It's a strange feeling, helplessness. To do everything one can yet still have no power or control over the situation can be detrimental to a person's psyche. Unfortunately, helplessness, was exactly what David Lawson felt in that moment. His ship destroyed, and his crew dead, David rode in the only escape pod, hurtling toward nearly certain doom. In the ship's explosion, the escape pod was damaged by shrapnel and its guidance computer was malfunctioning. As such, the pod hurtled toward the nearest planet, rather than any kind of space station.

The pod approached the unknown planet quickly, and David had little time to correct the craft's course. Its flight path took it straight down into the planet's atmosphere, and it was certain to burn up on entry.

Fear, anger, guilt, and a hint of anguish clouded David's mind as he hurdled towards the planet at terminal velocity. Even if the pod's computer was working, there was no way to know the planets gravitational pull and/or trajectory. Against his will, David was coming in hot. Literally.

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. ADJUST COURSE 115 DEGREES

"Shit shit shit, how do I do that!?"

He frantically ran around the small pod, finding it difficult to move with the current shifting inertia. He managed to get across right as the flight computer issued another warning.

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. 30 SECONDS UNTIL COURSE CAN NO LONGER BE CORRECTED. POD NOT RATED FOR 300 G IMPACT.

"WELL NO SHIT!"

David started hitting every button he could reach, trying desperately to get the out of control pod to turn and slow its descent. Frantically grabbing everything in sight, David finally found the flight controls just as the computer started wailing like a siren.

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. HULL INTEGRITY CRITICAL. CORRECT COURSE IMMEDIATELY.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, I'M TRYING!!"

He seized the controls and pulled back with all his might. Slowly, but surely, the pod started to tilt upwards and slow. Time, unfortunately, was not on his side. He pulled and pulled as hard as his arms could manage but the pod was still coming in too fast. David watched the altimeter as the pod plummeted into the atmosphere. What felt like hours lasted merely a minute as the pod burned through the atmosphere at tremendous speed. David could clearly see on the control panel that he was still going too fast. Abandoning all hope of slowing the pod, he made the decision to run to the back of the pod and strap himself in for a hot landing.

"Fuck me fuck me fuck me fuck me fuck me," he prayed, since those were the only words that seemed to come to mind in his time of need.

Time slowed as David's ship speared towards the ground. The altimeter spun like a disk as the pod careened downwards. David held his breath and made out the numbers on screen as they counted down.

10,000 feet, 9000 feet, 8000 feet, 7000 feet, 6000 feet
The sirens blaring in the pod were deafening now, red flashing lights illuminating the interior in a crimson hue that almost seemed to foreshadow the coming storm.

5000 feet, 4000 feet, 3000 feet, David closed his eyes and braced himself.

2000 feet, 1000 feet, 500 feet, brace for impact... The pod screeched down, rocketing toward the mountainside three hundred mph faster than it was rated for.

Canterlot's famous mountain bore a steep slope. From the top of the mountain, if one was to look down, it would almost be a straight drop. Vertigo was abundant on this peak. As luck would have it, the pod was the next visitor to grace the tip of the mountain with its presence. Coming down near the peak, the pod flew parallel with the mountainside, just barely glancing into the side of the mountain, displacing in seconds what a millennia of erosion had failed to remove. Sliding down the side of the mountain slowed the pod's tremendous speed greatly, granting a much needed reprieve from the insane G forces the hull was enduring upon touchdown. The pod punched through rock and stone like a halfback breaking tackle after tackle. Each boulder the pod obliterated jarred the lone occupant as massive amounts of speed dissipated into the rocky ground below. Once the pod had cleared the peak, it careened further downwards, diving into the cliffs below.

The heat shield smashed into the cliff side, tearing half of the cliff with it. Steel, titanium and aluminum shredded off of the side of the pod as it tore down the side of the cliff, carving a deep trench into the side of the rock face. The sound was deafening and fearsome. Trees below gave way against the unstoppable force that now found its way burying itself into their ancient home. Nothing could stop the machine as it pulverized its way through the mountainside, leaving bits of metal and sending shards of shrapnel and rocks flying in all directions.

Meanwhile, inside the pod, David was thrown around, almost like a rag doll. Bits and pieces of the pod were being torn apart and sent flying around inside. It was all David could do to cover his head with his arms and hope for the best. This strategy would not save him. A steel panel was ripped from the wall and thrown around the pod like a bouncy ball in a rubber room. It bounced off the walls and slammed into the computer, shattering the screen and sending sparks flying. Its sheer inertia sent it through the computer and bouncing off the wall. It flew through the air, ricocheted off the wall, and hit David's head, knocking him out instantly. The computer, now a mangled mess of wires, broken glass, and twisted steel, sent sparks flying like a sprinkler, starting a fire on the far side of the pod.

The pod continued to tear through the mountaintop tree cover and into the forest below. Fire, shrapnel, twisted steel, and a deep current of displaced rock were left in the pods wake as it finally started to slow. Hitting tree after tree and rock after rock had completely caved in the front of the pod to the point where debris was starting to be thrown into the pod by its terrifying momentum. Tree splinters, dirt, and rocks were violently thrown into the pod, peppering David while his limbs flailed freely in the back of the pod.

Rock and steel became one, trees splintered and died, and several millennia of erosion into the mountainside all happened within thirty seconds of the pods initial touchdown. Finally, it came to a rest near the base of the mountain. Burning, deformed, and heavily damaged, the pod stopped at the base of a tree. Fire and smoke soon overtook the craft. The many electrical systems inside sent sparks flying, catching even more flammable materials on fire. The computer, once the only thing allowing David to control the drifting pod, now sat in ruin, nothing more than a smoldering mess of metal and copper wires.

The pod quickly filled with smoke as the fires raged on and the outside environment finally stilled. The only thing moving now were the flames as they danced about, happily eating away at the oxygen inside the pod while burning the inside. That is, until David stirred. Moving his head, he groggily started to wake, his blurred vision barely registering where he was or what had happened.

"Uh... where... wha... oh... oh shit," He said, panic slowly rising in his voice.

He quickly reached for the release on his harness, only to find it was jammed.

"God damn it! Where's my knife?" he thought to himself.

Feeling his way around his person, he finally found his pocket knife attached to his belt on his right side.

He grabbed the knife and flipped it around to the seat belt cutter and began to tear into his harness. The smoke was completely filling the pod, making it nearly impossible to see and breathe. David coughed harshly while cutting as fast as his hands would allow.

Inch after wretched inch of the fabric ripped and tore under David's forceful pressure. The blade slowly but surely did its work. The smoke made it impossible for him to see just how much more he had to cut, making the process seem to drag on and on forever. He knew there were six straps in total he had to cut. He was on three now. The faint sound of fabric being torn apart was David's only assurance to press on. Blind faith was all he had now.

He finally cut through the last strap and pushed himself off of the seat. He immediately cried out in pain and fell down as soon as he put any weight on his legs. The smoke quickly forced him into a coughing fit on the ground. With barely any air left in his lungs and his legs not cooperating, he did the only thing he could. He crawled forwards. The interior of the pod was only fifteen feet long by seven feet wide. David braced himself for the difficult crawl ahead. Under normal circumstances, it would have been easy even for a small child, but now, it might as well have been up there with scaling Mount Everest.

Tears filled his vision as David's eyes were assaulted by the smoke, now making it completely impossible to see. With nothing more than pure adrenaline pushing him to go on, he finally found the door. He reached for the handle and once he found purchase, pulled himself up until he was standing, albeit painfully. Searing hot pain shot through his right leg and a sharp, needle-like pain assaulted his left calf. Having no oxygen left to complain, David pulled the handle down. The door budged, but didn't open. Fear and panic racing through his mind, David put all his strength into one last attempt to save his life. He took a step back, sharp pain rocketing up and down his legs, and shoulder-checked the door. Nothing. He tried again, pure agony forcing him to double over in pain against the door. His lungs burning for precious air, he tried again, only to get a slight nudge from the door. His muscles went into overdrive and his mind raced for options. Nothing else came to mind.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, think! There has to be a way out! Why can't I think?!" he screamed in his head

His world was fading now; smoke blocked his vision and stripped him of the life giving oxygen his brain so desperately needed. Stealing his resolve and finding no other options, he took several agonizing steps back, reaching the other side of the pod.

"If this doesn't work, I'm going to die..."

He charged forward, desperately fighting the pain in his legs as he closed the distance in a fraction of a second. He could not see the door but barreled ahead anyways. If he missed, he was sure to die.

He slammed into the door as hard as his damaged body could, and miraculously managed to break it free of the pod. He fell face-first into the rocks and dirt. Coughing up bile and blood, he finally managed to wheeze and gasp for a gulp of fresh, life-giving air in between his coughs. He vomited, blood finding its way into the puke and out of his system. He gagged and vomited again, and again, until he could only dry heave.

Gasping for air between bouts of puke, David felt the hot, burning sensation in his lungs finally start to dissipate, his wheezing and labored breaths finally restoring his ability to think. He pressed himself up to his knees and hands, holding himself there, struggling to force some air into his lungs for several minutes. His neck burned, like someone had poured acid down his throat and forced his mouth shut with an entire roll of duct tape. His legs were bleeding. A lot. He could feel the puddle forming underneath him. Reeling from his near death encounter, David rolled onto his side, the pain in his legs and throat hitting him in full force. He struggled to move, but forced himself to get up and crawl anyways. Getting away from that damned pod was all that mattered to him now.

Clawing into the dirt with his hands, he pulled his body forwards and away from the crash site, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. After a few minutes, he reached a small tree and crawled up to it, turning around so he could rest his back against the tree trunk. It was then that he finally looked down at his body. His right leg had been burned badly, sickly yellow-red blisters running all along the scorched limb. His pants' leg had also melted to the skin, meaning the skin would have to be completely removed and cleaned if there was any hope to save the leg. Any attempt to move it resulted in extreme pain all along the front side of his leg.

His left leg wasn't fairing much better as a nine inch rod of titanium was happily impaled deep in his left calf, spilling his blood out onto his pants and trailing back to the pod. A few inches of metal could be seen on either side of his leg. Looking down at his arms, he found several cuts and burns along them and his uniform. His gloves had multiple cuts with blood seeping out from his hands. To top it all off, he was wracked with a head splitting migraine. He brought a hand up to his temple and when he pulled away, his glove was completely covered in blood. He didn't have a chance to notice beforehand, but his head and the upper half of his uniform were drenched in blood. Feeling his head again, he found the source of the bleeding. He felt a deep gash on the side of his head leaking the precious life-fluid all over his neck and shoulder.

David was a mess, and he knew it. It wouldn't be long until he would pass out and die from his injuries. He took some time to say one last prayer before the inevitable took him.

"Lord, I'm not a religious man, I know I don't talk to you very often... okay, ever... But please don't let me die like this... Please let me make it right. I have to make this right..."

He fell silent. He had no first aid kit on him and the only one nearby was in the smoking, smoldering inferno that was the escape pod. Even if he tried to go back in and get it, with the shape his legs were in, he knew he wouldn't make it back out.

David sat there for a while, contemplating his options. The pod was now burned through and through. Even if he could make it back, the first aid kit was surely scorched like the rest of the interior. David knew he couldn't get up anymore. He felt death tugging at his soul, begging him to give up his futile desire to stay alive with hope for a miracle and just accept the sweet embrace of eternal slumber. His vision was blurry and unfocused now, unconsciousness looming over him, tempting him. He felt cold, but he wasn't sure if that was from the blood loss or from the cold air. He could barely feel his legs and arms anymore. Somehow, he wasn't shivering. In fact, this was the warmest cold he had ever felt. It wasn't long before his eyelids drooped and his shoulders slouched.

"Who knew a tree could be so comfortable?"

It seemed that he was all alone, on a planet no one knew anything about.

"Heh... Never thought it'd end like this. I was always the strong one right dad? I'm sorry I wasn't there when you passed... You know how it gets, the whole hundred years one way thing. Hehe... I'm so sorry. Are Mike and Kait up there with you? Hey, guys, again, sorry for not being there... I'll be with you guys in a little bit here I guess? So um... wait up for me huh?"

David, having said his last goodbyes, surrendered himself to the inevitable. However, before he could close his eyes for good, a figure caught his eye on the cliff side. He held his right hand up to block some of the light from the fire to see the figure better. It looked wolf-like but kinda... small? A dog maybe? Kind of a dark color and... was that a scarf? He swore he could see a pair of brilliant blue eyes before sleep took him back under its influence and he began the quick journey into unconsciousness.

"Heh, probably the wolves here to collect an easy meal..."

With that, David's view faded to blackness, and he surrendered himself to sleep and most likely, death.

Hey! So I hope you guys enjoyed, this chapter was really exciting to write and I hope it was even half as exciting to read :D This is my first story ever and I wanted it to be good, so if there's any overly pressing issues that you noticed, let me know. This story had to start out with a bang, literally. Kinda heavy, I know, but it's only going to get more intense and saucy from here. Hope you guys like :)
Also, in case it's a turn off to anyone, I'm not making David overly religious. It's just that when you're face to face with the end, you tend to become a believer for your own sake. There won't be too much god and stuff like that in the fic. Only when there needs to be.