Thoughts on IDW My Little Pony Friends Forever comic volume 1

So this comic omnibus is broken into four stories with each one having two main characters for each comic. I'll go through them from the one I liked the least to my favorite. Also this comic omnibus takes place before the season 3 finale.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack: this story is about Applejack and Pinkie Pie in a dessert baking competition in Canterlot. There are a few original characters created for the comic. Summer Van Der Hoof, Blaze Sparxx, Toffee Truffle, Jumbo Don, and Marine Sandwich. Along with three unnamed judges, an old griffon, a motherly-looking Buffalo, and a fancy red-coated mare. Pinkie Pie forgets all of her recipes, and Applejack accidentally takes the place of Marine Sandwich. During the competition, they learn that Toffee Truffle wants to win to reopen a restaurant known as the Cherry Pitt in Dodge City since the old owner retired. So the two try to help her best, with the two purposely trying to lose to help her. But Toffee figures it out and tries to tell them to stop trying t lose and let her win on her own merits. The funny part about this is that while Applejack and Pinkie Pie were trying to lose, they won the previous rounds in the competition. Then, when asked to present their favorite desserts, Applejack takes out an apple, and Pinkie Pie throws pies at the judges (which the buffalo seemed to enjoy much). Toffee then presented a plate of Dulce de Leche, and the judges seemed impressed. However, disaster strikes as Marine Sandwich keep being kicked out of the competition as Applejack accidentally steals her spot for revenge; she starts to freeze everypony with a ray gun. They then plug up her gun using the cookies Toffee made, causing her to become frozen instead. So then Toffee wins the competition and becomes friends with Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Overall this was a simple, fun comic but seeing that Marine Sandwich wasn't a villain as she got screwed over and how there was no real competition between Applejack and Pinkie Pie was a bit disappointing.

Twilight and Shining Armor: this is the final comic in the omnibus, and overall, it's a decent one where we get to see Shining Armor and Twilight be the main focus and see their relationship. The main plot is about Twilight visiting her brother in the Crystal Empire. But Princess Cadance is out of town, leaving him with all of her duties, and he's somewhat overwhelmed, leaving no time for him to hang out with her. Also, there's something stealing books and freaking out the palace staff, and Twilight thinks it's a Crystal Ghost, as mentioned in a book she and Shining Armor created to track down monsters as kids. But Shining Armor doesn't believe it's real and tells Twilight to leave as the castle staff is freaked out more than before. Later that night, Twilight has a cute dream of herself and her brother as foals and them playing monster trackers. But as she's asleep, something steals her book and causes a stir among the rest of the staff. They all come to her room and believe it is a crystal ghost. So she and Shining Armor hunt it down. They go beneath the castle to see that King Sombra built an entire chamber to trap monsters and protect his treasure. They then find the crystal ghost, which is amicable as King Sombra used it as a pet, but he escapes and can capture it. So Shining Armor has him help around the library and returns all the books he has stolen. And Twilight and Shining seemed to have bonded well, seeing they were able to relive their childhood for the night. This was a great comic, and I much enjoyed it. I honestly wish this one was animated and brought to life. It has so much heart and adventure with a very heartwarming ending. (Also, they have Mario and Luigi as ponies in this comic XD)

The CMC and Discord: this story is pretty straightforward, as it's Discord trying to help the CMC find their cutie marks while wreaking havoc. He placed the fillies in a bubble to send them through alternate realities to try things they haven't thought about, but as it expands, more of Ponyville is being enveloped by it. So much so that the Mane six think Discord reverted to being evil and try to break through the bubble, but nothing works. Eventually, Sweetie Belle convinces Discord that despite his good intentions, this wouldn't earn them their cutie marks. So he ends the bubble and becomes friends with the CMC becoming an honorary member.

I think the "Shining Armor and Twilight" comic has a better story, but I had a lot more fun reading this one, mainly due to its art and creativity. This one is something to behold on its own. There are a lot of references to LOTR, Power Rangers (with Gummy becoming Godzilla), and even Star Trek. It was a lot of fun to see, and I could imagine how fun it would've been to see this one animated.

Spike and Princess Celestia: I may be a bit biased, seeing Princess Celestia is my favorite female character in the show. Still, this comic answer's a question that should've been obvious to the audience. Why does Princess Celestia always send Twilight to face danger and doesn't help? I would say there are two significant reasons one is that she lost the ability to use the elements of harmony, and two, she is training Twilight to replace her as Princess of Equestria. So in the comic, Spike wants to get something for Twilight's birthday, so he goes to Princess Celestia for help. He wants to get her a new telescope for star gazing, so Princess Celestia gets Starry Eyed, the best telescope maker in Equestria. But to make it Starry Eyed requires glass from a Crystal Mountain in the north. So Princess Celestia offers to go with him on an adventure to get the glass needed to make the telescope. But as they go o their quest Rock Lobster creatures capture the two, and Spike outwits them and has them release himself and the princess. However, he asks Celestia why didn't she break them out. That's where she explains she wanted him to do it to prove that he can be self-reliant. She also explains that she has Twilight and her friends take on danger alone because she knows she won't be around one day. They then get the lenses they need, but a volcano erupts, and the lenses fall into a river of lava. Spike jumps in (seeing he's a dragon and can't be hurt by lava) and grabs them. However, Spike falls over the side of a cliff with the lava, and Princess Celestia rescues him, but a giant boulder traps the two. This time Princess Celestia blasts out of the cave and shows that she'll be there if the danger is too much. She'll help if the threat proves too much for her student. Then we get a panel of Spike giving Twilight her new telescope, and he receives a letter from Princess Celestia. She thanks him for the trip and explains how she learned a lesson from Spike and that she'll be his friend forever.

I much enjoyed this comic as it solidifies this "plot hole" as not being one in the first place. Yes, Princess Celestia and Luna are strong (which makes their defeat in the 2017 movie so frustratingly stupid). But they both knew their time as princesses would end when they found somepony to replace them. Also, this comic shows that Spike and the princess have a relationship of being "pen pals," and this is brought up in a couple of episodes. I think this comic is the best in this omnibus because it gives much-needed context to the show.