Leading the Herds
“Yee-haw! Come on, Winona! Round ‘em up, move ‘em out!” Applejack shouted. “I ain’t let a stampede hit Ponyville before, and I ain’t about ta start now!”
The cheerful farm dog barked a reply as she leapt over the river of bovine bodies beneath her. She barked at the cows, herding them together into a tightly-pressed group, while Applejack lassoed the lead cow and began to steer the cattle in a direction away from the town.
Once the herd was finally turned away from Ponyville, Applejack dug her hooves into the ground, pulling the lead cow to a stop. The other cattle followed suit, also coming to a halt.
“Alright, now what’s all the ruckus about?” Applejack asked good-naturedly. “’Taint another snake, is it? Cuz I asked Fluttershy ta relocate the ones around the farm for ya.”
“Ooh, no, not a snake.” one of the cows replied. (Her name was Buttercup.) “It was little Apple Bloom and her two friends, don’cha know. Wee things were trying to tie fireworks onto a scooter or something, and it kind of went out of control and started comin’ our way.”
“Well, I can’t blame y’all fer bein’ flustered by that.” Applejack admitted. “Anybody else would’a run, too.”
She slipped the lasso off of the lead cow and began to lead the herd back to Sweet Apple Acres.
“Now, come on girls!” she cried. “We gotta git you back home. And besides, I hafta give a certain filly a stern talking-to.”
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After the cows had all been brought back to the farm and sufficiently calmed down, Applejack had headed out to perform her usual duty of bucking apples. Apple Bloom had been sentenced to clean out the pigs’ pen for her actions, despite her protests that it was all Scootaloo’s idea.
The particular patch of trees Applejack was seeing to happened to be situated near the pastures, where the sheep were grazing peacefully. Applejack was thinking to herself what a picturesque sight it made as she went about her duties. Sure, she had seen some pretty impressive places in her life, like the Crystal Empire and the Canterlot palace, but to the orange earth pony, no place in Equestria was more beautiful than Sweet Apple Acres.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a milky, sweet voice speak up. “Um… excuse me, Miss Applejack?”
Applejack turned to see that one of the lambs, a little ewe, was standing next to her, staring with large, golden eyes.
“Am I bothering you?” she asked.
“Not at all, young ‘un.” Applejack answered with a warm smile. “What are y’all doing away over here? The others are out in the pasture.”
“Well, I sort of had a question.” the lamb replied.
“Well, shoot.” Applejack answered, bucking another tree.
The lamb shuffled uncomfortably. “Um… I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Miss Applejack, but I was wondering… why do ponies seem to be in charge of all the cows and sheep and stuff?”
Applejack halted her applebucking.
“Well, I guess that is a mighty good question.” she answered.
“Don’t get me wrong.” the little lamb exclaimed, waving her hooves in front of herself. “I love it here, and you and your family take great care of us. I was just wondering… why are ponies in charge?”
Applejack motioned for the little lamb to come closer, which she did.
“What’s your name, young ‘un?”
“Sweet Clover.” the little lamb replied.
“Well, Sweet Clover, y’all best sit down.” Applejack told her. “It’s a bit of a long story.
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Ya see, long ago, long before Equestria was founded, all the cows and sheep and such took care of themselves. Back then, things were easy, and everyone was happy and safe.
Now back then, ponies were the most advanced race. We were ambitious. We built houses, barns, towns, and cities. That was back in a time when the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were all still friendly together, and so with the unicorns’ magic, the pegasi’s flight, and the earth ponies’ farmin’ skills, we forged ourselves a right nice little society.
Now most of the other races, like sheep and cows and such, never really bothered with that stuff, cuz they didn‘t need ta. They preferred ta live how we ponies lived in the beginning’ days. They were content ta eat what the land provided, like grass and clover and stuff, and ta sleep in huts or tents, or even under the stars. Sure, it would git a mite nippy durin’ the winter, but they’d all huddle together an’ keep warm. Plus, since they didn’t have a specific place ta call home, they could migrate anywhere they wanted.”
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“What’s migrating?” Sweet Clover asked.
“Migratin’s when creatures decide ta pack up and head someplace new.” Applejack explained. “Back in the day, lots of races would head south, where things were warmer, when the winter hit.”
“But… couldn’t the pegasi have just made the weather so that the sheep and cows wouldn’t get cold?” Sweet Clover questioned. “I mean, we sheep have nice wooly coats to keep us warm, but cows don’t.”
“Well, ya see, this was a very, very long time ago.” Applejack went on. “Back then, the weather happened all by itself. The sun would even raise by itself. An’ back then, there weren’t no weather ponies. Everypony just accepted what weather came.”
“What happened?” Sweet Clover asked. “What caused that to change?”
Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “Actually, I don’t rightly know that. Not many records on what happened durin’ that time. I’ll hafta ask Twilight some time. Anyhoo, as I was sayin’….
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The ponies had a pretty advanced little society, while the other races were kinda… well, primitive. Not that that made them less smart than ponies, jes different. Back then, most zebras were jes as primitive, and lived in huts and ate grass and stuff like that, but even back then, they were still mighty clever, more so than most ponies. Even learned how ta use magic, although Celestia knows how they do it without horns.
Anyhoo, all these races were happy, cuz without a permanent home, they were free ta go pretty much anywhere they wanted. They explored all the wonders the world had ta offer ‘em.
They still traded with ponies, givin’ us milk and wool in exchange for stuff they couldn’t make very easily on the move, like cupcakes and apple pie. An’ everyone was pretty happy with the way things were. Ponies could git their milk and wool, and the other races could have a share of the fun things we ponies had without givin’ up that roaming freedom they’d grown ta love.
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“So why did things change?” Sweet Clover queried, cocking her head.
“I was jes gettin’ ta that.” Applejack said, rubbing the little lamb’s head. “Y’all know the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve, right?”
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Well, the terrible winter that the Windigoes had brought had caused a lot of problems, and not jes fer ponies. Cows, sheep, goats, zebras, buffalo, and other races were affected by the blizzards, too. Suddenly things weren’t as happy an’ carefree as they used ta be. Now they had ta fight ta stay alive.
Actually, the buffalo and the zebras were better off than most ponies. They knew how ta find food in even the toughest times. And the goats… well, they could eat jes about anything.
But the cows and sheep and donkeys were kind of at a loss. They were always pretty laid back, and never thought that they would have ta face something like that blizzard, so they were pretty much unprepared. They couldn’t get much food, and findin’ it took an awful lot of work. Plus, things were far too cold, even when they huddled together.
So the cows and the sheep and donkeys went to the ponies. At that time, the tribes had split, and since the earth ponies were the ones who made the food, the cows an’ sheep decided ta go ta them fer help.
‘Course, the earth ponies weren’t too well off either, but they realized that the cows and sheep and donkeys couldn’t make it without some help. So they started workin’ together. The earth ponies gave everyone what little food they could spare, and in return, the cows gave milk, the sheep gave wool for warm blankets and coats, and the donkeys helped in labor whatever way the could.
Well, this kept goin’ on fer some time, even after the earth ponies moved to Equestria. Eventually, we built barns fer the cows an’ sheep ta sleep in. Since they were used to sleepin’ outside, they didn’t mind.
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“Um… jet ta be clear… y’all don’t mind sleepin’ in the barn, do ya?” Applejack asked Sweet Clover, looking a bit concerned.
“Oh, not in the slightest!” Sweet Clover announced. “It’s all warm and toasty when we’re all in there in the wintertime, and the straw is really comfy to sleep in. Not to mention it’s fun to play in, too!”
“Well, jes makin’ sure.” Applejack replied with a relieved smile. “I mean, we try ta keep y’all comfy.”
“But why didn’t the cows and sheep just go back to how they had lived before?” Sweet Clover asked.
Applejack grinned. “See, that’s the thing. You know how you were jes saying how ya like it in the barn?”
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Well, the donkeys had been working alongside the ponies for so long that they eventually started to get their own jobs and houses. But the cows and sheep were pretty happy with their lives. They got good meals, a warm place ta sleep at night, and all they had ta do was give the ponies some wool or milk now and again, and let us keep a cut of the profits we made from sellin’ their milk or wool. Even then, we still gave them a nice-sized cut, so that they could buy stuff they liked as well.
Well, compared ta that, the roamin’ life jes didn’t seem so much fun anymore. Eatin’ frost-covered clover out in the snow on a winter’s day weren’t nearly as nice as a nice hot mash inside a toasty warm barn with soft straw ta sleep on. And they didn’t really have to do much work at all.
So, the cows and sheep decided ta keep lettin’ the earth ponies look after ‘em, an’ kept on sharing their milk and wool with the ponies in return.
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“An’ that’s why the ponies are in charge.” Applejack finished. “That’s also why it’s the earth ponies who look after you folk, and not the unicorns or the pegasi.”
“Oh, now I see!” Sweet Clover exclaimed. “You’re in charge because you take care of us!”
“Exactly!” Applejack replied proudly. “We do our best ta make sure you git happy lives.”
“But… have cows or sheep ever done anything important?” Sweet Clover pressed.
“Well, there have been a few.” Applejack proclaimed. “Some sheep and cattle git a mite tired of the easy life an’ try their hooves at somethin’ more challengin’. Some end up gittin’ their own houses an’ makin’ a way fer themselves. ‘Course, that means they have ta git a job, go ta school, study hard, and all kinds of stuff, so it ain’t easy.”
Sweet Clover made a gagging face and stuck out her tongue. “Yuck! Who wants to go to school?” She bounced to her hooves. “Well, thanks for the story, Miss Applejack!”
“No sweat.” Applejack replied with a grin. “Now you run along an’ have fun now! I’ve got ta git these here trees bucked before sundown!”
“Okay, see ya!” The little lamb called back as she bounded off to join her friends.
Applejack watched the free-spirited little lamb as she left. A smile crossed the orange mare’s face as she watched Sweet Clover leave, and she gave a little sigh as she watched the little lambs laughing and playing.
“Well… back ta work.”
