Friendship is Magic Issue 66

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #66 is the sixty-sixth issue of IDW Publishing's. In the issue, Twilight Sparkle and her friends discover that a film is being made about them.

Summary
At the Castle of Friendship, Rarity bursts in and informs Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack that a movie studio in Applewood is making a magic lantern movie about Twilight Sparkle and her friends' adventures based on the journal they published. Rarity arranges for herself and her friends to be invited to the movie's filming at Applewood's Palomino Pictures, but Twilight stays behind in Ponyville to manage her School of Friendship.

At Palomino Pictures, Rarity and her friends meet with the movie's director Wormer Horsehooves. Wormer feels that the movie is lacking the crucial element of cinéma vérité to make it feel more authentic to the stories told in the Mane Six's journal. Rarity offers to lend Wormer her and her friends' insight into the journal's events since they experienced them firsthand, but Wormer instead suggests that they direct the movie themselves. The ponies are thrilled by the opportunity, and Rarity accepts.

The next day, Rarity and her friends appear on the film set to shoot the scene based on Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity's sleepover. As the leading director of the group, Rarity directs this and several other scenes based on how she herself remembers them. This causes her friends to get annoyed and upset due to them remembering things differently or from different perspectives. After multiple disagreements and arguments, Rarity angrily proposes that each of them shoot their own movie. The others agree, and as they part ways, they each take some members of the film crew with them.

On the evening of the movie's world premiere, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack come together to see how their individual movies and artistic visions turned out. Rainbow Dash, using the film crew's sound effects team, debuts a drama piece with very loud sound effects based on Sonic Rainboom. Pinkie Pie produces a film heavy on symbolism and imaginative imagery based on Party of One. Rarity debuts a noir-style mystery film based on A Bird in the Hoof. Fluttershy premieres an animal documentary based on Winter Wrap Up. Lastly, Applejack, with the film crew's special effects team, debuts a superhero action film based on Applebuck Season and Swarm of the Century.

At the end of the premiere, the ponies take the stage in embarrassment to see the audience's reaction. Because of the ponies' drastically different styles and visions, the movie is received as if it were an absurdist comedy and met with uproarious laughs. Though the ponies are confused by the audience's reaction, they appreciate the chance to relive some of their old memories and realize no one's memory is perfect.

Quotes
"I liked the book better."

- Twilight Sparkle, cover A


 * Rarity: Tasseltown! Tra-La-La-Land! The place where dreams are made!
 * Applejack: Hasn't gotten any less fancy since the last time we were here!


 * Rainbow Dash: Oh, wow! Is that Brock Handsome?
 * Pinkie Pie: Ooh! Ooh! I think I see Greta Gumball! I'm gonna get so many hoofprints in my autograph book!


 * Wormer Horsehooves: I was honored when they asked me to direct the magic lantern adaptation of your friendship diary! It's a modern-day classic with huge crossover appeal!


 * Wormer Horsehooves: It will be a triumph of cinema verite!
 * Pinkie Pie: I don't know what that means but it sounds amazing!


 * Rainbow Dash: I wanna put in explosions! Big ones!


 * Rarity: Twilight and Applejack learned to respect my—that is to say, your—insistence on proper manners!
 * Applejack: I seem to recall you also learned somethin' about manners not always being so important?
 * Rarity: Yes, yes, details.


 * Rarity: If we can't agree on an artistic vision, perhaps we should each do our own movie!
 * Rainbow Dash: Fine with me!
 * Fluttershy: I-If that's what everypony else feels like!
 * Pinkie Pie: Yeah! What, what are we doing again?


 * Rarity: This isn't how it happened! And what is that awful noise?
 * Rainbow Dash: It's dramatic!
 * Rarity: It's deafening!


 * Fluttershy: Um, Pinkie... I don't remember anything like that happening...
 * Pinkie Pie: Truth is best represented by fiction!
 * Rarity: Or random images?


 * Fluttershy: I actually am that innocent!
 * Rarity: Well, yes, but every mystery needs a femme fatale!


 * Rainbow Dash: Fluttershy—is your sequence just an animal documentary?
 * Fluttershy: Well, i-it's what I remember as most important!


 * Rarity: Isn't this awfully self-serving for a pony of honesty?
 * Applejack: I decided to focus on the stuff I remember best: me! An' I couldn't just let that special effects budget go to waste!


 * Audience Pony 1: Hilarious!
 * Audience Pony 2: What a gag!
 * Audience Pony 3: It's a triumph of absurdist comedy!
 * Audience Pony 4: A masterpiece of comedy!


 * Rarity: Well, that's show business for you. Still, at least we got a chance to relive some old memories!
 * Applejack: Yep! And it taught me somethin', too! Nopony's got a perfect memory!
 * Pinkie Pie: What are you talking about? My memory's never wrong! Like that time we formed a rock band and toured Equestria! Or that time we sailed to the moon! Or that time we traveled back in time and had adventures with dino-ponies and ate primordial soup and...