DRAGONSHY

Written by Meghan McCarthy

Produced by Sarah Wall

Story editing by Rob Renzetti

Supervising direction by Jayson Thiessen

Co-directed by James Wootton

Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)

Prologue

(Opening shot: fade in to a long shot of a large sod-roofed cottage situated just beyond a small brook, with Fluttershy standing on the bridge that spans it. Birdhouses hang from every branch of a nearby tree, with others mounted atop a shrub and among the roof sods. Rabbits and other cute critters run free over the grounds, and a henhouse stands behind the structure. This is the first time that Fluttershy’s house has been seen on camera. It is daytime.)

(Picking up some fish in her mouth from a handy basket, she jumps into the brook. Under the bridge is a tunnel dug into the earth, with a small dock at its mouth. As she wades past, she tosses two more fish onto the dock and a pair of ferrets emerge to retrieve them. Next, she flies up to a few birds nesting in a tree and spits a mouthful of worms to them; it takes her a second to clear the taste from her mouth, and she blushes before dropping to the ground. Here, a small house has been set up for her rabbit Angel, who is chewing on a carrot. A wooden sign in this same shape hangs above the door.)

Fluttershy: Not too fast now, Angel bunny. (Close-up of him; she continues o.s.) You wouldn’t want to get a tummyache.

(His happy appetite evaporates in a flash, and he gives her annoyed look and drops the carrot, wiping his paws to show he wants no more. Fluttershy is briefly taken aback, then laughs a bit.)

Fluttershy: You really should eat more than that, don’t you think? (It hops away; she grabs the carrot in her teeth.) It’s not playtime yet!

(Overhead view of Angel, with Fluttershy flying to overtake him; at ground level, the rabbit stops short as she lands and sets the food down. No soap.)

Fluttershy: I know you want to run, but… (Close-up of him; she continues o.s.) …just three more bites. (Head shake.) Two more bites? (Again; she pushes it closer.) One more bite? (leaning into view) Pretty please?

(Angel’s reaction to this entreaty is to kick the carrot away and hop back the way he came. Her sigh is answered by his cough.)

Fluttershy: Oh! (She flies to Angel, who looks intently up o.s.) Goodness! Are you okay? (Cough.) Are you coughing because there’s a carrot stuck in your throat? (Louder.) Because you need some water?

(Even louder cough, sounding like someone who has smoked two packs a day for a decade. The cute little white rabbit lifts Fluttershy’s chin to aim her eyes in the direction he has been looking. Cut to a long shot of the problem: a plume of thick black smoke issuing from a distant mountain peak. A gasp from the o.s. pegasus; she then stands up into view. On the next line, she turns 180 degrees to take in the extent of the pollution wafting toward Ponyville, the camera panning to frame it.)

Fluttershy: Because of that giant cloud of scary black smoke?

(She gets a carrot to the back of the head; cut to Angel on the ground, fed up at her previous obtuseness.)

Fluttershy: (from o.s.) I’ll take that as a… (Cut to her.) …yes.

(Fade to black.)

OPENING THEME

Act One

(Opening shot: fade in to a long shot of Ponyville and the leading end of the black plume. Cut to the park, where ponies are enjoying the fine weather.)

Fluttershy: (from o.s.) Help! (galloping into view) Help! Please? Help? There’s…there’s a horrible cloud of smoke! It’s headed this way and—

(She completely fails to get even one pony’s attention, and ducks with a cry to avoid a ball that comes flying at her. Before it can hit the ground, Rainbow Dash flashes in and starts bouncing it up off her forehead and rump.)

Rainbow: Don’t be such a scaredy pony. It’s just me, future Equestria ball-bouncing record holder. (Pinkie Pie arrives to watch.) Two hundred forty-six, two hundred forty-seven…

Pinkie: This calls for a celebration! (She zips away; the smoke reaches the park.)

Fluttershy: Oh, no, Pinkie Pie, this is no time for celebration. This is a time for panic, for— (Pinkie pops up.)

Pinkie: Ooh! I’m gonna need balloons! (hopping away) One for everypony in Ponyville!

Fluttershy: (following her) There’s…there’s smoke, and…and where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and—

(Pinkie hits the brakes with no warning, so that Fluttershy rams into her and is briefly knocked silly.)

Pinkie: Let’s see.

(Her perspective, panning across the park; she points around while counting off.)

Pinkie: That’s one, two, three, four, five, six… (Stop on Rainbow.)

Rainbow: (under end of previous) …two hundred fifty-four, two hundred fifty-five…no, wait…

(Pinkie rushes into view to count her as well, causing the ball to miss Rainbow’s head and land under her wing.)

Pinkie: …seven… (Exasperated sigh from Rainbow.)

Rainbow: Pinkie Pie, now I have to start over! (Fluttershy joins them.)

Fluttershy: We’re all gonna have to start over, in a new village— (Rainbow takes off.) —’cause ours is gonna be— (Close-up of her.)

Pinkie: (from o.s.) Hey, Rainbow Dash, wait up! (Zoom out from her through the happy ponies.)

Fluttershy: Oh, please, this is an emergency. I need everypony to—

Twilight Sparkle: (from o.s.) LISTEN UP!

(Cut to her on a bridge over the stream running through the park, with Spike on her back, and zoom in.)

Twilight: Smoke is spreading over all of Equestria! (Back to the crowd; shocked reaction.)

Fluttershy: (jumping into view in distance) That’s what I’ve been trying to—

Twilight: (from o.s.) But don’t worry. (Cut to her and pan to the crowd.) I’ve just received a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that it is not coming from a fire.

Fluttershy: Oh, thank goodness.

Twilight: (from o.s.) It’s coming from a dragon!

(The mild-mannered pegasus sucks in a gasp that would inflate a small blimp as her eyes pop.)

Fluttershy: A…d-d-d-dragon?

(Dissolve to the exterior of the library, under a sky that has darkened under the spreading smoke. Zoom in slowly.)

Applejack: (from inside) What in the name of all things cinnamon-swirled is a full-grown dragon doin’ here in Equestria?

(On the second half of this line, cut to Twilight inside, studying book from a stack; rolled-up documents rest nearby. She closes the book with her magic and sets it aside.)

Twilight: Sleeping.

(Pan to her five friends, none of whom can believe their ears.)

Others: Huh?

(Close-up of her saddlebags standing on the floor; she magically opens one and packs a book into it as she continues.)

Twilight: (from o.s.) According to Princess Celestia, he’s taking a nap. (Back to her.) His snoring is what’s causing all this smoke. (To Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow.)

Pinkie: He should really see a doctor. That doesn’t sound healthy at all.

Rarity: Well, at least he’s not snoring fire. What are we meant to do about it?

Rainbow: (from o.s.) I’ll tell you what we’re meant to do. (Cut to her, hovering a few feet up.) Give him the boot! (kicking the center table’s horse-head bust) Take that!

(A spell from Twilight balances it before it can topple.)

Rainbow: And that!

(She rushes at it, but misses due to Twilight’s last-second levitation. A thud from o.s.; it goes back on the pedestal, and Rainbow is seen sprawled upside down against a wall.)

Twilight: We need to encourage him to take a nap somewhere else. (as Rainbow gets up) Princess Celestia has given us this mission, and we must not fail. (The speedster stands to attention and salutes.) If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years.

(Cut to Fluttershy on the end of this; she recoils in horror with a gasp, and the camera pans to Pinkie and Rarity.)

Rarity: Hmph! (to Pinkie) Talk about getting your beauty sleep.

Twilight: (from o.s.) All right, everypony. (Her saddlebags close.) I need you to gather supplies quickly.

(The bags rise off the floor and settle on her back.)

Twilight: We’ve got a long journey ahead of us. (The others gather around her.) Let’s meet back here in less than an hour.

Rainbow: (looping in air, throwing hooves around Pinkie’s, Rarity’s necks) Okay, girls, you heard her! The fate of Equestria is in our hooves! Do we have what it takes?

(Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity rear up and voice their own affirmative responses. As they hustle out the door, Rainbow joins them—but Fluttershy hangs back.)

Fluttershy: Um, actually…

(Wipe to Rainbow’s cloud house. She flies to one of the rainbow ponds at its edge, from which a waterfall trickles toward the ground, and daubs a stripe of the material under each narrowed eye. Throwing a defiant growl and fierce grin toward the camera, she is framed in a letterbox shot, with her shadow superimposing itself several times behind her. Freeze frame.)

(Quick pan to a fullscreen shot of Sweet Apple Acres. The four local members of the Apple family—Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith—are gathered around a pair of open saddlebags on the ground. As the camera zooms in, Bloom drops in a bottle of apple juice, Granny pulls one bag closed with her teeth, and Macintosh loads them onto Applejack’s back with some effort. Once the blond pony straightens up under the weight, she rears up and leaps sideways with a yell. Letterbox freeze frame, as before.)

(Quick pan to a fullscreen shot of Sugarcube Corner, from which Pinkie emerges wearing her own saddlebags, a pair of sunglasses, and a big goofy grin. One bag pops open, scattering un-inflated balloons everywhere; she giggles for a second, then catches herself.)

Pinkie: Oh, I mean… (striking tough rear-legged pose) …grrrr!

(Letterbox freeze frame, as before. Quick pan to the Carousel Boutique, then zoom in quickly and cut to Rarity inside. She has put on a camouflage Army helmet, with a few leaves and branches attached to improve the disguise, and carries her saddlebags in her teeth. After catching her reflection in a mirror, she drops the bags and zips back to it, disgusted.)

Rarity: Ewwww!

(Off she goes, returning a moment later with new headwear: a broad-brimmed hat, still done in camo colors but with a long pink plume instead of the branches.)

Rarity: Much better. Onward!

(Letterbox freeze frame, as before. Quick pan to Fluttershy’s cottage, zooming in on the front door whose top half is open. She nudges the bottom half open and steps out, wearing a football helmet, a baseball catcher’s chest protector, an inner tube around her midsection, and “floaties” on all four legs. The top half swings shut, scaring a little whimper out of her. Letterbox freeze frame, as before.)

(Cut to a letterbox screenful of black smoke, with images of the five freeze-frames dropping in from right to left to tile in the view.)

Applejack: Let’s go! (All but Fluttershy zip away.)

Fluttershy: Um…let’s not?

(She crouches down and goes into a whimpering shiver as the five strips slide away up and down. Tilt down to frame Twilight, walking down the line to review the troops; they have done away with all except the saddlebags.)

Twilight: All right, girls, listen up. I’m mapping out the fastest route, but we’ve all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall. (Fluttershy falls out of line.)

Fluttershy: (shuddering) Mountain?

Twilight: (pointing to the peak) The dragon is in that cave at the very top. (Cut to Applejack and Rainbow.)

Applejack: Looks pretty cold up there.

Rainbow: You bet it is! The higher you go, the chillier it gets. (Pan to Rarity.)

Rarity: Good thing I brought my scarf.

(A quick dig in her saddlebag brings one up, striped in two shades of pink.)

Pinkie: Ooh, pretty! (Rarity settles it around her neck.)

Rainbow: (laughing sarcastically) Oh, yeah. That’ll keep you nice and cozy.

(Zoom in on a visibly unsettled Fluttershy as she finishes. A glance up at the dizzying, fume-choked summit prompts one hard swallow from her. Twilight takes no notice, levitating a map from her bag and studying it when the camera cuts to behind her.)

Fluttershy: (from o.s.) Um…excuse me, Twilight? (Head-on view of both.) I know you’re busy, but—

Twilight: (not paying attention) Uh-huh. Well, we could go this way.

Fluttershy: —but if I could just have a second—

Twilight: Uh-huh. No, we want to avoid that.

Fluttershy: So, um, I was thinking that, um, maybe I should just stay here in Ponyville.

Twilight: Uh-huh.

Fluttershy: (brightly, walking o.s.) Oh! Good. I’ll stay here and—

(Only now does the fearless leader realize what Fluttershy is talking about.)

Twilight: Wait! You have to come. (Pan to the exiting Fluttershy, putting her o.s.) Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy.

Fluttershy: I don’t think I— (The top of Spike’s head crosses before her.)

Twilight: (from o.s.) Oh, and don’t worry about your little friends in the meadow. (Tilt down; several have come with him.) Spike’s got it covered while you’re gone.

Spike: You can count on me.

(Angel pops up on his head and gives it a good thumping with one leg, scaring all the other critters away.)

Spike: (running after them) Hey! Hey! Wait! (Twilight rolls up the map and stows it.)

Fluttershy: I don’t really think he’s up to the task. (Twilight walks off.) Maybe…but…but… (Tiny little whimper; Rainbow takes Twilight aside.)

Rainbow: Are you sure you want Fluttershy to come along? I mean, that pony’s afraid of her own shadow. She’s just gonna slow us down.

Twilight: Oh, she’s just a little nervous. Once we get going, I’m sure she’ll be fine.

(A yelp from the scaredy pony draws their attention; a close-up and quick zoom out from her trembling face reveals that Rainbow’s words were exactly on point. Fluttershy dives into a bush to get away from her shadow and peeks out as Rainbow gives the unicorn a “told you so” look. The other three supporting players are ready to go; Rarity has put her scarf away, and Pinkie is blowing up a balloon.)

Twilight: (from o.s.) All right, girls!

(The balloon slips out of Pinkie’s mouth and veers around as it deflates, finally landing on her head.)

Twilight: Move out! (They do so, straight toward Fluttershy—now out of the bush.)

Fluttershy: But…but…

(She gets caught up in the small-scale stampede and is carried screaming toward the mountain. Tilt up to its murky peak and snap to black.)

Act Two

(Opening shot: fade in to the mountain peak, which trembles as a low, guttural noise is heard. Imagine the world’s largest Evinrude outboard motor, scaled up by a factor of several thousand, and in desperate need of a tune-up. Smoke boils out; cut to an overhead view of the six, Rainbow hovering overhead and Fluttershy diving behind Applejack with a panicked gasp.)

Rainbow: Whoa! What was that? (Long shot of them on the mountain’s grassy foot slopes.)

Twilight: That is what it sounds like when a dragon snores. (Fluttershy peeks up.)

Fluttershy: It’s…it’s so…

(Her perspective of the near-vertical ascent, tilting up to frame the peak.)

Fluttershy: (very small voice) …high. (Rainbow leans in.)

Rainbow: Well, it is a mountain! (turning to face upward) I’m gonna fly up there and check it out.

(She tries to do so on the end of this line, but Applejack’s favorite grab-the-tail-in-the-teeth move stops her. Cut to them; she lets go.)

Applejack: Hold on now. I think we should all go up together. (The other four; she continues o.s.) Safety in numbers and all.

Rainbow: (sulkily) Oh, all right.

(The scenery dissolves around her to a stretch of rock face; zoom out to show her glumly winging her way up a slope as all others but Fluttershy muscle ahead on leg-power. The camera works its way back to frame Rarity on the next line, as well as Twilight in the rear, who studies her map before rolling it up.)

Rarity: I hear the only thing that sparkles more than a dragon’s scales are the jewels they use to build their nests. (Long shot of the five ponies.) Ooh! If I play my cards right, I might be able to convince him to part with a few! (She and Pinkie stop.)

Pinkie: (scratchy voice) Welcome to my cave, Rarity! Care for a diamond?

(The pink joker’s jape irks Rarity for a moment until she growls, prompting a round of laughter from all but Twilight.)

Twilight: Girls! (All silent.) This is no laughing matter! (Close-up.) Fluttershy, you’re the expert on wild creatures. What do you think the dragon will be like?

(Getting no response, she stops to look around, as do the other three land-bound travelers.)

Twilight: Fluttershy? (Rainbow looks down.)

Rainbow: Hey!

(Cut to her perspective of the mountain’s foot; Fluttershy peeks out behind a bush.)

Rainbow: What are you waiting for? (The entire group.) An invitation?

Pinkie: Ooh! (ducking away) I think I have one in my bag!

(She instantly comes up with one in her teeth, releasing a burst of confetti, streamers, balloons, and noise that scare the daylights out of the pegasus and do little for Rarity’s mood.)

Fluttershy: It…it’s so…so…steep.

Rainbow: Well, it is a cliff! You could just…oh, I don’t know…fly up here?

Pinkie: Come on, Fluttershy, you can do it! (waving a hoof) Flap those wings!

Fluttershy: Oh…okay.

(With her eyes squeezed shut, she starts flapping and is soon at eye level with the rest of the group. She then commits a variation on the classic fear-of-heights mistake by looking up instead of down, just in time for another of the dragon’s rumbling snores. Both wings snap tight against her body out of sheer terror, and all four hooves flail against nothing before she drops back into the bushes like a yellow brick. Rainbow groans in disgust, covering her eyes; on the ground, Fluttershy strains hopelessly to unfurl her wings, while Twilight and Applejack watch from up the hill.)

Twilight: (groaning) We don’t have time for this! (Applejack pulls out the map with her teeth.) What are you doing? (Answer: studying it.)

Applejack: I’ll need this if I’m gonna take her around the mountain another way. (Loud groan from Rainbow.)

Rainbow: Around the mountain?

(Applejack bolts downhill; cut to her as she slides along.)

Rainbow: (from o.s.) That’s gonna take them forever!

 (Just after the earth pony reaches the pegasus, another snore from the leviathan shakes the mountain and causes the latter to go over on her back in a stiff-legged, wide-eyed faint. A goat’s bleat is heard as she topples; Applejack addresses herself upward.)

Applejack: Don’t worry, Twi. (Cut to Twilight; she continues o.s.) We’ll be there lickety-split.

(The unicorn’s concern deepens as she turns her gaze to the foul black stream advancing steadily over the hills. Dissolve to a tic-tac-toe game drawn in the dirt. Rarity’s nose is barely visible at left; across from her, Pinkie leans down to draw an O in the only open square with hers, winning the game. Zoom out to frame both of them and Twilight, who paces in the distance; the ground is covered with other games, and they are on a plateau.)

Pinkie: Woo-hoo! I win again! (Disgusted sigh from Rarity.)

Rarity: That’s thirty-five games in a row. (smiling) Best of seventy-one?

(As Twilight and Rainbow keep a lookout, they hear panting in the distance and soon see Applejack coming up around a bend. She has tied Fluttershy’s tail into a loop and slung it around her forehead to drag the still-frozen pegasus up the trail.)

Applejack: We…made…it. (She collapses; Rainbow is now hovering upside down.)

Rainbow: (to Twilight) Told you it was gonna take them forever.

(Twilight has no answer for this. Wipe to an overhead shot of the group; Pinkie is well ahead of Fluttershy, who still either cannot or will not move under her own power and is being pushed by Applejack. The pink tail is no longer looped back on itself. Farther ahead of these three, Rarity is slightly behind Twilight, while Rainbow soars over them all. In close-up, the three walking leaders check the map, which Twilight magically rolls up and puts away after a moment. They stop short, finding themselves at the edge of a dropoff; Rainbow gallops up and easily leaps the gap with a little help from her wings. Twilight is next, then Rarity, but Fluttershy can only swallow hard and stare across at the others, now joined by Pinkie.)

Twilight: Your turn, Fluttershy.

Fluttershy: But…it’s so… (turning head away) …wide.

Twilight: (impatiently) Come on, Fluttershy! We should be much farther along by now.

Applejack: (encouragingly) You could just leap on over. (Fluttershy peeks past the edge.)

Fluttershy: I…

(A fresh snore and billow of smoke cut her off; she yanks her head back and curls into a shivering little ball.)

Fluttershy: I don’t know.

(Both Twilight and Applejack shake their heads disappointedly, but Pinkie is her usual cheerful self.)

Pinkie: There’s nothing to be afraid of! (jumping to edge) It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump!

(And with one nimble bound, she is back on Fluttershy’s side.)

Soft-shoe piano intro, then fast 4 (C major)

Pinkie: See?

It’s not very far, just move your little rump

                You can make it if you try with a hop, skip, and a jump

(She adds a shake of her hindquarters to make the point before leaping across.)

Music pauses

Twilight: We don’t have time for this!

Music resumes; steadily increasing tempo (as Pinkie jumps back and forth)

Pinkie:                A hop, skip, and a jump, just move your little rump

                A hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump

                A hop, skip, and a jump, a hop, skip, and a jump

                A hop, skip and a jump

(Fluttershy’s eyes flick back and forth to follow the performance, which ends with Pinkie back on the far side, and she finally smiles and stands up.)

Song ends

Fluttershy: Okay…here I go. (doing motions slowly) A hop… (Next three lines overlap.)

Applejack: That’s it.

Twilight: You got it.

Rarity: Almost there.

Fluttershy: Skip… (She skips over the edge, eyes closed.)

Twilight: Just don’t look down!

(During this line, cut back to Fluttershy, who opens her eyes and makes exactly that mistake. Cut briefly to her perspective of the empty space beneath her hooves, her vision blurring out of sheer panic as she begins to take the big dive. The camera cuts to a close-up of her; there is barely time for her to get out one tiny moan before she suddenly stops dead. When the camera zooms out, she is seen to have one pair of splayed hooves on each edge of the gap—which is, in fact, barely more than one pony wide. While Twilight manages the best smile she can at the weak humor of the situation, Rainbow claps a hoof to her face with a groan and flies over to push Fluttershy across. Pinkie and Rarity assist with a little pulling action, which ends with a thud and both pegasi lying in a heap before the other four ponies.)

Fluttershy: I guess I forgot to jump.

(Wipe to yet another section of the trail leading up this craggy mountain and tilt down slightly to frame the group making headway. Cut to a slow pan along the rock wall lining one side.)

Twilight: (from o.s., softly) Let’s keep it down. (Cut to her and Applejack.) According to my map, we’re entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep could cause a huge rockslide.

(Very unsettling news for the other five, who stop in their tracks—or above them, in Rainbow’s case.)

Fluttershy: An…an ava…ava…

Twilight: Shhh!

(They move ahead, taking care to put their hooves down as lightly as possible. Rainbow brushes through some leafy branches as she flies along, causing a couple of leaves to drop loose and zigzag slowly toward the ground. One of them makes the barest contact with Fluttershy’s rump, but it is more than enough to set her off.)

Fluttershy: AVALAN—

(Applejack silences her with a hoof over her mouth, and all glance nervously around as the echo of her cry dies away, the camera backing up in steps. When it has nearly faded out, all sigh in relief—and then the terrain begins to shake and rumble. A few pebbles clatter down from above, replaced by larger rock fragments in very short order.)

All: (from o.s.) AVALANCHE!!

(Pandemonium, with Twilight sprinting out from beneath a falling boulder, Rarity doing a serpentine through other slabs, and Applejack  leaping across their tops only to hit a freshly landed one face first. In midair, Rainbow uses a few of her tricks to stay ahead of the collapse.)

Twilight: (looking behind herself) Oh, no! Help!

(The apple farmer dives across to plow her out of a tumbling rock’s path, and another one lands just in front of the camera to black out the screen.)

(Fade in to a cloud of dust, which clears to reveal five badly shaken ponies coughing the last of it out of their lungs. The rockslide has left a broad mass of stone and earth across the trail, almost completely blocking it.)

Applejack: Oh, my! (Coughing stops.) Everypony okay?

Twilight: Thanks to you, I am.

(Fluttershy pokes her head out of some collapsed dirt. Pan from her to Pinkie, bouncing happily in place, and a very filthy and discomfited Rarity.)

Rarity: Ugh. (She shakes herself clean, transferring dirt to Pinkie.)

Pinkie: Woo-hoo! Let’s do it again!

Rarity: (sighing disgustedly) This is why a girl always packs extra accessories.

(She whips her scarf out of her saddlebags and puts it on in a close-up, then eyes her gear with concern.)

Rarity: Oh, please tell me I brought the tiara that goes with this. (Zoom out; Rainbow hovers before her.)

Rainbow: Uh, think we got bigger problems than making sure our hair bows match our horseshoes!

(A longer shot reveals that she is referring to the landslide on the trail, which has left only a narrow path open along the edge. Fluttershy lets off an almost inaudible sigh; Pinkie is now clean again.)

Fluttershy: Sorry.

Applejack: (forcing a smile) Aw, no big whoop, sugar cube.

Twilight: Yeah! We’ll just have to… (Reality sets in; her face falls and she sighs resignedly.) …climb over.

(They begin to do so most unwillingly. Dissolve to a patch of this new and unforgiving terrain; Fluttershy slips for a moment, and the camera tilts up to frame an exasperated Rainbow winging it overhead. A wipe changes the view to the other side of the fall, where Twilight jumps down onto the trail, followed by Rainbow’s swoop. The sound of Fluttershy’s struggles floats down to them; farther up the way, she is trying to keep herself upright on the loose earth. One misstep sends her sliding down into Rarity, who in turn knocks over Applejack; a cloud of dust, and all three are in a pile at the bottom. Rainbow grabs one of Rarity’s hooves and starts to pull her free.)

Rarity: My apologies.

Rainbow: (bitterly, eyes aimed at Fluttershy) Not your fault.

(The hapless pegasus gets out a choked little whimper as the ace flyer passes, giving her a very hairy eyeball. Cut to the group, now just short of a ledge on which the mouth of a cave can be seen. Twilight has the map open and floating in front of her, but rolls it up and stows it after a moment.)

Rainbow: Still think it was a good idea to bring Fluttershy along?

Twilight: We’re about to find out.

(They stop. Cut to the cave mouth and zoom out; the group has reached it, and the smoke is pouring out.)

Twilight: We’re here.

(Fade to black.)

Act Three

(Opening shot: fade in to the six at the cave mouth. Twilight thinks hard for a moment, then composes herself and turns to Rainbow, keeping her voice down until further notice.)

[Animation goof: Inconsistencies in the saddlebags—some ponies still have them, others do not. This continues throughout the scene.]

Twilight: Rainbow Dash, you’ll use your wings to clear the smoke.

Rainbow: Mmm-hmm.

(She goes into a crouch and takes off straight up into the haze.)

 Twilight: Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you’ll create a diversion to distract the dragon if things get a little hairy in there.

(Pinkie zips away, leaving Rarity to gape after her; she comes up with a rubber chicken and swings it back and forth in her teeth, holding it by the head as if she were a fox raiding the henhouse. The spectacle leaves both Rarity and Twilight at a total loss for words.)

Twilight: Applejack, you’re ready with the apples in case he decides to attack.

(During this line, cut to Applejack, who has two apples in her mouth. She flips them backwards overhead, then delivers two one-legged bucks that propel them straight toward a nearby tree. They splatter against the trunk on impact, and she throws a fierce smile to the camera.)

Twilight: (pacing before others; Rainbow has rejoined them) But it shouldn’t come to that, because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up. And between the two of us, we should be able to get him to understand why he needs to go. Is everypony ready?

(Four out of five indicate that they are; the fifth is scared out of her wits and crouched almost low enough to be a throw rug.)

Twilight: Okay, then. We’re going in!

(She slowly enters the cave. Cut to a close-up of her on the move, seen from the legs down; during the next line, cut to frame all of her.)

Twilight: So, what is the best way to wake up a sleeping dragon without upsetting him? (She stops and looks around.) Fluttershy?

(A look back toward daylight tells her that she is the only pony in the cave at the moment; she starts back out.)

Twilight: (fed up) Oh, come on!

(Wipe to Fluttershy, who has gone beyond a terrified crouch to literally burying her head in the sand—or dirt, as the case may be. Twilight walks up and resumes her normal speaking volume.)

Twilight: Come on! (Grab wing in teeth; pull her out.) We have to do this! (Head-butt her from behind.) Now!

(Rainbow gets into the act, bumping Twilight from behind to drive her into Fluttershy again.)

Twilight: Every… (Cut to Rainbow, shoving; she continues o.s.) …second longer that dragon… (Rarity pushes on Rainbow.) …sleeps is another… (Applejack shoves Rarity.) …acre of Equestria that is covered in…

(On the end of this, cut to a close-up of Fluttershy’s front hooves, which she has dug in to hold her position. The camera then shifts to frame all five.)

Twilight: …smoke!

(Pinkie, the only one missing from this tableau, does her pony-cannonball act and slams into Applejack’s back. Head-on view of the recalcitrant pegasus.)

Fluttershy: I… (Five heads pop out behind her.) I…I can’t go in the cave. (All keel over with disgusted groans.)

Rainbow: Oh, great. She’s scared of caves now, too.

Fluttershy: I’m not scared of caves. I’m scared of— (Soft mumble.)

Applejack: What’s that, sugar cube?

Fluttershy: I’m scared of— (Another mumble.)

Twilight: What?

Fluttershy: (hastily, full volume) I’m scared of dragons!

(The one in question sounds off again, letting off a fresh belch of smoke that fills the screen. Fluttershy’s cry is heard from within; when the view clears, all six have a brief coughing fit. Fluttershy has taken cover behind Applejack.)

Twilight: But, Fluttershy, you have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals.

Fluttershy: Yes, because they’re not dragons.

Rainbow: Oh, come on! We’ve seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing.

Fluttershy: Yes, because he wasn’t a dragon.

Pinkie: Spike is a dragon. You’re not scared of him.

Fluttershy: Yes, because he’s not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale-having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, totally all-grown-up dragon.

(During this line, the camera backs up in several steps to frame the entire group, the ridge on which the cave is situated, and finally the entire smoggy peak—which rumbles with another snore and blast of smoke. Back on said peak, Fluttershy has folded herself so flat that she could win any limbo contest known to man or pony, and is shuddering mightily in front of Twilight.)

Twilight: But—if you’re so afraid of dragons, why didn’t you say something before we came all the way up here?

Fluttershy: I was afraid to. (Rainbow groans, hoof to face; Applejack nudges Fluttershy up.)

Applejack: All of us are scared of that dragon.

Rainbow: I’m not!

Applejack: Almost all of us are scared of that dragon. But we’ve got a job to do. So get in there with Twilight and show her what you’re made of.

(During this line, cut briefly to inside the cave, the camera pointing out at the two. The next shot is from her perspective, panning across the others.)

Fluttershy: I…I… (Back to her.) I just…can’t. (She turns away and starts down the trail.)

Twilight: (from o.s., softly) Oh, Fluttershy…

(Zoom out to frame the others, then fade to black.)

(Fade in to the interior of the cave; Twilight has again ventured in alone, the camera panning to follo as she speaks. The movement exposes a portion of something very large, scaly, and red, curled around a stalactite.) 

Twilight: (resolutely) I’m going in! He probably just doesn’t realize what he’s doing…right?

(Quick pan back to the entrance, where all but Fluttershy poke their heads around the edge to voice encouragement. After they duck away again, Twilight throws a cocked-eyebrow glance their way and continues on, having lost most of her bravado. Now she passes more of the red body and a sizable pile of gold coins and jewelry.)

Twilight: (softly) Mr. Dragon?

(She bumps into a large protrusion and stops short, her eyes narrowing to points as they angle upward for a better look. A long shot reveals that she has found the dragon in question, and it is a massive humdinger: red scales covering the body, pink head spines and ridges over the eyes, bat-wing ears, gigantic beak-like snout—whose tip she ran into—with smoke issuing from both nostrils as it sleeps. The pile of treasure is large enough to serve as its bed. Twilight gathers her nerve and raises her voice just a bit.)

Twilight: Excuse me. (It shifts a bit, exposing pale yellow underbelly.) Mr. Dragon?

(A scratch at the area, a feral yellow-orange eye pops open, and the thing stares her down as the camera quickly zooms out from both.)

Twilight:  Oh! Good. You’re awake. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight— (Huge smelly yawn into her face.) —ugh! (covering nose with hoof) —Sparkle, and my friends and I are residents here in Equestria.

(Close-up of the dragon’s eye on the end of this; it narrows in anger, and the camera cuts to the four at the entrance. Pinkie waves enthusiastically. The tone of Twilight’s sigh and next words indicates that she has lowered her hoof.)

Twilight: (from o.s.) Ponyville, to be exact. (Back to her and the dragon; zoom in slowly.) We’ve come here to ask that you find another spot to take your nap. It’s just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do, you send out a terrible cloud of smoke.

(It does exactly that, throwing her into a brief coughing jag.)

Twilight: Equestria simply can’t survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand…don’t you?

(The beast straightens up and stretches, giving itself another scratch for good measure.)

Twilight: So you’ll find another place to sleep?

(It flops down again and instantly zonks out with a new, screen-filling smoke cloud. Twilight’s cough is heard within it and continues as the camera cuts to the entrance, where she emerges. Another blow washes over all of them, with predictable effects on their lungs.)

Rainbow: So much for— (Cough.) —persuading him.

Applejack: Now what? (Rarity trots up and clears her throat.)

Rarity: Obviously this situation just calls for a little pony charm. Allow me, girls.

(In she goes; cut to her, now in front of the dragon.)

Rarity: (cheerfully) I’m so sorry to interrupt! (It wakes up; she clears her throat.) But I couldn’t possibly head back home without mentioning what handsome scales you have.

(Close-up of the spines standing up from the tough crimson hide, then cut back to Rarity on the start of the next line. She is taking a closer look at a pearl necklace with a large jeweled pendant.)

Rarity: (dismissively) And those scales have to be hidden away in some silly cave for a hundred years?

(By the time she finishes, the bauble has wound up around her neck. The creature grunts as if mulling this over, then leans down toward Rarity, who has donned a couple of bracelets and a crown in addition to the necklace. She turns on the charm again.)

Rarity: Personally, I think you should skip the snoozing and be out there, showing them off. Hmm. (Cut to it, preening itself; she continues o.s.) Obviously I would be more than happy to keep an eye on your jewels while you’re gone. (Chuckle.)

(All the spines snap erect as the vicious teeth grind together—it has figured out her plan—and it scoops the entire hoard out of reach with a snarl. Rarity’s next move is to bail out of both the cave and her pilfered finery, the latter being snatched up before it can hit the ground. Wipe to her, forelegs propped on a rock outside and looking very displeased at her failure.)

Rarity: (holding front hooves close together) I was this close to getting that diamond.

Twilight: You mean “getting rid of that dragon”?

Rarity: Oh, yeah, sure. (A party favor sounds off o.s.)

Applejack: (from o.s.) What in tarnation?

(The source turns out to be Pinkie, who has put on an outfit consisting of the following. A bunch of balloons tied to her tail; swim fins on all four hooves; a gift box enclosing her entire body and upper legs and tied with a polka-dotted ribbon; a two-color balloon animal tied around her forehead; the sunglasses she wore while getting ready; and the noisemaker. Applejack and Rarity stare in total disbelief and are soon joined by Rainbow.)

Rarity: Darling, you look ridiculous!

Pinkie: Exactly! (waddling into cave) Sharing a laugh is a sure-fire way to get someone on your side. (now in) Hi!

(A swift pummeling is heard from within, accompanied by the sound of deflating balloons, and Pinkie emerges a moment later—her getup trashed and with only one survivor on her tail.)

Pinkie: Apparently he doesn’t like laughing—or sharing.

Rainbow: All right, that’s it!

(Her perspective, panning from Twilight to Rarity to Pinkie.)

Rainbow: We’ve tried persuasion, charm, whatever it is Pinkie Pie does… (Sad little blow on the party favor; back to her.) …it’s time to stop wasting time! I’m going in! (She flashes into the cave.)

Twilight: Rainbow! (Cut to Rainbow; she continues o.s.) No!

(No effect; the headstrong charger reaches the dragon in a heartbeat and stares it down.)

Rainbow: Get…OUT!!

(One powerful mid-air buck sends both rear hooves square into the beaked snout. The dragon’s first reaction is to sneeze; its second is to get good and angry.)

Rainbow: (unnerved) Heh…sorry.

(Its third reaction is to let go with a roar that throws her all the way out of the cave, where she knocks into the other four still here like bowling pins. Pinkie has ditched the remains of her costume. Ponies and saddlebags tumble everywhere; as the five get themselves vertical, they scatter before the dragon’s emergence. An infuriated bellow sends smoke spewing over the five, now clutching at each other, and drives them back against a rock outcropping. When the view clears, they are lying dazed against it, and it cracks and falls apart to expose Fluttershy on the other side. She has not left the scene, but is merely hiding in the safest place she can find for the moment.)

(She looks up over the rubble, her jaw falling open once she sees the state her friends are in. Her attention shifts between the colossal dragon and the jumble of ponies; the blue-green eyes waver indecisively and close—and then open again as the brows draw down in steely determination.)

Fluttershy: How dare you? How dare you?!?

(She flies up to its level, landing on the snout and trotting up to stare it eye to eye as she continues. Her words have cowed the beast dramatically.)

Fluttershy: Listen here, mister! Just because you’re big doesn’t mean you get to be a bully! (Slow pan across the others; she continues o.s.) You may have huge teeth and sharp scales and snore smoke and breathe fire— (Back to her.) —but you do not, I repeat, you do NOT HURT MY FRIENDS!

(On each of these last three words, the camera jumps closer to her face, stopping on an extreme close-up of her eyes. It then backs up to frame all of her.)

Fluttershy: (levelly) You got that?

(Long pause, after which the dragon cowers away from her with a little whimper. Back to her eyes.)

Fluttershy: Well?

(Another long pause. Now the fiend speaks up in a deep, reverberating voice.)

Dragon: But that rainbow one kicked me.

 (Rainbow nods and smiles hugely. Now Fluttershy returns to her usual sweet tone of voice, but still with a bit of steel in it.)

Fluttershy: And I am very sorry about that. (Rainbow aims a puzzled look at the camera.) But you’re bigger than she is, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures.

Dragon: But I—

Fluttershy: Don’t you “but I” me, mister. Now what do you have to say for yourself? (Silence.) I said, what do you have to say for yourself?

(The dragon fights to keep its composure and loses, bursting into tears. Slow pan across the other five ponies, now upright again in the shower; Rarity worries about its effect on her mane, while Pinkie has donned an umbrella hat and is grinning her head off.)

Fluttershy: (tenderly; the tears stop) There, there. No need to cry. You’re not a bad dragon. (descending) You just made a bad decision. Now go pack your things. You just need to find a new place to sleep. (The others gather around her.) That’s all.

(Cheers and congratulations from the five. PP has put away her hat.)

Twilight: You did it! I knew you could do it!

(The view is momentarily obscured by the flapping of great red wings, and all six watch as the dragon takes its leave of the peak.)

(Dissolve to a street in Ponyville proper. Several pegasi are hard at work dissipating the sheet of black vapor to leave behind a normal sky. Once they finish, pan to the library.)

Spike: (panting, from inside) I said…

(Cut to Twilight’s bedroom loft; Angel bounds into view and climbs the bookshelves.)

Spike: (from o.s.) …come back here!

(He dives after the rabbit, but only succeeds in hitting the shelves headfirst. Angel reaches the top and tries to grab for the ceiling, but the baby dragon snatches a hind leg and hauls him down. Holding him at arm’s length, Spike walks across the room as Angel tries to deck him.)

Spike: How does Fluttershy put up with you furry little things?!

Twilight: (from o.s.) Spike? (Cut to her, facing up toward him.) Take a letter.

(He is only too pleased to do so, dropping Angel and pulling out quill and scroll.)

Spike: With pleasure! (Tilt down to Twilight.)

Twilight: (dictating) “Dear Princess Celestia: I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country—”

(On the end of this, dissolve to her and Fluttershy walking in the street, with Rainbow flying nearby. Twilight smiles at Fluttershy.)

Twilight: (voice over) “—and that it was my good friend Fluttershy who convinced him to go.” (Dissolve back to her and Spike.) “This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends.”

(Dissolve to a flashback: Fluttershy rising up from the broken rock to face the dragon.)

Twilight: (voice over) “They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.” (Dissolve back to her and Spike.) “Always your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” (A ball is heard bouncing outside.)

Applejack: (from outside) Twilight! You gotta come see this!

(Cut to outside one of the windows, the one with the hanging lantern. Twilight opens it and steps to the railing. The ball Rainbow was bouncing in Act One is at it again, and Applejack puts her head into view.)

Applejack: She’s just five away from a new pony record!

(Camera shift: Rainbow has the attention of the whole group, save for the absent Pinkie, working the ball off her head. Close-up.)

Rainbow: Three hundred forty-seven, three hundred forty-eight…

(A grating roar throws her off; the ball ricochets away, and she and her mane stand bolt upright.)

Rainbow: DRAGON!!

(She goes down, eyes wide open and all four hooves pointing stiffly upward just as Fluttershy did in Act Two. As before, the sound of a bleating goat is heard to accompany the freak-out. The other four ponies have a good laugh as she gets up.)

Rainbow: (still shaken) Why are you laughing? That awful dragon is back!

(Now Pinkie makes the scene, voicing the roar just heard.)

Rainbow: Pinkie Pie, you scared me! (Eyes pop.) I mean…uh…you…broke my concentration. (Pinkie trots off.)

Fluttershy: It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. Not everypony can be as brave as me.

(Down comes a leaf from the nearest branch. Rainbow blows it aside so that it touches down on Fluttershy’s rump, prompting her to keel over as before. Another round of laughter, with Twilight shaking her head before smiling and joining in. Fade to black.)