The audience murmured, some calling out different suggestions. In the fifth row, a teenager shouted "Make him an old mayor!"
Madame Illusia focused her attention on him. He was with several other boys and they all seemed to think the idea was a good one. They started chanting "Mayor!"
Madame Illusia raised an eyebrow and pointed at the one who had shouted. The audience quietened down. "This is only a poor town. Do you believe we need a mayor?"
The boy tried to give her a "who me?" look, but his friends were urging him on. He stood and said "Yeah, why not a pompous old mayor, rather than a horse, it would be funny."
She smiled and waved for the boy to join her. "Come on stage young man, and you can help me make a mayor."
With a little more urging from his friends, he joined the sorceress on the stage. He was a slight, short teenager with a permanent smirk on his face below big blue eyes and scruffy brown hair. He was dressed in the typical teenaged style of the day; loose jeans, a dark t-shirt with an anarchy symbol, tennis shoes that looked as though they might fall apart. He jumped a little when the big stallion sniffed at him curiously, making the audience laugh.
"And what is your name, young man?" asked Illusia as the laughter faded.
"Jack," he said. He shuffled his feet a bit as though uncomfortable. The audience fell silent as they noticed that he had suddenly grown inside his clothes. The loose jeans were now above his ankles and tight on him. His t-shirt was stretched by a torso that was heavy with fat. He did not seem to notice, though.
"And you think we should have a mayor on our stage?" she wondered.
"Yeah, like, a mayor looking for re-election, y'know?" Some in the audience gasped as his clothes grew to accomodate his expanding frame. The t-shirt and jeans changed slowly into a sober grey suit with pressed white shirt and tie. His battered sneakers became polished black brogues.
He was even bigger now. His body was growing round and fat. Other changes were evident too. His neck seemed longer and thicker. The thick brown hair on his head was thinning and going greyer. His muscled arms had become pudgy and the jowls on his face sagged noticeably. A gold-coloured metal chain appeared around his neck.
"Why should we do that?" wondered the mage.
Jack licked his lips. They felt kind of strange, which the audience knew was due to his mouth and nose sagging with age.
"Holy shit!" shouted one of his friends. "Jack--"
Madame Illusia made a funny motion with her hand, and all of his friends fell silent. This was mostly due to teeth falling out and being replaced by dentures. Their bodies swelled and burst out of their teenage clothes until they were just as far along as Jack in their transformations.
Shocked noises from the audience were joined by the sound of old men promising to cut taxes as the four teenagers were replaced by four electioneering mayors on the make. The other three milled about near the stage while Jack trembled near Madame Illusia. She reached up to pat his -- or rather her muzzle and told him loudly, "Instant karma, Jack. Or put another way, judge not lest ye be judged. I agree that Brian needs to pay for his transformation, but these boys are also guilty of wasting my talents."