My little Pony; Friendship is Magic 2.0

Reality is truthfully nothing more than what we perceive it to be. Every person you know or have known are still technically nothing more than the sum of the memories of experiences you've had with them. Fictional or artificial experiences are no different -- "real" or not, all experiences are in your head, and have actual real effects on the people that experienced them. Look into the whole "fictional characters are real" philosophical argument if you have the time, it's really interesting stuff. Santa Claus and superheroes are often the most popular examples for these arguments.