Friendship is Card Games: The Big Mac Question · 11:57am Oct 6th, 2019
Funny story: This past Wednesday, exactly ten days before the finale, my driving-to-work music drive played Europe’s The Final Countdown.
I am not emotionally prepared to say goodbye to Equestria, and this episode did not help.
The “reality show testimony” intro was a great hook, since it raises so many questions about what’s going to happen. From what everyone’s saying to the question of who asked to how Mrs. Cake of all ponies factors into this, it a fantastic way to get the audience engaged and keep them that way.
Discord used to be a great secret keeper back when he didn’t care about any of the equine mayflies who weren’t Fluttershy. Now he has some faint glimmer of empathy and is actually interested in their little lives.
Well, even back then, if the secret was embarrassing or disruptive enough, he’d still have been interested. But he’d never have blabbed about the Bulktavia date, because he wouldn’t have bothered to remember it.
Mac has a really odd vocal cadence at the start. Even in comparison to his other parts in this episode, it makes it seem like his laconic nature is less by choice and more by circumstances out of his control. Bizarre, especially when considering his talkative past in “Where the Apple Lies.”
“Most romantic dragon” is a superlative up there with “most aggressive ficus.” Accurate, but not saying much. That said, I do appreciate how Spike straight-up describes himself as a hopeless romantic. At least he’s also self-aware.
I also appreciate how Discord’s detached talon helped Spike with the relevant gestures when snarking at its owner. Makes sense that even bits of Discord would get in acts of petty rebellion.
Assigning Discord to put things in a specific order. To say nothing of having the god of chaos work with apples. At least these ones aren’t made of gold…
I feel like there was an unusual amount of focus on that goat. And there’s the question of whether it was going to pay for that carrot.
“Long-limbed Leporidae” is a lovely phrase and I am glad John de Lancie said it.
Wow, but that is unsanitary ingredient testing. You couldn’t have just smelled it, Cup? Granted, she’s been working on this rush order for way too long at this point, but still, this is something I’d expect from Pinkie.
Speaking of whom, where is Pinkie in all of this? Or any of the Mane Six. (With the possible exception of Rarity, assuming that’s her foreleg in this shot.) I suppose they’re handling something in Canterlot. If it weren’t for Spike, I’d think this coincided with the Swannifying Ceremony. (And even given that, where’s Mr. Cake?)
Ye gods, these dorks are perfect for one another. Despite the lesson of “Hard to Say Anything,” both Big Mac and Sugar Belle keep trying for these grand romantic gestures to one another. Hopefully that’ll come to an end after the wedding.
Discord may have detached his right hand to plant the apple, but I’m pretty sure both count as Crazy Hands when he’s involved.
I do appreciate how Ponyville has become so inured to Discord’s shenanigans that he can tell a bushel of tiny apple monstrosities that no dumb braeburn ever won a proposal by dying for its country in the middle of the marketplace and nopony even pays attention.
Also, this is the closest we’ll get to a fully canon version of Night of the Living Apples, and thank goodness for that.
I can see why Spike thought his message breath would work… but he’s still sending the flames into solid media. On the other hand, we have confirmation that he can send messages not just to specific ponies but to literally anywhere (or at least anything) he chooses. That’s a pretty big deal.
I know I’m far from the first to notice it, but… Lyrabon proposal! Eeeeee! 
I know I’m not the only one who felt the need to add a “Spongebob” to the “everyone saying each other’s names” gag.
Discord warning others about tempting fate was a very nice touch.
The pacing was admittedly pretty plodding in the second act. The added context was nice, but there was too much in the way of retracing steps, especially redoing an entire scene.
Oh hey, something concrete that Sugar Belle likes about Big Mac. And it does make sense. When you’re a recovering cult member, a smooth talker won’t exactly appeal to you.
So… how did neither Discord nor Spike hear Apple Bloom’s shout? If she’d just made a high-pitched squeal, then that could’ve been added as another bit of mystery in the first act.
Thinking about it, Mrs. Cake agreeing to this clusterbake does make sense. She’s a huge sucker for this sort of thing, especially when her best friend’s son is involved.
So… the Crusaders never heard Mac call out “screwdriver!”?
Pretty sure Scootaloo’s still banned from the bowling alley after the ball-bucking incident back in “The Cutie Pox.”
Uh, girls? Spike’s right there with Mrs. Cake. You may want to be concerned about violated confidentiality.
I have to love how the other Crusaders don’t even know where to start with the contradictory wisdom. Apple Bloom probably makes up half of this stuff and cites Granny to give it an air of authority.
Okay, the Star Trek references are amazing and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.
Very nice design on the applebomination. This is why Discord shouldn’t have nice things.
The actual proposal is gorgeous. The wind blowing through the eaves and the sun shining through the wedding tree… Perfection.
Curious to see the ring go on a necklace rather than Sugar Belle’s horn. Yes, that’s a more universally applicable way to put jewelry on a pony, but in that case, why even involve a ring? Just make it a diamond necklace and cut out the middleman.
Spike’s suit and Discord’s bow tie showing up out of nowhere at the tail ends of their testimony does make sense. Formal attire would do more to spoil than intrigue if it had been there the whole time, and Discord can get the two of them dressed in an instant if need be. It’s one thing to assume at least one of the proposal attempts would work. It’s quite another to learn we’re cutting straight to the wedding.
It kind of hurts to see no one but the other anti-Glimmer rebels show up on Sugar Belle’s side of the wedding. On the one hand, this does say a lot about how she came to Our Town in the first place. On the other, it feels like the animators just didn’t want to design her parents. On Ahuizotl’s tail, it actually does a lot to justify why the entire Apple family didn’t show up for the wedding. Don’t want to shame the bride on her special day by rubbing the difference in her muzzle.
The writers may not have done much with Sugarmac—I still have far too little understanding of what they see in one another—but you can’t say they abandoned the arc. As far as the last slice of life before the finale goes, I couldn’t ask for much more than this.
Now I just need to figure out the logistics of getting at least one blog done for Sunday morning based on three episodes that will premiere on Saturday night. Irony of ironies, I may need to turn to spoilers scant hours before the official US airing…
But that’s an issue for next week. Let’s get to the penultimate showcase of penultimate destiny:
Heroic Trio 2W
Instant
Up to three target creatures get +1/+0 and gain first strike until end of turn.
“All the great stories have groups of three. Even the Bearers are just a double order.”
—Discord
Ancestral Favor U
Sorcery
Draw a card. If ten or more cards are in your graveyard, draw a card. If an opponent has ten or more cards in their graveyard, draw a card.
All sides come together to encourage those who still live.
Overwhelming Pressure 2U
Instant
Target opponent chooses a spell they control. Counter that spell.
Something has to give.
Vile Verse 2BB
Enchantment
Whenever an opponent casts a spell with flavor text, that player loses 1 life.
“With the amateur work they’re putting out these days, who can blame you?”
—Bucky, flavor text writer
Capering Nightmare 3B
Creature — Nightmare Horror
Menace
Whenever Capering Nightmare deals combat damage to an opponent, it deals that much damage to each other opponent.
Every clown makes ponies smile. Sometimes it’s because they’re grateful that they’re still alive.
3/2
Shout From the Mountains 1R
Sorcery
Discard a card. If you do, draw a card and reveal it. If it’s a red card or a Mountain card, repeat this process.
“I am perfectly capable of subtlety. I just don’t always see a reason for it.”
—Discord
Disaster General 2RR
Creature — Chimera Soldier
Battalion — Whenever Disaster General and at least two other creatures attack, all creatures other than Disaster General get +2/-2 until end of turn.
He’s climbed every rank, from concern private to punishment corporal to pain major.
3/3
Devoted Dragon 3RR
Creature — Dragon
Flying, trample
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.)
Devoted Dragon can’t attack unless the creature it’s paired with also attacks.
4/3
Odd Couple 4R
Sorcery
Gain control of two target creatures that share no colors until end of turn. Untap them. They gain haste until end of turn.
Their eyes met across a crowded room. The room soon became much less crowded.
Draconic Dramaturge 4RR
Creature — Dragon
Flying
Whenever Draconic Dramaturge attacks, put a lore counter on each Saga you control.
Every dragon appreciates a tale of vanquishing cruel and menacing villages.
4/4
Infinite Power RRRRRRRR
Sorcery
Add infinite R. You can’t pay costs that contain X this turn. You lose the game at the beginning of the next end step.
“It’s much less convenient than it sounds, especially if your body can’t contain it.”
—Discord
Internal Combustion XRR
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Internal Combustion deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures.
• Destroy X target artifacts.
Boldly Go 1G
Sorcery
Search your library for a basic land card and put that card onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.
Raid — If you attacked with a creature this turn, untap that land.
Some ponies were born to chase the horizon.
Chittering Pippin 1G
Creature — Plant Horror
When Chittering Pippin dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
“Helpful and nutritious! If only ponies weren’t so quick to judge by appearances.”
—Discord
2/1
Outgrown Hare 2G
Creature — Rabbit Mutant
Reach
1G: Outgrown Hare gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Activate this ability only once each turn.
Fluttershy reserves a small corner of Sweetfeather Sanctuary for Discord’s bouts of nostalgia.
1/3
Terror of the Marketplace 2G
Creature — Goat
When Terror of the Marketplace enters the battlefield, destroy target artifact. If a Food is destroyed this way, you gain 3 life.
“Best to let it sample the merchandise. You don’t want to know what it does to stalls.”
—Carrot Top, Ponyville farmer
2/2
Trail of Apples 2G
Enchantment
When Trail of Apples enters the battlefield, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with “2, T, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.”)
Whenever you sacrifice a Clue, you gain 3 life.
Whenever you sacrifice a Food, draw a card.
Rhox Matriarch 4GG
Creature — Rhino Advisor
Each other green creature you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
Whenever another creature with power 4 or greater enters the battlefield under your control, draw a card.
There’s more than love in those stitches.
4/4
Riddle Delicious 1
Artifact — Clue Food
2, T, Sacrifice Riddle Delicious: Choose one —
• Draw a card.
• You gain 3 life.
• Add two mana of any one color.
Artillery Frigate 5
Artifact — Vehicle
2, T: Artillery Frigate deals 1 damage to each creature attacking you or a planeswalker you control. If Artillery Frigate is a creature, it deals 2 damage to each of those creatures instead.
Crew 4 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 4 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
6/6
Amalgamapple 7
Creature — Eldrazi Plant
Emerge 5G (You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature’s converted mana cost.)
When you cast this spell, create a 1/1 green Plant creature token for each creature put into your graveyard from the battlefield this turn.
3/3
Bold Captain (rw)G
Creature — Pony Scout
Vigilance
Bold Captain’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of differently named lands you control.
“Let’s go. Out there. Wherever the maps end and imagination begins.”
*/*
Sleeptrotting Guardian WU
Creature — Soldier
Alicorn (This card is also a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Sleeptrotting Guardian enters the battlefield tapped and doesn’t untap during your untap step.
Whenever one or more creatures an opponent controls attack you and/or planeswalkers you control, untap Sleeptrotting Guardian unless that player pays 1 for each of those creatures.
4/4
Ban From the Premises 1WU
Instant
Return target nonland permanent to its owner’s hand. That player can’t cast spells with the same name as that permanent this turn.
The Crusaders are still barred from half of the businesses in Ponyville.
Cocoa Caller 3BG
Creature — Chimera Shaman
When Cocoa Caller enters the battlefield, choose a color. Each player gains 1 life for each creature of the chosen color they control, then loses 1 life for each other creature they control.
The princess says he can’t be here again. The weather makes you wonder where he went.
3/3
...Wait, what? Isn't next Saturday episode 24, and then the finale the week after?
Please tell me they didn't advance the schedule
PLEASE tell me they didn't
EDIT: If a certain "changeling" reads this, let me know via PM that you have. We've recently talked about this in PMs before. You know who you are.
5133055
It's effectively a three-parter. The finale is episodes 24 & 25, while 26 is more of an epilogue for the series as a whole.
Shout from the Mountains seems like a good way to deck yourself in a monored deck.
I feel like Riddle Delicious should be a food clue rather than a clue food.
I wonder if Mayor Mare had to preside over the LyraBon wedding before or after the SugarMac one.
5133059
It gets worse than that, they're not even airing at the usual time. They're getting pushed back to the prime time 8pm slot.
Except for the part where Q wasn't actually in TOS... Just feel the need to keep pointing that out.
Boldly Go is probably supposed to be dropping the land tapped, because no you can't pull the multiple-Amulets-of-Vigor shenanigans when you're still in the middle of a spell resolving. (Stupid complicated game)
Note that Shout from the Mountains is mandatory. Don't try to use it in mono-red unless you like losing (Laboratory Maniac is blue, donkeys)
Infinite Power demands the use of Kruphix and Platinum Angel to allow the thing it specifically doesn't allow. (Divine assistance to keep it contained and true immortality to keep it from killing you is about what I'd expect to be necessary, so flavor home run there)
You're goin' down, moustache! >:B
I think my favorites of the cards include:
• Ancestral Favor
• Terror of the Marketplace
• Amalgamapple
• Ban From the Premises
Pssst, Hasbro, now that you've confirmed what we all suspected about Lyra and Bon Bon, you need to do the same with Sunset and Sci-Twi. You owe us that after making us suffer through the skeevy mess that was Sci-Twi's other supposed romantic partner.
Which is also a story of love and weddings, I might add
This was a marvelous episode in every way, and a wonderful final normal one before the big finale.
Yeah, I'm going to have to distract myself with other stuff, lest I think about the new pony-shaped hole in my life for too long.
That was the best thing
I'm glad to see someone else reacted to the ring around the neck thing with quizzical skepticism
I guess I could sorta see it being, like, an adapted tradition (I think we Cadance and Shining Armor putting rings on each other's horns when they get married, so maybe that was something earth ponies wanted to emulate when the three tribes came together or something).
It's difficult for me to care about this plot because I've never had any emotional investment in the Big Mac/Sugar Belle pairing. To me, it feels like these two are a couple only because the narrative demands it. They have no chemistry together.
This is an episode where the parts are greater than the whole. For example: It's fun to see the characters address the camera and then learn it's because those scenes were right before the wedding... but they had to leave Spike and Discord out of their formalwear lest we catch on too quickly, so it makes the attempt less impressive. Another example: In act three, they tried to give Big Mac and Sugar Belle a cute scene where the two simultaneously propose... but the writers chose to do it with heavy-handed references to Bright Mac and Buttercup's love, cheapening the moment.
(Incidentally, Bright Mac and Buttercup had more chemistry in their one episode than Big Mac and Sugar Belle have had after three. I actually cared when I saw them get married.)
This episode is another example of why it's weird that the CMCs have never aged. They look exactly the same as they did in "Hard to Say Anything." So either the CMCs are stuck in the bodies of fillies or Big Mac and Sugar Belle got married after way too short of a courtship.
But as far as I'm concerned, the best less-than-two-seconds of this episode belonged to my favorite yellow earth pony and green unicorn. The show actually did it! I'm shocked! I thought we'd never get anything more than tiny hints and subtle glances and a blatant Valentine's moment that still somehow left some people in denial. But no! An actual dual proposal! Next week, I'll get closure on the Mane Six, but this episode closed the book on Lyra and Bon Bon to my complete satisfaction.
(I freely acknowledge that my opinions are colored by the elaborate backstories I've imagined for the two -- thereby making me care about them more -- and that as canonical characters, there may not have been much motivating their proposal, either. I welcome the opinion of somebody with a more objective point of view: Based only on "Slice of Life" and their handful of brief non-speaking roles, do canon Lyra and Bon Bon have more chemistry than Big Mac and Sugar Belle? I certainly know which proposal in this episode I cared more about.)
I’m really fond of Trail of Apples and Riddle Delicious and. And the Star Trek references.
Fluttershy is eventually going to have another sanctuary in Discord’s realm, where it turns out that yes she can talk to the denizens of Chaos too thank you very much. The hounds are so adorable when they slip through angles.
Infinite Power. Oh Discord...
It's also pretty notable that (unless I missed her) Starlight Glimmer herself is absent. Maybe they did agree to forgive and bury the hatchet, but...
5133110
I also thought Twilight wouldn't be out of place either.
And regarding Starlight, I don't think she wouldn't have been invited because Big Mac doesn't want to be around her due to what happened in No Second Prances, since he was applying for the position of Vice-Headmare in A Horse Shoe-In, which would probably require them to interact regularly, on a related note.
Were some of them just too busy that day?
5133127
I've seen it proposed (no pun intended) that the LyraBon wedding was happening at the same time, and Twilight remembered that she's theoretically supposed to have been friends with Lyra.
5133129
Well, they literally just proposed in this episode.
Throwing together a wedding on such insanely short notice is a foolish idea, is it not?
Well, I suppose it's possible that it has happened on the same day as the proposal before, but I don't think it's the most likely assumption, by any stretch.
Also, one does not really wish to hang out with the people who came along and said "You might not be aware of this but you're a gullible drone who could be robbed by mail."
5133138
So did Big Mac and Sugar Belle.
5133089
It made sense when Mac was giving it to her, and she didn’t have anything for him other than the spoken proposal. But Lyra and Bon Bon are BOTH exchanging them. For a while I had this Headcanon where they’re converted to piercings for non-unicorns. They could go on the edge of the wing, or in an ear like livestock tags. Which I know SOUNDS degrading, but remember that “Cutie Marks” are based on BRANDING of all things.
Maybe it’s a politically correct take in modern Equestria, where both ponies will wear the ring equally regardless of Tribe. The purpose of the ring is kind of defeated at that point, but it was always a symbolic gesture regardless. The last two seasons, the Mane 6 have been pushing “every creature” as vernacular, so it’s interesting to imagine an adjusted custom between just the pony tribes.
In fact, new head canon! Rings originally came from the Griffins. Because they like dat gold, and they can all actually WEAR them. Griffins nowadays are just too broke to have them.
5133162
Son of a... I should've thought about the fact that there was likely a timeskip in the episode, but it just didn't register.
My bad.
Still, Lyra and Bon Bon might've waited longer with the actual marriage ceremony part.
For those wondering, Artillery Frigate is in this week's cards solely because of how many canon ships there are.
5133079
Pretty sure Sugar Belle's already had her "face that launched a thousand ships" phase. Even if she's also the face that sunk a thousand ships. Granted, Helen probably had a fair number to her name as well.
5133089
I'm going to have to go with 5133168's interpretation. Rings originating as a griffish (griffic? griffonian?) affectation makes too much sense.
5133065
As long as there's still a colorless artifact or a non-Mountain land in the deck, you'll be fine. Maybe. Could be fourth from the bottom, after all.
I felt either arrangement of artifact types would work, so I just opted for alphabetical order.
As for the Lyrabon wedding, they do have a direct connection to at least one princess. More if Agent Sweetie Drops reported to directly Celestia or if Cadence also babysat Lyra. They certainly have their choice of officiants.
Also, headcanon: Big Mac and Sugar Belle got married on his parents' anniversary, just to commit to the theme all the further.
5133066
Not specifically Q, no, but they still had their share of Discord-level entities. Trelane, Apollo, the entity from Star Trek V...
Thanks for pointing out the typo on Boldly Go and the
accidentalentirely deliberate flavor win on Infinite Power.5133077
Ancestral Favor was going to be a green graveyard-dependent draw spell of some kind... but I'd used the word "Ancestral." On a draw spell. Kind of put myself in a corner there.
And I always appreciate an excuse to use less portable mechanics like emerge. (Funnily enough, the only other time I've done one in an FiCG, it was also an Eldrazi Plant. And to think, some people are concerned about GMOs...)
5133289
No worries. It happens.
Nah. I'd only worry if the trangeneticists got a hold of some Godzilla cells. Then we'd have to worry about this happening:
wikizilla.org/w/images/0/00/Godzilla_vs._Biollante_-_Plant_Beast_Form_Biollante.jpg
And yet the best one (*cough*SciSet*cough*) hasn't made the list yet. Oh well, maybe IDW will pick up the slack if they get another shot at EG w/ the S10 comics coming under their umbrella.
5133153
Not the strongest first impression, no.
5133097
An entirely fair reaction. Sugarmac has been a study in one of the cardinal sins of romance writing, making the narrative constantly reassure the audience how in love the couple is without ever demonstrating what it is about each other that they love. The chemistry's never been there.
That said, a story that's less than the sum of its parts has never been an issue for me, because in that case, I just disassemble it.
5133102
I won't lie, I was thrilled when I realized that this episode gave me an excuse to make Clue Food.
And I am entirely in favor of Sweetfeather Sanctuary's branches in Carcosa, the Dreamlands, and sunken R'lyeh. (Of course, this is coming from someone who just wrote a Fluttercord wedding where the bride was much more eldritch than usual, so I'm clearly biased.)
5133110 5133127 5133129
Having to, you know, run a school definitely seems like a feasible reason for Starlight's absence. As for the rest of the Mane Six, I hold by my intentionally low headcount hypothesis. (Yes, they could've bulked out Sugar Belle's side, but it would've been pity attendance.)
5133297
It helps when the administrator’s husband just IS one of the Elder Gods and she herself doesn’t actually need cosmic powers to keep a lid on things.
I mean really. She enjoys hanging out with Discord. If the Mi Go showed up, within a week they’d be happily swapping bodies for a lark and apologizing profusely as they released any prisoners while she hooks them up with Twilight for a good trade deal.
That Equestria would see your average beastie and go ‘must be Tuesday’ is also pretty amusing. They’ve been through SEVERAL civilization collapse events, the kind that leave ruin worlds in lovecraft stories. And they’ve recovered and are fine. They got this.
5133297
Which one was this? I must've missed it, but I am intrigued.
5133306
Speaking of body swaps, imagine how much the Great Race of Yith loved/will love Equestria. Especially if one swaps with Twilight. Ultimate booksortcation!
5133308
Latest Dueling Keyboards short.
5133312
Ooh the Yithians... Twilight would LOVE it. She’d get to interview everyone almost as much as the Yithians are doing themselves and dig into the library and make friends across time and space...
When she gets back, she’ll give Starlight and Spike royal orders to figure out time fire and get correspondence going.
Of course there’s the Yithian bad habit of not letting their subjects go for years. So Starlight and Starswirl mount a rescue only to find out that Twilight has already freed the other prisoners. The real challenge is prying her out of the library. The Yithians are BEGGING for help with it at this point, she’s hogging all the best volumes.
I don't get it.
5133102
I've been writing about Angle Hounds for years and have no recollection where they're from
5133653
They’re from Lovecraft, the Hounds Of Tindalos. Can appear out of any right angles, they’re a hazard of time travel if you get their attention.
I think it’s fascinating that you’d forgotten where they’re from, I love seeing modern stories become mythology.
5133655
To be fair, Lovecraft's slipped into the public domain.
Bwahaha, awesome to see Bucky, Flavour Text Writer get a lookin here
And I love how your silver-border designs are so clearly distinct from your black-bordered ones.
...He says, and then you have to go and design Infinite Power. I fear that might be a *little* bit breakable. I guess eight red in silver-border is probably fair for a one-turn-only Mox Lotus.
I love that you designed a card named Boldly Go from this episode. It was absolutely deserved. (And a great design too, but that tends to go without saying for your cards.)
Trail of Apples makes me really want a way of making things that are both Food and Clues now. Where's the Arcane Adaptation for artifact subtypes?
...Of *course* you designed a Clue Food in this same set. Perfection.
Eldrazi Plant
You're not wrong though, that is a fair take on that applebomination... Unless it's a Picasso from Twoflower's City of Angles. Which isn't *much* less scary than an Eldrazi, but maybe?
Infinite Power plus Prismite (or another colour filter) equals use that mana for X cost spells.
Had a sudden realization about the episode: Lyra, Bonbon, and Big Mac all had engagement jewelry for their proposals, but it looks like Sugar Belle either didn't, or didn't have it on her despite her proposal preparations.