Derek's new job

‘I need this job…’ Derek thought to himself for what felt like the hundredth time. He was sitting outside the admissions office he’d been told to wait at with a bit of hopeful anxiety about the next few minutes. A part of him still couldn't believe how lucky he was to be here.

 The twenty eight year old was in a bind. Money was getting tighter as the cost of living in town went up. It had gotten to the point where he decided to find an overnight job, just to keep rent money going. Weeks of applying to hopeful prospects either got him denied or no reply what so ever. It had been demoralizing at the best of times, but now he was desperate for almost anything: even fast food had started looking like a potential prospect!

Half-heartedly, Derek applied to the local radio station, expecting another job application to never hear from again. To his amazement, however, he received a call in the same day, leading to an interview the following week. The timing was a little odd, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and quickly agreed.

Quietly he began tapping his foot, glancing back to his watch as the minutes continued to tick by. He checked his appearance again in the reflection of the glass adorning the sides of the closed doors. He was a relatively tall guy, just under six foot one, though slightly overweight from years of gaming. Straightening his white button up shirt and khakis out he lamented at his pale skin that showed itself under his sleeves, betraying his farmer’s tan. His short, brown hair was freshly trimmed as he looked back to himself.

After walking past the receptionist behind the desk, Derek had seen no-one in the building. All there really was to stare at was a standard generic office hallway, plain white tile floors, standard white foam ceiling panels, and blank walls painted in dull egg white paint. Not even generic motivational posters hung from the walls.

Something was odd though; the interview was supposed to start five minutes ago, and yet no one had come to collect him. He fidgeted with the collar to his white shirt as he thought about what could have happened. Had they forgotten they scheduled him an interview? That seemed unlikely. Maybe the interviewer was just running late. Maybe the entire staff was running late… at the same time. Just as he was about to get up to find the receptionist at the front desk, the office door opened.

“Next Client~” a feminine sing song voice called.

‘Next? I’ve been the only one here…’ Derek was thinking about the strange comment, but did not argue as he walked into the door.
As he entered the room, things immediately became stranger. The admissions office looked nothing like the hallway he’d just been in. Instead of blank tile floors and egg shell white painted walls, the floors and walls were made of some kind of oak wood complete with frame windows. The foam ceiling tiles on the ceiling had been replaced with what looked like a thatch roof. The oddest thing, however, had to be the copper colored miniature horse on the other end of the room. Sitting on its haunches, with reading glasses comically perched on its nose and a pen in its mouth, it was looking over what appeared to be Derek’s resume.

“Sit down please Mr… Derek? Huh.. strange name” Derek balked at the sound of the feminine voice from before coming out of this mare.

“Uhh.. who-”

“Yes yes I’m a pony, and I’m your interviewer,” the copper pony cut him off. “My name is Penny, please sit down and we’ll begin.” Too confused to do anything else, Derek obeyed, sitting in the plush red chair in front of the desk.

“So, you’re looking to join our music team…” Penny trailed off as she looked at his resume, then to him, “Well, I won't lie, I’m not sure you look perfect for this role, but I think we can fix that.”

‘Wait, does she mean on the job training?’ Derek idly pondered. That would be an amazing opportunity.

“I’ll just add musician here to education, the Canterlot Classical Conservatory is fairly popular with most artists…” With pen in mouth, Penny began to scribble something down on his resume.

“Augh~!” Suddenly, there was an intense burning like hundreds of ants biting into Derek’s hips. He jumped out from his chair in shock. Modesty forgotten for a moment, he pulled down his boxers and khakis to see what was going on. As soon his pants met his knees, he could see two huge purple treble clefs on his hips. What was more, thin hair around them seemed to be darkening and rapidly growing thicker over his pale cream skin. “..what’s- ?”

“Of course, you’ll need to be listed under an instrument.” Penny cut him off as she continued to scribble on the resume, “How do you feel about bass instruments? Not too many cellists out there these days.”

Derek listened to the scribbling continue just as strange sensation of tingling and burning erupted from his feet. A sudden need to murder the fire-ants that were surely devouring his feet forced him out of his pants and onto a knee, frantically pawing and pulling at his shoes. As soon he tore off his right shoe, more thick gray hair- no, fur- had already begun covering his entire foot. Even more distressing was that his toenails were also thickening. A shocked Derek watched in disbelief as they began pressing together, his toenails beginning to merge with each other.

After touching his right foot, his hand began to burn and tingle as well. The fingers in Derek’s right hand began to shorten and thicken, becoming more clumsy as gray fur slowly crawled up his arm, while his fingernails started to thicken like the toenails on his foot.
His left foot didn't even wait for him. It tore through the front of his dress shoe before he had the chance to do anything
‘They… these aren’t feet anymore. Hooves. These are hooves!’ Derek thought as he gaped at his two legs. His toes had pressed together completely, toenails merging and thickening into a solid lump as the skin and bones beneath merged together into what could only be described as the frog to an equine hoof.

More gray fur quickly marched its way up and down his legs, a new patch spreading from his broadening hips. Derek tried to stand back up as he turned to face the small copper pony observing all of this from her desk but was unsteady on his former feet. “Oh don’t worry about that hun,” she said reassuringly, as she pulled up the resume once more, “we’ll just add good balancing into your skills table, should help with playing.”

The burning tingle covering his legs and hands erupted above Derek’s rear as he glanced back, balancing precariously on his hooves, one far more complete than the other. His tailbone twitched as his entire spine burned. Slowly, the bone clicked and popped its way into a proper tail, as thick black hair grew from it. It twitched anxiously giving him a new sensation between his ass cheeks. The hair on his head also began to lengthen and darken as it fell in front of his eyes, the same color as his new tail soaking into the strands.

“Hmmm… you know… you might look ok for this position, now that I think about it,” Penny looked over Derek as his limbs slowly worked to seal his fate as a quadruped, “but female DJs are much more popular right now… no problem, let’s fix that.”  and just as quickly she went back, crossing out something on his resume.

The tingling and burning returned again, but this time the sensation hammered away at him from deep within. Derek could only glance down to his junk as he noticed himself getting hard as the heat enveloped his penis and balls. Without thinking, he pawed at his cock with a shifting hoof. It did not last long however. His balls pressed tightly into his crotch before they inverted and pulled away beneath his skin. At the same time his penis began to retract and grow smaller, pulling against his changing hoof as the skin went tight. Slowly a small itch began to fester underneath his penis quickly demanding more and more to be scratched. Before he knew it, she pushed her clumsy fingers inward as an opening formed under her shrinking penis.

Wait...she? Derek was confused as he thought more about her- HIMself. What was he talking about, she- he wasn't a female, right? The words rolled through his mind as she dug further into her growing pussy. Was it supposed to matter that he was male, or- ?

The thought was interrupted: she felt the front of his shirt grow tight as her breasts slowly grew to A cups. Breasts weren't something stallions- men had. Derek’s unoccupied complete hoof reached underneath his shirt, pulling the buttons down the center open in time to see her new rack growing darker, becoming almost black. The moment his still-mostly-human left hand brushed a nipple, lightning punched through her. “Ohhh…~” Derek moaned as she held her breasts while they began to migrate down her stomach. This feeling was definitely something only a girl, a mare, would know, she thought to herself. Of course she was a mare, the very idea of being male quickly becoming more alien as she touched herself with her hooves.

“Oh… you know we might have to do something about that voice,” Penny sounded almost disappointed, “Oh!~ I know, we’ll give you an extra language! The Equish accent is very pretty to listen to.” the scribbling began again.

Fire raged across Derek’s entire body as the tingling sensation stitched its way through her nose. She stumbled back onto her rear with her tail between her legs, only catching herself with what was less an arm and more a foreleg. Her entire jaw and nose began to pull away from her face, slowly becoming a rounded snout. A long gasp dragged itself out of her changing mouth, at first low in octave but quickly rising to a distinctly feminine moan. It was half in fear but more in growing pleasure at the inferno that throbbed between what were now practically hind legs.

“Hmmm….” Penny looked on as Derek’s whole body was wrapped in a grey blanket of fur, while her chest barreled out into a proper pony barrel. “Well, you almost look perfect for this job hun! But… now that I think about it, I believe we’re looking for somepony experienced in more modern music genres.”

Derek only half heard her as she felt her own body’s insides shift and churn. What was left of her hand had become too thick and clumsy to do the job anymore, as it was practically a full hoof and shifted to pawing at her new udders.

She gasped as she tried to get back up, the fire finally starting to die down as the last changes subsided. Her head swam: dismay clawed at the back of her mind as her hooves- not hands or feet- echoed a sickening *clop* into the room when they hit the hard floor. She realized that her body could never move like a human would again. She was a quadruped; standing on two legs was now about as natural to her as… a human standing on four.. Penny sauntered up beside Derek to help the new gray pony steady herself on her hooves. Where she belonged.

“Don’t worry, though, I’m sure we can use a mare like yourself! How about you come back tomorrow and I’ll see if we have something better for you Miss... hmmm...” Penny paused as she looked back to the paper, “Mmmm I don't think that’s a good name for your field,” she crossed out the name on the resume, “how do you feel about the name ‘Octavia Melody’? I think its perfect!”

“I… I don’t know...” ‘Octavia?! That’s not my name! It’s…it’s...’ the gray mare paused and closed her eyes, leaning beside Penny. She definitely had a human name, it was on the tip of her tongue, but the more she tried to think of it… Nothing!  She glanced back at Penny before looking back to the paper. “O..ctavi...a?” She needed a name! She couldn't get hired anywhere without one, and there was one right on... her resume… yes that was definitely her resume! “It's a nice name...I...guess?”

“Great, then it's all yours!~” Penny cheered as she began nudging her to the wooden door at the other end of the room.

 Once...twice… three times Octavia stumbled leaning into the soft warm pony beside her. Walking on four hooves felt wrong. Humans wouldn't walk on all fours like this. She knew she shouldn't be walking this way, but, at the same time, it was just as natural as breathing. Ponies walked on four legs all the time. After a few feet the unusual sensation slowly began to ebb, but never went away entirely before they both were right in front of the large oak door.

Octavia was sure she didn't see this door here before. She looked back to the eggshell white door that she had walked through what seemed like hours ago, only to see another blank oak wall.

Octavia paused for a moment, fearful of what was on the other side of this door. She didn’t get a moment to think about it however before it opened and she was forcefully shoved. Still a bit uncoordinated, Octavia fell onto a dirt road just outside a large thatched house.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Tavi!~” Penny said after throwing the gray mare out the door. “I’m thinking we could team you up with perhaps a blue mare specializing in the Prench horn… and a purple and a brown stallion that play the harp and piano… actually no,” she quickly shook her head, “I don't think that would trend well. How about I just tie you with a white DJ mare? Yeah, that sounds like a great combo! Come tomorrow, and I’ll interview you with somepony that can be your partner.” Penny winked. With that, the door slammed shut.

Shakily, Octavia got back to her four legs, trying to brush the dust and dirt off herself. Her tail swished, still an alien feeling, before she realized another odd sensation between her hindlegs as something began to itch again. Some of the dirt must have gotten into her… marehood. Trying to ignore the new sensations of being a mare, she looked around. She was in the middle of a bustling town, surrounded by other small horses...ponies...like herself. The day was different from when she started, she knew that much. She’d been a human before, a male human. One without a job. Now… while she was sure she wasn't male or human anymore, it sounded like she had a job.

‘What did that copper pony say? Interviewing with a partner?’ Octavia wasn't sure what Penny had meant by that. But if she had to guess, partner meant job… which was also something she didn't have when they day started.

‘Well…it sounds like I have a job at least...’ Octavia had to admit to herself.