How to know when you've been trapped inside too long. #5 · 1:04am Apr 13th, 2020
Alright, I've come to the conclusion that Equestria is in fact... a slave owning society. Now hear me out, every single animal we've seen throughout the series, even the Equestria Girls series, has been largely intelligent, to the point they can interact with the 'sapient' characters. Owlowiscious showed that he had more forethought than Spike on multiple occasions. Angle Bunny was able to communicate with, and replace Fluttershy, despite him being the only critter she couldn't understand. Applejack keeps cows, which could speak since the fourth episode. We've seen goats wearing ties and headsets, a bat playing music on crystal chalices, and a bear keep a den like a human home. And yet, despite all these signs of intelligent thought, these animals are still bought, sold, traded, and shown-off. So it appears that the only qualifier for freedom is speech, and even that's not a given. Yaks, reindeer, dragons, griffins, changelings, hippogriffs, cat and bird people, all talkers, all free. Dogs, deer, cats, bunnies, phoenixes, no talk, no free. Fluttershy doesn't run a critter care center, she runs a slave market.
Also, am I the only one who nearly cried when they saw that squirrel stuck to the tree in 'Pinkie Apple Pie' (S04-E09) knowing that it would certainly die a slow, lonely, and hopeless death?
If I remember correctly, the cows may be able to talk, but they're not smart enough to live on their own. The cows living on farms is a mutually beneficial arrangement - the cows get shelter and food, and the ponies get milk.
As for Fluttershy, it's probably more like an "adoption fee", which goes to help support her taking care of all the animals that still need it.
Also, given the apparent intelligence of the animals, it's probably more like a "companion" thing than a "pet" thing. Certainly some would rather live with ponies, so they go to Fluttershy to find a pony to live with. While the Mane 6's primary pets have varying intelligence levels (Angel and Owloiscious probably at the top, then Opal, Winona, and Tank somewhere below them, and Gummy doesn't even belong on the scale) they all feel more like people than animals.
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Maybe so, but it your cat came up and started to play charades with you, you'd tell it to empty its own litter box from now on.
As far as the cattle go, I'm actually working on a chapter about them now, I figure they're in a sort of symbiotic relationship. Remember, while they can talk, they were still spooked by a rattler and nearly stampeded through Ponyville had Applejack and Winona not intervened. Ponies provide shelter and general care, but the herd mainly appear to do their own thing. Sheep v goat seems to be the line in the sand. Goats appear to live alongside ponies, whereas sheep are definitely farm animals.
I think the big problem is that where we typically would draw the line with animals, that is human or not human, is that the same duality can't apply in a world with several different sapient species. By our standards, it appears wrong, but in Equestria, the continuum appears to have three steps; animal, animal with limited sentience, and sentient creatures. Lacking the middle ground in our own society, it's difficult for us to accept the norms of Equestria.
I don't see it as wrong, just different. And different isn't always bad.