Author's Note

This story was inspired by a dream I had lately (It was horrifying, but the dream got me thinking about things)

This story was also partially inspired by the military life I yearn for....

Maybe one day....

Chapter 1: Arrival

A US Marine in Equestria
Written By: The Dark Soul

Arrival

Created by: The Dark Soul

The Reveille sounded off, signalling that its time to wake up. Many of the Marines inside the barracks groaned, some rolled over and some sat up. I was one of those who sat up. Because it was the smart thing to do... I rubbed my eyes and groaned a groan of weariness and looked over to see my bunk mate, Kelley rolling out of his bed and falling face first on the floor. I stifled a laugh. Hello. My name is Daniel Lemmings Crouse. I'm a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, 11th Marines..... I was fire team leader of 1st Squad in Echo platoon, which lay in Alpha company. Service Number 28101. I was a rifleman. So in a nutshell, my job was to shoot whoever shot at me until one of us died from all the shooting.

"You alright there, Kelley?" I asked, smirking. He shot me a look.

"No.... Four hours of sleep in this heat. Liberty is going to be amazing. First thing i'm going to do is blast my face with an air conditioner." He said, staggering as he stood up. Our officer walked in, causing many of us to stand at attention in front of our bunks. Including Kelley. I myself tried to do the same, but instead I fell out of my bunk in a panic.

"Crouse! Get in line, son! I am not dealing with you today!" He ordered. I immediately got to my feet and joined Kelley at his side, my knees bent and fists at my side, thumbs on the seem of my boxers and my heels together. I stared straight ahead as the CO walked by. His stopped in front of me and stared me in eyes. I didn't meet his, rather I met his ears. The CO was a sergeant major named Arthur Perry King, he woke us every morning and... well.....he never liked me... never understood why either. Not that I cared, mind you. He was a bitch. But, that's not to say I didn't respect him. Man was a fucking ice cube, nothing he didn't like fazed him. He broke contact and kept walking, checking each soldiers bunk. When he got to the end of the barracks he did an about face and gave us our morning orders... Which were regularly: "Get dressed and get your breakfast. Your platoon commander will address you all afterwards!"

And so we put on our battle dress uniforms, many had their helmets on when they left, some didn't. You see, Taliban snipers favored the morning time to pick off sleepy Marines. So leaving without a helmet was never a good idea. But many of us were ballsy, including King..... soooo.... yeah... I had my helmet on because I quiet liked having a non-spongy head.. We all piled into the mess hall and got in line for our slop. And when I say slop, I mean scrambled eggs, some cold cut ham and a few sausage links... Tasty, but can get old.... But hey, better than beans and crackers with your own blood on it. I grabbed my breakfast and sat down next to Kelley. A couple other Marines sat with us. The didn't seem keen on interrupting our conversation though.

Kelley had decided to start a conversation about some fucking kids show his child watched. Told me before he was shipped out that he watched it with her. He said the name "My Little Pony" or some shit.... I don't know, I really wasn't paying attention. The other two Marines were laughing, but not because of whatever he was talking about, but because they knew I wasn't listening... I snickered a little too. Kelley is so oblivious. I kinda got lost in my own thoughts for a bit when Kelley said something that got my attention... I asked him to repeat what he said when I was jogged back to reality.

"I said... "What about you? Got any kids? Loved ones back home?" He repeated.... Funny, three months of knowing him and now he asks me. When I first met him that's the third question I asked.

"No... Single bachelor here." I said, boasting a smirk. I then looked at Wright (whom was one of the Marines sitting across from us).

"Didn't you say you had a wife back home, Wright?"

"Yeah, but I didn't say wife. I said girlfriend." He answered. Wright was this athletic guy. Ran track in high school and played football in college. He told me of the time he knocked some poor dude out with a tackle.... But I didn't believe him. I felt as though he was just trying to impress me. "I got special way to propose in mind. I just need to be discharged then I can put it in action." He said.

"Really? What, take her to Olive Garden and have them sing a song? They did that once for my grandfather on his birthday.... It was awesome." I said.... He stumped me with his next choice of words.

"Nope... Gonna take her to Sea World and pay to have a trained seal present the ring while I ask the question." He said. Damn.

"Props then man. Ill attend that." The other Marine said. Him I didn't know.

The rest of the meal was uneventful, some Marines were chatting, but I stayed mostly silent while finishing off my sausage links and ham. Fuck the eggs, they taste like sand. After we ate, we all went outside to be addressed by our platoon commander. He gave us our orders and a bunch of Humvees pulled up. Turns out we are going to reinforce a bunch of army guys and British soldiers. I grabbed my M4 Carbine and strapped my Ka-Bar to my leg before grabbing my pack (which was filled with ammo, water, rations, a small amount of smuggled Hershey bars.... hey its good for morale and before you ask how I keep them from melting, I place them on my canteen so the cold resonating from it cools the candy.... my mp3, which was a smuggled piece of equipment as well, and an assortment of survival gear and books) and calling shotgun.

The ride out was pretty quiet. The platoon commander was in the Humvee at the front of the convoy, I was in the one behind his. Driving was this Marine named Cunningham, good guy he was. Me and him became quick friends in Basic. Kelley was sitting behind me and this really quiet guy named Ray was sitting next to him. Didn't know much about him other than he was from DC, and that he had a wife back home.... ooooh by the way, he doesn't talk.... Like honestly.... He likes to keep to himself. I respect that. I switched on the radio... static. I started fiddling with the switch trying to find a station. As i'm doing this, Cunningham pipes up.

"Hey, try to find a station with rock. I need my tunes." He said, keeping his eyes on the road. Each Humvee was a car length separated, to minimize damage caused by a rocket attack or IEDs. I pulled my bandanna (which was just a plain old brown thing... It went well with my combat armor) over up over my mouth and nose before I answered. "Right...." It was boring in that fucking tin can. So of course Cunningham attempted conversation.

"Soooo.... Whats your genre?" He asked, not referring to me by name, but I knew he was talking to me. I looked over and spoke. "Ehhh, I'm mostly country." I said..... Hey! I was from Washington, that was all my parents listened to. Cunningham and Ray gave me a disgusted look. "buuuut I do like other songs in different genres.... Like Weird Al's "Everything You Know is Wrong" and "Ten Thousand Fists in The Air"" I continued, trying to not get spat on by Cunningham. He chuckled.

"That's a real mans song." He then glanced back at Kelley real quick. "What about you Kelley?" He asked.

"Ehhh... Not really into music...." He said.... Wow.... learning more everyday.

"Whaaaaat?" I asked, pausing what I was doing and looking back at him. He just shrugged.... SHRUGGED! What kind of world do we live in where you don't like music? That's exactly what I asked him, too. He answered.

"Ehh, more interested in this Fanfiction site. It was abo-" I stopped him there with the "talk to the hand" gesture.

"Ok, stop.... Stop before i'm obligated to slug you." I said, Ray and Cunningham laughed and I turned back to the radio. Annoyance pecking at my mind. Kelley knew I was joking because, he too, was laughing. I started to chuckle a bit too before a put on my poker face. Of course none of them could see it because, not only am I wearing a bandanna, but i'm also looking at the radio, attempting to find a station in this piece of shit car. Nothing.... I was beginning to get frustrated (that's not good either. I tend to punch things when I get angry. Frustration always leads to anger in me), but before I did anything rash, the music started playing. I started singing and clapping along, all frustration in me gone. I received a swat on the back of the head by Cunningham.

"Cut that shit out." He said, reaching for the radio. I swatted his hand away.

"Why? Its a good fucking song." I said, turning it up to spite him. He gave me the finger and I laughed. I started to sing along even louder. I loved fucking with Cunningham. "Because i'm Happy!" I sang. His fucking reaction was the best thing to happen to me in three days.

"Shut the fuck up!" He yelled, hitting the horn and causing the car to honk... He kept driving but stared at the wheel. My laugh was getting worse and infectious. My sides were hurting and Kelley and Ray were both laughing. Cunningham looked at me with a shocked expression.

"I better not get in fucking trouble because of you." He said, I turned and looked at the side view mirror and saw the Marines in the Humvee behind us laughing. They knew I was in here when they heard the honk. Guess they knew I did something Cunningham hated. Ha! I rested me Carbine on my legs and leaned back in my seat to allow my sides to rest. They were burning like hell. I sighed and looked out the window. Sand.... just sand everywhere. Stateside we have grass... I used to hate that... but I think I hate sand even more now..... What I would give to be home. I looked over at Kelley.

"What are you going to do when your service is over?" I asked. He thought for a minute before answering.

"Well, Crouse... I think i'm going to take my wife on a second honeymoon. Then when that's over i'm going to take my daughter and wife to Disneyland. Emily always wanted to go there." He said. The lead Humvee turned onto another road. Cunningham followed. "Wanna see a photo of my family?" He asked. I nodded, why the hell not? He took out of photo he had in his boot and gave it to me. I turned back around in my seat and took a good look at it. It was him standing next to a girl who was just his height. She had hazel eyes, dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders She was wearing a green polo and khakis... She was thin and... really attractive actually.... Gotta hand it to Kelley, she seemed like a nice girl, one that'll treat him right.. Score.....

And she was attractive.... Bonus points!

As for his daughter... She looked about five years of age, she had Kelley's eyes (blue). She had brown blonde hair that was styled into a ponytail (a result of Kelley's blonde hair, which I will remind you is crew cut now, and his wife's brown hair). She looked happy. I smiled and gave the photo back to the private. Kelley did a good job raising her from the looks of it.

"Nice. Kelley, you seem like a great father." I commented. He smiled and thanked me. I turned to Ray.

"What about you? What are you going to do?" I asked. He didn't answer. Instead he just gave me a chuckle and looked away. Man, was he a shy dude. Hope his wife treats him right. I turned to Cunningham, but before I could ask the radio piped up. A panicked Marine was on it.

"RPG!" The radio crackled out. And, as if on cue, the Humvee in front of us exploded in a ball of fury. I screamed when it exploded and grabbed my M4 Carbine. Many of the Humvees began to pull over and Marines piled out. I myself started shouting at Cunningham.

"Pull over! Pulloverpulloverpulloverpullover! Fucking pull over dammit!" I yelled. He finally did listen to me after a few minutes of me screaming in his ear.

Everyone found cover behind rocks and the cars while Cunningham manned the 50. Cal. I jumped out and threw my M4 to Kelley while running to the destroyed Humvee... Ray followed while Kelley and Cunningham suppressed the enemy. I grabbed the driver who was (by a miracle of god) still breathing. He was screaming in pain. I hushed him and picked him up. Ray was checking the platoon commander. He looked at me and shook his head. I then ordered him to check on the other passengers before turning and running back to the safety of our Humvee. The driver on my shoulders screaming insults at the enemy the whole way.

"Contacts! West of us!" Someone yelled.

"Corpsman!" I yelled as I lay him down on the ground. The man entrusted with keeping our bodies filled with blood started to run for us, but that required him to run out in the open. He jumped back as tracers flew past him.

"Suppressing fire!" Someone screamed before a crescendo of bullets flew out at the unseen enemy. We couldn't see them, but we had a good idea of where they were. I looked at the downed Marine.

"Your one lucky sonuvabitch!" I yelled over the sounds of war and I even offered him my best "everything-is-going- to-be-ok"smile. He offered me one in return but kept screaming. He was burnt to shit. "Don't worry, man! Your going home!" I said. Ray ran up to me, taking cover by the Humvee.

"Sir! Everyone else in the Humvee is dead!" He reported. Fuck! I turned to Kelley, whom was in the midst of reloading his rifle.

"Where the hell is the squad leader? We need orders!" I yelled through my bandanna. I kept my hands on the wounded warrior on the ground, trying to keep him alive.

"He was in the Humvee with the platoon commander!" He said..... Oh shit..... that......that means.....

I'm the new actual.

That realization hit me quick, and hard.... Like a rock.... I stood there thinking for longer than usual, brought back by Kelley handing me my M4... The Corpsman was with the wounded Marine, tending his wounds. "Orders?" Kelley asked me. I looked at him.... that's it. I am saying it... Fuck my life! I can't lead. I am a terrible fucking leader... My job is to shoot those who shoot at me, not FUCKING LEAD!

I guess I had to expect this when I volunteered for Fire Team Leader. My bad.

"Orders?!" He asked once more. I hid my fear of leading and anger for being left with the job and looked at the Marine on the ground. Then decided what we should do.

"Fall back! Corpsman, get that Marine in our Humvee. Kelley, your driving! Ray, your with us too." I ordered, they nodded and understood my reasoning. I looked over at Cunningham, who was on the 50. Cal. He was laying down heavy suppressing fire. I didn't say anything as he knew his job... I helped the Corpsman load the injured soldier into the Humvee and ran around the side of the vehicle, dodging bullets as I ran. I hopped in the front passenger seat before I turned on the radio and gave the order with a calm and collective voice.

"This is Sergeant Crouse, i'm taking command! Get into your tin cans and follow us! We are falling back!" I ordered.... Many "Yessirs" echoed from the radio as the people piled into their Humvees. Ray jumped in and Kelley floored it. We started speeding down the road (taking fire the whole time mind you) and the two other Humvees were behind us, following with a cars length in between and matching our speed. I got on the radio to base.

"Oh god! I don't want to die to this song!" The wounded Marine yelled, referring to the song playing on the radio. Give me a fucking break man, its a good song.

"Base camp! Base camp! This is Sergeant Crouse, 11th Marines! We have been ambushed by unseen insurgents and have wounded! Multiple dead! We are falling back towards our destination and could use some assistance out here!" I had yelled into the radio, what with gunfire ricocheting off the car, the wounded Marine in the backseat crying for his mamma, and Kelley's frantic breathing. I looked over and snapped at him, going full commander on him. "Calm the hell down, Kelley!" I ordered and he listened, regulating his breathing and trying to stay steady on the road.... He didn't even notice the bump in the sand.

"Uhhh, roger that base camp. We will turn back when we can to gather the dead. But the wounded and my men's lives takes priority." I said, responding to something command had said. "Uhhh. Roger that..." I said again. They asked us what our current location was.

"We are going south on the K-" I had started to say right before a loud noise has devastated the sound barriers and a great trauma of pain burned through me. I was stunned.... A great flash of light had blinded me for a bit and my ears were ringing.... And I felt sticky.... very sticky.... I smelled iron.... It was a very unmistakable smell. And the metallic taste I had signaled copper. I felt bad.... I felt.... I felt pain.. I felt like my insides were just outside and then put back inside again...... I...Did....I think we just.... Oh fuck..... No... No... nonononononononono...

Did we just hit a fucking IED?

The realization came upon me fast and hard..... We hit an IED.... I started hyperventilating and looked over to Kelley.... Was he still alive? I needed to know! I looked to where I thought was right... But I didn't know where "right" was! I was blind! I couldn't hear anything either over the damn ringing my ears produced.... We hit an IED.... Was Ray ok? Cunningham? The Corpsman? The wounded driver? I looked around, I could feel something... As if my hand had grazed something on the ground.... But I still couldn't see anything.... We hit an IED.....

I screamed out for Kelley. For Cunningham.... For Ray... For Wright.... for anybody.... I couldn't see my own hands, but I could feel ground... I could feel air.... I screamed once again.... We hit an IED.... Fuck man! Kelley had a child!!!! Kelley has to be alright! I started running.... or... what felt like it.... My legs were moving fast and I could feel myself screaming..... Under my command.... I had ordered Kelley to drive us over a FUCKING IED! Unknowingly, of course, but I had just killed everyone in the Humvee.... Whatever had happened..... I deserve to be hit in the face! Shot, even! Fuck me! We hit an IED.... I suddenly stopped running and felt a hard force.... It was against my whole body.... As if I had just gotten blasted again by the same force.... But, no pain... No blood... Just the smell of...dirt?

We hit a fucking IED....

<><><>

My eyes opened... and I was greeted with a blue sky.... clouds... I gasped and immediately sat up, frantically looking around for my friends (Kelley and Cunningham) and my other comrades.... I saw nothing... Or.. at least.. nobody... I saw grass.... and dirt... rocks... I saw poppies, and roses. I saw sunflowers and dandelions.. And I saw bees going about their business... One buzzed past me and didn't regard me in any way... Not the kind of thing you would see in Afghanistan. I sniffed the air, no iron... just whatever nature smells like... I immediately started checking my body for any wounds I might have.... no... did suffer... Nothing.... no blood... no broken bones.... I didn't taste the copper I had once tasted. No... Rather, when I took in a deep breath and exhaled, I could feel it leaving my body with a wave of refreshment... Like it would after brushing your teeth with sensodyne and taking in the morning air. I laughed with the knowledge that i'm alright. But immediately got worried... Where was Kelley? Cunningham? Ray? Where was the Corpsman and the wounded guy? I called out for them.... the response was my echo.

Hi, echo.

I called out again, but my friendly echo was all the responded to me.... I guess it was lonely... I turned on my radio and moved my bandanna down to my neck and spoke.. Hoping someone would answer.... Static....the wonderful sound a radio makes when either your getting ignored or no one is there to answer you.... Lets go with the latter... I cursed my luck and clicked off the radio before a bunch of bunnies ran out into the open.. They looked at me and started hopping my way... Ok.. I died in Afghanistan.... so does this mean? No, this can't mean that. I'm standing right here. Breathing the air and enjoying the view. Strangely, I felt.... happy... As if a great weight was taken off my shoulders.

I smiled and looked down at the bunnies... They were sniffing my boots and I reached down to pet one... The little ones scurried away when I reached for them, but the big one remained and actually accepted an ear scratch.

"Ill think ill call you.... "Big Daddy".... whatcha think?" I said in a very "who's a good boy?" tone. I don't think it liked the voice I used as it looked up at me and then ran off to join its children. Eh, didn't want to separate them anyhow. My mind was more in tune with the question: "Where the hell am I?" I raised my bandanna to cover my face before taking a better look around. The clearing I was in was beautiful. Flowers decorated it and what looked like a woodland area surrounded it... There was a small dirt path that led into it, but my training kicked in and decided to look around for anything I could use to build shelter or use as shelter.

There was one rule in the Marines that stood out from most.. It was "No one gets left behind." Maybe i'm back in the states? Fell out of medevac jeep and no one noticed? I don't know if that was a viable story but... it would explain why i'm no longer in the sands of Afghanistan. I mean, Afghanistan wasn't just sand... but... there was a lot of it. Anyways, if I just waited here than maybe they would realize their mistake and come back for me. Yeah... then I'd have a nice coffee... And one of my chocolate bars.... Speaking of which...

I unslung my pack and sat down under a nice shady tree. I enjoyed the nice cool breeze I was feeling (Must be autumn or something, nice) and closed my eyes. I opened them maybe seconds later and opened my back... My jaw kinda hung open a bit when I saw everything was still intact... My books, my rations and canteen... My compass.... oh wait scratch that, its fucking pointing east. Not north. Hell, even my chocolate bars and mp3 is still in great condition! Damn.... But wait, we hit an IED...... Why.... why is my stuff still intact, not to mention my fucking body? Miracle? Maybe so. Or maybe i'm unconscious and i'm dreaming! Yeah... that might be it... I decided that I would rather wake up then remain in this dreamstate.... A quick pinch and I would wake up..... I closed my eyes and removed my glove...

Then I pinched my ungloved hand.

I opened them to see that I was still in the beautiful clearing. I tried once more and, lo and behold, I was still here..... Ok so, maybe i'm not sleeping... Lets go with "No man left behind."... I took out one of the candy bars and unwrapped it before pulling down my bandanna. I might as well have something to enjoy before i'm found. I took a bite and savored the delicious sugary rush that came with it. The milk chocolaty taste that remained when all was said and done. I looked down at the bar and rejoiced when I saw I had five bites left into and immediately dug for my canteen. You know, I was quiet enjoying then nice scenery and the food. It was all a nice combination... So, understandably, I was kinda pissed when I heard rustling in the bushes not far behind me. But my instincts kicked in and I reached for my M9 Beretta while getting up quickly and doing an about face. It was probably Big Daddy or some deer or some shit, but you can never be too safe in the wilderness. Or so I thought from all those survival shows I watched as a kid.

I parted the bushes and saw nothing, but I saw what looked like something retreating further into the dense brush. It looked... blue? I followed it, my curiosity peeked. As long as I didn't go too far in then I felt fine. I kept my Beretta up at eye level and moved forward, following whatever it was that was in the brush... I stopped for a second and wrapped my chocolate up and put it in one of my pockets... Not a good idea if you value your merit and your feelings, but hell, who is around to see me do it? King? Ha!

I kept moving, clearing the brush with my free hand and keeping focus... Could be anything, possibly even a wolf trying to lure me.... Oh wait.... I turn to look back at my makeshift camp under the shady tree (which was just my pack and and M4 Carbine) and decided maybe it wasn't the best idea to follow the possible wolf or cougar, so instead of continuing forward I kept my Beretta directly in front of me and fell back slowly.The rustling stopped, as if the fleeing entity stopped when it realized I was no longer searching. I chuckled and decided, that if it was a wolf or cougar, that I would be able to fight better if we are both in the open. When I get back to my chosen den, I take a good long look back at where the entity had fled. You know, now that I think about it, I never saw a blue wolf or cougar before.... Regardless, better safe than sorry. I decided to change where I lay my hat. One of the reasons being that I prefer not to be eviscerated by hungry animals. Hmmm... maybe that's the only reason?

After all, I don't think my body armor will protect me against wolves tearing at my legs or arms. Or, god forbid it, a fucking Grizzly.... this looks like Grizzly land.... Trust me, I read about the Revenant.. But I guess that doesn't matter. Maybe if I stay here and keep my wits about me then the Marines will spool a search party. I sat down under an equally shady tree and and just stared straight ahead.... Waiting to see what happened.....

Fuck man, I got this feeling i'm being watched.. Fucking... I hate that feeling. Had it all the time in Afghanistan.

Minutes passed as I kept my eyes straight ahead, occasionally blinking, and had my ears on guard for anything that makes sound besides me and the bees. I was waiting the animal out. If it is trying to lure me, eventually it might either A). Run out of patience and attack me head on. Or B). Lose interest. I was not willing to take that fucking chance. I mean, it was already bad enough I went into the brush like an idiot. (I am an idiot. Hell, my mind is so active I fucking narrate my life in my head.) I continued to watch, keeping my Carbine out and ready to rock. My breathing was regulated easily and I was calm. Most people under these circumstances usually start freaking out. But they didn't go through Parris Island. That was hell, but fun. Don't get me wrong. Sloshing in the mud, live fire training, standing at attention and not being able to swat the flies laying eggs in your skin. Fun.

After what felt like an hour (it wasn't, I checked my watch, it was more like thirty minutes) I decided that the creature wasn't going away. I could feel it staring at me. Watching me.... was it judging me? Deciding if I was worth the effort? Or... was it scared? Maybe.... maybe... Hmmm. My mind got the better of me and I strapped my M4 to the straps on my body armor and drew my M9 before advancing back towards the where the entity was... I kept quiet and slowly advanced. I could feel my own heartbeat thumping in my chest....With every step I took the thumping got hard and faster... I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.... Shit this hurts. My mind was plagued by the questions: "What was watching me? Do I have any idea what i'm doing?" Nah, I don't think I did. Just then, my whole focus was taken off the brush and what was hiding in it.

"Aaaah!" Someone screamed... It was a scream and sounded fairly feminine. For a second there, every thought I had about what was watching me was gone. Hell, even the feeling was gone. Without thinking I ran towards the direction as fast as my legs would allow. The scream came from the dirt path, and so I raced down it, holstering my M9 and unstrapping my Carbine. My boots made soft patting noises on the ground as I ran.... I kept going until I reached a forked road...

"Come on! Really?" I yelled out loud with annoyance.... I listened for the voice to scream again...... Silence.... I was about to call out when I heard rustling from the bushes behind me. I jolted and quickly reacted to the noise, turning about fast and raising my rifle to eye level. There was something hiding in the bush... Part of me said just to walk away.... right now... The other part said to investigate.... So I did.

I slowly advancing towards the rustling, partially scared of what I was about to see (Humans do fear the unknown after all) and partially braced because I felt as if I knew what was there... A wolf? Big Daddy...... a bear cub..... Oh fuck please don't be that! I was close enough that I was standing over the bush.... Couldn't see past it due to the thick foliage, so I trusted my instinct and kept my rifle raised with one hand as I reached forward with the other. I was going to push the foliage out of the way to see what was hiding inside.... Ever so slowly I moved my hand, careful not to spook what was inside or to provoke it. My heart raced, readying itself for the unknown.... I pulled back the bush with one quick motion and immediately gripped the handguard on my rifle. And what did I see?

A fucking cowering mini horse.

I sighed through my bandanna and looked down. It was.... strange colored... I had a neighbor as a kid who bred horses... Not once had I ever seen a blue horse.... I lowered my rifle and looked at it. It was scared and was shaking violently... It wasn't facing me but it seemed to know I was there. I smiled... never had I seen an animal this cute before.... I kneeled and looked at it closely... It was about half my height and had mane and tail that was mainly colored ice with a blue streak. Its coat was blue and.... it had an hourglass on its ass. Both sides... Guess someone got creative? Either way, I knelt and watched it for a good bit, I totally forgot about the scream. Once I finished here I would go out and continue looking but for now...

The thing looked young, like a foal or something... But there was something off.... It had its front hooves over its head and it was shaking very violently... Don't know what it was but something told me that it wasn't your average horse... Like, maybe, it was just an adult miniature horse?

"Ssssh... Its Ok... You lose your mother, little thing?" I asked in a compassionate tone. I really didn't expect an answer from the thing. I mean after all, it was a horse, wasn't it? I jumped back and fell when I heard it scream... it screamed in a very feminine voice, a voice like the one I heard earlier... Had this thing just fucking screamed like a human? What the hell?! I startled me so badly that I when I got to my feat I aimed my rifle at it... It had jumped up and turned towards me. It was staring at me... It had deep blue eyes... Oversize for a horse.... And..... what the fuck?

Holy shit, it has a fucking horn.

I sat there and stared at the thing in front of me. It stared back.... I was looking at a fucking miniature unicorn. I lowered my rifle and studied its horn... blue like its coat.... It looked sharp... So pissing off the unicorn wasn't in my best interests.... Wait.. no way... This can't be real.... First, it screams like a human.... Now its a unicorn... No way.... no fucking way... Nuhuh this is NOT happening..... It was breathing heavily...

"Now there are fucking unicorns.... no way." I muttered.

I realized all it could see of my face was my eyes, the rest was covered with a bandanna... So I lowered it and let is see the entirety of my face. It didn't seem to calm, it tensed up even more. For a few minutes we remained in the stand off with our eyes, my brown eyes looking into its blue eyes, and vice versa. I began to wonder... was this the thing that was watching me in the clearing?

Eventually I decided that it would be in my best interest to return to the clearing instead of sitting her in standoff with a mythical creature. This had to be some sort of fucking dream.... But... it isn't... Maybe i'm seeing things... maybe its all an illusion from my wounds? No... no i'm not even wounded... I looked at it and strapped my rifle to my back before smiling and looking at it. That horn looked really sharp, so maybe I should leave a peace offering? So it doesn't run me through while I walk way and forget it even existed? Yeah, that's what ill do. Then, when I get back home ill drown myself in whiskey and forget everything. I reached for the partially eaten chocolate bar in my pocket and, as I did, the unicorn tensed up and back away. I laughed.

I pulled out the candy, unwrapping it and kneeling before extending my arm to the creature. It backed away and glanced back and forth between me and treat... I don't think it knows what it is.. So I retracted my arm and broke off a piece of the goodness in my hand before eating it.

"See? Good. Its good." I said, extending my arm once more to offer the unicorn my candy.... I had no idea if this thing even understood me. I don't know.. I don't even know if its real... The unicorn glanced back and forth between me and treat. It seemed to calm down and wasn't audibly breathing anymore. It actually slowly approached keeping its eyes on me before sniffing the bar... Its horn lit up and the.... oh shit this takes the pot. The candy floated out of my hand... Floated! It was encased in a gold glow and levitated out of my hand... So what? It can levitate things? Whats next?! Fucking T-Rex as president?

This cannot be happening... I cannot be seriously sitting here watching a unicorn levitate a candy bar out of my hand.

"Oh shit..." I said. It glanced at me before looking at the bar and taking a cautious bite... It chewed for a bit before smiling... That's it, enough's enough. I got up and walked back down the path hoping the thing wouldn't spear me in the leg. I glanced back to see that it was watching me...

Oh fuck me.... I'm starting to think i'm in a coma or something... This cannot be real... Like, seriously.... Unicorns? Am I in Scotland?