Shiver me timbers! The Ponies are back with a new arc…featuring pirates! Does the second main writer of the book deliver a solid start? It’s definitely a refreshing beginning, a must-buy.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

The ponies hit the high seas! A trip to Horeshoe Bay takes a turn for the dramatic when our gang is captured by Hoofbeard the Pirate! Will the ponies help him find his long lost treasure, or will they be walking the plank? 

The previous arc covered the meeting of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. It was a funny two-part saga, not to mention it was fully ‘important’ since it explained a backstory to a major thing in the show. But, I think by the end we were all ready for another Mane 6 adventure. The Salty Sea Mare brings back Heather Nuhfer, the writer of the Nightmarity arc. This time the poines head out to sea in what looks to be the best story since The Return of Queen Chrysalis. Issue #13 is fantastic and easily a great way for new readers to hop on board.

Heather Nuhfer is a great writer and an interesting contrast to Katie Cook. Nuhfer relies less on gags and pop-culture references. The two are fantastic, but different. It’s good to see a variation for the book every now and then. We have the more comical Cook, and the more serious Nuhfer. Anyways, the story is nicely established from the beginning. The idea of having them out to sea exploring new lands is a great setup, and unique. Believe it or not the ocean is rarely used in the show. The new character exclusive to the comics is Hoofbeard, who somehow gets the ponies onto his ship into a new adventure. If you’ve seen the cover for Issue #14, then you know something is going to go down. But nonetheless, he’s a pretty solid new character.

The story is divided into two sections, one on the ship with Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Hoofbeard, and the part with the rest of the Ponies on Gallopinghost Island looking for the map. Both are exciting since each character gets highlighted according to their abilities. Rainbow Dash fans are going to love her awesomeness in this issue. For some reason Fluttershy appears rather off. Her attachment to the fish is expected, but to that extent? It almost feels like there’s something deeper going on. All of this is drawn by Brenda Hickey. Her art looks like Andy Price’s, just with a less comedic look. It definitely matches Nuhfer’s writing. It’s good stuff, the Mane 6 look great and the pirates look like actual pirate ponies. The main cover by Brenda is a pretty nice piece of the ponies on board Hoofbeard’s ship. Cover B by Sara Richard is the more unique and artistic piece, featuring some lovely sea-ponies. The RI is by Andy Price is definitely a nice cover to have. As for store exclusive variants, Hot Topic’s is pretty cool, but I think Larry’s wins with its rendition of Derpy as a superhero.

Overall, Issue #13 is an absolutely fantastic issue of MLP. The writing is great and never for one moment becomes dull. The story is unique and engaging, we’ve never seen the ponies quite like this before. With a fantastic ending, (get ready for a boss fight in the next one) this pirate arc looks to be one of the best. Oh, and Twilight looks absolutely fantastic with her wings.

5/5

Daniel is a huge fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. His favorite is Fluttershy and you can follow him on Twitter: @Destroyer_199