Who Is Rainbow Dash? · 2:41am Jan 12th, 2015
Previous Entries:
Who Is Twilight Sparkle?
Who Is Rarity?
Who Is Applejack?
Who Is Pinkie Pie?
Who is Rainbow Dash?
Well, according to the board book I read to Trixie, "She’s the pony who dares to dream of leaving everyone in her jet stream."
But the author of that book hasn't published a fic.
I have much better sources here. Here are Applejinx, HoofBitingActionOverload, Jake R, and Bradel with the answer to that eternal question, who is Rainbow Dash?
Applejinx (The Old Castle, Trixieverse):
Briefly describe Rainbow Dash as you see her.
Waif of the four winds, plucky wanderer, all wings and heart and bluster. A tiny neutron bomb of awesome and attitude and sexy. Oh, wait, that's how Applejack sees her ;)
What is essential to remember about her that people might forget?
Rainbow resists feeling or seeming vulnerable. She hates hates hates it, even worse than Applejack. It makes her feel so scared she has to go out and fly laps, around all of Equestria maybe. Injury doesn't count, in hospital she feels like she must have been so awesome as to actually wreck herself and that's a thing she's proud of. It's vulnerability of the spirit that she can't handle. Break all her wings and legs and she's just smug and a pain to the nurses. Break her heart and leave her body unharmed, and Dashie becomes dangerous, running any risk rather than confront her feelings. She's irresponsible and acting out her pain and too reckless to consider consequences.
What do you like to add to her character that’s a stretch from canon, or totally your own invention?
Heh. My pegasi headcanon involves wingplay in their reproductive biology, and I've got them distinguishing that from bodysex. That's definitely NOT canon, but it allows me to represent Rainbow Dash as a wildly hedonistic pony in casual sexplay, but reflect her inner vulnerability by making her the most intense and faithful of romantics over wingplay, to the point that other pegasi consider her inaccessible and vain, refusing to give her wings to anyone. It's not true, of course. Her wings belong to her true love… to the death! But if anything goes wrong, that means Dash is broken on a totally fundamental level, until her true love is regained. And while she's suffering that, she is the world's wrecking ball. That's the stretch: the hidden vulnerability is also a hidden romanticism of fearful intensity. She'll never admit it, even to her true love, but it's central to who she is.
How insecure is Rainbow Dash, really? Where does it come from?
If she admitted weakness to herself she'd be a lot less insecure. Somehow she's picked up this sense that she's got to be number one at everything or be flung off the cliff: her reaction to the prospect of losing is like she's gonna be executed. I'm going to guess that she got it the obvious way: parents who were outwardly successful but could not really be pleased by baby/filly Dash because they had problems of their own they never told her about. She picked up on all the unhappiness and, childishly, assumed it was about her. Because it wasn't, nothing she did pleased the parents and she could sense that. Her bravado got her scolded for arrogance, and any failures she took overly hard, and she ended up becoming independent early, rejecting her folks who continued to be unpleasable and unhappy. Dash is a pony delinquent, a prankster, a real fighter and competer, but some of the basic structures of security are missing in her and can't be strengthened because they're absent. That's why she's so into Applejack, really: Applejack exudes all those things and seems to share them. It calls to something so deeply buried in Dash that she can't resist, but it's bittersweet because it's external. It can go away.
Why do you think Rainbow Dash wants to be a Wonderbolt?
Once she's a Wonderbolt she'll be wanting to be something beyond that. It's not specifically the Wonderbolts. It's 'more! better! the best!'. It's the concept of more, thus unattainable.
What would be Rainbow Dash’s favorite episode of the show or fanfic?
Not Sonic Rainboom! The scary parts are so unbearable for her to revisit that the victory hardly offsets them, plus a victory attained is a victory forgotten—she'll be looking on to the next victory already. No, the episode Rainbow Dash can't quit rewatching is The Last Roundup. She's in lots of scenes, being superior and correcting ponies (Derpy) who do dumb things, there's lots of Applejack being athletic and sexy and masterful, and then Applejack goes and lives out Dash's vulnerability/failure issues FOR her. And Dash gets to be the one who finally tackles Applejack, is there for the confession while not revealing her own vulnerability (her own mask is solid, all the way through) and in the end, as Applejack is comforted and accepted, the hidden frightened Rainbow Dash gets to vicariously be comforted and accepted too, without ever blowing her cover.
Dashie cannot stop watching that episode, which drives Applejack up the wall. She won't admit why, either, she ribs AJ about it and teases her. But Applejack can sense the truth, vaguely, because she knows about Dash needing to be the big hero… so Applejack never objects.
"Let's watch the episode where you're a big LOSER again!"
"All right, honey, all right…"
HoofBitingActionOverload (Spring Is Dumb, After the Flame):
Briefly describe Rainbow Dash as you see her.
Um, well, Rainbow Dash is blue and her hair is a bunch of colors and her eyes are sort of purple-ish. She’s loud and cocky, and sometimes she’s a jerk and sometimes she’s a sweetheart, and she’s extremely ambitious and has the skill and talent to actually match that ambition, but probably not the patience or self-awareness or self-discipline or confidence, at least not yet. What she cares most about in life is her friends, what others think of her, and herself, in that order. And she’s cute as all get-out.
Rainbow Dash is Rainbow Dash. No need to overthink her.
What is essential to remember about her that people might forget:
Rainbow Dash is not and never will be any one thing or any single set of traits or goals. If you write Rainbow Dash as only cocky and jerkish and self-obsessed, you’ve done it wrong. If you write her as only loyal and courageous and driven, you’ve done it wrong. If you write her only as sweet-even-though-she-never-shows-it and totally-insecure-way-deep-down and crunchy-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside, you’ve done it wrong. If you leave any of those traits out you’ve done it really wrong.
Rainbow Dash is a contradiction. Like a real person, she responds to different situations in different ways. The fun in writing Rainbow Dash is in getting to play around with all the different hows and whys of the ways she deals with situations and conflicts.
What do you like to add to her character that’s a stretch from canon, or totally your own invention:
Well, I like to make her lick her friends’ lollipops a lot, which I don’t think has ever shown up in the show. But I’m pretty sure that’s going on just offscreen at all times anyway.
Rainbow Dash is the most fun to build backstory for. She’s a lot of different things, and that means there are a lot of different ways she could have ended up becoming those things, and we only have a few little official clues in canon, so you can build her past up in a hundred different ways. I’ve never settled on any one particular backstory for her, because it’s more fun to experiment with different things and see how they work.
How insecure is Rainbow Dash, really? Where does it come from:
There is definitely a tendency in fanfiction, and in shipping especially, to portray Rainbow Dash as this girl who is devastatingly, pitifully insecure on the inside, and all of her confidence and arrogance is just a fragile front she puts on to cover that up, which is super lame. Rainbow Dash is insecure, but at the same time she’s often genuinely very sure of herself. Problems most often arise when she’s not certain that her abilities, though obviously impressive and worth bragging about, are actually enough to overcome whatever obstacle she’s facing. But even then, it only gets really bad when she doesn’t have someone around who recognizes that she needs some extra reassurance to get by (which does seem to happen alarmingly often in the show).
As for where it comes from, it comes from herself. Being both confidant and insecure isn’t all that uncommon of a mix. Talent and success comes with pressure to get better and continue to succeed. Ambition comes with risk of failure. Even though she thinks she should, Rainbow Dash doesn’t always win, hence insecurity.
Why do you think Rainbow Dash wants to be a Wonderbolt:
Because the Wonderbolts are the best at flying, and flying is what Rainbow Dash is best at.
What would be Rainbow Dash’s favorite episode of the show or fanfic?
Sonic Rainboom, because that’s the one where she totally pulls off the sickest move of all time in front of a whole stadium of ponies, and saves her friend and a few of the Wonderbolts, and wins Best Young Flyer, and gets to hang out with the Wonderbolts for a day and shove it in those dweeby jocks’ faces.
Jake R (I've Got My Mind Set On You, The RariDash Project):
Briefly describe Rainbow Dash as you see her.
Rainbow Dash is a young, passionate mare trying to find her place. Like Rarity, what she does best revolves around her, so her priority is often her. The key conflict in her life is trying to find that balance between the needs of herself and the needs of others, and since she’s still young and growing, that conflict can get quite messy. Still, she’s not dumb or malicious, but rather, still searching. Still trying to figure out who she is.
What is essential to remember about her that people might forget?
To me, what’s important to know about Dash is that, unlike a lot of the mane six, she’s still growing. She hasn’t found that place in life where she’s completely comfortable with who she and what she’s doing in life. Her ethics and behavior are going to be more malleable and erratic than someone like Applejack because unlike Applejack, Dash hasn’t figured out exactly who ‘Rainbow Dash’ is, and how that Rainbow Dash fits in with the rest of the world. It’s a big stage of growing up, and Dash is still very much in that stage.
So yeah, when you’re writing Dash, try to remember that, out of all the mane six, she’s the most like a teenager.
What do you like to add to her character that’s a stretch from canon, or totally your own invention?
I write Dash as quite... “edgy”. Even when I pull it back, there’s still this sort of savviness about more mature topics that doesn’t really sit with the ponies we see in canon. I think I mainly do this because Dash is the one character where it’s easy to get away with it. If Pinkie or Fluttershy drank heavily and made a lot of sexually suggestive remarks, people would rightfully notice and cry OOC out the wazoo. However, with Dash, if done with enough restraint, you can do it without reaching the uncanny valley.
How insecure is Rainbow Dash, really? Where does it come from?
Dash is sincerely insecure, and that comes from the fact that she’s still finding her place. When you’re unsure of what you dream of doing in life is actually going to be your reality, you’re bound to have nagging insecurities about whether or not you can actually succeed. In addition, because Dash’s talents require that ponies notice and cheer her on, she tries desperately to make sure ponies like her. Any person who cares a lot about if people like them or not will tell you that that makes you incredibly insecure, at times.
Why do you think Rainbow Dash wants to be a Wonderbolt?
Well, the obvious answer would be that the Wonderbolts represent the very best of Equestrian flying. Most people who are skilled at something have a certain ideal they like to fantasize about. It may or may not be reachable, but what's important is the motivation of reaching the top that keeps you going through the daily grind.
On a deeper level for Dash, I think the Wonderbolts represent this sort of ultimate validation. She wants to confirm to herself that her life's passions meant something, and that ponies value her for what she contributes. Basically, Rainbow Dash wants her happy ending.
What would be Rainbow Dash’s favorite episode of the show or fanfic?
‘Sonic Rainboom’. I wouldn’t be shocked if she rubs the clam to that one.
As for fanfic, well isn’t it obvious? In The Mailbox, Dash both gets really drunk and gets a threeway with Twilight and Applejack. Hell, she even gets some action with Twilight in a jacuzzi. They’re makin’ clam chowder, my friends.
Bradel (The Amazingly Awesome Adventures of Tank the Tortoise (by R. Dash)):
Briefly describe Rainbow Dash as you see her.
Rainbow Dash is awesome. And not your mom's brand of awesome, or even your best friend's awesome. We're talking full-bore, I'm-the-only-pegasus-who-can-do-a-sonic-rainboom-and-that-isn't-even-my-cutie-mark-talent awesome. Maybe some of you think Other Ponies are awesome, but if you do, you're wrong. Other Ponies aren't even on the same level. There's nopony like Rainbow Dash—not Spitfire, not Fleetfoot, certainly not that poser Lightning Dust.
Not even Princess Cake-Face can compare to Rainbow Dash's unparalleled radicalness, and you'd better believe she's tried. Why else do you think she's stuck around for thousands of years? She knew what was coming! Nopony's gonna miss that. Why do you think she brought her sister back from the moon? (And nevermind all that Twilight and Harmony nonsense—we all know Celestia's got Game.) Because Rainbow Freaking Dash was finally here, and Moonbutt needed to see her. That's not a chance you pass up!
Where do you think Cadance came from? "Ooh, ooh, look at me! I'm the Princess of Love." Filly, you're just here 'cause Rainbow Dash brings all the alicorns to the yard. That's what awesome means. And she's got a tortoise with a freaking magic propeller. A flying freaking tortoise! And he doesn't even need that propeller, 'cause he's a Cool Cucumber all on his own. And you'd better not call him a turtle, not if you know what's good for you, 'cause Rainbow Dash isn't having any of that.
You come at the queen, you best not miss.
What is essential to remember about her that people might forget?
Like I did with Twilight, I think it's good to look at what most people already remember about Rainbow: she's competitive, she's very image-conscious, she's loyal to her friends, she frequently acts without considering consequences, and she's a huge fangirl for anything that catches her interest.
There are two things, actually, that I think writers should make sure not to overlook. One is that her public persona and her private persona(s) are very different. She tends to let the public persona dominate, whenever she thinks she might be observed (see: image-conscious), but her private interactions with Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Tank often show her in a very different light. It's easy to write her as a one-note character, but she's got a lot more depth than that.
The second point follows directly from the first: Rainbow Dash is an unreliable narrator. Any time her public and private personas clash, she'll try to find a way to justify doing what her private persona wants by filtering it through her public persona. This is pretty natural to deal with in dialogue, but harder (and more interesting) in close perspective work with 3rd person and 1st person narrative voices. If Rainbow Dash is telling or perceiving a narrative, she's going to be wrong a lot—and sometimes intentionally, because it's easier for her to maintain her self-image if she lets herself pretend certain things just don't make sense to her. If y'all don't mind a story plug, HoofBitingActionOverload's "Spring is Dumb" is a fantastic example of how to handle this subject.
What to you like to add to her character that’s a stretch from canon, or totally your own invention?
I don't actually write a whole lot of Rainbow Dash. My first story in this fandom was about her and Tank, and her attempts to learn to write. Since then, I've only used her a couple times in cheesy romance stories, and she's been a secondary character in both of those. I suppose the only thing I tend to add to her character is an image of sexual confidence, which is pretty much just an extension of her public persona into the space of romance stories. Her character is so rich already that I don't feel much need to add to it; you can already do wonderful work with her, and stay well inside canon.
How insecure is Rainbow Dash, really? Where does it come from?
I think Rainbow Dash had an awkward fillyhood. It sounds like she considers Fluttershy to be one of her earliest friends, and they hardly seemed to know each other before the Sonic Rainboom event. We also know she became friends with Gilda early on, which seems like the sort of friendship you might find yourself in if you felt like a real outsider around others. Gilda is a griffon, which is already a bit odd, and she's also not very nice. To me, she feels like the sort of
personponyindividual you become friends with when nobody else wants to be friends with either of you. And canon has demonstrated many times that she can be abrasive and inconsiderate toward her friends. She has a heart of gold, but it'd be easy to not see past the surface with her.So how insecure is she? Actually, I don't think she's all that insecure. I feel like Rainbow Dash has gotten more and better character development over the course of the show so far than almost anypony, and I also feel like most of her insecurity relates to stuff that her friends have helped her work through over time. A pony story set around Season 1 or Season 2 could probably portray her as insecure pretty easily, but after Season 4, I think I'd honestly want to see some justification for why she was still insecure over something before buying into that characterization. A particularly good example here, I think, is bookplayer's own "Maidens Day", which uses insecure Dash, but does good work portraying why she's still got lingering insecurities on the issues relevant to the story.
Why do you think Rainbow Dash wants to be a Wonderbolt?
When you're going all psychoanalysis on Rainbow Dash, it's easy to say, "Oh, she just wants to be a Wonderbolt as a method of identity reinforcement." But no, I don't think it's that at all. The Wonderbolts are her first fangirl love, and I think a number of her identity issues stem from her obsession with them, not vice versa.
For a filly like Rainbow Dash who probably didn't fit in with other fillies her age, the Wonderbolts were not just the cool colts (and fillies) to be looked up to, they represented the natural extension of her own competitive urges. I think Rainbow's public persona is primarily an outgrowth of her youthful ideas about what it meant to be a Wonderbolt, and that it's only very recently that she's started to learn two important lessons.
The first of these is that the Wonderbolts are real ponies with real personalities—something she's gotten to see first-hoof by interacting with several of them. Sure, they're still monolithically cool, but I think Rainbow is starting to realize that they aren't perfect, and that they're occasionally just as awkward as her other friends can be.
The second is that Rainbow herself shouldn't be defined by her desire to be a Wonderbolt. She has an identity as a (former) Element of Harmony bearer, and as part of her circle of friends. Becoming a Wonderbolt is important to her, but she's found real fulfillment elsewhere as well, and that frees her up to bridge that public/private persona gap more easily.
What would be Rainbow Dash’s favorite episode of the show or fanfic?
I'm on a serious "Collaborators" kick lately, but I have to admit I think that's right up Rainbow's alley. It has Daring Do and Ahuizotl, but it's also got a serious core about friendship and identity. It's the sort of story Rainbow could claim she was reading for the Daring Do action, even though the rest of the story would speak to her a lot more.
Her favorite episode of the series would be, I think without question, "Wonderbolt Academy" from Season 3. It's focused on her, sure, but it also shows Rainbow exactly how she wants to think of herself. She's not just Wonderbolt Material, she's so awesome that she can turn them down in favor of her friends—and she still comes out on top, in the end. I suspect she'd like some of the sappier episodes, too, but she wouldn't let on about it, and I think she'd genuinely like "Wonderbolt Academy" better anyway.
And for what it's worth, if she ever read my own "The Amazingly Awesome Adventures of Tank the Tortoise (by R. Dash)", I expect she'd spend half the story yelling at her computer that she's not like that, and the other half getting emotional about it and trying to cover it up.
Who is Rainbow Dash?
My answers to all your questions are in my story The Phoenix Foal.
Yay! Somepony else thought Dash's favorite episode would not be Sonic Rainboom! Wonderbolt Academy, eh? Could be
I still think she obsessively rewatches The Last Roundup
2716994
If I legitimately shipped AppleDash, I think I might totally agree with you.
You made a very compelling case!
Ha, it's so funny and interesting to me that every single author mentioned sex in some way.
And it's neat that each account was divergent from the others. I mean that in the way that one has one interpretation of RD that is almost completely contradicted by the next.
I don't think I've seen so much variety in these posts before, before it seemed that there was at least a general consensus on the others.
why is sex always everyone's first answer to the third question
our collective dirty shippers' minds......
2717115
That's because they're all perverts.
Also, Bookplayer is, I think, deliberately trying to get a wide variety of viewpoints on the characters.
2717354
Oh yeah, that's for sure. I just noticed that this one seemed to have less ideas in common between all the authors. I could be wrong in that assessment since it's rather late here and my memory has always been terrible.
Rainbow Dash, to me, is the quintessential Jerk With A Heart Of Gold among the Mane Six. (Her jerk-to-gold quotient improves as she matures over the seasons, but it's still there.) She's the pony that makes you spend a lot of time wondering why, again, are you friends with this brash, rash, boastful speedster... and then she comes through for you when you most need her, and remember the reason.
How Bradel sees Dash is exactly like I think Dash sees herself, complete with the textual bling in case mere letters are (terror!) not enough to adequately represent the needed awesomeness
It's interesting that everypony immediately went to episodes of the show and not one turned to a fanfic even though that was also an option. I think that's potentially a good meme that gets you thinking about characters' inner lives: what episode is this pony's favorite episode and why? It's a brilliant question
What is it about Rainbow Dash? All of the interviewees add something sexual to her. Is it the confidence? The bluntness? Some lingering vestige of the rainbow flag jokes?
In any case, a lot of interesting insights here. Thanks to all of the respondents.
Who is Lightning Dust? Rainbow Dash if she never met Twilight.
It's really interesting seeing how different people's views on Dash are. Even for a seemingly crazy mare like Pinkie most people tend to come to similar conclusions after analysing her, but with dash the answers, form very smart analytical people, are across a big spectrum. Especially with regards to insecurity.
I think Rainbow Dash's favorite episode would be Boast Busters.
Unlike a lot of other episodes, the moral of that one was that you should be proud of your accomplishments and who you are. While Trixie was a substanceless braggart and earned the irritation of others, Twilight was encouraged to not be excessively humble.
I think that would speak to Dash deeply. It isn't something she needs to learn herself, as she's certainly comfortable with her abilities, but seeing the reception others have, and how they react to Twilight would be insightful to how she might look to her own fans.
Also, Rainbow Dash has awesome friends. It's one of the better showcases of Twilight being damn awesome, thinking on her hooves, and coming out on top.
I think that would be her choice, rather than one of the episodes about herself.
...All of these guys and you didn't ask me or Trinary (Aka...the best Rainbow Dash writer on the planet with the best Rainbow Dash stories?)
Briefly describe Rainbow Dash as you see her.
Honest, Loyal, Blunt.
She is the type of mare that, when she is at her best, inspires others to follow her and to stand with her. While at the same time, her worst brings others closer to her.
She is also the pony who wants to push herself to the best, no matter what her limits are. For her, there is only one limit-herself. If you told her that light speed was breakable, you can bet she would be there. She will also make other ponies her limit to pass: The Wonderbolts, Daring, and whoever else is over that horizon. Of all the girls she looks at her limits as just a thing, even at the cost of her limbs.
Her Loyality is to her ideals, friends, and loved ones.
What is essential to remember about her that people might forget?
Rainbow Dash loves being a hero. I don't knw what it is, but she loves being a hero more than anything. Wether it is helping Fluttershy with bullies, or taking care of a princess who was in more pain than a jelous mare who is overprotective o her brother. IF you are in trouble, yeah, she will be on your side in an instant. Heaven help you if you are hurting her friends though...it won't end well for you.
What do you like to add to her character that’s a stretch from canon, or totally your own invention?
Ok, so, you know the Flash 2014 series? Well, I kind o use a lot o Flash elements for any speedster character. This goes for Rainbow Dash. One such element? Her hyper metabolism makes it impossible or her to get drunk. She can drink as much as she wants and bearly feels a buzz.
How insecure is Rainbow Dash, really? Where does it come from?
Very.
I think this comes from her own issues with her hero whorship and ego. The wonderbolts and Daring are all pedestals that she put herself and believes that they are something she has to strive for, something she could never beat. She wants them to be better than her, so she will see them nothing less than perfect. One thing I will remark about Daring Don't is that, the reason why she felt weak in comparison to Daring was because at this pont? Rainbow Dash has beaten the bolts, they are no longer gods but ponies. They are now something she is close to beatign. Daring isn't.
IT also comes from the ideal she has put on herself. She believes herself to be faultless and anytime she slips up, it hurts. She also wants that in her friends and to inspire that type of perfection in them and if she ails, she eels like a loser.
Why do you think Rainbow Dash wants to be a Wonderbolt?
They are the best in flying an she wants that privilage. They are the best at the art to her and she wants to conwuer it. But, i they want her to sacrifice her ideals, then she can dump it and ind a new horizon.
What would be Rainbow Dash’s favorite episode of the show or fanfic?
Why. lets ask her! I have her here in the booth with me!
Dash: Why, Fall weather friends of course! ITs where I get to show off all o my awesome sports skills and how I beat Applejack in everything!
Didn't you come in dead last in the race?
Dash: So? Doesn't change the fact that I was AWESOME in everything else!!
What about Fanfic?
Dash: No contest, "Harmonic Spectrum!" MY first choice would've been "Where Loyalties lie" but that is more Shining's story than mine. Then I thought about "Rainbooms and Royalty" and while Trinary got me down pat, "Harmonic Spectrum" has be going SUPER Saiyan on Discord and kicking his flank, Saving Twilight, and bascially being the best thing ever!
AntiJossed again! (S05E05)
Actually Lightning is just as good as Rainbow (as a flier), maybe even better.