Friendship is Card Games: Wacky Wingday, Part 3 · 1:13pm January 21st
We conclude the comic catchup with the main line and the last two issues of the Milkyway Incident. When last we left the royal sisters, they’d dragged both Pipp’s reputation and the palace through mud. (Well, the mud went through the palace.) Let’s see how this gets cleaned up.
Issue #19
And we open on Pipp literally running away from her problems. Not an auspicious start. (Sorry, “just a light jog to get the wheels turning.”) And, fortuitously, she runs right into Zipp making herself a stress sandwich. One where the toothpick is not doing its job given how it flies apart when the sisters collide. (Also, good way to quietly establish the premise of the storyline for any latecomers by showcasing the wrong mark on each hip.)
“It was your fault for hiding in the dark like some sort of nocturna!”
Huh. Is that what we’re calling bat ponies now? If any of the city-states would maintain legends about them, it would be Zephyr Heights.
Both sisters lie through their teeth, insisting that they’re hiding from the unbearable praise and adoration that comes from doing such an amazing job at fulfilling the other’s duties… at least until the mud breaks through the ceiling and Pipp has to shove Zipp out of the way of the resulting indoor mudslide. Once that truth is out, Zipp follows it up with one of her own: She failed so hard, the Canternet has made an exploitable meme of her. And a verb. Zipping is now defined as betraying those closest to you.
Huh. Pony Poofs. Weird seeing those outside of Camp Bighoof.
In any case, the sisters compare notes and explain the other’s mistakes: Zipp should’ve directly told her fans the truth rather than try to drag it out of Carotang, and Pipp shouldn’t have tried to separate ponies into targeted interest groups rather than bring them together as a single city-wide family.
To Pipp’s credit, she’s first to extend the olive branch in order to get both of them out of this predicament. And even then, she has to encourage Zipp to exercise enlightened self-interest: If Pipp goes down, she’s taking Zipp’s reputation with her.
Cue a montage set over Zipp’s apology video, with Pipp training her on the dance routine, Zipp training Pipp on the genealogy of Zephyr Heights nobility, and the two of them working with the palace staff to get the dining hall presentable for tonight.
Cut to the brilliantly named cafe, Zephyr Bites, where Misty is horrified to see that her friends aren’t disguised. No one told her this was an undercover mission, but as a former evil minion, she made some assumptions. (Also, in a lovely bit of subtle characterization, Sunny is mortified to skip past the long line waiting for tables despite having somepony already on the inside, while Hitch is focused on the case and Izzy doesn’t even register it.)
In any case, they’ve assembled here because the owner, one Panini, was the last pony to get a wish granted by Milkyway before Pipp… and that was two years ago. (Also, Misty has an interesting approach to staying undercover…)
After briefly feigning ignorance (and Sunny begging for his help) Panini tells his tale: He always dreamed of owning his own restaurant, but had no way of making the necessary money. He found “the legend of Milkyway, the most illustrious wishing well nymph of her kind” and sought her out… though how she got that reputation when she’d been granting relatively minor wishes until then is unclear. In any case, she got him a higher paying job, but he still wasn’t earning enough for her timeline, and she cast a spell that forced him to stay awake at all hours. The crunch kept Panini’s earnings on target, but nearly killed him in the process.
Then he comes to just what the group has been looking for: He told everypony about what had happened, and the resulting outrage and damage to her reputation not only got Milkyway to undo the wish, but drove her out of Zephyr Heights and shattered her spotless reputation.
… and somehow, the sisters never heard about this. Also, there were airborne pegasi in the crowd yelling at Milkyway. I feel like there are a number of issues present, not least being that the sisters really could have solved this if they had just talked to more ponies.
Sunny realizes that Milkyway needs this wish to be a success to redeem herself in her own eyes, hence why she lied about not being able to reverse the magic. This information in hoof, the group tracks down the sisters… who are still mid-montage, barely at the part where they’re improving past their previous failures. Sadly, that trope isn’t foolproof.
We cut to the other end of Milkyway’s well… which apparently works like a Mario warp pipe. She’s eagerly anticipating the happy ending that she assumes will take place, with places already reserved for the trophies for Wishing Well Nymph of the Year and Most Inventive Wish. (Going by those, I’m assuming that she hasn’t just planted the well somewhere in the Zephyr Heights palace.)
Misty formally invites her to the big event… where, to Milkyway’s horror, there’s more mud in the palace than before. Since there’s no possible way to clean it up in time, the group decided to lean into it and turn the Royal Dinner into a group clean-up session. And Zipp assures the nymph she’s nailed the choreography, which she demonstrates in the mud, promptly falling on her behind. And to put the last nail in the coffin, everypony assures her that she’ll get full credit for making it all possible.
Then comes the butting heads: Sunny tells Milkyway that the only way out of this is to switch their marks back… and, well, it’s not exactly the most diplomatic approach. Misty tries to mollify Milkyway, but the nymph’s already found a Plan C: Create a tornado. The weather delay should give them plenty of time to get everything cleaned and prepped… assuming the city’s still standing by the end of the day.
There is the question about whether this kind of hardline approach is in character for Sunny, but honestly? I can see it. She’s never been shy about directly confronting problems and trying to force them to change on her terms. The issue is that she grossly underestimated just how much importance Milkyway has put on making this go right on her terms. Nymphs, like any fae, have mindsets alien to the equine perspective.
In any case, on to the thrilling finale.
Issue #20
We open with a live shelter-in-place notice from Queen Haven and a confirmation that Milkyway’s latest ploy worked as planned: The dinner and concert have been postponed for the first time in living memory.
Misty is trying to act as Milkyway’s advocate, but the rest aren’t hearing it. Izzy, for her part, has embraced the chance to have a sleepover. You know, despite sharing a bedroom with four out of the five other ponies here. But hey, it means she can make her “famous Izzy s’mored! Graham crackers filled with marshmallows, chocolate, a cupcake, a piece of cheese cake, and one full pineapple.” I can only assume that she considered these s’mores too advanced for the campers.
Needless to say, the sisters are not in the mood for shenanigans. Though given how Izzy broke out a welding mask and an acetylene torch, not eating one may be the safer option.
Still, others are following her lead, including one father and daughter from the Hosstralian quarter of Zephyr Heights. Pipp’s proposal is elegant in its simplicity: Have a virtual dinner and concert, and deny Milkyway her win.
There’s a lovely moment in the announcement via Cliptrot where Zipp very clearly drifts from addressing the city to her sister when talking about coming together as family. Lovely stuff, including the “camera” angle and the clumsy recovery.
The comment section of the announcement goes nuts… but when Pipp refuses to elaborate on the specifics, Zipp snatches the phone out of her hoof to see for herself… and most of the comments are still decrying her, doubting the sincerity of her previous apology, and calling to boycott the concert.
The issue of uneven burdens still hangs heavy over the conflict; at the end of the day, a pop star career just doesn’t hold the same importance as ruling a city-state. Especially given Haven’s less than subtle efforts to reunite Equestria under the royal family’s banner. But Zipp still apologizes, and Pipp insists that Carotang put her in a position even Pipp herself with would struggle to handle. Pipp also knows a possible fix… but it’ll require enduring several blows to both of their egos.
It begins with flying through the worsening storm to Carotang’s absurdly luxurious villa, which is naturally covered in pictures, busts, and miniatures of himself. Also a few awards. Zipp swallows her pride and offers him a headlining role at the concert. Rather than sully himself with the weather, Carotang proposes doing the performance in the soundstage built into his house.
“I’m pretty sure they come standard in most homes.”
“I can see why your fans find you so relatable.”
“Totally.”
I know he’s not going to get executed at the end of this issue, but I can dream.
Pipp, meanwhile, has largely gotten the dinner taken care of, but is drawing a blank on her speech after getting one sentence in. (Haven, for her part, is immensely proud of her.)
Misty was supposed to be handling plates and cutlery, but instead chose to brave the storm to apologize to Milkyway… and might have died in the process if she hadn’t said “please.” Unfortunately, she lets slip the plans to do everything online, which gets the nymph on the warpath to avoid the sisters making a fool of her.
Thankfully, she storms into the palace as Pipp is livestreaming her speech… one she was making up on the fly. Really, this works out for everyone. (Also, only twenty households are visible on the screen before Pipp, but I’m assuming that’s a small cross-section of the city’s popultion.) However, it’s a bit of encouragement from Zipp that really gets her through her nerves, leading to a genuinely touching speech summarizing the message of empathy and communication that’s the core of any Freaky Friday storyline.
“So it’s my promise to you that from this moment forward, I’ll be the sister you all deserve, one who listens and understands, even if you do miss one of my incredibly important rehearsals!”
Subtle as a brick, our Pipp.
Cut to Carotang—who had better have some kind of comeuppance waiting in the wings for him—and Pipp rushing through the storm so that she can show Zipp the social media landscape. Ponies can’t doubt the sincerity of passing the spotlight onto the stallion Zipp threatened to banish earlier, and Zipp’s reputation is restored.
Carotang graciously invites the princess on stage for the royal concert, and Zipp asks Pipp to join her. The resulting duet is exactly what Milkyway had been hoping for, and their marks switch back mid-performance. (Haven’s “What in Zephyr’s name is happening?!” raises some fascinating questions about the city’s theology and history. If Zephyr Breeze is actively venerated in the Starscout Era, I don’t know what I’ll do.)
It’s really not clear which sister is speaking in which text box in the summarizing narration. There’s a pink box and a magenta one and I think Pipp’s meant to be the former, but the self-aggrandizement in the latter feels more fitting for her. There definitely could’ve been some better color choices there. Or using cutie marks to identify the speakers; after all, that’s what they were trying to get back this whole time.
Also, referring to Milkyway as a chaos demon brings up Discord’s ambiguous presence in G5. I can only imagine what he thought of all of this.
Speaking of, we do see Milkyway get her comeuppance: Getting sent back to Wishing 101 and the very first rule of wish-granting: Put the client before yourself. (The teacher is a fascinating creature, with ram horns and changeling-like ragged moth wings, done up in blues like a wishing nymph Grogar. They may truly be one of Discord’s creations.)
We close on the Maretime Bay Pippsqueaks eagely knocking on the sisters’ balcony window, asking for pictures and autographs from both of them. Plus an update on the memeosphere: Zipp (v.) now has a similar definition to “pull a Homer,” though less “idiocy” and more “adverse circumstances.”
And then, because it wouldn’t be G5 if anypony actually learned anything, after Pipp criticizes the lighting of the concert, Zipp wishes she weren’t such a protagonist. Cue Milkyway, who hopefully has a nymph truancy officer on her heels.
Despite the foundational issues and Carotang getting everything he wanted after being a egotistical sleazeball, this was a largely enjoyable storyline. Certainly better than when Make Your Mark did something similar.
On to the cards, and note that the game is afoot. And by “the game,” I mean Murders at Karlov Manor mechanics. And yes, the introduction of so many mystery-themed abilities after I’ve covered so many Zipp stories is rather aggravating.
Wishing Instructor 1W
Creature — Nymph Advisor
When Wishing Instructor enters the battlefield, each player learns. (Each player may reveal a Lesson card they own from outside the game and put it into their hand, or discard a card to draw a card.)
“Just because you can do anything doesn’t mean the client needs you to.”
2/2
Triumphant Duet 2W
Instant
Two target creatures gain lifelink, hexproof, and indestructible until end of turn. Untap them.
United by love and genuine empathy, the royal sisters rose on shared joy as much as their wings.
Set Things Right 3WW
Instant
Choose one or both —
• Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
• Return target artifact or enchantment card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Nopony was sure who undid the swap, nor did they really care.
Ainok Paleontologist 4W
Creature — Dog Scout
When Ainok Paleontologist enters the battlefield, cloak target card from your graveyard. (Put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature with ward 2. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it’s a creature card.)
“Ancestral wisdom takes many forms.”
3/3
Case of the Wishing Nymph 1UU
Enchantment — Case
When this Case enters the battlefield, you may reveal a nonland, non-Case card you own from outside the game. Note that card’s name, then put it in your library second from the top.
To solve — You’ve cast a spell with the noted name this turn. (If unsolved, solve at the beginning of your end step.)
Solved — At the beginning of your draw step, draw an additional card.
Digital Scorn 2U
Sorcery
Target player mills a card for each artifact on the battlefield, then mills a card for each creature on the battlefield.
“Never, ever read the comments section.”
—Princess Pipp Petals
Remedial Course 2U
Instant
Until end of turn, target creature has base power and toughness 1/1 and loses all abilities.
Learn.
Weather Delay XXU
Sorcery
X can’t be 0.
Exile all nonland permanents and put X time counters on each of them. Each card without suspend exiled this way gains suspend. (At the beginning of its owner’s upkeep, they remove a time counter. When the last is removed, they cast it without paying its mana cost. If it’s a creature, it has haste.)
Ruined Reputation B
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has “At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this creature unless you collect evidence 4.” (Its controller exiles cards with total mana value 4 or greater from their graveyard.)
Some innocence doesn’t stay proven.
Memetic Scorn 1B
Sorcery
Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.
Cipher (Then you may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of the encoded card without paying its mana cost.)
Never Met the Guy 1B
Sorcery
Target player sacrifices a creature. Investigate. (Create a Clue token. It’s an artifact with “2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.”)
None of Milkyway’s previous clients wanted to talk about their experience with her, or even hear her name.
Mare on the Inside 2B
Creature — Unicorn Rogue
Whenever Mare on the Inside deals combat damage to a player, that player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card.
Disguise 1B (You may cast this card face down for 3 as a 2/2 creature with ward 2. Turn it face up any time for its disguise cost.)
2/1
Character Witness 1R
Creature — Pegasus Citizen
Reach
When Character Witness enters the battlefield, choose one —
• Suspect up to one target creature. (A suspected creature has menace and can’t block.)
• Target suspected creature is no longer suspected.
2/1
Curse of Crunch Time 2R
Enchantment — Aura Curse
Enchant player
Whenever enchanted player casts a spell, put a pressure counter on Curse of Crunch Time.
At the beginning of enchanted player’s end step, if that player didn’t cast a spell this turn, remove all pressure counters from Curse of Crunch Time and it deals that much damage to them.
Dance Instructor 3R
Creature — Pegasus Performer
Flying
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Whenever you attack with Dance Instructor and exactly one other creature, that creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is Dance Instructor’s power.
2/2
Plea Bargain 3R
Sorcery
Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. Until end of turn, it gains haste, trample, and “Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, investigate.”
Fae Priorities 2G
Enchantment
At the beginning of your end step, if you created two or more tokens this turn, draw a card.
Even for a wishing nymph, Milkyway is an unpredictable creature with goals and drives alien to the equine mind.
Maximalist Aesthetic 2GG
Sorcery
Double the number of each kind of counter on each permanent you control.
Carotang heard of moderation once, but lost interest when he learned he couldn’t gild it.
Scour the City 3G
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, collect evidence X. (Exile any number of cards from your graveyard. X is their total mana value.)
Look at the top X cards of your library. You may put a creature card with mana value X or less from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Howling Storm XGG
Enchantment
Vanishing X (This enchantment enters the battlefield with X time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)
At the beginning of your end step, Howling Storm deals damage to each creature with flying equal to the number of time counters on it.
Media Studies 4
Sorcery — Lesson
Draw two cards. If you control no artifacts, discard a card.
“Being a pop star isn’t all glitz and glam. If you dive in without any idea of what you’re doing, ponies laughing at you is the best result.”
—Princess Pipp Petals
Worsening Disrepair 3BG
Enchantment — Aura Curse
Enchant player
At the beginning of each end step, enchanted player sacrifices an artifact if an artifact was put into their graveyard from the battlefield this turn. Repeat this process for a creature, an enchantment, a land, and a planeswalker.
Damning Accusation XBR
Sorcery
Target permanent’s controller sacrifices it unless they sacrifice X other permanents.
Sunny thought she had cornered Milkyway, never expecting just how far the nymph would go to achieve her own vision of perfection.
Means (br)(br)//Motive 2(rw)(rw)
Sorcery//Instant
Means: Create two tapped Treasure tokens. (They’re artifacts with “T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.”)
Motive: Motive deals 4 damage to each creature and planeswalker that dealt damage to you this turn.
Maximize Importance
Conspiracy
Hidden agenda (Start the game with this conspiracy face down in the command zone and secretly choose a card name. You may turn this conspiracy face up any time and reveal that name.)
If a triggered ability of a source you control with the chosen name triggers, that ability triggers an additional time.
There are absolutely tons of problems with this five-parter at the micro, page-to-page level, though it being five issues meant I don't remember most of them by now. But on a general level, it's satisfying enough for the G5 comics. Certainly more than any other multi-parter thus far, Once we're past the aforementioned foundational issues and how Carotang is only relevant when needed and thus gets away with everything without even learning a lesson or mellowing out, it's certainly a more satisfying exploration of the sisters personalities and relationship than anything in either G5 show (let's be honest, "Portrait of a Princess" is carried by the Portrait Day song).
Also, while most of the rest of the cast tend to vanish and reappear as the plot deems fit, this five-parter was quite unusually good at have good characterisation moments and funny bits for them when they were present. I quite liked and appreciated that.
Still, what with the foundational thing and pacing/storyline choices, I remain convinced the G5 comics are better suited to single issues. Or two-parters, anyway; you can see that here in how much the Freaky Friday aspects are run through and kind of standard except when they're shuffled aside just because.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: If there were never any time counters on Howling Storm (usually due to being cast for X=0, which the rules allow unless the card specifically states otherwise), Vanishing will never cause it to be sacrificed. It won't actually do anything useful on its own without them, but if you really need an enchantment on the board for whatever reason then this is an option. (Protection From Editors Alert: This is the sort of weird corner case option that R&D has soured on)
All this set's new mechanics seem... bad and unfun. We do not need more "morph, but different." Also, I think non-mana abilities that don't use the stack are unhealthy. Obviously I can't say how things will pan out in different formats, but neither I nor my kitchen-table Magic friends find the set at all compelling (although the Simic XUG counterspell is neat, at least). Edit: Cases are just not particularly compelling as an enchantment subtype, but they don't seem potentially anti-fun.
Might want to put in a clarification Weather Delay, because it could be read as "exile each non-land permanent that has X time counters on it..."
Something I just realized about the new Niv: technically, flying is the black ability on him.