//------------------------------// // Long Road Ahead // Story: That Others May Live // by CptBrony //------------------------------// Long Road Ahead The trip to Rainbow Falls had been lovely. It was a fantastic little trip for the men to wind down and relax in the quiet of nature and just be calm. Frost had a fun time hanging out with Amel, who naturally had a most enjoyable time with Frost. Duke found his thoughts going to some complicated places, but opted not to remain on those subjects and did some introspection instead. Later that evening, they made their way back down the mountain, which wasn’t too difficult. Going up would have been a pain, to be sure, but that was an uphill journey. By the time they arrived back in town, it had gotten pretty dark outside, and they went straight to the house. The next morning, the men and Amel were the last to rouse from their sleep. Aprotelese and his Nighthawks were sitting around the table eating a hearty breakfast, discussing matters of significance and matters of nothingness. It varied based on who was talking. When Duke finally awoke, about half an hour later than usual, he came down the stairs quietly to get himself a cup of coffee to start the day off right. When he came down the steps and into the kitchen, he greeted his fellow warriors with a nod and a small wave, then went about his morning business. Not too long after Duke came down, Frost and Amel came walking down the stairs to a silently entertained crowd. They weren’t going to start making jokes or anything like that because they had caught on to what was happening. It was just too hilarious that Frost was so clueless. “So how was your trip yesterday?” Aprotelese asked. “See anything cool?” Frost smiled and nodded slowly. “Yeah, saw the rainbows falling off the clouds onto the ground. I swear, if I hadn’t already accepted where we are, I would’ve assumed someone spiked my drink or something.” The Nighthawks all laughed. “You humans live in the plainest world,” Moon Moon commented. Duke shrugged. “At the very least, I understand what’s usually going on around me. How much do you guys even understand about this world?” “Almost nothing, honestly,” Mosquito answered with an indifferent wave of his hoof. “But we accepted that thousands of years ago because of how ludicrous some of what we deal with is.” “Huh,” Frost said. “Maybe if our world was a little more incomprehensible, we wouldn’t be as violent.” Duke smirked. “Don’t bet on that, Frost,” he said. The two men and Amel sat at the table with the Nighthawks to share breakfast with their team. For the most part, it was silent, with someone bringing up one thing or another every now and again. No one seemed too in the mood for conversation; it was just one of those mornings. It felt like there was something more important they had to do. Aprotelese decided to break the silence. “So, Amel,” he said, looking straight her way. “What did you think of Rainbow Falls? Not quite like Saddle Arabia’s natural wonders, the?” Amel shook her head, though she didn’t seem to care. “I never saw any of them in person, only paintings in my master’s home,” she explained. “Once I was in Akhal Teke, I didn’t leave except for one or two occasions.” “Oh,” Aprotelese said. Seeking to avoid rekindling bad memories, he switched the subject. “How do you like the town?” Now, Frost was watching him, but the man kept silent. “I like it very much,” Amel said with a new smile. Aprotelese showed clear signs of relief. “Rarity and Princess Twilight are so polite. And Fluttershy, too. Pinkie Pie is a bit crazy, I think, and the pegasus Rainbow Dash is not as nice, but they’re still okay.” “Do you just hang out with them any time?” Aprotelese asked. “That’s pretty impressive.” “I don’t know why you would say that,” Amel said. “But we spend time together when we aren’t too busy. I always have someone to be with when the men are gone.” “Of course, it’s hard to replace Frost,” Duke joked, poking his partner in the shoulder with his elbow. “I mean, look at his dashing face and at how clever and smart he is.” Frost sensed a joke pointed at him and decided it was time for a battle of wit. “Only beat out by my ability to outrun, outswim, and outlift my partner,” he verbally jabbed. “And yet, I’m a mechanical engineer from the Air Force Academy, and you’re a history major from some silly school in New York,” Duke came back. “Yeah, yeah,” Frost said. Amel was giggling at the silly humans next to her. She had been wondering ever since she got to know them how they could be so silly at home, yet they were incredibly well-trained medical specialists and warriors elsewhere. They were so talented at keeping their work at work and not bringing it home. She really liked that about them. “So you both went to college, huh?” Aprotelese asked. The men nodded. “I went to college too, studied Pegasus history. Good to know I’m not the only guy who values the past.” Aprotelese raised his glass to Frost, who raised his in return. Duke shook his head in mock disappointment. “I swear, you guys just can’t stay out of the past. Look to the future; that’s where our lives are going.” “Gotta understand the past in order to understand the future,” Frost argued. Duke smiled and nodded silently, but his thoughts continued. I suppose I’ve know the truth of that lesson lately, he thought. Maybe Frost would have better luck than him, since he might have an eye for this sort of thing. “Hey, Frost, do you think you could help me out with-” Before he could finish his sentence, a green fireball suddenly exploded to life in the middle of the table. Everyone was taken completely off guard by the abrupt explosion that came out of nowhere and reeled back from the table, expecting pain to follow. Pain did follow, when they all hit the ground, but nothing came from where the fireball had come to life. “What the heck was that?!” Frost asked from the ground. While they fell, Amel had grabbed his arm and fallen with him, and by the time he was getting up, he had her safely behind him. “Not a clue, but I don’t think anything is on fire,” Duke said as he got up. He looked at the center of the table, and where there was previously nothing but air, there was now a rolled up piece of paper. “But there is this thing here...” Aprotelese was up now as well. “Oh, a message from one of the princesses,” he said. “Must be important, if she sent it like this.” He opened it up and began to read. Dear Duke and Frost, This is from Princess Luna. We appear to have a delicate situation in our northern ally, the Crystal Empire, that is of imminent significance. We were not given all the details due to the sensitive nature of the issue, but they are in need of medical specialists and individuals trained in dealing with highly hazardous materials. Word of your abilities appears to have spread, and so they requested you specifically. The Crystal Empire is to the north of here, a very cold, icy wasteland, for the most part. Bring only what you absolutely must use. Anything else can be provided to you once you are up there. Amel stood up and had an excited look on her face. “Oh my, the Crystal Empire?! The things I have heard about that place! That was where the evil king Sombra was defeated once and for all by the elements of harmony, and where the Crystal Heart is kept safe! And the city is supposed to be gorgeous!” She was hopping up and down a little bit with every other word out of her mouth. “Sounds like you could enjoy yourself,” Frost said. Aprotelese cut in, though, with some bad news. “Ah, sorry, but the letter isn’t done.” “Please continue,” Duke said. Aprotelese cleared his throat. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor have requested that only military personnel be sent to the Crystal Empire at this time. The situation is rather volatile, and the presence of foreign civilians presents more risk than reward at this time. When Amel heard this, her heart sank, and she let her rump fall to the floor with a pouty face. We are not sure how long you will be needed, nor are we sure what exactly you are needed for. You can, of course, deny the request, or if you deem it to be beyond your capabilities, leave once you find out what the problem is. No one can make you do anything. If you have anything you want to ask about the Crystal Empire, stop by one of the elements’ homes. They have been there numerous times and will be able to help you. For the Nighthawks; You are needed for a situation in Zebrastan. Their forces are having difficulty dealing with an insurgency, possibly funded and trained by Gryphons. Your next deployment will be to train them and go on missions to deal with the source of their expertise. Men, your train leaves at noon for the Crystal Empire. Nighthawks, you are to report to the airstrip as soon as you are ready to leave. -PL “Well, that’s all she wrote,” Aprotelese said. “This isn’t what I like to hear,” Duke said. “This isn’t what I like to not hear, is more like it,” Frost said. “But she said we could deny them once we learned what is actually happening.” “True,” Duke said. “I just don’t want to go all that way for nothing.” Frost shrugged. “At least we may learn something.” Duke could only hope. Amel was even more unhappy than either of her men, though. “This isn’t fair!” she whined. “Why can’t I go too? I would have loved to have seen the Crystal Empire...” Frost patted her back and consoled her. “It’s for your own safety. They wouldn’t ban travellers otherwise.” “It’s bad for the tourism industry,” Duke added. “They wouldn’t ban travellers unless the situation was a serious, imminent threat to security.” “I still want to go,” Amel grumbled. Frost scratched behind her ear, but she wasn’t any happier. “What will I do while all of you are gone? The house is going to be so empty. I don’t want to be all alone...” “We can stay in contact,” Frost said. “I’m sure it won’t be hard.” “Actually, it should be pretty easy,” Mosquito commented from the sideline. “There’s a magical item called a scry mirror. It lets you talk face to face with a anypony with another scry mirror, so long as there’s nothing preventing communications, like a spell.” “Really?” Frost replied. “Yeah,” Mosquito replied. “The Crystal Empire probably has tons, and I’d bet that Princess Twilight will let Amel have one.” “Would she?!” Amel asked excitedly. “That would be wonderful! We can talk whenever you’re available, Frost!” She grabbed her human in a big hug while he smiled at her glee. “Sure thing,” Frost said. “But I want you to promise me something.” “What?” Amel asked curiously. “Make sure you do stuff during the day. We can talk at night when I’m around, but I want you to hang out with other ponies here, like Miss Rarity,” Frost said. Amel nodded. “Okay.” Duke clapped his hands together. “Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s all get ready to do our jobs.” With a single cheer of agreement from the relevant crowd, everyone scattered to get their things ready as soon as possible for their coming trips. Duke and Frost went to their rooms and gathered everything they thought they needed quickly, brought it downstairs, and then started going through it more thoroughly to make sure they actually needed certain items. They decided to leave any of their explosives at home, like their remaining frags and flashbang grenades that they still hadn’t used, and other things like Nightvision that wouldn’t prove useful in a whiteout snowstorm or a cave or house where a flashlight would work fine. Helmets and regular goggles were a must, as was armor and weapons, and especially medical gear. Amel sat by and watched while the men worked through their gear. She looked on curiously as they decided what was important and what wasn’t, eventually getting up and standing next to Frost as he worked. Without realizing it, Frost would hand her things to set aside, and she would either give up immediately on understanding it or, in the case of the Nightvision, put it on for a moment to see how it felt. She set aside the goggles and sat back down. “So we don’t know how long you will be gone?” she asked. “No idea,” Duke replied. “Okay,” Amel said sadly. “Do you think you’ll get to see the city?” “Not much, if this is as bad as it sounds,” Duke replied again. “We’ll see it on the way in,” Frost said. “I’ll tell you about it when we get a chance to talk.” “When should we talk?” Amel asked. Frost stopped for a moment to think. “Like I said, night is best. If you can, get a smallish mirror that you can carry for a bit. I’ll have to leave mine wherever we’re staying, so I’ll try to call you.” Amel smiled happily. “Yay!” Duke got up and stretched his back. “Well, I’m finished. We have a bit of time before we need to catch the train, so I’m gonna keep going it over a bit and try to write up anything I think we’ll need.” “Solid,” Frost said. For the next several hours, the men mainly did preparations for the trip, curious as to what they would find up north and just how serious this situation was. When the time came to get going, the men packed up their things and headed out. Amel walked with them to the train station so she could say goodbye one last time when they got there. The men decided to walk around the perimeter of the town while carrying their gear to keep the mission on the downlow and avoid interacting with the townsponies. If the situation was as bad as it seemed, it would be better to keep what they where they were going a secret. Anyone with family or friends up there might want to know things that the men couldn’t tell them. On the edge of town, only a few ponies were active, but those who were knew the men instantly. “Hey!” a scratchy voice called from above. The trio looked up and saw Rainbow Dash descending upon them from a cloud up high, looking determined and eager for some unknown objective. When she landed, she brushed herself off and stood proudly with her chest pushed out and an arrogant smile. “Hey,” Duke replied. “What are you guys doing?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Heading out for some action?” “Just going out of the area for a bit,” Frost replied. “We’ll be back eventually.” “Heh, secret stuff, huh? I won’t ask,” Rainbow said. “I’m guessing you’re in a hurry, so let’s get you to..?” “The train,” Duke finished. “To the train, then,” Rainbow said. The group walked along with Rainbow Dash bragging about her accomplishment all along the way. To any pony they may have seemed impressive, but the men had nothing to compare her to, so they just nodded along as she talked about herself. Amel listened half-heartedly, with a look on her face that just screamed Not again. “So what kinds of badassery do you guys like to do?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Just the normal special ops stuff,” Frost answered. “Most of what we do is in the area of combat trauma or first response.” “Saving ponies, I like it,” Rainbow said. “That’s what we do,” Duke answered. The he thought of something. “What other badasses have you met from far away places?” “Plenty,” Rainbow Dash said. “But only a few have been tougher than me.” “I have trouble believing that,” Duke said, baiting the mare in. “Who?” “Well, there was one guy-” Rainbow Dash seemed to catch herself mid-sentence, stumbled, then went on. “He was tough. Took on a lot of bad guys. None were as magical or powerful as the ones we’ve battled, but I couldn’t have beaten them. They were a different kind of evil.” “Different kind of evil?” Duke asked. “Not exactly what Twilight or me or my friends deal with,” Rainbow said. “What can you tell me about him?” Duke asked. “Not much, really,” Rainbow said. She was getting a suspicious look on her face. “I don’t think it would help much anyhow. You probably aren’t going to find much of him here anyway.” The group continued onto the train station and waited for the train to arrive. Duke still tried to get answers out of Rainbow Dash, figuring she had to know something about the other human, but she was stubbornly not letting anything slip. Frost and Amel had their own conversation going and didn’t notice Duke’s attempts to learn the local history. In the distance, the train blew its horn and the men could see its front light. At the same time, as if on cue, the other ponies from the Council showed up and ran over. “Wait, we have to say bye-bye first!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she ran. The group at the train station looked toward the running mares and waited for them to get to them. The train was rapidly approaching, so there wasn’t a lot of time for talking. The ponies stopped at the platform to catch their breath. “We... we thought we wouldn’t make it,” Applejack said. “We wanted to wish you luck on your journey,” Princess Twilight said. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but we know it’s important.” “Thank you, everypony,” Duke said. “Your well-wishes mean a lot.” “Thank you,” Frost said as well. “You gotta promise to come back!” Pinkie Pie shouted, running up to Duke. “I still need to throw you guys so many parties!” She had her nose right in Duke’s face. Duke set his fingertip on her snout and pushed her back down. “We’ll be back,” he reassured her. “Yeah, we’re gonna be fine,” Frost said. “You said that last time,” Amel complained. “Look at your face!” “Come on, it’s not that bad,” Frost said. “What’s it say about a person if they go through life without getting a little bit bruised up?” “Amen to that,” Rainbow Dash and Applejack both said. “Anyway, I promise, I’ll be back, and I won’t even get hurt this time,” Frost said, kneeling down to look Amel in the eyes. Behind him, the six elements of harmony were squee’ing silently. “I promise you.” Amel blushed and looked down. “Okay,” she said. When Frost turned around, the mares quickly regained their composure and looked for something else to talk about. Rarity looked at Duke’s uniform and saw the American Flag patch. “Is that your nation’s flag?” she asked, already understanding the symbol. “Yes, it is,” Duke answered. “It’s very nice,” Rarity replied. “While you’re gone, I should make a couple for the two of you.” “Ha, thanks, but that won’t be necessary,” Duke said. “We would only need them for ceremonies here, and I don’t expect anything of the sort to be happening.” “Even so, I shall do it. Maybe you can hang one outside your door while you are here,” Rarity said. Duke nodded slowly. “That’d be nice.” Right as the conversation ended, the train was upon the station, horn blaring and wheels ceasing to spin. When the doors opened, ponies started pouring out and dominating the platform, prompting the men to safeguard their gear. “Well, we need to get going,” Duke said. With a wave, he went and boarded the train. Frost followed, but had one last thing. “Girls, make sure Amel doesn’t spend all her time in the house! Show her the town!” Amel blushed and smiled at Frost as he boarded the train. Before long, the train took off with the men inside for the Frozen North. Amel and the others all waved at it as it went, aware that the men probably couldn’t see them from inside. When the train was out of sight, they all put their hooves down. Amel worried, but she knew her humans were strong and capable. With a sigh, she turned around to walk back home. She was stopped, though, by the six mares behind her, who were now all staring at her expectantly. She stopped and looked back, and as the smiles on the mares grew larger, she grew more nervous. “What?” she asked. “Oh, nothing,” Rarity said. “Come, we must show you the town! As ordered by Frost!” Amel was practically dragged away by a group of mares determined to show her the town they lived in and keep her mind away from worrying about the human who commanded so many of her feelings.