After the unexpected arrival of a mysterious beast, Equestria is rapidly plunged into chaos, a shadow spreading across the world and tearing love from the hearts of Ponies and creatures alike. Throughout the story we will meet heroes from all corners of the shaken continent, and clear the cobwebs from the shelves as we discover Equestria's grim history.

Octavia and Vinyl Scratch have been living together for nearly two years. What started as a job interview turned into a quirky but strong friendship that has left both members with firm understanding of each others lives - their lives since they met, anyway. The house-mates have equally grim and dangerous pasts, but how can these painful memories be tied up with Octavia's new found emotional 'itch'?