How did the Mane Six meet their partners in the Thirdverse? (You can leave out Rainbow Dash since I know it goes into spoiler territory)
The great thing about the Thirdverse is that most of the Mane 6 have already met their partners in the show, so that’s checked off and I mostly just have to figure out how they fall in love!
Twilight Sparkle x Sunburst: They made Starlight their third wheel in that one episode and they would just keep doing that until they figure out they’re in love /hj Jokes aside, “Uncommon Bond” did establish a mutual love of nerdy things (and I think a common love of learning itself) that Twilight and Sunburst would continue bonding over even if they haven’t admitted their more-than-friends feelings to themselves yet. Eventually Starlight has enough of the “will they, won’t they” and decides to make it known
“What are you two, a couple?” “Oh wow maybe we are”
Cue Twilight doing a week of research into what qualifies as a couple and the two of them making their relationship official. The process of marriage and conceiving their first child went fairly quickly after that; once everything was out in the open they just couldn’t get enough of each other
Fluttershy x Quibble Pants x Pharynx: Fluttershy was put in touch with Quibble both through her childhood best friend and her own role as an athlete in his (at the time) almost-stepdaughter’s favorite sport of buckball. I think they’d hit it off as friends, and she’d especially appreciate the side of him that’s so devoted to doing his best for those he loves. Well, Quibble and Clear Sky eventually break up, probably for something that’s not Quibble’s fault like her realizing she’s not interested in stallions. In the long run I think he still stays in touch with her and Wind Sprint (who still sees him as something of a “dad”) and goes on the occasional outing with them. At the time, Quibble is super broken up, thinking something about him was not enough for them. But he has Fluttershy there to comfort him and be his friend. I think that vulnerable time, with Fluttershy’s empathy, would really draw them together and lead to their eventual romance.
Sometime early in her and Quibble’s relationship, Fluttershy takes him to the changeling kingdom to admire the greenery with her, where they meet the changeling prince Pharynx. This guy, always one to show off, shows them around, with Quibble making snarky comments as he does. But they’re lowkey subconsciously flirting and Fluttershy finds it hot lmao. Eventually one of them tells Fluttershy they caught feelings, expecting her to cry and break up with Quibble, but she ends up being thrilled! “Yay two boyfriends 🥰”
Pinkie Pie x Tempest Shadow x Luna: I like to think that Tempest hung out with Twilight (platonically) a lot after her redemption, and Pinkie Pie came around during those times a lot because she was just so thrilled to make a new friend. Upon learning that her birth name was Fizzlepop Berrytwist, Pinkie would naturally assume that she has some sort of background in the sweet treats that she loves. This leads to her taking Tempest to Sugarcube Corner a bunch to bake with her or do taste tests or whatnot, which Tempest would enjoy despite her attempts to downplay it. Any sense of humor Tempest did have in the movie iirc was kind of snarky and consisted of chuckling at Twilight’s misery, as villains do, but I think she still maintains a dry humor post-reformation that Pinkie would find endearing.
Around this time, Tempest was also working with the royal family, first on some basic post-Storm King cleanup and then on some friendship rehabilitation and scientific research endeavors. With Tempest’s willing participation, I think the royals would be interested in learning how magic works in broken unicorn horns. Luna has a tendency in the show to bring up her Nightmare Moon era during conversations quite often, usually to teach some sort of lesson. With her own past, she would easily sense Tempest’s own guilt over her actions under the Storm King, and offer anecdotes on her own redemption journey. From there, the two of them would bond over their trauma even more, along with other interests such as discussing military strategy or their common magical strengths.
I think sometime during these two bonding processes, Pinkie would hear about Tempest becoming closer with Luna and suggest that the three friends hang out more. Either she would accompany Tempest to (probably Silver Shoals by this point) or she’d invite Luna to join them in Ponyville. One thing that was made evident in “Luna Eclipsed” is that Luna also has a love for fun and games, much like Pinkie, so the three of them would be able to find lots of ways to enjoy their time together. The friendships between the three of them continued to blossom until one day Pinkie, always very open with her feelings unlike the two more reserved mares, confesses that she loves them both as more than friends. Tempest and Luna realize that they feel the same and things blossom from there!
Rarity x Filthy Rich: Rarity and Filthy—er, Rich as he likes to be called, met in “It’s Not The Mane Thing About You” when she helped him pick out flowers for Spoiled, so their meeting in Thirdverse canon wouldn’t be the first time they’ve ever spoken. This interaction was small and by no means the beginning of their relationship; that comes quite a bit later, after Rich has bitten the bullet and gotten divorced from Spoiled. Now a single stallion and the primary caretaker of his daughter (by her choice), he needs somepony to help his daughter pick out a new dress for a special occasion. As much as he loves Diamond Tiara and makes an effort to spend time with her, a traditional stallion like him needs a little help to learn about matters of fashion. Who better to help than Ponyville’s resident fashionista? Rich comes in with Diamond, meekly explaining that she didn’t want her mother to help her, but he was feeling a little lost. So Rarity works her magic, not only helping Diamond pick out a dress that she loved, but explaining the basics of color, fabric, and cut to Mr. Rich so he could do this with his daughter more often. He picks up on it as well as he can but still needs another set of eyes most of the time, thus turning the Riches into regular clients for Carousel Boutique. Rarity and Rich’s conversations eventually turn to matters like business and family, in which they have a lot in common—both being highly successful businessponies, well-known in their social spheres, and most importantly, each having a young family member that they adore. It’s only natural that their relationship would develop from there until it is no longer just a business relationship.
Applejack x Sugar Belle: They first met during the cutie mark cult debacle and then got to interact much more once Sugar and Big Mac became an item, just like in the show. I can’t say too much else about how their relationship began yet, except that Sugar Belle did not have an affair /srs
Rainbow Dash x …all of her partners: You were right this would definitely be spoiler territory but I’m still really excited to reveal it all
