• Member Since 25th May, 2016
  • offline last seen Yesterday

garatheauthor


"Show my head to the people, it is worth seeing." - Georges Danton

T

To a bunch of herbivores the idea of raising swine is a bit odd. However Applejack soon explains the lucrative business behind it. How will her closest friends react as they find out all the different uses for pigs?

This fic takes place after the events of Applejack's Day Off.

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 37 )

“Maud sent it to me. She got it from her latest rock collecting expedition in Canterda. The brand is Tim Hooftens.”

:facehoof: No. No to both of those forced puns. Absolute, unequivocable no.

The host of today’s tea party was none other than Pinkie Pie.

This is a narrative don't. Things like this are indicative of bad prose. Also, a bit of a nitpick: Pinkie Pie really isn't a tea party kind of mare. That's more a Rarity or Fluttershy thing.

Now, a bigger nitpick on your core premise:

Bears and griffons...are far more likely to eat fish than pork. Pork requires a lot of processing. Fish are staple fare for both bears and predatory birds, and griffons are as much predatory bird as they are predatory cat. Fish are easier to deal with. Also, Fluttershy regularly catches fish for her animals. Can you honestly see Fluttershy slaughtering a pig or distributing slaughtered pig meat? Because I can't. Fish are easier.

Now...

We've seen indications that the ponies in the series do eat, or know of the particulars involved with, meat. We've seen a ham sandwich. Applejack has used the phrase "trussed up like a turkey". Also, according to the series creator Lauren Faust, the pigs are raised for truffle hunting (which you did mention in the fic). Even if you ignore everything else we've seen about pony dietary habits, pigs as truffle hunters makes more sense than pigs as export.

Another nitpick: Fluttershy being revolted at the idea of leather but not slaughter for meat REALLY makes no sense. After all, if you're slaughtering for meat, the animal's already dead, so there's no real reason to cry foul over leather.

Aaaaaaand really, the whole "punchline" of this story about gelatin? It really, really falls flat, because the whole "ponies react to eating meat/animal products" thing in fanfiction is such an overused and discredited trope at this point that stories like this really should not even exist anymore. :unsuresweetie:

If you'd written this five years ago, you'd have gotten a pass on new fandom/general ignorance, but in 2016, this kind of story is an autofail. 0/10.

It's a bad time for marshmallows are made from?

This was a fun little story.

some fancy pants pony

Comically enough, of all things, ponies don't wear pants. Not even Fancy Pants wears fancy pants.

I was expecting some kind of funny twist to be in there, but, you know, all of that was really perfectly reasonable and completely what anyone should expect farm-raised pigs to be used for. I have to criticize the part about trash disposal, though: the point of keeping pigs is that you can feed them with trash. You don't keep them so that you can feed them trash. Composting does everything manure could do.

Pigs are useful because they are basically zero cost: their food is what you'd otherwise throw away anyway - and when you don't have enough kitchen garbage, you can drive them into the forest to feed on acorns and such, which is also free. It's a very convenient side business for anyone.

Loved the final line, though.

7308099
Really glad you enjoyed it.

7308769
You're right, I did disregard a whole lot of things while writing this fic. Though I did not honestly notice or absorb a lot of those references you mentioned.

In defense of the tea party being hosted by Pinkie, I thought she would be a safe bet since a tea party does fall under the umbrella of party. Plus Sugarcube Corner would be a large enough venue to host the six of them for something like that. However, so would Rarity or Twilight's home/castle and those also would have made far more sense.

The bad prose I can only blame on myself for trying to push this to quickly. I know fixing that would probably not have saved the fic for you. I do apologize for that.

Most of all I wrote this as a joke about gelatin being made of pork. Something I discovered not so long ago and it kind of horrified me.

I know none of what I say can really save the fic, but I am sorry you didn't like it. I hope I can do better on my next story, and I hope you'll give me a second chance.

7308893
Spoiler: Gelatin

7308990
Glad you enjoyed it.

7309112
Yeah I will admit I kind of put Twilight's response there so she'd have one. Though, I am glad you enjoyed the fic.

7309249

Most of all I wrote this as a joke about gelatin being made of pork. Something I discovered not so long ago and it kind of horrified me.

There is also beef gelatine, made by boiling their bones, and you can extract it from horse skin, bones and hooves as well.

Enjoy the continued food-related horror. :trollestia:

(Honey is bee vomit.)

I thought maybe Fluttershy gets paid by the government for taking care of animals, and Applejack has pigs for the same reason. I was sure there weren't enough Griffins in the area to eat all her pigs. Nice little story with some funnier ideas than mine.

........well... you learn something new and disgusting every day! :pinkiesick:

7309304
Well I mean you can put them on a train and export them all over. Glad you enjoy it. Thank you for the kind words.

7309602
I am so sorry.

Applejack and Pinkie have no qualms eating pigs. Earth ponies keep Equestria's dirty little secrets.

I've seriously been wondering this ever since the episode premiered, though I haven't read the fic yet. The truffle-hunting comment some people are making is logical enough, but the whole thing still seemed suspicious to me...

Rainbow laughed. “Oh man I remember that. Gilda was pretty awesome back in flight school.” She paused for a moment. “But yeah, Gilda used to get meals with meat. I mean its natural guys, some of us eat grass, some of us eat meat.”

I thought Fluttershy's comfortable with carnivores. Then again... I've seen a fic where RD tries chicken. I'm not that surprised that earth ponies have Equestria's darkest secrets hidden under lock n' key.

7311970
I mean she is completely understanding that some animals have to eat meat to survive. I however do not think she would be comfortable with the concept of leather or fur clothing? I mean its kind of like prancing around with pieces of a dead animal on you. I could imagine her being disturbed by that.

7312156 Oh, so there IS a difference.

There isn't a Braeburn emote but if there was I would put a Braeburn emote to remind people of his particular taste in clothes.

Also the fic was pretty nice.

Does this mean that gummies and marshmallows aren't vegan.

7378041
There are special vegan gummies and marshmallows you can buy, but the standard brands are not vegan no.

I like it.

You paint Applejack very well as a practical farmer reminiscent of ones I've actually known,, created good reasons for owning pigs and their practical uses in a mostly herbivorous setting-by the way, I wasn't so much squicked out as I was fascinated. Then again, I'm not an herbivore who dislikes the thought of ending any creature's life.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow's reactions remind me a bit of some worldbuilding I've been working on in my own stories. In my writing, ponies are herbivorous by choice, and it has become so ingrained in the culture on account of a popularized view of "cute innocent animals that we must take care of" that ponies just don't eat meat of any sort. Here seeing a gryphon eat meat for example would be sickening to your average citizen, despite the fact that, biologically, they wouldn't have any issues with it.

Anyway, nice little story, and I'm glad I stumbled across it.

7380089
And I'm glad that you enjoyed it. It's always fantastic to read such a detailed comment telling me about why someone loved something I wrote. Thank you very much for it, it made my day.

Ever since writing the story I have been in a bit of a debate over pony diets with my group of friends. Some of them follow the strict vegetarian theory, while others adopt a more omnivore approach to ponies. Personally I like your idea of them being biological omnivores, but culturally vegetarian.

7378051 I can't wait to tell me brother. He's vegetarian and considering becoming vegan.

7380182 7380089

[tf2spyvoice] Ahem. Gentlemen. [/tf2spyvoice]
i.ytimg.com/vi/24NNTRDwjvM/hqdefault.jpg

Some additional fodder for your conversation:
[youtube=qkQ7o-gWWng]

7311970
I remember that fic!:rainbowkiss:
The entire setup revolved around Rainbow Dash's line here, and the story was Dash being curious.

Short, simple, factual, and fun!:twilightsmile:
Quite enjoyable!:scootangel:

Twilight nodded as she munched on a gummy bear, tearing off the poor creature’s head.

Glad I'm not the only one that bites them head first. :twilightsheepish:
Promptly kill them before eating the body!:pinkiecrazy:

Blissful ignorance is a death trap. Knowledge, even seemingly trivial knowledge, is power. You owe nobody an apology.

Even if no pig was ever slaughtered for meat or hide, sooner or later everything dies of natural causes. Unless they've got a graveyard or a crematorium for those. I can imagine there being an agreement with meat-eating species like dragons, griffons, and diamond dogs to deal with the bodies... Possibly before the actual moment of death.
And what do you suppose they fry their hay-fries in, if not lard? They don't appear to have the industrial base needed to produce large quantities of vegetable oil.
Pigs are immortal, anyway. You know why that is? It's because after you kill them, then you cure them. :pinkiecrazy:

I'm not the audience for this story.

I use pork neck bones to make soup stock. I also gut live fish for cooking. Pork biproducts don't surprise me.

really, you think shy'd be okay with it
it's only natural to use the whole body

7308769
Somebody's full of themselves...

You could go back to reading the sides of Hamburger Helper boxes.

No, really. Go back to that.

In my headcanon, Fluttershy is the least likely to freak out about this on an intellectual level...

She works with animals, and is read up, in full details, of the 'predator/prey' food chain, not to mention the requirements of badly injured creatures beyond medical intervention...and what would be required to end their suffering...

She has a strength to her most miss. To do what may be required; and yet, to weld herself to a personal commitment NOT to benefit from it...

Rarity, however, would LOSE HER MIND!!

Excellent little story...!!!

10603954

And he gets his hissy fit immortalized.

Man, there must have been one helluva karmic unbalace to catch up on...

Anyway...writers have always had common ideas, unless you work in Hollywood nowadays, (they just repeat them now). The Greeks INVENTED 'Deus ex machina', and not just for writer's block...

I liked it.

10604628
Please don't read my fics, you don't deserve them...

Jesus Christ dude no one deserves to die prematurely because they left a mean comment on a fic.

10604637
I can certainly accomodate...especially since he fairly destroyed you as a no talent hack that should write copy someone else wrote...

I saw the effort you put into it, and if you wish to indulge woofy trolls, (even dead ones that first and foremost should have gotten a firm grasp on '...if you can't say something positive, don't say anything at all...'), that is your right...

Me? I call 'em like I see 'em. And you let that spectre live on in your head.

Lmaooooooooooooo


Loved this

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