don't really see how magic relates to real life friendships other than the fact that it's tying into the title of the show

The only thing I could say about the cutie mark is that it's already pretty detailed as it is, one of the more complicated cutie mark designs. Adding the dots would have added to the complexity even more. I think the dots could be replaced by the points that cut into each side.Like I said, it's just my take. There is no 7th element shard or actual gem, so that leaves the Tree. Unless, of course, the Tree can spontaneously produce more gems, which doesn't make any sense. Twilight's cutie mark has a double, maybe even triple meaning depending on how you look at it. Yes, it does relate to the fact that her actual talent is performing high magical arts, as I believe Spike stated in Boast Busters. It also represents Twilight's role as the Element of Magic, which is different from Harmony itself. Magic does play a major role in their world. Her cutie mark can also represent her role as a leader, as some people suggest that Twilight is the large pink star and her 5 friends are the smaller white stars. I see problems with that last theory, as Spike and Sunset aren't involved in it. Though it may just represent Element Bearers. 6 Elements, 6 stars. That then would mean there is no 7th Element to begin with.I never said that trust and forgiveness can be taken out of a friendship, but both trust and forgiveness do contribute to being able to maintain harmony amongst a group. Trusting that each member is telling what they perceive to be the truth allows the mediator to offer solutions and extra view points as well as stopping the mediator from accusing the other side wrongfully of foul play. Forgiveness also allows the mediator to not hold grudges for past wrongs/arguments and allow them to fairly listen to both sides of the argument. The mediator is unbiased. That's the whole pointI know Celestia and Luna no longer have connection to the Elements. But I'm saying that if such an Element as Forgiveness was to find a proper bearer, Luna would be just as likely a canidate.Trixie, don't even mention her having an Element. She isn't a recurring character (2 episodes does not give her a constant presence in the series). And she is still far from reformed. She is shown to be the bearer of the Element of Humility in the AU presented in the IDW comics, but the comics aren't canon to the show (the writers of the show episodes are not even allowed to read the comics), and it was an alternate AU. I doubt Derpy would ever be the Element of Knowledge or the Flim Flam brothers the Elements of Fairness, or Chrysalis the Element of Love. i62.tinypic.com/5s94x.jpg But the point of the series is to be an AU. If Sunset really was the Element of Trust, then that wouldn't be her Element in that alternate universe. She would be the Element of Distrust, or rather not an Element at all.Discord, yeah. He could never be an Element bearer.