Mitch jerked in his bed with a start, one of his hooves sticking out from the covers as he rubbed his eyes. "Ung... Tiffany? " he said, squinting. He couldn't see in the dark.
He still had his hooves. "Yeah, it's me! You still have your donkey parts?" She asked, a little confused.
"Ung...." he groaned, "My... yeah, yeah, of course I do... why... why do you-" Then, he froze, and his mind started functioning again.
"Wait, what- what do you mean 'still'?" he asked.
She lit a candle. "I'm...me again." She said, showing him her completely human form. But there was no excitement in her voice. There was...disappointment?
He stared, though. Stared as though she had revealed that she herself was an angel.
"WHAT?!" he bellowed in a hushed voice, "You're normal! How did- how did you do that?!"
"I met a creature, we had a long discussion and at the end she turned me back. But..." She trailed off for a long moment before reaching down and rubbing the bottom of Mitch's hoof. "I don't feel normal. I miss them, Mitch. I miss my ears. I miss my tail."
He stared, confused. "What? You met- WHAT? Tiffany, never mind your- wh- where is this creature? Can I meet it? Can I get myself turned back?"
"I don't know where it went...but think about it...have your donkey parts not started to feel normal to you?" She continued to run her fingers over the flat bottom of his hoof.
"Have my... WHAT? Tiffany, I am SO so confused right now. Where is that coming from?!
"I was too until I really started thinking about it. You made accomodations for your changes as if they are a part of you...they ARE a part of you. I feel strange without my donkey ears and tail now. Would it not be strange to have toes again for you?"
He shook his head. Who WAS this girl and what did she do to Tiffany? But no, the voice, the clothes, the mouth with those lushious lips... that was her! So why...
"Tiffany, before now you had been so afraid, so wanted to turn you back! You didn't want to anybody to see your donkey parts at all, and you- we decided we would return together to get them removed... and now you're turned back and are now trying to convince me to STAY like this?!" Mitch said angrily.
Tiffany nodded slowly. "I know, it sounds crazy. But it's been there. Its been there since we met. I haven't said it aloud, but there have been many times I've found your tail cute. The creature she...before she turned me back I feel like she was trying to help me...and I sort of forced her to turn me back." Tiffany blushed.
"... and, you didn't ask her to turn me back too?!" he asked desperately, the sheets behind him shifting on their own.
"I did it! Hey...she didn't." She suddenly realized. "She offered me a lot of things...at one point she offered to turn me back at the expense of turning you fully donkey, I told her no, that I wanted both of us human. Finally I think she just gave up...I'm still confused over the meeting."
"... she gave up? What? What do you mean? Was she... trying to tell you something?"
"I think she was...I think she was trying to tell me what I'm telling you now." Tiffany rubbed his hoof again. "That these are normal for you...they've become normal. And they make you different than everyone else...Now I'm just another human..."
Mitch clutched his head and fell back onto his bed. "So... you're normal again..." he said, "... and I'm gonna become a donkey. That's what's happening, then."
"No....I turned that deal down. I think you will just have what you have now. That cute tail and your hooves. Just think you'll never need shoes again."
Then he sat up again, and to her surprise, he pulled his shirt up, revealing his chest of fur.
"You see this?" he asked, "When I got off that boat, this was down here. Tiffany. I'm still turning into a donkey!" he said desperately, "You were too! I didn't say anything because I didn't want to worry you!"
"I think its just some magic left over from the island. The spirit said nothing about going all the way. Come on lemme see your tail again." She said with a small giggle.
The next morning, Tiffany waked up. Mitch couldn't sleep all the night.
"Tiffany..." Mitch asked, his voice faltering with worry, "You- you will still help me become... become normal again, right? Become human? We-we're still together for that, right."
Tiffany nodded. "If that's what you want Mitch" She said petting his tail in her hands. It was so warm, the fur was soft, yet tough. "Hey can I see your belly again?"
Mitch was relieved to hear her say that. She was still on his side, after all. Stroking his tail was a good feeling, too. He didn't know what she was going to do, but... well, he knew it impolite to refuse. fter all, he had his pants on.
He pulled his shirt up and, shrugging, decided to just take it right off. The fur was making him very warm.
"That's the spirit." Tiffany said happily as he tossed his shirt aside. "I think it looks good on you Mitch!" She said as she took in the light brown fur on his chest and belly. "No need for a shirt when you got that!"
Mitch was confused again. "But, what about going outside? People seeing me like this?" he asked politely. "Was this really the same girl who never wanted to let her tail show even when they were in private?" asked Mitch to himself.
'Hmmm, you're right. Better wear it when we leave." She picked the shirt up and handed it back to him.
"Yeah. Right." Mitch said. He was still wrought, and he collapsed back onto the bed, his eyes closed.
Tiffany sat on his bed and continued to gently pet his tail. It was still surreal on many levels to see a donkey's tail coming out of a 10 year old boy's butt...but she really couldn't imagine him without it. Mitch was a boy, and he had a donkey's tail, hooves, and a tan furry chest.
He looked at Tiffany in the morning light. It really was true, all signs of fur and beastial additions were gone, and he realized he was looking at her real face properly for the first time.
Wow, it really was gorgeous! No make-up, all natural. Her elegant curves on her pointed chin and eyelashes.
But what about him? He looked at his body. As expected, the fur line had moved once more, reaching halfway up his shoulders and in his armpits. He was worried.
"Mitch...you look fine!" Tiffany said, noticing his sad look as he examined his body. "Don't worry about what others think of you".
The tail heaved around behind him as he flipped back down onto his feet and stood upright. Odd, in his dream he felt himself getting pushed down to all fours, but it still remained fairly easy to stand upright. But he wasn't about to complain. He bent down and pulled his shirt back onto his body.
He sighed, dreading this next part. He pulled his pants waist with both hands, and his tail vanished within. Still didn't get any less uncomfortable.
"Once we are out of town you can let your tail out. You shouldn't have to hide it. I think its gorgeous." She said as they headed downstairs and onto the street, his feet making slight clacks.
They walked through the lobby, giving a wave and grateful smile to the red-haired lady. They both felt it a stretch to ask for breakfast, so better not cause a scene.
"Uh...that way I think." She pointed out of the town. "We just need to follow the road." They started down the street together, occasionally Tiffany heard a small moan of pain from Mitch. "It really hurts doesn't it." She whispered.
"Not getting any better." he admitted. His pant leg was silently revolting against him as he staggered forward.
"Mitch, let it out, I don't like seeing you hurt like this." Tiffany pleaded. "I don't care if someone sees it. It's YOUR tail."
"Yeah, I know YOU don't care, but..." he groaned. No, no, she was right. What were they going to do with him if he did. Looking around, he pulled Tiffany into a small alleyway.
He had it down now. Didn't even have to reach in his pants anymore. Holding onto his hips, he bent forward, and with a quick "fwoop", it was once again released onto the world just like it had first come into existence.
"There it is!" She said with a giggle. "There's no reason to hide a part of your body that's not your privates!"
And they walked. And they kept walking. And nobody stopped them, and nobody called out, and nobody came running with an axe.
Tiffany said happily. "This must be what being a farm animal feels like. Just the sun on your back as you wander around all day after a hard days work of pulling a plow...Sorry...didn't mean it in a bad way."
Mitch looked at her, skeptically. "Did you drink beer last night?" he asked, "You've been acting very strangely since yesterday."
"No Mitch...I just told you...I met a creature who made me see things in a new way, made me realize that my tail and ears were MY tail and ears, not just additions." Tiffany said, remembering the weight of her tail fondly. "I even had gray fur. That's a beautiful fur color!"
"And I don't get that." he replied, grabbing his tail and lifting it in front of him, "What could she- this thing you saw... have said to make you think that THIS... was a GOOD thing?"
"Because it made me unique. Unlike any other girl. It's hard to explain...The thing did it better than I could ever do. The point is that when my tail and ears were gone I felt incomplete..."
He dropped his tail and watched it spin in circles behind him almost effortlessly, "Because you got used to them?"
"I...I think so? How do they feel on you? After mine were gone I felt like a part of me that I'd been born with had just been cut off."
He stopped, his hooves dug into the dirt under him. "I think... I actually think that... if I can't go back to normal... that I would be fine just like this."
He balanced on one hoof, holding the other up as he twisted it in circles. "Like, it's new. It's different. It's weird, yeah." he said, "But at the end of the day... it's just another thing to contend with. Another thing that we kinda just... grow with."
"Mitch!" Tiffany flung herself on him and hugged him, he staggered on his hooves and she had to keep him from falling. "I'm so happy you think that! I don't know about you...but I'm not in a hurry to get back to my home..."