New Testingstan

Strange, I had never any doubt myself that the Wonderbolts where part of what could be conceived as the "Equestrian Armed Forces", on the same level as the Royal Canterlot Guard ; with them being publicized as an Elite Force and showcased to the public as a propaganda tool.

Was there anything that could have led people to think otherwise ?

Well there are civilian flight demo teams so technically the Wonderbolts could be like them rather than an element of the "Equestrian Air Force" or whatever.

I would agree with you though, that most people probably thought of them that way, especially with the obvious Blue Angels parallels. I would contend that it was their role in "Secret of My Excess" that cemented them as 'military' (or as military as Equestria gets) though. Soarin's uniform in "A Canterlot Wedding" would also be an indicator, though that isn't really solid, IMO. I mean, go compare a Boy Scouts of America uniform to the US Marine Corps service uniform (the khakis, not the dress blues); there are the obvious differences but they do share a general color scheme of the khaki shirt and olive-green pants. So the fact Soarin' was wearing a blue uniform shirt didn't mean anything.

The Wonderbolts uniforms in this episode are definately more evocative of the USAF and certainly look pretty military, but see above about taking that either way. Same with the whole boot camp atmosphere, obvious military parallels but it's hardly exclusive.

So in conclusion I would say the only firm evidence of Wonderbolts = military was when they flew against Spike when he had his greed rampage. Everything else can be taken either way depending on your view of Equestria.

I assumed that they were just a racing team, that's how they were presented in the pilot, and in the Rarity in the Big City episode
tbh outside of jokes, I've never really considered that the my little ponies had a proper military. I mean there's the royal guards, but they mostly seem to be Celestia's bodyguards rather than a standing army... apart from in the changeling episode, but even then they're completely ineffectual

I guess my over-exposition to Fallout Equestria has colored my views, then.

Though for me "Secret of my excess" cemented them -at least- as a rapid reaction force in case of emergencies.

yes
but that doesn't necessarily imply all the military trappings we saw in this latest episode

Indeed.

Well, I dunno. I still think that for whatever measure of "military forces" Equestria has (if it in fact has some), the Wonderbolts are part of it.

well that's definitely the case after this episode, and it could be inferred from earlier episodes if you wanted to

IN MY HEADCANON Celestia has deliberately reduced the scope of Equestria's military, including turning the pegasi away from militarism and focusing that energy on things like the Wonderbolts

oh wow, this fandom works fast
less than a day sice the episode aired, and already there's a plushy of Lightning Dust

That's impressive.

And adorable.

I really would like to object to that. But given my selective snipping of your post earlier, I guess I can't.

Hoist by my own petard.

Lol. Still need to read that comic.

just don't try to read many of them at once, overexposure will ruin it

I loved that fluttershy needed to be caught and the trainee wonderbolt's extremely unimpressed expression when she realised that. Also liked that we saw all the mane six in what could have been a rainbow only episode.

Coupled with last week Rainbow seems to have grown up a lot. Sadly Pinkie pie seems to have been flanderised into flat out batshit now.

So... Applejack episode, right ?

Thoughts ?

Something I heard somewhere else :

link? or just a title so i can youtubings?

That's the only thing "Equestria Daily" is for : getting links for new episodes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpUDbfRrLAs

By the way, unrelated, but I'm having a discussion with someone which raise an interesting point (in the crack-theory area) :

Depending on your perspective you could see the Mane 6 as a team of magical girls, and if you follow the darker interpretations, they are basically Celestia's Death Squad.

Contract ?

I have been made aware this exist : http://mauroz.deviantart.com/art/Friend ... -330419485

Oxymoron wrote:Something I heard somewhere else :

Apparently two times during the episode a pair of shooting stars was seen passing through the night : first when Applejack took upon herself to organize the family reunion ; and then in the nightsky just before the ending. It is theorized they are representing AJ's dead parents, the only two people who couldn't attend the family reunion (because they are DEEEEAAAAD).

Well... https://derpiboo.ru/190778

Enjoyed this episode. A character being used as an appliance is always a bonus.

Remind who was used as an appliance again ?


off-topic : this got to be the crackiest pairing ever => https://www.deviantart.com/#/d5ozi27

Oxymoron wrote:

Oxymoron wrote:Something I heard somewhere else :

Apparently two times during the episode a pair of shooting stars was seen passing through the night : first when Applejack took upon herself to organize the family reunion ; and then in the nightsky just before the ending. It is theorized they are representing AJ's dead parents, the only two people who couldn't attend the family reunion (because they are DEEEEAAAAD).

Well... https://derpiboo.ru/190778

Awww...

Very well done, too. Because the first time is when Granny said, "Who knows if they'll all make the next one?" and there was a nice little bit of music as well.

I <3 this show...