An Uncomfortable Truth
Although I was a Prince of Equestria and my home was Canterlot Castle, my true home-away-from-home was Ponyville. While it could not match the grandeur and beautiful architecture of the capital city poised magically on the side of a mountain, Ponyville had a heart and soul that no other town could evoke. I loved coming here to visit friends or just let my mane down among the citizens of this unusual place. Where else in the empire could I go and be just one of the ponies? A place where the citizens barely blink at the weird happenings this place attracted? Not referring to myself, of course.
Case in point – today I was spending time with the newest member of my herd. Since returning to Equestria from a parallel universe, Celestia had been taking advantage of her release from ruling responsibilities to enjoy life in a manner she had been unable to do for centuries. Much of the time lately, she spent exploring places both ancient and new in the company of Daring Do. However, whenever the pegasus had completed one of her expeditions, she returned to Equestria to write yet another novel under her pseudonym of A.K. Yearling. Celestia, meanwhile, would catch up with the herd, and in particular, with her stallion. Which was ironic because, just for giggles, we were spending this day in Ponyville as twins.
I was in my Marklestia form and we were both wearing outfits out of my wardrobe designed by Rarity that she classified as casual street wear. However, if you knew my fashionista wife, her idea of casual was never anything less than awesome. In my case, pants and a jacket of different shades of blue denim covered a tight-fitting black bodysuit. For Celestia, a tropical sarong complemented a tightly striped black and white crop top. The straw sunhat and wraparound sunglasses completed her look. Because both garments covered our cutie marks, we had fun getting the citizens to try to guess which one of us was the real deal. Admittedly, because the locals were very familiar with me turning up in my alter ego, they could usually pick me due to my speech patterns, but if I kept my mouth shut and Celestia play-acted a little, half the time they would guess wrong.
Celestia and I enjoyed these moments together, just the two of us. Even my ever-present bodyguard, Penumbra, conceded that I was safe enough in the presence of the most powerful alicorn in Equus, and she left us to ourselves. It allowed Celestia to truly relax and enjoy her life as she had not been able to while ruling Equestria by herself for centuries. Now, she took every opportunity to wring the most fun out of every day, not to mention making up for lost time in the bedroom! Between talking with the Ponyvillians, we chatted about what had been happening during her latest absence. The most recent subject of interest was the Luna from the time-loop universe.
“So, how does my other-universe sister fare with her suit?” the alabaster alicorn inquired.
I grinned. “As a matter of fact, I took Loopy on a picnic last weekend. Afterward, we gambolled in the fields and just enjoyed some time together. Penny stayed unobtrusively out of sight, so Loopy got to be herself. She’s gradually learning to relax and forget about the formality that is expected of being a noble princess. You know how I hate that stuff and only put up with it during official duties, so if she expects to ever join our herd, she needs to be Luna the mare and not Luna the diarch.”
Celestia gave me an amused look. “Has she stopped asking to have your foal then?”
“Oh, heck no! She still asks every visit. However, I think she’s been doing it lately as evidence of her commitment to her desire, and not as an indication of over-eagerness. I think she will appreciate and love the foal more when she and I know each other better.”
“So, you’ve already decided to add her to your herd?” Celestia asked with a smirk.
I gave the smug alicorn a flat look. “Do you seriously think I will ultimately have any choice? If Trixie hasn’t knocked her back by now, it’s never going to happen. Luna will persist until she’s so much part of the herd that I might as well formalize it.”
Celestia giggled. “Keep this up and you’re going to have to add a stallion to balance things out.”
I stopped walking and gaped at her. “Are you seriously suggesting that’s an option? I’ve never heard of that being done. How does that even work?”
“I only know that it happened back when I was still a youth. The practice fell out of favor but was never made illegal. If any herds do that nowadays, they’re discreet about their relationships. I certainly made no effort to investigate it despite what some romance novels might have said.”
We resumed walking. “Well, I can’t see that happening. Hypothetically speaking, though, who could we ask to join us? They’d have to be extremely familiar with the family to even get a hoof in the door!”
“Someone like your valet, for example?” Celestia asked with an innocent smile.
“Steady Flight? Oh, you’ve got to be trolling me!”
Judging by her impish grin and lack of response, I guessed she had to be. Right?
We were interrupted by a group of mares just then, so I didn’t get to push further. When we parted ways with them, Celestia reckoned that she felt thirsty, so we headed for Sugarcube Corner for refreshments. I decided to let the subject drop, denying my herdmate another opportunity to bait me.
We ordered our drinks from Pinkie who didn’t even hesitate before identifying us correctly. We found ourselves a table for two in the corner and sat down. A booth would have been preferable but they could not accommodate alicorns of our stature. However, as it was not a rush hour, empty tables next to us granted a degree of privacy. It didn’t take long for Pinkie to bring out our thick shakes in gigantic glasses, and our conversation lapsed while we drank thirstily.
I sighed in satisfaction as Celestia slurped the last of her delightfully delicious dairy drink. “Y’know, it boggled me when I first learned that the cows here were sapient and were all in the business of selling their milk and other dairy products. It still puzzles me a bit.”
Celestia lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Why would you think that? It’s a logical profession.”
“Aside from the fact that they’re single-minded about it and not one of them ever considers any other job, I wonder how they exist at all. Back on Earth, dairy cows were specifically bred to give them very large udders and high milk-producing capabilities. Trying to do the same to a sapient species would be considered an illegal eugenics program. And then there’s the fact that there are plenty of non-sapient cattle in this world. Griffons both hunt wild cattle and raise herds of them for their meat. If those cattle were the base for the breeding program, how did they end up sapient? They aren’t the brightest species, and they don’t seem to care about anything beyond a grassy paddock and a barn with hay in the winter, but they can hold a conversation, even if only about dairy farm-related matters, so they aren’t mindless cattle. Why, in this world of so many civilization-building sapient species, are they the only ones with no ambition to further their lives and are so single-minded about their work?”
Celestia’s face darkened. “There’s a reason why they are so.”
When the alicorn said nothing more, I prompted her. “Well? What is it? You can’t leave me hanging like this.”
She sighed. “You’re not going to like it.”
“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t know.”
“Very well. This goes back to before the tribes were united, before I was even born. In those times, cow milk was a scarce and prized product. It was hard to acquire cows back then. You always ran the risk of attracting the attention of the griffons and other predators. They obviously required the cattle for their own needs and had no sympathy for our desire for just their milk. Then, one day, a unicorn mage perfected a spell that would transform wild cattle into docile dairy cows. Milk production quadrupled virtually overnight.”
“And this made them intelligent too?” I asked in a sceptical tone.
“Not at all. It made them complacent and interested only in being milked when their udders were full. That was the entire mental effect of the transformation.”
“Not seeing what’s so bad yet. It’s virtually a magical version of a breeding program.”
Celestia grimaced. “If that’s as far as it ever went, it would have been fine. However, demand for the milk increased faster than the supply, and there was a need to increase the herds. The transformation process could only produce females, so there were no dairy bulls to breed more cows, so they had to try to get more of the wild cattle. But, as I mentioned earlier, that angered the griffons who stepped up attacks on ponies trying to get hold of the cattle that they considered their own. That’s when the truly horrible solution was proposed. As I said, this was before Unification, and fights between the tribes were common. Captured enemies were frequently kept as slaves. Somepony suggested that they could be put to better use.”
I gasped and stared at Celestia. “They didn’t…?”
My herdmate nodded sadly. “Yes, they did. It doesn’t say much for the state of civilization back then that they so readily agreed to try turning their captive and rebellious ponies into docile dairy cows. Sadly, it worked. It not only made them complacent but dulled their minds. They could still talk, but they rapidly lost interest in conversing.”
“That’s horrible!”
“It was, but worse could happen to enslaved ponies than a sheltered lifetime of supplying milk, so it was ironically regarded as an equane way of dealing with their enemies. As all the transformed wild cattle eventually died, they were replaced entirely by transformed ponies. And because those cows lived far longer, ponies did not have to risk their lives so often to get more wild cattle. They only occasionally brought back a bull because they wanted to breed calves to increase their herds. Transforming captives only ended with Unification and knowledge of the spell eventually died too. But to this day, dairy cows still need to get in bulls in order to have calves. Now, though, the cows pay for the services of a stud bull from the griffon herds with the bits that they make from selling their milk.”
“So, every sapient cow in Equestria is descended from a transformed pony,” I summed up. “Suddenly, I’m not interested in milkshakes anymore.”
Celestia reached over to lay her hoof on mine. “You will live long enough to hear much worse from our past. I know – I lived through much of it. My sister and I worked hard to civilize the tribes well after Unification. There were many ponies who weren’t willing to let the past go. You can’t afford to do that. Learn from it and move forward. You, Trixie, and Twilight have done so much to bring peace and prosperity to this world since taking the reins of power, but there’s still much to accomplish. When you encounter uncomfortable truths like this one, you must be prepared to deal with them and not let them make you bitter.” She let go of me, grabbed her glass, and got to her hooves. “I, for one, intend to have another shake. This one was delicious.”
I snorted as I smothered a laugh. “As if anything would stop you from getting your sweets. Even looking like you, I can’t match your appetite for them.”
Celestia returned with two shakes, albeit smaller ones than our firsts. Putting one in front of me, she raised her glass to me and said, “A toast to our future herdmate, Loopy Luna.”
I chuckled and clinked my glass to hers, before starting to drink.
“And to your future husband, Steady Flight!” she added.
I snorted milkshake out my nose. Dammit, Trollestia!
# # # # # # # # #
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How do I feel about milk? It's needed for my morning coffee.
Not easy leading the band, Mark. Too many sour notes in the history. A real moo-ving experience. Don't have a cow, alicorn, just work to improve matters. You didn't start it, but you can finish it.
Milkshakes of the oppressed!
Great new Story cover ♡
Damn fine lore... Also interessting way of dealing with enemies
Well... that was not expected to say the least
And while many countries have dark moments in their past no matter what. Celestia is right in knowing to learn from it and to not repeat those mistakes into the present.
Also Trollestia is gonna troll no matter what.
How do you feel about milk now?
have always loved it and still do. but i prefer cream in my coffee.
i love seeing this story get a amazing chapter.
11388920
Glorious puns ♡
camo.fimfiction.net/HGKOVNTrPh_dQIegq-4XQTTfq37sBPSPcGN3_7ZAMFg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fderpicdn.net%2Fimg%2Fview%2F2014%2F7%2F10%2F671941.gif
11388920 11388980 11388985 Interesting chapter Yes many countries have their darker moments Celestia is taking a more positive outlook in admitting and not letting it be forgotten rather than trying to hide it or just sanitize it
Once theyre all intelligent, who does the mind numbing backbreaking slave labour that civilisation is built on. Robots? Theres rights activists for those as well.
11388985
You do know that cream is just part of whole milk, don't you?
11389223
as a old farmers saying goes.. i have pulled enough tit in my day to know just a tiny bit about milk.
i remember being in high school and kids bragging about how big there GF's tits were.
i just laughed, i mean are there nipples a hand full.
Now I'm wondering what would happen if you introduced a dairy bull into a equestrian dairy herd. The spells horrific, but the chapter is good
This backstory got old generation vibe (where dragons were cursed and enslaved ponies). Now... there are dark thought about all other sapient animals in Equestria...
Please make that boy be a femboy like Rumble or a stallion with a round snout. Those kind of stallions are cute!
Reminds me of that cow bell Transformation picture.
derpicdn.net/img/2013/4/13/296638/large.jpg
Before Civilisation there is a lot of savage struggle to overcome .
We humans did far worse, stil not quite in the Civilisation we desire...
11439678
Worse, the last 30 years have been mostly major steps backward from civilization and promoted major uncivilized behavior all around the world.
.... Huh, some lore to go with the r34....
But that does beg a question if they're still compatible with ponies, despite the inevitable dissolution over time....
Reminds me of a web comic where they discuss this sort of thing. It's not been updated in a while but according to a Tweet from the artist it's not been entirely abandoned.
Here's the pertinent page: https://img.canterlotcomics.com/maincomic/65.media.tumblr.com/e10603547ff7604a98fbaee5a194321e/tumblr_oedliotBlk1rqejd7o1_1280.png
11528909
Oooh! I remember that comic. It's been a while.
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11439678
As far as ponies go, I have to think that they're abilities harbored their current sense of deep morality. While I wouldn't call human delicate butter flowers, our ability to cause harm outside our immediate was fairly limited for most of our history. Ponies were not.
God's sake, I can't imagine the biomantic fuckery a perverted mage could inflict on creation had they the mind. And oh goody, I needn't engage my wrinkles to do so, because by whiskers and green apples e621 shows such socratic tier mental musings have already graced our undeserving societal zeitgeist.