THE JINXIE GAMES
Written by Tony Fleecs
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Note: Except where indicated, all ponies appearing in Bridlewood during this episode
are unicorns.
Prologue
(Opening shot: a long shot of the Maretime Bay coastline during the day. Zoom in slowly and cut to the sign mounted atop Sunny Starscout’s mobile smoothie stand. A tilt down frames her putting an order together behind the counter, while Pipp Petals paces out front, voicing uneasy little moans and glancing around herself. Zipp Storm sits off to one side to check her cell phone, resting on the pavement before her, and in due time Pipp pulls hers out for a quick peek. Whatever she sees is enough to bring a groan of anguish as she tucks it away again.)
Sunny: Okay!
(Her side of the counter, the camera aimed just over it at the sisters. Zoom out slowly.)
Sunny: (from o.s., setting three cups into view) A Protein Power Punch for Zipp, Fruity Colada for Pipp, and for Her Royal Fly-ness…
(Each takes note of the drink she has requested, Zipp setting her phone aside; after Sunny plunks down the third one, cut to frame the entire group.)
Sunny: …the usual. (Zipp collects hers and has a pull.) A Green Monster with extra greens, hold the monster. (Pause.) Hey, where is your mom, anyway? (Pipp’s phone beeps; she pulls it out and instantly brightens.)
Pipp: Oh, she sent a text! She says…
(Her perspective of the screen, which displays a rendition of the face of Queen Haven’s dog Cloudpuff—winking with tongue stuck out.)
Pipp: (bewildered) …huh. Dog emoji. (The group again.)
Sunny: What does that mean? (Pipp stows her phone.)
Zipp: Mom’s terrible at texting. Last week, she sent me a text that just said, “Don’t.”
Pipp: But she never misses Mother-Daughter Brunch! (pulling phone out) And now she’s sending us cryptic messages?
(Cut to Zipp on this last as it is thrust toward her, then zoom out to frame Pipp as she continues and pulls it back.)
Pipp: It can only mean one thing. She’s been pony-napped!
(A beat of silence is followed by hearty laughter from the elder sibling and the drink-slinger, and the high-strung performer relaxes and joins in after a moment.)
Pipp: You’re right. That sounded less silly in my head.
Hitch Trailblazer: (from o.s., a short distance away) Pony-napped?!
Pipp: Huh?
(Here comes the Sheriff, hopping awkwardly on his hind legs and balancing a chunk of crystal by bouncing it on the end of his nose. Sweatbands encircle all four legs just above the hooves.)
Hitch: Never fear! Hitch is here!
(Sparky Sparkeroni jogs up behind him, wearing a band around his forehead.)
Zipp: Slow your roll! Or, uh, slow your hop, buddy. It’s no big deal. Mom just didn’t show up for our monthly brunch.
Pipp: (worked up, showing Hitch her phone) But she did send us this dog emoji!
Hitch: Sorry! Can’t—see—while—bouncing! (Sunny steps out for a better look.)
Zipp: Yeah, I’m gonna need some context for what all of this is, Hitch.
Hitch: (standing, removing crystal) I’m training for Forest Critter Field Day!
Sunny: What’s that?
(A shrill blast from a referee’s whistle cuts her off. Zoom out quickly to frame the entire group and the stand, on top of which Izzy Moonbow is now perched, wearing a pair of sunglasses and blowing the thing. She lets it drop to dangle from a lanyard around her neck in close-up, showing a small crystal heart on the lower outer corner of one lens.)
Izzy: That’s a hop stoppage penalty! Yooou’rrrre…OUT!
(Zoom in to an extreme close-up of her madly grinning face, then cut to Hitch and Sparky. Now that both have come to rest, gold shields and a green fireball can be seen on their respective sweatbands.)
Hitch: What? That’s not in the rules.
Izzy: (jumping down, shades falling off) Uh, yes, it is. (They plop onto her head, behind her horn.) Right here!
(A hardback book of some thickness is produced from nowhere and held open for his perusal.)
Izzy: In the Forest Critter Field Day Manual, page four-oh-three.
Sunny: What’s Forest Critter Field Day? (Izzy gasps sharply, packs the manual away, and whirls to face her.)
Izzy: It’s only the greatest ancient unicorn tradition there is! (dramatically) Every fourth purple moon, all the ponies in Bridlewood gather for a day of thrilling events and games! (to Sunny, Hitch, Zipp in turn) Games! Games! Games! (Hitch goes back to hopping and bouncing his crystal.)
Zipp: What game is this? Bounce Around?
Izzy: No, that’s later. Hitch is training for the Bunny Hop Relay. (He stops and catches the chunk.)
Hitch: You bunny-hop through an obstacle course while balancing a crystal— (Toss; catch on other front hoof; “jump” it around.) —then pass the crystal to your critter, who has to hop over hurdles to the finish line. I’m teaming up with Sparky.
(Pan/tilt down quickly from him to the little guy, who blabbers his agreement. A moment later, Hitch has the crystal on his nose and is back up on his hind legs.)
Hitch: Sparky! Catch!
(He lets fly; it comes down neatly on Sparky’s own schnozz and is flipped upward, followed by a burst of flame that turns it into a banana peel, which lands neatly on the tip of Izzy’s horn.)
Izzy: Hmm. That’s a crystal droppage penalty! You’re out!
(Zoom in to an extreme close-up as she blows her whistle, then snap to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to an overhead shot of the group, Zipp returning her now-empty cup to the counter. Zoom in slowly to the tune of another whistle blast, then cut to Hitch and Sparky.)
Hitch: Wait. Who’s out? Me or Sparky?
Izzy: You’re both out! You dropped your crystal and Sparky isn’t even a critter! He’s a baby!
(Cut to said baby on this last, having removed his headband to gnaw on it, as a hoof is thrust toward him. He does not seem particularly troubled over this disqualification.)
Hitch: But—but—
Izzy: (pulling out/opening manual) Look. (reading) “Every pony contestant must compete with a critter. No baby dragons.” (Cut to Hitch on the next line.)
Hitch: There’s no way it says that. (It is pushed toward him; he reads and all the fire goes out of him.) Oh. Wow, it does say that. (Izzy closes and withdraws it.) Well, now I need a new partner! What kind of critter should I compete with?
Sunny: (raising a foreleg) Ooh! A-A dog! (Zipp gazes skyward, shading her eyes.)
Pipp: (eyeing phone) I know, but why did she text a dog?
Zipp: (thoughtfully) Mmm-hmm.
(Over the rooftops, and from the general direction that she and Sunny have both indicated, a tiny speck has risen into view. Zoom in quickly to a close-up, revealing it as Cloudpuff with a scroll clutched in all four stubby legs.)
Hitch: (from o.s.) Aha! (He yips and descends to the group.)
Pipp: Ohhhh! (She puts her phone away.)
Zipp: Mom sent Cloudpuff? With a note? (hoof to forehead) Mom, just learn how to text!
(She grabs for the scroll, but the pooch backs up with a couple of indignant barks and flies off.)
Pipp: (taking wing to pursue) Cloudy, wait!
Hitch: Look at that dog go! He’s so fast! (Gasp; an idea strikes and he grins slyly.) Which is perfect.
(By this time, the midair chase has nearly reached the Crystal Brighthouse, Zipp has cleared out, and Sunny and Izzy are galloping to catch up. Another gasp escapes the stallion’s lips as he realizes he is being left behind, so he hefts Sparky onto his back and throws his hooves into gear. Cut to just inside the entrance hall as the doors are bashed open by the two sisters.)
Zipp: Cloudpuff?
(Izzy is next to arrive, sliding to a stop on her haunches and followed closely by Sunny. The unicorn still has her sunglasses and whistle, but has shed the banana peel from her horn. A yip from o.s.; cut to Cloudpuff hovering near the Critter Corner. Zipp tries to scoop him up, but he darts away and avoids Pipp’s grabbing hooves as well, while a winded Hitch plods over the threshold to translate his barking.)
Hitch: (crossing to him in close-up; overly formal tone) He says, “Dearest Princesses, I bring to you a message from your dear mother—” (bowing; Sparky slides off his back) “—Her Royal Majesty, Queen Haven of Zephyr Heights—” (Cut to an irked Pipp/Zipp on the following.)
Pipp: Get to it, Puff!
(He barks a bit more, and Hitch resumes his normal manner of speaking when the camera returns to him.)
Hitch: Cloudpuff says that before he delivers his message— (formal tone) —he first requires a meal of the finest— (To Zipp on the following.)
Zipp: Oh, for hoofness’ sakes!
(On a counter in the Critter Corner is an open box of treats—identified as Snackerdoodles in “The Cutie Mark Mix-Up”—with a few lying loose close by. She takes one of these and tosses it to Cloudpuff, who drops the scroll for her to catch; he needs a couple of tries to get his jaws firmly clamped on the snack, after which he flies off and she opens the scroll.)
Zipp: (reading) “My darlings: It is with deepest regret that I must postpone today’s Mother-Daughter Brunch.” (Pipp flies over for a look.)
Pipp: Hmm?
Zipp: “Some very important state business has come up—” (Shocked gasp from the younger sister.) “—and cannot wait.”
(Cut to Sunny, watching from a distance; Izzy crosses to her.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) “Let’s reschedule for another time that’s more inconvenient for you both.”
Izzy: (under the previous) Hmm…huh.
(Back to Zipp, who gently shoves a rattled Pipp back.)
Zipp: “With love, Mother.” (She rolls up the scroll.)
Sunny: Um…did she mean to say “more convenient”?
Pipp, Zipp: (sighing heavily) No. (Pipp lands, then Zipp.)
Pipp: Mom takes royal meetings all the time. But our special brunch is special! (hovering) And she loves brunch!
(An idea races through her mind, and she touches down again with a gasp and whips over to Zipp.)
Pipp: (whispering) I think maybe she has been pony-napped.
Zipp: (dismissively) Come on.
Pipp: (opening scroll) Look at the bottom!
(Her perspective of the document, tilting down quickly past the written lines to stop on the bottom end, which displays, in red ink…)
Pipp: A cute little heart? (The sisters again.) When has she ever drawn a cute little heart on a note before?
Zipp: (stroking chin) Hmm…you know what? That is suspicious.
(Her phone is swiftly extracted and unfolded, and she snaps a picture and zooms in on the heart. The individual paper fibers and the imperfections in the ink can now be clearly seen.)
Zipp: (to the o.s. Hitch) What do you make of all this, Sheriff?
(Both siblings’ faces register surprise before the camera cuts to Hitch, his attention taken up by an examination of Cloudpuff, who has finished off his treat. Sparky watches from the floor, now wearing his headband again.)
Hitch: (distractedly) Make of what? (Pipp whirls to him.)
Pipp: What else?! (He straightens up.) Cryptic messages and cute little hearts? Something sinister is ahoof. (hyperventilating; zoom in slowly) Maybe…Mom’s being held hostage somewhere…all alone…with no brunch to eat?!? (Zoom out; Zipp, her phone stashed, pats Pipp on the back.)
Zipp: Okay, I think somepony’s being over-dramatic. But something is definitely up with her. Hmm.
(She steps over to Hitch, who is now checking Cloudpuff’s teeth with the aid of a tongue depressor.)
Zipp: Could you help us figure it out?
Hitch: I will help you. And I know just where we should look for her first.
(Cut to a clearing within Bridlewood that has been stripped of grass and turned into an athletic competition field. A couple of participants and their animal teammates are warming up, the former wearing numbered placards on their flanks; behind them are a stage and ramps fashioned from vines, tree roots, and a single massive stump. A table has been placed up here, at which Dazzle and Skye—the pegasus mare and stallion news anchors seen in A New Generation, respectively—are seated with a microphone before them. Pan across the clearing and past a multitude of other contenders, and stop on the group leisurely walking/flying along a banner-marked path toward a registration table. Sparky is riding on Sunny’s back.)
Hitch: Aw, yeah!
Pipp: Hitch, the Queen of Zephyr Heights is not being held captive at the Bridlewood Forest Critter Field Day!
Hitch: But you never know. It’s as good a place to start our search as any. (leading the others past her) Come on, Puffy. Let’s go register.
(The pink Princess slumps sullenly in midair as Hitch reaches the table and signs a sheet on a clipboard. The stallion on duty here is Jasper, who lost his crystal collection to Alphabittle Blossomforth in A New Generation. Medium brown coat with lighter shade on the belly; short, wavy, dark gray-purple mane/tail, the former covering the right eye; an exposed blue-gray left eye beneath a dark brown brow with a notch at the outer end; dark green hooves; medium blue horn fading to white at its tip. As Hitch turns away, the camera cuts to an extreme close-up of his midsection, the motion exposing a 5 placard now affixed to his other flank.)
Jasper: (from o.s.) Now don’t lose this. (Zoom out.)
Hitch: (laughing) Yeah!
(Jasper tries to put a yellow-trimmed purple cap on Cloudpuff, but the furball wants none of it and flutters away with a yip before Hitch sidles up.)
Hitch: Hey, uh…you haven’t seen any pegasus queens around here, have you?
(All he gets for this inquiry is a very funny look and a good view of the other stallion’s departing back. He is thrown off for a beat, but smiles/hums to himself and turns to the others, now on/near a set of bleachers. Sparky is not with them.)
Hitch: (to Pipp/Zipp) Well, guess you two were right. (Cloudpuff is now wearing the cap, also marked 5.) She’s not here— (Pipp crosses to him.) —but I’m sure your mom is just fine. She’s probably somewhere enjoying brunch right now.
(He and Cloudpuff set off across the grounds, but Pipp voices an exasperated huff and flies to cut them off.)
Pipp: Without me? (Scoff.) She could never!
Hitch: (circling around her) But hey, now that we’re here, now you can cheer me and Cloudpuff on in the first event! (Pipp groans; Zipp flies over to the pair.)
Zipp: Come on, Pipp. (ushering her away) Let’s go watch some weird sports.
(The two reinstall themselves on the bleachers, to either side of Sparky who has returned, and the younger uncorks a petulant whine that trails off into a groan. Izzy hops on at their end.)
Izzy: Or you can help me give out the trophies.
Sunny: I’ll help, Izzy! All these new unicorn traditions are so fascinating. (climbing onto bleachers alongside her) I’d love to get an inside look.
Izzy: (squealing joyfully, jumping off) Wait until you ponies see it! (posh accent) The Field Day games are so élégant! (walking off) Beautiful! Majestic!
(A soccer ball bounces past the bleachers, with a pony in hot pursuit who kicks up enough dust to induce a coughing spasm in Pipp.)
Pipp: (dryly) Majestic.
Act Two
(Cut to the exterior of the Brighthouse and tilt down from its upper reaches to frame Misty at the foot of the path leading up to it. She lets go with a Force Five sigh and begins an unhappy trudge toward the closed front doors; cut to just inside as she pushes one open and peeks in.)
Misty: Hel-loooo?
(Her perspective, panning slowly across the front hall.)
Misty: Is anypony home? (Back to her; she steps in.) Sunny? (Move toward fireplace.) Izzy?
(A click from somewhere below the bottom edge of the screen where her hoof has landed, and a stallion voice shatters the quiet.)
Stallion voice: Stay right where you are!
(Misty gasps as the camera tracks quickly around her to show that she is facing the television set above the fireplace, which is airing an on-location news broadcast from Bridlewood. Dazzle and Skye are on camera and at the onstage table, and Skye—whose voice was just heard—is speaking.)
Skye: You don’t want to miss a minute of our Bridlewood Forest Critter Field Day coverage!
(The intruding unicorn gasps sharply upon discovering that she has turned it on by stepping on the remote control. Groaning, she throws herself onto the nearest couch.)
Misty: This sneaking-around stuff is stressful. I wish there was another way for a pony to get a cutie mark. (She looks around herself and smiles.) Guess they’re not here, though.
(She wastes no time in making herself comfortable. Back to the TV on the next line; zoom in slowly.)
Skye: Next up, it’s Push Over!
(Cut to the competition site, where Hitch/Cloudpuff are facing down another entrant and his stubby rabbit teammate. A second such confrontation is taking place a few feet away. Sunny and Izzy are observing, the latter floating her manual of rules open at eye level, and a pegasus TV camera operator has his lens trained on the scene. Zoom in slowly and cut to a closer shot as Cloudpuff barks at his opposite number; he and Hitch are facing off against team #6.)
Sunny: (to Izzy) So the point of the game is…you push somepony over?
Izzy: Right! Or they push you over.
Hitch: You just push? Is there a starting bell or a score? Do we flip a bit to see who goes first? Or do I just…
(At the slightest nudge from his hoof, the unicorn opponent keels over sideways.)
Izzy: (jumping to him, manual and a trophy in her field) Right! Winner!
(Now wearing her sunglasses, she passes the cup across—and Hitch is thunderstruck to see it go to the collapsed stallion, who laughs as he scoops it up with a foreleg.)
Hitch: Wait! Him?!? That makes no sense.
(A slap from the bunny’s ear is enough to send Cloudpuff to the ground; now Izzy hunches down over the pair.)
Izzy: Another winner!
(She levitates a smaller trophy down to the rabbit, which hops and chirps in place and does nothing whatsoever to relieve Hitch’s utter lack of comprehension.)
Hitch: (scratching head) Whaaaat?
(Cut to a close-up of one of the paths snaking through Bridlewood and tilt up to frame Pipp and Zipp walking along it.)
Pipp: It’s hard to focus on these games when all I can think about is Mom.
Zipp: I’m sure she’s fine.
Pipp: Yeah, but I’m not sure! You’re a detective. (Both stop.) Can’t you start a real investigation or something?
(She throws her sister the best piteous whine she can cook up with no notice, to which said sister responds by pulling out her phone with a sigh and a humoring smile.)
Zipp: (dictating) “New entry. The Case of the Missing Mother.”
Pipp: (flaring wings, trotting in place, singing) Ye-e-e-es! (She gasps as they resume their walk.) We should question that grumpy old Alphabittle at the tea room. He knows all the Bridlewood gossip.
(The muffled sound of an older mare’s laughter freezes them both in their tracks. A cut to behind them and slow zoom in reveals that they are only a few paces from the source—the Crystal Tea Room. The doors are closed, and the steaming wooden teapot sign that advertised the name of the place has been replaced with one that only shows a crystal formation. Recall that the original sign fell while Sunny and company were making their hasty escape after winning the Unicorn Crystal.)
Pipp: (gasping) That laugh! That’s Mom’s laugh!
Zipp: Uh, no, it’s not. (to her phone) FlyPad, play Queen Haven laughing.
(The device plays an audio clip of the winged monarch’s laughter, sounding similar to that just heard but at a higher pitch and slightly different tone.)
Zipp: That’s Mom’s laugh.
Pipp: No, that’s the phony laugh she does in public.
(Another muffled peal of mirth rings across the space, the camera zooming in slowly on the stained-glass doors, and Zipp stows her FlyPad.)
Pipp: That’s Mom’s real laugh!
(The two hit the gas; cut to just inside the entrance as they burst in, Pipp flying and Zipp galloping. They flap/slide to a halt after a few yards, Pipp aiming an accusatory hoof toward the camera.)
Pipp: Aha!
(Zoom out quickly to put Alphabittle and Haven in the foreground, gazing dreamily at each other across the counter and each holding one of the other’s front hooves. Cut to them.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Mom? (She snaps to with a gasp and pulls her leg back.) What are you doing here?
Haven: Um… (Embarrassed little sound; all four again.)
Pipp: (to Haven, whispering) Blink twice if you’re being held hostage.
Haven: (stammering) Girls! This is Alphabittle, and…this is his tea room. Alphabittle, these are my daughters, the Princesses Pipp and Zipp.
Zipp: (needled) We know him! But why are you guys hanging out together?
Pipp: And why didn’t you show up for brunch?
Alphabittle: If you two are hungry, we got a great brunch here. Right, Haven?
Haven: (staring into his eyes again) Mmm-hmm.
Pipp: (pulling in a long gasp) Hitch was right! (touching down) You brunched without us! (She and Zipp take seats at the counter.)
Haven: Didn’t you get my message? (A kettle starts to sing; Alphabittle turns to mind it.) Didn’t Cloudpuff look so sweet with his little scroll? Sure, it was a little cryptic, but you girls do love decoding things.
(The stocky unicorn brings a pot to the royal family with his magic.)
Alphabittle: Would you two like some tea? (Zipp leans into his face.)
Zipp: We’re having a family discussion! Can you please give us a minute? (He turns away…)
Haven: Girls! That was very rude! (…and back again, polishing a cup.)
Zipp: Like bailing on a brunch date?
Haven: (scoffing, but smiling) Darlings, I told you that something important came up.
(Cut to her. Pipp’s phone is thrust into her face; on the next line, cut to the indignant younger daughter pointing emphatically at it. The screen shows a clip of the #6 rabbit knocking Cloudpuff down in the Push Over event.)
Pipp: This is important?
Izzy: (floating small trophy down to it) Winner!
Haven: (scoffing, pushing phone away) This Field Day is a special occasion for the unicorns, and now that the pegasus [sic] and unicorns are… (becoming distracted by Alphabittle’s movements; pan slowly to follow him) …reuniting, well, it’s—it’s important that we have, uh…ambassadors to…uh, w-when they… (Pipp has now stashed her phone.)
Pipp: What are you saying?
(All three pegasi step away from the counter; Haven takes a deep breath before continuing.)
Haven: I’m here in an official capacity! (turning back, seating herself) Now if you don’t mind, Alphie and I were discussing… (smiling at him, propping chin on front hooves) …official negotiations?
(Pipp and Zipp back slowly and uneasily away from the scene, smiles frozen on both faces.)
Pipp: Um…
Zipp: Yeah. We’re gonna…go outside now. (She gallops for the exit.)
Pipp: Hmph.
(She does not move until Zipp reaches into view and yanks her bodily away. There is the sound of a slamming door and jingling bell; cut to the pair just outside, where Pipp expresses her opinion more fully in the form of a disgusted retch.)
Pipp: Did she just call him Alphie?
(Dissolve to a long shot of the Brighthouse, tilting down slowly toward ground level, then cut to Misty stepping off the bottom end of one ramp in the entrance hall so she can pace the floor.)
Misty: So, the dragon’s not here, and I still can’t get up the elevator. There’s gotta be something I can take to her. I can’t show up empty-hooved again, or… (She stops near the fireplace and looks around.) …wait!
(She spots a trunk tucked into the overhang formed where one ramp meets the floor, crosses to it, and extracts it with no small effort. Snap to black, which wipes quickly upward in time with a latch being released to frame her wondering face—the camera has shifted to inside the trunk. She gasps and smiles in triumph; cut to her perspective of the contents and zoom in slowly. What she has found is a trove of items associated with the five friends’ past adventures.)
Misty: Bingo. (Back to her.) If I can’t bring Opaline their dragon, maybe I can bring her their memories. (Extract a thick book.) Maybe there’s magic in them.
(A close-up picks this item out as a photo album with Sunny’s picture on the front cover. Its first page holds a photo of her, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp smiling in various ordinary and silly ways for the camera. Behind Misty, Dazzle and Skye continue their liver coverage on TV; zoom in on the next two lines, the focus shifting to the screen.)
Dazzle: Now what event is this we’re watching, Skye?
Skye: Well, Dazzle, I’m glad you asked. This isn’t an event at all.
(A cut fills the entire screen with a broadcast image of a competitor and his armadillo teammate hopping from side to side. A few repetitions of “bing-bong” are heard under the next two lines.)
Skye: (voice over) What the unicorns are doing here is called a jinxie dance.
(Pan quickly to others likewise as Hitch watches, gobsmacked.)
Skye: (voice over) This is an interesting ritual that they sometimes perform—
Hitch: Huh? (He chuckles weakly and backs away.)
Skye: (voice over) —to un-jinx themselves if they’re confronted with anything magical.
(These last few words are accompanied by a cut back to him and Dazzle at their microphone—seen directly, not as part of the broadcast.)
Skye: They believe magic may bring them bad luck.
Dazzle: Aren’t unicorns themselves magical?
Skye: Oh, yes.
(Broadcast image of the bleachers, where Sunny and her other three friends have seated themselves to watch a mare do the dance. Zoom in slowly.)
Skye: (voice over) But as we know, they didn’t have access to their unicorn magic for many thousands of moons.
(Back to the TV in the Brighthouse, which shows Dazzle and Skye again.)
Dazzle: Fascinating, Skye. Truly superstitious.
Skye: And stay tuned after the Games, tonight at eight. The ZBS True Zephyr Story—The Royal Family. (Cut to Misty ransacking the trunk; he is heard from the TV under her frustrated groan.) Check back in with our favorite high-flying sovereigns.
(Back to the TV. During the next words, the view dissolves to a slow tilt down along the height of a stylized image of Haven and her daughters, who stand to either side with their heads turned outward. The image is tinted blue, except for a gold portion forming the shape of a crown that touches one eye of each mare, and an exclamation point with a feather worked into its upper bar is at the top right corner—a station identifier. Once the dissolve occurs, Dazzle delivers the rest of the line as a voice over.)
Dazzle: The young Princesses may have flown the nest at the palace now, but royal bonds are keeping this family closer than ever.
(Dissolve to the sisters on the scene and in the same pose, peeking out from around opposite sides of a tree trunk. They step out fully, grim determination stenciled across every square inch of both faces, and hunker down behind a nearby crystal formation as Alphabittle’s soft chuckle drifts across. He and Haven emerge from the Crystal Tea Room, the doors closing to ring the bell, and amble smilingly along the path.)
Pipp: This is even worse than I feared.
(The chuckle becomes a snorting laugh as Haven shows him something on her phone.)
Alphabittle: Awww, look at that cute little face. (Pan quickly to Pipp/Zipp.)
Pipp: Now she’s showing him embarrassing pictures of me as a filly!
(The two abandon this position and take up a new one behind a clump of bushes. On the next line, zoom out quickly from them to frame the couple in a clearing, Haven now seated on the grass.)
Haven: And here he is as a little pirate.
(“He” proves to be Cloudpuff, wearing a pirate’s hat and eyepatch and pouncing on a panicked Thunder, when the camera cuts to a close-up of the phone. A swipe brings up a shot of him clad in a tutu and executing a pirouette.)
Haven: (from o.s.) Oh, and here he’s a ballerina! (Happy little gasp; she calls up one of him in a party hat and eyeing a cupcake.) Watch this. (Tap screen; video starts to play.) He eats his whole puppy cupcake in one bite!
(Which he promptly proceeds to do. Back to Alphabittle and Haven.)
Alphabittle: Now that’s a hungry pup. (Chuckle; Haven’s mood abruptly deflates with a sigh.)
Haven: Thank hoofness I have Cloudy. (Put phone away and stand up.) With the girls away now, I feel so…alone sometimes.
Alphabittle: Hey. (He gently lifts her chin.) You’re not alone.
(A tentative smile works its way across her face, while the two clandestine onlookers recoil with yelps and groans of revulsion. Hitch gallops into view and skids to a halt, followed closely by an airborne Cloudpuff and with Sparky on his back.)
Hitch: Hey! Can you two Sparky-sit for a sec? (trotting in place) We’ve gotta get across this balance beam before those birds drop stewed cabbage balls on us.
(He points to indicate this second obstacle as he mentions it; the birds are closing in fast and all too eager to commence bombardment, and Kenneth is among them. Close-up of Pipp and Zipp as Sparky is thrust into the latter’s grip.)
Hitch: (from o.s.) Thanks! (galloping past, chased by Cloudpuff and birds) I think I’ve finally figured out the rules!
(His victorious laugh is cut short when the flock catches up and lets him have it, driving him to the ground.)
Hitch: Ow…ow…
(Here come Sunny and a trophy-carrying, whistle-blowing Izzy.)
Izzy: Winner! (She gives it to the orange mare.)
Sunny: Huh?
Hitch: (sighing) Spoke too soon. (He lets his head flop down in defeat.)
(Cut to elsewhere on the grounds. He is now running the Bunny Hop Relay as described in the prologue, making his way through a zig-zag line of hoops on the ground with a crystal perched on his nose. Once he reaches the end, a toss of his head sends the chunk to Cloudpuff, who catches it in his teeth and jumps through a series of vertically mounted hoops, tossing it to the dirt once he has cleared the last one.)
Hitch: (laughing, pumping a hoof) Yeah! (Izzy jumps onto the bleachers and blows her whistle.)
Izzy: (giving a trophy to a spectator) Winner! (Cheers.)
Hitch: Huh?
(A trophy drifts past, the view wiping behind it to a sack race in progress. Hitch struggles to hop across the hardpan, followed closely by a flying Cloudpuff in a small sack that leaves only his face and wings exposed. The pooch veers off course and smacks into a tree, drawing a dismayed reaction from the crowd and a gasp from Hitch; Sunny stands ready with trophy in hoof.)
Sunny: (uncertainly, to the tree) Uh, winner? (She sets it down; Izzy slides down into view from above.)
Izzy: (nodding) Mmm-hmm!
(The hapless Sheriff just sighs at the sheer ridiculousness of having lost to a piece of plant life. Another trophy slides past, wiping the view to a group of pony contenders engaged in a lively scrum as their winged partners hover overhead. Hitch extracts himself, holding a multicolored American football that he throws to Cloudpuff—but one horn’s glow wraps itself around the projectile and wrenches it loose. The other unicorns exert their auras to pull it this way and that for a long moment until it rips in two under the strain, releasing a shower of confetti. The empty halves thud to the ground as Izzy’s whistle shrills out, and she slides into view on her haunches to plant a trophy next to them. Hitch and Cloudpuff have ditched their sack race gear.)
Izzy: (growly tone) Winner!
(Cheers from all competitors except a genuinely flummoxed Hitch, who utters a bone-rattling sigh. A plethora of trophies tumbles past the camera, the view wiping behind them to a close-up of a bemused Zipp in the bleachers. Balls of yarn fly back and forth as the camera zooms out to frame Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp seated with her and watching a contestant plant a ball in the hoop at one end of a zig-zag row on the ground and another one trip over it. Sparky has parked himself between the two pegasi.)
Zipp: What in the hay is happening out there?
Pipp: (sighing) I don’t know. This is literally what every sport looks like to me.
(A squeal of feedback cuts off any further pondering; cut to a long shot of the tree-stump stage. Alphabittle and Haven have joined Dazzle and Skye behind the table placed here, and Onyx is standing behind a lectern just past one end that has been outfitted with a microphone. Her next two lines are amplified.)
Onyx: This poem means a lot to me. (Close-up.) It’s called “Visiting Dignitary Queen Haven of Zephyr Heights Is About to Make Public Remarks on the Grand Marshal’s Stage.”
(Cut to the newly formed couple on the latter part of this title, then back to Onyx, who clears her throat.)
Onyx: Pain. Metamorphosis.
(To a baffled Pipp/Zipp on this second word, then back to her.)
Long…division.
Jasper: (ushering her away) All right. Sorry, everypony. Um, Queen Haven on the main stage, um, right now.
(Cheers erupt as the monarch leaves her seat for the lectern.)
Pipp: (shading her eyes) Um…
Zipp: Huh?
(Both of them fail to notice Sparky’s inquisitive gurgle and glance toward a massive gnarled tree that stands at the opposite edge of the grounds. It is the Wishing Tree as seen in Winter Wishday, but stripped of its holiday finery. A big smile steals across the scaly green face, a joyful noise rises from the throat below it, and he drops to the dirt and makes a beeline for it as Haven gains the lectern.)
Haven: (amplified) Thank you. (Crowd settles down.) I’m very honored to be here on this very special day. Here we all are, unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi— (glancing at Alphabittle; he smiles back) —united and rebuilding the strong bond that once…
(Her next words flee her brain in the short time it takes to spot her unhappy daughters in the bleachers. Feedback whines through the sudden silence as the camera zooms in quickly on the pair.)
Haven: (from o.s., amplified, hesitantly) …we didn’t, uh… (Back to her.) …we didn’t realize how much we needed each other. (To them and back as she continues, more confidently; Alphabittle steps to her side.) How wonderful it can be when we’re…all together. (They trade smiles.) Which is to say, I’m very excited to join in the judging of the day’s final event, the Forest Critter Grand Prix!
(She spreads her wings and earns a rousing cheer from the audience, portions of which are sitting on the ground and waving pennants held in their magic. Not a one catches sight of Sparky scampering toward the massy, mossy roots of the Tree. He gazes up along its sheer height, gives voice to an awed burble, and touches a hand to it. Much as at the end of “Growing Pains,” a wash of pale green light flows up the roots from this spot, reflecting in the widened purple eyes and bringing up another little sound of amazement. Now he begins to bound nimbly up the roots with remarkable speed.)
Act Three
(Cut to Dazzle and Skye on the TV in the Brighthouse. During the next line, pan away from it to Misty again digging through the trunk, most of whose contents have already been slung out.)
Dazzle: Coming up next, the final event of the day—and this is the big one—the Forest Critters’ [sic] Grand Prix!
(The intruder sits down with a deep sigh, then snaps up the photo album in a sudden fit of pique. Cut to her perspective on the next line, flipping from one page to the next—three in all.)
Misty: (high mocking tone) “Oh, we’re so happy! We all have cutie marks and get to live with our best friends!”
(First photo: a beaming Pipp and Zipp with forelegs thrown around each other’s shoulders. Second: Sunny and Izzy in the community garden, Izzy registering surprise at a butterfly perched on her nose. Third: all four mares, Hitch, and Misty gathered around a box of fresh donuts, Sunny having manifested her magic horn and wings. Cut back to Misty, who gasps in shock at this last but then begins to smile; she regards the picture for some moments before drawing a second, much shakier gasp as its significance begins to take hold in her mind. Zoom in on the TV, the broadcast continuing without so much as an iota of Misty’s attention directed toward it.)
Skye: But before we get to that, let’s take one more look at Queen Haven’s very moving Field Day remarks.
(The TV screen image wipes to Haven at the lectern.)
Haven: …we didn’t realize how much we needed each other. (Back to a now-pensive Misty; her voice continues.) How wonderful it can be when we’re… (Misty smiles over the last photo.) …all together.
(Cut to a tilt down from the treetops above the competition grounds and stop on four ponies gathered at a starting line with critter on backs, among them Hitch and Windy. On the next line, cut to just behind Onyx at the stage lectern, the camera aimed over her shoulder at the quartet.)
Onyx: (amplified) On your marks… (Head-on shot.) …get set…
(The racers poise themselves, and the signal to begin is delivered when the monotonic poet pulls a party popper to send up a blast of confetti. One of them, an elderly unicorn mare, adopts a leisurely pace that puts her well behind the others.)
Skye: And they’re off!
(Cut to Sunny and her other friends in the bleachers, Izzy with sunglasses propped behind horn.)
Izzy: (to Sunny, squealing happily) Wait until you see this one! You’re not gonna believe how wild it is! The Grand Prix is the biggest event of the whole day! I’m so excited!
(The group’s view is immediately blocked by a swarm of cheering, sign-waving spectators who flood in front of them with absolutely no warning.)
Izzy: Wait! Uh… (Grunt; shove forward.) Stop the race! We can’t see!
Zipp: Hold your hooves, Izz. Pipp and I can fix this. Come on, sis. (They pop up several feet and hover.) Okay. They’re pulling a boulder up a hill with, like, some sort of giant rubber band?
Izzy: Oh, oh, that’s the rock trot! Who’s in the lead?
Pipp: Hitch is!
Izzy: (growly tone, pumping a hoof) Yes!
(Cut to the upper reaches of the Tree and tilt down to its base. Sparky continues his ascent, escaping the attention of a stallion and mare who are utterly absorbed in watching the race—that is, until the former hears the noise of his passage and turns to get an eyeful.)
Stallion 1: Um…there’s a baby up here. (The mare moves in for a look.)
Mare 1: Is this a part of the race?
(He just shrugs. Meanwhile, Pipp and Zipp have both procured binoculars to track the action; the pink sister pivots in midair and trains her lenses on the stage.)
Pipp: Hmmm…
(Her perspective: Alphabittle and Haven are at the table and using their own pairs, and they turn toward each other, knocking the instruments together, and wave with embarrassed smiles.)
Pipp: Huh? (Back to her, lowering the binocs with a fed-up groan; pan to Zipp on the following.)
Zipp: Now he and Cloudpuff are…are they on water skis? Yeah! It’s…water skis, and it looks like they’re being pulled by a gaggle of geese.
(She loses steam and lowers her pair on these last few words, disbelief having set in.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Oh! Oh! (Cut to her.) The water fowl slalom! (Zipp puts lenses to eyes again.) The goose is loose! Did they jump through all six flaming hoops yet? Pipp? Pipp?
(Cut to the flyer in question, once again staring through her pair and unable to tear herself away.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) What’s happening now?
(Pipp’s perspective: Haven eats a wedge of cheese from Alphabittle’s hoof and smiles coyly. A board laden with bread, grapes, and more cheese sits on the table within reach.)
Pipp: (horrified) No! (Gasp; back to her, lowering the binocs.) He’s feeding her cheeses from a fancy platter!
Izzy: Who, Hitch? Hmph. They aren’t supposed to eat the cheese until the Gouda relay.
Sunny: (puzzled) Uh-huh?
(The younger Princess shudders mightily and shields her eyes with a foreleg, but forces herself to put eyepieces to sockets. Her perspective again: now Alphabittle and Haven put cheese wedges into each other’s mouths.)
Pipp: It’s just so gross.
(Sparky, meanwhile, is now tottering merrily along one limb of the Tree and gaining more spectators.)
Stallion 2: Uh, what do we do?
(The dragon pauses to blow fire onto a stubby twig, turning its bloom into a cookie that he sits down to eat.)
Mare 2: This is bad luck! Terrible luck! I know how to solve this! (doing the jinxie dance) Bing-bong! Bing-bong!
(The rest of the onlookers follow suit in word and deed. Back at ground zero, Hitch’s hooves pound along the dusty earth with Cloudpuff keeping pace; the two are zeroing in on a figure-eight running track studded with obstacles of various types. They work their way through a zig-zag row of hoops on the ground.)
Hitch: Come on, Cloudpuff! We’ve almost got this!
(Up top, Sparky has dispatched his cookie and turned his attention to bouncing an acorn on his head. He loses his footing and nearly falls, but gets enough fingers wrapped around the bark to save himself as the nut tumbles away. The spectators stop their dance and gasp in fright, but he just snickers quietly.)
Stallion 1: (pointing) Oh, my chamomile! (He faints.)
Mare 1: Uh…what do we do?
Stallion 3: Somepony help!
Stallion 1: Hang in there, baby!
(Cut to Haven, binoculars to eyes; she lowers them, eyes popping in disbelief.)
Haven: Oh, no! (pointing) Alphie, look!
(Zoom out to frame the bulky unicorn, who brings up his own lenses, then cut to Pipp peering through hers.)
Pipp: What’s she pointing at?
(She and Zipp swivel and aim their binocs off to one side; cut to their perspective of the lower portions of the Tree and zoom in quickly to pick out the struggling Sparky in full detail. Back to the sisters, who lower their instruments with a double horrified gasp, drop them, and rocket into the air.)
Pipp: Sparky! (They fly over the heads of Hitch/Cloudpuff, negotiating a bank of seesaws.)
Zipp: Hold on, Sparky! (Hitch slides to a stop.)
Hitch: Huh?
(Now he gets a good look at his little buddy, who begins to pull himself up onto the limb. Hitch’s eyes shrink to dumbstruck points as he gasps in purest shock.)
Hitch: Cloudpuff! Hurry!
(All eight legs get moving toward the Tree, but gravity drags Sparky free of the limb at long last. He utters a cry that is within throwing distance of being intelligible as “Daddy!”; Pipp gasps.)
Zipp: (zooming ahead) I’ve got you!
(The dragon caroms from one lumpy spot of bark to another, taking just enough tricky bounces to keep either sister from laying hooves on him.)
Zipp: Oh, no! (Pipp cries out.)
Mare 3: Somepony use your magic!
(Hitch gasps upon hearing this last word and comes to a dead stop, all four hooves sparkling and glowing green as he exerts his earth pony abilities. A thick vine erupts from the ground, arcing upward toward the immense trunk, and he leaps on and barrels along its length.)
Hitch: Sparky!
(A final, desperate headfirst slide puts him in just the right position to make the catch. Pipp, Zipp, and the crowd on the ground sigh with relief as Sunny, Izzy, and Cloudpuff scramble to the Tree.)
Hitch: (to Sparky) Are you okay?
(The little guy’s contented babble causes him to sigh away all his pent-up tension, and he stands and shifts Sparky to his back as Pipp/Zipp descend to his level. In short order he is hustling back down the vine and onto the track, where Windy’s critter positions itself on the low end of a seesaw just in time for her to hit the high end and catapult it skyward. Hitch and Cloudpuff sprint toward a set of vertical hoops and leap nimbly through one after another, easily passing the elderly mare who got such a slow start onto the course.)
Hitch: Come on!
(His perspective of the approaching finish line, a broad ribbon strung across a viney arch.)
Hitch: We got this!
(Back to the pair as they break the tape and stop.)
Hitch: (laughing, dancing on hind legs) Woo-hoo! Yeah! (Cheers from the crowd.)
Spectators: Yay!…Awesome!
Sunny: Woo-hoo! (Laugh.)
Hitch: Whoo! (He and Cloudpuff are floated clear of the dirt.) Aw, yeah! Woo-hoo!
(Izzy crosses to him, shades down over eyes and floating the biggest trophy of the day.)
Izzy: Winner!
Hitch: Yes!
(He extends his forelegs to clasp it—and is absolutely flabbergasted to see it float past him.)
Hitch: Whaaaat?
(It balances itself on the upturned front hoof of the old mare who has been outpaced time and again—this is Elderflower.)
Elderflower: Yay!
Hitch: Huh?
(The field surrounding him and Cloudpuff winks out, dumping them flat with a giggling Sparky landing across Hitch’s back.)
Elderflower: Oh, happy day!
Hitch: (standing) But I—but we—we finished first!
Izzy: And Elderflower finished second last year so we promised her that no matter what, she could be the winner this year. (floating up her manual) It’s right here in the rules, page three-seventy-two. (In a trice, it is open and hovering before him.)
Hitch: This is ridiculous! Let me see that!
(He snatches the book, reads intently for a moment, and slams it closed to the dirt with a loud groan of equal parts frustration and disgust. A rabbit pops out of the trophy, as if to rub in his ignominious finish. Up on the stage, Alphabittle and Haven are behind the lectern and Onyx has joined Dazzle and Skye at the table.)
Alphabittle: (amplified) Thank you all for— (Cut to Hitch/Cloudpuff/Sparky on the following.)
Hitch: Hey, can we get an official Grand Marshal ruling on this?
(The two at the microphone hold a quick, whispered conference…they glance down at the three on the track…and a smile passes between the two officials. Alphabittle’s next two lines are amplified, the camera cutting back and forth between him and Haven, and a happily gasping Hitch and his contingent.)
Alphabittle: The Queen and I have discussed it, and there has indeed been a grave oversight. The Bridlewood Forest Critter Field Day Grand Marshal awards the team of Hitch and Cloudpuff…
Hitch: (expectantly) Uh-huh?
Alphabittle: …the very prestigious Cutest Puppy Award!
(As he finishes, zoom out to frame the entire stage, with Haven now seated at the table. He laughs a cheers and applause ring out all over the field.)
Hitch: What?!? (sputtering) That’s not even a real category! (pointing at Cloudpuff) He’s the only puppy here! (Up comes Izzy, shades behind horn.)
Izzy: (sticking a blue ribbon on Cloudpuff’s cap) Winner!
(The fuzzy honoree barks and takes a midair turn in close-up during this pronouncement. Next Izzy hoists and opens the manual in her magic.)
Izzy: It says right here, dude. (Cut to Hitch and Sparky; she continues o.s.) Cutest Puppy.
(He voices a resigned groan as Pipp/Zipp come in for a landing and Sunny walks up with them.)
Zipp: We are so sorry we lost track of Sparky.
Pipp: Seriously, we let our own stuff get in the way and we feel so bad.
Hitch: It’s not your fault. I’m the one who let his own stuff get in the way of things. Sparky’s my responsibility. I just got so wrapped up with these games and trying to figure out the rules—but the rules made no sense! That—did that make any sense?
Pipp: So…you’re not mad?
Hitch: Only at myself. (Izzy slings a foreleg across his shoulders.)
Izzy: Come on, champ. All the winners have to go answer questions for the Bridlewood Pony Press Association.
(She muscles him away, ignoring his uneasy moan; Sunny and Cloudpuff gallop/flap to keep up.)
Haven: (landing to face her daughters) That was very noble of you, girls. It’s not always easy to apologize.
Zipp: Yeah, well, Hitch is our friend, you know.
Haven: (smiling, glancing over shoulder at Alphabittle, now behind her) I do know. (Instant revulsion on both younger faces.)
Pipp: Oh, yuck! Hitch is our friend! We play board games with him, not like… (sputtering) …like whatever this thing is! All—
(Cut to an incensed Haven on the end of this, Alphabittle having perhaps wisely retreated a few paces.)
Haven: (flaring wings) Pipp Petals, Zephyrina Storm, you will listen to me right now!
(The combination of their full names and an emphatic stomp hits them like a two-by-four upside the head. Zipp pulls in a stunned little gasp.)
Pipp: Uh-oh.
Haven: (calmly) Sorry. (Clear throat; zoom in slowly.) It’s just that you two are growing up. You’ve flown the nest and started living your lives— (Cut to the humbled sisters; she continues o.s. as they gradually smile.) —but I still have a life too. I love your new friends— (Back to her as she continues.) —and I love the ponies you’re all growing into. (Glance to Alphabittle.) And I also love—
(Cut to Pipp/Zipp on the next line; the younger sister averts her eyes behind a thrown-up foreleg, while the elder has extended her wings forward to protect own sight. Both lower their defenses as they speak.)
Pipp: Okay, okay, we get it!
Zipp: We’re sorry, Mom. We do want you to be happy.
Pipp: Yeah, you deserve to have brunch. (voice breaking) Even when we’re not there.
Haven: (scoffing gently) Thank hoofness for that. I love you, girls.
Pipp, Zipp: We love you too.
Haven: (hovering) Then hug Mother!
(There follows a three-way embrace, punctuated by her sigh of contentment; she lands and falls in next to Alphabittle, and the two walk off to smiles from Pipp and Zipp.)
(Cut to the TV in the Brighthouse, on which Dazzle and Skye are broadcasting, and pan to Misty asleep on the couch during the next line, cuddling the photo of herself with Sunny and the whole gang.)
Skye: For Dazzle and the rest of the team here at ZBS Sports, this is Skye Silver, wishing you all a magical night from Bridlewood. Fly safe, everypony.
(A screech of tires and a thud outside jolt her awake with a startled gasp. As Pipp’s laughter rings out, she gallops to the nearest window and is met by the sight of the group emerging from the Marestream. Misty swallows hard; an instant later, the camera cuts to just inside the front doors as they fly open and the five pones gallop/fly in. A slow pan across the entrance hall reveals that Misty has cleared out, repacked/replaced the trunk she was investigating, and switched off the TV.)
Sunny: (indicating open window by Critter Corner) Which one of us forgot to close the window?
Izzy: (giggling, hopping past) Wasn’t me!
(Outside, the Marestream stands silently on its patio, Misty’s hooves visible beneath the lower edge of its bodywork to mark her presence behind it. Zoom in slowly as she steps out around the front end, then cut to a close-up of her turning away from the front entrance, seen from the knees/hocks up and clearly torn by some internal conflict. Without warning, her movement is arrested by a grunt and a tug on her tail; she looks behind herself, the camera panning/tilting down to reveal Sparky as the source of both. He is holding a document so that it faces away from the camera; when she turns back and takes it from him, it proves to be the photo she held during her nap.)
Misty: Oh! (Her perspective of it.) Thank you! (Both again; she laughs weakly.) I…I must have dropped—
(A string of smiling babbles and whimpers brings her up short and summons an all-too-familiar voice to her mind.)
Opaline: (memory) GET THAT DRAGON!!
(Misty lets go with a quiet sigh, then hefts said dragon and regards him with the most profound uncertainty. Cut to just outside the doors, one of which is open; Izzy peeks around the edge of the closed one with a gasp, her shades and whistle gone. Zoom out to frame Sparky sitting quietly on the step.)
Izzy: (jumping out to him) Hoofness gracious, Sparky! (She scoops him up.) How did you get outside? (Peer around for a moment.) Hmmm…huh.
(She carries him back in, knowing nothing of the debate her opposite number just had with herself over whether to grab him and go. Cut to a long shot of Opaline’s castle, zooming in slowly, then to a close-up of Misty lying on her bed in her room within. Zoom out slowly; she is smiling warmly at a paper turned away from the camera, but the next word shocks her upright with a gasp and makes her drop the thing.)
Opaline: (from outside, impatiently) Misty! Get down here right this instant!
Misty: (sighing wearily, exiting) Coming, Opaline.
(As she passes the threshold, a camera shift reveals that she has brought the photo with her and left it on the bed. Zoom in on it.)