Cirrus Light 
"[@kztxl7":](/1260841#comment_5472629
)
Okay, I was thinking I might've remembered that wrong. Rainbow Dash asked why she wasn't a lead pony, and Spitfire told her that was because Lightning Dust pushed herself harder, inadvertently extolling her recklessness.
As for standing up to her, try going in to your drill instructor and having this conversation about your lifelong dream of the Wonderbolts:
[bq]
> Spitfire: This better be important. You're supposed to be up there busting clouds with your partner.
>
> Rainbow Dash: We're done with that, ma'am.
>
> Spitfire: Already? That's an academy record! Explain your methods.
>
> Rainbow Dash: That's why I'm here, ma'am. Lightning Dust decided to use a tornado.
>
> Spitfire: A bit excessive for cloud-busting. But judging from your time, it was obviously an effective tactic.
>
> Rainbow Dash: Yeah, well that "effective tactic" nearly took out my friends! No disrespect, ma'am, but there's a big difference between pushing yourself as hard as you can and just being reckless. And if being reckless is what gets rewarded around here, if that's what it means to be a Wonderbolt, then I don't want any part of it.
>
> Spitfire: What are you saying, newbie?
>
> Rainbow Dash: I quit.[/bq]
It's standing up to her because Spitfire holds massive and almost complete power over her fate, has been massively intimidating her the whole time (as per drill sergeant manner), and Rainbow Dash was standing up against something she'd extolled - Lightning Dust's (her leadpony) practices (Rainbow Dash did not know, nor had any way to know, that Spitfire hadn't meant to extol such recklessness).
If your definition of "standing up to" doesn't include this, then you need to fix that definition, because this is standing up for/against something. It's standing up to two people with authority over you in a place meant to crush anyone who stands up against it, where she's spent the last few days being drilled and intensely inuntimidated by those in charge that she's standing up to.
Sciencepone of Science!
Okay, I was thinking I might've remembered that wrong. Rainbow Dash asked why she wasn't a lead pony, and Spitfire told her that was because Lightning Dust pushed herself harder, inadvertently extolling her recklessness.
As for standing up to her, try going in to your drill instructor and having this conversation about your lifelong dream of the Wonderbolts:
[bq]
> Spitfire: This better be important. You're supposed to be up there busting clouds with your partner.
>
> Rainbow Dash: We're done with that, ma'am.
>
> Spitfire: Already? That's an academy record! Explain your methods.
>
> Rainbow Dash: That's why I'm here, ma'am. Lightning Dust decided to use a tornado.
>
> Spitfire: A bit excessive for cloud-busting. But judging from your time, it was obviously an effective tactic.
>
> Rainbow Dash: Yeah, well that "effective tactic" nearly took out my friends! No disrespect, ma'am, but there's a big difference between pushing yourself as hard as you can and just being reckless. And if being reckless is what gets rewarded around here, if that's what it means to be a Wonderbolt, then I don't want any part of it.
>
> Spitfire: What are you saying, newbie?
>
> Rainbow Dash: I quit.
It's standing up to her because Spitfire holds massive and almost complete power over her fate, has been massively intimidating her the whole time (as per drill sergeant manner), and Rainbow Dash was standing up against something she'd extolled - Lightning Dust's (her leadpony) practices (Rainbow Dash did not know, nor had any way to know, that Spitfire hadn't meant to extol such recklessness).
If your definition of "standing up to" doesn't include this, then you need to fix that definition, because this is standing up for/against something. It's standing up to two people with authority over you in a place meant to crush anyone who stands up against it, where she's spent the last few days being drilled and intensely in