Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Braeburn had emerged over the top of the hill outside the city limits, and were looking down upon the comparatively smaller abandoned town on the other side. Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Do you think... there's ghosts down there?"
"Nnnope," Braeburn said, and Dash looked at him. "Ain't nothin' down there that I can tell, hasn't been in years. It's just sort of a reminder of how far we've come. But every now and then when we're doin' expansions we'll use the wood and buildin' materials from down here, saves us time and bits," he explained.
"Even if the kids are down there, how will we find them?" Fluttershy asked. "What if they're hiding?"
"That's easy," Dash said, and pointed down to the ground. Three smaller tracks of hooves were running right into the old down, visible in the dirt and dust. "Jackpot," Dash said, and the three of them ran down the hill into town, following the tracks. The tracks weaved through a couple buildings before entering a large building marked "Nursery."
Entering into the building, the three adults followed the tracks out into what may once have been a sleeping area, or a play area, it was difficult to tell. Fluttershy rushed forward to the cribs, as if afraid that a foal would be abandoned and left behind in one of them. Braeburn and Rainbow Dash watched her with vague understanding that it was something she needed to do. Fluttershy examined all the cribs, and was pleased to find that they were all empty.
"They only moved up the hill, Fluttershy," Rainbow said. "It's not like Pompneii was exploding or anything. Nopony was gonna get left behind."
"Well I had to be sure!" She said. Fluttershy went over to the rocking horse in the corner, an nudged it with her front leg.
"Does anypony else think it's really creepy that the kids played on a rocking horse?" Rainbow asked.
Braeburn raised his hoof.
"Well, um..." Fluttershy began. "I think it's kinda cute..."
"You think bears and timberwolves are cute. I don't think you know what cute means," Rainbow said.
"Gals!" Braeburn said. "We're on a mission, which may very well be time critical. Look, the hoofprints lead outside," he noted. "They were here, but they left. We gotta keep goin'," he said. He followed the tracks outside, with the mares following him. He was used to mares following him, after all, he WAS pretty awesome, but that was another story entirely. The tracks circled around between a couple of buildings, then entered through a pair of swinging double doors.
"A bank..." Rainbow Dash noted, following Braeburn in through the swinging doors. The stallion was standing near the doors, frowning.
"What's up?" Dash asked.
"The tracks move around in back, then circle back towards the front," he observed. Fluttershy was last in through the doors, following something else. "There's more footprints outside going in," she said. "Somepony else was in here."
Braeburn's frowned deepened. "And there are no tracks leading out." Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground, and saw he was right. The tracks just... stopped.
"I don't like this," Fluttershy whispered quietly. "I don't like this at all."
"Well maybe we're getting all worked up for nothing," Rainbow Dash said, following the tracks back towards the banking counter. "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explan-"
Braeburn and Fluttershy both looked up. Dash had frozen, a dead cold expression in her eyes. The other two adults slowly closed in on her, a feeling of dread rising in their stomachs. They'd never seen Dash look like that before. Fluttershy rounded the corner where the rainbow pegasus stood, and let out a small squeak.
Untied, a large red bow lay on the floor.