Follies, gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome once again to another My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic review. Last month, IDW finished up their queen Chrysalis arc in spectacular fashion. And now, it’s time to start another four part story which looks to bring us another classic enemy. But perhaps not in the same form we remember her in.
The story begins with Twilight Sparkle waking up from a nightmare. But this isn’t a one time incident as it appears that she’s had nightmares every day for a week. It also turns out that all of her friends have had nightmares as well. In an attempt to bring in the good dreams, they all attend a slumber party held by Pinkie Pie. However, it doesn’t seem to help, as we peer into the nightmares of the ponies to see what their fears are.
Twilight Sparkle’s nightmare involves no longer being Princess Celestia’s student. Fluttershy’s sees all her animal friends run from her. Applejack has nightmares of losing Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie’s involves not being able to entertain anypony. Rainbow Dash fears that her wings will be so mangled up that she’ll never become a Wonderbolt. And finally Rarity has nightmares of her generous acts not being welcomed, and that none of her friends will ever want anything from her.
This leads a weird black cloud from the nightmares to manifest itself, and capture Rarity. Despite the attempts of her friends, Rarity ends up on the moon with the evil entity. Not too long after that, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna show up to help explain the situation. It appears that the nightmare creatures that possessed Luna once have returned, and are seeking a new host. Will that new host be Rarity, and does this mean the return of Nightmare Moon?
For the first chapter of this four part saga, it’s a great way to kick things off. Even though most pony fans are well aware of the main fears of the mane sic, we get to see them represented in their nightmares. And most interestingly, we get to see first hand how important it is to Rarity that her generosity is respected by her friends. I will say that the comic does feel a little denser in story than the previous arc. This time around taking the writing position is Heather Nuhfer. But the denser feel may be more due to the first issue which needed to get the ball running on the story.
We also have a new comic artist involved with Amy Mebberson. And while I feel that Andy Price’s art from the previous arc was far more detailed, Mebberson still gives us a great looking story. Although one thing does stick out like a sore hoof. Why did they go with Luna’s Season 1 design over her current look? It’s kind of jarring when you’re so used to the current version in the series. Despite that, all of the characters are wonderfully drawn. There’s the excellent references that the show likes to throw in. Even a shout out to the popular Disney cartoon Gravity Falls.
I also like this for the biased reason that it’s going to focus on my favorite pony, Rarity. After a season with no episodes involving her, seeing her become the important factor to the adventure couldn’t make me more happier. And with a Rarity Micro-Series book out next month too, I get to bask in the goodness of the best pony. And you should too, this is a great book, and it’s starting what I hope is another great arc.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #5 is available now at your local comic book store, as well as on iTunes.