@Mention
If the Tree of Harmony helped them, then why not rescue Starlight? So it’s just some people deluding themselves.

@Mention Pony  
When I saw this I thought maybe the tree of harmony could of been passing the elements down to the students and the glow is like showing who’s with what element. Since the tree of harmony kind of owns the elements I guess it would make sense if it could just pass them over to other creatures and also save them from going to another realm. (Side note) I find it interesting that only when the students fall into the giant orb thing that it starts going to another realm but that could mean nothing

Cozy is not amused at all about this unexpected turn of events.

It’s actually funny to hear people saying Young Six will be new Elements of Harmony (based on that pic), where in fact, The Tree of Harmony only helped them.

glowing screencap?

“Why do they get all the powers? I have the most friends!”

@Background Pony #A3DE  
He’s also a good mirror of twilight and star swirl. Being the one who had the hardest time opening up to friendship

@Daneasaur  
@Spoonlol  
it works better in hindsight, but i originally thought ocellus would be magic. gallus is a refreshing change for it, though, especially because “magic” = “friendship” and he probably learned the most about it since his arrival.

@Spoonlol  
We all seem to have a different way of the elements playing out, though I think we all agree with Gallus being Magic.

@Daneasaur  
I like where your coming from.  
I pretty much gave sandbar Loyalty for the same reason.  
I gave yona honesty because of her connection to rockhoof, being honest with her friends and how she’s not afraid to hide or conceal anything about her home and culture. Very much like Rockhoof and Applejack.  
Ocellus I gave kindness kind of for the same reason you gave her generosity, she wants nothing more then to help others be better. Where we differ is that Ocellus doesn’t get angry at other very easily, like staying calm when Applejack and Rainbow were fighting while the others got pretty annoyed real fast.  
Smolder I give Generosity cos not only is she a dragon so simply having her be generosity is great character development in its self, but also cos of how much of her time she’s willing to give to Spike to help him out, through both molting and flying.

@Spoonlol  
While I’d have Gallus with magic (a very interesting idea as a whole), and I could see Silverstream as laughter, most of the others I’d have changed around.
 
Sandbar’s trial set by the tree showcased him proving his Loyalty and how, even though all the others are non-ponies, he has always chose to stick by them. He’s even used other’s assumption that just because he’s a pony, he prefers ponies, most pointedly in the season finale.
 
Yona, despite being afraid, didn’t hurt a single spider. In fact, other than general yak clumsiness, she’s not shown any aggression that most feel would come from Yaks and she shows a resounding Kindness that is seen as rare for Yaks.
 
Ocellus’s trial was the fear of the past of her people, feeling she was never able to be about to outlive their sins. Smolder pointed out that the reason she feels that way is because of her innate desire to see others be happy. At her core, a Generous heart.
 
Smolder shares dragon bluntness with the rest of her kind, but when put on the spot, she wanted to admit she has a soft side. She’s up front to everyone, pointedly being Honest even to a harsh point.

The elements kind of fit with the characters. While I would keep Gallus as magic, Yona with honest and silverstream with laughter. I would have given sandbar loyalty, Ocllus with kindness and smolder with generosity

@Jonny Manz  
You bring up a strong point in regards to the artifacts.
 
One thing that’s been pointed out as the series has gone on is that the artifacts are the most powerful magic one can interact with. In fact, during the energy drain spell, outside of the tree (which may be a living artifact) artifacts were the last thing to be drained, implying the greatest power source.

@Daneasaur  
Who knows, maybe they aren’t the future EoH, but rather some analogue, similar to how the traits of the Pillars are different but similar to the EoH. I also wonder if it has anything to do with each culture’s respective artifact.

@Jonny Manz  
Red happens to be my favorite color, so I never forgot that Loyalty was tied to Red, nor that Generosity was a dark purple.
 
And amusingly, for the argument of “color pop”, as I stated I saw ocellus, smolder, and sandbar as white because the colors being used on them is so muted as to be near impossible to discern.
 
On top of it, it makes the challenges the tree of harmony performed utterly pointless as Sandbar had a trial about Loyalty, Smolder had a trial about honesty, and Yona had one about kindness.

@Background Pony #A3DE  
Exactly, I remember the coat colors of the Mane Six quite well (not just because they appear in every episode, in the theme song at the very least, but because of that color mashup that was all over season 4). Ironically, even though the Elements were last used in the season 7 finale, and they last appeared in The Mean Six (or maybe What Lies Beneath, if they’re properly colored in on the chalkboard) I still have trouble remembering their exact coloration, and I am not just a casual fan.

@Background Pony #A3DE  
or they’re using the color of the holder to differentiate so there isn’t two or three of the same color going around. visual pop, if you will.

@Daneasaur  
the elements themselves haven’t been used in a while. probably it’s going under the assumption that a casual viewer would remember more the color of the holder rather than the color of the element itself.
 
either way, a connection is made.

@Background Pony #A3DE  
I’m saying it was poorly written in that aspect and was very stupid to use the coloration of the current holders instead of the color of the elements themselves.

@Daneasaur  
It’s a figure of speech, don’t be so literal.
 
She could’ve easily meant that just the glowing itself reminded her of when the Mane Six activate the elements (not even talking about specific colors here, just the general light and rainbow that appear when the Mane Six activate the Elements). Not everyone speaks with precision in the heat of the moment (in fact, few do).

@Daneasaur  
the elements don’t work if one is missing. two are by your calculations.

Problem: The quote of the moment is “They’re glowing like the elements!”
 
Not the element bearers, or the teachers, or the mane six, or anything like that.
 
And what color are the elements?
 

@Daneasaur  
your associations of gallus and yona are correct. however:
 
silverstream: super excited and constantly upbeat are traits of laughter and pinkie, too.
 
sandbar: the peacemaker going back to the first episode with them, so kindness and fluttershy’s yellow.
 
smoulder: grows out of a “dragons are best” mentality to become loyal to her friends no matter the specie, so rainbow dash’s light blue.
 
ocellus: while the smartest of the group, it’s implied she’s also donated her own talents both as a changeling and as the school-smart one, so generous rarity’s white.
 
considering they’re the ones that nullify cozy glow’s amulets with the tree’s help, the other way doesn’t work if three elements can’t fit.

@Daneasaur  
Actually, the colors seem to line up with the Mane Six coat colors (and they definitely do on the Tree of Harmony’s crystal roots in the scene before this) - so while Gallus is magic and Yona is honesty, it’s laughter for Silverstream, kindness for Sandbar, generosity for Ocellus, and loyalty for Smolder.

I can’t believe this wasn’t uploaded considering how IMPORTANT it is.
 
Gallus = Magic (purple). He was always the brains of the group and the leader, but showed quick skills and thinking on his feet (likely why Grandpa gruff wanted him out).
 
Silverstream = Kindness (pink). It didn’t matter who you were, what you did, she instantly liked you and has an open heart.
 
Yona = Honesty (orange). Everything was up front, as is the Yak way. She never dared to fib, regardless of how others thought of her.
 
The other three were apparently ignored as none of the elements are white (generosity is dark purple, Loyalty is Red, and laughter is light blue).