Quest

Aquest is a mission given to the player that must be completed to advance the plot and gain a reward. Each quest is issued by a character, has story-related intro and outro text, consists of one to three tasks that must be completed, and on completion awards the player with a certain amount of bit: Bits and, and for certain quests, one or more as well.

Currently-active quests are accessed by tapping the Quest Log icon. Four quests can be active at a time (three main quests and one seasonal quest). Ponyville and Canterlot have separate quest logs, but some quests will appear in both logs and can be completed in either town.

Quest tasks can consist of any in-game action: building shops or decor, welcoming characters, clearing obstacles and expanding land, and so on. Some tasks instead require social interaction, such as adding a Gameloft Live or Facebook account, or adding, gifting, or visiting friends.

The Ponyville and Canterlot quest chains are independent of each other. For example, it is possible for Twilight Sparkle to transform into an Alicorn and be coronated as a princess long before Nightmare Moon has been defeated.

Ponyville
Ponyville features 146 quests (four of which are only found in the game files) broken up into eight main arcs. The first arc consists of a single quest welcoming Twilight Sparkle back to Ponyville and sets up the game's storyline. After that, the next five arcs focus on welcoming back Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, and the next arc focuses on defeating Nightmare Moon. The final arc involves preparing Ponyville for the royal wedding between Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, though that plotline was moved to Canterlot in the Canterlot Wedding update.

Canterlot
Canterlot features at least 80 quests spread across a number of arcs. The plot focuses first on the royal wedding between Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, setting up for the confrontation with Queen Chrysalis. One arc, added for the Equestria Girls film, focuses on Sunset Shimmer. Lastly is a plot line following Twilight's transformation into an Alicorn and ascension as a princess.

Sweet Apple Acres
Sweet Apple Acres quests

Seasonal quests
In addition to the main quests in Ponyville and Canterlot, seasonal quests are occasionally added for a limited time. Eleven quests issued by Spike and Twilight Sparkle were added in the 2012 Hearth's Warming update, and 12 more issued by Lovestruck were added for Hearts and Hooves Day. Over 20 additional quests, again issued by Spike and Twilight, were added in 2013 for the Hearths Warming Eve Extended update.

Minigame quests
Certain Minigame quests are available from and can be completed in any location in the game. These quests are tied to the various Minigames available for play, and often require the player to gain a certain level of skill in the game in order to proceed to the next quest.