Perfect start to any first day on the job,right? You join the exploratory efforts of the Starship Skylark only to find out later that you're probably going to die. Wonderful. I should probably introduce myself now, I'm Twilight Sparkle, I'm the personal student to Princess Celestia until she- you know, let me start from the beginning.

---

"So, Twilight. Any idea on why the Princess wanted to see us personally?" An orange Earth Pony with a stetson asked,

"No clue, girls. Her letter only said to meet as soon as we can." I told my friend Applejack. You see, earlier that day, I received a letter from Princess Celestia. She told me that she wanted to see me and my friends right away and that a chariot was going to take us to Canterlot. We arrived there shortly and we were trying to figure out why the Princess would want us while we walked through the castle walls.

"Maybe she wants to throw you a surprise party for being the bestest most wonder-super duper-ous student in the entire world!" Pinkie would say in her usual overly chipper manner.

We all laughed at Pinkie's usual...well, Pinkie-ness, we continued to come up with why we were needed, but our voices slowed to a stop when we approached the large double doors to the Grand Chamber.

The Grand Chamber, or more commonly called 'The Throne Room' looked a bit darker then usual. Princess Celestia always kept the room bright, even though most of the rooms windows didn't face the sun at all during it's daily path. Every last window had it's long flowing drapes covering itself and not a single Guardpony could be found; the only two creatures in the room were the two Princesses.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle and Friends. I'm sorry that my letter included such urgency. It was, for lack of a better word..." Celestia said as we entered the room before bowing.

"We came as soon as we could, your Majesties. Now could you kindly tell us why you asked fer us?" Applejack asked first, Both Princesses looked at each other before Celestia broke the silence, "As I'm sure you know, you six are the Keepers of the Elements of Harmony and are tasked with figuring out the magic of Friendship, correct?"

We all nodded in agreement before she continued, "Well, it has come to my attention that almost all of the 'magic' has been figured out by your efforts. And....well...How can I put this lightly?" She asked her self as she raised a hoof to her jaw, pondering the thought.

"I'm sure whatever you need to tell us, it's fine, your majesty" Rarity offered some sympathy, but I think Celestia ignored it in her own thoughts, finally she sighed and started again. This time with a bit of worry in her face.

" Since you six have almost figured out the magic of friendship here on Equestria, Luna and I thought it would be a good idea to send you six on an interstellar trip; To further improve your studies and to share your current knowledge."

We all stood there, with our jaws on the floor,practically, after hearing this.

"I know, I know. This is probably coming to you as the shock of your lives. It kinda did for us too...but, you don't have to if you don't want to, we understand." she said calmly as the rest of our emotions came back to us. A big one being Fear.

We all looked at each other, seemingly out thoughts intertwined with each other and we all had the same brain jump at once. Bravery.

Pinkie went up first, a massive smile plastered on her mouth as she thought of the possibilities of parties on other planets. Then Rainbow, before one by one all six of us were in front of Celestia and Luna, ready to take on anything.

"I guess that's a yes, then?" She asked

We all agreed, before Celestia trotted over to the door, "All right I'll get everything set up, Luna? Can you tell then the details?"

"Not a worry, Tia."
"Good, I'll be back in a bit!" and with that she was gone

Lune looked at us with a brilliant smile on her face before she extended a hoof towards us and proudly said "Welcome to the Spiral Knights!"

"Beg pardon?"Applejack asked, cocking her head to the side. Luna couldn't help but giggle. "To better put it: Welcome to the Solunar Spiral Order! It's a group me and Tia created to help keep peace outside of Equestria, FAR from Equestria."

"To put it simply, ponies from this world travel by starship to a distant world. And help out with problems there, before being able to come back her for a bit of rest. Easy stuff, really. Nothing Dangerous" Luna said with a bit of confidence

"That is, unless the locals are restless Luna..." Celestia said a little grimly as she came in magically holding a small stack of papers. "These are the information notices about being a Spiral Knight. I can tell you'll make excellent knights, but you must promise me one thing, Ok?" Celestia asked before bringing her royal head very close to us with the most serious face you could ever see on.

"If ANYTHING were to happen during your trip that will endanger you, I want you to go to the Starship and stay there until they return back here to Equestria. You won't be able to teleport that far a distance, even though you're the element of Magic, Twilight. Do we all understand?"

We all nodded slowly, before the face disappeared and Celestia's normal nature returned, "Great. I'll send you back to Ponyville to pack for the trip and say your 'See you later's to everypony"

"Why not, 'Goodbye'?" Pinkie asked, already coming up with an idea for a 'See you later' party

"Because 'Goodbye' can mean you may not see them again. 'See you later' means well, you'll see them later" Luna responded

"Well that makes sense!" Pinkie said with the biggest amount of joy in her voice. "All right, I'll be by tomorrow to bring you to the Launch Dock. Good Night!" Celestia said and with that, she teleported all six of us back to my library in Ponyville.

With a bit of words we split up to start packing and to tell everypony we were going on a 'mission from the Princess' and we all agreed to meet back at Sugercube Corner for a small, but amazing, 'Welcome to the Spiral Knight's' Party planned by Pinkie.

---

The next day we all gathered at the Library to get ready, we told everypony that we don't know how long we'd be gone for, but not to worry as we would return as soon as we could. Before we knew it Celestia teleported into the Library and after reminding us about how we can quit the job at any time, she teleported all of us to the Spiral Knight's HQ.

The HQ was huge! It was settled into the backside of a large Mountain overhang far from Ponyville and Canterlot, and if I had to guess? Far from any outpost of Pony-Civilization. There were small shops selling all sorts of weapons and armor with plenty of ponies wearing similar Armor and Weapons looking at the wares. But the biggest eye catcher was this positively enormous Starship settled in the massive cave the HQ was nestled it. The Starship looked like a supersized yacht the size of Canterlot, to be honest, it had a pair of large motors that I've read in books referring to them as 'Jet engines'

Celestia didn't stay long, she said she had Royal duties with some Advisers that needed attending, but she told us that we needed to find the Quartermaster to learn about what it is being a Knight and what then next mission would be.

We set out to look for the Quartermaster, looking at all of the new sights and sounds. A few of the Ponies, who were to be expected as Knights, looked at us with questioning looks. We continued looking at the new environment but not before we crashed into a Unicorn who was doing the same thing.

"Hey, watch where you going, you crazy-!" The Aqua coated Colt said before he saw just who we are. A slight look of panic and realization came upon him as he spoke again. "Oh! Terribly sorry, Misses. I should have watched where I was going..." He apologized

"Oh, no problem, I'm Twili-" I started to say but was cut off by his hoof in my face.

"I know who you six are, Ahem." He cleared he throat, "Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and....Fluttershy." He said while pointing to each of us as he said our names.

"That's great, but who in the hay are you?" Rainbow said crossing her front legs a bit as she hovered off the ground
"Name's Creativiti! A pleasure and an honor to meet all six of the Elements of Harmony together at the same time." The Colt said to us as he bowed in honor, his bright orange unkempt mane hanging as he dipped his head

"Well Nice ta meet you Creativity! Now why are you here?" Applejack asked a little shocked by the sudden bow

"If my guess is right, same as you. Got accepted into this as a second way of making money, my first job is getting a bit boring, honestly..." He said shrinking a bit when he mentioned his job before starting to walk down a hallway, with us soon following

"It couldn't have been that bad..." I assured him, "What did you do?"

"I'm a interior/exterior designer by arts. Mostly Canterlot business, I'm very creative with my work, but I can guess you can already guess that" He laughed a bit at his little joke before walking back down the hall

"Did you say 'Canterlot'? Of course, how could I not see it before!!" Rarity half yelled before running up to Creativiti to look him over

"Yes! I've seen your work! It's almost always featured in 'Canterlot Styles' monthly!" She said again after getting a good look at him

"Wait, my stuff is in a magazine? Why wasn't I told of this?!" He retorted, confused while he thought over recent memories about work

"Hey! I thought we were supposed to find this Quartermaster or something? Can we hurry it up?" Rainbow said, finally losing her patience before flying back down the hallway

We continued to walk down the seemingly endless hallway, with Rarity continuing to ask Creativiti questions about work and reminding Fluttershy about Creativiti's style of work, saying it always had a theme to it, with Creativiti jumping in little bits of info

"While yes, I do put a theme into my work, Its always about recent events. I believe one work I did that was all about the Setting sun, was inspired by the last nights most amazing sunset I've ever seen." Creativiti told Rarity and Fluttershy as we ended the Hallway and were greeted by a very large set of doors, their size could rival the doors to the Throne Room in the castle.

On either side of the door were two Pegasi Knights with Druid-like hoods that covered their faces in darkness and covered most of their bodies.
"You the newest Recruits? A one Creativiti, and Six Elements of Harmony?" the guard on the right asked, his body not moving when he spoke,

"Yes, we are. Is this where we're supposed to meet the Quartermaster?" I asked him

"Yes, please go in, Spiral Quartermaster Kozma will see to you." The knight on the left spoke before going over and opening the door for us.

We walked into the room and were pleasantly surprised, instead of a massive awe-inspiring room we were all expected. The massive door led to, of all else, a small foyer that looked like it was taken from a mansion from Ponyville, it was very homely and not like outside in the, would it be called a Marketplace? Anyway, we stood there for a few minutes taking in the scenery the small room gave us, with Creativiti going over to the lit fireplace across from the door and looked at the small portrait above the mantle

It showed of a sky blue, even lighter then Rainbow's coat, mare leaning against a large silver sword with a darker blue hilt and a similar light blue line going down the center of the blade. The Mare had a friendly face and was decked out in light armor that looked maneuverable but could withstand a lot of damage.

After a few minutes of standing around the small foyer, one of the doors that led into what I could expect to be further into the mansion, opened and out came the light blue mare that was in the painting, "Ah, you must be the recruits, I'm Kozma, I guess you can call me your boss for the trip." The mare said while extending a hoof, which we all shook,

"Let me give you the run down of the Knights." Kozma sat down in one of the plush chairs in the foyer and motioned for the rest of us to do the same, when we were all in different chairs and couches, Kozma cleared her throat, "The Spiral Knights were created years ago back when Princess Luna was imprisoned on the Moon, We were only known as the Solunar Spiral Order then, Celestia thought it would be equal to have both Solar and Lunar in the name. Anyway back then we would go to neighboring countries to Equestria as close as the Griffon Kingdom and as far as Cervidas, the Exotic Deer Country; to help settle peace treaties with Equestria. Before we knew it, we discovered intelligent life on other planets, yes, Ms. Sparkle, Extraterrestrial Beings. To cope with this, The Spiral Order created the Starship Skylark to accommodate a vastly large number of Knights on interstellar travel."

"So, recently the Spiral Knights have been going on Diplomatic missions around the galaxy to help further Equestria's ongoing Peace-loving nature." Kozma continued,

"Then whats with all those weaponry out there where you're selling it to Knights?" Dash questioned,

"I figured you'd ask that. The Swordscraft and Arms being sold at the Marketplace outside are of our own creation, plenty of creatures on other planets aren't intelligent enough or don't understand the idea of a Diplomatic Peace treaty. We have them for our protection." Kozma explained calmly as if she'd said this a million times before

The eight of us conversed with Kozma about the Knights, but pretty soon Kozma got up and handed us some papers.
"Sorry to cut you off short, but Skylark will be departing soon for Avantia-5. You'll be coming with us, by the way. All seven of you are in your own group so you'll share a cabin." She said, and as soon as she said that we'll be sharing a cabin, Creativiti's entire face turned red.

Kozma saw this and laughed a bit, "Don't worry, the cabins are spacious enough. You'll find all the necessary starting equipment you'll need as well as some more explanation, ok? Good, To the Skylark!" She told us before pushing us out of the foyer back out into the hallway, "See you there!" She said before shutting the door.

We got up off of the ground and noticed that the two Knights from before were gone. We quickly understood and headed back out into the Marketplace.

---

We were one of the last groups to board the Skylark, we were shown to our cabin as soon as we boarded and I have one thing to say about these cabins. They. Are. Amazing! They're like an entire house on a ship! Each of us had a different room and they all had a different theme that made us feel right at home, Fluttershy's was was the most intriguing, there were plushies of birds that were so well made, one glance and you could mistake them for real.

The most interesting part about all of this? Right in the center of the main room area, on a coffee table, were seven boxes with each box a different color much like our coats, that were wrapped up in bows that were the color of each of our manes. Each of us took the box that was the same colors as us and opened them, in each box was a set of armor, and a sword,gun and shield that were all equally colored green.

We took the armor and put it on, all of it was like it was custom fit to us, and when we got a look at each other, it was a bit shocking. Each of us had a different chest plate that was like a cuirass or a culet, and everypony except for Creativiti had a helmet that looked like manes with two pig-tail-like plumes in the back. Creativiti got a sallet and covered his entire face except for his eyes. Each of our armor was colored like our coats, probably for distinction.

After that the seven of us decided to take the time to make sure we can use the weapons, Rarity, Creativiti and myself proved to be the fastest learning this by using our magic, with Rainbow quickly behind learning it's much easier to fly when using the weapons. Applejack and Pinkie took some time getting used to holding the sword and small pistol-like gun in their mouths, ad the last was Fluttershy, she didn't even go near her set of weapons.

After a tough few minutes of trying to persuade her, Creativiti got an idea, "Hey, you guys ever hear of a Medic?"

We all shook our heads in disagreement, "Well, a Medic is somepony who stands in the back, out of the way, and helps their friends by healing them when they need help. I say it's perfect for Fluttershy, don't ya agree?" Creativiti continued

"As long as I don't have to hit anything, I'm fine." Fluttershy said meekly in her soft voice,

"Ah, but that's the thing! You should still carry a weapon with you just in case, and I think..." He started again before going over to his box. Using magic he took out a small green ball from the box and levitated it over to Fluttershy, "It's dangerous to go unprepared, take this," He said in a slightly older voice as if he was trying to intimidate an old colt.

"A ball? What in the world is that gonna do!? Play catch with the bad guys?" Rainbow half yelled, Squeaky looked at her with unamusement. "Watch n' learn" was his only reply as he pushed one of his hoofs onto the top of the ball, it clicked twice, and Creativiti quickly placed it onto the ground and jumped over to Rarity for some cover.

With a bit of shaking the small ball exploded into a flurry of small green explosions that started all of us, yet, oddly enough, we weren't hurt. Creativiti came out from behind a very startled and irritated Rarity with, yet another green ball. "That, according to my best guess; is a bomb. My guess is that you charge it up, place it onto the ground, get out of there, and if any bad guys are after you, they will be hurt by the explosion. I guess." He said while handing the bomb to Fluttershy, "Have fun"

We continued training for a few minutes until a voice came over the intercom in our cabin

We were hesitant for a moment, right before the entire ship shook with such a force that we were all knocked to the floor, immediately we ran to the windows that looked to the outside of the ship from our cabin, and all we could see were large grey mountains leaving the Skylark's view as we traveled higher and higher, right into space.

Space, how can I begin to describe it? But, I'll save you the trouble by saying: It was big. REALLY Big. No, Big can't even begin to describe how Space is.

The rest of the day was a bit boring compared to recent events, we mainly just explored what the Skylark had to offer, until the on board clock read it was around 10PM in Equestria, when we decided it was time to hit the hay.

---

The day started 'normally', if by normal you mean walking up on a starship in space billions of miles from home, then yes, the day started like any other. After Breakfast we were led up to the Bridge Deck of the Skylark to witness one of the Skylarks main features, scanning an entire planet.

You see, we were passing by an unheard of planet the Skylark hasn't gone passed yet, it's most interesting feature that on one side of the planet held a Globe-like cradle, which led to the name of the planet by the Knights: Cradle. Well, once word was given out that scanning would begin shortly, a bright green beam shot from the Skylark toward the planet, everything was going great.

That is, until this strange, I can only describe it as Pixel-like, mass travels its way up the scanning beam.

Right into the Skylark

Immediately afterward an explosion was created in the ships engines, as the strange mass, now attaching itself to the Skylark, started to pull the ship toward Cradle.

And there we have it, you've caught up. If you'd made it this far without being bored out of your mind, I'll congratulate you and say that you're in for a wild ride if you keep reading.
Anyway! After the order from Kozma, pure panic erupted throughout the Bridge Deck, as every knight rushed toward the Escape Pods. The seven of us were able to find a secluded group of pods off to the side and quickly got into our own pods, which were adorned by a symbol of a Knight from a chess board oddly enough, and as soon as we strapped ourselves in, the pods shot from the Skylark and gravity took over during out descent toward Cradle.

I could only watch in horror as our only means of getting back to Equestia was pulled toward the ground of the planet and erupted into an explosion of marvelous fright.

That was the last thing I remember before I blacked out from the force when my pod hit the earth.