Okay, say what you will about shipping, but it can be a fun part of fandom. I personally don't get fans who actually get steamed when people suggest a match-up doesn't match what they consider the "True Ship", but fortunately, even the most militant of them take it in jest. But lately, I've been thinking about Pony shipping.

Now, I used to have a list, but I've been thinking rather seriously about it. Now, I'm sure that it comes as no surprise to anyone that my ships were all filly-filly. Most others are and I'm a "filly-fooler" myself. But what started me thinking about it is that I've often had the oddest Rarity ships according to many, and yet no others I came across made any sense to me. So, Rarity is the one that made me really think when I came to this conclusion. She's not gay. She's so not gay, that I just couldn't see her in a relationship with any of the other girls. Hell, the only Rari-ship that made ANY sense to me was Rarity/Fleur De Lis and that's only because, as one person put it, it's "the queen of the fashionistas with the living fashion accessory". But even to me, someone who's inclination is to match characters up with same-sex partners, Rarity just didn't come across as being "that kind of filly." So, I thought long and hard about it and decided, if I was spending that much time on my least favorite of the "mane six", I might as well do a full sweep. And when I say that she's my least favorite, I meant that I like her. A lot. Just not as much as the others.

So let's look at one of the most common ships for My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic.
Appledash: Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Okay, I can see how this might seem an easy fit to a lot of people. They're both athletic and outgoing, with a friendly rivalry with one another. They have also both had to deal with performance anxiety. The problem is that they're too similar. If they had any relationship it would be wild and tempestuous, full of passion and energy, but ultimately self-destructive. Applejack is too hard working and down to earth, the kind of person who get's her chores squared away as early as she can, whereas RD prefers to relax and just chill out, getting her work done at the last seconds in an explosive burst of energy. Yes, she can knuckle down and work hard to prepare for larger projects, but these have all been chances for her to show off. And AJ prefers to just get the work done and, while she appreciates acknowledgement, she doesn't seek praise or admiration.

So, who could I see Applejack with? Believe it or not, Twilight Sparkle. They both are hard working ponies who, while they have completely different approaches to their problems, appreciate the other's methods. This is the foundation of a healthy relationship. A point of similarity, but also a difference that would rarely be the source of conflict between them. No, it wouldn't be perfect, but they are both very capable of spotting when the other is descending into the self-destructive spiral that sometimes plagues these workaholic types. Applejack can always spot when Twilight needs to get her head out of the books and take a moment to just breathe, and Twilight knows full well just what is needed to drill through AJ's bullheadedness. This is not only a ship that I can see work, but actually happen. The best relationships are built on healthy friendships, after all.

What about Rainbow Dash? Well, it's not Pinkie Pie. Yes, they both like to have fun, show off and even pull the occasional prank, but there'd be no balance. The two of them would feed off of each other until something went wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. No, I see her with Fluttershy. I know, I know. Putting the two Pegasi together is old hat. But, the thing about old hats is that the reason people don't throw them away is because they're a good fit. Think about it, nobody but another pegasus is ever going to truly understand what it is to fly. Well, a dragon would, but Spike is a bad fit for both of these girls. And Rainbow Dash has shown time and again that Fluttershy is one of the few people she has any real patience with. With everyone else it's either get on board or get out of the way, but with 'Shy, she'll take the time to talk it out. And that's what Rainbow Dash needs. Someone who'll get her to stop running flat-out and actually walk through her problem. And Rainbow Dash is one of the few ponies who'll push Fluttershy, but not to hard. Yes, she's been dismissive of her at times, but that was early 1st season. That seemed to disappear completely in the second season. The two of them just compliment each other while still being able to have their own lives and interests.

So, with Rarity in the hetero corner in my books, I suppose that you're all expecting me to ship her with Spike? Wrong. Spike's crush on Rarity is just that, a crush. It's always been largely based on her good looks and style, rather than her personality. But worst of all is that Rarity looks at Spike as "her friends baby brother." And I don't think that she would ever really stop seeing him that way. So, where does that leave Rarity? Well, unattached. I really haven't seen anyone, except maybe Fancy Pants, who would be a good fit for her. And Spike? Well, he's just a kid. I have trouble shipping kids because they haven't grown up into the person that they'll be. It's the same with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I just can't ship them.

So, what about Pinkie Pie? Well, to be honest, I'm not sure that she'd ever be able to settle down. She just isn't the type to commit to one pony for any great length of time, in my opinion. Oh, there's never any doubt with her one-time flings that that's all it is, and she'll commit to a single pony for a short length of time, until they both move on with no hard feelings, but this party-gal just isn't in a place in her life where settling down is in the cards any time soon.


So, there you have it. My MLP:FiM Ships.
Apple Sparkle and Flutterdash.

And of those two, Apple Sparkle would be the only one that really made any sense to me. For all of her tomboy nature, I really don't see Dash being a lesbian, the same with Shy. Pinkie... Pinkie is Pinkie. She's probably Bi. But Applejack and Twilight Sparkle? Yeah, I could see that.

Yeah, I probably put WAY more thought into this than it deserves, but still.