It’s time to look at one of the My Little Pony spinoff comics. It’s been a while since I read a comic for this franchise and you may remember that I wasn’t thrilled with the first one. It had some animal violence and that wasn’t cool. Luckily, this one holds true to the show and it feels like it’s higher quality than the last trade paperback. Each story is a stand alone for a different pony, which is typically not my favorite format. It can work though as long as each story is interesting. Let’s see if the stories worked!

One story is about Applejack and her family is preparing for a nice feast. A holiday is coming up so now they can enjoy their food and bond as a family. The problem is that a monster is stealing their food. Applejack decides that she must stop him and she wants to do it by herself so that her family won’t need to worry. Can she really handle this task on her own?

The moral for this story is about letting others help out because sometimes it is for the best. It’s never good to deal with every task by yourself since everyone needs help once in a while. It’s a pretty fun story although it’s certainly weaker than the other stories. Applejack seems like a nice pony and her goal was pretty noble so I don’t necessarily disagree with her decision. Of course, accepting help was the right thing to do, but she wasn’t mean to the others when declining their help either, which is a nice change of pace from what would have typically happened in this situation.

Rainbow Dash’s story saw her go up against some mysterious beings who feed on negative energy. Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Boom seems to have no effect on their fortress of wind and they damage her wing. Her confidence is shaken and the villagers are starting to get riled up. A sense of dread and sadness fills the village and Rainbow Dash is the only one who can stop the villains. Can she get over her fear to do this?

The moral is a classic one about facing your fears and not getting too overconfident. That’s not even the exact moral as it was a little more complex than that. This was a fun story and we actually got some new villains, which was pretty neat. Rainbow Dash may be nervous for most of the comic, but it doesn’t feel too out of character since it’s handled pretty well. I think that the other ponies could have certainly been a little nicer about the whole thing, but not every pony in Equestria is nice. Only the ones who really count. It can be frustrating to see the villains crushing Rainbow Dash’s attempts, but the stakes are certainly higher than usual. This was a fun story.

Next up, we have Twilight Sparkle as she is sent to help out at a library/book place. Unfortunately, her temporary boss is pretty grouchy. Twilight Sparkle does her best to still remain very polite and do her work. The icy feelings between these two ponies start to thaw a little, but then Twilight Sparkle finds out a secret that could change everything. What has she done!?

I admit that it was probably a little out of character for Twilight Sparkle to look through the door into the lady’s secret room after being told not too. Sparkle doesn’t seem like the type of pony who can’t control her curiosity after all. I can’t say that with 100% certainty though so maybe I’m slightly off the mark here. This was a fun comic though and it reminds me why Twilight Sparkle is my second favorite pony. She is certainly very reasonable and a lot nicer than the other members of the Mane 6 beyond Pinkie Pie. (Pinkie Pie is always the best at everything after all) This may have been the best story in the collection.

Pinkie Pie may be my favorite pony, but she doesn’t get my favorite story. A clown has been helping many ponies laugh and smile through the years, but he is now retiring. Pinkie Pie must get him to see why being a clown was so much fun again, but is it really right to try and stop him from retiring?

In the end, Pinkie Pie see that it is a little selfish to try to stop someone from leaving their work when they have finally had enough. That being said, she also helps the clown realize that he can always help the industry out in other ways and Pinkie Pie gets better at being a clown through this experience. She is certainly good at cheering people up already so you may wonder just how much cooler she can get from here right? She didn’t act quite as crazy/insane as usual, but she doesn’t need to always be like that to be a fun character. She still has a lot of personality.

Rarity’s story naturally revolves around a fashion show that she is setting up. Her friends decide that she can use a little rest so they send her to a new spa that has opened up. Rarity is thrilled to go there until she finds out that it isn’t much of a spa. The mud baths are pretty literal and the food is all healthy to the point where it is barely edible. Can she really make the best of this?

I felt pretty bad for Rarity here since this is a case where she is really the victim of the moral. The moral is naturally to give things a chance and trying out new experiences isn’t bad, but…the spa went pretty far. The owners do have a good reason for this though and there are many emotional plot twists. It’s good that Rarity was able to help out, but it still would have been nice if she had gotten an actual vacation. This story certainly didn’t help her pass the other ponies, but she has her moments I suppose. Deep down, she’s as nice as the others.

Finally, we have Fluttershy’s story. It’s really a coincidence that she was last as I was mainly writing down the summaries from memory and hers I happened to remember last. (I had to double check for Rarity’s so at least Fluttershy’s was more memorable) Fluttershy has made a painting, but she is nervous and believes that it didn’t look very good. So, she enters it in an art exhibit, but she makes sure to be in disguise. Will the officials like this?

First of all, I have to say that this is where it comes in handy to be friends with Celestia’s protoge and with an expert in the form of Rarity. The officials naturally say that they can’t stand the painting and try to make Fluttershy feel bad (Along with all of the other painters) but then Rarity walks in and announces that it is quite good. The rest of the Mane 6 agree and they even managed to bring in Princess Celestia who announces that it is amazing. It all works out and Fluttershy decides to be more confident in herself. Her lack of confidence is why she isn’t one of my favorite ponies, but I do like the fact that she has a strong bond with animals so that helps to balance it out a little. You will definitely feel bad for her here. This was another good story and it’s probably second behind Twilight Sparkle’s.

The art is very good here even if the cover isn’t great. Yes…I think the cover could hurt sales and I seriously wonder why it was chosen! Well, mistakes happen I suppose. Still, the artwork inside of the graphic novel is consistent and all of the characters look accurate. This helps you fast blast through the comics pretty quickly even if the text can be a bit on the small side.

Overall, This was the My Little Pony comic that I had been expecting when I read the first graphic novel a while back. The short stories were all pretty good or interesting and this was a nice way to see if each of the ponies could hold their own story without relying on the others. I’d say that they succeeded in that area and the comic is a lot of fun to read from start to finish. It certainly never drags on or gets boring. There may not be a lot of action, but the writing is very good so that doesn’t end up being a problem. If you are on the fence about starting the franchise, this is a good way to get into it. I also recommend it for fans of the TV show as it isn’t a quick money grab. They did put in a good amount of effort here and I look forward to reading the next volume. It may be a while, but I do have another one of the spinoffs to review coming soon….

Overall 7/10