YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (IDW) Issue 40

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Did Celestia neglect to notice the toll that raising Spike was taking on Twilight, or just not care? Or was Twilight so focused on proving herself to Celestia that she was unwilling to admit this to her?
• Awesome Art: This has some of the most detailed and vibrant backgrounds and character expressions to appear in the comic, really bringing it to life.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: By virtue of association with Trixie, the orange mare who's implied to be her mother or other relative has gained more than her fair share of fans.
• Esoteric Happy Ending: Yay, Twilight finally understands her relationship with Spike and found her first true friend! But this doesn't address the problem that the impossibility of balancing her duties as a student and being Spike's caretaker had driven her to emotional breakdown just moments ago without any inclination Celestia would do anything about it. And the fact she grew up into an Ineffectual Loner suggests it had the opposite intended effect. Uh...yay?
• Fanon Discontinuity: Long-anticipated backstory + unlikeable portrayal of Celestia + Esoteric Happy Ending = fans disregarding the work.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Celestia is supposed to be aware of how stressful and demanding raising Spike would be for Twilight and counterbalance this by stating that she will assist her. She's never shown to this, nor does she seem aware Twilight's being overwhelmed. Even after Twilight breaks down and flat out tells Celestia, there's still no indication she did anything given what Twilight is like at the start of the series.

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