Title:           StuntAnon2
Author:          RT_pony
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/U0VVR2C2
First Edit:      Friday 1st of August 2014 08:44:47 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Friday 1st of August 2014 08:44:47 PM CDT

>You carefully picked your way back through the city, trying to remember your way back.
>Based on the suits, dresses, and mansions you could only assume this was the rich neighborhood.
>It seemed like most of the ponies around were unicorns, a majority white.
>You wondered if ponies were like humans in that regard, basing social status on coat color.
>Was it a coat?
>Or fur?
>Or a fur coat?
>You scratched your head, making a mental note to look around for a library to do a bit of research on the locals.
>In your thoughts, you failed to notice a pony in particular, jogging down the street.
>A tall white unicorn with a pink mane table topped you, sending you sprawling over top of her.
“Oof!”
>”Ack!”
>you threw your hands out in front of you, scraping your palms against the concrete sidewalk.
>The entire street fell silent as every pair of eyes looked at you laying over top of this mare.
>Sitting back up, you brushed your hands against your jeans and offered a hand to the fallen mare.
“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention miss…?”
>After a brief moment of carefully studying you, the mare placed her hoof in your open hand and pulled herself upright.
>“It’s quite alright.”
>Her eyes continued studying you, her thick french accent catching you by surprise.
>”Fleur de Lis. Mister…?”
“Anon. Anonymous. That sounds… french?”
>”Oui, prench. Vous parlez prancais?”
>Prench. French.
>So, logic would assume Prance would equal France.
>Prance, a culture of french horses.
>This world was punny.
“Ah, no. I don’t speak much prench. Are you alright?”
>Fleur de Lis nodded, looking back at the dirt on her jogging outfit.
“Here, allow me.”
>You reached over, brushing the dirt off of her side.
>”Merci, merci.”
>Her gaze wandered around to the ponies, most of which had gone back to their lives though a few still chattered quietly, shooting wary glances at you.
>”Pardon monsieur but, what are you?”
“Human, I just arrived here a day ago. Seems my kind isn’t a thing in this world…”
>The mare slowly nodded, bringing a hoof to her lips.
>The confusion was apparent, but to explain something that you didn’t fully grasp yourself didn’t seem possible.
>You stood from your kneeled position, causing Fleur to bend her neck back slightly to look up at you.
>Suddenly her eyes widened, and she reached out with a hoof to stroke the sheep skin bomber jacket you wore.
>”My, what is this?”
>You opened your mouth to speak and quickly snapped it shut.
>Ponies were the sentient race here, was there more?
>Were sheep a sentient race?
“It’s made of a special tree from my home.”
>If that lie worked you were going into politics.
>”Oh I love it. It looks so warm and cozy. And it is so fashionable. Do you think ze tree exists here?”
>Politics here you come.
>Fleur was now pacing around you excitedly, looking at your jacket from every angle.
>You started walking along the sidewalk, suddenly a bit uncomfortable.
“No, it’s very rare even where I’m from.”
>”I see. I am a fashion model. One of my favorite parts about ze job is seeing foreign fashion.”
“I see. Well, you see, this isn't so much as a fashion statement, but its more meant to keep me warm up there in the sky during my shows.”
>”Shows?”
“I’m like the… what are they called. Wonderbolts.”
>”Ohh.”
>Fleur paused, looking you up and down.
>”I do not see any wings on you. How do you fly?”
>You paused, looking in the direction of the stadium.
“I can show you, but it’s a bit of a trip to the stadium if I remember correctly.”
>Fleur nodded, finally halting beside you.
>”Lead ze way Anon.”
“Right…”
>You set off at a brisk pace, partially hoping for the mare to fall behind and get lost in the crowd.
>Unfortunately her jogging was hardly for show, and she easily jogged along as you both made way to the stadium.
>It didn’t help that you towered over all the other ponies, even Fleur who was almost as tall as Princess Luna.
>With a defeated sigh you trudged into the stadium, looking up as the Wonderbolts spiraled around in their training.
>Spitfire glared down at you for a brief moment, and you averted your eyes back down to the plane.
>”Is this it?”
>You nodded, looking down at the bright belts of ammo still resting in the feed trays.
>You pushed the panel closed, snapping it shut.
>Either the princesses really trusted you, or they hadn’t been able to unload the guns.
>To be entirely honest, you had no idea how to do it either.
>”It’s so big.”
>You covered your mouth as best as you could to stifle a laugh before hopping up onto the wing and into the cockpit.
“Yeah. But it’s fast. faster than anything of its time.”
>You looked around the cockpit, ensuring everything was in place.
>Fleur jumped up to the wing, sticking her head inside.
“Thinking of giving ze Wonderbolts a run for their money?”
>Now there was a thought.
“Only problem I see with that is one of them is giving me a couch to sleep on.
>”Yes, but what is a couch to millions of bits, hm? We all have what we’re given to make a life for ourselves. I have a body stallions desire, you have this.”
>You nodded, thinking  about the idea for a moment.
“I’d need someway to get a sponsor out here. So I could get into airshows, draw crowds, make money.”
>”Hey!”
>You and Fleur looked up as the Wonderbolts descended upon you, glaring at you through their mirrored goggles.
>”What are you doing here?” Spitfire crossed her forelegs much like a human would their arms.
>Before you could speak, Fleur did for you.
>”Looking at ze competition.”
“Wait wh-”
>”Competition? Ha! There’s no way you could hang with us in that monster. We blew by you at our airshow.”
>”Monsieur Anonymous seems to think otherwise. ”
“I didn’t-”
>“Fine, let’s race.”
>You pulled out your phone and started some math.something far enough to get to full speed, but something close so you could conserve fuel.
>”There’s a town about 10 minutes flight there and back. Think you can handle that?” Spitfire puffed her chest out arrogantly.
“Sounds perfect. Got a finish tape?”
>She nodded, then nodded to another pony who flew off to retrieve a piece of tape and two stakes.
>”First one to  fly around Ponyville and break this tape wins.”
“Just give me a direction.”
>”You’ll be able to see it once you get in the air. Not like it’ll matter.”
>Spitfire smirked, tapping hooves with another Wonderbolt.
>”Such confidence. I suppose you would not be up to a bet of some proportion?”
“Wait wh-”
>”Oh yeah Miss Fancy Pants? What are you, his manager?”
>”Perhaps.”
>Fleur flipped her mane aside.
>”So what, 50 bits?”
>”So little? How insulting.”
>”Then what?”
>”30% of your next show?”
>”30! No way.”
>You folded your arms.
“What’s the matter? Scared?”
>Spitfire narrowed her eyes at you.
>”Whatever. What do we get when we win?”
>You shrugged.
“Name your terms.”
>The Wonderbolts huddled together, quietly talking amongst themselves.
>You and Fleur exchanged looks, a smirk had grown into the biggest shit eating grin you’d seen on a pony so far.
“What’s in this for you?”
>”Just promise me you’ll remember me when you get famous from this.~”
>The Wonderbolts broke their huddle and  turned back to face you and your impromptu manager.
>”You get to volunteer yourself as the Wonderbolts personal janitor for a year.”
>”Seems fair, Anonymous?”
>Against your better judgement, you nodded, climbing up to the cockpit of the aircraft.
>You turned on the power, tapping the fuel gauge carefully.
>You had about an hour’s worth of fuel. Plenty if this truly was a 10 minute race. And plenty of space to build enough speed to catch the pony if they really were as fast as you thought.
>”Alright, who wants-”
>The rest of Spitfire’s words were cut off as you closed the canopy and flicked the ignition switch, bringing the engine to life.
>Carefully taxiing across the field and to the runway, you looked over to the sides to see your opponent for the match.
>It was hard to tell with the suit on, but you could tell the pony was a light blue in coat color and an almost white mane.
>The pony took a pose and you throttled up slightly, keeping the brakes engaged, while Fleur took a position where both you and the pony could see her hold a white cloth in the air.
>Fleur nodded to the other pony, who in turn nodded back, and then to you, and in turn you nodded, pushing the throttle up a bit more.
>You played with the lever, teetering on the edge of nosing over.
>Finally the handkerchief dropped and you released the brakes, pushing the lever forward into the WEP position.
>The pony sprinted off ahead, immediately taking to the air ahead of you while you sped down the runway, hot on her heels.
>The pony dove down at the edge of the runway, picking up speed and zooming away from you.
>The airplane took to the sky and launched off the edge of the mountain, tucking its gear inside.
>Sure enough, you could see the town in the distance.
>Immediately you put the plane into a dive, chasing after the pony with 9,600 pounds of screaming metal.
>Carefully watching your indicated air speed gauge skyrocket, and your altimeter gauge plummet, you eased back on the stick.
>The g forces pulled you deeper into the seat, and your vision went black for a moment until you leveled out and sped ahead of the pony.
>Keeping the nose in a shallow dive you quickly topped out at the aircraft’s max speed, zooming along the green hills that led to the town on the horizon.
>The aircraft shook from the speed, rattling around like a jackhammer left on on the side of the street.
>Checking left and right, you saw no sign of the pony.
>Chuckling to yourself, you eased back on the throttle to full.
“No need to burn the engine out on my first race.”
>The speed slowly began to taper off, settling around 600 km/h.
>Speeding toward the town, you carefully weaved around the hill tops, raising slightly to zoom over the rooftops of the town.
>You banked around the town center, looking down at the crowd of colorful ponies that all looked up as you passed them overhead.
>Leveling off, you raced back toward the mountain side city of Canterlot, speeding past your opponent at the outskirts of the town.
>She was roughly 6 seconds behind you, if you had to guess.
>Impressive, given that she was a flying horse.
>You pulled on the stick, pointing the nose straight at Canterlot in a shallow climb.
>This plane was known for its climb rate, hopefully it could outclimb the competition.
>Closer and closer the mountain came, and behind you, the pony closed in, nipping at your tail.
>You banked slightly to cut her off, turning into a scissors battle for 1st.
>She twisted and rolled  for every banking turn you made, narrowly avoiding being whacked each time.
>Each pass, she would gain a bit more ground on you.
“Alright speedy horse, how’s this taste?”
>With a flick of a switch, smoke shot out from a canister on your plane, blinding the pony behind.
>She coughed and sputtered as smoke filled her lungs, allowing you to straighten out and push in the throttle so that it locked into the WEP position.
>Keeping an eye carefully glued to the temperature gauge, you knew that a normal landing wouldn’t do.
>Canterlot was approaching fast, and your smoke screen would only buy you precious seconds.
>You had to snap the tape, which only was positioned a few feet above the ground, while you were still in the air.
>With your plane now level with the runway, you gained even more speed, matching the pegasus in a straight dash for the finish.
>She was beating her wings furiously to keep up, even through the mirrored goggles you could see determination.
>The warning light on the temperature gauge flashed as the temperature climbed past its red line, just as you passed over the cliff’s edge.
>Now or never.
>You tilted the aircraft to the left, pushing in the right yaw pedal, and carefully finagled the stick so that the plane continued in a straight line,
>Just behind your cockpit canopy, you could see the pony looking at you with a shocked expression, watching this metal monster maneuver through the air, trailing its wing just above the surface of the runway.
>Looking to your left, you watched as the wingtip came in contact with the white tape, snapping instantly where it met.
>Pulling back to the right you leveled the plane out before pulling back on the stick and went into an immelman, spinning around in the air as you pulled the engine back.
>You circled the runway as you bled off your airspeed, looking down at the ponies.
>The pony who had raced against you had her head down low to the ground, searching for the air she needed to fill her lungs.
>Fleur waved from the ground, while the rest of the Wonderbolts gathered around their defeated comrade.
>Once you were down to a reasonable speed, you dropped the flaps and gear, carefully bringing the plane down on the airfield with a screech of rubber against tarmac, taxiing it back to the same place you let it rest days ago.
>As you popped the canopy open and stood out on the wing, Spitfire floated over to you above Fleur, her forelegs crossed in unamusement.
>”Well, you won. I’ll give you that. And you know, it was pretty legit. Fleetfoot won the last Wonderbolt Derby.”
“It was a good race, almost thought I’d be cleaning up after you guys for a while.”
>You extended a hand, then drawing it back slightly, wondering if the notion of a handshake would be understood by a pony.
>To your surprise, Spitfire put her hoof inside of your hand and gave it a shake.
>Fleetfoot, as you now knew her as, also walked over, her abnormally raspy voice aggravated by her winded state.
>”Nice race. The little smoke trick was a bit dirty buuut I can’t say I’m above doing that either.”
>Fleetfoot held out a hoof, which you took and gave a firm shake.
>”One of these days I want a rematch.”
>A smirk came to your face, and your eyes wandered over to Spitfire.
“What do you say? Wonderbolts versus Anonymous? Sounds like something that would get some extra attention at an airshow.”
>”Doesn’t have much of a ring to it.”
>Nodding, you looked down to the plane, listening to the ticking of the cooling metal of the engine.
“What about the Wonderbolts versus the Bearcat?”
>”The Bearcat?”
“It’s what this particular monster is called.”
>Leaning against the wing, you glanced over at Fleur, who was wearing the most sinister of grins as she watched you negotiate.
>”Alright, you get a normal cut for every show you perform in. Gotta do some math to figure how much that is for certain, but, what do you say?”
>Spitfire extended a hoof towards you again, and you promptly gripped it and gave a firm shake.
“Deal.”
>Spitfire turned to the rest of the team with a commanding grin. “Alright you ponies, we have some training to do! Let’s go!”
>And with that the team leapt into the air, darting off at impossible speeds, leaving you and Fleur alone.
“So, why’d you do it?” you asked, not taking your eyes off the disappearing Wonderbolts.
>”It is quite simple Anonymous. I have a knack for finding profitable talent.”
“Profitable talent eh? So, I assume you’re going to charge me for this.”
>You lowered your eyes to the mare, who was slowly making her way out.
>”For a stallion down on his luck, I’ll make an exception this one time.” She paused, flipping her mane to the side and looking back at you. “Just remember me when you get to the top, and get me something expensive~”
>You nodded, watching her continue on toward the exit.
>As she left, several guards came through another entrance, keeping a formation around Princess Luna.
>”Princess.”
“Anonymous. We have some things we feel need discussed.”
>”Seems like a lot of friends for a simple discussion.”
>Luna moved past her guards, leaving them behind as she closed the distance.
>“Is this better?”
“I suppose I’ll take what I can get. What do you want Princess?”
>Luna looked at the engine cowling of the plane, choosing her next words.
>”Your weapons.”