Talk:Newbie Dash/@comment-29017069-20161026130149/@comment-25559529-20161026220841

Here's how I see it.

The Wonderbolts' nickname thing is not something they spread around. This is evident from the fact that Rainbow Dash does not know about it despite the fact that she has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Wonderbolt.

Given this, she would not know how it worked. Aside from one throwaway scene, no one gave her any indication that it was meant to be in good fun. No one took a moment to take her aside and explain it.

That Rainbow Dash never spoke up about it is—to me—the story's main problem. All Rainbow Dash had to do was bluntly say, "Stop calling me that." There. Story over.

To acknowledge to opposite viewpoint, Rainbow Dash not doing anything like the above is also understandable.

The dynamic of ribbing and making fun of your friends is that it's making fun of your friends. Rainbow Dash was newly recruited. In Wonderbolts Academy, she finally spoke up because her friends were in danger. In Rainbow Falls, she spoke up because Spitfire and Fleetfoot pulled a pretty jerk move on Soarin. If she were to speak up here, she wouldn't be speaking up in defense of her friends or Soarin; it would be in defense of herself, which the others could think of as whining.

In that atmosphere, it's understandable if Rainbow doesn't speak up because she doesn't want to lose respect any more than the already has. She is a newbie among senior members. Being the senior members, I believe the onus is on the Wonderbolts for not making sure Rainbow Dash knew it wasn't harmful. Teasing to ease tension doesn't work if not everypony is on the same page.