The Apple Ship

I'm torn. I'm honestly torn. For years I've been an Appledash shipper. To me, those two were made for each other. Hell, I have this on a silk screen hanging on my wall:

_{Source: Derpibooru}

I saw this at a candy store in Nelson, BC back in 2013 or so. I saw it and knew that I had to have it. It's hanging on the wall in front of me as I type.

I love their dynamic, and I can absolutely see them falling in love. The show even hinted at it in "The Last Problem".

_{I mean, come on. Who else could get Dash to volunteer to do chores?
Source: Derpibooru}

AJ and Dash have one of the closest bonds of the mane six, in my opinion. This stems from Rainbow Dash's fierce loyalty, Applejack's outgoing good-natured manner, and their constant need to prove themselves to someone - in AJ's case, I think it's to herself, while Rainbow Dash needs everyone else's approval (even if she won't admit it).

They play off of each other wonderfully in the show, because of the opposites in their characters. And that can work in romantic relationships too.

But AJ and Dash also have a tendency to bring out the absolute worst in each other. The entire fiasco of a field trip in "Non-Compete Clause" made that absolutely clear. The previously pictured "Fall Weather Friends" is another example. Even Applejack, the buckin' Element of Honesty, played dirty over a friendly race. I doubt any of the other mane six would, or could, force her hoof like that.

So with that in mind, which ship am I now sort of curious about?

_{Source: Derpibooru... Again}

Why, Rarijack, darling!

This one took a long time to seed itself into my subconscious. It took me a long time to appreciate Rarity as a dynamic and wonderfully vibrant character, and I didn't really notice the nuances in her relationships with the others, especially with Dash and AJ.

Raridash? Hell no. Those two would kill each other before marrying. Their expectations for a relationship would be completely incompatible, in my opinion.

Applejack, on the other hand, has quite a bit in common with Rarity. They both crave structure: Rarity is meticulous with her work, and has a system that, to outside appearance is chaos, but to her makes sense, and is a structure in her work. For Applejack, it's caring for both her family and the farm - you could argue that these two concepts are really one larger structure in her life, and her career.

Rainbow Dash seems to fear structure, which is understandable. She's a daredevil, and she's also an ADD child if I've ever seen one. Takes one to know one. She can easily adapt to things on the fly, but a routine would bore the crap out of her.

One could argue that Applejack and Rarity can also bring out the worst in each other, but I think that more than anything, they have a way of bringing out the best in each other too. They're both dedicated to their work, and are quite mature among their peers (marsh-melodrama notwithstanding). They have drive and ambition that they can relate to the other.

And I have to admit, "the cowpoke & the diva" is an extraordinarily, almost alarmingly adorable ship.

Now, all of this is at odds with yet another ship of which I am enamored: Rarimaud!

_{You can't tell me that this isn't fabuladorable.
Source: Derpibooru. Always with the Derpibooru.}

What is a long time Appledasher supposed to do?

I guess it calls for months of painstaking research. Y'know. Reading shipfics and mining Derpibooru for Rarijack fluff.

It's for research!

Till next time,
~RaineLionheart

Comments

[Bicyclette]

all three of these ships are amazing and i love them