When Babs Seed comes back to Ponyville in order to stay there for the summer holidays, the entirety of the Cutie Mark Crusaders waste no time in revving up the old crusading gears. They don their capes and charge through Ponyville, with big smiles and blank flanks. However, not all is sunshine and rainbows, even in the small backwater town of Ponyville…

On Sweet Apple Acres, some bits have been stolen and replaced with a single coin of pure gold that could feed the Apples for a year…

At Carousel Boutique, random crates of emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds have been arriving at the door, with a note saying that it's all Rarity's…

Up in Cloudsdale, the only scooter in Ponyville has been mysteriously refurnished, giving it a weird kind of motor and a fresh coat of paint…

And the newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders has just found a sack of toys at her doorstep, filled to the brim with all the trinkets stolen from her by bullies…

Not only is this weird enough, but Rainbow Dash has found the latest Daring Do book, signed and brand-new, wedged into her favourite napping cloud and addressed to her; Fluttershy has received an all-new animal playground pen from an unknown stranger; Twilight Sparkle has been given a book of ancient Equestrian runes, signed to her and with nopony else's name on it; and Pinkie Pie has found a family photo album inside her pillowcase during a bout of homesickness.

All over Ponyville, ponies have had their woes and troubles soothed, their issues dealt with. Naturally, everypony begins asking the same question: Who's helping us?

Then a pony with a crazed expression and a low-hanging mane shows up in the middle of the night…