Life is A Test 2: Test Harder (Quite A Bit Harder)

by Brony_of_Brody

Nothing Of Value Was Learnt That Day

Rainbow, as the sole survivor of the duel, and thus the one that hasn't been covered in gum, cake batter and gingerbread, is forced to chew you free from the wall (and Old Fogey too I guess), and drag Black Bird to Canterlot for marenapping a national hero. She gets to now spend quality time in a dark, damp cold dungeon for years, and so she can now consider herself even for the first offense - assault - with candy destroying her house and an arrest.

And no, she doesn't really understand the phrase 'disproportionate retribution'. Too many big words. She'll ask Twilight what it means later.

However, she's spent a bit too much time away from practice with the Wonderbolts as a result of the feud, and Spitfire, her boss, has put Rainbow through her paces to make up for lost time by making her do several flying laps from the Academy to Canterlot Castle and back again, and she's not allowed a break - or to leave the Academy for paid holidays - until she can beat the Academy record.

Thankful to you for delivering sweet, sweet justice/vengeance to Black Bird, she asks you for one teeny-tiny little piece of advice. She's been thinking about trying to beat the record through strategic use of wind. As a pegasus, she can of course manipulate the weather, and was thinking of setting up storm clouds to help push her along and increase her speed. The downside is that these storm clouds will only blow at a constant speed, and only in one direction, and she wants you to figure out how best to set the wind up so that she can beat the record early.

How very devious-sounding. You wonder if Rainbow ever really needed your help the whole time - aside from commiting fraud purchasing Prism Poppers. You swear this job will be the death of you...but you digress. If Rainbow really wants to beat the record, how should the wind be blowing to best support her?

Author's Note:

And we are done. And a quick reminder to readers to have a bash at the puzzles missing answers, to complete the puzzles thus far.

1. A round trip to Canterlot Castle and back.
2. Rainbow Dash wants to do it in the fastest time possible.
3. If there's no wind, the trip takes the same amount of time both ways.

PUZZLE: For the fastest round trip, how should the wind be blowing?

Comments

[The Real Anonymous Pony]

Tangentially to the circle right? so that way she gets the full force helping at one point, decent force helping around the point, and no force on the way back.

[Brony_of_Brody]

9409441
Circle? It's a straight crow flies flight to Canterlot Castle then back

[The Real Anonymous Pony]

9409999
I think I put too much importance into the word "round".
In that case, assuming that putting it in the middle of the track has one area of helpful wind and one area of hurtful wind, put the wind in a spot where it's blowing through 1/4 of the track.

This allows you to spend long enough to get the speed boost, but not so long that the slowing down completely counters it.

[Coyotek4]

Is it as simple as this? …

There should be NO wind.