Story Notes: Shamrock Shake · 2:49am Mar 18th, 2023
Today's St. Patrick's Day (or yesterday was, depending on where you are).
Celebrate responsibly.
We'll start with ponies. They're some of the tornado team from Silver Glow's Journal, specifically Merry May:
(she's a grumpy pony)
Dewdrop:
Paradise:
Source
Those of you who have been following me for a while probably realize that Brinkley, Arkansas is a real place (and that it has a Days Inn, McDonalds, Waffle House, McDonald's, and a Flower Patch). Likewise, the city facts are all true, but here's one that didn't come up in the story. It's halfway between Little Rock and Memphis for a reason; the Little Rock and Memphis Railroad was given a land grant to build a town, and so they did, naming it after their president, Robert Campbell Brinkley.
While the Little Rock and Memphis Railroad is long gone, tracks still go through Brinkley. Not only is the depot still there (no longer served by any passenger rail AFAIK) , but so is the railroad hotel. I was curious if they both survived the 1909 tornado . . . both were built a few years after it had passed.
A thermopolium (plural thermopolia) was a fast food restaurant in the Greco-Roman times. They'd often have frescoes showing what they had for sale (implying the menu stayed pretty consistent), and one that was recently uncovered included a fresco of a dog on a leash, perhaps an ancient precursor to more modern leash signs. Wikipedia suggests that they sold "fish, poultry, [and] baked goods." Stews and soups also seem to have been on the menu, as well as nuts and drinks.
I propose that especially large pony cities would have them, geared towards ponies in harness. After all, if you're towing a cart and want something to eat, you don't want to have to unhook the cart and go into a restaurant.
Could be convenient for the passenger, too.
Since I brought up smoothies, I'm obligated to note that some years ago, GaPJaxie wrote a series of mini-fics based on prompts by FimFic authors. I suggested "Pony on Earth, pony discovers some life-changing piece of kitchen equipment. I was thinking a blender," and he obliged with Will It Blend.
For those of you who don't know, McDonald's has a shamrock shake which they offer around St. Patrick's Day every year since 1970. It's mint-flavored, and in fact their app calls it a "Shamrock Shake®: Mint Shake", no doubt as a way to prevent ponies from suing for false advertising. Or anyone else who either loves the taste of clover or hates mint, I suppose. They even had the short-lived Shamrock Sundae back in the 80s; I'm sure some of my readers remember the 80s.
Also for those of you who don't know, shamrocks are sprigs of young clover, from the Irish seamróg. While these days they're often depicted as four-leaved (lucky) clovers, traditionally there were pictured as three-leaved, and used as a symbol of the Trinity. According to Wikipedia, nobody knows what the 'true' shamrock is; there are a few species of clover plant in contention.
And that gets us to the genesis of this story. While I was enjoying a Shamrock Shake, I found myself wondering if a pony would be upset if it wasn't clover-flavored.
Addendum (and shameless self-promotion): y'all might remember that Clear Skies had a much better experience buying McRibs.
Outro!
Best way to celebrate would be to put on The Little Mermaid for the Dazzlings, so you all can kvetch* about cultural appropriation together.
*Jewish Irish are a thing. According to an anecdote, Stephen Colbert almost started a riot by getting on stage in front of a rowdy St. Patrick's Day crowd, asking if they were ready for some Irish culture... and pulling out a copy of Ulysses and starting to read.
Or it might have been Finnegans Wake. I don't remember where I heard that. Maybe one of his interviews with John Oliver.
They're also very protective of that trademark. A local restaurant here was advertising their own shamrock shakes (one of their employees figured out the secret ingredient: marshmallow) and McDonald's corporate paid them a visit. You can still get one, they just can't legally call it a 'Shamrock Shake'. The best part is they're not limited to selling it just in March. Year 'round Shamrock Shake availability? Yes, please!
In closing, some shameless self-promotion from way back in my own archives...
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/175914/shake-it-up
I mean, of course Minty is going to want one. She just has to get there first. Stupid fourth wall...
I was delighted to think of Pegasi having thermapolia. It feels so fitting
Has Admiral Biscuit ever done a collaboration with Shakespearicles?
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Family married into Navvies.
The only Culture they want offered in a pub is the one that ferments Guinness.
story shoulda featured Minuette
because Shamrock Shakes taste like toothpaste >:|
I have family down in Arkasas.
I do like mint, but these days I'd rather skip the ""St. Patty"" green food colored pork-loin and french fries craze.
I did get a sample a few days ago at Starbucks of their holiday drink but only because it was matcha and mint and I was curious.
I seem to recall reading somewhere that the 4th leaf on some clovers is a result of a genetic mutation.
finally, I wish the Admiral and our Equestrian friends a belated Slaínte Mhaith.
I didn't know that was a thing, but somehow I'm not surprised. Gladiators did product endorsements and half-time shows, so why not?
That probably is why I never like the Shamrock Shake. I am not a fan of mint flavoring.
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They're not technically mermaids, I don't think. At least they weren't called that in the show.
Well, James Joyce was a native son . . . I've got a copy of Ulysses around somewhere, never read it though.
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Yeah, they can't do anything about people making mint shakes in general, even ones that taste very much like their shakes (I assume if the recipe was stolen and copied, then they'd have a case), but they can very much protect their trademarked name for it. I'm pretty sure I've had mint shakes at other restaurants before--just called mint, to keep the McLawyers away. Likewise, you can make a mocha milkshake, you just can't call it Jamocha or else Arby's legal team is gonna pay you a visit.
Dang, almost ten years between the stories. Hard to believe we've been on FimFiction that long!
Now we know that they've got a portal in the castle for convenient trips to near-Earth; maybe the Equestria Girls have invented Shamrock Shakes, too.
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I've always thought of them more for the ground ponies, but the pegasi could, too. Fly-in thermapolia for ponies on the go. . .
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He has not. I don't know what form such a collab would take; the two of us don't write the same kinds of things.
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But she's not one of the tornado ponies 'cause she can't fly. She's just a silly unicorn.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2020/1/6/2240313.jpg
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I don't think I do, but I don't know for sure, there's a bunch of them in various southern states.
Oh yeah, I forgot that was a thing. Never really do much for the holiday, to be honest. Although one day I'd like to see the Chicago River dyed green (if they're still doing that); does it look much different than normal?
I believe it is. I think that they can have more than four, as well, with the same mutation. I don't know if it's a mutation that affects a whole plant or just one specific stem.
Thank you!
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Yeah, a lot of seeming modern ideas are anything but . . . honestly, I'd forgotten that gladiators did product endorsements, but now that you mention it, I think I recall they were going to do that in the movie Gladiator, but left it out because most of the audience wouldn't believe it. Kinda like the Tiffany problem.
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I feel like that's one of those flavors that people either love or hate. I personally love mint, and if I have the choice to put mint in something, I'll take it (drink of choice at a coffee shop--mint mocha).
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I have no idea if they dye the river or not, as to pork loin that was supposed to be a joke.
My "holiday" traditions these past few years have included trying authentic irish recipes, wearing my fancy "irish gentleman" outfit, and listening to irish music on YouTube. This year I got my hands on a bottle of Bushmill's Irish Whiskey.
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True but you are both among the best there is at the things that you do write. :)
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Carvel makes a great one. Not sure if you have any of them out your way. My nearest is an hour, so I don't get out there nearly as much as I'd like. I know of two others that make mint shakes (including the one I mentioned that offers the marshmallow). I'm sure their formula isn't the same, but nothing can stop someone from ordering a mint shake with marshmallow.
That it is! Over a decade, and hopefully many more years to come.
That picture of Paradise looks like she could give a trip to paradise, no matter where one is. I could use a trip to paradise right about now.
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I hope it's annotated, boyo.
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i.imgflip.com/3oyu8c.jpg
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My preferred tradition for the holiday is sitting down and watching Boondock Saints.
Several times I've wanted to do an Admiral Biscuit-inspired story about a group of ponies on Earth having that same sort of experience.
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Apparently you can't copyright recipes, so they're up for grabs for whoever can figure them out or steal them.
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Which is why KFC et al are so protective of their recipes.
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Ooh, that's a good one. I haven't seen that movie in years . . . time to watch it again!
You totally should!
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Yes, this is true. I suspect that the same goes for some chemical formulations, since in filling out a large number of MSDSes for work, I kept coming across either 'proprietary additive' or percentages that were a range (i.e., 15-30% highly refined mineral oil). You can patent processes, which can be used in the food or chemical industry to keep people from copying your stuff (although it of course has to be a more unique process than 'mix these two things together.'
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Yeah, I would imagine that's one reason. Another would be to keep up that air of mystery . . . if we're being realistic, a small mom-and-pop restaurant that managed to get the actual recipe for KFC chicken isn't going to put a dent in their bottom line selling fake KFC, but it gives the impression that they're doing something that nobody else can do.
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They famously have, I don't know if they still do.
I could have sworn somebody did that for St. Patrick's Day, but maybe I'm misremembering.
Those are all good traditions! I mostly do nothing, or maybe write a themed pony story for the holiday
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Nope, never heard of them.
I swear I know of some place that does, too, but now that I'm thinking about it I honestly can't remember where I'm thinking of. If it's even anywhere near where I live . . .
I did used to work at a hole-in-the-wall ice cream shop that made both industrial machine shakes (vanilla or chocolate) or proper ice cream shakes with any of the flavors of ice cream we had . . . and we did have mint chocolate chip ice cream, so that was a possibility.
Agreed!
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Yeah, she very much has that look. Maybe she's got more skills than just wrangling tornadoes.
I can tell you that right now Paradise is covered in snow and is cold.
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I'm honestly not sure if it is or isn't.
I made it through A Clockwork Orange without annotations . . . after a couple of chapters, I just got into the lingo.
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Maybe I will. . . .
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I could give to her an hot shower and take her into my bed with an heated MattressPad. Then, I would really heat up her. ¡I would get her so hot!
Ponies are built for hard shoe stepdancing. I've often imagined Celestia likes doing the Reel Around the Sun with her guards, Luna likes the Women of the Sidhe with her guards, Cadance likes doing Fiery Nights with just Shining... and a few extra-trusted guards.
Twilight's awkwardness was an impediment, but since alicorns are expected to be graceful dancers, she eventually got into
, with it's off-kilter, terrifying time signature.
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What if she doesn't like hot showers? What if she's like Merry May, and she likes being soaked with rain, likes getting ice on her forelock?
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There's a lot of material about ponies singing that we see in canon, but not much about them dancing (except that Twilight is bad at it).
I could see unicorns and high-class ponies going for formal dance styles, but I don't think that would fit the bill for everypony. Pegasus dances are probably three-dimensional, and I think earth ponies would prefer country dances--I don't know enough about different kinds of dancing, but when I was in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) I did a lot of the dancing, a lot of which were 'for all who will' and had very simple choreography.