Fluttershy never knew her parents. She raised Zephyr Breeze by herself. She built a tiny shack in the Great Eastern Woods and even planted a small garden among the roots of a massive oak tree. She learned how to understand animals out of necessity at first, but soon became more and more interested in the world of the wild.
She befriended hundreds of animals: from the wolf pack on the ridge to the little mouse colony that lived in her garden. When Zephyr turned 16 and moved into a nearby town to become an apprentice, Fluttershy decided to move as well… only, she moved away from the pony world.
She built a little stone house (with the help of her animal friends) in a giant meadow on a hill. She was miles away from anypony, only Zephyr knowing where she was. Zecora, who happened to travel through the clearing on one of her crazy hunts for rare plants, became good friends with Fluttershy, and taught her a lot on how to care for her critter friends.
Now, Fluttershy lives alone, secluded from the rest of the world by the massive forest. She tends to all the animals for miles around, plays with the young, listens to the elders, and is a peacemaker when a fight is about to break out. She travels through the Great Forest in all directions, making friends and allies with every creature she meets, from the border of the Crystal Empire all the way to the edges of the desert.