On the positive side, it's the ponies! The same ponies that we've come to know and love through the tv show and the other comics, and they're as awesome as ever. The art is also gorgeous to look at, and I really appreciate having these bound collections.

That said, I think the Nightmare arc (which this volume collects) is markedly inferior to the Chrysalis one -- it felt like the backstory was overly elided, and the pacing seemed off to me. It's a serviceable arc, but it could have been so much more than that with a little more care.

That said, I'll certainly be reading the rest! (I'm so terribly behind now, but I vow to change that!)