While many people were watching the end of the Year of the Dragon competition, some people were already thinking about the Zodiac competitions in the future. The Year of the Snake was not going to be an easy one, namely due to the legless nature of snake Animalians. Miss Zhen had decided to become a snake more out of a sense of mysticism than any athletic ambition. Though she might give it a shot, there were others who had been snakes far longer than her and would certainly have a better chance at winning.
But currently, Miss Zhen wasn't thinking that far ahead. The future that was on her mind right now was the imminent future of her friends. She had come to Lyre with four elderly Chinese women, no younger than their late 70's. And they were possibly some of the last few women alive with lotus feet. The old custom, which has long since been abolished, was one where the feet of girls were crushed and distorted from a young age so they could could wear tiny shoes that were considered a status symbol. Of course, that left the poor girls hobbled for life. Miss Zhen hoped that once these ladies were converted, it would encourage what few other women with lotus feet to convert as well.
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Ruogang was the first one to want to convert. Miss Zhen didn't really expect any of them to become snakes like herself. In Ruogang's case, she wanted to be a horse. That wasn't really an odd request, but what was odd was the kind of horse she wanted to be.
"Well, we can easily get you a Clydesdale conversion," said Judy, "But you do realize that it will be very massive compared to what you are now. It will take some time to adjust to it."
Ruogang's English wasn't as good as the younger generations, so Zhen was there to help translate some of the harder words. "I want to be bigger," said Ruogang, Zhen translating for her, "I want to be as far different from myself now as I can be."
"Well, it certainly would be," agreed Judy, "Of course, the clothes you have on won't fit you after your transformation. You may wish to take them off."
Ruogang said something rather strongly at that. "All she wants off are her shoes, and she wants her feet to be the first thing to change," said Zhen for her.
"I can't guarantee they'll change first, but I can probably think of how to increase the odds for that," said Judy.
Ruogang nodded to Zhen who started working on removing the tiny lotus shoes. When the shoes were off and the feet were unwrapped, Judy gave a gasp of horror. The old woman's feet weren't simply the size of a small child's. It looks like someone had squished her feet into the mold of a shoe, including a separate lump at the heel. It was the most distorted thing Judy had ever seen. Zhen saw Judy's horrified expression and said, "It's just as bad as it looks. Leaving them unwrapped too long becomes very painful for her. And you don't know the painful way they molded her feet into this shape."
"And this was a desirable thing?" asked Judy.
"You'd be surprised how many different kinds of body mutilations are considered status symbols in different cultures," said Zhen, "And that's still a case today, though I can't imagine what goes through the mind of those would self-inflict."
Judy tried not to think about that. Yes, some Animalians have found different ways of tattooing themselves and getting pierced. But that was as far as she wanted to know. So she focused on getting Ruogang’s injections ready. A shot into each ankle would allow the Animalian virus to work on her feet first as well as provide the necessary double dose. “Welcome to Animalia,” said Judy before she and Zhen gave Ruogang some privacy.
Ruogang’s memory of the pain from when they first broke her feet had dulled with age, but she still expected this first part to hurt a lot. The Animalian virus did work quickly on her feet. With her toes all crushed together, it didn’t take much effort to fuse them into one mass as the keratin from her toenails quickly covered them to form hooves. The greater pain was when her ‘heels’ were absorbed back into the rest of her feet. There were several snaps as the mangled bones were remade into the stronger bones of a horse. Black fur soon spread across the skin, becoming particularly long at the ankles as they grew a Clydesdale’s distinctive featherings.
The pain had barely subsided when Ruogang felt it spreading further up her legs. Her short legs, weakened by years of atrophy, suddenly surged in size and strength. Her pants ripped apart, revealing bulging muscles and feminine curves that were also being covered with black fur. The sensation got more intense as it reached her hips. They and her rear expanded far greater than they ever were in her youth. The remainder of her pants and her underwear were quickly torn asunder. Ruogang gasped as an intense bolt of pleasure lanced through her womb, reactivating nerves that have been dormant for years. It almost distracted her from the feeling of her coccyx extending from her backside before growing into a fine long horsetail.
Ruogang looked rather strange with her tiny human body on top of a large pair of horse legs, but soon the changes spread up her waist. Her spine clicked as arthritis was undone before making her stretch taller. Her waist became exposed as her shirt moved upwards. Her flabby stomach was shown before it started pulling in on itself. As black fur crept up her body, her muscles became more defined, her abdominals forming a clear six pack. Her shirt was stretched further as her shoulders stretched out to accommodate more muscles. But what finally did her shirt in was when her breasts started growing. The feeling of pleasure from her groin intensified as her breasts pressed harder against her shirt. It didn’t take long for them to outgrow their limits and soon shirt and bra were sent flying in pieces. Her nipples turned black as the fur covered them, swelling out to what looked like E cups.
Ruogang was very turned on now, but her tiny arms couldn’t reach her breasts or her groin. But soon the changes started to go down her arms. Her frail arms became thick with muscles as black fur advanced down them. They also became longer, allowing Ruorang to grasp as her erogenous areas, clumsily at first, but with increasing surety. She barely noticed how the hair on her wrists became longer as she grew Clydesdale featherings there too. She was aware of how her fingernails expanded to cover her fingertips and make small hooves, mostly because of the way she was gripping her breast and fingering her pussy.
Ruogang’s head looked very out of place on her new body, but the changes were finishing that as well. Her moans got deeper and less creaky as her neck grew a little longer. Color returned to her hair, which soon became fuller than what her bun could hold. One shake of her head and her black mane swung free. Her ears pushed to the top of her head and became longer. Finally, her face stretched out into an equine muzzle, her teeth regrowing and becoming stronger and more built for a vegetarian diet. Not long after that, Ruogang finally hit her climax and let out a whinny.
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Some time later, Zhen was watching TV as the final part of the Year of the Dragon competition was starting. She heard hoof clops and looked over to see Ruogang walk in. If she hadn't put her hair back into a bun, Zhen wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the old woman she knew and the amazonian horse she had become. There's a rough rule of thumb that the older a person was before they were double-dosed, the more impressive their Animalian form. Ruogang wasn't pushing 100 before she converted, but becoming a Clydesdale made a big difference.
"So, how do you like your new body?" asked Zhen.
"I love every bit of it," said Ruogang, sitting down besides Zhen, "But most of all, I like walking without pain."
"Not everyone chooses to walk," said Zhen pointedly.
"I'm sorry, I meant no offense," said Ruogang.
"I know, but I'm happy with this choice. And I hope that you will be happy with yours," said Zhen.
"And the others will be happy with theirs," said Ruogang.
"Have they decided what they want to be?" asked Zhen.
"Well, we already started the trend with the snake and the horse," said Ruogang.
"Ah, so what's next? The sheep or the goat?" asked Zhen. It was the one sign of the Chinese zodiac that was open to interpretation since the original Chinese word meant both sheep and goat.
"Both. Yu is going to be a sheep and Na is going to be a goat," said Ruogang.
"And Hua will be a monkey?" guessed Zhen.
"She was boasting of becoming a four-armed monkey," said Ruogang, "But I don't know how serious she is."
"Well, that would be attention-grabbing," said Zhen, "What kind of monkey do you think she'll be?"
"One of those New World monkeys, probably a spider monkey if she does get four arms," said Ruogang.
"Well, between the five of us, we'll certainly have the next few years covered," said Zhen.
"True. I'm looking forward to competing when it's my turn. But let's see how this year's competition will end," said Ruogang. With that, the two of them watched the final event of the Year of the Dragon competition.