Shimmer is a little alicorn filly who isn't allowed to leave her home due to a uproar that her mother says will happen. But one thing stands out to Shimmer is that she has a set of wings and a horn when her mother has neither. She is naive for her age and believes that her mother, Lime Light, is her mother nevertheless.

She takes a liking to reading thanks to the library that's in her home but one day she comes across a book on all the know princesses and sees one that looks just like her but as a baby. When she talks to her mom about it, her mom starts beating her.