"Come on now ya darn hooves, just one more orchard and then ah'll have a rest." Applejack was panting as she moved one hoof in front of the other, sweat pouring down her face while her eyes strained to keep looking forward. She must've been walking for hours now, time seemed to flee her memory, taking the path she'd walked along with it.
The trees around her all stood withered and dead, the husks of once fresh apples now littering the hard earth beneath her. Every moment she spent in this god forsaken place was another moment away from her family and friends.
"This can't be real," she said to herself in a hoarse whisper, each and every syllable requiring a hue amount of effort to even be spoken, "this just has to be some kinda nightmare." Yet as she resigned herself to her beliefs, she kept moving forward.The crescent moon overhead seemed to be mocking her as it rose out from the hills ahead.
Her eyes dooped and her shoulders sagged, she was far too tired to continue. Her body noisily fell to the earth as she groaned in slight pain. "Ah'll just rest for a coupl'a minutes, then I'll git walkin' again." She let out a sigh as sleep decided to consume her, somehow managing to find her hat next to the trunk of the tree she was resting on. She slowly put it on after giving one last look towards the half-moon, paying it no heed as it smiled mockingly at her from its place among the stars.
Applejack groaned as she felt something nudging at her side. She waved a hoof towards it dismissively before rolling over in an attempt to ignore whatever was trying to disrupt her peaceful sleep. Then her eyes shot open as she felt a tongue move across her face.
"Winona!" she cried while she hugged the dog, "boy am I glad ta see you here girl, ah've been lost in this strange orchard fer ages!" Applejack playfully pet the dog as it nuzzled against her, it's been so long since she'd seen another living thing.
"Alright, now do ya reckon you could tell where the barn is girl?" Her eyes were almost pleading and Winona gave her another lick while yapping once and wagging her tail. Applejack carefully put the dog down and watched as it ran off, quickly following behind. She felt her prized Stetson leave her head, "Hold on now Winona! Ah can't lose it again!" she yelled, but the dog kept on it's way. So after a few moments of searching she sighed and followed after her pet.
AJ noticed that the sun was setting behind her, realizing she must've been asleep for hours and yet the heat hadn't changed a dime. When she returned her attention to Winona though, she saw no sight of her beloved pet.
"Where've ya gone to now girl?" She tried calling out a few times but got no response. After a few minutes of waiting she decided to keep moving forward in the hopes that Winona had ran ahead. Her hopes had risen as she spotted the sillhouette of a dog in front of her.
"There ya are! Don't go runnin' off on me again like that y'hear? Had me worried sick." She announced as she moved closer, her footsteps slowing as she noticed the subtle differences along the black figure. Where Winonawas small and sleek,thisthing wasbig and bulky.
The fur seemed darker and matted, random bits of it sticking up or missing in places. Applejack noted that the figure was emitting a low growl that was a much deeper baritone to her faithful pets cheerful yaps.
"Are ya alright there Winona?" She barely noticed as her words petered out into a quiet whisper. She did however notice that chunks of fur were missing from the figure that was slowly turning to face her. With the sun's light dimming on the horizon, the sillhouette of the creature fell with it.
Bite marks and scars became visible. Blood both old and fresh clinging to chunks of flesh. Applejack took a few steps back as the creature moved its head into her view, its growl becoming deeper and lighter at the same time to produce a sound she wished she could forget.
The thing snarled at her, it looked like Winona, but it was different. For one, the jaw was almost entirelymissing, hanging on my a few bits of muscle and bone. Its eyes were wild and its teeth were charp as a manticore's stinger.
Applejack turned and ran back the way she came as fast as her hooves could carry her. She could feel the thing biting at her hooves with a force that should've been impossible. Tears streamed down her face while she pushed harder.
Stars dotted the horizon as she ran, straining to loose herself from the memory of the horrendous thing that she'd thought was her greatest companion. The barking seemed to dissappear but she just kept running, fear being her motivation. After a few minutes of walking she'd finally decided to slow dow to a calm trot through the dead orchard, her hooves felt heavy after having to endure the constant stress of running.
"Come on now ya darn hooves, just one more orchard and then ah'll have a rest." Applejack was panting as she moved one hoof in front of the other, sweat pouring down her face while her eyes strained to keep looking forward. She must've been walking for hours now, time seemed to flee her memory, taking the path she'd walked along with it.
The trees around her all stood withered and dead, the husks of once fresh apples now littering the hard earth beneath her. Every moment she spent in this god forsaken place was another moment away from her family and friends.
"This can't be real," she said to herself in a hoarse whisper, each and every syllable requiring a hue amount of effort to even be spoken, "this just has to be some kinda nightmare." Yet as she resigned herself to her beliefs, she kept moving forward.The crescent moon overhead seemed to be mocking her as it rose out from the hills ahead.
Her eyes dooped and her shoulders sagged, she was far too tired to continue. Her body noisily fell to the earth as she groaned in slight pain. "Ah'll just rest for a coupl'a minutes, then I'll git walkin' again." She let out a sigh as sleep decided to consume her, somehow managing to find her hat next to the trunk of the tree she was resting on. She slowly put it on after giving one last look towards the half-moon, paying it no heed as it smiled mockingly at her from its place among the stars.