Before every great journey, there are the trailblazers and adventurers who open the doors to the future. Every significant expedition is built upon the achievements of those who came before, those who worked and sacrificed to make the future possible. For the ponies of Equestria, the forerunners of the future are the crew of the ESA Harmony, a ship lead by Princess Twilight Sparkle and built with one purpose: exploration. The crew have their orders: arrive at a nearby exoplanet, engage in scientific and research operations, then return home with the results. And with those results, more missions will be built, and the future of Equestria will be defined.

But even in our greatest moments, there are those who long for yesterday, and will do everything in their power to prevent change. The crew of the Harmony are not immune to the agents of regression, and when a saboteur strikes in deep space, the crew finds that their mission has changed. Instead of finding the future of ponykind, they find themselves fighting for their survival aboard a crippled vessel. With tensions rising and the mission effectively scrubbed, Twilight Sparkle embarks upon a new mission: identify the saboteur, and return the crew to Equestria, alive and well.