Editing The Magic of Cybertron

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[My Little Pony/Transformers: The Magic of Cybertron]]'' #1
|prev=Finale (My Little Pony/Transformers)
|next=A Real Mother
|image=MLPTFII 1 cvrA.jpg
|title="The Magic of Cybertron"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|published in=[[The Magic of Cybertron issue 1|''The Magic of Cybertron'' #1]] 
|date=[[April 28]], [[2021]]
|coverdate=April 2021
|written by=[[James Asmus]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Luis Antonio Delgado]]
|letters by=[[Jake M. Wood]]
|editor=[[Megan Brown]] and [[David Mariotte]]
}}

'''When Megatron's plan to steal the magic of Equestria unleashes an ancient evil, Twilight Sparkle and her friends must go where no pony has gone before!'''

==Synopsis==
''In a land of magic and rainbows, a pony and a goblin live happily ever after...'' or, at least, that's what goes down in [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]]'s new book, a souvenir of his visit to [[Equestria]]. [[Breakdown (IDW)|Breakdown]], on the other hand, doesn't understand Frenzy's newfound appreciation of pony culture at all, but their argument only draws the ire of their impatient leader  [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. After his ill-fated alliance with [[Queen Chrysalis]] ended with his defeat and banishment, the Decepticon hatched a new plan: if he can't conquer Equestria directly, then he will simply bring the magic of Equestria to war-torn [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and use its various powerful artifacts to defeat the hated [[Autobot]]s. Having recovered the coordinates from the last spacebridge, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s reopened the connection between dimensions, and reports that Megatron's scout teams are converging on their targets: various magical artifacts of great power scattered across the idylliic landscape. While [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] and [[Skullcruncher (G1)|Skullcruncher]] investigate the [[Everfree Forest]], and [[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]] and [[Shadow Striker (G1)|Shadow Striker]] discover an unusual black crystal amidst the icy [[Crystal Mountains]], [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and his team scout out the pony city of [[Las Pegasus]]—only for [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] to recklessly blow their cover when he crashes a concert and orders the natives to surrender their magical artifacts. Unfortunately, for the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s, [[Twilight Sparkle]] and her friends happen to be in attendance, and the pony princess warns the villains to back off, unless they want to relearn a painful lesson in kindness...

In nearby [[Cloudsdale]], [[Spitfire]] and the other members of the high-flying [[Wonderbolt]]s discover the glowing spacebridge portal in the sky. Eager to find out what's on the other side of this "magic gateway", the ponies fly through—when they emerge on the other side, they're promptly surrounded by Decepticons and thrown into a makeshift prison. The ponies watch as Shadow Striker and Airachnid return through the portal to report a successful mission... as they unload their crystal, however, Starscream and his team to race through the portal with [[Octavia]] and [[Vinyl Scratch]]'s stolen stage in hand, followed by Twilight and her friends! Twilight fires a beam from her horn; her shot goes wide, however, and strikes the mysterious black stone. At  first, the crystal merely absorbs the magic; but as arcane power spreads across its surface, however, it explodes into a mass of living shadow that scatters Megatron's forces, a tower of darkness so large that even [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and the other Autobots elsewhere on Cybertron take notice. Though the Autobots first mistake the figure for [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]], the Decepticons realize that this threat is not ''Unicorn'', but ''unicorn'': a jet-black pony with glowing red eyes, who introduces himself as [[King Sombra]]!

Twilight can't believe that Sombra's returned—after all, she and her friends destroyed him last they met—but the evil unicorn explains that they merely dispelled his physical body, allowed him to gradually reconstitute his essence in crystal form. Now that Twilight has graciously provided him with the burst of magic he needed to revive himself, he uses his sinister magic to put her, [[Pinkie Pie]], and [[Fluttershy]] under his control to ensure that the ponies cannot unite the [[wikia:MLP:Elements of Harmony|Elements of Harmony]] to destroy him. Sombra then turns his attention to the assembled Decepticons; though some manage to shield their eyes in time, many more fall under his evil spell—when Shockwave tries to help Megatron to his feet, he's horrified to learn that Megatron has become one of Sombra's slaves! Eager to raise a [[Transformer]] army and turn the metal planet into his new kingdom, Sobra and his slaves take off, and by the time Optimus, [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Greenlight]] arrive, they find only a few Decepticon stragglers and the remaining ponies. 

Although [[Rainbow Dash]] chews out Shockwave for landing them all in this predicament, the Decepticon scientist's confident that he and the other freed Decepticons can handle this new threat alone, without any Autobot assistance. The ponies think otherwise: an angry [[Applejack]] shouts that they've already handed Sombra his first victory by letting him take Twilight and Megatron, and [[Rarity]] points out that it won't be long before Sombra's army rolls right over the unsuspecting planet. If they want to stop Sombra and save their world, Optimus and Shockwave must do the unthinkable... work together!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Greenlight]] (34)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (35)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (36)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (37)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (38)

|c2=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Breakdown (IDW)|Breakdown]] (1)
* [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (2)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (3)
* [[Reflector (G1)|Refraktor]] (4)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (5)
* [[Acid Storm (G1)|Acid Storm]] (6)
* [[Ion Storm]] (7)
* [[Skullcruncher (G1)|Skullcruncher]] (8)
* [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (9)
* [[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]] (10)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Shadow Striker (G1)|Shadow Striker]] (11)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (15)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (16)
* [[Slipstream (G1)|Slipstream]] (17)
* [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (30)
* [[Caliburst (G1)|Caliburst]] (31)
* [[Flywheels|Skytread]] (32)
* [[Fracas]] (33)
* [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]] (40)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (41)

{{!}}}

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Berry Punch]] (12)
* [[Octavia]] (13)
* [[Vinyl Scratch]] (14)
* [[Spike (MLP)|Spike]] (18)
* [[Rainbow Dash]] (19)
* [[Fluttershy]] (20)
* [[Pinkie Pie]] (21)
* [[Twilight Sparkle]] (22)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Rarity]] (23)
* [[Applejack]] (24)
* [[Fleetfoot]] (25)
* [[Soarin]] (26)
* [[Fire Streak]] (27)
* [[Blaze (MLP)|Blaze]] (28)
* [[Spitfire]] (29)
* [[King Sombra]] (39)
{{!}}}

}}

==Quotes==
"What? Big, bad '''Breakdown's''' too cool to enjoy '''escapism, exploration, and magic?! Primus forbid''' we ever take a '''break''' from '''endless war''' to '''appreciate''' a little '''beauty''' or  just plain '''happiness, huh?!'''" <br>
"Yikes... okay! ... <small> maybe I can borrow it when you're done? </small>"
:—'''Frenzy''' and '''Breakdown'''


"Y'know, I forgot to tell you last time, but I '''love''' your matching '''cutie marks!'''"
:—'''Pinkie Pie''' meets the Decepticons


"'''Impressive!''' Between such '''power''' and your kind's '''shape-changing'''—perhaps '''this''' is destined to be my '''true kingdom?''' Or at least an ideal place to build my '''conquering army!''' Let's start with a '''world tour''', shall we? Show me all the '''magic''' of Cybertron—and watch me '''bend it to my will!'''"
:—'''King Sombra''' does a title drop


"Sombra's going to build an '''army''' before your world knows what's '''happening'''! While I appreciate your ''''tough'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> motif, darlings, believe me when I say—the '''only''' way we '''stop''' this... is '''as friends!'''" <br>
"We're '''doomed'''."
:—'''Rarity''' and '''Starscream'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* The [[Finale (My Little Pony/Transformers)|final story]] of the first [[My Little Pony/Transformers: Friendship in Disguise!|''My Little Pony/Transformers'' miniseries]] ended with the reveal that Shockwave had successfully recovered the coordinates from the malfunctioning [[space bridge|spacebridge]] and mused at the possibility of bringing Equestrian magic to Cybertron. Naturally, the sequel kicks off with the Decepticons doing just this by stealing various magic artifacts—Megatron attacked the [[Crystal Empire]] in "Finale" for the same reason.
* [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] reads (and gets very defensive about) a book he found in Equestria, and notes that it was a present he received "in between fights". This would, presumably, be a gift from [[Fluttershy]]; he and [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] befriended Fluttershy and her animal companions at the conclusion of "[[Pet Sounds]]". 
* Notable ''My Little Pony'' locations in this issue include the [[Everfree Forest]] that lies beyond [[Ponyville]], the icy [[Crystal Mountains]] that border the [[Crystal Empire]], the city of [[Las Pegasus]] from the episode "[[wikia:MLP:Viva Las Pegasus|Viva Las Pegasus]]", and [[Rainbow Dash]]'s hometown of [[Cloudsdale]], home to the [[Wonderbolt]]s. 
* The [[wikia:MLP:The Crystal Empire - Part 1|season three premiere]] of ''Friendship Is Magic'' introduced King Sombra as the former ruler of the [[Crystal Empire]], an evil ruler who'd been deposed and banished by  [[wikia:MLP:Princess Celestia|Celestia]] and [[wikia:MLP:Princess Luna|Luna]] in ancient times. Though the season three premiere ended with Twilight and her friends destroying him, [[IDW Publishing]] resurrected him in their ''Friendship Is Magic'' comics, providing him with an origin story and even a redemption arc (it's complicated)—but that all got [[retcon]]ned away in the cartoon's ninth season, when [[Discord (MLP)|Discord]], masquerading as the evil [[wikia:MLP:Grogar|Grogar]], brought him back to life again as part of a larger plan (again, it's complicated). This story takes place at some point after his defeat in season nine; indeed, Sombra hypnotizes half of the ponies so that they can't use the six [[wikia:MLP:Elements of Harmony|Elements of Harmony]] against him, as they did during their second encounter in the show.
* Sombra's monologue features a bit of fourth-wall breaking humor: he wonders aloud why anyone would "rehash what's already been done" when "turning things '''inside out''' would be '''much''' more '''fun'''"—an obvious allusion to how this miniseries inverts the first miniseries' premise by having the ponies travel to Cybertron.

===Transformers references===
* Although the spacebridge in "[[Transformation Is Magic]]" was based on the "receiving tower" from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[Transport to Oblivion (episode)|Transport to Oblivion]]" and "[[Roll for It]]", this new spacebridge is a ring-shaped, ''Stargate''-style portal based on how the [[2005 IDW continuity]] depicted the technology.
* [[Breakdown (IDW)|Breakdown]] and [[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]] originally hail from the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' cartoon, but had previously made the jump into IDW's Generation 1 universe in 2016's ''[[The Transformers: Till All Are One|Till All Are One]]''. The same goes for [[Slipstream (G1)|Slipstream]] and [[Shadow Striker (G1)|Shadow Striker]], who are directly based on their ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)|Cyberverse]]'' incarnations; they're currently starring in IDW's current ''[[Transformers (2019 comic)|Transformers]]'' comic as members of "[[Team Stream]]".
* Other characters use bodies based on the [[War for Cybertron: Siege|''Siege'' toyline]]; these include [[Greenlight]], [[Flywheels|Skytread]], [[Reflector (G1)|Refraktor]], and [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]], as well as the [[Battle Master]]s [[Fracas]] and [[Caliburst (G1)|Caliburst]]. 
* King Sombra materializes with a cry of "destiny... you cannot... destroy... '''my destiny!'''" a phrase famously uttered by a dying [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. As Sombra reconstitutes, his cloud of black magic briefly resolves itself into a horned shape with wings, allowing an oblivious Sludge to set up the inevitable "unicorn/Unicron" pun.
* "All hail Sombra!" cries a brainwashed Megatron, evoking [[All Hail Megatron (disambiguation)|the oft-slung Decepticon battle cry]].

===My Little Pony references===
* Frenzy's book is drawn and written to resemble the [http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/G1_Books cutesy storybooks] from the original 1980s ''My Little Pony'' franchise. The book ends with protagonist Sprinkleflowershine and antagonist Mr. Goblin proclaiming themselves "friends forever"—perhaps not coincidentially, IDW published a [[wikia:MLP:My Little Pony: Friends Forever|''My Little Pony'' anthology series]] with the same title.

===Real-world references===
* Avowed tough-guy Frenzy's uncharacteristic fascination with pony culture, and his self-conscious defense of his newfound interest, seem like a bit of a wink to, uh, {{w|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|certain elements of the ''My Little Pony'' fanbase}}.

===Errors===
* Spike is drawn without the wings he possessed in the last miniseries.
* On page four, Skytread possesses maroon forearms. When he reappears again on page eight, his forearms are colored a uniform brown, as per his ''Siege'' toy.

[[Category:My Little Pony/Transformers: Friendship in Disguise! issues]]