Sick Beats

« My Little Pony/Transformers: The Magic of Cybertron #3 »
Oddly enough, not the first time a Vinyl Scratch has worked with a transforming sound system.
"Sick Beats"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Published in	The Magic of Cybertron #3
First published	June 30, 2021
Cover date	June 2021
Written by	Tony Fleecs
Art by	Tony Fleecs
Flats by	Lauren Perry
Letters by	Jake M. Wood
Editor	Megan Brown and David Mariotte

An encounter with Octavia and Vinyl Scratch teaches Soundwave a lesson about how harmony can be the most powerful instrument of all.

Synopsis

Abducted by Decepticons, transported to the planet Cybertron against their will, and now under siege from a reborn King Sombra and his brainwashed minions, Equestrian musicians Octavia and Vinyl Scratch want no part in the impending robot war and decide that the best thing they can do is lie low until they can return home. The pair slip into a nearby alley to regroup... and are shocked to see Sandbar and his classmates! One by one, the students of Twilight Sparkle's friendship school explain that they too were swallowed up by a spacebridge portal and transported to this alien world... but while Sandbar, Yona, and Ocellus just want to get home, Smolder, Silverstream, and Gallus have heard that Twilight Sparkle is in danger and insist on staying behind to rescue her and the other victims of Sombra's mind control spell. The group falls to arguing before Octavia steps up to take command of the situation, and informs them that they're all going back to the spacebridge as a group—although Gallus protests, Octavia reminds him that creatures, like musical instruments, are always stronger when they're working in harmony. At that moment, however, Silverstream points out that their way home has been blocked by Soundwave!

Soundwave reports to Megatron that he's apprehended a group of Equestrian fugitives... but is confused when the Decepticon leader doesn't respond to his transmission. While he's distracted, Gallus and Smolder attempt to take down the much larger Cybertronian warrior; Smolder's flame-breath barely singes Soundwave's armor, however, and he promptly retaliates with a punishing sonic barrage—and accidentally brings down the walls on top of the Decepticon and the Equestrians alike. Despite this setback, Soundwave insists that he's successfully captured them, but again receives no response when he radios Megatron to request reinforcements. Gallus points out that nobody's coming to help him; this comment only annoys Soundwave, but his attempts free himself prove fruitless. As he explains to the Equestrians, the only thing that could conceivably shift five hundred tons of Cybertronian steel would be an exceptionally powerful sonic blast... and although Vinyl Scratch promptly rebuilds her destroyed soundstage into a mighty bass cannon, then cranks up the volume to unleash a powerful crescendo of her own, they still can't get free.

A frustrated Soundwave deploys Ravage and Laserbeak, who fruitlessly blast away at the barricade with their own weapons. The students despair, wondering if they'll be trapped here forever; at that moment, Vinyl comes up with another plan, but Octavia tells Soundwave that it will only work if they agree to a truce. At first, Soundwave refuses, insisting that he must acquire their magical energy first... but Sandbar and Ocellus point out that they could just give him their magic for free—after all, friendship is their magic. Soundwave accepts the offer, so Vinyl Scratch gets to work integrating her stage with his systems; once he's been fitted with a turntable and some extra speakers, however, Vinyl holds out Octavia's cello and invites her to join them. She might only be an acoustic musician, but Ocellus reminds her of her own advice: ponies and other creatures are always stronger when they work in harmony. Their combined assault—a mixture of Equestrian music, Cybertronian technology, and some bunker-busting firepower—literally brings down the house and sets them all free. While the ponies and other creatures make for the nearby spacebridge portal, Soundwave finally makes contact with Megatron, but is shocked to discover that his leader's fallen under King Sombra's evil spell. With his leader gone, the Decepticons on the run, and Cybertron in grave peril, Soundwave suggests to the ponies that sticking together might be the only way to survive whatever comes next...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Cybertron. Or Sombra-tron. Or whatever we're calling it. King Sombra's back and he's in charge now! Oh, no!"

—The narration box gets meta

"You foals can go run and hide if you want! Me and Gallus are gonna stay here and fight!"
"I don't like your energy right now, dude."
"Well, we don't like your cowardice right now... dude!"
"YONA IS BEST AT ARGUING!"

—Smolder, Sandbar, Gallus, and Yona do Anchorman

"Do not mock me, buffalo!"
"Hey, I'm a griffin! Yona's the buffalo!"
"YONA IS YAK! THAT YONA'S WHOLE THING!"
"Students, don't taunt the giant robot!"

—Soundwave, Gallus, Yona, and Octavia

"Vinyl, dear... take 'em to the bridge!"

—Octavia makes a pun

Notes

Continuity notes

• Octavia and Vinyl Scratch were both abducted by the Decepticons in the first story in issue #1, and this story seems to pick up in the immediate aftermath, as the pair glimpse Sombra and his mind-controlled slaves flying past. Thundercracker's cameo would probably set this story at some point around the same time as Rainbow Dash's spotlight story from issue #2
• Sandbar and the other members of the "Young Six" previously appeared in the final story of the first miniseries. Here, they note that a freak spacebridge portal opened up somewhere in Equestria and accidentally transported them to Cybertron; this goes a ways towards explaining how characters like Scootaloo, who weren't part of the rescue mission in issue #1, got to Cybertron.
• Silverstream recognizes Octavia from the time she visited their School of Friendship—she applied for a position as the school's vice-headmare in the episode "A Horse Shoe-In" but ultimately turned down the job.
• Soundwave recognizes Ocellus as a changeling—he and the other Decepticons teamed up with Queen Chrysalis and her rogue faction during the first crossover, though Ocellus is specifically an "evolved" changeling who's renounced Chrysalis's evil ways and learned to share friendship with others.

My Little Pony references

• Techno DJ Vinyl Scratch originated as an unnamed one-off character from the first season episode "Suited For Success". Much like many other background ponies such as Muffins, she subsequently became wildly popular with the fandom, got an official name, and made numerous background appearances throughout the show's run. Although she initially spoke normally when she appeared in IDW's tie-in comics, Hasbro specifically requested that she be voiceless during her spotlight segment in the episode "Slice of Life", a trait that looped back around into subsequent comic appearances.
• Octavia debuted in the season one finale as a nameless musician, but like Vinyl, she eventually received a name and some prominent background roles as the show progressed. In response to their popularity and the fandom frequently positioning the two together in an Odd Couple-esque friendship, "Slice of Life" would go on to establish Octavia and Vinyl as roommates who regularly performed together.
• Vinyl's use of a "bass cannon" is a reference to a longstanding MLP fandom meme originating from the 2012 fan animation "Epic Wub Time", in which Vinyl uses a bass cannon to single-hoofedly defeat Discord. Following the video's release and growth in popularity, Vinyl's use of a bass cannon became a recurring element of fan interpretations of the character, though this comic marks the first time she's used one in any official media.

Real world references

• Sandbar explains that he and his friends were attending the "Coltchella" music festival before they were teleported to Cybertron, a pony homage to the real-world Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
• Soundwave orders Ravage and Laserbeak to carry out "Operation Jericho" in reference to the biblical story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho.

Errors

• After Soundwave and the ponies are trapped by the cave-in, a single 's' is missing when Soundwave requests Megatron to "send Contructicons to [his] coordinates".