Rainbow Dash has been invited to the Rainbow Festival at Hope Hollow as a guest of honor. She and her friends hop on a balloon, but when they crashland, no one is there to greet them. The mystery grows at sunrise when the entire town and the ponies in it are revealed to have been drained of color. While Twilight Sparkle tries to find out what caused the town to fade, her friends help the local ponies plan a new rainbow festival, making friends along the way, and restoring the hope missing from Hope Hollow