Part 4
"What do you mean you're not going back?" Angel wanted to know. "You have to come back!"
"Yeah!" Opal added. "We didn't come for you for nothing, did we?"
"We didn't. Winona, your family misses you."
"How do you know? What if what Chance said was true, and they abandoned us at the hotel, and they were never going to come back?"
"Our families would never do that to us, and you know it."
"I know, but what if?"
"And what if not?"
"FLAME!" Lil' Twister called.
"I'm sorry." Winona told her friends. "But I'm not going to spend weeks there, only be disappointed, and learn the awful truth. If you want to go back and wait for your families, then fine, but I'm staying here! I like it here, and it gives me things to do; more entertaining than back there."
"Winona," Owlowiscious said to her. "I know you fear that our families have left us, but that can't be true. They love you too much to do that. We don't know why Chance's family didn't come for him, or maybe they came for him while we were gone. But, you can't think like this; you must hold onto hope no matter how long. Now come back with us and wait; maybe they're waiting for all of us when we get back." Winona wanted to believe the owl, but she just didn't know.
"FLAME!" Lil' Twister called. Winona sighed.
"I'm sorry, but my mind's made up." The collie dog said. "I'm staying here. This is my new home." Lil' Twister called again, and Winona left. The pets all sighed again.
"Why is she being so stubborn?" Angel asked. "Our family and her family are not Chance's, and they're come for us. Why can't she just accept that?"
"She's just scared." Owlowiscous explained to the bunny. "She'll come around sooner or later."
"If she was Pinkie Pie's pet," Gummy put in. "I would understand why she wouldn't want to come back. Now, don't get me wrong; I love her. But she's too…what's the word? Hyper; she's too hyper for me if you know what I mean."
"Are we going to go back, and just leave her here?" Tank wanted to know.
"No." Owlowiscious replied. "We're going to stay until we convince her to come with us."
"And how are we going to do that?" Opal asked. "Things don't look good right now."
"No, they don't." Owlowiscious agreed. "But she's our friend, and we are not going to leave her here. We'll think of something."
"Are you friends of that young collie's?" Charcoal asked, coming over to them.
"That's right." Owlowiscious answered. "She's confused and scared, but if we convince her somehow, she'll come back with us. Who are you?"
"I'm Charcoal." Charcoal answered. "I once was sheepherder on this farm, now, I'm not." He laid down, resting on his paws. "Your friend is."
"You sound disappointed." Tank said. "Did you like your job?"
"Oh yes, to me, it was the best job in the world!"
"Then why is Winona replacing you?" Angel wanted to know. "Are you getting too old?" Charcoal sighed.
"Lil' Twister is worried about me because I'm not doing the job with as much energy as I used to. I appreciate that my owner's son is concerned about me, but I didn't ask for this. I think I could herd sheep for another year or two, then I can retire." He sighed sadly. "But sadly, my family will never understand what I want." The pets felt sorry for the dog.
"We're sorry about your job," Owlowiscious said. "But, Winona has to come back with us."
"Afraid that is much easier said than done. The farm needs a dog that herds sheep, and Lil' Twister won't just give her up."
"Then we'll just get another sheep herder that can do the job." Angel spoke. "Then we can have Winona back."
"But, who knows how long that can take." Opal pointed out. "It could take days! Plus, we might get lost getting back to the farm."
"Not if Charcoal's with us."
"It'll still take too long."
'Then, what are we going to do? How are we going to get Winona back?" Charcoal noticed the two collars around Opal's neck.
"Are one of those your friend's?" The old dog questioned. Opal nodded. He smiled as he stood on all fours. "Then, I have an idea."
"This is a brilliant idea you have." Owlowiscous said. The animals were behind some bushes nearby. Winona's collar laid on the ground before them. "Once Lil' Twister's parents sees the collar, they'll question Lil' Twister, and once they learn that Winona belongs to somepony, they'll give her up."
"I'm surprised you haven't thought of it yourself, Owlowiscious." Angel said to the owl.
"It doesn't matter whose idea it was." Owlowiscious said. "As long as…"
"Yeah, yeah! As long as we get Winona back, that's all that matters."
"Right."
"Here comes Tornado." Charcoal said, and indeed, they saw Tornado pass by them. He then stopped, looked down at the collar, and examined it.
"He knows!" Tank said. Lil' Twister's mom then passed by. She had a flyer in her mouth.
"Tornado?" She questioned, spitting out the flyer. "What are you doing?"
"Looking at this collar here." Tornado replied. "Apparently it belongs to a pet named Winona. It must've been dropped here by mistake."
"While I was shopping, I saw this flyer about a missing collie dog named Winona, and she looked like Flame. Honey, I think…"
"I think so too. We'll have a chat with our son immediately about this." His wife nodded. Carrying the collar around his neck, his wife took the flyer in her mouth again, and both of them went off. Charcoal and the pets followed them.
"Lil' Twister." His mom said to him as she and her husband came up to him. He was playing Tug-of-War with Winona with her rope toy. Flame looked at her.
"Yeah, Mom?" He asked.
"Your father and I would like to talk to you."
"Yeah? What about?"
"You won't like it, son." Tornado said to his son. Lil' Twister then looked worried.
"Is everypony alright?"
"They're fine." His mom assured him.
"Then what is it?" The parents looked at each other and sighed. Tornado showed him the collar.
"Do you know about this, son?" Tornado questioned. Lil' Twister examined it. He shook his head.
"No." He lied. "I haven't seen that in my entire life." His mom then showed him the flyer. "I think you do, son." Lil' Twister realized where this was going.
"You're not going to make me give up Flame, are you?" His dad nodded.
"You know we have to." Lil' Twister backed away.
"No; no!" He hugged Winona close. "I won't give up Flame; you can't make me!"
"I know this is hard." His mom told him. "But, Fla…Winona belongs to somepony else. They must be really worried about her. You'd feel sad if somepony else had Charcoal, and refused to give him back, wouldn't you?" Lil' Twister looked at Charcoal in the corner, then back at his parents. He sighed.
"Yes." He replied in a low voice.
"You're doing the right thing." Lil' Twister sighed again.
"I know."
"I'll call Winona's owner right away." Tornado stated. Charcoal and the other pets silently cheered. Winona looked worried.
"Winona's family and their friends will be by tomorrow morning to pick her up." Tornado told his wife and son.
"So, I have until tomorrow with Flame?" Lil' Twister asked. His dad nodded.
"Yes, and it's Winona, not Flame." Lil' Twister petted Winona between the ears.
"To me its Flame, and it always will be."
That night, Winona awoke. She went to the sleeping Lil' Twister.
"Sorry about this, Lil' Twister." She licked him, and left his stall.
She was about to leave the farm outside, when Gummy spoke up.
"I told you that she was leaving." The little alligator stated. Winona looked behind her and saw her friends.
"You won't be able to change my mind." She said. "You can try your very hardest, but I'm still leaving no matter what."
"Winona," Owlowiscous began. "You don't want to do this. You may think you do, but really, you don't. Your owner is coming for you; that proves that she still cares for you. Please, wait for her. You won't regr…." Winona growled and looked at the owl directly in the face. The pets all gasped. They never saw Winona like this.
"Look, Owlowiscious!" She snapped. "You may say our owners may all love you, but are you certain? Are you 100 percent certain?"
"I'm 100 percent certain." Winona looked at all the others pets who all nodded.
"Well, I'm not. Goodbye! Don't say I didn't warn you." She then left as her friends all frowned.
Winona breathed in the fresh air when she was on a hill of a field, letting the wind blow her fur. She strolled on.
She only has taken a few steps when SNAP! Something caught on her foot. She looked down, and gasped. Her foot was stuck in an animal trap! She tried and tried to go with all of her might, but didn't succeed. But she had to get out; the trap was hurting her!
"HELP!" She shouted. "HELLPPPPPPPPPP!" She tried and tried, trying hard to fight back her tears. "Help!"
Giving up, she laid down, whining. Surely the owner of this trap would come by soon, and help her out, but when?
"WINONA!" She heard a shout. She got up, and looked at who had called her. She couldn't believe it. It was Angel, hopping towards her. Her other friends came too.
"What are you all doing here?" The collie dog wanted to know.
"To be with our friend; what do you think?" Opal looked at Winona's trap. "My, that looks painful."
"It is."
"Don't worry darling; you'll be free soon." Owlowiscious bit the string that held Winona's foot and helped the dog get free.
"Thanks. Now, I must be on my way." She began to go, and noticed her friends following her. She stopped. They also stopped.
"Why are you following me? The farm's back there.'"
"We know." Angel responded. "But, we want to go with you."
"We'll follow you until the ends of the world." Tank spoke. "That's how strong our friendship is." Winona smiled
"You can come if you want." Owlowiscious told her. "It's not too late to change your mind." Winona groaned, not knowing what to do.
"Please, Winona?" Angel begged. "At least give it a try." Winona sighed.
"Okay. I'll give Applejack a chance." Her friends were thrilled at this news.
"Uh, anyone knows where the farm is?" Gummy asked.
"No clue." Owlowiscious admitted. They then heard a nearby train. The owl hooted with joy. "Oh good; a train! Come on; we're take it back to Ponyville."
"Alright." Winona said again. "I'll go with you guys, but if Applejack and the other Apples don't want me back, I'm going back. Don't say I didn't warn you." Her friends all cheered.
"You won't regret this." Angel assured the dog.
"Yeah, yeah, I better not!"
"Come on!" Owlowiscous urged. "Before we miss the train!" And so, the animals all ran towards the chugging of the train.
They all ran beside the train. Owlowiscous flew into the freight car, and looked back at his friends.
"Hurry!" The owl cried. "Jump!" One by one, the animals jumped. Winona tried to jump, but tripped on a rock, and fell down. "WINONA!" Winona leapt to her feet, and ran beside the train. Her friends all urged her on.
But, Winona started to slow down. She panted for breath. She looked at her friends who all shouted for her.
Finding her strength, the dog ran after the train again with great speed. When she was near, she took a mighty leap. She missed. She was about to fall, when her friends all pulled her in. They all collapsed to the floor, all panting with exhaustion.
"Are you alright?" The owl asked once he regained his breath. The collie looked at the nocturnal raptor and nodded.
"Is this train even going to Equestria?" Tank wanted to know.
"Hopefully." Opal said. "Otherwise our journey will last longer."
Gummy then saw some ponies from the window and another animal on a pony's head. An animal that looked familiar to him. When the creature looked his way, Gummy realized who it was. It was Chance! Chance hopped of his owner's head, and scurried towards the door.
"Guys; it's Chance!" The alligator spoke. Gummy's friends all looked in the window. Chance's owner opened the door, so her chinchilla could get some fresh air. She then went back to the other ponies.
"I didn't think that I'd see you all again." Chance said. "How are you all?"
"Good!" They all answered.
"What are you all doing here?"
"We're going to our owners." Angel replied. "So, your owner finally picked you up?" Chance looked guilty.
"Oh, that. Hey, I'm sorry what I said back at the hotel. I missed my owners so much that I guess I felt the worse and took it out on you guys. I'm sure your owners love you all very much and all are missing you."
"Don't tell us." Angel told him. "Tell that to Winona. We've been telling her that." Chance looked at Winona.
"I'm so sorry, Winona." The chinchilla stated. "I didn't want to hurt you. I'm sure your owners…"
"Yeah," Winona interrupted with a smile. "My owners love me very much. I hope you're right."
A ferret then went outside.
"I remember you guys from the animal hotel." The animals were all confused.
"And you are?" Owlowiscous wanted to know.
"I'm Daisy." Daisy replied. Daisy then frowned. "I think I'm the reason why you all didn't have many friends at the hotel; you see, I told them all 'what's the point? They'll be gone before you know it.' I guess they took my advice."
"So, that's why no one wanted to make friends with us." Tank put in. "I thought they didn't like making friends or hated us for some reason."
"No." Daisy stated. "It was me."
"You know," Owlowiscious began. "I know it's very sad to have to leave your friends, but friends make everything better, no matter how long you have with them."
"I realize that now.' She looked at all of them. "Again, I'm sorry. If I could go back and undo my mistake, I would."
"That's okay." Owlowiscious said. "You learned your lesson, so you'll never do it again." Daisy nodded.
"Right. Never again." Winona looked at the window. She saw the little pony who had adopted her with a collie puppy.
"Hey!" Winona cried with joy. "Sugerplum has a new pet. That's nice. I feel so much better now." There was also a pony family with a Boston terrier.
"And that Boston terrier whose life I saved has a family now too." Angel added. "That dog should have a happy life now."
"Okay," Owlowiscious said. "I see the sign for Ponyville at the Ponyville Train Station up ahead. We're nearly there. It won't be long until we find our families."
"Thank goodness we hopped on the right train." Opal stated.
"This is goodbye." Owlowiscious said. "Goodbye everyone. You all are very kind."
"Although having to say goodbye to your friends," Daisy sniffed, teary eyed. "I'm really glad I made some in all of you."
"We're glad you did too." Tank agreed with a smile.
"Good luck!" Chance said to all of them as the train made a complete stop. "Hopefully you all find your owners!" The animals all said their goodbyes and then Opal, Tank, Winona, Owlowiscious, Angel, and Gummy all leapt and flew off the train.
"I'm sure your owners love you just like they always did and always will!" Chance called to Winona. Winona looked back at him.
"Here's hoping!" She called back. And then, she ran after her friends.
"Apple Bloom." Applejack told her sister. She, her family, and their friends were all having a picnic at Sweet Apple Acres. "You need to eat."
"You're a growing little filly." Granny Smith put in. "You need all that nutrition."
Apple Bloom, sprawled on the grass with a depressed face, sighed and looked at her uneaten sandwich.
"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said. "What's going on? You love your PB and J."
"Who doesn't?!" Scootaloo said, smacking her lips.
"I'm sorry, sis." Apple Bloom said to her sibling. "It's just that all I can think about is Winona. I can't eat."
"Can I have it then?" Scootaloo asked.
"I understand." Applejack said. "But like Granny Smith said, you need your nutrition." Apple Bloom sighed and stood up.
"Alright." She declared. "I'll try." She grabbed the sandwich. She was about to take a bite, when animal sounds could be heard in the distance.
"Look!" Sweetie Belle cried joyously, looking at the others in the distance. "There's Opal!"
"And, look!" Scoootaloo said, pointing at Tank. "It's Tank!"
"Owlowiscous, Twilight!" Spike said about the owl.
"Angel!" Fluttershy cried.
"GUMMY!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Ow!" Fluttershy said. "You yelled that right in my ear." Pinkie Pie looked at her.
"Oops, sorry Fluttershy, but I'm just so darn excited."
"I am too, but you can be excited and be quiet." Pinkie Pie shrugged.
"I guess." She ran towards Gummy. "GUMMY; DON'T WORRY, MOMMY'S COMING!" Every pony and Spike ran towards their pets and hugged them. Everypony except for the Apple family.
"Congrats girls on reuniting with all of your pets." Applejack congratulated her friends. She looked at her sister.
"Aren't you going to congrats them, Sugercube?" Apple Bloom sighed.
"Congrats." She told them in a mournful tone. Applejack would've scolded her sister, but knew what she was going through, so just stayed quiet.
"You don't look too thrilled." Scootaloo said.
"Don't worry." Sweetie Belle assured her sullen friend. "I'm sure that Winona will come back to you guys someday." Apple Bloom sighed.
"Yeah'." She said. "But at this rate, I just don't know." The ponies and Spike felt sorry for her.
"Aw, Sugercube!" Applejack said. "I wish I could do something to cheer you up."
"You can give me Winona back, but you can't, can you?" Owlowiscous looked at the top of the hill.
Winona stayed put on the top of the hill. She was torn. Should she go? Would it be worth it, or would she be disappointed? She just didn't know. And that is what tortured her.
She then saw a sad Apple Bloom, along with her family and their friends. This perked up the dog. Maybe they do love her, and miss her! She then saw Owlowiscious looking at her. She took a deep breath.
She had made her decision. She couldn't take seeing all of those sad faces any longer. She ran down the hill, barking the whole way.
"Sugercube," Applejack told her sister when she and the others all gasped as they saw the collie dog. "I think you're going to like this."
"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked. The familiar barks coming closer. "Winona?" She looked up at the dog and a smile spread across her face. She ran towards the family dog. Applejack, Granny Smith, and Big Mac followed. "WINONA!" The dog barked and barked. The dog then tackled her to the ground, licking all over. This made the little filly laugh.
"Winona," She said. "Where were you? I missed you so much!" The dog just looked at her. "Aw, it doesn't matter. You're here, and I'm glad!"
"Welcome back to the family you ol' girl!" Applejack told her pet. "We all missed you and we are all glad that you are back."
"This calls for a celebration I say." Granny Smith said.
"YES; PARTY!" Pinkie Pie cheered, bouncing up and down. The others just laughed. Pinkie Pie then shot her party canon. Confetti went everywhere. Fluttershy was confused.
"Uh, where do you get that canon from, Pinkie?" She asked her.
"You need to prepare for anything, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie said as she fired her cannon again.
"I guess you do."
"All of our pets must have traveled miles to find us. " Twilight observed later that day. She smiled. "I think that's pretty cool."
"Ponies and pets in this case, would do anything for their love ones, dear." Rarity said to the alicorn.
"I say that's pretty rad!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yup!" Big Mac agreed.
"They must have gone on an incredible journey." Scootaloo said.
"A magical, friendship journey!" Sweetie Belle added. "Get it? Because their journey was filled with friendship, and was magical!"
Apple Bloom hugged Winona after the party.
"I love you, Winona." She said. "And I always will." Winona barked in agreement.
Winona should've known that her family loves her and always will. She felt silly getting convinced otherwise. But, at least she had her friends to lead her on the right path. Journeys are always more rewarding and more interesting with friends. Sweetie Belle was right. She and her friends had indeed gone on a magical, friendship journey.