"Winona! Winona, come here girl!" Applejack calls, Winona instantly running towards her and sitting by her side.
Applejack smirks and ruffles Winona's fur. "Good girl, Ah knew you could do it eventually, have a treat!" Applejack says, handing Winona the tiny dog bone.
She runs around the farm, chewing the bone endlessly. Applejack smiles as she begins to walk away from the farm. "Bye ya'll! I'm going up to Canterlot with my friends. I'll be back later tonight at 6:00pm. Bye!" She yells as she slowly trots out the farm. Winona drops the bone and watches her master leave the farm. She then picks the bone back up and dashes off inside the barn.
It's 5:55pm. Winona is now running through the streets of Ponyville, past the ponies and in-between shop stalls to reach the train station. She decided to bring her bone with her whilst she waited. Winona wanted to be a loyal dog to her family and master, and to do so she must wait for her master or any member of her family to return from a trip at the right time. Winona was quite a smart dog, and she took it in pride. She sat in front of the tracks for approximately for 5 minutes, until Applejack and her friends arrived back. Applejack stepped off first, appearing shocked because of seeing Winona sitting there, wagging her tail. Soon enough, Applejack's friends poured out the train, greeting Winona and stroking her.
"Hey lil' girl, didn't expect to see you here." Applejack laughs, stroking Winona on the head.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie bounces in and pats Winona on the head a bit harder than she should. "AW, WHAT A CUTE WIDDLE IDDLE PUPPY!" Pinkie shouts, Winona nuzzling against her chest.
The mane 6 "Aaaaaaaw!" Well... except Rainbow Dash. "Okay, this is too cheesy. I'm leaving. Buh-bye!" Rainbow Dash sarcastically says, zooming off into the sky. The remaining friends wave, and exit the station together.
The next day, Applejack is ready to leave the farm again, this time with a saddlebag. "Goin' to help Twilight and friends with some more quests. The Cutie Map has been calling us to several missions, which we must do over the next course of days. I'll always be back at 6:00pm, you hear?" Applejack repeats to Applebloom.
Apparently Applebloom was dozing off in another dimension (in her mind) and paid no attention to what Applejack was saying.
"Yes, ah get it now. Be safe, AJ!" Applebloom tells Applejack. The sisters share a short but sweet hug, then Applejack is off. In the distance, Winona is watching from her doghouse, keeping her silence as she chews on a small stuffed animal. She sees Applebloom walk back into the farmhouse, and Big Mac walks right out with a big empty cart, ready to buck some apples. "Winona!" A little high pitched voice calls. Applebloom peeks her head around the corner of the open door. "Time for your breakfast!" Applebloom shouts, which makes Winona instantly dash inside for her food.
It was exactly 6:00pm, and Winona was sitting in the exact same place she was yesterday, eagerly glancing back at the clock now and then. But Applejack once again arrived with her friends. Applejack greeted Winona with another biscuit, puts her on her back and walks home. For the next couple of weeks, it kept going on like this. Winona waiting, Applejack and her friends arriving, and enjoying each others company for the rest of the day. They only had a certain amount of hours together in the evening, due to the amount of sudden work that had been put on Applejack and her friends. It was so much stress, but Applejack didn't let that bother her. What mattered more was the time she spent with her family and friends. And of course, her dog, Winona. Little did they both know, tomorrow would be the last day they'd ever see each other again. The Apple Family sat at the table, eating breakfast together with Winona in the corner, snuffling down her meaty dog food, which had an apple core lying next to her bowl.
"Hey Granny! Can I let Winona out?" Applebloom squeals, jumping off of her seat.
Granny Smith simply nods, as an over-excited Applebloom leads Winona outside, so the dog could 'do her business'. "Well, ya'll, this is my final day today. Once I come back, the quests are over! I can finally spend time with ya'll!" Applejack cheers, slamming her hooves on the table. The whole family also cheers for Applejack. Applebloom and Winona come back in, and get straight back to eating.
Applejack died that day.
It happened unexpectedly, but the reason behind her death was kind of expecting.
Cerebral Hemorrhage.
Nopony saw it coming, even thought the stress hovered over the Mane 6 like a huge rain cloud which wouldn't go away. Applejack's brain couldn't take it any more, and she died on the scene. The Mane 6 only had a short mission, and spent the rest of the day relaxing at the Crystal Empire. That's when Applejack died. When the funeral came to be, everypony was wearing black. Winona didn't know what was going on, she never knew Applejack had died. She was left locked inside the barn, covered in hay. She constantly peered out the window, trying to see if there was any action, but there was none. An hour later, the barn door slowly unlocked, and Winona raced to the pony who opened the door.
Applebloom.
She had tear marks staining her cheeks, and looked very depressed in her black dress and black bow. Her older sister just died, why would she not be upset? She smiled weakly, as she slowly stroked Winona's head. Winona jumped upon Applebloom and started licking her face uncontrollably until Applebloom pushed her off. The pair walked to the barn house together, side by side.
Later that evening, Winona escaped the farm and headed to the train station to wait for Applejack. Except, she was not returning, but Winona didn't know that. 6:10pm. The Canterlot Train arrived and everypony got off, new ponies got on, and it set off. Winona was confused but kept waiting, staring at the track and sitting in the place she always does. Half an hour passes by, and Winona is still waiting. Suddenly, she feels a strong hoof lift her up and put her on their back. It was Big Mac, with Applebloom by his side. They all leave the station without saying a word.
Once they returned, Winona was fast asleep.
"Big Mac, why was Winona at the train station?" Applebloom asks her older brother.
Big Mac sighs, glances at Winona then answers his sister's question. "The poor dog still thinks she's alive. She just needs rest, that's all."
It was yet again the next evening, at 6:00pm, waiting for the Canterlot train that hopefully held her master. A flurry of ponies flew and galloped out, and only a few entered again. Then, just a few minutes later, the train zoomed down the tracks and out of sight. Winona was confused as to why her master didn't turn up, but she kept waiting. She wanted to be a true and loyal pet, and she was determined to be the most loved. And hour passes by, and nopony arrived to collect her. She lied her head down on the concrete, eyes drooping. Eventually, half an hour passes and Winona makes her own way home. She constantly looked back on her way, to see if her master was following behind her. She wasn't.
8 years later...
A bigger and much older Winona gradually walked to the Ponyville Train Station at 6:00pm once again. For the past 8 years, she's being doing this. Never knowing that her master was dead. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are now 19 years old and with their cutie marks. The trio had extremely similar cutie marks with the only difference being the symbols inside the shield. Granny Smith was also still alive, but growing ill. Winona tries to help as best she can, but always stops by the train station at 6:00pm. Over the last few years, ponies have been giving her treats and food.
Today, when Winona arrived at the station again, she saw ponies surrounding a statue of a dog, polishing it, and making finishing touches. One of the ponies was Fluttershy. As soon as she saw Winona staring at the statue, she whispered to the other ponies that they needed to back away. They carefully examined Winona as she slumped towards the statue... of her. Winona gazed up at the giant statue of her, sitting with her tongue sticking out. It was only for a few seconds before Winona went back to her exact waiting place for Applejack.
"Poor Winona. She's still waiting..." Fluttershy murmurs, a tear escaping her eye. Rainbow Dash put her hoof on Fluttershy's back.
"It's okay Flutters. This is why we built the statue. Winona shows loyalty and companionship. She's a special dog." Rainbow reassures her. The huddle of ponies gallop away, leaving Winona by herself again. Waiting.
1 year later...
It's deep into winter, and Winona never gave up. She died whilst waiting. The realization hit her that Applejack was never coming back. 9 years. 9 years Winona had been loyal, and waiting for her master to return. Applebloom and her friends found Winona covered in snow, lying motionless. She was taken to Ponyville Pet Care, but had died at the scene. Apparently, Winona had a terminal cancer, but she didn't care and nopony seemed to notice. Nearly all of Ponyville showed up to a small funeral for Winona, leaving bags of food, treats, toys, and messages. Her paw-prints were painted on the exact place she sat waiting, and her statue still sits outside the station. A few months later, the public were debating whether to have her remains stuffed and mounted in Canterlot's national museum, or have her buried next to her master. Sadly, she was stuffed and mounted instead, but at least ponies who have never head of her could see her and hear her story. Many years on, Winona was known as the most loyal dog in Equestria.
THE END
Author's Note
PLEASE READ!
If you want to comment on any mistakes, please let them be about grammar and spelling. I'm an extremely fast typer, and somehow forget to check words, so I'd like reminding if I forgot. Same with grammar. Thanks!
Also, I hope Hachiko lovers have read this. Or maybe you can learn the loyal dog's story. Just search Hachiko. (Yes, it's called 'A Dog's TAIL' on purpose').
