Elevin

by Zanazuma

Not So Sweet Dreams

"He did WHAT?!" A voice shouted, startling all of the little creatures that called Fluttershy's cottage home. Inside Fluttershy was seated on her couch as her friend, Rainbow Dash, paced back and forth. Fluttershy wasn't expecting a visitor today and wished that it would have been under better circumstances, with that thought Fluttershy's gaze turned to her coffee table, the missing pouch of bits being the cause of Rainbow's anger. Angel had told her everything. That little colt she took in ran off with it as soon as she turned her back to him, a sigh escaped Fluttershy's mouth as she thought back to the moment she saw that the little colt practically disappeared after only turning her attention away for a few minutes. He seemed like such an innocent little thing.

"I-Its alright…" Fluttershy attempted to mutter out, being interrupted by Dash before she could utter a word more.

"It is NOT alright 'shy!" Rainbow Dash all but shouted, her brows furrowing together as she let out a groan. "This little punk walked into YOUR home and stole YOUR bits! Right under your nose! The nerve of that little twerp!" The rainbow maned mare continued, her frustration getting the best of her. After a moment Rainbow Dash took a breath before sighing, shaking her head. "Sorry 'Shy, I don't mean to shout at you but you gotta understand that just because you believe it's alright doesn't mean that it is."

Fluttershy nodded her head, the movement barely even noticeable. As much as she didn't want to believe her friend she had no choice but to do so. That cute little colt, barely even eleven or twelve years old if her guess was correct, had come into her home and taken something that belonged to her. "B-But… maybe he just… needed the bits…" Fluttershy muttered out, it wasn't the best counterargument, she knew, but she always liked to see the best in ponies.

Rainbow, meanwhile, just shook her head. "It doesn't matter if he needed them or not! Let me ask you something, would you have given that colt some bits if he had just talked to you and told you why he needed them?" She questioned, resulting in Fluttershy to slowly nod her head once more. Rainbow nodded herself, but in self satisfaction rather than timidness, "See! And yet what does he do?" She asked, pausing for a moment as if waiting for Fluttershy to answer before answering her question herself. "He just waltzes in and takes it! Who does that?!"

Fluttershy just quietly sighs as she finds herself agreeing with Rainbow despite how much she didn't really want to. What would drive such a young foal to do something as terrible as thievery? "W-What do we… do?" Fluttershy asked, looking towards her friend for advice. She'd never been in such a situation as this one before and was unsure on what exactly to do. "Do we… look for him?" She asked, unsure in her question. "He could be anywhere by now…"

Rainbow's hoof tapped at her chin as she thought about Fluttershy's suggestion, she was right that that little twerp could be anywhere in Ponyville by now but it's not like they had much of a choice. Rainbow was the Element of Loyalty after all! And she wasn't about to allow some foal to steal from one of her friends! "Guess we're gonna have to keep an eye out for the brat, c'mon 'Shy! We got a thief to find! He can't stay hidden from the fastest flier in all of Equestria for too long!" Rainbow boasted as Fluttershy silently chuckled into her hoof.

"Let's just not be too hard on the little colt okay…" Fluttershy muttered as she hopped up off her couch and onto her hooves to follow her friend out of her cottage.

__

Kevin leisurely walked through the streets of… whatever this place was called, Horsetown or something like that, with his recently acquired pouch of golden coins. At first Kevin thought this annoyingly small body he had found himself in would be nothing but a curse, but it seemed to have its benefits. None of the adult horses (ponies, whatever) even looked towards his direction, not one! He was… what did that lady call him? A 'little foal'? Yeah, back home he was anything but little heh.

As Kevin looked at the pouch, as if checking to see that it hadn't disappeared out of his grasp, the same feeling of guilt clenched his heart. He felt like he was going to throw up. He didn't particularly want to steal from the lady but what other choice did he have?... Well, there were probably a couple better options available but Kevin was going to valiantly ignore that thought, for his own sake if nothing else. Thievery was one of the only things Kevin was good at, that and fighting, so why should he feel guilty for doing something he was good at? Shouldn't he be feeling pride for doing what he did best?

Kevin bit the inside of his cheek as he forced his thoughts elsewhere, thinking back to those miserable days at Incarcecon, it was just… so weird. Not having those annoying guards monitoring every little move he made. He was free, but he wasn't home. Kevin resisted the urge to groan to avoid any curious eyes as his little legs carried him forward before turning to head down a seemingly empty alley to be alone with his thoughts for a little while, practically on autopilot. "Stupid damn conscience…" Kevin muttered under his breath as he took a seat in between two trash cans.

What would Kwarrel think if he could see him now? Kevin thought as he looked up at the sky, the sun already beginning to descend as the day's light recedes in favor of the night's darkness. Kevin huffed as he took a good look at the alley he had found himself in, not the worst alley he had ever been in. In all honesty it was actually pretty clean all things considered, and a feral cat hasn't attempted to claw his eyes out yet either so that was a definite plus. With that in mind Kevin curled around the pouch of coins protectively as he closed his eyes, ready for some sleep after the very weird day that had just transpired. Despite the overwhelming cold that the night brought, Kevin was quick to give in to the bliss of sleep, his thoughts lingering on his best friend and mentor he lost far too soon. Kwarrel…

__

Kevin's eyes fluttered open after a moment, taking in his surroundings. Gray walls and iron bars met his gaze. He was back. Kevin let out a groan as the realization hit him, all that weird pony stuff was just a dream, of course it was. Kevin mentally cursed at himself for even believing that fantasy for a moment. I mean, c'mon, talking horses? Kevin may have seen a lot of things since his stay within the Null Void but that was pushing believability.

Kevin forced himself up, wincing slightly at the feeling of the cold concrete (or whatever alien material it was) he was laid down on. Kevin had to admit that, even though his freedom was nothing but a fantasy, he was quite glad that he had his hands once again. After a moment Kevin gazed down to look at his current form, he was human again, just as he expected. At least he wasn't a stupid baby horse anymore.

"C'mon kid, time to get up-" A voice suddenly called to him before Kevin could continue appreciating his very human body, causing Kevin's heart to skip a beat. Kevin whipped his head to the side, not believing his ears, and widened his eyes as he saw the one man who had practically changed his entire view on his powers. Kwarrel. He… he wasn't dead. Morgg hadn't killed him. Was that all part of the dream? Why… why was it so detailed?

Kwarrel just chuckled as he placed a massive hand on Kevin's shoulder, a comforting feeling that Kevin believed he would never feel again. "Rough night huh?" Kwarrel asked, a smile partially hidden under his muttonstache. "Don't worry kid, soon enough we're gonna get outta here. You n' me. We don't belong here, not anymore, we did our time." Kwarrel continued, patting Kevin on the back before getting up and walking towards the hidden tunnel he had been working on since before Kevin ever got stuck in the Null Void as their fellow prisoners began to fight amongst themselves, drawing all attention away from them.

Kevin let out a shaky breath as he forced his eyes shut as tears threatened to spill, he just couldn't believe it. Kwarrel was alive. He was here and he was alive. He hadn't failed his friend. Kevin forced himself to calm down, why was he getting so worked up over a stupid dream? Kevin heaved himself up to his feet as he watched Kwarrel remove the heavy piece of miscellaneous equipment from atop his escape tunnel, "It's now or never kid-" Kwarrel said before jumping down, looking back for only a moment to see if Kevin truly was joining him. Kevin took one last look behind him, the prison's main courtyard already enveloped in a large-scale riot, before joining his mentor down the hole.

The sprint down the tunnel was a tense one, Kevin doing his best to keep up with Kwarrel, who would've thought someone as buff as Kwarrel could run so fast. Kevin's mind instinctively went back to his odd dream once more, more specifically to how Kwarrel had lost his life. One of the guards, Morgg if he remembered correctly, had discovered the tunnel and was already waiting for them down here. Kevin pushed that thought aside, that was just a dream, a nightmare, nothing more. Right?

However, as Kevin was more focused on his thoughts rather than his surroundings, Kwarrel's hand suddenly stopped him from running forward. Before Kevin could even ask what had happened his eyes caught sight of something (or, more accurately, someone) that filled him with an overwhelming sense of dread. Morgg. No… this… this couldn't be happening…

Kevin took a step back as Morgg began to taunt him and Kwarrel's attempted escape, Kevin too shocked to even properly hear what the bastard was saying, before the guard lowered his rifle, fully intent on firing the blaster. Kwarrel jumped into action and lunged at Morgg, wrestling the rifle from the guard's grip as the weapon fell to the ground. As Kwarrel fruitlessly attempted to overpower Morgg he turned his head slightly to look at Kevin, his student. "Forget about me kid. Run! Get out while you still can!"

Kevin just stood there for a moment, shocked at what was happening, was… was his dream really coming true? "...No-" Kevin finally said, clenching his fists as he narrowed his eyes. He's not abandoning his friend.

Kwarrel just clenched his teeth, unable to say anything more, before being thrown away by Morgg. Kwarrel jumped up, attempting to continue the fight but, by then, Morgg had already rushed towards his rifle, pointing the barrel right at Kwarrel. "I must admit-" The bastard began, his voice condescending. "This was almost fun, but playtime is over." And, with that, Morgg pulled the trigger. Kevin let out a scream as he rushed to Kwarrel's defense, positioning himself in-between his mentor and the rifle. As Kevin closed his eyes, silently accepting his fate, he awaited to be blasted away, taking solace in the fact that he at least defended his friend. He could live with that, at least.

However, the blast never came. Kevin took a moment before experimentally opening his eyes. "Huh?..." Kevin questioned as he took in the scene that laid out before him. It was as if everything froze in time, a blaster bolt suspended in the air, only a few short inches away from piercing his chest. Both Morgg and Kwarrel, too, were frozen. Morgg's face twisted in anger while Kwarrel's showed shock. "What?..." Kevin quietly asked himself. What was happening?

"Do not fear young one." An ethereal voice called out to him, causing Kevin to whip his head around as he attempted to find the voice's source. Nothing. However, before Kevin could continue his search to demand answers, the world around him all but faded. The tunnel he was currently in evaporated as if it were made of smoke, leaving him in nothing more than a black void. With a gasp Kevin quickly reached out to the now frozen Kwarrel, his hand going through the man's form as he, too, practically evaporated out of his reach. Kevin watched on with wide eyes as he fell to his knees, so… this was the dream. "Why?..." Kevin finally muttered, not expecting an answer. So imagine his surprise when a voice saw it fit to give him one.

"Our subconscious minds work in mysterious ways." The same ethereal voice from before said, causing Kevin's head to, once again, snap towards its rough location. This time, however, his search wasn't as fruitless as the last. A horse lady, taller than the other horses he had seen beforehand, stood before him. Her coat was a dark blue with black accents with the symbol of a crescent moon emblazoned on her chest, her long and flowing mane looked as if it were the night sky itself. The most eye-catching thing about her was that she had both a set of wings and a horn. Kevin was under the impression that it was one or the other but apparently that wasn't the case. "Are you okay little one?" The horse lady finally asked, breaking Kevin out of his thoughts. "For a foal as young as yourself to have such a dreadful nightmare…" She trailed off, causing Kevin to look down at himself as he finally processed her words.

He was a damn pony again. Kevin just bit back a sigh as he curled further in on himself, so this really was all just a nightmare. One hell of a nightmare, he thought bitterly. Before Kevin could compose himself to answer the weird dream horse he felt a wing wrap around him, it was… comforting, in a way (not that he'd openly admit it). "It's okay, the nightmare can no longer hurt you." The horse said. Kevin almost immediately felt the urge to swat the horse's wing away, he didn't need some damn horse's sympathy! He didn't! But… but he didn't go through with it. He couldn't force himself to, plus, what did it even matter? This was all a dream. Nothing here would ever matter. He'd indulge himself, just this once.

So, as Kevin felt conciseness slowly pull him back to the land of the living, he quietly leaned into the dream horse's embrace. She was warm. Comfortable even. When was the last time he was both of those things at the same time? "...Thanks… I guess…" Kevin muttered out, before finally waking up.

__

Luna opened her eyes slowly, blinking as she saw the beginning of the sun's light penetrate through her windows. Seems she was a little late in lowering the moon. Oh well. She's sure Tia wouldn't mind the slight delay. Speaking of Tia…

"It would be most wise if I brought this to her attention as soon as possible…" She muttered, thinking back to the last dream, or nightmare, she had interrupted. It was most… peculiar. Yes, that was a good word to describe it. She had plenty of experience in encountering very odd creatures during her escapades into the dreamscape, especially when it came to foals, but this particular instance just seemed… different somehow. It required further investigation. Luna, interrupting her own thoughts for a moment, ultimately decided to get to work. The moon wouldn't lower itself after all. She could tell Tia all about this at a more appropriate hour…

Comments

[Shadow queen666]

O no

[Overlord_Bloodscorn]

Okay I am asking out of curiosity... Are you going to put in Kevin's full Osmosian powers like he has in Alien force or are you working aff what he did with omnitrix, absorbing DNA?