Picking up right where the end of Chapter 5 left off, the main six ponies fly in the Marestream to the Dragonlands, specifically the Isle of Scaly from the magic map. As soon as they arrive, the Marestream suddenly loses power and barely avoids crash-landing thanks to some quick thinking from Izzy. Soon after they land, they quickly encounter a group of dragons. While some are skeptical of the ponies, others are more open and reveal that two of them had recently been captured by Opaline. After much discussion, the ponies and dragons agree for some ponies and dragons to stay with the Marestream to try repairing it while the rest of both groups go to meet with the Dragon Lord, who turns out to be none other than Spike himself from the G4 series. Despite his memory being foggy due to having just woken up from a magically induced hibernation like all the other dragons, Spike is able to explain how Opaline had showed up after her banishment from the alicorn city of Skyros and in her desire to take all magic for herself, she became a fire alicorn after stealing some dragon magic, which prompted Twilight to not only keep Opaline out of Equestria with a magical shield but also put all the dragons to sleep in an effort to protect all forms of magic. After finishing the story, the other dragons remain indecisive on what to do, but Sunny's words of encouragement inspire them all to agree to help the ponies stop Opaline for good. As they prepare to leave, Spike takes a moment to note that Sparky is a very special dragon for having the ability to transform objects with his dragon fire, and decides to let Sparky stay with the ponies based on Spike's own memories of being raised by ponies. At the Marestream, the ponies are confused that the magical lantern that powers the vehicle is somehow weakened and continues to lose magical energy no matter what they do, but at least once the dragons agree to help, they decide to carry the ponies as they fly to Equestria. Meanwhile, Opaline has placed the two captured dragons under a spell and used them to help her steal cutie marks from several ponies from all over Equestria.

I definitely liked this episode a lot, enough that I'd call it one of my favorites of the entire series (though that could changes once I see the next two episodes). Sure, the dragons here look very different from what we saw in the previous generation of MLP, but I do like how they seem to have different abilities through their dragon fire, such as wind or light or water (we already know Sparky can transform objects, and if we want to count what we remember about Spike his would probably be teleporting objects). One fact from Spike's story I found interesting is that the Dragon Stone that Opaline had retrieved back in one of the Chapter 4 episodes is actually similar to the Unity Crystals in terms of how Twilight was able to keep Opaline from taking the magic of their respective groups. The part with Opaline hypnotizing those two dragons consisted of a song where Opaline pretty much brags about being evil and proud of it. Finally, while Spike doesn't make any specific references to his past from the G4 era (blame his fuzzy memory for now), you could tell from the way he speaks that he really could be a much older version of that same little dragon we remember (despite obviously having a much deeper voice), and it was certainly nice to see how excited Sunny was to finally meet someone who was actually there to experience all the legendary events that she had heard as stories from her late father. Overall, a great episode in my opinion, and with the action now about to really get underway, I'm eager to see what happens next.

By the time the main six ponies return with the dragons, Opaline has already corrupted all three of the Together Trees and used them to rapidly steal cutie marks from the majority of the other ponies. With the dragons suddenly getting weaker, they learn from Misty how Opaline has been using the Dragon Stone, so Spike decides he and the other dragons will go to Opaline's castle to take it back, bringing Sparky with them since it was his special dragon fire that was taken by the stone first. Unfortunately, the dragons end up falling into Opaline's trap and she is able to enchant all of them, except Sparky who was able to stay hidden behind Spike. Meanwhile, as Hitch helps the Maretime Bay ponies by staying together near the Together Tree, the other main ponies check on the Unity Crystals, but while those artifacts are okay for now, Zipp is suddenly able to piece together the mystery and explains to her friends how the Together Trees act like portals between each other and that Opaline is able to use them to steal all the cutie marks so quickly, with Misty revealing that it was possible because there's a fourth Together Tree in Opaline's castle that was never able to grow well because Opaline absolutely refused to practice any unity, which is what really powers those trees. Now realizing the full scale of what's really going on, Hitch maintains his guard duty in Maretime Bay, Izzy speeds on her scooter to Bridlewood, Pipp and Zipp fly to Zephyr Heights, and Sunny and Misty remain at the Brighthouse to keep an eye on the Unity Crystals. Soon after, Opaline returns to Maretime Bay, now wearing an amulet with open slots for a very specific group of cutie marks. Hitch puts up a valiant fight on his own, but Opaline is eventually able to bring him down and take his cutie mark, causing one of the six colors of the Prisbeam magic of the Unity Crystals to disappear, a devastation that everyone all over Equestria immediately recognizes.

Okay, so some events from this episode (and the next one) were already spoiled by last week's Tell Your Tale episode, but I knew we would see those events extended out more in ways that would actually make sense (and probably make this two-part episode much better as a result). Specifically, now we know why Hitch was the first to fall and why Izzy went to Bridlewood while Zipp and Pipp went to Zephyr Heights (though it seems only the next episode will reveal how Misty ended up confronting Opaline in Zephyr Heights). While it was great to see the main ponies finally understand the full picture of what's really going on, it was quite a shame to see the dragons completely fail so quickly (though perhaps Sparky staying hidden might allow him to do something significant to help the heroes). Also, I just want to come out and say it; that amulet that Opaline made for herself with its open slots immediately made me think of the Infinity Gauntlet from the Marvel movies. Overall, I'm very excited at seeing how much the action has picked up to this point, and I now look forward to see how it all concludes in the next episode...

Opaline's next move is to try breaking through the magic shield protecting the Brighthouse, but after Opaline drops her amulet in the process, Misty takes it as a diversion, distracting Opaline by admitting that she had turned against her after finding true friends. Opaline is unable to find Misty, but does manage to retrieve her amulet, so she decides to go to Zephyr Heights next, unaware that Misty has followed her through the tree portal. When Opaline confronts Pipp and Zipp, Pipp tries to distract Opaline by showing how her cutie mark becomes especially powerful while she's singing, and with the "better acoustics" of the old hangar room, Zipp uses the diversion to trap Opaline under one of the deflated hot air balloons lying around, but Opaline quickly breaks free and takes their cutie marks. Just as Opaline prepares to leave for Bridlewood, Misty stands up to her, finally revealing her newly acquired cutie mark and explaining how she got it by embracing true friendship, but Opaline just brushes her off and takes her cutie mark before departing. In Bridlewood, the unicorns attempt to fight off Opaline by pelting her with rotten food, and while Izzy is able to get away thanks to briefly fooling her with a fake cutie mark she had crafted, the enslaved dragons quickly stop her, allowing Opaline to take her cutie mark. Meanwhile Sunny has watched helplessly as all but one of the Prisbeam colors vanish, but Zipp calls to inform her that she has realized the Together Trees are really powered by the unity expressed by ponies, so with the message out for all ponies to gather close to their local Together Tree, Sunny decides to take the fight directly to Opaline and confronts her at her castle, taking with her the ruby heart locket she had been gifted from the Breezies. Sunny puts up a good fight, but ultimately falls and Opaline is able to take the last remaining cutie mark, allowing her to break every single protective spell all over Equestria. However, it was right after that moment when all the ponies all over Equestria begin singing together, spreading unity magic to remove Opaline's corruption from the Together Trees, which inspires Sunny so much that the locket opens to release a rainbow that ensnares Opaline. At the same time, Sparky is able to break Spike out of Opaline's enchantment, allowing him to use his teleportation dragon fire to help Sparky grab the Dragon Stone and release all the dragon fire magic back to the dragons. This then causes the fourth Together Tree to release all of the stolen cutie marks back to the ponies they belong to and it also starts absorbing the unity magic from the other tress, allowing it to come alive by taking away Opaline's cutie mark and entrapping her within its roots. Spike is able to get everyone outside just in time to watch that Together Tree grow so much that it completely engulfs Opaline's castle. After Spike then brings the rest of the main ponies to join Sunny, he lets Sparky decide where he wants to live, and the baby dragon chooses to stay with Hitch. After Spike and the other dragons begin flying back home, a portal opens at the newly grown together tree, releasing some snowflakes, one of which somehow turns Izzy into some kind of crystal pony.

Just like the previous episode, I knew last week's Tell Your tale episode gave hints to the events of this episode, such as why Pipp was singing to Opaline down in the old hangar, how Misty came to confront Opaline at the Together Tree in Zephyr Heights, the part where Izzy briefly fooled Opaline with a fake cutie mark, what drove Sunny to go alone to Opaline's castle, and how the unity magic from everypony turned the fourth Together Tree against Opaline. Perhaps the most glaring difference from the TYT episode was the complete absence of any dragons, especially the decisive part Sparky played. Also strangely absent was the contribution of that magical ruby heart locket, which (from the rumors I've heard) is based on something similar from G1 of MLP. Anyway, some other things of note in this episode was near the end where Spike makes significant use of his special dragon fire power to teleport things. Especially adorable was Sparky choosing to stay with Hitch while speaking his first word "home". I also look forward to the possibility of seeing Spike again in whatever series continues the G5 storyline. However, with the way this episode ended, it seems we're immediately going straight into the Secrets of Starlight special, though with the epic conclusion I felt from this episode, I don't have high hopes for that special being able to really stand out in comparison. Overall, an absolutely epic way to conclude the main story arc of Make Your Mark, making the entire series worth watching. Now to see what this apparently bonus special can contribute...

The main six ponies wonder why a new portal has opened at the giant tree where Opaline's castle used to be, and after some magical snowflakes turn them all into sparkly versions of themselves, they decide to go through and investigate. They find themselves in a winter wonderland, and despite the gradually shrinking portal, they decide to visit the nearby town. The place looks deserted at first, but they soon find all the residents celebrating inside the main hall. Once the main six make their presence known, the locals are startled and hide, but after some friendly assurance, two of them (a mare named Violet Frost and a stallion named Comet) open up to them and explain that they are "auroricorns" who live in the town of Starlight Ridge, and while they love their home very much, they have never been able to find out anything about other places. The auroricorns then cautiously agree to share some fun activities with them such as ice skating, sledding, and making ice sculptures. As they complete each fun activity, an aurora bursts in the sky, but the auroricorns become suspiciously apprehensive every time it happens. Even stranger is when a town bell rings and all the auroricorns suddenly insist on going to sleep and tell the main six to go home.

While the portal still remains barely open, the main six soon come to a consensus that they have been brought here for a good reason and decide to return to the town to find out what's going on. When they arrive, they discover all the auroricorns entranced with forced smiles and wandering around with some crystals plucked from the aurora bursts in the sky, with the monster causing it being some leopard creature named Allura (hope I spelled that right) with a bratty rabbit assistant name Twitch. The main ponies are able to break Violet Frost and Comet out of their trances by dragging them far enough away from town, so the two auroricorns explain how Allura had taken over control of Starlight Ridge by taking possession of some sacred relic (I can't remember what it was called) and has been enchanting them with some persuasion magic to force them to be happy enough to make aurora bursts and try finding the one star crystal that can open portals to other realms. With this information, the group of ponies decide the best way to stop Allura is to take back the stolen relic. They come very close to succeeding, but the plan falls apart at the last second, so Allura responds by enchanting the other ponies until only Sunny and Violet are left. However, when a mishap causes one of the enchanted ponies to break free just from slipping and falling into some snow, Sunny remembers an earlier remark that the snow of this realm has special healing properties, so they simply throw snowballs at their friends and they all do the same for all the auroricorns, overwhelming Allura so much that they're able to take the relic from her and she is forced to leave for now.

After letting Violet have the relic and thus become the new leader of Starlight Ridge, the main ponies are dismayed to discover the portal has vanished. However, another mishap breaks open the relic, revealing a star crystal that is able to open a portal, meaning Allura had what she wanted the whole time and never even realized it. As the main ponies prepare to return home, Comet declares that he wants to go with them and explore Equestria, so they agree to let him join them, with Izzy keeping that crystal so they can reopen the portal back to Starlight Ridge whenever they want to. Later, as the auroricorns celebrate, Twitch overhears them talking about how the outsider ponies were able to open a portal, so he shares the information with Allura, and with that portal still open, she and Twitch do not hesitate to go through.

Well, with the rumors that Make Your Mark was being discontinued at the end of this chapter, I was hoping for a final conclusion, like we pretty much got in the previous episode. Instead, it finishes off with a special that seems to set the stage for the next story arc, much like the special from Chapter 1 had done. However G5 is able to continue the story arc from here (especially with the introduction of Comet as apparently a seventh member of the main group of friends), one thing I anticipate from fan content would be shipping between Izzy and Comet, based on how those two frequently interacted with each other. I do at least appreciate how a one point during the battle that the main six ponies identify themselves by their supposed elements (Hope for Sunny, Kindness for Hitch, Courage for Zipp, Confidence for Pipp, Creativity for Izzy, and Empathy for Misty). I honestly don't have much more to say here (I guess my lack of sleep is really catching up to me now, and I'm pretty sure I might already be forgetting some details), so I'll just say that, overall, this special was rather average in comparison, with the current uncertainty of how the story will continue from here making it very difficult to really appreciate what it did manage to accomplish.