Chancellor Neighsay

Chancellor Neighsay, or simply, Neighsay,As credited in School Daze - Part 1, School Daze - Part 2, Friendship University, School Raze - Part 1, and School Raze - Part 2's closing credits. is a male unicorn pony who first appears as the antagonist of the season eight premiere School Daze. He is the head of the Equestrian Education Association, or EEA, a board of scholars who oversee all schools in Equestria.
==Development and design==
Chancellor Neighsay shares his body type with "Sprig Hooffield" and S07E10 Unnamed Earth Stallion #4 and has a similar body type to Trenderhoof, "Free Throw", "Natural Deduction", "Uptown Clover", "Mustafa Combe", and S06E17 Unnamed Earth Stallion #6.
Neighsay's name is a portmanteau of "neigh" and "nay-say", which means "to oppose". It is similar to the song Neighsayer, the in-series expression neighsayer, and the character Neigh Sayer.
Jim Miller has stated that Neighsay's resemblance to Doctor Strange "wasn't intentional" but regarding the inspiration for Neighsay, "There’s a touch of sorcerer supreme in there for sure. Plus some Sheriff of Nottingham"—as played by Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves—"and other stuff."
==Depiction in the series==
 In School Daze - Part 1, Chancellor Neighsay first appears when Twilight Sparkle and Spike meet with him and his association in order to get the School of Friendship approved. The chancellor approves the school with the conditions that they strictly follow the EEA's guidelines and not leave the school unattended to go off on their friendship adventures. In addition, he approves it under the assumption that it will be a school for ponies only, and will teach its students how to protect themselves from other creatures.
Neighsay later pays a visit to the school to check on Twilight's progress, just as the new students decide to cut class for the afternoon. Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, and Rainbow Dash distract him by giving him a tour of the school and summarizing the main points of its curriculum. The students return in time for Friends and Family Day, but changeling student Ocellus appears in the form of a giant insect-like creature, causing chaos at the event. Upon seeing that non-ponies are enrolled at the school, Neighsay reveals his prejudice toward other creatures and insinuates that they would use the school's lessons against Equestria.
 Neighsay's sentiments are such an insult to Prince Rutherford, Ember, Thorax, Grampa Gruff, and Seaspray that they pull their students out of the school. Determining that Twilight failed to uphold the guidelines and standards of the EEA, Chancellor Neighsay closes the School of Friendship and locks its doors with a magical seal.
In School Daze - Part 2, Neighsay returns when Twilight breaks his magic seal in an attempt to reopen the school without the EEA's influence. He declares that the school's non-pony element would be dangerous and unpredictable, but his views are opposed not only by Twilight but also Princess Celestia. The chancellor eventually relents and leaves, proclaiming that Twilight's school could potentially destroy Equestria.
Chancellor Neighsay appears again in Friendship University, where he approves of and accredits Flim and Flam's Friendship University, favoring it over Twilight's school due to its pony-only environment.
 In School Raze - Part 1, Neighsay appears at the School of Friendship again. Fed up with Twilight constantly leaving the school insufficiently attended, especially during the crisis of magic disappearing across Equestria (and after being led to believe she had left Cozy Glow in charge), he assumes control of the school and declares it to be for ponies only. He also ties up the Young Six for suspicion of being the ones responsible for the disappearing magic, intending to summon their guardians to take most of them home. In Part 2, Neighsay's new position as the school's headstallion is usurped when Cozy Glow orchestrates a school uprising, and she and the students tie him up in chains. After the Young Six help him escape, he uses his EEA medallion to travel to Canterlot and warn the princesses about Cozy's plans. In the end, he realizes he was wrong about non-pony creatures and welcomes Twilight back as headmare.
In The Ending of the End - Part 2, Chancellor Neighsay takes shelter with other unicorns inside the School for Gifted Unicorns as Canterlot closes itself off from the other pony races. Later, he rallies the unicorns in the final battle against Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow.
==Other depictions==
===Software===
====My Little Pony (mobile game)====
Chancellor Neighsay is a character in Gameloft's mobile game, and serves as a boss during the "School Raze" and "The Crowning Achievement" events. His in-game description states, "The supercilious head of the Equestria Educational Association ALWAYS does things by the book. The book is about pedagogy, and it is extremely long." He has an altered role in the game's adaptation of School Raze, which sees him attempting to take over the School of Friendship by force.
==Merchandise==
Enterplay collectible card game Friends Forever #84 R and #117 U feature Chancellor Neighsay, reusing screenshots from "School Daze - Part 1".
==Personality==
 Chancellor Neighsay is portrayed as very strict, controlling and conservative, insistent that all schools under the EEA's authority follow its guidelines. He quickly develops a grudge against Twilight for dismissing those guidelines. He is convinced that his way of doing things is the right way, and allows no other opinions to dissuade him, even disregarding Princess Celestia herself supporting Twilight's decisions. He even demonstrating his slightly tyrannical point of view, as he was enraged at Twilight and the others for standing up to him.
He is also very prejudiced towards non-pony creatures, openly describing them as dangerous and even going as far as to disrespect them while in their presence. When magic starts disappearing from Equestria, he assumes that Twilight's non-pony students are responsible. This prejudice can also make him a bad judge of character and borderline naive, as he quickly gave credit to Flim and Flam's Friendship University just because of the pony-only enviroment of the university, in spite of the two being known con-artists. This also led him to free Sandbar when he claimed to agree with his views, not seeing anything suspicious on him suddenly and abruptly betraying his friends.
Despite his rough personality, however, he does appear to care for the quality of education and the safety of pony students, justifying his actions and beliefs as being for the greater good of Equestria. When Cozy Glow takes over the School of Friendship and betrayed him, he became remorseful over his actions, recognizing his prejudice and how he treated others. After being rescued by the Young Six and foiling Cozy Glow's scheme, Neighsay shows a kinder and more tolerant attitude, apologizing for his prejudice and finally showing acceptance of Twilight's institution.
==Appearances==
==Quotes==
 
==Gallery==
==See also==
*
*Chancellors Puddinghead and Jim
==Notes==
==References==
de:Kanzler Neighsay
fr:Chancelier Neighsay
id:Konsultan Neighsay
pl:Kanclerz Neighsay
ru:Канцлер Нейсей
Category:Reformed antagonists
Category:Supporting characters
Category:Featured articles