Tom Harlow was having the best day of his life.
He was currently riding in an elevator that was situated next to a large spaceship, watching the scenery sink below him as he rose. Tom wore a heavy, orange space suit with tons of zippers, valves, and pockets, while he cradled under his right arm a helmet designed for space travel. On his head was a headset that was filled with chatter from Ground Control. Next to him stood Eddie Rains, a fellow astronaut who was going accompanying him on the mission. The two became friends during their training and were often found side-by-side.
It wasn't long before they reached the top of the elevator. The door behind them opened up, and the two men walked out onto a metal walkway that led to the space shuttle Starwalk. Their mission was to head out into space, go on an EVA – an Extra-Vehicular Activity – to test an experimental space suit that allowed an astronaut to travel freely in space without being attached by a hose, and then return to Earth. NASA had already put the suit through rigorous testing to make sure it was safe, but nothing could ever compare to the real deal.
"We're finally here," Eddie said to Tom. "We're gonna finally go to space."
"It also seems as if this wasn't real," Tom replied, "as if it were a dream."
For Tom, this wasn't too far off the beaten path. Ever since he was a child, he had always loved everything to do with space. There was something magical about the vast, silent coldness of space to Tom. He would also collect newspaper clippings about shuttle launches and important announcements about NASA so he could learn as much as possible about space travel. However, his most prized collection was an autographed picture from Michael Collins, one of the astronauts involved in the Apollo 11 mission. It currently sat in his left breast pocket to remind him how far he'd come from just a little boy with a dream. Tom began thinking about his childhood – about how he was always at the TV whenever there was a shuttle launch, and how he'd always play with his space ships at home and pretend he was going to the Moon.
"Tom!" Eddie yelled as he was climbing into the shuttle, snapping Tom out of his thoughts. "Are you going to stand there, or are you coming?"
"Oh, yes, right!" the astronaut replied as he walked across the catwalk to the shuttle, waiting for Eddie to be seated before climbing in himself. Since his space suit was incredibly heavy, he had a hard time getting into his vertical chair. With the help of footholds in what was the floor and some NASA personnel, though, he was able to get strapped in.
"Ground Control to Major Tom," came a voice through his headset, "Ground Control to Major Tom. Are you and Major Eddie seated?"
"Affirmative, Ground Control," Tom replied. "We are ready to go."
"Have you two taken your protein pills?"
"Affirmative, Ground Control."
"Good. Put your helmets on and sit tight. Liftoff isn't for another couple of hours."
"Not like we're going anywhere," Tom muttered as the two put their helmets on and started a long list of preparations for takeoff.
"…so then she kinda laughed and said she would go out on a date with me," Tom finished, recounting how he got his first date with his wife, Selene.
"Really?" Eddie said. "Wow. Guess you really caught the big one there, Tom."
"Ground Control to Major Tom and Major Eddie," the headset said into Tom's ear, "prepare for liftoff in T-minus one minute."
"Affirmative, Ground Control," he replied.
"This is it, Tom," Eddie said with a smile as he gripped the controls. "It's finally happening!"
"Yeah," Tom whispered back. He was ready to leave the Earth behind and explore the vast emptiness of space.
"T-minus thirty seconds."
The cockpit of the shuttle was silent, save for the numerous electronics beeping and whirring around the astronauts. It wasn't long before there was a thunderous roar as the main engines came to life, attempting to escape the launch pad.
"T-minus ten," Ground Control counted, "nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, liftoff!"
Tom felt a heavy weight drop on top of him as the shuttle propelled off the launch pad. His stomach lurched as the Starwalk began its roll maneuver in order to properly reach its destination. It took all of his strength to hold onto the controls, and he found it nearly impossible to speak. It wasn't like anything he had experienced before.
It wasn't long until the blue sky began to fade into a black blanket specked with millions of shimmering stars. Tom was speechless as he felt the pressure on his body release. Eddie gave a laugh and said, "We did it!" There was a cheer over the headset.
"You two've really made the grade!" Ground Control said.
"Ground Control," Tom said as he snapped back into the real world and loosened his grip on the controls, "why don't you send us up a drink for our hard work?" Everyone shared a chuckle as the astronauts unbuckled themselves and floated around the cockpit in the zero-gravity environment.
"Wow, this is so… surreal," Eddie said as he moved towards the rear of the cockpit. "What do you think, Tom?"
"I think we should have a little fun before we go out on our walk," Tom replied, following Eddie.
"…and Tom Harlow serves the ball to Eddie Rains!" the former said in an announcer's voice as he used his hand to hit a ball of paper to his friend. The two astronauts had gotten out of their orange suits and were wearing normal blue clothes. Eddie kicked off of a wall and barely made it in time to hit the ball back.
"What an amazing save!" he replied in the same voice. "It looks like Rains is giving Harlow a run for his money!"
"The game's not over yet, Jim," Tom said as he volleyed the ball back, "anything can happen!"
"Right you are, Kevin!" Eddie said in return, positioning himself so he could jump off the wall again. However, he couldn't float fast enough, as the wad of paper passed the mutually-agreed goal line.
"And the crowd goes wild! Harlow wins the Gravball Championship!" Tom yelled as he pumped a fist in the air, his friend making faux crowd noises. "What a comeback, ladies and gentlemen! Down four to one, and Harlow manages to score four successive points! History has been made today, folks!"
"We'd hate to break up your game, boys," came Ground Control from the headsets, "but we're approaching your first scheduled EVA."
Tom bent his microphone down to his mouth. "Affirmative, Ground Control." He then turned to Eddie and asked, "So, who's suiting up first?"
"Well, good luck out there, Tom," Eddie said as Tom was finally ready to embark on his EVA. Tom wore a bulky, white suit with a large backpack-like container on his back. It held two tanks: one had fuel, while the other held oxygen. On the corners and sides of the backpack were miniature jets that would help the astronaut move in space.
"Don't forget," Eddie reminded, "there's more fuel in the SAFER – that's what you'll use to move around in space – than they usually put in there due to the increased capacity. However, the jets also use more fuel up because the geeks back home made them more powerful. When it starts to run low, there's going to be a loud, annoying beep. Same thing if you run low on oxygen. Can you remember all that?"
"It's not much," Tom said, "I'll be able to remember." He then walked into the airlock and shut the door behind him, making sure that there was nothing wrong with the airtight seal. "Major Tom to Ground Control," he said as he flipped his helmet's visor down to protect his eyes from the sun's harmful rays, "I'm stepping through the door now."
"Affirmative, Major Tom," the headset replied as Tom opened the airlock. He had to hold on to the metal bars on the sides of the room so that he wouldn't get sucked out with the air. What he saw when the air – or lack thereof – stilled was candy to his eyes.
Set against the background of space was a beautifully blue Earth, with seemingly small clouds dancing across it. The sight took his breath away, and he only snapped back into real life when his radio said, "Ground Control to Major Tom, is everything alright? We're getting readings that you aren't breathing."
"Y-yeah," Tom said, "I just… it's so beautiful."
"Affirmative, Major Tom. Continue with the planned EVA."
"Hey, can you guys do something for me?" Tom asked.
"Yes?"
"Give my wife my love. Tell her it's a collect call from space."
"Can do, Major Tom." The radio then went quiet.
Tom let go of the bar and allowed himself to float off into the emptiness. Taking a joystick in his right hand that was attached to his backpack, he started to push it in different directions. The jets on the backpack responded accordingly, sending Tom in the same directions. "Major Tom to Ground Control," he said, "the suit works according to plan. Any other orders whi—"
"Ground Control to Major Tom," the radio said, cutting him off, "are you there? We seem to have a dead circuit or something down here, we aren't getting any readings off of you or Major Eddie. Can you hear us, Major Tom?"
"Affirmative, Ground Control," Tom replied, "I read you loud and clear."
There was silence on the radio for about ten seconds before it said, "Ground Control to Major Tom, come in Major Tom!"
"I'm right here, Ground Control, what's wrong?" Tom asked, worried. He was surprised to hear Eddie come on the radio.
"Tom," he said, "I think there's something wrong back home. We can hear them, but they can't hear us."
Tom felt a chill colder than the space around him go through his spine. "What are we going to do?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"Well, we can wait until we establish radio contact, or we can try returning to Earth on our own, which is suicidal. Don't worry," assured Eddie, "I'm sure they'll fix it."
"I hope they do," Tom said as he started to turn around. "I'm going to head back inside. See you in a few." However, as he started to go back, he saw a blue form float out from behind the shuttle. "Uh, actually, scratch that. There's something out here, I'm going to check it out." As Tom flew closer to the anomaly, he could begin to make out what it was.
It looked like a blue horse of some kind, with a baby blue mane. There was a black bib-like thing around its neck, and its hooves had what looked like black shoes on. However, the most interesting thing about it was that it had a pair of wings on its back and a horn on its head.
"Eddie," Tom said, "I think I've found an alien!"
"What're we going to do with it?" Eddie asked Tom as the two floated around the pony-like alien.
"Well, we can't tell Ground Control," Tom answered, "our comms are out." The two astronauts grew more worried every minute they couldn't contact Ground Control, each of them wondering if they were going to be marooned in space. Their thoughts were interrupted when the creature they were floating around woke up with a gasp. It looked around wildly at Tom, then began flailing its limbs in an attempt to escape him.
"I am Luna, ruler of the Lunar Republic!" it yelled in an undoubtedly feminine voice. "I demand that you tell me where I am!"
"Woah, calm down!" Tom said, putting his hands in front of him. "We're not gonna hurt you!"
The creature, who identified herself as Luna, slowly stopped flailing and stared at Tom. "…how is it that you can speak the language of the Equestrians, alien?"
"We're not aliens," Eddie argued, "you are! How do you know English?"
"'English'? What is that?" Luna had a look of confusion on her face.
"What do you mean?" Tom said. "You're spe— alright, hold on. We're not doing anything else until we know what you are."
"I am the Princess of the Night!" Luna said with an air of pompousness around her. "You are now my subjects in my Lunar Republic and will refer to me as such! Now, to whom – and what – do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm Tom Harlow, this is Eddie Rains" – Tom motioned towards Eddie – "and we're humans. Now, we didn't quite catch what you were. Mind telling us?"
"I told you," Luna began, "I'm the Princ—"
"No, I got that," Tom interrupted. "I'm asking what your species is. Like, we're called Major Tom and Major Eddie, but our species is human."
"Oh." Luna blushed, embarrassed at her misunderstanding. "I'm an alicorn."
"An alicorn?" the astronauts asked at the same time.
"Yes, an alicorn," Luna explained. "I have the wings of a Pegasus and the horn of a unicorn. Alicorn."
"But unicorns don't exist," Eddie said. "They're just fairy tales for little girls."
"Unicorns most certainly do exist!" Luna argued as the tension between her and Eddie started to thicken.
"Woah, hold on, guys!" Tom said, floating in between them. "Or, uh, guy and alicorn. Anyways, I think I've got a solution to this…"
"Tonight, we have the returning Gravball Champion Eddie Rains," Tom said in his announcer's voice as he pointed to Eddie. He then pointed to Luna and continued, "Facing off against him is the Princess of the Night Luna! Only one point to win, so the game is tense right off the bat! Ready? BEGIN!"
Tom threw a paper ball into the middle of the room, and Luna and Eddie both jumped for it. Luna managed to get to the paper ball first, knocking it under Eddie's arm and into the 'goal' on his side of the room.
"Would you look at that, folks," Tom said, "Luna gets a quick hit at the ball and scores on Eddie, giving her the title of Gravball Champion!"
"Aha!" Luna said with a wide smile. "I have beaten you at your own game, Eddie Rains!"
"Alright, you got me," Eddie said, defeated.
"Hey, I just thought of something," Tom said.
"Yes, Tom Harlow?" Luna asked.
"First, please just call us Tom and Eddie. No need for formalities. Now, why don't you stay here with us? We're stuck out here, you seem to be as well, so why don't we be stuck together?"
Luna's smile faltered. "Are you sure that is alright with you?"
"Of course," Tom said. "Besides, it wouldn't be a real nice thing to kick you out into space, would it?"
"I guess not," Luna said. "Alright, I'll stay with you."
"That's great!" Tom said as he floated to the cockpit. "I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun together."
Little did they know how close they would get in the following weeks.