I've always dreamed of becoming an astronaut. I was fascinated at the bravery one pony could have to risk their lives like that. They relied on technology that could fail at any moment to lift them into their dreams. How much more awesome can you get? I remember the tale of Neil Hoofstrong, the first stallion in space. I actually met him one time. I still have his autograph he gave me. It's an ancient relic to me, worth no money.
That autograph inspired me. There's no denying it, I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to see the beauty of space for myself. I chased that dream for a long time, and now I'm here. I wouldn't have thought that I, Twilight Sparkle, would make it into space. I don't believe it myself, sometimes. When I was told by Princess Celestia herself that I was chosen to press into our galaxy to find and extract alien objects, I thought I had reached heaven. I was given a small, agile ship. I named it the Dolphin for its bottle nose top. The liftoff was so nerve wracking I cried. When I was heading toward the sky, flying in a spaceship, I nearly fainted and squealed with joy.
Stars are all around me, and they have been for quite a while, A couple days to be precise. One thing that bothers me about being up here is... well... the space food. It is really nasty and I think I'd rather eat coral from a reef. It's the only thing keeping me alive, though. Ever since yesterday, I've had an odd planet in my sight. It gets bigger and bigger every hour of the day. It's green and blue from what I've seen.
I've spent my time wondering what's on that planet. Could there be life? What kind of life would there be? Would they be ponies like us, or would they be creatures with hands like Spike?
Spike. I wonder how he's doing, with me being gone and all. It must be hard for him. Heck, it's probably hard for all of my friends. I'm up here with no support but a small rocket. Celestia gave me a video camera to record my findings. I've taken several pointless pictures and video footage on stars and asteroids. However, when I found this planet, I just had to take a million pictures of it. I have to be careful, I may fill it up too fast.
I wonder how this planet will greet me? Will it be friendly or hostile? Will it be full of happy creatures, or will it be full of plants that want to latch on to my face? Will it be both? Will I leave alive? I've been sent out to space with a 31 day air support. It shouldn't be a problem, for I might not stay on the planet for more than a few days. Even then, my camera may be full of memory after the first hour, and there's 1,300 picture memory on this thing. “Pictographer 1,300”, gee wonder where it got its name.
I'm starting to notice that the closer I get to this planet, the more rocks start to surround me. I'm taking this thing off of auto drive, I don't feel like dying today. Putting my hooves on the wheel makes me think about a question I asked myself when I graduated collage. “Why did I spend 10 years of my life for a 31 day trip?” and to be frank, I do not know the answer. I said that I would find the answer on this trip and I expect that planet to have the answer.
This is starting to get dangerous. These asteroids aren't just getting bigger, they're moving all over the place. I'm swerving left and right, up and down to avoid these things. Asteroids aren't going to hold me back, though! I'm going to get to that planet! My determined face is now on me as I barrel roll the Dolphin left, right, up, down, diagonal, kerblashonal, any direction you can name. I feel my heart pounding. I finally know what it's like for my life to hang in a few dodges of a rock. I think I'm in a meteor shower. If I turn out to be right, then crud. The planet is covering almost all of the windshield now! There's no turning back. I'm starting to feel pressure on me, so I must be entering it's atmosphere. I wonder if--
CRASH!
I swing to the right violently as my lunch almost came up. Didn't taste any different coming up. The red alert button in my ship is flashing and a siren is going off. Oh no! The Dolphin's left flank has been hit! I'm unstable! The rocket isn't turning around! Nothing's working! Gravity is starting to pull me in! I'm getting sucked into the planet!
This isn't happening. Please, tell me this isn't happening! I'm pushing all of the buttons I can to try and stop this thing from completely exploding, taking me with it. All of the combos I've learned haven't helped me. I'm just swinging my arms in the air now, screaming like a filly. I don't know what good that will do me, since the nearest help is around 15 million miles away.
I'm getting unreal hot. The Dolphin is on a crash course for Planet X as a falling fireball of doom and sadness. The pressure is starting to hurt my head. I notice some kind of force pushing against the Dolphin, as the exterior parts are beginning to rattle. Suddenly, to my left, a sharp snap is heard as I notice a part is missing. Then to my right, snap! Bang! The ship is falling apart! I can see the ground. Its green portal to Tartarus greets me with pleasure. Suddenly, I start to think of regrets I have.
Why did I let myself get hit? Why did I kill Twilight Sparkle? Why did you make your friends mourn your death that you caused? Couldn't you at least have had kids before you died? Why do I still not know what chocolate milk tastes like?
Suddenly, the regrets stop. I can't hear, the siren turned quiet. I can't feel, the buttons are too far away. I can't move, the pressure is too much. I can't think, there is nothing to think about. I can see, but all that I can see... is my worst nightmare.