I sincerely believe that the only reason Fluttershy is getting a brother...

[Cleverclover 1,526]

....is because the writers have absolutely no idea what to do with her anymore. :awuh:

 

Think about her current position in the show:

 

She has no goals to work towards. She's already had plenty of episodes where she overcomes her shyness, so they can't just fall back on that again. She has little room to grow development-wise. And Discord, her biggest connection outside of the mane six, is only a moderately recurring character. 

 

So introducing a sibling for her is probably the only way they can think of to take her character in a new direction and thus add a new connection for her. 

 

It's just a shame that at 120+ episodes into the show, it makes no sense for a brother to materialize out of thin air for her. But while they're at it, they might as well introduce a sibling for Rainbow Dash as well. There's simply no way I can believe that she's the single only child of the mane six. 

Edited April 24, 2016 by Cleverclover

[ManaMinori 4,145]

No, no, no

 

 

She can still work n her underlying rage issues, fear of dragons, proper child care....

 

I can already see Flutter brutter being BBBFF 2.0, because 5 years of no buildup

Edited April 24, 2016 by Nightmare Muffin

[Yufery 205]

I don't understand how them revealing she has a brother is a bad thing. I mean while her main conflict is mostly resolved, there's still more to go over, plus Twilight's brother wasn't revealed towards the end of S2. Plus, Fluttershy doesn't talk about herself all that much (Since she's so shy, I'd imagine) so it makes sense why we wouldn't know she has a brother. As for Rainbow Dash, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a traditional sibling but Scootaloo is as good as one for her.

 

I don't mean to be rude, but it seems more like the fandom just wants things to complain about

[Flutterstep 47,077]

I agree. To be honest, from the very start of the show, I noticed how they focused all on Fluttershy overcoming or controling some problem, instead of an intrest or goal to aim for. And now I've seen how poorly it's been concluded. I think they should give other characters feers to work on, and give Fluttershy more interests to discover, as it gives all of the Mane 6 added depth.

[Scootalove 10,689]

I still think it is to add more story on Fluttershy's early childhood in Cloudsdale but regarding her family, this isn't the first time the show conjured up a sibling out of nowhere.

[Luminance 2,186]

As to further develop Fluttershy's character, we need to see another side of her that we hadn't seen yet. I believe that introducing her sibling is an perfect opportunity to do so.

[Megas 27,625]

We know so little about the Pegasi's background apart from school that it's nice to see that they actually have family 

Edited April 25, 2016 by Megas

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

Fluttershy seems to be the only one of the Mane 6 with no known or implied family, so it would be an interesting development. Hopefully they could acknowledge the brother being "long-lost" or on less-than-great terms with Fluttershy, unlike what we got with Shining Armor where he was retconned in as having a good standing with Twilight.

 

Seriously, Twilight's major beef with Shining Armor was angsting over him not telling her about the wedding sooner.

 

 

But, I digress.

 

On Fluttershy herself, Season 5 finally resolved the shyness-confidence cycle and moved her from student to teacher concurrent with the progression of the rest of the cast. For Discord, I'd say not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I do agree that the limited availability of the character (most likely because of John de Lancie's work) makes an inconvenience to using the character in episodes. I wouldn't say Fluttershy's hit ceiling on her development, though.

 

Fluttershy seems to be in a similar position to Applejack. Most of her character has been explored sufficiently, and Fluttershy functions much better as a component of the group or as a mentor to another character than on her own. The only way the character can work on their own at this point is to throw them a situation that's outside of their comfort zone. What's the most obvious one for Fluttershy, and the biggest asset Applejack has? Family, given that Fluttershy is, like I said, the only remaining Mane 6 character with no mentioned or implied family. Applejack, by virtue of having a supporting cast, has more inroads to being involved in an episode than Fluttershy, whose only non-Mane 6 contacts are Discord and a one-shot character who shall not be named.

 

I wouldn't knock it before it happens because I think it's one of the bigger remaining opportunities to get some mileage out of her.

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

Fluttershy's been basically spinning in circles since like Hurricane Fluttershy or so outside of her relationship with Discord, it's just becoming ever more noticable as they've moved from giving her similar lessons over and over and then loading on a bunch of gimmicks to her in S4 to just hardly having her DO anything anymore in S5 (Apple Bloom had almost as many speaking appearences as her that season) and in S6 so far ( 5 episodes in I can't remember a single thing she's done outside of help a pony get up in the opener). 

There's a reason I don't like her much beyond just my general aversion to her archetype.

Edited April 25, 2016 by M'gann M'orzz

[Kimi Vulpine 219]

Fluttershy is a moe archetype. That's all that there is to her in my opinion, and I hate moe archetypes in general.

[Guest]

I'd believe that. Fluttershy has been a character that has had little imagination gone into her since day one. She is a shy girl stereotype and breaks out of said stereotype... Stereotypically. Like wow, shy girl and when she gets mad, extreme rage. Totally not predictable or anything. Fluttershy has been a one trick pony (no pun intended) since the show began. Why people love her I'll never know. Well I probably do know, but trying to explain why would probably get me a lot of negative attention, so I'll pretend I don't. 

[Scootie 108]

I would argue that all members of the mane six are suffering from this problem. They've all gone through so much character development over the course of 5 seasons, there just aren't that many lessons for them to learn anymore. I'd say Rainbow still has quite a few flaws that the writers could work with, but many of those flaws are what make Rainbow who she is. Without them she would just be a caricature of herself. Rarity also has her expanding fashion empire that could open up several new problems for her, so that has some potential, I guess.

 

As for Fluttershy, and Applejack as well if I think about it, she never had a goal she was working towards outside of her shyness. She has always been happy with where she is in life. This obviously gave the writers little to work with to begin with, so most of her episodes past season 1 involved her learning the same lesson over and over again. Now that Flutters has finally shown she has taken her lessons to heart over the past season, this lack of an ongoing goal has become much more apparent. So yeah, I'm interested to see what this brother does to progress Fluttershy's character, if it does anyway. 

 

I think the main reason Twilight was even given Starlight as a student in the first place was to open up some new learning opportunities for her because the writers also don't know what else to do with her. She's been a student of Celestia, and now she gets to see what it's like being a mentor. I think that this could also be a possibility for the rest of the mane six as well. Bring in some new characters for each mane six to mentor. It allows them to somewhat retread old lessons without having the character relearn it. 

[Glike 487]

Fluttershy definitely doesn't have the best track record when it comes to her episodes and how she tends to be handled. Since the start of the show, she we've never seen any of her goals as we have for the others.

 

Twilight wanted to study everything she could, improve her magical ability, and do her best as Celestia's pupil.

Rainbow Dash had the goal of becoming a full-fledged Wonderbolt.

Rarity wanted her business to become really successful and to become a well-known name throughout Equestria.

Pinkie just wants everyone to be happy and wants them all to feel special and loved.

We even see that Applejack just wants to help and support her family the best she could and be a role model to her younger sister.

 

But Fluttershy.. Fluttershy is just content. At most, we know she wants to help animals that can't help themselves, but that's become such a mundane part of her life that there's hardly anything interesting left to do with it.

 

This is just me, but I feel Fluttershy is meant to represent just that.. the person who's completely content where they are and doesn't have any extravagant goals or desires. They're just living in the moment and taking life as it comes. Really, that's just a common person in the real world. Not everybody has big wishes and are perfectly fine where they are. I'm not saying it's the most entertaining kind of character on television, but it's definitely not unrealistic.

 

As for the whole Applejack thing.. with the co-development she and Pinkie are getting I don't think we'll have to worry too much about either of them. I've really enjoyed their interactions and it's nice to see the two of them get along so well together. It's something different rather than the constant Applejack/Rarity and Applejack/Rainbow Dash plots that have been done to death. I still enjoy them from time to time, but I'm glad to see a new interaction between Pinkie and AJ. :3

[Megas 27,625]

As for the whole Applejack thing.. with the co-development she and Pinkie are getting I don't think we'll have to worry too much about either of them. I've really enjoyed their interactions and it's nice to see the two of them get along so well together. It's something different rather than the constant Applejack/Rarity and Applejack/Rainbow Dash plots that have been done to death. I still enjoy them from time to time, but I'm glad to see a new interaction between Pinkie and AJ. :3

Not counting a sideplot in Castlemania, Rainbow Dash/Applejack hasn't been touched since Fall Weather Friends. Pairing them in an episode for the first time in forever would be extremely welcome

[Glike 487]

Not counting a sideplot in Castlemania, Rainbow Dash/Applejack hasn't been touched since Fall Weather Friends. Pairing them in an episode for the first time in forever would be extremely welcome

Yeah, you're right. Still, I think the new Pinkie/Apple interactions was definitely a breath of fresh air.

 

Hmm.. I wonder what they could do with AJ and Rainbow that isn't just a competition?

[Megas 27,625]

Yeah, you're right. Still, I think the new Pinkie/Apple interactions was definitely a breath of fresh air.

 

Hmm.. I wonder what they could do with AJ and Rainbow that isn't just a competition?

I remember Faust pitching an episode where they meet a deer who thinks he's a pony, and the two argue whether or not they should tell him the truth. I kinda want to see them revisit the concept

[Glike 487]

I remember Faust pitching an episode where they meet a deer who thinks he's a pony, and the two argue whether or not they should tell him the truth. I kinda want to see them revisit the concept

That's.. certainly interesting. I'm all for it just for the sole fact I want to see a deer in MLP.

 

Hmm.. we're kinda getting off-topic, though, huh?

[Marimo 555]

Unless that family member lives in Ponyville or is coming to vist/they're going to visit, the main cast hardly ever talk about their family. We knew Pinkie had sisters since season 1, but that was only in a flashback she was telling the CMC. We never saw her talk about any siblings to the rest of her friends until Maud Pie. Twilight doesn't tend to bring up Shining or Cadence unless they're going to the Empire or one or both of them came to Ponyville. Sure I can buy Fluttershy has a brother she just hasn't brought up yet. I've known some people for years and I haven't mentioned to them about my siblings since it just hasn't come up.

 

I'm kind of hoping for Fluttershy she has a younger brother. We've already seen the younger sister dynamic with the CMC and Marble Pie, we've got Big Mac and Shining as older brothers, and we've got Maud and Limestone Pie as older sisters. The closest we have to a younger brother character is Spike, so it'd be nice to have another one.

 

 

 

Seriously, Twilight's major beef with Shining Armor was angsting over him not telling her about the wedding sooner.

To be fair, it was only a couple days in advance. I imagine that would be a realistic reaction for anyone in that situation.

[Cleverclover 1,526]

 

 

Fluttershy seems to be in a similar position to Applejack.

 

 

Nah, Fluttershy is definitely worse off than Applejack. In addition to her role within the mane six, Applejack still the primary mentor figure for the CMC. 

 

An additional problem with Fluttershy that I forgot to mention is that she doesn't particularly share a strong dynamic with any of the mane six. Rarity is easily her closest friend, but the writers definitely seem to prefer pairing her up with Applejack instead. 

[Megas 27,625]

 

 

Nah, Fluttershy is definitely worse off than Applejack. In addition to her role within the mane six, Applejack still the primary mentor figure for the CMC. 

 

An additional problem with Fluttershy that I forgot to mention is that she doesn't particularly share a strong dynamic with any of the mane six. Rarity is easily her closest friend, but the writers definitely seem to prefer pairing her up with Applejack instead. 

 

Rainbow Dash? 

 

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash is one of the most prominent mane 6 pairings in the show, second only to Rarity/Applejack if only because for some reason their interaction in S5 practically disappeared apart from Scare Master, and I have no clue what the FUCK happened with that episode

 

EDIT: Fuck I forgot TftM, and they had a really good moment in it too

Edited April 25, 2016 by Megas

[HoovesOnIce 74]

I'm just highly hoping her brother is going to be a sweet, shy person instead of some tool bag.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

It'd be interesting if they touched on her interactions with that society for the preservation of magical creatures that she had to meet with in S4 prior to the breezy episode.
Like, seeing Fluttershy dealing with others with similar loves in life (helping animals), and seeing her in a situation where she was having to be more social than normal in dealing with them or trying to help that society out would be interesting.

[pony.colin 156]

Hmm, reading some replies over, never really noticed how much of a position Fluttershy seems to be stuck in.

 

But I guess because I've been thinking that FS has been largely content with her current state of life. Nothing really in immediacy for her to do or work towards because she seems to be a state where she is happy with things.  Although I think her relationship with Discord will continue (I can understand though trying to work with John de Lancie's schedule would probably be the biggest thing working with). Along with her other friend Treehugger.

I'd probably be with saying, there's a little bit more to explore for there for FS, but other areas are largely settled it seems.

 

I guess I feel that FS does seem like she's content with her current situation and that's why there's not necessarily a lot to go with her (unless they introduce some new element with her).  And it seems in a larger dynamic, FS really works more like a supporting character for any pony else at this point. 

 

 

I thought the brother of FS was actually part of the fake rumour mill. Guess we'll finally get to see her fam, and as others have stated, it really does seem necessary to give her some thing new to work with.

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

 

 

Nah, Fluttershy is definitely worse off than Applejack. In addition to her role within the mane six, Applejack still the primary mentor figure for the CMC. 

 

An additional problem with Fluttershy that I forgot to mention is that she doesn't particularly share a strong dynamic with any of the mane six. Rarity is easily her closest friend, but the writers definitely seem to prefer pairing her up with Applejack instead. 

 

Uhhhh what are you even talking about? There's literally NEVER been an AJ/Fluttershy episode aside from BATS! where Fluttershy isn't even herself for a third of the episode. Fluttershy's best friend is Rainbow Dash, which as Megas says is the most used pairing in the show after Rarity/Applejack (who at this point are clearly ALSO supposed to be best friends, seriously these people who seem to think that Rarity and Fluttershy and Applejack and Rainbow Dash are the best friends in the cast seem to like be stuck in season 1 or something). 

 

So yeah the "best friends" among the Mane six are Fluttershy + Rainbow and Rarity + Applejack, I really don't see how this can be disputed at this point in the series. Those are the characters who seem to spend the most time hanging out by far and the ones who the other character tends to go to when they have a problem (or who come to them). Just from S5 I can get you an example for each pair. Who's the only character who is ultimately able to get Rainbow to accept the inevitable about Tanks hibernation and then comfort her? Fluttershy. Who's the character Applejack goes to and talks to over and over about her issues with Coloratura for another point of view? Rarity. All the Mane Six are good friends but you'd have to be blind to not see that those two particular bonds are deliberately written to seem like the strongest among them.

 

 

 

Rainbow Dash? 

 

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash is one of the most prominent mane 6 pairings in the show, second only to Rarity/Applejack if only because for some reason their interaction in S5 practically disappeared apart from Scare Master, and I have no clue what the FUCK happened with that episode

To be honest it was more that Fluttershy all but disappeared from S5 in general outside of like 4 or so episodes she was pretty much totally irrelevant. So really none of her dynamics got much time. Hell to me even in Hooffields which was like the first time she was paired up with Twilight it felt like she was basically faded into the background till the very end of the episode.

 

Having said that even in S5 you've got the ending of Tanks for the Memories for some strong Fluttershy/Rainbow Dash relationship building. Scare-Master was indeed weird cause yeah we hadn't seen Dash act that way toward Fluttershy since like Dragonshy or something, or indeed act like that much of a jerk in general since like S2.

Edited April 25, 2016 by M'gann M'orzz

[Twilight Frost 271]

None of the ponies have any goals left to work for. 

 

1. Twilight Sparkle - she is not a student of Celestia and has nothing left to learn about friendship. Her only goal now is to teach it and that is it. 

 

2. Rainbow Dash - Is a Wonderbolt and if she wanted to she could be full time and all she would have to do is ask.

 

3. Applejack.....she was complete from the very beginning. 

 

4. Pinkie Pie - Same as Applejack

 

5. Rarity - Now that she has a store in Manehatten, she is basically just building a chain of her stores, she is about 5 more locations away from snowballing up to too big to fail and since she is the toast of canterlot, she is already high society and recognized so she is done and over with.

 

So yeah man, don't worry about it.