MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS—RAINBOW ROCKS
Prequel Shorts
Written by:
“Music to My Ears” Cindy Morrow
“Guitar Centered” Amy Keating Rogers
“Hamstocalypse Now” Josh Haber
“Pinkie on the One” Josh Haber
“Player Piano” Amy Keating Rogers
“A Case for the Bass” Natasha Levinger
“Shake Your Tail!” Amy Keating Rogers
“Perfect Day for Fun!” Daniel Ingram, Amy Keating Rogers
Directed by Ishi Rudell
Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)
Notes: These shorts all occur in the human world that served as the setting for the bulk of
Equestria Girls, and all characters appear as their human versions.
The above list is in chronological order by release date.
Notes at the end of each transcript indicate details that carry over into Rainbow
Rocks; however, they have no effect on the plot.
Although the shorts are set chronologically before the film, this set of transcripts
and the one for the film can be read independently of each other without any loss of continuity or detail.
“Music to My Ears”
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to a stoplight showing red during the day. The sounds of passing traffic and honking car horns float up from below, and the light goes green as a bird perches on the support bar and flits away again. Cut to a busy intersection, then to a close-up of two sneaker-clad feet stepping into view next to a streetlight’s base. The shoes are blue with white soles and laces, trim in light blue and bright pink, and a light blue star on each tongue. A tilt up frames the person attached to these feet as DJ P0N-3, headphones around neck and MP3 player in hand as she waits for a break in the traffic.)
(She glances off ahead of herself, the camera quickly swiveling 180 degrees to a pedestrian signal showing the red hand for “don’t walk.” Cut back to her, looking off to one side, and pan quickly to a crosswalk down the block where a car is rolling by. Now she smiles and puts on the headphones, the ambient noise instantly becoming muffled as if it were what she is now hearing. A tap at the player’s controls starts up a thumping electronic beat; as if responding to the rhythm, the light goes yellow and then red, and two cars stop at the crosswalk, one by one.)
(DJ P0N-3 bobs her head slightly, eyes closed and hand tapping against her hip, and the pedestrian signal changes to show the “walk” icon of a green man. Cut rapidly back and forth between it and her, each raising a foot to move ahead; finally she struts into the crosswalk, a small shock wave spreading out from each footfall. The music kicks into a higher gear as soon as she begins to move. She is reflected in the stopped cars’ windshields and front grilles, and the headlights and wipers go in time to the beat.)
(Extreme close-up of one violet sunglasses lens, zooming in slightly by steps as a jagged yellow sound wave signal briefly dances across, then back to her. Once she reaches the other side, the Cutie Mark Crusaders run straight toward her along the sidewalk, Scootaloo on her scooter. She grooves and twirls past them, then spots a policeman directing traffic whose arm movements mimic hers closely. Down comes a bird, swooping past her and up again with a worm clamped in its beak. Zoom in to an extreme close-up of one end, the invertebrate gyrating like a sound wave, then tilt down quickly to a nest that contains two baby birds. They squawk in rhythm, first one and then the other, when the full-grown one lands to dangle the worm above their heads.)
(Zoom out quickly to show this tableau on a building ledge that faces an alley. DJ P0N-3 makes her way past the area, after which the camera cuts to a close-up of a cat jumping onto a car’s roof. Another zoom out, and it yowls and jumps away as the car’s alarm goes off and the music lover strolls down the block. At the curb, it lands in front of a second cat and the two trade angry hisses in a fast rhythm. Next a dog barks several times, dragging its owner past her, and she bumps fists with a teen lounging near a doorway. He whips out a pair of sunglasses, puts them on, and ducks into the building as she stops at a crosswalk; the “don’t walk” signal soon changes in her favor, and the green man flips onto his head and does a breakdancing spin.)
(DJ P0N-3 goes on her way, sound waves briefly pulsing in her lenses above a blissful grin; the other end of the crosswalk puts her outside this world’s version of Sugarcube Corner. The sun umbrellas on two sidewalk tables open and close in a staggered rhythm as she pushes the front doors open. Cut to inside as she steps in, momentarily silhouetted by the light from outside; the music becomes greatly subdued at this point. The action shifts to slow motion, and the view takes on a faint violet tinge and ripples slightly, cutting/panning here and there. Of note: Diamond Tiara checking her cell phone as Silver Spoon sips a drink… DJ P0N-3 sashays past a table, leaving a faint blurred afterimage behind herself, as a girl seated there squirts honey into her tea from a bottle…extreme close-up of the viscous golden flow…she passes Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity at a couch and chair around a table, all of whom wave to her…and finally she reaches the counter and lowers her headphones. Throughout all of this, Pinkie stands out as waving to DJ P0N-3 at normal speed, rather than slow motion with everyone else.)
(Normal color and speed resume when the blue-haired teen steps up to the register, and the music instantly gives way to the usual noises of the shop when the headphones come down. Mrs. Cake is on duty.)
Mrs. Cake: What can I get you?
(A pointed finger is her cue to grab a cupcake with a pair of tongs and drop it into a bag; money is laid down, the snack is picked up, and DJ P0N-3 heads for the street. Once she has the doors open, she gets her headphones back in place and the pounding electronic rhythm resumes. After the doors swing closed behind her, zoom in quickly to an extreme close-up of the handles, then cut to an extreme close-up of a different set and zoom out just as quickly. These are kicked open from the other side to reveal her silhouette and frame, in the background, the rearing-horse statue on the front lawn of Canterlot High School—she has arrived for class. The cupcake and bag have been disposed of.)
(As DJ P0N-3 struts across the lobby, the overhead lights pulse in time and the violet-tinged view resumes. Two students fall in behind her to either side, synchronizing their footsteps with hers, and a classroom door opens to reveal an irritable-looking male teacher who jerks a thumb over his shoulder to motion them inside. His hairstyle is a match for the dark toupee first worn by Cranky Doodle Donkey in “A Friend in Deed,” picking him out as that old jack’s human opposite number. The other two mosey in as DJ P0N-3 continues past; now three lockers are slammed shut, one by one, and she lets the sound wave play across her shades for a moment. Cut/pan to other activities: an athlete girl trying to shove a gym bag into her locker…one eco-kid goofing with a hacky sack as another applauds…Featherweight grinning over his calculator.)
(Cut to a darkened enclosure, the scattered books suggesting the interior of a locker. A door swings open—it is DJ P0N-3’s, and she grabs a book and slams the locker shut, the motion depicted in a quick series of freeze frames timed to a stutter in the music. Out in the hall, she dances in place for a moment before the school bell rings and everyone around her runs into the classrooms. Normal color resumes here, and the music instantly becomes almost inaudible as if being heard by someone not wearing the headphones.)
(She grooves backwards down the hall, alone and in the beat, and thus does not notice right away that a thoroughly disapproving Principal Celestia has planted herself in the path. DJ P0N-3 runs into the official, the headphones falling to her neck and going silent, and wheels to face front with an embarrassed grin. Celestia gives her a “hand them over” gesture, and she reluctantly surrenders the gear.)
(DJ P0N-3 hurries off down the hall at the emphatic pointing of Celestia’s free hand, but slows a bit to watch her head the other way toward a corner. Once the principal has made the turn, she stops, pulls out a set of small earphones, and socks them into her ears. The violet tinge resumes, along with the music, the sound wave on her lenses—and an ear-to-ear smile under a shrewdly cocked eyebrow. Zoom in by steps to an extreme close-up of that jittering yellow line, then snap to black.)
[Note: She will retain her sneakers during Rainbow Rocks.]
“Guitar Centered”
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to DJ P0N-3 at a cash register behind a store display counter, listening to her MP3 player and doing nothing of importance. The headphones that Celestia confiscated from her at the end of “Music to My Ears” have been returned. Instruments and gear on the shelves behind her indicate that this is a music store. Zoom out.)
Rarity: (from o.s., affronted) Rainbow Dash!
(These two girls come into view, entering the store and followed by Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. Rainbow carries a guitar case, and DJ P0N-3 stows the player under the counter.)
Rarity: I simply don’t understand why you can’t just play the guitar you have.
(The latter’s response is to set the case on the counter and open it. A close-up and zoom in show that the electric guitar inside is a wreck: scratches and nicks all over the body, one broken string, and a neck so badly cracked that the tension of the remaining strings has bent the end up. Another one chooses this moment to give up the ghost, prompting a gasp from Rarity.)
Rarity: Now I understand. (Pinkie zips into view behind them, holding up a blue one with black tiger stripes.)
Pinkie: How about this one?
Rainbow: No.
(Close-up of a banjo being held up in the pink hands.)
Pinkie: (from o.s.) Looky here!
Rainbow: (from o.s.) No. (Pull it away; hold up a sousaphone.)
Pinkie: (from o.s.) Super-groovy! (Back to the others at the counter.)
Rainbow: (exasperated) No, Pinkie.
Applejack: Well, what you lookin’ for?
Rainbow: That’s the problem. (pacing, smacking fist into palm) I need something that looks as awesome as I’m gonna make it sound.
(Feet stop short, eyes bug out, lungs suck in an incredulous gasp, and the camera cuts to her perspective and zooms in. Hanging vertically on the wall, directly in front of her, is a shiny red double-neck model with stars and lightning bolts adorning the body. Back to her briefly, the reflection shining in her pupils as she reaches forward, then to an extreme close-up of her hand grasping one neck. A very short pan brings the other neck into view, a differently hued blue hand taking hold of it, and the camera zooms out to frame its owner—Trixie. The two girls pull the guitar down from its mount and yank it back and forth in time with the next two lines.)
Rainbow: Hands off my guitar, Trixie!
Trixie: I touched it first, Rainbow Dash!
(On the start of the next line, cut to the other four girls, who have crossed the showroom floor to scope out the tussle.)
Applejack: Sounds to me like this is the makin’ for a nice friendly competition.
Rainbow: All right! Let’s see who plays best. (Close-up of Trixie, eyes narrowing.)
Trixie: A shred-off? (Now one of Rainbow.)
Rainbow: Shred on!
(The view briefly constricts to a narrow band that frames her eyes as she says this, then changes to fill the screen again. As soon as Rainbow lifts one open hand overhead, Pinkie hangs down into view with a light gray/white guitar for her to grab by the neck, then rises o.s. again. The sports nut lets go with a grinding riff, which Trixie counters with one of her own on a “Flying V” instrument she has picked up in the meantime. They trade figures again, the screen splitting diagonally for a moment to show both determined faces—Rainbow at top left, Trixie at bottom right—and all twenty fingers race across the strings.)
(The duel continues, with the background behind each girl now a single solid color—blue for Rainbow, purple for Trixie. The camera cuts to the latter and zooms in for a close-up, which turns into a three-way horizontal split screen: guitar head at top, her eyes in the middle, guitar neck/body at bottom. Her playing generates a sound wave that pushes Rainbow back a few steps, but the wild-haired instrumentalist just grimaces and strikes a new series of chords that sets off quite a change. Yellow energy crackles all over both her body and the guitar, her eyes glowing pure white, and the pony ears she sported during the final showdown against Sunset Shimmer in Equestria Girls manifest themselves. In addition, the guitar body and head turn a vivid shade of blue, and the neck goes red with yellow lightning bolts between the frets.)
(Trixie’s jaw drops at the sight, but Rainbow floats higher and higher as her hair elongates into a tail and wings sprout from her back to complete the transformation. She plunges downward while playing a final high-speed riff, one leg extended for a stomp, and hits the floor in a kneeling position. Out comes a rainbow-hued shock wave not unlike the one produced by her pony self when doing a Sonic Rainboom; it pushes Trixie back and throws up a dense cloud of dust.)
(As the view clears, the figures of the five friends gradually appear; the energy that surrounded Rainbow has dissipated. She grins up at their dumbstruck expressions and drinks in the round of cheers and applause that they send her way. Across the showroom, Trixie has lost her guitar and fetched up among the tumbled components of a drum kit; it takes her a second to recover her senses after pushing a loose snare away from her face. Rainbow stands up with the guitar as DJ P0N-3 walks over, carrying the double-neck.)
Rainbow: Check me out!
(She reaches to claim her prize, but pulls her hand back in hesitation and looks down at the one she has just played so well. Cut to her perspective, panning slowly from head to body as she tilts it to catch her reflection in the lustrous surface, then back to her.)
Rainbow: Uh, she can have it. (smiling, hugging guitar) Turns out this is the one that really speaks to me.
(Trixie stares across at her, jaw hanging slack, but returns to full ham mode as DJ P0N-3 crosses with the double-neck, no longer wearing her headphones.)
Trixie: (grabbing it away, holding it up) The Great and Powerful Trixie always wins in the end! (Giggle; Rainbow walks past her.)
Rainbow: (smugly) I doubt it.
(The violet eyes pop wide open at this crack; up at the counter, DJ P0N-3 is back behind the register. Rainbow walks up and hands over some cash, and the group is soon on the way out the door. Trixie glances down at the instrument she now holds; cut to a close-up of the price tag on the back, showing a one and a two and a comma and three zeros, then to her again—now absolutely dumbfounded at the figure.)
Trixie: Twelve thousand dollars?!? (Grimace, then point indignantly out the door.) You’ll pay for this, Rainbow Dash! (Pinkie pokes her head back into the store.)
Pinkie: No, silly. If you want it, you’ll have to pay for it.
(She winks to the camera. “Iris out” around her to black.)
[Note: Rainbow’s guitar will retain its blue/red color scheme throughout all subsequent shorts and Rainbow Rocks.]
“Hamstocalypse Now”
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to a close-up of a wall light switch next to a door in a dimly lit room. The door opens and a hand reaches into view to turn on the lights; cut to a longer shot of the area, which includes a receptionist’s counter off to one side. The hand belongs to Fluttershy, and she and Rarity enter with their backpacks slung up. On the floor is a pet carrier with a covered birdcage resting on top. These items, and a basket full of blankets that serves as a bed for a puppy and kitten, indicate that the place is geared toward the care of animals.)
Fluttershy: Thanks for coming, Rarity.
(Close-up of the counter as the two packs are set down on it—yellow with three pink butterflies for Fluttershy, purple with three blue gems for Rarity—then cut back to the girls on the start of the next line.)
Fluttershy: The rescue center needs all the help it can get. (She crosses o.s.)
Rarity: (kneeling, petting puppy) Oh, but of course, darling. (lifting/nuzzling kitten, standing) Helping cute little puppies and kitties will never go out of style.
(Across the way, Fluttershy has come to a large, glass-walled enclosure in one corner. A door leads into a maze of translucent, multicolored tubing pieces and a cage equipped with a hamster wheel. Even from this distance, plenty of stains and splotches can be seen within the brightly hued plastic.)
Fluttershy: (excitedly, opening door) Once a year, a lucky volunteer gets to clean the hamster habitat. I signed up for it months ago to be sure I’d get it.
(On the latter part of the first sentence, cut to a close-up of the assembly and pan/tilt slowly through the filth that can now be seen in all-too-vivid detail. One or two of the little critters are crawling around inside. Cut back to her on the end of this line; she steps to a hatch and opens it as a noticeably unsettled Rarity reluctantly moves closer, having put down the kitten.)
Fluttershy: (calling into tube) Housecleaning!
Rarity: Ooh…uh, Fluttershy, darling…
(Cut to a close-up of a couple of hamsters negotiating a turn in the pipes.)
Rarity: (from o.s.) …aren’t hamsters, uh… (whispering) …rodents? (Fluttershy, kneeling, opens a hatch at floor level.)
Fluttershy: They sure are, but they’re cute and cuddly like bunnies.
(On this line, one of them peeks out and the camera cuts to a close-up of it sniffing the air and slowly emerging. Others soon follow suit.)
Fluttershy: Okay, every-hamster. Follow Rarity into the next room. (leading them out as Rarity cringes out the door) She’ll take good care of you while I give your home a nice scrub.
(The prissy teenager forces herself to give a small smile. Dissolve to Fluttershy plying a cloth on part of the habitat and zoom out to show that the whole rig is now squeaky clean; a bucket of soapy water stands on the floor by her feet. She straightens up and smiles at the end result of her efforts, but a loud pounding from o.s. shakes her out of this self-satisfaction. Cut to the source of the noise: Rarity, seen from inside and banging on the glass in a panic. She backs cautiously away before a salvo of very tiny articles of clothing that are flung up from below; cut to just outside the enclosure door as Fluttershy opens it and steps out, instantly registering shock.)
Fluttershy: Rarity!
(Zoom out quickly to frame more of the room. Hamsters are all over the floor, most of them wearing at least one item and arguing at the top of their squeaky little voices. One is even riding the kitten and twirling a lasso like a cowboy. Rarity is too scared to move amid the tumult or the scatter of other items that litter the floor.)
Fluttershy: What happened?
Rarity: Ooh… (Frightened squeal; jitter in place.) …well, uh…
(She picks up one rodent dressed in a jacket and tie.)
Rarity: …Carl Pettington’s coat just begged to be accessorized. But Amelia Furheart refused to be left out—
(Accompanied by the following. A close-up of this hamster, trying to shake loose; a cut back to her, grabbing up a second one in her other hand; a close-up of it, in a wig, dress, and high heels and blowing a raspberry at the first. The camera then pans quickly to the receptionist’s counter, where several have backed fearfully away from a beefy one chewing on a scarf, which it then imperiously wraps around its neck.)
Rarity: (from o.s.) —and got Curtis Pawpower to chew right through Carl’s little scarf, and before I knew it—
(Back to the scene of the madness.)
Rarity: —I had a habitat-wide feud on my hands! (Pause.) Also, I named them. (The squabbles continue; Fluttershy addresses the floor.)
Fluttershy: Ladies and gentle-hamsters, please!
(Close-up of one pulling at another’s vest on the end of this; they calm down, and the rest of the crowd slowly falls silent.)
Fluttershy: Now I know you’re all upset— (Rarity crosses to her, holding the first two—Carl and Amelia.) —but why don’t we head back into the habitat and talk it over?
(Close-up of the two critters on the end of this; Carl puckers up as if to kiss Amelia, only to get his tie ripped off instead. The brouhaha starts all over again, prompting a gasp from both girls, and Rarity dashes across to empty her backpack onto the counter. The menacing Curtis and a couple of his would-be victims squeal and clear out ahead of her advancing shadow; here she comes, swinging the open bag low to scoop him up into it. As Fluttershy dumps out her own pack, a tambourine falls free, rolling across the countertop and falling to the floor; it rolls a bit farther before dropping onto its side. The sound of its agitated jingles instantly pacifies and hypnotizes the little guys, and Fluttershy picks it up and begins to play, shaking and striking it against hand and hip. The mesmerized spiral in the hamsters’ eyes plays briefly across the whole screen as they begin to move toward her, totally stupefied.)
(One deft toss carries the tambourine almost to the ceiling; when the animal lover leaps to catch it in an upraised hand, her pony ears, wings, and tail come into being as a sparkly glow outlines her physique. She floats gently back down to ground level, shaking out a quiet rhythm as the aura dissipates and Rarity crosses to her with backpack still in hand. The hamsters move single file to re-enter the habitat’s floor hatch; once they are all in, she closes the door.)
Rarity: Huh. I never would have guessed hamsters could be so touchy about fashion.
(Zoom in quickly to an extreme close-up of the bag, from which Curtis smugly pokes his head out to snap his fingers three times while moving that forelimb in a Z pattern. Fade to black.)
“Pinkie on the One”
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to Pinkie and Granny Smith in a room of Canterlot High. The lunch lady holds a bowl of batter in one arm and lifts a wooden spoon to it. Mixers on the countertop, and the cabinets mounted above, suggest that this is a home economics classroom.)
Granny: Just remember. (stirring) The most important things about sugar-butter-cocoa cookies is to fold your batter. (She passes the bowl to Pinkie.) Too much arm-turnin’ll make your cookies tougher than a lump of coal.
(She winks on the end of this, then walks away as Pinkie drops the bowl onto the table in front of her. A quick one-handed twirl of the spoon, and she is ready to start working the batter. Enter Rainbow.)
Rainbow: Come on, Pinkie. You’re supposed to help me find a drummer for my band. (Cut to Pinkie on the end of this, folding merrily away.)
Pinkie: I guess I could fold a little faster.
(A careless flick of the spoon sends a glob in Rainbow’s direction, after which she thinks for a second and then grins as a brainstorm hits. She quickly ducks down and starts rooting through the cabinets underneath the countertop, sending kitchen implements flying past Rainbow.)
Rainbow: Most people don’t know how hard it is to find someone who can use both hands the way a drummer does.
(Back to Pinkie on the second half of this; she has procured a second full bowl and spoon and starts mixing both at once.)
Pinkie: (lifting them off table, still stirring) I’ll bet!
(Now the spoons fly even faster, and the bowls sail up and over her head to barely miss one another in close-up. They fall o.s., a loud crash and splat marking their touchdown; cut to Granny, who glances back from a cabinet of supplies. Her eyes pop in surprise, and she manages a strangled cry of shock; across the room, one bowl lies on the table, the other upside down on Rainbow’s head. Both she and Pinkie are thoroughly splattered with the sweet stuff. Pinkie gives a big, squeaky, sheepish grin as Rainbow glares and growls at her.)
(Dissolve to a long shot of the pair, cleaned up and on the sidelines of the school soccer field, with a banner spread out on the grass. It is daytime, and a player jogs past in the foreground. As Rainbow speaks, cut to a close-up of her and Pinkie. The cloth is blank and white, weighted down with rocks at the corners, and a couple of small cans of paint are on hand, with Rainbow holding a brush.)
Rainbow: Now, it’s important that our banner look awesome. (dipping into can, starting to paint) So feel free to use as much glitter as you want.
(Pinkie looks off to one side, beams, and zips away. As the athlete continues, she returns just as quickly with a large shaker can.)
Rainbow: A drummer can’t just be anybody.
Pinkie: Oh, of course not!
(She inverts the container and begins to tap on its closed end with a palm, dispensing puffs of purple glitter from the holes in the lid. A couple of individual taps quickly transition into a rhythm of quick strokes, the can gripped under one arm as if it were a hand drum. Rainbow pays no mind.)
Rainbow: They need to have the right instincts, you know?
Pinkie: Totally!
(Pivoting in place, she faces away from Rainbow and aims the lid toward her, gripping the can between her knees. Only now does the wild-haired painter glance up to take in the spectacle of Pinkie dispensing both flurries of beats and clouds of glitter. One last thump produces enough of the sparkly particles to completely fill the screen; when the haze clears, the view has shifted to a close-up of Rainbow, irate and tinted purple from top to toe. Zoom out as she coughs up a little bit and glares daggers at an innocently smiling Pinkie, who has set the can on the banner upside down and knelt behind it, elbows on the bottom and head resting on palms. The banner—and several square feet of surrounding turf—are liberally covered with glitter, but Pinkie herself is entirely clean.)
(Dissolve to the cafeteria during lunch. Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity are eating together, Applejack and Rarity across from the other two. Rainbow is once again clean.)
Rainbow: It’s gotta be someone with a lot of… (Close-up of the table; Pinkie squirts syrup from a bottle into her glass of milk.) …energy.
Pinkie: (stirring) Absolutely!
(Once she has the syrup mixed in, she regards her spoon with a big smile and begins tapping out a fast rhythm against the rim of the glass. The fork is soon brought into play, but as before, Rainbow is oblivious.)
Rainbow: I mean, a lot.
(By now, Pinkie is on her feet and really getting into the impromptu percussion performance.)
Rainbow: Energy, enthusiasm…
(Which the magenta-haired goofball shows off by banging the table hard enough to shake all four girls’ trays out of place. Applejack makes a snatch to save her sandwich and milk, then kneels on the table to grab the ends of Pinkie’s utensils.)
Applejack: Pinkie!
Pinkie: Whaaaat?
(She goes right back to it as soon as Applejack lets go, then zips away from her seat.)
Rainbow: They have to be able to carry the whole band on their shoulders.
(Now Pinkie taps her way along the table’s edge, working her way up Rainbow’s left side, across her head, and down the right without missing a beat.)
Rainbow: (growling after her, standing up) PINKIE!
(Cut to the other side; Pinkie keeps going between Applejack—now seated again—and Rarity.)
Rarity: We have got to find an outlet for all that energy!
(During this line, the fork and spoon tap against the table, both girls’ trays, and their heads. Cut to Rainbow, whose fed-up expression shifts into a popeyed stare and then a huge grin as the camera zooms into an extreme close-up—inspiration has struck. From here, cut to Pinkie seated behind a drum kit and pounding away with gusto, the camera zooming out to frame the treble clef and musical notes on the wall behind her. This is evidently a practice room, and the kit’s bass drum displays a horseshoe with rainbow fire and stars shooting from its open end. The other three girls, now joined by Fluttershy, marvel at the speed with which her sticks range over the whole kit.)
(As she keeps cranking out faster and faster riffs, her entire body starts to sparkle and her pony ears emerge from underneath the mass of fluffy hair. The sparkle turns into a glow, and she rises partway off the stool as her hair extends into its long, tied-back tail to complete her half-pony transformation. Cut to a pan along the other four, who voice assorted exclamations of surprise, then back to the kit. One final twirl, one last turbocharged burst of strokes, and Pinkie lands back on the stool to hit both cymbals at once. The magic fades away, leaving her half-crazed, panting for breath, and with hair noticeably disheveled.)
Rarity: (to Rainbow) Whatever made you think of Pinkie for the drums?
Rainbow: I don’t know. Guess I just have a sense for these things.
(Pinkie plays a sting and grins broadly. Fade to black.)
“Player Piano”
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to the front lawn of Canterlot High during the day. As students congregate at the front lawn statue and walk along the street, Rarity struggles mightily to push a grand piano along the walkway toward the school. Long scrapes on the concrete tell of her progress so far, which is painfully slow. Finally she stops to catch her breath, the camera cutting to a close-up that frames her badly disordered hair and the sweat running down her face.)
Rarity: Come on, Rarity! You simply must get this piano to band practice! (Another couple of heaves.) What kind of person doesn’t put a piano on wheels?
(On her next attempt, with her back against the instrument, she loses her grip and slides to the ground. She gets up with a piteous little whine.)
Rarity: (dusting herself off) Just look at me! I’m a mess.
(Cut to her perspective, panning across the grassy area near the front entrance. On the next line, the camera passes a trio of gray-skinned boys, one of whom is digging a hole with a shovel, then back-pedals and zooms in to a close-up. The vests, heights and builds, beady eyes with yellowed whites, and jeweled collars around the three necks mark them as human counterparts of the Diamond Dogs who figured in “A Dog and Pony Show.” A bowl filled with rocks sits on the ground nearby.)
Rarity: What I need is a bit more muscle! (Back to her; she calls to them, all come-hither.) Oh, boys…
(They look up to find her patting her hair back into place and aiming her most alluring smile at them. All three faces break into ear-to-ear grins, and all six pupils become blue lozenge-shaped gems that match the ones on her skirt. Wipe to a close-up of Rarity, framed from the shoulders up and moving down a school hall.)
Rarity: I simply cannot thank you enough.
(A longer shot reveals that she is now sitting on top of the piano, which is being carried by the straining Dogs.)
Rarity: And while I am a bit repulsed by your musky smell— (They smile up at her.) —I can appreciate that you are diamonds in the rough.
(The boys stop in their tracks, finding a dense crowd of students stretching all the way to the end of the hall, then proceed to bulldoze their way straight through. Teens go flying every which way as discordant random notes sound off due to the contact of bodies against piano keys.)
Rarity: Excuse me…Pardon me…Excuse me… (Head-on view of the crowd, she is carried toward the camera.) …Thank you!
(Fade to black as the face of the lead Dog fills the screen.)
(Snap to the practice room. Applejack sits on the risers at one side, a bass guitar in her lap—golden brown body shading to darker brown near the edges, with a light tan border. Fluttershy stands nearby, looking over sheet music on a stand; Pinkie sits on a bench, tapping idly at a snare drum. Rainbow stares at a wall clock for a few seconds, guitar slung up, then turns away from it with an irritated groan.)
Rainbow: Where is Rarity?
Applejack: That gal prob’ly just wants to make some sorta grand entrance.
(The doors burst open and the Dogs push the piano inside.)
Rarity: Ta-da!
Applejack: Told you.
Rainbow: Rarity— (Who hops down and brushes dust from her hands.) —couldn’t you have chosen a more portable instrument?
Rarity: Heavens, no. (walking back to piano) The grand piano is the most refined and elegant of instruments. (Chord.) With it, I will be able to express my full musicality.
(Before she can get her fingers onto the keys to make her point, the ringing of a kitchen timer cuts her off. Cut to a close-up of it in Pinkie’s hand, then zoom out to frame both her and Rainbow on the start of the next line. The drummer is now standing by a shelf, and the guitarist has returned her instrument to its case and is holding it.)
Rainbow: Well, our time’s up. (Pinkie tucks the timer away in her hair.) I guess we’ll have to move our practice to the gym.
Applejack: (to Rarity) Guess you’re gonna express your “full musicality” clear across campus. (She makes air quotes on “full musicality.”)
Rarity: Huh?! (Dejected moan; Pinkie jumps up to sit on the lid.)
Pinkie: Or… (holding up a keytar) …you could play this!
(Close-up of it, panning slowly from the keyboard portion to the controls on the neck.)
Pinkie: (from o.s.) It’s part guitar, part keyboard. (Cut to her, with Rainbow in the background.) It’s a guitar-key! (Focus shifts to Rainbow.)
Rainbow: You mean a keytar. (Back to Pinkie.)
Pinkie: (shrugging) Po-tay-to, to-mah-to…
(Rarity takes hold of the instrument and begins to play a funky line.)
Rarity: Ooh! Ooh! Oh, my!
(As the Dogs watch entranced from the sidelines and the other girls gather around, she adds a lower harmony and twirls in place, her fingers now flying over the keys. A drum part comes in at this point. Shafts of golden light radiate out from under her touch, and a sparkly glow envelops her form to lift her clear of the ground. Her pony ears manifest themselves, then her tail, and now she is all the way into the groove. The others watch from the floor, having put their instruments aside. The next two lines overlap.)
Applejack: Will you look at that!
Rainbow: Cool!
(Rarity lands on the piano and slides across its lid on her knees to finish the solo, the corona fading away to nothing. The next two lines also overlap.)
Pinkie: Wowee!
Fluttershy: Oh, my goodness!
Applejack: Well, then. How ’bout you take that keytar and move your tail to our next rehearsal space?
Rarity: (rolling eyes) Fine, fine. (addressing herself o.s.) I don’t suppose…
(Cut to the Dogs on the receiving end of this last; they grin, nod, and zip to it, and the other girls can only stare in confusion as Rarity and the piano are carried out of the practice room. She whips off one last run of notes before the view fades to black.)
“A Case for the Bass”
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to the exterior of a farmhouse and separate barn during the day, with assorted items spread out on tables and a rug. A yard sale is in progress, and the apples painted onto both structures mark the property as this world’s equivalent of Sweet Apple Acres. The driveway leading from the curb to the barn indicates that it does double duty as a garage. A couple of teens are looking over the wares, and Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity are gathered around Granny, seated behind the central table. Zoom in slowly.)
Applejack: (wearily) Okay, Granny, one more time. (Close-up of the group; Granny puts money into a cash box.) When you accidentally sold my bass at the garage sale—
(She closes the box; cut to a close-up of the family matriarch.)
Applejack: (from o.s.) —who did you sell it to? (Granny thinks hard for a second.)
Granny: Yeah, I—I sold it to the owners of that new pawn shop, uh…uh, Flibbity-Flabbity, somethin’ like that.
(Dissolve to a close-up of a bell hanging above a closed door, seen from inside. It rings to mark an entrance; after the door closes, cut to the five girls now inside this place. Around them is a diversity of price-tagged items—this can only be the aforementioned pawn shop—and they look around with varied excitement, skepticism, and unease. All ten eyes pop wide open just before the camera zooms out to stop behind the heads of two men in blue/white-striped vests, white shirts, and dark gray bow ties. Their carefully styled red hair is streaked with white, and one man has a mustache—the human version of the Flim Flam Brothers. Flim, the clean-shaven one, speaks up; on the start of the next line, cut to a head-on view of the pair. The shirt sleeves are rolled up, and both wear white pants, gold-buckled belts, and two-tone shoes. Red belt and blue/white shoes for Flim, dark gray belt and red-white shoes for Flam. In addition, each wears a pin on his vest that matches his pony self’s cutie mark; Flim has a single apple slice, Flam an apple with one slice cut out. They do not wear the boater hats favored by their counterparts.)
Flim: Welcome to the grand opening of the Flim Flam Brothers’ Everything-Under-the-Sun Emporium!
Flam: If you want it… (Flim jumps into his arms…)
Flim, Flam: …we’ve got it!
(…then zips away. On the following lines, each speaker quickly procures and demonstrates/shows off the named item.)
Flim: Need a pogo stick?
Flam: A bowling ball?
Flim: A stuffed clown?
Flam: Whatever this is!
(“This” happens to be a metal helmet studded with lights and wired to a control unit.)
Applejack: (gesturing off to one side) I’d like that bass.
(Quick pan to her bass, on display with a keyboard and saxophone under a glittering disco ball. Flim quickly grabs it up as Flam tosses the helmet aside.)
Flim: I can give you this bass for a non-negotiable price of one thousand dollars. (Applejack is floored, Rarity indignant.)
Rarity: Why, you only paid Granny Smith two dollars for it!
Flim: (passing it to Flam) Yes, well, we have to cover our overhead and transportation costs.
Applejack: Listen. Granny never shoulda sold my bass. I’ll give you the two dollars back and we’ll call it even.
(Cut briefly to the fraternal hucksters on the end of this, then back to the girls. Applejack holds up the money as the others voice agreement.)
Flim, Flam: Likely story! (By now, Flim has taken the bass from Flam.)
Applejack: It is! That’s my bass!
Flim: (holding it up) And can you prove that this is in fact your bass?
Rarity: Her initials are monogrammed right on the strap!
(Back to the brothers during this line; Flam bends down for a closer look, and the camera zooms in quickly to an extreme close-up. Sure enough, a gold “A.J.” is stamped onto the leather. Cut to Flam, straightening up.)
Flam: That could mean anything! It could stand for… (Pan to Flim.)
Flim: …Aardvark Junior! (To Flam, popping up by Rarity.)
Flam: Anvil Jokers! (To Flim, leaning toward Fluttershy.)
Flim: Or Animal Jane!
Flam: Why, I’ll bet you don’t even play the bass, Applejack… (Cut to her, disbelieving, on this last; now he gets in her face.) …if that is your real name.
(She backs off just in time for Rainbow to take her place and back the mustachioed man down.)
Rainbow: Of course that’s her real name! (Pan quickly to Pinkie riding a rocking horse.)
Pinkie: And she does play the bass!
(The farm girl takes advantage of the momentary distraction to get it out of Flim’s grip and sling it up. Right fingers dance across the strings while the left ones race up and down the neck, cranking out a solo that would make any veteran bassist sit up and take notice and throwing out faint sound waves. Beaming smiles take hold on the faces of Fluttershy and Rainbow as she works her way up to a higher register; on the other hand, Flim and Flam look as if someone has just hit them upside the head with a two-by-four. One last attack on the strings turns the whole background red, leaving her visible only as a silhouette on which her pony ears and long tail-like braid appear. In addition, new white-glowing features appear on the body and neck of her bass and pulses of blue energy radiate in all directions.)
(Cut to Flim and Flam, in danger of having their faces and hair peeled off by the sonic blast. Normal color has resumed over here; when the view cuts back to Applejack and company, the red hue fades away here as well. The alterations to her instrument can now be seen in full detail: two F-shaped sound holes on the body, one above and one below the strings; an apple and decorative etching on the body; small apples between the frets. The other four stare incredulously for a moment before breaking into wild cheers.)
Flim: (cautiously) Perhaps this is her bass.
(And its owner smugly proffers the two dollars once again—but Flim just shakes his hair back into place and some sense back into himself, resuming in his usual fast-talking manner. As he speaks, Flam sorts out his own coiffure and straightens his mustache.)
Flim: But there are still the transportation costs and overhead.
Flam: Don’t forget the stocking fees! (Flim throws an arm across his shoulders.)
Flim: Wouldn’t dream of it, brother!
(Cut to a crestfallen Applejack; she sighs and drops her head, but the other four lean over in front of her, ready to throw some hands and/or very harsh words. The sight of such rancor—and the sound of a low growl from Rainbow’s throat—prompt the brothers to do a bit of very fast rethinking.)
Flam: Then again, I suppose we could make some sort of trade?
(Close-up of Applejack on this last word; she brightens considerably at the suggestion. From here, dissolve to a close-up of her—tired, out of sorts, and wearing some sort of tall yellow costume that extends above her head. Her half-pony transformation has been undone, and a slow walking bass line is heard. Zoom out as she speaks, revealing that she is wearing a banana suit over her usual clothes and playing on the sidewalk outside the pawn shop. Her cowboy hat hangs from the suit’s stem on the upper end. Granny shuffles slowly toward her, passing under the gaudy lights and stars that adorn the marquee above the entrance.)
Applejack: (woodenly, loudly) Come on down to the grand openin’ of the Flim Flam Brothers’ Everythin’-Under-the-Sun Emporium! (Granny stops short.)
Granny: Since when do you play the bass?
(Her granddaughter plays a quick flurry of notes, then claps a hand to her face in disgust. Snap to black.)
“Shake Your Tail!”
Note: The song in this short is the same as the one performed by the Rainbooms
during the first round of the Battle of the Bands, in Act Two of Rainbow Rocks.
Quiet electric guitar melody, fast 4, with bass drum/tambourine on 2 and 4 (D major)
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to the closed doors of the Canterlot High gymnasium, seen from inside. They swing open to admit Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity, who survey the expanse of open floor and stage space. Twilight is carrying a clipboard.)
All six: We’ve just got the day to get ready
And there’s only so much time to lose
(Various thoughts run through the six heads, and Rarity uses her thumbs and forefingers to frame something in the distance and looks through them with one eye squeezed shut.)
Because tonight, yeah, we’re here to party
So let’s think of something fun to do
Synthesizer, bass, additional percussion in; tambourine out; intensity builds
Background lyrics in square brackets
(Pinkie runs across with an armload of flowers, some of which tumble loose to fill the screen. As they drift past, the view behind them wipes to show the other five dressed in flowers, leis, grass skirts, and sleeveless tops for a luau. They seem caught out at the quick change, which turns out to include a complete Hawaiian setting behind them when the camera zooms out. Twilight has been relieved of her clipboard. Pinkie emerges from the grass-hut backdrop, attired as the others and playing a ukulele.)
All six: We don’t know [we don’t know] what’s gonna happen
(She gets a bit too wild with her dance, knocking over the scenery; a round of unhappy shrugs, and she gives one of her own with a big silly grin.)
We just know [we just know] it’s gonna feel right
(Rainbow leans into view in the fore to blow a whistle; zoom out to frame a row of soccer balls on the floor and an archery target off to one side. She and Applejack are back in their normal clothes, as everyone else will be when next seen, and Applejack looks uncertainly at the basketball she holds. Across the way, Fluttershy and Rarity—in front of a soccer goal—get the cake and tray of drinks the hold thoroughly disrupted by a sudden barrage of goal shots. Twilight and Pinkie run flat into each other and fall to the floor while trying to catch the basketball—which bounces into the punchbowl. Applejack grabs a second one out of Rainbow’s grip and emphatically shakes her head no.)
All our friends are here, and it’s time to ignite the lights
Tambourine and full percussion in
(Cut to a microphone on a stand. Rainbow leans into view to sing, Twilight pops up with one of her own, and Rarity joins at one on a separate stand. Rainbow and Rarity have their instruments, and Pinkie, then Applejack, and finally Fluttershy get theirs working. All six are dressed in glittery outfits and are sporting their pony ears/tails/wings, with rainbow streaks of various colors in the extended hair. In addition, each girl has a single symbol from her cutie mark stenciled around one eye, with Rainbow showing only the lightning bolt from hers.)
All six: Shake your tail, ’cause we’re here to have a party tonight
[Shake your tail, shake your tail]
(Cut to a pan through a gym full of grooving students, then to DJ P0N-3 working her turntables under the scattered light spots thrown by an o.s. disco ball, then back to the band.)
Shake your tail, ’cause we’re here to have a party tonight
[Shake your tail, shake your tail]
Percussion drops back to bass drum/tambourine 4-beat pattern; guitar, bass out
(Fluttershy’s head rises into view in the fore, just in time to get a cowboy hat plunked onto it. Zoom out; the gym is now set up for a farm-style hoedown, and all but Pinkie are in view and wearing hats and cowboy boots. All are back in their street clothes, their transformations reversed, and none but Applejack are particularly happy with the new décor. The party planner leaps into view, kitted out as the others, and lands on a mechanical bull that pitches her over the others’ heads to crash o.s. She ends up on a stack of hay bales, pushing her hat back out of her face and cheering wildly.)
Twilight: So what, you didn’t get it right the first time
Pinkie: Laugh it off, no one said it is a crime
(Rarity’s eyes rise into view in extreme close-up, framed by a jeweled gold masquerade mask; zoom out to frame her wearing an extravagant blue/yellow gown. All but Pinkie stand here, surrounded by formal decorations, and regard the masks they have been given with great puzzlement. The hats and boots have been removed. Close-up of Applejack, panning down the line four as they put these on in time: apple for Applejack, butterfly for Fluttershy, stylized eyeglasses for Twilight, jeweled starburst for Rainbow.)
Rarity: Do your thing, you know you’re an original
Applejack: Your ideas are so funny that they’re criminal
All instruments in for next line
(The pan continues to frame a grimacing tiki mask, and the camera zooms out to show Pinkie holding it in front of her face. The sight of it scares the other four in the line off their feet and out of their masks, and Pinkie and Rarity glance confusedly down at the pile of friends, Pinkie grinning sheepishly.)
All six: Oh-h-h, ah
Same instrumentation and style as at start
(A book is slammed shut in the fore; zoom out to show Twilight holding it and standing in front of the stage, on which an equation-covered blackboard has been set up. Scale models of the planets are hung on the top edge. The rest of the surrounding area sports a plethora of library shelves and a study table. Eyeing the board, she pumps an enthusiastic fist as she turns to face the gym.)
All six: We’ve just got the day to get ready
(Her face falls; cut to a worried Rarity back in her school clothes and pan in steps to a bored Applejack, then Pinkie throwing a paper airplane. Follow the craft past a concerned Fluttershy and stop on Rainbow, sitting slumped over a desk and fast asleep as it nose-dives to crumple against her head.)
And there’s only so much time to lose
(A flock of planes sails past the camera; behind them, the view wipes to show the place now set up as a petting zoo. Every animal in sight is bedecked with party hats and lights, and Fluttershy strokes a deer’s chin while holding this world’s version of Angel, her pony self’s rabbit.)
Because tonight, yeah, we’re here to party
(Rainbow rushes by, chased by far too many birds for her comfort, and passes Applejack/Pinkie/Rarity at the refreshment table. Pinkie chomps from a trough of vegetables alongside a sheep, but the other two are having trouble wrangling the livestock and a chicken scurries past with Twilight in hot pursuit.)
So let’s think of something fun to do
Synth, bass, additional bass drum beats in; tambourine out; intensity builds
(Rainbow runs back the way she came; behind her, the view wipes to her and Twilight, sitting on the again-bare gym floor and looking down in the dumps. The athlete toys with a soccer ball in one hand, then tosses it to bounce past the others, each with a prop from her idea for the big party.)
All six: We don’t know [we don’t know] what’s gonna happen
We just know [we just know] it’s gonna feel right
(Rainbow gets a flash of inspiration and snaps her fingers, getting the others’ attention, then reaches up past the top edge of the screen and pulls a rainbow banner down into view. Behind it, the scene wipes to a long shot of the six in the gym, which has now been tricked out with elements from all of their plans. The rainbows are also in effect at every level from ceiling to floor. Zoom in slowly, then cut to a close-up of Rainbow getting a hearty round of congratulations from the others. She jumps nearly to the ceiling, a flash of light bringing about her half-pony change and putting her guitar and performance outfit in place.)
All our friends are here, and it’s time to ignite the lights
Tambourine and full percussion in
Background lyrics are shouted by Applejack and sung by other members
(By the time she touches down on the stage, the others have undergone their own changes and procured their instruments to play for a packed house. Twilight and Fluttershy throw armloads of blue/yellow Wondercolt pony ears and tails into the crowd—the ones they used to boost school spirit in Equestria Girls.)
All six: Shake your tail, ’cause we’re here to have a party tonight
[Shake your tail, shake your tail]
Shake your tail, ’cause we’re here to have a party tonight
(DJ P0N-3, wearing one of each, gets funky behind her decks.)
[Shake your tail, shake your tail]
(Even old Granny does a little bit of dancing, with a couple of nearby students copying her.)
Shake your tail, ’cause we’re here to have a party tonight
(Apple Bloom, riding on the shoulders of Big Macintosh, bats a beach ball over the crowd.)
[Shake your tail, shake your tail]
(Now everyone, both onstage and off, is well and truly caught up in the party atmosphere, with ears and tails in abundance among the crowd.)
Shake your tail, ’cause we’re here to have a party tonight
[Shake your tail, shake your tail]
A cappella
(Cheers beneath the final line; Rainbow ends up on her knees alongside the others.)
Shake your tail, ’cause we’re here to have a party tonight
Song ends
(Balloons drift down from above in the foreground, the view wiping to black behind them.)
“Perfect Day for Fun!”
Peppy guitar/bass line with tambourine and bass drum beats, fast 4 (C major)
Drums sneak in just before first line
Words in capital letters are shouted rather than sung
(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card. Three vertical panels slide into view from above and below to fill the screen: Twilight at center, Applejack/Rainbow at right, Rarity at left. The two lone girls are quickly joined by Fluttershy and Pinkie, respectively, and Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity each pull out a cell phone and start typing. Close-ups of the three phones slide into view to fill the panels, each displaying a text message with the cutie marks of the pair using it.)
(The phones are pulled away to reveal a slow pan across a nighttime carnival in full swing on the Canterlot High lawn. Three text balloons appear, each first showing one pair’s marks and then changing to show the other four and a question mark—“we’re here; where are you?”)
All six: Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-h-h, oh-h
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, oh
(The phones drop into view, then slide away to a quick tilt down from the upper reaches of a roller coaster. Twilight and Fluttershy walk past it, then race off once the bookworm checks her phone and points ahead with a grin. Elsewhere, Rarity runs an eye over hers and gets a surprise when Pinkie pops up alongside with two ice cream cones; she ditches these, and both hurry away. Next Rainbow looks at her screen and runs off, tossing aside the apple she is eating. She leaves Applejack to fish her head out of an apple-bobbing barrel, spit out the fruit she has snagged, and catch up.)
All six: Looking forward to some fun, knowing all our friends will come
’Cause we’re here to spend the day, everybody come and play
(Three-way split screen of the pairs, replaced by an icon of a photo booth. Three horizontal panels slide past, each showing two sprinting girls.)
Let’s all pick a meeting place, and we’re gonna have to race
(Behind them, the view wipes to an overhead shot of an unoccupied stage, with a poster set up at a front corner. The three duos charge past in different directions, barely missing each other.)
A cappella for second half of next line
Everybody follow me, this is where we’re gonna BE
(Zoom in quickly until the picture fills the screen and the image starts to move: all six girls performing onstage with their instruments, as well as the glittery outfits and rainbow-haired half-pony transformations from “Shake Your Tail!” Pan slowly across the ensemble.)
All instruments and synthesizer in
All six: With my best friends
Though we’re different
We feel like we still belong
(New panels slide in: one for each pair on the right half of the screen, a phone on the left. A quick series of texts pops up, to the effect that the girls agree to meet at the photo booth. They are back in their street clothes.)
And every day it makes our friendship strong
Synth out
(Off they go, the screen clearing to show a “high striker” game as Applejack and Rainbow hurry over to it. Rainbow is first to swing, then Applejack with a better effort; finally the weight hits the bell—and the farm girl realizes that Spike, in his dog form, has sneaked in to best them both.)
All six: Let’s go find more games to win, everybody’s joining in
’Cause we’re having such a blast
Applejack: (spoken) Hey, did I just come in last?
(Close-up of a Whac-a-Mole game in progress, then zoom out. Fluttershy has the mallet, but instead of pounding the critters, she pets one as it pops up from its hole. Twilight approaches with a Discord doll, only to be greatly surprised when the animal lover smacks it away.)
All six: Doesn’t matter, win or lose, when we always are amused
(Pinkie walks up to Rarity, who is about to get some cotton candy. The latter is surprised to see Pinkie holding a serving the size and shape of her own head and eating a hole through the center so she can see out. Both laugh at the sugary silliness.)
All instruments except bass drum out for second half of next line
My friends stand out in a crowd, having fun and laughing LOUD
(Cut to a cheering crowd and zoom out to put Twilight in the fore, at the edge of the stage. She and the rest of the band are tricked out and performing again.)
All instruments and synth in
All six: With my best friends
We can depend
(Zoom out from a close-up of her, Fluttershy, and Rainbow to put them on the screen of the center phone in a row of three. The others show empty stretches of stage, but Fluttershy and Rainbow move off to either side and appear on these. Pan away to show three more phones that individually display Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie, and a seventh showing the photo booth.)
They will always follow through
It’s the perfect day for fun when I spend it with you
(This last one stays at center screen as the others are pulled away, then drops out of sight to show the real thing—two of them, to be exact. Pinkie and Rarity rush into one, Applejack and Rainbow into the second, and neither pair sees the other’s arrival. Normal appearances have resumed again. Here come Twilight and Fluttershy, who find themselves at a loss, and the texts start flying again. Twilight says she and Fluttershy are present and wonders where the others are, and each pair signals which booth they are in. Both booths then send up a “???” message of surprise, and all six girls finally catch sight of each other once the occupants peek out.)
All six: Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-h-h, oh-h
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, oh
(Twilight and Fluttershy run toward the booths; cut to inside one as the whole group crowds in. A series of flashes shows the results on a cell phone screen: Pinkie crowding to the front…Rainbow hogging the focus…Twilight pointing frantically at her own phone…her legs caught in mid-sprint away from the booth.)
Synth out
All six: Taking photos with my friends, never want this day to end
But the time is going fast, so come on and make it last
(The backstage area; they run up the steps, and the camera pans slowly across the front row—which includes an enthusiastic Granny. Curtain up to reveal the costumed and transformed band under multi-hued spotlights.)
Get the band up on the stage, doesn’t matter what your age
All instruments out for second half of next line; growing synth note
Hear the music, now’s your chance, everybody start to DANCE
All instruments and synth in (D major)
(Quite a few students shake their groove things, including the Crusaders.)
All six: With my best friends
Though we’re different
(Rainbow hops backward across the stage and very nearly falls off, but Fluttershy hooks her tambourine around the upraised foot to drag the guitarist back.)
We feel like we still belong
(Pan back across the stage to frame the others. Fluttershy’s free hand grips the neck of Applejack’s bass, and both Pinkie and Rarity have seized hold of the blond teen to anchor her. Twilight, meanwhile, stands back from them and captures the action on her phone.)
And every day it makes our friendship strong
(Flash; cut to a series of phone pictures, all of which show the girls’ normal appearance again, and shift from one to the next with a flash. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity with their heads emerging from goofy human-figure backdrops…Twilight and Applejack dragging a wailing Fluttershy into a funhouse…these two bailing out in a panic…Fluttershy emerging with a nonchalant shrug…Pinkie/Rainbow/Rarity on the roller coaster, Rarity getting showered with the popcorn Pinkie has brought along…Twilight smiling at Rarity’s stunned reaction to her own distorted reflection in a funhouse mirror…Applejack and Rainbow looking totally baffled at Pinkie’s completely normal image in the same glass. In fact, the pink goofball has managed to obliterate the principles of optics, raising her arms and one leg and yet having her reflection stand perfectly still.)
All six: With my best friends
We can depend
They will always follow through
(The next picture shows Twilight/Pinkie/Rarity riding a carousel, after which one more flash clears the screen and six phones are thrown down into a pile, one by one. Each shows one of the girls, caught mid-performance.)
There’s a guarantee for fun when I spend it with you
(A flash, and the scene briefly shifts back to the stage before cutting to the girls’ perspective. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity each hold their phones into view and take a picture of the very happy crowd. The screen snaps to black after the camera flash, then tiles itself with three vertical panels of the pairs, again in street clothes. Now, though, the dividing lines are pulled away to form one continuous image and the six friends trade a round of smiles. Zoom out to show this scene as a picture on Twilight’s phone, which they are all looking at as they ride the Ferris wheel under a moonlit sky.)
Song ends
(Fade to black.)