Ever since he was a young colt, he would stare up at the sky with a sense of longing. The blue skies called to him, the fluffy clouds always appeared so inviting. That's where he wanted to be. But fate was a cruel mistress. He was trapped on the ground, held back by blood. He was but a simple Earth Pony. No matter how much that young colt wished, begged or prayed; he would never be a Pegasus. He would never have wings. He would never fly.
As the colt grew into a stallion, he came to terms with this fact. He couldn't change his blood, but he was adamant about fighting it. His first attempt at flight was shortly after he graduated from school. It turned out that a glider was only fit for one thing however; which was gliding. He launched himself off the roof of his house a great many times, but each time offered little variety in results. This didn't satisfy his thirst for flight at all. It was nowhere near good enough. He went back to the drawing board.
Since he wasn't a Unicorn, he couldn't rely on magic. His only option was to turn to technology and make use of his brain; of his smarts, to create a machine that could propel him into the skies. His parents claimed he was delusional, that he was wasting his time. But he would show them. He would fly!
His designs started out simple. He had never done anything like this before after all. But his first design was also his biggest failure. His lack of experience caused a serious error and the machine exploded upon activation. The young stallion was rushed to the hospital with severe burns along his back and a nasty case of concussion. To this day; his back is scarred, his steel blue coat unable to grow back through the damaged skin.
His second design finished with another; though less serious, failure. The device failed to start upon activation. If he had decided to test it before jumping off his roof in the experiment, then it wouldn't have been a problem. But so confident was he that it would work... He got out of that one with a broken leg and major bruising.
The trial and error testing continued almost endlessly, the stallion only stopping to nurse any injuries acquired from the reckless methods he used to test his inventions. He did learn his lesson though, slowly but surely it was drilled into his head with every accident. Everything that went wrong over the years; every scratch, bruise and broken bone, had molded his design into what he was currently standing in front of. There was a large sense of pride within the stallion as he looked over his invention. He was filled with confidence, more so than ever before. Nothing could go wrong this time!
His invention had long been dubbed his 'Mechanical Flight Propulsion Pack.' Or 'Jetpack' for short. Essentially it was a rocket strapped to his back, but if anypony asked him to explain it to them then he would always make it sound far more complicated than it was. Not that he ever had much company to inquire about his invention to begin with.
Needless to say, it was time for launch test number one hundred and seventy-six. With the utmost care; the stallion dragged his invention off of the table it was situated on, positioning it onto his scarred back. With a little difficulty, he was able to get the harnesses around his torso, securing the Jetpack so it wouldn't fall off, or leave him behind when it took flight. The stallion had a surprisingly high amount of physical strength. No doubt in part to do with him being an Earth Pony, but also because of the amount of times he'd carried his heavy inventions upon his back.
Satisfied that the Jetpack wouldn't slide off his back at the slightest bit of movement, he set off for his testing grounds. Certain incidents in the past had forced him to seek large, open spaces for these tests, since he couldn't afford to pay for any damages that might occur if he were to try using his Jetpack in town. The stallion lived just on the outskirts of Ponyville. He had been there his entire life; but since he never felt he belonged on the ground, he hadn't become particularly attached to the town. His fellow ponies considered him strange for his obsession with flight and he had been dubbed the "Mad Scientist" by the townsfolk because of it. It had bothered him at first, but time had helped him grow used to it. He wasn't out to make friends after all.
His chosen testing grounds happened to be a vast clearing with a huge lake, a convenient crash landing location to minimize possibility of injury. But this clearing was on the other side of Ponyville, far away from his house. The trek through Ponyville was always an awkward one, since he got strange looks from anypony he passed by. He didn't get this reaction from everypony, but enough to make him feel like an outsider. He didn't let it bother him a great deal; but his heart wasn't made of his namesake, so it did make him feel a little disheartened.
Thanks to his hasty pace, the walk took roughly twenty minutes before he found himself at his desired location. There were a few other ponies in the area, but that didn't deter him from starting his experiment. This wasn't the first time he'd had an unsuspecting audience.
The stallion made his way up an incline, venturing to the top of a reasonably sized hill so he could gain some altitude before attempting launch. Once he had made it to the top, he glanced back at the Jetpack resting on his back, giving it a brief look over to make sure everything was ready. Satisfied with his check, he turned his attention to the scenery in front of him. After a deep breathe, he steeled himself for what was to come. There was no turning back now.
With every ounce of energy he could fathom; he began to gallop at full speed, before leaping into the air with all his strength and slamming his hoof down on the ignition switch. There was a heart stopping moment were nothing happened. Visions of plummeting down the hill from another failed attempt flashed before the stallion's eyes. But suddenly the engine within the Jetpack choked to life, coughing out some smoke before flame poured from the exhaust. The sudden burst of momentum sent the stallion catapulting into the sky at an alarming rate, leaving his poor stomach behind. It didn't register for a moment, so shocked and nauseous was he as his invention sent him further and further away from the ground below. But a huge grin spread across his lips as the revelation began to sink in and his stomach started to settle. He looked down at the startled ponies staring at him, the thrill of the experience giving him a massive adrenaline rush. They looked like ants from where he was! The fruits of his labors had finally ripened!
"YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The stallion yelled out at the top of his lungs. His joyous screaming was turning heads from all around as he soared through the sky, but he gave little regard to the attention he was receiving. This was like nothing he had ever experienced before, but at the same time it was everything he had imagined it would be. The wind blowing in his face, the vast space for him to explore with no boundaries, and of course the beautiful view. He had never felt so alive before. Nothing could ruin this moment for him. Nothing!
Or at least, that's what he thought. The noise of his Jetpack's engine beginning to struggle quickly put a dampening on his euphoria, his head snapping round to investigate.
"Oh no. Nononononono..." Fear and panic set in as he began to lose altitude, the rush of different emotions overwhelming the stallion. The engine had fought hard for him, but eventually it staled, leaving him to free-fall toward the ground. He had flown too far away from where he had taken off, so he couldn't crash land into the lake like he had originally planned. He cursed that he had gotten so caught up in the experience of flying for the first time, or he could have prevented the dire predicament he was currently in.
Desperation drove his actions as he hit the Jetpack with his hoof, though it didn't have the desired effect. His situation was sinking in and it was becoming apparent to him that there was nothing he could do to prevent his inevitable demise. This hadn't been how he expected to die, but the irony wasn't lost on him even in this life or death situation.
A sigh escaped his lips as he watched the ground get ever closer. Maybe this wasn't such a bad way to go for him. A sudden feeling of tranquility overcame the stallion and he closed his eyes, completely oblivious to his surroundings as he accepted his fate.
The impact he felt wasn't quite what he had expected though. He felt something collide with him from the side, the momentum of whatever had struck him drove him back upward. His eyes snapped open to find a cerulean Pegasus holding him, flapping her wings desperately to try and slow their descent enough for it to not be fatal.
"Too... Heavy..." She grunted between clenched teeth. Her wings were beginning to fail her from the weight of both the stallion and his contraption, but she refused to just give up. He could only stare at her with wide eyes for a moment, at a complete lose for words. Somepony appearing to try and rescue him had never been a possibility in his mind. If he weren't so shocked, it might have moved him to tears. But he could tell she was struggling, there was only one way for them both to get out of this unscathed. He looked down at the straps holding his Jetpack to him, hesitation flooding his mind even if he knew what he had to do. He flinched as he unfastened the harness, the Jetpack slipping from his back and plummeting downward now that there was nothing holding it in place.
The strain on the Pegasus was immediately halved. A sigh of relief slipped through her lips as she gripped onto the stallion, making sure he wouldn't fall as she calmed the flapping of her wings to a level were they could simply hover.
With the crisis over, she began their descent toward the ground, which happened to be slap bang in the middle of Ponyville. A huge crowd had gathered around the two ponies as they touched down, which wasn't all that surprising considering what had happened. The Pegasus took a step back as she looked over the stallion she had just rescued. There were whispers in the crowd around them, but she paid them little attention. The stallion was visibly shaken up, he was her priority right now.
"Hey... You alright?" She asked with a look of uncertainty on her face, gently placing a hoof on his shoulder as she tried to look him in the eye. He had been looking downward since they had landed, but with her touch he finally raised his head to look at her. His deep green eyes met her magenta eyes and he offered a quiet nod in response. To tell the truth, he wasn't alright at the present time. His heart was beating at a million miles a minute and his breathing was ragged, but he knew he would be fine once he had the chance to calm down a little.
Now given the chance, the stallion gave his savior a proper look over. Her coat was a soft cerulean colour, which felt strangely soothing to his eyes. But his gaze was briskly dragged away from her coat to her magnificent mane, a multitude of colours that matched the rainbow. It was truly a sight to behold. That's when it clicked. He knew this pony. Not personally, but he definitely recognized her.
"Y-You're... Rainbow Dash, right?" He asked her with a shaky voice, gulping down a mouthful of saliva in an attempt to regain his composure. A huge grin plastered across Rainbow Dash's face upon mention of her name. It wasn't surprising that just being recognized without having to introduce herself was a huge stroke to her ego.
"Yeah, that's me! What's your name, buddy?" Rainbow inquired, raising an eyebrow as the smug look that had quickly governed her face remained very much present. Her prideful behavior bothered the stallion a little bit, but since she had saved his life he decided to let it slide.
"Uh... I'm Steele Bolt." He introduced himself, letting out a sigh after he had finished his sentence. While Steele Bolt was starting to calm down, the fact that he was sitting next to Rainbow Dash was unsettling to him. She was practically a celebrity in Ponyville, if not the whole of Equestria. But that wasn't why he was uncomfortable around her. She had what he wished he could have; wings. She was basically the best flyer around as well, just to top it off. He was envious of Pegasi, but especially of her.
"That stunt you pulled just now was crazy, Bolt! What is that thing?" Rainbow spoke with a great level of enthusiasm, intrigued by the speed in which an Earth Pony had been able to travel across the sky. She pointed toward the wreckage of his Jetpack, curious to know more about his invention. Steele Bolt's expression darkened slightly at the sight. This would set him back months, but at least he was alive to work on it. The crowd had started to die down already, no doubt losing interest after realizing it was just another stunt by the "Mad Scientist." He got up off his flank and trotted over to the scrap metal that used to be his Jetpack, gently poking it with his hoof.
"It was my Mechanical Flight Propulsion Pack." Bolt muttered with a bitter expression as he surveyed the wreckage. It had been pretty much obliterated upon impact, the condition of the parts were far worse than he had hoped. He would have to start from scratch, there was no way he would be able to repair something so heavily damaged.
"But now, it's just a pile of junk." He finished as he turned his attention back to Rainbow Dash, only to find that she had followed him over to the wreckage. A look of surprise sprung to his face as he stumbled away from the mare, desperate to put more room between them. Though the action only really gave Rainbow a reason to laugh at his expense.
"You're an... Interesting stallion, eh." She commented with a smirk and a raised eyebrow as her short lived snicker came to an end, though she had struggled to find the appropriate word to describe her company. It earned a quizzical look from Bolt, whom was unsure how his actions had gotten such a reaction from the mare. Now that he thought about it, that was the first time anypony had called him something that could be considered a compliment. He was used to be being referred to as weird or creepy. It made him feel kind of happy, though he would never admit that to a stranger.
"Right... Well I had better get this scrap back to my lab. Thanks for saving me." Bolt muttered words of gratitude, hoping that Rainbow would accept them and go on her merry way. However, as he began to collect the junk metal together, he noticed that she was doing the same. He hadn't the foggiest idea why she would want to help him any further; but the assistance would let him take his leave and return to his lab sooner, so he decided not to complain.
"Hey, it was no problem for yours truly! I'll help you get all of this back to your lab." Rainbow didn't miss the opportunity to gloat as she dumped a few shards of metal into a pile the two ponies had amassed. While it appeared that she was merely offering a helping hand, beneath that she was really curious about Bolt's lab. There had to be more inventions there and she really wanted to see them. His flying contraption had really interested her, mainly because she thought it had been really cool. Before it had become a pile of scrap anyway.
"I really don't need the help tho-" Bolt went to interject as he placed the last piece of scrap metal on the pile. The last thing he wanted was to spend any more time with the Pegasus, but she didn't even give him the chance to finish his sentence.
"Lets get moving then!" Rainbow exclaimed as she took roughly half of the pile of scrap, leaving the other half for Bolt to carry. He couldn't think of a way of getting rid of her other than bluntly telling her to leave him alone. But it would probably be rude to say that to his savior. Eyes were still on them and his reputation with the townsfolk was bad enough already, so he swallowed his pride and gave her a nod as he scooped up the remaining wreckage. Truth be told, having an extra pair of hooves to get the remains of his Jetpack home would certainly speed up the process, but there was no way he could tell Rainbow that he actually appreciated her help.