Friendship is Card Games: My Little Pony: The Manga, Ch. 2-5 & 2-6 · 11:52am Aug 9th, 2020
When we last left the manga, Pinkie had tried just about everything to break out of a time loop, up to and including abducting Princess Celestia. Time to see what she hasn’t tried yet.
Chapter 2-5
Ah. Pinkie isn’t sure what’s left either. Though she’s still able to provide metahumor even in her lowest moments.
There’s something strangely hilarious about Pinkie being so depressed that her friends don’t recognize her even when sitting right next to her. Also, I honestly appreciate that the manga didn’t go for the flat mane effect. It’s far too easy to fall back on that.
Oof. Even the Mane Six’s discussion on how to handle Pinkie’s depression has been repeated ad nauseam.
If one of Twilight’s ideas was winding clocks backwards, then I’m going to assume that she wanted the beavers to dam the timestream.
“The Discord is in the details” feels wrong on multiple levels. For one, he was part of Celestia’s campaign to let her old enemies fade into obscurity, so living on in proverbs… Well, I suppose it might work given Nightmare Night. Indeed, that actually addresses my other issue with it: “the Discord” just sounds wrong. But if ponies remember it as lowercase d discord, then it would make much more sense.
Also, Discord just doesn’t work well as a devil figure. Oh, he tries to act as one, but he’s not very good at it. He’s always been more a chaotic evil-to-neutral outsider than a lawful evil one.
And we find a discrepancy. Indeed, in every instance of the apple cart crash after the first, the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. That, of course, leads into the question of why.
“Applejack! Do you know what this means!?”
’N-no…?”
“NEITHER DO I!”
I do love good Pinkie dialogue.
Ah, the colander. Always a valuable scientific tool, especially when covered in curling wires.
Heh. Leave it to Best Pony to point out that you can be in two places at once, as long as the other you is from another universe. Also, unexpected continuity with the very first chapter of the manga.
Forgetting meeting a version of yourself who fulfilled your wildest dreams… There’s absent-minded, and then there’s a mind who never showed up to work to begin with.
Also, Derpy with a time machine. I’m okay with this. Especially her hiding it under a tarp and no one noticing… though, relatively speaking, it’s only been there for a day or so.
I’d think Pinkie could crack the pastry technology given enough loops, but she’s already had enough loops.
Hmm. “Extra-equestrial” does imply that the planet is named Equestria. Or, at least, ponies think it is. That’s always ambiguous.
Also, callback to Star Dancer. Was not expecting this much continuity when the first volume was so episodic.
Time flowing normally in Star Dancer’s house raises some fascinating questions I hadn’t considered until now. How far does the loop effect reach? We know it goes out to Canterlot, and indeed as far as the railways can take Pinkie in a single day. Does it cover the whole planet? If not, this could lead to some truly bizarre experiences for those outside of the area of effect.
Of course Pinkie found a way to slip into subspace. Let your assistant wander around, Doctor. I’m sure she’ll trip through the portal given half a chance.
Chapter 2-6
Ooh, lovely use of the medium to communicate spatial anomalies.
And temporal anomalies! Reminds me of an old Ren & Stimpy CYOA comic where you could read the same page while following different timelines and have the context shift drastically.
You know, looking back, that comic probably had a massive influence on my tastes in fiction and my own storytelling.
Silly Star Dancer. Everyone knows it’s the neutron flow you have to worry about.
“PAMMO” does do a good job of describing a Pinkie pounce.
Heh. And another callback with Pinkie through the looking-glass and what she found there. (Though it’s entirely possible that magic mirrors make use of subspace technology to bridge the gap between universes.)
Whoops. Star Dancer’s cover story worked for so long, she fell back on it out of habit.
I appreciate how Star Dancer can intuitively distinguish between different iterations of the Doctor.
Ooh, cross-franchise crossover with the Cybertronian Fluttershy. Especially appropriate given how the first issue of the MLP/Transformers crossover’s out. And looks amazing.
And then we have Star Dancer’s master. No, not the Master, but Professor What, self-proclaimed archnemesis of Doctor Whooves. All we is Mister I-Don’t-Know and we’ll be a shortstop away from an infield.
The fact that this is all started with a science fair is downright amazing.
I do love Best Pony casually pointing out the errors of beings with magical and technological capacity far beyond the ken of mere mortals. Except her.
Ooh, good move on the Professor’s part in deflecting the point-blank peeved Pinkie Pie.
Sadly, I’m going to have to end it here. We’ll have thrilling conclusion at the end of the month. For now, time for time!
Automatize 1W
Instant
Kicker — Tap an untapped Pilot you control. (You may tap an untapped Pilot you control in addition to any other costs as you cast this spell.)
Until end of turn, target creature gets +2/+2 and becomes an artifact in addition to its other types. If this spell was kicked, that creature gains first strike and lifelink until end of turn.
Eternal Festival 4WW
Sorcery
You gain X life, where X is half your life total rounded up. Exile Eternal Festival with three time counters on it.
Suspend 3—2W (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay 2W and exile it with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, cast it without paying its mana cost.)
Missing Punchline U
Instant
Change the text of target instant or sorcery spell by removing a sentence of your choice from it. (Keyword abilities aren’t sentences.)
“Why did the chicken cross the road?”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Low Profile 1U
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant permanent you control
Enchanted permanent has hexproof.
Whenever enchanted permanent attacks or blocks or an ability of it is activated, sacrifice Low Profile.
A little canvas goes a long way.
Ouroboros Equation 1U
Enchantment
1U, Put Ouroboros Equation on top of its owner’s library: Return target creature to its owner’s hand.
Every day, the world reverted to how it was twenty-four hours earlier. Only Pinkie noticed… or so she thought.
Subspace Pocket 2U
Enchantment
1U: Target creature you control phases out. (Treat it and anything attached to it as though it doesn't exist. It phases in before you untap during your next untap step.)
When a chronoagent says “Get away from it all,” they mean it.
Ponyville Tinkerer 2UU
Creature — Pony Artificer Rigger
When Ponyville Tinkerer enters the battlefield, you get E (an energy counter) for each artifact you control.
T, Pay EEE: Ponyville Tinkerer assembles a Contraption.
Sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from nonsense.
2/4
Temporal Stutter 4UU
Instant
You may cast this spell without paying its mana cost during extra turns, phases, and steps.
End the turn. (Exile all spells and abilities from the stack, including this card. 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.)
Flawless Reenactment XU
Instant
You may cast target instant or sorcery card with converted mana cost X or less from a graveyard without paying its mana cost.
“And then you all look at me in shock and horror.”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Repolarize B
Instant
Choose one —
• Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn for each +1/+1 counter on it.
• Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn for each -1/-1 counter on it.
Deep in the Doldrums 3B
Sorcery
Target player discards two cards. If that player discarded fewer than two cards this way, they sacrifice creatures equal to the difference.
Even Pinkie can give up hope after enough disappointment.
What’s Science Fair Project 3R
Creature — Mutant
Trample
Vanishing 3 (This creature enters the battlefield with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)
What’s Science Fair Project gets -2/-2 for each time counter on it.
9/9
Causality Colony 2G
Creature — Elemental Beaver
Flash
If an opponent would begin an extra turn, that player skips that turn instead.
They resent anything else that meddles with the flow of time.
2/3
Rescue Hauler 3G
Creature — Pony Citizen
When Rescue Hauler enters the battlefield, return target permanent card from your graveyard to your hand.
“Found her passed out by Bonbon’s Bonbons. Third time this week.”
3/2
Flux Capacitor 2
Artifact
Whenever a time counter is removed from a suspended card you own or a permanent with vanishing you control, put a time counter on Flux Capacitor.
T, Remove eight time counters from Flux Capacitor: Take an extra turn after this one.
“You’re going to see some serious horse apples.”
Repurposed Colander
Artifact — Contraption
Whenever you crank Repurposed Colander, you get EE (two energy counters).
Chaos Devil UBR
Creature — Devil
Spells cost 2 less to cast.
At the beginning of each player’s draw step, that player draw two additional cards.
At the beginning of each player’s end step, that player discards their hand.
3/3
Temporal Seal 1(wu)(wu)
Enchantment
When Temporal Seal enters the battlefield, target creature an opponent controls phases out until Temporal Seal leaves the battlefield.
Spatial Anomaly 2RG
Sorcery
Kicker RG
For each land you control, create a token that’s a copy of that land. Untap those tokens. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step. Lands entering the battlefield this way don’t cause abilities to trigger unless this spell was kicked.
Professor What 3UB
Legendary Creature — Pony Scientist
Flash
When Professor What enters the battlefield, if you cast it from your hand or the command zone, take an extra turn after this one.
0: Return Professor What to its owner’s hand. You skip your next turn. Activate this ability only once each turn.
3/3
Quintesson Judgement 4WB
Sorcery
Target opponent sacrifices any number of creatures. Then create a 3/3 colorless Construct artifact creature token for each creature that player controls.
“The Sharkticons devour guilt and innocence alike.”
—Deliberata, Quintesson judge
Extratemporal Hideout
Land
T: Add C.
T: Add U. Activate this ability only if you control a Swamp.
T: Add B. Activate this ability only if you control an Island.
Hidden when you’ll never look.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Missing Punchline is generally better off removing the setup; nothing will happen to "that creature's controller" if no creature was targeted, for example.
Inside Baseball Alert: As Chaos Devil draws attention to, MtG and D&D have directly opposite opinions on what is a demon and what is a devil. FoME, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to whap you with a rolled-up newspaper for forgetting this in the recap.
Dude, as soon as Totally not The Master was introduced, this Volume went from "this is pretty good" to "holy crap this is the best thing ever". Granted, I'm a big Doctor Who fan, so it resonated with me, and the fact that this an official piece of My Little Pony media is mind-blowing to me.
5332303
Still, the card is a Johnny's dream, super cool. My first thought was Chance for Glory.
Should you really be reviewing material that you've clearly written?
5332338
Silver-border has a lot of design space for stuff like that, where not having to worry about Eli stabbing you in the kidneys over the work you've made him do allows shenanigans on an even greater scale than before.
Discord doesn't really adhere to the chart. He's more "Blue and Orange".
Also Transformers crossover WHAT
And a Doctor Who crossover that isn't absolute c r i n g e???i might have to read this one...
"If not, this could lead to some truly bizarre experiences for those outside of the area of effect."
...Now I'm imagining a Moonlight-Palaver-style international reaction. :D
"All we is Mister I-Don’t-Know and we’ll be a shortstop away from an infield."
Hah! :D
(Though I assume there's a "need" missing in there.)
Typo on Deep in the Doldrums - "sacrifices" ought to be "sacrifice."
Really love the flavor on Temporal Stutter.
Whoa whoa whoa, that was a reference to a real thing? I thought it was just a silly Hasbro in-joke. I need to get this!
I'm amused by the kicker on Spatial Anomaly... It won't do anything unless cards that care about it are around, but there's plenty of cards like Field of the Dead, Valakut, or Akoum Hellkite that'd make it worth paying that kicker.
5332303
Re: Chaos Devil: The thing is, Discord isn't easily categorized as either in either system. He bounces back and forth between sinister plots and doing it all for the lulz, and even at his worst, he's not as mindlessly destructive as D&D demons or MtG devils. (Pathfinder proteans seem to fit him best, appropriate given that they're an entire race of chaos noodles.)
5332348
I reserve the right to dip into my own work if need be. Especially when someone else's name is on the writing credit.
5332564
And the corvids just look on in bemusement at the bloody cuddies...
5334852
To be clear, there don't appear to be any plans for Fluttershy to turn into a robot who can turn into a car in the MLP/TF crossover (Though given her history with transformation, I wouldn't put it past her.) But yes, Friendship in Disguise is very much a thing.
And yeah, between Field of the Dead and Zendikar 3: Zend Kard with a Vengeance coming in September, I was all too aware of Spatial Anomaly's potential landfall shenanigans. The funny thing is that there are a few reasons why you wouldn't want to kick the spell.
5334882
Heh. :)
...Carabas would probably write a short scene in the comments in response to that; unfortunately, as I'm not them, nought's coming to me at the moment for it. :D
5334882
So, Grazz't, then? (For those unaware, Grazz't is a demon who can and does scheme with the best of them, and is the only demon to be lord of multiple layers of the Abyss. Orcus is worth a mention too for at least having plans, even though it was mostly left up to your DM how he was working towards them.)
5334882
I bought the first issue of Friendship in Disguise. It is a wonderful concept. Mostly done fairly straight, though the very first speech bubble is a magnificent lampshading of the concept. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you FICG out of it!