The More, The...

by Bob Stein

Andy stood outside the shop, trying to decide if he was desperate enough to go in. The costume party was tonight, and he'd put off getting anything for it until the last minute. Now it was Halloween, and every costume in the city was rented.

Spells 'R Us had been recommended by a girl he he'd met in English 101. He'd been complaining about not finding anything available, and she said this place usually always had something special. Then she giggled, like it was some sort of joke.

So he'd asked around a little more. A couple of other students knew about the place, and he finally found out that it specialized in Bimbo costumes. Really spectacular stuff, according to rumor, but always big-chested babes. Andy dreaded the idea of going in drag. Maybe there would be something else available. Anything. Still, he guessed that at this point, he'd have to take whatever they had.

Sighing deeply, he scuffed his way through the door. A little bell tinkled overhead, and an old man wearing some sort of robe appeared behind the counter. Andy blinked. The old guy hadn't walked in from somewhere. He was suddenly there. Nah. Maybe he was bending over behind the counter and stood up.

"So, last minute need for a costume? I'm afraid that there isn't much left to choose from." The old man looked at him for a moment. "Not the standard bimbo outfit for you, huh?"

Andy was startled. How did the old guy know what he wanted? "Uh, well I sorta wanted something different. And I'd rather not dress up like a girl." He saw a really nice satyr costume on a stand in the corner, and pointed. "Say, that one looks pretty cool!"

The old man shook his head. "Sorry - the customer damaged that one. Haven't had a chance to fix it yet." Then he looked thoughtful. "So, you like Greek mythology?"

Andy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"I just may have something for you after all. Just a moment." He vanished into the back, and came out with a couple of large boxes and a smaller box under one arm. He opened the little one first, pulling out what looked like a deflated baby doll. "Eros, the God of Love. Comes complete with bow and special arrows. And you can fly. Of course, it's hard to do much partying when you look like a 2 year-old, and it can be rather messy if you don't wear diapers."

Snorting, Andy shook his head. "I don't think so. Besides, I'd never fit in that thing."

The man shrugged as he put the costume back in the box. "All of my costumes fit anyone who wants to wear them. They adjust automatically."

Andy grinned, picturing himself walking in the the party as a naked 6 foot-tall 2 year-old. It was almost worth the emberrassment. Maybe, if nothing else looked good.

The first large box had a body suit of shaggy fur, hoof-like shoes, and the head of a bull. Like the satyr, this one also had realistic animal genitals that were rather awesome. Unfortunately, it also had a terrible odor. The old man put it back quickly. "Lovely minotaur outfit, but most people can't get past the smell. Quite authentic, I'm told. And once you are wearing it, the smell is supposed to be udderly wonderful.

Andy groaned at the pun. As cool as the minotaur looked, it would clear out the rest of the guests as soon as he got there. Still, if he ever wanted to kill a party, it was a great costume to remember. Shaking his head again, Andy looked at the third box as the old man unpacked it.

"Now here's one if you want to be the centaur of attention." The old man shook out another fur suit, this one much larger. There was no head, just a horse's body. "No clothes or extra stuff needed. It makes you look like a classical Greek centaur."

Andy's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, man! That's perfect!" He looked at the size of the costume and frowned. "But what holds up the back?"

"Don't you worry about that." The man gestured to a dressing room behind him. "Go on in there and strip completeley before you put the costume on. The front legs pull on like pants.. Then come out, and I'll fix the back."

"Strip? You mean, even my underpants?" Andy looked uncertain.

Sighing, the old man nodded. "Yes, even your briefs. No socks or jewelry, either. Don't worry - all my costumes are sanitized. They are tailored quite exactly, and anything left on will destroy the effect."

Taking the giant costume, Andy went into the little room and pulled the cutain shut. Tailored exactly? Who did that guy think he was kidding? He'd be swimming inside this thing. Still, he took everything off before climbing into the suit.

It was really hard pulling the costume on. He had to point his feet down to slide into the narrow equine lower legs, and his toes seemed to fit in a soft cup near the ankle joint. He couldn't walk like this! It was like trying to stand on his toes. Using the walls for support, he pulled himself up onto the massive forehooves. The lower legs must have some sort of support mechanism, for he found that he actually could manage awkward, clomping steps.

As he came out, he saw his reflection in a large mirror and frowned in disappointment. The forelegs looked pretty good, but the rest of the costume hung around him like a cheap shag rug. He started having second thoughts about the minotaur and the Eros costumes.

"Very good." The old man didn't seem to find anything wrong with the ill fit. "Now, to activate the adjustments. " He fiddled with something under the costume's tail, and the entire suit began to inflate.

Andy gasped as some sort of innner bladder pressed all around his legs and thighs. The opening at his waist closed in tight, and the awkwardness of standing on his forehooves eased as the hind legs stiffened to provide support. The mirror image was astonishing. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that the animal body was real.

He lifted one foreleg experimentally, and found that he could balance easily on the remaining three. That was so weird. The leg moved just like a real horse's leg, even though the joints looked like they were in the wrong places for his real legs underneath. Walking was even more incredible. The hind legs were somehow connected so that they lifted and moved naturally as well. About the only disappointment was that there were no stallion's genitals between them, only a couple of black bumps. Well, he wasn't sure he'd have the guts to be anatomically correct, anyway.

For the first time, Andy realized that he might be in over his head. "Look, I wasn't expecting anything like this. I'm not sure if I can afford this."

The old man smiled broadly. "You are a lucky young man, Andy. It just so happens that this costume is free. You see, it tends to generate a handsome return for me whenever it is worn."

Although Andy was puzzled, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The old guy probably figured that people would ask where the great costume came from, and Andy could give him good publicity. "Wow! Thanks a lot! I'll make sure to tell everybody about your shop."

"Oh, I think I can perform another service for you that will get me plenty of publicity." The old man looked at his watch. "It's about time to leave for the party, isn't it?"

"What!?" Andy whirled around and grabbed his watch from inside the changing room. Seven o-clock! He'd been here for more than 5 hours? That wasn't possible, was it? Now there wasn't time to get out of the costume, go home, and change back for the party.

"Don't worry. The costume comes with free delivery and pick-up. Follow me." The old man headed for the back of the shop, where he opened a set of large double-doors. Andy followed him into a large, enclosed garage which held a number of strange vehicles. One was a gold and white horse-drawn coach, like something out of Cinderella. There were some old convertibles, and a parade float set up as a Playboy Bunny photo shoot. They walked past all of those to a conventional heavy-duty Dodge pickup.

Andy looked in the empty bed. "You want me to ride in back?"

Clucking his tongue, the old man smiled and pointed behind the truck as he said, "No. I want you to ride back there."

Turning back, Andy stared at the massive black horse trailer which he had somehow missed seeing before. 'Spells 'R Us' was emblazoned on the side in brilliant silver letters. "Oh, wow! That's perfect!"

As he expected, the trailer made for a perfect entrance. The old man blew the horn as he pulled up in front of the Frat house. The fancy rig drew a lot of attention as he walked around back and dropped the ramp for Andy to walk down. By now, walking on four legs was as natural as two had ever been, and the costume felt almost like part of his body.

As the old man started to close up and leave, he gave out some simple instructions. "I'll be back here in the morning, Andy. You don't have to woryou to have fun tonight. The more, the merrier. That's the secret, boy. The more fun you have, the merrier you'll be."

Alan nodded and grinned as he started up the steps to the Frat house. The more fun, the merrier? Well, he intended to be really merry when this was over. As the old man pulled away, he remembered he'd meant to ask the man how he knew where the party was. But then he was surrounded by admiring friends, and the fun began.

Good thing that the costume was strong. At least a dozen people climbed up in his back during the night, demanding rides. He was surprised how easily he carried them. It was just the girls at first, but as the night went on he found that he could handle even some of the big jocks.

About 11 o'clock and a bunch of beers later, one of the newer arrivals, a freshman on the football team, grinned up at him. "Cool costume!. You supposed to be some sort of centaur-monster?" Andy was feeling a little hoarse, so he just nodded. The kid reached up and felt Andy's face. "How did you get the muzzle to move like that?"

Andy froze. For the first time, he realized that his lower face was pushed way out, forming a short muzzle. And he'd felt the guy's fingers stroke his nostrils and lips. Pushing his way through the crowd, he found a mirror. The image reflected back was caught halfway between centaur and horse. His head had sunk back onto his shoulders, which themselves were much narrower and softer-looking. And the waist opening of the costume had crept up over his belly!

Bewildered, he looked down. Were the costume legs that thick and heavy when he'd put them on? And the rest of the equine body was much larger than he remembered. Still, seen through the pleasant buzz of at least two six-packs, he couldn't quite work up any fear. In fact, he looked sorta funny. The strange snout-like mouth in the mirror grinned back at him.

Just then, he felt hands grabbing around his tail. One of the jocks was staggering drunk, and was leaning against the equine rump for support. He laughed suddenly and shouted out to the group. "Hey! It's a girl horse!" A girl horse? There wasn't anything back there but costume.

Still caught up by the drunken euphoria, he twisted around and tried to focus blurry vision on his hindparts again. As he did, he became aware of an odor, a little like the minotaur costume's, but different. A heavy animal smell. Sorta like... urine?

The drunk behind him cursed suddenly and leaped away from Andy's butt as piss streamed all over him and the floor. Then the equine tail lifted as a large load of manure followed the piss. Andy couldn't quite see all of this. But he knew what was happening, because he felt it. He felt his body taking a piss and a dump. His horse's body.

A small part of his mind tried to sound alarms, screaming that this was all wrong. But the other party guests started laughing and pointing. One of the Frat guys yelled out that they needed to make sure they rented a housebroken horse next time.

Horse? He wasn't a horse, and he wasn't rented. Andy looked back at the mirror, now having to deal with vision split by a dark mass between his eyes. The equine body was huge now, obviously that of a draft horse. But his human torso had sunk into the animal neck, so that his head was actually lower. This time, the mirror showed what was basically a full animal with child's arms flopping on either side of a swollen neck.

The beer took over again, and he giggled at the ridiculous image. Well, it came out more like a whinney. With some effort, he could make the dwindling limbs move. There was just enough time to make one of the infant's hands wave bye-bye before even the neck slimmed down and he was a full horse.

A girl horse, to be exact. Andy's brain was struggling with a different kind of fog now, one that felt more natural than the alcoholic buzz. Still, he had to appreciate the old man's ability to stick to his pattern. He had become female after all. And from the strange sensations of his body, he was a sex-starved bimbo horse.

Most of the guests were starting to leave now. None of them thought anything strange about having a draft horse standing in the main room. It had been a great gag. When only the Frat guys were left, a couple of the still-conscious ones came over to check out thier rented party animal. Neither of them noticed the other's altering features, just as neither of them thought it was unusual to be falling in love with a Belgian mare.

As Andy caught the changing scents of the soon-to-be-stallions, he realized just what kind of return the old man had been expecting. He'd be back in the morning with that big horse trailer, only he wouldn't have any empty stalls on the return trip.

Andy's last human thought came as the first of the transforming males slid up on his - her back. The secret of the costume hadn't been 'The More, the Merrier'. It was 'The More, the Mare-ier.'

The End

The More, The... copyright 1996 by Bob Stein.