The Life Of A Horse

Chapter 20

I stare for a second and then run toward Princess screaming. "Princess! Help!" She runs toward me and I point toward Colton. She nods and we run. We run as fast as we can and she kicks him right in his face. Max falls over from the kick and Colton falls down. I quickly lift him up so he is standing. Princess is taking care of Max.

"Colton please wake up." A tear drops down my face and drips onto Colton's face. He lays there and I kiss him. "I love you Colton." I shake him and he moans. "Stop." I lift him on his feet and he stands. "Colton?" He seems good again. "I'm fine," he says with a smile. "Shift," I say. He nods and closes his eyes. When the crackling comes I prepare and launch onto his back.

Princess is behind us and Max is unconscious. "Hurry guys," she says. We nod and gallop away. We gallop for so long I'm afraid that Princess and Magic will fall down from exhaustion. They slow to a canter. They canter on and on and on.

"Magic, stop please." I whisper in his ear. He halts and I dismount and then lean over and throw up on the ground. When will this end? I sigh and mount Magic again. We continue our canter and after a while we trot, and then walk and then halt. They are exhausted. I dismount and hug them.

I remember the apples. I had put two in each of my pockets. The rest I had dropped from fear of Max. Knowing that they can eat grass I give each of them a half of an apple and I eat the other apple. We are in the woods so they shift and there are Ashley and Colton. I smile. "Hey guys." "Hey." They say.

We talk about little things while it gets dark. It must be about 10:00 p.m when we all decide to go to sleep. "Wait," I say. They look at me. "If there is danger we will need to be fast so you should sleep as horses so I can get on one of your backs and get out quickly and the other can gallop away." They nod and shift. I kiss both of them goodnight and then lay down in between them. I drift off to sleep almost as soon as my head touches the ground.

...........................................................

I wake up well rested and ready for another day of the journey. I realize I am a person. I close my eyes and picture Dakota. There now I feel more comfortable. I look at Magic and Princess. "Wake up," I say. They stare at me in disbelief. "What?" I ask, puzzled. "You're a horse," Princess says. I suddenly remember that I haven't been a horse for five days. "It has been five days. Let's get going."

They nod and get up. We start out as a walk and trot for a warm up. Then we canter and gallop. We have been galloping for probably a half hour when I see the herd. Specks of brown, black, gold, and white, on the horizon. I whinny joyously to them. They throw their heads up and whinny back.

I smile and look at Magic then Princess. They are smiling. After we talk with the herd a little we continue our great journey home. It will take probably a week.

A Week Later

It has been a week and we have been at our normal herd spot for a day. It was new to Princess. And Princess has become an official backup leader if Magic and I get caught again. That doesn't seem very likely though. This seems like the happy ending I have been working so hard for. I sigh and breathe in Magic's scent.

We are watching over the herd from our hill. The wind has picked up our manes and tails. I lean my head on Magic's neck. He smiles and I smile back. I look back to the herd. It is early morning so the horses are sleeping. I see Princess open her one eye and look at me. She smiles and then closes her eyes again.

I can't help but laugh to myself. This is what I have always wanted. I never knew that until now. I walk down from my hill to get a drink. I see a familiar palomino on the herd... Is that Sunstruck. I walk to the side to get a better look. I inhale sharply. My eyes widen in terror. The horse looks up. I almost had a heart attack. It's just a Sunstruck-lookalike.

I climb my hill again after getting a drink and I look at the sunrise. It's so beautiful. Pinks, oranges, yellows. I love it. I lean my neck against Magic again and drift off.