//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: One Giant Leap // Story: 117 The Eternal Guardian // by Nanofield //------------------------------// ^Equis^ {50AD} 15:30 [John] “I'm on the moon. She actually sent me to the moon.” Well, I can't stay here, no atmosphere. All the air I have is the air in my suit. Running some quick calculations, I face the planet, break into a fast run, and jump off the moon. My enhanced jumping abilities and my jet pack allow me to break out of the moon's gravity well and I am on my way to the planet. Downside is that it will be a crash landing that I will only be able to lessen, not actually stop. This suit is not really designed for a free fall reentry from space. Upper atmosphere at most, not space. Oh well, not much choice in the matter. I slow down my breathing and activate my jet pack at full speed to get me there as soon as possible. It will take about 20 hours to reach the gravity well of the planet. Until then I will just have to wait. ***** [Celestia] “Well Luna, that went about as well as we could have hoped.” “Tia, he went on a rampage blasting apart the castle and killing the guards!” “I understand, but we did drag him here with no way home. If that were to happen to one of us and we would never get to see another pony again, I am sure that we would react similarly.” “Are you condoning his actions? He is a monster and must be stopped.” “Now Luna, you know that he is not a monster. We are not saying that what he did was right, but it is understandable that he would react like that. That is why I sent him to the moon temporarily so he can calm down. We will bring him back as soon as the rubble is cleared from the area. That should give him enough time to cool off.” ***** 17:00 Well, the rubble is cleared and the ponies that were not killed are in the medical area, the ones that were killed apparently disintegrated so there are no dead bodies to clean up. “Looks like it is time to retrieve him.” “Yes Luna. It is.” I use my magic to get him but when I reach out to find him, I find nothing. “Luna, he is not there.” “What do you mean he is not there!? Where could he have gone?” “I do not know.” “Wait, Tia, he can fly, remember?” “Yes, do you think he is trying to fly back from the moon on his own?” “Perhaps, but there is no way he can make it. Right Tia?” “I don't know.” ***** 11:30 [John] I am only a minute from hitting Equis' gravity well. My oxygen reserves are nearly empty. I am actually surprised they held out this long. The last day of floating in space had been rather well spent. I have been working on designs for new weapons and gadgets. Turns out that the program that the suit uses to construct the weapons has an accessible file that wasn't locked off yet. I can use it to make my own constructs. It will be a while before I can make anything extensive like vehicles because I have to make it a work and conform to physics, well, as much physics as would apply to forerunner tech. I finally hit the gravity well and start my descent to the planet below. I twist myself around so that I'm falling feet first and activate my jet pack to slow me down. It does not really help that much, I didn't really expect it to. I reach the lower atmosphere my jet pack finally starts to make a difference and I can pay attention to where I'm going to fall. I am over a desert? That won't do. I look around trying to find the forest or a mountain or something that I can identify but all I see is desert. Miles and miles of desert. My fall finally slows down enough that I actually stop. I am still several miles up but I can fix that later. I finally see a small town a dozen miles ahead of where I am. Deciding that that is a place where I can ask for directions, (and for some food) I set a rally point and start off. Before I can fly 20 feet though, I am forced to handle my 'altitude issue' first. My jet pack decides to give out on me. Looks like I'm going to take the express rout to the ground. “Out! Fucking! Standing!" I hit the ground the same as my first landing here, leaving a big crater. It takes me a few to get out, but it isn't too much trouble. Now that I am up and out of my crater, I head for the town I saw. It is farther than I first thought; it's almost 50 miles away. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't through a desert and if I hadn't JUST fallen from space. ***** 18:30 I reach the outer rim of the town; it is a nice size for a small town. Maybe it holds a hundred or two at the most. Anyway, I make my way into the town to find a pony to ask for help. It is not very busy this time of day but I still find one. His back is turned to me so he doesn't see me coming at first. “Hello, could you by chance give me directions to the castle where the two princesses live? I need to reach them.” “Of course I can help you mister....” He turns around to see me and I am caught a little off guard by his reaction. All things considered, I probably should have thought this through better. “Monster!! Help!! A monster!!” He immediately turns around and bolts off screaming for help. Right, small ponies, big metal man. “Fuck." Not wanting to deal with the entire town, I activate my camo, (at least that still works) and leave the town from the other side. (No use going back the way I came). This will be a long walk.