Most likely a broken jaw

Oooohh. That’s gotta hurt

@redweasel  
Agreed. They will probobly explain its effect in the following comic, but they could of showed it a little better.

yeah this really is the artist’s fault this time
 
he could have done a lot better showing dash getting disoriented by that shadow stuff

Side note: Rainbow was living her dream here. All those changelings must have had her like, Sploosh!

@Background Pony #846B  
I’m thinking that there was supposed to be a page showing lightning dust or the changelings deliberately baiting her and then dodging so she’d run into AJ but they had to cut it for time/space.
 
Would have made that scene actually make sense, and Lightning dust was 100% absent in the fight which makes me think that was her role.

The Changelings only took Rainbow Dash out by sheer luck.
 
Seriously, the Changelings didn’t even NOTICE what was going on.

So, looks like my hopes was in vain: this arc is just as bad as the previous 3… Bloody shame! Well, I’ll just stick to the “Friends Forever” series than…

@Background Pony #417E  
(Sorry for the length)
 
1) It showed them directly using Rainbow Power, new colored hair and all, even before they summoned the giant alicorn. I can’t understand your reasoning of why you think it wasn’t Rainbow Power when the designs blatently showed them using it.
 
(Sunset was the only one who didn’t seem to have Rainbow Power hair, but then again, if she’s a new element, her element might already be on a different level)
 
Also, I don’t exactly get your logic regarding the magic or Rainbow Dash.
 
2) The Humane 6 get some Equestrian magic by tapping into harmony magic. Harmony magic is what Rarity, AJ and RD threatened to use on Discord with the elements when he was being uncooperative. The kind of harmony magic that Sunset was experimenting on from the other 5 was the same kind that was pouring out of each of the elements before Discord was turned into stone again. Just in a non-aggressive manor…magic based on emotions that reflected their cutie marks.
 
Harmony magic is rare even in Equestria, but when the Humane 6 tap into it, they share some of the Equestrian Magic of their alternates and pony up. The humans can’t use pony magic without tapping into harmony magic, and even then they don’t know how to really use it. Not even pony Twilight could use unicorn/alicorn spells or telekinesis while a ponied-up human.
 
Note: Human Rainbow Dash is the rare exception among them that she instinctively knew how to use her wings’ flight, and her magic was the first to evolve from just playing music.
 
3) Rainbow Dash has always been a powerhouse even without harmony magic or rainbow power, especially a flying-tackle type powerhouse. Can she pull a house as easily as Big Mac? No. Can she kick a living house creature back? Yes.
 
She can create large tornadoes both with a teammate AND on her own at least twice, she can smash through solid trees using flying kicks, and she can create an massive explosive shockwave by using a Sonic Rainboom on a barn. Heck, in the comics, Rainbow Dash saves Twilight’s life by smashing, into the neck of an evil version of Celestia attacking Twilight with her magic, with almost half the force necessary to break Celestia’s neck. And in the comics, the two sisters are supposed to physcially stronger even compared to Big Mac, Celestia enormously so.
 
Sure, RD can injure herself if she trains too hard and she’s not a pure tank fighter, but both incarnations of her are definitely powerhouses. Human Rainbow Dash is an uber athlete capable of burning soccer kicks, but she isn’t on Dash’s level without ponying up.

Yay for using the sonic rainboom in combat, boo for being clumsy.

rekt

@CronoM  
are you referring to that giant alicorn the mane six conjured in Rainbow rocks? that doesn’t seem to be rainbow power, just the form that the Human six’s magic took in that movie. The human six’s magic is much wonkier than the ponies magic since they seem to 100% possess magical abilities compared to the ponies (Dash was piledriving plants all over the place for example in her ponyed up form which is far more strength than dash has ever possessed in show)

@Background Pony #417E  
Twilight used it in Rainbow Rocks, and those movies are canon. Its never addressed itself as a one time thing. Since the only requirement seems to be they all have to activate it together against a great evil, there’s no reason to believe they lost it. This plan of distracting the Mane 6 with the convinced troublemakers removes that opportunity during the fight.

I hate it already.

@CronoM  
There’s no indication that they still possess their rainbow power abilities though. The only time its ever been shown was in a dream that luna has had, its highly possible after the S4 finale they no longer have that power up.

I think she was trying to pull up or away but did it too late

For the sake of taking this comic seriously, I’m going to assume that Sombra used a ‘cloud of war’ spell to make sure the heroes weren’t thinking straight enough to fight properly OR use their Rainbow Power forms.
 
Sure, its a copout headcanon, I know that fully well. But since they presented those Rainbow forms and its power, the only way any villain or villains on this level was going to take them out was to make sure they couldn’t wield them, stopping them from together and organized. (RD was a particular problem cause she literally practices fighting changelings in her mind every good dream. She even came close to breaking Celestia’s neck she’s that powerful in the comics. Was she raised feral or something?)
 
Plus, the smoke is on EVERY panel. Sombra’s power over perception and minds has long been established.
 
Headcanon: In panel 3, Rainbow Dash saw an illusion of a bunch of changelings running away from her, only seeing AJ’s hoof at the last second.
 
To take that even further, they probably brought the ‘non-villain’ crew to distract the others while in their mental state and disarray, making them more easily to deal with. It IS harder to unleash the “power of absolute good” when only half of the villain crew are stone-cold villains, and the other half are just misguided troublemakers who were convinced what they want is revenge. Potentially prompting the more passive members of the group like Fluttershy, Pinkie or Rarity to talk to the non-villains instead of just brutally fighting everything with Rainbow Power….
 
..oohhhhhhh….
 
Got to admit, I didn’t think that part of the comic plot was going to make sense. But the Mane 6 ARE composed of peaceful heroes, and manipulated non-villains are the perfect distraction.

@Ken-Oh, King of Fists  
She’s just not very interesting when her vocabulary is mostly “AWESOME!!1” and just being propelled to a point that she’s effectively beyond what she even aspires to to the point that episodes involving her tend to require dragging down other characters to support it. Along with being given way too much individual merit with being the catalyst for everyone’s cutiemark on top of doing some kind of impossible technique (that she’s since apparently completely mastered) to do it. It’s not about problem solving or just being in the show however, she’s just way overdone in fandom stuff that I don’t mind seeing her kicked in the face every now and then.

@Background Pony #56DD  

 
How is she overplayed in the show? She’s certainly not solving problems left and right in it.

@Joshua  
True, but maybe I’d lean more on indifferent if she wasn’t just so overplayed. Still!

Holy FUCK was this stupid.
 
Dash isnt all that bright, but shit, she’s not THIS dumb.

@Background Pony #56DD  
You Dash hater.

@Joshua  
I dunno, I’m enjoying seeing Dash get kicked in her dumb face for bein’ dumb.

@PonyPon  
Plus, coming from Miss Take Note of Everything While Flying?

@Grieffon
 
No Dash failing like this is fine. Pinkies was stupid and really the minor villains didn’t need to be there, Changeling army would of been enough.