Myke Greywolf said:
Obviously? I never saw it established anywhere that throwing the horseshoe with the muzzle instead of the teeth was supposed to be a handicap. Neither pony brought that up.
RD's first shot was exactly in line with AJ's two shots. RD's second shot broke a window way off in the distance. I thought it was obvious that RD's second shot was her playing around, not competing. But it seems I can't really convince you to like Rainbow Dash, so I won't say much more.
The only mark I have against AJ in this episode is that she said nothing about the "cheating" in the Iron Pony until accusations after she had lost, because during the match she was fine with trying to beat a Pegasus Pony. I like that it seems she won't accept that being an Earth Pony is in any way inferior to a Pegasus Pony or a Unicorn Pony, but complaining after the loss was beneath her. And the fighting in general.
RD also shouldn't have been fighting, but I saw a Pegasus Pony who could hold her own against a top Earth Pony even while handicapped in a competition where any non-Earth Pony would be at a disadvantage, and someone who has very different attitudes towards playing and competing, and has trouble with the line between the two.
Myke Greywolf said:
Oh man, that's true. It was totally Celestia. Luna needs to take over. Install Apple Bloom as her second.
Confused101 said:
Because AJ doesn't have wings? RD could match AJ's strength over time if she really wanted to. AJ will NEVER be able to fly though.
I suspect that horns and wings, although ponies are born with them, are the manifestation of internal magical power, which can grow, leading to new manifestations.
Twilight for example, seems to be studying to become a princess. She'd likely have to sprout wings before that happens.
Rarity on the other hand used her magic to develop telekinetic dexterity for use in dressmaking, and a gemstone detector, and she's satisfied with that, so she'll probably never naturally develop her beautiful wings on her own.
Pinkie-Pie doesn't have wings or a horn, but deep inside you just know she's bubbling with fourth-wall breaking cosmic magics and could eventually become a god more powerful than Celestia if she put her mind to it.
Applejack seems to envy horns and wings, but she's ultimately content with the physical world.
Rainbow Dash is in love with flying and probably wants nothing else.
Fluttershy's wings would probably fade away if they could.