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I suppose the major difference would be that with your average episode of mlp, the story usually isn't that much of a focus. For an average slice of life episode of mlp, the story's main function is usually just to serve as a framing device for a bunch of funny moments with the characters. An episode like "Look before you sleep" is a great example of that kind of episode. The story isn't doing much more than serving as a basic prompt to generate jokes with.

Episodes like, say, over a Barrel, Luna Eclipsed, and the Canterlot wedding are different however. In these episodes, the story serves to do more than just give us an excuse to make jokes with these characters. The main entertainment isn't just interchangeable jokes, but rather the development of the story. Ergo, if the story in one of these style episodes is bad, then it is going to have a huge impact whereas in a normal non-story focused ep, I won't really care. This movie was definately story-driven and the story was shit. Hell, let's be honest, this story was shit even by fanfiction standards.

Now don't get me wrong, I actually had a few honest laughs from watching Equestria Girls. DHX did the best they could with an extremely shitty set of prompts from Hasbro and I appreciate their effort. Still, even DHX has limits, and my honest critique is that this was a very bad movie.

What do you suppose will happen with the series? Will you try it, or has the movie completely shut down the idea of ever enjoying it?

That's what's got me interested.

Objectively, the movie was fairly sub-par. I realize that I only really enjoyed it because my expectations were super low. Even then, though, I don't think I'd agree with your scathing review of it. I greatly respect you and your opinion, though, and can certainly see how you would come to the conclusions that you did. Perhaps I'm just more… forgiving.

In any case, it served its purpose: a bridge into a spin-off.

Surely the quality of that spinoff will be the same quality we've come to expect from the main series. If not, we're going to have problems.

I think one thing I really like about this movie would have to be the fact that I was very surprised by Flash Sentry. I thought (like Johnny Noxville in The Last Stand) he was going to eat up the most screentime in the movie taking the spotlight away from the main attraction (Equestria Girls was Ponies and The Last Stand was Ahnold) and be that annoying guy thrown in the end but actually…..He's basically a minor character, I mean you can count all his lines he had in the movie on your two hands and because of that….it made me like his character more that he wasn't shoved down our throats (unlike how the first trailer made it seem).

Also Twilight was fucking adorkable in the entire movie.

I think maybe Fluttershy's parents were abusive to her, making her timid like she is now. I also think her parents yelled a lot, scaring her into being so quiet.

Buona fortuna amico mio!

Add to the fact that she was teased constantly in flight school, wasn't a strong flier, had (as far as canon can show) one friend in Rainbow Dash during her childhood, and had a greater age difference to her other classmates and was still picked on. If she was an orphan or abused as a child by her parents, then it would surely break her spirit enough to stay as far away from ponies as possible as an adult. Headcanon wise, I say she's an orphan, as she makes no mention whatsoever to her family nor can any photos be found in her cottage displaying any relatives. But this is my opinion, which may not matter to anyone other than myself, so don't take this too seriously if you disagree.

It makes more sense that Fluttershy is an orphan. Although it's hard for her to socialize with other ponies, if she were a victim of abuse, it would be almost impossible for communication with her in any way. Maybe she isn't an orphan. I can't support this head canon, but there might be a way to shape up such if you thoroughly analyze it. Well I won't bother in developing it today however, good night!

@Fifths

Fair enough, I think I get'cha.

Somebody say adorkable?

That sounds more logical, but as Vintiezre said, wouldn't the abusing make it almost impossible to socialize? Whereas in the show she is able to make friends, which would be extremely hard with abusive parents I think

@Fluttershy's parents/childhood

Why are we discussing only the possibilities that she's either an orphan or a victim of parental abuse? What if her parents were just negligent?

Perhaps she's the runt of a large brood, so her parents always got around to her last. Or her parents were both career-focused, and only made a token effort to bond as a family.

In either case, there's a good chance there was some resentment towards Fluttershy from her parents. Given that the culture of the pegasus tribe is rather militaristic and emphasizes achieving and winning above all else, how do you think they felt when they saw what a weak flier Fluttershy was? I doubt anyone would like to be known as "the parents of that flightless runt" in a place like Cloudsdale. Maybe that's why we've heard nothing of Scoot's parents, as well. Even if they're based in Ponyville, it would seem that there's no greater shame for a pegasus family than a weakling in their ranks.

And we have to take into consideration that it would seem pegasus families aren't all that tightly knit in the first place. After all, in a militaristic culture children are expected to become independent quickly, so that they can assume their duties and let their parents to return to their posts. Therefore, most of the upbringing is focused on preparing the child for their duties, so not a whole lot of room for that mushy familial bonding, you know? Hell, it took us two and a half seasons before we saw anything of Rainbow's family, who have plenty of reason to be proud of their offspring, and even then it was only her dad (or brother, hell if we know) taking her to hear an announcement.

So perhaps Fluttershy's meek demeanor and kindness is her way of rebelling against a culture she hated growing up in. It would also explain how she can do so complete a turn in personality when pressed. Though she hated the lessons, she learned them well. She's as tough as a royal guard and as ruthless as a conquering general, but she loathes that part of herself. However, like any good soldier, she falls back on her training when the situation turns sour.

@Fluttershy being abused by her parents as a child

The magic of friendship in a cartoon for little girls just became deep emotional shit.

Here's another theory: maybe Fluttershy has some kind of disorder like Asperger's (which I myself have) and is ashamed of it, even though it isn't that big of a deal? Makes you think.

Makes you think.

You know it's discussions like this (Why Fluttershy is so horribly shy) is kinda the reason why I stopped discussing with the bronies on IMDb. This conversation is more tolerable though as you guys are just theorizing about what makes Fluttershy so goddamn fucking shy, unlike the bronies on IMDb saying "No one will ever truly take MLP seriously until we see an episode involving this"

No joke, he posted that picture lol. When I commented saying about how that's just too cruel to show for a show that is and always will be targeted towards little girls (something them IMDbronies somehow don't understand for some strange reason) and he goes "Well little kids can handle James Earl Jones' death in Lion King, they can deal with some bullying." obviously he didn't see Lion King in 1994 as I remember my mom taking me to see that movie and at that one scene the only sound you heard in that theater was the crying of Every. Single. Child in the theater.

@Kewln00b – You know what's the kicker in that picture? Cloud Kicker is just watching. EATING POPCORN.

@Kewln00b above

obviously he didn’t see Lion King in 1994 as I remember my mom taking me to see that movie and at that one scene the only sound you heard in that theater was the crying of Every. Single. Child in the theater.

I'm not going to go too deep into the Fluttershutter conversation, but I will also say that The Lion King is an entirely different movie than My Little Pony is a series, and The Lion King was made in an entirely different time in terms of children's entertainment than Friendship is Magic (even the previous series of My Little Pony have been very different from the fourth generation.)

I will cede that children may cry and "get over" being made to cry at such a hypothetical episode. But The Lion King had a full feature movie length to work with to resolve and end up with a happy ending, and I doubt any non-season premiere or season finale will have brutal bullying as the focus.

One Bad Seed did bullying about as well as you can given the medium without getting heavy-handed. And it was certainly an episode about bullying, so it's not like FiM hasn't gone there before. If you'd like to touch on Fluttershy's backstory a little more, then I think that's great. Her being bullied would certainly explain a few things about her (i.e., her shyness and her bad temper when provoked) but so would a social disorder (i.e., Asperger's). And I think in terms of actually spelling one of the two out in a 22-minute episode, bullying would be much easier than either vaguely saying that "Fluttershy is fundamentally different in terms of her brain's make-up" or explicitly saying "Fluttershy has a social disorder."

Asperger's (by that name) probably doesn't exist in Equestria anymore than the Cutie Pox exists on Earth. And it may not exist at all. If you'd see something, then I'd wager it would be bully-based (but not a whole episode about it. Think The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Part 2. Fluttershy is seen being bullied, but only a few moments are devoted to it, and the episode isn't about it.)

But that isn't what I originally wanted to comment on. I watched the movie (Thank you, M. A. Larson Meghan McCarthy DeadParrot Meghan McCarthy and DeadParrot), and I enjoyed it about as much as I thought I would.

@Fluttershy
I definitely fall in the camp of wanting to see some more about Fluttershy's past (Really, I'm a fan of any character backstories), but I would never try to imply that the show can't be taken seriously if it doesn't throw in brutal bullying and other heavy-handed social issues like that.
(In all honesty, shows that seem to frequently go way out of their way to include every hyper-emotional situation under the sun wind up becoming so… forced that I can't take them seriously precisely because of those scenarios.)

To an extent though, we've already seen into the yellow one's head:

Fluttershy was dealing with a lot of childhood baggage in that episode and that eyeball scene really spoke to her crippling performance anxiety.
Her problems could be read as a reference to some kind of diagnosable disorder, but I kind of like that they left it more vague.
Any young kid can probably relate to being scared by a judgmental crowd and that's all that is all that the episode needed, disorder or no.
Clinical psychological diagnoses just aren't relevant in a children's show because the only ones who will understand are kids who have those disorders (and are aware of it).
Non-specificity allows the show to connect anyone who had those feelings.

@Jimmy
Yeah…
That's by an artist who goes by Gavalanche.
He does some 'clean' work, but he seems to have a big-time obsession with abuse, specifically of children.
He was one of the major artists that I remember being behind early Scootabuse and Sweetiebuse, or he was at least one of the most prominent because of his penchant for brutality.
In case you can't tell yet, I'm not exactly a fan of his…
In fact, the one comic from him that I can recall liking only works because of his reputation for actually drawing what was only implied in it.

Anyway, yeah, he's just one of those guys who likes drawing things that are intentionally disturbing.

Verbose said:

Yes, I’m aware that Photo Finish is not a nod to Lady Gaga, but to some fashion person.

Anna Wintour is not amused…

(She's also who Edna Mode, the tiny little suit designer from The Incredibles, was based on.)

I'm somewhat confused as to why people keep wanting to make certain ponies orphans/victims of bad parenting. At the rate it's going, soon the assumption will be that only unicorns have two loving, understanding parents.

As for the bullying.. I don't think it needs to go much further than Fluttershy being picked on somewhat when she was younger. Thoughts of abusing ponies seems to really run rampant in certain parts of the fandom – some people like the idea of the weaker, helpless ponies getting the shit kicked out of them. Fluffy Pony Abuse, Scootabuse, and Flutterabuse all target one specific factor – the pony really can't defend itself.

@Verbose

Finally watched the movie, and I must say that I liked it. Most of the things I liked about it are already said (writing, characterisation etc.), so I can't add much to that.
Would watch again

@Fluttershy

I'd Almost forgotten I was the one who started this Topic…

I Think someone (I Forget who, feel free to step forward if this sounds Familiar) Mentioned that Fluttershy having to toughen up in a Pegasi Society if she was and Orphan made it seem like "Orphan" wasn't likely.

Personally, I think that forgets that she's essentially very weak physically. And her Assertiveness if anything when it shows up has a strong sense of Maternal Instinct… Wait… That's Two issues.. One at a time…

Imagine The Pegasi Society, it expects strength as a Norm. Fluttershy is for some reason or another very frail, and this is possibly Genetic. Regardless of if she was an Orphan or not, she wouldn't be very good with dealing with normal Pegasi interaction on a physical level, which may involve Roughhousing.

…As such, her natural inclination would be avoidance, she has no real other option; family or not.

The part that begins to beg the question of "Is she an Orphan?" begins to come up when one notices she rarely runs to other ponies that seem like Parental Figures. In Fact, she prefers to jump into Haystacks, Bushes, things that are more object than friend. Which leads to an assumption that she may indeed have had to live on her own while growing up, without any adult supervision (Much).

If we're to assume she Grew up at an Orphanage where any Parental figure would have had thier Hooves too full to deal with her problems for her, then some of this begins to make some amount of sense, and imagining the possibility she may have had to be the one to make sure the youngest ponies among her group didn't get out of hoof, One may consider that this may be a possible source of her Maternal Assertion, which she may have tried at some point to use to help out whatever caretaker of the Orphanage there might have been.

… Of course, that last part is easily replaceable with the fact she might have been raised alongside the animals for a while…Possibly either from not being a good enough flyer to go back up, or just finding it less rough to act as mother to critters… Which would explain her relative discomfort around other ponies but not wilder critters.

…So… Maybe Fluttershy just stayed down on the ground once she fell from Cloudsdale, and didn't have to worry about becoming a "tough" Orphan because she was comfortable living amongst the animals she helped raise.

Anyways… Can we get a picture of Fluttershy being Raised by Wolves? A cute picture mind you.

Lunar said:

Anyways… Can we get a picture of Fluttershy being Raised by Wolves? A cute picture mind you.

There are no pictures of her raised by wolves. Only pictures of her as as wolf.

Fucking wolfaboos.

Lunar Protege wrote:

Anyways… Can we get a picture of Fluttershy being Raised by Wolves? A cute picture mind you.

Is this close enough?

I don't have a real reason for posting this, other than that it's cute.

Braeburn said:

I don’t have a real reason for posting this, other than that it’s cute.

Oh… oh, Celestia…

In San Diego today working. Stopped at a place called Lucha Libre Taco Shop for lunch

The funny part is that Rarity is wearing a mask and you found it at a place called Lucha Libre.

RARITY CONFIRMED FOR WWE 2K14.

@Braeburn℧
Nobody should ever need any other reason for posting anything else

@Fluttershy
Yknow, I'm actually in support of the theory that Fluttershy has some sort of social disorder (I'm so edgy with my headcanon).
I might have said this before, but Fluttershy has a lot in common with someone I know in real life (shy, quiet, obsessed with animals), and it's a social disorder that caused it, not upbringing or bullying. I mean, Fluttershy's bully problems clearly caused a few issues, but I think it's safe to say that a few of her issues could have just as easily caused the bullying.
However, like (I think) DeadParrot said, if they ever adress the reason for her shyness, it probably will just be chalked up to bullying.
Fluttercute to counter all the Flutterbuse

EDIT: Just realized that she has a broken wing in this picture…
…Man I suck at this.
@Below
Well I was trying to avoid just blatantly putting it as aspergers (for the sake of the person I know), but yeah, that's what I did mean.
As for your other point, I'm not saying the shyness wasn't made worse by the bullying, I'm just suggesting that it could have been some sort of vicious cycle, with Fluttershy's shyness both fueling and being fueled by the bullies.

I don't know about a social disorder (although Aspergers Syndrome fits) but I can guarantee you that the bullying she suffered exacerbated things. It's hinted heavily in Cutie Mark Chronicles that Rainbow Dash was Fluttershy's only friend. (who was also bullied herself, by the looks of things in that episoide. Which might actually explain why Rainbow Dash is such a showoff at times. if it was the only way she could get compliments from people…) That can be tough on somebody, I speak from experiance. (

Picture not related to current conversation, but just wanted to post it:

@CrashGordon
I have this feeling that you're a conspirator, along with RandomMan, against Lyra… and perhaps Scootaloo as well. Damn my suspicious suspicions… but I'm going off on a mission to find out…

Master Stunt, care to join me?

@vintiezre
I'm all with you on that one!

"dafuq" is pretty much right.
And your reply actually made me chuckle more than I probably should've.

Nah, just found the pic odd and funny, however I was kinda wondering how you might react to this one.

@Fluttershy's possible mental disorders

Why is everyone brining up Asperger’s syndrome as a likely candidate? It isn't a catch-all explanation for any and all socially abnormal behaviour, you know.

Last I checked, one of the trademarks of Asperger's is a lack of empathy. I don't think Flutters is lacking in that area, being a caretaker and all. Asperger's doesn't necessarily make you withdrawn, either. In fact, many people with Asperger's are quite sociable, but they tend to go about it in a strange fashion, such as delivering long-winded speeches in casual conversation.

I'd say a more fitting diagnosis would be social anxiety disorder, as it covers quite a few of Fluttershy's peculiarities, namely overt self-consciousness, a feeling of being judged by others, isolating oneself from society, etc.

Nah, it's obviously epilepsy.

Also, wouldn't Twilight be a better fit for Asperger's? (Note: I have said condition myself, so I don't mean this as an offence) Fluttershy doesn't sound like a fit from what I've heard about the show.

Nah, Twilight has already been established to have OCD.

(Fun Fact: Twilight Sparkle is searched more than Twilight Saga on Google.)

Seems legit.
As for the Twilight thing, I bet even non-Bronies would be cheering… <_<

Excellent. The plan has worked!
rubs hands mischievously

Today Google, tomorrow THE WORLD!
dramatic thunder

Thank you

Somebody finally said it. Fluttershy's angle is timidness, fearfulness and irrational paranoia and those are not direct symptoms of Asbergers.

In fact, Flutters behavior is nothing like Asbergers at all. Twilight is a far more likely candidate than that kind of disorder but even that is a humongous stretch.

If she has a disorder, it would be an anxiety disorder, not a social one.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that she has social anxiety disorder, rather than Asperger syndrome. The symptoms she exhibits are extremely close to people, like myself, who have the disorder.

Fun fact: a while ago, I took that silly pony test that was floating around these forums.

I was so certain I'd get Twilight Sparkle. I mean, come on, we're basically blood siblings.

The result was that I was almost entirely Fluttershy. After reading through this thread and writing the first few sentences in this reply, I now understand why.

I have never been so close to that little pony.

Yellow.

It's the color of fear.

Related:

Blue Screen (of Death) wrote:

In fact, Flutters behavior is nothing like Asbergers at all.

I don't really mean (or want) to dwell on this, but like I said, I know someone with Asperger's Syndrome who acts like Fluttershy to a T. I know it isn't the only possible cause, and that's why I just said "social disorder" when I first joined the conversation. The only reason I mentioned it at all was because sstabeler narrowed it down.
Excuse me while I bail out of this topic before I get too roped in.

@Mark

Heheheh… sounds good.

@Stunt

You know who else has it? Yup, I'm a stereotype

I certainly have a lot of things in common with Fluttershy…including being timid and shy around certain things like going out and meeting new people or throwing myself out of my own comfort zone. Though that was never so much a result of the Asbergers but rather a result of how my social awkwardness made me want to avoid confrontation.

Aspies tend to be shy, yes. But not for the same reasons as Fluttershy, Fluttershy doesn't just limit her contact with people to avoid spaghetti spillage…she's outright terrified of everything.

Once an Aspie knows what the hell he's supposed to be doing in a social setting, he will stop being shy about it. As such, I'm conformable in a lot of settings that would normally petrify Fluttershy. For people with Social Anxiety however, the case is different.

@Flutters possible disorder:
Well, it seems that there are users with aspergers (or are very close to someone with aspergers) who say Flutters has is, and others with the condition who say she definitely doesn't. Well, while we all seem to have a pretty good understanding of it, I think we just don't have enough information nor the training to properly diagnose such a condition (if there is a condition at all) so I think it's safe to say the jury is out on this one

I don't think Flutters has a social disorder in my headcanon. I don't think she went through anything too terrible, but I think the bullying we have seen her have to go through along with the fact that she is not physically capable of "fitting in" with pegasus kind would be enough to leave her shyness and quiet demeanor the way it is today. I say this because I had a crippling shyness similar to Fluttershy during late grade school/middle school that happened due to my parents separating and the teasing and verbal bullying I had to deal with shortly after. I'm still not sure on what I think happened to Fluttershy's parents, but I don't think her bullying had to be all that brutal to leave her like she is.

That's all I had to say about that. It's 4 am now so I'm gonna stop babbling.

In my headcanon, Fluttershy doesn't have a disorder; she had an abusive childhood. This certainly wasn't helped by the fact her parents were loudmouths (complete with Baaahstan accents, no less), so that attributed to her quietness. Though, then again, she does play drums in The Legacy Armada…

So, guys, where do you think the ponies would live on Earth? I've compiled an idea for the Mane Six.

Applejack: Talladega, Alabama (originally; moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 2004 in headcanon)

Rainbow Dash: Atlanta, Georgia (Hosted the 1996 Olympic Games)

Twilight Sparkle: Cambridge, Massachusetts (Home of Harvard University)

Pinkie Pie: New Orleans, Louisiana (Party capital of America, as Peter Griffin put it)

Fluttershy: Ryegate, Montana (Standard middle-of-nowhere town)

Rarity: Montreal, Quebec (Well, she does seem French…)

@Fluttershy's disorder
I thought I've told you guys before
STAY OUTTA MY SHED

Evilthing said:

I think there’s is still something that they don’t tell us. Ask Hasbro themselves (who have been monitoring some current fanprojects as well for a while). If they refuse to tell something about their polices, take notice.

Let’s turn this thing around: if Hasbro would have no legal rights to go after any fanprojects, do you think they should have that right?

By the way, the quality of the products with a non-company trademark name varies so much that they’re essentially worthless. You don’t know how well you can damage someone’s brand without any legal consequences. I can think of many possibilities.

Again, you need to remember that Hasbro isn't a single person. They're the world's second largest toy company. Any response they give to inquiries will be from their PR department. It will be extremely vague, both because they don't want to say anything that might offend anyone/cause the stock price to drop and because their policies are always fluctuating. The answer they give you now may not be relevant to their policies in a month. The PR department only knows as much as Legal tells them. It's one of those "left hand doesn't know what the right hand's doing" kind of things.

Copyright/trademark law will always be a complicated thing. If Hasbro were banned from interfering in fan projects, they'd have almost zero incentive to continue to make ponies. What's the point when someone could simply order a bunch of custom toys from any joe blow with a 3D printer for a fraction of the cost Hasbro would spend? Unlike the government, Hasbro can't run deficits every year just to make us happy. They have to make money and if something isn't making money (from fans creating everything for free), they'll either change it or cut it.

Hasbro needs some incentive (copyright/trademark protection) in order to keep making pony. Certain projects (Fighting is Magic, that card game one I forgot the name of, etc) that stray too far into the grey zone will be targeted. It's a sacrifice. We sacrifice some of our fan projects so Hasbro continues to have incentive to make pony and Hasbro sacrifices draconian copyright policy that would no doubt raise their profit margins a little in order to have a community that adores their IP flourish.

If I'm understanding your paragraph correctly, there's a difference between Wal Mart making cookies that are similar to Keebler and making cookies that say "Keebler" on them despite them not being Keebler. One's a savvy business strategy that takes the cost of marketing and uses it to reduce the price of the product, and one's illegally using the success and reputation of another to make money.

Octavia would be somewhere in the UK

Ehh, Rarity would not live in the province of Québec. Arguably, she might be from somewhere around New England or the Mid West.

In Fluttershy's case, she could come from any state with a low population and a beautiful environment, like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, British Columbia, Alberta, etc.

@ Asperger Syndrome
I will say this: I'm not surprised one bit to hear that some people on this thread are diagnosed with it. I know at least seven good friends in my life so far with Asperger disorder. At first, it seems identical to OCD in many ways, the main similarity being repeated patterns of fascinated thoughts or behavior. Now, as for Fluttershy, she wouldn't just be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder… Remember as well she has a phobia of dragons, and perhaps if she was an orphan and remembered it (my head canon), PTSD as well, so this is all within the realm of reality.

Well, I think we are over thinking the show if I'm posting what RandomMan calls "intellectual posts." So long, everyone! I'm letting my other selves take this one.

@ CrashGordon
If you dare to venture deeper into my image gallery, you'll find Rainbow Dash saluting our flag proudly! And I'd probably imagine Lyra living in my closet or under my bed… cause it's not weird…

If my laptop wasn't in for repairs, I'd post a hilarious image… but I can't on my phone!

Based on that one pic of Dash saluting the American flag, but flag-swapped?

@Fluttershy's Shyness….
Hmm, I thought the thread would derail into madness, but then again an excellent topic about Fluttershy came up!

<div class= "spoiler" title="Equestria Girls">It was pretty decent to me because of low expectations. I wonder why and how Hasbro got the audacity to make an MLP movie for theaters instead of direct to DVD. And where was Discord in all of this!?

@Pony General #1
To put it a little off topic, PG1 seems to be a bit innocent in the first 6 pages. I also saw some old coding for pictures that's not used anymore. All in all it's still pretty much the same as this one but I haven't gone deeper yet.

This is my reaction so far.