Comic Review - Friends Forever #23 · 9:00pm Dec 2nd, 2015
Applejack and Fluttershy, eh? An odd pairing, but then that's the point of Friends Forever, giving us characters interacting in new ways the show hasn't or can't do. So let's have a look at how this works out.
Our writer is Ted Anderson, among others did Twi and Big Mac, Rainbow and Spitfire, Spike and Zecora, and Manehattan Mysteries in the main series. Okay, looking decent for the writer. Art is Tony Fleeces, doesn't ring a bell much aside from Night of the Living Apples, which looked fine. No red flags so far.
We open on Fluttershy and Applejack out camping... just like that. Really, no build-up or explanation? Applejack even implies this isn't the first such trip the two have taken together, and it's nice to get away from it all with another pony who appreciates nature. Okay, fair point, but this is a bit sudden to spring on the first page. Shouldn't that sort of bond come at the end of the story? Anyway, the peace and quiet is shattered by a stampede of other ponies arriving. One of them, Nosey News, is a reporter for Canterlot Daily - you just know the writer wanted to make the joke we're all making but backed off. The ponies are here hunting the legendary "pigasus," a flying pig. I'm torn between declaring that pun brilliant or stupid.
Nosey shows them a photo she recently took in the woods, a blurry black and white image of what seems to be the pigasus, but it's hard to tell. Still, a lot of ponies believed her and have come to set up a pigasus hunt. AJ complains it'll ruin the vacation, and cue a full-page montage of her and Fluttershy trying to enjoy themselves as other ponies crowd the area. As the two try to sleep, AJ confesses it isn't just the disrupted vacation bothering her. She used to lie as a filly, but stopped when she realized how much lies hurt others, even small ones. And something just tells her Nosey News is lying. Fluttershy asks if a lie could ever be a good thing, and Applejack admits it's possible, but she hasn't seen it happen, and even if it could she wouldn't be the one doing it.
In the morning the two wake up and Applejack comes face-to-face with the pigasus in the tent. After some screaming, Applejack realizes Nosey was right and that this is a big find, and wonders if the pigasus could come to live on the farm. Fluttershy protests that this is its natural habitat and they can't move it. AJ relents and makes a cute node that "it's the bats all over again." The two discuss what to do. Twilight could have the area declared a nature preserve, but first they need to talk to her, and if they leave the tent the hunters will capture the pigasus. Fluttershy suggests lying to them to trick them into leaving, and AJ grumbles she knew that was coming. She says that it doesn't matter what the reason is, someone's gonna pay the price for the lie sooner or later. Fluttershy counters if they don't lie, the pigasus will be the one who pays, and Applejack agrees.
At the hunter festival, Applejack takes the stage and awkwardly tries to dissuade them from hunting for it, as they yell at her they need to find it. Watching from a distance, Fluttershy notes it isn't working and makes a crack that Applejack trying to lie is like a pig trying to fly. Er, other pigs. Applejack is booed off the stage and tells Nosey that even if the pigasus was real or not, she just knows she wouldn't like it if a bunch of ponies tore up her neighborhood looking for her. Back in tent AJ has a little rant about how much of a pain it is being the Element of Honesty, and wonders why she couldn't have been the Element of Stubbornness, or the Element of Apples.
Nosey arrives at the tent and AJ peaks her head out. Nosey questions what Applejack's qualifications are to lecture them on legendary animals. AJ replies that she's a friend of the Princess of Friendship, and they've been all over Equestria and seen all sorts of weird things. Not to mention, Element of Honesty, so you know she's trustworthy. Nosey asks outright: has Applejack seen the pigasus? Applejack cracks and admits the truth as the pigasus flies out of the tent and into the air. The ponies chase after it and find it was just Fluttershy who pulled one of the green sleeping bags over her. Nosey yells at her, in the process revealing her photograph was faked. The ponies chase her off, and the comic ends with the woods peaceful again as Fluttershy and the pigasus listen to Applejack play the banjo.
This comic is decent. It's not awesome, but it works well. We don't get much insight on the bond between Applejack and Fluttershy, but the story is structured in a way both of them work off of it and each other well. The reveal with Nosey is rather obvious, fortunately she doesn't dominate the comic too much. The humor is a bit weak but then the comic doesn't often try to be funny on purpose.
Applejack is given some depth, Fluttershy gets to defend an animal, and it all ends happily. What more could one ask for from Friends Forever?
I'm still waiting for the Gilda and Rarity issue.
3587572
Dat'd be funny. Still a bit annoyed w/ the issue hinting that lying is sometimes okay though. :-\
3587809 Eh, honesty isn't always the best policy. It's not always as black and white as you may think. There are times when lying or not telling the whole truth has its benefits. The problem is knowing when these situations arise, and when telling the truth would only hurt matters.
3588694
You see, we're looking at it from different angles. You see it as a "policy" issue while I see it as a "morals/ethics" issue. Yes, you do often pay a price for honesty, but it is still the right thing to do. You have to realize that there is often a price for doing what is right, but that doesn't mean you should automatically go with the flow of things just because it's advantageous or easy. This is why I would probably never go into politics. I'm too hot-headed and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night after doing a lot of the slimbeall things a typical politician often does.