Why doesn't Fluttershy use her wings that much?

[~Scootaloo 440]

Why does Fluttershy seldom use her wing? I only see her use them under the following circumstances:

 

-If there is no other way to get around something

-When she is afraid (like when jumps back)

-Running away

 

Otherwise she walks.

 

Also why the does Pinkie Pie always skip? I know that she is bubbly and that is to show she is happy, but still, I often see her eyes closed while skipping so how the hell can she see where she is going?

[jw5587 182]

It's been stated many times throughout the show that Fluttershy is a weak flyer. I think she enjoys keeping her hooves on the ground as opposed to flying. I see it as she just isn't comfortable flying around. As for Pinkie Pie skipping around with her eyes closed, Pinkie sense! Also, it is a childrens cartoon. Don't over analyze it.

[silvadel 1,393]

Fluttershy is essentially the pegasus with the fear of heights.  She prefers being near the ground but she forgets her fears when her friends are in danger.

 

[~Scootaloo 440]

It's been stated many times throughout the show that Fluttershy is a weak flyer. I think she enjoys keeping her hooves on the ground as opposed to flying. I see it as she just isn't comfortable flying around. As for Pinkie Pie skipping around with her eyes closed, Pinkie sense! Also, it is a childrens cartoon. Don't over analyze it.

 

Wouldn't it make more sense for her to practice more often if she is bad at it?

 

Also yes I know that it is a children's show and it's not a crime to look below the surface.

 

Fluttershy is essentially the pegasus with the fear of heights.  She prefers being near the ground but she forgets her fears when her friends are in danger.

 

 

 

 

Again wouldn't it make sense for her to practice then?

[jw5587 182]

Wouldn't it make more sense for her to practice more often if she is bad at it?

 

Also yes I know that it is a children's show and it's not a crime to look below the surface.

 

Again wouldn't it make sense for her to practice then?

I didn't mean to make it sound like a crime! While Fluttershy is a weak flyer she is competent enough when her friends need her or are in danger. If she can manage it when she needs to why would she need to practice? I think Silvadel hit the nail on the head. The problem is more her fear of flying as opposed to her incompetence. When she needs to, she has proven to be plenty competent. 

[Twinhead B 482]

Simple: Fluttershy is not a very strong flyer.

 

You have to remember that Fluttershy was barely able to hover herself in the air in flight school, and if we assume her story on how she got her cutie mark is the 100% truth, she never returned to Cloudsdale after discovering her talent.

 

It's a wonder Fluttershy is able to fly at all given the circumstances, but I'd attribute that to the theory that Rainbow Dash may have taught her after she came to Ponyville, as it's implied that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were friends before Twilight came to Ponyville unlike the rest of the Mane 6, who don't even know each other until they all meet at Twilight's house in Friendship is Magic, Part 1.

[Scootalove 10,689]

I guess she is getting used to staying on the ground. I know people think that she should practice flying. Fluttershy might practice flying when she gets the chance.

[Batbrony 16,056]

Well, as a couple of others pointed out, Fluttershy's always been a weak flier, and while it would make sense to practice if she wanted to get stronger, Fluttershy really prefers not to fly.  I mean, "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" made that pretty apparent; she found her place when she fell to the earth below and discovered her gift with the woodland critters, and unless she absolutely has to fly to assist her friends or the critters (which she's shown time and again she's more than willing to do), she just, as best I can tell, chooses not to use them. 

 

Oh yeah, and as for your Pinkie Pie question, here's the best answer I can come up with:

 

 

If she can do this...

 

 

...then as far as I'm concerned, there's no point in questioning how she can skip all around with her eyes closed without hitting anything! 

Edited March 15, 2013 by Batbrony

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

Fluttershy has some talent in the air (as we saw at the end of Hurricane Fluttershy), but she's not a confident flier. I think flying reminds her of Cloudsdale, and that's a part of her life she would rather forget, so she keeps her flying to a minimum.

 

Pinkie skips all the time because she's Pinkie, and she doesn't need her eyes open to know where she's going: to cheer up another pony!

[Radiance64 7,053]

Fluttershy has practiced flying though:

Too bad she still hasn't gotten much better.

Anyway, as others have said, she's just a weak flier and afraid of heights. Plus, she did kind of fall to the ground and just decide to live with animals(basically, but I really hope there's more to it), so I suppose she's used to being an earth pony trapped in a pegasus' body, but it has been shown she is capable of adept flying in an emergency situation, it's a classic sort of character type really.

 

This thread appears to be discussing MLP:FiM in some way, shape or form. Thus, it has been sentenced to Show Discussion.<br /><br />This is an automatically generated message, by the way.

[NavelColt 22,882]

Fluttershy feels a strong connection with nature. She fell from Cloudsdale and presumably began living on the ground since then. Taking that into account, she flutters (herp derp) quite a bit. She doesn't zip around like Dash does no, but that's just because she's shy, doesn't show off, and has no need to. She flutters around here and there quite often, but that's it, that's all she needs to do because she doesn't live in the clouds. All she needs her wings for is for simple maneuvering here and there on the ground.

 

Fun Fact: Originally, Flutteshy was going to be an Earth Pony, and Pinkie the Pegasus.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

I think she is afraid of flying, and has a strong connection with nature. The entire episode Hurricane Fluttershy was about just that.

 

 

Fluttershy feels a strong connection with nature. She fell from Cloudsdale and presumably began living on the ground since then. Taking that into account, she flutters (herp derp) quite a bit. She doesn't zip around like Dash does no, but that's just because she's shy, doesn't show off, and has no need to. She flutters around here and there quite often, but that's it, that's all she needs to do because she doesn't live in the clouds. All she needs her wings for is for simple maneuvering here and there on the ground.

 

Fun Fact: Originally, Flutteshy was going to be an Earth Pony, and Pinkie the Pegasus.

Fun Fact: Originally Chaotic Discord was going to be a Discord fan, but apparantly somewhere along the line became a Spitfire fan instead.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

I kinda have a problem with that to at times. I know she's a weak flyer, but I feel at times she could easily do things if she just flew. Not for traveling, but just for small thing and she doesn't have to fly high or fare. Like in the episode, Putting your hoof down." When Fluttershy is trying to get into town, but 2 ponies are blocking the bridge. Fluttershy kicks their garbage to make them move.

 

 

Now I know the episode was trying to show Fluttershy being more assertive, but she could have just flown over them to get over. If she didn't want to fly over garbage, than fly over the river or just cross the river. It's not exactly the Mississippi.

[~Scootaloo 440]

I kinda have a problem with that to at times. I know she's a weak flyer, but I feel at times she could easily do things if she just flew. Not for traveling, but just for small thing and she doesn't have to fly high or fare. Like in the episode, Putting your hoof down." When Fluttershy is trying to get into town, but 2 ponies are blocking the bridge. Fluttershy kicks their garbage to make them move.

 

 

Now I know the episode was trying to show Fluttershy being more assertive, but she could have just flown over them to get over. If she didn't want to fly over garbage, than fly over the river or just cross the river. It's not exactly the Mississippi.

Ya I know. When I saw that I knew they wanted her to be tougher and get the point across however we all knew she could have flown above them (seeing as it is not very high or long at all).

[Vanguard 123]

Wouldn't it make more sense for her to practice more often if she is bad at it?

She does not want to, she hasn't got the need to fly so why should she? you don't practice something you don't enjoy, its also because she got teased a lot when in flight school, she doesn't want to be judged and teased again. its as simple as that.

[~Scootaloo 440]

She does not want to, she hasn't got the need to fly so why should she? you don't practice something you don't enjoy, its also because she got teased a lot when in flight school, she doesn't want to be judged and teased again. its as simple as that.

To problems that come to mind when reading this:

 

1) She was born a pegasus granted she doesn't have to love flying however being a pegasus she should know how to fly at least reasonably well (and I'm not talking about when she users her wings to move around her home or what not).

2) She needs to be able to fly in situations other than in dire situations.

Edited March 15, 2013 by ~Scootaloo

[Vanguard 123]

To problems that come to mind when reading this:

 

1) She was born a pegasus granted she doesn't have to love flying however being a pegasus she should know how to fly at least reasonably well (and I'm not talking about when she users her wings to move around her home or what not).

2) She needs to be able to fly in situations other than in dire situations.

She can she just chooses not to, she doesn't have to fly everywhere and her life doesn't require her to fly frequently, she flies in dire situations because she needs to she obviously tries to avoid using them day to day.

[SandmanTheTerrible 27]

Fluttershy has shown to be a decent flier, granted definitely not as good as most pegasus, I think its more of she is scared. Kind of like making a jump you get scared, you don't give it your all and you fall. And as for why she doesn't fly to solve simple problems, sometimes that just doesn't cross your mind(especially when your angry).

[Freewave 1,145]

I think the phrase that fits the best is you gotta use it or you lose it. Clearly Fluttershy barely uses her wings and she has lost most of her flying power accordingly. There's plenty of episodes already on this topic.

[~Scootaloo 440]

I think the phrase that fits the best is you gotta use it or you lose it. Clearly Fluttershy barely uses her wings and she has lost most of her flying power accordingly. There's plenty of episodes already on this topic.

Cramming a lot of posts into a single thread isn't exactly helpful either now is it? I don't mind multiple topics on the same issue, because the discussion varies.

Edited March 15, 2013 by ~Scootaloo

[Zygen 6,066]

Fluttershy isn't really a strong flier, and shes scared of heights and really doesn't like flying much, she much rather's just walk in most cases.

 

There have been some more recent cases where she'll fly, it all depends.

 

Pinkie just bounces around because.. Well its Pinkie don't try to explain her .

[Imagine 284]

I think Fluttershy just is afraid of heights, or just enjoys the ground because there is much more to find, unlike in the sky, where all you see are clouds and stuff.

And for Pinkie Pie, she's just a happy pony, and maybe she opens her eyes every now and then to see if she is about to run into something.

[NavelColt 22,882]

Fun Fact: Originally Chaotic Discord was going to be a Discord fan, but apparantly somewhere along the line became a Spitfire fan instead.

 

Fun Fact: Avatars and signatures don't reflect true fandom, creating endless walls of text discussing the characters you enjoy is

 

Deterioration of strength in wings is fully possible too I suppose, Hurricane Fluttershy did sort of touch upon that with her training.

[Eureka 1,119]

I guess she doesn't want to and/or doesn't need to. Maybe most of her animal friends are on the ground xD.

Maybe her wings are weak? They're probably many reasons.

[Wingnut 7,003]

Several of you have already mentioned Fluttershy's acrophobia and the fact that her wing strength is considerably less than average.  As ground bound humans, it sounds bizarre to us, but Fluttershy simply doesn't have a great interest in flying.  Her true love in life are the animals and most of them live on the ground.  When a pegasus flaps their wings, it creates a lot of wind and animals naturally finds this to be frightening.  Fluttershy usually refrains from using her wings while she is serving her critter friends.  When she does fly, it is often to be with creatures like birds and butterflies.

 

Fluttershy's big victory in Hurricane Fluttershy was her ability to overcome her crippling lack of confidence, not because she suddenly became a good flyer. 

 

But there was one occasion where she showed PHENOMENAL wingpower. 

 

 

While this animation was exaggerated for comedic effect, I still love this clip because it lays out the best traits of not one but two ponies for all to see.  One, it shows why Twilight Sparkle is a great leader.  Not only is she aware of Fluttershy's deep down courage, she knows just what to say to unleash it.  Two, in a do or die situation, Fluttershy's inner strength is so great she can translate it into increased physical strength.  Both Hurricane Fluttershy and the clip shown here are testaments to one of MLP:FiMs underlying morals.  The most cowardly looking people among us can show great power and bravery in a moment of crisis. 

 

 

Fun Fact: Avatars and signatures don't reflect true fandom, creating endless walls of text discussing the characters you enjoy is

 

Thank you CD, that was the most flattering thing anybody has said about me all day. 

Edited March 17, 2013 by Wingnut