#newbie dash

[watermelonolemretaw]

just rewatched newbie dash. spitfire's kind of a dick huh

[mlpoutofcontext]

[poniesmeme20]

From "Newbie dash"

[kindheart525]

Worst episode of mlp?

I already answered this question! To summarize, the episodes that try to deal with racism are objectively the worst, and “Newbie Dash” was always my least favorite of the episodes that aren’t about racism.

Since writing that post, I started rewatching MLP, but I’ve kind of inadvertently fallen out of it and need to get back into it. I was early in Season 5 last time I watched an episode. Along with “Over A Barrel,” other episodes that were shittily executed include (but are not limited to) “Bridle Gossip” and “She’s All Yak.” Especially the latter. Yona was so severely let down by the adults in her life and I hate that it was treated as just another friendship lesson. Honestly I like to headcanon that these three episodes just Did Not Happen, and that the Mane 6 met Zecora / Yona and Sandbar fell in love in different, better circumstances.

[ghostponydylan220]

[hattafan2593]

Rewatching Lily Orchard’s videos

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted “Lily Orchard is Toxic,” and I’ve been going over some of her older videos, cuz, I’m starting to realize that I’ve started to think like her and...that’s not a good thing.

One such video is the infamous “Guard Break” episode of her Glass of Water, which upon rewatching is much more vitriolic and spiteful than I originally thought.

Here’s the video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c2mWh_scIo

Near the end of the video, Lily says this:

“If you are a child watching this right now, and you’re being bullied in school, here’s what you do: you demand that your bully cease their behavior, and if they refuse, grab the heaviest object you can reliably swing and beat their fucking teeth in! Yeah, you’ll get suspended, but that suspension will end, and that bully will never bother you again because of how much that beating actually hurt!”

Now admittedly, when I heard this line the first time, I felt a sense of catharsis. I myself had been bullied in school, and had imagined many times punching my tormentors in the face.

...But then I actually thought about it, and realized that, in reality, one of three things would likely happen:

1. The victim would be unable to actually do anything since the bully is bigger and stronger than them, and they’ll end up getting their teeth beaten in.

2. The bullies would actually double down on their behavior since they know that if their victim fights back, they’re the one who’s gonna get in trouble.

3. The bully would stop bullying the victim directly, and instead get their friends to do it. Or switch tactics so that their bullying isn’t as obvious.

But even with this terrible advice, I came to a realization, which in hindsight is pretty obvious - this wasn’t about bullying. This wasn’t about “Newbie Dash” or the lesson the MLP episode was trying to teach. This was simply an excuse to get back at Josh for breaking off their friendship. What I initially thought was a mutual spat between two former friends, was in fact a one sided feud between a bully and a victim.

Josh Burner is far from a saint - he’s temperamental, brash, impulsive, and often times tactless. But he did not deserve to be treated that way.

Lily Orchard is toxic. She has always been toxic...and she always will be.

I am unsubscribing from Lily’s channel. While I have enjoyed some of her content, it isn’t worth listening to her spew such hateful vitriol.

This will be the last post I ever make about her. 

[relatablepicturesofpinkiepie]

[stevetwisp]

What do you think about the wonderbolts? I know that many (practically all) fans hate them because they "teased" RD, but honestly what they were doing in Newbie Dash was just joking, also because as they did a spare that the nickname was traumatic for her?I honestly love them, but these are opinions

that episode is hard, i like it but at the same time you know- i have my own personal experiences that make the episode hard to watchit’s hard to watch a character you relate to have to accept a name that they feel is hurtful or meanand so i get why a lot of people would be kind of against these characters

it doesnt help that in most episode the wonderbolts are intentionally written to be obstacles and villains for the characters to overcome 

i’ll give it to the wonderbolts that they didn’t realize that the name they chose was (unimaginative) but one that held such significance for Dash and really all Dash could have done in the first place was talk to them about it- instead of... everything else she did

while the episode is hard to watch, i do think the resolve is a great lesson- it’s good to be honest about your feelings with your friends, especially when they hurt you, and then you get a chance to evaluate how to go forward in that situation

with Dash, she realizes that all the wonderbolts have insulting nicknames- and in that fact she feels more connected to the team than before when she felt she was being excluded and judged- and thus feels more comfortable owning up to her mistakes

and i wont blame someone for watching this episode and feeling like THEY wouldn’t be comfortable with that outcome

but this isn’t an episode about standing up for yourself this is an episode about pride- rainbowdash is SO prideful and confident she ignores important warnings and rules given to her if this was an episode about bullying or something- Fluttershy would probably be the centre 

i think a lot of people see the part about dash being reminded of a mean nickname- and forget that the reason the wonderbolts call her that on her first day is because she blatantly ignores their rules and safety concerns

something that got Lightning Dust kicked out of the wonderbolts for good 

so yeah- it’s complicated and i understand both sides of this

BUT dismissing the wonderbolts as good characters bc of this episode is seriously doing a disservice to these ponies

Spitfire is such an interesting character, she’s confident and a leader but, her own confidence can get in the way of her being a good leaderon top of that, she’s shown to really enjoy her job, enjoy teaching and looking out for younger flyers, and is shown to have a goofy side that she shares with her closer team mates 

Fleetfoot is a character who we only see a few times but, even in the one episode where she’s posed as a villain she actively learns from her mistakes-i think one of the coolest parts about Spitfire and Fleetfoot is that when they are bested by Dash they don’t have a problem with stepping back and admitting when they’re wrong

and Soarin

Soarin... has... done nothing wrong? he just wants to eat pie, be cheered on by cheerleaders and, know that his team actually values him as a member 

but to put a finer point on it- 

if fans found that episode to be upsetting, they are allowed to feel that way. it’s not “just joking” or “just teasing” when it invokes an unpleasant feeling-those feelings matter!

but i also think there’s something to be learned from it all and that’s; being open with those unpleasant feelings can help you connect with your friends and gain a better understanding of their boundaries (as well as respecting those boundaries) and i think it’s important to be aware of those things when making and solidifying friendships