[Phase One] A Supercharged Storm

“Are you ready?” The Sagebrush volunteer asked, his dark blonde hair falling over his eyes. He moved his hand to brush it away, nervously glancing at the trailer parked only meters away, as the sound of metal being kicked echoed. “Fuck. I’m sorry they can be a little troublesome.” He sighed. I felt frozen looking at the trailer. It was shaking now. Am I in over my head?

“Uhm.” I paused. “Yeah, I’m ready.” I nodded, trying to reassure myself that this was a good decision. 

“Perfect.” The volunteer sheepishly smiled. “Here are the mare’s documents,” He said, handing me a thick stack of paper. “The stallion doesn’t have a lot-” He paused, thinking. “He’s a bit scared of people.” He added. I heard the pair whinnying as the trailer shook a little.

“How scared?” I asked. The trees swayed in the breeze as I tried to remind myself why I was doing this. 

The volunteer froze before answering. “Really scared. He won’t let anyone touch him, or for the most part get near him.” I felt my blood freeze. I am in way over my head. “But you can do it.” The volunteer added, probably seeing the horror on my face. “This is their last chance.” He whispered. “This is the end of the line. No more chances, no more handlers. So please, try.” He begged, his eyes full of unsaid words.

“What? I thought Sagebrush didn’t send horses to slaughter-” I paused.

“We don’t.” He said a little too quickly. “But this is their last chance. Please try your best. The mare, she’s a sweetheart deep down but her heart is protected with thorns.” He paused.

“And the stallion?” I asked, turning my head to the trailer that was still shaking.

“No one knows about him. He’s a little, well, guarded.” He replied, a bead of sweat dripping down his face. “I just need you to sign these papers and then I can help you unload the double trouble duo.” He chuckled, laughing at his own joke. Probably a nervous attempt to try and reassure me. It did not reassure me. At all.

He handed me a clipboard. Most of it was straightforward, ‘Don’t abuse the horses, we reserve the right to take back the horses if we feel you can not handle them, your responsibility is not only to care for these horses but to also do your best to rehabilitate them, if you do not want to complete the challenge we will take the horses back, ect’ but one small line caught my eye. ‘This is in specific regards to 11049 and 10684. Do not under any circumstances separate these horses for the length of the makeover. These horses are closely bonded and will panic when separated even when for short periods of time. If you want to train/work with one of the horses alone, please be advised that they need to be able to see each other. 11049 has a habit of freaking out when separated from 10684. She will bite, kick, and possibly attack when seperated.’ My hand shook as I signed the papers with a flimsy pen I got from my pocket, giving me partial ownership over the two horses until the makeover concluded.

“Alright let’s go.” The volunteer smiled as he guided me to the trailer. When he opened the door, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. 

Blood ran down the mare’s leg, dripping onto the floor. Her ears were pinned as we looked on in horror. The stallion seemed fine, although quite scared.

“Is that from her kicking the trailer?” I gasped, covering my mouth as the stallion, a bay horse, nibbled on the mare’s, a creamello, neck. 

“Fucking hell, you can’t behave for a few minutes can you? I swear she’s done that the whole way and when I stopped an hour ago she was completely fine.” He said, his hand running through his hair anxiously. 

“I believe you, it's not your fault. I’ll get the vet to look at her once she arrives on property.” I said almost in a trance. These two were going to be even harder than I originally thought. 

Getting them out of a trailer was a complete blur. The only thing I remember was trying to take a look at the mare’s leg as she got agitated and tried to kick me. The morning sped by as I waited idly outside the pasture where the two horses were trying to get their bearings as I also tried to get my bearings waiting for the vet to arrive.

“So these are the makeover horses you got? I thought you were only supposed to get one per person?” Julie, my best friend asked. She had just arrived on property to answer my 911 text.

“Normally yeah, but since they are so closely bonded I got two.” I sighed, putting my hand to my temple. 

“Hey, it’s okay, we’ll figure it out.” Julie said, embracing me in a big tight hug. “How much trouble could they possibly be?” She chuckled.

The answer was a lot of trouble. 

When the vet arrived, the mare was anxious. She tried to bite the vet, before the vet finally decided that in order to even take a closer look at her leg, she’d have to be sedated. The stallion stayed close to the mare’s side during the whole ordeal. 

When the mare was finally sedated enough to get a close look, the vet remarked that it was a nasty cut probably from a piece of metal, though nothing was left inside the wound. The vet came over to check her papers and ensure she was up to date on her tetanus vaccine before cleaning and bandaging the wound.

Surprisingly enough the stallion stayed close to the mare even when the vet was there, occasionally pinning his ears but not ever trying to bite or attack. 

“They need names.” Julie said as the vet began walking away from the mare. “We can’t just call them ‘the mare’ and ‘the stallion’ they need actual names Ava.” Julie sighed as we watched the stallion nuzzle the sedated mare. She was conscious the whole time but given something that sounded like benzodiazaphan or something. 

“Do you have any ideas?” I asked, glancing at Julie before turning my attention back to the two horses. The stallion seemed sweet, but any time the vet tried to pet him he pinned his ears and backed up. He didn’t try to attack, only distance himself from the perceived danger of a vet’s hand.

“Hmm, isn’t Vampire Diaries one of your comfort shows?” She asked. I nodded as she continued. “Maybe you could name him Alaric. Alaric doesn’t really like vampires, well at least at the beginning, and I mean in this situation we’d be the vampires, right?” She pondered. The stallion did kind of look like an Alaric for whatever reason.

“I actually really like that.” I chuckled. 

“Why don’t you use it for a bit to see if it fits him and if he responds well to it?” She suggested, hopping up onto the fence. 

“Yeah. What about the mare though? She seems more like an explosion.” I sighed just thinking about how much trouble she’d most likely end up being. This wasn’t what I signed up for. A lot of the horses at Sagebrush just need a little work. These two needed a shit ton. Which was probably going to end up with me jumping in over my head. Again.

“Maybe something to do with space?” Julie suggested. 

“Zenith is a male horse’s name, besides we already know one.” I started brainstorming. “Venus maybe but I don’t think that fits her explosive personality.” I paused.

“What about, hmm, maybe Solar slash Flare, or Ray short for gamma ray?” She suggested. 

“I don’t know, those seem more like stallion or gelding names.” I sighed. 

“I got it!” Julie piqued. “What about Nova?” She asked, turning her head and looking at me. 

“Nova.” I mused. “It’s a mare’s name and it would match her personality.” I hummed, pausing to think it through. “Nova’s actually perfect. Julie why the fuck are you so good at choosing horse names?” I laughed. Nova it is. Nova the explosive mare and Alaric the terrified stallion. Perfect. Two horses who need a lot of work when I’m already struggling with my own traumas. God, maybe we can heal each other.