Original subtitles

♪♪

That's the last entry...

Starswirl's final words before he vanished!

[Applejack] All those legendary ponies were real too?

And then NONE of them were ever heard from again?

They used their magic to open a portal to limbo

[screaming moan]

We need to find items that are connected

to the pillars in some way.

We brought you back!

You cannot bring ONLY the pillars back!

[evil laughter]

♪ My little pony, my little pony ♪

♪ Aaaahhh ♪

♪ My little Pony ♪

♪ I used to wonder what friendship could be. ♪

♪ My Little Pony ♪

♪ Until you all shared its magic with me. ♪

♪ Big adventure! ♪ ♪ Tons of fun ♪

♪ A beautiful heart! ♪ ♪ Faithful and strong! ♪

♪ Sharing kindness ♪ ♪ it's an easy feat ♪

♪ And magic makes it all complete! ♪

♪ To have my little pony ♪

♪ Do you know you're all my very best friends? ♪

♪♪

[evil laughter]

Your pitiful attempt to imprison me

has FAILED, Starswirl!

[zap]

You must return us to limbo.

It's the only way to stop him.

I only figured out how to bring you back.

Working on it.

No table of contents.

Allow me to assist.

[crashing]

♪ [dramatic music] ♪

There!

Without the power of Ponehenge, your banishing spell is useless.

You have studied my writings.

Surely you have some other plan.

No. I just wanted to save you, I didn't think--

Don't fret.

When I extinguish the light and hope of this miserable world,

you won't remember any of this.

No!

This one is almost as strong as you, Starswirl.

But even in my weakened state,

she cannot stop the might of shadows!

[shouts]

Lucky for her, she's not alone.

ARRGGGHHH!

Know this, fiend.

We will not rest until we find a way to return you to limbo.

[snarl]

Never!

Your days of glory are through, Starswirl.

Now my dark power will reign and you six will bow to me!

[whoosh]

Um, where'd he go?

That is a riddle we must unravel.

And quickly.

How long have we been gone?

Over a thousand years.

Then my spell worked before it was meddled with.

And the realm has been at peace for a millennia!

Well, we did have to save everypony from Nightmare Moon

and Discord and Chrysalis and King Sombra and Lord Tirek and

there was that one time when Starlight traveled through time

and almost destroyed life as we know it!

But that's all in the past.

If you are truly this accomplished,

we will stop the Pony of Shadows twice as fast together.

We shall see.

It is an easy thing to say you have saved the world.

It is quite another to do it.

Oh, we've saved the world, beardo.

And we can do it again.

Be that as it may, the problem of locating the Pony of Shadows

remains and this land is vast.

It sounds like you need a map.

Luckily, we have just the thing.

Something about this magic seems familiar.

[whoosh]

[astonished cries]

Did you know he could do that?

He's Starswirl!

He can do anything!

This map and, indeed, this very castle are grown from the seed

we planted over a thousand years ago.

Then it did work!

What worked?

Each of us infused a crystal seed with our magic

in hopes that it would grow into a force for good.

We wanted to leave something to protect the realm

in our absence,

but we never dreamed our gift would become so powerful.

Y'all mean the elements came from you?

You know, the sparkly crystal things that grow

from the Tree of Harmony and represent each of us?

Laughter.

Honesty.

Generosity.

Loyalty.

Kindness.

And magic!

They are reflections of our own elements of hope, strength,

beauty, bravery, healing and sorcery.

We had no idea our small seed would bloom

into the living spirit of the land.

I am glad our mantles have passed to such capable ponies.

[Starswirl] More importantly, we no longer need Ponhenge

to send our foe back to limbo.

We can use the stored magic in this "Tree of Harmony."

But doesn't a banishing spell take a lot of power?

We'd have to sacrifice the elements for that.

Mm hm

They'd be gone.

Forever?

Starswirl, I don't think the Tree can survive

without the elements.

If it dies, Equestria will suffer.

If the Pony of Shadows has his way, your land will not exist.

So unless you have a better idea...

[whoosh]

♪♪

Our foe will seek dark places from which to draw power.

I will prepare my spell,

so that we may strike as soon as you find him.

What are we waiting for?

I like your spirit!

Uh huh! Oh yeah!

What about this one?

Sea Pony etiquette isn't going to help right now, Spike.

Uh, Twilight? Are you OK?

I just unleashed ultimate evil and doomed Equestria

because I was obsessed with meeting my idol.

Why wouldn't I be OK?

[thud]

You didn't know that was gonna happen.

But I should have listened to you and left things alone.

Now the elements of harmony will be lost to fix my mistake!

Maybe there's another way.

If there is, Twilight will find it.

Portal gate... portal keys... portal spells.

YES! If the Pillars can hold open the gateway to limbo,

a powerful pony can do the banishing spell herself!

Do you know what this means?

I can stop carrying books?

The Pillars don't have to leave Equestria!

Even though we'll lose the elements,

we'll have the ponies that created them.

And the Pony of shadows will be banished for good!

That's great.

But I was thinking of another way

that maybe doesn't involve "banishing" at all?

Starswirl knew what he was doing when he cast that spell.

If I can make it even better,

maybe he'll see that I take magic as seriously as he does.

[traffic noises]

It seems the dark places

Starswirl indicated on the map have changed.

I bet the Pony of Shadows

would've loved the Ghastly Caverns

before 1000 years of erosion

turned it into the Ghastly Gorge.

The "Appeloosian Wastes" sure sounded dark and desolate.

Who knew they would become

such a popular square dancing destination?

And I get how this part of Equestria

used to be cast in eternal night

where the Pony of Shadows could draw power and wreak havoc

while ponies were powerless to stop him, but,

it's kinda made a comeback.

Did I mention it's really bright?

It seems there are fewer dark corners in the realm these days.

Isn't that a good thing?

True. The Pony of Shadows will have a hard time

regaining power.

When he rears his head, we'll be ready!

Isn't there some way to banish him without losing all of you?

I wish there were.

But to save our home, we are willing to leave it.

[door opens]

I don't think you'll have to!

My spell isn't finished yet,

but I think we can send The Pony of Shadows to limbo

without all of you having to go as well!

While I appreciate your enthusiasm, Twilight,

this is hardly the time to take risks on half-baked spells.

[whimper]

Begging your pardon, Mr. The Bearded.

But Twilight doesn't do anything half-way.

Especially not magic!

Seriously! She got her wings by finishing one of your spells.

I think you'll find her work is worth reading

before you dismiss it out of hoof!

Mm hm!

While it is an unconventional approach,

I believe it could work.

Hm.

I suppose there is a chance.

But we still have no idea where to find the villain.

♪♪

Maybe we should try there?

The Hollow Shades.

I think a branch of the Apple family lives there.

They'd have to be pretty distant.

The Hollow Shades was abandoned eons ago.

Hm, that's odd.

The only time the map's called all of us to one place

was Starlight's village.

So it's like a super-villain tracker!

No offence.

Do you think the map could be trying to tell us

where the Pony of Shadows is?

Hmmm.

The Tree of Harmony acting to protect the light of the realm.

Yes, a good thought, Twilight.

I will make my notes on this spell.

Ready yourselves for battle.

Uh, I know I'm not as experienced as all of you,

but is banishment really the only option?

I mean, it's been a long time.

Maybe the Pony of Shadows is ready to talk?

I doubt we can save our homeland with a conversation.

But we could try.

Starlight, I'm sure Starswirl and the others did try.

The Pony of Shadows was not interested in reconciliation.

Once a villain, always a villain.

Twilight? Sunburst? Would you accompany me?

I wish to refine this spell for our use.

Come! We must prepare for the struggle ahead.

I know Starswirl is a great wizard,

but this whole plan seems wrong.

The map's only ever sent us to solve friendship problems.

Maybe so, but the Pony of Shadows

doesn't really seem like the friendship type.

Honestly?

We don't know anything about him.

Nopony does.

That's not entirely true.

You all knew the Pony of Shadows before he became what he is now.

You must've been friends.

So what happened?

The tale of our rift is a sad one.

♪♪

♪ [hypnotic singing] ♪

[shouts]

♪ [singing continues] ♪

[Rockhoof] Stygian was a pony like the rest of us,

though more scholar than hero.

He recognized our emerging world

would need champions to defend it.

[whoosh]

[whoosh]

[roar]

[zap]

[Flash Magnus] He may have gathered us together,

but he, himself was just an ordinary unicorn

who soon grew jealous of our abilities.

[Mistmane] He stole objects from each of us ...

artifacts to use in a spell.

[Meadowbrook] And we cast him out for it.

[Somnambula] We always thought he'd return

and seek forgiveness.

But when we saw him again, his heart was bent on revenge.

He dashed even my hope of saving him.

[zap]

But why did he steal the artifacts from you?

No doubt it was an enchantment to take our powers for himself.

Hm.

♪♪

That looks like a lot of work.

It is what must be done and it would be best

if we were not disturbed.

I'm sorry, Starlight, but we can't stop to talk.

The stakes are too high and we have to...

banish Stygian to limbo. I get it.

Uh, who? Stygian

was the name the Pony of Shadows gave up

when he turned to darkness.

And I'm just trying to figure out why.

Envy. He wanted more power than he had

and that desire led him down a path

from which there is no return.

I know from experience that's not always true.

When the map called you six to my village,

it was for a friendship problem.

Are you sure this is different?

I...

Stygian wants to destroy all that is good in this world.

There's no way to befriend a pony like that.

[door closes]

I guess I'm lucky your idol wasn't around

when you decided to be my friend.

I might've been banished to limbo too.

♪♪

[doors slam]

[Somnambula] I am glad we have the chance to see

what has grown from our efforts so long ago.

It seems a shame to harm it.

A necessary sacrifice.

With the elements' power,

we will bind the Pony of Shadows in limbo.

And thanks to Twilight,

we will remain to watch over the realm ourselves.

[zap]

Um, how do we use them?

Well, you--Oh. I'm not sure.

They simply work for us.

The elements are attuned to you.

We must use their magic in pairs.

[Rainbow Dash] No problem!

We're used to banishing evil before breakfast.

And it'll be an honor to save Equestria with y'all.

I really hope Twilight knows what she's doing.

♪ [ominous music] ♪

I don't remember reading anything that said

the Hollow Shades was like this.

[Mistmane] The Pony of Shadows must have twisted it

to his purposes.

Prepare yourselves.

He is here.

Stygian! Show yourself and face us!

[evil laughter]

[rumbling]

[crashing]

♪♪

I definitely would have remembered reading about this.

[evil laughter]

Welcome to the Well of Shade!

When you turned your backs on me, I discovered this place.

The darkness spoke to me of a power beyond any

I could imagine and I listened.

The shadow and I became one.

Soon all of the realm will be the same.

Then all ponies will feel the despair I did

when you cast me out!

[Starswirl] We did what we had to do.

You tried to steal our powers for yourself.

No! It was you who were selfish!

And now you will pay!

[zap]

Are you still sure this isn't a friendship problem?

Ready?

Open the portal...

[crash]

NOW!

♪♪

No! You will not trap me again!

Twilight! Push him in!

Huh?

There's a pony in there.

Are you...

Stygian?

I was, once.

Until my friends betrayed me.

But Starswirl says you betrayed them.

You wanted their magic.

No! I wanted their respect.

I brought them together.

I planned strategy and I read all I could

about the beasts we faced.

But I didn't have magic or strength.

So nopony every noticed me.

I went to Ponehenge to make my own copies of the artifacts.

With them, I thought I could be a Pillar too!

And stand by their side in battle.

I never wanted to steal their power.

But instead of sharing and letting me help,

my friends threw me out.

So I became stronger than any of them!

The darkness welcomed me when no pony would.

I will do what I must to protect it!

This is all a misunderstanding!

If the Pillars knew how you felt,

I'm sure they wouldn't have turned their backs on you.

The shadow isn't who you really are.

Let me help you be Stygian again.

Even if my friends did still care,

what makes you think you have the power to help me?

Because it's what she does.

I wasn't so different from you and Twilight helped me change.

If there's one pony in Equestria that can save a friendship,

it's her.

I--I want to believe you.

But the darkness will not be stopped!

[shouts]

Fight the darkness, Stygian!

You don't need it anymore.

Revenge isn't what you want, friendship is!

Twilight!

[grunt]

[roar]

The shadow won't let go of him.

He wants to stop, but he can't do it alone.

Then we must help him.

♪♪

[bellowing cries]

[grunt]

[sigh]

♪♪

YEAH! It felt so good to do that again!

Friendship power rush!

WOO!

The elements!

They didn't disappear.

Maybe because we used them for healing magic

instead of banishing?

Look!

Long ago you needed our help, Stygian,

but instead of listening, we turned our backs on you.

Pride clouded my judgment.

I owe you an apology.

Thank you for helping us see the errors of our ways, Twilight.

It seems I never accounted for the magic of friendship.

Thank you, Swirlstar.

Starswirl!

♪♪

AHEM.

So apparently a conversation can save Equestria?

[chuckle]

Something tells me I will be making a lot of apologies today.

I simply cannot believe how tall you've gotten!

Well, it has been over a thousand years.

Will you stay here and teach magic once again?

My sister and I have such fond memories of your lessons.

As long as you don't ask for those essays we owed you

before you disappeared.

[chuckle]

I am not certain Canterlot is where I belong.

The realm has grown and I believe I'll have a look around

before I settle in any one place.

And I long to see what has become of my home.

I believe we all do.

Then I hope you will return to Canterlot on occasion

and share the wisdom of your great experience

with the next generation of ponies.

We would be honored, but if it is wisdom you seek,

look no further than your own pupil.

She showed me that the power of friendship

is a magical force indeed.

And that in turning away from others,

you hurt yourself as well.

It's funny. I thought meeting my idol

would give me all the answers I ever wanted.

But instead, I forgot what I already knew.

Good thing I had a student of my own to remind me.