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.