Early one morning, Twilight Sparkle gets up to make some tea.

Sometimes, a cup of tea is just a cup of tea. This is not one of those times.

While visiting the earth pony town of Promise, the Great and Powerful Trixie is coerced into searching for a missing foal against her own better judgment. But things are not as straightforward as they first appear. When push comes to shove, what kind of pony is Trixie at heart?

Life can be hard in the Apple Clan, for ponies who don't like farming. Farming is what the Apple Clan does, that's just how it is. But Caramel was never any good at it. He could never focus, and he was always making mistakes. One night, he decided he'd had enough. He was going to run away, and leave all his mistakes behind him.

Pony Joe awakens before the dawn each morning, readies himself for his day, and then walks through Canterlot's cold and silent streets to his doughnut shop.

Life has become pretty mundane for Joe, but as he serves his customers and chats with his regulars he realizes that he has come to rely on that repetition...he relies on it to keep from remembering.

As a casual utterance by a new customer sends Joe into a spiral of haunting memories we learn about his life...and what he must give up if he wishes to move beyond his past.