Missing the Mark

Missing the Mark is the fourteenth episode of My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, the seventh episode of the series' Chapter 4, and the fourteenth episode overall.
In this episode, Opaline finally captures Sparky Sparkeroni, and the Mane 5 must join forces with Misty to stop her from taking Sparky's dragonfire.
==Summary==
===Sparky goes missing... again===
In the middle of the night, Misty finally sneaks Sparky Sparkeroni out of Maretime Bay and brings him to Opaline's castle. Just as she starts to have second thoughts about handing him over to Opaline, Opaline appears and is overjoyed that Misty finally completed her mission. Opaline cages Sparky in a magic bubble hanging over a deep chasm outside a castle window and uses the Dragonstone to start draining his magic away, intending to dispose of him in the chasm once all his magic has been drained.
Back in Maretime Bay, Hitch Trailblazer wakes to find Sparky missing. After all the previous times Sparky has gone missing only for it to turn out to be a false alarm, Hitch believes this time to also be a false alarm and that Sparky has merely wandered off or is playing hide-and-seek. However, when he and the rest of the Mane 5 fail to locate Sparky in his usual hiding places and their special lullaby fails to draw him in, Hitch starts to get genuinely concerned.
As Opaline makes preparations to absorb Sparky's dragonfire, a guilt-ridden Misty tries to free him but fails. She races to the Crystal Brighthouse just as the Mane 5 are about to head into town to expand their search. She tells them that she knows where Sparky is, not revealing her own involvement in his abduction, and leads them to Opaline's castle in the Mare Stream aircraft.
===Misty finds her sparkle===
The Mane 5 arrive at an ominous castle in the middle of nowhere, assuming that it belongs to the mysterious evil Alicorn that has been targeting them. As Misty guides them inside, Zipp Storm demands to know how she knows about this place and its layout, but before she can explain, Opaline appears before them and traps the Mane 5 in a magic bubble. Opaline reveals to the ponies that not only did Misty abduct Sparky, but she has also been working as Opaline's spy the entire time. The Mane 5 renounce Misty as their friend for her perceived betrayal.
Opaline tells Misty that she will get her cutie mark as a reward for her loyalty after Sparky's magic is fully drained. The Mane 5 attempt multiple times to free themselves of Opaline's bubble cage but fail due to its magic-cancelling properties. Misty enters and offers to help, but the ponies reject her for her constant deception. Misty tells them that she did not intend for them to get captured and that she felt obligated to help Opaline because she found her and took her in as a filly.
After a failed attempt to convince Opaline not to dispose of Sparky after draining his magic, Misty returns to the Mane 5's cage and once again offers to help them after they did so much to treat her like a friend. Using a magic branch that she breaks off from Opaline's throne, Misty succeeds in popping the bubble cage and setting the Mane 5 free. As the ponies forgive Misty for her lies, Misty's body suddenly lights up and starts to float off the ground. In a flash of bright light, a butterfly-shaped mark appears on Misty's flank.
===Sunny vs. Opaline Arcana===
Just as Opaline absorbs a portion of Sparky's dragonfire and boosts her powers, Misty calls out to her for help. When she leaves her private quarters, Hitch and Zipp sneak past her to free Sparky. In the throne room, Misty pretends to have been tied up by the Mane 5, and Sunny Starscout confronts Opaline directly.
:Sunny Starscout: So, you're the evil Alicorn!
:Opaline: Oh, is that what they're calling me? Better make it "evil Fire Alicorn"! Opaline Arcana!
Sunny battles against Opaline, but with the power given to her by Sparky's magic, Opaline is initially too powerful, even trapping Izzy Moonbow and Pipp Petals again when they attempt to assist Sunny. Before Opaline can finish them off, Sunny transforms into an Alicorn and is able to match Opaline's power. Magic from her friends' cutie marks (including Misty's) flow into Sunny, giving her enough strength to overpower Opaline and trap her in a bubble.
As the Mane 5 make their escape with Sparky, Opaline breaks out of Sunny's bubble cage with brute magical force. Though she failed to drain all of Sparky's dragonfire, Opaline still obtained a large amount of it. She also rescinds Misty's cutie mark reward after the Mane 5 "captured" her earlier, unaware that Misty already got a cutie mark on her own, and tells her that she no longer needs to pretend to be the ponies' friend now that they know she works for Opaline.
===From Opaline's spy to Mane 5's spy===
Back at the Crystal Brighthouse, the Mane 5 are nursing Sparky back to health after being drained of magic has left him severely weakened. Misty arrives and apologizes again for deceiving Sunny and the others, but they assure her that they have forgiven her after her efforts to help them and save Sparky. Misty promises to help the Mane 5 defeat Opaline, offering to spy on Opaline for them just as she once did the opposite.
Meanwhile, at her castle, Opaline deduces that where there is one dragon, there must be others elsewhere in Equestria, and she sets her sights on other dragons so that she may take their dragonfire as well.
==Quotes==
:Hitch Trailblazer: That was a weird dream. I wish you could've seen it, Sparky. Kenneth was enormous, and he was stomping through Maretime Bay like a Birdzilla.
:Hitch Trailblazer: Kenneth?
:Kenneth: [chirping]
:Hitch Trailblazer: Oh, good. You're not Birdzilla.
:Izzy Moonbow: [singsong] Goooood morniiiiin'! Whatcha doin'?
:Hitch Trailblazer: Oh, I'm just looking for Sparky. He's wandered off again. Like he does. [chuckles]
:Izzy Moonbow: [gasps] Oh, no! I take back my "good" in the "good morning"!
:Opaline: You secured the dragon! I can't believe it!
:Misty: I'm the worst pony in the world.
:Pipp Petals: [referring to Opaline] She's got great style! [clears throat] Great evil style.
:Opaline: Good work, Misty! I expected the dragon, but you brought the whole set!
:Sunny Starscout: No! It can't be true!
:Pipp Petals: She's lying! Right, Misty?
:Zipp Storm: No... She's been helping her this whole time. Haven't you?!
:Misty: I'm sorry.
:Sunny Starscout: [scoffs] You betrayed us!
:Misty: I... I didn't... mean...
:Izzy Moonbow: I thought we were your friends.
:Misty: Opaline found me a long time ago when I was just a lost filly and I couldn't remember where home was. And she... she took me in and I... She promised me a cutie mark and... I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve this!
:Misty: Do we really have to drop Sparky into the water, Opaline? I mean, he's just a baby dragon, and now he'll be powerless, so... he's... harmless?
:Opaline: This "harmless" baby dragon has given me one headache too many! And now that he'll be without dragonfire, I'll have no use for him. Ta-ta, dragon baby!
:Misty: You ponies have been nothing but good to me. You treated me better than anypony ever has. You treated me like a friend. And it's my turn to do the same! I'd rather be a pony without a cutie mark forever than live one more day as a pony that does the wrong thing!
:Sunny Starscout: Helping us gave you your cutie mark!
:Misty: I just couldn't bear to see my friends in trouble. It unlocked something in me. What if... that something was me? The real me?
:Opaline: You weak little ponies can't stop Opaline Arcana!
:Sunny Starscout: Maybe alone, we can't! But together, we can do anything!
:Sunny Starscout: Seeing my friends in danger brought out a whole bunch of abilities that I didn't even know I had!
:Misty: Me, too. It's what finally gave me the courage to be who I should've been this whole time. Myself. And who I really am is a pony who would never betray a friend.
:Misty: I'll do whatever it takes to help you defeat Opaline. Hoof to heart.
:Mane 6: Hoof to heart!
:Opaline: If one dragon is awake, then the rest must be stirring. With more dragonfire, I'll be able to steal all of the magic, including the Alicorn's! Wake up, my dragon darlings. Opaline's coming.
==Gallery==
Opaline preparing the Dragonstone C4E7.png
Misty walks away from shocked Mane 5 C4E7.png
Sunny protects her friends from Opaline C4E7.png
Misty joining the Mane 5 C4E7.png
Dragon-shaped fire in Opaline's eyes C4E7.png