Flurry Heart's Return to Equus

After getting word from launch control that the access bridge was being retracted, the crew began powering up the cockpit controls. Once the controls were at full power, Mickey prepared to start counting down for Gallus to engage the engines. He was suddenly cut off by a violent shaking sensation that startled everyone, including himself. Millie and Melody hugged each other in nervousness. When the shaking died down, everyone was still frozen from nervousness. Suddenly, everyone felt as if gravity was pulling them both backwards and to the left.

"WE'RE TILTING!", cried Minnie as she read a warning which had come up on her console's screen which displayed the ship's current angle.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?", asked Daisy in a panicked voice.

A call from Cadence answered Daisy's question. The tone in her voice indicated that she was desperate.

"CONDITION RED! An underwater earthquake is what caused that large amount of shaking you felt. That's the strongest it has been in several years. The pad is so close to the plate border that the quake has weakened the seafloor under the support legs. In other words, the seafloor is collapsing under the launchpad's massive weight. You don't have time to do the countdown anymore. You must take off before the launchpad sinks under the water and takes the ship down with it. Otherwise, you will be trapped and possibly suffocate after running out of air. In the worst case, the ship could explode and kill you instantly. Even if you survive, you would not be able to launch again for several more years."

"We didn't come all this way to give up at the first glitch.", said Ocellus with a snarl.

Realizing that she and Cadence were right, Mickey wasted no time in giving the order to launch.

"Gallus, PUNCH IT!", he shouted.

"AFFIRMATIVE!", Gallus yelled in determination.

He slammed the launch button and the engines fired off. The vibration was intense, and some of them felt as if they were getting a heavy massage. As the launchpad continued sinking under the water, the ship lifted off and left the pad in only seconds.

"We have cleared the tower.", said Donald excitedly.

The shuttle climbed higher and higher into the sky and then the engines fired harder to break through gravity. During the ascent, Goofy started to feel uneasy. Once they had made it into space and started opening their helmets, Goofy started feeling nauseated. He grabbed a sickness bag and released fluids that were rushing to his mouth. He made sure to wash his face and get rid of the bag afterwards. After he jettisoned the bag, he started feeling better.

"I hate motion sickness.", he said upon returning to the cockpit.

Yona engaged the gravity core and everyone felt themselves being pulled down gently. Once they were back in their seats, they checked all of their systems and then docked the shuttle on board the Alicorn. Once they were seated in the Alicorn's cockpit, they plugged in the star coordinates that Cadence had gotten from Flurry's video journal.

"Course is set.", said Toodles.

"Once the star drive is charged, I will count down on your mark.", Mickey said to Goofy.

Goofy started the charge sequence for the star drive. It took two minutes to warm up, but it soon charged up to 100%.

"Mark!", said Goofy.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, NOW!", yelled Mickey.

Goofy engaged the star drive and the ship shot in the direction of the asteroid. From Mission Control in Canterlot, Cadence watched as the ship disappeared from satellite range.

"Godspeed, and good luck.", she said to herself in hopes of the mission being successful.