It had been a few days since her launch into the history books. It had gone well, with the huge catapult throwing her high into the air as the rocket motors lit. An immense roar from beneath her seat slammed all skyward with a force so strong her ears flattened against her head.
The initial shock and noise had soon abated once the clouds had finished speeding past the port holes. From there on in it had become more like a silent dream, laced with an eerie dull black. She was literally 'along for the ride' at this stage of the mission, sat atop a huge firework of metal and hope.
After that excitement her life was filled with daily routine of space flight. She checked air levels, fiddled with taps and took notes. As she floated around the cabin from task to task she took the time to peer through the port holes in wonder. Behind her Equestria shrank smaller and smaller while in front the moon began to grow. It was soon very large indeed.
The next part was hers and hers alone. The small silver unicorn couldn't help but ponder how her attempts at landing would turn out? There was no second chance here and the moon looked awfully big in the pilot's window. The hands on the clock showed it was time to take another sighting of her distance from the surface. She held the device firmly while bracing herself against the walls of the small cabin, so as not to float off halfway through.
From the numbers, she could see that it was time to start slowing down for landing. Pulling the check list from her pocket she glanced at its contents while adjusting various knobs and valves, readying the machine for orbit. Another distance measurement showed it was time to suit up, strap in and fire the retro boosters.
The pressing of the boost button was followed by a huge jolt as the great rocket began to shake and slow to a suitable velocity. She held on tight, feeling the straps yanking her back into her seat. The moons gravitational force began to take hold, pulling them down to its barren surface.
This was her time to shine! A dream come true. A dream from long before the rocket shaped cutie mark had appeared on her flank. The cardboard tubes and singed mane of her youth had all led to this point. As her first model rocket had streaked into the sky she knew where she needed to be.
Reaching out a gloved hoof she cut the boosters, bringing silence to the craft. The next bit was going to be really hard. She activated the control thrusters and gingerly began to steer her way down to the dull grey land below.
From a side window she could see the shadow of the craft, the dark outline making an ideal reference point to stop her crashing into the surface. But it was moving very quickly indeed. Instantly she was in flight mode, her mind racing as the moon came rapidly up towards her.
"Not like this," she hissed through clenched teeth, steering this way and that. Blasting the retro-boost periodically, she was a blur of hooves as she fought to prevent herself slamming into the ground below. "Oh no, oh no, one last burn......." and touchdown. Within seconds it was all over, the metallic beast stood firmly and four legged on the moon. Inside, sitting bolt upright, with sweat pouring from her brow, was the most relieved pony ever!
Regaining her composure she raised the radio arial to report to base. "Phoenix to base, we have touch down. Am making preparations to walk on the surface, over," she called out across the ether. It was now time to unbuckle herself, go through the shutdown procedure and open that door!
A crackled voice sang form the speaker, "Well done, we are so excited, go get em' tiger, over!"
A few minutes later the diminutive form climbed carefully down the steps with a glass helmet and a life support pack tied to her back. The moon felt weird, and none of the descriptions of low gravity prepared her for how light she felt. She half expected to feel like she did when she was a small filly, riding high into the sky on the back of a pegasus. She actually felt like she was supported by elastic!
Bouncing along the surface she could travel huge distances in a single leap, landing gracefully on all four hooves with a giggle. Or at least, she could after a few attempts, her first steps causing her to trip and fall. After jumping around a bit more she collected small rocks and dust in a little bag before sitting down for a rest.
There was a very good reason for having a unicorn as mission commander. Eating in the vacuum of space would be very difficult indeed, unless of course, you could levitate a carrot or two from an inner pocket. And no pony wanted to wander round a strange land without some sort of snack!
It was at this point the magnitude of the sight above hit her. The distant blue and green circle in the black sky looked alien and not at all like the place where she lived. It was difficult to imagine her friends so far away living their every day lives?
"Phoenix to base, are you still there, over."
"Base to Phoenix, are you okay? Over," came a crackled and concerned reply.
"I'm fine, it's just that you all seem a very long way away right now. I suddenly felt very small, but I'm okay now, over."
She shook off the unexpected feeling of loneliness and returned to the task at hoof. "Oh well, time for a bit more exploring," she said to herself, before bouncing off to look in different craters.
They all appeared the same apart from their size. But none had space flowers in them or anything exciting. Just more grey dust as far as the eye could see. There was the odd rock that was interesting, so into the bag they went with the others.
Too soon it was time to go. Oh how she longed to stay on the moon. A day or even a few more hours maybe? But she couldn't. Stepping back into the space craft she closed the door behind her, checking its seal carefully to make sure it would be air tight. It would be a miserable trip back home if she had to spend it stuck in a space suit, her food and water tantalisingly close but beyond reach in the supplies locker.
"Phoenix to base, am preparing to leave the moons surface. Initial rocket fire in ten minutes."
Turning on the cabin lights she caught her reflection in the window, sad blue eyes looking back at her. No! She wouldn't let herself get like this. She was on the moon for goodness sake. This was the best day of her life. Strapping herself back into her seat she again reached for the main rocket switch.
Slowly at first and then with greater speed, the moon shrank away into the distance. No denying it now, she was a space pony!
The End
Idris
Author's Note
I wrote this back in the spring (2015) but it was 'locked in' to the UKPonycon book until the event took place in October. It's a nice little story, so I decided to tidy it a bit, get it over a thousand words and commission some title art.
