MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS—SPRING BREAKDOWN

Written by Nick Confalone

Produced by Angela Belyea

Story editing by Nick Confalone

Directed by Ishi Rudell

Co-directed by Katrina Hadley

Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)

Note:                This transcript is based on the original airing of this special on Discovery Family,

                which ran 44 minutes. It was later released in six segments on YouTube, each

                with its own title card; one is shown at the beginning of the Discovery Family

                airing as well.

                        An extended version of the song in Act Two is included at the end of this

                            transcript.

OPENING THEME

Act One

(Opening shot: fade to black from the title card, then in to the sun shining in a cheery daytime sky almost totally free of clouds. Two seagulls swoop into view for a moment before veering away, and the camera pans/tilts down to a frame a gaily painted cruise ship in a long overhead shot. A stage has been set up on the main deck up near the prow, with a seashell-shaped backdrop. The craft sounds a bellowing blast from its horn as the gulls descend toward it.)

(Cut to a close-up of Rarity reading and taking it easy on a lounge chair. She is wearing a white sundress decorated with a pattern of sparkling violet gems, a pale yellow sash encircles her waist, and her eyes are protected by tinted lenses set in jeweled frames whose color matches the sash. She wears her hair in a ponytail, jeweled violet sandals, and the stone from her magical pendant at her neckline. One hand is occupied with her book, the other with a drink in a hollowed coconut shell, and a travel bag and bottle of suntan lotion rests on the deck within easy reach. One of the gulls perches on an adjacent empty chair, drawing a smile—but the tranquility is shattered by the sight of Pinkie Pie pulling herself into view in the foreground. Seen from the hips up, she is wearing a sleeveless pink sundress with darker polka dots and has gathered her hair into two short, fat pigtails at the base of her neck.)

Pinkie: (shaking camera) SPRING BREAAAAK!!

(Only on the end of this does she tip her head down to the horizontal, showing off a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. The force of her yell leaves Rarity’s own shades half-capsized, and she peels out fast enough to scare the gull away. Pan quickly to another stretch of the deck occupied by various other passengers on this cruise, many in swimwear and/or students at Canterlot High School. A white-uniformed attendant makes her way among the crowd to offer drinks as the camera roves past the gathering to an onboard swimming pool, on whose diving board Micro Chips is working up his nerve to try a leap. However, the sudden emergence of Pinkie from the water scares him into losing his balance and toppling in with an ungainly splash.)

Pinkie: Spring break!

(Cut to Bulk Biceps at the prow, dressed in a cap, shorts, and sleeveless tunic styled as a sailor’s uniform. He gazes out over the waves, one hand raised to shade his eyes, and is only slightly surprised to find Pinkie popping up behind him and stretching his arms out to either side.)

Pinkie: SPRIIIING BREAAAAAAAK!!

(As she voices her glee thusly, he grins and the camera zooms out quickly to a long shot of the vessel majestically slicing through the surf. Wipe to an overhead shot of the pool area—near the stern, as it turns out—and an elevated lounge deck adjacent to it. Pinkie is hunched intently over a serving counter staffed by a crew member, and all the other Rainbooms save Rainbow Dash have gathered at the railing that overlooks the pool. Zoom in slowly and cut to a closer shot, panning slowly through the crowd and its accompanying buzz of conversation. More of Pinkie’s outfit can now be seen: cupcake-shaped fanny pack shifted to ride on one hip, dark pink trim on the hem of her dress, blue sandals with stacked heels, the stone from her pendant set in the blue bow on her hair band. Rarity, having disposed of her book and drink and righted her eyewear, briefly holds up her cell phone to take a “selfie” photo of herself as Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer talk at the rail and Twilight shows off a brochure. Twilight: dress in purple and deep pink, with stars of each color appearing on the panels of the other, blue-violet sandals with built-up soles. Sunset: sparkly magenta dress with her cutie mark on the front and a beaded belt, sandals with brown straps and black soles, dark gray ribbon at her throat. Rainbow makes her way toward the group: blue capri pants, sleeveless rainbow-striped top tied off to leave her midriff partly exposed, white/magenta baseball cap sporting a cloud against a trio of red/yellow/green stripes, flip-flops with red/yellow straps and blue soles, one wristband striped in two shades of blue, hair in a ponytail. Hers is the only face showing any unease. Above it all, the sky has advanced a fair bit toward sundown.)

(Cut to the rail, where a green-faced Applejack is clearly in the grip of a bout of seasickness despite Fluttershy’s effort to comfort her. Both are seen from the waist up in this shot. The farmer has donned a sleeveless red sundress with pale green trim, decorated with flowers at the hem, and has traded her hat for a green hair band. As for the animal lover: sleeveless, white one-shoulder top patterned with butterflies and leaves and trimmed in pale green lace, butterfly brooch at the covered shoulder, blue-green shorts.)

Twilight: (reading from brochure) “Welcome aboard the Lux Deluxe, where you’ll set sail for a full week of luxurious luxuriating on our most deluxe luxury liner.”

(This shot is close enough to pick out the lighter pink sash on her dress, the stone from her pendant in a purple star-shaped hair clip over one temple, and the details of Sunset’s belt—red/yellow beads secured by a clasp set with her own magic stone. Rainbow has mounted hers on her wristband. As Twilight reads, Pinkie acquires a beverage from the serving counter and proceeds to chug it down. Fluttershy turns her attention from Applejack, clearly showing the butterflies on her shorts, as the blonde’s cheeks bulge.)

Fluttershy: Ooh! Sounds…luxurious! (Pinkie crosses to Twilight, carrying an armload of fresh drinks.)

Twilight: Did you see there’s a petting zoo on board?

Pinkie: Mmmm! Smoothies! (She passes one to Rainbow.)

Twilight: And an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet you can… (losing steam) …eat all you…can eat…at? (Pinkie lets off an ecstatic scream.)

Pinkie: Twilight, this cruise has everything, and a moving floor!

(Cut to an extreme close-up of the planks beneath her feet, which heave briefly up and down to the creaking of the ship, then cut to Applejack. Now her pendant’s stone can be seen mounted on her hair band, whose green tint very nearly matches the one suffusing her face. After a moment’s intense struggle, she forces her gut to behave itself and slumps over the rail with a weary groan.)

Applejack: I think I may have forgotten to pack my sea legs.

(Zoom out to frame Pinkie now alongside. The perky teen offers one of the many libations she still carries, but the mere sight of it causes Applejack to clap hands to mouth as her gorge bubbles up anew. Twilight and Sunset throw worried glances her way, but smiles quickly come over both faces to brighten the mood a bit.)

Sunset: Thank you for organizing this trip, Twilight.

Rainbow: (to Twilight, smiling) I gotta hand it to you. (gesturing broadly) You really have an eye for climactic battle settings.

Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity: Eh? / Huh? (Sunset holds her tongue and gives Rainbow a funny look.)

Rainbow: Imagine, going head to head with a sea monster by the pool!

(The screen fades to white and clears to present a hastily doodled vision of just such a creature rising up from the deeps to menace a bevy of screaming, fleeing passengers at this spot. The action advances in a series of quick freeze frames. It roars and belches a stream of smoke toward the deck, raising further ruckus.)

Rainbow: (voice over) Ka-chow! Evil Equestrian magic blows up the diving board! (She vocalizes a blast; now the ship starts to sink as life-jacketed passengers float in the water.) The boat’s sinking! Everyone’s screaming!

(Zoom in on the upraised prow on the end of this, then fade to white and in to the blue teen with the overactive imagination. Behind her, the other girls are scared at least three-fourths out of their wits.)

Rainbow: And then we save the day!

(Only now does she turn to see just how badly her narrative has rattled the six. This shot picks out the hair clip Fluttershy wears, set with her pendant’s stone. Puzzled/irritated looks pass from one set of eyes to another during the long pause before Fluttershy speaks up.)

Fluttershy: Oh! Is the sea monster okay in this story?

Rainbow: Better than okay. (She slurps down her drink…) She’s our friend now.

(…and, grinning like a loon, plops the glass onto the tray of a passing crew member without so much as a glance in that direction. This earns her a slightly dirty look.)

Rainbow: (pumping a fist) Best spring break ever!

(Her amped-up enthusiasm softens by notches as she takes in the skeptical reactions on the others’ faces. Fluttershy and Rarity have now obtained their own liquid refreshment.)

Sunset: Or we could do…not that.

(Pan slowly across the group, the other listeners except Applejack voicing reactions along this line. Pinkie is now working on a fresh smoothie, and Applejack’s face is back to normal. The blue fist drops as Rainbow grimaces.)

Twilight: (crossing to her, touching an arm) I was hoping we could do something without having to battle Equestrian magic for a change? (Cut to Applejack on the start of the next line.)

Applejack: We couldn’t even spend the day at Equestria World without creatin’ a calamity.

Rainbow: Which we then un-calaminated like literal awesome superheroes!

(Referring to the group’s adventure in “Rollercoaster of Friendship,” but with one error: the amusement park that served as its main setting was named Equestria Land. Twilight shoots her a slightly hairy eyeball before the camera cuts to frame all seven from head to toe for the first time. Fluttershy wears pink sandals with high heels, Applejack pale green ones with flat soles. There follows a long, tense silence, which is broken by Rarity’s airy, casual sigh.)

Rarity: (patting Twilight’s shoulder) Twilight, this is a most deservéd respite. (hugging her, passing her a drink) We’re all very thankful for the chance to relax and do absolutely nothing.

(She props her sunglasses on her forehead as Fluttershy/Pinkie/Sunset concur; cut to a close-up of Twilight’s beaming face and pan to Rainbow’s incredulous one, which shifts to sullenness accented by a crossing of the arms. The buzzing of a phone sparks a surprised yelp from Rarity, and she pulls hers from a pocket and taps at the screen. Fluttershy and Pinkie have put away their drinks by this point. Zoom in on the fashion-conscious girl.)

Rarity: Oh! (Scream and hyperventilate.)

Rainbow: What is it? Evil magic?

Rarity: A GPS alert! We’re in international waters!

(The ace athlete pulls in a long, stunned gasp, only to shift into complete bewilderment.)

Rainbow: What does that mean?

Rarity: (giddily, singsong) Tax-free shopping!

(She races off with a wild giggle, the other five dispersing in a scatter of conversation and leaving a put-out Rainbow to stalk away. Twilight has parked her smoothie on the serving counter. Dissolve to a close-up of a tray of sweets on a table; a hand reaches to take one, and a longer shot frames those fingers as belonging to one of two female passengers engaged in a bit of chit-chat. They are standing inside a dining room whose many tables are loaded with all manner of sugary delectables—the all-you-can-eat dessert buffet listed in Twilight’s brochure. The far wall consists of floor-to-ceiling windows. As guests help themselves to the spread, the camera pans to a pair of closed double doors, which are flung open to frame Pinkie standing just outside in a corridor. She has shed her sunglasses.)

Pinkie: Ooooh! (Cut/pan from one offering to another; she continues o.s.) Honey walnut crisp…candy-coated cupcakes…banana sorbet delight…

(Zoom out to frame several tables as a long gasp is heard from her general direction. One platter has a domed cover and is marked with a card bearing a picture of a cake; she leans into view near this.)

Pinkie: …Triple-Choco-Berry-Blasted Butter Biscuit Bundt Cake?!? (Enraptured squeal; she reaches to the cover’s handle.) I’ve waited my whole life to taste a cake like this!

(Five pink fingers lift it away, only to reveal a whole lot of nothing beneath. The camera zooms in slowly on her face, tilting slightly to frame her at a half-drunken angle as her expression melts into one of horrified disappointment and the lights dim for a moment. Just as quickly, the illumination level and the camera angle return to normal in a longer shot.)

Pinkie: NOOOOOOOOO!!

(And here comes Puffed Pastry, a female chef in white jacket/toque and carrying a new covered platter. She speaks in a heavy, gravelly French accent.)

Puffed: Excusez-moi, mademoiselle. (uncovering dish; it bears a freshly baked, steaming cake) How about one fresh from the oven?

(Once Pinkie’s mental transmission slips back into gear, she utters a huge gasp and beams from ear to ear, her eyes shining like a pair of lighthouses. Puffed throws her a smug smile and holds up a spatula in her free hand, the camera zooming in to catch a glint of light off the metal, and poises it to lift a slice away.)

Rainbow: (charging across at magic speed, tackling her) Heeeee-yah! (The cake goes flying.)

Pinkie: CAKE OVERBOARRRRD!!

(On the end of this, cut to a fellow elsewhere in the dining room, who looks up from his phone just in time to find himself in its growing shadow The dessert comes down squarely on his head, splattering him with gooey deliciousness from the shoulders up and drawing a round of shocked gasps from the patrons. Rainbow and Puffed have wound up in a heap near the far end, the latter giving a yell of disbelief.)

[Animation goof: Rainbow’s wristband is gone until the end of this buffet sequence.]

Puffed: My gâteau!

(She makes a half-choked sound of mingled frustration and fury, and her snarling face goes bright red as the camera zooms in and Rainbow backs o.s. with an embarrassed grin and chuckle. A teakettle sings at full voice in the woman’s head for a few agonizingly long seconds, after which the camera cuts to the corridor, just outside the now-closed doors. These are bashed open from within by the force with which Puffed ejects Pinkie and Rainbow bodily from the buffet. Her face has returned to its normal hue, and the two yelling girls manage to stay on their feet for two or three yards before toppling face-first to the carpet. Without a word, the chef dusts off her hands and pulls the doors shut with a resounding slam. As Pinkie and Rainbow sit up, the latter offers a weak chuckle.)

Rainbow: You saw it. (Pinkie fixes her with a hard glare.) She had a…uh…spatula! So…you’re welcome.

(Wipe to a slow pan across an area outfitted as a petting zoo. Animals and passengers alike are having a peaceful time of it, and Fluttershy makes her way to an enclosure in which a baby goat is clambering up onto a tree branch.)

Fluttershy: A goat on a boat?

(Giggling, she lifts it down and cradles it for a moment before setting it on the floor.)

Fluttershy: Now I’ve seen everything.

(A new noise draws her attention to a hutch populated by a number of small gray rabbits. She crouches down to pet one on the head; close-up of it.)

Fluttershy: (from o.s.) Aren’t you just the softest thing? (It squeaks happily; cut to frame both.) You have forty-two grandchildren? (Squeak.) Wow, Mr. Bouncy, that is impressive! I’d love to meet them.

(Mr. Bouncy makes a “come out and say hello” gesture to the other inhabitants of the hutch, but before they can do as suggested, Rainbow blurs into view.)

Rainbow: Not today!

(Fluttershy can only yelp as she is yanked back and to her feet, while the speedster strikes a fighting stance and gestures toward the rabbits as if to say, “Bring it on.” Mr. Bouncy just shrugs confusedly toward his descendants, who are equally at a loss.)

Rainbow: Sure, he seems cute and cuddly now, but have you ever seen what a magic-infused evil rabbit can do?

(Humans and animals are equally unsettled by this bizarre query.)

Fluttershy: Um…eat carrots?

Rainbow: Yeah. (pointing at Mr. Bouncy) Evil carrots!

(Within seconds, every single critter in the place has bolted for cover and taken all the fun out of the petting zoo. Fluttershy drops her eyes and rubs one temple with an irked hand. Dissolve to a close-up of Applejack making her way slowly and queasily along the length of the deck, one hand pressed to her gut and the other keeping contact with the nearest wall for support. Her face goes green upon getting a whiff of the treats being enjoyed by a couple of passersby, and a brief lurch stops her cold and brings her perilously close to losing her lunch where she stands. As she moves across to lean over the rail, Rainbow steps into view from around a corner and jogs over.)

Rainbow: What’s up, AJ?

(The blonde can only manage a series of grunts through her distended cheeks and tight-locked lips as she tries her best to act casual.)

Rainbow: You can’t talk? (More grunts and a “no” gesture.) Evil magic stole your voice? (More of the same; now Rainbow grabs her and shakes.) Out, evil spirits, out!

(Close-up of the afflicted teen on the end of this, the sloshing of her stomach contents coming through loud and clear now. Pulling herself free, she exerts a Herculean effort and finally manages to compose herself. The triumph is short-lived, though; her digestive system roils anew, sending her back to the rail so she can blow chunks into the ocean. Rainbow cringes as seagulls wheel down to see if there might be anything salvageable in the mess.)

Rainbow: (sheepishly, scratching back of head) Or you’re seasick. (Weak chuckle; then a new, fearful idea hits.) Because of evil magic?

(Applejack’s only response is to scrub the back of one hand across her own mouth and give Rainbow the king daddy of all venomous looks. Her face has cleared now.)

Rainbow: Or not. (Embarrassed chuckle.)

(Wipe to an overhead shot of the pool, zooming in slowly as Rainbow descends the steps leading down to it from the lounge, and cut to her. She stops and runs an eye over the area before addressing the crowd at large.)

Rainbow: HAS ANYONE SEEN BAD MAGIC ON BOARD?

(The festive mood comes to a screeching halt, quizzical eyes turning her way and puzzled voices murmuring among themselves, and the camera pans quickly from one knot of onlookers to another. The last of these is a trio of boys seated at a table, one of whom is Flash Sentry; he nods, stands, and points to a nearby set of closed double doors. Rainbow gasps excitedly at having found a lead, adjusts her cap, and strides across the deck to check it out. Cut to just inside the doors as she pulls one open and puts her head in to scope out the joint; her eyes pop very wide, and the camera swivels quickly to frame another closed door directly ahead at the end of a corridor. She takes a step toward this, mouth curving into a determined smile; cut to the area on its other side—dimly lit and filled with sparkly purple mist. The door swings open to frame Rainbow’s silhouette at the threshold; upon tentatively easing in just a fraction, she is greeted by the sight of a hazy auditorium whose seats are mostly empty. The mist is thickest near the stage, and a close-up of one stretch of seats discloses a few elderly spectators snoozing peacefully. Rainbow gasps in fright and advances toward the stage, on which the vague outline of a top-hatted female figure can now be seen.)

Figure: (echoing weirdly) Prepare yourself!

Rainbow: (bracing for a fight) I’m ready for anything!

(She gets a malicious giggle in reply before the view snaps to black.)

Act Two

(Opening shot: fade in to the face-off in the auditorium.)

Figure: (echoing) Prepare yourself…

(The fog slowly clears to reveal the speaker fully as Trixie, dressed in the performance outfit she wore for the “Street Magic with Trixie!” short. The echo fades from her voice as she continues.)

Trixie: …for the Great and Powerful Trixie of the High Seas! Two shows daily. Tip your waitresses. (Cut to Rainbow, her mind blown.)

Rainbow: Wasn’t ready for that.

(She walks toward the camera, the view fading to black at her approach and then snapping to a longer shot of the stage; she stops a few yards away in the aisle.)

Trixie: Why, hello, Rainbow Dash. (removing hat; Rainbow steps up onstage) If you’re hoping for a glimpse of the ultimate power in the universe, you’ll have to wait until tonight.

Rainbow: Nah, just looking for bad magic.

Trixie: (needled, donning hat) Sorry to disappoint you, but the bad magic of others always follows the amazing magic of moi.

Rainbow: What do you mean?

Trixie: (scoffing, crossing to her) I’m talking about the old grandpas in the audience who see my show and then try to impress their kids with a disappearing-quarter trick on their way home.

(During this line, cut to the two oldsters previously seen in the seats. They are now awake, and one shows off a coin, squeezes his hands together around it, and spreads them wide in an attempt to show that it has vanished. Instead, the coin squirts away and clinks on the floor—David Copperfield he is not. Both men start looking for the money as the camera cuts back to Rainbow, who starts to have a brainstorm.)

Rainbow: Their magic only shows up in response to your magic. Huh. You’re a genius!

Trixie: (dismissively) Well, obviously. (lifting a string of handkerchiefs tied together corner-to-corner) Now, do you mind helping me shove this ten-foot handkerchief down my sleeve?

(Rainbow’s jog for the exit, and the sound of the opening/closing door that drifts back, answer that one clearly enough—so the illusionist begins to wrangle the prop on her own. Dissolve to a busy gift shop; Rarity walks in, checking her phone, and stops upon getting an eyeful of the variegated items up for sale. Grinning widely, she stashes the device and twirls over to a full-length mirror with an article of clothing held up to her chest in order to see how it might look on her. There follows a series of five flashes of white, each of which clears to show her modeling a different combination of accessories, then a run past the sales counter to drop off a shopping bag with a rather bored crew member on cashier duty who is filing her nails. Other items are quickly snatched up—a squeaky starfish, a baseball cap—and two more bags are deposited on the counter in Rarity’s next pass. A keychain, shirt, and dress go next, after which the camera cuts to an extreme close-up of Rarity’s shining eye and zooms out. She is peering into a small glass case displaying immaculately cleaned seashells, and a cut to the counter frames one being wrapped and boxed. It and a fourth bag appear on the counter, quickly followed by two more boxes, the starfish, and one last tiny bag. Finally the cashier rings up the lot, bringing Rarity to a smile when she sees the total. She is now carrying a small purse—one last acquisition, perhaps.)

Rarity: Nine-ninety-nine! (laughing) My savvy shopping smarts strike again! (She produces a bill.) Here’s ten.

(The impassive cashier takes the bill, adds it to her register drawer, and flips a penny back across the counter as change. Rarity tries to catch it, only to see it slide free of her grip time after time. It finally clatters to the floor in close-up; she bends to pick it up, but a crew member’s tanned hand gets in an instant before hers so that her fingers touch those of this new figure. Zoom out to frame it as Ragamuffin, a male not much older than she, with short, tousled blond hair, one brown wristband, and sprinkles of freckles under the outside corners of his bright green eyes. Rarity pulls her hand away as he winks and bites down on the penny, as if confirming it to be genuine. He speaks with a broad Cockney accent.)

Ragamuffin: By golly! That’s real copper, it is! (His perspective of her and the coin.) Bloomin’ delightful!

(Following a moment’s stunned silence on the fashionista’s part, the camera cuts back to him as he stands up.)

Ragamuffin: Uh, penny for your thoughts, miss?

Rarity: (stammering demurely) Oh, you can’t afford my thoughts.

Ragamuffin: (chuckling) Quite right. (helping her up) Lovable scamp like meself.  (winking) Ol’ Ragamuffin, that’s me name, innit? (He notices her multiple purchases.) Uh, need a hand?

Rarity: (handing bags to him) Oh…Ragamuffin? I’m Rarity.         

Ragamuffin: (puzzled, sounding it out) Uh…R-R-Ra-ri-’ee? (Sheepish grunt.)

(He has applied a glottal stop in place of the T-sound in her name, a common feature of Cockney speech.)

Rarity: No, no, no, no, no. Rari-ty.

Ragamuffin: Ra-ri-’ee? (Long pause.)

Rarity: (slightly deflated) Close enough.

(Dissolve to a long shot of the stage set up near the prow and zoom in slowly. All of the Rainbooms except for Rainbow and Rarity are here, Applejack has fetched up by an amplifier, Twilight paces nervously without the brochure she was studying in Act One, and the other three are looking over their instruments. A pan across the stage clearly frames Applejack’s gastrointestinal distress and the general air of worry shared among the other four girls. Sunset plucks a string on her guitar; Fluttershy taps her tambourine; Pinkie sits slumped over her drum kit, now wearing her sunglasses again.)

Twilight: Hmmm… (An inspiration hits; she turns to the others with a slightly forced smile.) Look at us! Getting ready to play at a pool party! Who knows what hijinks will ensue, am I right? Maybe I’ll fall in the pool fully clothed, and everyone will laugh!

(She laughs gamely as the camera cuts to Fluttershy and Pinkie, neither of whom shows even a flicker of joining in her mirth. Pinkie points up her own deep blue funk by letting her head thump down on her bass drum, and Twilight’s attempt to lift spirits peters out.)

Twilight: Are you not having fun?

Pinkie: (sighing) My whole life, I’ve been taught that you could only berry-blast a butter biscuit on a Bundt cake with two layers of chocolate. But this afternoon, I saw the truth. The buffet has a Triple-Choco-Berry-Blasted Butter Biscuit Bundt Cake.

Twilight: How was it?

Pinkie: (shrilly, viciously) I don’t know, ’cause Rainbow Dash got me banned from the buffet!

Twilight: What?!

Fluttershy: She also scared the animals in the petting zoo, and now they don’t want pets. (whispering, as Applejack stands up with a green face) It’s just a zoo.

Applejack: (weakly) She sure wasn’t helpin’ me not get sick off the side of the boat.

Twilight: But…you’re still having fun…right?

Fluttershy: (trying to sound convincing) Oh, of course!

Pinkie: (sourly, raising a drumstick) Yeah!

(And here goes Applejack’s stomach all over again, sending her sprinting offstage to let one fly over the rail.)

Twilight: (crushed) I’m sorry, everyone.

(Sunset un-slings her guitar, sets it down, and crosses to lay a consoling hand on the bookworm’s shoulder.)

Sunset: It’s not your fault. (They trade a small smile.)

Rainbow: (running up) Hey, hey, hey! (climbing onto stage) Sorry I’m late. So listen. I got an idea for our show tonight. We unleash some awesomeness on the crowd. I’m talking rainbow lasers.

Sunset: (puzzled) Is that a thing?

Rainbow: (laughing) Yeah. When we—

Pinkie: Do you mean when we turn into ponies, or do you mean—

Rainbow: No, th-the other thing!

Sunset: I always called that “pony up.”

Rainbow: (scoffing) The rainbow lasers!

Fluttershy: I don’t think that’s a thing.

Rainbow: It will be after we do it tonight! (raising a fist) Who’s with me?

(She is met with dead silence, and her enthusiasm ebbs as Sunset crosses to her.)

Sunset: Rainbow Dash, can I talk to you for a second?

(Dissolve to a slow pan across the stage, with these two standing together at a distance from the others for a private conversation, then cut to a close-up of them. Sunset lets out a long sigh and takes some seconds to collect herself before speaking.)

Sunset: Twilight worked really hard to plan this trip for all of us, and…oh, how can I say this without being mean?

Rainbow: (groaning) Just say it! I can take it.

Sunset: You’re ruining it for everyone!

Rainbow: (floored) Ouch! Your words just punched my feelings.

Sunset: You said you could take it! Just…stop looking for a problem when there isn’t one. How’s that?

(Rainbow ponders this advice sourly, but is soon distracted by a giggle from the o.s. Rarity. Sure enough, here comes the shopping expert onto the stage, Ragamuffin in tow with her voluminous purchases.)

Rarity: (removing sunglasses) Hello, darlings.

Twilight: Where have you been?

Ragamuffin: (setting his load down; Applejack returns) ’Avin’ a little chat with ol’ Ragamuffin, she was.

(General funny looks from the rest of the gang, except for a nauseated Applejack—her face clear—and a smiling Rainbow.)

Ragamuffin: (dusting off hands, saluting) All right, all right. Thanks for everything, Rari’ee.

(Rarity sighs blissfully, a blush tingeing her cheeks pink. Her shades now rest above her forehead.)

Ragamuffin: (vigorously shaking Applejack’s hand) Good luck for all the music and whatnot. (Her face goes green; hands clap to mouth; he departs waving.) Cheers!

(The blond bassist bugs out in the opposite direction to find a convenient rail over which to give her lunch the heave-ho. Rarity returns the wave with a soft sigh.)

Rarity: It’s like he fell out of a historical romance novel.

Fluttershy: (to Twilight/Pinkie/Rainbow/Sunset) Is that how romance sounds?

(The stares she gets could best be translated as “Your guess is as good as mine.” Cut to a long shot of the ship, the sky darkening first to twilight and then overcast night as it pushes ahead. Lights wink on in the portholes and in strings that line the deck as thunder rumbles in the distance. On deck, tables are being moved and refreshments set out in the area near the stage. Ragamuffin and another crew member set a speaker in place, and Ragamuffin throws a thumbs-up to Rarity, who claps her approval; she no longer carries her purse. A microphone is slotted into its stand by Rainbow, and in short order all the Rainbooms are onstage with instruments at the ready. They have changed into new dresses for this gig, both Pinkie and Rarity have put away their sunglasses. A portion of Rainbow’s hair has been braided and wound around her head, but the rest is still in its ponytail; in addition, she has ditched her baseball cap. Some have attached their pendant stones to new accessories.)

Light electric guitar/synthesizer/percussion melody, fast 4 (A flat major)

(Spots and beams of light shine from the stage backdrop, and someone in the crowd begins to snap fingers in time. In short order, eyes and ears are focusing on the stage.) 

Rainbow:                Get in the groove, you bring your dancing shoes

                        I’ll bring the attitude, you bring the crew so we can move

(Stars are projected onto the deck, one surrounding Flash’s feet. He and other spectators raise their arms in celebration, while Bulk tears open the tunic of his sailor-style outfit.)

                        Light up the floor, turn up the bass

                        Yeah, let me see that smile on your face

(She glances over to Applejack, who manages to drum up a shaky smile despite her momentarily virescent cheeks.)

Bass guitar, tambourine, full percussion in

(Now the crowd really starts to get into a party mood, cheering and dancing.)

Rainbooms:                Come on and go with the flow, gonna steal the show, yeah

Twilight:                Let me show you how it goes

Sunset: Repeat after me!

Rainbooms:                ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                        I feel abso-absolutely amazing

(Sunset winks at Flash, who blushes and beams.)

                        ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                        I feel abso-absolutely amazing

(Rainbow starts into a guitar solo.)

Rainbow: (to others) Rainbow lasers!

(The others trade bewildered and somewhat miffed looks, but decide to humor her. The six-stringer’s pony ears emerge from behind her coiled braid, followed by her entire body rising clear of the stage in the magic aura that envelops her. The others gain their ears as well but remain in their places, six pairs of concerned eyes flicking up at Rainbow, whose wings manifest as she continues to play. None of the seven gain their tails. In a long shot of the ship, a wide-angle spectrum of light in the girls’ signature colors blasts toward the clouds.)

Song ends abruptly

(Back onstage, one bulb after another shatters in its socket on the backdrop. Rainbow can only boggle at the electrical failure, which quickly spreads to the lights lining the deck and spurs the crowd into screams of fright, and in seconds the entire ship has gone dead. No porthole lights, no deck lights, no sound system, no engines, nothing except for the anxious murmurs now rippling through the passengers. Rainbow settles to the deck, her ears/wings disappearing, and tosses her guitar aside with gusto. The others’ transformations have already reversed by this point.)

Rainbow: Oh, it’s about to go down!

Voice in crowd: The ship’s going down?

(Those four words touch off a full-scale freak-out.)

Rainbow: Not the ship! The ship’s not going down! (Scoff.) I meant evil! Stop screaming!

(She slumps on her feet, disgusted at their terrified reaction. Fade to black.)

Act Three

(Opening shot: fade in to a long overhead shot of the disabled ship, zooming in slowly, then cut to the deck. Crew members have stepped in to distribute armloads of flashlights and talk with passengers to keep them calm. Onstage, Pinkie has stepped out from behind her kit, and Applejack is fighting to rein in her gag reflex.)

Fluttershy: What happened to the lights?

Rarity: What happened to the engine?

Pinkie: Aw, I hate seeing a party get shut down before its time.

Applejack: The good news is, now that it’s dark, maybe my brain won’t know I’m on a boat.

(That theory lasts until a fresh wave of green-faced nausea hits—perhaps one second.)

Applejack: Oh, no. It heard me.

(She peels out, but gets herself under control and stops half-hunched at the edge of the stage.)

Twilight: (brightly) Let’s not let a little thing like total mechanical and electrical failure ruin our fun.

(Her chipper attitude fails to take root among her bandmates, but she is undeterred.)

Twilight: (running off) Leave it to me!

Rainbow: (to others) She’s wasting her time, because this is… (dramatically, pointing skyward) …Equestrian magic! (Sunset angrily yanks the arm down.)

Sunset: Stop!

Rainbow: You stop! We show off our magic, and literally ten seconds later the power blows? (Applejack trudges back.) We scared whatever’s out there, and it’s fighting back! We should split up and search the ship. Who’s with me?

(Not a one, judging from the averted eyes and lack of vocal response. A close-up of Rainbow and her confidently raised fist dissolves to one of her in a rather worse frame of mind, now walking and carrying an active flashlight. A longer shot puts her on a different section of the deck.)

Rainbow: (groaning, sullenly) That’s the last time I ask, “Who’s with me?”

(The camera tilts down through a “cutaway” view of the deck as the view fades to black. It stops on an engine room crowded with machinery and control panels. Twilight sits on the floor to inspect one stretch of the piping, her only illumination coming from the flashlights held by two of the three crew members standing behind her. She straightens up, exposing safety goggles in place of her usual glasses and the work gloves she has put on. From here on in, each girl will have put away her instrument when seen next.)

Twilight: I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but… (Airy giggle.) …may I?

(She accepts a proffered flashlight and sinks out of sight. Cut to an overhead shot of a barely-lit patch of floor amid the pipes and cables. She rolls into view, lying face-up on a mechanic’s dolly, and fumbles around with her free hand while playing the light here and there.)

Twilight: (snarling in frustration) What a mess! (She rolls out.) Did you even read the six-hundred-page online emergency handbook?

(Shrugs pass between two of the crew members—“is this kid for real?”—and she shakes her head disgustedly and slides back in for another go. Wipe to the darkened dessert buffet, through which a hunkered-down Pinkie tiptoes toward the table holding a fresh copy of the cake she had targeted in Act One.)

Pinkie: (straightening up before it) Time to raid the dessert buffet under the cover of darkness. (rubbing hands together eagerly) Triple-Choco-Berry-Blasted Butter Biscuit Bundt Cake, here I come.

(Puffed leans into view in the background.)

Puffed: Who said that?

Pinkie: No one! (She dives behind a table.) Shouldn’t you be upstairs? (The chef slams her hands on the surface.)

Puffed: Somebody has to guard the Bundt cakes! (Cut to Pinkie; she continues o.s.) Stay back! (brandishing spatula into view) I have a spatula!

(The dessert aficionado bolts as the Frenchwoman steps into view, the camera tilting up to frame her suspicious, narrowed eyes. Only after she has moved on does Pinkie straighten up into view, a tablecloth gathered around herself as a makeshift cloak. Satisfied that the coast is clear, she sinks away with a stifled snicker. Cut to Rarity walking along the corridor toward the closed entrance door to the auditorium in which Trixie was doing her magic show in Act One/Two. A fast thumping in a triplet rhythm asserts itself.)

Rarity: Hel-looooo? Ragamuffin?

(Muffled laughter and a jaunty melody can now be heard as well, the latter suggesting an Irish jig. Rarity fearfully steps up to the door and knocks.)

Rarity: Ragamuffin? Are you down here? I was just, uh… (Clear throat.) …in-in the neighborhood and, uh…

(She trails off, her curiosity having gotten the better of her. Cut to just inside the door, the music and voices coming through clearly now. Drums, violin, tin whistle, claps—it is a sure-enough jig—and she eases the door open for a look. What she sees causes her to throw it all the way back, her eyes popping wide.)

Rarity: Whaaat?

(Zoom out quickly to frame the front edge of the stage and a pair of white-clad feet dancing in perfect time. A few onlookers are providing the claps, and a head-on view tells the whole story. Four lanterns have been set on the stage to define the corners of a rectangle, platters and bowls of food are set at the edge—and the nimble legs are attached to none other than Ragamuffin, who dances with arms clasped behind his back.)

Rarity: Oh… (smiling dreamily) …who needs electricity when you have…the… (mumbling a bit) …whatever this is?

(The music ends as a wave of water splashes across the screen. It drains away to frame Rainbow gazing moodily out at the turbulent seas from a deck rail; she has put away her flashlight. Strong winds blow the multicolored tresses this way and that, and thunder booms as she lets out a vexed sigh—standing at the stern rail near the pool, as it turns out. An upward glance informs her that lightning has begun to strike dangerously close to the vessel, and a look back at the water presents her with flickers of light playing across the surface. These gradually coalesce form the twin lightning bolts that served as the emblem of the Storm King when he invaded Equestria—see the transcript of My Little Pony: The Movie for full details.)

Rainbow: Whoa. I knew it! (Zoom in on her.) Evil magic! You guys gotta see this!

(She blazes away from the rail. Cut to the engine room, where Twilight is still hard at work as the three crew members watch, then to a close-up of the young genius. One last grunt of exertion is followed by a smile.)

Twilight: (pulling out a plug on one end of a cord) All that’s left is to hold this lead wire in place while the auxiliary unit cycles— (Close-up of a socket; she continues o.s., plugging into it.) —and everything should be back to normal. (Cut to the crew members.) In three…two…one…

(Here comes Rainbow in a burst of speed.)

Rainbow: No time for that!

(Twilight is unceremoniously dragged out with a yell, hard enough to break the cord she was holding and send out a crackle of sparks. Before any of the crew members can react, Rainbow has her on her feet and is towing her out of the engine room at ludicrous speed. Smoke and sparks billow from the cubbyhole and fill the screen as the effects of the botched restart sequence spread throughout the engine room.)

(The view clears to yield a close-up of the cake of Pinkie’s dreams, still intact on the dessert buffet table and under the watchful eye of its pacing, spatula-armed Puffed. Pinkie, having shed the tablecloth she was wearing and ducked behind a table to do surveillance, fishes a wrapped candy out of her hair and charges it up with a bit of her magic. This is thrown into the clear, its tiny explosion drawing the chef’s attention away from the buffet. In a move almost faster than thought, Pinkie is on her feet and lifting the cake from its platter, hearts rising from her head. Just as she is about to sink her teeth into the mass of chocolaty goodness, Rainbow zips into the dining room and grabs her shoulders.)

Rainbow: No time for that!

(The girl with the insatiable sweet tooth is towed away with a screech, dropping the cake to splat forlornly on the carpet. The chef snarls at the wreckage, then catches sight of the two girls disappearing around a corner.)

Puffed: Banned for life!

(One eye twitches in a most worrisome manner before the view dissolves to the upper reaches of the auditorium and tilts down to the stage. Rarity and Ragamuffin are seated at its edge, everyone else having cleared out.)

Ragamuffin: (chuckling) Well, me pa worked in a coal mine, but I always wanted to dance. (sheepishly, scratching back of head) Huh. A fancy girl like you wouldn’t understand.

Rarity: Oh, no, actually, in the school production of Bedazzled, I played a coal miner’s daughter who danced in bedazzled magical boots from her Fairy Boot-Mother. (chuckling) So…

(A reference to the events in most of the “Choose Your Own Ending” shorts. He smiles at her…she smiles back, the camera zooming in slowly…the two lean gingerly toward one another, both feeling the attraction…and her cry of surprise hangs in the air as she is plowed away in Rainbow’s contrail.)

Rainbow: (now o.s.) No time for that!

(Ragamuffin’s eyes pop after the high-speed exit, his smile staying firmly in place. Wipe to the Rainbooms making their way past the pool and led by a flashlight-toting Rainbow. The other six are in a justifiably foul frame of mind, Twilight having shed her work gloves and traded goggles for spectacles, and AJ’s face is back to its usual color. The thunder and lightning that dominated Rainbow’s last visit to this area have subsided.)

Rainbow: I promise this is more important than all of your things.

(She runs ahead, ignoring their disgruntled mumblings, and stops at the stern rail in close-up. The flashlight is gone.)

Rainbow: (dramatically, gesturing past it) Behold—evil magic!

(Zoom out to frame the other six now standing behind her and murmuring confusedly. Once she catches on, she leans over the rail for a better look and is absolutely thunderstruck by whatever she sees.)

Rainbow: Wh— (Impatient sigh.) —huh?

(A longer shot points out that the water beyond the rail is back to its normally choppy self, with no trace of supernatural emblems whatsoever.)

Rainbow: The whole ocean was glowing a minute ago! I-It went “whoosh-whoosh-whoosh” w-with little ribbon thingies!

Twilight: (coldly) Do you know which sorcerer can conjure up the greatest magic of all? (Rainbow turns to her.) Mother Nature.

Rainbow: What?

Twilight: What you saw was probably nothing more than an innate phosphorescent biochemical property of common algae.

Rainbow: Whaaaaat? I-If that’s what you think, then let’s get in lifeboats and I’ll prove it! (pointing over rail) The magic came from that way. We sail out and find the source.

Twilight: And then?

Rainbow: Then it’s go time!

Twilight: Which means?

Rainbow: We take no prisoners!

Twilight: (dryly) Where would we take them?

Rainbow: Who?

Twilight: The prisoners! That’s kidnapping! Are you even listening to yourself?

Rainbow: (snarling, pointing at Twilight) You don’t want me to be right because you’re scared to be a superhero!

Twilight: (shoving hand away) We’re not superheroes!

Rainbow: (sputtering, sarcastically) Oh, oh, excuse me! We’re just ordinary girls who have saved the world from complete destruction multiple times!

Twilight: Uh, yes.

Rainbow: Keep telling yourself that. But the rest of us aren’t in denial. (pacing past Twilight) Right, everyone? Let’s get to those boats and do what we do best! (raising both fists) Who’s with me?

(The others’ lack of eye contact and sotto-voce grumblings tell it all, and the would-be adventure seeker lowers her arms with a groan.)

Rainbow: Okay. That’s the last time I say that.

(As she walks past them, Twilight is the only one whose face softens, as if wondering whether her reaction was a bit too harsh. Dissolve to a long shot of the stern and pan a short distance to starboard; the lightning that had earlier quieted down begins again, shaking the entire craft as the camera cuts to the dining room. Everyone here has put on a life jacket; the same will be true of all other passengers from here on out unless otherwise noted. Cut to one table at which Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity are sitting with trays of food; Applejack moans woozily and lays her greening face on her forearms, the only one of the three to forgo a meal. Rarity pats her gently on the back before the camera pans to a glum Twilight sitting alone at one end. She listlessly picks at the omelet on her plate with her fork while Sunset brings over a tray of her own and sits across from her. All five have changed into the outfits they wore leading up to the concert, but Rarity is not wearing her sunglasses.)

Twilight: I wasn’t very nice to Rainbow Dash last night.

Sunset: No one’s blaming you for wanting to give us a normal spring break. (Cut to Twilight on the end of this, then back to her.) We’d be having one if it weren’t for me. I brought magic to this world in the first place.

Twilight: I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world—in any world.

(She reaches across the table to lay a hand on Sunset’s.)

Sunset: (smiling) Aw…same here. (standing up, returning the gesture) How about we make sure Rainbow Dash knows that too?

(The violet face mirrors the smile on the yellow-orange one. Cut to just outside the dining room’s closed doors, Pinkie sitting in a dejected little huddle against the wall off to one side. These open to let Twilight and Sunset emerge, their old fire returning, and swing shut again. The frizzy-haired dynamo sighs to herself, brokenhearted over not being allowed to join her friends inside, but brightens with a gasp upon seeing a tray held out to her by Fluttershy. The offering earns a silverware-rattling hug, which in turn elicits a soft giggle from the yellow girl. Pinkie wears her original outfit under her life jacket and, like Rarity, has put away her tinted lenses.)

(Cut to Twilight and Sunset walking the deck.)

Twilight: (voice raised) Rainbow Dash! Let’s have a do-over!

(Turning toward the rail, Sunset finds one of the rubber lifeboats missing from the suspension mounts that protrude from the hull.)

Sunset: You don’t think she went off into the storm, do you?

Twilight: (pulling out her phone) Oh. I’ll call her.

(A tap, and up comes a picture of a winking, smirking Rainbow, accompanied by ringing that gives way to the daredevil’s voice.)

Rainbow: (on phone) What up, nerds? It’s Rainbow Dash, having way too much fun being awesome to answer your call. (Zoom in on the thickening clouds, putting Twilight and Sunset out of view.) So leave a message, if you’re too old to text me.

(A voice mail greeting, then. Fade to black.)

Act Four

(Opening shot: fade in to a thick fog bank, which parts to frame the immobilized ship as the camera zooms in. The remaining six Rainbooms are standing near one end of the row of lifeboats, and a close-up of one shows the supplies being tossed in: towel, first aid kit, life preserver. Cut to the deck; Sunset has been loading up the gear. Fluttershy is holding Mr. Bouncy, the rabbit from the petting zoo.)

Twilight: You’re going after her?

Sunset: She wouldn’t even be out there if I hadn’t brought magic to this world in the first place. (Pause.) What about you? Are you in?

Twilight: Of course I’m in! A hundred percent on board!

(Which evidently means “on board the ship”—at least until Sunset gestures toward the rail.)

Sunset: Then get on board. (She puts a hand to Twilight’s shoulder.)

Twilight: I just said I… (It sinks in.) …“on board.”

(Trepidation spray-paints itself all over her face as she moves toward the boats. A labored huff from Applejack’s general vicinity; pan to her, face normal and hand to belly.)

Applejack: I’ll fix the engine while you’re gone. We’ll be ready to go before that storm hits us.

(She groans groggily and totters on her feet, saved from keeling over only by Pinkie’s supporting arms.)

Sunset: But you’re seasick. Going below deck is the worst thing you could do. (Applejack muscles her gorge down.)

Applejack: Not worse than losin’ Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie: (saluting) I’ll help keep people calm! (under her breath) Get cake. (aloud) I mean, keep people calm! (Cut to Fluttershy.)

Fluttershy: And I’ll make sure there’s life jackets for everyone— (to Mr. Bouncy) —even grandchildren. (Zoom out to frame Applejack/Pinkie/Rarity.)

Rarity: (melodramatically) And I’ll inform the below-deck crew that even though we’re from two different worlds, one a lonely coal miner— (cradling Applejack’s chin) —the other a sophisticated beaut—

(The soliloquy grinds to a halt at a fresh lurch of Applejack’s gut.)

Rarity: (clearing throat, blushing) I mean…I’ll, uh, I’ll, uh, I’ll help Applejack.

(By now, Twilight is already over the side and in the lifeboat.)

Sunset: (climbing in; Twilight waves to others) We’ll find Rainbow Dash and be back as soon as possible. (to Twilight) Let’s go!

(The bespectacled girl quickly warms up her hands and telekinetically lowers the rig toward the water. Cut to a head-on close-up of the pair, Sunset keeping an intent lookout up front as Twilight guns the outboard motor. Water splashes around the bow, their hair streams wildly backward in the wind—but a longer shot reveals that their boat is still tethered to the ship’s rail by a rope. An over-shoulder glance apprises Sunset of this little boo-boo.)

Sunset: You forgot to untie the rope.

Twilight: (chagrined) Oh, yeah.

(A moment’s work, and she has undone and thrown off the line so the lifeboat can zoom away. The fog gradually clears before them to present a craggy island surrounded by treacherous outcroppings that extend well out from the shore. The two rescuers pilot the craft through the maelstrom, exchanging fearful glances at a lightning strike far too close for comfort, and find a safe course through the jagged rocks toward the beach. Twilight cuts the motor so that they drift to a stop on the sand, and Sunset shades her eyes for a brief look off to one side.)

Sunset: (pointing that direction) There! That’s her boat!

(She hops out and dashes away, tossing her life jacket back, and Twilight fumbles with the buckle securing hers. Sunset soon finds a second lifeboat and discarded jacket, but no evidence of Rainbow; after a quick scrutiny of the item, she lets it drop with a mildly disgusted glare.)

Sunset: (voice raised) Rainbow Dash! (Twilight catches up, her jacket gone.)

Twilight: Any sign of her?

(Sunset shakes her head; after a pensive moment, both pairs of eyes turn toward the heavily forested inland region.)

Twilight: You don’t think she…

(Cut to the dense foliage, amid which several pairs of glowing, unfriendly eyes open in the shadows.)

Twilight: (from o.s.) …went in there?

(Cut back to the pair, who chew this prospect over with clear unease. Their ponderings are cut short by a parrot squawk; cut to an overhead shot that frames this brightly colored bird regarding them from a tree branch.)

Sunset: Where’s Fluttershy when we need her? (It scratches itself a bit and squawks again.)

Parrot: I’m going in that jungle!

Sunset: (puzzled) “I’m going in that jungle”? (to Twilight) The parrot must be repeating what she said! Let’s go!

(The violet girl’s eyes flick between her and the jungle, the rest of her on the verge of total panic.)

Twilight: In there?

(Lightning crashes above the overgrown plant life and malevolent animal eyes, strong winds tear at the vines and fronds, and various beastly silhouettes within the shadows make their displeasure known in their own ways. Zoom in quickly to a close-up of Twilight.)

Twilight: (small voice) Anyone could’ve said that. (Squawk; cut to frame both and the parrot.)

Parrot: Or my name isn’t Rainbow Dash! (Another.)

Twilight: (groaning) Fine!

(Crossing the beach, they begin to push their way into the tropical tangle. Sunset, in the lead, eases a hanging vine up and out of her way as the pairs of eyes gleam from all angles; as Twilight does likewise, though, a bat flutters out of a recess to throw a scare into her. The violet scientist cries out and tries to wave it away, only to give up and flee after Sunset with a scream. Farther along, the red/gold-haired girl pushes a broad leaf out of her own way, letting it snap back just in time to strike Twilight across the face and bring up an annoyed little snarl. Sunset moves steadily along through the trackless terrain, but Twilight trips over a rock in her haste and pitches forward, throwing up a wash of mud that covers the screen. This drains away to frame her measuring at least half her height in a large puddle. She peels her face up with a pained moan, but is back on her feet and catching up to Sunset in fairly short order. The next time that Sunset moves a leaf, Twilight has the presence of mind to duck when it swings back into place; she smirks and giggles at it, only to walk directly into the path of a hanging spider. It ends up holding fast to her nose, prompting her to yell and run wildly ahead while trying to bat it away. A few steps later, she has rid herself of the arachnid and removed her glasses; these go back on with a groan as she closes the gap between herself and Sunset again.)

Rainbow: (from o.s.) HEEEEEEELP!!

(That yell freezes both explorers in their tracks for a moment, but they swiftly get their legs back in gear and plow ahead. Cut to another stretch of jungle.)

Rainbow: (from o.s.) HEEELP!!

(Pan/tilt down to ground level, showing her immersed to waist level in a pit of quicksand and liberally smeared with the stuff. Enough of her clothing is visible to establish that she, like the others, has taken time to change back into her pre-concert togs.)

Rainbow: HEEEEEEEELP!! (She strains briefly to pull free—no dice—and addresses herself bitterly.) Way to go, Rainbow Dash. You did it again. You had to go off on your own, didn’t you?

Sunset: (from o.s.) Rainbow Dash!

(The trapped teen looks toward the edge of the pit, the camera angle shifting ever so slightly to pick out Twilight and Sunset closing in fast.)

Rainbow: Oh, hey! (catching herself, chuckling casually) Uh…’sup? (Squelch.) Um, just taking a rest in here, you know. Finding evil magic is hard work.

Twilight: (pointedly) Did you find any?

Rainbow: (drawing an arc in the surface) Nah. Just quicksand. (A surprised noise from Sunset.)

Sunset: Don’t struggle! We’ll find something to pull you out. (She begins to search in the undergrowth.)

Rainbow: Struggle? (She does exactly that for a second.) Who’s struggling?

(Twilight responds with a fed-up little shake of her head and a soft grumble.)

Twilight: (walking off, under her breath) Typical Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow: (contritely) I-I’ve had a little time to think. (Blurp.) A lot of time, actually. And I spent most of it wishing I could make it up to you, because you were right

(A squawk; zoom out and pan to frame the parrot now perched on a low branch overhead.)

Parrot: Twilight’s wrong!

Rainbow: (really embarrassed) Anyone could’ve said that.

Parrot: (squawking) Or my name isn’t Rainbow Dash!

Rainbow: (to herself) Uh…gottas stop saying my name all the time.

(The jibe is not lost on its target, who has found a long, thin limb protruding from a tree trunk and breaks it loose with a contemptuous scoff. Zoom in slowly on the half-submerged jock.)

Rainbow: I was a little annoyed at first, but I’ll admit it. I ruined everyone’s spring break for nothing. There’s no magic out here. Nothing magical at all.

(On this last sentence, a broad shadow begins to loom over her from behind and the camera cuts back to solid ground. Sunset’s eyes widen in sudden fear, and she puts a hand out to stop Twilight’s approach with the limb. The purple peepers copy the blue-green ones, the wood falling from nerveless fingers and clattering to the jungle floor, and tentacles begin to creep toward her ankles from the lightless expanse.)

Rainbow: The only villain trying to ruin spring break… (slumping as best she can) …was me.

(A few drops of greenish fluid spatter down on the crown of her baseball cap, jolting her out of this bout of self-pity.)

Sunset: (small voice) And maybe that giant plant monster?

Rainbow: What giant plant monster?

Twilight: (pointing up across pit) That giant plant monster!

(A longer shot of the area frames the cause of her fear: a massive, viny growth topped by a set of growling jaws that call to mind a Venus flytrap after a serious fertilizer overdose. Sunset screams as the dripping maw lowers itself hungrily toward Rainbow, whose own lungs kick into high gear when it goes in for the final lunge. The teeth never make contact, stopped just short by Twilight’s magic.)

Rainbow: GET ME OUTTA HERE!!

Twilight: (straining) We’re trying!

(She extends her hold over the tendrils trying to snatch her and Sunset, while the former unicorn grabs up the discarded limb and drops to one knee at the edge of the pit, holding it out for Rainbow. It proves to be a few inches too short, despite the imperiled teen’s best effort to reach the free end.)

Rainbow: Try harder!

(So Sunset lowers her stance a bit more to close the gap; now Rainbow is able to wrap all her fingers around the limb. As Sunset tries with all her strength to reel her friend in, one of Twilight’s hands loses its power. She gasps in fright, seeing the great beast wrench itself completely free of her aura with a guttural roar, and its strike at the surface of the pit sends up splatters of quicksand and snaps the limb. Motes and beams of golden light flare up from the hit; Sunset throws aside the bit she still holds and kneels at the edge, one hand extended.)

Sunset: Take my hand! (Rainbow, now submerged to the chin, eyes her with a scoff.)

Rainbow: Take your hand?

(A few bubbles pop around her, releasing more gleams of light, and she blows at the surface as if trying to cool it off.)

Sunset: I’ve seen something like this before!

(Brushing some of the muck aside, she is rewarded with a swirling expanse of warm yellow energy just below the surface.)

Sunset: This is definitely Equestrian magic!

(Twilight gets her mojo working again, just in time to stop the great green behemoth from helping itself to an appetizer of Rainbow tartare. The vines think very little of the interruption, coiling in around her as she exerts every molecule of her being to keep them at bay.)

Twilight: (straining) I can’t hold it back much longer!

Sunset: (to Rainbow) I have a way out of this. Do you trust me?

Rainbow: Of course!

Sunset: (reaching toward Rainbow’s forehead) See you soon!

(One hard shove plunges the captive entirely into the pit, producing a gunk-choked scream.)

Twilight: (horrified) DID YOU JUST—

Sunset: I’ll explain later. We jump on three.

(The behemoth breaks Twilight’s hold again and uncorks a jungle-shaking roar of fury; the backlash throws her off balance, but Sunset is there to catch her.)

Sunset: (hastily, toppling backwards toward pit) One, two, three! (A growl drifts down as the action shifts to slow motion.)

Twilight: (half speed) NOOOOO!!

(They splash into the quicksand and are lost to sight. Normal speed resumes, a broad beam of yellow light surging up from the pit, and a long shot of the island shows it lancing up into the bruised and sullen storm clouds. It dissipates after a long blast, and the view fades to black.)

(Fade in to a very dimly lit expanse of natural rock wall. A roughly circular aperture filled with swirls of the incandescent power flares up briefly on this, disgorging a dribble of quicksand, and the camera pans/tilts down through this space to the sound of flowing water. Twilight’s eyes are the first to open, accompanied by the sound of Sunset heaving for breath. The next three lines reverberate slightly.)

Twilight: Where are we? (Rainbow opens her eyes.)

Rainbow: Not about to get eaten. Good enough for me. (Sunset follows suit.)

Sunset: It’s…more complicated than that.

(A unicorn’s horn flares up above the blue-green irises, powered by the red glow of her magic, and builds power to fully illuminate the area. All three are now ponies, standing near the base of a waterfall in a cavern—they have crossed over into Equestria. They have lost their clothes and pendant stones and are clean of the quicksand and plant residue. Twilight and Rainbow are exact copies of their pony counterparts, with two differences on the former’s part: she still wears her glasses and is a standard-issue, non-winged unicorn.)

Rainbow: (awestruck) Whoa…

(She tries an experimental flap of her wings; across the way, Twilight gasps and claps both front hooves to her cheeks, her brain locked solid out of sheer panic. Purple eyes contract to bloodshot pinpoints as a scream of mind-shattering terror rips free of her throat at last. Snap to black.)

Act Five

(Opening shot: fade in to a very long shot of Canterlot—the city in Equestria, that is—during the day and tilt down slowly to the sound of Twilight’s scream. Spooked birds scatter from the treetops in all directions before the camera cuts to a close-up of a pool of water that reflects the frantic face of the newly minted unicorn. She cries out again upon getting a good look at herself, then tacks on another scream just to drive the point home with a jackhammer.)

Twilight: (pulling at cheeks) PONY FAAACE!!

(Longer shot: she is now sitting on her haunches by the pool, and Sunset hurries over to her. The overgrown greenery behind them suggests that they are now in the Everfree Forest.)

Sunset: Twilight, you’re okay. This is supposed to happen.

(The bookish mare manages only stunned half-words as she takes in the not inconsiderable changes to her anatomy.)

Twilight: All my things are horse things!

Sunset: Around here we call them “pony things.”

Rainbow: (plummeting/swooping past) INCOMING!!

(The yelling, headlong flight carries her into a clump of bushes and ends with a thud and grunt of pain. Twilight cringes mightily, while Sunset puts a fed-up hoof to her face.)

Sunset: (to Twilight) That wasn’t quicksand back there. (levitating Rainbow out) The sand was covering a portal to Equestria.

(Once on the turf, the novice pegasus sullenly shakes her head clear and clean of debris.)

Sunset: I thought there was only one, from school to Celestia’s mirror, but…who knows how many there are and where they might lead?

(During this line, Rainbow tries and fails to nail down the basics of hovering, instead doing a backwards flip so that she lands flat on her back. Cut to a suddenly calm Twilight and Sunset.)

Twilight: Sorry, I wasn’t listening— (shrilly, grabbing Sunset) —BECAUSE WE’RE PONIES!! (Cut to frame Rainbow, now standing, on the next line.)

Rainbow: You know, Twilight, since I kinda messed things up on the boat, maybe this could be your vacation. (Back to Twilight and Sunset.)

Twilight: (smiling, calmly) Hm.

Rainbow: (from o.s.) We’re here— (Back to her.) —we’re ponies— (winking) —let’s have some fun!

(She rises to her hind legs, holding a front hoof out as if for a high five.)

Rainbow: Pony style!

(Not being used to this body, she loses her balance and lurches forward with a shout to get four on the floor again.)

Sunset: Uh, that’s not a thing we say.

Twilight: This would be a fantastic opportunity to study the physical laws of a novel dimension.

Sunset: Shouldn’t we be getting back?

Rainbow: It’s just a little rain. I’m sure our friends are fine.

(Cut to a long overhead shot of the stranded ship, a fork of lightning lancing into the water at close range. Screams drift up through the night; cut to Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity on the deck. They scream and recoil from a spark that ricochets off the planks, barely missing their feet and leaving a large, smoking scorch mark. The next shot is of the engine room, where Applejack has taken Twilight’s place on the wheeled dolly to work on the underside of the equipment. Ragamuffin has joined the three stewards who were already assigned to this spot; all four are wearing safety goggles, and they work with hand tools and check the panels as puffs of smoke drift up from floor level. The apple expert straightens up, kitted out in her own goggles and work gloves and liberally smeared with oil, and wipes her forehead with a groan before picking up and activating a walkie-talkie. She is not jacketed.)

Applejack: Breaker, breaker four and a half, this is Red Delicious requestin’ a storm status update. Over.

(A blat of feedback from the device; cut to the trio on the deck. Rarity has the other handset.)

Rarity: Ahoy, uh, matey. This is Rarity. Please repeat…the words you said.

(Another flash across the sky sets them to squealing in fear and grabbing at one another. This one takes the form of the Storm King’s insignia before pouring itself into a jagged bolt that caroms crazily along the walkway, forcing the girls to hit the deck. Sandalwood, a short distance away, runs for it after nearly getting fried; now Rarity goes for the walkie again.)

Rarity: I’m beginning to wonder if—

(She screams upon nearly getting her head blown off by a new blast and reflexively loses her hold on the device, which goes flying over the rail and splashes into the ocean.)

Rarity: —this is no ordinary storm! (Long pause.)

Pinkie: I don’t think she heard you.

(Rarity just gives her a very funny look, but cuts it short when the next one comes within yards of deep-frying her face. All three girls scream and duck behind the rail.)

(Dissolve to a long overhead shot of Ponyville and zoom in slowly. It is a peaceful day, and a cut to one particular street points up just how ordinary that day is. The camera pans slightly to frame the corner of one house, from which the three visitors furtively peer down the block.)

Sunset: (whispering) We’d better keep a low profile. Follow my lead.

(She ducks out of sight, Rainbow hot on her heels; Twilight, though, takes a second to catch on and follow them. In a trice, they are peeking out from a shrub in front of one business, drawing the puzzled attention of a passing colt before they drop out of sight again. Just as quickly, they are galloping along an elevated bridge that connects this structure to the next one in line, then popping their heads up from two full barrels of apples minded by Big Macintosh. He does not spot them due to having his head turned elsewhere, but is very puzzled indeed to find some of the fruit tumbling onto the road and bouncing off his head—displaced by the mares’ sudden emergence. By the time he turns to run a puzzled eye over the barrels, they have bailed out and are hustling away.)

(Close-up of the three coming to a stop; Rainbow runs into Sunset from behind, prompting a neigh of combined irritation and surprise. Zoom out quickly to put Pony Rainbow in the fore a short distance away; she has her back to them and thus pays no mind, but the stallion with whom she is talking has a clear view of the doppelganger and is staring bug-eyed and openmouthed. The three retreat out of sight as he tries to point them out but faints, leaving one very baffled flyer alone. Finally she glances back over her shoulder toward the group’s former location, only to catch sight of Pony Applejack hauling a cart down the street. The two wave greeting to one another, neither spotting the trio hunched down among the supplies.)

(As Pony Applejack travels past the Castle of Friendship, Sunset climbs out of the cart and uses her magic to hoist Twilight and Rainbow clear and hide them in a bush. Having drawn a puzzled and mildly annoyed glare from Twinkleshine, she offers a big goofy grin and hastily backs up into the shrubbery so that all three are out of sight. An instant later, they peek out from the rooftop of a house closer to the royal residence, then duck away and pop up from a still-nearer bush. After hunkering down again, the whole thing rises on twelve hooves and gets walked toward the front door as mobile camouflage.)

(Cut to the throne room, its central map table bare, and pan slowly to one side where a tall ladder has been set up at the wall. Spike is standing at its peak to hang a painting, while Princess Twilight supervises from ground level and is lending her field to the effort. The little dragon struggles and heaves to follow her directions.)

[Note: The School of Friendship is not visible near the Castle in this sequence, and Spike does not have his wings. These two details suggest that this special takes place sometime between My Little Pony: The Movie and the start of Season 8.]

Princess Twilight: A little higher on the left…now on the right… (The doors behind her open, revealing mares and bush at the threshold.) …a little more…

(Turning away from the work, she notices Sunset among the leaves and voices a happy little gasp. Cut to the doorway.)

Princess Twilight: (from o.s.) Sunset Shimmer!

Sunset: (galloping in) Twilight!

(Twilight and Rainbow get their heads clear and trade a smile, knowing that they are in friendly territory. Up top, Princess Twilight’s magic fades from the painting—limp, deflated pony forms amid a surreal landscape of fruit slices and drinks—and Spike has to put every bit of his muscle into keeping it aloft. Sovereign and student-at-large race to each other.)

Princess Twilight: It’s wonderful to see you. (They embrace.) What are you doing here?

Sunset: It’s a long story.

Princess Twilight: (puzzled) Wait. How are you coming in the front door and not up from where I keep the mirror? (Huge gasp.) You found another portal between our worlds! (Twilight and Rainbow enter the throne room, free of the bush and brushing off leaves.)

Sunset: I guess it wasn’t that long.

Twilight: Oh, I like her!

Princess Twilight: Rainbow Dash!

Spike: Whoa! (He drops the painting.)

Princess Twilight: Other me! Good to see you both again. (concernedly) What about the others?

Sunset: Oh, they’re back home waiting for us, but they’re fine. (Twilight and Rainbow nod.) No reason to hurry back.

(The glare of lightning plays over the three commuters and subsides to show that he view has changed to a terrified Fluttershy aboard the ship. A life-jacketed pig sits next to her.)

Fluttershy: Oh, I hope they hurry back!

(Overhead shot of the area, zooming in: the lounge overlooking the pool. Pinkie runs up to her and Rarity, seated on couches and looking after both the pig and a similarly attired sheep—two refugees from the petting zoo. Close-up of the new arrival.)

Pinkie: Applejack said to tell you she’s about to reconnect the engine and we might feel a little jolt.

Fluttershy: Oh! When?

Pinkie: Eh, she didn’t say.

(All is quiet for a moment until the ship instantly buzzes up to a patently unsafe speed. The sheer acceleration prompts a yell from all three, dumps Pinkie on her rump, and nearly hurls Fluttershy and Rarity off the couches. Pan quickly ahead of them and cut to a long profile shot of the speeding vessel, a babel of screams drifting across the unfriendly sea. In the engine room, Applejack pulls her head out of the enclosure where she has been working.)

Applejack: I can’t slow it down! (Lightning strike; she holds up her walkie-talkie.) And we just lost steering!

(A jolt causes her to drop it, and the ship continues its uncontrolled charge. Cut to a close-up of a merry Spike in the throne room of the Castle.)

Spike: And that’s the last time I ever went to a dragon wedding!

(Zoom out to frame him standing on the map table. Seated around it, his boss and the visitors laugh heartily at the conclusion of this yarn as he takes his small seat. Princess Twilight is on her own throne, while Sunset has commandeered Pony Applejack’s.)

Princess Twilight: (to the trio) Oh, you have to try Ms. Cake’s [sic] chocolate fondue. It takes twenty minutes, though.

(Cut to Twilight/Rainbow on their side of the table—in Pony Pinkie’s and Pony Rarity’s places, respectively.)

Twilight: Eh, we have all the time in the world.

(Cut to Pinkie, running madly along the deck with hands to head.)

Pinkie: WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!

(She catches up to Fluttershy and Rarity near the pool, the latter holding the pig.)

Pinkie: (grabbing Fluttershy’s shoulders) Watch out for rocks! (The deck tips backward; they go sliding and Fluttershy and Rarity scream.) WATCH OUT FOR EVERYTHING!!

(She adds her own scared-out-of-her-wits vocal part when the camera shifts to the starboard rail, riding along with the ship toward the island. This scream hangs in the air as the view cuts to Sunset and Rainbow in the throne room, whose table is now littered with souvenirs from the Equestria contingent’s past adventures. An intrigued Rainbow toys with a torch used in the Equestria Games, but Sunset turns her head as if trying to perceive the source of the phantom sound.)

Sunset: Did you hear that? It sounded like Pinkie Pie yelling.

(Rainbow puts her ears to the task, but gets only the faint sound of squeaking wheels. Zoom out quickly to frame Princess Twilight across from them as the closed throne room doors swing open to admit Pony Pinkie and the loaded snack cart she is pushing—the cause of the squeak. The bush that Twilight, Rainbow, and Sunset used for cover has been cleared away.)

Pony Pinkie: I was yelling, silly—standing at the front door yelling, “Fondue delivery!”

(She holds up a small bowl of melted chocolate on these last two words; only afterward does she take notice of Twilight and Rainbow.)

Pony Pinkie: Oh, hey, Rainbow Dash, pony with glasses who I don’t recognize. (sliding bowl across table) Here.

(Cut to the trio and the bowl.)

Pony Pinkie: (from o.s.) You have to try this.

(Three handles protrude from the surface. Sunset pulls one free with her magical hold, finding a coated marshmallow skewered on the other, and chows down. Rainbow flips another one free and gets it pinned between her front hooves.)

Pony Pinkie: (from o.s.) It’s a fresh batch!

(A bite leaves the sweet stuff smeared across Rainbow’s lips and brings a twinge of pain to the blue face. She sets her skewer down, and Sunset returns hers to the bowl on the next line.)

Rainbow: (grunting, sounding as if she has burned her tongue) Ow! Hot! Too hot! It needs to be like, twenty percent cooler.

(Twilight fires up her horn and maneuvers the last unused skewer toward herself, but actually getting marshmallow to mouth proves a bigger challenge than expected. First she nearly bites down on the shaft; next she pokes the treat against her cheek, then her glasses; finally—and very messily—she puts it on target and eats.)

Twilight: Mmmm! I love this!

(A lightning strike changes the view to a close-up of Rarity sliding across the deck on her belly, having let go of the pig.)

Rarity: I HATE THIS!!

(Zoom out quickly; she, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and the porker fetch up against the rails at the prow to the sound of yells and grunts. The three girls pull themselves up with some effort.)

Fluttershy: I can’t take much more of this!

Pinkie: (staring fearfully ahead) You might not have to!

(The ship is bearing down on the jagged outcroppings that surround the island; all three gasp at the impending peril.)

Pinkie: (pointing) Rock ho!

(The ship grazes one of them, sustaining a long gash in the hull, and they scream while fighting a losing battle to keep their footing. In the engine room, Applejack—now wearing a life jacket—and Ragamuffin are the only ones still on duty; she has cleaned the oil off herself, and she yells as the area goes into a funky cha-cha. The damage done, the ship begins to sink among the rocks; passengers in the corridors scream and flee before the inrush of water. In the auditorium, though, Trixie has taken the stage to do her magic show for a new audience. A vase stands on a small table next to her, and the paraphernalia from the impromptu jig jam session in Act Three has been cleared out.)

Trixie: Behold! The vase is now empty. The question is, can the Great and Powerful Trixie bring the water back?

(She wiggles her fingers intently over the container, but is genuinely surprised to hear a growing rumble. A quick mental gear change, and she is playing it off as part of the act—but showmanship goes out the window when the entire room shakes and water starts to pour in from the corridor. The spectators run screaming for their lives.)

Trixie: Oh, no. I’m too powerful. (running) I’M TOO POWERFUL!!

(Cut to Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity gathering at the rail.)

Fluttershy: (gasping) We’re…sinking!

(Zoom out quickly to a long shot of the foundering ship as lightning rips the sky, then cut to an overhead shot of the four mares and one now-napping dragon in the throne room. Zoom in slowly; Pony Pinkie and the fondue equipment are gone, the doors are closed, and Twilight and Rainbow have cleaned themselves up. Rainbow’s voice will be back to normal when she speaks next.)

Princess Twilight: And that was the time I was rescued by my own pupil! (Giggle; close-up.) Which really gave me some perspective on the importance of mentoring.

Twilight: You ponies are like superheroes! (Rainbow throws her a calculating grin.)

Princess Twilight: Oh, we’re not superheroes.

Twilight: (slyly, but deflating little by little) Sure. Just ordinary ponies who save the world from complete destruction multiple times.

Rainbow: Sound familiar?

(The grin gets bigger and more insufferable, and Twilight cringes a bit at having resorted to using the words she dismissed so easily in the pair’s Act Three argument.)

Princess Twilight: Here’s a good one.

(She conjures up a long, slim parcel and sets it to floating vertically above the table. As she speaks, the camera zooms in slowly on it and she lets her field undo the wrappings to reveal the Staff of Sacanas—the artifact with which the Storm King had intended to rule the land.)

Princess Twilight: This is from our battle with the Storm King. He stole our magic and used it to create the most powerful storm in Equestria.

(Twilight and Sunset watch the show with visible appreciation, but Rainbow’s attention is focused on the discarded cloths—and the Storm King insignia plainly visible on one free end. In a close-up of this and slow zoom in, her mind’s eye briefly overlays the ocean and the glowing sigil she saw; on the end of the next line, the real thing flares pale blue and she gasps softly in recognition.)

Princess Twilight: (from o.s.) But luckily my friends and I were able to work together to drain his magic and seal his power…

(Cut to frame the entire table; she indicates the Staff.)

Princess Twilight: …into this.

Twilight, Sunset: (awed) Whoa… (Rainbow pulls the cloth-end to herself.)

Rainbow: (thoughtfully) That symbol looks familiar.

Princess Twilight: You’ve…seen this before?

Rainbow: (setting it down) It’s just… (Sigh.) …that symbol. It looks exactly like what I thought I saw in the water when we were back on the boat. But…we decided the magic glow was just Mother Nature.

Princess Twilight: (slightly rattled, floating cloth-end up) When you saw the thing that looked exactly like this thing, there wasn’t any thunder or lightning accompanying it… (Nervous chuckle.) …right?

Sunset: Uh, there was definitely thunder.

Twilight: Affirmative on the thunder. (Rainbow grimaces and says nothing.)

Princess Twilight: Okay.

(She lets the wrappings drop, vanishes the Staff, and flies to the others. On the next line, she lands alongside them and the camera zooms in to a close-up.)

Princess Twilight: (increasingly unnerved) Nopony freak out, but I think maybe there’s a chance when we destroyed the Storm King, we didn’t capture all his magic and maybe a bit found its way into your world. It might be turning into a giant magic storm and threatening your friends as we speak! NOPONY FREAK OUT!! (One eye twitches alarmingly; Sunset stands up on her seat.)

Sunset: Our friends! (Twilight follows suit.)

Twilight: We have to go back! (Rainbow ditto, more calmly.)

Rainbow: Ladies…

(A couple of leisurely flaps bring her to the center of the table, where she settles into a confident stance.)

Rainbow: …it’s hero time!

(Snap to black.)

Act Six

(Opening shot: snap to the helpless ship, caught on the rocks and battered by the relentless onslaught of wind-driven water. The engine room begins to flood, sending its three crew members scrambling for an exit; Applejack has already cleared out. The door leading to the auditorium flies open so the audience members can keep ahead of the torrent gushing after them. Near the pool, Flash has seized a stair banister to hold his place on the tilting deck and ends up in the perfect position to grab the arm of a woman sliding past. The whole area is now awash, towels and furniture drifting lazily this way and that. Cut to Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity at the prow.)

Fluttershy: We’re sinking!

Pinkie: TO THE LIFEBOATS!!

(Lightning tears through the clouds; close-up of one suspended boat as it is struck and drops off its hooks, reduced to a charred and smoking derelict. A longer shot reveals that every remaining craft has suffered the same fate and is being swallowed up by the waves.)

Pinkie: And there go the lifeboats. (scared) That was a very specific lightning strike.

(Which is promptly followed by a real boomer…and another…and another. Passengers shuck and jive in every conceivable direction to avoid the bolts now lancing into the deck. A midair flare of light resolves into the Storm King’s emblem, sending a jolt of fear through all who see it even though they know nothing of its origin. Cut to the shore of the island; Twilight, Rainbow, and Sunset emerge from the jungle as humans, their clothing and pendant stones restored, and get a good look at the offshore mayhem. Twilight is carrying the Staff.)

Rainbow: No time to lose! Let’s do this!

Twilight: (holding Staff with crystal end up) Everybody grab on!

Sunset: Right.

(Yellow-orange fingers wrap around the gnarled wood beneath the violet ones, light blue above, and the crystal flares to life and emits a broad beam of golden light into the sky. Crackling tendrils of dark power are drawn to it from the clouds, dragging the tyrant’s mark with them, and the threatening thunderheads above the ship begin to clear in favor of a tranquil afternoon sky. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity step to the rail for a better view of the action on the island, where the three dimension-jumpers are maintaining an iron grip on the Staff. Slowly but surely, the raging magic is pulled into the crystal, and the whole place goes quiet as the clouds break up here as well. Rainbow and Sunset let go, leaving Twilight holding the artifact.)

Twilight: Weather update—sunny.

Rainbow: With a chance of awesome.

Sunset: I can’t believe how easy that was.

Twilight: I think we all learned a valuable lesson today. (Distant screams from the sinking ship.)

Rainbow: (not noticing) I learned we don’t have to go looking for trouble. (A distress flare is launched, bursting in a shower of sparks.) We just have to be there for each other when it finds us.

Twilight: But I guess if you hadn’t run off, we wouldn’t have what we need to go back and save our friends.

Rainbow: All part of the plan.

(The parrot that tipped her rescuers off in Act Four voices a squawk to get their attention.)

Parrot: (gesturing out to sea with a wing) The ship is still sinking!

(It pulls the appendage in with another squawk; cut to an uncomprehending Twilight and Rainbow.)

Sunset: (from o.s., panicked) Guys! (Zoom out to frame her; she points ahead.) The ship is sinking!

(Cut to a long shot of it and zoom in quickly, the passengers’ screams coming through with great clarity now as it slowly descends.)

Twilight: Oh, no!

Sunset: (running toward shore) We gotta help them!

(Twilight plants the Staff upright in the sand and gets her feet in gear, leaving Rainbow to hear one last interjection from the bird. In perhaps one second flat, Twilight and Sunset have boarded one lifeboat and donned life jackets, and Twilight pulls the cord on the motor but is unable to get it to turn over.)

Twilight: It won’t start! (The stone on Rainbow’s wristband flares blue.)

Rainbow: It’s hero time!

(A tap, and her super speed kicks in. Sunset has taken over for Twilight in the fight against the recalcitrant motor; both get a big shock when the speed demon begins pushing them out to sea herself.)

Rainbow: Yeah!

(Water gushes over the screen, kicked up by their abrupt departure, and clears to show her providing the motive power for the trip. Applejack catches up to Fluttershy/Pinkie/Rarity on deck; she has done away with her work gloves and safety goggles and scrubbed off the oil stains, and Fluttershy cradles the sheep she and Rarity were looking after in Act Four. The ship shakes, rattles and rolls as the lifeboat and its three screaming passengers arc up over the rail and make the world’s worst landing. Relieved smiles come over every face, punctuated by a gasp from Pinkie; Twilight and Sunset have remained upright in the lifeboat, but the impact has thrown Rainbow forward so that her head is stuck under one of its plank seats.)

Twilight: (climbing out with Sunset) Are you guys okay? (Rainbow extricates herself, the other four run to them.)

Pinkie: Oh, you’re back!

(She demonstrates her joy by laying a crushing, squealing hug on the brainiac.)

Pinkie: (rapid fire) While you were gone, we fixed the boat, but then we crashed into a rock and we’re sinking, so… (Deep breath, then normal speed; she starts crying.) …WE RUINED YOUR SPRING BREAK!!

(She sobs heartily, but falls silent as Twilight pushes her back gently.)

Twilight: It’s not your fault. The storm was Equestrian magic. Rainbow Dash was right all along. (Cut to a slow pan across Applejack/Fluttershy/Pinkie/Rarity; she continues o.s.) Whatever the seven of us are facing, however our lives are changing— (Back to her.) —we’re going through it together. So let’s get everyone off this boat, like the superheroes we are.

(Her last words are delivered with an over-shoulder glance and conciliatory smile aimed at Rainbow, whose face says it all about how eagerly she accepts this unspoken apology. Twilight tips her a wink to seal it.)

Twilight: Who’s with me?

Other Rainbooms: WE ARE!!

Rainbow: (scoffing) See how easy that was?

Twilight: You thinking what I’m thinking?

Twilight, Rainbow: Pony up! / Rainbow lasers!

Sunset: I thought we were calling it—

Rainbow: No, we agreed on “r—”

Pinkie: LIGHT IT UP, LADIES!!

(The stone in her hair clip blazes white to fill the screen. Twilight takes Rainbow’s hand, clip and wristband building power, and Applejack/Fluttershy/Rarity link up. Pinkie and Sunset copy the gesture, after which the screen divides into seven vertical panels that each show one girl’s image sliding in alternately from top or bottom. Stones glow as they turn to present themselves in profile, cutie marks appearing on cheeks; fade to white, then in to a fullscreen view of the fully “ponied-up” team in the hero outfits they wore at the end of “Forgotten Friendship” and “Rollercoaster of Friendship.” They still have on their life jackets, and Fluttershy has kept hold of the sheep. Her mark fades from her face before she speaks.)

Fluttershy: I’ll get the animals! (She glides away; cut to Pinkie/Sunset, their marks vanishing.)

Sunset: AJ, Dash, Pinkie, and I will make sure the decks are cleared.

(These two get moving, followed by Applejack with an also-unmarked cheek. The same happens to Rainbow and Rarity when the camera cuts to them.)

Rainbow: Oh, yeah! (She flies off, revealing Twilight behind her with no facial mark.)

Rarity: I’ll make a new lifeboat.

Twilight: I’ll help!

(They dive away, a giant copy of her mark floating across the screen. Wipe behind it to the prow, where she has already arrived; Rarity comes in for a landing, conjures up several gems, and fashions them into a flat-bottomed boat. Once it is in the water, Twilight levitates one passenger over the side and down toward it. A swarm of butterflies flits up past the screen; behind them, wipe to Fluttershy outfitting a scared little goat with a life jacket. She is no longer holding the sheep. The goat is one in a long procession of animals, the last of which are Mr. Bouncy’s many grandchildren. He has already been fitted. A terror-stricken little squeak draws his attention to a toppled planter holding a palm tree; two of his kin are huddled down next to this and too scared to move. Mr. Bouncy chitters an entreaty to Fluttershy, who whimpers quietly at the danger; before she can even think about moving, though, Rainbow streaks in and carries the pair back to their grandfather. The three rabbits hug, the younger two scamper to the line, and Mr. Bouncy glances uncertainly up at the high-speed hero. This gives way to a smile as they tap a fist and paw together—“no hard feelings.” Mr. Bouncy rejoins the line, and Rainbow rockets away.)

(Cut to the lounge, now filled with unnerved passengers. Sunset lands among them.)

Sunset: Head for the lifeboat! (pointing) That way!

(They follow orders, except for a little girl some distance back who cries while squeezing a stuffed turtle doll as if it were a life preserver. The sound freezes Sunset in her tracks as she brings up the rear, and she kneels to the youngster with a gentle smile and takes hold of one arm. Her eyes go white, and a flash marks the onset of her telepathy-by-touch. In this flashback, the girl’s mother has taken her hand to lead her along the upward incline of the tilting deck. The turtle is under her other arm, but it slides free and plops on the boards; not wanting to leave it behind, she yanks away from her mother’s grip and hurries to recover it amid the tumult of the evacuation. By the time she has it back, however, her mother is nowhere in sight; she stands frozen with panic among the mad rush.)

(The flashback ends as Sunset removes her hand, her eyes returning to normal; she gathers the girl into her arms and lifts off. Down the way, the mother is pleading for help from a crew member, who suddenly smiles and points past her into the sky. Down comes Sunset to hand off the missing girl, who joyfully runs into the woman’s embrace. A hail of apples tumbles past the screen; behind them, wipe to a corridor filled with ankle-deep water. Applejack sloshes along, but stops short at the sound of pounding from behind a closed door. An ear to the wood confirms that her mind is not playing tricks on her; she backs off a few steps.)

Applejack: (voice raised) Stand back!

(Ten orange-tan fingers wrap around opposite edges of the doorframe and begin to pull, the veneer and paneling cracking under the sheer force of her exertion. A man and his young daughter are on the other side of the door, in a half-swamped cabin. The door is ripped off its hinges and thrown aside, and the two wade out into the corridor, prompted by Applejack’s smile and beckoning wave.)

(A mass of balloons now passes the camera. Behind these, wipe to the dining room, now full of water to tabletop level. Standing smack in the middle is Puffed, who grunts and heaves but is unable to move from her spot. The doors are flung open to admit Pinkie.)

Puffed: I thought I told you never to come in here!

Pinkie: (smiling grimly) Good thing I’m a slow learner. (She splashes in; the Frenchwoman relents.)

Puffed: I am trapped. My foot is stuck.

(The pink hero beams and offers a yellow-gloved hand, which the Frenchwoman takes with a small smile after a moment’s indecision—but the added muscle is still not enough to get her loose. Pinkie does a quick bit of thinking, then snaps her fingers as an idea comes to her; taking a deep breath, she pinches her nose shut and plunges into the water. Cut to a close-up of her, eyes widening in surprise, and zoom out to put Puffed’s legs in the fore. One foot has become caught in a table centerpiece and the…)

Pinkie: (bubbly) Triple-Choco-Berry-Blasted Butter Biscuit Bundt Cake!

(She wastes no time in chomping into the sodden dessert. A thick cluster of bubbles rises past the camera, the view wiping behind them to a set of closed doors. These are thrown open from the other side to frame Pinkie and Puffed, who wade out of the dining room side by side—the rescue-by-gastronomic-silliness has worked like a charm. Pale blue gems rain past the camera to change the scene to a shot of the ship and its new, now-full lifeboat. All the Rainbooms have boarded except for Rainbow, who hovers to keep watch as Twilight floats the last few passengers down to safety.)

Pinkie: (calling up to Rainbow) Is that everyone?

Rainbow: All clear!

Applejack: (giving a thumbs-up) Okay, let’s shove off!

(The girl with the multicolored hair darts down and puts her speed to work in propelling the lifeboat toward the island, sparing one last regretful glance toward the ship before it slips below the water for good. Dissolve to a close-up of a young goat happily wagging its tail from atop the side of the crystal vessel. It gathers its nerve and jumps down; cut to the beach, where the lifeboat has run aground, and pan to follow it across the sand. The passengers, crew, and Rainbooms are all in one piece and talking among themselves; the Rainbooms have powered down and are back in their original outfits and accessories, and everyone has shed their life jackets. Fluttershy has stripped them off all the animals except for this goat, which leaps into her arms for a nuzzle and sets her to giggling.)

(Elsewhere, the downhearted Puffed is sitting by herself on a log to brood over how her career could have gone so far off the rails. Pinkie sits alongside, digs a cupcake out of her hair, and presents it as a peace offering—only for the chef to remove her toque just long enough to produce one of her own. The treats are tapped against each other in a silent toast. On the beach, Ragamuffin strides up behind Rarity as she and Applejack stack up the life jackets.)

Ragamuffin: Well, I s’pose this is goodbye.

Rarity: Take care of yourself. (Close-up of Ragamuffin.)

Ragamuffin: You too, Rari’ee. (He turns to leave…)

Rarity: (from o.s.) Ragamuffin… (…and stops; cut to frame both.) …don’t let anyone tell you you can’t be a dancer. (exaggerated Southern accent) For all coal turns to diamonds!

(She is channeling Selfie Soot, the character she portrayed in the Canterlot High production of Bedazzled.)

Ragamuffin: (no accent whatsoever) That’s the best advice I’ve ever heard! (He walks off.)

Rarity: Thank y—wait. What?

(So he was faking a Cockney accent the whole time—and she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Applejack walks up to put a chummy arm across her utterly confounded friend’s shoulders. Twilight gazes out at the rocks as the seven gather on the sand, Pinkie having dispatched her cupcake.)

Fluttershy: So…now what?

Sunset: I might have a way home— (glancing at Staff, still planted upright) —but it’s kinda weird.

(Wipe to an extreme close-up of a picture frame, seen from behind, as it is lifted in a magic aura. The bottom edge rises far enough to frame Princess Twilight and Spike in the throne room of the Castle, once again trying to get that surreal painting properly hung with a combination of ladder, brawn, and horn-power. Behind them, the central table has been cleared of all the mementos of mayhem past.)

Princess Twilight: A little more on the left. (Close-up of the painting being tilted; she continues o.s.) A little more… (It stops, level.) …perfect!

(Tilt down slightly to the little guy, who turns away and wipes his forehead as she cuts her spell.)

Spike: Phew!

(The artwork chooses this moment to come free of its mooring and crash to the floor; he slumps atop the ladder with a “why me?” groan as Princess Twilight glances across the room. She turns away, surprise instantly registering on her face, and finds a very large number of very tired ponies standing/hovering/collapsing at the doorway. All of the Rainbooms have taken advantage of the portal hidden under the quicksand, as have quite a few of their classmates, and Sunset’s dopey smile is all it takes to fill in the details of her plan—come to Equestria via that route, then use the magic mirror in the Castle to return to the Canterlot High campus.)

Sunset: (singsong) We’re baaaack!

(Cut directly to the closing credits.) 

“All Good” (Extended Version)

Light electric guitar/synthesizer/percussion melody, fast 4 (A flat major)

Rainbow:                Get in the groove, you bring your dancing shoes

                           I’ll bring the attitude, you bring the crew so we can move

                           Light up the floor, turn up the bass

                         Yeah, let me see that smile on your face

Bass guitar, tambourine, full percussion in

Rainbooms:                 Come on and go with the flow, gonna steal the show, yeah

Twilight:                 Let me show you how it goes

Sunset: Repeat after me!

Rainbooms:                ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                            I feel abso-absolutely amazing

                          ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                          I feel abso-absolutely amazing

(shouted)                 Hey!

(sung)                         Throw your hands up higher, turn up the amplifier

                           Watch me, I’m on fire, fire

                         ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                           I feel abso-absolutely amazing

Guitar solo, followed by a drop back to light percussion and synth chords only

Rainbow:                ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                           I feel abso-absolutely amazing

Rainbooms:                ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                          I feel abso-absolutely amazing

Full instrumentation in, backed by guitar riffs

                         ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                          I feel abso-absolutely amazing

                           ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

                            I feel abso-absolutely amazing

(shouted)                  Hey!

(sung)                  Throw your hands up higher, turn up the amplifier

                          Watch me, I’m on fire, fire

                          ’Cause it’s all, all, all, all good

I feel abso-absolutely amazing

End of last line is sung a cappella, after which the song ends