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HareTrinity — Lightning Dust visits
#academy #dust #investigates #lightning #mlp #pony #rarity #rider #wind #wonderbolts
Published: 2015-09-30 21:18:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 17407; Favourites: 330; Downloads: 85
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Edit: Got onto Equestria Daily! Glad people like it so much!
Inspired by a conversation with who suggested that Wind Rider being related to Lightning Dust would have given him much better motivation in Rarity Investigates!.
To be honest, while Lightning Dust struck me as something of a sociopath, I always felt that Spitfire was the one most at fault in Wonderbolts Academy because she was the authority figure who repeatedly encouraged and rewarded Dust's actions.
That whole ep was pretty weird, too. Why was the Captain of the Wonderbolts so easily impressed by reckless behaviour? And how does a team specialising in synchronised sports know so little about teamwork? This is how you got the nickname "Spitefire" from me, Spitfire! 
(The comic's text is messy, I know! Thought it would look better. May fix it to typed stuff tomorrow...
Also, I'm disappointed by the lack of sound effects for crying in English!)"My dear little firefly": Lightning Dust flies fast, has fiery hair, fireflies are also known as "lightning bugs", AND it's a reference to the Wonderbolts' founder (a nod to G1), so I thought it worked as an old ex-Wonderbolts's nickname for Lightning Dust.
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This comic inspired a dub version by Alycat2211 www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d_4tg…
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Comments: 160
The scene where she was demoted looks like how the "dishonourable discharge" scenes (e.g. in army settings) are often done, including ripping her uniform, and then she was sent off with guards and never seen again. Thus, while it was never explicitly stated that she was thrown out, a lot of people read that into it. If she was meant to have just been moved to Wing Pony, then some sign that that was the case (e.g. her uniform not being ripped and her being given the silver badge) would have helped to clarify.
You could be right, it's just how a lot of people read that scene!
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wow... this is actually a good plot twist.
Night Shyamalan? is that you
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While I would have appreciated Spitfire calling LD down for her behavior after the obstacle course incident, I think from a storytelling perspective it was more important to give RD the chance to air her misgivings. It's easy to take the right side when backed up by authority, after all.
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True!
Though the whole way through I was expecting it to turn out that "Wing Pony" was an important job and Spitfire gave it to her because she thought Dash was the one who could keep control of Dust, or something like that. Ah well!
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Heh! That would be cool too, but I guess I assumed they were using the Air Force terminology (where the element leader is in charge and wingman is subordinate.)
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I have at times flirted with the idea that it was a deliberate attempt to teach a lesson or three. It makes Spitfire kind of cold and pretty gutsy to knowingly leave things to go down the way they did, but you must admit that they did learn more this way. Rainbow gets to see an example of bad leadership to learn from, and learns about the occasional necessity of lodging formal complaints against your superiors. Lightning gets to learn that she can't lead properly without thinking of others, in a manner that's more likely to stick since there were significant consequences.
But no. Spits isn't that sort of a chessmaster.
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It might work if "Wing Pony" had turned out to be an important role and that Spitfire had expected Dash to take control more, but ah well!
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So THAT'S his original idea for Wind Rider's crime; he wanted to avenge Lightning Dust after she got booted from the academy.
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He did target Spitfire and Dash!
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This..... This is actually genius! A possibility I haven't thought on yet!
When the episode aired, I was wondering towards the end if it could be that Wind Rider hasn't done it and that he is covering somepony up because it just seemed way too easy that it should have been him.
Remember how the mare who sold the cake to the culprit said that the pony who bought it had a raspy voice that sounded like Rainbow Dash's voice? That's the one thing that doesn't add up here, Wind Rider can't possibly make his voice sound like the voice of a mare and especially not exactly as Rainbow Dash.
But Lightning Dust is a mare and her voice sounds similar to Rainbow Dash's voice. Maybe it was like this:
Lightning Dust was in Canterlot and heard what's going on. She sent Spitfire the fake letter, bought the cake and framed Rainbow Dash with all those clues against her to get revenge for it that she kicked out of the academy because of her.
Wind Rider, her grandfather, found out at some point and decided to prevent her from getting caught. He was taking the scarf she was wearing, the one with the chocolate stains on it, and replaced it with his own scarf, in order to make her look less suspicious, and when Rarity had guessed that he is the culprit, he was gladly taking this as opportunity to take the blame for himself to prevent his granddaughter from getting into trouble.
Maybe he had planned to talk to Spitfire and try to convince her of giving Lightning Dust another chance, but when he found out what Lightning Dust had done, he knew that she wouldn't get this chance anymore, so he was covering up what she did.
But then he was thrown out of the Wonderbolts too for taking the blame on everything and because Spitfire thought it was him and so he can't put it in a good word for Lightning Dust anymore now.
That way, everything makes sense. It fills the last, unclear gap of everything.
That would also fit to what Big Jim Miller practically confirmed on Twitter, that Lightning Dust and Wind Rider will team up to form the Anti-Wonderbolts.
I'm convinced now that this is the case and that we are in for a surprise.
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Yeah, the "voice of a mare" bit was definitely suspicious!
I won't get my hopes up, but I hope you're right (and will be very impressed with the writers if it turns out that was the plan all along).
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That is an impressive piece of work and the idea is brilliant. I really like it.
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That would be an interesting concept. Filling it in my Multiverse head canon.
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"Multiverse headcanon" sounds good!
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plot twist, Lightning Dust was Wind Rider all along
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Would definitely explain the perfect imitation of Dash's voice...
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(Made me laugh)
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Can't wait to see them bring her back
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Her zappy trail was cool!
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Oh, goodness.
Yeah, I agree with your thoughts on "Wonderbolts Academy". Lightning Dust sure made her fair share of mistakes, but she'd have deserved another chance; everybody deserves another chance. Demotion, yes, demerit, yes, but being summarily kicked out, that's not OK.
And as you say Spitfire is to blame to a large extent. It's her job to oversee the new members' training. Dust messing up was nobody fault but Dust's, but the blame for letting her get away with it for so long lies with Spitfire, and she can't wiggle out of that responsibility. The buck stops with her, for better or worse.
'course, when she realized she had fucked up she probably scrambled to save her own hide, and being extra-harsh on the newbie who created the problem may well have been her way of covering up her own ineptitude. Better to sacrifice a pawn than to open up yourself to being blamed.
In that sense the episode is actually surprisingly realistic, but also surprisingly harsh. I'd have preferred for it to end on a more uplifting note, with Dust understanding why and how she was wrong, and acting more responsibly in the future, while still being able to pursue her dream.
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I honestly feel that the original ending where Lightning Dust would have learned her lesson would've made it far too rushed. I've always found it hypocritical that many people complained about Trixie and Discord's redemptions in their season 3 episodes being "rushed" but those same people wanted Lightning Dust to do a complete 180 in personality in less than 2 minutes of screen time.
She definitely deserves another chance and can probably be redeemed, but she needs to actually WORK for it.
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Sad ponies!
And yeah, following the "wasn't keeping them safe Spitfire's responsibility?" logic it DOES look like she just threw Dust out as a scapegoat, which is realistic in a pretty downbeat way... Don't think it was what they were going for, but still! It was, all in all, a pretty weird ep.
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Great minds think alike!
But I got the idea talking to a friend, so I'm just a wannabe.
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Would be different to see two previously unrelated antagonists get linked in an ep...!
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I like it. Now, seeking revenge on Dash and Rarity would be in her next plans.
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Well, this explains everything, and destroys the last shred of respect I might have had for Wind Rider.
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Oh. Not a Dust fan?
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