Thoughts on IDW My Little Pony Friends Forever comic volume 8

So this comic omnibus is broken into Five stories, each with two main characters for each comic. I'll review them from the one I liked the least to my favorite.

Twilight Sparkle & Princess Cadance: This comic wasn't bad, but I felt it doesn't do a great job with Cadance, as I'll explain. The story itself had an exciting presence, with Princess Cadance feeling like she doesn't know her place and is having an existential crisis. The show hasn't done the best in Cadance's character, and she seems to always be in the background of the other princesses, so this comic had the potential to rectify that. Cadnace's depression even leads to the Crystal Heart losing its power, and Twilight basiclly convinces her she's more than a pretty face and has done a lot to inspire ponies her way. I felt as if there wasn't much done for Princess Cadance coming to this realization outside of a few panels. I think they could've had her see other ponies talk about her and see how they all look up to her and love her. This comic had an excellent premise, and the watercolor art is amazing, but I felt it fell short on the story.

Applejack & Cherry Jubilee: Overall, this comic wasn't terrible. It just wasn't as interesting as the others. The story was pleasantly fun, being a romantic tale and taking a character in one episode with more backstory. The story revolves around a traveling show led by a Buffalo Bull stallion. Applejack lets them stay, but Cherry wants them gone. Applejack has to dig to learn why she doesn't wish to Buffalo Bull hanging around and realize she used to be a part of the show. Then she has Cherry open up, revealing she was part of a traveling show and fell in love with the main act, a stallion named Buffalo Bull. The two had a falling out, and due to a classic case of "lack of communication," she was left in Dodge Junction. They then talk things over and makeup. Again, the story and the comic were fine, but it felt like there was little to no interaction between Applejack and Cherry, so I put it near the bottom. But it's not a bad read, and overall, it was engaging, and I enjoy seeing other obscure characters get the spotlight occasionally.

Daring Do & Fluttershy: This was a creative comic that I think should've been an entire show episode. The comical art of this comic helps as it's such a goofy one, with Daring Do having a phobia of spiders, and she needs Fluttershy's help to get through this adventure as it requires a spider with a map on its back. Meanwhile, Dr. Callaberon and Ahuizotl try to capture all the map spiders to keep Dairng from finding them. But Daring and Fluttershy eventually find the castle with the treasure inside, and Ahuizotl throws them down a well tied up with a rock. Luckily, a spider helps them get free, and they escape, take down Ahuizotl, and find the treasure. The one thing that made this comic stand up was that Daring Do's fear of spiders made her feel inferior to Fluttershy, who, throughout the adventure, was conquering her fears. The thing that makes it such a good story is that in the end, Fluttershy helps Daring confront her fears, and they both have to unleash a boxload of captured spiders onto Dr. Callaberon and Ahuizotl. The comic was overall well drawn in the Looney Toons art style, and I felt that Daring Do and Fluttershy had good chemistry.

Rainbow Dash & Little Strong Heart: This comic was sorely needed as an episode in the show. In my opinion, the show should've done a better job with the Buffalo as representatives of native American cultures. In my opinion, this comic helped rectify the issue, with the story being about a tradition the Buffalo follows about going to a creature they hold sacred, known as the Rainbow Crow. Rainbow Dash is tasked to bring one of its feathers up from its mountain so the tribe can burn it to help them through the harsh winter. So Little Strong Heart and Rainbow Dash work together to find the Rainbow Crow as Little Strong Heart knows the way to the crow. They do, but along the way, Rainbow Dash challenges their traditions along the way, thinking it would be easier to get Celestia to help. But Little Strong Heart explains their traditions are essential and sacred. Little Strong Heart even explains that they know Celestia brings the sun's warmth, but they want to continue their traditions to keep their tribe connected. I enjoyed this comic as the story was great, the message was valuable, and the art is something to behold when the chief tells them the tale of the Rainbow Crow. The art in the panels are some of the most beautiful art I've seen from the comics( I posted the panels on my Reddit account Buffalo art from comic ). The banter between the two was natural, and they had great chemistry, being the two are somewhat competitive. I also liked how they had a healthy debate about the Buffalo's traditions, and it wasn't just Rainbow Dash being schooled on being ignorant.

Rarity & Maud Pie: if any comic in this volume truly deserved to be an episode, it was this one. The closest we got to Rarity and Maud Pie having a standalone attack was "The Gift of Maud Pie," they are an exciting foil to each other. Both are interested in rocks; of course, Rarity is much more interested in precious gems, whereas Maud Pie loves rocks and just about anything that has to deal with Geology. Rarity is also more emotional and expressive, whereas Maud Pie doesn't show her emotions as much as the fashionista. So, putting the two together works well as they both have things they're interested in but are very different in how they act. The art is also unique and works well with the story. The story is about Rarity helping Maud Pie explore some caves nopony has seen before. Rarity pushes Maud Pie to go to them first, and she's on a race with her rival, Buried Treasure. On a hot air balloon trip to the mountain where the caves are, Rarity talks to Maud Pie about how it's hard to read her and that she might not have emotions. Maud is confused, trying to explain that she does, and this comes up later. They eventually get to the caves, but Buried Treasure is ahead and burns a rope bridge to stall them. Then the two get lost, and Rarity thinks they should hang up the towel and thinks that Maud Pie doesn't care as she isn't being very expressive. Throughout the comic, Rarity writes down what's happening and her thoughts. But after they get stranded on the other side of the hole where Buried Treasure burned the rope bridge, she accidentally reads Maud Pie's diary. The panel that strikes me is the part where Maud Pie writes down how she wishes to be more expressive but doesn't know how that's not the kind of pony she is. But this panel basiclly shows that Maud does care about exploring the cave and is disappointed that Buried Treasure will get there first. Rarity feels awful for the things she said before and apologizes. However, Maud Pie finds a weak wall of rock and, using her super strength, punches a hole into a wall and finds a slide to the caves below. Rarity is enamored by the gems below and is also happy she found a friendship with Maud. I loved how the entire plot was a metaphor for Maud, who, at the surface, seems rough and unemotional, but below, she has a beautiful soul with a lot of passion. Also, the last panel shows Maud Pie talking to rocks. One last random note: I seriously believe Maud Pie can communicate with rocks and seems to be able to understand them, like how Fluttershy can communicate with animals. Overall, this had to be one of the top comics I've read up to this point, and it was incredibly touching to see Rarity and Maud become better friends in the end.