, formerly known as Flamingo1986. It is created to be his first senior film as per requirements to graduate from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Its main claim to fame is that it is the first fan-made episode that features "a full orchestral score, studio-quality sound effects, professional voice acting, and 100% show-accurate animation." He also sought out and gained Hasbro's permission.The plot goes as follows: Twilight Sparkle is developing a potion that would give a major increase to any pony's special talent. Rainbow Dash, being who she is, drinks the highly experimental potion despite Twilight's warnings. And from there on she goes and causes havoc for Ponyville and herself... and then things get weird.
The official website could previously be found here. The entire episode was released on March 30, 2013. It was originally scheduled for Fall 2012, but was ended up being pushed forward for quality reasons. The episode was originally posted on FlamingoRich's YouTube channel, but was taken down on February 2, 2014. Officially this was so he could "move on to other projects", including an original show called True Tail, though it's more likely his limited license with Hasbro expired and he was playing it safe. The episode has a reupload here, with a shorter version here.
On its release, the episode was promptly met with controversy and debate; while some members of the fanbase found its storyline and second half entertaining, many others were left thoroughly disappointed and deflated due specifically to those very same elements.
Double Rainboom lost to Snowdrop (2013) on the "Top Ten Pony Videos of March 2013" list.
Warning: Due to a major plot twist midway through, there are unmarked spoilers in the tropes below.
This fan film contains examples of:
- All Girls Like Ponies: Much to Rainbow Dash's dismay.
- Always Someone Better: The Powerpuff Girls are severely faster than Rainbow Dash.
- Amplifier Artifact: The potion Twilight created. It enhances a pony's special talent to ludicrous extremes, allowing them to pull off feats they normally couldn't. Considering what happens later in the animation, it's possible that said potion is actually an unstable form of Chemical-X.
- And Call Him "George": Rainbow Dash is nicknamed Antoinette by the Powerpuff Girls.
- Art Shift: During Twilight's Imagine Spot. Also when Rainbow Dash goes to Townsville. It's minor but noticeable in the outlines.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: It's Townsville, what did you expect?
- Brought Down to Normal: Happens to Rainbow Dash at the worst possible time when her wings stop working while being chased around Townsville.
- Burning Rubber: Once again Rainbow Dash makes a rainbow colored one.
- Chekhov's Gun: Twilight was wondering what effect the potion would have on Pinkie Pie.
- Chekhov's Lecture: Twilight gives one to Rainbow Dash about the importance of thinking ahead.
- Circling Birdies: Parodied. After Rainbow Dash's wings seize up, she crashes into the pavement and emerges from the hole she created, with the usual circling birds replaced with circling Powerpuff Girls.
- Continuity Nod: Rarity's mane gets restyled like Twilight's when Rainbow Dash buzzes past her, and Spike suddenly runs away from her.
- Creator Cameo: Zachary Rich's pony avatar appears in the background a few times (and in the beginning of the end credits sequence); he can be seen taking a bath when his roof is blown off by the rainboom, and his outfit appears in Twilight's Imagine Spot for Rarity. The Flamingo Rich logo can also be seen while Ponyville is being destroyed.
- Crossover: Rainbow Dash winds up in Townsville and gets chased by 3 certain little girls. If you actually watch the video on YouTube it should come up as more surprising, seeing as the beginning of the video only credits The Hub and FiM and the additional credits to Cartoon Network and Time Warner don't show up until halfway through the video. The disclaimer on the bottom of the page of the official website pretty much gives it away.
- Crossover Punchline: At the end of the video, where Rainbow Dash is writing her letter to Princess Celestia about why you should not take things that don't belong to you, Pinkie Pie asks "What will I do with this then?", pulling out Bloo from hammerspace. The Foster's theme tune then plays as the video fades to the ending credits.
- Demoted to Extra: Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash are the only Mane Six members who get any prominence. This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the Spotlight-Stealing Squad issue, discussed below.
- Deus ex Machina: Pinkie Pie suddenly managing to cross realities to save Rainbow Dash and bring her back to Equestria.
- Didn't Think This Through: Rainbow Dash does not consider the consequences of drinking the potion or performing the double rainboom. Twilight almost says this phrase word for word in a flashback.
- Easily Forgiven: You'd think people would be a little angrier with Rainbow Dash, considering she accidentally destroyed the town.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Subverted. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie tried to end the episode this way, Twilight wasn't amused.
- Exact Words: FlamingoRich said that this project would have "100% show-accurate animation", but he never said which show it would be...
- Fantastic Nuke: The Double Rainboom apparently.
- Flower-Pot Drop: Derpy Hooves gets one that manages to fix her eyes only for a second one to revert them back to derped vision. And then a third one ruins the muffin she was about to eat.
- Foreshadowing: There's a lot of PPG Shout Outs, especially when Twilight explains/speculates what effects her potion would have on her friends and herself.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: This video shows a lot. One can see a love letter to Rarity from Spike.
- Octavia can be seen when the Double Rainboom rips off the rooftops.
- Two of the street signs in Townsville are "Faust" and "McCracken".
- In the same frame as the Faust and McCracken signs, the leftmost shop window has the symbol of the Order of the White Lotus
- Genre Blind: Twilight scolds herself for not realizing there's no way Rainbow Dash would be able to resist drinking her potion.
- Gone Horribly Right: The potion works exactly as Twilight predicted, but it causes Rainbow Dash to become so powerful, she accidentally destroys Ponyville through her carelessness.
- Interface Spoiler: Reading the legal disclaimer in the video's description should give you a very large hint about the crossover section.
- Meta Guy: The potion gives Pinkie Pie this ability.
- Milking the Giant Cow: Several of the characters have difficulty sitting still. With RD and The Powerpuff Girls it's in character, but Twilight definitely has a tendency to make exaggerated gestures with little provocation.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Twilight's potion increases a pony's special talent.
- Rainbow Dash's flight speed becomes so enhanced that she is able to fly all the way up into outer space.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The destruction of Ponyville could have been avoided had Rainbow Dash just listened to Twilight.
- Ocular Gushers: Rarity of all ponies. (BTW Rarity, you may want to let go of Sweetie Belle...)
- Pinball Gag: One of the many in a series of creative gags.
- Plot Hole: Pinkie Pie's special talent isn't bending reality, but rather making other ponies happy. Taking this into consideration, Twilight's potion probably shouldn't have worked the way it did.
- Power Degeneration: A side-effect of the potion on Rainbow Dash is her loss of the ability to fly after heavy use. Pinkie Pie did not seem to suffer any adverse affects, probably because she used her powers responsibly.
- Punctuated Pounding: "That! Wasn't! Very! COOL!"
- Reference Overdosed: A common criticism is that the animation leaned too hard on fandom jokes and Shout Outs, as opposed to the more character-based humor that the FIM itself uses.
- Scenery Gorn: Ponyville in the aftermath of the double rainboom.
- Schmuck Bait: Subverted. Twilight's description of the enhancement potion makes it impossible for Rainbow Dash to not drink it, but she didn't even want Rainbow to drink it in the first place.
- Screen Tap: Twilight during Rainbow Dash's flashback when the effects of the potion wear off.
- Shout-Out:
- During Twilight's Imagine Spot we see:
- In Rarity's part, whole costume references to (in order of appearance) Aang, Starfire, Angelica, Belle, Daphne Blake, Columbia, Monkey D. Luffy, Harley Quinn, Link, Lisa Simpson, Dipper and Mabel Pines, Princess Bubblegum, and Him.
- In Fluttershy's part, lawyer friendly cameos to Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Jerry, Pabu, Monkey, Perry, Rocksteady, Viper, Rajah (or Shere Khan), Zazu, Pen-Pen, Totoro, Kanga and Roo, an Ewok, a Leafeon, Navi, and the whale from The Powerpuff Girls episode "Helter Shelter".
- A sign in Townsville should look familiar.
- Other things that Rainbow Dash passes by in Townville include Optimus Prime, signs for Cartoon Network, Equestria Daily, and We Love Fine, a truck with the Aperture Science logo, and a certain blue Police Box. There is also a storefront window with a very familiar White Lotus tile.
- When Rainbow Dash warped dimensions to Townsville various Cartoon Network charactersWho? are seen, likewise when Pinkie brings her back some of The Hub's charactersWho? are seen.
- The famous "item catch" theme from The Legend of Zelda plays when Rainbow Dash gets the idea to drink the potion.
- And before and after that she left behind a rainbow flaming trail. So does exceeding 88 mph help you transcend dimensions?
- Also when Twilight is following the flaming trail, the Background Music briefly mimics the theme of Back to the Future.
- Bloo shows up at the end thanks to Pinkie. The music even briefly imitates the Foster's theme tune at that point.
- During the end credits sequence, the game that Rainbow Dash and Buttercup are playing has the logo for My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic on the cartridge.
- When Rainbow Dash comes back to Equestria, the exchange between her and Twilight is very reminiscent of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".
- Apparently both Twilight's potion and the fabric of time and space taste like snozzberries.
- The film's name is a reference to Double Rainbow.
- If one paused or even looked quick enough before Rainbow Dash crash lands to the ground during the chase scene, the Stark Enterprises building can be seen in the background of Townsville.
- After Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie escape back to their own world, in the final shot of Townsville, there are street signs in the background behind Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup that read "Faust" and "McCracken".
- A Companion Cube can be spotted in front of Twilight after Rainbow Dash escapes through the roof of her lab. As well as some Chemical X, which could explain why Rainbow Dash went to Townsville.
- BMO can be seen twice. The first is broken in the dumpster where Bubbles drops Talking Dog, and the second is displayed on the front of the "Toy Box" during the chase scene.
- The Pizza Planet delivery truck appears in the background during the scene where the Powerpuff Girls meet Rainbow Dash.
- The address 221 can be seen on a door right before Rainbow lands in Townsville.
- Spike's letter to Rarity that can be seen on the floor next to Twilight is a word-for-word rendition of (the beginning of) Sonnet #43.
- Variations of the famous intro to "Also sprach Zarathustra" are played twice: first when Rainbow Dash is preparing to do her do her double rainboom IN SPACE, then again when Pinkie Pie explains being able to see through the fabric of time and space.
- During Twilight's Imagine Spot we see:
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Another common complaint is that so much time is spent showing off the fandom's favorite background ponies that the Mane Six are shafted. And of course there's the Powerpuff Girls.
- Title Drop: "With this power, I can do anything! I could easily do a Sonic Rainboom! Even a... Double Rainboom!"
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Rainbow really should have listened to Twilight about thinking ahead.
- Trapped in Another World: Rainbow Dash is trapped in Townsville, until Pinkie Pie brings her back using her reality-warping abilities and another one of Twilight's potion.
- Villains Want Mercy: The monster surrenders before Rainbow Dash makes the finishing blow. When she makes the monster apologize, he gets down on his knees and cries, promising never to do it again. The Powerpuff Girls still beat him up, anyway.
- Walking Spoiler: The Powerpuff Girls. Their mere existence spoils that this isn't just a regular My Little Pony fan animation.
- Watch Out for That Tree!: Unfortunately for Scootaloo.
- Wham Line: "The city of Townsville!"
- You Can Talk?: Rainbow Dash says this to the monster when he surrenders. And the Powerpuff Girls say this to Rainbow Dash when she speaks to them.
