(CNN) – Residents of one California community couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw what they thought was a tiny unicorn roaming the area.

The animal wasn’t quite what people thought, but she did lead police on a chase they won’t soon forget.

“Juliette” looks like something you’d find in a fairy tale, than on a farm. She belongs to 5-year-old Tatum Boos.

“I love my pony,” Tatum said. “She likes apples and carrots.”

The horn on Juliette’s head makes a child’s dreams come true. She appears to be a real life unicorn that makes a living posing for pictures.

But on Wednesday, she had other ideas.

“She got afraid and then she pulled it out of the guys hand and then she runned away,” Tatum explained.

People driving down Avenue 12 in Madera Ranchos called 911 with an unlikely story.

“The calls were coming in as a unicorn running around out there on the roadway,” Officer Josh McConnell with California Highway Patrol said.

Unicorns are mythical creatures. People don’t see them, but Juliette lived up to the legend. Leading the California Highway Patrol and area residents on a chase that lasted more than three hours.

“She was running a muck in a couple of orchards with some white blooms, so she kind of blended in with the scenery as well and she’s not real tall so she turned out to be stealthier than we imagined,” Sandra Boos, Juliette’s owner, said.

It was a bizarre scene, and heartbreaking for Juliette’s best friend.

“I was afraid and then we had to catch her in the dark,” Tatum said.

With the CHP helicopter shining its spotlight, Renee Pardy rode in on her horse, “Shady.” They’re old friends of Juliette’s.

“They had met before and I kind of just walked off with my horse and she followed and luckily we had another Ranchos resident to help get us on the property and get her into a closed spot,” Pardy explained.

“The call came out ‘the unicorn was in custody’ and I think as tense as the situation was I think it was the comedic relief that was needed at the time and I laughed and I cried and I thanked God,” Sandra said.

With nobody hurt, it was a fairy tale ending for the pony, but, according to Tatum, she has some explaining to do.

“She gotted a time out because she was being a bad pony,” said Tatum.