Talking Problems [Tida, come here, others please ask first]

[Syron]

Year 4, Dec 19th, approaching 7 pm

Adophus slowly walked along Main Street, enjoying the white mantle the city had gained over the day. The snow was only now slowly ceasing to fall, and the flakes still danced in the lamp of the street lanterns. Considering it was Hearth's Sarming Eve in just a few days, it was a fitting sight.

Unfortunately, many of Manehatten's inhabitants didn't feel like celebrating. Adophus did see decorations here and there, especially in shop displays, but even though he had never been in Equestria at this time of the year before the war, he knew that this was nothing compared to the big, nationwide celebration it used to be. It was too subdued, burried under the weight of the occupation. It was in moments like this that Adophus regretted his kind's actions the most, wondering if it really had been necessary to invade the neighbouring nation... but it had already happened, and now they had to live with the results. The war might not have been reasonable, but now there wasn't a reasonable way back.

It was a reasonable way forward that Adophus pursued; A way of getting griffons and ponies to work together, instead of one suppressing the other and being hated in return. Neither of the sides made it easy, either because of resentment or arrogance, or both. The rumors of an equestrian rebellion and the behavior of most griffons in the Headquarters towards ponies proved that. But recently, Adophus had met a pony who shared his view. As a result, the griffon had invited said pony to dinner in Topclaw's Teahouse. As the name suggests, it wasn't the perfect place for dinner, but it did serve some food and - more importantly - was known to be an inter-species mingling point, and the owner worked to keep hard feelings out on the street.

Said owner - a griffon by the name of Evangeline Topclaw - apparently wasn't around as Adophus stepped inside and hung his overcoat at the rack next to the door, but her employees apparently were easily able to handle the evening hours by themselves, it seemed. Adophus made his way through the relatively dark, but cozy café, exchanging friendly greetings with whoever of the waiters or (few late-evening) customers made eye-contact, and after not seeing Tida anywhere, sat down on an empty table. Adophus chuckled a bit at the curiosity of visiting a teahouse at this time, but it simply was the best place to talk about what he wanted to talk about. He ordered a cup of tea as he waited for his collocutor.

[Tida]

Walking down Main Street coming from the direction of the Eastern Residential District, Tida looked around for the Topclaw Teahouse among the buildings that lined the street.  He checked to make sure that his instrument bag with his instrument as well as his saddlebags were still on him, as he didn't want to be mugged and lose them, especially his instrument.

Looking at the scene before him, he remembered that Hearth's Warming was around the corner.  He started to become lost in thought again, thinking about what happened so far during the year.  He was fortunate that he met the ponies and griffons that he had met over the course of the year, as well as starting up a piece of his ultimate goal: to help the homeless and displaced of Manehatten.  He was very thankful for one griffon in particular that helped him a lot: a griffon by the name of Sir Adophus.  He was a very level-headed griffon, and thought that there were other ways to solve the problem in Manehatten other than through violent means.  He hoped that he can continue to work towards his goal in the next year, and that he and Sir Adophus could continue to work together, as it seemed that he is one of the few griffons who actually cared for the well-being of the ponies of Manehatten.

Coming out from his thought, Tida noticed the Topclaw Teahouse before he walked past it.  He opened the door and walked inside.  There were a few other griffons in here that didn't really notice his presence, but the ones who did stared at him for a moment then went back to keeping to themselves.  Tida didn't see any other ponies in here, though that would be understandable because of the curfew that was in effect in Manehatten.  Looking around for Adophus, Tida spotted him already sitting at an empty table.  He walked to the table where he was and put his things on the ground near the table.  Tida smiled and gave a slight bow.  "Good evening Sir Adophus" Tida said before sitting on a chair at the table.

[Syron]

"Good evening, Tida", Adophus happily greeted the pony. "Please, there's no need for for formality, just call me Adophus." The griffon waited until Tida was seetled before asking, "So, how was your day? Apart from your confrontation with Cornelius that is." A waitress was already coming up to their table to take a new order.

[Tida]

Tida nodded.  "I'll try..." Tida began as he found it quite difficult to drop the title attached to his name "...Si- Adophus" he said, apologizing afterwards.  "I can't help but address someone with their title, as it would seem rude not to."

"Aside from the slight trouble that I had with Sir Cornelius today, my day has been good.  I have the necessary things to start the farm up."  Thinking, Tida frowned slightly "looking at the current state of Manehatten however, it seems that the longer the hatred between ponies and griffons goes on for, the more ponies and griffons will suffer needlessly, and accomplish nothing to help the city..."  Mentally shaking those thoughts away, Tida smiled, as to not make the mood a sad one and asked Adophus "how was your day?"

[Syron]

"My day was pretty much as I expected it would be after our meeting. I confronted Cornelius, and of course he isn't quite fond of my interference", Adophus began with a tinge of remembered annoyance, but was interrupted by the waitress.

"Good evening", the griffon hen respectfully greeted Tida. "What can I get you?"

[Tida]

"That's unfortunate" Tida said.  He was going to say more, but a waitress came to the table to take his order.  "Good evening" Tida said as he gave a bow of his head at her "I would like a cup of tea please."

[Syron]

"We have many sorts of tea", the waitress replied with a chuckle. "Do you have anything more specific in mind? At the moment I can recommend ginger-cinnamon tea, as long as we still have cinnamon. Good to drive the cold out."

"I second that recommodation. I'll take a second cup, and a couple of biscuits please", Adophus added.

[Tida]

Tida nodded.  He was pretty sure that they didn't have the tea that he was accustomed to drinking, as the main ingredient for it came from his home country.  The ginger-cinnamon tea sounded good however.  "I would like to have the ginger-cinnamon tea too, it sounds good."

[Syron]

"Coming right up!" the griffoness said, and hurried off to get the order ready.

Adophus took a sip from his almost empty cup, and spoke again. "Cornelius seems intent on making his own job harder only to make things difficult for ponies as well, though of course he didn't say so openly after I had made it clear where I was standing", he returned to the topic of how his day had been. He intentionally held back about the slight hostility he had received from some of the guards after having been seen aiding a pony against a griffon. "Luckily he's just one of the worst ones, and the large rest doesn't act quite as infuriating, but still not good enough to better relations between Griffons and Equestrians. Most of them lack proper respect."

[Tida]

Tida nodded at what Adophus said "It's unfortunate that other griffons, as well as ponies don't seem interested in bettering the relationship between each other... I wonder what would happen to me if a rebel or other ponies that aren't sympathetic towards griffons found out that I was working with you.  They would probably alienate me, or beat me to death for being a "traitor".  It seems that they don't realize, or care to realize that there are other ways to go about this aside from violent means."  Tida frowned "I know this because this isn't the first time that I've gone through something like this..."

Tida returned to his slightly neutral expression "it's good however, that we are taking small steps to try to better the relationship between ponies and griffons.  Hopefully, others will try to follow this example and try to understand each other, respect each other, and ultimately trust each other someday."

[Syron]

"I've been wondering before, and now I'm wondering again", Adophus said, mustering Tida in thought. "You're not from Equestria, are you? Your manners don't seem to fit a typical equestrian. For one, ponies don't usually bow quite that much, except maybe for their princesses." The griffon chuckled lightly at the the memory of the rather curious habit.

[Tida]

Tida nodded his head "You're right that my mannerisms don't fit a typical Equestrian, but that's because I'm not originally from Equestria... I came from a land far to the east of Equestria called Neighpon.  I could tell you about its culture, music, and other things of that nature if you would like, which would explain why I bow so much."  He loved to share information about his country with others, such as its culture, language, music, etc. but hoped that he would just want to know about those things, as he really didn't want to talk about the other things that happened in Neighpon, as it would kill the happy mood that was present.

[Hijinks]

One of the things that Hijinks hates about this part of the year is the cold. Being a pegasus, she could bear it, but that doesn't mean she likes it. She was in an alleyway again, freezing her butt off when she spotted Tida Kitten, one of her new friends, walk by. Spotting it as an opportunity to escape the cold, she followed him... Sneakily.

"cheeky little Kitten..." Hijinks observed Tida walk into the building. Using her astute observational skills, it appeared to be a place where you order fine beverages. She stood outside for a while, looking at Tida and a random griffon talk.

"Wait... or rather don't wait! I shouldn't be waiting!" She shook her head. Walking to the entrance of the building, she pushed open the doors and strode up to the table where Tida was sitting. She ignored the stares of the other patrons, cause they are not important. Without asking, she jumped up onto the seat next to Tida.

"Hello!" She greeted Tida and the griffon with a large grin. "Excellent weather we are having, is it not?" Hijinks knew this was a line that fancy ponies used in small talk.

[Tida]

Right as he finished talking, a familiar filly entered the teahouse and sat at the table that they were at.  Now, he would normally not mind if Hijinks came around, as she was fun to be around, but in this case he didn't want her to cause trouble to Adophus... but, he would hope for the best that the conversation that he and Adophus were having wasn't going to take a turn for the random, and that everything would go as pleasantly as possible.

Tida chuckled as Hijinks greeted them.  "Hello Mimi, the weather is pretty good.  It stopped snowing at least" Tida said as he looked out the window, and saw that the snow had indeed stopped falling "though, it is getting colder."  Looking between her and Adophus, Tida introduced her to him, but slightly struggled when addressing him.  "Mimi, this is... Adophus" Tida said looking at Adophus.  "Adophus, this is Mimi" Tida said looking back to Hijinks.

[Syron]

Adophus almost jumped up in surprise when the filly suddenly popped up at their table. She was a curious sight with the big bow around her mid-section and the coat-color drawings all over her legs (and one of a heart on her forehead), not to mention her self-drawn cutie mark. She seemed joyous enough... and yet Adophus couldn't help but feel concerned. Nonetheless, he smiled warmly at her. "Hello Mimi", he said after being introduced, and took a little look around and through the window. Nopony around who could might be her parent or guardian. "Out completely on your own?"

[Hijinks]

Hijinks grinned at Adophus. Perhaps her grin was too wide. "Hello... Adoofy." Hijinks responded to Adophus, totally not forgetting his name right after being told what it was.

"Not completely!" She replied proudly before reaching into her bag. She pulled out a small figurine of a minotaur in a thumbs up pose and placed him on the table. "Ta-da! I call him mini-taur! get it?" she chuckled at her pun. "I found him in the dumpsters at the fancy houses. It's crazy what some ponies throw out! This one time, I found half a box of pizza! Not that I am complaining, it was good pizza, pineapple flavour."

[Syron]

"I see", Adophus said, failing to draw amusement from Mimi's behavior. She apparently was a homeless filly without parents, there was little to laugh about, even if she liked to play differently. Well, at least she was trying to keep the mood up, and Adophus didn't want to be the one to crash it, so he kept his tone jovial as he asked the next question. "Are you hungry?

[Tida]

Tida watched the conversation between Hijinks and Adophus.  He was surprised by the calm demeanor that he kept when they were talking to each other.  In fact, Tida had a feeling that Adophus was trying to keep the mood a very happy one.  I wish there were more griffons like him Tida thought while he continued to listen quietly.

[Hijinks]

Hijinks sensed free food. "Oh yes mr. doofy, I am starving!" She said with and exaggerated desperate tone. She laid her head on the table and looked up weakly at Adophus to prove her point. Of course, it was all a ploy to get free food.

[Syron]

Adophus looked sceptically at Mimi. Ignoring the nickname she had given him, the sudden change in behavior made the griffon guess that she was exaggerating a bit. But it didn't matter. Even if she wasn't all that hungry right now, it was better if she got her food not from the trash.

The waitress came back with their previous orders, two cups of tea and a plate of biscuits. "Thank you", Adophus said. "Do you still have bagels? It's not exactly breakfast time, but it seems we have need for something more filling than buscuits."

The griffoness nodded, having heard enough of the conversation to know what was going on. "They won't be as fresh as usual, but I think there are some left over. I'll get them", she said, flashing a smile at Hijinks before wandering off again. Adophus pushed the plate of biscuits she had placed right before him to the middle of the table before taking one of the confections.

"Please, serve yourselves", he said and began steering back towards the topic he and Tida had originally been talking about. "There are ponies and griffons who look past the hatred, but too few and too far in between. If we want to change that, we need to show how much better everybody would fare if we worked together, for which in turn we would need some numbers to be noticed. Currently we're standing mostly alone in the field."

[Tida]

When the waitress came back with the tea, Tida thanked her before he took a sip of it.  It was a little spicy for him, but the waitress was right as he started to feel warm inside.  putting the cup down, he nodded at what Adophus said.  "We do need numbers to get noticed.  I have a feeling that the reason why those other ponies and griffons who look past the hatred don't really advocate working together is because they feel that their voice won't make a difference; that if they say something they will be alienated by their kind or killed in extreme cases because they are only one pony or griffon who thinks in that way compared to the many who thinks that violence is the only way to solve anything.  If we could find those who are like-minded and let them know that they aren't alone in their endeavors, they may start to advocate more for working together."

"Also, there are many more citizens who are homeless, starving, wondering if they will make it to the next day.  That's the reason why I wanted to build a farm... to provide food for the homeless in Manehatten so that they at least know that they have something to eat.  Maybe if I can get griffons to help later on, that will help the other ponies to see that all griffons aren't bad, that they care for their well-being."  Tida rested his muzzle on his forehoof in thought "actually... have you heard of the Harmony Foundation?" Tida asked Adophus.

[Syron]

"Indeed I have", Adophus nodded smilingly. "Though I'm afraid I haven't found the time to get to know them yet. I'm not sure how many members and helpers they have, or how well funded they are. But regardless, it is certainly a good start. Maybe you have some more information?"

[Hijinks]

Hijinks immediately snatched one of the biscuits from the table. She quietly munched on the treat while she listened to Tida and Adophus talk. As she finished her biscuit, she licked the crumbs off her hooves, savouring the taste like it was the last biscuit she will ever have. This was proven false as she picked up another biscuit from the plate.

"It sounds to me, you want every pony to play nice and do what they're told." She looked up at Adophus with her mischievous smile. "You should try brainwashing, it would be easier than trying to make yourself look like the good guy."

[Tida]

Tida became slightly nervous after hearing what Hijinks said to Adophus.  Granted, it was Hijinks and anything can happen when Hijinks is present.  If someone is trying to have a pleasant conversation though, it would be rude to say those kinds of things to them.

Tida gave a quiet sigh "I don't think that brainwashing would be good... It would give the other ponies more reason to hate and attack the griffons, who would hate and attack the ponies in turn, becoming an endless cycle of violence and hatred.  This is what we're trying to stop and avoid from happening.  Also, I don't think he has any ulterior motives; he just wants this cycle that's happening in Manehatten to stop, just like how I want it to stop too."

[Syron]

Mimi's words stung Adophus greatly, mostly because of the truth they bore. Of course, he would never do such things, but the filly hadn't really meant him specifically. She didn't know him, and thus applied what she thought to know about griffons in general. And though it was an overgeneralization, it was true nonetheless. Adophus didn't know what to say at first, but luckily Tida gave him some time to think. "I fear Mimi does have a point", Adophus sighed. "Slavery and brainwashing are practices too common in the Kingdoms to be disregarded. There are many griffons who object to such, but not enough to prompt a change. To Equestrians, who weren't accustomed to it, its introduction probably is one of the major reasons for the hatred against my kind, and I can't blame the Equestrians for it."

[Hijinks]

Hijinks face-hoofed. The meaning of her words went straight over their heads. "no no no nonononono! You didn't get it!" She groaned. "The joke was that you are just like the other griffons! Whether you feed them, or beat them into submission, your goal is to make all the ponies stop resisting and do what you want." She directed her rant at Adophus, but threw a nasty glare at Tida for being stupid.

Adults... She thought, shaking her head condescendingly.

She leaned on the table with her (not so serious) business face, holding her head up with her forehooves. "Did I ever tell you everything is a game?" She didn't wait for a response, "Well it is, and in games, there can only be one winner." She was, of course, referring to ponies and griffons. In her mind, either the griffons leave and the ponies get to follow their old deluded dreams of peace and harmony, or the ponies become slaves and workers while griffons lead them around. And she didn't like either of those options.

Finished with her lecture on life, she picked up another biscuit and stuffed it into her mouth. "mmf, Thanks for the free food." She thanked Adophus, sending crumbs flying out of her mouth and onto him and the table in the process. It wasn't so sincere, it was more of a taunt because she was guessing he was probably regretting giving her free food right now.

[Tida]

Tida wondered why Hijinks glared at him like that.  Maybe she's angry at the fact that I'm working with a griffon?  Or that I didn't get what she meant the first time?  Continuing to listen to Hijinks, she brought up an interesting comparison.  Everything is a game?  Tida thought.  Though, if you put that in the context of life in general, it kinda makes sense that one would make that comparison as it seems that in the end, you are competing with others to survive, to 'win'.  Hijinks continued to amaze Tida, as she knew a lot for someone her age, even with the facade that she constantly had up.

When Hijinks did what she did to Adophus, he became more nervous that things could take a turn for the worst.  He put his train of thought on hold to make sure that if things did take a turn for the worst, he could try to prevent the situation from becoming very bad.

[Syron]

Well... at least she was honest. She spoke what she thought, regardless how blunt it may be. The accusation that he just wanted to control ponies on way or another, while he was treating her to a free meal, was rather insulting. Adohpus scowled at the filly, but didn't say anything for a moments before talking in a controlled tone. "A game doesn't need to be based on competition. It can be based on cooperation as well. Play together to reach a common goal. I see life as a game that is meant to be played together, not against each other, with the common goal to enjoy the game. Ponies and Griffons should be equals. That is what I want, and that's what Tida wants. We have a common goal, so we're looking for ways to reach it together."

[Hijinks]

Hijinks giggled. "Ha! That's a laugh! Ponies and griffons can be equals if they follow your goal. You can pretend to be the good guy all you want, but my point still stands... Your goal is to force ponies and griffons to do something you want to do."

Before Adophus could respond she slammed her hoof onto the table, her face changing to a face of seriousness and determination. "And before you say 'it's what's best for them', or 'it's what they want', let me tell you it's not what I need or want, it's what you want! And I will not be disciplined like a dog!" She finished in a near shout. She was not angry... Hijinks never got angry... What Hijinks felt was utter conviction. She said these words, not with anger or spite, but with clear determination. Nothing will tell her what to do. Not the griffons, not Celestia... Not her mother...

Hijinks felt the presence of several eyes staring at their table. She didn't really care. She sat back down with her 'normal' smile as though nothing even happened.


"So... how about that weather?"

[Tida]

Tida listened to Hijinks' rant, and knew without a doubt that she absolutely detested authority; that she was the type to follow her own whims, which Tida respected... he wished that he could do as he wished, but knew that he couldn't.  Continuing to listen, Tida became slightly confused as he began to think.  Does she think that when Adophus said that he wanted to help ponies and griffons resolve their differences, she took that as a personal attack on her freedom to do whatever she wants?  Why doesn't she want that though?  I would think that it would be good for her, as she wouldn't have to worry about if she would make it to the next day.  It's not like he's forcing her to comply... she could still do what she wants to do.  Also, it doesn't sound like he was disciplining her...  Tida mentally sighed That's one of the problems with a city like Manehatten... everyone's values are trying to come in the loudest; a clash of creeds.

Tida closed his eyes, still in thought I feel sorry for Hijinks... she will probably learn later that there are limits to what you can and can't do, what you should and shouldn't do.  She makes herself look like she knows everything, but I know she doesn't... no one does.  I just hope that she doesn't have to use her life to learn those lessons the hard way, but hey...what do I know?  Tida opened his eyes and looked around the room and noticed that most of the customers were now looking at their table.  He decided against asking Hijinks anything at the current moment, since he really didn't want Hijinks to start shouting again.  Staying quiet with a neutral expression, Tida took a sip of his tea.

[Syron]

Mimi certainly had a way to change how a conversation was going very quickly. One moment Adophus was prepared to launch into a debate with the filly (how old was she? 10? 12? Regardless, she had a opinion that demanded debate anyway), then a small explosion happened and he was slumped. And he was certainly not prepared to talk about the weather.

Luckily the awkward silence was quickly interrupted by the waitress and three bagels in a small basket, as well as butter and a collection of cheeses. "Here you go", the griffoness said as she set everything down. "Unfortunately we had no sufficiently fresh lettuce, and the bagels are a tiny bit dry. But it should fill you right up anyway."
"Just try to keep it down a bit, okay?" she said with a friendly wink to Hijinks before leaving again ("Everybody, focus on your own table", she luckily reminded the other patrons that they were staring).

"Bon appétit", Adophus said to Mimi, regaining his smile. He wasn't about to get mad at her, she's only a foal after all. But that didn't stop him from thinking about how to convince her. Her misconception seemed to be that he wanted to force everypony to see it his way, but that wasn't true. They had to see it on their own, only then it would work. Otherwise it would be exactly what Mimi was accusing him of: One would effectively control the over, even if in a benevolent way. But whas it a good idea to pursue the argument right now? From the display just now and her attempt to change the subject, Adophus guessed that it might as well make her upset. Better just accept the new topic for now. "The weather could be better in my opinion. Though it's fitting the time of the year, it's been way too long since the sun really had free reign over the sky. I find this constant cloud cover is rather depressing."

[Hijinks]

Hijinks wasted no time in diving into her meal. Who needs manners? She tore into the bagel, viciously tearing off huge chunks with her teeth and swallowing them whole. It was not the best bagel in the world, but it would get an A- for effort. For the waitress, Hijinks just gave her a roll of the eyes when she turned around.

"I think the clouds are good!" She said between munches. "They look like cotton candy! Sometimes I wish I could fly up there and play on them..." She couldn't really see the sky from inside, but she could imagine herself flying up through the cloud cover.

"Besides..." She continued nomming on her bagel. "You got wings, why don'tcha just fly up there? Plenty of sun up there."

[Tida]

Tida put his cup down and continued to listen.  Nodding at what Adophus said, Tida looked out the window at the cloudy sky.  "I wish that we could see both the sun and moon, though more so the moon..." Tida said, continuing to look out the window, hoping that someday, the moon would come out, filing the night sky.  Turing back to the table, Tida took a bagel and put some cheese on it, then started to eat.

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