Prologue.
In the year 1952 (from the beginning of recorded time), the space race began. It began with a small team working on a simple thing. Something that started the biggest achievement that pony race has ever seen.
They reached the stars. It was a long road to the stars, and for some, deadly.
It started in Chevallia, and spread to Equestria. The two countries were at odds with each other. Rockets, satellites, the first pony in space. Stepping stones.. Equestria won some. Chevallia won others.
Chevallia would have had the first pony in space, if it weren’t for one disaster. The night of the launch, the entire platform caught fire. A gas line tore, spraying the volatile liquid over the surrounding landscape. A single spark was all that was needed to end the Chevallian’s space program forever. Several ponies lost their lives in the inferno.
So in the end, Equestria won the space race. Sending a single pony into space, they orbited the planet twice before reentering the atmosphere.
Five decades later, the story continues. Only this time, the danger of space is much closer to home...