I. Canterlot Castle
Our heroes answer Princess Luna's summons and are informed of Celestia's true affliction. After swearing an oath of loyalty, the party members prepare themselves for the mission ahead. After a confused conference, the party decides to proceed northwards to seek famed healer Herbal Remedy at Twin Peaks, whilst Raul intends to return briefly to his home country of Andaluz to research arcane mysteries. Canterlot Castle is soon infiltrated by savage extra-planar beasts called Mairen, and although the attack is easily defeated, the party realizes they have little time to waste.
Excluding drop-outs, the party at this point consists of Arctic Breeze, Blue Flame, Fiery Ascot, Ludere Fortuna, Mjölna, Raul Epifano Julip, Spanner Gearworks, and Steadfast. Inter-party dynamics begin to form during this time. Notably, Ascot and Spanner develop crushes for each other, Mjölna and Steadfast form a lasting bond of mutual enmity, and Ludere proves ineffective at leadership.
II. The Road to Twin Peaks
The party departs Canterlot Castle for the distant town of Twin Peaks, and are almost immediately joined by Tasmia Pekunan (aka Tasmen), who had just missed Princess Luna's official summons. A small band of cultists ambush the players one night, but they are defeated with the aid of Rayner “the Harper,” a roguish unicorn mercenary who had been tracking the cultists. In the wake of this attack, Spanner decides to take personal defense lessons from Steadfast, but the bounty huntress' harsh training methods are the cause of much division within the party, with Arctic Breeze perhaps the most vocal critic. Later, Rayner discovers in the forest a cultist encampment containing two wagons. With this information, the party plans a surprise night attack.
The individual cultists prove to be little threat when the attack commences, but an overgrown Mairen released from one of the two wagons requires the combined efforts of several party members to kill. Sick and malnourished sacrificial captives are discovered in the second wagon, and much of the party's attention is now devoted to caring for them. The dead cultists are searched and artifacts identify them as followers of the 'Broken Star,' but the cult's true agenda remains unknown. Ascot sends a letter with this information to Raul via messenger bird.
III. Separations
Rayner secretly communicates with his employer, High Priest Taurion of the Blades of Night, a separate cult aligned against the Broken Star. In a dispute over the fate of cultist prisoners (executed) and later that of an orphaned former captive filly named Bluebell (allowed to stay with the party), a fight breaks out between Steadfast and Rayner. Mjölna and Blue Flame prepare to intervene against Steadfast, who had struck first, but Rayner angrily decides to leave the party out of concern for his continued safety.
During this time, Ascot and Spanner acknowledge their attraction to each other. Ludere, who had been sullen company since leaving Canterlot, experiences an epiphany and realizes his underwhelming performance is his own fault and not an issue of others being deliberately uncooperative. Ultimately, the party decides to split, with the pegasi Ascot, Ludere, and Tasmen escorting the liberated captives south back to Canterlot and the rest proceeding north to Twin Peaks.
Still obligated by his contract with the Blades of Night, Rayner secretly follows the northbound half of the party in hope they will lead him to the Broken Star. He is, however, wounded and captured by Steadfast and Blue Flame. The party does not discover his true motives, but they decide to deliver Rayner to the nearest sheriff for numerous crimes he had accumulated in his roguish career.
IV. Haydrid
Raul takes a train to Haydrid, the capital of the neighboring nation of Andaluz. At the national archives, he researches obscure cults with the assistance of a friend, librarian Julia Santiago. They receive Ascot's letter about the Broken Star cult, and with this information eventually discover the cultists' omnicidal motivations, in that “The only purity lies in absence.”
At a dinner, Raul unwittingly discovers that his closest sergeant during his country's civil war was none other than Julia disguised as a stallion. Julia had been attracted to Raul for some time, and with the secret of her wartime service now out, the two cautiously enter a relationship. When the research mission is complete, both Raul and Julia depart for Canterlot by train.
V. Canterlot Caverns
Ascot, Ludere, and Tasmen return to Canterlot with the freed captives and leave them in the care of Ludere's former Royal Equestrian Army garrison. They join Raul and Julia at the Andaluzi embassy, but this half of the party soon receives unwelcome news. Cultists have taken several hostages from Canterlot University and are now somewhere in the caverns underneath the city. The southern party bolsters their numbers with two Equestrian Army soldiers and a crack squad of Andaluzi embassy guards, and infiltrate the caverns.
Surprise is not achieved and the southern party and allies skirmish with the cultists in claustrophobic tunnels. Eventually the enemy is pushed back to an expansive, primary chamber where the hostages are held. The cult identifies themselves as the Blades of Night, who desire the return of Nightmare Moon but regard the omnicidal Broken Star cult as enemies. Realizing they are hopelessly outnumbered, the cultist leaders challenge Ascot, Ludere, Raul, and Tasmen to duels with the condition that the cult will escape unhindered if victorious, or surrender themselves and the hostages if defeated.
The four selected party members pair off against their cultist counterparts, killing two and forcing the other two to surrender as agreed. The Equestrian and Andaluzi troops take charge of the cultist prisoners and the liberated hostages. After resting and resupplying, the half of the party in Canterlot departs northwards to rejoin their companions at Twin Peaks.
VI. Twin Peaks
Arctic, Bluebell, Blue Flame, Mjölna, Spanner, and Steadfast reach the small, sleepy hamlet of Twin Peaks. Rayner is dropped off at the local sheriff, and the party seeks the healer Herbal Remedy. Unfortunately, Herbal's house is deserted, as he has been missing for a number of weeks. The northern party follows faint tracks into a forest for several days until they happen across signs of habitation. Arctic and Spanner stay behind to guard Bluebell while the more experienced ponies investigate.
Blue Flame, Mjölna, and Steadfast stumble upon a Broken Star encampment in and around a cave. The cultists are joined by a number of magically-controlled timberwolves, including a massive, Mairen-infused specimen. Mjölna goes berserk for the first time, becoming a useful if dangerous asset. Despite being greatly outnumbered, the three party members wipe out the cultists and their bestial allies. The healer Herbal Remedy is liberated from his prison inside the cave.
Meanwhile, Bluebell hears voices and slips away from her supervisors to follow them. Arctic and Spanner eventually notice her departure and search for her. Bluebell encounters more cultist experiments - undead ponies - but magically purges them. This earns Bluebell her cutie mark, but she is disciplined for wandering off and endangering herself and her handlers.
The party loots the cultist bodies and campsite and discover a number of arcane tomes. After translating and deciphering them, they make some shocking discoveries. The Broken Star is experimenting with dark magic to reverse the nature of a host - in the case of Herbal Remedy, such a spell would turn him from a healer to an agent of destruction. More alarmingly, the cult has important plans for some kind of ritual in Hoofington, scheduled to occur within a few weeks. Unfortunately, Herbal Remedy declares he has no power to cure Celestia's curse, and stays at Twin Peaks.
The northern party returns to Twin Peaks from the forest, where they are joined by the southern party from Canterlot. The reunited party shares their information about the Broken Star cult and departs for Hoofington.
VII. Crosswater
On the road to Hoofington, the party elects Raul as its leader. Among his first acts is to discipline Arctic and Mjölna for antagonizing Steadfast. Bluebell begins training to use the knife Mjölna had made her as a cuteceñera present.
The party spends a night at a town called Crosswater. Arctic, Ludere, and Mjölna have dinner at a bar, where a large fight erupts over the merits of Mjölna's storytelling. In the confusion, several police officers mistake Arctic for a wanted con-donkey named Shady Ears and imprison him. Ludere and Mjölna conclude the bar fight in a surprisingly responsible manner and alert the rest of the party of Arctic's arrest. Blue Flame, Ludere, Raul, and Steadfast proceed to argue Arctic's innocence with Sheriff Brass, but Arctic chooses this inopportune moment to break out of his jail cell. He manages to escape into the street, but his companions and the police pursue, capture him, and return him to his cell. Although the party successfully convinces the authorities that Arctic is not Shady Ears, the donkey is released with a heavy fine after spending the night in jail.
Meanwhile, Ascot refuses the advances of a prostitute named Tiger Lily, but Spanner mistakes him for being unfaithful and the two quarrel. Elsewhere, Rayner is liberated from prison by a Blades of Night agent, but must continue to serve the Nightmare Moon cult as a slave rather than an independent contractor as punishment for failing his mission.
Days later, Blue Flame warns Arctic to behave himself and stay focused on the mission in Hoofington, but the donkey interprets this as a personal attack on his character and starts a heated argument. Raul decides that Arctic is too much of a liability after the Crosswater fiasco and lacks useful skills for the party, and is dismissed from the expedition.
VIII. Hoofington
Outside Hoofington, the party encounters reinforcements sent by Princess Luna: Oceance, a unicorn noblemare; and Aleron, a griffon mercenary. Once inside the city, the party splits up and investigates leads to direct them to the Broken Star cult.
The party discovers that the Hoofington police is unreliable at the lower levels, and that they have been unable to cope with a recent upsurge in violent crime and kidnappings. There is also a suspicious warehouse in the industrial district, where there is activity all day and night but all job seekers are rejected. Lastly, juice saleponies Flim and Flam are selling tampered drinks at very low prices at the behest of a unknown party.
While most of the party relaxes at an evening magic show performed by the Great and Powerful Trixie, Aleron, Ludere, and Mjölna seek out the suspected cultist warehouse. They are ambushed by six criminals along the way, but they manage to kill three of their attackers and concuss the remainder. Unfortunately, civilians arrive too late to witness the attack, and suspect the griffon and two ponies of murder. Aleron, Ludere, and Mjölna argue their innocence, but allow themselves to be arrested by the police. They must stay the night in jail and await the Sheriff's verdict the next morning once he has interrogated all involved and reviewed the evidence.
After the magic show, the rest of the party has a tense meeting with Trixie, who is disdainful of her former mentor Blue Flame. The pyromancer diffuses the situation, and leads his companions and Trixie to a restaurant so they may discuss suspicious activity in the city.
The next day, the party visits the Hoofington jail to negotiate the release of Aleron, Ludere, and Mjölna, who have assumed aliases as hired guards for a mining company owned by Raul. After all the evidence and testimonies are collected and analyzed, the two ponies and one griffon are determined to have indeed fought in self defense, and are released with fines for ponyslaughter and disorderly conduct. At the last minute, unfortunately, the Sheriff questions the presence of a Royal Medallion in Mjölna's gear. The party is thereby forced to reveal their true identities as agents of the crown to the Sheriff.