• Published 19th Apr 2014
  • 2,864 Views, 80 Comments

Rocketmare - Rust



One pony. One trip. One way. No regrets.

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Speedfic Challange Complete: [2h:53m34s]

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Several hundred tons of metal and magic shudder to life beneath her haunches. The candle's lit. An almighty rumbling pours into her ears. Her helmet does little to dull the noise, which escalates quickly with every passing second.

Her shoulders slam back into the seat. Feels like her eyes are going to flatten against the back of their sockets. Speed, faster than she'd ever thought possible, faster than they ever tested her for.

That must have been the reactor warming up.

Sure enough, the horizon blurs. Somewhere behind her, a fountain of flame is gushing. The cockpit groans and rattles with protest.

Now the fun part --- she groans with something between anxiety and discomfort --- the rail rears skyward, and the ship follows, accelerating furiously. There's a mountain on her chest, on every inch of her. She's turned to liquid and puddled inside her suit. Stars above, the noise!

Clouds whip by. From the corner of her eye, she sees Cloudsdale, perched above the mountain. Growing smaller every second. It's hard to breathe properly. She tries to regulate as best as she can, like they taught her. In, one. Two. Three. Four. Five. Out, one. Two. Three, and she's sucking wind again, to Tartarus with that. Her heart's jackhammering against her ribs. Was she supposed to be going this fast? Not for the first time, she wonders if this was a good idea. Too late now. Far too late.

A colossal lurch. Somehow the noise changes --- less of screaming metal on metal, more boneshaking bass roar --- and the com crackles to life. A crackling, masculine voice speaks. "Control, Galaxy, confirm phase two separation."

Her eyes dart across the cockpit, at the staggering amount of dials and switches and flashing lights, seeking out one in particular. There it is. Green, like it should be. "Hraaughh... st-t-t-taaage releeaase sat, over-r-r." She can barely speak, lungs crushed under the weight of the speed.

"Say again, Galaxy."

"R-r-elease confirm! Release c-c-onfirm!" She wheezes into the microphone dangling near her jaw. They must have got the message, because she was left alone to the banshee wail of the ship as it punched a smoky trail through the clouds.

A glint in her eye. Through the vibrating window to her right, she spies the sea growing over the horizon, sunlight flickering off distant whitecaps. She can almost imagine the taste of salt in the air.

The sky above begins to darken, gradually at first, but faster with every passing second. She was told of this, how the gasses in the atmosphere tinged it blue, that far enough up, they'd fade, and she'd see the blackness and the stars at nine o'clock in the morning. Sure enough, they come into view through the fading cerulean, punching into existence from behind the fabric of sky.

She hears a faint click, then a whoosh, the taste of iron, and her senses sharpen. She hadn't been aware they'd dulled. That must have been the air purifier kicking in. Not enough to breathe at this altitude, anyway.

The ship bucks and heaves, and then there's a strange stillness. She can still feel the speed, the sheer acceleration pushing her down, but smoother, almost like she was sliding through the air instead of ripping it apart. A gauge confirms a hunch; she's above the atmosphere, now.

Another light flickers on. "Galaxy, Control."

"Control, go ahead."

She smirks. "One-hundred thousand and rising. I can see my continent from here."

Through the com, she can hear a sudden outburst of cheering, faded into the background. No doubt they were going wild down there. "Copy that, Galaxy." It sounded like whomever was on the other end was trying to fight off a grin. "Orbital flight achieved. Standby for burn."

"Standing by."

The world turns beneath her. Her ship is corkscrewing ever so slowly, and she watches in awe. She can see lonely islands, rugged mountain ranges, surging storms, swampy river deltas, windswept deserts, pale coastlines, dense forests, abyssal oceans, endless plains, arid badlands, frigid tundra...

Suddenly, shadow. She blinks at the sun sinking behind the horizon. Everything goes black. She's passed around the dark side of the planet. Her cockpit is illuminated by a soft green glow from the many buttons and displays. But outside, life blooms. "Oooh..."

Civilization. From here, she can see whole nations. Cities, mighty urban sprawls that stretch for miles of organized rivers of light. Tiny villages, nothing more than pinpricks nestled among a darkened countryside.

She hits a button on the side of her helmet. The visor hisses upwards, and she turns to press her face against the cold glass and watch the world pass by. It's icy to the touch, and her breath fogs it up. Absently, she draws a picture with the tip of her nose.

A small stick pony takes shape. Just a foal.

Her breath hitches.

A larger figure next to the little one. Stronger, thicker lines. This one is male. She kisses it when she's done.

"Control, Galaxy," her com squawks, "you are coming into alignment. Commence burn procedure."

Jerking from the window, she skims her hooves across the cockpit, tweaking a lever here, throwing a switch there. She is a maestro, and this is her instrument. Nopony can make Galaxy dance like her. "Preparing to burn." She's primed the reactor, ready to unleash the beast that will propel her faster than any living thing has ever gone, ever. Nothing for it, now.

A hoof rests on the throttle. It's shivering slightly.

"Galaxy? This is the Director." A new voice crackles over the com, one she's familiar with. She glances back down at the world again as it drifts farther and farther away.

"Go ahead, Princess Sparkle."

"On behalf of all of us down here, I'd like to thank you. You have gone above and beyond what anypony could have hoped," a slight pause, followed by a chuckle, "both figuratively and literally, I suppose. Your courage, resilience, and spirit will live on forever in our hearts. Equestria lies behind you, infinity lies before you."

"When they put my statue in Canterlot, make sure they don't exaggerate my plot," she jokes, if halfheartedly.

"Hehe. I... I know it isn't regulation, but I managed to pull a few strings. There's a couple ponies here who want to wish you well."

The feed rattles and shakes again, and the next voice she hears nearly stops her heart cold. A sensor actually goes off, but she ignores it.

"Mama?"

It's almost too much. Squeezing her eyes shut, she whispers, "I'm here, baby. M-mama's here."

"The Princess thinks I didn't get to hug you enough before you got on the rocket, so I'm here now. I can't hug you through a microphone, though! Silly Princess. I hope you have a nice time in space, Mama. Daddy said you'll be gone for a long time."

"I will... I'm gonna miss you so much, baby. Never forget I love you, okay?"

"Hee! 'Kay. Love you too, Mama."

"And don't forget to do your chores." She has to take a breath or she'll break. "Or your homework. Or flying! And mind your father. And Grandma. And... and..." It's coming out in a rush now. "And don't even think about bringing a colt over without your father in the house..!"

"Ew! Mooooom!" Giggling. She hopes she never forgets the sound.

"I love you so much, baby. Be good."

"I promise. Oh! Uhm, Daddy wants to talk. Goo'bye and have fun!"

Another new voice, baritone and slightly accented. "Stella?"

Tears are pouring down her face. It's all she can do to hitch out, "I can't do this..."

"Don't say that, Stella. You're the only one who can."

"Hun, I just... I miss you all already... my heart is..." She's openly sobbing now. It was hard enough putting on a brave face for her daughter, but she can't help it. "Dammit..."

"Listen to me, alright? We're all rooting for you. Everypony back home is crowded in that tiny little shack with Uncle Ruckus and his dingy radio set for the broadcast. I know you can do this. I miss you, too, but..."

"Y-yeah. Rather go out now than waste away. Are you g-going to tell her?"

"One day. Not anytime soon, but... something fatal like you have... not something for her yet. She won't be able to reason why until she's much older."

"Yeah..."

"Stella?"

"Mmm?" She wipes at her nose with the sleeve of her suit.

"I love you."

"I know. Love you, too. Just make sure you be happy without me. And stay strong for our daughter." Even now, she can't resist cracking one, "If you end up with a witch of a second wife ten years down the road, so help me, I'll turn this thing around and plow it through the roof."

"That's my mare. The galaxy won't know what hit it."

Another pause. A beeping told her that it was almost time.

"Stella, I've got to go now... I... I'll never stop loving you. Goodbye..."

"G-goodbye, hun."

"Control, Galaxy." The Director was back on the line.

"Go ahead... and thank you, Your Majesty."

"It was no trouble. Consider it a last favor," said the com. "You're in the clear. Sensors reading green across the board, activate the reactor at your discretion. Stars guide you, Stella. Over and out."

Her hoof twitches again. It's like her body is ready to go... but her heart... she needs to say one last goodbye.

Looking back, she witnesses the entirety of her Equestria in the window. A single dewdrop of oceans and forests and mountains and storms, just floating there, still and calm and silent. She squints through an eye, placing her hoof upon the glass. It completely covers the receding planet.

And in that instant, she's alone.

She throws the switch before she can stop herself. Somewhere behind her, the reactor screams. Stars streak across the cockpit. Everything's hot and bright and unimaginably dense.

Stellar Lights breathes a deep breath as the computer begins to cycle in the gas. She won't feel a thing. Not as the temperature drops, not as her body slips into a deep, deep sleep.

It's going to be a long ride.

Comments ( 80 )

Damn you, it's past midnight...


*starts reading*

EDIT: I really liked this. This could easily be the melancholic beginning or ending of a far longer story. Too bad it says Completed.
Gonna sleep now, bye!

Very...cool.

4259460 wherever you are that is.

Not sure what I just read, but I liked it anyways.

came to mind immediately with this title and after reading it.

I love this, I want more.

She's dying?:fluttercry:

Rocket maaaaaaare, burning out her fuse up here alone... I actually had to look up the lyrics to make this comment, because everthing after "rocket man" is damn near unintelligible.

Also, Rust, you have once again proved your superiority in the field of baddass horse stories. You should do more of these one shots based off of hit songs. Perhaps "In the Navy" by The Village People would fit your current situation.

Makes me curious as to what the events before/after launch are like. Nice little one shot, if I say so myself.

So what inspired this, Rust?

4259537
They're all dying. Some just faster than others.

Better to go out with bang.

But where is she going? What does she have? Too many questions, a sequel must be made. If you want to, that is.

4259987

She's going boldly where no mare has gone before, of course!

...Wait, we're still at square one, dang it!

This is what the first trailer for Interstellar will be like. Typical Christopher Nolan.

:twilightsmile:/10

Oh god...th-this was--hnnggg...

...GRRAAAAH!!!! WHY DO I HOLD IT IN?!? *Bawls*

I loved the feels that this fic gave me, and I give this a favourite!

4261351
Definitely inspired writing this. Want to see it soooo bad.

Ya did good, Rusty boy. You almost evoked a tear out of me. Wonderful work. :fluttercry:

Gig

Damn, now I know what my Kerbals feel when I send them to a mission without any hope to return. You managed to bring some sensations in that cold heart of mine. Well played sir. :pinkiesad2:

Prepare for LikeFall
i.imgur.com/UFQhckU.gif
...probably should have put heat shields on that...

4263142
Nah she's terminal. Gonna die in a few years. Decided to go out on her own terms.

4263130
Except for Jebediah. The only thing Jeb likes more than a successful launch is a catastrophic failure of a launch.

Gig

4263394

So true. He's the badS.

You know what this reminds me of?
To The Moon.

4263225 But she's going to land somewhere else before that! Right? RIGHT? RIGHT?! Perhaps if we all wish... I mean, it worked for the Doctor...

Also:

I instantly thought of this, and couldn't help but be amazed at how well it fit in while reading it...

Beautiful one-shot. Dem feels...:fluttercry:

Comment posted by Pony With A Box deleted Apr 21st, 2014
Comment posted by Pony With A Box deleted Apr 21st, 2014

Burning up the mountain side on a rocket sled on rails.

Hyperion Launch system.

Icaros Vehicle.

Just like the Black Arrow project, many Booster programs are thrown away and forgotton.

Buck Rogers in the 25th centuary?

An astronomically good one-shot, but then I'm a wee bit of a space nut so then I would enjoy it. Bittersweet but hopeful.

Damn...that was emotional.:ajsleepy:

Aand now I don't want to play Kerbal Space Program again... Poor Kerbals, so many of them end up being the victims of a gravity slingshot instead of landing... One of them accidentally the sun "-WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE FATE OF {DATA EXPUNGED}"

Well that's emotional.....

*slow claps in awe*

This was good, but I would have liked a bit more backstory. I feel like the story could have been better for me if there was a reason for her going into space. I didn't like not knowing the why.

4259711 What if air is poisonous and it just takes ~80 years to kill us?
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/205/876/keanuexpression.jpg

4268919 Well, my research shows there's neither of those :pinkiesad2:

Damnit, I ended up reading this despite the Sad tag. Needed more depth, but what you did provide was good.

Personal coda

"You're sure this is genuine, Director?"

"Mr Secretary General, every radio telescope that could focus on the correct part of the sky agrees that the object transmitting the signals decelerated from thirty percent of light speed in a few hours. Even optical telescopes managed to pick up a visible trail, spectroscopic analysis was... inconclusive. Physicists at CERN are still arguing over exactly what the various particle detectors pointed at it picked up. Best estimates, the power output of this vehicle is greater than all of earth's power generation facilities, and no-one has even a theory on how it could be doing it."

"And the signals it's sending?"

"Prime numbers, simple maths... it's not that disimilar to various first contact protocols researchers all over the world have been developing for years. The Office for Outer Space Affairs is co-ordinating an effort to create a medium for translation using various university server farms across the world. It's manouvring to intercept earth at minimal velocity, presumably to go into orbit, so there's no real choice but to acknowledge it. We're already creating a reply package, but we haven't sent anything yet. It knows we're here from our general radio broadcasts, but we're waiting on the approroval of the Assembly before sending it."

"I'll see that you get it. You're right that ignoring it is not an option. And I find one thing comforting, that their first impulse is to talk."

&&&

Stellar came awake, her third awakening since leaving Equestria. The first system had been a barren place, nothing but bare rocks Luna would have ignored as worthless and a single giant planet with a hydrogen atmosphere that orbited it's sun in a few weeks. The second, a more promising place was a binary system with a distant companion and another 'gas giant' orbiting the largest star that had a bright ring and a vast system of moons, two of which had oxygen atmospheres and vegetation, but no signs of intelligence. The laser impulses encoding her discoveries were probably only now reaching Equestria.

She'd spent precious time slowing down and orbiting the inner one after the automated probes she'd sent ahead had showed it's atmosphere was marginally more hospitable. She'd used the lander and been the only pegasus to ever fly it's skies, drink it's waters, soar over forests with luminous leaves that made the Everfree look like a hobby garden. Her illness wouldn't impair her physically for at least another year, and she prayed that she'd be able to do it again before she ended up confined to the ship.

She went through the routines of restoring herself, Zebrican potions and more recent scientific methods restoring her vitality. Only once she was fully compos mentis did she emerge from the sleep capsule to float out into the hut sized command deck. She pulled up the initial reports from the automated monitoring systems and froze, drifting in front of the control console. Another habitable planet, and more than that radio communications, a vast amount of radio communications and a host of artificial satellites that made the number orbiting the Equestria seem small.

Automated routines had put the capsule into an intercept vector with the planet and started sending first contact signals. Translation spells would require face to face contact with the beings who inhabited it, but purely thaumo-electronic devices, though slower, could work on long range transmissions. This would be the first ever test of Princess Sparkle's thaumo-heuristic translation matricies. They hadn't replied yet, but they hadn't had that long to do so.

She wondered what they would look like. Magical sensors hadn't detected anything like a magic mirror network, or indeed any magic at all. It seemed impossible that an advanced species was completely without magic, but it seemed to be a fact. If only there was a way of sending images by radio... An illusion spell activated, generating a projected display of a new signal, her own first contact sequence repeated back at her. She flicked her wings to move forward and touch the control runes around the perimeter. Thaumo-electronic valve arrays lit up as the signals were fed into the on-board computer. It weighed as much as the rest of the capsule put together, and was the most advanced of it's kind in Equestria.

All she could do now was wait, listen to the audio broadcasts from the world ahead, and watch it as she decelerated into orbit. Many of the transmissions couldn't be resolved into anything meaningful, but there were plenty of voices. Her ears twitched as she cycled through them, flicking her wings to remain stationary while she turned the control dial. Alien voices, angry voices, happy voices, teaching voices, discussing voices, the words might be meaningless, but the emotions came through, amazingly pony-like.

What would they be like, these strange new beings? Considering the variety of intelligent life on Equus, their physical forms could be almost anything. But the thing that made them people was what they thought, felt, dreamed. Would they welcome her,or be scared of her? If only she could understand one thing about them... Her hoof released the dial as the sound of dozens of the alien voices emerged from the speaker, singing in harmony and backed by a triumphal pean of music.

Stellar teared up as she realised that whatever else, these beings understood harmony. That was as good a basis to start from as any, and while there might be difficulties, she was now sure that they they could be overcome. But that was for later. For now she just floated and listened as what the beings on the planet ahead would call 'Beethoven's Ninth Symphony' swirled around her.

4269496
Now that's a spicy meat-a-ball!

Seriously, though, that shit feels top notch. This was a tentative foray into sci-fi, and it seems I've still a lot to learn.

:pinkiegasp::fluttercry:

reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/slow_clap_citizen_kane.gif

Dear Celestia, this needs to see the feature box YESTERDAY! Bravo!!!

FULL. LENGTH. GODDAMN. STORY. NOW.

I think it's gonna be a long, long time....

4271421
Maybe someday. Won't start another long one until I've finished the others.

4270199 I was just playing riffs on your excellent work. This was kind of freestyled rather than being well thought out. I felt that it needed more than her leaving. My idea was that the tech level was sort of sixties NASA plus magic. The only break out techs were the interstellar drive and cold sleep, the first of which needs to be magically powered.

Also, all the First Contact stories based on Earth I've seen written, all the good ones involve the USA as the primary contact point. However, First Contact is the responsibility of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. America would undoubtedly be involved, but as a part of an international effort. I just wanted to see something that acknowledged that.

If this inspires you to write more, that would be excellent.

4272371


It's funny because you think you have a choice.

ME BEFORE READING STORY!!

Ah, what a beautiful day on FIMFiction! The writers are working, fanfics are updating, and Rust has made a new story! I wonder what it'll be lik-

ME AFTER READING STORY!

....
Someone get me the tissues, I'm about to cry like a bitch.

"The Princess thinks I didn't get to hug you enough before you got on the rocket, so I'm here now. I can't hug you through a microphone, though! Silly Princess."

I thought this was supposed to be [Sad], not [Diabetus]!

"I will... I'm gonna miss you so much, baby. Never forget I love you, okay?"

..... Why did she say it like that? Th-Their going to see each other when she lands.... Right?

One day. Not anytime soon, but... something fatal like you have... not something for her yet.

:fluttercry: Wait... Does that mean?

And in that instant, she's alone.

She throws the switch before she can stop herself. Somewhere behind her, the reactor screams. Stars streak across the cockpit. Everything's hot and bright and unimaginably dense.

Stellar Lights breathes a deep breath as the computer begins to cycle in the gas. She won't feel a thing. Not as the temperature drops, not as her body slips into a deep, deep sleep.

It's going to be a long ride.

:fluttershbad:

It does!

Take my upvote, ya son of a bitch!

(Also, on a sidenote, surprised at the lack of Double Entendre jokes like in your last Sad-Fic.

Also, were you by any chance listening to Space Oddity by any chance while writing this?)

God dammit, I didn't think I would cry like this. T_T

GG, Rust. GG.

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