Wheel of Morality turn, turn, turn. Tell us the lesson that we should learn…

…

And it’s moral #12, “Fall Weather Friends.”

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TECHNICAL SPECS:

Season: 1
Episode: 13
Written By: Amy Keating Rogers
First Aired: January 28, 2011

SUMMARY:

Rainbow Dash and Applejack are enjoying a friendly game of horseshoes – that is, a friendly game with plenty of snark and trash talk – but things quickly go south when AJ has the audacity to win a game she had already won thanks to a continuity error. AJ tries to say that it’s all in good fun, but Dash is so incensed at losing that she challenges the cowgirl to an Iron Pony Competition. Twilight is brought along as the judge, Spike becomes the announcer, and by the time the competition’s halfway through, the whole town is there.

At first, the games are friendly, with neither pony having a clear advantage. But then Dash remembers she has wings, and the events quickly prove to give those with feathered appendages a huge advantage. By the end, Dash has utterly crushed Applejack, and is celebrating her victory…when AJ, who has completely lost the spirit of competition herself, accuses her of cheating by using her wings. This leads to a second challenge: the two must compete in the Running of the Leaves (the event that causes the leaves of Equestria to fall), and Dash cannot use her wings.

On the day of the race, AJ ties Rainbow Dash’s wings behind her back to make sure she doesn’t fly off. To both ponies’ amazement, Twilight also enters the race, despite being a bookworm with no athletic experience. Spike, meanwhile, joins Pinkie on the balloon to serve as her co-announcer, aka the only announcer actually commenting on the action. And finally, the race is off.

At first, AJ and Dash are clearly in the lead, but one trip-up is all it takes for them to think the other cheated. This leads to the two actively and blatantly pulling off every scheme possible to cheat their way to the finish line, while Twilight just lags along in the back enjoying the scenery. By the end, the two have completely forgotten about the race and are just out to get revenge on each other. A mistimed bite from Applejack breaks the bonds that hold Dash’s wings down, and she’s ready to break the rules and fly, but AJ intercepts her in midair, and the two tumble past the finish line in a big ball of violence. And they tie…for last.

Twilight (who won fifth place by pacing herself) tells them that their horsing around was enough to help her do as well as she did, and the two learn not to let the spirit of competition get in the way of friendship. Princess Celestia also arrives, having come to enjoy the fall weather, and reminds them that thanks to their cheating, many of the trees still have their leaves. Rainbow Dash and Applejack give each other a look, wink, and finally go off on a friendly run that will be misconstrued by the fandom for dozens of shipfics to come.

REVIEW:

This is one of my favorite episodes of the first season, in spite of itself. I know that’s an odd bit of praise, but just hear me out.

The opening scene does a great job of setting up the central conflict of the episode. Applejack and Rainbow Dash engage in some of the usual banter that goes on with friendly sport competition, but each one has their own style of snark. AJ is the kind that praises you before suddenly turning it around and making the compliment an insult, while Dash is a lot more direct and biting with her dissing. Unfortunately, their horseshoe game ends with a rather distracting animation error. Just watch and see if you can find it:

When I said that this episode succeeded in spite of itself, this was one of the things I meant. The animation this whole episode is kind of sloppy. Mind you, that’s by far the worst one, but it’s still kind of a letdown. Nonetheless, the end of the scene also builds on Dash’s character; she hates to lose. “Cutie Mark Chronicles” further backs this up with her flashback, and we’ll get to how “Sonic Rainboom” builds on that point when we review that episode.

The Iron Pony Competition (at least before the wings become an issue) is pretty amusing in just how many different events they managed to tie together. Spike as the announcer was also cute; he just takes his role way too seriously. And besides the events, I love how more and more ponies gradually show up; it starts with just the Mane 6, but by the end the entirety of Ponyville seems to have come out for the event.

The barrel weaving event is interesting in how it sets up the initial feelings between the two. After Applejack has an impressive run (which is made less impressive thanks to a penalty), she seems to be afraid of failing to match AJ’s time. (Damn you, RNG! When will you let me talk about “Sonic Rainboom?!”) But Applejack still gives her a short pep talk to just give it her all, and Dash wins. (Although only because of the penalty; otherwise, she would have lost by one second.) This is rather important, since by the end of the episode, they’ll be out for each other’s blood. We have to see what high point they’re falling from in order to get the full impact.

The rest of the competitions are entertaining little vignettes. The bucking strength event is obviously slanted towards Applejack, and I loved the apples sounding out “Shave and a Haircut” as they landed on Dash’s head. Spike getting bucked around was a basic bit of slapstick humor, but it worked. The ball bouncing scene in an obvious one for Dash, seeing as she almost set a record in “Dragonshy,” and her getting flattened by the hay bale was a lovably cartoonish bit. I also love Fluttershy as the scorekeeper here, from her catching a rose in her mouth to accidentally using a football to place one of the score markers. But my favorite moment is this charmingly filthy epic fail:

Alas, all this cannot last forever, and halfway through the competition, Rainbow Dash starts using her wings to start winning. Now, this point has been debated time and again, but is Dash actually cheating? After all, her wings are a natural part of her body. Should those who are naturally talented not be allowed to participate because they make things unfair? It’s a touchy issue, except for one thing: people in the real world don’t have wings, or horns, or magic, or anything else like that for that matter. Personally, I wouldn’t say that Dash was actually cheating (since there wasn’t a rule in place to begin with), but she was obviously not keeping in line with the spirit of competition anymore. Applejack, meanwhile, was falling down the same trap, and by the end of the Iron Pony Competition, both ponies have devolved into obnoxious flankholes.

And thus we get to the Running of the Leaves. Of all the weather-management things the show has brought up, this one makes the least sense to me. So ponies have to run by every single tree and hope that they’re going fast enough to knock all the leaves off? Is it really that hard to just let them fall off? Or are they just glued to the branches and you have to pry them one at a time?

Naturally, our two starts start digging into each other almost immediately, showing that the blood feud hasn’t quite died down just yet. We also get more bondage for your clop fics, with Rainbow Dash’s wings being securely tied to her body. (That must hurt like the dickens.) This is also when we learn that Twilight’s also running, if only because she wants to experience a Ponyville tradition. (She even has the answer to life, the universe and everything as her number.) And then we get to the line the censors actually thought was too hardcore for the young’uns. Behold, the most horrendous name-calling in the history of television:

Apparently the crap they got for this was all because of the E/I rating, which pretty much blocked anything that could be used to make a good story like, you know, conflict between characters, actual danger, lessons that weren’t shoehorned in to satisfy some moral guardian who’s never even seen the show before, that kind of thing. It’s an honest miracle the first season was as good as it was.

There’s also a subplot with Spike and Pinkie Pie providing a running commentary on the race. This is mostly a straightforward routine, with Spike serving as the sane one in the conversation while Pinkie takes things literally and rambles on about fudge. Still, it’s one of the funniest parts of the episode, and it wouldn’t work as well without it.

As for the race itself, it’s sadly not as impressive visually as it should be. Granted, I love the fall colors, but at the same time I just wasn’t as wowed with it as I was with other sequences. One thing I did find interesting, though, was how the blatant cheating got started. Rainbow passed Applejack, who then trips over a rock. She thinks Dash tripped her, but when Twilight points out her mistake, she forgets about it and rushes off. But when Dash trips over a stump after AJ passes her, she still thinks she was tripped and smacks Applejack with a low-hanging branch soon after, which in turn kicks off the cowgirl’s own dishonesty.

And so we get the two cheating each other, all while gradually forgetting about the race to begin with. Applejack bucking down the beehive actually backfires, as it forces Dash to run faster to avoid being stung. (I also liked the Looney Tunes-esque question mark the bee swarm makes when Dash hides in the bushes.) This in turn gives Dash the chance to change up the road sign, sending Applejack running up a mountain path. Of course, Dash is too busy gloating to notice that she’s been passed up by the others until Twilight points it out, leading to two more clips to slow down your browser with:

Okay, “horse apples” is fine, but “egghead” isn’t? I don’t think it’s the kids that are getting dumber these days…

And after this we get to the REALLY blatant cheating. Applejack finally realizes something is up when she notices she’s at eye level with the announcer’s balloon, and rather than run back down, hitches a ride on the balloon back down. When Dash says that she said flying wasn’t allowed, AJ’s response is that she said no wings. Right after that, we have the maple syrup, and I have to admit that the way Dash gets out and gets ahead is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it ends with the two going Tasmanian Devil on a nearby cliff, which again sets both back. And after this, they are never shown passing any other ponies, which ties in perfectly with the ending.

And just as they reach the finish line, the two stop with the more subtle cheating methods and just resort to beating the crap out of each other. And when Applejack accidentally unties Dash’s wings, she immediately breaks her earlier boasts about being able to win without flying and takes off, thus forcing Applejack to pounce on her. And thus we get the two crossing the finish line together in a giant dust ball of punches and kicks. And so they tie…for last place. Which they would have gotten anyway, considering all the cheating they were doing, but still, they got last.

I like that Twilight doesn’t win, but instead places in fifth. It’s even treated like the accomplishment that it is, considering how physically unfit she is compared to the others and how far behind she was most of the race. And then Princess Celestia shows up for absolutely no reason, complete with a terrible front-angle view. Seriously, that scene is just…off somehow. As for the lesson itself, it wouldn’t have worked half as well had the two not been friendly to each other at the start of the Iron Pony Competition. The whole lesson is how competition can get to anypony’s head, and that you have to remember that the friendship is what’s truly important. Overall, a good lesson.

CONCLUSION:

I love this episode, but not so much for its plot and characters as for its comedy. The story is basically nonexistent, and while there is some character bits thrown in here, most of it takes a backseat to the slapstick. But like I said in “Feeling Pinkie Keen,” I do like that kind of humor, so I have no problem with it here. In fact, this is one of the episodes I put on when I just need a quick, good laugh. Overall, a really good episode.

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Well, that was fun. Next time, another episode!