//------------------------------//
// 6 - Think//Twice 
// Story: Misplaced Wings 
// by FIygon 
//------------------------------//

A train whizzed by, leisurely chugging along through the beautiful valleys. In no particular hurry, the journey was a rare one. 

Inside one of the frontmost cars, a blue alicorn with a mane of stars sat. She had one hoof under her muzzle, as she stared out the windows of the cart with a less than enthused face. Though she scanned the landscape, her mind was elsewhere. Her ears suddenly perked up as a door opened from behind. She glanced at the one entering through the reflection on the glass. 

"Good morning, Luna." The tall white alicorn spoke from behind. Her mane was a bountiful array of colors, and her eyes shone with the brilliance of the sun. She was adorned with a few pieces of jewelry, and she wore golden hoof covers.

"Morning, sister." Luna replied shortly.

Instantly, her sister, Celestia, was worried as she took a seat across from the smaller alicorn. "Are you alright, Luna? You’re not one for daydreaming." She asked, referring to her vacant window stare.

Luna sighed, "I’m not sure, actually."

Celestia hummed just as a waiter came by and set a plate of pancakes in front of her. She smiled with glee before looking back up to her sister, "Have you not eaten?"

Luna sighed again. "I have."

"You usually sleep after you’ve eaten," she told her sister with worry, and she reached over to place her hoof over Luna’s. "Please, tell me what’s wrong. It may just help."

Celestia couldn’t wait another moment as she took a bite of pancakes. Her eyes lit up with wonder for a moment, just as Luna sighed and turned from the window. "I visited a dream last night."

Celestia’s eyebrows raised. "As you do. Was there something amiss?"

Luna shook her head, "It was like, I was almost a spectator. I only showed up near the end, but all I could see was fire."

Celestia hummed in acknowledgment as she ate her breakfast. Luna rubbed her head with a hoof slowly and said, "It was all fire. And I could hear someone amidst the flames. They were terrified and begging for help."

Celestia was intrigued by the story, fixing her sister with a serious glance, "And did you help them?"

"No!" Luna said loudly, making her sister withdraw in surprise. The younger one cleared her throat; she was clearly frustrated. "I couldn’t help! Like I said, it was like I was just a spectator. I couldn’t fix that dream. I couldn’t help them!"

"Calm down," Celestia said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "What do you think it is?"

Luna’s hoof trembled, and she bowed her head. "It’s the same as when I enter your dreams, or any other alicorn. If they’re too lost in their own fears, I can’t help."

Celestia’s eyes widened, and she retracted her hoof, placing it below her mouth in thought. Luna looked at her curiously, "Fire, and it worked like an alicorn’s dream? I think I understand."

"What? What is it?"

Celestia looked up at her younger sister, "You remember that alicorn colt I’ve told you about?"

"Yes," Luna said slowly, "you think it’s the kirin?"

Celestia hummed in agreement: "From Twilight’s letters, the colt can’t control his nirik form. And when they found him, he had burned down a large portion of the Everfree."

Luna tilted her head, "Come to think of it. That’s not the first weird dream I’ve entered lately."

Celestia waited for her to elaborate: "I entered one just the night before; I was on a battlefield of some sort. It was very gruesome. On that battlefield was some creature I’d never seen before, but he was weeping over a body."

"A creature?" Celestia inquired.

"Yes," Luna nodded, "it walked on two legs; it was much like a… monkey. But far more intelligent."

"A new species?" Celestia asked.

"I certainly have never heard or seen anything of its kind. But when I took him to a safer dream, he was just as confused when he saw a pony." Luna gave a short laugh.

Celestia smiled and took a sip of coffee. "That is interesting. I wonder if the two dreams are linked somehow?" 

"They must be." Luna yawned and stretched her wings. "If only we could figure it out now."

"Speaking of the kirin, sister, what did you tell Twilight?" Luna asked with curiosity.

Celestia hummed and took another sip of her coffee. "I gave Twilight temporary guardianship and had him housed with her for a few short days."

"Huh?" Luna looked at her in shock, her eyes opening wide. "Did you not read her first two letters, Tia? It’s a disaster waiting to happen!"

Celestia nodded calmly, "I understand that she is not the best suited for this. Which is exactly why I sent more than one letter out on the matter."

"Even still," Luna began with a sigh, rubbing her head gently. "The poor colt has been abused. Is this really the best time to teach Twilight something by using the kirin as an example?"

"If Twilight reads my letter correctly, all should be well. I’m not trying to provoke or make the little one feel upset, I promise, sister." Celestia gave her a reassuring smile.

Luna sighed, then looked at her with a smile, "Alright, Tia. I trust you know what you’re doing." 

There was a bout of silence as Celestia finished her breakfast. She noticed Luna’s eyes barely being kept open. "Our trip back will be another two days; you should rest now, Luna. Unless something else is bothering you?"

She shook her head and rose to her feet. "Not for the moment, thank you, sister. I think I shall get some much-needed sleep." She walked past her sister, and the two nuzzled. The guards between cars parted for her, as she entered her cart.

Celestia found herself now looking out the window of the cart in thought. A monkey-like species, the kirin alicorn colt suddenly appeared from thin air; it all had to be connected in some way. 

The poor colt clearly was having trouble controlling his nirik form. And his dreams were tormenting him. She thought of everything Twilight said about him, and her heart ached greatly. If only she could get her hooves on whoever had abused the little one, she would throw them in the deepest and darkest of her dungeons. Somewhere where neither the sun nor moon would greet them ever again.

She sighed and gave herself a reassuring smile in the reflection. She trusted Twilight on many things. She hoped that things would work out well, at least in preparation for what she had planned. She knew everyone was doubting her decision, and on the outside, it looked like she didn’t care. But she believed Twilight would be able to help the colt, at least until she returned. She may have overreacted at first, but she was a quick learner. The princess of friendship wouldn’t give up so easily on somebody with nobody to turn to.





"So," I began hesitantly, looking between the two new ponies as they entered my room. "You’re the doctor," I pointed to the white one, "and you’re a ‘social worker’? What does that mean?"

She smiled at me, but I was curious why she already looked so tired. "It means I’m in charge of little fillies and colts that need a home."

I tilted my head. "But I’m an alicorn, or kirin, I guess?"

The doctor huffed a laugh, "Colt and filly just mean you’re young. You said you were eight or nine, yes?"

I shrugged, "I don’t know exactly."

He nodded. "Well, don’t worry, we can figure it out for you."

The unicorn who called herself Foster approached closer, pulling up the same stool Twilight had used. "If you wouldn’t mind, dear, I have a few questions."

‘Here we go again’ I sighed internally and gestured with my hoof for her to continue.

"Now, you don’t have to answer my questions if you absolutely do not want to. But it would really help, okay?" I nodded, averting my gaze to the ceiling in worry.

She cleared her throat, and brought out a pen and clipboard. "Do you have any currently alive caregivers or blood relatives?"

"No," I answered quickly and without much thought.

She nodded. "Did your parents know anybody that they might have entrusted you to in the advent of their passing?"

A memory flashed in my head, but I blocked it out quickly: "No."

"Was the pony’s care you were in before arriving here a safe environment?"

I scoffed and looked at the floor. "No."

She hummed worriedly, "Could you possibly tell me more about this pony? Like what they might have done to you?"

"Nothing I wouldn’t have done to myself in the same situation."

Foster widened her eyes at that response, and didn’t seem to know what I meant. "Honey, were they hurting you on purpose?"

Slowly, I nodded at her, "It’s okay; I was used to it."

"No, it’s not okay, Mellow." I was surprised she knew my new name; she fixed me with an intense look of worry, "Do you know where this pony is?"

They were so incredibly persistent in figuring out who it was. I get that they must feel the need to punish him in some way, but it was exhausting. What am I supposed to say? He’s an incredibly powerful mage from a different universe. And he’s part of the most powerful and influential faction, and he’s also their most powerful weapon. Yeah, okay, I might as well beg them to throw me in the dungeons instead!

I shook my head and thought up a lie to get them off my back: "No. And before you ask, he could change his looks and name. So finding him is impossible." Yeah, that should work.

Foster and Snow looked at each other with intense worry. Foster addressed me again, but this time her voice was more shaky: "C-Could you describe where they kept you?"

I shook my head. "I… I don’t-" I sighed and turned away again. 

"It’s okay!" She said quickly, "We can skip that one."

Foster went to write what she could, looking between me and the page. She slowly lifted her eyes, "Okay Mellow. Now the next part of my job would usually involve getting you set up with a foster family, but-"

"What’s that?"

She nodded slowly. "A foster family is a volunteering adult that is willing to take care of you until you find a permanent home."

"I don’t need that," I said, crossing my forelegs. I didn’t want to be entrusted to some new set of people or be stuck with them. That sounded awful; I’d rather run away.

She sighed as if she’d heard these words hundreds of times, "I know you’ve been hurt, little one, and you feel like you’d be better off alone. But I promise, our foster families are some of the nicest ponies. It will make you feel better to be taken care of."

I sighed; I wasn’t going to have a choice in the matter regardless. "Fine."

She nodded. "Now the only thing is-- I’ve got direct orders from Princess Celestia. So your foster home has already been chosen." She seemed a bit nervous from the way she glanced at me with a slight smile.

"Who is it?" I asked, leaning forward on my bed.

"Princess Twilight, I’ve heard you two met already?"

By my expression, I guessed she had her answer. Why that pony? All she did was come in, ask me a bunch of uncomfortable things, and leave. She didn’t even seem that nice, and she also seemed to be splitting herself into two. I groaned out loud, "Why her?" I covered my face.

Foster sighed as well, "I know your first meeting went poorly. But she’s really trying to make up for it, I promise."

"I bet she didn’t even want to foster me," I countered a bit annoyedly, "she was told to! She doesn’t actually want to have me in her home."

Foster defended her: "Twilight was a little… caught off guard, yes. But-"

"But what?" I said, standing to my hooves, "Suddenly she’s just going to start caring about me? I don’t know anything about her; she hurt my feelings and made me feel like a freak." I felt ridiculous just saying those words. But it had been the first time I had stood up for myself in ages, and I wasn’t going to stop easily.

Foster looked at me sadly, "She’s the princess of friendship. Just because you got off on the wrong hoof doesn’t mean she is out to get you."

I scoffed, "And just because my Master and I got off on the wrong hoof for three years means I should forgive him and go back then?" I said suddenly, breathing heavily as my face was probably red with anger.

Foster and Snow’s eyes widened, and Foster scribbled more things down. I grunted in annoyance and turned my back to them. "I just want to disappear," I said quietly. The only person I trusted was Lovelight, and I was about to never see her again.

Foster inched closer to the bed, and she sat on it next to me. She didn’t touch me, though, which I appreciated. "Mellow, I don’t know how much they hurt you; I can’t even fathom the number of times your trust was probably broken." She sighed, "But here in Ponyville? We take care of each other. Wouldn’t you like to live with somepony who is able to give you the care and love you need? It would only be temporary."

"Yes," I said very quietly, "but that’s not Twilight."

She hummed and began talking in a comforting tone: "I promise, my job isn’t to come in here and make you feel awful. I do have your best interests in mind, and I won’t let you be placed with someone who treats you badly."

I looked up at her angrily. "I don’t like her," I said with a glare. "The only one of you ponies I trust is Lovelight."

She sighed and put a hoof to her head. "The only pony you’ve spent much time with is Lovelight. You have to give others a chance before you judge them so harshly."

"It should stay that way," I muttered under my breath.

She leaned in closer, "I had to interview her earlier before coming here. She knows you’re weary of her, so she gave me a message for you just in case. Do you want to hear it?"

My ears swiveled in her direction, and I nodded. She started to whisper, "She said that she’d teach you magic, and trust me, she’s very good at it."

Really? If she actually did teach me how to use my magic I wouldn’t be so useless. But nevertheless I looked at her skeptically, "She thinks that’ll be enough to make it up to me?"

Foster tried to hold a laugh. "The fact that you’re saying that lets me know that you’re being stubborn on purpose."

That was maybe a bit foolish to say, but I shrugged lightly and said, "Look, I know what people like Twilight are like." I began with a sigh, putting a hoof up to my forehead, "They do honestly mean well, but they’re so fragmented in their thinking that they inevitably mess something up and hurt people they don’t want to. I get it."

Foster listened to me intently, sensing I had more to say. "But she kind of scares me. Somebody that acts like that but also has such a crazy amount of power?" I internally shuddered at the thought.

Foster hummed, putting a hoof up to her jaw in thought, "I understand; you’re a smart colt. You’ve probably had to take care of yourself more than anything else, being forced to grow up too fast."

That kind of stung, but I couldn’t refute her point. She continued, "This is a new start for you. You can be a foal again and let others take care of the nasty stuff. You just have to give a small bit of trust, and the rest of it will fall naturally."

I sighed and thought about it for a minute. I turned to look at her, "No matter what I say, I have to go anyway, right?"

She looked at me sympathetically, "Unfortunately. If it were my choice, I’d find you a more agreeable placement. Though Twilight can learn quickly, it might be a bit rough at first. Sorry."

"It’s not your fault," I sighed slowly and looked up at the ceiling for a long while. "Alright, I’ll try it. But if she straps me to a bed and asks me a million questions, I’m running away."

Foster smiled warmly at me, then she laughed and carefully ruffled my mane. "Noted."

She hopped off the bed and headed for the door. "I’ll be by to pick you up whenever you’re healed."

"Actually," Snow interjected for the first time, "I’ve been analyzing you this whole time. But you seem completely healed already; am I seeing this right?"

I laughed nervously and rubbed my hoof over my other, "Yeah, uh… When I go nirik my wounds seem to heal, I’m not sure how it works."

"Fascinating," Snow muttered, turning to Foster. "It shouldn’t be but a small checkup, and he should be ready for release. I have to remove his stitches as well."

Foster nodded with a short yet tired smile, "I’ll be outside the door then."

The doctor’s checkup was odd, but all things considered, it was rather easy. He checked my teeth, my ears, and my wings. I don’t know exactly what he was checking them for, but he was very kind and gentle. He had to numb my leg as he pulled the stitches out, but it didn’t really hurt at all. There was a small scar line on my leg, and I wondered if it would be permanent. I guess just because you can magically heal a wound doesn’t mean it can heal the scars, just like in my world.

The only part I didn’t like was when he asked me a few questions I couldn’t answer regarding my medical history. Thankfully, he moved on without much knowledge about my past injuries.

After he analyzed my teeth, he gave me a consensus on my age. "I’m not sure of the exact day, but you’re definitely late into being eight years old. Maybe eight and ten months." That just about added up to my age before being zapped. "And maybe a bit small for your age. But I have no clue if that’s related to your being an alicorn or a kirin. Hay, it may just be that you haven’t had your growth spurts yet."

"Why would being an alicorn make me smaller?" I asked curiously.

"Well, alicorns are immortal. They stop aging at a certain point and live long, prosperous lives. My theory is that alicorns stay smaller due to how long their lifespan is. Alicorns have much more to learn about themselves when they’re younger, so they age slower to compensate for this discrepancy. And-" 

My vacant and blank stare made him chuckle sheepishly, then he cleared his throat, "It’s probably nothing."

The last thing he did was stick his horn out and envelop me in this weird teal aura. I looked at him in surprise for a while as I waited, until eventually he hummed, "Thankfully, your incident in the river seems to have cleared up with no lasting effects."

"Huh?" I asked curiously.

He sighed, "You fell in the water when you went nirik, right?"

"More like jumped in." I said with a raised brow.

His eyes widened, but he quickly corrected himself with a short cough as he held his hoof to his mouth. "A kirin in nirik form must never be drenched in water or anything cold whatsoever. Not only is it extremely painful, but it can send your body into shock and cut off all your magic leylines. In extreme cases, the shock of the pain mixed with the cutoff of your leylines can cause death."

Oh, that would explain a lot. Especially about what Lovelight said. Also, apparently, ponies do have leylines; I just don’t have access to them in this new body yet. Which was great news because it meant I might be able to regain some of my old power. But I only had one question: "Why does it cause such an extreme reaction?" I asked with a head tilt.

He nodded. "It’s the same as if a normal pony were to suddenly jump into freezing ice water. Even if the water a nirik jumps into is warm and that kirin is burning at an average of fifteen hundred degrees, extinguishing a nirik’s flame is an awful thing to do."

When he finished up with everything, he gave me some round-colored thing. He called it a lollipop, and it was apparently ‘sweet apple’ flavored. I unwrapped it skeptically and slowly put it in my mouth. I almost spit it out in surprise, and my eyes were wider than ever. "It’s so sweet!" I said eagerly.

The doctor chuckled, with the widest smile I’ve ever seen, "Never had sweets before?"

I shook my head and continued to roll it around on my tongue in awe. It tasted like an apple; it was just twenty times sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted. It was like a small piece of heaven in my mouth. 

The doctor went to the door, "You’ll be out in just a few minutes. I’ve just got to go check you out and confirm that you’re healed."

I nodded, and he left. The more I rolled the lollipop around, the smaller it got. But the center had some sort of gooey-like substance that tasted even better than the lollipop! I licked it clean until there was nothing but a white piece that was clearly inedible left. 

A few moments later I heard the door open, and Lovelight entered. She had a sad yet happy look on her face; I couldn’t quite place it. I held the stick up in eagerness and said, "Lovelight! The doctor gave me this thing called a lollipop. It tastes great! Have you had one?"

Suddenly, I felt myself in her embrace. She had both her hooves around my back, and she was pulling me closer to her barrel. I leaned into it eagerly and rested my head on her soft, plush fur. "Mellow, I’m going to miss you, little one." She muttered quietly into my ear.

I felt water hitting my back, and I looked up in worry, "I’m going to miss you too… Are you okay?"

She smiled with tears in her eyes, "I’m great. I’ll try and visit you at Twilight’s sometimes, okay?"

I nodded eagerly with a big smile. "Friends visit each other, right? That sounds fun."

She chuckled and hugged me even tighter as she wiped tears from her face, "Right! We’ll always be friends, Mellow."

She slowly released me, and she went over to a bowl of the lollipops. She grabbed a colorful array of them and hid them in my mane, then held a hoof up to her mouth to tell me to stay quiet. I nodded eagerly and giggled. Foster poked her head around the corner, "Sorry to interrupt, but I think we should get going. Also, I haven’t slept in almost two days." She said desperately.

Lovelight chuckled and nodded. "And I’m only going to make myself cry more if you stay any longer."

I got the hint by jumping off the bed and walking to the doorway where Foster was. I took one last look behind me at my room, "Bye, Lovelight!" I said with a small wave. 

She seemed to choke up again as she waved at me, "See you later."

"Oh!" Foster frantically searched her bags and pulled out a small piece of clothing. "We can’t let everyone know you’re an alicorn, and you’ll definitely draw looks being a kirin. I picked this up for you earlier."

She held up a small red cloak, and I tilted my head as she helped me put it on. Clicking the golden buckle around the front of my neck, it rested comfortably down my back, covering my wings. Though it may have been a bit big for me. It also had a hood on it, which had a protrusion to put your horn in. I smiled up at her, "It’s kinda cool."

She giggled as we began walking: "It really does! You look like a daring adventurer." She said down to me.

All of the excitement hit me, and I was growing tired as we walked. I forgot that I had barely slept last night. A bit of fear crept up my spine; I didn’t want to go through the same experience with that awful dream.

I turned back, and waved at Snow and some other white and pink pony next to him. They smiled and waved farewell, and I left the hospital building with Foster. Hoping the world outside would treat me kinder than my first experience.







Snow and Redheart watched the kirin leave, seeming happier than usual. Redheart fixed Snow with a suspicious look, "Are you absolutely sure?"

Snow cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, the colt was rather direct when he told us. He said they could change shape and name whenever needed, and that we’d never be able to find his ‘Master’."

Redheart growled but nodded as she glared at his file. "Changelings," she muttered angrily, "I know they aren’t all evil, but this? This is despicable."

"I agree," Snow replied.

"I’ll have someone message Princess Twilight, and hopefully she’ll tell Celestia. They need to be on extra high alert; if this ‘Master’ tries to come looking for him, we need to keep him safe at all costs." Redheart quickly made a small message and rolled it up neatly. Snow walked off to deal with another patient just as Lovelight approached.

Redheart noticed her eyes were red, and it looked like she cried, "Aww, it’s okay, Lovey. Maybe you’ll get to adopt him?"

Lovelight scoffed and then sighed, sitting down at the front desk. "I don’t know why I got so attached so easily. And he’s an alicorn, remember? Like I said, I don’t think I could, even if I was allowed."

Redheart smirked. "Haven’t you and Haze been wanting a little one? You don’t get chances like this very often. Orphaned foals are very rare."

Lovelight blushed deeply. "Well yes, but-"

"Quitter," Redheart said in a light mocking tone.

"I am not-"

"Quitter~!"

Lovelight groaned, "You’ll eat those words one day."

Redheart laughed jovially at her friend, "Good."