THE MANESQUERADE BALL
Written by Jim Martin
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)
Prologue
(Opening shot: a bright blue daytime sky filled with friendly white clouds. Tilt down to frame the exterior of Mane Melody, on Mane Street in Maretime Bay, as a few staccato synthesizer chords snap out and Kenneth flaps into view. The can-wearing bird perches atop the front entrance and begins to cheep in time with a bass drum beat that starts up, the camera zooming in/out to match the rhythm. After a few beats, he hops off and swings down to peek in through the glass panes set in the front doors.)
(Dissolve to the interior of the salon, whose lights have been dimmed as for a karaoke performance. Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, and Pipp Petals are seated in the styling chairs and being attended to by Jazz Hooves and Rocky Riff. Sunny is not wearing her saddlebag, nor will she do so throughout the remainder of this episode. A camera shift frames Zipp Storm in another chair farther down the line as the music starts to build. The two employees toss items to one another and get to work, showers of stars highlighting each move they make. Glitter is sprayed onto manes and applied to Pipp’s cheek, eyeshadow is applied, and highlights are dyed into manes and Pipp’s wings.)
(Rocky throws a knowing look to Jazz; pan quickly to her returning it. The music blossoms fully into an instrumental version of Pipp’s song from “Izzy Does It” while the two stylists show off a few dance steps in the center aisle. Cut to a radially divided, three-way split screen in which Sunny gets glitter brushed onto her coat, a two-tone dye job is applied to Pipp’s forelegs, and Zipp receives a massage to a wing that has also had its coloration altered. A contently smiling Izzy pops up in the fore, the images giving way to green behind her. From here, dissolve to Pipp lifting the mane-dryer dome away from the chair in which she sits and zoom out quickly to frame Sunny and Zipp doing likewise. All three mares have had their forelegs dyed and their hooves decorated. Full lighting has been restored.)
(Jazz and Rocky lob items to each other again while Hitch Trailblazer sits, deep in thought, before the magical trying-on wall mirror seen in Bridlewoodstock. Sparky Sparkeroni is goofing around behind him on the floor. Zoom in slowly on the pair and cut to a close-up; he is poring over his cell phone—specifically, images of designs for his own hooves. He has received a makeover similar to the others’, but the eyeshadow has been applied just below his brows rather than on the eyelids. In addition, his hooves have not yet been painted, but a bit of scrolling brings up a design that meets with his approval; as soon as he holds up one limb, it magically appears in the intended spot on all of them in his reflection.)
Hitch: (standing up, showing phone to others) Okay! So I saw this one look in the magic mirror that screams “Sheriff on the town.” (to Jazz) Can you do the hoof stars?
Jazz: Only if you plan on showing them off on the dance floor tonight.
Pipp: This is going to be the best Manesquerade Ball ever! (Izzy pops up behind her, holding a stack of tickets.)
Izzy: I can’t be-lizzle we’re invited to the most glamor-ific event in Zephyr Heights!
(Pan to Sunny and Zipp on the next line, the pegasus’ interest entirely taken up by a magazine she is reading.)
Sunny: Just wait until everypony at the Ball sees the unity dance I choreographed for us!
Izzy: (climbing into a chair, spinning it) Uh, excuse me, Jazz? (giddily) Can you do a glitter topcoat on my horn?
Jazz: You know how we do.
(The instrumental ends at this point. Not missing a beat, she scoops up a spray bottle and puts it to work while humming to herself. After a few seconds, the camera cuts to just behind Izzy; Rocky slides over and voices a soft, awed gasp.)
Rocky: My hoofness, Jazz. You’ve done it again!
(The unicorn whirls in her chair and stops in the perfect position to take a mirror held up by the earth pony and get an eyeful of herself. The blue horn now sports a pale green stripe, spiraling from base to tip, and is liberally speckled with glitter.)
Izzy: (gasping deeply, awed) It’s everything.
(Snap to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to a close-up of Zipp getting a dose of her own primping. She lowers her magazine with an unenthused sigh.)
Zipp: You don’t really have to.
Rocky: Of course we have to!
Jazz: You’re going to the Zephyr Heights Manesquerade Ball! Everypony that attends always looks beyond.
Zipp: (waving them off) True, but shouldn’t you two be getting ready, then?
Jazz, Rocky: (floored) Us?
Pipp: (turning in chair to face them, pointing) Yes, you! (singing, holding up two tickets) You’re invi-i-ited!
(This bit of news throws them into a tizzy, with Rocky uttering a gasp.)
Rocky: I didn’t know we were invited.
Jazz: Neither did I!
Rocky: What are we gonna wear?
Jazz: (grabbing him) I don’t know, but it’s gotta be beyond!
Rocky: Beyond beyond!
(Both squeal ecstatically and race toward the backstage area, while Sunny admires herself in a wall mirror.)
Sunny: (crossing to Hitch/Izzy/Pipp) All right, selfie time!
(Sparky is on Hitch’s back and wearing a bow tie, and the stallion has had his hooves painted and put away his phone. Zipp, now out of her chair, brings out her FlyPad and holds it up to capture herself in the shot with them.)
Izzy: (to Pipp) Does this feel like too much?
Pipp: “Too much”? Izz, Izz, Izz. It’s a big deal to be invited.
Izzy: (with growing zeal) Wow. I guess we’re gonna need more glitter, then!
(Zoom in on her for these last few words, then cut to Jazz and Rocky emerging in the grip of fresh worry; Jazz carries a box of varied accessories.)
Jazz: How do we choose our looks?
Pipp: (crossing to her) Easy! The only dress code is to wear what makes you feel fancy.
(She accentuates “fancy” with an over-the-top British accent and by grabbing a tiara off the top of the pile to plunk on her head above her own. Across the way, Zipp has packed in her FlyPad.)
Zipp: And you have to wear a mask.
(She proceeds to pull one out, shaped as a winged lightning bolt and intended to cover one half of the face.)
Hitch: (puzzled) Why? (Pipp crosses to him, having shed the superfluous headwear.)
Pipp: The Manesquerade is the place to see and be seen, by ponies you can’t recognize who don’t know who they are seeing.
Zipp: (slyly, donning the mask) Because everypony loves a mystery.
(Zoom in quickly to a close-up, a flash of lightning playing across the screen, and cut to a long shot of Opaline’s castle and slow zoom in. On the next line, cut to a close-up of the pool set into the floor of the throne room and zoom out to frame her and Misty pacing around it.)
Opaline: I’m feeling rather generous today, so you are no longer grounded.
Misty: (bowing) Seriously? Oh, thank you so much!
Opaline: Yes, I should be thanked. It’s very impressive of me to trust you again.
Misty: It is!
Opaline: But I also need to teach you a lesson.
(Recall that Opaline inflicted this punishment on her in “Sunny Side Up.” Close-up of the petrified unicorn on this last, forcing down a hard swallow, then cut to frame both again.)
Opaline: You’re not coming with me. You need to stay here and watch the lair, while I go back and snag that slippery Dragon Stone.
(Being the item that she sought in the same episode. Cut to Misty, the camera angle revealing that she has washed off the butterfly cutie mark she drew on her haunch as part of an escape plan that never came to be.)
Misty: This feels like a test.
Opaline: (from o.s.) Maybe it is a test. (Both again as she continues; Misty stands up.) But maybe I trust you. (crossing to doors) The fact that you need to think about it should inform how you act.
(She exerts her magic over the portals just long enough to swing them open and exits; cut to the blue flunky.)
Misty: (as doors slam shut) Yeah, this is definitely a test. So I should stay. Even though Opaline probably wouldn’t know if I went to see my new friends. (Glance at the throne.) But she would say some mean things to me if she found out. Then again, my friends don’t say mean things to me. (anguished) Why is every decision so hard?
(She sits down and puts on a hopeful smile, shifting her focus to the immense doors.)
Misty: I wonder what fun thing they’re all doing right now.
(Cut to an overhead shot of the front lawn of the Crystal Brighthouse, with the Marestream parked on its patio off to one side. Sunny, all her friends except Zipp, and Sparky gather out here as the camera zooms in slowly and cuts to ground level, framing a late-afternoon sky. The little dragon coos over his bow tie; on the next line, cut to frame Izzy passing an eye mask to Sunny—right half styled as a sun, left half violet with gold swirls, a gold copy of the six-pointed pink star of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark between the eyes.)
Izzy: Don’t forget your masks, everypony!
(She gives a sparkly purple one with gold accents and green trim to Hitch; he and Sunny put them on, get a good look at one another, and laugh. Pipp is next to receive one, sliding her phone under a wing to take and stow it: a feathered, flowered affair done in vibrant shades of purple and gold with touches of white. Out comes her sister, humming around the handle of a basket of food clamped in her teeth and not wearing her mask; Pipp aims a hairy eyeball her way.)
Pipp: What’s your deal? (Zipp sets her load down.)
Zipp: I’m bringing some snacks onboard. Why?
Pipp: You’re happy. You’re never happy when you’re forced to do something. And you’re usually especially unhappy about going to the Manesquerade Ball.
Zipp: That’s because I’m planning to do a little research on alicorn magic in the palace library archives. (Hold mask over her face.) In the secret section!
Pipp: (gasping in shock) But that’s off limits!
(The next voice brings them both up short; on the next line, cut to its speaker coming up the front walk toward them.)
Misty: That sounds interesting.
Izzy: (spinning to face her) Whoa! MISTY!!
(Squealing with delight, she darts across the lawn and catches the new arrival in a flying hug that comes within an ace of laying her out. Sunny and Hitch have removed their masks by this point, and Misty has drawn her butterfly mark onto her haunch.)
Izzy: What a fun surprise! (Misty laughs; Sunny crosses to them.)
Sunny: Where have you been? We miss you. We haven’t seen you in forever.
Misty: I know. I had some stuff come up back at the lair— (catching herself, laughing) —a-at home. I-I had stuff come up at home. I live at a home, in a house.
(Five ponies and one dragon just stare at her as if turnips had suddenly sprouted from both ears. Long silence.)
Misty: You know how it is, when you’re trapped at home doing chores and it feels like you’re grounded in a lair? (Weak chuckle.) Me neither. (spotting the mask Zipp holds) Hey, look at that! Are you getting ready to go to a place?
Sunny: Not just any place. We’re going to the Manesquerade Ball! (Laugh.)
Pipp: (prancing circles with Hitch) The most glam night for Zephyr Heights. (They bow to each other.)
Hitch: But this year, we’re invited. (Chuckle.)
Misty: Wow, that sounds like a big deal.
Izzy: Oh, oh! Oh, I have an idea! (throwing foreleg across Misty’s shoulders) Misty should come with us!
Pipp: Yaaaaaas! Misty, you will love it! It’s—it’s just, it’s—it’s a total thing.
Misty: You want me? To go with you? To a thing? (A chorus of approving responses.) Wow! I’ve never been invited to a thing before. It sounds fancy… (losing her nerve) …and full of ponies…who don’t know me…
Pipp: Nopony will know who anypony is, because we all wear masks.
(She claps hers on to make the point, but Misty’s spirits sink like a lead brick in a swimming pool.)
Misty: Oh. I don’t have one of those. (Pipp removes it.) And I don’t feel very fancy.
Izzy, Pipp: Leave that to us!
(Her mood brightens as they usher her toward the Brighthouse. Cut to a close-up of the doors, which swing open to reveal the three mares just inside, Misty hanging back a pace from Izzy/Pipp.)
Izzy, Pipp: Ta-daaaa!
(The blue unicorn steps out fully, showing off an image overhaul similar to those done on the other five equines—horn and all. She manages a tentative grin as they send up cheers and whoops.)
Izzy: Woo-hoo!
(More noises of approval as Pipp passes a mirror to Misty so she can fully take in the effect.)
Misty: (laughing) Yay! Yeah! Whoo!
(Returning the glass, she finds Izzy offering her a gold/violet/blue peacock-styled half-mask and tries it on.)
Zipp: So, are you in?
Misty: I’m in!
(Laughing, chattering, shouting ponies pile into the cockpit of the Marestream and it lifts off, wings extending and wheels tucking in before it zooms off to trace its rainbow contrail across the darkening sky. All except Zipp have their masks on as they board, but a cut to Izzy/Misty in the cabin reveals that they have removed theirs. Misty has already taken a seat, and Izzy and Sparky make themselves comfortable in like manner.)
Izzy: Ahhh, isn’t flying great? (Gasp; she pulls out a pair of homemade tinted goggles.) Watch this!
(She hoists herself up toward the nearest window; cut to just outside as she slides it open and shoves her head out, now wearing the lenses. The speed of the air rushing past peels her lips back from her teeth.)
Izzy: I CAN TASTE THE WIIIIIIND!!
(A half-crazed scream of joy escapes her throat as the vehicle barrels through the sky. Inside, Sparky throws a dirty look at Misty, cocking an eyebrow for good measure.)
Misty: (smiling timidly, waving) Hey there, Sparky. It’s okay. I won’t try to take you.
(She throws in the best reassuring giggle she can work up, but his grumble tells just how much he is not buying this. Izzy adds a searching stare, having removed her goggles and shut the window; cut to the uneasy blue face, then back to Izzy on the next line.)
Izzy: Are you two okay?
Misty: (hastily) I didn’t do anything! I swear!
Izzy: Okay… (to Sparky) Can you give us a minute, bud?
(A nod, and he has jumped down and cleared off with a laugh.)
Izzy: (touching Misty’s shoulder) It’s okay, Misty. I know what’s going on with you.
Misty: (really scared) You do?
Izzy: It’s as obvious as the horn on your head! You’re… (Big smile.) …nervous!
(The subject of this impromptu interrogation cringes mightily as if expecting a blow, but relaxes with a laugh once the words sink in fully.)
Misty: Oh, yeah. You got me. I’m nervous.
Izzy: Well, you don’t need to be. You just need to be you. (Misty hops off her seat.)
Misty: Not exactly sure that ponies like it when I’m just being me.
Izzy: Pssssh! (She follows suit with a scoff.) Come on! Of course they do, Misty.
Misty: What if I do something awkward?
Izzy: You won’t, but even if you do, nopony will know it’s you—because of masks!
(She claps hers on, presenting a full view of it for the first time—a thin blue/gold model across both eyes, with accents on the bridge of the nose to suggest a crystal amid forest vines. Around the right eye are three projections shaped as the heads of the pins in her cutie mark.)
Izzy: (British accent) Oh! Have you seen Izzy? (own voice) Now you try.
(So Misty pulls out and dons hers, prompting Izzy to feign puzzlement and look all over the cabin before turning to her.)
Izzy: Hmmm…hello there, stranger. If you see Misty, can you give her this charm bracelet I made for her? It has the cutie marks of her new friends on it.
(As she speaks, she pulls out this item and holds it up, the camera cutting between it, her, and Misty. It consists of five small gold-framed plaques in assorted shapes, each set with the mark of one member of Sunny’s group, and a metalwork butterfly. The six items are separated by small crystals, and the whole is held together by gold chain links.)
Misty: (taking it) For me? I…thank you.
(One eye behind the pincushion disguise winks before Sunny’s squeal rings out from the cockpit and she steps to the doorway without her mask.)
Sunny: Okay, everypony! I know you’ve all been waiting for me to teach you the moves for the unity dance I choreographed for us!
Izzy, Misty: (removing their masks) What’s a unity dance?
Sunny: (with a miffed scoff, holding up her phone) Seriously? It’s on the group text.
(On its screen is a video clip of her demonstrating a routine as an upbeat tune plays. By this point, Misty has clasped the charm bracelet around her left foreleg.)
Sunny: (on phone, spoken in rhythm) Canter, skip, double click
Sunny: Just imagine it. (putting it away) All three pony kinds, dancing together in perfect unison, at the Grand Hall of Zephyr Heights Palace!
Misty: (suddenly scared) I’m sorry, Sunny, but, um…I-I don’t think I can perform in front of other ponies.
Sunny: There’s no reason to be shy. This dance is about everypony working together and supporting each other. (foreleg across Misty’s shoulders) And it’s fun. Once we practice, you’ll be fine.
(The entire Marestream experiences a hard jolt; cut to a long overhead shot of a balcony at Zephyr Heights Palace as it touches down and the wings fold away. In close-up, Hitch is first to reach the doorway to the cabin, with Sparky riding shotgun; he, Pipp, and Zipp have all shed their masks.)
Hitch: (excitedly) We’re here! Let’s go! (He bounds across, then Zipp.)
Pipp: We ready to rock this red carpet? (Lively cheers from the others; she puts on her mask.) Mask up, everypony!
(All others but Sunny do so and head for the exit.)
Sunny: Wait! We need to rehearse! I-I can’t do a unity dance by myself!
(She scrambles out after them.)
Act Two
(Cut to a long shot of the royal edifice, the walkway to its front entrance highlighted with a long red carpet that is marked off by velvet ropes to either side. Zoom in slowly.)
Skye Silver: (voice over) Skye Silver here, at the grandest and glitziest Manesquerade Ball red carpet Zephyr Heights has ever seen.
(On these last few words, cut to him and his co-anchor Dazzle doing a broadcast on the scene. Both hold microphones and are positioned just past one edge of the carpet; a purple backdrop marked by a repeating wing/mask pattern stands at the other. Spectators are beginning to congregate. Both reporters’ wings can be seen in full for the first time—layered white/gold/blue for Dazzle, gray for Skye.)
Skye: Isn’t that right, Dazzle?
Dazzle: Yes, Skye. The first ZH ball to include all pony kinds of Equestria.
(Glory, Peach Fizz, and Seashell pop up in the fore, laughing and whistling, after which the camera cuts to a newly arrived mare posing for photographers.)
Skye: (from o.s.) What an historic event.
(Here come Jazz and Rocky, decked out in masks of their own—blue/green for her, purple/gold for him.)
Dazzle: Hi. Dazzle Feather, ZBS Tonight. What are you wearing, and who are you really?
Jazz: Only the best.
Rocky: And wouldn’t you like to know? (They move on.)
Dazzle: So true. I would like to know.
(An elevator rises to the level of the walk and disgorges Sunny and company, disguises in place and voicing a range of awestruck reactions. Sparky has donned a mask as well and is on Hitch’s back. As they make their way along the red carpet, Queen Haven, guards Thunder and Zoom, and Haven’s dog Cloudpuff swoop in from the sky and form a stately procession of their own. All four are masked—plan purple/gold ones for the guards, a sparkly one for the dog, a more ornate one with feathers and pink fur trim for the sovereign.)
Haven: How amazing is this, Cloudpuff? (whispering) Thanks to the masks, nopony knows who I am!
(She giggles, choosing to ignore the fact that she is wearing her full regalia. She and Cloudpuff stop in front of Dazzle and Skye, who bow.)
Skye: Excuse us, Your Majesty. May we ask a few questions for the red carpet?
Haven: Why are you bowing and calling me “Your Majesty”? (Cut briefly to the pair, puzzled, and back as she continues.) I’m sorry, but I don’t appreciate you assuming.
Dazzle: Oh, I’m so sorry, Queen.
(A few offended barks and a shake of the head from Cloudpuff, and she catches on and quickly shifts gears.)
Dazzle: I mean, whoever you are. It’s just so hard to tell who is who with everypony wearing masks.
Skye: You said it, Dazzle. I’m sure everypony at the Ball will be asking, “Who is this mysterious, stunning mare?” (Laugh.)
(Close-up of said mare on the end of this, reveling quietly in her supposed incognito status. Blowing out a relieved breath, she moves on with guards and pooch in tow.)
Sunny: What is she doing? (Pipp groans wearily.)
Pipp: Mom does this at the Ball every year. (brightly) Okay, team! Showtime!
(She is first to pose for the photographers, drawing cheers from the onlookers.)
Photog stallion: Over here! Over here!
Pipp: Oh, yeah!
Photog stallion: Who are you wearing, Princess Pipp?
(Cut to Glory/Peach/Seashell; the grown pegasus grabs the young earth pony’s phone and uses it to snap a photo of herself with them.)
Photog stallion: (from o.s.) You look iconic!
(Sunny and Izzy are next onto the firing line, the former waving to the cameras as the latter stretches a chummy foreleg across her shoulders and puckers up. Now it is Hitch’s turn, but Sparky hops down and starts to strut his stuff in close-up.)
Mare voice: A baby dragon on the red carpet? (Cut to the speaker, another photographer.) I can’t even! So cute!
(As the flashbulbs continue to pop, a startled squawk from Misty tells just how much they have caught her off guard. She falls in with Zipp, who is bringing up the rear.)
Misty: You mind if I trot back here with you so I’m not in any pictures?
Zipp: Why don’t you want to be photographed?
Misty: Uh…the same reason as you?
Zipp: Hm. Can’t argue with that.
(The group reaches the imposing entrance to the palace, the camera tilting up to frame the full height of one soaring tower. A dissolve and tilt down shifts the view to an immense chamber within, Sparky walking point for the six mares as they enter. They give fresh voice to their awe.)
Sunny: Wow.
(Cut to just behind them and zoom in slowly. They have arrived in the throne room, every one of its columns wrapped with strings of white lights and hung with banners and bunting. Mirrored disco balls hang from the ceiling, and knots of masked partygoers converse and dance here and there on the expansive floor. Night sky can be seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end, behind the dais that holds the thrones for Haven and her daughters.)
Izzy: Whoa! (Incredulous gasps; back to the group.) Hay fever happy berries! This is beautiful!
(On the second half of the previous line, cut to various spots among the gathering crowd. Misty gapes at the festive splendor on display.)
Misty: It really is!
(Sparky hustles across the room, zeroing in on a table of refreshments set up near one window, and the ponies are quick to catch up.)
Pipp: We have chocolate fountains… (Close-up of this item, panning to others as she continues o.s. and names them with escalating fervor.) …whipped cream waterfalls, peanut butter puddles… (Back to her.) …and my personal favorite…cookie towers!
(She aims a hoof at this last item, a multi-tiered tray of varied cookies and other small sweets. Hitch gasps with delight, snatches one up, dunks it in the liquid chocolate dribbling down the fountain, and swiftly chomps into it. However, a very funny look from Izzy freezes him in place before he can swallow.)
Izzy: Hitch! You did not just do that!
Hitch: (gasping, mouth full) Did I do something wrong?
Izzy: Uh, yes. (A quick pivot, and she has scooped up a white dollop on her horn and is smiling.) You forgot the whipped cream! Duh!
(With a practiced flick of her head, she lands it neatly on what remains of the treat. It ends up on his nose when he tosses the food into his mouth.)
Hitch: (mouth full) Mmm-mmm-mmm! I have never been so happy to be wrong.
(Across the way, Zipp gallops past behind Pipp and Misty while their backs are turned; the unicorn catches a glimpse of her movement and turns in that direction.)
Misty: Huh?
(Cut to Zipp, who has stopped for a quick look around herself; Misty peeks out from behind a column and spots her again.)
Misty: (to herself) What are you up to? Looking for information on Opaline?
(As the white pegasus walks away, she blows out a breath to steel herself and begins to follow. Somewhere farther back, Sunny has lined up the rest of the gang for a run-through of her unity dance routine. Hitch has finished off his snack and wiped the whipped cream off his nose.)
Sunny: One more time.
(spoken in rhythm) It’s canter, skip, double click,
Hoof it up, a twirly shift.
(Accompanied by the following moves. Tap both right hooves on the floor; jump toward that side; lift both left legs and shake them out sideways; put those hooves back down and jump, rotating the body a quarter-turn. Her demonstration is met by a garbled mishmash of three ponies and one dragon trying to repeat the words back to her and a hopelessly uncoordinated attempt to replicate the steps. It ends with Hitch knocking Pipp over and landing on his own haunches.)
Sunny: Seriously? Ugh! That is nothing like what I said! (Irritated sigh.) Let me show you again.
(Cut to Alphabittle Blossomforth, his eyes hidden behind a violet mask with gold accents and his horn levitating two glasses of punch as he crosses the floor. He stops before the dais, where Haven sits on her central throne; Cloudpuff is eating a Snackerdoodle at her side.)
Alphabittle: A glass of punch for the Queen of the palace. (She gasps.)
Haven: Who, me? (softly, stepping off) Shh! Obviously you recognize me when nopony else does. (Descending the ramp, she takes a glass.)
Alphabittle: Wait. You think that—
Haven: Absolutely! Only my closest friends and family ever know it’s me while I’m masquerading.
Alphabittle: (dryly, chuckling) Really?
Haven: (nodding) Mmm-hmm!
Alphabittle: Oh! Uh, you’re serious. (softly) I’m so sorry for blowing your cover.
Haven: (leading him to one side) No apologies needed, Alphie. Nopony heard. But since we share secrets, could I ask you a friendly favor?
Alphabittle: (nodding) Mmm-hmm. Of course.
Haven: (conspiratorially) Don’t tell anypony who I am.
Alphabittle: Yes indeed, Your Maj—I mean, yes, whoever you are— (clinking his glass against hers) —mysterious young mare.
Haven: (raising hers) And I will “cheers” to that.
(Close-up of the two glasses being tapped together again in time with their laughter from o.s. After they have been pulled back out of sight, the focus shifts to a door behind the dais and the camera cuts to an empty corridor. Zipp advances around a corner and into view.)
Zipp: Hmmm…
(She reaches a closed set of frosted glass double doors marked with a gold silhouette of the palace, on which a sun and open book are superimposed. A hoof scanner is set into the wall nearby; above this is a small sign.)
Zipp: Hmmm? (reading a sign) “Royal Library Archives. Authorized Ponies Only”?
(Cut to and from a close-up of the sign as she speaks; it presents a pictogram of a crown-topped horseshoe.)
Zipp: (snickering) Who’s more authorized than a princess?
(After checking to verify that she is alone, she puts one front hoof up against the scanner and is rewarded with a green flash and a beep before the doors swing inward. A broad aisle splits the library in two; each half is lined with shelves of books, and one more rack stands before the large window at the far end of the room. Zipp ambles in and so does not spot Misty peeking into view from around the same corner in the corridor. The timid mare gasps softly and gets her hooves moving at high speed, very nearly losing traction on the slick marble floor. She makes the turn into the library as the doors start to close, gets caught between them for a moment, but gets herself all the way inside as they slam back into place.)
(Inside, Zipp pops her head into view in close-up, having traded her mask for her multi-function visor. Cut to her perspective, her attention shifting upward shelf by shelf on the section directly in front of her until she reaches the topmost one.)
Zipp: That’s what I’m talking about. Enhance!
(The view zooms in on this portion as an exclamation point appears above it; back to her, flying up to the shelf.)
Zipp: (checking books/titles) Magic for Ponies…History of Zephyr Heights, Tenth Edition…The Unexpurgated Book of Unicorns and Their Diets…huh? Well, that’s weirdly specific.
(She drops out of sight, while Misty hurries through a junction and slows to take in the sheer volume of literature surrounding her.)
Misty: Wow! I didn’t even know Equestria had this many books.
(The first one she pulls off a shelf stirs up a noticeable amount of dust, having evidently stood undisturbed for quite some time.)
Misty: Apparently nopony else did, either.
(Her effort to blow the cover clean sends up enough particulates to trigger a violent sneeze, which leads to her dropping the book and sliding backward.)
Misty: Whoa!
(She hits another set of shelves with her back, bringing several volumes down—one of which, visibly thicker than the others, bonks her over the head.)
Misty: Ow!
(Close-up of this one; a gasp from o.s., and the camera shifts to her perspective of the front cover as she picks it up. The central portion presents a unicorn mare standing on a mountain peak; above her is the silhouette of a castle, below, a faceless image of Princess Celestia with wings fully spread.)
Misty: Alicorns of the Ancient World? (Cut to her, removing her mask.) I bet Opaline would reward me for something like this!
(Zipp touches down just behind her in the main aisle, the impact of hooves on carpet eliciting an alarmed shriek and causing her to drop the book.)
Zipp: Misty?
(Dyed forelegs that had once been blue slam another tome down on top to hide it; the pony attached to them throws a big silly grin back over her shoulder.)
Zipp: Did you…follow me? (She pulls off her visor.)
Misty: Uh, me? I-I’m not a follower. Heh. Just because we’re in the same place doesn’t mean I followed you.
Zipp: But you did follow me.
Misty: (deflating) All right, I did. I-I’m just freaked out by massive herds of ponies, so I thought I could follow the other pony friend I know that doesn’t also dig crowds?
Zipp: Hmmm…true. We do have that in common.
Misty: (smiling) That’s a reason to trust me, right?
Zipp: (suddenly suspicious) Why is it so important for me to trust you?
(Misty shudders audibly and can come up with no immediate response.)
Zipp: Cut the hay, Misty! (Who is now standing up and begins to back away as Zipp advances.) You’ve been acting strange since day one.
Misty: Uh, I… (Zipp’s perspective of her, then Zipp herself, on the next line.)
Zipp: My instincts are never off! Well, not usually. Sometimes they are—but not often! I have a pretty good track record. (catching herself) W-Whatever! Look, the point is—what are you hiding? Hmm?
(By now, she has forced Misty to retreat all the way to the shelves at the window.)
Misty: Uh… (Close-up; zoom in slowly.) …okay, fine! I’ll—I’ll come clean. I, uh, I…
Zipp: (jabbing a hoof at her) Hmm?
Misty: I…don’t have a cutie mark!
(She reaches back and brushes away the butterfly on her haunch, leaving not so much as a speck of blue ink. Zoom in to an extreme close-up of the spot.)
Act Three
(Zipp’s reaction is a sharp gasp.)
Misty: I know. It’s shocking, and the truth is, I’ve never had one. (Another gasp from the detective.)
Zipp: I knew it! Well, I didn’t know that, but I knew there was something different about you.
Misty: But different’s not bad…right?
Zipp: No way! Different’s awesome! But… (Happy sigh.) …I was right.
Misty: Yep, your instincts were spot on.
Zipp: Boom-zippity! Detective skills on point! (relenting) Sorry. Didn’t mean to rub it in. But why didn’t you just tell us?
Misty: (voice breaking) Well, I figured if you all knew, you wouldn’t want to be my friends. (She gallops off, sobbing.)
Zipp: Wait! (She quickly pulls even.)
Misty: It’s okay! You don’t have to say it! I’ll just leave, and then— (Zipp slams on the brakes.)
Zipp: You can’t! (Misty does likewise and calms down.) We need you!
Misty: You do?
Zipp: Yes. (jumping closer, poking her gently) We need you to stay because we like you, Misty, cutie mark or not. And you know what? We’re all different in our own way, but it’s our differences that make us who we are. (jumping ahead of Misty; zoom in slowly) I mean, how boring would that be if we were all the same? That’s what makes friendship so cool.
Misty: Really?
Zipp: Super-really. Just maybe cut back on the whole “keeping big secrets” thing?
Misty: That is something I could do.
Zipp: And I’ll work on the whole “being suspicious of you” thing.
(Zoom out as she lifts a front hoof and Misty taps one of her own against it for a high five.)
Misty: (laughing) So if we aren’t keeping secrets anymore, then I think I should show you this.
(She darts off to the side, extracts the book that brained her from its impromptu hiding place, and passes it off to Zipp. Cut to the princess’ perspective of the cover.)
Zipp: (gasping in disbelief) Alicorns of the Ancient World? (Both again.) Where did you find this?
Misty: (chuckling) Uh, it sort of found me. Actually, it fell on me.
(Her casual laugh and scratch at the side of her head are interrupted by the sound of the doors opening. On the start of the next line, cut to Pipp at the threshold, without her mask; Zipp swiftly dumps the weighty literature on the floor.)
Pipp: There you all are! What are you doing? (flying in) Come on! Sunny is trying to teach us—
Misty: (panicked) The dance!
Pipp: (pulling out her phone) Yes, and she’s freaking out because we are running out of time to rehearse!
(A nostalgic smile sweeps across her face in the time it takes her to glance off to one side.)
Pipp: Awww, look! (flying up to a shelf, snapping pictures) All of my old Spooky Stables books! Awww… (Touch down at the doors, instantly all business again.) Anyway, are you guys coming or what? (Exit.)
Zipp: What do you say, Misty? Are you down to go do a dance we don’t know?
Misty: In front of everypony? I’ll make a fool out of myself.
Zipp: At least we’d be fools together?
Misty: But I don’t know any of the moves!
Zipp: (hopping closer) Let me let you in on a little secret. (whispering) None of us do!
(Giggling, she flaps around a corner and returns on hoof a moment later with her mask on and carrying Misty’s.)
Zipp: (passing it over) Let’s just make it up as we go.
(She and Misty trade laughs as she heads for the doors but abruptly doubles back. Close-up of the book.)
Zipp: (from o.s., picking it up) Whoops. (The pair again; she slides it under a wing and Misty masks herself.) Can’t forget this.
(They emerge into the corridor, the doors swinging to behind them. Cut to them re-entering the Grand Hall; Sunny and Hitch are over by the windows, the mare pacing worriedly and Sparky on the stallion’s back.)
Hitch: Now come on, Sunny. It’s not that bad.
Sunny: You’re right. (Shaky giggle.) It’s fine. We’re just about to perform a unity dance that will be completely un-unified!
Hitch: (scratching head) I guess when you put it like that, it doesn’t sound ideal.
(Close-up of a countertop across from them, the camera aimed just over it toward the rest of the crowd. On the next line, Izzy stands up into view on its far side and plunks down a home-built set of DJ turntables. The housing is made of wood, and the controls consist of brightly colored buttons, bits, and bobs.)
Izzy: Ta-daaaa!
(A longer shot reveals that she is standing across from Jazz and Rocky, and that the counter is flanked by a pair of stereo speakers.)
Jazz: Now that’s what I call a DJ deck!
Rocky: (nodding) Me too!
Izzy: Really! I call it a disco platter. Ha! Must be a unicorn thing.
Rocky: So what do you want us to do?
Izzy: Simple. You two bring the grooves, and we’ll sing the moves. Ooh!
(Seeing confusion on both faces, she leans in over the decks.)
Izzy: (whispering) That means “play our song and we’ll dance to it.” (Jazz and Rocky smile.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Ready, Izzy? (Longer shot: she waves from across the floor.)
Izzy: Ooh! That must be your cue! (She whips away.)
Jazz: Hit it, Rocky!
Rocky: You got it, Jazz!
Hip-hop percussion line with record scratches, moderate 4
(He gives a quick scratch to one turntable, Jazz waves her forelegs in a “take it away” gesture off to her right, and the camera pans quickly in that direction to stop on Thunder and Zoom. The blue pegasus has procured a tablet and gives its screen a tap; tilt up quickly to one of the disco balls, which begins to rotate slowly in response and throw roving reflections all over the room.)
Sunny: (flustered) Wait! It’s starting? N-N-N-No, we’re not ready! We don’t have everypony!
Synthesizer in (D minor)
Izzy: Ohhhh, was that not the cue?
Sunny: NO! It’s not time yet!
Izzy: Whoops. Guess it is now! (pulling out a microphone) Don’t worry, Sunny. We got this.
(In a blink, she has moved to the center of the floor and is speaking into the device.)
Izzy: (amplified) What up, what up, Manesquerade Ball?
(She briefly mimics a stuttering airhorn, in time with a real one sounding off in the background, and twirls the mic in her aura.)
Izzy: (amplified) Everypony clear the dance floor for something that will blow you away! (softly, as if echoing) Away…
Sunny: (whispering) Izzy, this is a bad idea!
Izzy: (likewise, off mic) But it’s happening. (normal volume, on mic, taking it in hoof, amplified) And now, our special performance of the Electric Unity Shuffle!
(Her field grips the mic again as Hitch sidles over with Sparky riding. Sunny looks to be about one hard sneeze away from a full nervous breakdown.)
Sunny: What do we do? This isn’t the message of unity I wanted to send! (Close-up of her and Hitch on the next line.)
Hitch: Don’t worry, Sunny. They’ll follow your lead. They always do. (Zoom out to frame Izzy on the following, no longer holding the mic.)
Izzy: What is the first move again?
Sunny: (sighing) It goes like this.
(The would-be choreographer steps resolutely to a clear patch of floor, where a bright yellow spotlight picks her out. She does the sequence of steps she tried to lead the others through in Act Two and gets a genuine confidence boost when first Pipp and then Izzy fall in to either side, matching the moves that follow. The pegasus gets a pink spot, the unicorn a blue-violet one.)
Sunny: Somepony give me a shimmy, somepony give me a shake
(Hitch joins the formation, in a yellow-green spot.)
Give me a twist and shout, and just feel the bass
Sunny, Izzy, Pipp: Hey, hey
(Pipp takes her groove into the air.)
Pipp: Come on and let your mane down, yeah, pony, play
A cappella for second half of next line only
Izzy: You gotta show me how you work it today
All four: Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Hitch: Shake it, shake it, shake it
(A nudge from Zipp sends Misty to the line; illuminated by a blue spotlight, she finds herself being twirled by Sunny.)
Sunny: Shake loose, bust a hoof, show me your pony moves
You gotta let your mane down, yeah, let it sway
Pipp: Sway
Hitch: You gotta show me how you’re slayin’ today
Bass drum only for four beats, then a cappella for four
Izzy, Pipp: Dance, feel the rhythm, everypony move your hooves
Sunny: (spoken) Ow!
Full instrumentation in
(Izzy swipes a hoof across the screen, smearing a rainbow trail that fills it briefly and clears to show Zipp now part of the troupe, spotlit in red.)
All six: Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Izzy, Misty: (spoken in rhythm) Shake it, shake it, shake it
(Thunder and Zoom bob their heads to the beat; Sparky is no longer on Hitch’s back.)
All six: Shake loose, bust a hoof, show me your pony moves
(Jazz waves her forelegs in time as Rocky works the turntables.)
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
(Cloudpuff tries a hop or two, while Sparky does a bit of breakdancing.)
(spoken in rhythm) Shake it, shake it, shake it
Bass drum only, with sparse staccato synth chords
(Cut to Alphabittle and Haven, watching from the back of the cheering crowd, and zoom in. They have disposed of the punch they were drinking in Act Two.)
Haven: You know what this reminds me of?
Alphabittle: (hopping in place) My amazing dance skills on Just Prance?
Haven: (laughing, thumping his foreleg) No.
(Recall that Just Prance was the dancing rhythm game at which Sunny defeated Alphabittle to win the Unicorn Crystal in A New Generation.)
Full instrumentation in
Haven: Reminds me of my Pipp and Zipp. (Sigh.) The palace just feels so empty without them.
Alphabittle: (pointing ahead) Isn’t that them?
Haven: (peering out) My hoofness!
(Cut to the siblings twirling around each other in midair.)
Haven: (from o.s.) You’re right! YOU GO, GIRLS!
(Back to her and Alphabittle on the end of this, then cut to the ground-pounding contingent for a moment. The Queen needs no urging beyond a firm nod from the stocky unicorn to follow him into the thick of it.)
Bass drum only, with sparse staccato synth chords
All six: Dance, feel the rhythm, everypony’s got the moves
Pipp: Oh, yeah
(Misty deploys her phone to get a photo of herself within this energetic spectacle.)
All six: Dance, feel the rhythm
A cappella
Everypony move your hooves
Song ends
(They and Sparky strike and hold a final tableau pose to the sound of thunderous cheering, and Sunny throws in a wolf howl as a final fillip. The glare of a flashbulb whites out the screen for an instant, and she laughs exultantly as the camera zooms out quickly on the next line to frame the image as being on the screen of Pipp’s phone. The entire group has returned to the Brighthouse and removed their masks, but not any of the other accoutrements they picked up at Mane Melody. They are gathered around a table near the fireplace, where Zipp has placed the book Misty unearthed. Sparky has also shed his bow tie.)
Hitch: This video is ridiculous!
Izzy: Ridiculously awesome! (Pipp laughs; cut to Misty leaving her seat.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Just like us.
(The blue unicorn stops a few paces away and faces the table with a quiet sigh.)
Misty: Well, I should probably be getting back home. Thank you all so much for inviting me.
Pipp: No sweat! We had a total ball with you, Misty.
(She and Sparky snicker over the bad pun, but stop upon realizing that they are the only ones doing so.)
Pipp: (sheepishly) ’C-Cause literally. (Misty laughs; the others swarm toward her for a…)
All but Misty: Awww, group hug!
(Misty utters a sigh of purest contentment as the embrace breaks up.)
Misty: Thanks, Zipp—for saying that I was your friend.
Zipp: Well, you are. Come visit anytime. Maybe we can even research alicorns together?
Misty: I’d like that.
(And with that, she takes her leave. Cut to a long shot of Opaline’s castle, zooming in slowly, then to a glum-faced Misty sitting in the throne room. She has cleaned off all the makeup, fur dye, glitter, and horn paint, but is still wearing the charm bracelet Izzy gave her. The opening of the doors brings her upright; cut to Opaline’s approaching hooves and tilt up to her face on the following.)
Opaline: Well, well, well. You followed my instructions. I’m impressed.
Misty: You are?
Opaline: But not as impressed as you will be when you see what I’ve acquired.
(Cut briefly to the smaller mare’s wondering face during the previous; after Opaline finishes, she pulls out the Dragon Stone she sought and holds it triumphantly aloft.)
Opaline: Behold!
(Close-up of the artifact, tracking around it.)
Opaline: (from o.s.) The Dragon Stone! Bask in its glory! (Misty gasps.)
Misty: Whoo! Wooooow! (Both again.)
Opaline: (lowering it, pacing) Okay, calm down. That’s too much basking. Don’t get too excited. We still need to charge it, so we still need dragon fire.
Misty: (breath catching in throat) Fire! Ohhh…yeah. I’m sorry I haven’t seen that baby dragon again recently. So sorry. (Opaline stashes the stone.)
Opaline: (icily, walking out) Not as sorry as I am.
(Her magic opens the doors to let her exit and then slams them shut. Once alone, the underling sits again and brings out her phone; a tap on the screen sets her to smiling and laughing as the last line of the group’s song plays out.)
Voice of all six: Everypony move your hooves
(A close-up of the cracked glass shows that she has pulled up the photo she took of herself and the others during the Ball. Her o.s. wistful sigh is heard before the camera cuts to the exterior of the Brighthouse under a tranquil nighttime sky. Zoom in slowly and dissolve to an overhead shot of Zipp’s portion of the shared bedroom; the zoom continues as she types at her laptop and Sparky gnaws at the back cover of the book. Close-up of the little guy.)
Zipp: (from o.s., taking it from him) Hey, buddy, that’s mine!
(He whimpers sadly; cut to her opening it and uttering a surprised gasp over the text.)
Zipp: (pacing, sitting) Now we’re getting somewhere.
(A page turn shifts her mood from anticipation to befuddlement.)
Zipp: Hmm?
(Out with her magical magnifying glass; cut to her perspective, focused on the joining of leaves to spine. Through the lens, a thin tongue of paper can just barely be seen protruding upward between them.)
Zipp: Pages ripped out? (Back to her, lowering the device.) Looks fresh. (glaring at Sparky) Hmmm…
(The toddler offers a “not me” gabble and head shake; cut to Zipp’s perspective of the book again, zooming in slowly. Back to her on the following.)
Zipp: It’s almost like somepony didn’t want me to find what was on them. Hmmm…
(Cut to Misty’s bedroom within Opaline’s castle and zoom in slowly on her. She is sitting on the bed, staring intently down at something hidden from view by the pillow and blanket. A shaft of light from the corridor outside illuminates her, shining in through the o.s. open door. The sound of approaching steps startles a gasp from her lips, and once she claps eyes on a shadow advancing from down the way, she shifts her pillow to cover the whatever-it-is she has been scrutinizing. On the start of the next line, cut to Opaline standing in the doorway and running a hoof along one edge to stir up a wisp of dust.)
Opaline: My evilness, Misty! It’s a pigsty in here! Clean it up!
(After she storms out, the hapless unicorn moves the pillow and the camera cuts to her perspective of the hidden item—or items, in this case. One is her phone, still showing the live group photo; the other is a thin stack of book pages, no doubt excised by her. Her focus shifts from the latter to the former, and in close-up, she looks at her bracelet and sighs heavily as the question of where to place her loyalties weighs on her mind anew.)