Left Behind · 5:15am Sep 2nd, 2017
I just happened upon a piece of art showing Rainbow Dash exiting from a sonic rainboom, and I had to stare at it for a moment. I had actually pretty much forgotten about the rainboom.
You know, it's pretty interesting how big of a deal that was for the first few seasons. They referenced it a lot. Now it's in the past. It's not really a thing for Rainbow anymore. That feeling of progress is both cool for the show and a little bit sad. I do really miss when Twilight was nerdy and prone to anxiety or when Rarity was a dreamer instead of an honest-to-goodness entrepreneur.
Now, that's not to say I'd reverse it. I do like that the show has progressed, but it does mean moving away from some characters that I really liked. I'd say it's been a wash. Most of the characters have progressed in at least logical ways, so even if I do miss the old Twilight, I prefer the new Fluttershy. Pinkie's more responsible. Rainbow is... kinda more responsible. Applejack is Applejack.
I'm still waiting on the CMC, though. I'm glad that they eventually got their cutie marks, even if I really dislike the episode that they got it in, but their roles as cutie mark facilitators still hasn't clicked with me. I think it primarily has to do with the inconsistency of their maturity levels. We get great signs of progress, like Scootaloo in Parental Guidance, and then regression in Campfire Tales. It leaves me wondering how they can be responsible for developing others when they're still working on themselves.
Then again, all the ponies are still working on themselves to some degree. In MLP, you pretty much get the shaft if it's your focus episode. MLP does love their idiot ball.
But I just thought it was odd to pretty much forget all about the sonic rainboom. It's probably for the best. I'd be rolling my eyes by now if it was still her signature thing, but it does also feel weird to leave it behind.
You should read Austraeoh. She has a few cool rainboom scenes later in the series.
If you've forgotten about it, you haven't read the Wonderbolts Academy Handbook tie-in book, which was written by someone who mistakenly believes they are far more common than they are (i.e. not a basically-mythic maneuver that only Dash has ever managed). Seriously, they're doing rainbooms, like, all the time.
You mean earlier this season?
But yeah, Dash can break the sound barrier so casually at this point that it just isn't a big deal for her, nor for the writers. (cf. "No Second Prances.") Though hopefully we'll see at least one in the movie.
Law of diminishing returns? It often accidental for the first occurance, near impossible for teh second, by that time you start to pick up a pattern, and work on the pattern, and it gets easier quickly, then tails off as you reach optimisation.
I think the most compact form I saw of it was, it only takes 10% of the effort to get 90% of the result, so you might not be able to take the genuis step of the crzy who spent 30 years working on cracking one esoteric problem, but then, in return, they didnt get family, freinds, or a life.
Every so often though, you need that crazy step, to get over a civilisation crushing problem.
I keep meaning to write a little thing about things I miss from earlier seasons and send it to the Soapbox thing on EqD. In particular, when it actually used to matter that they were equines -- how often now do we even see a split front door? -- but also stuff like the rainboom. I largely agree with you here (except that I really like "Crusaders of the Lost Mark") and I too rather miss the old Twilight -- though for her snarkiness as well as her nerdiness. I suppose Starlight has taken on some of that stuff in the last couple of seasons. Still, if the show had stayed in S1 mode, there's no chance it would have made it to S7. Some might think that would have been a good thing, but I don't. So swings and roundabouts indeed.
Edit: I think "swings and roundabouts" may be a Briticism, so for anyone who doesn't know the expression: a longer version is "what you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts", and it refers to a situation where gains and losses cancel themselves out and leave you pretty much even overall.
Wasn't the last Rainboom we saw the one where she rainnuked Applejack's old barn?
They haven't forgotten about the Rainboom ... they've just weaponized it. Which means that, along with all the other adult stuff the show glosses over, it now lives offscreen.
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Wasn't the wedding rainboom after the rain nuke? Damn, I totally don't remember...
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Sssshh! Don't let facts get in the way of a good theory!