FSE

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Explosive

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

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"Can you tell me why?"

The red mare paced, anxiously walking the fence line along the hard standing of the field that was home, sort of, but not quite. Not yet, at least. Up and down, up and down the short strip of concrete she went, the electric fence snapping away in the background. It was loud, that thing, but they couldn't go past it, contained by it along with grass and hay and water and company. It was not so bad as long as they left it well enough alone.

Her companion, the older, grey mare, chewed a mouthful of grass thoughtfully, fresh shoots of richness trailing from her lips as she paused mid-chew.

"What do you mean?"

The red mare groaned and shook her head, mane flying wildly from one side of her neck to the other. Her mane was a wild, unkempt mess while the grey mare's mane fell in a neat, trim line down the arch of her neck. They'd been terrified to take the scissors to it, but it, like many other things, that had turned out just fine too.

"I_mean_ that you didn't have to do it, you know! So, why did you?"

Blinking slowly, the grey mare yawned, straining her jaws in the most inelegant fashion.

"Well... It just kind of happened."

"What do you mean? How can going up on your back legs just kind of happen?"

Frustrated, the red mare bounced from hind legs to fore, pawing at the ground and snorting like a stallion. She dug up a clod of thick, cloying mud from the hole near the gate - they should really get that fixed soon, would be at risk of turning a hoof otherwise - and flung it forth furiously, ears back and teeth bared. All through the display - she had to get it out of her system, after all - the grey mare watched on, her dark, baleful eyes simmering with silent thought.

"Just like you're doing right now," the grey mare nickered, one ear tipped towards her friend. "Sometimes you don't think about what you're doing. It comes and then you're in motion and it's too late to stop."

"But this is different!" She cried. "There's no one on my back now and I'm not dangerous to anyone! I couldn't' even hurt you from where I am now, but you could have hurt someone!"

"Yes, I suppose that is true."

"So why? Tell me why you would do such a thing, put others at risk. There was no threat."

The grey mare dipped her head, snuffling at the short grass.

"There may have been a threat. There was too much energy, too much going through me."

"You were sent forward."

"I had to let it out."

The red mare sighed and half-turned her shoulder to her friend, ears drooping softly.

"So, you decided that going up instead of forward was the best solution."

"If a whisper is not listened to, a horse must shout."

That gave her pause. Had there been a whisper? Had that whisper really turned louder and louder until it became a scream in the form of a rear.

Groaning, she rubbed the side of her head on her foreleg. Her head hurt. Everything seemed to hurt those days, the aches and pains of work and muscle being forced to strengthen never truly going away.

"It's down to listening more then."

"Not precisely. You can't anticipate everything."

"I wish I could. For you."

Something in the grey mare's eyes softened and she nuzzled the chestnut equine on the neck, pushing at her shoulder until she swayed off balance and stumbled, eyes wide and surprised. The dappled grey mischief-maker, however, only gave a shake of her head in response, a shake that subsequently travelled down her whole body as she shook herself with such force that even the stray strands of straw in her tail were flung loose.

"That is very kind of you. But sometimes we're not going to have that luxury."

"I know..." She sighed and flicked her tail. "But I still want to be able to do better. I think we did okay afterwards, but it wasn't the best, was it? You were very stiff from the day before. You maybe needed to walk more, stretch more."

"I was very stiff. But I didn't give you a chance to let me relax and didn't take the chance at the end when I was asked to stretch."

The red mare chewed thoughtfully for a moment, teeth grinding on nothing at all. Perhaps sometimes there was nothing that could be gleaned from a particular event, as terrible as it was to see her friend so worried. She wasn't worried anymore though. No, in fact she appeared as if she would fall asleep in the field, the wind picking up her rug from her hindquarters and whistling between her legs.

Her lips pulled slightly and she snorted, tension slipping from her neck. It was a relief to see and bolstered the red mare's spirits, at least some.

"We'll get it right next time," the grey mare said with a lazy swish of her tail, picking at the grass for the choicest, freshest blades. "It'll come together. And I will listen to you too. Just please listen to me."

The red mare bobbed her muzzle and twitched one ear.

"I always try to listen. Maybe I didn't that day. I was in a rush. I'm sorry."

Nuzzling up to her friend's side, the grey mare nudged at her withers and nibbled, scratching her in the best apology a horse could give. Sighing softly, the red mare returned the favour and groomed her companion's dappled neck, the thin arch higher than her but still just about in reach.

"We all have bad days. We don't always react the way we want to."

The red mare licked her lips, nosing at the pile of hay, her friend warm and steady at her side. The rain had gotten at it, soaking it through, and it was no longer very appetising at all. That would have to be dragged out and fresh added, not that very much hay was being eaten as the spring grass came through anyway. It was good to have it there, regardless.

"No. But we can always be better."

Blinking into the soft, grey mist, the older mare stared out wisely, though what she saw in the distance the red mare would never know.

"Always better."

"Together."