> Photon Jet Soars
>  by Photon Jet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> How it All Began
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a cloudy day in Ponyville and all the available pegasi were working like clockwork. Bashing clouds left and right as quickly as possible. 

In a field not far from the Ponyville Town Mall, there is a two story house just like the rest of the ponies' homes but has a sign similar to a plasma ball, probably resembling something. It is also a bit noisy inside as some of the windows were left open for fresh air.

A green haired, white stallion with a wheel Cutie Mark arrived at the house, visiting who is living there. He gave a couple of knocks on the blue, front door and waited...but there was no reply. He knocked on the door again.

"Coooming!" called a voice from inside the house. As the stallion waited some more, there were some clinking and clanking sounds until at last, the door knob turned and the door opened.

The pony living inside the house is a cyan colored Earth Pony who has a yellow, short-haired mane, a short yellow tail and a Cutie Mark that resembles a white plasma ball in a blue background. His name is...

"Hi, Photon Jet." said the white stallion.

"Hey there Turbo Charger!" replied Photon Jet with a smile. "How are things going at your end?"

Both Photon Jet and Turbo Charger are best friends and have known each other for a very long time.

"The same as any other day you're stuck in your house trying something new." said Turbo Charger as we knew what his friend is up to. "Don't you ever get tired of achieving that dream over and over and over again like it's your daily routine?"

"You might think that way but this time I think I've done it! I may finally have a way to make that dream come true!" Photon Jet said to Turbo Charger as he kindly escorted him into his house.

Turbo Charger knew where this was going and shrugged. "You say that every time..." he replied. "Every time you've said that, things always went wrong! Like that time you tried flying with a rocket on your back."


-- FLASHBACK 1 -- 


Photon Jet with a rocket tied on his back and Turbo Charger were on a cliff with a view of all of Ponyville. Turbo Charger was concerned on what he was going to do. "I don't think this is a good idea..." he said with a worried look on his face.

"Well, we won't know unless we give it a whirl!" he replied with determination. "LIGHT...THE FUSE!"

With a sigh, Turbo Charger lit the fuse and blew the match to put out the flame. The fuse hissed with sparks. Photon Jet got into his flight stance with a grin on his face. This was his big chance to experience what it feels like flying up in the air. But as soon as the fuse hit the rocket, it flew off both Photon Jet and the ropes that tied it down and went off in the distance with a high-pitched sound. A few seconds later, the rocket exploded in a firework. Some ponies even cheered.

Both Photon Jet and Turbo Charger paused in surprise for a few seconds until Turbo Charger spoke up.

"Did I mention that was a firework rocket?" he asked him.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh..."

All that's left was Photon Jet feeling embarrassed.


-- END OF FLASHBACK 1 -- 


"Well, that was when I made actions first before thinking what I was doing." he replied back which of course was an excuse. "But I did manage to fly once."

Turbo Charger rolled his eyes and remembered that one time. "Yeah, like when you tried hang gliding."


-- FLASHBACK 2 --
 

Both ponies were on the cliff again but this time, Photon Jet was equipped with a hang glider he bought from the shop. "Okay Turbo! It's time to show you how it's done!" he proudly said to his friend. He trotted back just a few inches from the edge and after that, he rushed at a quick speed and jumped off the cliff. It was about that time he was flying in midair.

"Now this is how it's done!" he cried with joy and started laughing like he achieved his dream. However, since he was having a fun time, he didn't know he was crash landing into the Everfree Forest. Before he knew, it was too late. He stumbled through the trees and landed on the ground with the hang glider following on top of him. He peaked out of the hang glider and let out a big sigh. "At least there are no Timberwolves." he said with a positive attitude. Just then he heard a growl right next to him which surprised Photon Jet. He slowly looked beside him to see a Timberwolf snarling at him.


-- END OF FLASHBACK 2 --


"You were lucky that zebra was there when that disaster happened." he said to Photon Jet while heading over to his workshop down in the basement. "Come on Photon. Just give it a rest already and start thinking about some other stuff for a change like practicing for the upcoming sports fair event."

Photon Jet smiled. "I know you are thinking that way Turbo and I respect that, but you know what they say...At first you don't succeed, try try again...and I've done just that." he said.

Both ponies are now in the basement and there in front of them was something covered in a white sheet. "Turbo Charger..." he proudly presented to his friend. "May I introduce you my greatest invention ever! The energy powered jet suit!" he took off the white sheet to show Turbo Charger something he hasn't seen before. A black and blue striped colored jet suit with pointy, metallic wings that resemble pegasus wings and a helmet with a back spike on top of it.

Turbo Charger was surprised on how much effort Photon Jet has put into his invention. "Wow!" he said in awe. "How did you come up with something that cool?"

"Determination, my friend." he answered his question. He then explained what the jet suit can do while trying it on. "This suit has a storage system that would contain energy as fuel so it can be used to power the metallic wings on my back. These wings are capable of easy maneuverability which would make me fly freely. With this thing of beauty, I'll finally achieve my dream to become a superhero just like the Wonderbolts or even better, The Elements of Harmony!"

"Nice." Turbo Charged replied to Photon Jet's speech. "But do you know what kind of energy it runs on?"

Photon Jet filled with confidence answered his question. "That's a very good question, buddy. That's...something I haven't thought up."

Turbo Charger facehoofed. "You muppet..." he said. 

Just then, a radio which was on this whole time said something which caught both ponies' attention. "In other news today, strange, unexpected thunderclouds continued to spread across Equestria. The cause of these thunderstorms is unknown but we all know that the Pegasi are still putting a stop to them. If the situation gets worse then all the outside events will be suspended until further notice."

"Hmm..." Photon Jet pondered. "They might not be any natural thunderclouds at all. Maybe somepony or someone is responsible for all of it."

"I dunno." said Turbo Charger. "But that's none of our concern. All that matters is getting to the Sports Fair on time. So, let's go!"

"Oh! Of course!" said Photon Jet. "We sure don't want you to miss out on all the fun, eh buddy?"

Turbo Charger's special talent is racing and he has the ability to sprint quickly without any signs of slowing down. He applied to be a contestant at the Sports Fair so he can get himself a gold medal. Since the Sports Fair has events like 100 meter long dash, it would be easy for him to get one.

Both ponies trotted outside Photon Jet's house which of course, he closed the windows and locked the door for security reasons and started heading towards the Sports Fair together.

During their trip to the Sports Fair, two Pegasi, one green mare with a blue mane and one purple with a brown mane were struggling to get rid of a thundercloud who was resisting the pressure as it was conducting bolts of lightning. Little did all the ponies know something drastic was about to happen.

As Photon Jet and Turbo Charger trotted along, the purple stallion was so busy getting rid of the persistent thundercloud, he didn't realize it was very close to both earth ponies. "Hey! Wait! STOOOOOP!" cried the green Pegasi but it was too late. Before anypony could react quick enough, a jolt of lightning burst from the thundercloud and headed towards Photon Jet. It was that split-second moment he saw the jolt of lightning before it made contact. The lightning struck Photon Jet with a mighty ZAP and a surge of electricity covered him like a bubble for several seconds.

There was a short silence until Turbo Charger spoke up. "Sweet Celestia! Are you alright!?" he cried to his dazed friend. Photon Jet placed a hoof on his helmet to recover his senses. "Whew, now that came completely out of nowhere." he said while the two Pegasi flew close to him.

"Oh no! We're very sorry!" the purple Pegasus spoke until he saw something he couldn't believe. Even Turbo Charger and the green Pegasus were amazed.

Photon Jet saw the other ponies looking at him with their eyes completely wide open. He found this awkward so he was going to ask what was going on until he saw his suit glowing cyan and making a quiet humming sound. "Amazing..." he thought to himself. Then he remembered what happened earlier. When the lightning struck Photon Jet head on, the metallic wings conducted the electricity and converted it to energy in his suit. Remembering it made him burst out with laughter.

"Of course! This is the energy I need to power up the suit!" he shouted cheerfully. He then looked back at the other ponies. "I don't know what you did but rest assured, I'm fine."

"That's a relief." the green Pegasus replied. "If you haven't got that 'thing' on,  you would've been fried and I know who would get the blame for that.". He then gave a glare at the purple Pegasus. 

"Don't look at me! Look at the obnoxious thundercloud!". he said with his front hooves in the air. "Turns out they are stronger than expected."

"But what's making them so resilient to us ponies?" asked Turbo Charger.

"No idea." the green Pegasus replied with a shrug. "All we know is this thundercloud just magically appeared from faraway and just arrived here." She patted the thundercloud. "Nopony we know has ever seen a cloud this resistant."

The purple Pegasus then spoke up. "Oh! But when I was flying at the south-east of Equestria. I thought I heard some kind of squawking sound. It sounded like this: Screeeeeeeeeeee! *cough*" His impersonation left the other ponies uninterested except for Photon Jet who pondered at the theory.

"Oh come on, Violet Wind! You'd expect anypony to believe that!?" the green Pegasus spoke as she bonked the purple one's head. "Look. All we know is these thunderclouds are tougher than they look. That's all."

Turbo Charger then remembered about the Sports Fair. "Uh, Photon? Shouldn't we be heading to the fair?" he told him.

"Oh, right!" he replied. "We mustn't stall any longer.". Then, an idea flew into his head like a bird. "Hmm...This could be the perfect opportunity to test out my energy powered jet suit."

Turbo Charger knew what was coming and begged him not to do another test run. "Oh no. Not again. Please Photon, can't you just leave it for a few minutes...or hours...or...days?" But it was no use. Photon Jet put on his determined look again.

"Nope!" he said to Turbo Charger. "If we do the test now, we won't have to worry about it later. Plus, we'd get to the Sports Fair in a jiffy!". Then he spoke to both Pegasi. "Nice meeting you...uh, what're your names?"

"Fresh Air!" said the green Pegasus.

"Violet Wind" said the purple one. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Well, I won't know until I find out!" said Photon Jet as he was eager to try out his now fully charged suit. "You head over to the Sports Fair as quickly as you can, Turbo."

"But what about you?" asked Turbo Charger.

"I'll catch up to ya after I've done my flight test. Trust me." he said as he gave his friend a wink.

Turbo Charger, still unsure, nodded and began sprinting towards the destination.  Photon Jet then faced the thundercloud and got into his usual stance.

"I know this is something you want but are you insane!?" Fresh Air spoke to Photon Jet. She didn't like the idea of him taking risks and getting himself hurt. However, Photon Jet remained confident.

"Fresh Air. I got zapped by this cloud and I'm fine." he explained to her. "Now, it's time to teach these things a little respect.". He spread the metallic wings out to get himself completely prepared. Then, by tightening his muscles the suit slowly starts to build up. Fresh Air began to worry while Violet Wind was very worried as he was chewing on his hoof nails. A few seconds after the suit is fully charged. Photon dashed forward through the thundercloud, causing it to dissolve and flew high into the air with a light-blue trail behind him.

Both Pegasi were stunned by what Photon Jet's suit was capable of doing. "Daaaaaaaaang..." Violet Wind said out loud.  

Photon Jet was having the time of his life. He was flying high in the air at a quick speed, moving left, right, up and down. He had finally achieved his dream of flying like the rest of the Pegasi. "Waheeey!" cried Photon Jet as he was enjoying every second of it. He flew over houses, past through the fields. He even flew above the big, broken oak tree. Some Pegasi had to move out of the way to avoid collision with him since he was moving so quickly. "This is fantastic...All systems are working as planned!" he thought to himself. He soon remembered what he must do so he headed over to the Sports Fair as fast as possible.

There were a lot of ponies at the Sports Fair. Some are adults and some are fillies. They were paying for tickets to take part and have a fun time since the fair is for all ages.

Turbo Charger was waiting for Photon Jet in front of the registration booths. Not long afterwards, Photon Jet arrived and landed beside him. "There you are!" said Turbo Charger. "You took your time. Good thing the registrations are still open..."

"Sorry. Got a liiiiiiittle carried away with trying this wonderful thing of beauty!" Photon Jet replied, pointing to his suit. "But still, helping you take part in the Sports Fair is more important."

"Riiiight..." said Turbo Charger. "Let's just get through already. Let's just hope the weather doesn't change and the show doesn't get cancelled."

After Photon Jet and Turbo Charger paid for the tickets, it wasn't long before the events took place. There was a big selection of events such as the three-hoofed race, the egg spoon race, hoofball, trampoline acrobatics (which Pegasi weren't allowed to enter), chicken catching and archery. Everypony enjoyed watching the games but there is one Turbo Charger registered for...the 500m dash. At that point on, the weather began to unexpectedly change but the event still ran as scheduled.

Turbo Charger along with some other earth ponies were at the starting line while Photon Jet remained relaxed on his seat. "Give it all you got buddy!" he shouted to his friend. His friend gave him a confident smile as if he already won this.

The announcer stood up to the podium to start the race. "Already everypony!" she announced with a cheerful smile. "Get on your marks and may the best sprinter win!" All the contestants got ready for the signal.

"On your marks..."

The contestants shortened their eyes...

"Geeeeet set..."

They kept their backs straight...

"GO!"

All of them dashed off from the starting point.

Immediately, Turbo Charger was sprinting faster and faster as his hooves stamped on the grass as the crowd cheered at him. None of the other contestants couldn't keep up with his incredible speed.

"Alright, Turbo! You're flying now!" Photon Jet as he patted his seat like it was a drum. He knew Turbo Charger would win this but he had to watch for something unexpected...But then, it happened.

The weather got worse as hundred of dark clouds huddled together. Each one made a crackling sound which made Photon Jet along with some other spectators look up.  He got concerned. The weather was clear a few minutes ago but now it got hectic.

Suddenly without any signs of warning, extreme lightning started crashing down on the contestants with a mighty ZAP! The damage was being dealt as sparks flew off the track. This made the ponies panic and begun evacuating their seats. Photon Jet saw this happening and shouted at Turbo Charger who was being chased by lightning.

"Turbo!" he shouted. "Get outta there! That's no ordinary thunder!"

This made Turbo Charger look up as more thunderbolts crashed beside him. He started to lose his balance but kept sprinting on while the other contestants ran off. As he approached the finish line, he quickly got off the track and headed over to Photon Jet while avoiding the evacuating ponies.

"What's going on!?" he said in a terrified state.

"No idea!" he replied as all he could hear was thunder crashing down furiously and ponies screaming in terror. Then came a sound they never even heard before.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"

Both ponies looked up as a humongous, bird-like shadowy figure appeared in the thunderclouds. It flapped it's wings, causing the clouds to move freely. As they moved away, the shadowy figure revealed to be an enormous bird with gold colored fur and gold colored feathers engulfed in electricity. The force it's wings gave out a huge gust of wind.

"Sweet Celestia!" Turbo Charger cried. "What is THAT!?"

Photon Jet knew the creature as a legend but he never knew there was one in Equestria. "That's the culprit of all the thunderstorms." he said. "The Thunderbird!"

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" screeched the now-called Thunderbird.

"Violet Wind wasn't kidding when he heard that sound!"

Turbo Charger tugged Photon Jet's left hoof. "C'mon, Photon Jet! Let's get outta here" he called to him. Photon Jet was just about to take his leave until he remembered his dream. He mentioned he wanted to become a superhero just like some other ponies. This was his big chance to make his dream come true. So remembering, he replied with a straight out "no".

Turbo Charger couldn't believe what he said. "Are you CRAZY!?" he spoke to him. "We're gonna get fried by that thing the second we don't escape!"

Photon Jet closed his eyes. "And we would get fried wherever we go." he said in a serious tone. "If this goes on any longer, we won't see any clear weather again. That's why this is my time to save everypony from this madness." He then looked at Turbo Charger. "Don't worry about me. I'll be alright."

"Bu-bu-but!" Turbo Charger spluttered as he couldn't think of a response.

Photon Jet put a hoof on his friend. "Trust me. I'll be fine. All I want is for you and the others to be safe." he said with a gentle smile as he looked at his jet suit. It was raring to go to take on the Thunderbird.

Turbo Charger gulped with a nod and hurried off at a safe distance. Photon Jet turned his attention to the creature. He headed to the center of the track to confront it while lightning continues to thunder down. He looked at the Thunderbird and the Thunderbird looked at him.

"Hey!" he called out to it while firing up his suit. "This is no place for someone like you to be here just to cause havoc! Why don't you go and pick somepony your own size!"

The Thunderbird replied with a screech and big bolts of lightning burst from his wings, targeting him in the process. Photon Jet was unfazed as he knew lightning cannot damage him with his suit on. He then put out his two front hooves and using the suit's power, he fired his own bolts of lightning which caused the creature to fall back. The Thunderbird reacts by gliding at Photon Jet, attempting to strike him down with it's beak but he evaded the attack by swooping up in the air. The Thunderbird turned around at a distance and went for another swoop but he evaded that move too. Photon Jet while hovering rubbed his front hooves together to conduct two orbs of electricity and fires them at the Thunderbird. However, the orbs missed as it changed it's angle. The Thunderbird then disappeared into a big pile of thunderclouds as more bolts of lightning struck down on Photon Jet with loud bang sounds which still doesn't faze him. Then, just like an arrow, he flew into the dangerous thunderclouds to chase it's tail.

Meanwhile, Turbo Charger while looking at the battle from a safe distance was very worried. He shuddered to think what would happen to Photon Jet.

The sounds were like an underground train as bolts of lightning scattered around his view. But Photon didn't stop and continued pushing forward through the thunderclouds. Moments later, he caught up to the Thunderbird as it was firing streams from it's huge feathers. It was a competition of speed as both the pony and the creature were at nearly identical speeds but Photon Jet was slowly catching up. The Thunderbird flapped it's wings hard as a huge gust of wind trailed behind it. Photon Jet felt the pressure going to him as the turbulence is making him lose control. Still, he kept hanging on and continued to push forward with all his might. At last! He mounted the Thunderbird's back with hooves and held on tight like a spider. The Thunderbird felt the weight of him and tried to get him off by spinning while squawking but to no avail. Photon Jet while clinging on, used the suit to cloak himself in electricity. It made the creature feel the shock as it dived down. The wind was immense. It was like being in a typhoon. A few seconds later, the ground became barely visible and Photon Jet started to lose his grip. He now know it was the best time to get off the ride. A split second before both him and the Thunderbird hit the ground, they quickly detached and part their separate ways by changing direction. 

Turbo Charger and some other ponies were on the edge of their seats as they watch them duke it all out.

Both went a certain amount a meters apart and started turning around to face one another. "This is it!" Photon Jet cried as he used the power of his suit to give himself a huge burst of speed while cloaked in blue electricity once more. Both Photon Jet and the Thunderbird faced each other for the final clash. The Thunderbird with it's feathers engulfed,  got it's talons ready while Photon Jet showed no signs of slowing down. Both gave out their war cry as they are about to collide with tremendous force.

BANG!

An explosion gave out a big blast of electricity all around the Sports Fair. All the other ponies took cover as jolts flew everywhere.. As soon as it settled down, there was a loud SLAM! The dust cleared and all that was shown was the Thunderbird on it's back, laying there, fainted and Photon Jet who was breathing heavily but he was moving ever so slightly.

Turbo Charger and the other ponies trotted closer with caution. "Photon Jet!" Turbo Charger cried. "PHOTON JET! Speak to us! Are you OK!?"

Photon Jet stood up on his hooves, looked at the ponies and gave them a salute. This made them relieved he is alright.

Suddenly, the Thunderbird also moved too which caused everypony to step back. Feeling defeated, it got back up on it's talons, turned to face them and gave out a shriek. Then, he flew off into the distance. Everypony watched until the Thunderbird was out of sight. This caused all the thunderclouds around the Sports Fair to dissolve like ice cubes. Moments later, the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

Everypony cheered. Not for sun to come out but for Photon Jet. He saved the day! "Hooray! Hooray!" they cheered as they gathered round him. "Three cheers for the pony who saved the Sports Fair!" Photon Jet who was feeling a tad embarrassed, realized he'd done it. He finally achieved his dream of not only being able to fly but to become a hero. He cannot describe how much happy he was so he started laughing. This had become the greatest day of his life.

"See?" he then spoke to Turbo Charger. "I told you I'd be fine." Turbo Charger who was beaming just nodded.

And so, the Sports Fair event continued for the rest of the day. Photon Jet now being the main focus with Turbo Charger who is now wearing a gold medal beside him gave out his signatures on blank pieces of paper that luckily didn't get zapped by the lightning. Everypony had a brilliant time.

Just then, a young, white unicorn colt who was next in line spoke out to Photon Jet. "Mr. Photon. When I grow up, I wanna have a suit just like yours and beat up bad guys with my zaps just like what you did to that big, bad turkey!"

Photon Jet laughed.  "Someday, you will." he said to the unicorn as he gave out his signature to him.

Turbo Charger pondered for a moment. "By the way..." he said to Photon Jet. "How'd you know about the Thunderbird?"

"Well..." Photon Jet said confidently. "The Thunderbird is an aggressive creature and is known to create thunderclouds so it could mark it's territory. If it did find a spot, it would not let anypony get anywhere near it and could cause a severe disruption in Ponyville with all these thunderclouds which can even put a great number of lives at risk. Good thing I made it think twice before putting it's talons down here."

"Is that why you want to become a superhero?" Turbo Charger asked him.

"That's one of the reasons...but I wanted to be one in all my life to keep Ponyville along with some other countries safe." he replied as he began to give out his moral. "There are cases where you need to work on making your dream come to life. It is true that some dreams can be considered silly and impossible to achieve but if you never give up and keep holding on to what you want to achieve, you'll soon make it a reality. As long as it makes everypony happy around you. After all, nothing is impossible."

Turbo Charger listened and understood what he told him. "That's something you should write on a letter." he said to him.

"Yeah. About the times you thought my dream was nothing but a load of baloney."

"W-W-What? I-I...uh..." Turbo Charger was embarrassed on what he said back then.

Photon Jet just laughed. "It's alright. We all do have doubts now and again." he said to him.

Turbo Charger only replied with a chuckle. Then both ponies enjoyed the fun of the Sports Fair as the sun begins to set on the horizon.

Meanwhile from a distance, a blue Pegasi with a rainbow colored mane was impressed by what Photon Jet achieved and flew off. But that's for another story.



THE END