• Published 23rd Apr 2013
  • 10,279 Views, 666 Comments

That Others May Live - CptBrony



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

  • ...
45
 666
 10,279

PreviousChapters Next
Ice Cold Killers

Ice Cold Killers

Duke and Frost sat quietly on the sleigh, gloved hands on their gear and keeping their eyes out for trouble. They had only left the city a few minutes prior, but they couldn’t even see it now except for a light at the top of the palace tower.

Not one bit of their bodies were exposed to the cold air, courtesy of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. They were told that it would be best if they wore special visors to keep the snow off their faces and reduce any glare coming off the snow should they get so high on the mountain that the storm lessened. The men happily accepted any reasonable piece of equipment that came their way.

The hazmat suits had come quickly, thankfully, and the men had them on under their clothes. Princess Cadance had them designed to be form-fitting, and the only thing that really needed to be donned separately was the helmet and oxygen system. The system was complex, as it would potentially have to account for changes in altitude to avoid complications with the amount of oxygen it administered, but the princess assured the men that it worked.

Other than that, they had the gear they chose, warm clothes, and climbing equipment provided by the prince. Total, it was actually slightly less in weight than what they usually carried, but they couldn’t use everything here with how cold it was. Electronics don’t work so great in extreme temperatures, which was why the men weren’t trained to rely exclusively on them.

The crystal ponies dragging the sleigh was also decked out for arctic conditions and battle, but their main purpose was the bring the sleigh where it needed to be, and they were booking it. The wind tore at the ponies, trying to find any fold or tear in their clothes to get in, but the ponies had some tough stuff. Their eyes were always going forward and some other direction at the same time, watching for natural hazards or enemies.

Duke and Frost sat behind the front wall in the sleigh to be out of the wind. Frost cradled his rifle in his arms and Duke had his MP7 in his hand, as they had no idea what to expect out here, and truthfully, neither did these crystal ponies. They were told that there could be gryphons, changelings, unkillable and evil magic, and random creatures out here. They weren’t going to take chances.

Frost tapped Duke’s shoulder. “How high do you think this mountain is gonna be?” Frost asked.

“No idea!” Duke said back over the wind overhead. “The mountains of Antarctica are up to two miles high, just covered in ice most of the way up. Not sure what to expect.”

“True that,” Frost said. He raised himself up a little to look out over the side of the sleigh. “I just wish I knew what was out-”

Frost stopped as he thought he saw movement in the distance. It was faint, but he would swear that he spotted something. Duke heard him stop and got to his knees to peek over the side as well.

“What?” he said.

“Thought I saw something,” Frost said. “It was probably noth-”

Out of their peripherals, the men both saw a movement to the right, behind the sleigh. They whipped their heads that way to see what it was, but they couldn’t see anything in the storm. Both men raised their weapons slightly, anticipating a possible attack, but when none came, they sat back down.

“Getting paranoid,” Duke said.

“I’d rather be paranoid than dead,” Frost replied.

“So what do you think these changelings look like?” Duke asked. “I don’t think I’d ever really heard of them before.”

“Not a clue,” Frost replied. “Theoretically, I don’t think they look like anything, since they can change their form. Whatever they start out as is a good guess, but I don’t think it really matters.”

“Makes sense,” Duke said.

The men braced themselves as the sleigh suddenly lurched forward and accelerated.It was possible that they hit a downward slope or some ice as opposed to snow and it was easier for the pullers to move the sleigh, but something didn’t feel right. Frost went back to the side of the sleigh to look out and Duke started moving toward the back.

Duke peeked over the wall and saw nothing but white. The snowstorm had intensified a little bit, and it was harder to see anything but snow flying everywhere. In the storm, though, Duke saw something. Though he had no idea what it was.

He felt his mic key. “Puller one, this is Duke,” he said as he knelt down below the wall, responding to one of the pullers calling on him.

“Keep an eye out!” the puller shouted into the mic. “We saw something out there that we need to keep away from!”

“Roger,” Duke said. “We’ll keep watch on the sides and back.”

“Copy,” the puller replied.

Duke raised up again to look out into the storm. He didn’t know how he was supposed to watch out for anything in this weather, but he had to try. If something came up on them, they would be done for.

“Frost, do you see anything on the side?” Duke said as he glanced to the right.

“Nothing!” Frost said, turning his head to look at Duke. No one could see it, but Frost’s eyes looked like they would bulge out of his head in his visor.

“Gotcha, gonna keep looking-”

“DUKE, GET BACK!” Frost bellowed as he leaned forward and grabbed Duke away from the wall.

Frost grabbed him and yanked him back, bringing both men crashing to the floor at the front of the sleigh as something rammed into the back. Duke scrambled to get off of Frost and sit in a position that would give him a position to fire from. Each man braced a foot against the gear setups that were tied to the side walls of the sleigh in preparation for impact.

No second impact came, though, and the men were left sitting there in a rush of adrenaline. They exchanged a look of uncertainty and anxiety, then looked back to the rear of the sleigh.

“Check it out,” Duke said.

“Screw that,” Frost said. They waited another moment. “I think it’s gon-”

Suddenly, the back of the sleigh exploded into twisted shards of wood and debris as a humongous, black-clawed fist smashed through it. It tore away at the sleigh wall until it was effectively gone, revealing a white furry monster with black eyes, a black nose, and black lips, roaring as it ran to keep up with the sleigh.

“WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA!” Duke said, scrambling backwards to stay against the wall.

“HOLY SHIIIT!” Frost shouted. The monster roared at them and tried to reach for them as it attempted to get a footing in the sleigh.

“SHOOT THIS THING!” Duke ordered, pointing his weapon at it and chambering a round. But when he fired, nothing came out.

“My gun isn’t working!” Frost shouted. The creature swiped at his leg, and Frost narrowly evaded.

“Mine neither!” Duke yelled back. The creature lunged forward, but Duke launched his boot-housed foot right at its nose. “SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!”

The creature reeled a little, but then tried to come at them again. Both men pulled the chamber mechanism on their guns and heard the satisfying click that meant they worked this time and laid waste to the monster in front of them. Gunfire rang through the snowstorm and flashes of light illuminated the sleigh as hot lead tore through the monsters face, ripping it apart and causing it to fall off the sleigh and out of sight.

“What the hell was that thing!?” Duke shouted.

“It looked like a wampa!” Frost answered.

“What the hell is a wampa?!” Duke responded.

“That creature from Hoth, you know? In Star Wars?” Frost said.

“I’ve never seen Star Wars!” Duke answered.

“What?!” Frost shouted. “What do you mean you never watched Star Wars?!”

“I never watched it, alright?!” Duke shouted. “Don’t judge me!”

“It’s kind of hard not to, since J.J. Abrams kinda made some awesome ones after those prequels!” Frost said.

The mics keyed. “You boys alright back there? We heard weapons discharge,” one of the pullers said.

“We’re fine, but the sleigh took a hit,” Frost answered. “Something that looked like a WAMPA-” Frost looked at Duke as he said it- “Took the rear wall of the sled off. We killed it and we still have our gear, though.”

“I don’t know what a wampa is, but there were some Northern Yetis around that we wanted you to watch for,” the puller said. “I guess you saw one.”

“We saw it alright,” Duke said. “I never want to see one again.”

“Well, it’s a rare sighting, so you won’t likely,” the puller said.

The sleigh ride went on with the men holding onto the side walls for dear life, hoping not to encounter anything else that could sneak up on them by walking normally until it was five feet away. They kept their guns at the ready just in case, though.

After a time, they arrived at their destination; the foot of a tall, dominant mountain. They couldn’t see very high up in this weather, which would make climbing difficult, but according to the topographical map they looked at, there were plenty of ridges where they could reestablish themselves and stand on their own two feet. The men took their gear and walked over to the mountainside.

“We’ll be waiting here for you!” one of the pullers shouted. Duke gave him a thumbs-up and the men started their way up.

Climbing up the mountain wasn’t quite as hard as the men expected, but it was still a serious challenge to their endurance. Even though the rock face had plenty of places for them to step, they had to watch carefully to avoid stepping on any weaker ice or snow. If something collapsed, whoever collapsed it would surely go with it, potentially followed soon after by the other.

The wind howled past them as it tried to rip them away from the mountain and toss them aside like plastic bags. The men fiercely held on, only taking the next step or grab when they were absolutely ready. Snow hit them like a sandblaster, slowly accumulating on parts of their gear and forcing them to shake off every now and again to avoid being too heavy from the extra weight of the snow.

After a time, the men reached a large ridge and were able to take a moment to rest and recuperate. They were careful not to sit too close to the edge, opting to take to one knee next to the rock face.

Frost looked out into the storm. “I hope those boys down there are alright!” he shouted.

“I’m sure they will be,” Duke shouted back. “They’re trained for this, and they dressed pretty warm! They’ll be good.”

“Nah, it’s not the weather that’s got me worried,” Frost explained. “I’m concerned about those creatures out there. What if our ride gets eaten by the kind of thing that nearly took us out of the sleigh?”

“I bet it won’t be anything to worry about,” Duke assured his partner. “Besides, we-”

Duke stopped. In the distance, faintly, but still very much there, he could hear something. Frost saw him stop and listened as well. When he heard it, it sent a chill up his spine The sound wasn’t anything natural, especially out here. It sounded almost like metal grinding on metal in the distance, as if a bridge were swaying and about to collapse. The familiar groan reminded him of those situations in movies where the people are in a car sitting precariously on a ledge and need to be totally still to not fall.

The men raised their weapons and scanned some more before deciding that it would be better to get this done sooner rather than later. They got back on their feet and started making their way up. This time, though, they took the ledge for as far as they could before having to actually get on the rock face again to climb. If something was out there, watching them or waiting for them, they didn’t want to be caught off guard.

The men continued to climb up, searching for the cave entrance. They were in the general vicinity, but because they had to move on their own path, they needed to keep their eyes open. They were fast approaching the altitude that the cave entrance would likely be located.

Duke kept his head on a swivel and his eyes rolling to watch the air behind them. The odds that a gryphon would be capable of flying in this were low, but if one got the drop on him here, it would kill him in a heartbeat. Not to mention that bizarre sound from before. He didn’t want to think about what may have generated that.

Frost mostly looked to his left and right to watch for anything that might affect their ability to climb or anything that may come after them there. Duke was ahead of him on the wall, so he couldn’t see very far at all in that direction, and instead opted to glance downward occasionally. Nothing was following them up the mountainside.

Frost saw something in his peripherals and looked up. “Huh?” he said, checking the air behind him.

“What?” Duke said into his mic.

“...Nothing.” Frost concluded. He would have sworn he saw movement in the air, but it turned out to just be snow.

“Roger that,” Duke replied.

A short time later, the men hit another ledge and took a minute to rest. They kept their weapons at the ready this time, since they were so close to where the entrance should be and they didn’t want to risk being found and reported. Gunshots would no doubt be heard in this storm, but it would be tough given the high winds and snow.

Frost moved a short way down the ledge to take a look around and see if their target was nearby. When he approached the end, he knelt on the ground to stabilize himself.

“Hey, Duke,” Frost called. “I think I see our mark.”

Duke slowly made his way over and looked in the same direction as Frost. Down below, he could see a cave entrance about five yards away, just barely visible through the snow. Just outside, he could see a white-camouflage clad gryphon standing guard at the worst possible station. He must have done something bad to get this spot.

“Solid,” Duke said. He keyed his comms. “Stallions, we found the entrance. Observing now, and will take intel notes for-”

Before he could finish, a massive gust of wind shot straight up the mountainside in front of the men, blowing the snow up and knocking them back. The men landed on their backs and looked forward, weapons up, confused and panicked. That kind of gust wasn’t supposed to happen.

Then they saw it; a black, deathly mist, shooting up the mountainside toward the top. It had small green and purple tendrils coming off of it, and even through their gear, the men could feel the singular, bone-chilling cold and smell of death emanating off its presence. When the mist passed, it left behind a the sound of a screaming ghost, fading away into nothing up the mountain.

“That is not good,” Frost said. He and Duke stood up.

“Stallions, this is Duke,” Duke said quickly. “Serious problems up here, not safe. We’re coming back down ASAP!”

“Got it,” one of the stallions replied.

The men went forward for another look. Down below, the gryphon guard had disappeared, probably ran back into the cave. Not an unreasonable response. What had that thing even been? Was it that magic that the crystal ponies explained?

The answer came in the form of three gryphons shooting out of the cave entrance, screaming and flailing wildly to escape. When their wings were caught by the winds, though, they all lost control, and some spiraled off into the distance while others were thrown into the mountainside, where their bones snapped loud enough for the men to hear and they slowly slid to the ground below. One gryphon followed behind, but before it could be thrown around by the wind, the black mist followed it out of the cave and grabbed it.

The men watched in terror as the black mist threw the gryphon about like a rag doll and then held it in place. The gryphon screamed for mercy, but all it got was a massive pressure on its body that killed it almost instantly, and was then it was dropped to nothingness.

“Shit,” Frost said.

The black mist, though only a body of gas, seemed to turn around and face the men. Both men froze, and they could swear that they saw two green, hate-filled eyes staring at them. Then, the mist shot up the mountain to join the rest of it.

“We gotta run!” Duke said.

Duke and Frost turned and went back to the way they came up, but this time, they weren’t going to give the same care to where they put their feet. Giving a quick glance up, Frost looked for any sign of the mist, but saw nothing. Though, in the eerie silence, he heard a low rumble.

“Duke...” Frost said.

Duke looked up. “Oh no,” he said.

The rumbling got louder.

“Avalanche!” Frost said.

The men didn’t set up anything and instead chose to hop off the ledge and slide down the steep wall. In an effort to slow their descent, they used their ice-climbing picks to try to drag against the ice. It would probably ruin them, but that wasn’t exactly the first concern at the moment.

Escaping an avalanche is no easy feat; they can go up to eighty miles per hour. The men, however, could not go that fast, or they would splatter on whatever surface they ended up hitting. When they hit the next ledge, Duke gave a quick glance up to check their time. He could already see the snow starting to come on them.

Inside it, there was the black mist, wretched green eyes, and a terrible, razor-toothed maw.

“GOOO!” Duke yelled.

The men went down the next slope and slowed themselves less than the first time. This time they had to evade holes and cracks that would lead to ravines, and ultimately, a very unpleasant death. Rolling, scraping, and hopping their way down, they just barely made it ahead of the coming avalanche.

When they hit the bottom, the men spotted the crystal ponies and the sleigh and bolted for it. The ponies spotted them coming, but their eyes exploded in size when they saw what was coming after them. As the men approached the sleigh, the ponies started speeding up for the escape. Duke and Frost hopped on just in time for the sleigh to get moving fast enough to escape an early, frozen grave.

The men watched behind them as the snow came crashing down to the ground and the black mist started to dissipate at the base of the mountain. They had to hold onto the sides with vice grips to avoid flying out the hole in the back made by that creature earlier. All in all, though, they were just happy to be alive.

“Jeez, guys, we all nearly got killed there!” one of the pullers shouted.

“But we didn’t,” Duke said, looking back. “Not this time, at least.”

“Let’s just get back,” Frost said. “I kinda wanna sit down where my spine won’t be jarred around nonstop.”

“Amen to that!” one of the pullers replied. The group sped off into the distance towards the city, happy to be alive and out of the greatest danger they had encountered thus far.




When they reached the city, Duke and Frost went straight to the palace to meet with the prince and get some well-earned rest. They were still shocked by everything they saw out there, and while they were maintaining their sanity very well for being the second and third humans to enter Equestria, this experience was fraying them just a bit.

They knocked on the doors to the throne room and the doors opened slowly, revealing the rulers of the Crystal Empire.

“Ah, you’ve returned,” Princess Cadance said.

“You say that like you didn’t think we would,” Frost said.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t what I meant,” Princess Cadance tried to recover. “I was merely saying that-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Duke said with a wave of his hand. “We’re still getting over what we saw out there.”

“What would that be?” Shining Armor asked.

“A black mist that threw a bunch of gryphons around like rag dolls and broke them like toothpicks,” Frost said. “That was way too much.”

“Yes, we were afraid you would encounter that. It’s why we warned you about it,” Shining Armor explained. “Seeing as you escaped, you’re both clearly able to get away. However, you will need to recover before we can send you out there again.”

“Give us until tomorrow,” Duke said. “We just want to get back to where it’s warm sometime soon.”

“And you shall be,” Princess Cadance said.

“But what were you saying about gryphons being attacked?” Shining Armor said.

“The black mist went into the cave,” Frost said. “Gryphons flew out to their deaths and one was grabbed by it. It must have killed everything inside that place.”

“Damn,” Shining Armor said.

“Shining, language!” Princess Cadance reprimanded her husband.

“Sorry,” Shining Armor replied. “But that means that Sombra’s magic probably ruptured everything inside. No doubt gas is everywhere.”

“That’s why we have the suits,” Frost said.

“We do,” Duke said. “But you’ll need some pony suits too.”

“You want a team?” Shining Armor guessed. Duke nodded. “After this, I can understand. You’ll have your team tomorrow, no worries.”

“Good,” Duke said.

“So are we finished?” Frost asked. Duke nodded to him. “I’m gonna head to our room and call Amel. I’ll see you in a bit, Duke.”

“Enjoy yourself,” Duke said. “No dickpics!”

When Duke turned around, Princess Cadance was giving him a strange look while Shining Armor looked rather entertained. Frost just kept on walking, unphased, and when he was gone, Duke turned his attention back to the royals whom he just used offensive language in front of.

“Well then,” he said. “I should also get going.”

“Wait, why did you tell him no-”

“Cadance!” Shining Armor cut off. “Uhh, no worries. He was just joking.” Cadance raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’re the princess of love, right?” Duke asked.

“I am,” Cadance replied.

“Before we leave, I may need to ask a favor of you,” Duke said.

Cadance raised her brow even more. “Umm, okay?”

Duke gave her a thumbs-up. “Thanks.”

Duke left two confused royal ponies in the throne room and went back to his room where he quietly moved around the background of Frost’s video call to clean himself up and go to sleep.

PreviousChapters Next