# Sonic Rainboom

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16th episode of the 1st season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

"Sonic Rainboom" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode Rainbow Dash performs the Sonic Rainboom. Episode no. Season 1 Episode 16 Directed by Jayson Thiessen James Wootton Written by M.A. Larson Original air date February 18, 2011 (2011-02-18) Running time 22 minutes Episode chronology ← Previous "Feeling Pinkie Keen" Next → "Stare Master" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 1 List of episodes

"**Sonic Rainboom**" is the sixteenth episode of the [first season](/source/My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_season_1) of the [animated television series](/source/Animated_series) *[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic](/source/My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic)*. It originally aired on [The Hub](/source/Discovery_Family#As_Hub_Network_(2010–2014)) on February 18, 2011. The episode was written by [M.A. Larson](/source/M.A._Larson). In this episode, [Rainbow Dash](/source/Rainbow_Dash) competes in the Young Flyers Competition in [Cloudsdale](/source/Equestria#Cloudsdale) and attempts to re-create the titular maneuver, which releases a rainbow-colored [sonic boom](/source/Sonic_boom) and which she once performed as a filly.

## Plot

External videos Sonic Rainboom (full episode) — Official upload of the episode onto YouTube

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Equestria Toyline Cutie mark Elements of Harmony Pony Spin-offs My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2013–2020)(List of animations) My Little Pony: Pony Life (2020–2021)(List of episodes) Characters Mane Six Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash Pinkie Pie Applejack Fluttershy Rarity Supporting Spike Princess Celestia Princess Luna Princess Cadance Shining Armor Discord Starlight Glimmer Trixie Zecora Antagonists Queen Chrysalis Lord Tirek Cozy Glow Minor Derpy Hooves Background Six Cheese Sandwich Quibble Pants The Wonderbolts Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty Equestria Girls Sunset Shimmer Seasons & episodes Season 1 (2010–2011) "Friendship Is Magic" "The Ticket Master" "Applebuck Season" "Griffon the Brush Off" "Boast Busters" "Dragonshy" "Look Before You Sleep" "Bridle Gossip" "Swarm of the Century" "Winter Wrap Up" "Call of the Cutie" "Fall Weather Friends" "Suited for Success" "Feeling Pinkie Keen" "Sonic Rainboom" "Stare Master" "The Show Stoppers" "A Dog and Pony Show" "Green Isn't Your Color" "Over a Barrel" "A Bird in the Hoof" "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" "Owl's Well That Ends Well" "Party of One" "The Best Night Ever" Season 2 (2011–2012) "The Return of Harmony" "Lesson Zero" "Luna Eclipsed" "Sisterhooves Social" "The Cutie Pox" "May the Best Pet Win!" "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" "Sweet and Elite" "Secret of My Excess" "Hearth's Warming Eve" "Family Appreciation Day" "Baby Cakes" "The Last Roundup" "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" "Read It and Weep" "Hearts and Hooves Day" "A Friend in Deed" "Putting Your Hoof Down" "It's About Time" "Dragon Quest" "Hurricane Fluttershy" "Ponyville Confidential" "MMMystery on the Friendship Express" "A Canterlot Wedding" Season 3 (2012–2013) "The Crystal Empire" "Too Many Pinkie Pies" "One Bad Apple" "Magic Duel" "Sleepless in Ponyville" "Wonderbolts Academy" "Apple Family Reunion" "Spike at Your Service" "Keep Calm and Flutter On" "Just for Sidekicks" "Games Ponies Play" "Magical Mystery Cure" Season 4 (2013–2014) "Princess Twilight Sparkle" "Castle Mane-ia" "Daring Don't" "Flight to the Finish" "Power Ponies" "Bats!" "Rarity Takes Manehattan" "Pinkie Apple Pie" "Rainbow Falls" "Three's a Crowd" "Pinkie Pride" "Simple Ways" "Filli Vanilli" "Twilight Time" "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" "Somepony to Watch Over Me" "Maud Pie" "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" "Leap of Faith" "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3" "Trade Ya!" "Inspiration Manifestation" "Equestria Games" "Twilight's Kingdom" Season 5 (2015) "The Cutie Map" "Castle Sweet Castle" "Tanks for the Memories" "Slice of Life" "Amending Fences" "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" "Made in Manehattan" "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" "The Hooffields and McColts" "The Cutie Re-Mark" Season 6 (2016) "A Hearth's Warming Tail" "The Times They Are a Changeling" Season 7 (2017) "The Perfect Pear" Season 8 (2018) "Grannies Gone Wild" Season 9 (2019) "The Last Crusade" Series finale Media Films & specials My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) My Little Pony: Best Gift Ever (2018) My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip (2019) Music Theme song "This Day Aria" Movie Soundtrack "Rainbow" "Off to See the World" Games My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day Gameloft video game Collectible card game Other media Home video releases IDW comics Issues My Little Pony/Transformers Brony fandom Fan works (list) 15.ai Voiceverse NFT plagiarism scandal A Brony Tale Bronies (documentary) Derpibooru Equestria Daily Fimfiction Fallout: Equestria Friendship Is Witchcraft Legends of Equestria Love & Ponystep Ponysona PONY.MOV Them's Fightin' Herds Fandom people 15 hotdiggedydemon Jenny Nicholson Odyssey Eurobeat Sethisto The Living Tombstone Vylet Pony Fan culture Analysis Brony music Bronyspeak Charity Criticism Fan art Clop Ponysona Fan fiction Military bronies /mlp/ Online communities My Little Pony conventions BABSCon BronyCAN BronyCon Czequestria Everfree Northwest GalaCon Ponyville Ciderfest RuBronyCon TrotCon UK PonyCon Vanhoover Pony Expo v t e

In a field near [Ponyville](/source/Equestria#Ponyville), [Rainbow Dash](/source/Rainbow_Dash) practices her routine for the upcoming Best Young Flyer competition in [Cloudsdale](/source/Equestria#Cloudsdale) after an unsuccessful attempt to train [Fluttershy](/source/Fluttershy) to cheer loudly. She attempts a Sonic Rainboom in the third phase of her routine but fails to gain enough speed and gets launched across town, crashing through the Golden Oak Library window. Rainbow explains the competition to her friends and mentions that the grand prize is a day with the Wonderbolts. [Rarity](/source/Rarity_(My_Little_Pony)) urges [Twilight](/source/Twilight_Sparkle) to find a spell that will allow them to access Cloudsdale and support Rainbow during the competition. Twilight successfully casts a spell that gives Rarity [butterfly wings](/source/Lepidoptera_wings) as a test subject.

Fluttershy and Rainbow arrive in Cloudsdale and encounter three childhood bullies who deny Rainbow's ability to perform a Sonic Rainboom. The rest of the Mane Six arrive with a spell that allows them to walk on clouds like pegasi. During their tour of the Cloudsdale weather factory, Rarity's wings draw increasingly positive attention from onlooking pegasi. She accidentally dazzles a crowd by letting sunlight shine through them, and an impressed spectator suggests she enter the Best Young Flyer competition. Rarity becomes flattered by the praise and agrees to compete, which sends Rainbow into a nervous fit about her own ability to impress others.

At the Cloudosseum stadium, [Princess Celestia](/source/Princess_Celestia) and three Wonderbolts arrive to judge the competition. Rainbow becomes so nervous that she switches tags with other competitors to delay her turn while Rarity prepares in the dressing room. The two end up as the last contestants but learn that there is only time for one more act, which means they must perform their routines simultaneously. Rarity dances around the arena and flies above the crowd to project sunlight through her wings, but [the heat exposure causes them to evaporate](/source/Icarus). She plummets toward the ground, inadvertently knocking out three Wonderbolts with her flailing hooves when they attempt to rescue her.

Hearing Rarity's screams, Rainbow immediately dives to save all of them and generates a Sonic Rainboom in the process. She catches them just before they hit the ground and flies them back up to safety as the crowd erupts in cheers. Rarity apologizes for getting carried away with her wings and acknowledges that Rainbow is the best young flyer. Princess Celestia declares Rainbow the winner for her bravery and skill. The three bullies who had doubted Rainbow earlier apologize and ask her to teach them the Sonic Rainboom, but she declines and flies off with the Wonderbolts to claim her prize.

## Reception

Sherilyn Connelly, the author of *Ponyville Confidential*, gave the episode a "B+" rating.[1] In her review of the episode in *[SF Weekly](/source/SF_Weekly)*, she noted that "Sonic Rainboom" was among the most popular episodes, spawning a number of [Internet memes](/source/Internet_meme).[2]

In a critical analysis of the episode, author Jen A. Blue praised "Sonic Rainboom" as "good stuff" by writer [M.A. Larson](/source/M.A._Larson), commenting that "quality children's television is hard work.". Blue connected Rainbow Dash's struggle to recreate her childhood Sonic Rainboom to [Heinrich von Kleist](/source/Heinrich_von_Kleist)'s essay *On the Marionette Theater*, which compares the unconscious grace of [childhood](/source/Childhood) with the conscious effort of [adulthood](/source/Adulthood). Blue wrote that Rainbow Dash's journey represents a progression from "sweet innocence, through corrupt experience, to graceful mastery," using an analogy with [Christian](/source/Christianity) and [alchemical](/source/Alchemy) concepts of spiritual development. She wrote that Rarity's temporary wings represented corrupted ambition and the [Dunning-Kruger effect](/source/Dunning-Kruger_effect), and that her fall was a punishment for her [hubris](/source/Hubris). Blue interpreted the Sonic Rainboom itself as symbolizing the "magic of friendship": Rainbow Dash only achieves it when she stops focusing on winning and instead acts to save others.[3]

Brendan Kachel of *[flayrah](/source/Flayrah)* gave the episode a mixed assessment, writing that aside from "the funny introduction" involving Rainbow Dash trying to teach Fluttershy how to cheer loudly, "nothing really stands out" and called it "an average episode, all in all."[4] Johnnie Jungleguts of *[Yahoo! Entertainment](/source/Yahoo!_Entertainment)* ranked "Sonic Rainboom" the third best episode of *My Little Pony* and wrote that while most episodes of *Friendship is Magic* are "plunges into [social anxiety](/source/Social_anxiety)," this episode "takes its unease to an edgy limit" as Rainbow Dash progresses from nervousness about a flying competition to "trembling in the [fetal position](/source/Fetal_position)" by the episode's end. Jungleguts praised the episode for providing insight into the aerial pegasus city Cloudsdale and wrote that the story's explosive rescue finale was popular among fans of the show on the Internet.[5]

## In popular culture

In the opening scene of the episode, [Rainbow Dash](/source/Rainbow_Dash) attempts to get [Fluttershy](/source/Fluttershy) to cheer loudly, to no avail. This scene has been the subject of various [remixes](/source/Remix) and became an [Internet meme](/source/Internet_meme).

Rainbow Dash's rainbow-colored hair and tail represent her ability to fly fast enough to cause a sonic rainboom.

— Mary Jane Begin, *My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria*[6]

"Sonic Rainboom" is one of the most popular episodes among the [brony fandom](/source/Brony_fandom).[2] The episode's opening scene, in which Rainbow Dash attempts to teach Fluttershy how to cheer loudly, has been the subject of various [remixes](/source/Remix)[2] and became an [Internet meme](/source/Internet_meme).[4]

The Sonic Rainboom maneuver has been referenced in various media. In the *[Magic: The Gathering](/source/Magic%3A_The_Gathering)* [trading card game](/source/Trading_card_game), a Rainbow Dash card was released as part of a Secret Lair collection featuring an ability named "Sonic Rainboom," which allows players to generate additional [mana](/source/Mana_(gaming)) and draw cards once they accumulate sufficient "coolness" through creatures with flying and haste abilities.[7] In the 2017 film *[My Little Pony: The Movie](/source/My_Little_Pony%3A_The_Movie_(2017_film))*, Rainbow Dash performs a Sonic Rainboom during the song "Time to Be Awesome", alerting Tempest Shadow of the Mane Six's location.[8]

## Home media

The episode is part of the Season 1 DVD set, released by [Shout Factory](/source/Shout!_Factory), on December 4, 2012.[9] It is also part of the "Adventures in the Crystal Empire" DVD.[4]

## See also

- [List of *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* episodes](/source/List_of_My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_episodes)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Connelly (2017)](#CITEREFConnelly2017), p. 76

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SF_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SF_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-SF_2-2) Connelly, Sherilyn (2012-04-11). ["My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Season 1, Episodes 15 and 16"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120416140517/http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2012/03/my_little_pony_recap_season_1_episodes_15_16.php). *[SF Weekly](/source/SF_Weekly)*. Archived from [the original](http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2012/03/my_little_pony_recap_season_1_episodes_15_16.php) on 2012-04-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Blue-S1_3-0)** Blue, Jen A. (2013-08-31). "I'm an egghead (Sonic Rainboom)". *My Little Po-Mo: Unauthorized Critical Essays on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season One*. pp. 169–174.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-flayrah_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-flayrah_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-flayrah_4-2) Kachel, Brendan (2013-07-20). ["Creative Commons license icon Review: 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Adventures in the Crystal Empire' DVD (with bonus Season 1 DVD review)"](https://www.flayrah.com/5167/review-my-little-pony-friendship-magic-adventures-crystal-empire-dvd-bonus-season-1-dvd-review). *flayrah*. Retrieved 2025-06-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Jungleguts, Johnnie (2017-10-07). ["Top 10 'My Little Pony' Episodes, Ranked (Photos)"](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/top-ten-little-pony-episodes-ranked-photos-212741277.html). *[Yahoo! Entertainment](/source/Yahoo!_Entertainment)*. Retrieved 2025-07-07.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Begin_6-0)** [Begin (2015)](#CITEREFBegin2015), p. 55

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Smith, Bennie (2024-03-29). ["MTG Commander (Rule Zero) Deck Of The Week: Rainbow Dash"](https://articles.starcitygames.com/magic-the-gathering/mtg-commander-rule-zero-deck-of-the-week-rainbow-dash/). *Star City Games*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240507212531/https://articles.starcitygames.com/magic-the-gathering/mtg-commander-rule-zero-deck-of-the-week-rainbow-dash/) from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2025-06-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Jensen, Erin (October 6, 2017). ["5 brony-tastic moments from 'My Little Pony: The Movie'"](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/10/06/5-brony-tastic-moments-my-little-pony-movie/721827001/). *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171006171834/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/10/06/5-brony-tastic-moments-my-little-pony-movie/721827001/) from the original on 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2025-06-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Season 1"](https://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-Friendship-Magic/dp/B0096W47NO). [Amazon.com](/source/Amazon.com). 2012-12-04. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121205201738/http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-Friendship-Magic/dp/B0096W47NO) from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2012-12-04.

### Bibliography

- Begin, Mary Jane (2015). *My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria*. New York: Abrams. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4197-1577-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4197-1577-8).

- Connelly, Sherilyn (2017-04-01). [*Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ponyville_Confidential/E3VPDgAAQBAJ). McFarland. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4766-6209-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4766-6209-1).

## External links

- ["Sonic Rainboom"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1850770/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

v t e My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Season 1 "Friendship Is Magic" "The Ticket Master" "Applebuck Season" "Griffon the Brush Off" "Boast Busters" "Dragonshy" "Look Before You Sleep" "Bridle Gossip" "Swarm of the Century" "Winter Wrap Up" "Call of the Cutie" "Fall Weather Friends" "Suited for Success" "Feeling Pinkie Keen" "Sonic Rainboom" "Stare Master" "The Show Stoppers" "A Dog and Pony Show" "Green Isn't Your Color" "Over a Barrel" "A Bird in the Hoof" "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" "Owl's Well That Ends Well" "Party of One" "The Best Night Ever"

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sonic Rainboom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Rainboom) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Rainboom?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.