Directed by: Johnny Castuciano
Written by: Jesse Porter
Eames feels unnoticed and unappreciated, a feeling that is about to change when the Caballo Sin Cabeza, a headless horse, jumps out of the Netherworld portal looking for a new head.
Tropes:
- Arbitrary Skepticism: When Pajuna tells the story of the Caballo Sin Cabeza, she mentions his owner lived in a castle in the sky, and that he later fell asleep under the tree. One of the orphans wonders how there can be trees in the sky, and Pajuna points out they were perfectly fine with a castle being there just moments ago.
- Butt-Monkey: Eames is such a sad sack that when his head is taken by the Caballo Sin Cabeza, he's the happiest he's ever been because being a freakish part man part horse monster makes everyone finally pay attention to him; even if it is just to scream and run from him in fear.
- Chekhov's Gun: Upon hearing the story of the Caballo Sin Cabeza and how it searches for a new head, the first thing the orphans do is make a papier-mache horse head. While nobody really pays this idea any mind, in the end the horse ends up accidentally taking the fake horse head and loving it.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Eames.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The Caballo Sin Cabeza was once the horse of a sorceress until it slept in one day leading to the sorceress being late for an appointment. She responded by removing its head and banishing its still living body to the Netherworld.
- Fate Worse than Death: Eames briefly considers returning to his body and becoming ignored again to be this until Puss points out that Eames literally will die if he doesn't.
- Foreshadowing: All of mechanics of the Caballo Sin Cabeza seem to point to the papier-mache horse head being the best solution; it desperately wants a new head, but even if it finds a head its willing to keep for the long term, it will eventually die off. The papier-mache head works so well because it was never alive to begin with, and thus can't die off.
- Headless Horseman: A variation in that it is a headless horse instead.
- Insane Troll Logic: One of the reasons the orphans give to have made the papier-mache head in the first place is that things ended well last time they made a costume while a monster was in town, despite the fact that the costume itself hadn't helped matters at all the previous time.
- Losing Your Head: While one's head is attached to the Caballo Sin Cabeza, it remains perfectly conscious and capable of independent thought, but the horse remains in complete control of its body.
- Meaningful Name: As Vina points out, "Caballo Sin Cabeza" means "headless horse".
- Mundane Utility: While the fire burning from Eames' neck apparently represents his life force, people are seen casually using it to cook with.
- Off with His Head!: The Caballo Sin Cabeza is very clean in how it operates; when it takes your head it does so magically, leaving your body behind with a blue flame coming out of your neck that can keep it alive for several days. When it decides it wants to try a new head, the original head is returned to its owner's body.
- Your Days Are Numbered: When the Caballo Sin Cabeza takes a head, the original owner's body is left idle with a blue flame burning from their neck. Nobody really pays much mind to this until Artephius points out that the owner dies when the flame goes out.
