Prologue: Timeline and Beginnings
In 1977 the SETI program picked up a strange signal from space. The WOW! signal initially thought to be a random event or even an extraterrestrial greeting was eventually put to rest in 2001 when it was found out to be a distress signal from another planet. Essentially a powerful S.O.S. that was repeatedly broadcasting from somewhere in the Milky Way. Meanwhile on said planet a nation devastated by Mega-Arcane Spell Warfare. The inhabitants themselves unaware of the signal being broadcast from the planet. Specifically the former capital of the nation: Canterlot. This is the time frame leading up to the beginning of the story.
1800 C.E./ 1000 M.E.: Nightmare Moon returns after 1000 years of banishment in the moon. Her plan of causing eternal night across the planet is foiled by Twilight Sparkle and her new friends who become the new elements of harmony. Luna reconciles with her sister Princess Celestia and the Royal Diarchy is restored.
1801 C.E./1001 M.E.: The attempted invasion of Equestria and by Queen Chrysalis is foiled by Prince-Consort Shining Armor and Princess Cadence on their wedding day.
1802 C.E./1002 M.E.: The Crystal Empire returns after being cursed with a vanishing spell by the then defeated tyrant King Sombra. With the return of the Crystal Empire also comes the return of King Sombra himself. However he is defeated by the crystal ponies themselves when the Crystal Heart is retrieved by Twilight Sparkle and Spike. The spell that was cast with the Chrystal Heart resulted in the death and destruction of King Sombra.
1825 C.E./1025 M.E.: Tensions between the Kingdom of Equestria and the Zebrican nation spark a cold war between the once friendly nations. The cause of the tensions being the resources between their lands on unclaimed ground.
1826 - 1866 C.E./ 1026 - 1066 M.E.: Tensions continue to climb between the Kingdom of Equestria and the Zebrican Nation. These two superpowers of the planet start to gather allies in their spheres of influence across the planet. Diplomacy between the two nations seem to head off a confrontation between the two. However an incident causes the diplomatic talks to be abruptly ended. In a desperate move to keep the peace Fluttershy, the minister of peace, proposes a solution for the two nations. Mega-spell lattices for amplification of existing spells be given to the Zebricans. Of course there is massive objections from the Equestrian delegation. They say that the mega-spell lattices can be used for offensive capabilities against the Kingdom of Equestria. Fluttershy acknowledges this concern stating that if both nations have mega-spell lattices for offensive capabilities neither nation would be crazy enough to use them. Thus the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction or M.A.D. as it is called in Equestria.
1866 C.E./ 1066 M.E.: An incident on the boarders of the Kingdom of Equestria and the Zebrican nation cause the cold war to suddenly turn hot. The Equestrian-Zebrican War begins.
1867 - 1877 C.E./ 1067 - 1077 M.E.: The Equestrian-Zebrican War rages on until a breakthrough through the frontline by the Equestrian Forces cause the Zebrican Army to fall back. The Zebrican government knowing that the Equestrian Forces will win the war now that they have broken through are desperate enough to use the mega-spell lattices for offensive purposes. However word comes that the Equestrian Forces are moving faster than anticipated. The Zebrican government recognizes that it wont be able to win no matter what even if they use the mega-spells. The more pressing concern however was who was leading the Equestrian Forces. Princess Luna or the Former Nightmare Moon as the Zebricans still recognized her as. Once they found out about this fact they felt they had no other option but to use them because in their minds they thought that Princess Luna will kill them all.
1877 C.E./ 1077 M.E.: The first mega-spell is launched by the Zebrican nation at Equestria. Mega-spell Sirens sound all across the planet. Ponies that hear the sirens start to run to the Stables that Stable-Tec had built during the cold war in the event that this would happen. Most of the cities on the planet are obliterated by the ensuing mega-spell holocaust. The Stables are sealed and a distress beacon is activated in the ruins of Canterlot.
1977 C.E./ 1177 M.E.: SETI finds the WOW! Signal. Unknown to them however is that it is really a distress signal from a planet 100 light years away.
1978 - 2000 C.E./ 1178 - 1200 M.E.: Work goes forward to decipher the signal. NASA and the United States government takes notice of the effort and pitch in with technical expertise and money respectively.
2001 C.E./ 1201 M.E.: A breakthrough occurs in the ongoing deciphering of the WOW! signal. They discover it isn't a greeting but a distress signal of some kind. They start working on translating the language. However without a base of knowledge to go on the work will take decades for it to be deciphered. One thing they do know with certainty is where the signal came from. A star 100 light years away from the earth.
2020 C.E./ 1220 M.E.: NASA along with the United States Government reveals that the signal was alien in origin at the United Nations. Chaos ensues. Once everyone calms down the United States Government states it was only a repeating distress signal and that NASA along with several other agencies were currently deciphering the signal. Other nations are skeptical about the message being a distress signal. They demand that the deciphering of the signal be a worldwide effort and not only be done by the United States. The United States agrees on one condition. That the facility they will be working in be in the U.S.
2035 C.E./ 1235 M.E.: An international joint effort between NASA, ESA, and JAXA start preparing a manned mission to Mars. Their target year being 2039.
2039 C.E./ 1239 M.E.: The manned mission to Mars commences. They arrive and start preparations for decent. However they notice something odd occurring by Olympus Mons. A large white object the size of a moon is seen causing the first rain upon the desert world. The crew send a communication back to earth detailing this new development.
/Mars Orbit, July 3, 2039/
"Hey! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" Nicholson said as he look out at the sunlit surface of Mars. In particular where Olympus Mons was.
Himawari floated over to the window where Nicholson was. "What IS that? That has to be at least the size of our moon! Possibly bigger!" she exclaimed.
Portmanteau who was resting looked over to see what was going on. He saw two of his fellow crewmates looking out of the window at the planet below. He floated over to them and asked "What are you two talking about?" They moved out of the way of the window and told him "See for yourself."
As he looked out he saw the brilliant bright object by Olympus Mons. He was aghast at the size of the thing. "What in the world is that!?!" he yelled as he pushed himself away from the window. His fellow crewmembers shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders. They didn't know what the thing was, but they knew it wasn't natural. That meant the mission changed drastically. They needed to contact their respective governments about this new development quickly. Unfortunately quickly meant waiting at least 8-10 minutes for a response or a reply back from the mission control.
"Are you certain that there is an object the size of our moon on the planet?" Mission control asked with skepticism. " We are positive mission control. All that we know is that it is hovering by Olympus Mons as of this moment." Nicholson responded with growing irritation as the question was repeated 3 times already. After 8 minutes mission control responded. " Alright. Proceed with the mission and be cautious if you are going to land near the object. We don't know if it is hostile or not." Mission control said. "Will do! We will be careful around the object in question." Nicholson replied back. As he turned his fellow crew knew that the next few hours if not days would change everything humanity knew about the universe.
/Mars Orbit, July 4, 2039/
"Alright everybody ready for decent?" Nicholson said as he suited up for the first outing on the surface of Mars.
"Yeah! Ready as we will ever be." Replied Himawari as she looked back at Nicholson. "What are you doing? We won't be suiting up for an expedition until after we land Nicholson." She said exasperatedly.
" I want to investigate this object immediately when we touch down. That means that I will need to be suited when we touch down." He responded with excitement.
" Are you sure that is a wise idea?" Portmanteau said as he looked at Nicholson.
" It may not be wise, but it could be the most important thing that we have discovered in our history! I am not going to pass up the chance that this object could hold a treasure of technology waiting to be reverse engineered and unlocked!" He said as he put on his helmet. His fellow crewmates sighed as they also went to put on their suits as well.
" I hope your adventurism doesn't get us killed." Himawari said to Nicholson as she put on her suit.
"Alright! Prepare for descent!" Nicholson exclaimed as he buckled himself in his seat. One minute remained until detachment from the orbiter. "Ready everyone? We are about to make history!" He said as the lander detached from the orbiter.
Author's Note
Tell me what you think of this first chapter/prologue. The next chapter will detail the deciphering of the signal by SETI. Then things will really take off. Constructive criticism is welcome and please tell me if anything doesn't make sense.
/Ruins of Ponyville, 1239 M.E., 12:31 P.M./
"Huh? What's this?" Hardened Steel said as he rotated the dial on his radio set. He had currently been on patrol with a group of Steel Rangers in the ruins of Ponyville clearing out any hostile creatures lurking within the confines of the various ruined houses around them. As he was about to report to headquarters about the completion of the mission he picked up a signal coming from the ruins of Canterlot. He heard stories about how bad it was in that place. The deadly pink mist, the various things that lived and survived in that Tartarus forsaken place. The current signal was strong but was strange. It was a distress signal. How could anypony survive in that place? The words it kept repeating were " This is not a drill! Everypony get to the nearest Stable-Tec Stable! A mega-spell has been cast at Equestria! I repeat this is not a drill! This message will repeat for as long as possible!". "Unbelievable!" Hardened Steel said as the rest of the patrol gathered around him.
"What are you doing Hardened Steel?" a mare named Quicksilver asked.
"I found a signal. A distress signal coming from the ruins of Canterlot. What is more is that it is a pre-war warning and distress signal." Hardened Steel replied to his superior. The rest of the patrol stiffened up at the mention of Canterlot. Some of the current patrollers went there on a previous mission and didn't come out unscathed.
" Is it Important?" asked Quicksilver.
" The signal is abnormally strong Quicksilver. If I had to take a guess it was meant as a warning and distress signal that was supposed to cover all what was once Equestria. If I am right that means that the power source for it is extremely potent and efficient. If it has lasted this long it may be an Arcanae-Fusion Reactor which utilizes the various magical elements within it to cast motion spells and heat spells within it. If that is the case the signal could last for at least 500 years or more." Hardened Steel said to her professionally.
"Hmm." She mused to herself with her hoof to her muzzle as she contemplated the ramifications of this discovery. On the one hoof if they could get the technology back from the ruins they could help in the rebuilding of Equestria. On the other hoof however they would be walking into a deathtrap with no guarantee that they would survive unless they adequately prepared. They would also need to bring in more Steel Rangers and scientists so as to study the reactor and protect the scientists as the study and research was conducted. It would be a risky gamble and a large one at that. However if they managed to recover at least the theory how the reactor works or some of the arcano-tech there it would be worth it.
"Radio HQ Hardened Steel and tell them what you told me. Also ask them for a platoon of rangers and a group of scientists. The rally point will be here at Ponyville. This opportunity cant go to waste." She told Hardened Steel to tell them. If anything bad happened she would take full responsibility.
/Ruins of Ponyville, 1239 M.E., 8:00 A.M./
/One Week Later/
Quicksilver looked over the various supplies that had been sent to her over the past week. She was surprised at how HQ was willing to go along with the expedition. What's more they also sent the best platoon in the Steel Rangers! They were placed under her command once they had arrived. She was confused that she was placed in charge of the whole operation. Why did they let her be in command and not a senior officer? Plausible deniability? Ensuring Success? or some other motive? In any case it was good to have them especially since they helped boost the morale of her platoon. The supplies, as far as she could tell, would last around 6 months if not in an emergency situation or up to a year if emergency rationing was done. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Also they sent a group of the best scientists from across Equestria. Unfortunately that wasn't very many. However they were the best of the best, and as a plus the majority of them had combat experience. However their areas of expertise were varied, but one thing they had in common was expertise in arcano-tech. Hopefully they will reach at least a theory on how the Arcanae-Fusion Reactor works. " I hope they are good with a small timeframe." She said to herself. 24 hours left until the expedition began. Hopefully things wont go to Tartarus in a handbasket when they arrived.
" Everybody! On me!" She yelled to the various ponies hustling and bustling around her. The mass of ponies stopped what they were doing and gathered around Quicksilver." This expedition could change everything! If we manage to find out how this Reactor works we would be able to power just about every piece of arcano-tech we have gotten up until now! I'm not gonna lie it will be extremely dangerous in the ruins of that forsaken place. However I have confidence that we will survive because you are the best of the best! Now you have 24 hours to get ready for the hardest job of your lives! If any of you want to back out just say so. I won't hold it against you." She said as she looked around. Nopony moved and everypony stayed. " Alright! Everyone I am proud to be leading you and fighting along side you! You are dismissed!" She said as she gave a salute to everypony before her. The group before her saluted back and went back to work. Quicksilver went back to her tent to prepare her supplies and her mind for what would be the hardest mission in her life.
Author's Note
Well here is another Chapter detailing what is happening in Equestria. Humans will meet ponies later on in the next few chapters. Until next time.
