I Dreamt of Her

by ben717

Chapter 7: Run CMC

I walked out of the Boutique, it was a bit early. The sun just came up fifteen minutes ago. I had to go early because the boss pony, Mr. Cake, would kill me if he knew I'd been going to Lyra and Bon Bon's cafe each morning for the past few months.

It was winter now, Rarity was nice enough to stitch me a winter coat because I didn't have a fur coat like the other ponies.

I walk into the cafe and go up to the counter, Lyra is there waiting for me with our usual morning brew. She got me hooked on coffee, thanks Lyra. She knows how to brew it just right!

"Morning Lyra!" I say.

"Morning Shorty!" She says, she's taken a liking to calling me that.

We walk outside and sit on our bench, same as every morning.

"So what's your agenda for today?" She asks me.

"Well, it's my one of my days off so I plan on heading down to the library for another one of Twilights lectures." I say, and boy is she good at giving them.

"Fun, fun. So what's it like being the student of a Princess?" She asks.

"Well, what's it like being a student of one of the most demanding teachers ever?" I say.

"She ask a lot?" Lyra ponders

"Nothing I can't handle, but I have found myself up late at night more often than not." I say.

I continue, "It took me a while to get used to, but I can finally read standard Equestrian fluently."

"Well that's good, how'd you learn so fast?" She asks.

"Well I suppose the universe decided to have mercy on me, the language I spoke on Earth is the same one you and I are using, the only difference was our Alphabets. To me, at first it looked like your letters were just random symbols, but eventually I got a grip of the pattern."

"That's interesting, what were the chances that worlds apart languages are the same?" She says.

"Slim to none, but I'm not complaining. It made things much easier, in the end, all the words are spelled exactly the same, just the symbols are different. It was just a simple matter of memorization."

"What does she have you working on now? Now that you can read again?"

I take a sip of coffee, which feels really warm in my hand on such a cold day.

"She gave me a book the very first day. Whenever I was actually able to read the title, it said, "Magic 101: An Intro to Magic"

"Well that sounds interesting, her special talent is magic you know? You'll probably never find a better teacher, other than Celestia herself." States Lyra.

"At first I didn't understand why she had given me a book, humans can't do magic. Well, at least that's what I thought. At least not in the Unicorn sense of ways." I said.

"Oh? So you can do magic?" She asks, wide eyed in disbelief.

"Well, in theory, from what I've read. I've hardly been able to put that thing down. I've never tried though." I say.

"Well, how would you go about doing magic? You don't have a horn." She states.

"Well prepare for a lecture." I say.

I pull the heavy textbook out of my bag, also crafted by the very talented, beautiful, and generous Rarity…

Yes, Rarity told me to say all that in the off chance somepony asked about it.

I open the front page and look at the table of contents.

"Chapter One: An Intro Into Unicorn Magic." I read.

"But you aren't a Unicorn." Lyra reminds me.

"Would you just be patient?" I ask.

I continue reading, "Magic is everywhere." The book starts.

"Magic is all around us, in everything and everypony. Magic is what helps sustain life and harmony in Equestria."

"What does all of this have to do with you?" She asks.

"Give me a minute." I say.

"There are three basic types of ponies. Pegasus, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies. The most common, Earth Ponies, generally are stronger, and more enduring than the other two groups. What they lack in horns and wings, they make up for with brute strength. Pegasi, generally are swifter and more nimble than their pony cousins, given the pegasus in question is physically fit. They have wings and the ability to fly but lack horns. And finally, unicorns, who have horns but are unable to fly. They are typically regarded as physically the weakest of the three groups."

Lyra interrupts me, pointing a hoof at her own horn. "Hey!"

I give her a playful shove, "Hold your horses! I'm not done yet!" Pun completely intended.

"Yet they are the most magical of the three groups."

"All of these ponies have the magic within them. Every creature is born with magic, most just lack the ability to harness it. Although, magic does tend to show in day to day activities." I read.

"Showing through day to day activities?" She asks.

"To put it simply..." I drop my book on the ground.

"Pick up my book, with just one hoof, no magic." I tell her.

She does as she's told, curious as to where I'm going with this.

She hops off the bench and grabs it with one hoof. Which sticks to it, then she hands it back to me.

"What was the point of that?" She questions.

"Oh nothing I just wanted to she you pick up my stuff!" I joke.

She gives me a dirty look.

"No I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Here give me your hoof." I say taking her hoof.

I turn her hoof up so the we are looking at the "palm."

"Now, back on Earth, we do have ponies. They aren't as smart, or near as cool as you guys, they are all only Earth Ponies also. They can't talk, or read, or anything really. We don't have pegasi and unicorns. Only in myths and legends they exist."

I continue, "You see, anatomy dictates that, technically, this little, very simple action, shouldn't be physically possible! Hooves have no physical way of grasping. That's why we humans have hands."

I hold up my hand to show her, wiggling my fingers and thumb.

"Ponies and horses, any hoofed creature really. On Earth they can't grasp things, they have to use their mouths if they ever want to pick something up off the ground."

"Interesting" she says, eyeing my hand.

I turn her hoof back so the palm of the hoof is facing the ground.

I place my book under it and hold it so that it's touching the palm.

"Now I don't want you to grasp it. When I let go, I want you to let it fall."

I release the book and it tumbles to the ground, Twilight would kill me if she saw me mistreating this book.

I reach down and pick it up.

"Anatomy dictates that that is what should happen every time. Yet it doesn't, Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns alike can all do the very simple task. I've actually noticed this since the first day I got into town. But I thought I was a bit crazy then."

"Still are." She jests.

"True." Continuing the lecture. "Pegasus also have magic of their own. The wings that Pegasus use, technically speaking, aren't large enough to suspend a pony of that size and weight in the air. I mean, just take a look at Snowflake. The guy is huge! He's ripped! Muscles on muscles on muscles! But his wings are barely as big as a birds! Yet he flies. Really, if a Pegasus were to be able to fly without the need of magic, the wings would have to be about twice the ponies size... Each."

"We had machines, called airplanes, back on Earth that could soar through the skies like birds and carry people long distances in relatively short amounts of time. The wings on these things would be absolutely enormous to support the frame and weight of the passengers. They didn't have to flap their wings, they had a special shape to the wing that caused lift whenever a plane gained enough speed, but that's an entirely different subject. Point being, to make up for anatomical flaws, magic did the rest of the work."

"Wow, I've never really thought that in-depth about magic. I always assumed it was normal for Pegasus to fly." She says.

"I learned a lot in school, we didn't have magic to study so we humans made up for it in science and technology. Some of which, I KNOW, ponies aren't ready for."

"Aren't you getting off topic?" She questions

"A little... Lets continue to rant on pegasi shall we?"

"Sounds fine to me." She says

"Well, take cloudbusting for example. Do you know what clouds are made of?" I ask

"Aren't they puffs of water in the sky?" She asks

"Yes! Clouds are gaseous molecules of something we humans like to call, H2O. AKA Water. That's where rain comes from. Water, even in the gaseous form are adhesive. They tend to gather on bits of dust floating through the air. There's this thing called the water cycle, that's how clouds and stuff work in the Everfree forest. Nopony controlling them."

"What does this have to do with pegasi?" Asks Lyra.

"Well doesn't it seem odd that Pegasus can bust, control, and even walk on clouds if they are only made up of a gas? Not-solid, water particles?" I ask her.

She takes this into consideration.

"How Pegasus control the weather, manage to be able to run the Water Cycle manually, cause water droplets to form and condense inside the cloud at will, is still a mystery to me. It probably always will be."

"Point is all things have magic. All can use it, just not as diversely as Unicorns."

I re-open the book.

"A unicorns horn acts as an antenna of sorts, that can control magic voluntarily. As stated earlier, all forms of life are born with magic of some sort, most just lack the means to harness it." I put down the book, "That's where these come in."

I turn to Chapter 5.

"Chapter 5: Magical Objects"

I flip a couple of pages until I see a picture of the famed "Elements of Harmony."

I show the picture to Lyra.

"Take the Elements for example. Only two of the wielders are, well were, unicorns. The other four are pegasus and Earth Pony. Yet the Element necklaces, or amulets if you will, allow these non-unicorns to use magic as if they were."

I flip to the page about the infamous Alicorn Amulet and show it to Lyra.

"When I read about this, I was curious about it and asked Twilight. She said this town actually had a run in with it fairly recently?"

"Oh yes, Trixie, she's a pain in the flank sometimes, but she apologized sincerely. So we were able to forgive her. I believe it says something about ponies not being able to control themselves?"

"Yes," I begin reading, "... grants the wearer untold power, but in turn corrupts the user. Now notice it didn't give any rules that the user had to be a unicorn. I am extremely curious as to what would happen were I to slap it on an Earth Pony. Whether it would have the same effect."

Lyra, seeing where I'm going with this, "So in theory, if you were to get ahold of a magical amulet, you could-"

"If the statement that all things have magic in them holds true for a human also. Then yes. I could potentially become Harry Potter."

"Who?" She asks.

"A series of books about a boy wizard back on Earth, they were quite good. But even if I could cast a spell or two, they would most likely be very weak. Even with practice, I'd still be no match for a trained unicorn. Let alone somepony like Twilight"

"Oh, I see." She says.

"Don't even get me started on the amounts of spells that exist. There is a spell for about any sort of situation. Fire, Light, Smoke, Weather spells, age spells, levitation, and one thing that really interested me, kinda random, there's a form of levitation called Tethering. You could place a special spell on two different objects, once the spell was activated, the two objects would fly together. Once the spell was actually perfected it was used for things like construction. It would hold two beams together so the spell could be replaced by something more physical, like a bolt or a screw. Star Swirl really did his homework. There are even things like indirect magic like potions, hexes, and curses! Potions I can do right now. Don't have to be magical to make them.Just ask Zecora. I haven't even told you about what I've learned about the Magic of Music, Love, Friendship. "

"Why did the Tethering interest you so much? Plan on building something?" She asks.

"No, it interests me so much because it works differently than the standard levitation spell. It doesn't directly sap the users energy. It's an enchantment. It's more of a passive spell than an active spell. Plus, the idea of having two objects able to fly together can be used in more ways than one." I say, messing with my ring on my finger.

"And I thought curses didn't have any real power? That's like the first thing they teach you as a foal!" Protests Lyra.

"Well they don't really. They're mostly just illusions and such. Many potions, and plants that are hallucinogenic are often mistaken for curses."

"Oh! Wow, you really have learnt a lot!" She says.

"Remember that book I just told you about? Harry Potter? It made me want to be a wizard so bad. But magic wasn't real so I had to give up on that dream. Until now of course. I read this book every chance I get. And honestly I feel like Twilight must be thinking the same thing, based on the fact she made me read it at all."

I look down at my watch.

"Oh my! Just look at the time!"

I set my now empty glass of coffee down on the bench and leave a few bits in there to pay for it.
Lyra protests, "Eww, now they are gonna be all sticky!" She says referring to the coffee soaked bits.

"You're a unicorn! You figure it out!" I say running off.

I walk down to the library, I see Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom playing in the snow. They are building a snow pony.

"Shouldn't you fillies be in school?" I ask.

"Well we should, but Miss Cheer-ah-lee, called off school on account a' the snow!" Replies Applebloom.

Scootaloo peeps up, "Yeah! And we are trying to get our cutie marks in building snow ponies!"

"Yeah! Maybe you can help us! And get your cutie mark to!" Exclaims Sweetie Belle

Sweetie Belle had introduced me to the Crusaders quite a while back.

-----------------

"C'mon Ben! They're dying to meet another blank flank!" Sweetie said while dragging me across town by the hand.

"Ok! Ok! But where are we going? You haven't even told me!" I say, lifting the blindfold from my eye to get a hint as to where we are headed.

"No peeking!" Says Sweetie swatting my hand down from the blindfold.

As I'm being drug blindly through town I hear ponies giggling at the sight of a little filly like Sweetie pulling a six foot tall, blind human being around like he belonged to her.

I hear a familiar voice, "Don't hurt him Sweetie! He owes me 2 bits for a song!" Comes Lyra's voice.

I speak up, "I paid you those yesterday, Lyra! Besides your harp sounded out of tune!"

"My harp? Out of tune? Puh-leez." She retorts.

I laugh and continue following Sweetie, still yanking me around like a dog on a leash. My arm being the leash.

"Are we almost there yet?" I ask.

"Almost!" She replies.

For about fifteen more minutes this episode continues.

"How about now?"

"Nope!" She replies.

"Now?"

"Nope"

Umm now?"

"No."

"Oh come on..."

…

"Now?"

"Yes!"

"What about n- wait? Did you say yes?"

"Yep!" She exclaims.

I feel her rush away from me, then I hear the sound of small hooves on wood.

I take the blindfold off and see three fillies leaning against the railing of a tiny, tree/club house.

"Sur-PRIIIIZE!" Shouts Sweetie.

"Wow! Did you girls build that treehouse all by yourselves?" I ask in amazement.

"Well, the treehouse had been here for a long time, but it didn't look quite as nice. Applebloom here did most of the construction!" States Sweetie Belle.

" Come on up here and we'll show ya around!" Says Scootaloo.

"Yeah! An we also gots another surprise for yah! *oof* What?" Says Applebloom in response to Sweetie knocking her on the forehead.

Apparently I wasn't supposed to know about the second surprise.

The three fillies scramble inside, I slowly make my way up the wooden ramp.

I take note of how well it's built. Compared to the much weight of the much smaller fillies, it supports my big frame quite nicely.

I make my way to the top or the ramp and I'm in front of the door.

It's a cute little door, has a heart on it and everything. I'm still amazed that Applebloom did most of this herself.

I open the door, cautiously, remembering the constant danger of getting gunned down by something on the other side. There was once I went into work and got pelted by cupcakes... But that's another story.

I can hear a subtle drum beat from behind the door.

I open the door and find myself in some sort of cult-like ritual, except instead of blood sacrifices to the devil, it's all hugs and sunshine.

That was a very strange metaphor... But it's hard to explain.

To the right, I see Scootaloo, in full CMC attire, manning the drums.

*bum* *bum* *bum*

It's the same attire I've seen Sweetie Belle in so many times when she's rushing out the door.

There's a podium in the center of the room, Sweetie Belle is at the helm.

*bum* *bum* *bum*

"Benjamin Michael Short! Please step forward!"

I do as I'm told and step into the room, I have to duck under the doorframe so I didn't hit my head.

The door closes behind me. I glance back and see Applebloom moving back to the front of the room next to Sweetie.

Then Scoots goes a bit nuts.

*BUM BUM DA BADUM BADUM DA BUM BADOOM BADOOM BADOOM BA DUM BA*

After everyone and everypony regather their wits…

Sweetie Belle whispers to Scootaloo, "This is the revised version right?"

Scootaloo nods, then one final *bum*

"We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Ben Short to join us as a brother, friend, confidant, ally, comrade, home-boy, amigo, and a fellow Cutie Mark Crusader!"

I feel a huge smile break across my face as I realize what just took place.

It was so sweet what they were doing, I know how much this meant to them. Or at least to Sweetie.

"Will you, Ben Short, accept the terms and to join us as a brother, friend, chum of chums, best buds, amigo, bro ski, and Cutie Mark Crusader?" She asks of me.

I smile as wide as I possibly can.

I get down on one knee, put one hand over my heart, the other in the air, and look up at the podium.

I think I have a tear in my eye.

Get ready for this.

I put on my best Thor impersonation.

"I, Ben Short, do solemnly swear to uphold the virtues entrusted within me. I do solemnly swear to be best buds, chum of chums, amigo, bro ski, and comrade."

" I do solemnly swear to be an ally, home boy, and fellow Cutie Mark Crusader!"

I stand back up, and grab Sweetie Belle off the podium.

"I do solemnly swear to be a friend, guardian, and protector. But most of all, I do solemnly swear," will as much emphasis I can muster, "to be, and always be, a brother."

The other two Crusaders throw a standard CMC cape around me.

I give Sweetie Belle a huge hug. The others join in also.

-----------------

"So what do ya say Ben? You wanna help us get our Cutie Marks in Snow ponies?" Says Scootaloo

I glance down at my watch. Surely Twilight won't mind if I'm a little tardy.

"Sure!" I say

I haven't built a snow pony before so this will be a new prospect entirely.

I start by packing snow into a single giant log.

"Excuse me Ben, but just whataya think y'all are doin'?" Asks Applebloom

"Uh... Building a snow pony?" I say.

"That's not how you do it!" Says Scoots

"How do you do it?" I ask

"Well you have ta... You have ta... I don't know." Replies Applebloom.

"Are you saying none of us know how to build a snow pony?" I ask.

"Eeyup." Says Applebloom, imitating her brother.

Thing about Big Mac. Like most people I knew back on Earth, he didn't talk much if you didn't know him well, but once you break through the shell... He's got a taste for dirty jokes, let me tell ya! But that's also another story. Maybe you'll hear it later. Stick around.

We spent the next few minutes debating the best way to build a proper snow pony.

"That's not right!" Protested Sweetie.

... Later…

"That's not it!" Said Scoots.

...even later…

"Ah can't see how that's supposed to be a pony." Says Applebloom.

Then I come up with a brilliant idea.

"Heeeey! I know what we could do! Yeah yeah! How would you like to get your cutie marks in SnowMAN construction?" I ask.

All three ponies eyes get large.

"What's a snowman?" They ask in unison.

"Well, you start with one ball of snow!"

I grab a bit of snow and pack it into a ball, and start rolling.

They soon catch on and help me roll this thing.

Soon we have a very good sized ball of snow, big enough it takes all four of us to push it.

"I think that's big enough for the base."

"The base?" Asks Sweetie.

"Yeah! You see, snowmen are divided into three parts, the base, body, and head. The base is the largest layer."

"Oooooooh!" They say.

We start rolling the second layer. The girls are giggling now that we are gaining progress.

Soon the second layer is ready to go. I take the thing up in my arms. Snow is heavy. It took all of my strength to hoist that thing up there.

"What the hay is that ugly thing?" Comes a very obnoxious voice.

I turn around and see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon marveling at our work in progress.

"Why, my little pony, that right there?" I say in an annoyingly confidant tone, "Is Equestrias first ever snow man!"

"A snow man? Who's ever heard of a snowman?" Snorts Diamond Tiara.

"That's the whole point!" I say, "Who wants to do the same boring old snow pony? Not me! That wouldn't be unique!"

Having successfully flipped their own argument against them, they had no choice but to yield.

Silver Spoon peeps up, "Could I help?"

"Sure!" I say with a smile.

"What we need now, is to roll the final ball, and gather some supplies! For the face we are going to need some pebbles, two large rocks, and a carrot! Can you do that for me Silver Spoon? Can you go grab me some pebbles from over there?" I say pointing to the gravel walkway a few yards that-a-way.

"Ok!"

"Sweetie Belle! We are going to need a hat!" I lean close and whisper in her ear, "I'm sure Rarity has plenty that you can... 'borrow'" I throw her a wink and she takes off towards the Boutique.

"Scootaloo! We need a carrot!" I throw her a few bits, "can you run down to the marketplace and get me a carrot?"

"Consider it done!" She says with a salute.

"Applebloom! We are gonna need some sticks! I need you to run down to the orchard and grab a couple of sticks!"

"Ah'm on it!" She replies enthusiastically, and darts away.

That leaves nopony but me and Diamond Tiara.

I look at Diamond Tiara, "I don't know what your problem is with blank flanks, but won't you drop the little act and help me? C'mon, this'll be fun! Just look at Silver Spoon, she's having fun, why can't you?"

At first she sticks her nose in the air, then she looks at the other fillies scrambling to get the ingredients. And then back at me.

"Can you help me roll this final snowball? It won't even be that hard! What do you say?" I ask holding out the starting snowball.

"Ok, but just this once!" She says, we start rolling the snowball. Soon we start passing the snowball like a soccer ball.

"Is this big enough?" She asks.

"Perfect!" I say.

I look around, I see all the little foals with their tasked items it hoof.

"*putooey*" says Applebloom spitting out her sticks, "Now what?"

"Let me show you!" I reply.

I look at Sweetie Belle who is wearing the requested hat.

"Oh you took THAT hat? Oh won't Rarity be thrilled!" I say mischievously.

I take the hat and place it on the snowman's head.

No it didn't come to life.

"Have you gathered the pebbles I requested, dear Silver Spoon?" I ask with my Rarity impersonation.

"Yeah! Right here!" She says.

I take the pebbles and form his face.

"Hey! Where's his nose?" Asks Scootaloo.

"That's where you come in Scootaloo, may I see your carrot?"

She hands me the carrot and I put it in its proper place.

"Then what are these things for?" Asks Applebloom.

I hold up my hands and say, "Arms, my dear Applebloom!"

I stab the arms into the proper place.

We all six sit back and marvel at our creation.

"He's a handsome fellow, isn't he?" Asks a pony walking by.

I look up and see the school pony walking by.

"Miss Cheerilee!" The girls say together.

They all rush to greet their teacher. While I sit on the ground.

"Hello girls! I saw you all having so much fun together, I thought I'd come and say hello!" Says Cheerilee

"We couldn't figure out how to build a snow pony so we built a snowman instead!" Exclaimed Sweetie.

"Why I don't think I've ever seen a snow man before. That's very interesting! But what I like more is that you girls seem to be getting along!" She notes.

Diamond Tiara steps in, "It's only temporary, I assure you."

"Oh?" Asks Cheerilee.

"Yeah..." Assures Diamond Tiara, "but until then, TAG! You're it!" She tags Scootaloo.

The girls scatter around us. Laughter and giggling fills the air.

Cheerilee comes and takes a seat next to me to watch the girls play.

"The girls have told me a lot about you." She says.

"Oh yeah? Like what? Ben Short, by the way." I hold out a hand to shake.

She looks at it confused.

"You shake it." I explain with a smile.

"Oh!" She copies my gesture, "The girls absolutely love you, and I can see why now. I haven't seen Diamond Tiara out of her shell like this in a while."

"Has she always been like this?" I ask.

"Not since she got her cutie mark." She replies.

"Well, deep down they are all children, they just wanna have fun." I explain, "everypony is the same deep down. You just have to find a way to break the inner child out in all of them."

I look down at my watch.

"YIKES! I'm going to be late!" I say.

"Where are you late to?" She asks.

"Twilight had a lecture scheduled for today! She won't mind if I'm a bit tardy right?" I ask.

Cheerilee's ears fold down a bit. In a very grave tone "You said you were late for a lecture? By Twilight?"

I'm a little worried now, "Yeah... Why?"

She looks at me with a very sorry look, "All I can say is, good luck."

With that warning in mind "It's been nice meeting you Miss Cheerilee"

"Charmed," she replies.

"Hey Sweetie!" I shout, "Come here for a second!"

She comes over and jumps into my arms.

"Now from what I've just been told I may not come back alive!" I say, I give her a hug, "be careful ok! Don't go walking on thin ice!"

"Ok! I'll be careful!" She returns the hug then runs back to her friends and frenemies.

I get up and begin the ominous march to the library. Maybe I got lucky! Maybe she got caught up in a book and forgot about today's lesson! Maybe Celestia gave her a new assignment and she had to stay up late and slept in!

I get there and knock on the door.

The door swings open with a loud *CREEEAAAAKKKK*

So much for sneaking in unnoticed.

I step in and brush the excess snow. It's dark in the library. I can't see except for the light shining in through the wide open do-

*SLAM*

So much for the wide open door. I am now surrounded in darkness.

I hear Twilight's voice in the dark.

"Where have you been? The lesson started half an hour ago."

"Well the Crusaders wanted me to-"

"I guess that would make you..." Volume picking up

I'm dead…

"Tardy!"

The lights flick on. Twilight's mane is all frizzed up and has a crazed look on her face. Her face says one thing…

Murder.

Yup. I'm dead.

Author's Note:

Now I swear I was going to put something here... What was it? Feedback! Remember Feedback!

Comments

[MuzaWaza]

Keep up the fast updating :)
Really enjoying it so far.

[spetsnaz pinkie pie]

That's funny. I'm funny

[ShadowlessNight]

lol

[Blue Spark]

Fucking run.

[Dragaen]

note to self, never, AND. I. MEAN. EVER... be tardy...

[D-Bence35]

t.qkme.me/3tae9v.jpg

[Gyro Pony]

Yup. I'm loving this story!!

[RedvsBlue327]

On the bright side, when all is said and done, they won't even have to bother with a casket! Any old pickle jar will do in stuffing what's left once she's through.

[RainbowCoolDash Pariah]

Twilight is one crazy pony

[Kronos fiery]