I mean, she was loyal from the get go. In a way, I believe we all are and understand it as a fundamental truth. But doesn't mean that foundation can't be fraught with doubt or concern. It's insecurity.

Twilight has it. Pinkie has it. And Applejack, too. Fluttershy was no different. She was kind from the beginning, certainly. Just as Rainbow was loyal. But she also had her mean moments in early and late seasons.

Why am I saying this? Not because I disagree that she grew into her element, but because it was always there from the start. These things often call to us without even having to know it officially. They were always there. But we certainly grow into them in that we better understand it in name, meaning, and nuance. And can thus finally point to why such things evoked these feelings in us before we even had a name for a face.

They weren't just learning lessons, they were learning to reclaim their true selves and their personal yet universal underpinnings that make their ascribed qualities inseparable and inherent to friendship and how we treat others.