S06E24: Top Bolt

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Re: S06E24: Top Bolt

Postby Rainbow Crash (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 4:32 pm

Really good map episode. Rainbow Dash and Twilight is giving RD/Fluttershy a good run for best pony combination for an episode
Image I'd never flown like that before! The freedom was unlike anything I'd ever felt! The speed, the adrenaline, the wind in my mane! I liked it... a lot.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 4:47 pm

Aramek wrote:What is it about Pegasus episodes that are so god damned cute?! :psygum: Because this is SOOOOO CUTE!

They don't have to use all their limbs just for standing, so they have a wider range of body expressions than earth ponies and unicorns.

...or maybe it's their hair.

With as close as Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger are, I wonder if they happened to be of the same gender at any point in this episode's production, but were made a mare and a stallion because someone might've been concerned that they came off as being gay or something like that. I mean, if Sky Stinger suddenly had to be recast with a male voice, that might explain why he was played by one of the storyboard artists instead of an actor.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 4:49 pm

I don't know if there's much to say about this one, but Lewis & Songco continue to provide solid episodes with good pacing. I'm glad they're still writing for the show.
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Postby DerFurShur (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:01 pm

Scuderia Ferrarity wrote:

Yeah, but she loves it, so it all evens out in the end. Image

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"Why does life have to be so IRONIC?" :milkshake:
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Postby DerFurShur (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:04 pm

Vapor Trails was cute though so episode was nice to watch.
"Why does life have to be so IRONIC?" :milkshake:
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Postby RudeCyrus (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:07 pm

Cute episode, lots of great faces.
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Postby Aramek (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:14 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:They don't have to use all their limbs just for standing, so they have a wider range of body expressions than earth ponies and unicorns.

...or maybe it's their hair.

With as close as Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger are, I wonder if they happened to be of the same gender at any point in this episode's production, but were made a mare and a stallion because someone might've been concerned that they came off as being gay or something like that. I mean, if Sky Stinger suddenly had to be recast with a male voice, that might explain why he was played by one of the storyboard artists instead of an actor.

She was crushing on him something fierce.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 5:15 pm

Aramek wrote:She was crushing on him something fierce.

Nah man she just wanted a close friend to get away from family all the time, no shipping
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 6:27 pm

That was a fun episode. I thought Twilight and Dash played each-other off well.

Something I noticed. Near the beginning, Spitfire said that, one time, a Pony flew up so high their wings fell off. On the surface, that could just be a "noodle incident" thing, but I just remembered that Rarity's butterfly wings burnt off all the way back in season 1. I wonder if Spitfire was referencing that.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 6:32 pm

I'd heard that line as "flew so much," akin to the expression of working so much that you feel like your arms are going to fall off. Even in this magical cartoon horse world I don't think that's a thing that literally happens.
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 6:53 pm

One of the top 3 season 6 episodes for me. Vapor is just too adorable, and Twilight, Dash, and Spitfire were all 100% top form.
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Postby Angel Beat (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 7:05 pm

My, such a cute episode. :3:
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Postby Octavia (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 7:15 pm

This was definitely top 5 of my favorite episodes this season :awesomedash: :excite:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:31 pm

Wayoshi wrote:Nah man she just wanted a close friend to get away from family all the time, no shipping


No way. That was a big crush she had on him.
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:42 pm

I assume "Goose" will be an actual goose.

• I love that the ponies are still not too old for sleepovers. :3:
• It shouldn't be weird to see Spitfire walking around naked, but for some reason it kind of is?
• Ha, I correctly predicted a joke! For the first time in six years! :allright:
• I like all of the recruit designs. :good:
• I suppose if there were anyplace ponies would be gushing about Rainbow Dash and ignoring the princess standing next to her, it's here.
• Okay, there's Twi getting some minor props.
• This is still the only setting where someone can say "Official friendship business" and everyone knows what that means.
• Twilight gets to be a teacher! :excite:
• This classroom tag-teaming could be the entire plot and I'd be fine with that.
• Ha, Dash's official picture. :awkward:
• "I have this 'friend' who has a confidence problem."
• So much of Spitfire's character makes sense with the reveal that she just has fun being a hardass. It's a simple but great character beat.
• COMMERCIAL: I don't think you can cook a giant pizza with solar panels. :skeptical:
• Stratusburg must have low standards, that sneeze was merely so-so.
• Sky Stinger is obnoxious, but he legitimately cares for Vapor and that makes him okay. :good:
• "Aw, sugarcubes!" :3:
• We just met two pegasus' families and neither was named Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo. I'm pretty sure the show is just tweaking our noses now.
:-/ "Ugh, I guess we'll go with Dash's idea."
• "That's the first nice thing I've heard you say about yourself." :flutterunsmith:
• Ha, great Twi and Dash faces.
• Helping is harmful and this is why Yellowstar is history's greatest monster.
• I feel like Fluttershy would have diagnosed the problem right away, but Twilight and Dash are still best suited for solving it.
• Aw, it's nice to see the 'cruits helping each other.
• How do we know Vapor Trail got good? Because she has her very own trail now! :fluttercite:
• :glomp:
• THERE'S the Top Gun reference. :good:
• So is "Wonderbolt emergency" a random gag, or a lead-in to the finale? TIME WILL TELL I GUESS. :pinkieshrug:


THOUGHTS THUNK: I liked it a bunch and it's far and away my favorite Wonderbolts episode! The characters were cool and there was an interesting friendship problem with no "bad guy" and a sensible dramatic solution. And it's easy to see why Dash and Twilight were chosen. Between this and Las Pegasus, I daresay the show is finally figuring out how to do map episodes!

Also, it seems like there's some similarity between the codependence of Vapor and Scraper (it rhymes!) Stinger and that of Starlight and Sunburst when they were kids. I don't know if there's anything to make of that.
Last edited by Mechanical Ape on Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Swift (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:44 pm

I loved this episode! :awesomedash: :excite:


Of course I'm biased since Dash and Twi are my favorites, and I really enjoy their dynamic (Testing 1, 2, 3 is one of my favorite episodes as well). Also a big fan of pegasi and flying and all that, sooo yeah this was a fun episode for me.

This is probably my favorite of the season, except possibly for Saddle Row Review.

I liked the new characters and their designs, the conflict was handled pretty well and the lesson was nice. Some nice continuity nods too with re-using the Dizzitron from Wonderbolts Academy, and Spitfire still using "Crash".

But T. Sparx and the Dashinator's personalities bouncing off each other is easily the best part. :lol:

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Best pones :3:
Last edited by Swift on Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby RudeCyrus (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:49 pm

artists, please decide which side of the head Twilight's stripe is on, thx
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:00 pm

DerFurShur wrote:Vapor Trails was cute though so episode was nice to watch.

She was literally the wind beneath his wings, and incidentally this episode helps demonstrate why that song is so toxic and creepy. :ngh:
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Postby Swift (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:01 pm

rudecyrus wrote:artists, please decide which side of the head Twilight's stripe is on, thx


And which side of her neck her mane falls down on, and where the split in her bangs is :v:

The relationship between ponies' designs and 3D space is strange in general.

Much like Goku's hair
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:23 pm

The Doctor wrote:
No way. That was a big crush she had on him.


Vapor Trail: [narrating] ...Sky grew up with a lot of siblings. It was tough. He was always trying to get his parents' attention. Meanwhile, I was an only child who hated all the attention I got from mine.
...
Vapor Trail: [narrating] Flying together gave us both what we wanted! But I never told Sky how much I was helping him. It started with a small boost here or a little gust of wind there, but I didn't think my help could actually hurt his chances.

Fans will see shipping everywhere but this is strictly platonic IMO :-P
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Postby DerFurShur (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:56 pm

Ships have sailed on less.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:57 pm

:excite: All right, class, time for the test!

Image Sparkle...how many tests are there?

Image Well, there's the pop quiz, then the pre-test. then the pre pre test, then the final exam...

Image When are they going to have time to fly?

:twiright: When I see all A's.
:speakest: The fun has been doubled!
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 10:07 pm

Mechanical Ape wrote:• Stratusburg must have low standards, that sneeze was merely so-so.

Now I'm thinking back to when Photo Finish praised Fluttershy's sneezing way back in Green Isn't Your Color.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 10:17 pm

That was indeed fun and cute. Enjoyed Vapor as a new character (lovely character design, too), but Spitfire won the episode. What a pony, she is.
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Sat Oct 15, 2016 11:23 pm

So glad to see so many in agreeance this week. Definitely one of the best episodes of the Season IMO, with great dialogue and character interactions and really solid storytelling. Dash and Twilight make a great team, and I was so relieved when they avoided doing the "two friends fight over which approach to take" thing, and instead had them both acting calmly and rationally about it.
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Postby Soft Snow (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 12:00 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:With as close as Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger are, I wonder if they happened to be of the same gender at any point in this episode's production, but were made a mare and a stallion because someone might've been concerned that they came off as being gay or something like that. I mean, if Sky Stinger suddenly had to be recast with a male voice, that might explain why he was played by one of the storyboard artists instead of an actor.

You take that back! Their love was to pure and innocent for this world and their unity will not be tarnished by speculation of other possible pairings! Eaahhhh!~ *adorable Vapor tackle of shipping protection*
:twonk:

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Eh, I could see that happening. But my opinion it is fine the way it is.
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Postby Aramek (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 12:17 am

The Doctor wrote:
No way. That was a big crush she had on him.

Yeah. Like, it started out as "I want attention off me" but, now? Those ponies are adults. She doesn't have the constant parent glare/he isn't begging for attention over his siblings, she does it because she likes him.
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Postby Highbrow Dash (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:12 am

I'm not normally a shipper but I can't argue with that.

Anyway, this episode was super cute :allears: It's probably in my top 3 for this season. This is how you do a map episode right, with cute slice of life, nice jokes and top tier :ponydrugs:
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:49 am

Appreciated "T-Sparks" acknowledged in-show, and the "You can be my wingpony anytime" Top Gun quote.

I felt like the story was a bit... I don't know, linear? Like, they figured out what the issue was pretty early on in the episode, then the rest of it was just them solving that issue by slowly working through the two's individual hangups. I was expecting there to be some other twist around the 2/3 mark that would have derailed Twi/Dash's plans and made them have to come up with something new. But there really wasn't anything.

That said, I'm in agreement that this was one of the most enjoyable Cloudsdale/Wonderbolts episodes, without the kind of grating uncomfortable hypercompetitive atmosphere that I think make Wonderbolts Academy and Newbie Dash (and especially Rainbow Falls) a little rough going. And I like that they're still coming up with interesting and fun things to do with the cloud physics; the bit where they sculpt each other's faces out of clouds was really cool, and made for a nice touching story beat when Vapor did her own face instead of Sky's. :allears: (Feels like there's some novelty there too—a commoner story would be in Vapor being selfish and learning to work for Sky's benefit instead of her own, but this story took the opposite tack, so it feels nice and fresh, almost like a Steven Universe kind of story.)
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 5:06 am

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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 5:26 am

Wow, that would have been cool :awesomedash:
:speakest: The fun has been doubled!
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 7:45 am

One aspect I really enjoyed about this episode was Rainbow Dash' desire to get back to Ponyville and stay there for a while, rather than remaining with the Wonderbolts.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash are almost invariantly the two ponies, who, due to their career paths, are shown to move from Ponyville in fan fiction, and seeing that notion addressed and repudiated (here with Rainbow Dash and elsewhere with Rarity) was satisfactory.

It was also fun considering Rainbow Dash' Wonderbolts obsession since S01E01 (I just checked—they are in her sixth line of dialogue) and the ancient curse of getting what you always wanted. Sometimes a pony just needs to relax. (Though, in her case, I suppose chillaxing is canon).
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 11:35 am

Mechanical Ape wrote:• Helping is harmful and this is why Yellowstar is history's greatest monster.



I blame it all on Silver Crescent.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:16 pm

Niels Olof wrote:One aspect I really enjoyed about this episode was Rainbow Dash' desire to get back to Ponyville and stay there for a while, rather than remaining with the Wonderbolts.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash are almost invariantly the two ponies, who, due to their career paths, are shown to move from Ponyville in fan fiction, and seeing that notion addressed and repudiated (here with Rainbow Dash and elsewhere with Rarity) was satisfactory.

How do fanfics usually handle it? Some sort of big, weepy, melodramatic scene where Rainbow Dash moves back to Cloudsdale, with lots of utterances of "it's for the best"? I can see how that'd get old.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:31 pm

:wingsright: I wasn't a natural at friendship, but with some practice and some help from my friends, I got better, and now I'm the Princess of Friendship!
:v: You weren't a natural at flying, either!

Maybe this was something we noticed before, but Twilight and Dash have different butt alarm sound effects.

Rainbow Dash still has her bomber jacket.
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Wonderbolt HQ!
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Newbies.
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Cutie marks for our band of soon-to-be-rejected Wonderbolt hopefuls:
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CHARTS!
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Classrooms!
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Chalkboard!
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Yeah, I spent two hours on my hair this morning.
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Vapor Trail working her magic before RD notices what's up.
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Sky Stinger's family seems... pretty rough.
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Angel Wings.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:54 pm

SlateSlabrock wrote:Chalkboard!
Image

When I was rewatching the episode last night, it seemed to me like this is some of the clearest English text we've seen in quite a while, considering how the headline on the chalkboard says something about flight vectors.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Oct 17, 2016 12:39 am

SlateSlabrock wrote:CHARTS!
Image


Hahaha, Vitruvian Mare. :gotcha:

Also that one newbie is kind of a female pegasus riff on the Snails model.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Oct 17, 2016 1:56 am

Images like that are getting funnier and funnier as the art style for non-character assets gets more detailed. Like, ponies never have as the picture that Twilight's holding, so it's funny to instantly compare those to the cartoon horses we know so well.
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Mon Oct 17, 2016 2:11 am

Let's not forget how scandalous that picture is.

UNSHORN FETLOCKS.
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Postby Soft Snow (?) » Mon Oct 17, 2016 3:15 am

I like how natural and in sync Vapor and Sky's relationship was. Like it actually felt like a genuine life long childhood friendship. They would make a cute couple and I would hope that wouldn't ruin their friendship.
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