Hey buddy...
Ponyville was in ruins. A large battle between the infected ponies and survivors had just ensued, and the dust was still settling as the victorious zombies began feasting upon the survivors' carcasses.
It's been a great ride...
Winona sat far away from the rest of the zombies, quietly grieving over the pale orange mass in front of her. If she had working tear ducts, she would be crying over it. But all she could do was sit in silence as she reflected what had just happened.
I'm glad I got to spend it with you...
The fight started quickly, with the sudden echo of guns being fired upon the infected that inhabited Ponyville. Due to some form of advanced hearing, they quickly found the hill where the survivors had posted up and began trotting their way toward them.
I hope I'll see you again...
The infected vastly outnumbered the survivors, but that didn't stop them from unleashing a storm of lead upon the horde. Their strategy was unmatched by anything the other survivors tried. While the large group of survivors shot bullets from the hill, a more stealth focused group was able to sneak into Ponyville and, armed with home made explosives, slowed down the mid-section of the horde to give the survivors on the hilltop more time to focus on their front lines.
Applejack and Winona were one of the few infected that trotted behind all of this. They both watched as their undead peers were shot, blown up, or slashed if they got too close to the demolition experts. But they still made their slow advancement up the hill as they went to attack the survivors.
Winona looked on as her owner, Applejack fell to the ground suddenly. She turned to see what had happened, and found a small hole in her owner's forehead. A stream of black blood came flowing out from the hole as Winona stopped in her tracks and sat down next to the body.
The rest of the battle was only a couple minutes long, as the gunners ran out of ammunition and the demolition experts went off to find more supplies. Whether or not the second group had been devoured was a mystery. But it was one that Winona didn't care about.
I had thought that being with you even longer would be just as fun as it was before...
Winona remembered that her owner had been able to bring her back to life from a bite, and leaned her head towards Applejack's stomach. She took a small bite and retracted her head.
Looking up at her owner's face with renewed hope, she began slowly wagging her tail as she expected her beloved owner to come back.
But it just made it harder to say goodbye...
Minutes passed and Applejack's expression never changed. Her body remained motionless as Winona's hope slowly diminished. She turned away from her owner's corpse and began walking away, before something got her attention.
She walked over to the stick she had constantly fetched for her owner, and watched as a rat ran across it. She quickly pounced on it and began chewing the rat, leaving nothing more than a pool of blood, and a pile of bones as she filled her always hungry stomach. Afterwords, she grabbed the stick and began hobbling back to her master.
It's gotten a bit less scary around here...
Winona returned to her master and dropped the stick in her tail, half expecting it to curl around the stick and throw it for her. She quickly remembered that Applejack was now gone, and that any of the old games they played could never happen again.
But things are still surprising to see...
"Wait, is that a dog?"
The voice of a survivor pierced Winona's ears, and she was about to turn and defend Applejack before realizing that there wasn't any reason to do so.
"Yeah, but I think that it's been infected."
A second voice broke the silence, and Winona listened in as a third voice came into the discussion.
"Ah'm not sure, do dogs git infected?"
"What do you mean Apple Bloom, just look at that. Of course they do."
At the mention of Apple Bloom's name, she turned around in joy, and saw Apple Bloom standing with her two childhood friends. The orange one had a gun in hand and was loading it.
"Should we put it down?" The orange one asked. Looking at it and quickly pointing the gun in surprise as she didn't expect to see the dog staring back at her.
"Ah dunno" Abby said, looking at the dog with pity. "she looks kinda happy doesn't she?" The Unicorn decided to jump in this time, and replied to Apple Bloom's question quickly.
"Abby, that's a zombie dog. If they can become infected who knows what it could lead to. If they were to infect other animals then I don't know what could happen."
At this Apple Bloom nodded her head, and motioned the orange one to put down Winona.
Hey buddy...
The orange one cautiously approached Winona, and held the gun up to her forehead once she was within arm's reach.
Our ride may have been cut short...
The orange one wasted no time pulling the gun's hammer down, and quickly turned off the safety.
But there's no need to worry...
Winona's tail began to wag as the orange on put her finger on the trigger.
Because soon I can join you again...
Winona heard the thunderous bang from a gun, and her vision faded.
And we can make a new adventure...
Winona's body slumped to the floor next to her owner, and bounced against the grass once before coming to a rest with her muzzle on the back of Applejack's neck.
Away from all the scary things...
Scootaloo quickly rejoined the crusaders and they fled the scene, fearful that the gunshot would attract the horde that wasn't more than a few meters away from where they just were.
Just like you said all those years ago...
Winona's eyes fluttered open, and all she could see was the white walls of this strange room. She turned around and saw her owner standing there, staring at her with the most joyous smile she'd given since this whole apocalypse started.
Winona ran over to her master, and jumped up as Applejack brought her into an embrace Winona had dreamed about since Applejack become one of the undead. Applejack began stroking Winona's fur, and tears streamed down her face as she gave Winona the greeting she had always adored hearing when she greeted her owner after a hard day at the farm.
"Hey buddy. I missed ya."
Author's Note
"We always see dogs as another animal. But the thing we don't realize is that the interactions we have with them- the play time, the snuggles, even the discipline process- make them more human than you and me could have imagined."
-tut895
