Okay now the artist is just making Rainbow look bad.

We still love you, Fluttershy.

@Background Pony #1E7A
 
so if every character does something, it doesn’t count, but if not every character does something, it’s sidelining her.
 
but no seriously, you’re right fluttershy had zero role in the movie, even if she may have been doing things in the background.

You know what is the the most depressing thing? When a 44 minutes episode manage to tell a more interesting story AND doing a good balance of 15. FUCKING. CHARACTERS (not counting the Princesses, the villain and the few characters from the Mane 6’s travels) than a fully theatrical movie.
 
Said by someon who loved both of them: from the point of view of technical production and music, the Movie was better, but in terms of story and character balacing Shadow Play wins easely.

well… she made a villain cry

Your opinions are correct and that twilight’s path to the dark side as passion

@Vree  
That’s my opinion too, but I think season 4 aka Princess twilight is where they shafted that.
 
Heck even now, with glimmer, its even worse, and judging by tidbits about season 8 it wont get better. Poor AJ can’t catch a break. Especially when episode like Applejack’s day off make her full stupid for a single ep (although its not like she’s the only one getting the treatment, see Dash in 28 pranks later… s6 wasn’t that good now that I think about it.)

The show should establish AJ as the moderating influence perhaps.  
Like Anon said we have 3 characters who are movers and shakers but who may need a voice of wisdom.  
The show tends to push the reward for that onto Twilight even though he barely ever deserves it, they should just lose this idea and accept that TS is never the sane one.  
Now AJ, she is the most grounded and big-sisterly, you could totally have this be her role, instead of struggling to come up with things for her to do that involve family, business and body strength, but which take plce in a SEPARATE domain from the rest of the 6. It makes for good stories obviously when those others are pulled into her world, but donot add to good character dynamic between the 6.

@redweasel  
Yeah that’s the obligatory participation to the final battle scene the same way AJ did something there, but then so did every other characters seen so far, but it’s still not really helping the plot.

@GlitchyShadow  
Don’t forget that Luna almost died if Twilight hadn’t saved her at the start, considering the fall shattered the king.

oh, she wasn’t just sitting on her laurels…
 

Meanwhile…
 
Ce: Thank goodness Twilight and her friends saved us all!  
Lu: Indeed, though I am a little disappointed in us 3, we didn’t do all that much other than get ourselves caught.  
Ca: To be fair, I put up a shield.  
Lu: Hm, and I zapped at least one of them.  
Ce: And I… um… oh.

Rarity was there for snark value mostly. Applejack for funny background scenes and admitting she lives in a barn. Fluttershy was vastly underused but I do wonder what ended up on the cutting room floor.

@Joshua  
Well yeah but compared to the other 3 its peanut, just like compared to her the other 2 are worse.  
Point is it wasn’t really a mane 6 movie, and AJ and Flutters having ONE scene at the final fight don’t really count.  
And I’m saying that with ponk and dash being my favs.

@Joshua  
And that’s the only thing that she did that I can remember now, besides whining a lot…

@Background Pony #1E7A  
Yes, but it was Capper’s coat. It was all tattered and torn; what Rarity did was an act of generosity.

Both Fluttershy and Applejack really.
 
In fact, most of the story, both advances and problems, are attributed on Twilight, Pinkie, and dash, which is the “power trio” of hasbro anyway. The only thing of note Rarity did was sew a coat.
 
Meanwhile dash pretty much saved and destroyed the pirates while ponka multiple time gave the group attention at the town but then befriendded the hypogriff. In fact Pinkie was downright psychopatic in this movie.
 
 
At least Berzerker noticed that Dash is the one who saved twi from the bomb.