How TwiJack is the Most Romantic Ship... Pretty Much Ever · 4:31am Nov 5th, 2014
Before we get to TwiJack, just a note: This is the first blog post of the month, so if you’d like to join my donors, you can check out my patreon (where the rewards are listed) or make a one time donation via paypal. And in addition to the usual rewards for donating, the amazing GhostOfHeraclitus is still matching the $50 pledge reward of a custom blog post on a subject of your choice.
What’s your idea of a romantic evening? A candle light dinner? Sporting match? Dancing? Curling up in front of a fire?
What about balancing the checking account and figuring out your work and chore schedules so the two of you have time to clean out the attic this weekend? Does that sound romantic?
If you can make that romantic, you’re in luck, because after a few years, that’s 99% of your relationship. Many couples can deal with those things by making sure they take time out for romance, but if you don’t have to worry about doing that you will be a very happy couple. Which is not to say couples like that don’t have problems, life tosses plenty of those, but a couple that can have a good time dealing with things that need dealing with is just more likely to come out on top.
The best ship for a true partnership like that is TwiJack.
In canon, Applejack and Twilight are both practical ponies. They enjoy organization and planning, and take pride in a good schedule or check list. Neither of them are likely to find this stifling or boring, if anything they’ll happily micromanage themselves into trouble, if they didn’t properly learn their lessons from previous episodes like It’s About Time and Apple Family Reunion. Both of them would probably be thrilled with a special somepony who would neatly tape their schedule next to her own, adding another dependable known quantity to her life. It’s a match made in anal retentive heaven.
Both of them are leaders, but Applejack happily steps into a second-in-command role for Twilight. While Twilight is obviously the leader of the mane six, and now Princess of Friendship, when she’s not around (in the beginning of Elements of Harmony, in Magic Duel, and in Princess Twilight Sparkle) it’s Applejack who steps forward as leader/spokespony for the remaining five. This makes sense because Pinkie Apple Pie tells us that she’s also manager around Sweet Apple Acres, so she has leadership experience that the other ponies don’t.
As a matter of fact, both of them lead shockingly parallel lives: They both come from close families, but were separated from their parents and raised the rest of their way by an older pony who required them to be self-sufficient, with younger siblings for whom they fill an almost parental role, and older siblings they’re seemingly close with (I might have hesitated there about AJ and Mac, but I think their interactions in Pinkie Apple Pie, Filli Vanilli, and Leap of Faith bear that out.) Applejack manages Sweet Apple Acres and the immediate Apple family, while feeling a sense of responsibility towards Ponyville as a whole. Twilight manages(managed?) the Ponyville Library and the mane six, while feeling a sense of responsibility towards Equestria as a whole.
At the same time, their differences compliment each other perfectly. Applejack is physical and relies on common sense where Twilight is mentally focused and relies on intellect, but they respect those traits in each other. Applejack clearly values tradition, but isn’t opposed to trying new ideas when it’s necessary (revamping the family reunion, getting Twilight’s help with harvesting apples in Applebuck Season or with the vampire fruitbats in Bats!.) While Twilight is naturally curious and innovative, she also understands the value of tradition (she was excited to try to do Winter Wrap-Up the earth pony way, and only tried magic at Spike’s goading, and even before she knew about the Crystal Heart she was willing to go with the traditional Crystal Fair as he best way to protect the Crystal Empire.)
Twilight and Applejack do have their fights, of course, especially because they’re both good at seeing where the other is going wrong and both can be stubborn when they’ve decided on a course of action But when the two of them do disagree, as in Applebuck Season or Winter Wrap-Up, it takes the form of stating their points until one of them sees reason, rather than bickering or escalating like some other ships. Neither of them are interested in poking the other just to get a reaction
So, Applejack and Twilight make a usually happy, well-oiled machine. This has given the ship an unfortunate (and incorrect) reputation for being boring. After all, what kind of stories do you tell about two ponies who are more likely to talk their problems out reasonably over a cup of coffee?
Any kind of story other than a direct romance. Other couples will take over the story, making it about their interactions, but Applejack and Twilight are perfectly capable of being romantic while working out a problem, solving a mystery, or working together on an adventure. Their romance is in a shoulder to lean on, an encouraging word at the right time, and, when all the chips are down and there’s nothing left, epic feats of patience and dedication that get the job done.
Which is not to say that it’s not about them as a couple, it’s just that the conflict there is more likely to be personal and internal: Am I what she want/needs?, am I/are we prepared for this?, where do we go from here?, etc. Questions like this will haunt the background of a TwiJack fic while the two ponies go about the plot. Am I what she wants/needs? is a particularly common one, since both ponies are so integrated in their own domains, but just about any plot where they work together will answer it with a resounding yes.
So to write a beautiful romantic TwiJack fic, all you really need is TwiJack, a plot, and a handful of nuzzles and “sugarcube”s. The plot can be whatever story you were writing anyway: in a slice of life fic they’ll go about their day to day business helping each other, or solve problems for other ponies, or argue about two equally logical plans. In a mystery Applejack grounds Twilight’s investigative skills, acting as Watson to her Holmes, and keeping her from missing the forest for the trees. On an adventure Applejack’s hearth wisdom, practical knowledge about the out of doors, common touch with other ponies, and physical prowess and quick reflexes are likely to balance out Twilight’s super-alicorn-powers and research knowledge. Really, any story with Twilight or Applejack can be made into really nice ship fic by adding the other and emphasizing how easily they work together.
As I mentioned above, the one place TwiJack falls down is the regular romance fic, which often relies on miscommunication or clashing personalities. Twilight and AJ’s personalities go together like chocolate and peanut butter, and getting either of them not to communicate openly and honestly takes a really good excuse. On the other hand, there is a very fairy tale feel about AJ crushing on Twilight, convinced for some reason that she shouldn’t act. You just need a reason there-- AJ convinced that Twilight loves someone else, or that she needs someone better able to deal with court (though AJ would probably do surprisingly well at court, with her straight shooting and lack of romantic notions to be disabused.)
I apologize for the lateness and brevity of this post, but I do have something interesting coming up later this week: I’ve asked four writers to answer six questions about writing Twilight Sparkle, and I’ll have their answers posted in a day or so for you to compare to each other and to your own! I plan on doing this with each of the mane six, so stay tuned!
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I call shenanigans.
2574843
That one also told how (the way in which) that ship was the most romantic. As did the FlutterDash and AppleDash posts. There are many different ways ships could be the most romantic ship.
2574847
And all of these ships are simultaneously the most romantic? Man, I knew there was a reason I avoided all things shipping
2574849
If you're avoiding all things shipping, I'm pretty sure you took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
2574862
Nah, I'm pretty sure it correctly told me to head straight into the Pacific
Beautiful.
<ramble>
An earlier post from you that hit a lot of the same points has really informed my own as yet unpublished TwiJack fic. The basic plot: Mayor Mare steps down and the ponies running for her position are not good candidates. The townsponies come up with two separate solutions for this. One camp puts out a ballot measure that would give the local princess much more authority in the town, the other votes for Applejack as a write-in candidate. Both plans succeed.
</ramble>
2574907
I love it. You need to finish that!
I agree. As it is, in canon they became very close friends very fast, and have remained the best of friends. And it's because their personalities mesh well, and they very much love and respect one another.
You completely forgot to mention arguments over who likes the others' vagina more!
For shame!
2574911
The trick is avoiding too much political minutia. It's far too easy to get bogged down in it.
I can see TwiJack being a pretty cosy ship and probably one of the better ones if you need a 'background' ship in larger fics. While other ships are a lot louder (see RariJack, every Pinkie Pie ship in existence), TwiJack's pretty comfortable just being there. No need to proclaim to the world that they're a thing.
Slightly off-topic but given Pinkie is distantly related to Applejack (but Pinkie probably considers their relationship a lot closer and perhaps Jack as well) it does raise the question of how Pinkie would react to any Applejack ship and how the ship deals with that. A potentially fun idea could be a TwiJack fic where the couple are prepared to get married. Pinkie hears the news and of course get super excited over the prospect of Twilight joining her family too! Thus TwiJack has to deal with the excitable antics of Pinkie before the wedding. And possibly get her to hook up with somepony to distract her from everything. Nothing wrong with author appeal after all...
Twijack is probably the most plausible intra-Mane Six ship, if you ask me, for all the reasons you've listed here. It seems clear to me that while Twilight loves all of her friends, Applejack is her best friend among them.
Now how would the rest of the girls react to this ship?
Rarity, surely, would get all excited about the "princess and the farmpony" scenario (no doubt a common occurrence in her beloved romance novels), and might try to prettify Applejack up, much the AJ's annoyance and Twilight's bemusement, until she got it through to Rarity that she likes Applejack just fine the way she is.
Rainbow Dash... I'm tempted to say she'd take it as a challenge. The idea of Rainbow putting what she thinks are oh-so-smooth moves on to Princess Luna ('cause Cadence is spoken for and Celestia is, well, she's Celestia, it's kind of like asking your mom out) is amusing, whether or not Luna returns the favor.
Pinkie and Fluttershy? Hmm. That's harder to say; nothing obvious comes to mind right now.
I love these blogs. I really do. Never stop.
Also, have you done a blog for Twilestia?
TwiJack, TwiJack... I need more TwiJack. The Homesteading is still probably the best TwiJack out there. I want more TwiJack being cute while solving mysteries... It's up there for best ship. (Don't tell PinkieShy!) But strangely, even though it's almost definitely one of the most stable ships (if not the most stable, which it probably is), it's barely canon at all. I mean, even the ships that are "canon" are barely canon at all, but, like, TwiPie, RariJack, some others... There's some good shipping fuel there. Not nearly as much with TwiJack.
Also, what 2574988 said :D
EDIT: Ships are like isotopes of atoms, only the atoms are ponies. *mic drop*
And now I think I fully understand why TwiJack has never appealed to me.
You make a solid case with the leadership aspect, and I can see that being even stronger now that Twi's all princess and stuff, but I've just never felt that AJ would provide enough mental stimulation for Twilight and would end up dragging her down into boring background pony territory.
2575325
I think that depends on what you mean by boring background pony territory.
It's absolutely true that Applejack isn't a puzzle for Twilight to figure out: she's a fact for her to know.
Ponies that are puzzles to Twilight might make for more interesting relationship at first, but the issue as the relationship goes on is that she'll either solve the puzzle, leaving you with a less-natural feeling version of TwiJack, or the puzzle will continue to exist, but how long will Twilight really be happy with an unsolved puzzle?
I don't think it's a surprise that a lot of he best TwiJack fics, even getting together fics, are calmer looks at more mature aspects of a relationship, like Rolling With the Punches, Yours Truly, The Homesteading, or Stardust in My Eyes. TwiJack tends to lend a more realistic, literary feel to a ship fic which could easily feel "boring background pony" if you're interested in more cartoon-y stories.
2574864 Yeah, there's your problem. Those giant squid really aren't great at showing the nuances of character.
Another awesome post as always. I'm checking my couch for coins so I can demand a post about Twixie. I'd really like to hear your take on ships like that. Or perhaps on fanon personalities for characters. So many choices!
She squeezed herself:
Right into the fancy Orange lifestyle, after all, during her time in Manehattan. My headcanon for AJ--and for earth ponies in general--is that they're incredibly good at taking in information from the world around them and processing it to make correct choices. That explains Pinkie Sense--she drawing inferences on a completely subconscious level--and it's why I usually think of Applejack as a Columbo sort of detective: projecting the image of the guileless hick while picking up the clues and puting them together to solve the mystery.
Mike
2575325
To be honest, I'm not sure if Twilight needs any more intellectual stimulation. A solid, sensible pony who keeps her focused on real matters and away from her neurotic freak-outs seems like an excellent partner for her!
2575440
>implying shipping cares about characterizations and not just "NOW KISS!"
Since TwiJack is so extremely plausible, do you think that if cultural standards weren't as they are now, TwiJack might have been an actual romance the show explored? (Among others of course.) Not that I'm saying that showing more romance would actually be a good thing for the show to do/have done.
Surprisingly, I haven't found any good fics that reverse their positions. (And I also don't recall seeing such a fic also ship them, which is clearly a mistake.)
2574849
Yes.
2575099
Yes.
On topic, as said this is a very plausible ship, but I just crave more drama and tension in my ships. There's not enough here for me to sink my teeth into. I really enjoy romance as plot, and plot means conflict. That's not to say it must be fights or breakups or will-they-won't-they. It could be small, like Flutterdash "do we go see the Wonderbolts or the butterfly migration?" wherein they compromise but one party is inevitably disappointed. And i just can't see those manner of conflicts with Twijack. If nothing external or internal disturbs their relationship, then Twijack will simply exist. That doesn't hold my attention.
2575530 Well yeah, and the squids suck at that part too. The beaks are not conducive and tentacles tend to get in the way.
That's pretty much true, especially in the disaster scenarios, but I feel like that's missing an aspect of it.
What makes this ship all the better is that Twilight has proven that she's also happy to step into a follower role when the situation calls for it.
ChuckFinley and I have had talks about the workings of these ships, and what they come down to is how likely they are to work vs how entertaining they are to an audience.
Twinkie, for instance, would explode spectacularly after the honeymoon period, be it a week or a month. However, that meet-cute and first crush intensity is so fantastically wonderful that, so long as you focus on that, you can make it wonderful as a story. Their long-term compatability is only rivalled by the pair's passion and intensity. I say this because TwiJack is the polar opposite.
It would work. There are very few doubts or arguments one could raise to the contrary. Unfortunately that is anethema to an audience's interest. Deep down there is nothing that could convince you that, if these two put their heads together, nothing could ever meaningfully come between them. They're sickeningly secure in who they are[1], they thrive on good communication, they love minutia and long-term planning, neither of them have flaws that would particular grind against the other... They're the pair that makes it happily long into, and well past, retirement, have a few well-adjusted and charming children, and reminisce on a life well spent.
It's dreadfully dull as the focus of a romantic story.... except.
Except.
They're not the focus. Typically, or at least what I notice in a lot of romance stories, is that RariJack is the established couple that the new, burgeoning couple go to for advice. Only Rarity and Applejack haven't, or could never, possibly get things as beatifically perfect as the obnoxiously planned-and-perfect Twilight and Applejack.
They're just so perfect together.
They're so perfect together that that in itself could bring conflict to the relationships around them. "We aren't working as well as TwiJack, does that mean we're not right for each other?" "Applejack and Twilight never fight..." "Why haven't we planned for our future? Applejack's already built an extension and Twilight's picked out the baby's names. She's already on vitamin supplements and they've only just started trying![2]" Etcetera.
They'd also be there to give the absolute right advice in the most vague and general sense possible. They don't know about specifics: They don't have the same sorts of arguments and fights other couples do. They would barely even begin to understand it because, why, can't you just talk it out? Wouldn't a little communicatin' solve everything? Because they don't make the same mistakes as other couples, they can't learn from those mistakes they didn't make in the first place.[3]
This is perfect. It allows you to give the couple that has approached them meaningful advice that will only make sense to them in retrospect, a lesson they'll learn on their own through their own hardships whilst that sage advice echoes at the back of their mind throughout the confusion, its relevance revealed only in retrospect... well I'm sort of picturing a typical Greek prophecy here. The ones that are true in the most ironic of ways?
Better yet, have them give advice that directly contradicts the hopeless romantic that is Rarity. Their advice would be so heartbreakingly practical, and Rarity seems like she'd know what she's talking about... and AJ and Twilight wouldn't even get offended, because of course they'd see the appeal in the alternate advice, but they would be genuinely worried for the fledgling couple struggling to hold together as they head over the precipice...
Anyway, I argue that TwiJack is the most romantic of ships. It's for this reason I'd relegate them to the background, in the position of 'advisors', where they can stand as a beacon for other couples to follow, an unrealistic measuring stick for others to hold themselve to in futility (particularly the insecure), and a font of advice that makes sense only to them, or those that have already learned the meaning of the advice for themselves, which allows you to channel and direct the growth of the couple you're actually focusing on.
I offer this not as an argument against this blog post, which I found fascinating and utterly agreeable, but as a compliment to it. If you have posed the 'why' of it, I posit this as the 'how' to utilize it.
Because I don't have money, but I can at least hope that I can interest you as much as you've inspired thought in me and all the other readers here.
[1] You could play on Twilight's insecurities in general but she's really mellowed out and, well, you can do that for any ship or any fic at all. It's not unique to this ship.
[2] Like hell Applejack would be saddled with the pregnancy, after all. You ever try applebuckin' with a belly full of cider? Imagine how much worse a full bloated baby belly would be! Twilight, meanwhile, would be content to have a good excuse to just lie in bed reading books for a month or so whilst Applejack dotes on her. The fact that she'd have a beautiful child to call her own would just be a bonus.
[3] Not to say they don't have any fights at all, nosiree, just that their fights are of a different nature. What it would come down to for them is perfectly understanding each other's point of view but still disagreeing and then, after understanding the nature of the disagreement, buckling down to find the best possible compromise, without it becoming a matter of wounded pride or personal slights or wounded egos... see? Obnoxiously boring!
You know I'm always amused by inventive ships... it's why I tend to love (and hate) CrackShips Inc. (I love the premise of doing ships that sound like they shouldn't work but hate that they usually don't work!) I must admit I never really saw how this could work until this post spelled out the logic. Like Mr Numbers I didn't see how it could really be interesting, it seemed to work TOO WELL and the crux of all western storytelling is the tension, then of course you have to prove me wrong AGAIN with your genuinely touching story: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/50989/a-fact-for-twilight
Still not my favorite ship ( Bloomberg X Tom OTP 4 EVA! ) but this has certainly moved it up in my mind!
It's no secret that I have a terrible weakness for the foibles of romance (I refuse to use the term RomCom as that springs to mind the worst drivel that Hollywood can conjure) and I know you do as well... you have an AppleDash Comedic Romance... so what would it take for a TwiJack one? I never thought the idea would appeal to me but I must say that you've made the idea intriguing.
Bookplayer-
Obviously you and I have a fair amount of life under our belts. I've been married for a long time and she is my best friend. We are parents of a teenager who also loves the Pony;s. I think that younger writers and readers feel that a ship must have internal conflict for it to be a good read. With a relationship as strong as Twijack (I like AppleSpark - it's got a little pizazz) real life issues can be the source of conflict but you need life experience to appreciate that.
What I love so much about (all) these ponies is that their characters, were they to live in a more "earth" like world, are well rounded and complete enough to stand up to us (writers) giving them real world problems. I know it's fun to have the "boogie-boogie-boogie big bad Tirek gonna BLAST YOU ALL TO KINGDOM COME!!! (Evil laugh, etc.) Yeah, it's fun for a 12 year old but why is he doing this again? Oh right, to rule the world. The single most insipid, stupid, cop out, crappy, lazy place a villain (and by extension writer) can go. Don't get me wrong, I love the superheroes movies as much as anyone, but take away the CGI and... Kinda pathetic. They come from the "Entertain me, dammit! I do NOT want to be active in the process, only passive, damn you! I will not be drawn into a real human story that would require me to invest some thought and emotion and introspection, I want to sit and eat my popcorn and BE entertained!! school. (whew!)
Oh - I LOVED that final episode with Tirek, don't get me wrong. That 12 year old kid is alive and well in my heart. The adult was devastated by the loss of Twilight's home and the personal things that reminded her of her first couple of years in Ponyville.
BTW -Want to know all these Tirek types want to rule the world? Because they discovered that all the cool crap they said they would do when they grew up "I'll be a growed up! I'll do whatever I want!!" turned out to come with a bill attached, called consequences and upon discovering this decided to throw the worlds biggest tantrum. (Kinda like what I'm starting to do here...)
Paper tigers like Tirek are fine, but as writers you should recognize that you can give these ponies as serious an issue as you could give any major literary character and it would work. You could make it believable, not laughable. (Well you could do that too.) And if you can see that, then you understand the dramatic possibilities of the AppleSpark ship.
Best ship for amateur writers? Rarijack. Nothing but low hanging fruit. Very sitcom.
I believe we find a very deep love that will last a lifetime and the problems that they encounter could be very real world. Once you are there (in that problem) and get what is going on, are REALLY engaged in the story, you should feel like you have a stake in the outcome. And what is at stake is the most powerful love in Equestira. (Da da da!!) But seriously, I believe that once you come to understand the depth of love between those two, then you understand what is at stake when anything threatens it, Bookplayer - you are SO right when you talk about what life can throw at you. Believe me when I say that. Very much.
Try to imagine Twilight having a real heart to heart (like after she finds out that Spike has a terminal illness)
...with Pinkie.
With Rarity.
With Rainbow Dash.
With Fluttershy.
See what I mean?
Why do I love this show? Because you could take it there, as I said, to the area of real world problems.
And that's why AppleSpark is, for me (and some others) the best ship - because it's the most powerful and most deeply loving ship and therefore has the most to lose. And THAT is a goldmine of great drama, and it's classic partner, great comedy.