//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: The Wake Up Call 
// Story: Everlasting Paradise 
// by Spark_of_Friendship 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1: The Wake Up Call


Argent wasn't having a very good day. Somewhere along the line, he had fallen asleep and had another pony dream. Nice, but very short lived. Maybe, just maybe, if he kept his eyes closed and fell back asleep, the dream would continue. 

Of course, that couldn't happen. A very hard, blunt object was now gently poking his wings.

Wait. Wings...?

Argent finally decided to open his eyes. He was in what looked like Twilight's bed. Over him stood a cream-colored pony with a pink-and-navy-blue mane. Her cutie mark was three wrapped candies. Bon Bon. Twilight stood nearby.

"Oh, good, you're awake. I was getting worried," said Twilight. "Just keep still. Bon Bon here is a registered doctor, so you'll be fine." Argent began to breathe heavily under the covers. He was still a pony, then. And an Alicorn, of all things! This was beginning to get ridiculous. He tried talking.

"H-how long have I been out?" His normal voice had been replaced by soft, melodic tones. He would've clasped his hooves over his mouth were it not for Bon Bon watching him so closely.

"Only for a day or two. Don't worry, just one more day of rest and you'll be up and about," said Bon Bon in that odd, condescending tone that all doctors seemed to share. This time, Argent did react.

"A day or two?!" Argent wailed, "Oh, this is very bad. They think I've been kidnapped! My family, my friends-" Bon Bon cut him off with a carefully placed poke under his wing. "Ouch!"

"I said, don't worry." Bon Bon was giving him a stare that could've rivaled on of Fluttershy's. Argent stopped struggling. "Fine. I'll let you go early, but you need to stay off of that wing for another day. You've bruised it pretty bad." With that, Bon Bon walked out of the loft. The door the the library slammed shut.

"Sorry about Bon Bon," said Twilight, "She's been overworking lately." Argent nodded. He carefully pushed away the covers and got out of bed. He stood up on all fours. Oddly enough, it felt completely natural. He started trotting around the room, trying to get a feel for being a pony. It wasn't too bad, but the lack of hands was slightly unnerving. Argent flapped his wings a few times. They were like an extension off of his spine, and functioned just like moving an arm. Of course, Argent really didn't have any arms anymore. He twinged as he felt a spike of pain in his side. Oh, that's right. He had bruised his wing. How had that happened, anyway? Could alicorns get hurt? Argent stopped. Spike and Twilight had been staring at him blankly as he paced. Both of them quickly bowed as he met their eyes.

"Why are you guys bowing? I'm not a princess or anything, you know. I don't even know how I got here." Twilight looked surprised, then stepped forward.

"I'm sorry about the formality, uh... what's your name?" Twilight was incredibly flustered. Spike was still standing several feet back.

"I'm Argent. And I'm certainly not a princess. At least, I don't think I am. It's very complicated..." Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Say, Twilight, you wouldn't be able to-"

"How do you know my name?" Argent stopped. Crud. Of course, Twilight hadn't properly introduced herself yet. He would have to be careful about what he said. "Oh, of course. You're another human, aren't you?"

Of course, this was exactly what he was trying to- "Wait. What?"

"There are three others like you living in Lyra's house at the moment. I think you should go meet them."

Then, the other kidnappings... "Yeah. It'd be nice to have another human to talk to right now."

"Well, let's go see Lyra then. Spike, would you tidy the library while I'm gone?"

"Already on it, Twilight."

~~~

"Lyra, we got another one!"

"Already? Geez, it's barely been three days since the last one!" The door on Lyra's cottage swung open. A teal-colored unicorn stood on the other side. "Wow! An Alicorn! I didn't know humans came like that. Please, come on in." Twilight and Argent stepped into the room. While on the outside the cottage was standard Ponyville fare, the inside was distinctly human-looking. Teal and blue wallpaper covered the walls. Three new ponies all sat around a coffee table, having a chat. "Well, go on, talk with your friends. All the others have known each other so far, so I'm assuming that you know somepony here. Have a good time!" Lyra walked into the kitchen, followed by Twilight.

Argent looked at each of the ponies in turn. The one furthest to the left of the room, a green Earth Pony with a curly brown mane, stood up and spoke. His cutie mark was a book. "Aah, a newcomer. Welcome to Equestria. My name is Ross, but you can call me Moss-"

"Ross?!" Argent was flabbergasted. Ross had been his childhood friend up into high school. But this couldn't be that Ross... Could it? "Dude... It's me, Argent."

Ross' eyes lit up. "Oh my god! Is it really you? I had no idea you were going to get sent here! Come on, man, sit down. Let me introduce you to our friends here." He pointed a hoof at a green-blue Pegasus with a sky blue mane and a cutie mark that looked like a leaf. "This here is Angela, but she's taken up the persona Serene Breeze." Serene Breeze waved a hoof happily. "And the colt to her right is her brother Mark. You can call him Chocolate Soil."

"I told you not to call me that!" Yelled Mark, "Just please. Call me Mark. It was bad enough just to be a pony..." Mark was a slightly younger brown Unicorn with a dark brown mane that covered his eyes almost completely. His cutie mark was a bar of chocolate.

"Mark, I'm sorry, but we need to have pony names so we blend in with the crowd," said Serene Breeze. She had a very quiet, calm voice. "So, Argent, what is your pony name going to be?" Argent thought about it for a minute. He needed a name that matched both his personality and his appearance. It couldn't be too human-like, and it probably had to consist of two parts. Argent thought back to the mirror, the spiky golden hair...

"Spark. You can call me Spark." The other three nodded slowly, exchanged glances, and nodded again. "That's great. It took us hours to come up with the names," said Ross. "It fits your hair, especially. Oh, speaking of appearances... Argent, why are you a filly?"

The question hit Argent like a pound of bricks.

"I-I'm a girl?"