Family and Friends
by Raefire
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Sunlight streamed through the window of the house at Sweet Apple Acres. It was noon, and everypony in the family had woken up. All except for Winona. The family dog was in the living room, more asleep than a log. Applejack smirked as she looked at the peaceful collie. She almost didn't want to wake her. But upon waking, the old girl would know a pet playdate had been missed – and wouldn't let her forget.
“Hey, sleepyhead...It's noon, you know.” Applejack nuzzled Winona's head. “Ya' can't sleep in all day.” The dog's eyes opened, but then slowly closed again. “Oh, so it's gonna be like that, eh?” Applejack gently rustled her with a hoof, drawing an annoyed growl. “Oh, stop it, ya' grump. You can sleep again later. Come on, big girl. Wake up. It's playdate time! Do you wanna miss that, ya' old silly?”
That seemed to work. Applejack stepped back while Winona finally roused herself, slowly stretching and yawning. It seemed to take fifteen minutes, but eventually her friend was awake. She took her outside, and while Winona did her morning business, fetched from the barn the small red wagon her parents had giddily towed her around in as a foal. After lining it with a few towels, she brought it back to where Winona was patiently waiting. She couldn't walk Winona to the pet playdate anymore – the dog would be too exhausted to do anything when they arrived at the park. “Okay, big girl,” she grunted, picking up the dog and plopping her in the wagon. “Up and in.” Winona licked her. “I love you, too.”
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“Well, hey there, little girl! Ain't you the cutest thing!” The little freckled filly giggled as the tiny ball of fur attacked her, knocking her on her back and slapping a lot of slobbery licks all over her face. “Okay, okay, girl... I get the point,” she laughed, shoving the excited puppy off of her. The dog jumped back and wagged its tail, barking. “What should I call you, sugar? Sugar?” The little puppy shook her head. “I'm just jokin' with ya, doggy... Um... Hey, I got it! Ma suggested Winona. You like that?”
The puppy excitedly yipped, tail wagging. She licked her new friend happily on being picked up again.
Little Applejack laughed. “Ya' do like that name? Okay, girl! Your name is Winona! Now come on, Winona – I'll race ya' to the barn!” She giggled and took off, the little collie dashing right off after her.
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“Whoah!” Dash yelped as the stick flew past her and landed in the grass near her hooves.
Applejack appeared, towing Winona in the wagon. “See it? Alright, when I put you down, go fetch!”
“Running a little late for the playdate, are we, Applejack?” teased the pegasus – immediately feeling bad upon seeing Applejack take the border collie out of the wagon and gently place her on the ground. Winona barked and beelined straight for the stick – at a limping, rather beleaguered pace. Dash hung her head. “Oh, right. Yeah. Sorry `bout that, AJ. I keep forgetting how she is these days.”
Applejack waved it off. “Ya' ain't got nothin' to apologize for, Rainbow. Winona's knees just ain't what they used to be. All the better for her to get some exercise at these playdates. Besides,” she grinned, glancing at Dash's lethargically pacing tortoise. “She's still faster than Tank.”
Rainbow ignored the comeback. “Oh, hey, I already told the others, but just so you know: Cloudsdale scheduled some emergency morning rainstorms for the next couple of days...Might go a whole week, but they're not completely sure. So we may not be able to have an outdoors playdate next week.”
Twilight trotted over, Owloysius on her back. “Rainbow, don't worry about that. All I have to do is put up a spell to protect the books in the library, and we can have the playdate there. Or maybe we could have it in Applejack's barn, if she's okay with it. Are you okay with that, Applejack? Uh... Applejack?”
Applejack looked at the stick she'd thrown earlier. Tank “lunged” for it with his beak, but Winona picked it up first. Swiftly, however, Angel ran through, giddily grabbing the stick from the collie's mouth. The dog limped off after the thief, tail wagging away. Sensing his old friend was not with him, Angel stopped, turned around, bowed his head – and apologetically returned the stick to Winona. Winona barked and happily licked Angel in thanks – much to his irritation. Applejack simply smiled.
“Hello! Applejack? Can we use the barn or not?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Huh? Oh, yeah... No problem, girls.”
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A sharp yelp in her ear and a stinging scratch on her face snatched the filly awake. “Ow! Hey! What–”
Lightning and thunder crashed, drawing another terrified yelp from the puppy standing on her neck, who leaped off her and ran to the darkest part of the room. “Oh, big girl... Is the lightning scaring you?” Applejack quickly got up and approached cautiously, hoofs outstretched. Winona yipped, but cautiously moved forward. “Come here... Come on... The weather ain't gonna hurt you.”
Eventually, the puppy made it to her. Applejack cradled her, rocking the little thing back and forth, calmly petting and shushing her. A few thunderclaps later, Winona didn't even react. The filly smiled, lying on her stomach, letting the puppy down beside her. “See? It's not so bad!” Winona crawled up, sleepily rubbing against her owner's chest before curling up there, yawning. Applejack chuckled. “You wanna sleep there? Okay.” She curled her tail around the little dog, and soon the two were snoring.
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The playdate over, Applejack gathered Winona up into the wagon. They made it back to Sweet Apple Acres just in time for dinner, greeted by a cheerful Granny Smith. “Back right on time, just as always!”
Winona gave an attempt at a happy bark before heading right over to her bed, spinning a few times, then almost immediately dropping into an extremely deep nap. Applejack couldn't help but chuckle.
“Aw, ya' plum tuckered her out again!” whined Apple Bloom. “I was gonna play with her after dinner!”
“Now now, Apple Bloom,” Granny chastised. “She's just getting into the same habit your old Granny's fallen into when it comes to sleepin'. She'll be up after you've finished your food. Don't you worry.”
“Yeah, but just long enough for Applejack to give her her medicine...”
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“Whoah! Easy there, Winona! Easy, easy! Okay, OKAY! Stop barkin! Ya' got my attention already!”
Winona kept on barking, however, constantly running towards one direction and circling around.
“Huh? Did you find something, girl?” Applejack's eyes lit up. “Go on then! Show me what ya' found!”
The dog barked happily, taking off down the path. A short while, Winona stopped, jumping around and barking incessantly at the fence marking the edge of the land belonging to Sweet Apple Acres.
“You wanted to show me the fence?” asked Applejack, perplexed. “Winona, you silly dog...”
But Winona kept barking – and Applejack finally noticed it: A hat was hanging on one of the fence posts. Winona leaped up and barely managed to snag it in her jaws, bringing it back over. She stood up on her hind legs and dropped the hat right on her owner's head. Applejack giggled, and ran back off towards the house, the hat sometimes falling over her eyes. “Hey Ma! Pa! Look what Winona found!”
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“Winona, I know, sweetie. This medicine tastes somethin' awful. But ya' gotta take it!” With some extra manoeuvring and twisting around to hold her steady, Applejack finally managed to get the dropper in the aged dog's mouth. Winona recoiled from the medicine on her tongue, furiously whipping her head about trying to rid herself of it. “Oh, stop that, ya' old grump. You're getting' fussier than Granny, ya' know that?” Applejack rustled the fur behind the perturbed collie's ear and nuzzled her.
Slowly, Winona calmed down. “There we go... Now, was that so hard, grumpy? Was that so hard?” Applejack pet her old friend softly. “You're a good dog, Winona... Even when you are a bit of a pain.” She gently kissed her on the forehead, eliciting a slow wag of the tail from the collie. “Goodnight.”
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“First place, Winona! First place! We won the sheep herding competition!” Applejack laughed, skipping all around the Canterlot Arena's stable area, the blue ribbon medal jingling around her neck. Winona circled her ecstatic owner, happily barking, tail wagging. “And it was all thanks to you, big girl!” Applejack leaned down and ruffled the collie's forehead. “Ma and Pa are gonna be so proud when we get home! The first time they let me go to a rodeo alone, and we win!” Winona responded to the compliment by knocking her down and covering her with happy licks, causing Applejack to laugh – and then suddenly snatched the hat right off of her head, bolting towards the Arena entrance.
“What – Hey! You little rascal! Get back here with that! You know Ma made that hat for me since Pa's old one you found was too big for my head! She'll kill me if I end up losing it at my first solo Rodeo!”
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“Applejack? Applejack!”
“What? What?” Applejack woke and galloped over to Apple Bloom – and her own ears flattened.
Winona was lying there, unmoving, except for her eyes, which looked up when she drew near.
“She's just been sittin' there like that all mornin'! I know she hates to take her medicine, but now she won't even take a drink of water or eat any of her food! Should we go and get Fluttershy, Sis?”
Applejack drew Apple Bloom in against her chest. “Shh... There's really no use callin' Fluttershy now.”
Apple Bloom started to protest, but stopped, considering.
“We'd just be wastin' her time.”
The filly sniffed away some tears. “How – How long before she–”
“I don't know. Best we can do now is make the old girl as comfortable as possible. Go get a blanket.”
Apple Bloom nodded, running off. Applejack looked at the rain outside. “It just had to be this week...”
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“Ma! Pa! We're back! We're back! And we won the sheep herding competition! Look! Look! We won–” Applejack froze, the medal dangling on her outstretched hoof.
Standing on the front porch were Big Mac and Granny Smith. The elder one held in her hooves the crying baby Apple Bloom, swaddled in rags. Big Macintosh had a huge bandage around his chest.
Winona sensed something. She whined, her ears peeling back against her head. A terrified lump formed in Applejack's throat as she studied her family members' sullen faces. “...Ma? ...Pa?”
“Sis...I – I tried to save... but I wasn't–” Big Mac suddenly choked up and ran into the house.
Granny Smith watched him go, then turned back to the stunned Applejack. “...They're gone, dear.”
The blue ribbon medal fell to the dirt, striking a random pebble with a loud CLANG.
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Two days passed. The rain barely let up. And Winona barely moved. Unable to do any farm work outside, Applejack sat next to the dog every chance she could get. Sometimes, Apple Bloom, Big Mac or Granny Smith joined her, gently reminding her that she wasn't the only one in the family affected.
On the third day, Applejack looked up after finishing her late afternoon lunch to see that the rain had passed, and the sun was peeking around clouds that still hung in the sky. She walked over to her near-motionless friend. A soft smile curled over her lips. “Come on now, big girl. Let's get you outside.”
Minutes later, she gently set Winona down on the damp blades of grass. The wind was still cold, but the sun was more than enough to make up the difference. Applejack sighed, watching the cool breeze stir the dog's fur while the sun kissed their hides. She smiled down at her old friend. “Ya' always love lyin' out here watchin' the sunset after a hard day's work. Well, sun ain't settin' at the moment, but I figure you'd at least appreciate being out in it. Better than bein' cooped up inside all day, am I right?”
Winona didn't move or answer, but she did look her owner's way. Knowing her so well from their many years together, Applejack knew exactly what her friend was trying to say to her: Thank you.
She laid down next to her, rolling her head against the dog's body, feeling Winona's steady breathing. The animal's chest rose and fell with serious labour, but it was clear she was content with the company.
Applejack wrapped a hoof around her, staying until the sun had vanished before bringing her back in.
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“Yeah, it's me again, Ma. Things are goin' great at the farm. We might even be able to raise enough money this year to fix Granny Smith's hip! And maybe even Big Mac's injury – which he aggravated again...” The farmer adjusted her hat. “You should see Apple Bloom, too! Just as feisty and bright as I was when I was young! Winona's getting' up there in age, but she ain't lost a thing so far! Fact, we ain't lost a single herdin' competition in a long time! Ain't that right, big girl?” Winona barked in response.
Applejack chuckled. “Ya' both heard that, right, Pa? Oh – I met a new friend because of her! Shy little pegasus named Fluttershy. Silly Winona was chasin' after a little bunny down the road – I mean, you know how she's always been with suddenly runnin' off after varmints...” She kneeled on her front hooves in her excited babbling. “Anyways, turned out that bunny was this gal Fluttershy's pet. But that ain't the half of it! Fluttershy's a strange pegasus, that's for sure. Only one I know who loves the ground more than the sky. She's really nice, though pretty dang shy when it comes to talking to other ponies. But stars above, does she have a way with animals! Her cottage is full of the critters!”
Winona barked again. Applejack looked up. “Oh... Yeah. Well, sun's settin'. Gotta get back in time for dinner. Look at that. I just came here to do this, and I got myself ramblin' again... Best get back!”
She stood up and signaled to Winona that it was time to go. Before they stepped out of the cemetery, she draped yet another first place medal on the gravestones of her parents.
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The night didn't go so well. To Applejack's surprise, Winona moved her head – but the joy was soon tempered by pain when the border collie tried to bark, only for it to come out of her water-starved mouth as the most gut-wrenching wheeze the farm pony had ever heard. No matter how she tried to calm Winona, the dog kept trying to bark. And the more the dog wheezed, the more Applejack's heart ripped. The ordeal continued on past midnight, until Winona finally tired herself out and fell asleep.
Just as tired from fighting back her emotions, the farm pony finally managed to fall asleep herself.
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“Winona! Give me back my hat! You know I ain't in the mood for that after visiting Ma and Pa! Get–”
WHAM! The farm pony ran smack into a pony walking down the path. “Ow! Uh...Sorry bout that...”
She looked up into the smiling eyes of a very happy pink pony with a very curly mane. “Oh, don't worry about it! Your dog's just trying to cheer you up! A cemetery's not exactly a very happy place.” The pony extended her hoof with a beaming smile. “My name's Pinkie Pie. What's yours?”
The farmer smiled back, letting the other pony help her to her feet. “Applejack. My name's Applejack.”
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The rain was falling again when her eyes opened, but inside there was an unearthly silence. It unnerved Applejack greatly. She swiftly stood up and made her way to the kitchen, forcing herself not to look down. She made a bowl of oats cereal for breakfast, the loud crunching as she ate bringing a soothing normality of noise back into her ears. It was how the house was supposed to sound in the morning.
So focused had she made herself on her meal, she didn't realize company had joined her.
“Sis...”
Applejack jumped at Big Mac's whisper, nearly choking on her meal, surprised to see her family standing behind behind her, their eyes lost in emotion. “W–What?”
Apple Bloom gestured her head back, her lips trembling. “I – I think...”
A lump formed in Applejack's throat. She closed her eyes and gradually turned around, hoping to see just a sleeping collie. But when she opened them again, she found that her wish had not been granted.
Winona wasn't moving at all. There was no sign of breathing. Her tongue hung limply out of her jaw.
Applejack stonewalled her emotions as she collapsed next to her companion, running a hoof through Winona's fur in a last vain attempt to rouse life from her. But it was no use. The day had finally come. She cradled the lifeless body in her hooves, rocking back and forth, trying furiously to calm herself down as she had a scared puppy so many years ago. She nuzzled and kissed Winona's forehead. “Goodbye, big girl...” It was too much, and the dam broke. A few tears escaped, dripping on her face.
The rest of her family embraced her, all of them crying softly. The rain softly pattered against the windows of Sweet Apple Acres as its occupants consoled each other over their mutual loss.
Applejack didn't talk for the rest of the day. She could barely do any chores around the house without choking up, and constantly returned to the living room – prodding Winona's body some more, telling herself it hadn't happened and praying desperately for the dog to move. But Winona never moved.
That evening, she eventually admitted to herself that Winona was indeed gone. She found herself standing outside in the thunderstorm, staring at the patch of grass still indented with Winona's shape from their previous day of basking in the sun, trying to figure out just what to do with her fallen companion's body. She couldn't tell the rain from her tears anymore by the time she finally decided.
She ran to the barn, dragging out the little wagon and some tarps. Winona had one last trip to make.
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“You said you lost your Ma and Pa? Well, why don't we throw a party for them?”
“...Throw a party for them? Why in the hay would I want to throw a party for two dead ponies?”
“To celebrate their lives, silly! I did it after I lost my Granny Pie!”
Winona returned, hat in her mouth. Applejack snatched it back, and cleaned it off while she pondered Pinkie's words for a while. She put the hat back on her head and grinned. “Ya' know what, Pinkie? That don't sound like a bad idea. Lemme just get home to tell my family and all what we're doin'.”
“Great! I'll go get Rarity! She's so totally awesome with fabric, and we're gonna need decorations!”
Winona simply barked, joyfully following her owner.
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A sudden knock interrupted Fluttershy from trying to get Angel to eat his lunch again. “Huh?”
She opened her door to the sight of Applejack. The mare's hat was soaked through, and her drenched mane was flat against her bowed face. Her friend was pulling her wagon, loaded with something.
“Oh my, Applejack! You look awful!”
Applejack grabbed a huge tarp-covered bundle from the wagon and dropped it in the surprised animal caretaker's hooves. “Winona's gone. I'm on my way to get her cremated. But we ain't got a need for her blankets, toys and medicine anymore. Thought all your animal friends could put `em to good use.”
“Winona's – WHAT?! Wait, Applejack!” yelled Fluttershy – but her friend was already hightailing it away from the cottage in a fit of tears, headed for the funeral home. “...I'm so sorry for your loss...”
Fluttershy sighed and stepped back into her house – and saw a piece of paper fall out of the bundle. “What's this?” Angel picked it up and held it out for her to read. “Fluttershy: You're the only pony besides my family who knows Winona is dead now. I feel bad breaking it to you first, but you're the first friend I met because of her, so it just felt right. Anyways, can you please do me a favour, and get all the others to meet up at our normal pet playdate area tomorrow afternoon? You can tell them if you want. My heart's just too knotted to face anypony else right now. And please ask Pinkie to NOT secretly invite the whole town this time? I want just my closest friends to be there when I do this. –Applejack.”
Angel's ears drooped. His lip trembled. Fluttershy drew him against her as he cried. “Oh, Angel...”
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The next day, Applejack slowly walked up the path to the park. Clouds filled the sky while she fiercely held onto the little box she carried. Behind her came the rest of her family, their faces solemn.
The sight of her friends waiting for her, pets by their side... It was easily the best moment of her day. She set the box down and embraced the other ponies. “Thank you, girls... Thank you so much for bein' here. I honestly can't tell you how much this means to me. Winona was the friend who helped me get through Ma and Pa's passin'. Only seems fittin' that y'all be the ones to help me get through hers.”
“Of course, darling,” Rarity comforted. Opalescence gave a sad meow. “Oh, I know it's not going to be the same, Opal. But you'll just have to angrily hiss and swat at Gummi or Owloysius from now on.”
The comment drew a hearty chuckle from all the friends. Twilight nodded at Applejack. “If you just want to talk, you know where we are.” Owloysius hooted in approval from the unicorn's shoulder.
“Thanks, Twi.”
Pinkie didn't say anything. She simply offered a comforting hug – which Applejack accepted.
“Wait a minute...” Fluttershy looked around. “Where's Rainbow Dash?”
Sudden streaks zipping across the sky coincided with all the clouds quickly disappearing. Dash appeared with Tank a few seconds later. “Sorry. I had to make sure that every cloud was gone.”
Applejack nodded her thanks, sighing as the full sun hit her hide, warming it greatly. She took the box and carefully unwrapped the smaller bag that was nestled inside it. “We've already spread most of her around the farm, but it just didn't feel right to leave this place out of the equation. Winona loved these days so much... A part of her deserves to be here, too, so she can watch over her friends until time reunites them again.” She emptied the rest of the little bag, letting the ashes drift into the light wind.
Some of the ashes as were caught in a quick updraft of air. Everypony's eyes followed the flakes, rising towards the sky like little grey ribbons. Applejack smirked, tipping her hat up towards the blue.
“Go on, big girl. You go play with Ma and Pa now.”
FIN
In Memory of Khan and Tasha
1994-2011
