A/N: Back when I first wrote this story, I named my OC in it "Faye." I know there's already another fairy named Faye (from the book Fairies and the Quest for Never Land), but this is my own OC who's in this story, and I gave her that name long before I found out about the fairy who already existed with that same name.

Have you ever wondered how nature gets its glow?

Who gives it light and color as the seasons come and go?

Who helps all creatures Great and small to walk? To swim? To fly?

Who crafts such tiny details? You might see them if you try.

For it's all the work of fairies, but they stay well out of sight.

For the first time that a baby laughs, a fairy's life takes flight.

The fast-flying-talent fairy moved the laugh—on which floated a dandelion clock that had been caught in it—through the air with a gentle breeze, carrying it along to the Pixie Dust Tree on the warm side of the Border. She wiped her forehead and exhaled slowly as she concentrated.

Yet another baby had laughed for the first time, giving birth to another fairy—or soon it would, anyway. First, the laugh was being brought to the Pixie Dust Tree, where it would be sprinkled with Pixie Dust by a dust-keeper to bring it to life; a special event known as the "Arrival."

After the fairy's birth, Queen Clarion, the queen of Pixie Hollow, would welcome him or her and prepare their wings to be ready for flight. Then she would commence the Talent Choosing Ceremony to help the newborn fairy discover their talent.

The fast-flying fairy sighed again and swished her hand, sending the laugh fluttering a little ways more towards the Pixie Dust Tree. Yes, she thought, this fairy is going to be very special. I can tell; I've never had such an interesting time sending a laugh to Pixie Hollow before.

Several fairy houses lit up nearby as the individuals inside woke upon hearing the breeze from the fast-flying-talent fairy sweeping past their doors. It was still early in the morning, and the sun had not yet risen. But each fairy quickly got dressed and then made their way to the Pixie Dust Tree, excited to see what talent group the new fairy was going to be in.

Warm. It's so warm here. Where am I? Who am I? I opened my eyes and slowly raised my head.

A majestic woman in a beautiful, golden dress stood in front of me. She was very pretty, and her smile was gentle and kind. She held out her hand and carefully helped me to my feet. "Welcome, my daughter."

Daughter?

I glanced down at myself, then held out my hand and watched my fingers slowly curl and uncurl. I was wearing a white, sleeveless dress that went down to my knees, and my feet were completely bare. In the corners of my vision, I could see my thick brown hair resting on my shoulders.

The woman smiled at me again. "I am Queen Clarion, the Queen of Pixie Hollow." She looked me over. "Let's get those wings of yours up and ready to fly, shall we?"

"...Wings?" My first spoken word.

Queen Clarion chuckled and sprinkled something sparkly and yellow on a pair of transparent wings on my back. The sparkly stuff looked like what the queen's dress, and now that I saw them—wings, were made of.

Queen Clarion took my hand again and said, "Try flapping your wings."

I did so, and I suddenly rose off of the ground a little.

"Now flutter them."

I flew higher still.

She nodded. "Good!"

Someone nearby giggled as I landed, and I looked around. Hundreds of fairies surrounded us, their eyes all focusing on me. I shrunk back a little, but Queen Clarion comfortingly placed her hand on my shoulder.

She glanced around at the other fairies else with a smile, then turned her gaze back to me. "And now, it's time to discover just what kind of fairy you are."

"What kind?" I echoed.

The queen chuckled again and waved her hand. "Your talent, of course."

Several mushrooms sprung up at once and arranged themselves in a circle around the two of us. Then one of each cluster of fairies came forward and placed an object on each mushroom, where they then hovered in place. Glancing around again, I noticed that each group wore their own individual colors. Maybe it had something to do with what kind of fairy they were.

Queen Clarion motioned towards the mushrooms. "Go have a look at those objects. They will help you discover your talent."

I nodded, wondering what would happen when I approached them. There were a lot of objects, including a flower, an orb of light, a drop of water, and several other things.

I never found out what would've happened if I had done this the right way—whatever the "right way" was. I still don't know why things went the way that they did.

I took a step towards one of the mushrooms, when suddenly all of the objects raised into the air and flew towards me. They circled around me in the air, each one shining very brightly, and then— they flew away and exploded into dust.

Everybody was shocked, myself included. Was this something normal that sometimes happened when a newborn fairy went to choose an object? Was there a different kind of talent meant for fairies that apparently didn't have one?

The fairies all around me all began to whisper frantically, their voices suddenly rising as they began to panic. Queen Clarion was just as surprised as everyone else, but she immediately tried to calm the frenzied crowd. "Everyone, please, calm down!"

If anything, their voices grew even louder.

She raised her arms. "Silence!"

Only several fairies nearby went quiet.

I wildly glanced around at everyone. All of the fairies had left their seats and were darting about through the air, chattering and yelling with panicked expressions on their faces. Then a few of them started to close in on me. They were wearing brown-and-green outfits and carrying some sharp, dangerous-looking things, and a couple of them looked as if they were about to hurt me.

I began to panic, not unlike the other fairies darting around the tree. This was clearly a very unusual thing to happen during a fairy's birth. I frantically flapped my wings and rose above the commotion, trying to get away.

Queen Clarion saw me fleeing and called out, "Wait! Don't go, we can still try to find your place—!"

Several fairies swarmed past her in a buzz, cutting her off and almost accidentally knocking her out of the air. They also temporarily got in the way of the dangerous fairies, and I fluttered a little higher, wondering if I should leave for the sake of my own safety. Maybe I was different from the other fairies. Too different. Too different to stay. Maybe that's why they were after me.

As I made up my mind and turned to go, a group of six fairies suddenly also began to chase after me. Each one was wearing a different color, and one of them in particular—who was wearing purple—was very fast at flying, and she was quickly catching up to me.

I flapped my wings as hard as I could, and some time later, I eventually left them all behind. I flew away towards the edge of Pixie Hollow, where the borders of the seasons weren't so well-defined. As I slowed my pace a little and flew above it all, I thought about everything that had just happened since I was born only a few minutes ago.

Why had the objects that were supposed to help me find my talent behaved so strangely—as if they were all my talent—and then blown up, as if not a single one of them was my talent after all?

As the sun rose over the mountains and touched my uniquely-patterned wings, a thought suddenly came to me. Perhaps your talent isn't here. Perhaps it is unique in its own way; one that cannot be seen or determined so easily.

I clenched my fists a little. If that was the case, then I was going to figure it out some other way—and in someplace other than Pixie Hollow. Maybe my talent wouldn't be needed there. Or maybe it really was needed there—and perhaps even everywhere. But who knew if I would ever return here again? Some of the fairies had actually tried to hurt me, so I definitely couldn't come back again anytime soon.

I eventually flew away towards the mountains I could see off in the distance, where no fairy had probably ever been before. Off to a place where I could be myself, find myself. Where I could discover my talent and learn how to use it for the best. For myself. For others, even. I will find it. I will do my best to use it for good.

Whatever it may be.

A/N: I wrote this fanfic based off of a dream that I had three or four years ago. I don't plan on continuing this story because the dream ended where this fanfic does, and I'm not sure where I'd take the story if I ever tried to figure out what happens next. I'd rather just leave it as it is.