PONY, a 15-minute short film, follows ZOE (12), a genderqueer preteen growing up in semi-rural Pennsylvania in late-1999.

The film begins with Zoe in their locked bathroom, holding a pair of scissors to their ponytail, as their MOM (40s) frantically tries to break in. Zoe, in a moment of stress, sees a PRETEEN (12), appear behind them in the mirror, wearing a My Little Pony sweater, which triggers a cascade of memories before Mom crashes through the door. Mom makes Zoe hand the scissors over and, exhausted, leaves Zoe alone to contemplate their image in the mirror. Zoe takes in a set of bubble stickers on the mirror that says “TONY,” and uses their sharpie to change the “T” to a “P” for “PONY,” the title card of the film. An animated title sequence of photos on a fridge reveals a photo of twins, a photo of a family of four, a photo of a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOE AND TONY” birthday cake, and an “In Memoriam” card for Tony (1986 - 1998).

The next day, Mom and Zoe play a tense game of Jenga. Zoe’s best friend and crush Kayley (12) arrives for a sleepover—it’s Zoe and Tony’s birthday the next day. It becomes clear that Mom wants Zoe to dress more feminine, Tony isn’t around anymore, and that Zoe may have recently gone into the garage, which is off-limits.

Later that evening, Mom forces Zoe to wear a birthday dress. Zoe crumples into a dysphoric meltdown, hallucinating their twin standing outside in the rain. Kayley sides with them, which further ignites Zoe’s crush feelings, eases their dysphoria and pushes them toward a decision.

At night, Zoe leads Kayley away from Mom and into the forbidden garage. It is in the garage where the circumstances of the death of Zoe’s twin—renamed Pony by Zoe—are revealed, along with Zoe’s grief; where Zoe’s burgeoning feelings for their best friend erupt; and where Zoe’s gender-clashes with their mother come to ahead. When finally confronted by these challenges, Zoe lets go of the past to find new beginnings.