Decided I wanted to remake that first group shot of the main six with my own designs from my au/reboot of the original story. I'll probably edit this description to include a bit more details about the characters and what has changed with the world, but for right now I'll keep it pretty broad.

One of the main ideas for this rewrite is that the elements of harmony, which I've reworked to be representative of the six main types of magic, had been cursed by Tirek when he was first defeated by Celestia and Luna. Tirek cursed the elements so that their next wielders, the main six, would be unable to perform their duties and thus allow for a new age of darker magic to reign. When the balance of light and dark magic begins to tip, then the spirits of the elements seek out a new set of souls to bless so that they can grow up and right to balance. The curse could never stop the main six from discovering the elements and being guided by the previous wielders to fulfill their duty, so instead the curse manifested as ways that would deter the cursed for as long as possible and make it more difficult for them to perform their respective elements.

Twilight, the pillar of celestial magic, was born without her horn, meaning that she had no controlable conduit for her mass influx of magic. This led her to being isolated from the unicorn society of Canterlot and her own mother feeling embarrassed and disgracing her, which in turn pushed Twilight to running away from home to find a way to use magic or bring back her horn. Rarity's, who is the pillar of creation magic, eyesight deteriorated before she was even a yearling. Pinkie, pillar of emotion magic, was born mute. Applejack, pillar of earth magic, has the ability to foresee future events, but no one believes her prophecies when she speaks them. Lightening's, pillar of air magic, (Rainbow Dash) muscle's begin to deteriorate, something that happens much later in the story. And Wisteria, pillar of fertility magic, (Fluttershy) is unable to survive for extended periods of time without the strange magic created by the Everfree Forest.

Each of the curses has a more ironic twist to them, since they interfere with the gifts that each of their respective elements gives them. Like Pinkie being the pillar of emotion is very influential and creatures listen to her, but she's unable to talk and has to find other ways to communicate. Rarity is the pillar of creation magic and she is unable to see the world around her in a traditional way. Applejack's gift is that of future sight, but her curse prevents anyone from believing her no matter how dire the situation. So on so forth.