Applejack stared at the hole they had dug.
It wasn’t a wide hole, just big enough for a good sized box to fit in, but it was a deep hole, the type that would swallow up a pony if she wasn’t careful. Yes it was a hole, cutting through wet earth, old river silt and down on to blue clay. So deep it was, and so lined with clay and silt, that Applebloom had crawled down into it on many occasions to bail out the rainwater that had collected in the bottom, just so that the others could finish their digging. Applejack and Big Macintosh had both both taken turns to clear out the hole until they deemed it deep enough, working on despite the troubles.
It was nestled under one of the old apple trees, far in the back of the orchards where it wouldn’t be disturbed, though the location had made the dig harder. The tree was old, Applejack knew that as it had towered over her as a filly. The tree was also special; it was so far in the back that it had become an easy place to escape to when work was too much, a refuge for her and Winona during her youth. It had become something much more than just a tree, her trusty dog and her having spent hours back there, running, playing fetch, or just sitting under the tree to escape the sun on a hot summers day.
“Winona! Wait fer me!” Applejack laughed as loud as she had shouted, galloping after the little border collie, the dog carrying a large stick even as she ran away from the orange pony.
AJ slowed to a stop beneath the old apple tree, panting for breath as she leaned against the weathered trunk, little filly legs not quite able to keep with the young dog. With a sigh, She flopped onto her back, staring up into the softly lit treetop, sunlight filtering down to where she lay on the cool grass, winded by the run.
Suddenly, her view was blocked, a brown and white muzzle dominating her field of vision; followed immediately by a warm pink tongue across her face, puppy dog kisses for a friend on a hot day.
AJ squirmed and shrieked, rolling about laughing in an attempt to be free of the dog and it’s affection, finally managing to pull away, leaping to her hooves and leaning against the tree, panting amidst giggles as Winona sat there, wagging her tail, muzzle in a wide grin.
The pony smiled, breath finally caught before wrapping her dog in a hug, the two of them sitting under the apple trees cool shade. “I love ya Winona.”
They stayed there ‘til it was late.
Today had started early, and was anything but hot or summer-y, the wind blowing in hard from the Everfree whipping the normally silent sentinels standing row on row into bouts of whispering, rain occasionally falling like tears, bouncing off the barren branches in a torrent only to clear up for a moment, the weather not sure how exactly it felt at the moment.
Applejack could agree with the weather. It seemed fitting, just like the hole. Where the hole was small, it was also deep, small but huge at the same time, while the weather was torn between rageing and melancholy, not sure if it should lash out with winds or drown with rain.
Like the hole, which they had dug without help, they braved the weather, though Rainbow had offered to wrangle the clouds for her; it felt like cheating, she’d told her friends, it didn’t feel right.
She was sore for it, her shoulder dislocated in the digging, but she went on, even after the earth and tools had worn her ankles to bleeding, and despite the worried looks of her brother. She hadn’t cried, not yet, because it wasn’t over yet.
It was her first time trying to manage the herd, and it wasn't going well.
The short of it was that Mac was off with Granny, because Applebloom had the flu, so she was on her own.
The long of it was that she was failing spectacularly, Winona and her only managing to stir them up more and more. It was slightly counter productive. By slightly, she truthfully meant it was dismal, the numerous scrapes and bruises a testament to both the failed attempts, and the fact she hadn't stopped trying.
Not that the last attempt was much better, as she tripped over the now uneven ground, rolling to a stop, hat askew. Winona was somewhere to her left she figured, but that was a guess at the best, as she was blinded by all the dust kicked into the air. The urge to just call it quits was there, to just head back to the apple trees.
She took in a deep breath.
“WE’RE NOT DONE YET!”
AJ’s shout broke through the noise and commotion, the orange mare herself lost in the cloud of dust from the stampede. While a little battered, she wasn’t discouraged, steeling herself as Winona leapt to her side, the dog helping to steady her owner. “Thanks girl. Now, let’s try this again.”
Winona barked happily before they tore off after the cows once more.
No, it wasn’t done yet. She was turning twenty four soon, a good age, some told her. She didn’t know what to think, really, not anymore. She took the bucket Applebloom offered up to her, pouring its silty muck into the drainage ditch nearby before hauling her sister out of the hole for the last time. The ditch would need a cleaning after this, but it could wait.
Wait like they did now, Wait for Granny Smith.
Winnona and AJ sat under the apple tree, a bone at one's feet and a hot apple fritter in the others hooves. They were waiting for Granny Smith to give the OK on starting the first harvest of the year, and as such both had taken the opportunity to sneak off and relax.
The tree wasn’t very special, but it was certainly old and tall, sprawling canopy laden with fruit. It was something of a sentinel, AJ figured, always having been there, giving them shade every summer and protecting them from the harsh sun.
AJ absentmindedly rubbed her dogs head as she took a bite out of the fritter, the Winona more than happy with her own treat as they waited, just enjoying each others company.
It seemed like eternity, nothing but the wind and the rain through the now barren sentinel of the tree; and the hole, the deep hole. Big Mac shuffled, Applebloom sniffled. The world seemed to darken as they waited; it probably did, the sun would be setting soon.
A low creaking made them all look over. Granny Smith, worn out as she was, was hitched to a small cart, a wooden box its only cargo.
The bow was plain, designed for a simple purpose; originally it had held toys, bones, other odds and ends.
Now it was a box for the hole.
Applejack shivered, not from the weather, but from the knowledge of what was in the box.
Winona.
“WINONA!”
Applejack’s exclamation was drowned out by the dogs sudden spasm, Winnona making a horrible noise as the fouteen year old dog twitched about on the floor, muzzle wrapped around her own front leg.
Applejack couldn’t get close to her dog as the border collie flailed uncontrollably, teeth ripping a large chunk of flesh from her leg, blood soaking the stone hearth of the fireplace. A horrified sound and skittering announced that Applebloom would be no help, while a yell from Big Mac told AJ that she was on her own.
She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know what to-
Like that, it was over.
Winona whimpered softly, dazed and confused as she laid on the hearth, the embers of the fire letting out a dull pop.
“W-winona?” AJ crept along the floor, almost afraid before she reached out her hoof. Winnona’s muzzle met her half-way, soft tongue licking at her hoof.
“I-it’s gonna be ok girl. We’re gonna take you ta F-fluttershy, and get you all fixed up…”
AJ hardly noticed Big Mac enter the room as she hefted her dog onto her back, shouldering past him as she hastily ran for her friend.
Winona hadn’t gotten better. The seizures got worse, the pegasus unable to help.
“I-I’m sorry AJ… I-i just can’t help her, I-i… Sorry…”
AJ was alone with her dog.
“I-it’ll be ok girl,” The farm pony gently stroked her dogs head, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “I-i promise it’ll be okay…”
Winona weakly nuzzled AJs hoof, licking it gently while letting out a little whine at the ponys distress. “Y-you’re gonna get better…”
AJ sat there, and slowly just let herself lay her head against the dogs side, listening to the heartbeat. It wasn’t strong, but it was there. It was there and she didn't want to let go and know that it stopped. She just didn't want it to happen.
AJ laid against her friends white and brown coat until she fell asleep.
She hadn’t been able to do it, in the end. Granny Smith had been the one to tell Fluttershy to put Winona to sleep, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to forgive herself.
Fourteen years Winona had been by her side. Fourteen years she’d come home to a smiling little friend with a wagging tail.
She was turning twenty four. More than half of her life Winona had been there, a constant companion, a part of her family.
Now the rest of her life was in front of her.
Her and Mac held the ropes, both carefully and smoothly lowering the box into the hole. The hole was small, so small, like the box and who it contained. But it was deep.
Applejack had dug a grave today, beneath the apple tree she once played under, where summers where spent, as the sky raged and the tall, silent sentinels danced, bare to the sky and the tears it offered.
And now, in the cold, wet, tear soaked ground she buried family.
"Winona..."
Author's Note
Last year I buried my dog.
Last week I buried my cat.
