On a dark moonless summer night, with only occasional bolts of heat lightning to relieve the blackness, Golden Waves stopped to stretch her stiff legs as best as she could while pulling the rented moving wagon. All her worldly possessions were stuffed behind her as she walked the long five hour trip. She turned left onto a gravel road, almost there now, almost to her new home in the country and to her new life in nearby Ponyville.
Off in the distance, an orange, yellow, and red glow flickered on the horizon. A fire! Oh no! Golden ran into the long winding driveway as flames leaped, dancing in the wind, while devouring the old weathered wood barn. She unhitched herself from the wagon and ran toward the blaze. That barn was supposed to be an animal shelter and headquarters for her new job. Golden felt like she was watching a funeral pyre for her new life. What kind of sign was this for her new beginning?
The fire, hot as the hinges of hell, singed her chocolate hair as she ran into the choking cloud of billowing black smoke. She collided into what felt like a brick wall and her knees buckled.
"Whoa, little mare." Large gentle hooves clasped her shoulders to stop her from falling upon impact, and then guided her back out of the heat.
Golden's heart caught at the sound of the deep, rich baritone voice. His cobalt eyes locked onto her blue ones then widened with surprise. Or was it appreciation? Perhaps the scorching heat was roasting her thinking processes? Something soft squirmed against her chest before she realized he was holding a few whimpering kittens in his magic. He was rescuing the baby animals! Although glistening with sweat and smudged with charcoal, too sooty to distinguish his features, he seemed like a knight in not-quite shimmering armour. "Who are you?" Goldie whispered.
"I'm Charming Masquerade." Charming remembered his manners at the same time as the wiggling weights in his magic. "Here." He thrust the bundle of panicky kittens into her hooves before brushing a stray lock of chocolate hair from her lovely face. He took a giant step back, away from the temptation of her feminine and athletic form. Charming wondered why no one warned him that she was such a beauty. "You must be Golden Waves, the new vet," he tossed back over his shoulder as he again ran toward the barn to save more animal shelter strays.
