Editing Strength in Numbers

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[My Little Pony/Transformers]]'' #4
|prev=The Flyin' Fox Trot
|next=Finale (My Little Pony/Transformers)
|image=MLPTF 4 cvr RI.jpg
|title="Strength in Numbers"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|published in=[[My Little Pony/Transformers issue 3|''My Little Pony/Transformers'' #3]] 
|date=[[November 4]], [[2020]]
|coverdate=November 2020
|written by=[[Ian Flynn]]
|art by=[[Sara Pitre-Durocher]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Jake M. Wood]]
|editor=[[Megan Brown]], [[David Mariotte]], and [[Bobby Curnow]]
}}

'''Applejack takes on the Insecticons when the Decepticons invade her farm, but she'll need more than one pony to stop these mechanical menaces.'''

==Synopsis==
As the proprietor of the [[Sweet Apple Acres]] farm, [[Applejack]] has dealt with her fair share of pests, varmints, and critters... but in all her life she's ''never'' encountered a threat like the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]]s! The rapacious Cybertronians gobble their way through her apple orchard, devouring every tree, leaf, and apple—and nothing she does has any effect on the mechanical invaders, who shrug off all of her myriad attempts to shoo them away. But as she rifles through a book on pest control, she's surprised when [[Discord (MLP)|Discord]] teleports in. At first, Applejack suspects that Discord is up to his usual mischief, but he assures her that's not the case. Indeed, he's here to help... but when Applejack asks him to lend a hand, he instead tells her that he's got a better idea. With the snap of his fingers, the ''entire'' Apple family arrives through magic portals, and Discord takes a seat to watch the show!

The Apples quickly gains the upper hand against the maurading [[Decepticon]]s: [[Big McIntosh]], [[Babs Seed]], and [[Apple Bumpkin]] work together to pile-drive [[Chop Shop (G1)|Chop Shop]] into the ground, multiple Apples ensnare [[Ransack (G1)|Ransack]] with their lassos and drag the giant flier to the ground, and even elderly [[Auntie Applesauce]] gets her moment when she accidentally deflects one of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s own [[cerebro-shell]]s back onto him! The Insecticons know when they're outmatched and promptly flee, while the triumphant Apple family members celebrate their victory.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=

|c2=
* [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] (2)
* [[Venom (G1)|Venom]] (3)
* [[Ransack (G1)|Ransack]] (4)
* [[Shrapnel (G1)|Skrapnel]] (5)
* [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] (6)
* [[Chop Shop (G1)|Chop Shop]] (7)
* [[Barrage (Insecticon)|Barrage]] (8)

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Applejack]] (1)
* [[Discord (MLP)|Discord]] (9)
* [[Apple Cinnamon]] (10)
* [[Aunt and Uncle Orange]] (11, 14)
* [[Big Mcintosh]] (12)
* [[Caramel Apple]] (13)
* [[Red Gala]] (14)
* [[Braeburn]] (15)
* [[Apple Fritter]] (16)
* [[Babs Seed]] (17)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Apple Brown Betty]] (18)
* [[Florina Tart]] (19)
* [[Half-Baked Apple]] (20)
* [[Red Delicious]] (21)
* [[Apple Bloom]] (22)
* [[Apple Strudel]] (23)
* [[Granny Smith]] (24)
* [[Apple Bumpkin]] (25)
* [[Auntie Applesauce]] (26)
* [[Golden Delicious]] (27)

{{!}}}
}}




==Quotes==
"More life detected. More to consume." <br>
"Could move on. Consume more... '''or more of this'''!" <br>
"'''More of this! All of this!'''"
:—'''Chop Shop'''


"They're invaders. Tactless, mannerless, and ruiners of perfectly good teatimes."
:—'''Discord'''


"How do you like '''these''' apples?"
:—'''Applejack''' triumphs


==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* Although she primarily ran the [[Sweet Apple Acres]] family farm with the assistance of her grandmother [[Granny Smith]] and her siblings [[Big McIntosh]] and [[Apple Bloom]], [[Applejack]]'s gigantic extended family featured in several episodes, most notably the [[wikia:MLP:Friendship is Magic - Part 1|series premiere]] and the third season episode "[[wikia:MLP:Apple Family Reunion|Apple Family Reunion]]". Other notable relatives include [[Aunt and Uncle Orange]], who appeared in "[[wikia:MLP:The Cutie Mark Chronicles|The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]", [[Braeburn]], whom Applejack and friends visited in "[[wikia:MLP:Over a Barrel|Over a Barrel]]", and former bully [[Babs Seed]] from "[[wikia:MLP:One Bad Apple|One Bad Apple]]".
* Discord describes the Decepticons as "ruiners of perfectly good tea times", alluding to how [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] spoiled his tea party with [[Fluttershy]] in "[[Pet Sounds]]".

===Transformers references===
* The familiar [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] trio of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]], [[Shrapnel (G1)|Skrapnel]], and [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] receive some reinforcements in the shape of the lesser-known "Deluxe Insecticons", who never appeared in the original [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''Transformers'' cartoon]] or [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|comic]]:  [[Venom (G1)|Venom]], [[Ransack (G1)|Ransack]], [[Chop Shop (G1)|Chop Shop]], and [[Barrage (Insecticon)|Barrage]]. Although these four traditionally possess their own, non-coordinated color schemes, this comic instead gives them unified purple, yellow, and black paintjobs to match their more famous brethren.
* Bombshell attacks the Apples with his infamous [[cerebro-shell]]s, drawn to resemble the bullet-shaped projectiles that appeared in the original cartoon but with the addition of little buggy legs.

===My Little Pony references===
* Among the many, many members of the Apple clan is a pink pony with an apple core cutie mark. This background pony has never received an ''official'' name from Hasbro; fans took to calling her "Piña Colada" because of a scene that depicted her as the younger sister of the equally fan-named [[wikia:MLP:Berryshine|"Berry Punch"]]. With that in mind, she ''probably'' shouldn't be showing up here, but she's also about as much as a character as your average background [[generic]], so.

===Real-life references===
* The various Apple family members emerging through Discord's portals evokes the climax of ''{{w|Avengers: Endgame}}'', which saw all of the recently-resurrected [[Avengers]] use portals to reach the final battle against Thanos.

[[Category:My Little Pony/Transformers issues]]