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My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic #1-5

My Little Pony: Fiendship is Magic

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Friendship is Magic explores the secret origins of Equestria's greatest villains: Sombra, Tirek, Sirens, Nightmare Moon, and Queen Chrysalis!

124 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2015

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About the author

Jeremy Whitley

413 books339 followers
Jeremy Whitley is the son of two teachers and the husband of a third.

Born in La Mesa, CA, Jeremy went to high school in Lenoir, NC and college at The University of North Carolina. He graduated with a Bachelors in English, and a minor in Creative Writing.

Jeremy lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife Alicia and his two daughters Zuri and Amara.

Jeremy is the writer/creator of the comic series Princeless, Raven the Pirate Princess, School for Extraterrestrial Girls, and The Dog Knight. He is also the writer of the acclaimed Marvel series "The Unstoppable Wasp". His other works include extensive work for Marvel, the "Sea of Thieves" comics, and over sixty issues of My Little Pony comics.

Awards and Nominations:
3 time Glyph Winner
5 time Glyph Nominee
2 time Eisner Nominee
2 time Cyblis Nominee
2 time Bloomer Nominee
1 time Most Likely to Succeed Winner

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5 stars
229 (60%)
4 stars
98 (25%)
3 stars
36 (9%)
2 stars
7 (1%)
1 star
8 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Profile Image for Tyler Gray.
Author 6 books271 followers
August 9, 2019
Origin stories, or just interesting stories in some of them, about the main villians in MLP.

King Sombra-really sad and depressing...and felt a bit off to me. Like it was saying you can't change your destiny but I think that's the opposite of what it wanted to say and that Sombra just didn't but it just didn't come across right to me but it was ok

Tirek-I enjoyed it well enough

I really enjoyed The Sirens and Nightmare Moon's stories and loved Queen Chrysalis's.
Profile Image for Solace Winter.
1,938 reviews8 followers
April 4, 2015
Pretend this wasn't ponies and this was a well told fantasy story about people growing up in an orphanage, outcasts, and that their destinies could be changed. It's the origins story of an antagonist. It would be brilliant, or at least something we've seen and can appreciate. Now for all the people who love ponies out there, it's even more amazing because it's a well-told story with familiar characters. But even if you dislike ponies, this story is well told and a good origin story for a villain.
Profile Image for Amber Smith.
1,958 reviews44 followers
June 10, 2019
I loved this! The Art was amazing. The stories were also great. I loved finding out about Sombra!
Profile Image for Sarah.
178 reviews6 followers
November 5, 2021
Honestly, the part about Chrysalis alone deserves five stars, it was fantastic. Just the right amounts of funny and terrifying. In my opinion she is one of the more compelling villains in MLP, and I love how she basically has no origin-story like the other villains in this collection. I hope I get to read more about her in the other comics.
I also liked the stories about Tirek and Sombra. The former felt more like an epilogue than an axcual origin story, though. Sombra's story was interesting, but it raised more questions than I had before.
I'm honestly not too sure about Nightmare Moon's story. It was good in places, but felt kinda like an AU in others? It wasn't bad, but it just didn't feel like part of the canon. The Sirens...well, I never liked them in the first place, so 🤷 But I found it funny that they invented Pop-music, and it was EVIL 🤣
Profile Image for McKenzie Richardson.
Author 68 books68 followers
August 21, 2019



For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-CycleAn interesting collection of origin stories and side stories focusing on the villains of the My Little Pony series. Each had their own style and emphasis, from dark to heartbreaking. My personal favorites were Jeremy Whitley's (no surprise there) story about King Sombra and Christina Rice's about Tirek. The Queen Chrysalis one by Katie Cook had a very dark feel to it. It was a bit all over the place with the multiple stories within it, but I did enjoy the story overall. Some of the stories were a little too dark for very young fans, but good for those who want more from the series. It was interesting to see some of the villains' beginnings. I don't think I'll ever get over that Sombra story. 


Profile Image for Nerdy Werewolf.
637 reviews37 followers
August 17, 2019
"If her destiny had found her, mine would find me. And in my eagerness to run from it, I had run to it."

This is an anthology featuring some of the most interesting villains from MLP:FIM; Sombra, Tirek, the Sirens, Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis.

My favorite story was the Sombra one. It gave so much more depth to his character. Next was the Sirens (mainly just because they're hippocampi with a classic siren storyline), Nightmare Moon and the Nyxes, then the Chrysalis story, aaaand Tirek was probably my least favorite.

That said, the artwork was colorful and fun and all the stories were a blast to read. I enjoyed this as much as I do the show. I'll probably be seeking out other books now. Good comfort-reading. :)
Profile Image for Felyn.
328 reviews36 followers
December 23, 2018
All in all, a pretty cool look into the backstories and accomplishments of the various villains of the MLP:FIM universe. This is an omnibus of the mini-series, and includes: Sombra (season 3 antagonist), Tirek (season 4 antagonist), the Sirens (Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks! antagonists), Nightmare Moon (season 1 antagonist), and Chrysalis (seasons 2 & 6 antagonist).

Art is typical for the MLP comics, as is the writing/plot.

I enjoyed the fact that while some of our villains in MLP are presented as redeemable, the ones in this series really aren't - aside from Nightmare Moon.
Profile Image for Caroline Storm.
1 review
June 21, 2018
This book was so interesting, it provided full origin stories for some (Sombra, Tirek), for some, it was a defining moment in character development (the Sirens, Nightmare Moon), and lastly, for Queen Chrysalis it a kind of return, where the mane 6 visit her and tell a few stories about her, that one is kind of 3 mini stories.
Profile Image for Jasmine.
Author 1 book144 followers
August 30, 2017
Mostly does a pretty good job of continuing to expand the world of the show, not confine it. (An issue sometimes when you get side character stories. The last one was hilariously full of easter eggs. Sombra's was actually really worrying and sad.
1 review
April 9, 2024
this book i would totally recommend you. it has such a great story about each of the my little pony villains.

this book i would totally recommend you. it has such a great story about each of the my little pony villains.
Profile Image for Jamie.
75 reviews1 follower
October 11, 2017
Wasn't my favorite of the comics. It is a little of the backstory on all the "bad guys" in the series. It was interesting but just ok.
Profile Image for Lauren C.
139 reviews
February 7, 2018
Loved getting to know more about the villains since we get so little time with them on the show.
Profile Image for Zete.
173 reviews
April 4, 2019
I didn't like it so much, I prefer the retro kind of my little pony stories
4 reviews
May 14, 2019
Wonderful!

Loved the art, very good. Also, the stories explained some questions I had and overall, I liked the story!! 😃
Profile Image for Tiana Hadnt.
308 reviews18 followers
August 10, 2021
These are just pure, solid fun. I love them for something lighthearted but heartfelt.
4 reviews
September 25, 2016
Beautiful art, great stories

Excellent backstories, very well thought out, true to the current characters and set ups for future reference. I adore Princess Luna / Nightmare Moon and always looking for more. The art is wonderful and enjoyable.
Profile Image for Beenee Reads.
435 reviews
November 22, 2015
AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

This was SO awesome! I saw that this was a thing on Amazon before it came out and I could not wait for the release date. It finally came and I was entirely not disappointed!
Fiendship is Magic tells us the origins of 4 of the biggest baddies in the MLP Fim universe and it was really cool to see how the bad guys started out and why.

I didn't really care about Tirek because I never liked him anyways and his story pretty much reinforced my original feelings about him.

The Sirens story was really cool because we got to see Star Swirl the Bearded in action. It was great seeing that he regretted what he had done because he wasn't sure if the Sirens could have used their powers for good instead, if only someone had taken the time to try with them. It made me like him because he didn't automatically think that they were totally evil. (also, the singing montage was HILARIOUS!)

Nightmare Moon's story was more along the lines of what happened immediately after she was banished to the moon, as opposed to the true origin of the entity that took over Luna. My understanding is that they were 2 entirely different creatures and Nightmare Moon inhabited Luna's body and took control in a moment of weakness. (I could be wrong, but don't think so because of certain wording)

And now to my absolute favorite of all bad guy origin stories! Sombra!
By far the best origin story in the book, Sombra's story tells of a young colt who was found wandering alone outside the Crystal Empire. He was taken in and ended up in an orphanage where the other colts and fillies were mean to him, except for one filly. Radiant Hope (and how great is that name!) becomes Sombra's friend and may have even become more if not for certain events that unfold. In the end, Sombra turns his back on the Crystal Empire (full of ponies who never liked him and a Princess that knew what he was all along but never said) and on Radiant Hope (who went to Canterlot and told the 2 sisters what was happening).

Fantastic read!
4 reviews
February 21, 2017
i love this book it is just the best book i have read it to my son so many time i read once a day sometimes twice by the way i am a man and i love this
yeat
Profile Image for Lora.
878 reviews25 followers
April 27, 2017
The stories and artwork were a little uneven, but overall it was fun to read about the various villains' backstories. Sombra and Queen Chrysalis were the most interesting. Tirek was ho hum. This book wasn't as good a value as the Friendship is Magic Omnibus. This book costs less ($15 vs. $21) but it's half as long.
Profile Image for Sarah Toth.
96 reviews
October 9, 2015
Fiendship is Magic is an awesome collection of origin stories about the My Little Pony villains. We never find out in the show where certain villains like King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis come from, but everything is answered in this volume. My favorite origin stories were definitely Nightmare Moon and King Sombra. I would love for the writers to expand even more on these characters and include more appearances of them in the comics and the TV show. If your an MLP fan and you haven't read this book, definitely pick it up! I'm already planning to re read it!
Profile Image for Sassafras Patterdale.
Author 21 books197 followers
December 30, 2016
A book all about the origins of pony villains?! Yes please!!! Got this book for Christmas and it was such a fun one to read while going through the stressful process of moving - beautiful art and fun story. I have a soft spot for villains and this book is a fantastic for any pony fan!
Profile Image for Sylvester.
1,358 reviews31 followers
October 11, 2015
A collection of the stories behind the villains of My Little Pony: Friendship is magic. Except issue 1, the rest were all badly drawn and had tiresome storyline.
Profile Image for Nani.
160 reviews1 follower
June 1, 2016
The most heartbreaking story was the Sombra one, and the funniest (and my favorite) is... well, a tie between the Queen Chrysalis and The Sirens one.

This review was mainly for Lulu.
Profile Image for Olesya.
784 reviews
September 6, 2016
Loved this peek into the origins of some of the show's most notorious baddies!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews