I give a hearty yawn as I float atop the surface of my favorite lake. It’s been a long day of cloud busting, and the water soothes my aching body. I spend a little time splashing around, letting the buoyancy of the water keep me afloat.
After I conclude that I should be heading home, mostly because it’s starting to get dark, I flap up out of the water and make for a slow flight back to my house. I didn't bring a towel, figuring that the wind would dry me off by the time I get back.
And sure enough, when I touch down on my front porch my cerulean fur is as dry as usual. I give another yawn as I stumble through my front door, my tiredness catching up with me faster than I expect.
I flop down onto my bed, giving out a sigh of relief as I take the weight off myself. I curl up and let out another yawn, pulling the covers up over me and turning over onto my side. The transition to sleep is brief enough that I don't think I lay there for more than half a minute.
* * * *
“Come on Rainbow, it’s about to start!” A light orange pegasus gives me a push from behind.
My mind reels as I try to understand what’s happening. I think I’m behind a stage, or something.
“Come on! Get going.” The pegasus gives me another bump, so I walk in the direction she indicates, past a curtain and out onto a brightly light stage.
“Please welcome the fastest flyer in Equestria, Rainbow Dash!”
I hear the painfully thunderous roar of a cheering crowd as I walk dumbstruck out into the middle of the stage. My stunned silence only lasts for a moment though, as my showpony instincts take over and I raise a hoof to greet the crowd; smiling and waving at all the cheering ponies.
A unicorn walks out from the other end of the stage, holding an envelope and a plaque.
“Congratulations Rainbow, it is my greatest honor to present you with this.” The pony presents the plaque to me, allowing for a moment to read it.
Emblazoned across its surface, it reads: “In recognition of the outstanding achievement of beating the all time speed record, this award of is presented to one Rainbow Dash of Ponyville.”
“And there’s not only that, but I have a letter here from none other than Spitfire herself!” The unicorn states, his voice booming across the audience with the aid of magic.
The unicorn hands the letter to me, and I rip it open with my mouth in an instant. I can hardly contain my glee as I read it aloud, for everypony to hear.
“Dear Rainbow Dash,
I wanted to congratulate you on your outstanding performance. You certainly turned a few heads that day, which is one of the reasons I would like you to come back to the academy.
Welcome to the Wonderbolts kid, you've earned it.”
* * * *
I bolt upright in bed, breath coming out in ragged gasps. What the hay was that all about?
I glance outside and see the first rays of the morning sun slipping in through the window. I shake my head, trying to clear the memory of that dream. It was certainly cool, but I've got things I need to do today.
Over the next month, the dream has come back every night. It gets to the point where every time I even shut my eyes for a few moments, I’m reminded of the vivid imagery it contains. I start to be unable to sleep well. For some reason that dream bothers me, and I have yet to be able to explain why.
All of my friends notice that something’s up. Pinkie offers to throw me a party, but I decline. I know there only one pony that can help me, and I think it’s time I sucked it up and just ask her for help.
"Oh, hey there Rainbow Dash. Can I help you with something?" Twilight greets me as I enter the library, I find her nosing through this book and that tome as per usual. I’m surprised she even noticed I entered the room.
"Twilight, I'm going to ask you something. Something that I’d really rather not ask, but kinda have to.
"Of course! What is it?" Twilight reassures.
“I... need help.” The last two words are just above a whisper.
“That’s a little vague, what do you need help with?” Twilight asks, setting down the book that she had been holding with her magic and walking over to me.
I sigh and start to explain to her the dream I’ve been having, as well as my desire to actually break that record. She sits in rapt attention, clinging to my every word. Once done, she puts a reassuring hoof on my shoulder.
"Oh Rainbow, I wish you come to me sooner. I have tons of books that could help with this. But…” Twilight seems apprehensive for a moment before coming to a decision. “I have books that will help, but there are a lot of them, and they’re very technical. So you would have to do quite a bit of studying before you even got to that point.”
“I know reading isn’t exactly a thing for me, besides Daring Do that is, but at this point I’m kinda desperate,” I admit.
“Well, I’ll start you off with something simple then.” Twilight states, grabbing a hardcover book off a high shelf and holding it in front of me.
“An Introduction to Science. Seriously Twilight? How the hay is this going to help? It looks like it’s for fillies.” I give her an indignant look.
“Well, that’s because it is for fillies,” she admits.
“Twilight! I thought you said you were going to help!”
“I am,” she shoots back. “But you have to start somewhere. You can’t just suddenly jump right into algebra, calculus, and everything else you’ll need to understand complex aerodynamics. You have to understand the basics first.” Twilight passes the book off to me.
“Fine.” I sigh. “This is my best shot at this, isn’t it?”
“You bet.” Twilight smiles.
I thank Twilight for her help and leave the library. I take flight outside, heading for the nearest lake. I've got all day to do weather patrol duty, so I decide to get a head start on these books. And there’s nothing quite like lying out in the sun with a book to read.
I take a break from reading around noon time; both to have lunch and to take care of my weather patrol duties. While eating, I look at what I need to whip up for today’s weather.
Looks like today is going to be a bit overcast, simple enough. The entire task only takes an hour or two at most. With that done I go back to where I had left the borrowed book and settle back down to read it again.
As much as I hate to admit it, but if this is only the basics then I can’t wait to see what the advanced stuff entails. Some stuff from physics, simple algebra, which I had a bit of a hard time with, and some really simple aerodynamics. Like I said, I hate to admit it, but this is all just cool! Sure there’s a ton of stuff to learn, but since when has a challenge ever stopped me? It’s going to take a while, but I know I’ll get this down.
* * * *
The next few months are consumed with the same routine. Get up, eat, study, lunch, weather patrol, study, dinner, sleep; rinse repeat until frustrated. All of this studying is helping me; I’ve noticed a big change in how well I do. Flight envelopes, aerodynamics, it all makes me a better flyer.
On one especially long study session, I come across a book which mentions a term I haven’t learned yet, ‘terminal velocity’. With gusto, I search for its meaning. I find it soon enough and that’s when a realization hits me.
The faster I go the more power it’s going to take because I am pushing through the atmosphere. But, the higher I go the thinner the atmosphere becomes. They always taught in flight school has it’s a bad idea to fly too high, and this is probably why.
Of course, there’s one very simple solution to this. I’ll simply have to go high enough where there is no air to slow me down. I’ll just have to find a way to breathe, too…