Let's talk about FlutterDash · 11:45pm Nov 13th, 2014
FlutterDash is weird, because it doesn’t make a lot sense on paper. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s personalities don’t match up well in a lot of ways, but they’re also not quite different enough from each other to have that ‘opposites attract’ appeal (if that’s something that appeals to you, and it shouldn’t).
I’ve seen some people say they wouldn’t work well in a serious romantic relationship because they would have communications issues, which I can maybe buy. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are both bad at talking to other people about their problems and feelings, for entirely different reasons. But Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy would have communication issues no matter who they end up swapping spit with. Most real couples have communication issues, and it’s hardly an insurmountable obstacle if both parties were willing to work at it.
The problem I’ve always seen with FlutterDash is the difference in degree of ambition, motivation, and enthusiasm between the two. If Rainbow Dash was an explosion, Fluttershy would be a stuffed teddy bear gently rolling down a hill. Inevitably, it seems like Rainbow Dash’s personality would totally and utterly steamroll over Fluttershy’s, not through any fault of Dash’s, but just because that’s who she is. She steamrolls over just about everyone. It’s why I’ve always thought it made more sense for Rainbow Dash to be with someone with an equally big personality to match and stand up to her own, like Rarity or Pinkie Pie. Or in the very least someone with a very strong, if not necessarily showy, personality like Applejack’s to keep her in check.
Now, it’s a nice thought that Fluttershy might act as a kind of stabilizing influence to keep Rainbow Dash from going too wild, but I’m not sure Fluttershy herself is strong enough to do that. It would be up to Rainbow Dash to keep herself in check for Fluttershy’s sake. I think Rainbow Dash could very well have the maturity and level of self-discipline needed to do that, but I’m not sure that would be fair to Rainbow Dash. Why should she have to slow herself down for anyone? Rainbow Dash should be with someone who can keep up with her, not someone she has to limit herself to be with (which, again, I think would definitely be Pinkie Pie, maybe Rarity, and possibly Applejack). I think this is why those fics about Rainbow Dash injuring herself and being nursed back to health by one of her other friends work so well. Rainbow Dash gets along better with everyone when she’s forced to slow down to their speed.
For that reason, FlutterDash is a very difficult long term ship (though not impossible). But FlutterDash does make for an awesome short term ship.
That is because of what kind of character Fluttershy is. Fluttershy is exactly the kind of person who would nurse a years-long, at-a-distance crush on one of her friends. Because, you know, she’s shy and stuff. I’m sure anyone can easily imagine her sitting back in the corner, hiding behind her mane, quietly watching one of her friends and wishing they could be with her, but never making any actual moves.
That works especially well with FlutterDash because Rainbow Dash is exactly the kind of pony that a pony like Fluttershy would crush on. In Fluttershy’s eyes at least, Rainbow Dash is strong and talented and confident and beautiful, and she has been often shown to have a bit of a soft spot for Fluttershy (and for the record, those are reasons I think Fluttershy could just as likely be attracted to Rarity or Applejack instead, and those pairings wouldn’t have the long term problems that FlutterDash would, but whatever). So, of course, Fluttershy would be infatuated with Rainbow Dash. And, of course, she would never do anything about it.
It’s even better with the implication that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash have known each other and been friends since they were kids. That could mean God only knows how many years of suppressed romantic feelings, which is perfect for cheesy, classic romance.
Fluttershy also has a tendency to, very rarely, emotionally explode. Think something along the lines of her Grand Galloping Gala blowout, except this time an explosion of years of pent-up lust for rainbows. The make outs would be legendary.
And, for the sake of romance, Rainbow Dash is the probably the best possible recipient of those makeouts, because Rainbow Dash is all about making sudden, rash decisions based on emotion without thinking through the long term consequences.
So FlutterDash is a great ship for spontaneous, heated, make-outs-filled-to-bursting, but ultimately doomed love affairs, which is a good summary for about half of every classic tale of romance ever.
Jee wizz, somebody sure should write a fic like that.
But actually they shouldn’t, because I already did. To be posted tomorrow:
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It certainly made use of the prompt.
It is a poignant little tale.
I am definitely with you on FlutterDash, although I have to disagree with shipping Rainbow with any of the other mane six. Rainbow does not take an assertive personality well because you get constant flareups and conflict like what we see with AJ which is just not sustainable in a long term romantic relationship. It might make for a good dramatic story and some epic makeup sex, but it will eventually build up too much antagonism and destroy the relationship in a huge fight. The closest to compatible is Rarity because they are so similar once you look past the surface trappings, but there are still a lot of obvious issues there so I doubt that would work.
What Rainbow really needs is someone flexible enough to let her win while still being strong enough to reel her in when she is really out of line and capable enough for her to respect. That requires a very strong type B personality coupled with at least above average intelligence to keep up with Rainbow's brilliant mind and some kind of exceptional talent that Rainbow can easily respect with no reservations which is most likely flying. Other talents which produce impressive results could also work if it is in an area that Rainbow has (or develops) some interest in so she can really appreciate their skill, but that would require a lot more work to set up. Soarin' is the most obvious candidate for this, although a big part of that is that the writers seem to be intentionally setting him up as a future love interest for her. Basically, you need someone that can keep up with Rainbow and is comfortable letting her win which is a tall order for someone as driven as she is.
I have not done very much thinking on Fluttershy because she does not really interest me all that much as a character, although my first thought is someone like Big Mac who is quiet and gentle enough to make her feel comfortable in a relationship, although getting them together would be an issue because neither one of them is going to take the initiative...ever.
While this analysis is believable, for me Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stalls as a ship for a more mundane reason; The Westermarck effect. While the idea of two children growing up together and eventually realizing they are perfect for each is a classic trope, it just strains believability too much for me.
Admittedly, as you pointed out, Fluttershy is the type who could believably let such feelings stew for that long, avoiding relationships in general. And Rainbow Dash is the type who could believably "settle" for Fluttershy, since her personality probably outstrips most of her other romantic partners. Having both of those things collide and then overcoming the "just friends" thing seems a little too convenient for me, though.
You have the best leadups to new stories
Now I'm really looking forward to reading this!
For much the same reasons that you've listing, I really think TwiDash works the best of any Rainbow Dash ship. She's shy and inexperienced enough to harbour a crush for years, but strong enough to eventually pull it off. And unlike Fluttershy, she's actually on Rainbows level when it comes to ambition, goals and drive. Twi is the RD of magic, and Dash is the Twilight of flying, at least when it comes to mastery of ones craft. They just approaching their roles in totally different ways.
This pretty much sums up my thoughts. Ever since we found out they were fillyhood friends, I've thought shipping them was great. But realistically, I don't think they'd last, not unless Fluttershy's able to stand up for herself.
2594552 standing up for herself is something Fluttershy can do, the real issue is how amazing unlikely she is to want to. Think of what she was willing to do for Rarity for just freindship. (Rarity just pretended to be happy for her, that's very differnt from doing a job you hate) Then of coruse there is what she is willing to do for Angel. She would give up everything with a smile. That's the real issue with Fluttershy and anyone, they need to be able to capable of making sure she doesn't go to extremes in trying to meet the needs of her partner, real or imagined, asked or unasked. It also would require said pony to pay enough attention to subtle details to understand something was wrong. Really the issue with Fluttershy is unless she gets so unhappy she explodes she'll just suffer in her discontent never breaking things off herself, and she might do a good enough job making her partner happy they never will.