In the ship, you find Niko, Grace and Tina. You (Ashley) start to talk (bray) to them.
----------Donkey translation-------
“I don’t know, Ashley” Niko said, trying to console me. “All I know is right that they turn into donkeys because Pleasure Island has a curse: 'if you act like a jackass, you turn into a jackass', then they threw us with the rest of the donkeys and muttered something about leaving no witnesses.”
“What will happen to us?” I questioned.
“They kept saying something about a market. They must plan on selling us.” Grace answered.
“At least, we can understand each other” Niko said, sounding rather dejected.
“So they really did it, huh? They really made us all into donkeys?” I asked, finally coming to grips with the situation.
“Yea, they did a number on us” Grace said. “You wanna see what you look like? They have a mirror over there. I guess they wanted us to see our humiliating situation”.
“Yea, might as well” I said as we started making our way in the direction Grace had motioned, or at least I tried to. Pushing our way through the crowd of donkey girls, we finally reached the mirror and I was overwhelmed by what I saw. Staring back at me wasn’t the my common reflection. Instead, all I saw was a dumb donkey covered from head to tail in gray fur.
“Whoa. That’s really me, isn’t it?” I asked both to myself and to my friends.
“You gonna be ok, Ashley?” Niko asked, trying to comfort me.
“Do I have a choice? I mean, they did this to all of us” I responded with a pause. “Hey, that reminds me, where’s Collete? Is she on the boat too?”
“Oh yeah, she went to get a bite to eat” Niko said, motioning over a nearby cluster of jennets munching on hay bales. It was hard to believe that one of the beasts in that cluster was her friend Collete.
“They really thought of everything, didn’t they?” I remarked.
“Yea, they were pretty efficient corralling all of us” Niko said.
“Sacre bleu! It was so humiliating”, Collete chimed in, joining our little group, “at least the worst is behind us.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Collete” Niko said.
“What? They’re gonna sell us and we’ll get to be someone’s petting zoo or something. Besides the hay tastes delicious. It’ll be fun!” Collete said happily while she moving her tail back and forth.
“If we’re lucky. You know most donkeys do hard work, right? There’s a reason they’re called ‘beasts of burden’” I broke the news to Collete.
“Well, what do you know, mademoiselle perfection?” Collete snapped with her even french accent. “You were so good about not being an âne and yet, you’re right here with the rest of us!”
I didn’t bother responding. I could tell Collete was terrified about the prospect of spending the rest of her life doing hard, manual labor; this must be how she coped. Aside from Collete’s chippiness, my friends were all in decent spirits, all things considered, since they had time to come to grips with their transformations. I wasn’t afforded the same luxury, so I spent the rest of the boat ride alone in my thoughts, pondering my future. Just a few days ago, I was worrying about exams, papers and finding a summer internship. Now, those were all a thing of the past. I was a donkey. Donkeys don’t study, donkeys don’t go job searching, but most importantly, donkeys don’t have freedom. I was doomed to live the rest of my life as someone’s property, and that prospect was terrifying. And that’s not to mention that, in all likelihood, I’d never see my family again. Worst of all, I felt terrible that my parents would never know what happened to their daughter.
My introspection was soon interrupted by a familiar pressure in my very unfamiliar body.
“Hey, Niko. Ummm, what do we do when nature calls?” I sheepishly asked.
“Well there’s a private washroom in the penthouse, but there’s an attendant so make sure you have cash to tip” she said.
“Haha, real funny but I’m serious, where do we go for the bathroom?” I responded.
“You’re standing in the bathroom, Ashley. They’re not exactly gonna build a toilet for a donkey, ya know” Niko continued to tease me, remaining cheerful through our terrible ordeal. “But a lot of the girls have been going in the corner over there so we’re not walking around in our own shit.”
Trying not to draw attention to myself, I made my way through the crowd to the impromptu bathroom corner of the boat. Once I arrived, I turned around so that my rear faced the wall, lifted my tail and did my business. The worst part was the obvious lack of toilet paper, so I resigned myself to walking around for the foreseeable future with bits of shit stuck to my furry ass.
Later we arrived at our destination. “Make sure you do what they say once they come in here” Tina cautioned us. “Those whips hurt like a bitch, they’re not messing around.” Before I could ask Tina about her experience, the doors to our enclosure burst open as several burly men came in, brandishing the very whips she warned us about.
“Come on, you asses, let’s get a move on!” one of our intimidating captors shouted, cracking his whip on the floor. That was all the motivation we needed as we quickly filed out of the boat. I had no idea where they were leading us; I just focused on staying close with my friends as we were herded like the donkeys we were. Eventually, they led us to a fenced-in corral, closing the gate behind us. Looking around our new enclosure, I realized this was where they planned on selling us.
In the corral, we spent the next several hours in relative silence, keeping conversation to a minimum whenever a human was present, trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Much to our collective chagrin, potential buyers soon arrived. Most of them seemed harmless as they walked around the market but I couldn’t help but notice one older man who was especially keen on making a purchase.
“These 2 jennys all look so cute and lively. I have a couple of jacks in my farm, they will be very happy when each one has his partner." A buyer said to the guard while he pointed a couple of donkey girls. They were both afraid to know they would be used as breeders.
“Salaud, nique ta mere!” Collete shouted, her typical entitled attitude rearing its head. “You can’t just buy us! We’re personnes, just like you! We’re not your propriété!”
I wanted to remind Collete that nobody could understand her. I wanted to talk some reason into her, but I knew that doing so would only draw unwanted attention to myself, so I kept my muzzle shut as she berated our captors, silently hoping she wouldn’t face any repercussions for the outburst.
“Ooh, that one’s feisty! She’ll be the perfect addition to my salt mines!” a man exclaimed. “I’ll take her.”
“Wait, salt mines?” Collete asked as she immediately realized what she had done. “Wait! Wait, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say all those things!”
Collete’s begs fell on deaf ears as another guard opened the gate to our corral, brandishing a halter, which he quickly began to fit on Collete’s equine cranium. Collete continued to shout as the man, clearly experienced dealing with humans-turned donkeys, fastened on the halter.
“No! Don’t sell me! I promise I’ll be good! I don’t wanna work in the salt mines! I'm not a donkey, I'm a girl! Please! Please! Please don’t HAWWWWWWWWWWWWW! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW”, Collete started to kick and buck but the guards tied her up and put a halter on her head and whipped her butt to shut her up. She attempted to resist, but her new owner was having none of her stubbornness as he kicked her hard in her furry rear until she had no choice but to be led away to join other jennets into a new life working in salt mines. The girls saw Collete crying, with her tail between the legs.
“Poor Collete.She must be so scared” Grace chimed in.
More girls were soon sold. Over several hours, the mood in the corral grew bleaker as more and more girls were sold, including Grace and Tina. It was somewhat bittersweet when I saw that a farmer decided to buy both friends. It was heartbreaking, but I was comforted knowing they were enduring this ordeal together.
As the hours went by and more and more former girls were sold into what could only be described as slavery, my stomach began to rumble. Begrudgingly, I made my way over to the hay bales to satisfy my hunger. Niko joined me, but instead of cheering me up as she had done on the boat ride, she merely ate beside me in silence. You would think that Niko and I would have been more talkative, seeing as we could’ve been sold at any moment, but we were both dead silent.
I couldn’t decide whether or not it was a good thing that I found myself enjoying the hay. On one hand, having something tasty to eat is always good, but on the other, it was yet another reminder of my lost humanity. Adding insult to injury, I felt a prickling sensation around my ass while I ate. Looking back as I chewed on my snack, I saw a cluster of flies flying around my butt. Since I no longer had any hands to swat them with, I did the only thing I could and flicked them away with my tail. As I turned back around, still flicking my tail back and forth, I caught a glimpse of Niko next to me doing the exact same thing like a common donkey. It was a heart-breaking and humiliating sight to see. If I didn’t know any better, I would have never guessed the donkey next to me used to be a person, my best friend Niko.
As I returned to my meal, I must have spaced out because I was soon startled by a female voice. “Oooh, look at that black one! She’s beautiful. Amanda will love her. We’ll take her!” a young blonde farmer added.
“Perfect! Follow me and we’ll complete the transaction and my associate will get your donkey ready” the seller said.
“Oh no, Niko! They just sold you!” Ashley cried out. “Ashley, I’m so sorry, you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me. This is all my fault!”, cried Niko. “It’s ok, Niko. You didn’t know. But I don’t wanna lose you!” Ashley pleaded. “I’m sure wherever they take me, I’ll be fine. I love you, Ashley” Niko reassured her. "I love you too", said Asley.
When the 2 jennets started braying with each other, the farmer girl realized that between the gray and black donkey there was something similar to a friendship, as if the two were saying goodbye sadly, something she thought was impossible. But, after a while, she thought about it and decided that she couldn't separate them.
"Hey fella, I'm also taking the gray ass.", the woman said to the seller. Hearing that pleased Ashley and Niko who began to bray with happiness, moving her ears and tails with joy.
“Come on, friends. You'll love your new home” their new owner said to them. The farmer girl was much gentler with us than others had been with the other former girls, slowly leading us into the waiting trailer.
After a long ride, the truck, we arrived. The woman opened the trailer, caressed our face with kindness and sweetness and attached a leash to our halter and led Niko and me towards the barn. I took this opportunity to take in my surroundings, seeing a quaint home nearby, although I doubted I’d ever be allowed inside, but what really caught my eye were the vast open green fields dotted with various livestock, including several other donkeys as well as horses, goats and some sheep. Much to our own surprise, Niko and me found ourselves eager to join the other animals, but instead we were led inside to the stable where we were locked in a stall.
"You, cute little donkey, will be my little sister's birthday present. Later I will come to brush your fur, it's all tangled", the farm girl said to Niko. Then, the farm girl whispered in my ear "And don't feel jealous, what happens is that Amanda wants a black jenny as a gift. I'll see how you can help us, little one", she stroked my mane and she left.
Later, with nothing to do but stare at the wall in front of me and swat the flies around my ass with my tail, I had a thought "what if I could write a message to the farmer girl in the dirt with my hooves? Surely I could let her know I used to be human and maybe she can help us to bring the people that changed us to justice." With a renewed sense of vigor, I began to write “I’m human” in the dirt, but I immediately ran into a snag. I couldn’t for the life of me remember what the letter I looked like. What a pity!
Meanwhile, with fatigue from a long day of travel setting in, Niko decided to try and find a way to get comfortable on the straw floor and get some sleep. The following morning, Niko and me were woken by a rumbling in my stomach. Niko "went to the restroom" next to you onto all fours and lifting her tail, without any shame. A human trait that Niko had lost.
“Hey! I’m starving in here!” I brayed. “Can anyone hear me? How about some food?” My calls were soon joined by Niko brays.
"I'm going, I'm going. Do not despair.", said the farmer girl running with several hay bales. She tossed one into each of our stalls and we immediately began chowing down. I paid her no attention as she muttered something to us while petting our snout.
Later that morning, I was released into the field, but Niko wasn't. I began to wonder if the farmer girl had forgotten about her. But then, I saw the woman bringing a little girl to the stable. She was her little sister. When she saw Niko, she let out a scream of joy, sprinted at her and wrapped her arms tightly around her neck. That scene made me very happy.
I must have lost track of time because the next thing I knew, the sun was setting and we were herded back into the stables. Unlike the previous night, however, we had company in the stable as Amanda came by to enjoy her new pet. Although Amanda also caressed me thinking that I would feel jealous, a wondeful and sweet girl as her older sister. We had no idea how long she was there, but she must have spent at least two hour petting us, combing our manes and even just talking. We could sense a connection forming as I nuzzled my snout against her.
The following morning brought yet another new development as a vet came by and spent all morning poking and prodding every inch of our donkey body, even sticking his arm pretty far into our ass. We must have been given a clean bill of health because Niko and me were released into the field without any more delays upon the vet’s departure. I was actually enjoying myself: both out in the field grazing with my fellow Niko, the farmer girl attentions and cares, and in our moments with Amanda.
"Why were ever scared of living as donkeys? It’s the best thing that could have happened to us! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW!", I brayed with pride to Niko. "You're right! I’m much happier now as Niko the donkey than I ever was as Niko the human. HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW! HEEHAW!, Niko said joyfully moving her tail back and forth.