Unpopular opinion time

@StrategyPony  
hi there, new guy. I’m DiscipleOfAndrewRyan (currently known as That Little Faggot with the Earring and the Makeup), but you can call me DOAR for short. I hope you like StarCraft and King Crimson as much as I do. ;D
 
 
@GenericArchangel  
but I thought you didn’t like Glimmer much. D:

@That Little Faggot with the Earring and the Makeup  
What I love Starlight, it’s some of her eps that get me. Well, one of them.

@GenericArchangel  
Every pony in the valley was aiding his efforts to bring on 8 centuries of unrelenting heat. So, you know, 100% approval rating & all that.

@Kiryu-Chan  
They’re neck and neck for the spot.

@GenericArchangel  
Nah, I’ve been in this site and been watching the show for a long time already, just as an anonymous dude and I have no hunger for drama, I have hunger for artwork and chocolate milk :P

@Kiryu-Chan  

@That Little Faggot with the Earring and the Makeup  
StarCraft, Yes, but I’ve haven’t heard much of King Crimson yet

@Kiryu-Chan
 
I mean, being kind does seem like the “cheat code” to initiating a friendship, way more than the rest. Generosity and being a goofball can kinda work, but not with everyone. It’s always been the underdog that fixes broken relationships and personalities.
 
Fluttershy hasn’t taken over two season’s worth of premieres and finales for the sole purpose of being (unsuccessfully) integrated into the main cast as this “Best of both worlds” combination that isn’t bound to a main character role yet is constantly shown to be above and beyond them. Instead, she has clear limitations that, while revisited ad nauseam, manage to prove that she’s still a part of the team as opposed to a fifth ranger that’s showing off and proving themselves for way longer than necessary.
 
In Fluttershy’s case, the ability is there, but she neither flaunts it nor can apply it to every situation of her life. Though her know-how is often handled poorly (Bats, guuuuh), it’s also restricted to wildlife and flora, so there again, limited. Then on a technical level, she can’t exactly reach the Sue status due to being part of the original cast as opposed to being an outsider addition to the cast that’s grown out of control.
 
Yknow what really should’ve been addressed, though? Best Night Ever showed us that when she fails to bond with creatures, she flips the fuck out. We haven’t seen this excessive of a fail-state ever since, have we? I do agree that her bonding skill could’ve had way more holes poked into it, instead of being used as this all-powerful conflict solving ability.

@Kiryu-Chan  
Fucking based and redpilled
 
@StrategyPony  

@Kiryu-Chan  

 
Being a huge fan of her, I have already admitted that if there’s one pony that could possibly fit the description, it’s her.
 
To be fair, Fluttershy has in the past seemed so passive that it’s hard to give her flaws without making her look pathetic, or punish her without looking cruel. She’s on occasion been such a moeball, that the only real character beat for her that makes dramatic sense is to either continue to squee cutely or be suddenly awesome.
 
It’s why I’ve admired her character development seen in ‘Sounds of Silence’ and ‘A Health of Information’, where she’s still recognisably Fluttershy, but her arrogance and stubbornness are portrayed as a bad thing, while still keeping her sympathetic and letting her be the hero. It’s certainly a more nuanced portrayal than “Be a spineless wimp for 20 minutes, in between moments of being perfect and right about everything”.

@Philweasel
 
(sigh)
 
You know, I’m still irked about Bats all these years later. Mostly because Twilight never took proper responsibility for what she did, but also because there is no finer example that even when Fluttershy is dead fucking wrong, she’ll still end up being right.
 
It’s why I still cling so tightly to the fact that AJ was the one who had the right idea in Sounds of Silence. Because she was the one who argued that the Kirin needed to regain their emotions while Fluttershy was adamant that they needed to remain exactly as they were. Yes, they of course had Fluttershy’s animal power come in handy to solve a dilemma for the umpteenth time and thereby ensure that her presence was necessary, but nevertheless, AJ still came out on top here…for the most part. And that’s unlike pretty much any other time AJ and Fluttershy have been paired together.

@Spinny  
Glad that someone sees their dynamic in particular is pretty lopsided.
 
It would be the worst in the group if not for Rainbow.

@Spinny  
Bats! is one of the worst written episodes of the entire series. I would have loved it if they dropped the conflict between them all together, and ade the episode be purely about Flutterbat. Just come up with a random magical mcguffin from the Everfree to cause her to turn into a bat creature.

@RaineV1  
Some cursed idol that fell off a truck and attracted the bats in the first place?

@RaineV1  
That’s kind of the episode’s problem though - the writers felt the same way, and the actual point was forgotten in favour of the gimmick.

@Spinny
 
@RaineV1  
Even with the Flutterbat gimmick, Bats! was just an awful episode and it has one of the most one sided conflicts ever in the show and it was more or less the start of Fluttershy always being in the right because creator’s pet.

@ILoveMyoozik
 
“Bats!” takes itself too seriously. A goofy episode about “well shit Fluttershy is a bat now” with no real explanation given would’ve been widely loved. Scrap the BS about the bats and the conflict there, and make it so AJ just wants to protect the farm. For her part, Fluttershy doesn’t know she’s a bat, but AJ doesn’t want to make her feel bad. Resolution? Apple Bloom or Big Mac tell her, and Flutterbat stays a thing but is kept under control.

@GenericArchangel  
Even though I don’t care for the Flutterbat gimmick, that would’ve been a much better episode.

@ILoveMyoozik  
Honestly I wish we had more gimmicky episodes. I like Flutterbat, it’s fun.
 
On that note, I’m kinda glad we never learned more about batponies in general. Since they only show up as Luna’s guards, we’d have to know more about the Guards to address them.

Why does it feel like 90% of posts in an unpopular opinions thread are people being contrarian?

@GenericArchangel  
More gimmicky episodes would’ve been fun, though I do have to wonder what gimmick they could come up for the characters.

@ILoveMyoozik  
Twilight learning magic spells. Rarity versus the Diamond Dogs. Applejack trying to use her free time. Rainbow Dash in the Weather Patrol (before S6). Pinkie Pie spying on everyone.

Bats! is an alright episode.

@PonyPon
 
It’s funny because Applejack and Fluttershy are cut from the same cloth. They were both without any life goals or aspirations, and they’re the two most empathetic ponies of the mane six, albeit Fluttershy has a tender loving touch while AJ is more about tough love.
 
In theory, their dynamic is one that really ought to work well. The issue is mostly that Fluttershy’s worldview is the one that the show itself caters to: the idea that every iota of every living being is good inside, including predatory animals, who will forego any natural instincts they have in favor of making friends with their would-be prey. Applejack, meanwhile, is fully aware of that most people do not maintain the same code of honesty that she does, and that many are downright untrustworthy. That’s not to say she doesn’t genuinely care for people or isn’t willing to give them the benefit of the doubt but in general, if someone proves themselves to be untrustworthy, AJ has no trust left for them. In fact, I still believe that AJ being so accepting of Starlight had everything to do with her trusting Twilight’s judgment rather than being willing to trust Starlight.
 
AJ’s worldview is, naturally, the one that makes sense, but it’s not the one the show upholds. So this is why AJ’s mistrust of Flim and Flam is “wrong” despite her family being dicked over by them more than once. This is why AJ was “wrong” about the bats and why she was forced to adopt Fluttershy’s stupid and short-sighted solution.