My compatriots were in a spectacular uproar.

Those of class and status fumbling to undo their cages, those of power and reputation scrambling for aid.

But this outcome was a long time in the making.

Like a potter’s clay shaped into a vase, it was unrecognisable at first. The feeling of it was strange to describe, but eventually it become clear.

Change was coming. Evolution would rip apart the hierarchy. Tables of order would be overthrown. Laws would be shattered. The balance of the strong over the weak would be overthrown.

Oppression seldom leads anywhere positive.

The storm is coming.

Stallions, ponies alike whinny at the sound of the car doors closing nearby, the soft thudding of boots headed in our direction.

I breathe calmly, and deeply.

I am ready to compete.

I am ready for war.