Picking Apart "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", Season 1 Episode 16

Sonic Rainboom

Here's an episode about Rainbow Dash.  We learn that she's taking part in this Best Young Flyers Competition in Cloudsdale and not only has she been practicing like crazy, even trying to perfect this legendary technique known as the Sonic Rainboom (note that she's the only one who can actually do it due to her rainbow colors), but she's also been urging Fluttershy to perfect her cheering skills.  Of course, nothing seems to be working.  First of all, Fluttershy just can't seem to be able to raise her voice.

Fluttershy: Yaay.

Rainbow Dash: Ugh...

Fluttershy: ...Too loud?

I'd say it just about makes Rainbow wanna chew her foot off.

 

"Hmph.  I'm just glad that little squirt is not doing the cheer for me.  Because that whimpering would just disgrace the name of the Chazz."

And if that's not bad enough, she just can't seem to even perform the Sonic Rainboom correctly.  As a result, she crash-lands into the library where the others are.

So she tells them about the competition and Applejack mentions that she actually did pull off a Sonic Rainboom once some time ago when she was much younger.  Wow, sounds prodigious.  She then leaves to practice more and Rarity encourages Twilight to find a spell that can enable them to go to Cloudsdale to cheer for her during the competition.  After all, she's hosted more than her fair share of fashion shows to recognize a bad case of stage fright.  So Twilight makes Rarity her guinea pig and unleashes a complicated magic spell that...

...gives her butterfly wings.  Huh... not bad, but what about the others?

Meanwhile, it seems that Rainbow Dash is indeed nervous and Fluttershy gives us a foreshadowing of sorts when she tries to be assertive to three Pegasus bullies named Dumb-bell, Hoops, and Score by fans, because they show up and torment Rainbow.

But the others arrive to help soothe her and she decides to show them around Cloudsdale, during which Rarity continually shows off her new wings, and we also find out that they were not exactly built to last, not that it fazes Rarity or anything.  In fact, she decides to even enter the competition alongside Rainbow Dash!  Geez, where has her generosity gone?

After the tours are finished, the competition begins and both Rarity and Rainbow Dash start their performances at the same time.  Now Rarity is so selfish, she's oblivious to Rainbow's nervousness and tries to win the competition despite knowing how hard it was for Rainbow Dash to even show herself.

In fact, she loses sight so much that she flies too high while showing up and her wings dissolve completely, causing her to fall to what would be a damn well certain death.

Three of the Wonderbolts swoop in to save her, but...

...oh, never mind.  Now who will save the Wonderbolts?  Hell, who will save all four of them?

Rainbow Dash now has the motivation to pull of her patented Sonic Rainboom and she succeeds!  Flying faster than the speed of sound, she somehow manages to save all four victims just moments before they hit the ground.

And of course, what's a Sonic Rainboom without a rainbow?  And Fluttershy, who was not so hot at cheering before, now starts whooping it up and shouting at her loudest in the entire series.

Fluttershy: A sonic rainboom! She did it! She did it! WOOO!

Fluttershy: A sonic rainboom! Wooo! YEAH!

"N-no way!  That little pipsqueak can actually cheer?!"

Rarity apologizes for her actions while Rainbow Dash finally gets to meet the Wonderbolts in person, including Spitfire, their team captain, who even says...

Spitfire: We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks.

Rainbow Dash: OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh!

And Rainbow's inner fangirl breaks out.  But despite this, I still keep mistaking her to be a dude to this very day.

Princess Celestia arrives and for the first time, Rarity is the one to deliver her friendship lesson instead of Twilight.  Okay, so Rainbow Dash is now one step closer to achieving her lifelong dream of possibly joining the Wonderbolts, but if that Sonic Rainboom doesn't make her eligible, I don't what in the hell does.  I mean, Rarity even says...

Rarity: Rainbow Dash here really is the best flyer in Equestria.

Princess Celestia: I know she is my dear.

See?  Even Celestia agrees!  So Rainbow Dash is crowned as the best young flyer, winning the competition hands down and earning her the grand prize of hanging out with her idols for the day!

Rainbow Dash: ...best day EVER!

Yeah, I'll say.  She just about won it all in this episode.  I still can't warm up to this series in general though, but the animation is still as spiffy as always!  In every episode, the animators manage to capture the right emotions at the right times.  Everything else somewhat leaves something to be desired, but not because of the intended audience or anything like that.  There's always bronies.  Well, another day, another mediocre episode.