Sparky goes missing and Hitch goes to increasingly desperate lengths to find him.
Tropes:
- Badly Battered Babysitter: Misty attempting to take Sparky away to Opaline doesn't get off the ground thanks to Sparky's misbehaving, due to missing his nap and/or his sensing of her not being on the level. She does manage to evade most of the traps he set up later on, though still fails to take Sparky after Sunny and her friends find him in the Brighthouse by singing a lullaby Pipp wrote for him.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sparky's been brought back safe and sound, but it's very clear that Misty suffers greatly from Opaline's abuse. With the Mane 5 unaware of her affiliation, she has nopony to turn to, and her scene ends with her tearfully lamenting Opaline's cruelty.
- Brainy Baby: Sparky creates an elaborate array of traps to hold off Misty - in the two seconds since he managed to get away from her.
- Brick Joke:
- After the first failed search, Izzy mentions a broken-down tram car she found. She drives it down the street in the final scene.
- Misty has to dodge a series of traps that Sparky set up. Hitch crashes through all of them when he finally finds Sparky.
- Hitch recruits Thunder and Zoom, two guards from Zephyr Heights, to help with the search but forgets to call them off until after Sparky has been found.
- Call-and-Response Song: Pipp refers to the lullaby she wrote Sparky as such. And of course, Sparky starts singing along the second he hears it.
- Call-Back:
- When Hitch reveals that Sparky is missing, Zipp refers to Sunny's lantern going missing in the previous episode.
- Hitch refers to the old CanterLogic defense factory while trying to figure out where Sparky could be.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Hitch holds up the missing Sparky's blanket, Izzy comments on the "glow up" of the stains it has.
- Dramatic Irony: After searching his station, Hitch believed that Sparky may have come to the Brighthouse. He turns out to have been right, as Sparky ran there after Misty tried to kidnap him.
- Dramatic Wind: When Hitch is first seen in his "dark vigilante" guise, both Sparky's blanket (which he's using as a cape) and his mane sway in the breeze.
- Evil Laugh: Misty does this as she boasts about catching Sparky. Sparky laughs in response, and she defensively claims she's still working on it.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Hitch mentions that Sparky dances to music, Pipp gets the idea to sing his lullaby.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Hitch's vengeful persona has him speaking in a deep voice.
- Exploding Closet: Izzy nearly falls victim to this when she opens a closet door in the Brighthouse to look for Sparky. She slams the door shut an instant before a tower of junk can fall on her, not knowing that Misty set it up as a deterrent against searching for her or Sparky in there.
- Fainting: Izzy faints when the possibility of Sparky being "dragon-napped" is brought up.
- Fell Asleep Crying: Poor Misty retreats to her sleeping quarters lamenting that her mistress considers her next to useless for not bringing the former Sparky himself. Damn you, Opaline.
- Fun with Acronyms: Hitch declares that Sparky must be found "A.S.A.P.P - As Soon As Pony-Possible."
- Gilligan Cut: Pipp remarks on how Hitch is "so much more calmer, steadier, and more focused" than everypony else. We then immediately cut to Hitch freaking out.
- The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: Misty chases Sparky all the way to the Brighthouse, attempting to catch him. But once they get there, Sparky quickly starts chasing after her.
- Informed Attribute: Hitch claims that Sparky never goes anywhere without his blanket - which is only being seen for the first time in this episode.
- Laser Hallway: Sparky somehow creates a laser array in the basement of the Brighthouse.
- Magic Music: Pipp's call-and-response lullaby is amplified by the group's cutie mark magic when they all join in, allowing Sparky's response to be heard all the way from the Brighthouse.
- Momma's Boy: Toots, when put under Hitch's overly-aggressive interogation, admits that he spends most of his time with his mother, wailing that he loves her so much.
- Operation: [Blank]: After deciding to go all-out to find Sparky, Hitch calls the act "Operation: Glitterbomb".
- Overly Narrow Superlative: Hitch declares himself the "worst pony-dragon dad in the world" for losing Sparky. Pipp points out he's the only pony-dragon dad in the world.
- Poke the Poodle: Hitch declares he will make the kidnapper pay... by making them pick up litter.
- Rule of Three: Three times, Hitch refers to his being the worst/best pony-dragon dad in the world, with somepony pointing out that he's the only pony-dragon dad in the world.
- Sidetracked by the Analogy:
- Izzy advises against over-planning the search for Sparky, as he could be right under their noses. She then starts to wonder if Sparky really is under her nose right now.
- Pipp states that she knows Mane Melody like the back of her hoof... then notes that said hoof needs a polish from Jazz.
- When Hitch states that he would "go to the ends of Equestria" for Sparky, Izzy notes that such an endeavor would be tiring.
- Shout-Out: One of the traps Sparky sets up for Misty is a couple of paint cans on strings. This was one of the traps Kevin McCallister used in Home Alone.
- Spotting the Thread: Zipp looks over the photos Hitch has of Sparky and realizes that in all of them, Sparky has his favorite blanket with him. So, the fact that he left it behind suggests he isn't simply hiding or ran away, but someone might have kidnapped him.
- Squee: Misty squeals with joy when she think she's finally going to get her cutie mark.
- Tempting Fate:
- Misty thinks that babysitting Sparky is no big deal. Cue Sparky growling. When the show cuts back to them, she's being chased around the room as Sparky breathes fire at her, and it only gets worse from there.
- Misty also tries to convince herself that she's not trying to hunt "a genius baby dragon with wild powers or anything".
- Ungrateful Bitch: Opaline. While Misty doesn't succeed in catching Sparky, she brings back some of the dragon's magical fire, which restores a measure of Opaline's power. Rather than be grateful, Opaline berates Misty for not getting Sparky, telling her she will "never be enough" until she does.
- Verbal Backspace: Invoked by Pipp when she offers to "supervise" Zipp's search of Mane Melody.Pipp: There's way too many styling products that could get compromised if Zipp goes digging around. I mean... I know Mane Melody like the back of my hoof!
- We ARE Struggling Together: Hitch and his friends step on each other's efforts by acting without properly coordinating.
