//------------------------------// // Trust // Story: The Elements of Unity // by Wolfe and WindSilver //------------------------------// Cover: Soarin' Occupation: Wonderbolt Race: Pegasus Coat: Cyan Mark: Winged Thunderbolt Mane: Dark blue Notes: Reputation as a "Tail Chaser" Loves pie Extremely fast and acrobatic flier Well known by fellow Wonderbolts. Avoid if possible (See attached images) Risk level: 5 The second sheet held contained pictures of the colt in question. Each one from different angles, positions, and with different ponies surrounding him. In a few, he was completely oblivious to the camera, yet there were a few where the photo at least seemed planned.  There was one with him posing with an orange haired mare who was labeled as “Spitfire.” And beside her a white maned pony labeled "Fleetfoot." I scanned the photos, learning the faces of the ponies who appeared most often, then pulled out the third set of sheets. This set gave me a much more detailed view of his personal life. Hmm, Bi. And openly at that. Well that works out just fine for me. When I finished reviewing my mission objectives I put everything back in the folder. I had to admit, I felt some unease with the mission. Infiltrating Celestia's castle, and finding potential spots for my brethren to place themselves, would be hard enough as anypony else. But as Soarin’ it would be nearly impossible. A famous Wonderbolt would attract a lot of attention, and adoration. Meaning my magic would be at it's strongest. I would need it for what I had to do. Of course, I couldn't use magic as Soarin'. Pegasi don't have horns after all. It would also place unwanted suspicion on me. Suspicion was never good. Suspicion is what got you turned to stone, sent to the moon, blasted straight out of Equestria, or, it would get you sent to Her. I had permission to eliminate anypony who got in my way, if necessary. I hoped it was never necessary. It never had been, and I planned on keeping it that way. No matter what She said. If they were ever to trust us... No don't think about that, I reminded myself. She's always listening. "Shadow?" I turned to see my mother standing in the doorway. So she'd already heard. I guess I should have expected the news to reach her. No one was sent on a mission without the entire hive finding out. In fact, trying to keep something a secret was the best way to get news to the to everyling. Her face betrayed nothing, but I could feel her sorrow. Changeling or no. My father's death alone had been hard on her. For me to be sent to the same place he'd been... She embraced me, and I returned it; knowing this could be the last time I saw her. The woman who'd raised me, who fed me, made me laugh, let me cry while she held me, and loved me. I felt the tears pooling in my eyes and spilling down my cheeks. I squeezed her tighter. "Be careful," she whispered. "You too mother," I said. I released her from the hug but stared her in the eyes. I wanted her to see the conviction in mine. "I will be back." "I know, just, be cautious Fang.” I smiled when she called me that. She hugged me again. “Please, come back to me.” I had to take the train close enough to fly into the city. I still couldn’t believe I’d gotten Braeburn’s autograph. Mother would definitely appreciate the souvenir. A shame I had to steal a tiny bit of magic from him, though. Of course, It wouldn't have any negative side effects on him. Other than a bit of fatigue that he would most likely sleep off. I knew I had to leave for Canterlot before the train pulled into Ponyville. I couldn’t take the risk of the Element Bearers discovering me. I was forced to leave while he was still asleep, probably for the best though. He’d never see “Phil” again, he was a busy selling spices in Saddle Arabia. I arrived in Canterlot the week before the Wonderbolts were due. A bit suspicious, and suspicion wasn't good. But of course, the fans I attracted as soon as I landed helped embolden me and they seemed to cement my image in everypony's eyes. And of course there was the nice boost of magic, that helped too. A pair of pegasus guards flew down to meet and escort me to Celestia. I followed the guards, a little nervous about my ruse. They navigated the palace quickly, I struggled to maintain a steady flight pattern. A Wonderbolt would no doubt find this easy, so I had to find it easy as well. I used the time to practice my Soarin mannerisms. Luckily, my escorts had never met the real Soarin', so I didn't have to worry about "remembering" them. I tried out a few jokes, some random observations, showboated a bit, and just stayed downright goofy. I won't lie, it was a thrill. To finally cut loose, flap my wings. And laughing, I hadn't heard it in years; unless you counted the bitter ones that you'd hear as you walked through the hive. The throne room was very large, and beautiful. Queen Chrysalis herself had nothing like this. Not even her whole castle was as nice as this room. I had to force myself not to look around. Soarin had seen this multiple times. Soarin wouldn’t spend his time gawking at the curtains. Blowing my cover this late in the mission would not be good. "Soarin! Good to see you again.” I looked towards the figure seated in a large chair. I felt a flash of fear as I remembered the last time my kind and her’s had met in Canterlot. My back still ached from that thing that blasted me. What did they call it? A party cannon, I think. I bowed before replying, trying to keep my voice as light and steady as possible. “And you, Princess Celestia.” “Is there anything wrong?" She asked as I stood. Spitfire said none of you would be here until next week.” I rolled my eyes at the mention of Spitfire. I'd read that they were the best of friends, which I knew meant that the two of them annoyed each other. “Spitfire sent me ahead to make sure all of our rooms are ready, the flight routes are clear, the kingdom’s safe, yadda, yadda. You know how she stresses over every last detail.” This was a little ambitious of me, I had no way of knowing if Spitfire was anything like I described. But on cover missions like these, you had to take risks. Either the payout would be large and completely worth it. Or, I would be chased out of the castle with about half of the castle guards behind me. Luckily Spitfire seemed to be exactly like I described her for, a few seconds later, the Princess began to giggle. “That she does,” she said.  “I’ll have the guards show you to your room so you can rest.” I thanked her and turned to follow the guards. “Oh, one more thing, Soarin’” I turned back. “Shining Armor will be coming for a visit tomorrow afternoon, I thought I’d just let you know." Oh horsefeathers. "Oh. G-great." "He's going to move on to Ponyville but he wanted to visit some old friends of his. And I'm sure he'd love to talk with a fellow military officer." The Wonderbolts were military? That would be something to report back. All the stunts must have been a sideshow. I realized I was still standing there. "That's great. It would be fun to have some guy time after hanging out with Spitfire and Fleetfoot for so long. "He's married, Soarin, remember?" Oh right, that pesky reputation as a tail chaser. "I meant the platonic and friendly guy time. Don't worry." I sped away. The only thoughts racing through my head, as I caught up to my escorts, were, Oh buck. Oh buck. Oh buck. Oh buck.