Applejack awoke to the sensation of Pinkie Pie's body trembling from the cold air that had infiltrated the small tent. The grayish gloom of a cloud covered sun immersed the outside, the faint light revealing tiny specks that drifted above them.
Applejack shook the quaking Pink Pony that rested on top of her. "Pinkie, ah think we should get moving!"
The tired fluffy pony squeaked a small yawn before bursting into life. "It sure is cold out here!" Pinkie let out a shiver and rubbed her hooves on her shoulders to warm herself. "Ooh, it's snowing!" she squealed as she looked outside the tent.
Applejack didn't share the enthusiasm; a new layer of snow would make tracking nearly impossible. She exited the tent to witness Pinkie Pie had begun dancing awkwardly in the snow. "Uh, Pinkie, ah don't mean to dampen yer spirits or anything, but how are we gonna find Rainbow if we can't even see the road anymore?"
Pinkie Pie stopped dancing for a moment and thought. "Well! If we came from that way…" she pointed her pink hoof behind them, "then they must have gone this way!" she rotated her hoof pointing in front of her.
Applejack covered her face with her hoof when Pinkie Pie had failed to see the point she was making, "Well, yeah… but what if we come tah a fork in the road, then what? We could end up running into dozens of intersections, and then we'd be completely lost!"
The pony paused for another moment, thinking things through once again, "That's a problem for future Pinkie Pie to solve! For now, we should go THAT WAY!" she began to bounce away from Applejack who trailed behind her, the tent had simply vanished behind them.
As they walked down the snowy path, the trees began to dwindle away. For miles all that was visible was the white snow, and the tall golden-brown grass that bordered their walkway. Pinkie Pie hummed to herself as her hooves crunched on the ice beneath her.
Applejack noticed three things that changed as they continued forward: The first thing she had noticed was that it was getting colder, her humid breath making a small fog as she exhaled. The second; was a sudden increase in silver striations that flooded the air, gently caressing her orange coat as the crystals floated downward. The third thing she spotted was a pathway of trampled golden grass that even Pinkie Pie's sharp eye hadn't caught.
The farm pony cleared her throat, "I think you missed our turn." She pointed her orange hoof at the trail. Pinkie Pie let out a small cheer and allowed Applejack a turn to lead their expedition. Pinkie Pie walked silently behind, trying to spot details so she could even the score of the game she had started playing without Applejack's knowledge.
The two monitored every last aspect of their surroundings, though for different reasons. Pinkie Pie shouted triumphantly and grabbed the golden tail of the pony in front of her, and pulled her back to the new discovery. Applejack's eyes encasing with a look of fear as she stared at the blood stained grass the pink pony had spotted.
Pinkie Pie's hair deflated when her brain made the connection of what she had most likely found. "What if RD isn't okay Pinkie?" Applejack's asked cheerlessly, breaking the silence as they gazed at the dismal sight
"Don't say that Applejack! She has to be okay!" Pinkie Pie patted the anxious pony on the head.
"What if she isn't? How can yah know?" Applejack asked in a dispirited voice.
"Because I pinky promised, and I never break a pinky promise, that's how I know! Pinkie Pie's hair re-inflated. This had been enough to comfort her, which as a result, made Applejack feel a little better as well. "Now come on, we have a Pegasus to find!" she hopped over Applejack, and bound forward.
The trail of crumpled grass came to an end, merging into a gravel road that went in only one direction. The rocks jabbed into their hooves as they marched across the unfamiliar terrain. The flakes of snow were nearly triple in size, and their rate of descent had increased as well, almost completely blocking their vision as they proceeded.
Pinkie Pie leaped up excitedly when her eyes caught glimpse of a structure off in the distance through the fog. "Applejack, I think we're here, wherever here is!" she squeaked energetically as she sped up.
"Pinkie Pie, slow down, we don't know what crazy pony lives out here!" Applejack called out after her. She tried to meet the new pace, but slipped on one of the more unsteady rocks. By the time she gathered herself off the gravel, Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen.
Applejack shouted out for the missing pony, "Pinkie Pie?" she received no answer. "PINKIE PIE!" she shouted again, much louder than before, and still no answer. A cold sweat began to cover her as she approached a tattered brick house with no sign of her friend. "Pinkie Pie?" she attempted to shout, but her growing fear suppressed her voice.
A set of fresh hoof prints stopped a few yards from the door being replaced with the tracks of a pony that had been dragged. Applejack's first assumption was that Pinkie Pie had been clobbered over the head and dragged inside, and that they hadn't seen her because she had fallen.
The orange pony took a deep breath, and gently turned the knob of the door and pulled it open, the howling wind covering the noise of the creaking door hinges as they rotated. She prepared to trot inside, when she stopped herself.
Applejack thought better then to just bumble inside, she peaked through the crack where the door hinges met the wall, and she saw no pony. She poked her head inside the building, again, seeing no pony. Confident that she could now safely enter without having to fear being bludgeoned, she tip-hoofed inside the house.
Applejack looked around the square room, all she could find, was a single light switch that powered the one bulb that dangled from the ceiling. There were no windows, doorways, or hallways; the main room of the building also happened to be the only room. She looked around, confused, they couldn't have just vanished.
The orange pony walked quietly on the wooden surface, not wanting to alarm any pony of her presence in case she had been missing something. After thorough examination of the room, she still could not find anything, until she gazed back at the door. The trail of snow that had been left behind from a pony being dragged had now melted.
The trail veered off to by the wall, stopping in the corner of the room. A circular shape of different shaded wood was magnified by the droplets; it was the tiny handle of a trapdoor. Cautiously, Applejack approached it and pulled it open quietly, revealing a staircase leading down into the darkness. The sound of whimpering ponies bounced off the dimly lit stone walls, echoing in her ears.
Author's Notes
Hey guys, back at home with a fancy back brace, back home much sooner than I had anticipated to be honest! Anyway, this is the second part of chapter 3, my apologies for uploading the chapter into two separate parts, but I can't exactly re-upload them together without some of the audience getting lost, still, enjoy. The next chapters will be longer again, I promise.