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// 7 - Endless//Endeavor 
// Story: Misplaced Wings 
// by FIygon 
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To say the occupants of this ‘Ponyville’ looked at me in confusion was an understatement. You’d think a dragon had just leisurely strolled through town. Well, I guess I was kind of half-dragon? But it wasn’t a negative sort of attention; most that I caught the eyes of would smile or otherwise wave at me. The town itself was built more like what I was used to back home than I expected. Even if their hospital had things I'd never seen before, the town looked rather simple. 

Pastel-colored houses, thatch roofs, and plenty and plenty of ponies. The ponies were the real eye catching centerpiece of the town. Multicolored manes and tails. Interesting color combination body fur. And complicated butt images that I really needed to ask somebody about. 

Up in the sky were a couple of ponies with wings, moving clouds or breaking them with a staggering amount of speed. A few were hovering a rain cloud over one pony's crops. It was a fascinating way of using their magic, I’d give them that.

The occupants all looked interesting and, for the most part, friendly. 

Looks can be deceiving, however.

"Is your leg holding up alright? It doesn’t hurt, does it?" Foster’s voice cut through the voice of the town.

I drowned out the wildlife and the town murmuring, "It’s a bit sore, maybe. But I’m fine."

"You don’t have to tough it out," she reminded me. "You’re tiny and wouldn’t weigh much, y’know."

I hummed absentmindedly, "No thank you."

That seemed to be it for the questions, as we passed by a specific place that looked way more colorful than the others. I slowed down and scanned it up and down, it looked like a mess straight from my dreams. But the smell coming from the building was heavenly.

Foster gazed back. "I told you, I can carry you, Mellow, it’s-"

"What’s this place? It smells super good." I took in another scent, even more sweet than the lollipops.

"Oh?" She turned to look at the building, "The sign says ‘sugarcube corner’. It seems to be some sort of sweets shop."

"Sweets?" I said, looking at her with widening eyes.

She nodded with a hum, gazing at the building herself. "Judging just from the look of the place, cupcakes, gingerbread, cookies… Just about anything a foal could imagine."

My eyes must’ve looked wildly lit up with stars. "I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds good."

She giggled into her hoof, "Maybe ask Twilight when we get there, and she’ll take you. I would, but…" She trailed off, gesturing with her hoof to me as she began walking again.

I sighed and got back onto my hooves as I followed. Next stop: possibly my own doom. I was not looking forward to this meeting. I glanced back up again and held in a gasp. I don’t know how I missed it!

The largest crystal I’d ever seen, in the shape of a tree. It had many buildings of pink and yellow strewn about the crystal branches and a large, glimmering star resting atop the castle’s highest peak. It was awe-inspiring, but suddenly it hit me just how odd this was. I was reincarnated or transported to a world of ponies and staying in a crystal tree castle with a crazy princess.

Actually, you know what? It’s about as crazy as my situation beforehand. Just a lot less bloody and awful, and-

"Mellow," Foster touched my wither, and I flinched and recoiled. "What’s wrong?" She asked quietly.

"N-Nothing," I said, fighting past the shakiness in my voice. "I’m ready."

We stood at the entrance to the crystal tree. A large yellow door with golden steps leading up to it. On each side, a large painted glass window of purple streaks and stars. Foster knocked on the large door, and we waited in silence.

The silence was deafening in my ears. My heartbeat increased, and a ringing became more and more prominent, taking up my entire mind. My legs were wobbly, so I sat myself down for safety. "One second!"

A male voice echoed in the halls, reaching the door. As we waited, we heard many crashes and loud bangs. Who was that? Was it their footsteps? My mind raced with abject fear.

Another loud bang, even closer, and I felt darkness closing in, and breathing became harder. What would they do with me?

Somebody grumbled on the other side of the door, and at once it was pulled open. Standing at the entrance was a small purple dragon about the same size as me. ‘Wait, this place does have dragons?!’

The dragon was covered in dust, and he quickly dusted himself off before fixing us both with a nervous smile. My fears ebbed away as Foster spoke: "I’m here to drop off Mellow here. I’m sure you know."

"Oh yeah, for sure. We’ve been expecting you, come on in." He said, stepping out of the way and gesturing inside.

Following them both inside with apprehension, there was a short hallway with a red carpet. The walls were purple and fixed with many stained glass windows that seemed to glow green. As well as many crystal pillars. At some point while walking through the hallway, I felt a tingle wash over my body and quickly shivered. Spike was on my left and seemed to notice, "Ah, don’t worry about that. You’ll get used to the magic in here."

"Is the entire castle… magic?" I asked curiously.

"Yep. Crazy right?"

We reached the main room shortly, and to the immediate right and left were long red carpeted hallways leading to somewhere else in the castle. On the other side of the room was a large staircase leading to a special-looking room. And there were more hallways on the far side. The entire place was huge, but certainly manageable. 

Spike stepped forward a bit, gesturing for us to stay back. Suddenly he cupped his hands around his mouth, "Twilight! He’s here!" I covered my ears midway. That dragon has volume!

We heard some quick galloping of hooves down one of the further hallways, which slowly turned to a walking gait as she came around the corner. She looked rather the same from our first meeting; her eyes fell on Foster first, then drifted to me. She gave a simple smile, "Hello. Welcome to the castle of friendship!"

I looked around at that, then back to her, "The castle is made out of friendship? Is that even like… a real power?"

Spike snorted as he covered his mouth to hide his laughter. Twilight’s cheeks seemed to grow red as she looked over at the dragon. "Spike, could you maybe offer our guests something to drink?"

He obliged, leaving the room while still hiding his laughter. Twilight snapped back to me with a smile, and it’s fair to say I recoiled at her look of masqueraded happiness. I’d grown too used to that fake smile. Slowly, her smile turned to a frown, and she took a few steps closer.

I looked away, staring at the floor. And she laid down on the carpet in front of me, "I know our first meeting was..."

"Terrible? Awful?"  I followed up.

"Yes, you could say-"

"Horrendous? Dreadful?" I continued.

"Okay, we agree." She suddenly sighed as she put a hoof on her face, "I haven’t had a chance yet to say sorry. And I know sorry isn’t enough for trust."

She waited for a minute, but all that met her was silence. She tried to meet my eyes, but I only glanced at her. "I said some things I regret and made you feel terrible. And I must seem wildly untrustworthy. But for the short time you’ll stay with me, I intend to make it up to you."

Slowly, I fixed my gaze back on her. "In what way?"

At that, she smiled genuinely and seemed to grow proud. "I’m going to treat you to the lifestyle in Ponyville and show you the amazing things you can find here," she leaned in closer. "And maybe I can teach you a little something about magic; it is my forte after all." She finished with a small wink.

I smiled slightly, "Um, that’s great and all, Miss Twilight. But I don’t think I’d do well around others."

She kept her smile. "That’s okay, you're the guest! You make the rules."

Maybe this wouldn’t be that bad after all. She did seem rather sincere, even if I didn’t fully trust her yet. Foster was still here; maybe Twilight would change the moment she left. 

Foster bowed, "Excuse me, princess, but you seem to have it under control. I think I should take my leave."

Twilight sat on her haunches, "Oh, are you sure you don’t want to check on the room I cleared for him, or-"

Foster’s eye twitched. "Please."

Twilight took the hint and slowly nodded. Foster smiled and looked down at me. "Be good for Princess Twilight, okay, Mellow?"

"Yes ma’am." She walked down the hall, slightly wobbly, but I understood what she must be going through. "Sleep well, Miss Foster!" I called after her.

She reached the door and turned back to give me a small nod and smile, and as the door was closing, a crash was heard. Both me and Twilight shot up as we looked at the door, and a soft voice reached our ears: "Oh! I’m so, so sorry, miss! I was in such a hurry and-"

"It’s alright." I heard Foster grunt, as hoofsteps trailed away from the door.

Suddenly the form of the Fluttershy pony entered, and she held her hooves over her mouth. She watched Foster trot away in guilt. "Fluttershy?" Twilight voiced from next to me, "What are you doing here?"

The door closed, and she looked at us with wide eyes, "Oh. I’m sorry. I’m late; he’s already here!" 

She fluttered over on her wings and landed in front of us. She smiled down at me, "Hi little kirin, I’m your temporary guardian."

.

..

…

"Huh?" I hummed with growing confusion.

Twilight was similarly baffled, looking at her with wide eyes. "No, no. This must be a mistake. Princess Celestia said I was supposed to be his temporary guardian."

Spike finally got back, only to be completely confused by the situation as well. He lowered the tray of drinks to the floor and came over to me. "Thirsty?"

"No thanks," I muttered.

Fluttershy pulled out a letter from her bag, "No, my message clearly states that until her return I am to be the kirin’s temporary guardian."

"So what’s going on?" Spike asked me quietly.

I looked at him with an exasperated face, "Some sort of dispute about who I’m staying with, I think."

Twilight put a hoof to her forehead and sighed, then held her hoof out. "Let me read it."

Fluttershy obliged, then squined at her, "Then s-show me yours as well! I find it hard to believe Celestia put him with the pony who traumatized him."

"Hey, that’s uncalled for. I’m perfectly equipped to handle a foal." She disputed.

Spike lightly elbowed my side. "Girls fighting over you this early? I’m jealous, dude."

I raised my eyebrows at him but kept silent as the two seemed to be coming to an understanding.

Twilight cleared her throat, "Alright, yours clearly states the words: ‘Miss Fluttershy, I’ve come to understand you were there for the young kirin alicorn’s rescue. And I’ve been told that you were quite interested in his safety. Therefore, I’ve come to the decision that you will be a temporary guardian for the young colt along with Twilight. Don’t tell the foal services, if you will, I’m bending the rules a little bit.’ Huh, that’s very similar to mine."

Fluttershy hummed with a nod and held Twilight’s letter up. "And yours said: I am currently on my way back, and will help once I arrive. However, until then, Twilight, I entrust you with temporary guardianship of the colt."

"See?" Twilight started.

"P-Please, Twilight, It’s not finished." She cleared her throat. "When he arrives, I expect you to show him kindness and show him that our royalty is not to be feared. I want you to treat him more like you would a student, while at the same time working on your interaction with foals. Teach him as much as you can about pony society without overwhelming the poor dear, if you would. Fluttershy will also be there, so I can guarantee the young colt has a loving and calming foster parent. I’m sure you understand that decision."

Fluttershy glared up at her friend, "Twilight, how much of this did you read?"

Twilight sheepishly hid her face. "I got to the student part and panicked. I’ve been up since then, making preparations in a frenzy."

Twilight groaned and tapped on her head lightly. "I can’t believe I missed that! Ugh. I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I’d be glad to have you stay here a while. Will your animals be alright?"

She nodded. "I’ll check them in the mornings and afternoon. They’re mostly getting ready for hibernation. So they’re easy to take care of."

Both their looks drifted over to me, and I withered under their gazes. Fluttershy leaned down, "I’m not sure if you remember me."

I nodded. "I remember you, Miss Fluttershy."

She covered her mouth and giggled, "Great. What would you like us to call you?"

I smiled and scuffed my hoof on the ground, "My name is Mellow Spark. But Mellow is alright." I could feel my cheeks burning, oddly enough.

Twilight hummed, "I like it; it suits you." She turned slightly, "If you follow me, I’ll show you your room."

I nodded and stood up as everyone began walking. I trailed behind everyone else, caught up in admiring the castle. It wasn’t my first experience in a castle, but it was my first experience not being a slave in a castle. "This is the kitchen," Twilight said suddenly, stopping to gesture inside.

I peeked my head in and gaped in awe as I saw many kitchen utensils, pots, and pans all floating around everywhere. They were cutting things and making preparations for what looked like a meal. All enveloped in a purple and sparkly aura. "The kitchen is alive?" I asked in disbelief.

"No," Twilight laughed a bit, "well, sort of. I cast a spell on the kitchen that allows it to run without any pony workers. All we have to do is make requests and provide the ingredients, and it does all the work now." She said proudly.

That was impressive; she literally took what would usually be a dozen people’s job in a regular castle and replaced it with magic! I was about to step further into the kitchen before Twilight blocked my path, "This kitchen is off limits to foals. Okay?" Twilight told me with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah, okay." I replied, it was probably for the best. Wouldn’t want the magic to fail and accidentally be caught in the crossfire.

She showed me many more rooms. A round table with many crystal chairs. The library, which was essentially her personal office, as well as the town library, apparently. And a bunch of rooms, as well as the dining room. But as we passed through, something felt weird, and I only finally placed my hood on it once she showed me a safe room of sorts. "Miss Twilight, do you not have any guards at all?"

She shook her head and looked down at me as we walked, "I don’t like the idea of having a bunch of royal guards working for me. I’m just like everypony else, and I want others to see me that way as well."

"But you’re not," I began. "You’re the princess of friendship, right? Aren’t there a bunch of assassins or other bad people that would like to kill you?"

Both her and Fluttershy seemed to stop in shock at what I’d said, and when they turned to me, I recoiled closer to the floor with my ears folded. "U-Um, I’m not one of them… I-I-"

Twilight sighed sadly, "I’m not suspecting you of being any sort of assassin, Mellow." She watched me a bit longer as my ears unfolded. She smiled, "Nobody like that will hurt you here in my castle. There is a magic field around the castle that alerts me to others' presence as well as automatically detecting any changelings. The spell can also detect hostility and essentially sends me a warning."

Huh, that’s nifty. Maybe Twilight really does have this whole princess thing figured out.

I felt myself yawn, and Fluttershy broke the silence, "Twilight, we should show him his room. I-I think."

My eyes shot open again, and I shook my head, "Oh, I’m not tired!"

Fluttershy leaned down, "There’s no harm in taking a mid-day nap. Growing foals need their rest, especially right after getting out of the hospital." Her voice was soft and sweet and very convincing.

Twilight hummed from behind her, "I can see bags under your eyes. Listen to Fluttershy’s advice; she knows what she’s talking about."

They turned, and I sighed as I began to follow them again. The hallways at this point were growing egregious, especially for my aching leg, which could surely use a rest. The halls of the castle almost felt eerie to me, with no guards and barely anybody around other than us. It felt… wrong. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be here; I didn’t feel safe. It didn’t feel like home.

Of course, I never truly felt safe in most places owned by royalty. But at least I knew what my punishments would be and when I’d earn them. But here? I didn’t understand anything. What am I expected to do all the time? What’s the purpose of my being here?

My introspection was cut short when I noticed a large balcony to my left, and the view confused me. I broke off from the group and walked outside, onto the balcony. You could see the entirety of Ponyville from up here. But I was confused; I had at no point gone up any stairs. I could see the entrance to the castle much further down, possibly a few hundred feet down. 

Ponyville was quite vast for a simple town. Much bigger than anything I had called a town in my past world. In comparison, I’d call my old idea of a town ‘villages’. In the far distance, I could see a much larger castle and city set into the cliffside of a mountain. It looked like it touched the heavens themselves, and the sun and moon imagery plastered around the castle’s construction was enchanting. It was definitely a sight, and I couldn’t help the subtle "Wow" that escaped my lips.

"Mellow?" Twilight’s voice called from the hallway.

They quickly found me and followed me out. "Ah," Twilight muttered, "it’s quite the view, isn’t it?"

"Twilight, how did we get up here?" I asked curiously.

She laughed, saying, "Oh, there’s a spell in the hallway down there. It transports you seamlessly from the bottom to the top. If you felt a tingling feeling, that was it."

Fluttershy hummed, "It made me sick the first few times I felt it…"

"Wow," I said again under my breath. "This is all so crazy, but it’s kind of cool." 

Twilight smiled down at me, "Magic is cool."

My eyes drifted farther, to a large, dark, and imposing forest. It stretched on for countless miles, but firmly sitting in the middle of it was one giant scorched blemish. Seeing it from up here really puts it into perspective. It really had been the size of Ponyville.

I felt my heart sink and ache as I thought of all of the animals I must have harmed or ruined the lives of. The amount of trees I would have burned if Twilight hadn’t been there… Who knows what would’ve happened? Maybe I was judging Twilight too harshly; after seeing the charred remains of my actions, I was definitely the bad one in this situation. 

"I can’t ever do anything but hurt others when I use magic." I said sadly as my head and ears lowered to the ground.

Twilight seemed surprised by my sudden mood shift, and she stuttered, "H-Hey, no need to think like that. You’re still just a foal, you’re learning."

I scoffed, "I must be the only one to lose control so hard I burn down a whole forest."

"Trust me," Twilight began, "my niece Flurry Heart is a very young filly; I’ve seen her magic outbursts. It’s about the same amount of destruction and confusion."

Destruction, confusion. That’s all I've felt ever since that day in the forest.

I looked up to her with an honest question, one that I’ve wanted to know my whole life. Ever since the fire, no, before that. Ever since he found me. It ached and gnawed at my mind constantly: "Why Twilight?" I felt a few tears brimming in my eyes. "Why do I have to have magic? Why couldn’t I just have been normal?"

Her eyes widened, and she seemed unsure of herself. "I-I… Who wouldn’t want to have magic?" She asked with the amount of confusion a bird would have if you told it you didn’t want to fly.

I suddenly released a laugh, but not a joyful one. More like one you’d expect from someone who’d finally lost it. I really was the weird one here. Who wouldn’t want unimaginable magic and power? 

Fluttershy suddenly moved Twilight out of the way with a gentle push and bent down to gently wrap her hooves around me. The quick and comforting gesture immediately broke the dam, and the floodgates opened. I buried my face in her extremely fluffy chest and cried. She very gently picked me up in her arms as she used her wings to hover above the ground. "Oh, please don’t cry, little one." She said quietly.

Her embrace was warm and safe. I needed that feeling; she was such a kind pony, holding something so destructive and uncontrollable in her arms. She rubbed my back gently and nuzzled the side of my head with no concern for anything other than me.

Twilight seemed to come back to her senses after my apparently shocking question: "Oh no, I made him cry again." She seemed a bit panicked. "F-Fluttershy, hand him to me. I’m sorry, Mellow I-"

I gripped Fluttershy tighter, and she returned the gesture. Glaring quickly and snapping back at Twilight in a hushed way, "Please. Show me to his room, Twilight. He’s had a long day."

Twilight opened her mouth to say something but closed it as her ears folded. She turned and began walking again, with Fluttershy slowly fluttering behind her. It wasn’t long before we made it to a room, and Twilight opened the door, gesturing inside. Fluttershy went in, and Twilight was about to follow, but Fluttershy turned to face her. "I… think you should stay outside. Thank you."

Twilight looked sad and confused, but she nodded as she shut the door for us. Fluttershy flew over to the bed and sat down on it. Then she gave her full attention to me, gently rocking me back and forth in her arms. I didn’t want to have this outburst; I didn’t want to look so weak and helpless. But if Fluttershy was okay with it, then it was fine, right?

"Mellow," she said quietly, "I’m sorry you’re in this situation."

I slowly glanced upward, still burying half of my face in her matted chest fur. "It’s okay, I’m the problem-"

"No, you are not," she quickly corrected me, then she sighed. "I understand it isn’t the main source of your sadness. But I can only imagine how much it hurt to see the scorched forest. I could see it in your eyes."

I averted my eyes again, and she rubbed my back gently. "But you didn’t hurt the forest."

"How can you say that so confidently?" I asked, my voice shaky.

She hummed a short melody. "Fire does more than just burn forests. Fire is a natural cycle in forests. It burns up dead and diseased wildlife and harmful things. And when the fire burns, it drops the nutrients from those plants back into the soil. Where the trees and plants regrow again, and much healthier than before."

"B-But the animals?" I sniffled.

She nuzzled my head, "The animals are used to escaping fires. They were born and evolved to escape fires. An animal doesn’t hold resentment for you burning its burrow; it’s already thinking about where it should live next. Some animals even help cultivate the earth after it’s been burned."

I sniffled again and looked up into Fluttershy’s eyes. "You’re smart, Miss Fluttershy."

She giggled. "Only about animals and nature."

I yawned, and she nuzzled me again. "How about we get you in bed for a nap, okay? And when you wake up, we can have a nice warm meal."

She didn’t wait for my answer as she got up and pulled the covers back, gently laying me down in the bed and pulling the covers over my body. It was a super comfortable bed; I’d give it that. My eyes gently shut without much work from myself, and Fluttershy’s gentle humming was certainly helping. I felt myself drift off, and I was quickly out.





Fluttershy gently closed the door behind her as she left the room. Immediately, she was greeted by Twilight, who was as nervous as could be. "Is he okay?"

Fluttershy smiled, "Yes, he’s asleep."

"Tell me honestly, Fluttershy," she asked quietly as they began walking away from the door. "Did I do better this time?"

Fluttershy stayed quiet for a long while and sighed. "For a while, yes. But Twilight, I-I think you need to work on your… empathy." As she said it, she slowly receded into her mane.

Twilight groaned, annoyed with herself. "I just… I couldn’t wrap my head around the question. I’ve been obsessed with magic since I was a filly. The thought of wanting to get rid of it is…"

"Is exactly why I said that you need better empathy." Fluttershy finished for her.

"But… he just got his magic, and he already hates it. Just because he burned down a forest? It’s-"

"It’s not your choice to say what he should feel, Twilight." Fluttershy said a bit disappointedly. There was more silence, and Fluttershy sighed. "Also, it’s a foal. Your job as a caretaker is to listen to what they say and react in a way that keeps them calm and makes them feel safe. You want them to know that you have their back, no matter what."

Twilight lowered her head. "Not asking them why they’d want to get rid of magic like they’re speaking another language?"

"That’s definitely… not a good start. You stared at him like an alien; he was carrying great guilt about the forest fire, and you showed no emotion at all. It was extremely cold and uncaring." Fluttershy said gently.

"Oops," Twilight started sheepishly, "I don’t know why; I just froze up under pressure."

"Big oops." Fluttershy said, stopping to look back down the hallway worriedly. She looked down at her hooves sadly as she walked, then looked back up at her friend.  "You better be ready for apology number two when he wakes up."

Twilight missed a hoofbeat while walking and said, "Yeah, of course."