The two girls dashed into Francesca’s room, their hearts pounding with fear and desperation. The room was a chaotic mess of girlish delights turned sour: stuffed animals with button eyes stared blankly from the floor, porcelain dolls lay toppled among scattered toys, and dirty plates once piled with cakes and pies were now smeared with crumbs and frosting, abandoned in their reckless indulgence. The air smelled faintly of sugar and ruin. Francesca slammed the door shut behind them, her hands trembling as she leaned against it, while Carina, still on all fours, shuffled nervously across the carpet, her hooves clicking against the wooden floorboards.
“We can’t let Filippo find us,” Francesca whispered, her voice quivering as she scanned the room for an escape. Her eyes landed on the large window overlooking the dark expanse of Pleasure Island, its curtains fluttering faintly in the night breeze. “The window! We can use the bedsheets to make a rope and climb down!”
Carina nodded, her long ears flopping as she watched Francesca stumble toward the bed. The sheets were tangled from days of neglect, but Francesca yanked them free with frantic determination. She knotted them together, her fingers fumbling as she tied one end securely around the sturdy front leg of the bedframe. She was the only one with hands left—Carina’s had already morphed into hooves—and the weight of that responsibility made her chest tighten.
“Francy, you’ll have to lower me down,” Carina said, her voice thick with emotion as Francesca wrapped the other end of the makeshift rope around her midsection, just under her arms. “I can’t hold on myself… not like this.”
Francesca tightened the knot, her dark donkey eyes meeting Carina’s tearful gaze. She saw the fear and shame in her friend’s face, the way her tail twitched nervously behind her torn dress. Carina’s words came out in a rush, choked with sobs.
“Francy, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I begged you to come here, to leave your books and your studies… You’re so good, so smart, and I dragged you into this. If anyone deserves to be an ass, it’s me—not you!”
Tears welled up in Francesca’s eyes as she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Carina, pulling her close despite the awkwardness of her friend’s quadrupedal stance.
“No, Carina, don’t say that,” Francesca whispered fiercely, her voice breaking. “It’s not your fault. We both wanted to have fun… I chose to come too. We’ll get out of this together, I promise.”
Carina sniffled, managing a weak nod as Francesca helped her shuffle toward the window. The cool night air brushed against their faces as Carina perched on the sill, her hooves scraping against the wood. Francesca gripped the sheet-rope tightly, bracing herself against the bedframe as she prepared to lower her friend to safety. But then, without warning, Carina’s body jerked.
“Heeeee-hawwww! Heeeee-hawwww! Heeeee-hawwww!” Carina brayed uncontrollably, her voice echoing into the night, loud and wild, no longer tinged with the girlish tone it once held.
“Carina, shh! Stop it!” Francesca hissed, her heart racing as she glanced toward the door, terrified that Filippo would hear. “You’ll bring him right to us!”
But Carina didn’t stop. Her brays grew louder, more animalistic, and Francesca, in a panic, lunged forward and clapped a hand over her friend’s mouth.
“Quiet, please!” Francesca begged.
For a moment, it seemed to work—until Carina’s head thrashed, and her teeth sank hard into Francesca’s hand.
“Ow!” Francesca yelped, yanking her hand back in pain, cradling it against her chest. “Carina, what’s wrong with you?!”
Francesca froze as she looked at her friend. Carina’s face was changing before her eyes. With each bray, reddish-brown fur sprouted across her cheeks, spreading like wildfire. Her nose and mouth stretched forward, elongating into a long, equine snout. Her once-bright eyes dulled, replaced by the dark, soulless orbs of a beast. Her teeth grew blocky and massive, perfect for grazing, and her beautiful red hair shrank back, morphing into a coarse black mane that trailed down her neck and disappeared into the collar of her tattered dress. Carina’s head was now fully that of a donkey, and her brays were indistinguishable from those of any barnyard animal.
“Carina…?” Francesca whispered, her voice trembling as she reached out, but her friend didn’t respond. The girl she knew was gone, replaced by a creature that stared blankly ahead, braying mindlessly into the night as if calling for another donkey to answer.
Tears streamed down Francesca’s face as her heart sank. Carina’s humanity had slipped away—her mind, her memories, everything that made her Carina was lost to the donkey within.
“I can’t save you,” Francesca sobbed, her hands shaking as she untied the rope from around Carina’s body. “I have to go… I’m so sorry.” She knew she had to escape before she met the same fate, before her own mind succumbed. Carina stayed perched on the windowsill, braying into the darkness, oblivious to Francesca’s grief.
But as Francesca fumbled with the rope, a sharp cramp shot through her hands. She gasped, dropping the sheets as her fingers curled inward against her will.
“No… no, no, no!” Francesca cried, staring in horror as her delicate fingers clenched into fists, the skin darkening and hardening. The bones fused, the flesh thickened, and within seconds, her hands were gone—replaced by solid black hooves. “HELP! HELP!” She screamed, her voice shrill with terror as she stumbled backward, tripping over a stuffed bear on the floor.
Francesca hit the ground hard, her breath ragged as she looked down at her new forehooves. Panic surged through her, and she scrambled to her feet—only to realize her shoes had slipped off. Glancing back, she saw her toes merging, the skin darkening as her feet reshaped into matching black hooves.
“No! Not me too! I don't want to be an ass!” Francesca wailed, shaking her head as if she could will the changes away.
Her arms and legs began to stretch, growing longer and thicker. Soft grey fur sprouted across her skin, covering her limbs as they morphed into the sturdy legs of a donkey. Her dress strained against her shifting frame, the fabric tearing at the seams as her body took on the proportions of a young jenny. Francesca staggered, her balance faltering, until she was forced to stand on all fours, her new hooves clacking against the floor.
Francesca was a donkey now, from head to tail, her human form completely erased.
For a moment, Francesca stood there, panting, her mind reeling as she tried to process what had happened. Carina’s brays filled the room, a constant reminder of their shared doom. Francesca’s ears twitched, catching every sound, and her tail swished behind her, dragging across the carpet.
Francesca took a shaky step toward the door, determined to escape, when a strange sensation washed over her—a fog creeping into her thoughts. Her gaze drifted to the open doorway, but her mind wandered elsewhere. Images flickered through her head: running through a wide, green field, the wind in her mane, the taste of fresh grass on her tongue, the comfort of a herd around her.
“Wait… where did that come from?” Francesca thought, shaking her head violently. “I’m human! I don’t belong with donkeys! I’m not a donkey!”
But the thoughts persisted, growing stronger. She stared at the floor, her reflection faintly visible in a shard of broken mirror nearby—a donkey in a torn blue dress, her ginger braid still tucked behind her long ears.
“I’m human,” Francesca repeated to herself, clinging to the fading thread of her identity. “But… grass would be so nice. I’ve never tried it. I wonder what it tastes like… Is there anything like that here?”
The human part of her screamed to run, to fight, but the donkey part was winning. Her snout dipped toward the floor, sniffing instinctively. Francesca shuffled forward, her hooves brushing against a plate with a slice of cherry pie she’d left out earlier. As a girl, she’d loved pie—cherry was her favorite—but now, as she lowered her snout to smell it, the sweetness turned her stomach. She took a tentative bite with her large, blocky teeth, then spat it out with a grimace. “Too sweet,” she thought, her human tastes vanishing as her donkey instincts took over.
“Heeeee-hawwww!” Francesca brayed suddenly, the sound bursting from her throat unbidden. She froze, startled by her own voice, but then brayed again—and again. The noise blended with Carina’s, a duet of animal calls echoing through the room. Carina stopped braying and turned, her ears perking up as she noticed Francesca.
With a soft “Hawww,” Carina hopped down from the windowsill and trotted over, her tail wagging like an excited puppy’s.
Francesca watched as Carina sniffed her, then brayed gently—a friendly greeting. Francesca’s instincts kicked in, and she sniffed back, her snout brushing against Carina’s furry neck. Their scents were familiar, comforting, and without thinking, Francesca nuzzled her friend, their heads resting against each other in a moment of trust. The last shred of her human mind flickered, but it was too weak to resist.
Carina pulled away and bounded across the room, kicking up her hooves in playful leaps. She bucked and spun, her tail flicking wildly, and Francesca felt a surge of joy she couldn’t explain. With a playful “Heeeee-hawwww!” she chased after her, her hooves thudding against the floor. They raced around the room, leaping onto the bed and sending pillows flying, knocking over a chair, and toppling a small table.
Carina’s hoof caught the edge of the wall mirror, and it crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. The sharp sound startled them both, and they froze, ears twitching. Francesca stepped toward the broken glass, her reflection staring back at her—a donkey in a tattered dress, her braid dangling absurdly over her furry shoulder. Something stirred in her, a faint unease, but she couldn’t grasp it. Carina trotted over, peering into the shards, and brayed happily, unbothered by the sight of her own donkey face.
Francesca’s gaze swept the room, taking in the chaos they’d wrought. Her eyes landed on the bed, where a few rag dolls lay scattered—dolls she’d played with just yesterday, dressed in outfits like the one she still wore. Their human shapes mocked her, stirring a pang of recognition. Then she saw it: an oval locket, open among the sheets, revealing a photo of a smiling girl with her parents. That girl was her—Francesca, the studious, well-mannered child she’d once been.
“HAWWWWWWWWWWWW!” Francesca brayed, a loud, guttural sound that shook her to her core. The sight of the locket and dolls rattled her, a fleeting memory of her lost humanity breaking through the fog. She spun around, rearing up and slamming her powerful hind hooves into the bedframe, desperate to destroy the reminders of who she’d been. Carina joined in, kicking alongside her, and together they flipped the bed, sending the locket, dolls, and mattress crashing to the floor.
For a moment, Francesca felt a strange satisfaction, but the unease lingered. She knew something was wrong—terribly wrong—but her mind couldn’t hold onto it. Before she could think further, a mocking laugh cut through the air from the hallway.
“Well, well, look at this!” Filippo stepped into the doorway, holding two bridles in his hands. His oil lamp cast long shadows across the wrecked room. “You two have done a fine job. Your transformations are complete—perfect little donkeys, ready to be treated as the animals you truly are.”
“HEEE HAWWW!” Carina brayed at him, her voice empty of defiance, just a mindless noise. Filippo grinned and approached her, slipping the bridle over her snout with ease. She didn’t resist, her amber eyes dull and vacant.
“From the moment I saw you, I knew you’d make a splendid donkey,” he said, patting Carina's head. “Always so naughty, so wild—a true jackass at heart.”
Francesca’s ears flattened, and she snarled, “HAAAAAAAWW HEEEEE HAWWWWWWW!” A spark of anger flared in her, a buried instinct telling her this man was to blame for her torment. But her thoughts were too muddled to act on it.
“Calm down, now,” Filippo said, smirking. “You brought this on yourself, with a little help from your friend. You had the time of your life here, didn’t you? Fun like you’d never known—but now it’s time to pay the price.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chunk of carrot. “Here, this’ll cheer you up.”
Francesca’s eyes locked onto the carrot, her donkey instincts overriding her fleeting anger. She lunged forward, snatching it from his hand and crunching it between her teeth. The taste was earthy, satisfying—better than the pie, better than anything she remembered as a girl. As she chewed, Filippo slipped the bridle over her head, securing it snugly. Her fear faded, her worries dissolving into a simple, animal calm. She couldn’t even recall what had upset her.
“There, see? I’m not so bad,” Filippo chuckled, tugging the reins. He led the two donkeys out of the room, their hooves clopping down the stairs with careful, obedient steps.
“HAWWWWWWWWWWWW!” the former girls brayed in unison, a foolish, carefree sound that rang through the empty halls of Pleasure Island.
Outside, the night stretched endlessly before them, but Carina and Francesca no longer cared. They trotted behind Filippo, their minds lost to the wind, the grass, and the simple joys of their new existence. The girls they’d been were gone forever, buried beneath fur and hooves, leaving only two young jennies to carry the weight of their forgotten humanity.