Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, and the eighty-sixth episode overall. In this episode, Rainbow Dash goes to extreme lengths to pass the Wonderbolts Reserves entrance exam. The title is a common phrase used to test the volume levels of a microphone.

Production and development
This episode is listed as the twenty-second episode of the fourth season on HubNetwork.com and Zap2it.

Twilight the tutor
The episode opens just outside Golden Oak Library; in the middle of Twilight Sparkle's reading a book, Rainbow Dash swoops by and interrupts her. Twilight flies up and gives Rainbow an earful about not studying for her upcoming exam to join the Wonderbolts Reserves. While Twilight stresses how important the test is, Rainbow Dash is not as concerned. Suddenly, Twilight comes up with the idea of tutoring Rainbow for the test and teleports herself and Rainbow inside the library.

Working off of a checklist, Twilight tries various methods to help Rainbow Dash prepare for her test, including reading and highlighting, history lectures, and flashcards. Unfortunately, Rainbow's approach to reading and highlighting involves highlighting everything in a book, she becomes easily bored and distracted during Twilight's lectures, and she spends all of Twilight's flashcards segment shooting spit wads at her.

After an unsuccessful quizzing session, Rainbow Dash starts to worry that she'll fail the test, placing blame on Twilight and her faulty studying methods. The two begin to bicker, and before it gets out of hand, Fluttershy intervenes with her own idea to help Rainbow.

Theatrics, music, and style
Fluttershy's method of teaching involves a play starring the Mane 6's pets, with Angel playing the role of Princess Celestia, Opalescence as Princess Luna, and Gummy, Winona, and Tank as various kinds of ponies. However, the stage soon collapses when Tank crashes, and the performance only leaves Rainbow Dash confused.

Pinkie Pie then enters with her own method of teaching Rainbow history: through rap verse. Rainbow finds the song catchy enough, but she's unable to retain its lyrics.

Rarity arrives to help and attempts to teach Rainbow Dash the history of the Wonderbolts through their historical fashions, with which their friends all assist, but Rainbow Dash still has difficulties. Applejack has no advice for Rainbow, as she believes things are best learned through personal experience.

Before long, Rainbow Dash's friends start arguing about whose studying methods are best, pushing her to the brink of desperation.

"Enough! No rapping, no cards, no costumes, no play, and no apples!"

- Rainbow Dash

Convinced that she will never pass the entrance exam, Rainbow Dash flies off.

Rainbow Dash's way
Twilight joins Rainbow Dash in the sky and apologizes for overwhelming her. She tries to cheer Rainbow up, but Rainbow just puts herself down, calling herself "too dumb to learn anything". As Twilight tries to get through to her friend, Rainbow shoves Twilight away. Twilight is annoyed at first, but soon realizes Rainbow had stopped her from crashing into Cherry Berry's pedal-operated helicopter.

When Twilight asks how Rainbow noticed the helicopter when she was focused on her, Rainbow explains that she knows how to multitask: while she paying attention to Twilight, she was also monitoring the ground and sky. She'd noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders coming out of Sugarcube Corner, and she saw Big McIntosh selling a large order of apples to Filthy Rich.

With this knowledge, Twilight comes up with an idea and flies away, leaving Rainbow to sulk. She meets with the rest of her friends to tell them her plan: with each of their ways of helping Rainbow Dash having ended in failure, they decide to try "Rainbow Dash's way".

Rainbow's hidden talent
A short time later, Twilight returns to where she left Rainbow and asks her if she wants to go for a fly. Though she's deeply depressed, Rainbow agrees. During their flight, Twilight makes small talk with Rainbow, and Rainbow still belittles herself, declaring that her dreams of being a Wonderbolt are over.

When they reach Rainbow's house, Twilight asks Rainbow what she remembers about the flight. Rainbow, to her surprise and delight, finds that she's able to recall facts about the Wonderbolts' history with ease. When she asks how that is, Twilight explains that she took advantage of Rainbow's monitoring ability and enlisted the help of numerous ponies to teach her without her realizing.

Rainbow Dash thanks her friends for all their help, but Twilight says Rainbow deserves all the credit herself for her ability to absorb information while flying.

"Ha, I always knew I was brilliant!"

- Rainbow Dash

Epilogue
In the friendship journal, Twilight writes that Rainbow Dash had successfully learned the history of the Wonderbolts and that she learned that there's no single perfect way of learning—"everypony is unique and individual". Elsewhere, Rainbow Dash completes her entrance exam and gives it to the examiner. The examiner hands the test back to Rainbow Dash with a perfect score of 100%, to Rainbow's relief and utter elation.

Quotes

 * Twilight Sparkle: I'm just gonna fly right up to her and tell her what I think about her lackadaisical approach to studying! Won't she be surprised!
 * Rainbow Dash: Surprise!
 * Twilight Sparkle: What? Huh? How did you-
 * Rainbow Dash: Puh-lease, Twilight. That was the worst sneak attack ever.


 * Rainbow Dash: Twilight, not everypony gets all freaked out about tests like you.
 * Twilight Sparkle: I do not get 'all freaked out' about tests!
 * Rainbow Dash: Uh, seriously? Your freakouts are so epic, you sing whole freakout arias about freaking out.


 * Twilight Sparkle: Hm, by highlighting everything you don't really separate the wheat from the chaff... Or the good from the bad. Hey, I am not that tall!
 * Rainbow Dash: [giggles]


 * Twilight Sparkle: Yes, Rainbow?
 * Rainbow Dash: Is it snack time?
 * Twilight Sparkle: No.
 * Rainbow Dash: Recess?
 * Twilight Sparkle: No.
 * Rainbow Dash: [sighs] Can't we just watch the history of the Wonderbolts movie?!
 * Twilight Sparkle: No!


 * Twilight Sparkle: The initials EUP stand for what?
 * Rainbow Dash: Ernie's Undercooked Pancakes.
 * Twilight Sparkle: The original aerial team performed for...?
 * Rainbow Dash: Celestia's cereal celebration.
 * Twilight Sparkle: The Wonderbolts were given their name by this famous Pegasus. Who is she? [to herself] Please don't say Colonel Waffle...
 * Rainbow Dash: Hello? General Blazing Donut Glaze! So, did I ace it or what?
 * Twilight Sparkle: Or what. You didn't get one answer correct.
 * Rainbow Dash: What? But- but how?
 * Twilight Sparkle: I don't know. I've never heard answers so wrong! And so breakfast-related!
 * Rainbow Dash: [stomach growls]


 * Rainbow Dash: I don't see why I have to take this lousy test anyway. I've proven I'm one of the best flyers around.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Knowing their origin and being able to properly represent them for all of Equestria is just as important.
 * Rainbow Dash: Yeah, right. Some history buff like you must have made that up to bring us flyers down.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Knowing history actually is beneficial, Rainbow.
 * Rainbow Dash: [blows raspberry] Beneficial for eggheads!
 * Fluttershy: Girls.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Well, this egghead knows history and can fly. Maybe I should become a Wonderbolt.
 * Rainbow Dash: Just 'cause you got wings, doesn't mean you can fly!
 * Fluttershy: Girls!
 * Rainbow Dash: You're barely able to just get off the ground!


 * Rainbow Dash: Stop, stop, stop! That was aw-
 * Pinkie Pie: Awesome! I give it three woohoo's! Woohoo, woohoo, woohoo, and an extra 'woo' for good measure! Woo!
 * Rainbow Dash: Well, I give it a whoa, whoa, what?


 * Rarity: Of course, there were fashion hits, and misses. Just look at those dreadful bell-bottoms. What were ponies thinking?
 * Pinkie Pie: I dunno. I bet General Flash rocked these things!


 * Rainbow Dash: Well, what special study trick do you have, AJ?
 * Applejack: Who, me? Oh, I got nothing.
 * Rainbow Dash: [sighs]
 * Applejack: Why, I could tell you every little thing there is to know about the history of apples, but I picked all that up over years in the field as a labor of love. How much time you got?
 * Rainbow Dash: Twelve hours.
 * Applejack: Oh, then you are up a creek.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Oh, I think we should just go back to old-fashioned studying.
 * Fluttershy: What about our play?
 * Rarity: Just look at these costumes! Surely something resonates with your inner Wonderbolt!
 * Applejack: And Granny Smith discovered the first granny smith in Fillydelphia, when she was just a filly!
 * [Pinkie Pie]
 * Commander Easyglider was the real cream of the crop-
 * Twilight Sparkle: Pinkie, stop rapping! That isn't gonna help Rainbow!
 * [Pinkie Pie]
 * Well, I suggest you put down your silly cards of flash,
 * For I know that they cannot help our good friend Rainbow Dash!


 * Rainbow Dash: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Thank you! Thank you all so much!
 * Twilight Sparkle: You're welcome, but it all came from you. You learned without knowing you're learning. Your main focus is flying, but then your brain is also absorbing lots of other information! It's actually really brilliant!
 * Rainbow Dash: Ha, I always knew I was brilliant!