Prologue
Strange things were afoot in the small town of Duetail.
There had been another kidnapping today. The third one. The news reporter had an incredibly fake smile as he noted this, which seriously ticked Argent off. Of course, he had been having a pretty bad day already, so this was expected. There was something about this reporter, though, that made him especially ticked off.
Why was he in such a bad mood, you ask? Well, it probably had something to do with getting kicked off of his computer... again. That day, Argent had been doing generic stuff for a brony. You know, reading fanfics, watching animations, constantly checking Equestria Daily... Unfortunately for him, his mother never saw him doing any of this. (He was, after all, a closet brony.) She had the idea that Argent was never doing anything but playing video games. Argent, as a matter of fact, kept a video game tab off to the side at all times in case his parents ever walked by unexpectedly. (Being paranoid, his mother did this quite often.) And so, she had come to the conclusion that it would be fitting if Argent took a "break" from using the computer, for the sixth time that day.
Argent sighed. He had yet to be able to get his pony fix for the day, seeing how he kept getting interrupted. His mother had gone out shopping, and his dad was still at work, leaving Argent with absolutely nothing to do. So here we find him, watching a boring local news broadcast, thinking that there was something seriously odd happening to the town lately. There had been several kidnappings lately, and in each the only evidence left behind was a piece of paper saying "Magetech needs the key." Each of these papers then mysteriously disappeared overnight on the day they were found. As you could probably tell, people had been getting into a bit of a frenzy about it.
"It's those darn Magetech people!" yelled a positively irate man wearing a greasy shirt. "I swear, once I get my hands on them...!"
Argent turned off the TV.These people were obviously freaking out over a bunch of college kids pulling a big prank, just like last year when a similar group of kids had "mysteriously" vanished. The whole town had a heart attack over what they thought was an alien invasion. Whatever it was, it wasn't his problem, right?
What Argent didn't realize right then is that the whole darn thing was, in fact, completely his problem. Or, if it wasn't right then, it was very soon going to become his problem. Another thing Argent didn't realize was that a tall ominous man in a grey-and-purple robe was standing directly behind him.
In the man's hand was a small device. It's screen glowed bright green and began scrolling thousands of ones and zeros. The man smiled and tapped his earpiece.
"This is 04. We found the key."
By the time Argent had figured out that all of this was happening, he was encased in a brilliant blue light and blacked out.
~~~
Argent groggily awoke. He supposed his kidnapper had thrown him in some dark, dank warehouse. He didnt feel a gag or binds of any kind. Something was off, though. Argent just had to find out what. He opened his eyes.
And found himself in a very familiar library. It appeared to have been carved out of the inside of a giant tree. Books had been strewn across the floor in huge piles on the floor. A second floor above him looked like it functioned as a bedroom loft. He got up, walked over to one of the piles of nonfiction, and began reading the names aloud.
"Perpexing Pony Plagues... Ghouls and Ghosts: The Unicorn's Guide to The Astral Plane..." As Argent read, metaphorical gears began to turn in his mind. Then something clicked into place, a switch was flipped, and a tiny lightbulb lit up.
No way. Argent looked down at himself. A quadruplet of hooves covered in dark grey fur met his eyes.
No. Way. He rushed up the familiar staircase and directly in front of a large mirror. Staring back throught the mirror was a very flustered, very excited-looking pony. It had a dark grey coat and a golden yellow mane that flew around it's face in curls. At it's sides, a pair of wings fluttered quietly. A single horn portruded from the mess of golden wisps.
There is no way that this is happening. No. Freaking. Way. Argent looked down once again to find Spike, who was sleeping quite soundly in his little bed. His scales glistened a deep purple and green in the morning sunlight.
That sealed the deal. Argent wobbled before finally toppling over, and with a painful slam, he blacked out for the second time that day.