Friendship is Card Games: Wacky Wingday, Part 1

Okay, back to this one now that the next issue has come out. Hopefully I can avoid this sort of thing in the future… though given that this turned out to be a five-part storyline once all was said and done, I can’t guarantee that. I’d say I wish I could, but, well…

Issue #16

The collage cover is a great touch. I already have some idea of what’ll happen in the story.

That first page is a brilliant study in contrasts between the royal sisters, especially the last two panels. In the public eye, Pipp thrives and Zipp shrivels. Unfortunately, as the older sister, Zipp is the heir, and Haven isn’t immortal. Princess Zephyrina will need to learn the steps to this particular dance sooner or later; now’s as good a time as any.
(On a completely unrelated note, there's a thing going on in case you missed it.)

Interesting. The sisters appear to be in the palace… and sharing a bedroom therein. You’d think there’d be more than enough room for each to have her own. Plus, going by how the Pippsqueaks banging on the window represent all three tribes, Sunny’s reunited everypony, which makes this very hard to pin down in the timeline. It could be while the Brighthouse is under construction; a royal dinner would make a lot of sense as the next step for reestablishing ties between the tribes.

Yeah, I’m with Zipp. The last thing I’d want after getting a rude awakening from fanatics banging on my bedroom window is impromptu karaoke. And I can hardly blame her finding room even lower on the list for all of the arrangements for the dinner.

… Oh. This isn’t a royal dinner in the sense of a diplomatic summit. This is a royal dinner in the sense of the royal family hosting the entire population of Zephyr Heights to reaffirm the bonds between queen and country city-state. This is fascinating… and deeply frustrating. After all, it means literally every pegasus in the city can fit in that one ballroom. Assuming that seating chart isn’t part one of ten thousand, that comes out to ninety-six ponies. Which only makes Pipp’s social media numbers even more ridiculous.

On the other hand, I do appreciate Haven’s do-or-do-not reassurance. “Why try when you can succeed?” is a lot more encouraging than Yoda’s take… though hardly helpful to a mare who’s far from convinced that she can succeed.

Hmm. Sunny and Izzy’s presence doesn’t really narrow down the chronology. Again, the Brighthouse could be under construction, or the group could have spent the night in Zephyr Heights to minimize travel time (and maximize wiggle room for any mishaps along the way.)

Ah. Pipp’s performance is part of the royal dinner… and while Zipp promised to oversee the rehearsal, she hasn’t shown up. Given the sheer quantity of other things on her plate (and her general indifference towards Pipp’s music) I can definitely see her losing track of it.
Also, apparently Izzy plays guitar and Sunny drums. Though the latter notes they’re “really out of practice,” which does work to justify why we’ve never heard about this until now. Honestly, Sunny, Hitch, and Sprout making a garage band (stable band?) in high school is a great visual. Also, I’d have guessed that Izzy was a born drummer, but this works as a reminder that she’s not a one-to-one mapping of Pinkie.

Ah. Haven says this is Zipp’s first dinner, but she’s still overseeing everything. (Read: Second-guessing everything Zipp does because it isn’t proper.) And I have questions about that pegasus genealogical chart. Among other things, I wonder when powdered wigs made a comeback between Twilight’s time and the present.

Meanwhile, Pipp’s rehearsal gets interrupted by some random stallion singer who she promised to promote during the concert. He has taken that to mean “plaster his face over the entire event, Pipp’s posters included” and refuses to listen to any attempt to tell him off.
Oh, and when she comes back into the sisters’ shared bedroom, Zipp’s listening to his new single. He definitely earned that unfollow.

Ah. The classic “You don’t know how hard I have it” exchange… though it does ring hollow for Pipp. She had to deal with a grand total of two (2) stumbling blocks: Zipp not showing up (she was working on her speech and lost track of time) and Carotang, aforementioned glory hog, trying to steal the show. Zipp, by comparison, has had one of the most stressful days of her life. (And honestly, given all of the morale-boosting concerts Pipp gave when she had to use wirework, you’d think she’d be more empathetic towards this kind of populace-placating performance.) I’m not saying that being an A-lister is stress-free, just that the story has not adequately established equal hardship for each sister.

“Please, you would never have the patience to undergo royal training.”
I was under the impression Pipp already had to a degree. “Heir and a spare” aside, she was the face of this generation of royals while Zipp went AWOL in the undercity.

Credit to Pipp for going for a fly to cool her head. And scream. The importance of a good cathartic scream can not be overstated.

… And then she bangs her hoof on a well. In a cloud. She’s as incredulous as I am.

Said well contains Milkyway, a wishing nymph. Or perhaps the wishing nymph. Either way, she is a thing that exists. And also something of a therapist. Certainly a good listener.

Oh. And a capricious demigod. Now that Equestria has precedent for. And given that Pipp mentioned “I’m stressed all the time. And I want [Zipp] to get that and try to respect what I do as a performer,” it’s no wonder Milkyway’s wishing both of them luck.

Ah! Rather than a body swap, it’s a role swap. Each sister is still in her own skin, but the world thinks she has the other’s duties. Naturally, only the two of them know anything’s different.
… And it’s because their cutie marks have been switched. Huh. Complete reversal of how that worked in Make Your Mark, where only the swapped ponies behaved any differently. Interesting. (Also, very good blocking on the previous page to keep the reveal hidden until that pivotal splash panel. I didn’t suspect a thing.)

And, as noted, this is where I realized this was a multi-parter two months ago.

Issue #17

We get to see the covers months ahead of the actual issues, so the main one for this issue also does a good job of concealing the central plot point… even if that sign with Zipp’s original mark kind of misses the point.
And, you know, the alternate covers give away the game, but still.

And we open with clarification on the scope of the change: Even the sisters’ closest friends have been affected, and they remember Zipp being the one dancing on stage. Izzy starts an impromptu dance-off to test the claim, and while Pipp’s clearly the more graceful one, the Zippsqueaks outside the window still cheer for who they think is their idol. Pipp is less than pleased, and the others are more than a little confused. With the possible exception of Izzy.

For whatever reason, Pipp denies encountering anything especially magical in the last few days… but Zipp has a moment of genuine investigative insight—shocking, I know—and catches her hesitation. There’s a lovely bit with Hitch physically holding her back (with one hoof) as she looks ready to trample Pipp.
Also, Hitch is casually acting as good cop, gathering information even as he prevents sororicide. Honestly, this one page of the comic has shown more respect for both characters than most of Make Your Mark.

Pipp tries to claim this isn’t her fault, emphasizing how she deliberately avoided using the word “wish” where Milkyway could hear it. Unfortunately, everypony else agrees that “want” is synonymous enough to count, to say nothing of the mark swap itself.

Sunny gets everypony in gear: She’ll research wishing well nymphs, as the others try to find Milkyway and wish to undo this wish. There’s a lovely bit where Izzy says she already has everything she could ask for between wonderful friends and unlimited craft supplies.
Suffice to say, none of this bears fruit… though there is a very curious panel where the five of them are exploring floating cloud mountains that I’d love to look into further. Seriously, you can’t just throw that in and not ever explain it.

It’s been three hours—never mind what Haven must think of this delay—and Pipp realizes that her fans must be panicking after so long without a status update… and so Zipp has to make one. Which comes across like she’s being held at gunpoint. Cue sibling argument over priorities… and an opportunity.
Sunny notes that wishing nymphs are incredibly competitive and try to grant more wishes than the rest of their family. Sure enough, the sibling squabble summons Milkyway more effectively than any amount of Izzy shouting her wishes into the wind. (Also, this does establish that Milkyway is part of a larger species. Good to know.)

A medium-sneaky attempt to approach Milkyway doesn’t work… and she’s apparently having fun watching the sisters fight. Given that the wish was for Zipp to understand and respect Pipp, I feel like this isn’t something Milkyway should sit back and watch. Izzy calls her out on this, and the nymph insists she’s only trying to help.
Pipp is less than satisfied, especially when Milkyway insists wanting and wishing are basically the same thing, and demands a reversal… but the spell can’t be broken until the wish comes true. Possibly. Given how excited Milkyway is about the possibility of getting Nymph of the Year with this one, who’s to say? (Pipp’s really having issues with glory hogs today.)

The sisters try to pursue Milkyway and press the issue, but it turns out a creature with the power to switch cutie marks and rewrite the memories of every pony on the planet is hard to catch when she doesn’t want to be caught. It might take Discord to snatch her, and that assumes he’s still in continuity.

After slamming into one another, the sisters crash into the city fountain… prompting several nearby Zippsqueaks to follow their idol’s example, to her humiliation and Pipp’s distress.

As their friends go to look for other ponies who’ve crossed paths with “our least favorite chaos demoness”—Pipp’s words, not mine—the sisters towel off and keep yelling at each other. Pipp tries to shift the blame again, insisting that the only reason she made the wish was because Zipp missed her rehearsal. Rather than, you know, say why she missed that rehearsal (and possibly moving the blame onto Haven, which both mares could likely agree on) Zipp shifts the topic to what they’re going to do now.

She then immediately shoots down telling everypony the truth. This whole dynasty was founded on lying to the populace, after all. Zipp’s justification is that “The royal dinner is about showing everypony we’re one big happy family” and explaining why their marks got switched will undermine that. The obvious counterpoint is that they don’t have to go that far, but again, five-issue story arc.
Instead, Zipp grudgingly admits that the two of them will have to go along with Milkyway’s plan and trot a mile in each other’s horseshoes. Naturally, each sister is more concerned for the other.

And so this issue ends with each princess prepared to perform the other’s duties… and opposite that last page, we have the next issue’s cover.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say this won’t go well.

In all, this is definitely interesting, but it feels weirdly padded out. We’re 40% of the way through this plot and we’re only now getting to the actual Freaky Friday shenanigans. Plus, it feels like everything’s been on pause during this issue while the sisters get their heads on straight, which runs very counter to the last one’s time crunch. It is nice to get some greater context for wishing nymphs, but the sibling squabbling gets repetitive and the pacing’s downright bizarre. And I do have to wonder when this was written, given the complete lack of Sparky.

Still, it’s interesting fodder to work with. Let’s begin:

Dance-Off 1W
Instant
Choose one —
• Untap target creature you control. It gains indestructible until end of turn.
• Tap target creature you don’t control and put a stun counter on it. (If a permanent with a stun counter on it would become untapped, remove from it instead.)
Entwine W (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

Intrusive Fans 2W
Creature — Pegasus Citizen
If an opponent cast a legendary creature spell this turn and you control a Plains, you may cast this spell without paying its mana cost and as though it has flash.
Flying
Privacy is a privilege few celebrities get to enjoy.
2/2

Skyway Pet Trainer 3W
Creature — Pegasus Citizen
Flying
Battalion — Whenever Skyway Pet Trainer and at least two other creatures attack, create two 1/1 white Dog creature tokens that are tapped and attacking. Those tokens gain flying until end of turn.
Most of ponykind’s allies are lost and forgotten, but their best friends remain.
2/3

Royal Orchestra 4W
Creature — Pegasus Bard
Flying, vigilance
Finale — Whenever you sacrifice a Song, you become the monarch.
Music has been a key part of the Zephyr Heights dynasty’s reign since the city’s earliest days.
3/3

Guidemother’s Wand U
Kindred Artifact — Faerie
Whenever Guidemother’s Wand or another Faerie enters the battlefield under your control, put a charge counter on Guidemother’s Wand.
1U, T, Remove a charge counter from Guidemother’s Wand: Until end of turn, target creature gets +1/+1 and gains flying and hexproof.

Competitive Nymphs 1UU
Creature — Fox Nymph
Flying
When Competitive Nymphs enters the battlefield, each opponent may reveal a nonland card they own from outside the game and put it into their hand.
Wishing competitions are a matter of quantity, not quality. Certainly not wisdom.
5/5

Duplicitous Defense 2UU
Instant
Choose target spell or ability an opponent controls that targets only a single creature you control. Create a token that’s a copy of that creature. Change the target of that spell or ability to the token.
Nymphs easily cast their own wishes, especially those for continued survival.

Sudden Swap 4UU
Instant
Split second (As long as this spell is on the stack, players can’t cast spells or activate abilities that aren’t mana abilities.)
Exchange control of two target creatures.
Each princess awoke to find the other’s duties waiting for her.

Wander Back B
Instant
Until end of turn, target creature you control gains “When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner’s control. Then it explores.” (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it’s a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)

Savored Drama 2BB
Enchantment
At the beginning of each end step, each player who descended this turn loses 1 life. If a player lost life this way, draw a card. (A player descended if a permanent card was put into their graveyard from anywhere.)
The sisters’ feud drew in Milkyway like honey attracting flies.

Banquet Chefs 3B
Creature — Pegasus Citizen
Flying, lifelink
At the beginning of your postcombat main phase, if you have the most life or are tied for most life, you become the monarch.
The royal dinner is a Zephyr Heights tradition dating back centuries. Anypony who’s anypony is sure to attend.
2/2

Unfollow 4B
Instant
Cast this spell only during your turn.
Target player discards a card. If that player can’t, they lose 2 life.
Brainstorm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each card players have drawn this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.)

Grill the Suspect 2R
Instant
Investigate. Grill the Suspect deals X damage to target creature, where X is the number of artifacts you control. (To investigate, create a Clue token. It’s an artifact with “2, T, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.”)
Zipp isn’t one to mix metaphors.

Wheel of Feelings 3R
Sorcery
Each player discards their hand, then draws cards equal to the greatest mana value among cards discarded this way.
A wishing nymph helps you forget your troubles, often by giving you new ones.

Creative Differences 4RR
Sorcery
Target creature fights another target creature.
Retrace (You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)
Sibling rivalries are older than Equestria itself.

The World Rewritten 4RR
Sorcery
Sacrifice all nonland permanents you control. Reveal that many cards from the top of your library. Put all permanent cards revealed this way onto the battlefield and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Wish for something new and see it granted.

Track the Quarry G
Sorcery
Target creature blocks target creature this turn if able. Create a Map token. (It’s an artifact with “1, T, Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.”)
“At least we rediscovered Ornithia.”
—Sunny Starscout

Rainbow Harvest 1G
Instant
Until end of turn, creatures and lands you control gain “T: Add one mana of any color.”
Most Bridlewood spices are found by foraging beneath the ruins of Cloudsdale.

Kindred Genealogy 2G
Enchantment
As Kindred Genealogy enters the battlefield, choose a creature type.
Whenever a creature of the chosen type enters the battlefield under your control, create a Royal Role token attached to it. (Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has ward 1. If you put another Role on the creature later, put this one into the graveyard.)

Unicycler Guitarist 3G
Creature — Unicorn Bard
Finale — Whenever you sacrifice a Song, return target non-Song permanent card from your graveyard to your hand.
Saying that a unicorn’s music is trash is more a description than an insult.
3/4

Unique Perspective 1UR
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has “T: Exile the top card of your library. Until your next end step, you may play it.”
Paradox — Whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand, untap enchanted creature.

Rix Maadi Talent Scout 1BR
Creature — Demon
Spectacle X(br). X can’t be 0. (You may cast this spell for its spectacle cost rather than its mana cost if an opponent lost life this turn.)
When Rix Maadi Talent Scout enters the battlefield, if its spectacle cost was paid, discover X. (Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with that mana value or less. Cast it without paying its mana cost or put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
3/2

Seating Arrangements 2WU
Instant
Cast this spell only during an opponent’s turn, before attackers are declared.
Separate all creatures controlled by that player into two piles. Goad all creatures in the pile of that player’s choice and tap all creatures in the other. (Until your next turn, a goaded creature attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.)

Milkyway, Wishing Nymph 2(ub)(ub)
Legendary Creature — Fox Nymph
Collaborator — At the beginning of the first upkeep, put two cards from your hand on the bottom of your library. (If this card is your chosen collaborator, you may put it into your hand from outside the game for 3 as a sorcery.)
When you cast this spell, reveal a nonland card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand.
Flying
2/1

Carotang, Spotlight Thief 3WB
Legendary Creature — Pegasus Performer
Flying, menace
When Carotang enters the battlefield, if it was cast, each player chooses a creature they control and sacrifices the rest.
Whenever another creature you control dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Carotang.
One star always has to shine brightest.
2/2

Cloudpeak Panorama
Land
T: Add C.
1, T, Sacrifice Cloudpeak Panorama: Search your library for a basic Island, Mountain, or Plains card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
Magic could not stay sealed, leaking into landscapes unimaginable in the Twilit Era.

Note: Collaborator operates similarly to companion, except instead of a deck-building restriction, it imposes a cost you have to pay at the start of the game. A deck can only have one collaborator or companion, not one of each.

Comments

[Ghost Mike]

Of two minds here. Undoubtedly interesting, a higher ratio of good character moments to bad ones than most of G5, and the comic handles a character-based slice of life multi-parter with far less hiccups than any of the more serious attempts. But as you note, these two issues, and the second one especially, are really dragging their heels hoofs. And in a manner that upsets the tone and urgency of the forthcoming event in the first comic.

If we go by the old standard that two 20-page comic issue is equal to a 22-min episode, this multi-parter would be like a 55-minute special. It ain't got enough for that. The G4 comics certainly had Protracted Faffing About^TM in their later multi-parters, but the G5 ones can have it as bad as the show, itself subject to classic streaming lethargic pacing. Though it's more accurate to say that the meat between key plot points descends to the lazy choices and the lowest common denominator than is guilty of outright padding.

Anyway, I really liked the calm and collected moments Hitch and Sunny displayed here, and Milkyway (who, I understand, echoed Kyubey of Madoka Magica for many) is an entertaining scamp of an inciting incident antagonist. Though I'm sure the end will come to paint him in a sympathetic light, because this is that kind of franchise. All that and other grace notes are enough to put this multi-parter thus far closer to the top of the G5 comics pile than the bottom, which isn't nothing.

[Herald of Opera]

Inside Baseball Alert: Competitive Nymphs are granting the traditional "wish" effect to your opponents. Note that this only looks at the sideboard in competitive formats.

Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Wander Back cannot trigger multiple times in the same turn, because the returned creature is considered a separate entity by the rules despite the fact it's the same physical card.

Inside Baseball Alert: Wheels go way back.

[The Voice in the Water]

I'm sorry, but that first chapter sounds like it was written by AI. The continuity seems all over the place, there are far too many contrivences and… I don't know. Maybe its better when read, but… sigh.