Joseph is not a normal high school sophomore, and neither is his life at home.  He finds himself shunned by his peers and unloved by his divorced parents, but when he meets a girl at the movie theatre in a similar situation, he finds a small amount of relief, until she doesn't respond to his attempts to contact her, only receiving a text reading "Open Your Heart."  He is transported to Ponyville, but soon learns he must tame his inner demons in order to keep himself from hurting the ponies he loves.

Celestia needs a report on the condition of De-trot, but Twilight is fearful due to all the negative stories she's heard of the place.  She meets a new pony with a checkered past to show her around, and learns that not all that happens in De-trot is as it seems, and in a land of darkness, there is light to be had.