Thoughts on Newbie Dash (Obviously Spoilers) · 3:54pm May 8th, 2016
To start with, I’m impressed. Not a minute in and I found myself overwhelmed with such a sense of pride I almost couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. I was honestly shocked, that a character I’d hated in the beginning had grown so much that I was actually proud of her.
My attitude towards Rainbow Dash has been an interesting one over the past five years. In the beginning I found her too brash, insensitive, tactless, and narcissistic for me to respect her at all. She was too boastful, never thought things through, and always managed to ruin a situation in the most irritating way possible. I often found myself wishing I could smack her. Yet these same qualities are what I enjoy about her now, although they are significantly smoothed out from season one.
Interestingly, I have always been fond of Scootaloo, who has always been fond of Rainbow Dash, so it’s a bit ironic that I never used to like our newest Wonderbolt. But as I’ve watched Scootaloo grow, I’ve wanted to see her succeed, and because of that I took great notice of those who helped her to succeed. And the pony who played the biggest part in that, was Rainbow Dash.
First noticing the filly’s adoration of her in Sleepless in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash kept her promise, casting off the adolescent showboater and stepping up as a role model for Scootaloo. She helped her overcome her fear of The Olden Pony (even though it’s not clear whether that was Dash dreamwalking or just Scootaloo’s mental projection of Dash) and went on to take her flying. She really did become like a big sister to Scootaloo, offering praise for tricks the filly wanted to show off, and showing interest when Scootaloo was excited about something.
And in the most critical moment, when Scootaloo nearly gave up a big opportunity to shine because her self esteem had been shattered, it was Rainbow Dash who comforted her, talked some sense into her, and motivated her to keep trying. This was a very mature moment for Rainbow Dash, and not something I believe she would have been capable of prior to Sleepless in Ponyville.
And the best part was when Scootaloo’s big moment came, and she earned her cutie mark, it was not a bittersweet reminder that Scootaloo has nopony to celebrate with—as most fan fictions liked to show prior to Season 3—but in fact a fantastic embrace as the pony Scootaloo looked up to most in the world was there to look down on her with pride, and acknowledge all that she had worked for and accomplished.
So my respect for her has grown, because watching her help my favorite filly grow up has helped me to watch her grow up as well. So when this first moment came—when Rainbow Dash was told she was finally a Wonderbolt—the very thing she’d been dreaming of since that fateful day in October 2010, it was like Scootaloo’s cutie mark all over again for me. It snuck up on me, because I hadn’t realized how much I was proud of her, but there it was. I was proud of Rainbow Dash. She had worked so hard, gone through so much to earn this, and finally her moment had come.
Scootaloo then proceeded to act out exactly what I was thinking on the inside, while Rainbow Dash imitated what I probably looked like on the outside. Kudos to the writers and animators for that bit.
So where could the episode go from here? That was her big moment. There’s no reason to continue watching, right? Well, yes, I could have just turned it off right there if I wanted, but I didn’t want to. There was everywhere the episode could go from there. First and foremost, how awesome Rainbow Dash would look in her new uniform, something I was discovering that I was excited to see.
So I kept watching, and boy did things go south. Sort of. I recognized what always seems to happen to people when their dreams come true as it began to unfold. Rainbow Dash wanted to impress her new teammates, and ended up with tunnel vision—she was so focused on looking awesome that she forgot about everything else around her, and inevitably made a fool of herself. This always seems to happen to people when they finally accomplish their dreams: They get tunnel vision, forget that they got here because they're awesome and should just continue to be themselves, and end up embarrassing themselves.
But the funny thing is, I also recognized that this isn't as bad as Rainbow Dash first thought. Sure, in the moment it's embarrassing, and it's difficult to overlook what appears to be an insult, but these moments are where the best memories are formed.
Take a moment and think of the funniest memory you have with your best friend. The one you tell to every new person who meets them, and it never seems to get old. To you anyway. Odds are your friend will always try to stop you, or slant the facts in their favor, because this was an embarrassing moment for them. Embarrassment is, funnily enough, a large part of how we build camaraderie. We find ways to insult each other, all in good fun, as friends. They're the moments we remember forever, and they become the glue that binds us together.
It probably would have been cool if Rainbow Dash got through her first day without missing a step, and maintained her usual awesomeness throughout, but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable.
And to top it off, she gets a nickname. “Rainbow Crash.” Honestly, I really felt for her here, because I’ve seen how much she hates that name. Rainbow Dash’s tactlessness means that she wears herself on her sleeve (even though ponies don’t wear clothes. It’s an expression, dangit!). Her reaction when she was first called Rainbow Crash all the way back in Sonic Rainboom told it all. That name has some very bad memories for her, and there is no way she’s going to let them keep calling her that.
I sort of had to laugh a bit. Not at Rainbow Dash, but at her innocence. She doesn’t realize that the Wonderbolts are only calling her “Crash” because it’s their way of inducting her into the team. Remember what I said about people building camaraderie through embarrassment? That’s what they’re trying to do. A good friend of mine has given me the nickname “Porny Raindrops” (‘Porny’ for short) Due to a mishap with a decidedly pornographic image that accidentally made its way into a decidedly SFW thread one fateful day. He still calls me that every time he sees me in that thread, because it’s become part of our friendship, and we’ve grown closer together because of it.
And that was really the theme for this episode. When the other Wonderbolts revealed their nicknames, and Rainbow Dash realized they weren’t just saying it to be mean, she finally grasped the concept of camaraderie through embarrassment and stopped trying to be something more than she already was. She was finally herself, and was finally awesome again.
And I find that once again I’m really proud of Rainbow Dash because of this episode. She really matured in that final scene:
Rainbow Dash: Nah. This mess is my responsibility, and I've gotta clean it up myself. And after this, Spitfire's got me cleaning the Wonderbolts' compound for the next month.
Scootaloo: So why are you in such a good mood?
Rainbow Dash: Duh! Because I'm a Wonderbolt!
Because she’s a wonderbolt. She’s made it. She’s accomplished her dream, and as long as she hangs on to that, nothing else really matters, especially not some embarrassing nickname.
And my favorite part about all of this, is that she was able to make her dream a reality. Every now and again I have to stop and remind myself that this amazingly entertaining and well constructed thing about cartoon horses is actually a kids show, and there will be kids tailored themes in there. What a great message to send to kids: Your dreams CAN happen. It just takes hard work, dedication, and the willingness to learn and grow, and step outside of your comfort zone, and that as long as you’re focused on your goal, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of you.
Look how long it took for Rainbow Dash to get from
The Wonderbolts! They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!
to
I promise! I spent my whole life trying to be a standout flyer, but now that I'm a Wonderbolt, it's time to be okay with fitting in!
.
It took 123 episodes—over five seasons!—for Rainbow Dash to accomplish her dream of flying as a Wonderbolt, and it wasn’t easy for her. Rainbow Dash might be a talented flyer, but even she understood from day one that practice was important. She prioritized her time, got her weather duties done, made room for her friends, and always set aside time for flying practice. She followed her passion, worked hard every day, and took advantage of opportunities when they came up. She competed in the Best Young Fliers competition (and won) earning her the attention of her idols. She stepped up and took on a leadership role in Hurricane Fluttershy, showing that she could handle responsibility, and she looked out for her friends, and showed real loyalty in Wonderbolt Academy and again in Rainbow Falls, earning her the respect of Wonderbolts leader, Spitfire.
Rainbow Dash didn’t get on the team because she filled out an application and sat on a list for a few months. She did have to do that, but that’s not what got her on the team—anypony could have done that. Rainbow Dash became a Wonderbolt because she dedicated herself to following her dream, put in all of the hard work, and showed that her mettle was true when it came down to it, so that when her chance finally came, The Wonderbolts themselves wanted her on the team more than she wanted to join.
Of course you're supposed to be a Wonderbolt. We've been waiting for a spot to open up ever since you joined the Reserves!
That’s how you make your dreams happen. You make them want you more than you want them! You put in the time and the effort and show them that you want it more than the others, and that they need to find a spot for you to fit because you belong on that team.
Man, what a great message to send to kids. And what a great episode. I didn’t realize I could ever be so proud of Rainbow Dash, but here we are, and all I feel is pride.
Congratulations, Rainbow Dash. You’re a Wonderbolt, and officially one of the greatest fliers in Equestira.
I just want to express my profound enjoyment and pride in this episode, and congratulations to the creators on a job well done. This is definitely going to be one of my favorite episodes for a while.
If only the middle part had been handled differently, I would whole-heartedly agree. It was like the writers had their beginning and ending, but no idea what to do for the second act. So it came off as filler and kinda of string of stupid moments for Rainbow Dash.
BUT, I can't deny that I did feel proud of her. I'm the same way when it comes to Dash. She's not my favorite character. She's been grating on me for years. However, I gave her this one because, gosh-darn it, she's earned it.
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Yeah I got up for a cup of tea during the middle part. I want to say it was done well because you're supposed to hate it, but I hated it.