“You really should just… ugh… leave me man.” The canary yellow mare sighs as she looks up at her still human friend from the corner of the living room.

“No way man, you’ve still got your mind, which means I’ve still got you. We can work through this!”

Eric and Kieran have always been good friends. Although their friendship was long distance the two were quite close. This week was their first time meeting face to face, one visiting the other for some fun. The first few days went well, some casual fun between two close friends. However the timing of this trip could not have been more inopportune. Because, as if lifted from a poorly written fanfiction, the pony apocalypse started right in the middle of Canada.

People who came into contact with these small equines would become ponies themselves, often losing their identities to the curse as their urge to get more pony friends consumed them. Herds of the pastel creatures trot throughout the land, adding countless to their ranks with each passing day.

For a while the two young men handled things well. They bunkered down in Eric’s house, they rationed out supplies, they kept safe and they kept quiet. But one day Kieran slipped up. He was out looting the neighbors’ houses and had a close call with a small herd of local ponies. To his credit, he did manage to shake them and get back to Eric’s house without the herd following, but it became clear all too quickly that the damage was done.

And that leads up to now, this moment of resignation for Kieran. He is no longer a human, he’s not even a man anymore. He’s one of them, a pony, a mare. It hurts to know that his own foolhardy decision lead to this. There’s no telling how much longer he’ll have his mind, usually mental changes come on quickly but it’s not like the duo have been able to study up on the methods of this change. It doesn’t matter to Kieran how much longer he has, he does not want to be a liability.

“Well if you’re not going to leave, I will,” Kieran mutters with resignation in his, or perhaps her, voice.

“Oh no you don’t!” Eric instinctively moves closer, getting too close for Kieran’s comfort.

“D-don’t! I don’t want you to-”

“It’s too late Kieran,” Eric says as he kneels down to get closer to eye level, “I’m already sick too.”

“Y-you’re lying, you-” Kieran is cut off yet again.

“Remember when you first came in? Before we were sure if you were sick or not? You had that massive gash on your leg and I patched you up? I should have been more careful,” Eric sighs, pointing to his bandage clad finger. “I had an open cut and didn’t even know about it.”

“Oh no…” Kieran whimpers, knowing that Eric’s fate is most likely sealed.

“Yeah, I don’t have a ton of time left. Mine is progressing slowly because of how small of a dose it was, but I know it’s happening. I’m feeling nauseous, restless, and I look hairier in the chest area…”

“I’m… I’m so sorry Eric.. This is all my fault…” Kieran’s eyes begin to mist up as Eric moves closer.

Eric wraps his pony friend in a warm embrace, squeezing her tight and not letting go. Kieran squirms for a bit but in the end stops struggling. They both want this more than either would ever care to admit. Both feel trapped in this situation, burdened by their need to resist and to survive. They never wanted to cast in the role of survivors, they just wanted to have fun together as friends. And right now, they’ve decided to cast aside that burden and just simply be together.

Fur grows all over Eric’s body at a rapid pace. Close contact with ponies only serves to expedite the changes, which had lead to many malicious cuddle parties to transform unwilling humans. But this transformative cuddle is nothing of the sort, it’s something pure and cathartic. Eric welcomes the feeling of his bright blue coat growing in, the warmth it supplies alongside the warmth growing in his heart. Who knew giving in could feel so damn good?

Eric pulls off his clothes, running his hands over his furry chest as they begin to compress into hooves. He chuckles to himself, a drunken giddiness taking him over. When transforming alone the process can be agony and torture for both the body and mind, but when done in the company of others it’s a feeling unlike any other.

Bit by bit and piece by piece Eric relinquishes his humanity. Kieran nuzzles and snuggles him, doing her role to make him as comfortable as possible with this change. If they must go out, they’ll go out together with smiles on their faces. Although he shrinks and shifts from two legs to four he’s still much larger than his petite friend. A fact that fills him with a little pride.

“Wow,” he muses as he shakes his new tail behind him, “you’re short even for a pony~!”

“H-hush you!” Kieran responds with an embarrassed giggle.

He feels his member harden, growing larger and larger with the pleasure of these changes. But it’s not just the erection causing it to grow, his entire length and girth is growing into a big, mottled horse cock. His mind wanders, images of being on top of Kieran, thrusting in and out to the rhythm set by her lusty moans. It clouds his mind entirely, blanketing this thoughts in a horny haze of desire. He wants her and he wants her now, he needs her! But the thoughts do pass, for a moment at least, as he feels Kieran pull away from him.

Kieran and Eric look each other in their eyes once the changes stop. The room is dead silent, a pin could drop and you’d hear it clear as day. The two just stare, thinking the exact same thing.

“Um… you still… have your mind?” Kieran asks shyly.

“Uh… yeah…” Eric replies, “And… so do you…”

The awkward aura shatters into relieved laughter as the two let it all sink in. They may not be themselves in body, but they certainly are in mind. It’s perhaps the best of both worlds, no more worries about survival yet no loss of their identities.

“So… what do we do now?” Kieran asks, trotting away from her corner in the room and flopping casually onto the couch.

“Well,” Eric smirks, following the mare, “I suppose we should test out these bodies… See exactly what they can do~”

Kieran’s eyes widen in surprise at the proposition before a happy little smile appears on her face. “Y’know, I think I’d like that~”

“Then why don’t you get over here and let me make you earn that name of yours!”

“What name?”

“Oh, you know, with that coat color and what I’m about to do to you with my new package..” Eric licks his chops eagerly. “I think the only fitting name is Banana Splits~”

“Oh my bucking God you are so corny!” Kieran laughs.

“In that case that’s definitely your new name!”

“Oh just shut up and buck me already,” Kieran rolls her eyes.

“Of course Splits, anything for you~”