CUTIE BLOSSOM BASH
Written by Kelly Lynne D’Angelo
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Directed by Randi Rodrigues
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Notes: Act One contain a series of flashbacks, in which all main characters are
colts/fillies who have not yet earned their cutie marks. Lines marked with one
asterisk (*) are delivered as a voice over in these sequences.
Background song lyrics are in square brackets; any marked with an exclamation
point are shouted rather than sung.
Prologue
(Opening shot: the Marestream barreling through a calm daytime sky, its rainbow contrail describing a swooping arc above the cloud cover. Its trajectory brings it close enough to the camera to pick out Sunny Starscout and all her friends, including Misty, in the cockpit; Zipp Storm, at the controls, is wearing her favorite sunglasses. Cut to Sunny and Misty; a jolt brings a yelp of shock from the unicorn and very nearly shakes her off her hooves.)
Sunny: Are you okay, Misty?
Misty: Oh, yeah! I’m just— (Another shake; stumble and grunt.) —still finding my balance.
Sunny: The Marestream can take some getting used to. At least we’re taking you on a secret surprise adventure. (Cut to Misty; she continues o.s.) Are you excited?
(A measure of trepidation comes across the blue face as the other five smile expectantly her way, but she responds in kind after a moment. Sparky Sparkeroni is nowhere in sight.)
Misty: Oh, yeah, definitely. Uh, so, um, what is it?
Sunny: We’re going to Zephyr Heights for the annual Equestria Cutie Blossom Bash!
(Varied enthusiastic responses from the other four behind her.)
Misty: (puzzled) Cutie Blossom Bash? What is that?
Pipp Petals: It’s only the cutest springtime celebration of all that is fresh and new. I’m talking flowers, blossoms, bunnies… (Strike a pose.) …fashion! The looks you will see, Misty. The looks!
Hitch Trailblazer: But more importantly, it’s an official ceremony in celebration for all of the ponies that have gotten their new cutie marks that year. A day of honor!
Zipp: (removing her shades) Yeah, and it’s kinda cool how we’re finally combining the tradition we’ve all grown up with.
Izzy Moonbow: (giddily) Ooh, I love the Blossom Bash! It’s so…spring-y. See? I’ve already crafted seven flower corsages. I only need to make a few hundred more.
(On the second half of this line, she holds up a front hoof and the camera cuts to a close-up of a couple of flower/bead bracelets resting on it, then to a slightly bewildered Sunny and Misty. The view returns to Izzy as she finishes, then back to the two spectators on the start of the following.)
Misty: (suddenly panicked) A few hundred?
Pipp: (from o.s.) Yeah! (Cut to her.) For all the ponies who are going to cheer you on!
(She and the rest of the Maretime Bay gang demonstrate, but Misty is clearly ill at ease. Izzy has put away her corsages, and Zipp has donned her tinted lenses again.)
Misty: (to herself, turning to watch the sky) Oh, wow. Okay. It’ll be okay. I can just avoid all those other ponies, right? (Deep breath.) I’ll just keep my head down and blend in. It’ll be smooth sailing. Yep.
(The Marestream describes a wide curve through the sky and finds itself bearing down on a rather large and unfriendly accumulation of gray storm clouds that prickle with lightning. Yells of surprise and fright from all but Hitch and Zipp; Izzy looks a bit thrilled.)
[Animation goof: Zipp’s sunglasses disappear at this point.]
Hitch: (to Zipp) Quick, turn!
(She works the steering yoke with a grunt of acknowledgment, dropping the craft briefly out of sight, and a longer shot on the next line shows her navigating below the thunderhead.)
Zipp: (now o.s.) I got this!
(Once past the obstacle, she gains altitude and resumes the original course. There follows a six-part sigh of relief.)
Misty: Uh…oh, no. I just jinxed the whole “smooth sailing” thing, didn’t I?
(She swallows hard before the view snaps to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to the Marestream in flight.)
Final verse of the song that Pipp sang in Mane Melody during Chapter One, Act Two
Energetic pop melody with synthesizer/drums and brass accents, fast 4 (F major)
Pipp: So put your hooves up high ’cause we’re feeling all right [Hey!]
(Hitch stares out through the windshield, lost in thought, as the others groove in their own ways.)
Every day is awesome in the Maretime Bay
So put your hooves up, put your hooves up [Hey!]
Everything
A cappella
Is gonna be okay
Song ends
(The Sheriff voices a pensive sigh.)
Izzy: (crossing to him) Thinking about Sparky again? (He turns to her.)
Hitch: Yeah. (Cut to him.) Ever since his run-in with Opaline, he’s been so tired. I didn’t want to drag him all the way to Zephyr Heights, but I miss him.
Izzy: Well, at least he’s resting with Grandma Figgy.
(He smiles ever so slightly at this mention, remembering the ordeal of Sparky’s abduction in “Missing the Mark.” Cut to a long shot of said grandmother’s house, zooming in slowly over the grassy front lawn, and then to Figgy and Sparky taking it easy in a well-padded chair inside. The infant dragon is nestled in the elderly mare’s lap, pacifier in mouth and tucked in under his favorite little blanket as he takes a nap and coos in his sleep. Back to Hitch, his spirits much improved by the thought.)
Hitch: You’re right. Grandma is the best at making anypony feel better.
Izzy: (from o.s.) See? (Cut to her.) Sparky’s in great hooves. You just gotta get your mind off things.
Sunny: I know how we can do that. Let’s go around and share our cutie mark stories with Misty. I’ll go first.
(Dissolve to a close-up of her as a filly, behind a lemonade stand on a street in Maretime Bay: straws, cups, pitcher, and so on.)
* Sunny: Back when I was a little filly, I didn’t have many friends. But…
(A glance off to one side picks out her father, Argyle Starshine, who raises a cup in a silent toast of encouragement.)
* Sunny: …my dad always said… (His mouth moves in time with her words.) …“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade—”
(A longer shot on the end of this line picks out a crate of lemons and a stool set with a tray of cupcakes off to one side, and a sign above Filly SU’s head that depicts one of each. Zoom out as Figgy and another pony approach the stand. Figgy does not appear to be significantly younger in this flashback than in the present.)
* Sunny: “—and sell it to raise money for the library.” So I did. (Figgy pays, takes a cup, and walks off drinking.) My lemonade was a hit! (Others follow suit.) I sold almost every cup right away.
(In short order, she finds herself with an empty pitcher, one last cup—and two prospective customers reaching for it.)
* Sunny: But two ponies wanted the last one. (Angry, indistinct noises from the pair.) They started arguing
(An idea flashes through the youngster’s brain; she pops the lid off the cup and pours half its contents into an empty spare, then offers them both up with a smile.)
* Sunny: But then I stepped in to help. They realized they were fighting for no reason. That’s when my cutie mark appeared.
(Filly SU turns her eyes joyfully to her right haunch just in time to see its three stars manifest themselves there. Evidently this flashback is set sometime between the prologue and Act One of A New Generation, as she did not yet have her mark at the beginning of that film.)
* Sunny: My dad told me it’s because I helped those ponies put aside their differences. (Father and daughter embrace.) He was so proud.
(Dissolve to her walking proudly across a stage with a flower backdrop, to the sound of applause. A banner set with her new mark hangs from a pole on a holder strapped to her back, and a sash crosses her chest.)
* Sunny: That spring, I got to trot the stage in our Cutie Blossom Bash. (Giggle.)
(Cut to a warmly smiling Argyle among the crowd during this line, then to a slow zoom in on the banner. The next words are marked by a dissolve to an extreme close-up of Sunny’s haunch in the here and now, marking the end of this flashback.)
* Sunny: Ah, it’s one of my favorite memories.
[Continuity error: The logo of Mane Melody is visible on a building behind Argyle, even though the depicted moment is set long before Pipp’s arrival in Maretime Bay and the opening of the business.]
(Zoom out to frame her and Misty, both savoring the moment, then cut to Hitch on the next words.)
Hitch: Hmmm…now I want lemonade.
Zipp: (excitedly, waving a foreleg) Me next! My story—
Pipp: Well, technically, our story—
Zipp: —starts back home in ZH.
(Dissolve to her younger self sitting on a sidewalk in Zephyr Heights to do some figuring with notepad and pen. Queen Haven’s dog Cloudpuff—here only a puppy—inspects the cap and begins to chew on it as the camera zooms in slowly.)
* Zipp: Before we had magic, I was always crunching numbers—
(Cut to behind her and tilt up; she is examining an imposing gold/marble fountain decorated with pegasus statues.)
* Zipp: —trying to figure out exactly how pegasi could fly again. (A brainstorm hits; she drops her gear and stands up.) But one day, I had this epic breakthrough moment.
(A few nimble bounds carry Filly ZI up to the topmost portion of the fountain.)
* Zipp: I could tell that I was so close to flying! It felt amazing! (Now she turns her attention to the ledges and columns of a nearby building.) And sure, it was scary, but no other pegasus had tried it before me.
(This last sentence is punctuated by a series of three leaps that send the royal heir zigzagging up a pair of columns, capped off by a launch that sends her up for a respectable bit of hang time. The action briefly shifts to slow motion on this last, then returns to normal speed as she touches down atop one statue. Her respite lasts only a moment, though, as she kicks off into a lazy, gliding arc that brings awed responses from ground level and turns into a spread-legged, four-point landing at the base of the fountain.)
* Zipp: It was awesome!
(Right on cue, her crown/lightning-bolt mark winks into being on her haunch. On the start of the next line, dissolve to it in the present and zoom out to frame her.)
Zipp: That’s the day I got this little wonderbolt. (Pipp straightens up into view and clears her throat.)
Pipp: (singsong) And don’t leave out what happened ne-e-ext.
(Dissolve back to the fountain; now her own younger self is among the onlookers watching the impromptu stunt show.)
* Pipp: Watching my sister soar? I’d never seen anything like it. (Filly ZI lands.) She was so courageous, and that gave me the confidence to perform— (Now Filly PI gathers her nerve and taps the concrete.) —for the first time ever.
Slow loose tempo (G flat major)
Quiet piano chords at first, swelling into bass/strings/percussion flourish
Filly PI’s vocals grow from soft to full-throated
Filly PI: Ooh, make your mark, it’s your spark
Your cutie mark, oh, yeah
Song ends
Filly ZI: Pipp?
Spectator: Pipp!
Crowd: Hooray!
Filly PI: Hey, that’s cute! I’m using it.
(Fluffy white wings shift just in time to fully expose the crown/notes appearing on her haunch in extreme close-up, after which the view dissolves to them on a pole-mounted banner similar to the one Filly SU carried. A longer shot puts the sisters side by side, toting their respective standards and wearing sashes; they are now in a room of Zephyr Heights Palace, and they trot past a sizable floral arrangement as applause drifts around them and their mother watches from a balcony. Cloudpuff is balanced on the rail. Haven does not look or sound any different from the present.)
Haven: Oh, yay!
(Overcome with emotion, she blows her nose on the nearest thing within reach—which happens to be the winged pooch, bringing a soft giggle from the sisters. Dissolve to them in the present.)
Zipp: (nudging Pipp) Kinda stole the spotlight there, sis.
Pipp: (rolling eyes) It’s not my fault! You were the one who was so inspiring. (She toys with her mane.)
Zipp: (addressing herself o.s.) You look like you’re about to burst, buddy.
(Who happens to be Hitch, as revealed when the camera cuts to him—jittering in place and wearing a big dopey smile.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Want to tell yours? (He pulls in a long gasp.)
Hitch: Do I!
(Dissolve to him as a colt, on the beach in Maretime Bay. He bounces a ball off his head toward two others, one of whom is Sprout Cloverleaf, as a filly wanders up.)
* Hitch: I was playing hoofball on the beach with some colts when this filly asked to join us. (The other two shake their heads…) But they wouldn’t let her play! They just kept shouting… (…and walk off, mouths moving on the next words delivered in a deep voice.) …“No fillies allowed!”
(The filly gallops off crying; now Hitch returns to his normal tone.)
* Hitch: So I did what any decent pony would do. (Colt HI races after her; they commence to knocking the ball around.) I ditched the meanies and played with her. And then— (singsong) —I got my ma-a-ark!
(The horseshoe/shield and two stars fade in on his haunch; dissolve to him carrying a banner of it on the same stage that Filly SU did at her Cutie Blossom Bash and wearing a sash.)
* Hitch: Because the only peace of mind is to be kind.
(The future Sheriff tips a wink to the crowd; among them; Colt SC disdainfully turns his face away while the third member of their trio at least has the decency to look ashamed of himself. Back to the present; Izzy jitters in place.)
Izzy: My turn! Ooh… (Settle down; dramatic tone.) So, it all begins back in Bridlewood, during the days of yore, on the eves of the translucent moonstone moon… (fading away, as if echoing) …moon…moon…doodle-oodle, oodle-oodle, oodle-oodle, flashback.
(The middle part of this line is marked by a brief cut to her perspective of the other five, and the end occurs in time with a dissolve to her as a filly, on the move through a path in Bridlewood. At this point, she does not wear her trademark foreleg bracelet. She comes upon a pile of discarded items and begins to look it over; on the next words, a couple of dissolves show it expanding and being added to by passersby.)
* Izzy: (normal tone and volume) There was this really sad-looking junk pile in the middle of our forest that just kept growing and growing. But I didn’t see it as junk. (Filly IZ holds up a couple of things.) I saw it as stuff that just needed some love.
(She needs only a few moments and hammer strikes to re-fashion the lot into a working fountain. A brightly colored umbrella with a broken handle sits open and upside-down on a small stone pedestal to serve as the basin; a branch juts upward from within, the fork at its upper end holding a pitcher at an angle so that it can pour water out. Other pieces have been mounted on the umbrella shaft to serve as shallow elevated basins, the liquid spilling over their edges and into the main one. Zoom in slowly as Filly IZ gallops away.)
* Izzy: I remade everything into a big teapot statue. (Passing unicorns stop and smile at her work.) Then everypony saw that maybe they’d judged the junk a little too harshly.
Filly IZ: Hey, thanks! (Giggle.) I’m just a unicorn that loves recycling. (thoughtfully) “Uni…cycling.” (Gasp; eyes pop.) Uni-cycling!
* Izzy: And then, bam! (The pierced/buttoned pincushion pops onto the little unicorn’s haunch.) I got my mark!
(Dissolve to a giggling Filly IZ parading on a stage before a crowd, a banner with her new mark sanding up from her back and a sash across her chest.)
Filly IZ: Yay!
(Another dissolve brings up the present time.)
Misty: (chuckling weakly) Wow! Great stories! But, um, they all ended with a big event where you had to stand in front of a lot of ponies? (Close-up of her on this last.)
Sunny: (now o.s.) Yep! (Zoom out to frame her.) Now it’s your turn to do the same. (pulling Misty close) And it’s going to be the biggest, most grand one yet! (Gasp; point ahead.) Look!
(The nearest clouds part to give a clear view of Zephyr Heights, but the city remains under an overcast sky. The Marestream cruises over one busy street and then the walkway leading up to Zephyr Heights Palace, where prep work for the Bash is already underway. Cut to an apprehensive Misty in the cockpit on the start of the next line.)
Misty: (to herself) There’s so many ponies here. (Deep breath.) Be brave, Misty. I don’t want to ruin anything for them. I can do this.
Pipp: (to her) Aren’t you soooo thrilled? (“Soooo” is sung.)
Misty: (forcing a chuckle) Um, it’s all so new!
(She carefully turns her face away before letting her real worry back onto it. The vehicle lands on a balcony, the wings fold away, and the rear door slides open to let the ponies out. Zipp has barely gotten one hoof over the threshold before the great golden doors swing wide—opened from inside by Thunder and Zoom—and Haven and Cloudpuff fly out, pulling up into a hover.)
Haven: My angels! You’ve arrived! (She darts across to hug Pipp and Zipp; the dog takes his time reaching the three.) I was so worried, I nearly had to send Cloudpuff to track you down again. I’m thrilled to have you here, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a teensy bit stressed.
(She glances skyward as thunder rumbles faintly.)
Zipp: A problem with the Crystals again? (The Unity Crystals, that is; cut to Haven as she finishes.)
Haven: Oh, stars, no. It’s just spring showers. But if it rains, then everything will be ruined.
Hitch: I can most certainly help with that.
Zipp: Me too. We’re problem-solving pros.
Haven: Really? You’d do that for me?
Hitch: Of course. We promise to make sure this event runs seamlessly and that everything is as right as rain. (He and Zipp trade a high five.) Uh, or not-rain, in this case.
Haven: Oh, thank hoofness! Follow me.
(She turns to lead the entire contingent into the palace, the camera tilting up from them.)
Act Two
(Cut to the seven ponies walking along a corridor with Cloudpuff flitting overhead. Decorations of various sorts have been put up; the same will be true of other areas within the palace when they are seen.)
Haven: Here you’ll find our giant springtime floral arrangements, as well as our baby duck nursery.
(A stallion pauses so she can look over the trays of small goodies on the cart he is pushing.)
Haven: (taking one, holding it up) Oh, and our Zephyr Bites appetizers. Clever, huh? (tossing it for Cloudpuff to eat; the stallion goes on his way) I didn’t come up with that one. Cloudpuff did.
(They round a corner, without Sunny/Hitch/Izzy.)
Haven: What do you think, girls? I am devoted to making this the best Cutie Blossom Bash ever— (turning to Misty) —especially for your darling new friend Misty. (Tap floor.) Guards— (Thunder and Zoom swoop in and land behind her.) —prepare for Misty’s cutie mark debut. (All three pivot and walk off, Cloudpuff keeping pace.) This is going to be one fun-packed, pony-filled social event.
(By this point, the camera has shifted to frame only Misty and the departing foursome.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Yes!
(Cut to frame the visitors, Sunny/Hitch/Izzy having rejoined them. Cheers and laughs ripple among the group as four gallop/fly off along the corridor, leaving only the two unicorns behind.)
Izzy: (to Misty) You’re gonna be so great! This is fun! (She trots away with a laugh.)
Misty: (with great trepidation) Yaaay?
Sunny: (darting back to her) Come on, Misty!
(A bubbly giggle escapes her throat as an orange foreleg latches onto a blue and drags its owner o.s. with remarkable speed, leaving only enough time for one yell of shock. She fetches up in a side room, seated in a swivel chair before a vanity counter that holds a couple of beauty products. As Sunny, Haven, and Cloudpuff watch from a couch farther back, Izzy and Pipp dart up on either side of Misty and set to work. A spray bottle and aerosol can are picked up by a gold hoof and a magic field, respectively, and their contents are applied liberally enough to cloud up the screen. The view clears to present an extreme close-up of a mass of dark red, curly hair, and a quick zoom out puts this squarely on Misty’s head. Her mane has been dyed this color, shading to bright orange at the ends, and Izzy presents the result for evaluation by Sunny and Haven. The younger mare nods at first, but notices the older one’s disapproving head shake and quickly shifts to match it.)
(Izzy thinks hard for a moment before levitating another can, and Pipp swings in with fresh inspiration. Spray and perfume are applied liberally, accompanied by a hailstorm of accessories that sail past the onlookers; one piece even lands briefly on Cloudpuff’s head. This time, the aerosol haze clears to show an expanse of curly green hair; zoom out to reveal that Misty has received a two-tone dye job in this color, lighter at the ends as before. The responses of Sunny and Haven follow their earlier pattern.)
(Now Izzy floats up two cans at once and lets them blast, filling the screen with clouds of different colors for a moment, and Pipp wields her spray bottle to send a wash of liquid across the screen. This clears to present an extreme close-up of Misty’s widened eye; zoom out to frame her from the neck up. Her mane is now deep purple, shading to vivid reddish-pink at the ends, and she smiles and fiddles with a few strands. On the start of the next line, cut to the couch; Izzy and Pipp are now here, standing/hovering alongside Sunny/Haven/Cloudpuff.)
Haven: Hmmm…we could go a little brighter, don’t you think, dear?
Pipp: You’re so right, Mom.
(The two stylists return to their task while Sunny and Haven get off the couch, the latter departing. Misty continues to regard herself happily in the mirror set up before her as part of the vanity, but her spirits sink in the time it takes for all eyes to be looking in directions other than hers. Close-up.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Hey.
(Misty straightens up with a grunt; zoom out to frame Sunny by the chair on the next line.)
Sunny: Is something bothering you?
Misty: (swiveling to face her) Oh, uh, I-I’m just…worried about what’s going on back home. (catching herself) I-I mean, back at Opaline’s.
Sunny: (as Izzy/Pipp lean/hover closer) Oh, we understand.
Pipp: Luckily, we have more Cutie Blossom activities that focus entirely on you! (She leans over one arm of the chair toward Misty.) That should get your mind off it. (under her breath, addressing herself o.s.) Help me with the baskets?
(She kicks off to fly out of the room, setting the chair spinning, and the other two mares follow. Cloudpuff flutters up off the couch and over to Misty, offering a sympathetic bark and nuzzle.)
Misty: (to him) Okay, so I was lying a little about what’s bothering me, but it’s sort of true. Opaline probably knows I’m gone and is already plotting her evil revenge against me.
(Cut to a long shot of the tallest tower in Opaline Arcana’s castle and zoom in slowly.)
Opaline: (voice over) Gone! Gone! No, no, no! How is this possible?
(A closed door within the structure.)
Opaline: (kicking it open from other side) The ultimate price must be paid!
(She walks through and is soon inside the ritual chamber she used to drain Sparky’s magic in “Missing the Mark.” On the next line, pan away from her to frame the rest of the space; the central table gone.)
Opaline: I can’t believe she’s missing! (Back to her, looking on/under tables.) Gertrude! Where are you, Gertrude? My favorite mane brush! She’s so precious to me! (Zoom in.) I must find her!
(Snarling through gritted teeth, she decides to direct her search elsewhere. Cut to a video clip playing on a cell phone: Filly PI and Filly ZI in a garden at the palace. The younger sister stands by a sapling ready for planting, its roots still bundled up in cloth; the older one speaks while jumping up to push off a tall hedge and do a backflip. As during their Act One flashback, Haven looks and sounds as she does in the present when she appears.)
[Animation goof: She is wearing the purple substitute for the Pegasus Crystal in her crown, even though this sequence takes place long before the original green one was stolen in A New Generation.]
Filly ZI: Mom, Mom! Look at me!
Filly PI: If I sing to the tree, Mom, will it grow faster? (Haven steps into frame and adjusts the camera.)
Haven: Oh, there’s an idea! Let’s try, shall we? (Filly ZI jumps onto her back.)
Sunny, Izzy, Pipp: (from o.s.) Awww…
(On the start of the next line, cut to frame these three and Misty in a palace corridor, clustered in around Haven to watch the clip on her phone. This shot shows that Misty’s tail has been dyed to match her mane.)
Haven: I remember your Cutie Blossom Bash like it was yesterday. (She puts it away.)
Izzy: I just want to pick them up and squeeze them! (She does just that to Misty on these last two words.)
Pipp: We were so cute!
Haven: (leading her and Sunny away) You still are.
(Once again the two unicorns hang back; cut to them as she finishes, Misty’s smile evaporating like water on a hot griddle.)
Izzy: What’s up, Misty?
Misty: (as they follow) Um, i-it’s just that most ponies get their cutie marks when they’re young, because that’s when the magic of their personality—
Izzy: (singsong) And their luminesce-e-ence!
Misty: —starts to shine. (increasingly worked up) But because of Opaline, I never got to shine until now. (They approach the other three, standing by a set of closed doors.) That means not only will I be in front of everypony, but…
(The end of this is accompanied by a cut to the other side of the doors, which are opened by Thunder and Zoom to frame her and Izzy. She goes stock-still, green eyes widening in pure shock; cut to her perspective of the upper reaches in her destination—the Grand Hall, or throne room. Tilt down from the chandelier to ground level and pan slowly across the floor, which is occupied by a half-dozen chattering, laughing foals. Glory, Peach Fizz, and Seashell are among them; the other three are colts, one from each tribe. Back to the horror-stricken blue unicorn.)
Misty: …I’m gonna be the oldest pony here!
(Cut to Hitch addressing a hovering Zipp elsewhere in the Grand Hall.)
Hitch: All righty, Zipp! Perimeter checked, the throne room looks airtight and safe from rain.
Zipp: (landing) That’s great, Sheriff, but what about… (Zoom out slightly to frame a freaked-out Pipp in the fore.)
Pipp: …the fact that the Blossom Bashers will have to trot outside to get from the palace to the stage, potentially ruining their perfect outfits in the puddles and downpour?!?
(She flops bonelessly to the floor, leaving her older sister’s mind utterly blown.)
Zipp: Yeah.
Hitch: We need rain boots! And umbrellas! And fast!
(She nods firmly and both hustle out. Misty backs cautiously into view, the three Maretime Bay fillies approaching from behind, and freezes at the sound of Seashell’s voice.)
Seashell: Misty!
Misty: Hm?
Seashell: We didn’t even know it was possible a pony your age could get a cutie mark for the first time. It’s so cool!
(Cut to Misty, who gasps softly, then back to the trio on the following.)
Seashell: Would you like to join us? Glory and Peach Fizz are here to celebrate my new cutie mark with me. (turning to show her right haunch) Look!
(Said mark consists of a green/white seashell next to two pink stars. Zoom marches into the Grand Hall at a distance behind Misty.)
Misty: (laughing a bit) It’s awesome, Seashell!
Zoom: It is time.
Misty: Time? For what?
Seashell: (moving toward Zoom; others follow) Don’t worry. You can stick with me.
(She, the three colts, and one slightly unstrung mare fall in line as Thunder steps in. Glory and Peach are not among them.)
Thunder: Welcome to the Cutie Blossom Bash Eve Dinner Soiree!
(On this line, cut to a long shot and slow zoom in on a long table off to one side of the Grand Hall. Its floral centerpiece runs nearly half the total length, and it is set for a meal with a sumptuous array of dishes. Foals begin to take their seats as he finishes, and Misty sits after a nervous pause.)
Haven: (softly, winking) You got this.
(Those three words have a real calming effect on the unicorn; now the sovereign seats herself at one end and addresses the group. Zoom in slowly.)
Haven: I am so honored to have you all here in Zephyr Heights for our first Cutie Blossom Bash together.
(Cut to Misty and the pegasus colt, who spreads his wings.)
Haven: (from o.s.) From pegasi to unicorns— (To Seashell.) —to earth ponies— (Back to her as she continues.) —every one of you has reached an important milestone in your journey to become your best, most authentic selves. (Misty becomes slightly unsettled.) It’s time to go out and make your mark on Equestria. But first… (Zoom out quickly to frame the whole table.) …please enjoy this incredibly fancy springtime feast.
(Cut to the earth pony and unicorn colts on the end of this, neither one wasting any time in going for their cutlery, then to a rather more confounded Misty. She picks up one of the two forks by her plate after a long moment’s indecision; across the way, Seashell hefts the other one next to her own, but pauses before digging in.)
Seashell: (whispering) Psst! That’s the wrong fork! (She points at hers.)
Misty: Oops!
(So she hastily swaps her own and strains mightily to bring it to bear against a carrot on her plate. Instead of allowing itself to be punctured by the tines, though, it squirts away and hurtles toward the ceiling.)
Misty: Oh, no!
(Up and up—and then down and down, finally impaling itself on the unicorn colt’s horn. Laughter rings out around the table as Thunder steps up to remove the wayward vegetable; after considerable exertion, it pops away and he tumbles to the floor in a crash of armor.)
Misty: I am so sorry!
Haven: It’s okay, darling. It happens. (addressing the table) Now as per tradition, it’s time to introduce yourselves to one another and tell us about your cutie mark. Misty— (Cut to Misty, about to eat a bite; as she continues.) —why don’t you start?
Misty: (startled, slamming fork down) What?!? Oh! Um, me? Uh, yeah, I’ll go first. (Step back from her seat; zoom in slowly.) So…um…my name is Misty—Misty Brightdawn—and, uh… (Pivot to show the butterfly on her haunch.) …my cutie mark is a butterfly.
(Cut to Seashell, who voices a polite little giggle, then pan quickly around the table to capture the confused expressions and gasps of the three colts. The camera then returns to the uneasy unicorn.)
Misty: Um…that’s it.
Haven: (from o.s.) My dear… (Cut to her.) …you also have to tell everypony why you think it’s a butterfly.
Misty: (from o.s.) Oh! (Back to her.) And, um, uh, because, um…
(Close-up of the two forks by her plate.)
Misty: (from o.s., laughing weakly) …uh… (Zoom out to frame her.) …because… (She knocks one to the floor.) …oh! I-I dropped my fork.
(Down she goes after it; cut to the space under the table as she crawls in through the cloth and huddles into herself.)
Misty: (to herself) This is so awkward! I have no public-speaking skills! My only friend before this was a pile of junk named Madame Taffytail! Opaline was right. Maybe I’m not cut out for this world.
Voice of Seashell: My name is Seashell, and my cutie mark is… (Cut to her, standing and showing off said mark.) …a shell! (tapping front hooves on seat) Because I’m a pony who’s as unique as every shell on the beach is.
(Overhead shot of the table; zoom out slowly. The next two lines overlap, mixed with applause and laughter from the youngsters.)
Haven: Wonderful! That was lovely, dear.
Colts: Wooow!…Yay, Seashell!…Oh, wow!… Yay!…That was awesome!
(Back to Misty on the end of this, sighing despondently to herself, then cut to an infuriated Opaline in the throne room of her castle. She fetches a snarling, savage kick to a cart loaded with glassware and sends one bottle clattering to the floor. The torch Misty broke off to rescue Sunny and company in “Missing the Mark” has been replaced, and the banners bearing Opaline’s cutie mark that were hung in the room have been taken down.)
Opaline: (pacing to throne) First, those five little ponies thwart me and all my brilliant plans— (horn flaring briefly) —and now I can’t even find my mane brush! And I swear something else is missing. (softly, pacing before throne) Miss…miss-miss-miss-miss… (normal volume) …miss-ty! Yes! Where is that sad excuse for a pony? (glancing up the tree-root ramp) Still pouting in her room after our defeat, no doubt.
(The camera pans/tilts to follow her gaze on the end of this, putting her briefly o.s., then cuts back to her.)
Opaline: How long has she been up there? (walking to base of ramp) A few hours? Days? That’s odd.
(One front hoof is lifted to take the first step up the knobbly wooden surface, but stops just short of making contact. She turns away and resumes her pacing, seized by a fresh burst of pique.)
Opaline: But I also don’t care! Misty fails all the time! She’ll be back down soon, begging me to give her a cutie mark like always. (Scornful little laugh; she floats the fallen bottle back up onto the cart.) So silly, that girl. To believe I’d ever actually do that!
(A malicious giggle bubbles up from her throat as the camera tilts up toward the ceiling of the throne room. Dissolve to Glory and Peach outside Zephyr Heights Palace, scattering flower petals from the baskets they now hold; Glory is hovering to do her part. A brass fanfare rings out in time with a cut to Misty, who is dozing on a bed in a guest room inside. The notes jolt her awake so sharply that she pitches to the floor with a yelp.)
Misty: What? What is it? Are we under attack? (Sunny jumps into the open doorway, a happy bundle of nerves.)
Sunny: No, Misty, it’s your big day! The Cutie Blossom Bash! Yippee! Time to get ready! Aren’t you buzzing! (She giggles and darts away.)
Misty: (to herself) Buzzing…with nerves!
(Outside on the grounds, colts and fillies marvel at the attractions that have been set up; a few are petting some rabbits, and others are doing a bit of basket-weaving.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Flower corsages! Get your flower corsages!
(Pan to frame her at a stall she has set up a short distance away to hawk her wares.)
Izzy: Hoof-made by me, Izzy, of course! (Dazzle Feather approaches.) Smells great! (She sniffs the one she is holding.) Like flowers!
(The news anchor cheerfully takes the item and departs, but Izzy’s attention is swiftly pulled toward the sullen gray sky by a fresh grumble of thunder. Here come Hitch and Zipp from the palace, the latter on wing; both are now wearing galoshes and umbrella hats.)
Hitch: Don’t worry, everypony!
Zipp: There’s no way we’re letting it rain on this parade. (Izzy crosses to them.)
Izzy: Wait, there’s a parade? Why didn’t anypony tell me? Um, I may be able to fashion a float quickly, but I will need a tube of glue, five thousand and fourteen gummy bunnies, and a—
Zipp: No, it’s just an expression. What we mean is, we’ve got this festival of fun under cover.
(Cut to an overhead shot of the palace’s front walkway and zoom out quickly on the end of this. Ornate canopies have been erected to shield the entire course from any errant precipitation. The camera then returns to the three ponies, who are swiftly joined by Hitch’s three-critter “squad.”)
Hitch: We also have critter deputies on duty— (Cut to them, saluting, as he continues.) —to make sure nopony slips—
(He and Zipp bound into view, now carrying portable radios. Kenneth and his bareheaded opposite number perch on Hitch’s back and Zipp’s hat, respectively.)
Hitch: —and trottie-talkies! (A burst of static from his.) Because, well…because trottie-talkies are cool! (Cut to Zipp on the end of this.)
Zipp: We’ve taken every precautionary measure, so now, we wait.
(Tilt up to her fine feathered passenger, who dismounts and touches down by McSnips-a-Lot; Kenneth has left his boss’s back and joined them. The sky voices its displeasure.)
Hitch: (all business) It’ll be here any minute. Kenneth! You take charge. When it rains, you know what to do.
(All three critters salute again, the ponies return the gesture, and Hitch gallops away while Zipp lifts off. Cut to Misty, seated before the vanity mirror at which she received her mane/tail dye job at the beginning of this act. She is now wearing a sash and a choker set with a butterfly gem and is patting one cheek with a powder puff. Zoom in slowly, then cut to a patch of counter space as she sets the implement down and takes up a flower lying next to it—an ocean lily, the sort she used to lure Pipp and Zipp into the beach cave during “Portrait of a Princess.” As she speaks, the camera cuts to an extreme close-up of her tucking it in by an ear and zooms out to frame all of her.)
Pipp: (from o.s., tucking it in by an ear) Well, at least I look pretty. (She deflates with a sigh.) Pretty terrified.
(Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp peek in and enter, voicing a round of gasps; the next two lines overlap.)
Izzy: Wow, Misty!
Pipp: Oh, my hoofness! (flying to her) Misty, you are the picture of spring. A vision in florals, an ode to the beauty of the butterfly. (Izzy pops up on the other side with a little gasp.)
Izzy: (teasingly) You’re gonna stick out, in a good way! (Sunny joins them with a squeal and turns Misty’s chair to face the doorway.)
Sunny: Here goes!
(Exeunt the four mares, Misty trying to drum up her best approximation of a relaxed smile and not quite succeeding.)
Act Three
(Dissolve to an overhead shot of the covered walkway, zooming in slowly, then cut to just inside the end farther from the palace entrance, framed by an arc of rainbow-colored balloons. The camera zooms out, backing up toward the palace and framing crowds of well-wishers that line both sides of the carpeted path, followed by a cut to the open doors and zoom out. The four foal honorees march proudly out, each sporting a sash and flying a banner with his/her cutie mark; a similarly attired Misty brings up the rear, her friends matching her pace and hanging back a few steps as an informal honor guard. Hitch and Zipp are no longer carrying their radios. She smiles gratefully over her shoulder at them, but freezes up with a gasp upon reaching the threshold even as Seashell giggles to herself. Her eyes lock onto one knot of spectators…a yelp, and she sees another…and her nerves finally and completely fail her.)
Misty: (shaking head) I can’t do this. It’s all too much!
(Her horn blazes to life, slamming the doors shut.)
Sunny: What?
Izzy: No! (She and Pipp gasp.)
Pipp: What?
Hitch: Huh?
Zipp: What? (Misty wheels to face them.)
Misty: Wait! I need to confess something! (Cut to Hitch/Zipp.)
Zipp: I knew it!
Misty: (from o.s.) It’s not about Opaline, Zipp. (Back to her.) This is about me. (Her perspective of the five.) The truth is… (Back to her, moving toward them.) …I…can’t go out there!
Pipp: (hovering) What? Is it the outfit? We can change it!
Misty: (turning in place) No, no, it’s perfect. It’s all perfect. (Her perspective; Pipp touches down.) But ever since I got here, I haven’t felt comfortable.
(Back to her on this last word.)
Misty: All these ponies, and all this fuss over me—
Pipp: Wait, you don’t like that?
Misty: (crossing to them) No. All this Cutie Blossom Bash stuff has made me feel so not-me. I may be smiling, but— (Grimace.) —this is what I really feel like.
Izzy: Oh, wow, yeah. That—that looks unhappy.
Misty: I don’t want to trot across that stage with all those eyes on me. I don’t want the spotlight. I just want to be Misty. But if I don’t pretend, then everypony will know the truth about me, that I’m…shy.
Sunny: Oh, Misty, we just wanted to celebrate your new cutie mark.
Misty: I know I should be proud of it. (smiling briefly) And I am. But I don’t want to do this. I’ve been so scared to tell you because you were all so excited. I’m sorry. I should’ve been honest. (stomping in frustration) I’ve ruined everything!
Sunny: (gently, crossing to her) Misty, you haven’t ruined anything at all. We are the ones who should be sorry. We got so caught up in trying to make this moment special for you— (The others gather in.) —we forgot to ask along the way if this is what you even wanted. (Izzy nods.) That’s what good friends would have done.
Misty: (smiling) Thank you for understanding. (Cut briefly to/from Hitch and Zipp as she continues.) I’m still learning about friendship. (Izzy moves to her.)
Izzy: And so are we. (Pipp hovers nearby.)
Pipp: Every day.
(She and Sunny cluster in around Zipp for a brief whispered conference, which leaves the other three at a moment’s loss when the camera cuts to them. Back to the three mares, stepping to them, on the start of the next line.)
Sunny: Maybe we can celebrate in another way?
(Pipp lands as a genuinely warm smile makes its way across the blue face. Cut to a stage on which the four foals are standing against a backdrop of blue sky and a balloon rainbow, with Dazzle at a lectern and microphone off to one side. Zoom in as the unicorn colt moves to the center, then cut to a close-up of him twirling happily in place; his mark is an apple with one bite gone. Applause and murmurs from the gathered crowd as he moves off.)
Dazzle: (amplified) And next we have…Seashell!
(Pan to frame the filly, who takes a beaming turn of her own. At the back of the throng, Misty watches in silent admiration as Sunny and the rest of her friends except Zipp cheer, then turns to them. She is still wearing her sash and banner holder, but the banner itself and the pole have been removed.)
Misty: Thank you, ponies. For the first time in a long time, I feel… (Quiet laugh.) …happy. Probably about as happy as Seashell feels right now.
Seashell: (giggling, stomping) This is the best moment of my life! (Zipp flies in and lands by the group.)
Zipp: Okay. Talked to Mom. She’s totally cool with it. (Sunny giggles.)
Pipp: Yes!
Misty: Cool with…what?
Pipp: A special surprise—that we promise doesn’t involve any other ponies, preparations, or primping. Just us.
(Dissolve to a long overhead shot of the palace garden that figured in the video clip Haven played on her phone in Act Two. This is a large circular terrace jutting from the mountain on which Zephyr Heights is built, ringed by clouds and decorated with gold-accented marble statues. The camera shifts to frame it from another angle before cutting to ground level, where the doors of a building that contains the only entrance/exit swing open under Misty’s control to admit the six ponies. Hitch and Zipp have shed their foul-weather gear. Misty voices a happy gasp upon laying eyes on the verdant tract.)
Misty: Hey! This is the place from the video! It’s beautiful!
(Cut here and there among the sculptures and lush plant life as she finishes, then back to the group. Misty glances down at the grass, the camera following her gaze to frame a fair-sized hole dug into it directly in front of her.)
Misty: But why are we here?
Zipp: We wanted to do something cool to mark your big day in a small way.
(Pipp flies across, carrying a sapling ready for planting whose roots are still bundled up in cloth. The only difference between it and the one seen in the clip is that this one has blue leaves rather than green.)
Pipp: This is one of the saplings I’ve been singing to— (catching herself) —I mean, nurturing for a while. (setting it down, backing o.s.) And now it’s yours. It represents you growing into the pony you were meant to be.
Izzy: Now your sparkle can take roots. (Both sisters launch into a wide arc over the garden; cut to Pipp.)
Pipp: (singsong) Whoo! Like mi-i-ine! (Pan quickly to Zipp.)
Zipp: And mine!
Sunny: (stepping closer) So, what do you say?
Misty: I love it!
(Pipp and Zipp land as her field hoists the sapling, and it is plopped into the hole in close-up. Back to her on the next line, scraping dirt over the roots; tilt up slowly toward her face.)
Misty: It’ll be a long time before my tree catches up to yours.
(By the time she gets the hole filled in, she finds the discarded banner/pole being passed to her courtesy of Izzy’s telekinesis. Slow pan.)
Sunny: Maybe it doesn’t have to.
Stately percussion line with faint backing synthesizer chords, slow 4 (D major)
(Misty thrusts the lower end into the dirt so that it can stand unsupported.)
Sunny: Just plant this seed to be who you want to be
Because the magic, it lives within you and me
Pipp, Zipp: It takes time to grow and to learn on your own
(They carry Misty back a few feet; now Sunny touches a hoof to the grass, directing a glow of green earth pony magic into the sapling.)
Sunny, Pipp, Zipp: The transformation is beginning
(Sunny and Izzy circle around it.)
Izzy: Butterflies don’t get their wings
Over the night
Sunny: It all takes time
Hitch: Birds don’t just wake up and fly
(Pipp flaps across to Misty and flips over her back.)
Pipp: It comes from deep inside
A cappella for last syllable of previous line, held out for four beats, then music resumes
(Misty smiles placidly and closes her eyes, the camera zooming in quickly on her expression. Fade to black, then quickly in to a hazy-ringed series of memories from past episodes. Being addressed gently and then harshly by Opaline in the throne room of the latter’s castle…recoiling from an outburst…receiving an enthusiastic greeting from Izzy…chomping messily into a bowl of popcorn as the other mares watch…being comforted by Zipp…the whole gang hugging her…using a broken torch-end to pop the force field imprisoning them in Opaline’s throne room…being magically lifted off her hooves and gaining her cutie mark…taking a picture of herself with the group at the Manesquerade Ball.)
All but Misty: Find your light
Let it, let it glow, you got it, got it, go
Find your light
You got it, got it, go
A cappella
(Six-way split screen of the ponies’ haunches, with every cutie mark sparking to life.)
All but Misty: Everypony can
Synth only with faint percussion accents
Each set of background lyrics is sung under the preceding lead line
(Pipp rises above the others as rivulets of magic snake from their marks and pour into the sapling, which proceeds to undergo a growth spurt that would blow any botanist’s mind. Yard after yard of trunk stretches upward and thickens, Izzy pulling up the banner to make room, and a lush canopy of blue leaves springs up from the ends of the suddenly mighty branches.)
Pipp: Grow
All others: [Grow, oh, oh-h-h, oh]
Misty: Grow
All others: [Oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh]
[Oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh]
All: Everypony can
Misty, Pipp: Grow
All others: [Grow, oh, oh-h-h, oh]
Misty: Grow
All others: [Oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh]
[Oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh]
(The magic fades away, and Misty bounds across the garden so she can get a good look at the end product. The tree now stands at least ten times a pony’s height, its coiling trunk grown to twice a pony’s length or more in thickness. A final flash of sparks, and a swarm of butterflies takes wing from the vibrant foliage.)
All: Everypony can
A cappella
Misty: Grow
Song ends
Misty: Whoa! Look at that!
(Cut to the others on the end of this, marveling at the sight; they laugh and cavort among the profusion of fluttering insects. As Misty watches one pass before her face, her horn flares for a moment, followed by a flash from her mark; close-up of the latter, then cut to her as she speaks.)
Misty: That’s it! That’s why my cutie mark is a butterfly! It’s because I have the power to change, to transform my own destiny! That’s me! (grimly, turning away) But there’s one more thing I’ve been wanting to tell you. And yes, this time it does have to do with Opaline, Zipp. (Cut to the sisters on the end of this.)
Zipp: (sputtering) I knew it! (Misty wheels to face them again.)
Misty: Opaline hasn’t been defeated yet, not even close.
(Cut to a pan across the others, now standing in a line, on the end of this. Zipp gasps.)
Sunny: That can’t be true. You saw what happened in the lair.
Misty: Yes, but she’s more powerful than you know. And now she has Sparky’s dragon-fire magic too. (pacing) Opaline won’t stop until she has all the power of Equestria! But I think I know how to help.
Zipp: How?
Misty: It’ll be hard to guess her next move. Opaline is unpredictable and mysterious, except to somepony who knows her—somepony who can be near her.
(By this point, the camera has cut to a close-up; a stunned gasp is heard from the o.s. Izzy before the view shifts to frame the group again. She jumps forward.)
Izzy: Misty! No!
Misty: Yes! I have to go back to Opaline and pretend to be on her side. (Dismayed/disbelieving reactions from the other five.) It’s the only way! Twilight Sparkle’s enchanted invisi-bubble can only keep Opaline out of Equestria for so long! I can act as a double agent by giving you all the information I learn.
Hitch: That does not feel like the safest option, Misty.
Zipp: I agree. You can’t go!
Misty: It is risky, but this is what I want to do—what I can do to help. (smiling) At least now I’ll have best friends to get me through
(Cut to said friends on the end of this.)
Izzy: We’ll be by your side, always.
(Cheering, the five pile in around the blue unicorn for a group hug and the camera tilts up past them into the gray-clouded sky. A boom of thunder, and the threat of rain that has loomed over the Bash finally comes to pass. The first drops have barely fallen before a screech drifts up from the o.s. Pipp; back to ground level as she bolts for cover.)
Pipp: My mane!
(The others laugh and follow at a more relaxed pace. Dissolve to a long shot of Opaline’s castle and pan slightly to frame Misty as she gallops into view at a distance and stops. She has stripped off her choker, sash, and banner holder, but kept her mane/tail in their new colors. A head-on view reveals that she is still wearing that ocean lily tucked in by her ear. Steeling herself, she produces the powder puff she used for a final touch-up before the Bash; close-up of her haunch as she applies it to completely hide her mark. Her deep breath is heard before the camera returns to her, and she disposes of the puff and begins walking toward the castle.)
(Inside the throne room, the big boss growls out her frustration while pacing the floor. The creak of an opening door snaps her out of this funk; on the next line, she pivots to find Misty entering.)
Opaline: Oh, there you are! I’m behind on my scheming! I’ve had all these ideas and nopony to take notes! Obscene!
Misty: Sorry, Opaline. I was—
Opaline: (yanking the flower from her mane) What’s this?
(Close-up of it on her hoof; a snarl from o.s., and her magic burns it away to nothing.)
Opaline: (circling around Misty) And what has happened to your mane? (poking at it) It’s all purple and pink and…different.
(She voices a shudder of revulsion, Misty a much softer one of terror at the idea of being caught out. A lightning-fast bit of thought comes to the unicorn’s rescue.)
Misty: (smiling, forcing a laugh) Oh, that! Uh…yeah! (toying with her mane) I, uh, fell into a flower bush. An enchanted one, grown with earth pony flora magic. It instantly changed my mane. (Grumble.) Those cursed ponies got me again.
Opaline: (scoffing) You clumsy girl. (tapping hoof on floor, walking away) Now, chop-chop. I have plots to plan.
(Cut to Misty on the end of this, the last words fading out. She pulls out the photo of herself with Sunny and company that she swiped during “The Jinxie Games” and regards it.)
Misty: You’re by my side, and I won’t let you down.
Opaline: (from o.s., shrilly) MISTYYY!!
(That one word rips the needle off her mental record; she packs the picture away and gets all four hooves in gear to see what grunt work awaits her now.)
FAMILY TREES—PART ONE
Written by Laura Zak
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Directed by Randi Rodrigues
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Note: Aside from any previously named characters, all mentions of ponies in
Bridlewood refer to unicorns.
Prologue
(Opening shot: a close-up of a small crystal outcropping at the edge of a path through Bridlewood during the day. A pony gallops past this, seen from the haunches down; the coloration and mane/tail style are a match for Misty, but there are three noticeable differences. The body is smaller, the mane/tail have their original blue/green coloration rather than the purple/reddish-pink dye job applied in “Cutie Blossom Bash,” and she does not wear the foreleg bracelet Izzy Moonbow gave her. Even before the camera cuts to frame her fully, her giggle confirms what these details suggest—that this is a moment from her filly-hood. She slides to a stop as a unicorn-horned rabbit hops onto the path before her.)
Filly MI: Awww, hi there!
(Close-up; it twitches its ears and hops back the way it came.)
Filly MI: (from o.s.) Hey! (Back to her, giggling.) Wait up!
(It leads her a merry chase, off the path and through the grass toward a patch of wispy fog, but she catches a hoof on some broad woody structure and goes tumbling.)
Filly MI: Ow!
(Following a graceless landing on her belly, she takes a moment to recover her senses and looks up with a gasp. Cut to her perspective of the forest’s immense Wishing Tree standing right before her. A tilt up toward its expansive boughs reveals that night has abruptly fallen and that much of the bark has taken on a soothing blue glow. What she tripped on was one of its roots.)
Filly MI: Wow!
(Back to her, standing up and noticing a bluish glow that seems to be emanating from somewhere among the roots. She voices a softer gasp.)
Filly MI: (circling around trunk) Where’d that come from?
(The source proves to be a pair of ornately worked wooden doors set into the surface.)
Filly MI: Oh!
(She reaches out to touch them, but a rustle in the underbrush spooks her into withdrawing her hoof and spinning to face the thickening murk.)
Filly MI: Huh?
(A large, indistinct silhouette begins to emerge, prompting the youngster to uncork a shrill scream of terror. Zoom in quickly on her open mouth, then out to frame the fully grown Misty yelling and flailing her limbs wildly in her sleep—this entire sequence has been a nightmare of hers. She is lying on her bed within her room in Opaline Arcana’s castle, and she snaps upward into a sitting position. Daylight beams in through the stained-glass window as she heaves for breath.)
Misty: What was that about? It felt so real, like it’s happened before—or it’s going to.
(Close-up of her haunch as she finishes and slides the bedclothes down a fraction to find that her cutie mark is pulsing with light.)
Misty: (from o.s.) That’s new. (Back to her.) Something is definitely up. I’ve gotta tell my friends!
(Within seconds, the Madame Taffytail dummy she made in “Top Remodel” is snatched off its shelf and dumped onto the bed with a collection of other items, large and small. The camera angle shifts briefly to point up at Misty from the mattress as she tosses her blanket onto the lens to black out the screen; from here, cut to her trotting out of the room. Her possessions are arranged under the blanket to give a rough approximation of her sleeping form, a decoy in anticipation of a bed check by Opaline. Snap to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
Muted audio: Pipp holds out “mine” in the final song from Bridlewoodstock
Energetic electric guitar/drums/bass/synthesizer melody, moderate 4 (E major)
(Cut from the title card directly to the front lawn of the Crystal Brighthouse, during a beautiful morning. Zoom in slowly and cut to a close-up of a pancake in a pan on the kitchen stove; a timer dings, and Sunny Starscout flips it with a laugh. Across the way in the Critter Corner, Hitch Trailblazer is holding up a flowered hoop for a squirrel to jump through, watched by another one, McSnips-a-Lot, and Curdle the turtle. Over by the fireplace, Izzy Moonbow is watching an uncharacteristically lethargic Sparky Sparkeroni on a couch, while Pipp Petals watches a video of herself performing with the Dreamlands during the Bridlewoodstock Music Festival on the television set above the fireplace. Zipp Storm’s attention is focused on her FlyPad as she lounges on a chair.)
Pipp, Dreamlands: We don’t hang our heads when things get too hard
We put our hooves together
Song ends abruptly
(The peaceful mood goes bye-bye in the instant it takes Misty to barge in through the front doors. Her mark has gone quiet.)
Misty: I think we’re in danger!
(Pipp shuts off the TV; she, Izzy, and Zipp gasp, and Sunny leaps across with pan in hoof—letting its flapjack slide out and hit the floor.)
Sunny: Is it Opaline?
Misty: That’ snot what I meant.
Hitch: Opaline’s here?!? (He gallops toward Sparky.)
Misty: No! I’m trying to tell you that— (Cut to the others as she finishes.)
Zipp: (hovering, FlyPad stowed) Look alive, ponies, and don’t panic!
Pipp: Okay. We’re under attack— (hovering, singing) —but don’t be afra-a-aid!
(There follows a beat of dead silence after she finishes vocalizing.)
Pipp: What? (rattled) You said not to panic! Singing keeps me calm, okay?
Misty: If you could just listen—
Izzy: (dramatically, bounding to her) I, Izzy Moonbow of the Bridlewood Moonbows, call upon the Unity Crystals to protect this Brighthouse and everypony in it!
(Extreme close-up of Misty’s mouth on this last, zooming out quickly to frame the group in an overhead shot.)
Misty: LISTEN TO ME!! (That shuts them all up.) I should clarify, I don’t think we’re in danger right now… (Pipp and Zipp touch down with relieved sighs.) …but we absolutely could be soon.
(The next words/reactions overlap, the camera angles keeping Hitch out of view.)
Hitch: (from o.s.) What?!
Izzy: Oh, no! (Sunny holds up her pan as a shield.)
Pipp: (both sisters hovering; Zipp yelps) What do you mean?
Zipp: Okay, back up. (She brings out her FlyPad and lands facing Misty; slow pan.) From the top. What’s going on?
(A beep, and the device’s voice recorder is active.)
Misty: I had this scary dream, but it felt real. There was this…tall creature.
Sunny: Do you usually have scary dreams?
Misty: I’ve been having a lot of them, actually. (hopping onto a chair) I’m exhausted. (The others take seats, Sunny putting her pan aside and Zipp tucking her FlyPad away.)
Sunny: I wonder what they mean.
Pipp: Ooh, I love dream analysis! Like, did you know that everypony in your dreams is actually you?
Izzy: (jumping in place) Ooh! So I’m actually a tap-dancing tube of paint and the queen of the hermit crabs?
Pipp: Yes.
Zipp: Or, maybe it wasn’t a dream at all. Maybe it was a vision!
Sunny: Of the future?
Zipp: (standing, pacing) Exactly! (to Misty) You told us Opaline won’t stop ’til she has all the power of Equestria, right? And she’s kinda tall, so the dream creature must be her!
Misty: I don’t know. I-I couldn’t really see the creature. It was just a big shadow.
Zipp: (pulling out FlyPad, starting recorder) Hmmm…so it could be a new threat. Okay. Describe it to me. Don’t leave out any details. They could be crucial.
Misty: Uh… (Sigh.) …I can’t really remember now. I just knew something very bad was about to happen.
Zipp: Focus, Misty. If we don’t decode your vision, we could be missing a vital clue to Opaline’s next move.
(On the next line, pan to frame Sunny looking on from the couch.)
Sunny: Go easy on her, Zipp. Misty has been through a lot. (to Misty) Maybe these bad dreams are because you’re still sleeping at the lair?
Pipp: (now o.s.) Yeah! (Cut to her.) You don’t have to do this whole double-agent dance anymore, Misty.
Misty: No. I can’t stop until I figure out how to beat Opaline. I don’t know what I’d do if anything else happened to you ponies—or Sparky.
(On the mention of this name, cut briefly to the little guy snoozing on Hitch’s lap. When the camera returns to Zipp and Misty, the pegasus has packed away her FlyPad.)
Zipp: (sitting) Don’t worry. I’m gonna help you crack this mystery wide open. (Longer shot, framing all, on the start of the next line.)
Sunny: We all will. Take a breath and think back. What else did you see?
(Cut to a close-up of Misty and zoom in slowly as she closes her eyes and arranges her mind. When she opens her mouth to speak, the view shifts to her dream-filly self’s perspective of the Tree as seen in the prologue. Zoom in on its proliferation of leaves.)
Misty: (voice over) There was this big beautiful tree— (Back to her in the present.) —kind of like the one you planted for me in Zephyr Heights. But this one was in a forest, and it had a door.
(She is referring to the sapling that the six ponies planted and grew at the end of “Cutie Blossom Bash.” During this second sentence, she shifts to voice over again in time with a cut to the glowing doors she found in her dream. Zoom in slowly on these before cutting back to the here and now; pan across the concerned spectators to stop on Izzy.)
Izzy: Hmmm… (Gasp; big smile.) …that sounds just like the Wishing Tree in Bridlewood! Other than the door part. Could that be the one? (Zoom in slowly on Misty.)
Misty: I—I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to Bridlewood. I was just pretending to know about it during our unicorn sleepover.
(The titular event of “The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over,” that is. Her admission shocks Izzy into a lung-bursting gasp.)
Misty: I’m so sorry, Izzy! I just— (Izzy leans into her face.)
Izzy: A unicorn who’s never been to Bridlewood?!? What are we waiting for? We have to take you there! Now! Now!
(The blue mare finds herself being yanked bodily from her seat, and she trots smilingly past the ramps in close-up.)
Misty: I have always wanted to see where the other unicorns live.
Izzy: (rapid fire) I’ll show you the Crystal Tea Room and then we’ll trot through the plaza and go to my house, and then we’ll go skipping!
(A polite throat-clearing from the o.s. Zipp; cut to frame the whole group. She touches down from a hover on Misty’s other side.)
Zipp: And we’ll see if Bridlewood helps Misty remember anything else about her vision. (Close-up of Izzy.)
Izzy: (sheepishly) Uh…yeah. That too.
Hitch: (from o.s.) Oh, no!
(Cut to him, trying and failing to rouse Sparky’s interest in a McSnips-a-Lot stuffed toy.)
Hitch: Come on, buddy! You still don’t want to play?
Sunny: What’s going on with Sparky? He seems so tired lately.
Hitch: I thought he would get his energy back after Opaline drained his dragon fire, but he’s been sleeping for days. (Sparky moans woozily.) I’m getting worried.
Izzy: Well, the Bridlewood Forest is known to have many healing properties, especially the Wishing Tree. (She slides over to whisper loudly to Misty behind a hoof.) I’m not saying that Bridlewood has it all, but…it has it all!
Hitch: It’s worth a shot.
Sunny: To the Marestream!
(All five mares waste no time in bugging out, while Hitch carefully settles Sparky on his back and follows at a slower pace to avoid jostling the little guy. Cut to the Marestream in flight through a cheerful blue sky studded with fat white clouds, then to a slow pan across the cockpit. Zipp has her sunglasses on and is at the controls.)
Zipp: (smoothly) This is your pilot, Zipp Storm, speaking. I’m expecting clear skies and smooth conditions as we cruise into our destination, Bridlewood.
(During this line, the view shifts to a bank of speakers mounted on a wall in the cabin, her voice heard through these. Zoom out to frame the others sitting on the floor, Pipp goofing around with her cell phone and Hitch holding Sparky close.)
Misty: Thank moons for that!
Izzy: Ooh! Listen to that unicorn-speak! (waving a foreleg) Soon you’ll know Bridlewood like the back of your hoof! (Cut to Sunny.)
Sunny: If there’s time, I want to forage for some exotic forest berries for my smoothies! (She holds up a cup…) Do you think Alphabittle will have recommendations? (…and takes a pull.)
Misty: (from o.s.) Alpha-what-tle?
(Cut to frame both unicorns and the orange mare on this last. Now Pipp stands up, addressing her phone.)
Pipp: Take a good look, Pippsqueaks—
(Her image now appears on the screen of a different phone, accompanied by a steady stream of icons to indicate viewer approval. As she continues, the camera shifts to frame Glory, Peach Fizz, and Seashell watching on Peach’s device in the Maretime Bay town square. The shift puts the screen out of view, and is followed by a cut back to her in the cabin as she finishes.)
Pipp: —’cause this is the last you’ll see of my muzzle for a bit. Today, I’m going to unplug and practice Mega-Pega-Mindfulness. (shifting position, as Hitch offers a toy block to Sparky at the wall seats) And I’ll be scoping out supplies for my upcoming all-natural hoof and mane product line! Follow me for more details for when it drops—but, you know, don’t follow me today. (Laugh.)
(Long shot of the cruising Marestream.)
Pipp: (voice over) Get off your screens and get outside! (Back to her.) That’s where I’ll be. Pipp, Pipp, bye-byeee! (She cuts the feed.)
Hitch: I really hope Izzy’s right about those magical healing powers. (No luck with the block; he puts it down and Sparky turns over to sleep.) I’ll try anything to help Sparky feel like himself again.
Sunny: I’m sure we’ll find something to help cure him.
(On the next line, cut to frame Zipp through the open doorway to the cockpit, calling back over her shoulder.)
Zipp: (mildly irked) And find the answers to Misty’s vision!
(Long shot of the craft, dropping serenely toward the treetops.)
Zipp: (voice over, smoothly) Starting our descent. (Izzy and Misty peek out a window.)
Izzy: Misty, welcome to Bridlewood.
(Stretching ahead of them under the clouds is a canopy of leaves in bright pinks and blues.)
Misty: (awestruck) It’s so beautiful!
(Cut to treetop level and tilt down to the ground. The Marestream is parked with wings folded in, and the ponies and dragon have debarked. Pipp sits in a meditative pose with hind legs crossed and forelegs extended at a downward angle to either side, and Hitch has Sparky on his back. They are gathered just outside Izzy’s house, whose front yard sports a few of her crafting projects; others are suspended from the branches.)
Izzy: (to Misty) Welcome to my home! (Cut to its upper portion and pan/tilt down; she continues o.s.) Villa Izzy. Tree sweet tree.
Misty: (from o.s.) This is all yours?
Izzy: (standing up into view) Oh! Well, it doesn’t so much belong to me as it’s a living part of the forest.
(The fountain she built to get her cutie mark, as seen in “Cutie Blossom Bash,” stands by the front door. Now she darts away to the crank-operated music box seen during the group’s Bridlewood visit in A New Generation. As she continues, she works it to play the first five notes of the My Little Pony theme/jingle, then returns to the fountain.)
Izzy: It’s sort of like I’ve been tasked with tending to it and leaving it more beautiful than I found it! (Return to Misty.) Know what I mean?
Misty: I think so.
Izzy: And now it’s yours too. All of Bridlewood is.
Misty: Wow.
(She looks around herself, utterly enraptured, as the view dissolves to an overhead shot of one path lined with widely varying works of art. Pan to bring the group into view, Sparky now toddling alongside Hitch as they walk; one of the creators is present.)
Misty: These were all made by unicorns? (Ground level.)
Izzy: You bet your crystals! (She moves to a stylized unicorn-head sculpture.) Every last one.
(Farther back, Hitch’s face broadcasts his worry over Sparky’s obvious discomfort. Now Zipp takes the air and catches up to Misty.)
Zipp: (landing to face her) So, Misty, anything jogging your memory yet? (Close-up of a smiling Misty as she finishes.)
Misty: Actually, yes.
Zipp: (eagerly) Really? (Pull out the FlyPad.) Another vision?
Misty: Oh, no. Sorry.
(She turns to a painting of a winged unicorn filly standing in a field of flowers at sunrise.)
Misty: I meant this art. I’ve never seen such beautiful images of ponies who look just like me before. (A thought occurs to her.) Or have I? (Zipp lets off a soft, frustrated groan.)
Sunny: (to her) Give her time.
Zipp: (putting FlyPad away) I don’t know how much time we have!
(The travelers continue on their way, Izzy hopping merrily along the path.)
Act Two
(Dissolve to a tilt down from the treetops into a clearing where an artisan has set up a stall. One customer departs with a levitated package as Izzy trots into view, floating a box and singing to herself. The others are here, Pipp having resumed her meditation in midair and Hitch cuddling Sparky.)
Izzy: These macarons are a Bridlewood delicacy. (dropping/catching box, then popping lid open by magic) Made of edible fluffy flowers.
(Five of the treats drift out under her control—cream filling sandwiched between two spongy cake layers. The first three go to Hitch, Misty, and Sunny; Pipp snags the fourth, having put her hooves back on the ground.)
Pipp: Ooh, cute!
(She whips out her phone with a laugh to take a video of herself holding the macaron, but puts it away just as quickly.)
Pipp: Oh, right. Mega-Pega-Mindfulness. (Bite; gasp.) Neigh way! When I don’t record it, I can really taste it!
(Hitch ponders the one he holds and offers it to Sparky, who waves it off weakly; the stallion tucks it away for later as two fillies walk past.)
Filly: Awww, the little dragon wants a ride! So adorable!
Hitch: (smiling, helping Sparky onto his back) It is adorable—but this is so unlike the usual “off-the-walls-with-energy” Sparky.
(Misty suffers a brief loss for words upon taking a bite of her macaron.)
Misty: That is…incredible! And strangely familiar.
Zipp: Taste can unlock new pathways in the brain. (deploying FlyPad) Are these treats making you think of anything new?
Misty: It’s making me think, “I need more!”
(She proceeds to gobble down the rest of it and float no fewer than five others toward herself. In close-up, Zipp lowers the rig and groans in mild disgust as the sound of energetic chomping drifts her way. She has dispatched her own macaron by this point. Cut to a close-up of a horned rabbit sniffing at a crystal formation; on the start of the next line, pan to follow its hopping and stop on the group. They have all done away with their snacks and are standing among a profusion of varicolored minerals, one of which has come under Misty’s intense scrutiny.)
Zipp: (to Misty) These crystals have gotta spark something for you.
Misty: Actually, you’re right. They are just like the ones in my dream.
(Sunny plucks a small, greenish-glowing one and holds it out to Sparky.)
Sunny: Here, Sparky, try holding this bliss quartz.
(He takes it with a bleary gurgle and goes to sleep, a trace of contentment now on the scaly green face.)
Izzy: Ooh, good eye, Sunny! Bliss quartz boosts up positive energy— (whispering eerily) —and helps you see things clearly! (fading out like an echo, sinking from sight) Clearly…clearly… (Up again to address Hitch.) …clearly.
(Sunny, meanwhile, has turned to Zipp and Misty and offered up a fresh sample.)
Sunny: Here, Misty. You try. (Misty takes it from her.)
Misty: It feels…nice?
Zipp: (coaxingly, holding up FlyPad) Aaaaand…?
Misty: And it’s so…pretty?
(The ivory investigator’s groan and lowering of the device suggest that this was not the sort of response she was hoping to get.)
Zipp: (walking off) It doesn’t seem like you’re responding to anything here!
(The blue unicorn follows, the wind instantly gone from her sails. Dissolve to the group walking along a path and past a playground, Sunny and Zipp in the lead and Misty no longer carrying the piece of bliss quartz.)
Sunny: (to Zipp) Just go easy on her.
Zipp: I am, but we’re running out of time!
(Cut to Misty, bringing up the rear, on the end of this. Ahead of her, Sparky has also discarded his crystal. She stops short with a gasp, seeing a father push his son on a swing, and the camera cuts to her face and zooms in quickly on one blinking eye. Fade quickly to white, then in to her perspective—she is now her dream-filly self, giggling and waving her hind legs in the air as she rides a swing of her own. After a couple of cycles, the camera shifts to frame her in profile, in the same foggy forest of the prologue.)
Voice of Zipp: (muffled) Misty!
Filly MI: Huh?
Voice of Zipp: (muffled) Misty! Misty! (Fade to white; the next repetition comes through clearly.) Misty!
(Fade in to the present-day Misty, who snaps out of her momentary trance or fugue, then cut to an overhead shot of the others gathering around her on the next line. She has dropped to her haunches.)
Zipp: Are you okay?
(Close-up of the butterfly on the blue haunch, which flares and sparks briefly.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Look! Her cutie mark! (Cut to her as she finishes; Izzy/Zipp crowd in for a look.)
Zipp: It worked! You had another vision, didn’t you?
Misty: Uh…I don’t think it was a vision. It felt like…a memory.
Izzy: A memory? You mean… (Gasp.) …maybe you are from Bridlewood?
Misty: I don’t…it’s too foggy. I can’t remember.
Zipp: We must be on the right track! What did you see? (Father and son leave the swing and go on their way.)
Misty: I think I was a filly—in that playground. (Izzy gasps.)
Izzy: I played there when I was a filly! (She gallops off.)
Zipp: (urgently) Uh, who were you with?
Misty: I want to know, but I just don’t— (Up comes the FlyPad.)
Zipp: (rolling eyes) You must remember something from you filly-hood! Before Opaline? Just think!
Misty: I don’t want to anymore. (Sunny crosses to them; Zipp stashes the gear.)
Sunny: It’s okay, Misty. (foreleg across shoulders) You don’t have to have all the answers right now. I’m sure you’ll remember eventually. (pointedly) Right, Zipp?
Zipp: (chastised) Right, of course. It’s okay, Misty. I’m sorry.
(Sunny offers Misty an understanding smile as Izzy takes a ride down the playground slide.)
Izzy: Whee!
(Momentum gets the better of her at the bottom end; she tumbles head-over-hooves and o.s. with a yell, a loud crash and goofy giggle marking the general direction of her final wipeout. A moment later she is upright and trotting to catch up with the group on the move. Cut to the steaming teakettle sign above the Crystal Tea Room and zoom out to frame the last stretch of the path leading up to its front entrance. A humming, hopping Izzy leads them past, but Misty stops for an inquisitive look.)
Misty: What’s that? (Pipp pauses as well.)
Pipp: That’s Alphabittle’s shop, the Crystal Tea Room. (Izzy doubles back to them.)
Izzy: Oh, you’ll probably meet him later. But first… (whirling around Misty) …we need to visit the Wishing Tree to see if it’s the tree of your dreams. (Cut to Hitch/Sparky on the next line.)
Hitch: And to find something even more powerful than bliss quartz to help Sparky.
(The dragon shifts in his sleep as the Maretime Bay crew moves on; Misty studies the sign and closed doors for a moment before following suit. Zoom in on the structure and cut to an armadillo walking across a table inside, a cup of tea balanced on its back. Onyx takes it and sips as the critter rolls itself up and away, a longer shot framing Dapple seated across from her. Alphabittle Blossomforth is behind the counter, and Queen Haven has claimed a chair before it. Her dog Cloudpuff and Alphabittle’s other armadillo are on the surface, rolling an empty cup back and forth. During the next line, cut to a close-up of the two pets and pan to frame their owners.)
Haven: You know, Alphabittle, you should really consider opening a second tea room in Zephyr Heights.
(The cup gets away; the animals scramble after it, and the armadillo who served Onyx now carries a vase across a high shelf on its back.)
Haven: The pegasi would go wild for a shop like this.
(Close-up of it as she finishes; the vase is slid onto the shelf only to topple over the edge, but the big stallion easily catches it.)
Alphabittle: You think? (He sets it on a shelf at his level.)
Haven: And then I could see you more often. Oh, with my royal duties, it’s hard for me to make it to Bridlewood as often as I’d like.
Alphabittle: Well, that would be nice. (somberly, turning away) But I could never leave Bridlewood.
Haven: Whyever not?
Alphabittle: I just…I need to be here in case. (He turns back to her.)
Haven: In case of what, Alphie? (Zoom out slowly.)
Alphabittle: (abruptly) In case of all sorts of things. It takes a lotta work to run a tea shop. (composing himself, turning to shelves, retrieving a cup) Anyway, what do you want? Your usual? With oat milk, I assume?
Haven: (to herself) Hmmm…
(Cut to an overhead shot of the clearing in which the Tree stands. Night has fallen, and a soothing blue glow suffuses most of its bark and the crystals jutting from the ground. Zoom in slowly as Sunny and company approach, then cut to them.)
Misty: Izzy, you were right! This is the same tree from my vision! Let me see… (She moves to a different spot among the roots.) The bunny-corn led me here, but then… (Glance up, then off to one side.) …there was a glowing door. Where is it?
Zipp: Everypony, split up! Look for that door!
(All but Izzy are quick to follow orders, Pipp lifting off for aerial surveillance.)
Izzy: This is weird. I like it!
(Humming to herself, she darts away to join the search. Sunny and Misty set to the task of looking over two adjacent niches in the roots.)
Pipp: (from o.s.) No door this way!
Hitch: (from o.s.) I’ve got nothing either!
(As soon as Misty touches a hoof to one root, she utters a poleaxed gasp and her eyes constrict almost to points. Zoom in quickly on her face and cut to her dream-filly self in either that same position or one very similar to it. The crystal formations around the Tree glow faintly through the fog thickening around her.)
Filly MI: Hello? Is anypony there?
(A stallion’s voice is heard somewhere through the haze—distant and only slightly muffled.)
Stallion voice: Misty!
Filly MI: I’m right here! (She leaps over a root.)
Stallion voice: Misty, come back!
Filly MI: (scrambling to a clear spot) Why can’t they hear me?
Stallion voice: Misty, where are you?
Filly MI: I’m here! (The mists close in from all sides.) Help me!
(Just as they are about to consume her, the view fades to white and in to a long shot of her, huddled and sobbing miserably on a grassy clifftop as the fog recedes. A look around informs her that she is alone in this new place; zoom in quickly on her bewildered expression, the view fading to white and snapping to an extreme close-up of a crying Misty in the present. In a longer shot, she backs away from the Tree’s roots as Sunny crosses to her.)
Sunny: Misty… (She and the others gather in as the mare crumples to the ground.) …oh, what happened?
Izzy: Hey, hey, you’re safe now. (Misty calms down a bit.)
Misty: I remember more of it now. I did live here, when I was small. (Stand; look up at the Tree; her voice begins to shake.) But then one day, I went out collecting glowpaz crystals, and I got lost in the forest.
(Cut to the royal sisters and Hitch, with Sparky in foreleg, on the end of this; Zipp gets her FlyPad out to record.)
Misty: (from o.s.) And when I tried to make my way back… (Back to her.) …Bridlewood was gone. (Izzy rubs her back gently.) Just…gone.
(She lays herself face-down at the end of a root, conscious only of her own despair, and so does not immediately notice either a fresh glow from her cutie mark nor a serpentine line of pale blue magic emerging from her body and tracing its way up the woody structure. Zipp is too focused on her FlyPad to register these developments, but the others certainly do, with a round of wide-eyed smiles and an incredulous gasp from Sunny.)
Sunny: Misty, your cutie mark! It’s glowing stronger!
Hitch: It’s doing something to the Tree! Look!
(Now all twelve equine eyes fix themselves on the arboreal behemoth as the pulse races up the roots and trunk, multiplying and branching off time after time to energize the limbs as well. Every square inch of bark and leaf touched by the magic takes on a gentle glow—blue and pink, respectively. Cut to Izzy and Misty, the latter standing up.)
Izzy: Your powers are changing the Wishing Tree?
(Pan to Pipp and Zipp on the next line, the former with hooves to temples and trying to keep her cool, and the latter again working her FlyPad.)
Pipp: Be present, Pipp. I don’t need to film this right now. It’s way better to be mindful.
(Up and down the Tree, large pink buds among the leaves burst into bloom almost as one, coming to life with enough light to illuminate the entire clearing and then some. Horned rabbits—or “bunny-corns,” as named by Misty—move curiously toward the display of power and are soon followed by a few of the locals, two mares and a colt. One mare gasps; the other speaks next.)
Mare: Whoa! (Pipp frantically barges up between Izzy and Misty.)
Pipp: Did anypony get that on video?
(A moment’s gaze at the invigorated growth does wonders to calm her down.)
Misty: I…I did that?
Zipp: (laughing softly) Whoa. I think so.
(Comes now a faint flittering noise, as of many tiny wings beating at once, that puts the entire group on edge.)
Sunny: What’s that sound? (Her perspective of the Tree, looking from one section to another.) Is the Tree vibrating?
(Back to them; Izzy hoists herself partway onto Pipp’s back and cups a hoof to her ear.)
Izzy: No. It…it sounds like…
(The pegasus is unceremoniously shoved aside, and Izzy drops to all fours with a gasp.)
Izzy: No. It couldn’t be. (smiling hopefully) I didn’t think they were real.
Zipp: (sliding into view, tensing for action) You didn’t think what was real?
(She has put away her FlyPad by this point. Now two flocks of tiny, yellow-glowing figures erupt from behind different sections of the broad trunk and branches—the source of the new sound.)
Izzy: Huh? Ah! (Laugh.) Breezies!
(Recall that these were a race of miniature flying pony-like creatures, seen in the Friendship Is Magic episode “It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies.” Several of them flit past her and the others on dragonfly-like wings, showing bodies and puffed-out manes/tails in an assortment of pastel colors. Slim antennae curl forward from atop the heads. Hitch and Misty have dropped to the ground in self-protection, the stallion shielding Sparky and smiling as a couple of Breezies hover down to get a look at the dragon. Another pulls up in front of Sunny’s nose.)
Sunny: No way! (Gasp; here come two more.) My dad always told me bedtime pony tales about Breezies!
(Pipp whips out her phone, but stops herself from recording the pair fluttering before her.)
Pipp: Wait, wait! (resolutely, lowering it) This is not content. This is a real moment! (tapping temple) Experience it, Pipp!
(A deep breath, and she gets her best diplomatic demeanor in place to address them.)
Pipp: Pleasure to meet you. I’m Princess Pipp Petals of Zephyr Heights, and you must be…?
(Her perspective of them as she finishes. They respond with a string of high-pitched, rapid-fire gibberish syllables, but she plays along as best she can once the camera returns to her.)
Pipp: Tiny Pixie Pony of Tree?
(One of them darts in to pull up the foreleg holding her phone; pan to Zipp on the following.)
Zipp: What in the hay are Breezies? And most importantly, are they dangerous?
Hitch: What? (laughing) Of course not! (One gabbles at him.) They’re just excited to see us. (Another.) These two say they haven’t seen other ponies for a long time.
Sunny: You know Breezie language too?
Hitch: It’s our pony language— (Zipp moves closer.) —but at too high of a speed for most to understand them.
Zipp: (pulling out her FlyPad) I can help with that. Watch this.
(Her perspective of the screen, which displays the icon for the voice recorder, and the two who just spoke up.)
Zipp: What were you saying again?
(Each one speaks a bit, a pink and then a yellow, the waveforms of their voices flickering across the glass.)
Zipp: (tapping a control) Now I’ll just slow it down…
(Back to her, Sunny, and Zipp. What she gets for her trouble is a perfectly intelligible playback in a rather higher register than the average pony voice.)
*** From here on in, all lines in square brackets are played this way courtesy of Zipp’s hardware. ***
Pink: [We haven’t seen new friends for hundreds of moons! We have a special treat for you!]
Yellow: [Follow us, new friends! The Night Market awaits!]
(Zipp stows the rig as the two Breezies that Pipp addressed continue to pick at hers.)
Misty: Night Market? What’s that, Izzy? (Who pops up in her face with a delighted gasp.)
Izzy: I have no idea! Something in Bridlewood I never knew about? (Zoom in quickly to an extreme close-up of her determined, grinning face.) I’ve gotta see this!
Act Three
(The group follows the Breezies toward the Tree, Izzy voicing a bubbly giggle, and stops to watch the little creatures gather around a particular vine-covered patch of the trunk. A crack opens down the middle of this and begins to widen, allowing shafts of brilliant yellowish light to pour through into the evening sky, and within moments a doorway has formed. Sunny takes a backward step as the light spills down one root to the ground.)
Sunny: Wow!
(The ponies and bunny-corns who have been watching from a distance decide to move a bit closer, while Sunny and company ascend the slope of the glowing room and pass through the new entrance. A Breezie exclaims to the group, of whom only Zipp is flying.)
Zipp: Hmmm…
(Cut to the space they have entered, the Night Market— a broad woody concourse lined with crystal formations and vendor stalls that sport moss-covered roofs. A rope/plank bridge spans a gap at a higher level, and Breezies are going placidly about their business. The gang advances slowly and wonderingly into view, the camera cutting to a head-on shot of them and panning across as Misty speaks.)
Misty: Wow! (Sparky coos from his spot on Hitch’s back.)
Pipp: Whoa!
Hitch: (now o.s.) Woooow…
(Sunny utters a soft gasp as a Breezie flits up to the elevated portion of the area, which is just as lively as the lower one.)
Sunny: How’d they do this? It looks like it goes on forever! I can’t believe this has all been hiding inside the Wishing Tree!
(A blue one directs a remark to Zipp, who fires up her FlyPad for recording and slowed playback.)
Blue: [In these stalls, there are magical items and secrets that have been lost to your ponykind for generations!]
Sunny: Really?
Hitch: Hear that, Sparks? This wonderful place has gotta have something to get you feeling better in no time!
Misty: And maybe more answers to my past!
Zipp: Only one way to find out!
(Her gear stowed, she and the others cheerfully set out to explore. Cut to a long shot of the entrance to the Crystal Tea Room, a Breezie taking notice and swooping toward it, then to the interior on the next line. Alphabittle/Haven and Dapple/Onyx are still where they were in Act Two; the only difference is that Haven now has a cup of tea.)
Haven: (to Alphabittle) I understand if you’re not ready to share everything about your life with me, but I feel like you’re avoiding my questions.
(Her words are marked by a cut to/from the doors, which a departing customer opens to inadvertently let in a few blabbering Breezies that gather in midair behind the Queen’s head.)
Alphabittle: (stunned, spotting them) Breezies!
Haven: (irked) Please stop changing the subject! And that’s nonsense! There’s no such thing as—
(She trails off into a most un-queenly squawk and hyperventilation when one of them drops almost to counter level and faces her.)
Haven: Oh, my!
(Cloudpuff, who has rolled over onto his back, flips upright with a startled yip and scuttles along the tiled surface to run the Breezies off.)
Haven: It’s okay, Cloudpuff! These are…uh, ponies! (One pulls up to Alphabittle’s eye level.)
Alphabittle: Uh…hmmm, uh, welcome to my shop! (sliding a fresh cup toward it) Mmmm… may I offer you some, uh, tea?
(Which it immediately proceeds to use for a hot tub, luxuriating in the beverage and the steam rising from it.)
Alphabittle: Hm! Well, okay, sure. Whatever you want.
Haven: It seems like they’re trying to tell us something.
(As she says this, a few of them cut a hairpin turn around her head and the camera cuts to them gathering at the closed doors. She and Alphabittle step slowly into view toward them, whereupon they turn to push at the panes; head-on view of the two full-grown ponies, marked by the sound of the opening doors and their jingling bell.)
Alphabittle: Wow. You don’t see this every day—or any day, ever. Hm.
(The one that had been taking a tea bath vacates the cup and zips away, followed by a happily barking Cloudpuff.)
Alphabittle: (to the room at large) Okay, everypony! I’m closing early. Let’s go see what this is about.
(He and Haven make for the doors, as do Onyx and Dapple. Within the Market, Izzy and Pipp have made their way to a particular stall, the camera zooming in slowly on them from above and behind to the sound of a buzz from Pipp’s phone. Cut to them on the next line, standing before a counter stocked with floral/herbal cuttings and extracts.)
Pipp: (moaning fretfully, glancing at phone) I can’t use my phone to look up which ingredients would work in my new beauty line. (setting it down) So I’ll have to go on instinct.
Izzy: Oh! How do you do that?
Pipp: (dramatically) Like the pegasi who came before me— (picking up a vial) —I’ll base it on touch and smell.
(Out comes the stopper so she can get a whiff of the granular contents.)
Pipp: Mmmm! Safflower. That could be nice. (Another is tossed to her; she sniffs and grunts in disgust.) Mmm-mmm. Not that one.
(The Breezie in charge of the stall pops open a third one and flies it to her; the results of this smell test seem to sit very well.)
Pipp: Ooh! I’m getting notes of grapeseed, jasmine… (Sniff again.) …and glitter essence? I’ll take this one! How much?
(The vendor drops into a hover just above her phone and makes an offer, which catches her completely off guard.)
Pipp: Wait, w-wait! I can’t trade my phone! (Izzy glances o.s., smiles, and wanders off.) I may be getting better at this “being present” thing, but that is too far!
(An ecstatic squeal comes back from the unicorn’s direction; cut to her on the start of the next line, scoping out one of the textiles on display at the next stall down.)
Izzy: This fabric will be perfect for new curtains for the Crystal Brighthouse! Oh, thank you, unicorn ancestors, for guiding us to this secret trove of treasures!
(She rubs a cheek against the cloth; on Pipp’s other side, Hitch carries a bottle to a toy vendor’s stall on whose counter Sparky is sitting.)
Hitch: The Breezies said this oil has been used to revitalize pony energy since the earliest days of Equestria. Maybe it’ll work on dragons? What do you think, Sparky?
(Pop the stopper. Hold it out to the little guy, who wafts the vapors toward his nose for a deep breath—and then he shakes his head and lies down for some shuteye. Hitch voices a soft, dejected moan, but smiles as one Breezie drapes Sparky’s favorite little blanket over him and another puts a pacifier in his mouth to make him more comfortable. The camera follows the flight of one of these two to an upper level, where Sunny, Zipp, and Misty have found their way to yet more displays of widely varying wares. Earth pony and pegasus stop at one counter stocked with rocks of varying sizes, and Sunny gasps and picks something up, revealed as a compass in a shot from a different angle.)
Sunny: This reminds me of something my dad used to have! Oh, if only he could see me now—perusing precious objects thought to be lost to history!
Zipp: He’d be so proud—or jealous. (Laugh.) So! Uh…uh, how about you, Misty? Getting any clues about… (realizing Misty has not answered) …huh? Misty?
(They spot her a few steps away, hooves all but rooted to the ground. Zoom in quickly on her widened eyes, the view fading to white and then in to her dream-filly self. She yelps and whimpers in fear as one grown pony after another passes her in the dimness and fog, avoiding collision with her by the thinnest of margins. Not one face is turned even remotely in her direction, and the sound of indistinct conversation surrounds her. In the near distance is a free-standing tent very similar in shape to one in the Market, seen from her perspective; she reaches toward a blurred, shadowy figure standing close to this.)
Filly MI: No!
(Fade to white, then quickly in to her adult self as she snaps back to reality with a gasp. Sunny and Zipp are watching her intently.)
Zipp: What did you just see?
Misty: I…I was shopping at a place a little like this. (pacing) It was definitely Bridlewood, unicorns everywhere, but I couldn’t see who I was with.
Zipp: I wonder what it was around here that triggered the memory this time.
(Her cogitations are most rudely interrupted by the arrival of a fast-flying Cloudpuff to smack into the back of her head, knocking her flat with a yell. Cut to her perspective of the pooch’s grinning face.)
Zipp: Cloudpuff?!
(She laughs as a big slobbery tongue runs itself all over her face; cut to her petting him.)
Zipp: Where did you come from? Mom must be here.
(He backs off into a hover as she gets herself vertical. Alphabittle and Haven are now visible in the background, checking over the items up for sale at a couple of stalls, and all three mares turn just in time to see and hear the winged monarch cackle like a crazed hen.)
Zipp: Uh, I’ll be right back.
(Daughter walks and dog flies across the aisle, catching Haven very much by surprise.)
Haven: (sputtering a bit) Darling! I didn’t know you were here! How lovely! Can you believe this remarkable place? (holding up a vial of liquid) I’ve never seen anything like this in all my days.
(A closer shot of Alphabittle picks out both the steaming mug of tea he is holding and the Breezie on duty at this stall, staring him down and crossing forelegs in a challenging but good-natured way.)
Alphabittle: So you’re saying if I can correctly guess what herbs you used in this tea, you’ll give me the whole bag? (Nod.) You’re on! I’ve never met a tea blend I can’t name in three sips.
(He takes his first one as Sunny, Pipp, and Misty make their way past behind him, the pegasus on wing and looking mildly annoyed at the Breezie trying to take her phone.)
Alphabittle: Hmmm…
(Pipp lands and grunts with the exertion of keeping her grip as a second one joins in the tug-of-war. One of them balances itself on the screen and starts tapping away.)
Zipp: (teasingly) Hey, sis. How’s the Mega-Pega-Mindfulness going?
Pipp: A-mazingly. I have never felt more clear! Can’t say the same for these Breezies, though.
(The typing one, orange, manages to get a song to start playing—namely, the one that served as the end of Bridlewoodstock. It chatters energetically away and Zipp uses her FlyPad to translate.)
Orange: [I have never seen magic like this before!]
(This prompts an angry response and shove from the other one, pale green; in no time flat their dispute has degenerated into a shouting match.)
Pipp: (as Zipp puts FlyPad away) I tried to take it away from them, but they just started crying. (whispering) I think they might have a real problem.
(The older sibling just smiles and rolls her eyes at the younger one’s inability to recognize such a strong parallel with her own life. Now Sunny gasps upon seeing a stand with a plethora of produce ready to go.)
Sunny: Mind if I stop here? Those fruits look out of this world! (to Misty, smirking) Or should I say “inside this tree”?
(A snicker over her own terrible pun blooms into a spate of snorting laughter, through which she struggles to get her next few words out.)
Sunny: ’Cause…inside the tree… (It peters out; she sighs and collects herself.) …okay.
Misty: Sure. I’ll, uh, wait over here.
(A Breezie flies over and speaks to her.)
Misty: Uh, what? Me?
(After a few more words, it zips away and she hurries to keep up.)
Misty: Hey! Wait up!
(The pursuit takes her across a bridge and to a dead-end archway flanked by a good many unused doors/windows propped up against the wall. The Breezie turns upward and out of sight among the overhead mossy growths, then returns a moment later to tell Misty something else and offer her a large purple key hooked on a matching cord.)
Misty: A key? (It is placed on her upturned hoof.) But I-I don’t understand. What is this for?
(Her benefactor now retrieves a long strip of paper and holds its upper end at her eye level, lifting it slowly upward in time with the next line so she can keep pace with the words.)
Misty: (reading) “This enchanted key will take you to the place you most want to go. One-time use only”?
(She lifts it for a searching look at the head, which matches the pattern of the doors she saw during her dream in the prologue.)
Misty: Why is this so familiar?
(The gaps in the ironwork blaze to life with bluish light; cut to her perspective of it.)
Misty: It belongs to the door in my memory! (Back to her.) But how did you know—
(Words fail her upon realizing that she is alone before the archway.)
Misty: What? Where did you go? Hello? (Fog begins to swirl around her.) Sunny? Wait! No!
(As soon as the murk has completely grayed out the screen, the view snaps to Alphabittle and Haven, the stallion still at the tea stall and pondering the mystery cup he was given. His cutie mark has begun fizzing and glimmering, but Haven is the first of the two to notice it.)
Haven: Alphie! Your cutie mark! (He spots it.)
Alphabittle: Look at that! Must’ve been the magical properties of this tea—or the thrill of a new challenge! (to vendor, raising cup for a toast) Saddles off to you. I haven’t tasted oolong that smooth in—ooh, a long time. (Pipp/Zipp amble up; Cloudpuff flits to them. Pipp has silenced and stowed her phone.)
Zipp: Hmmm! That’s so strange. That’s been happening to our unicorn friend all day too.
(Close-up of the shining teapot mark as she finishes, then cut to Alphabittle.)
Alphabittle: You mean Izzy?
Zipp: No, a new friend. You haven’t met her yet because she was living…you know, never mind. It’s a long story. Oh! Here they are!
(Cut briefly to Sunny, carrying a basket of fruit by its handle in her mouth, and back on these last words.)
Zipp: I’ll introduce you right now.
(A somewhat awkward beat of silence follows as she realizes that Misty is nowhere in sight.)
Zipp: (aside, to Sunny) Uh, where’s Misty? (Sunny sets her freight down.)
Sunny: I last saw her at the berry booth. I thought she’d left to find you. (A two-part shocked gasp.)
Zipp: We gotta find her!
(Four hooves and two pairs of wings swiftly bring them and Pipp to a rendezvous with Hitch, with Sparky awake and riding on his back, and Izzy. The next five lines are delivered in raised voices.)
Sunny: Misty, where are you?
Pipp: Come back!
Zipp: Misty?
Izzy: Come back!
Hitch: Where’d she go?
Zipp: (aghast, normal volume) She’s…gone!
(Cut to a long overhead shot of the Market, zooming out slowly, then to one of the entire Tree and the yellow-glowing entrance ramp leading within. The zoom continues, neither shot disclosing any trace of Misty’s presence.)
Continued in Part Two
FAMILY TREES—PART TWO
Written by Laura Zak
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Note: Aside from any previously named characters, all mentions of ponies in
Bridlewood refer to unicorns.
Lines preceded/followed by two asterisks (**) are very nearly intelligible as
delivered by a non-pony speaker.
Prologue
(Opening shot: a long shot of the Wishing Tree in Bridlewood at night. Leaves, bark, flowers, surrounding crystal outcrops, and the ramp leading up the roots toward the entrance to the Night Market within all glow warmly during a slow zoom in. Inside, the camera tilts down from the upper reaches of the immense space to follow a few Breezies toward a busy cluster of stalls. Hitch Trailblazer stands among these with Sparky Sparkeroni on his back, looking around himself, and Zipp Storm hovers up into view in the fore. Recall that during Part One, Misty had become separated from the Maretime Bay contingent after they entered the Market.)
Zipp: Huh. (flying across) Hmmm… (landing by Hitch) Any sign of Misty? She just disappeared!
Hitch: Not yet, but it is tricky to spot a unicorn in…
(Zoom out quickly to frame the multitude of locals who have come in to do a bit of shopping.)
Hitch: (dryly) …a market full of unicorns.
Pipp Petals: (hurrying to them, carrying a macaron) No luck at the macaron stand either.
(She chomps down the whole treat in one bite, earning a hairy eyeball from her sister.)
Pipp: (mouth full) What? (Swallow.) It was a free sample.
Sunny Starscout: (crossing to them with Izzy Moonbow) Izzy and I tried to trot around the whole Night Market—
Izzy: —but this place goes on forever! I still can’t believe this all fits inside the Wishing Tree.
Zipp: Hmmm… (She pops up to hover.) …where could that pony be?
(The camera quickly zooms out a short distance before the view snaps to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to the moon hanging low in the sky as a clouded crescent and tilt down to the fog-shrouded ground. Misty advances cautiously into view, wearing the key she received in Part One, Act Three on its cord around her neck. It is no longer glowing as it did then.)
Misty: Okay, just stay calm.
(She unhooks the key from the cord and inspects it.)
Misty: Just because this seems exactly like my dream doesn’t mean it has to end the same way. I just need to find that magic door. Then maybe I’ll remember where I came from. (The key is hooked back on; she gathers herself.) Fine. One more time.
(In her first dream of Part One, she had seen a pair of wooden doors built into the side of the Tree, whose design matched that of the key’s head. She closes her eyes, blows out a breath in close-up, and begins to concentrate fiercely. Zoom in quickly on her resolute countenance, the view fading to white and then quickly in to her dream-filly self—no charm bracelet on her foreleg, mane/tail in their original blue/green coloration—standing up in a patch of mist. She gazes up and up and up along the Tree’s sprawling height in a shot from her perspective.)
Filly MI: Wow!
(Back to her, noticing the gleam among the roots that marks the doors’ location and gasping softly.)
Filly MI: (circling around trunk) Where’d that come from?
(She reaches out to touch them, but a rustle in the underbrush spooks her into withdrawing her hoof and wheeling to face the thickening murk.)
Filly MI: Huh?
(Just as in that first dream, a large and indistinct silhouette begins to emerge, frightening her into a shrill scream of terror. Zoom in quickly on her open mouth, the view fading to white and quickly in to present-day Misty.)
Misty: No!
(As she presses a hoof to her temple in an attempt to massage her brain back into drive, a Breezie’s tuneless singing asserts itself in the quiet. The little vocalist flits lazily past above the grass, carrying a glowing acorn suspended on the end of a stick for a lantern. Misty gasps happily at the sight and trots over.)
Misty: Pardon me! (Startled exclamation; she continues in a quieter tone.) Um, hello. I was wondering if you know of any doors around here?
(A bit of thought, and it blabbers cheerfully in the affirmative.)
Misty: You do?
(It pivots with a few more words and darts ahead; she grunts in surprise and begins galloping like mad to keep up.)
Misty: Wait! If you could just—
(But “slow down” are evidently two words missing from this Breezie’s vocabulary. After some seconds of this high-speed charge, it slams on the brakes and whirls to face her, giving a big smile and cheerful shout and scaring the daylights out of her.)
Misty: Whoa!
(Unable to stop in time, she trips over a tree root and makes a very hard belly landing on the dirt, taking a moment to stand back up.)
Misty: Yeesh! Those little guys can really fly!
(Her guide speaks briefly and swoops upward, stopping near the upper edge of the moss on one root, several feet above the ground.)
Misty: (dumbfounded) This is it? But…where’s the door?
(After a bit of puzzled mumbling, the Breezie gains a bit more altitude and stops at a tiny, light-festooned doorway set into the trunk—perfectly sized for its minuscule stature.)
Breezie: ** Bye-bye! **
(It zips briefly inside to put the lantern away; that done, it peeks out in time to catch Misty’s deflated sigh.)
Misty: Thanks anyway. (turning away) But that’s not the door I was looking for.
(Following a bit of audible rumination from the tiny equine, the camera cuts to Misty’s perspective and it hangs its head into view upside down. The next camera angle frames both, the Breezie dangling from her forelock and holding its lantern again; she brightens at the sight as it lets go and hovers.)
Misty: But you can help me with something else. (It queries her.) How do I get back into the Market? I got a little lost. I think I’ve been gone a long time. My friends must be worried.
(It responds with a cheer and laugh, flitting away, and she turns to follow. Dissolve to Sunny and company gathering in the Market.)
Zipp: (touching down from a flight) Okay, everypony, get your hooves in the game. (Close-up.) I’m worried I’ll miss a critical clue about Misty’s visions if I’m away from her for too long, and I can’t—
Sunny: (from o.s.) Zipp! (She steps into view.) That isn’t important right now! Misty is still just learning her way around Bridlewood. What if she got lost? (Cut to Hitch on the next line.)
Hitch: It wouldn’t be hard to do in a place like this. (looking around himself) In fact, I think I’m lost. Where am I?
Izzy: I’ve lived here all my life, and even I’m all…
(A series of goofy spins, noises, and tongue-lolling facial expressions do a far better job of finishing that thought than words ever could. Now Pipp checks her phone but gets only a buzz for her trouble.)
Pipp: Too bad I still don’t have any service. My Pippsqueaks can find anything or anypony!
(Another buzz as the screen displays a “no reception” icon. Her head snaps up at the sound of tiny eager voices, whose Breezie owners loop into view and make a beeline for the device.)
Pipp: Again?!? I told you Breezies, this isn’t magic! (They fall silent.) It’s just the latest and greatest in pony tech.
(“This isn’t magic” is marked by a brief cut to the two aviators as she briefly thrusts the phone toward them. Once she finishes, they start babbling all over again and trying to grab it away; she groans wearily to herself and moves it out of reach, only to be swarmed by quite a few more newly minted technophiles. Away she goes, making her displeasure quite audible, as the others hurry after her on hoof and wing. The camera zooms in slowly on a stall behind them, displaying an assortment of fossils large and small, then cuts to Sparky as he begins to wake up from his latest nap on Hitch’s back. His attention fixes itself on a stone slab marked by the impression of a large foot with clawed toes, and his eyes widen until the pupils nearly fill their sockets.)
(Zoom in quickly on one and cut to a lush expanse of tropical jungle land. Birds sing happily in the trees before the ground begins to shake with the sound of immense approaching footfalls, the water in a pond rippling in time. The birds vacate their perch before the camera cuts to a patch of ground and one heavy, scaly foot walks past to leave its print—a good match for the one Sparky noticed. A low growl is heard from the owner. Zoom out slowly and snap to black, which resolves into his pupil during a faster such zoom. He tenses up, sniffing the air and ready to leap off Hitch’s back, and all stop. Pipp has lifted off in a futile attempt to keep the Breezies away from her phone.)
Hitch: Sparky? What is it, little bud? (He hops down and scurries back to the stall.) I haven’t seen him move like that since before Opaline drained him! Maybe he found something!
(A disgruntled Pipp, having now landed, shakes the Breezies away and slips her phone under a wing as the group hurries in. They find Sparky standing before the footprint.)
Hitch: Huh? These don’t look magical or healing.
Pipp: Yeah, what the hay? It’s just a bunch of old rocks.
(This comment earns her a vigorous tongue-lashing from the Breezie in charge.)
Sunny: Oh, I think we offended her.
Hitch: (woodenly) Yes. Yes, we did.
Pipp: Oops. Sorry. (pulling out her phone) Can I make it up to you with a little bit of…this?
(Close-up of the proprietor on this last word, who pushes it contemptuously away.)
Pipp: Hey!
Hitch: Wait, no! (Pipp slips it away.) She’s trying to tell us something.
(The counter; she points out one object after another, adding increasingly animated commentary.)
Hitch: (from o.s.) She says these aren’t just any rocks, they’re ancient fossils. (To Sparky and the slab as he continues.) And that’s the fossil of…a dragon print!
(Back to the group, every pony face going popeyed and slack-jawed with pure shock. He adds a gasp for good measure.)
Hitch: A dragon print?!
Sunny: (pointing) Wow! Look!
(As Sparky hugs as much of the stone as he can, the grooves running among his stubby horns and across their surfaces begin to glow yellow-green.)
Izzy: (hunching down to him) The fossil’s lighting him up!
Zipp: Maybe we need to get him around more dragon things!
Sunny: You’re right! (to Hitch) Maybe he’s been away from other dragons for too long—
Zipp: —and the only way to fully cure him is to get him back with his kind! (Cut to Izzy and Sparky on this last word, the light fading after a moment.)
Izzy: Hmmm…I know I said Bridlewood has everything, but, uh… (She puts him on her back.) —you won’t find dragons here. (Laugh.) Except Sparky, of course.
(Hitch laughs and runs a hoof over the tough green scalp, but his good cheer yields to a heavy sigh.)
Hitch: At least we know what will help him now. That’s good news.
Sunny: Then why do you seem upset? (Zoom in slowly.)
Hitch: It’s just that…I always knew I’d have to say goodbye to him one day. But that day might be sooner than I thought.
(The little dragon burbles contentedly up at him as Zipp touches down.)
Zipp: Hey, you never know. Maybe not. (Close-up.) We’ll figure something out. (with new determination) But first, I need everypony to focus on tracking down Misty!
(The intensity of her mood is promptly wrecked by a round of gasps from the others’ general direction; cut to them, mouth stretching into gobsmacked smiles, then back to Zipp.)
Zipp: Why are you looking at me like that?
(The answer emerges into view from behind as she finishes—Misty, flanked by her lantern-carrying guide—and now it is her turn to register surprise when she turns to see.)
Zipp: Huh?! (The whole group on the next line.)
Sunny: Oh, Misty!
Hitch: We looked all over!
Pipp: Where’d you go?
Izzy: Thank the moons!
Misty: (sighing with relief, waving guide away) I was worried you might have gone back to Maretime Bay without me.
Sunny: We would never do that. (Zipp leans into Misty’s face, all business.)
Zipp: Where did you go? Was it another vision?
Misty: Well—
Zipp: Did you find something?
Misty: I—
Zipp: (pointing at key) What’s that key you’re carrying?
Sunny: (gently pushing Zipp back) Zipp! Give her some space.
Zipp: (relenting) You’re right. Sorry. I…
(She lets her forelegs finish the thought by wrapping them around the prodigal unicorn in a gentle hug.)
Misty: Uhhh…
Zipp: I was really worried.
Misty: (smiling) Aw, Zipp… (They pull apart; she unhooks and holds up her key as she continues.) A Breezie gave me this special key.
(Sunny takes it. On the next line, cut to her perspective of it and zoom in slowly, then to her and the rest of the Maretime Bay bunch.)
Sunny: I think I’ve seen these patterns before. They’re old, but I don’t know what they mean. (Zipp pulls out her magical magnifying glass to study it.)
Misty: (from o.s.) I think… (Cut to her.) …it has something to do with…home. I thought that maybe if I could just find the door it goes to, I’d find some answers about my past— (deflating a bit) —and my family.
(Cut briefly to/from the others on this last sentence, Zipp putting her magnifier away.)
Zipp: (now o.s., eagerly) Well? (Cut to her; Sparky clambers down off Izzy’s back.) Did you find anything? (Back to Misty, framed from the neck up.)
Misty: No.
(She starts in surprise at the reptilian gurgle drifting up from floor level, and a longer shot reveals that Sparky is hugging her foreleg with gusto and getting her to smile again.)
Misty: Sparky?! (to the group) You found a cure for him?
Hitch: Only a temporary one. I think the only thing that will really heal him is finding his family.
(Cut to the infant on this line; after he finishes, she reaches over with her other foreleg to stroke his head gently. The camera shifts to her on the next words.)
Misty: I know how you feel, buddy. (To Sunny and company on the following.)
Sunny: We can help! Come on, everypony! (holding key up) Let’s find that door!
Quiet piano melody, moderate 4 (E flat major)
Bass drum, softly picked electric guitar in after two bars
Background lyrics are in square brackets
Voice: (faint, echoing) [When you’re with your friends, you’re with your family]
(Cut to a long shot of Alphabittle Blossomforth and Queen Haven walking side by side on an upper level of the Market and tilt down. Misty shows her key to a couple of Breezies, who shrug and shake their heads—no help here.)
Misty: What is the key to a family? [Oh, oh]
(Hook it on her neck cord and go on to the fossil stall.)
What is the key to a home?
(Sunny and Zipp investigate some loose doors, the latter using her glass; Misty holds the key up against another one, then shakes her head.)
What is the part that I’m missing [Oh, oh]
To help me find where I belong?
(As the pegasus flies out of the Market and o.s., the view wipes behind her to a close-up of Hitch going through the items at the fossil stall. He gives up after a moment and moves on, Sparky riding on his back.)
Hitch: I’m searching, I’m looking for something
Something that comes from the heart [from the heart]
(As Misty plods glumly ahead, Sparky sees a pair of Breezies exhaling glowing, sparkling clouds into the air and is positively enthralled by the display.)
’Cause sometimes you need something to lift you up
And help to reignite your spark
Drums, tambourine in
(The next double burst fills the screen and subsides to show Hitch and a considerably more chipper Misty leaping toward each other.)
Hitch, Misty: ’Cause I’ve got you and you’ve got me
(They bound away; elsewhere, Sunny keeps a lookout and Zipp arcs above the Tree, wearing her high-tech visor to scan the area.)
’Cause when you’re with your friends, yeah, you’re with your
family
(Izzy and Pipp peruse an array of stuffed toys; Izzy offers some to Sparky, now sitting on the floor, but he shakes his head. The two mares are disheartened at the rejection, but the dragon instantly brightens once Hitch returns and lets himself be scooped onto the Sheriff’s back.)
Keep ’em in your heart, ’cause that is the key
Oh, when you’re with your friends, yeah, you’re with your family
I’ve got you and you’ve got me
’Cause we aren’t just friends, no, we’re a family
(A flare of pale blue light from Misty’s key, now held up by her, shifts the view to Zipp. She pulls into a hover and removes her visor, high above the Tree’s clearing, but a vine-choked niche among the roots catches her attention and she dives for it.)
When you’re feeling lonely or incomplete
Don’t forget about your friends, yeah, they’re your family
(She begins to clear away the overgrowth, the camera shifting a head-on view through it just in time for the white face to split in a triumphant smile. Meanwhile, the other five ponies and one dragon converge on a spot within the Market. Misty has again hung the key around her neck.)
Hitch, Misty: [Oh-h-h] Oh-h, oh, oh, oh
’Cause when you’re with your friends, yeah, you’re with your
family
Song ends
Act Two
(Sparky chooses this moment to doze off, concerning Hitch.)
Hitch: The dragon fossil helped him, but I don’t think it was enough.
Misty: (crossing to him) Hitch, I’m so sorry for letting Sparky get hurt. I’ll never forgive myself.
Hitch: Well, I forgive you, Misty. I’ve seen how good your heart is. And, well, even if you don’t find what you’re looking for, we could be your family.
Misty: (smiling) You mean it?
Izzy: Of course! I’ve always wanted another unicorn in the family.
Sunny: Friends forever—
Pipp: —and ever! (Group hug.)
Ponies: Awww…
Izzy: So cute.
Pipp: Hey, has anyone seen Zipp?
Voice of Zipp: Misty!
(They split apart to expose the older sister hovering above them, having been previously hidden from view due to the camera angle and their body positions. She has put away all of her spy gear)
Zipp: I found it! (Touch down; heave for breath.) I found…the door!
(One lung-straining gasp from the blue unicorn later, the camera cuts to frame the whole bunch of them approaching the clot of vines Zipp spotted. She and Pipp are both flying. Cut to within the mess, framing them as Sunny and Zipp pull away the last of it.)
Misty: This is it! This is the door!
(A different angle frames the object of her search—the wooden doors from her dream, but without the bluish glow that marked them earlier.)
Zipp: We couldn’t see it from the ground because it was so overgrown. But when I looked from the sky—boom! (She tries to push them open; no dice.) Locked! (smiling) Which means…
Misty: (unhooking her key) …we need this! (Close-up of it, zooming in slowly.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Ooh! (Cut to her/Pipp/Misty.) Where will it lead us to? (Misty hooks it back on.)
Misty: The Breezie who gave it to me said it would take me to the place I most wanted to go.
(A weary little moan from the o.s. Sparky; cut to him barely able to sit upright on Hitch’s back.)
Misty: But it can only be used one time. (To the group on the next line.)
Zipp: Well, what are you waiting for, Misty? You can use the door to find your home! Your family!
Misty: (toying with key) I could, but…
(The time for one deep breath, in and out, is all she needs to make up her mind.)
Misty: (turning to Hitch, unhooking/offering key) Hitch, I want to use this key for Sparky.
Hitch: (flabbergasted) What? But—what about your family? (Misty hooks it back on.)
Misty: Sparky needs to be around dragons. You’ve all taught me the true meaning of family and friendship. (Cut to/from the others as she continues.) I’m willing to wait a little longer to solve the mysteries of my past if it means I can save Sparky’s future. Please let me do this. After all, we’re family now… (Cut to Hitch/Sparky trading smiles; she continues o.s.) …right?
(After his understanding nod and a deep breath from her, she steps up, unhooks the key, and slots it into place.)
Misty: The place I most want to go is…where Sparky came from!
(A firm quarter-turn, the clank of a releasing latch, and sparks begin to spread from the keyhole. Misty gasps.)
Sunny: Something’s happening!
Misty: Take us to…the Dragon Lands!
(Another quarter-turn to undo the first; this time, the key sizzles away to nothing and the entire area starts to tremble. Another gasp from Misty as Pipp lands.)
Izzy: It’s working!
Pipp: (smiling nervously) Okay, but do we think it’s supposed to shake like that?
Zipp: (ditto) Maybe it’s a little rusty.
(She offers a weak chuckle. Now the doors are glowing as in Misty’s dream, but doubled and redoubled in their intensity. They shut off without warning and swing inward to expose a vortex of twinkling, swirling blue/purple energy, the sight of which leaves her floored.)
Misty: (very hesitantly) So I guess now we just—
Izzy: (a bit nervously) —zip through this strange door into the unknown, based entirely on the word of a tiny pixie pony. (Weak chuckle.)
Pipp: (to Zipp) Mom would not be pleased to know we were thinking about doing this!
Zipp: (cockily) When has that ever stopped us?
Sunny: (backing up a step) Well. Okay, then. You first, Hitch.
Hitch: Me?!? Oh, no, I-I couldn’t possibly. (to Pipp, gesturing ahead) After you.
(One by one, leaves begin to drift out of the vortex and past Sparky, causing him to perk up.)
Hitch: Look at him!
(The green toddler hits the deck, snatches up one leaf, and is off like a shot toward the doorway; he passes through the maelstrom and is instantly lost to sight.)
Sunny: Guess we have no choice now.
(One by one, and with Hitch taking the point, they charge at the doorway and leap/fly yelling through it. Cut to a similar portal, this one oval-shaped and floating in midair among a profusion of tropical foliage. The yells resume as they tumble out of it and plummet o.s. like six bags of wet cement; tilt down to frame them in a rather undignified heap on the ground, with Izzy—the last one through—sitting up and looking around. Sparky is not with them.)
Izzy: Hey! That wasn’t so bad.
Hitch: (woozily) Speak for yourself. (Zipp peers ahead.)
Zipp: Huh?
(She lifts off with a popeyed gasp, followed closely by Pipp, and both find a vibrant jungle landscape stretching before them under a sky that has gone the deep pink of late afternoon.)
Pipp: I-It’s…beautiful! (The others stand up; she pulls out her phone, which buzzes.) Definitely no service here, but… (Giddy squeal and flip.) …I can’t wait to get photos of a real adult dragon!
Zipp: I can’t wait to meet another dragon. I have so many questions.
Hitch: (raising voice) Sparky? (normal volume) Where’d he go?
[Animation goof: The cord around Misty’s neck disappears during the previous exchange.]
(The answer turns out to be “not far away,” as the missing dragon hustles back with an energetic bound and whoop.)
Hitch: (chuckling, lifting him on a foreleg) There you are, little guy! (to the others) Look at him. This place is helping already! Thank you, Misty. Truly.
(After a bit of head/chin-scratching from Misty, Sparky hops down.)
Hitch: Huh?
(Izzy gasps as the dragon scrambles to a nearby tree and begins to climb.)
Izzy: It looks like he wants us to follow! Does he know the way?
Zipp: It must be instinct! This is his homeland. (Sparky jumps down from a branch; the ponies set off after him.)
Hitch: Whoa! Wait for us, buddy!
(The chase proceeds at a lively clip, soon leaving some among their number short of breath, and brings them to a trail of footprints in the dirt similar to the fossilized one on sale in the Market. Pausing in one depression, Sparky starts blowing wisps of fire in all directions.)
Hitch: He’s so much better!
(A particularly close burst brings all six up short with assorted yells of surprise, followed by relieved laughter. Cut to him on the next line.)
Misty: And his fire’s back! (He cheers and runs off.)
Hitch: I can’t believe you used your key to help Sparky instead of finding your family. Do you remember anything about them?
Misty: I wish I could—but I’m glad I’m here to see this.
(Pipp’s phone is swung up into view, its screen capturing an image of these two ponies and Sparky as her gasp is heard. Cut to her, holding the unit at the ready, on the next line.)
Pipp: I bet we’re gonna see a big dragon any second now!
(Longer shot of the entire group, with Sparky as the only such creature anywhere close.)
Pipp: Any second now… (Long pause.) …any second now…
Zipp: Does anypony sense there is something a little…off here? (Pipp packs away the tech.)
Izzy: Huh. Let me check.
(She wastes no time getting herself into a meditative seated position, with hind legs crossed, forelegs partly raised/extended to either side, and eyes closed. Next she emits a high-pitched hum; cut to Hitch and Misty as Sparky cavorts in the background.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) I am definitely sensing some energies. (Back to her.) A lacking of luminescence. An absence of sparkle, really.
(Extreme close-up of her face, scrunched up in concentration as she hums again, then zoom out quickly as she snaps out of her trance.)
Izzy: I think something happened here.
Sunny: (crossing to her) A lot of dragons seem to live here. (Longer shot; zoom out slowly.) There’s all of these claw prints and those amazing statues—
(Said statues are about the same height as an average pony, their surfaces carved to resemble dragon scales and marked with curving grooves. The coloration is greenish-brown, topped by a whitish tip, and each is shaped to look something like a clawed toe thrusting upward from the earth. Cut back to the group.)
Sunny: —but—
Zipp: —no dragons.
(Close-up of one footprint as Hitch plants both front hooves in it, then cut to him on the following. It is easily at least three hooves long and four wide.)
Hitch: Maybe they’re just off foraging somewhere?
Sunny: (dryly) All of them, at the same time?
Zipp: And with Sparky here making all this commotion—
Pipp: Yeah, wouldn’t his family hear and want to come to him? (Cut to Zipp.)
Zipp: Maybe they all took off before we got here, or— (Zoom out to frame all six on the next line.)
Misty: —or somepony else got here before us.
Sunny: (with dawning horror) Opaline. (Sparky returns and burbles up at Hitch.)
Hitch: (to him) What is it?
(There follows another merry wing/hoof chase across the plain. Cut to just within the mouth of a cave, the camera aimed at the approaching group and zooming out slowly as Sparky hustles in.)
Sparky: ** Wow! **
(The camera then shifts to the mouth itself, capturing the near-total darkness that yawns before the group.)
Izzy: (chuckling) Oh, no thanks, Sparky. Kind of you to show us your home, but I would rather not go into a creepy cave.
Pipp: Same. One mysterious entryway in a day is plenty for me. (Sparky coos, awestruck.)
Hitch: All right, I’ll just take a look.
Sunny: I’ll go with you, Hitch.
Sparky: ** Wow! **
(He and the two earth ponies venture gingerly over the threshold; Hitch clears his throat. The next two lines echo slightly in the vast space.)
Hitch: Hello?
Sunny: I think you’ll have to be louder than that. (Clear throat.) ANYDRAGON IN HERE?!?
(These three shouted words echo much more clearly; in response, a pair of glowing yellow eyes abruptly opens in extreme close-up, with no visible pupil or iris.)
Act Three
(Sunny and Hitch gasp softly, the eyes narrow—and the camera zooms out quickly to frame many, many others doing likewise. The light has come up just enough to discern their owners as a swarm of bats hanging upside down from the ceiling, and they are only too eager to quit their roots and charge out as a flapping mass. Ponies and vermin scatter outward in all directions in a cacophony of screams and squeaks, Izzy the only one actually enjoying the run-in, and Sparky waddles out behind a visibly shaken Hitch.)
Hitch: (shuddering) No dragons in there either! (Sparky moans and hugs his leg.)
Sunny: Where could they have gone?
Misty: They must have sensed the growing dragon-fire power in Opaline.
Zipp: You sound so sure.
Misty: She’s been the closest thing I’ve had to family for a long time. I know Opaline’s interest in total domination goes way beyond Equestria.
Zipp: She wants to rule over the Dragon Lands too?
Misty: Over everything. She wanted Sparky’s dragon fire to gain power. Maybe she wanted to take it from the other dragons too. And maybe they fled before she could get to them?
(Close-up of Sparky on this last, whimpering and huddling against Hitch’s leg; he gets a reassuring pat on the head.)
Hitch: Let’s hope that’s what happened. Being with Misty and coming here has shown me that everypony deserves to find their home, where they belong. Maybe Sparky belongs with dragons.
Sunny: Are you thinking of leaving him here?
(The Sheriff aims a thoughtful eye across the jungle.)
Hitch: One day, I’ll have to let him go. But I won’t leave him here all alone. (Sparky burbles up at him.) I’ll be Sparky’s protector for as long as he needs me.
Sunny: (to Misty) And as long as you need us, we’ll help you open as many doors as we have to— (Close-up of a gratefully smiling Misty; she continues o.s.) —to find your family. (Izzy sidles up.)
Izzy: Um, yeah, about that? (turning in place) Anypony remember how to get back to the door?
(She plunks her haunches down and sits with both pairs of legs crossed, fore and hind, and four other ponies voice responses of total confusion as the camera roves across the abundant vegetation. Pipp is not among them.)
Sparky: ** Huh? ** (Mumble.)
Pipp: (from o.s., tail dropping into view) Don’t sweat it, ponies. (Cut to her, hovering and holding up a petal with a wink.) I got it covered.
(Toss it aside; a nimble swoop carries her down to another one lying on the earth—one of many laid out in a trail. She nips this one up as the others gather.)
Pipp: I left a trail of jungle flower petals I just picked up for my all-natural beauty line, so we can find our way back!
(Sniffing at it, she makes a tiny funny happy noise.)
Pipp: And these ones smell tropical, like passion fruit! Mmm, yum. (They start following her trail; next two lines overlap. Sparky is now on Hitch’s back.)
Hitch: (sighing) Phew! Smart thinking!
Izzy: Whoo! Thank hoofness!
(Pipp, having discarded the petal, finds herself on the receiving end of a smirk from her sister.)
Pipp: Whaaaat?
Zipp: Nothing. I’m just… (chuckling) …impressed.
Pipp: Hey, you’re not the only sister who can do cool tricks.
(A deft loop-the-loop allows her to snag another petal from the ground and take a sniff.)
Pipp: Oh! And this one smells just like Canter Number Five.
Zipp: (chuckling) Let’s go!
(The two throw their wings in gear to catch up with the others. Cut to the Bridlewood end of the portal as they emerge; now Pipp is walking, having ditched the petal. Misty, the last one out, looks over her shoulder and gets a clear view of the doors closing and locking, their magical light extinguished. They reach the base of the ramp leading up to the Market entrance, where a few Breezies fly out; in close-up, the doorway seals itself shut to leave only a recessed spot in the surface of the bark.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) Guess that’s it for the Night Market.
(Cut to an overhead shot of them as she finishes, then to a ground-level shot of Izzy addressing the last one out.)
Izzy: Pardon me. When does this mystical magical market come back?
(The Breezie replies with a string of singsong syllables and exits the scene, leaving the unicorn hopelessly confused until Hitch leans over to her.)
Hitch: (mimicking intonation, circling behind her) She says, “You never kno-o-ow!”
Izzy: Well, that doesn’t really narrow it down.
Sunny: Hey, Misty? (crossing to her) We just wanted to see if you’re okay.
Zipp: (landing by them) Yeah. If you want to share anything else you might have learned about your past, we’re all ears.
Misty: (sighing) I wish I had more to tell. At least I know I’ve been to Bridlewood— (walking off) —but I’m not any closer to figuring out who was in my memory, or who I used to belong to. (Stop; smile.) But that’s okay, for now. (She turns back to Sunny/Zipp.)
Sunny: Well, as long as you have us— (Cut to Mist y as she continues.) —you have family. (Pipp flaps across to land alongside.)
Pipp: And you have our Zephyr Heights family too. (Gasp.) I totally forgot to tell you! We saw my mom in the Market earlier today.
Hitch: Queen Haven was here?
Pipp: Yep! She was walking around with Alphabittle. (digging under a wing, pulling out a sparkly strip of paper) Oh, look! We went into that enchanted photo booth together.
(The others crowd in for a better look, and Izzy cranks off a raucous laugh.)
Izzy: (pointing at strip) Zipp! What is the expression you’re making?
(Her perspective of it as she finishes: the top end of a string of photos, the sort that might be dispensed from a coin-operated booth. There are three in all, as seen when the camera tilts down from end to end in time with the group’s laughter, and each one cycles through a series of shots of the subjects making varied goofy faces—both sisters, their mother, Alphabittle, and Cloudpuff. From here, cut to Zipp hovering above the others and trying to hide her chagrined expression behind a foreleg.)
Zipp: I wasn’t ready! (To Izzy.)
Izzy: Huh. And what’s the expression you’re making, Misty?
(Pan to the unicorn in question as she finishes, a look of great consternation taking hold.)
Izzy: (now o.s.) Is something wrong?
Zipp: Oh, no! Another vision?
Sunny: Is it Opaline this time?
Misty: No, i-it’s not that. I…I think I recognize…
(Her perspective, zooming in on one photo as she points to Alphabittle.)
Misty: …who is that? (Cut to her and Pipp on the next line.)
Pipp: Oh, that’s Alphabittle. We’ve mentioned him before. (Misty turns away, instantly down in the dumps.) He runs the Crystal Tea Room here in Bridlewood.
Hitch: Um…Misty?
(The butterfly on the blue haunch begins to shine; close-up of this.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Wait a second. (Cut to her.) Alphabittle’s cutie mark was glowing today too.
(She is remembering the end of the gray unicorn’s tea-tasting contest in Part One, Act Three; now she gasps as a brainstorm strikes.)
Zipp: Misty! (Land behind her.) In your vision—the large shadow! (Misty turns to her.) Is it possible that it wasn’t a creature after all?
(Now it is the unicorn’s turn to pull in a sharp inhalation; zoom in quickly on her thunderstruck face, the view fading to white and in to her dream-filly self as in the prologue of Part One. She whirls to face the shadowy silhouette advancing out of the fog. It emerges fully into the light—a younger Alphabittle, his mane/tail/eyebrows shorter and dark grayish-blue at this point in his life, with no sideburns.)
Younger AL: Where’d you go, pumpkin? It’s almost dinnertime!
(Fade to white, then in to a quick zoom out from Misty.)
Misty: D…D-D…Dad? (A round of gasps from the others.)
Izzy: Alphabittle is your DAD?
Misty: (smiling) Yeah. I think so! (Zipp whirls to face front with her and throws a foreleg across her shoulders.)
Zipp: We gotta get to the Crystal Tea Room right now!
(Cut to a long shot of the entrance to said establishment and zoom in slowly. The pot and cup on the front doors glow as brightly as the crystals jutting from the grass on either side of the path. Inside, Haven scoops a plate stacked with a couple of cups off a table and carries it to Alphabittle, behind the counter. His cutie mark has gone quiet since the end of Part One.)
Alphabittle: (putting them away) I didn’t even believe in Breezies before today. (Chuckle.) And then one beat me at a tea-tasting contest!
Haven: (laughing) I never know what excitement awaits me in Bridlewood. (alluringly) Although you’re welcome to join me in Zephyr Heights whenever you’d like.
Alphabittle: (morosely) Yeah, about that. Um…I haven’t been totally honest with you about why I don’t like to leave Bridlewood.
(He plucks a framed picture from a shelf and steps out from behind the counter to pass it to Haven. Cut to her perspective of it—a painting of a very young Misty cuddling a unicorn-horned rabbit, or “bunny-corn” as named in Part One. Most of her curly mane is gathered into two fat bunches at the back of her head, leaving a few strands to spill down past one ear.)
Haven: How adorable! (Back to her.) But…I don’t understand. Who is she?
Alphabittle: My daughter.
Haven: (gasping softly) You have a…?
Alphabittle: She went missing many moons ago. I searched everywhere, but…I couldn’t find her. So the real reason I can’t leave Bridlewood is…
(He takes the picture back and stares at it for a long moment.)
Alphabittle: (setting it on counter) …because I need to be here when my filly comes home.
Haven: (shaken) Oh, my lovely Alphabittle, I’m so sorry. I had no idea! (She touches his shoulder gently.)
Alphabittle: It never gets easier.
(Deciding that it cannot leave a tender moment alone, his cutie mark comes alive with a gleam.)
Alphabittle: (annoyed, glaring at it) Why does this keep happening today? (Sound of the opening front doors.)
Misty: (from o.s.) D-Dad?
(The eyes of Queen and shopkeeper alike pop to the size of poker chips at the sound of that voice. Cut to its owner stepping timidly up to them; she sees his mark blazing, then eyes her own still doing the same.)
Haven: Misty is…your daughter?
Alphabittle: Misty? But how?
Misty: I’m home, Dad.
(The two unicorns gallop toward each other and slide to a stop, whereupon Misty throws her forelegs around his in a long-overdue embrace.)
Alphabittle: (voice breaking) You are home!
Misty: Aw, Dad…
Alphabittle: (sniffling) And I’m never losing you again!
(Sunny and company gather at the doorway to watch the reunion with warm smiles and a soft gasp or three. Haven’s expression is a perfect match for theirs. Cut to just behind the group, zooming out slowly, then to a long shot outside the Crystal Tea Room. The zoom continues for some seconds before a dissolve shifts the time to the following day; the doors are now closed, and the crew has cleared out.)
Alphabittle: (voice over, a bit jittery) So, um…
(Cut to a pan through the shop; Sunny/Hitch/Izzy/Sparky are seated at one table, Haven and her daughters at another.)
Alphabittle: (stuttering a bit, backing into view before a set of shelves) …do you want to hear about my teakettle collection? (Misty steps in facing him.) Of course you don’t. That probably wouldn’t be interesting.
Misty: I’d love to hear it. I want to hear everything.
Alphabittle: (grinning, sniffling, wiping a tear away) Ah, kid. I just can’t believe it. (He composes himself.) Okay. Well, um… (Point to one kettle.) …I started my collection before you were even born— (floating it off shelf) —when I sat in on an ancient tea ceremony held by unicorn elders.
(Cut to the royals’ table as he finishes. Haven lifts a cup for a sip, but a tiny green fireball lances into view and scores a direct hit; she finds herself holding a butterfly, which flits out of her grasp. A cheerful gabble from the o.s. Sparky is heard before he skids to a stop in front of Sunny and blows out another burst, nearly burning the fur off her forelegs and prompting a shriek as he darts away.)
Hitch: (galloping after him) Sparky! No inside fire! (He scoops up Sparky with a sheepish laugh.) So sorry, Alphabittle! (Set him on the table; Izzy tickles his belly.) He’s still trying to learn to control his fire-breathing— (rattled) —and ever since we all went to the Dragon Lands, it’s more powerful than ever!
Haven: (to Pipp/Zipp) You all went where?!?
(Both daughters’ brains throw a rod at once; Pipp is first to get hers working again with a big stupid smile.)
Pipp: (hastily, backing away from table) Uhhh…I think I have to go work on my mane and hoof line! (She lifts off.)
Zipp: And I, um, gotta help her! (Ditto.)
Haven: (incensed, taking wing after them) Girls!
(The others just laugh over the display of motherly overreaction.)
Alphabittle: It’s okay, Hitch. (foreleg around Misty’s shoulders) Nothing can dent my mood now. And I’m glad to see Sparky feels well enough to be a hoof-ful again.
Hitch: I’m glad too. (cuddling Sparky) Even when it’s tough, I love being Sparky’s dragon-pony dad. (Cut to Sunny/Alphabittle/Misty.)
Alphabittle: Well said.
(Three steaming cups float across the room under his influence; the two mares each grip one, and he keeps the third aloft for a toast.)
Alphabittle: To family.
(Three more come to Hitch/Izzy/Sparky in like manner, Izzy and Misty exerting magic to hoist theirs.)
Alphabittle: We wouldn’t want it any other way.
Other ponies: (raising cups) Yeah! To family!
(Alphabittle and Misty tap theirs together; Sparky is the first to guzzle his down, then lets rip with a flaming burp that scores a direct hit on Hitch’s head. The upshot is to turn his mane/tail a rainbow of vivid colors and cause flowers to sprout from the former.)
Hitch: Sparky! Not the mane!
Sparky: ** I’m sorry. **
(Cut to a laughing Sunny/Alphabittle/Misty, then back to the Sheriff and his charge.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) Yes!
(Seeing the humor in the mishap, he extends his tail for Sparky to play with and begins to laugh along with the others. Zoom out slowly.)
FATHER OF THE BRIDLEWOOD
Written by Kelly Lynne D’Angelo
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Directed by Randi Rodrigues
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Note: Aside from any previously named characters, all mentions of ponies in
Bridlewood or Zephyr Heights refer to unicorns or pegasi, respectively.
Lines marked with one asterisk (*) are amplified by a sound system.
Prologue
(Opening shot: a stretch of treetops and cheery daytime sky in Bridlewood, the camera angled up from the ground to catch a couple of butterflies in flight. Tilt down to frame Pipp Petals, Zipp Storm, and Queen Haven standing and talking on a path through a clearing, then pan to bring five others into view a short distance away—Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, Izzy Moonbow, Alphabittle Blossomforth, and Misty. The big stallion chuckles to himself as the camera shifts to show them all just outside the Crystal Tea Room; Sparky Sparkeroni runs over to Hitch.)
Alphabittle: Oh, I can’t believe it! My daughter Misty has returned! (Whoop; he lowers his voice to address her.) Well, back then I used to call you Misty-Wisty, but we can retire that nickname if you like. (Cut to her as he finishes.)
Misty: Oh! Um, I-I’d like that very much—for now, at least.
Alphabittle: Okay, Misty-Wisty— (catching himself) —I mean, Misty. Ah, there’s so much to catch up on and—oh! Uh, I gotta go get something.
(He pivots toward the shop as the camera pans back along the path in time with Haven’s laughter and stops on the royal family watching.)
Haven: How wonderful is this? (spreading wings) Oh, I wish I didn’t have to fly off so soon to attend to some royal duties.
(An easy flap carries over her to Alphabittle, who has retrieved an open-topped storage bin stuffed with scrolls and is using his magic to set it down before Misty.)
Haven: (landing) I’m so happy for you both. Nothing beats having a daughter—except maybe having two!
(She and Alphabittle chuckle over this, and she hums contentedly and pulls father and daughter in for a hug. Once it breaks up, she turns away to where Thunder and Zoom are waiting.)
Haven: (over her shoulder) Well, I must be off. Ta-ta!
(As the three pegasi lift off, Alphabittle begins to root through the bin.)
Alphabittle: (to Misty, sticking on a red rubber clown nose) Remember when we went to the circus, and you thought this was the funniest thing ever? Huh?
(Cut to her, face frozen and eyes darting fearfully from side to side, as his chuckle floats over to her. In close-up, he pulls off the fake nose and goes digging again; on the next line, he produces and shows a small framed painting—a unicorn clad in an armored helmet, depicted from the shoulders up. The appearance of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark in the background pegs the subject as Shining Armor.)
Alphabittle: Oh, and you loved this painting from the Unicorn Art Museum. I must say, you had incredibly advanced artistic taste for such a young filly.
Misty: (from o.s.) Oh! Um… (His face falls; cut to frame both.) …those memories are a little fuzzy for me, Alphabittle. (He returns the art to the bin.)
Alphabittle: Hey, no more “Alphabittle” here. (Zoom in slowly.) From now on, call me Dad.
Izzy: (from o.s.) Okay, Dad!
(Four very puzzled eyes turn in the direction of her voice; cut to her, Sunny, Hitch, and Sparky watching a few steps away. It takes her a moment to realize her fumble.)
Izzy: Oh, you meant just Misty. Got it.
Misty: Sorry, I-I don’t remember, um…Dad?
Alphabittle: We just need to jog your memory, kid. I know! Let’s have the most incredible father-daughter day. Then I guarantee it’ll all come flooding back. What do you say?
Misty: I would love that! Wow. First my cutie mark, and now this! (Pipp and Zipp fly over to their friends; she prances a circle in place.) I’m so over the Luna Moon to be reunited.
(She and Alphabittle smile tenderly at each other; pan slowly across the other five ponies, their reactions below overlapping.)
Zipp: Adorbs!
Pipp: So cute!
Sunny: Awww…
(Hitch sucks in a shuddery breath and dabs at one eye, while Izzy bounds toward the pair with an overexcited squeal. Cut to them, with her popping up alongside.)
Izzy: I am just feeling so many emotions!
Zipp: (from o.s.) Awww…
(Alphabittle’s gentle laughter blends with that of the other o.s. ponies before the view snaps to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to a close-up of the bin Alphabittle hauled out and tilt up to his face as he nudges it aside.)
Alphabittle: Where to begin with reconnecting and re-membering? You were always better at coming up with games and fun things to do.
Misty: (puzzled) I was?
Alphabittle: Yeah. That’s the whole reason I play games in the Crystal Tea Room—because of you.
(Again the reactions from the other five overlap.)
Izzy, Zipp: Awww…
Pipp: So thoughtful!
Sunny: I can’t take it! (Hitch sobs quietly.)
Misty: I don’t remember that, or the last time I even played a game. (animatedly, pacing) Unless you count the Evil Plotting Game, where you have to strategize and take over the whole world and all of ponykind? Opaline does love that one.
(Uneasy mumbling from her friends, coupled with a very funny look from Alphabittle.)
Misty: (catching herself) Wait. That’s not a real game, is it? (Sunny crosses to her.)
Sunny: We know you’ve been through a lot, Misty. There’s still so much to unpack.
Alphabittle: (chuckling, tapping bin) Seriously. I got another twenty of these Misty memory boxes.
Sunny: I meant more mentally and emotionally, but yeah. Those too.
Alphabittle: Speaking of, mind giving me a hoof, daughter? (He levitates the bin and starts for the doors.)
Misty: (starting after him) Oh! Anytime, Dad-abittle! Heh…I mean, Alpha-dad! Heh. Uh, sorry. Still getting used to it.
(Cut to Sunny watching them go. A silver hoof on the end of a white foreleg reaches into view to tap her shoulder; on the next line, she pivots toward Zipp and the camera pans to frame both.)
Zipp: Did you hear what Misty just said?
Sunny: (giddily) Yes! “Dad-abittle!” (Giggle.) Too funny!
Zipp: (shaking head) No, no, not that! About Opaline taking over all ponykind! Maybe this game they played can give us clues to her plan! Then we can get ahead of her! What are we really doing to protect Equestria? I have to ask Misty right now! (She turns toward the doors.)
Sunny: (throwing out a foreleg to block her) Zipp, you are a brilliant detective. But you should detect that this isn’t the time to interrogate Misty.
Zipp: Sure it is!
Sunny: I mean, your tactics with Misty lately have been a little…extreme.
Zipp: Psssh! What are you talking about?
(Cut to Misty, Sparky, and Hitch’s grandmother Figgy sitting by a window in the latter’s house and taking it easy—looking at a photo album, eating a cookie, and drinking hot chocolate respectively. A shot from Misty’s perspective shows that she has found photos of the doting grandson taken at Winter Wishday at different times in his life. The next line is marked by Zipp pushing the album down to expose herself in extreme close-up, followed by a profile shot that shows just how up close and personal she has gotten.)
Zipp: So, about Opaline…
(Misty shrieks and topples backward. Next she sits in Hitch’s office, building a house of cards with her magic as his “squad” supervises from air and desktop.)
Zipp: (sidling up into view) About that Opaline…
(Her sly chuckle is met by a yell from the would-be interview subject, who loses her balance and topples to the floor, demolishing the entire pasteboard structure with a flailing hoof. Now Misty walks down Mane Street and past Sunny’s smoothie stand, a recently purchased cup bobbing in her aura. This begins to jitter madly on its own, bringing her up short, and the lid flies off in a shower of purple liquid so that one of Zipp’s surveillance drones—last used in “Have You Seen This Dragon?”—can pop out.)
Drone: (Zipp’s voice) Hey, Misty!
(Who screams and whirls away only to find the flesh-and-blood mare standing right behind her and wearing the armored shoulder plate that serves as the drone’s docking station. Unlike the previous two encounters, this time she is all aggression.)
Zipp: Tell me about Opaline right now!
(Cut to Zipp in the present, momentarily stunned from having the point driven home so hard in these flashbacks.)
Zipp: I guess I have come on a bit strong?
Sunny: Right now, she just needs our support. When she’s ready, she’ll tell us everything we need to know. (nudging her playfully; she nods) Maybe we can do some more digging on our own? (Izzy peeks out from behind a crystal outcropping.)
Izzy: Great idea, pals! (She hops out to face them.) We unicorns always say… (deep raspy voice) …“The past is the key to the present!” (normal tone) It’s very important to understand the history of somepony. (dreamy tone, hooves to temples) For everypony’s choices echo in time. (twirling slowly, fading out like an echo) Time…time…
Zipp: Echo in time?
(The eccentric unicorn snaps out of her semi-trance and drops back to all fours.)
Izzy: Yes, time! And I know just the pony you need to talk to. Follow me! (covering nose briefly) Oh! Gather some grass and watch your hooves for stinky weeds along the way. (singsong) It’s in season!
(Off she goes through the grass, using her field to pluck some of the particularly long blades.)
Izzy: Ooh, ooh! And you…oh, and you’re coming with me…
(Cut briefly to/from the other two mares on this line; they follow her lead, threading a path among the trees. The next shot is of a different stretch of the forest, tilting down from branches to ground level on the next words to frame Alphabittle and Misty walking a path. Hitch and Pipp hang back several yards, the Princess holding her cell phone at the ready and Sparky walking alongside the Sheriff.)
Alphabittle: How wonderful to take a stroll with you down Memory Lane today. You used to love this place.
Misty: I did? What’s it called?
Alphabittle: Memory Lane. Oh, and look there.
(Close-up of a heart-shaped patch of exposed wood on a tree trunk, containing stick-figure drawings of Alphabittle and Misty with a heart between them. On the start of the following, zoom out to frame them standing before it.)
Alphabittle: We carved this together—with the tree’s permission, of course. (patting back) I’ve passed it every day since you’ve gone missing. (as they move on) Oh, I can’t wait to start full-time dadding again.
(Zoom in quickly on Hitch/Pipp in the background; Sparky is now on Hitch’s back.)
Hitch: I have never seen this grumpy guy act so happy— (Close-up.) —not even with Queen Haven! (Sparky gurgles agreement; zoom out to frame Pipp on the following.)
Pipp: I’ve never seen Misty this happy either!
Hitch: Maybe we should let them reconnect in peace?
(Their perspective of the screen, showing the view through its camera: father and daughter walking away.)
Pipp: (overjoyed) I can’t understand why we should— (The trio again; Hitch clears his throat pointedly.) What? She’ll want this later. It’s adorable— (catching his gist) —and, I guess, a little invasive. (Roll eyes; tap screen to stop recording.) Fine.
Hitch: (to Alphabittle/Misty) We’re gonna head out so you can have some quality family time together. (He departs.)
Pipp: And privacy! But don’t ask why I brought that up. (easing after Hitch) We’re just a phone call away if you need us!
Alphabittle: (to Misty) Did you hear that? Family time! (touching her cheek) Just the two of us, like it used to be!
(He hops away, voicing a sound somewhere between a giggle and a whinny; she matches the action, but sticks firmly to the giggle end of the spectrum. In short order they arrive at the front door of a house built into the base of a wide tree, similar to Izzy’s. A couple of teapots, one serving as a planter, have been set among the beds of flowers and crystals that fill space on either side of the entrance.)
Alphabittle: Welcome back to your home, kid.
(He opens the front door and moves inside and o.s.)
Alphabittle: (from o.s.) I’m gonna make everything as comfortable as possible for you.
(She gasps softly; cut to him entering a large circular living room within. Three closed doors—single, double, single—stand among wall shelves loaded with books and trophies. The far left door is hung with a triangular pennant, but the camera pans to pick out the far right one as the sound of the closing front door is heard. Misty steps in from the threshold, taking a table set with a cup and a box holding leftover pizza, the vine/flower-decorated trophies, and some of the books; she gasps in close-up.)
Alphabittle: (from o.s.) Oh, wait! (Both reach the far right door.) Wait ’til you see the best part.
(He reaches for the handle; on the other side, it swings open and they step through, Misty’s eyes widening.)
Alphabittle: Ta-da!
Misty: Wow!
(Their perspective: they have arrived at a bedroom meant for a filly. Across from them is a neatly made bed with stuffed dolls propped up among the pillows; a nightstand is off to one side, and two wall lamps glow invitingly through purple shades. Sunlight streams in through a large window; a low table runs level with its sill, set with toys. Others are on the nightstand, a wall shelf above the bed, and the brightly colored circular rug covering the floor; at the foot of the bed are a basket full of toys and a trunk.)
Misty: Is this…?
Alphabittle: Your old filly-hood room. (Back to them; Misty gasps wonderingly.) Left exactly as the day you went missing.
(She moves across the floor, the camera shifting to pick out some number blocks on the carpet, toys on the shelf, a light-equipped fan and string of small bulbs on the ceiling, the head of the bed.)
Alphabittle: (from o.s.) But with more dust bunny-corns now, I guess. (Both again; Misty picks up one of the soft toys as he walks off.) I-I’ll just call up Dusty the cleanup pony and hire her to help out. (now out of view) I promise, it will be in mint condition soon. D-Do you still like mint?
(He puts his head around the doorframe, jolting her out of her happy reverie.)
Alphabittle: Anyway, now that you’re settled, let’s get to the fun stuff. (Step into the room.) I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life!
(As soon as he backs out laughing, she lets her smile disappear and drops to her haunches to address the toy.)
Misty: He has no idea who I am now. (Her perspective of it.) But I have to go along with it. (squeezing it, making it squeak) I want this to be the best day ever for him. (Back to her.) Okay, Misty. You’ve mastered the fake smile, so use it.
(The toy goes back on the bed, and she poises a front hoof at forehead level.)
Misty: And…go!
(The limb comes down, her expression shifting in the same moment to a wide-eyed, toothy grin.)
Misty: (groaning, through her teeth, walking out) Ow! Ow! It hurts!
Act Two
(Cut to a treetop-level view of a house-lined path and tilt down to an overhead shot of Alphabittle and Misty out for a stroll.)
Alphabittle: (loudly, to passersby at large) This here is my daughter Misty! Remember her? (Ground level.) Say hello to my little filly! Hey! This is my long-lost child! Give her a hoof!
(She hesitantly touches hers to the one extended by a stallion.)
Misty: Alphabit—I mean, Dad—could we maybe, uh, tone it down? (Zoom in slowly; they have stopped.) I’m not sure I love all this attention on me.
Alphabittle: (normal volume) Oh! Uh…uh, of course! I’m so sorry. You used to love when I pranced around and did this. I’ll dial back on the shouting, but not on the pride!
(Close-up of Misty, nodding happily, on the end of this, then back to the pair. They get moving again.)
Alphabittle: Oh! I’ve got something really exciting in store! (Chuckle.)
Misty: What is it? Maybe a trip to the Unicorn Library? I’ve never been to one of those before. Or is it, uh… (She freezes abruptly and swallows hard.) …we’re…at a playground?
(Zoom out on this last to show that they have indeed reached just such a facility: seesaws, slide, merry-go-round, swing. A few youngsters have turned out to enjoy the fine weather.)
Alphabittle: Exactly! (Close-up of the two.) We have so many fond memories together here. You used to love the seesaw.
(Pan quickly to one of these—really no more than a plank balanced on a boulder. Two dour-faced colts, one seated on either end, rock it back and forth with a distinct lack of vitality.)
Colt: Whee. (The other one groans.)
(Another such pan frames a filly poised at the top of the slide.)
Alphabittle: (from o.s.) And going down the slide. (She launches herself dully down the chute…)
Filly: Whee. (…and slides off to stop in the grass ) Ohhh…
(A third quick pan brings the focus to the slowly rotating merry-go-round, ridden by Jasper.)
Alphabittle: (from o.s., gasping) And spinning on the filly-go-round! (Back to him and Misty; he nudges her encouragingly as he continues.) How about you give it another old spin, with the old stallion? Pleeeease?
Misty: (forcing a laugh, walking toward it) Of course! (to Jasper) Um, do you mind if I borrow this?
Jasper: Aren’t you a little old to be using this?
Misty: Heh. Yeah, but…wait. Aren’t we the same age?
Jasper: What about it?
(She plants a hoof on the nearest handle to stop the rig, leaving her perfectly positioned to stare him down point-blank.)
Misty: (rapid fire) Listen. After being filly-napped and brainwashed for years, I am feeling so many feelings right now and I just really need this, okay?
(A long pause before the rider speaks.)
Jasper: (sniffling, with great emotion) Feelings. I understand those well. (Misty cocks a quizzical eyebrow at him.) May the turnstile of emotions guide you from eternal darkness to light. (He hops off and walks away; now Alphabittle approaches.)
Misty: Sure! Okay. (She seats herself on the edge.) Ready!
(Her father accommodates her with one good hard shove to the nearest handle, setting the thing to spin at a most ridiculous speed and forcing her to hang on for dear life.)
Misty: Wheeee— (Her cheeks go green and bulge; she begins to gag.) —eeeeee! (The unhealthy tinge spreads to her entire face.) All right, that’s enough!
Alphabittle: Hm!
(Alphabittle stops it dead, allowing her to stumble off with the green having contracted back to her cheeks.)
Alphabittle: You used to have a stronger stomach. Maybe that’s enough playgrounding for today.
Misty: (laughing nervously) I’m fine! Totally fine! That was— (Hiccup; her complexion returns to normal.) —super-fun. Yay!
Alphabittle: Why don’t we try something else?
Misty: Yes. I’d love that.
Alphabittle: I’m between cave exploration or extreme tree-climbing. Or…maybe we can get back into fire swallowing again!
(The green eyes pop open and twitch of their own volition as their owner sighs through a frozen smile that turns into a grimace, starting to realize just what she has gotten herself into. Elsewhere, Izzy approaches a house’s front door set with a triangular mirror and decorated by strings of pastel-colored beads hanging overhead. Sunny and Zipp hang back a bit. In close-up, Izzy knocks gently with an ear cocked for any response; getting none, she promptly shifts to vigorous pounding of hoof on wood.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Uh, Izzy? (Cut to frame all three.) Where are we?
Izzy: Shh-shh-shh! (levitating two baskets, projecting them at Sunny/Zipp) Also, hold these wild-grass woven gift-basket baskets.
(A knocking is heard from within the house, and the door swings open to reveal its occupant—Elderflower, the old mare who won the final race in “The Jinxie Games.” She steps out into the light, revealing a blue-violet coat and horn, a mane/tail gone pale gray from age, dark gray eyes under white brows, dark gray hooves, a headband under the mane, and two necklaces—a thin gold chain, and a crystal pendant on a beaded cord. Her cutie mark cannot immediately be seen. A pile of baskets is visible in the dimness behind her. She speaks in a cheerful, slightly quavery voice.)
Elderflower: Well, looky who we have here. (waving) Dizzy!
Izzy: Oh, it’s Izzy, Elderflower. (throwing a foreleg around each companion’s shoulder) This is Sunny and Zipp. Sunny and Zipp, meet Elderflower.
(Cut to a close-up of the latter and zoom in slowly; she is dozing off where she stands and snoring loudly.)
Izzy: (from o.s., reverently) The most elderly-est pony in town. (Back to her; hopping in place.) So much so that it’s even in her name.
Sunny: We’re so honored to meet you, Elder— (Izzy cuts her off with a sharp gasp.)
Izzy: That’s not the Bridlewood elder way! Pass her your baskets!
(Each is offered on an extended foreleg, and Izzy’s field plucks them away and settles them in front of Elderflower, who snaps out of her snooze.)
Elderflower: Wild-grass woven gift-basket baskets? (Her magic takes over for Izzy’s and adds them to the pile behind her.) How very thoughtful—and respectful.
Izzy: (to Sunny/Zipp) Elderflower is the storyteller in Bridlewood. She has tales that have been passed down through generations and generations of little ponies. (tapping her temple) Like, all of the past is in her mind! Can you be-lizzle that?
Elderflower: This reminds me of the tale when the raccoon bit the snake!
Izzy: Oh! That is such a good one.
(Cut to Sunny and Zipp, who trade skeptical looks, and zoom out to frame Izzy addressing them on the next line.)
Izzy: (hushed, behind a hoof) I know that some of her stories might not make sense right away— (lowering it) —but I promise she’ll help you understand more about Equestria’s history. (normal volume, to Elderflower) These pals of mine could really use your help. Would you be willing to spin some yarns?
Elderflower: I will—on one condition. (excitedly, waving a foreleg) I want to visit the big city!
Zipp: Zephyr Heights?
Elderflower: That’s the one! Could you take me? (Cut to the three younger mares on this last.)
Sunny: We’d love to be your chaperones!
Elderflower: (gasping, jittering in place) Oh, you will be? Yippee! Ooh, and then I gotta get packing! (turning to re-enter house) Do they still wear poodle skirts there?
(Sunny and Zipp smile at one another in anticipation of hitting the historical mother lode. Cut to a long overhead shot of Alphabittle and Misty approaching the entrance to the Crystal Tea Room, zooming in slowly, then to the interior. Dapple and Onyx are onstage as the zoom continues, the former with bongos at the ready and the latter standing at a microphone.)
* Onyx: The injured cat says, “Meow-ow. Owww…”
* Dapple: “Meow-owww.”
(He slams both front hooves onto the skins, generating a wave of muted applause from the patrons, as Alphabittle steps behind the counter and a preoccupied Misty moves to face him.)
Alphabittle: No doubt this will bring back memories.
(His perspective of her, taking a seat; one of his armadillos brings a teacup on its back, which she takes.)
Alphabittle: A specialty special tea tasting at my Crystal Tea Room. (Back to him.) Now let’s see if I remember.
(He taps out a sequence on the stoppers of three glass bottles in a wooden box; tweaks a couple of teapots on shelves; adjusts the hands on a clock; jiggles two video game joysticks; uses a drumstick to strike several keys on a toy piano. A mechanism under the counter on his side engages, and a panel slides open in a cloud of dust so that a small urn can pop out. It is made of violet porcelain, with a stylized unicorn horn projecting upward from the lid and a cord tied around this, and is held in a brass cup attached to an interior wall of this compartment.)
Alphabittle: Phew! It still works.
(Pick it up, showing a flower pattern painted onto the side, then spin the lid and remove it. Shake a few leaves into Misty’s cup. Whip out a teapot and pour, the light gleaming briefly off its spout. Misty swallows hard as the vapor rises from the surface, matching his anticipatory smile with a big grin, and takes a sip. The moment it hits her tongue, two green eyes bug out to broadcast her utter revulsion at the taste; she swallows, lets her tongue loll out for a moment, but quickly shakes herself back into a big fake smile of approval.)
Misty: Mmmm! Yummy! (Swallow again.)
Alphabittle: (picking up teapot, turning to shelves) I knew it! You still love Misty’s Mys-Tea-Ry! I named it after you and haven’t let anypony drink it since.
(During the previous line, she takes advantage of his diverted attention to cough and sling the remaining contents of her cup onto the floor. Now he pivots to face her again.)
Alphabittle: But I can’t remember for the life of me what’s in it. (noticing empty cup) Done already? (His perspective of her, strained grin back in place and tapping it.) Wow. Looks like you needed another cup.
Misty: (hastily) I’m all tea’d out, Alpha—uh, Dad. Any chance there’s something else, anything else on that list of yours? (Close-up of his face.)
Alphabittle: In fact, there is!
(Tilt down to the floor as he taps one front hoof twice, then pan quickly to the stage, where a spotlight flicks on to pick out Dapple and Onyx.)
* Onyx: “Ow, owl,” says the injured owl.
* Dapple: “Hooo…ow.”
(He plays a quick riff and is met with quiet applause as before, and the two light their horns to reposition their gear as Alphabittle and Misty approach the stage.)
Alphabittle: Slam poetry! Your favorite! Remember when you won the Youth Slam with your performance of “Reflections of a Glowpaz Crystal”? (Cut to an unsettled Misty on this last.)
Misty: No! I do not. That actually sounds awf—
Alphabittle: (leaning close, foreleg across shoulders) Awfully cute? I know. It was. (shoving her toward stage) Here.
Misty: (as she is pushed o.s.) Wait! I—
(She finds herself at the mic, Dapple/Onyx having shifted themselves and the bongos to the rear edge, and the spotlight pins the cringing mare before a staring crowd. Except for the faintest of whispers, the room has gone dead silent.)
* Misty: (slowly standing upright) Uh…um…uhhhhhhhmmm…
(She holds this last wavering syllable out over a whine of feedback, the patrons staring at her with a total lack of comprehension. Cut to a long shot of Zephyr Heights and zoom in slowly as the Marestream hurtles into view to trace a broad arc with its rainbow contrail. Three quick close-ups follow—a tire touching down on a balcony, a wing folding away, the rear door sliding open and a step extending for Zipp’s use—and she, Sunny, and Elderflower are soon out for a walk down one block.)
Zipp: You sure did enjoy that Marestream ride, huh, Elderflower?
Elderflower: Oh, I did! It was just like the time I went hoof-gliding! (They stop.)
Zipp: So, now that we’re finally here, we have some questions for you about the—
(Elderflower utters an ecstatic gasp and steps forward, seeing the full magnitude of the opulent city laid out before her.)
Elderflower: Can it be? (giggling) Shopping on Mane Avenue. (galloping off) What a wonder to finally see such an iconic place! Look!
(She slides to a stop before a shop window that displays a stallion mannequin clad in a flower-patterned cloak with a jeweled gold brooch at the throat. Cut to just inside this, the camera aimed at Elderflower as she withdraws a hoof from the glass and Sunny/Zipp catch up.)
Elderflower: Did you know that style was in fashion when I was a filly? (To the pair, with humoring smiles, on the end of this, then pan back to her in time with her laugh.) It’s incredible to see its return!
Zipp: Riiight. So I was wondering about this ancient evil alicorn, Opaline.
Elderflower: (stroking chin) Hm. (Gasp.)
Zipp: What? You know something?
(Sunny is quick to sit and dig a notebook and pencil from her saddlebag, ready to jot.)
Elderflower: (staring past them) I cannot believe that pegasus!
(A longer shot picks out a passing mare in a broad-brimmed sun hat.)
Elderflower: They’re wearing a vintage Carousel Boutique hat! (Sunny packs her writing tools away and stands up.) Do you know how hard those are to find? (galloping o.s., voice fading out) And look! This music shop is…
(Under these last few words, Zipp pulls Sunny in for a quick private talk.)
Zipp: Sunny, this is going absolutely nowhere! Trying to keep her focused is one thing, but these stories? They’re complete nonsense!
Sunny: Yeah, they’re a little… (A side-of-the-mouth whine and laugh to concede the point.) But remember what Izzy said? Let’s see what she has to say—which sure seems to be a lot.
Zipp: Hmmm…if we get her to the old hangar, maybe she’ll be inspired to spill some of the Opaline beans.
Sunny: Good idea! That could help jog her memory!
(During this exchange, Elderflower takes note of a flying pig, falls flat on her face while trying to catch it, then successfully coaxes it down for a bit of petting and chases it down the street. Only after the finish do they catch sight of her headed out of sight around a corner.)
Sunny: Uh, speaking of jogging… (to Elderflower) …uh, wait up!
Zipp: (grunting, as both race after her) Slow down!
(Cut to the interior of the Crystal Tea Room. Misty is still frozen at the microphone, with no fewer than three spotlights now trained on her.)
* Misty: Uhhhhhhhmmm…
(More feedback asserts itself under this hyperextended utterance, the camera shifting first to the crowd and then to Dapple/Onyx.)
Dapple: (laughing) Rad. Such a dedicated choice.
(His stoic performance partner allows herself the faintest of smiles before the camera returns to Misty, who finally finds her voice after a full eight seconds.)
* Misty: I’m sorry! I can’t do this anymore!
(She bolts from the stage to a round of gasps—which give way to enthusiastic applause and a stallion wiping a tear from his eye.)
Dapple: That was brilliant!
Onyx: I am overwhelmed with emotion.
Alphabittle: What…what was it about? (Close-up of Onyx.)
Onyx: It was a commentary on the loss of identity. (Pan to Dapple.)
Dapple: Imbued with undertones of fear about a newfound fragile father-daughter relationship.
Alphabittle: (clearing throat) You, um, got all that? (Both nod.) I see. (He strides away.)
Onyx: She also could have been saying something about um-brellas.
Dapple: Yeah, that too.
Act Three
(Cut to the living room of Alphabittle’s house, the camera aimed at the closed door of Misty’s old bedroom from ground level. One gray foreleg plants itself in view but advances no farther as the sound of the mare’s soft sobs is heard from beyond. Alphabittle recoils just a hair in close-up, but collects himself and crosses to open the door. Misty is lying face-down on the bed, crying into the pillows.)
Alphabittle: I thought you might be in here. (He enters…) What happened? (…and sits on the end of the mattress.) You love performing.
Misty: (sitting up; crying stops) No! I don’t! At least not anymore. I hate the spotlight! I hated the playground! (hugging a doll) I’m sorry, but this whole day has been a struggle.
Alphabittle: You didn’t like any of the things we did?
Misty: No. I didn’t. The truth is, I don’t actually know what I like, or even who I am.
(She raises her front hooves; cut to her perspective, wiggling them and picking up the doll again. Back to her as she continues.)
Misty: I haven’t really had the chance to figure it out yet.
Alphabittle: Whoa. Onyx and Dapple were right. I just want you to feel at home.
Misty: But I don’t feel at home! I barely know this place! I barely know myself, and you barely know me! So much time has passed, so much has happened. Whatever filly you used to love isn’t here anymore. (voice breaking) I’m sorry.
(She buries her face in the doll she is holding, eliciting a squeak.)
Misty: (muffled) I’m so sorry.
Alphabittle: I didn’t realize. I was just trying to show I cared. But I understand. You want to be alone.
(He climbs off the bed and walks o.s. toward the door, the creak of the hinges and almost inaudible sound of its closure marking his exit. Misty aims wet green eyes after him before huddling back over the toy, lost in her own misery. Outside the room, Alphabittle trudges away with head hung in defeat, but halts when the door bursts open and Misty emerges. She has fully composed herself and put the doll aside.)
Misty: No! I don’t want to be alone anymore! (Cut to Alphabittle, turning slowly back; she continues o.s.) That’s all I’ve ever been and ever felt. (Back to her, crossing to him.) And now I have you! I somehow have you! My dad!
(She covers the remaining distance in one bound and is swept up into a powerful hug, the camera pivoting around them to frame more of the furnishings in the living room. The overall feel is very similar to that of the Crystal Tea Room.)
Alphabittle: Oh…my Misty-Wisty. You’re right. I’ve been holding on to the past. On to the pain of losing you, which made me hard-headed. You just ask anypony in town how grumpy I’ve been all these moons. Let’s start over. My name is Alphabittle, and I am your father.
(Cut to his perspective of her, happy tears pooling in the green eyes as the camera swivels slowly around her.)
Alphabittle: Though I know nothing about you, someday when you’re ready— (She dries her eyes.) —I want to hear all about your life, and experiences— (Profile view of both.) —and who you are now.
Misty: It’s a pleasure to re-meet. (turning in place) I’m Misty. “Tea” for short.
Alphabittle: “Tea”? (Chuckle.) I like that.
Misty: I do too! I just made it up!
Alphabittle: Hey! There’s still a little bit of the father-daughter day left. (Cut to her; he continues o.s.) What would you like to do?
(Her face brightens after a moment’s thought. Cut to an overhead shot of the abandoned transit station to which Zipp led Sunny and Izzy in A New Generation. It has been cleaned up and put in much better order than it was before, with proper lighting, and the jury-rigged fan setup Zipp used to simulate flight has been cleared away. She and Sunny guide Elderflower down the main ramp at the end of the hall with the departure/arrival board; Elderflower has something floating in her field. From here, cut to floor level.)
Zipp: This way, Elderflower. We want to show you something.
(This shot picks out the unicorn’s cutie mark in detail: three flower blooms with blue petals and yellow centers. They descend the ramp; the objects under her control are shopping bags.)
Elderflower: Show me something? (setting them on a bench) Well, then, let me put on these new glasses.
(A pair is magically extracted and settled on her nose—black/silver frames shaped somewhat like an American football, with violet-tinted lenses.)
Elderflower: I went with the classic design. Super-hip. Speaking of hips, I gotta stretch.
(She goes to it with a series of limbering-up exercises that work seemingly every bone and joint in her body.)
Zipp: Wow, she is spry! And chatty.
Elderflower: (still at it) Once I attended a super-fancy, sparkly wedding. But all the ponies kept changing shapes and I almost threw out my hip. Ha!
Sunny: (to Zipp) If we’re hoping to learn something, this has to be the place for it! (Elderflower slides over to them, now finished.)
Elderflower: (propping glasses on forehead) Now, let’s see. (Gasp.)
(Cut to a long shot of the stained-glass windows at the opposite end of the hall—Pegasus and Unicorn Crystals in the left and right panes, respectively, each accompanied by a member of its race, and a horizontal top pane showing Twilight’s cutie mark. The pegasus’ wings and the unicorn’s horn glow; in addition, the Unicorn Crystal piece, which had been found smashed out in A New Generation, has been fitted back into its window. The central vertical portion is still open to the sky. Tilt down on the next line to bring the three mares into view, approaching the display.)
Elderflower: My, oh, my! This hangar is beautiful! It reminds me of when all these lands were united. (Zoom in on Sunny/Zipp as she finishes.)
Zipp: (relieved) Finally! Here we go.
Elderflower: (returning to benches, sitting on floor; Sunny/Zipp cross to her) A long time ago, there was a magical bat named Dawn. She was surrounded by other bats like her—
(She floats her glasses up, along with a fork from one of her bags. The utensil is laid crossways on the bridge to form a rough likeness of a flying animal.)
Elderflower: (swooping it around) —but one of the bats refused to get along with the others. This bat wanted to fly around and eat all the fruit for herself! So Dawn spoke to a spider, who wove a beautiful web to keep the mean greedy bat away.
(Glasses and fork go back in the bags; cut to an utterly confounded Sunny and Zipp.)
Elderflower: (from o.s.) In the end, Dawn was able to protect their nest— (They trade smiles; back to Elderflower on the next words, getting really worked up.) —yet the greedy bat continues to this day to try to break the web! (calmly) Which is why some bats eat fruit and some bats eat insects.
(The two younger mares adopt facial expressions suggesting that a large bucket of sand has just been dumped into their mental gearboxes.)
Elderflower: That’s it.
Zipp: (forcing a grin) That was a beautiful tale!
Sunny: (ditto) Yes! Thank you for sharing your story with us.
(Elderflower nods serenely, stands up, and trots away an instant before Zipp lets go with a bone-rattling sigh of frustration.)
Zipp: It really was beautiful, but it held no clues!
Sunny: Hey, we tried. At least Elderflower has had a nice time here. (She has stopped facing the windows and is smiling gently.) She seems happy.
(Cut to behind the storyteller and tilt up slowly along the height of the stained-glass panes.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) And really, doing something like this for her? That’s a win in my book.
(Cut to a long overhead shot of the Marestream parked on a balcony of Zephyr Heights Palace. Sunny and Zipp are leading Elderflower, who once again has her shopping bags in telekinetic tow, toward the vehicle. Zoom in slowly and cut to them.)
Elderflower: Thank you so much for giving me the trip of a lifetime, fillies.
Sunny: We’re so glad we could.
Zipp: You deserve it.
Elderflower: It’s truly one to remember, especially since I got to see that new Together Tree. (The bags are set down.) So lovely.
Zipp: Uh, sorry. What?
Elderflower: (sputtering a bit, pointing off to one side) Yes, the Together Tree, over there.
(Pan quickly in that direction to a long shot of the garden in which the gang celebrated Misty’s cutie mark in “Cutie Blossom Bash.” The massive, blue-leaved tree they grew from one of Pipp’s saplings is impossible to miss as the object of Elderflower’s attention. Zoom in slowly on it.)
Elderflower: (from o.s.) Just like our beautiful Wishing Tree in Bridlewood.
Zipp: (from o.s.) What’s a Together Tree?
(Fade to white, then in to a scene of Maretime Bay and its surroundings including the Crystal Brighthouse, that looks as if it was assembled from construction paper. A mighty tree towers over the buildings, flowers gleaming among the branches and green roots snaking down through a cutaway view of the layers of earth. Zoom in slowly.)
Elderflower: (voice over) These trees are very powerful—
(Cut to Bridlewood depicted in a similar fashion, the blue roots of its Wishing Tree extending far underground. As Elderflower continues, the tree in the palace garden is shown likewise with off-white roots. Zoom in slowly on each of these.)
Elderflower: (voice over) —created only when ponies come together through true friendship.
(Tilt down into the earth; this set of roots growing to follow until they intertwine with those of the first two and form a heart. This takes on a pastel rainbow gleam and throws beams in all directions.)
Elderflower: (voice over) Together Trees communicate and connect magically to each other through their roots underground. They are our great protectors, and we in turn must protect them.
(The glow intensifies until the view fades to white, then in to the three mares.)
Sunny, Zipp: (Zipp flapping briefly) Whoa!
Zipp: Elderflower, thank you so much for teaching us that.
Elderflower: All in a day’s work, existing with the knowledge of my unicorn ancestors, especially Great-Great-Great-Great-Auntie Moondancer. (chuckling) She sure is a lot! (She cocks her head as if listening to an unseen speaker.) Quit your yapping! I hear you!
(To her credit, the look that Sunny throws to Zipp is one of only mild confusion. Cut to Alphabittle sitting in front of the counter in the Crystal Tea Room, with eyes closed and forelegs folded on the surface. Both of his armadillos stand nearby, and Misty hustles back and forth past all three on what is normally his side.)
Alphabittle: Ooh! I know I said I was a patient stallion— (Zoom out slightly; Misty is preparing tea.) —but I cannot wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve.
(He sneaks a quick peek on the end of this, but gets the lids back down just before she turns and sets a cup before him.)
Misty: Okay. Open your eyes. (He does so and regards the fresh beverage in close-up.)
Alphabittle: Tea? (chuckling, leaning down over it) Tea! (Laugh.)
Misty: (from o.s.) Not just any tea. (Cut to her; he straightens up.) A new blend, designed and crafted by me. Try it.
(The big stallion empties the cup in one slurp and sighs contentedly, smacking his lips.)
Alphabittle: Delicious! (pivoting slowly in seat) At first it has a bitterness, but then it softened into a warm, comforting cup.
Misty: My tea metaphor for you
Alphabittle: Awww…it’s like poetry! I am so grateful to get this second second chance with you. (patting her hoof) You’re home.
(Those two words mute her joy noticeably.)
Misty: Honestly, I still don’t really feel at home here. I’m not sure why.
Alphabittle: (smiling, standing up) I know just what to do. (walking off) Just need to make a little phone call.
(Cut to the upper portion of the Brighthouse and tilt down to frame these two approaching the front entrance. The hour is not long before sunset.)
Alphabittle: Ta-da-da! Get it? “Da-da”? (Chuckle.)
Misty: Huh? The Crystal Brighthouse?
(He is already moving toward the doors, so she hustles to pull even. Cut to them walking slowly through the shared bedroom; the sound of tiny animal squeaks brings her up short with a popeyed gasp. Before her stands what used to be the couch-lined common area, which has now been remade into sleeping quarters for her. A new bed stands by the window, set with pillows and some of her toys, and a set of bookshelves and a vanity counter with a butterfly-shaped mirror stand at walls lined with framed pictures. The whole is lit by an overhead fixture. Hitch, Izzy, and several critters have taken charge of bringing in boxes for unpacking, and Pipp flies one more into view with some difficulty. Zoom in slowly.)
Pipp: (thudding to floor with it) Hey! Sorry we don’t have everything unpacked yet. (grunting with exertion to move it a fraction) You have some heavy stuff! What’s in this?
(As soon as she undoes the flaps, she, Hitch, and Izzy get a big surprise in the form of Sparky poking his head out. The scaly little stowaway struggles to lift one of the several dumbbells that fill this box as Hitch and Pipp stare with visible bewilderment.)
Hitch: Sparky, put those down! You’ll stub a claw!
(Close-up of the would-be weightlifter on this last; he grumbles petulantly, gets the dumbbell taken from his grip by Izzy, and tips the box over to dump himself out on the floor. A tiny gobbet of fire is spat over the piece of exercise equipment, turning it into a trio of bright red balloons that float away.)
Misty: What is all this?
Alphabittle: I reached out to your pals about living here. They’d love for you to stay, if that’s what you want.
Misty: (overjoyed) Really?
(Nods from the three-pony-and-one-dragon moving crew are all the prompting she needs to leap onto the bed with a bubbly laugh and start bouncing.)
Misty: I do! (Pan to a stricken Hitch on the following.)
Hitch: I just made the bed! (calming down, chuckling) Whatever. (Misty crosses to Alphabittle.)
Alphabittle: You don’t have to live with me in Bridlewood. (sitting) You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. (His perspective, gripping her shoulders.) You’re a grown pony now… (caressing her cheek) …not my baby filly.
(Back to him, eyes shining with clearest pride.)
Hitch: (voice trembling) And…that’s okay. (Sigh; he gets himself under control.) Just…promise you’ll call me every week. Also, I filled the fridge downstairs with healthy meals. (touching her shoulder) Oh, and you were so good at making that tea, I left you a giant box full of dried herbs and flowers so you can make your own blends at home.
(On this last, the camera cuts to a close-up of said box and zooms out to frame Pipp alongside, straining mightily to push a small iron chest across the floor. The box is easily big enough for her to stand in without touching any side.)
Pipp: (shakily) Um, fun!
Alphabittle: (to Misty, voice trembling) I’m gonna miss you so much.
Misty: I’m gonna miss you too, Dad. (They embrace.)
Alphabittle: (confidently, to himself) Still got it. (They are swiftly mobbed by the others, including Sparky.)
Hitch, Izzy: Awww.
Pipp: Now we want in too!
(Cut to the Marestream tearing through the late-afternoon sky, then to Elderflower with her head out a window on the start of the next line.)
Elderflower: North wind, how I’ve missed you!
(Inside the cabin; her purchases are scattered on the seats around Sunny and balanced atop their backrests.)
Elderflower: (closing window, sitting) You know, there’s a story about when the north wind went up against the south wind in a big dance-off that turned into a tornado?
(Zipp smiles from her spot at the controls in the cockpit. She is wearing her sunglasses.)
Zipp: (raising/lowering them) Hm? Dance-off? Sounds like some story.
(Cut to the exterior of the Marestream as she finishes; it starts its final descent toward the Brighthouse. The view dissolves to an overhead shot of the front lawn, the Marestream parked on its patio and its pilot and passengers on their way in. Ground-level view of them during Zipp’s next words; she has removed her shades.)
Zipp: Is there some deep hidden message to decode in this one?
Elderflower: There’s always messages in the wind, dear. If you fly directly into it on a Thursday, you’ll see what I mean.
(The pegasus smiles to herself, having gained a new appreciation for the past and the lessons it can teach. Dissolve to an overhead shot of the side patio of the Brighthouse, last seen in “Hoof Done It?” Five ponies have gathered for refreshments at the table under the glass awning—Alphabittle and Misty on one side, Hitch/Izzy/Pipp on the other. Zoom in slowly as Pipp goofs around with her phone and the others laugh, then cut to the table itself: now Sparky is seen sitting by Hitch and dozing off. Behind them, a door opens so Sunny, Zipp, and Elderflower can join them.)
Izzy: You’re back!
Hitch: Hey, pals!
Pipp: We missed you!
Sunny: Yay! Misty’s here!
Zipp: Hi, Alphabittle! You’ll never believe what we learned! (Cut to Elderflower as she continues.) Elderflower, would you like to do the honors? (Zoom in slowly.)
Elderflower: (ominously) It all starts with a magical bat—
(Up come her new glasses and fork to serve as a stand-in for it, as when she told the tale in the station or hangar earlier. Sunny cuts her off, prompting her to drop the items and throw a dirty look.)
Sunny: I-I think she means the other one.
Elderflower: (instantly brightening) Oh! (Chuckle.) The Together Trees. Well…
(Long shot of the gathering, seen from one side of the patio and tilting down slowly. As she speaks, the view dissolves to a slow zoom in on the tree in the garden of Zephyr Heights Palace, now showing one bright spot of light among the blue leaves.)
Elderflower: …they’re all magically connected.
(In close-up, the source turns out to be a tightly furled bud among the foliage. As the zoom continues, it opens into a flower with broad, vivid pink petals. Fade to black.)
MANE SMELODY
Written by Dave Horwitz
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Prologue
(Opening shot: a stretch of treetops in Bridlewood during the day. Tilt down to follow a twittering bird toward ground level, where Pipp Petals is walking a path with a basket slung on her back.)
Pipp: (singing) A-foraging I will go, oh, oh
(Two bunny-corns react with mild puzzlement.)
A-schmoraging I will go, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
(She drops her load and scoops up a stray blossom.)
Pipp: Ooh, great lighting!
(It goes into the basket, which she snags on one foreleg while deploying her cell phone in the other; the bird and bunny-corns cluster around her.)
Pipp: Nature selfie!
(An instant after she snaps the picture and puts the phone away, one rear hoof comes down on a patch of yellow thistle-like flowers growing through a crack in the paving stones, throwing her off balance.)
Pipp: Ow!
(Down she goes with a pained moan, scattering blooms and critters everywhere. She pops upright, shrieking out her dismay over having her hard work ruined, and flops to her haunches on the next line. The hoof that touched the flowers now sports a mirror-like shine, but she does not immediately notice.)
Pipp: My natural beauty forage haul! (glaring at flowers) Sheesh! Watch where you’re going, plants! (petulantly, grunting) That really hurts!
(Now she gets a good look at the affected hoof. Cut to a close-up of it during the next line, presenting her reflection in crisp detail.)
Pipp: What the hay? That ink thistle shined my hoof so bright, I can see my own reflection! (Gasp; pull out phone and tap away.) My plant finder app didn’t tell me it could do that!
(The electronics are quickly swapped for a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses, which she takes off after a moment to gesture at the formerly offending flora.)
Pipp: This gives me an idea!
(They are put away as she stands up with an exuberant laugh; giant images of herself striking poses, a bottle of polish set with her cutie mark, and an applicator brush appear behind her.)
Pipp: Whoa, mama! I think my future’s gonna be bright! (The lot disappears in a blink.) I never say “mama.” Now I know this is a good idea!
(A yellowish fume begins to drift up from ground level, upon getting a lungful, she makes a noise of disgust and covers her nose. A longer shot reveals that the smell is issuing from her polished hoof as she lets herself breathe freely again.)
Pipp: Huh. (Laugh; she stands up.) Little fragrant— (giddily, raising that hind leg) —but look at that shine!
(She walks off, leaving one bunny-corn to cough and gag once the vapors reach it. Snap to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to the exterior of Mane Melody, seen from across Mane Street in Maretime Bay. Zoom in slowly and cut to Jazz Hooves at one of the mirrors inside, spraying her mane. One of the front doors swings open to admit Pipp, once again carrying her basket.)
Pipp: Jazz, look! (She drops it and holds up a sprig of ink thistles.) To spruce up the place.
(She rolls the R in “spruce,” showing that all four hooves are now polished up. Jazz takes the proffered blooms.)
Jazz: Oh, these are— (A good whiff forces her to suppress a gag reflex.) —nice! They’re nice! What’s the occasion?
Pipp: Let me answer that question with a question. (holding out a foreleg) Ever seen hooves this shiny?
(Cut to Jazz on the end of this, leaning in for a closer look as the fumes drift up.)
Jazz: My, that is bright! You could power a lighthouse with that shimmer! (She fights back an urge to vomit; cut to a giggling Pipp.)
Pipp: (circling around Jazz) And it’s all because of this perfect plant I plucked!
(Close-up of the manicurist, who forces herself to grin over the noxious blooms.)
Pipp: (from o.s.) It’s a miracle beauty discovery cropping up all over Bridlewood Forest!
(Cut to both again on the end of this.)
Jazz: (putting ink thistles in a cabinet) This has potential, which is great—(losing steam) —because our sales have been dropping ever since our last failed promotion.
(Zoom in quickly on one eye and cut to just outside the salon as a screaming mare bursts out. Her face is slathered with multicolored goop that has what appear to be candy sprinkles studded into it. Several winged rats flit toward her to nibble at the stuff.)
Mare 1: Get it off! GET IT OFF!!
(Zoom in quickly on her screaming mouth until the screen is entirely black, then out to frame a chastened Pipp.)
Pipp: Huh. Maybe using actual ice cream as a face mask treatment wasn’t that great of an idea.
Jazz: Yeah, no. It wasn’t. (Pipp giggles.) But those shiny hooves could redeem us. Let’s test it out! (She and Pipp let their eyes rove through the room.) Who will be our guinea-pony?
(Cut to a longer shot of them on this last sentence, framing Zipp Storm in the fore. Wearing all of her detective gear, including her visor and badge, she sits on the red carpet running the length of the shop and consults her FlyPad. Throwing huge smiles to each other, Pipp and Jazz whip across the room to the white pegasus and accost her as she heads for the doors, visor up and FlyPad put away.)
Pipp: Zipp! (Who gasps and stops.) It’s your lucky day! You are the recipient of a free luxury hooficure treatment! (Giggle; Jazz holds up the ink thistles.) We can’t wait to know what you think of this great shiny find I came across!
(Close-up of Zipp, who regards the sprig through slitted eyes as the fumes drift up.)
Pipp: (from o.s.) Ink thistle! (Zipp struggles not to bolt.)
Jazz: You okay?
Zipp: (gagging, staggering to doors) Uh, yeah! That was from something else. Can’t do the hoof thing. I’m busy. (Kick one open.) Gotta run! (Cut to Pipp on the next line.)
Pipp: Uh, busy with what?
Zipp: Investigating! Bye!
(She bails out, the door slamming behind her; outside, she gallops a few yards away to get well clear of the stench, then makes a sound of clear disgust and takes a deep breath. Behind her, Sunny Starscout walks unnoticed toward Mane Melody.)
Zipp: That stuff stinks!
(Repeating her non-verbal appraisal, she lifts off; cut to just inside as Sunny enters, setting off the electronic door chime. Pipp flies to her.)
Pipp: Sunny! Lucky you! (ushering her onto a front bench; Jazz brings ink thistles to them) You get to be the first pony to try our new all-natural luxury hooficure treatment!
Sunny: I do? (Excited squeal.) Okay!
(The scent hits her hard enough to leave her gagging, holding her breath, and trying to keep her breakfast down.)
Pipp: Sooooo…what do you think?
(Another sniff puts the earth pony even closer to explosively redecorating the place. Zoom in slowly as she ventures a cough and does her very best to smile over bulging cheeks. From here, cut to the building exterior and zoom in slowly, then to the three mares on the next line. The plants have been set aside, and the fumes have dissipated.)
Pipp: Don’t worry, Sunny. I know this ink thistle plant itself has a little bit of a…funky aroma at first, but the incredible hoof cream I’ve made out of it is scentless.
(On the second half of his sentence, cut to frame two bottles of said product on a shelf, styled as in the prologue, and zoom out as she removes one to show it off.)
Pipp: (passing it t Jazz) The perfect luxurious touch for those seeking a top-notch hooficure with lasting shine!
(As soon as the latter mare pulls the stopper and the applicator brush attached to it, a fresh burst of the reek hits her like a two-by-four upside the head. So much for that “scentless” claim, apparently.)
Jazz: (half-strangled) You’re right! It’s kind of nice!
(A dab to one of Sunny’s front hooves turns one portion gold but sends up the fumes.)
Sunny: Yep! Just, uh, super-pleasant!
Pipp: (giggling, hopping in place) I’m so excited to start selling these treatments!
(In her elation, she fails to notice Sunny’s inflated cheeks and Jazz’s quiet retch.)
Pipp: (composing herself) I must practice my sales pitch.
(Cut to the magical trying-on wall mirror; her throat-clearing is heard from o.s., and she bounds into view holding a fresh bottle.)
Pipp: Hello, my glamour ponies! (Zoom in slowly.) This special new treatment is guaranteed to make your hooves shine as bright as your sparkle!
(Cut to frame all three. All of Sunny’s hooves have now been polished; the open bottle sits on the floor, and Jazz risks a sniff from the applicator, immediately regrets her choice, and sticks it back where it came from.)
Pipp: Get it while you can. It’s a Mane Melody limited-time-only exclusive!
Jazz: (smiling broadly) Sounds great, Pipp! We’re gonna have so many sales! (to Sunny, whispering) Sorry it stinks, but you look great!
Sunny: I feel great— (holding out a front hoof) —and look at that shine! Ah!
(Her perspective of the appendage on these words, tilting up to the manicurist’s face as the fumes assault her nostrils anew. After the camera cuts to frame both again, Sunny hops off the bench and Jazz claps a hoof to her own mouth.)
Sunny: Good luck with the launch, and, um, m-maybe crack a window?
Jazz: (half-strangled) Good idea!
(She does so as Sunny departs, heaving to get some clean air into her lungs, then lounges on the bench as a placidly humming Pipp carries a bottle across the room. Jazz’s airy laugh is met by an acknowledging smile from the boss. Cut to a long shot of the Crystal Brighthouse, zooming in slowly, then to one corner of the map/photo-cluttered wall that forms part of the support for Zipp’s elevated bunk in the shared bedroom. Tilt down to a thick book resting at the end of the desk, then swivel to frame her working at her laptop with all her accessories off.)
Zipp: (groaning) There’s gotta be something else here!
(Ink thistle fumes waft into view, causing her to gag; cut to the source—a freshly arrived Sunny—then back to the pegasus sniffing and uncovering her nose.)
Zipp: Oh, no! She got to you? (She puts on her sunglasses.)
Sunny: (despondently) I just wanted to help. (holding up a hoof) And the smell kinda goes away— (It strikes; the thought dies on her tongue.) —or maybe I’m just used to it. Uh, w-what exactly are you doing? (The shades come off.)
Zipp: My leads have all run cold. (gesturing to book, propping chin on front hooves) I read that Alicorns book, like, a hundred times, and certain things still aren’t adding up about the past we’ve all been taught.
(She is referring to Alicorns of the Ancient World, the book Misty found in the library archives of Zephyr Heights Palace and gave to her during “The Manesquerade Ball.”)
Sunny: My dad always used to say, “The past is something we’ll never stop discovering.”
Zipp: (suddenly inspired) Sunny! That’s it! (Lift off; pace in midair.) Your dad was definitely on to something with his research, right? Do you have any old things that Argyle left lying around? (Land.) Stuff that might have a clue?
Sunny: (sadly) Well, we lost a lot when the lighthouse was destroyed. (brightening a bit) I do still have a few things, but I’ve gone through them a million times before.
Zipp: Buuut… (rapid fire, gesturing to each body part she names) …with fresh eyes and open hearts and minds and clear heads and the help of a master sleuth…
(She pulls her magical magnifying glass from beneath a wing and twirls it like a revolver, bringing Sunny around to a smile.)
Sunny: Okay, we can try. Maybe my dad would have liked that. (gesturing) I’ll go dig them up right now.
(The motion sends another wave of vexatious vapors toward Zipp, who dry-heaves and lets out a breath as Sunny walks off. Cut to an overhead shot of the area directly in front of Mane Melody, where a table has been set with flowers and a tiered display of bottled products. A hovering, humming Pipp makes adjustments to her phone, mounted on a tripod and facing the display. Zoom in slowly, then cut to the perspective through its camera, a steady stream of approval icons running up the right edge—a broadcast in progress. She whips into view and lands to gesture at the products.)
Pipp: Casual viewers and Pippsqueaks alike, have I got something great for you! (Cut to her, picking up a bottle.) It’s the special deluxe pampering you’ve been needing! (Whisk over to the phone.) Treat yourself. You deserve only the best, and we’ve got it here at Mane Melody!
(Back to the phone’s camera-eye view on this last.)
Pipp: (tucking bottle away, circling back to table) Guaranteed to make your hooves shine brighter than a Bridlewood crystal during the Lumi-Bloom.
(Zoom out slightly to show this video running on a phone, then cut to Jazz watching it in Mane Melody. Her hooves have now been polished.)
Jazz: Good thing ponies can’t smell through the phone.
(She grimaces at the touch-up. Cut to the open doorway of the storage closet in the Brighthouse and zoom in slowly.)
Sunny: (from inside, slightly muffled) There it is! Gimme a boost!
(Inside, she is standing on Zipp’s back and straining toward a piled-high box on the top shelf of a bookcase. The pegasus has stowed her magnifier. Cut to Sunny’s perspective, easing the container free.)
Sunny: Got it!
(Back to her; gravity gets its way and she plummets to the floor amid a shower of loose papers. A double yell floats up before the camera shifts to frame both of them sprawled out among the chaos. They take a moment to regain their senses, then sit up, Zipp with a scrap of parchment plastered across her forehead.)
Zipp: Probably coulda just flown up there. (She picks it off and eyes it.) What do you suppose it is?
(Close-up: one edge appears to be charred, and the remainder bears faint, hasty sketches to suggest geographical features on…)
Sunny: (from o.s.) A piece of a map?
(Both again; Zipp brings out her magnifier and applies it to the fragment.)
Zipp: Hmmm…all I can see is the word “scale”?
Sunny: Sometimes maps list distances for scale.
Zipp: Hmmm…I’m not sure.
Sunny: (picking up a sheet; Zipp stows her gear) Well, my dad and I used to sketch maps of imaginary places for fun all the time. (putting it down) It’s probably nothing.
Zipp: Maybe so, but a detective never fully abandons a clue. It might lead us somewhere.
Sunny: Where? It’s not just gonna fall into our laps.
(Cut to a close-up of a rolled document lying atop the bookcase as she finishes; it chooses this moment to roll off, stick in Zipp’s mane for an instant, then fall to the floor. Like the scrap, it too appears to have been partially singed.)
Zipp: (dryly, passing scrap to Sunny) Or it could be our heads.
(She presents the unrolled document, which proves to have one piece missing at its edge. Close-up of it as Sunny fills the gap; it is indeed a badly faded map, with Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark in the bottom right corner. Zipp’s gasp and triumphant laugh are heard.)
Sunny, Zipp: (from o.s.) Yes!
(Back to them, Sunny adding a quiet giggle.)
Act Two
(Cut to the exterior of Mane Melody and pan back along the block to frame a steadily growing line of prospective customers, the first of whom is Sweets. Inside, Pipp voices a squeal of anticipation; cut to a mildly concerned Jazz and then to both on the next line. The display table Pipp had used in her commercial has now been set up in the front corner, across from the bench on which Sunny got her hooves shined.)
Pipp: Jazz, I’ve got a great feeling about this, don’t you?
Jazz: (forcing a laugh/smile) Yes, definitely! Absolutely! It’s gonna be a spectacle!
(Cut briefly to Pipp on this last word, registering a degree of perplexity.)
Jazz: (catching herself) I mean, spectacular!
(They pull the doors open, setting off the chime, and ponies instantly begin to stream in.)
Sweets: I’m first!
Pipp: (holding up a bottle) Ponies, ponies! There’s plenty of deluxe to go around. Right, Jazz? (It is promptly taken from her.)
Jazz: Yes, of course! Everypony will get a treatment—if they want one. Totally optional, but… (She picks one up.) …you’d have to be, uh, ready to miss out on the best beauty treatment ever!
(Her words shift Pipp’s expression from content to confused and back. Cut to a trio of waiting ponies as she finishes; all smile and make their way to the goods.)
Pipp: That’s more like it. (to the crowd, hovering briefly) Okay, let’s break out that ink thistle and get this sparkle party started!
(The camera shifts to a few buyers on this last, who cheer and raise their bottles. Cut to the exterior of the Brighthouse, zooming in slowly, then to Sunny at a countertop inside. The completed map is laid out flat before her, held together with tape; she snaps a picture of it with her phone, and the camera shifts to frame her at the island in the kitchen. A sidestep brings her to Zipp’s book lying open so she can read, and the pegasus drops into view with all her detective equipment firmly in place. The map gets a quick visor scan.)
Zipp: Hmmm…
Sunny: Hmmm…
Sunny, Zipp: (Zipp lifting map) Hmmm…
Zipp: Are you seeing this?
Sunny: Yes! I-I mean, I think so…uh, wait. What do you see?
Zipp: A shimmer!
(Her visor perspective of the parchment on the end of this. A set of sights roves all over its surface as a gleam plays across it and part of a sketch appears on the upper portion, glowing white.)
Zipp: Could this be…a-a magical item?
(Cut to Sunny, who gets the eyewear slapped onto her own mug.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Look!
(The orange mare gasps in shock and trains her gaze on the map for a second, then backs off.)
Sunny: (spinning in place) These things are amazing! (Back to the map.)
Zipp: Well, yeah, but do you see it?
Sunny: Kinda, maybe. I don’t know. (removing visor) I-I think if we’re going to get to the bottom of this, we’ve gotta get out of here— (gesturing to window) —and get out there! Start asking some questions.
Zipp: Maybe you’re right, Sunny. And I know exactly where to start.
Sunny: Yay, field trip! (Zipp dons the visor.)
Zipp: Field research.
(Cut to the line outside Mane Melody, which has grown a fair bit in the meantime. A mare with newly polished hooves steps out to meet a similarly upgraded stallion who has his phone ready to record video. She raises one smelly foreleg for its camera and grins, but becomes visibly/audibly revolted in record time and gallops away. Inside, two mares voice their disgust at the vapors rising from their own gleaming hooves; behind them, a third—the one who got the ice cream facial in Act One—cries out and bolts. Up at one front corner, Jazz is finishing up with Windy at the bench as Posey inspects herself in the trying-on mirror.)
Posey: Ugh! I’ve never seen anything like this! (raising a treated, smelly hoof) Have you, bestie?
Windy: (squinching one eye shut) I actually can’t see anything like this! It’s too bright! (She puts on heart-shaped sunglasses.) My eyes!
Posey: Oh, I’ve never smelled anything like this. (smirking) I was lying when I said I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s just bright. But this? (She gets a nose full of Windy’s hoof.) Ugh! This is something else!
(Cut to/from the offending limb on this last, Posey heaving for breath as Jazz keeps herself from reacting. Now Posey glances across the room and registers surprise.)
Posey: Oh.
(Cut to the display table, ponies helping themselves as Pipp arcs overhead.)
Posey: (from o.s.) Shh-shh-shh. (Back to her and Jazz; she smiles/waves as Pipp touches down.) Hi, Pipp.
Pipp: Hiya! Ooh, haven’t seen shines this bright since I made my own toothpaste. (To/from Windy’s hooves on this last.)
Windy: (forcing a grin) Thanks, Pipp. (Laugh; zoom out slowly.)
Pipp: No prob, Windy! (hopping in place, flaring wings) This is turning into Mane Melody’s biggest success! (flying off) What are we going to do with all of this success?!
Jazz: Yeah! The sweet… (She inhales the fumes from the polish, gags, and continues in a strangled tone.) …smell of success.
(Posey just stands there with a malicious little smile as Pipp wings across the salon and Jazz switches on a fan set up in an open window.)
Jazz: (sighing with relief) Phew!
(Cut to the Marestream in flight above the cloud cover; Sunny and Zipp are in the cabin.)
Sunny: So… (Cut to them; Zipp has her shades on, her gear gone, and is at the controls.) …are you gonna tell me where we’re going?
Zipp: To Bridlewood.
Sunny: What’s there?
Zipp: The Breezie Night Market.
Sunny: (skeptically, holding up rolled map) You really think the Breezies can help us with this?
Zipp: Come on, Suns. There’s a lot of old mystical stuff there. Maybe they have, like, a map decoder or something. (as Sunny tucks the map away) And if not, I’ll buy you your favorite treat.
Sunny: (excitedly, rubbing front hooves together) Ooh! Triple-berry ice cream?
Zipp: Three scoops! Also, maybe they have some magical cure to make your hooves smell better.
Sunny: (needled, but smiling) Hey!
Zipp: Those things are ripe, buddy.
Sunny: (sighing; fumes rise from one hoof) You’re not wrong.
(Their laughter rings out as the Marestream arcs through the sky in a long shot. Cut to Pipp addressing three potential buyers at the display table in Mane Melody and pan across to Jazz polishing Toots’ hooves at the bench.)
Jazz: (to herself, forced cheerful tone) This is great for business, Jazz. (aloud) Oh! That’s gonna look wonderful! (The smell starts to rise.)
Toots: Yes! Yes. But I wanted to know, uh…well, it’s just that, uh…how do I say this? The odor—is that part of the package?
Jazz: (showing off a bottle) Everything that goes into this treatment, from the raw ingredients to the experience of sitting in that chair— (Close-up of her hoof lifting his; she continues o.s.) —to the beautiful shimmer, and yes— (Both again.) —even the— (recoiling briefly) —odor— (putting his hoof down) —is a part of a special and one-of-a-kind hooficure. You’ll be talking about this one for moons, I bet! Yep! (Shaky giggle.)
Toots: (to Windy, whispering) Does she not smell it?
Windy: (ditto) I’ve been wondering that all day! (aloud, sitting) My friends have to see this!
(By this point, she has removed her sunglasses. She brings out her phone and begins to record; cut to a close-up of one odor-emitting front hoof and the screen showing it, a couple of viewer-approval hearts floating up. Across the room, Pipp eagerly watches one customer take video of another’s polish job.)
Pipp: This is fantastic! (to the crowd; zoom out slowly) Tell your friends, please! (The subject of the video gags as Pipp hovers off the red carpet.) There’s plenty of Potions by Pipp to go around!
(Cut back to Jazz’s corner on this last, her face frozen in shock as Toots and Windy worriedly regard the end products of her ministrations. The pegasus voices a cross-eyed yell of disgust, which snaps the bandolier-clad mare back to reality.)
(In Bridlewood, the Marestream has parked next to the Wishing Tree. The hour has advanced to late afternoon or early evening. Bark and leaves and surrounding crystals glow warmly in the fading light, bright spots can be seen up and down among the foliage, and the ramp leading up to the open entrance into the Breezies’ Night Market—as seen in “Family Trees”—gleams invitingly. Zoom in slowly, then cut to a slow pan through the busy Market as Sunny and Zipp stroll the aisles; Zipp has removed her sunglasses. They approach the stall at which Sparky Sparkeroni found the fossilized dragon footprint that touched off his revival in Part Two of that episode. Its female Breezie proprietor blabbers a greeting.)
Sunny: (pulling out map) We’re trying to figure out how to read this map—well, we think it’s a map.
(The tiny flyer begins to scrutinize the page, but the fumes from Sunny’s hooves draw a cry of distaste.)
Zipp: It’s not a map? (Another screech; she flies off; Zipp chuckles and addresses Sunny.) I think she’s also saying you, uh, stink.
(The earth pony bags the map during this last and throws her a slightly nasty sidewise look. Cut to some distance behind them as she turns away with a sigh; another Breezie, this one wearing a mushroom cap for a hat, hovers into view and stays back behind cover to listen in.)
Sunny: (as both walk off) Should we get that triple-berry ice cream now?
(The view shifts on this last to the tiny spy, who exclaims something and flies after them. Cut to the stage inside Mane Melody, where Dahlia is holding up one shined hoof so that Posey and Sprout Cloverleaf can shoot video footage of it with their phones. The camera zooms out to frame similar actions taking place up and down both sides of the room, accompanied by a buzz of conversation. Pipp and Jazz come into view on the next line, watching from their spot near the doors.)
Pipp: Jazz, are you seeing this?
Jazz: (slightly stunned) Yeah. I guess ponies really want to remember their time here.
Pipp: We’ll sell out of these treatments by the end of the week if this keeps up! (turning to display table) We’re hitting our stride! (Cut to Jazz.)
Jazz: Well, ponies did like our hooficures before. (To Pipp on the following.)
Pipp: (flaring wings) I know, but not like this! The word of mouth is going to be incredible!
(Jazz’s smile runs away from her face in the time it takes a fresh wave of miasma to bulldoze its way up her nose. She shudders audibly, coughs, and opens a window; turning back; she gasps upon finding that Posey has moved to face her straight on and put her phone away.)
Jazz: A little fresh air never hurt anypony. (Grin.)
Posey: (rolling eyes) Puh-lease. (pacing around her) You know what we all know. Whatever’s in that shiny hoof cream is stinky to the extreme! (waving a hoof; fumes rise) Our snouts are falling off over here!
Jazz: I don’t know whether to agree or be offended! (Pause.) Wait. (Posey smirks at her.) If you don’t like the hooficure treatment, why are you all filming it with your phones?
(Cut to the stage as she finishes, Dahlia nearly losing her lunch as Sprout laughs.)
Posey: (from o.s.) Oh. (Back to her.) That’s just the Mane Smelody Challenge. (To Jazz.)
Jazz: The what now? (To Posey on the following.)
Posey: It’s, like, the latest viral endurance test. If you can get through it without your eyes watering from the smell, you tag a friend and they have to do it.
Jazz: (with growing horror) So our newest hoof treatment is now a joke online?
Posey: Yeah, but it’s a really good one! (to Toots) Hey, show Jazz your phone. (He does so.)
Jazz: Oh!
(Onscreen, a colt sniffs at one of his own polished hooves and recoils as a friend laughs. Icons of sickened faces scroll up the edge.)
Colt: Oh, yuck!
Jazz: Oh, my. (She takes the phone from Toots for a better look.) It’s trending?!?
Pipp: (hovering into view) Whatcha looking at, Jazz? (Jazz sucks in a squealing gasp.) What are you gasping at? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.
Jazz: (backing frantically away) Yep, that’s it! I-It was one of those…ghost-hunting videos on YouHoof. I’m, uh…afraid! (Glance at screen and yell in fake terror.) G-G-G-Ghost!
(The device is flung out the window, bringing a panicked shout from Toots.)
Toots: (galloping out) My phone! (Sound of the doors slamming.)
Pipp: (giggling) You’re just like Hitch. What a scaredy cat.
(She flaps away, leaving the manicurist to heave a deep sigh and watch the latest bit of olfactory idiocy unfolding on the stage. Namely: two colts shoving polished hooves into one another’s faces and struggling not to flinch as a stallion records the whole thing. One of them gives in after a few seconds and gets heartily laughed at by the other two, causing Jazz to grimace.)
(Cut to a fruit stall in the Market; Sunny’s quiet sigh is heard from o.s., and the camera pans to stop on her and Zipp, seated on a bench with ice cream cones in hoof. Three scoops for Sunny, who also holds the map, and one for Zipp.)
Sunny: I guess no Breezie knows what this thing is.
(Brief close-up of it as she finishes, after which she sets it down.)
Sunny: Should we get out of here?
Zipp: (groaning) I hate leaving empty-hoofed.
Sunny (smiling, raising her cone) But not empty-stomached!
(She gives it a lick as the mushroom-capped Breezie flits into view from around a corner, carrying a small basket and announcing itself. It pulls into a hover inches from Sunny’s face.)
Sunny: Whoa! Hello!
(Set down on the wooden walkway; mumble to itself while rooting in the container; pull out a sizable heart-shaped ruby and fly it over to her. The stone is framed in gold and strung on a thin matching chain as a pendant.)
Sunny: No, I think there’s been a mistake. That’s not mine.
(It speaks animatedly at some length as Zipp works on her own ice cream.)
Sunny: (to Zipp) What is she saying? It seems serious.
Zipp: (pulling out FlyPad) Wait! I think I can translate this with my new app!
(The voice recorder is up and running onscreen; the little visitor delivers the whole spiel again, followed by a mechanical male voice from the phone. This particular camera angle reveals a hinge set into the lower left portion of the frame, indicating that the pendant is actually a locket.)
Phone voice: It has long been waiting for a special pony. A hopeful pony. I believe that you are the one.
Sunny: Me?
Zipp: That’s kind of strange. (The Breezie speaks again.) But weirdly flattering. This is awesome! What a cool color! And it looks old too!
(Close-up of the locket on the end of this as it is laid on Sunny’s hoof.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Really old. (Back to the pair.)
Sunny: It’s lovely! Thank you so much!
(More speech from the miniature courier, which Zipp’s FlyPad records and translates as before.)
Phone voice: Remember, nopony is alone who has friends. (The basket is picked up…) I bid you adieu. (…and carried away; Zipp stashes the rig.)
Sunny: Did that just happen, or am I dreaming? Uh, what do you think she meant by “the one”?
Zipp: I have no idea, but it looks like mysteries are cropping up all over the place. We gotta start solving some of ’em.
(Sunny’s perspective of the locket again. From this distance and angle, the exposed side can be seen to have facets that slope gently upward from edge to center, where they converge at a flat one cut as a small heart.)
Sunny: Hmmm…
(Dissolve to it hanging around her neck and zoom out to frame both mares on the move, having finished off their treats. The map has been put away.)
Sunny: Okay. The clue hunt continues.
Zipp: Back to the Brighthouse?
Sunny: I just have to investigate one quick thing first. (She gallops away.)
Zipp: Hmmm?
(A confused stare after her gives way to a chuckle; cut to Sunny picking up a fresh triple-scoop cone.)
Sunny: What? Ice cream helps me think.
(Tongue quickly makes contact with frozen sweet stuff. Cut to a long shot of Opaline Arcana’s castle, zooming in slowly, then to a long overhead shot of her occupying the seat of power in the throne room. She ponders her image in a hoof-held mirror as Misty approaches, her cutie mark hidden by makeup. Cut to floor level after a moment; the boss flicks her mane petulantly.)
Opaline: I haven’t seen you all day! (setting mirror aside) What wing of the lair were you in?
Misty: The entertainment…uh, quarters?
Opaline: Next time let me know. I was trotting from room to room looking. (Cut to Misty.)
Misty: I must not have heard. Sorry.
Opaline: (from o.s.) Ugh! (Both again.) Moving on!
(The fake flunky sits and gets ready to take notes on her phone.)
Opaline: We’ve suffered some setbacks, losing those ponies before I took possession of their cutie marks. But I’ve been hard at work on my new scheme. (A thought occurs to her.) Wait just one second. You said you were in the entertainment quarters?
Misty: (very hesitantly) Yes?
Opaline: The east entertainment quarters, or the west entertainment quarters?
Misty: East?
Opaline: That makes sense. (Misty cranks off a quiet, profoundly relieved sigh.) The west one is where I’ve been keeping all the spiders. We’ve got to clean that out. (Long overhead shot; zoom out slowly.) Add it to the list.
(Misty resumes her note-taking.)
Act Three
(Outside Mane Melody, the line of customers has not abated one whit. During the next line, pan to its head, where a mare is filming herself with her phone.)
Mare 2: About to do the MSC—Mane Smelody Challenge.
(Cut to her phone’s camera view on the next line.)
Mare 2: My friend Sugar Moonlight tagged me. I’m next.
(Inside, two stallions are laughing heartily over the phone held by one of them.)
Pipp: Hey, glam-ponies! (They fall quiet; wings flare as she continues.) Thanks for making today the best day in the history of our little singing salon! (Deep breath.) Success smells great!
(Lifting off, she bursts out through a side door and thus completely misses the tide of raucous, mocking laughter that washes over the room. Posey brings out her phone, on which a close-up of a pale pink mare with blue-green mane/brows/eyes is displayed. This is Shutter Snap, who speaks with a heavy New York accent.)
Shutter: What’s up, trend watchers?
(The camera shifts to frame the yellow mare head-on, leaving the screen out of view, as Jazz eases closer with clear trepidation.)
Voice of Shutter: I’m Shutter Snap.
(The screen again; she steps aside to give a clear view of the queue outside the salon. Her next words are accompanied by a brief cut to the upper story of the building and tilt down, then back to her.)
Shutter: Today in trends, everypony in Maretime Bay is lining up at our very own Princess Pipp’s salon to do the Mane Smelody Challenge. (A stallion who has already done it waves from behind her.) Can you stand the stink?
(The reek drifting from his hoof puts both of them within an ace of blowing chunks; now Pipp returns from her side trip.)
Pipp: Hey! (Posey hastily lowers her phone.) Whatcha watching?
(In a frantic burst of inspiration, Jazz snatches the device and hurls it aside, bringing an affronted gasp from Posey. Close-up of a trash can in one corner as it clatters in.)
Posey: (from o.s.) Hey! (Back to Pipp.)
Pipp: (to Jazz) Why did you just trash Posey’s phone?
Jazz: (thinking fast) Um…everypony should focus on the Zen of the treatment when they’re here. Phones are a distraction!
(It takes the Princess a moment to make sense of this, but she smiles and walks away. Jazz sighs heavily, retrieves the phone from the garbage, and offers it to Posey; the latter snatches it away with an offended huff and exits.)
Jazz: (sighing, to herself, seeing Pipp serve a customer) Why can’t I just tell her the truth?
(Cut to the sign above the front entrance to Hitch Trailblazer’s office and tilt down to street level and the open doors. A winding path of yellow traffic cones has been laid out, the camera veering/zooming in quickly along its length toward the Sheriff standing inside. Sparky is next to him, wearing a crash helmet.)
Hitch: Speed run! How fast can you get out of the station? Like we practiced.
(The dragon claps the side of his headwear and gets a pat from Hitch.)
Hitch: You can never be too safe, my tiny buddy. (Foreleg up; Sparky tenses for a quick start.) Aaaand…go!
(The limb is swung forward in the same instant, and Sparky starts running for the exit—and knocking over every cone he can reach along the way. Hitch takes his time following, with an indulgent smile.)
Hitch: Typical Sparky. (picking up a cone) Why even put the cones down, Hitch, you silly safety stickler?
(He tosses it aside as Zipp steps into view facing him.)
Hitch: Hey!
(Camera shift; Sunny is here as well, having dispatched the second ice cream cone she got at the Market in Act Two.)
Hitch: You’re just in time to see Sparky fail his safety drill with flying colors! (Sparky scrambles by on the street.)
Zipp: Yeah. Why even put down the cones?
Hitch: That’s what I said. So, what’s new?
Sunny: We’re investigating a mystery— (detaching her ruby from its chain, holding it up) —and we found another mystery! A Breezie just randomly gave me this ancient locket. Cool, huh?
(A close-up of it during this line shows the faceted side, the light hitting it in such a way as to reveal a new detail. Three fissures run along from edge to center, along the seams joining the facets, dividing the entire surface roughly into thirds, and appear too neat and straight to be the result of cracking or damage. Back to Sunny and Hitch after she finishes speaking.)
Hitch: Very cool. But what does it do?
Sunny: No idea. It’s just pretty, I think. (thoughtfully; zoom in on her) It’s more about what the Breezie said. “Nopony is alone who has friends.”
Hitch: Hmmm…
Zipp: (from o.s.) Hitch! (Cut to frame her standing at the front desk.) You’re great at puzzles. (He crosses to her; slow pan.) What do you think these are? (She lays out the map.) We think they might be pieces of the map.
(Zoom out slowly from the desk as both lean over it.)
Hitch: Huh. Nothing I recognize (as both turn from it) But I can look through the old station archives to see if it looks like any of the maps in there. (All three again; Sunny has reattached the ruby to its chain.)
Sunny: Let us know, would you? /Thanks, Hitch. (She and Zipp exit.)
Hitch: You betcha! And if you see Sparky outside, would you tell him to scoot his boot on in here?
Zipp: (calling over her shoulder) We will!
(Something yellow and green flashes past the mares and into the station, leaping up to tackle Hitch to the floor. The hapless law officer has time for one yell, which turns into a laugh when he lands on his back and sees just what has taken him down. Held in his forelegs is Sparky, now wearing a stack of three cones on his head. Framed from behind, he is lowered on to Hitch’s belly; ripples of light begin to flow along the scaly back, the camera cutting to a close-up of these.)
Hitch: (from o.s.) That’s new. (Both again.) What’s up with your scales, buddy?
(Head-on shot of the youngster on this last; he coos as the effect spreads to the rest of his body. The map briefly exhibits it as well, much as when Zipp scanned it with her visor in Act Two; now, though, features appear across its entire surface. Cut to Opaline and Misty in the throne room of the former’s castle, standing before an image of the Unity Crystals that the floor pool is conjuring up. As Opaline speaks her first sentence, the camera shifts to frame the Crystals in close-up; they drift apart and are replaced by the silhouette of a somnolent dragon.)
Opaline: And the entire time, magic was absent from our realms. (Back to her.) The dragons have been slumbering in a deep, deep hibernation.
(The silhouette again, the Crystals superimposing themselves and flaring white. The view clears to present the figures of many such creatures large and small, all with glowing eyes. On the second half of the next line, cut briefly to Opaline and Misty, then to the spectral figures being replaced by one that is a remarkably good match for Sparky in size and general contours.)
Opaline: (from o.s.) But now that magic has returned, the dragons are awake—as is evident by that baby dragon’s mere existence.
(The two mares again, Misty swallowing her nerves with some effort as the camera pans slowly away from Opaline and shifts to frame a set of schematics projected by the pool. Seen from behind, these include the Dragon Stone she found in Chapter Four, the mountain on which it rested, and a reduced-scale image of a dragon footprint. Zoom out slowly.)
Opaline: And my brilliant scheme culminates in an infiltration of the Dragon Land [sic] to enchant them and possess them for my own devious uses.
(Misty disposes of her phone, stands, and turns to face the head honcho.)
Misty: Uh, okay. I-If that’s all—
Opaline: It is.
Misty: (hastily, backing away) I just remembered, I have to get more intel for you! Lots of good info to be shared—I mean, had! (She races out.)
Opaline: (calling after her, as doors slam shut) Well, don’t be long! There’s evil hoof-notes and pie charts to go over!
(Outside in the corridor, the unicorn pauses to catch her breath and then gallops like mad. Cut to the line outside Mane Melody, with Izzy Moonbow now at its head; across the street, a mare shows a phone video to her friend, who laughs. The crafting ace darts in as soon as the latest customer emerges; inside, she throws the doors open to set off their chime and steps cheerfully past Jazz at the front bench. The earth pony keeps her voice down for her next two lines.)
Izzy: Pipp! I’m here to— (She gets a dose of airborne foulness.) Ooh! Sheesh-a-roo! Why does this whole salon smell like stink thistle?
Jazz: Hey, hey, listen! Izzy!
Izzy: Wassup?!
Jazz: Shhh! Pipp’s in the back, so I’ll just say this now. This stuff Pipp foraged shines hooves like you wouldn’t believe, but the smell is—
Izzy: Stiiinky! That’s why it’s called stink thistle.
Jazz: (normal volume) You know it?
Izzy: (nodding) Mmm-hmm. Pipp has foraged the stinkiest plant in all of Bridlewood. If a pony spends a long time exposed to it, she can become used to it. (Close-up of Jazz.)
Jazz: That’s why Pipp can’t tell!
Izzy: (from o.s.) Yeah. (Both again.) Unicorns mostly stay away from it because it is so stink-errific! (She paces a bit.)
Jazz: You mean, I’ve gotten used to it too? And it’s actually stinkier than even I can tell?
(She stares at a salon full of laughing, reeking, video-taking clients; zoom out slowly.)
Jazz: These poor customers! (Back to her, anguish creeping in.) Why didn’t I say something sooner?
(One screen catches a stallion bringing an overripe hoof up to his face and aiming a puzzled glance at it.)
Stallion 1: Hm?
(He grimaces an instant before he device is lowered to frame Izzy and Jazz up front, the latter sitting on the bench.)
Jazz: Izzy, it all makes sense now! But I still feel nervous to tell Pipp the truth! She’s worked so hard on her beauty line!
(Cut briefly to a slow zoom in on the display table on this last, then back to her.)
Jazz: What if I tell her and ruin it?
Izzy: You’ve got to!
Jazz: Just knowing how bad it smells would crush her— (as two more ponies walk in) —but knowing that everypony is here for a viral challenge? It would destroy her!
Izzy: Jazz, if you were part of a viral craze that made you the butt of somepony else’s joke, wouldn’t you want to know? (Long pause.)
Jazz: (heavily) Yes.
(Cut to a long shot of the Brighthouse and zoom in slowly; at this distance, Misty is visible only a tiny blue dot closing in on the front entrance. Inside, Sunny and Zipp are seated at a table near the fireplace at the back of the entrance hall, ready to study the ruby from Sunny’s locket which has been taken off its chain. The doors fly open and Misty barges in, stopping to heave for breath at the threshold.)
Sunny: (cheerfully) Misty! (She clips the ruby on again.)
Zipp: Check out this old locket!
Misty: Opaline…dragons…awake…magic!
Sunny: Get her some water! (She and Zipp dart to her from their seats, Zipp flying.)
Zipp: Get her some room!
(They usher their frazzled friend over to the couch Sunny was using so she can seat herself.)
Sunny: Now, what is going on?
Misty: Opaline’s going to descend upon the Dragon Lands and enchant and possess them! For evil! And…and…so much more!
(Her eyes pop wide the instant she gets a load of the fumes emanating from Sunny’s hoof.)
Misty: Um, what’s that smell?
Sunny: (laughing lightly, patting Misty’s shoulder) Nothing! Just tell us everything.
Zipp: (picking up map) And we’ll tell you about what we found, too.
(Misty pulls in a gargantuan gasp upon seeing the faded lines, then smiles confidently.)
Misty: Hmmm!
(Back at Mane Melody, a mare laughs as her freshly polished hoof sets her friend to hacking for air, and both depart in good spirits to leave the place empty of customers.)
Pipp: (flying across, hovering by Jazz) That…was…wild! (landing) Oh, we gotta rest our hooves, girl!
Jazz: (forced casual tone) Yeah, we’ve had quite a day. So, listen, Pipper, Pippito, Pipperoo.
Pipp: Mmmm—you’ve never called me a nickname. What’s going on? You can be honest with me.
Jazz: Um…well…how to say this?
(The boss just blinks inquisitively as she clears her throat.)
Jazz: You foraged the worst-smelling plant in the entire forest and made it into an only slightly less smelly lotion.
Pipp: (stunned) I did?
Jazz: You did. (She sits, then brings out her phone as she continues.) And then all of our customers today? (Show a freeze frame of two to Pipp.) They turned the deluxe treatment into the Mane Smelody Challenge, because stink thistle smells so bad, being around it is like punishment for your nose!
(A tap plays the video; the mare who recorded herself at the start of this act laughs and gets her stallion companion to cringe away from her hoof.)
Stallion 2: Nasty!
Mare 2: Ew.
(He dodges away with a cry, only to double back for another lungful and whine. Cut to Pipp regarding the device through narrowed eyes; it is positioned so that the screen is out of view. Two new voices are heard now, a stallion and mare, the former groaning in discomfort. Zoom in slowly as the eyes widen in slowly growing comprehension.)
Voice of Mare 3: Oh, my hoofness, the smell!
Pipp: (flaring wings) Ohhhhh! Oh, no. Oh. (Gasp and smile.) Wow! Oh, that makes so much sense! (hovering, twirling in place) You and everypony were acting so funny today! (Jazz stands up.) And I was just used to the smell? Oh, this is bad. Oh!
(But she shifts into a bubbly giggle and touches down again.)
Jazz: Wait. So, you’re not mad?
Pipp: (giggling, flying to Jazz’s side, landing) It certainly doesn’t feel good to be the butt of an entire town’s joke, but…you know what does feel good? A friend you can be honest with. Friends should always feel safe and comfortable to tell each other the truth, even when it stinks.
Jazz: I’m sorry I kept this from you.
Pipp: It’s okay. (glancing at display table) Now, help me drastically slash these prices.
(She flies and Jazz walks over to the array of bottles.)
Pipp: For my next Potion by Pipp, I’ll…
Jazz: Keep it simple?
Pipp: I’ll stick to the classics. Oh! I love that for us.
(One front door flies open, setting off the chime, and Izzy bounds in with a basket under her horn-power.)
Izzy: Pipp, Pipp, Pipp, I found it! I found the elusive neutralizing ingredient!
(Taking a deep breath, she pulls her freight a bit closer to show a great many thistle heads protruding above the wicker—pink rather than yellow.)
Izzy: Pink thistle! (Float one and over to Pipp.) Fresh from Bridlewood! Give this a whiff. (Jazz does so and smiles.)
Jazz: Best smell I’ve ever smelled!
Pipp: (gasping, grabbing a bottle) This will keep the shine but erase the smell! And it’s all natural! Just like I wanted! Awww…Potions by Pipp is saved!
(In close-up, Jazz brings up her phone as Izzy repositions the pink thistle.)
Jazz: (to Pipp) Should I start the social media blast, or should you? (All three again; Pipp has pulled the stopper from her bottle and Izzy has set down her basket.)
Pipp: Let’s do it together—but with way less stink this time.
(The flower is gently shaken over the bottle to drop in a few glittery pollen grains. The three mares put their noses within striking distance and inflate their lungs.)
Izzy: (happily) Ah!
(All laugh as the camera cuts to the exterior of Mane Melody and zooms out slowly, the line of customers having dispersed at long last.)
NIGHTMARE ON MANE STREET
Written by Julia Mayfield
Executive producers: Olivier Dumont, Randi Yaffa, Cort Lane
Story editing by Gillian Berrow
Supervising direction by Will Lau
Directed by Randi Rodrigues
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Prologue
(Opening shot: snap to black after the “A Netflix Series” card, then fade in to a stretch of Mane Street in Maretime Bay in late afternoon. Banners hanging from the lampposts depict ghosts, bats, jack-o’-lanterns as an indication that Nightmare Night is close at hand. Zoom out and dissolve to the front entrance of Mane Melody, which has been decorated with pumpkins and baskets to either side of the doors and an arch of carved gourds framing them. The camera pans slowly across the display as the voice of Hitch Trailblazer asserts itself. On the next line, dissolve to Glory, Peach Fizz, and Seashell working on jack-o’-lanterns of their own. His first three lines below are amplified by a sound system.)
Voice of Hitch: (eerily) Nightmare Night is officially upon us!
(Another dissolve shifts the focus to the sign above the front entrance to his office, accented with a pair of bat wings. Zoom out quickly to frame him at a lectern out front, addressing a gathering through a microphone; Sparky Sparkeroni sits nearby. The building is also kitted out for the holiday; the same will be true for other areas of the town when they are seen. Behind him and to one side is a bulletin board on an easel, heavily plastered with notes, drawings, and cutouts.)
Hitch: (as above) Todayyyy!
(As he holds out the second syllable, cut briefly to the perplexed, murmuring crowd.)
Hitch: (normal tone) I mean… (eerily) …toniiiight!
(Sparky claps and throws in a vocalization that is a hair away from being a fully intelligible “Yeah!” Now the Sheriff moves aside to the board, at the center of which is a sketch of the community garden just downhill from the Crystal Brighthouse, loaded up with pumpkins. He consults a set of note cards and clears his throat as the camera zooms in slowly.)
Hitch: It’s the spookiest night of the year, and I’ve made sure tonight’s is going to be our most exciting celebration yet!
Onlooker: (to Sweets, standing beside her) Huh?
Hitch: Pipp helped me with this inspo-board, and we got something for everypony! (pointing out items) Trick-or-treating, costume contest, trick-or-treating while participating in a costume contest—wait, that was a typo. (Drop the notes.) Where was I? Oh, yes! (Close-up of the central picture; he continues o.s.) Pumpkin patches! (leaning into view) And my favorite…
(Close-up of a card showing a small, glittery gold pumpkin on this last; he snatches it away.)
Hitch: (holding it up; zoom in quickly) …our annual game to find the Golden Pumpkin! (expectantly) Eh?
(Dead, blank-eyed silence from the audience.)
Hitch: (to himself) Come on, Hitch! You’re losing them! (aloud, with a touch of desperation) Did I mention the winner will win a BIG MYSTERY PRIZE? (That gets them buzzing.)
Sweets: Okay, yes! Now this is what I’m talking about!
(Sparky gabbles his agreement and glances off to one side. Jazz Hooves and Rocky Riff are watching from the back of the crowd.)
Rocky: Big prize? I want that!
Jazz: So what do you think it is? A treasure trove of treats?
Rocky: A gourd dipped in gold?
Jazz: (touching his shoulder) Rocky, that’s basically what the Golden Pumpkin already is.
(Hooves stroke chins for a moment’s deep thought, and lightning strikes both minds at once.)
Jazz, Rocky: A treasure trove of treats dipped in gold!
Rocky: Betcha I can find it first.
Jazz: (singsong) Not if I’m the first one racing! (She prances away with a laugh.)
Rocky: Hey, wait, no fair!
(Wings get cranking to carry him after her; now Hitch is back at the lectern. His next three lines are amplified.)
Hitch: (amplified) All right, everypony! Have fun, stay safe, and make sure you check out every single event I’ve prepared!
(Cut to the again-apathetic crowd on this last, with Toots jumping into view at the rear.)
Toots: (mockingly) Why? Is there a prize for that too?
Hitch: Yes! The prize of a good time!
(Close-up of the tie-wearing stallion on the end of this, his face falling noticeably in disappointment. Long pause.)
Hitch: (sourly) Okay, fine. Town meeting adjourned.
(The ponies slowly and sullenly disperse in time with a burble from the now-o.s. Sparky; here he comes carrying the real-life counterpart of the Golden Pumpkin from the board. He sets it down and blabbers proudly as a suddenly worried Hitch hunches down to his level.)
Hitch: I know, Sparky! (He straightens up, holding it.) I forgot to hide the Golden Pumpkin!
(Snap to black.)
OPENING THEME
Act One
(Cut from the title card directly to a long shot of the huge tree that Sunny Starscout and company planted in “Growing Pains,” at the foot of the hill on which Canterlove Studios stands. Its vibrant green leaves and the blooms nestled among them all glow gently in the late daylight, as do the strings of lights on branches and trunk, and pumpkins of varying shapes and sizes are piled around the base. Sunny, Hitch, Izzy Moonbow, and Misty are gathered around these, a hovering Pipp Petals is adjusting one of several strings of small plastic pumpkins that ring the trunk, and Zipp Storm sits at a distance to fiddle with what appears to be a dark cape. Zoom in slowly and cut to Hitch/Misty; Sparky hops down off the stallion’s back and among the gourds, and Zipp stows her work and relieves Pipp so the pink pegasus can drop back to the street.)
Pipp: Sooo…what’s everypony’s Nightmare Night costume? I’ll start! I’m dressing up as a scary witch! Not a cute witch; Mom would never let us go full spooky at home, so I’m making up for it! (Zipp touches down.)
Zipp: And I’m gonna be a vampony! The awesome kind.
Misty: And I’m gonna be a magician! (She pulls out a small, butterfly-marked purple top hat and floats it onto her head.) Just a regular magician.
(Her next move is to produce and cuddle a stuffed toy bunny-corn.)
Other mares: Awww…
(During this entire exchange, Hitch pops up and down among the pumpkins at intervals with an occasional gasp or shout, carrying the Golden Pumpkin and looking for a good hiding place. After it ends, cut to a close-up of him.)
Izzy: (from o.s.) GOOD GOURDS! (He yells and nearly drops it; zoom out to frame her and all but Sunny.) That’s what I’m dressing up as.
(She brings out a long loop of vine strung with miniature pumpkins and squash.)
Izzy: My favorite gourds—because they’re all too precious to just pick one. And, Hitch, stop sneaking around and tell us what you’re gonna be.
(By this point, he has stood up and put the thing on his back, keeping his body angled to hide it from their view.)
Hitch: I’m gonna be a pirate with my trusty parrot Sparky!
(Pan quickly to follow his glance over to a row of pumpkins, from which Sparky leaps out with a cheerful half-word and leaps down to the roadbed. He is dressed in a red jumpsuit with yellow underbelly and multicolored feathers at the neck, which are repeated as a crest on a red eye mask with an attached beak that covers his nose. The dragon-turned-parrot dances merrily; on the next line, zoom out to frame all five mares watching and giggling over him. Misty has shed her hat and doll, and Izzy no longer holds her vine loop. The next three lines overlap.)
Sunny: (squealing) You’re the cutest parrot I’ve ever seen! (Pan away from them to Hitch.)
Pipp: Who’s a parrot? You’re a parrot. (now o.s.) Yeah, you are.
Izzy: (now o.s.) Oh, so cute!
(The babel of praise continues as the Golden Pumpkin is tossed to land neatly among the plethora of produce.)
Hitch: Phew!
(Here comes Sparky, followed closely by the rest of the crew. As he hops onto Hitch’s back, the gilded item suddenly becomes enveloped in a purple glow and disappears without trace. Sparky is the only one to notice, and he points and yammers frantically to get Hitch’s attention.)
Hitch: You’re really nailing this whole parrot thing! Great job, buddy!
(Three more pumpkins abruptly exit in like manner, but Hitch just laughs gently at Sparky’s attempt to point them out. Sunny and Zipp are not in view at this point, but a beeping alarm and a gasp from the former’s direction bring eyes around; zoom out to frame her looking at her cell phone with clear worry and Zipp now hovering. Behind them, more pumpkins go bye-bye.)
Sunny: We’re running out of time to get ready!
Pipp: Let’s go get spoo-kay!
(She adds a playful shriek as all depart. A stallion hauling a wagonload of fresh pumpkins pulls up at the tree, but finds only one left on the side he has approached.)
Delivery stallion: (scratching head) Hey! Where’d my pumpkins go?
(After he has trundled his load away, the singleton also winks out during a slow zoom in. Cut to an overhead shot of the community garden, now loaded up with pumpkins and other Nightmare Night trappings, and zoom in slowly. Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, and Misty are overseeing the visiting ponies from the elevated shelter at the rear edge; at ground level, Sugar Moonlight snaps a photo of herself among the new crops while Posey magically grows a pumpkin in a split-second and Sweets watches.)
Sweets: Ooh!
(Pan to follow Pipp as she flies to a tree at the perimeter, fluffs a bough, and comes in for a landing at the table up top. Sunny now has a small journal lying closed before her.)
Pipp: (drumming hooves excitedly) Sooo…what are everypony’s favorite Nightmare Night traditions? (Her perspective of Izzy/Zipp/Misty on the end of this.)
Izzy: Hmmm… (She opens her mouth to speak; cut abruptly back to Pipp.)
Pipp: I’ll start! Mom always said… (snooty accent, flicking mane) …“Princesses are sophisticated, not spooky.” (normal tone, setting a glitter-covered pumpkin on table) But I’ve been flexing my scary side ever since I got here!
(She marks these last words by giving it a half-turn to reveal a glowing ghost carved into the skin. The sight of it is enough to send Izzy into a screaming fit, make her throw aside the gourd she has procured, and hit the ground on her back with all four legs sticking straight up. She gets upright with a woozy moan and quickly joins in with the others’ good-natured laughter.)
Izzy: Wow, you really got me there! Ha! (Cut to Sunny and Pipp.)
Pipp: That’s the fear-fun factor! When you scream the loudest, then laugh the hardest. It’s my favorite!
Misty: (from o.s.) Wait. (Cut to her.) So you ponies like being scared?
Pipp: (rolling eyes) Uh, duh! (She pulls out a squeaking bat cut from foam rubber.) It’s what this holiday’s all about! (Toss it aside, followed by a pony-skeleton cutout as she continues.) And why I’m planning the super-detailed haunted house of my dreams! (catching herself) I mean, nightmares!
(She lifts off and hovers.)
Pipp: (gesturing to Brighthouse) I’m turning the Crystal Brighthouse into… (eerily) …the Crystal Frighthouse! (Back down to the table.)
Zipp: Nicely done.
Pipp: (normal tone) Thank you. I was working on that rhyme all week.
Izzy: I love this idea, Pipp! What can we do to help? (Gasp; then she shifts to her best raspy scary voice.) Should I peel a bowlful of grapes and say they’re eyeballs?
Misty: What else goes into a frighthouse?
Pipp: (flaring wings) It’s basically anything your spooky heart desires! And then, you make it your own. (To Izzy/Zipp/Pipp as she finishes.)
Izzy: Yeah, yeah, yeah! (picking up a string of lights) I always love to put up the weirdest, wildest lights display on the whole block!
Zipp: I have to build my super-complex Nightmare Maze! (To Sunny/Pipp on this last.)
Sunny: (picking up journal) And I must cook up a traditional spread of Nightmare Night food specialties!
Pipp: (gasping happily) Yes, yes, a million times yes!
(Misty draws a long gasp and giggles, having started to get the basic idea. Cut to the exterior of Mane Melody, tilting down from second story to first, then to Jazz and Rocky rooting through a box of costume parts inside. Items are swiftly flung out to join the ones already littering the floor, and a rack of outfits stands off to one side. Jazz holds a large, glittery, starred bow up over one temple and inspects herself in the nearest mirror.)
Jazz: As an earth pony, I have the clear edge to win. (trying on eyeglasses, then a crown) I’ve been playing this game since I was a filly. (This last item is stolen away by Rocky.)
Rocky: And as a newcomer… (shoving her aside, testing it out) …I have the clear edge. (trading it for a headband) I can look in all the places you wouldn’t think twice to.
(A couple of items are flung into view, including a ball that hits him upside the head. Cut to Jazz, now at the bench by the front doors; she has donned a short blue/magenta cape secured by an eighth-note brooch with matching foreleg bands, and she strips off and discards a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. A scepter rests on the bench.)
Jazz: (picking it up) Yes, but I’ll look thrice to the locations you’ll think twice to look—
Rocky: (from o.s.) See you at the finish—
(Cut to frame both on this line; he is now hovering and has done himself up as a rock star—headband, sunglasses, vest, studded bracelet on one foreleg, bandana tied around the other. Jazz has ditched the scepter.)
Rocky: —when you’re congratulating me on my prize! (He flies out; sound of a slamming door.)
Jazz: (stomping angrily) Hey, no fair!
(After a glare around the empty room, she scoops up a purple eye mask from the floor and claps it on. Outside, the camera tilts down from the bridge over Mane Street to frame Glory/Peach/Seashell laughing and playing in the middle of the road, then cuts to the pumpkin delivery stallion pulling his wagon past the tree outside Canterlove Studios. Now every last bit of produce has vanished from around the roots, a development that leaves him at a loss.)
Delivery stallion: Huh?
(Behind him, Posey inspects the tree while Sweets stands at a barrel of apples.)
Sweets: (lifting one) I’m gonna find me that Golden Pumpkin!
Posey: Not if I do first!
(Hustling across the pavement, they turn their attention to other portions of produce set up near the tree. Posey playfully whoops and throws a few leaves at Sweets from a basket; the tie-clad mare laughs and chases the yellow one away. Cut to an overhead shot of the area, marred by blurred edges and a few drifting sparks, and zoom out quickly. This image is playing above the pool in the throne room of Opaline Arcana’s castle, and she lets her own hearty laughter taper off into a sigh.)
Opaline: Enjoy your leaves now, you silly ponies, because…wait. (The image fills the screen; she continues o.s.) Why are they enjoying leaves? (Back to her.) Is this some weird gardening celebration?
(On these words, a pumpkin materializes in midair behind her and thumps to the floor. Cut to ground level, where many others like it have collected around the tree roots that form much of one wall. She stumbles against this one and goes down hard with a squawk, then sees all of them cluttering up the place.)
Opaline: (standing up, groaning) Has Misty been decorating again?
(Another pumpkin arrives in the same way, then another that forces her to leap away to avoid getting beaned.)
Opaline: Huh. (noticing something) Hmmm?
(She moves cautiously toward the Golden Pumpkin sitting amid the scatter and picks it up for a bit of study.)
Opaline: Hmmm.
(Setting it back down, she returns to the pool and is just in time to see a carved pumpkin wink out from the image; it poofs into being behind her and clunks down among all the others. This time, she turns her head in time to see its arrival.)
Opaline: If their silly pumpkins can go from there to here, then… (A brainstorm.) …I may have finally discovered a path into Maretime Bay! (smugly) One that Twilight never accounted for.
(She spreads her wings to full extension and uncorks a wild laugh, the camera cutting to a long shot of the castle and zooming out slowly as lightning rips the gloomy sky.)
Act Two
(Cut to Sunny at the island countertop in the kitchen of the Brighthouse. The area has been liberally decorated, including some of Izzy’s lights and a huge jack-o’-lantern panel covering the window, and she is sorting out apples as Pipp flies into view carrying a clipboard and pen.)
Pipp: (marking off an item) Kitchen prep for Nightmare Night treats, che-eck!
(She pulls up near the ramps leading to the upper portion of the building. The area around the fireplace has been cleared out and set with stone dungeon-wall sections, and Misty is rolling barrels into place. Up above, a fabric backdrop of a barren nighttime forest teeming with ghosts covers the walls.)
Pipp: Trotway transformed into a maze of shadows? (ticking a box) A-maze.
(On she goes to the storage closet door at the back of the entrance hall; it is shut.)
Pipp: (giddily) Basement door turned into…
(Snap to black on this line, which splits and widens to frame her opening the door—the camera is now on the other side from her. It shifts to her perspective, tilting slowly up from the floor to frame a wild profusion of piled-high junk, then back to her. A pause.)
Pipp: (slightly deflated, shrugging) …well, pretty much the same as it was before. (smiling, marking off) But it was pretty spooky then, so that is a ye-es!
(The blare of an alarm catches her off guard just before a small ghost with a glowing face hurtles out of the mass and into point-blank range. She screams as it arcs away and collides with a wall, falling behind a couple of barrels; up comes one of Zipp’s drones, sounding the alarm—it had been disguised with a sheet. Laughter is heard from the o.s. owner; pan to her, FlyPad in hoof, as it circles her head.)
Zipp: (dramatically) Introducing the Ponydrone from a Tombstone! (normal tone) ’Cause it looked like a ghost. Get it? (Pipp gasps softly and smiles.)
Pipp: Love it, leave it, make sure the sheet doesn’t reveal it.
(Over by the front entrance, Misty is standing on a barrel and hanging up spiderwebs while humming to herself. Once the job is done, she gets ready to hop down but finds one foreleg stuck to the strands.)
Misty: Oh! (Embarrassed laugh; try and fail to pull loose.) Ooh!
(She brings both forelegs to bear, strains for a long moment, and manages to yank away—only to lose her balance and go to the floor along with the barrel. A web strung at a lower level saves her from a hard landing, but she finds herself even more strongly caught.)
Misty: (voice raised) Um, a little help?
(Close-up of a madly cackling Izzy outside. On the next line, cut to a long shot of the front entrance to the Brighthouse and tilt down to frame her and Pipp on the heavily done-up law. The pegasus has done away with her clipboard and pen, and the unicorn sits with the ends of two electrical cords in her hooves.)
Izzy: (crazed) This’ll be the most excellent acorn light show Equestria has ever seen!
(The moment she plugs them together, the screen fills with a flash of white and clears to present a close-up of the two mares sitting and squinting toward their home. As Pipp speaks, they slowly recover their sight and Izzy grins broadly; the buzz of flowing current can be heard.)
Pipp: Mostly because they won’t be able to see anything else after. (standing, walking off) But still, great work!
(Not looking where she is going, she runs flat into a pumpkin-topped barrel, then tries to play it off by clearing her throat and continuing on her way. Cut to a close-up of a sign on display outside the community garden, showing a smiling ear of corn peeking out of its husk. Hitch is standing behind it, Sparky on the low stone wall surrounding the tract, and both bird members of the “squad” are snoozing amid a scatter of flyers for various events. Zoom out on the next line to frame McSnips-a-Lot holding up a flyer and Hitch himself, clad in a pirate’s plumed tricorne hat and ruffled shirt collar; he has also stuck on a small curled mustache.)
Hitch: Pin the Husk on the Corn Cob! Here it is! (spooky tone, hunching behind sign and peeking out) Your favorite Nightmare Night activity with… (normal tone) …no line!
(A deft half-turn brings up the other side: a pony in a witch’s costume under a full moon; this move reveals a cardboard sword strapped to one flank.)
Hitch: And here it is! Your costume contest sign-ups with not one, not two— (throwing flyers everywhere) —but twelve different sub-categories! (as Sparky holds up a sheet) All the rules are on this handy-dandy informational flyer… (deflating) …and no line for that activity either?
(He casts a bewildered look around himself before fixing on a certain direction.)
Hitch: Huh?
(Two ponies talking outside the garden find themselves accosted by the Sheriff-turned-barker, flyer in hoof.)
Hitch: Come on, ponies! You truly haven’t experienced Nightmare Night until you’ve experienced all of it! Plan your night!
(He passes the paper and peels out, but they give it only the briefest glance before walking off and tossing it to flutter into a waiting barrel. Inside the Brighthouse, Misty registers surprise and stops in her tracks while crossing the kitchen.)
Misty: Wow!
(Her perspective, panning across the room. The stove and countertops are piled with dishes and foodstuffs, more containers—some overflowing—rest on the floor amid a tangle of spiderwebs, and Sunny pulls a tray of small treats from the refrigerator with her teeth and sets down in a clear spot, kicking the door shut.)
Misty: You did an amazing job transforming the kitchen into a mad scientist’s lab, Sunny!
Sunny: (laughing a bit) Oh! Uh, actually, this is just how it normally looks when I cook.
(A pot on the stove chooses this moment to start boiling over and clattering its lid; she turns down the heat to get it under control.)
Misty: You look like you could use some help
Sunny: Oh, no, I’m an old pro at this.
(The pot begs to differ, launching its lid over her head to clang down on the end of Misty’s horn.)
Misty: Oh!
Sunny: (removing it) But I guess an extra set of hooves couldn’t hurt. (She moves the tray to the island countertop as Misty laughs.)
Misty: (levitating out a notepad and pencil) So, what are the Nightmare Night treats, anyways?
Sunny: Oh, just a few things. (Deep breath; rapid fire.) Apples for bobbing, caramel apples, apple spice smoothies—oh! Juggling apples, carving apples, apples to draw little spooky faces on… (Another monster inhale.) …fried apple spice donuts, baked apple cinnamon cobbler, frosted apple spice cakes, apple-flavored water, which is just like regular water but you add apple pulp to it. (A third one; she continues at normal speed.) So I guess it’s technically a juice.
(Throughout this verbal fusillade, Misty does her very best to set as much to paper as she can.)
Misty: Mmm-hmm. Wow. That’s…a lot of apples.
Sunny: (taking one from a bowl) These Nightmare Night treats were my favorite Nightmare Night tradition from when I was a filly. And I want everything to be exactly as I remembered it for tonight’s Crystal Frighthouse.
(Three things happen almost simultaneously: her gasp, the ding of a timer, and the fruit being pitched over her shoulder to land neatly in a waiting bowl.)
Sunny: So we gotta get moving! (She races across; cut to her at the stove, shutting it off and lifting the pot away.)
Misty: (from o.s.) I-I could…What is…
(She watches as the batch is set on the island countertop and apples are flung into it.)
Misty: Hey, want me to pass…
(The orange mare pays no heed, sprinting back and forth and depositing more ingredients and implements on each pass until the surface is nearly filled.)
Sunny: Thanks again for the help, Misty. I couldn’t have done this without you. (She loads a few apples into a blender.)
Misty: (slightly confused) Uh, sure.
(Her notepad provides only small protection against the hail of apple fragments that comes her way once Sunny fires up the machinery. Cut to the throne room of Opaline’s castle; she sets down the last pumpkin that magically wound up here and ponders it.)
Opaline: Hmmm… (A frustrated groan; she begins pacing in a small circle.) Opaline, Opaline, Opaline…
(One stepping rear hoof jars the thing a tiny fraction, whereupon it glows purple; she stops.)
Opaline: It’s clear you’re… (It disappears; she les an amazed smile stretch her cheeks.) …the most brilliant alicorn in the universe! Wow!
(Voicing a short laugh, she moves one after another into the exact same spot, watching them glow and wink away. In Maretime Bay, the pumpkin delivery stallion gets bonked over the head by the first one, then driven to the ground and o.s. by a rain of all the others.)
Delivery stallion: (from o.s.) Ow! (Back to Opaline.)
Opaline: Just as I suspected! (thumping tree root, spreading wings) That useless Together Tree I grew all those years ago has finally made a connection with another one! (She turns to the image above the pool, showing the Maretime Bay tree.) And the perfect one at that. Which means I’ve discovered a magical tree network! (Spin away from it.) Which means that pumpkin and ponies and me can travel between them! Ha! (Spin back.) Take that, Twilight Sparkle!
(Her malicious gloating gives way to a surprised shriek as a pumpkin appears in midair and drops to the floor.)
Opaline: (quietly) I mean…take that, Sunny Starscout. Opaline’s coming to town.
(Cut to the upper portion of the Brighthouse, now sporting a pair of bat wings on the lantern room balcony, and tilt down to ground level. Night has fallen, and Izzy’s lights are strung up all over the exterior of the ground floor and glowing invitingly. In the entrance hall, four mares and their costumes of choice are present and accounted for. Sunny is a hippie: vest, flowered belt and matching foreleg bracelets, bell-bottom pant cuffs on hind legs, peace-sign medallion, round-framed glasses, tie-dye headband, mane dyed to hide its rainbow streak, no saddlebag. Izzy is wearing her gourd-decorated vine loop as a sash, along with a hollowed-out half-pumpkin as a helmet. Misty has donned her butterfly top hat and added a white shirt collar with blue bow tie, short purple cape, and white shirt cuffs on all her legs to complete her magician’s getup. A hovering Zipp wears the cape she was working on in Act One: black, blue-edged with red lining and a blue brooch. Fake fangs protrude from under her upper lip—vampire time.)
Sunny: Can we get started yet? We’re so excited!
(Cut to Pipp on the end of this, carefully adjusting the position of the pony-skeleton cutout she briefly showed off in Act One. Her costume consists of a short purple cape and matching witch’s hat marked with stars and moons, dye in the same shade along the base of each wing, a tattered shawl, and sparkly blue eyeshadow. When she turns away, she exposes a gold crescent-moon brooch securing the cloak and shawl.)
Pipp: This haunted house has to be perfect! (nudging cutout a bit more) And right now, it’s almost perfect. (raising hoof to chin) But we still need more cobwebs. Uh, more lighting! Just…more!
(Her movements show off a beaded/jeweled bracelet on her left foreleg. She hyperventilates a bit as Izzy crosses to her.)
Izzy: (touching her shoulder) We’ll all work together so we can get this done in ten minutes tops. (rearing up) All hooves on deck! Let’s go, go, go!
(A whistle is produced and blown, and Pipp sighs with relief as the other four scatter to get at it.)
Pipp: (hovering) Thanks, ponies. I appreciate it!
(One final tweak to the cardboard figure. Out by the tree near Canterlove Studios—now known to be a Together Tree, as mentioned by Elderflower in “Father of the Bridlewood”—ponies are getting out and about to enjoy the night. A boil of dark blue smoke from the roots stops them cold, and Opaline’s cruel laughter rings out as a portal opens in the surface of the trunk and she emerges. It and the smoke both dissipate as she speaks.)
Opaline: Hello, Maretime Bay. (rising to a hover) It is I, Opaline Arcana, about to turn this night into a nightmare spectacular!
(On the start of the next line, cut to two costumed ponies—Sugar Moonlight and a stallion—moving closer with looks of great enjoyment. Spider and snowflake, respectively.)
Snowflake: Aw, hooves, that was so cool!
Sugar: Amazing! (Laugh.)
Snowflake: (gasping, awed) Do the laugh again! Do the laugh again!
Opaline: (puzzled) What?
Sugar: And the entrance! Great entrance! (More onlookers start to gather.) But I missed that first part where you cackled. Sooo…you just pretend I didn’t see your dramatic pose, and try it all again, ’kay?
Snowflake: Oh, oh, oh! And can you say my dad’s name when you do it? It’s Butter. (pulling out his phone, starting to record) He’d get a real kick outta this!
(The device’s camera-eye perspective comes up on the end of this, followed by his laugh; she flies down to give an extreme close-up of her vexed visage.)
Opaline: You’re not scared? (The group again.)
Sugar: (mock-scared tone) Oh, yeah, like, sooo terrified. (She and a filly giggle; Opaline lunges toward a new arrival, flaring her wings.)
Opaline: FEAR ME!!
Snowflake: (prompting) “Fear me, Butter.”
Sugar: Oh, wait! Is that, like, your catch-phrase?
Snowflake: (raising his phone) ’Cause we love it!
(His laugh, and those from the rest of the crowd, are met by her furious, eye-rolling snarl. The next two lines overlap.)
Opaline: Stop filming me! Stop applauding!
Snowflake: Yeah, that’s it! Get angrier!
(She snarls again, one eye twitching dangerously. In the Brighthouse, Pipp peeks out from around one corner of the dungeon maze Zipp has set up. Seeing the coast clear, she whips her head back and steps out into the open near the fireplace.)
Pipp: This maze is complete…
(She pops up into a hover, pulling out clipboard/pen and marking an item off as the other four mares gather, the camera cutting to them; Zipp is also hovering. Relieved sighs all around.)
Pipp: (from o.s.) …with just one last ingredient.
(Faces go slack with disbelief at this pronouncement. Back to the airborne witch, who yanks a hanging cord to drop a swarm of fake bats on strings in the faces of her audience. Misty just stares at the things while the other three scream in fright and laugh, and Pipp marks her list and swoops down for an exploratory poke at the nearest spiderweb.)
Pipp: (marking clipboard) Fake spiderwebs feeling strong… (Happy sighs from the others.) …with just one last touch.
(Another cord pull, another load of bats; more screams/laughs from all but Misty as Pipp updates her list. Now she flies through the kitchen, snags a slice of cake from a tray, and chomps it down as the others gather. Sunny nervously awaits her appraisal, standing behind an island now loaded with drinks, snacks, and a five-tiered cookie platter, while Izzy holds a caramel apple on a stick.)
Pipp: Apple treats tasting delicious… (The others sigh their relief.) …hmmm, but you know what’s missing…
Sunny: (frightened) No, Pipp. There’s no way, You—
Pipp: (picking up a shaker can) I was gonna say “a dash of nutmeg.”
(She sprinkles some over the goodies as the others sigh anew, but drops it with a devilish little chuckle and grabs the end of a cord once it dangles from the ceiling. A third scream/laugh-inducing swarm of bats comes down at a pull, but once again Misty fails to react as expected even while Izzy throws her treat into the air. Pipp checks this bit off on her list as the apple impales itself on Izzy’s horn.)
Zipp: That better be the last one! (The bats are hoisted up and away.)
Izzy: Pipp, you got us good! (She pulls the apple free and starts licking.)
Sunny: So good. (She laughs; Pipp gets a look at Misty and gasps.)
Pipp: Misty, what’s wrong? (Close-up of Misty; she continues o.s.) Why didn’t you scream with the rest of the group? (Back to them.)
Zipp: Do you not find bats scary? (Soft gasp from Pipp.)
Pipp: Would you prefer giant spiders? (Misty offers an “I don’t know” grunt and shrug.)
Misty: It’s nothing personal, Pipp. I guess I just don’t scare easy. (Pipp descends to her level.)
Pipp: Until tonight. (Gasp.) I’m going to make you my personal Nightmare Night challenge! (gasping again, whirling in midair) By the end of tonight, you are going to be screaming, and laughing, and sharing in all the spooky fun!
(Close-up of Misty on the end of this, adopting a humoring smile. All five gather in, and the sound of the doorbell—the first five notes of the My Little Pony theme/jingle—brings a delighted third gasp from the pink planner.)
Pipp: Showtime, ponies!
(Ground level, on Mane Street. Jazz stands in the shadows under its overarching bridge as Rocky plants a hoof in the foreground.)
Jazz: Well, well, well. (close-up, stepping into the open) If it isn’t Rocky—if that’s your real name!
Rocky: (removing sunglasses) Well, well, well. If it isn’t Jazz. Guess you’re not the gifted Golden Pumpkin finder like you thought!
Jazz: (circling around him, dropping to a whisper) Or maybe I’m just not wanting to dish out all my secrets.
Rocky: (backing away, looking around himself) You must know something, ’cause I’ve checked every garden and flipped over every gourd.
(He gets a surprise in the form of his coworker suddenly grabbing at the lapels of his vest.)
Jazz: So have I!
Rocky: Wait. (She backs off.) If you’ve checked everywhere and I’ve checked everywhere else, then where could it be? (An idea dawns on him.) Unless Hitch’s big prize was just quality time spent with your closest friends.
(By this point, the two are standing nose-to-nose outside Mane Melody. They smile gently, look deep into one another’s eyes—and then utterly destroy the moment by bursting into laughter.)
Jazz: Nah. That’s nuts!
Rocky: Right?
(Two pairs of eyes narrow in search of the elusive quarry, two mouths smirk sidewise at each other, and they set off galloping in opposite directions as Jazz throws back a mocking laugh.)
Rocky: I’m gonna find the Golden Pumpkin!
Jazz: Not if I do first!
(Elsewhere, Opaline casts a disdainful eye along the reveler-packed road.)
Opaline: Hmmm…
(She begins to walk, drawing a glance from a stallion wearing a miner’s helmet.)
Miner: Oh! (He goes laughingly on.)
Opaline: (snarling) Why isn’t anypony fearing me?
(Her perspective on the next line, sweeping across the costumed locals to stop on Toots and Sweets—done up as a dog and cat, respectively.)
Opaline: And what are these outfits? Fashion in Equestria has really gone downhill.
Sweets: (noticing her) Ooh! (She and Toots move toward Opaline.) Incredible costume! (Cut to all three on these words.) You look terrifying.
Toots: Oh, yeah. And your wings and horn are so realistic. (reaching to a wing) May I?
(The aspiring despot gets him to back off with a menacing hiss, then gets in his face.)
Opaline: Take another step and I’ll banish you to the moon! (Next two lines overlap.)
Toots: Yaaaay! (laughing) Oh, yeah?
Sweets: Whoo! Ooh! Yes! Oh, I love that! Seriously, who are you supposed to be? Nightmare Moon?
Opaline: (fire kindling in eyes) Your new worst nightmare.
(The two stare openmouthed for a moment before breaking into fresh smiles.)
Toots, Sweets: That was so good!
Toots: Seriously, can I hire you for my nana’s birthday? She’d love it!
(Cut briefly to/from a hopelessly confounded Opaline with eyes extinguished on the previous query, after which she snarls and stalks away, having had quite enough of being so thoroughly misunderstood. She breaks into a gallop, shouting at a stallion and filly on the sidewalk; they cry out in surprise but then laugh, and he brings up his phone to record Opaline’s passage.)
Opaline: I’ll show you what to scream about!
(She and Posey collide, neither one looking where they are going; the yellow mare gasps.)
Posey: Whoops! Sorry about that. (peering closely) Wow! Look at you. Your costume’s fab. And mine? (touching her own chest) Uh, well, nonexistent. (hastily) Mine’s at my friend Windy’s house. It’s why I’m in such a hurry. (singsong, walking past Opaline) Excuse me!
(After a long look at Posey’s flower-ring cutie mark, Opaline moves to intercept.)
Opaline: No, no. Excuse me.
(She fires up her horn and lowers it toward the yellow haunch, causing the image to pop loose and become encased in a glimmering purple bubble. As she maneuvers it back to herself with an acid smile, Posey screams in horror and bails out as fast as her legs can carry her.)
Opaline: I did it! (Zoom out quickly to frame partiers everywhere.) But it’s going to take me all night if I’m going to do this one by one. (walking away) Maybe it’s time to regroup and form a new plan. My work here is far from done!
(She rises to a hover above the front entrance to Hitch’s office, cackling madly with the stolen mark in tow. Cut to a close-up of Izzy standing outside the Brighthouse and thinking carefully; she has done away with the caramel apple she was eating in the kitchen.)
Izzy: Now, do I need more lights on the left side, or is it more frightening if they’re uneven? Or—
(A longer shot puts her on the front lawn and fiddling with loose strings of lights.)
Izzy: —oh, oh! (Pan slowly toward the doors.) Maybe I pile on all the lights on the left and leave nothing for the right! Or…no… (now o.s., fading out) …’cause then if everypony saw my lights switching…
(Toots and Sweets have already gained the top of the ramp, with Sugar and her earlier snowflake companion not far behind. The feline-inclined mare blows and pops a bubble from a wad of gum she is chewing.)
Pipp: (hovering, opening doors) Welcome, ponies, one and all,
To the spookiest frighthouse where you’ll have a ball!
(Quite a few other guests have already arrived, and these two pairs waste no time in joining them. The lights are dimmed, the decorations are in full effect, and a lonely wolf howl is heard somewhere in the distance. Zipp’s drone, disguised as a ghost, whips through the air and promptly gets caught up in a web; she hovers up behind it, hammering at the screen of her FlyPad and venting her frustration over the boo-boo in the form of a loud groan.)
Zipp: No! Why…did I…put that…
(Only now does she realize that she has drawn a fair-sized audience; she immediately composes herself and addresses them.)
Zipp: …very real ghost who’s glitching so much? (ominously, waving forelegs) It’s spo-o-oky!
(Pan quickly to the kitchen, where Sunny is offering a tray of cakes but not getting much of a response. The ponies congregating here are, however, snagging other things off the island countertop at their leisure.)
Sunny: So, how’s everypony enjoying the traditional Petrifying Pomme Fruit Feast? (A snorting giggle; she holds up an apple.) “Pomme fruit” is another word for apples, which are—
(She spots a pegasus dressed as a Zephyr Heights guard who is chewing on the stick in a caramel apple.)
Sunny: —being consumed in the exact wrong way!
(The offender sets the treat down and flashes an embarrassed grin. Any further remonstrations are cut off by a loud clattering from across the room; pan quickly to the stove, where Sugar and the snowflake have inadvertently swept dishes and apples to the floor with their bulky costumes. A loud slurping brings Sunny’s scared eyes to a different corner and shows her Sprout Cloverleaf, who idly tosses the cup he has just drained onto the floor.)
Sunny: (loudly, addressing herself o.s.) Pipp, didn’t you promise to guide the ponies through the house so it wasn’t a free-for-all? (Nervous laugh.) This isn’t anything like how it used to be when I was a filly. (Zoom out slowly; the unruly gorging continues.) Pipp! Pipp?
(The pegasus snags that same caramel apple and goes back to work on its stick.)
Sunny: (to herself) Hm. I wonder what task she’s so focused on now.
(Comes now the sound of an impact, followed by a stallion hurtling gracelessly into view and thudding to the floor. Sunny barely blinks at this, but sucks in an affronted gasp when she sees the shameless abuse of cellulose. Misty makes her way into the maze, her cheery humming soon lost under the devious laugh of Pipp hunching atop one wall.)
Pipp: (flying in) I’m gonna get her.
(When the top-hatted mare stops in the bathroom to wash her hooves at the sink, Pipp seizes the moment to pop up behind her, throwing off a yell and making a horrid face that reflects in the mirror. Misty shuts off the faucet and exits without even a flinch.)
Pipp: Awww…
(Up in the shared bedroom, Misty belly-flops onto her bed and lets out a quiet, relaxed sigh. One of her old toys is thrust up into view from behind by Pipp, who waves it around with a goofy screech before hovering up from floor level.)
Pipp: Part two.
(Again, not even a flicker of fear; she sullenly hands it over for Misty to cuddle. At the back of the entrance hall, the unicorn opens the door to the junk-crammed basement, retrieves a squeeze bottle, and turns away only to pivot back a moment later.)
Misty: Four…three…two…
(When a lot of nothing happens, she smiles to herself, shuts the door, and walks leisurely away.)
Pipp: (grunting/sputtering, muffled, through door) Wait, Misty! My hooves got stuck! (pounding) Come back and I’ll try again!
(The door flies open under her assault, dumping her out with a yell amid an avalanche of random items. One hind leg is caught amid the mess, needing a bit of time and effort to pull free and leaving her shaken and short of breath. Clearly she had planned some variant of the “jump and yell” scare, which the overstuffed storage area foiled in its own way.)
Pipp: I…will…scare…you!
(In the kitchen, Sunny voices a frightened little laugh while trying not to drop two platters of treats. A bat-winged Kenneth helps himself to a cake; guests continue to chow down and litter; Zipp heaves mightily at her sheet-covered drone still stuck in the spiderwebs and manages to free it, having ditched her FlyPad. Close-up of the fabric settling limply to the floor.)
Zipp: (from o.s.) Watch out!
(Tilt up slightly to frame Glory/Peach/Seashell, each wearing cardboard replicas of the appendages she naturally lacks in order to be a winged unicorn. Seashell has also dyed her mane/tail dark green for the occasion. All three regard the ghost rig with mixed disappointment and contempt as the drone that had occupied it buzzes down to them. They choose to walk away in time with a frustrated groan from the o.s. Zipp.)
(Cut to Izzy on the front lawn, hooking together two pairs of electrical cords that each send a glare over her from opposite sides of the screen. She then dons a pair of sunglasses similar to Zipp’s, but marked with a crystalline heart at the bottom outer corner of one lens, and makes one more connection while flashing a manic grin. Now the glare is bright enough to cover the entire lawn, sending ponies into a fit of screams, covered eyes, and stumbling panic. The amateur electrician just laughs brightly.)
(Inside, a colt cries as Kenneth pecks at his dropped caramel apple, and Sunny yells in surprise as a unicorn stallion uses his magic to commandeer the entire plate of cookies she is holding. Sprout gets a kick out of the theft, but shifts into a shocked gasp when McSnips-a-Lot swipes the cookie from his grip. The culinary chaos finally proves too much for Sunny to handle; she screams, leans over the table behind which she is standing, and plants both front hooves on it.)
Sunny: This is not working!
(Overhead shot of the entrance hall; the lights come up, drawing gasps from all and sundry.)
Sunny: (from o.s.) That’s it! The Frighthouse is closed!
Pipp: (closing basement door; the junk is cleared away) Why is everything messed up? We literally just opened our doors!
(She flies out to meet Sunny in the entrance hall as the grumbling guests exit.)
Pipp: Sunny, what happened?
Sunny: It was mayhem! (shoving donuts into guests’ mouths as they pass) Uh, sorry, sorry! Here, have an extra apple spice donut while you go.
(One of the recipients is the snowflake stallion, who gets out a muffled “Mmmm!” under Sunny’s words. Close-up of Pipp on this last, her face slowly falling, then cut to the lawn as all the lights Izzy added are shut off. The five mares gather in the entrance hall, Pipp and Zipp both flying.)
Zipp: (annoyed) What the hay, guys?
Sunny: It just wasn’t Nightmare Night.
Zipp: But I worked all day on my Ponydrone!
Izzy: And I spent all afternoon trying to figure out which of my special acorn lights to string!
Misty: And we made some great food, Sunny—well, you did. Made most of it. Okay, all of it. I only helped by getting out of the way, but we did it the traditional way.
(Close-up of the bespectacled cook on the end of this line, her expression slowly melting into sadness and then back to a smile.)
Sunny: You’re all right, but I guess I was just hoping that tonight’s celebrations would be…like they used to be.
Misty: Where did we go wrong?
Sunny: I don’t know, but somehow we did. It was a total bust!
Pipp: Wai-wai-wai-wai-wai-wai-wai-wait up. Even with the chaos, I didn’t think it was a total bust.
(Zipp’s drone, now in its ghost costume, zooms past behind her and bumps into a doorframe. It then pivots to face a wall and repeatedly tries to bash its way through the masonry.)
Pipp: Ohhh, but maybe I was also too focused on scaring Misty and making the perfect frighthouse to notice. (Across from her, Zipp has FlyPad in hoof.)
Izzy: (scoffing) And I couldn’t see anything beyond my lights.
Zipp: (laughing; the drone returns to her) Well, nopony could. (She catches it and rolls her eyes.) Okay, fine. I was a little too swept up in my gadgets—
(She is cut off by the sound of the opening doors; cut to them, where a badly winded Hitch has just entered with Sparky on his back.)
Hitch: You guys are…already done your frighthouse? (galloping to them, dropping to haunches; Sparky hops off.) I missed it?!?
(The dragon is still wearing his feathered/beaked mask, but not the rest of his parrot outfit. He is carrying a stack of event flyers, which he sets down.)
Pipp: No, I think maybe it was me who missed it, uh, like, the point, I mean. I started all this, and putting such high expectations of perfection on something is a recipe for disaster.
Hitch: (chuckling) Tell me about it. I was just so focused on making this the best Nightmare Night scare-a-thon in Maretime Bay ever that I forgot to consider Maretime Bay in the first place. What was I thinking? (He holds up a flyer from the stack and discards it while continuing.) These ponies don’t need twenty-seven events to fill a night and make it perfect.
Izzy: Yeah. Not every holiday has to be perfect, or exactly the same as it was last time, right?
(Very long silence from the others, followed by a close-up of her suddenly frantic features.)
Izzy: No, I’m genuinely asking. It doesn’t have to be the same, right?
Sunny: (giggling, crossing to her) No, Izzy. It doesn’t have to be. I’m sorry for thinking it had to. (Izzy touches her shoulder gently.) I was just looking forward to re-creating my special memories. It’s just like with Wishday. I cherish the times I had with my dad so much, I guess I just wanted to share them with my best friends.
Misty: But can’t you still—I mean, share your memories, but also—
Hitch: —make new ones.
Zipp: Even though holidays are about traditions, they’re also about surrendering to the surprise of what this moon will bring. (Mildly eerie intonation on the last few words.)
Pipp: (landing, flaring wings) And what’s more surprising than Nightmare Night?
(Smirking around her fake fangs, Zipp taps the screen of her FlyPad and brings down a swarm of fake bats on strings to give the rest of the gang a good scare. This time Misty actually does scream in fright, and her fear redoubles once many more of the flying pests erupt from barrels set up in the maze. She throws up a foreleg to shield her head as the others burst into laughter.)
Zipp: Got you! (Cut to Misty, now smiling and upright; she continues o.s.) Yeah!
Misty: You got me! You got me that time!
(She joins in as the camera cuts to the exterior of the Brighthouse and zooms out slowly.)
Pipp: (voice over, as Izzy’s lights come back on) The Frighthouse is officially reopened!
(Inside the throne room of Opaline’s castle, a portal opens near the Together Tree growing up through the place. She steps out with Posey’s captured cutie mark floating alongside, and the way closes behind her. Turning to one side, she spots a branch with a single leaf growing near its end and presses her prize onto it; the bubble disintegrates in a cloud of sparks, leaving a white-glowing copy of the flowers imprinted onto the veined green surface.)
Opaline: Excellent! (pacing) But I’ll need more power. (The pool conjures up an image—from this angle, a sleeping dragon.) Much more.
(Cut to just behind her head and zoom in slowly; now the picture can be seen in full as a pair of the dozing creatures.)
Opaline: And I know just where to get it.
(She fires off a wildly exultant laugh in close-up as the view dissolves to a long shot of the Brighthouse the following morning. Zoom in slowly and cut to Sunny and Misty striking the set in the entrance hall. They have shed their costumes; the same will be true of the others when seen next, and Sunny has strapped up her saddlebag. The bareheaded bird in Hitch’s “squad” flies across, carrying a bat and pursued on foot by Sparky; the chase turns up one ramp and Sparky barely avoids running into a bin full of pumpkins that the Sheriff is wheeling in.)
Hitch: (calling after him) Sparky, sure hope you’re helping, not playing!
(Sparky and the bird reach the shared bedroom and cut a U-turn across Zipp’s desk, disturbing several items and sending the map she and Sunny found in “Mane Smelody” to the floor. A gleam of light passes over his scales now as it did then, and he finds the page doing the same thing when he stops running and moves close enough to it. Widened purple eyes stare wonderingly at it before his entire face scrunches up for a sneeze, which sends out a blast of green fire when it comes. Instead of incinerating the map, though, it restores the images to their original color and detail—a path leading to a massive island studded with volcanic craters and lava pools, a forest, and a craggy wasteland. Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark stands out clearly in the bottom right corner, and the entire map now glimmers faintly. Sparky laughs triumphantly to himself as Hitch steps in behind to give him a very funny look.)
Hitch: What did I just say?
(His eyes pop and he gasps as he takes in this new development. Cut to his perspective of the map, zooming in slowly.)
Hitch: (awed) Woooow. (Back to him.) EVERYPONY!! GET IN HERE!!
(The others quickly obey this summons, gathering around the map.)
Sunny: (reading) “The Isle of Scaly”? (Gasp.) It’s the Dragon Lands! It’s a map that’ll take us back!
Zipp: We can finally warn them about Opaline!
(Cut to Izzy and Misty on this line, the former ecstatic and the latter pensive.)
Misty: And we better do it soon… (Overhead shot of the group; zoom out slowly.) …before it’s too late.
(Snap to black.)