Upcoming Star

“As I suspected,” said a familiar gruff stallion’s voice.

Sonia’s face went pale, her ears twitching with her fur coat standing on its end. Sonia stared at her father who was standing amongst the destruction of the shop.

Sonia responded, “D-Dad?”

“I knew something was amidst. Your abrupt chat with Cinnamon seemed rather bizarre, hon.” Father replied.

Sonia gulped, standing up slowly and her posture shaky. Her ears were huddled against her head.

“D-Dad, I can explain!” She blurted, her voice shaky.

Father grabbed a small shard and inspected it, his eyes bloodshot red, naturally. Her father had a grey-ish brown, his mane a slick-combed back mane colored a more vibrant orange-brown. A vamp-pony, though he was essentially similar to a bat pony in looks.

“No need. I got all the explanation I needed from this little trap of mine.” He replied, with an angered undertone.

He glared at her, shooting through Sonia’s heart with those bloodshot eyes. She shook in her place, her eyes turning into multiple colors at once. Sonia stood her ground and looked back at Sleek.

“Look at me, worthless filly! Not your damn playtoy of a colt!” Father yelled.

HIs hoof promptly raised and fell onto Sonia’s cheek. Her body quickly collapsed to the floor, skidding across the glass shard-covered floor. She slowly stood up and looked over at her father, her wings slashed and her hooves cut up from the sharpness of the glass. She let out occasional gasps and winced as the blood streamed from the wounds.

“Tsk tsk, and I thought by letting Cinnamon warn you, you'd at last put up a better fight,” Father responded.

Sleek groaned, “What? S-Sonia? What is he talking about?”

Sonia backed up slowly, her blood running down her legs. Sonia gritted her teeth and grabs a piece of glass off the floor.

“Cinnamon gave me a heads up while I was passing by her back home. It was so quiet, only I would’ve heard it. I’m sure my dad must’ve heard a gist of it and forced her to tell him,” She said with her eyes fixated on her father’s quickly growing grin.

“It seems you’re not as stupid as I thought you were, dearest daughter of mine,” Father said before walking towards Sonia.

Sonia’s body shook, her eyes rapidly jittering around, almost like they were scanning her father for a weak point. She gulped and stepped back, sweat rolling down the side of her head.

“I still can’t believe that despite these being some of our top stallions, you still managed to survive it. Hell, you knew about it, got ambushed, and survived. All for this colt here?” Said Father as he pinned Sleek to the floor using one hoof.

“Don’t you dare lay a hoof on him damnit!” Sonia yelled.

Her eyes flashed red, her father flinching as he noticed the sudden change. She gritted her teeth and lunged at her father, her teeth attempting to sink into his neck. Father backed up, his front hoof lifting preparing to puncture her side. Sonia lifted her wing, allowing her to turn in the air and throw the glass she had picked up at her father, blinding him temporarily. Father yelled in anguish before flapping his wings boastfully, pummeling her into the wall, knocking her out in the process. Sonia felt her wings twist and her head smash against the wall. She fell to the floor and slowly she closed her eyes, hearing Sleek yell her name vaguely before she simply sunk into darkness.

Three months later.

Sonia sat in her room with a small notebook in her hooves. She held a pencil in her maw and her eyes rested on the neutral color of grey. There was an emptiness in her eyes, even she saw it when she walked past her room’s mirror. She dropped the pencil and sighed. She didn’t have any ideas for today’s report. She stood up out of bed, throwing her notebook onto her bed. Sonia stepped out of her room, her glare forcing all the standing guards outside of her room to flinch.

The sound of her hooves gently clacking as she walked down the hall, her eyes straightforward despite her knowledge of the guards all staring at her.

“Ah, there you are dear,” Father said, his voice as calm as ever.

Sonia stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, looking at her father dead in the eyes. And just like that, her eyes turned from grey to red. Her father smiled and gently ruffled her mane, Sonia growling like an angry dog prepared to bite.

“What do you want,” Sonia asked.

“How rude, you don’t even say father anymore. You’ve grown much older indeed,” He mockingly said.

He attempted to pull Sonia in for a hug, though Sonia slapped his hoof away and stared daggers into him, her eyes glowing bright red like stop lights urging you to not move or risk an accident. Only in this case, there wouldn’t be anything accidental going on.

“What do you want from me. Don’t try treating me like nothing happened you bastard,” Sonia hissed.

Sonia twitched her wings, her wings still tightly wrapped up in bandages ever since ‘the incident’ as the guards called it.

“I see… Well, you have a mission-” He was cut off before he could finish.

“No! I demand you let me see Sleek before I do anything for you!” Sonia stomped her hoof on the marble flooring of the hallways. A large crack appearing from the stomp area.

“How about I have him killed.” He said with a serious tone.

Father snatched one of her ears and pulled her close, whispering, “Remember, he’s only alive because I deemed it so. You’ll ready up in your room and meet your team in the briefing quarters and you’ll do it fast before Sleek meets your old pet fish.”

Sonia shook her head and was released from his grasp. Sonia felt tears gently beginning to take shape on the edge of her glistening eyes. She locked eyes with one of the guards as she stomped to her room, yelling, “What are you looking at?!”

Once she was in her room she slammed the door, grabbed her notebook, and threw it against a wall. She turned and kicking the wall, leaving a small dent to be permanently marked where she kicked.

She collapsed at the edge of her bed and slumped her head, little pearly drops of salty tears dripped onto her carpet.

She twitched her ears as she heard the crack of a stick outside her window. She stood up and looked out her window, a sudden silence fell as she stared. She felt the urge to let out some sort of noise just to track what it might’ve been but she didn’t.

She stood and grabbed her cloak off the hanger and grabbed her holster, swiftly making her exit from her room, wiping any tears from her eyes.

Time to go back to work. The night won’t last forever.

Twenty minutes later.

Sonia stood in the briefing room, in her little corner with her cloak on and a pistol holstered around her waist. She looked over the rest of the room, spotting two other bat ponies and another stepping in. She didn’t know them let alone cared to figure out their names.

She noticed their stares and taunting at her lack of body armor and weaponry. The standard assassination was usually lead by two assassins, a recon, and three grunts in case things went wrong. Sonia wasn’t leading this mission, not this time due to her father’s mistrust of her.

Sonia pulled her weapon of choice out, a silenced M1911 restored to full condition. It was a little strange though, it had a small hoof-sized strap and the trigger guard was gone. This would allow for faster firing and easier handling. She looked at the grunts weaponry; A rifle of their choice, one even had a semi-automatic rifle. The grunts always had unsilenced weaponry, they were meant to be outside of the danger zone on standby in case the main infiltration group was compromised.

Which they hardly ever got caught.

One of the bat ponies though did catch Sonia’s eyes. A pink and light pink striped maned mare with a light pink coat. She also had a cloak like Sonia’s except she didn’t have a hood, and her cloak was deep black.

“Alright squad, we got a late one coming, he owes me fifty laps around the flight course. That is if he survives what we’re doing. I will be your squad leader, the names Strawberry but you can just call me Berry, it’s easier that way.”

Sonia paid no more attention past the introduction.

‘Sleek… Sleek. What if he’s not even…’ Sonia was snapped out of her pondering.

“Hey! You may be the chief’s daughter but that doesn’t matter in this squad! Let’s go!” Berry yelled, her face had a smile and a confident posture.

Sonia scoffed and walked out, spreading her wings like the rest of the team and waiting for Berry’s lead.

A gust of dust was left behind as they all flew into the air, Sonia being the fastest but having to stay behind Berry as they headed to the landing zone.

Into the Everfree forest, they went. It was one of the safer sides granted, but still heavily wooded areas.

“So, where exactly is this place,” Sonia asked, her gun already unholstered.

“It’s still two klicks dead ahead. We’ll be on foot for a while but we’re no longer in a safe zone, so keep your guns up and stay quiet.” Berry responded, the rest of the squad nodding.

Sonia’s hooves were like feathers as she moved slowly through the forest, her eyes scanning the area.

“So, where should we stationed, Berry?” Asked one of the grunts.

“You three,” Berry points at the grunts, “Will be stationed a couple of mikes out and if for some reason we get wiped, it’s up to you to go in and either provide assistance or accomplish the mission with brute force.”

The grunts looked amongst each other and shrugged, continuing to hover slightly off the ground.

Sonia looked over at Berry, seeing that she only had a knife, “Where’s your gun?”

“What? Oh, It’s holstered. I don’t use my gun until I need to.” She moved her cloak aside and flashed her silenced Glock. No other attachments.

“That makes sense, but what if-” Sonia looks stops and the rest of the group does as well.

Voices could be heard up ahead. Two? No three. Wait, machinery too?

“Alright, we’re starting to get closer. Grunts, you stay here, me and Sonia will infiltrate. Recon, get up in the sky, and give us support.” Berry commanded.

“Yes ma’am.” Recon grabbed his rifle and hovered up into the air, aiming towards the combat zone.

“Alright Sonia on me.” Berry flapped her wings and silently flew.

Sonia closely following behind, leaves rustling and being lifted as they left the forest. Berry and Sonia made quick work of the first outer recon guards, moving silently cover to cover.

Sonia stopped behind a crate just outside of the HQ entrance. Berry hovered over the two guards standing in front of the entrance and dropped on one, Sonia taking out the other.

Once inside they made their way through hallways, navigating their way to the head office, disposing of any targets that got in their path.

Sonia and Berry moved silently through the halls before something heavy and mechanical made its way down the hall.

“Mech!” Berry whispered loudly, looking around for cover.

Before Berry could do anything, Sonia grasped her and tumbled her into a janitor’s closet, Sonia sitting up against the door, letting out a sigh of relief as the heavily armored pony walked past the door.

“Haven’t seen one of those since the clash at Steel HQ,” Berry commented.

Sonia heard of the Steel Defense Operation, she wasn’t part of it herself but essentially from what she heard was a large mobile force with around five hundred foot soldiers and fifteen mechs. Havoc machines of pure destruction if used in the right hooves.

“Right, well no time like the present, let’s move,” Berry said, slowly exiting the room.

Sonia followed silently, her footsteps making little to no sound. A least, not the average pony.

“So, where can we expect to find him right now? I could capture one of these rats and get some information out of them.” Sonia whispered.

“No, I’ve got a large clue as to where he might-” Berry was cut off as a sudden large caliber bullet whizzed between them.

“Target missed, recalculating.” said a slightly robotic voice.

“Mech spotted us! Get down!” Berry yelled, “Sonia, let’s go! The office now!”

Sonia stared at the mech, “We can kill this thing we just need to,-” A few more shots whizzed past them, their cover was completely blown at this point, no point being quiet.

“God damn it! Recon, keep reinforcements off us we got trouble!” Berry yelled again, firing back at the squad of foot soldiers that appeared behind the pair, leaving them only one exit, “Sonia! To the office right fucking now! We can jump from the window!”

“I’m not running from these bastards! I have to do this! If I return home without anything to show for it…” Sonia pondered before shaking off the sensation of doubt in her father.

“We don’t- Shit get down!” Berry said toppling Sonia to the ground as the mech fired a small salvo of rockets, narrowly missing the duo and killing the other attackers.

“There now stop being a coward and fight!” Sonia commanded before flying towards the mech, holding her pistol tight, firing at its neck to stun it, “Shoot its launchers before it fires again!”

Berry fired a couple of bullets at the base of the launchers on its shoulder, causing them to limp and break off after a couple of shots. Sonia swooped between slams and strikes from the mech. Her cloak taking some hits from an uncontrolled burst of fire but not ripping due to its strong carbon nanotube bond.

Sonia shot at its thick armor plating, her pistol only tickling its armor. Sonia gasped as the mech brought down its left hoof down onto her. Narrowly escaping its stomp, she slammed herself into the wall, her gun falling to the ground. Berry got close to the mech and kicked it away, stunning it for a sec before it let out a low mechanical creaking from it resetting and standing back up.

The mech’s modulated voice didn’t come through as it spoke again, “God damn you fucking mares! DIe already!”

“That mech is the target! I was starting to wonder why its attacks were so sluggish!” Berry grabbed Sonia’s pistol and tossed it back at her, “Aim for the head! Concuss him!”

Sonia laid fire upon the mech, the mech firing several shots at the mares, Sonia remaining unscathed for now, but the same could not be said for Berry. A couple of scratches and light wounds from narrow misses of the blazing bullets ripping through the air.

The two dodged and weaved to avoid the spray of rounds that the mech fired aimlessly. Unlike most mechs, this mech wasn’t quick and terrifying, but it was much stronger than the two of them combined. Sonia rushed the mech and eventually toppled it over, far easier than she thought, but suffered a bullet wound to her hoof.

“Gah! Fucker!” Sonia yelled as she ripped the helmet off the mech, her eyes turning red as she felt the pulse of pain go through her hoof and the rest of her body.

“W-Wait hold it, halt!” yelled the stallion inside. He put up two hooves, with much exertion, “You m-mustn’t! I have the knowledge you need!”

Sonia pressed the tip of her pistol against his head, “Talk before I pain the floor and walls the shade of my eyes!”

“You mustn’t kill me! I can give you information about our forces! Our tactics! Our future attacks as well!” He yelled in fear.

“A coward like you serves no use to me! You’d probably betray me and end up leading my team into a trap!” Sonia growled in anger.

The stallion, sweating, grimaced and then said, “You realize that if that were true, it wouldn’t just be me? You’ll see soon that you won’t be against just us! You’ll be against your own as well! You filthy flying rat!” He finished yelling as he tried to lift his hoof and fire at Sonia again.

Berry sighed and fired her gun at the stallion, finishing him, “Well, that’s that.”

“Fucking trashy stallion! Ugh! Let’s get out of here before any reinforcements come through here,” Sonia said, the pain in her hoof taking her mind away from anything Berry said.

“Alright, recon, head back to the rest of the group we need to evac immediately. We got reinforcements coming in, take out any forces near you before you do” Berry said over a small chest latched radio.

Sonia hissed as she picked up a rifle off the floor, “Sweet Celestia that hurts, damn target!”

“Just head out, I need to check the office before we leave, go, the rest of the group might need your help,” Berry commanded.

Sonia nodded and grabbed a couple of magazines off a fallen soldier, flapped her wings, opened a window, and exited out into the desolate night sky.

Berry watched as Sonia flew up into the sky, smirking before whispering into her radio, “Target is flying now. Prepare for combat in about 10 mikes.”

A voice came back from the radio, “Roger that commander! Let’s move-”

Berry turned off the radio and looked up at the flying Sonia.

“Let’s see what you’re capable of Sonia, I got high hopes for you, beautiful,” a light red glow appeared in Berry’s eyes.

“See you soon, recruit.”