Horse Sales, and a new pony

He was white, or supposedly had been originally.
I was wandering through a sales barn after spending the day in the city, and it shocked me to see the state of soem of these animals.
I reached out for the pony that stood exhaustedly in front of me. His soft, velvety muzzle was cold.
"Oh..." I moaned with pain for the poor creature. His cream coat was dirty, and matted.
I stroked his neck, his enchanting dark eyes reminding me a little of someone.
"Oh..." I said again. 'I can't stand this.' I thought. I strode up to the broker with a furrowed brow, trying to seem as much of an enigma as I could, donning my gothic look momentarily again.
"How much do you want for the white pony?" I asked coldly, my heart still aching at the sad gaze that seemed to follow me.
The broker looked up and down, deciding what to make of me.
"One-fifty." he said, an increasingly irritating smirk on his dirty, unshaven face.
"Done." I said coldly.
"Sold! to the witch in front." he snickered stupidly.
"Don't insult me,"I said cooly. "you've already made yourself a pig in my eyes. Who doesn't take care of an animal as beautiful as that white pony?" I asked coldly, drawing myself up.
I took my credit card from my purse, and he zapped it carelessly.
I took it back snappily, and turned away, untying the poor white pony and leading him away, without a backward glance.
***
When I got back to Evergreen, an hour and a half later, both Holly and Scarlet were in the stables.
"Scarlet, can I take a spare stall for this one?" I asked, stroking the gelding's dirty side.
"Yeah, sure. He's cute." she replied, ramarking with a smile. Holly raised her eyesbrows.
"Where'd you get him. What happened to him?" I she questioned.
"It was a bit of an impulse buy. One-fifty." I informed her, taking the pony into a nearby stall and slipping the bedraggled ropes acting as a careless halter from his face.
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him..." I said a little more to myself than her.
I ran out of the stall, grabbing the hose, and washing him therough with pony shampoo and a soft plastic brush that was really a dog-brush, but which the small gelding really seemed to like.
"What's his name?" Holly asked, stroking the friendly pony's face.
"Dunno. I'll find one." I said. That wasn't the issue at hand. After I washed him, and towel-dried him so that he would be warm, I combed out his thick silver mane and tail, and brushed his now shiny coat.
After that, I pulled the too-small shoes from his feet and gave him a full farrier job.
I also gave his mane, tail and feathers a trim, gave him a good feed, and gave him some vitamins and eye drops for a little bit of conjunctavitis.
"What a prety pony, Melanie." I heard a small voice. It was Bryan and Mindy's little one, Sean.
"Hi Sean." I smiled at him. "He is very nice, isn't he? Here, come and give him a pat." I lifted him carefully into the stall, and minding the pony's legs, I let him stroke the gelding's face, until guilt overcame me, and I decided that it wasn't safe.
"What am I going to call him?" I asked. Sean would have some cute idea, knowing him.
"What about... Apollo?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows.
"Where did you get that name from?" I asked him curiously.
"My favourite book. It's got lots of myths in it." he informed me imprtantly.
I nodded.
"I love myths. Do you know who Morgana is named after?" I asked. He shook his head. I laughed.
"The myths about Morgana are my favourites. I'll read some to you, if you want." I told him. "And I think Apollo is a perfect name for the pony." I beamed.
"Apollo." I said, stroking Apollo's neck.
"Apollo." Sean reached up on tip-toes, and patted his muzzle.
I think we need to let Apollo get used to the stall, before we put him with the other horses." I told him, ducking out of Apollo's stall.
He nodded, and ran off to Mindy, working with a horse in another stall.
After he left, an idea started to form in my head...

~Melanie