Each month we will be spotlighting one pairing, or suggesting a writing prompt. As you may have seen on the main page, this month's area of focus is Sonata x Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack are the two mane six cast members most frequently grouped with Aria Blaze, but that relies on Aria having the patience for any of this friendship tomfoolery, or even being willing to be seen with any Rainbooms. But it's Rainbow's enthusiasm that carried the day through Rainbow Rocks, and we know Sonata is the chirpy, happy one among the Dazzlings. So maybe they can bounce off each other and find happiness together!

What would someone as awesomely clever as Rainbow Dash see in someone as dim as Sonata? Why would someone as delightfully charming as Sonata go for someone as rude as Rainbow? Outside their own heads, what could two obnoxious blue idiots possibly have in common? Here's a well-regarded sample of the ship, but we need you to write more! Maybe Sonata's goldfish memory means she's the only person not yet tired of Rainbow's showboating. Maybe Rainbow, as the Element of Loyalty's human equivalent, sticks up for Sonata when her own sisters don't. Maybe Sonata makes a very enthusiastic head cheerleader anytime Rainbow has a sports game. Maybe they're literally the last two people alive and so try to repopulate the planet together, neither of them quite understanding some basic realities of reproductive biology.

Alluring artwork assembled by myself, using pictures sourced from cbear624 (twice), Amante56, Peachy-Pop, and DragonMaster137, may they inspire you to come up with a delightful new tale of the sweetness and the athleteness.

If this is a ship you like the sound of, this thread is probably a good place to discuss it. I joined this group not just to see all the unusual siren ships in one place, but to encourage others to write more of them, so if you're thinking of writing a Sonata x Rainbow story or have one in the works already, by all means let us know in the thread below. Or just discuss the ship: what you like about it and why, what problems you've encountered with it before, what scenarios you can envision for the two of them. Just talking about it like that can inspire others with new story ideas, some of which might get written down, at which point we all benefit

I'm guessing one of those pizza place arcades is involved. Both like pizza, and Rainbow likes showing off, so she would be able to do great at all the games, but she doesn't care about the tickets. Whereas Sonata actually likes the tickets because of all the prizes she could get, but can never seem to get quite enough tickets for the good prizes. Maybe after Rainbow gives Sonata the tickets, she just sort of follows Rainbow around like a love-sick puppy. Maybe they play a game, and Sonata asks for a date when she wins, which she does, much to Rainbow's shock. Not being one to go back on a bet though, she goes through with it.

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As far as Mane 6 ships with the second-cutest siren go, this is probably the one I can see working the most outside of Sonata/Pinkie. We've seen that Sonata is on board with encouraging competition where none existed before, which makes me think she'd be pretty accepting of Rainbow Dash's own brash, competitive nature. And, if Sonata's been cruising by with a magic song and natural siren adorableness, I could see her having picked up a few skills that could let her compete evenly with Rainbow Dash. We've seen she can dance well, for instance, so she could be fairly athletic herself. Cheerleading sounds absolutely adorable and something she'd be super into.

That being said, I think I can also see these two being the ones who, out of their respective groups, take the longest to play nice with their old enemies--Sonata because she's childish and lacks Adagio and Aria's sense of pragmatism, Rainbow because she's... childish and lacking her friends' pragmatism So I feel like the first step for them would be putting them into a situation where they had to play nice with each other, whether that be them getting stuck on a malfunctioning escalator together or being the two survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

Alternatively, seeing as how Sonata used to feed on negativity, maybe Rainbow being the one person who doesn't forgive her right away is exactly what draws them together, since coaxing out that aggression just by existing brings back old memories for Sonata and makes her feel like a smexy siren again.

6647134 Nice idea! Rainbow gets to be the big impressive hero winning all the prizes, and Sonata gets to enjoy said prizes What game do you think Sonata would challenge Rainbow to where she'd have a chance of winning, for securing the date? I'm imagining Sonata being unexpectedly good at Pacman...

6647409 I hadn't thought of the siren competition angle and how neatly that would fit with Dash's usual approach, I'd love to see Sonata asking Rainbow what exactly she allegedly did wrong, and Rainbow end up kind of stumped. Especially if the story is set around Friendship Games, when everyone went super-competitive anyway.

That would be fantastic! The more Rainbow resents the Dazzlings and having to be nice to them, the more irresistible she is to Sonata I wonder what human Rainbow's parents are like, and, if they're as enthusiastic as their pony counterparts, how that enthusiasm would sit with Sonata's own

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Naiad's post gave me an idea that would be perfect: Dance Dance Revolution!

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Ooo, yeah, Sonata/Rainbow during Friendship Games would be lovely! Sonata would have a good time there, I think, and it's probably the moment where she'd see the most of the side of Rainbow Dash she'd really like. And Sonata stumping her like that is a rather striking image too.

As for Rainbow's parents, first of all, yeah, I'd assume that they'd be just as enthusiastic in the EQG world as they are in Equestria. How that'd lead to them interacting with Sonata... I think, if they're enthusiastic in a flattering way towards her, she'd be all about it and would happily make herself out to be the perfect little angel they want their daughter to be dating and stuff. But if they're really really big on Rainbow Dash all the time, I could totally see her being resentful and petty towards them, which could make for some nice drama.

6647485 I could definitely see a dancing game being the answer, that's a great idea! It's weird to think of Rainbow on one of those; it'd definitely be a game she'd want to be best at, but I just can't see her dancing

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this prompt thingy looked totes funny and I loved that smexy picture (Not my fav ship, but omg those outfits ), so I went and wrote a story 'bout it. M-rated, so shouldn't link here, but it's in the folder thingy and called Dawn of the Dumb, so it should be easy to find.

6651890 You wrote a story for our monthly shipping pair?! No one has ever actually done that before!

I will go read it now!

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Do Adagio/Vignette some other month and it'll happen again

6652262 I held off replying for a little while so I had some time to think about how to respond, and whether to make a certain offer - see below!

Firstly, I loved your story. It was great stuff, it perfectly suited the picture, and it really captured the 'idiot and bigger idiot' vibe I was hoping for with those two.

Secondly, I'm chuffed you'd write that for the prompt here, and using the artwork I put together no less It takes some time to think up and write out the prompt each month, and it usually provokes some fun discussion, but you do sometimes wonder how much effort you should be putting in when no one takes you up on writing the story. But you wrote one for this, and it was all worth it! Also, I spent several hours putting that artwork together, painstakingly erasing original backgrounds and stuff (working while staring at a closeup of Sonata's chest for several hours is a strange experience), and someone using it as a story cover made all that effort worth it too!

Having said that it can be despiriting when no one wants to actually write the stories suggested here or inspired by the discussion, I do completely understand it. We're not offering a financial reward here for any of the prompts, and we aren't exactly the biggest of groups, so it's not like the winner will be able to bask in site-wide exposure either. So I'm by no means blaming people for not writing for any of the prompts - I too have a long list of stories in various stages of development that demand my attention, and I'm reluctant to divert any of that focus for a story prompt, however tempting. It'd be nice to offer a prize for the prompts, of course, but there's no way I can afford that each month.

It occurred to me, though, that in this instance there's *something * I can offer as some form of prize/reward/thanks. As you're the first to actually write a story for one of our prompts. And as - having now read through all of your stories - you'd be one of the few people here I'd think qualified for it.

So: I'm thinking about running a contest sometime in the next few months. A proper one, with prizes and everything. Would you potentially be interested in being one of the guest judges for it?

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Maaaybe? What sort of contest did you have in mind?

6665447 I will PM you the details