That Others May Live

by CptBrony

Research projects

Research Projects

When Duke left Frost and Amel with Zecora in the hut, he opted not to tell them why exactly he felt like leaving. He didn’t feel like concerning them with his own pursuits. This was more of a private endeavor, anyway.

Walking through the forest alone was somewhat anxiety-inducing, but Duke kept to the path and walked quickly. He figured that if he all out ran, he might look like prey to some big predators he had never seen, and he didn’t need that experience. He had a large enough variance of experiences already.

When he was out of the forest, Duke walked straight to the town library. When seeking knowledge, that was always the best place to start, even if it was unlikely to have anything on the subject. There had already been one indication of something being there; Duke just needed to find out what.

He couldn’t get the information directly out of them, but maybe he could ease them through the process. Something external was screwing with the librarian’s and his marefriend’s abilities to remember the other human, probably some kind of magic. Either he did something really bad, which could spell trouble, or he really didn’t want anyone to find out who he was.

Duke had known a guy like that.

When Duke arrived at the library, he knocked three times on the front door and waited. Inside, he heard some shuffling and then light hoofsteps. When the door opened, he was greeted by Sweetie Belle, whose face brightened like the sun at seeing Duke again.

She jumped forward and hugged him. “Hey, glad to see you back!” she shouted.

“Glad I could stop by,” Duke said, unused to such sudden affection. These ponies really liked the men for rescuing Apple Bloom. “Mind if I come in?”

“Wouldn’t be much of a public library if it wasn’t open to the public,” Sweetie Belle said. She stepped inside, followed soon after by Duke.

Duke could hear Spike the librarian over in the kitchen making food. It was odd, seeing so many casual living arrangements inside a public building, especially right off of the main room. The food smelled pretty good, but Duke had other things he was looking for right now.

“So what do you need?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“What kind of recent histories do you have?” Duke asked.

“We have archived newspaper articles, essays, accounts...” Sweetie Belle said, trailing off at the end.

“Anything comprehensive?” Duke asked.

Sweetie Belle shrugged “Depends on what you would call comprehensive.”

“I guess newspapers will work,” Duke said. “Where are they?” Sweetie Belle pointed him to the archives and Duke thanked her and went on his way.

The newspapers would be far from easy to get through; there were easily thousands of archived articles. They were all sorted by date, though, so Duke was able to give a rough estimate of when he needed to be looking for. He decided on checking the records from twelve to nine years ago. That was the timeframe he had been hearing about every so often.

He started at the beginning, checking each article for any information he could discern about this other human. Not one of the articles in the first hour of searching yielded any results, despite some appearing to come close. Others might have had information, but Duke wasn’t sure. Because they were actual newspapers, they were liable to be smudged, and every one that he found that looked promising was smudged up pretty bad.

“Man, why’s it gotta be this way?” Duke muttered.

“Something troubling you?” Sweetie Belle asked from afar.

“I can’t find anything that I’m looking for,” Duke said.

“What was it you wanted to find again?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Information on the first human,” Duke replied.

“Oh,” Sweetie Belle said. “Yeah, there’s only one newspaper that even has anything like that.”

“Do you know which one?” Duke asked.

“Sure,” Sweetie Belle said. She walked over. “I’ll get it for you.”

Duke stepped back while Sweetie Belle retrieved the old newspaper for him. While she did that with her magic, Duke briefly looked around the library. It was well-maintained, organized, and very clean. It also appeared to have some very valuable books, placed on pedestals and in glass cases.

Except one pedestal, which was empty.

“What goes there?” Duke asked.

Sweetie Belle turned to him with the newspaper, which he took in his hand.

“Oh, that was a really special book,” Sweetie Belle said with a hint of sadness.

“What was it?” Duke asked.

“That was actually the book you would be looking for,” Sweetie Belle said. “It was special. It recorded events as they happened on its own, and it focused on the first human.”

Duke looked to the pedestal and cursed, wishing he hadn’t asked. Not that he could do anything about it, he just wished he didn’t know that everything he needed for this USED to exist.

“What happened?” Duke asked.

“It was destroyed when Tirek leveled the library,” Sweetie Belle explained. “The only book that couldn’t be replaced, because no one understands the magic behind it.”

“Not even the princesses?” Duke asked.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Not even. It was one of an unknown number of special, magical books. They predate Celestia and Luna, and even those who came before them. Some say Starswirl the Bearded made them, but the magic would have been cracked by now.”

Duke too his newspaper to a chair. “How many of these books do you know of?”

“Only a few, and none are in Equestria any more,” Sweetie Belle explained. “Saddle Arabia has one concerning the life of one of their ancient rulers that they treat as a sacred object. There was one of a gryphon, but the gryphon turned evil and the book disappeared. It was titled Guifrond, after his name, and only reappeared after his death.”

“How do you know he died?” Duke asked.

“It said it at the end of the book,” Sweetie Belle explained.

Duke nodded. “Interesting.”

He turned his attention to the newspaper and unfolded it. As he unfolded it, he saw part of what he was looking for; a human in a photograph, standing in the road, looking normal. Only his face was different. When he looked at it, he would swear he knew it, but he couldn’t pull anything out of his memories...

He looked at the name. “Harkness...” he whispered slowly.

There he was; the owner of the name on that stone. So, whoever he was, he did something worthy of commemoration that was destined to be forgotten forever. Spike's and Sweetie Belle's little episode when they tried to remember this guy was still fresh in Duke's mind. Duke was determined to figure out who this guy was, for some faint, hard to identify reason. He would ask everyone, and if need be, he would grill the princesses themselves for information.

Something was off about this, and he suspected that the princesses were somehow involved in the massive loss of memory.

“So what’s your interest in this?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Duke was yanked out of his thoughts by the intrusion. “Uh, nothing particular. Just curious.” It was something particular, but he wasn’t telling.

“Alright,” Sweetie Belle said. She sat down. “So can I ask you some questions?”

“Shoot,” Duke replied. He set aside the now useless paper.

“Where are you from?” Sweetie Belle asked. “How much have you traveled, too? I’ve always wanted to travel, but Rarity won’t let me until Spike is big enough to protect me, especially after Apple Bloom’s experience.”

“I’ve traveled a lot,” Duke said. “In the military, I can’t tell you where I’ve gone. But before that...” Duke thought. “I went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado. I also lived in New Jersey in my earlier life, though I lived in Australia for a few years of high school. I fell in love with fighter jets and came back to the states to fly one, but I couldn’t make the cut, so I tried for this instead. It was a good decision.”

“Cool,” Sweetie Belle said. “Were they nice places?”

Duke laughed. “Yeah, they were great. But that didn’t stop us from constantly criticizing ourselves in our eternal quest to be better.”

“Sound stough,” Sweetie Belle commented.

Duke shrugged. “Not really. Not for me, anyway.”

Duke heard steps from the kitchen and looked over to see Spike coming out with a tray of food and tea. When Spike saw, he greeted Duke with a nod and walked over. When he set the tray down, he sat next to Sweetie Belle and put his arm around her.

“Hey man,” he said.

“Yo,” Duke replied.

“How’s that research going?” Spike asked.

“About as well as it can, which is good, I guess,” Duke said. “I just wish it could go better.”

Spike chuckled. “Yeah, the library is ironically not the best place for your search. You’re gonna have to look for ponies with firsthand experience.”

“And who might they be?” Duke asked thinking about who he could ask.

“Exactly who you think,” Spike said.

Duke nodded and stood. “Thanks. I’ll go and do that.”

Spike put his hand up. “Good luck, dude.”

As Duke turned around, he heard Sweetie Belle start to giggle. Just as he left, he dared a glance back and saw Spike tickling the young mare and her trying to suppress her laughter. With a smile and a shake of his head, Duke went on out.

Duke went out and started walking around to search for any of the ponies he could think of. He had heard the name Big Mac, along with the Elements, one of whom was his wife. The others, he understood, were all very closed-lipped about it. Hopefully, he would get Big Mac to talk, since Fluttershy wasn’t very talkative in the first place.

He knew where they lived, so he decided to start there. Walking across town, he got a lot of approving nods and smiles, which he returned gratefully. He was grateful for the fact that these ponies weren’t terrified of the big scary human who showed up out of nowhere. Of course, if the last human did something great, of course they would love people.

The dirt crunched under Duke’s boots as he walked. He would need to get some casual shoes or something around here, lest he appear to be in a constant state of readiness, even if he was. No need to intimidate anypony. Thinking about it, he might also try to get a new dress uniform in case he had to attend an official event as a Combat Rescue Officer. It was unlikely, and he could probably get out of it, but if OGA were concerned, he would throw on his best outfit in a heartbeat.

When he arrived at the cottage, he first noticed how there were animals everywhere. They lived in the tree that was the house and in the back yard, yet it was all very clean and well-kept. Back home, these ponies would be animal hoarders, but apparently, that was okay here.

Duke walked up to the front door and knocked three times, then waited patiently. No one answered, so he knocked again. Still, no answer.

Duke felt a slight tug on his pants. He looked down and saw a small white rabbit, a very old one, grabbing his pants. When he blinked, trying to comprehend the rabbit grabbing his pants, the little critter pointed away from the house and down the road.

“They aren’t home?” Duke asked. The old rabbit nodded. “Alright, thanks little guy.” Before Duke could leave, the rabbit grabbed him again. “What?” It looked up at him and raised its arms up. “Uh, alright.” Duke picked up the little rabbit and carried it with him.

When he walked back through the town, the townsponies all awed and swooned over him carrying the little rabbit. The rabbit, a funny little guy, started flexing for the mares, who would just giggle at it. Some of them looked affectionately at Duke, and one even winked.

Duke just kept on walking from those ones. “Don’t end up in Frost's position,” he thought.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he fell back on simply not wanting it for himself. He didn’t care that much what someone else did.

“I wonder if the first human had a mare here?” Duke wondered aloud.

The rabbit below him nodded and pointed toward a bar, but Duke didn’t notice and kept on walking. Right as he passed the bar, he finally saw it. It was called the Salt Lick.

“Gotta remember that, so we can grab some beers later,” he said. The rabbit smacked its forehead as Duke kept on walking.

Eventually, Duke came across a large group of ponies walking away from some kind of dirt track. There were a lot of them, but two stood out the most. Fluttershy and Big Mac, the bright yellow and red, dirt-covered stallion were in the front. The little rabbit started trying to hop away from Duke, but he kept a hold on it for fear of it hurting itself.

“Hey!” Duke shouted.

Fluttershy looked toward him. “Oh, hello,” she said. When she saw the rabbit, she beamed. “Oh, Angel, I didn’t know you wanted to come out today!”

She flew up to Duke incredibly fast and grabbed the rabbit from him, hugging it tight and rocking it every which way. As Big Mac approached, Angel the rabbit stuck it tongue out at him and pulled on its eyelid. Big Mac chuckled and nodded, conceding this victory to the rabbit. When Fluttershy finally calmed down, she continued to hold the rabbit and floated back to the ground.

“So what brings you here, mister Duke?” Fluttershy asked.

“I actually have some questions for the two of you,” Duke said. “It was really convenient that I found you so fast.”

“Angel probably pointed you the right way, even if you didn’t notice,” Fluttershy said, petting Angel the rabbit.

Duke leaned forward, smiling. “Thanks, little guy.” The rabbit smacked its forehead again, but Duke returned his attention to Fluttershy. “So, those questions...”

“I’m afraid I have to go help my little animals at home,” Fluttershy said. She leaned up and kissed her husband on the cheek, getting an unhappy grunt from Angel the rabbit. “I’ll see you tonight, honey.”

“See ya tonight,” Big Mac replied. Fluttershy flew off, leaving the stallion and man alone.

Duke looked to Big Mac. “So, Big Mac... I heard you know about another human?”

“Call me Mac,” Big Mac said. Duke nodded. “Just wrestled Frost.”

“A different human,” Duke said, knowing that Mac was avoiding the question.

Mac narrowed his eyes. “‘Fraid Ah can’t help you much there.”

“I was told you hung out with him a lot,” Duke said.

“Never said Ah didn’t know,” Mac said. “Just that Ah can’t help.”

“Why not?” Duke asked.

“Ah promised Ah wouldn’t tell anypony,” Mac said.

“Come on,” Duke said.

“Eenope.” Mac said with a finality that made Duke lose hope.

“Look, I might know him,” Duke said. It was possible; if the human was famous for disappearing for a time and then returning, he might have made the news.

“Ah don’t know if you do or not,” Mac said. “But Ah guess Ah can say one thing. He knew Princess Luna real well. Like, really, really well. He also did a lot of great things that he never recognized as great.”

“Helpful...” Duke said sarcastically.

“It is, actually,” Mac replied. “Look, Ah like you. But Ah can’t give you any compromising info. He likes his privacy.”

“At least tell me how long ago this happened,” Duke pleaded.

“All the things happened with him about eleven years ago,” Mac said.

Duke took that bit of information and noted it. It was a long time ago. But not too long ago, and certainly not too recently either.

“Guess that’s all I’m getting?” Duke asked. Mac nodded. “Fine. But I will come back for more information.”

“If you can give me a good reason, Ah’ll tell,” Mac explained. He walked past Duke. “But it better be damn good for me to give up mah friend’s identity.”

“It will be,” Duke said. “I just need to think of what it will be.”

It hadn’t been the most productive day ever, but compared to what he had gotten so far, it was like stumbling on a diamond deposit. He just needed to cut and polish what he found until it as usable.

Duke walked back to the house with a lot on his mind, but knew that he was at least getting somewhere. And right now, when OGA was God knew where, that was all that really mattered.

Comments

[Ghost-091]

Sound stough

Looks like that second "s" decided to cheat on its partner with "tough", that bd

[Iroh Legoman]

I promised not to tell anypony.

Well then you can still tell me , Im not anypony, I am someOne

[BronyofMeddlers]

“I wonder if the first human had a mare here?” Duke wondered aloud.
The rabbit below him nodded and pointed toward a bar, but Duke didn’t notice and kept on walking. Right as he passed the bar, he finally saw it. It was called the Salt Lick.
“Gotta remember that, so we can grab some beers later,” he said. The rabbit smacked its forehead as Duke kept on walking.

Damn it Duke, even I know the answer to that question!

[Allstar13521]

“I went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado. I also lived in New Jersey in my earlier life, though I lived in Australia for a few years of high school. I fell in love with fighter jets and came back to the states to fly one, but I couldn’t make the cut, so I tried for this instead. It was a good decision.”
...
I also lived in New Jersey in my earlier life, though I lived in Australia for a few years of high school.
...
I lived in Australia for a few years of high school.
...
I lived in Australia

COULD IT BE!

[AstralBlaze1]

5918129
I'm an Idiot because I don't understand the reference. But please enlighten me.