Lyrica Lilac is hitting hard times. She just lost a Grand Galloping Gala show to Octavia, her marefriend Vinyl Scratch dumped her (for Octavia) and she is largely considered an old-fashioned falling star, one who never even made it past C-list semi-celebrity. And Lyrica has one pony she can blame: Octavia Melody. To get back at her, Lyrica decides to start her very own band, The Gemstone Quartet, made up of herself, two failing musicians, and one crazy Wonderbolt cadet. When they prove to be a non-starter, Lyrica decides to rocket their band to stardom in one simple way: battling and defeating every other band that rivals them.