Sonic Rainboom

Sonic Rainboom is the sixteenth episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, season one. The episode is named after Rainbow Dash's signature aerial acrobatics maneuver, the sonic rainboom. In this episode, Rainbow enters the Best Young Flyer competition, in the hope to win a day with her heroes, The Wonderbolts.

Episode summary
Rainbow Dash was preparing for the Best Young Flyer competition, a gathering and exhibition of the most talented pegasi in Equestria, held in the cloud city of Cloudsdale.

Prior to this event, Rainbow Dash was trying (hopelessly) to help Fluttershy improve her cheering based on three fundamentals: loss of control, screaming/hollering, and passion. Much to Rainbow Dash's dismay, her verbal volume failed to meet her expectations. In any case, Rainbow Dash continued to practice her moves, including an old one from when she was younger. If performed correctly and with enough speed, she could break the sound barrier and create a huge rainbow from the thunderous boom, appropriately dubbed the sonic rainboom. However, she was unable to break the barrier and was literally catapulted right into Twilight's library, just as the unicorn and her friends finished cleaning up the books.

Twilight Sparkle learned what was going on between the two pegasi and the competition, including the grand prize: a contest's crown and a full day with the world-renowned Wonderbolts. Dash wishes that the others could come to the competition to cheer for her (but of course, they can't fly). She takes off to rest before heading to Cloudsdale. Before Fluttershy leaves to work on her cheering, she tells the others her concerns:

"She's practiced that move a hundred times and she's never even come close to doing it. I don't know if I can cheer loud enough to help her..."

- Fluttershy

Recognizing Dash's recent attitude as a form of stage fright, Rarity convinced Twilight Sparkle to find a spell that can take them to Cloudsdale to join Fluttershy in cheering their friend on. Pinkie Pie instantly found the specific page with a flight spell, on account of it landing on her face when Rainbow Dash crashed. The spell would allow any earth or unicorn pony to have wings for the next three days, but because of its difficulty, she needed a test subject.

Rarity volunteered after a moment's pause. Despite the difficulty, the spell was a success, granting her large, translucent butterfly-like wings. However, Twilight Sparkle could only complete the spell once due to the extreme draw on her power. The remaining ponies were still able to visit Cloudsdale, thanks to a less taxing spell that allowed non-pegasi to walk on clouds for a limited time. So they went to the sky city via hot-air balloon.

Upon the two pegasi landing back in their hometown, Rainbow Dash ran into a trio of male pegasi who seemed to have known her from way back. They proceeded to make fun of her by calling her "Rainbow Crash" and, hearing about the "old mare's tale" about the sonic rainboom, told her that she would never pull it off. Fluttershy, who was trying to be more assertive, defended her saying that she will make the sonic rainboom a reality: she challenges them to show up at the Cloudiseum, Cloudsdale's stadium, to see for themselves. Dash began to become nervous, even more so when Fluttershy inadvertently reminds her that she has an entire audience of super-critical sports fans to impress with a move she never pulled off in practice when the contest actually started. She began to panic before she and Fluttershy saw a familiar-looking pegasus above them, except it wasn't a pegasus, but Rarity with her temporary wings. The rest of Dash's friends arrived too. Flattered by her friends' support, she decided to show them around the city.

The first stop was the snowflake factory, where each snowflake was delicately created and detailed, but they left when Rarity's wings blew some of the flakes off, almost causing a sudden winter. Next was the rainbow pools, where the rainbows were mixed. Pinkie curiously tasted the concentration, learning the hard way that it was too spicy, even for her (according to Dash, rainbows were not known for their flavor). Throughout the tour, Dash saw Rarity causing some commotion as some of the city's residents were loving her new wings. It was bad enough that Dash may never successfully pull off her old move, but now she was concerned about her own pair of wings being too boring. The last blow to her dignity came in the cloud-making department, when some of the spectators recommended the glamorously winged unicorn to take part in the competition to which she, basking in the radiance of her fame, quickly accepted. It was clear that Dash's chances of winning were dive-bombing as she spoke.

The day of reckoning had arrived in the Cloudiseum, when the Best Young Flyers competition began. Princess Celestia was in attendance and three of the Wonderbolts, two being Spitfire and Soarin', were the special judges of the event. Ridden with fear, Dash was trying to avoid being the next contestant by switching numbers with the remaining contestants, while Rarity was busy working her image before it was her turn. In fact, she allowed a few other pegasi to go ahead of her. Twilight and the others were impressed by the competition so far, but were eager to see their friends perform.

The contest was about to end, and Dash (showing number 15) and Rarity were the only ones left. Since there was only enough time for one last performance, they would have to go at the same time. Rarity stepped out of her accommodations in an extravagant ensemble. She wished Dash luck, unaware of her friend's nearly nonexistent confidence. She then notified Dash that she changed the music to suit her performance, which consisted of a ballet-in-the-sky routine. Dash was trying to remember her own routine, but was constantly messing up under the pressure. She bumped into one of the cloud columns during her first phase, and lost control of one of the clouds during her second phase, almost hitting the Princess. Her only hope was to use her sonic rainboom, even though she was doubting if she would even succeed. Rarity decided to end her performance by flying close to the sun so her wings would sheen above the audience.

Rarity's grand finale was a success, prompting her her to call out to all below her. However, she had forgotten one small thing: Twilight warned her earlier that her temporary wings were too delicate for highly physical or elemental strain due to the material from which they were made. It was too late: the sunlight's glaring heat burned them into ash and she helplessly plummeted through the empty air of the Cloudiseum's stage area. The Wonderbolt judges reacted quickly and immediately dived to rescue her, but were knocked out by Rarity flailing her legs in panic. Rainbow noticed what was happening and dove down fast to catch up with them. She not only saved all four from hitting the surface of Equestria, but also broke the sound barrier to unleash the beautiful sonic rainboom for Cloudsdale's audience to see. Twilight and the others saw this and were in awe as well. Fluttershy was so excited, she finally cheered with an enthusiasm and volume that surprised everyone, including herself.

In recognition of Rainbow's bravery and flying skill, Princess Celestia named her as the winner of the competition. Most importantly, she earned her prize of hanging with the Wonderbolts, who thanked her for saving their lives. The three male pegasi who constantly mocked her prior to the contest actually apologized, but when they asked if she wanted to hang out with them, she only said that she had plans with the flying troupe.

Rarity, in the safety of the ballon's basket, apologized to everyone for getting caught up in the excitement of showing off her wings and overshadowing Rainbow Dash in the process. Since then, she learned to be there for her friends, while keeping her hooves on the ground (literally and figuratively).

Notable story points

 * The ponies follow Rainbow Dash to Cloudsdale, her home town, to cheer her at the Best Young Flyer competition.
 * Rarity gains butterfly wings thanks to Twilight Sparkle's spell, and performs alongside Rainbow Dash at the competition.
 * Rarity's wings burn up at the grand finale of her performance in a manner similar to Icarus of greek legend, burning up by flying to close to the sun. The Wonderbolts fly to rescue her as she plummets to the earth, but her flailing knocks them unconscious.
 * Rainbow Dash rushes down to rescue The Wonderbolts and Rarity, performing a sonic rainboom in the process.
 * Princess Celestia crowns Rainbow Dash as the winner of the competition, and she gets to spend a day with her heroes, The Wonderbolts.

Quotes

 * Rainbow Dash: So, now that you know the elements of a good cheer, let's hear one!
 * Fluttershy: [inhale] ...yay.
 * Rainbow Dash: Ugh... You're gonna cheer for me like that? Louder!
 * Fluttershy: Yay.
 * Rainbow Dash: Louder!
 * Fluttershy: Yay.
 * Rainbow Dash: LOUDER!
 * Fluttershy: [inhale] ...yay.


 * Rainbow Dash: That was a truly feeble performance...
 * Fluttershy: Actually, it wasn't all bad. I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin.
 * Rainbow Dash: I'm not talking about my performance. I'm talking about yours; that feeble cheering.


 * Rarity: Didn't you see how nervous she was?
 * Applejack: Nervous? Have you spit yer bit or somethin'? She was tootin' her own horn louder than the brass section of the marching band.
 * Rarity: Oh puh-lease! I put on enough fashion shows to recognize stage fright when I see it.


 * Twilight Sparkle: How am I supposed to find a flight spell in this mess?
 * Pinkie Pie: A flight spell? One sec... [Gets book] Page 27!
 * Applejack: How'd you do that?
 * Pinkie Pie: It landed on my face when Rainbow Dash knocked me into the bookcase.


 * Rainbow Dash: AAAAHHH! What do I do?! Everypony is gonna see me fail! The Wonderbolts will never let a loser like me join! Princess Celestia will probably banish me to the Everfree Forest! MY LIFE IS RUINED!


 * Fluttershy: Rare...
 * Rainbow Dash: Rare? The sonic rainboom is way more than rare!
 * Fluttershy: Rarity?


 * Rainbow Dash: And here's where they make the rainbows.
 * Pinkie Pie: [lick] Spiiicyyy!
 * Rainbow Dash: Yeah. Rainbows aren't known for their flavor...


 * Twilight Sparkle: Rarity! We're supposed to help Rainbow Dash relax, remember? Put your wings away and stop showing off.
 * Rarity: How could you ask me to put away perfection?


 * Rarity: Look upon me Equestria! For I. AM. RARITY!


 * Fluttershy: [wildly] A sonic rainboom! She did it! She did it! WOOO!


 * Rainbow Dash: I just wish I could've met the Wonderbolts when they were awake. OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!
 * Spitfire: So you're the little pony who saved our lives. We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks.
 * Rainbow Dash: OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!

Gallery



 * Sonic Rainboom image gallery

Trivia

 * The episode's title is a portmanteau of "sonic boom" and "rain/rainbow".
 * Rarity's wings might be a reference to the Flutter Ponies of the old My Little Pony series in 1986, whose sheer butterfly wings were notoriously fragile. The wings are also reminiscent of the Breezies in the direct to video movie My Little Pony: The Princess Promenade in 2006.
 * Rarity's hubris, leading to the loss of her wings to the sun, echoes the story of Icarus from Greek mythology.
 * The bow wave Rainbow Dash generates is an inaccurate depiction of the vapor cone of fighter jets.
 * When executing the sonic rainboom during practice, Dash was leading with a single hoof and rebounded from her bow wave. During the competition and her rescue effort, she led with both hooves and was successful. During her first successful sonic rainboom, seen in flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, she also leads with both hooves.
 * The name Cloudsdale is curious. "Dale," when associated with places, is an old word for a valley. It is also a pun on the Clydesdale breed of horse.
 * Derpy Hooves makes another set of appearances in this episode, both derp-eyed and not. In some shots, multiple Derpy clones appear at once. In addition, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle also roll their eyes and are derp-eyed for brief moments.
 * The contestants in the Best Young Flyer competition wear numbers over their cutie marks. Participants in the Running of the Leaves did the same thing during the episode Fall Weather Friends.
 * To delay her presentation, Rainbow Dash swaps her number for a higher one three times: from two to five, from five to six, and from six to fifteen. Fifteen is the highest number shown, and Rainbow takes it from Derpy Hooves.
 * When the "contestant wrangler" pony enters to send the first pegasus out, Derpy Hooves can be seen on the left side of the screen. A close examination of her half-hidden number shows that it's reversed. It's right-side around when seen on the other flank later in the episode.
 * Rarity gives this episode's moral instead of Twilight.
 * Rainbow Dash mentions having succeeded at a sonic rainboom only once before. This event is central to the plot of The Cutie Mark Chronicles.
 * Two sound clips are recycled from Friendship is Magic, part 1. Rarity's laugh is the same as her shocked scream when she noticed Twilight's unkempt hair. Fluttershy's inhale is Pinkie Pie's gasp (also reused for the crowd in that episode when Celestia is revealed to be missing) played backwards.
 * The music Rarity chose for her performance was based on Tchaikovsky's the Waltz from Swan Lake.