Shine Like a Diamond
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| "Transformation is Magic" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| Published in | My Little Pony/Transformers #1 | ||||||||||||
| First published | August 5, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | July 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Ian Flynn | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Jack Lawrence | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Luis Antonio Delgado | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Neil Uyetake | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Megan Brown, David Mariotte, and Bobby Curnow | ||||||||||||
When Starscream makes his own play for power, Arcee takes Manehattan with the help of a stylish new friend!
Synopsis
Having arrived in the city of Manehattan, Starscream's confident that he'll be able to easily conquer Equestria while Optimus Prime and Megatron continue their endless war, and he's pressganged Rarity and the employees of her boutique into helping him look good while he does it! As her terrified employees polish his armor and fit him for a cape, Rarity does her best to try and work with the capricious Air Commander's demands. "King Starscream" remains confident that nobody will stop him from bullying the ponies into servitude... but he didn't account for the recently-arrived Arcee, who swerves around a corner and promptly drops Starscream with a kick to the face!
Starscream makes a blustering retreat while Arcee assesses the damage, checks for casualties, then introduces herself to a grateful Rarity. For her part, the pony fashionista has nothing but praise for her unexpected savior, and compliments both her graceful demeanor and her poise in combat. The two quickly realize that, despite their very different appearances, they have more in common than not—they've both had their fair share of adventures, and both will do anything to defend the innocent, or their friends.
Before the pair can finish their conversation, however, a volley of laser fire heralds the return of an irate Starscream, who's brought Skywarp and Thundercracker along with him! Though outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Arcee shouts for Rarity to get down, unwilling to risk her friend's safety. But Rarity refuses to abandon her new friend, and instead uses her magic to conjure up an energy shield for Arcee, giving her the opening she needs to shoot Thundercracker out of the sky. Skywarp and Starscream loop around for another pass; thinking quickly, Rarity tells Arcee to drive them closer, then telekinetically tangles the two jets in Starscream's own discarded cape! The pair struggle in mid-air for a moment before Skywarp simply teleports away, sending a defeated Starscream hurtling to the ground. Arcee compliments her new friend on her quick thinking in the heat of battle, but Rarity is too modest to accept such praise. After all, Rarity will give anything to protect her many friends... friends like Arcee!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
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Quotes
"Faster, ponies—faster! I must look my best when I conquer your pathetic, backwards world! Let Megatron and Prime entrench themselves in endless war. Equestria will be the seat of my new empire!"
"Yes, darling, of course. Just don't shoot any more of the block! Property values and all that."
- —Starscream and Rarity
"You raced to our rescue with all the fury of a storm! You changed shape before my very eyes and drove off that ruffian effortlessly! And after that dazzling display of martial prowess, you immediately became tender and delicate! You're positively marvelous!
"I don't know about all that..."
- —Rarity and Arcee
"Augh! I'm hit!"
"Idiot! How dare you lose to one Autobot and a pony!"
- —Thundercracker suffers a defeat for the history books, Starscream is unamused
"It's just what we do, isn't it? We protect our friends with every fiber of our beings. And we are friends, aren't we, darling?"
"Fast friends for sure!"
- —Arcee and Rarity
Notes
Continuity notes
- Rarity established her Manehattan boutique in the Friendship is Magic episode "The Saddle Row Review". While introducing herself to Arcee, she notes that this is the third in her chain of stores; she also owns a store in Ponyville, and opened another in the city of Canterlot during "Canterlot Boutique". Appropriately enough, the ponies seen helping Starscream with his outfit include several of the employees she hired in "The Saddle Row Review", which include Plaid Stripes, Blue Bobbin, Coco Pommel, and two unnamed ponies.
- Rarity recounts some of her previous adventures as she befriends Arcee; specifically, she mentions Diamond Dogs, which she encountered in the episode "A Dog and Pony Show", hydras, which chased her and her friends in "Feeling Pinkie Keen," and "conquerors and demi-gods", which probably refers to some combination of Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Tirek, the Storm King, and/or Discord.
Transformers references
- Transformers fans will probably recognize "King Starscream's" getup—an ostentatious golden crown and a purple cape—from his (in)famous coronation scene in The Transformers: The Movie, although it seems the ponies didn't get around to fitting him with his distinctive up-swept shoulderpads before Arcee intervened.
My Little Pony references
- A billboard on page three features a pony drawn in the rounded style of the "Generation 1" (no, not that Generation 1!) My Little Pony toys from the 1980s.
