"How could you do this to us?" Tyler hopped down from the fence and glared a his parents. "You and Jared's mom and dad, too! You turned us into animals!"
"Don't be silly, dear." Tyler's mom clucked her tongue. "What use would two more animals be? Look at Jared! He is perfect for our ranch! You said it yourself. And when he mounts a cow, he is providing the services of a top champion bull. His loins produce semen that will be sought after by cattle farms all over the world!"
"So we're gonna be valuable animals!" Tyler stomped over to Jared and looked up at the now towering creature. "We're supposed to be happy about standing stud and shoveling shit of the rest of our lives? We had plans! I wanted to get away from the damned cows! And Jared never wanted to take over the horse ranch. Isn't that right?" He looked back up at Jared for support.
It took a couple of tries for Jared to make his mouth and vocal chords work to speak, and when he did it came out very deep, guttural, and poorly pronounced. "Yeah. Before." He worked his jaw slowly as he seemed to think. Tyler realized with shock that his friend was chewing cud. "Like this now. Better."
Tyler stared at Jared. "You like being a fucking two-legged bull? No chance to driver, to go to concerts, to hang at the mall? A glorified barnyard animal?"
Jared placed a huge three-fingered hand on Tyler's shoulder, looking down with warm brown eyes. "You not know. Best thing ever. Happy."
That floored the still mostly-human boy. "You're happy like that? A walking T-bone steak? You don't feel dirty, fucking animals?"
Jared gave a deep rumble that Tyler realized was a chuckle. "Dirty animals." He pointed to himself and then at the cows. "Same. You too human."
Tyler stared up at his friend. "You are really happy like that? I mean, happier than human?"
After thinking for a long moment, Jared nodded his head again. "Never felt like this. Important. Needed. Connected."
Tyler's dad cleared his throat. "I know this is a shock, son, but we had both your best interests at heart."
"Bullshit!" Tyler rounded on his parents. "You are all just making sure your farms keep going!"
His dad shrugged. "That is part of it, sure. But neither of you have done well in school, and neither of you had any kind of future planned. What did you think you would do after high school? Join the military? Wander like bums around? Get a job at WalMart? This way you can work the farms, keep things going and have a place for your whole lives. Turns out that the two of you had affinity for the other's animals, but you're still next-door neighbors."
His Mom sighed. "Look, dear. This doesn't have to be forever. Just give it a try. You can be made normal if it turns out you hate it. But look at how happy Jared is already! "
"Wait. We can be changed back?" Tyler blinked. "Jared and I can be normal again?"
This time his parents hesitated, but both nodded. "If you are truly unhappy about being anthro studs, you can be made completely normal."
Jared snorted. "Never change back. Too good."
"Yeah, yeah." Tyler frowned. "Fucking cows is now a great achievement, the fulfillment of your life."
"Yes." The deep, rumbling reply was said with such conviction that Tyler knew his friend had no doubts.
"So, what happens to me? I turn into humanoid jackass?" He scowled, remembering his disgust in the stable.
"Only if you really want to." His dad grinned. "Me? I'd choose the Clydesdale mare waiting for you at Jared's, and finish up as a champion Clyde stud."
That perked Tyler's interest. "A Clyde? That would be way better. So I'd end up a Clyde horse-man?"
"Either that or a centaur of some kind." His mom shrugged. "They were not sure what will happen. But I can tell you that you will have the seed of the most perfect Clydesdale stud who ever lived, and that once you accept this you'll know this is the only life for you. Just give it a chance."