That was certainly an episode.
The first act was easily one of the best acts that pony's ever done. It definitely goes back to an S1 kind of feel that I adored- two ponies bickering in a naturalistic conflict- and it's so on the mark. Every joke hits, and it had me chuckling more than any pony episode in a whole. It's such great character too, from both Rainbow Dash and Twilight. And the flying is absolutely incredible. Just very

Admittedly, I thought the second act faltered. Fluttershy coming into was absolutely awesome, and the play was funny, but after that...well, I cringed in the Pinkie rap, it just kind of washed over me in a "...wut"

kind of way that didn't engage me. Pinkie wasn't really obnoxious in the episode though otherwise, so that was OK.
The transition to Rarity was also a bit odd, and a lot less smooth than going into Fluttershy's play. I don't think the scene in the boutique worked well that well. The AJ bit was pretty funny, but got overplayed somewhat.
The third act definitely picked things back up, though. The flying scene and interactions between Twilight and Rainbow were awesome, once again. And I think I need to watch the full flight scene to really sink in; I was kind of thrown off by the awkward re-wind transitions that felt out of place, but I think it's a really satisfying conclusion to the story all-in-all.
And this is such great development for Alicorn Twilight. Learning how to teach others and not let her nerdy stubbornness get the best of her in doing so is an excellent way to develop her character in a new way to becoming a mentor.
All in all, a very good episode. I think it has it's issues in the second act, but it's peaks are pure pony goodness.
Last edited by Discord on Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.