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The New Lives of the Transformed

Part Five

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by Adagiodajiang

The next day, Copper was more alone than ever, though Starlight was nearby. It was strange to have Starlight there without understanding that he was to follow his lead, his commander. Of course, there was still some guidance there, the slightly more dominant stallion pushing him out of the way to get to the best bits of grass and clover, though he was not rough in his assertion over his space and the rights to the best food. It was just how it was and, even though Starlight could not speak with more than nickers and neighs, most of how he conveyed his feelings and needs to Copper came with body language.

Copper sighed, down near the arena with the lynx, tied off to a hitching post as he shifted his weight from hoof to hoof. He had to do it on his own, though he wished he'd thought to ask Starlight not to dumb himself down before it had been too late. But that was exactly what he was going to do too.

“Are you sure you want to do it like this?" Ramius said, pushing her glasses back up her snout, though that was merely the fault of the nose pieces being a little too wide for her blocky, lynx muzzle. “It will feel strange for you, but, of course, there will be no harm to you, none at all. Your intelligence will get lower and lower, controlled by myself, and then you will not be able to resist it. Can you consent?"

Copper took a deep breath, steeling himself. Whether Starlight was there or not, he had to do it. He had to give himself to that life…but in a way that felt right to him.

“Yes, I am sure. Please, do it."

His lead rope was untied from the hitching post, unclipped from his headcollar, leaving him only with a headcollar so that they could catch him again if it was necessary. He watched, snorting and panting softly through his nostrils, as a beautiful, chestnut mare was brought up to him, though her coat was a darker red-brown than his coat, without dipping so far that she became a liver chestnut.

“Down a little now, Copper, hold steady…"

He shook his head. He didn't really feel it, though he was more and more interested in the mare.

“Perhaps a little more?"

That was better, rocking forward as if he already was going to lose control, his nostrils quivering wanting her. Ramius grinned, enjoying the moment perhaps a little more than they should have.

“And again… You'll be nothing more than the dumb horse you want to be, very, very shortly, Copper. No more Kevin, only Copper, Copper the beautiful, gorgeous, chestnut stud stallion."

Yes… Yes, that was him. He nickered, curious as another stallion was led up, one that he recognised and yet…there was no name. No more words, no more thoughts with words, nothing more he could string together as the mare backed up a little towards him, half-lifting a hind leg, no threat behind it.

Starlight snorted, a dumb horse as Copper was about to be, though he was not there to take the mare. Ramius had just wanted to show him how well his subordinate was doing while all was recorded, Starlight's cock slipping out and jerking up against his belly in a splatter of pre-cum. He did not care that the mare was already promised to Copper, only that he wanted her to, trying to mount her while Copper could no longer control himself.

The chestnut stallion snaked his head back and forth, resisting his needs even though he did not fully understand. He licked and chewed, releasing tension in his jaw, mindless, dumber and dumber, some part of him resisting despite there never being any need to, not at all. Starlight was led back and away on the end of a lead rope, so that he had to give Copper space, the chestnut glowing in the sunshine while his master stood back, under a sunshade, enjoying the show.

That time, Saron did not need to say anything as Copper could no longer control himself, neighing out his proud conquest as he finally gave in, his mind slipping away, dumbed down to the same level as Starlight, even though he remembered nothing of it. Balanced over the mare's hind end, up on his hind legs, he thrust and thrust, spearing crudely into her, knowing nothing else other than the pleasure of taking her, mind-blowing and mind-numbing. Not that he had much of a mind left to numb, that was…

Starlight's pre-cum dripped from his cock, soaking into the earth, though Copper did not see him and did not care, a dumb horse, losing himself, thrusting mindlessly. All he knew was that it felt good, so good, instinct telling him to keep going, that he had to keep thrusting until she was well seeded and well bred, not a single drop left. His balls ached deeply and he snorted, shaking his mane off his neck, powering into her.

He spent himself quickly, shooting his load inside her, though he enjoyed it. He didn't know that he could have lasted much longer as an anthro, only that he was satisfied, dismounting with a snort, nuzzling and lipping curiously at her backside. The mare nickered, bobbing her head, and he swung his head towards his master, stepping out with a hand raised to pat the stallion's hindquarters heavily yet proudly with a sharp, pleased smack.

“Very nicely done, Copper," Saron praised him, though he would find it more and more difficult to not spend time around his farm after seeing the effects of it. “Next, you will learn to do everything required of my horses. You will be harnessed and learn to pick up your feet proudly, defecating where you please. You will not feel shame, only the warmth of being cared for, the simplicity of your life here. Your foals with run strong and proud, strengthening my growing herd. And, in riding, you shall carry yourself like a warhorse of old in piaffe, levade and even capriole. Your real training begins now, Copper, the gem of my herd."

Copper snorted and lipped at his hand, searching for treats. As of what his master said he would do, Copper knew nothing, understanding nothing.

And the stallion was fine with that.

*

One year later…

_ _

“I'm ready to give up everything, I promise. I don't want my offspring to have any more problems, Ramius, I can't bear it. I don't want to lose a single one more, I'm enjoying my life here… This is the only thing that I cannot stand, I'm sorry."

Things over the last year had changed from week to week, the horses toying with their level of intelligence, allowing greater instincts to sink deeply into them, all so that they could better enjoy their lives as livestock. The benefit to having greater intelligence quite often lay in mating, not having to cum too quickly, allowing them to have greater stamina and to enjoy it even more, though there was a mindless, dumb simplicity to mating for instinct and the propagation of the species too. Every level had something different.

The lynx sighed, shaking her head, one of the stable hands with their hands under Copper's stomach, softly taking care of his sheath. Whereas stallions and geldings alike had to have their health well maintained in that way, cleansed and cared for, checked for any lumps or bumps that may have appeared, they were mostly self-cleaning. It was, however, an extra experience for the breeding stallions and something that those on the farm hoped would allow them to better catch onto any issues earlier than usual.

But there had been issues.

“This is extreme, even for you… You have not lived all that long as a horse. Are you sure about this?" Ramius probed, recording everything via video and sound, not wanting a moment of Copper's agreement and breaking to be missed. “You will not remember anything. You'll be like Starlight, as he is now. Is that what you want, not to have any memories of your past life?"

It was extreme, yes, but Copper was sure. His heart broke more and more every day: something that was decidedly anthro and that could be left behind too, yes. He didn't want to feel like that, especially when it was due to his foals dying prematurely. When they had expected him to be one of their very best breeding stallions, the lack of survival of his foals was very concerning. The only reason they could find for it, after giving him full health checks, was the potential that his memories of life before becoming a feral horse were tampering with his genetic potential. Even if he had had his full mentality and capability generally, as he had not been of full intelligence since being transformed, he would have still not understood that.

It was okay though. He was only a horse.

“Yes, it is what I want, Ramius," Copper insisted with a stomp of his hoof. “I need this. I need to know that my offspring will survive. I can't continue with this life if they all pass away and it is not a life I want to lead if all that will come is harm to them. No… No more. No more at all."

Ramius tapped away on the tablet for a moment, though her whiskers quivered, delighted that another horse was asking to be dumbed down, to lose their memories. Her programme was undoubtedly destined to be a success, especially with another under her wing. There were others too across the farm that were coming along nicely, though those were for other times.

Right then and there, her attention was for Copper, on Copper, only him. She had to lead him down the same path as Starlight, even though the king, as he had taken to being called, had not known that Starlight's mind had been tampered with beyond what was consensual by her. Of course, the horse could not object: his mind had already been broken. That meant that he was more than up for grabs for her science experiments, all in the name of learning more and bringing peace to the king's lands.

Was that such a bad thing?

With his consent, knowing only what he knew, Ramius could permit the transformation of his mind, losing his memories.

“If you are sure… Your verbal consent has been recorded, Copper. We shall now continue."

Copper lowered his head, safe in the stall where physical measurements, observations and readings were carried out. It was not one of his favourite places there, especially when he could have been elsewhere, mounting a mare or breeding an AI device, but even those activities had taken on a sour edge, knowing that his foals would not survive. For it was not merely for pleasure that the stallion bred and fucked, but the raw push of instinct, to see his foals run free and strong and proud. None of that was worth it if his foals lost their sweet, young lives too soon.

And it hurt his mares too, he saw the sadness in their eyes. Copper took a shuddering breath, waiting patiently. It was alright though. Everything was going to be alright when he lost his memories.

The procedure could not take place instantly, for Ramius needed a short while to prepare a program tailored to Copper, placing him in a stable outside where he could see the fields where his foals would play. That was nice, Copper thought, relaxing with a hind leg cocked, tail loose and swishing casually. It was good of Ramius to think of him and yet he did not want to see the sadness of those that he cared about any longer.

However, I was Raymond that he was stabled next to and the stallion's nanobots had not quite worked to keep his intelligence lowered as it should have been. At exactly the wrong moment, they relinquished their grip on his mind, allowing his old thoughts, his life, his reality, to come back to the forefront – exactly where they were not needed. Especially when the black stallion was not as amenable to the process of becoming a horse.

One moment Raymond had his nose in a water bucket, lips sucking up greedy gulps of fresh, clean liquid, and the next his head had shot up, his mind returned to him, the black stallion craning his neck back and forth.

“What the hell?"

An outside stable, wheeling around, screaming a stallion's scream, bashing at his door with his forehooves. Everyone knew, however, to ensure that Raymond's stable was reinforced, so there was no way for the enraged, transformed stallion to get out, despite his best intentions.

He snorted and pawed at the ground, striking rubber matting, yet his fury was ill-placed as he caught sight of another, familiar chestnut horse over his stable door, in the stable next to his.

“Hello. You…" Copper tilted his head, fishing for the name; sometimes it was difficult to remember things when he'd not really been around the black stallion all that much, considering the different courses their minds and training had taken. “Ah… Raymond. It's nice to see you again, have you been well?"

With Ramius there too, saying something about the memory erosion procedure being ready, the stallion grunted and whipped his head back dismissively. Copper only blinked, relaxing, not seeing any reason to worry. In fact, he felt better since deciding to let go of his memories. Raymond rolled his eyes and snorted.

“Oh, Kevin… Is that supposed to be funny? How long was I out? What have they done to me? How much time has passed? Christ, we can't still be on this fucking farm!"

Copper only blinked and shook his head, crest wobbling down the line of his neck.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think that you'd still be like this, not after seeing how wonderful it is to live here. Isn't it peaceful, Raymond? Don't you like it here? I don't think I know how long it has been, but I just want time to stretch out here forever. It'll feel even better once Ramius has erased my memories, just like with Starlight."

Time had less meaning to a feral horse than an anthro one, but that he couldn't work out the timings of everything was not all that troublesome to Copper.

“You…" Raymond grappled with the concept. “You're going to…give up your memories…for foals? You'll be just like that beast, Starlight or whatever, not even remembering anything about being an anthro?"

Copper nodded contentedly.

“Oh, yes, that's right. My foals weren't surviving…" He lowered his head sadly. “I don't want to be the cause of harm, so it makes sense to give up my memories, if that part of me is causing trouble for my offspring. I want them to survive, Raymond, I'm sure you can understand."

That, however, was a big ask to make of the black stallion.

“No…" Raymond twisted his lip in disgust. “No, it is not good, Kevin, not good at all. This is disgusting… Now, you really are no more than an animal! Next, you'll be shitting in public like the rest of them!"

Copper did not need to tell Raymond that that had already happened, more so as it was perfectly normal for him. The stallion would come to remember that with his full mind all in good time.

“No, Raymond, you've got it all wrong," Copper laughed with a throaty nicker. “I'm well taken care of here and so are you. Everyone is kind to me and the stable hands even take the time to make sure my sheath and “undertail" are nice and clean, I like that feeling. They set a regular time to do this even, though they don't' really have to do that."

“To clean your…sheath?"

Raymond reeled, lip curling further in horror, the whites of his eyes showing.

“You're not an animal, Kevin, you've got to understand that! If you got back to being an anthro again, everything would be fine, you wouldn't have to do that! You could just do it yourself!"

“I'm not Kevin, you know that I don't use that name anymore. Could you call me Copper now, please? That's my name."

Although Copper asked pleasantly enough, there was no room for disagreement there, simply because it was his name and that was all Copper was asking of him. Raymond, however, snorted and tossed his head, tail clamped down.

“No, fuck that. I'm not doing any of that. Where's Joseph? I want to see him – now!"

Ramius, without giving the black stallion a second look, rolled her eyes. Some of the livestock under their care could be feistier than she had expected to look after, though she was glad that Raymond was in the stable and her outside. She wouldn't have wanted to be on the same side of the fence as him at any time, not until he had come over to their way of thinking and was a dumb horse, just like Starlight. Everything worked much better when the stock animals, after all, were nice and amenable.

“Sure, sure… I'm sure the king will come running to the bidding of his livestock," Ramius said with a scoff and flip of their paw. “Do you think the king should be pulling wagons with you in them? Your pompous attitude won't get you far in the king's eyes here."

Raymond grunted, even as Ramius turned away, a communicator pressed to the lynx's ear, mouthpiece near his lips.

“Who the fuck is this king you're talking about? Saron? What's that fucker done now?"

But everything would come clear in time, to the extent that a feral horse like him needed to know. Starlight appeared, prancing and dancing, the bit held in his mouth with a delicate touch, Saron balanced on his back as if the man did not even need stirrups and a saddle to ride Starlight, his favoured steed carried him so proudly and carefully.

“Raymond," Saron said quietly, though it was as if his thoughts were distracting, his world twisting and changing as much as it had for those in his care and charge. “I see you have had your intelligence restored. How are you feeling?"

Although Saron said all the right words and knew how to act, as their king and leader, his heart was not in it. One of his most trusted advisors and the head of his guards had left him and there was only grief to be had in his heart. But that was not for his livestock to carry, even when it weighed down his heart.

Raymond grunted, lifting his head higher, looking down imperiously on the man who claimed to have a say over his life and his future.

“You…" Disgust darkened his heart, curling through the sickening pit of his stomach, churning and aching. “I don't want this life, regardless of what the others have chosen, and I want to make that quite clear. I was only following orders and you should know that: this is not a punishment that fits the crime. But to be transformed against my will and made to live as a dirty, gross animal…no. No. No more. I don't care what Joseph and Kevin feel, what they have chosen. This is my choice!"

He stomped, as if that would highlight his point, though Starlight only looked back and forth, confused, ears twitching.

“Who is Joseph, master?" He asked, chewing at the bit. “That is not master… Or do you use another name for Joseph, master? Carbon thinks that there's someone called Joseph here?"

Saron chuckled, yet it did not lift his spirits enough. Living as he had for the last year, that memory had been shed of his old name, though Kevin and Raymond, as they were as feral horses and that he was bringing them into life as feral horses remained. Only enough to be satisfied with his life, to be useful to his master too at the same time.

Of course, however, what he remembered of Raymond was…Carbon. Old memories had been replaced by new, giving him memories, over time, of living with Carbon and Copper in the pasture, how they had played together. It was slow to rise, though he licked and chewed comfortably, releasing the edge of tension that he had held, settled with the weight of his master on his back. He didn't know why his master was so angry that day, but he did know that he had to be a good steed for him, a powerful steed, the kind of steed that his master could trust to carry him.

Those may not have been very horse-like thoughts to have, but for a servant of the king, they were very good thoughts to have indeed.

“Yes, Carbon… Carbon! That is a much better name!" Copper snorted, lip wobbling as he tossed his head. “Your home is here and you've bred too! Look how many of your foals are running out in the fields, so many of them black and glossy, just like you!"

Raymond reeled, but Copper was on a roll, craning his neck to try to point out just which foals out there belonged to the Friesian stallion.

“Oh, look… That's one of them there, Star, with his dam, they're at the water trough. And I don't know the name of that one, the black filly who is rearing and playing with Starlight's foals. They are so strong, so beautiful. Carbon is a wonderful name to have than you calling yourself Raymond."

Copper, in time, would have his memories replaced too after the initial erasure, allowing him to see Carbon as the stallion that he had grown up with, even though that was not quite true. Not true at all, in fact, though a memory of playing football together, laughing and shouting, could just as easily become a memory of playing as foals in the field. It was just that simple for one memory to become another, fusing in his brain as if it had always been that way. And Copper would never be any the wiser when it came, something to look forward to – if he'd known that that lay in store for him, of course.

Raymond trembled with raw fury, sides dampening with sweat, his body too hot, too warm, tail stiff and tense.

“No… I'm not a horse, I don't have a different name. Raymond, my name is Raymond. Remember it! My comrades are like this because of you!" He practically bellowed, sides reverberating, even though it was not a very equine sound to make, anger coursing through him as his eyes locked onto Saron. “It's because of you, demônio, that they are like this – go back to hell where you belong!"

The stable door was no longer any trouble for the stallion, his jumping training in the interim kicking in as he heaved, rocking back onto his hind legs, trusting in the power there. All Raymond knew was that he had to get to Saron at all costs, nothing stopping him, teeth bared, lunging for his throat.

He sailed over the door as if it was nothing at all, fitting through the gap between the half-door and the frame, his bulk clipping the side, though not caring for even that sting of pain. Nothing could stop him, nothing at all, landing heavily, skittering on his new horseshoes, though he plunged on, single-minded in his intent.

He'd been a killer once, a soldier, an assassin. To be that again was no issue to Raymond.

“Enough."

And, just like that, his limbs locked up, stopping the stallion dead in his tracks with an infuriated scream. He was still feet from Saron, straining and pushing, yet there was a weakness weighing down his body that had not been there before, his hindquarters seeming to want to lower, hocks buckling under his own weight. The lynx, who had been standing and observing the whole while since calling Saron to speak with them, rolled her eyes as she tapped on the tablet.

“There's no time to deal with you now," Ramius said with a scowl. “Copper is better deserving of attention when he has already accepted this life, sweetly and docilely."

Copper nickered, nudging the lynx at the shoulder, gently showing his appreciation. To stroke his nose back was entirely natural for the lynx, a brief smile touching her lips.

“Yes, you have come nicely, Copper, and you deserve this gift from us. Allow me to make your life better here."

Ramius' fingers moved fluidly across the tablet that was synchronised up to him and him alone, drifting, floating, though it was not like falling asleep when he could lock his legs and simply be and exist in the moment where he was at right there and then. He would know who he was, he was Copper, a breeding stallion, safe and well on a farm, but his memories, well…they would no longer be his. Sure, there might be some confusion in his mind as to how he had come to be at the farm, though that was a small price to pay if he could know that he was doing good, the right thing, that all his foals would survive.

The lynx did not need to speak to Copper as his memories slipped away, though it was a struggle for the horse to realise what was being taken from him. His intelligence was a little lower, speech taken from him, but in the way that it could be returned again, of course, because it was only memories of his past life that were being erased one by one.

Copper exhaled, the chestnut horse's lungs filling with air, softening, his lower lip drooping. Never would he have said before that losing his memories could have been at all relaxing, his spine dipping as he cocked a hind leg, resting the point of a toe on the ground. He was tied loosely with a lead rope and a headcollar, though he did not need to be. He had enough of his mind left to him that he knew where he was, what he was supposed to do. And that everything was well.

His memories may have been precious, yet they were not forever. One by one, they all slipped away, down the hole of nothingness.

His mother's arms around him, so soft and warm, soothing him after he'd hurt his knee. How it had felt to kick a football, laughing with Joseph and Raymond. The day he had enlisted for the military, his friends steadfast at his side. The rain of bullets in war, hunkering down, wondering if he had made the right decision. Not knowing what to do when back from war, what he was meant for, floundering, drinking, disappearing into another kind of hole.

Every last one of them, good and bad, slipped away. And, all through it, the horse's nose dipped, softening, soothing, letting them fade. He no longer had any need of that life, not when he was just a horse, only a horse. A horse did not need to remember life as an anthro, not when everything was safe and calm, peaceful and wholesome, exactly where he was.

It was the right thing to do.

“Now, Copper… I'm going to ask you some questions. How do you feel?"

“I feel comfortable, Ramius," the chestnut stallion said with a wobble of his lips, happy where he was as his memories teased from him. “There is nothing to worry about with me physically."

“Excellent. Now, do you remember your parents?"

What Ramius had been able to implement into the mind erasure program, however, in their time away, had been the first rudimentary memories of Copper's life as a horse, of course. It had been worth the time, even though he would have liked to take Copper's old memories from him instantly. It made it all the sweeter too to see Carbon there staring in horror, his eyes wide, trying to shake his head and wave his forelock from his face, though it was long and unruly, his body locked in place to such an extent that he could not even do that.

So, he was forced to see the dullness entering Copper's eyes, that hint of intelligence clasped in his past. For one's intelligence did not have to be artificially raised and lowered for true intelligence to be lost, to become that of a feral equine.

“My parents were a bay stallion and a chestnut mare, we lived in the paddock together." Copper licked his lips thoughtfully. “We've been Saron's livestock since we were foals."

Ramius smiled.

“Excellent… What can you tell me about the paddock?"

Ramius played with Copper's memory the whole time, implanting what they pleased as they pleased.

“Hm… It was large with trees around a pond, not too big. There were frogs there in spring and I got frogspawn stuck to my nose."

“What? No – that didn't happen, Kevin! That's not you, not your life!"

Raymond squealed and tried to stomp, but there was nothing there that he could do, helpless to the horror that was his friend's mind being erased, piece by piece. Of course, they ignored him."

“Right… And what were your playmates there?"

“Oh, that was Carbon and Starlight, my friends! They're here now!"

Raymond reeled.

“No… No! You've got to fight this! You can't surrender, Kevin… You too, Joseph! My commander! You must resist this temptation, control yourselves!"

But Copper looked at him with eyes that had never seen battle, that life slipping from him. It no longer had any place in his mind. Starlight stretched out his neck, interjecting his side into the conversation, though it should not have been one, in that instance, that Carbon, as he was named, should ever have had any say in.

“Carbon…" Starlight tried to be gentle, not understand the distress of his friend. “What's wrong? We're not hurt. My master's name is neither Joseph nor Kevin… I am Starlight. That is Copper. We are your friends."

The horse's look darkened, glowering – if it was even possible for a horse to glower.

“You tried to hurt our master though... You should never harm our master."

Glancing back at the rider on his back, Starlight grunted softly.

“Master, I think Carbon should be gelded. I think it will be better for him. It must be his stallion tendencies… He is too headstrong. He needs to come into line if he is going to attempt to strike you, to hurt you. This cannot happen!"

“Yes, I agree!" Copper piped up, though it was not something that he had much of a say in. “He shouldn't attack you, that is wrong! Neither of us attacked you, not ever."

He conveniently had forgotten with the erasure of his memories that, well, they had been attempting to assassinate Saron when they had first entered his home and “met" him.

“This is not right, not right at all…" Copper insisted, jigging a front hoof in the air. “You should never have attacked our master, I don't think you deserve to breed, not when you could hurt him. What if he passes this on down to his foals too, master? We'll always have to be ready to defend you at any time – and while we are more than willing to do that, I'm sure Starlight will agree, this is not fair to you."

Raymond's jaw dropped, shaking his head, though he was still locked in place, whatever the hell it was that they had done to his mind keeping him nice and compliant, right where he was. At least, to outward appearances, all while his mind roared, a dull throbbing coursing through him, twisting his stomach all up into sickening knots.

No… No, they wouldn't really do that, not when he was an anthro, not clearly a dumb animal, he tried to reason with himself, even as he broke out into a cold, nervous sweat. They wouldn't do that to him, it was something that they were just saying to scare him, yes, though he would not show them he was scared, even if the horses could already scent his fear on the air.

He couldn't hide anything from them and yet Raymond tried to, pushing the name “Carbon" from his mind. No, it was not who he was, not him, not even as something very, very strange happened to his body. For it was right there in the middle of the outside stable yard that his sheath plumped up, growing fat and full with the heated spill of his cock, even though he did not honestly know nor understand what was happening to him.

Raymond grunted, trying to hide it, yet something was happening to his mind, slipping down and down, forgetting himself. His body understood fear and that he was trapped, yet no more than that, rolling his eyes with the whites showing around the rim. There was danger in the air and he could not move: death to a prey animal.

The equine shuddered as the lynx patted his neck a little too hard, the sharp clap of the lynx anthro's paw sending a reverberation through his body. Raymond didn't know that the lynx had lowered his intelligence, his ability to think reduced by around ten per cent – enough to cloud his mind and incite confusion, to demonstrate even more carnally how far their control over him extended.

Raymond squealed and swallowed, throat working, his cock leaking urine, though he was not aware of the muscular contractions of his abdomen and groin that allowed it to flow forth. He was not aware of all that much, to be frank, not with a higher rate of respiration, ears pinned forward, as if by staying to attention and alert at all times he would be able to better protect himself.

For Raymond's equine instincts knew when he was trapped and shut down, locking himself away inside, a state of learned helplessness. The dullness in his eyes was not merely from his intelligence being reduced under Ramius' control but from fear, from knowing that there was nothing he could do about it. The splatter of his piss soaked into the bare dirt, which would soon be laid to concrete and grit in time to better keep the new outdoor stable yard clean and tidy, but the man upon Starlight's back only shook his head.

“I had hoped you would come to everything in your own time, Carbon," Saron said clearly, though he could be as clear as he liked and a dumb horse like what Raymond had fallen into being would never know, never truly understand. “But that is not possible anymore, I see that now. My steeds are right. There will be no more foals for you from this day, not after the sad act of you trying to attack me. Starlight and Copper are my most trusted equine advisors in the caring of livestock and, as a gelding, you will serve me better."

Raymond nickered and grunted, a line of tension in the bulging muscle of his neck. He wanted to run, even as the stream of urine spattered to a halt, his body aching as if he had been running and running, though Raymond could not remember going anywhere. All he felt was the overwhelming need to run, trapped in the confines of his own body, the stink of piss in the air.

Ramius smirked, stroking his neck, pushing his mane off it where it had begun to cling with the dampness of sweat. She'd been quick, that time, to affect his intelligence with the remote, though having the tablet in her hands allowed her to apply a little more refinement to it than otherwise would have been possible. She didn't want things to get out of hand too quickly, after all, though not even she could have predicted that Carbon would attack the king. It was almost too perfect for her experiment on what would happen to a transformed stallion who needed to be gelded. And now she would have the best stallion for all the research she could need!

“There you go, boy, don't you worry now," the lynx anthro said, dialling down his intelligence even further, the mind of a dumb beast – yet one that was left with an impression of something. “We'll do one last semen collection, to try for some good foals, then he shall be gelded. If that is what you would like, Saron?"

It was a little uncomfortable to call the king by his name, yet he had insisted. It was one of many tiny little discomforts that Ramius had to bear through around him, though it was all worth it for all that she got to do for the king. Her experiments had opened up a wealth of research and the lynx's fingers itched, practically aching from deep within to simply dive in.

“You'll be a good horse in no time," she crooned softly, Saron's nod giving her the go-ahead, of course, to geld him. “Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you here, don't you worry about that. You're well, you're safe and we're going to look after you, Carbon, until the end of your days."

Raymond, as Carbon, blinked slowly, his head hanging a little lower, the “lock" on his body lifted. Even though he could have walked away, he didn't see any need to, the human and anthro murmurs around him nothing more than sounds. The sounds the horses made too were not nickers and neighs, the language that he understood, yet it did not concern him. The equines stood relaxed, a hip cocked and a leg rested, and the air of settlement over the stable yard induced a sense of calm in him too.

If they were not worried, there was certainly no need for him to be worried either, Carbon reasoned with himself, dozing faintly even as a rope headcollar was slipped over his nose, the rope flipped up over his ears so that it could be tied off at the side of his cheek. He didn't hope that a rope rather than a nylon headcollar allowed them better control over him, putting more pressure on the nerves of his face when action was applied to the rope.

Still…there was a strange curling of unease inside that he couldn't quite shake, turning his head back and forth, checking for danger and finding none. That meant that everything had to be fine and yet it was as if he had forgotten something, though horses operating on instinct and ingrained memory didn't have active thoughts that they could remember or forget at any one time.

The loss of something… Something going away? Did that mean that one of his companion horses was going to leave? Carbon swished his tail uneasily. He didn't like that thought. He didn't like that thought at all. It felt…awkward, like something would shift. But he could no more see the future than he could get the impression of that notion, not being a creature that had the mental ability to look ahead and consider what was going to happen.

It was easier, yes, so much easier to let instinct take over, to soothe him. He had company there, so everything was okay, everything was alright. There was no danger, nothing to worry about.

Half-dozing, he yawned, lower lip wobbling. He didn't know why there had been worry present in the first place, but, as was the way of a feral equine, he couldn't worry about it. Not when there was nothing there to hold tension in his body, not at all.

They led him to the breeding stall, a familiar place. He trotted and pranced, his tail hiked high, everything normal to him, so very normal. There was no concern in Carbon as his cock dropped fully, jerking and slapping up against his stomach in a masculine manner, splattering pre-cum everywhere, though sometimes others joked that he had already gotten off, what with how much he produced. Of course, Carbon did not understand that, not at all, not as he mounted the stand, his cock jerking, throbbing, aching for release.

Ah, a simple need, his hide trembling, skin twitching as if to shake off flies. The tension in his body was purely from the need to breed, having been conditioned to drop and want sex in the breeding stall, though the doors behind him were left open so that his master could watch, along with his friend horses, Starlight and Copper. Their names were one of few things that made sense to him, that he remembered, but Carbon did not need to think of anything at all as he pushed over the phantom mare breeding stand, a stable hand sliding the AI device over his cock.

Pleasure erupted through him, sweet, sweet pleasure. Oh, he would have bred the AI device or a real mare all day long, if his sexual stamina allowed him to. Carbon grunted, not in his right mind, but perhaps perfectly so. What was intelligence, anyway, when it caused others trouble? It had never done him much good, even though that was not a thought that Carbon could have. Impressions of his life, his real thoughts beyond being a dumb beast, were left, twisting through him as he thrust and thrust, scuffling in even closer to the breeding stand.

“Whoa there – steady boy!"

Ramius laughed out loud as the stable hands struggled to contain and control Carbon, the stallion leaning far over the stand, putting more and more of his weight on it. The stand creaked, though the old, worn, sturdy leather would stand up to him, she was sure of it.

“He knows, don't you, boy?" She said, unable to resist a moment of mocking. “This foal from you better be a colt, Carbon, for we will keep them whole, if so, so that your bloodlines may continue. But you're never going to breed again after this day, mark my words."

Carbon did not know. Carbon did not care. All Carbon longed for was for those moments of pleasure to last even longer, though he was a horse and a horse did not spend hours or even minutes in the pursuit of sexual ecstasy. To breed and to fuck with single-minded determination was all that closed grippingly around his mind, driving him on, his cock-head throbbing, flaring, balls aching as they spent his final load.

Carbon did not need to know that it was the final ejaculation that he would ever have, even if his body would still, in a way, be able to get his cock hard. It just wouldn't have any breeding purpose for the stallion anymore. Thus, the moment lacked a sense of how momentous it was as Carbon thrust and thrust, filling the device, the collection tube within sloshing with his creamy seed. It would be enough to impregnate several mares, but, in the horse's mind, he knew that he had done his “job" and done it well.

He dismounted, led to the clinical room for observations, though he had never been awake in his mind for such things. Starlight and Copper were near, however, even as a needle was inserted into his neck, his comrades snorting and nickering encouragement.

“You're doing so well, Carbon."

“Everything's going to be better soon."

“My steed, you will be more comfortable after the procedure has been completed. I look forward to seeing what you become on my farm."

Carbon blinked slowly, sluggish, head foggy and dizzy. He didn't know what that meant, even as the lynx moved alongside him, startling him, once again, with the scent of a predator. His lead rope was not tied off to anything and that was one more thing that did not help him keep his hooves, legs quivering, wavering, his balance, slowly, fading.

Down… There was no easy way for a horse to lie down, a second needle slipping into his neck, though he didn't have the energy to flinch from the light pinch of it. He grunted, going down on his forelegs first, hindquarters collapsing awkwardly, snorting, puffing, sweating as the sedation took hold. Not that he understood what was happening, of course, but there was little a horse under the effects of sedation could do, unless they'd had adrenaline pumping through them before the injection. He had been calm after ejaculation, so everything had gone as smoothly as anyone there could have liked.

“Good lad," Ramius crooned, stroking his face, pushing his forelock out of his eyes. “Now, this one is for the vet, Carbon, but they're going to take good care of you and we will be right here."

He didn't know what the vet was, not even as his balls were wiped hand handled, though he liked the feel of that. More people were moving around him in plain clothes, though he wouldn't have been able to decipher any markings on them anyway. His eyelids were heavy, so heavy, and his nose dipped, even as a needle was inserted into his scrotum.

“Numb the muscle," one of the new people said, though Carbon did not understand. “And the skin too. He should not feel this, but it's best to have him lying down rather than standing for this, though it is not a normal procedure."

“Well…" Ramius shrugged. “He might. He is of anthro mind, after all. Our technology is not perfect, but this is an operation all in his best interest."

The cold of the local anaesthetic numbed him quickly, though the sedation was what kept him where he was. He caught the flash of the scalpel, light glancing off it, but it took his mind a moment to register the coolness of it cutting into the neck of his sack, seeking out something beneath, slicing through skin, flesh, deeper still to get to the cord underneath.

A flicker of pain… The equine grunted, the dull rectangles of his eyes shifting to intelligence, the nanobots losing control. He tried to scream, flanks shuddering as if he was heaving for breath in a full gallop, yet no sound came out, not even as one of the vets and nurses patted him soothingly.

“There now, good boy," she murmured. “You're going to be okay, all standard procedure, nothing here for you to worry about."

But there was something still for him to worry about, his anthro mind more than able to feel the slight pain and the coldness of the metal, despite the numbing! It may have been enough for a feral horse but not for him, never truly feral in mind despite all the manipulation they did to him!

He tried to fight, but he may as well have done nothing at all for all the effect it had, dark sweat lathering his sides, twisting his hair into cow-lick curls, the area between his hind legs and under his belly sodden. His body tried to release heat where it could, yet the fear in him curled through, twisting his guts – or maybe that was the fact that his nuts were being cut into!

“What… No… No… This can't be! You're not…"

Yet the horror was true as Saron watched and nodded, pleased only that the stallion would become something useful on his farm. It would have been too risky to keep him unintelligent with the notion of risk lingering behind. And he was not a man that liked risks, even though the equine screamed and arched his neck, a stable hand hauling on the lead rope to stop him from whipping his head around to the vets. Still, Carbon struggled.

“No…" He gasped, trying to struggle, but his legs would not obey his commands, numb and still, his body so cold as he sweated. “No… Don't do this…to me! Please! I don't want to lose my balls! I don't want to not breed again!"

The vets ignored him, speaking amongst themselves. He didn't even know if they understood him, for all they did was treat him exactly like a feral horse.

“Separate out the cord, the spermatic duct, the blood vessels," the lead vet said, her hair pulled back tightly in a business-like ponytail. “The emasculators, please. Nearly done, boy, hang tight there. You're doing so well."

“Yes, Carbon, you're doing really well," Starlight nickered his encouragement, though he kept back from the scent of blood. “It's going to be okay, they're taking great care of you."

“Please! No! Have mercy on me, please, give me a chance! I don't want this, I won't attack anyone, I promise!"

Yet it was too late for promises now that the procedure had been started, even if they could have done something to repair his skin and such with nanobots. Once the king had made a decision, he was not a man to go back on his words.

“Bear it, Carbon," Copper said, coming to stand alongside as close as the vets would allow him, though he could not get in the way. “It will all be better once this is over, then you will be perfect."

“It's almost done, good boy, not much now."

Carbon tried not to think, despite the dull roar in his head, as the emasculators were clamped down, the crunch of both closing sickening, compressing and destroying the sperm tube and other parts of him alike. The sickness pushed up into his hindgut, twisting and pulling, and if he could have vomited, he would have done so. All the horse could do was break wind in fear, his tail lifting, body defecating crudely while it sought to lighten itself, to get itself away from the perceived danger.

Yet the experience was not one that he would remember either, not as his nuts were clamped, the incision left open, the lynx, while they were not needed, erasing Carbon's memory. Where there was no risk of him lingering and turning to attack the king again, the horse would be left with a kind, quiet, gentle life. Sure, he might not have the expressive paces of a stallion, but perhaps he could be used in the riding school set up specifically for the king's guards. He would be a good steed, a quiet steed, the perfect mount on which for them to learn. Above all else, he would have a job and that was important for any horse that was cared for and owned by Saron.

The pain faded as his memory was erased, replaced by memories of being the king's horse, his loving, kind master. He remembered the feel of his master's hand on his neck, how it was to run in the pasture, to kick up his heels and express himself as a horse truly had the right to. Those were better memories than of war and bloodshed, fighting and assassination, offering him a gentler life and memory than the times that had come to pass before.

Grass… Hay… Clean, fresh water. A horse had few needs and his memories were stripped away as he softened, his eyes easing a little, though his intelligence and ability to think remained. It was easier to bear the castration with his friends standing over him when he did not know of any other life, trusting them implicitly.

“It was necessary to geld you, Carbon," Starlight soothed him as the vets finished up, leaving the suture to drip, though they would have to get Carbon standing again soon, injecting him with another painkiller to ensure that he was as comfortable as possible. “Life will be much better now. There will be so much good for you and there will still be your foals growing up into yearlings, running in the paddocks."

Lips and nostrils quivering, Carbon exhaled softly, tired yet content.

“Thanks, Starlight…" He breathed, the headcollar tugging at his face, someone murmuring that he had to stand. “You always know what to say."

The aftermath of his castration would be a healing process, yet he had his friends and the best care around him to get him through it. To be gentle…yes. That was the most important thing.

All in the service of the king.

Continued in part six…