Nate paused, looking down at the device in his hand.
"Could you... really make me a centaur?" He asked it curiously. "I'd at least be me from the waist up. That seems safe enough."
The vaguely synthetic voice of Owen chirped up, "All of my transformations are safe sir. We may start there if you'd like."
Nate took a deep breath. He opened his mouth, and then the device immediately chimed in again.
"Sir, if you've decided to undergo a centaur transformation, I would suggest you remove your pants first." Owen's programming even allowed for a small chuckle at the end.
"Oh! I... Right." Nate nodded, closing his bedroom's blinds. "Do you have a webcam or something Owen?"
"Sir?" The Chronivac chimed in curiously, "My senses include anything and everything in a thirty foot radius." It paused for a moment, "You're blushing."
"Well aren't you observant." Nate felt his face go flush. He tossed his shorts onto the bed and after a moment set his boxers down beside them.
"Alright, here goes nothing..." He stood there for a moment, taking a few deep breaths.
"Awaiting command." Owen replied.
Nate gulped, "Owen... Turn me into a centaur."
"Affirmative sir. Initiating transformation." The device beeped.
Nate felt a strange sense of vertigo. He was standing on the floor of his bedroom, but suddenly the entirety of his balance was off. He wobbled, sitting down on his bed moments before his feet shifted into a pair of large black hooves.
"Woah..." Nate stared. The man had a head of short brown hair, and he was suddenly seeing similar shades of brown fur around his ankles. Former ankles? Did horses have...
"Woah indeed sir." Owen replied.
"Owen are you a smart ass?" Nate started at the fur as it crept up his legs.
"No sir." The Chronivac replied, "I'm a smart ass-istant."
"Uh huh..." Nate slid towards the edge of his bed, dangling his legs over it. He tentatively put one of them on his carpet.
"That was a joke sir. But seriously, you should not attempt to stand for another forty one seconds. Forty seconds. Thirty nine..." Owen began to count.
As the fur crept up around Nate's waist, he felt himself start to... stretch? That was the best word he had for it. It felt for a moment as if his chest were doubling. His shoulders got tense and he flexed his arms, and then suddenly flexed two arms. One set ended in hands, and the other set ended in hooves.
"What the hell...?" Nate blinked. He tried to focus enough to flex the new appendages independently. They weren't moving like arms.
"Twenty two. Twenty one. Twenty." Owen continued to count.
They weren't arms. They were legs! Nate felt something in his brain flip, and suddenly his balance didn't feel as off. Arms up. Hind legs down. Fore... fore legs down.
The stretching sensation continued as his bottom half took on horse sized proportions. Nate slowly slid off the bed, doing his best to stay upright.
Upright... What did that even mean? He felt like he was crawling on all fours and standing up at the same time. It was a bizarre contradiction. And then it was normal.
"Three... Two... One..." The countdown finished. "You should have enough balance to clop now sir." Owen informed Nate of what he already knew.
Nate shifted in place, pressing all four of his new hooves into his carpet. His entire body from the waist down was covered in the same brown fur only- Wait, no, he had some white spots too! The fur continued all the way up to Nate's waistline. He curiously peeked under his t-shirt, seeing that it crept up a bit over his belly button.
"Is it done Owen...?" Nate wagged curiously. Wait, he wagged!? He tried to look over his shoulder, watching a swishy horse tail sway back and forth behind him.
"Not yet sir." Owen replied.
Nate wasn't sure what was left when his head started to feel strange. His teeth flattened as he suddenly lost an appetite for meat. His hair started to shift into fur, creeping down his neck and growing a noticeable pair of white spots. Finally, his ears suddenly became more expressive. They gained the same coating of fur and stretched out as they became a pair of expressive horse ears.
"Transformation complete sir!" Owen beeped.
"I... I can't believe that worked...!" Nate started down at his lower half in disbelief. Well, what he could see of it at least...!
"This was nothing sir. I didn't even have to access your pro subscription for these changes." Owen replied.
"I'm part horse...!" Nate's ears perked, "This is incredible!"
"Affirmative sir." The device acknowledged.
Nate reached up, bashfully rubbing his ears. He tried to turn in place so he could get to his bathroom mirror, but he started to notice just how small his bedroom was. It had a very human bed taking up most of the space, and he wasn't sure he could actually turn around. Furthermore, there was absolutely no way his bathroom could fit him.
"Uh... Owen. I think I'm stuck." Nate wiggled between his bed and the wall. Ugh, he really should have faced the other way during his changes.
"Is there anything I can do to assist sir?" The Chronivac asked.
Oh jeez. This was really bad. He was on the second floor of his town house. He didn't even know if horses could climb stairs...!
"Owen, I- My house isn't built for a centaur." He glanced down at the discarded shorts and boxers on his bed. "Oh man, nothing here's made for a centaur." He gulped, "Can you... make it so that it's normal for me to be a centaur?"
"Normal sir?" Owen chimed in.
"Yeah... Single story house, whatever centaurs wear, that sort of thing?" He rubbed his ear again, "I think I'd like to stay like this for a while, but I don't want everyone freaking out when I go outside."
Owen paused for a moment, "I have a thirty foot range sir. You'll need to keep me on your person, but I can perform those changes."
"Perfect." Nate bit his lip, "Alright Owen. Please make it normal for me to be a centaur. Everyone should believe I've always been part horse."
"Affirmative sir. Initiating reality alteration and perception filter. Target: Everyone." The device beeped.
Nate immediately noticed the clothes on his bed vanish. Then the bed itself began to shift. He had expected maybe a pile of hay, but he was a bit more civilized than that. His bed shifted into a massive sofa-sized bean bag that he could casually flop onto at the end of the day.
The view from his window shifted, once again becoming ground level. The layout of his furniture changed, giving Nate a lot more room to maneuver. One of the photos on his dresser shifted from Nate rock climbing on the side of a practice wall to him galloping across a beach.
"Oh wow, this is perfect." Nate grinned, "Thank you Owen."
The device didn't respond. Nate felt dizzy again for a moment, but it wasn't his balance this time. Something in his head just felt... fuzzy. He felt like he was distracted at a supermarket and just forgot some trivial item he hadn't bothered adding to his shopping list. His ears twitched nervously as a vague ringing ran through his head. Whatever it was, he just couldn't put a hoof on it.
"...task complete sir!" The device in his hand spoke up, breaking Nate out of his momentary confusion.
"Woah," Nate whispered as he looked down at his fully powered up Chronivac. He watched a highly detailed avatar of his half human, half horse self spin on the display. It was even wearing the same shirt as he was.
"Are you alright Nate?" The device asked in a vaguely posh, British accented male voice.
"Uh- Hi? Who are you?" Nate couldn't help but feel a little nervous talking to a computer interface.
"I am Owen, your Chronivac assistant. I am fully charged and ready to help with any and all of your transformation needs." The device informed him.
"Oh wow..." Nate ran his fingers along the gadget, "How's it going?"
"I am operating well, sir. Are you ready for a transformation?" asked the Chronivac.
"Sure." Nate felt the telltale flicker of his ears brush against his head. He clopped a fore hoof onto the floor. He shouldn't be so nervous talking to a machine. "I'm sort of new to all this. I'm not sure where to start."
The device paused a moment, "I'm sure you're a natural with a Chronivac sir. For your next transformation, are we going to be transforming yourself or someone else?"
Nate looked down at himself. He loved being a centaur. Sure, this world wasn't really built for him, but he got by. Despite everything, nothing beat the feeling of the wind in his hair as he went out for his morning gallop.
"I'm pretty happy with myself Owen." He fidgeted with the handheld, "Can you really change other people?"
"Sir, you've activated the Pro subscription service. The only limit if your imagination." The was a pause, "And my thirty foot range. Did you have something in mind sir?"
Nate gripped the Chronivac a bit tighter. He clopped over to his front door and grabbed a small saddle bag that he kept his phone and wallet in. He slid it on as he walked out of his ranch house, "Maybe."
Nate's tail swished as he locked his front door. "Owen, I'm the only mythical creature in my city. I love being a centaur, but I've always stood out." He tapped the device's screen gently, turning on its scanning mode. "Why don't we fix that?"
The Chronivac buzzed in his hand and a small wireless earpiece appeared out of thin air. It clipped onto Nate's right ear and moments later he heard the familiar synthetic voice fill his ear.
"That sounds like a wonderful plan sir." Owen said happily.