SolarPowered said:
I saw the marathon episode with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. I can't blame applejack for getting pissed at all. If you've got wings and your opponent doesn't I think it is a given that you are not supposed to use it.
I don't actually blame Applejack in that incident. I think neither one was to blame, but both were guilty of escalating a situation past the point where they should've backed down (of course, neither one is the type to back down). I defend Rainbow Dash because people seemed to automatically blame Dash, calling her a jerk and a cheater without adequately thinking it through (IMO). I think people are avoiding looking into the reasons Dash acted the way she did, and by extension, I think they're doing the same for AJ, which is doing her character just as much of a disservice, even if it doesn't look like a negative for AJ.
I don't think wings demand an automatic handicap that's so obvious it should go unsaid. Dash's wings are natural. They're a part of everything she does. And they don't even really correlate to victory in the Iron Pony. In the very first event (the slalom course) Dash ran the course with her wings folded, carrying more bulk on weaker legs than AJ, and as a result she was slower than AJ, but she won because AJ was penalized for clipping a pylon. Had "Rainbow Crash" used her wings, she definitely would have had her usual speed advantage, but with increased speed and wings outstretched she would've definitely clipped more plylons than AJ did. Dash used her wings (not flight) to shelter baby chicks so impressively that AJ's own chicks abandoned her. Had AJ used her tail to protect the chicks, she probably would have won that one. Dash flew in the tug of war, but she only won by tricking AJ into letting go of the rope.
But regardless of how much of an advantage (or disadvantage) wings were, Dash
willingly put them away, said nothing about it, resisted the urge to use them, and gave AJ a deliberate handicap in the first half. Even if it meant losing (despite her earlier comment about hating to lose). She actually thought she lost the first event because of the handicap, and was gracious to AJ about losing. That's not nothing, especially from someone as immature as Rainbow Dash. It deserves some credit. She
gave AJ that handicap.
At the midway point in the competition with a tied result, Dash either wanted recognition for the handicap or she wanted to know what the result might be under different rules, so she broke out the wings. And she made no secret of it. She was really, really obvious. I don't think that's being a jerk. Maybe immature, but definitely Dash's prerogative, since she was the one who initiated the handicap, and there was no word from anyone for her to keep it up.
AJ just didn't like seeing those wings beat her. I think she has deep-rooted wing/horn envy, because she's "just" an Earth Pony. Also, AJ will refuse to back down when the odds are against her. She'll defy logic and fight to prove her worth. That's why she tries so hard to be an Earth Pony paragon. And that's absolutely admirable. I think she really didn't realize that Dash was giving her any handicap, and after it became apparent, she thought she could beat Dash in the second half. Because AJ wouldn't say anything, Dash kept flaunting her wings and putting the screws to AJ. That was definitely immature of Dash, but she wasn't being a "jerk", she was teasing. And AJ's teasing after winning the horseshoe contest had a similar nerve-hitting effect on Dash (of course, AJ didn't keep it up nearly as long, and Dash made her feelings obvious).
After being swept by Dash in the second half, under the pressure of her wing envy, I'm sure that AJ felt crushed, thinking that even her first half wins were all a lie, since Dash was holding back at the time (even though those wins weren't a lie, wings for instance don't help with the bell-ringing kick strength test). This despair is what led to her lashing out, and her accusation of cheating, which was factually wrong. You can call Dash immature. You can say she's insensitive. You can say she's an idiot. You can argue that she was being a jerk. But she was definitely not cheating, and if AJ merely thought wings were cheating, she should have raised her complaints earlier. She didn't because, like Rainbow Dash, Applejack has more depth than people give her credit for.
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