FAMILY TREES—PART TWO
Written by Laura Zak
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: Aside from any previously named characters, all mentions of ponies in
Bridlewood refer to unicorns.
Lines preceded/followed by two asterisks (**) are very nearly intelligible as
delivered by a non-pony speaker.
Prologue
(Opening shot: a long shot of the Wishing Tree in Bridlewood at night. Leaves, bark, flowers, surrounding crystal outcrops, and the ramp leading up the roots toward the entrance to the Night Market within all glow warmly during a slow zoom in. Inside, the camera tilts down from the upper reaches of the immense space to follow a few Breezies toward a busy cluster of stalls. Hitch Trailblazer stands among these with Sparky Sparkeroni on his back, looking around himself, and Zipp Storm hovers up into view in the fore. Recall that during Part One, Misty had become separated from the Maretime Bay contingent after they entered the Market.)
Zipp: Huh. (flying across) Hmmm… (landing by Hitch) Any sign of Misty? She just disappeared!
Hitch: Not yet, but it is tricky to spot a unicorn in…
(Zoom out quickly to frame the multitude of locals who have come in to do a bit of shopping.)
Hitch: (dryly) …a market full of unicorns.
Pipp Petals: (hurrying to them, carrying a macaron) No luck at the macaron stand either.
(She chomps down the whole treat in one bite, earning a hairy eyeball from her sister.)
Pipp: (mouth full) What? (Swallow.) It was a free sample.
Sunny Starscout: (crossing to them with Izzy Moonbow) Izzy and I tried to trot around the whole Night Market—
Izzy: —but this place goes on forever! I still can’t believe this all fits inside the Wishing Tree.
Zipp: Hmmm… (She pops up to hover.) …where could that pony be?
(The camera quickly zooms out a short distance before the view snaps to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to the moon hanging low in the sky as a clouded crescent and tilt down to the fog-shrouded ground. Misty advances cautiously into view, wearing the key she received in Part One, Act Three on its cord around her neck. It is no longer glowing as it did then.)
Misty: Okay, just stay calm.
(She unhooks the key from the cord and inspects it.)
Misty: Just because this seems exactly like my dream doesn’t mean it has to end the same way. I just need to find that magic door. Then maybe I’ll remember where I came from. (The key is hooked back on; she gathers herself.) Fine. One more time.
(In her first dream of Part One, she had seen a pair of wooden doors built into the side of the Tree, whose design matched that of the key’s head. She closes her eyes, blows out a breath in close-up, and begins to concentrate fiercely. Zoom in quickly on her resolute countenance, the view fading to white and then quickly in to her dream-filly self—no charm bracelet on her foreleg, mane/tail in their original blue/green coloration—standing up in a patch of mist. She gazes up and up and up along the Tree’s sprawling height in a shot from her perspective.)
Filly MI: Wow!
(Back to her, noticing the gleam among the roots that marks the doors’ location and gasping softly.)
Filly MI: (circling around trunk) Where’d that come from?
(She reaches out to touch them, but a rustle in the underbrush spooks her into withdrawing her hoof and wheeling to face the thickening murk.)
Filly MI: Huh?
(Just as in that first dream, a large and indistinct silhouette begins to emerge, frightening her into a shrill scream of terror. Zoom in quickly on her open mouth, the view fading to white and quickly in to present-day Misty.)
Misty: No!
(As she presses a hoof to her temple in an attempt to massage her brain back into drive, a Breezie’s tuneless singing asserts itself in the quiet. The little vocalist flits lazily past above the grass, carrying a glowing acorn suspended on the end of a stick for a lantern. Misty gasps happily at the sight and trots over.)
Misty: Pardon me! (Startled exclamation; she continues in a quieter tone.) Um, hello. I was wondering if you know of any doors around here?
(A bit of thought, and it blabbers cheerfully in the affirmative.)
Misty: You do?
(It pivots with a few more words and darts ahead; she grunts in surprise and begins galloping like mad to keep up.)
Misty: Wait! If you could just—
(But “slow down” are evidently two words missing from this Breezie’s vocabulary. After some seconds of this high-speed charge, it slams on the brakes and whirls to face her, giving a big smile and cheerful shout and scaring the daylights out of her.)
Misty: Whoa!
(Unable to stop in time, she trips over a tree root and makes a very hard belly landing on the dirt, taking a moment to stand back up.)
Misty: Yeesh! Those little guys can really fly!
(Her guide speaks briefly and swoops upward, stopping near the upper edge of the moss on one root, several feet above the ground.)
Misty: (dumbfounded) This is it? But…where’s the door?
(After a bit of puzzled mumbling, the Breezie gains a bit more altitude and stops at a tiny, light-festooned doorway set into the trunk—perfectly sized for its minuscule stature.)
Breezie: ** Bye-bye! **
(It zips briefly inside to put the lantern away; that done, it peeks out in time to catch Misty’s deflated sigh.)
Misty: Thanks anyway. (turning away) But that’s not the door I was looking for.
(Following a bit of audible rumination from the tiny equine, the camera cuts to Misty’s perspective and it hangs its head into view upside down. The next camera angle frames both, the Breezie dangling from her forelock and holding its lantern again; she brightens at the sight as it lets go and hovers.)
Misty: But you can help me with something else. (It queries her.) How do I get back into the Market? I got a little lost. I think I’ve been gone a long time. My friends must be worried.
(It responds with a cheer and laugh, flitting away, and she turns to follow. Dissolve to Sunny and company gathering in the Market.)
Zipp: (touching down from a flight) Okay, everypony, get your hooves in the game. (Close-up.) I’m worried I’ll miss a critical clue about Misty’s visions if I’m away from her for too long, and I can’t—
Sunny: (from o.s.) Zipp! (She steps into view.) That isn’t important right now! Misty is still just learning her way around Bridlewood. What if she got lost? (Cut to Hitch on the next line.)
Hitch: It wouldn’t be hard to do in a place like this. (looking around himself) In fact, I think I’m lost. Where am I?
Izzy: I’ve lived here all my life, and even I’m all…
(A series of goofy spins, noises, and tongue-lolling facial expressions do a far better job of finishing that thought than words ever could. Now Pipp checks her phone but gets only a buzz for her trouble.)
Pipp: Too bad I still don’t have any service. My Pippsqueaks can find anything or anypony!
(Another buzz as the screen displays a “no reception” icon. Her head snaps up at the sound of tiny eager voices, whose Breezie owners loop into view and make a beeline for the device.)
Pipp: Again?!? I told you Breezies, this isn’t magic! (They fall silent.) It’s just the latest and greatest in pony tech.
(“This isn’t magic” is marked by a brief cut to the two aviators as she briefly thrusts the phone toward them. Once she finishes, they start babbling all over again and trying to grab it away; she groans wearily to herself and moves it out of reach, only to be swarmed by quite a few more newly minted technophiles. Away she goes, making her displeasure quite audible, as the others hurry after her on hoof and wing. The camera zooms in slowly on a stall behind them, displaying an assortment of fossils large and small, then cuts to Sparky as he begins to wake up from his latest nap on Hitch’s back. His attention fixes itself on a stone slab marked by the impression of a large foot with clawed toes, and his eyes widen until the pupils nearly fill their sockets.)
(Zoom in quickly on one and cut to a lush expanse of tropical jungle land. Birds sing happily in the trees before the ground begins to shake with the sound of immense approaching footfalls, the water in a pond rippling in time. The birds vacate their perch before the camera cuts to a patch of ground and one heavy, scaly foot walks past to leave its print—a good match for the one Sparky noticed. A low growl is heard from the owner. Zoom out slowly and snap to black, which resolves into his pupil during a faster such zoom. He tenses up, sniffing the air and ready to leap off Hitch’s back, and all stop. Pipp has lifted off in a futile attempt to keep the Breezies away from her phone.)
Hitch: Sparky? What is it, little bud? (He hops down and scurries back to the stall.) I haven’t seen him move like that since before Opaline drained him! Maybe he found something!
(A disgruntled Pipp, having now landed, shakes the Breezies away and slips her phone under a wing as the group hurries in. They find Sparky standing before the footprint.)
Hitch: Huh? These don’t look magical or healing.
Pipp: Yeah, what the hay? It’s just a bunch of old rocks.
(This comment earns her a vigorous tongue-lashing from the Breezie in charge.)
Sunny: Oh, I think we offended her.
Hitch: (woodenly) Yes. Yes, we did.
Pipp: Oops. Sorry. (pulling out her phone) Can I make it up to you with a little bit of…this?
(Close-up of the proprietor on this last word, who pushes it contemptuously away.)
Pipp: Hey!
Hitch: Wait, no! (Pipp slips it away.) She’s trying to tell us something.
(The counter; she points out one object after another, adding increasingly animated commentary.)
Hitch: (from o.s.) She says these aren’t just any rocks, they’re ancient fossils. (To Sparky and the slab as he continues.) And that’s the fossil of…a dragon print!
(Back to the group, every pony face going popeyed and slack-jawed with pure shock. He adds a gasp for good measure.)
Hitch: A dragon print?!
Sunny: (pointing) Wow! Look!
(As Sparky hugs as much of the stone as he can, the grooves running among his stubby horns and across their surfaces begin to glow yellow-green.)
Izzy: (hunching down to him) The fossil’s lighting him up!
Zipp: Maybe we need to get him around more dragon things!
Sunny: You’re right! (to Hitch) Maybe he’s been away from other dragons for too long—
Zipp: —and the only way to fully cure him is to get him back with his kind! (Cut to Izzy and Sparky on this last word, the light fading after a moment.)
Izzy: Hmmm…I know I said Bridlewood has everything, but, uh… (She puts him on her back.) —you won’t find dragons here. (Laugh.) Except Sparky, of course.
(Hitch laughs and runs a hoof over the tough green scalp, but his good cheer yields to a heavy sigh.)
Hitch: At least we know what will help him now. That’s good news.
Sunny: Then why do you seem upset? (Zoom in slowly.)
Hitch: It’s just that…I always knew I’d have to say goodbye to him one day. But that day might be sooner than I thought.
(The little dragon burbles contentedly up at him as Zipp touches down.)
Zipp: Hey, you never know. Maybe not. (Close-up.) We’ll figure something out. (with new determination) But first, I need everypony to focus on tracking down Misty!
(The intensity of her mood is promptly wrecked by a round of gasps from the others’ general direction; cut to them, mouth stretching into gobsmacked smiles, then back to Zipp.)
Zipp: Why are you looking at me like that?
(The answer emerges into view from behind as she finishes—Misty, flanked by her lantern-carrying guide—and now it is her turn to register surprise when she turns to see.)
Zipp: Huh?! (The whole group on the next line.)
Sunny: Oh, Misty!
Hitch: We looked all over!
Pipp: Where’d you go?
Izzy: Thank the moons!
Misty: (sighing with relief, waving guide away) I was worried you might have gone back to Maretime Bay without me.
Sunny: We would never do that. (Zipp leans into Misty’s face, all business.)
Zipp: Where did you go? Was it another vision?
Misty: Well—
Zipp: Did you find something?
Misty: I—
Zipp: (pointing at key) What’s that key you’re carrying?
Sunny: (gently pushing Zipp back) Zipp! Give her some space.
Zipp: (relenting) You’re right. Sorry. I…
(She lets her forelegs finish the thought by wrapping them around the prodigal unicorn in a gentle hug.)
Misty: Uhhh…
Zipp: I was really worried.
Misty: (smiling) Aw, Zipp… (They pull apart; she unhooks and holds up her key as she continues.) A Breezie gave me this special key.
(Sunny takes it. On the next line, cut to her perspective of it and zoom in slowly, then to her and the rest of the Maretime Bay bunch.)
Sunny: I think I’ve seen these patterns before. They’re old, but I don’t know what they mean. (Zipp pulls out her magical magnifying glass to study it.)
Misty: (from o.s.) I think… (Cut to her.) …it has something to do with…home. I thought that maybe if I could just find the door it goes to, I’d find some answers about my past— (deflating a bit) —and my family.
(Cut briefly to/from the others on this last sentence, Zipp putting her magnifier away.)
Zipp: (now o.s., eagerly) Well? (Cut to her; Sparky clambers down off Izzy’s back.) Did you find anything? (Back to Misty, framed from the neck up.)
Misty: No.
(She starts in surprise at the reptilian gurgle drifting up from floor level, and a longer shot reveals that Sparky is hugging her foreleg with gusto and getting her to smile again.)
Misty: Sparky?! (to the group) You found a cure for him?
Hitch: Only a temporary one. I think the only thing that will really heal him is finding his family.
(Cut to the infant on this line; after he finishes, she reaches over with her other foreleg to stroke his head gently. The camera shifts to her on the next words.)
Misty: I know how you feel, buddy. (To Sunny and company on the following.)
Sunny: We can help! Come on, everypony! (holding key up) Let’s find that door!
Quiet piano melody, moderate 4 (E flat major)
Bass drum, softly picked electric guitar in after two bars
Background lyrics are in square brackets
Voice: (faint, echoing) [When you’re with your friends, you’re with your family]
(Cut to a long shot of Alphabittle Blossomforth and Queen Haven walking side by side on an upper level of the Market and tilt down. Misty shows her key to a couple of Breezies, who shrug and shake their heads—no help here.)
Misty: What is the key to a family? [Oh, oh]
(Hook it on her neck cord and go on to the fossil stall.)
What is the key to a home?
(Sunny and Zipp investigate some loose doors, the latter using her glass; Misty holds the key up against another one, then shakes her head.)
What is the part that I’m missing [Oh, oh]
To help me find where I belong?
(As the pegasus flies out of the Market and o.s., the view wipes behind her to a close-up of Hitch going through the items at the fossil stall. He gives up after a moment and moves on, Sparky riding on his back.)
Hitch: I’m searching, I’m looking for something
Something that comes from the heart [from the heart]
(As Misty plods glumly ahead, Sparky sees a pair of Breezies exhaling glowing, sparkling clouds into the air and is positively enthralled by the display.)
’Cause sometimes you need something to lift you up
And help to reignite your spark
Drums, tambourine in
(The next double burst fills the screen and subsides to show Hitch and a considerably more chipper Misty leaping toward each other.)
Hitch, Misty: ’Cause I’ve got you and you’ve got me
(They bound away; elsewhere, Sunny keeps a lookout and Zipp arcs above the Tree, wearing her high-tech visor to scan the area.)
’Cause when you’re with your friends, yeah, you’re with your
family
(Izzy and Pipp peruse an array of stuffed toys; Izzy offers some to Sparky, now sitting on the floor, but he shakes his head. The two mares are disheartened at the rejection, but the dragon instantly brightens once Hitch returns and lets himself be scooped onto the Sheriff’s back.)
Keep ’em in your heart, ’cause that is the key
Oh, when you’re with your friends, yeah, you’re with your family
I’ve got you and you’ve got me
’Cause we aren’t just friends, no, we’re a family
(A flare of pale blue light from Misty’s key, now held up by her, shifts the view to Zipp. She pulls into a hover and removes her visor, high above the Tree’s clearing, but a vine-choked niche among the roots catches her attention and she dives for it.)
When you’re feeling lonely or incomplete
Don’t forget about your friends, yeah, they’re your family
(She begins to clear away the overgrowth, the camera shifting a head-on view through it just in time for the white face to split in a triumphant smile. Meanwhile, the other five ponies and one dragon converge on a spot within the Market. Misty has again hung the key around her neck.)
Hitch, Misty: [Oh-h-h] Oh-h, oh, oh, oh
’Cause when you’re with your friends, yeah, you’re with your
family
Song ends
Act Two
(Sparky chooses this moment to doze off, concerning Hitch.)
Hitch: The dragon fossil helped him, but I don’t think it was enough.
Misty: (crossing to him) Hitch, I’m so sorry for letting Sparky get hurt. I’ll never forgive myself.
Hitch: Well, I forgive you, Misty. I’ve seen how good your heart is. And, well, even if you don’t find what you’re looking for, we could be your family.
Misty: (smiling) You mean it?
Izzy: Of course! I’ve always wanted another unicorn in the family.
Sunny: Friends forever—
Pipp: —and ever! (Group hug.)
Ponies: Awww…
Izzy: So cute.
Pipp: Hey, has anyone seen Zipp?
Voice of Zipp: Misty!
(They split apart to expose the older sister hovering above them, having been previously hidden from view due to the camera angle and their body positions. She has put away all of her spy gear)
Zipp: I found it! (Touch down; heave for breath.) I found…the door!
(One lung-straining gasp from the blue unicorn later, the camera cuts to frame the whole bunch of them approaching the clot of vines Zipp spotted. She and Pipp are both flying. Cut to within the mess, framing them as Sunny and Zipp pull away the last of it.)
Misty: This is it! This is the door!
(A different angle frames the object of her search—the wooden doors from her dream, but without the bluish glow that marked them earlier.)
Zipp: We couldn’t see it from the ground because it was so overgrown. But when I looked from the sky—boom! (She tries to push them open; no dice.) Locked! (smiling) Which means…
Misty: (unhooking her key) …we need this! (Close-up of it, zooming in slowly.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Ooh! (Cut to her/Pipp/Misty.) Where will it lead us to? (Misty hooks it back on.)
Misty: The Breezie who gave it to me said it would take me to the place I most wanted to go.
(A weary little moan from the o.s. Sparky; cut to him barely able to sit upright on Hitch’s back.)
Misty: But it can only be used one time. (To the group on the next line.)
Zipp: Well, what are you waiting for, Misty? You can use the door to find your home! Your family!
Misty: (toying with key) I could, but…
(The time for one deep breath, in and out, is all she needs to make up her mind.)
Misty: (turning to Hitch, unhooking/offering key) Hitch, I want to use this key for Sparky.
Hitch: (flabbergasted) What? But—what about your family? (Misty hooks it back on.)
Misty: Sparky needs to be around dragons. You’ve all taught me the true meaning of family and friendship. (Cut to/from the others as she continues.) I’m willing to wait a little longer to solve the mysteries of my past if it means I can save Sparky’s future. Please let me do this. After all, we’re family now… (Cut to Hitch/Sparky trading smiles; she continues o.s.) …right?
(After his understanding nod and a deep breath from her, she steps up, unhooks the key, and slots it into place.)
Misty: The place I most want to go is…where Sparky came from!
(A firm quarter-turn, the clank of a releasing latch, and sparks begin to spread from the keyhole. Misty gasps.)
Sunny: Something’s happening!
Misty: Take us to…the Dragon Lands!
(Another quarter-turn to undo the first; this time, the key sizzles away to nothing and the entire area starts to tremble. Another gasp from Misty as Pipp lands.)
Izzy: It’s working!
Pipp: (smiling nervously) Okay, but do we think it’s supposed to shake like that?
Zipp: (ditto) Maybe it’s a little rusty.
(She offers a weak chuckle. Now the doors are glowing as in Misty’s dream, but doubled and redoubled in their intensity. They shut off without warning and swing inward to expose a vortex of twinkling, swirling blue/purple energy, the sight of which leaves her floored.)
Misty: (very hesitantly) So I guess now we just—
Izzy: (a bit nervously) —zip through this strange door into the unknown, based entirely on the word of a tiny pixie pony. (Weak chuckle.)
Pipp: (to Zipp) Mom would not be pleased to know we were thinking about doing this!
Zipp: (cockily) When has that ever stopped us?
Sunny: (backing up a step) Well. Okay, then. You first, Hitch.
Hitch: Me?!? Oh, no, I-I couldn’t possibly. (to Pipp, gesturing ahead) After you.
(One by one, leaves begin to drift out of the vortex and past Sparky, causing him to perk up.)
Hitch: Look at him!
(The green toddler hits the deck, snatches up one leaf, and is off like a shot toward the doorway; he passes through the maelstrom and is instantly lost to sight.)
Sunny: Guess we have no choice now.
(One by one, and with Hitch taking the point, they charge at the doorway and leap/fly yelling through it. Cut to a similar portal, this one oval-shaped and floating in midair among a profusion of tropical foliage. The yells resume as they tumble out of it and plummet o.s. like six bags of wet cement; tilt down to frame them in a rather undignified heap on the ground, with Izzy—the last one through—sitting up and looking around. Sparky is not with them.)
Izzy: Hey! That wasn’t so bad.
Hitch: (woozily) Speak for yourself. (Zipp peers ahead.)
Zipp: Huh?
(She lifts off with a popeyed gasp, followed closely by Pipp, and both find a vibrant jungle landscape stretching before them under a sky that has gone the deep pink of late afternoon.)
Pipp: I-It’s…beautiful! (The others stand up; she pulls out her phone, which buzzes.) Definitely no service here, but… (Giddy squeal and flip.) …I can’t wait to get photos of a real adult dragon!
Zipp: I can’t wait to meet another dragon. I have so many questions.
Hitch: (raising voice) Sparky? (normal volume) Where’d he go?
[Animation goof: The cord around Misty’s neck disappears during the previous exchange.]
(The answer turns out to be “not far away,” as the missing dragon hustles back with an energetic bound and whoop.)
Hitch: (chuckling, lifting him on a foreleg) There you are, little guy! (to the others) Look at him. This place is helping already! Thank you, Misty. Truly.
(After a bit of head/chin-scratching from Misty, Sparky hops down.)
Hitch: Huh?
(Izzy gasps as the dragon scrambles to a nearby tree and begins to climb.)
Izzy: It looks like he wants us to follow! Does he know the way?
Zipp: It must be instinct! This is his homeland. (Sparky jumps down from a branch; the ponies set off after him.)
Hitch: Whoa! Wait for us, buddy!
(The chase proceeds at a lively clip, soon leaving some among their number short of breath, and brings them to a trail of footprints in the dirt similar to the fossilized one on sale in the Market. Pausing in one depression, Sparky starts blowing wisps of fire in all directions.)
Hitch: He’s so much better!
(A particularly close burst brings all six up short with assorted yells of surprise, followed by relieved laughter. Cut to him on the next line.)
Misty: And his fire’s back! (He cheers and runs off.)
Hitch: I can’t believe you used your key to help Sparky instead of finding your family. Do you remember anything about them?
Misty: I wish I could—but I’m glad I’m here to see this.
(Pipp’s phone is swung up into view, its screen capturing an image of these two ponies and Sparky as her gasp is heard. Cut to her, holding the unit at the ready, on the next line.)
Pipp: I bet we’re gonna see a big dragon any second now!
(Longer shot of the entire group, with Sparky as the only such creature anywhere close.)
Pipp: Any second now… (Long pause.) …any second now…
Zipp: Does anypony sense there is something a little…off here? (Pipp packs away the tech.)
Izzy: Huh. Let me check.
(She wastes no time getting herself into a meditative seated position, with hind legs crossed, forelegs partly raised/extended to either side, and eyes closed. Next she emits a high-pitched hum; cut to Hitch and Misty as Sparky cavorts in the background.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) I am definitely sensing some energies. (Back to her.) A lacking of luminescence. An absence of sparkle, really.
(Extreme close-up of her face, scrunched up in concentration as she hums again, then zoom out quickly as she snaps out of her trance.)
Izzy: I think something happened here.
Sunny: (crossing to her) A lot of dragons seem to live here. (Longer shot; zoom out slowly.) There’s all of these claw prints and those amazing statues—
(Said statues are about the same height as an average pony, their surfaces carved to resemble dragon scales and marked with curving grooves. The coloration is greenish-brown, topped by a whitish tip, and each is shaped to look something like a clawed toe thrusting upward from the earth. Cut back to the group.)
Sunny: —but—
Zipp: —no dragons.
(Close-up of one footprint as Hitch plants both front hooves in it, then cut to him on the following. It is easily at least three hooves long and four wide.)
Hitch: Maybe they’re just off foraging somewhere?
Sunny: (dryly) All of them, at the same time?
Zipp: And with Sparky here making all this commotion—
Pipp: Yeah, wouldn’t his family hear and want to come to him? (Cut to Zipp.)
Zipp: Maybe they all took off before we got here, or— (Zoom out to frame all six on the next line.)
Misty: —or somepony else got here before us.
Sunny: (with dawning horror) Opaline. (Sparky returns and burbles up at Hitch.)
Hitch: (to him) What is it?
(There follows another merry wing/hoof chase across the plain. Cut to just within the mouth of a cave, the camera aimed at the approaching group and zooming out slowly as Sparky hustles in.)
Sparky: ** Wow! **
(The camera then shifts to the mouth itself, capturing the near-total darkness that yawns before the group.)
Izzy: (chuckling) Oh, no thanks, Sparky. Kind of you to show us your home, but I would rather not go into a creepy cave.
Pipp: Same. One mysterious entryway in a day is plenty for me. (Sparky coos, awestruck.)
Hitch: All right, I’ll just take a look.
Sunny: I’ll go with you, Hitch.
Sparky: ** Wow! **
(He and the two earth ponies venture gingerly over the threshold; Hitch clears his throat. The next two lines echo slightly in the vast space.)
Hitch: Hello?
Sunny: I think you’ll have to be louder than that. (Clear throat.) ANYDRAGON IN HERE?!?
(These three shouted words echo much more clearly; in response, a pair of glowing yellow eyes abruptly opens in extreme close-up, with no visible pupil or iris.)
Act Three
(Sunny and Hitch gasp softly, the eyes narrow—and the camera zooms out quickly to frame many, many others doing likewise. The light has come up just enough to discern their owners as a swarm of bats hanging upside down from the ceiling, and they are only too eager to quit their roots and charge out as a flapping mass. Ponies and vermin scatter outward in all directions in a cacophony of screams and squeaks, Izzy the only one actually enjoying the run-in, and Sparky waddles out behind a visibly shaken Hitch.)
Hitch: (shuddering) No dragons in there either! (Sparky moans and hugs his leg.)
Sunny: Where could they have gone?
Misty: They must have sensed the growing dragon-fire power in Opaline.
Zipp: You sound so sure.
Misty: She’s been the closest thing I’ve had to family for a long time. I know Opaline’s interest in total domination goes way beyond Equestria.
Zipp: She wants to rule over the Dragon Lands too?
Misty: Over everything. She wanted Sparky’s dragon fire to gain power. Maybe she wanted to take it from the other dragons too. And maybe they fled before she could get to them?
(Close-up of Sparky on this last, whimpering and huddling against Hitch’s leg; he gets a reassuring pat on the head.)
Hitch: Let’s hope that’s what happened. Being with Misty and coming here has shown me that everypony deserves to find their home, where they belong. Maybe Sparky belongs with dragons.
Sunny: Are you thinking of leaving him here?
(The Sheriff aims a thoughtful eye across the jungle.)
Hitch: One day, I’ll have to let him go. But I won’t leave him here all alone. (Sparky burbles up at him.) I’ll be Sparky’s protector for as long as he needs me.
Sunny: (to Misty) And as long as you need us, we’ll help you open as many doors as we have to— (Close-up of a gratefully smiling Misty; she continues o.s.) —to find your family. (Izzy sidles up.)
Izzy: Um, yeah, about that? (turning in place) Anypony remember how to get back to the door?
(She plunks her haunches down and sits with both pairs of legs crossed, fore and hind, and four other ponies voice responses of total confusion as the camera roves across the abundant vegetation. Pipp is not among them.)
Sparky: ** Huh? ** (Mumble.)
Pipp: (from o.s., tail dropping into view) Don’t sweat it, ponies. (Cut to her, hovering and holding up a petal with a wink.) I got it covered.
(Toss it aside; a nimble swoop carries her down to another one lying on the earth—one of many laid out in a trail. She nips this one up as the others gather.)
Pipp: I left a trail of jungle flower petals I just picked up for my all-natural beauty line, so we can find our way back!
(Sniffing at it, she makes a tiny funny happy noise.)
Pipp: And these ones smell tropical, like passion fruit! Mmm, yum. (They start following her trail; next two lines overlap. Sparky is now on Hitch’s back.)
Hitch: (sighing) Phew! Smart thinking!
Izzy: Whoo! Thank hoofness!
(Pipp, having discarded the petal, finds herself on the receiving end of a smirk from her sister.)
Pipp: Whaaaat?
Zipp: Nothing. I’m just… (chuckling) …impressed.
Pipp: Hey, you’re not the only sister who can do cool tricks.
(A deft loop-the-loop allows her to snag another petal from the ground and take a sniff.)
Pipp: Oh! And this one smells just like Canter Number Five.
Zipp: (chuckling) Let’s go!
(The two throw their wings in gear to catch up with the others. Cut to the Bridlewood end of the portal as they emerge; now Pipp is walking, having ditched the petal. Misty, the last one out, looks over her shoulder and gets a clear view of the doors closing and locking, their magical light extinguished. They reach the base of the ramp leading up to the Market entrance, where a few Breezies fly out; in close-up, the doorway seals itself shut to leave only a recessed spot in the surface of the bark.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Guess that’s it for the Night Market.
(Cut to an overhead shot of them as she finishes, then to a ground-level shot of Izzy addressing the last one out.)
Izzy: Pardon me. When does this mystical magical market come back?
(The Breezie replies with a string of singsong syllables and exits the scene, leaving the unicorn hopelessly confused until Hitch leans over to her.)
Hitch: (mimicking intonation, circling behind her) She says, “You never kno-o-ow!”
Izzy: Well, that doesn’t really narrow it down.
Sunny: Hey, Misty? (crossing to her) We just wanted to see if you’re okay.
Zipp: (landing by them) Yeah. If you want to share anything else you might have learned about your past, we’re all ears.
Misty: (sighing) I wish I had more to tell. At least I know I’ve been to Bridlewood— (walking off) —but I’m not any closer to figuring out who was in my memory, or who I used to belong to. (Stop; smile.) But that’s okay, for now. (She turns back to Sunny/Zipp.)
Sunny: Well, as long as you have us— (Cut to Mist y as she continues.) —you have family. (Pipp flaps across to land alongside.)
Pipp: And you have our Zephyr Heights family too. (Gasp.) I totally forgot to tell you! We saw my mom in the Market earlier today.
Hitch: Queen Haven was here?
Pipp: Yep! She was walking around with Alphabittle. (digging under a wing, pulling out a sparkly strip of paper) Oh, look! We went into that enchanted photo booth together.
(The others crowd in for a better look, and Izzy cranks off a raucous laugh.)
Izzy: (pointing at strip) Zipp! What is the expression you’re making?
(Her perspective of it as she finishes: the top end of a string of photos, the sort that might be dispensed from a coin-operated booth. There are three in all, as seen when the camera tilts down from end to end in time with the group’s laughter, and each one cycles through a series of shots of the subjects making varied goofy faces—both sisters, their mother, Alphabittle, and Cloudpuff. From here, cut to Zipp hovering above the others and trying to hide her chagrined expression behind a foreleg.)
Zipp: I wasn’t ready! (To Izzy.)
Izzy: Huh. And what’s the expression you’re making, Misty?
(Pan to the unicorn in question as she finishes, a look of great consternation taking hold.)
Izzy: (now o.s.) Is something wrong?
Zipp: Oh, no! Another vision?
Sunny: Is it Opaline this time?
Misty: No, i-it’s not that. I…I think I recognize…
(Her perspective, zooming in on one photo as she points to Alphabittle.)
Misty: …who is that? (Cut to her and Pipp on the next line.)
Pipp: Oh, that’s Alphabittle. We’ve mentioned him before. (Misty turns away, instantly down in the dumps.) He runs the Crystal Tea Room here in Bridlewood.
Hitch: Um…Misty?
(The butterfly on the blue haunch begins to shine; close-up of this.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Wait a second. (Cut to her.) Alphabittle’s cutie mark was glowing today too.
(She is remembering the end of the gray unicorn’s tea-tasting contest in Part One, Act Three; now she gasps as a brainstorm strikes.)
Zipp: Misty! (Land behind her.) In your vision—the large shadow! (Misty turns to her.) Is it possible that it wasn’t a creature after all?
(Now it is the unicorn’s turn to pull in a sharp inhalation; zoom in quickly on her thunderstruck face, the view fading to white and in to her dream-filly self as in the prologue of Part One. She whirls to face the shadowy silhouette advancing out of the fog. It emerges fully into the light—a younger Alphabittle, his mane/tail/eyebrows shorter and dark grayish-blue at this point in his life, with no sideburns.)
Younger AL: Where’d you go, pumpkin? It’s almost dinnertime!
(Fade to white, then in to a quick zoom out from Misty.)
Misty: D…D-D…Dad? (A round of gasps from the others.)
Izzy: Alphabittle is your DAD?
Misty: (smiling) Yeah. I think so! (Zipp whirls to face front with her and throws a foreleg across her shoulders.)
Zipp: We gotta get to the Crystal Tea Room right now!
(Cut to a long shot of the entrance to said establishment and zoom in slowly. The pot and cup on the front doors glow as brightly as the crystals jutting from the grass on either side of the path. Inside, Haven scoops a plate stacked with a couple of cups off a table and carries it to Alphabittle, behind the counter. His cutie mark has gone quiet since the end of Part One.)
Alphabittle: (putting them away) I didn’t even believe in Breezies before today. (Chuckle.) And then one beat me at a tea-tasting contest!
Haven: (laughing) I never know what excitement awaits me in Bridlewood. (alluringly) Although you’re welcome to join me in Zephyr Heights whenever you’d like.
Alphabittle: (morosely) Yeah, about that. Um…I haven’t been totally honest with you about why I don’t like to leave Bridlewood.
(He plucks a framed picture from a shelf and steps out from behind the counter to pass it to Haven. Cut to her perspective of it—a painting of a very young Misty cuddling a unicorn-horned rabbit, or “bunny-corn” as named in Part One. Most of her curly mane is gathered into two fat bunches at the back of her head, leaving a few strands to spill down past one ear.)
Haven: How adorable! (Back to her.) But…I don’t understand. Who is she?
Alphabittle: My daughter.
Haven: (gasping softly) You have a…?
Alphabittle: She went missing many moons ago. I searched everywhere, but…I couldn’t find her. So the real reason I can’t leave Bridlewood is…
(He takes the picture back and stares at it for a long moment.)
Alphabittle: (setting it on counter) …because I need to be here when my filly comes home.
Haven: (shaken) Oh, my lovely Alphabittle, I’m so sorry. I had no idea! (She touches his shoulder gently.)
Alphabittle: It never gets easier.
(Deciding that it cannot leave a tender moment alone, his cutie mark comes alive with a gleam.)
Alphabittle: (annoyed, glaring at it) Why does this keep happening today? (Sound of the opening front doors.)
Misty: (from o.s.) D-Dad?
(The eyes of Queen and shopkeeper alike pop to the size of poker chips at the sound of that voice. Cut to its owner stepping timidly up to them; she sees his mark blazing, then eyes her own still doing the same.)
Haven: Misty is…your daughter?
Alphabittle: Misty? But how?
Misty: I’m home, Dad.
(The two unicorns gallop toward each other and slide to a stop, whereupon Misty throws her forelegs around his in a long-overdue embrace.)
Alphabittle: (voice breaking) You are home!
Misty: Aw, Dad…
Alphabittle: (sniffling) And I’m never losing you again!
(Sunny and company gather at the doorway to watch the reunion with warm smiles and a soft gasp or three. Haven’s expression is a perfect match for theirs. Cut to just behind the group, zooming out slowly, then to a long shot outside the Crystal Tea Room. The zoom continues for some seconds before a dissolve shifts the time to the following day; the doors are now closed, and the crew has cleared out.)
Alphabittle: (voice over, a bit jittery) So, um…
(Cut to a pan through the shop; Sunny/Hitch/Izzy/Sparky are seated at one table, Haven and her daughters at another.)
Alphabittle: (stuttering a bit, backing into view before a set of shelves) …do you want to hear about my teakettle collection? (Misty steps in facing him.) Of course you don’t. That probably wouldn’t be interesting.
Misty: I’d love to hear it. I want to hear everything.
Alphabittle: (grinning, sniffling, wiping a tear away) Ah, kid. I just can’t believe it. (He composes himself.) Okay. Well, um… (Point to one kettle.) …I started my collection before you were even born— (floating it off shelf) —when I sat in on an ancient tea ceremony held by unicorn elders.
(Cut to the royals’ table as he finishes. Haven lifts a cup for a sip, but a tiny green fireball lances into view and scores a direct hit; she finds herself holding a butterfly, which flits out of her grasp. A cheerful gabble from the o.s. Sparky is heard before he skids to a stop in front of Sunny and blows out another burst, nearly burning the fur off her forelegs and prompting a shriek as he darts away.)
Hitch: (galloping after him) Sparky! No inside fire! (He scoops up Sparky with a sheepish laugh.) So sorry, Alphabittle! (Set him on the table; Izzy tickles his belly.) He’s still trying to learn to control his fire-breathing— (rattled) —and ever since we all went to the Dragon Lands, it’s more powerful than ever!
Haven: (to Pipp/Zipp) You all went where?!?
(Both daughters’ brains throw a rod at once; Pipp is first to get hers working again with a big stupid smile.)
Pipp: (hastily, backing away from table) Uhhh…I think I have to go work on my mane and hoof line! (She lifts off.)
Zipp: And I, um, gotta help her! (Ditto.)
Haven: (incensed, taking wing after them) Girls!
(The others just laugh over the display of motherly overreaction.)
Alphabittle: It’s okay, Hitch. (foreleg around Misty’s shoulders) Nothing can dent my mood now. And I’m glad to see Sparky feels well enough to be a hoof-ful again.
Hitch: I’m glad too. (cuddling Sparky) Even when it’s tough, I love being Sparky’s dragon-pony dad. (Cut to Sunny/Alphabittle/Misty.)
Alphabittle: Well said.
(Three steaming cups float across the room under his influence; the two mares each grip one, and he keeps the third aloft for a toast.)
Alphabittle: To family.
(Three more come to Hitch/Izzy/Sparky in like manner, Izzy and Misty exerting magic to hoist theirs.)
Alphabittle: We wouldn’t want it any other way.
Other ponies: (raising cups) Yeah! To family!
(Alphabittle and Misty tap theirs together; Sparky is the first to guzzle his down, then lets rip with a flaming burp that scores a direct hit on Hitch’s head. The upshot is to turn his mane/tail a rainbow of vivid colors and cause flowers to sprout from the former.)
Hitch: Sparky! Not the mane!
Sparky: ** I’m sorry. **
(Cut to a laughing Sunny/Alphabittle/Misty, then back to the Sheriff and his charge.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Yes!
(Seeing the humor in the mishap, he extends his tail for Sparky to play with and begins to laugh along with the others. Zoom out slowly.)