The Cutie Map calls on Twilight and Rarity in order to investigate the town of Hollow Shades, a gloomy village with a fearful populace and an unsettling fixation on dolls. On top of it all, there's a new leader running the show: a mysterious unicorn known as Lady Mari who protects the town in exchange for their servitude.

For some reason Twilight and Rarity can't shake the feeling that they've seen this all before. But that can't be true—this is just another friendship problem, right?