Friendship is Card Games: Friends Forever #33 and #34 · 7:03pm Jul 30th, 2018
A day late, but hopefully not a dollar short. Let’s make this last card blog of the intraseasonal hiatus worth the wait.
Friends Forever #33: Applejack & Cherry Jubilee
Influenza does in fact have an equine-specific strain.
I was going to question the apparently pink leaves on the cherry trees, but that’s apparently a carry-over from “The Last Roundup.”
Speaking of callbacks, it’s nice to put a face to the name “Calamity Mane”… though that does raise the question of why Applejack didn’t recognize her now if she saw her at the rodeo. I suppose it has been a while.
The existence of a Wild West show implies a lot about the history of western Equestria, generally supported by still-developing towns like Appleoosa and Dodge Junction. It does leave the question of why these territories would have been so lawless with a centrally located capital… but as “Princess Spike” demonstrated, Equestria is less a nation than a loose confederation of city-states.
Looks like Cherry Jubilee figured out that it’s more efficient to sort one color of cherry and let the other go to the end of the conveyor belt.
Yes, Cherry, clearly Applejack would understand why you’re so incensed, given how long she’s known you and how much she knows about your past.
I know, I know, irrational fury, but Cherry getting mad at the out-of-town help for this sort of thing does strike me as silly.
“None of your cherry-bucking business!” Wow. Unless AJ’s said something similar on the show, I’m pretty sure this is the closest canon’s come to dropping that particular bomb.
Again, irrational fury. Though with bucks like that, the only help Cherry seems to need is ponies hauling in the cherries. (Of course, they shook the trees in the episode, but what can you do?)
Going by the exchange rate from “Putting Your Hoof Down,” Applejack is squashing hundreds if not thousands of bits’ worth of cherries as she makes her way to the wagon train.
Is… is Calamity roasting an orange on a stick like it’s a hot dog? 
Oh, hey. Marian the librarian from the Granny Smith/Flimflam issue. Wasn’t expecting to see her.
Twilight’s bibliophilia and renown have reached the point where she’s on library posters in distant parts of Equestria. That is fantastic.
So, library patrons will shush Applejack for snoring, but not for shouting at the top of her lungs. That or they’re smiling because the noisy pony is leaving.
Buffalo Bull is neither a buffalo or a bull. Discuss.
For reference, the aforementioned issue took place during AppleCon 45, meaning that Cherry’s whirlwind show business romance happened more than twenty-two years ago,.
Also, how awkward must it have been to be the pony taking a photo of Cherry turning down Bull’s marriage proposal? Heck, what kind of person snaps a picture of that at all?
“I guess I never thought of that” is rarely a good explanation for anything. Sometimes a person genuinely can just miss the obvious. Goodness knows I have. But “I guess I never thought of how turning down a marriage proposal might make the other person feel” is not a justifiable example.
I quite like how they acknowledge the awkward position of the current Calamity Mane and make sure there’s no hard feelings between her, Bull, and Cherry… though I do have to wonder what her actual name is.
In all, a nice little story of two hard heads getting smacked together by circumstance until they relent.
Friends Forever #34: Pinkie Pie & Cheese Sandwich
Much as I appreciate a reference to the classics, I quite like the subscriber cover for this one. Somewhere between Baba Yaga and Keep on Truckin’.
Miasmo is definitely one of Trixie’s ancestors.
Also, why do I have a distinct feeling that this is a Pixar opening on par with Up?
Oh. Or we could just immediately cut to the house chasing Pinkie through the Everfree on the very cartoonish legs seen in that cover I like. That works too, I guess? 
I do love how Cheese feels the need to open his interactions with his more dramatic persona, no matter how briefly.
Okay, it’s more than a little freaky seeing a reference to Baltimare just after Bronycon.
Cheese Sandwich standing between a party and a living house while brandishing a balloon animal is several kinds of wonderful.
Hmm. Assuming Cheese doesn’t count himself among the greatest party planners of Equestria, Pinkie makes one. So who’s the other? At first I thought it might be Ponyacci, but he’s a dedicated entertainer, not a party planner.
Also, the house is both intelligent and capable of tracking down ponies if those sealed within merely mention them. This thing is more unsettling than some major antagonists on the show.
Heh. Pinkie takes her companions being fellow high-level adventurers for granted.
I do love how the party ponies party with a purpose. There’s more than cotton candy up there.
Ah. We’re slow-rolling the house’s tragic backstory.
Maybe don’t discuss your escape plan out loud in the house that you know can hear you?
Also, I can only assume that Pinkie saying they can’t sneak out means she’s tried cartoonish teleportation as a means of escape offscreen. Portraying that doesn’t exactly work in sequential art.
“It’s kind of like setting a fire to smoke our way out, except much easier to breathe.” Credit to Thom Zahler, this is some quality Pinkie dialogue.
Obviously, the party ponies can’t simply will supplies into being, since procuring them is too plot-critical.
That spatula looks more like a spoon to me. They should swing by Spatula City after this is over and get Housey a proper one.
That can of salt raises those old questions about the Appleoosa saloon.
Twinkie comic book ads are canon in Equestria? Darn it, now I want to see the Mane-iac get thwarted by Hostess Fruit Pies…
It’s okay, Cheese. I regret opening my mouth every time I’m in an RPG session.
And that’s how Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich created a perpetual party machine.
Those last few panels are genuinely beautiful. I just hope no changelings encounter Housey before the Thorax Rebellion. The comic itself was a delight. Even if they never get Weird Al back on the show, this was still a fantastic encore performance by Equestria’s mightiest merrymakers.
Now, let’s see what we can make of these hootenanies and housebound hubbub:
Dodge Junction Apothecary 1W
Creature — Pony Citizen
Raid — When Dodge Junction Apothecary enters the battlefield, if you attacked with a creature this turn, you gain 5 life.
Western towns specialize in getting ponies back on their hooves and back on the road.
2/2
Visual Aides 3W
Creature — Pony Child
As Visual Aides enters the battlefield, choose an artist.
Whenever you cast a spell with art by the chosen artist, create a 1/1 white Pony creature token.
They can ensure that any gallery has an audience.
2/3
Accidental Animator 2U
Creature — Unicorn Wizard
Metalcraft — At the beginning of each combat, if you control three or more artifacts, target artifact you control becomes an artifact creature with base power and toughness 5/5 until end of turn.
1/3
Perfomer’s Persona 2U
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
As Performer’s Persona enters the battlefield, choose a creature
Enchanted creature is a copy of the chosen creature.
1U: Attach Performer’s Persona to target creature.
Twilit Omen 2U
Instant
Untap all creatures you control.
Draw a card.
Even before Twilight’s ascension, portentous events began happening near libraries across Equestria.
Flu Outbreak BB
Sorcery
All creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn.
Morbid — If a creature died this turn, all creatures get -2/-2 until end of turn instead.
A single cough can herald a devastating epidemic.
Left Behind 1B
Instant
Cast this spell only during combat after attackers are declared.
Destroy target nonattacking creature attacking player controls.
By the time Cherry got her head together, the troupe was long gone.
State of Neglect 2B
Enchantment
At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, if that player controls more permanents than you, they sacrifice a permanent.
“In time, even Equestria will rot away. The question is whether I will feast on it first.”
—Queen Chrysalis
Irrational Fury 3R
Instant
As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card.
Creatures you control get +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the discarded card’s converted mana cost.
Just the thought of Buffalo Bull was enough to crack Cheery Jubilee’s genteel facade.
Calamity Mane 4R
Legendary Creature — Pony Rogue
Partner with Buffalo Bull (When this creature enters the battlefield, target player may put Bull into their hand from their library, then shuffle.)
First strike
Whenever Calamity Mane deals combat damage to a player, it deals 3 damage to each other creature.
3/3
Charming Leprecolt 1G
Creature — Pony Faerie
Whenever a creature deals combat damage to you, its controller puts a +1/+1 counter on it.
The treasure that endows him with such strength will do the same for any others who can claim it.
4/4
Faithful Harvester 2G
Creature — Pony Druid
Inspired — Whenever Faithful Harvester becomes untapped, look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature or land card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
3/2
March of Generations 2GG
Enchantment
Whenever a creature you control dies, you may put a creature card that shares a creature type with that creature onto the battlefield.
Love and care create a legacy greater than any physical object.
Buffalo Bull 4G
Legendary Creature — Pony Warrior
Partner with Calamity Mane
Buffalo Bull must be blocked if able.
Whenever Buffalo Bull attacks, creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
3/3
Unopened Kwinkle 1
Artifact
Indestructible
T, Sacrifice Unopened Kwinkle: You gain 3 life.
Better snacking through chemistry.
Wandering Cottage 4
Artifact — Vehicle
Whenever one or more creatures crew Wandering Cottage, exile one of them until Wandering Cottage leaves the battlefield. Then if there are three or more cards exiled with Wandering Cottage, you may transform it.
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.)
5/5
Housey, the Eternal Party
Legendary Artifact Creature — Construct
Trample
Housey, the Eternal Party gets +1/+1 for each card exiled with it.
5: Exile any number of other creatures you control until Housey leaves the battlefield, then return any number of cards exiled with Housey to the battlefield under your control.
5/5
Conga Leader (gw)
Creature — Pony Citizen
Whenever Conga Leader attacks alone, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each other creature you control.
Equestria’s celebration methods and military tactics can be difficult to distinguish.
1/1
Supply Scrounging 2(bg)
Enchantment
1(bg), Exile a card from your graveyard: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
Between the two of them, Pinkie and Cheese could make an incredible party with nothing but a cave and a box of scraps.
Performing Posse 4RG
Sorcery
Create a 2/2 green Pony creature token with haste for each land you control. Exile those tokens at the beginning of the next end step.
Buffalo Bull’s Wild West Show prides itself on leaving as suddenly as it arrives.
Between Unopened Kwinkle and Supply Scrounging, I'd like to see a Fallout: Equestria set (preferably well balanced internally), and would love to have a link to one, if such exists.
What a strange and eclectic mix of cards...
Left Behind is the opposite of those pesky white "destroy attacking creature" cards. I like that.
When I finally catch up with translating, Twilit Omen will give me headaches, I know it. Stupid dubbers and their tendency not to translate pony names...
I thought these were both quite good issues. Man, it's been so long since I've read most of the comics now... Time is passing and they've actually gotten old
Feels like it was just last year I was enthralled by the novelty of reading about ponies in comics.
That Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich one is one I ended up actually buying! Well, digitally, it's still in my google account. And it was freakin' adorable, I loved it.
Turn 3: Call the Scions
Turn 4: March of Generations. Sacrifice two Eldrazi Scions for mana. Put two Eldrazi Titans onto the battlefield.
This puts the Bah in Bah-roken.
These were a good pair of issues. The Applejack/Cherry one had a few eyebrow-raising continuity issues, but nothing compared to the mistakes the show makes all the time these days, and besides that it was just a really nice character pairing and concept. And Pinkie and Cheese had another great high concept and character pairing that they did really well with. Neither issue is really among my favourites, but they were pretty decent.