Chapter 29: Feel the Sky
Rainbow Dash sat back and watched as the dock hands loaded the crate into Tom's cargo bay. "How much did you pay for that thing?" asked Rainbow Dash staring at the crate.
"More than you can ever afford," replied FedEx. "I want it installed and ready for the next delivery. If it breaks, I'll be docking your pay for... the rest of your life I guess," said the orange pegasi. "Now get to it!" he ordered before walking away.
Rainbow Dash sighed and began to open up the crate. "We'll be stunt flyers he said. We'll be rich he said. I'll take care of you he said," muttered Rainbow Dash while imitating a male voice. With all the talent she had, she never would have imagined she'd end up being a dock hand for a living. "Mom and dad warned me about dropping out of school to chase some pipe dream, but did I listen?" she continued as she finally opened up the crate.
Rainbow Dash examined the inside of the crate, but wasn't quite certain what she was looking at. This doesn't look like any flight computer I've ever seen, she thought to herself. The device was fairly large and box shaped, as well as very cold to the touch. There was also a glass lid of sorts, which was covered in what appeared to be a heavy layer of dust. She looked for the manual, but instead found only a single piece of paper. Those couldn't be, or at least shouldn't be, the instructions considering how complex flight computers are suppose to be. She picked up the letter which read,
To FedEx,
I got the money, so as agreed, here is the piloting program you asked for. It has everything it needs to know to fly Tom. Kept inside is also a slave band and remote. Remember if anyone finds out I've been selling these things as merchandise, I can promise that you'll go down along side me. To avoid such problems, keep the piloting program on the ship at all times. No need for anyone to know about it. That said if for any reason you lose the unit and the remote, let me know immediately. I can deactivate it remotely from where I am as long as the program is near any place that gets a signal. Starting the program is simple. To defrost the merchandise, type in the number code 122410. Memorize the code, destroy this letter, don't reply.
Keep in mind if unit is lost due to your own negligence, you will not be getting a refund. All sales are final.
What the hell has FedEx been doing? she asked herself. It was rather dark inside the large crate, and the thick dust made it impossible to see what was inside. When Rainbow Dash tried to wipe off some of the dust covering the glass, she practically gave herself frost burn as she found out that dust was actually dry ice. She decided she should just do as the instructions read and entered the code.
Rainbow Dash probably should have gotten back, because she was blasted by a burst of freezing air as the device's lid opened. As she looked inside, she was struck with shock and horror as an unconscious orange filly fell forward. Rainbow Dash barely caught the filly in her own hooves before she hit the ground. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" she stammered repeatedly.
Rainbow Dash gently laid the filly on the ground. She was completely naked, so Rainbow Dash could tell it was a Pegasus, and probably no more than twelve years old. FedEx are you nuts?! You're buying slaves?! Rainbow Dash began to pace frantically wondering what she should do. As she did, she noticed a small package behind the cryo pod the filly had been frozen in. Inside was a collar and a small pad with numbers zero through nine, a red button, and an enter button, as well as another letter.
This is the slave band. Immediately place the band on the products neck. It will initially be dormant when first activated, but will gain consciousness after a few minutes. It is highly advised you place the slave band on immediately after the package is opened to avoid any difficulties. The number pad with the slave band has two functions. Push the red button at any time to discipline the merchandise. This is a non-lethal means that should take care of most problems you may encounter.
This unit also comes with a built in kill switch near its heart. If you really need to put your hoof down, type the number code 030312, then enter. This should only be used as a last resort. You are not entitled to a replacement unit should you take this course of action. If for any reason you need to remove the collar, type in code 120812 followed by enter. Recommend sedation before doing so.
So she is a slave... and now I'm involved too! Rainbow Dash heard a groan coming from the filly. It wouldn't be long now before she was awake. Without thinking, Rainbow Dash grabbed the slave band and placed it on her neck. She had done a horrible thing just now, but she had no idea what else to do.
The filly opened her eyes, which slowly met with Rainbow Dash's. Her hoof crept up towards her neck, gently sliding it across the slave band. The orange filly said nothing, she simply bowed her head in sadness as if she already knew what had happened.
"So... you're our new... piloting program?" asked Rainbow Dash.
The fillies face held its sad expression. She didn't look up towards Rainbow Dash, she just nodded her head.
"Ok then. The note say's you'd know how to pilot Tom so... let's take you to Tom... and fast. Before anyone see's you with that thing around your neck," muttered Rainbow Dash.
The silent filly got up on her hooves and followed the mare to the ship.
Rainbow Dash didn't say much else. She was disgusted with herself for what she had just done to the filly. But the second she opened up that pod, she became involved no matter what. It's not like she could turn in her boss. He'd probably blame it on her, and he had the money to bribe a judge and jury. That and as a drop out, she didn't really have many other employment opportunities. For now she was just as much a prisoner as the filly was.
Rainbow Dash got the filly some clothing and showed her to the cockpit of Tom so she could get settled in. "Do these controls look familiar to you?" asked Rainbow Dash. The filly nodded. "Can you talk?" asked Rainbow Dash. Again the filly nodded. "Do you have a name?" This time she shook her head. "Oh... well you're going to need a name."
"Why?" she asked finally speaking.
"Well, what am I suppose to call you if you don't have a name?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"We had numbers at the boarding school," replied the filly.
"I'm not going to call you a number," said Rainbow Dash. "You're a pilot so... how about Cruise Control?"
"Ok," said the filly.
"Do you like it?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Umm... it's ok," replied the filly.
"Squirt, this is going to be your name for your whole life. Make sure you pick a name you like," suggested Rainbow Dash.
"Well... I don't like squirt," she muttered nervously.
"How about Contrail?" suggested Rainbow Dash.
"That's better" said the filly.
Rainbow Dash thought hard for a moment. She wanted to give the filly a name she thought would sound cool. Maybe not as cool as her own, but still cool. "I got it, how about Jet Stream?" asked Rainbow Dash.
The filly smiled shyly and nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, Jet Stream it is. By the way, I'm Rainbow Dash," she said.
"Ok Rainbow Dash. Are you going to be my owner from now on?" asked Jet Stream.
"What? Oh no not me. I just work for the guy. You'll be working for FedEx. He owns this ship and a few others as well. We're a delivery service," explained Rainbow Dash.
"Oh... I was hoping I could work for you. You seem nice," said Jet Stream. "But if you aren't my owner, why did you put this on me?" she asked pointing to the slave band.
"That... I... I don't know really. I guess I freaked out and just acted without thinking... sorry about that," apologized Rainbow Dash.
"Well... it's not your fault I guess," said Jet Stream. "I knew what was going to happen to me when they took me away."
"Who took you away?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I don't really know who. But they take us away now and then," answered Jet Stream.
"From where? Where are you from exactly? Do you remember if you have any parents?" asked Rainbow Dash. She had no clue why she was asking. It's not like she could take her home if she did know.
"I had a dad, and a mom too... I think," replied Jet Stream. "And hundreds of sisters."
"Hundreds? How?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I'm a clone," explained Jet Stream. "They made a whole bunch of other like me. We were getting trained to work for the Dominion. Dad was trying to make sure we were ready. But every now and then some of us get taken away for adoption. At least that's what dad told us."
"I don't see why a daughter would need a slave collar. What happened when you were being adopted?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I was taken into an office where I was told I would meet my new parents. Instead they injected me with something so I couldn't move. They took me away and put me into a machine, a tank filled with water. It made a bunch of lights, and then I started to remember things that didn't really happen. The machine also explained that I was going to be given away, and to do whatever I'm told to do. I fell asleep inside the machine. When I woke up, I was here with you." concluded Jet Stream. "Where exactly am I?"
"This is Moria. You're at the capital," answered Rainbow Dash.
"What? No, the capital is Korhal," replied Jet Stream. "Wait... I know that name. Am I in Consortium space?"
"That would be correct," answered Rainbow Dash. "Welcome to your new life I guess. You'll probably meet FedEx in a bit. As I mentioned, he'll be your... boss." Rainbow Dash didn't want to use words like, "owner" or "master." The last thing she wanted to do was scare the filly anymore than she already had been when she was kidnapped.
"Is he nice?" asked Jet Stream.
"Uhh... no. But don't worry about that squirt. I've worked for him a long time, I know how to handle him. I'll make sure he doesn't ride you to hard," assured Rainbow Dash.
"Thanks Rainbow Dash," said Jet Stream. "Does this mean we're friends?"
"Well... I guess so. Consortium space is pretty unforgiving, so we've got to look out for each other. Watch my back, I'll watch yours, deal?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Deal!" said Jet Stream as she hugged the mare.
Rainbow Dash wasn't expecting that. Not knowing what else to do, she slowly wrapped her hooves around Jet Stream and hugged her back.
Apple Bloom was busy in Tom's engine room. She had plenty to keep herself occupied with when she wasn't monitoring Scootaloo these last few weeks, since it looked like Tom hadn't seen a real mechanic in years. Jet Stream had done her best to keep Tom together, but she only had so much mechanical know how. Not to mention Jet Stream didn't exactly have an abundance of spare parts. The ship's FTL drives were in particularly bad shape. It was clear they'd been offline and in a state of disrepair for years, which forced Jet Stream and Rainbow Dash to hitch rides when traveling from planet to planet.
Fortunately with all the cargo runs Jet Stream was doing for the locals on Torus, she was able to gather enough bits for Tom to get a long overdue tune up. It had been days in the making, but Tom was once again ready to go faster than light. A good thing too, because they would need to leave the system as soon as they could. She had already gone through her check list on Tom's status three times, so at this point she was just trying to distract herself from recent events.
Apple Bloom felt so hopeless. In a few minutes, Jet Stream was going to be taking off, then they would meet Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo at the rendezvous point. From there Apple Bloom would have to confront her friend. Her friend who had spent the last two months being stripped of emotion, trained to kill, and for all she knew was still well armed. Her friend who had just lost her father due to Apple Bloom's actions. Why did I open the damn doors!? If I'd just known...
"Apple Bloom, is Tom ready yet? We have to get going!" shouted Jet Stream from the cockpit. "I bet you can't wait to see Scootaloo again."
Jet Stream still hadn't been made aware of the death of Scootaloo's father, and by extension, her own father. There was a good chance when the day was over, Apple Bloom would lose two friends. A day she would forever regret, provided Scootaloo didn't just kill her outright. Apple Bloom wanted to make an excuse to delay the take off for just a little while longer, but they didn't have any more time to spare. The chaos she had caused on the Torus DSP would only last so long, and eventually they would find them. They needed to leave Torus soon, and couldn't afford to delay.
Apple Bloom entered the cockpit and strapped herself in. "All ready to go now. Let's get moving," she said.
Rainbow Dash continued gaining altitude in preparation for her big performance. She was strapped down in her old flight suit from when she still had aspirations of becoming a stunt flier, a time before her dreams were put on hold. The flight suit was black and dark purple, with yellow lightning streaks near the hoofs and neck. It served as an anti-g suit, which would hopefully keep her conscious at the speeds she had planned on reaching. In addition to the suit, she also wore a flight helmet to protect her eyes and ears from the powerful G-forces she was about to endure, as well as a breath mask help keep her from suffocating in mid air.
Rainbow Dash normally preferred flying freely and unencumbered, but the stunt she was about to perform required her to take extra safety steps. She didn't like to do this trick for just anyone due to the dangers involved, but today was a certain filly's special day, and Rainbow Dash wanted to make sure it was one to remember.
She had just about reached the maximum altitude her body would take her and began to lose momentum. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and said a special prayer to herself she uses in these kind of situations.
Angels fly
Dashing by
Close your eyes
Feel the sky
Rainbow Dash felt herself turn upside down and began falling head first towards the ground. Her body was completely straight in a vertical dive as she began to pick up speed. In addition to gravity, she added in her own pegasi flight magic to pick up even more speed, then slowly began to turn into an incline. It only took a few seconds for her body to begin feeling the crushing impact of the G-force smashing against her, as well as the heat build up. The pressure points in her suit began to tighten to help keep the blood from rushing out of her head and extremities.
The helmets built in speaker gave a message, Warning. G-force currently at 11.1. Recommend deceleration. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and to see the number flashing on her visor, which marked acceleration holding steady at 392 miles per hour.
It had only been about three seconds and she was already at Mach one. Rainbow Dash focused on her breathing to maintain consciousness. If she passed out now, they would need a tweezers to pick up her remains after she hit the ground. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and inhaled somewhat deeply trying to keep her breathing steady.
Approaching Mach two announced the helmet. As she exhaled, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes only to find everything had gone grey. A common sign of G-force strain. As she finished her exhale, the helmet announced, Approaching Mach three.
Only five more seconds, six at the most, she thought to herself. Her peripheral vision was now gone as the tunnel vision set in. All she could see now was the ground in front of her.
Approaching Mach four. This was it, the big moment. By now, her vision was now almost completely gone as she neared a total black out. It was unfortunately a typical development right before she reached her intended speed. The black out was the last step before total loss of consciousness. That made this maneuver particularly dangerous; the bad vision made it difficult to judge how much time she had to pull up before she hit the ground. The last three seconds seemed to last an eternity.
Fear began to grip Rainbow Dash, and she found herself fighting the urge to slow down and pull up. She was feeling very light headed, and her body was burning up inside her suit. It would have comforted her to hear the helmet tell her how close she was to Mach five, but her hearing had also diminished at this point. All she could do now was wait for the-
A suddenly burst of force hit her from behind. That was what she was waiting for. Rainbow Dash began to try to slow herself down as she tried to even herself out. This would be the tricky part, she had to make sure she pulled up at just the right speed. Any idiot could fly high and let themselves fall to pick up speed. It was surviving the landing that took talent. If she pulled up too quickly, she could be ripped to pieces by the wind shear. If she didn't pull up soon enough, she'd hit the ground and be smashed to pieces.
Rainbow Dash's wings slowly adjusted themselves to bring her out of her dive, and into a horizontal flight. She began to feel the unnerving tickle of grass brushing against her belly. Fortunately she was careful to choose an area with plenty of space to land. The last thing she wanted to was crash into the side of a mountain after surviving the most difficult phase of the maneuver. Slowly her speed began to decelerate. The pressure points in her flight suit began to release, and her sight and vision were returning to her.
Feeling fairly focused, she turned around in search of a ship being accompanied by a certain filly. There in the distance she could see Jet Stream floating in the air, cheering for her excitedly. Up above, a shockwave of rainbow colored flames rippled through the sky. Though exhausted, she managed to bring herself in to land near Jet Stream.
"Rainbow Dash that was incredible! I didn't think any pegasi could ever do anything like that! That was so cool!" she shouted while jumping excitedly.
Rainbow Dash started taking off her flight suit which was beginning to feel like an oven. She then unstrapped the breath mask on her flight helmet just in time to vomit all over the floor. Her eyes were burning, her wings felt like they were about to fall off, and her entire body was sweating profusely, but she was still alive.
"Oh my gosh. Rainbow are you alright?!" asked a concerned Jet Stream.
Rainbow Dash wiped the vomit from her mouth, then looked up at the happy filly. "I'm fine. Happy birthday squirt."
Jet Stream quickly embraced her hero in a hug saying, "Thanks Rainbow Dash. No one has ever done anything like that for me."
Rainbow Dash blushed and returned the hug. The little filly had grown on her over these last few years. Not only that, but Jet Stream had inspired her as well. Jet Stream loved nothing more than to watch Rainbow Dash perform. She was a one filly fan club, but it was a fan club worth performing for. Rainbow Dash had forgotten just how much she loved stunt flying, but Jet Stream's encouragement helped her to remember.
Rainbow Dash was even considering trying to once again get back into the game. Jet Stream had been recording some of her flight performances, and airing them on the web. Ponies of importance within the Dominion had taken interest in her abilities, and contacted her saying they would like to talk about a contract. She owed Jet Stream for helping her get another shot at her dream. Rainbow Dash had given up too soon last time, this time she would see it through. She would make it to the big time, and when she did, she'd take Jet Stream with her.
"Come with me squirt, I got something else for you," said Rainbow Dash. Jet Stream followed Rainbow Dash back to Tom. Once inside, Rainbow Dash pulled a small gift wrapped item out from under one of the bunks. "All yours kiddo," said Rainbow Dash.
Jet Stream looked at the box with a mixture of excitement and curiosity, then quickly started to unwrap the present. "Spider Mines IV, Death from Below!" screamed Jet Stream excitedly. "How did you know?!"
"Lucky guess," replied Rainbow Dash. Jet Stream had spent most of her youth in the Dominion, so Rainbow Dash knew she was a fan of terran era films, particularly post Earth.
"This is the best birthday ever. Thank you Rainbow Dash!" shouted Jet Stream as she again hugged Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash didn't know why, but something about seeing the little filly smile just made all the troubles of the world disappear. It made her forget about the fact she had grown up to be a loser with a dead end job. Though if all went well, that would soon be changing. "Let's get you something to eat. We'll go anywhere you want, just name it," said Rainbow Dash.
Before Jet Stream could reply, the moment was broken with a, "What the hell was that?!" being shouted by an angry stallion. Rainbow Dash and Jet Stream looked suddenly noticed FedEx had just walked into the ship's cockpit. He must have followed them to the field. "I saw the whole thing, what were you thinking?!" he asked.
"It's nothing I haven't done before," said Rainbow Dash assuming he was talking about the Sonic Rainboom she just performed.
"Do you think I give a crap about your stupid flying tricks? I'm talking about why the hell that thing was outside of the ship?!" shouted FedEx while pointing to Jet Stream
Jet Stream was scared, she had no idea what to say. Rainbow Dash pulled Jet Stream behind her, gesturing to the filly to let the mare handle it. "Sir, it's an empty field. No one saw her, it's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? Then what the hell did I just hear about you taking that thing out to dinner?!" asked FedEx
"SHE has a name sir," countered Rainbow Dash.
"I don't care what you call it. It's not allowed to leave the ship. And another thing, who the hell said you can waste my fuel to take the ship out here?!" asked FedEx.
Jet Stream finally spoke, against Rainbow Dash's wishes. "I'm sorry Mr. FedEx. We didn't mean to-"
"Did I say you can talk?!" asked FedEx. He revealed the remote to the slave band and pushed down on the button. Jet Stream fell the ground, screaming in agony.
"Stop!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she reached down to help Jet Stream. "She doesn't deserve that! It was my idea."
FedEx reached down and picked up the holo vid Jet Stream had just gotten for her birth day. "Is this what it's been doing? I didn't buy that thing so it could waste my time and my money watching this garbage!" FedEx threw the holo vid on the ground and again pushed the button.
Once again, Jet Stream let out another long scream, as well as a, "Mr.FedEx I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" Tears were now running down her terrified face.
"I know you're not going to do it again. Because I'm going to make sure you remember what happens when you leave the ship!" For the third time, FedEx pushed down the button, and for the third time, Jet Stream began to scream, spilling tears all over the floor.
Rainbow Dash had seen enough. Jet Stream was the only thing that made her happy, and seeing this bastard turning what was suppose to be a happy day into a nightmare was more than she could tolerate. Rainbow Dash tackled FedEx, knocked the remote out of his hand, then began to pummel him mercilessly. She didn't know how long it went on for, but she eventually heard Jet Stream shout, "Rainbow, stop it!" come from behind. Rainbow Dash snapped out of her psychotic rage only to find she had beaten FedEx to a bloody pulp. His face was so mangled that he was unrecognizable. "Is he..." was all Jet Stream could say.
"Jet Stream, we have to leave now," said Rainbow Dash.
"Leave where?" asked Jet Stream.
Rainbow Dash remembered the message she had gotten from that Dominion talent agent. Perhaps she'd be starting her new life sooner rather than later. "Dominion space. We're leaving as soon as I get rid of... this," answered Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow Dash. I'm sorry I got you in trouble," said Jet Stream.
"You didn't do anything wrong!" countered Rainbow Dash. "I did this, and he made me do it. Don't ever blame yourself for what just happened alright?" The tear filled Jet Stream just nodded in acknowledgement. "In fact, your birth day isn't ruined yet. I have one more thing for you squirt."
"Rainbow, I don't think now is the time for more presents," said Jet Stream.
Rainbow Dash ignored Jet Streams comment and picked up the remote entering the code, 120812. The slave band on Jet Streams neck suddenly released. Jet Stream slowly reached her hoof up towards her neckline. She couldn't believe it, she was free! "Happy birthday squirt" said Rainbow Dash once again.
Jet Stream again embraced the mare. "Thank you... Thank you so much... I love you Rainbow Dash!" she shouted while still crying.
I love you. It had been a long time since anyone had ever told her that. But in hindsight, she shouldn't be too surprised. Now that she thought of it, Rainbow Dash was certain she loved the filly too. Jet Stream had helped to bring joy and meaning into her life again. She was worth protecting, and Rainbow Dash would continue to protect her.
"Squirt... Jet... I want you to know that things are going to be difficult for a while. What I just did... it's going to cause us problems. But whatever happens, you can count on me to take care of you. I'll be just like your own sister alright?"
"Alright," said Jet Stream smiling up at her.
"And what do sisters do?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"They watch out for each other," replied Jet Stream.
"Exactly. And that's what we're going to do."
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That little prayer she says is from this video, and I wouldn't feel right if I didn't give credit. Wish I could link it in the authors notes, but it won't let me. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. Though you may want to skip the intro (about the one minute mark).
First, I love that song.
Wait, if Dash killed a guy in Constornium space and went to the Dominion space, wouldn't she be free? Or do they have laws about pursuing wanted ponies into other territories?
Also, I thought Jet Stream dying would not affect me, but NOW?!?!?!
Lastly, Author's note=SCIENCE!!!!!
And yup FedEx is mean, I use UPS.
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Their back story isn't over yet. I still haven't gotten to the part where she got sent to the ice house after all.
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Oh...right....
I hardly recognized you with your new avatar, may I ask where you got it?
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Rametep made it. It'll probably be on his gallery soon.
I have successfully made someone care about Jet Streams well being. SCORE!
An achievement considering how little "screen time" she has had.
BTW, I talked to Rametap, there will probably be another art ready for Shining Armors debute. That won't be for a couple of weeks, but something to look forward too.
Marvelous. Simply marvelous!
twilight.ponychan.net/chan/arch/src/131930833209.gif
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You can't have Shining without Cadance!
Well.....maybe YOU can........
I like the backstory, but I see you went with the numbers from the presentation which were fundamentally flawed in several ways.
The first and most obvious is distance. If we assume constant acceleration, neglect air resistance, and zero out the starting conditions (initial position and velocity), the altitude Z is given by Z=dv*dt/(2)^.5 (2^.5 is the square root of 2 = 1.414). If we assume she reached mach 5 (5*343 m/s=1715 m/s) in 15 seconds, she must have traveled Z=1715 m/s*15 s/1.414=18193 m. That is about 60,000 feet which is far higher than any clouds in a temperate region like Equestria could be at so she could not have gotten up to that speed because she did not have the distance even if we ignore everything else. It is also worth noting that this is actually a generous estimate because air resistance increases with the square of airspeed so she would actually build up most of her speed earlier which means she would spend more time at higher speed which translates to even more distance required to get up to speed. This is also neglecting the fact that the ground will be significantly above sea level and she will need time to pull out of the dive, so she would actually need to start from much higher than 60,000 feet in order to pull it off.
The second is heat. At that speed the stagnation temperature is 1728 K, 1455 C, or 2651 F so Rainbow would be killed by the heat.
Third is the visual effect. Compare these two images:
aeromech.usyd.edu.au/aero/super2d/cone_30.gif
images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121111235505/mlp/images/thumb/e/ef/Mach_cone_forms_during_first_attempt_S1E16.png/800px-Mach_cone_forms_during_first_attempt_S1E16.png
Note how the actual mach cone in the first image comes to a near-perfect point right on the object and how the visual effect in the second is rounded off some distance in front of Rainbow's hoof. What this shows is that what surrounds Rainbow is most definitely not a mach cone because air is physically not capable of forming that effect at supersonic speed. The shockwave cannot move faster than the body creating it, so the air in front remains undisturbed until it directly strikes the supersonic object which is why no mach cone can ever form ahead of the body creating it.
Fourth is the rainboom effect itself. If you look, it forms a plainer shockwave perpendicular to Rainbow's direction of travel which is exactly what you would expect from an object breaking the sound barrier because the mach cone is actually a perpendicular plain at mach one. It also falls neatly out of the vapor shocks you see around aircraft traveling near the speed of sound which further indicates that the rainboom itself happens at exactly the speed of sound.
A fifth and final piece of more circumstantial evidence comes directly from the name which heavily implies that it is special because of the sonic boom. This in turn implies it is unique in that it breaks the sound barrier which would not be the case if it actually occurred at significantly above mach one. Also, its supposed non-existence closely mirrors the supposed impossibility of reaching the speed of sound which arose from an imperfect understanding of transonic aerodynamics such as the Prandtl–Glauert singularity.
Also, I didn't mention it earlier, but while I am ranting the scene with Pinkie breaking the bridge windows a while back was absurd on several counts because there should not have been any windows to break. They are a structural weakness that has no place on a warship because everything happens much to far away for them to be useful in a fight. The command center should really be buried deep in the heart of the ship where it cannot be taken out by a single lucky shot. We also know that the Protoss did not use windows because we see the bridge of the Gantrithor in at least one of the cutscenes in StarCraft 1, and Tassadar is clearly using a console to see what is going on.
Finally, you really need to do some more editing. There are a lot of silly little technical errors making it through that hurt immersion and keep this from living up to its full potential. For example, I saw "Approaching Mack four" in this chapter which is really not a hard error to spot, you just need to let it sit for a while so you can give it a clean pass or get a proofreader to clean it up for you before you post it.
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I totally understood that.
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Lets start with the windows. Zamara and Tassadar both watched Chau Sara from the window of the command deck as it burned when the Conclave declared exterminadus on that world. The glave worms latched onto the hull and tore through the Koramunds bridges windows and slaughtered the command crew. It wasn't because it was a structural weakness, it was because the ship had been sabotaged and the shields weren't active. That wasn't the bridge Tassadar was in, that was the engine room where the Khaydaren core was stored because he needed to channel its energy. This room was described by Iaaluu who was a chief engineer on a carrier. He also proved that Tassadar didn't need to be on the bridge to navigate it, because when Iaaluu fixed the engines on his carrier and died shortly afterwards, the ghost ship flew itself back to Shakkurass with no crew. If the ship can do that, I'm sure it can fly in a straight line into the overmind. Windows aren't a structural weakness. If the shields are down on a capital ship, one burst from a BCs yamato, one burst from a carrier's beam cannon, one salvo of torpedoes from a cruiser, corvette or fighter and that's game over for that ship, windows or not. Also keep in mind that the terran have windows on all of their command decks as well. These aren't protoss, they're ponies with an understanding of protoss technology. They aren't using the exact same ship designs as the protoss, nor would it make any sense that they would come up with near exact replicas of the same ships. Since they are more inclined to think like humans, they probably would put windows on their ships, even if protoss didn't.
Your fifth point, that is a name. Nothing more. It was made up by the writers because they thought it sounded cool. I doubt for even a second they looked up any Mach speeds when they named it. If you put to much emphasis on a name, you'll start to sound like this guy.
Forth point. It does not always form a plainer shockwave perpendicular to Rainbow's direction of travel. She has done three Rainbooms, and only the second one does that. The first one she is traveling downward at a 45 degree angle, then turns on a dime to go 45 degrees upward, yet the Rainboom is on a completely horizontal axis. Again, this is just the writing drawling what they think looks cool. There is no intent behind it.
Third point. The imagine... you used the wrong image
. That was the scene where she fails to perform a sonic Rain Boom. Look at the one when she does it successfully and pause around :59. Much more in line with the earlier image you posted.
As for her speed, that was measured by beetledude64, using the proper Mach cone, not the one you linked. That's where he measured 11.1G's.But as stated before, no animation was made with any scientific intent. So if you don't agree with Beetledude, by all means come up with some better numbers that work around the elevation and heat. If you can do so, send me a PM, I'll change the chapter and give you credit. Right now I'll probably just say she went down at an angle, but if you can get some better numbers, I'd welcome them with open arms.
Did anyone catch this?
Sleepless in Ponyville's original air date was December 08, 2012. This was the episode where Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo became honorary sisters. That date is compressed too 120812. 120812 is the code that Rainbow Dash used to release Jet Streams slave band, thus making them honorary sisters.
Did anyone catch that? Anyone at all?