Robert and Sally didn’t really know how to process the news that they where both becoming female centaurs or centaurides and that Sally was pregnant. The ride home from the hospital was strange and got even stranger as they passed by a horse farm and saw a few horses grazing in the field. The call to their parents where even worse, both of their parents tried to be as supportive as they could over the phone. Robert’s father had said he heard about a possible cure out of China but that was debunked by every creditable source and it was in truth nothing but a modern-day snake oil salesman.
“Well…” said Robert as he sat on the couch shutting down the laptop as he turned to his wife who was drinking some tea. “I just did some research on the government website that the Doctor gave us and it turns out that as Centaurs we can’t stay here.”
“We have to move?” inquired Sally as Robert nodded his head sadly. “Why?”
“We will have the lower half of Horses or the similar animals and we can’t fit through the door of human houses.” Explained Robert as Sally looked down the narrow hallway which lead out of the small house they rented; it wasn’t wide enough for two people to cross side by side yet alone two female centaurs.
“Where do we have to move to?” inquired Sally
“They have a few Centaur cities across the Midwest, the nearest is in Kentucky. I figure we go there?” inquired Robert “Be close to our friends and family, unless you want to go across the nation”
“No, stay close to our family.” Said Sally as she looked around the house. “I guess we have to go there before we turn?”
“Correct.” confirmed Robert before chuckling a bit. “Well we will not have to pack, any of my cloths or pants for that matter.”
“Robert how are you dealing with this?” inquired Sally as he let out a sigh as she walked over and sat beside him on the couch.
“I don’t think I want to believe it, I don’t want to be a monster or a woman for that matter.” explained Robert as Sally leaned into him and rested her head against his shoulder even as he placed his hand on her stomach where their child, a child who would never be human but instead born a monster. “We will have to get through this.”
“Yes…well at least they will always need nurses and firefighters so we should be able to get jobs easily enough.” explained Sally “I read about an electrician who became a merman, had to find a whole new job.”
“Well that is one good thing.” admitted Robert as he kissed her and for a while they just sat there thinking about their future.
The future didn’t wait for them, they had 10 days before the changes began fully and they had to pack up their lives, move a few states over and deal with the small changes which happened. Packing didn’t take all that long actually, a team of movers from the center in Kentucky came up and packed most things for them. While they did that Sally couldn’t help but notice some of the minor changes in her husband, his hair which he always kept short like in his days in the army was growing longer, it wasn’t as long as her but within 5 days it had gone from a buzz cut to the top of his shoulders. After a tearing farewell to their friends and family they drove the few hours in Robert’s truck to the Centaur city, their new home the place where they lose their humanity.
The movers took their stuff to their new home while Robert and Sally walked into the transformation center. The massive lobby was much larger then one would expect to see in a normal building.
“Welcome.” said a voice as both of them turned to see a man or rather a Centaur walked toward him, the clapping of his horse hooves on the ground filling the air. He was big, standing much taller then either of them and was built as well both on the human side and on the horse side. “You must be the Coopers, I am Mike Smith, I will be helping you today.”
“Thanks, I guess.” said Robert “So what happens next?”
“Well, we can handle this one-off a few ways.” explained Mike “See, I am not sure if you are aware but while attempting to find a cure for the flu some doctors found a way to speed it up taking what would take a week into about an hour. It has become common practice for certain monster types to use it to make the change easier.”
“And Centaurs are one of them?” inquired Sally as Mike nodded his head.
“Correct, so we can go that route and you will be done transforming within minutes or we can take it slower and let you adjust to the change naturally over about a week.” said Mike with a deep voice. “I personally went with the fast one, I went from a 105-pound woman to this, a Draft horse Centaur.”
“A what?” inquired Sally
“A draft horse.” Said Mike as he pointed to his dark brown horse bottom half. “It is a type of horse, everyone is slightly different. I am built for power and the like, while a Light type is more for speed and grace.”
“How many types are there?” inquired Robert
“Well there are many different breeds of horses but basically there are only 6 that we lump everyone into.” Explained Mike “Draft, like me who are power and heavy work, a Normal horse which is the one most people are used to, light horses which are more for speed and grace, Ponies which are small and tiny, Zebras which are very rare and lastly there are mythical types.”
“Mythical?” inquired Sally
“We have a Centaur Pegasus here and in another town there is a Unicorn Centaur as well.” Explained Mike “But they are very rare, only around 20 total in the world. We need to have you decide are you going to take the drug and change over the course of an hour or a whole week? Your choose.”