Oh my goodness, "Wonderbolts Academy" is a wonderful episode!!! Probably up to that point in time my least favorite of Season 3, but that's not saying much, it was still an absolutely fantastic episode!!!!! It's probably just because most of it was a little more standard for their episodes, and they're getting into the middle of the season stride where episodes don't always blow ya out of the water at every turn. But there was still a whole lot that I loved about this episode!!!! So let's begin!

First, this was an awesome Rainbow Dash episode!!! We got to see some awesome flying action from RD, which was amazing, but even more importantly, we got to see a whole lot of how RD's character has changed so much since the first season. She was humble enough throughout the episode to accept her position as wing pony, she repeatedly expressed concern for the less capable cadets at the Wonderbolt Academy, and of course, the grand daddy of them all, she was willing to actually give up her lifelong dream of being a Wonderbolt if it meant being too reckless and putting other ponies, including her best friends', lives in danger!!! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!! It also makes me appreciate the character Lightning Dust a little bit more, because, honestly, I believe that in many ways she behaved exactly as RD would've at the beginning of Season 1, before she'd really been friends with the Mane 6 for a long time. RD was super competitive and impatient at the beginning of that season, just like Lightning Dust, and it especially showed in the episode "Dragonshy" when she repeatedly expressed impatience with Fluttershy. But now, she's simply not like that anymore, she's changed; she's a team player, and even if she wants to push herself to be the best she can be still, she's not willing to hurt or jeopardize other ponies in the process, and even wants to encourage them to be the best they can be. Rainbow's more now than just an incredibly talented pony; she has the makings of being a great leader among the Wonderbolts someday. As Spitfire said, she's a lead pony!!!

Second, getting to see A WHOLE LOT of Spitfire. This was probably the biggest amount of fan-loving we got from DHX in this episode; they knew we'd wanted to see a lot more of Spitfire for a lonnnnngggggggg time, and they didn't disappoint. It was honestly a bit jarring at first to see her acting like such a hard flank (although I lol'd extremely hard when she glared at Snowflake and his tiny wings!!!!). It was interesting to see her training and drill instructing, as well as to learn a lot more about what it takes to get into the Wonderbolts (although honestly I'm still a little confused, even after 2 1/2 seasons, as to what they exactly do? Are they stunt flyers, racers, some sort of Equestrian military force/national guard, cause we've seen them do all of those things before? I just want to know what the full extent of their responsibilities are? ). Overall, it was awesome seeing so much of Spitfire and getting to learn more about how she leads the Wonderbolts!

You just watch ladies, by the end of this episode I'll have started a new meme for the brony fandom so fast it'll be an academy record! Wait a minute... that gives me an idea!!!

Next... Pinkie Pie. What can't I say about her in this episode!!! This honestly might have been her best episode so far this season, even better than "Too Many Pinkie Pies"!!!!!! I loved that episode, but here, Pinkie was just so adorable, and hilarious, and insane, and zany, and being such a good friend the whole episode, and it was all so balanced nicely, that it was just the perfect storm of Pinkie Pie, she simply was awesome the whole episode!!! THAT BEAR HUG!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH THAT BEAR HUG!!!!!!!!!! I honestly doubt we'll ever witness a bigger hug on the show than that!!!!!!!

Once again, the animation was amazing. It was great to see a lot of the pegasi from "Hurricane Fluttershy" make a reappearance (let's see, we had Snowflake, Thunderlane, Cloud Chaser, and probably a few others) and their physical gags and humor were hilarious (SNOWFLAKE ATE A BUCKIN' CLOUD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, THAT'S AWESOME!!!), the rest of the Mane 6 were great, even if they weren't in the episode much, the new setting with Wonderbolt Academy was really cool and gave us some cool new animations, and the message of not giving into peer pressure and doing your best but making sure that you do it the right way was a great message for anypony, especially those of us who are rather competitive, whether in physical or intellectual pursuits. All in all, it was a great episode, and I can't wait to watch it again!!!

The only thing I didn't like about this episode: NO DERPY!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, I wouldn't have minded so much if there weren't so many freakin' pegasi in the episode!!!!! I didn't even expect her to show up at the academy, I know that wouldn't make much sense, BUT THEY HAD A MAIL PONY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!!! A MAIL PONY!!!!!!!!!!! OMG, THEY COULD'VE SO EASILY JUST DROPPED HER IN THERE AS THE MAIL MARE INSTEAD!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *we interrupt this post for a session of havoc and anger-induced property damage*

*sigh* OK, I'm done, I'm cool, I'm cool.

Overall, "Wonderbolts Academy" is a solid Season 3 episode with some cool new canon additions, a sweet antagonist, some great character development/continuity, rocking animation, great laughs, and a solid message. Not much more you could ask for than that, and it's definitely worth a rewatch here and there.