//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: An Act of Charity 
// Story: Mares on a Moonlit Night 
// by Sheendough 
//------------------------------//

 Chapter 6: An Act of Charity 

Applejack walked slowly with her mind busy, a million thoughts swarming her head. Was she cursed? How could she? When was the last time she had got near a spell on her? It couldn’t be Twilight’s fault. She’d have known… Maybe… Maybe… Yes. That was a good one. 

‘Maybe she’ll help me’— thought Applejack. She continued the long way to her family’s farm. 

‘But not now… It’s too late'— she thought. The sky was already turning a slight purple, while most of it was now in a deep blue color, waiting anxiously for the night and for Princess Luna to raise the moon. The clouds that had caused the two friends trouble through the day were mostly gone by now. 

All in all, Applejack thought this day was actually a very interesting one. Nothing could calm down the slight feeling of euphoria in her chest as she wished the next day would be just as good as this one. 

‘Yes’ —she thought. ‘Nothing could make this better’. 

___ 

‘Terrible catastrophe strikes the Equestrian Sea. Hundreds of ponies disappeared.’ 

The old newspaper page was turning brown from its antiquity and the edges were starting to look somewhat burned. 

‘It seems like only one survivor made it out when the E.Q.A. Hippocampus sank. The Ponyville Express laments the loss of those 526 ponies whose remains authorities cannot find. The sole survivor seems to be in a state of shock, very catatonic and placed on intensive care. Whenever he was asked something by the press before being taken to the Canterlot Hospital, the pony seemed to become quite jumpy and started yelling incoherencies. We still don’t know what could’ve made him that unstable.’ 

“Ungh!” —she yelled. “This doesn’t help”. 

___ 

Rainbow was galloping as fast as she could to escape the falling rain. She flapped her wings as hard as she could but more water kept pouring in. She was having trouble running with the puddles on the street making her slip every now and then. She wanted to fly back to her house until an idea popped in her head. Sure, it could wait until later and it was just a short thing, but it would help somepony (or someponies?) in need. That and that if she didn’t do it now, she’d forget the next day. She changed course and ran towards the Everfree Forest. 

___ 

Fluttershy was preparing some tea for her. She had spent all day inside her cottage and it was getting a little cold, so a cup of tea would warm her up. She began to set everything for her when she noticed that five minutes had already passed. She picked up her ladle and served some soup. She poured it in a plate and went to serve it. 

“Here ya go Angel Bunny. Some warm, nutritious, delicious, yummy-dummy soup for you” —said the yellow pegasus in her sweetest most caring, softest voice she could muster. Only a monster would deny eating that soup after hearing that. The white bunny cuddled up in a ball in a cushion tried to stand up and sniffed the dish before him. He slowly raised a paw and began to eat it. The poor little critter had been running around the cottage in the rain and was now starting to catch a cold. “There ya go. Eat up sweet thing, or that cold will get worse.” 

The bunny looked up at Fluttershy with pleading eyes and smiled shyly at her. With another soft cough, the little rodent continued to eat his dish. Fluttershy looked at Angel with motherly eyes until something broke her concentration and brought her back to reality. Somepony was knocking loudly at her door. She cowered behind her large sofa and peeked through the furniture and her well-brushed pink mane. The knocking came back in a softer tone. She stood on all four hooves and went to answer it. She opened it with a little bit of trouble and was surprised at what she saw. 

“Rainbow?” —asked Fluttershy. 

—“Hi Fluttershy” —replied the cyan mare. 

—“Come in. You’re awfully wet.” 

—“Well thank you” —replied politely her friend. 

Rainbow entered the small cottage and made herself at home. She stood near to the fireplace to dry her coat a bit while taking in the warmth of the place. 

—“Hi” —said Fluttershy. “How have you been Rainbow?” 

—“Well, pretty fine, thank you Fluttershy” —answered the cyan mare. 

—“Have you had many nightmares lately?” 

—“Nah…” —answered absentmindedly Rainbow Dash, still staring at the fireplace where some neatly-placed logs burned with a comfortable heat. “That was just one time, but I appreciate your concern Fluttershy”. 

—“Um… What were you doing so late in the middle of the rain?” 

—“I just came back from Twilight’s. Applejack and I needed to ask her some questions regarding the latest days.” 

—“Well, um… How is Applejack? I-Is everything alright?” 

—“She’s better now, thank you” —said Dash. 

—“Well, I’m glad to hear that” —replied the yellow pony with a soft smile. 

—“Me too, Fluttershy. Me too.” 

—“Well, um… Not to sound rude, but… What brings you here? I-I mean. If you’re OK in answering” —finished Fluttershy with a shy smile. 

—“Well, we got a bit of a problem.” 

—“What’s wrong?” 

—“Remember Applejack’s dog?” 

—“You mean Winona? Is something wrong with her?” 

—“Oh, there’s something wrong with her alright.” 

—“What’s the problem?” 

—“Nothin’” —said Rainbow in waving a casual hoof. “Just that she’s not around anymore.” 

—“Oh dear. What happened?” 

—“Well, nopony is sure. She’s been missing for four days straight.” 

—“Well, is there anything I can do?” 

—“Actually Fluttershy, yes there is. Applejack hasn’t instructed me to do anything or go anywhere, but I figured I might as well do something nice for her for once.” 

—“Oh, really? What is it?” 

—“Well, maybe you could search for her with the help of your friends.” 

—“Oh, I’d be glad to. Poor thing must be scared to the bones for not being able to find the way home.” 

—“Yeah. I’d do that myself, but you know I’m really impatient. That and that I’m not good with animals. Plus Cloudkicker would kill me if she found out I skipped work. Besides, I still wouldn’t find her. She’s really small and probably she found refuge in a nearby forest.” 

—“Probably. It’d be her natural instinct to try to locate a tree or a cave to sleep in. She’s really smart after all. She’s probably still alive” —said the yellow pegasus with a thoughtful hoof on her chin. 

—“Well, I’m glad to hear that” —said Rainbow. A sigh of relief escaping her lungs out through her words as she dried her lips. 

—“I’ll see what I can do, Rainbow. Don’t worry. My critters will ask around the forests to see where she went. I know they’ll find her.” 

—“Thanks Fluttershy, I knew I could trust ya.” 

The yellow pegasus giggled and invited Rainbow a cup of warm tea they both deserved. The fireplace provided a cozy atmosphere that allowed them both to relax.