The ponies of Equestria prepare for their first Friendship Festival, overseen by Princess Twilight Sparkle in Canterlot. The festivities are interrupted by an invasion of monsters commanded by the broken-horned unicorn Tempest Shadow, who uses magical obsidian orbs to petrify Twilight's fellow princesses; Princess Celestia gives Princess Luna incomplete instructions to seek help from "the queen of the hippo" before they are both petrified. Twilight flees the city alongside her five pony friends - Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy - and her dragon assistant, Spike. Tempest is contacted by her superior, the Storm King, who reminds her to gather all of Equestria's princesses for him to harness their magic through his mystical staff, promising to restore her horn in exchange..