#add princess cadance in there too?? lets go

[ozziesjester]

you've been kidnapped as a new friend!

YAAAAAY i need more dead dove mlp enjoyer friends!!! raribelle and dash/scootaloo 4 lyfe ❤️

[deepandtrue]

anonymous asked

Is one of your fears to listen Flurry say in 10 years or so, something similar to... "I'm the Princess and because that you need to obey me"? Or you think you will manage to teach Flurry to never use her authority like that?

That is definitely one of her concerns. Because of the circumstance she was born into, Flurry Heart was expected to have some sort of deference around her. The fact that she is (usually) the first natural born Alicorn since the founding of Equestria only adds to this. This is best shown perhaps, in Once upon a Zeppelin. The other mothers in the playroom push their children towards Flurry, saying things like “Why don’t you go and make a princess friend!” Those moms were really content to just let Flurry stack their children like blocks... and not let them leave... Cadance is the only one looking concerned (which as a former foalsitter, of course she would) and the only one to step in before it gets too far. She even looks back at the other mothers, as if to ask why they don’t see a problem with anything. 

In the Crystal Empire, this isn’t too much of an issue. As there is a certain protocol that allows the family more space. Unless there’s an issue, the Crystal Ponies won’t just walk up to their Royal Family- much less shove a camera in their face. They’ll smile or wave from a distance, usually Cadance and Shining Armor are the first to approach someone. The most that will happen out of the ordinary is a shopkeeper will offer Flurry a treat but only if her parents give the okay. In Equestria- Canterlot especially, this is very much not the case. Just as when Cadance first ascended there will always be opportunists who will shower Flurry in praise or gifts to try and earn favor with her family. And then there’s the headache of the press... She asks that all gifts be run through her or Shining Armor beforehand. This is not to say that Cadance will never allow her daughter little treats. She loves her little one beyond words, and she’s happy that others love her too but she does strongly believe in moderation. To spoil Flurry beyond all reason would be to fail her in the end. 

 As stated before, Cadance fights each and every day for her daughter to have as normal a life as possible. To be simply Flurry before she’s a princess. As she grows Flurry is responsible for little things; Making her bed, cleaning her room, her schoolwork. She’ll bring her along on her various charity works. Her hope is that despite all the attention the outside world is bound to give her, Flurry Heart will grow into a compassionate down to earth young filly. 

[glapplebloom]

So let’s see what Amore could have done to prevent the future evil events...

So the first change. I’m going to give her credit this time and say that telling Sombra he can change his fate is a good thing. But here I would also add that “if there is anything that worries you, you know you can tell me.” This way, it’ll let Sombra and Radiant Hope know that if anything comes up they can turn to her to give an answer.

So when Sombra becomes sick, Radiant Hope goes to find Princess Amore to help. Since she knows what’s happening to Sombra, I would like to believe she would be making a magical mcguffin to allow Sombra to see the Crystal Fair without the fear of being sick. After their day of fun, this is where I would go a different direction.

After their day of fun, Amore tells Sombra everything. About him being an Umbrum. About why he got sick during the Crystal Fair. About knowing what he fears he would become. But she will also say once again that fate is in his hooves and if they get too heavy, Radiant Hope and her will be here along to help. So Sombra continues to live a relatively normal life though still having some fears.

But as the years go on, the McGuffin begins to work less and less. This is because Sombra is becoming stronger and stronger. Even with Amore’s help, its still not strong enough. But luckily Radiant Hope is there to prevent him from breaking down and earned her cutie mark. And like the main timeline, this allows her to become a student of Celestia and Luna. But there is one difference...

She’s not going alone. Seeing how important the two are to each other and Sombra’s fears, she asks Celestia and Luna to also take Sombra. With Radiant’s amazing talent and Sombra’s Shadow Pony magic, the two would be a big plus for the protection of Equestria. And when together, they seem to learn a lot better than apart.

And killing two birds with one stone, it means Luna has someone to talk to about her fears and inner thoughts. After all, the two share a similar trait about being darkness. While not leading to a full on ship (much to Mina’s shame), this will also prevent Princess Luna from turning into Nightmare Moon

Now to fulfill Radiant Hope to being a Princess, she figured out a way to help Sombra for good. Using the combined magic of the four Princess alongside her, she believes she can ensure Sombra won’t be negatively effected by the Crystal Heart. This allows her to become a Princess and become the 4th Princess she needed for her spell.

When they returned to the Crystal Empire, Amore retired and Prince Sombra and Princess Radiant Hope ruled the Crystal Empire with grace. There was no Nightmare Moon, so no need for a Gifted School for Young Unicorns. No Wonderbolts too since they were created a year after Luna’s banishment. 

Sunset Shimmer’s desire for Princess began when she was selected, and grew even more when she saw the mirror. While she saw Hope as an example of how someone can become a Princess, her research showed how anyone can become an Alicorn, a status that is even higher than a Princess. Thus leading her to the Equestria Girls Universe.

The Sonic Rainboom did happen since Dash wanted to prove herself in that race, so everyone who got their cutie mark because of it got it. Discord, since there isn’t much Chaos in the world is still in the statue. Twilight is sent to Ponyville to make friends for no reason other than to make friends. This was a much slower process than the original but overtime she did warm up to the others.

But since she only got close to them much later, Twilight is on her own during the wedding. So the only pony she could count on is Spike. But since he doesn’t have to help he is there when Twilight makes her discoveries. Sadly Spike was too young to remember Cadance like Twilight does so he does play devil’s advocate. But the same thing happens here.

Twilight does not become a Princess since she still has a lot of learning to go, but the plunder seeds did happen, creating enough Chaos to break Discord free while Twilight and friends discover that the Tree of Harmony needs the Elements to fix the problem. But since Celestia and Luna, the two who can control them, were captured, no one has access to them.

Which means Discord can hide the elements and do whatever he wants. After all, no one is powerful enough to stop him. And thus we got the Discord Wins timeline. Another downer, but considering how easy it was for the first 1000 years it had to happen with Discord’s long play.

[artesesarthouse]

MLP season 3 appreciation

Oh man i haven't done one of these in over a month! oops! lets get on with it then.

Season 3 definitely kept the new quality that season 2 had, better animation, better jokes and songs. Unfortunately it didn't keep the same episode length, only 13 episodes compared to the regular 20 plus. Now I don't know for sure but i guess it was because of the equestria girl movie? (which yes i will appreciations for those too). Either way it's probably why this season is seen as one of the weakest, because there wasn't as many episodes to remember fondly like others and probably because of well... a controversy that i've seen still continues to this day. Twlights wings, I don't remember id it was leaked or outright said by hasbro before the finale but i do remember there was a big uproar about it months before it and man it was chaos, at the time it was the most hateful atmosphere in a fandom i've seen (being the the steven universe fandom for a few years now, i can safely say that the uproar about the wings is not nearly as bad as the shit i've seen said in this fandom.. but that's a topic for another day.) When I first heard about them I admit I wasn't happy.. mostly because I like patterns and it broke up the symmetry with two of each pony race with the mane six, but besides that pet peeve I didn't see anything wrong with the idea. Was it a cash grab for new toy merch? of course but just because things are made up for toys doesn't mean you still can't create interesting stories about them. It was a interesting idea to me to see where they were going with it and what could come about from twilight being a princess now. Anyway onto the season episodes themselves, I rather liked them. I remember nearly all of them and most of them had an impact which was brought up upon later in some fashion. From the crystal empire (another obvious way to sell toys but still wasn't bad) and sombra to the multiple pinkie pies and the dark theory that our pinkie got trapped to the many memes and in-jokes that came from this season. Since the brony fandom came to rise in between season 2 and 3, no doubt the creators saw what we did and decided to add in things to easily be remembered and joked about to this day. Especially for pinkie pie, I noticed her brand of comedy definitely improved with this season, focusing more on being a 4th wall breaking cartoon then just a silly pony like the other two season. Which I think worked to her benefit, but speaking of 4th wall breakers we got the return of discord which was hyped up. Now I'm a sucker for redemption characters, they are so rarely done (and even more rarely done well) so when I heard that he was going to be redeemed I was happy. It was one of the better episodes of the season and I really liked Discords and fluttershys building chemistry and it was nice to see a kinder side to him and who better to help him the element of kindness herself. Speaking of redeeming villians we also got the return of trixie and man that was a good episode as well and I did help trixie start her path towards redemption (I say she didn't fully start to embrace friendship until her and starlight met). this season did give a lot more characters to mostly one notes characters from the previous seasons luna, cadance, shining armor, spitfire and a few other. It even started Rainbow dash on her journey to actually being a wonderbolt too! There wasn't much of character changes besides that in this season, in fact there wasn't even a character focus ep for each of the mane six, at least not for rarity. Applejack on the other hand got two, the apple reunion which not only showed her ridiculous family but gave us an applejack song finally!. The other is Spike at your service, which definitely brought to light one of the man problem with applejack, her element of harmony. The problem with 'honesty' being her core personality, is she either stretches the truth to often or is two harsh about it, which was shown in this episode. Now I don't mind if she lies or is harsh because it shows she is more thee-dimensional, but they so rarely write an AJ focused ep well if it's focused on the honesty part, because she would either have to lie or be mean for the conflict. Keep in mind this doesn't make me hate her or anything, again it's just a problem i see with the writing. Season 3 was too short for its own good but did help produce memorable moments, great jokes and change the status quo in many ways that helped shape the later seasons and plot.

[digikate813]

My Little Pony Re-Watch: Episode 51 & 52 A Canterlot Wedding

*I’m just going to be up front here. This is the episode, that made me a brony. This is the episode that made me realize how great My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic really was. For a long time, it was my favorite episode. So of course it’s one of the most divisive episodes in the whole series. So we’re going to approach this differently. Rather then go over events individually, I’m going to stick to talking points more in the style of my video reviews. If i didn’t we’d be here all day. So let’s do this.

*A big complaint about this episode is how Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, kind of comes out of nowhere. Maybe it’s just because I grew up with a lot of sitcoms, where siblings kind of appear out of nowhere with no previous establishment, but I just kind of accepted Shining Armor’s existence. Though it would have been fairly easy to introduce him sooner. Between the Grand Galloping Gala and Twilight holding her birthday party in Canterlot, it is weird in hindsight that he was nowhere to be seen during all of that. But again, it doesn’t really bother me.

*And i like the touch that his cutie mark is a shield and his most powerful spell appears to be a protection spell able to encase the entire city of Canterlot. It just adds more to my working theory of how talents and magic work.

*Twilight does have a bit of a right to be mad that she wasn’t told about this wedding until days before it’s supposed to happen. But hey, maybe that message that got burned in “Dragon Quest” was the announcement, idk.

*You want to sum up Pinkie Pie in one moment? The confetti sneeze. That is all

*Another criticism of this episode is the other character that appears out of nowhere, Princess Cadance. Now i don’t think the existence of another alicorn comes completely out of nowhere like many claim. Because there was that illustration in “Hearts and Hooves Day” that shows us other alicorns exist besides Celestia and Luna. And as far as we know, they’re all princesses. So this doesn’t break the lore necessarily, but I will agree that this at least was poorly established.Then again the show was never great at presenting Cadance’s role in the world, as we’ll go more into in the next episode.

*I will admit that her supposed love spell is both underutilized and morally questionable, but that’s not a discussion for this post. I think Silver Quill has covered everything on that topic.

*I used to hate the “Sunshine Sunshine Ladybugs Awake” rhyme and dance, but now that they don’t do it anymore, I feel a bit nostalgic towards it watching this again. Is that weird? It feels weird.

*And personally, I think the mystery behind why Cadance is so different from how Twilight remembers her works. Because while Twilight may know Cadance, we don’t. And therefore we can’t really tell what exactly is wrong even when the show tells us something is off. It’s not obvious what’s going on on your first viewing is what I’m saying. We’re just taking Twilight’s word for it that, if nothing else, Cadance has changed a lot. Being dismissive, insensitive, and hypnotizing her fiance to stop asking questions. But that last one probably isn’t that big a deal.

*The rest of the girls may be a bit too dismissive of Twilight’s feelings on the matter, especially after what they learned in “Lesson Zero” but Twilight does have a tendency to exaggerate and be paranoid. So I do get why they wouldn’t just take her word for it. It’s something that they could easily brush off as Twilight being Twilight and not as a red flag.

*Plus not Cadance is pretty good at being manipulative. Getting rid of her old bridesmaids so the Mane Six could fill in. Such a gesture makes it easier for the girls to get wrapped up in the planning and see Cadance in a better light instead of listening to Twilight. 

*Lyra speaks! That is all, but when a famous background character finally talks, you acknowledge it.

*I love this episode, but Spike playing with the cake toppers constantly is a really lame way to keep him out of the story.

*Twilight confronting Cadance the way she did might seem like a dumb move, and maybe it was. But keep in mind. Twilight has tried alternatives. Her friends wouldn’t listen to her, the princesses are busy guarding the city, and when she tried to talk to her brother about this, she saw Cadance put a spell on him. She’s in crisis mode here, and wants something done to stop her. So she takes action into her own hooves. The only problem with this plan is that Twi doesn’t really have, proof that Cadance is evil. 

*How much this plan backfires is kind of devastating. Even Celestia scolds her for this stunt! By the way the facial expression on Twilight when that happens is one of the saddest faces in the series.

*Then we get a really sad reprise of the previous song, but all anyone cared about was the cute little pointy pony style. It’s crazy how popular this style became! Some fan animation series are made just in this style. It is really cute, I’m just always blown away at just how popular it got, and still is.

*One of the best things to see reactions to in regards to this episode is when not Cadance engulfs Twilight in a ring of fire and sends her to the depth of Hell to cover her tracks! Okay it’s not Hell, but still. It was the best cliffhanger from the show for a while.

*How has the show never used these caves beneath Canterlot since this? I know there’s a line where they say that most ponies forgot these caves even exist, but could you imagine if maybe,  the Diamond Dogs wanted to get down here or something? There’s potential to use these caves again, and I’m shocked the show hasn’t.

*And here’s where we learn what’s going on. That Cadance was replaced by an imposter. Now I knew what was going on because I knew who Queen Chrysalis was. That’s what led me to watching this episode. But the story is clever at revealing this twist. There are hints to fake Cadance’s true identity, but since we don’t know Cadance, we wouldn’t notice things like her magic looks different, unless you were paying very close attention to the flashback.

*Ah, This Day Aria. I’ve said that this is quite possibly the moment that sold me on the show for good. And i stand by that. The Disney Renaissance vibes you get from this gorgeous duet are powerful. Between the villain celebrating maniacally and the hero racing desperately, it creates tension and an amazing contrast, performed by the same voice actress. There’s even this clever bit in the melody of contrasting between an Authentic Cadance and a Deceptive Cadance. Everything about this song is marvelous! It’s a beautiful moment to watch play out, and a great way for us to see what the real Cadance is like. I love everything about it!! Obviously.

*I don’t think the way Twilight and Cadance escaped the hypnotized bridesmaids should be as funny as it is, but it is. It’s so funny.

*Queen Chrysalis’ reveal is epic! Her design is incredible and eye catching, her voice s sinister and distinct (I really miss that modulation though), and the introduction of Changelings into this world is such a great concept! The only part that’s kind of weird is that they never say Chrysalis’ name in the episode itself.

*Celestia finally gets to do something and fights back! Only to be immediately defeated. This is one of the most controversial scenes in the episode and i get why, but as far as the moment itself goes, I don’t really feel the same way. In the moment it’s a way to show just how much of a threat Chrysalis is while giving Celestia some agency. For the sake of tension, it works. No what bothers me is the larger trend this started of Celestia getting her flank whooped whenever possible. 

*And I get why Chrysalis was surprised it worked. She would have had to take on Celestia eventually, but she might have figured she’d have her army with her by that point. So being able to get the job done herself gives her more of an ego boost in this grand plan.

*And do I even need to comment of the Mane Six battling the changelings? It’s AWESOME! The combat is exciting, there are a lot of funny moments, and between the return of the Party Cannon and using Twilight as a weapon of mass destruction, Pinkie is a master on the battlefield.

*This episode is also unique by being the first two part episode where the major threat isn’t defeated using the Elements of Harmony. Giving a great twist on expectations that I think gets taken for granted.

*Another major point of contempt with this episode is that Chrysalis just stands there and lets her enemies plot to defeat her. And I get that too. I do, but to me it’s not, completely unjustified. After all, Chrysalis’ plan has gone without a hitch. She’s managed to stop anyone in her way at every turn. Now that she’s taken away all major power, why should it be any different now? She’s deluded by her success and doesn’t see a way she can be stopped.

*The only way she is defeated is by something she wouldn’t expect. True and pure love. The changelings manipulate others to gain power from their love of the person they’re impersonating, and Shining Armor was their latest victim. Not believing his own sister because he’s literally being controlled by someone who says they love him. And it’s not Twilight or any of her friends who break that curse, but Cadance. The one who truly loves him. Simply by being there and expressing how much she cares about him. Add to the fact that Cadance’s magic centers around love, something Chrysalis might not have known, and you get an even bigger power boost. It’s pretty cool when you see it at first  and beautiful when you think about it any deeper. 

*Plus I love cheesy stories where love and friendship and bonds that make us stronger save the day. It’s really my jam and why i stick with the show. And this is one of the best demonstrations of it’s power.

*And the fun little trope twist of the princess saving the knight in shining armor. And then it’s both of them together that stops the villain.

*I know everyone’s made this joke, but because one of my most well know loves is Pokemon “Looks like Team Rocket’s Blasting Off Again!!”

*Hey Twilight and Shining Armor’s parents are back! And they still don’t get any lines. Hooray!

*Props to Dashie for pulling off a Sonic Rainboom so flawlessly!

*Luna?! Where the hay have you been??!! Okay this is another complaint about the episode but this time I have to agree. Where were you??? The only props I’ll give here is that at least they acknowledged she exists. Unlike Return of Harmony.

*I personally think Twilight should’ve gotten more of an apology from her friends, but at least the message still comes across. Not only is there the power of love in it’s toxicity and purity, but also Twilight journey to persist even in the face of doubt. If something seems suspicious to you, especially when it effects the ones you love, pursue it. Investigate and see what you can do to help. And it’s because of Twilight’s actions that she’s able to reunite her brother with someone who genuinely loves him. You might not be able to save someone you love from someone who is just using them on your own, but you can do your best to find someone who can help them. Twilight may not have technically saved the day this time, but she played a very important part.

*Ending with a fun reception with a really catchy song and the reveal that Vinyl Scratch’s eyes are magenta and not red. Breaking the hearts of fan artists the world over... And isn’t that what we should really take away from this episode?

Screw the haters. This episode is amazing! I should really do a full video on this one because I truly love this episode. If anything, the criticisms has made me realize in other ways why I love it so much, and why it sealed the deal for me on this whole magical pony thing. So I suppose I should be grateful for that. There were a lot of other things I could have mentioned, but again, these are just supposed to be short thoughts. Like I’ve said, this is the episode that made me understand why so many people loved this show for little girls, and i will always be grateful for that. Next Time: The Crystal Empire!

[chasholidays]

They Were the Best Years of My Life

An And So It Goes timestamp for @matriarchal and @lushatrocity!

i.

It's not like Bellamy wanted to have kids so that he could come up with family Halloween costumes. He loves Clarke, he's always wanted children, and once they've moved into a larger place and gotten their jobs stabilized, they figure they're ready.

It's still staggering and more than little terrifying to start a family, but then they have a baby, and he doesn't really have enough room left in his brain to not feel ready for that. He's too busy making she she doesn't choke on her own hand or something to think about how he's an adult with a house and a wife and a baby.

Cassandra is just over seven months old when October rolls around, and he remembers that Halloween is a thing, and for the first time ever, he has a tiny, living prop to work with.

"I came up with a list of costumes for us during my free period today," he tells Clarke when she gets home.

"For what?"

"Halloween. I'm going to need to get working if we're going to have three costumes by the end of the month."

She bites her lip, trying to hold back either a smile or laughter, he's not sure which. He's a little ridiculous about Halloween; he knows that. And Clarke knows it too. She thinks it’s cute.

“We’re going trick-or-treating with our infant? I think everyone’s going to know the candy is for us.”

“We must have something to dress up for,” he says. “She can come to parties with us. Or help us give out candy. Or just pose for pictures.”

“Maybe we should get into cosplaying or something,” she muses. “So you have more opportunities to dress her up.”

“Or you could just help me pick a family costume.”

“From the list that you made.”

“From the list that I made,” he agrees. “We’ve got years of family costumes to go. We just need to pick what order we do them.”

“I love you,” she says, shaking her head. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Bellamy's favorite thing about Halloween costumes is that there really is no limit. They range from fictional characters to generic professions, inanimate objects to vague concepts, which means he really has a lot to work with, and he thinks he has some great ideas there.

Clarke, however, gets stuck on the first one. "Frodo, Sam, and Gollum?"

"I'm Frodo, you're Sam, Cassandra is Gollum. She's mostly bald and isn't great at communicating. I could make her a One Ring pacifier."

It sounds as if Clarke is actually choking on her laughter, which is always an accomplishment when he can manage it. "Okay, that's--on the list. Pirates is a little vague."

"We're pirates and we rig Cassandra's stroller up to look like a treasure chest. That one might be better when she's a little older," he admits. "It would kill at trick-or-treating."

"Or when we have two kids and Cassandra has her own costume."

"Or that."

"Bat, Super, Wonder?"

"One of us is one of the Batpeople, the other is one of the Superpeople, Cassandra is Wonder Woman."

"I want Batgirl, you can be Superman."

"Cool, write that down."

In the end, they come up with ten potential costumes to do over the next decade, and settle on the Lord of the Rings group for this year, largely because Clarke can't stop giggling about it.

"Besides," she says, like Bellamy hasn't agreed and she still needs to justify herself to him. "That's a much better costume to show off to our friends than to go trick-or-treating in. We'll save the others for wider audiences."

"You know these were all my idea, right?" he asks, with a smile. "I like them. You don't have to convince me."

"I'm rehearsing for when our friends make fun of us. Just let me know how I need to help," she adds, and Bellamy kisses her and gets to planning.

He and Clarke are still the only ones in their immediate friend group with a child, but their friends also love Cassandra and never mind having to accommodate her when they make plans that involve Clarke and Bellamy. He knows the two of them don't go out to the bar to hang out with Gina as much as Monty, Miller, and Raven do, but they've pretty much accepted that. They have a baby; they're drinking at home.

The Halloween party is at his and Clarke's place this year, both because they have the largest place and because taking the baby places can be a pain, but a group costume doesn't have impact unless it's seen all at once, so Bellamy and Clarke both open the door, with Cassandra in her mother's arms.

Monty and Miller take a second to take them in. The costumes are great, if Bellamy does say so himself; they're not leaving the house, so he even made furry socks to give them authentic hobbit feet.

"You know," Monty finally says. They're dressed as Captain Cold and The Ray, which is also a pretty great costume he approves of. "We met playing Hearthstone. It shouldn't be possible that we're not the dorkiest people here. And yet here we are."

"Is that a One Ring pacifier?" asks Miller. "You can't just give Gollum the ring, guys."

"But it makes her so happy," says Clarke.

"I'm just saying, I wouldn't put my kid in a costume that actually encouraged her to bite my finger off," Miller says, and Bellamy shrugs.

"I'm willing to risk it. But I'll take that into consideration for next year."

"This is going to be a thing, isn't it?" Monty asks, wary.

"We've got a list," says Clarke, bright. "It's already a thing."

Monty just shakes his head, but he's still smiling. "Great, can't wait."

"Yeah," says Bellamy. "Neither can I."

ii.

It gets a little more complicated when Cassandra starts developing opinions of her own about how she'd like to dress for holidays, but it's the nice kind of complication. He remembers, a little bit, how it was when Octavia was growing up, what it was like to see her turning into a person before his eyes, but it's even cooler this time, when he's old enough to really understand and appreciate what's going on.

She's three and a half by the time she's articulate enough to express opinions on Halloween costumes, and when he asks what she wants to be, she thinks it over carefully and decides, "Chewbacca."

Clarke's sitting at the table looking at their budget, and he can actually see her trying not to laugh.

"Chewbacca?" he asks. "From Star Wars?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay," he says, inclining his head. "I bet we can do that. But it's going to be a lot of work to put all that fur together. Are you going to help me?"

"Uh huh."

"And you're not going to quit if it's too hard, right?"

"Nuh uh."

"Okay," he says. "Let's get started."

Obviously, he's not actually expecting Cassandra to do a ton of work, but it's never too early to start learning the basics of sewing and construction, as far as he's concerned. And it's not actually that hard a costume, in some ways. He can buy some brown leggings and a top, sew some fur on there, and then make a mask. And his and Clarke's costumes will be easy; Han and Leia is definitely a dream couples costume.

"One of the big Halloween secrets is that you only make as much stuff as you can't buy," he tells Cassandra, low. They're drawing up plans together, which means he's sketching actual plans, and Cassandra is drawing a picture of Han, Leia, and Chewbacca, which is mostly just a bunch of blobs.

"You know you can just buy the actual costume, right?" Clarke says. As usual, she's not contributing to the overall costuming process, but she likes to be close, so she can still be a little involved.

"Mom's right, but it's more fun when you make stuff. But making shirts is really boring."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But making the costume is going to be fun."

"Sure it is," Clarke mutters, and he sticks his tongue out at her over Cassandra's head.

Of course, he's right, and even Clarke gets in on it, as he knew she would, because Clarke doesn't know how to resist a project, especially when both he and Cassandra are involved. She puts her foot down that she wants Leia's Cloud City look, and Cassandra gets really into going to thrift stores with her looking for costume components, which is really kind of ridiculously cute.

It really is a group effort, and when they line themselves up for the first time in front of the mirror, no one's more excited than Cassandra.

"We look so good!" she says, and just like that, she's hooked.

Bellamy's never been so proud.

iii.

The next year, Clarke is visibly pregnant, so they have that to plan around.

"It's too bad she's too young to watch Fury Road," Bellamy muses, drumming his fingers against Clarke's stomach. "She'd definitely be a war boy."

Clarke laughs. "She's four, we're not showing her Mad Max just for a Halloween costume. I don't care how much you want her to ride eternal, shiny, and chrome."

"Which is what I said."

"Sometimes you say things hoping I'll secretly disagree."

It's not like she's wrong. "I just can't think of many age-appropriate characters who are visibly pregnant."

"That's because kids can't know that pregnancy exists, or else they'll ask where babies come from."

"God forbid." He sighs. "I guess she'll have a lot of opinions. You think you're going to be up for trick-or-treating? You've been a little tired."

"I think I'm good." She kisses his shoulder. "I don't want to miss it. And I really want to find out what you guys come up with."

He smiles. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to that myself."

He and Cassandra sit down to talk about it the next day.

"So, I was thinking it would be fun if our Halloween costume this year had the baby in it," he tells her, and she frowns.

"Is the baby going to be born?"

"No. But maybe Mom could dress as someone who's having a baby soon."

"Oh." She frowns. "That could be okay."

"Okay?" he asks, a little amused in spite of himself.

"I wanted to be ponies."

She's been watching My Little Pony basically non-stop on Netflix; he should have seen this coming. "And there's a pony with a baby?" he asks.

"Uh huh. Princess Cadance had a baby. So Mom can be Princess Cadance and you can be Shining Armor and I can be Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight Sparkle is her favorite, so it's not like this is some great sacrifice for her. "You want to do that?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay," he says. "I bet we can figure it out."

And he really does mean it, but after about half an hour of googling, he'll admit he's not entirely sure what to do with the whole thing.

"I'm worried if we just dress up as ponies, we're going to be furries," he admits to Clarke.

"I think furry is something you already are, not something you become the first time you dress up as a cartoon horse."

"Is that based on something, or are you just guessing? Remember when the dean on Community got that dalmatian fetish? It could be like that."

"Community wasn't a documentary, Bellamy. Except for the documentary episodes," she grants, before he can make the argument himself. "Anyway, did you look at Equestria Girls?"

"At what now?"

She rolls her eyes. "Didn't you have a Navy buddy who was a brony? Why aren't you better at this?"

"I'm okay with not being better at this. What's Equestria Girls?"

"It's the one where all the ponies are humans in high school."

"How is that real?"

She shrugs. "No idea, but it would probably be a lot easier to do those costumes. Regular clothing decorated with, like, their cutie marks and stuff."

"You think that's going to be pony enough for Cassandra?"

"We can do pony ears, just to be safe. I bet you can talk her into that."

"Oh, so it's my job to talk her into it?"

"Halloween is your holiday, babe," she tells him, patting his shoulder. "I'll tell her that Santa's not real, when that comes up."

He laughs. "And you're fine with being a pregnant, anthropomorphic horse for Halloween? Just checking. I want it in writing that you're fine with this and it was your idea, because I don't want you to be complaining ten years later about how much this sucks."

"I promise I will only ever complain about the year you made me a pregnant anthropomorphic horse costume as a joke," she says, and he kisses her hair.

"Good enough for me. I'll see if the kid doesn't mind."

She's thrilled, of course, and Bellamy doesn't worry about it until the night of. It's their first year trick-or-treating with Monty and Miller; they'd only been fostering Dylan for a few months last year, and he wasn't comfortable going out with a big group of near-strangers. Now, he's settled in a little more and sees the wisdom in going on a longer route with nicer houses and better candy.

He's just that he is, unfortunately, also a six-year-old boy, so he looks a little wary at the sight of them.

"What are you supposed to be?" he asks.

"Ponies," says Cassandra, smug. "We always make family costumes."

"Oh," says Dylan. "That's cool."

"I bet Dad would make one for you too," she says, with the magnanimity of a child making a promise she won't have to put any effort into fulfilling. "If you want him to."

"We're not doing a six-person costume next year," Miller tells him, low. "I will actually murder him."

"I know," says Bellamy. He smirks. "We'll have the baby, so it's actually going to be seven people. Unless Raven and Gina want in, and--"

"There is something wrong with you."

"That too," he says. "Happy Halloween."

iv.

Seven people is really a lot to work with, Bellamy has to admit. It's why he and Cassandra decide they should start planning in September.

"It's like Christmas creep, but specific only to our family," says Clarke.

"They're already selling Halloween candy some places," Bellamy points out. "It's not just us."

"Well, I think we should go back to an old classic idea," she adds, which is surprising. Clarke usually considers her role in Halloween planning to be supporting, not leading.

"Yeah?" he asks, "What's that?"

"Pirates."

Cassandra lights up. "Pirates?"

"Yeah. Dad had this cool idea where he thought he could rig a stroller up so it looked like a treasure chest, and then the rest of us could be pirates, protecting it. That would be fun, right?"

"Yeah!" she says. She's practically vibrating with excitement. "Can we do that, Dad?"

"We should check with Uncle Nate and Monty and Dylan," he says. "Make sure they wants to do it too. But even if they don't, we make a pretty good pirate gang with just the four of us, right?"

"Uh huh," says Cassandra. "Well, three of us. Marc is the treasure, right?"

"Yeah. This one's going to be complicated," Bellamy adds, doing his best to bring some real gravity to the statement. "We have to put together the treasure chest. That's construction, not just sewing."

"I like complicated," Cassandra declares. "Let's do it."

Clarke, unsurprisingly, takes point on building the treasure chest; construction and artwork are her fields, and she manages to put together a sturdy cardboard shell that slides over Marc's stroller. For the lid, she finds some cloth to go over the top of the stroller, taking advantage of the part that folds up, and Bellamy has to admit, it looks awesome.

"It's almost like I'm good at things," says Clarke, with obvious smugness.

"It never gets old, finding new things you're good at," he tells her, fond, and leans in for a kiss. "Seriously, this is awesome."

"Of course it is. I love our Halloween tradition," she adds, with a small smile. "Just because I'm not always as involved--"

"I know." He smiles. "Trust me, I never doubted. Now you just have to help me come up with an appropriate pirate costume for you."

"I didn't know it was that hard."

The smile turns into a smirk. "When I think about you dressing up as a pirate, it's not exactly G-rated fantasies."

She laughs, tugs him down for another kiss. Both the kids are actually asleep, so there's an outside chance he's going to get laid tonight. He's pretty sure they can make it happen.

"So tell me about your idea tonight, and I'll help you figure out something appropriate for me in the morning," she murmurs, and he grins and tugs her closer.

"Works for me."

The pirate costume she ends up wearing to trick-or-treat is not, therefore, the pirate costume of his fantasies, but once the night is over and the kids are settled down, she undoes the top few buttons and tightens the corset, so, really, who says you can't wear Halloween costumes all year round?

They're going to get a lot of use out of this one.

v.

At age ten, Dylan is the one who finally says, "I want to be Spider-Man this year," and Bellamy and Clarke exchange a look,

Bellamy doesn't often think of the conversation he and Clarke had during their first Halloween together, all those years ago. He does remember it, but less on its own and more as the first time Clarke confirmed that she wanted to have kids with him, that she didn't just love him and want to stay with him, but that she was planning a future for them, the same as he was.

He did not expect, in any way, to actually have to make Spider-Man costumes for any number of children.

"I wanna be 'Pider-Man too," says Marc, right on cue. He thinks Dylan is the coolest person to have ever lived, which means that everything Dylan does, he wants to do too.

"Is there a girl Spider-Man?" asks Cassandra. "A good one. Not just Spider-Man with a ponytail."

"I think we can probably figure something out," says Bellamy. "But I'm not being Uncle Ben. There's no way I'm jinxing myself like that."

"I think as long as we're all in the Marvel family, it still counts as a theme costume," says Clarke. "I bet Monty will have ideas."

This, as it turns out, is an understatement.

"Okay, so, Spider-Gwen is awesome, Cassandra can be her. She's got a hoodie, it's a really cool aesthetic. And then Dylan can be Peter Parker Spider-Man and Marc can be Miles Morales Spider-Man."

“So they’re not just different costumes for the same person?” Bellamy asks, frowning. “How many Spider-Men are there?”

“How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?” Monty asks. “This is not for us to know. I already have a Black Widow costume, so I’m set. Assuming it still fits.”

His frown deepens. “Why do you already have a Black Widow costume?”

“Because I’ve already dressed up as Black Widow. Nate wants to be Heimdall.”

“Does Nate know that?”

Monty just looks at him, unimpressed. “It’s Idris Elba. Everyone wants to be Idris Elba.”

Bellamy can’t argue with that.

After some googling, Clarke opts for Captain Marvel for her costume, and Bellamy goes with Captain America, mostly because he has a thing for Chris Evans. And Clarke has a thing for Chris Evans. Everyone has a thing for Chris Evans, from what he can tell.

But for some reason, it feels like more work than usual.

“It’s because you’re making fucking armor,” says Raven. She and Gina are coming with them this year, but have opted for DC superheroes. Bellamy’s pretty sure Raven just wants someone to try to tell her she’s a fake geek girl who doesn’t know Oracle isn’t in the Marvel universe so she can fight them. Which he completely supports; he hopes she kicks their hypothetical asses.

“So it’s Miller’s fault.”

“And yours. You want a real shield.”

“What’s the point of having a fake shield?”

Raven rolls her eyes. “So have you always been like this, or is this a weird biological imperative? Like you had kids and decided you needed to disguise them so they’d be protected from predators.”

“That sounds real. I like Halloween,” he says. “Miller and I did costumes together when we were little, and I always liked it. And when O let me dress her up.”

“Masculinity meant you couldn’t play with dolls so you had to figure out another way to do it,” she supplies.

“Or I just like Halloween. Seriously, it’s fun. And I’ve got another five years tops before Cassandra decides she’s too cool to dress up with her family, so I’ve got to milk it while I can.”

“Kids sound exhausting, I’m glad I don’t have any.”

“Yeah, if that's how you feel about it, it's definitely good. You want to be sure about kids. But you’re still coming out with us? Trick-or-treating can be a lot."

"Obviously. I miss having an excuse to get free candy. The costumes look really cool," she adds, bumping her shoulder against his. "You're good at this."

"Costumes? Yeah, my mom taught me to sew when I was a kid."

"Not just that. You guys are good at all of this. I still feel like I'm not used to you being parents, but--you're doing awesome at it."

He smiles, but there is a lump in his throat. Validation never gets old. "Getting sentimental in your old age, huh?"

"Shut up," she says. "Metal-working always does that to me."

He puts his arm around her shoulders and gives her a squeeze. "Yeah, that must be it."

The costumes get done, and by the time Halloween rolls around, Bellamy really does feel like a successful parent. Not, of course, that Halloween costumes are the be-all and end-all of parenting, but--it's not just costumes. His kids have two parents who love them and are able to take the time to do things for them and with them, which is lucky, and they have adopted aunts and uncles and friends who all want to go out with them. When Bellamy was Cassandra's age, he was already taking his sister out alone, and while he could do that, he likes that his kids will probably become embarrassed to be seen with him long before he stops wanting to make them all family costumes.

"Do you think if we do this again next year and I start now, I could make myself web shooters?" Cassandra asks.

"Depends on what you're thinking," says Clarke, clucking her tongue. "You could probably get something that would shoot something out of it, but it's not going to be like real functioning webs."

"I know that," says Cassandra. "But I really like this costume, and it would be cool if we could do, like, silly string! Fwip, fwip," she adds, flicking her wrists at the darkness. Monty loaned her some Spider-Gwen comics, and Bellamy can sense the start of a new obsession. It really might last her all the way to next Halloween. "We could do that, right, Dad?"

"Raven might need to be technical consultant," he says. "I'm not really an expert on web shooting. But yeah," he says, putting his arm around her and giving her a squeeze. "Any costume you want, we'll figure it out. You know that."

"I do know that," she says, easy, and that's his favorite tradition.

After all, he gets to be a superhero every single Halloween.

[spark-of-magic-archive]

Princess Cadence is the sovereign of the crystal empire that in theory is allied to Equestria and not part of it, and is far away in the north. And you only have a pretty castle in theory you are not part of the government. Princess Celestia and Luna are the rulers of Equestria like it or not. ((And Twilight can't even move the big space rock, let's not talk about the big ball of gas, yet they do that everyday)) ((Not to add that Twilight don't control friendship like Celestia the sun))

“I don’t know where you heard that I’m not ‘part of the government’, but I’d have to say that it’s not quite true. As a princess, I’ve legally one of the ponies in charge of Equestria. I have no more or less power than Celestia, Luna, or Cadance, who is in fact a princess of Equestria as well as of the Crystal Empire. We’re all equal except in the individual responsibilities we take on ourselves.”

“Luna watches over ponies in their dreams and controls the moon. Celestia controls the sun and is a public symbol. They both manage the day-to-day operations of Equestria. Likewise, Cadance used to have a role in the operations of Canterlot prior to moving to the Crystal Empire, and she’s still an important figure who aids ponies in less professional ways even as she’s ruling another kingdom.”

“My role in the government is small, but no less important. For now, my primary duties include helping with any problems the map summons us to and helping Mayor Mare. I act as a direct liaison between the government of Ponyville and the princesses, as well as making sure all diplomatic missions organized by the Council of Friendship go as smoothly as possible.”

“It’s no celestial body, but I like to think my work is important too.”

[cloudchaserandflitterexplain]

Cloudchaser and Flitter Explain: Discarding as a Cost

Gah, Flits! Are you okay?

Cloudchaser, why do you have cards scattered all over your floor where anypony can slip on them?

Sorry… Just, uh, deck building.

And you need the entire floor for that?

Yeah! I have so many decks I want to build! I need to make sure every card is in easy reach.

I’m surprised you can find anything in this mess.

Well, it was better organized before you knocked everything around…

But I guess I’ll try and keep cards away from the door area next time.

Anyway, I came by to see if you wanted to help me talk to everypony about discarding!

Sure, I can take a break from building to do that.

Hi everypony! Defenders of Equestria sure is a crazy set isn’t it? It’s got a lot of stuff going on, and a lot of interesting themes and synergies. Especially when it comes to discarding.

There’s an awful lot of cards in DE that have discarding as an additional cost, be it optional or mandatory. Which up until now had been pretty uncommon. So if you didn’t want to deal with it, you didn’t have to.

But now it’s all over the place! It’s pretty obvious that DE wants us to be willing to discard our cards when appropriate. But for some ponies, it can be pretty difficult to know when discarding a card is worth it or not.

Fortunately, we’re here to help!

So discarding as a cost is just that, a cost. It’s spending resources to accomplish something. Normally you spend AT, but sometimes the card wants you to pay something else as well. In this case, you’re spending cards in your hand.

Now, the question is why would you want to discard cards from hand? You use those cards to do other stuff, right? And you normally can’t do that thing if you discarded it.

Well the trick is to put it in perspective. When you’re discarding a card as a cost it’s because you’re not paying a different cost. Maybe you’d have to pay more AT to get the same effect normally. Or perhaps the card would have a higher req. Either way you’re circumventing something.

AT is a very valuable resource. You only get so much of it each turn, and you frequently spend all of it as you get it. But sometimes you don’t have enough AT to do everything you want to do.

But by discarding a card instead, you’re not just losing a card, you’re turning it into a different kind of resource, in a way. Kind of like how Two Bits turns a card and an AT into the equivalent of 2 AT.

That’s the power of discard costs.

Let’s look at an example! You have 5 points so you’re getting only 3 AT a turn, and just spent all your AT last turn on an awesome DFO so you’ve only got the 3 AT for this turn.

Now you don’t have many options and you’ve decided your best bet is to move two characters to a problem so you can confront your own problem. But you can’t because you only have 3 AT and it costs 2 AT to move each character. What’s a pony to do?

Well, if one of those characters at home was Apple Bloom: Fastest, you could move her by discarding a card instead of paying AT to move her. So you just moved both characters for 2 total AT instead of 4, leaving you a spare to do something else with!

Yup. Did that a few times at my prerelease. She wound up saving me loads of AT, even if I did wind up discarding a lot to her.

Of course, not all discard costs are worth it. Sometimes they don’t save you enough other resources, or wind up costing more than you’d normally pay without discarding. So you have to factor in that as well.

As a general rule, a card in hand is worth about 1 AT, since you can always pay AT to draw cards during your Main Phase. So you could estimate the cost of the ability by adding an AT to the cost for each card you’re discarding and asking yourself “would I play this card if it cost this much AT instead?”

Yeah. A Petite Sneeze, for example, would cost “5” AT with this formula, which is more than I’d want to pay. Meanwhile Mysterious Disappearance would cost “2”, which I’m fine with for immediate speed Resource removal. So I’d be willing to use that in decks that could afford to use it.

Which brings me to the other point I wanted to make… Uh, make sure not to run too many cards that make you discard or you’ll find yourself without a hand too frequently.

You can probably get away with 3 or 6, but any more is probably pushing it a bit unless you have a good way to draw cards or discarding is a part of your strategy.

Which brings us to the most fun point.

When discarding is a part of your strategy.

This way you can turn what’s kind of a downside into an upside. After all, some cards want you to wind up in the discard.

This is nothing new, of course, just not commonly used as there were only a few cards that worked this way before. Dr. Hooves: Unblinking being the most obvious example.

But now we’ve got a bunch of other cards. Experienced Friends, Double Diamond: Second in Command, Spitfire: Drilling it In, and Big Mac & Applejack: Big Mouths all give you some sort of benefit while in your discard pile. So they’re great options for paying your discard costs.

You could also use Princess Cadance: Everlasting Love in conjunction with discard costs to discard a Friend, then find a copy of the same Friend immediately! Pretty good way to power up your Experienced Friends!

And if you want to be really creative, paying discard costs is a way to get your expensive friends into play.

If you play Redeeming Qualities on them after putting them in the discard, anyway!

Now, you’re not always going to be able to discard things you want in the discard. Sometimes you’ll find you really need to play that Spitfire to frighten a friend, but you have nothing in your hand that does something will in the discard pile. Now what?

Well, it sucks, but you’ve got to discard something else.

Start with cards that are situational. Is your opponent using no friends with 3 or more power? Maybe you want to discard that Foodfight!. Haven’t seen a troublemaker all game? Discard that Epic Win you’ve been holding onto for the past 3 turns.

Of course, sometimes you can’t discard a situational card either. In which case you’ll just have to use your best judgement as to what to discard.

As a general rule, when I find myself in those kinds of situations, I choose to discard stuff that’s not as useful to me right at that moment.

Tirek’s Reign of Terror may be a valuable card most of the time, and one I intend to play in a few turns. But if I need to discard something now to that Spitfire, and everything else in my hand is more useful in the short term…

Well, you better believe I’d be willing to discard that Reign of Terror in such a situation.

But like Flitter said, it’s a judgement call you have to make. Sometimes it’s harder to make than other times, but that’s just a skill you have to develop when using these kinds of cards.

And that’s it! Now you should know just about everything you need to about discarding as a cost, and when you might want to do it and when you might not.

Got anything else you want to add, Cici?

Yeah, one thing I guess.

Learning when and what to discard is an admittedly difficult skill, so if you’re not already experienced with it, it may take you some time to get used to it. Especially since you normally don’t want to discard things.

It feels bad enough to discard that awesome Night Glider: Overpowering when your opponent makes you do it. But doing it willing can be even rougher. But sometimes it’s just the right play, even if it doesn’t feel good.

That being said, with a little practice, you’ll be able to analyze your hand and figure out what’s the best thing to discard in any given situation like a pro!

Well said, Cici!

That’s it for today, then! Now if you’ll excuse us, I think I should maybe help Cloudchaser cleanup this mess I made, hehe.

You know, now I’m wondering...

Which cards made you slip when you came through the door anyway? It wasn’t anything valuable, I hope.

Nah, it was just a common. Nothing to worry about.

Oh, that’s a relief. Which one?

Slippery Slopes, of course!

...Of course.

Bye everypony!

Later.

[the-crystal-muse]

So... Your aunties have show already their crazy forms as Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker... When are you going to get crazy and call yourself 'The Overlady Decadence' or something like that?

“Evil names are a little cliche, don’t you think? What’s wrong with me just staying Cadance and getting on with my evil plan? I actually already have one thought out.”

“See, all supervillains in Equestria thus far have proved to rely on surprise, incompetence, or a lack of magical artifacts to stop them. Because of that, I figured that if I’d ever turn evil, I’d use the Crystal Heart to help me. Since it’s less a weapon of harmony and more of a device programmed to stop evil once you active it, I could probably turn it to my own uses, first by using it to bring other ponies under my power. That would be fairly easy, since it’s used to distribute love magic across Equestria. It wouldn’t take much to change it to distribute a love spell instead.”

“Of course I can’t just shoot an entire country-wide love spell. No, it has to be so subtle that nobody catches on, so instead I’d cast the spell slowly, working the spell into the heart, and thus into their hearts and minds, in a way that ensured they’d like me but wouldn’t realize something is up. I’d also ensure that Twilight, the Elements of Harmony, Starlight, Discord, and the other princesses are under my control too. I need those ones on my side. By the time the spell is fully potent, I’d be in full control.”

“But I can’t just sit back and hope that nobody realizes my plans, especially not the few ponies able to stop me. So I’d have to find a way to deal with that problem quickly. The first solution is honestly the easiest way: Kill Twilight and Starlight. They’re the most powerful ponies in the world, so it’s obvious that they need to go, something I already planned out.”

“Twilight’s fatal flaw- Well, she has many that can be exploited, but let’s focus on this one for now- Is that she loves having the chance to teach others. I’d just have to do something simple, like tell her that I’d like to know more about the Elements. Assuming my subtle love spell in the air caught on well enough, she’d have no problem with explaining it to me in detail, and agreeing when I suggest we go to the cavern where the Elements are kept. While there, I kill Twilight and make sure she’s dead. I won’t assume she’s dead or anything, but I will hide the body deep in the Everfree and at least nine feet under. That gives me plenty of time to deal with the other two problems.”

“Starlight’s a harder egg to crack because I don’t know her too well, so it’ll have to be something clever. My best option so far is to act worried that Twilight’s gone and ask Starlight to help me search for her. I’ll send Spike to Canterlot to ask Celestia if she’s seen her, and while Starlight and I are in the Everfree I’ll kill her like I did Twilight. Starlight doesn’t trust me like Twilight does, so I won’t have the advantage of surprise as well as before. I’ll need to fight smart and fast, possibly by disabling her magic beforehoof if possible. Once she’s dead, she’s buried in the Everfree as well. I can’t risk her being found too.”

“Spike may need to die as well, actually. He’s smart and strong. If I want him taken care of, I’d send assassins. I’ll have Spike leave for Canterlot by train and have the hitponies board the train when he does. I’d prefer if few ponies have to die, but dragons are hard to kill discretely. It’d be most convenient if the assassins caused the train to have an accident, like going off the rails and crashing horrible. I’d also suggest they leave evidence that they were there, something subtle. This would show that Twilight and Starlight were killed on purpose and would set Equestria on edge. More importantly, nopony would suspect me except for the ponies who knew I was with Twilight when she disappeared. The same ponies who are now dead.”

“The other Elements of Harmony are also issues, but they’re second priority for now. Without Twilight, the Elements are useless, but they’re not above finding other ways to win. Discord is a problem by extension, since he’s loyal to Fluttershy and I don’t know what lengths she’ll go to in order to help ‘find’ Twilight and Starlight. My current theory is that I need to kill Discord, but that’s difficult. However, Shining and I have the power of love at hoof, so we may be able to weaken him with our combined power before ending him. If that won’t work…I say pin the blame on him so Celestia and Luna take the Elements and turn him to stone. Then I take a sledgehammer to him the moment they’re not looking.”

“Speaking of Celestia and Luna, they’re my next targets. I suspect Celestia may be frantic; a major train accident killing hundreds of ponies, caused by assassins while her prized student and grand-student are gone missing? She’ll do everything in her power to fix it, and so will Luna. I’ll stay in Ponyville ‘searching’ until Celestia sends for me, hopefully with an armored escort. She’ll want to keep me close to home so she doesn’t lose anymore family, and I’ll take advantage of that.”

“While I haven’t thought this part out entirely, I think I may kill Luna first. It’s risky, but there’s a chance Celestia will be too struck by grief to suspect me, her last living relative, as the problem. Setting up those aforementioned assassins to attack Luna and I is the best idea, and giving them instructions to not hold back means that Luna won’t get suspicious. It’ll only be when the fight’s nearly over and Luna’s weakened that I stab her in the back. A spell can put her unconscious before I take her dying body to Celestia. The wounds will be so bad that she’ll die before receiving any healing. If not, then I’ll sabotage her treatment when she’s being healed. Either way, she’s dead.”

“Here comes the tricky part: Celestia has a lot of possible responses to Luna’s death, so I have to act fast. In this case, it may be best that I do the later form of sabotaging Luna’s medical treatment so Celestia has some hope left, that way she won’t fall victim to suspicion or anger. My current idea is poisoning her meal. Nothing fatal, but something to make her extremely weak and drowsy. There’s a special mineral in the Empire that acts as a poison. If ground up and digested, it basically shuts off a pony’s magic. If added to her food in the right way, she may not notice it before eating it. Add that to the poison meant to make her drowsy, and I could likely take her on and kill her without too much trouble.”

“After the princesses are dead, I may be able to drop the act, but I need to make sure that the Elements are defeated too. If Discord is out of the picture, then I may enslave them. Amp up the love spell to the point where they’re fully under my control. Trixie too, since she’s a powerful mage that could easily fall to her own pride. If any of them show too much resistance, they die. I can’t have the chance of them fighting back.”

“Just to be safe, I’ll keep pretending I’m innocent for some time. I’ll make sure, however, that these assassins find me while I’m in public, working, and I’ll make sure everybody knows they attacked me. After that, we kill them and set out on a witch hunt to find their boss. I don’t like betraying my allies, so I’ll likely set up any outspoken opponents of my new rule to seem as if they were part of this conspiracy. The deaths of the princesses and heroes of Equestria will be honored by national holiday and I’ll take the throne of Equestria with grace and, outwardly, regret. And with the love spell being pushed into the air, hopefully the entire nation will be under my control by the time it’s over.”

“And then? Equestria is mine. Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”

[diamond-song42]

Card Shark 90: The Student Six, A Grade Above

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MY FRIENDS! Welcome to another Ultra Rare Card Shark! A new year and a new decade are upon us, and I wanted to open 2020 with a bang. So I thought I’d look at the Ultra Rare Mane Character from Leaders and Legends! Let’s take a look at “The Student Six, A Grade Above!”

This is the place where they belong! We haven’t had a colorless Mane Character in quite a few sets, so a new one feels refreshing. Like the previous colorless Manes, you choose a color for The Student Six to assume at the start of the game. Flipping them isn’t cheap: You have to pay 6 AT to turn this card over, with that cost being reduced by 1 AT for each color among characters in play (so basically, unless your opponent takes the Student Six’s chosen color away, you’ll never pay the full 6 AT). Your opponent’s characters can count towards this, too! You could end up paying 0 AT to flip the Student Six (though this may not be the easiest thing to do, depending on how you and your opponents’ decks are built). Then, after they’ve been flipped, you put a Friendship counter on them whenever a player confronts a Problem for the first time each turn (so confronting two or more Problems would not stack counters). After all that, during your Main Phase, you may exhaust and remove Friendship counters from the Student Six to play a Friend with cost equal to the number of counters removed for free! (So, for example, should you remove 3 Friendship counters from the Student Six, you can play a Friend that costs 3 AT.) Now THAT… is super nice. ESPECIALLY since it bypasses color req. You could stack a ton of power (maybe with cards like Rescue Party, The Power of Friendship or Pegasus Royal Guard, Call to Arms) and/or nab a bunch of useful abilities (maybe with cards like Limestone Pie, Inner Beauty or Queen Chrysalis, Evil Twin). You have a lot, and I mean A LOT, of options with the Student Six. Thanks to the color choice, you can specially cater it to your strategy even further than a normal colored Mane (and give yourself something that may benefit you more, compared to Queen Chrysalis, Changeling Pretender who just copies your opponent’s Mane’s abilities, which may or may not be beneficial to you). This thing deserves the expensive flip requirement. It’s so very flexible!

Why so sad, students? It’s not because they’re a hard Mane to effectively counter, or because they may be hard to flip in the first place. To me, the biggest thing holding up this card is that flip ability. Yes, the same flip ability I was just raving about. This thing encourages running a LOT of colors. But that may not be your - or anyone else's - ideal strategy. Juggling a lot of colors can feel daunting! Heck, I feel daunted sometimes when I’m using a deck that has just two colors. I also find it can be hard to build decks using a boatload of colors, even with cards like The Fire of Friendship, Motivational Speech, and Rainbow Generator. And might I add that decks featuring Tempest Shadow, Easy as Pie are still frequent? If you’re running it, cool! You can flip the Student Six for cheap. If your opponent is running it? Oh dear. It’s no Princess Cadance, Loving Ruler, but if you don’t have a thorough color spectrum on your playing field, it’s gonna sting. Think about it: when your opponent sees this, they may avoid playing secondary colors just to make life harder for you. Yes, a second-turn flip (assuming you pay 4 AT) is nothing to sneeze at, but you’re not confronting anything, so it’s a slower start. And if your opponent frightens/dismisses/banishes even one of those Friends that you play with the Student Six to do fun color req things and THEN turns the Student Six over... you won't be having a good time. Overall, this is a very complex Mane that I think has a lot of potential, but players will have to construct around it carefully.

Here’s a few more cards you can find alongside these guys on the honor roll:

*Coloratura, Simply Rara. To get those Friendship counters, you and your opponent need to consistently be confronting Problems. You can’t really force your opponent to confront things when they don’t want to (not without a lot of setup), so you’re probably better off focusing on your own confronting. But how do you make it easier to confront things, especially when your Student Six might already be exhausted? I recommend Rara here. During your Main Phase, Rara can reduce the confront requirements of a Problem by 4 wild power until the end of your turn. Depending on the Problem you use it on, that can make all the difference in the world. On a Problem like The Trouble With Trixie? You’d only need 2 Purple power to confront it. What about Mystery at Hope Hollow? You’d only need 1 power of any color then! Whether you play her with with the Student Six or your own AT, Rara is great to get your Students those Friendship counters.

*Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz, Rock Ranchers. But let’s say that, for whatever reason, you DON’T want to let the power from the Student Six go to waste. You want to exhaust them and play that Friend for free, but that’s 3 power you’re out of. At least, you were out of it before Rock Ranchers came in. Igneous and Cloudy can give one of your characters (yes, characters) Stubborn until the start of your next turn. In order to do so, you have to exhaust them (but they have Stubborn too, so you can use their 2 power) and banish a card from your discard pile. If you’re in a power pinch, this could certainly let you use the Student Six’s power for both your turn and potentially your opponent’s turn. Not to mention the few cards that like having things banished, such as Princess Celestia, Restricted Section. More power for you and more annoyance for your opponent!

*Sclerite, Two-tone. If you want an easy way to get small amounts of color req (at least enough to reduce the Student Six’s flip cost significantly), this is the card for you! 1 AT gets you this card, and you can give it up to two colors when it enters play. If you play two of these at once, you could have five different colors on your playing field! That would cut the Student Six’s flip cost to 1 AT. Or if the Six are flipped and you want to play some cheap color req Friends for free (something like Lemon Hearts, Banquet Planner), one of these can net you that simple req in a flash. Just watch out for your opponent’s attempts to frighten/dismiss/banish these - I’ve been at the receiving end of a few Two-tone frightenings and it isn’t fun.

Thanks for reading the first Card Shark of 2020! I’m super excited to head to the Vanhoover Pony Expo for the second time next weekend, and I hope to play in the Harmony tournament! While I get settled with a new quarter of university and prepare for VPE, I’ll be doing a few more Leaders and Legends Sharks before I restart my set cycle and corresponding polls! Hope you’ll stick around to find out what card I cover next! Diamond out!