The late afternoon sun hung just a few feet above the horizon, bathing the nation of Equestria in a soft, golden light. In a small woodland located deep within one of its more northerly counties, the many animals which resided here were going about their daily business; some were gathering food, others were exploring, and the rest were preparing for a peaceful slumber under the milky white glow and the soft twinkling of the night sky...
But their hopes for a quiet night's rest were suddenly dashed as the peace and stillness of their homeland was shattered by a deafening, whining roar from up above. In an instant, the terrified creatures scattered, trying to reach the safest hiding places they could find as the unearthly cacophony came closer and closer. As they looked up towards the sky, desperately trying to outrun whatever was making this frightful noise, they could see what looked like a giant silver bird thundering overhead. Its wings and tail were as stiff as boards, and its eyes, focussed straight ahead, were of a very unusual shape. It was quite unlike anything that the badly shaken animals had ever seen before.
Inside the head of the “bird” sat three stallions, each one clad in a flying suit with an oxygen mask over his muzzle. Two of them sat in front of what looked like a lavishly equipped dashboard, peering through the “eyes” as they brought their flying machine higher and higher into the air, while the third sat at a control panel immediately behind them. Satisfied that all was well, the stallion on the left of the “dashboard” spoke into the microphone of the headset he was wearing;
“Foalborough Test Control, this is Constellation Equine Bridle Apple X-Ray Zebra.”
“Go ahead, X-Ray Zebra.”
“Take-off has been completed,” stated the pilot. “We're now taking her up to Flight Level Four Five Zero for high-altitude testing.”
“Roger, X-Ray Zebra. Cleared to ascend to Flight Level Four Five Zero. Lots of luck.”
“Thanks, Control.” The pilot then turned and nodded to his colleague in the next seat, who responded by pulling the control stick further towards him.
Through the huge glass windows surrounding the top of a tall observation tower, right in the midst of a web of airstrips, a further group of twelve ponies looked on with intrigue as the plane was put through its paces. One of them, a sky-blue Earth stallion with a charcoal mane and tail and a finely combed handlebar moustache, couldn't help but smile proudly upon this massive new creation – and rightly so too, for this pony was none other than the owner of the company that had designed and built it. His name was Captain Sir Geoffrey de Hoofilland.
“She's looking pretty good so far, sir,” said one of the other stallions, gazing at the aircraft through a pair of binoculars.
Sir Geoffrey nodded in agreement. “And so she should,” he replied in a distinguished upper-class Trottingham accent. “We at de Hoofilland have been putting a tremendous amount of effort into making this latest vision a reality, don't you know – lots of research, lots of investment, lots of test flying...seven years we've spent developing the Constellation, all told. If it pays off, we should be onto a world leader in passenger aviation – the first in a brand new generation of 'superliners'.”
“We certainly should,” chuckled another stallion. “We've had plenty of large airliners on test here, but this just about beats the lot! Why, I'd eat my hat if I found out that this baby couldn't take the 1200 passengers you'd intended for it to carry.”
“Well, we'll just have to wait and see on that one; but yes, the old girl's quite the sight to behold if I do say so myself,” observed Sir Geoffrey. “All we need is for her to pass her final tests and we're laughing.”
“Oh, I don't doubt she will for one moment, sir. When it comes to innovative aircraft, you always manage to knock 'em sideways!”
“Well, let's hope,” mused the first stallion, returning to his desk in the middle of the room and watching the screen intently.
The minutes trotted briskly by, and soon they heard the voice of the test pilot over the radio; “Control, Equine X-Ray Zebra is now at Flight Level Four Five Zero and levelling off.”
The stallion at the desk responded at once; “Roger, X-Ray Zebra. What are your current readings?”
“Cabin temperature and pressure normal, airspeed: 490 knots, thrust levels: 68,500 pounds. Commencing high-altitude tests now.”
The twelve onlookers gathered by the observation window to watch the spectacle. They gazed with interest into the sky as, thousands of hooves above their heads, the massive airliner banked and rolled as ably as a speedboat through an obstacle course, occasionally obscured by the clouds. Sir Geoffrey beamed in delight – even now, it was plain to see that all the efforts on the part of his company and his good self, all the exhaustive experimental work and rigorous testing, all those rejected blueprints and repeated attempts by the drawing office to come up with a viable design for what many had deemed to be a mere pie in the sky, a white elephant that would soon fade into obscurity, were starting to pay off. Slowly but surely, his vision of an airliner far bigger than anything like it before was turning into a reality, and everypony else knew it.
The high-altitude testing went on for nearly an hour, and to its creator's further delight, the test crew couldn't identify any faults in the plane. As a grand finale to its highly successful trial flight, they brought the massive airliner down to just a hundred hooves above the airfield before swooping majestically over one of the runways, prompting a round of applause from the admiring crowd in the control tower.
“Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent!” proclaimed Sir Geoffrey jubilantly.
“I'll say it is,” agreed the test controller. “Seems we really are onto a world winner in passenger air travel. This'll go down a treat at the Foalborough Air Display.”
“Ah, but that's just the beginning,” went on Sir Geoffrey, a tone of eagerness apparent in his voice. “Only a few years from now, passengers will be travelling across the Titanic Ocean in far greater numbers than have ever travelled on a single flight – and many of them in levels of luxury almost completely unheard of in passenger aviation!”
“Indeed,” chuckled the controller. “You ought to be really proud of yourselves, Mr de Hoofilland. May I be the first to congratulate you on your success.”
Sir Geoffrey smiled modestly as he shook hooves with the controller. “Oh...it was a team effort really; my company may have built the Constellation, but we couldn't have done it without your assistance – or the Government grants that have gone into its construction.”
The controller nodded appreciatively before turning back to his radio. “Equine X-Ray Zebra from Foalborough Control. Okay, guys, I reckon that ought to do it,” he instructed. “Bring her into land on Runway Two Five, and we'll fill out the report to the Equestrian Air Ministry.”
“Roger, Control. Commencing approach onto Runway Two Five.”
The Constellation gently banked to the right to line up with the runway in question, its landing gear descending as it approached. With its nose raised slightly, it soared over the threshold and gently touched down on the tarmac before gently braking to a halt.