Polaris Wind had enough and buried his head in his forehooves, weeping silently. He knew what the vessel submerging meant: mission failure. He thought back to his dream and now the situation had become real. He slammed his head on the floor of the cage and, to his dismay, did not wake up. He thought about how he would now have to answer to 2’s father, should there be some miracle he survived.

“Better to not make it, now.” He muttered to himself.

But then he remembered what 2 had said, that it would be up to him to train the next Night-Mare. He breathed deep, accepting his new mission.

About ten minutes had passed by the time the next orders came down. “Ahead one third. Surface the boat.” Ordered Alpha.

“Yes sir! Surface the boat!”

“Yes sir, ahead one third!”

Polaris only lifted his head again upon hearing his cage door opening and found Alpha standing there. “I want to see his reaction to seeing his friend. I got plans for their skeletons. Take him up top!"

With that he removed Polaris from the cage and threw him onto the floor beside the deck crew.

As the sub leveled off and he ascended a ladder PW could see blue light. Breezy salt air greeted him with a bitter smell.

“Sir! The prisoner was tied to the back?” The deck crew asked.

“No, you idiots!” Yelled Cozy Glow. “We cuffed her to the bow side!” Both Polaris and the deck crew spotted the broken cuffs at the same time.

Do it now. Polaris heard inside his head and next thing he knew he was tipping over the deck railing. His wings were still bound and he had nothing to brace his quick fall to the deck below. He grunted at the impact and the wet metal skin allowed him to slide off quickly into the cold ocean.

“Down! Down!” He gasped and tried to swim below the surface.

The wake of the moving ship sucked him into the hull, turning him round and round for several seconds until the stern had passed. His navigational capabilities really came through and he dove straight into the deep like a fish returned to water. He fought hard against the buoyant, foamy bubbles churned up in the wake of the submarine.

Finally, as the wake dissipated, the water turned a deeper shade of blue and he was able to properly dive.

She must be alive! Gotta get this wing-binder off! He squirmed, trying to untie the vice. He reached the threshold of needing air and let the ocean float him back up to the surface. After a deep breath he dove back into the deep while he fiddled with the bind. As the rope soaked up additional saltwater it became more pliable and with the help of his forelegs it finally yielded.

Now free, Polaris burst from the water and flapped his wings furiously to take off. Once airborne he hovered just above the waves to avoid detection.

“Damn my red coat!” He muttered, realizing it was just about the most visible color there was against the ocean.

Seeing the ship was still heading south he flew east to throw off any pursuers before turning back north the way it’d come. “If those Shadowbolts show up now I’m done for!” He muttered. Just several seconds later he noticed a large, white object in the water.

Realizing who it was, PW dove to reunite. Frosty noticed a high-speed blur and instinctively prepared to brace but was confused when the red projectile entered the water beside her. Preparing to go hand-to-hoof, she lifted her claws and clenched them to form fists. The red blur burst out of the water and she realized her misidentification just in time.

“FROSTY!” Her number-one fan shouted.

“PW, you magician! How in Equus did you get away? I thought they would have killed you by now!” She exclaimed, lifting him up and out of the water.

“Nah, they were stupid enough to bring me up on deck to see your corpse and were distracted just enough to not catch me jumping overboard!” He grinned. “I swam down deep and held my breath until I could undo my wing bindings then took off!”

“Nopony followed you?” Frosty asked, lowering him and looking around.

“Not that I saw.” He shrugged.

She didn’t look convinced. “There’s no way they wouldn’t send someone after you. I don’t know what to think other than keep your eye to the sky. So, now what?”

“We need to get you to shore! There’s land about 15 miles west.” He pointed.

Frosty strained to see anything but there were only waves in all directions. “We need to move quickly. Do you think you could fly out there and get something that floats? With a little extra flotation I should be able to move much faster.”

“Are you sure?” PW asked.

“Yes. Better than being with a bright red pegasus in the middle of the ocean- no offense.”

“Hah! I get it.” He shrugged.

“You’re getting a special takeoff today. Catapult launch!” She smiled, lifting him high above her. “Ready?”

“Ready!”

“One – Two – Three!” With a grunt she launched Polaris into the sky.

“Whoa!” He chuckled and spread his wings. “I’ll be back!”

“I know you will, buddy! Look out for enemies up there!” She answered.

PW flapped to gain more altitude and soared westward. “Gotta move fast! They could recapture her any second!” He told himself.

However, luck was on his side. Within minutes he located a small offshore buoy fender with a line attached to it that he was able to untie. Before noting the thick evergreen vegetation and small riprap shacks on the beach ahead, he turned back out to sea. It didn’t take long to spot Frosty and he hastily tugged the buoy to her side.

“Woah, you made amazing progress!” PW remarked, noticing a significantly-shorter inbound flight.

“Thanks, and this is perfect.” She said, wedging the fender underneath her. Accelerating into a butterfly stroke, she was quick enough to swim on top of the water.

Polaris and Frosty ascertained it was mid-afternoon when they escaped and they reached a sandy beach within an hour of swimming. It was a bit chilly getting out of the water, as they were now far south enough to get some cooler air.

“What is this place?” She asked.

“I’m actually not sure.” PW said, crestfallen as he looked about. “Our latitude has to be close to forty south, but I haven’t done a sighting in a while. We’re in the blank spots on the map.”

“Hey, don't look that way!” Frosty smiled at him, seeing he was upset with being unable to give a final answer.

He gave her a small smile in return. “Thanks. By the way, I just wanted to say that, in case you were wondering… this all is worth it. For me, for you. All the danger. All the threats, all the uncertainty, all the mission demands.”

“Woah, buddy, that’s deep…” She trailed, thinking of a proper response. “You’re my North-Star, PW. You keep me fighting for something and will guide us home.”

He grinned wide now, wings buzzing in delight.

She nodded and reared upright. “Okay. Threat assessment!” Her hooves fidgeted for her missing D16.

PW looked at a small, wooden structure. “Let’s check out that shack in the pine grove. Watch for booby traps, I don’t know if we’re in friendly or enemy territory.”

“And you look out for an ambush!” Frosty called.

Cautiously approaching the shack without a firearm, Frosty swiveled her ears about before entering.

“I’ll cover you!” PW whispered into the dark shack, knowing full well that, unarmed, he’d be little more effective than a chihuahua. Frosty emerged from the building a minute later, carrying two clear bags, one filled with white tablets, and another a yellow liquid.

“What’s that?” PW asked. “More drugs?”

“Nope! Bleach tablets and pee.”

“F-Frosty!” PW cried out, believing she’d lost her mind.

“Now, now PW.” She tutted. “As Echo would say – Windy-chan! Get your mind out of the gutter!”

“Funny, but make your point.” Polaris crossed his hooves.

“Remember from SERE training? What mustard-gas is made from?” She asked.

“Oh yeah, urea and bleach?”

“If the enemy shows up again, hold your breath, close your eyes, and follow my voice. Everything else will suffer!” Frosty articulated.

PW giggled for a second and then frowned upon thinking back to their time on the submarine. “Frosty?”

“That’s my name and I’m glad to still be answering!” She joked.

“Right.” Polaris paused. “So, what did you think about their boat? Underwater? Large combustion machines? Enormous guns? Enormous super-soldiers?”

Frosty exhaled forcefully, clearly irritated. “I don’t know what I think. Night-Mares were the largest fighters ever commissioned. We’re not. The HMS Baltimare was the most powerful ship ever created but she isn’t. The F20 was the largest machine gun ever built but not anymore. The Royal Equestrian Navy dominated the seas but no longer. The Wonderbolts were the only organized air force but even they have a match. I guess it still remains to be seen which can out-do which. If they go feather-to-feather, I hope to Celestia we win there. You Pega's!” Frosty finished in Echo’s voice.

Polaris sniffed a laugh, looking back up and seeing something wrong immediately.

“If not, we’re done for. It’s a big world out there, full of unknowns.” Frosty finished.

PW nodded, unsure of what to say. He looked ahead and stopped short. “Pst, Frosty! Dead-ahead, on the beach!” He whispered and pointed to a creature a hundred yards south on a beach chair, reclining beneath a blanket.

“Good eye, but he sees us now. Well, maybe just me now. We must press the greeting.” Frosty insisted.

They approached the being with caution. There was an umbrella covering its face from the sun in the north while a towel covered the rest of its body.

PW was out ahead and decided to announce himself to avoid startling whoever this was.

“H-hello! It’s beautiful here. I was wondering where ‘here’ is? That is, if you don’t mind?” PW asked, rounding the umbrella.

“Welcome to Cordaconda!” Cozy Glow’s unmistakable giggle rang. “Paradise of the empire!”

Polaris’ eyes went wide and his stomach sank. He looked up and noticed a nearby tent with a tommy gun pointing out. “F-Frosty!” He sputtered, pushing himself forward into the Night-Mare’s rump so hard she actually moved.

The gun fired and Frosty used PW’s push to rear into a bipedal run. She heard sand shifting behind her as a magical barrier appeared around Cozy Glow.

“Fly, you fool!” Frosty grunted behind her as she sprinted down the beach.

Not knowing where to go, PW simply obeyed her instructions. He made to fly but in a blur of feathers he found himself ensnared and his world turned upside down.

“Invisible net!” Frosty screamed, seeing the sun glistening off something.

“Did you really think you’d escape the world’s leading empire? Golly, what a disappointment for you!” Cozy shouted.

The whole beach was swarming with enemy soldiers. “Our south is cut off!” Frosty shouted, spinning around.

“And our north!” PW added.

“C’mon, we’re going inland! Prepare for a detonation!” Frosty doubled back and snatched Polaris, net and all, before running off to the woods.

A line of dogs appeared at the treeline and Frosty crouched low as she ran. Polaris finally worked the net off himself.

Frosty set the pegasus down. “PW, take a deep breath, hold it, close your eyes, and follow my voice.” She ordered, dropping the tablets into the yellow liquid and shaking it until it turned a milky gray and began to bubble.

She kept shaking it as their southern perimeter began to close. Frosty looked over at her assistant's feathers to gauge the wind direction. “Southward. Perfect…” she whispered. “Close the mouth, close the eyes!” She warned, taking the loose bag and whirling it around her head for a few turns before letting it go.

The bag remained intact until it hit the paw of one particularly unlucky diamond dog, who yelped as the bag exploded. As the cries abounded, Frosty could hear the clear path.

“Here we go, follow-me follow-me follow-me!” Frosty repeated, as they started into a blind canter.

PW could feel his nose tickle and his eyelids burn as they passed through the gas currently disorienting the soldiers, some of which were trampled under-hoof.

Author's Note

Carriers of Pegasi catapult launched by Night-Mares? Is this the future???
Sorry for the late release! I'm at HarmonyCon 2025! Come say hi if you're there!