Dreams are a chaotic place, and mine were no exception to the fact. Usually, though, you weren't aware of the madness until it was already passed. That night it was different. I reached for a glass of juice, the orange juice I had been given the day before, by Jake, who was suddenly there. "Thanks."

Jake tipped a hat he hadn't been wearing, but suddenly was, then he was Starlight.

I saw the change. I knew the change had happened. "Starlight?"

"Could you write this down?" asked the unicorn. "I'm so sorry... I'll try to be a better friend."

Friend. Suddenly Starlight was Cindy, looking around. "Woah, crazy place. This is where they have you locked up, Girl? It's like a--"

"--hotel," I finished with a little smirk. "Tell me about it."

"I just did." She moved up to grab my talon between her hands. "You look so soft and huggable. Tell me I get to pet you when you get--"

Suddenly I was standing with Starlight just a little ahead and to the left. My talons were scratching and petting her softly. Pony fur was so nice to pet through. "Where'd Cindy go?"

Starlight looked over her shoulder at me. "This is your dream, and what did I tell you about petting?"

I woke suddenly. Or I hoped I did. It was dark. I raised my left hand up and brushed my cheek. Fuzzy, and sharp. Also less of them?

Sliding to my feet, the lights flickered on. I could see things had progressed. My left hand was entirely a set of talons, four of them. My right side were pudgy fingers, four of them, covered in the same soft fur of my ears.

Speaking of feet, they weren't in that halfway state anymore. My left foot was one big brown hoof. The right one, dragon claws. I was walking on the balls of my dragon foot, with a big sharp dewclaw coming out the other way. My legs and arms, so far I could see, unchanged.

I had reached the bathroom and turned to examine my back end. Yep, tail, but bigger, about twice as large, longer and thicker and easier to move around. I had a dragon's tail and one dragon foot, and one... other foot. A pony foot? Something with one hoof. A pony had one hoof.

Hair! My hair had gone entirely that dark grey color. The fur on my right hand was a soft brown shade. There was some fur starting just where my hoof ran into the rest of me. It was a darker brown color. My ears were completely covered in fur and seemed just a little pointed. They were a lighter grey than my hair, not matching anything else.

Whatever I was becoming, it didn't feel like matching anything to anything. I set my hands on the counter in the bathroom, my clawtips of my talons clicking on the smooth marble. Suddenly I felt muscles I never had before flex and new clicks sounded out. Claws had emerged from my pudgier fingers. A paw! My other hand was a paw. They were also still fingers.

I could wriggle them easily, but they had claws inside, and the hand was covered in fur. What was happening to me? Griffon! Yes, of course. "I have a griffon hand." And a dragon hand, and a dragon foot? And a pony foot. Somehow, that was reassuring. I had figured out what I was, sort of. Good enough. I looked to the mirror to see that odd eye looking back at me.

My nose. I reached up and felt it with altered fingers. Talons or furry, I could still sense properly. You'd think fur would get in the way of that, but it didn't. Either way, my nose seemed a little wider. Not monstrously, but enough to notice it. "Right..." I would grow a snout, like Starlight or Jake or Flash.

Despite all the changes, I felt less... freaked out than I had the day before. Maybe it was because I could stand and walk. I wasn't in an awkward halfway state that left me feeling even more vulnerable and helpless. I was an independent woman again.

I emerged, showered and dressed in a hospital gown and sank down onto my bed. Laptop booted up, I got to writing up a report of what changes had occured.

Oh, he had replied.

Good day,

Your case is unique, and we are sparing nothing to make sure you are safe. For now, we can only wait and see and monitor, which we are doing. Your vitals are nominal and I hear you've made friends. Social networks can be quite useful in times like this, and they speak well of you, so don't hesitate to lean on them.

I rolled my eyes a bit, images springing of giving Starlight more scritches and leaning on Flash's wing. They were friendly enough to put up with it, but I had to be a functional adult.

Things should get a little easier from here forward. While the physical changes can be disorienting, you will find it becomes less mentally jarring. A little warning, some subjects experience more severe hormonal shifts than others, causing mood shifts, typically not violent. Be mindful. Your new friends are already aware of the situation, having experienced it themselves.

I huffed softly at that. "I am Lauren," I spoke in defiance. "I will not have mood swings." Ignoring the fact that I'd already bust down crying and snapped at people a few times already. "I am the master of me..."

Oh! A letter from Cindy. A big smile split my face as I pulled it up.

Hey! Where are your emails? Did they take your computer away?

A shoot, I hadn't been mailing her. I read on, prepared to be chastised for my failure.

Seriously, are you alright? Don't leave me hanging like that. My girl's all caught up in some secret luxury jail and suddenly she stops talking and what am I supposed to think? Hit reply and tell me you're alright, if you're alright. If you aren't alright, tell me what's going on.

Well, how did one argue that? One did not. Not if they were a decent human anyway, and I was still one of those, maybe?

I got to typing with my new fingers and, I swear, it was a little faster. There's a difference between getting used to one big finger and having all your fingers far closer to the same size. They were all moving naturally. Still not at full speed, but I was improving.

Cindy!

I miss you so much right now. I'm busy... going through changes, a lot of changes. They say we can't do video calls, but no rule about pictures, so...

I pulled up the camera app on the computer and began showing off. One hand, the other, then my crazy feet one at a time and lastly a butt shot, my tail lifted for easy viewing as it clicked.

Tell me that isn't super crazy! I'm not in pain, promise. It's... just... super... Ugh, words. You just imagine it happening to you, alright? They don't even know what I'm turning into, but I'm still Laura, alright? Promise you won't be scared of me when I get out of here?

I will write more often,
Laura

Friendship mission complete! I clapped my alien hands, then the fingers slid between each other. The tickle of my own fur against my talons was a new sensation. I could feel the talons pressing back against my furry fingers. As inhuman as they were, they were mine. I could feel them and became fascinated for a moment, just... experiencing that, the tickle of digits, four of them, not five.

"At least I have hands." Seriously, I wouldn't have wanted hooves. Poor Starlight. Poor Flash, denied hands forever more.

Ah, right, update! I got to typing that up, reporting the odd fingers and feet and the tail and the face. So many things. I didn't feel as shredded by it as the day before. But the day before I was also basically an invalid. A sudden sneeze interrupted me and I reached for the tissues, blowing my subtly altered nose. "Cold's still there," I grumped and noted that down too.

Work! There was no work. It was a day off and I was helpfully reminded when I logged in to get to it. I had to smile. Even before the virus, or my changes, I had forgotten the day of the week a few times. It was easy when you didn't actually go into work all the time. "No work, alright." I closed the laptop and slid it to the side before I stood up. "Let's socialize."

For once I'd meet people and do something besides hunt for the basics of survival. More than food or laundry. Today was the day!

In another room, someone we'd never meet was busy sifting through lumps of data. "Hmm?" An email caught in the filter, awaiting permission to continue on out to the world.

The words didn't have too many red flags, but the pictures... "We don't need a panic..." He casually pruned them out and replaced them with error images, as if it had simply failed to send them.

Another job completed, he let the mail continue on its way, neither party aware of his meddling.

I had gotten something to eat. Jake was looking even fuzzier than normal, but something else, right there for everyone to see. Well, not exactly, he did wear a shirt. A shirt being pushed forward by two growing bits of fat known more positively as 'breasts'.

"Hey," he greeted as if nothing was wrong. "Well, I know which way it is now." And that was that. He fed me and he didn't seem too sour about it.

Until I went to leave. When I put the tray on the counter, his plastic-gloved hand came down on my talons. "One thing."

"Yeah?"

"What... should I expect? I hear periods are a bitch. I hear being a lady is a lot more complicated than it looks. Can you... give me any advice? I know I'm supposed to be here for you, but you're already used to this."

A bit of movement caught my eye. It was his tail, just as brightly orange as his hair, short, much like mine. He was a pony, a biped pony.

He looked... scared, I wanted to say. I couldn't help but feel some sympathy. I turned my taloned hand to gently wrap my new fingers around his. "Being a woman isn't so bad," I assured. "But, yes, there's... more to it than being a guy. You have most of that on automatic. Are you living here?"

He pointed and gave a number.

"I'll stop by, later. So we can talk, privately, when you're not working. I'll give you a crash course in all things womanly."

His smile. His careful neutrality had given way to hope. I felt lighter just seeing it. "Thank you. You're the best anypony could ask for."

"For now, just do what you do. Women work the same way guys do." I tapped my widened nose with a furry finger. "Even if today's a day off for me." I wandered off, only realizing as I went that he had thrown a ponyism at me. Not really his fault, I figured and I put it out of my mind.

"Look who's out and about," came a friendly female voice. Starlight crossed the hallway, moving to walk alongside me. "And you don't seem to be headed for the laundry or food, so what are you hunting for? Feeling better?"

"I'm feeling like a freak." I wriggled my altered fingers at her. "But a functional one, which is a fair sight better than yesterday, I think... Hey, since you're here." We were passing the pool. It was a modest sized thing, but I found myself getting tempted. "Wait a moment, do they have swimming gear?"

Starlight leaned around me to get a peek. "Oh, you want a swim? Sure! Let's make a quick pitstop at Soft Touch's and get you a swimsuit." She turned and began trotting without a hint of delay.

"What about you?" I fell in with her. "Don't you want one?"

"I don't really need one?" She shrugged as she walked. "My fur is going to get all wet and soggy either way. That's just life, but the swimming part is fun, and shaking out is surprisingly good feeling."

"Like a dog?" We were approaching the dry cleaning area that was Soft Touch's domain. "I suppose that makes sense, being on all fours with no fingers."

"Stop showing off!" Starlight turned suddenly and prodded my furry hand. "You got the injection, but you still have hands? Unfair."

"You can make things float around," I retorted quickly. "I didn't get that."

"Well, sure, maybe." She shrugged softly. "Really, glad you're feeling better." She turned back as she walked in. "Soft? You in?"

"Oui!" She came trotting out with a friendly smile. "Oh, Starlight and our new friend. You have changed." Her eyes swept over me. "How interesteeng," she noted in her French accent. "What can I be getting for you today?"

I didn't see any swimwear handing on those hooks. "Starlight mentioned you could get a swimsuit here?"

"Oui Oui, of course." She turned in place, tail wagging. "We keep those in the back." And off she trotted out of sight.

Starlight sat on her haunches. "Your feet... how do they feel? If you want to talk about it."

I lifted and dropped my new dragon talons, their claws tacking on the ground. "Mismatched, but working." I wobbled my hoof, raised in the air. "I miss toes, so I'd have to say, right now, liking the dragon side more than the pony side." I thrust the hoof at her. "It is a pony hoof, right?"

Starlight hiked a brow as she leaned in to study it. "I think so... Perfectly formed, healthy. There are a few things you want to do to keep them looking nice." She wobbled a fore hoof. "As if girls didn't have enough to worry about. Think of it like a big nail and you're most of the way there. Like any nail, you have to take care of it or it'll turn ratty."

She turned her hoof about, flatside up. "Just don't forget that there is basically one big finger inside there. It's what you're wiggling around." She wobbled the hoof left and right. "So don't think you can just cut into the hoof or file it down to nothing."

"Here we are!" sang Soft Touch as she emerged, walking on two legs. She had about a dozen bits of things draped over her right arm. "It is now being only a question of what you prefer."

I realized quickly that she must have remembered my size. "You take your job seriously. You are a delight."

"You are too kind." Her cheeks warmed, coloring despite the impossibility of it. "Now, you want a one piece, or two?" She began to drape the pieces over a bar for me to see. "I think you are good with the warm colors, Oui?"

"The way I am, I can't be sure of that." I used my blessedly present fingers to select one anyway, not that I had a strong sense of fashion. A simple one piece would do. Movement behind me reminded me of something. "Tail."

Soft reached over and brushed a flap with her hoof. "It is, as they say, ready for that. The clozing, they are made for the rezidents," she explained with a soft bobbing of her head. "Enjoy!"

I took my selection towards the fitting room I remembered. "Let's try this on then. Thank you." I slipped inside and got to changing.

"She seems less confused," noted Soft. Why were ponies so bad at whispering?

"Yeah... She's happier, today. I'm glad to see it. Soft, I messed up."

"Messed up? That is not being like you."

"I spied on her! How do you even admit that? Ugh, never again, but I did it."

"It is not being that--"

"It is that bad," cut in Starlight. "But never again. We are friends. Friends do not spy on friends."

I was changed and emerged, more of my human body exposed than before. "Starlight, two things."

"You look great," she complimented, approaching with a wagging tail. "What's up?

"One, thank you for making the right decision." I held up one finger, the next following. "Two, who/what were you spying on me about?"

Starlight's approach faltered to a sudden stop. "They... you heard?"

"You were talking normally. Was that a whisper?" I started to fold up the hospital gown but Soft Touch was already there, snatching it in her teeth and spiriting it away.

"I will have two by your door," she promised along the way.

"I was whispering," she hissed at me. "Ugh... You must hate me." With a hoof to her head, she turned towards the door. "And you'd deserve it!"

"Starlight, I didn't say that, but I do want to know what's happening." I walked past her, heading back into the hallway. "Come on, you can tell me while we swim."

Soon we were by the water. Starlight hadn't said much on the way. "Stop pouting. Look, you're one of the few friends I have I can reach." I sat down at the edge of the pool and let a hoof sink in. I could feel the cold water, but it was different than a fleshy foot, like it was radiating from my hoof to somewhere inside, which was logical I supposed. "Tell me."

Starlight nudged at my back suddenly. "You didn't get all dressed up just to sit by the pool, did you?"

"I'm not even sure if I can swim like this." I wriggled talons and fingers and let my dragon foot descend into the water. "No webbing at all."

"Horses don't have webbing," Starlight countered. "They can swim." As if to prove the point, she suddenly jumped right in the water. A great splash of water rippled from the point she hit, sending water all over me and everything else in the area. I squeaked in surprise as she bobbed to the surface, paddling in place but managing to keep herself buoyant. "See?"

Her carefully brushed hair, it was carefully brushed, right? It was ruined, all wet and hanging down. Such was the pitfall of pool fun. "I'll come in if you tell me what you meant."

"Ugh." Her eyes rolled dramatically. "Fine, get in here!"

Suddenly I was glowing, and the world moved around me. I was hurled face-first into the water suddenly. It was wet, but not as cold as I had thought at first. Of course, I was too busy frantically clawing my way back to the surface and sputtering. "Starlight!"

"I didn't mean it!" she squeaked, her eyes wide. "I swear! I was thinking about wanting to push you in, but I didn't mean to!"

I flopped an arm over the side of the pool, anchoring myself as I heaved for breath, catching up with the situation. I was in the water. I wasn't dissolving, or sinking like a stone. "I'm... alright."

"Good..." She paddled her way over, slowly circling me. "Sorry, really. I'm on a roll it seems... They wanted me to ask about you, learn more about what was going on in your head, ask about your dreams." She touched her snout to my free shoulder. "I told them what you told me, then told them to shove it. The last thing I did for them was say I'd consider telling you to write down your dreams."

"Who?" I let go of the wall and turned in place. I was holding myself up in the water, which wasn't as hard as I feared to do. "A random doctor?"

"Miller." Starlight shrugged softly. "One of many, really. Do you even--"

"--I know him," I cut in. "He's the one that gave me the shot, and who I send reports to."

"Ah... that makes sense." Starlight's head inclined faintly. "He's keeping track of his patient, that's you." She raised a hoof out of the water to point at me. "Well, here we are. Are we going to have any fun?"

I splashed a little water at her. "It's why we're here. I also wanted to... move a little. I've been soaking in misery and barely moving, even for me."

"A couch potato already?" Starlight suddenly submerged only to pop up a few feet away, water sloshing from the movement. "Maybe this'll be a free tummy tuck along with everything else."

Oh, yay... "I was comfortable the way I was." I crossed my human arms, inhuman hands at the ends of them. "But I don't get a vote in this. At least I'm still two-legged, with fingers."

"With fingers," sighed Starlight. "Stop showing off."

I felt the glow as much as saw it. She was pulling me, but she moved more easily than I did, pulling herself back over to me. "We both have things to learn," she advised. "I'm getting the hang of... this, whatever this is." She reached up to point at her horn. "Does it scare you?"

"A little," I admitted. "But I'm scared of it, not you. There is a difference." I reached up and gently pet her cheek, rubbing like I would a cat I favored.

She lit up, turning red. "Not unless you mean it," she reminded, relaxing when my hand withdrew. "I'll try to get better, so you don't have to be scared of it or me. They're both part of me..." Her eyes wandered over me. "Speaking of part of me. You have a lot of parts."

"Griffon, pony, and dragon." I pointed to the different parts for emphasis. "If there's anything else, I haven't picked it out yet. It's like I got the combination platter. Has anycreature come out as a combo before?"

"Well, yes." Starlight softly nodded as she started to climb out, ascending a ladder one would not have thought a horse would use. "I know at least one that's a pegasus and a unicorn at the same time. She's also a friend of mine. We met in here, like me and you." She wobbled a hoof between the two of us. "I haven't brought her over because you're still... adjusting."

"A she then?" I stayed in the water. It was nice just... moving in there, getting a feel for... everything again.

"Like most, male first, then female. Twilight is their name." She suddenly gave a violent shake, like a dog with a wet coat. Water drops went flying in all directions. Just like that, she was mostly dry. She held out a hoof towards a rack of towels and one suddenly flopped to the ground. "Oops." She trotted over to grab it in her teeth and apply it manually. "Still learning that."

A thought tickled me. "Do you think that's why they were eager to get me? Hoping it wouldn't do... that to a woman?"

Starlight blinked softly. "I hadn't thought of that specifically, maybe? I said most were guys, not all of them." She let the towel flow to the ground, dry and shiny. "You having fun in there?"

"I really am." I kicked at the water, propelling myself along at a sedate rate. "You're already done?"

"I should get going." She pointed away. "Twilight's actually expecting me to stop by. I'm... glad you're not mad, and I don't have to try to keep it a secret."

"You're bad at secrets."

"Well, yes, apparently." Starlight rolled her eyes as she began to walk. "Or you have really good hearing. I swear..." And off she went, trotting down the hallway.

That left me alone in the pool. I enjoy alone times, so I let myself float and just 'be', learning with little motions how my altering body functioned.

Author's Note

New month, new updates! Lauren's feeling better with her mobility restored. Even without changing species, suddenly losing mobility is really hard on a person.

Join the special community of folks who like my stories here at atreon!

Join my discord to chat!