2025, Human world. Magic, now widely accepted by most of this world, has reached its highest level of complexity thanks to Sunset Shimmer. With the help of her good friend Twilight, they've integrated magic and computer science into a system for players around the world to enter their video game as a virtual reality.

For gamers around the world, the next step in entertainment seemed to fall from the heavens and into their bedrooms. A surge of data swarmed the planet as one hundred thousand players put their minds into the world of Pony Art Online, developed by Sunset-Sparkle Entertainment. Among all these players, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo, planned to become the best players the MMO has ever seen.

As for Sunset, Pony Art Online's beautifully rendered universe of "Equestrad" would become her Equestria away from Equestria. With every player and NPC a pony, she could relive the joys of her old world with her friends in her current world.