Friendship is Card Games: Tell Your Tale, Season 2, Part 1 · 12:52pm February 4th
Well, that was quick. No rest for the weary, I suppose. (Weary of what, well, I’ll leave that unsaid for now.) Let’s see how Maretime Bay rings in the new year and new season.
We kick off the season with a song, and if the songs in Tell Your Tale were better, that might be enticing.
Pretty sure I’ve seen that Flash Sentry lookalike with an apparent talent for sleeping, but he’s still interesting to note.
I have to wonder how many passes it took for Zipp to hit just the right velocity where she doesn’t damage any flowers in her slipstream. I also wonder how many times Dahlia charged her for ruined stock.
Ooh, love to see a collab between Señor Butterscotch and Madame Taffytail.
It is nice to see Hitch comfortable enough with magic that he provides a loop-de-loop for Zipp the moment he spots her out on her morning fly… though I do wonder what street maintenance is like for Maretime Bay these days.
Pipp’s scene might have worked if she were remotely in tune with the background music. Yes, she can’t hear Zipp’s headphones, but we sure can.
I know it’s part of the “This is who everypony is and what they can do” montage, but Sunny’s bringing out the wings and horn for Zipp’s smoothie feels especially gratuitous.
Ah, an actual plot development. Wasn’t sure if we’d see one… though to be fair, we’re only a minute in.
Hmm. A feline paw print and an unseasonable freeze. Nope, definitely not anything Zipp has encountered before. Though credit where it’s due for checking with the local authorities to confirm that she’s not worrying over nothing. (I do appreciate her calling Hitch “Sheriff” when talking in an official capacity.)
Okay, I admit, the accidental mass send did get a laugh out of me, in part because of the unnecessary drama of it. It’s like watching the Dragonballs scatter after a wish. Also, I can’t help but think that, panic aside, this might be a good thing. Spreading awareness about the villain among the populace only seems prudent after all the times Opaline was allowed to walk amongst them with impunity.
Allura having ice powers does make some sense; officially, she is a “snow leopard,” and it’s not like anypony would notice those abilities in the already arctic Starlight Ridge. Also, given the transition to Tell Your Tale, I kind of want to see Eggmund Bunny called in to deal with Twitch. Battle of the lagmorphs!
Did they really need to bring back “Oh my hoofness”? Also, Izzy has apparently already forgotten Allura. Which says something when she got mind controlled by her.
When the snow leopard arrived, the Brighthouse dwellers looked to Sunny for guidance. Her decree stunned the others: “Let her be.”
In all seriousness, this is very kind and earnest and generous, but Sunny is absolutely going to regret this decision. (She could always, you know, ask Allura, but I understand her reluctance to open a dialogue to someone who control minds with her voice.)
Ah, we’re doing another “This is who everyone is” montage, and now they’re all but addressing the viewer. Seriously, there is no one else in the room and no conceivable diegetic reason for them to be listing basic personality traits. Certainly not in verse. Not unless this suddenly became a magical girl (and Hitch) show.
“I am all three pony kinds.” Never mind all of the other species who have been conspicuously absent. Or bat ponies, for that matter.
Oh hey, Violette Rainbow! I haven’t seen an immigrant from comic canon to animation since several IDW artist ponysonas. I sincerely hope to see more of her this season.
And the Unity Crystals now have a gamer keyboard RGB strobe setting. Curious choice. Really, this whole short feels bizarre, and I fear this kind of immersion-breaking direct announcement of story beats will keep happening as they try to cram the narrative elements Make Your Mark was meant to carry into Tell Your Tale. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.
Still, at least they did warn everypony about the villain.
Heavy is the Mane that Wears the Fruit Crown
… Since when does Maretime Bay do Carnevale? Moreover, this implies the existence of Pony Lent. Do they not practice their special talents for a month after this?
“You can wear anything you want!” says the mare in a society with no nudity taboo. Though it is nice that with the constraints of low-budget 3D removed, ponies are free to wear clothes without having to model fabric physics.
Speaking of which, the magical density in the Brighthouse is reaching the point where it can grant wishes. I’m starting to grow concerned. There can always be too much of a good thing, after all. For example, this immediately subverts the dramatic tension of Pipp’s ridiculous hat. Just drag it inside and will it into something more manageable.
“It’s not that much fruit” says the mare who processes produce for a living.
Okay, I’m not usually in favor of recycling songs in My Little Pony, but if ever there were a reason for a reprise of “T.R.A.S.H.,” it is a montage of Izzy and Misty designing a new Carnevale crown… even if some of the lyrics no longer apply (e.g. “Looking for a ring for Sunny.”)
Seriously, the amount of ambient magic in this building is growing to terrifying levels. Some of this is my Discworld experience insisting that they’re going to punch a hole into the Dungeon Dimensions any second now, some is worrying that the rest of the scripts for this season all have a spot that just reads “Then a miracle occurs.”
That being said, the montage and magic all culminating in a support structure made of soda bottles is sincerely hilarious.
Huh. I’m only noticing that Misty is the same height as Pipp. In this shot, anyway. I suppose if you can’t adjust the hat, then adjust the wearer. 
“I think all the glitter has gone to his mane.”
And here we see a failed attempt at a horsepun. Manes are not brains. Or did Standards & Practices consider that too harsh?
Ah. I was wondering how long it would take for Posey’s day to be ruined by idiots this season.
“That’s what Carnevale is all about! Bringing everypony together.”
And… how long has this tradition been going on, exactly?
Aww, the non-pegasus members of the neo-Crusaders have fake Pipp wings.
That’s a two-episode “iconic” streak for Pipp. This had better not be a thing.
From whence comes this nutrient-rich assault?
… Why would Izzy know a tradition that the Maretime Bay natives don’t? Because it’s not just unicorns hurling fruit at them for good luck. Unless this whole festival has been a collaborative effort with subpar communication between the organizing groups, but that still doesn’t justify calling it “a tale as old as Maretime.” (On the other hand, we already had one failed horsepun in this episode…)
Yeah, unfortunately, plastic bottles aren’t rated for more than half a ton of produce.
Oh no. They changed Misty’s virtue from empathy to “heart”? Not only is this Sunset Shimmer erasure by proxy, it also makes her the Ma-Ti of the group. No one deserves that. And I really hope they aren’t summoning Captain Planet.
Well. That was a needlessly complicated way to ritual cast levitate. 
… That’s it? That’s how you’re ending that one? Yeesh, they really weren’t prepared to make more of these. I wonder if they expected the opposite of reality, cancelling Tell Your Tale to focus moreo n Make Your Mark. Because the scripts so far definitely feel like the end result of a weekend full of caffeine, nicotine, and desperation. A single weekend of such.
Already dreading this one. Not a positive reaction from those denizens of Estee’s Discord server who watch these as they come out.
Okay, I do appreciate Misty’s approach to Pin the Tail on the Dragon: Cheat. If you get caught cheating, threaten to jab a hoof and/or invisible pushpin into the pony who caught you cheating until they let you cheat. Opaline might be proud, or at least mildly less disappointed.
I’m beginning to suspect that Izzy is aware of the narrative decay of her world and has decided to embrace the chaos as it consumes her existence.
In any case, Sparky’s birthday! A temporal milestone that will no doubt lead to far more confusion than it clears up. (See Carnevale, which must be a brand-new festival of unity despite its long and storied traditions.)
While that is an impressive cake, making the frosting dragon red rather than green feels like a very peculiar choice. Though given the episode title, that’s probably to disambiguate the two in a bit.
“OMP.” Is it better or worse than OMH? I’m undecided. Also, Pipp, the logsitics of Sparky getting a little sibling are not as simple as going to the pound. By all draconic accounts, Sparky may be the only hatchling of his generation, the deeper consequences of which this show is not equipped to handle.
Asking a dragon to blow out the candles does seem like it’ll hit a few snags. Asking a dragon with transmutative breath to make a wish even more so.
“I did not see that coming.”
Mind you, this might have gone better before Sparky had met other dragons, and thus his only mental image was himself. Though given how his magic works, it’s possible that all it needed was the idea of “dragon” to create this horror.
Huh. Nopony has a lit horn while the Brighthouse regenerates. I think it did that on its own. Harmony-crafted structures do tend to be a bit unearthly. And while we don’t know who built this place, it’s certainly been saturated in enough magic since for that not to matter.
That “We’re panicking!” seems almost calculated to spite Hitch. I wouldn’t surprised if that was the in-universe intent.
Oh no. It breathes burning sugar. It’s as horrifying as it is delicious.
Credit to the ZBS broadcasters, they’re taking an actual rampaging dragon better than the rumor of an ice beast. I suppose they don’t feel the need to hype this one up for the sake of ratings.
Hitch, I know there’s a situation developing, but watch your son.
Hmm. I’d be more sympathetic to the failure of Operation: Slice & Dice if the ponies hadn’t just seen high levels of magic reassembling broken pieces of a greater whole.
Izzy came close to Pokémon logic, but it’s fight dragon with dragon.
So… given that the cake dragon quite happily played with Sparky when it spotted him, what does this imply about what the hatchling wants to do to Maretime Bay?
Also, I guess those wings are just for show at the moment. Part of me wants to let Sparky fall. He’ll probably survive and this will hopefully teach him something about his actions having consequences. But that, of course, would be wrong.
Huh. It really is a magical girl incantation. And the transmutation of wrecked cake to plush toy? That would’ve merited a full-team rainbow. This is just shifting the “vaguely defined magic that can do anything” role from unicorns to earth ponies. Or possibly every tribe. Really, Hitch could’ve just bought Sparky a plushie and it would’ve raised so many fewer questions.
No, the first word doesn’t make up for this. I can understand why this left a bad taste in many mouths before mine. You can’t keep making stuff up to this degree without any foundation and expect to get away with it.
At least Jazz isn’t a surgeon. Subconsciously turning hair into heart shapes is one thing. Stitches are quite another.
Painting patterns on with a single brush. There’s a pet peeve of mine that dates back to grade school.
Okay, credit where it’s due, this is genuinely one of the best songs of post-movie G5, largely because it has an actual narrative purpose and message beyond “Having friends is great.”
I’m not sure how Jazz was justifying that sketch. There’s really no conceivable reason why you’d be drawing on a mirror with lipstick… unless that’s how they calibrate the AR functions.
Ah, yes, a trade expo. Nothing’s more romantic than a date you can both justify as a work expense.
Oh dear, the old “Getting contradictory advice from people who have never dated in their lives” trope. Though I can understand Jazz’s fears. Aside from potentially ruining their professional relationship, this is a barely explored frontier of mixed-tribe couples, especially for an earth pony. (Well, other than Sunny and Izzy, but that’s another matter.)
I see absolutely nothing wrong with the Señor Rocky plan. Surely this can only end well.
Despite my earlier claims of Sunset erasure, I see she still stands a pillar of coolness in this far-flung era. (Probably best not to ask what that jacket is made of…)
So did Pipp get the Rocky-faced balloons custom-printed, or did she have them in reserve for reasons best left unexplored?
“The egg has left the nest.”
I feel like there are better codephrases to use here. Eggs leaving nests generally go splat.
“What is happening?”
Rocky, I’ve been asking that this whole time. Frankly, this has been the most logical and sensible part of this week’s entire exercise.
“It’s no use!”
Ah, so the next plan is to telekinetically shove him into a corner with no escape. Brilliant.
And the moment is ruined with gratuitous magic. Seriously, folks, you don’t need to end every short with glowing butts. It’s like this whole season was written by lonely fireflies.
Pipp. Let your employees be. If not now, at least on their wedding night.
There are certainly some interesting concepts here, but a good chunk feels like the narrative equivalent of jingling keys. Look at the pretty lights, don’t ask questions, and for the love of God, buy our toys. Hopefully some of this is the writers finding their footing with some new editorial mandates, but it is not a strong start. I can only hope future installments will buck the trend.
Still, if nothing else, all that ambient mana in the air makes for plenty of card fodder:
Devout Denial 1WW
Enchantment
Your opponents can’t draw more than one card each turn or cast more than one spell each turn.
When you draw your second card in a turn or cast your second spell in a turn, sacrifice Devout Denial.
Hypocrisy is the greatest sin of all.
Argent Suppressor 2W
Creature — Beast Mystic
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, tap target creature an opponent controls. If that creature was already tapped, put a stun counter on it. (If a permanent with a stun counter would become untapped, remove one from it instead.)
“It’s no use struggling.”
3/2
Made to Order XW
Instant
Choose target attacking or blocking creature. Search your library for an Aura or Equipment card with mana value X or less, put that card onto the battlefield attached to that creature, then shuffle.
Rarity’s influence on pony magic can still be felt to this day.
Coiffure Clone 1U
Creature — Shapeshifter
You may have Coiffure Clone enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it has “When another creature with the same name as this creature dies, sacrifice this creature.”
Some hair is full-bodied. Some is another body entirely.
0/0
Tandem Animator 3U
Creature — Unicorn Artificer
Soulbond (You may pair this creature with another unpaired creature when either enters the battlefield. They remain paired for as long as you control both of them.)
At the beginning of combat, up to one target artifact you control becomes an X/X artifact creature until end of turn, where X is the total power of Tandem Animator and the creature it’s paired with.
3/3
Glacial Monstrosity 5UU
Creature — Elemental Beast
Whenever Glacial Monstrosity attacks, tap all creatures defending player controls.
Suspend 6 — 1U
Whenever a time counter is removed from Glacial Monstrosity while it’s exiled, tap target creature an opponent controls.
As slow and inexorable as the next ice age.
7/7
Twitch’s Haul 1BB
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life and exile the top card of target opponent’s library face down. You may look at and play that card for as long as it remains exiled. If you cast a spell this way, you may spend mana as though it were mana of any type to cast it.
Toxic Positivity 2B
Enchantment
When Toxic Positivity enters the battlefield, draw a card.
Whenever an opponent gains life, that player gets a poison counter. (A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game.)
The worst torment can come from those trying to help.
Carnival Crowd 4BB
Creature — Pony Guest
Spectacle 3B (You may cast this spell for its spectacle cost instead of its mana cost if an opponent lost life this turn.)
When Carnival Crowd enters the battlefield, each opponent loses 3 life and you gain 3 life.
Sometimes fun has a splash radius.
4/4
Unexpected Development RR
Instant
Discover X, where X is the mana value of target spell you don’t control. (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.)
Dragonfang Duelist 2R
Creature — Unicorn Warrior
First strike
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell or a Dragon spell, Dragonfang Duelist gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Every part of a dragon is dangerous. It’s just a question of how.
2/2
Heart Burst 2R
Sorcery
Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap it. It gets +X/+0 and gains haste until end of turn, where X is the number of cards named Heart Burst in graveyards.
As entrancing as Cadence’s smile.
Self-Repair G
Instant
Regenerate target permanent. (The next time it would be destroyed this turn, it isn’t. Instead tap it, remove all damage from it, and remove it from combat.)
The Brighthouse’s overflowing harmony magic undid any minor harm in a matter of seconds.
Oath of Unity 2G
Legendary Enchantment
Each creature you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
Each planeswalker you control enters the battlefield with an additional loyalty counter on it.
“For friends long lost and found anew, we’ll keep watch.”
Siege Baker 2G
Creature — Unicorn Warrior
Reach
Outlast 1G (1G, T: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Outlast only as a sorcery.)
Whenever you activate Siege Baker’s outlast ability, create a Food token. (It’s an artifact with “2, T, Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.”)
1/3
Dragonwing Kitesail 2
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has flying and “2: This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.”
Equip 2
After the third volcano accident, Izzy emphasized that it was only based on the structure of dragon wings, not the materials.
Dessert Palanquin 4
Artifact — Vehicle
Whenever Dessert Palanquin attacks, create a Food token.
Crew 3 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 3 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
5/6
Omnath’s Avenger 5
Creature — Elemental
Omnath’s Avenger enters the battlefield with a lifelink counter on it if W was spent to cast it, a vigilance counter if U was spent, a menace counter if B was spent, a first strike counter if R was spent, and a trample counter if G was spent.
The power lives on.
4/4
Subconscious Slip WB
Sorcery
Target opponent reveals their hand. Choose a card from it. That player exiles that card. You and that player each draw a card.
“Jazz’s crush was really subtle. You’d have to be a master of reading ponies to pick up on it.”
—Princess Pipp Petals
Pipp, Carnival Queen 2BR
Legendary Creature — Pegasus Performer
Flying, trample, haste
Pipp has indestructible as long as it’s your turn.
Spells you cast cost 2 less to cast if an opponent lost life this turn.
Cleaning up after the festivities is somepony else’s problem.
4/1
Calorie Burner 4BR
Artifact Creature — Food Dragon
Flying, menace
Calorie Burner has indestructible as long as you gained life this turn.
2, Sacrifice an artifact or creature: You gain 3 life. Tap Calorie Burner.
Dragons are often a recipe for disaster.
6/4
Mass Forward X(wu)(wu)
Instant
Each player draws X cards.
It was only supposed to be a notice sent to one of the most level-headed ponies in Maretime Bay. An untimely slip sent the entire town into a panic.
If you listen to Cake Dragon from about 18 seconds in it sounds like Sunny says "fuck", though it may not have been on purpose.
Haha I wasn't the only one who noticed
It does rather seem like Cutie Mark Proclamations are going to be a thing in this season, which is... yeah. Not my favorite element
Apropos of nothing, some sleuth on tumblr saw that not only is MYM canceled, Gillian Berrow has updated her resume on linkedin to reflect that she is no longer working for Hasbro. I don't know how involved she was in TYT to begin with, or if this says something about TYT's prospects for enduring. But there we are.
To be fair, that actually mattered before the invention of the Dragon Radar.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: If Coiffure Clone copies a permanent with no name (such as one that's face-down), it won't be sacrificed when the original dies. Barefoot is not a type of shoe, of MaRo puts it.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Heart Burst isn't sent to the graveyard until its effect is finished resolving. It won't count itself for X. Even if it somehow ends up in the graveyard, that will just prevent it from resolving at all.
Inside Baseball Alert: Oath of Unity is riffing on the Gatewatch oaths, which are defunct on a fairly impressive number of levels. Jace still being missing is the least of the problems; he'll probably just wake up with amnesia in one of the new planes this year. That's basically Tuesday for him.
5766645
Oh my gosh I never noticed that, that's great
I'm trying to exhibit optimism that maybe now that there's no 3-D main series these shorts have to abide by, Tell Your Tale (which always seemed less constrained by whether there are enough resources to animate what the writers would like to write) can forge its own, better path. I know in my heart that I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I can't help myself.
I'm not going to fault this series for that. Outside of that one appearance early in the second season, bat ponies were never a part of the G4 animated series. I think that, like sapient cows and sheep, bat ponies were something the show tried to quietly pretend didn't happen.
The first episode of this season spent a decent amount of time having each character talk about their cutie mark magic, and I still don't understand how cutie marks work or why they're so important in this generation.
(After watching the second episode...) Ah, okay. So apparently cutie marks respond to one specific personality trait of each character. Like if every time Pinkie Pie elicited laughter, her marks started glowing. That'd get tiresome after a while. Also, I'm relatively certain Hitch's primary character trait wasn't "kindness" before now, and I don't see how Misty's was "heart."
I'd go back and check all of the season one instances of unexplained cutie mark glowing to see if they tracked with the traits that each character announced, but I'm already confident that they wouldn't.
And by the fourth episode, that explanation has already been forgotten. Unless both Jazz's and Rocky's core personality trait is being in love with each other, why did their cutie marks glow?
Looks like Tell Your Tale is in for another season of forgettable episodes that exist only because a toy company wants to move product. I understand, but it's still disappointing. I've worked on creative endeavors where it was evident the finished product would ultimately serve no purpose other than filling the allotted time, and the sad part is, even a mediocre production has a lot of hard-working people who would like to be doing something greater with their talents. Even when they know that what they're working on isn't it.
And honestly, even if they were, it wouldn't make sense, since I have never, in my life, heard someone say something's "gone to his brain" or, for that matter, "gone to his hair". It's "gone to his head" but that doesn't even provide the opportunity for the pun. I can't help but wonder if we've reached the nadir of desperately-reaching-and-stretching horse puns.
...
What's that old Russian saying? "We thought we'd hit rock bottom, then we heard laughter from below"?