North Woods NightMares

by Starfighter

Chapter 10: Field Training

The peculiar pair poured water into their MRE’s to start the cooking process. Just as Night-Mare 2 said, in five minutes they became piping hot and were ready to eat. Though Polaris Wind only ate a single MRE, more than a meal for a stallion, his companion wolfed down five. All in nearly the same time, at that! After taking care of their trash and cleaning their mess gear with newfallen snow 2 held up a pinecone she had packed.

“I promised you earlier I’d teach you how to throw a grenade. You ready?” She asked, looking down to PW.

“Sure!” The stallion eagerly replied.

“Okay. The ones marked SMOKE are smoke grenades and the ones marked F.B. are flash-bang. See?” The behemoth asked, holding some real ones out. “The smokes are straightforward. They create a cloud of smoke that obscures the area and makes the eyes tear up. They are affected by the wind, so DO NOT throw these upwind. And since they make a lot of smoke they will get any-creature’s attention. So do not use it when you are at risk of more enemies showing up. Generally, a good use-case for a smoke grenade is when escaping. Think of it like an oil slick. Pull this pin, wait for it to envelope you, then run. Ready to demo?”

“Okay!” PW nodded and took the pinecone.

2 reared up in an aggressive posture. “Okay; so I’m a scary, giant changeling! Crackle-crackle-hiss! Now what?”

“Check my surroundings for more changelings?”

“Right. You don’t see any and you know the real me is right past that hill.” 2 said, pointing a finger to the hill on her right side.

“Okay, so I pull the pin and drop it.” PW yanked a blade of the cone out and dropped it.

“Good; there’s lots of smoke coming out now. It’s hard for me to see you.”

“So I run now for 2’s position.” He trotted off toward the hill.

“Perfect! Now, the flashbang." 2 called as PW returned to her.

"The flashbang is a very loud popper that also produces a very bright flash that will literally blind you. You and I are both north-bloods, so our eyes are affected EVEN MORE than the average pony. And still worse for you, being a flyer, the concussive blast will ruin your vestibular system, meaning you won’t be able to develop a sense to fly for several minutes. Although the flash bang is not supposed to be lethal, it actually can be at point-blank range. Generally though that’s not a problem since aim is almost never perfect and the enemy will try to dodge.” 2 lectured to the eager pegasus sitting before her, as attentive as a puppy.

“The effective range of the flashbang is about ten yards. If you are inside that radius you will be defeated. If the enemy is outside that radius, they will be unaffected. The fuse lasts three seconds. When you are preparing for detonation, face away, close your eyes, cover your ears and open your mouth. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

“A typical situation you might need to use one is if you’re in imminent danger. An example would be a hostile taking aim at you with a weapon. Remember to hold it as long as you can and lob it as close to detonation time as you can. Now, ready for a demo?”

“Sure!” Piped PW, picking up the pinecone again.

“Okay; now I’m a scary, overfed changeling and I have a gun! Now what?” 2 asked.

PW chuckled and shrugged. “Nothing. You got me! You’re too close.”

“Exactly!” She gave an impressed nod and trotted backwards a few yards. “How about now?”

“Not quite!” Replied PW as the mare trotted a few yards further.

“And now?”

“Yeah, I’m good!”

“So I’m taking aim at you!” Barked the big mare, holding her hooves up as she would hold the gun.

“Pull the pin; one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, throw!” Counted PW, lobbing the pinecone at her.

“DEAD!" She shouted. "You didn’t leave enough time to get into the detonation position. Try again.” She tossed the pinecone back and furrowed her brow.

“This one will be really nice to kidnap and hold ransom!” She growled as she played the part..

“Kiss my ass! Pull the pin; one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, throw!” PW shouted, chucking the pinecone at her.

“Eep – a grenade!” Cried 2, sprinting away. “KABOOM!” She yelled, freezing up.

She turned to her student. “Good job PW, I see you’re in the correct position. So you did well, now let’s check what happened to me.” She dropped to all fours and scooped up the pinecone. “Not bad, PW. At this range even I’d have been downed. Always remember that if you throw too soon the enemy can deflect it back with their wings and end your mission.”

The pair came towards each other as a chilly breeze blew through. The sun had already set ten minutes ago and the sky was starting to turn a deep purple.

“Alright my assistant. We’re getting an early start tomorrow so let’s get a quick camp set up. Wind’s out of the southwest so let’s head back around this hill to the northeast side. I want to be up before sunrise!” She declared as they headed around the hill they used in their demo.

The pair set their sleeping pads and bags out, packed their gear up and settled in. Polaris made sure to set up his bed a few extra yards away as he remembered 2 snored like a monster. Despite even his best efforts she still managed to wake him up. Not soon after this did he discover another problem: shivering.

“I’m so cold!” He mouthed.

Entering a shivering fit, the poor stallion found himself unable to sleep. He activated the heating pad but it did little for him as his core was chilled and the pad was only intended for extremities. After nearly an hour of suffering the great mare’s snoring suddenly abated.

PW could hear the large mass near him stir but he wanted to be a tough stallion and ignored her. She stood up and shuffled around to him, finding him awake.

“PW?” 2 muttered. No response. “PW, you’re shaking!”

“S-s-so I a-am.” He hissed through chattering teeth, refusing to admit that he was cold.

She knelt and felt his cutie mark. “PW, you’re freezing.” She exclaimed.

“Not like we c-can do anything.”

“Actually, I can help.” 2 bit his bag and dragged it, PW and and all, to the warm spot where she had been laying.

When the pad settled again PW rolled onto his side. The giant approached his backside and mirrored him, laying down on her side so they were back to back. She scooted up to him until they were firmly against each other. PW stopped shivering.

“Wow…” He sighed as the trembling finally stopped as it was met with Night-Mare warmth.

“It gets better.” 2 smiled, flicking her massive tail over him. “Oh my – this is nice!” He practically melted under the warmth. “Now if only I could just ignore the snoring.”

2 rolled her eyes and rummaged through her saddlebag. A pair of combat earmuffs was retrieved and placed over PW’s ears.

“You’re the best 2! I really, really mean that!” He could hardly hear his own voice.

“No problem at all.”

“Thanks for being cool about… me being cold. Instead of giving me a hard time about it.”

“This cold is life and death – no laughing matter.” She shrugged. “And if anything else is on your mind and you need to wake me up; stomp on me if you have to!” She laughed and finally settled in.

Polaris Wind sunk under the cozy embrace of her tail and finally drifted off for a time.

---

His eyes snapped open. It was still dark out. The moon had risen off to the east and was now high in the sky, casting a soft, white glow over the snowy tundra. PW didn’t know why he woke up. Nothing was wrong with him. He was warm, the night was quiet, the air was still fresh.

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of something seeming... off. Unmoving, PW looked about. That’s when he noticed it.

The light of the moon was suddenly extinguished, throwing the landscape into a marginally-visible gray.

‘Odd for a cloud to roll in that fast…’ He thought, not wanting to turn his head up to the moon. Then, as quickly as it had disappeared, the moonlight returned for a few seconds then vanished again.

Polaris’ heart quickened.

“Luna, what are you doing?” PW whispered, finally gazing up at the moon.

Then, he saw it.

The face.

Not the mare-in-the-moon but a pair of luminescent, yellow eyes. Full of interest yet lacking any emotion at all, like a snake’s eyes. They belonged to a semicircular purple head, and below them was a nose that looked like an anvil. Underneath that, a terrifying, monstrous maw filled with sharp teeth hung open, fangs glistening from both jaws. Polaris’ heart raced as he beheld the rest of the monster’s massive body. It was truly enormous, extending all the way down to the horizon and framed by the mountains in the southeast. The broad, midnight-purple torso had two muscular arms, each bearing a paw ending in five gold claws each that looked like they could dig through solid granite.

PW began to quake again.

Author's Note:

Wanna see what PW did? Don't get scared now, it's pretty creepy!
https://www.deviantart.com/virus-91/art/Wrath-of-the-Ursa-Major-245070655
Great art by Virus-91!

Comments

[white1498]

keep up the great work.

[bkam]

[Starfighter]

11851384
Thank you so much!