There was an afternoon of recuperation (and showering) for all of us in the scouting party, within a large indoor structure that was now being used as an infirmary and recovery ward. After this, the majority of us were discharged by the local medical team – Ben and Lucy. By chance, Jeremy’s father, Steve, had been visiting Hylonome’s Haven along with his mate, when the alarm from Maggie’s horn had been heard. Now, Steve – a former paramedic – was treating the only remaining patient for his fractured leg. His son, Jeremy. It would heal – centaurs, I now knew, were resilient creatures. But a fracture would need plenty of time to mend.
Some of the empty bungalows, repaired and restored in recent years by the colonialising centaurs, now became the new housing for the rest of the scout party. Naturally, Imogen was joined at the equine hips with Icaro – and so they had a bungalow to themselves. So too, did Cindy and Tim. Meanwhile, Maggie was content to spend time with her other village friends, as well as keeping watch on Jade – who was placed in a barn.
And as I suspected would happen, Darwin was moving into a bungalow with our Cousin Robyn. She smiled sheepishly to me and Imogen, before turning and walking along the street with the handsome Icelandic-breed centaur, to inspect their new accommodation.
Leaving me, of course, to move into another ready-to-let bungalow with Catherine.
Her wounds had healed, thanks to some powder used by Ben that the original centaur doctor of this village had kept in the doctor’s surgery. Catherine was now restored in body and spirits. And, having checked out the living room and its stove, a room with a large wash basin, a storeroom/pantry, and a kitchen, there were just a pair of bedrooms left for us to look over. Both rooms filled with fresh straw, and clean pillows and blankets. Other available facilities, not in the bungalows themselves, were supplied by communal buildings in the village – such the showers and toilets, and the laundry.
I looked out through the glass window of the main bedroom, seeing the picturesque sandy beach nearby and the flood defences. “Well, this place is dry and cosy. Good view here, too,” I declared to Catherine.
“Yes, it is. But right now, it’s your attractive face that I want to see.” Catherine smirked as she got me to turn around and look at her. Like the others in the scout party, after taking our showers (me and Robyn taking a separate shower each, before it was the turn of the centaurs), Catherine and I had been offered a change of clothes by the centaur villagers. There was little choice of leg and footwear for Robyn and me – only that left intact by those humans who been turned into centaurs over the past few years in either this village or nearby Chiron’s Grove. So I’d decided to keep my jeans, socks and shoes. But I was now wearing the cleaned underwear of some man who was now part of the herd. As well as someone’s shirt. Catherine had one on, too.
“I guess I need a footstool, to be level with you…,” I muttered. “I used one in the communal washroom, in order to reach up to a mirror and use somebody’s fresh razor to shave.”
She sniggered and felt my now-smooth face, giving her approval.
“I am still marvelling at the fact that my head is a lot smaller than when I was a horse – but my brain and mind are more developed,” she confessed.
“Are you liking having the upper body of a human, Cathy?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Losing my fur was one thing that felt…scary. But in the exchange, gaining human hair, hands and arms - as well as English language skills and so much more… Well, I have no wish to return to being a horse. I still have the senses of a horse, mind – though my 3D eyesight is better. I can still canter and gallop. Despite the pain of the transformation, being a centaur feels so liberating, and so rewarding! I want to learn more about this world, as well as learning from you humans and the human-born centaurs. And one of the topics I want to learn about is how to have a loving relationship with the man who helped to protect both Maggie and myself…”
She grabbed hold of both of my hands with hers. Slowly kneeling down before flopping her side onto the straw, Catherine forced me down with her onto the bed. My “Hey!” was half-hearted, and I was smiling. Now we could level our faces.
“Hay is for horses. And sleeping centaurs,” she remarked – echoing my last remark to Robyn, as I left the stables, back at our now-lost home on Earth.
“You remember me saying that to my cousin?”
“Oh, yes. And now I understand the humour in it.” Catherine’s teasing smile lingered as her fingers caressed my face. “I love you, Charlie. You are a loyal, kind, intelligent man. Despite your past problems on Earth, you are stronger and braver than you think. And I can’t wait for you to become my brave, considerate, and loving stallion.”
I breathed as my fingers ran through her human hair and brushed her pretty freckles, and I spoke from my heart. “And I know now that I love you too, Catherine. But that nightmare…”
“…was your anxiety over Maggie’s speculative remark,” she reasoned. “My understanding from my new herd-brothers and herd-sisters is that Epona is a good and just goddess, who watches over us. I do not believe that she would wound my heart, by turning you into a mare!”
I sighed with relief. “Then I can tell what exactly will happen with Jade and Robyn, in that case.”
Catherine nodded. “Teach me how to kiss, Charlie,” she requested – our faces close to each other.
“It’s been a while… I’m out of practice, Cathy,” I teased her.
“Then practice on me!”
And so I did. First, I kissed her on the forehead, then her cheek, before moving onto her neck – as my lips began to explore her skin. Then I taught Catherine about how to hold eye contract and use it to convey sexual attraction. In other words, how to make her eyes smoulder and attract me – as I was trying to do with her. Then I got Catherine to close her eyes and wait for my kiss upon her lips – which I soon gave her. A long kiss, accompanied by my arm wrapping itself around her head to hold her in place. As we smooched away, making my centauress moan, she whipped her arms around my neck and shoulder, and held me tight as she practiced her own kissing…
And as I got aroused, Catherine opened her eyes and broke lip contact.
“I think a part of you is pressing against the wrong part of me,” she declared, her hazel eyes twinkling with mirth.
“Uh? Oh… Sorry!” I abruptly realised that I now had an erection making a peak in my underpants and jeans – which was pressing against her equine breast. “Just as well it’s not the right size for you, just yet…”
“Now who’s being the tease?” Catherine put to me.
“I blame your bad influence on me,” I fired back, grinning. “Now, let me teach you about French kissing…”
But as I was about to kiss Catherine again, I was startled by a loud gong being bashed in the centre of the village, making me jerk dramatically. Catherine laughed.
“What the…?” I began.
“Dinner is ready!” one of the Argentinian-born centaur mares cried out.
“We had better into the queue early. It’ll be good for you to eat as much as possible - in case you transform tonight,” Catherine advised me. “The change will exhaust you.”
“Yeah…,” I sighed.
She cocked an eyebrow “You are not looking forward to becoming a centaur?”
“I’m…coming to terms with it. And the fact that I’ll be leaving humanity behind,” I admitted. “Just apprehensive about the likely pain. And the fact that I don’t know when the moment will strike.”
Catherine nodded her understanding and squeezed my hand. “I’ll be by your side, to ease your anxiety. And to help rip your trousers free of your changing body, if I have to.” She smirked. “To prevent you from getting entangled in them, of course. And just remember - if you do change tonight… Well, let’s talk about tomorrow… I am your reward for you taking your place in the herd!”
I managed to smile. “I guess I shouldn’t look a gift centaur in the mouth.”
Catherine snorted and rolled her eyes, before playfully swatting her hand through my hair, ruffling it. “I will let you have that one, Charlie. I understand your human humour, thanks to Epona changing me into a centaur, remember? Just don’t ever call me your old nag… Even though I do intend to grow old with you. Together.” She whispered the last word, smiling again.
That remark touched me, and I bowed my head. “Growing old together with you… I want that too. Thank you, Catherine. It’s good to finally have someone who loves me for…well, being me.” I patted her hand – a lump in my throat as I rose. “Well… Let me escort you to dinner, my lady…!”
She considered my words, and then beamed. “ ‘My lady’… Yes! I am your lady of a former horse. And soon, you will be both my gentleman and a real stud! You will be my horse of a man.”
***
The herd had acted quickly. Whilst some of the villagers had treated us, and escorted our scout group to the doctors surgery and infirmary, other centaurs soon netted the bodies of the direwolves. Then carried them back to Hylonome’s Haven, for cleaning, skinning, cutting, and cooking. The fur would be used for pelts, to form jackets and coats.
The meat, of course, was used as that night’s main course. With carrots, leeks, parsnips, and potatoes as the vegetables of choice. And gravy. And apple pie and fresh cream being the pudding. And it was nice to again eat dinner on plates, with metal cutlery.
And sitting in the main square of the village, on one of the wooden stools that the centaurs had (thoughtfully) previously made for humans, at a large wooden table, talking with some of the locals, as the sun set – with Catherine on one side of me, and Robyn and Darwin on the other – I could not help but be impressed. From talking to Daisy, Bolt, Ben and Lucy – all of whom had been part of the initial equestrian team, the very first group to be transported to this world – we were learning about how first Chiron’s Grove, then the fishing village of Hylonome’s Haven, had been turned from ghost villages into now-thriving colonies for the new centaur race. There were now about fifty centaurs in this village alone – more in Chiron’s Grove. With several young boy-centaurs and girl-centaurs (including the colts of Bolt & Daisy, and Ben & Lucy) running around, playing, whilst their parents talked in English about their work of the day. All of them were taking interest in the arrival of the scout party and what they had to say about the town of Pholus Prior, as well as the ongoing threat of the bears and direwolves. Luckily for my table group, the questioning was mainly directed at Icaro, Kimberley, and the younger scouts. Whilst the centaur children, only a few Arcadia Centauri years old, were bonding with Imogen and bombarding her with questions about where on Earth she had come from, and what life was like there for both humans and horses…
I smiled to myself. Those kids had obviously been born as centaurs. They were the true natives of this planet now. They would never experience for themselves what it meant to have no fur, no mane, no tail, and only two legs – with toes, not hooves. Nor ever see electrical devices in operation – there were no televisions here, or radio. No generators. By now, the smartphones of myself, Imogen, and Robyn had run out of power. It was sad not to be able to see our digital photos again, or play games on them, or use any of the other apps. But Imogen still had the framed photo of our group of five upon her – and she was showing it to the centaur-born children surrounding her, telling them about our human lives with our horse and pony.
“This village works in conjunction with Chiron’s Grove,” Bolt was now telling me, Robyn, and Catherine. “We still only have one school and one blacksmiths between us. And our inter-village sport teams of soccer and polo are held on the pitch outside the first village. But we have started up again all of the other facilities that used to operate here.”
“Butchers, bakers, fish-mongers, grocery shops, laundry, building repairers, and so on,” Daisy added, nodding, before she ate another mouthful of wolf meat – which actually wasn’t bad, thanks to the seasoning by tonight’s cooks, Anna and Kyle.
Suddenly, a pretty, Swedish-looking white-haired centauress walked up to us. “Hello! Are you Charlie?” she asked me in her Scandinavian-accented English.
I turned round. “That’s me. And you?”
She smiled and dipped her head respectfully to me. “I am Qudsia. Besides my warden shift duty, I now also act as the Priestess for this village. Our goddess, Epona, is able to use me as a conduit at times – and she has sent me a message for you. She finds it easier to channel through sensitive horse-borns such as myself.”
“Urr… Okay,” I said nervously. Sensing my apprehension, Catherine held my hand.
“Nothing to worry about,” Qudsia continued. “She simply would like to talk to you, in private, after your meal. Just come along to the church, and face the large stained-glass window at the far end.”
“But if I transform tonight, before then…”
“It will not happen before this meeting. Epona wanted me to reassure you of that,” Qudsia said kindly. “When you have both finished here, I can escort both you and Catherine to the church, if you wish.”
I shared a glance with Catherine. She smiled reassuringly. “I will wait outside for you, with Qudsia,” she told me. “It would be good for me to socialise with my fellow sister.”
***
So, about an hour later (going by my watch) – with the skies now dark, and with one of the moons rising above the nearby sea to the east – I left the two horse-born centaur mares to chat just outside, whilst I entered the candle-lit, stone-built church and slowly walked along the wide aisle to the far end, where the largest stained glass stood before me, depicting the same image of the rainbow-haired, silver-furred, copper-spotted centaur mare that I had seen in the church at Pholus Prior.
It was quiet here. Serene. It helped me to prepare for meeting Epona. I took a deep breath, bowed my head, and then gazed at the enigmatic smile on the goddess’s white face. A face that was now glowing with a radiant light…
Gasping, I fell upon my knees, and tried to control my breath. Suddenly, I felt a sense of calmness sweeping through me. Her work – it had to be.
“Be at ease, Charlie. I know of your anxieties, including your grudging acceptance that you cannot return to your Earth,” a female voice called to me. I sensed the power within it. But her tone was warm. “That is why I wanted to meet you here. To set your mind at ease, as we talk about your future. Your tomorrow, so to speak. And…to thank you.”
“T-to th-ank me?” I stammered.
“You rescued my newborn daughter – then called Citrine. Not knowing she was a centaur. Then later, still as a human, you proved your loyalty and worthiness to the herd, as you and Catherine worked together to protect Maggie, so that she could call for reinforcements. The pair of you brought about the end of four direwolves. That is remarkable!” The smile upon the glass seemed to widen. “I will be proud to have you as one of my sons.”
I sighed. “There’s no prospect of me and Robyn…remaining human, in order to assist the herd, is there?”
“No, Charlie. That would not be fair on either of you. In your hearts, you both want to belong. And you both now have someone to love, and be loved by in return. The two of you need to become centaurs and stand equally-tall with your new herd-brothers and herd-sisters.”
I gulped, thinking over my next question. It would not be easy to ask…
“You are worried that the mental transformation of becoming fully centaur is my way of…brainwashing…my children. That I am…manipulative.”
A lump formed in my throat. “Th-the thought had occurred to me…,” I admitted.
“Be at ease, my future son. I have no wish to manipulate anyone,” Epona reassured me. “Yes, I gift the minds of my centaurs, as they mate for the first time, with new skills. And I help them to feel happy and complete. It is not a…drug… It is a reward for their troubles. The portals – and in your case, the god Fate – choose those humans who would benefit from having a better life here, without too much loss from being separated from their families on Earth. The physical transformation is somewhat painful because it has to be intense. And I genuinely want my new children to survive and thrive in this world, and to enjoy their lives here…”
“…hence why Imogen no longer has any wish to become human again, or return to Earth. Even if it was possible. Just like the other mated centaurs, apparently,” I declared. “Thank you for saving Imogen, by the way.”
“I did indeed save your sister’s life. I observed the start of her fit – her reaction to her pill overdose – and so I changed Imogen, to save her. The process of her transformation rejuvenated her body, expelling the negative effects of that pill overdose – but you already suspected that. And yes - the portals work only one way. And I cannot turn a centaur back into a human or horse. The process would kill them,” Epona sighed. “Do not ask me how I know this. I just do.”
My busy mind moved onto another question I had just thought of. “The portals… Their magic erases the memories of everyone else who knew the people and horses who are taken by the portals… Why?” I put to the goddess.
“You have already suspected the truth, Charlie,” she answered. “That magic is to spare the families and friends of the anguish and distress that would be caused from the disappearances of those taken from the Earth. Think of the time and effort that would be wasted in trying to track down the humans and horses who have been taken to another dimension. I did not create that magic entirely by myself – and it is not ideal to separate humans and horses from those who are left behind on Earth, but the effects are…as humane as they can be.”
I nodded. “I understand. And when I become a centaur… You will want me to mate with Catherine…, which will trigger the mental transformation for us both?”
“Correct. But once you are a centaur, the choice is yours whether to follow your new instincts, or not. I reward those centaurs who demonstrate to me that they are physically embracing their new natures and bodies, via their mating. I give them a little boost in their minds to be happy with their new forms, lives, and partners. I will never take away the free will of my children – or of those about to become my children. But I do send subtle hints to the new arrivals, helping them to find their most compatible partner – so that they can live happily together…”
“That tingling touch when I touched Catherine for the first time after she’d transformed…” I reasoned.
“Yes,” the goddess confirmed. “It was my way of telling you both that you were the most compatible partners for each other. I saw the souls of all of your party as you arrived on this world. Citrine – as she was, back on Earth – already felt loyalty and affection for her latest owners, and she remains heterosexual. Now that she has acquired a human heart, she has become attracted of her own free will to her recent master. You.”
“Yeah… And now I’ve fallen for my former horse…”
“I understand. A part of you is ashamed of what I would like you to do. That part is thinking as a human man, remembering Citrine. But she is no longer Citrine the horse – she is Catherine, a centaur. And she genuinely cares for you. Also, if you choose of your own free will to mate with her, you will do so as a centaur stallion – the two of you being of the same kind. Your new instincts will guide you. There is no shame in mating between consensual centaurs, no matter what race they were born as, before I made them physically complete. However, cross-species intercourse is outlawed on this world,” Epona reassured me. “It led to the ruin of the original centaur race – and I will not allow that disaster to happen again.”
I nodded, reassured. “On Earth, the Celts knew you as the protector of horses,” I breathed.
The face of Epona smiled again. “You are a wise one. You are correct. And when I can, I aid my children – and my future children. Though my powers are lowest during the day. So I am grateful that none of you have died in that direwolf attack.”
“I was told that the direwolves and bears are drawing in towards this part of the world,” I mused, finding my confidence as I addressed the goddess.
Epona sighed. “When I helped the first colony to establish itself and take shape, those wild animals resided far from this part of the world, save for a few. And their numbers were less. Now, with the centaur race slowly growing in numbers, the wolves and bears see my children as both hunting competitors, and as food. Sadly, they will need to be driven back to the wilder parts of the main continent, so that they can turn to other animals for their prey. I do not want them to be made extinct – only curtailed in their numbers. So that Pholus Prior and other settlements can become the abode of safe, happy and content centaurs once more.”
“I…understand,” I replied. “I think…that I would like to explore some more of this world, to help where I can. Perhaps, both me and Catherine can be scouts too. I know that she’ll want to be with me, wherever that may be.”
“Thank you, Charlie. I will gift you both with the skills that you will need, if you allow your love to grow. Yes, I sense your worry there. Fear not – you will become a stallion, not a mare!”
I gave a sigh of relief. “And…my autism? My anxieties…?”
Epona looked intently at me. “They are a part of you, Charlie. Your autism is not something to be ‘cured’ – compared to your sister having lost the use of her legs, until I healed her during her transformation. I see inside you. I know that you would be a good scout, with your map reading skills and love of the outdoors. I will give you additional skills as a reward when you mate, so that your self-confidence will increase. And having your family with you, as well as bonding with your new herd brothers and herd sisters, will ease your anxieties.” She paused. “And now…, it is time for your pony to join the herd. She is ready – and I must deliver on the hopes of both her and the one she is now drawn to. And so, farewell Charlie. I wish you new arrivals long and happy lives…”
The glow gradually faded from the stained glass, and Epona’s voice fell silent. I was left alone in the church, to ponder on the meaning of the goddess’s final words. But the silence was soon broken by a loud neighing.
“Uh-oh…!” I scrambled to my feet and hurried out of the church…