The Mane Attraction


 * [various creaking and squeaking sounds]
 * Twilight Sparkle: Wow, Applejack! Are you sure you've never managed a concert before?
 * Applejack: Well, it turns out doin' up a concert's the same as settin' up a rodeo.
 * Twilight Sparkle: And thanks to Pinkie's connections organizing the Ponypalooza Rock Concert, we've got quite a lineup for the Helping Hooves Music Festival.
 * Pinkie Pie: Twilight! Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Rarity! Fluttershy! Spike! Pinkie Pie! Oh wait, that's me. Everypony!
 * Twilight Sparkle: What is it, Pinkie?
 * Pinkie Pie: I have the most amazing news ever! It is totally gonna freak your frizz!
 * Rainbow Dash: Well, spill it, Pinkie!
 * Pinkie Pie: It wasn't easy. In fact, it was terribly difficult. But I have managed to book the biggest pony pop star in all of Equestria as the main attraction of the Helping Hooves Music Festival!
 * Applejack: Sapphire Shores?
 * Pinkie Pie: Sapphire Shores?! Please! Sapphire Shores is merely the second biggest pony pop star in Equestria. I have booked the one, the only, Countess Coloratura!
 * Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle: Ahhh...
 * Applejack: Who in the hay is Countess Coloratura?
 * Sweetie Drops and Lyra Heartstrings: [gasps]
 * Amethyst Star: [gasps]
 * Fluttershy, Noteworthy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Royal Riff, Spike, Sprinkle Medley and Twilight Sparkle: [gasps]
 * [poing]
 * Pinkie Pie: My frizz has been freaked!




 * Applejack: Pinkie Pie, who is this Countess Coloratura pony?
 * Pinkie Pie: Uh, I just told you that she's the biggest pony pop star in Equestria! How-how-how-how-how have you not heard of her?!
 * Applejack: Don't know. Though I did know a gal named Coloratura when I was just a filly. [laughs and snorts] Wouldn't it just be the funniest thing if that Coloratura and this Coloratura were the same Coloratura? Heh.
 * Pinkie Pie: Do you mean to tell me that you actually know Countess Coloratura?
 * Applejack: Well, I don't think it's the same pony, since my friend wasn't any sort of high-falutin' countess.
 * Pinkie Pie: Do you remember her cutie mark?
 * Applejack: Sure do. It had this super colorful bunch of musical notes that just shimmered in the light.
 * Pinkie Pie: You mean... like this?!
 * Applejack: Well, fancy that! That there's the very same cutie mark!
 * Pinkie Pie: Do you have any idea the number of hoops I had to jump through to get her to perform at the festival?! A whole lot of hoops! That pony is very demanding!
 * Applejack: Nah.
 * Pinkie Pie: Yah!
 * Rarity: I completely understand. We artistes require certain necessities in order to do our best work.
 * Applejack: This was clearly some sort of misunderstandin', 'cause Rara was just as down home as me!
 * Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Royal Riff, Spike, Sprinkle Medley and Twilight Sparkle: Rara?!
 * Applejack: Even that big name was too fancy for her, so I shortened Coloratura to "Rara"!


 * [foals shouting]
 * Applejack: [voiceover] We had the best time at Camp Friendship!
 * [splat]
 * Applejack: [voiceover] Rara was just so easygoin'! We were like two apples from the same branch.
 * [splashing]
 * Applejack: [voiceover] Rara and I prepared this song for the camp talent show. When we performed, she belted it out, singin' in the most colorful, clear voice I'd ever heard!


 * [ting]
 * [ponies cheering]
 * Applejack: [voiceover] After camp, we wrote to each other for a bit, but...


 * Applejack: ...then we lost touch. But Rara always did want to go to Manehattan to try and make it big. But a demandin' diva? Just you wait, Pinkie. Once Rara gets here, you'll see she's just a plain old pony like you and me.
 * Pinkie Pie: I don't have to wait – she's here!
 * Applejack: Really?
 * [pop music BGM]
 * [rumbling and clanking]
 * Applejack: Rara?


 * Pinkie Pie: [squealing] Countess Coloratura!
 * Svengallop: Clear the way! Stand back! Keep your hooves and tail to yourselves!
 * [cameras clicking]
 * Applejack: No... that can't be her. [clears throat] Um... hi. Remember me? We met at Camp Friendship? I gave you the nickname "Rara"?
 * Countess Coloratura: AJ?
 * Applejack: Yeah! Heh. Howdy, Rara!
 * Svengallop: [unintelligible whispering]
 * [splat]
 * Countess Coloratura: Hoofsies! [short laugh]
 * Rarity: Ooh, you got hoofsies from Countess Coloratura! Look! Ooh, she clearly thinks you're very special!
 * Countess Coloratura: Hoofsies! Hoofsies! Hoofsies! [short laugh]
 * Applejack: Yeah... real special.
 * Svengallop: Now that's how you make an entrance! Big, bold, absolutely stunning! Though it was muddied a bit with your interaction with that dusty farmpony. Do you actually know her?
 * Countess Coloratura: Oh, yeah, that's my childhood fillyfriend AJ! She was the one that started calling me Rara.
 * Svengallop: Oh, yes, how cute and... common. Of course, I was the one that started calling you Countess, and just look at how you've moved up in Equestria since then! Why, you've gotten everything you've ever wanted! Speaking of which, where is the pony Pinkie Pie?
 * Pinkie Pie: Ooh! I'm the pony Pinkie Pie, Mr. Manager, sir!
 * Svengallop: Do you have the water imported from Rainbow Falls that I requested for Countess Coloratura?
 * Pinkie Pie: I have twenty glass containers full right here!
 * [clink]
 * Svengallop: Did I not tell you to provide straws in all of Countess Coloratura's beverages?
 * Pinkie Pie: Uh, I don't think so. But lucky for you, I have the biggest straw collection in Equestria! I call this straw Fernando.
 * [flamenco music]
 * Svengallop: Hm. Let us confirm that you acquired the rest of the items that Countess Coloratura requested before she performs her run-through, shall we?
 * Pinkie Pie: Ooh, we shall!
 * Svengallop: Floral arrangements from the royal Canterlot gardens... Chocolate éclairs made by Gustave le Grand... A selection of crystals from the Crystal Empire... Freshly picked cherries from Cherry Jubilee's farm separated red from yellow...
 * Pinkie Pie: Abso-toot-ly!
 * Svengallop: Well, by some miracle, your requests have been reasonably met. So let us move on... to rehearsal!
 * Pinkie Pie: See, Applejack? Demanding!
 * Applejack: Pinkie's right, Rarity! The Rara I knew didn't hide behind a veil givin' out fake stamp kisses, sippin' up imported water, and needin' her cherries separated.
 * Rarity: Oh, I do understand. Sometimes it's hard to see our friends change.
 * Applejack: She's become a whole other pony!
 * Rarity: Trust me. Once you see Countess Coloratura perform, you simply won't believe it!


 * [ponies cheering]
 * Applejack: Rarity was right! I don't believe it!
 * Svengallop: Oh, my shining star! Thanks to the sparkling costumes, dazzling choreography, and brilliant vocal effects that I designed, your performance was spectacular, Countess Coloratura!
 * Countess Coloratura: Oh, [short laugh], thank you, Svengallop!
 * Applejack: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but that feller isn't actually complimentin' Rara. He's complimentin' all the bells and whistles he's piled on to make her Countess Coloratura.
 * Rarity: Oh, no-no-no-no-no, you don't understand, Applejack. Creating all those elements is a lot of work, and Countess Coloratura's performance wouldn't exist without them.
 * Applejack: If you ask me, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.


 * Countess Coloratura: Oh, if we're all done here, I'd love to go back to my trailer and rest, Svengallop.
 * Pinkie Pie: Actually, right now you're scheduled for your meet and greet with the schoolponies!
 * Svengallop: Ugh. I can totally get you out of meeting with the schoolponies, Countess.
 * Countess Coloratura: Absolutely not. My favorite part of any event is meeting with the schoolponies!
 * Applejack: The schoolponies'll be so happy to hear that, Rara!


 * Countess Coloratura: Ponyville schoolponies! As part of the Helping Hooves Music Festival, I'm holding a contest where some of you will get a chance to sing with me onstage at the concert tomorrow! Sound fun?
 * [foals cheering]
 * Countess Coloratura: Alright! Now who wants more hoofsies?
 * [foals cheering]
 * Applejack: Now that's more like the Rara I remember.
 * Pinkie Pie: [distant] But... I got everything you requested!
 * Svengallop: That was for Countess Coloratura! This is for me! And what I want is premium oats!
 * Pinkie Pie: Oh! Well, we have lots of tasty oats right here in Ponyville!
 * Svengallop: I would not feed those to a chicken! I want top-of-the-line Appleloosan oats! Next, it appears that we are surrounded by apple trees. Bring me five hundred pre-peeled, pre-cored apples, and I want those things in twenty-four hours!
 * Pinkie Pie: [gasps] But that's impossible!
 * Svengallop: Do you want me to pull Countess Coloratura from your little podunk charity show?! Because I will!
 * Pinkie Pie: Applejack! Svengallop just made all of these new demands and he said—
 * Applejack: I heard, Pinkie. But don't you fret. I'll talk to Rara and fix things right up.
 * Apple Bloom: Did'ja see, sis?! Did'ja see?!
 * Countess Coloratura: Is this the little sister you wrote to me about, AJ?
 * Apple Bloom: Hold on, Applejack. You wrote to Countess Coloratura about me?!
 * Countess Coloratura: AJ said you were the best little sister ever, Apple Bloom!
 * [beat]
 * Applejack: Alright now, you'd best get along, little ponies.
 * Countess Coloratura: [laughs]
 * Applejack: Uh... Hey, Rara, you mind if I talk to you about your manager?
 * Countess Coloratura: Sure, what about him?
 * Applejack: Well, while you were meetin' with the schoolponies, he was demandin' all sorts of stuff from Pinkie Pie.
 * Countess Coloratura: Svengallop works very hard as my manager, AJ, so if he needs some things when we're on the road, I don't see anything wrong with that.
 * Applejack: Well, do you see somethin' wrong with him tellin' Pinkie that if she doesn't get those things by tomorrow, he'd pull you from our charity festival?
 * Countess Coloratura: What? But he knows how important charity is to me, and leaving the festival would completely ruin my image!
 * Applejack: I'm afraid Svengallop doesn't give a pickled pippin about your charity work.
 * Countess Coloratura: That's not true! Svengallop has always supported me in all my interests. You're just saying those things because you're jealous!
 * Applejack: Jealous of what? A pony who hides behind a veil so thick she can't see when somepony's usin' her? No, I'm not jealous of that, Rara!
 * Countess Coloratura: I am not Rara! I am Countess Coloratura! And while we may have been friends when we were young, we have clearly gone in different directions!


 * [squeaking and spinning]
 * Applejack: It just ain't right! He's manipulatin' her, and she's just not seein' it!
 * Pinkie Pie: Enough stewin', more peelin'!
 * Applejack: Sorry, Pinkie, but there is no way I'm lettin' that lousy Svengallop use my friend like that!
 * Pinkie Pie: [groans]


 * Applejack: Countess Coloratura!
 * Countess Coloratura: Wow, AJ, you said my real name.
 * Applejack: I said your new name, but I saw the real you hangin' out with those schoolponies yesterday. And I know somepony that'd prefer if you stop doin' those little events.
 * Countess Coloratura: Ugh, not this again.
 * Applejack: Come on now. You've just got to give me a chance to prove what I'm sayin' is true.
 * Countess Coloratura: And just how are you going to do that?
 * Applejack: Do exactly what I say. We'll see if that Svengallop truly has your best interests at heart.


 * Countess Coloratura: Svengallop? Svengallop! Where are you, Svengallop?
 * Svengallop: Here I am! Did you need something?
 * Countess Coloratura: Yes, I was... considering... m-maybe cancelling the contest with the schoolponies...?
 * Svengallop: Countess, this is wonderful! I've been waiting forever for you to cancel that pointless schoolpony contest.
 * Countess Coloratura: You... have?
 * Svengallop: You do it at every charity event, and it does absolutely nothing to promote the Countess Coloratura image that I built! Consider it cancelled. Pinkie Pie!
 * Pinkie Pie: [out of breath] Yes, Svengallop, sir! [coughs]
 * Svengallop: We are making some adjustments to the show. Follow me!
 * [magic twinkling]
 * [thud]
 * Svengallop: Cancel the contest for the fillies and schedule me a spa treatment. Now that I don't have to oversee a rehearsal with those brats, I have time for the works! You know the drill! Deliver, or the diva ditches your dippy charity!


 * Svengallop: Okay, Countess Coloratura, all taken care of!
 * [audio feedback]
 * Svengallop: [amplified] You know the drill! Deliver, or the diva ditches your dippy charity!
 * Countess Coloratura: So that's how you've been managing things?
 * Svengallop: Yeah, so? What's the problem?
 * Countess Coloratura: The problem is, is you've been using my name to intimidate ponies to get what you want!
 * Svengallop: But I work incredibly hard for you! I deserve everything I get!
 * Countess Coloratura: But not because you scare ponies into thinking I won't perform for their charities otherwise! I would never do that to my fans! Which is why you should have known that I would never cancel the schoolponies' contest!
 * Svengallop: Hmph. All this charity and schoolpony contest nonsense is just remnants of that boring little Rara I met back in Manehattan!
 * Countess Coloratura: You clearly don't understand the real me!
 * Svengallop: Ha, that's a joke! I made you somepony! What can you even do without me? Good luck, Countess Coloratura! Good luck.
 * Applejack: Oh, Rara, I'm so sorry. Are you gonna be okay for the concert tonight?
 * Countess Coloratura: Of course. After all, the show must go on!


 * Coloratura: Oh, my gosh, Rarity, Svengallop's right! This is gonna be a disaster! I'm gonna be terrible!
 * Applejack: Can you give us a minute, Rarity?
 * Rarity: Certainly.
 * Applejack: Now, why's it gonna be so terrible?
 * Coloratura: Because Svengallop was in charge of everything! The lights, the visuals, the sound! Without Svengallop, I have nothing!
 * Applejack: Now, now, don't go gettin' yourself into a tizzy there, Rara. Svengallop turned you into Countess Coloratura and acted like your friend so he could enjoy the perks that came with bein' a star. But the real perk of friendship is gettin' to see your friend bein' true to their self. And Rara, when you're simply yourself, you're the brightest star I've ever seen shine.


 * [crowd cheering]
 * Twilight Sparkle: Good evening, everypony! Welcome to opening night of the Helping Hooves Music Festival! Now it is my great honor to introduce you to our headlining act – Countess Coloratura!
 * [crowd cheering]
 * Coloratura: This song may be familiar, but yet, it's totally different. Kind of like me, Rara.
 * [ponies uttering confusion]


 * [crowd cheering]
 * Coloratura: [amplified] Thank you, everypony! When I arrived at the Helping Hooves Music Festival, I had forgotten who I really was! But then an old friend reminded me what real friendship is about, and she told me that if I was true to myself, I couldn't go wrong! So I have a very special surprise for her. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, come on up!


 * [ting]


 * [credits]