Chancellor Neighsay

Chancellor Neighsay, or simply, Neighsay, is a male unicorn pony who appears as the main antagonist of the season eight premiere School Daze. He is the head of the Equestria 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.

According to Jim Miller on March 25, 2018, Neighsay's resemblance to Doctor Strange "wasn’t intentional."

Depiction in the series
In School Daze - Part 1, Chancellor Neighsay first appears when Twilight Sparkle and Spike meet with him and his association to get their 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.

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 an unspecified later episode.

Personality
Chancellor Neighsay is portrayed as very strict and conservative, insistent that all schools under the EEA's authority follow its guidelines. He is also very prejudiced toward non-pony creatures, openly describing them as dangerous. Despite his rough personality, however, he does appear to care for the quality of education and the safety of pony students.

Magic

 * This section is transcluded from the article magic. If you wish to edit this section, [ click here].

Quotes
"Princess Twilight Sparkle. I am Chancellor Neighsay. Equestria owes you a great debt. But princess or no, we expect you to do things by... the... book!"

- School Daze - Part 1

"And can we trust you to follow through with this plan? Will you leave the school unattended to gallop off on your... "adventures"?"

- School Daze - Part 1

"Honesty is imperative."

- School Daze - Part 1

"Those are students? But you said you were opening this school to protect Equestria! To defend ponies from... dangerous creatures who don't have our best interests at heart!"

- To Twilight Sparkle, School Daze - Part 1

"Well, perhaps you should return to your kind."

- To Prince Rutherford, School Daze - Part 1

"Irresponsible teachers, students skipping class, endangering ponies! Your school is a disaster. Perhaps if you had had higher standards for who was admitted, this could have been avoided."

- To Twilight Sparkle, School Daze - Part 1

"Who dared remove my seal?"

- School Daze - Part 2

"Classes won't start at all! The EEA has spoken, and none shall pass!"

- School Daze - Part 2

"Allowing all of these creatures to attend your school, changing the rules for them – it simply won't work!"

- School Daze - Part 2