"You know what starts tomorrow?" Paula was bouncing up and down on the couch, apparently a hyperactive pegasus' favorite pastime. When Stephanie didn't reply instantly she screamed out, "FULL MOON!"
Steph picked up two cushions, one was lobbed at the suddenly evading pony beside her on the couch and the other was stuffed on top of her head to try to cover her pointed pony ears. Worst still was the cry almost sounded like the most adorable howl she had ever heard. "Ugh, don't remind me. For most of the month I can pretend things are normal, pretend I can at least pull my weight around here and keep this place clean." It wasn't all bad, at least she had magic.
The pillow the woman had lobbed at the pegasus floated up and back on the couch landing barely a moment before a pouncing pegasus landed on it. "It's going to be awesome, you can give me belly rubs and finally become a cute pony!"
The rage built again and Stephanie resisted the urge to throw the pony instead of the pillow this time.
"I'm home!" Mike's voice shattered the tension between pony and part-pony and both looked up and smiled as Steph's boyfriend came in, locking the door behind him. "You two doing okay? You know what starts tonight-" He didn't get any further with his comment, a pillow hit him in the face and a pegasus the belly.
"BELLY RUBS!" The squirming pegasus wouldn't stop until at least one of Mike's hands was planted on her belly. His expertly manicured nails worked into her soft fur and the pony almost hit the floor with contentment.
Scrambling to catch the mare, Mike made his way to the couch and just as he sat down, ball of adorable pegasus on his lap, there was a knock at the door. "That, is the story of my life."
Stephanie giggled and leaned over to kiss his cheek, the touch of her lips was different for both of them now, considering she had a cute pony snout. "I'll get it, you relax." She braced a hand on the couch and got up, a glance back at her boyfriend reminded her so much of someone cuddling a cat it was almost disturbing.
Reaching the door, the woman froze and thought. Pressing her cheek to the door, she looked through the peek-hole. There was no one there. "Okay, someone is playing a prank on-" Another knock. She carefully unlocked the door and threw it open. "The heck?"
There was a little white pony standing there, looking up at her. "Belly rubs?"
Stephanie hated this. She hated this whole damn epidemic. She hated that she was susceptible to it. She hated that she was affected by it. But she hated it most of all, because ponies were adorable. "Hold on." She leaned down and wrapped her hands carefully behind the forelegs of the little pony, but something seemed wrong. She picked them up and felt a warmth blossom in her for the poor thing and she found her cheek resting on their back.
Mike broke her moment. "Steph? What are you doing?" She pulled back a little, looking down into the huge eyes of the little pony. She felt it then, the tender feeling of her belly. It would be starting soon and if this little thing asked her to she wasn't sure she could turn down their pleas for belly rubbing.
"Your problem." Stephanie marched in and dropped the little pony on Mike's lap. Then she felt a change. The feeling of adoration faded and she stared as Mike seemed to look a little drunk, gazing at the pony and gently rubbing their belly. "Okay, what are you?"
The little pony looked up then rolled to their back. "Belly rubs?"
Her hand was halfway to the little fuzzy ball of adorableness, when she noticed her other was scratching idly at her own belly. If she did this she would lose her hand. "No, no belly rubs, Mike covers that. What are you doing? Is that some kind of spell?"
The little white fuzzball was enveloped in green fire. "Please don't hate me…" What was left, was a black creature, still pony-shaped, but with hard ribbed fins where a mane and tail should be and the most startlingly blue eyes. "I didn't know where to go, I saw him helping at the shelter and… they kicked me out." Their snout, bearing a pair of vicious fangs, nosed gently at the hand on their belly. "I guess I should go…"
"No!" Paula had to fight the need for her own attention but this seemed wrong. "Please let them stay, Steph, please!"
It was the eyes that got her. "Stephanie, you are such a… okay, okay, at least for the full moon. Then you need to pull your weight around here." Stephanie's world went dark and there was a tightness as if limbs pulling and securing something onto her face. It was true of course and she reached up to try to pry the strange pony from her.
"Thank you!" The kiss on the woman's nose broke any will she might have left, what little hope she had of being rid of this strangely adorable bug-pony. "My name is Terra!"
"Well Terra, we have rules." Mike reached up and plucked the little pony from Steph's almost trembling hands. "First rule is, I do the belly rubs, Steph is off limits."
"Owkie!" Terra flopped on her back the moment she was on Mike's lap again.
"You help her clean up and, whatever you did to our minds just now… please, not again." As Mike's hand found the little changeling's belly, a soft chirping sound issued from their mouth.
"I'm getting dinner ready." Stephanie left Mike to look after the two ponies, rubbing her belly absently.
"How was I to know it would get this bad!" Steph shouted into her phone, her hand rubbing constantly at her belly. "Mike please, you have to come home…"
"Babe, stop rubbing it, rest a pillow on your belly and watch some television." Mike's words were a little hard to follow, he apparently had his mobile on hands-free, likely because it was the third day of the full moon and he was doing volunteer belly-rubs at the shelter.
"Miiiiikkkkkeeeee." Stephanie even hated how she sounded when like this. Then something touched her belly, something new. It was the tiny pointed horn of Terra's. "Oh, oh that's not bad. Mike, gotta go!"
The little pony settled in, rubbing and squirming herself against the woman's belly, drawing sighs of delight and relaxation. Only for a moment, though. "Ugh, what… it is… it is getting worse…"
The changeling looked up at Steph. "Mmm, my turn." A green glow wrapped the woman's hand and drew it down toward the little pony's belly.
"No. Uh, um… hold on…" There was the urge to rub their belly, it was almost overwhelming and she couldn't deny Terra had tried to help her. "Okay, I need my hands but this shouldn't be too bad." One of her feet lifted up and pressed in on the little black belly. Toes curled and uncurled and Steph even felt a slight lessening of her own need. Fuzziness was felt on her other foot and she started to knead at Paula's belly too.
"You give good belly rubs, Steph… I was wrong." Paula's delighted words startled the woman from the daze she was in.
"Belly rubs? Wait, wha-." Darkness fell in on Stephanie when she looked down at her feet and, instead of the normal human digits, there was chocolate brown fuzz flowing down over pony limbs, limbs that were slowly becoming more and more equine.
"Is she awake? What did you two do to her?" Mike's voice registered in Steph's ears, her twitching, directional, pony ears.
"What… my legs!" Stephanie sat bolt upright in bed, she had been tucked in and cozy. She took a quick assessment. Hands, still hands. Belly… needs rubbing. Pulling the covers down further, however, revealed that from her waist down she was now chocolatey and brown and, twitching between her pony-like legs, was a cream-colored pony tail. It matched the color her hair had become since the first run-in with Paula's belly.
"Calm down, just relax. We knew this was going to happen eventually." Mike pulled his girlfriend into a hug, getting arms wrapped around him. He had a secret weapon to help calm her down. He guided his fingers and arm around her, marveling at how she was just a little smaller now.
When the questing digits found Stephanie's belly she relaxed, calmed and gave a deep sigh. "So what, now I need to learn to walk on two hooves?"
"'fraid so." Mike kept his fingers working, hoping to at least ease her into this. If nothing else, a belly rub was the perfect way to keep shock at bay.
"Ugh, now I have to brush my tail, too." Stephanie looked down at the twitching mass of hair, a soft smile at her lips. It was hard to be angry, she had kinda started the whole thing. She barely even noticed when her own fingers found a soft black belly and started to rub.