stay mad. How many of us, after everything Wallflower did, could still walk up to her, hold out a hand, say, “I’m sorry I hurt you,” and mean it? I’m pretty sure I couldn’t.

Starlight = forgiveness. How can people think this way? Starlight was content to defraud ponies out of their destinies, as well as months, years, and potentially many decades of their lives, just to indulge her own feelings of insecurity and probably power-lust.
 
Just because she goes back to Stalliongrad and makes sad-eyes doesn’t make her the embodiment of forgiveness. They’re not giving her a second chance because they forgive her, but because she’s being vouched for by actual alicorn Princess. If you need the surety of Twilight to face your victims, you’re not forgiven.

@Shimmering Spectacle  
“Justice” tends to cause suffering (albeit to those who are judged as deserving to suffer), I don’t think it’s really in keeping with the general theme of the Elements of Harmony.
 
How about Contrition or something maybe?

@Scrounge  
If Starlight was justice instead of forgiveness, that would’ve been good enough.

@Shimmering Spectacle  
Let me rephrase, I think they might be more fitting if they were exchanged. I’m not asking anyone to actually edit the image. Sorry for being unclear.
 
Yes, I’m aware Ishi Rudell said on Twitter that Sunset is Empathy, but I feel like she displays Forgiveness more.
 
(Admittedly not sure on Glimglam, will have to think about it.)
 
 
@LightningLazer  
Maybe Shining could be the Element of Protection if you don’t want to double up?

@Scrounge  
Can’t do, because I’m only the uploader.

I’d suggest swapping Sunset and Starlight’s elements had Sunset’s not come directly from someone on the writing staff (I forget who).
 
@Goddess Erosia  
This is why I’m okay with him being a dog in Equestria Girls, since dogs are heavily associated with loyalty.

@Darth Sonic  
Thinking about it, it’s the Elements of Harmony, not the Elements of Virtue. I mean, Laughter isn’t exactly a virtue, either.
 
It really should’ve been more like “Open Mindedness”, though. That’s an actual quality that can be developed and one that Spike actually demonstrated. Like you said, diversity is just a descriptor.

@Darth Sonic  
Is it not still really weird that it’s being assigned to the one non-pony character? It’s as if all they could see in Spike was his species. Spike has many better qualities.

Diversity is not a virtue. Nor is it some evil word. It is merely a descriptor.

@Background Pony #5909  
Yeah friendship knows no boundaries.

@Background Pony #2C4E  
I have a diverse friend group but it’s silly to have it be something to attain. People are people, you should be friends regardless of race as opposed to being friends for race points.

@O’Shaunal  
bro did u just get woke at us
 
nu-speak :oooooooooooooooooooooo

@Background Pony #2C4E  
You misunderstand. Diversity is new-speak for sameness. Diversity is conformity to the same current narrative in the guise of different appearances.

@Background Pony #5909  
If all of your friends are exactly like you, do you really have friends, or just sycophants?

@Background Pony #5909  
yeah honestly he should be the element of loyalty and not RD at this point. Her flaw is she sometimes gets greedy and does the wrong thing, his flaw is he can sometimes do the same but he also has the risk of being TOO loyal and too tolerant of being taken advantage of and RD has literally never had that trait. She’s never been “too loyal for her own good” as far as I’m aware. No one walks all over RD, she’s too proud. There’s been times where everyone just poops on Spike though and he takes it, or even ENJOYS it when it’s Rarity.
 
Not literally of course but you know what I mean. Some of the first interactions Spike had with Rarity was her using him as a literal pincushion and he did it gleefully because he was happy she was giving him attention.

“Element of diversity” lmfao

@TheDrizzle404  
Regulations, man.

Isn’t Flash Magnus already the Element of Bravery?

Diversity, kek  
We hired Spike because we felt there weren’t enough dragons on our staff.