Friendship is Card Games: Holidays Unwrapped · 12:12pm Nov 3rd, 2019
Well, this is bittersweet. May well be the last time I ever watch Discovery Family. Pony’s pretty much the only reason I watch TV anymore. Or was, anyway.
But enough gloom. We have perhaps the last bit of televised G4 animation to cover, and cover it I shall. The “special,” such as it is, consists of six shorts, longer than a YouTube short but still only long enough to fit between two commercial breaks. I’ll discuss each in sequence. For the purposes of blame, note that all “episode titles” are my own creations
Snow Day Like the Present
Huh. Study sleepover. And a strangely late alarm. Why even set it for just half an hour before school?
Liquid vaporizes, solids sublimate.
Why are Twilight and Sunset even worried? I can only assume it’s concern for the others.
Twilight, you only have 20/20 vision with outside assistance.
And Dash references “Spring Breakdown” and “Sunset's Backstage Pass!” in the winter. Good lord, this really is a universe of eternal high school. The horror.
Heh. Celestia has tea, as per multiversal constants.
Interesting to see that Pinkie has to add sprinkles to a potato before she can detonate it. I suppose her powers don’t work with the more complex carbohydrates.
Okay, the fact that Sunset can read a snowflake’s mind raises so freaking many questions.
Should’ve brought in Trixie to optimize the misdirection.
The best plans are the ones where even failure is a form of success. I don’t belive Dash intended this for a second, but lucking into a workable alternative still works.
Soufflé Pie-vate Tryin’
Huh. Either Zecora and Zipporwhill exist in the human world or Pinkie’s reciting the friends she’s made in both worlds. (Pretty sure this one was born human, but you can never be sure.)
I’m pretty sure this is the opposite of how soufflés work. The baking’s the tricky part, which makes all that shouting around the oven kind of absurd.
Oh hey, the return of Pinkie’s crayon doodle imagination.
Sunset can put her arms down when they get to Rarity’s.
Poor Maud. Even she doesn’t appreciate the cold.
The snowball war is legitimately some of the more gruesome footage we’ve gotten out of G4. My only question is how the battle lines were drawn in front of Pinkie’s house without her knowledge or consent. I’m tempted to blame Limestone.
Fluttertrix? Not only can love bloom on the battlefield, it does so in such strange ways.
Ticklefruit 2: This time, it’s personal.
Poor Flash. He just wants to feel included and helpful.
Yeah, Rarity kind of invalidates snowball fights.
Dash, meanwhile, is apparently just fine with the cold. I guess when you already have blue skin, you’re immune to hypothermia.
Cider Kisses and Cultivar Schemes
I may be having too much fun with the short titles.
Even the Apples’ mailbox is shaped like a barn.
So… why are the Flimflams so fervent in trolling the Apples, and why haven’t the Apples called the cops? Police definitely exist in this universe.
The thought occurs that the Crusaders never got a redesign, unlike most other EqG characters, including Big Mac. Apple Bloom’s still in the same outfit she had in the first movie. Darn shame; that would be the perfect opportunity to work in their cutie marks.
Heh. Twilight’s enjoying the view as Mac digs. She’s only human.
So… why not just turn down the diamond?
Ugh, unicorns. Wheels within wheels within wheels to prove how clever they are when the rest of us just want a drink.
Wait, my ponysona’s a unicorn…
I stand by this statement
Granny Smith’s sheer glee brought to mind the first Bronycon script reading in this video. (Profanity and other NSFW content in link.)
This was… bizarre given the sheer number of things the Apples had to not notice.
Twilight’s Other Seven
Sunset has a storage locker she isn’t living out of. Didn’t expect that. Though I imagine she made much more use of it in the past.
Why even hand off the key?
Ha! Discord confirmed not the CHS janitor. Good to see.
Sunset confirmed chaotic good. It’s a victimless crime and for a good cause. Who cares if they’re technically trespassing?
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie is not concerned with such minor concerns as feasibility or the existence of key components of the heist.
Applejack doesn’t heist. She hoists. And I do wonder who else in the group has her superpowers burning a hole in her pocket.
Boring, but effective. Though I do have to wonder why Celestia’s even in her office on winter break. Couldn’t she do this at home? We know she has one.
I wonder if the girls were asked to hand out gifts as the town superheroes or just volunteered as the good people they are.
That poor green child just cannot catch a break, can he?
Brother, Can You Spare a Gift?
Love is in the air in the opening here.
Huh. Dash has her driver’s license. And has had a firstfoot encounter with the dangers of icy sidewalks when moving at ludicrous speed.
Cutie mark wrapping paper. Custom printed, do you think?
Ah, a gift swap. It’s the echo of “Best Gift Ever,” but this Dash doesn’t have the option of a winterchilla. Or the dubious help of the local spirit of chaos.
I’m honestly impressed that Zephyr’s held his job this long, regardless of how long that is. Though I do have to wonder what the Wi-Fi shoelaces actually do.
White knight fidget spinners. Yeah, I’m with Dash on that one.
Pony toys of some kind clearly exist in this world, raising further questions.
To his credit, Zephyr did eventually pick something that he knew Fluttershy would enjoy. Moreover, he actually got a good gift for her last year. I have to acknowledge he did right in that regard. (Until Fluttershy revealed the truth, I thought he broke the camera.)
So, to review the chain:
• Dash got Fluttershy a camera.
• Fluttershy got Applejack a golden hammer, to Sunset’s embarrassment.
• Applejack got Pinkie a tiny party cannon, which raises all kinds of questions.
• Pinkie got Sunset what seems to be Nutsy’s Fun-Time Scurry 2, to Fluttershy’s glee and Sunset’s trepidation.
• Sunset got Twilight a giant stuffed parakeet, to their mutual delight.
• Twilight got Rarity a Shadow Spade novel. From Equestria.
• And Rarity got Dash a new jersey of some kind.
Lovely stuff all around. Especially the parakeet. I will take this and run with it.
Cornucopiatrocity
More couples in this opening. I’m not saying we have Scratchtavia confirmation, but it’s always nice to see those two are friends. And Bulkderp… unexpected, but I can see it working. I still like pairing her with Flash.
Heh. Math puns. Continue corrupting her, Twilight. It is a joy to watch. Heck, I’d love to see her design more outfits for everyone. Especially if the two Twilights collaborated. Though that would probably call for a multi-Rarity intervention.
If you don’t know what it is, Rarity, look it up. You have all the world’s knowledge in the palm of your hand.
Or have Twilight look it up. That works too.
Ah, the drama club has an in-school costume room. This actually explains some of Rarity’s past antics.
Kind of bizarre for Dash to know a word that Rarity doesn’t. And it’s not like it even refers to anything in her wheelhouse.
I do love diegetic background music. Clearly, so does Pinkie.
Sunset having a podiatrist rather makes sense:
“Doctor, my hooves have these nubby tentacles coming out of them.”
“… Right, we’re going to start with the biggest problems in that sentence and work our way down.”
Why would Rarity inflate the dress there? Indeed, why wear the outfits on the walk to the auditorium? Just change backstage. Really, they have only themselves (and Rarity’s overzealous approach) to blame.
Still, credit to Pinkie for owning it and making it work.
And the closest thing we’re going to get to a human Rarijack confirmation.
I will say that it’s a bit unfortunate that they chose this short to end the collection, because we get quite the study in contrasts. Two series, unalike in dignity…
In any case, some enjoyable silly fun. By no means a satisfactory conclusion to the subseries, but I’m always happy with more. Plus, there was that script reading at Bronycon ’19 with former Princess Celestia trying to make high school last forever (or at least another three semesters) with mandatory friendship studies, only for Sunset to teach her that all things must end and, while we may move on, we’ll keep the lessons and experiences with us for the rest of our lives.
So yeah, I got some degree of closure.
Now, time for your gifts:
Teaspoon of Vanilla W
Instant
Create a Food token. (It’s a colorless artifact with “2, T, Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.”)
Draw a card.
“It’s amazing how many baked goods are better with some. I even have a song about it!”
—Pinkie Pie
Bundle Up 1W
Instant
Target creature gets +2/+2 and gains protection from snow until end of turn. (It can’t be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, enchanted, or equipped by anything snow.)
Enough padding and you crush your foes by falling on them.
Licorice Lasso 1W
Artifact — Food Equipment
Whenever equipped creature attacks, tap target creature defending player controls.
2, T, Sacrifice Licorice Lasso: You gain 3 life.
Equip 2
Never tell Pinkie Pie something is too silly to exist.
Cold Comfort 2W
Snow Enchantment
Whenever a snow creature you control dies, you gain life equal to its toughness.
The bodies lay strewn about the Pies’ front yard like toppled snowmen, strangely beautiful in their desolation.
Flurrycaller U
Snow Creature — Human Wizard
T: Target nonsnow permanent becomes snow until end of turn.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you get comfortable.”
1/1
Distraction Strix 1U
Creature — Bird
Flash
Flying
When Distraction Strix enters the battlefield, target creature gets -3/-0 until end of turn.
It’s hard to focus on bigger problems when an owl’s trying to bite your nose off.
1/1
System Disruption 1U
Instant
Tap target creature. It doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Jump-start (You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a card in addition to paying its other costs. Then exile this card.)
Icepecker 2U
Snow Creature — Bird
Flying
When Icepecker enters the battlefield, target opponent puts the top X cards of their library into their graveyard, where X is the number of snow permanents you control.
Frigid ecosystems call for novel adaptations.
2/1
Reproducible Results 2U
Sorcery
Return target exiled card with jump-start you own to your hand.
“The heart of science is that doing the same thing will yield the same outcome. I’m still trying to get magic to respect that.”
—Twilight Sparkle
Shadow Spade 2UU
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Rogue
Whenever Shadow Spade attacks or blocks, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with “2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.”)
1U, Sacrifice a Clue: Shadow Spade can’t be blocked this turn.
1U, Sacrifice three Clues: Scry 3, then draw three cards.
3/2
Counterscheme UUUUU
Instant
This spell costs U less to cast for each other spell on the stack.
Counter any number of target spells.
“But I knew you knew I knew she knew they knew you knew…’
Cryomancer Couple 5U
Creature — Human Wizard
Assist (Another player can pay up to 5 of this spell’s cost.)
When Cryomancer Couple enters the battlefield, tap up to two target creatures. They don’t untap during their controllers’ next untap steps.
3/3
Jinxed Worm 1B
Creature — Worm
Whenever Jinxed Worm deals damage, you lose that much life.
3: Target opponent gains control of Jinxed Worm. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Beware grifters bearing gifts.
3/1
Soufflé Crafter 1B
Creature — Human Citizen
When Soufflé Crafter enters the battlefield, create a Food token.
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Soufflé Crafter unless you sacrifice a Food.
Her ego is as delicate as her cargo.
4/4
Horrors of War 3B
Sorcery
Target player discards two cards.
Raid — That player exiles two cards from their hand instead if you attacked with a creature this turn.
Fluttershy still flinches at the sound of slush.
Two-Man Job 5BB
Sorcery
Assist
Exile the top two cards of each opponent’s library. Your team may play those cards for as long as they remain exiled and may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast those cards.
Avalanche Hurler 3R
Snow Creature — Human Warrior
2S, T: Target snow creature you control fights target creature you don’t control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other. S can be paid with one mana from a snow source.)
The war soon escalated beyond mere balls.
3/2
Last-Minute Shopping 4R
Sorcery
Shuffle your library, then exile cards from the top of it until you exile a nonland card. Cast that card without paying its mana cost if able.
Retrace (You may cast this spell from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)
Snowball Warrior 1G
Snow Creature — Human Warrior
Whenever you cast a snow spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Snowball Warrior.
“The world is my ammunition.”
2/1
Forthright Forcemage 2G
Creature — Human Shaman
Trample
Adamant — If at least three green mana was spent to cast this spell, Forthright Forcemage enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
“I cast fist.”
3/2
Harvest Dryads 2G
Creature — Dryad Nymph
T: Add one mana of any color.
Whenever an enchantment enters the battlefield under your control, untap Harvest Dryads.
They bestow blessings on any who don’t laugh at their autumnal colors.
2/2
Rain of Potatoes 2G
Instant
Destroy target artifact, enchantment, or land. Its controller may search their library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle their library.
The clouds have eyes.
Scavenging Raccoon 2G
Creature — Raccoon
At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on Scavenging Raccoon unless that player exiles two cards from their graveyard.
“Don’t leave him hungry. You won’t like him when he’s hungry.”
—Fluttershy
2/2
Apple Family Ancestors 2GG
Creature — Spirit
Morbid — As long as a creature died this turn, Apple Family Ancestors has trample and indestructible.
“I know my family’s always with me. But with all this magic, sometimes I think they’ve gotten a little closer.”
—Applejack
4/4
Grateful Orchard 3G
Creature — Treefolk Druid
Kinship — At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it shares a creature type with Grateful Orchard, you may reveal it. If you do, add GG. Until end of turn, you don’t lose this mana as steps and phases end.
3/4
Holiday Harvest 3G
Snow Sorcery
Lands you control become snow until end of turn. Untap them.
Every fruit has its season. Some have winter.
Urbanizer Visor 2
Artifact
T: Target land becomes a copy of another target nonlegendary land until end of turn.
Trend of the Line specializes in products so cutting-edge that no one knows what to use them for.
Golden Hammer 3
Artifact – Equipment
Equipped creature gets +3/+0.
Whenever equipped creature deals damage to a creature, create a Treasure token. (It’s an artifact with “T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.”)
Equip 2
Sunset’s Devotee RW
Creature — Human Soldier
At the beginning of combat on your turn, another target creature you control gains mentor until end of turn. (Whenever it attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature with lesser power.)
He just wants to prove himself, however he can.
2/1
Curse of the Laughingstock 2RW
Enchantment — Aura Curse
Enchant player
If a source would deal damage to enchanted player, it deals that much damage plus 1 instead.
If a source enchanted player controls would deal damage to a player or permanent, prevent 1 of that damage.
The Snowmind 4GU
Legendary Snow Creature — Elemental
Flying, trample
The Snowmind’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of snow permanents you control.
Whenever a snow creature you control deals combat damage to a player, create a snow 1/1 green and blue Elemental creature token with flying.
*/*
Glad you got some closure out of the fan script. I had a blast working on it, however modest my contribution.
Those were a significant step up from the usual web shorts. Still sad that we don't get a proper ending special. But I enjoyed these quite a lot. Especially the war movie and the raccoon fight.
I feel like this was more fuel for the "this is all a simulation" theory.
Who said they were bright? :B
Oh, the Shadow Spade book is from The End in Friend? No wonder I don't remember seeing it before.
This opening really tested my love of FlashDerp. I mean, really made me realize how much I like them as a ship. And yet, I can't hate this, not even a little. I just want Derpy to have nice things, by which I mean a cool boyfriend.
Which part? I had kind of zoned out by the end, this special was just so bad. D:
*is a Johnny card that will either do nothing of note or repeatedly summon Cthulhu*
This is technically my "stupid complicated game" award, but it was also basically a freebie on your part in that regard. >_>;
You forgot to mention Cakelestia. Also, Twilight's agreeing to help with the scheme seems rather OOC for her.
Yeah, the Apple short feels like it was made while high. The thing I also wanna raise is that, no, the Apples and the Brothers are not rivals in this universe, the Rainbow Rocks short where AJ gets her guitar back from them was clearly the first time they had met.
For the last short I'm just like "can't you just take the costumes with you and change at the auditorium?"
Anyway, just gonna leave these here :)
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It kind of surprised me that it was Applejack who was shouting about wanting to use their powers. It's more something Rainbow Dash would do, although her powers would not be much use in this specific case.
5149985
I consider it the canon end of Equestria Girls. Aside from Principal Celestia's voice.
5149990
That or this is one of those "Magic once was and will be again" modern fantasy worlds.
Can't argue with that.
As for the Rarijack, AJ said "We love you, Rarity," and that's just a pronoun shift away from the jackpot.
5149994
Remember, the Visor can't copy legendary lands. Attempting to mod in Marit Lage voids the warranty.
(Personally, I'd give the STG award to Counterscheme. I had to double-check the CR to confirm that yes, spells go on the stack before their costs are paid, which means that if it weren't for that "other," it would discount itself.)
5150002
If you mean the heist short, I'll note she didn't agree to it. She objected to it on legal grounds.
And yeah, the Flimflam short makes the most sense if seen as a bad dream brought on by too much cider. (Which covers the scheme Twilight did agree to.)
Also, those are quality image edits.
5150006
I can understand her frustration. Dash may live in slow motion, but AJ lives in a world of cardboard. Yes, being careful has become second nature to her by this point, but it's still bothersome, especially when she has so few opportunities to put it to good use. (And honestly, I prefer this to Angstyjack wishing for simpler, less magical times and quietly stewing in resentment.)
5150019
A fixable problem. (No, Dark Depths isn't normally a valid choice for that either, but there are yet more solutions, and I'm not even linking the only one in either case, just the one that best satisfies the "repeatedly" I put in there because I wasn't paying enough attention. Stupid. Complicated. Game.)
I liked the special, but there's still a lot of crazy stuff to unpack:
You forgot the saddest part.
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5150019
I actually meant the first special, faking a snow day to get out of a test.
Haven't watched it yet, but it sounds fun. And, it doesn't sound like it has anything too obnoxious in it (such as something from the 4th movie I'd like to pretend never happened).
5150019
Ah! She was obviously using the royal We.
According to the wiki, they are:
“Blizzard or Bust”
“Saving Pinkie’s Pie”
“The Cider Louse Fools”
“Winter Break-in”
“Dashing Through the Mall”
“O Come, All Ye Squashful”
. . . Yeah, some are better and some are worse, but there you go.
Even though my school days are far behind me, if I'm doing something that keeps me up well past my bedtime, I still set my alarm for the last possible moment in order to maximize what little sleep I'm able to get. Makes sense to me.
My only questions were: Is it really a necessity that each character show off her superpowers in these specials if this is how they're forced to shoehorn in Sunset's? And why didn't the "mind" reading end with Sunset understanding what vaporization is?
She's smug that her plan is progressing so well... but she can enjoy two things at the same time.
Well, if Zephyr Breeze -- Fluttershy's younger brother -- is old enough to have a job... yep, they really are eternally trapped in high school.
"And why are you trying to balance on your toes?"
Spike is part of the Equestria Girls opening sequence, but the only appearance he makes during this special is as a picture in Twilight's bedroom. Poor Spike.
One bad thing about Tara Strong recording all of her lines by herself is that once every few years, she'll mispronounce a word and there's no one to correct her. It happened again in this special with "eponymous." Maybe she thought it was supposed to be a pony pun?
(Related: As Pinkie Pie is reciting the list of her friends, Andrea Libman pronounces the "Pon" part of "DJ Pon-3" to rhyme with "Don" and not "own." I'm sure I've heard it pronounced the other way... I wonder whether there's an official pronunciation. Someone should ask the DJ to say her name so... oh.)
It's tough when the animators have to make the mall look crowded, so they naturally use every human model they have on hand... but many of those humans are wearing skirts or shorts, even though this takes place during the winter. I assume I shouldn't be thinking about that.
Were the Mane 7 skipping class to prepare for Applejack's photo? All of the other students emerge from classrooms at the bell but these seven are wandering around the school, unsupervised, spending their time doing whatever they want. I assume I shouldn't be thinking about that either, but darn it, I am.
This special was an uneven set of shorts from a story perspective, but I laughed out loud at more jokes than I usually do during an episode of either series. Merry winter holidays, Equestria Girls!
As for reading The Snowmind... I don't THINK this is the beginning of an invasion by The Great Intelligence, though I'd sure pay to see that. I actually think that Sunset's powers are expanding, from Touch Telepathy to full Psychometry. We already know that when she's really juiced she's a full telepath, and that was without any practice.
That or it's her connection to Harmony showing her that the world is in a very real sense alive, and we can add Animism to Bardic Magic and Cutie Marks to the magic that exists in this world. Star Swirl just lacked the enlightenment to see the more refined and harmonic aspects of magic. Which is canon. Sunset, on the other hand, does not. Heck she's ahead of Twilight in that regard. She summoned the full power of Harmony with just her friends back in Rainbow Rocks, while it took Twilight until the Finale to learn that trick.
Actually, The Great Intelligence... if it met these girls it would actually turn into a power of Harmony wouldn't it. That's how it worked. Intriguing possibilities...
I felt really bad for Applebloom's worm friend. They were so cute together... I'm sure it didn't mean any harm.
As for why the Apples didn't just toss the Flim Flams bodily from the property, that's not how family feuds work. Bringing in outsiders is CHEATING. Same reason they took the fake diamond. It wasn't about the money, it was about beating the Flim Flams. And they kept inviting them for the same reason, trying to beat them. As for why the Flim Flams got into a recurring prank war with the Apples, who can say? Possibly they just did it once for a laugh and then bought into the feud because it was fun.
That said, I'm still willing to chalk that all up to a bad cider hangover.
I also prefer Derpy/Flash, but this is the second time we've seen her being cute with Bulk. That said, Bulk is actually pretty sweet. It'll work okay.
Am I a bad person for actually LIKING Rarity's harvest costumes?
Fluttertrix was NOT the takeaway I expected to have from a snowball fight/war movie parody.
5150030
Horrors of War indeed.
5150002
The Enchanted Library. Very good taste.
So, since you're the biggest M:tG nerd I know, you have to see this.
It's a shame that IDW isn't going to do anything with these characters either. They deserved a bit better than to be Lincoln Loud multiplied by seven.
Nursing my wounds from an epic Firesong and Sunspeaker victory which turned into a virtual goldfish match toying with an opponent to try to infinite loop an indestructible lifelinking Spitemare (11 years and still no luck). The opponent consented to this to see what their deck could do, so I've seen a lot of Food from the machine that was a mono-black Eldraine constructed Food generator (if I see that cat one more time... especially followed by Deathless Knight returning...) After all that, I must say I love Licorice Lasso; great use of combining artifacts like the gold egg and Gingerbrute.
5150082
Regarding being eternally trapped in High School, I blame the Time Twirler. I mean we've already seen it spin up alternate histories with all those Choose Your Own Ending shorts... Now that Sunset has destroyed the Twirler, though, time can proceed normally.
5150024
Ah. Fair point. And that's before deliberately building a Turing machine on the battlefield.
5150028
Upon further reflection, I choose to interpret this as Sunset delving into shamanism and communing with the Worldsoul. ("Dear Princess Selesnya...")
5150030
I'd have done something to commemorate Winona's sacrifice, but the game beat me to it.
5150043
Ah. Well, she did need to dragged into it. At least her current friends peer pressure her into duping the principal and not tearing the universe apart.
5150076
I'm not sure what amuses me more, that the staff and I both went for Saving Private Ryan references or the song that logically goes with "Winter Break-In." It's the Equestria Girls answer to With Catlike Tread!
5150314
Like any self-respecting Simic, I enjoy combining things that should not be combined, including artifact types. I already made Clue Food in the "The Big Mac Question" blog; this was a logical next step. Next is Gingerbread Battlements, the Food Fortification!
But yeah, black-green is terrifying in Eldraine Limited because of that bony boy, among other reasons.
5150082
For Tara's misread, at least it isn't as bad as "Canterlot
CantabilesCannibals" from Forgotten Friendship.A very understanding study hall teacher? That or protagonist privileges.
5150085
The Snowmind certainly opens up possibilities both wonderful and terrible. On the one hand, this could confirm the Gaia hypothesis. On the other, no one said water likes people; what is a snowflake but a larval windigo? And Sunset's lucky she didn't tap into a droplet that had been inside fifty squirrels and an emu.
Some of them certainly worked. Carrot Sunset was pretty outrageous, especially the matching hairstyle. Fluttershy made hers work quite well; it helped that she legitimately liked it. And Twilight managed to capture some of the "eccentric intellectual" charm of Ms. Frizzle.
Headcanon eagerly accepted. Star Swirl may well have thrown it into the portal to make the prison that much more inescapable. But now the girls can finally have their senior year. And who knows what can happen then?
As for the MtG Turing machine, I recommend reading the original paper, simply for the delight of seeing the fusion of scholarly language and Magic terminology, to say nothing of how Magic is apparently so complex, it forces us to reevaluate what the term "game" even means.
5150731
Carrot Sunset does raise terrifying possibilities for their future career as crimefighters...
i.imgur.com/uDnXWOR.jpg
Heh, the Time Twirler is really a wonderful catch-all for fixing the chronology. And yeah, breaking time into a series of spiraled loops for imprisoning various entities... it's certainly an idea I've played around with before. I'm also a fan of the temporal prison design where the loop resets right before a big bomb goes off, as a fail safe for anyone who manages to break out of it. Luckily Starswirl probably didn't arrange such a thing. How would he without magic?
Of course, I also headcanon that the Memory Stone was actually ALSO part of the prison. Once Clover had it, he used it to create the weirdness censor that covers Canterlot and improve the prison. So yeah, it was protected with looped time AND the memory stone AND the Stump of Harmony. They put a fair bit of work into this otherworldly prison, it wasn't just a slapdash garbage dump.
Which means Starswirl is ESPECIALLY lucky Sunset hasn't met him really. This wasn't accidentally messing things up, this was deliberate!
5150725
"Dear Princess Selesnya..." Oh dear lord I'm in stitches. But yeah, I'd also take it as shamanic.
That is a perfect representation for Winona, noble war hero that she is.
I unironically prefer the Equestria Girls ending shot over the show's. At least the cornucopia costumes are supposed to look silly.
5150725
5150797
"Matt Selesnya" is a weird name for a girl. (Well, that's how it's pronounced...)