(F to Donkey)

Tammy stumbled into the hotel room, her heels snapping beneath her. The sound was the only warning that she had before she fell awkwardly onto her swollen belly.

She’d have sobbed if the wind wasn’t knocked out of her. Her eyes watered, and she sucked in a long breath, “UuhhHHEEEE,” and let it out as a “HAWWW.”

Tammy knew why it was happening, fantastic as it was. She’d insulted the wrong woman at the hotel bar, a woman whose face was already getting harder and harder to remember. Maybe it was because humans weren’t meant to comprehend divinity.

More likely, she was about to lose her mind.

Her overactive imagination normally kept her from feeling surprised, even at the most disastrous of things. She used to be able to hide behind “oh, I guess I saw it coming” and “well, it only makes sense.”

But nothing made sense about her furry thighs bulging through her stockings. The coarse hairs had been matted between her skin and the tight-fitting cloth. It left them with an unpleasant tautness. But now, small runs had started to race from her ankles to her knees, splitting holes in the stockings through which gray fur poked out.

“I HAWWWve donkHEEE legs!” She sobbed, kicking the remains of her shoes off. It was easy enough, as the hard enamel of her hooves had split through their straps. Her hooves had just as easily burst from her stockings, which soon fell to the floor as little more than tattered scraps.

She kicked her legs out, hooves thumping against the wall hard enough to dent it – loud enough to earn an irritated knock from the next room over.

“GUHHHAWWW!” She tried to call for help, but all that bubbled from her throat was another mindless bray.

She… She didn’t know why it was happening anymore. Which meant that she was right, she was losing… Something. Words slipped from her head as her ears stretched skyward. New muscles tingled at the sides of her skull, and she found herself flicking them.

Tammy heaved out another bray, dragging her stomach against the ground, fumbling for her phone. Why was this what she’d tried to reach? Her boyfriend had been at the bar, hadn’t he? Even if she was losing what he looked like, that was… Probably right.

Her head was swimming, her skull squeezing her brain smoother as it reshaped. For a second, there was a tingling metallic smell in the back of her sinuses. Then her neck cracked loudly, bringing a tightness to her throat.

“HGGH!” Tammy squeezed her eyes shut, feeling new vertebrae pop into place one at a time. New muscles in her throat thickened at the same time, and her ragged breathing started to grow deeper, more bestial.

She didn’t know if her ears were more sensitive or not. Maybe it was like her other senses. Didn’t most animals have a worse sense of taste than people?

Her mind was wandering, though it wasn’t like focusing would help her much. She rolled onto her backside, bouncing on it slightly as it thickened. The motion was oddly fun for a few moments, but this was soon broken by the pressure of a tail growing in.

Her tail. It felt more right to have it than to be without. That had to be a bad sign. But it wasn’t like she knew any better, not anymore. She…

Her nostrils flared, and her eyes widened. She couldn’t remember her own name.

There was more of that pressure, unending pressure, squeezing her memories from her. Funnily enough, that one woman’s face was growing clearer to her now. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was both, humans weren’t able to comprehend divinity, but…

“HRREEEAUWW!” What was she thinking about? She sucked in another deep breath, and her ribs cracked. The rest of her clothes were split straight down her strong back. She didn’t remember what they were individually called, or their purpose.

She slumped forward, sniffing at the tatters on the ground. They smelled nice enough, though… Her mouth watered, and she took a hearty bite of them. They were chewy.

Her tongue swelled against them, then against her small teeth. No, not small, not for long. Those were thickening too, better to chomp down on… whatever this nice-smelling thing was.

Her tail swished and she blew air past her thick lips, chuffing contentedly. A knock came from the door outside, and her ears flicked towards it.

That was… New. Frightening. Her legs kicked out instinctively, the last of her fading brain catching words that felt like “noys cahm plait,” but it was just as foreign to her as any other language.

The donkey brayed louder, trying to scare it off, kicking her legs behind her again and again. There were so many things around her, so many things that broke when she kicked But the scary human didn’t stop making those shouting sounds, no matter how much she broke.

She kicked again, at something clear that should have broken easily. But her hooves moved straight through it, like it was air. She swung her wide head behind herself to look, and only saw blue sky and green grass.

It was confusing to her, but the scary human was gone. The only thing like a human here was her goddess, and that calmed her down a little.

The goddess reached out to her, smooth hands caressing the donkey’s cheeks, rubbing behind her ears. “Like I said, there’s a form far better for you.”

The donkey heard the words but didn’t understand the meaning. Her goddess was like that, so the donkey didn’t mind.

She was home, and there was nothing to worry about.