I've never been one to be very indecisive about who my favorite ponies are. They all have a position in my list from favorite to least favorite, and it rarely alters.

Dashie > AJ > Twi > Pinkie > Fluttershy > Rarity

This is what my list has been for quite some time now. I don't 'dislike' any character, other than say, Diamond Tiara who's simply built to be an intolerable, manipulative bitch :3 I rank ponies by how much they interest me overall, and for a while, all throughout season one and two, this list of mine has remained for the most part stable. As we've traversed through season three however, I've come to a realization that is rather fascinating.

I actually like Rarity more than Fluttershy.

Now, a few points I need to make:

Point one: I see Rarity gets a lot of crap for not living up to her element, or being stuck up. I don't suddenly endorse that she doesn't at least sometimes do or show that she does these things sometimes. She does. However, faults of a character are not something I use against them, like many people. Faults make characters believable. Faults make characters non-OP and not mary-sues' or gary-stus'. I love Dash beyond belief, and I love that she can come off as brash, arrogant and grumpy sometimes, because they're faults of hers (that she's been building upon with character development this season, I might add) that make her who she is (not to mention it makes her even more adorable than she already is).

Likewise, the fact Rarity can seem selfish doesn't make her a bad character, just as Dash isn't a bad character for her faults. Imo, people should stop trying to find counter-arguments for why their character is mostly perfect or at least more perfect than other people think, and instead explain why their faults are believable, and why their faults should be embraced as a part of their character. Really, the Mane Six all have faults and strengths that match perfectly when you think about it.

Point two: Over the past year I've learned that knowing when to separate canon from fanon (Cupcakes, Rainbow Factory, etc, anyone?) isn't the only thing people should be mindful to separate. Separating the attitudes of fans of a character from the character themselves is important. Frankly, all of the ponies have tons of fans who can be exceedingly obnoxious, narrow-minded or stubborn in their views (except Twilight fans...maybe I'm just crazy but there aren't as many annoying Twilight fans as there are of other ponies). I've been lurking the ponynet outside of just here enough by now to realize this is very true. Therefore, what is the point in pinning on an inevitable reality to something like the actual character? Ignore the fans who piss you off, and enjoy the character for what they themselves have to bring to the table.

To be brutally honest, I've disliked 40% of Rarity fans I've encountered, and that includes here. I find many of them to be incredibly opinionated, even stubborn in their views. Traits that I don't find as overwhelming in the fans of some of the other characters (for the most part). However, I'm not going to let that fact deter me from enjoying the character herself, who I've found in this season particularly to have plenty of entertaining moments, despite how she's gotten no episodes and little screen time overall.

And those moments can even be, no, are often the little things. This post of mine is a prime example.

By the way, that's a terrific thread. I love that thread. Go post in it if you haven't already.

Hmmm, so, yeah. Basically, Rarity's personality is intriguing and she has many entertaining moments. She's amusing as the diva of the six, has plenty of faults just like Rainbow Dash that make her interesting to see grow as a character, and her and Sweetie are third best sisters.

Fluttershy on the other hand I've found just...really, really does not interest me. A huge part of her personality is circling around the classic vulnerability/cuteness idea, which I personally find cliche and borderline boring (topic relevant). Many writers portray her differently in her episodes, she goes from primarily shy to primarily easy-going and not really shy, to more confident, then going back to being shy. Not even a primary role with Discord moved her up in my list from this inevitable fate. I could go on, but this blog is not to try and bash on Fluttershy. She's not a bad pony :3 She simply doesn't catch my interest.

So, huzzah, I suppose. My list will look something like the following for the foreseeable future. Though I will say in advance, AJ is dangerously close to switching places with Twi and has been all season. Dunno if that will or won't happen at some point.

Dashie > AJ > Twi > Pinkie > Rarity > Fluttershy

This is Draconequus Swag 387, signing off.