The Dream's Reality

by Ultraboy94

Touchdown

Ben opened the door to his flat. He had stayed strong for long enough during his journey home, returning from his job for the last time. It's the same old, "It's nothing personal, we've just made more losses this quarter and your job is well... Frankly, expendable." It didn't matter how he had lost his job, the important thing was that he had lost it. Working a 9-5 pencil pusher gig was not the most exciting thing to do, but it was JUST enough to keep him alive and in this home.

He wouldn't be able to find another job and get back on his proverbial feet in time to keep up payments of this place. He had already been forced to get behind on payments just to have it furnished with the usual cheap Swedish flat-pack affair. He didn't have any friends to stay with, a partner, and even the last-ditch plan of moving back with the parents wouldn't fly as they were both in a nursing home. He gave up on being strong, and quietly sobbed as he flicked his small television over to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Yes, he was a brony. This story would not have been if he was not, would it? Details of how he got into it aren't specific, he caught up with an old school friend once and they sent him it. He sighed, and took in the color, the happiness, the utopian ways of Equestria... Or at least, utopian ways in comparison to this rock of a planet. And while he wouldn't particularly consider himself as obsessive as others, right now, he was in a weak enough state to stare at the screen, wishing he was there, instead.
As the credits theme plays, and the names of the creators flash by on screen, a few more quiet tears seep from Ben's ducts as he turns the TV off, gets up, and decides to call it a night. He couldn't afford to eat tonight, he didn't feel all that hungry, and it would all be good training for his body when he was on the streets, eating whenever he could infrequently acquire the means.
He pulled the sofa out into a bed using the mechanism, this being a smaller flat than previously mentioned. After turning the lights off, he lays down, and after some hesitation, Ben falls asleep, dropping the 6-word bomb.

"I know this sounds crazy, but... I wish I lived in Equestria..."

---

Ben was awoken by the foreign aroma of flowers he hadn't smelt in any florist's before. His sofa didn't seem to be there, instead he felt hard, grassy grounds beneath him. He slits his eyes open to find himself surrounded in a fusion of a jungle and a forest. It's dark, but he can still see what seems to be the faint blue glow of a plant that didn't look so friendly in front of him.
This dream hadn't taken him to... The Everfree Forest, had it? It seems a little different to the show, but it looked nice enough. He slowly got up and took in more of his surroundings using his bipedal height. Yep, this seemed just like the Everfree.

Ben creeped around, enjoying his "dream" of the wish of being in Equestria granted. He avoided the patches of blue plants around, remembering that first episode the Zebra was in. He guessed it would also be a good idea to seek out civilization in the case of those larger creatures still being around also. The ponies might be able to charm an Ursa or a Manticore, but a single human may not be so lucky.
His eyes shifted as he kept alert of his surroundings. He wouldn't want this dream to turn awry due to bumping into anything. Unfortunately, he was spending too much time looking where he was going to check his feet and notice the twig he was about to trip over.
With a thud, Ben's face connects with the floor. The soil had enough grass to cushion his fall enough so that it was nothing more than a shock, but after recovering back to a stand, it was evident someone had heard his misfortune. Ben is taken by shock once more as he hears a gruff voice call out, which seemed to be addressing him.

"Who's there?!"

Whatever called him out is sentient. Could it be a pony? Ben calls out in reply, considering his current situation, hoping it was a species not his own so it wouldn't sound crazy.

"I'm Ben... I'm a human, and I don't know how I got here, I was just-"

"Ssshhh, it's okay..." The voice was now clearly behind Ben, as he twists himself around to find himself in audience of 3 stallions. Their eyes were large, their heads relatively disproportionate to their bodies, all 3 had darker shades of pastel colors... They seemed just like the ponies he knew.
"Oh, hello there, heheh..." Ben wondered how they would react seeing as he may be their first human. This world never showed any, did it? They all looked happy enough to see him, but not in the way that you'd want to hug.
The one in the middle, the dark pastel-blue pegasus, started, stepping forward a little closer. "If you're lost, why don't you come with us? We can help you out."
Ben takes a closer look. There is a grey pony, with a brown mane on the left looking cheerful, the dark blue pegasus that just greeted him in the middle, with a blonde mane, and a cautious-looking brown unicorn on the right, with a pink mane. Huh, I suppose you'd look kind of pissed constantly if fate had dealt you such a bad color scheme. While they all looked different in color and race, they shared the same green eye color, had the same average, stocky build, and all had the same mane style, long enough to flow past and entirely conceal their cutie marks, meaning they still probably had some kind of relation.

Ben isn't sure of what to say, and the look the unicorn was giving him wasn't too assuring. In the end, he'll just wake up though, so it doesn't matter, right?
"...Sure. Thanks."

The pegasus smiled, and offered his hoof to Ben. "Pleasure to be of service."
As Ben takes the blue hoof to shake it, the pegasus turns to his unicorn friend and nods. "Candy Mane, greet the human." The unicorn, now identified, sighs and offers his hoof to Ben also. Ben has one hoof in each hand, shaking both. Their hooves, contrary to Ben's old group's beliefs, did not feel of marshmallow. They were furry yet hard, just like any pony's hoof on Earth. The pegasus then looks at the earth pony, and nods while smiling wickedly.

"Guy Snatcher, greet the human."
The earth pony smiles back. "With pleasure."

Ben suddenly looks a little scared, and tries to pull away, but feels a light tingle on both of his hands, looking down he notices Candy is stopping him from escaping with a red aura of magic. Before he can respond or take in anything else the grey hoof of Guy Snatcher touches down on his jaw bone in a heavy swipe.
Ben is sent to the ground with a far stronger thud this time, ponies being stronger than they look. Before his body shuts down entirely and his senses fade to black, he feels the numb sensation of being dragged along at the feet by the still unnamed pegasus and Candy Mane.

"That's another one, boys... Good job."

---

Comments

[Feurisson]

That sign ...
Anyway, wonderful! I've been waiting forever for a story where the dream to go to Equestria turns out to be a nightmare. :D

[Tadpole]

I like this. Favoriting.