My Little Pony (2022 comics) Issue 9

My Little Pony #9, titled together with My Little Pony #10 as The Case of the Missing Unity Crystal, Pt. 2 in trade paperback, is the ninth issue of IDW Publishing's My Little Pony comic series, based on the Generation 5 film My Little Pony: A New Generation. In this issue, the Mane 5 head to the Basaltic Caves before Discord destroys magic forever, but their magic and unity begin to weaken.
==Summary==
Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, and Pipp Petals find a sleep-deprived Zipp Storm frantically searching Fluttershy's old cottage for clues about where Discord has taken the Pegasus Unity Crystal. Looking through Fluttershy's collection of Daring Do books, Sunny notices one book is missing: Daring Do and the Curse of the Basaltic Caves. According to Izzy, the Basaltic Caves are full of lava creeks that burn so hot they can melt virtually anything, and the ponies conclude that must be where Discord has gone.
As Pipp hunts down a copy of the old Daring Do book, Izzy suggests losing magic may not be such a bad thing, remembering how her inability to fly made her feel left out in Issue #1; this causes a heated argument among her and the rest of the Mane 5. Pipp returns with a copy of the Daring Do book, as well as the two ponies who helped her find it. The two ponies, who are big fans of the Mane 5, notice the tension that has grown between them and urge them to talk things out, but Sunny angrily assures them that everything will be back to normal once they have stopped Discord.
Some time later, the Mane 5 track Discord to the Basaltic Caves using the Daring Do book as a guide, but the winding canyon they expect to pass through ends up being a straight path, and Izzy turns a page of what appear to be directions into an easy-to-remember song that annoys the others. As the ponies cross an old rope bridge, Hitch falls through a fragile piece of wood and plummets into a gorge. The others are unable to fly to his rescue due to glitching magic, but Izzy manages to save him with her telekinesis. Unfortunately, they lose the Daring Do book, and the animosity between them grows even more.
The Mane 5 eventually find the entrance to the Basaltic Caves sealed by a giant stone dial. As Izzy continues singing the song she made out of the directions she memorized from the book, Zipp realizes the directions were not for navigating the canyon but for solving the dial. With said directions, the ponies enter the caves and find Discord waiting for them. With their magic still glitching, they are unable to fight or take the Unity Crystal from him. Discord traps the Mane 5 in a cage and, confident that the ponies will thank him one day, teleports away with the Crystal.
==Quotes==
:Zipp Storm: Hold up! This is an active scene. If you touch anything, you'll contaminate evidence and we'll never find Discord or save magic in Equestria. Which means I'll never fly again, or achieve my 100-win flyball streak, or perform that air routine Mom asked me to do for the royal ball!
:Pipp Petals: Zipp stressing over royal duties? Okay, this is worse than I thought.
:Pipp Petals: You look as peaceful as a Pegasus in a mud bath.
:Izzy Moonbow: Or an orchid in a sun-soaked field.
:Hitch Trailblazer: Or a bear surrounded by honey pots.
:Sunny Starscout: ...Or a pony who hasn't eaten or slept in several days and is on the brink of collapse.
:Izzy Moonbow: According to my uncle Fizzy, the caves are full of these lava creeks are that so hot they can melt an entire castle, or a ginormous stone sculpture...
:Sunny Starscout: Or maybe even a Unity Crystal...
:Izzy Moonbow: Oh yeah, they could definitely destroy a Unity Crystal! Oh...
:Izzy Moonbow: There are worse things than losing magic...
:Sunny Starscout: Our magic has already saved us in so many ways.
:Hitch Trailblazer: Communicating with animals makes me a better sheriff.
:Zipp Storm: Izzy's not saying our powers haven't helped. But I'm sure magic has made all of us fell left behind at some point.
:Pipp Petals: Hellooooooooo! I require your divided attention be completely undivided!
:Pippsqueak 1: You are all totally our heroes.
:Pippsqueak 2: Some ponies talk the talk, but y'all trot the trot.
:Sunny Starscout: Airing out your issues is healthy!
:Pippsqueak 2: I don't think anypony would diagnose this as healthy.
:Pippsqueak 1: Seems like what you all need is to talk it out.
:Sunny Starscout: We don't have time for that.
:Izzy Moonbow: [singing] Turn right, then left, then right, right, right, left.
:Zipp Storm: Our magic is glitching out more by the second.
:Hitch Trailblazer: And we kind of lost the Daring Do book...
:Discord: That code was a real head-scratcher! But look at us, able to figure it out by working as a team. Blah blah blah.
:Discord: Don't look at me with those woebegone eyes. I'm doing this for you. For all of you! One day you'll thank me for creating equality among all ponykind. But in the meantime... at least you can indulge in these fleeting moments of magic trapped with the ones you hold dear. You're welcome.
Category:Generation 5