It's the deliberately coldest autumn day in recorded Ponyville history and Rainbow Dash, who's setting up the last of the weather conditions, has the town pretty much to herself as every other pony huddles indoors, hiding from the chill. This would normally mean a morning where nopony takes a single glance at her and decides she's a talking map with nothing better to do than personally guide them wherever they need to go, no matter how many hours it takes. And in fact, nopony does.
Just one familiar, arrogant jerk of a teenage dragon who wants to know how he can get to a certain cave -- and believes Rainbow has nothing better to do than take him there...
(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)
Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.
This... this is looking promising. faved!
This is glorious. Definitely looking forward to more.
Oh, phew, for a second there I thought it was a one-shot. As a one-shot, that would have been a very abrupt and unsatisfying ending.
But it isn't, so... please proceed. 
Hasn't lived in the place long enough to know what bucking street he lives on > Gets asked how to get to next town over by passing motorist. Five times. In one day.
I know this feel
Read the story: heh, cute and funny!
Liked and faved, the story earned it.
Oh, it's by Estee. No wonder!
Looking forward to more!
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote
I dearly hope RD can bring the comeuppance down on this dragon by the end.
I am very curious to see where this goes. I don't know if I've ever seen someone who's as good at making exposition a compelling as you are. Really, Rainbow Dash rambling about weather shouldn't be this interesting. And yet it easily the highlight of this chapter. I'm curious to know how relevant all of this is though. Her having 'direction face' doesn't seem at all important to the situation. Whether she has 'direction face' or not, she was literally the only pony outside. He couldn't have possibly asked anyone else for directions.
I think you meant summit.
3521589
Horrible ugly eye-slide typos keep me humble.
And Garble is now very obviously dragon Rainbow Dash, right down to the loyalty. Didn't see that coming. Also love that Dash has no idea how ironic she's being. Oh, and also how the stories so clearly match up to specific events in Dash's life, even if they also showed how poor Garble's morals actually are.
I think Rainbow may be thinking about the wrong kind of 'heat'...
3522387
I think you're in the wrong Comments section.
...anyway, if it was that kind of medallion, Twilight would have had a pair of story invaders mugging her for it by now. Politely. With royal decorum. (But still essentially mugged.)
3523073
Yeah, I don't really know where that came from. I blame lack of sleep.
I love how you can weave so much character and world detail into something as simple as the walk from one place to another. Volcanos being necessary to dragon health, the magic needed for the ponies to withstand the caldera, Crackle being dragon Dash (with dragon morals and dragon mentality,) all folded almost seamlessly into the story. Well, except the last one, since that basically is the story. More or less.
In any case, looking forward to more.
I feel for Pinkie. I wish I could make money off the number of times I have been somewhere in a store where the employees wear uniforms wearing the opposite colour/dress and having folks come up and ask me for something. Typically I go sure and promptly find an employee and ask them and sweetly watch the dithering twit for bothered me turn red and blush and flustered. I'm not nearly as nice as Pinkie
I'm liking the comparison between Garble and Rainbow, though I'm curious to see what you'll do with it. I could see this becoming a 'We're not so different after all' or just as easily becoming a 'Whoah, I really need to turn my life around.'
Garble thinks he's faster than Rainbow Dash?
Huh.
Garble Dash.
I am pretty sure that whatever you have planned for the conclusion of this story does not actually include Rainbow Dash beating Garble to a bloody pulp... but just this once I wouldn't mind a less sophisticated ending.
"And then she kicked his ass." That sounds like a good ending, doesn't it?
I'm kidding. Mostly. But dang, he REALLY needs to get some respect knocked into him. Nanby Pamby Pony princess herself can watch while Rainbow Dash gets first dibs.
Ah, teenage arrogance. So adorable.
Where can I start reading the Triptych Continuum?
4988763
This is the first story in the continuum - and is two stories "behind" Tryptych. Enjoy!
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote
The progression of Rainbow's thoughts about the warding gems pretty much mirrored my own. Well done that.
I am going to reread this whole story to absorb the awesome. Right now.
4988763
You can start anywhere, but the main story is just called Tryptich, and that will have the most comprehensive introduction into the particulars of the verse's defining traits, such as how magic is channeled, the consequences of backlash, etc.
If you want a slightly shorter introduction, I would HIGHLY recommend Total Eclipse of the Fun. It's a bit less of a commitment, and it's still a great introduction.
4988763 This link is to Estee's listing of the stories in chronological order. It is the most up-to-date version released. 100% Move = 50% Fire is the first story in the Continuum.
This is not the first story in the set.
Reread the whole thing. At first I had no idea how Rainbow would get out of this. Then this chapter started me in thinking she would have to set off one of the traps. Now that I have finished, I have no idea (again). I am on the edge of my seat.
In any case, Garble's fear of heights is pretty obvious to anyone who doesn't find the very idea inconceivable. We've seen him fly, but judging by his reactions, it seems something may have injured him. Interesting...
Also, I loved the dragon magic traps. Innovative, appropriate, and generally cool.
Looking forward to more.
4991791
They found Rarity & Pinkie's tic-tac-toe playing field.
This story grows on me more and more chapter by chapter, Garble is really shaping up to be the Rainbow Dash of dragons (which is still very different from the Rainbow Dash of ponies). I'm also loving the dragon magic that's being added in as well, it makes total sense that dragons would be able to use gem magic with their connections to gems. I bet it only works on gems that have been in a dragon's hoard for years though. I also really love how Rainbow Dash is forced to swallow her pride, and her loyalty is the only thing capable of making her do that. I'm not sure if Garble is deliberately holding the other ponies hostage to RD, or if that's just how it comes out.
I'm a little confused about the "murderer" thing. We're talking about the phoenixes, right? They're animals, I assumed during Dragon Quest the dragons were going to eat the phoenix egg meat after they smashed them. Is this because Rainbow's a herbivore species, so she thinks all animal death is murder, or is this a thing where in the Triptychverse phoenixes are actually sapient?
4993691
Hey Pheonixes are sentient in FIMVerse too. We see Philomena [sp?] go through great strides to prank Flutters and Twilight, able to plan, think ahead, and communicate. Technically the whole Pheonix egg thing calling them murderers is appropriate since they simply wanted to destroy the eggs for the thrill of killing something defenseless under the watchful eyes of immortal fire-birds. And we see that ponies are omnivores or at the very least a mix of pescatarian [we see that they do eat seafood in canon] and lacto-ovo Vegetarian [we see them eat things that use eggs, drink milk, and use dairy products.] So we can't call ponies in FimVerse Herbavores like their Earth counterparts ... although historically speaking horses have been known to eat and handle meat.
4999419 Ehhh, Philomena doesn't seem any more sapient than say Angel, who basically acted as the villain of an entire episode himself, and has done every thing from come up with Fluttershy's plan to earn Twilight's extra Gala ticket, to traveling across the country to find Fluttershy again (like a nasty little Lassie). Nevertheless we see predatory species all the time, so I assume the standard for sapience is a little higher in the FIMverse. You're right they may have killed those phoenix eggs for the fun of it, which is extreme animal cruelty, but not the same thing as murder, for the same reason have the dog put down is not considered assisted suicide.
You're right about them not being herbivores though, I wouldn't be surprised if they occasionally sample fish products.
4999450
Rarity summoned some fish hor dourves in that one episode with the cursed book in it at the party. But yeah, we don't really know what the bar in sapience is over there. After all you have things like Winona and Opal who act like normal pets. But Angel who is smarter than Fluttershy at times in the show [or even other ponies at other times].
Then you have to take into account that just because a species doesn't speak in a language we understand, or doesn't use tools, or construct fancy cities, or the things we take for granted. Doesn't mean they are of lower sentience or intelligence. Technically it would be murder. Since Pheonixes [as far as we've seen on the show. Mostly due to their long lives, and unkillability learn, grow, and process lots of information that'd give them a high Sentience Quotient] are of high intelligence.
Going on a raid to kill eggs [they weren't doing it for food. They were doing it for the purpose of killing something]. Of a species who breeds who knows how many times per century / millenia. For the joy of taking a life, not for food, or clothing, or protection. But the satisfaction that comes from holding a life in their hands, then snatching that life away. Is murder.
It'd be like going to an alien species [since unlike FimVerse our animals are stupid, and we don't have competing sentient species living on our planet]. Going to their young when the adults aren't looking, and killing them. Simply because you were bored.
4999519 I'm gonna disagree on the idea that if a species doesn't speak, or really do anything, they can still be considered intelligent. Tortoises can live centuries, it doesn't make them sapient (sentient is the brains of a mouse or so, sapient is what separates humans and/or ponies from animals). We've never seen the phoenix speak really, just chirp like any other bird.
Like I said, what Garble and co did was extreme animal cruelty, just as if they had done that to swallows or another bird, but unless they came back to eat the eggmeat later or phoenixes are considered some kind of dragon pest or something, the same way that sociopathic kid who kills his neighbors dog doesn't get put on trial for murder.
4999669
What about Sheep and Cows? We see them talk, but they are treated like farm animals on earth. Kept in stables / pens, pony(man) handled into going / doing what a pony wants, and are dependant on ponies doing what ponies want them to do.
You can't think of FimVerse as you would EarthVerse. Especially when you add magic, and things over there working at a way far different than what they are here. That and actual Sapience and Intelligence [on a scientific level] is what I mentioned before. What you are doing is mixing up Consciousness and Intelligence . Something that FimVerse animals of all forms [even those dumb Goats] have access to.
After all on Earth animals are stupid. They are unable to truly communicate or hold conversations with other species beyond body language [not what Angel does, but things like Arching the back, baring teeth, territorial dances]. Have no self-awareness other than very few animals [and even then you'd probably still consider Chimps, Dolphins, and Octopi [who have greater intelligence than humans but since Octopi die right after sex [males] or giving birth [females] are unable to build off of previous generations] more stupid than humans.
But on FimVerse, we see them able to carry conversations, and actually start them. They are able to not only just hear mouth noises, and connect it to food. But ponies can understand the spoken word [even if they can't speak it themselves]. Are able to act in ways naturally that those on Earth cannot [whens the last time you saw a Bear sit down and have a tea party?]. So even if they are "Animal" class intelligence. Animals there have a far greater intelligence, self awareness, consciousness, and sentience that puts them on near to equal to pony intelligence. [After all they'd have to be if Ponies have the ability to communicate to them in the wild as they show they are able to on the show.]
Then you also have to look at it from a pony perspective. Yes as a human, I can look at the intelligence of the animals over there, and 90% of them I'd still want served on my plate [looking at those cows]. But for ponies, those animals are creatures they are able to communicate to as they would a pony. Have and have shown actual intelligence on par to ponies. Are capable of reasoning, independant thought, and exist purely to serve and be companions to ponies. Since ponies over there control every aspect of the world under their hooves [flow / expressions of nature, animals, creation of life, weather, rising and setting of celestial bodies, etc.] animals are less mindless creatures as they are companions and friends that are far superior to the dumb beasts that exist only to be served on my plate we have on earth [and yes I consider pets to be nothing more than animals I haven't decided to eat yet].
So add in FimVerse Creatures are pony+ level intelligence / sentience. The mindset ponies have on animals. And how integrated nature and the creatures within it are to pony culture / magical expression. And that all adds up to. Taking a life, especially for the purpose of taking a life for fun, is murder. Now it wouldn't be murder in a moral sense, if it was for food. But if you watch the episode. It wasn't for the hunt. It was for the sake of killing. Before you reply, ask yourself this. If they were around ponies, donkies, griffons, or other "Civilization having" creatures, and did what they did [they chose Pheonixes purely due to their closeness when having a raid, so on addition to attempted murder / killing of a child. It was a crime of availability]. Would you consider it murder, or would you simply say they were being cruel to an animal?
Also add this into your thinking. Ponies on Earth are animals not close to human intelligence. Ponies and animals in FimVerse aren't like they are on Earth. Not by far, especially when you throw magic into the mix. So try seeing this outside of the limited mindscape of a human on Earth [no offense meant, just Alien Universe = different way of thinking about things].
5000082 You have a very well-reasoned point about the difference between consciousness and intelligence. I agree, animals in general display greater intelligence than their counterparts do on earth, though most of them do not approach human levels. I did use speech to define sapience earlier, as I wanted to make it clear that killing a young cow or sheep in Equestria would definitely be considered murder.
One thing I do question is how much of what we see animals do on the show is the result of Fluttershy's special talent, and that of other ponies like her. She can communicate with animals, as part of cutie mark magic, or whatever. That's similar to "talk with animals" magic seen in many other fantasy settings, with druids and the like. In those settings, the animals around the druid usually gain greater intelligence. I'm sure its no coincidence that the "pet" animal we see display the most intelligence is Angel, who is around Fluttershy 24/7. This is obviously open to interpretation, but I suspect the talent of Fluttershy and other ponies with animal/befriending cutie marks actually grants sapience, at least to a limited and somewhat temporary degree, to the animals they interact with. It would explain why Applejack, who obviously loves and spends time with Winona, still gets her to respond exactly like a normal dog.
I think the larger question is basically, animal sentience in Equestria is an grey-area on creatures possessing sentience compared to Earth. I think we're both just making different judgement calls, you are choosing to lower the bar a bit and be generous in considering them deserving of the rights of sapient beings, I'm doing the opposite, being stingy and raising the bar to "talks in complex speech and/or capable of complex tool-building/maintaining a civilization on their own."
Look at it this way: If the dragons had simply said they were hungry and eaten the phoenix eggs, would that have been wrong? Certainly it would have if they have found some pony or cow babies and eaten them. I think for a killing to be murder, it has to be killing something/someone you would never kill except in self-defense/wartime or whatever, whereas if its OK to kill something for food, its not murder to kill it for pleasure, though it is sick and wrong, and probably a crime.
5001216
Yeah Winona is a simple dog, and pigs are shown to be unintelligent. And part of it could be Fluttershy's druidyness. But I'm thinking it's more along the lines as part of the cornicopia effect. As ponies interact with world around them, their ability to connect and communicate with animals increases. Yes those with Animal befriending cutie marks probably get a bonus, but Animal Cutie Marks are a common thing. And with that comes a circular area of effect that boosts all animals intelligence [effected by that mark].
Although theirs the added deal of that animals personality thrown in. Then you have animal types. Cows, and Sheep can speak, but don't create civilizations. Are kept in enclosures. And are treated as livestock. And Goats, they don't talk in words we understand, or make anything. They simply are living props. But they have an ability to communicate to some degree. But as you said it's a grey area.
Now as a human. I can see where you're coming from. But as a pony [getting into their mindset], I can see how and why Rainbow Dash would call him a murderer. Or at least why that word was used. If you as you said, [paraphrasing] Ponies with Animal based Cutie Marks raise animal intelligence around them. And Animal Cutie Marks aren't all that uncommon [their pretty common], and those cutie marks give an AoE field that boosts animal intelligence to Angel levels of smartness. OF course that'd mean our limited knowledge of Pheonixes due to Philomena, is skewed by 1,000 if not 1,000s of years near ponies of that magic type.
5001352 I totally agree about the cornucopia effect on animals from all the ponies who have animal-based cutie marks, otherwise how could all those animals still act the way they did while Fluttershy was in the Crystal Empire? I bet you if she had stayed there for a year or two, and no other similar ponies were in Ponyville, Angel and co. would begin to act a lot dumber.
Your right that Rainbow Dash seeing it as murder too, I've always seen her as someone who operates on a very relationship-based view of morality, which may seem wrong but is pretty much required of her as the Element of Loyalty. I.e. my friends are right and their enemies are wrong. Spike hated it when those dragons burst those eggs, so it was murder.
You know who's one animal that doesn't really fit in here neatly? Owlowicius. I've always wondered how he just showed up in Twilight's Library with the ability to read (to fetch the books she asks for) out of nowhere. Any theories?
5004439
Well archetypally owls are creatures of wisdom. Add in the cornucopia effect in the settled zones and I think animals that already had higher levels of intelligence [for an animal] would only become that much smarter. Give how ever many generations Granny Smith settled that wildzone and the parents of those smarter animals would teach their children how to act more smart, and it would build upon itself.
So with X generations of smart owls, breeding smarter ones. Owlicious was born to be a great pet for any librarian. He just ended up in the right place, and right time to be Twilight's. That and add in animals within a Cornucopia Effected landscape are attuned to ponies, it makes sense the smarter ones would not just understand speech, but be able to read it as well. That's my logic / headcanon at least. Does that sound plausible?
[Edit: Also we see Angel [CE on Speed] being able to read books, and pick out food that he wants to have.]
5004478 I assumed Angel was working on pictures. Maybe he was the mysterious former librarian's owl, and after the death of his master/mistress Owlicious took some vacation time, then came back and figured "why not slip into the same role as before"? The cornucopia effect coming from more than just animal cutie mark ponies would explain why so many animals see being a pet as their life's ambition.
5004618
I agree with the life's ambition to be a pet thing. Also like the thought that Owlicious was for the missing librarian. Although I honestly thought it was a position that nopony had used in ages. Since almost nopony ever goes there.
I honestly wonder other than controlling every facet of nature, making nature malleable to pony magic, and smarter / easier to communicate with animals. Just what the CE can do? Since if you think about it, 90% of EP's are Druids, 90% of Pegasi deal with weather control for all of Equestria, and 90% Unicorns are mages [10% of each race either overlaps with another's magic specialization [like Flutters and Holly Dash], or have technological / socio-economical / militant / other based CM's,]. So all that working together has to have some rather interesting effects on wildlife [like AJ's Big Mac sized apple].
5004687 Interesting and sometimes terrifying, when you think about it. They optimize every inch of land for pony civilization, like a great equine manifest destiny. If it wasn't for the special magic of the Everfree, it would be a couple of small forests and lots of cropland by now. I kind of get why so many other species don't like them. If you like your environment the way it is, and ponies show up or even move near by, better get rid of them or everything is going to change.
5004696
And it's like what was mentioned in the fic, Mark of Appeal. Lots of ponies "fall" into their cutie marks. Let their CM's dictate their lives [to one degree or another] [A similar topic was broached in "The Hipocracy of Tolerance"].
So yeah a pony neighbor shows up, to one of the many races who like their wildzone nations. It'd suck for them since ponies are efficient at controlling everything [from the seasons, to day and night [for the entire planet], all the way to how animals react [and that's those they don't have as second class citizens / slaves]]. Especially if it's what their cutie mark gives them magically boosted strength at. Since a pony with a CM is many times greater than those without it naturally [magic buffs].
5004729
5004696
There are even more examples of Pony omnivorism in the show:
Applejack almost ate a ham sandwich during the episode in which Philomena the phoenix was introduced. The only reason she hadn't was that she was too indecisive about which plate to eat from first. And even if she didn't know that it came from a pig (unlikely, as Sweet Apple Acres has pigs), she had to know that the sandwich had meat in it.
Another is Pinkie Pie's commentary about the fun she had participating in a hotdog eating contest. Said commentary being made during Ponyville's Running of the Leaves, when she was sharing Commentator duties with Spike. As I don't remember anypony being disturbed by this revelation, it would seem likely that hotdogs are a common enough part of the diet of at least the residents of Ponyville (Manehattan apparently using carrots as a substitute).
Not meat related, but still a sign of advanced omnivorism: various ponies throughout MLP:FiM have been shown eating a variety of plants that are toxic to normal equines, with no sign of ill effect. Or eating certain plants that are fine as occasional treats, but will make a pony sick if eaten as a regular part of their staple diet. Ironically, the later example includes apples and tomatoes - the amount of apple based products that the Apple family fed Twilight Sparkle during the very first episode would have given a regular horse more problems than just an overstuffed belly.
As for Animal Sapience in Equestria:
I'm going to jump on the Cornicopia Effect bandwagon and blame Earth Ponies. Or at least ponies with animal care related Cutie Marks. Particularly those like Fluttershy, who go out of their way to make friends with pets and otherwise wild critters.
Sheep, Goats, and Cows are fully intelligent, albeit with lifestyle preferences very different from Ponies, Donkeys, and Mules. The 'tenants' of Sweet Apple Acres and other farms in the area most likely refer to these three species (and maybe ducks, geese, and/or chickens). Pigs are apparently excluded (and I would hope so, considering the implications of Pinkie Pie's and Applejack's dietary explorations mentioned above).
Deer are probably sapient, but apparently do not communicate regularly with Ponies and are thus occasionally mistaken as acceptable pet candidates. I personally like to think of the likely local population of Whitetail Deer as the Equestrian equivalent of wood elves - reclusive, with a close to nature lifestyle, and a few spies passing themselves off as 'simple animals' to keep track of what potential disasters the populace of Ponyville are going to bring about next. I bet the two deer present during the charity concert for Fluttershy's animal care center were surprised to find themselves claimed as pets!
A probably unintended result of the Cornicopia Effect on nearby animals is the imitation of civilization. Such as the furnishings shown in the animal den several of the Mane Six hid in during the Parasprite episode, or the Vampire Fruitbat that was reading a newspaper. Although the later might have been due to feedback from Twilight's spell. Consider what other changes the VFBats might have gone through had Twilight not been able to (mostly) reverse the spell?
5007308
That post gets 5 mustaches and a Scootangel.
.
5007308 That's some great world building right there. I assume Equestrian hotdogs are made of soy or something, but even if ponies don't eat red meat, they sure produce it. There's no way those pigs of Apple jack's produce enough fertilizer to be worth the cost of feeding them. Personally I'm convinced that every month, a friendly Griffon "pet store owner" buys a few pigs from Sweet Apple Acres and takes them in a cart back to Griffon land.
I assume all the animals other than cows, sheep and maybe goats (I haven't seen goats do anything Fluttershy couldn't train an animal to do) are simple animals. If the chickens are tenants, the fact that Fluttershy uses mind control on them and forcibly locks them up when they try to escape has very unfortunate implications.
I know Faust wanted to make deer like elves, and I like the idea of the noble tribe in the white tail wood (otherwise it's a dumb name for the forest). As for that one deer we saw becoming a pet: I have a theory about him. In that same episode we saw that Fluttershy has a Jackelope. I bet that Jackelope father was the deer in question; exhiled from his tribe and cursed with muteness by the tribe as punishment for acts they consider immoral with a rabbit, being somepony's pet was the best he could do.
I think you nailed it on why Harry has such a well - furnished home, but there is a alternative explanation: remember how we first heard Harry's name? Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash lied to Pinkie about her surprise party, and ended up claiming that they were housitting for Harry the bear. Fluttershy may have felt guilty about using one of her animal friends in a lie, and later on she alleviates her crushing guilt by actually furnishing Harry's cave?
Honestly I assumed that Twilight's plan was for them to starve, just like with the parasprites. Ponies have a real "out of sight out of mind" attitude sometimes. I hope Applejack's real lesson is that next time pests invade, give Fluttershy a chance to use diplomacy, then if that doesn't work thank her for her time, escort her off the property and quietly spray some DT.
5007721
Fluttershy: Warden of the Ponyville Chicken Correctional Facility!
Goats are apparently smart enough to use headset communicators. Then again, even that could be trained behavior.
The pigs on any farm tend to subsist on slop. Which is to say, whatever leftover food that a farm produces that the farm owner either can't or wont use or sell anywhere else. They are nature's garbage disposals, turning what would otherwise end up in the compost heap into fresh fertilizer. That said, Applejack still nearly ate a ham sandwich, and most likely knew where the ham came from.
I'm not sure why the local sheep need herded, since they can talk, but they apparently do. Then again, unlike cows, which meander a lot and don't tend to eat grass right down to the ground, sheep can graze an area bare, so if Equestrian sheep have control issues, it may be a case of land management. Another possibility is that they pay for land use in wool, and Applejack just makes sure that the local sheep are herded into the waiting corral so they don't wander off waiting for their wool to be gathered.
And there were two deer. One was smaller and without antlers, so presumably a young doe.
And that's a good point about Harry the Bear!
Fluttershy: Animal Home Makeover!
"Yay!"
5007829 I kind of think Iron Will trains his goats well, and he gave those goats his old mikes to make them look better for the show.
Food is the marginal cost, there's also fixed costs in maintaining a drift of pigs, but mainly time, which seems like the production bottleneck on Sweet Apple Acres. Even with Bloom doing most of the work, there's probably other chores she could be doing that would generate more revenue for the farm... unless Griffons are willing to pay stacks of bits for big juicy "pets."
Considering Fluttershy collects their eggs, it's at the least a for-profit prison. Heck, we've only seen one chicken in Equestria not locked up, and she's passing as a pony!
Honestly I try not to think about cows and sheep too much, since then I think about how we never see them in school, or at parties, or almost ever allowed off the farm. Your explanation of the sheep trading their wool sounds to me like sharecropping, and that's the least exploitative explanation I can think of. Honestly that's the main reason I'm so eager to interpret sapience as strictly as possible, the more the animals around the ponies are just animals, the less I have to consider the possibility that Applejack owns slaves.
Crap, now I'm thinking about Wardenshy purchasing the loyalty of the alpha predator with throw rugs and lamps, paid for with eggs and songs from the oppressed birds that Harry helps keep in line. I need something cheerful to focus on.
5007944 Well, my preferred concept of Equestrian sheep and cows is that both prefer to live a more simple, meandering lifestyle out in the open, but like the idea of secure grazing lands and stockpiled food in the winter that they don't have to gather for themselves. The cows also pay for such additional services as open barns to take shelter in during storms and the winter months. So rather than 'slaves' belonging to individual farms, Ponyville has either a superherd or clan of cattle and/or sheep, with subgroups that pay individual farms for services. Sort of like a strange amalgamation of of Amish-Gypsy hippies. Or perhaps more accurately, Ludite-Gypsie hippies...
"Mooriella... You seem much more... mellow today."
"You gotta try the grass the ponies use for ropes, Emily... It's... Really... trippy! It's called... Hemp! Or was it Hump?"