Friendship is Card Games: Zen and the Art of Gazebo Repair · 10:36am Jul 3rd, 2016
Ponyville is many things. One could see it as Celestia's greatest societal success story, where all ponies live together in harmony. One could see it as a hub of adventure, with the Everfree right next door and the capital a few hours away by hoof. One could just see it as a sleepy suburb of Canterlot that got a whole lot more interesting once the new librarian came to town. But in the end, there is one truth that no interpretation can deny:
Everypony in this town is crazy, with perhaps a single exception. 
This week, Big Macintosh navigates the asylum.
Part One
I do like the layout of the squeak wafting its way from the page background into Granny Smith’s ear trumpet, and she isn’t wrong about needing to build everything when she was younger. Though she does go a bit… off-kilter, let’s say.
Speaking personally, I prefer Summer Shutdown to Summer Wrap-Up, mostly for the added alliterative appeal.
I have to scratch my head seeing the Lost and Found on the top half of the list of attractions. Unless it’s some kind of improv comedy routine involving lost articles.
Also, why does Donut Joe have a stand in Ponyville? Maybe Twilight invited him; Canterlot probably doesn’t indulge much in fried dough during celebrations.
While that is an impressive sculpture of Celestia, butter doesn’t seem like the best medium to use at the end of summer. Also a bad idea: Putting Sweetie Belle in charge of anything that involves fire. She can burn juice and melt toast, and she seems far too happy both as she tosses the match and as she witnesses the explosion. Though for all I know, all young unicorns go through a pyromaniacal phase.
I do love how the Mane Six had an offscreen G1 adventure. Apparently, Flutter Valley and the Bumbles are still around.
While I do sometimes question hammerspace, I’m not wondering where the Cakes had diaper saddlebags in Big Mac’s size. I’m wondering why they had them.
Also, given Pumpkin’s track record, Mac should probably be grateful that she didn’t wipe him from existence. (Or as she likes to think of it, “Extreme Peekaboo.”)
Wrong worldline, Doctor.
Hmm. Seems Joe isn’t the only Canterlotter inexplicably in Ponyville. Well, Octavia apparently lives here as of “Slice of Life,” but I’m fairly certain Harpo Parish Nadermane doesn’t. Of course, given how both princesses have shown up for the festival, I suppose it makes sense that others followed them.
Also, I ‘m pretty sure that the cart the Crusaders stole from the musicians is a different size every time it shows up.
Who else wants to see the story of how Big Mac saved Ponyville from mutant apes? Especially if it’s him versus alternate timeline Sunset Satan?
I consider Fleetfoot worst pony, but that is a beautiful splash page.
I do appreciate the kite-eating tree behind the Van Pelt advice stand. Though I have to wonder how often Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon wait for ponies to ask them for advice, as opposed to accosting "customers" and demanding payment afterwards.
Big Mac and Bulk should talk more often. They have a nice Boolean routine going.
That plasmid and vigor booth raises all kinds of uncomfortable questions, especially when Mac’s little sister is in the same panel.
Luna has an… interesting technique with tug-of-war. And by “interesting,” I mean “potentially tragic.” Seriously, who dons a noose as part of a game?
I do appreciate Zecora needing a moment to properly phrase her words on occasion. Especially when trying to alert Mac to Crusader-wrought destruction. That would leave anyone speechless.
Heh. Spike liked the old-timey narrator outfit so much, he held onto it after the first storyline.
Part Deux
Don’t look at me; that’s how the comic put it.
The word “sex” has appeared in an official My Little Pony comic. I’m just going to appreciate that for a moment.
Again, it’s not that Sweetie Belle and fire don’t mix. It’s that they mix all too well.
Snips has vorpal teeth. Makes sense to me.
I’m choosing to ignore the changeling chrysalis with the mailbox and muffin box, since that has all kinds of unpleasant connotations.
I love seeing Photo Finish in the throes of inspiration, but there wasn’t nearly enough referring to herself by name for my tastes.
Okay, Spike selling a Pinklestia figurine is genuinely amusing. As is the guilt trip routine. Apparently, he has enough self-discipline to not go overboard with his growing hoard.
You know, I only just noticed the “five bottles for the price of seven” gag, and this is my third time reading through the comic. Another enjoyably subtle gag.
How much of a market is there for random goat sounds?
Wait, Twilight can dance now? What madness is this!?
I love a good Spaceballs reference as much as the next guy, but unless that’s a second cousin in the relation chain, this implies that Cheerilee’s a generation older than Mac.
I love the contrast of Zecora dispensing wisdom while she’s bringing a box of funnel cake mix home.
We really need more feedbags in Friendship is Magic. I don’t know why I like them so much, but I do.
Also, nice support for alicorns having ludicrous strength as part of their souped-up earth pony magic. Go, Tia, go!
Poor, poor Big Macintosh. Still, at least his quest got him off of the farm for a day.
Wow does that song fail rhythmically.
Big Mac may have finally gotten those nails, but the real tragedy is Winona never getting to play fetch.
In this commentary, I’ve been tiptoeing around a rather major issue noted by DannyJ last week. Specifically, this story is a continuity clusterfuck. The crux of the problem is Luna, who says that she “is here to recover from troubling times,” almost certainly a reference to the previous storyline. The one where she made a dramatic transformation from her smaller self to her full splendor, which presumably happened before “Luna Eclipsed.”
Problem one: Luna correctly uses the word “fun,” which she first learns during that regrettable Nightmare Night. Note that this is a Summer Wrap-Up event, and thus is taking place around the end of summer, i.e. the autumnal equinox, in mid to late September.
Problem two: This takes place after “A Canterlot Wedding,” if not Chrysalis’s revenge, since a photo standee and Spike’s booth show that ponies know what the changeling queen looks like. Note how Luna was already in her full splendor at that time.
Problem three: Twilight’s still a unicorn. If we adhere to the show’s admittedly ludicrous “three seasons, one year” timeline for the first part of the show, a number of paradoxes accrue.
From this, we can only conclude that Luna somehow shrank at the start of the Nightmare Rarity storyline and no one ever commented on it. Of course, Babs Seed briefly appears in that storyline, so really, it’s anyone’s guess when any of this is supposed to take place, especially with details like Cranky Doodle Donkey officiating the pie-eating contest, a Mare-Do-Well parade balloon, Peewee being with Spike, and so forth. The continuity is snarled to a Gordian degree.
Still, after putting aside questions of time, this is a very fun story, allowing a rare glimpse into Big Mac’s mind. And I’m certainly going to need to put aside those questions next week…
Of course, that’s a matter for then. For now, it’s time for cards.
Artist Avatar 1WW
Creature — Avatar
As Artist Avatar enters the battlefield, choose an artist.
Artist Avatar’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of nonland permanents you control by the chosen artist.
"Big deal. Don't see people asking me to sign cards."
—Bucky, flavor text writer
*/*
Bumble Battalion 3W
Creature — Insect Soldier
Flying
1G: Bumble Battalion gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Activate this ability only once each turn.
Generations come and go, but the hive is eternal.
2/2
Exercise in Frustration U
Instant
Tap target creature. It doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Flashback 3U (You may cast this card for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Big Macintosh could’ve walked to Canterlot in the time it took him to find Lugnut.
Quest for Nails U
Enchantment
Whenever you draw a card, you may reveal it. If you reveal a nonartifact card this way, put a quest counter on Quest for Nails.
Remove three quest counters from Quest for Nails and sacrifice it: Search your library for an artifact card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
Bounce 2U
Instant
You may return an Island you control to its owner’s hand rather than pay Bounce’s mana cost.
Return target nonland permanent to its owner’s hand.
”What goes up can stay there for a while.”
—Ditzy Doo
Check the Junk Drawer 2U
Sorcery
Exile the top card of your library. You may put a card you own from outside the game on top of your library.
”Huh. Don’t remember putting that in there.”
—Applejack, Bearer of Honesty
Follow the Leader 2U
Enchantment
Nonlegendary creatures you control have “2, T: Copy target activated ability from a legendary creature source. You may choose new targets for the copy.”
Running with the herd isn’t always a bad thing.
Flimflam Repellent 1B
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
When Flimflam Repellent enters the battlefield, draw a card.
Enchanted creature has protection from tokens.
Applejack was deeply disappointed when she learned it wasn’t supposed to keep the twins away.
Lunar Custodian 3BB
Creature — Bat Pegasus Soldier
Flying
When Lunar Custodian enters the battlefield, return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. If that card is legendary, return it to the battlefield instead.
He travels in Luna’s wake, making sure everything there remains standing.
2/2
Rent-a-Lizard 1R
Creature — Lizard
Haste
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player may pay 2. If that player does, he or she untaps Rent-a-Lizard and gains control of it until end of turn.
The more unlikely the business, the better it will do in Ponyville.
2/2
Young Pyrotechnicians 3R
Creature — Pony Rigger
Protection from artifacts
Assemble 1R (1R: Put a colorless Contraption artifact token onto the battlefield. Assemble only as a sorcery.)
Contraptions you control have “Sacrifice this artifact: This artifact deals 1 damage to each creature.”
2/1
Battle for Dominance G
Sorcery
Two target players each choose a creature with the greatest power among creatures that player controls. Those creatures fight each other.
All species fight over mates, status, and territory, no matter how civilized they claim to be.
Do the Navigator 2G
Sorcery
Search your library for a basic land card and put that card onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.
Conspire (As you cast this spell, you may tap two untapped creatures you control that share a color with it. When you do, copy it.)
From the Cobwebs 2G
Sorcery
Put a 1/2 green Spider creature token with reach onto the battlefield for each artifact target opponent controls.
Big Macintosh reminded himself to dust the barn more often. That, or burn it down.
Kite-Eating Tree 2G
Creature — Plant
Reach
Whenever Kite-Eating Tree blocks a creature with flying, Kite-Eating Tree gains deathtouch until end of turn.
Seeds from the Everfree sometimes blow into Ponyville, germinating without permission.
1/3
Sun Stone’s Radiance 2GG
Enchantment
Untap all lands you control during each other player’s untap step.
Those who were the flutter ponies have forgotten the valley, but it still awaits their return, as verdant and beautiful as ever.
Bulk Up 3G
Instant
Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
Formidable — If creatures you control have total power 8 or greater, instead put two +1/+1 counters on each of those creatures.
Bulk Biceps demands a grueling regimen, but nopony can argue with the results.
Hornbane Apes 3G
Creature — Ape Mutant
Hexproof
Evolve (Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
2/2
Parade Balloon 3
Artifact Creature — Construct
You may have Parade Balloon enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it’s still 0/1 and gains flying.
”We shall avoid the obvious joke regarding Our Sister being full of hot gas.”
—Princess Luna
0/1
Catastropult 4
Artifact — Contraption
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, flip a coin. If the coin comes up tails, destroy target non-Rigger permanent that player controls chosen at random.
”There’s no such thing as a bad idea.”
—Scootaloo
The Doctor’s Fob Watch 6
Legendary Artifact
When The Doctor’s Fob Watch enters the battlefield, exile all other nonland permanents you control and all cards from your hand. Then you draw seven cards, put any number of nonland permanent cards from your hand onto the battlefield, and draw that many cards.
When The Doctor’s Fob Watch leaves the battlefield, if one or more cards were exiled with it, sacrifice all nonland permanents you control and discard your hand. Then return each of those exiled cards to the zone from which it was exiled.
Rambunctious Foals (br)
Creature — Pony Child
At the beginning of your upkeep, Rambunctious Foals deals 1 damage to you.
”I’ll leave saving the world to Pinkie and her friends. The twins are adventure enough for me.”
—Cup Cake
2/1
Malicious Advisors 1UB
Creature — Pony Advisor
At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, that player taps a creature he or she controls and loses 1 life.
The worst part isn’t how they tear your ego to shreds, but how you’ll pay them for the privilege.
1/1
Pegamedic Team 2(wu)
Creature — Pegasus Citizen
Flying
1(wu): Return target creature you control to its owner’s hand.
Ponyville has some of the best fast-response medics in Equestria.
1/2
Plasmid Splice 3(ur)
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
When Plasmid Splice enters the battlefield, you may exile an instant card from your hand.
Whenever enchanted creature deals combat damage to a player, you may copy the exiled card. If you do, you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.
Elaborate Fantasy 3URG
Sorcery
You may put any number of permanent cards from your hand onto the battlefield. Those permanents gain haste and “At the beginning of the end step, return this permanent to its owner’s hand.”
For one beautiful moment, the world was exactly as Fleetfoot thought it should be.
This is perhaps my favourite of the comics. The humor was awesome, and Big Mac was just brilliant.
To be honest, the whole timeline issue just passed me by. I'm not even going to try to make sense of it from a Watsonian perspective. I will leave that to other, more adept (and masochistic) individuals.
Doyle, of course, will tell you that they either didn't think about it, didn't care, or both. I myself, I will admit, am guilty of not thinking about it when I first read this story.
Oh hey, plasmid splice is cipher, but without all the confusing rules text.
Also, I did quite like this comic. It really illustrated Mac's status as the only sane one
How come?
The real fantasy is actually playing a card that
OPfun.I tend to treat the comics the same way TMNT (the full CG movie that came out well be for the explody reboot) treats the ORIGINAL live action trilogy: They happened, but not necessarily in the way we are aware of it.
Personally, the production/TV order of the episodes has no effect in the "timeline". So unless the episode makes it clear it happens after another, it could be anything.
Or just forget about it, because that's the feeling I get from the show itself.
The comic was most likely written before season 3 was even giving a sense of time. The show is super screwy with time anyways.
Amusing as always and sadly the comics seem to be strongly contending for most confusing semi-canon.
I think it makes sense, in a thought out way. I mean, in tug-of-war, somebody has to die (lose), right?
What page? I can't find this.
Funny thing in that splash page is that all the mares are crying about Big Mac being taken except for Applejack, who is his sister, and... Rainbow Dash.
Well! Let's work it out, shall we?
In this story, at minimum we can assume that A Canterlot Wedding, Return of Harmony, Baby Cakes, Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, Boast Busters, The Mysterious Mare Do Well, Dragon Quest, and A Friend in Deed have already taken place, and personally, I'm pretty sure that Luna Eclipsed has too if Luna knows what fun is.
Baby Cakes, Mare Do Well, Dragon Quest, and Cider Squeezy mean that this story cannot take place at the end of the first summer after Twilight came to Ponyville. Those episodes all had friendship reports by someone other than Twilight. That places them after Lesson Zero. Lesson Zero had Dash going full nuclear with a rainboom, so we can assume it took place after Sonic Rainboom. And in Sonic Rainboom, we know that the pegasi were already preparing for the winter, implying that it was already autumn by that episode, or at least getting there. Fortunately, this gels well with the comic taking place after Luna Eclipsed, which was also in autumn, but the definite conclusion we can draw is that this cannot possibly take place at the end of the first summer.
Ah, but there's more! A Friend in Deed takes place even later than all them, because it features Fancy Pants in Ponyville, and so probably comes after Sweet and Elite. That episode, I remind you, had Rarity become popular in Canterlot, and she briefly met Prince Blueblood, who was a background pony there. If she had already gone through this, she wouldn't have been so excited to meet Prince Blueblood and get involved in Canterlot's upper class in The Best Night Ever, so it must necessarily take place after that. And now for the knock-out punch! When did The Best Night Ever occur? During an unidentified Spring month.
So all signs say that if it really is the end of summer, it can only be the summer after Twilight's ascension, with the one big wrench in that being Twilight's lack of wings in both this story and Neigh Anything. So... fuck it. Let's just say it was early into her princesshood, and Twilight was experimenting with disguise spells to look like a unicorn again in public, because she hadn't yet worked out that literally no-one cares about her wings.
...Hey, it's a dumb idea, but it's the only way any of this works. Katie Cook was obviously not informed about this one year timeline thing.
Deux, or deux not; there is no trois.
The comics laugh riotously at people who attempt to make sense of the timeline, even more so than the show. Just repeat the MST3k mantra to yourself and enjoy the ride
Young Pyrotechnicians is a wonderful card. I love how it has protection from the consequences of its effect.
Raze this barn! Raze this barn! 1, 2, 3, 4!
Sun Stone’s Radiance is one of those cards that's sure to get banned in commander. Then again, at least it doesn't give your creatures flash as well... (Man I miss Prophet of Kruphix, no matter how much it needed to be banned.)
Bulk Up would be perfect for that Hazezon Tamar deck I'm working on.
I also love Parade Balloon. So many fun possibilities, especially once you add ways to clone artifacts...
Personally, I see the cake twins as being grixis. Not for zombietacular reasons, but because of the freaky arcane-style nonsense they can get into like phasing through walls.
Malicious Advisors? I actually have the card you based this one on! Poor Darigaz...
Shouldn't Plasmid Splice use the "encode" language from Gatecrash's cipher spells? Man I loved that mechanic. Then again, that would decouple the encoded spell from the enchantment, making its being and enchantment rather pointless.
As for the comic itself, I think this arc is my favorite of all the ones I've read. Just silly enough. Also, I'm pretty sure they shipped FleetfootMac just for the pun.
4065034 4065137 4065272
I know I probably shouldn't care about the chronology as much as I do, but that doesn't stop me. All I wanted was a logical progression from past to future. I wasn't asking for every episode to come after every other episode, just for the seasons to follow one another. That really didn't seem like so much to ask.
4065039
Ha! I completely failed to realize that it does basically encode a card onto the enchanted creature.
4065078
Fleetfoot is the Verthandi of the Wonderbolts' Jerkass Norns (Wind Rider being Urd and Lightning Dust Skuld.) She's the one who tried the hardest to seduce Dash into playing for the other team in "Rainbow Falls."
Wait...
No, I don't see any problem with that phrasing. Point is, from that point on, she's embodied everything wrong with the organization in my mind. Being the one who saddled Dash with her childhood nickname in "Newbie Dash" didn't help.
4065276
Yeah, the confusion's really going to set in with "Neigh Anything." At least there's a card game reference.
4065303
Lose, yes. Die, no. Given the Tantibus, this almost looks like a cry for help.
4065403
The story the Mane Six tell in the background about a Sun Stone and giant bees is the plot of the first episodes of My Little Pony 'n Friends, "The End of Flutter Valley," which is essentially a sequel to the movie with the Smooze.
As for the continuity paradox, I feel the better answer is that the "three seasons, one year" concept is bull-honkey, but that's my opinion of it in general.
4065482
Bah. That would be too easy.
4065537
The Crusaders usually do.
Up, up, up! Light them beams!
Sizzle them joints! Work in teams!
Turn around quick by the right elbow,
Grab a new blowtorch, here we go!
To be fair, most of the freaky arcane stuff is in Pumpkin's wheelhouse, which is why I have so much fun with her future self. I figure Pound's special talent is going to be demolition. Possibly with his bare hooves.
I was honestly wondering if anyone would notice the reference to Malicious Advice.
And yes, Plasmid Splice does effectively encode a spell onto a creature. I honestly hadn't noticed until an earlier comment pointed it out.
4065537 4066266
Also, were it not for the fact that I think the ability word Imprint only ever appeared on artifacts, I would've expected it to read, "Imprinted instant card has cipher and is encoded onto enchanted creature".
I was a little miffed that more recent artifacts with the Imprint ability word just refer to "the exiled card" instead of "the imprinted card".
EDIT: Also, it's a little odd that Parade Balloon doesn't have flying if it fails to Clone something.
...
I will cherish this.
4066246 Keyword : war. Something like a predated tradition that got thrown out in favor of more fun and less harshing everybody's mood. Like sports martial arts and then the actual thing. Or at least that's what I think of it. I'm probably not explaining it right, anyways. And yeah, being specifically a noose instead of just a tied loop knot... that would be a bit much.
4066266
Thank you.
It has been noted that at the beginning of S4 it's never exactly stated that the first 3 seasons are 1 year. If you look at the seasonal changes it would be 2 years for the first 3 seasons. Which makes much more sense. Of course that still means that this issue should take place after the first 2 episodes of season 4.
4066266
I dunno, it seems like a lot of people find it very difficult
4066440
There are a few nonartifacts with imprint, but they only showed up in New Phyrexia, to emphasize the Phyrexian blurring of flesh and artifice. It's the same set that gave us the only nonartifact Construct.
Also, since imprint was made into an ability word, "imprinted" no longer actually has any rules meaning.
As for Parade Balloon, if it doesn't look like anything, that's probably because no one bothered to inflate it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
4066765
Not directly said, but strongly implied, especially Celestia's speech at the end of "Princess Twilight Sparkle" that makes it sound like this is the first time she truly enjoyed a Summer Sun Celebration since Luna's banishment.
4067076
Well, Walking Atlas is missing "Artifact" from its type line, but that's a misprint.
She's from Generation 3 originally, so ... she is. >D
If I may suggest possible flavor text for Hornbane Apes: Ape shall never kill ape... Unless they've got nothing better to kill.
4206356
Much as I'd love to add it, evolve takes up a lot of card real estate, as Battering Krasis shows. I like to limit myself to what might reasonably fit in a text box... with very occasional exceptions like The Doctor's Fob Watch.
4206431 Ah, sorry. Been ages since I've so much as touched a Magic card, guess I underestimated the amount of room things took up.