Busy Child
“Believe it or not, it’s actually quite simple once you know what you’re doing.”
– Aileron
Twilight approached the practice field, levitating the saddle in an unmarked cardboard box beside her. She’d gotten a few weird looks from some of the residents of Ponyville, probably because unmarked cardboard boxes as bulky as this one tended to rouse the curiosity of others. Well, that and the fact that it was somewhat unusual to see a unicorn to levitating large objects all the way across town. Maybe I should just use a cart next time until I have to go off the road....
The unicorn chased the thought from her mind. This was a minor detail that could wait until later. For now, she was more interested in learning why Rainbow Dash had insisted on arriving ahead of time to “take care of the preparations” (whatever those were). A glance towards the sky provided an answer: the pegasus was zipping around, meticulously arranging fluffy piles of water droplets into what was apparently some sort of obstacle course. “Hey, you’re here!”
Twilight wasn’t exactly certain how to respond to this statement of the obvious, except with an equally self-evident statement of her own: “Yes, I am.”
“Great! Just give me a minute or so to finish getting everything ready, and then we can get started.”
The unicorn grinned slyly. “A whole minute? Isn’t that a little slow for you?”
“Hey, this is the first time I’ve ever tried to teach anypony else basic aerobatics.”
“I suppose that explains why you brought your whistle today. But where’s your cap?”
“Uh, hello? We’re going to be flying all over the place. It’d probably just fall off.”
“Well, we’ll certainly be all over the place, considering how large this obstacle course is.”
“It’s not an obstacle course. It’s a series of stations for us to work on different tricks. I’m pretty sure it’s all set up the way it’s supposed to be, but I wanna make sure everything’s just right.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “And you guys think I’m a perfectionist.”
“Well, if you don’t want to learn it...”
“What is this ‘not wanting to learn’ concept you speak of? I’m not familiar with it.”
Rainbow Dash laughed at this joke (at least, she was pretty sure it was supposed to be a joke of some sort, given the unicorn’s smile), and glided back to the ground. “Okay, enough talking. Let’s get strapped in.”
——————————
As the two ponies had gotten quite proficient at saddling up in the past few weeks, it didn’t take very long at all before they were in the air. “You ready to get started?”
Twilight Sparkle nodded. “You bet. I’ve been reading up on the terminology, just like I promised. I’m ready for everything you have to tell me about loops, rolls, turns, and spins.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled softly—her friend’s eagerness to learn about flying reminded her of her own foalhood impatience. “One thing at a time, okay? Let’s start with the loops.”
The inside loop was undoubtedly the easiest of all the maneuvers on the day’s agenda, mostly because Twilight had been using partial versions of it as her primary means of inversion thus far. Twilight simply gave the signal for “up,” and since her directions were all relative to the pair’s current orientation at any given moment, continuing to go “up” caused Rainbow Dash to fly in a vertical circle. The pegasus, knowing that her friend always preferred to have as much information as possible about everything under the sun, started to give a somewhat involved clarification of the trick’s name, explaining how flyers would visualize a circular band, sort of like one of Zecora’s neck thingies, but Twilight cut her off.
“It’s called that because I’m on the ‘inside’ of the loop, right?”
“Uh... yeah, now that I think about it, it’s true. I mean, that’s basically a simpler way of saying what I was already saying, if you know what I’m saying.”
“I... uh, think so. And the outside loop is the same, only I’m signaling ‘down’ the whole time and I’m on the ‘outside’ of the loop, right?”
“Pretty much. I take it you wanna give it a shot?”
Indeed Twilight did, and the first attempt was soon made. However, this proved to be significantly more difficult, as the unicorn’s “outside” position meant that the g-forces of the maneuver were pulling her away from her flyer, causing her to extend her legs and lessen the strength of the “down” signal. This hadn’t been a problem with the inside loop, since in that case she was being pulled towards Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle, like most ponies, had a lot more experience pushing against positive g-forces than pulling against negative ones. That being said, this particular rider was somewhat better informed than most beginners due to her meticulous research habits, and had been mentally prepared for the extra difficulty; the fact that her hind legs had been getting regular workouts from the previous practices helped as well. It only took a few more tries before Twilight was making complete outside loops, although she clearly needed more practice before they’d be circular enough for performance in a theoretical competition.
Still, Rainbow Dash decided that her student was proficient enough to try a more complex trick: the vertical eight. This was done by performing an inside loop, followed immediately by an outside one (or vice versa), tracing a vertical figure-eight in the sky (hence the name). In order to help Twilight judge when each loop had been finished, the pegasus had set up two small cumulus clouds so that they resembled a colon: the two would perform an inside loop around the higher cloud, and an outside loop around the lower, with the space in between acting like a gate to let Twilight know when to transition from one loop to the next. It was the same way the pegasus had learned it in flight school, and not surprisingly, a teaching method that had been successful for an academic underachiever like Rainbow Dash was outstanding for a pony like Twilight Sparkle, whose brain seemed to be hardwired for learning.
However, beyond the vertical eight, most tricks (including all of the ones Dash wanted Twilight to be familiar with) required proficiency at rolling. The most basic of maneuver in this category was the Aileron roll. This particular trick, which was named after the pegasus who’d first developed it, consisted of a complete rotation around the flyer’s longitudinal axis without any changes in direction. It had replaced the barrel roll (which Twilight had experienced the previous week) as the first rolling maneuver traditionally taught at flight schools, because it was much easier to perform.
Or rather, it was supposed to be much easier to perform, but for some strange reason Twilight seemed to have difficulty completing the rotation. She had no problems inverting, but reverting required so much physical effort on her part that she was tempted to declare learning it not worth the effort. A brief break to let the unicorn rest and read through the saddle’s instruction manual didn’t appear to do much good, either. The manual made no mention of Aileron rolls, but instead skipped them entirely in favor of barrel rolls. This stumped the two, until Twilight, on a hunch, suggested that they try the (allegedly) more complex maneuver. When Rainbow Dash caved in, they quickly discovered that barrel rolls, while not exactly easy, took much less effort to pull off.
“I don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered at the end of the line of cloud rings she’d set up for practicing rolls. “Aileron rolls have always been easier for me—and practically every pegasus ever, for that matter. I’m pretty sure even Fluttershy can do them when she’s not feeling pressured. Why in Celestia’s name would they give you more problems, when a barrel roll is basically the same thing combined with an inside loop?”
This, however, caused Twilight to have a flash of inspiration. “Of course! It’s the inside loop.”
“Huh?”
“Because the barrel roll has an inside loop, it’s creating positive g-forces for me. On the other hoof, the Aileron roll is spinning around an imaginary line that goes through your body, but since I’m on the outside, that’s creating negative g’s.”
“And this matters because...?”
“Well, I indicate roll by leaning to one side or the other. That causes one of my legs to extend while the other retracts, and then you roll in the direction I’m leaning. But leaning over like that is really difficult without positive g’s, since negative g’s tend to push me back to the normal sitting position. This explains why the instruction manual didn’t even bother mentioning the Aileron roll. It’s too difficult for a rider to signal.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not like leaning over is the only way to get your legs to do that.”
“It isn’t?”
“No way! I mean, you do that sort of thing all the time when you’re trotting, right? One leg’s extended, the other isn’t. Or are you telling me you sway back and forth when you’re walking down the street?”
“But... surely you aren’t the first pony to think of that. There must be some reason they don’t bring it up.”
“Maybe, but with the way we’re strapped together, I can feel pretty much every move you’re making, so if you don’t make my instincts kick in, I can just think about it. Personally, though, I doubt it’ll come to that. C’mon. Try it.”
Given that her only other option was to end the practice session early, Twilight agreed to give this a shot. The two ponies returned to their starting position, and began a flat pass through the cloud rings. Okay, Twilight, the unicorn thought to herself as they entered the pseudo-tunnel. Lift one leg, push off the other, and... hold!
Rainbow Dash rolled to the right, fully inverted... and continued the roll until she reached her starting orientation, all in one smooth move. Sure, it had been a little slow (ideally, they would have completed it before exiting the rings), but the pegasus decided that this was still worthy of a hearty “Yahoo!”
“That... was... wow....” Twilight Sparkle concurred.
“So, I take it my idea was a good one?”
“Yeah... although I was a bit surprised at the direction. For some reason, I thought we’d go left, because I was pressing down with my left leg, but once I got over that, it worked... pretty well, actually.”
“Wanna try again?”
“Definitely.”
The two did several more passes until Twilight got the feel for the procedure and felt comfortable enough to try incorporating the roll into other maneuvers. It still wasn’t close to being “pretty” enough for competition, but then again, if the pair had wanted others to see this, they wouldn’t have gone so far outside of Ponyville in the first place.
Learning the Aileron roll allowed the two to move on to the Immelpferd turn. This required little explanation, since Twilight had ridden along for one the previous week: one-half of an inside loop, with a half-roll at the top to level out. Somewhat surprisingly, she suggested trying the Split-S before her flyer could even bring it up, on the grounds that it was “the same thing, only in reverse.” One inversion and second half of an inside loop later, Rainbow Dash was confident that her student was ready for the most complicated trick on the day’s agenda.
The trick in question was the horizontal eight. When she heard the name, Twilight initially assumed that it would be little more than a vertical eight begun from a nosedive or a vertical climb rather than a flat pass, an assumption which seemed to be supported by the fact that the “course” Rainbow Dash had arranged for the trick looked just like the one for the vertical eight, only turned 90° so that the two clouds were arranged parallel to the horizon, rather than perpendicular.
In reality, the only thing the horizontal eight had in common with its vertical counterpart was a vague resemblance to the number after seven. Starting from an ordinary flat pass, the flyer would complete five-eighths of an inside loop before performing an Aileron roll (in other words, an Immelpferd turn, except the roll occurred after the full inversion, when the flyer was at a 45° angle to the ground). Then, after continuing in this trajectory for a brief period, the flyer would execute six-eighths of a second inside loop, inverting again at the same angle as the first turn. The trick ended with the flyer returning to her original altitude and leveling off.
According to Rainbow Dash, the reason she wanted Twilight to give this trick a try was so she could practice stringing together different maneuvers so that she could make the transitions as smooth as possible. It was this, the pegasus claimed, that made aerobatics impressive, and not coincidentally, it was also the reason relatively few pegasi were qualified to become full-time flyers like the Wonderbolts. It demanded an extremely sharp mental acumen, or else one risked disaster—usually to one’s professional reputation, but sometimes to the wellbeing of other ponies, especially when flying in formation. “Lucky for me, you’ve got brains to spare, so this should be no problem for you!”
“Well, I’m certainly glad that you’re confident about this.”
“Great! Let’s get to it!”
Rainbow Dash’s plan was to start out by using her whistle to signal when Twilight was supposed to be transitioning to the next section of the maneuver. The point wasn’t to let the unicorn get her timing down perfectly; rather, it was intended to help her learn what her physical orientation was supposed to be when the Aileron rolls were meant to be executed. After several tries, she felt confident enough to give the horizontal eight a try without Rainbow Dash’s coaching.
The first half of the trick went off without a hitch. Twilight guided her friend through the partial loop, and rolled at the exact spot where she had in the practice runs. This isn’t so bad, she thought to herself as she approached the second loop’s inversion—which was a problem, because at that time, she was supposed to be thinking about Aileron rolls.
Twilight realized almost immediately that she’d executed the second roll just a bit too early, as she was headed straight for the cloud. This didn’t cause her too much concern, other than mild disappointment at having made a mistake. One second later, however, the unicorn was abruptly reminded of one of the most oft-overlooked corollaries of a pegasus’ ability to walk on clouds—namely, the ability to crash into them.
Of course, one doesn’t become a winner of the Best Young Flyer competition without learning how to quickly recover from mid-air collisions, so Rainbow Dash had little trouble regaining control and hovering while her rider recollected herself. “Are you okay, Twilight?”
“Yeah... I’m fine. I just didn’t expect hitting a cloud to jerk me around so much.”
“Well, you’re a unicorn, so you normally pass right through them, which means that you kept going for a little bit, even though I’d already stopped.”
“Right. Conservation of momentum.”
The pegasus had heard enough about the physics involved in flight over the years to recognize the phrase, even if she could never quite remember what exactly it meant, so she assumed that her friend knew what she was talking about, and decided to move on to the next subject. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be ready for it next time.”
“You’re right. Let’s get back to it.”
“Uh, sorry, Twilight, but I’ve got to pull the plug here. My wings are getting tired, and believe me, straining a wing is not something you want happening at these altitudes.”
“Aww... I was hoping to get to spins. The books I read made them sound so beautiful and graceful.”
“Well, yeah, I’ll admit that they’re really kick-awesome to watch when they’re done by a flyer who knows what she’s doing, but they’re also really difficult and dangerous, and you’re not even close to the skill level needed for me to feel comfortable letting you do that yet. In fact, I’m not even sure I have the skill to pull one off if you just sat on my back like a sack of potatoes and let me take over. I mean, I’m more of a speed specialist to begin with, so I don’t practice the graceful stuff nearly as often. ”
“Oh... that’s too bad, I guess.”
“Besides, to do a spin, you have to stop flapping your wings entirely for the duration of the trick, so I wouldn’t really be getting any extra strength training in by having you ride along.”
Twilight sighed. “No point in moping about it, I guess. After all, we made some good progress today, right?”
“Some progress? Twilight, it took me months to learn how to do everything you did today. I mean, granted, it’s still a little sloppy, but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed with some more practicing.”
The unicorn grinned sheepishly. “Well, to be fair, I don’t have to worry about the actual mechanics of flying. All I’m really doing is pointing you in the direction I want you to go.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled as she landed on the grass. “Alright, be modest if you want. Still, I say it’s a shame you weren’t born with wings. You’d be a natural pegasus.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Twilight replied as she released herself from the saddle. “Same time next week?”
“Definitely,” the pegasus replied as she removed the saddle and replaced it in its box. “There’s going to be really thick stratus clouds all over the Ponyville area, which basically means the entire sky will be padded, so we can take a few more risks.”
“Maybe even a spin?”
“Maybe... but I have something else in mind.”
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This is definitely one of my new favorite story's due to its execution and unique idea.
Yes! Can't wait till the next chapter!
I wonder what the Dash has in mind?
Wow. That is a LOT of technical info. Points for doing your research, but you might not want to show it off this prominently. People generally don't come here to learn, so being bombarded with so much info might rub them the wrong way.
363965
... Those people don't need to read this story then, do they?
Fun stuff.
363985 I came here for the interesting interaction between Rainbow and Twilight. The first two chapters had such in abundance, with some technical stuff to show more of how their world works. Good stuff.
This chapter, I had to look for the entertaining interaction with a magnifying lens among entire paragraphs of technical jargon. It's the difference between 'macaroni and cheese' and 'cheese and macaroni'.
Of course, all criticism is subjective, but I thought it's something the author might want to keep in mind for next time.
Personally we enjoyed the chapter and found the amount of technical information was enough to explain ideas that we had never bothered with learning. While not managing to take away from the interaction as much of the technical information is something that Dash and Twilight share, taking away their ability to speak in bouts of jargon would remove more. Just as the chapter being written in mainly jargon would remove just as much.
In all please continue, we look forward to seeing more.
I don't mind the extra information, but then, I'm a flight geek as well as a MLP fan.
I had Rainbow Dash carrying a passenger in my current story as well, partially because of the inspiration from this story, actually.
364003
I don't actually intend for most chapters to be like this one (that would get tedious very quickly), but in the course of planning the whole story, I realized that the technical difficulty of some of these moves is actually going to be an important plot point later on, and this felt like the best time to establish that.
Nice chapter, there's just one problem...
My Romance addled mind wants to see this turn into a shipping story...
sorry, It's a great story so far.
364699 I concur. Let the ship-train arrive.
364719
Wait, ship-train? why not ship- ehh ship?
Nevermind! Just do it!
364744 Ship-Zeppeliner!...er...er...er...er... Or however you spell it. It's technically a ship... just, you know... flying...
Surely I am not the only person thinking about Blades of Glory while reading this.
I really like this story. REALLY. Wonderful interaction between Dash and Twi without the shipping that most writers might have gone for. (really think that would have mucked up the interactions between the two). Keep it up.
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That's exactly what I looked like when I read the bit about Aileron rolls.
And I didn't mind the technical talk. Course, being a bit of an amateur pilot, I knew(and have experienced) all of it already.
Great story I am anticipating the arrival of the next chapter as well as having the most mind boggling experience trying to figure out where this will go . . . Also I must ask where are you getting all of this knoledge of aerobatics its very hard to keep up with sometimes I find my self having to re-read some parts to figure out what is being said, over all wonderfully brilliant story !!!!!
RD sounds a little bookish in her replies. Not when she's talking tech, mind you, I expect her to know this stuff inside and out. What I mean are her replies:
“Well, I won’t deny that spins are pretty to look at when they’re done by a flyer who knows what she’s doing, but [. . .]"
This sounds more like Rarity's mode of speech--Dash would probably say the same thing in fewer words.
"Yeah, well, they're cool to see, but . . ."
Great chapter, though--keep it up!
363965 364526
At the same time, don't feel pressured to pander to the unthinking majority. There are so many other boring 'normal' stories after all, it's interesting to read something different.
368229
Google.
368305 Thanks for the feedback. I looked over the paragraph in question, and I decided that what you said was mostly valid, so I did some revision.
Great chapter, can't wait to read more!
oh yeah, and here's a few extra tricks that you can use in future chapters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobatic_maneuver
if you want... if that's okay with you
364003 Fair enough concern. I happen to enjoy learning about the stuff at the same time as seeing the characters interact. Then again I love learning like Twi does so yeah, might not be the most reliable judge on that.
I like the technical stuff. It's interesting. And, I agree with >> Akire. Shipping would just muddy everything up, especially since it's just about friends doing tricks.
Or maybe I'm just not a fan of DashLight.
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I do like the information on the acrobatics though. Felt interesting imagining out the whole schematics of their flight path. Though, I can't help but think that I'd like to hear some of the town gossip. Eventually, their friends are gonna find out . . . but not before some ridiculous rumors right?
Super ultra awsomazing. I didn't think a two Character story could be soo awesome. Although I should know better when the best spell caster and coolest flyer are involved.
OMG!!! FINALLY A CHANCE TO PUT MY AVIATION KNOWLEDGE TO USE!! Well the flight aspect of it atleast.
Keep on flying man! I'm loving it
I think I am now ready for the Pony AirForce....
By Celestia! I feel like I'm studying for a flight test! So. Much. Technical info.
And that's from someone used to simulators.
I mean, it's fun! I guess... wordy, but fun! Technical, but fun!
Maybe it's just more than one can handle
365943 I was too a little
I learned something and I liked it
I'm waiting for somepony to see the two of them flying. Here's to hoping hilarity ensues
Okay, I don't know if anyone else has commented on this, but I have to give you a big gold star.
The first time you mentioned an aileron roll a chapter or two ago, I was all ready to call you out on the fact that A. it ain't supposed to be capitalized, and B. ponies would have no idea what an aileron is, because they don't have fixed-wing aircraft.
And then this chapter opens with a quote attributed to a pony named Aileron, and I immediately made the connection you went on to explain later on. Very clever, very well done.
It's actually that saddle that's really fascinating me...though the reason why may never happen. Still, this difference between a barrel roll and an alieron roll has had me wondering, "what the fuck is a corckscrew then?"
I must say I really enjoyed the technical bits of this. And kudos on the brilliant translation of Immelmann.
That "born without wings" comment at the end is gonna be a lot funnier if Alicorn Twilight becomes canon.
“What is this ‘not wanting to learn’ concept you speak of? I’m not familiar with it.”
-*LOL* Indeed.
-The bit with the aileron role not being listed in the book makes me wonder if it puts the one sort of stresses on the saddle that it couldn't be designed to take without making it too constricting and/or heavy, and will later result in a failure. Or it could just be very difficult. I have a degree in mechanical engineering if that helps.
1755775
That "born without wings" comment at the end is a lot funnier now that Alicorn Twilight is canon.
And thus a whole cadre of WWI Flying Aces were clapping in their graves. Seriously, reading this story thus far reminds me of some of my reading on Richthofen and Boelcke, and the obvious references to Max Immelmann (while unsurprising) gave me a smile. Thus far, this story is a winner for that pleasure alone.
you write asmart characters really well
im suprised there arnt a few more stories like this but set in wars i remember a one shot story were twi and dash flew like this together in a war and twi acted as the guns using her magic
This is really good!
Like really good, I’m shocked I’ve never heard of this before. Makes me wonder how many other diamonds in the rough get missed because of how old they are or otherwise get an undeserved lack of attention.
However, it might just be me, but I kinda got lost in some of the descriptions of the stunts, the horizontal 8 in particular. I know it’s been, like, eight years since you wrote this but do you have any videos or diagrams to help me visualize what’s going on?
Also, tiny tiny nitpick, but considering Twilight’s a nerd, it’d be three-fourths, not six-eighths, since 6/8 simplifies to 3/4 in mathematics. And idk bout her teachers but I’d get marked wrong or get half credit if I didn’t do that so she’d never make that mistake considering how OCD/perfectionist she probably acted in school.