//------------------------------//
// Fleetfoot.  Er, Tradewind. 
// Story: Bombshells 
// by 007Delta 
//------------------------------//

	It was about noon, and Celestia's burning yellow sun beat down upon my back.  I decided to spend a little time outside of the city for a while, thinking it best to keep as fair a distance as possible from the hoopla in town.  Surely there must have been talk around the city, friends telling friends about how a famous photographer and some stranger chased each other through town, before having a stand off about some pictures.  I knew this town was eccentric, but surely this was news to even them.

As the buildings rolled by me like residential wheels neath the train that was the street, I could feel eyes boring into my skin.  It was a disconcerting and stress inducing paranoia that I could never ignore.  Even if I was alone, tucked away somewhere in the boondocks of Equestria, my body couldn't help but feel as if there were eyes that lurked amongst the shadows, staring at me while I looked away.  It made my skin crawl and my coat itch.

Finally, I reached the outskirts of town, and breathed a weighty sigh of relief.  I would be safe from attention out here.  Outside of Ponyville was rather beautiful.  Soft green hills turned across the landscape, with a lone mountain jutting out in the distance.  Like a large pimple on the face of a teenager, Canterlot sat, staring back at me.  I thought about my team, wondering how they must be dealing with my sudden disappearance.  It had been a full week since I left, and they are probably getting worried by now, especially Soarin.  He was like an older brother to me, always cheering me up when I had a rough day with Spitfire, or keeping me motivated when I began to fall behind.  He was a true friend, and though I hate what my disappearance must be doing to him, I simply couldn't keep up with the fame.  I was done, and I needed a break.

As I walked the hills, I noticed a figure in the air.  It was that of a Pegasus, and from the speed it was going, I could tell it was a skilled flyer.  I knew it wasn't a Wonderbolt, the technique this pony used was far different from ours.  I followed the figure as it zipped and curved through the sky, before it landed some 50 yards away.  I could feel the caffeine leaving my body as I sat in the grass, casually staring up at the sky.  There were a few small clouds dotting the sky here and there, overlaying the almost monochromatic blue above.  As I watched the clouds gently slide across the airspace, I couldn't help but notice something.  They all slightly resembled... Eyes.

Suddenly, I could feel my skin crawling all over again as my paranoid brain began kicking into overtime.  I turned away from the sky, laying on my side.  The grass was oddly comfortable, and leafy cushion against my face made me want to sleep, but I just couldn't.  The stress from nearly losing my anonymity today caused my stomach to have a constant flutter.  If Photo Finish had managed to identify me, were there others that had accomplished the same task?  Who knows.  Perhaps that Pegasus in the sky was a paparazzi, snapping a few longshots of me relaxing in the grass.

I decided to glance back over at the area where I had seen her, curiosity getting the better of me.  That's when I noticed the figure walking towards me.  She had a rainbow colored mane and tail, a newspaper in her hoof and a smile stretched across her face like a rubber band.  I immediately recognized her as Rainbow Dash.  The Wonderbolts have had quite a few encounters with Dash, often involving her saving our skin from almost certain death.  She waved at me maniacally as she trotted over.

Why was she so excited?  Unless...

Oh no, please don't tell me she recognized me, I have enough trouble as it is.  I forced a smile to my lips as she slowly approached.

"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!" She babbled out as she stopped in front of me.  I couldn't help but smile sheepishly as she stared intently into my eyes,  

"What?" I said kindly but uncomfortably.  She shoved the newspaper in front of my face. 

"There's a position open!"

At first I had no idea what this mare was talking about, but as I read the headlines of the newspaper she held, it slowly made sense.


"Wonderbolts' Manager Officially Fires Fleetfoot!"


I wasn't too surprised, I knew it was going to happen eventually.  I looked at the headline with a neutral expression, while Dash pranced around like an excited puppy.  "Spitfire sent me a letter, saying she wanted me to replace Fleetfoot!" she blurted out happily.  Deep down inside, I was glad.  Dash really wanted this, and it was a great thing for her to achieve such a high position.  She kept prancing around.  "I knew she wouldn't be able to keep up, I just knew it!"

My face nearly betrayed my whole disguise, but luckily, she kept talking.  "Her physical condition has been wearing down with the last few months.  Spitfire's probably looking for a fresh new face to keep the group youthful!" now I was getting a bit irritated with this teal pony's big mouth.

"Fleetfoot's not old," I said dismissively, but defensively.

"For an athlete, she's getting up there." came her response.  I swear my eye twitched.  Is this what people would say about me? Is this what they thought of me when I was out of earshot?  I was slowly growing angry.

"Really?" I said, the slightest twinge of annoyance in my voice.  "You don't look so fast yourself,"

Dash rolled back in laughter.  "You aren't from Cloudsdale, are you?" she said through a giggle.

"Does it matter?  I bet I could beat you,"

Suddenly Dash looked at me with a mischievous grin.  "Is that a challenge I hear?  I've always been one for challenges."

"Yes, it is a challenge.  In fact, I'm willing to bet you 50 bits that you won't win," my competitiveness was beginning to intermix with my annoyance.  Whatever happened, I wasn't going to let this over confident, job stealing, rainbow headed amateur win.

Dash looked around, studying the landscape, before spotting a tree, some 300 yards away.  She smiled and turned to me.  "First one to reach that tree wins.  Agreed?" I shook my head slowly.  She used her hoof to draw a line in the ground, before readying herself behind it.  I took my place as well.

Dash began counting down.  "Three!" I bent down and narrowed my eyes on the tree.  "Two!" I felt my heart quicken and my muscles began to relax.  I was warmed up from chasing Photo Finish around, and my wings felt limber and flexed.  "One!" I spread my wings high above my body.

"Go!" she screamed, and both of us shot from the starting line.  I flapped my wings hard and quickly, sending me propelling forward.  I kept low to the grass and flew quickly and accurately along the ground.  Dash chose to stick a bit higher in the air.  She was slowly falling behind me as I powered my way to the tree.  We had covered just a little over a third of the distance, and I looked back to see Dash's astonished face.  She was almost 30 feet behind me, probably struggling to figure out how this no name Pegasus was flying so much faster than her.  I spread my wings and began to carve up one of the steeper hills, and launched myself in the air, as if it were a ramp.  Suddenly, there was a blue figure moving past me, a rainbow colored trail emitting from behind her as she streaked through the air.  

She was an incredibly fast pony.  I wouldn't be able to simply muscle my way past her, so instead, I would use her as my weapon.  I gave a few strong flaps before I scrunched my wings as close to my body as possible.  I maneuvered myself right behind Dash, and could already feel the drag around my body dissipate.  I began to accelerate quickly, and I made sure to pick up as much speed as I could, before zooming right over Dash's head.  The look of surprise on her face was priceless.  The tree was but a few seconds away, and as I approached, I spread my wings.  My hooves touched the ground, allowing me to slide in the slippery green grass towards the trunk of the large oak, before I jumped, launched off of the wall with my hind legs, and stopped myself in a slow hover.  Dash reached the tree a mere second afterwards.  

"Impressive flying, but I come out the winner!" I bragged, obviously satisfied with my performance.

Dash circled around the tree, a look of confusion and surprise on her face.  "How..." she hesitated.  "How did you do that?" Dash yelled, awestruck by my performance.  I ignored her question, choosing to stick to the business side of our challenge. 

"I believe you owe me 50 bits," I said calmly, while extending my hoof.

Dash smiled and put her hoof out.  "Alright, one second," she flew off toward the hills where I first saw her, fumbled around the grass for a while, before returning with a grey backpack.  She landed and dug through it, pulling out a brown bag filled with multicolored coins.  She sorted through a few before placing them in my hoof.

"Who are you?  I've never seen you around Ponyville before, and I'm sure I would have heard about a flyer of your skill level,"

"The name's Fleetfoot.  Err! I mean..." I smiled guiltily, trying my best to play it off.  "My minds still stuck on that conversation, I meant to say my name was Tradewind."

"Tradewind?" she said with a short laugh.  "It certainly suits you." I gave a small chuckle.  Dash looked into my eyes, staring at me as if she was just realizing something.  "It's funny, you kinda look like Fleetfoot. Your eyes are similar,"

I shrugged.  "Just one of those faces I guess,".

She laughed.  "Anyway, my names Rainbow Dash!  We should hang out sometime, maybe fly around a bit." she nudged me with her shoulder.  "Maybe you could show me how you managed to beat me so easily,"

I looked to the ground, "Perhaps,"

"Anyway, I have to get in tip top shape for when I head over to Canterlot in a week,  Spitfire wants to evaluate my performance before she lets me join, and I don't want to let her down on my first day on the job!"

I nodded uncomfortably.  "Good luck," my response was a little less enthusiastic than I had hoped for it to be.

It had been about 15 minutes since Photo Finish said she would... Send for me.  However she planned on doing that.  I still felt nervous about what she meant to do with those photos, as I couldn't be 100% sure that I could trust her.  For all I know, this could just be some elaborate ruse to put me off guard while she pranced to every magazine she could think of.

That was another thing, last I recalled, she was a fashion photographer.  What was she doing communicating with tabloids, or even newspaper agencies?  I suppose I would find out soon enough.  I began to trek back into Ponyville, looking for something to pass the time.