Chapter Text
Lulu moved Snow White into a trot as she followed behind Anna and Acorn on Pony Pal Trail. She would never grow tired of riding this trail. The mile-and-a-half woodland trail formed a perfect connection between their friend Pam’s property and Acorn and Snow White’s paddock. And even now in the wintertime, the trees looked beautiful with snow and the occasional row of icicles hanging from their branches.
“The trail might be a little icy up ahead, so be careful,” Anna called back to her.
“You’re right, I can see it,” Lulu said. She recognized the shimmering patches of ice up ahead and decided to slow Snow White to a walk.
As they continued forward, Lulu smiled as she noticed a few snowflakes falling from the sky. Lulu loved nature and learned a lot about it from her father. He traveled the world to study wild animals, and Lulu would often go with him and learn alongside him. Lulu’s mother died when she was only four years old, so she was very close with her dad. But when Lulu turned ten, he decided it would be best for her to live in one place so she could have a more stable life and make friends in their town. That’s why Lulu currently lived in the town of Wiggins with her grandmother Sanders.
Just a couple weeks ago, Father left to travel to Antarctica and study penguins. Though Lulu loved it in Wiggins, she begged him to let her come with him so she could see the penguins too.
“But I love penguins, dad! It would be amazing to get to see them in person,” she’d pleaded.
“Lulu… Antarctica is a very cold and, frankly, dangerous place. If there’s one trip you shouldn’t come on with me, it’s this one,” he’d said.
And so he left on his plane to Antarctica, leaving Lulu behind in Wiggins. She was a little disappointed at first, but now she was thankful she could stay here in Wiggins with her friends. She loved being here with Snow White and her fellow Pony Pals.
Pam Crandal was probably the most knowledgeable Pony Pal when it came to ponies and horses. Her father was a veterinarian and her mother worked as a riding instructor, so she’d been around ponies and horses her whole life. Pam enjoyed school and really excelled in their class at Wiggins Elementary. She also loved her beautiful Connemara pony, Lightning.
Anna Harley was dyslexic and had trouble in school with things like reading and math. But she loved art class and enjoyed drawing lots of different things, especially ponies. She didn’t get her own pony until she was nine years old, but she loved Acorn with all her heart. Her father was a firefighter, and her mother owned and worked at the local town diner. It was a favorite meeting spot for the Pony Pals.
Lulu and Anna navigated their ponies through the icy patches in the trail and finally met up with Pam at the halfway point of the trail, near the three birch trees.
“Acorn looks like he’s really liking the snow,” Pam said.
Anna smiled and gave his neck a pat. “He loves this weather. You should’ve seen him in his paddock with Snow White this morning.”
Lulu nodded with her. “They were running around and kicking up snow at each other. This snow is super fluffy, so they love playing in it.”
Pam moved forward a couple steps on Lightning. “Did Snow White get hurt?” she asked. She pointed down at Snow White’s leg, which had a small bandage wrapped around it.
“Oh yeah, and your face. What happened?” Anna asked, gesturing at the small bandaid on Lulu’s cheek.
Lulu put a hand to her cheek. “Oh, well I was riding Snow White on one of the trails yesterday and she got a bit spooked. I think it was because of some snow that fell from a tree. She got a small cut on her leg when she was panicking, and I ended up getting scratched by a branch.”
“Aww, poor Snow White,” said Anna.
“She seems better now, at least,” Pam said, looking up at the falling snow.
Lulu nodded. “I think she’ll be fine today. You ready to get going, Snow White?”
Snow White snorted as if to say, “I’ve been ready!”
The three of them continued down Pony Pal trail. It was Anna’s turn to lead today, and Acorn seemed proud to be their guide. Pam was second in line, and Lulu brought up the rear. When they reached the end of Pony Pal trail, they turned off to head towards the trails at Mt. Morris. They’d been to Mt. Morris a couple times before, but there were still plenty of unexplored trails there. Lulu was excited to see what the trails had to offer today.
The air grew slightly colder as they reached the Mt. Morris area, though the snow remained light and thankfully didn’t impact visibility. As they rode, Lulu noticed an entrance to another woodland trail that looked to be a little bit more concealed and suggested they check it out.
“We definitely haven’t been there before,” Anna said.
“Let’s check it out. It could be a fun new place to ride,” Pam agreed.
The three of them proceeded down the trail, taking in their surroundings along the way. This trail was a little more narrow, though the ponies didn’t mind. In fact, they seemed to enjoy getting to explore a new place. It was also very quiet along the trail. Even the ponies’ footsteps were somewhat muted in the snow that coated the ground. As they got further into the woods, it grew even more quiet, until they finally reached a small clearing.
“That was a long trail,” Anna said as they paused in the clearing.
“Yeah, we must be pretty deep in the woods,” said Pam.
The three of them dismounted to give their ponies a quick rest and take a look around the area. The ground was relatively flat, but somewhat muddy and dotted with brush and snow. There didn’t seem to be any other connecting trails here - only more woods in every direction, Lulu noted. Still, this could be a nice place to have a Pony Pals picnic.
“What’s that?” Anna said, pointing at something that was propped against a tree near the edge of the clearing. She squinted at it and took a couple steps forward.
“Is that a shovel?” Pam stepped forward alongside her. The two of them approached the tree, while Lulu stayed with their ponies at the center of the clearing.
“Oh my god!” Anna let out a scream that broke the stillness that had settled in the area.
“Is that… is that…?” Pam repeated.
“What is it?” Lulu asked them.
Anna turned back with a look of horror on her face. “It’s Tommy Rand! And he’s… he’s dead!”