Fluttershy

Fluttershy is a female Pegasus and one of the main characters of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. She lives in a small cottage near the Everfree Forest and is an animal caretaker, the most prominent of her charges being Angel the bunny. She represents the element of kindness.

Development
Fluttershy's caring nature and appearance is similar to Posey, an Earth pony in the 1980s My Little Pony toy lines and show. Her, published online by Lauren Faust, refers to her as "Posey" as well. Her cutie mark, three pink and cyan butterflies, is similar to that of the G2 pony Sky Skimmer. Fluttershy's name is shared by a previous generation Earth pony, who is a photography enthusiast.

Shyness and timidity
When Fluttershy is first introduced in the series, she barely manages to tell Twilight her own name on account of her timidness, whispering so quietly that Twilight can't hear her, and even going so far as to shying away behind her own mane. However, she immediately becomes enthusiastic when she sees Spike, imploring the baby Dragon to hold a conversation with her, which he ends up doing, and follows him and Twilight all the way to the library. Her shy nature contrasts with Rainbow Dash's abrasiveness, most notably in Dragonshy, and to a lesser extent in Sonic Rainboom. What is noticeable is that throughout season one, Fluttershy's inability to speak up often annoys Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow expresses her aggravation more than once. One instance is when Fluttershy produces cheers to the best of her extent for Rainbow Dash at the beginning of Sonic Rainboom, none of them coming close to being loud and encouraging, much to the latter's dismay. Season two shows them having grown closer to each other as friends despite their differences.

She fears full-grown dragons and was hesitant to continue forward more than once when she and the others go on an expedition to deal with a sleeping dragon in Dragonshy, with Fluttershy relying heavily on her friends' encouragement. In the end, Fluttershy gains up the courage to speak to the dragon, so far as to even confront it face-to-face when the others failed to get it to leave. In Stare Master, she tames a wild cockatrice in a similar manner.

She is reduced to tears by Gilda in Griffon the Brush Off when the griffon roars in her face. Afraid to be in the same room as Gilda, Fluttershy voices her discomfort to Pinkie Pie, who waves off her worry as Fluttershy's "Auntie Pinkie Pie", much to her chagrin.

In Luna Eclipsed, Fluttershy sequesters herself at home in her cottage during Nightmare Night, and refuses to answer the door until she learns that it is Twilight who is calling.

In Putting Your Hoof Down, Fluttershy transforms her shyness into assertiveness after attending a seminar from Iron Will. However, when she over-asserts herself, such as going berserk when a mail carrier delivers her the wrong mail, Rarity and Pinkie attempt to intervene. In the end, she ultimately reverts to her normal self, but with a stronger resolve.

In Dragon Quest, she is again shown to be afraid of dragons. Fluttershy pointedly refuses to watch the Dragon Migration with her friends, despite Twilight Sparkle's coaxing. It culminates in Fluttershy pushing past Rainbow Dash and jumping out the window, fleeing the scene before any of them could follow her.

In Hurricane Fluttershy, she tries to avoid helping the other Pegasi in the tornado formation. After some insistence from Rainbow Dash, she reveals that she is afraid of doing badly as a Pegasus. She becomes even more discouraged after her initial wingpower only came to a 0.5 on the scale. Later on, the animals get her to become motivated in increasing her wingpower, but her second attempt only puts her at 2.5 (corrected by Spike as 2.3), further diminishing her hopes for improvement. In the end, Twilight convinces her to give her best when the other Pegasi were lacking the necessary wingpower to lift the water off the ground. Her help resulted in her wingpower surpassing her first two ratings and a successful attempt to transport the water to Cloudsdale.

Kindness and sensitivity
"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness."

- Twilight Sparkle

When the ponies venture into the Everfree Forest, she is the only pony who does not engage in a fight with a Manticore when it attacks them, and relieves it of a thorn embedded into its front paw. She later reveals to Twilight that she did not notice the thorn, but she showed consideration to the fierce Manticore regardless. This kind act entitled her to being the wielder of Kindness, as well as revealed her faithful and considerate handling of all types of animals.

After humbling the dragon in "Dragonshy" and making it cry, she immediately consoles it and advises it to look for a more suitable place to sleep.

When the animals in the garden of Canterlot scurry away from her in "The Best Night Ever," she snaps and gets into a very uncharacteristic fit of rage.

"I'll catch you yet, my pretties. Oh yes, as soon as one of you little birds or monkeys or bears touches this net, you'll be mine! MINE! (Laughs evilly)"

- Fluttershy

In "The Return of Harmony Part 1," she is the only pony who isn't easily affected by Discord's manipulation, much to his frustration, prompting him to forcefully hypnotize her and make her cruel. In this state, she is no longer kind and gentle, and is instead, very nasty and irritating to those around her. She shows no hesitation in inflicting grief or annoyance upon the other ponies, such as trampling the flowers in front of the library, dumping water on Twilight Sparkle and Spike and snatching the Elements of Harmony from Twilight. When Twilight Sparkle sets out to set the others straight using a "memory spell", Twilight and Applejack are forced to hogtie her and pin her to the floor, with Applejack standing on her tail to prevent her from flying away. Upon returning to normal, a horrified Fluttershy initially believes her corrupted state to be a "horrible dream".

In Keep Calm and Flutter On, she is the only one of the main six who believes Discord can be redeemed. She shows him genuine kindness and friendship, which eventually leads him to change his ways.

Anger
Despite being soft-spoken and extremely polite most of the time, Fluttershy has shown a more aggressive side on rare occasions. Shown in "The Best Night Ever", she becomes furious when the local animals avoid her. She became angry when reminded of what would happen if Discord won in "Return of Harmony Part 2" (referring to him as a 'big dumb meanie').

In "Putting Your Hoof Down" after receiving motivational advice from Iron Will, she became progressively more violent and aggressive, even reducing Pinkie Pie and Rarity to tears with her insults. However, she changed her ways by the end of the episode.

Skills
Many Pegasus ponies are involved in manipulating the weather, but Fluttershy focuses on tending to animal's care instead.

Animal care
Fluttershy's special talent is communicating with animals and she uses her talent to provide them with food and medical attention when they need it. In Dragonshy, she delivers fish to a family of otters and gives worms to a family of birds to eat. In A Bird in the Hoof, she had just finished treating a mouse's broken leg before Angel reminded her of the luncheon for Princess Celestia, at which she discovers Celestia's "sick" bird, Philomena. With the aid of a thermometer, a stethoscope, and medicine, she demonstrates her ability in taking care of sick or wounded animals. Later on, she introduces Philomena to a hummingbird named Hummingway, who had recuperated under her care. Nevertheless, her healing abilities do not extend to animals she is unfamiliar with, as her attempts to cure Philomena amounted to nothing; albeit the fact that the phoenix was really just reaching the end of her life cycle. In Lesson Zero, she appears to be attacking a bear, but is actually giving it a rigorous massage to ease the tension in one of its shoulders. In Keep Calm and Flutter On, Fluttershy's communication talent is put to use in a different way when Applejack summons her to negotiate the removal of a dam with a family of beavers, whose home had caused flooding at Sweet Apple Acres.

The Stare
"The Stare" is the name given to a particular stare Fluttershy has when dealing with misbehaving animals. Rarity is the first to use this name while inquiring into Fluttershy's use of it on Opal after a grooming session, to which Fluttershy answers as to her simply having been patient with Opal. Though she is not honest at all times, she did use The Stare to Opal, yet it has not been shown in any of the scenes.

In Stare Master, she is first seen using it on her chickens to herd them back into the henhouse. When one of the chickens, Elizabeak, escapes into the Everfree Forest, the Cutie Mark Crusaders go looking for it, and later Fluttershy goes looking for the Crusaders. She finds Twilight Sparkle petrified, and later comes across the cockatrice that petrified both Twilight and the missing chicken. Fluttershy uses The Stare on the cockatrice to protect the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and even endures the transformation of being turned into stone as she does so. She triumphs against the cockatrice, which relents and restores both Twilight Sparkle and Elizabeak back to their normal states. She once again uses The Stare at the end of Putting Your Hoof Down on Angel after he refused to eat his carrot salad but however in Keep Calm and Flutter On, Fluttershy attempts to use The Stare on the newly freed Discord. It proves to be ineffective against the spirit of chaos, though he briefly feigns being under its influence and mocks her.

Flying
Fluttershy is an average flier under normal circumstances, but is shown to be incapable of flight in moments of fear or stress; in Dragonshy, she is rendered paralyzed in midair upon hearing the dragon's snore at the bottom of the mountain, and is later shown to be incapable of crossing a chasm using her wings even after her anxiety had faded slightly. In the end, she casts aside her fear as she flies to her friends' rescue after Rainbow Dash launched a reckless assault that angered the dragon. In Feeling Pinkie Keen, she does not fly in order to escape the hydra, though she is seen flapping her wings while running and jumping. In the episode Wonderbolts Academy, after the hot air balloon that she and her friends are traveling in is destroyed, she does not remember that she can to fly to safety until Cloudchaser rescues her. Fluttershy sheepishly pulls herself out of her rescuer's grasp and hovers in mid-air, to Cloudchaser's annoyance.

Fluttershy appears to possess only average physical strength at best, as she is barely able to carry Twilight Sparkle a short distance in Friendship is Magic, part 2, even with Rainbow Dash's help. She also attempts to carry Rainbow Dash to her cottage in May the Best Pet Win! after Rainbow Dash asks for a pet, but when she is unable to lift her friend off the ground, Rainbow uses her own wings to propel both of them further up.

Despite her shortcomings with flying, Fluttershy has still performed some remarkable flying feats. She whizzes past Rainbow Dash in The Mysterious Mare Do Well while dressed in a Mare Do Well costume, catching her by surprise. She also catches up to a weighed down Rainbow Dash while carrying two ponies and a hot air balloon in The Return of Harmony, part 2. In Hurricane Fluttershy, her "wingpower" is initially measured as 0.5 (her fellow Pegasi measuring above 5 initially), with an exhaustive training session raising it to a mere 2.3. However, when flying with her fellow Pegasi, she exerts herself enough to help them achieve the missing 5 wingpower necessary to create the hurricane that would carry the water to Cloudsdale. Earlier in the episode she had a flashback from when she and Rainbow Dash were in Summer Flight Camp as fillies. Her fear of heights led to her pitfalls as a Pegasus, which led to the other Pegasus foals teasing her and chorusing the chant: "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!" which is changed at the end of the episode to: "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can really fly!" by the other Pegasi after they succeeded in bringing water up to Cloudsdale with her involvement in the task.

Sewing
She is familiar with sewing, as Applejack describes as "freaky" in Suited For Success. She helped and finished the dress Rarity designed with her friends in this episode. She disliked the dress Rarity made her at first, rudely pointing out uneven pleats, machine stitching, etc. But when she tried to design a dress on her own, it ended up being the ugliest one out of all five "custom" designs by Rarity's friends.

Fluttershy is also seen reading a magazine in Green Isn't Your Color while waiting for Rarity at the spa, and while getting her hair done in The Best Night Ever. Also, for an unexplained reason, she keeps Twilight's, hers, and Pinkie Pie's gala dresses, including the dress Rarity had dared Applejack to wear in Look Before You Sleep in her wardrobe at the cottage as seen in A Bird in the Hoof.

Music
When Fluttershy is first introduced in Friendship is Magic, part 1, she is conducting a rehearsal for a choir of birds for the Summer Sun Celebration. She has several musical numbers in the show: her rendition of the Evil Enchantress song, the Hush Now Lullaby, So Many Wonders, and Find A Pet Song which is a duet with Rainbow Dash. She idly hums the theme to the show in The Ticket Master and A Bird in the Hoof. She is also asked to provide the music for the wedding in A Canterlot Wedding.

History
Fluttershy lives in a cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest and on the outskirts of Ponyville. It appears in several episodes, including Dragonshy, Swarm of the Century, and Stare Master, where it is one of the primary sets of the episode. The cottage's roof is covered in grass and is filled with runways, holes and perches for animals. In May the Best Pet Win!, Fluttershy is delighted to hear that Rainbow Dash desires a pet and takes her to her cottage's backyard, where she presents her friend with a great variety of animals to choose from.

The episode The Cutie Mark Chronicles offers a glimpse into Fluttershy's past. Like Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy hails from Cloudsdale. As a filly, she was a weak flier, and was harassed by the same Pegasi who were jeering at Rainbow Dash in Sonic Rainboom, and they nicknamed her "Klutzershy". She was taller and ganglier than the other foals, with slightly larger wings. Rainbow Dash flew in to defend her, and challenged the bullies to a race that caused the participants to unintentionally knock Fluttershy off the clouds and fall to the ground, a place she had never been to or seen before. She was saved from a rough landing by falling onto a large swarm of butterflies. Upon seeing the animals and the greenery for the first time, Fluttershy becomes overwhelmed by the beauty of it all and starts singing. A few moments later, Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom startles the animals and scares them into hiding. Fluttershy earns her cutie mark after interacting with the animals and realizing her ability to talk through to them, making her special connection with animals her sole purpose in life.

Much is learned about the friendship between Fluttershy and Rarity during Green Isn't Your Color. Rarity seemingly insists that she and Fluttershy meet regularly every week at Ponyville's day spa so that Rarity could have someone to converse with and pass the time. It is noted that Rarity likes the full treatment while Fluttershy is more reserved, such as meekly declining a pony-pedi and having a mud mask applied lightly to her cheeks only while Rarity fully has the mask applied to her face along with cucumbers placed over her eyes. After getting the attention of Photo Finish with one of her hats, Rarity's desire to increase her fame as a fashion designer causes her to ask for Fluttershy's help as a model for her presentation, saying that her graceful personality would bolster her success at impressing Photo Finish. Hesitant at first, Fluttershy ultimately agrees to model for Rarity after plenty of begging on the latter's part. She is then entitled to becoming Photo Finish's next star to promote, and participates (rather unwillingly) in various photo shoots and fashion shows in the next few scenes.

Throughout the episode, Fluttershy silently endures the attention she receives from her fans. Though unhappy with her stressful and disquieting status as Photo Finish's model, she willingly accepts her fate so as to grant Rarity's wishes for Fluttershy not to fail Photo Finish. She, however, is unaware of Rarity's growing jealousy towards her until the very end.

Pets
Like any animal lover, Fluttershy has several animals that live with her or near her, though never considers any of them as her "pets". Prominent among Fluttershy's pets is her bunny Angel. Introduced in the third episode, Angel is shown to have a bold and forceful personality in contrast to Fluttershy's soft-spoken and shy nature, often trying to motivate her to speak her mind and not let certain things dampen her spirits. Examples of this include A Bird in the Hoof, where he locks her out of the cottage to stop her from stalling by constantly returning to thank him, and The Ticket Master, where he insists on Fluttershy being more proactive in pursuing the extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. However, in Putting Your Hoof Down, Angel is shown to be stubborn and temperamental when he refuses to eat a carrot salad she prepared for him and wants a more complicated recipe which Fluttershy refers to as his 'Special Recipe'.

In addition to Angel, Fluttershy appears to have several more animals that she pals around with more often than not. Among these are a hummingbird named Hummingway, a pair of otters, a chicken named Elizabeak and a mouse called Mr Mousey.

There are far more animals that accompany her at random times, such as squirrels, mice, bats, and even a bear on occasion, but most of these have not been given names yet.

Hasbro.com description
''A graceful, fawn-like filly, Fluttershy's gentle, serene ways makes her unusually attractive to all types of forest animals, whose care and high priority. She'd like nothing more than to spend every waking moment caring for her animal friends in her secluded meadow cottage, and that's because Fluttershy is, well... shy. Sweet, soft-spoken and often fearful, her pony friends treasure her kindness, but have to work hard to help her come out of her shell. To their surprise, however, she emits an intimidating strength when she witnesses someone being treated unfairly. Fluttershy has a lot of fears to overcome, but certainly one day her strength of character and enormous heart will make her a force to be reckoned with!''

Hubworld description
''Graceful Fluttershy has a special way with forest animals. Her favorite thing is to care for them in her quiet meadow cottage. That's because Fluttershy is, well... shy. She's sweet, soft-spoken, and kind of a scaredy-pony. Her friends love her for her kindness and they work hard to bring her out of her shell.''

Hubworld video
''A friend to the forest, Fluttershy is the gentle, soft-spoken member of the group. Sweet and caring, she makes plenty of space in her tucked-away cottage for helping anyone in need of her love and care, especially her little animal friends. But don't be fooled: although she is timid, she is a determined pony with admirable strength. She always defends those who are treated unfairly. With an enormous heart, and the ability to fly, this Pegasus pony is a gentle soul who always rises to the occasion and is always there when her friends need her.''

My Little Pony mobile game description
Representing the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy is a shy pony who loves to sing with her animal friends.

My Little Pony magazine description
''She's rather shy and loves to sing with animal friends. Fluttershy is generous and sweet, sometimes a little too trusting and always eager to help.''
 * Graceful
 * Musical
 * Gentle

Merchandise
On the back of the Canterlot toy set Royal Ball at Canterlot Castle, Fluttershy is printed wingless.This happens often on merchandise when she is rearing on her hind legs, as her hair obscures her wings. Sometimes only the tips of her wings can be seen.

Quotes
"Um, excuse me, sir. I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off."

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"A baby dragon! Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's so cute."

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"Um, excuse me, Twilight, I would just like to ask, I mean, if it would be alright, if you haven't given it to someone else--"

- The Ticket Master

"Oh no, I'm doing this because you're my very best friend. Right Angel? Oh, yes, we are just doing this for the ticket."

- The Ticket Master

"How dare you? How dare you! Listen here, mister. Just because you're big doesn't mean you get to be a bully. You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not-- I repeat-- You do not! Hurt! My! Friends! You got that?"

- Dragonshy

"All right! Since you really want to know...*inhales* The armscye's tight, the middy collar doesn't go with the shawl lapel, the hems are clearly machine-stitched, the pleats are uneven, the fabric looks like toile, you used a backstitch when it clearly called for a topstitch or maybe a traditional blanket stitch and the overdesign is reminiscent of pret-a-porter and not true French haute couture. But, uh... you know... um, whatever you want to do is fine."

- Suited For Success

"*inhales*... yay."

- Sonic Rainboom

"I'd like to be a tree."

- Over a Barrel

"Oh, Fluttershy. You're such a loudmouth."

- The Best Night Ever

"I'll catch you yet, my pretties. Oh yes, as soon as one of you little birds or monkeys or bears touches this net, you'll be mine! MINE! HahahaHAHAHA!"

- The Best Night Ever

"You're... going to love me!!"

- The Best Night Ever

"Hey Twilight, what's soaking wet and clueless? [...] Your face!"

- The Return of Harmony Part 2

"That...big...dumb...meanie!"

- The Return of Harmony Part 2, referring to Discord

"I can't believe that the two most frivolous ponies in Ponyville are trying to tell new Fluttershy how to live her life, when they are throwing their own lives away on pointless pursuits that nopony else gives a flying feather about!"

- Putting Your Hoof Down

"Nopony pushes new Fluttershy around! NOPONY!!"

- Putting Your Hoof Down

"There is nothing fun about Dragons. Scary: yes. Fun: NO!"

- Dragon Quest

"I will get my confidence up and show everypony that I am a good flyer! A great flyer!"

- Hurricane Fluttershy

"[gasp] Th-That's one of the things, isn't it?"

- The Crystal Empire - Part 1

"We knew for sure you would prevail."

- The Crystal Empire - Part 2

"..who's Applejohn?"

- Too Many Pinkie Pies

"Mr. Beaverton Beaverteeth! Such Language!"

- Keep Calm and Flutter On

"He can be a real sweetheart once you get to know him."

- Referring to Discord in Keep Calm and Flutter On.