Me: I should finish stuff rather than starting new things
Also me: heheheh... löv

The only reason I have the ships I do in my nextgen verse, is that I can't ship everyone with everyone. Well, I mean, I can... but I'd rather not try to keep track of the web that would make. My point is, my ships are pretty much either just what I liked most at the time of making them, who wasn't already taken, and uh, who would make the most fun babies lol. There's a few ships I do like more than others and that I knew I had to include --RariTwi is popular one, DaringCora is a more crack-ship I found myself really liking, even to this day-- but most were pretty much just picking one at random. Take two random non-related adult characters, and I can find things I like about their ship.

So, seeing as I can only fit so many ships in my nextgen-verse, I decided to celebrate valentines by drawing a couple of other ships I really like! :] So, none of these are canon to my nextgen-verse, this is just a what-if for fun ^{^}

Featherbrains
Look, I'm gonna be honest. This ship didn't used to be special to me. I mean, I liked it as much as any other random jock/jock ship, but it was just meh. It did have the extra spice of friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, but aside from that, it wasn't very high on my list. I didn't like Gilda as a character by herself at the time. (Then when I did, I liked her with Fluttershy first so that's what happened in my nextgen verse :) )

But as often happens to me, I find someone else being enthusiastic about a ship and I find myself also really liking it in return. In this case, owlcoholik 's GildaxDash art made me love them together so much. (If you like the ship, go check them out! In their nextgen verse, Gilda and Dash's got a giant son, Heathcliff, who is extremely adorable~)

Anyway, in this AU, they got together after Dash and Pinkie visited Griffonstone. Gilda got overwhelmed by "Buck, we almost died back there" and "Wait, we're friends again?" and decided the best option now was to strike while the iron's hot, asking Dash out. Dash, confused but not one to pass up an opportunity for free food and someone being socially obligated to compliment her (and maybe getting together with her long-repressed crush) said yes.

I'd imagine a lot of their dates aren't very traditional, and instead involve flying, racing and other sports... much to Rarity's indignation when Dash tells her friends about it. Most looking in would at first just see two bffs being snarky and competative with each other... at least until the wresting turns into a makeout session lol

(How would a griffon kiss though? Extreme french kiss, literally nothing but tongue? I mean, others have already tackled the subject, but I just gave up, and made Dash lick her =P)

MoonPie
Pinkie Pie is fun with everyone.

CelestiaxPinkie? Regal royal with a hidden prankster streak joining forces with someone who cares naught for social conventions at all? Fun!

TwilightxPinkie? Uptight booknerd with miss sugar rush herself? Fun!

TroubleshoesxPinkie? The tragedy to her comedy. Fun!

CheesexPinkie? Okay, so I lied, I find this ship kinda boring tbh. It's not bad per se, I don't dislike it, it's just a bit cake on cake when it comes to Pinkie's personality with nothing else to balance it out. Not bad, just less fun than others.

So picking one for her is hard. There's too many option, so she's single in my nextgen verse =P But I wanted to pick one for this, and one of my most liked Pinkie ships is actually LunaxPinkie. In some alternate universe, Pinkie didn't pretend to be scared at the expense of Luna's fun in "Luna Eclipsed", and instead decided to introduce her to the fun of the holiday. She then, upon realising just how much the princess had missed, decided to continue with showing her the rest of the wonders the future had to offer. Everything from cotton candy ("Ms. Pie, we admire thine enthusiasm, but that confenctionary did exist in our time") and pin-the-tail-on-the-pony ("So we are supposed to... impale this pony's buttocks? ...Why art thou laughing?") to nightclubs ("This is not my idea of 'fun', but I am... glad, thou showed me this") and, maybe... dating? ("In my time it was called 'courting'. But... yes. I would love to try this... 'dating' with thee").

In this AU, Pinkie's enthusiasm, perstistance about making others happy and non-judgemental outlook would help with Luna's lonliness and self-doubt. While Luna would provide a calm and grounding aspect... excluding her moments of explosive enthusiasm for new things ("The fun has been doubled!") which would bring the two of them to new heights of fun. I'd also imagine that she'd been good for the moments when Pinkie had doubts and insecurities, understanding what she's going through <3

I just think they'd be really fun, good, and cute together!

Dunno, something to do with beards
...Definently the crackiest pairing I have lol. Even so, only ship here that I am semi-considering making canon to my nextgen verse. Neither are paired with anyone else, and it is really funny =P

As for why... Look, I can get behind the TwiCord ship. Uptight booknerd with chaos annoyance? Sign me up. But have you considered; chaos annoyace with old grumpy uptight booknerd? StarswirlxDiscord. It has all the main bits I like of TwilightxDiscord but with extra old man get-off-my-lawn energy :D

Since this is very much crack, I haven't thought as seriously about how their meeting would go, but I imagine something like...

Discord: Ah, hello! I heard you are the one who created the seed which became the tree which locked me in stone for over a thousand years?
SS: Crap. Oh, uh-- If you have come to slay me, I warn you that I am not so easily--!
Discord: Slay? Nono, that would make my friend upset. Nah, I have a much better plan.
SS: *Weary confusion*
Discord: I'm going to pop in now and again and annoy you. Forever.
SS: ...Are you certain you do not want a battle to the death instead?

And then he does, annoying the crap out of Star Swirl. And if his pranks somehow shift into the kind schoolyard foals do when they don't know how to express feelings, or if the constant jokes turns into semi-flirting, or the visits become more personal, then whose gonna notice? Emotionally and socially repressed Star Swirl? Ha!

Eventually, even he does notice when Discord leaves gifts and suddenly compliments him though. It's as if the chaos spirit actually likes him. Such an absurd notion. As if Star Swirl would ever consider the affections of such a ridiculous creature, with his strange (yet fascinating) appearence, or crude (but sometimes funny, he must admit) humour, or devestating (incredible) magic, or mesmerising knowledge of chaos theory, or deep eyes, or...

Oh, dear.