Sonic Rainboom

[StoneCold 144]

Ok, so this is going into headcanon territory, but here me out:

 

Rainbow Dash is part of a long-line of weather pegasi that focuses on rainbows (as opposed to something like thunderclouds or Hail).

 

However, unlike her family, Rainbow Dash has never been particularly interested in weather. Yes, she is a weather pony, but her interest have always been being a better flier.

 

As such, her rainbow abilities  come not in the form of making rainbows through the control of weather, but rather through flying so fast, she creates a sonic rainboom.

[221BTardisSt 101]

My personal head-canon is that RD's signature move has a lot to do with the magic of friendship. Each time she has successfully pulled off the trick, she has done so to help a friend. Yes, in later seasons, she has been able do a sonic rainboom at will; however, because she is learning more about friendship, it makes sense that she would be able to more easily access the magic of friendship. Since we know that the magic of friendship reveals itself in rainbow form (Elements of Harmony), it seems to make sense that this is how her rainboom works.

 

Therefore theoretically speaking, any pony could pull off the sonic rainboom if they had enough of the magic of friendship; however, no pony is a fast enough flyer or knows enough about the magic of friendship to do so except Rainbow. 

[ConcorDisparate 385]

 

 

Each time she has successfully pulled off the trick, she has done so to help a friend.

I don't know, the first rainboom didn't really happen like that.

 

I don't think RD wanted to win the race because of Fluttershy, or at least, at the exact moment when she succeeded to create a rainboom, she was rather excited about winning than excited about helping Fluttershy. By the way, it kinda sucks when your friend falls from the sky while you are trying to win a race to help her .

 

I don't think it should be needed to look for random theories about friendship to explain how she is able to create it. She simply needs to be focused. Winning, saving a friend, creating a rainboom because the Princess Celestia required it, whatever works as long as you are focused and, for example, not worried about a competition.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,304]

Aside from the obvious (the uniquely rainbow-colored nature of the maneuver), I think what makes the Sonic Rainboom truly unique to Dashie is how it affected her and her friends.  After performing the maneuver for the first time, Dashie received her Cutie Mark.  Seeing the effects of that first Rainboom helped inspire something in each of the other Mane Six, and they each received their Cutie Marks.  Rainbow had difficulty duplicating the maneuver until it became necessary to reach her friend in time.

 

Even if the likes of Lightning Dust could perform their own version of a Rainboom, it will never do all of the things I just described.  Also, imagine some pegasus with really drab and unappealing coat and tail colors performing a similar maneuver.  "What's that in the sky?  Eww.  Well I don't feel inspired."

Edited April 18, 2015 by Ziggy and Angelbaby

[The Awesome One 1,315]

The way I see it, there are many ponies who can reach the required speed for a sonic boom but only Rainbow Dash can do a Sonic Rainbooms because there is some special magic in her that gave a rainbow colored mane and tail.

[FlutterHigh 81]

I feel as though SpitFire was once able to do it before she retired from flying to be the captain of the woderbolts. If any other pony can do it ATM it's got to be a pony experienced in flying like the wonderbolts.

[Tom Snyder 4,112]

We've never seen spitfire go supersonic, The only one we have is RD. Even if she was able to, also she never said anything about retiring. She still is the captain of them, when did she ever say that?

[Guest FlyingSparkle]

Add colored smoke to the tail, Perform sonic boom and there you go, Colored sonic boom.

[Tom Snyder 4,112]

Add colored smoke to the tail, Perform sonic boom and there you go, Colored sonic boom.

I doubt that would work, RD did it naturally, so faking it won't count. And that is called "Cheating".

Edited April 19, 2015 by Candy Star

[Unlikeable Pony 2,700]

Aside from the obvious (the uniquely rainbow-colored nature of the maneuver), I think what makes the Sonic Rainboom truly unique to Dashie is how it affected her and her friends.  After performing the maneuver for the first time, Dashie received her Cutie Mark.  Seeing the effects of that first Rainboom helped inspire something in each of the other Mane Six, and they each received their Cutie Marks.  Rainbow had difficulty duplicating the maneuver until it became necessary to reach her friend in time.

 

Even if the likes of Lightning Dust could perform their own version of a Rainboom, it will never do all of the things I just described.  Also, imagine some pegasus with really drab and unappealing coat and tail colors performing a similar maneuver.  "What's that in the sky?  Eww.  Well I don't feel inspired."

 

 

I like to think that the sonic rainboom occuring has something to do with RD tapping into her desire to help her friends in some way and the magic of friendship; She performed her first one trying to protect Fluttershy's honor, and she was only able to do her second one when she saw a friend in trouble and cleared all thoughts but "have to save rarity" from her mind.

 

 

Plus, if you take the comics into mind, she was able to perform a double rainboom when she had an epiphany about needing to help everyone else, without a thought to herself, rather than how she'd been going at things before out of a selfish pride and being upset more at her personal failures than how her failures would effect the town.

 

 

Eh, I think Twilight used magic to do that. A real sonic rainboom can only be accomplished by flying fast enough.

 

But isn't pegasi flight at least partially magical in nature, given tirek draining the magic from pegasi's robbing them of flight (as well as pegasi not really being aerodynamically feasible)

[Pastel 7,630]

But isn't pegasi flight at least partially magical in nature, given tirek draining the magic from pegasi's robbing them of flight (as well as pegasi not really being aerodynamically feasible)

Mmh you're right, but I meant she used unicorn magic (maybe it was a spell), while pegasi use magic as "fuel".

Edited April 20, 2015 by Blobulle

[Queen_Tia 14]

My oc can do a rainboom but there is some like blackish parts to the rainbow it isn't just a rainbow......

[sweetolebob18 728]

Historically, athletic feats are often considered impossible right up until somebody does them.  Then, others do them.  For instance, nobody ever did a 4 minute mile until 1954.  But, after the 1st guy did it, 4 other people did 1 in less than a year.

 

The Rainboom is probably going to be like that.  Somepony will do it fairly soon.  However, the 1st 3 seasons were (probably) just 1 year, so it hasn't been long enough for another pony to do a rainboom -yet.

[cider float 2,539]

Twilight Sparkle with magic of four alicorns was doing a sonic rainboom the whole time.

[Tom Snyder 4,112]

Twilight Sparkle with magic of four alicorns was doing a sonic rainboom the whole time.

She cheated, That wasn't on her own.