Sunny Side Up is the fourth episode in Chapter 4 of My Little Pony: Make Your Mark and the eleventh episode overall.
Synopsis[]
Opaline grounds Misty for failing to steal Dragonfire. Then, Hitch and Sunny kick off the grand opening of Canterlove Studios by hosting a cooking show.
Plot[]
At Opaline's castle, the photograph, stolen by Misty at the Crystal Brighthouse during the previous episode, brought Opaline's attention to the Mane 5's cutie marks. She believes that these cutie marks hold the key to their unity magic. Opaline hatches a plan to obtain them using the power of Sparky's dragonfire. However, Opaline faces a setback as Misty failed to bring her Sparky. Frustrated by Misty's repeated failures, Opaline decides it's time for a punishment.
Opaline takes a moment to remind Misty of her childhood, growing up alongside Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in the realm of Skyros, and being snubbed by them. Afterwards, she used her magic to 'ground' Misty by binding her to the floor of her bedroom by her hooves and barriers at the door. Opaline then leaves her castle for the first time in a long while.
In Maretime Bay, the Mane 5 proudly announce the opening of Canterlove Studio but their excitement is short-lived as the town ponies quickly disperse. Recognizing the need to generate public interest in the new venture, Sunny proposes the idea of a TV show to be broadcast directly from Canterlove Studios. Pipp enthusiastically suggests a cooking show hosted by Sunny and Hitch, named "Sunny Side Up." Sunny is unsure of the idea and Hitch is plagued by nervousness about being in front of the camera.
Meanwhile, back at Opaline's castle, Misty suddenly gets her unicorn magic to free herself from Opaline's spell, despite her initial belief that she couldn't use magic without a cutie mark. At the same time, Opaline is on her way to obtain the Dragonstone.
During the premiere episode of "Sunny Side Up," Hitch succumbs to severe performance anxiety. He stumbles over his words, babbles incoherently, and clumsily navigates the stage. As time progresses, Hitch begins to find his comfort zone and even starts a playful food fight with Sunny. Their humorous antics prove highly entertaining to the viewers.
When Misty observes the Mane 5 live-streaming their new show on her phone, she realizes none of them are keeping an eye on Sparky and decides to abduct him, but Opaline has sealed her bedroom door with magic as well.
As viewers slowly losing interest in the show, Pipp suggests having the hosts work with mystery ingredients and attempting to cook while blindfolded to keep the viewers. However, Sunny senses that this pursuit of trends and a quest for higher viewership strays from the original vision of Canterlove Studios. She addresses the audience directly, encouraging them to believe in themselves and follow their own desires and instincts, rather than succumbing to external pressures.
While watching the Mane 5's live stream and listening to Sunny's heartfelt speech, Misty recognizes the reason why she has been failing her missions for Opaline lately is because deep down inside that she does not want to help Opaline take the ponies' magic away. She realizes that Opaline has been lying to her for her entire life, while the Mane 5 have been treated her with nothing but kindness and warmth. Despite these realizations, Misty grapples with uncertainty about betraying Opaline and leaving behind the only life she has ever known. At the same time, Opaline reaches the Dragonestone high up in the mountains, but while attempting to grab it the Dragonstone falls into the fissure in the earth and makes it unreachable without Opaline’s power.
Before continuing the livestream, Sunny pulls Hitch aside and offers an apology for not taking his nervousness into consideration and failing to encourage him to be himself. Hitch, in turn, confides in Sunny, admitting that despite the day's initial chaos, he thoroughly enjoyed cooking and engaging in playful food fights with her. Together, they decide to forge a compromise for the show's format that celebrates both of their unique strengths.
The Sunny Side Up livestream resumes, in a way that feels comfortable and genuine to both Sunny and Hitch. Sunny and Hitch convey to their viewers that this will be the sole episode of Sunny Side Up, but they encourage the rest of Maretime Bay to come to Canterlove Studios and create their own shows.
Upon Opaline's return to the castle, she finds Misty in the same position she left her in. Opaline frees Misty, and Misty pledges never to disappoint her again. As Opaline briefs Misty about the Dragonstone, she notices the fake cutie mark that Misty has drawn on her flank causing Misty to gasp in shock.
Characters[]
- Sunny Starscout
- Izzy Moonbow
- Hitch Trailblazer
- Zipp Storm
- Pipp Petals
- Sparky Sparkeroni
- Misty Brightdawn
- Opaline Arcana
- Jazz Hooves (no lines)
- Rocky Riff (no lines)
- Seashell (no lines)
- Glory (no lines)
- Peach Fizz (no lines)
- Dahlia (no lines)
- Toots (no lines)
- Sweets (no lines)
- Princess Celestia (flashback)
- Princess Luna (flashback)
- Posey Bloom (no lines)
- Mayflower (cameo)
- Diggy (cameo)
- Sander (cameo)
- Grandma Figgy (mentioned)
Trivia[]
- This was originally supposed to be the third episode of the fourth chapter.