Tag Archives: rainbow dash

Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 74: Top Bolt

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< Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 >

Season 6, Episode 24

I feel bad that I’ve missed so many weeks when going through season 6! Though my love of this show is as strong as ever, my motivation for writing these posts has decreased over the past few months. That’s how it always is with my ambitious projects: motivation comes and goes in waves, leading to months at a time of hiatus. Once I am done with season 6, I’ll take a break during which I’ll scratch an itch to start a brand new blog post series—I’ll announce what it is later today. (It wouldn’t be quite as long as my Homestuck or MLP post series, but longer than my Regular Show post series.)

Season 6 Episode 24: Top Bolt

In five words: Bookworms discover well-intentioned lies.

Premise: The Cutie Map sends Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash—the Mane 6’s bookworms—to the Wonderbolts’ flight camp, where they encounter two childhood friends in training who have unknowingly been holding each other’s flight skills back by secretly giving boosts.

Detailed run-through:

Going by the position of Rainbow Dash’s shadow, it looks like her locker is fifth from the right, on the bottom row.
This will be important later.

The start of this episode is a clever bait-and-switch. As she prepares to go back home, Rainbow Dash banters with her fellow Wonderbolts. Spitfire grumbles that she has to run trials week, then admits she loves putting on her aggressive act. This seems like it’ll just be a quick reminder that Rainbow Dash has fully established herself as a member of the group, making viewers think the rest of the episode will take place somewhere unrelated.

Indeed, when her cutie mark starts glowing, she flies right to Twilight’s castle and excitedly asks where the map will take her. It turns out she needs to go back to Cloudsdale, much to her annoyance. Twilight Sparkle could have easily gone there earlier to find Rainbow Dash, but instead she waited for her friend to show up and waste time flying. Maybe this was a deliberate prank on Twilight’s part? Maybe she has a skeevy, trickstery side that she normally hides? Or maybe Twilight was a bad friend and forgot where Rainbow Dash was over the past few days.

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 72: Viva Las Pegasus + Every Little Thing She Does

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Season 6, Episodes 20-21

We’re almost done with season 6! My plan is to split the last five episodes into three posts: episodes 22-23, 24, and 25-26 (the finale). If I release the next three posts every week, I’ll be finished with season 6 on May 5.

Season 6 Episode 20: Viva Las Pegasus

In five words: Selfish hotel owner gets overthrown.

Premise: The Cutie Map sends another odd pair (Applejack and Fluttershy) to another odd place (Las Pegasus) to deal with another pesky two-faced celebrity (Gladmane).

Detailed run-through:

Before I begin, I’d like to say that this episode has me at an awkward position. I’m so close to an episode that I am extremely excited to analyze, in no small part because it’s a Starlight Glimmer episode, but I first have to pick apart an episode that I feel neutral about analyzing. That’s why I procrastinated on starting this post for about a week.

If the Cutie Map sent her to Appleoosa, I could already hear Applejack’s delighted “hoo-wee!”

The cold opening of this episode is short and effective, only 48 seconds long, since we know the map episode formula. Applejack and Fluttershy both aren’t very thrilled to enter the noisy party town of Las Pegasus. I find it amusing that Applejack has the worst luck when it comes to cutie map missions: seasons 5 and 6 both sent her to a big city that she’d rather not be in. It’s the exact opposite of Rarity’s level of luck—she got sent to both the cities she adores the most.

The efficient storytelling is continued through what TV Tropes calls a Gilligan cut. Applejack says that Las Pegasus probably isn’t as bad as they think; take a wild guess what happens next.

You guessed it! It’s even worse!

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 71: Buckball Season + The Fault in Our Cutie Marks

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Season 6, Episodes 18-19

It’s a little annoying that I’ve generally had more to say about odd-numbered episodes of season 6 than even-numbered episodes, because it makes it hard to decide which episodes to give their own posts and which to pair up. We’ve been on a streak of relatively short reviews since The Cart Before the Ponies, and I think I’ll give Top Bolt (S6E24) a post of its own and pair up the rest.

Season 6 Episode 18: Buckball Season

In five words: Pinkie and Fluttershy play sports.

Premise: Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are interested in playing a sport called buckball against Appleoosa, but when Applejack and Rainbow Dash try to coach them, they become pushy and ruin the fun.

Detailed run-through:

Every time Rainbow Dash says “buck”, I have to remind myself that she’s not swearing.

This episode starts with a throwback in tone to the cartoony slice of life scenes that are everywhere in season 1. We get a dramatized portrayal of Applejack about to buck an apple onto a target, but then Rainbow Dash interrupts her and they have a comically serious discussion about the upcoming buckball match against Appleoosa. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are the most well-established pairing of Mane 6 members, and this episode will explore their dynamic with new characters in the mix. Rainbow Dash acts as her classic doofy self when she sternly agrees that Appleoosa could never beat Ponyville at buckball, then asks what buckball is.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, is deliberately emphasizing the B in “buckball”.
She doesn’t want to repeat the incident where she cussed about her brother in front of a foal.

Fluttershy: Wow, Rainbow Dash. You sure seem to know a lot about this game. I’ve never even heard of… buckball.
Rainbow Dash: Yeah, I’m kind of an expert.
Applejack: An expert who hadn’t heard of the game either until I told you.
Rainbow Dash: Well, it’s a new game. I probably know more than most ponies, so that makes me an expert.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s banter is hilarious and endearing, and it truly brings me back to season 1. It’s not exactly outright shippy… but the fact that I had to say it’s not exactly outright shippy shows that it can totally be interpreted as shippy. I also love how serious Applejack gets that Braeburn challenges her to a match. This is Applejack at her finest: getting stone cold serious about silly family traditions that don’t mean much.

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 69: The Cart Before the Ponies + 28 Pranks Later

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Season 6, Episodes 14-15

Warning: this post contains the most negative review of any episode I have written thus far. The second review, not the first one.

Season 6 Episode 14: The Cart Before the Ponies

In five words: Crusaders’ sisters ruin the fun.

Premise: The Cutie Mark Crusaders participate in a derby competition where they have to build their own carts. They each get help from their big sisters, who all take over the project and make it theirs.

Detailed run-through:

After all the adult fan-oriented humor of the last episode, it’s quite the whiplash to hear a bunch of foals say “good morning, Miss Cheerilee!” Unlike in the Crusaders’ episodes of season 1, which featured tons of generic background fillies, all but one of the foals in the class is a named character, and the unnamed one is a colt with a clearly distinct design.

The class is very confused when Cheerilee tells them they’re going to learn advanced physics. Then when she says it’s going to be for this year’s Applewood Derby, they all cheer in excitement. I bet Cheerilee wrote a whole bunch of advanced math formulas on the chalkboard just as a prank to the class, so she could see their relieved and delighted faces when they learn about the derby.

I’m further convinced the math formulas were a joke when Cheerilee puts a much simpler blueprint over the chalkboard. Each of the foals in her class will be provided a block of apple wood that they have to make a cart out of in one day, and they can each choose an older pony to help them—the Crusaders all know who they’ll pick. There are three different awards for the race: fastest, most traditional, and most creative. It seems obvious which of the Crusaders would want to win each prize… right?

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 68: Stranger Than Fan Fiction

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Season 6, Episode 13

We’re halfway through season 6 now! My output has been a little slow lately, but I still want to release weekly posts whenever possible as I go through the rest of the season. After the season, I’ll probably take another break. I’ve reviewed each season more intensely on average than the last, and I’ll need to collect myself before I go through the densely packed episodes of season 7.

Season 6 Episode 13: Stranger Than Fan Fiction

… or as I like to call it, The Body Pillow Episode.

In five words: “This one’s for you, bronies.”

Premise: Read the title of the episode. What do you think it’s about? … okay, fine. At a Daring Do fan convention, Rainbow Dash meets a fellow fan named Quibble Pants who turns out to have very different opinions on the book series. Both of them get wrapped up in a real-life Daring Do adventure, Rainbow Dash excited and Quibble Pants skeptical.

Detailed run-through:

It’s no secret that the later you get into this show, the more the episodes are designed around its adult fans. While some episodes of season 6 at least try to act like they’re teaching simple friendship lessons to little kids, the title of this episode embraces that it’s designed for bronies. The name practically screams, “this one’s for you, bronies”—both in paying homage to them and teaching a lesson on how to respectfully interact with each other. You and I already know this review is going to be huge, so why not embrace that and pick apart this episode as thoroughly as I can?

This episode starts with what looks like another wild adventure from a Daring Do book, indicated by the movie-like coloring…

We never see the friendship summit in Griffonstone, but we do get to see more griffons six episodes from now.

… except it turns out to be Rainbow Dash’s fanfiction.

Rainbow Dash: Well, don’t stop there! You read, I pack. That’s the deal.

There’s so much to unpack in this exchange, I’ll start by analyzing it line by line. First off, I can relate to Rainbow Dash’s impatient excitement to show her friends her fanworks based on media they both like. The thing you have to understand about Rainbow Dash is that she’s a HUGE nerd, rivaling Twilight Sparkle as the biggest egghead of the Mane 6. They’re just different types of nerds—Twilight is the straight A student type, while Rainbow Dash is the smart but lazy C student type. Both are the resident bookworms of the main cast, giving them a special dynamic.

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 66: Applejack’s “Day” Off + Flutter Brutter

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Season 6, Episodes 10-11

Season 6 Episode 10: Applejack’s “Day” Off

In five words: Applejack suffers effects of inefficiency.

Premise: Rarity wants Applejack to spend time with her at the spa, but Applejack has a busy and, as we soon find out, incredibly inefficient work schedule that needs some rethinking.

Detailed run-through:

Before we begin, I’d like to say that this episode should have just been called Applejack’s Day Off. I get that the quotation marks show she’s not taking a whole day off, but they make the title clunky and annoying to type. Plus, what do you do when you put the title in quotation marks? Do you do “Applejack’s ‘Day’ Off” or “Applejack’s “Day” Off”? Both look awkward, honestly.

I love that cursive R on Rarity’s robe.

How did Rarity’s HORN get wrinkled???

This episode starts off with Rarity at the spa—it’s unusually steamy, take note of that later—waiting for Applejack to join her. And right after Applejack joins, the spa closes, and we see that Rarity was waiting here the whole time against the spa pony’s warning. Such are the lengths Rarity will take for her friends.

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 65: The Saddle Row Review

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Season 6, Episode 9

This episode was originally going to share a post with Applejack’s “Day” Off, but the review turned out long enough that I changed my mind. I’ll do more paired-up posts until I reach an even-numbered episode that’s worth giving its own post—my current candidate is The Times They Are a Changeling.

Season 6 Episode 9: The Saddle Row Review

In five words: Mockumentary tells boutique’s clumsy beginnings.

Premise: Rarity has finally opened her boutique in Manehattan, called Rarity for You, and it gets off to an incredibly bumpy start because her friends all are too concerned with the question: “What would Rarity want?”

Detailed run-through (aka The Saddle Row Review Review):

“The Saddle Row Review Review” is a joke I came up with before I even started this post series.

This episode starts with five of the Mane 6 running in panic, hoping they can stop Rarity from reading the review of her new boutique. Given the highly anachronic order this episode is told in, this is quite amusing. Even after successfully setting up Rarity’s boutique and admitting they screwed things up along the way, they still feel a desire to maintain a perfect image to her friend. Normally, Rarity is the one obsessed with keeping a perfect image, but this time, the rest of her friends take this role while Rarity happily embraces her friends’ quirks.

Rarity looks angered when her friends arrive, but it turns out she was merely exhausted from waiting. Then she squeals in adorable excitement because she wanted them to read the review together.

Rainbow Dash: Um… I have an idea. How about we don’t read it?
Twilight Sparkle: What she means is, before you read it, we should probably tell you about—
Rarity: No, no, darling. Please, no spoilers.

I’ve previously talked about a pattern in Rarity episodes where the rest of her friends are clumsy but well-meaning, always trying a little too hard to make Rarity satisfied. Though I consider it a Rarity episode, this episode plays with the pattern by focusing on the rest of the Mane 6 and what they think of Rarity, rather than on Rarity herself. This episode is all about playing with patterns and unusual storytelling styles, and I enjoy it very much.

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 64: Newbie Dash + A Hearth’s Warming Tail

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Season 6, Episodes 7-8

Season 6 Episode 7: Newbie Dash

In five words: Nickname ruins Rainbow Dash’s dreams.

Premise: Rainbow Dash has finally gotten into the Wonderbolts, but at the cost of regaining her old embarrassing nickname: Rainbow Crash. She is not happy about it.

Detailed run-through:

This episode starts with Rainbow Dash flying over Ponyville, with everyone’s favorite middle-finger-shaped castle in the background. The shape of the castle is clearly meant to indicate how Rainbow Dash will feel when she gets her new nickname, making this one of the cleverest pieces of obviously completely intentional foreshadowing the show has yet done.

Rainbow Dash has a little chat with Scootaloo about her supposedly small role in the Wonderbolts’ next performance, but then three of the Wonderbolts come in so that Spitfire can drop the news: Rainbow Dash isn’t just a reserve, but now will be flying with the Wonderbolts full-time. Scootaloo’s reaction is how Rainbow Dash would have reacted to this news back in season 1, while Rainbow Dash has the face of someone who was just told that something they have waited years for has finally happened.

Then Rainbow Dash’s face turns into that of someone who has processed that something they have waited years for has finally happened. Surely nothing will go drastically wrong on her first day, right?

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 51: Rarity Investigates!

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< Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 >

Season 5, Episode 15

Season 5 Episode 15: Rarity Investigates!

In five words: Mystery reveals celebrity’s nasty truth.

Premise: At a Wonderbolts event, Rainbow Dash is accused of tricking Spitfire into not attending so that she can fly in it instead. Putting on a charming film noir shtick, Rarity gets to the bottom of this mystery.

Detailed run-through:

In the last review, I forgot to mention Sassy Saddles’ fun little shtick of using two fashion terms at a time as interjections.

This episode begins at the same boutique Rarity had set up in the last episode, which is a bit unusual—perhaps a result of the broadcast order being different from production order?

Rarity: Oh, Sassy Saddles, don’t you just love my new Femme Mystique Chic line of gowns?
Sassy Saddles: (gasps) Sequins and sashes, Rarity, they’re exquisite. Where in Equestria did you find the inspiration?
Rarity: Oh, I modeled them after the adventures of Shadow Spade. Her stories are always full of mystery and suspense, and best of all… Fabulous costumes!

I find it admirable that Rarity owns up to what her real favorite thing about these mystery novels is. A lot of fans of this show struggle to admit what they like most about it and throw together complicated reasons to make themselves seem more cultured. While there are certainly tons of subtle things I like about this show, the main draw factors are the good sense of humor and the cute character designs. Simple as that.

Rarity makes a few adjustments to the dresses while talking about Shadow Spade’s attention to detail, then Rainbow Dash ruins the moment with a hasty entrance. While the Mane 6 are a tight-knit group of friends, not all two-way relationships between them are equal. Season 5 has quite a few episodes that pair up Mane 6 members who hadn’t shown up together much, and this scene establishes that we’re going to explore the dynamic between Rarity and Rainbow Dash. There are a total of fifteen pairings between Mane 6 members, which jumps to 21 if you add Spike, making for a succulent variety of untapped character relationships—untapped for now, at least.

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 46: Make New Friends but Keep Discord + The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

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< Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 >

Season 5, Episodes 7-8

Make New Friends but Keep Discord is another season 5 review that turned out much longer than I expected! It ended up being my second longest episode review so far, surpassed only by Magical Mystery Cure but surely soon to be beaten by Slice of Life. On the other hand, my review of The Lost Treasure of Grifffonstone is short enough that I felt comfortable having both episodes share a post.

Season 5 Episode 7: Make New Friends but Keep Discord

In five words: Jealousy leads to attempted banishment.

Premise: When Fluttershy invites a new friend of hers named Tree Hugger to the Grand Galloping Gala, Discord gets jealous and brings a dangerous creature of his own.

Ultra-detailed run-through:

This review is going to be another hefty one. Just letting you know.

This episode starts on a very peaceful note, with Fluttershy and Discord in the middle of trading humorous stories while having tea together. While they became friends two seasons ago, this is the first episode since then where their friendship is the primary focus. This opening scene cements that their friendship has settled down, and we get about 20 seconds of cutesy fun times until the episode’s conflict is revealed.

Fluttershy: Oh, I do love our Tuesday teas. And I can’t wait for you to meet my friend Tree Hugger! She’s going to love you too.
Discord: Tree… Hugger? (laughs)

Discord looks shocked for a moment when Fluttershy brings up Tree Hugger, but he laughs it off when his brain chooses to assume it’s a joke. But given what Tree Hugger turns out to be like, Fluttershy has reason to believe she and Discord would get along well. Not everyone enjoys Discord’s wild antics and sense of humor, but Tree Hugger is spectacularly unfazed by freaky shenanigans. Though Fluttershy doesn’t mean any harm to Discord with this new friend, his simplistic understanding of friendship leads to immense jealousy.

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