Having gotten past “Boast Busters”, now, it’s on to “Dragonshy”, Meghan McCarthy’s first episode on the show. It’s also the first one to center around Fluttershy. We knew about Angel from Ticket Master, naturally.

I do remember Fluttershy was fascinated by Spike as a dragon when she first met him, something that I don’t believe ever was followed up on, since Spike x Rarity took hold instead.

Looks like this one was storyboarded by Sibsy! On to watch!

So, immediately, we have Fluttershy surrounded by bunnies, including one with a ribbon on one ear, as she feeds fish to some ferrets, and worms to some birds. Not sure the worms and fish appreciated that. She didn’t like having the worms in her mouth, but seemed totally good with the fish, too…

Angel Bunny is a jerk. He actually was nicer in Ticket Master, with him and the salad, but this kinda set the tone. He does point out the billows of ominous black smoke, at least.

Fluttershy runs into town calling for help… very softly. And Rainbow Dash almost hits her with a ball, which she is bouncing off her head and other parts of her body. At least rapidly hitting a ball against her head doesn’t seem to be having any effect on her. You'll later see this same ball in the mlp mobile game, as you play a repetitive mini-game with it.

Pinkie Pie wants to celebrate Rainbows lack of brain damage, and everyone is ignoring Fluttershy. Imagine if this was how Fluttershy had been for the rest of the show. Fortunately, they actually do pay attention to Twilight, who announces it in a loud voice. One has to wonder why nopony other than Twilight and Fluttershy (and Angel) in Ponyville saw the smoke?

Apparently, per Celestia, the smoke is coming from a dragon. One wonders how she found this out. And he’s taking a nap. Smoking’s bad enough for you, but you really shouldn’t do it in bed…

Rainbow Dash thinks they should give him a boot to the head. She must know Ti Kwan Leep.

Fluttershy seems to have mostly not been involved in their meeting to determine what they are going to do about it, and they gather supplies with a vague mission of “encouraging him to sleep elsewhere”. They didn’t think this one out well, did they? Packing montage time.

Rainbow seems to go home just to paint rainbow warpaint on her face. Applejack gets Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac to pack her saddlebags (is it me, or did they forget about saddlebags a lot later on?), Pinkie appears to have a party ready in hers plus some sunglasses, Rarity has to pick out the most fashionable camouflage hat (Rarity, it’s not supposed to be fashionable, it’s supposed to blend in…), and Fluttershy is… ready to play football, apparently.

And then when they meet, none of them have anything from the montage on. Rarity does have a scarf, tho’. Fluttershy is clearly not down with this whole ‘going up a mountain and confronting a dragon’ thing. Twilight totally ignores her until she tries to actually leave, and makes her come.

Spike’s covering for her with the animals, though Angel messes it up for him. Thanks, Angel. Though, you know, Spike’s a dragon. Maybe you should’ve brought him along?

Rainbow Dash is acting like she barely knows and doesn’t really like Fluttershy, in a bit of early episode weirdness. We know from later that they went to flight camp together and were close. Fluttershy actually being afraid of her own shadow didn’t help much, though.

Rainbow Dash tries to fly up and check it out, and Applejack grabs Dash’s tail in her teeth. They seem to have done this all the time early on.

“Welcome to my cave, Rarity! Want a diamond? Rawr!” This and her choice of pose earlier in the montage…

Fluttershy being scared is getting rather annoying. Pinkie Pie apparently won tic-tac-toe with Rarity 35 times in a row. (Between this and Pin the Tail on the Pony being her favorite game… Anypony competent at it draws at tic-tac-toe.) And Applejack drags Fluttershy up the mountain by the tail. One would think they would just let her stay behind at this point.

And they all jump over a gap except Fluttershy, who is too scared, so Pinkie Pie sings her a song about growing up at the orphanage. Or wait, no, the “Hop, Skip, and Jump” song. ”It’s not very far if you move your little rump, you can make it if you try, with a hop, skip, and jump.” It almost works.

Sheesh, I really forgot how annoying Fluttershy is in this episode. She manages to trigger an avalanche on them. Though Rainbow’s hostility towards Fluttershy is about as irritating as Fluttershy’s absolute crippling shyness. I’m not sure how she manages in day to day life, other then presumably Angel taking care of her.

Pinkie Pie tries to create a diversion with a rubber chicken. Boneless 0? Applejack is apparently ready to attack with apples. Apple attack? Fluttershy doesn’t come along, so Twilight pulls on Fluttershy’s wings and starts smacking her in the rump with her head. Like friends do, I guess?

And Fluttershy reveals that she’s scared of dragons. Somehow I’m not sure why this is supposed to be a revelation. Other than that she’s fine with Spike.

She’s asked why she didn’t say something. Okay, she didn’t specify she’s scared of dragons, but she didn’t want to come along and was basically forced to come this far. She repeatedly said she didn’t want to come…

“All of us are scared of that dragon.” “I’m not!” “Almost all of us are scared of that dragon.”

So Twilight does on into the dragon cave alone. He is pretty huge, but seems to be peacefully snoozing, with a smile on his face.

He tries to go back to sleep with Twilight wakes him up. Not sure I’d to that if I woke up to somepony strange in my cave, but maybe he doesn’t see her as much of a threat. Sadly, she keeps talking when he wants to keep snoozing. He yawns, stretches, and… manages to go back to sleep anyways.

At least he doesn’t have trouble getting back to sleep.

So Rarity decides to go in and steal his gems talk to him. It goes about as well as you’d expect. The flattery was a good idea, but calling attention to the fact you’re robbing him blind isn’t.

Pinkie Pie dresses up as a gift-wrapped present with flippers, sunglasses, a party noisemaker, and balloons, which is clearly the best approach when meeting with an annoyed dragon.

To be honest, this dragon hasn’t really made much in the way of attempts to hurt anyone, even when Rainbow kicks him in the snoot. He hits the ground with his fist and blasts them with smoke, but I’d be cranky too if I was woken up from a good snoozing in my cave.

He does come out and scares them all and breaks the rock they are all piled against in a heap, by, um, breathing on it too hard? Fluttershy actually sees her friends in a bit of danger and actually acts, by flying right up to him and yelling at him and intimidating him into leaving his cave.

He does point out that Rainbow Dash kicked him, which is, indeed, a pretty good reason to be upset. As far as his bullying them, you know, they kinda broke in his cave, woke him up, tried to steal things, and so on?

“You’re not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision.” I do like the Fluttershy speech, at least, even if I’m not sure I agree with her interpretation of things, and did just spend most of the episode being annoyed with her. At one point in this episode’s life, Fluttershy apparently used the Stare around here. I’m guessing they changed the order of the episodes, and removed it because that episode hadn’t happened yet?

And we come back to Angel still being a furry little pain in Spike’s neck. “How does Fluttershy put up with you furry little things?” You probably aren’t supposed to hold him by the foot, Spike. And yet he volunteers to watch their pets again seasons later, including Angel…

Time for this weeks crammed in moral:

Dear Princess Celestia,
I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend, Fluttershy, who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.
Always your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.

I’m not sure I watched the same episode…

Rainbow Dash goes back to hitting her head against things again, and that’s it for the episode.

Sorry if I seem harsh on some of these episodes, but sometimes I’m not feeling it, and it’s been so long since I’ve seen them that the bad parts have faded a fair amount.

Next one is “Look Before You Sleep”, so we should be good. That one was kinda put Rarity and Applejack together and watch sparks fly, which was fun.

--Sweetie Belle

7061363 I remember this episode being the first bump in the road in my relationship with Fluttershy's character...

I mean, I don't really mind this episode, since I think it puts down pretty much what it wanted to with only a few little weird bits, but it was the first glimpse of Fluttershy being less than the somewhat more confident look we get in the series premier. I am however able to forgive Fluttershy for being more afraid of a C H O N K Y dragon more than a manticore.

This is something I doubt was really explored this early on, but I like the idea that Fluttershy is afraid of dragons less because of their size, but because of how angry and shouty they are. Looking at the dragon society we get later down the line, I can see Fluttershy being afraid of being shouted and mocked by coarse and mean scaly bois.

I don't think that was an element they really ran with this ep, but it would have been cool...

I also did like the original dragon designs! I like the new humanoidy ones we get later too, but these ones scream fantasy dragon way more. less HTTYD cookiness. There was redboi here and later there was greenboi, in the episode where Spike loses his shit about an owl. This ep was the first one since the premier that featured a more classical fantasy adventure, which is something I do wish they leaned into more heavily throughout the show, and in more than just the season premier and finales...

Whilst the others (other than Rainbow) were actually pretty deaf to Fluttershy not really wanting to head up to the dragon, they were pretty supportive all the way through. Good thing too, because the only one who actually tried talking was also going full klepto. If they had left Flutters behind I'm not sure that any of them would have considered talking as an option, likely due to a dragon's fearsome reputation...

7061363

she feeds fist to some ferrets

Fuck yeah! FUCK ferrets! Go Fluttershy, woooooooo!

EDIT: Awww... you fixed it...

7061363
Wow, I had nearly forgotten how cripling shy Flutters really was at the start of the show....

7061363
This episode had been one of the very firsts I ever watched and it still holds the spot as one of my favorites.
There were a few things that struck me in particular: I loved that dragons were portrayed in a serious way, that they were those mysterious, dangerous creatures that sleep for hundreds of years that are rarely seen in the pony realm, and I loved even more how the characters didn't just always love and support eachother, but acted very much in line with their personalities and values, with no superior transcendental moral force punishing them for just being themselves.
It also made me curious about Spike, I mean, after we'd seen what dragons are, the next obvious question in my mind was "why does the main character have a baby dragon following her?".

Interesting, multifaceted characters with realistic characters dynamics, proper word-building and potential interesting stories lying right in front of everyone faces, just waiting to be told, that was the stuff that made me like this show.

Remember the scene in this episode where Fluttershy is literally scared by her own shadow. I like to appreciate how far her character has progressed from that moment.

7061363 This episode is definitely one of the most inconsistent with what's established in later seasons. In particular it's Rainbow Dash who usually supports Fluttershy and Applejack who seems to get the most fed up with her.

7061363

So, immediately, we have Fluttershy surrounded by bunnies, including one with a ribbon on one ear, as she feeds fish to some ferrets, and worms to some birds. Not sure the worms and fish appreciated that. She didn’t like having the worms in her mouth, but seemed totally good with the fish, too…

A long way from the attempted forced herbivorism of She Talks to Angel, huh?

Fluttershy seems to have mostly not been involved in their meeting to determine what they are going to do about it, and they gather supplies with a vague mission of “encouraging him to sleep elsewhere”. They didn’t think this one out well, did they?

It's my theory (well, headcanon) that it was never a mission in the first place.

And then when they meet, none of them have anything from the montage on.

Does make it a bit of a waste of time.

Rainbow Dash is acting like she barely knows and doesn’t really like Fluttershy, in a bit of early episode weirdness. We know from later that they went to flight camp together and were close.

Yeah, their relationship really evolved retroactively - it was quite a while before I accepted they were old friends.

At one point in this episode’s life, Fluttershy apparently used the Stare around here. I’m guessing they changed the order of the episodes, and removed it because that episode hadn’t happened yet?

What makes you think she isn't? She's certainly looking him eye-to-eye.

Dear Princess Celestia,
I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country,

And somehow there were still arguments as to whether "Equestria" meant the whole world long after his.

7061363

She feeds fish to some ferrets, and worms to some birds. Not sure the worms and fish appreciated that.

I know killing animals isn't right, but these fish and worms were basically farm animals which were used to feed both carnivores and insectivores. Sure they eat meat, but that doesn't mean they're evil.

Predators had to keep the ecosystem healthy by eating the herbivores to make sure they wouldn't eat too many plants that produce oxygen, or to prevent the spread of diseases.

So my fiancee and I are going through the whole show. My second time watching it and her first. Just watched this episode today.

I honestly forgot just how simple season 1 was. The later seasons had a lot of slice of life too, but these season 1 episodes just have a simple charm to them that's hard to overlook. If this was my first time watching, I could NEVER imagine some of stuff in the later seasons happening, like Twilight's battle against Tirek, or even Twi becoming a princess.

Even the voices and the characters' mannerisms is a bit different this early on. Fluttershy sounds so much softer. Twi sounds softer too. In fact, Twi and Spike clearly sound a bit younger here than in the later seasons. Twi is also a more dull purple... for whatever reason. It's also weird seeing Twi so short after her being a princess for 6 whole seasons.

I will say that these earlier episodes are on the more boring side. The later slice of life episodes are just more entertaining, at least to me. Though that also makes them lose the down to earth charm season 1 had.

As for this episode in particular...

Scaredy Fluttershy is absolutely adorable here. And I love seeing Twilight take command as the group leader even this early on. Best line of the episode was when Dash was commenting on everyone's failed attempts with the Dragon.

To paraphrase: "We tried reasoning... charm... And whatever it is Pinkie Pie does."

I'm still chuckling over that haha

This episode felt like it could have easily been an episode from Generation 1. Unlike the last episode, all of the Mane Six shine in this episode. The only characters I had a problem with were Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was a problem because she was completely unsympathetic towards Fluttershy throughout the whole episode. Rainbow Dash might not be scared of heights, but that doesn’t mean she has to be a bitch to Fluttershy, especially when she accidentally slipped and caused Rarity and the others to fall.

The problem with Fluttershy is that she’s a pansy. She makes Chuckie Finster look like a knight in shining armor by comparison. Given her isolated lifestyle, I can see why she’s scared of a lot of things, but her own shadow? Laughter aside, that’s pathetic.

Character issues aside, this episode gave us a great sense of adventure, very much like the pilot did. There’s constantly an obstacle that the Mane Six are having to overcome. Granted, most of those obstacles are the result of Fluttershy being a pansy, but they are obstacles nonetheless.

What also makes this episode great is the way in which all of the Mane Six approach the situation. None of them approach it the same way. Rarity uses her charm to talk the dragon into leaving. Twilight tries persuading him into leaving by talking to him as an individual. And Rainbow Dash uses brute force to get him to leave. Not the smartest of moves on Rainbow Dash’s part, but, being an athlete, Rainbow Dash really isn’t that bright. She acts first and thinks second.

The only problem that I have with this episode is that it suffers from a symptom that a lot of these adventure stories have, that being that the conflict could’ve easily been solved had Spike been used. Spike is a dragon. Therefore, wouldn’t it make sense for the Mane Six to take him with them when they go to confront a dragon who needs to leave his cave because he’s covering Ponyville in smoke? Then again, given how fully grown dragons are portrayed in this show, that might not have worked.

There is one minor other problem that I have with this episode. The only thing to convince Fluttershy to stand up to the dragon is when he injures her friends. You would think that standing up to him would provide her with some character development, but it doesn’t. Pretty much every Fluttershy episode has her struggling to overcome some silly fear she has, and usually these fears are contrived just for the sake of the plot. I just wish that character growth would be more consistent with this series.

7155241 I hate how long it took for that lesson to stick for her character and how she seemed to keep regressing multiple times through Season 5. Maybe once or twice it was believable, but once she started being able to stand up to Discord on her own and basically keep him in line it was hard to believe she could still have problems standing up for herself or getting over her fears.

7155271 She actually did learn to stand up for herself in "Putting Your Hoof Down" without being unpleasant about it, and "Fluttershy Leans In" was a shining example of just how far she's come as a character. I don't recall regressing on that front at all Regarding her fears, that's something else entirely. Remember that she was bullied from an early age, so of course that's bound to leave some scars that would naturally take years for her to get over, hence her anxiety in episodes such as "Hurricane Fluttershy" and "Filli Vanilli." What really pissed me off, though, was how this legit criticism of her character was callously shoehorned into the episode "Fame and Misfortune" as an attack on people who had legitimate problems with this, as if the writers were saying, "Stop whining." It's no wonder why so many people hate this episode, and even the show staff went out of their way to avoid talking about it if they could.

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We see how well dragons like other dragons in their lairs later in the season.

And being brave once doesn't necessarily make it easier next time. If anything, having to push beyond one's limits again can breed resentment - "I did it once, how much do you expect of me?"

7155271

Is there a reasons ALL of these threads are getting bumped today? Just asking.

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doomie-22 felt like it, and I found it a good opportunity to revisit them as well.

7155414 Exactly. As Fluttershy said, "Yes, it took me a while to get there. But can you honestly say that you could learn something one time and completely change who you are?"