North Woods NightMares

by Starfighter

Chapter 23: Sayonara!

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

Cannon-fire pierced the sound of the desert wind as a projectile impacted the sand dune behind the convoy below, throwing sand high into the air.

“Listen here!” Verko shouted, narrating in third person as he strolled down the dune. “Verko’s going to take your goods now. You can give them up, or we can shoot you and come get them anyway. Your choice!”

“Like hay! You don’t even know what we’re hauling!” Sweetie Drops shouted.

“Doesn’t matter! If it crosses the desert, it’s got value to Verko. LET ANOTHER ONE RIP!” Verko yelled but was met with silence. “Guys?” He turned.

A lot of screaming was coming from his wagon. PW was just in time to look up and see Frosty lifting the enormous wagon’s side high into the air as an array of creatures abandoned it. Beside her was Echo, her rifle trained on Verko.

“Sayonara, Verko-san!” She muttered behind the crosshairs.

By then Frosty had fully flipped the wagon and sent it rolling. She next took her D16 in her claws and smacked its buttstock into the back of an escaping fish-creature’s head, knocking him out cold.

“A giant pony?!” Verko blanched at the sight of her.

“Two.” Frosty spat, stomping toward him.

“You’re going to jail, you ugly motherbucker!” Shouted Sweetie Drops from the edge of the false caravan, revealing her firearm.

PW followed her lead and took his Stallion and West pistol out, following Frosty’s instructions from their first interactions by keeping the gun below the horizon.

A cannon thundered, shredding the front-most wagon’s roof. One of Verko’s henchmen had apparently managed to sneak off with the weapon and was frantically reloading when Frosty charged. A quick shriek was all he could muster before she brought a hoof to his gut and sent him flying backward. She turned back to Verko as a raccoon-like creature scurried to her side.

“Ah-ah-ah!” Echo was quick to intercept and threw herself at him.

He cried out as she landed with an earth-shaking *THUD*, only just avoiding being outright crushed. She was quick to grasp his skull in her metal claws and yanked him down to the ground between her thighs, smothering his writhing attempts at escape. With her quarry subdued Echo rose and smiled.

“Don’t go anywhere!” Echo shouted, charging back to Verko.

He fled toward his ruined wagon but stopped in his tracks at the sight of a cannon aimed right at it. Frosty was there, smirking behind her mask as a cackling trail of sparks disappeared into the weapon’s body.

KRA-KOW! The cannon fired and blew the vehicle to pieces in a fiery explosion, along with any creatures with the misfortune of being caught inside. Verko was in a panic now and fled over the nearest sand dune only to be met with the Equestrian convoy. All four armed ponies began chasing him down.

The telltale explosion of cannon-fire was heard on the opposite side of the convoy, however.

“HEAR!” Shouted a creature from the top of a sand dune.

“Apple Fritter!” Shouted Sweetie Drops.

Frosty keyed her radio headset.

“Windy, how many were hauling Verko’s wagon?” Frosty asked.

“Eight!” PW responded.

“We have a fish, frog, raccoon, and three in the wagon! That only makes six!” Counted Frosty as they all looked up to the dune in realization.

Sure enough, something between a turtle and a rhino stood alongside a boar atop the dune. It held Apple Fritter up by her mane up with a machete across her neck.

“Help!” She cried behind a bruised face.

PW looked up the dune and spotted more objects just behind it.

“Hey, Frosty!” PW hissed into his radio. “Did you see any scouts this morning?”

“Yeah; we counted five. Oh, fuck!” Frosty realized.

KRA-KOW! a cannon roared and sent a cannonball whizzing by. She ducked and lifted her own weapon just in time to see another cannon aimed at her.

“Defensive Positions!” She shouted while running back to the convoy.

Echo likewise backed up and over the crest of the dune. At its crest she looked back to see several figures running into the convoy area. She pulled out a smoke grenade and lobbed it into the middle of their convoy, creating a cloud that obstructed the cannon’s view of them. Once the smoke had grown dense the pair of Night-mares descended the dune to the cloud’s edge. PW burst out from it in flight.

“Windy! I want recon updates up there!” Frosty ordered over the radio.

“On it!” He responded, spiraling up in altitude above the cloud. “Frosty, Echo; two are holding Apple Fritter hostage. Three have cannons. Verko and two scouts in the crowd, I think.”

“We’re going in close. Cover us.” Frosty ordered, walking up to the edge of the cloud.

Just then a hunched, squat figure darted out. “Verko’s out!” PW shouted. “Running for the hostage! Turn opposite direction for intercept!”

The Night-Mares whipped around the cloud’s edge but were met with the cannons.

“Windy, they’ve still got the hostage and the cannons. I can’t engage.” Frosty growled in frustration.

“Scout’s making a break for it! Opposite side!” Shouted PW.

She turned around and charged straight for a ferret-like creature. Unfortunately for him, he was escaping on the wrong side of the cloud and had no cover. Frosty leapt and extended her claws to full-length, coming down hard on his back. A sickening *crunch* was heard as his back immediately yielded.

“One down.” She muttered.

A hamster’s head emerged from the smoke cloud, curious about the commotion.

“Aw, cute!” Echo said from above her.

The hamster attempted to withdraw back into the cloud but she was caught in Echo’s grasp.

“C’mere!” She smiled, dragging the yelping creature towards her. “I just wanna cuddle!” She brought the fuzzy hamster into a constricting hug that grew tighter by the second.

“My ribs!” She gasped. “My ribs!”

After several popping sounds she went limp. Echo gently laid her groaning form down on the sand.

“Hamster down.” Echo reported.

“That means the convoy should be clear! Two haulers, three scouts plus Verko is everyone! We’ve isolated ourselves!” Radioed PW.

“Except Apple Fritter.” Frosty noted.

“I’ll cut you a deal!” Verko shouted. “This country pony for one wagon!”

“Deal.” Frosty was quick to reply.

“Frosty, what are you doing?” PW hissed.

She glanced at him. “Trust me, PW. Call Arimaspi Control and tell them we’re quarantined, now.”

He paused but nonetheless did as she asked. “Arimaspi Control, Windy. We’re quarantined.”

“Roger that Windy. Wait one.” The voice said before promptly returning. “Please land. The airspace is going hot.”

PW landed as he pondered what that could mean. Meanwhile, Echo pulled a wagon up and moved it up the dune halfway to Verko, with Frosty covering her. Verko released Apple Fritter and the Night-Mares withdrew back down the dune with her.

They heard more chatter over the radio.

“Standby, air boss, you’re being patched in... 3, 2, 1.”

“Roger, audio feed tied in.” A new stallion’s voice tuned in.

“… bolts, downwind leg for the drop!” A mare with a scratchy voice joined him. “Wonderbolts downwind to base turn in 1-2. Stay with me. Target in sight!”

Having done flight training himself, PW looked up where he thought they would be and saw several dots in the sky, moving much faster than anything he’d seen before.

“Wonderbolts base to final turn 1-2. Ready? Hit it!” She commanded.

“You seeing this Frosty?” PW asked.

“Where?”

“North, 30 degrees up.” He nodded at the growing figures.

“Wonderbolts standby for the dive!”

Author's Note:

Never be cute and Echo's enemy at the same time. Bad, bad decision.

Comments

[bkam]

Never be cute and Echo's enemy at the same time. Bad, bad decision.

Clearly

I would also like to congratulate you on that rather descriptive fight scene, I certainly was easily able to understand what was going on.

[Starfighter]

11928958
Thanks! NCMares helped me out with the editing so he definitely deserves our thanks!

[Rubberduck]

“Wonderbolts standby for the dive!”

Do they do the jericho horn sound? XD