On a calm night, Twilight and the others were out stargazing. And a meteor soared through the air.
"Sure this a peaceful night." Starlight said.
"Yeah, sure is." Twilight said.
"I wonder what it's like to be on one?" Spike thought.
"It's only a rock." Rainbow said bluntly. "How different could it be?
And then, the Book of Adventures was heard.
"Well, looks like another adventure." Applejack said.
And they headed to the castle.
They soon got to the throne room, and Twilight opens the book to the next chapter.
Armageddon.
65 million years ago, the Dinosaurs roam the Earth as a lush and fertile planet. But a piece of rock, just 6 miles wide changed all that. It hit with the force of 10,000 Nuclear Weapons. A trillion tons of dirt and rock, hurtled into the atmosphere. Creating a suffocating blanket of dust. The sun was powerless to penetrate, for a thousand years.
It happened before.
It will happen again.
It's just a question of when.
65 million years after the Earth has long healed itself. The Space Shuttle Atlantis explodes in space from a rain of speeding balls of fire. Hours later, New York was struck by meteors. Later, Dan Truman head of NASA, discovers a large object in space. It was an asteroid, the size of Texas.
And it was on a collision course, with Earth. When it hits, nothing will survive, not even Bactria. Making matters worse, it's only 18 days away.
In the South China Sea, on an oil rig was Harry Stamper who runs it. And with his men, Chick, Oscar, Rockhound, Bear, and A.J Frost.
For 5 years, A.J has been Harry's best worker. But also working with him was his daughter Grace. But she and Harry don't actually get along. And one time, Harry caught Grace in A.J's room, and chased A.J across the rig with a shotgun.
Back in NASA, Truman and other workers try to think of something to stop the asteroid. But there wasn't enough time for their ideas, but then one idea came to drill a hole 800 feet down in the asteroid plant a Nuclear bomb. And blow the rock into 2. To suggest to blow it on the inside.
He soon he brought Harry and Grace to NASA and explained about the asteroid. And it's coming, at 22,000 miles an hour.
For now, the asteroid is being kept secret. And soon Harry agrees to go with the project. And to do it with his own team.
Once done, reading they were sucked into the book.
And arrived at the NASA Space Center.
"Whoa, where are we?" Rainbow wondered.
"You're at NASA, in case you don't know." Said a man named Dan Truman. "Dan Truman."
"I'm Twilight, this is Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike and Starlight." Twilight introduced. "What's going on?"
"We're getting a team together, trying to stop an asteroid from hitting." Truman said.
"In any way, we'll help as well." Twilight said.
"Thank you." Truman said.
A few minutes later, They met Harry and Grace. And soon, Harry's men appeared.
Shortly later, Harry explained about the asteroid. And they were all uneasy, and even the Mane 7 felt easy as this could be their biggest challenge yet.
And soon, they all agreed.
Soon, they begun training for space travel.
And soon, they met with Colonel Willie Sharp.
"Good morning, I'm Colonel Willie Sharp." He introduced. "In addition to flying one of the X-71 teams to that rock, my job is to train you how to deal with the mental and physical rigors of working in space. So you don't freak out on the asteroid. United States astronauts train for years. You have 12 days. Do we have any intelligent questions before we get started?"
Chick raised his hand. "What's an X-71?"
They soon met up Truman at a hanger.
"You're the first civilians to ever see her. "Truman said.
And they entered the hanger. And inside were the 2 Shuttles that were given the mission to the asteroid flight. And are built more for space travel and are a gray color. Air Force Colonel Davis and NASA pilot Tucker will pilot Independence. While Colonel Sharp and NASA pilot Watts will pilot Shuttle Freedom.
And soon, they started training for training for space travel.
And one of the training events was being in jets traveling at super sonic speed. But the only one to enjoy it was Rainbow who was built for high speed aerial speed and skill.
And when Spike got off the plane, he couldn't stand for 2 hours.
Later, they were all in spacesuits and with Watts going over a lesson on gravity.
"Neil Armstrong, 1969, bouncing on the Moon." She said showing footage of Armstrong on the Moon. "He's bouncing because there's less gravity up there than on Earth. This will be similar to the asteroid, so watch it. Something gets launched off that asteroid with enough force, it's gonna keep on going right into outer space."
"What is the deal?" Oscar turns to Bear. "It is just me, or is Watts really hot?"
"Yeah." Bear nodded in agreement.
"So we have these new generation suits with directional thrusters." Watts explained and gestured to a thruster pack. "You won't bounce like Neil Armstrong."
"Yeah, think so?" Bear's voice said quietly.
But Watts heard him. "BEAR!"
Bear quickly turns to her. "Yes?"
"Do we have a problem?" Watts asked.
"No." Bear simply said.
"'Cause I'm trying to describe to you how these D.A.T.s keep your tail on the ground." Watts marched to him. "So that if I were to get you in the kick you in the crouch and you don't know how to work them, what happens to you?"
"I float away." Bear simply answered.
"Yeah." Watts nodded.
"Don't wanna mess with her." Spike whispered to Rainbow who nodded.
"And, uh, when do we start training for that?" Rockhound asked.
"Gentlemen, I'll give you 30 seconds to put your helmets on, and the Oxygen will be sucked out of this vacuum and you will know what it's like to be in space." Watts announced.
And soon, they got their helmets on as Watts and her group leaves the room as the door closes.
Deep in space, with Earth in view, the asteroid closes in.
Time of Impact: 6 days, 11 hours, 14 min
They were in a meeting room, and Truman explains the flight plan.
"Okay, gentlemen, so here's the flight plan." Truman explained. "Now, let's keep the laughter to a minimum. I know this is not to scale."
And then held 2 Shuttles on sticks at an Earth model.
"Both Shuttles will take off Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Now, 67 minutes later, you're gonna dock with the Russian space station to meet cosmonaut Andropov, who will refuel the Shuttles with Liquid 02." Truman moves over to a model space station. That's your fuel. Then you'll release and take a 60 hour trip toward the Moon." He moves over to a Moon model. "Now, we only have one shot of landing on this rock, and that's precisely when the asteroid passes by the Moon." Ronald Quincy moves an asteroid model right next to the Moon. "You'll then use lunar gravity and burn your thrusters, slingshotting you around the moon, coming up behind the asteroid." Truman brought the Shuttles round the moon, and directly the asteroid. "You'll be upward at 11 G's."
"That's crazy fast." Rainbow said never hitting that speed before.
"Now, when you've finished your Roadrunner thrust move, you'll be moving at 22,500 miles per hour." Truman continued. "Coming up behind the asteroid, where we're hoping that the tail debris'll be cleared by the Moon's gravity." He then brought the Shuttles behind the asteroid. "And you'll land right here. That's it."
"We got separate landing sites for each team." Flight Director Clark explained. "Softest parts of the rock as we can figure. At NASA, we don't take chances. We double up on everything. First team that hits 800 feet wins. Now this rock is big, it's dense, it's got some gravity. You can walk around. But use your thrusters so you can work easier."
"Okay, Mr. Truman, let's say we actually do land on this." Oscar said if they make it. "What's it gonna be like up there?"
"200 degrees in the sunlight." Truman explained. "Minus 200 in the shade. Canyons of razor sharp rock. Unpredictable gravitational conditions. Unexpected eruptions. Things like that."
Spike, Pinkie, Rarity and Pinkie gulped in the thought of the picture.
"Okay, so the scariest environment imaginable." Oscar picturing it best he could. "Thanks. That's all you gotta say, scariest environment imaginable."
Okay, so you drill, you drop the nuke, and you leave." Truman explained. "Now, here's the key, you're gonna remote detonate the bomb, before the asteroid passes this plane, Zero Barrier."
Quincy turns on a screen showing the asteroid as it splits in 2.
"You do that, and the remaining pieces of rock should be deflected enough to pass right by pass." Truman said.
The 2 halves of the asteroid split and pass Zero Barrier, and soar over the Earth.
"Now, if the bomb explodes after Zero Barrier,..." Truman said.
The screen then shows the asteroid splitting after Zero Barrier. And the 2 halves hit the Earth, at different locations. So even at half the size, everything will be wipe out.
"...game's over." Truman finished.
Twilight and her friends glanced each other, and know they have one chance to get it right.
ARMADILLO TEST SITE
It a large, flat area, they were testing 2 large vehicles that they call the Armadillo. And meant to drill the hole on the asteroid.
The Armadillo is like a giant Moon rover vehicle, but built more like a monster truck.
Later, Harry was going over the team members for Shuttle Freedom and Independence.
"2 Shuttle teams." Harry said. "A.J. 'll be running the drill team with Oscar, Bear, Noonan, Rainbow, Spike, Rarity, and Starlight. I'll run the drill team on Freedom with Chick, Rockhound, Max, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy. Once we land, we'll have 8 hours to get the job done. In order to split this rock on the fault line, we're gonna have to drill 800 feet. Let's get our game faces on. Now's it's time for underwater simulation."
After the underwater simulation, and a space cowboy stunt from A.J., Harry managed to get the others a little free time.
But at night, there was trouble.
In an area at East China, everyone was going about their nightly business. But then a loud rumbling sound was here, and they turned to the sound. And then, traveling at 30,000 miles per hour. A meteor strikes the bay, wiping out everything in it's way.
Before long, they were getting ready for the launch in Florida.
Today, was the day for the launch. And soon, they were in suits.
And soon, they were by the hanger entrance as the door lifts open.
And at the White House, the President begins his speech.
"I address you tonight, not as the President of the United States, not as the leader of a country, but as a citizen of Humanity. He said. "We are faced with the very gravest of challenges. The Bible calls this day Armageddon, the end of all things. And yet, for the first time in the history of the planet, a species has the technology to prevent it's own extinction. All of you praying with us need to know... that everything that can be done to prevent this disaster is being called into service. The Human thirst for excellence... and knowledge every step of the ladder of science, every adventurous reach into space. All of our modern technologies and imaginations, even the wars that we've fought, have provided us the tools to wage this terrible battle. Through out the chaos that is our history, through all of the wrongs and the discord, through all of the pain and suffering, through all of our times there is one thing, that has nourished our souls..."
"Mom, that salesman's on TV." A little boy called to his mom.
His mom which is Chick's ex-wife drops the phone and approaches the TV.
"...and elevated our species above it's origins and that is our courage. The dreams of an entire planet are focused tonight on those 22 brave souls traveling into the heavens."
"That man's not a salesman. That's your daddy." Said the mom.
"And may we all, citizens the world over,see these events through. Godspeed and good luck to you."
And soon, the Shuttle teams boarded the Shuttles.
"All right, flight directors, I want the go/no-go for launch." Clark announced. "Retro."
"Go flight."
"Booster."
"Go flight."
"Ecos."
"Go flight."
"Trajectory."
"Go flight."
"FIDO."
"Go flight."
"EVA."
"Go flight."
"CAPCOM Freedom."
"Go flight."
"CAPCOM Independence."
"Go flight."
"All right, ladies and gentlemen, it's pucker time." Clark announced.
"Independence and Freedom, this is Kennedy firing room." An elderly called to them. "We're T minus 1 minute. All crew members, close and lock your visors."
And they did that.
"T minus 31. You're go for auto-sequence start." He said.
"Okay, gentlemen, you're our warriors up there." Truman called. "God be with you."
"You're already heroes. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."
Freedom's engines begin to start.
And soon, the boosters started up. And soon, the Shuttle begins to take off.
And as soon it was clear, Independence started up. And begins lift off.
A few minutes later, they were high over the Earth. And were soon coming up on the Russian space station. And a few minutes later, the 2 Shuttles docked with the station.
And soon, the Freedom team exits the Shuttle and onto the station.
"All right, gentlemen, watch your heads." Sharp said as they left the Shuttle.
As they moved down the hall, they soon joined up with Independence. But so far, there was no one else.
"Anybody home?" Sharp called out.
Then suddenly, a Russian man named Lev Andropov appeared from above them.
"Welcome, everybody!" Lev greeted and hops down. "I am not gas station. This is sophisticated laboratory." He explained as simply as he can. "I'm in charge. So do not be touching anything." He begins to head somewhere. "I need one... I need you." he points to A.J. and Rainbow.
They went with Lev to the fuel gauge.
"To the right id fuel gauge." Lev explained. "You watch the fuel gauge. 150, okay. 160, okay. 200, bad disaster for space station."
"Okay." Rainbow nodded understanding.
"So if you watch 200, you can call for Lev, on, and you see here number one, on." Lev points to a speaker. "You ask for Lev. And you pull this down, all the way down." He gestures to a lever.
"What's Lev?" A.J asked.
"I am Lev Andropov, colonel of Russian space agency." Lev said and climbs up the ladder. "In Russia I'm a very big man."
Over them, Sharp appeared.
"We're ready to transfer." He announced.
"I'm coming. No problem." Lev said as he climbs.
Soon, the fuel lines were locked and placed. And fuel begins to transfer.
But unknowingly, one of the pipes starts leaking.
In the fuel pod, A.J and Rainbow were watching the gauge. And then, the pressure climbed pass 200 and A.J calls for Lev.
"Hey, Lev, the, uh... The pressure's climbing." A.J called to him.
"Is there a problem here?"
No one heard them.
And soon, the pressure climbs over 300.
"Oh, this is bad!" Rainbow fearfully said.
"Okay. Shut down." A.J said.
He soon grabs the lever, and starts to pull it. But it was stuck, and when Rainbow came to help. The lever suddenly snapped off.
With Lev and the others, motors were heard grinding down. And got everyone's attention.
A.J and Rainbow got up and saw what they did.
"Uh-oh." Rainbow trembled.
"Guys!" A.J trying to reach them.
Lev realized something's wrong, and saw the camera with A.J shouting for help.
"What's that noise?" Sharp questioned.
"Oh, no! God!" Lev rushed off.
And he soon got to a section.
"What is it?" Sharp asked.
"Leak! Leak! Leak!" Lev exclaimed.
The leaking pipe starts to grow worse as sparks appeared.
"Get your men back to the Shuttle!" Lev exclaimed. "Go!"
And he then rushes to the fuel pod.
"Hurry up! Get out of there!" Lev looks down through the tunnel.
"You know, this really smarts!" A.J looked up to him.
"Pull lever!" Lev said.
"THIS IS THE LEVER!" A.J and Rainbow shouted holding out the snapped lever.
"Colonel, we must get them out of there!" Lev yelled as Sharp and Twilight appeared.
"A.J, come on out!" Sharp yelled.
"Rainbow, get out of there, now!" Twilight yelled.
They soon begin to make their way up. And the leak starts to get worse.
Before long, it was started to show up in NASA.
"Malloy, talk to me!" Truman said.
"Not good. We got sparks and fire in the fuel pod." Malloy said.
"Independence, blow those locks and get out of there now!" Clark ordered.
Soon, the fuel hoses begin to detach from Freedom.
In the fuel pod, a fire begins and everyone was forced to leave and close the door leaving Lev, A.J and Rainbow.
And they were forced to go through a ceiling vent at a temperature minus 100. And they had to hold their breathes or their lungs will freeze.
And they were able to make it over the fuel pod quickly. And they quickly begin to make a run for it and Lev was able to quickly grab a photo.
In Independence, they were forced to closed the door and gets ready to leave.
Then, a section of the station came lose. And was heading right towards the Freedom Shuttle.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chick seeing it. "Colonel! That thing's coming right for us! We got to move!"
The Shuttle begins to leave as the section hits the walkway.
At Independence's side, the trio quickly got to the door as A.J bangs on the door. And they were quickly let inside.
And the 2 Shuttles begin to clear away as the station blows up.
"Freedom,-" Davis announced to Freedom team.
"-the Independence crew is on board and accounted for. We're even heavy 1 cosmonaut."
Everyone was relieved.
Luckily, 90% of fuel has been gotten. And should be enough.
"Pretty intense, huh?" Noonan said.
"That's why I told you "Touch nothing"." Lev reminded. "But you're bunch of cowboys."
"Hey, we were calling you the whole time." Rainbow annoyingly turns to him.
And the 2 Shuttles begin their 60 hour trip to the Moon.
Time of Impact: 17 hours, 3 min, 51 secs
Soon, the 2 Shuttles begin to approach the Moon, and prepare for the slingshot move.
"So this is the part where we're supposed to just hold on real tight and, uh, hope we don't die." A.J said.
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded.
"Stand by for lunar roll." Davis announced.
Soon, the 2 Shuttles neared the Moon. And then over to their backs, and then after a few moments. The Shuttles suddenly accelerated quickly fast.
And for over 12 minutes, for Rainbow it was like the world's fastest roller coaster ride.
And soon, they hit a speed of 22,500 miles an hour. And before long, smaller pieces of rock hit the surface of the Moon. And once they went pass the Moon, they were directly behind the asteroid.
"You see that?" Harry not taking his eyes off of it.
They could hardly believe their eyes. And even in the other Shuttle.
And soon, the 2 Shuttles begin to approach the asteroid as smaller rocks soar pass them. A few minutes into the flight, the auxiliary boosters were detached and one explodes when a rock hits it.
And there was debris everywhere.
"There's too much debris! We gotta peel off!" Tucker yelled.
"Negative!" Davis yelled.
Then suddenly, a boulder the size of a small car smashed into the Independence's right thruster.
"We're hit!" Davis announced.
And soon the Shuttle starts spinning.
NASA was soon aware of that.
The Independence Shuttles spins out of control. And is heading straight towards the Freedom Shuttle, and the 2 Shuttles almost crashed into each other only missing by a few feet. And the Freedom Shuttle almost crashed into a large rock, and barely avoids it as the underside was only scratched.
"Everybody, go to your life support!" Davis turns to them.
"Lock yourself in the cargo bay!" Tucker yelled.
Rainbow, Spike, Rarity and Starlight quickly got their helmets on as they begin to move along with the others.
"Good luck, Freedom." Davis said.
"Oh, my God, this is it." Tucker said.
Small rocks started hitting the windshield, and then a large rocks hits and the glass smashed into pieces as the vacuum of space started to pull the 2 pilots out of the Shuttle.
In NASA, everyone was crestfallen.
"Houston, Independence is dead stick. They're not gonna make it."
Soon, the Shuttle crashed and hits the ground of the asteroid.
Over with the Freedom Shuttle, it begins to land.
"When I touched this baby down, full reserve thrust." Sharp ordered.
But then, the Shuttle missed the landing field.
Soon the landing gear was deployed, and then the Shuttle lands on the rocky surface. And after a few moments, the Shuttle slows to a stop.
And everyone was shaken from the landing.
"Anyone hurt?" Sharp turns to them.
"Where's... Where's the other Shuttle?" Rockhound asked. "What happened to the other Shuttle?"
Everyone was sadden of the loss of their friends.
"We got 8 hours." Harry said. "Let's get this job done and go home."
They were soon getting things ready to head out.
"All right, let's get the tools unpacked and fire up the Armadillo." Harry said.
"I checked on the Armadillo, and seems to work still." Twilight said.
"We're not getting a thing on the inertial nav system." Sharp trying to get it working.
"I know where we are." Rockhound said.
"Please step away." Sharp moved over near him. "Radio signal's dead."
"I'm flipping the backup generator." Watts headed to the generator. "Radio signal's gonna be cut in half till we get main power back."
Rockhound brought some images of the asteroid where they're at. "We're in segment 202, lateral grid 9, site 15H-32, give or take a few yards. Captain America here blew the landing by 26 miles."
"26?!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"How the heck do you know that?" Sharp turns to him.
"Because I'm a genius." Rockhound simply said.
And then Watts came back.
"The gauges will not read." She said. "They're all peaked, like we're plugged into some magnetic field."
"Well, who on this spaceship wants to know why?" Rockhound asked.
"By all means." Gruber said.
"The reason we were shooting for grid 8 was because thermographics indicated that grid 9 was compressed Iron Ferrite." Rockhound said. "Which means you landed us on a darn Iron plate."
Everyone soon knew how big a problem they were in.
"All right. Well, you heard the man." Sharp said. "Let's wheel out the remote satellite link. We need that radio."
Meanwhile, NASA was trying to reach Freedom.
"Oh, God, please tell me we still got one of them." Truman begged.
In a different room, Grace was crying thinking that A.J is dead.
Back on the asteroid, in the remains of the Independence Shuttle.
Inside, a hand reaches out from the Shuttle remains. And then it was lifted out as A.J has managed to survive the crash.
He then moves over, and soon found Oscar who was dead as the windshield of his helmet was smashed.
"Oscar! Oscar! Oh, God!" A.J cried. "Hello!" He called hoping if anyone else is alive. "Anyone! Is anyone else alive? Somebody help me!"
"A.J!" Lev called who has survived as well.
"Where are you?!" A.J called out.
"I'm here." Lev appeared.
"Lev, there's no one else." A.J said. "There's no one else."
"I know." Lev said.
"Oh, man." Groaned a familiar voice.
"Bear, where are you?!" A.J called.
"A.J! A.J! Bear cried out. "I'm in the Shuttle, man."
They soon found Bear in the cockpit remains.
"Are you all right?" A.J asked.
"I'm so glad to see you, man." Bear said. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see your ugly face."
Meanwhile, the Freedom team is getting ready to head out on the asteroid to drill the hole. Well, minus Fluttershy who was a bit scared of the landscape outside.
"Is everyone good to go?" Sharp asked.
Soon, the cargo platform lowers. And they soon saw the landscape of the asteroid.
"Wow." Harry gasped.
"Whoa." Twilight amazed by the scene. "Look at this place."
"A bit creepy, up here." Applejack shuddered a bit from the sharp icicles.
As well as the sharp rocks over them, and the Earth is still in view.
And soon, they begin to head out to find a spot to drill.
"This place is like Dr. Seuss' worst nightmare." Rockhound said a little creeped out of the place.
Soon, they found a flat spot and begin to deploy a satellite to get a signal.
"God, I hate knowing everything." Rockhound groaned. "We couldn't have picked a worse spot to drill."
"Well, I can pretty much guarantee it's not gonna be thicker than 50 feet." Harry said.
"How do you figure that?" Rockhound asked.
"'Cause if it is, we're screwed." Harry said.
Soon, Max lowers the drill head as it spins. And soon begins to drill through the rock.
"All right. We're in." Harry said. "Bring another light. We're cutting through pretty good."
"There's some stuff in here I ain't never seen." Rockhound examining a rock fragment.
"All right, let's punch it down!" Max said.
But then there was sound of metal creaking.
"Hey, Harry, did you see that?" Max asked.
"Yeah, Max, I see it. I see it." Harry said. "What is it?"
"We lost the bite in the bit." Max said.
"All right. Back if off. Back it off." Harry said.
Max begins to bring up the drill head. "Oh, great!"
Soon, the drill head was brought up and was completely damaged.
"Wow, this is a Greek tragedy." Rockhound said.
"We've all seen broken drill heads before." Harry said.
"Not after 10 feet." Chick pointed out.
"I never seen one." Rockhound said.
"Well, now you've seen one." Harry said.
"So, now what?" Twilight asked.
"What do you want?" Chick asked.
"Unpack the Judge." Harry said.
Meanwhile, back over with the Independence survivors. They looked around, and Rainbow, Spike, Rarity and Starlight have managed to survive the crash by taking shelter in the Armadillo just before it went down.
And the Armadillo looks it's still operational.
"Bear, Lev." A.J said hoping for good news.
"We're only 7 astronauts left now." Lev said.
"We're not astronauts. We're oil drillers." A.J said. "We're not even supposed to be here."
Lev was confused by this. "What? You're not astronaut?"
Rainbow shook her head.
"I'm getting us outta here." A.J said. "Get in."
"Why?" Lev asked.
"Just get in the Armadillo. I have an idea."
Shortly later, they were in the Armadillo.
"Show you how we do things where I come from." A.J said.
He then shoots the gun deployed and fires at the wall.
"Hold on!" A.J said as they begin to move.
And then the Armadillo rams through the wall and heads out to find the others.
Meanwhile with the drilling team, they soon brought out one of the spare drill heads.
"Guys, the clock is tickin'. Let's go, go, go, go, go!" Max said.
They soon begin to drill again, but then there was whining sound.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
The transmission didn't sound alright.
"Uh, is it supposed to sound like that?" Twilight asked.
"Chick, come on! Help!" Max trying to get it working.
Chick begins to try to get it working.
"Okay. Well, this thing's not movin'." Chick trying to free a stuck lever.
But then the transmission sparked.
"No, no, no! Shut it down!" Harry yelled. "Shut it..."
And then the transmission blew, and Chick was sent back onto the ground.
"This is not workin' out, Harry." Max said.
"This cloud be harder than we thought." Pinkie said.
Rockhound soon went up to Chick to check on him.
"Oh, are you all right?" He asked
"Oh, blew the tranny." Chick groaned in pain. "Blew the tranny."
"Come on, God. Just a little help. That's all I'm asking'." Harry begged.
"I think we're close enough. He might've heard ya." Max said.
The asteroid continues it's course towards Earth.
Meanwhile, the Armadillo team is still working it's way to the other Shuttle.
"This is not my favorite day in my list." Rainbow said.
"I know what you mean." Starlight said.
"Just want to make sure you know we're stuck on an asteroid." Lev reminded A.J. "Do you know what's you're doing now?"
"No, no. You know what? I have no idea what I'm doing." A.J admitted. "I have no idea. This button, I don't know what that does, okay? All I know is that we just crashed back there, I lost 2 of my friends, we're 25 miles from Harry's Shuttle. We don't know if he's alive. We don't know if he can fly. All I know is, there's a beep on this thing and I'm trying to get us there."
Meanwhile, a new transmission was placed.
"Hey, you guys should take a break and come up and see this." Rockhound said looking at the view of the Earth. And then shades were lowered. "Wow. Got a great view of the Earth from here. Too bad we'll never set foot on her again."
Meanwhile, A.J's team is still looking around.
"Lev, do you see anything?" A.J asked.
"No." Lev replied.
"Well, keep goin'. I'm not givin' up." A.J said.
And then A.J noticed something.
"Hold up here, Bear." A.J said.
Soon, they found a giant canyon ahead of them.
"Oh, boy." Lev said.
"Uh, oh." Rainbow looking ahead.
"This is great." A.J complained. "We just happen to run into the Grand Canyon on the asteroid?"
"Well that's just great!" Rainbow complained. "First a space station blows, a shuttle crash, and now THIS!
"This canyon stretches for miles." Spike looking at it. "Any chance we could go around?"
"I'm afraid we may not have enough time, Spike." Rarity said.
"Rarity's right, even with time like this." Starlight said.
"I told you, you took a wrong way, a wrong road." Lev said.
"What... What road?" A.J questioned. "Do you see any roads around here?"
"You know what? I do not have much pleasure being near God's ear." Lev said. "But you think this is looking good, or what?"
"Lev, why don't you just do humanity a favor and just shut the hail up?" A.J angrily threw a rock.
And the rock spins as it floats away.
And they all watched as it goes.
"Have you ever heard of Evel Knievel?" A.J having an idea.
"No, I never saw Star Wars." Lev said not knowing he's actually a famous motorcycle stuntman.
Meanwhile, Team Freedom is doing okay so far.
"All right. Doin' a good job." Rockhound said.
"Give me a depth reading, Max." Harry called.
"We're 150 feet, Harry." Max announced.
Then strangely, Rockhound was riding on top of the Nuclear warhead.
"Yee-ha!" Rockhound yelled. "Ride 'em, cowboy! Yippee-kai-yo, kai-yay!"
Harry, Twilight and Sharp turns to him. But Sharp looked more strict.
"Get off the Nuclear warhead." Sharp said.
"I was doin' that guy from that movie, you know, Slim Pickens, where he rides it all the way in, the nuclear warheads." Rockhound said.
"Now." Sharp ordered.
"Oh, you didn't see that one, huh?" Rockhound asked.
"We got 700 feet of hole to dig, Rockhound." Harry.
All right. Just... Just wanted to feel the power between my legs, brother." Rockhound climbs of the bomb. "Hey, Sharp."
Sharp turns to him.
"No nukes! No nukes! No nukes!" Rockhound chanted.
Twilight just shooked her head.
Back with A.J's team, they were getting ready for a space jump over the canyon.
"What did Watts tell you. Bear?" A.J asked. "If she kicked you in the crouch, you'd keep floating."
"Yeah." Bear replied.
A.J soon backs the Armadillo up a distance.
"We turn the thrusters off, we jump this thing, we float right over it." A.J said.
And then he holds the Armadillo in place.
"Go over it again, Lev." A.J said.
"Throw the jet thrusters off exactly when we jump." Lev explained.
"Okay." A.J nodded.
"And then we're gonna put them on, and we gonna go down nice and slow." Lev finished.
"Right, yeah." Spike nodded.
"That's it. That's it, baby." Bear nodded. "That's it."
"Is this gonna work?" A.J asked.
Lev looks at them.
"I don't know." He admitted.
"Lev, you know what, just lie to me." A.J now losing it.
"Let's say 50-50... No." Lev thinks. "More like, uh... Like 70-30 or 80-20. But you know what? If it works, the 6 of you gonna be heroes, just like me."
"Sounds fair." Starlight said.
"I agree." Rarity said.
"Screw it. We're jumpin' over this canyon." A.J said.
And soon, the Armadillo starts up and heads towards the edge.
"Just for the record, this is a very bad idea!" Bear reminded.
"Here, here!" Spike agreed with him.
And they sped up as the edge got closer.
"Wait for the edge, now." A.J said.
"3." Lev counted. "2. 1! Ahhh!"
He removed his fingers from the buttons controlling the thrusters.
And then the Armadillo soars over the edge and flies.
"Yes! It's working!" Lev cheered.
"It's working!" A.J cheered.
"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered.
"I'm a genius!" Lev cheered.
But then the excitement was short lived when a rock came into view. And was in their way.
"Whoa." A.J said.
"Wait a minute." Lev said.
"Uh, oh." Spike trembled.
"Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" A.J exclaimed. "We got some rocks!"
"Go left! Go left!" Lev exclaimed.
"Turn! Turn!" Starlight exclaimed as they got closer.
"Lev, Lev, I can't do anything!" A.J trying to steer but nothing's working.
And then the Armadillo crashed into the rock, and then was deflected up higher towards space.
"Oh, okay, okay, we're floating into outer space." Lev said.
"Uh, this could be a little bit of a problem." A.J said.
"You think?" Spike clinging to a chair.
"Thrusters on... Now!" Lev works the thrusters.
But nothing happened.
"What's wrong?" A.J asked.
"I... I don't know." Lev trying to get them working. "The... The thrusters not working. I hate this machine!"
"I thought you had this planned!" A.J exclaimed.
"Be quiet! I must think!" Lev yelled. "I'm stepping outside." He suddenly said.
"You're... Y-Y-Y-You're going outside?" A.J questioned if he was crazy.
"I am the only certified astronaut!" Lev said.
And he heads to the hatch.
"Yes. You'll listen to him. Right." Bear said sarcastically.
Soon, Lev was outside near the thrusters.
"Hurry up, Lev, because we're about a mile off the asteroid!" A.J called.
"Just a second. The fuel line is iced up." Lev removes the ice from the fuel line. "I think maybe workin' now."
A.J tries to get them working. "No, Lev, it's not working!"
"I'm sorry, A.J, I was way off the odds." Lev begins to chip the ice away.
"We're gettin' higher, man." Bear said.
And then some rock formations were coming into view.
"Look out! The rocks!" Lev yelled. "Rocks are coming!"
And then the Armadillo bumped into some rocks. And Lev was almost thrown off, but grabs on to the tow cable.
A.J soon deployed the thrusters, and they headed down and landed on the rock floor.
And they were all shaken and grateful to be alive.
"Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord." Bear relieved to be alive. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."
And then A.J headed outside to find Lev.
"Lev!" He called.
"Now I'm really a Russian HERO!" Lev cheered.
"I told you!" A.J said.
"I know!" Lev got up.
"I knew this would work?" A.J cheered.
"Good odds, you know?" Lev heading to the Armadillo.
"Come on, Lev." A.J said. "Get in here. We gotta go."
"YAH!" Lev cheered.
Back over with the drilling team, they were now at over 500 feet down with the hole.
"Rockhound, keep on that transmission." Harry said.
"Tranny looks good, Harry." Rockhound said on the roof of the Armadillo.
Then, Rockhound noticed something near him.
"Ni." Rockhound picked it up. "How come we didn't get any training on this thing?" The object actually controls the Armadillo's gun. "Whoa. Very cool. I could take out the asteroid single-handedly. Okay, boys, give it a rest. I'll take it from here."
And then he fires the gun.
"What the heck is that?" Harry hearing the gun.
"Rockhound." Gruber said.
"Whoa. This is so much, it's freaky." Rockhound said.
He then continues to fire.
"Rockhound!" Harry shouted.
He continues to fire as everyone took cover. And soon, Harry got up and then threw Rockhound off the Armadillo and hits the ground.
"This is insane." Sharp said.
"Have you lost your mind?" Harry exclaimed.
"What's gotten into him?" Applejack said.
"He's got space dementia." Sharp said.
"Harry, you want to watch your man." Gruber said.
Harry then turns, and then suddenly a white flame burst from the hole.
"Uh, what was that?" Twilight asked.
"Uh, I'm no driller, but that didn't look good." Applejack taking a step back.
Harry knew that wasn't a good sign. "Max, downshift slowly and put it in reverse. We gotta get that pipe outta there."
Max turns to the hole, and then saw trouble.
"Uh-oh." Max panicked.
And then another white flame appeared. And the bedrock started to shake.
"What's happening?" Max knowing their in trouble.
"The ground's cracking!" Sharp yelled.
"Earthquake!" Chick yelled.
"No, asteroid quake!" Applejack corrected.
The bedrock continues to shake as the rock started to crack.
"Quick, shut it off!" Harry yelled. "Shut it off! Shut it off now!"
"We're gonna have a blowout!" Max yelled.
"What's going on?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"We hit a gas pocket!" Harry yelled.
"We got pressure!" Max switching the drill off.
The rock continues to shake as Harry went up to the Armadillo as it starts to shake.
"Max, get your helmet on!" Harry yelled. "Max, she's gonna blow!"
And then a much larger white flame emerged from the hole. And Max can even feel it inside.
"Oh, Jesus, I'm cooking!" Max cried.
"Max, get outta here!" Harry yelled.
"This is it!" Rockhound said.
"Everyone, take cover!" Twilight yelled.
"HARRY!" Max yelled.
Harry was knocked off his feet from the shaking.
"I'm bailing!" Max yelled.
Then suddenly, the gas chamber deep below erupts and right under the Armadillo. And it was enough to send it upwards. And some rocks from the blast broke through the windshield. And the Armadillo continues being blown upwards.
"MAX!" Harry cried.
The Armadillo continues heading upward as the gas explosion continues, and then the Armadillo took a hit on the back and explodes.
"Goodbye, Max." Rockhound said bidding him farewell.
"MAX!" Harry cried.
"Take care, buddy." Rockhound said.
Soon NASA was aware of it.
"Armadillo's off the scope." Malloy said.
"I think we've had a blowout." Quincy said.
"No sign of the Armadillo." Truman said. "Somebody contact the Armadillo."
Soon they to work out what happened.
Back on the asteroid, Harry moves through the remains of the Armadillo.
And got to his knees, and grabs a handful of ash.
"Get a hold of Truman." Harry sadly said. "Prepare the world for bad news."
Soon, everyone was alerted of what happened.
And they prepare for their final hour.
And soon, a small meteor strikes Paris.
And once the asteroid passes Zero Barrier, it will be another 3 hours and 57 minutes til impact.
In space, the asteroid is drawing ever closer to Earth.
"Guess what, guys?" Rockhound said. "It's time to embrace the horror. Look. We got front-row tickets to the end of the Earth."
"What do we do now, Twilight?" Applejack asked sadly.
"I really don't know." Twilight said given up on hope. "Maybe we won't win this fight."
Harry who hasn't move, suddenly heard a radio static from his comm. He looks around to see where it's coming from. He then he saw light on a ridge not far. And he soon saw what it was.
"YEAH!" He cheered.
It was A.J and the others in the other Armadillo.
"Way to go, baby!" Bear cheered.
"HARRY!" A.J shouted.
And soon the others saw them. And cheered.
"Yo, Harry! What's up, baby?" Bear greeted.
"Never thought I'd be happy to see you guys!" Rainbow said.
Soon, they joined up with the other.
"Yo, Harry!" Bear greeted.
"What have we missed?!" Spike happily said.
A.J pops up from the hatch. "Hey, Harry. You miss me?"
"A.J, I got just 5 words for ya." Harry said. "Damn glad to see ya, boy!"
"That's 6 words." A.J remarked. "So where's this hole you need dug?"
In NASA, drilling was soon announced back on.
"Do you think they can drill 250 feet in an hour?" Truman asked.
"They better." Grace said.
Back with the drill team, they begin to get back to drilling.
"We 250 feet to go." Harry announced. "It's our last transmission, last drill head."
"Let's make count." Rainbow said.
Bear made his way over carrying a few pipes. "I got this, man. Let's go!"
In the Shuttle, Rockhound was actually tied to a chair in duct tape.
It's to keep him from causing trouble.
"How deep are we?" Harry asked.
"770." A.J announced.
"30 feet, left!" Twilight said.
Then there was trouble as a white flame came through the hole as there was another gas chamber.
"Methane! Shut it down!" Harry said. Back it down!"
"I can't pull back now." A.J said. "The bit'll get lodged. We don't have enough time!"
More flames exited the hole.
"It's how we lost Max!" Harry said.
"I know what I'm talkin' about." A.J said. "We can punch through this. We can knock this outta the park."
"This is our last transmission, A.J." Harry said.
"If you're ever gonna trust me, ever, once in your life, trust me now!" A.J said.
"Harry, it's gonna blow!" Chick said.
"Harry, I know what I'm doin'. You just gotta trust me." A.J said.
Harry seemed finally convinced. "Make the call."
"All right. Hold on. I'm pushin' through her." A.J said.
Soon, the flame dies as they got back to drilling.
"What's your depth?" Harry asked.
"775." A.J announced. "780."
"Take it, baby! Ram it home!" Bear cheered.
"We're almost there!" Rainbow cheered.
"Punch it!" Harry said.
"792. 795!" A.J called out.
"Drive it down, A.J!" Bear cheered.
Come on, A.J!" Spike cheered. "We're almost home free!"
"797! 99!" A.J called out.
"Breakthrough!" Chick announced.
"800! 802, Harry!" A.J called out.
And soon everyone cheered.
"Yeah! Kid, way to go!" Harry cheered.
"I KNEW IT, BABY!" A.J cheered.
"We're going home!" Starlight cheered.
With 38 minutes left, they begin to get ready to send the bomb down.
"Harry, you've gotta give me that hole." Sharp said.
"I'm gonna need 2 more minutes." Harry turns to him. "I got a bent pipe jammed in the hole. We gotta cut it out before we can send the bomb down."
Soon, A.J was strapped and heads down the hole. And A.J was lowered down to the pipe.
"A.J, come on! Make it fast!" Harry called.
"I'm goin' as fast as I can!" A.J said.
He soon reaches the pipe, and begins to cut the pipe.
Some distance away, on a different part of the asteroid. A few large explosions was triggered possibly some a gas chamber setting loose. And rocks were thrown everywhere.
Over with the team, Harry can feel the vibrations from the explosions.
"You feel that?" He said.
"Feel what?" Rainbow asked.
"Harry, you gotta give me that hole." Sharp said. "The bomb is almost ready."
"A.J, what's taking so long?!" Twilight called.
"I'm almost through!" A.J said. "Give me 15 more seconds!"
And then Harry saw some rocks soaring by from the explosion.
"Well, this is somethin' new." Chick said watching it.
Soon everyone turns to the flying rocks.
"I don't think this thing likes us." Harry not liking this.
"That's 'cause it knows we're here to kill it." Chick said.
"Something tells me I should be in the Shuttle right now." Spike trembled.
Soon, more rocks were flying by as if it was a rock storm of some kind.
In the hole, A.J can hear the commotion above him.
"Hey, what's goin' on up there?" A.J called.
Soon, everywhere was fleeing for cover from the rocks.
"We gotta get A.J outta there!" Rainbow yelled. "Pull him up!"
"A.J, you all right?" Harry called.
"Lot of gas pressure in here, man!" A.J said as a gas vent starts acting. "Get me out!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hydrogen pocket!" Chick said.
And then, A.J was shot out of the hole from the gas build up. But he wasn't slowly down and was heading straight towards outer space. But Harry caught hold of his line at the last second.
And soon everyone fled for their lives from the rocks.
"Gruber! Get outta there now!" Bear yelled.
Gruber got up, but then saw a rock coming at him.
"Oh, no." Gruber said.
And then the rock hits near him, and Gruber was thrown back several yards.
And soon, after a few minutes it was finally over.
"Sharp, you all right?" Harry called to him.
"I'm okay." Sharp said.
"We're okay, too." Twilight said and with the others under the Armadillo.
"A.J?" Harry called.
"Yeah, I'm okay." A.J replied sadly.
In front of him was Gruber's body who didn't survive and his windshield was damaged.
"We lost Gruber." A.J sadly announced. "Gruber's dead."
"Let's get that bomb ready and go home." Harry said.
Soon, they got back to the hole and Sharp prepares to send the bomb down the hole.
But discovers something horrifying.
"Oh, my God." Sharp gasped.
The bomb's screen said "ERROR".
"Is there a problem, Colonel?" Harry asked.
"The timer, the remote, the whole thing's dead." Sharp said.
"What, the bomb is dead?" A.J asked.
"No, the trigger's dead." Sharp said. "It must've gotten damaged during the rock storm."
Everyone was unsure what to do now.
"So how do we detonate it?" Harry asked.
With not enough time to repair the remote detonator, they were left to figure out who will stay behind.
Then they were faced with the option to draw straws.
And in the end, it was A.J.
"Oh, man." A.J said. "Well, we all gotta die, right?"
Sharp hands him a controller. "You plug this into the port. Lift, press, hold. That's it."
"I'll take him down." Harry said.
They soon entered the port, and were lowered down.
And everyone was sadden.
And soon, A.J steps outside as they reach the asteroid.
"Do me a favor, will ya?" A.J asked. "Just tell Grace that, uh... That I'll always be with her, okay? Can you do that?"
"Yeah. Okay, kid." Harry said.
Then suddenly, Harry rips off A.J's air hose. And then Harry rips off the patch from his suit.
"Give this to Truman." Harry said and placed on him. "Make sure Truman gets that. Get in there."
He then shoves A.J back in the pod, and closed it.
"It's my turn now." Harry said.
"Harry! Harry! You can't do this to me!" A.J cried. "It's my job!"
"You go take care of my little girl now." Harry said. "That's your job."
A.J remained silent.
"Always thought of you as a son." Harry said. "Always. But I'd be damn proud to have you marry Grace."
"Harry." A.J cried.
"You take care of yourself." Harry pressed the button to send him up.
"Harry, no!" A.J cried.
"I love you, pal." Harry said.
"Harry, I love you! Don't, Harry! Wait a minute!"
"My son." Harry said.
"Don't do this, Harry!" A.J cried.
Soon, the port closed.
Inside, everyone was shocked to find A.J back.
"A.J?" Twilight exclaimed.
"What happened?" Rockhound asked.
"Where's Harry?" Rainbow asked.
A.J remained silent.
"That crazy, stubborn son of a..." Chick helped him up.
Outside, Harry grabs the port.
"Well, this was a real good idea." Harry said to himself.
And he begins to head out.
"All right, let's go, Sharp." Harry walks away. "Let's get our team outta here."
And Harry heads back to the hole.
In the Shuttle, they begin to hurry to leave.
And Harry and Grace had one final talk. And Grace admitted that she lied about not being like him.
And soon, the Shuttle takes off after having a small engine problem and Lev soon fixed by whacking a wrench.
Before pressing the trigger, Harry takes one final look of the Earth.
"We win, Gracie!" Harry said his final words.
And he closed he eyes and pushed the button at the very last second.
And had final glimpses of Grace flashed before his eyes.
And the bomb sets off, and spreads across the asteroid.
And in the Shuttle, everyone covered their eyes from the bright flash from the explosion.
And then an explosion ring spreads around the asteroid, and the explosion clearly down at Earth.
And soon, the asteroid splits in 2, and parted ways and away from Earth.
"The 2 halves are gonna miss by 400 miles, and most of the small particles have been vaporized."
The entire room cheers from that, and grateful of succeeding.
All around the world, everyone cheers of being saved.
And the Freedom comes down for landing, and soon lands.
And they all exited the Shuttle.
And soon, Grace ran up to A.J and they hugged each other.
Meanwhile, Chick was surprise by the appearance of his son and wife. And his son ran up and hugs him.
Truman soon met up with A.J and Grace.
"Welcome back, cowboy." Truman greeted.
"Uh, Harry wanted you to have this." A.J hands Harry's arm patch to him.
"He did, huh?" Truman smiled.
Soon they watched as a team of jets soared by, and A.J and Grace soon kissed.
Sometime later, after the Mane 7 returned home.
The day of A.J and Grace's wedding happened. And everyone came, and picture frames of Harry, Oscar, Max and Noonan were there as well.
And in the Souvenir Chest, was the Mane 7's patches from their space journey.
IN MEMORY OF MICHEAL CLARKE DUNCAN 1957 - 2012
AS BEAR
Author's Note:
Maybe not the most PG chapter, but the best I could.
But I promise to do better with the other still-in-progress stories starting next year.
As this is my last chapter of 2019, and I will soon welcome for 2020 in the start of a new decade.