So the show has gone on for 9 seasons and mostly kept the Mane 6 free from romantic entanglements, even as side characters get to form relationships. But if the show had not run on as long, surely they would not all still be single and childless?

Which of them do you think are likely to marry? To who? Will it last? And who is likely to have kids soonest, or at all?

The only member of the Mane 6 I see getting married and becoming a mom is Applejack, but that's because she's a family mare and a farm mare.
I really don't see any other of them doing it. Not that I don't hope, but those are pipedreams

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What do you mean - you think the others all intend to remain single? Or just have brief, non-committal relationships?

6964904 Well... If you are talking about the cartoon, I'm afraid they're all doomed to be spinsters, even if the show had run twenty seasons or so. After all, during a talk by Big Jim at (I think it was EFNW), he confessed that the EQG episode where Twilight went out on a date with Timber was *supposed* to end with a kiss, but Hasbro nixed it. So background ponies can pair up, but the primary characters... not quite. Not even any kissie-kissie.

However, we are dealing with an alternative universe where Hasbro decides that stable married relationships might be a role they'd embrace in this case. In that regard, and since MLP has such a dearth of male characters, and since even *implying* two same-sex characters might possibly be in a relationship can cause such a huff, they'd probably bring in brand new characters of expected characteristics. AJ would get a farmer of some sort, Pinkie a baker, Fluttershy some sort of character who like animals, Twilight a nerd, and Rainbow Dash a flier. Rarity... is such a trigger point in this. They couldn't use Spike, because of the cougar aspect of their relationship. They can't have another designer, because of the obvious clashes. Maybe a male model, or who knows.
-- Georg (who speaks from a position of fanfic authority, having shipped every member of the M6 at once in *two* stories, one that even included Spike)

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I honestly think that Twilight is the most likely to end up a mother. As for who she'd marry, well... Sorry Starlight, but I mainly see Twilight hooking up with Sunburst. On the other hand, Starlight always has Trixie.

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Well, it's sort of a "if the show had perhaps not run as long and now that it's ending" question, so TV rules need not apply. Though i'd like to think that even in-show, they might have shown more variety than just mirror matches. (Then again, I ship CheesePie - which might be a reasonable alternative to a new character if Weird Al was up for it.)

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A plausible enough pairing, but why would she be most likely? (Besides mathematical probability based off her possible lifespan.)

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Twilight has repeatedly been shown to love children and caring for them. I'd also argue that her relationship with Starlight is less as friends and more like Starlight is her full-grown adopted daughter. Of all of the Mane 6 (7 at this point?), Twilight shows the most love for child rearing, not just taking care of them (Like Pinkie Pie).

Look, as far as I see it, had she not become a princess, Twilight would have ended up an early education teacher in Celestia's school.

AJ would definitely marry. Farmers are typically the most likely to have large families for helping the farm.

I can’t see someone as outgoing as Pinkie never having flings. If the show was aimed primarily older audiences she definitely would have been knocked up by now.

Rarity is a flirt, and has shown interest before. I highly doubt she would remain single. Kids... maybe. She adores Sweetie, and typically people who have much younger siblings (as in old enough to diaper them) and had a good relationship with said sibling are more likely to want kids of their own.

Flutters would end up being a late goer to the dating scene. In later seasons we see her being more assertive, so it’s not impossible. Whether or not she gets serious before menopause is up for debate. She’s probably adopt at that point.

I can definitely see RD wanting kids. Especially when her athletic career is winding down. Someone like her would love to cheer her kids on from the sidelines.

Twilight is a special case. If all alicorns are ageless like the Sisters, then she might wait extended periods of time to get married or kids with no biological clock.

On the other hand, she might fear her agelessness could cause her to lose touch with the common pony. Something a princess of Friendship would want to avoid. In that instance she might want to go through multiple marriages and generations of kids over her multiple lifetimes. Partly to keep herself grounded, and partly out of a routine she would set for herself. I used this reasoning in one of my fics, but it is not the focus of the plot.

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Huh. I also see Twilight as a natural teacher, but I don't see any real attachment between her and infants (save her favorite niece). I would think that teaching a class (probably more CMC-aged) might subsume any maternal urges entirely.

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1. Human Twilight (Sci-Twi) x Human Flash Sentry
2. Princess Twilight x Sunset Shimmer
3. Either Rainbow Dash x Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash x Soarin
4. Rarity x Applejack
5. Pinkie Pie x Cheese Sandwich

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1. I really dislike this one - dimensional counterparts aren't interchangeable, and they haven't shown any chemistry of their own. I'd really prefer him with either of

2. Who have OK chemistry, I guess? Perhaps they can share Flash?

3. Plausible enough - though I don't know if she would take that long before making a move.

4. Yeah - this would blow up bad.

5. I already said I liked this one.

Well, if I'm going by which pairings I think make the most sense in terms of chemistry and ignoring any "must be hetero" requirements, pretty much the only one that really feels natural, organic and, y'know, sustainable to me is Sci-Twi and Sunset. Both of them are recovered social pariahs. Both of them are scary smart and compliment each other's intelligence so well (Twi's "lab science" vs. Sunset's "field science"). Both of them share a common trauma of having undergone demonic transformations. They're already very clearly very close friends that have actual chemistry with one another and care about each other a lot (unlike the pickup artist they shoehorned into LoE).

Honestly, I wish the show runners had the freedom to take a page out of Joss Whedon's book and make them an actual canon couple. If you don't know what I'm talking about, in S4 of Buffy, they introduced the character of Tara to be a new member of the cast as a sort of foil to Willow, but had no intent of making her Willow's romantic partner. But when the two of them were interacting on screen, they realized "hey, these two have really great chemistry… lets see where we can take this." And thus was born one of the best couples in the show. Heck, Willow wasn't supposed to be into girls when they wrote her character (because in S1-S3, she was interested in guys), but after Tara came along, it was like "Wait a second! They work as a couple! Let's go for it!".

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I know Tara well (though apparently not well enough - I had no idea she wasn't originally intended as a love interest). And the two do make a decent pairing, as friends or lovers. Certainly more lasting than TwiTimber - I kind of like it, but it's more "first love" than marriage material.

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I don't see much point in speculating this, as every person will have something different in mind and, since canon has effectively found its stopping point, nobody can tell them they're wrong. That being said...

I totes ship RariJack, so if I had the say on canon that would be so. AJ would absolutely want kids and would likely be able to swing Rarity towards the idea, so they'd likely adopt unless Twilight can magic them up a *ahem* "natural" alternative. It will all work beautifully, even if Rares and AJ are arguing like an old married couple before they even get past the first date.

Twilight's a career mare, but if you assume she's immortal then she has plenty of time (like, all of it) to get pulled into the dating scene. With infinity at her hooves, I think it would be absurd for her not to marry and have kids at some point, though when and with whom is up in the air. Then again, if she's not immortal, I can totally see her ignoring the possibility until, being the total nerd she is, she hits up against her biological clock (carefully marked and set with alarms on her magical, 25-year calendar), then the alarm starts ringing and she starts panicking and going to her friends begging for help because "Oh my Celestia I have no idea what I'm doing and I want foals and I've never dated before and I don't want to go all my life without romance and somepony help me!"

...so yeah, depending on how that turns out, maybe. If it didn't work out, she could always adopt — or pull a Celestia and just get a "student".

I see Rainbow Dash going through two or three marriages before finding the pony that's right for her. Probably with a kid-per-mate too, since I imagine she'd love having kids. I see lots of romantic drama in her life. No question she'd make for a stand-up mother, regardless of the relationship with 'dad' (or other mom? (or mom-because-RD's-the-'dad'?)).

Fluttershy will kill or be killed in a bloody free-for-all against Cheerilee, Sugar Belle, and Marble Pie for Big Mac's hoof.

...okay, not really, but it's always an entertaining idea. While I think she's the most likely to be a spinster, her sheer attractiveness plus her ever-growing willingness to head out there and do things she wouldn't have done in Season 1 means she's bound to be approached by plenty of stallions and/or mares. And while she'll have to deal with Discord scaring a lot of them off I imagine that, like so many things, she'll get used to the idea of being courted after a while. I don't see her ever doing the courting though, so if she does get married it'll be the other pony that makes the initial moves. And if that happens it will definitely work, because Fluttershy out of all of them wouldn't commit to anything she wasn't sure of. Kids would then be a guarantee.

Pinkie Pie is the trickiest. Her sheer energy and quirkiness would, I imagine, scare off potential suitors quickly. Her overall manner doesn't lend itself to romantic relationships. That said, if there are ponies like Cheese Sandwich around then one should never say never. Any relationship with Pinkie would be tumultuous, because she out of all of them needs a spouse who is capable of handling her (no small feat), but this may be alleviated by the concept that any pony who gets to even first base with Pinkie is showing a distinct tenacity. Above all the others, Pinkie has to be interested, or else the relationship won't get past "hello, new best friend!" If she does find herself married, though, then kids are an absolute certainty.

Alternatively, I can totally see Pinkie as a single mom due to partying a little "too hard", if you will. Regardless of how it happens though, she'd rock the parenting scene and have fun doing it.

I can see Starlight as being very active on the dating scene. It may take her a while to find that 'perfect somepony' (assuming she hasn't already found him in the Crystal Empire), but I also can't see her as shy about exploring her options, having fun doing it, but also being very responsible about it. I see her ultimately settling down after a couple dozen or so exes. And yeah, I definitely think she'd want kids. In fact, this high level of experience may make her the first pony Twilight runs to when/if she hits that biological alarm.

Sunset Shimmer, I imagine, attracts potential dates like a bug zapper attracts mosquitoes. I seriously doubt she hasn't been dating off and on throughout the events of the show, though with whom is anyone's guess. In fact, it would make an interesting short story collection to see how she treated dates pre-EQG movie to now. And since she's trans-dimensional, her options are far more vast than that of everyone else. But will she ever settle down? That's questionable. I can't help thinking her standards for a partner would be very high, and the big question mark is whether or not she can learn to lower them. I can see her breaking a lot of hearts, but I can also see her breaking her own with a regular mantra of "I love him/her, but could do better". If anyone does land her, the question of kids is up in the air. I don't know that she'd necessarily 'want' them so much as feel like "I'm married, isn't that part of the program?" So maybe the question of children will depend upon whether her partner wants them.

Well, this is all just me speculating on the fly. Talk to me in a week and I may have an entirely different perspective. That tends to happen when you write multiple stories with different ships of the same characters.

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Rarijack I see as kind of inherently unstable - I prefer the solid companionship of Twijack. But it's certainly possible - I just wonder where the kids will go after the divorce.

That also covers my opinion on Twi, but if looking at guys, both Human!Flash Sentry (if she hadn't already jilted him) and Sunburst are possibilities. And that's for the first time round - her future husbands or wives have likely not been born yet.

Another person going with "RD would really want kids" - even setting pregnancy aside, didn't it take 3 seasons for her to even become an acceptable big sister?

Agree on Fluttershy. And I already said my piece on Pinkie - yes, she would be a great mother, but perhaps also a kind of overwhelming one too if her kids are more normal.

Starlight is probably too busy. Then again, the most probable options are her existing best friends - I'd say a Sunburst pairing is more likely than a Trixie one to produce foals for both biological and temperamental reasons.

Sunset's dating life may have been hindered a bit by her past and magical nature, at least in the Canterlot High sphere - most potential suitors would probably be more than a bit intimidated. I personally favour a revival of Sunflash, if Twilight isn't going to have him - but she's young (in human years) and still has plenty of time. And yeah, probably no strong opinion on kids (human pregnancy, on the other hand...)

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Fair enough. I don't necessarily agree, and think they could make a wonderful long-term couple with one another, but that's just my take on the pairing.

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No, I was referring to TwiTimber with that last bit.

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Ah. My mistake.

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I found an interesting idea where Starlight will have a son with sunburst, but the son will not be a unicorn, he would feel less than his parents

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Certainly possible. Hopefully his father can help him out, since he's had his own inadequacy issues.

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Why do you think Rarity go for only a big shot? she goes crazy for guys like blue blood and trenderhoof doesn't mean she wouldn't settle for someone a little less than that.

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but he could turn villain

6965388 Rarity would not 'settle' She is of course the best, and only the best will do for her.

6964904 Rarity seems the most likely to actually "marry" and have a family. Largely because she's been the only one to canonically express interest in romance.

As for who she'd marry, that's a pretty big unknown. She has pretty high standards and I think she'd need to accept finding a partner that might not be the "Prince Charming" she hopes for.

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Princess Twilight: I honestly see her as asexual in the show. She may occasionally go on a date for 'friendships sake', but I don't ever see anypony ever getting past the 'friendship zone.'

Pinkie Pie: Eventually she's gonna have to leave Sugarcube Corner, when she does I see her going on the road with Cheese Sandwich. Eventually they marry and have foals, but they do so on the road.

Rainbow Dash: if this was real life she'd end up married to Zephyr Breeze. But I do see her setting down and raising a family. Quite possibly with Applejack, provided that there is magic that allows two mares to have foals.

Applejack: Takes over the farm after helping Big Mac start a new one closer to Sugar Belle. Definitely marries and has foals.

Rarity: As she gets older her view of 'Prince Charming' changes. Likely ends up with a fashion promoter / writer/ photographer. If she has foals it's late in life.

Fluttershy: One word: FlutterCord! The episode "Make New Friends, but Keep Discord" shows that he would be jealous of anypony she was with, and "Discordant Harmony" shows that he'll do whatever he has to for her, and her for him. So I see the two in a relationship, now wether or not they can even have foals together is debatable. If it's physically possible they will though.

Starlight Glimmer: even though she's not part of the 'mane 6' I feel inclined to include her. She takes over Twilight's school, Sunburst comes to help her once he's no longer needed in Crystal Empire. I see a relationship with Sunburst, Trixie and Starlight forming. Foals? Most likely.

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Well Trenderhoof was quite a step down from Blueblood socially - his celebrity was mostly relevant in that it let her think she knew him long before she met him.

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Princess Twilight: I honestly see her as asexual in the show. She may occasionally go on a date for 'friendships sake', but I don't ever see anypony ever getting past the 'friendship zone.'

She's one of the only characters to express romantic interest in the show (well, Equestria Girls), with a pretty clear physical attraction component. Though admittedly, she did ditch him pretty hard later.

Pinkie Pie: Eventually she's gonna have to leave Sugarcube Corner, when she does I see her going on the road with Cheese Sandwich. Eventually they marry and have foals, but they do so on the road.

I think the same pairing, but I don't see her leaving Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash: if this was real life she'd end up married to Zephyr Breeze. But I do see her setting down and raising a family. Quite possibly with Applejack, provided that there is magic that allows two mares to have foals.

Er, what the heck? I mean, Appledash is a bit of a coin toss, but why on earth would she.... just why?

Applejack: Takes over the farm after helping Big Mac start a new one closer to Sugar Belle. Definitely marries and has foals.

Seems likely - though either could get the Acres.

Rarity: As she gets older her view of 'Prince Charming' changes. Likely ends up with a fashion promoter / writer/ photographer. If she has foals it's late in life.

Certainly realistic.

Fluttershy: One word: FlutterCord!

Could work, could ruin their friendship which isn't good for anyone.

Starlight Glimmer: even though she's not part of the 'mane 6' I feel inclined to include her. She takes over Twilight's school, Sunburst comes to help her once he's no longer needed in Crystal Empire. I see a relationship with Sunburst, Trixie and Starlight forming. Foals? Most likely.

The first bit is very plausible, very plausible indeed... And the second is intriguing - I'd considered both those pairings, but not a trio.

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She's one of the only characters to express romantic interest in the show (well, Equestria Girls), with a pretty clear physical attraction component. Though admittedly, she did ditch him pretty hard later

I will give you that one, though I often wonder that particular relationship. Seems odd that someone whom spent their entire life (until now) as a pony would find a human attractive. Perhaps one day she'll leave Equestria and go through the mirror for love.

I think the same pairing, but I don't see her leaving Ponyville.

I figure eventually the Cakes will need the room, or no longer need her help once the twins are old enough. No longer having a place to live is what I see driving her to go find Cheese and the two living on the road hosting parties throughout Equestria. I suppose it's possible that Cheese settles down in Ponyville, but after 'Last Laugh' that seems unlikely.

Er, what the heck? I mean, Appledash is a bit of a coin toss, but why on earth would she.... just why?

If you are referring to the whole Zephyr Breeze thing, it was meant as a bad joke. Though I COULD see it happen under very, very specific conditions. Dash would have to be injured to the point where she could never compete again and Zephyr Breeze would have to be there to comfort her.

Seems likely - though either could get the Acres.

I speculate that Mac moves to be closer to Sugar Belle. Her bakery could never compete with Sugarcube Corner in Ponyville, so she'd stay in 'Our Town'.

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I will give you that one, though I often wonder that particular relationship. Seems odd that someone whom spent their entire life (until now) as a pony would find a human attractive. Perhaps one day she'll leave Equestria and go through the mirror for love.

Simple explanation - she's been on hormone blockers since puberty and never actually experienced an unfiltered does of attraction - and in a teenage body to boot. When she's back in Equestria (and back on the pill) she struggles to remember why exactly she liked him so much.

I figure eventually the Cakes will need the room, or no longer need her help once the twins are old enough. No longer having a place to live is what I see driving her to go find Cheese and the two living on the road hosting parties throughout Equestria. I suppose it's possible that Cheese settles down in Ponyville, but after 'Last Laugh' that seems unlikely.

There are more places to live in Ponyville than just the Cake's attic. I see her and Cheese as a long-distance marriage - though admittedly, that would require her to overcome her abandonment issues from Wonderbolt Academy.

I speculate that Mac moves to be closer to Sugar Belle. Her bakery could never compete with Sugarcube Corner in Ponyville, so she'd stay in 'Our Town'.

If Pinkie is leaving, the Cakes will need another apprentice who can actually inherit the place. (Far too soon to tell if their kids will have baking talents.)

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Simple explanation - she's been on hormone blockers since puberty and never actually experienced an unfiltered does of attraction - and in a teenage body to boot. When she's back in Equestria (and back on the pill) she struggles to remember why exactly she liked him so much.

I like that one! I've never thought of that! That actually makes perfect sense!

There are more places to live in Ponyville than just the Cake's attic. I see her and Cheese as a long-distance marriage - though admittedly, that would require her to overcome her abandonment issues from Wonderbolt Academy.

That definitely could work

If Pinkie is leaving, the Cakes will need another apprentice who can actually inherit the place. (Far too soon to tell if their kids will have baking talents.)

I suppose that is one way to do it. I suppose I always assumed that the twins would have baking talents and take over the shop (Of course, my perverted mind also ships them together.(

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Pinkie Pie is easy--just ponify Bertie Wooster and she'll be happy for life:

He's her philosopher-prince!

Applejack-would want to marry someday, for certain.
Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich would make a nice couple.

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I think the same pairing, but I don't see her leaving Ponyville.

Same here. She seems too tied down to the town and too vital to it to ever truly leave. I could maybe see her going on the road with Cheese from time to time, but probably not until Pound and Pumpkin Cake are older. I think she'd want to see them grow up.