For anyone who doesn't know, The Combinatorics Project is a story that ships every possible combination of the mane six in one story. I really like the story, but not all ships are created equal. So I thought it'd be fun to rank all of the ships to see what is the OTP. Or at least the OTP in this story.

If you haven't read The Combinatorics Project, I highly recommend it, but you don't have to before reading this.

15. TwiDash (the angster and her secret admirer)

I really don’t like how this was portrayed. Chapter 3 in general is easily the weakest in the series and TwiDash is a big reason why. The chapter is told from Rainbow’s perspective so her ship is the most important to get right. The chapter is about Dash looking for love as a straight mare in a world where being gay is the norm. That’s actually a clever idea since a story like this would lead you to expect that everyone is gay. But that also leads to an issue when Dash has to get together with Twilight at the end. So how is this problem resolved? Does it end with the relationship simply not working since Dash is straight? Nope! Twilight turns herself into a stallion and Dash is just completely fine with it. It’s not like Dash shows interest in Twilight emotionally throughout the chapter and her feelings don’t fully click until Twilight turns herself into a stallion. Dash shows no romantic interest in Twilight and seems to only get with her for surface level reasons. Dash is touched that Twilight put so much time into doing something for her, but that thing that Twilight put so much time into was changing herself to fit what Dash wants. That’s not healthy and the ending makes it seem like the relationship is going to fall apart later on. 

14. RariJack (the industrial mavens)

This is the other big reason why chapter 3 is the worst one. The problem here is simple. Applejack and Rarity outright state that they’re too different to live together. It makes me wonder how they even got together if they think they’re so incompatible.

13. PinkieDash (the multiversal adventurers)

There’s a whole 36K word appendix showing Pinkie and Dash’s adventure to find a cure for Rarity yet I still don’t believe their relationship. That is sad. I guess it’s because the chapter is more focused on the adventure and Pinkie musing on the various dimensions they go to. But there still could’ve been some development. All that’s there is Pinkie thinking they’re destined to be together because of weird forth wall stuff that chapter 5 goes into more detail on. That morphs into actual love way too quickly and then eventually Pinkie and Dash get together. The appendix as a whole is a fun read, but not for the PinkieDash.

12. FlutterDash (the weather aficionados)

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this relationship, but it just feels so disconnected from every other ship. Maybe that’s because it’s like a detour in its chapter. The relationship ties into the overall story in the sense that they refuse to take Celestia’s offer to see if their relationship is real or fabricated by the elements, but they just appear in the middle, make their decision, and leave. It’s even worse because the chapter has to actively switch perspectives to force a more in depth look at FlutterDash in. Chapter 4 is mostly told from Pinkie’s perspective, but it switches to Fluttershy’s in the middle. This is the only time a perspective change happens mid-chapter so it’s very jarring and makes the ship stand out in a bad way.

11. RariShy (the curse victim and caretaker)

Chapter 5 is much more story driven than the other chapters so it makes sense that it doesn’t go that deep into RariShy. Rarity suffers from a curse for most of the chapter; she can’t exactly do much. But from what is shown, it seems to work. It builds as Fluttershy takes care of Rarity and they get together before Rarity gets too bad. I like Fluttershy getting really protective over Rarity.

10. AppleShy (the commune farmers)

I don’t have much to say about them. They’re cute together. 

9. RariDash (the celebrity marriage)

This is a very believable way to show Rarity and Rainbow’s relationship. It uses their big personalities and big plans for the future to bring them together. The main issue is that we barely see the couple. Chapter 1 is about Rarity visiting the other two couples and Rarity sets off to Ponyville pretty quickly. But from what we see, the interaction between them feels natural. I especially like those last lines before Rarity leaves. It’s a great way to show off their dynamic.

8. RariTwi (the burlesque showmares)

This is a very strange place to take RariTwi. I never thought I’d see Twilight in a burlesque act, but now I have and it kinda works. Mostly because it’s made clear later on that Twilight only did the burlesque act for Rarity. Rarity and Twilight work well on stage, and the fact that we don’t see much of them outside of the stage works to the chapter’s favor. Chapter 4 is all about the idea that all of the mane six ending up with each other was caused by the elements. Celestia offers to remove the connection between the mane six and the elements. As I said before, Fluttershy and Rainbow refuse, but the rest go through with it. And as it turns out, Rarity and Twilight don’t have real feelings for each other. Or at least, Rarity doesn’t have feelings for Twilight. Twilight is pretty sad at supposedly being dumped by Rarity. It’s an interesting twist for the story and it’s definitely more realistic than I was expecting. Sometimes relationships just don’t work out that perfectly. This is contradicted by TwiDash and PinkieDash somehow working out, but that doesn’t take away from the RariTwi story.

7. TwiShy (the hopeless homebodies)

These two act as the main driving force of chapter 2. The chapter is about Celestia worrying that Twilight and Fluttershy’s marriage is too stale, so Twilight sees the other two couples to see how they keep their relationships fresh. Since the story is from Twilight’s perspective, we get a pretty good idea of how Twilight and Fluttershy’s relationship works and it’s cute. They’re overly sweet, talk about pet names, and generally live a very peaceful life. It’s not much, but it’s a nice respite from how weird some of the other relationships are.

6. FlutterPie (the model train overlords)

Speaking of weird relationships, this might just be the weirdest one. So Fluttershy and Pinkie have a giant miniature town set up in Fluttershy’s cottage. They treat the mini-figures like they’re alive and apparently don’t go out much anymore. Fluttershy spends less time taking care of animals and Pinkie doesn’t plan parties anymore. It’s so strange, and yet I kinda like it. I think they’re supposed to be creepy on some level, so that makes the strangeness work. Also Pinkie destroying the mini town is pretty funny, especially since this apparently happens often. And at least I can tell that this is supposed to feel wrong, unlike TwiDash which I have no idea if I was supposed to take seriously or not.

5. TwiJack (the orchard grafters)

This is a very cute and fun relationship. A lot of that has to do with chapter 5 being from Applejack’s perspective, so the relationship gets more depth than a lot of other ones. There’s nothing amazing here, but it’s very well done and believable.

4. AppleDash (the rivals in love)

This one is just funny. It plays up the competitiveness of the two of them, but in a good way. This is easily the funniest relationship in the series. There’s no focus on believability or strong emotional beats. It’s only focused on being fun, and not in a creepy way like FlutterPie.

3. ApplePie (the dessert caterers)

ApplePie may be my least favorite of the mane six ships, but I can’t deny that it’s very well executed here. It’s not super in depth, but it’s easily the most believable ApplePie that I’ve read. There’s one big scene dedicated to showing off the relationship and it works. Pinkie is able to just be herself around Applejack and Applejack likes listening to Pinkie talk. I really like Applejack’s line at the end of the scene. And then there’s the ending of the chapter (this relationship is in chapter 4) which is a very strong emotional moment. It’s a good callback to the beginning of the chapter and it’s nice to see that their love still shines through, even without the influence of the elements. There’s also a cute little scene in chapter 5 showing a little more of their relationship.

2. TwiPie (the mad scientists)

This is a very funny and unique take on TwiPie. Twilight and Pinkie innovating science in such disturbing ways is a great way to fit Twilight’s love for research with Pinkie’s craziness. The stuff they talk about in their section is really funny and gives a great sense of what their usual dynamic is like. It helps that the way they got together makes actual sense and helps to ground their relationship instead of it being completely absurd. The creativity on display with their section is truly a sight to behold and Rarity’s reaction to them is just the cherry on top.

1. RariPie (the masquerade hosts)

This is the perfect balance of believability and fun. Rarity and Pinkie throwing masquerade parties makes complete sense and brings their passions together perfectly. Their dynamic is funny and natural. It’s not the most emotional or the funniest, but Rarity and Pinkie work together so effortlessly without exaggerating their characters that I have to put them at number 1. Also I have a RariPie bias. 

So those are my thoughts on the ships in The Combinatorics Project. If anyone disagrees I’d love to hear why.