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With your taste buds happy and your stomachs full, you feel ready to move on to another activity. Your party decides to visit the Animal Farm next, seeing as you are already close by.
As you make your way there, you continue to chat with your unicorn friends, who have decided to tag along. After all, according to them, farm animals are quite a rare sight in the capital city of Canterlot.
Moonflower: "... and that's why I got glowy eyes!"
Moondancer: "Fascinating. What will you do now that you're an oracle?"
Moonflower: "Ooh, I dunno! I'm thinkin' I should stay with my clan, but I really wanna travel more, too!"
Dawn Break: "I don't know about oracles, but Twilight didn't stop going on adventures after she became a princess, did she?"
Moondancer: "That's true. The way she told it, that was only the beginning of her journey. There are things you can't learn from a book, and all that."
A short walk later, you arrive at the fence gate to the animal farm, where you join a small group of ponies waiting for the next tour. Soon enough, a guide becomes available — a large grizzled stallion wearing a cowpony hat.
Guide: "Welcome, everypony! The name's Silver Straw, and this here's Hoofington's Fauna Farm. If y'all are ready, I'll show you 'round the place. Right this way!"
You begin to follow the farmer along a path to the middle of vast enclosures, each arranged as a section of a larger circular area, and all accessible from the centre.
Your first stop is the largest of these sections: the meadow. With overflowing grasses to run across or graze on, and a couple of cozy rustic barns to relax in, the small herds of cattle and sheep living here seem quite happy with their lot.
Silver Straw: "Like in most of Equestria, the cattle here sell their dairy goods and haulin' services to the locals, while the sheep trade in the valuable wool they shed, especially in spring."
After spending some time making small talk with cattle and sheep, you move on to the second largest enclosure: the pen. From mud puddles to a small grove, this area boasts variety. A few huts in the back offer the pigs some comfortable shelter from the elements.
Silver Straw: "Pigs are natural foragers: they sniff out lots of foods hidin' in the underbrush for us, like wild vegetables or mushrooms. Speaking of food, they love to eat!"
You give some treats to the pigs, much to their delight, before moving on to the last section: the boxes. Colourfully painted coops and hutches form what looks like a miniature town for chickens and rabbits.
Silver Straw: "Chickens are popular for their eggs and feathers, and they double as effective alarm clocks. As for the rabbits, they shed their coat twice a year, making 'em one of Equestria's most important fur suppliers."
And with that, the tour is over. Your group is given the opportunity to stick around and pet some of the animals, which Moonflower enthusiastically agrees to. Within minutes, the bat pony is snuggling with chickens, hugging rabbits, and nuzzling piglets.
Moonflower: "Heeheehee! This is the best!"
Enter a comment
- Talk to the unicorn sisters about their/our plans for the rest of the day. If it works out, they're welcome to accompany us for the rest of the day!
- Unfortunately, Tattle Tail could be anywhere by now, but we'll still keep an eye out for her (or if she needs our services, maybe she'll find us).
- If we're doing things by proximity, let's stop by the farrier's workshop and help Apple Basket make a lucky horseshoe, assuming we fulfill the requirements. I assume some metal bars are provided or are for sale there?
- I'm surprised Apple Basket didn't have something notable to say about farm animals, but maybe they're old news to him. (Although technically there don't have to be any farm animals for him to still have grown up working on an apple farm.)
- I'm secretly craving the "Moondancer and Dawn Break have joined your party" message, but maybe that's only for going out adventuring and not casually hanging out. If that were to happen, I wonder if the Magic tab would reveal out of character knowledge about their abilities. Actually, I haven't seen what one looks like for a unicorn.
- I appreciate the lore-friendly explanation of why pigs are around. At least, it makes sense given Lauren Faust's one statement about them (which is archived on the wiki).
It’s probably only for people who stick around longer than a couple of pages. Neither Justice nor Rocket Rush official joined or party or got a character sheet despite travelling to the Shadow Realm with us.