Friendship is Card Games: Pony Life, Season 2, Week 5 · 11:28am Jul 18th, 2021

Well, the AFR prerelease could have gone better, but I’m going to view it as a learning experience. And I got to turn Orcus into a paperweight and have Drizzt punch a dragon, so I can’t complain too much. In any case, it’s back to Pony Life to see what other madness unfolds now that Twilight’s established a permanent planar portal in Sugarcube Corner’s broom closet.

What Goes Updo

I’m not sure what’s worse about that title card, the hyperelongated, semi-realistic horse limbs or Pinkie staring at us from the bottom of the Uncanny Valley.

Crystal Empire Carnival. That’s something to take note of. It at least implies that the Empire exists in this world, which gives further support for other familiar parts of the geography. (Or it’s just branding.)

Twilight trying to calculate her way to success in carnival games. Oh dear. I’ve seen this one before. Is it too much to ask that Sunset show up and try to help her?

Ah, speaking of ponies we haven’t seen yet in Pony Life, there’s Cadence! Who raises questions about both the role of alicorns in this world and the continued absence of Luna outside of stained glass.

… Had to have a mare with a horn work scissors with her hooves, didn’t you? Heck, they don’t even show any part of her body when actually operating the things.

So… has this Cadence not met these mares before? Including not being Twilight’s foalsitter?

Evidently not if they’re impressed by her manestyle of all things.

This Cadence is apparently an accomplished, if slow stylist. Though I will say that that is a good look for the main cast. Kind of hilarious that Twilight ended up with her human analogue’s usual ponytail with a bit more ornamentation.
Also, has Rarity still not shown up yet?

Nope, seems rehearsal ran long. Understandable.

Rarity complaining about her usual manestyle feels wrong. Though I do appreciate the “albeit amazing” aside.

So not only does Cadence have Rarity’s number, Rarity has Cadence in her contacts. I’m getting mixed messages here on Lovebutt’s history with these mares.

I have to love Rarity’s look of absolute dread as Applejack proposes the others become her personal stylists. She and I both know this will not end well. And that’s before Applejack broke out that wad of hay.

Wow. It’s so bad, it triggered Rarity’s anti-dragon defense mechanism.

AJ’s plan isn’t bad, but I hope they didn’t spend too much on that mane styling before ruining it.

I have to appreciate how the haunted house ride is just a giant possessed Fluttershy. Even the show acknowledge it’s been using a weirdly dark twist on her.
Also, we can apparently see Rarity’s house from here. I don’t expect her to have been rehearsing from home, but it’s still an odd detail when the plot hinges on her being late.

Twice in one episode? I hope spewing out that many minerals doesn’t do anything bad to Rarity’s bones.

It’s funny. This Cadence feels like early FiM Celestia, an awe-inspiring, wise, mother figure who guides the Mane Six and delights in their growth and togetherness. Just with more selfies.

(Also, remember that portal I mentioned? Apparently that was the end of that plot line and we’re moving on now without further exploration of the implications. To say nothing of the eldritch being from outside reality spawning havoc-wreaking artifacts. I’d say that never stopped being a thing ,but maybe it has.)

Communication Shakedown

I appreciate the alliterative snack booth. Cookies, cotton candy, and carrots. Practically the major food groups of this Equestria.

I’m not sure what feels strangest, Pinkie fleeing from a haunted house, Fluttershy running out of one modeled after her, or Rarity being the one coming out of it with a smile on her face.

“I need total strangers to know how strong I am.”
Well, that certainly feels in character.

Ah. Seems Twilight wants her fortune told. Still trying to crack divination.

You’re seriously telling me these six didn’t have a group text set up before now? Also, shades of “Perfect Day for Fun.” At least they don’t need to coordinate their schedules for a concert tonight.

Wasn’t expecting an entire lake dedicated to apple bobbing. Applejack probably expected nothing less.

First off, that’s not so much bobbing as grappling apples. Secondly, finding the apple larger than you floating on the surface of the lake doesn’t seem like it calls for fancy mathematics. Thirdly, the guy operating the bobbing stand doesn’t even have blue eyes. Come on guys, if you’re going to alliterate, make the animation work with it.

What did you think your prize was going to be, AJ?

Rarity, adding actual butterfly wings is hardly a fair comparison.

I see we’re trying to work in more mild-mannered Fluttershy. May be too little, too late, guys. Also, nice use of Buttershy.

A Discord plushie as a prize for a hammer-based game. This really does feel like they took inspiration from the EqG short. And I’m honestly okay with that.

“If she wanted us to meet up sooner, she should’ve said something!”
That’s… that’s why she’s saying something now, Applejack.

Ah. The great peril of text-based communication; lack of tonal context. This is why emojis are helpful. Or complete sentences, but Pinkie tried that and we saw what happened.

Sorry, but the sulking, instrumental interlude feels hollow when it’s all a misunderstanding over a group text. And the moral feels hollow over all. A bit too “Put the phone down, damn kids.” So, you know, pulling inspiration from “Rollercoaster of Friendship.”

Lolly-Pop

Oh no. I recognize that voice.

Yup. The Flimflam brothers have successfully conned their way into existence. Though a carnival is certainly a fitting location for them.

Given that it’s the Flimflams selling them, I have to wonder how many allergens and/or heavy metals are in those makeup kits

Well. That’s a needlessly ominous moment from Fluttershy.

Okay, sure, but did Fluttershy dream of being a clown as a child yesterday?
Also, now I can’t help but think of “Magical Mystery Cure.” I don’t see this ending well.

Huh. Well. The juggling’s going well, at least.

Ah. I should’ve known coulrophobia would factor into this. Given the Flimflams, I was convinced there would be an issue with the product itself. Though they’re still managing to bother Applejack by proxy.

“I can’t wait to show you my moves!”
I mean, Captain Falcon is certainly a performer of sorts, but I wouldn’t call him a clown.

I do appreciate the ribbit sound as Applejack unearths herself. Good tie-in with Pinkie’s line.

‘You’ve got to become what you fear!”
“That sounds… insane.”
Okay, that got a genuine laugh out of me.

Heh. Pinkie still has her fourth-wall awareness. She just didn’t want to muscle in on AJ’s gimmick.

Okay, Applewise is a pretty neat visual. Nice touch with the tentacle. And the little frown before the reflection fades away.

And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of clowns, I will fear no nose, for my friends are with me.

“There isn’t always a clean solution” is one of the harder lessons for a kids’ show to teach… which makes me suspect this one will try to find one regardless.

I do appreciate a good Fastball Special. Also the Flimflams being very territorial about rhyming patter.

Yup, found a clean solution regardless. Still, I appreciate the sentiment.

Little Miss Fortune

Ooh, there’s a title card I can dig into. Each of the Mane Six other than Dash is one of the Major Arcana. Quotes are from the Wikipedia articles. Now, let’s see…
• Rarity is XIX, the Sun. “Happiness and contentment, vitality, self-confidence and success.” Definitely seems fitting for her, especilly considering all representations of her here, the other Equestria, and the human world.
• Pinkie is 0, The Fool. The protagonist of the story, untapped potential, “folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy.” All entirely appropriate, especially in Pony Life. (Feel free to make your own Persona reference.)
• Applejack is XI… which has a bit of a collation issue. Going by the scales, she’s meant to be Justice, which is only XI in the Rider-Waite deck. Otherwise, it’s Strength. Though Applejack honestly works for either, where it’s the former’s “Equity, rightness, probity” or the latter’s “power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity.” Given how Dash doesn’t get a card, it’s kind of appropriate that AJ gets one fitting for her as well.
• Twilight is I, The Magician, the meeting of the physical and spiritual. “Energy, potential, and the manifestation of one's desires.” Entirely fitting. (Yes, there are multiple cards that represent “energy.” Remember, this was all retroactively applied to a card game. Don’t take it too seriously. )
• There’s a star. Possibly the Arcanum, but there’s no XVII, so it’s not clear.
• Finally, Fluttershy is XIV, Temperance. “Economy, moderation, frugality, management, accommodation.” This Fluttershy isn’t the best representation of the concept, but Pony Life as a whole tends towards the intemperate. Her other counterparts certainly fit.

Okay, let’s see what the actual episode’s about.

Ah. And we’re going to tie up this storyline nice and neat.

“Can we do it all again?”
You may want to ask Starlight for that one, Pinkie.

Huh. Coin-op fortune machine with a maneki-neko in place of Zoltar. Curious design choice. Let’s just hope nopony other than Fluttershy wishes to be big.

“Your lucky number is… your lucky number!”
And the first rule of Tautology Club is the first rule of Tautology Club.

Pinkie’s laughing. She stole that crab’s spork and she’s laughing.

Applejack and Rarity didn’t even get fortunes, and Twilight’s was just descriptive. Relax, Dash. (Of course, if she did that, we wouldn’t have an episode.)

Yeah, expecting Rainbow Dash to understand figurative language may be asking a bit much.

O… kay. Ringmaster Shining Armor. That is a lot to unpack, given the implications. “Crystal Empire Carnival” really is just a name, apparently. And now I have to wonder if this Shining is even Twilight’s brother.

So… did they just not rehearse this trick beforehand? (Though 1+4 is indeed greater that √π.)

Seeing two Crusaders makes Scootaloo’s absence feel all the more palpable. This is her idol going out and embarrassing herself, after all.

… Wow. Wow. They really couldn’t book a manticore for this, huh?

Ah. There’s Scootaloo.

This is one of those rare cases where the five-minute format works in the episode’s favor. Any longer than this and it’d feel interminable. That doesn’t mean it was very good, and Shining Armor still raises questions, but it’s better than it would’ve been if stretched out any further.

A pleasant little arc. It’s always nice to see this series get out of Sugarcube Corner for a while. But the lack of continuity after a worlds-shaking development bothers me, and Shining and Cadence raise more questions than they answer. (Dare I ask where Flurry Heart might be in all of this?) In any case, let’s see what I can offer under the big top:

Butterfly Umbra 1W
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has flying and lifelink.
Totem armor (If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Aura.)

Valiant Ringmaster 2W
Creature — Unicorn Bard
Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
“Come one, come all! See feats of speed and skill unlike any on this world! You won’t believe your eyes!”
2/3

Geist Tender 2WW
Creature — Pegasus Cleric
Flying
Spirits you control have vigilance and ward 1. (Whenever a Spirit you control becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays 1.)
1W, Exile a creature card from your graveyard: Create a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying.
2/3

Invoke the Sun 3W
Instant
Return target permanent card with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
The light of redemption moves as quickly as any other.

Exemplar of Temperance 3WW
Creature — Pegasus Cleric
Flying, vigilance
When Exemplar of Temperance enters the battlefield, choose artifact, creature, enchantment, or planeswalker. Each player who controls more permanents of the chosen type than the player who controls the fewest sacrifices a number of them equal to the difference.
3/3

Mighty Justiciar 4W
Creature — Pony Cleric
When Mighty Justiciar enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control.
Forecast — 1W, Reveal Mighty Justiciar from your hand: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. (Activate only during your upkeep and only once each turn.)
3/3

Group Selfie XW
Sorcery
Support X. (Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to X target creatures.)
Each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it gains lifelink and vigilance until end of turn.
A treasured memory preserved in pixels.

Sideshow Barkers 2U
Creature — Unicorn Rogue
Each other Rogue you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
U, Remove a +1/+1 counter from a creature you control: That creature can’t be blocked this turn.
2/2

Twilit Scholar 4U
Creature — Unicorn Wizard
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost 1 less to cast for each Lesson card in your graveyard.
1U, Discard Twilit Scholar: Learn. (You may reveal a Lesson card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand, or discard a card to draw a card.)
3/3

Unbalanced Equation XUU
Instant
Creatures your opponents control get -X/-0 until end of turn. Create a 0/0 green and blue Fractal creature token, then put X +1/+1 counters on it.
Twilight suggested adding math to the stunts. Shining made it especially exciting.

Mindless Defoliator 2B
Creature — Zombie Pony
When Mindless Defoliator enters the battlefield, each player mills three cards.
Unearth 1B (1B: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield. Unearth only as a sorcery.)
3/1

Communication Breakdown 2BB
Sorcery
For each creature target player controls, that creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn unless that player discards a card.
One misunderstanding can cascade into town-wide misery.

Rumpled Mien 3B
Instant
Choose one —
• Up to two target creatures each get -3/-2 until end of turn.
• Target player sacrifices two enchantments.
“No, I meant my demeanor.”
—Rarity, Bearer of Generosity

Maneki-Neko 1R
Creature — Cat Spirit
If you roll a 1 on a die, you may treat it as that die’s highest natural result instead.
The beckoning cats welcome both visitors and opportunities.
2/1

Wisdom of Folly 1R
Sorcery
Discard your hand. At the beginning of the next upkeep, draw that many cards plus two.
“Any philosophy that doesn’t make you happy is inherently flawed.”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter

Test Your Might 2RR
Sorcery
Choose target creature you control, then roll a d20.
1-9 | It deals damage equal to its power to each other creature without flying.
10-19 | It deals that much damage to each creature you don’t control without flying.
20 | It deals that much damage to each opponent and to each creature and planeswalker they control.

Feral Hengstwolf 3R
Creature — Pegasus Werewolf
Flying
Whenever a player casts their second spell each turn, until end of turn, Feral Hengstwolf gets +2/+2, loses flying, gains trample, and isn’t a Pegasus.
Afflicted pegasi stay low to the ground as the full moon approaches.
3/2

Gembelly Unicorn 1G
Creature — Unicorn
Whenever Gembelly Unicorn is dealt damage, create that many Treasure tokens. (They’re artifacts with “T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.”)
Morph 1G (You may cast this spell face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
2/1

Applied Distraction 3G
Sorcery — Lesson
All creatures able to block target creature this turn do so.
Those who dismiss some places of learning as “clown colleges” sorely underestimate clowns’ rigorous training.

Line Cutter 3G
Creature — Pegasus Shaman
Reach
Creatures with power less than Line Cutter’s power can’t block it.
Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on Line Cutter.
3/3

Lucky Spork 2
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has “If you would roll one or more dice, instead roll that many dice plus one and ignore the lowest roll.”
Equip 1
Fortune favors the whimsical.

Prismatic Accelerator 3
Artifact
T: Add one mana of any color.
X, T, Sacrifice Prismatic Accelerator: Create an X/1 red Pegasus creature token with flying, haste, and trample. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
Contents under pressure to perform.

Hall of Mirrors 4
Artifact
Whenever a player casts a spell with a single target, reselect its target at random unless that player pays 2.
When hiding is impossible, the next best thing is an overwhelming amount of yourself.

Twisted Mockery 8
Creature — Eldrazi Reflection
Emerge 6U (You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature's mana value.)
You may have Twisted Mockery enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it’s an Eldrazi in addition to its other types and enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
0/0

Star Attraction 1BR
Creature — Rogue
Alicorn (This card is also a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Spectacle WUBRG (You may cast this spell for its spectacle cost rather than its mana cost if an opponent lost life this turn.)
Flying
If Star Attraction’s spectacle cost was paid, it enters the battlefield with a hexproof counter, a first strike counter, a trample counter, and two +1/+1 counters on it.
2/2

Savage Twinmane 3RW
Creature — Pegasus Manticore
Mutate 2(rw)(rw) (If you cast this spell for its mutate cost, put it over or under target non-Human creature you own. They mutate into the creature on top plus all abilities from under it.)
Flying
Whenever this creature mutates, it gains double strike until end of turn.
3/3

Bobbing Lake
Land
T: Add C.
T: Add G. Activate only if you control an Island.
T: Add U. Activate only if you control a Forest.
Every islet is a meal in its own right.

Report FanOfMostEverything · 473 views · #magic the gathering #mtg #friendship is card games #card blog #pony life #what goes updo #communication shakedown #lolly-pop #little miss fortune

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Herald of Opera

Herald of Opera #1 · Jul 18th, 2021 · 1 · ·

There’s a star. Possibly the Arcanum, but there’s no XVII, so it’s not clear.

Probably just the card back for that particular deck.

Polychromatic

Polychromatic #2 · Jul 18th, 2021 · 1 · ·

First, because I was made aware of it, this video is somewhat relevant to your interests:

Moving on then:

Also, remember that portal I mentioned? Apparently that was the end of that plot line and we’re moving on now without further exploration of the implications. To say nothing of the eldritch being from outside reality spawning havoc-wreaking artifacts.

~nervous whistling
But at least you might understand why I vibe with Pony Life as much as I do. If it makes you feel better though, those things will be eventually addressed again. But, somewhat of a spoiler here, the second season was cut short in production as far as I've heard and there's a bit of a very, very rushed and confusing moment towards the end. It feels like at least an episode got chopped away there, you'll probably know when you get to it.

The Flimflam brothers have successfully conned their way into existence

This is a wonderful sentence.

Heh. Pinkie still has her fourth-wall awareness. She just didn’t want to muscle in on AJ’s gimmick.

I told you. And yet more evidence that Pony Life has tighter continuity than FiM does (yes I will die on this hill).

Oh no. You actually went and analysed the title card yourself. I would have done so but now it would be redundant. I will say that I particularly appreciate how they went through the effort of finding cards relevant to the characters and actually drawing them. And as 5556652 pointed out, that fifth card is likely just flipped over. Specifically though, given the context and the colour (note how AJ's is orange, Fluttershy's yellow, Rarity's purple, etc.), that's Rainbow's card. Flipped over both because the actual Rainbow is already there and as a visual metaphor.