North Woods NightMares

“PW? What are you doing?” Frosty muttered.

Polaris’ heart leaped into his chest. Upon hearing that question he recalled the lack of snoring over the past few seconds, which he had fatally ignored. He looked over at Frosty and made eye contact with her.

‘What do I say? She CAUGHT me!’ He racked his mind for possible explanations.

“PW.” She said again.

“Alright!” He put up a hoof. “Alright, I come clean. I just got back from Captain Celaeno's ship and got a folder with her report. But, then I really wanted to know if I was tall enough to wear your boot and now I’m trying to wear it and I’m sorry!”

“You’re curious about my boot? You could have asked.” She rose to her hooves. “Alright then, let’s see.” With that she reared up and walked over to PW.

She put the second boot beside the first and then hoisted him up from his forelegs, like a cat being lifted.

“Upsy-daisy.” She said before lowering his hind legs into the boots.

This was not at all what PW was expecting and did not serve to ease his racing mind. ‘What is she doing? Is this some joke? Is this Bon-Bon’s god-tier relationship skills at work? Is the heat driving Frosty mad?’

“You’re up to your thighs…” Frosty announced.

PW was burning with excitement and having a little much too fun with this. He had to focus every bit of his brain, every bit of concentration to…

“Only a few more inches left, PW!” She said, continuing to lower him.

PW felt its collar and the insoles at the same time.

“You’re resting on something! Let’s see what.”

‘Fuck!’ PW mentally swore as she looked down near his tail.

He swished it forwards for cover.

“Well, it would appear that you are JUST tall enough to wear my boots as full-leg boots.” She smiled. “But, you’d definitely lose to Recce.”

She lifted him back to solid ground and in an instant his hinds were locked together and his tail all around him.

“W-who’s Recce?” He asked.

“She’s Night-Mare 2-1. The biggest, tallest, and even meanest of us. She’s pretty much always angry and even scares me.”

“Even you?” He raised a brow at that.

Frosty nodded. “Yes. Recce is terrifying. You wouldn’t like to work with her.”

“Good thing I joined the project after her fitment!” Responded PW.

“Agreed. I know of a technician that in hindsight would want to switch places with you.”

“What happened?”

“I was told they found her on top of him, and he needed his muzzle surgically reconstructed.” She shrugged.

“Oh jeez!” PW gulped and changed the subject. “Well anyways, do you want to see that folder now?”

“Nope. It can wait until morning. Good night.” She yawned and returned to her gear.

Polaris pulled his pad out and dragged it back some before setting it down and putting his earplugs in. He sat for a few minutes, perplexed at what had transpired.

‘Was that real? Am I dreaming? What the actual fuck happened with her? And why did that feel so wrong?’ PW wondered, gradually drifting off to sleep.

“PW.”

“Woughh...?” He groaned, stirred from sleep.

“PW get up. Everypony needs to hear your briefing.” Frosty shook him.

Just then PW heard a hissing sound to his right. He turned to find a large, pink ball. A second later it popped, covering his face with chewing gum.

“Gah! Seriously, Echo? That’s going to dry up and stay there the rest of his journey!” Complained Frosty on PW’s behalf.

“I got bubble gum, Windy-chan!” Echo bleated.

“I can see that!” Replied PW, fully awake now.

“Want some?” She smiled.

“No, thanks.” He grumbled, attempting to pull the gluey strings of gum off his face before eventually giving up and trotting over to the waiting ponies.

“Alright PW, what did you learn?” Asked Bon-Bon as he approached.

PW pulled out the folder that Celaeno gave them and hoofed it over.

“So, he is here.” Realized Bon-Bon, recognizing the large wagon in the photo.

“Not just that! He’s sixty miles south of us and actually shot Captain Celaeno’s airboat through the mainsail.” He told her of the attack. “She says her ETA is early afternoon, by which she should be able to tell if he’s taking the bait or not.”

“No good guy! Nosiree!” Echo frowned and shook her head.

“PW, this is due south of us?” Asked Frosty.

“Precisely.” He confirmed

“Alright, you find due south. EVERYPONY PACK UP! We’re going!” Shouted Frosty.

PW consulted his almanac table and found the entry for the sun as Celestia had declared it, then measured a bearing off of it. They set off, but now progress was slowing. They were nearing the middle desert, where temperatures would build to almost dangerous levels. Everypony was feeling the heat, but no sweat was felt as it would boil away instantly.

PW went off to do business during their lunch break and found that despite drinking two gallons of water (and he wasn’t a big pegasus, mind you), it wasn’t enough. He returned to find his pack missing, with Frosty standing beside where it was.

“Frosty? Have you seen my bag?” PW asked as he saw Echo rummaging through it.

“Hey!” He called, blushing in a mixture of irritation, pre-emptive embarrassment and fear.

Echo ignored him and continued digging through his stuff.

“What’s she looking for?” PW sighed in irritation.

Echo pulled out a piece of paper.

“Found it!” She shouted.

PW snapped and leapt into the sky.

“Ah! Not so fast!” Shouted Frosty, catching the airborne stallion and bringing him back down to the ground.

She held him captive as she walked bipedally over to see what Echo had found.

It was a photo of two Ponyvania Railroad locomotives side by side. As Echo began to giggle like a filly, PW struggled hard in the Night-Mare’s grasp.

“This’ll be good, the way he’s fighting!” Said Frosty, peering closer.

“O’bachan! I have never seen anything like it!” Giggled Echo.

One of the two locomotives in the picture was a class I1, a heavy hauler six axle weighing 386,000 pounds, and the other a class E7, a fast light 5 axle locomotive weighing 175,000 pounds. The large I1 had the caption ‘Big hulking nightmare!’ and the small E7 had ‘smol helper PW’ written under it.

“Wow PW, this is really good!” Laughed Frosty.

“Choo-choo!” Called Echo.

Frosty cracked up, dropping PW onto the sand.

“I wanna hear your whistle Windy-chan!” Echo teased.

“Give it back!” Shouted PW, swiping for the image which Echo played keep-away with.

Echo stood straight and held the image up high, out of his reach.

“I fly!” Shouted PW, taking off and buzzing Echo, trying to grab the image.

Eventually she stopped trying to dodge him, but PW didn’t realize this warning sign until it was too late.

“Aw, angry pega so c-yyy-utte!” Echo sang, throwing her enormous forelegs around PW and squeezing him tight.

“HElp! PleEZE!” Begged the constricted pegasus.

Frosty simply crossed her forehooves and shook her head at Echo and her prize.

“Please let GO!” PW called again.

“No.” Echo's simple reply.

“Echo! This isn’t FUN anymore.” He whined.

“Aw, Windy-chan…” Complained Echo, releasing her grip and allowing the pegasus to fall to the ground.

Frosty stepped up.

“That’s enough – I don’t want him suffering. Now let’s get moving. I put your special image back into your saddlebag PW.” She reassured him, stuffing the image back into the bag.

PW didn’t say anything as he put his bag back on, still red in the face. They had only been on the move for a few minutes when Sweetie Drops spotted Captain Celaeno’s airboat overhead. The Captain’s skills were second to none. She managed to place the airship within normal conversational range on the ground despite winds. The Night-Mares reared to oversee the greeting.

“We meet again. What have you got for us?” Asked Bon-Bon.

The captain pointed up at her mainsail.

“Oh yes, PW did mention that.”

“And, you should know he is onto you.” The Captain said.

“Yes!” Shouted Frosty.

“How distant?” Added Bon-Bon.

“You’ve both closed your distances by one half. If you continue moving at your current speed you should encounter him tomorrow morning.” Celaeno figured.

Bon-Bon pondered her options.

“Knowing him, would you recommend daytime or nighttime interception?” She asked.

“Daytime. He specializes in night interceptions and, being a mole, has night vision beyond anyone here."

“We’ll keep that in mind with the flash bang.” Responded Frosty.

“And one more thing- he sends scouts ahead of himself. You should expect to see faces in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. Looking over the dunes at you.” Warned the captain.

“We’ll put on a big display for them!” Joked Echo.

“I’m sorry?” Captain Celaeno asked, confused.

“She’s talking about us pissing.” Frosty answered bluntly. A light bit of laughter went around the group.

“On the contrary, Snowheart and Sweetsong – I do believe it is in our best interest to maintain a low profile. And I do mean low. You should remain hidden until the operation begins.” Suggested Bon-Bon.

“Then we’ll be immobile.” Complained Frosty.

“Exactly. A stopped caravan is more susceptible to a moving one. If he’s sitting on the fence, as to whether or not to attack, that condition should get him to attack.” Replied Bon-Bon.

“Very well. Tomorrow morning, we will stay put instead of going into motion. We control the battlefield layout then. And the ambush should happen closer to lunch time.” Decided Frosty.

“Roger that. I’m making one more run to Klugetown. I should be back around daybreak. That gives us one last chance for an information exchange.” The captain announced.

The two parties said their goodbyes and Celaeno returned back south.

That evening, PW remembered what Bon-Bon had told him about the finger lockups. After everypony else had finished their meals, Frosty was still cracking cans of beans open with her fingers and dumping their contents into her mouth. She was sitting on a firelog, raising her above her already impressive sitting height.

“Frosty?” PW asked, taking a seat in front of (and below) the Night-Mare. PW placed himself in a very submissive location to emphasize his sincerity. The kilo-mare chucked the empty can of beans away into the pile and made eye contact with him.

“This is important. When I had my conversation with agent Sweetie Drops yesterday, she told me a little more about the finger lock-up issue. Did you know it’s happening elsewhere?” Asked PW.

She now turned to face him. “Really? To who?”

“She didn’t say, but she told me she was married to the designer of your finger assembly. And she also told me that she was about as obsessed with the devices, as I am with you. So, with the design being true, and their installation being true, that means the manufacturing, or the delivery is, well… sabotaged. In Sweetie Drops’ mind.” PW articulated.

Frosty sat back, squinting her eyes and pondering the conclusion.

“That alone doesn’t rule out another possibility. They could have been damaged by mistake.” Conjured Frosty.

“All I’m asking is that you’re careful. Also… did you happen to see any-creature acting like a malicious insider around you in fitment?” Asked PW.

Frosty looked down and stroked the sand between her and PW with her size ten hind hoof, thinking.

“No-creature comes to mind.” Responded Frosty.

“Promise?” Asked PW, in a tone that told her he really cared deeply about her.

PW made deep eye contact with Frosty, reading the answer in her eyes.

“Promise!” Replied the big mare sincerely, grabbing PW’s ear lightly.

Suddenly a loud air-biscuit fart came from behind the fire log. Frosty’s eyes immediately flew open in surprise.

“Nice.” Complimented PW.

“I didn’t mean to do that…” Frosty denied, trying to defend herself.

“Well that pile says it's guaranteed!” Laughed PW, pointing to the pile of at least eight cans of beans. “Pinto. Good choice!” PW added, reading one of the cans.

“I’ll stay up to watch the camp PW. You put those ear plugs in and have a good night.”

“Okay Frosty. Thank you.” Replied PW with a smile. He unfurled his bag and put his earplugs in.

“It’s all about being sweet.” The stallion told himself, happy with the Night-Mare’s response to his recent behavior.

PW woke up on his own as the sun started becoming brilliant. Frosty was nowhere to be found. He walked around the camp a little bit and began approaching the wagons.

“PW.” Called Bon-Bon, trotting over to him. “That wagon has Frosty. This one has Echo.” She gestured, escorting PW. “He’s up!” Bon-Bon called to Frosty.

“That makes everyone? And is the coast clear of scouts?” Frosty asked.

“Yes to both.”

Frosty hopped out of the wagon. “Alright everypony! We’re going to reconfigure the wagons to reduce line of sight! Organize items in two columns, stagger the rows. I want as many corners as possible!” Frosty shouted.

The caravan was reconfigured as the Night-Mares watched on.

“PW, the captain arrived just a few minutes ago.” Frosty said, pointing them out.

PW looked up to find the airboat a few thousand feet up. “I want a status report from Celaeno.”

“YES Frosty!” PW called, climbing into the sky.

As PW reached the ship he noticed all its occupants on one side, looking down. Captain Celaeno looked up and tipped her large hat to PW, waiving PW over to them. The Captain directed her attention from PW over the side of the ship.

“Oh… there they are. They move quickly!” Exclaimed PW.

“Impressive speed, for ground movement.” Replied the Captain.

“Take a look’here!” Said Lix Spittle, passing a spyglass over to PW with her wing.

“I see one large vehicle. Being pulled by eight creatures?” PW asked, focusing on it.

The largest parrot turned towards him.

“Yep, that’s it. They travel light. During the day the scouts roam and the polymorphs down there pull his wagon. He’s riding inside it. At night every-creature sleeps inside it, unless it’s loaded up with booty.” Boyle recalled.

“You have maybe an hour.” Figured the Captain.

“We’re ready. Everything is positioned. Snowheart’s got her plan. And whatever it is; I trust in it.” Declared PW, passing back the spyglass and heading towards the plank.

A parrot with a long neck and a lazy eye blocked PW with a waving wing, nodding as he did so. “Uh, wing?”

Asked PW, mirroring his. The parrot nodded and started pushing his wing towards PW.

“Oh high wing!” PW realized. The parrot nodded and they beat their wings together.

“That’s Squabble. Anyways, good luck PW. I can’t promise much support but if we see an opportunity we’ll take it!” Called the Captain.

PW nodded and unclipped his radio. “Arimaspi Control, Windy.”

“Go."

"We’re engaging Verko shortly at 17 degrees 20 minutes south, 14 minutes even west.”

“Roger. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Responded PW stowing the radio.

PW dove off the plank and was able to pick up tremendous speed thanks to the height the ship was at before gently pulling up to a descent. His speed was so high he made a streaking sound that was audible to the caravan. PW wasn’t a particularly fast flier, but he was very skilled at making energy judgments. He floated atop the dunes and bled off speed until he was able to come down to a soft landing beside the Night-Mares’ wagons.

“Less than one hour.” Relayed PW.

“What do you see, Windy-chan?” Asked Echo, poking her enormous head out the wagon.

“One large wagon, being pulled by eight polymorph creatures.” He muttered

“Hmm… our first critical piece of knowledge is going to be knowing what side of us they’ll be intercepting on.” Reasoned Frosty. “Could you tell if they were heading left or right of us?”

“No. I didn’t notice any sideways movement. It looked like they were more or less heading straight for us.”

“Hmm… we need to see over that dune. Does any-creature have a mirror!” Frosty shouted.

As it turned out, Bon-Bon had one. They set it up at the top of the dune. It would warn of a left side attack. If the mirror reflected empty sand, it would mean an attack to their right.

“The safest thing would be for myself and Echo to take a position over the dunes behind us minutes before the attack. We must establish a communication line for movement.” Announced Frosty.

“You both go right. If we see movement to our left, I will sneeze.” Bon-Bon suggested.

“Roger that. Once they attack, Echo and I will fall in behind them and pick them off. PW, you’ll be responsible for our six.” Taxed Frosty.

“I shall not fail you!” Responded PW energetically.

“See you on the other side of this.” Finished Frosty.

PW watched the mares climb up the dunes behind them to the north and then wallow themselves into the sand. Several minutes passed as the convoy entered lockdown. First some murmuring was heard. Then Bon-Bon sneezed. PW looked up to see the mirror as reflecting some dark object. PW turned around to see the Night-Mares already slithering on the backside of the dune, around to the left where they’d be in a better position.

Then suddenly, shouting above them. The large wagon appeared over the dune and accelerated to a high speed for the attack, rolled over and down the sand embankment, and came to a stop suddenly.

“HERE’S VERKO!” Shouted a dark figure, leaping out of the wagon.