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Admiral Biscuit


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All she wanted was a Shamrock shake, smooth and cool, deliciously clover-y . . . but that's not what she got.

Merry May's been on Earth long enough to know that the pictures of food on a menu board and the actual food item received bear little resemblance. She hasn't yet figured out that there's sometimes outright deception. Shamrock Shakes contain no actual clover; they're not even clover-flavored.


Now with a reading by StraightToThePointStudio!

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 147 )

Calling ordinary mundane things sourced from McDonalds, McX is a stroke of brilliance

Actually clover is edible, although some might have trouble with it in large quantities. There would be nothing wrong with having a flurry with enough clover to make it a clover flurry. I find it odd that restaurants wouldn't crop up almost immediately with pony options if ponies were around.

Posted to
Admiral Biscuit's Fleet
Pony On Earth folder

:pinkiehappy:

They did know that the Days Inn had a continental breakfast. It wasn’t great.

They didn't specify that the continent was Atlantis -and the breakfast was what destroyed it.

:derpyderp1:

Folklore
"Vervain, trefoil, John's wort, dill
Frustrate witches of their will."

Vervain & (Saint) John's wort are some of the things you can buy as health food. Trefoil = shamrock, symbol of Ireland.

Dill is the stuff in dill pickles. McDonald's puts them on hamburgers. IMO, this protects them from being cursed by witches.

Oh & their Kid's Meal was rated the Best Buy in a survey I saw online many moons ago.

:scootangel:

11532545

It's a dilly of a pickle.

This story inspired me to check McDonald's Shamrock Shake page to see whether the whipped cream actually is whipped cream. It is, although I was more surprised to find out that the shake itself contains real (reduced fat) ice cream.

However, the picture depicts the shake in a drinking glass made of actual glass. At what McDonald's are you going to get that?

He nodded. “One hundred percent Alaska Pollock from sustainable Alaskan fisheries.”

A magical talking pegasus visiting a fast food restaurant in the real world? Sure. But an average McDonald's employee able to supply that fact off the top of his head? That was what broke my suspension of disbelief.

11532641

One of the cooler ones. There's a few that are like normal restaurants, at least one where you can get lobster rolls, and one in Texas that is safari-themed.

a sweet short story i love it.
but as to the Shamrock shake nope nope nope to sweet for me.

I remember the first Shamrock Shakes. They were really good.

That was back in the ancient days when McDonalds still made the burgers and hot cakes on a griddle.

Everything was better back then... I'm going to reset the world to the 80's! WITH EXPERIMENTAL TIME TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY I STOLE FROM AREA 51!!! Sure, it may destroy all reality, but given how awful reality is right now, it's CLEARLY worth the risk... for better-tasting Shamrock Shakes! :pinkiecrazy:

And on that final note "Dewdrop" is now wearing the remainder of a "Flower smoothie "! Great story! Oh and if you're really old...the first Shamrock shakes to come out had a green color that seams to glow....AKA. Fallout.

11532524 It depends on the species of clover. Common white clover is not very digestible raw, but cooking solves that. The aerial portions of white clover also are effective against tapeworm infestations. Red clover flowers can be used to make jelly and tisanes, but it contains coumarin derivatives and should not be consumed by people with coagulation disorders.

There are 300 species of true clovers all over the world.

Also, shamrock is an interchangeable term between clover and several species of Oxalis, which are also called wood sorrels. These are also edible in moderation, and contain tart-tasting oxalic acid. People with kidney problems should not eat sorrels.

The most commonly accepted clover as the traditional shamrock is the clover species Trifolium dubium.

11532641 100% real dolphin beaten to death in a Japanese bay! :fluttershbad:

:trollestia:

"... grumble mutter... razzinfrazzin McDonalds... razzinfrazzin milkshakes..."

"Whoa hey, little pony girl! What's got you so upset?"

"Who wants- hey, aren't you that human actor and former wrestler Dwayne Johnson?"

"Yeah, not so loud, okay? I just stopped in this town for a quick meal."

"Well, if you're getting a milkshake, don't get one of those green ones."

"Why not? I like 'em, and they only make them about one week a year."

"Because... that milkshake is a sham, Rock."

Poor May. I am willing to bet that the laws in Equestria regaurding truthfulness in advertising are very different then here in America.

11532865
They don't seem to have laws for that sort of thing. Every episode involving the Flimflam Brothers makes that more clear.

I hate to nitpick, but the term shows up enough times in the story that it actually became rather noticeable. McDonalds calls their sandwich the "Filet-O-Fish" (all one hyphenated monstrosity of a word and one less F than it ought to have).

Very amusing premise, though. I quite enjoyed it.

It is nice that the TornadoPonies are still killing tornadoes.

Biscuit, is there a way for you to link all of the Tornado Team stories? There are a few I think.

Huh, didn't know Ponish was so similar to Dutch :trollestia:

11532499

Calling ordinary mundane things sourced from McDonalds, McX is a stroke of brilliance

I wish I could take credit for coming up with that, but it's been around for a long time.

11532524

Actually clover is edible, although some might have trouble with it in large quantities. There would be nothing wrong with having a flurry with enough clover to make it a clover flurry.

It is, and I've eaten it. The flowers are also edible (at least in part, IIRC) and I'm almost certain that you can make wine from them--I think clover wine came up when I was researching flower wines.

I find it odd that restaurants wouldn't crop up almost immediately with pony options if ponies were around.

It would depend on the concentration of ponies, I think. There are certainly restaurants and grocery stores that cater to particular dietary preferences where they have a good enough customer base, and such could also happen if there was a pony enclave somewhere, but I don't see the business case to put a hayburger on McDonald's menu (for example) in case a pony shows up.

11532532

They didn't specify that the continent was Atlantis -and the breakfast was what destroyed it.

:rainbowlaugh:

Dill is the stuff in dill pickles. McDonald's puts them on hamburgers. IMO, this protects them from being cursed by witches.

That's a reasonable explanation. Hmm, dill pickles are kinda ubiquitous in the US, maybe that's why we don't see so many witches anymore.

Oh & their Kid's Meal was rated the Best Buy in a survey I saw online many moons ago.

Is that the one that they were marketing that filled the space between a Happy Meal and an adult meal? I thought that had gone away, but maybe not.

11532641

This story inspired me to check McDonald's Shamrock Shake page to see whether the whipped cream actually is whipped cream. It is, although I was more surprised to find out that the shake itself contains real (reduced fat) ice cream.

As I recall, some years back McDonald's improved the shake ingredients when they did the whole McCafe rebranding. So I'm actually not surprised that it's more natural than it was years ago. (Still won't stop me from making fun of them.)

Also, to a pony who's used to hoofmade food from home instead of the industrial processed stuff, even if their whipped cream is legally real whipped cream, and the shake is legally real reduced fat ice cream, it's probably not as good as what Merry May could get at home.

However, the picture depicts the shake in a drinking glass made of actual glass. At what McDonald's are you going to get that?

Well of course they're going to market it that way. I almost used that picture as the coverart, but reasoned that getting a Shamrock Shake in an actual glass wasn't going to be anybody's experience.

A magical talking pegasus visiting a fast food restaurant in the real world? Sure. But an average McDonald's employee able to supply that fact off the top of his head? That was what broke my suspension of disbelief.

:rainbowlaugh:
Maybe he was taught that in training, or maybe McDonald's has had an ad campaign promoting the fact.

11532732

There's a few that are like normal restaurants, at least one where you can get lobster rolls, and one in Texas that is safari-themed.

I've never been in one that isn't the basic standard McDonald's, although it doesn't surprise me that they exist.

11532791

a sweet short story i love it.

Thank you!

but as to the Shamrock shake nope nope nope to sweet for me.

I can understand that. Sometimes I get one, sometimes I don't. This year I got one and then had a second for additional research and that's very much my limit.

11532794

I remember the first Shamrock Shakes. They were really good.

I do feel like the flavor's changed since I was young. Whether that's my taste evolving, or they no longer use the toxic secret ingredient in them, I don't know.

That was back in the ancient days when McDonalds still made the burgers and hot cakes on a griddle.

I'd still call that big hot flat thing they have a griddle and that's all I can remember them ever using.

Everything was better back then... I'm going to reset the world to the 80's! WITH EXPERIMENTAL TIME TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY I STOLE FROM AREA 51!!! Sure, it may destroy all reality, but given how awful reality is right now, it's CLEARLY worth the risk... for better-tasting Shamrock Shakes! :pinkiecrazy:

I suppose being on the quest for a proper Shamrock Shake is a good villain origin story. :derpytongue2:

11532809

And on that final note "Dewdrop" is now wearing the remainder of a "Flower smoothie "!

I don't think that Merry May would throw it at him, I think she'd rather enjoy it. She might dump his Shamrock Shake on his head though, or just hit him with a wing as she goes by.

Great story!

Thanks!

Oh and if you're really old...the first Shamrock shakes to come out had a green color that seams to glow....AKA. Fallout.

Yeah, seem to remember that decades ago they were a much more vibrant green.

11532814

Also, shamrock is an interchangeable term between clover and several species of Oxalis, which are also called wood sorrels. These are also edible in moderation, and contain tart-tasting oxalic acid. People with kidney problems should not eat sorrels.

The most commonly accepted clover as the traditional shamrock is the clover species Trifolium dubium.

Wikipedia had a breakdown of which ones Irish people thought were Shamrocks. Trifolium dubium got 51% of the vote in 1893 and 46% in 1988, making it the most popular choice. You're right that not all the ones considered shamrocks are even actually clovers.

You might know the answer to this, the four-leaved clovers are a mutation, but is that a whole plant mutation, or does it just happen on individual stems?

11532846
That's both a groaner and hilarious :heart:

I feel like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would get along with ponies quite well.

11532865

Poor May. I am willing to bet that the laws in Equestria regaurding truthfulness in advertising are very different then here in America.

They're probably very different. 11532943 says--and I agree--that Flim and Flam are evidence that they give broad latitude to some claims made by salesponies; however there might be some very specific rules regarding food, for instance.

11533128

I hate to nitpick, but the term shows up enough times in the story that it actually became rather noticeable. McDonalds calls their sandwich the "Filet-O-Fish" (all one hyphenated monstrosity of a word and one less F than it ought to have).

I should probably go back and fix that. I did know that it was spelled differently, but thought I'd spell it the correct way in the story.

Very amusing premise, though. I quite enjoyed it.

Thank you!

11533138

>Shakes detected

We were even talking about you in the associated blog post! :heart:

11533197

It is nice that the TornadoPonies are still killing tornadoes.

Dr. Tetsuya has lots more data he needs to get, and so there's plenty of work for them.

11533261

Biscuit, is there a way for you to link all of the Tornado Team stories? There are a few I think.

I think just this one and Starbucks, besides their appearance in Silver Glow's Journal, of course.

I could make a library for them . . . I could also include other similar stories about pegasi working aerial jobs on Earth, like Sky Sweeper.

11533283

Huh, didn't know Ponish was so similar to Dutch :trollestia:

After a joking reference to a meme seven years ago in the comments of Silver Glow's Journal, it is now my headcanon that Ponish is the same as Dutch.

This reminds me of hearing a relative get very mad at the Harry Potter park in Universal Orlando. He got a Butterbeer and it was just a shitty caramel / cream shake soda thing. No beer or butter to be found.

Now sure, not having it be actual butter beer is understandable you wouldn't want to sell beer to the many kids who would be buying it but come on they could have at least have tried to make it somewhat like the real thing maybe a eggnog type of meme with some hops and stuff.

11533350 Wendy's and a couple of other chains use sweet pickles. BLECH. Which is why I don't eat burgers those places.

Merry May! Language young filly.

11532641

> > "'He nodded. 'One hundred percent Alaska Pollock from sustainable Alaskan fisheries.'”

> "A magical talking pegasus visiting a fast food restaurant in the real world? Sure. But an average McDonald's employee able to supply that fact off the top of his head? That was what broke my suspension of disbelief."

When it is slow, the crew could read the NutritionGuide.

11533467 No, no, there actually are training videos, and sometimes hires are given enough time to actually watch them. So it's not impossible that the clerk would know the factoid.

What actually IS impossible is that said clerk would give enough of a damn to actually SAY it.

11533347

People think ponies are cute and novel so having something on the menu for them lets you do advertising saying that you cater to ponies which not only gets you the pony business but also the curious, especially if said food is also human edible like an actual clover shake option.

Just wait till she tries Musk Sticks.

Do these musk sticks contain real musk?
They sure do! (Some still do)

Hmm... would ponies actually enjoy musk sticks?

Los Pinos was next to the hotel, and Pizza Hut was close. They didn’t deliver, but Dusty’s van could carry plenty of pizza, and if it wasn’t available, most of the pegasi were competent enough fliers to carry a couple boxes on their back over the interstate and back to the hotel.

Ah, suburban America, where you have to drive to cross the street.

She was halfway done when Dewdrop came in, a brown paper McSack held in his mouth. He sat across from her, set it on the table, and pulled out a Shamrock shake. “Hey, have you tried one of these yet? They’re tasty!”

11533635
I like to joke that the infamous Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks is because everyone's scared of the taxis in NYC. The joke is implying that being on the sidewalk would save you. :pinkiecrazy:

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