An Alicorn by Any Other Name

A nervous knocking came upon the door of the ramshackle house. Cherry Springs stood outside the door, eyes taking in the decrepit nature of the wood the house was built of. Steeling herself, she knocked again --- this time louder.

"Firey...Firefly, are you there?" the unicorn hesitantly asked. In the past, intruding upon the mare was nearly a death wish. A mere inquiry would generally earn her ire for an entire day. Cherry knew better than to think little of that fact.

Still, her worry persisted, goading her into continuing with her mission, "Firefly, I know you're in here, your neighbor said--"

"GO AWAY." The voice shook Cherry from hoof to ear, and made her eyes widen with worry.

"Firefly, what's wr-"

"I said...GO. AWAY.**" The voice belted, enunciating the two words, as though her point was not made clear enough. And yet...

"Firefly, PLEASE!!! Everypony's worried about you, we haven't seen you in a week!!! I just..." She trailed off, unsure of what else to add. She was worried, of course. Who wouldn't worry when their perfect attendance friend suddenly stopped showing up to school? Sure, she had the thing with the Harmo--wait.

"Did...something happen with the--"

***CRASH***

Shattered porcelain sounded against the door, and Cherry, regretfully, backed away. Something DID happen...

As worried as she was for her friend, she knew better than to risk her life. And if this was about what she thought it was...then her livelihood being at stake was not that far off.

A burnt orange mare sat at the other end of the pathetic attempt at a house. Her eyes watered, sobs escaping her more often than simple breaths. The darkness of the room, window blinds changing the bright day to the dreariest dead of twilight, hid Firefly from the disgusting light, that thing that oh-so represented Harmony.

Hooves shook and rattled dust from her sides. Hunger pangs echoed in the house from time to time, the only sound other than sobs to escape Firefly. The occasional walk to the bathroom had come less and less often as the mare refused the basic necessities of life. They weren't important right now.

Though they would be, when the tears dried out.

Lady Stratus looked over the letters her students had written for her over the course of the past week. It was both permitted, and encouraged, for the young unicorns to ask the Ascended One questions they did not know the answers to. Some were simple, solely asking about a spell, or about Lady Stratus' beloved Sky. Others, however, demanded her think more deeply; questions about fate, about life; about the choices one must make and how to make the best of one's destiny.

She was so engrossed in one particular letter from one such student that she didn't hear the door to her Quarters open.

As a lanky figure made its way, weakly, towards the Lady, no one batted an eye. There was no one there but the Lady, after all. Harmony's teachings were great, and their protection of those they gifted was not something to take lightly. Even if a foolish pony did stray from Harmony's Light, the teacher could fend for herself, no matter what the opponent. Or who.

Eventually, however, the subtle footsteps upon the marble floor caused Lady Stratus to perk her ears, eventually followed by her eyes. The sight she met sent a chill through her.

Gone was the tidy student she had once known, and in its place walked a pony she could scarcely recognize. Long, unruly, matted hair hung down over Firefly's face, curls tangling around the base of her horn. Her tail was not much better, dragging upon the ground, dull as coal, the electric streaks almost unrecognizable amongst the mess of snarls. Where once was her healthy body, now held a malnourished, skeletal figure, peaking out from past the muscles. Her eyes, however...her eyes were still as shocking as ever, the neon green piercing Lady Stratus through.

Unable to speak, the Lady stared down upon her former student in complete and utter shock. It had been a week and a half now, since the incident occurred before Harmony, and it had seemed that Firefly had given up on the school for good. Now...now, she questioned if the mare was here to beg for her teacher back. Not that it could be done, but...

"You."

The dark tone reverberated off the walls, giving the figure power in her booming voice. Again, she spoke, "You did this. You...You RUINED EVERYTHING!!!" Stratus could feel her mane stand on end. How a mere mortal could scare her, she didn't understand. But scare her she did. Her voice locked in her throat, eyes never leaving the mare, her expression a practiced neutral.

A flash of magic seemed to flutter across the young mare's eyes, and her horn lit with a luminescent yellow glow. Another pony may have feared this as her readying an attack, but Stratus knew of her student's technique to drain off excess magical energy, to prevent backlash. Still, the sight intimidated her. Firefly looked strained, hurt, and betrayed. Stratus felt her heart just barely leap towards the hope that, maybe, the mare just needed to yell. That she would cry, and beg for forgiveness, and all would be well again...

It was hope in vain, as the orange mare raised her eyes. There was no Light in them.

"All..my life...I waited, I TRAINED to be an Ascended, and you RUINED IT!!! The Elements...those pathetic TOYS," she spat, magic sparking from her horn as though to threaten the mere idea of the Elements, "they...they STOLE my LIFE from me...YOU STOLE my LIFE from me..."

Her breathing was frantic, as she looked from side to side, as though recalling some lost thought, before bellowing deeply, "YOU WILL REMEMBER ME, Teacher...and one day, when you see me again, you will fall to your knees...and beg for me to let you come back. This...I promise."

The ambient magical energy around Firefly seemed to pulse, and with nothing more than a flick of her horn...she vanished.

Leaving the alicorn mare to simply stare in shock at the empty, charred marble where her student once stood, and recall these words of Harmony...

"Her heart is locked, and her hunger is vast. She would use our power to betray her own kind...the darkness in her will never allow her to love. We shall spare her, but only because she is no threat without power. Do not train her anymore, for it will be your undoing. Blessed Child, Harmony Protects You."