It seems like another day of Ponyville's Rainbow Dash fanclub (with Rainbow eavesdropping as always), but Scootaloo suddenly kicks everypony out, removes all of her Rainbow Dash memorabilia, and replaces it all with merchandise of "the Washouts". Rainbow is so stunned that she immediately walks in and not-so-subtly demands an explanation. The Washouts are a new team of stunt flyers who perform daredevil stunts so extreme that Scootaloo claims them to be way more awesome than the Wonderbolts. Rainbow talks to her friends about it and is unable to hide her jealousy that Scootaloo might have a new idol, but just to be sure they know who they're talking about, they decide to attend an upcoming show in Ponyville. Although Rainbow initially expresses heavy bias against the Washouts, after watching the show, even she can't deny how incredible they performed. Curious about who the Washouts are, Rainbow and Scootaloo go meet them after the show. They reveal that they're all former Wonderbolts that were forced out due to various issues (hence their group name), and their leader turns out to be non other than Lightning Dust (previously seen way back in Season 3).
Rainbow and Lightning initially talk surprisingly well, but the conversation turns hostile once they start considering who Scootaloo should consider a better role model. Rainbow quickly decides to take Scootaloo to Wonderbolts headquarters to show why they're better role models, but Spitfire's aggressiveness doesn't exactly provide the desired conviction. As they return to Ponyville, Rainbow expresses that she just doesn't want Scootaloo to get hurt. But when Rainbow insists on disposing all of Scootaloo's Washouts merchandise, Scootaloo decides to outright join the Washouts as a full member.
A conversation with Twilight helps Rainbow realize that she can't just force Scootaloo to idolize her, but upon discovering that Scootaloo has joined the Washouts, Rainbow begs her to reconsider, arguing that performing with them is way too dangerous. However, Scootaloo is so firm on being with the Washouts that she even brings up how her inability to fly will never make her be just like Rainbow Dash, which hurts Rainbow to the point that she doesn't bother arguing anymore. At the next show, Scootaloo is very excited to perform her rocket-propelled scooter stunt jump, but when she actually sees the size of the rocket, she begins to have second thoughts, but Lightning Dust immediately threatens to kick Scootaloo off the team if she backs out from the stunt, and even adds on more rockets. Scootaloo reluctantly agrees to go through with the stunt, but regrets it right at the moment it starts. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash swoops in to save her as the rocket goes airborne, while Lightning Dust accidentally gets dragged along by the rocket. Scootaloo and Rainbow both apologize to each other, and while Scootaloo is willing to bring back her fanclub for Rainbow Dash, Rainbow decides to start her own club for the appreciation of Scootaloo, as a sign of mutual respect.
This was a rather average episode for me. It was nice to once again see a character return after many seasons, this time being Lightning Dust, who we see is still as reckless as ever. Among the other Washouts, I actually recognized Short Fuse from a previous episode (I forget the name, but it was from late in Season 6, the map mission for Twilight and Rainbow where we met Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger) as a Wonderbolts recruit (and I'll admit, I found his "anger issues" to be hilarious). There were a pair of running gags in the middle segment that I just didn't like very much, especially with Spitfire's pointless aggressiveness thrown in. Rainbow certainly went too far to pressure Scootaloo to forget the Washouts, which naturally only pushed Scootaloo to get even closer to the Washouts. Thankfully, Twilight was able to help Rainbow understand what she did wrong, while Scootaloo had to be traumatized by a near-death experience to realize that Rainbow really does care about her, while Lightning Dust was only concerned with putting on an epic show at the expense of all safety laws, which made Scootaloo determine that Rainbow Dash really is her best idol all along. Oh, and at the Scootaloo appreciation club, we can see that Rainbow's parents are rather predictably among its members.
