Friendship is Card Games: P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View) · 12:17pm Oct 2nd, 2016
Part of the problem of doing a “live” text reaction is that I have to pause the video in order to type out my thoughts. Rewatching “Every Little Thing She Does” uninterrupted proved to be a lot less bad than I’d made it out to be. I’m still deeply uncomfortable with that episode and its implications, but the declaration of “worst episode ever” was almost certainly an exaggeration.
Appropriate. After all, this week's episode is all about looking at the same events through multiple perspectives.
Honestly, I’d like to hear about the flight school reunion. Didn’t Dash drop out? In any case, nice way to explain why the primary pegasi aren’t present.
So… they rode back to Ponyville covered in kelp, and nopony tried to clean up at all. Including Rarity. And I know AJ doesn’t like seaweed, but Pinkie probably would’ve taken the opportunity to have a snack.
I appreciate Pinkie’s dedication to finding a way that would keep her as far from the others as possible. And the train conductor’s consideration in letting her do so.
I love the notes and how strongly each character’s voice comes through in them. The delivery method is rather interesting. Winona I can see acting as a courier, but I’m not sure how Rarity enticed Opal to do something for her, to say nothing of how Pinkie broke through Gummy’s usual philosophical revery.
Crab fighting a giant Rarity. We have memetic ascension. And to think, it all started with one guy with way too much disposable income commissioning a bunch of artists, or so I’m told.
How many fainting couches does Rarity own, anyway? I bet Davenport gives her great deals on them.
We all know Rarity had about twenty times that much luggage.
Is… is that Gabby’s ship? At the very least, I think they used the same Flash model at times.
When exactly did Applejack learn to sail? She was born on an orchard in the middle of the continent and couldn’t have spent more than a few weeks in Manehattan.
(The answer, of course, is that she never did. That’s why they were still at the pier when they capsized.)
For quite some time, I wasn’t sure about where the port town was supposed to be. However, Derpibooru has delivered. Based on the Bittish Columbian flag, the girls were likely sailing out of Vanhoover.
Hmm. Struggling over a map on a boat. Shades of “Pinkie Apple Pie” here, especially given the cast.
The key issue was already clear by this time. Rarity may have wanted to give her friends a luxury cruise, but she never actually told them that.
Heh. Twilight pulls the spatula out of Spike’s claws without even looking. That or ponies have excellent peripheral vision, but that’s not nearly as funny.
Pinkie Pie’s flashback surprised me. I was expecting some bizarre series of non sequiturs. Instead, the story was just told from a childish point of view. Comparing it with the others shows that Pinkie was apparently oblivious to Applejack’s objections and just saw Rarity as a party pooper. Not sure how to feel about this, though that’s more touching on how little these close friends seem to understand about one another.
Also, how could that cotton candy be freshly spun? Did Pinkie bring the machine aboard?
Applejack also surprised me. I was expecting triangular symmetry: Rarity mad at Applejack and happy with Pinkie, Pinkie mad at Rarity and happy with Applejack, and Applejack mad at Pinkie and happy with Rarity. Nope. AJ’s peeved with the both of them. Well, we have seen how much she wants others to follow her plans; just look at the last reunion.
Heh. Fanon Rarity and Pinkie. Darling.
I hope that those three would be able to pull together in the event of a national emergency. I’d like to think so, but I’m not entirely sure…
I have to wonder, did Twilight write directly on Gummy to get Pinkie back to Vanhoover?
Well. We’ve complained about how Starlight seems to outmatch even alicorn Twilight, but it looks like Original Recipe Bookhorse just trumped autolevitation. Whatever floats your boat, Twilight.
Ooh, bunyips! Going Australian with the mythological monster this week… in Canadian waters. Huh.
Eww! Disinfect the goblets! Who knows how long they’ve been down there. And I’m pretty sure that’s not how sea salt ice cream works.
In any case, this was fun. Nothing mind-blowing, but definitely better than some recent episodes. Solid entertainment, even if the mystery cheated. You can’t expect the audience to anticipate bunyips with the palates of kappas.
Merry Mutiny 3W
Sorcery
You gain life equal to the total power of creatures target opponent controls.
”As far as I could tell, Pinkie was under the impression that ‘mutiny’ meant ‘party harder.’”
—Rarity, Bearer of Generosity
Engraved Alligator U
Creature — Crocodile
Inspired — Whenever Engraved Alligator becomes untapped, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
Its scales tell secrets few would ever contemplate, but all could learn from.
1/1
Gather Testimony U
Instant
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield this turn, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with “2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.”)
Spike rolled his eyes, readied his quill, and prepared for the mother of all claw cramps.
Sea Madness 1U
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, its controller puts that many cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
Isolation is hard enough on humans. Some pony minds can snap within hours without enough company.
Unreliable Narration 1U
Enchantment
2: Change the targets of target spell or ability you control. Any player may activate this ability.
”Are you sure Applejack had a salt-crusted beard?”
—Twilight Sparkle, to Rarity
Crushing Swell 2UU
Instant
Put target creature on top of its owner’s library. If you control six or more Islands, put that creature on the bottom of that library instead.
Ponies venture out to sea cautiously, for no tribe can truly control it.
Flight School Reunion 2UU
Instant
Return all creatures with flying to their owners’ hands.
1U, Exile Flight School Reunion from your graveyard: You may cast Pegasus spells this turn as though they had flash.
”Saved the world, broke the sound barrier, joined the Wonderbolts, the usual. How’ve you been doing?”
—Rainbow Dash, Bearer of Loyalty
Trihorned Bunyip 2UU
Creature — Beast
5UU: Monstrosity 3. (If this creature isn’t monstrous, put three +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes monstrous.)
When Trihorned Bunyip becomes monstrous, tap all creatures your opponents control.
3/3
Conflicting Plans 3UU
Instant
Counter up to two target spells.
Enough good intentions lead to hellish gridlock.
Howling Maelstrom 4UU
Instant
Put all attacking creatures on top of their owners’ libraries. Those players shuffle their libraries.
”We would have been doomed… had we ever actually gotten out of port.”
—Rarity, Bearer of Generosity
Pampered Messenger 2B
Creature — Cat
T, Pay 1 life: Draw a card.
Contrary to popular belief, cats are very easy to train. Most people just aren’t willing to meet them halfway.
1/1
Out of Character 2R
Sorcery
Untap target creature. Until end of turn, gain control of that creature and switch its power and toughness. It gains haste until end of turn.
”How many times did Rarity say ‘darling,’ exactly?”
—Twilight Sparkle, to Applejack
Canine Courier 1G
Creature — Hound
Whenever Canine Courier deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
”I may hit inconsiderately placed signs now and again, but at least I never slobber on letters.”
—Ditzy Doo
2/1
Vanhoover Schooner 2
Artifact — Vehicle
Whenever a creature crews Vanhoover Schooner, that creature doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Crew 2 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 2 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
5/5
Emotional Drain UBR
Enchantment
Whenever a creature is put into an opponent’s graveyard from the battlefield, that player taps an untapped creature or land he or she controls. That permanent doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Dishevel 1UB
Instant
Tap up to three target creatures. Those creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn.
”I don’t want to talk about it.”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Apple Family Mariner 3(gu)
Creature — Pony Scout
Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, target creature gains islandwalk until end of turn.
Apples populate Equestria from coast to coast and beyond.
3/2
Rarity’s Porters 3WB
Creature — Pony Minion
When Rarity’s Porters enters the battlefield, return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.
Whenever a nontoken artifact enters the battlefield under your control, you may return Rarity’s Porters from your graveyard to your hand.
”Just a few more things, I swear.”
—Rarity, Bearer of Generosity
2/3
Leave in a Huff 4UR
Sorcery
Target creature fights another target creature. Return those creatures to their owners’ hands at the beginning of the next end step. (Return them only if they survive.)
“If that’s too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff.”
—Beagle Puss, stage comedian
Rocky Shoals
Land
As Rocky Shoals enters the battlefield, you may reveal an Island or Mountain card from your hand. If you don’t, Rocky Shoals enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add U or R to your mana pool.
It's Pinkie Pie, so yeah, probably. Though she would've had to bring even more luggage than Rarity.
It's been a pattern this year for the characters to act more like they did in Season 1. Which is why I think that if this show is renewed for another season (which would be smart to foster interest in the movie), the writers should drop the friendship lessons altogether and just focus on telling good stories. Because they're clearly running out of friendship lesson material.
I enjoyed this episode overall, though. Nothing too exciting, but at least it didn't have as many deep-seated issues as last week's episode. I did think it was too extreme for Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack to refuse to speak to each other, but I guess the plot demanded it (see my mini-rant above). I liked the ocean setting, and the animation on the ship was good. The ending was weird – the tri-horned bunyip has a strange design for this show, and that tiny wave in shallow water couldn't have capsized a ship the size of the one they rented. Maybe the bunyip somehow physically knocked the ship over without anyone seeing him in the shallows, but that seems like a stretch too. At least the ending wasn't predictable, but only because it was barely set up for the audience.
The next episode sounds like it could be good as long as they don't try to force goofy slapstick humor with AJ.
she has to keep up with current fainting couch fashion, of course!
It was an entertaining enough episode, with some good bits and some bad bits. I liked Captain Ahab Apple, and it's always good to get another mythological creature (clearly this is in Austranada). Just a shame about the deus ex machina ending.
One of these days I need to get around to watching Rashomon.
A fun enough episode. Applejack makes for a surprisingly cool salty sea mare
I know you probably want it to be playable at any point in time but I think Conflicting Plans would be a bit more thematic and a slightly neater niche card if it was as follows.
It'd be a great Commander spell but otherwise probably wouldn't see much play.
Oooooo, I like Emotional Drain. It doesn't fit what we normally think of as a Red card, but people tend to forget that red is all about emotional expression. You mix it with Black and Blue and you get this sort of thing.
Over all decent cards and nothing really for me to say about them. Is this a case of "no news is good news"?
I liked it well enough. It was fun, at least.
If you want, you can read all about the reunion in Friends Forever #18.
I hope you don't mind deformed ponies, though, because it's a Jay Fosgitt issue.
The fact that Rarity's Porters has the Minion subtype is amazing.
Face it, they could have the cause of the shipwreck be Red October crewed by bears, and we'd still have to swallow it. :)
4236598
I see the same thing with "Emotional Drain". However, perhaps it could use some red functionality in that creatures need to have been dealt damage or died in combat.
Great stuff, FoME.
This was a fun episode; not one for the ages, but not every one can or should be that.
I liked the message on the importance of communication! As for the sheer OOCness and lack of understanding each other the stories showed, I think it's at least partly because all three of them had time to stew on their grievances, shading the narrative unconsciously. I bet that if Twilight had been on the Vanhoover dockside asking them what happened right after they got back to the land, the stories would have been much less exaggerated.
(Though I got to say I loved both the Salty Sea Dog AJ, and Ridiculously Aristocratic Rarity.)
4236547
The bunyip actually matches a common description of the beast. Flippers, tusks, horns, a dog's face on a crocodile's heads... Weird, yes, but accurate.
But yeah, there are only so many misunderstandings you can justify after six seasons.
4236569
I admit, that does seem obvious in hindsight.
4236570
I like "Austranada" far more than I have any reason to. Given the blend of polite society and horrifying death monsters, it actually does work as a description of Equestria.
4236598 4236748
Emotional Drain is my first experiment with the "land freezing" mechanic pioneered on Stensia Innkeeper. It's interesting as a "fair" form of land destruction. I'm not sure if Wizards will do anything more with it, but I appreciate adding it to the design toolbox.
4236625
Given how Applejack wanted to have a high seas adventure specifically because Rarity and Pinkie hadn't ever experienced one, wouldn't that mean that the pirate storyline isn't canon? (And that AJ had had a high seas adventure in the past?)
4236669
I could think of no better way to describe them.
4236744
Of course we would. If anything, a submarine full of bears might be even better than an unexpected bit of Australian mythology. I'm just peeved that there was no chance for the audience to figure out the truth of the matter before the characters. I suppose some of that might be because of ScarletWeather's ongoing blog series on mysteries.
4236830
Could've come after this episode. Twilight was already a princess by then, and Starlight wasn't mentioned in either this episode or that comic. And neither the show nor the comics really give one fuck about sensible chronology anyway.
Take it however you like, though. I won't quibble any further.
IT's a Rashomon story, of course they are going to misunderstand one another and show each other in different way. It's less about them having a misunderstanding and how they see one another. This is a common story trop and used in several, several different series. Hell, Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and about a billion other shows use it at one point or another. Closeness has nothing to do with it.
Hell, even BTAS used it, and I loved it
My favorite part of the episode was AJ's interpretation of Rarity. Still, Rarity needs to remember that sea madness is no excuse for sea rudeness.
Gather Testimony would create infinite enter the battlefield triggers with March of the Machines, a somewhat odd thing for monoblue. An obvious way to abuse this would be to get infinite xp counters with Ezuri, but plenty of other cases wouldn't be hard to do either. Perhaps add the caveat that the creature entering the battlefield must be nontoken?
Out of Character is a brilliant name for a creature theft spell.
Glad you were able to enjoy last week's episode a little better, even if you still have problems with it.
Ooh, Groucho Marx quote. Where'd you get "Beagle Puss" from for his name?
You know that's not true.
4236830
Well, she stayed an unspecified time in Manehattan, which is a port city. Maybe she went out on a boating outing with the Oranges at one point?
That was maybe the strangest thing about the entire episode for me. Next episode will be all about Fluttershy, Dash, and Starlight, because this lot are all in the hospital.
"Also, how could that cotton candy be freshly spun?" Pinkie Pie generates cotton candy through natural biological functions. It's stored where other ponies have their manes.
"Ponies venture out to sea cautiously, for no tribe can truly control it." Seaponies beg to differ.
Come on, FoME. Surely the Trihorned Bunyip should destroy a Vehicle when it enters the battlefield.
Technically Leave in a Huff's reminder text should read "(Return them only if they are still on the battlefield.)" as survives has no Magic game rules. Otherwise great cards as always!
4236878
I'm familiar with the trope. That doesn't make it feel any more appropriate for these characters, especially when the show hasn't been shy about giving tertiary characters moments in the spotlight. Still, it's a minor quibble more than anything.
4237075
As true as it is hilarious.
Also, I went with a different fix: Now you can only gather testimony from nonartifact creatures.
4237176
Oh good, I was wondering if anyone would get that reference. It's another term for Groucho glasses.
4237198
I considered that possibility before the anticlimax reveal. Now I remain convinced that Applejack had no idea what she was doing, but darn it, she was going to try anyway. (Twilight read a book on the subject.)
4237207
Something just occurred to me: Consider "Over a Barrel" and the apparently intoxicating effects of sodium chloride on pony biology. I suppose this was a veiled way of making a toast. A disgusting, bacteria-laden toast.
4237943
The thing is, Pinkie's mane doesn't dissolve into syrup when it gets wet. I assume there's some sort of organic waterproofing involved, though I can't imagine it does anything good to the flavor.
Equestria can neither confirm nor deny the existence of seaponies nor treaties with hypothetical aquatic nation-states at this time.
Also, the bunyip doesn't try to wreck Vehicles... though any ships that might get in the way of a monstrous one really shouldn't.
4238094
The nice thing about reminder text is that it doesn't need to be one hundred percent perfectly formatted and can go with more intuitive phrasing, as seen with the game's best reminder text, "The land continues to burn after Obsidian Fireheart has left the battlefield." "Survive" has precedent with Leyline Phantom.
4238211 Ah, I had forgotten about that. point retracted.