//------------------------------//
// 1. Blastoff 
// Story: Fuel Run 
// by iluvponies35 
//------------------------------//

It was only a matter of time before ponies took to the stars.
For millennia, many of those that had inhabited the wide, magical expanse of Equestria would spend their nights with their heads turned up towards the sky. Most merely admired it, a select few dared to map or study it, but they all shared a common wonder, dreaming of what might be up there. Some even dreamed of going up there, letting their hooves touch foreign soil and breathing in an alien landscape, but, at least for a time, they remained only dreams.
127 years ago, Ponykind finally dared to take its first steps into the vast unknown. Progress was slow and messy at first, as it usually is, but soon the rockets began regularly streaking into the sky, ponies riding atop rumbling towers of metal and flame towards an unknown fate. There were accidents, even tragedies, but success was inevitable, and soon it was clear that space was a new frontier that Ponykind would not only explore, but learn to live and grow in.
But space remains a dangerous business. Years of trials and tribulations have brought about great improvements to space exploration, and the field is safer now than ever before. Despite this, death is an ever-present threat, and for the average blue-collar space worker, closer than they may realize.


=====


"Alright Star, today's the big day..."
Starry Night bit her lip as she ran a brush through her luscious silvery mane, grimacing as it briefly caught on a knot stuck in one of the purple wisps of hair scattered throughout before it evened out. Satisfied she gave it a once over in the mirror, then checked her faded pink coat for any dirt or debris, before finally settling on her bright sapphire blue eyes. She blinked. Yep, definitely her.
She could hardly believe this day had finally arrived. After years of studying and months of training, today was the day she would finally (hopefully) be accepted as a full astronaut of the Equestrian Space Agency. Ever since she was a filly she was obsessed with the stars, and dreamed of being where she was now, never settling for a boring Equestria-bound job, even as her peers told her space was no place for a simple earth pony. She stepped to the side, turning her head to admire her cutie mark. The black swirl peppered with stars on her flank had always told her otherwise, a sign she was meant for this since they day she got it while out searching the skies with a telescope one night.
If nothing else, the fact she'd made it this far already put her leagues ahead of most earth ponies (though she still hoped for good news as anything else would likely make her cry). And as she stepped out of her bathroom into her dorm proper, she took a look around the room for what was hopefully the last time. It was certainly nicer than her old college dorm, and  bit more spacious too, featuring a full set of cooking amenities, a decent-sized bed, and plenty of drawers and cupboards. As her eyes fell upon a clock mounted on the wall, she blinked and realized all her progress was about to go down the drain if she didn't get to administration immediately.
"Shit!" she cursed, immediately scrambling to get ready. Starry slammed some bread into her toaster and let it cook while hurrying to get on her navy blue uniform. After zipping it up she tensely waited for her toast, and was out the door as soon as it was ready. Galloping down the hall of ESA cadet dorms while munching on her boring breakfast, Starry barrelled around corners, through doors, and past a few stunned employees who shouted at her to slow down
The Equestrian Space Center was a massive complex, especially compared to how it had been just a few decades ago. Starry had grown up reading all the space-related news she could, and her time spent here had dashed a lot of her preconceived notions. There were training buildings, classrooms, flight control, rocket workshops, and miles of office complex, the last of which she had to partially traverse on her way towards her goal. By the time she reached administration she was out of breath and her cheeks were red with embarrassment, but relieved to find herself exactly on time.
Trotting up behind a line of other cadets, Starry began the tense wait. At this point in their training, each cadet was to meet personally with the head of the academy to answer some final questions and be giving either acceptance or rejection as a full astronaut. From her spot at the back of the line, she had plenty of time to think and plenty of time to worry endlessly about all the possibilities going round her head.
Slowly but surely the line moved along, one pony entering the head's office as soon as another left. Most cadets leaving had dour looks on their faces, while a select few left smiling ear to ear. It wasn't hard to guess what was going on, and Starry Night felt a lump in her throat as she realized the odds she was going up against. There was no going back now though, she just had to know, no matter if it was good or bad. As the minutes ticked down and she took the front of the line she stood there, tapping her hooves, until the door opened and out popped a cadet with a look that screamed rejection. With a deep breath, she carefully stepped into the office.
Sitting behind a massive pine wood desk was the comparatively small Major Prism Dash, head of the ESA's training academy and grand-daughter of the famous Rainbow Dash. One would've never guessed, if not for the multicolor mane reminiscent of her ancestor's. The aquamarine pegasus looked up from a hoofful of papers and met Starry's nervous eyes with her own. Starry had only met Prism a few times in person, and today was the first time would be properly conversing with each other. Beckoning to a chair, Starry obliged and nearly stumbled over as she went to take a seat.
"Cadet Starry Night," Prism finally began after a drawn-out silence. "Impressive record for an earth pony." Starry bristled, mostly out of pride, though also mildly unnerved by the comment, which Prism interpreted. "No offense of course, there simply aren't a lot of earth ponies signing up for the space program," she added.
Prism set down the paper she was looking at and picked up another. "Test scores a little low, but passable. Good sim results, not very cool under pressure, but that's expected for a first timer. Though tell me Starry Night, why are you here?"
Starry was taken aback, but after a few seconds found the courage to answer. "B-because I want to be an astronaut, ma'am."
Prism snorted. "So did everypony else that walked through those doors. One more time, why are you here?"
Starry gulped. How was she supposed to answer that? Her mouth remained tightly shut for what felt like a full minute while she thought of what to say. Finally, "because I really want to be an astronaut, ma'am. It's been my dream since I was young to do everything in my power to go to space, and to help build a better future, not just for myself but for all of ponykind." It was the best she could come up with.
The resulting silence hung in the air for way too long, before Prism finally smiled, balled up the paper with Starry's test scores, and tossed it into a wastebasket. "Sorry for scaring you cadet, I'll admit this is all just for show. I already made up my mind a week ago to accept you into the program. Your scores could definitely be better, but they're still way in the top half of your class, and your determination speaks volumes. Congratulations."
Starry balked. "R-really, ma'am?"
Prism nodded with a knowing smile. "Space is dangerous. There may be over a thousand of us up there right now, but that doesn't mean I just let in anyone these days. I can tell when a pony has what it takes, and you're definitely one of them."
"Th-thank you! Uh, ma'am!" Starry struggled to keep still, her heart fluttering. "Um, what happens now though?"
Leaning back in her chair, Prism sighed. "Tonight there'll be a celebration in the event hall for those that passed such as yourself. Aside from that, not much for the time being. Celestial station has a partial crew rotation coming in a few weeks, you'll be sent up then, three month tour doing whatever you're asked to do, then three months of shore leave before it starts all over again. Besides that, enjoy yourself. Your allowed to stay in your dorm or head home, either way you'll get a call a week before launch day."
"Thank you ma'am!" Starry repeated with a salute, trotting out of the office as lightly as a pegasi on clouds while her heart swelled with pride.


=====


The celebration that night reminded Starry Night a lot of her college graduation, at least at first. Once the (admittedly boring) ceremony was out of the way, everypony was free to mingle for the rest of the night, treated to a wide array of expensive snacks and drinks, though predictably no alcohol. During the ceremony she had noticed there were quite a few more cadets present than had been in her class. Quickly she realized it was for all of the different classes, or rather, astronaut specializations offered at the space center. Starry had spent her time going into Engineering, and tonight her group was situated between Piloting and Science, with several other groups around the room.
Being more on the quiet side, Starry had spent most of the afterparty near the end of a buffet table. It was hard enough learning some of the names in her engineering class, now she was well and truly lost. The little pony in her head told her to go out and socialize with some of her future crewmates, but she stubbornly remained in the comfort of the quiet corner next to the punch bowl.
"Good punch?"
Starry jumped a bit, not noticing the pegasi stallion that had walked up on her flank. Beneath the cadet uniform like hers she could make out a light brown coat, and his hair the same if not a few shades darker, though the uniform came down over his cutie mark. "Umm, it's alright," she started.
With a smile, the stallion walked up to the bowl and poured himself a glass before stepping up next to her. "Can't say I've seen you around before, I take it you're not in botany?"
Starry shook her head. "Engineering."
"Ah, well then, you got one of the more interesting jobs huh? Here I'm just glad I didn't go into service, imagine that," he chuckled. "Oh, right, name's Wind Catcher."
"Starry Night."
"Hm, fitting name," he smiled.
"More fitting than a pegasus going into botany I'd say," she teased, a bit of warmth starting to show in her once-timid voice.
Wind Catcher chuckled. "Wasn't my first choice, but it's a fun side hobby and my advisor said I'd have a better chance if that's what I went down. All the predictions say orbital farming is gonna be big soon."
"Doesn't that mean a lot of sitting around watching plants though?" she wondered.
Wind shrugged. "Probably. Then again, it's in space. I reckon that alone makes it all worth it."
"Oh definitely! They said I'd be on the Celestial station crew transfer next month, I can't wait!" Starry beamed, feeling herself finally start to relax a little more.
Her new friend grinned. "Ey, you too? Reckon we'll see each other around then, assuming they don't have me stuck in hydroponics all day."
"Hopefully."
After meeting Wind Catcher, the night passed quickly for Starry, as they chatted and exchanged what they knew about the job ahead. Eventually they bid farewell, but she hoped to see him again before launch day. For now she returned to her dorm once more for the night, and tucked herself into bed, eager to start counting the days till launch.


=====
3 Weeks Later...


Starry Night had seen all the pictures, even watched a few launches live. But now, standing near the bottom of the gargantuan Wayfarer-class rocket, she found out just how much it dwarfed her. It consisted of two parts; a massive first stage which took up most of the height, which itself was mostly fuel tanks encased in featureless metal sheets save for the cluster of engines on the bottom. The second part was what she'd actually be riding in, and was best described as a resembling a massive silver bullet, plus some fins and reinforced glass windows. She'd heard it was based on a design by a private company, bought and optimized by the Equestrian Space Agency. It was fully reusable, could carry a massive cargo load, and had served for many years as the main method of transport to and from Equestria's orbital stations.
And today she'd be adding her name to the long list of crazy ponies that had allowed themselves to be strapped into one.
"I knew it would be bigger in person, but...wow," breathed a high-pitched voice beside her. Nearly forgetting she wasn't alone, Starry turned her head to look at her friend Mint Chip, a light green unicorn mare with black and brown splotched mane. The orange flightsuit everypony was in made it hard to identify cutie marks, but Mint's was (perhaps predictably) a scoop of mint ice cream. Mint was one of the few from engineering Starry had managed to get to know a little, and while they hadn't time to properly interact many times, she was looking forward to getting to know her a little better. Not like there'd be much else to do in her free time on a space station.
What she did know of Mint Chip already is that the unicorn had spent a few years as an ice cream salespony, tinkering on the side until she heard of the growing need for jobs in space. Apparently selling ice cream didn't pay well anymore, so she returned to college for an aerospace degree and wound up here. Mint had privately stated she'd hop on the opportunity to make real ice cream in space instead of the freeze dried garbage they got. It wouldn't be long until they found out how committed to that promise she was.
Starry turned to her other side and craned her neck. She'd seen Wind Catcher as well, but he was too far down to get a chance to talk. The two of them had kept in touch a little, but it was difficult, being in different specializations. She was looking forward to talking to him more up on the station as well. For now they sat single file at the foot of a massive scaffolded elevator which would bring them up to the rocket's entry hatch, waiting for the ground crew to finish the checks necessary to allow them to begin boarding. After that, a few more checks, and then, hopefully, they'd be on their way up. Even now, with hundreds of regular launches a year, it still took forever to get going.
"How long till you think we'll be up there?" Mint Chip finally inquired.
"Hopefully before the end of the year," Starry quipped. "Bit cloudy today, figured they'd have the weatherponies clear the skies."
"Eh, not a big deal as long as they have it under control," Mint droned. "Can't imagine what would happen if that thing got struck by lightning."
"I heard it happened to an unmanned supply ship a few months back," chimed in a third member of the engineering team. "Knocked out guidance systems for a good minute or two, almost crashed into the ocean."
"Charming."
Before they could continue chatting about all the horrible things that could go wrong, a voice came on a nearby intercom clearing them to board the elevator. A dozen ponies, Starry included, stepped onboard, the first of three groups prepared to board. As the soft sands of Cape Maneaveral grew small below them, Starry forced herself to look straight ahead and occupy herself by counting the seconds and checking over her orange flightsuit.
A minute later the elevator rumbled to a stop, well over a hundred meters above the ground. Starry carefully shuffled along with the rest of her crew, chancing a look down past the railings. She was not afraid of heights, she definitely wouldn't be here if she was, but the view still churned her stomach.
"You know if you think about it, falling off is one of the better things that could happen to us today," somepony decided to quip, eliciting a nervous chuckle from almost everypony else up there.
Up close, nothing about the rocket was small, save for the crew hatches in the side, as was to be expected. When it was Starry's turn to slip through, she briefly struggled; she was lean for an earth pony, but the hatch was smaller yet. With a huff, she finally made it through, then began ascending a ladder in the center of the ship. Per her orders she hopped off at level two, one of several passenger areas just below the main command module. With no assigned seating, minimal windows for passengers, and Starry being one of the first up there, she trotted over to the seat in front of the largest porthole she could find and strapped in.
An hour passed for Starry in that seat, while she waited, first for the rest of the first dozen to file in, then the second, then third. After that the minutes ticked away in agonizing silence, though she presumed the ground and flight crews were going through another few sets of checks. Mint Chip took the seat next to her, so Starry decided to pass the time with some small talk.
"After all this time you'd think there'd be a better way to get us into space than on these huge rockets," Starry commented.
"I hear Chariot Dynamics is almost done with their prototype of a single stage to orbit. Not as much room though. Chemical rockets are still the most cost effective method," Mint replied.
Finally the speaker system crackled: "Attention crew, this is your pilot Stormy Weather speaking. Mission control has cleared us for launch today," - a small cheer passed through the passenger quarters - "ignition in t minus ten minutes, remember to strap yourselves in and put your helmets on!"
Immediately Starry felt the gravity of the situation sink in. Her chest tightened with fear and excitement. This was really happening. She forced herself to take deep, shaky breaths trying to calm her nerves, but she had a feeling that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
"You good Star? You look like you've seen a ghost," Mint piped up.
Starry looked over at her friend. Mint looked terrified in her own right, though was keeping it in better than Starry could. "This is really h-happening, huh," Starry breathed.
"This is what we signed up for. No going back now, heh," Mint nervously laughed.
For many of the rookies packed in the passenger compartment, those ten minutes passed agonizingly slow. For Starry Night, it was still agonizingly fast. She blinked, and suddenly the pilots were giving the five-minute warning. She barely remembered to pull out her helmet and squeeze it on, her shaky hooves failing with the clasps a few times. By the time she felt well and truly ready, it was down to the last minute.
Ten seconds left. The engines started to rumble, and the whole rocket shook.
Five seconds. Starry looked over at her friend.
Four.
"Ready for this?"
Three
Mint looked back.
Two
"Nope."
One.
"IGNITION!"
OH CELESTIA!
Months of training were meant to prepare an astronaut for a wide array of situations. No amount of training, however, can prepare a pony for their first launch. Some are fine. Most scream, or laugh hysterically. For Starry Night, as she felt the ground lurch beneath her and heard the roar of the engines and the distant kssssh of the launch tower disengaging, she expressed her emotions by tightly shutting her eyes.
As the rocket lurched off the pad and the g-force inside nearly doubled, Starry Night felt her heart pounding in her chest, the only sound louder than the rockets billowing a hundred meters beneath her. Through it all she could hear screaming, laughing, and excited hollering, and a bit of all three from Mint Chip.
An eternity passed before the rumbling finally started to even out, whereupon Starry finally opened her eyes. From her view through the porthole in front of her, all she could see was clouds whizzing by, finally giving way to blue sunny skies as they passed above the clouds. It wasn't the first time she'd bore witness to such a sight, as some of the airships she'd been on climbed this high, but she was left in awe at how quickly it all went by.
Starry's eyes remained transfixed to the tiny window, watching as the clouds receded, giving way to the growing curvature of Equestria itself. The sky began to turn black, and the blue tint became confined to a thin strip of haze at the edge of the globe. As black began to encompass most of her view, she also began to notice the stars creeping into view, countless lights of varying size spread out across the otherwise empty void. It was then she realized her anxiety had disappeared.
Finally she spoke. "Wow..."
"Incredible," Mint breathed lightly beside her.
A murmur went up around the cabin as more and more ponies bore witness to the beauty of space. As if sensing the change in attitudes, the ship's intercom finally spoke for the first time since they had lifted off the pad. "Beautiful sight, ain't it everypony? I tell you, it'll never get old. Do keep your seatbelts and helmets on though, we're not quite in orbit yet. Main engine cutoff in three...two..."
Suddenly the very last weight on Starry's shoulders lifted, and the feeling of weightlessness finally began to set in. She remembered spending months in the training center's diving pool, as it was the closest one could get to zero g back on Equestria, but it was nothing compared to this. She lifted a hoof and drew it through the air, feeling no resistance in the process, and laughed to herself.
Her fun was briefly interrupted, as the whole craft briefly lurched, and she fearfully wondered if something had gone wrong before the intercom once again kicked in. "Good separation of main booster, we'll begin our orbital insertion in a minute or two here."
A minute later though, a loud hollow 'thunk' was heard, followed by another. Suddenly the whole craft found itself pelted by a series of tiny collisions, causing an air of concern among the passenger cabin.
"Relax everypony, just a debris field, the ship's rated to handle this. Assuming of course they didn't leave anything bigger up here!" laughed the intercom.
"Oh how I wish I picked a more serious profession," Mint Chip groaned as the shaking and pelting sounds died away.
"Debris field clear, beginning orbital insertion burn. Next stop: Celestial station!"
The engines kicked in again, but nothing like before. Everypony was gently pushed into their seats as the orbital engines began their final corrections. Starry Night couldn't stop herself from grinning.
"That was the most terrifying experience of my life and I can't WAIT to do it again!" she shouted.