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While harvesting apples, Applejack is approached by a curious young lamb who has a simple but difficult question:
Why are ponies in charge of sheep and cows and other sentient races?
Applejack explains how this came to be, and why ponies are in charge.
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Yeah, domesticated animals do have a pretty sweet deal.... as long as they ain't domesticated by meat eaters.
It fits as well as any idea I have heard, and it is benevolent. Have a thumbs up and a fave.
Nice. They're not kept as slaves against their will but most like how things are.
This is a fine head cannon.
I declare this to be a probable spiritual sequel to this. This was pretty good. wake up sheeple
Simple and to the point. Neat.
This was good, but I gotta ask... If the sheep and cows give their wool and milk in return for money and lodging, then what about the pigs? Pigs don't provide anything other than meat
A fun little head-cannon about donkeys,sheep, and cows. I enjoyed it. Well played
4916614
Living compost makers? And then fertilizer too afterward? I mean, since they eat everything or something? Actually, has a pig in the show ever spoken? They could be just an animal like Angel Bunny
"Huh. Maybe Ah oughtta have mentioned all the veal we sell to the griffons, or all the leather," Applejack mused, then shrugged. "Nah."
4916726
Nope. Pretty sure they are. They act like it anyway. Though Angel actually acts much smarter than the pigs.
4916614
thay make AMAZING trash compactor's really thay eat EVERTHING
4917822 Actually it was confirmed in the comics that zebras get cutie marks thus the symbol on zecoras flank
4917854 Dude their is a lot we learn from the comics new species what happened to star swirl. Celestia and king Sombra being in love. Celestia using another Luna to replaced her sister whilst she was banished. and so on
4916614
Lauren Faust said that pigs are non-sentient in Equestria, so I don't think they count the same as cows and sheep. As for their use... waste disposal, I guess. Vegetarians like ponies wouldn't have much use for pork.
4917856
The comics do have some things I find of questionable canon, as I'm not sure how closely they work with the original writers. Still, the zebra Cutie Mark thing sounds legit. However, I predict that a future episode of MLP will cover the Star Swirl thing in a different light.
Still... I would like to see a bit more about Sombra's history in the show. I know he's gone for good, but, well, Twilight has transcended time at least once before...
4918414
They forage for mushrooms and truffles for the ponies and other species to eat...
Well okay then. Cool, although I wonder if a sheep ever became a mayor.
Brilliant!
It would have been more interesting if that sheep were one of the few who wanted schooling and to get off the farm as opposed to being content. The way this was portrayed, things are likely not to change for a long long time. It reminds me of the star trek where the androids wanted to take care of us and keep us controlled.
4916449
imgs.xkcd.com/comics/wake_up_sheeple.png
...
I think some of the historical scenarios could have been fleshed out a bit more, but I suppose it had to be short since it was basically Applejack giving an oral history of the relationships between the earth ponies and herd animals.
You might also want to get an editor, too. All the dialogue ended with periods instead of commas. Just got to get someone to give it a quick lookover and it should be nice and neat.
Other than that, it was a nice fic. Have an upvote.
4920084 Huh. Not a bad idea. Still, when one is young, one tends to be more capricious and carefree. I suppose I could have fun with a story about a "black sheep" who leaves the herd to go do something more, but that'll only happen only if I get the mood. I'm pretty capricious myself.
The way I see it, most of the cows and sheep and stuff are too comfortable and complacent in their live to really care about rising to new heights. Maybe it's contentment, maybe it's laziness, I don't know. All I know is that, from the show, I don't get the impression it happens a lot.
4918583 I doubt it. Sheep are kind of known for being followers, not leaders.
A cow, on the udder hand....
4916866 "That's a terrible lie!
The Griffons would never eat our livestock, they love pigs and goats and sheep and cows! Why, every month Gregor the Griffon buys a bunch of all of them off us to be pets for loving Griffon families back home! He even worries if they aren't getting enough to eat, just last time he visited he told Applejack to 'fatten 'em up more.'" 
Don't listen her lies! It behooves the slave owner to keep her property well maintained!
4918583 Still waiting to hear on an episode, the Celestia's Head Chef is named Chef Ramsay...
Applejack is a Pony Racist.
4921353 "Hey Applejack! Got any extra pigs left over? I wanna host another hot dog eating contest!"
"I won last time."
"A contest, eh?"
"Oh, pigs are so succulent and moist!"
"Ayup."
"I thought we were all vegetarians."
"Maybe you prefer... BANANAS?"
4922586
I damn hope Equestrians eat meat.
In my Human Equestrian stories, they all eat meat. Because I eat meat. And meat is deeeeeeeeeee-licious.
So you're a vegan? *Le Willy Wonka Face* s3-ak.buzzfeed.com/static/campaign_images/webdr06/2013/7/30/11/22-questions-willy-wonka-the-chocolate-factory-le-1-31822-1375199158-10_big.jpg How's that working out for you?
EDIT:
This is my face when people tell me they don't eat meat.
s21.postimg.org/k0wtcrosn/Le_monkey_face.png
4922628
Well, in Pinkie's song to the Appleloosans, she noted that they're all vegetarians. But she also mentioned a hot dog eating contest at another point. So I like the idea that ponies all publicly claim to be vegetarians, but some of them are familiar with the succulent flavors of cow, lamb, chicken, fish, pig, and other delicious delicious meats.
4923048
In Harry Potter, there is an equine race that eats meat(Thestrals).
So I am not at all concerned about this turn of events.
By the way, I have heard it said that Human Flesh tastes like pork. Why did I mention this? Oh, no reason. No reason at all.
Applejack is such a liar.
I mean, seriously? The sun rising on its own? Where did she come up with that idea?
4923057
It's not so much a question of being concerned as it is being consistent with the facts as established in the show. Pinkie said they're all vegetarians, so at least the cultural assumption is that everyone is a vegetarian. Ponies finding out that this assumption is wrong is the source of the amusement.
4923048 Well, they could be vegetarian hot dogs. Maybe they're made of soy. The term "hot dog" doesn't necessarily mean "meat dog". After all, vegetarian sausages exist.
4921576 There's always a neighsayer....
4922582 Um... I think you missed the point.
The point is that ponies take care of the sheep and cows and such. The sheep and cows are as free as any other citizen, they're just usually to complacent in their lives to do anything that important.
4922628 Every now and again, I wonder why we humans kill a creature, char the dead corpse over a fire, and then put it in our mouths.
No, I'm not a vegetarian, but I try not to eat a lot of meat. I might have become a vegetarian if it hadn't been for Five Guys. Or seafood. Succulent, succulent seafood.
This was quite enjoyable, because it quelled the worries in the back of my mind that the cows and sheep really are slaves in Equestria. Thank you for writing this.
4923048
4924077 Well, in one episode, Spike purchases a 'carrot dog', which is just a carrot in a hot dog bun. So maybe 'hot dog' is another term for 'carrot dog.'
4924077
4924161
I prefer the idea that Pinkie accidentally revealed her omnivorous proclivities, myself. It adds that nice 'MUAHAHAHAHA' moment.
4924077
We eat succulent animal flesh, oozing blood and fat, because we have front-facing eyes and canines.
Apex Predator 4 life, yo. I sink my fangs into the animal muscle and tear it from the bone.
4924077
Horses can eat meat though.
4924271 Can they? Huh. I'll have to look that up.
) but while it may be possible for equines to eat meat, I don't think the ones in Equestria do. At least not the meats we're used to. Beef and mutton are most certainly off the menu, and I'm getting the impression so are pork and chicken. Although we do see Rarity's dad fishing, so maybe ponies eat fish. I don't know. We know they eat eggs, but I don't know if they would eat, say, shrimp or something. Still, I doubt it. All the episodes seem to point towards the fact that Equestrian ponies at least are vegetarian. (That's different than vegan, folks. Eggs could still be on the menu for a vegetarian.)
Still, you probably knew that, but I couldn't resist a little shout-out for animal rights.
Well, regardless, Pinkie did state that the ponies of Equestria at least are vegetarian. Of course, Fluttershy would be a vegetarian even if she got turned into a lion, (eating cute little critters?
Oh yeah, it doesn't count as eating meat when we feed horses those awful feeds that are pretty much ground-up everything.
Guise, guise, I just thought of something.
MLP:FiM ponies have front facing eyes, don't they? So they have the binocular vision of an apex predator that eats meat.
Their eyes appear to face the front. I mean, there are instances where you can only see one eye on one side of their head, like this
I don't even know anymore, man. If they have canine teeth, it's a wrap.
4924077
Cooking meat kills pathogens and parasites. That is why we cook meat.
Humans are omnivores with near-obligate carnivorism. While humans can survive without meat, doing so requires much more care and forethought. Humans need a minimum of 50 grams of protein per day to survive, for example.
Veganism was outright impossible until very recently; there is no place on the planet where the mix of plants required for a survivable vegan diet grows naturally. It's only through modern geoengineering, agricultural technology, and genetic engineering that such a thing can happen, and prior to the advent of powered ships you couldn't even maintain such a diet through imports.
Horses don't need to eat meat, but they will occasionally eat a rat or bird. Their inability to vomit makes food poisoning deadly, but otherwise they can eat meat just fine.
4925709
We also cook meat because blah blah glycogens and other molecules that only appear when food is cooked, which allowed us to extract more food energy from the food we ate, which then allowed us to evolve with these gigantic four-pound-weight or more chunks of grey matter in our skullbones.
I'm not a chemist so I don't know what the process is exactly.
It's a conspiracy man!
4925565
Fluttershy also fed some of her animals fish, so it's likely that fish aren't cute talketive talks at least.
That comment about school, while very typical of children everywhere, made me feel a little sad. Who wants to be educated when it's nice and warm in Plato's Cave, know what I mean?
Anyway, great read.
4925696 Maybe their eyeballs are so huge so they have a really wide field of vision? Dunno, heh!
What AJ doesn't mention is if the sheep and cows who strike out beyond the farm face an accepting environment. Makes ya wonder, dunnit?
4922586 I saw another fic that explained the pigs pretty well, though: garbage disposals. They eat anything. So maybe that's it?
4925709 Dude, I was saying it jokingly. I'm not really questioning why we cook meat. It's like when I question eggs and milk. I really know why, but it's fun to ask people, "why do we eat eggs and drink milk, considering where they come from?"
Anyhoo, charring dead meat is sure better than eating it raw. Unless it's sushi, of course.
4925565
Oh yeah, horses can eat meat. There have been real accounts of horses living on meat.
Horses also can become man-eaters.
Don't believe me? There was an entire book written on it.
Horses are not nice animals. They can be very, very scary when they want to be.
I was reading on of the accounts from the book about a horse in India that basically became a serial killer.
It was like something out of a horror story, and I don't mean a cheesy one, I mean a legitimately scary story.
So yeah. That's a thing that happened.
Great story by the way.