IDW Friends Forever #6 Review · 3:31am Dec 26th, 2017
As the first full month of what was to be the longest hiatus in show history began back in the Summer of 2014, and information about Rainbow Rocks was slowly seeping out, the IDW comics were chugging along just fine. The main series was wrapping up what remains their high water mark "Reflections", but the Friends Forever series, though having proved itself a solid successor to the Micro series, still had some concerns about quality in the wake of Friends Forever #5 that left fans scratching their heads. So, was this issue's decision to focus on two very polarizing (but also fan favorite) characters known for similar defining traits, able to lift the Friends Forever series back up to the level of quality seen in #2-#4, or start a downward spiral? Well, let's find out.
The beginning of the issue certainly isn't the best start, it seems like a re-hash of "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" with everyone harping on Rainbow Dash. But the thing is, they're doing this before we even see or hear from Rainbow Dash, so this reeks of "Tell, don't show". Even Rainbow Dash's friends (except Pinkie Pie) are apparently getting on her case, just because she got an invite to a far off land called Diamondia.
Rainbow Dash arrives in the kingdom (per the request of the queen), to find out that it's ruled by Diamond Dogs. But it turns out that the ones Rarity had a problem with back in Season 1 were a pack that got kicked out of Diamondia long ago, and most of the Diamond Dogs are actually quite civilized. Rainbow contemplates leaving, but decides she can't turn down a chance to show off. However, her mood changes when she discovers that the queen is none other than Trixie. Trixie waits for the Diamond Dogs to leave, and then tells Rainbow the story of how she was mistaken for their queen.
Trixie was on her way to Seaddle for a show, when all her props spilled out of her cart and got stuck in a mud puddle. Trixie boasted in her usual way, which impressed the dimwitted Diamond Dogs enough for them to make her their queen. But Trixie soon found out that they wanted her to find gems for them, and Trixie being the subpar magic user that she is, kept inventing excuses as to why she couldn't do so. Rainbow immediately comes to the conclusion that Trixie got herself into the mess, and she can get herself out of it, which doesn't exactly make her look sympathetic. However, she decides to try and help Trixie escape, only to discover that there's some kind of invisible wall preventing the queen from escaping, and it's all tied into the crown.
After some convincing, Rainbow agrees to help Trixie, and goes snooping for information. She learns from one of the Diamond Dogs, that the crown has been enchanted so that it can't be taken off unless the dogs lose faith in their leader (like most parliamentary systems, except without the mandatory elections every so many years regardless of whenever else they may be called). And upon telling Trixie this, the two conspire to steal all the gems from Diamondia's royal treasury during Rainbow Dash's show, allowing Trixie to be freed.
The show goes off without a hitch, but Rainbow Dash has to serve as a distraction for a little while. Once she's performed well enough, Trixie signals her to come close, and she launches into an act to get the crown to fall off her. Unfortunately, she oversells her part, and the Diamond Dogs get really mad at her. Fortunately, with the help of a Sonic Rainboom, Trixie and Rainbow Dash are able to escape. As it turns out, all the gems weren't actually stolen, they just fell through a trap door. Trixie thanks Rainbow for helping her escape, and Rainbow warns Trixie not to make the same mistake again. The issue then ends with Rainbow flying off, while Trixie goes off to play a "new trick" with a smirk on her face.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the issue? Well, the beginning and end are very rough. The beginning feels incredibly off putting considering Rainbow hasn't actually been seen boasting yet, and when we find out about her invite, it makes sense that she'd boast about it a little. Then at the end, when Trixie goes off to play a "new trick", it feels as if Trixie hasn't learned her lesson. I think they were trying to go for funny, but sometimes pulling out the "Just kidding, I never learned anything" card when teaching a moral, can ruin your story (as some people fault "Jingle Jingle Jingle" for, and everyone faults "Little Yellow Book" for). Rainbow also kind of loses sympathy points for deciding to just bail on Trixie upon learning of her predicament, even though Rainbow herself is guilty of getting into trouble with her boasts, and Trixie has already gone to the lengths of calling her for help. she does bring up a good point about how Trixie got herself into the mess though. The meat of the story utilizes both characters nicely, and there's even some doses of humility for Trixie when she has no trouble giving credit to Rainbow Dash for helping her, and Rainbow makes an honest effort to help Trixie out without any kind of reward. Their strategy feels like something only they could come up with, though admittedly they can sort of blend together in potrayal given their similar faults and motivations. It's a good team up, but it doesn't feel like either character has come out of it particularly stronger or having learned anything. Still, I recommend this issue and consider it among the better ones (definite top ten material), because this was the first real demonstration of what the Friends Forever series could accomplish (#2 and #3 set the standard, but they do have some hints of experimentation and trying to find out what works and what doesn't, mostly in terms of story and pacing, and #4 sort of made Twilight and Shining Armor blend together, whereas #5 didn't utilize the chemistry between its two characters to the best of its ability). It's maybe worth going up to ten dollars, but don't go over that.
I've got one more comic to review, so come back tomorrow when we'll review Friends Forever #7.
Admittedly, this is Trixie, and Trixie can be a slow learner.
What I liked about this was that here we see Trixie not as villain (something she never really was, save under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet in "Magic Duel") but rather as a roguish adventurer, trying to make her way by wits and luck and courage through a sometimes harsh world; more heroine than villainess.
This is also as I always saw her, even before she started to make her actual transition into canonical heroism in Season Six.
I was also glad that she wound up becoming friends with Rainbow Dash. If you remember, Dashie was one of the Ponies with whom she clashed in "Boast Busters," and so it strikes me as especially-signficant that Dashie saved her in this story. It's just like blustering but big-hearted Rainbow Dash to do something like that, and I'm glad that Trixie appreciated her help.
Non-canonical, but ultimately quite compatible with later vanilla canon for all that.