- For the location, see Wonderbolt Academy (location).
| Wonderbolts Academy | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season №: | 3 |
| Season episode №: | 7 |
| Overall episode №: | 59 |
| Original airdate: | December 15, 2012 |
| Written by: | Merriwether Williams |
| Storyboard: | Tom Sales and Johnny Castuciano[1] |
| Featured characters: | Spitfire Lightning Dust |
| See also | |
| credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation | |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Sleepless in Ponyville |
Next Apple Family Reunion |
Wonderbolts Academy, called Wonderbolt Academy by some sources,[2] is the seventh episode of the third season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the fifty-ninth episode overall. In this episode, Rainbow Dash is accepted to the Wonderbolt Academy, but the stiff competition forces her to choose between standing out and respecting the other participants.
Production and release[]
A production image for the episode.
Show head writer Meghan McCarthy wrote on Twitter that the script for the episode "had a different final scene."[3] On December 26, 2012, she tweeted script screenshots of the original ending in two parts.[4][5] It depicted Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust switching roles: Rainbow as lead pony and Lightning as wing pony.
The episode was released on The Hub's website Hubworld.com a few days prior to its scheduled television premiere, and was released on the iTunes Store hours prior to the scheduled television premiere. Hubworld, iTunes, Zap2it, and AT&T U-verse all call the episode "Wonderbolt Academy", as crew member Meghan McCarthy sometimes has,[4] but the title in the episode reads "Wonderbolts Academy", which McCarthy has also sometimes used.[3]
The Dizzitron used in this episode is the show's first use of 3D cel-shaded graphics, as opposed to normal Flash animation. The second time this animation technique was used was in Spike at Your Service, with the smaller Timberwolves.[6]
Summary[]
The Wonderbolt Academy[]
The Mane Six enjoy a picnic beneath Rainbow Dash's cloud-house as they wait to receive a letter from the Wonderbolt Academy in the mail. The letter arrives, bearing the message that Rainbow has been accepted to the academy. Ecstatic at the news, Pinkie Pie hugs Rainbow and reminds her to write to them.
The Wonderbolt Academy.
Arriving at the Academy, Rainbow joins the rest of the new arrivals as Spitfire shows up to inspect them. She berates the group and casts doubt on their flying ability, leading one of the Pegasi named Lightning Dust to offer to demonstrate her skill. Spitfire orders the cohort to fly five hundred laps, and when Rainbow and Lightning Dust finish far sooner than the others, the two become acquainted and head off together to the mess hall.
Outside Sugarcube Corner in Ponyville, Applejack finds Pinkie Pie continually checking her mailbox for news from Rainbow and suggests they see what Twilight Sparkle is up to. Pinkie convinces herself that catastrophic consequences will result should she fail to receive Rainbow's letter right as it arrives, leading her to decline Applejack's offer and continue checking the mailbox.
Rainbow the wingpony[]
Meadow Flower on the Dizzitron.
At the Wonderbolt Academy, Spitfire gathers the cadets for a drill wherein they must recover as quickly as possible after getting disoriented and flung high into the air by a large machine called the Dizzitron. Rainbow Dash manages to set a record time of six seconds, though when Lightning Dust's turn arrives, she requests that the Dizzitron speed be set to maximum before achieving a time of six and a half seconds. Lightning Dust and Rainbow watch as the rest of the group fail to approach their times. At the end of the drill, Spitfire announces that cadets will be paired as lead ponies and wingponies for the rest of the camp, and that the list of pairings will be announced the following day.
Rainbow learns that she will work with Lightning Dust as wingpony, leading her to visit Spitfire's office to request the lead role in light of her record time on the Dizzitron. Spitfire denies her request, however, citing how Lightning Dust pushes herself harder. During the next two team exercises, Lightning Dust leads Rainbow into high speed maneuvers that grant them advantages while creating safety risks for themselves and their colleagues. Rainbow expresses concern about this to her teammate, but between Spitfire's approval and Lightning Dust's insistence, Rainbow decides to continue following orders.
In Ponyville, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle look on as a disheveled Pinkie Pie continues checking her mailbox for news from Rainbow. Twilight suggests that Pinkie write her a letter instead, which prompts Pinkie to think of mailing a care package before convincing herself that it would get lost in delivery and cause a roundabout end to their friendship. When she decides to send the package to Rainbow in person, the other ponies agree to join.
The tornado[]
Rainbow Dash in shock as her friends got sucked into the tornado.
At the Academy, the cadet teams compete to clear the most clouds from the sky. When Lightning Dust proposes creating a tornado to help them win, Rainbow agrees, recalling Spitfire's remark about the lead pony pushing herself. The pair quickly lose control of the twister, and as it careens across the arena, the rest of the Mane Six appear in the Twinkling Balloon directly in its path. The ponies are flung from the balloon and begin plummeting toward the ground, though Rainbow manages to fashion a cloud into a trampoline that launches them back up safely to the Academy runway.
Fed up with the unsafe methods, Rainbow angrily confronts Lightning Dust, who responds by citing the Wonderbolts' tacit approval when she was made team leader. Rainbow approaches Spitfire in her office and mentions the balloon incident, but when her superior only calls the tornado an "effective tactic", Rainbow quits in protest.
Rainbow Dash being saluted.
Rainbow returns to the runway and informs her friends of her resignation, though moments later, Spitfire approaches the group and admits error in her earlier assessment. She acknowledges that being the best should never come at the expense of others, and that "pushing yourself" only serves if it's done in the right direct. Spitfire dismisses Lightning Dust from the Academy and transfers the lead pony position to Rainbow, who flies up to find the other cadets gathered around her in proud salute.
Quotes[]
- For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.
- Rainbow Dash: I'm not nervous at all. When I get into the Wonderbolt Academy...
- Pinkie Pie: If you get in! If you get in! Don't jinx it!
- Rainbow Dash: I'm telling you, it's in the bag.
- Pinkie Pie: Don't jinx it!
- Pinkie Pie: DON'T FORGET TO WRITE! Do you think she heard me?
- Rainbow Dash: I think I should be lead pony, ma'am.
- Spitfire: And I think Lightning Dust likes to push herself a little harder than you do. That's why I made her lead pony. Got it?
- Rainbow Dash: Yes, ma'am.
- Pinkie Pie: What if the package gets lost in the mail? What if somepony else gets the package by accident and then she remembers us instead of Rainbow Dash and then she becomes our new friend and then the real Rainbow Dash won't ever know that she used to have friends and she forgot them!
- Applejack: Is anypony else followin' this?
- Lightning Dust: That... was... awesome!
- Rainbow Dash: Awesome? My friends could have been smashed to pieces!
- Lightning Dust: Yeah, but they weren't, right?
- Rainbow Dash: Pinkie Pie!
- Pinkie Pie: You... remember me!
- Spitfire: You're no wingpony, Rainbow Dash. You're a leader.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ UPDATE and Episode Credits (2012-12-15). Retrieved on 2012 December 15.
- ↑ My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - Full episodes and TV listings. Zap2it. Retrieved on 2024 August 27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Meghan McCarthy on Twitter (2012-12-13). Retrieved on 2012 December 14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Part one of the original ending (2012-12-26). Retrieved on 2012 December 26. Archived locally.
- ↑ Part two of the original ending (2012-12-26). Retrieved on 2012 December 26. Archived locally.
- ↑ http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?s=1da55af26641c7371279e914f6f5afd3&showtopic=91229&st=20&p=2215230&#entry2215230 Archived locally.
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