My Little Pony: Rainbow Dash Massively FTL Travel Speed

[Pikachu942]

In the newest comic that just released, MLP Comic #100, Rainbow Dash had to fly back to Equestria from another country far away immediately, in order to warn them of the impending Knights of Harmony. To do this, she had to go faster than she ever had before, and in doing so reached ludicrous speeds.

The exact way this is shown in the comic is through a reference to Star Trek, but despite the somewhat gag-esque framing, it is meant to be taken entirely seriously, due to how dire the situation is.

You can see this from roughly 14:45 onward in this video of the comic.

In the issue, it shows her going up to Warp 8 Speed, which in the universe this reference derives from, is about 512c, or Massively FTL Travel Speed, which is consistent with the current FTL travel speed given to her currently, as she is exerting herself to the absolute most of her abilities in this scenario.

Agree: 2 (Coolboy6, ElixirBlue)

 

[Coolboy6]

I agree with the MFTL travel speed but When you say it’s “consistent with the current FTL travel speed,” it wold be more of an upgrade instead of being consistent with the current travel speed

 

[ElixirBlue]

I agree

 

[Pikachu942]

I agree with the MFTL travel speed but When you say it’s “consistent with the current FTL travel speed,” it wold be more of an upgrade instead of being consistent with the current travel speed

That's true. I more meant it's consistent in that it's not an insane jump in speed, as she was already FTL here and her extremely exerting herself to MFTL is realistic.

 

[Lightbuster30]

I thought the same thing when I saw that tbh.

 

[Starbrand_Fan]

I agree with this

 

[Js250476]

I agree with this as well

 

[Lightbuster30]

Out of curiosity, since Michael Okuda and Franz Joseph have different opinions on Warp 8's velocity. Which is more accurate?

 

[Coolboy6]

That's true. I more meant it's consistent in that it's not an insane jump in speed, as she was already FTL here and her extremely exerting herself to MFTL is realistic.

Ah I see, so she would be FTL normally and MFTL at peak then

 

[Lightbuster30]

I wouldn't say she was exerting herself as much as what's implied here. She never even went fast enough to cause a Sonic Rainboom, which is supposed to be her top speed. This is mid-effort or higher speed. But peak feels like exaggeration.

"But the Rainboom is only Sonic Speed."
Based on what? The name? We gonna downgrade Sonic to transonic speeds just because of his name now? Or upgrade Android Saga Androids 17 and 18 to Universe level for stomping a guy with an attack named "Big Bang Attack"? Names are a dumb and meaningless basis in almost every case.

Not to mention the fact that it's never said that Sonic Speed is required for it. Dash has canonically flown past lightning bolts, moved her head out of their path, and has broken the sound barrier, all without making a Sonic Rainboom. Spitfire, iirc has also done a sonic boom in Hurricane Fluttershy. I don't know what speed is required for this thing, it was never really specified. But what I do know is that Sonic Speed and above won't cut it. Just bringing this stuff up in case someone mentions it.

All I'm saying is that The Sonic Rainboom has a speed requirement you have to pass in order to trigger it. If Dash isn't making a Sonic Rainboom here, then she evidently hasn't met the speed requirement in this scene. Also, she's shown to have an equal flying speed to Discord who can travel 1500 light-years in a month.

Shouldn't this scale to reaction speed and potentially combat speed as well? She's easily capable of reacting to her own speed to the point where she can grab hold of Rarity and the Wonderbolts and pull a sharp turn close to the ground all at the same time. Plus, at these speeds, she was able to tell when she was close to Twilight and warn them of her approach.

 

[Nullflowerblush]

Why are we basing her speed on a reference to Star Trek?
I'm pretty sure this falls under the no-go's of Crossover rules.

The crossover should be reasonably extensive, meaning that just brief cameos or references to another franchise should not be used for scaling purposes.

 

[Lightbuster30]

Why are we basing her speed on a reference to Star Trek?
I'm pretty sure this falls under the no-go's of Crossover rules.

While I did claim I agree earlier in the thread, I also cannot deny that I have this concern myself. I was just waiting on other people's thoughts.

 

[Antvasima]

Is there an accepted calculation for this speed feat yet?

 

[Coolboy6]

Is there an accepted calculation for this speed feat yet?

I don’t think there is. I don’t think it even needs a calc.

 

[Antvasima]

How so?

 

[Coolboy6]

How so?

The video was showing rainbow dash go up to warp 8 speed

 

[Antvasima]

Okay, and what does that mean in practice?

 

[Lightbuster30]

The video was showing rainbow dash go up to warp 8 speed

Yes, and the idea of it being legitimately warp 8 is being contended.

 

[Lightbuster30]

Okay, and what does that mean in practice?

I myself am on the fence about it, but the idea is power scaling to the warp system designed by Star Trek.

 

[Antvasima]

Why are we basing her speed on a reference to Star Trek?
I'm pretty sure this falls under the no-go's of Crossover rules.

Agreed.

 

[Lightbuster30]

Mentioned it earlier, but just power scale her to being even with Discord in a race if you want mftl speed for her. Don't need to have even AP to have even speed.

 

[FinePoint]

This is definitely a violation of our crossover policies.
Just referencing Star Trek here means nothing.
A calculation would need to be made.

 

[Starbrand_Fan]

Yeah, if it’s just referencing Star Trek I retract my earlier agreement, I’m not sure if it can be cal’d though

Mentioned it earlier, but just power scale her to being even with Discord in a race if you want mftl speed for her. Don't need to have even AP to have even speed.

However, I do agree with this

 

[FinePoint]

Mentioned it earlier, but just power scale her to being even with Discord in a race if you want mftl speed for her. Don't need to have even AP to have even speed.

Can I see the scans for this?
I've not read the comics, but I have a sneaking suspicion Discord is not trying his hardest.

 

[Lightbuster30]

Can I see the scans for this?

I've not read the comics, but I have a sneaking suspicion Discord is not trying his hardest.

That's not exactly proof of anything.

 

[FinePoint]

That's not exactly proof of anything.

I didn't say it was... I was just asking for a scan.
I forgot this was from an episode, is it just the part at the beginning we're talking about?

 

[Lightbuster30]

I didn't say it was... I was just asking for a scan.
I forgot this was from an episode, is it just the part at the beginning we're talking about?

It's right at the start of the video.

 

[FinePoint]

even with Discord in a race

Where is it established this is a race, and on what basis are we assuming that was Discord's top speed?

 

[Foxthefox1000]

Didn't Discord treat flying from that nebula as just a casual trip or something?

 

[Lightbuster30]

Where is it established this is a race,

It wasn't directly stated, just implied since they kept overtaking each other. Dash was effectively flying fast enough that she turned into a rainbow-colored comet, and there's no real reason for her to go that fast just to casually greet a friend. So, to reiterate: Not directly stated, just implied.

In any case, I thought I remembered it being a race previously, so that's probably why I outright called it one.

and on what basis are we assuming that was Discord's top speed?

The fact that there is no basis for him to hold back assuming this is a race?

 

[CinnabarManx421]

There’s also another time where Rainbow was able to keep pace with Discord while they were running away from the Winterzilla.

 

[FinePoint]

The fact that there is no basis for him to hold back assuming this is a race?

Other than his personality? Which I have to bring up in the second clip as well, since that definitely doesn't look like the face of someone who is running for their life, such as Rainbow is.
In either case all I see is Discord purposefully staying about side-by-side with somepony.

If you think that's sufficient evidence, it should probably go in a different CRT though, so that it can be in the OP.
I can continue to argue this point there.
As for this thread, it's simply dead in the water without a calculation.

 

[Lightbuster30]

Other than his personality?

That's not evidence? So far it's only been suggested he held back because of his personality, not proven that is the case.

Which I have to bring up in the second clip as well, since that definitely doesn't look like the face of someone who is running for their life, such as Rainbow is.
In either case all I see is Discord purposefully staying about side-by-side with somepony.

This I can agree with. Discord looks bored as shit when running from the thing.

If you think that's sufficient evidence, it should probably go in a different CRT though, so that it can be in the OP.
I can continue to argue this point there.
As for this thread, it's simply dead in the water without a calculation.

I'm not about to make a whole thread talking about upgrading Rainbow Dash's speed when we've got a perfectly good one right here.

 

[FinePoint]

That's not evidence? So far it's only been suggested he held back because of his personality, not proven that is the case.

There's also no evidence it was a race, or that he was trying his hardest. It's actually very common for him to feign weakness to manipulate ponies.

I'm not about to make a whole thread talking about upgrading Rainbow Dash's speed when we've got a perfectly good one right here.

It's just much more helpful to have core arguments in the original post, rather than any new members of the discussion needing to read the entire history to get a solid grasp.

 

[Lightbuster30]

There's also no evidence it was a race, or that he was trying his hardest.

On the contrary, there absolutely is. It's just implied based on what we see and how the characters act instead of outright said. Not saying it's concrete or anything, but it can definitely be infered.

It's actually very common for him to feign weakness to manipulate ponies.

Right, and in this specific situation, there's absolutely no reason to hold himself back. All he's doing is having fun with Rainbow Dash to get at Twilight. That's it. Acting weaker won't serve his purpose in the episode any more than if he went at full speed.

 

[FinePoint]

On the contrary, there absolutely is. It's just implied based on what we see and how the characters act instead of outright said. Not saying it's concrete or anything, but it can definitely be infered.

Right, and in this specific situation, there's absolutely no reason to hold himself back. All he's doing is having fun with Rainbow Dash to get at Twilight. That's it. Acting weaker won't serve his purpose in the episode any more than if he went at full speed.

Say they are racing, and his goal is to befriend Rainbow Dash: instantly beating her in a race would not satisfy her competitive nature. It would be counter-intuitive to his intentions.

 

[MinatoSparkle]

I agree with the upgrade.

 

[Antvasima]

Well, the crossover scaling has been rejected, and it seems like Discord was not going at full speed.

 

[Lightbuster30]

Say they are racing, and his goal is to befriend Rainbow Dash: instantly beating her in a race would not satisfy her competitive nature. It would be counter-intuitive to his intentions.

Only works assuming Dash is going to get pissed off and be a sore loser about losing a race between friends.

 

[Lightbuster30]

In any case, if flying side by side with Discord won't do, then the thread may as well be a bust. I was considering scaling to dodging lasers from the Trio in the finale, but those same lasers could be blocked by Rarity, and even Fluttershy could take them. So the ones dodged and matched by any of the Mane 6 not named Twilight were probably not as fast or strong as it could've been.