Only as he was leaving did James see the now-changed milk carton sitting on the counter, "Well at least you weren't damaged."
The pencil-figured stallion caught the 16:30 bus home, both in concern for the environment and the rising petrol price. The drive took nearly an hour, and by the time he arrived, James was about to throw up from the deadly combination of smells from the cheese factory workers.
Clumsily he unlocked the door to his apartment building. He and his wife Hazel live comfortably on the first floor.
"Good evening Miss Diggers," he politely said to an old mole in a frilly purple smock and glass. Miss Diggers reach out and gently squeezed James' arm, the stallion just rolled his eyes, knowing what she was going to say next. "oh, James you must eat more. Your arms are nearly twigs. Why I bet a strong wind would knock you down. You really should eat more."
James managed to pull his arm free of those digging claws and hurried up the stairs calling almost automatically over the shoulder, "I will try Miss Diggers."
...
After much jiggling of the stiff door handle, James entered his apartment and the first thing he saw were a horse wife and otter woman leaning on the counter over some open textbooks.
The first was James' wife Hazel, a dainty chestnut brown horse. She was short for a horse, even thinner with barely anything on her chest. In nearly all aspects she was the mare version of James, sweet but severely lacking in any form of muscle or curves.
Maybe that's why they get along so well.
Sitting across from her was Lexi "Lex", a student at the college or more accurately repeating college after falling but not before taking a year off to find herself. A fun-loving biker girl, who somehow had struck a close friendship with Hazel after getting tutored by the substitute. Dropping by for brunch and tutoring was quite common.
Hazel gave a disarming smile to her hubby, "Hey, James. How was work, You're back early."
He chuckled at these to greetings being melded into one, a Hazel-ism as Elan would call it, "Yay, something explosive happened at work. I'll tell you later. Hey, how it going Lex?"
The young adult otter shrugged nonchalantly," Same old really, hop on the bike go to droning lectures then do a test, and then stress about the test. Luckily in just 2 weeks, I will be on summer break."
James and Hazel exchanged knowing glances, silently sharing memories about their college experiences. "Well, I am sure you'll make the most of the holiday." Hazel teased.
The otter packed the books in her bag, she had been hoping to end her calculus session early and this seemed like the right excuse, "Well I'd best get going. Thanks for the lesson Haz, my head hurts so much that I must be getting it now." The biker otter laughed at her joke.
...
"Well, she off in a hurry," James noted drily whilst putting his bad on the counter.
His petite wife wrapped her arms around him via his back, "She a bit of a free spirit. I was a bit like that, never could sit still for too long."
"And somehow you beat me in mid-year exams, twice."
"Well, someone had to make it a challenge. So what happened at work, that made you come home 3 hours early."
James took out his milk carton, screwing off the lid slowly as he spoke, "Oh, just something happened, a space rock exploded inside the lab."
"Oh. What!" Hazel jumped back, almost knocking over her husband and the carton in his hand.
He slowly turned to his concerned mare, "No, need to panic Haz. I wasn't hurt or anything, Though Dana looked ready to rip my head off, once she had seen the mess. Listen I'm a little tired can I lay down for a bit and then I will tell you everything."
She snuffed him, then pulled back with a scrunched-up nose, "If you're willing to meet me halfway. Have a shower and then tell me, you smell ripe."
"I had to share the bus with Limburger factory workers."
"Definitely a shower!"
James took a swing from the milk carton before placing it on the counter, "Okay, I'll clean up and then tell you all-whoa!"
The moment the golden milk hit his stomach an electric feeling ran through James. It was like being hit by lightning but titillating. Eyes bulged and his heartbeat raced, he stood letting out a high winey. His thin un-stallion body started to shudder.
"Honey are you Okay," his spouse questioned.
His body answered, with each shudder he grew. With each shudder tears in his clothes appeared and grew larger. Hazel could only gap, as flat muscles swelled like balloons filling up fast with water. Triceps, biceps, and other arm muscles erupted with dense muscle fibers that even unflexed looked large, and if he did flex the bicep peak would be in line with the iris of his eye. Then his chest exploded his pecs molded themselves into a pair of concrete hard symmetrical square slabs of meat, followed by six then eight impervious abs. James' legs and back sang the swan song, thighs went sideways with mass, and calves became diamond-shaped and just hard. His glutes also put on their pound of flesh and become defined beach balls. The enter lower half of the body had become positions of power to support his growing torso. Ridges, and canyons of muscle cross-lined his colossal backside, his traps would have swallowed up his head had his neck not grown as well.
By the time his transformation was complete in less than 10 seconds, James had grown a full foot in height and resembled a holy combination of a demigod and the Hulk, standing in a circle of destroyed clothes wearing only his very tight briefs. Once too naturally thin for a horse, now he was more stallion than 20 stallions. Each muscle was beautifully defined, it looked as if he could crush metal, which he could and so much more.
Both horses were stunted silent for different reasons.
James felt his body, half wondering if it was a vivid dream. He looked down, his feet blocked by his heavy chest. Gingerly he poked his massive pecs finding them soft and normal but at the tiniest tensing, softness became unbending metal. Seeing his massive arm, James gave an experimental flex, trying to mimic the muscle heads he'd seen at the beach. He grinned when his bicep rose like a balloon till the peak nearly touched his balled fist. " If Miss Diggers could feel me now she would say, eat less."
"Oh, my James. Your h-hunky!" Hazel swooned, she loved James no matter what he looked like but she couldn't deny the primal attraction of big muscles. Her now super-ripped husband set a hand against her shoulder, it felt like she was leaning against a brick wall. Now face to face with his great torso, she could see the furry groves that helped define his newfound abs.
Seeing the transparent way she looked at him, James decided to indulge her. Taking a deep breath he pushed his chest out till it nearly touched Hazel's nose. Tentatively she reached out and caressed every inch of his chest, like a mountain climber feeling for a hold on a sheer drop.
This went on for nearly ten minutes with James flexing and Hazel feeling before the mare was able to regain her higher thinking, "Wait, wait. How did this happen, James? You don't just grow big for no reason, even in comic book."
James scratched the back of his head the motion making his lats flare out,"Not sure Haz. I just felt this amazing build up and I grew, big!" Just having these muscles was intoxicating.
"Okay, did you do anything else? Like, get bitten by a radioactive bodybuilder."
Almost absent-mindedly as he was more interested in the muscle rather then how he got them, he said, "Well I had the milk I brought from work. It tasted funny."
Both horses turned to the milk carton sitting ominously on the counter edge.