Rainbow Dash takes the daredevil side of herself to the next level: SPACE!
Rainbow Dash has been a daredevil for most of her life, including when she joined the Wonderbolts. One day, she received a letter from Princess Luna, that she had been nominated to participate in Equestria's new experiment on traveling through space. Dash is excited about this, and is ready to begin her training before takeoff. What will happen when she gets into space?
My name is Rainbow Dash. I am one of the newest members of the Wonderbolts, Equestria's air-stunt flight group. We do all sorts of crazy tricks in the air, and I was a daredevil before I even joined. Little did I know that my life was about to change forever.
One morning, I was coming to the lobby of my cloudominium where a postal pegasus was waiting for me.
"Mrs. Dash, you have a letter from Princess Luna.", he told me.
I took the letter, opened it, and began to read what her majesty had written. My eyes grew large. I knew about the upcoming space travel program, and I wanted to join as soon as possible. However, I never thought that I was going to help with an early stage.
"Dear Rainbow Dash,
Celestia and I have recently approved the start of an experimental facility that will test different types of equipment for space travel. You have been nominated to participate in their first test. It is some type of suit that will fly extremely fast. I hope that the test goes well for you if you are interested.
Yours sincerely,
Princess Luna"
I got excited when I read this because I love flying very fast. I immediately sent a reply to her because I was accepting the nomination. I could not wait to go beyond the sky and into space. I did not know what kind of experiment I'd be helping out with, but I knew that it would provide data for the upcoming space travel program. That would open the opportunity to explore beyond our home world of Eqqus.
I was flown by pegasus chariot to the facility, and was met by Spitfire. She and the other Wonderbolts would be saluting me as I board the rocket. After I head inside, I am met by Twilight. She is the one who is running the test, and leads me to a presentation room where she tells me what this test consists of.
"You will be attached to an apparatus that resembles a massive pair of wings. These wings have engines built into them that allow you to fly faster than the speed of light. Your headset will reach any distance, and remain clear. The wings do not yet have unlimited fuel, so you will need to return to Eqqus. Once you pass through the atmosphere, parachutes will deploy to slow you down and you will land in the ocean. We are calling this experiment: Wing Augmentation Rocketry Program, or W.A.R.P. for short.", she explains to me.
Normally, I would fall asleep during a lecture, but I remained awake during this one because I was so excited. She then shows me a computer simulation of what she just explained so I can have a visualized version of her description.
I proceed to go through my training which involves a G-Force simulator so I am used to the forces I will be feeling on the rocket. I also go through another simulator that allows me to see what I will be doing when I have to re-enter the atmosphere. I must stay at the correct angle because I will burn up if coming in too steep, or I will bounce off the atmosphere if I come in too shallow. I also go through another test where I am strapped to a mock-up of the wings and wearing VR goggles to get a feel for what I will be seeing.
After my training is finished, Twilight takes me to my room and says that I will be driven to the launchpad before sunrise in the morning. The alarm clock is already set, and I have a premade meal to eat when I get up. It is not sophisticated, because I would get motion sickness otherwise and throw up. She also says that the launch is scheduled for late evening, so I will have time to go on a special plane to get a feel for what zero gravity is like.
*RING*
My alarm goes off and I eat the small meal that was ready for me. I get my flight suit on for the plane and then leave my room. My driver takes me to the pad and I see the rocket for the first time. it says WARP on it from top to bottom. I am led to a runway where the plane is and then get on. The pilot takes off after I am situated. Several times, the plane goes into parabolic arcs that allow me to float as if weightless. After landing, I am taken to the barracks to be suited up. I am first given a thorough shower to clean off germs and pathogens. Then, electrodes are stuck to me which relay my vital signs to Mission Control in Canterlot where Twilight is. Finally, I get into my suit and then my radio headset cap and helmet are put on me. I am now ready to board the rocket.
I walk proudly down the path toward the elevator on the side of the gantry tower. Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts are standing on either side with a hoof above their eyes in salute. I get on the elevator and ride to the top. I walk across the bridge into the white room. After waiting for everything to be primed for me, I am led by a worker to crawl through the hatch. I am strapped to my wings, and then the hatch is buttoned up. Had the lights and display not come on inside my helmet, I would be in pitch darkness. I hear Twilight call out to her operators in Mission Control, telling her to give a go or no-go for launch.
**
"All right flight controllers, listen up. Give me a go/no-go for launch.", she says to everyone in the room.
"Booster"
"Go.", says Applejack.
"Surgeon"
"Go.", says Fluttershy.
"Guidance"
"Guidance Go.", says Daring Do.
"Recovery"
"Recovery is go", says Rarity
"CAPCOM"
"Go, Twilight.", says Spike
"Launch Control, this is Twilight Sparkle, we are go for launch."
**
My radio was automatically switched to hear the workers at Launch Control. They began the countdown till I would take off.
"T-Minus: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, go for main engine start.", says Thorax.
I feel vibrations as the boosters begin releasing fuel that is about to be ignited.
The vibrations intensify as the fuel is ignited. For a little bit, I only feel the vibrations, and then I feel the rocket start to move.
"You have cleared the tower.", Spike says.
"Copy that, I've cleared the tower.", I reply.
Just then, the controls inside my cockpit light up and Twilight tells me that she will radio when to detach the main engines and when to open the shroud that surrounds me.
Four minutes later...
"Rainbow, this is Twilight. You are clear to jettison the main engines."
I acknowledge her order and flick a switch that fires bolts to separate the engines. She radios me again twenty seconds later to open the shroud. I flick another switch and the shroud breaks open, exposing me and my wings to the beauty of space. At the same time, small boosters push me forward and away from the rocket. Moments later, my wings begin to deploy and lock in place. Once they are set, I press the button to power them up and I start feeling the vibrations.
"Wings are powering up.", I radio to Canterlot.
Once my wings are completely powered up, I extend my front hooves out to engage the warp drive. I feel the engines kick in and I am blasted forward at tremendous speed. Stars and planets shoot by me as I zoom through.
"I feel like a million bits! This is so beautiful!", I crow over my radio.
"We can see it all. Yes, space truly is beautiful.", Twilight replies.
Soon, the time comes for me to return. I drop out of warp and then use small boosts to turn myself around.
Once I am lined up to fly back to Eqqus, I begin powering up my wings again and then shoot into motion. Everything seems to go smoothly for about one-third of the way back, but then I run into a mass of magnetically charged gas clouds. This ends up releasing an EMP as I pass through, which disables my warp engines. My radio and my main power core are protected from magnetic interference, so I can still communicate with Mission Control. However, without my engines working, I will not make it home. I need real help now.
"Mission Control, this is Rainbow. I have a problem. I ended up running through a mass of magnetically charged clouds. My engines are disabled from an EMP. What do I need to do in order to restore power to the warp drive?", I radio to Twilight.
"Detach from the engines and access the power box behind where you are strapped in. You will remain tethered to your ship. Then, you need to reset the main power grid for the wings. There is a switch that will allow the engines' power grid to function in unison with the auxiliary power grid in your suit. This auxiliary power grid will act as an emergency battery that will protect your engines from magnetic interferences.", she instructs me.
I follow Twilight's instructions and unclip myself from my main restraint. I remain tethered because there are lines that connect me to my wings in case I would have to carry out repairs mid-flight. After getting myself free, I locate the power box and then reset my wings' power grid. Once it is working properly again, I switch it over to work with the auxiliary power grid in my space suit. After getting strapped back in, I power the engines back up and then continue warping back to Equus. I reach orbit in two and a half hours, and then my engines shut down automatically due to having used all of their power. Twilight informs me that Luna and Celestia are already on the recovery ship in the ocean to pick me up. She switches me over to them for a minute so I can get some in formation about re-entry.
"Rainbow, atmospheric re-entry is the most dangerous phase of any space mission. Your life is in grave danger once you start to penetrate the atmosphere. If a heat shield is damaged in any way, the extreme temperatures will vaporize you in mere seconds. Also, you will feel some massive g's as you drop closer and closer to the ground, so it's okay to pass out. If you do go unconscious, we will revive you after we get you on board.", Celestia says.
I acknowledge what she has said and then she switches me back to Mission Control. I fire my small boosters to enter the atmospheric corridor and then I allow gravity to take over. I am fully aware that the plasma that will form around me is going to induce radio blackout, so I do not try to make contact when it does. As I descend further , I begin to feel weary and then my eyes slide shut. I am awoken slightly after what seems like hours when in reality only three minutes have passed. What wakes me up is a sudden jolt when my parachutes catch me and slow me down abruptly. I can see the water coming closer as I float down toward the Celestial Sea. I splash softly into the water and then I start to float back up. As I float up, I slide out of consciousness again.
When I wake up, I am in the medical bay of Celestia and Luna's recovery ship. I am no longer wearing my space suit. Instead, I am in a hospital gown, and I am breathing on an oxygen mask. Once the ship arrives at port, I am led off the ship and I meet with Twilight to discuss how warp drives could be modified so that they are protected from magnetic pulses all the way from the start. After the meeting, I am given a medal of courage for not giving up to make it back to Equus, and then I join Twilight and everyone else who is working to build Equus' first starship.
