Twilight and Spike in Space Ace

### Based on

"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" by Lauren Faust"Digimon: Digital Monsters" and "Power Rangers" by Haim Saban

"Space Ace" by Don Bluth

### Starring

Tara StrongCathy Weseluck

Lara Jill Miller

Adam West

Kevin Michael Richardson

Charles Nelson Reilly

Christopher Lloyd

### Production company

Hasbro StudiosSaban Brands

Don Bluth Entertainment

JAM Productions

### Release date

Summer 2019

**Twilight and Spike in Space Ace** is an animated comic film that is a sequel to *Twilight and Spike in Dragon's Lair,* this time about the Don Bluth video game *Space Ace*. Given that *Dragon's Lair* and *Space Ace* are the only two Don Bluth-animated arcade games, and the plot to this Twilight version ties all loose ends, it serves as a finale to this continuity.

## Synopsis

In this sequel to *Twilight and Spike in Dragon's Lair*, Twilight Sparkle learns that her weakened brother, Shining Armor, is to be called up into the army in order to fight the invading Space Huns, led by Borf, who is seeking to attack Earth with his "Infanto Ray" to render Earthlings helpless by reverting them into infants.  Knowing that Shining Armor would never survive the rigours of war in his state, Twilight decides to disguise herself and join in his place.  Spike the Dragon, Kari, a gentle, compassionate girl, Ace, a dashing hero and Kimberly, a tomboyish damsel all help Twilight in the perilous times ahead.

## Plot

One year after the events of the first movie, the legendary Great Wall of Mars fails to keep out the notorious Space Hun army and their ruthless leader, Commander Borf. The alarm is raised, and the Emperor entrusts General Sam Deckard with mobilizing an army to protect the Milky Way galaxy. The wise Emperor reminds the general that "one man can be the difference between victory and defeat."

Twilight Sparkle is asleep in her bed when she's stirred awake by a lamp switching on. She sees Spike reading a comic book and tells him to go to sleep, but Spike asks for two more minutes. He proceeds to talk at length about the Power Ponies, their sidekick Hum Drum, and the evil Mane-iac. Twilight sympathizes with Spike's investment in a book, but states they'll need to be well-rested to help fix up Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's old castle in the morning. Spike relents and goes to bed.

The next morning, while escorted by Princess Celestia, at the Empire train station, Twilight and her friends meet with Shining Armor, who volunteers to be a coach at the Equestria Games.

Meanwhile, the rest of Twilight's band of friends, the Mane Six, set up the stadium: Rainbow Dash saves Pinkie Pie from a pyramid of pies, Fluttershy tames her eccentric draconequus neighbor Discord, and Applejack and Rarity bicker over a dress. Twilight approaches and shares with them her disappointment in the other princesses' rejection of her game ideas. Despite her nervousness, her friends have the utmost confidence in her, leading into the song *You Can Do Anything*.

Ms. Harshwhinny serves as the Equestria Games Inspector. She has apparently built a reputation for being a stickler and perfectionist when scouting hosts for the Games, but when a watery mishap ensues, Ms. Harshwhinny sarcastically suggests Twilight put on a rock concert.

Deeply ashamed, Twilight returns home and laments that she is not the princess her friends deserve. Her brother, however, comforts her and encourages more sportsmanship.

The Emperor's smug councilman, Tashi, arrives at Ponyville to draft one man from each family for the Imperial Army. Twilight watches in fear as young men are called forward to receive their orders, knowing that her weak brother will be called up as well, being the only male member of the Sparkle family. As Shining Armor is summoned by Tashi, Twilight pleads for her brother to be excused from battle, as he is already a veteran and is afflicted with an injured leg. Shining Armor reprimands her for her dishonor. He attempts to practice with his old sword in preparation for war. However, it quickly becomes apparent that he will die if he goes, due to his age and injuries in the past. Having seen him practice, Twilight berates him at dinner for not telling her about the war, but Shining Armor explains that he had no choice and the Emperor wanted an increase in security in response to an exterior threat. Twilight concedes but remains hurt. Shining Armor reassures her that she has always been, and always will be, important to him, and asks her to be his Best Mare. Knowing her brother could never survive in battle, Twilight makes a desperate decision. After her friends are asleep, she dons her brother's armor, and takes his draft information before galloping out to the camp in his place. Shining Armor and Celestia awaken and discover with horror that Twilight has left to join the army. They cannot go after her, for impersonating a soldier is a capital offense, and Twilight would be executed if her identity was revealed. Fluttershy only suggests that they wish her luck at the portal. At the mirror portal leading to the alternate world, Spike begs Twilight not to go, but Twilight remains loyal to her brother. Naturally, Twilight's friends are eager to assist her, but are told by Celestia that such a masquerade has its share of complications: sending a whole group could upset the balance of the alternate world and complicate her mission further, so Twilight has to go alone; her pony friends can't interfere, but only Spike goes with her, because she needs her trusty assistant anywhere, and they hug their pony friends goodbye, then Celestia wishes them luck. Twilight and Spike charge into the portal to adventure.

At the same time, in a small library, Kari, a feisty, compassionate and jolly girl, learns of the duo's previous adventure, as their old mentor, the Pagemaster, sends her to guide them through their masquerade.

Meanwhile, at his lair, Commander Borf addresses his minions, Red Parrot Stan and Koopa, that it has been too long that they have been vulnerable to the street lights, night lights, and most importantly the sun. He makes a promise to his fun-loving minions to pilot his dreaded weapon, the Infanto Ray, a machine that reduces Earthlings to helpless infants, so they can party on the surface forever.

Twilight arrives at the outskirts of the training camp, terrified of her task and dejectedly telling Spike that it would take a miracle for her plan to work. As if on cue, Kari appears, introducing herself as a trusted guide sent by the Pagemaster and promising to help her become a model soldier. She shows the two her digital device, or digivice, that would make its owner develop into a more powerful being. As a test, she changes into a pink Power Ranger, so only the two could see her. Spike sees this as a Power Pony resemblance, and Twilight remarks that now that they are acquainted, she is ready to fight the war for her brother.

She timidly enters the U.S. Space Camp and, following Spike and Kari's instructions on how to interact with men, inadvertently causes a brawl. The ruckus is quelled by Captain Dexter "Ace" Deckard, the son of General Sam Deckard, who was appointed by his father to train the new troops while Sam takes his army to protect Red City, Mars. Ace is unimpressed with the sloppy new recruits, especially awkward Twilight, who presents herself as Shining Armor's little-seen brother Clover the Clever.

Spike and Kari support Twilight as she struggles through training, which is especially harrowing because her fellow soldiers are still angry with her for the camp-wide fight on their first day. Ace presents them with a seemingly-impossible task: to climb a huge wooden pole while wearing heavy arm weights to retrieve a hayburger from the top. Twilight finally redeems herself by cleverly using the weights to her advantage, scaling the pole and reaching the burger. The other troops begin to warm up to "Clover," especially tomboyish Kimberly, intelligent Alpha 5, and enormous but gentle Koosy. Twilight has an increasingly difficult time keeping her identity hidden, especially since the men all bathe together in a nearby lake, and Spike is called upon to provide distractions when things get too dangerous.

Borf plans to move his army through the Martian Desert, which is the swiftest route to Red City. Though he determines that General Deckard and his army are already guarding the desert, Borf confidently leads the Huns to battle the Imperial Troops.

Tashi has remained at training camp to compile a report on the new troops. He remains unimpressed, though the soldiers have successfully completed training, and behaves rudely toward Captain Ace. Spike and Kari, continuing their plan to transform Twilight into a war hero, use the digivice to change into a ranger and messenger dragon to forge a letter from General Deckard, requesting backup troops at the desert. The ruse works, and Ace marches the troops out of camp the following day. When they reach the desert, they find General Deckard and his entire platoon slaughtered. They discover a pre-recorded holographic message left by the General who explains that Borf's Infanto Ray can be destroyed by triggering a chain reaction from an external exhaust port. Ace is shocked and grief-stricken at his father's death, but is all the more determined to stop Borf before he reaches the Emperor.

As Twilight and company progress through the desert's rocky mountains, the Huns immediately attack, and it is evident that they greatly outnumber the soldiers. As the Hun army charges toward them, Ace instructs Kimberly to aim their last cannon at Borf. Quick-thinking Twilight swipes the cannon and fires it at the mountainside, causing a huge avalanche that buries the Huns. The soldiers run for safety, with Ace and Twilight narrowly avoiding falling to their deaths over a cliff. Ace thanks Twilight for saving their lives, and gets her medical attention for an injury she sustained from Borf's sword. Twilight can no longer hide her gender, and she is ousted to the rest of the troops.

Tashi discovers Twilight's identity as a woman. He admits he had suspicions towards Twilight, dragging her out of the medical tent and revealing the news to the troops. Despite her doing it to save her brother and actually defeating the Space Hun Army, Tashi declares "ultimate dishonor" on her and cites the law which states that Twilight must be executed as women are forbidden to join the army. However, much to Tashi's surprise, Ace spares Twilight's life, as he owes Twilight a debt from when she saved his life during the battle. Tashi attempts to argue the matter and begs to execute Twilight, but gives in when Ace refuses to execute her and orders the army to move out, to Tashi's disbelief.

Twilight miserably tells her two remaining friends that entering the army was a mistake, and that she was fated to dishonor her family. Spike finally admits that he was always useless, and that his mission was a selfish one to get his usefulness back. Kari hopes that Twilight and Shining Armor would be together again. They are all about to give up hope when they discover that Borf and many of the Huns had survived the avalanche and are emerging from the snow. Twilight, Spike and Kari rush to Red City to warn of the coming attack.

In the city, Ace and his troops are being hailed as heroes for defeating the Huns. Twilight, presenting herself as a woman again, confronts Ace during their victory parade (though Ace, Kimberly, Alpha, and Koosy are noticeably glum) and tells him what she saw in the mountains. Ace dismisses her as a liar, and members of the crowd are deaf to Twilight's words. On the steps of the palace, the Emperor is kidnapped by the Huns, who beat Twilight to the city. Ace, Kimberly, and Alpha turn to Twilight, Spike and Kari for a plan. With the group changed by the digivice into Power Rangers and mounting a wooden pony, they infiltrate the palace and attack the Huns guarding the chamber into which Borf had taken the Emperor. Borf threatens to kill the Emperor if he refuses to bow to him and accept him as the new leader of Mars. The Emperor stoically refuses, but Ace leaps to his aid just in time. As Ace and Borf battle, Koosy carries the Emperor to safety. Twilight then attracts Borf's attention by proving herself to be the soldier who started the avalanche, and the enraged Hun states that he rules all, and would answer to no woman. Twilight proves him wrong and proclaims that while he may have all the magic of space, he lacks the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship. On Twilight's signal, Spike throws Kari's digivice to her, and Twilight develops into an elegant Power Pony. She and Borf duel on the balcony, until he finally pilots the Infanto Ray. Ace tries to defend the pony, but Borf zaps him into an infant, and then turns his wrath from the captain to her.

Twilight assaults a trench on the Martian countryside to hit the ray's vulnerable spot. Stan closes in on Twilight, who cowers, but then remembers Shining Armor's words, that she has always been, and always will be, important to him, and continues straight to the ray's core. Stan prepares to destroy Twilight, but Spike and Kari fly in at the last moment, firing a flare that blasts Stan aside. Kari tells Twilight to finish off Borf, since she was now clear to do so. Twilight thanks the two, and accurately fires her magic into the Infanto Ray, and the three friends evaculate, just as the weapon explodes, shrinking Borf down to a harmless miniature version of himself. He is then chased away by a vengeful Stan into the distance once and for all. As this happens, Ace turns back into his adult self.

As the chaos subsides, Tashi verbally attacks Twilight for her actions. Ace angrily defends her until the Emperor appears. He explains to Twilight that, despite her fraud, she has saved the entire galaxy. In the ultimate display of respect, the Emperor bows to Twilight, as do the countless people in the attending crowd. He then offers Twilight a job as his council (to the shock of Tashi), but Twilight respectfully declines and expresses her wish to return home. The Emperor gives her his medallion and Borf's sword as gifts to honor the Sparkle family.

The Pagemaster appears and congratulates Twilight and Spike on their visit to Mars. After telling the others goodbye—with Kari saying that she is sure that they will meet again, and Twilight telling the group that although they had only known each other for a short time, she will miss them dearly—, they leave for home, and the Emperor subtly encourages Ace to follow her before striding off, presumably to see to the restoration of his palace.

Back in Equestria, Twilight's friends, Celestia, Ms. Harshwhinny and Discord wait patiently for her return. Twilight emerges through the portal. Her friends run up to greet her, congratulating her on her return and victory.  Discord finds this delightful, and Ms. Harshwhinny finds this amazing. Princess Celestia states that Shining Armor wants to see his sister right away.

At the garden, Shining Armor is overjoyed at the return of his sister. Though she presents him with the Emperor's crest and the sword of Borf, he casts the priceless gifts aside and embraces Twilight, ensuring her that the greatest gift and honor is having her for a sister.

Applejack sarcastically comments that Twilight only brought home a sword when she should've brought home "a friend or two." Ace and Kari arrive in pony form soon afterward, having come looking for Twilight, and Fluttershy points Twilight out to them. As the visitors thank them and walk off, Rarity notes their good looks and asks the other ponies to sign her up for the next war. Ace and Kari proceed to return the helmet that Twilight left behind, and awkwardly but happily accept Twilight's invitation to stay for dinner. Twilight's friends immediately pick up that she may have a crush on Ace and playfully tease her, and Pinkie Pie explains that it was "just a hunch". All is well again.

### Friendship Lesson

Just because someone is vastly different, they can still be a wonderful help to you.

## Promotional Materials

PosterDVD coverDouble Feature DVDSoundtrack coverBus addulogy wallpaperduology muralGame coverRead Along cassette
## Trivia

### Story Behind the Story

It has come to my attention that *Space Ace* is another Don Bluth video game since *Dragon's Lair,* and that the *Digimon* and *Power Rangers* franchises have been acquired by Hasbro, so I figured, why not make a sequel to the Twilight version of *Dragon's Lair*?

### Connections

* Dom Deluise and Charles Nelson Reilly have been iconic actors in the Don Bluth filmography, which explains the appearances of Koosy and Stan.
* Tara Strong and Kevin Michael Richardson have also co-starred in *Teen Titans Go!.*
* Tara and Lara Jill Miller have also co-starred in *The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Henry Hugglemonster* and *Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!*
* Lara and Kevin have also co-starred in *Rugrats: All Grown Up!*
* The climax of the movie is very similar to that of *Star Wars: A New Hope,* whose star, Mark Hamill, co-starred with Tara in *Batman: The Animated Series.*
* The plotline of the movie is very similiar to that of *Mulan,* whose music composer, Jerry Goldsmith, also composed the underscore for *The Secret of NIMH.*
* 1998 was the same year *Mulan* and *The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue* were released, and the *Digimon* toy line was first sold.
* *Mulan* was animated by Disney, a previous owner of Saban, before Hasbro.
* The real Kari appeared in *Digimon: Digital Monsters,* which is set in Asia, the location of the actual *Mulan* plotline.
* Twilight's plan to have the group sneak into the Emperor's palace by wooden pony to proceed to the final battle is reminiscent of the Trojan Horse strategy by which the Greeks defeated Troy in the Trojan War. In fact, when boarding the wooden pony, Spike stated, "No one in***history*** has ever done anything *this* clever!"
* The songs *Danger Zone* and *Through the Fire* were previously used in *Top Gun,* which was released in 1986, along with the G1 MLP movie.
* Pat Morita starred in *The Karate Kid* and *The Karate Kid Part II,* the first released in 1984, along with *My Little Pony G1*, and the second released in 1986, along with the G1 MLP movie.
* The *Digimon* and *Power Rangers* characters have been former properties of Saban Brands, until they were acquired by Hasbro, which explains the appearances of Kari and Alpha 5.
* *My Little Pony: The Movie* and the *Power Rangers* remake are both released in 2017.
* 2018 was the same year the *My Little Pony* franchise had its 35th anniversary, and the *Power Rangers* franchise had its 25th anniversary.
* This movie is released in 2019, the same year of the MLP TV special "Rainbow Roadtrip," and *Digmon's* 20th anniversary.
* The original G1 *My Little Pony* series debuted in 1984, the same year the actual *Space Ace* game was released.
* *Digimon: Digital Monsters* was released in 1999, the same year of another Bluth movie, *Bartok the Magnificent.*
* *Digimon: The Movie* was released in 2000, the same year of *Titan A.E.,* a Bluth movie dealing with space.
* *My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games* and *Digimon Adventure Tri: Reunion* are both released in 2015, *Digimon Adventure Tri 2: Decision* and *My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree* are both released in 2016, and 2019 is the same year the MLP TV special *Rainbow Roadtrip* was released, and the *Digimon* franchise had its 20th anniversary.
* There is a character in the main *Power Rangers* continuity*,* also named Kimberly.
* Before Kevin Michael Richardson was chosen to play Borf, Paul Shenar and Don Bluth himself were also candidates for the role. Paul played Jenner in *The Secret of NIMH,* while Kevin played Brutus in *The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue.*
* Before Lara Jill Miller was chosen to play Kari, Tara Sands was also a candidate for the role. Twilight Sparkle, Tara Strong and Tara Sands all share the initials "TS".
* *My Little Pony: Pony Life, Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna* and the live action *Mulan* remake would be released in the following year, 2020.

### Early Concept

Originally, the movie didn't plan to use the song *I Sing the Body Electric.* It was only through Lara Jill Miller's honor as the Voiceover Queen that it was included.

## Cast

Tara Strong as Twilight SparkleCathy Weseluck as SpikeLara Jill Miller as KariAdam West as AceDara McGarry as KimberlyRichard Wood as Alpha 5Dom Deluise as KoosyKevin Michael Richardson as Borf and KoopaCharles Nelson Reilly as Red Parrot StanPat Mortia as the Emperor of MarsJames Hong as TashiJames Shigeta as General Sam DeckardDanny Mann as the GuardChristopher Lloyd as the PagemasterAndrea Libman as Pinkie Pie and FluttershyAshleigh Ball as Applejack and Rainbow DashTabitha St, Germain as RarityAndrew Francis as Shining ArmorNicole Oliver as Princess CelestiaJohn de Lancie as DiscordVeena Sood as Ms. HarshwhinnyRoy Dotrice as the Narrator
### Mentioned only

Storm KingDirk the DaringMordrocMane-iacLuna

### Songs:

* Title theme: "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins
* "You Can Do Anything" by Shining Armor
* ''Lay Down Your Arms" by Twilight
* "Snuff Out the Light" by Borf
* "Hearts on Fire" by Ace
* "Through the Fire" by Larry Greene
* "I Sing the Body Electric" by Kari
* End Title Song: "Simply Meant to Be" by Gary Morris and Jennifer Warnes
* Exit Music: "My Little Pony theme song Instrumental EG remix" by Daniel Ingram

## Presenters

LionsgateHasbroSabanDon Bluth EntertainmentJAM ProductionsCorporation for Public BroadcastingYouTube