[Normal] [Sad]
Author: Melon Hunter
Description: Have you ever heard the phrase 'it's cruel to be kind'? When a friend loses all faith in themselves, sometimes the only thing that can pull them back from the brink is a bit of tough love.
Tough Love
Additional Tags: Wonderbolts, self-confidence, rejection, improvement, KBO
34 comments:
Fluttershy beating some sense into Rainbow Dash? Sounds good!
ReplyDeleteWho cares if first. We're all friends, right? Great story, sounds like a good concept. I like these life isn't always what you want stories, reminds us we all have to do our best, regardless of the outcome.
ReplyDeleteI think this picture has been used already...
ReplyDelete[](/c03) I mean, if that's alright with you...
Needs more Trixie.
ReplyDeleteTitle contains the word "Love", story concerns Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
ReplyDeleteNo shipping.
I am shocked and amazed.
@A Terrible Person
ReplyDeletennnnnnnnnnot quite.
@ShadowCell
ReplyDeleteNo indeed. I blame misleading pictures! Spitfire smacking some sense into Rainbow Dash, then.
Regardless, a pretty nice one-shot. It was really enjoyable, and I can't really find any faults to pick away at in critique. (Grammar aside! Since it's being used as a contraction of "around" in this case, "first time round" should be "first time 'round". This grammar aside has been brought to you by your friendly neighborhood nitpicker!)
Thank you for writing this. It was a really touching story.
ReplyDeleteWhat an inspiring and overall well-written piece of work! You've got my stars.
ReplyDeleteJohn Freeman approved!
ReplyDeleteThe whole "making them fail their first time as a hidden test" actually makes sense when Vortex was explaining it. RD and FS are in character perfectly.
ReplyDeleteok, before even reading this, based entirely on the picture and description, I'd just like to say...
ReplyDeletethere is no possible way Rainbow would not get into the Wonderbolts. Sure, she had intense stage fright at the Best Young Fliers competition, but she quite literally is the fastest flier in equestria and only one that can perform the Sonic Rainboom. She practices neigh constantly, and obviously has intense skills (wtf does it take to do a buccaneer blaze?).
and your telling me she didn't get in? what the hell did the other guys do to top her?
its like... 3am (jesus christ...) where I am so I read in the morning. there best be good reasons to explain justify that sad tag!
Good fic.
ReplyDelete@EonMaster
ReplyDeleteWelp... way to kill and impact THAT little revelation might have had on anyone that might not have read the story yet...
@Anon
ReplyDeleteSpitfire and Vortex said no one gets in the first time. Read the story.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteShe's not ready. She's still immature. She's still impulsive. She still has a huge ego. None of these things are good traits for teamwork. Of course she'd be rejected if she displayed these traits. They'd want her to grow up first.
@John Freeman
ReplyDeleteYeah, but they say it later in the story, after a bit of rejection drama, (and Spitz doesn't say its a secret test, I went and read the wonderful and well written fic in question) and it was still a bit of a spoiler for the tension in the story, know right off the bat that all the disappointment was just a test.
NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!! I wanted to write a fic based on that picture!... Well, I suppose I still can, I just won't be first. Oh well, time to read it anyways.
ReplyDeleteWell, the whole first time thing I guess would make sense if they were looking for perseverance or something. But imagine the ponies who failed and shrugged and moved on to other things but were very very talented. Odd recruiting strategy.
ReplyDeleteThat's still a lack of perseverance. Sure, they didnt go all emo; but if they really want in, they'll be back.
ReplyDeleteActually I think time and time again Rainbow dash proved she can work as a team member. Sure she can be a little cocky, but she is hardworking and talented, it's stupid not letting her on the team based on some pointless tradition.
ReplyDeleteósom
ReplyDeleteI am not ashamed to say I cried
ReplyDeleteAnd I think I agree with the author. Rainbow's still got some hard crashes ahead of her because her confidence is often a shield for her insecurities. And she can be pretty immature, as well as intensely competitive.
ReplyDeleteShe'll learn, even if it has to come at the expense of a headache from Spitfire heatbutting some sense into her.
Wow. That was good. That was DAMN good.
ReplyDeleteThat's the only single-chapter fic I've ever read that was just that damn good. Bravo, old chap, bravo.
FYI, Kitty Kat, it is not a "pointless tradition", and the very fact that you could read this story and not understand that is a testament to how shallow your critique is.
Seriously though, the originality of this story and the very creative backstory for Spitfire, along with the emotional overtones of failure and subsequent redemption, have made this into one hell of a good fic. Can't wait to see more from this author.
I am pleasantly surprised how good this story was, even with it's few typos. I can honestly see this happening in the show. 5/5!
ReplyDeleteDamn fine work mate, you wove a good tale here. Very much enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteThis story... actually makes a lot of sense. The whole "arrogance is a shield for her insecurity" angle works really good, and if you take how Rainbow acted in Sonic Rainboom, this feels basically as close as possible to a canon continuation of those events.
ReplyDeleteThis bad boy gets a 5/5.
@Kitty Kat
What RainbowDat said. Considering what the Wonderbolts do for a living, Rainbow Dash's usual behavior is the antithesis of what would be required of her to fit in. She can work well as part of a team, yes. But she never seems to consider that to be an option until she is absolutely sure that she has to, and she does tend to give up on stuff that she doesn't master immediately (though the reasoning isn't always the same).
Dash is cocky and skilled, but she doesn't trust herself to get better at something she isn't good at from the start, and that is exactly what the "fail all recruits the first time" practice is so important; and that is why this story works.
I cried while reading this fanfic. Why? Because I still didn't get into the animation school I want to be in, and this fic felt like the kick in the rear I needed after three failed attempts.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we'll ever see RD get into the Wonderbolts in the show, maybe in the last episodes of the last season; It would take away too much potential for end-of-episode morals. Yes, Dash can make all the most incredible stuff, even a Sonic Rainboom and saving several ponies at once when needed. But she's clumsy, un-observant (Who can miss a mountain even though Pinkie distracts you?) and even though her element is loyalty, she prefers to avoid helping people out if she doesn't feel like it. (Napping when AJ needed help harvesting? Come on) She feels like the type that would never help you move to your new house but still claim that she's the best friend. She's more of a solo person than thinking in a team, and at the moment, would probably care more about shining brighter than the rest of the team, than making a good team-effort together where she doesn't stand out as the best, thus not getting the attention she's craving atm.
What I mean with this wall of text is, that Rainbow Dash is far away from being ready for the Wonderbolts, but the development she needs to be ready gives a lot of potential for future episodes about her.
Wow... considering I wrote that story on a whim after seeing that picture in the Drawfriend, I never expected such a positive response! Thank you to everyone who's commented and/or rated this story!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this one. 5/5
ReplyDeleteVery well done, 5 stars for you.
ReplyDeleteI think some are interpreting the whole "first time failure" thing a bit too literally. The fact that nobody gets it right the first time isn't a tradition, it's a fact of life. Within the context of this story, Rainbow Dash has the potential to be a great Wonderbolt, but she just isn't ready for it yet.
ReplyDeleteShe's impulsive, brash, cocky, lazy, sometimes rude, and overall has a lot of qualities that just aren't very endearing to a team. Their called character flaws and they play a role in making a character likable and relatable.
This was clearly meant to be a humbling experience for Rainbow Dash and help her work past her flaws. When a character is perfect, with no realistic flaws whatsoever, they're called a Mary-Sue, and if Rainbow Dash was a Mary Sue, why would she be so loved by fans.
Character flaw is just a trait of good writing. Not everything has to have or should have a happy ending and with that in mind I can't praise this story enough.
FiMFiction
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fimfiction.net/story/1190/tough-love