MY LITTLE PONY: SECRETS OF STARLIGHT

Written by Leore Berris

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)

Notes:                 Background song lyrics are in square brackets; any marked with an exclamation

                point are shouted rather than sung.

Prologue

(Opening shot: a black screen, against which “Netflix Presents” fades into view. A kaleidoscopic snowflake pattern in blues and purples fades in behind these words, which disappear in a gust of wind to allow the title card to appear as if it were being uncovered by the air currents. The entire view dissolves to the upper reaches of the Together Tree that rose from and destroyed Opaline Arcana’s castle in Part Two of “Roots of All Evil,” seen during the day. Tilt down to frame Sunny Starscout and company gathered before it; Pipp Petals is hovering just above the broken walkway. The glowing, bluish oval portal that had opened in the trunk at the end of the previous episode is gone, but Sunny’s magic horn and wings are still present after she and Sparky Sparkeroni helped bring Opaline’s master plan down around her ears.)

(Cut to a head-on shot of the group during the following words, revealing that Pipp is checking her cell phone and Izzy Moonbow is still sporting the bejeweled, glittery appearance she gained after catching a snowflake from the portal. Sparky is riding on Hitch Trailblazer’s back, and Sunny is still wearing the ruby locket whose magic turned the tide against Opaline and is not wearing her saddlebag due to her power-up.)

Zipp Storm: (impatiently) We’ve been waiting here for three hours, Izz! Nothing has happened!

Izzy: (slightly crazed) Yet! Nothing has happened yet! (cheerfully) But you can bet your sparkles it’s going to. (Pipp flies to her, having stashed her phone.)

Pipp: I hope so. I mean, I would love to transform into a stunning crystal version of myself.

Sunny: Maybe we should take a break from staring at a tree. (laughing) Just for a bit?

Pipp: (to Izzy) We’ll come back, okay?

(The unicorn aims a pensive look after the others as they clear the area, only to gasp softly as a wash of pastel rainbow light reaches her from the broad trunk. Cut to her perspective; the radiance subsiding to leave the portal in full view, then to her pointing enthusiastically at it on the next two words.)

Izzy: Everypony, look! (They gather in, eyes widening.)

Pipp: (singsong) Pretty!

Zipp: Whoa…I guess you were right! (Cut to Izzy/Pipp on this line; snowflakes are now blowing outward.)

Pipp: (dryly, rolling eyes) Ahem. Yes, we were. (gleefully) Crystal snow! (Gasp; stare at a flake.) Oh, how pretty!

(The instant she touches it, the screen flares pale blue as when Izzy did likewise and clears to show Hitch, the other three mares, and Sparky—now cradled in Hitch’s foreleg—gasping softly and marveling toward the camera. Cut to a close-up of Pipp’s hooves and zoom out; she has received a sparkly makeover similar to Izzy’s on her mane/tail/legs, and her hooves have also become translucent blue crystal. Around her neck is a necklace of crystals, with an eighth note as the most prominent.)

Pipp: (squealing, giggling) It happened! (hovering, pulling out phone) I’m stunning!

(She snaps a photo of herself with a more composed little laugh.)

Sunny: (moving toward her) I think this is another magical Together Tree, like the ones we have in Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood!

(During this line, cut to her perspective of it and tilt up slowly toward the thick limbs, then back to her.)

Zipp: Be careful, Sunny.

Hitch: Relax. It’s not like it’s gonna suck us into a portal.

(Another flare of palely multicolored radiance chooses this moment to envelop Sheriff and dragon and pull them both in, leaving only his surprised yell. The others react similarly as they too are caught up and reeled through.)

Act One

(Cut to a close-up of a very knocked-out Izzy lying on the ground, a glimmering snowy landscape visible around her. She slowly blinks her way back into the world.)

Izzy: Huh? (A snowflake flutters past her nose…) Wow.

(…and settles squarely onto it, triggering a violent sneeze that jerks her up to vertical. Zoom out to frame the whole bunch, Sparky again on Hitch’s back and Misty taking a bit longer to get up than the others. Their legs/hooves/manes/tails have been overhauled in the same manner as Izzy and Pipp, with cool blue/violet shades added to the legs, and Sunny and Zipp wear glittery eyeshadow. Crystal necklaces rest at all six throats; Sunny’s incorporates the body of her locket, while the central pieces of the others are a shield for Hitch, a lightning bolt for Zipp, and a butterfly for Misty. Even Sparky has been affected, his horns now violet to match the sparkly shading at the end of each leg and his tail, and he is wearing a small necklace of his own. Misty’s horn is now made of blue crystal to match Izzy’s, but with darker streaks running along its surface. The portal stands open behind them amid a wintry forest panorama. Izzy groans woozily, letting her head clear. Sunny’s horn and wings have dispelled themselves, and her saddlebag is strapped up in its usual spot.)

Hitch: Wow!

Sunny: Whoa!

Izzy: Ooh!

(An upward glance shows Sunny a starry night sky suffused with a blue-green aurora that seems to issue from the obscured horizon. She gasps delightedly.)

Sunny: Look at all those stars!

(The group begins to venture out from the portal and across the snow; next two lines overlap.)

Zipp: (gasping softly, mind blown) Whoa.

Misty: Where are we?

Hitch: (eyeing his foreleg) Uh, better question. (Misty twirls in place.) What are we?

(Sparky gabbles out his own bewilderment. Sunny and Zipp look themselves over, while Pipp deploys her phone and Izzy yells and scrabbles to keep her legs beneath herself on the slick surface.)

Pipp: Who cares? We’re so glamorous! (Strike a pose.)

Zipp: Sunny— (Cut to her and Sunny.) —what do you think this is?

Hitch: (from o.s., anxiously) Yeah— (Cut to him.) —and how do we fix it? (Pipp has stowed her tech.)

Sunny: I have no idea. I’ve never seen anything like it before. (She smiles toward the portal; zoom in slowly on it.) But the new Together Tree wouldn’t have brought us here for no reason. Right?

(Assorted uneasy/puzzled reactions from the others. During the previous exchange, the center crystal in Sparky’s necklace is clearly seen for the first time as a fireball.)

Sunny: If we’re here, then it must be for something special. (Cut to just behind her.) We just have to figure out what it is. (It begins to contract, very slowly.)

Hitch: (from o.s.) Uh— (To him and Pipp.) —is it just me, or is that portal thingie shrinking?

Zipp: (from o.s.) Nope.

(She descends in front of it, FlyPad in hoof.)

Zipp: Not just you.

(Once she lands, the view shifts to a close-up of its screen, which presents a camera-eye view of the passage that is outlined in green to match a full bar graph displayed above. As she continues, the graph abruptly half-empties itself and goes yellow, and a matching smaller oval appears within the first, concentric with it to mark off the reduced area.)

Zipp: (from o.s.) It seems to be moving pretty slowly, though. (She puts the device away; cut to her on the next sentence.) I think we have enough time to do a little digging and investigate—

Hitch: (crossing to her) Well, then, let’s hurry, so we can still get out of here—wherever “here” is!

Misty: We did just finish defeating Opaline— (stretching, yawning) —and I was sort of getting ready to take a nap— (Cut to Sunny/Izzy, who nod to each other, then back as she continues.) —buuut I could muster enough energy for another quick adventure. (jumping, kicking at a drift) Plus, I’ve never been in snow before. (Scoop up a bit.) Hmmm. I thought it would be colder.

Izzy: (from o.s.) This snow is different.

(Cut to her and Sunny on the end of the previous line; she yells as her hooves lose traction and drop her gracelessly into a pile of it. Almost as soon as she regains her balance, another slip puts her down again; this time, she comes up a bit more carefully and laughs all the while.)

Izzy: It’s extra-extra-slippy. (Legs slide out; she belly-flops.) And extra-sparkly! (Sunny helps her up; she collects a sample.)

Sunny: You’re right! What a fascinating place! Let’s find out what brought us here.

(A bit of blabbering from ground level draws her focus; cut to frame Sparky waving to get the attention of her, Izzy, and Pipp. He scampers away eagerly.)

Sunny: (following him) I guess Sparky’s leading the way.

(Laughing, all six fall in to follow their scaly guide. Cut to an extreme close-up of a snowy patch, part of which crumbles away—it has built up on a treetop, and a pan brings the group into view in a long overhead shot as it falls free. They are following a path through the forest, Sparky riding on Hitch’s back; at ground level and Izzy bringing up the rear. Ground level: Izzy looks around herself with amazement.)

Izzy: Ooh!

(She slips and falls with a yell, then sits up with a weary groan and shakes the loose snow off her head.)

Izzy: (brushing her chest clean) All this slipping is making it… (Spit out a mouthful.) …very hard to “ooh” and “ahh.”

Hitch: Need a hoof? (He offers one; she uses it to pull herself up.)

Izzy: I feel like I’m gonna be slipping in this snow forever!

(Sparky gives a happy cry and dives off Hitch’s back into a drift; in close-up, he lands on his back, swings all four legs to make the dragon equivalent of a snow angel, and jumps up to show off his work. A chuckle from the o.s. Hitch; cut back to him and Izzy standing over Sparky.)

Hitch: Sparky seems to love it. (Cut to Sunny/Pipp/Misty on the next line.)

Pipp: (petulantly) We’ve been searching a long time! Will we ever find anything?

Zipp: (from o.s. above) Found something!

(Tilt quickly up to the white mare circling overhead, then cut to ground level as she lands.)

Zipp: This way!

Izzy: (starting ahead) Come on, everypony!

(She laughs her way through a brief sliding fumble, and the rest of the crew sets off after her. Very soon she is galloping to the top of a ridge.)

Izzy: (slipping a bit) W-Whoa!

(A quick application of haunches against ground allows her to make a controlled stop, and she voices a soft gasp at the otherworldly colors playing through the expanse of sky above her.)

Izzy: Wooooow…

(She looks over the edge and gasps, Sunny/Zipp doing likewise as they and Misty reach her.)

Misty: Whoa…

(Cut to just behind their heads and zoom in slowly to the sound of further quiet exclamations. They are overlooking a cluster of circular, gold-trimmed blue/violet buildings with snow-dotted, crystal-domed roofs lined up on either side of a short street that has been swept clean. Standing at the far end is a larger structure in the same style, on the far edge of an expansive circular plaza decorated with a giant snowflake pattern on its surface. A translucent awning stretches down and forward from the roof to shield its main entrance from falling snow. The camera shifts to an overhead shot and slow zoom out, marked by a wondering gurgle from the o.s. Sparky and picking out a few walking trails that thread between the buildings and out to the surrounding hills and cliffs. One arm of a lake reaches between the cliffs and the rear of the main building. The whole place—the village of Starlight Ridge—shows no sign of equine life.)

Pipp: (from o.s.) Ooooh! (Cut to her and Hitch; she whips out her phone and snaps a picture.)

Misty: Whoa…

Zipp: Wow!

Sunny: Wow! It’s so pretty under the starry sky! This place is incredible!

Zipp: (peering ahead, shading eyes) More like “incredibly empty.”

(Cut to/from their perspective on these last two lines, tilting up from village to sky, then back to Zipp and Misty.)

Misty: Where is everypony?

Hitch: It’s like the whole place has been completely deserted.

Misty: But it can’t be because of Opaline this time.

(Dissolve to a long overhead shot of the group advancing along the street toward the plaza. A frigid wind whistles among the buildings. At ground level, the camera zooms in on the main one, putting them o.s.; on the next line, cut to an overhead shot of them entering the open area. Pipp has put her phone away by this point.)

Pipp: Why would anypony abandon a fabulous place like this?

(They continue their move across the plaza, but stop short at the sound of a series of muffled thumps. They are evenly spaced out in groups of three, the third with a slightly different timbre from the first two, and each group is followed by a brief silence to form a fast four-beat pattern.)

Misty: (fearfully) What is that? (She hangs back briefly as the others close in on the entrance.)

Sunny: It sounds like it’s coming from in there.

Misty: (pointing behind herself) Why is everypony trotting towards the scary noises when there is perfectly good silence in the other direction?

Sunny: Don’t worry, Misty. We’re all going together. We’ve got your back.

Misty: (slightly chagrined) Oh, right. (Weak laugh.) I keep forgetting.

(Her face still betraying a degree of unease, she joins the advance and is soon standing before the closed double doors with the others. Cut to their other side as they swing open to frame the group, the beats now heard clearly—two thumps and a clap. As Sunny and company smile broadly and voice a range of surprised reactions, the camera zooms out slowly to frame row on row of crystal-horned unicorns sitting at long tables within that run from front to back, on either side of a broad central aisle. They are styled similarly to the visitors and wearing headbands fitted around their horns to match Izzy, and all have mugs of hot cocoa. The first two beats and the third are made, respectively, by banging these vessels and a free hoof against the tables, and heads bob in time. Cool blues, violets, and greens dominate in the ponies’ color schemes, and the horns appear a bit more roughly shaped than those of Izzy and Misty. Expansive windows run the length of the side walls.)

(One figure steps slowly along the length of this meeting hall toward its far end, the camera shifting to pick out blue-shaded legs, a pale blue-green mane/tail and light violet coat, and a necklace with a six-pointed star. Tilt up from this last to frame the walker’s face: a stocky mare with medium green eyes and purple brows, who lifts a flute in her magic and begins to play. This is Violet Frost. Unlike the Equestrian unicorns seen to date in the series, her field does not completely envelop her horn and the flute, but instead spirals around both in a thick rope of light. The same will be true of other villagers, known as “auroricorns.”)

Light, peppy drum/synthesizer/bass melody with flute accents; brisk 4 (B flat minor)

Background lyrics muted; banging/stomping stops

Violet:                  [Everypony, come on!]

(She prances in the aisle near a model mountain peak ringed by a spiraling, slowly rotating set of shelves loaded with mugs. Star-shaped lamps hang from the ceiling.)

                        [Da, da, da, da-da]

                        [Da, da, da, da, da-da] [Time to shine now!]

                        [Da, da, da, da-da] [You gotta shine now!]

(Off to one side is Comet, a stallion licking his chops as he glances at the fully loaded tray balanced on his back. Pale blue-green coat; purple eyes with dark blue-green brows behind hexagonal glasses; long straight mane/tail shading from pale blue to purple at the ends, the former containing one kinked lock; blue shading on his legs; necklace with a four-pointed star; blue-green horn. Violet puts her flute away, snags two mugs and stacks one on the other, and slides them along one table in opposite directions for spectators to catch. When she winds down her magic, her horn is revealed to be green.)

Violet:         Hey, put those working hooves away, it’s time to hit the beat [Hit the beat!]

                The sun is down, the stars are shooting far as the eye can see [Whoo!]

(Comet exerts his field to plunk the last three mugs from his tray onto the table and slide them to a waiting trio, who nimbly pass them back and forth without spilling a drop.)

                Come on over, join the party, just have fun with me [With me!]

(The new arrivals start to get into the groove.)

                There ain’t nopony here that’s watching, use your magic to believe

(The camera descends from the ceiling to frame her dancing amid a ring of auroricorns.)

Violet:                [Oh-h-h] The stars align, the moon is shining

                [Oh-h-h] [It’s shining, yes, it’s shining!] And can’t you feel the night sky

     humming?

(The others gallop away; she spins to join them by the shelves.)

                [Oh-h-h] It’s like it’s up there, calling out to me

                [It’s calling out to me!] To me

(She leaps onto a table and trots its length as others pound/pass/chug their mugs, while Comet pulls two beaming, giggling mares away.) 

Violet:                Starshine Time, we’re only getting brighter

                We’re glowing up together, we shine, shine, shine [We shine!]

(Now she leads a skipping procession along the tabletop, including Comet; he stumbles and falls, leading the next colt back to run into him. Both quickly get up, smiling and unhurt.)

                Starshine Time, we’re only getting brighter

                We’re glowing up together, we shine, shine, shine

(Some auroricorns circle the mug display, while others bob their heads in time and Violet walks the hall, flute to lips; she leaps up to balance atop the model summit.)

Violet:                [Da, da, da, da-da]

                [Da, da, da, da, da-da]

                [Da, da, da, da-da]

                We shine, shine, shine [We shine!]

Song ends

(The performance garners hearty shouts of approval from Sunny and company, ending with an “Encore! Encore!” from Izzy. Instead of obliging the request, though, all the auroricorns freeze in place, eyes bugging out and jaws falling open in mute shock. After perhaps one second of dead silence, they peel out screaming in every possible direction and are gone almost before their mugs can hit the tables or floor. Most of them charge out the side doors, one takes cover under a bench, and a hapless colt yells and flails his forelegs wildly before clearing off. A mare doubles back just long enough to drain her mug before rejoining the evacuation. Within just over five seconds, the hall is bereft of any auroricorn presence; Sunny stares in through the doorway as a stunned Misty turns to the others outside.)

Sunny: Was it something we said?

Misty: Where did everypony go? (Long shot of the group; zoom out slowly.)

Sunny: (voice raised, echoing) Uh, we’re really sorry! We didn’t mean to frighten you ponies! (Behind them, panning along their line.)

Izzy: (voice raised) We’re friendly, we promise!

Sunny: Please come out!

Hitch: Yeah, and we ended up here by accident! (shakily, under his breath) We don’t even know where we are.

Voice of Violet: Hello!

(Izzy steps aside and looks behind herself to find the speaker at the doorway, hidden from view by the unicorn’s body. Violet has put away her flute, and a fair bit of nervousness comes through clearly when she speaks.)

Violet: Sorry about the sudden disappearance. We…shouldn’t have panicked like that.

(Cut to her perspective of them on this first sentence, then back to her for the second. Sparky’s amazed cooing reaches her just before he does, prompting a giggle.)

Violet: We’re just not used to new faces around here, and…you know, it’s kinda hard to know who to trust or what is real… (under her breath) …because of the trance.

Sunny: Trance?

Violet: (forced casual tone) Trance? (laughing, trailing off) Who said—who said that?  Not me.

(Pipp and Zipp exchange unsettled/suspicious glances; now Violet slaps on a big grin.)

Violet: (stepping out, turning to face group) Anyway, we’re very glad to meet you. (addressing surroundings) Right, everypony?

(Her movements expose a patch of blue crystal on her right haunch, not unlike the large and prominent emblazoned scale worn by each of the adult dragons Sunny and crew have met to date. This will be true of the other auroricorns in the village. Violet’s depicts a flute overlaid on a starburst. She brings up the genuine article in her magic and plays a quick shower of notes, prompting auroricorns to peek warily out from their assorted hiding places and gather in the plaza. However, they make a conscious effort to avoid eye contact with the out-of-towners. Comet, on the other hand, bounds out from behind a snowdrift with a laugh. His voice and movements broadcast a high-strung energy, and he adjusts his glasses from time to time. Violet has stashed her flute by the time he reaches her.)

Comet: (skidding, nearly falling) Our mistake…whoa! (Laugh.) We love visitors! Not that we’ve really ever had any, but I think we love visitors. I mean, at least I do?

(His hooves give way and he slides over to Violet on his belly, then gets up. This sequence shows the streaking meteor emblazoned on his haunch.)

Comet: We just can’t really invite anypony here because of— (Her pointed throat-clearing stops him short; he drops to his haunches, clapping hooves to mouth.)

Violet: (crossing to group) Uh, what Comet here is trying to say is…“Welcome to Starlight Ridge!”

Comet: (whispering) I’m sorry, Violet. I-I didn’t mean to say that. (Violet’s perspective of the group.)

Zipp: Say what?

Violet: (offering a hoof to shake) I’m Violet Frost. (Side view; Sunny takes it.)

Sunny: I’m Sunny. And this is— (Izzy barges up.)

Izzy: Izzy! (shaking hooves with Violet) Izzy Moonbow! (Pan to bring Pipp/Zipp into view on Violet’s other side during the next line.)

Zipp: Name’s Zipp. (Shake.)

Pipp: (doing likewise) Pipp. Lovely to meet you.

Hitch: (shaking Comet’s hoof) Hitch.

Misty: (stepping in, shaking the other one; Comet’s forelegs end up crossed) Hi. I’m Misty.

Sunny: (gasping, holding up Sparky) And this is Sparky. (He sneezes fire, just short of Violet’s face.)

Violet: (stroking his chin) We’ve never met any ponies that aren’t auroricorns before.

Sunny: (setting him down) And we’ve never met any that are! We’re so happy to be here.

Izzy: (beaming, laughing) I have never seen anypony flute-jam like that before.

Violet: (laughing sheepishly) I got a little carried away. (under her breath) But I had to have some fun, while I still can. (Gasp; hoof to mouth.)

Zipp: “Have fun while you still can”?

(She lifts off and cuts a tight arc to bring herself nose to nose with Violet.)

Zipp: What does that mean? (Izzy hops over.)

Izzy: Yeah! I like to have fun all the time!

Violet: (forcing a grin alongside Comet) So do I, Izzy.

(Both Sunny and Izzy are placated by this statement, but Zipp is definitely not buying it.)

Comet: (whispering) Violet! Violet, I have an idea! Be right back!

(He gallops across the plaza to the meeting hall and almost immediately comes out with a tray of full, steaming mugs on his back as the doors close behind him. The return trip is at a more sedate pace, but a sudden loss of traction drops him flat with a shout, sending his freight toward the sky. He fires up his horn just in time to catch the lot with his aura rather than his head. Every mug ends up right back on the tray, with no spillage.)

Comet: (laughing) Sorry about that. Sometimes my hooves can’t keep up with my brain. 

Violet: (laughing) Comet is our Starlight Ridge cocoa specialist. (He stands up.)

Comet: Mmm-hmm! Here.

(He lifts the tray in his forelegs: six mugs, one of which is frozen solid.)

Comet: Try a few of our favorite flavors. Okay, let’s see. We’ve got, uh… (Cut to Sunny; he continues o.s.) …apple-oat cocoa, razzleberry cocoa, hay-milk cocoa, jumping-jellybean cocoa…

(As he reels off the flavors, one mug each is floated to Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, and Misty in turn. The titular ingredient in this last one leaps upward from the surface and is caught in Izzy’s mouth on its second trip.)

Izzy: (chomping it down) Mmmm! Jumpy!

Comet: (from o.s.) …salty cinnamon cocoa, snowflake-shaped marshmallow cocoa, and…

(Marked by the giving of mugs to Violet, Pipp, and Hitch, who gets the frozen one. Back to Comet.)

Comet: …my personal favorite—super-ice-cold frozen cocoa!

(Back to Hitch/Sparky as he finishes, the Sheriff giving the drink a hairy eyeball and trying unsuccessfully to pour it out.)

Hitch: Oh…uh…thaaanks.

(He holds it back over his shoulder, perfectly positioned for Sparky to melt it with his fire breath and take a sip. Cut to Violet, pacing the plaza.)

Violet: You ponies are in luck, because today is Starshine Time!

Izzy: (from o.s.) YES!!

(Cut to her and Misty, sitting to enjoy their beverages. She guzzles the rest of hers, stands up, and spikes the mug.)

Izzy: Woo-hoo!

(hopping in place, singing tunelessly)        Starshine Time is my favorite 

                                                It’s my fa—

(spoken) Quick question for you. What is it? (Comet has put his tray aside.)

Comet: Starshine Time is our special day of fun!

Sunny: Oh, my hoofness! (Gasp.) What great timing!

Hitch: (to Comet) Give us a second, would you?

(He hustles her away with a placating chuckle, Zipp following; the three gather in for a private chat, all with mugs gone.)

Hitch: While fun does sound fun, let’s not forget that there is a shrinking portal that we have to get back to.

Sunny: I totally hear you— (glancing at passing auroricorns) —but these are ponies we’ve never, ever met before. This is our chance to make friends with them.

(A smile and wave from one sparks her and Izzy to trade nods of silent agreement; meanwhile, Zipp pulls out her FlyPad and studies its screen intently.)

Zipp: Hmmm…eh… (Put it away.) …I guess we’ve got some time to hang. (thumping Hitch’s chest) But after that, we’re definitely going back.

Hitch: Starshine Time does sound pretty cool.

Pipp: (singsong, pulling him aside) And they do musical numbers! (Zipp looks to the sky.)

Zipp: Plus, Sunny’s probably right. If we’re here in Starlight Ridge, it must be for a reason.

Sunny: (pulling Izzy close; the other mares gather around her) And, what better way to find out what it is than having fun with new friends?

(Hitch regards them impassively, but a cheerful bit of babble from ground level informs him that Sparky has tipped out the dregs of his mug and gotten a bit of cocoa on his cheeks.)

Mares: (pleadingly, with big soulful eyes) Awww…

Hitch: (smiling, relenting) Okay. Starshine Time it is. (Cheers all around.)

Izzy: (pumping a hoof) Yeah!

(Violet smiles at Comet, who responds with a worried little grin. Cut to the top of the cliffs overlooking the rear of Starlight Ridge and tilt down to frame the group gathered at the edge of the lake that reaches behind the meeting hall. A close-up picks out the ice skates worn by all the ponies—the lake is frozen over—and Comet and Violet are first to glide out, the latter giggling to herself as their blades leave brief showers of crystalline sparks. The same will be true for all other skaters. Izzy, a few steps back, is the only one to show any trepidation.)

Sunny: (rearing up briefly) Oh, I’m so excited! I love skating! (She hits the ice.)

Izzy: Uh-oh. I’m not so sure about this.

Pipp: Don’t worry, Izzy. You’ll do great.

(Off she goes, building up speed and launching herself into a twirling leap. Curlicue patterns in pale blue fade into view on the ice as she does her thing.)

Pipp: Whee! I could do this all day! (Zipp whisks past, adding to the design.)

Zipp: This is pretty awesome! Aw, yeah!

(She laughs and cuts a sharp turn, throwing a curtain of ice crystals over the screen. These clear to frame Sunny pulling off a few moves of her own and making her own contribution to the swirling curves, which now cover much of the surface.)

Sunny: I feel like I haven’t skated in forever! I’ve missed it so much!

(Here come Hitch and Misty side by side, each holding a giggling Sparky up by one foreleg so that his hind limbs can graze the ice. He is the only one without skates. The pattern embellishes itself a little more as they pass. Izzy has remained on the shore throughout, anxiety running wild under the bright blue mane.)

Izzy: (to herself) Okay. Come on, Izzy. (stepping gingerly ahead) You’ve got this.

(As soon as she puts one blade on the frozen surface, she turns into a flailing, scrambling tangle of limbs.)

Izzy: I DON’T GOT THIS!!

(Down she goes, smacking her chin hard and sliding to a most undignified stop amid the others.)

Izzy: I can’t even do it for a second.

Sunny: (circling around her) It’s okay, Izzy. It’ll just take some getting used to. Just go slowly.

(Izzy heaves herself up only to immediately find herself in danger of another tumble.)

Izzy: Whoooaaa! (Sunny catches her.)

Sunny: Okay, maybe not. (Chuckle.)

Izzy: (sighing) I’m no good at trotting on this crystal ice, and I’m even worse at skating on it!

Comet: (crossing to them, nearly falling) Don’t woOORRY!! Whoa!

(He spins himself to a stop with an embarrassed laugh.)

Comet: I have never been good at trotting or skating, either.

Izzy: Huh? You haven’t?

Comet: (shaking head) Mmm-mmm. I’ve got my own way of doing it. I call it— (Brief stumble.) —whoa!— (Laugh.) —trip-skating.

Izzy: Well… (Giggle.) …the name sounds fun.

Comet: (nodding) Mmm-hmm! Follow my lead!

(He proceeds to describe a very wobbly oval, punctuated by assorted yelps and at least one mostly-intelligible “whoa!”, and gets a big smile from Izzy.)

Izzy: (laughing) Aw, yeah! Trip-skating looks more my speed!

Comet: (offering a hoof) Well, let’s do it together.

(She takes it and the two glide away, each wavering and bobbling and exclaiming in his/her own time.)

Comet: (amid shouts) Hey! You got it! Whoa, you’re a natural!

(Hitch and Misty join in Sparky’s laughter as they continue their leisurely cruise, while Pipp and Zipp carry out a two-part study in angular motion—the former twirling in place and vocalizing, the latter laughing and circling her. Sunny and Violet join in the merriment as they weave back and forth. High above, a spot of yellow light kindles in the aurora-tinged sky and blossoms into a giant eight-pointed star, with pulses emerging from the points to rotate slowly around it. The entire display cycles through a spectrum of glimmering pastel colors.)

Sunny: (dumbstruck) What was that?

Pipp: (flaring wings) It was absolutely stunning!

Violet: (forced casual tone) Oh, it’s nothing. Just an aurora flare.

Zipp: Um, nothing is ever just nothing.

Sunny: Is that why today is called Starshine Time?

Violet: Yep!

(Two other auroricorns who have ventured onto the ice stop short and gasp upon seeing the light show, catching Zipp’s attention when they grimace and avert their eyes.)

Zipp: Hmmm…

Sunny: (to Violet) So, what activity is up next?

(Izzy loses her balance, then Comet, and both go down in a yelling heap. From here, cut to a first-person perspective of a bobsled run, the camera racing uphill along the slick surface and veering back and forth through the turns. It stops on the group at the top end, all of whom have shed their skates. Convex metal platters are piled up here for use as one-pony sleds; Hitch eyes them distrustfully, while an auroricorn mare stands ready to take the plunge. A stomp from Violet dislodges one sled to skid over the edge, and the mare leaps onto it and is off with a joyous whoop, having landed in a sitting position.)

Violet: The ice slide is my absolute favorite thing to do during Starshine Time.

Hitch: (shakily) As an earth pony, I prefer keeping all four hooves on the ground.

Izzy: (walking to launch, crouching) I can’t slip and slide by accident if I slip and slide on purpose!

(Not bothering to grab a sled, she flings herself onto the run and soon attains a ludicrous speed, remaining upright as she yells her way through the curves.)

Izzy: Whee!

(The track is interrupted by a frozen creek; she sails off the top end of the ramp on one side and comes neatly down on the other with a laugh. Pipp, Zipp, and Misty are close behind, but riding on sleds rather than hooves.)

Hitch: Maybe Sparky and I will just sit this one out—

(The little fellow gives the lie to his words by jumping off his back and leaping onto the run, riding it in a sitting position with no sled.)

Hitch: (deflated) —or just me.

Violet: Don’t worry, Hitch. (horn flaring briefly) We’ve got auroricorn magic. We promise we won’t let you get hurt.

(Now she pushes a sled to the brink, hops on, and is gone with a laugh.)

Violet: Whooooooo!

(Laughing, she takes the jump over the creek. Sunny, Hitch, and Comet are the only ones still up top; the law-pony gathers his nerve.)

Hitch: (puling a sled to himself, stepping on) Okay. If Sparky can do it… (easing himself onto run) …so can IIIIIIIIII!!

(His last word trails off into half-crazed laughter as he rockets down the course and over the creek.)

Hitch: This is so much fun! (Gleeful yelp.) Here we go!

(A contented sigh escapes his lips as he reaches the bottom, letting the sled go and sliding to rest on his belly. Comet and finally Sunny come down after him, both keeping their hooves under them as they abandon their vehicles; the others have already done likewise, and all laugh merrily over the experience. Cut to the sky, where another eight-pointed aurora flare bursts into being, and tilt down to the group on the following line.)

Sunny: Wow! Another one!

Misty: They’re so gorgeous! (Comet winces; cut to it again, then to Pipp as she speaks.)

Pipp: I wish aurora flares would happen in Equestria.

Zipp: It seems like the aurora flare happens whenever everypony is having a good time. It’s clearly connected to—

Comet: (excitedly) Equestria? I—I’ve never heard of it.

Izzy: (flabbergasted, gasping deeply) You’ve never heard of Equestria?

Pipp: (sputtering) Neigh way!

Comet: Oh, I have always dreamed of traveling, but…I-I’ve never been allowed to leave Starlight Ridge.

Sunny: Wait, what do you mean, allowed?

Comet: (suddenly startled) Um—

Violet: On to the next activity!

(She walks away, keeping her face turned to hide her slightly scared expression.)

Sunny: Huh.

Zipp: Uhhh…

(Comet and the gang follow, Pipp lifting off.)

Act Two

(Long overhead shot of the plaza, zooming in slowly as the ponies and dragon work on an assortment of snow/ice sculptures. During the first sentence of the following line, the camera cuts/pans here and there to pick out some of their individual efforts: an eighth note for Pipp, a drone for Zipp, a butterfly for Misty, the three “squad” members standing one on top of the other for Hitch, an egg for Sparky. The second sentence is accompanied by a cut to a raptly listening Comet and a humoring Violet, then to Sunny putting the finishing touches on a sculpture of the Unity Crystals and crossing to them. Comet is lying down, Violet standing.)

Sunny: And when we finished counting, we realized there were exactly thirty-five lampposts in the whole area! And, um, that’s basically every single fact I can think of about Equestria. (Chuckle; Comet stands up.)

Comet: Wow. Equestria sounds incredible! I would love to go. Wouldn’t you, Violet Frost?

Violet: It does sound amazing, but I could never leave Starlight Ridge. It’s my home. (scooping up a bit of snow) It’s special, don’t you think? (scattering it in air) Even the snow here is known for having magical healing properties.

Sunny: Wow!

Pipp: That is special.

Sunny: Starlight Ridge is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. You all are pretty lucky to live here.

Violet: (momentarily downcast) Yeah, we are. But Equestria sounds like a wonderful place to visit. (Chuckle.)

(In close-up, Izzy turns away from the product of her labor, a likeness of the entire Maretime Bay contingent.)

Izzy: It is! It’s our home! And it has…

(She mimics a drum fill as the camera zooms out slightly to frame the sculpture in full detail, as well as a snow arch framing it.)

Izzy: …all of us there! Ta-daaa!

Violet: (laughing) Whoa, Izzy! Those are some skills. (Sparky waddles to his duplicate…)

Izzy: You know, at first I didn’t like the snow. (…and hops up on its head; she scrabbles briefly for purchase) It’s slippy and stuff. But now it’s really starting to grow on me.

(The infant chooses this moment to sneeze fire, which melts and dislodges a portion of the arch. It comes down on Izzy’s head as a deluge of slush.)

Izzy: And now it’s starting to melt on me.

Hitch: (hurrying over) Oh, Sparky, buddy, gotta be careful with your magic. (Sparky whimpers sadly; Izzy leans toward him, now clean.)

 Izzy: It’s okay, Sparky. It’s a quick fix.

(A bit of singing to herself, a deft application of horn-power, and the arch is good as new. Hitch has taken Sparky up in a foreleg.)

Izzy: (sitting) Ta-daaa! Again.

(Tilt up into the sky, an amalgam of laughs and cheers drifting upward from o.s. as a fresh aurora flare decorates the heavens, then cut to Sunny and Zipp.)

Zipp: I knew it! Every time we finish doing something really fun, the aurora flare blasts across the sky!

Sunny: You’re right. I-It makes perfect sense! (Cut to the flare and tilt down to Violet as she continues.) The flares are attached to the auroricorns’ special kind of cutie mark magic!

(The local mare watches the patch on her haunch with some consternation as it gleams brightly, but does her best to conceal this reaction in her next words.)

Violet: (laughing) Wow! What a day! I’ve had so much fun. Have you ponies had fun?

Zipp: Why won’t you talk about the aurora flares? (Violet’s haunch has gone quiet now.)

Comet: The aurora flares? Yeah! They’re super-special and sooo unique, right? (sitting, then standing again) Like, wooow! When I first saw one when I was a colt, I couldn’t believe my eyes! They’re incredi-mazing. Did you know that—

Violet: (abruptly, cutting him off) They sure are! (Laugh.) Now for our next activity, we should…uh…

Zipp: Okay, hang on one second. Something isn’t adding up about this. Why is everypony acting so funny every time we bring up the aurora flares?

(Cut briefly to/from a pair of auroricorns standing nearby on these words, eyes flicking warily to and fro. Comet and Violet copy this behavior before Sunny offers a placating laugh and extends a foreleg to block the pegasus from getting any closer.)

Sunny: Will you excuse us for one second? We just have to go… (ushering Zipp away) …look at that patch of snow, uh, over there.

(The gang gathers near Izzy’s sculpture; cut to ground level, the camera pointed straight up at all seven heads as they come in for a huddle.)

Sunny: (whispering) I agree with Zipp. Something strange is going on. I know the Together Tree portal brought us here for a reason, but what is it?

Izzy: Maybe the reason we were brought here was just to have some fun. (Close-up of Misty, the huddle broken.)

Misty: Yeah, we really did need it after everything we’ve been through.

Sunny: Mmmm—maybe, but could the reason really not be bad for once?

Zipp: Hmmm…seems sketchy.

(A bell begins a doleful tolling, drawing gasps from all who hear it. Cut to Hitch/Izzy/Misty/Sparky; behind them, auroricorns can be seen filing into their homes.)

Hitch: What’s with the bells? (Expansive yawn from the o.s. Violet; cut to her and Comet.)

Violet: Oh, you know what? Today has been so great, but—

Comet: Uh, right, yep! (yawning) Time for bed! (Sunny and Zipp trade bewildered looks.)

Zipp: Bed?

Sunny: Now? (chuckling weakly) What about all the other activities?

Violet: (laughing) You ponies are hilarious! (hastily) The bell’s ringing, so we have to go to sleep now. (yawning, normal cadence) It was so great meeting all of you.

(A brief cut to/from Sunny/Hitch/Zipp on this last sentence tells just how much trouble they are having with this explanation. Comet and Violet walk off.)

Comet: (calling over shoulder) Bye! Thanks for visiting! (Violet stops.)

Violet: You should really go home now. But…we did have a really great time with you. (Off she goes.)

Sunny: (crushed) Aw…

(Doors are slammed shut up and down the street; Violet pauses at hers, throws a regretful look back toward the plaza, and steps inside, letting it close behind her. Long overhead shot of the plaza, framing the Equestrians, their snow/ice creations, and a whole lot of empty space. One final stroke of the bell dies away in the still air.)

Izzy: (crestfallen) That’s it? (Cut to her and Misty.) We’re done? (Deep breath.) It was so sudden.

Hitch: (crossing to them, Sparky on his back) It’s probably for the best. The portal… (laughing shakily) …must be pretty small by now.

(Sunny turns her eyes searchingly across the plaza.)

Sunny: (softly) Huh. Yeah. I guess you’re right.

(Tilt up to the latest aurora flare fading away among the stars, then cut to the group on the move through the surrounding forest and toward the portal that brought them here. It has contracted to roughly the height of an average pony.)

Misty: Wow. Look how small it is.

Hitch: Good thing we came back.

Sunny: (with sudden resolve) No. I really wanted to believe that maybe the portal brought us to Starlight Ridge to have some fun and make new friends. But something tells me that’s just not the case.

Zipp: I agree. My detective instincts are tingling. The auroricorns were acting really strange.

Pipp: Yeah, and they went to bed so suddenly. I mean, I love my beauty sleep, but that is just, like, too much.

Hitch: The portal is getting really small. If we don’t leave now, we might not make it through at all!

Misty: That would be bad. (She takes a breath through clenched teeth.)

Izzy: What do we do?

Sunny: We go back and find out what’s really going on.

Hitch: But we could get stuck here!

Sunny: It’s a risk that we’re just going to have to take. The auroricorns are our friends now. And if they’re in trouble, it’s our responsibility to help. If one of us was in trouble, we would do anything we could to help, right?

Misty: I may just be getting used to having friends, but I want to be a good one. And that means going back and making sure everything is okay with the auroricorns. (Cut to Pipp/Zipp.)

Zipp: You’re right. Nopony is going to be in trouble on my watch!

Pipp: Mine either! (To Hitch/Izzy/Misty/Sparky on the following.)

Hitch: Or mine! (Sparky blabbers his agreement.)

Izzy: (slipping/yelping briefly) Also, me.

Sunny: The auroricorns are our friends. If they need help, then help is what they’ll have.

(There follows a collective about-face for the walk back to Starlight Ridge. Upon reaching the vantage point from which they first surveyed the village in Act One, they find a fresh aurora flare lighting up the cosmos—and Comet and four other auroricorns standing in the plaza with horns aglow and wide-eyed grins fixed on their faces. Zoom out slowly from these ponies, then cut back to Pipp and Zipp.)

Zipp: Uh…what are they doing?

Pipp: Well, they’re certainly not sleeping, that’s for sure. (Zoom out to frame Izzy alongside as she speaks.)

Izzy: I guess they wanted to keep having fun without us? (Anguished gasp.) But why? We’re a super-duper good time!

Zipp: Let’s go take a closer look.

(Down below, the five on the plaza raise their horns, triggering small, gleaming, lozenge-shaped projectiles—think of the diamonds on playing cards—to hurtle toward them from among the stars. Comet is first to catch one in his magic and trot across the plaza with it, followed soon by the others. Sunny and company watch the bespectacled stallion pass the snowdrifts they are using for cover, then begin following him across the frozen landscape. Sunny only speaks up after several dozen yards.)

Sunny: Comet! (All stop.) Comet? Can you hear me? What’s going on?

(He moves off in a new direction, paying no mind, and only stops to avoid colliding with Izzy when she slides across to intercept him. A series of goofy faces and yells does absolutely nothing to bring him back to himself.)

Izzy: Huh. (Pipp/Zipp approach.) Even my Izzy boinks and bonks didn’t snap him out of it. (Comet starts on a new heading.) That usually works.

Zipp: What do you think he’s doing?

Pipp: I’m not sure, but he’s definitely acting odd.

Izzy: Uh, I know odd. This was even odder than that, which I normally love—but not this time! (Cut to frame Hitch on the next line.)

Hitch: Do you think this is why they wanted us to leave?

Zipp: Yeah, not so sure this fits into their fun Starshine Time. (Pan to follow Comet past her and frame Sunny on the next line.)

Sunny: Then why do they all look so…happy?

(Misty spots Violet standing before a gazebo not far away. A winged shape with a long tail hovers inside, most of its features blocked by the domed roof and columns.)

Misty: There’s Violet Frost! Should we go talk to her?

(Sunny, Pipp, and Zipp have no immediate response. In a closer shot, the occupant of the gazebo flies out—a large female leopard with a shock of purple hair streaked in light blue that falls down the right side of her face. Her coat is purple, with a lighter hue appearing around her nose/mouth and the spots that run down her body, and the paws/underbelly shade to light blue. The base of each wing is purple, shading to dark blue and then light blue along the feathers. A spiked carrier made of dark blue ice and containing some gleaming object floats nearby, and a small, medium blue rabbit with purple-tipped ears rides on her back. These two are Allura and Twitch, respectively; Allura purrs softly, waves of blue-green energy radiating outward from her mouth and washing over Violet, who hurriedly backs up a step or two. The camera angle frames Allura and Twitch in profile from their left, showing a broad metal ring that runs through a piercing in the tip of the former’s ear.)

Pipp: (from o.s.) Oh, my hoofness! (Cut to her and the others.) Who is that?

(A close-up of the pair reveals Allura’s light brown eyes and a second ear piercing. Back to the group on the next line.)

Hitch: I have no idea, but I think we can all agree that she does not look friendly.

Izzy: (shuddering audibly, pointing ahead) Neither does he!

(Cut to a long shot of Twitch and zoom in quickly to a close-up; now his near-white underbelly is in plain view as he snickers to himself.)

Zipp: I knew something was off about this place!

Sunny: They’re clearly in trouble. Maybe if we get closer to Violet Frost, we can hear what they’re saying.

(She leads the gang slowly and cautiously toward the gazebo.)

Violet: (with effort, grunting) Let go of me, Allura!

(The airborne feline’s voice is low, gravelly, and unmistakably menacing.)

Allura: Don’t try to fight it, Violet Frost. (The waves stop.) Find me the star that I desire.

(Twitch laughs nastily as the flow resumes; the auroricorn straightens up and stares blankly ahead, a violet flicker playing across her eyes.)

Violet: (placidly) Yes, Allura. (Allura cuts it again.)

Allura: Don’t forget to smile.

(The haze clears from Violet’s eyes and her mouth stretches into a wide, immobile grin to match those of Comet and company.)

Allura: And have fun.

(She flies off, taking the carrier with her and leaving behind only another unpleasant laugh from Twitch. Violet quickly brings a shining lozenge down from the sky as Comet had done and heads into the forest, to the great dismay of the seven watchers during a slow zoom in on them. Dissolve to a stretch of snowy treetops and tilt down to them at ground level.)

Misty: What do we do?

Zipp: Clearly this Allura has got all the auroricorns under her spell.

(A laughing Comet and Violet pass, each levitating a lozenge projectile from the sky.)

Sunny: We have to snap them out of it!

(They waste no time in getting after the pair, who continue in their joyless mirth.)

Sunny: Maybe if we can get Violet Frost and Comet far away from Allura— (galloping ahead) —we can get them out of the trance. (She plants her haunches and slides to a stop near…) Violet Frost! (raising forelegs) Stop! Violet, no!

(But the entranced mare just keeps plodding along with her payload, knocking Sunny aside. Hitch and Izzy fare just as poorly when they try to impede her forward progress; Sparky falls off the former’s back, while the latter gets spun in place before collapsing in a heap.)

Izzy: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

(Across the way, Pipp and Zipp come out on the wrong end of a brief wrestling match with Comet and find themselves toppled onto the snow. Now Misty gets into the act, trying to grapple with Violet and getting thrown off, and Hitch—with Sparky on his back again—seizes a hind leg.)

Misty: Wow. They are being really difficult. (Violet pulls loose.)

Hitch: And happily! (Sparky jumps off his back and onto hers.)

Pipp: (hovering, spreading forelegs wide) You do not want to go that way!

(When Violet pays no attention to the airborne roadblock, Sunny leaps in and tries to push her back, only to go flat on her face. Sparky jumps clear and scrambles over to her.)

Sunny: (standing) We need to be organized. Let’s link up.

(Five mares and one stallion plant themselves in the path of Comet and Violet, standing shoulder to shoulder, and succeed in bulldozing them back several yards. Comet’s eyes briefly flicker violet before he returns to reality, letting his lozenge drop.)

Comet: (dazedly) Huh? (Violet comes to as well.)

Violet: (dropping hers) Sunny? (Overhead shot of the gathering on the next line.)

Comet: What are you all doing here?

Sunny: Huh! (Ground level.) It worked! Finally! (galloping ahead with Hitch; Sparky jumping on his back) Hurry! Over here!

(All race down a trail and stop a distance away.)

Violet: (sadly) I guess you discovered our secret.

Zipp: Violet, what’s going on? You can tell us.

Pipp: Yeah, we just want to help.

Sunny: (patting Violet’s shoulder) It’s okay. We’re friends.

Violet: We didn’t want to tell you because we didn’t want to risk you all getting hurt too.

Hitch: Violet, who is that? What does she want? (Sparky gabbles impatiently.)

Violet: That’s Allura.  She’s an evil tyrant that showed up one day with her little sidekick Twitch. She completely took over Starlight Ridge by force. (Cut to Sunny on this last word.)

Sunny: By force?

Comet: Yeah. Allura claimed the most important thing in our town.

(During the previous line, the view dissolves to a frost-edged flashback of the interior of the meeting hall, Comet’s words shifting to voice over. Allura bursts in through the closed front doors with Twitch on her back, finding the place almost deserted except for Violet and another auroricorn. Instead of the rotating mug display seen in Act One, the aisle is set with a small shelf at its far end on which a glowing object stands. Zoom in quickly to a close-up of this: a brass-trimmed crystal urn with a purple/white body and faintly gleaming, pale blue-green stopper. A far stronger, nearly white light emanates through the side wall, intense enough to give a vaguely lozenge-shaped outline of its source. Allura grins wickedly and hefts it in a nimbus of purple magic.)

Comet: (voice over) A special relic called the Nova Charm.

(The leopard uncorks an exultant laugh before the view dissolves back to the present.)

Pipp: That must be what we saw earlier! It was so sparkly.

Violet: (drawing a design in the snow with her flute, held by magic) The sparkliest. It’s a special charm that our town has possessed for thousands of moons. Town law says that whoever holds the power of the Charm rules Starlight Ridge. Allura managed to steal it and possess it— (hanging head dejectedly) —so she’s leader.

(Cut to/from her sketch on this line, a rough depiction of the urn or Nova Charm, then to Izzy and Misty.)

Izzy: Awww, this is no fun at all! Allura sounds like a real bully!

(Her attempt to stomp for emphasis turns into a yelling tumble when her hoof slides out, but Comet is quick to pull her back up.)

Izzy: You should stand up to her.

Comet: I wish we could, but she’s very powerful.

Violet: (from o.s.) And persuasive. (Cut to her.) She’s able to get us to do whatever she wants just by talking. (To Comet on the next line.)

Comet: If we try to stand up to her, she could destroy our whole village without us even realizing it! That’s how much her powers can trick our minds. (shaking head) It’s no use.

Sunny: But what does she want?

Violet: Allura forces us to use our magic to make the aurora flares.

(Dissolve to another frost-edged flashback on this line, her words shifting to voice over. With the Charm floating close by in the spiky ice container seen earlier, Allura purrs a spell onto Violet, making her grin with a half-choked giggle and turn away. Twitch snickers in a close-up of him and Allura, showing beady green eyes; from here, cut to an aurora flare shining across the sky amid a shower of lozenges, which descend and are caught by Violet and two others.)

Comet: (voice over) Then she makes us steal the stars out of them!

(Violet carries the one she has snagged through the forest as Allura and Twitch smile contentedly down on the stellar looting operation.) 

Violet: (voice over) She believes that one of the stars in the sky is special and contains the magic to open a portal that will lead her to another realm.  

(Dissolve to the here and now.)

Violet: She wants to control more than just Starlight Ridge.

Comet: And until she finds the right one, she’s making us steal them all.

Pipp: I can’t believe that anypony would be so cruel! Plus, the stars are stunning! That bully does not deserve any of them.

Hitch: Maybe we need to get everypony away from Allura?

Izzy: (hopping in place) You could all come back to Equestria with us!

Misty: If we figure out how to get back, that is.

Comet: That’s a great idea!

Violet: We can’t just leave our home like that! Starlight Ridge is special.

Comet: But…what else can we do, Violet Frost? (with sudden determination, galloping toward village) We have to get the auroricorns away from Allura!

Sunny: Comet, wait!

(But by the time he reaches the gazebo, the purple cast of Allura’s magic has flickered across his eyes and his mouth has stretched into an immobile grin again. He manages a strained laugh as the camera pan/tilts up to a hovering Allura, Charm at side and Twitch on back; she voices a quiet purr and lands before him.)

Allura: Comet, there you are.

(The Maretime Bay contingent, sans Sunny, peeks out from behind a tree trunk and voices a collective gasp. Pan quickly from them to a snowbank, behind which the heads of the missing mare and Violet pop up.)

Sunny, Violet: Oh, no! (Back to Comet/Allura on the next line.)

Allura: (pacing around him) Almost got lost in the woods, did you?

Comet: (placidly) Happy to be back, Allura.

Allura: That’s right. We need that happiness alive and well. Now go. (He trots away.) Join the others.

(The spies duck out of sight an instant before she and Twitch can train suspicious eyes on their area, the rabbit voicing a puzzled grunt. The two turn away, and Allura takes flight.)

Misty: (to Zipp) What are we going to do?

Zipp: There’s no way we can get everypony away from Allura long enough to remove the trance.

Violet: (nervously) There has to be another way. There has to be!

Sunny: Well, if whoever has the Nova Charm is in charge of Starlight Ridge, then there’s only one thing to do.

Violet: (resolutely) We’re getting that Charm back!

(Two pairs of green eyes stare intently toward the village from under lowered brows as a lozenge-shaped star is brought down from the night and levitated away. Allura and Twitch keep watch, flying slowly over the plaza as the leopard keeps that quiet purr going. Sunny risks a glance from behind her ice sculpture of the Crystals, Violet from one end of the arch encompassing Izzy’s group pose, and both zero in on the Charm held in its icy case and Allura’s magic. Now Izzy puts her head out alongside Violet; zoom in slowly on them.)

Violet: (softly) Wait for it…

(Misty, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp in turn risk looks from behind their respective creations. By the time Allura shifts her focus back to the plaza, though, all seven have taken cover again; they peek out only after she has cleared the area, Sparky doing likewise from the egg he sculpted.)

Violet: (whispering) Now!

(They begin to slide their statues across the plaza and toward the meeting hall, but Pipp freezes up with a panicked gasp after some seconds.)

Pipp: (softly) Hide!

(They do so with almost no time to spare before Allura/Twitch make another lazy pass, and they go unnoticed even though several body parts are in plain sight. Once the coast is clear, they gallop into the building and slam the doors behind themselves. Inside, they advance toward the far end of the deserted hall, Pipp/Zipp now flying and Sparky up on one of the tables to check the discarded mugs for traces of cocoa. He mumbles disconsolately at finding the first two empty, but tips a single drop from a third onto his tongue, smacks his lips appreciatively, and runs off carrying it. Sunny and Violet pace the floor, while the other ponies sit at the tables.)

Sunny: There’s got to be a way to stop her.

Violet: Well, everypony has a weakness.

Sunny: Exactly! We just need to figure out hers. (They pace near the shelf that had held the charm in Violet’s flashback. Zoom out slowly.) What does Allura care about?

Violet: The portal… (looking up at overhead lamps) …the stars…the aurora flares…

[Continuity error: The shelf was not present during the Equestrians’ arrival in Act One.]

(Cut to Pipp/Zipp on the next line.)

Zipp: Is this why you were being so strange about the aurora flares earlier? Because of Allura?

Violet: Yeah, sorry about that. But when we’re happy and having a great time, the aurora flares blast across the sky. We can’t help it. Allura uses her powers to trick us into feeling happy. She forces us to make the flares against our will.

Hitch: That’s horrible.

Izzy: Normally I’m all about being happy. But being tricked into it does not sound right. (Cut to Sunny/Violet and zoom in slowly on the following.)

Violet: That’s why whenever she leaves, we celebrate Starshine Time—a time when we make the flares happen by choice. Our real happiness.

Sunny: Everypony deserves to be happy.

Izzy: (hopping away from table) Mmm-hmm! Real happy.

Misty: Why does Allura want to do such bad things? (Sparky carries his mug to her.) Has she always been this way? (She tips a drop into his mouth.)

Violet: (turning to empty shelf; zoom in slowly) All I know is that Allura’s determined to find that other realm by any means possible. And she has the Nova Charm, so she’s in charge.

Sunny: Then we are just going to have to find a way to make Allura give it back.

(Nods and sounds of assent from the rest of the gang.)

Violet: (stomping in frustration) We’ve tried to steal it from her, but it’s impossible!

Sunny: Then it’s time to get creative.

Izzy: (popping up between them) Did somebody say “creative”? (smugly) That’s, uh, kinda my thing.

(She bounds across the floor with a giggle and fires up her horn, exerting her influence over a row of storage cabinets built into the side wall under the windows.)

Hitch: Huh?

(The doors burst open and a hailstorm of mugs and supplies comes flying out toward her. Cut from them to her on the next line.)

Izzy: Come on!

Energetic pop melody with synthesizer, drums, staccato guitar; fast 4 (D major)

(With the items circling overhead, she hops onto a table and brings up three stray mugs.)

Izzy:                [Oo-ooh] I got a good feeling

                [Ah-h] In my so-o-oul

(Pop up between Hitch and Misty; stack these up and add the one held by the blue mare.)

                [Oo-ooh] Let’s put our manes together [Uh-huh!]

                [Ah-h] Let’s lose contro-o-ol

(Sparky tumbles across, knocking the tower down and bringing laughs from all three. One mug falls past the camera and is pulled back in Izzy’s magic to frame her standing amid a cloud of floating items. Some of these are set down before a perplexed Violet.)

Izzy:                 [Oo-ooh] Oh, yeah, I got that vision

                [Ah-h] Told you befo-o-ore

(Two pieces are fitted briefly together as a replica of the Charm; the auroricorn smiles, starting to catch on, as the lot is slung toward the ceiling.)

                [Oo-ooh] I’ll make something out of nothing

                [Ah-h] So here we go, whoa, who-oa

(Up above, Pipp detaches a lamp and throws it down to Zipp, who is now carrying a string of lights; both items are dropped off at Sunny’s seat.)

Izzy: (spoken in rhythm, falsetto)                 Can you see it?

(sung)                                                Oh, yeah, I can see it

                                                Just follow my vibe, no, we don’t need a blueprint

                                                     [Uh-huh!]

(Sunny picks up a nearby multicolored beach ball and tosses it to Misty, who catches it in her field; it becomes an umbrella once Sparky breathes fire onto it.)

(transition to speaking in rhythm)                Life is random, sometimes it’s chaotic

(It pops open and she frantically grabs the handle to keep it from blowing away, tilting it so that its canopy fills the screen. Here comes Izzy, wielding a paintbrush in her aura to sloppily cover the entire lens with a dark blue-green.)

(sung)                                                But in a bit of time, oh, pony, it’ll be lit [Whoo!]

(Snap to a mishmash of objects being levitated from a box, then cut to Izzy jumping onto a table and collecting various from Sunny/Hitch/Misty/Sparky.)

Izzy:                Every little thing, yeah, has got a purpose [Oh-h]

                Oh, pony, can you feel me?

                Every little thing yeah, just needs a pla-a-ace [Oh-h]

                Oh, pony, can you hear me?

(She jumps to the floor and crosses to Violet, who is painting a bottle stuffed with lights, then sends her own load up.)

                Every little pony has got their own destiny [Oh-h]

                And I’m gonna live mine with a little creativity-y [Oh-h]

                With a little creativity [Creativity-y-y]

(The lights are draped in a rough star pattern onto the upper surface of the umbrella, now painted blue-green, and a snowflake is attached to the end of each support rib as bottles and sticks are moved into position.)

Izzy:                 With a little creativity [Oh, pony]

(She and Violet trade grins and a high five.)
                [With creativity]

                With a little creativity

Song ends abruptly

(She throws a hoof-load of glitter into the air, filling the screen.)

Act Three

(When the view clears, the scene has shifted back to the hypnotized auroricorns’ star collection campaign going on outside. Allura flies overhead, purring away with Twitch on her back and the Charm in easy reach.)

Allura: Smile, ponies, smile! We need that cheer to get what we want.

(Cut to/from one squad of frozen-faced searchers during this line, after which Allura shifts direction and Twitch chitters urgently while pointing downward.)

Allura: You’re right, Twitch. I haven’t seen Violet Frost in…forever. Where is that pony? (Another pass over the plaza.) You fool!

(Cut to her perspective of the mare in question, walking among the workforce, and zoom in. Something small, round, and whitish protrudes from one ear.)

Allura: She’s right over there!

(But her grin slips away as she looks furtively around herself; back to the two usurpers, Twitch resuming his frantic yammering and gesticulation.)

Allura: (wearily, rolling eyes) Fine.

(She makes an abrupt landing, exposing a violet starburst against a near-white spiral on her right haunch, and purrs energy over Violet for a moment. The latter has only time for one startled cry before succumbing, grin and all.)

Allura: (circling around Violet) Violet Frost, what are you doing?

Violet: (placidly) Hi, Allura. Happy to see you. (lighting horn) I’m just looking for that special star.

(One comes down from the night and is carried away; a wing-assisted bound brings Allura closer to watch her go.)

Allura: (to Twitch) See? She’s in the trance. (He protests.) What do you want? You’re annoying me.

(She strides away; cut to Hitch and Izzy observing from within a nearby stand of trees, Sparky on Hitch’s back, and zoom out to frame Misty with them on the next line.)

Misty: How is Violet resisting the trance?

Izzy: Oh! I made her some special crystal snowball earplugs.

(Extreme close-up of the blocked ear; now the item in it is visible as a wad of the sparkly snow—she is faking hypnosis in order to work undercover, with a little help from Izzy’s crafting.)

Izzy: (from o.s., whispering) Just enough to muffle the spell.

(Tilt down to the captured star, now resting on Violet’s upturned hoof; she tucks it away and brings out a string of lights knotted into a wad to replace it. She continues in her ersatz-brainwashed tone for her next two lines.)

Violet: (floating it up) The special star! (That gets Allura’s attention.)

Allura: What did you say?

Violet: The special star! I found it!

Allura: (to Twitch, whispering) Protect the Charm.

Twitch: (nodding) Mmm-hmm!

(He jumps down and she flies toward Violet, leaving the Charm suspended in her magic just above ground level. The nefarious little rabbit begins marching back and forth in front of it as she lands to inspect the find.)

Allura: I don’t believe it! Show me.

(Violet tips a wink toward the trees; Zipp, on the receiving end, ducks behind the one she, Hitch, and Sparky have been using as cover. With a grunt of mild effort, the two ponies start pulling at ropes that run up and over pulleys in the branches; out in front, a snowdrift disperses to reveal the end product of Izzy’s work at the end of the previous act. The open, light-festooned umbrella is open and pointing outward from the trunk, sporting a plethora of buttons and sparkles. Violet’s light-filled bottles hang to either side, and more light strings have been placed as further decoration. The umbrella is rotating in place, actuated by the pull of the ropes.)

Allura: (from o.s., dumbfounded) A portal! (Back to her.) I did it! I finally did it! (hovering, grabbing “star”) Give me that! Now I can use this star to open any portal and go to whichever realm I desire!

(As Twitch continues to guard the Charm, Sunny, Pipp, and Misty watch from the nearby gazebo. Close-up of the earth pony and unicorn, who speak in whispers for the next two lines.)

Misty: What do we do now?

Sunny: We’ve gotta distract him!

(They are interrupted by a yawn from the o.s. rabbit; cut to him, stretching and leaning drowsily against the Charm, his weight supported by the one foreleg he is using to prop himself up. Pipp’s gasp is heard from o.s.; over by the gazebo, she flies down for a better look.)

Pipp: Or lull him!

(Sunny and Misty smile at the suggestion, and she begins to hum the lullaby she wrote and sang for Sparky in “Have You Seen This Dragon?”—in E flat major, rather than its original key of D flat major. Twitch’s eyelids begin to close…he shakes himself awake…Pipp shifts from humming the melody to vocalizing it…and the blue-furred flunky nods off, leaning against the Charm and snoring heartily. Sunny and Misty laugh appreciatively.)

Sunny: You did it!

Misty: Way to go, Pipp! (She and Sunny give Pipp a double high five.)

Pipp: Nopony can resist falling asleep to my lullabies, especially that one.

(Now Misty revs up her horn to pull the Charm away from Twitch, leaving him to thud into the snow but not waking him up. The three mares smile as it drifts within their reach. Meanwhile, Allura stalks toward the portal mockup with a soft growl of triumph, accompanied by Violet as Hitch and Zipp keep working the ropes to spin it. Their grunts give away the toll that the job is taking on them, and Sparky is hanging on to one line.)

Zipp: How much longer do you think we have to pull these for?

Hitch: I have no idea, but my hooves are getting tired!

(Allura grumbles to herself when the “star” she is holding flickers a bit, sensing that something is amiss; her suspicions are confirmed when she picks a snowflake off the umbrella’s edge.)

Allura: A fake!

(She crushes it with a growl; Izzy, looking on, utters a fearful moan and waves madly to signal the trio at the gazebo. Allura gasps sharply upon spotting her.)

Izzy: Oopsie!

(She bails out; Allura snarls at Violet, who can only work up a sheepish giggle at having been bowled out, and the “star” is flung down as she gives chase. Violet drops her pretense of being under the trance.)

Violet: Double oops!

Hitch: Uh-oh!

(He and Zipp join in Izzy’s evacuation, Sparky having dropped onto Hitch’s back by this point, and Twitch comes out of his nap as the ponies pelt past. Violet is with them, the Charm held aloft in her aura.)

Violet: We got the Charm!

(Allura slews to a stop just long enough for Twitch to climb aboard, then takes off flying toward the plaza in pursuit of the group. They halt as Comet gallops across to them, his faculties restored.)

Comet: I can’t believe you got the Nova Charm back! You saved us! (Violet has shucked her earplugs.)

Violet: We’re finally free!

(A frigid gust of wind blows the relic out of their reach, generated by the wings of a boiling-mad Allura as she hits the deck.)

Allura: (slowly backing Izzy/Pipp up) Six little ponies wandered into my territory and tried to destroy my plans? (She wheels into Sunny’s face.) Who do you think you are?

Sunny: I know who we are. We’re the auroricorns’ friends, and we’re not going to let anypony—or not-pony—hurt them!

(Cut briefly to Allura’s smirking face and Twitch’s skeptical one and back during this second sentence. The orange mare holds her ground in the face of some predatory circling, then lets her horn and wings shimmer into being once she finishes, her saddlebag vanishing in time.)

Allura: (chuckling derisively) An alicorn! How cute. (Twitch adds his own commentary; cut to Violet on the following.)

Violet: It’s too late, Allura. You lost! We have the Nova Charm now!

Allura: Lost? You think I need that pathetic Charm to have what I want?

(She purrs, throwing power into Comet’s face when the camera cuts back to him. Reduced once again to a grinning, laughing automaton, he clamps his jaws around one of the spikes protruding from the Charm’s icy holder and carries it away. Cut to Allura/Twitch on the next line; he lets it thud to the ground near them.)

Allura: I don’t need the Charm to do anything. (Twitch adds a mocking sound.) I can have whatever I want. All I need is the power of… (purring out a spell; pan away to follow it) …purr-suasion.

(Izzy sees it coming and dives away with a gasp, but Misty takes the brunt and falls into Allura’s power with a dopey laugh. When Izzy straightens up, she too has been enthralled—evidently she failed to get clear in time. Hitch and Sparky are the next to go, then Pipp; Zipp throws her wings into high gear and manages to shake the flying jungle cat.)

Zipp: Hah!

(Her celebration gets no far than a chuckle before Allura pulls up and hits her point-blank; she touches down with that same awful wide-eyed grin.)

Zipp: (placidly) This place is so great! (Allura lands.)

Allura: (to Sunny/Violet) Maybe I’ll let the auroricorns have a little fun with you two before I make you join them.

(During this line, cut to/from the two unaffected mares, who find themselves uncomfortably ringed in by Comet and the rest of the Maretime Bay bunch. They peel out ahead of their laughing pursuers.)

Violet: What do we do, Sunny? (Both stop and face the others, now marching steadily ahead.) We can’t lose our beautiful Starlight Ridge to Allura!

Sunny: And you won’t.

(The mirthless giggles and the crystal hooves continue to close in—but a misstep by Izzy sends her stumbling against Comet and knocks him away to fall face-first into a snowdrift.)

Comet: Huh?

(He blinks his eyes clear of Allura’s magic, gasps softly once this fact sinks in, and sits up.)

Comet: Hmmm…

(Just as quickly as her control broke, it re-establishes itself.)

Sunny: Huh. That was weird.

(Cut to a close-up of one snowy patch, zooming in slowly, then dissolve to one of Violet while she was pretending to be under Allura’s influence. The camera zooms in on the plug stuffed into one ear, showing the snow’s characteristic colorful sparkles. From here, dissolve to Sunny, who gasps as a mental connection falls into place.)

Sunny: Violet Frost, didn’t you say the snow here had healing magic?

Violet: Yeah, but I’ve never actually seen it used.

(Close-up of a spot as Sunny’s hoof scrapes away the top layer of snow, exposing the glittery particles. Her sharp gasp is heard from o.s.; back to her on the next line.)

Sunny: That’s it! That’s why Izzy’s earplugs worked! (She passes a newly made one to Violet.)

Violet: What?

Sunny: (holding up more snow) They’re made of snow! (Close-up of the chunk; she continues o.s.) The snow here is special! (Back to her.) Very special!

(It is thrown across the plaza, scoring a bullseye on Comet’s chest and snapping him back.)

Comet: Huh?

Violet: It’s a cure!

(Seeing that the other Equestrian conscripts are still bearing down on them, Sunny and Violet get to scooping and throwing. Izzy and Zipp take the first two hits and come around.)

Izzy, Zipp: (dazed) Whoa.

(Dirty looks from Allura and Twitch, and an outraged squeak from the latter, do nothing to stop the two throwers from letting Hitch, Sparky, and Pipp have it in turn.)

Pipp: Sunny, you did it!

Allura: But how?

Hitch: The snow here is special— (Sunny pelts Misty, who snaps to and gasps.) —just like the auroricorns.

Allura: What are you going to do? (She lifts off.) Keep throwing snow at everypony?

Sunny: That’s exactly what we’re going to do!

Izzy: (stepping into view, with several snowballs in her field) CRYSTAL SNOWBALL FIGHT!!

(She lets fly, striking two mares and bringing them back around; now Violet grabs up a ball of her own.)

Violet: Come on, everypony! (pitching it) Keep throwing snowballs!

(It proves to be a subzero wake-up call for a third, seen in a cut on the end of this lie; the ones Izzy hit speak up next.)

Mare 1: But she’s been controlling us for so long.

Mare 2: Can we really beat her?

Violet: Yes, we can! I know we can! Sunny made me remember how special of a place Starlight Ridge is!

(Sunny flies past, levitating a snowball, and Pipp stops to address the group while carrying two more.)

Pipp: And it doesn’t stop there. Starlight Ridge is special, but what makes it extra-special is all of you! (Cut to two revived auroricorns, who smile at each other; she continues o.s.) You are the auroricorns! (Back to her.) You’re amazing!

Misty: It’s true. I know how you all must feel. Being under the hoof of somepony that’s angry and wants to control you…

(As she starts into this third sentence, the view shifts to Allura purring to put the two mares Izzy hit under her control again and watching Pipp cancel her out with two well-placed throws.)

Misty: …but it doesn’t have to be this way. (Zipp flies into view.)

Zipp: The only way to get what you want is to have the courage to defend yourself! (Pan to Hitch on the next line.)

Hitch: They’re all right! Nopony deserves this!

Allura: Quiet! Your plan will never work! I’ll just entrance you all again.

(Cut to Sunny/Izzy/Comet/Violet on the next line. The two mares who were born with horns have a salvo of snowballs floating overhead, and their stallion counterpart is holding one.)

Sunny: Well, that won’t stop us from trying!

(Comet tosses his up, nearly loses his balance on the slick ground, and pegs a nearby stallion to break him free. Enough snow scatters from this hit to do the same for an adjacent mare.)

Stallion: (laughing) Whoa, that—that was kind of fun!

(He whips a fastball across the plaza, hitting one of the mares Izzy hit and breaking her free of the trance once more. She and her friend laugh and pop each other, and the crystal patch on one’s haunch—itself showing a cluster of crystals—flares brightly. Across the way, Twitch finds himself having to do some fast ducking and weaving in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Sparky turns toward the rabbit, hurls up the snowball he is holding in a high arc, and blasts it with his fire breath to turn it into a cupcake. Twitch takes the sugary impact right between the ears and makes a noise of disgust—followed by one of delight once he tastes the mush plastered across the side of his brain bucket.)

(Allura’s own agility is put to the test as she leaps and dives to stay ahead of the laughing barrage, but one throw finally connects with a leg and works her last good nerve. She purrs in Comet’s direction, brainwashing him as he crosses the plaza with a batch of ammunition floating overhead. A loss of traction drops him on his belly with a yell, but his grin does not shift until the snowballs splat down on and around his head to break him free. As a new aurora flare draws itself in the sky, Allura suffers a two-pronged assault consisting of not only snowballs, but laughter from the o.s. Sunny and Zipp. Snarling, she whirls toward the direction of the last hit to find them flying away. The crystals on other autoricorns’ haunches begin to light up as they get in on the fun.)

Sunny: (flying overhead with Zipp) Wow! (Gasp.) Look at that!

(She glances toward the plaza and voices another happy gasp; cut to Comet and a mare, both laughing as their haunches glow.)

Sunny: (from o.s.) That’s it! (She drops to hover above the pair.) When you’re happy, you’re powerful!

Comet: So…we need to have real fun, a-and be truly happy, in order to take back our town! (Cut to Violet on the next line.)

Violet: That’s a great idea! I now declare today… (Hold up her flute.) …Super Starshine Time! (Her own crystal fires up amid a round of cheers.)

Comet: (laughing) All right!

(Summoning an empty mug to himself, he flips it over and begins the same rhythm that preceded Violet’s song in Act One. Two beats of banging the mug against the ground, a third from stomping his free front hoof, then a fourth of silence. Other auroricorns join in, but not using mugs.)

Same tempo/style/key as Violet’s Act One song

Background lyrics muted; banging/stomping rhythm stops

Violet:                  [Everypony, come on!]

(She accompanies herself on flute.)

                        [Da, da, da, da-da]

                        [Da, da, da, da, da-da] [Time to shine now!]

(Allura growls threateningly.)

                        [Da, da, da, da-da] [You gotta shine now!]

Stomping rhythm only

(Violet trots across the plaza, seeing spots of light kindle on every haunch and no longer carrying her flute.)

                        Hey, put those working hooves away

Violet, Mare 2:        We’re getting in the groove

Bass, percussion in

(Comet’s throw returns a mare to herself.)

Violet:                        We’re out here shining brighter than the stars above the moon

Synth, flute accents in

(Sunny/Pipp/Zipp fly overhead, framed by the celestial light show as they weave past each other.)

                        [Oh-h-h] Feels like I’m one with the aurora

(Hitch/Sparky dodge a few throws; the dragon breathes fire on one, changing it to a stuffed toy.)

                        [Oh-h-h] [We shine!] The magic’s here, it’s shining on us

(Allura subjugates a stallion, but immediately takes the plaything upside the head; as she glares around herself, a well-aimed snowball counteracts her work.)

                        [Oh-h-h] [So bright, it’s shining on us!] It’s like it’s up there calling

                             out to me

(Twitch pulls his ears down in a futile effort to block out the music, having cleaned the cupcake residue off himself; the camera tracks around a jubilant Violet.)

                        To me

(shouted)                Yeah!

(Auroricorns up and down the plaza prance proudly, joined by Sunny/Violet as Hitch/Sparky gaze wonderingly up at the sky.)

Violet:                                        Starshine Time, we’re only getting brighter

                                        We’re glowing up together, we shine, shine, shine

     [We shine!]

(Snowballs fly playfully this way and that.)

Starshine Time, we’re only getting brighter

                                        We’re glowing up together

Comet, Violet, Equestrians:                We shine, shine, shine [We shine!]

Song ends

(The mighty aurora flare grows a few more sizes as Allura uncorks a feral snarl; extreme close-up of her narrowed eyes.)

Allura: NO!!

(Violet and a squad of auroricorns defiantly stomp out the three-beat rhythm, snowballs held in their magic; Allura swoops across and snags the dropped Charm, Twitch on her back.)

Allura: Stop singing! Listen to me! I am your leader!

(She is swiftly relieved of her ill-gotten relic by an expertly placed knuckleball, then gets the rest of the salvo square in the face. Leopard and rabbit describe separate and utterly dignity-free arcs into the snowdrifts; they stand up, Allura shaking herself clean with a fed-up growl and letting most of that snow tumble off Twitch’s head.)

Allura: I’ll get you back, ponies! I want out of this realm, and I always get what I want!

(Cut to/from a slow pan across Sunny/Comet/Violet during this line, all smiling fiercely and not a bit intimidated by these words. She lifts off after she finishes, Twitch hanging on to the end of her tail and adding something in his language that would probably be unrepeatable in mixed company if translated. Violet retrieves the Charm with her magic and brings it back to the center of the plaza. The auroricorns’ haunch crystals have gone quiet by this point.)

Comet: (sighing with relief) I can’t believe we’re finally free!

Sunny: And now you know your secret weapon— (spreading wings) —fun, singing, and lots of snowballs. (Pipp moves toward the Charm.)

Pipp: (tapping its casing) Hmmm…now how do we get the Nova Charm out of its ice cage?

(A happy gurgle from Sparky is all the prompting Hitch needs to aim him straight ahead; he burps out a stream of fire, which melts enough of the holder to let it fall free. The Charm floats intact where it was, to the sound of cheers from Sunny and company, and is taken up by a grateful Violet.)

Violet: You ponies are incredible, and it’s only right that you all become our new leaders.

Sunny: (laughing, crossing to her) We can’t lead Starlight Ridge. We have to go back to Equestria.

Pipp: (nodding) Hm!

Violet: Buuut…if not you all, then who?

Sunny: Why, you, of course! (Cut to Violet.)

Violet: (taken aback) Me? (To Sunny on the next line.)

Sunny: You’ve proven to be an incredible leader today. (Back to Violet.)

Pipp: (nodding) Hm!

Violet: I’m not special enough to lead…am I?  

Comet: (from o.s., chanting) Vi-olet Frost! (Cut to him.) Vi-olet Frost!

(The call is quickly taken up by every local within earshot, some of them raising mugs of cocoa in a toast, and Violet smiles at the encouragement. Sunny speaks up once the crowd goes silent.)

Sunny: Being a leader isn’t about possessing a charm, Violet. It’s about doing the right thing. (spreading wings) Having hope. (Slow pan across the others.)

Pipp: (hovering) And having confidence.

Zipp: (spreading wings) And courage.

Misty: Empathy.

Hitch: Kindness.

Izzy: (levitating snowballs in a slowly turning circle) And don’t forget about creativity!

Sunny: You’ve proven to have all of that.

Violet: Okay! I’ll do it! (holding up Charm) I’ll lead Starlight Ridge!

(Hearty cheers and shouts of support from all angles, including a fervent “You got this!” from Misty and a hovering spin from Zipp. Pipp has landed.)

Violet: Now what? How will you get home?

(The white pegasus touches down to trade uncertain glances with her fellow travelers, none having any immediate answer to that rather pertinent question. Cut to a stretch of the surrounding forest and zoom in slowly.)

Sunny: (from o.s.) There must be a way to get back.

(Cut to the Equestrians, Comet, and Violet gathered at this spot; Pipp and Zipp are both hovering; Sunny’s horn/wings have dispelled themselves, and she is wearing her saddlebag.)

Hitch: I’m not so sure. The portal’s closed. We’re lost. (petulantly, sitting) And now we’re stuck.

Misty: Allura couldn’t figure it out. What makes us think we can? (Pipp lands.)

Pipp: (patting Misty’s shoulder) At least this isn’t the worst place to be stuck.

Violet: We are all so thankful that you ponies helped us.

Comet: But it was at the expense of you getting home.

Violet: We’re so sorry.

Izzy: Hey, it’s okay.

(The laws of friction get the better of her and she goes into a shouting scrabble that leaves her sliding toward Violet. A foreleg is thrown up to arrest the unicorn’s motion, but the collision dislodges the Charm from Violet’s grip; the stopper pops off when it hits the ground, ejecting a star to skitter across the snow.)

Izzy: Oopsies. I’ll get it. (She ponders its intense glow.) Hmmm. Sometimes you just have to be creative.

(She rolls the R in this last word while floating the thing up; it has now begun to emit sparks.)

Sunny: What are you talking about, Izzy? (It is maneuvered to a certain midair spot.) Wait a second. You don’t think…? (Izzy nods to her.)

Misty: (pointing at star) What’s going on?

(With no warning, it expands to form an exact duplicate of the portal that brought them here in the first place. Cut to a thunderstruck Violet on the next line.)

Violet: The Nova Charm was the star! (Zipp lands next to Hitch.)

Zipp: You mean Allura had it the whole time?

Hitch: (laughing) I guess her greed and anger stopped her from seeing the special thing right before her eyes. (He and Zipp move toward the portal.)

Comet: (a bit dejectedly) I guess this means you can go home now.

Zipp: Equestria, here we come!

(A fragment of the star drifts free of the portal, settling onto Izzy’s raised hoof and extinguishing itself before she, Misty, and Comet gather in and Sunny/Violet regard each other warmly.)

Sunny, Izzy, Misty, Violet: Awww…

(Comet laughs and sighs with them; now Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp join in the tender moment, the sisters hovering. The two sides then step back from each other.)

Violet: (taking fragment offered by Izzy) Thank you for everything. We will never forget you all.

Sunny: (hesitantly) Well, I guess we better get going, then.

(The out-of-towners turn away and approach the portal.)

Comet: (shakily, with great indecision) Uh… (abruptly, after a glance at Violet) …I’m coming with you! (All stop.)

Pipp: I’m sorry, what did you just say? (Zoom in slowly on Comet.)

Comet: I have been dreaming of seeing the rest of the world for as long as I can remember. (Another look at Violet, who smiles warmly.) A-And I couldn’t be happier to call Starlight Ridge home, but…

(The new leader nods in silent acceptance.)

Comet: …I am ready for my next adventure. (spinning in place) I want to see what else is out there! And what better way to do it than with new friends? (with slight hesitation) So if it’s okay, I would like to come with you.

Zipp: (scoffing) Are you kidding?

(These words and their tone set the stallion to cringing mightily. Long silence.)

Pipp: (beaming) Of course you can come! (All smile.)

Zipp: Right!

Misty: Join the team!

Sunny: Yeah!

Hitch: We’d love to have you! (During this line, cut to Izzy crossing to Comet; they rear up and dance, clapping front hooves together.)

Izzy: New friend, new friend, new friend! Ooh!

Violet: I’m so proud of you, Comet. (dropping to a whisper) You’re gonna have the most amazing time. I know it. (to the group, normal volume) One more thing! (offering the star fragment to Izzy) I want you to have this.

(The blue-maned mare takes the spot of light and ponders it carefully.)

Izzy: But don’t you need it?

Violet: (holding up urn, then putting it down) I think it’s time we did away with the old rules and started making some new ones. It belongs with you, Izzy. That way, you can always find your way back to Starlight Ridge. Plus, now I know that the Nova Charm isn’t what makes a leader. Caring about what your fellow ponies is.

(Izzy removes her necklace, does a bit of quick work, and laughingly holds it up with the stellar bit attached in place of the original kite-shaped jewel at its center.)

Pipp: (singsong) Love i-i-it! (Izzy puts it on again.)

Izzy: (as she and Violet touch each other’s chest) Hoof to heart.

(She vanishes into the portal; Sunny turns back to give Violet a final hug.)

Sunny: You’re gonna do great.

(Now she takes the big step, the last of her contingent to do so, and Violet smiles contentedly after them and at an aurora flare playing above the horizon. Cut to a portal open at the base of the Together Tree where Opaline’s castle used to stand; the six ponies and one dragon leap/fly out of it and back into Equestria amid a babel of laughter and whoops. They have returned to their normal appearance, with the exception of the necklace Izzy is still wearing. Comet emerges a few seconds later.)

Comet: Oh! (Laugh.)

Sunny: We’re so excited you came with us, Comet!

Comet: (laughing) Whoa! You ponies look different now. (He looks from Pipp to Zipp.)

Zipp: (catching on) Oh, yeah! This is what we really look like. Surprise!

Comet: (laughing) Oh, I’ve been in Equestria one minute and I’m already learning so much!

Pipp: (landing next to him) I have a feeling you’re gonna super-love it here. (Cut to Sunny on the next line, pacing before the portal.)

Sunny: And if you ever do miss home, we know exactly how to get back. Speaking of home, I think it’s time we head back to ours.

Misty: I think we’ve finally earned ourselves that nap. (All set off laughing, Pipp/Zipp taking wing.)

Comet: Oh, uh, I am one of the best nappers at Starlight Ridge. It is amazing. (fading out) Sometimes I can nap for, like, hours on end and…

(Dissolve to the snow/ice sculptures clustered outside the meeting hall in Starlight Ridge, zooming in slowly, then to the interior of the building. The rotating display of full cocoa mugs has been set up again in the center of the floor, and quite a few auroricorns have come in for a drink. Two of them clunk their mugs together, and Violet uses her magic to serve a third from a tray. The enthusiastic slurp that follows would seem to suggest that it sits well with the imbiber.)

Mare 1: (waving) More razzleberry cocoa for me, please!

Mare 3: I’ll take another apple-oat!

Violet: You got it!

(Two fresh mugs are slid down the table to them, lifted and tapped together in auras, and tasted. Here comes Violet.)

Mare 1: You’re the best leader ever, Violet Frost.

(Her empty mug is floated onto the tray. Cut to just outside one side window, where Twitch is listening through the glass as best he can. He turns away, voicing a string of gibberish meant as a mockery of these words, but starts paying attention once the next ones hit his ears.)

Mare 1: (slightly muffled by glass) I’m so glad Comet and the others made it through the portal—

(He gives a yelp of surprise; cut to just inside, framing him mumbling curiously to himself, then to a longer shot framing the conversation during the next line.)

Mare 1: (heard clearly) —but they definitely made Starshine Time a little bit brighter.

(During the second half of this line, the camera cuts to inside—first a close-up of Twitch mumbling curiously to himself, then a longer shot framing the conversation.)

Violet: Yeah, Equestria is very lucky to have them.

(The fuzzy little eavesdropper quits his post. Dissolve to a tilt down from the snowy forest treetops and stop on him hopping frantically toward a rather annoyed Allura.)

Allura: What is it?

(His quick bit of miming gets her dander even further up.)

Allura: What did you say?!

(After a few more gestures, he hops onto her back and points emphatically in a particular direction. She lifts off to follow that heading, after which the view dissolves to a close-up of the still-open portal. Zoom out slowly.)

Allura: (landing; Twitch jumps down) What? Those ponies found the portal?

(Twitch’s affirming chitter is followed by an echoing, scornful male voice.)

Voice: You fool! (Wide-eyed gasp from Allura.) You had the star the whole time!

Allura: Don’t worry, brother. I’ll get it back.

(Her teeth bared and a dangerous purr bubbling in her throat, she steps through the portal with Twitch hopping after her. Dissolve to a long shot of the Crystal Brighthouse during the day, zooming in slowly, then to Sunny and company just inside the front entrance. Pipp and Zipp are hovering, and Comet is so excited that he might jump out of his skin at any moment. Zoom out slowly as he makes his way through the space.)

Comet: There’s so much to see! (passing arts-and-crafts corner, twirling near fireplace) So much to learn! I can’t… (stumbling, nearly falling) …whoa!…wait!

Sunny: We are so happy you’re here, Comet.

Hitch: Yeah! We’re gonna show you all there is to see in Equestria.

Misty: And with Opaline and Allura gone, there’s nothing but fun to be had! (Izzy gasps.)

Izzy: Let’s start right now! Comet! (levitating three balls of yarn) How do you feel about a game where we balance yarn balls on our heads?

(She gets them stacked up on her own noggin and holds her position well enough for a moment before gravity starts to get the better of her.)

Izzy: (wobbling) Whooaa!

(Down she goes in a heap, drawing concerned looks from the others—that is, until she bounces right back up with one ball impaled on her horn and several yards of it tangled around her body.)

Izzy: Ta-daaa!

(All laugh as the camera zooms out slowly and the view fades to black.)