Twilight Falls (...And Falls Again)
Air! A mixture of numerous gases in the earth's atmosphere. Composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, and further traces of other elements. Its density is 1.2 grams per liter. Its pressure at sea level is 1 atmosphere (obviously) or 14.7 pounds per square inch or 101 kilopascal for scientific purposes. Its refractive index is 1.0003.
Twilight had flying down to a science. She knew everything there was to know about the transparent substance through which all pegasi had the privilege of swimming through so weightlessly. She knew all its physical properties, all related chemical reactions, she even knew all forms of impact from biological lifeforms. The only thing she didn't know, which for the life of her she struggled to figure out, was how to get airborne in it.
Once more she went over all the numbers, all the charts, and all the diagrams. Once more she couldn't find a single flaw in any of them. By themselves all of them were right, but when added up everything broke and fell apart, like the components of that first tricycle her father had assembled for her when she was three. It was like a giant holistic prank the universe was playing on her.
“This doesn't make any sense!” she shouted as she angrily cast half her notes aside.
“What doesn't?” a passing-by Rainbow Dash asked as she landed on Twilight's balcony that, for today, was serving as a make-shift writing desk.
“Flight! Whichever way you look at it, there is no possible way a pegasus, or an alicorn for that matter, should be able to fly.”
Rainbow curiously walked up to her friend to look over her shoulder. “And why is that?” she asked.
Twilight gave back a disgruntled look. “I don't know! Science says it's possible, but it can't say it's possible, because it's impossible, and it's impossible that science is wrong.”
“I'm afraid you lost me there.”
Twilight turned back to her writing pad. “Nevermind. It's just that I'm angry at flying and at science and at myself.”
Rainbow Dash glanced over the many papers scattered across the floor. “What are you doing anyway? This doesn't look like flying. It looks like you're running another one of your crazy experiments.”
“They're not crazy!” Twilight loudly defended, scribbling some more mad sketches. “And this is not an experiment. I'm merely reading up on flight literature to figure out a way to get started on proper aviation training and experiment with my own style of flight.” She casually held up a book. “Mostly, I'm working off of this one: 100 Inspirational Quotes From 100 Inspirational Fliers. It's very inspirational.”
Rainbow Dash didn't make much of an effort to contain her laughter. “Twilight you, can't learn flying from a b—” One glare from Twilight reminded her of the infamous Running of the Leaves incident and shut her right up. “So, find any good ones.”
Twilight nodded. “I found one by Avian Abacus and tried to take his advice to heart. He was a pioneer of aeronautics and derived many of the formulas still used for aviation today. In his later years he developed many useful contraptions that helped unicorns and earth ponies—”
“What did he say,” Rainbow Dash cut her short.
“He said,” Twilight started as she turned the book around in her hooves, “ 'The art of flying is one that boils down to a simple set of mathematical formulae. It is always achieved by an uplift generated by differences in air pressure that is equal or greater than the gravitational forces pulling down, with any amount of force divided into one part to sustain flight capacity and another that is responsible for propelling the flier into the direction of the exerted force. Pegasi create aforementioned air pressure difference through the gyration of their wings and the change of angle and torque during that gyration. The inequality in upward-force and downward-force is, if performed at a sufficient frequency, capable of allowing the ability to fly.' ”
“Those,” Rainbow Dash determined in all her professionalism, “were a lot of words. And they're supposed to somehow help you learn how to fly?”
“What he is saying is that, when you push your wings up, you should move them straight and when you push them back down you should keep them flat.”
Again, countless chuckles escaped Rainbow Dash's mouth. “You needed a book, just to tell you that?”
Twilight blushed. “That wasn't all he said. He also calculated discrepancies in wing size, form, and alignment to the horizon and how they would influence the force necessary to sustain flight.”
“Sure,” said Rainbow, still chuckling. “I take it all back. That egg-head stuff really is useful. Why don't you just show me all those awesome flight skills you have gained from your charts and formulas.”
“I will, I will. Just as soon as I correct these blasted calculations.”
Twilight bent back over her notepad and drew a couple more symbols all around the paper.“Maybe this could fix the problem,” she finally declared and moved to the balustrade. She pulled herself on top and carefully balanced the positioning of her hooves. She shifted around until she found one that was at least a little bit steady and readied herself for the jump.
“Alright,” she said. “Here I go. Wish me luck.” And after one last pleading look returned with a 'good luck', she took the leap of faith.
Right away her back muscles stretched as far as they would go, unfolding her wings to their maximum length. Her leg muscles counterbalanced those in her back by flexing, although it didn't have any aerodynamic purposes and only served to release some stress.
Now with her wings spread, it was time to start flying. Slowly, Twilight pushed them towards the ground as far as they would go. Her joints cracked a little when they reached the inevitable end of their path and knew instantly it was time to turn around. Other muscles in her back did their part in drawing her wings to her rear where, with a quick, streamlining turn, they shot back up again. They picked up from there and pushed right back down in one fluent motion.
After a few more circles, she had found her pace. All those muscles worked together in perfect unison, each of them a steady piston, knowing the perfect timing to push forward and retreat back. It was working out. She created an actual uplift with her wings. If only it were strong enough to suspend her in the air, she would be actually flying. But her current performance only allowed her to drift to the ground a little more slowly than she would have otherwise. She could already hear Rainbow Dash's snickering from the top of the balcony.
“Gee, those calculations sure helped a lot, didn't they?” mocked Rainbow once Twilight had walked back up.
“It just means my corrections didn't work out the way I hoped,” Twilight said. “I probably need to adjust the declination angle a little bit to recompense for the momentary increase in viscosity. Then I—”
“Twilight?” Rainbow interrupted as politely as she could.
“What!?” Twilight responded, much less politely than she could.
“I know you're good with all your science and stuff, and I admit that your approach does work some of the time, but did you ever think it might not be working this time?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, maybe you should try a different approach. Maybe take a different quote from the book and see where it takes you. I'd suggest one that isn't filled with all those numbers and math things.”
“Well it does seem worth a try.” Twilight turned the page. “Here's one by Black Feather. He was a ballet dancer for the Royal—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Big important pony. Get it. Get to the quote already.”
“ 'Flying is one big duet with the greatest dancing partner imaginable. The tender, yet firm grasp of the air currents as they whirl you around in delightful pirouettes, the two of you tangoing to the sound of nature – it sends you swimming in a delightful dream from which there is no awakening, safe for the ground that takes you back with its gentle kiss, until you go back up with the two of your lovers fighting over you in a ceaseless quarrel.' ”
“What?”
Even Twilight had to ponder this one for a moment. “I think I got the gist of it,” she said. “It's about working with the airflow, allowing it to carry you along in addition to your own muscle power.” She made another addition to her diagrams. “If I wait for the right breeze, I should be able to finally get the liftoff right. Once I'm airborne, the rest will be filly's play.”
“Then go for it,” Rainbow said as she moved to where she had the best view on the upcoming spectacle.
“I will,” Twilight said, again climbing the balustrade. After a little more fidgeting, she had found her footing.
Patience, she realized, was the key to it all. She couldn't just jump out and expect to soar through the skies; she had to wait until it gave her a sign, a permission, clearance, like the waving flags of those Cloudsdale flight controllers that handled the balloon traffic. She spread her wings, closed her eyes, and focused herself on any slight sensation she might feel on her coat.
There it was. She could feel a small gust of wind, first moving up on her right hind leg, then slowly blowing over the rest of her body. She withstood the instinct to resist and simply let it pick her up to carry her off the balcony.
Immediately she felt the cold Ponyville air brush against her. But it was neither stopping nor was it resisting her. It was politely clearing the way, opening its doors to the newest visitor it had so cordially invited. Any passing air kissed her goodbye with a gentle peck on the cheek and a loving stroke along her coat with the same tenderness as a mother's caress. Twilight had put all her trust into the skies and they were gracious enough to return the favor.
Once more she could feel the familiar breeze come up. It didn't push her. It didn't pull her. It merely nudged her playfully, more pointing out an ideal direction for her to go next than anything else. Naturally, Twilight shifted her weight to the right and let the winds carry her in a circle.
Only at the very last moment did she remember to open her eyes; far too late to brace herself as she crash-landed into the floor of her own balcony.
“Except for the landing, that actually looked pretty good,” said Rainbow Dash with a smirk. “You know I think you're almost there.”
Twilight was still trying to pick up the pieces of her spinning head. “And I think I better try another quote. I can really do without ever doing that again.”
“Suit yourself,” Rainbow replied as she flipped to the next page for Twilight.
“This one's from Lieutenant Wing Shard, one of Commander Hurricane's finest officers,” Twilight announced. “She said: 'If you take to the sky, you have to set your mind right on your goal. You're out there to conquer it. Never apologize, never retreat! The sky is merciless and will punish you every chance it gets. So you gotta show it who's boss! Make it respect you! Make it fear you! Beat some sense into it! And once you do, you're gonna be the best damn flier there is!' ”
Rainbow Dash burst out laughing. “That's gotta be the craziest one yet. As if anypony in their right mind would—”
“She's right! It's all so obvious. All I have to do is set my mind to it and conquer the skies.”
Twilight was dashing forward; Rainbow's hooves couldn't possibly stop her anymore. “Wait, Twilight! I really don't think this is a good idea,” she called after her friend, but it was too late. Twilight couldn't hear her any more; she had already set her mind completely on her goal.
There was no reaching out for the balustrade; she jumped right off the hardwood floor, flapping her wings like mad. And this time she had something that would make it work: utter determination. Mens agitat molem – mind over matter. If she forced it hard enough, she would be able to fly.
She could picture herself soaring through the sky. Loop after loop, she turned, twisted, and twirled. The adrenaline was rushing through her as she constrained a whirlwind in her front hooves through a couple of barrel rolls. She had become a real force of nature.
In reality, her fall was spectacular. She looked like a purple, alicorny brick coming straight down to earth.
“That's it, I give up!” she loudly declared to the world as she picked herself off the ground. She telported herself back on top of the balcony and started packing up her stuff.
She hadn't gotten to more than half a dozen of her notes, when Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the shoulder. “You can't be serious,” her friend said. “A few failed attempts and you give up? Just like that?”
“It's not just a few attempts,” said Twilight as she sneaked past to collect more of her sketches. “I've been studying the book all day and approached the problem from just about every angle and none of it helped at all. I have to face it: maybe I'm just not cut out to fly.”
“That's nonsense,” Rainbow objected. “Of course you're not going to learn how to fly by reading quotes by eggheads, wimps, and lunatics. They don't know what they're talking about. All you have to do is keep practicing, and eventually, you'll get the hang of it.”
“But I'm done practicing. If 100 quotes from 100 inspirational fliers can't give me a hoof up, then what hope is there?”
Rainbow huffed at her angrily. “You want a quote by an inspirational flier? Fine! You're going to get the most inspirational quote by the most inspirational flier ever.”
Twilight turned around sceptically. “And who would that be?”
“Me, of course!” Rainbow sat her rump on the ground and motioned for Twilight to do the same right next to her. She waited until Twilight had done so before she started her story. “I know you only know me as the extreme daredevil that does awesome stunts to get into the Wonderbolts, who sometimes injures herself while doing so. So it might surprise you that when I was just a little filly I was an extreme daredevil, doing awesome stunts all the time to train for getting into the Wonderbolts, who got injured much more often than I do now.
“Actually, many times it was so bad that I had to go to the hospital to get patched up. Mom was always furious and told me never to do it again, but Dad was like 'fillies will be fillies' and talked her into allowing me to continue. She did insist that I always listen to the doctor's orders and wait as long as they told me to before I start flying again. Honestly, I never understood how they made up those numbers. I always felt perfectly fine the day I left the hospital.
“Anyway, once the waiting was over, I went right back to practicing my tricks. Whenever I had mastered one, I made up another one, more dangerous and more extreme. And of course whenever I did, I got injured again. But I didn't care. I wanted to fly right back out there and start practicing my stunts again.
“So I guess what I'm trying to say is, despite all the falling and despite all the injuries, it was totally worth it. To feel that rush of weightlessness as you take off, to feel the air brush against you at breakneck speeds, to feel the freedom of going anywhere you want in all three dimensions, to feel the force of an entire planet stopping you as you land – if you have to fall down a couple times to get that feeling, that's a small price to pay.
“This is much harder than I thought,” she admitted. “I don't really know how to put it. But I think there's somepony who said it much better than I ever could. Just turn to page 42.”
Twilight did as she was told and read aloud: “ 'The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss' — Adams Apple (No relations)” She couldn't help smirking at that until a realization hit her. “Wait a minute. You read the book too?”
“Of course I did. 100 Quotes was like a set text at flight school. They made us pick our favorite quote and write an essay about it.” Rainbow Dash grinned right back at her. “After all, we all have to start somewhere.”
Author's Note
This one's been kind of a hassle.
Don't forget to check out the other entries for more gravity defying aerial acrobatics.
