This is the log of Sagittarius Belt, a volunteer in Operation: Beyond Equestria. He has passed; these are his final recollections of his life leading up to this event.
"I wished it not to end this way. I wanted to die back home, in Canterlot, in Equestria. I was a family stallion, a good friend, and I had a good life. Then again, even the best have a deadline. Guess this is mine.
"I first heard of this operation from a friend (loss of quality air does bad things on the equine mind; I can just barely remember my own name) as he gave me the flier for it. He said I should try it out, especially considering I was a huge space kind of pony (Hell, it's in my name). Anyway, I galloped home to my wife and told her about it, and that I was definitely thinking of signing up. I'd always dreamed of space travel; as long as I have been alive, I've been fascinated by the cosmos. Seemed like the perfect fit. Although she advised against it, she told me to follow what my heart says. I told her it said yes.
"I bid my family goodbye after tucking my children in bed (my children were named after constellations, if I remember; Orion and Libra). My wife and I shared a final date night (we knew of this restaurant that was open late) and went home to sleep. We woke up the next morning and that was it. After a final kiss, I went to children's room and gave them kisses, as well, considering I may or may not be coming back. I asked for a taxi to Canterlot Space Center, and went to sign up. The rocket was breathtaking off in the distance. It was apparently called the Pioneer. The sign-up pony said that I was the last to sign up, and just before the deadline. The trip cost 38 bits, and was being initiated later on that night.
"Ponies everywhere wondered what was on the moon after Nightmare Moon returned and was defeated some few years ago during the Summer Sun Celebration by six brave ponies. Was there alien life? Remnants of Nightmare Moon's powers? Maybe what she did for passing time while there? That's what this mission was about. Princess Celestia got word, and notified Princess Luna. Both were in support of this endeavor, especially Luna, and both helped fund the event. The whole thing, I heard, cost 5 billion bits to do. Pioneer was only the second Equestrian space rocket; another one, known as Pilgrim, was assigned to simply orbit the planet and come back. It was successful.
"I later went on to the training grounds. The G-Force simulator was fun, helped me get used to launch... And made me feel quite queasy. I was assigned to pilot the rocket, so I had to do a flight simulator. Everything was very complicated as to what I had to do. This button had to be hit at this exact time. That section of the rocket had to be ejected when you reach this height. As difficult as it was, I passed... Barely. After a few more tests, I qualified, and launch was set for a few hours after that.
"My mind and body were ready. I was psyched up for space travel to the moon. I was curious as to whether we'd feel Luna lowering and raising the body of rock while we were on it. We'd probably see her do it, which may or may not have taken us out of our way. Either way, with space suits on, everything in order, we were ready for launch. We heard the countdown.
'10.'
'9.'
'8.'
'7.'
'6.'
'5.'
'4.'
'3.'
'2.'
'1.'
'Pioneer, liftoff!'
"The launch sequence made me a little nervous to the fact that we were gonna do this. Soon hit the G-Force; it felt like an amusement park ride, and it felt great. After about 8 minutes (which felt like hours, we were going so ridiculously fast), Pioneer had reached Equestrian orbit (Pegasi everywhere must have seen it. Maybe even all of Equestria.), and was en route to Luna's celestial body. Everyone felt so accomplished.
"That accomplished feeling did not last long. After ejecting the launch bay, we heard an explosion go off. We feared it, considering you can't hear anything in space. A red light went off on the control panel, and we saw that something in the cargo bay split open the fuel tanks that guided the ship. We were wandering aimlessly ahead into a void of nothingness.
"Mission Control advised that we try to rectify some problems with the fuel tanks, and switch to backup fuel. They were breaking up due to our distance from the signal source (we were beyond the moon by this point). We thought we could head back with our backup, but an even bigger problem emerged. Two of the thrusters that could enable us to maneuver the ship's direction were taken out in the explosion. All we could to with the fuel was head forward even quicker. There was no going home.
"Our oxygen supply was running low. We had been subjected to space madness. One of the crew members killed himself with a spare piece of pipe through his mouth and skull with the fact that he wasn't going back. Another one died of bladder infection, which meant I was the only one left in this death capsule. I'm using the remaining oxygen to record this in hope that this message gets through and I can at least give my family a final goodbye... Oh, Celestia... *pant, pant* With the last remnants of the oxygen...
"My friends... My honey... My stars... I'm sorry I was so ignorant, and... I have to say that this is goodbye. I will see you in the next life... It's so trifling to breathe now... I love you all, and I wish I could see you all... One... Last... Time............."
With that statement, Sagittarius Belt passed on from suffocation. Everyone he knew attended his funeral, and it's said that Celestia and Luna were there, considering he was one of the crew that wanted to explore more beyond Equestria's orbit. Since then, the Sagittarius constellation has been revered as a symbol of hope, bravery, and integrity. Sagittarius went down in history, and was honored for his courage and caring.
Author's Note
stars = his kids
honey = his wife
