//------------------------------// // A Slight Falter // Story: Finding Space // by dancing mop //------------------------------// "Alright, you two," Twilight asked with an authoratative air, "Are we ready to go?" The three friends had gathered on a hilltop just outside of Ponyville, on another sunny, cloudless day. They were each wearing a spacesuit in their own colors; Pinkie Pie in her obnoxious pink, Rainbow Dash in an almost exact copy of a Wonderbolts uniform, and Twilight in a simple lavender. The design had changed slightly since their first day in Pinkie's workshop, with large backpacks being added on top of the air tanks. Twilight and Rainbow were making final adjustments on a harness strung between them, their eccentric friend strapped into the middle. Rainbow looked up. "All secure on this side, Twi." Twilight checked another box on the checklist she was levitating in front of her. "Air tanks working?" "Check." "Check!" "Radios?" "Check." "Roger that! That's a big ten-four! I copy! Over and out!" Twilight cocked an eyebrow quizzically. "Sooo, is that a yes?" Pinkie nodded emphatically. "You bet! I'm inventing radio talk! All those things are the radioer's way of saying 'yes'!" She assumed a thoughtful expression. "Or maybe they should mean 'Goodbye', or 'I heard you'." "Why not just say those things?", asked Rainbow, "I'd understand a lot better." "Because," Pinkie replied, "They're radios! You have to say silly stuff if you want to use them right!" "Are ya'll gonna get this show on the road, or keep arguin' about the rodeos?" Asked an impatient Applejack from just below the hilltop. "Yes indeed," added Rarity, gesturing to the rather large crowd of ponies assembled just behind them, including Applejack, Rarity herself, and Fluttershy, who was, at the moment, being cradled by an eternally patient Spike while the worried pegasus nervously whimpered into her mane. She continued, "These ponies came to see history being made, not another silly Pinkie language." "It's a radio," Twilight corrected, "And...yes!", She exclaimed, triumphantly, "I think we're all set. Spike?" She asked, handing over the checklist. Spike took the paper in his claw, eyes scanning down the page. "Hmm, yes...yes...looks good...And, 'Have Spike triple-check the checklist after double-checking is complete.' Check!" He rolled up the paper, confirming, "You're all set to go, Twilight!" "Please don't," pleaded Fluttershy, "It's so very...high. I don't want to see you get hurt." "We'll be fine, Fluttershy," Twilight reassured her friend, "We're bringing along Equestria's best flier," Rainbow puffed out her chest with pride at the compliment, "And we've triple-checked everything on my list. There's nothing left to go wrong, and if it does, we can always fly right back down." Fluttershy gulped nervously, "Okay, I suppose...but come back as soon as you can!" she added vindictively, staring down her friend. "We won't." Turning back to her fellow astronauts, Twilight asked, "Okay, Rainbow, you know the flight plan?" "We've only been over it about ten times, so yeah!" "Just one more time, please." Rainbow sighed, "Fly up to the cloud platform I set up, perform equipment checks, continue on to space." "And what do we do when we get there?" "Turn around immediately. No sightseeing." PInkie interjected, "I still don't like that part. Just think of the amazing view from up there! Are you sure you wanna miss it?" "We'll be gone long enough as it is," Twilight countered, glancing over her shoulder, "We don't want to get anyone too worried." She turned to her cowpony friend, "Applejack! Start the countdown." Clearing her throat, Applejack announced, "LIftoff in ten...nine...eight..." Fastening her helmet, Twilight prepared to take flight. "Seven...six...five..." "Oooh, I'm so nervouscited!" Shouted Pinkie. "Four..." "That's still not a word." Said Rainbow. "Three...two...one...LIFTOFF!" Twilight and Rainbow launched themselves from the ground, and rocketed away into the sky, Pinkie in tow. They flew towards a speck of white in the spotless blue, holding a steady speed. This was just the first leg, after all, and they would need to conserve their energy for the final push to space. After nearly a minute of flight, the cloud they had been aiming for drew close, and they slowed down for a landing. Setting down on the cloud, Twilight asked, "How are we doing? Everyone's air pressure okay?" The three friends shuffled around, checking air pressure gauges on their tanks, and glancing at the barometers attached to the inside of their helmets. "All good here." "That's a big ten-four!" "Okay, I guess we're good. How's our harness holding up?" Rainbow Dash fiddled with the harness, pulling and tugging on straps, and looked up, satisfied. "It's rock solid. Pinkie's not goin' anywhere." "Alright, you ready for the second half?" "You bet I am!" "Then lets go!" They took off once more, barreling forward into the sky. As they climbed, Twilight could feel the strain on her wings growing. The air was thinning out, and it was surely freezing outside her suit. Higher and higher they flew, until the stars began to be seen. "Heads up, Rainbow," She said, "This is as high as we got last time." Pinkie had her own observation to make. "Ooh, you can see the stars, but it's daytime! This is so cool!" "You know, Twilight, I was wondering," Asked Rainbow Dash, "How will we know when we're in space? Is there some kind of barrier?" "I don't know. I guess we'll probably know when we get-WHOAH!" Twilight yelped, as she suddenly felt very dizzy, and had a sensation of falling...up? "WAAAH! What's going on?!" Rainbow cried as they started a slow downward spin. As the earth came into view below them, Twilight replied, "I think we're...weightless. So there's no gravity in space?" "Well, I guess now we know we're here!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Wooohoooo! This is so much fun!" As the earth came into view a second time, she added, "I guess this must be really disorienting for you guys. All this spinning, and then seeing something, and then nothing, and then something again, and you don't actually feel yourself spinning the whole time, its got to feel weird." Rainbow groaned, "Ooogh, Pinkie, couldja maybe just stop talking about it?" "Okay," Said Twilight, "I'm going to stop this spinning." Lighting her horn, she tried to rotate the three friends the opposite direction. As she grabbed with her telekinesis, however, she felt her magic fizzle out. Trying again, she reached out with her magic, and again watched as the telekinetic field flickered and died immediately. "Uh, guys?" she asked. "Yeah, I see it." Said Rainbow Dash. "I think it's time to fly down." After several seconds, the earth came into view once more, and then left again. "Rainbow Dash? Are your wings working?" Asked Twilight, as she found her own wings unable to move her. "No, I can't fly!" Came the panicked reply, "How are we gonna get down?!" "Calm down. Let's think about this." Twilight replied, "We need something to push us the other way. Something that could explode in one direction, and force us in another." "Party Cannon!" Pinkie shouted, "I'll shoot off a party cannon! That should push us back far enough, right?" "Yeah, maybe, if we could get one," Rainbow Dash retorted, "I sure as hay didn't bring one up here, did you?" "Yup! I always carry three with me, wherever I go!" Twilight rolled her eyes. "In case of an party emergency, right?" "No, in case of an emergency party!" Pinkie replied, suddenly holding the aforementioned Party Cannon. "Here goes nothing!" She shouted, setting off the cannon in a silent explosion of confetti. The effects were immediate. The starfield in front of Twilight's eyes stopped spinning, and she almost had the sensation of slowing down. Still, something didn't quite feel right. "We're still moving away from Earth." She announced. "Pinkie, you said you have three Party Cannons, right? Time to use the other two." "Wait, Pinkie, Don't!" Rainbow Dash shouted, too late. As the second cannon exploded, Twilight felt the harness flex and snap under the pressure, as if it had been partially melted. Before she knew it, she was floating free, and her two friends were falling away from her, back towards the earth. "NO! Twilight!" Yelled Rainbow Dash, "Pinkie! Quick, grab my air tank!" "What? Why would I do that?" "I need you to rip it out! The blast of air will get us going the other way!" Rainbow explained quickly, "Then I need you to steer us towards Twilight, and use the last Party Cannon to get down." "What?!" Twilight shouted, "Rainbow Dash, that's insane! Your suit will be compromised. You'll freeze! And how are you supposed to breathe?" "I'll hold my breath. We don't have time to think of anything else!" Indeed, Twilight could see her friends moving away from her more every second. "Pinkie, now!" Shouted Rainbow Dash, and the next thing Twilight knew, her friends were racing towards her. As soon as they were close enough, Twilight grabbed hold of Rainbow Dash, who was already fading from consciousness, and had ice forming around her eyes and nose. "Pinkie! Fire that cannon now!" She commanded. The final Party Cannon went off, and the trio started falling back towards their destination, much slower than Twilight would have liked. Her friend was now unconscious inside her suit, and nearly coated in ice. Desperately, Twilight tried flapping her wings, but they were still in vacuum. She reached out with her magic, only to see it sizzle and fade once more. She tried again, harder, focusing all her will on a simple levitation spell. The exertion was tremendous, but she managed to wrap all three of them in a magical field. With all her might, she pulled them towards Earth, and they sluggishly accelerated. "Twilight! You did it!" Pinkie shouted excitedly, "We're in air again! Fly down!" As focused as she had been on her spell, Twilight hadn't even noticed. She quickly stopped the spell, and spread her wings, rocketing down into the atmosphere. The earth became larger and larger, filing her entire vision. She started to see individual clouds, then the landscape in different colors, and soon, they were low enough to pick out cities and towns amongst the countryside. "Eep! Twilight! Slow down! Slow down!" Twilight flared her wings outward, bracing against the wind screaming by. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash slammed into her, and she was almost knocked off balance. Straining against the combined weight of three ponies, she forced them to slow down, even as she aimed for the hilltop they had taken off from. She could see that it wouldn't be enough. "Pinkie! Hold on tight!" She screamed, grabbing both of her friends tightly and casting a force field around them. With incredible speed, the trio slammed into the ground, throwing up dirt in all directions, and scattering the crowd of waiting ponies. Twilight's force field collapsed as she was thrown to the ground, but it had held long enough. As the dust settled, she struggled to her feet, and pulled herself towards Pinkie, who was cradling Rainbow Dash in her hooves. "I-is she okay?" Pinkie sniffed. Twilight looked over her friend, who was still very much unconscious, but ice-free, and still, incredibly, breathing. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, she's fine, Pinkie." "Oh, good." Pinkie said, tiredly. "Heh, that was fun. Let's do it again..." She laughed sardonically as she passed out. Just then, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, and Fluttershy came running up. "Are ya'll alright?" Asked Applejack, "That was one mighty crash!" "Yeah, we're fine..." Twilight slurred, stumbling to her knees, "I think...we should probably go to the hospital..." She managed to say, before collapsing to the ground, her vision turning black.