My Little Pony (2022 comics) Issue 4

My Little Pony #4, titled Pipp Gets Really Real in trade paperback, is the fourth 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, Pipp Petals decides to give her social media following a closer look into her personal life and must deal with the unexpected response.
==Summary==
The issue begins with Pipp Petals livestreaming to her social media followers, the "Pippsqueaks". She explains that, in a departure from her usual video-streaming style, she plans to make her next post in text form to catch her followers up in what has been going on in her life, particularly in regards to Discord's reappearance. After she posts it, it gets thousands of views, likes, and comments in a matter of hours.
For her next text post, Pipp decides to get more personal with the Pippsqueaks and write about the day everyone learned she could not fly. She reaches out to her mother Queen Haven for advice, and while Haven recalls how painful that day was for Pipp, she commends her for her bravery in addressing it. She types out a draft of her post and saves it so that she can get her friends' opinions as well.
The next day, Pipp reaches out to the rest of the Mane 5 to get their thoughts. Unfortunately, Sunny Starscout is distracted by thoughts of Discord, Hitch Trailblazer is busy setting up a street fair, and both Izzy Moonbow and Zipp Storm echo Queen Haven's sentiment that the day everyone found out Pipp could not fly was very difficult for her and that she should avoid getting too personal with her followers for fear of backlash.
Pipp, however, wants to prove that it is okay to feel sad, scared, and hurt sometimes, and after considering her friends and mother's words, she uploads her post to the internet. Unlike her previous post, her new post gets only a few hundred views and likes and zero comments after a week. Fearing her friends were right, Pipp is about to delete the post when she gets a message from Felicity, a unicorn whose family just recently moved to Maretime Bay.
Felicity writes that she was nervous about making friends and started telling lies and tall tales about herself so that she would seem interesting. When the friends she made found out about her lies, they rejected her and stopped being friends with her. After reading Pipp's most recent post, Felicity felt less alone and reached out to her friends again, and they forgave her. Pipp is moved by Felicity's story and decides to continue being more upfront and personal with her followers.
As Pipp starts to go about her day, a message appears on her computer—from Discord.
==Quotes==
:Pipp Petals: Goooood morning, everypony! Today I'm trying something a little different. Instead of streaming, I've decided to write my next major life update. I know, I know! But this is the kind of update that calls for lots of selfies.
:Pipp Petals: It was such a difficult, confusing, awful day. I want to show people that side of me. That it's okay to be sad sometimes.
:Hitch Trailblazer: Isn't that a little different from your normal posts? You know, your brand? Isn't it usually singing, sparkles, and glamour?
:Pipp Petals: Yeah, but that doesn't mean it can't change. It can be sparkles and real feelings.
:Izzy Moonbow: I would never, ever want to tell 1.6 million ponies about the worst, most embarrassing, most horrible day of my life!
:Zipp Storm: You used to worry a lot about what other people thought of you.
:Pipp Petals: I still do! I mean, my online persona is part of who I am.
:Zipp Storm: I know, and I'm afraid if everypony doesn't respond nicely to your post, you might take it personally.
:Pipp Petals: Of course I will! It's extremely personal!
:Zipp Storm: That's my point. You know I'm all for being yourself, but maybe you should keep some distance between you and the Pippsqueaks, you know?
:Felicity: You made me realize I wasn't alone, not really. Sometimes we lie because we're scared that our friends won't accept us. What I did was wrong, but I knew that if you could admit the truth and work past the fear and sadness... so could I.
:Pipp Petals: A little over a week ago, I showed another version of my authentic self. Part of me is the bubbly Pipp who loves to sing, dance, and talk to all of you. But there's another part of me. The Pipp who's sometimes lonely, sad, and afraid. Who makes mistakes. Last night, I was afraid that you wouldn't accept me the way I am. I thought, maybe I should do a better job of hiding it. Shout out to Felicity for reminding me that who I am--every part of me--is enough.
Category:Generation 5