Micro-Series Issue 7

My Little Pony Micro-Series #7 is the seventh issue of IDW Publishing's My Little Pony Micro-Series comic series. In the issue, the Cutie Mark Crusaders meet and befriend a shape-shifting creature, but their friendship causes more harm than good.

Summary
One week after their summer vacation started, the Cutie Mark Crusaders have already run out of ideas for things to do. Having tried nearly everything to do in Ponyville, Scootaloo decides they should find something outside Ponyville and head out for a change of scenery.

The three fillies venture into the Everfree Forest for some time until they get lost. A tired Sweetie Belle stops to rest her hooves, but when she sits down, the ground under the Crusaders gives way, and they stumble into a hidden underground cavern. Inside, they discover a large gemstone. The curious fillies take the gemstone to Rarity to see if she can identify it. At Carousel Boutique, Rarity examines the gem and says she has never seen anything like it before. Spike considers eating the gem, having skipped lunch, but he quickly changes his mind when he realizes the gem is not a gem at all.

At the Golden Oak Library, Twilight Sparkle identifies the gem as a Greater Equestrian Mimicker, a creature that, like the changelings' ability to turn into other ponies, can turn into anything except ponies. Twilight explains further that mimickers are playful by nature and try out many different forms when they're young before settling on one form when they become adults. The Crusaders liken this nature to a pony earning their cutie mark and decide to make the mimicker a member of their group, giving her the name "Imp" (short for the mimicker's scientific name "Globulus improbulus").

At their clubhouse, the fillies induct Imp as an official Crusader and spend the afternoon seeing her turn into various things. Eventually, Imp grows weary from transforming, and the Crusaders figure out where in Ponyville she'll stay. After a brief argument over who among them Imp should stay with, they work out a schedule in which they take turns spending the night with her.

The next morning, Apple Bloom wakes up to find Imp transformed into Winona. The two of them go to meet Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and proceed to have more mimicking fun. Apple Bloom has Imp turn into a rocket-powered wagon, and Sweetie Belle has her turn into various outlandish outfits. By the following day, the Crusaders end up arguing about things they want Imp to turn into. Frustrated, Imp rockets away toward the marketplace.

The Crusaders run off after her, searching for her through crowds of ponies at the flea market and wondering why she took off. As their search leads them to the library, the Crusaders come to realize their mistake: they were making Imp turn into things they wanted without any consideration for Imp's feelings. When Apple Bloom wishes they could find her and apologize, Imp—turned into a book—falls into Apple Bloom's lap. The Crusaders all apologize to Imp for their selfishness and decide to take her back home.

As the Crusaders' letter to Princess Celestia closes the issue, they return Imp to the cave they found her in, and Imp happily reunites with her mother.

Quotes

 * Apple Bloom: Maybe we shoulda gotten a map.
 * Scootaloo: Maps are for wimps! We're Crusaders!


 * Apple Bloom: They turn into all sorts'a stuff when they're kids, and they find somethin' they like! She's just like us and our cutie marks!
 * Scootaloo: What makes you so sure it's a "she"? It can turn into anything!
 * Apple Bloom: What makes you so sure it's not a she?


 * Applejack: And what, may I ask, are you girls up to?
 * Scootaloo: Um...
 * Sweetie Belle: ...Cutie Mark Acrobats?


 * Sweetie Belle: We never shoulda let her run off!
 * Apple Bloom: But she ran off for a reason, right? What did we do wrong?
 * Scootaloo: Maybe we had her turn into too much stuff? I mean, she turned into everything we asked her to...
 * Apple Bloom: Yeah, but... we kept asking her to turn into stuff we wanted. Did we ever really ask her what she wanted to do?
 * Sweetie Belle: ...I guess we were just thinking of ourselves.