The above art piece was commissioned from the amazing  Professor Pinecoon depicting my character (Blake) in his horse form after being mysteriously transformed by the psychotic rancher, Andrea, in the previous part.

What’s going to happen to him now? Read the below story to find out! I hope you enjoy! ^^

Horsing Around:

Slowly but surely, I began to stir from what must’ve been quite a bit of a nap.

I was lying down on my side. Sort of aching all over my body, but able to move around somewhat. My eyes remained shut, however. I wanted as much sleep as I could possibly get. The fact that my morning alarm apparently never went off yet annoyed me. It meant I woke up too early again. And once I woke up, it was always difficult to go back to sleep and get my full 8 hours in.

I still lived at my parent’s house while I went to college, since the campus was close enough by, and since they were willing to let me live with them until I graduated. Because of that, I was cautious to avoid seeming overly lazy during the school week, especially about my sleeping habits, which had an effect on how early I’d wake up each day, even on the weekends.

Regardless, I would try to get as much shut-eye as possible before it was actually time to get out of bed, since today’s first class started later this morning than most days. It was probably a good idea to check my phone to see when my next alarm would go off, just to be safe in case I missed it already.

After a long yawn (which by the way sounded kind of odd to me when I did it), I rolled myself over to the other side of my bed to reach for my phone on my bedside table.

But…I felt no phone there. And I felt no bedside table. I just heard a *clink* as my hand hit against what felt like a hard wood floor.

That made me wrinkle my forehead in confusion, and I started to slowly open my sleepy eyes to see what was what. As they adjusted to the odd blurry surroundings, I felt my stomach drop when several realizations hit me one after another just then.

Firstly, I never submitted my paper from the night before! That was due at midnight! My snoopy parents were probably going to check my missing grade and give me a scolding later.

Secondly, I had no recollection of clocking out at the feed store the night before, or bringing the store truck back, which meant I was definitely about to be fired, if not sued. Just what I needed on my resume!

But the last thing that really propelled me from the realm of exhaustion was the last memory I had: when something happened to me on the delivery to Andrea’s ranch.

Wasn’t that just a bad dream? Where did I go after that? Where was I now?

My eyes adjusted from the haze of having just woken up until I could make out that I was indeed lying on a hard wood floor, in a room with dark, crimson red walls. This looked like a living room…someone else’s living room!

I shot up immediately and tried standing up. But as I used my hands to try lifting my body, they clopped against the floor, and instead slipped forward, unable to grasp anything and causing me to slip flat onto my belly with a grunt.

I had no idea why every frantic and increasingly panicked movement I made was so loud and clumsy until I saw my arms outstretched before me. Freezing in shock, I realized that there were two dark brown, furry forelegs with hooves where my hands had once been.

“Wha-“ I tried saying, then stopped when a whinnying sound was all that came out of my mouth. This can’t be! It cant be true! Was that not really a dream? Am I still dreaming?! Where are my clothes?!

Panicked alarm bells went off in my head as I spent the next minute frantically looking all over my body, verifying that no skin cell was left untouched. I sat down on my hind legs, rear wedged against one of the walls so that I wouldn’t slip on the floor as I looked up and down my entire body. As I leaned against the wall, I felt what was unmistakably a tail pressed up against it too. My neck was flexible and long enough for me to be able to look almost entirely behind me. And I could see the same elongated snout between my eyes that I saw after I first transformed.

Breathing heavily, unsure what to do next, I looked around and realized that in a shadowed part of the room sat a silhouetted figure; who, upon noticing my glance in her direction, laughed softly and stood up, walking towards me with a crop in her hand.

She was a good deal smaller than me now. I had clearly grown in this form. It was unnerving to see the difference in perspective. But it didn’t make me feel better about my situation. The way Andrea moved towards me made me feel like she was in control and knew it too. And I didn’t like the vibes coming from the crop she held.

“I’ll make this short,” she said to me with an amused tone, as she stopped in front of me, pounding the crop rhythmically in her hand. “You aren’t going home tonight. You’re going to be staying here for a little while longer under my…care.”

She smiled wickedly upon saying that last part. It sent shivers down my spine. I huffed and tried leaning as far into the wall as I could, squeezing my eyes shut, kicking myself with one of my front hooves, and praying softly that I could wake up in my own bed.

But to my despair, the only thing I opened my eyes again to see was Andrea shaking her head at my vain efforts. “Tsk tsk tsk,” she went. “Your colleague from 4 days ago also had a similar reaction to the change. And she is a little tougher than you are. But even she eventually had to accept the new reality,” she said with a laugh.

“Why are you-,” I tried to start asking a question. But stopped again upon hearing only neighing sounds coming come out of my mouth. It was hopeless. I couldn’t even protest. I still don’t know what I did to her!

“If you’re wondering why this happened to you, Blake,” she said to me, before putting the tip of the crop mere inches from my face. “It’s because you turned down my offer. One way or another, I get what I want. And I want your work ethic put to good use on my ranch. But if you don’t want to be a ranch hand, I gave you another fitting role instead! This was your choice that bought you here. I warned you didn’t I?”

This lady was absolutely insane! I knew from our first interaction at the feed store, that something was wrong with her. But this? I should’ve scurried back to the truck while she was gone, or better yet, quit my job on the spot at the mere suggestion of even coming here!

Then, Andrea lightly tapped my snout with her crop, and said, “Now be a good steed and stand up! I need to fit this harness on you.”

Then, strangely, my body up and moved all on its own, and all willful control of it was suddenly lost. Straining and struggling against some sort of external supernatural force moving my body, I was physically compelled to stand up, and walk slowly towards a piece of furniture on the other side of the room.

“Ooh,” Andrea said with a raised finger as I passed her, then she reached in her pocket to take something out. “I don’t think the spell enhanced your eyesight. So this might help you see things more clearly.”

Then she unfolded my glasses and slipped them over my eyes. She was right. My glasses worked exactly as they used to, and made my vision perfectly clear. That was perhaps the only thing I could appreciate from her in that moment. Because when I saw a mirror in front of me and the reflection in it…my reflection, but not as my everyday human self, it was the worst identity crisis I think I’ve ever had. Also, I was completely naked!

Then Andrea said, “Stop.” And on her command, my body stopped moving involuntarily and stood upright in front of the mirror, which sat atop a large dresser. “Good boy,” she said to me, before picking up a large saddle from the floor and strapping it onto my back.

Good boy? That really hurt my ego to hear.

In the mirror’s reflection, I could see a dark brown stallion with a light brown mane, and a white stripe going down the length of his snout. He had those same worried, sentient eyes of the mare that I had seen just a while before. And that made me think about what Andrea had said just earlier about this same thing happening to another colleague of mine. I wasn’t her first victim apparently.

Still studying my own reflection with a befuddled expression on my face, Andrea suddenly climbed onto the saddle and I felt the added weight of having a whole person sitting on my back.

I was being ridden like a horse, I realized.

This was my life now, I realized.

I really wanted to buck her off. This was absolutely embarrassing. It was too much for my brain to handle. I wanted to escape and run back home if I could, despite the consequences. Would I be like this forever? What about my life plans? The places I wanted to travel to? My dream job? My friends and family? All taken at the whim of one crazy lady with supernatural powers? Why?

Well, at least I still have my glasses, I thought to myself. But (assuming I escape), how am I gonna drive home like this?

I knew I was a horse. But I’d rather find a way to transport myself home without dragging too much attention to myself by going on foot. Was it still possible for me to somehow operate the truck parked out front? I still knew how to, but was I physically incapable? I was desperate enough to test if I could.

Suddenly, I could move on my own again, and my legs de-stiffened. But I was still afraid of doing something rash if I tried running or bucking. Instead I just kept looking at Andrea in the mirror’s reflection with pleading eyes. In response, she lifted her crop and smacked me hard on the backside, causing a stinging sensation where she hit me.

Ow! What’re you doing with that crop?! I wanted to yell at her, handicapped by my lack of a voice, but blushing shamefully.

Then Andrea said with an evil smile, “Giddyup city boy!” recalling the term I used when I told her earlier about me not being suited for ranch hand work. At her command, I turned away from the mirror and clip clopped through the house and out the open front door. It turns out it wasn’t morning at all. It was late evening, and dark out except for the porch lights of Andrea’s house. The truck was still parked right where I left it.

As I walked against my will towards the stables with Andrea perched on my back, she said to me in a demeaningly reassuring tone, “Don’t worry, young man, I might change you back in a week or two. But I think you need to learn some manners when it comes to respecting your host!”

Host? I was delivering goods to her home and leaving right after! She made it sound like I was planning to stay the night or something. But now I suppose in a twisted way, that’s the case now.

However, I felt a huge sense of relief at hearing there was a chance I could be changed back. But what was the catch? And would my parents report me missing to the authorities? Probably after a week. They knew I was a young adult who could take care of myself. Maybe they’ll think I just decided to crash at a friend’s house. But a week of no contact would absolutely raise some eyebrows.

I had been pondering everything so much, that I hardly realized I had already arrived at the entrance to an empty stall at the stables. Once again, whatever hold Andrea had on me dissipated, and I had control again.

But Andrea leaned towards my drooping ear and said, “The better you obey my commands, the faster you’ll get to return to your human life again. Now could you please get into your stall?”

I hesitated for some moments, but eventually gave in and walked somberly into the stall, head bowed down submissively to the ground. Once inside, Andrea hopped off and took my saddle off as I looked at my surroundings. The stall was dark and full of hay straws all over the floor. At least it was surprisingly clean and sanitary for a horse stall.

Then, without a word, Andrea shut the door and locked the latch leading into my stall, then walked away. Right then and there, I found a spot in the hay to lie down in against the wall. Not to rest, but to use a long while to finally take in everything that happened to me.

Once again, it was too much. And after a while, I fell asleep trying to keep my eyes from welling up too much.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of a soft voice.

“Blake? Blake? Is…that you?”

Grunting softly, I opened my eyes to take in the early morning light and accompanying breeze. I could hear morning birds chirping and the crowing of roosters, instead of the electric sound of my phone alarm. Not how I was used to waking up. And the smells of the stalls were very strong to my new nose.

It surprised me a little less than the last time when I realized again that I hadn’t woken up from a bad dream, and that I really was a horse now. But it was still just as depressing.

My ears pricked at the sound of the voice, which to my surprise, wasn’t human, but still somehow familiar. It sounded like the whinnying of a neighboring horse. But I could understand it? How?

Standing up slowly, still not used to my new body, I walked over to the v-shaped slot at the entrance to peek out of the stall.

“Did…someone say my name?” I whinnied tiredly as I poked my head out, looking to the left (nothing), then to the right, and there I saw the head of the same mare from the day before stretching her head out of her own stall.

She looked my face up and down frantically. And as she did, it hit me. This mare was not only a transformed human, but a former employee I knew at my feed store! And I definitely recognized those hazel colored eyes and dirty blonde hair upon closer inspection.

“Blake! Is that you?!” the mare neighed. “Abby?!” I whinnied in response. “Yes it’s me! Andrea did this to you too?!”

“You got me,” Abby said with an annoyed snort, before giving me a somber look. “Why didn’t you try to run when you had the chance? Why did you just walk into the stall? You looked like you simply…gave up.”

My ears drooped at the reminder and I stared at the gravel below. “I don’t know. Everything was just so overwhelming. I had no time to react to anything. And that crop of hers…I think it’s cursed to make my body act on command.”

“Welllllll,” Abby said, “It doesn’t work forever. I could tell the spell broke on you for a moment, and you had the chance to run for a few seconds and didn’t. You need to make the most of every opportunity to get out of here.”

I didn’t know Abby too well from our time working together at the feed store. We were both always kind of quiet and just there to do our jobs; Never ones to mingle like most of our other colleagues, so I never got a sense of the kind of person she was. Maybe she was angry at my indecisiveness because she never had the chance to escape or something?

“Well,” I started, turning towards her again, with what sounded like a snort. “I don’t know honestly. Maybe I didn’t see the opportunity you thought I had. And as crazy as Andrea is, running away from the one person who knows how to fix this isn’t the best idea, is it? What would we even do if we got out? We’d just be runaway horses in the eyes of bystanders, and I don’t want to end up captured and put in another stable far from here, where I might be able to find a solution.”

“Actually,” she started, with a contemplating look on her face, “You make a good point. But I suppose there’s a lot you don’t know yet about Andrea.”

“Yeah, what happened?” I asked her. “I recall you put in your two weeks last Saturday. Were you sent here on a solo delivery too?”

Then Abby furrowed her brow and grit her teeth, which looked unusually human. I did not know horses were even capable of that kind of expression. “No, I wasn’t,” she said. “I was basically handed over to her. The feed store, Blake, is in on it. And from what I’ve gathered, Andrea is looking to sell one of us off as a racehorse to the highest bidder.”

My eyes widened, with my mouth agape in shock at her words. My glasses (which had somehow stayed on throughout the night), slipped down my snout a little. “Come again?” I said to her, ears pricked to listen.

Then, exhaling again, Abby turned her head towards me, her eyes serious as the morning sun broke through the low morning clouds. “Okay, listen carefully to everything I tell you, and you’ll understand the situation a lot better.”

I nodded, and she began.

Thanks again to the amazing  Professor Pinecoon for the art! I hope anyone who got this far enjoyed part 2 of this story!

Previous Part: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/64519872/
Next Part:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/64556161/