One. Six. Seven. Star. I jammed each button in, knowing how finicky the buzzer system could be. The phone rang twice before someone picked up. “Hey, it’s Ahab,” I said. “Stop horsing around for a second and let me in.”
The lock on the front door clicked open. “Come on up, dude,” I heard my friend Hall say on the other end of the line.
Hall and I were roommates for a few years back in college. He hated his first name, so he went by his last name, and I’d grown so used to calling him that that I honestly couldn’t remember what his real name was. The big pinto horse had been a pretty good athlete back in the day, but he dropped sports to focus on academics. Now he was living with some other guys — couple horses and a golden retriever, if I remembered right — while he finished up his graduate degree, and I’d moved to the other side of town.
I’d never known Hall to be a big partier. He was pretty reserved. But his new roommates held a damn good party, and I sure wasn’t gonna miss their Halloween bash.
I slipped on my mask as I walked up the stairs. I had been too busy to find a proper costume, so I’d bought a cheap horse mark to impersonate Hall. It wouldn’t win any awards, but I figured he’d get a kick out of it.
He was waiting for me at the door, wearing a wizard’s hat jauntily over one ear and a cape over his shoulders. When he saw me, he burst out laughing.
“Damn, dude,” I said, lifting the mask back up over my face. “It’s not that good of a costume.”
“Oh, it’s not that,” Hall said, waving his hand. “It’s just… never mind, you’ll see. Come in, birdbrain.”
“How come y’all didn’t get the apartment next door?” I asked, looking down the corridor as we walked inside.
“What, 169? We actually tried, but the old lioness who lives there is stubborn as hell. She’ll probably complain about the noise tonight.”
“That doesn’t sound very” — I pulled the mask back on — “neighhhhborly.”
“Ugh, I can’t believe we invited you.” Hall gestured at the six-pack I was carrying. “Here, I can put that in the fridge. How do you get that mask on over your beak, anyway?”
“Lots of practice. Tore a hole right through the first one.”
“Ha! Bet this is one of those times you wish you weren’t a bird. Well, I think it looks good on you.” He handed me a beer. “And, hey, I’m kind of imitating you, too. I know you like to mess around with magic. Got any tricks up your sleeve tonight?”
“Oh, nah, didn’t really have the time to come up with anything. Although,” I winked, “not that I’d tell you if I did.”
“Well, knowing you, you’re bound to get into trouble somehow.” Hall punched me playfully in the shoulder. “Hey, I think you’re just in time. You like bobbing for apples, right?”
“You know I do!” Not to brag, but I’m real good at that sort of thing. A bald eagle like me trying to grab something out of the water? Piece of cake.
“Follow me, then!” Hall led me to the other side of the apartment, where a dozen or so people were circled around a big tub of water. A tiger raised his head out of the tub, fruitless, and shook himself off, flinging water in every direction.
“Hey, you guys know my friend Ahab, right?” Hall said to the group. There were some what’s ups and How’s it goings. “Anyway, he thinks he’s better at this than you.”
“Your words!” I said. I turned to the cat. “Mind if I give it a shot?”
The tiger stepped away. “It’s all yours. Man, I hate getting wet,” he muttered. “Can’t believe you guys talked me into doing that.”
I peered over the side of the tub, cracked my neck and put my hands behind my back. Then, all in one smooth motion, I dove my head in, grabbed the centermost apple with my beak and flung it up in the air.
I tracked its arc, and as it fell back down, I sliced it in half with my razor-sharp beak. Half of it stayed in my mouth, and I caught the other half with my hand. I gulped the fruit down and bowed as the crowd applauded.
Hall whistled. “You’ve gotten better at that. Give us another, but this time try it with your eyes closed.”
The group hollered encouragement, urging an encore. “With pleasure,” I said. I turned around, took a quick glance at the tub, closed my eyes and dove back in.
This time, I felt the target apple bounce against my beak. No problem. Eyes still closed, I felt around for the apple, put my beak around it, and… felt the apple bump off it again. Huh. Something’s not right.
I had to come back up for air. As I did, my eyes blinked open and I noticed dozens of blue [/feathers floating in the tub. My feathers?
Then I saw my reflection in the water. Looking back at me wasn’t an eagle at all, but a black horse’s face with a blue mane — the same shade of blue as the feathers I’d evidently just shed.
In my periphery, I was aware that the buzz of the party had stopped and people were staring at me, murmuring to each other. I reached up and touched my face. Instead of a hard beak, my fingers found soft horse hair. As I moved my hand back, I realized the contours of my face had completely changed. It didn’t feel unpleasant, just… unusual. I was perplexed by the large protrusions near the top of my head, on the sides. Ears, huh? These feel weird.
I looked down at the rest of my body and could tell that its texture had changed from feather to leather. Or rather, was changing — I saw feathers falling out as the transformation ran down my legs, follicles quickly replacing them with horse hair. I turned around and saw that my tail feathers were gone, too. They had condensed into a tail. I gave it a few swishes and found it oddly satisfying. I’d never had a tail that could move like that.
Fortunately, my body shape wasn’t really changing, so the process wasn’t very painful. It just tickled a little. Anthros all tend to have a similar structure, except — uh oh — the transformation was about to reach my feet.
I winced and bit my lip, but it wasn’t as bad as I feared. My talons reflexively curled up, causing me to stumble down to my knees. I couldn’t see them in that position, but I felt my toes fusing together and hardening. When I looked back, my bird feet were replaced with hooves. I shook one of my legs around a bit, trying to wiggle toes that weren’t there.
Hall put his arm around my shoulder. I looked up, and he was holding the horse mask I’d brought to the party. “Guess you won’t be needing this anymore.”
“You… I… the…” I spluttered, confused.
“Magic apples,” Hall grinned. He grabbed one from the tub and started tossing it up and down. “Think of it as revenge for that time you turned me into a bird back in college.”
Fair play. I had done that. It was hilarious.
I shakily rose back to my feet — er, hooves — trying to figure out how to balance. Hall steadied me. “Don’t worry,” he said, “it’s only supposed to last an hour.”
“All right then,” I smiled (with teeth! What a concept.) “Guess I’ve got a costume now. Here, give me a beer.” Someone held one out. I grabbed it, downed it, and let out the loudest neigh I could muster. Someone slapped my ass and shouted “giddy-up, horsey boy!”
Yeah, the party was rolling again.
I looked around and Hall had disappeared, so I worked my way through the crowd to find him. I overheard his two horse roommates talking to their other roommate, the golden retriever. They were dressed as wizards, too, but the retriever was dressed as a pirate. He was clearly in the dark about the whole thing. “C’mon,” the horses were saying. “There are still apples left.”
“You know, it’s not that bad,” I interrupted, winking at the dog. He let out a sort of reluctant sigh, and the horses started pulling him over to the tub.
I found Hall in the kitchen, refilling the punch bowl. “Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?” I asked.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Think I could take some of those apples home with me?”
“Oh, so you like the new look? I don’t blame you.” He started carrying the punch bowl out of the kitchen. I followed.
“I look handsome as anything,” I said, tossing my mane. “But really, I’m just curious how the magic works on all that. It’s a neat trick.”
“Ah-ah,” Hall said, wagging a finger. “You know better than most that a magician never reveals their secrets. Or suppliers, in this case. But,” he said, giving me a knowing grin, “you know where to find me if you ever want to engage in a little more horseplay.”
