Applejack adjusted the scarf around her neck, huffing, "Granny, ah'll be fine. It ain't that cold."
"Maybe not 'ere", her granny said, tugging the scarf back into place. "But that's cause we got the Pegasi makin' sure it ain't too bad. Who knows how bad the Everfree is compared ta here."
Granny Smith backed up, looking over her granddaughter. Applejack was wearing a padded vest, at least three scarfs, a beanie, and thick wool socks over each of her legs. Between that, and the insulated backpack holding her cargo of apple dumplings and cider, she felt like she could barely move.
"Well, how come Big Mac doesn't haveta wear all this?!", she said, pointing to her big brother. In comparison to her, he was only wearing a scarf and a knitted jacket.
"Because ah've got thicker fur", Big Mac said, rubbing his foreleg for emphasis.
Applejack grumbled, but didn't say anything out loud. "Fine. Come on, let's go."
"Go where?", a voice said. All three turned to see Bright Mac coming towards them out of the living room. He was moving much better than he was at the funeral, which was almost a month ago at this point. However, his limp was still quite noticeable, and the doctor said it was likely he would have it for the rest of his life.
"Ah wanted ta bring somethin' ta Aquila", Applejack said. "Granny help me make dumplings fer him."
"And y'all are goin' into the Everfree in the dead 'a winter ta do it?", Bright Mac questioned. "Do ya know how dangerous that is?"
"Ah'm not goin' alone", Applejack said. "Big Mac is comin' wit' me."
"Don't worry, Pa", Big Mac said. "It won't take long. Plus, don't Timberwolves hibernate?"
"Ah, ah don't know", Bright Mac admitted. "But you two best be careful. And be back before the sun even starts to set, ya hear!"
"Don't worry, Pa", Applejack said. "We'll be back in a jiffy!"
+++++~+++++
"Remind me wah ah'm bein' dragged inta this", Big Mac asked.
Applejack pushed a branch out of her way as the two made their way through snow that reached past their hooves, following the slash marks still visible on the trees. "Because Granny wouldn't let me go alone, and ah wanna give this ta Aquila."
"Yeah, but wah?", Big Mac asked, causing Applejack to stop almost dead in her tracks.
Applejack almost yelled, "Because he saved me an' Pa, that's wah! He deserves somethin' nice, bein' all alone out here and all."
"No, no. Ah get that. But, well... Beside what Pa said 'bout it bein' winter an' all, ya gotta admit he's a bit..."
"A bit what?", Applejack asked.
Big Mac said, "Well, ah mean... Ya've seen what he wears, and that he does it constantly. He lives in the Everfree too, which is pretty weird bah itself. Plus, there's that whole Emperor thing."
"And? So we shouldn't just stop bein' nice ta him because he has a few... weird things he believes. It ain't no different than Berry's whole deal wit' those drinks helpin' her study."
"That's because... Well, ah got nothin' fer that one. But it's at least a lot less bizarre er out there than belief about some Emperor that exists everywhere. Or, whatever it was he said", Big Mac said. "All ah'm sayin' is he ain't-"
"Ah get what yer sayin', Big Mac. Ah do", Applejack said. "But, can ya just act polite ta him when we get there."
"Ah'm not sayin' he's a bad pony or anything. He just... ain't normal."
The two entered the clearing by Aquila's house, the cliff towering over it hard to miss. The river that stretched across the clearing side closest to them had completely frozen over, leaving a solid chunk of ice to facilitate an easy traversal. They made their way up the hill, slowed by the thick snow on the ground as well as the fall coming out of the sky, before making their way in between the snow-encrusted barricade at the entrance to the ravine.
They continued uphill towards the weird stone house Aquila had made. As they did, Big Mac pointed to the cave behind it, which was covered by a massive flap of what appeared to be fur. "He ever tell ya what's back there?"
"What do ya mean?", Applejack asked.
Big Mac said, "Well, ya've interacted wit' him more than ah have. And, well, from what you said, he told ya not ta go back there. Ah'm just wonderin' if he explained why."
"No, he didn't", Applejack said.
"Well, what do ya think it is?", he asked.
Applejack snorted. "Ah figured it ain't none 'a mah business, or that it's somethin' private. Like what ya said 'bout that box ya've got under yer bed."
Big Mac nodded, slowing his speed so as to even better hide the slightly redder shade of his face. The two of them reached the trench in front of the structure, which appeared to have been half-filled in with snow. Big Mac noticed something sticking out of the snow, grabbing it and bringing it up to examine.
He said, "Well, ain't this strange."
"What?", Applejack asked, to which Big Mac showed her what it was: a small metal shovel, which appeared to have a few hinges on it.
"Odd thing ta have out here", he said. "Frankly, ah ain't never seen anything like it."
"Ah told ya, cut it out", Applejack said. "Now, where is-Oh Celestia! Big Mac! Get over here!"
Big Mac walked around the trench, stopping dead in his tracks as he looked over Applejack's head. A section of the house entrance had caved in, likely due to the snow that was still piled on top of the bunker. From what he could see, patches of it had been cleared off of the roof, though some of the fresh snow falling down appeared to have undone a lot of the work. Laying belly-down in the snow in front of the collapsed snow, partially buried and with a small trail of blood oozing off of his forehead by his horn, was Aquila.
Applejack shucked off the backpack, racing up to him. "Aquila!", she cried, jostling him and pulling him out of the snow. He grumbled lightly, with Applejack only able to make out the word 'Protect'. "He's alive."
Big Mac looked over at the crumbled section of the wall, frowning. "He musta been tryin' ta clean off the roof when that gave out on him. Who know's how long its been since that happened."
"W-we gotta get him some help!", Applejack said. "H-he's so... cold."
Big Mac looked down at Aquila, and even though he wasn't touching him, he could tell she was right. His fur was a duller shade of tan than when he last saw him, while the shirt and pants he was wearing looked like he had taken a dip in the river. He was shivering, while his eyes were barely open. Big Mac knew nothing about medicine or illnesses beyond personal experience, but that little bit was enough to convince him Aquila wasn't well. "Alright. Help him onto mah back. We'll get him back ta Sweet Apple Acres."