That Others May Live

by CptBrony

Rainbows Over Their Heads

Rainbows Over Their Heads

Aprotelese returned late that night, but Duke had stayed up and waited for him to make sure he got back okay on his own. When he walked back into the house, the two merely nodded to each other and Aprotelese quickly went to bed. They didn’t need to exchange words for Aprotelese to show his appreciation for Duke’s staying up and waiting.

When Duke went back upstairs, he could hear sound from several rooms and wondered how everyone else was sleeping. Duke knew all too well how it felt to be unable to sleep and only hoped that the others weren't experiencing that problem. He knew a lot of guys who had it all the time, and it wasn't a fun thing to live with.

When Duke made it to his room, he stripped down and lay in bed happily. He was ready for a good night’s rest. But as he closed his eyes, he heard his door creak open and light hoof clops against the floor enter slowly.

Without looking to the door and with a long sigh, Duke shook his head. “You went to the wrong room.” The steps stopped for a moment, then slowly began to recede back out of the room. Before they were gone, though, Duke made one last comment. “We all need to rest. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.” With that, the not-so-stealth pony left and went back to bed.

Alone at last, Duke rolled onto his side and looked out his window. He could see the moon bright in the sky, full and powerful, yanking on the tides of this world and giving light to the dark. Below, the Everfree Forest made its spooky noises and showed its glowing pairs of eyes in the dark. It was a little disconcerting, being so close to such a mysterious area, but Duke knew it had to be at least a little bit safe.

Gently, he closed his tired eyes and drifted off into sleep, where he would relive events of the past, see possible events of the future, and cross the bizarre paths of the mind to see them all.

The next morning, Frost was the first one up, rousing himself with a loud yawn and a long, drawn-out stretch. He threw his feet over the side of the bed and hopped out, dropping to the floor to do some morning pushups and situps to start his day off right. Something felt right about today, even if he couldn’t quite place it.

Once he finished that, he threw on his clothes and went downstairs to make himself some breakfast. It was pleasant, working in the kitchen alone and quiet in the morning. The sun was rising, the birds were chirping, and the smell of mediocre-cooked food reigned supreme.

When Frost had everything finished up, he sat gently in one of the chairs and started eating. There was such peace at this time of the day; nothing could ruin it.

Or so Frost thought.

A large THUD sounded from above, followed soon after by heavy hoofsteps. They slowly sounded like they were making a heading for the stairs. When they got there, the speed of the pony’s movement slowed dramatically. Taking the stairs slowly was probably a wise decision.

Frost watched the doorway as he ate to see Amel walk in. Her mane was disheveled, she had heavy bags under her eyes, and she generally looked hungover. Frost chuckled as she walked in, seemingly not noticing him at the table, and went to the fridge to get water. When she poured a glass for herself out of a pitcher in the fridge, she turned and saw Frost and had a mild start.

“You, uhh... heh, you feelin’ okay?” Frost asked, still chuckling.

Amel groaned, eliciting more chuckles from her human friend. “No,” Amel said. She took a seat next to Frost.

Frost patted her lightly on the head. “Well, that’s a hangover. I’m guessing you had fun with the ladies last night?”

Amel nodded. “It was fun.”

“Good,” Frost said. “And now you’ve learned that you have to pace your drinking, or this happens.”

“This is from the wine?” Amel asked, genuinely surprised. “I don’t know if I want to drink this again...”

“I guess you’ve never been drunk before?” Frost asked. “Well, as long as you take it slow and reasonably, you’re fine. I learned it in college. Beer has the same effect, if you drink enough.”

Amel looked at Frost with shock. “You drink this all the time!” she said.

Frost shook his head. “Not all the time. Gotta keep my head straight, after all.”

Amel leaned herself on Frost’s shoulder. “Can I make it go away?” she asked.

Frost put his arm around the silly mare. “‘Fraid not. You just gotta deal with it for a bit.” Ame groaned again and Frost patted her head.

Frost continued eating his breakfast while Amel leaned on him. She rubbed her face into his shoulder as if she might meld into him and her headache would be taken away. Frost felt sorry for her, understanding the hell of a first hangover, and scratched her head to make her feel a little better. When he started doing that, Amel calmed down a little and just leaned on him, happy to be where she was.

When Frost finished eating, he gently pushed Amel off and had her lay her head on the table, drawing light protests from the mare. Frost took care of his dishes and put everything away, then went and picked Amel up to carry her to the couch in the other room. She was heavy in his arms, totally limp, and when he sat down with her in a fireman’s carry, she just stayed on his lap, unmoving. Frost didn’t move her right away, though, content to sit there and scratch her head.

Together, they sat there quietly, glad to have a moment of peace. Amel was already looking a little better, thankfully, so Frost thought about what there would be to do for the day. There was certainly plenty in the town, but he was feeling like doing something else, something simpler.

“Anything on the agenda for today?” Frost asked.

Amel shook her head. “Nothing particular,” she said. “Why?”

“I’m trying to think of what I want to do today,” Frost explained.

Amel lifted her head. “Well, the ladies were telling me last night about a lovely place called Rainbow Falls,” Amel said. “It’s a nice place for a couple of ponies to visit.” She leaned into him as she spoke, trying to get across the point that if she went somewhere, she wanted to go there.

“Interesting,” Frost said. “Any idea how to get there?”

“It would be easiest to get somepony to take us there,” Amel replied.

“Well, that sounds like a fine idea then!” Frost said. “If you will please get up, we can get going immediately.”

“Going somewhere?”

The question was unexpected, mainly because it came from Duke on the stairs, startling Amel and drawing Frost’s eyes in that direction.

“Yeah. Some place called Rainbow Falls,” Frost said. “Sounds pretty cool.”

Duke stroked his chin. “Well, I got nothing else going on. I’ll tag along.”

“Cool,” Frost said. Frost got up and went to the kitchen for a moment, leaving Duke and Amel alone together. Amel shot a glare at Duke, like she thought she could stab him with her eyes, and Duke shot a knowing look back.

I know what you’re planning, Duke said with his eyes. Amel harumphed at him, got up, and followed Frost into the kitchen.

Duke followed soon after to find Frost getting a quick drink of water before they headed out. While he did that, Duke made himself a sandwich, then, realizing they would need to bring food, told the others to wait while he made more. Amel was about to offer to help, but Frost stopped her and did it himself. When everything was ready, they set out for the edge of town to find a way to get to Rainbow Falls.

As usual, it was still early, and very few ponies were out and about. The trio walked aimlessly through the town trying to think of where they could get transportation to their location and decided to try and check Town Hall. When they arrived, it was just opening up, occupied by yawning ponies and grumbling officials.

“Hello?” Frost called as he and the other two walked in.

Up ahead, a reception mare saw them and raised her head instantly. “Oh, hello! We weren’t expecting anyone this early.” She sounded like she had been jolted awake. “Is there any problem?”

“No problem, ma’am,” Duke said. “We were just wondering if we could get transportation to this place, Rainbow Falls?”

The mare thought for a moment. “I’m sorry, but there’s no actual transportation that is run by the town. I’m trying to think of ponies who might be willing to take you up there...” The trio waited while the mare tried to think of who would get up this early to take them up. “For the most part, the ponies who would are asleep. Pegasi who could carry you there.”

“Hmm,” Frost replied.

“Is there anypony who can help?” Amel asked with a pout.

“I’m sure there is,” the mare replied. “Try checking with the ponies who are already awake. The Apple Family could help, or the guards, if you can get Princess Twilight’s okay.”

Duke looked to Frost, who looked back, and they both nodded. “Thank you, ma’am,” Duke said. The receptionist mare waved to the trio as they made their way out.

“So what’s the plan?” Frost asked. “Guards?”

“Nah, I don’t wanna bother the guards for a basic trip,” Duke said. “Let’s see if we can get Big Macintosh to take us.”

“Sounds fair to me,” Frost replied.

The trio happily went along their way to the Apple homestead, but Frost and Amel were unaware of the real reason that Duke wanted to get Big Macintosh to take them. He would be able to answer the questions that Duke had about this other human. He had already refused to answer them before, but if Duke played his cards right, he would be able to make the big workhorse stumble and let out something that he didn’t mean to.

They walked all the way to Sweet Apple Acres to find the area where they would have to search much larger than they could efficiently search. Ordinarily, Duke would axe the trip and suggest they do it another day, but he was more determined than either of his companions to see this come to fruition.

Frost whistled. “That’s a lot of land to scour,” he said.

“It is,” Duke replied. “I suggest we split up.”

“I don’t really know how to find my way in such a big farm,” Amel said.

“Stick with Frost. His scent shouldn’t be too hard for you to follow,” Duke said, wiggling his eyebrows at Amel and drawing a blush from her.

“Thanks boss,” Frost said, thinking it was a joke about his smell.

The group split up and started searching the farm without going to the farmhouse first to ask where they could find an Apple pony. Looking back, that would have been a much better idea, but they weren’t in a rush, and the orchard was a relaxing place. Duke went off to the right to start searching while Frost and Amel went left.

Frost and Amel walked slowly through the orchard, admiring the bountiful trees that covered the farmland. The vastness of the orchard and the massive amount of fresh food was a wonder to both, but especially Amel, who had spent most of her life in a city where almost all the food was imported, and it fascinated her.

“This is incredible,” she said.

“It really is,” Frost said. “You know, I had considered being a farmer before joining the Air Force.”

“Really?” Amel asked.

“Yeah. It really appealed to me,” Frost said. “Still does. When I retire, I think I could take this up as a lifestyle. Not commercial, though, just enough for myself and anyone living with me.”

“Would you let me live with you?” Amel asked.

“Totally,” Frost replied without hesitation. Amel squee’d with joy at the response, drawing a smile and laugh from her human friend.

“What would I do?” she asked, letting her fantasy take over her thoughts.

“Whatever you wanted,” Frost said. “You could work the fields with me. Or you could build barns and houses. You could cook or whatever else there is to do in the house. You’d be able to choose what to do with yourself.”

Amel laughed and looked up at Frost gently. “I would happily live with you forever,” she said.

“And I’d always have you with me,” Frost said, rubbing the top of Amel’s head. She pressed against his hand with her head affectionately as they continued walking.

The two continued their search a little while longer, then decided to hit the house to see if they would have any better luck there.

Duke had his hands in his pockets as he strolled through the orchard on the lookout for anypony, though he specifically wanted Big Macintosh. As he walked, he noticed that there seemed to be a trend of appleless trees in one direction. That had to be the way to find somepony, so Duke kept on walking in that direction.

Eventually, he started hearing the occasional THUNK of hooves against bark and knew immediately where to go. Following the noise, he walked along the empty trees until he found something close to what he was looking for; Apple Bloom.

She was rearing up to kick a tree again as Duke approached, though she didn’t notice him. Duke waited for her to thrust her hooves against the tree and bring the apples crashing to the ground before greeting her.

“Hey there,” Duke said.

Apple Bloom looked in his direction and her face brightened up like a light bulb. “Hey Duke!” she said, running over and giving him a hug. “What brings y’all here so early?”

“Well, my partner and Amel and I are looking for somepony who can take us up to Rainbow Falls,” Duke explained. “I was wondering if your brother was around?”

“Nah, sorry. He and Fluttershy’re on a trip to Manehattan.” Apple Bloom looked apologetic as she spoke.

Duke clicked his tongue. “Ah, dang. Oh well, we can probably find somepony else to help.”

“We can ask Applejack,” Apple Bloom suggested. “She’s still in the house is ya wanna catch her.”

“Sure, thanks,” Duke said. He looked around; there was no actual path back to the house. “Uhh, which way?”

Apple Bloom picked up some apple buckets and threw them over her back. “Ah gotta bring these back, so Ah’ll just take ya.”

“Thank you,” Duke said. Then, without asking, he grabbed two of the buckets from Apple Bloom’s back. “You don’t have to carry all that weight.”

“Thanks, but Ah can take it,” Apple Bloom said.

“True, but no medical professional wants to see an ex-patient overexert herself,” Duke said, refusing to give the buckets back. Apple Bloom smiled at him and they started walking.

“So how long have you been a doctor?” Apple Bloom asked.

Duke shook his head. “I’m not an actual doctor,” Duke said. “I’m highly trained in Rescue and Recovery, Combat Medicine, Emergency First Aid, and general injury treatment.”

“... Sounds like a doctor if ya ask me,” Apple Bloom said.

Duke shrugged and grinned. “Well, y’know. Little differences. And anyhow, I’ve been doing this for years now. And I hope to continue doing it to fulfill twenty or more year career.”

“Y’all plan on doin’ this fer more than twenty years!?” Apple Bloom asked, amazed. “Y’all’re really something, ain’tcha?”

“I like to think so,” Duke said. “I’ll do this as long as I can.”

Apple Bloom bumped his leg with her side. “Y’all seem like a real good guy,” she said. Then a thought struck her. “Wait, won’t you be kinda old when you’re that far into your career?”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Duke said.

“So how old are you now?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I’m thirty,” Duke said. “The big three-o.”

Apple Bloom chuckled. “Y’all’re an old man Ah guess,” she said. “Ah’m twenty-five.”

Duke raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, not long from now, YOU will be an old mare,” he said jokingly. “Enjoy your youth while you can, little lady.”

Apple Bloom laughed. “Ah do mah best.”

The two kept on walking and chatting about one thing or another. The walk was pretty long, so it was a good way to pass the time. After some time, when the house came into view, they could both see Frost and Amel talking to Applejack in front of the house, seemingly having a good time. Duke didn’t want to miss anything important, so he sped up, prompting Apple Bloom to keep up with him as well.

As the two got closer, the group in front of the house noticed them and looked in their direction, waiting for them to get within hearing distance. When they were close enough, the conversation resumed. They had been talking about the trip to Rainbow Falls.

“So you’ll take us?” Frost asked.

“Heck yeah, Ah’ll take ya,” Applejack said. “Rainbow Falls is a place everypony should visit. Picnics, sightseeing, honeymoons and dates, it’s great.” Duke heard an emphasis on that last one and saw Amel’s excitement at the prospect in her eyes. Then Applejack looked at her sister walking with Duke. “AB, maybe y’all should go too, since it’s been so long.”

Apple Bloom frowned at her sister. “Ah would, but Ah got YOUR chores to do.”

Applejack laughed. “Maybe y’all shouldn’t make bets that ya can’t win, then!” Duke chuckled at Apple Bloom’s discontent over the situation she clearly got herself into.

“Well, thank you very much for taking us up,” Duke said. “When can we head out?”

“We can head out as soon as Ah get mah cart,” Applejack said. “If y’all’ll wait at the gate to the farm, Ah’ll meet ya there.”

“Sure, sounds good,” Frost said. He, Duke, and Amel got walking to the front gate to wait for their ride.

After a short time, Applejack arrived with a cart towed behind her to take the group up to Rainbow Falls. The trio climbed onto the back, Duke, then Amel, then Frost, and set off.

Getting through town didn’t take much time, and before they knew it, they were on the trail up a mountain to get to the Falls. Frost and Amel were in the back, taking in the nature around the trail around them, while Duke sat immediately behind Applejack. He had his legs hanging out over the front edge of the cart’s wall, though avoided getting in Applejack’s way.

“So,” Duke started with a slap of his lap. “How’s everything?”

Applejack looked back and raised an eyebrow at him. “Good...” she said. “How’s your, uhh... mission, going?”

“As well as it can,” Duke said slightly begrudgingly. “Finding this guy isn’t easy. And you’d think finding one of the three humans in this world wouldn’t be that hard.”

“Ha, yeah, sure seems that way,” Applejack replied. “Y’all’re pretty distinct, ya are. Always have been.”

“You think so?” Duke asked.

“Hey yeah, why, Ah remember when...” Duke blinked as Applejack spoke. “Told us all about his home way far away. Ain’t like nothing we got here, no sir.”

“Nope, home is a pretty unique place,” Duke replied. “What did you say his name was?”

“Uhh, what? Ah didn’t,” Applejack said nervously, causing Duke to frown. “Anywho, he was a good guy when we got to know him. And Ah’d love to visit that home of yours some day.”

“You’d love it, I can tell,” Duke said. “All kinds of people, some we know and some we don’t. It’s all about finding the people we want to find.”

“Ain’t that always the truth,” Applejack said.

Duke decided to give it a little break and check out what Frost and Amel were doing in the back, make sure nothing got too crazy. When he looked, he saw Frost pointing at one thing or another to the sides of the cart, and Amel cozying up next to him. She was hugging his other arm with her forelegs, and rather than look where Frost was pointing, she was looking up at him.

“Hey you crazy kids, this is a family ride,” Duke shouted.

Frost turned his attention to Duke with a raised eyebrow, and Amel, face now red from the embarrassment of being called out, let go of Frost’s arm and glared at Duke. Applejack could feel it from where she was and started laughing, making Amel’s face even more red.

“Well, there’s no blood family relations here,” Frost said, still missing the comment’s true nature.

“That’s my point exactly,” Duke said, turning back to Applejack. Frost looked at Amel, who quickly turned her head to look away and hide her face.

“Them crazy kids,” Applejack said.

“Them crazy kids are gonna be the death of me,” Duke said, chuckling and shaking his head.

The rest of the ride went with much eventfulness, though Duke still threw in the occasional comment when he saw Amel trying to close the distance between herself and Frost. It wasn’t so much that he was against the relationship; no, the whole idea was bothering him less and less, and he couldn’t explain why. It was so fun, embarrassing Amel about Frost, and he couldn’t wait for the day Frost found out. What a day that would be.

The cart came to a stop.

“All hands, get your butts off mah cart!” Applejack announced. “We’re here!”

The trio hopped off the cart and advanced a short ways up the road. What they saw did nothing short of take their collective breath away; liquid rainbows, flowing like rivers, falling from clouds and landing on the ground in a display of physical prismatic poetry. Duke took a few steps forward and stopped to just look. He was joined by Frost and Amel, and all of them were too struck for words.

“Ah’m heading back!” Applejack shouted. “The way back ain’t too bad, so have fun!” Applejack left without waiting for a response.

Frost cleared his throat. “This... this is something.”

“Why would Applejack want to come to America if this kind of thing exists here?” Duke wondered aloud. “This is beautiful.”

Frost walked up to where the rainbows went to the ground and knelt beside the rainbow lake. Amel followed him and sat there, looking down at it as if she expected to see a reflection. They were only greeted by swirling colors and one very insatiable curiosity.

Frost stuck his fingers in the rainbow and brought them to his lips.

“Ow!” he shouted, jumping up and dancing about. “HOT HOT HOT HOT!”

Amel was shocked at first, but when she saw that Frost wasn’t any real danger, she started giggling at his silly dancing about. When Frost’s tongue was cleared of the offending liquid, he noticed her giggling and started to chuckle himself. Duke, too, found himself in a cheerful mood at Frost’s dismay over the unexpected taste of the rainbow fluid.

When Frost went and sat down next to Amel by the lakeside, Duke decided to leave them be for a time and walked off to explore the area on his own. He could see why Amel wanted to bring Frost here when she heard about it; it was a great place to spend time peacefully with someone you care about.

Duke heard the pair laughing and speaking gently in the distance as he let his mind wander to other things. He didn’t want to think about what needed to be done at the moment, and instead, thought about home. But that still brought up an important question.

How were they going to get home?

Comments

[The Serpent Mage]

“Hey yeah, why, Ah remember when...” Duke blinked as Applejack spoke. “Told us all about his home way far away. Ain’t like nothing we got here, no sir.”

Well, this just keeps getting more and more interesting...

[H550]

5330464 it's like SCP-055 (or 050) self-classifying. You can't say what it is, only what it isn't.

[Ink_25]

Gently, he closed his tired eyes and drifted off into sleep, where he would relive events of the past, see possible events of the future, and cross the bizarre paths of the mind to see them all.

Did Luna die?!

And wrong use of you + all = y'all:

“Y’all plan on doin’ this fer more than twenty years!?” Apple Bloom asked, amazed. “Y’all’re really something, ain’tcha?”
[…]
“Y’all seem like a real good guy,” she said.

...and I just noticed that AJ uses it, too. Is that intentional?
However. It should be:

“Ya plan on doin’ this fer more than twenty years!?” Apple Bloom asked, amazed. “Ya're really something, ain’tcha?”
[…]
“Ya seem like a real good guy,” she said.

[whoofian]

“Thanks boss,” Frost said, thinking it was a joke about his smell.

BOI. PLS.