Friendship is Card Games: My Little Pony: The Manga, Ch. 2-3 & 2-4 · 11:53am Jul 19th, 2020
When last we left the manga, Pinkie hadn’t quite grasped that she was in a time loop, opting for the far more logical conclusion that the entire town was pranking her. Let’s see what it takes to disabuse her of that notion.
Chapter 2-3
Seeing “until” abbreviated as “till” always bothers me. Where’s the extra l coming from?
Oof. Depending on if that “About a week later” is referring to the second panel or the third, Pinkie might have endured a good ten loops before she reached the point of beating her head against Sugarcube Corner. Poor mare.
“Faster’n two shakes of a horsefly’s tail.” Okay, Applejack’s just making up countryisms as she goes. Though that is apparently part of her special talent, based on “The Cutie Map.”
Snips and Snails are hauling fireworks, Applejack. I don’t think they can keep out of trouble at this point.
On the one hand, I do feel that Best Pony as the Doctor’s assistant is overplayed and has been for years. On the other, I’m always happy to see her.
Pinkie Pie slowly getting driven mad by a time loop… I can’t help but think of 3:14 PM.
Pinkie’s vengeance is something to be feared, yes, but the logistics are something of a concern. Though Rainbow Dash is the better bet for advice on how to prank the whole town at once. You know, as long as you avoid zombie apocalypses.
Good thing Pinkie has paint that takes multiple days to wear off. Of course, expecting her to not have plot-convenient supplies is fundamentally misunderstanding Pinkie’s whole character.
The IOU on the fellow who already has a mustache is brilliant and perfectly Pinkie.
And there’s the clincher. Pinkie was going to figure it out eventually. Now it’s time to test the hypothesis.
I do appreciate Pinkie wearing a Spike costume to blend in while investigating Twilight… and narrating her log while doing so.
Watching Pinkie struggle against her own bizarre logic is fascinating to watch. It’s like Twilight with added irrationality, which is really saying something.
And with the time loop definitively proven, we can move on with the story. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying this, but repeating the same things over and over doesn’t offer a lot of new card ideas.)
Chapter 2-4
Poor guy. He’s just trying to read his newspaper. He never asked to get Pinkied.
“Well, that didn’t work.”
You know, I didn’t want to assume that the writer had read the MLP Time Loops. Goodness knows the idea’s been around for decades if not longer. But it’s hard not to see that line as a shoutout to Hard Reset.
This may be the best portrayal of Mrs. Cake I’ve ever seen. She just takes Pinkie’s Pinkieness in stride and offers advice as best she can. No wonder Pinkie thinks of her as the smartest pony in town. (And now i wonder if Pear Butter ever accidentally desecrated an ancient tomb when she was younger…)
First step to solving the puzzle orb: Do not allow the rock farmer to handle the puzzle orb.
Surprisingly flammable for an ancient artifact. Good thing Pinkie didn’t have the Staff of Ra.
… Huh. A message from the ancient past to a pony in the present. Further time shenanigans will have been afoot. Most curious.
I’m sure the Mesoponytamian goddess’s striking resemblance to Pinkie has absolutely no relevance to any upcoming events in the manga.
Twilight. Time loop.
Sometimes, you just have to take matters into your own hooves. And by “matters,” I mean “the ruler of the nation.” I do appreciate how Celestia’s treating this as a delightful diversion more than anything. She knows Pinkie, and thus knows that this will be both vitally important and very entertaining. Indeed, she explictly says she could’ve gotten out of the bag at any point, but it’s Pinkie; there was probably a party involved. And her face in the first panel here is just delightful.
“We don’t have time for a party! … Oh no! I’ve become my mother!”
This is simultaneously delightful and a fair amount to unpack.
Oof. And Pinkie’s hit a wall. It takes the whole day to get Celestia, explain the situation, and analyze the phenomenon. Tia’s own sense of drama means that actually getting the explanation happens just after the 24-hour mark.
And that’s where we have to leave it until three weeks from now. This is incredibly engaging, especially given the format of one 4koma per page. I’ll happily pick up more of this next time we reach it in the schedule. For now, let’s look at what I can do with these chapters:
Mercy Plea 1W
Enchantment
2: Target creature you control gains indestructible until end of turn. Tap and exert that creature. Any player may activate this ability. (An exerted creature won’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.)
Equestria is one of the most forgiving places in the Multiverse.
Omen of Pink’ty 1W
Enchantment
Flash
When Omen of Pink’ty enters the battlefield, you may destroy target artifact or enchantment.
2W, Sacrifice Omen of Pink’ty: Scry 2.
“My time came and went. So has yours.”
Railway Entertainer 1W
Creature — Pony Pilot
Lifelink
Whenever Railway Entertainer crews a Vehicle, that Vehicle gains lifelink until end of turn.
She makes any trip a first-class experience.
2/2
Disguised Dracologist 2W
Creature — Pony Scout
Protection from Dragons (This creature can’t be blocked, targeted, or dealt damage by anything that’s a Dragon.)
Whenever a Dragon enters the battlefield or attacks, you gain 2 life.
Remove the cause for fear and dragons become a source of wonder.
2/3
Military Response 3W
Instant
Create X 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens, where X is the amount of life you lost this turn.
Celestia was happy to go along with Pinkie’s ponynapping. The Royal Guard proved less open-minded.
Maddening Repetition U
Sorcery
Target player mills X cards, where X is two plus the number of cards in your graveyard named Maddening Repetition.
A deck can have any number of cards named Maddening Repetition.
“They say we’re young and we don’t know…”
Fold 1UU
Instant
Tap up to X target nonland permanents, where X is the number of Islands you control. Those permanents don’t untap during their controllers’ next untap steps.
It isn’t a physical crease, but a metaphysical one.
Aggressive Invitation 2U
Instant
Kicker 1UU (You may pay an additional 1UU as you cast this spell.)
Counter target creature spell. If this spell was kicked, gain control of that spell instead. (The creature enters the battlefield under your control.)
You don’t say no to a Pinkie party.
Royal Abductor 3U
Creature — Pony Rogue
When Royal Abductor enters the battlefield, return target creature to its owner’s hand. If the monarch controls that creature, you may put it on top of its owner’s library instead.
“I’m just an amateur. You should see the dragon-turtle.”
3/2
Timelike Curve 2UUU
Instant
Return all other spells to their owners’ hands. End the turn. (Exile this card and all abilities from the stack. The player whose turn it is discards down to their maximum hand size. Damage wears off, and "this turn" and "until end of turn" effects end.)
Cloud of Horseflies 1BB
Creature — Insect
Flying
Horses, Ponies, and Unicorns can block Cloud of Horseflies as though they had reach.
A bloodthirsty, sky-darkening sign of doom… unless you have a rear-mounted flyswatter.
3/1
Midnight Infiltration 2B
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Creatures you control gain menace until end of turn.
• Creatures you control gain skulk until end of turn. (They can’t be blocked by creatures with greater power.)
Entwine 1B (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)
Prowling Omen 2B
Creature — Cat
When Prowling Omen dies, target player sacrifices a creature.
It won’t be the last thing that crosses your path.
2/1
Obsidian-Clan Shinobi 3B
Creature — Pony Ninja
Ninjutsu BB (BB, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand; put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking.)
Whenever Obsidian-Clan Shinobi deals combat damage to a player, that player sacrifices a creature or enchantment.
2/2
Ancient Wrath 1R
Instant
Ancient Wrath deals damage to target creature or planeswalker equal to the number of artifact cards in your graveyard.
Some curses are slow, insidious things that gradually and irrevocably ruin the defiler’s life. Some just go straight to exploding blood.
Spindle 2RR
Sorcery
All creatures get +1/-1 until end of turn for each Mountain you control.
Screams of agony and ecstasy blend until the listener’s ears reach their elbows.
Reckless Pyrotechnicians 3R
Creature — Unicorn Shaman
At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card at random. If you do, draw a card and Reckless Pyrotechnicians deals damage equal to the discarded card’s converted mana cost to each player.
“Pretty colors…”
3/2
Crop Gobbler 2G
Creature — Pony
Tribute 2 (As this creature enters the battlefield, an opponent of your choice may put two +1/+1 counters on it.)
When Crop Gobbler enters the battlefield, if tribute wasn’t paid, search your library for two basic land cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle your library.
2/2
Home Run, Trusty Companion 4
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each experience counter you have.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
Equip 2
Twilight, Time-Snared UB
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Wizard
When Twilight, Time-Snared enters the battlefield, scry X, where X is the number of experience counters you have.
When Twilight dies, you get an experience counter
You may cast Twilight from your graveyard.
1/1
Field Experimentation 1GU
Sorcery
Draw two cards. You may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
“Every day is a fine day for science with the right attitude. And magic.”
—Ditzy Doo
You make an obsidian-clan shinobi? Really? You didn't think to make a reference to the kurohagi, or Black Calves? Because, yes, that's an actual thing. The misunderstandings resulting from the name alone would be hilarious.
"Till" is not an abbreviation of "until." It's actually an older word with the same meaning.
If another player activates the ability on Mercy Plea, who is the "you" referring to, the enchantment's controller or the activating player?
Is "I Got You, Babe" that overplayed?
Is that a reference to "Your Alicorn Is In Another Castle," or just a generic Bowser joke?
Can Pegasi without flying not block the horseflies?
I've not read the manga, so maybe it helps clarify, but I'm confused by Spindle.
Home Run is a nice reference, and it's interesting to have a card that cares about experience counters but doesn't create them from scratch. Obviously pairs well with Twilight, Time Snared, which is only appropriate.
5314745
The shinobi in question is Pinkie, so the clan name had to find an intersection between ninjas and rock farming. (After all, weaponizing your crops is arguably even more ninja than weaponizing your farming implements.)
Also, I didn't actually know about the kurohagi, so there's that.
I can't decide if their Equestrian counterparts should be ponies, actual cows, or minotaurs.
5314758
Oh, that explains things. It still bothers me, but not as much. And I reserve the right to keep using "'til."
The activating player. They control the ability, which is what matters for the purposes of determining the antecedent for it.
It certainly is in Groundhog Day.
Yes.
Whippoorwill Syndrome is a terrible thing. Especially if you're Scootaloo.
Fold and Spindle are both inspired by Pinkie spending several dozen loops wrecking a fragile Mesoponytamian artifact. Both are mechanically inspired by Mutilate, because punch cards.
5314804
It is a pretty obscure reference, I apologise. Guess recent events have made me act out in a know-it-all fashion rather than... well, any other fashion, I suppose. I'm gonna go see if I can't find the book I got it from. It was interesting, and also explained... I think it was the Boxer rebellion? Apparently it came about after three plagues in the Chinese countryside: floods, famine, and Germans. Always got a chuckle out of me
I could see the same repeated in Diamond Dog society, especially that last plague, if you catch my drift.
Edit: yup, it was the boxer rebellion, and the book mentions it is claimed that it started in the Shantung province because it had been hit by the three aforementioned disasters at once. It also mentions some of the secret societies of China, most powerful of which was the White Lotus. Name rings a bell...
Anyway, ninjas! Some do have cool ponifyable names. Koga (yes, like the Pokémon Gym leader) and Iga were the most famous and powerful. The Nagano area had the 'crystal waves,' Tochigi had the 'disheveled waves,' and Sendai had the 'black calves.' That's both from Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts. Bit hard to plough through, but interesting as a reference
5314804
Thanks.
Groundhog Day. Of course.
In my defense, it's been something like seventeen years since I saw it.
I thought Spindle might be a punch card joke, since it didn't seem to refer to anything to do with spinning, and nobody uses it as a verb any more except in that context, but I wasn't sure.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Gaining life does not actually negate losing life, so you can have more life than you started the turn with and still be in the clear to get a massive Military Response. Especially given that you're in white.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Ninjitsu can only even be activated after blockers have been declared, and no you don't get to change your mind afterwards so that ninja almost certainly going to be getting that combat damage trigger (and the "almost" is because they can still respond by killing it and/or you by the end of the first strike damage step). Given that the flavor of the Ninjitsu ability is supposed that the ninja was wearing a whatever-you-returned-to-hand-with-it disguise until they made it past the guards, this is entirely on-point.
Inside Baseball Alert: LEGENDNAME is a reference to the linked-in-the-blog-itself fandom classic Hard Reset rather than anything in the manga, and someone already pointed out the obvious reference to someone too well-known to justify calling it inside baseball. (Yo Dawg, I Heard You Like Inside Baseball Alerts Alert: "LEGENDNAME" is how the editing software lets you use just the pre-comma, actual name portion of CARDNAME for legendary stuff, and the alert applies equally to both legendary cards in this batch.)
5314758
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Twilight, Time-Snared's lack of haste or evasion and need to die in order to receive experience counters means that there are probably better users for Home Run, but this is actually appropriate given that she's the wrong type of insane to be engaging in sports and/or wanton violence (aka sports; I'm Canadian so the existence of hockey lets me get away with that joke).
Oh, and I sort of alluded to this last time, but with Derpy being Doctor-adjacent added to this being a manga, I suspect Dinky just needed more time to do her homework. (The closest thing to normal people in Equestria still have bull**** magical powers so it actually does make sense to conflate the two leads)
Oh man, "3:14 PM" was such a good story. So sad that it's apparently on permanent hiatus. At least it's not cancelled so there's a sliver of hope it could come back, but only a sliver?
Three weeks til more manga? Pony Life in the interim?
Yay, this is such fun. I loved moments like "I sure am lucky you don't remember these experiments. I'd have stopped me ages ago." I was sort of hoping to see a card from the amazing way Pinkie found the most ridiculous places to spy from, such as inside a pillow on the pillows stand or in the water barrel. I guess presumably Disguised Dracologist is from that scene.