The sun has set long ago, but the noise coming from over the hill has not died down in the slightest. Bonfires with marshmallows and meat over them and tables laden with wine are intermixed with hundreds of party guests, each with a bow and arrow across his back and a t-shirt that says ‘PARTY PONIES’. Some are wearing the most ridiculous accessories, while others act like they had way too much to drink from the start of the party and then kept drinking through the night anyway. To say the scene was crazy…would be the understatement of the gods’ reign.

A lone guest stands on the crest of the hill, looking over the scene. His name is Chiron, and he is one of the oldest and wisest of the centaurs. There was a day when he would have gladly joined the partying centaurs below him, but that day is long past. He may have heavy responsibilities and obligations now, but that does not mean he will not go and visit his ‘brothers’ once and a while. But sometimes he really wished they would not drink so much…

Chiron sees the inevitable before any of his inebriated friends. A centaur with a lyre and an obnoxiously large pink hat, complete with his electric green t-shirt, had stood too close to one of the bonfires and his tail was starting to smoke. Very quickly his tail caught fully on fire, the flames on his tail able to feed off themselves, but still the half-horse, half-man was oblivious to what was happening. One of the centaurs near the drunken horse swayed over too him and said in a slurred stupor, “Duuuuude, your tail. It’s like, on fire and stuff. Totally cool, man! You western ponies sure know how to party!”

His words knocked the endangered centaur right out of his little bubble. He glanced back at his tail and began to jump around, trying to put the flames out. Other ‘Party Ponies’ saw what he was doing and began jumping around too, thinking it was a new dance or something. It took a while for anyone else to realize the true reason why the jumping had started in the first place. Then, with many shoutings of “Duuuuude”, “Awesome, man!”, and “Party Ponies keeping it HOT”, other centaurs came to the aid of the one with the enflamed tail and successfully put out the fire.

With a damaged tail and equally damaged pride, the centaur hung his head and began to walk away from the party, the novelty lost on him. The other party guests watched as he walked towards where Chiron stood on the hill, then slowly began to return to their partying.

Chiron remained straight-faced as the younger centaur trudged up the hill to stand next to him. After a few minutes of silently watching the scene below them resume their festivities, the injured centaur turned to Chiron and asked, “Why is it always me?”

To which Chiron soberly replied, “Because you lack foresight.”