Friendship is Magic Issue 23

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #23 is the twenty-third issue of IDW Publishing's Friendship is Magic comic series. In the issue, new trouble rolls into Ponyville, and with the Mane Six incapacitated, it's up to their pets to save the day.

Summary
Angel wakes up one morning to discover that Fluttershy is missing and a number of her animal friends are making a mess inside her cottage. The critters become even more agitated when Angel informs them of Fluttershy's absence. Angel proposes a search for the missing Pegasus, and the animals give him Fluttershy's saddlebag before sending him off alone.

As Angel makes his way into Ponyville, he finds the town completely deserted—except for Gummy, who's having fun rolling down the street. At the Golden Oak Library, Angel meets with Owlowiscious, who's distressed over the sudden disappearance of Twilight Sparkle and Spike. In addition, Opalescence is by herself at Carousel Boutique and Tank flutters about without a guide. Angel eventually finds Winona and comes up with the idea of using her nose to track down the missing ponies.

The pets' search leads them to the Ponyville Dam, where every pony in town, appearing to be in a trance, works to dig a channel and break the dam wall. All the while, a strange song fills the air. Angel worries that the dam's collapse will flood Ponyville, and Winona fails to get Applejack's attention. Suddenly, the source of the strange song rises out of the water and appears before them: a kelpie. The kelpie sees Angel and Winona as a possible threat and orders the ponies to attack with her hypnotizing song. As the ponies corner them, Tank and Owlowiscious swoop down and carry them to safety.

The pets convene at Zecora's hut, where Angel comes up with a plan to save their owners and the rest of Ponyville. The plan involves a super-speed potion-enhanced Winona and a growth potion-enhanced Opal acting as decoys to draw the hypnotized ponies away from the dam and incapacitate them.

Meanwhile, Angel drops onto the kelpie from above, planning to use another potion on the kelpie to disable its singing. However, a mind-controlled Twilight catches Angel in the air before he can use the potion. Gummy approaches the kelpie from the water below and bites its tail. The kelpie cries out in pain, breaking its mind control long enough for Angel to use the potion. With the kelpie unable to sing anymore, the mind control wears off, and the ponies turn on her.

The kelpie, who introduces herself as Cassie, explains to the ponies that she was only trying to get her water sprite friends to the ocean on the other side of the dam before they got sick. Fluttershy, fascinated by the water sprites, suggests they offer their help. Rainbow Dash has reservations about offering help to someone who tried to flood Ponyville, but Twilight says although Cassie's actions were wrong, she made them with good intentions.

Off to the side, Pinkie Pie talks with Big McIntosh, neither of them having any idea who freed them. Angel becomes annoyed by this, but the other pets cheer him up. Unfortunately, the happy ending is soon disrupted when Opalescence, still giant, uses a nearby mountain as a scratching post.

Quotes

 * Rainbow Dash: Now wait just a minute! This little water pony—
 * Cassie: Kelpie. I'm a kelpie and my name is Cassie.
 * Rainbow Dash: This kelpie just tried to flood our whole town! Now we're going to help her?


 * Pinkie Pie: So, that kelpie hypnotized everyone with her voice?
 * Big McIntosh: Yup.
 * Pinkie Pie: Well then, do you remember how we all woke up?
 * Big McIntosh: Nope.
 * Pinkie Pie: Then I guess we'll never know who saved Ponyville, huh?
 * Big McIntosh: Nope.