Fly me to the moon.
Fanfic by Englishwitch

Chapter 1

CRASH

Twilight jumped back from her desk in shock. “Rainbow!” She yelled at the cyan pegasus who’d crash landed onto her balcony, again. “How many times do I have to tell you to use the door?”

Rainbow Dash picked herself up, stretching her body and wings. “Sorry Twi.” She pushed open the window and stepped into the library’s apartment. “Sun got in my eyes and I misjudged the distance.”

Twilight sighed. “Anyway, is there anything I can do for you, or is this just a flying visit?” She giggled at her own pun.

Rainbow Dash remained stone-faced. “Better leave the gags to Pinkie.” she muttered under her breath. “Look Twilight, I need your special egghead powers. I’m trying to find out something important.”

Twilight stopped laughing immediately, the prospect of research and information was better than any joke. “Okay, let’s go down into the library.” She trotted for the stairs, Rainbow following. “What kind of information do you need?”

Rainbow sat by the table in the middle of the library floor. “I need to know what’s the highest anypony has ever flown.”

Twilight was surprised. “That’s quite, random, Rainbow.” She looked around the shelves of the library. “Hmm, Spike!”

The little green dragon came out of the kitchen, he had a small pink apron tied around his waist and a dusting of flour on his face. “What can I do for you Twilight? Oh hey Rainbow Dash.” He waved a greeting.

Twilight spoke before Rainbow could. “Where’s the copy of Greyclaw Griffin’s Book of World Records?”

Spike walked over to a shelf on the opposite side of the library to where Twilight was standing. “Reference section, under G.” He pulled the tome off the shelf and held it up. Twilight grabbed the book in her magic and levitated it over to the table.

“Thanks Spike.” She said absently. She’d already started flicking through the pages.

Rainbow smiled and nodded to him. “Yeah, thanks Spike, you’re a real pal.”

Spike grinned. “Aww, it was nothing.”

A loud DING sounded from the kitchen.

“My cookies are done.” the baby dragon rushed off before his baked goods burned.

Twilight tapped a hoof against a page. “Here we are. The world altitude record was set by Cloudsdale pegasus named Buzz Wingstrong, almost a hundred years ago. He flew to an altitude of 123,000 feet. Which is 37.4 Kilometres in pegasus standard measurements.”

Rainbow paled. “37! holy hay. that’s....” she was speechless. “so...high...”

She’d never been higher than 12. It had been a few years ago during one of her many failed attempts to recreate the Sonic Rainboom. She’d figured diving from a higher altitude would probably help her reach the speeds she’d need. It had failed, obviously since she hadn’t been able to recreate the Sonic Rainboom until the Best Young Fliers Competition two years ago. The reason that attempt had stayed in her memory more than any other was because of the temperature. It had been freezing at those heights, far below the minuses, a deep and true cold that cut though the flesh and fat and went right into your bones. Pegasi were naturally able to resist the chill of high altitudes but she’d felt the cold that day. The sweat she’d built up on her ascension had frozen into a thin layer of ice on her body. She probably had been lucky not to get hypothermia. After her crash landing and recovery the first place she’d taken her shivering body was a steaming hot bath. It had taken hours for her to feel normal again. Cold was surprisingly insidious and once it got deep in you it didn’t leave easily.

Twilight looked up from the book and saw the disturbed expression on her friends face. “Are you okay Rainbow Dash? What’s this about?”

Rainbow flopped forward, resting her chin on the table. “Nothing,” she sighed heavily, “just a chance of awesomeness and glory slipping through my hooves.”

Twilight cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Rainbow moved away from the table and walked, slowly, toward the door, her head downcast.

Twilight jumped into her path. “”Rainbow, I’m your friend, if some thing’s bothering you I’d like to know, I’d like to help.”

Rainbow sat on the floor and sighed heavily. Should she tell Twilight? What could Twilight do to help? What the heck, it couldn’t change anything either way. “It was my dream,”

Twilight looked more confused, “To be a Wonderbolt?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Not that one. I mean, yeah, that’s my biggest dream but it’s not my only one.” she managed a weak smirk, “You know how I keep bragging, Fastest Flier in Equestria, stuff like that?” Twilight nodded her head as Dash continued. “Well, I never wanted that to be just bragging. Sure, I can say Fastest Flier in Equestria and I can back it up with a race, or by doing the Sonic Rainboom or something, but there’s always gonna be somepony who just thinks that it’s just bragging, just me being arrogant. If there’s one thing being friends with you girls has taught me it’s bragging and arrogance is bad.”

Twilight remembered how the group had taught Rainbow that particular lesson. She still had the Mysterious Mare Do-Well costume in the back of her closet as a souvenir.

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders. “So, ever since then I, kinda, wanted to have something official. Something to back up some of the stories. So when ponies accuse me of bragging I can show them and they can see I’m just stating a fact.”

Twilight nodded as understanding dawned on her. “You wanted to set an official record. Something to go in the books and go down in history.”

Dash nodded. “and, I guess, I kinda thought the Wonderbolts would be really eager to put me on the squad if I was Rainbow Dash; world record holder.”

Twilight smirked. Even Dash’s smaller dreams were all for achieving the greater one.

Rainbow finally managed to raise her head to look Twilight in the eyes. “Don’t tell anypony else, but I might not be the fastest in Equestria. All the Wonderbolts could probably match me for speed and stamina. I could say I’m the fastest civilian flier in all Equestria, but that doesn’t sound as awesome. So I wanted to do something to stand out. Do something no pony has ever done.”

Twilight nodded. “So that’s why you wanted an altitude record?”

Rainbow nodded her own head. “But it doesn’t matter now. The record’s 37 kilometres. That’s so high. It’s upper stratosphere, almost four Mount Pegasus on top of each other.” she sighed and her head hung low again. “I....I can’t fly that high.” She started to move to the door again. “Just forget it Twilight, I’ll just have to think of something else.”

Before Twilight could say anything else Rainbow dashed out of the door and shot up into the air, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust an a multi-coloured contrail behind her.

...***...

Twilight barely heard the knock at the door, as usual she was too absorbed in her reading.

Luckily her friends knew the routine by now; if Twilight was home and there was no answer, just come in anyway.

Applejack opened the door, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie were right behind her. “Twi, we’re here.”

“Hmmmm.” Twilight’s eyes never left the page.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Pinkie, if you would.”

Pinkie held up a balloon and pulled a small sewing needle out of the recesses of her mane. “Okie Dokie.”

BANG

Twilight yelped and fell back, crashing to the floor. She was trembling when she picked herself up. “Hi girls,” she tried to sound casual but her voice still shook. “Thanks for coming over so quickly.”

The four mares sat around the table.

Applejack waved a hoof dismissively. “No problem sugar cube. What’s this about? Spike said you wanted to help Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight nodded and recounted the events of the morning. Beginning with Dash’s crash landing, to the fact finding, Rainbow’s confession of her dream to break a world record and her sadness over what she viewed as an impossible feet.

“I’ve been thinking about it and I think that if Rainbow wants to break this altitude record, we should do our best to help her.”

The four friends nodded encouragingly. Rarity was the first to speak. “Exactly how Darling? With the exception of Fluttershy none of us know all that much about flying. Certainly my own brief foray into the activity did not end well.” She visibly shuddered as she recalled her magical gossamer wings evaporating and falling toward the ground. She had never noticed, until that moment, just how solid the ground was. Even the softest earth would have been like rock her her body to be dashed against. If Rainbow hadn’t saved her...well, it didn’t bare thinking about.

Fluttershy pushed a little of her mane out of her face. “And, um, I don’t really know all that much about altitude flying.” she said in her gentle whisper. “I like to stay as close to the ground as possible and really don’t like going much higher than Cloudsdale, which is only about seven or eight kilometres off the ground. Maybe nine on a really warm day when the thermals make it rise.” She noticed Applejack had furrowed her brow in deep concentration. “Um... are you okay Applejack?”

AJ nodded her head. “Don’t mind me sugar-cube I’m just trying to run the math. I learned pegasus measurements in school, but I admit its been a while since I had to use ‘em. Why pegasi never changed to miles like the rest of us I’ll never know.”

Twilight spouted out the fact almost without thinking. “It’s a tradition, left over before the pony tribes were united. Pegasi used kilometres to measure speed and distance. They are educated in feet and miles nowadays but I read somewhere that it’s part of traditional pegasi education to also learn the old system of kilometres. As a result of the mixed measurement education most pegasi use miles and feet for distance; such as it’s ten miles to Canterlot but still use kilometres for altitude; such as Canterlot sits at an altitude of two kilometres.”

Applejack’s brow furrowed deeper. “Thanks Twi, big help.” She dead-panned.

Twilight sighed, her friends were very smart but they hadn’t obsessively absorbed all information they could get their hooves on like she had. She sometimes forgot they didn’t find cold facts and history lectures as interesting as she did. “Basically the record is 123,000 feet, or 23.2 miles. To break the record Dash will have to fly higher than that.” She glanced down at the book she’d been reading when her friends had arrived. “23 miles up. I don’t know of any pegasi who can fly for twenty three miles straight at a normal altitude. According to my research she’ll encounter a whole host of problems the higher she goes. The air will become thin, so she’ll have trouble breathing, the thinner atmosphere means she’ll have to flap her wings harder to get the same amount of lift. Harder flapping means more breathing, which added to the thinner atmosphere means Rainbow will be exhausted really quickly. She could suffer from altitude sickness, meaning dizzy spells, disorientation, stupors, and maybe even blacking out. The winds at those heights can be pretty violent, maybe too much for even a pegasi to handle. Not to mention once she passes ten kilometres and enters the stratosphere the temperature is going to plummet. The freezing temperatures could give her frostbite, even hypothermia.”

“Well that doesn’t sound like fun at all.” Pinkie interrupted.

Applejack nodded. “Sugar-cube, are y’all tryin’ to convince us to help Dash, or tryin’ to convince us to talk her out of it? This sounds like it’ll be real dangerous.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I know, but this seems like something Rainbow really wants to do. You didn’t see her when she learned how high she’d have to go, she was crushed. I think the only thing that’d hurt her more is if she learned she could never be a Wonderbolt.”

Rarity too it on herself to try and keep things on a more positive note. “So, do you have any ideas how we can help darling?”

Twilight gave a small shake of the head. “Mostly it’ll be moral support. I’ve been looking into the rules of how to set the record, as well an official judge from Griffins world records, there need to be a couple of witnesses. Other than that there isn’t much we can do to help Rainbow. She has to fly to the altitude herself, so we can’t just carry her up halfway in a balloon or airship. In a record like this magic isn’t allowed either, so I can’t cast a spell on her to help her breath or stop her feeling the cold. She can take with her whatever she can carry, my first thought would have been an oxygen tank, but even the smallest ones would be too heavy. At least it means clothing will be allowed, Rarity, do you think you’ll be able to make something for Rainbow to wear to help her cope with the cold but not be heavy or movement restricting?”

Rarity tapped a hoof against her chin. “I think I might be able to make something, but I’ll need Rainbow to help test the outfits, we want to work out any flaws before the big day.”

Twilight nodded, a smile rising on her face. “Okay. Fluttershy, Applejack, do you think you’ll be able to work with Rainbow to help with her distance flying. Twenty miles is a long way for any pegasus, she’ll need to work on her stamina.”

Fluttershy nodded meekly.

“You got it sugar-cube” Applejack grinned broadly.

Twilight nodded. “Okay, I’ll write to the judges of Griffins World Records and tell them Rainbow is going to make an attempt. I’ll also look into some things that might be able to help which the rules will allow, maybe a magical means of communication or measuring the altitude. Since we won’t be able to follow her all the way up we’ll need to know exactly when she breaks the record.”

Pinkie raised a hoof. “What about me?”

Twilight realised she hadn’t given Pinkie a job to do. This serious business and while Pinkie was a great friend and excellent at planning parties, she didn’t seem like she could take anything seriously. While most of the time that was a great thing; breaking the stress and tension of dire situations with laughter always helped. But how could that be an asset in this situation?

Then Twilight smiled. “Pinkie, Rainbow might get very nervous or stressed the closer to record day we get, you’ll have the most important jobs of all; keeping her spirits up and planning the celebration party for when she succeeds.”

It was all that could be done in any situation; let Pinkie Pie just be Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie threw a serious salute. “I won’t let you down. Nopony gets sad and grumpy on my watch.” Out of nowhere she pulled out a bowl shaped helmet and squeezed her overly poofy mane into its tiny interior as she strapped it to her head.

Twilight’s grin widened slightly. She’d made the right choice. “Okay, let’s find Rainbow Dash and tell her the plan.”

***Epic 80’s movie training montage***

Twilight writing out a long letter.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack doing push-up in the park. Rainbow is pushing herself up with her wings.

Rarity sits at her desk, a pencil held in her magic, sketching away a design for a flight outfit.

Rainbow stands stationary with her wings stretched out flat, two small rabbits sit on her wings. Fluttershy walks around her slowly. Rainbow starts to sweat with the effort of holding the weight on her wings.

Pinkie places horn-rimmed glasses on her nose and looks over samples of differed coloured streamers, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Derpy Hooves delivers Twilight’s letter to a tall building in Manehatten, a secretary pony with a nonplussed expression takes it from her.

Rainbow stands on Rarity’s work table, dressed in an outfit similar to a Wonderbolt’s flight suit, she flaps her wings several times and moves her moves experimentally. She shakes her head at Rarity, who’s face falls. Rainbow’s mouth moves as she tells Rarity where she went wrong. Unheard over the music.

Rainbow Dash lands on a cloud, looking dishevelled and tired. She lies down to take a nap but her ears immediately perk up. From below Pinkie Pie floats into view, madly peddling her crazy flying contraption. In her hooves she hold out to Dash a large cupcake, a balloon and a milkshake. Rainbow smiles and takes them gratefully.

Two griffins and three ponies sit around a long table looking through a huge pile of letters. One griffin picks up Twilight’s letter and opens the envelope.

Applejack is standing next to an oversized electric fan, blowing at high speed. Her eyes fixed on a stopwatch.
A little further away Fluttershy is standing close to Rainbow Dash, yelling encouragement as Dash flies her wings against the force of the gale the fan is blowing at her. Rainbow grinds her teeth and screws up her eyes, sweat dripping off her forehead as she fights hard against the wind. With a loud yell is suddenly sent shooting backwards, crashing into the ground and rolling in the dirt.
Applejack stops the stopwatch and shakes her head in disappointment.

Twilight is reading through a large and dusty book, several gems are scattered around her which Spike eyes hungrily.

A sore and bruised Rainbow Dash enters Sugar Cube Corner. She’s immediately showered with confetti and Pinkie Pie appears with a plateful of cupcakes, each iced with a letter, which reads; YOU CAN DO IT!
It makes Dash smile.

Fluttershy places five bunnies on Rainbow Dash’s outstretched wings, she holds them steady with no strain on her face.

Rainbow steps out of the changing area of Carousel Boutique wearing an outfit similar in colour and design to the uniform of the Shadow Bolts. Rarity looks at her with fearful anticipation, her eyes wet with tears ready to fall. Dash stretches her body into a variety of positions, flaps her wings several times before looking at Rarity and nodding her head. Rarity squeals in delight and hugs rainbow tightly.

A young griffin leaves the offices of the Griffins World Records and hails a taxi. She climbs aboard and gives an order. The driver nods and trots off.

Rainbow stands still in Fluttershy’s yard as the yellow pegasus flies up, carrying Angel bunny in her arms. She places Angel on the top of a pyramid of critters, which starts with raccoons on the bottom, then rabbits, then squirrels and chipmunks, then finally Angel. They are balanced on her wings and Dash looks pleased and amazed with the feet.

Pinkie Pie, dressed in a beret and artists smock, puts the finishing touches to her party banner. In rainbow coloured letters she’s written CONGRATULATIONS RAINBOW DASH

Fighting against the power of the wind fan Rainbow Dash shows a relaxed and casual attitude. She flies against the rushing air, holding herself in place. Applejack keeps her eyes on the stopwatch as the ticking hand passes a mark she grabs her hat and tosses it into the air, cheering loudly.
The Stetson lands on the control lever of the fan, pulling it down from MED to HIGH!
In the hurricane strength wind Rainbow Dash is thrown back and crashes into the same tree again. She glares at Applejack, who blushes and smiles sheepishly.

Author's Notes:

The plot for this story came —very loosely— from an old Pokemon episode. It's English title became the title of this story.
In future chapters you'll be hard pressed to find any similarities between this story and the episode. So many changes had to be made to ponify it that, really, just the concept; character risking life to fly the highest in history, is all that remains.