Evelyn and Nicole stopped. Nicole grinned goofily, making Emily chuckle. She and Evelyn switched places before Evelyn licked a fair bit of beer.
When they were done, they looked at the keg and brayed at Emily.
"I think I've had enough girls. Besides, drinking it might make me bray," Emily said. "Maybe I can still help you as long as I can talk so I shouldn't drink anymore. Come on, we'd better hide."
Evelyn and Nicole nodded. They followed Emily—both walking in a way that betrayed their inebriation—until they reached the stand. It took some effort but all three were able to get over the counter and behind it.
Emily felt awkward being this close to Nicole and Evelyn. Sure, Emily still had her shorts but Nicole and Evelyn had nothing.
Making things more embarrassing was that they were also starting to smell like donkeys. It wasn't that bad of a smell–Emily wondered if turning into a donkey made her feel that way—but it did serve as a reminder of what they'd become.
They stayed silent and as motionless as possible for what felt like some time before they heard something approaching.
Before any of them could react, strange beings that seemed to be living shadows grabbed the counter and pushed it aside, exposing the three.
The creatures grabbed the three before they were able to run. They carried the three toward an unknown destination. Their grip felt like iron. Despite struggling, none of them were able to escape.
Emily considered begging for mercy. She had no idea how they'd react if they knew she could still speak and decided it might be best to stay silent.
They'd carried them for a moderate distance before Emily heard a lot of braying. The same smell she’d detected behind the counter was a fair bit stronger here.
Emily saw that they'd arrived at the docks. The beings dropped them off at the end of a line of donkeys. Emily ended up behind Nicole and Evelyn. She looked back and forth as she considered running. The creatures however were smarter than they seemed. They closed a door behind Emily and stood guard behind the door with their arms crossed.
Emily knew that the fun was over and that they were in big trouble. Facing her mother grounding or giving her extra chores was one thing. This trouble was far more serious, much scarier. She didn't know what was going to happen next but had a feeling it wouldn't be good.
The fear many of the donkeys were feeling had driven them to a panicked state. Perhaps however, there was a silver lining. Donkeys didn't have to go to school and in the end, they had little responsibility that required much thought. It could be a dull existence but at the same time, if she was lucky enough to be well treated, Emily would have little to worry about for the present and future from that point forward.
With no other immediate option, Emily turned to face the line of donkeys. Nicole was directly in front of Emily. Emily had to bear the view of Nicole’s butt in front of her face and her tail slapping her muzzle.
A glimpse at the line before Emily showed her that most of the donkeys ahead of her wore clothing. Some were half naked and others like Nicole and Evelyn were naked.
There were also a lot of donkeys in crates. Most of them were braying and none of them wore clothes. Emily hated seeing them like that. She hated knowing she was powerless to help them even more.
Emily wondered why they all become donkeys instead of a mix of horses, pigs, cows chickens or other animals. Emily cringed. Aside from the horse, the other options were far from colorful.
Turning into a pig, laying in the cool mud all day and being able to get away with eating lots of food sounded fun. Someone killing her to make bacon or pork chops did not.
Still, why so many donkeys? Did the world really need this many of them?
She pondered escape. Without knowing how well she could swim as a donkey, Emily knew she was risking drowning. Even if she didn't drown, any number of dangerous creatures could try to eat her. Ending up as a meal for a shark or who knows what else was not how she wanted to die.
Even if she made it back to the mainland, she doubted she’d change back. With her ability to speak intact however, she could tell people about Pleasure Island and get help for the others. Maybe she could keep this from happening to other girls.
That however could mean she and all of the others could be stuck this way.
Emily pondered whether or not she and the others had deserved this for the way they'd acted.
She was a well-behaved girl before the island. She did her homework and chores, obeyed her mother, didn't talk back and never said bad words.
She wondered if that was the problem.
The curiosity and temptation to eat junk food, drink forbidden things and even smoke existed within Emily. She refrained out of fear of her mother catching her, not wanting to be bad and of bad things making her ill.
Pleasure Island had seemed the perfect opportunity Emily needed to indulge without the consequences of indulging. She now knew it was all a trap. Scammers were something Emily knew had existed as long as money had existed. She’d never expected to fall for a scam and yet here she was, turned into a donkey, surrounded by other donkeys that had fallen for the same scam. The foolishness she felt made her donkey form seem all the more fitting.
She however knew that she and the others couldn't or at least shouldn't accept they were now donkeys and that was that. No, they didn't deserve to live out their lives as donkeys because of one mistake. They had to fight this!
"Girls, we can't let them do this to us. We have to fight them," Emily said.
Unfortunately, the others only responded with brays.
Emily wondered why she’d retained her ability to speak when others had not. Was there something special about her? Maybe it was random chance, she wasn't sure.
She worried how far these changes would go. If the girls that were braying had forgotten how to speak or now spoke donkey, Emily wondered how far she could change on the inside. What if she forgot her human life? What if she forgot everything she learned at school or lost her intelligence? The idea was terrifying.
The line progressed as the man that had taken them to the Island asked each donkey’s name. Every donkey that brayed ended up with the man ripping off the donkey's clothes (when applicable) and throwing them into a crate.
A chill ran through Emily when Nicole and Evelyn reached the end of the line. They ended up in a crate together. Emily was happy that they would be staying together. The somewhat relieved look they gave each other gave Emily a sliver of hope that they would be able to live a happy life together as donkeys.
Nicole and Evelyn having hope for a happy ending however didn't mean Emily would.
It was Emily's turn. She hoped she could use her retained ability to speak to successfully beg for mercy.
Another one of the shadow creatures grabbed Emily by the ears and slid her over to the Coachman. Emily's motion momentarily kicked up a cloud of dust.
The man that had seemed like a sweet, kindly old man that only wanted the boys and girls to have a little unauthorized fun now seemed far more sinister. He looked massive to Emily. This was a man that had the power to create a carnival that would turn any boy or girl that went there into a donkey and had used this power. If he could do this and fool this many kids into coming there, it seemed as though Emily could do anything.
Emily knew that running would do her no good. This man could be the only thing that could change her back into a girl. It terrified Emily and made her feel helpless.
"And what might your name be?" the man asked.
Emily gulped.
"My name is Emily, sir."
"So, we have another jenny that can still talk, huh?" The man asked.