a mysterious pony greets you....

Thunder rolled over the roof of the old barn, flickers of lightning illuminating the world for heartbeats at a time. Charlie brushed her hands off on her shirt after she filled a bucket with feed, tail swaying behind her lazily, while Casey watched the storm out a dusty windowpane,

“The storm isn’t letting up any. Would you rather wait it out or head back?” Casey hummed, arms crossing over his chest as his ears twitched in annoyance. Charlie sighed,

“I’m not sure, I feel like if we try waiting we’ll be here all night.” She scratched just behind the line of her jaw,

“It’ll be dark soon. No better time than now.”

“Alright, alright, just let me get Gala fed, hold your horses,” She muttered, lifting the bucket with a grunt of effort and disappearing into the nearest stall. Only to peek out shortly after with a cheeky smirk, “Pun intended…” Casey groaned.

He looked back at the window, watching the rain pelt the ground ruthlessly. There was no doubt that a trek back to the ranch house would be a hassle. No, a Herculean feat. The dirt paths were washed out and filled with mud and nasty puddles, the trees shook with the force of the wind, the horses were antsy from the thunder. Casey wondered if tonight could get any worse.

His racing thoughts came to a screeching halt when he spotted a glimpse of orange out along the treeline. Orange? What was that? His eyes narrowed, leaning forward enough that the end of his muzzle barely brushed the cool glass. Through the rain, he could see it. That was a horse.

There was a light nudge against his side, he startled and whipped his head around to see Charlie looking up at him curiously,

“Ready to go?” She nudged him again. Casey, still shocked from the sight of the random horse outside, barely managed to scrape his words together,

“Horse,” He nodded towards the window, “Outside. Out of… of the pastures.”

“Ohhh no, did Chirp get out again?” Charlie crooned worriedly, pressing her face up against the glass to see outside,

“No, no.. I’ve never seen this horse.” Casey sighed, a swish of his tail exposing a mixture of frustration and concern. Who would leave a horse out in weather like this?

“Casey…” Charlie slowly turned to the other feline, a determined glimmer in her eye that made Casey almost regret telling her about the mystery horse, “Rescue time…”

“Oh brother…” An exasperated sigh, though he wouldn’t argue, not when there was a horse involved. He nodded, and Charlie sprang into action.

She grabbed a little burlap satchel and filled it with whatever treats were within arm’s reach and grabbed a spare halter and lead from a nearby hook. She had ordered Casey to make sure the horse (who was standing under a thickly-leaved tree without a care in the world) didn’t run off. Drawing her coat shut and zipping it up to the top, Charlie made haste and walked out of the barn with a brisk trot with Casey tailing behind and almost busting his ass on the way out.

At the fenceline, Charlie could get a better look at the horse. A chestnut mare, a gorgeous one at that. She was sturdily-built and oddly clean looking for a supposedly wild horse out in a major storm. The mare’s coat was neatly clipped, a contrast to her windblown mane and tail, but other than that, she looked like a prized pony… Charlie was intrigued.

She clicked her tongue, trying to coax the horse closer as best she could. The chestnut pony’s head shot up, staring at Charlie from the small sanctuary under the tree’s branches. With a sigh, Charlie dug around in the satchel and revealed a carrot,

“C’mon… Treat?” She offered, straining to hold the carrot out as much as she could. The horse, skeptical and unconvinced, stayed put. She looked almost statuesque, but maybe it wasn’t so bad considering the fact she hadn’t run back off into the woods. Maybe there was a mutual curiosity… The thought fueled Charlie’s determination and she cautiously hopped the rain-soaked fencing,

“Charlie-” Casey started, now standing on the bottom panel of the fence as Charlie approached the mare. Charlie held up a paw, silencing him. He huffed, his ears flattened under the hood of his raincoat.

Charlie still held the carrot far away from herself as she edged towards the pretty equine, who slowly turned around to face the brave cat. With a snort, the mare lowered her head a little, brown eyes seeming to spark with interest at the sight of the carrot held in Charlie’s white paw. They were close enough now that Charlie could see the faint grease spots on Mystery Mare’s face. How this mare was so pretty, Charlie had no idea, but all she was worried about right now was getting this horse out of this weather.

With a hesitant sniff, the horse inspected the carrot and took a slow bite. The crunch of the carrot sent a wave of satisfaction through Charlie, who grinned, feeling her shoulders sag a little, “See? Not all that scary, yeah?”

Her words were followed by a little nicker from the chestnut mare. And, of course, the sweet moment was interrupted by a disgruntled “Can we head back now?” from Casey. Charlie rolled her eyes affectionately and carefully slipped the borrowed halter onto the mare’s head, muttering softly under her breath,

“Let’s get you inside…”