There were many parts of China's long history that the current government is not proud of. One particular custom was foot-binding, the extensive breaking of girls' feet so that their foots were hideously malformed and able to fit into tiny lotus shoes. Of course, the whole practice has been banned over a hundred years and systematically stamped the last lotus shoe factory was closed back in 1999. Since then, there only existed the living memories of those few elderly women who were subjected to this brutal practice.
Eventually, the People's Republic of China decided to erase the last memories of foot-binding. As the Animalian Virus is capable regenerating missing limbs, deformed feet shouldn't be any trouble. Nor was it. Each woman had their feet completely restored, even though their feet sometimes became hooves or in the case of Miss Zhen, traded for a snake's tail. But what the Chinese government was not prepared for was how rowdy the rejuvenated women could be to varying degrees. While they were aware of RHS, they had hoped these respected elders would continue to behave like, well, respected elders.
Fortunately, there were very few women still alive who still had lotus feet. The government has searched through China very thoroughly, which is certainly not an easy feat considering the massive size of the country and how densely populated parts of it were. Eventually, they determined that they've found the last living woman with lotus feet. If any others were still alive, they must be living in extremely remote areas. Either way, the People's Republic was glad to put an end to this particular project. Though they didn't hold high hopes this last one would act with any more dignity than the others.
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Ruogang was a little edgy when she got called to the office for the Chinese government on Heiya Island. While technically being a part of Japan, Heiya Island was shared between Japan and China. And Ruogang had to admit that the Chinese government hadn't done her wrong. In fact, their patronage allowed her to become the Clydesdale mare she was now. But there were rumors about ultra-conservatives in China disliking the direction Animalians were starting to lead their populace. And Ruogang wasn't about to apologize for becoming a Clydesdale instead of a Chinese breed of horse.
However, Ruogang ended up having less to fear. "This newest patient, who we believe to be the last living woman with lotus feet, has chosen to become a horse," said the government agent, "Can we ask you to help her adjust to her new form."
"That shouldn't be a problem," said Ruogang, "But I'm assuming she didn't become a draft horse."
"Racehorse, actually," said the agent, "Arabian horse to be precise."
"That's not a bad breed of horse to be," said Ruogang.
"No, but she's treating it with less dignity than she should," said the agent, "Perhaps you can talk some sense into her."
"She has the right to live her life as she feels like," said Ruogang, "We've been given the chance to be young again and in better health. Why should we waste our time acting like fragile old ladies."
The agent sighed and said, "I suppose that's within your right. But not everyone uses their rights wisely."
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Ruogang would soon see that the agent had a point when she met the mare. For starters, she had dyed her fur blue. Not sky blue or cyan, but a deep blue which at least didn't stand out as much. She was looking over other samples of dye when she noticed Ruogang. "Hello, can I help you?" she asked.
"Well, my name is Ruogang and I was part of the Lotus Foot Project," said Ruogang.
"Really? Me too. I'm Ria. It's very nice to meet you," said the new mare.
"Likewise," said Ruogang, "What is it you're looking at?"
"Oh, I'm just trying to decide which color I should dye," said Ria.
"Haven't you already dyed?" asked Ruogang.
"Just my fur," said Ria, "I've been trying to think of what I should do with my tail and mane."
“Out of curiosity, can I ask why you’re dyeing?” asked Ruogang.
“Because I’ve been such a perfect little lady my whole life. Obedient, dutiful, and never complaining. And I’ve never had a single choice of my own,” said Ria, “And now-“
“Now that you’ve been given another chance at life, you want to be as different from your old self as possible,” said Ruogang.
“How did you know?” asked Ria.
“Because I felt exactly the same way,” said Ruogang, “And there are others who will readily agree with you. I just decided to become so much bigger and stronger than I was before.” She flexed her arms to show her well-developed muscles. “And you became an Arabian horse because…”
“I want to move faster than I ever could have before,” said Ria.
“Ok, so any particular reason for the dye?” asked Ruogang.
“Because my base fur color came out grey,” said Ria, sounding embarrassed, “The last thing I want is people thinking of me as ‘the old grey mare’.”
Ruogang pursed her lips and asked, “Where have I heard that before?”
“I think it’s an English song,” said Ria, “I’m not sure if I’ve heard it before.”