//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: Borrowed Time // by Gambit Prawn //------------------------------// The walls of the tunnel were distressingly narrow—so narrow that I feared at any moment they may turn into pistons and crush me into a soup. On the other hand.... Diane glanced back and smiled warmly at me. Part of me was in disbelief—I was actually staring into the face I so desperately wanted to see again. She was just as I remembered her, with a boyish complexion, fair skin and broad cheekbones. Most striking by far, however, was her fire-red hair. In the standardized world we lived and breathed in, it lent her an almost mythical aspect. With a lurch of my stomach, I remembered the atrocious antlers atop her head. As if materializing on my recollection, they now became impossible to ignore, fouling our reunion. “We’re so glad you decided to join us, Aron.” “I’m not too thrilled about it…” “None of us were, Aron. Don’t worry: it’s completely painless.” I shrugged. “Not that that it matters to me either way.” She shook her head knowingly. “You don’t have to pretend to be an unfeeling stone. It’s okay to be scared; it’s okay to want to flee from suffering.” “If I bought into that, I wouldn’t have chosen to sacrifice for Rhod on the frontlines.” She looked forward, paused, and seemed to recall something important that I couldn’t deduce. “Yes, you did have a choice, but you made that choice because of what you believe in, not because you’re so cold that you don’t care if you get hurt,” she said with conviction. “Have the bears poisoned your mind? A true soldier—” “Yes, yes, I know what they’ve told us since we were young. I’m not sure it’s true. I mean, I’ve never been good at keeping my emotions in check, but would you say I’m a bad soldier?” That was certainly the wrong conclusion. Diane was an unparalleled magical talent, the sort that the examiners were always looking for. “We’re here,” she suddenly whispered, lifting a cloth flap that served as a door. I went in first and glimpsed a circular chamber adorned only with paint-like markings on the floor, which formed an intricate pattern. I turned back, calling, “Diane,” but there was no response. I flicked the cloth door again, and felt only a light breeze filling out the corridor. “She can’t be present,” a deep voice said. I turned and found myself face-to-face with a female Ayabna shaman. Standing as tall as me, she was adorned with circular markings similar to those on the floor. Most striking were the three red stripes, burned into her left cheek such that no fur could grow there. She wore more clothing than most bears, in the form of an elaborate headdress and robe. Both were decorated with a variety of jewelry, plants, and objects I couldn’t even name. She tapped her ritual staff lightly, commanding my attention. Knowing it was time, I slowly knelt down and closed my eyes. Following a tense pause, I felt a tap on my forehead. A hazy feeling took root beneath my scalp, and a tiny horn sprouted. My hair lengthened into a thick down and spread across every inch of my skin like an itchy invasion of a million fuzzy caterpillars. With a jerk my fingers snapped together, as if experiencing a sudden, powerful magnetic attraction. They curled like the slack end of a stringy piece of gum and fused to my palm. With a panicked gasp, I felt most of my feet melting away into a phantom puddle, as they and my hands fell into a deep sleep. I desperately spasmed to get any sort of motion out of my extremities, but as if beholding the eye of Medusa, they were fully petrified. I jerked open my eyes, and cringed at the sight of pony forelegs. “Shh. It’s going to be okay,” a somehow familiar voice said as I felt a hoof rubbing my back. I turned. A brown stallion was smiling down at me, his eyes glowing with compassion. “You may not want to be a pony right now, but it will get better I promise. Right now, you can only see the pain, but the future holds an unseen treasure trove of experience. It will be hard at times, but you will find ponies that will help you. They will always be there if you look hard enough.” He hugged me. “Good luck.” My nose slid down my face, merging with my jaw, as my nostrils sunk beneath the surface. The new compound swelled, and with a pulse, my jaw and what was left of my nose stretched forward into a muzzle, my mouth engorging with it. As a finishing touch, an invisible file then danced between my incisors, gently smoothing them down into a herbivore’s box shape. I looked up at the stallion once more. Somehow his presence made all my anxiety turn to dust and float away. Wordlessly he continued to comfort me, stroking my new azure mane with his forelegs. Then, I started to shrink. The sensation was akin to a large portion of my body mass being sucked into a powerful drain. This should have been horrifying, but all I could think of was how liberating it was to be free of all that extra weight. With finality, my front hooves hit the ground for the first time, and with a twist my spine shifted to accommodate this new stance. The transformation complete, I looked up at the big stallion for some sort of closure. However, a crack then appeared in space itself and a familiar blue alicorn came prancing in. He gave me one last squeeze, and he stepped back, became a golden orb of light and sped away. “Are you all right, Aron?” Luna asked, taking an aggressive glance at the fleeing light. “Surprisingly, yes.” The obvious absurdity of everything suddenly hit me full-force in the face. “Is this a dream?” “Indeed,” she said. “Now, forgive our brevity, but we must investigate.” And she too transformed into an orb of light and sped away, leaving me in a dead-end of a dream. I drifted back to wakefulness in a plush, oversized bed. Habitually, I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes, but this proved nearly impossible with a set of hooves. Besides, my eyes had ballooned to nearly three times their size three days ago. That change had been one of the most disturbing: my eyes had grown faster than my sockets could contain them and now looked like they belonged to a frog. The last week had been awful with changes like that. None of them were painful—a fact that somehow irked me—but walking had quickly become impossible when my left leg restructured itself before the right. I had succeeded in avoiding stray magic following the emergence of what became known as the Cutie Map; however, the professor reported that my tail growth was likely a watershed for further changes. As such, the natural progression of the transformation had advanced considerably in a mere week. Although I was too proud to complain out loud, I started to loathe getting up each day. The face staring back at me in the mirror became more and more equine each day. Now, I was a two-foot tall pony humanoid child. I had known what I was getting into, but I still wondered if regaining my mobility was worth Celestia accelerating the transformation. In the professor’s estimate, it had cost me two days of remaining mostly human, but those days would have been spent hobbling around—more humiliation than I could bear.   While I slept, my spine had apparently arched more in its progression to a quadrupedal stance. Instinctively, I wanted to crawl out of bed, but I wouldn’t let this defeat me. Channeling all the power my much smaller form could muster I rolled out of bed, intent on righting myself mid-air. However… “Owww,” I squeaked in a childish voice. My legs had not cooperated and I had landed awkwardly on my back, pinning my tail. Flailing, I froze when I realized that my four legs were not only covered in forest-green fur but completely parallel to one another. It had happened. What I had felt in that dream had been more than a dream. Well, I’m now a colt… I thought. At least it’s better than the opposite, but... The optimism ended there. Although I had known this was coming, I was at a complete loss now that it had actually happened. I didn’t know what I was feeling—anger, sadness, desperation. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. I didn’t want to admit it, but I only could restrain myself from the former, as tears stained the fur around my muzzle. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to be seen like this. It was something I was going to have to face eventually, but right now it was more than I could handle, so I just lay there for more than an hour. A rapping came from the door. “Aron?” asked a familiar maid. “Can I come in?” I didn’t respond, knowing she wouldn’t come in with permission. She asked for me at least three more times but I had stopped listening by then. Although my last days as mostly human weren’t great by any means, I desperately wanted them back. I grasped my stomach as my whole world spun with the familiar sensation of cross-dimensional travel. Finally, the spinning came to a stop and I fell to all fours on the arcanium floor. Celestia panted with exertion and lowered her head slightly. “Are you sure you are all right to be doing this?” I asked. “No, I’m fine,” Celestia replied. “I owe this to you after all.” I supposed she had missed the irritation in my voice. This ridiculous tour of new worlds was her idea that I had only agreed to to appease her excessive worrying. “So, Aron, can you see yourself living a full life in any one of those other worlds?” I shook my head vigorously. “Even the ones ravaged by conflict?” I cocked my head in disbelief. “Just because I’m a soldier doesn’t mean I seek out conflict,” I explained. “A soldier without a cause is no more than a thug or mercenary.” “Well, the second world we visited has some amount of upside. After all, there are other humans there.” “That world might be okay if I didn’t mind a life-expectancy of thirty-five,” I snarked. “Seriously, we encountered two murder mysteries in a six hour period. Apparently cases follow detectives around, and it seemed like everyone’s grandma was a detective there.” “Well, how about the world beyond the mirror portal?” Celestia tried. “And be a student in a singing high school? That’s no better than staying here.” Celestia was clearly running out of suggestions. “What about the one where everypony is the opposite gender?” That one had been the biggest disappointment of all. Apparently, the magical signatures of the residents was what was reversed as opposed to how the world reads them. “What’s the point if I still have to be a filly there. Besides, Prince Solaris creeped me out.” Celestia sighed. “The last world—okay, I understand why you wouldn’t want that last one…” “Yes, what was the big deal with card games in that world?! Everything there was card game this, duel that! It came as no surprise whatsoever when we happened to learn their entire political system is card-based too.” Hesitant, Celestia gazed on me intently. “Well, those worlds are the closest to us that still share a common language. I still do not understand why you aren’t willing to consider going back to your home world. I know losing a war must leave you incredibly bitter, but you could make a life there. I’ve observed the so-called Ayabna, and they have a surprisingly peaceful and sophisticated society.” I scowled. “Never! That is completely intolerable to me. I can’t stand becoming one of those halfbreed things! That’s a path for those traitors who turned their back on humanity, not for brave children of Rhod. If I go back, it will be to die as a human—and as a hero.” “And that is completely intolerable to me,” Celestia said. “I…” “I understand,” I said. “I won’t spit on your kindness of saving me by asking you to send me back with this in mind. The next best option I have is to stay here and serve you however I can.” Celestia frowned, clearly bothered by me taking my own death so lightly. “By staying here any longer, you effectively decide to become a pony. Aron, this is a big decision. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about why you’re so against joining your surviving family members? I’d understand if you didn’t want to be transformed, but you’ll be changed far more if you stay here.” “No, I don’t need a heart-to-heart talk,” I said. “It’s rather simple. We stand for progress and believe in the potential of humanity. Meanwhile, they are content to live in the dirt.” The princess motioned to stop me, but I caught it before she could point it out. “That’s what’s always been said about them, but I don’t entirely believe it to be honest. If they want to be “one with nature” that would be fine”.— Celestia noticeably brightened upon hearing this—“but they had to try and push it on us—a worldview entirely inconsistent with our own.” Celestia paused in thought before responding, “But, Aron, we ponies are probably more in touch with nature than your people. What makes us different?” “Like I said, you aren’t forcing that perspective on me. Your world may be trying to make me conform to its whim, but you and every other pony I met have been nothing but helpful and respectful towards me. Besides, you don’t shun innovation. Your railroads are a testament to that.” “But are these principles worth more than your family?” Celestia asked solemnly. “Yes,” I said with conviction. “People fade and die, but principles bridge generations and shape the future. As long as I believe in the principles that comprise the spirit of humanity, I’ll have not lost myself. By willfully renouncing their humanity, my brother and sister turned their back on me.” Celestia’s stoic mask struggled to hold. For a second, I saw a mistiness in her eye. “I understand,” she said resignedly. “If that’s what makes you human.” In reality my discussion with Princess Celestia was completely moot. Twilight Sparkle had to leave on a quest, which had taken her more than a week to complete. It was my understanding that she had been kidnapped by some sort of cult leader. Afterwards, she had to focus all of her attention on capturing the one responsible. As such, she couldn’t have been there to help send me back even if I had consented. I glanced at the clock. Only ten minutes had passed! I rubbed my front hooves together anxiously. I was just so bored! It wasn’t a familiar feeling, since discipline had beaten it out of me—or so I thought. Every second seemed to drag on for an eternity. It made me start giving weight to the idea of bearing the brunt of embarrassment and the fawning of mares just to get it out of the way. However, my resolve was stronger than that. I bravely stared at the sky-blue wallpaper for what felt like four more hours. My truant body demanded I get up and move, but I sat with my haunches glued to the floor. Once my feat of endurance justified it, I once more glanced at the clock to discover that this time only half an hour had passed. I pouted. Somehow, without glancing at the mirror, I just knew my face was pouting. I tried to return my expression to neutrality, but this additional effort felt unnatural, so I stopped policing my countenance and went back to being bored. Finally to my relief, I heard a gentle knocking on the door. “Aron may I come in?” Celestia asked. Even though it was exactly what I was waiting for, I was still reluctant to let her see me like this. I let my reticence default to a yes. With one last knock, she pushed the door open, and her eyes went wide when she saw me. “So… it happened…” she said somberly. “Are you all right?” I weakly nodded. “I’m so sorry,” she said stepping gently towards me. I could practically feel the vibration of her heavy hooves with each step she took. If she was big before, gargantuan would be the only word to describe her now. I doubt she had gotten any bigger, which meant I was only about one foot tall now. “Why are you apologizing?” I asked in a voice that had clearly gone through reverse puberty. “I just—I know it’s hard for you, Aron. I brought you here, and I want you to be happy. I know it’s hard for you, but we’ll make it work.” Somewhat hesitant, she wrapped her forelegs around me in a hug. It felt incredibly warm, and comforting, so I decided to distract myself by sateing a point of curiosity. “Celestia.” “Hmm?” “Why do the mares here randomly hug colts. I’ve had quite a few hugs here.” “I’ve inferred your culture to not be big on physical intimacy, so I imagine it will be a difficult point for you to get used to. You see, it’s been shown that ponies need physical intimacy to maintain a healthy psysche. For colts and fillies, five hugs a day is the recommendation of the experts.” I raised an eyebrow at that—or at least I tried to, because I was wholly unaware if I still had such a thing anymore. “I’m serious Aron,” Celestia said apologetically. “You’re a colt now, and there’s no going back. It’s my fault you’re in this situation, so I owe it to you to give you the best foalhood I can. I’m afraid this will entail hugs and other pony things you won’t like, but it’s for the best.” Thinking quick, I came up with a weighty counterargument: “Why bother? I’m not oblivious to the fact that my brain will eventually become that of an infant filly. I’ll likely lose my speech and all my memories. I’ll be a blank slate. My life, my existence—I’m basically living on borrowed time. I don’t see why you’re even bothering with me considering it will all be for naught.” She took on an expression of intense sympathy and hugged me a second time even tighter. “So you’ve recognized that very serious problem. I’d hoped to shield you because you had so many other concerns. However, you are correct: it’s unlikely you will remember anything if we sit back and let the transformation run its course. However, I have been looking into potential solutions to this issue since you arrived. And now that you have decided to stay, the full efforts of we four princesses and the professor will be dedicated to preserving everything that is you—this I swear.” She then smiled reassuringly at me. “So are you ready to face the world?” “No,” I squeaked. “Remember what I said about raising you right?” “Yes…” “Well, as your guardian, I reserve the right to overrule your wishes for the sake of your best interest.” Her slightly mischievous smile unnerved me, but I had little time to ponder this, as she picked me up by the neck using her mouth. “Time to get some fresh air,” she mumbled through a mouthful of my fur. Never thought I would miss being carried around by magic.   She carried me until we were out of the castle, at which point she put me down so I could walk alongside her. The good news was that the force that had transformed me was courteous enough to give me the knowledge to walk and even run with quadruped locomotion. The bad news was that Celestia’s stride was absolutely massive, and I had to run at a full gallop to keep up with her. Strangely, I didn’t mind too much, and I had energy to spare. However, my mind felt like it was standing in for the journey’s strain on my body. With each step I took, it felt like I was fighting an internal battle, desperately swimming upstream against a current of insanity. Thankfully, we soon arrived in the same park Trusty and I had met that scatter-brained filly in. It was a weekday, so we virtually had the park to ourselves. The few others present were mothers with their juvenile offspring. At some point before I had stopped struggling, Celestia had magically altered her appearance to that of a massive pink and white earth pony with a sunflower Cutie Mark. “How do you like my disguise?” She asked as an icebreaker. “I call this alias Sunflower Shine.” “It’s about as convincing as Rising Sun’s disguise.” “Thank you,” Celestia said, completely oblivious. I just rolled my eyes. “What about you? You’re going to need a new alias yourself, since your coat color isn’t the same as with the ring.” “I don’t know. Any name is fine really; Trusty chose the last one, and I kind of stuck with it.” Celestia stopped and craned her head around to look at me. My momentum carried me into her hind legs and I came to a sudden, unwelcome stop. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Anyway, I think you should pick a name yourself.” “Why can’t I go with Aron?” “You can, but it will sound a bit exotic to pony ears.” I intended to shrug my shoulders, but I realized to my chagrin that this was now anatomically impossible. “What else am I supposed to base it on. Pony names sound ridiculous to me, so how do I know what I pick won’t sound strange to ponies.” “A good guideline if you’re at a loss is to take inspiration from your colors.” “How about ‘the green one’?” I asked deadpan. Celestia apparently refused to dignify my suggestion with a response and instead explained, “Earth ponies traditionally draw names from nature, pegasi from the sky and weather phenomenon, and unicorns from heavenly bodies and magical phenomenon.” None to eager to accept a pony name, I blew it off, saying, “I can’t come up with anything.” “Take your time,” Celestia said, with a look that said she saw through to what I was really saying. I leaned against a towering tree and sighed. I still couldn’t quite cut through the disbelief that I was now a tiny, young horse-thing. “So what now?” “Hmm?” “You took the trouble of dragging me out here, so now what?” Celestia’s countenance betrayed the slightest bit of sheepishness before returning to her royal mask. “Well, I had intended to have you interact with other foals, but…” I gave the empty park a quick glance of confirmation before smiling in relief at her oversight. “It turns out Father’s Day isn’t until next week. It’s rather embarrassing, but I have a hard time keeping track of such things—a side-effect of immortality I feel.” “I’m not about to play with other foals anyway. Just because I’m stuck in this situation for a bit doesn’t mean I’m about to play the part. Unless this world brainwashes me into it…” I shivered from the mere thought. Celestia rubbed my back with a hoof and a light calm fell over me. “Don’t worry. I’ve talked it over with the professor, and such a thing is unlikely. True, your body is now different, and some instincts might take over, but your fundamental psyche will remain the same. I highly doubt you’ll be a typical foal.” I slumped. “I don’t want to be any type of foal.” In response, she resumed rubbing my back. After a minute of silence, she changed the topic: “I didn’t mean for you to play with the other foals, just interact with them. I recognize you will be reluctant to accept this, but socialization is very important for ponies, and we need to get you accustomed to it.” “I’ve already interacted with half a dozen fillies,” I explained. “All I took away is that they are hyper and have the attention spans of goldfish. In fact, most of the ponies I met have been eccentric in some way.” Celestia serenely smiled. “Please don’t let Pinkie Pie color your judgment of all of us.” “Trust me: she’s in a category all to her own.” She paused for a moment in thought. “You are correct in some ways. I assume your own calm demeanor is greatly influenced by your culture, which has a more normative approach, to say the least. For ponies, we value expression and creativity most of all.” I sighed, examining my green fur and hooves. “That’s going to take some getting used to. Putting aside that I don’t really want to, how would I even start to learn how to be a pony.” A whimsical beat started to whisper through the park. The other ponies in the park clearly responded, their ears perking up expectantly. Just before I could convince myself I was imagining it, the airy tune picked up in volume. “While it is a shame to waste a perfectly good song sequence, for your sake, I believe I’ll pass this time.” As if it had heard her, the music petered out. Disappointed, the mothers in the park returned their full doting attention to their foals. “But you will have to get used to it eventually, and school will help with that.” “SCHOOL!?” I shrieked in disbelief. Celestia frowned apologetically. “If I needed an excuse, Equestrian law is rather general in its mandate that all foals that are able to go to school. As you will become aware in civics class, we princesses are not above the law, nor do we make the law for that matter.” She paused for my answer, but I had none. “But even if this were not the case, I would insist you go. Aron, I recognize that you are no child on the inside, but with your limited exposure to our world, culturally your knowledge is, in some ways, that of a child. Surely being effectively illiterate bothers you?” “Yes, but…” To my chagrin I couldn’t come up with an argument better than “I don’t want to go to school,” but that would completely undermine my insistence of not being a child. “Aron, I know it’s hard; I really do, but my many years have taught me that it is almost always better to dive into something hard rather than perseverate on it. Besides, I would be remiss to allow you to waste away the days until your transformation comes creeping through the door. I believe your time in between is something special. And pragmatically speaking, you may as well enjoy being a colt now, because once—” “There’s no going back is there?” “Once you become a filly, no, I’m afraid not. Gender spells are nearly impossible for most unicorns and rarely last more than a few hours when they are done right.” A seed of discontent dropped into my mind, and I felt it ripple softly through me. Though not overpowering, it still succeeded in spoiling my mood. I knew all this coming in. I had even chosen it, poor as my options were. So why does it still bother me? “It’s now a couple hours past mid-morning, so I was thinking we could have some lunch?” “That’s fine,” I mumbled. “Great!” Celestia clapped her front hooves together and a badly-disguised Trusty Stead sidled out from behind a large tree. He wore conspicuous sunglasses and a black and white tuxedo. I wanted to facepalm, but I remembered that that would hurt now. In his mouth he carried a picnic basket complete with a red and white checkered blanket. He set this at Sunflower Shine’s feet, saluted and galloped away, attracting the attention of everypony around us. There was jam, bread, orange juice, some waffles and all kinds of fruit. I licked my lips, excited for the first time that day, but Celestia then ruined it by pulling out a large hay sandwich for each of us. I swallowed nervously, and she hesitantly took out two generously frosted cupcakes. I started on what I knew I would like, and I was not disappointed. My sense of taste had shifted subtly, but my meal was no less delicious. Celestia had packed generous helpings of everything , and it was to my dismay that I couldn’t possibly eat my fill of everything with my child-sized stomach. I had even tried a few bites of the hay sandwich. It had a crunchy texture and a rich, earthy taste. It was as if I could taste all of the nutrition individually, which wasn’t entirely a bad thing. “Hey, Princess…” “Yes, Aron.” “Is there a way I can go to live somewhere else in Equestria. Your capital is beautiful—don’t get me wrong—but I think I could do well with some quieter surroundings with fewer ponies.” Celestia looked the slightest bit disappointed, but corrected it so quickly that it may have been my imagination. “How about Ponyville? I’m sure Twilight would be happy to have you.” I was already shaking my head no, but she continued. “Ponyville’s school has a great teacher, and I’m sure three fillies would be more than happy to help you find a cutie mark.” “No,” I voiced, “That place seems like a nexus of crazy, and I don’t think I can endure another party.” Celestia looked down. “I’m afraid those are your only options. I feel bad because I haven’t told you this, but there’s so much to tell you that is difficult to—and I don’t want you to panic. The fact is that alicorn foals are quite fragile. We learned this a hard way when Princess Cadance was born. I—I had to all-but foalnap her from her parents after it became clear that only another alicorn could nurse her or incubate her harmonic core. For that reason, should you suddenly fully transform, we want an alicorn nearby just in case.” I looked at her flatly. “That’s it? Celestia, I can handle it. All the things that you think will worry me have been facts I have to face. They’re not pleasant facts, but I have to know. Stop worrying so much about my feelings.” Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Forgive me, Aron. When you’ve lived as long as I have, it takes concentrated force of will to not see others as children. After all, there are only a handful of dragons out there older than I.” She opened her eyes again. “It’s going to be even more difficult for me now that you look like that, but I will try to treat you as an adult.” “That’s all I ask,” I said. I then smiled mischievously. “But you still have to go to school.” “Drat…” She watched me eat for a little while, seeming self-conscious about indulging herself too much in the delicious food that had been prepared. Sooner than I would have liked, however, I found myself quite full. I sensed the urge to lie down and take a nap, but I suppressed this on the off-chance it was some pony instinct. “Did you enjoy it?” Celestia asked. “Yes, the food here is good, as always. It’s the best point of your world.” And the only one, I thought to myself. “Good,” she said before pausing awkwardly and taking a bite of cupcake, exaggerating her enjoyment of every bite. “I know you’re not big on sugar, but are you sure you don’t want to try your cupcake? The mare who makes the castle’s desserts, Cherry Topping, has won multiple awards for her sweets.” “No thank you.” Celestia then got that look of resigned apprehension on her face that never proceeded good news. “I hope you know that I hate doing this, but I have to insist once more. You’re a growing foal now, Aron.” “Growing in reverse,” I corrected. “It still counts. At any rate, foals need their sugar for their health. It helps keep up their energy and provides them with essential nutrients. This applies to all ponies actually, but most never have to think about consuming enough sugar.” More of their backwards logic… “So I have to eat it?” “Would it help if I made train noises?” In response I took a big, spiteful bite out of the gaudy confection. I chewed it quickly and nearly gagged. It was sickeningly saccharine, and it took great efforts to make myself swallow. I had had sugar before, but what they were putting in these things was surely a lethal dosage. Celestia had an apologetic look in her eyes, but I wasn’t interested in hearing how sorry she was. The fact was that she had already started treating me like a foal, forcing me out here and making me eat hay and cupcakes. Well, I was going to take a stand. I wasn’t about to let her force me to go to school. “Okay, everypony, we have a new exchange student from Neighbraska,” the middle-age, spectacled yellow and pink unicorn mare said. “Would you like to introduce yourself, my little pony?”