ALI-CONNED
Written by Kelly Lynne D’Angelo
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Directed by Randi Rodrigues
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Prologue
(Opening shot: a pan along a busy stretch of Mane Street in Maretime Bay during the day, followed by a cut to a close-up of Sunny Starscout’s hooves clad in roller skates and weaving rapidly down the road.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Pardon me—oh, excuse me! (Her perspective; ponies yell and dive for cover to clear the way.) Um, but also, um, I have a really important announcement, one that will change all of our lives!
(The camera cuts to her during this last sentence, wearing a crash helmet for safety, and she closes in on a gazebo that stands in the center of the town square.)
Sunny: Hurry! Come listen! (She slews to a stop within the structure, ditching the headgear and wheels.) Ponies of Maretime Bay, I have some alarming news. (Zoom in quickly to a close-up.) We eat too much junk food!
(Down in the audience, Toots eats from a bag of chips while Sweets blows a bubble from a wad of gum she is chewing. Dahlia steps up alongside them.)
Dahlia: You’re just saying that to get us to come to your smoothie cart. Hmph! (The bubble pops.)
Sunny: What? No! But it is something we need to talk about. Why constantly eat junk food full of…well, junk…
(Cut to Toots and Sweets on these last two words, the stallion freezing just before he can bite down on a donut, then back to Sunny on the next line. As she continues, she pulls a stack of flyers from her saddlebag and holds them forth, showing a vibrantly colored picture of fresh produce.)
Sunny: …when we have amazing earth pony powers we could be using to create fresh fruits and veggies of our own? Imagine the possibilities!
Toots: (skeptically) Like what?
Sunny: (jumping down to him, passing out flyers) We could magically combine plants to make them more delicious—ooh! Or, or even invent new flavors of fruits! We can grow as ponies by growing our own food!
(The flip side of each sheet can now be seen to be marked by a French fry with a red circle-and-slash superimposed on it.)
Dahlia: (wearily, hoof to forehead) Not another one of Sunny’s lost causes! (Grumbles from the crowd; flyers are tossed aside.) Hmph! (They disperse.)
Toots: (with a sound of disgust, throwing his away) Yuck to that— (smiling, lifting donut) —and yum to you!
(He proceeds to wolf it down in one bite as a crushed Sunny watches the flyers become just so much litter on the pavement. Hitch Trailblazer, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, and Zipp Storm arrive on the scene; Zipp has a flyer in hoof.)
Zipp: Hey! How’s your rally going?
Sunny: So far, it’s been nothing but failure. Nopony in town even took one, did they?
Zipp: (showing the flip side) To be fair, these flyers do have a giant “no” sign across a picture of French fries.
Sunny: (pacing, getting increasingly worked up) There are so many things that need changing. How can I make the world a better place if nopony’s willing to listen? With all our new earth pony powers, there’s so much potential! I just want to help!
(As she speaks, cut to an extreme close-up of her cutie mark starting to glow, then to her friends taking a step back. She finishes with a leap into the air, but remains up there once her magic wings and horn manifest to keep her aloft, her saddlebag disappearing. A collective gasp from the scattered onlookers; Sweets’ gum bubble pops all over her face, while Toots is so dumbstruck that he drops a second donut. The ponies gather in, murmuring excitedly among themselves, as Sunny touches down.)
Toots: Okay. Tell us more about them fruits and vegetables, Sunny.
Sunny: I finally got your attention?
(She spreads her wings and giggles. Snap to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to a close-up of a smoothie being placed by Sunny on the serving counter of her stand and picked up by a customer.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Whoo! I am over the Luna Moon!
(Longer shot, framing her doing a brisk business as Pipp and Zipp look on. Her wings and horn are still present.)
Sunny: Oh, the response in town went from zero to a hundred in seconds! Ah! What gives, right? (All three laugh.)
Zipp: I think I can solve this mystery pretty quick, or maybe you should just use that alicorn mirror of yours?
Sunny: I have something on my face again, don’t I? (Sigh; pull out her compact.) I knew it!
(A flip of the lid, and the mirror inside tells the whole story and startles her considerably.)
Sunny: My alicorn magic?!? (Groan; she shuts it again.) It was an accident! (slumping, face in hooves) Oh, this keeps happening.
Pipp: (gesturing toward line) But that isn’t a bad thing.
(Cut to a pan/zoom out across the waiting ponies, including Glory, Peach Fizz, and Seashell. Each of these three has donned cardboard replicas of the features she lacks.)
Pipp: (from o.s.) It’s a wonderful thing! That line is full of eager ponies who want to listen to you. (The stand again.) Am I jealous about that? (laughing, fidgeting) No, no, never, because I’m secure in myself and I have thousands of followers on multiple platforms validating my every move.
(She finds herself on the receiving end of a very funny look from her sister.)
Pipp: Uh, not that that matters. (Laugh.) It doesn’t.
Sunny: Whoa. Why are they all looking at me?
Pipp: (leaning across counter) Because, well, look at you. You’re an alicorn. Soon everypony will be watching your every move while breathing down your neck at every moment shouting… (mimicking a chanting crowd) …“Sun-ny! Sun-ny! Sun-ny!” (Cheer.) “We love you!” (Sunny lets out a flustered little yelp.)
Sunny: That is…a lot. Um, I’m not used to all this attention. I, uh…I need some…space! Um, yeah. Space. Okay.
(She dives behind the counter and huddles in a back corner with her now-open compact, hyperventilating and straining.)
Sunny: I gotta get a hold of this. I don’t want to be an alicorn right now!
(And just like that, the wings and horn dispel themselves; she eyes her reflection with great relief.)
Sunny: There we go. Whoo! Finally.
(The compact is clicked shut with a last sigh; cut to its magic video feed winking out in Opaline’s throne room and zoom out to frame her watching.)
Opaline: Sunny can transform into her alicorn form? (pacing) I’ve never seen this before. (Misty is off by the side doors, drinking a smoothie.) And she doesn’t want to always be an alicorn? However— (Close-up.) —if I can get Sunny to embrace her alicorn powers, just imagine what I could accomplish with another alicorn by my side. I’ll be even closer to the magic I need.
Misty: (from o.s.) Totally.
(Cut to her, laughing and slurping from her cup. The noise gets on Opaline’s nerves after a few moments.)
Opaline: What is that? (Cut to Misty.)
Misty: A smoothie! It’s got jicama in it, which isn’t my favorite, but it still tastes like happiness. (Another pull; then she offers it up.) Want some?
(The answer comes in a blast of magic that disintegrates it and leaves her yelling and shaking her hoof to make sure it is still attached. On the start of the next line, cut to frame both and zoom in slowly as Opaline paces around the pool.)
Opaline: This is no time to drink vegetables—but it is time to plot. We have a job to do. Misty, I’m going to need you to infiltrate.
Misty: But how?
Opaline: (groaning loudly) Join a group of ponies! Blend in! I don’t care! Just do whatever you have to do and find a way to get Sunny vulnerable. And as for Sunny’s compact… (warming up horn) …well, I think it could use a little extra alicorn magic, don’t you?
(She laughs maliciously as mist swirls around the edge and her reflection becomes that of Sunny, wings and horn firmly in place. Fade to black.)
(Snap to the stand, with Sunny/Izzy/Zipp now all behind the counter. The white pegasus flies out the end hatch and past a table at which Hitch, Pipp, and Sparky Sparkeroni are relaxing. Sheriff and dragon are sucking down smoothies, while the Princess regards her cell phone with a glum sigh. This gives way to a longer, overly dramatic one that leaves her slumped bonelessly over the table.)
Hitch: Something bothering you, Pipp?
(She snaps upright just in time to get an eyeful of her sister rolling a mammoth watermelon back to the stand with her head.)
Pipp: (hushed) Don’t mention it to Zipp, but yes! (normal tone, working phone) None of my Cliptrots have been doing well. These super-popular and adorable ponies, the Filly Four, have been totally slaying the game!
(“Super-popular and adorable ponies” is delivered in the snarkiest tone she can muster. She finishes by showing Hitch a clip in which four mares—one of them Misty—don sunglasses and perform a series of sped-up dance moves.)
Pipp: I’m not saying it’s a competition or anything— (jabbing at screen) —but this post has got thousands of hoof-taps! My latest post only got three likes and one monkey. (freaking out) And I don’t even know what a monkey means! (Head flop onto table.)
Hitch: In a little bit of a slump? (Sit up.)
Pipp: I’ve been trying everything lately! Singing loudly, singing softly, singing in general—oh, my hoofness. What if I’ve been… (Deep, horrified gasp.) …shadow-banished?
(“Loudly” and “softly” are delivered at the volumes they describe. After she finishes, Jazz Hooves leans into view, not wearing her usual bandolier.)
Jazz: I don’t know what that means, but it sounds ominous.
Pipp: (to her, sarcastically) Thank you, Jazz. (to Hitch, normal tone) Shadow-banishing is when your content gets blocked to viewers. (Close-up.) I mean, it has to be that, right? There can’t be any other explanation!
(She pauses in mid-rant at the sound of laughter from the o.s. Hitch; zoom out to frame him eyeing his own phone.)
Jazz: Why are you laughing at such a serious time as this?
Hitch: Oh, sorry! It’s just—this video of Sparky, you gotta see it.
(The two mares gather in for a closer look and are rewarded with a clip of Sparky repeatedly hiccupping as a pickle slice is held out to him on a fork. The last hiccup is accompanied by a burst of flame that turns the vegetable into a rock nearly the size of his head; he licks this with gusto and hugs it, and a storm of hearts floats up to mark viewers’ approval. Cut to the three watchers on the following.)
Pipp, Jazz: Awww…
Jazz: That was so adorable. Wow. (Pipp grabs the phone from Hitch and taps at the screen.)
Pipp: And look at all these comments, shares, and likes! (Gasp; her face falls.) And monkeys. What does that mean?!?
Hitch: Yeah, my little buddy has some sorta magic touch. I call it “Sparky’s Spark.” All of his stuff goes viral.
Pipp: (slyly) Hmmm…viral, you say. (She sidles sweetly up to Hitch.) Do you think I could borrow him for a little bit?
Hitch: Dragon-sit? Usually Izzy does that—but sure! I can use a little “me” time and you can bond with Sparky.
Pipp: (laughing airily) Yes, yes! Bonding, that’s exactly what I plan to do, and definitely not crack the code of Sparky’s Spark. (Another, more forced laugh.) Not that.
(She takes a drag from her smoothie and smacks her lips. Meanwhile, Windy has reached the head of the line at the stand and Zipp has rejoined Sunny and Izzy behind the counter.)
Sunny: How can I help you, fellow thirsty and engaged citizen?
Windy: I’ll take the Alicorn Special.
Sunny: (puzzled) Alicorn Special? Um, we don’t have anything like that.
Windy: Oh, I don’t really care what it is. I just want a smoothie that an alicorn like yourself would drink.
(Followed immediately by a clamor of similar requests from the other waiting customers ;all three workers hop to it.)
Sunny: Okay, sure. Yeah, I’ll conjure that up.
Windy: But I kinda want it made by the alicorn, you know?
Seashell: Please, oh, please do the alicorn thing again, Sunny!
Peach: It’s so cool!
Sunny: The thing is, it doesn’t exactly work like that. Um…
(The faces of Windy and the three fillies betray their instant disappointment.)
Sunny: …why don’t I help you with your orders and tell you about this awesome idea I have instead?
(Cut to the line on the end of this, the would-be patrons voicing a collective groan and plodding off, then back to her on the start of the following. Zoom in slowly; Zipp watches, perplexed, as golden sparks swirl around her friend—the magic reasserting itself.)
Sunny: To get more ponies interested in fruits and veggies, we can build a community garden! A massive one, where everypony can practice the art of…
(Long shot of the stand, seen from the side opposite the tables. A great blast of golden energy washes outward from the window, briefly lifting the whole rig off its parking spot and accompanied by Sunny’s grunt from within. Close-up of her on the next line, horn back in full view.)
Sunny: Excuse me. (She sticks out her tongue as if trying to clean some residue from the inside of her mouth.) I think some dust got kicked up. (Wings flare out.) Anyway, I—
Zipp: Uh, Sunny? You’re an alicorn again.
Izzy: So sparkly! (Sunny opens her compact to check herself over; cut to the three fillies on the next line.)
Glory: Amazing!
Peach: Gorgeous!
Seashell: I want to be like you when I grow up!
Sunny: You do?
Peach: (leaning across counter) Are there any super-cool causes we can help with right now?
Sunny: Really? A-Actually, there are! (rummaging, unrolling a yards-long list; Toots and Sweets are taken aback) Um, okay, let’s see. We can start with some planters around town, and save “Airhorns for Armadillos” for later. The name kinda speaks for itself.
(Zoom in slowly on her compact, standing open on the counter near her. A gleam of light washes over the mirror; when it clears, her reflection turns on its own and uncorks an oily cackle in Opaline’s voice.)
Act Two
(Cut to an extreme close-up of a hoof scraping at something hidden behind a wooden rail, followed by a mouth-dropped seed and two other hooves reaching down to press it in. A longer shot tells the tale; Glory, Peach, and Seashell are doing a bit of planting in a garden box set up on Mane Street. Seashell hits the seed with a dose of magic from her hooves, and in short order a vine laden with basketball-sized green fruits is erupting from the enclosure. Zoom out to frame Sunny on the next line, watching from across the street.)
Sunny: Oh, my dreams are coming true! The community is literally growing together! (Giddy squeal; she crosses to the fillies. Cut to them as she continues.) What are you growing over there? Grapefruits? (To her and back on the following.) Uh, no. Um…zucchini.
Seashell: It’s a grape-cchini! A combination grapefruit-zucchini!
Sunny: Oh! Interesting. Um, I’m just happy you’re all showing such enthusiasm.
(Her perspective of the trio on the end of this, Glory and Peach now holding up the crossbreed fruit.)
Peach: (as they drop it to splat on the pavement) We made the alicorn happy!
(Cut briefly to Sunny, who reacts with some trepidation to this assessment as a young, shrill squeal of delight floats over to her. An instant later, Glory and Seashell are staring intently past her toward the camera.)
Glory: Neigh way. (Seashell gasps; Peach crowds into view with them.)
Peach: Is that…?
(Cut to a close-up of one of the four dancing, sunglasses-wearing mares seen in the video clip Pipp played during Act One. Pale green earth pony, light blue mane/tail/brows and matching eyeshadow with a slight dusting of glitter across the cheeks.)
Fillies: (from o.s., awestruck) The Filly Four!
(She tosses her head; pan to a second earth pony mare, this one bright pink and with a violet/blue-green mane/tail lightly sprinkled with glitter. Violet brows and eyeshadow are visible past her tinted lenses, as is a touch of sparkle on the cheeks. Another pan frames Sugar Moonlight, an earth pony mare who had modeling duty at the Canterlogic show in A New Generation. Light pink coat; glittery mane/tail streaked in red and pale pink; red brows and matching makeup around the bottom of each eyesocket. The fourth is Misty, who takes a misstep and goes headfirst into a trash can. The fall discloses a cutie mark on her right haunch, but the camera angle prevents a clear view at the moment. Based on her comments in “Izzy Does It,” though, it must be a fake.)
(Sugar steps toward Sunny as the fillies cheer and scream, the camera shifting to frame her head-on as she speaks. Misty digs herself out of the garbage as the other two check their phones. Hoof colors for the first three, in order: light blue, violet, deep red.)
Sugar: Sunny, we’ve been looking for you everywhere. (lowering shades, showing red-edged white shadow on eyelids) It’s so nice to finally meet.
Sunny: We went to school together, Sugar. I sat next to you in—
(Sugar whips over and throws a chummy foreleg across her shoulders.)
Sugar: I’m Sugar. (indicating the others in order) This is Rosedust, Lily, and, uh, what’s that new unicorn’s name?
Rosedust: Minty? That slot is always on rotation, so we forget. (Ditzy giggle.)
Sugar: We were just about to go shopping. Want to join?
Sunny: I don’t need to go shopping, but—
Lily: (circling her) But if you come with us, everypony is going to see us together. And we’re super-influential.
(Her movements give a clear view of the jeweled ring she bears as a cutie mark, and a clearer shot of the violet-edged white shadow on her eyes. The next shot frames enough of Misty’s ersatz mark to establish it as a butterfly traced in white.)
Misty: Imagine what you could do with all that power.
Sugar: Exactly, Marcy!
Misty: Misty.
Sugar: Whatever. (to Sunny, as she/Lily/Rosedust cluster in) All you have to do is hang out with us. (foreleg across shoulders; zoom in slowly) And stay an alicorn, of course.
(Now her mark can be discerned as an opened paper fan, while Rosedust has a pair of sunglasses for hers.)
Sunny: Right! (laughing uneasily, stepping away) Uh, one sec. (pointing to one side) I just need to freshen up…over there!
Sugar: (perplexed) Freshen up in a hardware store? (Lily snaps a photo of herself.) Weird, but okay.
(Here comes Misty, pulling her shades down to keep an eye on the mare of the hour trotting toward said store. Once satisfied that she is out of earshot, Sunny pulls out her phone and places a call, a panel sliding in from the left side that shows Pipp reading a magazine in one of the chairs at Mane Melody. She answers after a few seconds.)
Pipp: He-e-ey.
Sunny: Pipp! The Filly Four want me to hang out with them! (Pipp’s eyes pop.) Uh, what should I do?
(The pop star shrieks and throws her light reading aside, then scrambles to put phone back to ear. Behind her, Sparky flies up to the disco ball suspended from the ceiling.)
Pipp: Oh! The Filly Four. They’re the ones eclipsing me on social media! They’re, like… (Nervous laugh; Sparky swings on the ball.) …super-famous right now.
Sunny: (pacing) They are? (He launches himself off.)
Pipp: Sh’yah! You need to do all you can to get them on your side. (Sparky pops up behind her.) Ah, your school days are coming full circle, Sunny. You’re going from misfit to popular pony!
Sunny: Okay! (Pipp pets Sparky.) I’m gonna do it, then.
(She hangs up, her panel expanding to fill the screen again, but is greatly surprised to find her horn beginning to flicker out.)
Sunny: Oh, no, no, not now!
(Both it and her wings vanish as her saddlebag rematerializes.)
Voice of Opaline: (gently) Sunny…Sunny…
(After a bit of looking here and there, Sunny pinpoints the location as the bag itself and pulls out her compact, popping the lid open. The mirror displays her reflection normally for a moment, but a wash of light puts the horn back on her head and changes the wondering expression to a more determined one. The image speaks in Opaline’s voice.)
*** Any lines marked with an asterisk (*) are delivered with the compact held in such a way that its mirror is not in view. ***
Opaline/Sunny: Sunny.
Sunny: Is this…me?
* Opaline/Sunny: Yes. (Cut to frame both.) Hello, me. Hello, you.
Sunny: (laughing) Whoa! Oh, I need to share this with Zipp right away! (She starts back the way she came.)
* Opaline/Sunny: Wait!
(The mare stops short, dropping the compact and landing on her belly. Zoom in slowly on her pseudo-reflection, which voices a hesitant laugh, and dissolve to a close-up of Opaline on the next line)
Opaline/Sunny: This magic mirror is only for alicorns, Sunny. I’m your inner voice.
(She steps closer to the projection of the real Sunny’s face, transmitted by the mirror and hanging above the pool in the throne room.)
Opaline: I’m here to guide you.
Sunny: You are?
Opaline: Yes! (pacing) If any other type of pony uses it, it will lose its enchantment—because alicorns are special.
(She flares her wings to emphasize the point to herself; cut back to Sunny on the pavement.)
* Opaline/Sunny: You are special. Haven’t you noticed?
Sunny: No, no, but I do feel…different?
* Opaline/Sunny: Not different, special. (Close-up of her in the mirror, the compact being slowly picked up by Sunny.) Better, even. Why be a basic, boring earth pony when you can be… (spreading wings) …an alicorn?
(A soft gasp floats down; profile close-up of Sunny, now sitting up.)
Sunny: (glancing at her flank) Then how…how do I stay an alicorn? (Zoom in slowly on the mirror.)
Opaline/Sunny: Find the source of your power and harness it. Then all your wildest dreams can come true!
Sunny: (excitedly) Even the community garden? (Cut to an incredulous Opaline in her throne room.)
Opaline: That’s your wildest dream? We’ll work on that. But, yes!
(Back to Sunny, who draws in an elated gasp; she is back up on her hooves.)
Sunny: I’ve been drafting my garden dream board at the Brighthouse! (Her wings and horn gradually phase in; her bag vanishes.) Oh, I really want it to become a place where I can help other ponies use their magic! A place where everypony can—
Opaline/Sunny: Yes, that’s it. Look!
(Sunny does so, realizing that she has powered up.)
* Opaline/Sunny: Go take what’s rightfully yours.
Sunny: Wow! (Laugh.) Thank you so much, me! Uh…mirror-me? (Cut to an annoyed Opaline; she is heard over the line.) Sunny Squared? Eh… (Back to her.) …I’ll come up with a better name soon.
(Giggling wildly, she closes/stows the compact and trots away; dissolve back to Opaline as she dispels the feed with a malevolent little chuckle.)
Opaline: (pacing) Sunny’s easier to manipulate than I thought. As long as Misty puts on the pressure too, she’ll be on our side in no time.
(Tilt down toward her blurry reflection in the pool, then dissolve to a chair inside Mane Melody as Pipp whips into view to plunk Sparky down in it.)
Pipp: Okay, Sparky, I need your help here. I can’t risk losing all relevance in the digital world. (spinning the chair) I must go viral. (Close-up of him; she continues o.s.) What gives you that spark I’m missing?
(He coos delightedly at the attention; back to her, scooping up her phone from the floor.)
Pipp: Hmmm…let’s see…
(She comes up with a clip of the little guy dancing and falling on his rump, which garners a plethora of positive reactions, then brings up one of herself doing roughly the same, punctuated by grunt-singing and a final shout of “Yeah!” It gets no more than a couple of hearts. Now she runs a much-adored clip of Sparky whimpering and crying, followed by a much less well-liked shot of herself doing likewise. Three more clips continue the trend—Sparky wearing heart-shaped sunglasses, tottering around, with an oversized star barrette on his head—while Pipp’s attempts to duplicate the moves get her a whole lot of nothing.)
Pipp: (on video, in time with these three) Ooh! Ohh! Yeah!
(The despondent pop star blanks the screen and receives a clumsy attempt to lift her spirits when Sparky pulls a pacifier from his own mouth and shoves it into hers.)
Pipp: Can you please not right now?
(He scampers away as she spits the thing out and pitches the phone over her shoulder with a loud groan.)
Pipp: What does Sparky have that I don’t? I have to get to the bottom of this. (pulling another phone from under a wing) Well, good thing I carry several phones on me for good measure.
(Her perspective of the screen on this last, showing a photo of the Filly Four sans Misty that is drawing in the likes at full speed.)
Pipp: (gasping) No! (Back to her, throwing this one away.) Oh, my eyes! It burns!
(The sound of chomping cuts off any further histrionics; cut to Sparky gnawing on the device and earning a very funny look from his caretaker. Back on Mane Street, Sugar and Lily are busily taking pictures of themselves as Sunny flies into view behind them.)
Sunny: (landing; they turn to her) All right! Feeling much better. After looking at gardening tools, I’m in! (The entire Filly Four gather across from her.)
Sugar: Perf! Then let’s get shopping! (Short for “perfect,” that is.)
Sunny: (flying to cut them off) I have another idea. I decided I’m going to make an announcement about this huge project I’ve been working on, and I want to get everypony involved.
(Cut to her perspective of the thoroughly flummoxed quartet during this line, then back to her after she finishes.)
Sunny: Only if they want to get involved, though. (She is immediately beset by Glory/Peach/Seashell, who have shed the fake horn/wings they wore previously.)
Seashell: Yes, we do!
Peach: Pleeeeeease?
(Back to Sugar on this last; she flips her shades up, exposing deep pink eyes, then lowers them again after a long, searching stare and smiles.)
Sugar: (crossing to Sunny, foreleg across shoulders, winking) The Filly Four would love to help. We’ll rally all the ponies in town to hear the news. We’re here for you. But first… (Up go the sunglasses and her phone.) …smile!
(Sunny follows instructions as a picture is taken.)
Sugar: (walking away) That is so going viral.
(Cut to Izzy, hard at work behind a table in her section of the shared bedroom in the Crystal Brighthouse. She levitates a coffee mug, sets it down inverted, then whips out a frying pan and poises herself to smash it flat. Pan quickly to Zipp in her section, working at her laptop, accompanied by the clang of iron on wood and the sound of shattering ceramic.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Perfect!
(The pegasus glances up at the sound of idle, relaxed scat singing from the o.s. Hitch; cut to him entering the room. Zipp crosses to him.)
Zipp: Whoa there. What’s gotten into you?
Izzy: Yeah. You seem so…chill.
Hitch: Pipp offered to watch Sparky for the afternoon and I finally got some much-needed “me” time— (pulling an album from a box) —which is gonna end with myself, a bubble bath, and the newest Bridlewood Beatnik jazz album.
(Cut to its cover as he finishes—surrealistic images of two unicorns fashioned from construction paper—then back to him.)
Zipp: Cool, cool. (catching herself) Wait. You let Pipp do what?
Hitch: No doubt she’s having a relaxing time with Sparky too. (looking around) Now where did I put that hydrating face mask?
(He misses the very uneasy look that Izzy throws to Zipp, no doubt remembering what she went through caring for the dragon in “Growing Pains.” Cut to a frantic Pipp hovering in Mane Melody and tilt down to frame a happily blabbering Sparky. He is nestled in an impromptu hammock fashioned from a neck cloth tied by one end to a vanity mirror, while she holds the other one. The rest of the place is an utter shambles, with pillows, beauty products, and other items littering the floor. Cut back to her.)
Pipp: (sighing) Oh, Pipp, what have you gotten yourself into? (She glances at her phone.) Up and up he goes, like the Filly Four. (Anguished moan.) Why can’t I get one thing to trend? What is my skill set if not this? What is my Sparky’s Spark?
(An apple is thrown into view, bouncing off her head and prompting a gasp and smile of inspiration.)
Pipp: I have an idea! (Another one clips her jaw, dropping her mood again.) Nope, it was Sparky.
(At floor level, he has a third fruit in one hand and her spare phone in the other, its camera aimed up at her. The former item is pitched; cut to her as it beans her upside the head.)
Pipp: Ow!
(A beep, and the camera zooms out to frame this shot as a video he is recording. The hit and yell are played back three times in quick succession before the camera cuts to the town square, where a visibly puzzled Sunny has found herself placed on a cushioned seat within the gazebo and attended by Glory/Peach/Seashell. Sugar, Lily, and Rosedust are standing off to one side and taking pictures of themselves. Zoom in slowly.)
Glory: (hefting a leafy branch) Would the alicorn like to be fanned with an earth-pony-grown branch? (She clamps her teeth on the woody end and does so.)
Seashell: (lifting a bunch of grapes on her forehead) Or maybe she would like to try one of these fresh earth-pony-grown grapes, made by me?
Sunny: Uh…okay? (Close-up of these; she reaches for one and continues o.s.) Thanks.
Misty: (from o.s., thrusting a hoof to stop her) No, no!
(Zoom out quickly as she straightens up into view, sunglasses on forehead and hamming it up good and proper.)
Misty: You mustn’t lift one perfect alicorn hoof of yours! You deserve to be treated like the alicorn royalty that you are, all the time, forever! (The fillies disperse.) Isn’t it nice?
Sugar: (pushing her aside, stroking Sunny’s mane) You have to tell us—how do you get your mane so shiny? (Lily leans over one armrest.)
Lily: Does it feel weird when you glow? (Rosedust joins them.)
Rosedust: What’s it like being ethereal? (Sunny hastily stands; they back off.)
Sunny: Uh…I gotta go, you know… (flying down to square) …do the ali-stuff I do. (Laugh.) That’s the “ali” part about being an alicorn. So…yeah.
(She gets only a couple of steps down Mane Street before the next three voices stop her cold.)
Fillies: Anything for an alicorn! (She gets her legs working and bolts past a few placard carriers, including Toots and Sweets.)
Toots: I love you, alicorn!
(Overhead shot of a side street as Sunny swerves into it.)
Sunny: What should I do?
(She pulls her compact from her saddlebag and opens it; cut to Opaline lounging on her throne and pondering an ornate bottle she holds as the video feed starts to come in.)
Voice of Sunny: I feel so lost. (Opaline throws the thing aside and climbs off the seat.)
Opaline: Continue on this path to glory.
(Close-up of the mirror, showing her borrowed face.)
Opaline/Sunny: You are an alicorn. You should be praised, admired, feared. (Cut to the real mare and zoom in slowly.)
Sunny: But I don’t want that!
* Opaline/Sunny: Do you remember how horrible it was before? How nopony would listen to you? How small you felt?
Sunny: (stifling a sob) Yes, I do.
(The lid snaps shut and the item is lowered, just before her wings and horn go on the fritz; her voice catches in her throat.)
Sunny: (circling in place; her saddlebag reappears) No! Come back! Come back!
(But the magical appendages pay no mind and are gone all too quickly; she hangs her head in despair.)
Sunny: (voice breaking, eyes tearing up) I don’t need to be an alicorn for ponies to like me. Right? Right?
(But not a single pony on the main road is paying even a crumb of attention, as she finds upon turning back the way she came in. Zoom out slowly.)
Act Three
(Cut to an overhead shot of the town square, at which a sizable crowd has gathered, then to ground level. Sunny hustles up and comes to a stop next to Toots. Quite a few of the attendees are wearing or carrying signs expressing their support of her powered-up self.)
Sunny: Excuse me, can you point me to where the podium is? I need to—
Toots: Shh! The alicorn is gonna speak!
Sunny: But I’m not the— (Groan; she pushes forward.) —never mind. (Misty falls in beside her.)
Misty: What are you doing? You have to be in alicorn form or else our plan— (She stops; Sunny keeps moving.) —I mean, your plan isn’t going to work!
Sunny: We’ll see about that.
(She breaks into a gallop as Misty pulls off her sunglasses and cuts out in a different direction. A few quick strikes bring her to a lectern and microphone set up within the gazebo, where the rest of the Filly Four are engrossed in their phones. Her next two lines are amplified.)
Sunny: (clearing throat, with feedback) Uh, hello? Testing, uh…
(After a couple of taps on the mic, the sound system settles itself.)
Sunny: My fellow ponies!
(She is immediately met by a cacophony of boos, amid which a chant of “Alicorn! Alicorn!” begins to grow.)
Sunny: (off mic) Sugar! Psst! Sugar Moonlight! Why is everypony really here? (Zoom in on the Filly Four less one.)
Sugar: Well, duh. We want you to like us.
Sunny: (turning toward her and away from mic) But of course I like you. You’re my friends!
Rosedust: (crossing to her) Well, not Sunny—the alicorn. None of the ponies here actually care about these silly causes.
(Lily holds her own phone into view, the camera cutting to her on the next line; it shows a photo of Sunny as her earth pony self.)
Lily: Nopony even liked you before. (A swipe brings up a shot of her with wings/horn.) But you’re cool now—at least when you’re an alicorn.
(Back to Sunny on his last, ears crumpling as the full import of these words sinks in.)
Sunny: This isn’t what I wanted—at all.
(The heartsick mare gallops away from the gazebo, and the chant stops in almost the same instant—all except for one stallion voice.)
Voice: Ali…corn!
(Cut to the front entrance of the Brighthouse as she races up and bashes through one door, then to Izzy and Zipp in the entrance hall. This shot frames a detail not previously seen: a fireplace, table, and seats/couches at the far wall, with a television on the mantel shelf. Sunny gallops into view and makes a beeline for one of the ramps leading to the upper story.)
Izzy: Heya, heya, Sunny! (She and Zipp start up after; Sunny stops, fighting back tears.) We have something really exciting we want to show you that we’ve been working on and—
Sunny: Do you want to show me, or show the alicorn? (sobbing, continuing up ramp and o.s.) I can’t do this.
(Pegasus and unicorn trade badly rattled looks; cut to Sunny sprawled across her bed in the shared bedroom and in the midst of a big-league crying jag, having ditched her saddlebag. Her two friends enter.)
Sunny: Go away!
Zipp: We don’t like to see you hurting, Sunny. (Izzy moves to the bed…)
Izzy: Hey, what’s wrong? (…and sits. Zoom in slowly.)
Sunny: It was a lie. Nopony actually cares about these causes. They only care about me being an alicorn. I don’t want to be followed and adored just because of what I am. I want ponies to believe, truly believe in what they’re fighting for, that they can make the world a better place for every pony kind.
(A smile gradually works its way on the pinkish-violet face under these words; cut to its owner on the last few.)
Izzy: Being an alicorn doesn’t make you different. It makes you the same.
Sunny: It does? (Izzy stands.)
Izzy: You’re every pony all in one, like Zipp’s spy gear, or-or one of those pens you push that has every color. But as an earth pony or an alicorn, you’ve inspired all of us to be better ponies. That’s your true power.
(The “spy gear” in question includes the visor she made for Zipp during the Tell Your Tale series. Close-up of Sunny lifting her head from the pillows on the end of this, a gentle smile of gratitude taking root on her face.)
Sunny: Thank you, Izzy. I guess that is true.
Zipp: (a bit uncertainly) And really, really wise?
Izzy: (dramatically) I carry the limitless knowledge of my unicorn ancestors. (Sunny giggles and stands up on her bed; zoom in.)
Sunny: Okay. I’m ready to see whatever you two were talking about earlier. (She hops down.)
Izzy: Good! ’Cause I think it’ll put you in even better spirits. (addressing the space over her own head) Shhh! Auntie Buttons, not now! (to Sunny) Come on!
(She leads the orange mare out of the room as the white one tries mightily to make any sense out of this last bit. Giving up after a long moment’s thought, she bounds down after them. Cut to Pipp in the ravaged Mane Melody, whose devastation now includes an overturned chair; she is half sprawled out and at her wits’ end, and the sound of Sparky’s rambunctious redecorating rings out as he toddles into view.)
Pipp: Am I never going to go viral? (sobbing briefly) AM I?!? Zipp was right. The likes and validation, it isn’t worth it! (resting head on floor) This isn’t fun anymore! So what’s the point? (Head up.) I’m just going to stop and…be my own un-viral self. Be an obscure but sane pop-star princess.
(As if on cue, here comes Sparky to expectorate a shot of green fire onto her head, switching her gold tiara out for a headdress with an improbably large and tacky leopard-print bow topped by an equally tasteless rhinestone star. This offense against all things fashionable causes her brain to completely freeze up for a second before she speaks again.)
Pipp: Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
(Comes now the beep of an o.s. phone.)
Pipp: (pleadingly) Sparky!
(Zoom out slightly to put her desperate visage on the screen of her own backup device; it gives way to a quick montage of earlier recorded clips: The Act Two clip of her getting beaned with an apple and crying “Ow!”, played twice…she dances a bit with an “Oh, yeah”…the apple hit, twice again…she pretends to cry…the millinery-related freak-out that just happened…and finally two more repetitions of the apple hit. Sparky ends by throwing the phone to the carpet as a thunderstruck Pipp stands and scoops it up.)
Pipp: Sparky, you created this?
(He replies in the affirmative by burping up a green-tinged bubble, which quickly pops.)
Pipp: (hyperventilating) But…but…it’s unflattering! It’s embarrassing! It’s…it’s… (She calms down.) …hilarious!
(She cranks off a gale of snorting laughter while replaying a looped clip of herself getting clocked with that apple.)
Pipp: You know what? It actually feels kinda good to laugh at myself! (Set the phone down.) Thank you! (kneeling by Sparky, extending a wing) Well, as fun as that was— (He jumps onto her back; she straightens up.) —we have somewhere super-important to be right now, huh?
(She heads for the door, but stops before a mirror to consider the ghastly mane accessory she is still wearing.)
Pipp: Um…I’ll fix that later.
(Cut to a long shot of Opaline’s castle, looking out from its clifftop over the desolate plain and distant mountain, and zoom in slowly to the sound of her supremely frustrated snarl. Inside, she paces around the pool in her throne room as the camera zooms in slowly.)
Opaline: Foolish of me to think that Sunny could understand her alicorn greatness! But I’m not giving up. I don’t need another alicorn; I can finish this myself, the way it’s always been.
Misty: (from o.s.) Opaline!
(Cut to her entering at the doors, her sunglasses gone and a smoothie in hoof.)
Misty: Um… (Toss the cup aside.) …I have to tell you that…our plans failed.
Opaline: I know they failed! That alicorn clearly doesn’t understand what it means to be one! (Flare wings, then fold them back.) She’s a disgrace to my kind. So I’ll do her a favor. I’ll take her power—all of their power! But to do that— (turning to pool; a video is coming in) —we’ll need to go directly to the source.
(What they are seeing is a long overhead shot of the Brighthouse, which is quickly replaced by a closer view.)
Opaline: The Brighthouse! Home of the Unity Crystals. The one place I can’t glance inside of. I need to find a new way in. (A moment’s thought, then she lights her horn.) And I know just the thing.
(A wisp of sparking magic arcs down into the pool, enveloping its surface in mist from which a portion of some spherical surface begins to emerge. Opaline gazes upon this with grim satisfaction as Misty’s apprehension writes itself all over her face in foot-high letters.)
(Cut to a close-up of Sunny’s hooves moving across a stretch of hard-packed bare earth outside and tilt up to her face, eyes closed and saddlebag on. A low stone wall is visible behind her, decorated with a mosaic of the Unity Crystals.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Okay…
(Longer shot; she and Zipp stand directly in front, backing up as she advances to guide her in.)
Izzy: …just two more steps to the left. Oh! One to the right.
(Head-on view of these latter two, backed by flowerbeds and lush trees. The front entrance of the Brighthouse is visible in the distance at a higher altitude.)
Izzy: Take it back now, y’all.
Zipp: (impatiently) Izzy!
Izzy: (snickering) Okay, okay. And…now! (The green eyes open in close-up.)
Sunny: (completely floored ) Oh…
(Long shot of the three, zooming out as Hitch and Pipp saunter up; Sparky is not with either of these two. They are in a broad garden area accentuated by rows of plants and brilliantly flowering shrubs, set downhill from the front lawn of the Brighthouse. A fountain stands at the center of a circular enclosure filled with equally vibrant flora. The walls surrounding this are built up into ramps that converge on a small shelter at the uphill end, with a low wooden table placed beneath. Lights are strung between poles at either side of the entire plot, and the low wall acts to fence it off at the lower end, with the mosaic worked into a set of gates. The coffee mug Izzy bashed to pieces in Act Two was evidently incorporated into the decoration.)
Sunny: …a community garden? (Back to the five.)
Izzy: (bowing) Ta-daaa!
Hitch: What do you think? (Cu to Sunny and Pipp.)
Pipp: We knew you’ve been hoping to build something like this forever. (To Izzy/Zipp on the next line.)
Zipp: So, we made it happen.
Izzy: A little helping hoof for the pony who helps all of us to be better.
Sunny: (choked up) I…I’m…
(Zoom in quickly on her cutie mark, which flares to life, then cut to the entire group again. She finds herself being lifted clear of the ground in an aura of golden magic, which forces the other four to shield their eyes, and sure enough her wings and horn assert themselves and her saddlebag vanishes. She touches down with a giggle.)
Sunny: …so grateful for all of you.
Hitch: (shakily) You turned into an alicorn again! (Close-up of Sunny.)
Sunny: I know. But this time, it feels different. I think I can only transform into an alicorn when I feel like I’m truly helping somepony—because that’s my best self. (Cut to Izzy and Zipp on the following, the latter with phone at the ready.)
Zipp: So you can’t just do it for any reason. It has to mean something special. Fascinating.
(The phone beeps; she glances at the screen and Izzy, face goes slack with surprise.)
Zipp: Uh, Pipp? (facing it forward; Izzy fights back a laugh) Did you mean to post this?
(Close-up of it, playing the looped clip in which Pipp stops an apple with her face.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) ’Cause it’s hilarious! (To the other three; Sunny and Hitch laugh over the display, but Pipp stays calm.)
Pipp: Yep. Sparky found a way to show me that it isn’t always about being perfect. It’s about being true to yourself.
Sunny: (crossing to her, touching her chest) We like you for who you are, Pipp, and you all like me for who I am, no matter what kind of pony I am. (Zoom in slowly.) And I know I can change the world with that.
Zipp: (from o.s.) Hey. (All five again.) Where is Sparky?
All five: (fanning out) SPARKY!!
(Hitch is the first to his paydirt, finding the little guy climbing on a topiary styled as Pipp’s head. He vaults up to the peak and spits a fiery burst, which clears on impact with the leaves to reveal an exact duplicate of the hideous headdress Pipp is wearing.)
Pipp: (gasping) Oh, no! (laughing) I totally forgot! (Bleep; cut to Hitch having recorded this bit on his phone.)
Hitch: Aaaand that one’s gone viral too.
Pipp: What can I say? (An apple is dropped on her head.) Ouch! (Another.) Ow! Sparky, enough with the apples already!
(The scaly assailant and the five equines have a good laugh. Cut to a long shot of the garden and the Brighthouse, tilting up slowly toward the sky, and fade to black.)