Tending Flames

Firestorm had a serious difficulty now. That damn Pegasus had ruined half of his remaining three cubit match fuses. Now he'd need to go buy more in town. This was not as easy as one might think, since Trottingham, being a small border town without the central placing or accessibility of some other towns, could never keep up with the demand of the oversize Factory on it's borders. The only other town nearby, just to the north, would surely have match fuses, but it also had a blue terror flying around somewhere.

Firestorm sat on the barbette and looked up at the brilliant display his brand new rockets put on for his discerning eye. He sighed and looked away. They were good enough to impress the Great and Pompous Trixie. He had a trip to plan. Destination: Ponyville.

Chasing Haze woke up and yawned widely before shaking his head to clear his mane and looking down at the town that seemed to have sprouted under him while he slept. Sleeping on the wing was a hit or miss affair, literally sometimes, and a rare skill among pegasi, but he had always been good at it. He let out an excited squee and rolled to the left into a long bank to avoid overshooting the town entirely. He'd made it! Now he just had to find his new boss. She was sure to be up and about, right?

He was just about invisible from the ground due to his colour, but as he sped up in his excitement, a trail formed behind him, the tell tale mixed blue and black streak with a crackling white energy surrounding it, heralding his passing. The clouds partly  hid him from the ground, but not from another pair of eyes nestled among the white expanse.

Chasing didn't see the pony flying along with him so much as sense the change in the air. He looked back and saw the rainbow streak following his own wake, and tracked it back to its source. Not three tail-lengths from him, above and to the left, was the cyan pegasus with the rainbow mane and tail he had been looking for. But instead of joy, the mischievous grin she wore brought a sense of trepidation. This isn't gonna end well, he thought.

Quite rightly. The mare streaked into his back at a terrific speed, knocking the wind out of him and throwing him off the wing. as he spun out, she latched her hooves around his midriff and cannoned them towards the ground, in a move well known as the slingshot. Usually used to speed up pegasi into action, she was using it to throw him at the ground so fast that a normal pegasus wouldn't be able to pull up. Awww ponyfeathers...

This realization was followed by a sickening lurch and sudden freedom as Rainbow Dash peeled off and threw Chasing at the ground at full speed. She flew off into a large loop and looked down to see a bit of a surprise: Nothing. As she looked around, Chasing grinned and laughed into his hoof from his new position just behind her in the loop. She hadn't accounted for his large wings' ability to halt him as easily as they did. Now he followed her all the way to the ground and hovered just behind a convenient tree as she cast about for him.

After a few minutes, she stopped, sat down and called out, "Okay, Chasing Haze, sweet move, now come out here so I can get a look at you."

Chasing obliged, since she was officially his boss after all. As he glided of to her, he gave her a look over. Relatively lightly built, but obviously strong, with excellent conformation. Her colouration was a bit insane, but it seemed to match her personality. No wonder she was the best up and coming flyer around. He landed in front of her and sat at a attention, figuring she liked being in charge. Good call.

"So, you're meant to be the new Fire Guard eh? You look a bit scrawny for such hard work, you know." She waited for his answer.

He couldn't help but smile. He was used to this. "If I was anything like that, you probably would have killed me just now."

Rainbow Dash nodded, smiling too. "I knew you could handle it. Your sister made you sound like the perfect cross between a hummingbird and an albatross."

Saying that was a nice complement was a massive understatement. Not knowing what to say, he decided to counter her, "And that makes you a Falcon, right?"

Rainbow Dash stood and spread her wings, giving them a little flutter as confirmation. "You betcha. Now, stand up and show me those feathers."

Not too much to ask, even if Chasing Haze's wings were sore from so long on the wing, but he raised them into a full arch, spreading his feathers to maximize size. Rainbow Dash's little buzzers were dwarfed by his outsize wings. She, though, understood the mechanics of flight, and the advantages and drawbacks of being able to double as a two-pony tent.

She cocked her head and said thoughtfully, "That's an impressive span. Too bad it makes you look like you've got colic when they're folded. Not quite as large as your sister's, but yours suit you more." She walked up to him and inspected the trailing feathers on both wings as Chasing stood there like a statue, trying not to react to having his wings toyed with. "Your pinion feathers look a bit strained. How long were you flying for?"

Chasing thought for a second. "Um...About two weeks, I think? No, ten days, I stopped in Las Pegasus for a day, and Trottingham yesterday, each for a meal and some rest. That reminds me, I'm hungry..."

Rainbow's jaw dropped. "Twelve days from Broadwing Peak to Ponyville? What, were you sleeping on the wing or something?!"

Chasing rubbed his head with a hoof as he answered a little guiltily, "Uh, yeah, I was a little excited to get over here, so..."

Rainbow frowned at him. "So wait, you're telling me that not only are you fast, strong, and maneuverable, but you can fly asleep as well?"

Chasing Haze nodded. She made it sound like a bid deal or something. She snorted at him. "That's it. You and I are racing in two days. You aren't due to start til next Tuesday so you'll have four days to recover from the whipping I give you before you were due to arrive anyway. See ya at my house Thursday morning."

Chasing looked up at her as she took off and receded into the late afternoon sky. Well that escalated quickly... Oh, right, he'd better find the way-cottage down the road where he was meant to be staying. He flew up and glided over towards the building at the other end of the town. A few ponies looked up at him as he flew low over the town, too tired now to fly higher. He gave them all a friendly wave of a hoof, but focused on the building set on the hill just over the cottages. He landed by the front door and looked at the sign. Rosewood Cottage. He walked in.

The building consisted of two wings on each side of the entrance hall, each made up of a few smaller arched rooms, with beds and and trunks lining the walls. At the end of the eastern wing was a day room/lounge with music currently being played. At the other end, the west, was the kitchen and other necessary store rooms. All in all, it looked like a nice enough place. He walked into the long tunnel-like structure towards the lounge.

He looked in and saw the caretaker, a grey and straw coloured pegasus mare, talking to a similarly coloured unicorn filly. He cleared his throat to get her a attention.

The mare took off in surprise, but forgot how fly momentarily, and crashed down a few hooves from where she had been sitting. Ignoring the laughter of the filly, She stood up and brushed herself off as if nothing had happened, and her eyes focused on the newcomer in the doorway. One of them did, anyway.

Chasing hid a smile and greeted. "Hiya, I'm Chasing Haze, I'm just looking for a place to stay til I start work next week. That cool?"

The mare answered a bit haltingly, but well enough. "Hi...I'm D-Ditzy Doo, and t-this is Dinky, my s-sister. And sure, t-that's what Rosewood is f-for after all. I'll g-get you some supper..."

"Nah, I'm good, I just really need to sleep some. See you in the morning." She nodded, smiling, and sat back down to her conversation.

Well she's nice. And well named. Chasing thought perhaps a little uncharitably as he walked back towards the door. He saw a random bed and decided that it would do, fell on it and promptly forgot himself in the depths of sleep.