Days blurred into vague memories of passing light and darkness, a routine of existance that Mike the horse accepted without question or complaint. After some initial fussing and passing from one human to another, he found himself in a smaller, shabbier stable with two other horses. The human who he saw mostly was an older, dirtier male who used him to pull a plow by himself, and sometimes hitched him with one fo the other horses to pull a heavy wagon.
The leather straps and bit were not comfortable at first, but he got used to them. Pulling and working actually gave him a chance to exercies his massive muscles, and he found that pleasant. There was always grain and hay waiting for him when he returned to his stall, and the bedding was kept fairly fresh.
The days turned into weeks, and Mike barely thought at all. He was content in his new life, for he had no memory of anything different to compare it to.
"Wake up, Mike."
The horse was startled out of sleep by a strange voice in his head. A flicker of movement in the night startled him, and he kicked out and whinnied. Then he stopped and shook his head. He had understood the noises! The farmer's idle chatter had been heard as tones of voice. But these had meaning.
Turning awkwardly in the small stall, Mike saw a familiar figure step out of the shadows. It was Ty! The boy was grinning as he walked up with no fear and patted Mike's massive snout. "You've been a horse for a month now. Having fun?"
A month?! Mike's mind cleared suddenly, and he remembered the game, the village, going into the stable, and... Ty. This boy had taken away his human thoughts! He should have been furious, but somehow, he couldn't quite work up more than annoyance.
"So, I was gonna leave you stuck like this, but then I figured I'd give you a second chance." Ty smirked. "Unless you like being a horse? So here's your choices. Stomp your hoof once if you want to be human again. Stomp your hoof twice if you want to be a centaur again. Stomp your hoof three times if you want to stay a horse. And stomp your hoof four times if you want to start all over again."