North Woods NightMares

by Starfighter

Chapter 5: The Mare Behind the Gun

“Okay, sock me I guess but please go easy on me.”

“The gun is not going to be able to tell the difference so you’re getting recoil power.” Replied the big mare. The titan drove her hoof lightning-quick into PW’s shoulder.

“Oww!” he cried.

“Oh, hush. What’cha think? Can you handle that again?”

“I think so.” PW winced and rubbed his shoulder.

“Okay, then here’s your weapon.” 2 said, positioning the AJ-47 in the stallion’s grip.

“Without fingers you’ll have to use your wings. You should be able to hold it with your forelegs and work the safety and trigger with your wings. Sounds good?”

“Good!”

“Good. Okay; practice. There’s just you and me. Where do you point the gun?”

“The ground!” PW stated, recalling his own briefings back on The Farm.

“Okay. Say some-creature approaches. What are you going to do?”

“Point it at him?”

“No. Threat assessment.”

“Oh.”

“The ‘some-creature’ turns out to be a unicorn couple with a newborn. Now you feel bad for even having a weapon, right? Now, let’s say somepony approaches and shouts, “she’s in the water we got her!”” the mare called, deepening her voice.

“Hehe! Now I lift my gun.”

“Yes. Pretend the bad guy is that boulder on the other side of the lake. Now what?”

“Now I point the gun, and… turn safety off…” PW huffed under the weight of the weapon.

“Slow down. Establish your posture. Hoof, hoof, lean.” She instructed, demonstrating a secure, spread sitting position for firing.

“Okay. Form, gun up, safety off… aim… … can I fire?”

“Send it.”

“FIRING!” PW cried, pulling the trigger.

The muzzle spit a ball of flame with a deafening CRACK, sending several bullets into the boulder.

“You see? Not bad. Safety off.” 2 put a hoof on PW’s shoulder.

“Safety off! Oh my Celestia; I hit it! I actually hit it! And the recoil wasn’t any worse!”

“Not bad sport, just don’t get cocky.” 2 said with a wink. She stood to her full height and began to strip her uniform off.

PW turned to face the direction the road was. To him, most mares looked better with clothes on. Not this mare. 2 had well defined hips and thighs, a broad barrel and powerful abdominal muscles. PW tried to be polite and not peek, but once in a while he would peer over “for her safety” as he told himself.

PW watched with butterflies in his chest as 2 descended a partially-submerged basalt rock on two legs then slid into the water up to her shoulders. This mare, being so tremendously tall, was very good at wading; something PW loved to do himself. The water was crystal-clear and pure, amplifying the beauty of the scene.

"She’s probably in five feet of water!" PW thought to himself. "I’d likely be in over my head if I tried to walk out to her there. Completely submerged!" This only amplified his perception of her already-impressive physical size, to say nothing of his interest.

He imagined walking out to her and quickly being forced to swim. There, she could do anything she wanted to him. 2 would have no resistance whatsoever in pushing him to the bottom, denying him even the basic right to breathe in her presence. His meager struggle would vanish in only a minute, and his life would have been claimed by the deep water she was simply standing in. That was only a fantasy though, and one PW would not share. He knew the Night-Mares didn’t care for them, as per the stories from the other technicians. Still, PW couldn’t help but stare as 2 freshened up.

“Oh, Celestia; what I would give for a photograph right now – this is it! This is what I came for!" PW grinned wide. "I’m with her now; she’s so beautiful… she trusted me with her weapons, and I’m watching over and protecting her. Crystal-clear water, rockscapes, pine trees, mountains, deep blue sky, and glaciers above!" He all but hummed in thought as 2 began rinsing her face off. PW decided he would focus more of his attention from this point onward on her surroundings rather than on her. He would honor the Night-Mare’s trust in protecting her.

After another minute she made her way out of the pond.
“Was it cold?” PW asked, playing it cool.

“Nope. Sun’s been warming it all day. It may have been fifty degrees.”

PW snickered at that. “Fifty-degree water! Not cold! I love it!”

2 ran her fingers through her mane and tail. “Any sign of danger?”

“There’s no danger when you are nearby, 2! Seriously though, I didn’t notice anything.” Replied PW. “Here’s your gun back.” He added, unslinging it and passing it off to her with the barrel down. “Also, can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“How did you go from suspecting I was a terrorist to trusting me with your weapons in one day?”

“Well, there are several reasons. First off; you had many opportunities to mess me up. Crossing the bridge. Then there’s the instance you warned me about the shotgunner above us. If you’d simply stayed silent the shot would have been taken, knocking me down and allowing for a finishing blow. But most of all you fixed my fingers, in a way that only the Ponyeon engineers would know.” 2 held up a forehoof and clicked the augments in and out of their sockets. “This could have been a sabotage, but you fixed it. And, in that moment, I remembered seeing the fear in your eyes – the same fear I saw in you inside the cleanroom. That same fear when you recognized a safety concern threatening myself or the other technicians was present. I know you. And I can read you. The same way you read me when you asked if I was alone. The answer is no – not anymore.” 2 admitted while she put her equipment back on.

PW smiled and absorbed the Night-Mare's words for a few seconds. “How’s your knee, 2?”

“It’s healed enough that it won’t re-open underwater. Thanks for your concern though. Ready?” She asked, offering the bundle of guns again.

“Yes ma’am!” He barked, positioning his back under her forelimb. He didn’t buckle as much this time when he took the load.

“I see some improvement! We’ll make a soldier out of you, yet.” She said, leading the way to the road.
It was another mile or so back to the bed and breakfast in town. Night-Mare-2 covered PW’s back with a throw-tarp to hide his cargo just outside the town. She hid her own gun in her duffle and put a blouse on to obscure her combat gear.

“2, this is the same bed and breakfast I stayed at last night!” PW exclaimed in surprise. “I can’t believe it!”

“Oh; please refer to me as ‘Miss Snowheart’ in town.” She instructed, gesturing to nearby ponies. Miss Snowheart burst through the door of the bed and breakfast on all fours, as the door height was only five feet or so.
The look on all the towns-ponies' faces… PW would never forget it. And he could tell that his stature, being a small stallion beside a monster of a mare, wasn’t helping them keep a low profile.

He chuckled to himself. ‘She’s the power. I’m the amplifier!’ He thought.

They approached a counter and 2 rang the bell.
“Snowheart. Looking for a copy of my room key?” She asked the approaching attendant.

“Hmm… Miss Snowheart. Ah yes I do have a note here; room 426.” He replied and gave her the key.

“Thanks.” She muttered, walking off toward a grand staircase.

The staircase proved to be a little too difficult for PW and he had trouble climbing with the weapon bundle on. Miss Snowheart reached down with her foreleg and pulled him up from the strap for the rest of the first flight. Just before disappearing into the second floor, he shot a shit-eating grin at several gawking ponies in the lobby and giggled.

“What are you on about?” 2 asked, noticing his queer behavior.

“The ponies in the lobby were traumatized by our appearance!”

“That happens a lot. And you probably don’t help that being with me. A giant pony is one thing. A giant earth-pony mare with a… petite pegasus stallion is another.”

After the next staircase Miss Snowheart had enough. She walked in front of PW and went prone. “Alright. Walk over me PW, onto my back. I’m hauling you up.”

“Seriously?” asked PW, blushing for an ensemble of reasons.

“C’mon. You’ll have more chances to prove yourself later.” She said as PW climbed onto her back. “Hold onto my neck.” She ordered and stood up.

“This is so embarrassing! I hope nopony sees us!” PW whined as 2 took to the steps.

“If you stay low nopony will see you up here. My back is higher than their eye-level.” Miss Snowheart smiled. She was totally unaffected by the added weight, moving at her normal pace up the remaining stairs before going prone again in the fourth floor hallway to let PW climb off.

“I’m so glad nopony ran into us. But you mares with your power never cease to amaze me.” Said PW, clambering off. The room was 3 doors down.

Miss Snowheart knocked in a characteristic pattern and unlocked the door. “I’m hot and with a guest!” She announced.

“Come in!” said an older mare. “Welcome, Number 2. And I take it this is your lucky stallion?” She looked at PW expectantly.

“Hello, I’m Polaris Wind!” announced PW.

“He’s ex-project. Not currently cleared.” 2 warned.

“I see we’re in a safe house so if you need to discuss classified material I am perfectly happy waiting outside by the stairwell.” PW offered.

“No need,” replied the older mare. “You mentioned you were hot, Number 2?”

“Oh, yes.” the Night-Mare responded and yanked the tarp off of PW.

“Oh my. That’s quite a lot of gear for one stallion!”

“I carried it most of the way. But I needed help on the stairwell ultimately.” Answered PW.

“This one’s loaded. All the others are unloaded.” 2 inspected the AJ-47 and continued her statement. “Their original wielders were all dispatched.” She sorted the other rifles on the floor of the room.

“All that carnage doesn’t bother you, hon?” the older mare asked PW.

“I mean, I hate death. But as Night-Mare-2 mentioned; I worked on the project before and I developed a… very strong… bond with the mares. They mean so much to me. And I want to actively support them, like I did for Night-Mare-2 just now.”

“Then that answers my next question, which was if you felt “outclassed” around her.”

“Oh, no ma’am. I love large and powerful things. These mares are basically miniaturized locomotives and I’m so amazed at what they do. And they make me so proud watching them.”

“Good. In the meantime I’m not going to make the call but I can tell you the brass is not going to like a volunteer putting himself in harm’s way. You may want to consider your more realistic options for supporting them in the future.”

“Understood ma’am.”

She nodded and looked to 2. “Let’s review your tallies. Number dispatched?”

“13.”

“Escaped?”

“At least 8.”

“Captured?”

“0. Well, maybe 1 if you count this guy.” She teased, grabbing PW’s back.

“Care to explain?”

“He rendezvoused with me in a hidden location in the engagement zone and I wasn’t sure if he was friend or foe. So, I had to confront him.”

“I’ll bet that was terrifying!” The older mare said to PW, writing the note down.

“Nah, moreso thrilling. As I said I knew this mare during fitting and knew as long as I didn’t do anything stupid she wouldn’t hurt me.” PW replied.

"You say that like it's true, PW." 2 glared and leant towards him.

“Number 2, these numbers are not good for HQ. No captures, 13 deaths; 8 escaped? You know we would have liked to see 21, 0, 0.”

“With all due respect, S, I believe I was fighting a small army today. Up to now it’s been rag-tag bands of pirates, looters, and the occasional lone creature. I was unaware we’re fighting a war for the Royal Guard.”

“That’s a valid point, Number 2. Still, the brass will not see it the same way.”

“Will there be anything else, S?” Sighed the big mare in the room.

“No, Number 2, that concludes your debriefing. You can expect to return to your post tomorrow morning with the normal possibility of re-assignment should an emergency occur.”

“Thanks, S.” 2 turned to the door.

The mare was so heavy that PW could feel the floor shudder under every step. She pulled it open and motioned to PW. “Let’s grab some grub.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He ducked underneath a forehoof holding the door..

“Number 2?” S called. The big mare looked back. “Take good care of Mr. Wind. We’re going to get into trouble if he’s harmed. And I can tell he really cares about you.”

“You got it, S.” 2 said with a smile and shut the door.

Now completely unencumbered PW walked down the stairs normally. As expected, a hush fell over the lobby once they entered. Miss Snowheart dropped the keys onto the front desk and pushed the front door open for them both. By now the sun had set and the temperature was below freezing. A mighty wind had picked up and was causing PW to sway. He wasn’t sure where they were going and he came to a halt.

Miss Snowheart came up on his windward side and stopped beside him, acting as a windbreak. “Looks like there’s a lot of places to eat.” PW observed.

“Not exactly. I have special dietary needs. I know this great place called Horseshoe Inn and Restaurant. They serve good food at a reasonable price. And before you get too excited, you’re not employed and not covered under company expense. So you’ll be paying out of pocket. And if I understood you correctly you will be unemployed entirely starting tomorrow.”

“2, the last 12 hours have been my most exciting, ever. I’d offer my wings to eat dinner with a Night-Mare.”

“It’s Miss Snowheart. Very well, then.” 2 led the way again.

“So, it’s decided then, right? Horseshoe?” PW asked. The mare only casually glanced over her shoulder to acknowledge she heard him but didn’t say anything.

“Well, I dare not take back what I said.”

The dimorphic duo walked two blocks down the street where PW read a storefront sign. “Okay, it is Horseshoe. Hehe. Thanks for not gouging my wallet, Miss Snowheart. It makes me feel like you do care about me!” PW laughed.

2 hauled the door open. “Get used to the awkward silence you heard in the lobby.” She said, ducking her head into the restaurant. There was a greeter just inside.

“Oh, hello again! Table for one?”

“Two, actually.” Miss Snowheart stepped aside to expose PW behind her.

“Ah, you brought a guest! Very good.” Said the greeter, waving them through. As they began walking by, table after table of ponies were silenced as though a zipper spell had been cast on them. PW took it upon himself to reduce the awkwardness this time, smirking back at them and shaking his head, as if telling them off.

They were led initially to a booth but then the greeter seemed to doubt herself. She glanced back at Miss Snowheart and chose an open table for four instead. She pushed two of the chairs together to make the seat wider. PW swore he could feel the room shake as the Night-Mare sat down and caught some of the light fixtures swaying.

“Would you like to see the Eastern menu again?” the greeter asked Miss Snowheart.

“Yes.”

“And would you like one as well?” She asked PW.

“Erm – Eastern? I’d…”

“No,” 2 interjected. “I’m pretty confident he’s not going to order from it.”

“Okay, somepony will be with you shortly!” The greeter trotted away.

Though the restaurant was quiet, gentle murmurs arose as Miss Snowheart lifted her menu. PW leaned over to whisper.

“How do you deal with this? This happens everywhere you go? That’s so rude!”

“Yep. I just tune it out. The discipline training in boot-camp helps.”

“I now have newfound respect for you, Miss Force-of-Nature.” PW responded as a bubbly unicorn mare bounced toward them.

“Hi, my name is Windy Locks, I’ll be your server this evening. Are you all ready to order?”

“Hi, yes.” replied PW.

“You go first, PW.” 2 said.

“I’ll get the mashed potatoes, the tomato bisque soup and a lemonade.”

“Great. And for you?”

“I’m going to do an appetizer; the garden salad. And I’ll get the Rainbow Salmon.”

“T – er, Snowheart!” Whispered PW.

“I’ll also get the scrambled eggs. Then the Bacon Gnocchi. And for desert I’ll have the Carrotcake.”

“All at once?” The waitress gawked.

“One by one is fine. I'll have a glass of milk also, in the largest glass you have.”

“Um, all right just sit tight!” She bounded away.

“Mother-of-Celestia, Snowheart! How much do you eat?!”

“Standard caloric intake for us is ten thousand calories per day.”

“Good grief! Should I just offer my entire body up on the menu now?”

“Well, that would only feed me for a week. Then what?” She gave PW a glare that looked like she was actually considering it.

“Ahehe… and you eat meat?”

“I’ve had beef burgers before. Can’t say I like beef very much but meat is a must for us, too. I’m sure HQ won’t mind having you around once they learn you’re my contingency snack.” 2 said, licking her lips. PW’s ears folded and his smile was failing him.

2 grinned. “Kidding! Or am I?”

Author's Note:

You might have noticed the sudden improvement of the story! Helping me with the editing is none other than the legend himself, NCmares!