NIGHTMARE ON MANE STREET

Written by Julia Mayfield

Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane

Story editing by Gillian Berrow

Supervising direction by Will Lau

Directed by Randi Rodrigues

Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)

Prologue

(Opening shot: snap to black after the “A Netflix Series” card, then fade in to a stretch of Mane Street in Maretime Bay in late afternoon. Banners hanging from the lampposts depict ghosts, bats, jack-o’-lanterns as an indication that Nightmare Night is close at hand. Zoom out and dissolve to the front entrance of Mane Melody, which has been decorated with pumpkins and baskets to either side of the doors and an arch of carved gourds framing them. The camera pans slowly across the display as the voice of Hitch Trailblazer asserts itself. On the next line, dissolve to Glory, Peach Fizz, and Seashell working on jack-o’-lanterns of their own. His first three lines below are amplified by a sound system.)

Voice of Hitch: (eerily) Nightmare Night is officially upon us!

(Another dissolve shifts the focus to the sign above the front entrance to his office, accented with a pair of bat wings. Zoom out quickly to frame him at a lectern out front, addressing a gathering through a microphone; Sparky Sparkeroni sits nearby. The building is also kitted out for the holiday; the same will be true for other areas of the town when they are seen. Behind him and to one side is a bulletin board on an easel, heavily plastered with notes, drawings, and cutouts.)

Hitch: (as above) Todayyyy!

(As he holds out the second syllable, cut briefly to the perplexed, murmuring crowd.)

Hitch: (normal tone) I mean… (eerily) …toniiiight!

(Sparky claps and throws in a vocalization that is a hair away from being a fully intelligible “Yeah!” Now the Sheriff moves aside to the board, at the center of which is a sketch of the community garden just downhill from the Crystal Brighthouse, loaded up with pumpkins. He consults a set of note cards and clears his throat as the camera zooms in slowly.)

Hitch: It’s the spookiest night of the year, and I’ve made sure tonight’s is going to be our most exciting celebration yet!

Onlooker: (to Sweets, standing beside her) Huh?

Hitch: Pipp helped me with this inspo-board, and we got something for everypony! (pointing out items) Trick-or-treating, costume contest, trick-or-treating while participating in a costume contest—wait, that was a typo. (Drop the notes.) Where was I? Oh, yes! (Close-up of the central picture; he continues o.s.) Pumpkin patches! (leaning into view) And my favorite…

(Close-up of a card showing a small, glittery gold pumpkin on this last; he snatches it away.)

Hitch: (holding it up; zoom in quickly) …our annual game to find the Golden Pumpkin! (expectantly) Eh?

(Dead, blank-eyed silence from the audience.)

Hitch: (to himself) Come on, Hitch! You’re losing them! (aloud, with a touch of desperation) Did I mention the winner will win a BIG MYSTERY PRIZE? (That gets them buzzing.)

Sweets: Okay, yes! Now this is what I’m talking about!

(Sparky gabbles his agreement and glances off to one side. Jazz Hooves and Rocky Riff are watching from the back of the crowd.)

Rocky: Big prize? I want that!

Jazz: So what do you think it is? A treasure trove of treats?

Rocky: A gourd dipped in gold?

Jazz: (touching his shoulder) Rocky, that’s basically what the Golden Pumpkin already is.

(Hooves stroke chins for a moment’s deep thought, and lightning strikes both minds at once.)

Jazz, Rocky: A treasure trove of treats dipped in gold!

Rocky: Betcha I can find it first.

Jazz: (singsong) Not if I’m the first one racing! (She prances away with a laugh.)

Rocky: Hey, wait, no fair!

(Wings get cranking to carry him after her; now Hitch is back at the lectern. His next three lines are amplified.)

Hitch: (amplified) All right, everypony! Have fun, stay safe, and make sure you check out every single event I’ve prepared!

(Cut to the again-apathetic crowd on this last, with Toots jumping into view at the rear.)

Toots: (mockingly) Why? Is there a prize for that too?

Hitch: Yes! The prize of a good time!

(Close-up of the tie-wearing stallion on the end of this, his face falling noticeably in disappointment. Long pause.)

Hitch: (sourly) Okay, fine. Town meeting adjourned.

(The ponies slowly and sullenly disperse in time with a burble from the now-o.s. Sparky; here he comes carrying the real-life counterpart of the Golden Pumpkin from the board. He sets it down and blabbers proudly as a suddenly worried Hitch hunches down to his level.)

Hitch: I know, Sparky! (He straightens up, holding it.) I forgot to hide the Golden Pumpkin!

(Snap to black.)

OPENING THEME

Act One

(Cut from the title card directly to a long shot of the huge tree that Sunny Starscout and company planted in “Growing Pains,” at the foot of the hill on which Canterlove Studios stands. Its vibrant green leaves and the blooms nestled among them all glow gently in the late daylight, as do the strings of lights on branches and trunk, and pumpkins of varying shapes and sizes are piled around the base. Sunny, Hitch, Izzy Moonbow, and Misty are gathered around these, a hovering Pipp Petals is adjusting one of several strings of small plastic pumpkins that ring the trunk, and Zipp Storm sits at a distance to fiddle with what appears to be a dark cape. Zoom in slowly and cut to Hitch/Misty; Sparky hops down off the stallion’s back and among the gourds, and Zipp stows her work and relieves Pipp so the pink pegasus can drop back to the street.)

Pipp: Sooo…what’s everypony’s Nightmare Night costume? I’ll start! I’m dressing up as a scary witch! Not a cute witch; Mom would never let us go full spooky at home, so I’m making up for it! (Zipp touches down.)

Zipp: And I’m gonna be a vampony! The awesome kind.

Misty: And I’m gonna be a magician! (She pulls out a small, butterfly-marked purple top hat and floats it onto her head.) Just a regular magician.

(Her next move is to produce and cuddle a stuffed toy bunny-corn.)

Other mares: Awww…

(During this entire exchange, Hitch pops up and down among the pumpkins at intervals with an occasional gasp or shout, carrying the Golden Pumpkin and looking for a good hiding place. After it ends, cut to a close-up of him.)

Izzy: (from o.s.) GOOD GOURDS! (He yells and nearly drops it; zoom out to frame her and all but Sunny.) That’s what I’m dressing up as.

(She brings out a long loop of vine strung with miniature pumpkins and squash.)

Izzy: My favorite gourds—because they’re all too precious to just pick one. And, Hitch, stop sneaking around and tell us what you’re gonna be.

(By this point, he has stood up and put the thing on his back, keeping his body angled to hide it from their view.)

Hitch: I’m gonna be a pirate with my trusty parrot Sparky!

(Pan quickly to follow his glance over to a row of pumpkins, from which Sparky leaps out with a cheerful half-word and leaps down to the roadbed. He is dressed in a red jumpsuit with yellow underbelly and multicolored feathers at the neck, which are repeated as a crest on a red eye mask with an attached beak that covers his nose. The dragon-turned-parrot dances merrily; on the next line, zoom out to frame all five mares watching and giggling over him. Misty has shed her hat and doll, and Izzy no longer holds her vine loop. The next three lines overlap.)

Sunny: (squealing) You’re the cutest parrot I’ve ever seen! (Pan away from them to Hitch.)

Pipp: Who’s a parrot? You’re a parrot. (now o.s.) Yeah, you are.

Izzy: (now o.s.) Oh, so cute!

(The babel of praise continues as the Golden Pumpkin is tossed to land neatly among the plethora of produce.)

Hitch: Phew!

(Here comes Sparky, followed closely by the rest of the crew. As he hops onto Hitch’s back, the gilded item suddenly becomes enveloped in a purple glow and disappears without trace. Sparky is the only one to notice, and he points and yammers frantically to get Hitch’s attention.)

Hitch: You’re really nailing this whole parrot thing! Great job, buddy!

(Three more pumpkins abruptly exit in like manner, but Hitch just laughs gently at Sparky’s attempt to point them out. Sunny and Zipp are not in view at this point, but a beeping alarm and a gasp from the former’s direction bring eyes around; zoom out to frame her looking at her cell phone with clear worry and Zipp now hovering. Behind them, more pumpkins go bye-bye.)

Sunny: We’re running out of time to get ready!

Pipp: Let’s go get spoo-kay!

(She adds a playful shriek as all depart. A stallion hauling a wagonload of fresh pumpkins pulls up at the tree, but finds only one left on the side he has approached.)

Delivery stallion: (scratching head) Hey! Where’d my pumpkins go?

(After he has trundled his load away, the singleton also winks out during a slow zoom in. Cut to an overhead shot of the community garden, now loaded up with pumpkins and other Nightmare Night trappings, and zoom in slowly. Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, and Misty are overseeing the visiting ponies from the elevated shelter at the rear edge; at ground level, Sugar Moonlight snaps a photo of herself among the new crops while Posey magically grows a pumpkin in a split-second and Sweets watches.)

Sweets: Ooh!

(Pan to follow Pipp as she flies to a tree at the perimeter, fluffs a bough, and comes in for a landing at the table up top. Sunny now has a small journal lying closed before her.)

Pipp: (drumming hooves excitedly) Sooo…what are everypony’s favorite Nightmare Night traditions? (Her perspective of Izzy/Zipp/Misty on the end of this.)

Izzy: Hmmm… (She opens her mouth to speak; cut abruptly back to Pipp.)

Pipp: I’ll start! Mom always said… (snooty accent, flicking mane) …“Princesses are sophisticated, not spooky.” (normal tone, setting a glitter-covered pumpkin on table) But I’ve been flexing my scary side ever since I got here!

(She marks these last words by giving it a half-turn to reveal a glowing ghost carved into the skin. The sight of it is enough to send Izzy into a screaming fit, make her throw aside the gourd she has procured, and hit the ground on her back with all four legs sticking straight up. She gets upright with a woozy moan and quickly joins in with the others’ good-natured laughter.)

Izzy: Wow, you really got me there! Ha! (Cut to Sunny and Pipp.)

Pipp: That’s the fear-fun factor! When you scream the loudest, then laugh the hardest. It’s my favorite!

Misty: (from o.s.) Wait. (Cut to her.) So you ponies like being scared?

Pipp: (rolling eyes) Uh, duh! (She pulls out a squeaking bat cut from foam rubber.) It’s what this holiday’s all about! (Toss it aside, followed by a pony-skeleton cutout as she continues.) And why I’m planning the super-detailed haunted house of my dreams! (catching herself) I mean, nightmares!

(She lifts off and hovers.)

Pipp: (gesturing to Brighthouse) I’m turning the Crystal Brighthouse into… (eerily) …the Crystal Frighthouse! (Back down to the table.)

Zipp: Nicely done.

Pipp: (normal tone) Thank you. I was working on that rhyme all week.

Izzy: I love this idea, Pipp! What can we do to help? (Gasp; then she shifts to her best raspy scary voice.) Should I peel a bowlful of grapes and say they’re eyeballs?

Misty: What else goes into a frighthouse?

Pipp: (flaring wings) It’s basically anything your spooky heart desires! And then, you make it your own. (To Izzy/Zipp/Pipp as she finishes.)

Izzy: Yeah, yeah, yeah! (picking up a string of lights) I always love to put up the weirdest, wildest lights display on the whole block!

Zipp: I have to build my super-complex Nightmare Maze! (To Sunny/Pipp on this last.)

Sunny: (picking up journal) And I must cook up a traditional spread of Nightmare Night food specialties!

Pipp: (gasping happily) Yes, yes, a million times yes!

(Misty draws a long gasp and giggles, having started to get the basic idea. Cut to the exterior of Mane Melody, tilting down from second story to first, then to Jazz and Rocky rooting through a box of costume parts inside. Items are swiftly flung out to join the ones already littering the floor, and a rack of outfits stands off to one side. Jazz holds a large, glittery, starred bow up over one temple and inspects herself in the nearest mirror.)

Jazz: As an earth pony, I have the clear edge to win. (trying on eyeglasses, then a crown) I’ve been playing this game since I was a filly. (This last item is stolen away by Rocky.)

Rocky: And as a newcomer… (shoving her aside, testing it out) …I have the clear edge. (trading it for a headband) I can look in all the places you wouldn’t think twice to.

(A couple of items are flung into view, including a ball that hits him upside the head. Cut to Jazz, now at the bench by the front doors; she has donned a short blue/magenta cape secured by an eighth-note brooch with matching foreleg bands, and she strips off and discards a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. A scepter rests on the bench.)

Jazz:  (picking it up) Yes, but I’ll look thrice to the locations you’ll think twice to look—

Rocky: (from o.s.) See you at the finish—

(Cut to frame both on this line; he is now hovering and has done himself up as a rock star—headband, sunglasses, vest, studded bracelet on one foreleg, bandana tied around the other. Jazz has ditched the scepter.)

Rocky: —when you’re congratulating me on my prize! (He flies out; sound of a slamming door.)

Jazz: (stomping angrily) Hey, no fair!

(After a glare around the empty room, she scoops up a purple eye mask from the floor and claps it on. Outside, the camera tilts down from the bridge over Mane Street to frame Glory/Peach/Seashell laughing and playing in the middle of the road, then cuts to the pumpkin delivery stallion pulling his wagon past the tree outside Canterlove Studios. Now every last bit of produce has vanished from around the roots, a development that leaves him at a loss.)

Delivery stallion: Huh?

(Behind him, Posey inspects the tree while Sweets stands at a barrel of apples.)

Sweets: (lifting one) I’m gonna find me that Golden Pumpkin!

Posey: Not if I do first!

(Hustling across the pavement, they turn their attention to other portions of produce set up near the tree. Posey playfully whoops and throws a few leaves at Sweets from a basket; the tie-clad mare laughs and chases the yellow one away. Cut to an overhead shot of the area, marred by blurred edges and a few drifting sparks, and zoom out quickly. This image is playing above the pool in the throne room of Opaline Arcana’s castle, and she lets her own hearty laughter taper off into a sigh.)

Opaline: Enjoy your leaves now, you silly ponies, because…wait. (The image fills the screen; she continues o.s.) Why are they enjoying leaves? (Back to her.) Is this some weird gardening celebration?

(On these words, a pumpkin materializes in midair behind her and thumps to the floor. Cut to ground level, where many others like it have collected around the tree roots that form much of one wall. She stumbles against this one and goes down hard with a squawk, then sees all of them cluttering up the place.)

Opaline: (standing up, groaning) Has Misty been decorating again?

(Another pumpkin arrives in the same way, then another that forces her to leap away to avoid getting beaned.)

Opaline: Huh. (noticing something) Hmmm?

(She moves cautiously toward the Golden Pumpkin sitting amid the scatter and picks it up for a bit of study.)

Opaline: Hmmm.

(Setting it back down, she returns to the pool and is just in time to see a carved pumpkin wink out from the image; it poofs into being behind her and clunks down among all the others. This time, she turns her head in time to see its arrival.)

Opaline: If their silly pumpkins can go from there to here, then… (A brainstorm.) …I may have finally discovered a path into Maretime Bay! (smugly) One that Twilight never accounted for.

(She spreads her wings to full extension and uncorks a wild laugh, the camera cutting to a long shot of the castle and zooming out slowly as lightning rips the gloomy sky.)

Act Two

(Cut to Sunny at the island countertop in the kitchen of the Brighthouse. The area has been liberally decorated, including some of Izzy’s lights and a huge jack-o’-lantern panel covering the window, and she is sorting out apples as Pipp flies into view carrying a clipboard and pen.)

Pipp: (marking off an item) Kitchen prep for Nightmare Night treats, che-eck!

(She pulls up near the ramps leading to the upper portion of the building. The area around the fireplace has been cleared out and set with stone dungeon-wall sections, and Misty is rolling barrels into place. Up above, a fabric backdrop of a barren nighttime forest teeming with ghosts covers the walls.)

Pipp: Trotway transformed into a maze of shadows? (ticking a box) A-maze.

(On she goes to the storage closet door at the back of the entrance hall; it is shut.)

Pipp: (giddily) Basement door turned into…

(Snap to black on this line, which splits and widens to frame her opening the door—the camera is now on the other side from her. It shifts to her perspective, tilting slowly up from the floor to frame a wild profusion of piled-high junk, then back to her. A pause.)

Pipp: (slightly deflated, shrugging) …well, pretty much the same as it was before. (smiling, marking off) But it was pretty spooky then, so that is a ye-es!

(The blare of an alarm catches her off guard just before a small ghost with a glowing face hurtles out of the mass and into point-blank range. She screams as it arcs away and collides with a wall, falling behind a couple of barrels; up comes one of Zipp’s drones, sounding the alarm—it had been disguised with a sheet. Laughter is heard from the o.s. owner; pan to her, FlyPad in hoof, as it circles her head.)

Zipp: (dramatically) Introducing the Ponydrone from a Tombstone! (normal tone) ’Cause it looked like a ghost. Get it? (Pipp gasps softly and smiles.)

Pipp: Love it, leave it, make sure the sheet doesn’t reveal it.

(Over by the front entrance, Misty is standing on a barrel and hanging up spiderwebs while humming to herself. Once the job is done, she gets ready to hop down but finds one foreleg stuck to the strands.)

Misty: Oh! (Embarrassed laugh; try and fail to pull loose.) Ooh!

(She brings both forelegs to bear, strains for a long moment, and manages to yank away—only to lose her balance and go to the floor along with the barrel. A web strung at a lower level saves her from a hard landing, but she finds herself even more strongly caught.)

Misty: (voice raised) Um, a little help?

(Close-up of a madly cackling Izzy outside. On the next line, cut to a long shot of the front entrance to the Brighthouse and tilt down to frame her and Pipp on the heavily done-up law. The pegasus has done away with her clipboard and pen, and the unicorn sits with the ends of two electrical cords in her hooves.)

Izzy: (crazed) This’ll be the most excellent acorn light show Equestria has ever seen!

(The moment she plugs them together, the screen fills with a flash of white and clears to present a close-up of the two mares sitting and squinting toward their home. As Pipp speaks, they slowly recover their sight and Izzy grins broadly; the buzz of flowing current can be heard.)

Pipp: Mostly because they won’t be able to see anything else after. (standing, walking off) But still, great work!

(Not looking where she is going, she runs flat into a pumpkin-topped barrel, then tries to play it off by clearing her throat and continuing on her way. Cut to a close-up of a sign on display outside the community garden, showing a smiling ear of corn peeking out of its husk. Hitch is standing behind it, Sparky on the low stone wall surrounding the tract, and both bird members of the “squad” are snoozing amid a scatter of flyers for various events. Zoom out on the next line to frame McSnips-a-Lot holding up a flyer and Hitch himself, clad in a pirate’s plumed tricorne hat and ruffled shirt collar; he has also stuck on a small curled mustache.)

Hitch: Pin the Husk on the Corn Cob! Here it is! (spooky tone, hunching behind sign and peeking out) Your favorite Nightmare Night activity with… (normal tone) …no line!

(A deft half-turn brings up the other side: a pony in a witch’s costume under a full moon; this move reveals a cardboard sword strapped to one flank.)

Hitch: And here it is! Your costume contest sign-ups with not one, not two— (throwing flyers everywhere) —but twelve different sub-categories! (as Sparky holds up a sheet) All the rules are on this handy-dandy informational flyer… (deflating) …and no line for that activity either?

(He casts a bewildered look around himself before fixing on a certain direction.)

Hitch: Huh?

(Two ponies talking outside the garden find themselves accosted by the Sheriff-turned-barker, flyer in hoof.)

Hitch: Come on, ponies! You truly haven’t experienced Nightmare Night until you’ve experienced all of it! Plan your night!

(He passes the paper and peels out, but they give it only the briefest glance before walking off and tossing it to flutter into a waiting barrel. Inside the Brighthouse, Misty registers surprise and stops in her tracks while crossing the kitchen.)

Misty: Wow!

(Her perspective, panning across the room. The stove and countertops are piled with dishes and foodstuffs, more containers—some overflowing—rest on the floor amid a tangle of spiderwebs, and Sunny pulls a tray of small treats from the refrigerator with her teeth and sets down in a clear spot, kicking the door shut.) 

Misty: You did an amazing job transforming the kitchen into a mad scientist’s lab, Sunny!

Sunny: (laughing a bit) Oh! Uh, actually, this is just how it normally looks when I cook.

(A pot on the stove chooses this moment to start boiling over and clattering its lid; she turns down the heat to get it under control.)

Misty: You look like you could use some help

Sunny: Oh, no, I’m an old pro at this.

(The pot begs to differ, launching its lid over her head to clang down on the end of Misty’s horn.)

Misty: Oh!

Sunny: (removing it) But I guess an extra set of hooves couldn’t hurt. (She moves the tray to the island countertop as Misty laughs.)

Misty: (levitating out a notepad and pencil) So, what are the Nightmare Night treats, anyways?

Sunny: Oh, just a few things. (Deep breath; rapid fire.) Apples for bobbing, caramel apples, apple spice smoothies—oh! Juggling apples, carving apples, apples to draw little spooky faces on… (Another monster inhale.) …fried apple spice donuts, baked apple cinnamon cobbler, frosted apple spice cakes, apple-flavored water, which is just like regular water but you add apple pulp to it. (A third one; she continues at normal speed.) So I guess it’s technically a juice.

(Throughout this verbal fusillade, Misty does her very best to set as much to paper as she can.)

Misty: Mmm-hmm. Wow. That’s…a lot of apples.

Sunny: (taking one from a bowl) These Nightmare Night treats were my favorite Nightmare Night tradition from when I was a filly. And I want everything to be exactly as I remembered it for tonight’s Crystal Frighthouse.

(Three things happen almost simultaneously: her gasp, the ding of a timer, and the fruit being pitched over her shoulder to land neatly in a waiting bowl.)

Sunny: So we gotta get moving! (She races across; cut to her at the stove, shutting it off and lifting the pot away.)

Misty: (from o.s.) I-I could…What is…

(She watches as the batch is set on the island countertop and apples are flung into it.)

Misty: Hey, want me to pass…

(The orange mare pays no heed, sprinting back and forth and depositing more ingredients and implements on each pass until the surface is nearly filled.)

Sunny: Thanks again for the help, Misty. I couldn’t have done this without you. (She loads a few apples into a blender.)

Misty: (slightly confused) Uh, sure.

(Her notepad provides only small protection against the hail of apple fragments that comes her way once Sunny fires up the machinery. Cut to the throne room of Opaline’s castle; she sets down the last pumpkin that magically wound up here and ponders it.)

Opaline: Hmmm… (A frustrated groan; she begins pacing in a small circle.) Opaline, Opaline, Opaline…

(One stepping rear hoof jars the thing a tiny fraction, whereupon it glows purple; she stops.)

Opaline: It’s clear you’re… (It disappears; she les an amazed smile stretch her cheeks.) …the most brilliant alicorn in the universe! Wow!

(Voicing a short laugh, she moves one after another into the exact same spot, watching them glow and wink away. In Maretime Bay, the pumpkin delivery stallion gets bonked over the head by the first one, then driven to the ground and o.s. by a rain of all the others.)

Delivery stallion: (from o.s.) Ow! (Back to Opaline.)

Opaline: Just as I suspected! (thumping tree root, spreading wings) That useless Together Tree I grew all those years ago has finally made a connection with another one! (She turns to the image above the pool, showing the Maretime Bay tree.) And the perfect one at that. Which means I’ve discovered a magical tree network! (Spin away from it.) Which means that pumpkin and ponies and me can travel between them! Ha! (Spin back.) Take that, Twilight Sparkle!

(Her malicious gloating gives way to a surprised shriek as a pumpkin appears in midair and drops to the floor.)

Opaline: (quietly) I mean…take that, Sunny Starscout. Opaline’s coming to town.

(Cut to the upper portion of the Brighthouse, now sporting a pair of bat wings on the lantern room balcony, and tilt down to ground level. Night has fallen, and Izzy’s lights are strung up all over the exterior of the ground floor and glowing invitingly. In the entrance hall, four mares and their costumes of choice are present and accounted for. Sunny is a hippie: vest, flowered belt and matching foreleg bracelets, bell-bottom pant cuffs on hind legs, peace-sign medallion, round-framed glasses, tie-dye headband, mane dyed to hide its rainbow streak, no saddlebag. Izzy is wearing her gourd-decorated vine loop as a sash, along with a hollowed-out half-pumpkin as a helmet. Misty has donned her butterfly top hat and added a white shirt collar with blue bow tie, short purple cape, and white shirt cuffs on all her legs to complete her magician’s getup. A hovering Zipp wears the cape she was working on in Act One: black, blue-edged with red lining and a blue brooch. Fake fangs protrude from under her upper lip—vampire time.)

Sunny: Can we get started yet? We’re so excited!

(Cut to Pipp on the end of this, carefully adjusting the position of the pony-skeleton cutout she briefly showed off in Act One. Her costume consists of a short purple cape and matching witch’s hat marked with stars and moons, dye in the same shade along the base of each wing, a tattered shawl, and sparkly blue eyeshadow. When she turns away, she exposes a gold crescent-moon brooch securing the cloak and shawl.)

Pipp: This haunted house has to be perfect! (nudging cutout a bit more) And right now, it’s almost perfect. (raising hoof to chin) But we still need more cobwebs. Uh, more lighting! Just…more!

(Her movements show off a beaded/jeweled bracelet on her left foreleg. She hyperventilates a bit as Izzy crosses to her.)

Izzy: (touching her shoulder) We’ll all work together so we can get this done in ten minutes tops. (rearing up) All hooves on deck! Let’s go, go, go!

(A whistle is produced and blown, and Pipp sighs with relief as the other four scatter to get at it.)

Pipp: (hovering) Thanks, ponies. I appreciate it!

(One final tweak to the cardboard figure. Out by the tree near Canterlove Studios—now known to be a Together Tree, as mentioned by Elderflower in “Father of the Bridlewood”—ponies are getting out and about to enjoy the night. A boil of dark blue smoke from the roots stops them cold, and Opaline’s cruel laughter rings out as a portal opens in the surface of the trunk and she emerges. It and the smoke both dissipate as she speaks.)

Opaline: Hello, Maretime Bay. (rising to a hover) It is I, Opaline Arcana, about to turn this night into a nightmare spectacular!

(On the start of the next line, cut to two costumed ponies—Sugar Moonlight and a stallion—moving closer with looks of great enjoyment. Spider and snowflake, respectively.)

Snowflake: Aw, hooves, that was so cool!

Sugar: Amazing! (Laugh.)

Snowflake: (gasping, awed) Do the laugh again! Do the laugh again!

Opaline: (puzzled) What?

Sugar: And the entrance! Great entrance! (More onlookers start to gather.) But I missed that first part where you cackled. Sooo…you just pretend I didn’t see your dramatic pose, and try it all again, ’kay?

Snowflake: Oh, oh, oh! And can you say my dad’s name when you do it? It’s Butter. (pulling out his phone, starting to record) He’d get a real kick outta this!

(The device’s camera-eye perspective comes up on the end of this, followed by his laugh; she flies down to give an extreme close-up of her vexed visage.)

Opaline: You’re not scared? (The group again.)

Sugar: (mock-scared tone) Oh, yeah, like, sooo terrified. (She and a filly giggle; Opaline lunges toward a new arrival, flaring her wings.)

Opaline: FEAR ME!! 

Snowflake: (prompting) “Fear me, Butter.”

Sugar: Oh, wait! Is that, like, your catch-phrase?

Snowflake: (raising his phone) ’Cause we love it!

(His laugh, and those from the rest of the crowd, are met by her furious, eye-rolling snarl. The next two lines overlap.)

Opaline: Stop filming me! Stop applauding!

Snowflake: Yeah, that’s it! Get angrier!

(She snarls again, one eye twitching dangerously. In the Brighthouse, Pipp peeks out from around one corner of the dungeon maze Zipp has set up. Seeing the coast clear, she whips her head back and steps out into the open near the fireplace.)

Pipp: This maze is complete…

(She pops up into a hover, pulling out clipboard/pen and marking an item off as the other four mares gather, the camera cutting to them; Zipp is also hovering. Relieved sighs all around.)

Pipp: (from o.s.) …with just one last ingredient.

(Faces go slack with disbelief at this pronouncement. Back to the airborne witch, who yanks a hanging cord to drop a swarm of fake bats on strings in the faces of her audience. Misty just stares at the things while the other three scream in fright and laugh, and Pipp marks her list and swoops down for an exploratory poke at the nearest spiderweb.)

Pipp: (marking clipboard) Fake spiderwebs feeling strong… (Happy sighs from the others.) …with just one last touch.

(Another cord pull, another load of bats; more screams/laughs from all but Misty as Pipp updates her list. Now she flies through the kitchen, snags a slice of cake from a tray, and chomps it down as the others gather. Sunny nervously awaits her appraisal, standing behind an island now loaded with drinks, snacks, and a five-tiered cookie platter, while Izzy holds a caramel apple on a stick.)

Pipp: Apple treats tasting delicious… (The others sigh their relief.) …hmmm, but you know what’s missing…

Sunny: (frightened) No, Pipp. There’s no way, You—

Pipp: (picking up a shaker can) I was gonna say “a dash of nutmeg.”

(She sprinkles some over the goodies as the others sigh anew, but drops it with a devilish little chuckle and grabs the end of a cord once it dangles from the ceiling. A third scream/laugh-inducing swarm of bats comes down at a pull, but once again Misty fails to react as expected even while Izzy throws her treat into the air. Pipp checks this bit off on her list as the apple impales itself on Izzy’s horn.)

Zipp: That better be the last one! (The bats are hoisted up and away.)

Izzy: Pipp, you got us good! (She pulls the apple free and starts licking.)

Sunny: So good. (She laughs; Pipp gets a look at Misty and gasps.)

Pipp: Misty, what’s wrong? (Close-up of Misty; she continues o.s.) Why didn’t you scream with the rest of the group? (Back to them.)

Zipp: Do you not find bats scary? (Soft gasp from Pipp.)

Pipp: Would you prefer giant spiders? (Misty offers an “I don’t know” grunt and shrug.)

Misty: It’s nothing personal, Pipp. I guess I just don’t scare easy. (Pipp descends to her level.)

Pipp: Until tonight. (Gasp.) I’m going to make you my personal Nightmare Night challenge! (gasping again, whirling in midair) By the end of tonight, you are going to be screaming, and laughing, and sharing in all the spooky fun!

(Close-up of Misty on the end of this, adopting a humoring smile. All five gather in, and the sound of the doorbell—the first five notes of the My Little Pony theme/jingle—brings a delighted third gasp from the pink planner.)

Pipp: Showtime, ponies!

(Ground level, on Mane Street. Jazz stands in the shadows under its overarching bridge as Rocky plants a hoof in the foreground.)

Jazz: Well, well, well. (close-up, stepping into the open) If it isn’t Rocky—if that’s your real name!

Rocky: (removing sunglasses) Well, well, well. If it isn’t Jazz. Guess you’re not the gifted Golden Pumpkin finder like you thought!

Jazz: (circling around him, dropping to a whisper) Or maybe I’m just not wanting to dish out all my secrets.

Rocky: (backing away, looking around himself) You must know something, ’cause I’ve checked every garden and flipped over every gourd.

(He gets a surprise in the form of his coworker suddenly grabbing at the lapels of his vest.)

Jazz: So have I!

Rocky: Wait. (She backs off.) If you’ve checked everywhere and I’ve checked everywhere else, then where could it be? (An idea dawns on him.) Unless Hitch’s big prize was just quality time spent with your closest friends.

(By this point, the two are standing nose-to-nose outside Mane Melody. They smile gently, look deep into one another’s eyes—and then utterly destroy the moment by bursting into laughter.)

Jazz: Nah. That’s nuts!

Rocky: Right?

(Two pairs of eyes narrow in search of the elusive quarry, two mouths smirk sidewise at each other, and they set off galloping in opposite directions as Jazz throws back a mocking laugh.)

Rocky: I’m gonna find the Golden Pumpkin!

Jazz: Not if I do first!

(Elsewhere, Opaline casts a disdainful eye along the reveler-packed road.)

Opaline: Hmmm…

(She begins to walk, drawing a glance from a stallion wearing a miner’s helmet.)

Miner: Oh! (He goes laughingly on.)

Opaline: (snarling) Why isn’t anypony fearing me?

(Her perspective on the next line, sweeping across the costumed locals to stop on Toots and Sweets—done up as a dog and cat, respectively.)

Opaline: And what are these outfits? Fashion in Equestria has really gone downhill.

Sweets: (noticing her) Ooh! (She and Toots move toward Opaline.) Incredible costume! (Cut to all three on these words.) You look terrifying.

Toots: Oh, yeah. And your wings and horn are so realistic. (reaching to a wing) May I?

(The aspiring despot gets him to back off with a menacing hiss, then gets in his face.)

Opaline: Take another step and I’ll banish you to the moon! (Next two lines overlap.)

Toots: Yaaaay! (laughing) Oh, yeah?

Sweets: Whoo! Ooh! Yes! Oh, I love that! Seriously, who are you supposed to be? Nightmare Moon?

Opaline: (fire kindling in eyes) Your new worst nightmare.

(The two stare openmouthed for a moment before breaking into fresh smiles.)

Toots, Sweets: That was so good!

Toots: Seriously, can I hire you for my nana’s birthday? She’d love it!

(Cut briefly to/from a hopelessly confounded Opaline with eyes extinguished on the previous query, after which she snarls and stalks away, having had quite enough of being so thoroughly misunderstood. She breaks into a gallop, shouting at a stallion and filly on the sidewalk; they cry out in surprise but then laugh, and he brings up his phone to record Opaline’s passage.)

Opaline: I’ll show you what to scream about!

(She and Posey collide, neither one looking where they are going; the yellow mare gasps.)

Posey: Whoops! Sorry about that. (peering closely) Wow! Look at you. Your costume’s fab. And mine? (touching her own chest) Uh, well, nonexistent. (hastily) Mine’s at my friend Windy’s house. It’s why I’m in such a hurry. (singsong, walking past Opaline) Excuse me!

(After a long look at Posey’s flower-ring cutie mark, Opaline moves to intercept.)

Opaline: No, no. Excuse me.

(She fires up her horn and lowers it toward the yellow haunch, causing the image to pop loose and become encased in a glimmering purple bubble. As she maneuvers it back to herself with an acid smile, Posey screams in horror and bails out as fast as her legs can carry her.)

Opaline: I did it! (Zoom out quickly to frame partiers everywhere.) But it’s going to take me all night if I’m going to do this one by one. (walking away) Maybe it’s time to regroup and form a new plan. My work here is far from done!

(She rises to a hover above the front entrance to Hitch’s office, cackling madly with the stolen mark in tow. Cut to a close-up of Izzy standing outside the Brighthouse and thinking carefully; she has done away with the caramel apple she was eating in the kitchen.)

Izzy: Now, do I need more lights on the left side, or is it more frightening if they’re uneven? Or—

(A longer shot puts her on the front lawn and fiddling with loose strings of lights.)

Izzy: —oh, oh! (Pan slowly toward the doors.) Maybe I pile on all the lights on the left and leave nothing for the right! Or…no… (now o.s., fading out) …’cause then if everypony saw my lights switching…

(Toots and Sweets have already gained the top of the ramp, with Sugar and her earlier snowflake companion not far behind. The feline-inclined mare blows and pops a bubble from a wad of gum she is chewing.)

Pipp: (hovering, opening doors)        Welcome, ponies, one and all,

                                        To the spookiest frighthouse where you’ll have a ball!

(Quite a few other guests have already arrived, and these two pairs waste no time in joining them. The lights are dimmed, the decorations are in full effect, and a lonely wolf howl is heard somewhere in the distance. Zipp’s drone, disguised as a ghost, whips through the air and promptly gets caught up in a web; she hovers up behind it, hammering at the screen of her FlyPad and venting her frustration over the boo-boo in the form of a loud groan.)

Zipp: No! Why…did I…put that…

(Only now does she realize that she has drawn a fair-sized audience; she immediately composes herself and addresses them.)

Zipp: …very real ghost who’s glitching so much? (ominously, waving forelegs) It’s spo-o-oky!

(Pan quickly to the kitchen, where Sunny is offering a tray of cakes but not getting much of a response. The ponies congregating here are, however, snagging other things off the island countertop at their leisure.)

Sunny: So, how’s everypony enjoying the traditional Petrifying Pomme Fruit Feast? (A snorting giggle; she holds up an apple.) “Pomme fruit” is another word for apples, which are—

(She spots a pegasus dressed as a Zephyr Heights guard who is chewing on the stick in a caramel apple.)

Sunny: —being consumed in the exact wrong way! 

(The offender sets the treat down and flashes an embarrassed grin. Any further remonstrations are cut off by a loud clattering from across the room; pan quickly to the stove, where Sugar and the snowflake have inadvertently swept dishes and apples to the floor with their bulky costumes. A loud slurping brings Sunny’s scared eyes to a different corner and shows her Sprout Cloverleaf, who idly tosses the cup he has just drained onto the floor.)

Sunny: (loudly, addressing herself o.s.) Pipp, didn’t you promise to guide the ponies through the house so it wasn’t a free-for-all? (Nervous laugh.) This isn’t anything like how it used to be when I was a filly. (Zoom out slowly; the unruly gorging continues.) Pipp! Pipp?

(The pegasus snags that same caramel apple and goes back to work on its stick.)

Sunny: (to herself) Hm. I wonder what task she’s so focused on now.

(Comes now the sound of an impact, followed by a stallion hurtling gracelessly into view and thudding to the floor. Sunny barely blinks at this, but sucks in an affronted gasp when she sees the shameless abuse of cellulose. Misty makes her way into the maze, her cheery humming soon lost under the devious laugh of Pipp hunching atop one wall.)

Pipp: (flying in) I’m gonna get her.

(When the top-hatted mare stops in the bathroom to wash her hooves at the sink, Pipp seizes the moment to pop up behind her, throwing off a yell and making a horrid face that reflects in the mirror. Misty shuts off the faucet and exits without even a flinch.)

Pipp: Awww…

(Up in the shared bedroom, Misty belly-flops onto her bed and lets out a quiet, relaxed sigh. One of her old toys is thrust up into view from behind by Pipp, who waves it around with a goofy screech before hovering up from floor level.)

Pipp: Part two.

(Again, not even a flicker of fear; she sullenly hands it over for Misty to cuddle. At the back of the entrance hall, the unicorn opens the door to the junk-crammed basement, retrieves a squeeze bottle, and turns away only to pivot back a moment later.)

Misty: Four…three…two…

(When a lot of nothing happens, she smiles to herself, shuts the door, and walks leisurely away.)

Pipp: (grunting/sputtering, muffled, through door) Wait, Misty! My hooves got stuck! (pounding) Come back and I’ll try again!

(The door flies open under her assault, dumping her out with a yell amid an avalanche of random items. One hind leg is caught amid the mess, needing a bit of time and effort to pull free and leaving her shaken and short of breath. Clearly she had planned some variant of the “jump and yell” scare, which the overstuffed storage area foiled in its own way.)

Pipp: I…will…scare…you!

(In the kitchen, Sunny voices a frightened little laugh while trying not to drop two platters of treats. A bat-winged Kenneth helps himself to a cake; guests continue to chow down and litter; Zipp heaves mightily at her sheet-covered drone still stuck in the spiderwebs and manages to free it, having ditched her FlyPad. Close-up of the fabric settling limply to the floor.)

Zipp: (from o.s.) Watch out!

(Tilt up slightly to frame Glory/Peach/Seashell, each wearing cardboard replicas of the appendages she naturally lacks in order to be a winged unicorn. Seashell has also dyed her mane/tail dark green for the occasion. All three regard the ghost rig with mixed disappointment and contempt as the drone that had occupied it buzzes down to them. They choose to walk away in time with a frustrated groan from the o.s. Zipp.)

(Cut to Izzy on the front lawn, hooking together two pairs of electrical cords that each send a glare over her from opposite sides of the screen. She then dons a pair of sunglasses similar to Zipp’s, but marked with a crystalline heart at the bottom outer corner of one lens, and makes one more connection while flashing a manic grin. Now the glare is bright enough to cover the entire lawn, sending ponies into a fit of screams, covered eyes, and stumbling panic. The amateur electrician just laughs brightly.)

(Inside, a colt cries as Kenneth pecks at his dropped caramel apple, and Sunny yells in surprise as a unicorn stallion uses his magic to commandeer the entire plate of cookies she is holding. Sprout gets a kick out of the theft, but shifts into a shocked gasp when McSnips-a-Lot swipes the cookie from his grip. The culinary chaos finally proves too much for Sunny to handle; she screams, leans over the table behind which she is standing, and plants both front hooves on it.)

Sunny: This is not working!

(Overhead shot of the entrance hall; the lights come up, drawing gasps from all and sundry.)

Sunny: (from o.s.) That’s it! The Frighthouse is closed!

Pipp: (closing basement door; the junk is cleared away) Why is everything messed up? We literally just opened our doors!

(She flies out to meet Sunny in the entrance hall as the grumbling guests exit.)

Pipp: Sunny, what happened?

Sunny: It was mayhem! (shoving donuts into guests’ mouths as they pass) Uh, sorry, sorry! Here, have an extra apple spice donut while you go.

(One of the recipients is the snowflake stallion, who gets out a muffled “Mmmm!” under Sunny’s words. Close-up of Pipp on this last, her face slowly falling, then cut to the lawn as all the lights Izzy added are shut off. The five mares gather in the entrance hall, Pipp and Zipp both flying.)

Zipp: (annoyed) What the hay, guys?

Sunny: It just wasn’t Nightmare Night.

Zipp: But I worked all day on my Ponydrone!

Izzy: And I spent all afternoon trying to figure out which of my special acorn lights to string!

Misty: And we made some great food, Sunny—well, you did. Made most of it. Okay, all of it. I only helped by getting out of the way, but we did it the traditional way.

(Close-up of the bespectacled cook on the end of this line, her expression slowly melting into sadness and then back to a smile.)

Sunny: You’re all right, but I guess I was just hoping that tonight’s celebrations would be…like they used to be.

Misty: Where did we go wrong?

Sunny: I don’t know, but somehow we did. It was a total bust!

Pipp: Wai-wai-wai-wai-wai-wai-wai-wait up. Even with the chaos, I didn’t think it was a total bust.

(Zipp’s drone, now in its ghost costume, zooms past behind her and bumps into a doorframe. It then pivots to face a wall and repeatedly tries to bash its way through the masonry.)

Pipp: Ohhh, but maybe I was also too focused on scaring Misty and making the perfect frighthouse to notice. (Across from her, Zipp has FlyPad in hoof.)

Izzy: (scoffing) And I couldn’t see anything beyond my lights.

Zipp: (laughing; the drone returns to her) Well, nopony could. (She catches it and rolls her eyes.) Okay, fine. I was a little too swept up in my gadgets—

(She is cut off by the sound of the opening doors; cut to them, where a badly winded Hitch has just entered with Sparky on his back.)

Hitch: You guys are…already done your frighthouse? (galloping to them, dropping to haunches; Sparky hops off.) I missed it?!?

(The dragon is still wearing his feathered/beaked mask, but not the rest of his parrot outfit. He is carrying a stack of event flyers, which he sets down.)

Pipp: No, I think maybe it was me who missed it, uh, like, the point, I mean. I started all this, and putting such high expectations of perfection on something is a recipe for disaster.

Hitch: (chuckling) Tell me about it. I was just so focused on making this the best Nightmare Night scare-a-thon in Maretime Bay ever that I forgot to consider Maretime Bay in the first place. What was I thinking? (He holds up a flyer from the stack and discards it while continuing.) These ponies don’t need twenty-seven events to fill a night and make it perfect.

Izzy: Yeah. Not every holiday has to be perfect, or exactly the same as it was last time, right?

(Very long silence from the others, followed by a close-up of her suddenly frantic features.)

Izzy: No, I’m genuinely asking. It doesn’t have to be the same, right?

Sunny: (giggling, crossing to her) No, Izzy. It doesn’t have to be. I’m sorry for thinking it had to. (Izzy touches her shoulder gently.) I was just looking forward to re-creating my special memories. It’s just like with Wishday. I cherish the times I had with my dad so much, I guess I just wanted to share them with my best friends.

Misty: But can’t you still—I mean, share your memories, but also—

Hitch: —make new ones.

Zipp: Even though holidays are about traditions, they’re also about surrendering to the surprise of what this moon will bring. (Mildly eerie intonation on the last few words.)

Pipp: (landing, flaring wings) And what’s more surprising than Nightmare Night?

(Smirking around her fake fangs, Zipp taps the screen of her FlyPad and brings down a swarm of fake bats on strings to give the rest of the gang a good scare. This time Misty actually does scream in fright, and her fear redoubles once many more of the flying pests erupt from barrels set up in the maze. She throws up a foreleg to shield her head as the others burst into laughter.)

Zipp: Got you! (Cut to Misty, now smiling and upright; she continues o.s.) Yeah!

Misty: You got me! You got me that time!

(She joins in as the camera cuts to the exterior of the Brighthouse and zooms out slowly.)

Pipp: (voice over, as Izzy’s lights come back on) The Frighthouse is officially reopened!

(Inside the throne room of Opaline’s castle, a portal opens near the Together Tree growing up through the place. She steps out with Posey’s captured cutie mark floating alongside, and the way closes behind her. Turning to one side, she spots a branch with a single leaf growing near its end and presses her prize onto it; the bubble disintegrates in a cloud of sparks, leaving a white-glowing copy of the flowers imprinted onto the veined green surface.)

Opaline: Excellent! (pacing) But I’ll need more power. (The pool conjures up an image—from this angle, a sleeping dragon.) Much more.

(Cut to just behind her head and zoom in slowly; now the picture can be seen in full as a pair of the dozing creatures.)

Opaline: And I know just where to get it.

(She fires off a wildly exultant laugh in close-up as the view dissolves to a long shot of the Brighthouse the following morning. Zoom in slowly and cut to Sunny and Misty striking the set in the entrance hall. They have shed their costumes; the same will be true of the others when seen next, and Sunny has strapped up her saddlebag. The bareheaded bird in Hitch’s “squad” flies across, carrying a bat and pursued on foot by Sparky; the chase turns up one ramp and Sparky barely avoids running into a bin full of pumpkins that the Sheriff is wheeling in.)

Hitch: (calling after him) Sparky, sure hope you’re helping, not playing!

(Sparky and the bird reach the shared bedroom and cut a U-turn across Zipp’s desk, disturbing several items and sending the map she and Sunny found in “Mane Smelody” to the floor. A gleam of light passes over his scales now as it did then, and he finds the page doing the same thing when he stops running and moves close enough to it. Widened purple eyes stare wonderingly at it before his entire face scrunches up for a sneeze, which sends out a blast of green fire when it comes. Instead of incinerating the map, though, it restores the images to their original color and detail—a path leading to a massive island studded with volcanic craters and lava pools, a forest, and a craggy wasteland. Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark stands out clearly in the bottom right corner, and the entire map now glimmers faintly. Sparky laughs triumphantly to himself as Hitch steps in behind to give him a very funny look.)

Hitch: What did I just say?

(His eyes pop and he gasps as he takes in this new development. Cut to his perspective of the map, zooming in slowly.)

Hitch: (awed) Woooow. (Back to him.) EVERYPONY!! GET IN HERE!!

(The others quickly obey this summons, gathering around the map.)

Sunny: (reading) “The Isle of Scaly”? (Gasp.) It’s the Dragon Lands! It’s a map that’ll take us back!

Zipp: We can finally warn them about Opaline!

(Cut to Izzy and Misty on this line, the former ecstatic and the latter pensive.)

Misty: And we better do it soon… (Overhead shot of the group; zoom out slowly.) …before it’s too late.

(Snap to black.)