Should I feel bad for Lighting Dust?

[pinkiefan1287 610]

During the ending of Wonderbolt Academy, Spitfire takes the gold medal off of Lighting Dust and then Lighting Dust walks away with her head down as two guards take her some where. Most likely to get her stuff and to make sure she leaves the base. Of course we don't know if she is getting kicked out or if she is going some where to think about what she did.

 

Now I'm hearing people saying that they feel bad for Lighting. She was just doing everything she could to prove she was the best and should be a Wonderbolt and should not have been kicked or what ever they did to her. My problem is I don't feel bad for her and she should get kicked out.

 

This is how I kinda see it and why she should get kicked out. Lighting Dust was not being a team player. She almost got Rainbow Dash hurt, the other students hurt, and almost got 5 civilians hurt. Four if Fluttershy remembered that she was a pegasus before hitting the ground. Also she did not feel bad for what she did. So after looking at this it's kinda the same reason I don't feel bad for Trixie. They were both jerks to everypony and only cared about themselves. They had it coming to them for things that they did.

 

So what does everyone else think?

Edited December 24, 2012 by pinkiefan1287

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Of course we should feel bad for her. Her dream just got much harder for her to achieve. None of that excuses anything she did though and she still should have been kicked out of the academy.

[Feather Gem 967]

Well, I'm just a big softie I guess.

But this was probably her dream.  And it was may have been shattered because of a few mistakes she made.  I believe almost every pony deserves a second chance.  Because every pony makes mistakes.

[Thundershock 310]

id be ok to feel sorry for her, cause i kind of feel sorry for her, too. most likely she became a wing pony, or whatevers its called.

[angels_gal 204]

I personally do not.  because I don't believe in stepping on someone to reach your goals.  She put fellow ponies lives at risk not only the mane six but  the other cadet members as well all for her own desires.  This, in my opinion is not only not cool, it's also hurtful to everyone else who played by the rules.  Rainbow Dash realized this after she was made wing pony instead of leader.  She deserved what she got.  if she got kicked out then she deserved it. 

Edited December 22, 2012 by angels_gal

[XrosOver 613]

Should you feel emotion for a secondary main character? Not really. Lightning Dust put a lot of ponies in danger with her tornado. She is a very reckless pony that deserves her punishment to get her head out of the clouds.

[Batbrony 16,056]

I don't know.  Yeah, she was being a big, reckless jerk, but at the same time she was just really passionate about her dream, not like Trixie, who was just kinda innately a big jerk until her turnaround in "Magic Duel" at the very end.  Maybe she should've gotten the chance to reconsider her ways and change, but I do understand, considering the Wonderbolt Academy is very much like a military base, why they'd throw her out so quickly; they probably have a zero tolerance policy for such dangerous behavior.  So yeah, it stinks, but at the same time, it's understandable that she got thrown out.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Batbrony

[PoisonClaw 8,166]

I don't feel sorry for her. Not one bit.

 

First, while wanting to test your limits is admirable, she was going about it at the expense of her fellow squadmates and even her partners well being. Second, her elitist attitude was personifying nothing that Wonderbolts stand for: namely teamwork and co-ordination. I guarantee that were she to be inducted into their ranks she would have constantly been trying to show up her fellow teammates and make herself the center of attention. 

 

And third, when Dash rips into her about constantly putting others in harms way, not to mention the fact that because of her actions five innocent civilians could have been killed, Lighting Dust's response is "Yeah, what's your point?" Such complete and utter disregard for the consequences of her reckless actions and the safety of others is a clear indication of her rotten ideals, and thus I cheered when she got kicked out. I don't care how good she may have been or whether this may have been her lifelong dream, with that kind of attitude she's going nowhere fast.      

[NavelColt 22,882]

She was a mirror image of Rainbow at her most competitive, headstrong moments. All she cared about was winning, and it didn't matter if everyone else got hurt in the process. Maybe it's harder for her to achieve her dream now; as much as that may suck, that's life for you. You act a certain way, that's a consequence. So for the most part no, I don't feel bad for her, she had it coming to her, and hopefully she can learn from that mistake and begin to take the truly important things into consideration, as Dash did.

[Memory Lane 131]

While I can't fault her for being...ambitious, I certainly can for her methods used to impress. All things considered, I would feel bad for her if she was indeed kicked from the academy. That may have been a bit harsh.

[Sks_Burns 730]

i stumbled on a pretty good fanfic that continues the story right after they lead Lighting Dust away. its only one persons interpretation of what happened afterwards, but i think its fitting for the characters involved, and has a nice happy ending for all. 

 

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/70820/1/aces-high/wingmates

[Whofch 128]

As has been said, the Wonderbolts are like a military air force thingum. Someone who's reckless and doesn't have a great deal of care for other people/ponies well-being isn't really what's wanted. Too dangerous. That's for the understanding part anyway.

As for the feeling sorry for her because it was her dream? No. She was a bad character. All the worst parts of Dash amplified a bit I guess. It's hard enough as it is liking Dash at certain times

Edited December 22, 2012 by Turpow

[NavelColt 22,882]

That may have been a bit harsh.

Key to note here that the Wonderbolt Academy, its drills, Spitfire behaving as a drill sergeant, etc. was all meant to make this academy's atmosphere have an intense, 'strict goals and expectations' vibe that is similar to that of a military camp. This makes sense, since the Wonderbolts are depicted as an aerial strike force team as well as the best precision fliers in the world. I may know little about the military, but when you screw up, I'm pretty sure shit doesn't tend to slide. I don't think losing her rank, hell, even being kicked out is -all- that harsh, considering she -did- endanger the lives of others.

Edited December 22, 2012 by ~Chaotic Discord~

[The Awesome One 1,315]

Absolutely not.

 

She didn't deserve to be in the wonder bolts. It wouldn't have mattered if she flew better than Rainbow Dash if she didn't care for others. She was reckless and made bad decisions. 

 

So yeah, I'm not a softie.

[Dusty Soul 2,612]

While she was trying to prove that she could go the distance, that was no excuse to almost maim the other ponies.  I mean she just went to far.  I don't feel bad for her.

[Kanerudo 21]

She got what she deserved. She was way arrogant and cocky therefore she just had to go. Though Rainbow Dash also shows some of these traits, she still cares for others around her.

[Shanks 10,816]

No I don't feel sorry for Lightning Dust she almost got five civilians killed and when confronted with that she showed no remorse whatsoever for her actions, if this was the marines or the army she not only would have gotten dishonorably discharged but probably also would have been arrested so her punishment was not nearly as harsh as it could have been.

[Forlong 1,726]

Short answer: No.

 

Long answer:

The Wonder Bolts are a military organization.  Their primary job is to protect the ponies of Equestria.  Lightning Dust deliberately put ponies in danger.  Perhaps she didn't deserve to be kicked out of the academy, but you pointed out that she could have just been demoted.  Either way, she made a choice and has to live with the consequences of that choice.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Forlong

[Zygen 6,066]

She did do alot of reckless things that could have got many pony's in trouble, so I think in one way she deserved it, but I also feel bad for her because it was proably as much of a dream for her as Rainbow Dash, but now she may never achive that dream.

 

I may just be a softy though, I feel bad for others pretty easily .

[Phaeston-e12 173]

Often the mistakes and the reckless behavior of a subordinate member is a responsibility of both the individual who committed such action and his/her superior. This is why when a lower ranking soldier in an army screws up big time, his/her superior often resigns for failure to control his/her subordinate.

 

Wonderbolt is nothing more than a 'mock' militaristic band which probably can be justified by being an elite band of flyer and the pegasus the original setting seems to exhibit a militaristic society in general. Taking a real life case as a judgment standard for Lightning Dust would be somewhat problematic because multiple times in the series supposedly 'military' organizations in the  Equestria have proven to be virtually ineffective at resolving conflicts and they seem to be nothing more than ponies playing a 'tea party house'.

[Nightmare Tsubasa 25]

Personally I don't. She was very selfish with her own ambitious to see that she could have seriously hurt or even killed innocent people. It's one thing to make a mistake and feel horrible about it. But the thing is she does not care anyone else but herself. She was willing to be that reckless enough to hurt someone in the process and not feel any type of remorse for her actions. I think she doesn't deserve to have any second chances.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

I don't know if she should have been kicked out of the academy. The ending was ambiguous at best and it was hard to tell whether or not she was simply suspended because of her reckless actions. Though, I would think that as long as she could finally push herself in the right direction, she would be allowed to go back in. Kind of like the Kobayashi Maru test from Star Trek, a no-win scenario that tests your judgement and discipline rather than your skills. Sort of the same scenario applies here. Similarly, Dust is truly gifted athletically but also has demonstrated poor sportsmanship and is reckless. No problem - that can be worked on. With that kind of talent, it's hard to walk away from without first giving them another chance to see if they can improve themselves personally first.

 

If you were to ask me what I thought more of this, then I'd say It's slightly reminiscent of Randy Moss having a stellar career in the National Football League prior to 2006 before he eventually dropped off the radar due to poor character. Then in 2007 he was acquired by the New England Patriots and their head coach, Bill Belichick, turned him around and he ended up having a record-setting year. If there was a scenario where Dust could enrol in the academy again, she'd have to convince Spitfire that she'd be willing to turn things around not unlike how Dash confronted Spitfire to begin with.

[CrystalRose 636]

Of course I don't, she was arrogant and selfish and she entirely deserved to be punished. The only regret she showed was when Spitfire kicked out her sorry ass and that probably wasn't due to genuine remorse, more the fact that she was being punished.

[Wubsie 1,123]

After putting ponies is danger she deserved to be kicked out. But all she wanted to do was try her best and thought that nopony could get in the way of her and her dreams. She was willing to anything to be a wonderbolt it seems. So yeah we should all kind of feel bad for her. I for one really feel bad for her now that her dreams have a small chance of being acomplished.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Double D

[Never2muchpinkie 211]

I don't feel sorry for her. Not one bit.

 

First, while wanting to test your limits is admirable, she was going about it at the expense of her fellow squadmates and even her partners well being. Second, her elitist attitude was personifying nothing that Wonderbolts stand for: namely teamwork and co-ordination. I guarantee that were she to be inducted into their ranks she would have constantly been trying to show up her fellow teammates and make herself the center of attention. 

 

And third, when Dash rips into her about constantly putting others in harms way, not to mention the fact that because of her actions five innocent civilians could have been killed, Lighting Dust's response is "Yeah, what's your point?" Such complete and utter disregard for the consequences of her reckless actions and the safety of others is a clear indication of her rotten ideals, and thus I cheered when she got kicked out. I don't care how good she may have

No I don't feel sorry for Lightning Dust she almost got five civilians killed and when confronted with that she showed no remorse whatsoever for her actions, if this was the marines or the army she not only would have gotten dishonorably discharged but probably also would have been arrested so her punishment was not nearly as harsh as it could have been.

Absolutely not.

 

She didn't deserve to be in the wonder bolts. It wouldn't have mattered if she flew better than Rainbow Dash if she didn't care for others. She was reckless and made bad decisions. 

 

So yeah, I'm not a softie.

During the ending of Wonderbolt Academy, Spitfire takes the gold medal off of Lighting Dust and then Lighting Dust walks away with her head down as two guards take her some where. Most likely to get her stuff and to make sure she leaves the base. Of course we don't know if she is getting kicked out or if she is going some where to think about what she did.

 

Now I'm hearing people saying that they feel bad for Lighting. She was just doing everything she could to prove she was the best and should be a Wonderbolt and should not have been kicked or what ever they did to her. My problem is I don't feel bad for her and she should get kicked out.

 

This is how I kinda see it and why she should get kicked out. Lighting Dust was not being a team player. She almost got Rainbow Dash hurt, the other students hurt, and almost got 5 civilians hurt. Four if Fluttershy remembered that she was a pegasus before hitting the ground. Also she did not feel bad for what she did. So after looking at this it's kinda the same reason I don't feel bad for Trixie. They were both jerks to everypony and only cared about themselves. They had it coming to them for things that they did.

 

So what does everyone else think?

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/12/alternate-ending-to-wonderbolts-academy.html

 

 

Well while it may not COMLETELY let Lightning Dust off the hook, the original ending of the episode had LD redeem herself by apologizing and realizing she was out of control and commends RD for turning her in, and LD becomes Rainbow's wingpony. Which I think would have been a better ending, as it takes away the ambiguity of the ending.  If RD is going to be a wonderbolt, she needs someone on her level ability wise to keep her motivated, so it would be a good reason to bring her back.  

 

With the way the episode actually went, it seemed too similar to Too many pinkie pies, where they take the characters basic traits, and then show how they COULD be without their ethics to show how original character is better. (Pinkie's clones caring only about fun even if it upsets those around them, Lightning Dust being just as capable as R D, but willing to push through other ponies to show off.)

 

 

Should you feel emotion for a secondary main character? Not really.

That may just be the most hilarious line on a MLP forum ever. EVERY character in this show is loved by at least one person.This is a forum that has named every single background pony not given an official name, popularized the 'background mane 6' even before they got lines, etc.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Never2muchpinkie