After days of carefully looking over every single piece of the rocket that we could find, we finally have something of an idea of what happened.
The problem list is long and distinguished. What contributed the most to the disaster was the fact that there had been an air bubble in the propellant grain, which made the entire burn process go haywire. The next runner up in problems is that the thrust-to-weight ratio is way too high, which places a large amount of stress on the airframe.
The final nail in the rocket coffin is that there was a gust of wind that caught the stabilization in just the right way to cause it to start to tip over. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but with the thrust-to-weight problem already mentioned, the extra pressure on the side of the airframe caused a rupture in the fuel tank.
This isn’t bad news though. Now that we know what went wrong, we can fix it and launch again.
I sit back in my chair, flexing my jaw to work out the writing cramp. This report is supposed to be sent off to the princess once I’m done with it, which should be soon.
I put the finishing touches on the document and take it to Fairweight’s office. After knocking and finding that he is out, I lay the paper on his desk and leave.
I give a relieved sigh as I head for the capsule design lab. I’ve never liked writing reports, although I make exceptions for stuff like the friendship reports, so I’m glad to be done with it.
Once I arrive at the lab, I set right to work on the last few components of the capsule. The disastrous launch and the investigation after left me with little time to finish this, but now it’ll be a breeze.
* * * *
I forgot how much I hated working on this bucking diagram! Seriously, it’s like trying to fit a few kilometers of wiring inside a birdhouse; and some of the wiring can’t touch, and some of it has to touch.
And the best part, even with this diagram done, it’s not over. Once we build the full mockup we'll know if this really works in practice. And if it doesn’t, guess who’s going to be doing the revisions. If you said me, give yourself a bucking cookie.
I stand from my chair and stretch, hearing several pops and feeling some stress melt away. I just need to get some dinner, go for a flight, a nice relaxing shower afterward, and then bed.
With a plan for the evening laid out in my head, I start the walk to the kitchen area to enact it.
Once there I prepare myself a simple meal consisting of two daisy sandwiches and a generous portion of hayfries. I scarf down the food with gusto, only realizing now exactly how hungry I am.
With a now very full belly, I waddle my way off to the showers.
* * * *
“Get your lazy flanks out of that bed!” the voice, unrecognizable in my post-sleep groggy state, shoves me from my comfortable sleep into the waking world.
“Wah, uh, wuz goin’ on?” I mumble out, the world burly and fuzzy as I open my eyes.
“Oh not much, unless you count making history important.” Sequence, who I now recognize, says sardonically.
I glance at the clock that hangs on the wall. “Sequence, it’s eight in morning, which is far too early for beating around the bush…”
The unicorn gives an exasperated huff, and drags me off the bed by grasping my tail with her magic. “Just come with me,” she states, still dragging me by my tail.
“I can walk, you know.” I chastise. Although, I may have trouble walking if she keeps dragging me across the ground like this.
Sequence, now fed up with explaining anything to me, proceeds to flip me right side up and push me through the open door of the conference room.
I grumble as I take stock of the room. About half the chalkboards are filled with tiny writing, unreadable from this distance. The other change, is that there is another holding crystal sitting in the middle of the table.
Once Fairweight sees us enter, he casts the spell to cause the crystal to act like a projector. My breath is taken away.
If anything in this world could be considered indescribable, this would come very close. But my brain tries to come up with words anyway.
On the right side of the projection, smooth oceans of a deep blue spread far out of frame. Taking up the rest of the space, are rolling plains, snowcapped mountains, sprawling forests, and a dessert.
“This can’t be-” I start.
The view changes suddenly, going blurry for a moment before focusing again on a Gryphon inside of a conical room. He is wearing a kind of suit that looks like it would cover him from head to toe. A helmet with a pull down visor sits atop his head. Behind the Gryphon, panels and switches dominate the walls and ceiling.
The Gryphon smiles and waves at the crystal on his end.
“Is this some kind of joke?” I choke out, unsure as to why I feel like I’m about to cry; an urge which I quickly pummel into submission.
“No,” Fairweight answers simply. “That Gryphon is currently in orbit.”
“Oh…” Is all I can muster.
Fairweight gives a wry smirk. “I’ve already received a letter from Celestia, informing me that the royal board of personnel is at our disposal, and to pick whoever we want. We’ll also be getting an influx of practically every occupation you can imagine.” He stops and takes another look at the projection, which has switched to show the view out the window on the other side of the craft.
“It’s funny, in a way. Yesterday, if we asked for what we are being given, we would have been laughed off. Now though, everypony might as well be begging us to take their handouts.” Fairweight shakes his head. “I should be happy, yet I can’t help but feel contempt for being shoved aside and then begged to come back.”
“I know what you mean.” I agree. “I should be doing flips from excitement right now! This is it; we really have a shot at this now. But the circumstances of this chance are, frustrating at best.”
“While I feel the same way, I’m not going to waste time feeling bad about the fact that we didn’t do it first. There is still pride to take in the fact that we can do it at all.” Dusk adds.
A letter materializes on the table, which Fairweight scoops up in an emerald magic field. His eyes widen as he reads.
He puts the letter down and changes the holding crystal’s link to the Royal Broadcast Station. The national anthem plays before Celestia appears from her throne.
“Thank you, my little ponies, for tuning into this broadcast. I contact you now, in a city noted for its knowledge, from a country for progress and strength, and we stand in need of all three. For we are in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge, the greater our ignorance unfolds.
“Despite the striking fact that most of the scientists that our world has ever known are alive and working today, despite the fact that this Nation’s own scientific manpower is doubling every eighteen years, in a rate of growth more than three times our population as a whole. Despite all that, the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished still far outstrip our collective comprehension.
“Nopony can fully grasp how far and fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the last three-thousand years of recorded history into a time span of just a year. Stated in these terms, we know very little of the first six months, except that at the end of them the three tribes had finished their long trek to a new land, and found Equestria. Over the next three months, inventions such as the flame rune stove, and the light bulb came to be. The next month, steam power and the steam locomotive. But for the last two months, no major changes in technology have come to pass.
“Barring the last two months that is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old. One such new challenge, is reaching toward the stars.
“It is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this country was not built by those who waited, rested, and looked behind them. It was built by those who looked forward, and despite the hardships, push onward to greater things. So shall the same be for space. Previous generations of not floundered when change befell them, and neither shall we.
“As most of you know, we are not the first with these ideals. The Gryphon Empire has successfully put one of their own kind into space, and will be returning him later today.
“So while we may not be the first to accomplished being the first to set a hoof in space, there is one thing that I will promise you. We shall, with absolutely no question, be the first to lay hooves on the Moon without; without the aid of the Elements of Harmony.
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go the moon in this decade, and do other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are will to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.
“To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned flight. But we do not intend to stay behind. In this decade, we shall make up and move ahead.
“Thank you everypony for your time.” The broadcast cuts off after that.
“Well that was, unexpected.” Dusk mutters.
After that, the silence rains heavy and palpable in the room.