My Little Pony: Friends Forever #25 - Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash
- Story by Barbara Kesel, art by Brenda Hickey
Rainbow Dash wakes up to find her wings missing. Making her way to Twilight Sparkle, she explains her plight, and Twilight is as perplexed as she is. Twilight is able to use her magic to find out where Rainbow's wings have been taken, and teleport the two of them there. In a forest clearing they watch as three unicorns, Goldcap, Decepticolt, and Zappityhoof, are attempting to use Rainbow's wings to make a potion as to allow them to grow their own wings and become alicorns. Twilight attempts to eavesdrop on the trio but is quickly caught, and Rainbow, without her wings, soon is also trapped by the three.
As the unicorns near the end of the potion making process, Twilight comes up with a plan - though Rainbow is wingless, her speed and agility is what they need to stop the unicorns, so she casts a spell that allows Rainbow to temporarily take control of her own body. Rainbow, now directing Twilight's movements, is able to put on the necessary bursts of speed to escape, elude the unicorns, and stop them before they destroy her wings in the potion. Twilight quickly undoes her spell, and then replaces Rainbow's wings where they belong. The three unicorns complain about being so close to having their goal, but Twilight further casts a spell that temporarily nullifies their magic ability, forcing them to run away. Rainbow is grateful for her wings back as they fly back to Ponyville.
This issue provides examples of:
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Ascended Fanfic: "Rainbow Dash loses use of her wings somehow" has been a stock plot circling the fandom for years. - Beware the Nice Ones: Twilight is furious at the wing thieves, both for perverting what it means to be an Alicorn with their attempted theft and for stealing Rainbow's wings (or ANYONE'S wings for that matter) with no remorse. As a result, she dishes out the harshest punishment she's ever given any non-Arc Villain antagonist: stripping them of their magic for an indefinite period of time. Not to say they didn't deserve it.
- De-power: What would have happened to Rainbow Dash had they not gotten her wings back.Twilight strips the thieves of their magic for an indefinite period of time as punishment for their crimes.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The wing thieves cannot get that Twilight did not, nor would she be willing to, do anything as despicable or underhanded as they would in order to get her wings.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The trio of thieves' motivation: they're jealous of Twilight becoming an Alicorn and the attention she got and decide to steal somepony's wings to become fake Alicorns.
- Hidden Depths: Dash actually gives Twilight two clever suggestions in a row: Indirectly escape her Anti-Magic net via the ground underneath, then use some sort of Sharing a Body spell to utilize Dash's flight experience on an instinctive level. Dash is normally a Hot-Blooded mare of action who often acts before thinking.
- It's All About Me: The wing thieves don't give a darn about Rainbow Dash or what they put her through: all they care about is becoming Alicorns and the prestige that comes with it.
- Lack of Empathy: The wing thieves simply don't care about what they've done to Rainbow Dash, only caring about becoming 'Alicorns.'
- Laser-Guided Karma: Twilight's punishment on the wing thieves: to strip them of their magic like they tried to strip Rainbow of her wings, albeit not permanently.
- Organ Theft: Rainbow Dash was basically drugged and had her wings magically removed and stolen against her will.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Twilight gives the wing thieves one after they catch them:Twilight: You ponies had better listen to me, and listen good! I studied hard, learned well, made friends — by doing so I earned my wings! But you're misusing your magic! So I'm taking it away! In time your magic will come back, but no wings! Rainbow Dash's were never yours to take! Those wings should only carry one pony into the sky!
- Sharing a Body: Twilight and Rainbow do this to defeat the wing thieves by letting the much more experienced Rainbow Dash control Twilight's wings.
- Shout-Out:
- Decepticolt plays upon the main antagonists of the Transformers franchise.
- The Brenda Hickey variant cover has Twilight and Rainbow speaking through shoe phones.
- Terrible Trio: The trio of wing thieves, Goldcap, Decepticolt, and Zappityhoof.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Goldcap, Decepticolt, and Zappityhoof are played much more seriously and evil than previous Friends Forever villains. They not only come close to crippling Rainbow Dash for life, but their motives are completely selfish and vile.
- Who's on First?: The spell to turn the wings into a wing-giving potion must work at twilight, which causes confusion twice with Twilight's name.
