• Published 23rd Apr 2013
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That Others May Live - CptBrony



Two USAF Pararescuemen must search through an unknown land to find their charge and make it back home alive.

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When the Home's Lost

When the Home’s Lost

Throughout the rest of that terrible day, Duke and Frost helped administer medical aid and organize the recovery of the town. The guardsponies knew best on that front, so the men let them do their thing, but when it came to the medical infrastructure of the temporary field hospitals, until real doctors showed up, they had to handle it.

At the end of the day, the doctors finally came in from Canterlot. The town was deemed secure enough to bring civilians back in, but only those who were either needed or related to ponies still there. While Duke and Frost disagreed with letting unnecessary civilians into a warzone, the ponies weren’t going to keep the families separated. Even if it was a bit dangerous.

When they were finally done, Duke and Frost were past the point of exhaustion. Along with Amel, they handed over all command to the ponies and started to make their way back to the house. Everypony they passed along the way smiled tiredly at them and waved. Duke and Frost saluted them as they went.

Amel was practically carrying both men as they leaned on her back. Being the strong little pony she was, it didn’t bother her, and even if it did, she still would have helped them. They more than earned it after the battle of the day, followed by the traumatic images of after the battle. The men looked relatively unphased, but Amel knew that a job like that would eventually break down any person.

When they made it back to the house, Duke and Frost got up off Amel and opened up the door. Duke went in first with his sidearm out, just in case a gryphon happened to be hiding inside. No one expected anything like that at this point, but it was worth a check. Frost kept his sidearm holstered, but had his hand on it ready to pull.

There was not a soul in the house. Once the men knew that for certain, the first thing they did was go to the kitchen. Amel followed close behind, careful of where she stepped. There was still blood coming off of the men from taking care of the injured, as well as a few cuts and scrapes of their own. When Frost wen for the fridge, Amel leapt forward and grabbed his arm.

“Wait!” she shouted. Frost blinked and looked at her. “You’re not clean enough to be in here. Neither of you.”

“Not a bad point,” Duke said.

“Clean yourselves up and change,” Amel said. “I will prepare food.”

“Duke, do we actually have other clothes?” Frost asked.

“We do have those dress uniforms Rarity gave us,” Duke replied.

“Guess those’ll have to do,” Frost said.

“Might as well put them on now,” Duke said. He and Frost started heading up to where the bathroom was. “We’ll probably be wearing them later.”

Amel listened to the thumping of the men’s feet as they slowly made their way up. She heard Duke say he would take a bathroom up on the top floor, while Frost could use the one nearest Amel’s room. She listened intently in case one of them fell and needed assistance, as they were incredibly exhausted and could probably use a helping hoof.

Amel decided on something simple and without too much taste to avoid overwhelming the men’s tastes. The sandwiches she decided on consisted of simply bread, lettuce, tomatoes, a dab of onions, and some dressing. When she finished making them, Amel wrapped them in napkins, set them on plates, and set them on the table.

She could hear the water running upstairs now and waited. She could only imagine how tired they must have been, if her own exhaustion was anything to judge by. She had trouble supporting them here, but even without them, she figured she would have had some difficulty walking. Were they having any trouble walking? They hadn’t fallen on the stairs, but if the floor of the bathroom got slippery, Frost could crash to the ground.

Amel wouldn’t want him to hurt himself, of course, so she made her way upstairs to go check on him. As she got closer to the bathroom, she started to slow her step practically to a crawl Eventually, she did make it all the way to the door and knocked several times. When she received no answer, she knocked again much harder.

“Huh?” Amel heard from inside. “Duke?”

“Amel,” Amel answered. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Frost answered with a chuckle. “What makes you think I wouldn’t be?”

Amel slowly opened the door and walked in. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t fall or anything,” she said.

“Well, thanks for caring,” Frost said.

Amel moved over to the shower stall and sat outside the curtain. Based on where his voice was coming from, he must have been sitting down in the shower stall. Amel could appreciate how good that would feel, to just let the water run over you, flowing down his back and washing away the grime and difficulties of the day.

“I wish I could be water,” Amel said mindlessly.

“Uhh,” Frost responded unsurely. “That sounds… interesting?”

Amel caught herself. “Uh, yes, to flow, and… umm…”

Frost laughed. “You’re a funny one.”

“Are you even doing anything in there?” Amel asked.

“I’m sitting, if that counts,” Frost replied.

“You must have soap, at least,” Amel said.

“It’s all the way up there, though,” Frost complained.

“Must I get it for you?” Amel asked jokingly.

“If you’d be so kind,” Frost answered sincerely.

Amel’s mind was like a plane crash with that one simple statement. She had trouble comprehending what Frost said. She didn’t want to disappoint, though, and say that she was only kidding.

“Okay, I guess I’ll get it down,” she said.

“Just let me move,” Frost said. “Don’t wanna step on me.”

After a moment and some shuffling in the shower, Amel stepped in and kept her eyes on the wall as best she could. The soap was definitely out of Frost’s reach, so she quickly hopped in the air for a very brief moment and knocked it off its shelf. When it landed, Frost quickly grabbed it before it could slide all over the place.

“Thank you,” Frost said.

“You are welcome,” Amel said as she made her way out. On the way out, she couldn’t help but glance at Frost just once. All the blood and grime of the day was just about gone, leaving behind a mostly clean but still bruised body. None of the bruises were too bad, and certainly didn’t take away from Frost’s physical appearance, but-

Amel was out of the shower in a heartbeat and realized how heavily she was breathing. Thankfully, in the shower, Frost couldn’t hear it and wouldn’t have to ask her what had her going like that. Her face was also flushed bright red, and she realized that the only chance she had at recovering required her to leave.

“I will see you downstairs,” Amel said quickly. Frost affirmed, and Amel made her way out.

The ordeal wasn’t about to end, though. As she left, face red and breathing heavy, she ran face first right into Duke’s leg outside the door. When she looked up at his face, and he saw how flustered she was, Duke could only give her the most devious smile, flustering her even more.

“H-hello Duke,” Amel said, trying to go past.

“Enjoyed the show?” Duke asked as she practically ran off. Behind her, Amel could hear Duke explode into laughter.

Amel waited a bit for the men to come down, calming herself the entire time. Everything that just happened was so embarrassing, and she knew Duke would never let her forget. When the men finally came back, Amel did everything she could not to look at Duke at all and to look at Frost as little as possible.

“How you doing there, Amel?” Duke asked, barely containing himself.

“Fine,” Amel answered. “I made sandwiches.”

“Awesome!” Frost shouted as he ran at the table. When he had his sandwich, it only took a moment for it to be totally gone.

“Thank you, Amel,’ Duke said more civilly. “You deserve a little something for taking the time to do that.”

“You are welcome,” Amel said.

“No, really,” Duke said. “Frost! How much energy do you have left in you?”

“A little more now,” Frost answered.

“Well, now I think you should carry Amel for the day,” Duke said. Amel started to blush again. “She was so nice to help us like this, after all.”

“Hmmm…” Frost replied. “Let’s see if I can handle that first.”

Amel stepped back and looked away. “I don’t really think that’s necess- EEEP!”

Frost jogged over and grabbed her and plopped her up onto his shoulder. Amel instinctually grabbed around his head for support and hugged as close as she could. Duke started laughing again, and Frost struggled to keep her up.

“This is a little too much right now,” Frost said.

“Let me down!” Amel said.

“Wait, let me try something else,” Frost said.

“Frost, let me- AH!” Amel shouted as Frost dropped her just a bit and carried her in his arms. “Frost!”

“Mmmmmmy, yeeeeeeeessss?” Frost asked. He now had her in a position of belly-to-belly, with his arms under her and her forelegs around his torso.

Amel snorted. “This is fine,” she conceded. Amel could hear Duke laughing even harder behind her, but now, she didn’t mind so much.

“Better get real used to that,” Duke said. Amel let her head fall onto Frost’s chest, but mostly to hide her face.

“I could do this all day,” Frost said.

Duke shook his head and let his fit of laughter die off. Frost just wasn’t going to get it. But before more shenanigans could ensue, there was a series of knocks at the door. Duke left Frost and Amel in the kitchen to go and check on who it could be.

“Hello?” Duke asked as he opened up the door.

Outside was none other than Princess Celestia, accompanied by two of her personal guards. Duke blinked at the unexpected visit, especially in the context of how messed up the town was.

“Princess,” Duke said.

“Duke,” Celestia said. “May I enter?”

“Sure,” Duke said, stepping back. Celestia and her guards walked in. “Frost, Princess Celestia is here!” Frost walked out of the kitchen with Amel still in his arms and greeted the princess. Princess Celestia giggled at the sight.

“The bells have yet to ring, so such a carry is interesting to see,” she said.

“Bells?” Frost asked.

“He doesn’t get it,” Duke whispered to Celestia.

Princess Celestia shook her head. “Well, you’re a great warrior at least,” Celestia said. Frost was confused by what the princess was saying but didn’t pursue it.

“I imagine this isn’t a casual visit,” Duke said as everyone walked into the living room.

“Certainly no,” Celestia said. “I am here to ensure the citizens are well.”

“Well, the three of us aren’t actually Equestrian citizens, I’m pretty sure,” Frost said.

“Amel is,” Princess Celestia said. “I made sure of it myself.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Amel said.

“But you didn’t come to check on us,” Duke said. “You would’ve heard about it if we were hurt.”

“That is right,” Celestia said. “I come bearing regrettable news.”

“And what might that be?” Frost asked as he sat down with Amel.

“We have information that is extremely time-sensitive,” Celestia explained. “We know where the majority of the gryphons’ chemical weapons are stored and come from. This will not be true for much longer, though.”

“That’s not good,” Duke said.

“There are two sides to this, though,” Celestia said. “I know you are after OGA. The scientists in charge of manufacturing the chemicals are said to have had direct contact with him. They may even know his exact location.”

Duke leaned forward. “Then we would very much like to know more,” he said.

“The scientists are going to move very soon, as they intend to build a newer, more efficient facility for the creation of their weapon. This mission is time sensitive as I said,” Celestia said.

“How time sensitive?” Frost asked.

“We cannot act now, as we must fix what has happened and prepare the mission,” Celestia said. “But we would send you out in two days time.”

“That’s not long,” Duke said. “You’re sure the intel is solid?”

“Absolutely,” Celestia said.

Duke looked at Frost, who nodded. “We’ll definitely be good for it.”

Celestia smiled. “Thank you. The Nighthawks will return tomorrow, and you will all go together.”

“Sounds good to us,” Frost said.

Celestia nodded. “Prepare yourselves; this is going to be a fight much greater than today.”

“Where exactly will we be going” Duke asked.

“The lab is hidden in Dragon territory,” Celestia said. “It’s deep within the mountains, in cave systems. The dragons burn anyone who encroaches on their territory, so stealth is a must.”

“We can do that,” Frost said. Amel started to grip him tighter.

“I know quite well,” Celestia said. “Equestria appreciates all that you have done.”

“And we appreciate the assistance,” Duke said. “Right now, ma’am, we are very tired. If there is more information, please send it to us later so we can get started on resting up for the mission.”

Celestia nodded understandingly. “Very well. I shall give it to the Nighthawks so they can bring it to you tomorrow.” Duke nodded, and Celestia made her way out with her guards.

Amel looked up to Frost. “Why do you have to go so soon?”

“Because it’s a part of the job,” Frost said, leaning back into his seat. He brought his hand up and started scratching Amel on the top of her head. “But don’t worry, we’ll be in and out with the help of the Nighthawks and be home for dinner.”

“I’ll set up a reservation for two,” Duke said.

“Two?” Frost asked.

“The two of you,” Duke said. “Two’s a couple, but three makes it weird.”

Frost laughed, Amel blushed, and Duke chuckled on his way back to the kitchen to make more food. The battle for now was over, but the war for them would restart in just a couple of days. They badly needed to rest up, lest something tragic should occur. But they made it this far, and they were so close now. The journey was almost over.

For some, it was about to come to a rather abrupt end.

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