North Woods NightMares

by Starfighter

Chapter 1: The NightMare Special Counter-Piracy Operations Weapons Platform

Three feet tall at the shoulder, nearly seven feet rearing, four hundred pounds.

Large build, nearly all muscular bodies.

Robust framed, and thighs with the strength to crack skulls. These were the just some of the standard attributes selected for the project.

When the modern worldwide Equestria trade network was established, pirating and looting began to flourish as large amounts of valuable goods were now traveling in bulk very long distances, with little to no defense. These began to impact Equestria in a complex multitude of ways. For example, goods moving across the Bone Dry Desert to and from Klugetown were often subject to roving bandwagons that would loot, often so severely that the merchants were lost in the desert without vehicle or provisions.

Another route of importance was the Dragonlair-Kirin Grove route, which would follow along the eastern shore of the South Celestial Sea. Droves of pirates would often hide out in the coves, attack passing vessels, impress the merchants into their crew, and assume control of the ships and goods, sometimes holding them for ransom.

Undoubtedly the most damaging situation, both financially and politically, was the Northeast Equestria to Griffish Isles trade route. A torrent of money and materials would flow back and forth between Griffonstone and Equestria, covering this segment on the western leg. The geographic isolation in this region, combined with the poor climates allowed terrorist cells to establish themselves along the mountainous coast. The terrorists would ambush in isolated forests, dangerous mountain passes, as well as bridges, and often destroy, but not directly benefit from the seized cargo.

Generally, the goal of the terrorists was just that- cause terror. There were enormous political repercussions of this, considerably Equestria, the most plentiful and wealthy nation on the planet, was somehow unable to defend its northeastern periphery, was unable to provide adequate security to safeguard its assets, and was losing enough money to dent the yearly budget. Nocreature knew who was responsible, but the perpetrators were of all kinds of creature, hence the unturned changelings were suspected.

So when the Royal Guard came looking for a solution to their problems, the ideal image would need to face all of this. The requirements were thus to be large, innovative, intimidating, tough, and versatile in all environments the mission demanded. They would also need to be affordable, which largely disqualified the unicorns who either weren’t too keen to take risks, or so powerful that they would concentrate attacks on themselves like the Bismarck.

Naturally therefore one would look towards larger creatures with the potential to be menacing such as Yaks and Griffons, but these would present two potential issues- for one, Yaks and Griffons did well in cold mountainous areas, and would not have a fair fight in tropical jungles. The other potential issue, highly debated and controversial admittedly, is that there might be too much at stake in selecting candidates with familial ties to other nations that could create a conflict of interest if war ever were to break out between those nations and Equestria.

Therefore Equestria had to look inward, and find the meanest, toughest sons of guns they had, and outfit them as best as they could. Legends from the time the railroad was built had it that a large bodied tribe of Earth pony lived somewhere north of the Crystal Empire, in the cove forests between the Crystal Mountains, located just below the highland tundra’s arctic treeline and Hoofs Range, where it was said King Sombra was still looking for the shattered remains of Princess Amore with his BFF Radiant Hope.

The leading military scientists and engineers led an expedition into the forests of the Frozen North from Crystal Heart City into the Crystal Mountains and were not disappointed. The robust earth ponies who roam the dangerous, bleak lands of Equestria's northernmost woodlands made for ideal candidates and as expected, readily adapted to the augments which were to come.

The Northwoods Tribe, as it came to be known, was quite patriotic and delighted to serve Equestria. It really was a perfect match. The ponies were fierce, warrior types, but with a vast amount of discipline and respect for authority. They were also very cunning and could be quite intimidating. For example, in one such demonstration exercise, the ponies were asked to split into two teams and capture as many ponies of the opposing team as possible. That’s when one of the engineers running the test was approached and threatened to order the opposing team into the capture zone. Being ponies themselves, Northwoods ponies were not locked into any one environment- although their large bodies did lend themselves to the rougher and colder lands, it wouldn’t limit them- and their size and toughness would improve survival rates in the deserts and jungles.

Perhaps the most interesting thing of note is that during the selection process, one bright engineer determined that since their size was so superlative, gender selection wasn’t critical. He advocated for psychology, claiming “if we select ONLY the mares, the enemy will be so compromised with emotion in being overpowered by these large mares that they’ll lose their stomach to fight and be defeated physically and psychologically!”. The suggestion stuck. Only the mares would be selected for the project, later known as the NightMare Project, and they absolutely proved the engineer correct.

These fierce mares from the north featured excellent eyesight, having large pupils adapted for the low lighting and sun elevations at the high latitudes. When paired with a good pair of sunglasses or snowglasses it meant they could typically see their enemy before he could. Like most things in the north deprived of sunlight, their coats were largely of colors muted towards white. The Northwoods Mares and their escorting party trekked back into the Crystal Empire before boarding the express train to Tall Tale and the Western Transcontinental to Canterlot. Some say the town of Tall Tale hasn’t been the same since. The mares’ “loading gauge” was so large that they barely fit into the train.

The scientists and engineers at Ponyeon Industries worked hard upgrading their workhorses. Recent advances in magic technology had allowed the construction of compact gunpowder machines capable of firing off high speed kinetic projectiles- better known as guns. Normally one would expect a unicorn to wield such a complex device, but as the Mares were earth ponies, the engineers would need to rig something up. And so they did. An assortment of fingers and an opposable thumb, controlled with the cortex using nerves was designed and installed on all the mares, who were designated “The Night Mares” post processing. The exact heritage of the fingers and opposable thumb are not known, and the details surrounding the matter are classified.

Perhaps the most striking part of all of this was the calmness exhibited by the mares as their bodies were modified- the engineers were almost disturbed by their apparent lack of pain reception at all. During one installation mishap, the surgical machine missed the stopmark and put a hole straight through the mare’s hoof- and she had to be told this before she was aware of the mistake.

The subject matter experts assigned to work on the project were quire keen with their subjects; they got to know them, often talking to them in the same way one speaks to a machine, owing to their size and strength. Some of the technicians even went so far as to fraternize with them, though company leadership frowned upon this. Sometimes they went too far, catching the mares’ tempers. After the modifications were complete, the NightMares were given custom sized uniforms composing of three-toed boots to aid in stability, body cushioning for high power rifles and machine guns, armor, and nylon clothing to protect exposed skin. They also had many packs and pockets to carry all of their equipment. All NightMares were fitted with radios, a brand-new technology at the time.

They also underwent a rigorous boot camp training program which taught them their ranks, their commands, the chain of command, duties, and toned their already impressive physique. The NightMares were also trained to move about on two legs as much as possible, to maximize their physical prominence and enable the use of their machine guns. The NightMares once online for duty were super-soldiers so powerful and so well trained, they resembled something akin to Halo’s Spartans. However, once online, only minimal support staffing was needed to retrain and refit. As a result, many of the scientists, engineers, and military subject matter experts were reassigned to other projects as a cost saving measure once the NightMares went online.

The NightMares were nearly giants, at three feet tall at the shoulder, nearly seven feet rearing, and upwards of four hundred pounds. Compare this to our story’s main character, a pegasus stallion by the name of Polaris “PW” Wind, standing proudly at one foot eleven inches at the shoulder, four-and-one-half feet rearing, and four times lighter at one hundred pounds even. He was small, even for a pegasus stallion, but he was not intimidated by the mares.

PW was a technician that showed a huge respect for the NightMares, mainly out for their physical size. PW had a fancy for big things, whether it be a big cozy towel, a towering thunderstorm, big speed, or a big island. Thus for him, the NightMares were something superlative to respect with awe, and he would always ask their permission before touching them to make installations. The NightMares reciprocated by giving PW a little more attention and a little less flack than most of his coworkers got.

Unfortunately for PW he was one of those engineers selected to transition to another project. And worse yet for him, the Ponyeon Industries division responsible for the continual support was transferred to Norfilly at the tip of Horseshoe Bay, to be closer to the central trade network. And since this project was largely classified, it would be nearly impossible to resolve their whereabouts.

Much as he didn’t want to admit it, PW developed a strong bond with the NightMares, and longed to see them again. There was one mare in particular, Night Mare-2, that he personally had the honor of fitting prosthetics to in the cleanroom. And you had better believe he did it right. He fondly recalled one such instance where he got to direct a test with Night Mare-2’s prosthetics, as his coworker of the next rank up who normally performed it, called out sick.

The test director would typically stand opposite the NightMare and face her, examining all of the test steps for compliance. For this test the NightMare was rearing vertically, allowing her prosthetic fingers to be inspected by the test operator on a service scaffold (as seen in the cover image). PW stood there not two feet from the mare towering over him, watching it all go down. PW was absolutely breathless at her immense size, with her hocks reaching the same level as his cutie mark, her knees high enough to reach his chin, and his eyes were at the level of her cutie mark. She was massively built too, and just one of her thighs was as thick as PW’s entire body. To PW they were like the cylinders on a steam engine, immensely powerful, unstoppable, and all powerful.

PW was delighted to see that the Night Mare-2, instead of doing what most NightMares did, looking all around, was just gazing at him. Not a stare, just a curious peek behind her long silvery-white mane. Her bright copper eyes, though sharp, weren’t full of fury. Being the young immature stallion he was, this thought of her looking down at him encouraged PW to entertain the thought that the mare liked him, which caused him butterflies. Sophomoric yes, but to him, genuine.

“You’re doing great 2!” he would say with a wink. Though the mare’s eyes did not turn sour, she did not wink back. This day at work was obviously his favorite, but there was also another time he embarrassed himself. Quite often, the testing equipment needed to be carried around the room. Some of the less expensive equipment was carried by hoof, with the technicians required to walk around reared like the NightMares. Well this one time PW carried more than he should have, and he was famous for that. Loosing his balance, the toolboxes spilled as he careened forwards out of control, in a failed attempt to stabilize himself using his wings.

That is when he was met with a sudden stop. Like he was hit by a sack of rice. Though it knocked him up, he was fine. He looked out to see Night Mare-2’s thigh. He was amazed that even standing on two legs, after he had nearly done a tackling move right into her leg, she didn’t step back, didn’t even flinch. He was immediately embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry! That was so stupid of me!” he complained, trying to clean up the spill. “I know you’re tougher than Tartarus, and that couldn’t have hurt, but I’m sorry to get in your way, or touch you without asking. I…”

“PW.” the mare called. “Relax. I’m a piece of military hardware. I’m used to it. No hard feelings. Please” Night Mare-2 responded. PW nodded.

“You’re the best, 2!” he responded before excusing himself.

“Yup, those were the days” he said sitting at a desk in a cubicle. He had the honor to work on one of the most classified and significant projects undertaken by the Royal Guard but didn’t stay with the program because of a bunch of money hungry top brass. PW longed to see the NightMares again, and he did care about them. If anything, nearly side tackling Night Mare-2 and getting no flinch gave him confidence she wasn’t going to be upped.

“Then again, what if some creature takes her gun, turns it around, and unloads the whole clip into her throat? She’s a big girl, but I’m still worried” PW thought.

It got to the point where PW had to take a break from his work. And of course, he thought more of the NightMares. They wouldn’t be around to protect each other anymore. Since their missions were spreading out all over the planet, only one of them would be around at a time, likely each soloing. Finally, he gave in.

“I’m going to find those mares and make sure they’re supported with the care only I’ve shown them!” he said. He only had 6 days of vacation to spare, and with the weekend that gave him 9 days away max. “If I find them, I’m going to leave my job and support them directly. In the field!” he decided.

PW had a natural talent for geography and knew that would be the answer for how to find the NightMares. PW put his vacation on the calendar for the next week and as soon as quitting time came around, he bought some newspapers, piecing together the unrest.

“Gold cart ambushed in the Frozen North on the Yak Road. Sunday July 12 1029. Reports are flooding in from Yakyakistan that a few escaped stallions have claimed their gold cart, hauling fine jewelry out of Yakyakistan, was ambushed while enroute on the Yak road about fifty miles southeast of Yakyakistan. The cart was ransacked and broken at the cost of a few lives. This marks the fourth attack along the road this month. Bingo” PW read.

“Convoy ambushed in Starlight’s Cave. While accessing Starlight’s Cave pass to cross the Bug Bear Territory towards the Griffish Isles, a convoy of undisclosed contents was ambushed and the contents of the carts looted. Take caution and avoid the area. The assailants are at large and assumed armed… Hmm, I wonder what the “undisclosed contents” were! Hehe”. “But armed is good, because it means that there’s even more reason to send somepony to deal with it.”

PW managed to collect five more stories, but none seemed more convincing or more threatening than the convoy ambush in Starlight’s Cave. That was an exact location too. PW got a map out and started examining the train lines.

“Hmm… Starlight’s Cave is relatively near the Great Northern Line. That comes from… the Crystal Empire. I’ll need a passport.” PW found that he could take a train from Canterlot to Tall Tale, then another to the Crystal Empire, then the International Train which he’d catch in Crystal Heart City and hop off in the vicinity of Starlight’s Cave. The actual cave would then be a few miles of flying away.

PW spent the rest of the week packing his things. This would be a weird one- he could only pack for 6 days- after that was a big question mark. “How does the mare even eat? She must have rations, but those aren’t likely enough. In the cold climate doing hard labor they’d likely eat six times more than me” PW realized. He didn’t like the food situation but couldn’t do much about it.

With each passing day closer to his departure, PW became increasingly more impatient and hungry to leave immediately.

Author's Note:

Full credit for the head-cannon idea of the NightMare special counter-piracy operations as well as cover art goes to NCmares! NightMare-2 is NCmares' creation. Polaris Wind's name, character etc are my creation, though I did make him out of the stallion on the cover art image by NC.

• This all began November 14, 2023 and when the cover image hit my X feed all hay broke loose and I spent the next 48 hours churning out 12000 words! I don't know too much about military+guns other than video games so sorry if it looks made up!
• The locations and distances are taken from the movie map and cannon travel times as much as possible, but at some point there needs to be thought up locations and inconsistencies settled!
• Lastly, I highly recommend checking out "Titanium" by Guetta and Sia- I sure felt like it's a good theme to this headcannon, by none other than Songbird Serenade herself!
• I've got at least 10x as many words as Chapter 1 written already! I plan to release a new chapter every week or 2, so be sure to check back!

Comments

[BingeReader]

While the lore dump at the begining is a bit clunky, i like it anyway. I especialy like the bit that (tho they are supersoldiers) they are still little ponies, like 3 foot (at the withers) 400 pounds is a piece of a horse.... But still a small-ish pony. A 2 ft 100 pound one would be almost cudle-able.

Anyway the stroy seems to be interesting, i'll definitely follow and if it continues like this for a couple chapters you have a like guaranteed.