Do You Ship Anypony, and If so, Which Ponies?

[Velvet Blush 11]

On 26.6.2016. at 9:42 PM, CrystalRarity said:

First, thinking for all the time up to this moment and including this moment, that incorporating actual couples involving Mane 6 into the show would be a mistake.  That said, casual fantasies/stray thought are fun.

 

Rarishy is the CUTEST.      For sure, Rarity uses sweet endearments with pretty much everypony but am i delusional or are they even better with fluttershy.  She literally called her "sweetness" asdfghjkllk.  Also, there was something…some little trivia or "hot?" interviews with the ponies on the Hub website at one point and Rarity said a tidbit about everypony; Fluttershy was last and Rarity was like, "And of course, my dear Fluttershy!" WHYYYYY that's adorable.  Aside from Dash, Fluttershy gets matched up with Rarity the most in episodes, and Rarity with Fluttershy, more so than AJ even.  The chemistry is real.  It's a chemistry that lacks exploited friction so far too- in their own episode which was about a conflict between the two of them, they were both too nice to each  other, that was the problem.  it's just constant love and mane decorating and    cute things best things.  care 0% for thoughts of them as a romantic couple, they seem perfect as they are, actually.

 

Fluttershy/Discord is also totally good.    With some Rarity commentary, preferably.

Agree with the Rarishy stuff. Also, she called her "sweetie" four times in Putting your hoof down; and it did sound very...nice They also were trapped in a underground prison in Castle Mane-ia and Fluttershy hugged her (you can call it a hug). And PyHD and Filli Vanilli were about Rarity helping Shy overcome her fears

[Fluttercordxx 12]

Otp: Rarijack 

       -  Look Before You Sleep

       - The Crystal Empire

       - Magic Duel

       - Simple Ways

       - Trade Ya!

       - Made in Manehattan

       - Honest Apple

2. Somdiant

       - Siege of the Crystal Empire

3. Fluttercord

       - Keep Calm and Flutter On

       - Princess Twilight Sparkle

       - Three's a Crowd

       - Twilight's Kingdom

       - Make New Friends But Keep Discord

       - What About Discord

       - To Where and Back Again

       - Discordant Harmony

4. Quibbledash 

       - Stranger than Fan Fiction

[Patty Thundersnow 4,130]

Sparity
Fluttercord
TwiDash
TwiCord
LunaXSombra
GilDash
Somdiant
AppleDash
Dislestia

[Dynamo Pad 10,786]

Spike x Twilight

Spike x Rarity

Spike x Sweetie Belle

Pinkie x Cheese Sandwich

Bright Mac x Pear Butter

Octavia x Vinyl Scratch

Lyra x Bon Bon

Fluttershy x Discord

 

[Tao 6,758]

I don't ship to much:

Luna/Twilight

Fluttershy/Tia

Glimmer/Twilight

Glimmer/Fluttershy

Luna/Glimmer

Spike/Ember

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

So, shipping is a complicated subject. It's wildly up to personal interpretation, desires, etc. For example, being pansexual but homoromantic(With a lone exception in my most wonderful Harold), I highly prefer lesbian ships to heterosexual ships, because I like to ship based upon the chemistry the characters have with each other, or in other words, the way relationships actually work in real life. Real world relationships are not at all the way they're usually presented in fiction. No one goes all blushy and then "falls in love" without being friends with their lover in at least some way. Your lover should really be your best friend too, and if that's not the case your relationship is not founded on solid ground.

Unwanted advice aside, I also, to quote a friend, like to exercise the Theory of Quantum Shipping: that is, any/all ships can and do exist simultaneously, kind of like Schrodinger's Cat except applied to multiple universes or what have you. Or in other words, I can happily ship things like Rarijack, Flarity, and TwiShy at the same time with absolutely no problems about "otps" whatsoever.

More to the point I also think a romance would be good for the show. Not at all in the sense of how Flashlight or... eeeeeeeugh... Timberlight was presented, but a natural evolution of a friendship into a relationship. As the greatest chemistry is between the various members of the Mane Six, ideally this would mean two of the Mane Six (or more because yay polyamory) becoming lovers, something I think could be very easily handled in the show in a manner respective to the target audience and written in a way that it falls in line naturally with an episode's story and then is referenced every now and again in episodes proceeding where it is introduced, by little things like hugs and kisses on the cheek. A lesbian romance would also be highly ideal for the show as, no matter what some bronies might think, it has always been about the myriad ways a girl can be a girl, and being a lady who likes ladies is just another one of those ways. Besides, little girls can be lesbians too.

So, to conclude my wandering post, I'm going to procede to copy/paste something that no longer exists on the internet as my Tumblr was deleted a couple of years ago, and I stand by what it says. It's about one of my favorite ships, TwiShy. Incidentally this was written sometime during the hiatus between seasons four and five.

The Difficulties of Twishy, or Why Other Ships Stand in the Way

Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy don't really face the same kinds of difficulties that other Mane Six couples might. That is, they're not going to fight often, as Applejack and Rainbow Dash, or as Applejack and Rarity, might. They're not likely to undercut each other or make the other feel bad without meaning to, as Pinkie and Fluttershy, or  Twilight and Pinkie, might. No, they'd be fairly drama free, when together. Their interests, including their respective need for quiet and calm times, integrate well, and once together, I don't see them breaking apart due to much of anything. They'd be relatively angst free.

The difficulties, therefore, are not ones they would face upon being together. It's getting together at all that's the tricky part.

I don't just mean the fact that they're both rather socially awkward in (slightly different) ways, though there's certainly an aspect of that. Depending upon when this would occur just within show canon alone, there's a wide range from early on where Fluttershy would probably find entering a relationship almost impossible(and Twilight the same) to season four, where the issue of Twilight's royal status might interfere--in a "the upper class makes things difficult for them" sense--until the end of the season, when the Mane Six all reach the same general level of nobility(leastwise as far as I'm concerned.)

No, what really concerns me is that other relationships for the two of them stand in the way. Both tend to lean more towards other ponies first, and in a way, despite how beautiful and wonderful it is, TwiShy might be very difficult indeed.

So, who stands in the way? Well, let's deal with them one pony at a time, since one arguably has a much stronger bond than the other. I speak, of course, of Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

Let's face facts: FlutterDash is practically canon, leastwise as a lesbian ship could be in the current climate of show writing. (It is my belief that the show writers would happily show many lesbian relationships if Hasbro would let them but that's neither here nor there.) In my pony fan infancy, as it were, during the heydays of Season Two, Hurricane Fluttershy premiered on my birthday and made me a FlutterDash shipper on the spot. That episode more than any other is laden with shipping. Rainbow Dash almost breaks down crying after telling Fluttershy how much she needs Shy, while Fluttershy herself is so scared but pushes herself to be the very best she can be anyway, for Rainbow Dash. Even Twilight saw it, telling Shy to join the tornado "For Rainbow Dash" before saying for Fluttershy to do it for herself. Add that alongside the evidence from Sonic Rainboom, where Fluttershy screams at the top of her lungs when she sees Rainbow succeed at the titular feat, and then combine how Fluttershy said, flat out, that there was nothing more important in the world to her than Rainbow Dash during Trade Ya, and it's hard to argue against it indeed. Rainbow Dash even took the time to pick up Fluttershy BEFORE heading for the cider in SSCS6K, when she established herself as such a cider hound. Says how much she cares too. And do I have to even mention the (debatable) kiss from A Canterlot Wedding Part II?

So how do you avoid FlutterDash getting in the way? Well, there are a few paths to take. One of which might be that, though their friendship will be eternal, a romantic relationship between the two may not work out anywhere near as well as either of them might like. I think this is actually fairly likely in the long run, given their personalities can clash in some fairly serious ways at times, specifically in that Rainbow Dash... can be a real asshole. Dragonshy, Dragon Quest, The Crystal Empire Part II, all cases where she treated Fluttershy in deplorable ways. Dash also has issues respecting a pony's personal boundaries, and Fluttershy most likely has some serious boundaries she needs respected, particularly when it comes to being intimate. With that said, I don't think they'd fall apart dramatically, but would reconcile and mutually agree to end it, leaving their friendship ultimately stronger for the experience.

There are other paths too of course. Rainbow Dash could hook up with another pony, such as Applejack, or Pinkie Pie, or even, as an outlier that appeals to me due to a recent comic, Trixie. Or Rainbow Dash might be asexual/aromantic, a thought I've started to have about her more and more, as I kind of like the idea due to how she... well, she can swagger, but not try to be all "Hey there" in a Cassanova kind of sense. Plus, of course, her constant disdain for mushy stuff.

Flutterdash is not the only ship that stands in the way. Even if Fluttershy doesn't get together with Rainbow, she still naturally leans more towards another pony, Rarity, though I feel like it's a weaker bond than season one implied, as they haven't had much time together since. They have regular spa visits together, and Rarity understands Fluttershy more deeply on an emotional level, but at the same time she's much more high energy than Fluttershy and her melodrama could interfere. Let's also not forget Putting Your Hoof Down, as much as I'd like to. Forgiveness for friendship is one thing but that's going to linger far more seriously in Rarity's mind should they be romantic together. So I would argue season one Flarity is a fairly good possibility, but after that it becomes much less likely to stand in the way.

Beyond that Fluttershy doesn't really lean towards anyone else in the Mane Six in any substantially strong way. You could argue for Flutter Pie, but that one can have even more potential problems, as Donny's Boy has stated in depth here.(Add link on Tumblr.) So once the primary obstacle of FlutterDash is dealt with, Fluttershy could easily fall in love with Twilight.

Twilight, meanwhile, leans towards several ponies at varying levels. She has proven, on a consistent basis, that she cares deeply for all of her friends, and as such I believe she would be willing to enter into a relationship with any of them, depending upon the circumstance. But in particular, judging by canon as a whole, I believe she leans towards Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and arguably even Rarity before she would Fluttershy.

Twinkie was one of the most popular ships in season one's fandom, and for good reason: it's a strong ship that has stayed consistent throughout the series. While not my first pony ship it was my strongest pony ship for a very long time, and for good reason: it's almost as canon(so to speak) as Flutterdash and Rarijack! Feeling Pinkie Keen, It's About Time, MMMMystery on the Friendship Express, elements of A Canterlot Wedding Part II, Too Many Pinkie Pies, the list goes on, all the way to Trade Ya, where Twilight specifically said the books she had reminded her of when she met Pinkie, rather than talking about her friends as a whole. So like Flutterdash, it's a pretty likely outcome. However, like Flutterdash, I feel like it has some serious propensity for ultimate failure, though with the same overall result. As I said in my opening paragraph, both Twilight and Pinkie Pie can be quite rude to each other without meaning to be, particularly Twilight when it comes to unintentionally insulting Pinkie's intelligence. Pinkie's high energy can easily overwhelm Twilight at times, and Twilight has demonstrated that even her season four self still has patience issues, if not nearly as many as her season one self did. Of course I am not saying that Twinkie is doomed to failure: simply that it could collapse from within if issues are not handled.

TwiDash would be similar. This is a ship that I thoroughly denied as workable for a long time, because quite frankly when taking only season one into account, it feels like it would be a cliche nerd/jock dynamic that doesn't actually work in reality, as the issue of how badly Dash and AJ were insulting Twilight in Fall Weather Friends demonstrates. Later seasons helped flesh out their friendship, especially in Testing Testing One Two Three where Twilight demonstrated an understanding of Dash on a particularly deep level, that a relationship between them very much could work quite well. However, like Twinkie, it could just as easily fall apart if care is not taken.

Rarilight is a fairly new development, but from season three on they certainly have seemed a lot closer than they did initially. The end of The Crystal Empire Part II is where it took off, with how the reprise song was straight out of a Disney movie in how Rarity serenaded Twilight and Twilight blushed like crazy over it. A number of other similar tender moments occur throughout season three and four, the most notable one being how Twilight reacts to Rarity's gift of tickets to Henny on the Hill in Rarity Takes Manehattan. Truthfully, because I haven't looked too much into it, I cannot say how a Rarilight relationship would work out, but I'm willing to wager it'd actually be quite stable.

Still, as I said, Twilight would be willing to date any of her friends, I do believe. She cares for them all that much, and it would only take a little bit of extra persuasion for her feelings to go from platonic to romantic. How this would work for TwiShy in particular is something I will leave to another post.

There is, also, one other possibility that could solve all of these issues, quite possibly the best one to boot: Omniship. The Mane Six all together, happily in love. That way you could have TwiShy and still have Twinkie and FlutterDash and all of the other wonderful ships. I for one would be very happy with this result.