RarityDash

~Canterlot Research Journal

A Pony's Farm Friends - Common Intelligent Ungulates Who Have Happy Homes on Equestria's Farms

The many farms of Equestria offer the perfect opportunity for a number of other intelligent hoofed mammals to live in harmony with us ponies. In return for various useful resources we can get from them, such as milk and wool, these friends are given space to live content lives, safe from the dangerous creatures that lurk in the wildernesses across the land. The most common such creatures are cows, sheep and goats.

Cattle - Cows are perhaps the hooved friends most common and most associated with Equestria's farm. They are larger and stockier than ponies and posses distinctive horns and often have spotted coats. They are plentiful in Equestria, which is good because female cattle are capable of producing great quantities of refreshing milk. Farmers throughout Equestria are happy to keep cows around for their milk, which is harvested and sold across the continent in grocery stores and markets and sometimes made into cheese. Cows are typically very friendly and talkative, but can be quite docile and easily frightened; when one is scared, they are known to start stampedes. Male cattle are called bulls and are generally tougher than the females both physically and in terms of demeanor, though are known to be even more stubborn and likely to act recklessly. Bulls are often valued by ponies for their strength, and often help us by pulling our carts. Cattle are said to be closely related to the buffalo who inhabit the western stretches of Equestria. Cattle also bear strong resemblance to minotaurs, leading some to believe there might be a connection between the two.

Sheep - Sheep are also common across Equestria's farms. Sheep are shorter and smaller than ponies, and their bodies are covered in a distinctive thick white wool. This wool is what sheep give us in exchange for being able to live on our farms; it is very warm and soft, making it perfect for making into fabric which ponies can make into clothing. Sheep also produce some milk, which some farmers will gather and use as they do cow's milk. Male sheep are called rams, while the females are known as ewes and the children lambs. Due to their slow manner of speech, sheep are sometimes seen by ponies as not being very smart, despite being able to converse freely, though this is not always the case. Some sheep posess large horns on the sides of their head and can be quite strong. Following the return of the Crystal Empire, a lost variety of sheep has been rediscovered which bears wool of many bright colors and is less than half the size of the sheep of Equestria. This strange breed is not capable of speech as other sheep are.

Goats - Goats are closely related to sheep, but generally somewhat larger and taller. Most posses horns on the top of their head, that sometimes grow rather large. They are not as commonly found on farms as most varieties do not possess the useful wool that sheep do. Not having quite as much to offer, goats often have to find employ elsewhere in Equestria working odd jobs. Some farmers do keep them however, making use of their milk and their work. Male goats are called billies while females are called nannies and the children are known as kids. Goats are known to prefer using nonverbal communication whenever is possible and are able to communicate effectively with one another through simple bleats. Despite this, they are fully capable of speaking when they need to and are often fairly smart.

Sea Serpents - The Rulers of the Deep

There is much debate regarding the powerful and imposing creatures known as sea serpents. Many scholars consider them to be simply a variety of dragon while others believe they are distinct unto themselves, the similarities between the two being mostly superficial. What is clear is that, like their possible kin the dragons, sea serpents are a type of creature of which ponykind still knows staggeringly little. Sea serpents are rare to see, their homes hidden underwater, and every bit as large, threatening and difficult to attain information from as dragons are. Like with dragons, researchers have been forced to rely heavily on conjecture based on what can be immediately observed.

Sea serpents are, like dragons, reptilian in appearance and covered with razor sharp scales. They grow to similar sizes as dragons, towering over ponies and most pony built structures and are thought to be similarly long-lived. The general shape of sea serpents differs considerably from that of most dragons, however. As their name suggests, their shape is comparable more to that of a snake than other reptiles, with very long, serpentine bodies; unlike snakes however, they still posses working limbs, notably their clawed arms. Their general appearance is thought to vary widely, but often includes full manes of hair in addition to their scales, fins and spines.

Though their name might suggest that they live only in Equestria's seas, sea serpents in fact are known to make use of all of Equestria's waters deep enough for them, whether fresh water or salt. In addition to all of the seas surrounding the continent, sea serpents have been spotted in the Great Nimbusgait Lakes, the swamplands of Aquellia and in most of Equestria's major rivers. Despite all the sightings, based on the lack of meaningful interactions ponies have had with them, sea serpents are still thought to be quite rare--though ponykind really has no way of knowing for sure given most likely live deep underwater.

Given this choice of theirs to make homes below water, even less is known about sea serpents than their apparent land based counterparts in terms of society and manner of living. Sea serpents, like dragons, are an intelligent species, fully capable of speech. They are not known to form hoards of treasure as dragons do, though it could just be none have yet been discovered. It is unknown if they are effected by greed as dragons are. While every bit as powerful and imposing creatures as dragons, from what contact we have had with adults, sea serpents do not appear to be quite as difficult or antisocial as adult dragons almost invariably are. Though other large serpent like beasts are known to exist in and out of Equestria's waters, such as the multi-headed hydra and the quarry eels, only the sea serpents appear to be fully intelligent.