Ok, here are my reasonings. · 9:54pm Feb 3rd, 2017
Simply put, I have reasons for why I paired who I have so far and why they work like they do.
Sunset and SciTwi I've kind of put forth in the stories already: they've faced sides of themselves that they were horrified of and came through better people. Also, since Sunset had her magic siphoned first and through the portal, it's linked the two of them on a level I haven't decided yet. Certainly, it's made my SciTwi a little less of a shy bookworm and has made my Sunset a little more analytical - not that I've showcased that much as yet - and they will eventually balance out each other. That bond may have been created by accident, but they are nurturing and sustaining it by choice.
AJ and RD are, at their core, people that will often place others ahead of themselves. Going off their Elements, Applejack will be honest to help a friend when they are out of line and Rainbow would never desert a friend in need. As people, they both have a solid core of decency and a competitive nature that will never allow the other to slack off or give them an easy win. I think this is what will drive them - especially Rainbow - to excel in what they plan to do after school. And she also knows that if soccer doesn't work, she'll have AJ to catch her.
Rarity and Fluttershy is a bit of an odd duck. Rarity is such a drama queen and attention hog at times that someone as timid as Flutters would seem to be a bad choice. However - and this is backed up by scenes in the show and movies - the two of them often hit it off and are frequently off by themselves in idle cast shots. In Friendship Games (I think) they are chatting animatedly while Rarity does Shy's nails. Some see them as a model/producer interaction, and that's fair, but I see it as Rarity utilizing Shy's natural grace and Flutters being able to feel uplifted by Rarity's work in a way that she hasn't gotten much in life. Hearing at a pivotal time in life that she isn't good at what she should be (flying as a Pegasus, or something to be revealed in EqG) is hard on anyone. And as probably half of the readers know from experience: for young women, their competence has a surprisingly small amount to do with how they feel about themselves.
I stole that line from Brandon Sanderson. Don't start thinking of me as deeply philosophical now.
Back to the point, I feel that Fluttershy knows she is capable but has some severe self-esteem issues. Rarity allows her to feel beautiful and worthwhile if even for a moment and Rarity is more than glad to provide that feeling. They are also the more esoteric of the Mane Six, as they don provide food or favorable weather. They provide luxury in fashion and harmony in nature. And yet they are both regularly consulted on their areas of expertise. While pony Flutters has come a long way over the last six seasons, there is plenty of growth allowances for Human Shy because of her relative lack if screen time.
Poor Pinkie. I just have trouble pairing her. She would be good with any number of peeps. But if I had to pair her with someone in my continuity, it'd probably be Sonata - and you'll see why when we get back to Raison d'Etre and possibly in Cruising.
Octavia and Vinyl go without saying. Though I am going to throw in a twist.
People were surprised I shipped Starlight and Trixie. I don't see them as a sexual couple, but romantic. They take solace in each others co pony and comfort. Pure romantic comparability and no interest in anything else.
Aria and Adagio are likely going to remain single for now. They both have so much baggage to work through.
Pony Twilight...I'm unsure. I have been seeing a lot of Luna ships and I admit it has merit, but since I Am more focused on the human side of my continuity, I have time.
I think that's it, really.
Yeah she's a little tricky I'm unsure which ship I prefer of the ones I've explored. I kind of like TwiDash but I've also seen the appeal in TwiJack. Twilestia can work pretty well but it's also a little weird cause of the nature of there relationship. Somehow I've yet to pay much mind to Twilight x Luna but I'm sure I'll look at that at some point.
For pony Twilight, you could always go the way Reality Check did in his Nyx-verse story, Alicornundrum. He created an original character for Twilight named Inkspot, who was an assistant editor for a book publisher. They met through weird circumstances and stayed together through weirder ones. Anyway, I was saying, you could just come up with a new character and flesh them out, male or female, who comes to Twilight with a problem requiring a royal viewpoint and she's way more approachable than the other 3 Princesses. This might work better than trying to shoe-horn a relationship with an established character.
I wholeheartedly agree with your reasoning for Apple Dash and rarishy. Those are my two OTPs. Rarity and Fluttershy have such a lovely relationship and I love how they love to do quiet, calm things with each other such as go to the spa. And Applejack and Rainbow are of course the best of friends!