Rainbow Dash tried to reproduce the Sonic Rainboom many times without success. Several of these times were under the watchful eye of curious researchers. She eventually got fed up with them and started turning them away.
Over a year before the Longest Night, Dr. Haystacks decided to ask her himself. He knew it would be an uphill battle, so he would need a strategy.
Most students of Equestrian history will guess that the attempt was unsuccessful, but Dr. Haystacks would insist later that this attempt was part of the path that led to a successful reproduction some years later. And besides, it's not really failure if you've managed to find that something doesn't work.
Chapters (8)
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw1248_huge.jpg She should've. Right, Twilight?
7344794 Twilight isn't around at this point, but yes. XP In "Newbie Dash", the Reading Rainboom persona displays a reasonable knowledge of aerodynamics. That's one of the things that got me thinkin' on this story, as that did not seem to be something she'd study without a prompt of some sort.
7345509 Hmm... Ya know, I never thought about that. But to be a hyper-sonic flyer and expert weather pony you need to know quite a lot of sciencey stuff. But it's probably basic school subjects in Cloudsdale. That and she has a reputation to keep up. ;)
7347917 The flying is intuitive for her. Cloudsdale probably does teach basic weather management and the science behind it, but would RD have paid attention? XP They might teach some basic aerodynamics, but same issue. My hypothesis here is that, at least for flying, she's so good at it intuitively that she never really learned the principles. This isn't uncommon in real world athletes. This is why there's people that analyze baseball swings and running strides scientifically. The pros are so good intuitively that they don't think about those things, but training on analysis-based techniques can make a difference even for them.
In this case, there's actually a few more nuances at play (note the circular track!), but the actual in-depth analysis will have to wait until the epilogue, which will cross-reference with "Bedtime Stories for the mare in the Moon".
7348564 Yeah, Rainbow never does pay attention in class does she? I concede. You are most definitely right. If she had bothered to science though.... Well.
7351007 Heh, well, she still may not have figured this one out. Part of the hustle was to avoid giving enough information for said hustle to be worked out. XP Still, may have gotten enough to figure out how to not tire herself out too soon.
7351579 Rainbow? Slow? The world would end first.
7353768 Precisely. The tvtrope is "batman gambit." Someone less prideful might have realized that when they're that far ahead in a distance race and are tiring, the correct strategy is to rest before you collapse.
7355332 I did not know that one. Thanks. We should probably end this about now so as not to scare off any other potential commenters. Nice talking with ya. Great story.
7359429 Good point. If you have further comments or questions, feel free to PM me.
7365030 Sure.
Haystacks, you have survived meeting the Village Idiot. Now, you just need to live through the party & you are set.
Clearly, this is before Sonic Rainboom. Is it before the pilot? I ask because Twilight and Spike seem to be missing.
7645690 Yes. This takes place 2 years before the pilot, hence Twilight and Spike's absence. It's in the long description. "The Longest Night" refers to the time covered by the second part of the pilot, where it was in fact night for most of the day. This story ties into "Bedtime Stories for the Mare in the Moon," which was written 1 year before and re-published with updates 1 year after. (There's only one version in this reality, but with fictitious commentary and edits inserted as if there had been two).
Though now I am questioning... RD moved to Ponyville last of the "Mane 5"... was it ever said when that was? It was her birthdayversary in "Pinkie Pride" but I don't think they said which birthdayversary.
ICR the exact number (& I'm too shiftless and inept to look it up) but when Edison was trying to invent the electric light, his backers grew nervous about his repeated failures. He told them "I have not failed. I have simply found 5,000 ways that will not work"
IMO
Hasbro says that the 1st 3 seasons cover 1 year. The episode order is highly scrambled
I assume Wonderbolts Academy takes place shortly after her 18th birthday (Dash being so keen to join)
Pinkie Pride the cake shows 21 candles, so I assume she was 19 in S4 + 2 years in Ponyville (no unseen candles -artistic license)
In Super Speedy ...6000 Dash complains Pinkie always gets all the cider. So, I'm assuming Dash probably arrived during the year before the pilot before the annual Cider Festival (probably early October). So, she probably arrived July to September the year before pilot.
7645961 Probably, but "1000" is the usual (mis-)quote. At least, it's the version I've heard most.
7645985 Hmmm, so that would put her moving to ponyville slightly more than a year before the pilot? 2 years in ponyville in S4, where it's been just over a year since the Summer Solstice (June on Earth). I can work with that. It's gotta be more than a year to work with my other fic... that would be way too much editing, while this is one line.
Changed "Approximately 2 years" to "over a year" in the description, as it was pointed out to me that the number of candles in "Pinkie Pride" suggests she moved to Ponyville a bit under 2 years before the pilot.