My Little Pony: Micro-Series: #5: Pinkie Pie: 05/17/18

My Little Pony: Micro-Series: #5: Pinkie Pie by Ted Anderson is about Pinkie Pie coming to terms with the impending retirement of her favorite clown, Ponyacci. Apparently the clown's name and story is a pun on a character in The Watchman. I didn't catch the reference (beyond the old cliché of the clown being sad on the inside) because I haven't read The Watchman.

Any fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic knows that Pinkie Pie obsesses over things. All of the Mane Five do but Pinkie is the most over the top about how she expresses her otakuness.

Imagine now that you're an old, tired clown who might be fighting depression and might just need time away from the worst of the fandom, only to be stalked by a loud, boisterous, and semi-famous, fan who insists you can't retire — that she won't let you. Wouldn't you be scared out of your gourd? I would.

In the end, Pinkie does manage to find a "good" solution to her "problem." Namely, she convinces Ponyacci to teach at the clown school. And that's supposed to make everything better for both characters. Except it's all Pinkie's doing and even at her worst, she's usually more caring about ponies.

It's hard to see the humor in Pinkie Pie's actions in the context of fandom discussions, the doxing, the rape threats, the boycotts, etc that some fans threaten other fans or even performers they are fans of. Is the message here appropriate? No.

If this book had been an actual episode from the cartoon, Pinkie's closet friends would have staged an intervention. They would have told her in polite terms to shut the fuck up and leave Mr. Ponyacci alone. Without their help and caring, though, Pinkie Pie becomes a very frightening, potentially dangerous pony.

Two stars

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