Eight years have passed since the Cutie Mark Crusaders was formed. With the release of a new device that lets ponies play virtual reality games, Scootaloo wastes no time in inviting her best friends into the world of "Griffon's Reach Online

Twilight, having just enrolled in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, feels sad. Alone in her room, under the glow a starlit sky, she thinks about her life so far and on whether she even needs friends in the first place.

Destiny Islands was never born. Instead, a world called "Equestria" took its place in existence.