Dealing in milkshakes

Mid day, December 28th

Main street. The riots messed it up a bit. Rubble was still strewn across the road. Evidence of angry stone throwers littered the street, making it harder to navigate down the already busy streets. Many of the buildings were in a state of ruin. Some carried scorch marks, others had missing bits and pieces. One of the luckier buildings stood firm as it watched hordes of ponies pass by.

Mr Shakes' milkshake parlor was still in business, and while it didn't escape the fury of the riots, the store could not afford to close down. Hijinks sat idly at one of the tables outside the entrance. The interior was a sorry mess, so the outside view proved a lot more entertaining. On the table, in one of the few glasses that were not shattered in the chaos, was the ultimate milkshake. The double choc swirl mega deluxe milkshake! She still had a few bits left over from the riots. It's not like those ponies and or griffons needed the bits anyway.

Hijinks sat quietly at her isolated table, waiting for her friends to show up. She had a little game in mind, and she was eager to play with Kitten in particular.

Tayari walked very slowly along Main Street, deep in thought and quite consciously making himself aware of everything in his surroundings. He didn't seem to be looking for anything in particular, rather just taking in and absorbing everything he saw. He had a pair of saddlebags on his back

Ultimately, it was proven he did have a destination in mind. When he realized he was looking at the milkshake place, he changed his course to make his way straight there. A quick look later, and he moved towards a specific table, Jinks' table. "Hello, Hijinks, it's nice to see you're well."

Tida was walking down Main Street with his saddlebags and instrument in its bag looking at the destruction that happened over the last few days due to the riots.  He was sad that the ponies resorted to this, and had hoped that it wouldn't have happened, but knew deep down that it probably would have eventually happened.  He hoped that Serene and the Harmony Foundation made it through the riots unscathed, but it didn't seem likely that was the case as he passed by buildings in ruins and rubble everywhere.

He had gotten an invitation to join Hijinks for milkshakes at Mr. Shakes milkshake parlor.  It showed him where it was located in Main Street, as he was making his way to the place.  As he was however, he began to become lost in thought again, wondering if more of these types of riots would happen, or if the Griffons would label all ponies hostile because of the riots, which would make it harder for the fighting to stop.  Because he was lost in thought, he didn't see Hijinks sitting at a table outside of the milkshake parlor as he continued to walk down the street.

Hijinks greeted Tayari with an ecstatic wave of her hoof. Removing her lips from the crazy straw that came with the milkshake, she replied, "Hiya TayTay! Have you seen Kitten? He was supposed to come too." She forgot that this will be the first time the two will actually meet.

She kept an eye out for anypony that looked like Tida. After a few false alarms, Hijinks finally spotted the familiar brown pony. "Hey! Kitten!" She yelled over the crowd with her loudest outside voice. "Over here! Hey! Listen!" She waved frantically, hoping to get the pony's attention.

"You've invited a kitten here, as well?" Tayari asked. "Huh. Interesting to know, but unfortunately I haven't seen him."

While Hijinks began actively searching for young cats, Tayari excused himself from the table to seek the counter. He had bits in his saddlebags and was going to be spending a fair amount of time at a milkshake parlor; he may as well have a milkshake while he was there.

This did, of course, place him away from the table at about the time Hijinks began yelling. 'I guess she saw the kitten, then,' he thought.

Tida heard the familiar nickname of 'kitten' being yelled out by Hijinks, which snapped him out of his thought process.  He saw Hijinks sitting at a table outside drinking a milkshake, in front of the milkshake parlor.  He turned around and started to go towards the table where Hijinks was sitting at.

He sat down at the table and took the instrument bag off of his back and laid it on the ground next to his seat.  "Hello Mimi" Tida simply said with a slight smile.

Hijinks gave Tida a wide grin. "Hiya Kitten! TayTay is here too, but he went somewhere." Forgetting once again that Tida didn't know who Tayari was. "Anyway, I was thinking we can play a game, and I want you to play!" She announced before happily resuming sipping from her mega deluxe milkshake.

Grabbing the vanilla milkshake from the proprietor and offering a word of thanks, the zebra began making his way back to Hijinks' table. He noticed a new pony sitting down, who Hijinks seemed to know. As Tayari took a seat himself, he asked, "I take it you're another pony she invited here?" referring to Hijinks.

Before Tida had a chance to ask Hijinks a question, he saw a zebra coming out of the milkshake parlor with a milkshake and take a seat at the table.  "Yes, I was invited here by Mimi" Nodding his head at the zebra's question.  Thinking about what Hijinks said, Tida asked "You must be TayTay?  So Mimi invited you as well?"  Tida had a feeling that TayTay was a nickname given to the zebra, as it would be somewhat strange if that was his name.

Tida turned to Hijinks "What kind of game did you want to play?"  Knowing Hijinks for the short period of time that he was with her, the game could be a regular game such as tag or catch, or it could be a very interesting game.  He had a feeling that it would be the latter type of game.

Hijinks grinned. "Truth! It's like truth or dare but without the dare bit." She started to explain, taking small sips from her milkshake in between. "I get to ask you a question... and you need to answer that 100% truthfully... And then you ask me a question... and I answer that 99% truthfully." She looked at the stallion and zebra. "You two will be teaming up, so you two have to decide on a question to ask me... And then I get to ask either of you a question. Cause that's fair!"

"Well, my name is actually Tayari, but yes. I was also invited by... Mimi," he said, consciously referring to Hijinks by the name the other pony had used. "I'm afraid I don't know your name... unless you're the kitten she was talking about, but you don't look either feline or newborn."

Hearing the idea for Jinks' game, his immediate internal reaction was fearful. He knew there were a lot of things he wouldn't want to even think about considering sharing... Something stopped him from saying so, though. Maybe it was the idea that Hijinks wouldn't ask him something in public that would get him a one-way ticket to the executioner; maybe it was remembering that he'd set out to build a friendship and have fun, not to back out of games; maybe it was knowing exactly how valuable a thing honesty could be.

Eventually, he said, "I... guess I'm in. I'm nervous, but I'll play."

"Tayari huh?  My name is Tida" he nodded at Tayari.  Hearing the rules for the game that Hijinks had in mind, Tida was slightly surprised at this... He knew that he had experienced terrible, terrible things as a colt and didn't feel like sharing those times with others.  He knew that he would have to tread very carefully when answering her questions, as he wasn't ready to talk about it; hopefully, he wouldn't need to ever talk about it as he didn't want to dwell on it.  He was alive and wanted to make a difference in Manehatten, where he could not in his village back in Neighpon.

Taking a deep breath, Tida relaxed.  "Alright, I guess I'm playing too."  Maybe he could learn something about both Tayari and Hijinks from this game.

Hijinks squee'd happily. "Yay! Okay, I ask first. Kitten, where are you from?" She wanted to know of the place that is outside from Equestria.

"I come from a group of islands that is part of a larger country called Neighpon"  Tida replied, answering only what would be necessary.

Looking at Tayari, Tida asked "So, is there anything that you would want to ask her, since she asked a question and I answered?"

Tayari thought. "I have one question, I suppose. It's a question I'd have liked just as much to ask you, but seeing as it applies to her as well..." Looking at Hijinks, he asked, "What led you to begin living in Manehattan? ...Assuming, of course, you count this as the place you live."

Hijinks shrugged. "I move from place to place. I've been all over Equestria. I'll probably got outside too, once it gets boring around here." Hijinks thought for a bit, before asking, "Okay, TayTay. Tell me about your family."

Tayari shrugged. "There's very little I'm able to tell. I was an only child raised by my dad; my mother died giving birth to me, unfortunately. All my extended family lived really far away, since, well, there's a large distance between Equestria and Zebrica. Never actually got to meet any of them as far as I can remember. And seeing as my dad's several years buried, that leaves me with essentially no remaining family." Realizing how that sounded, he added, "Of course, I've moved past it. Like I said, it all happened years ago now."

Looking at Tida, he asked, "Well, I suppose it's your turn now to ask 'Mimi' a question?"

Tida raised an eyebrow when Tayari said 'Mimi'... it sounded as if that wasn't her name, but a nickname that she received from somewhere else.

Tida thought for a moment before asking her "Are there any other names that you have besides Mimi?"

Hijinks nodded. "Yeah. My real name is Hijinks, but Me is more fun. I'm also called Jinks and Jinxie, but I'd prefer you not to use the last one." She then asked Tida, "Why are you in Manehatten?"

Tida chuckled "Me does sound more fun, but I rather call ponies by their real names, though if you would prefer that I use a particular name just let me know."

When Hijinks asked why he was in Manehatten, Tida had a feeling that he needed to be careful in asking or answering questions that would lead to questions that he didn't want to answer.  "I'm in Manehatten because I decided to move away from my home country" Tida said in a relaxed manner.

Tida looks at Tayari "I guess it's your turn to ask a question"

Tayari thought for a short time, before saying to Hijinks, "I can't quite remember if you gave a clear answer to this before. When we first met, what made you believe I was able to grant wishes?"

Hijinks giggled. "Oh yeah, I remember that." She also remembered the part where he lied, but she decided not to voice this.

She suddenly starts to sing, but not loud enough for Griffons to hear. The crowd of ponies passing by would probably drown out the sound anyhow.

"If it knocks once
There's a zebra at the door
They'll grant you three wishes
But no more!

If it knocks twice
There's a pony at the door
He is quite nice
As you can see
Why not invite him
inside for tea!

But if it knocks three times
There's a griffon at the door
Batter down the hatches
Lock all your doors!
Griffons are the meanest race
They'll kill both your parents
And eat your face!"

She finished the last line with a chuckle. "It's a classic among the orphanage I hear." She informed her two listeners.

Tida listened to Hijinks sing a song about the type of creature at the door based on how many times they knock on it.  He nodded at the last line she sung.  "Griffons are pretty mean and violent... though ponies are capable of the same thing they are..."  Tida trailed off, looking at the destruction that was surrounding them as the other ponies went on with their daily business.

Tayari listened to the song. At the end, he commented, "I guess that's a valid reason? I'm slightly surprised to hear of that song, though; I can't imagine how it originated. The number of knocks doesn't sound like any system I've encountered..."

Finally taking a drink of his milkshake for a few seconds, he then turned to Tida. "I wish I could argue that point. It doesn't seem right for the riots to have happened... Far too destructive and far too unfocused is a bad combination. In any case, though," Tayari turned back to Hijinks, "I believe you have yet to ask your next question."

Hijinks nodded, remembering it was again her turn. "Right. TayTay, I heard there was a certain group going around... a rebellion if you will... I don't suppose you have any plans to join them?" This was the big one! If he says no, she can follow him and find out if he's still a stripey liar! And if he says yes... then he's not a liar then. She looked at TayTay with large hopeful eyes, awaiting his answer.

Tayari froze like a deer in headlights, an analogy which probably doesn't work in Equestria. So petrified was he that anyone could have pointed a knife to his eyeball and he wouldn't have flinched, and so caught off guard that even his thought processes were still for a while.

Eventually, he sighed, and let his head drop down while he admitted, "Yes... I do. Please keep quiet about it..."

Hijinks jumped up into the air, yelling out "YEAH!" He didn't lie! Success! Hijinks eventually moved into giggles before noticing she was on the table. "heh heh... okay" She backed off the table and back into he seat. 

She was still giggling like a little filly (that doesn't quite work either since she is a little filly) but after a second of thought she stopped giggling. TayTay was going into the rebels? He can't fight! At least that was what she thought. Her grin fell and she returned to sipping from her milkshake, but with a depressed face. She didn't want to lose another one.

Tida listened to the conversation that Hijinks and Tayari were having.  He wasn't that surprised when Tayari said that he wanted to join the rebels... many ponies hated the griffon occupation, and this was one way for them to deal with it.  Though, he was always curious as to why ponies joined the rebels aside from hating griffons... he also wonders a lot of the time if ponies in the rebellion joined only because that's the only option that they think they have.

Tida noticed that Hijinks' expression had fallen into a depressed state and looked at Tayari.  "I know that we ask Hijinks questions, but I would like to ask you a question."  Tida thought for a moment before continuing "Out of curiosity, why do you want to join the rebels?"

Tayari thought. He made sure to whisper to avoid being heard by others outside the table, "...Because this isn't right. I don't feel it's right for griffons to take control of all Equestria, especially by war; for practically everypony to live in far poorer conditions as a result; for the Princesses to remain in hiding from their own country. And I guess because I don't think the end of the war meant the conflict is over. I think we still have a fighting chance."

That wasn't the whole truth, of course, but the other reasons couldn't be said by Tayari. He was reluctant to accept the other reasons, himself.

Tida thought about what Tayari said, and he was right on most of the points that he stated, but Tida was still curious as to what Tayari thought about the other point that he brought up.

"I'm sorry to ask you another question Tayari, but..." Tida thought before speaking "Do you think it's every Griffon's fault that the occupation in Manehatten happened, or anywhere else in Equestria for that matter?"

Tayari thought about it for a bit. When he spoke, it was with some obvious uncertainty, as though he were only figuring out what he was saying as he was saying it. "Well, no... I guess not. The blame lies with the Griffon armies and leaders, of that much I'm certain, but it would be stupid to think every griffon lies in those two categories, wouldn't it?"

A low chuckle emanated from Hijinks. One could associate the sound she made with a mad pony, only higher pitched. She looked up at Tayari with wide eyes and a large goofy grin. "We still haven't finished our game yet!" She moved her gaze over to Tida, "That means youz have to ask me a question! Cause those are the rules!"

Tida apologized to Hijinks "Sorry, but I was curious as to why Tayari wanted to join the rebels" giving Hijinks a slight bow of the head.  "I'll try to keep the rules of the game in mind, and only ask you questions."

Thinking about what to ask Hijinks, Tida thought back to the day that they met.  "Quantum mentioned that he was shocked by a device that you have on your hoof somewhere... Does it only shock?"

"Shock..." Hijinks held up the device for all to see. "...And awe!" She turned to her head to Zappy. "Do you want to ask a question Zappy?" Zappy didn't reply, instead Hijinks changed her tone of voice to a even higher pitched volume and covered her mouth so the others couldn't see her talking. "Sure! I want to ask Kitten about outside Equestria!" Hijinks nodded, "Kay! Kitten, tell me about outside Equestria! Is it nice there?"

Tida chuckled, as it seemed that there was never a dull moment when he was around Hijinks.  "Well, like I said before it's really not that much different from Equestria, but it is very nice.  The oceans as well as the plants, trees, environment in general is beautiful.  Also, the ponies are very kind and laid back.  You probably would enjoy it there" Tida thought back to the time when he was still living there.  It made him slightly sad to be reminiscing about the past, but those days were good.  Now, however...

Hiding his sadness by keeping a relaxed expression, Tida looked at Tayari "You should ask the next question."

"Well," Tayari began, "Now that I'm reminded of Zappy's existence, how well did, er, 'she' serve you a few days ago with your plans?" He avoided specifically mentioning the riots, as he didn't know whether that would be good information for Tida to have.

Hijinks covered her mouth again, but this time spoke in a deeper voice. "Hey! I am a 'he'!" Hijinks laughed. "Yeah TayTay, couldn't you tell?" She asked as though it was obvious. "Anyway, Zappy is very helpful." She paused trying to think of an example.

"... Okay, the thing about being a filly, is that everypony ignores you. It's both a gift and a curse." She nodded sagely. "That's why I keep Zappy with me, in case they think they can step over me. Cause they can't." She flashed a wide toothy grin at her two friends. "Now, Kitten, why are you staying here in Manehatten? You make your home sounds sooooo much better than here."

Tida mentally cursed as it seemed like that he would have to answer questions about his past.  Keeping his face as relaxed as possible, he thought about how to answer.  "The reason why I'm staying here in Manehatten is because staying in my home country wouldn't have been good for me."

Satisfied with his answer, Tida thought about what to ask Hijinks.  "That's unfortunate that ponies seem to ignore others instead of trying to listen and help, especially in Manehatten where a lot of ponies needs somepony to listen to them and try to help each other.  More so now with the occupation and riots happening" Tida mused.

Finally having a question for Hijinks, Tida asked "I haven't really seen something like Zappy before, so what is he powered by?  It seems that it would need a good power source for Zappy to help you."

Hijinks smirked. If he wanted to give cheap answers, she will give cheap answers too! She leaned in over the table, she said one magical word. "Magic." She chuckled before sitting back normally in her seat.

"Now." She began her question, looking at Tida with the same smirk. "Why wouldn't staying at your old home country be good for you?"

Tida chuckled smart filly Tida thought as he heard her response to his question, though he frowned slightly when he heard the question that she asked him.  "Well... remember how I said that the oceans, plants, trees, and the environment are beautiful back in my home country, as well as the ponies being very kind and laid back?  A war happened over there that destroyed many things, and a lot of ponies lost their lives" Tida started to falter slightly in keeping his relaxed composure.  "In fact, what's happening in Manehatten now is mild compared to what happened in my home country."

Taking a deep breath, Tida regained his composure.  He thought about the answer that she gave him earlier, and didn't rule out the possibility of magic being used to power things.  Also, he decided to play along with Hijinks "so, what kind of magic is used to power Zappy?"

Hijinks thought for a second... and then she thought for a few more seconds... When she couldn't think of a way to get around the question, her grin fell from her face.

Darn he got me, she thought. But then she got the best idea ever of all time.

"Okay, it's powered off... my innate racial magic."

And the legend continues.

She flashed Tayari a wink, cause he knows what she means. "So TayTay. I haven't actually seen you fight. Do you know karate?" All zebras know some sort of mystical art, it's a common fact.

Tayari shook his head. Slightly embarrassed, he admitted, "I don't have any sort of combat training. It would be good if I did, but my course of action for combat is limited to 'knives and elixirs.'"

After a brief pause, he thought out loud, "Maybe I should fix that..."

Remembering that it would now be his turn to ask a question, he thought for a while. Eventually, he said, "Well, you asked me about my family earlier. What can you tell me about yours?"

Hijinks nodded and with a small smile she began recounting her family history. "Well you already know about my mummy. Her throat was slit in front of me. It was horrible and so forth." She waved a hoof, as though not caring about what she said. She did care, but being sad about that old thing won't help. "And my daddy was in the war, he's supposed to be dead too."

"And I told you about grandpappy right? He's not really family, but he was super nice to me and looked after me most of the time. He died before the war, so I guess he had that going for him. I don't know where the rest of my family are, grandparents probably didn't live through the war. I think I have a half-brother, so that's nice." Hijinks raised her hoof to her chin to think. "I think that's all."

She turned to Tida. "Your turn! Tell me all about your family!"

Tida silently listened to Hijinks and Tayari.  He was amazed that Hijinks casually told them about how her mother was killed in front of her eyes.  Most foals her age would probably be traumatized for a long time if something like that happened to them, unable to talk about it... yet, here she was telling this to them.  The lest Tida could do is tell her about his family and the terrible things that happened to them, as she told them about hers, and the terrible things that happened to her family.  Also, his grandfather would tell him that it's better to let it out than to keep it in and let it eat you away from the inside.  He would also tell him not to dwell too much on the past, as it would only prevent you from living.

Taking a deep breath, Tida began to tell Hijinks about her family.  "My family... is all dead.  Because of the war that happened over there, we were forced to hide in caves to try and survive.  My brother and sister were killed by soldiers that were helping us to fight the enemy, because they were 'too noisy' and wanted them to 'shut up', so the soldiers beat them to death in front of our eyes.  My mother and father both suffered a slow, agonizing death due to the lack of food, water, and medical treatment.  Whatever food or water they had they gave to me to make sure that I had a chance to survive.  My father pleaded to my mother to end his suffering, and she did, though she must have been very sad that she had to do so.  My mother died shortly after my father because she didn't eat or drink anything for at least 4 days.  Somehow though, my grandfather lived through that ordeal, but because it took such a toll on him, he passed away only a couple months after my mother died.  So, I have no family anymore" Tida finished.

Tida took a deep breath to steady his composure as he asked Hijinks "So, what kind of innate racial magic talent do you have?"

Darn he got me, Hijinks thought.

"My innate racial magic talent is... Pegasus." Not that it really mattered if he knew. Well... Pity is something she exploits daily, but she'd rather not have to deal with it from Tida. "Anyway, that's all good and all, but I'm getting tired of this game." That and she found out all she needed from them. Tay is not a liar, but is joining rebels. And the land outside Equestria is just as stupid as Equestria, but also pretty. Hijinks like pretty things.

Tayari nodded. "Alright, then. Let's stop playing, in that case."

Looking at his milkshake, he realized he'd barely touched it. He began drinking the rest, so it wouldn't go to waste.

Tida began to think about what Hijinks said.  If she uses pegasus magic, then where are her wings?  Unless something happened to them...  Tida decided not to pursue this further, as the game was over, and it would be very rude to ask her in the first place.  "Alright, let's stop" Tida said.  He picked up his instrument bag and took out his instrument.  He quietly played as he just enjoyed the moment with Hijinks and Tayari.

---

Tida's Instrument:

Hijinks remained silent. Or as silent as you can be while slurping down the rest of your milkshake. It always felt so unfair when the milkshake runs out. If only it went on forever, then she could be happy forever. Or at least that's what it would be like in her head.

Finally finishing her milkshake, and letting out a little burp and a giggle, she looked over at her two friends. Kitten was another pony in the middle, like her. But TayTay wants to join the rebels under that same delusion other ponies have. And he's going to die, just like daddy, and there's nothing she can do to stop it... unless...

"Aha!" Hijinks slammed her milkshake onto the table in a show of victory. "That's it!' She turned to Tayari. "TayTay, I'm going to join the rebels with you!" She beamed at Tayari, confident he will be pleased with her brilliant idea. This way, there will be something to stop TayTay from dying. Cause through simple math, she has concluded that TayTay plus dying equals sad. But add on a bit of Hijinks, and then it equals happy.

Tayari quietly enjoyed Tida's music for a while, until he heard what Hijinks had said. His response was swift: "What? No! No, absolutely not, and keep your voice down, please."

Hijinks looked slightly surprised at Tayari's reaction, then she moved onto a frown. What right did he have to control her? He's not her daddy!

"well too bad! I'm joining anyway!" She announced, while throwing a particularly nasty glare at Tayari. Or at least the nastiest glare a little filly could do.