Bold is horse talk. Italics is thoughts.

There was something crawling around my closed eye. It tickled. "Stop it!" I had tried to speak it, but something was wrong. Something was different. I opened my eyes, only to feel confusion at what I saw. My vision was wrong. I could see all around me without moving my head, except for a small spot right in front and in the back.

There were more movements at my eyes and I blinked, trying to shake them away. Wow. My head was really heavy. My next attempt to rid myself of the annoying feelings on my face failed when I tried to lift up my arm to scratch the itches. My limb didn't bend that way. Looking down, my heart twisted with fear. I was not looking at a human arm, and the thing on the end was not a human hand. It was in fact, a hoof. A black hoof to be exact.

Swinging my clumsy head around, I stared in shock at my body. I was a horse. "I'm a horse…" Again, when I tried to speak, it came out as a sort of thought that was said aloud. Though, had there been a human nearby, they would not have heard it. Other horses however, could.

I was a horse. A buckskin horse to be exact. My coat colour was a grayish tan, while my mane and tail were black. I also had black hairs that came halfway up my legs.

Using my strange new eyesight, I looked at my back and pouted. Whoever made me a buckskin horse, didn't even give me a cool dorsal stripe!

Giving my head another big shake, I tried to rid myself of the bothersome feeling around my eyes and nose. Only then did it hit me as to what it was. Flies. Fantastic.

Now, where am I? Looking around, the only things I could see were trees. That narrows it down... Maybe I should stay put and wait for someone to find me? No that won't work genius! I'm a horse! Wait... who would find me? I can't remember anyone. Who am I? Where am I from? Where am I now? With that, I began to panic. Struggling, I stretched my front legs out and pushed up with my back ones. I fell over. Alright, let's try that again. Heave! I got to my feet... sorry, hooves and wobbled for a moment.

My ear flicked about suddenly at a small crack. My body became rigid and I completely forgot that I didn't know how to work it yet. That however, seemed to help, for when I stopped thinking and reacted, I was fine. The crack came again and my prey nerves tingled.

A dirty, disgusting arrow flew by my flank and my instincts took over. The ground rushed by beneath me as I shot through the forest. I could hear the sounds of growls and screeches behind me, but I didn't dare look to see what the noises came from. All I knew, is that if I paused for a moment, I would be dead.

Bursting from the woods, I raced into a field and past something. I did a double take as my large body shot by it. Straightening my legs, I came to a sliding stop and spun around. My long limbs had already carried me some ways into the field and I stared back, letting out a worried snort as I watched.

The thing I had past was a man. He was, at the moment, yanking a big sword out of the body of a creature. Two more lay at his feet and he shook his head in disgust before sheathing his blade.

I was breathing heavily and my increased sense of smell brought the stench into my nose. Looking closer, I saw that the beasts that now lay dead in the grass were very ugly. Their skin was dark and covered in dirt and from the smell, dried blood. They had dirty armour and rusty weapons. I let out a low rumble in my throat at the sight of a bow. They were the ones shooting at me. I raised my eyes to see the man taking a drink from a canteen. And he saved me. Who is he? He looked familiar so I paced forward a few steps.

He put his water away and looked over at me. "Hello there." he said. Walking to a stone by the edge of the forest, he sat down and took out his sword once more. I watched in interest as he cleaned it carefully with a rag.

He was not known to me when I studied him further, but there was still something about him that made me feel I knew him. If I do, he wouldn't know me. I'm a horse. He was a strong, tall man, with light brown hair that could almost be called blond, and greenish blue eyes.

The man turned his gaze on me once more. "You are a very unusual coloured mare." he said absently. I wandered closer, feeling better at the sound of his voice. At the sound of anyone's voice. "I wonder if you would let me ride you." I nickered and he laughed. "You're probably wild though. You'd throw me the moment I got on your back."

Stepping towards him again, I reached my muzzle out and sniffed the air. He smelled tired. I don't know what about him smelled tired, but he did. I wondered if he'd been walking far. As if answering my question, he spoke. "You see, I lost my own horse a few days back and haven't gotten another." He looked down and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm talking to a horse." he smiled, shaking his head. "I've gone mad."

I bounced my head up and down and let out a quiet whinny, attempting to laugh as a horse. He seemed to get the message and sent me a goofy glare. "You're not supposed to agree with me. You are supposed to tell me that I haven't gone mad and that I'm fine. Of course, if you did actually speak to me, then that would be proof that I'm crazy."

Sighing, he rose. I was startled at his sudden movement and pranced away, looking at him with worry in my eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you silly horse. I'm only continuing my journey. On foot, I might add, for someone doesn't feel inclined to lend me a hoof."

Lowering my head in a calm manner, I tried to show him that I understood his not wanting to harm me. He tilted his head. "Perhaps you aren't wild. You are not very afraid of me." I took a step forward and he smiled. "I wonder what your name is silly mare." I snorted and shook my neck. I don't remember my name! Grrr! He laughed again at my strange actions. "Fine then. Don't tell me your name. You just keep your secrets."

He strolled off and I stared after him, confused at what to do. I didn't want to be alone where there might be more ugly things lurking, just waiting to jump out and eat me. Making up my mind, I let out a loud neigh and cantered to catch up with him. The man looked around and when he saw me, he smiled and kept walking. I came up behind him and trotted slowly, prancing with excitement at finding a friend.

"Have you decided to tell me your name, or is it still a secret?" I blew a snort on his back and he jumped, spinning around to face me. Prancing around him in circles, I whinnied and tossed my head around. "I'll be the mature one then. My name is Boromir of Gondor." He watched me for an answer and I paused, turning my ears towards him. "If you don't tell me, then I'll just call you Secret. How does that sound?"

I bobbed my head and he shook his, grinning at the fact that I seemed to understand him. "Alright Secret. Are you to accompany me then?" Once more, I moved my large horsey head up and down and he smiled. Boromir faced away again and strode into the woods once more. Moving my long legs, I kept pace with him until dawn.

When the sun began to fall, I was on alert. The sounds of nocturnal animals waking for the night were all around and I would constantly stop and listen only to fall behind and have to trot to catch up with Boromir. Eventually, he stopped and picked up a few tree limbs. I watched intently as he settled down by a small stone ledge that rose up from the forest floor like an antler on a stag. The rocky cliff cast strange shadows as the moon came up and I felt my heart pounding at the thought of being attacked.

"Calm yourself Secret." Boromir soothed. "I will soon have a fire going and then no predators will bother us." No sooner than he had spoken, the fire roared to life. "See?"

Pacing over beside him, I stayed far enough from the flames to feel safe and close enough to feel warmth. A wonderful smell drifted to my nose and I lowered my neck to see what Boromir had. He had only just brought an apple out from his pack when I breathed on his neck. He grumbled and looked up at me. "What?"

I turned my gaze to the treat in his hand and he sighed deeply before reaching up and letting me pluck it from his palm. I nickered my thanks and he waved it away. "No need to thank me silly mare. You must be hungry as well."

Chewing calmed me. My brain started working better when my jaw was moving, and I watched Boromir thoughtfully as he ate some bread and cheese. I soon finished my meal, but it did little to fill my belly. I was a large animal, and a little fruit wasn't going to satisfy me. There was no grass around though, only dead leaves on the forest floor, so I sighed and swiveled my ears around to listen for danger. There was hardly a sound out in the darkness though. The fire had most likely scared everything away.

Boromir moved and I looked back to him. He was settling his back against the rock and muttering to himself. "What I would do for a decent bed..." My belly rumbled, but I ignored it and continued watching him as he tried to get comfortable. His eyes caught my gaze and he scowled. "I wish I could sleep standing up." he grumbled before turning on his side and sighing. "Goodnight silly Secret." he said quietly. I nickered low as an answer and blinked at him. He smiled slightly before closing his eyes. It wasn't long before he was asleep and I felt alone again.

Staring out into the trees, I was happy about my new and improved senses. I could see farther into the dark than I could if I was a human and I could hear things better as well. My sense of smell was greatly increased too and I decided to test it. Alright. Well... I can smell Boromir. I can smell bread and cheese and apples. I can smell burning wood from the fire and... what is that? Oh... that's me. Duh. Of course I smell like a horse. Ha! That rhymed.

Boromir stirred in his sleep and I was startled out of my sniffing. He turned over and I wandered closer. The man was a welcome comfort in this strange place. He was the only soul I'd met so far, except for the ugly beasts, and he was nice. He gave me a name too. Secret. I liked it. It suited me since my past was a secret, even to myself. All I knew is that I used to be a human.

My eyelids soon began to fall and I felt myself getting sleepy. The muscles in my legs straightened and my joints locked. That was my cue to sleep, and sleep I did.