That Which Lies in Snow

“Y'all hear that?”, Applejack asked. She watched as the pegasus listened and saw as recognition struck her.

“Apple Bloom...”, she trailed off. “Why’s she out here so late?”

“Ah don’t know, but we gotta go help her”, Applejack said, gathering her saddlebags and preparing to head out.

“Wait a minute”, Dash protested, “AJ, something’s off, can we stop and think bef-”

“No, we can not!”, Applejack interrupted sternly and matter of factly, “because every moment we sit here thinking, mah’ little sister is out there freezin’ to death!”

Rainbow stepped in the earth pony’s path as she went to exit the cave, “Applejack, listen to me! The shaman back at the village warned me about something, about feelings of strife, I didn’t take it seriously, I thought it was just an old buck’s rambling... but this blizzard, it came out of nowhere, and he mentioned those windy things, from the Hearth's Warming story, and-”

“So what y’all’re sayin’ is y’all wanna risk mah little sister’s life on the ramblings of some old deer?” she snorted, too lost in emotion to recognize the desperation in Rainbow’s voice.

“No! I love Apple Bloom! She’s become like another little sister to me... even if... I bucked things up…”. Rainbow averted her gaze, her words trailing off.

Rainbow’s stalling was whittling away at what little was left of Applejack’s patience. “This is ridiculous”, she said as she shoved her way past Rainbow.

“AJ, please!”, Rainbow pleaded as her marefriend quickly made for the exit into the howling storm outside, “just slow down for a second and-”

“That’s rich comin’ from you of all ponies! Ain’t y’all the element of loyalty? The one always ready to jump head first into danger to save yer’ friends?”, the tone of her response was venomous, daring the pegasus to rebuttal.

A moment passed, the pegasus fumbling over mumbles as her only attempt at response.

“Whatever”, AJ said, finally reaching the end of her patience, “it don’t matter, I’m savin’ mah’ sister, whether y’all join me er’ not!”. And with that she was gone, leaving the pegasus alone with the slowly dying fire.

Applejack took no time to brace herself as she trudged out into the snowstorm. A mistake that quickly began to cost her. The harsh, cold wind showed her no mercy as she plowed through the knee deep snow. For a brief moment she was reconsidering her choice to leave the cave, she peered back, and could still barely see the glowing entrance, but her attention was pulled back to Applebloom as she heard the voice again.

“A-Applejack? Is that you?”, the voice was more desperate now.

“Ah’m comin, Apple Bloom! Just stay where ya are!”, the orange mare yelled out in response, before picking up her pace with all the vigor she could muster.

Her pace wasn’t quick for long, however, as soon she found herself in near pitch darkness. She could see nothing beyond what little moonlight leaked through the canopy and reflected on the whipping flakes of snow. Her already fatigued state did her no favors as the blistering cold eroded past even the enhanced resilience she had as an earth pony. Already her legs were starting to feel numb.

The cold crept upward, every muscle locking up as she began to shiver uncontrollably. “Apple Bloom!”, she called out, her voice doing little to compete with the howling wind. “A-Ah’m h-here! Wh-where… a-are ya?”

A bit of moonlight reflected in the eyes of something in the corner of AJ’s vision, and her attention quickly snapped to it as she noticed.

The eyes were those of a pony, that much was clear, but she couldn’t make out the color of their coat or any other details in this darkness. “A-Apple Bl-”, she struggled to form the words, her tongue beginning to lock up as her shivers became uncontrollable shallow panting.

AJ stopped, trying to reorient herself. She blinked, and the eyes were gone. Puzzled, the mare stepped forward, but she felt her front legs give out. She stumbled, falling into the undergrowth where the eyes had been.

AJ groaned in exasperation. Surprisingly, she felt no pain, not from the fall or from the thorny briars she had collided with. She wasn’t sure if she blacked out, or how long she was out if she did. Why was she so disoriented? It was like reality itself was spinning around her. Was she drunk? She didn’t recall having any cider… not yet anyway…

She needed to reorient herself. Where was she? The Everfree Forest... right! She staggered to her hooves and stepped out of the underbrush. The moonlight reflected off flecks of blood running down her pelt, thorny briars clinging to her flesh and tearing her cold numbed skin. She stepped forward into the waning moonlight, and her eyes widened.

Figures moved in the storm around her, like the shadows had come alive and danced in the wind. She saw them overhead, twisting spirits of darkness and frost that coalesced into the stormy sky. Wind howled like the sound of a horse’s whinny.

With no other course of action, AJ stumbled forward. She felt something strike her back, opening three deep gashes that reddened the otherwise pure-white snow as the force of the strike sent her face first into the frigid fluff that coated the ground.

AJ forced her failing body to stand. The snow she was covered in burned. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her saddlebags and hat felt hot against her skin. She quickly removed her saddlebags, and tossed them down into the snow, followed by her hat and hair ties.

Now completely bare, she breathed heavy, every frigid inhale felt like a torrent of menthol as the cold burned her mouth and throat. “H-Help!” She cried out, “Rainbow! Ah’m s-shorry, ah’ shouldn’t have rushed ahead… ah’ sss-should’ve lissshtend…”. The freezing mare’s cries were left unanswered, save for the howling of the wind… She was alone. She’d spurned the most loyal friend she had. What was she thinking? Rushing out here alone, with no plan, to find Apple Bloom just so they could both freeze to death.

But just as all hope was lost, just as the earth pony squeezed her eyes shut and braced for her rapidly approaching end, she heard a voice.

“Applejack?”, the voice sounded scared and unsure. And as Applejack turned around to the source of the voice, she saw her. The little yellow filly with a red mane and pink bow, looking ragged, and peering up at her big sister with a desperate expression.

There was a flash of clarity, it was Apple Bloom, the reason she had charged so recklessly out into the unrelenting storm.

Applejack pulled the little filly into an embrace. The warmth from her little body was enough to remind her how cold the storm around her was. She was shivering again, making her realize she’d even stopped in the first place. Her flesh felt like it was burning even hotter as her nerves suddenly flared back to life.

She clung to the younger mare, partially out of relief that she finally found her, and partially because she was the only source of warmth in the immediate vicinity. The little filly reached her hooves up and returned the embrace. “Yer cold...”, Apple Bloom said, her voice genuine and innocent, her hooves running over AJ’s thorny and bloodied hide, stopping on the three gashes down her back, “an’... yer’ hurt”.

The only response from the orange mare was the chattering of her teeth and shallow huffs of breath. She was barely pulled back from the icy precipice, but only for the moment.

“What happened to ya?”, the little forelegs squeezed tighter around Applejack.

AJ’s mind was now in a slight panic. Remembering where she was, she had found Apple Bloom, but what now? She felt the blood freezing to her pelt, and a cold numbness returning to the painful gashes in her back. The small amount of body warmth lent from her little sister was fading quickly and she felt herself start to slip back into that frigid abyss.

“Was it Rainbow Dash? Ah’ always knew she was bad fer’ ya… puttin’ me in danger, and then leavin’ y'all alone out in the cold”, Apple Bloom said as she nuzzled against Applejack’s chest, “Don’t worry though... ya found me”

The older mare’s breathing was quick, and she could feel her pulse in her ears. She couldn’t feel Apple Bloom’s warmth any more, not from her body, or her breath. She was clinging to something, she was sure of it, but it was as cold as the rest of the unforgiving tempest around her.

“Ah’ve got ya’... “, the little voice seemed to echo through the forest and mingle with the howling wind. Her tone was soothing and quiet, a calm demeanor that seemed unaffected by the storm, “Don’t worry, big sis, yer’ safe now”.