9,000 Meters
30,000 Feet
By: The Grey Pegasus
The chilling, crisp, high altitude air flowed through Rainbow's lungs. The air at this height was extremely thin, pushing her pegasus lungs to maximum effort. If it weren't for her enhanced organs optimized for flight, she wouldn't have made it up here at all. But even as a pegasus, she knew she could go no higher than this altitude. It didn't matter much though; it was more than good enough to satisfy her.
Her mental, ingrained pegasus flight instruments were put on hold as she appreciated her surroundings, standing on a high altitude cirrus cloud. Rainbow might not have been as smart as Twilight, but as a captain on the Weather Patrol, she knew her clouds.
With her impressive naturally sharp pegasus eyesight, Rainbow decided to take in the world around and below her. The cloud Rainbow was on was above the outskirts of Ponyville; not quite above the town, but not far away from it either. The cyan pegasus looked down, seeing her hometown as a dot on the face of the world. With a slight shift of her eyes, she barely made out Canterlot against the mountain it was built upon. The white towers and spires of the city were but lines in the distance, and the golden roofs and domes were dots against the mountain rock. The whole mountain range was impressive at this height, stretching for miles, but Rainbow could see the entire length of it from 30,000 feet. And with another small movement of her eyes, the majestic cloud formations of Cloudsdale could be seen, only distiguishable from other regular clouds by the sheer size of the cloud structures of the city and barely visible radiance of the liquid rainbows.
Rainbow was bewildered with the extent of her vision. In the far distance, she could barely spot the skyline of Manehattan, and in the other direction was the city of Fillydelphia. To the distant north was a cold forest, where Stalliongrad lay. In the southwest, she could see the borders of the Mild West. At the extremities of the horizon, Rainbow was sure she could see the borders of other neighboring countries.
In the upper cloud layer, all was quiet, with gusts of air current occuring every now and then. The empty air echoed with the sounds of nothing. It was calming, feeling alone, away from others, having time only to herself, and nothing could possibly disturb her. Cirrus clouds were large and high up in the atmosphere, so they were never touched by Weather Patrol pegasi anywhere in Equestria. They were just left in the sky, to go about their own ways. The clouds were light and thin, less dense than the clouds Rainbow normally dealt with. Wisps of clouds could be seen floating in the air. The spot she stood on felt significantly softer than the clouds far below. It was like standing in soft snow, and it probably was just that, considering it was actually all suspended ice particles.
The light blue of the sky darkened to a deeper blue as she looked up. She left around 9 AM, so the sun wasn't particularly high up. Rainbow had probably spent around 30 minutes relaxing and immersing herself in the calm surroundings. Staring directly above her, the vast emptiness of the upper atmosphere greeted her. It was a moment of rare serenity in the fast-paced life of Rainbow Dash, and though she rarely admitted it, she took pleasure in these quiet and still moments in the sky.
She spent some more time looking around at the clouds and sky, and observing the land below her. After some time, Rainbow had to fly across the cloud layer, to account for the drifting of the cloud she stood upon. An experience of peace and quiet, and mostly awake instead of sleeping on the cloud, since she did spend her first ten minutes taking a quick nap on the unique surface characteristic of the cirrus. It was like sleeping on coldness and nothing else, but very comfortable.
The cloud layer was sparse with clouds, so standing on the cirrus cloud was much more like being on an island with a sea of empty space surrounding it, rather than being on a plain of white. It was surreal, to say the least.
I should try this at sunset. I bet it looks awesome.
As pleasing as it was, it was time for some fun. Rainbow couldn't stay up there forever. The thin air would eventually make breathing uncomfortable. She looked over the side of the cloud.
Hmm... If I'm feeling it right, I should be around... 30,000 feet up. Looks like a long way down.
Sure, she could try going for more than one sonic rainboom and break more barriers on the way down, but she could probably wait until 10,000 feet. It took some effort flying up all the way, and all she wanted to do was savor the moment.
Rainbow prepared herself and stood at a starting stance. It was time to dive into that sea, the void. She closed her eyes and took one last deep breath, feeling the chilling air of the high altitude deep within her chest.
A long way down... Awesome.
Wings tight against her sides, she lept off the cloud.
Rainbow thought about her ascent to this altitude. It sure was a long trip. Time-wise, maybe not really, but it sure did feel that way, not used to climbing to such heights. Flying at a moderate speed and with a flight path of an upward spiral, at around, say, a 70 degree pitch heading up, she made generally good time. Probably around five or six minutes. But now she was traveling down, directly vertical. She didn't open her wings, just to enjoy the sensation of falling.
With her eyes closed, Rainbow was falling blindly. Fortunately, she checked that the sky below was clear of any clouds, and so she didn't have to worry about colliding with any of them on her way down.
Rainbow didn't tell anyone where she was going. However, just before she took flight, she had a quick run-in with Twilight. When asked where she was going and when she might get back, Rainbow just replied that 'they'll know when'. Besides, she was only going to be gone for an hour and so. It wasn't a big deal; it was a routine. Ponies are always somewhere, out doing something. And Rainbow Dash's personal pursuits were no different.
Even as Rainbow kept her eyes closed to the world around her, her mental altimeter kept ticking.
26,000
25,500
25,000
Rainbow left her instincts to their own devices, and reimmersed herself in the current moment. She was falling, and she was slowly rolling in a slow backflip. The wind rushed past her ears. The sounds of speed. The sounds of falling. Yet, it was still somehow peaceful.
A deep breath. The air was still pleasingly cool and fresh. It was not tainted with any scent. It was the smell of the open, the free realm of the sky.
Her descent was at a steady pace. The weightless sensation was exciting. Exhilarating. And she had a lot of time to experience it, earned through the journey up to her starting height. The rushing air brushed against her coat and flowed through her mane.
She felt her senses more. The wind rapidly passing behind her ears. Her tail following a natural flow. The cool air passing on the outside of her retracted wings.
17,500
17,000
16,500
16,000
The air had gradually, but noticeably changed. It was now heavier, denser. It was no longer the freezing temperature from the altitude twice as high as where she currently was. It wasn't quite warm yet, but that can also be accounted to the wind chill of falling.
Rainbow decided to open her eyes. The horizon was tumbling, with the land and sky swapping places. Yet she was used to the disorienting motion. With her trained senses acting as a gyroscope, the pegasus knew exactly where she was and what to do. And right now, she chose to do nothing.
14,500
14,250
14,000
13,750
13,500
It was only a little bit more before she hit the 10,000 feet mark. The air had grown denser and warmer.
With her eyes open, she watched the horizon flip and turn. An excitement of flight. This was all her sky, and no one could take it from her right now. Rainbow took a peek down. Though she wasn't studious like Twilight, her instincts as a natural aviator kicked in. Rainbow didn't appear to be all that intelligent, but in the sky, her skills were nearly unmatched. Her mind started calculating distance, airspeed, flight path, and everything else necessary. It was almost time to go.
11,000
10,800
10,600
10,500
10,400
10,300
10,200
10,100
10,000
Rainbow had reached her target altitude. She was much closer to the earth, and Ponyville was getting slightly larger. An eagle screeched in the distance. Rainbow did a half flip to angle herself down, then started flapping. With the initial momentum from her high dive, this Sonic Rainboom would be near effortless.
Rainbow felt the air start to increase speed around her, a clear sign of her acceleration.
9,300
9,250
9,200
9,150
9,100
9,050
9,000
The wind now roared in her ears. A familiar sound; an acquaintance of hers. Her velocity kept increasing along with her grin.
8,000
7,975
7,950
7,925
7,900
7,875
7,850
7,825
7,800
7,775
7,750
7,725
7,700
7,675
7,650
7,625
7,500
... boom.
Rainbow felt the familiar sensation of her signature trick. The sound of her Rainboom rocked through the sky. And she still had around 6,000 feet to go.
Second one? Let's do this.
Taking up the challenge, Rainbow continued her vertical dive. She could feel a second barrier trying to prevent her from accomplishing her goal.
5,000
4,975
4,950
4,925
4,900
4,875
4,850
4,825
4,800
4,775
4,750
4,725
4,700
4,675
4,650
4,625
4,500
Rainbow was fighting against the second barrier. She was going to achieve a second consecutive Sonic Rainboom. However, she was heading straight for the ground as well, and the G forces were straining her.
Gotta... pull up... now... else... I won't... have enough time... to avoid the ground.
She did as she told herself, arcing up as she pulled out of the dive. Still, she kept accelerating. Her trajectory was going to take her above Ponyville. And she still wasn't quite leveled out.
1,000
900
700
500
400!
The ground. She could see it. It was getting crystal clear.
350!...
325!...
300!...
275!...
250!...
240!...
230!...
220!
215!
210!
208!!
206!!
205!!
204!!
203!!
202!!
201!!
200!!!
... Leveled out!
And yet she was so close... just a little more. The Ponyville's air space was meeting her at an extremely fast pace, and...
*BOOM*
Rainbow grinned as large as she could. It was a spectacle to see. Right above Ponyville. A second Rainboom. Twice the speed. And yet mere minutes ago, the was relaxing on a high altitude cloud.
On the ground, the shockwave of the passing pegasus was impressive. Stands were blown away. Shingles on roofs were torn into airborne debris. Windows shattered. The clattering of many, many objects affected by the supersonic pass filled the air.
Meanwhile, Rainbow pitched up, bleeding speed. After a vertical climb, she had reduced her airspeed enough to loop back to Ponyville.
<<+>>
"... Whoa."
"Rainbow, where were you?!"
"Eh, just chillin' on a cirrus cloud, Twilight. 30,000 feet. A sight to behold."
"You were at 9,000 meters... and... then what?"
"... Yeah, I might have to pay for all the damages, but it was SO worth it!"