"Wake up, lazybones," grumbled the Horox as he opened Timothy's stall. Age had left its deep marks on the wrinkled skin of the emerald-green goblin. The morning had long since dawned and the ponygirls were already running around in the paddock, enjoying the warm sunshine. Timothy had always been a late riser, partly because he had no job on the small farm.
"Just one more hour, please," Timothy begged, but Horox, as usual, was not so easily swayed. His heart may be big for Timothy, but on a farm there were rules that applied to everyone.
"No exceptions!" he said sternly, pushing back the straw that Timothy had shoved aside during the night. This was not unusual, Timothy was well known as a restless sleeper. "Up you go, Timothy, I've got Tiger to look after too."
Timothy yawned and stretched. "Firedragon," Timothy grumbled.
"I'm not going to call you that," Horox replied, rolling his eyes. It wasn't their first discussion on the subject, and it wasn't the right topic today. "You're not a horse, at least not for much longer. We've talked about this. Now get up and get dressed."
"But the clothes are itchy." That might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but it wasn't easy for Timothy to get used to clothes. They were restrictive and hot. Sure, goblins wore clothes, but goblins weren't humans either.
"Timothy..."
"Firedragon!"
"No! We've talked about this. You can't stay with me. You should have been sent to the humans years ago. There's no need for another stallion in our village - even if you were good at it... " Horox paused briefly and cleared his throat. He didn't want to offend the young man, but it was no secret that he was no good as a stallion. "You have to get used to clothes, otherwise you can't live with humans."
"There are humans everywhere, and they're all naked!"
Horox sighed. "They're ponygirls and stallions, not humans like you."
"I'm a stallion too, just like my father."
Now Horox laughed out loud. "You might want to be, but you're not. Your mother was my favourite mare and I always took good care of you. But you know as well as I do that we need fewer stallions than mares. And the peace with humans demands that we send the boys we don't need to them. You should have left years ago."
"But I don't want to," Timothy protested in a quivering voice. "This is my home!"
"Timothy..."
"Firedragon!"
"Enough of this!" shouted Horox, silencing Timothy. "You're not a stallion, you're a scrawny young man who needs to find his place among humans. You have that name for a reason. If I wanted you to be a horse, you'd have a horse's name too! I wish you well, but you can't stay." He turned his head away so Timothy couldn't see his wet eyes. His ears lay close to his head, as they always did when the weight of the world was heavy on his narrow shoulders. "I wish I had the money to keep you on the farm. But I've used up all I've got. I can't afford an eater with no use. I'm sorry. I truly am."
Timothy wanted to say something back, but the old goblin had already left the stable. That gave Timothy no choice but to dress as ordered. The clothes were clean - he only wore them when he absolutely had to, after all - and although they fitted him well, he didn't like them at all. How could he, after all, they were the mark of the humans on him, and he hated everything about that. How could people feel free with something like that on their bodies? It hid everything good about him - even on a lean young bloke like him - and he sweated terribly in it. Plus all those pockets... what was he supposed to put in them?
"You look good," Solaria whispered and winked at him. Timothy smiled back. She was the youngest mare in the stables and they got on well together, as they were both almost the same age and had only recently matured. But that was also the problem. "Come here, let's talk." Timothy swallowed and did as asked. Solaria was always very nice to him, perhaps nicer than anyone else. He stood uncertainly by his side, and she grinned broadly. "Horox told me that today is your last day on the farm." She stood behind a low fence that enclosed the ponygirls' paddock. It didn't secure them very well, but the mares didn't want to be anywhere else anyway. Horox was the nicest goblin far and wide, he gave the mares a lot of freedom and they were even allowed to talk; things could only get worse for them from here. She leant forward and pressed her ample bosom against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Come to us, no one would see us behind the bushes there. I dare you, Timothy."
He swallowed. She had often made this invitation to him, but he had never accepted - much to the mockery of the ponygirls and Tiger. Even the other stallion wanted to make him follow her, but something deep in his heart kept him from doing so. "Firedragon," he stammered instead. The name seemed to give him some strength, but not enough to climb over the fence and have fun with Solaria behind the bushes. Horox wouldn't even have minded; he always said he didn't care which stallion knocked up his mares, and Solaria was scheduled to have a foal.
"You're not going to do it, are you?" Solaria asked, whinnying in amusement. She took a step back, turned round and bent over, only to present her most intimate parts directly to Timothy. "Tiger would be right inside me by now." She stepped back and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "Maybe Firelily would be a more appropriate name for you."
Timothy blushed. "I... I... I'm just not in the mood!"
"At your age, you should always be in the mood. You haven't touched any of us at all," Solaria said, but there was no malice in her voice. It was just an observation. The other mares, who held back a little, also neighed in agreement. "I really wish you all the best, Timothy. Please find happiness."
***
While Horox prepared the mares for the day, Timothy took the opportunity to bring Tiger his feed. The old stallion was often a bit rough, but Timothy knew that he would never hurt him. Although he had never been like a father to him, he knew that the stallion liked him.
"Good morning," Timothy called out and knocked on the stable door. Unlike Horox, he had no special rights on the farm, and he knew that he'd better only go into the stables if Tiger allowed him to.
"Come in," came Tiger's deep voice from the darkness.
Timothy swallowed. They both lived together on the farm, but he could count their time together on one hand. As a stallion, Tiger was usually tied up in the stable - even with Horox. "I'll bring you your food."
"Doesn't Horox have time for me today?" the old stallion said with a laugh.
"I didn't ask him. You might even get two feeds today,' Timothy replied with a chuckle, taking the bag of pony feed into the stable and filling up the trough. As always, Tiger was secured to the wall with an iron chain. You could fill the trough from the edge, out of Tiger's reach, but Timothy didn't see the point.
The stallion rose and stood right next to his son. He towered over him by a full head, and had to weigh at least twice as much - the least of which was fat. He exhaled heavily, ruffling Timothy's hair. "So this is goodbye?" he asked, and for the first time Timothy heard something like sadness in his voice. "You've been here far too long. We don't need a second stallion - if you had been one. You look so much like your mother."
Timothy didn't dare to look the stallion in the eye. He felt his powerful presence next to him. It took all his strength not to tremble. Weakness was not welcome among stallions, not even if you were not accepted as such.
"The human world is supposed to be exciting," the old stallion continued. "Just imagine it: You can go anywhere you want. A house of your own, and if you have a farm, there are no goblins to boss you around. It must be wonderful." Timothy heard the tremble in his father's voice, but he didn't share the sentiment. What did you do with a day when nobody told him what to do? He was often bored on the farm, what would it be like if no one was in control? A strange fear travelled up his spine. Could freedom be scary?
"I don't want to go," Timothy whispered.
"You have to!" Tiger demanded and Timothy became even smaller. "You should have joined the humans when you were a little boy. Horox was too soft with you, you're hardly a man anyway." Tiger had built himself up to his full height beside him. "We don't need a second stallion on this farm. Go! Go and get a life of your own!"