An Alicorn by Any Other Name

It all had to start with a Pegasus pony.

Not just any Pegasus pony; no, it had to be one in the prime of its life...and one that would not be missed.

Jelly Float fit the bill.

Firefly hid in plain sight. That didn't mean anyone knew who she was. Today, she was a pale, minty green unicorn with an apricot mane, and a feather and quill for her cutie mark. If anyone asked her, (and trust me, no one would dare talk to her), she was Lily Life, a reporter. And that was all that needed to be said about her.

On the other hand, Jelly Float was almost unnoticeable, fading into the back of the crowd with her dull grape coat, and foamy lilac mane. Her mane and tail were both frazzled, hooves worn and cracked. Subtle, dark blue eyes peered forward, wings shuffling at her side. And within her right wing was held a pack of all her belongings. She had a certain sadness to her that only Firefly could sense.

This one would not be missed.

Nor would she miss this life.

On a worn bed in the basement apartment that Firefly had come to call her own, a young mare lay still as death. She was sleeping, but it was sleep devoid of the magics of dreams, of nightmares. No, all that was allowed to move within her was her Pegasus magic --- the only magic Firefly had yet to understand.

All ponies had magic, that much was obvious. However, the type of magic was the key to the different races. To each other, they were a vile poison, and in the youngest stages of its life, a filly's body would wage war with itself if foreign magic was present. This weakened the magic somewhat --- hence why pure blood was often coveted, in the darker corners of the world.

Firefly had outdone herself. The purple mare before her was a prime specimen of a Pegasus. What caused this young mare to run away, to come attend the Chalice Festival, was of no concern to her. What was important, was learning this foreign magic...learning how to control it, how to accept it.

Without Harmony's guidance.

She sneered, events many months past still fresh in her mind. It haunted her every day, and tried to break her each night. Still, she persevered.

The nightmares weakened.

In their place, the strangest of dreams had begun.

It was in such a dream that Firefly had come across the glow bug again, but this time, it had a much more recognizable face. Two yellow eyes gleamed on the empty horizon, slivers of scarlet piercing through the dreaming mare. The little fly beckoned her to come, and she did.

Each night, the dream lasted a little longer. A few seconds, a few minutes. Eventually she could enter the dream directly upon sleeping, and would go to sleep simply to meet with her new Mentor. From him, she was learning a strange new magic. His voice, nothing but whispers in the strange dream world, told her that she could never truly master his form of magic, but could, instead, create her own. A magic that defied the others, with different rules and peculiar results.

When in the dream, she could practice until her eyes blinked open. Upon waking, she would find herself no worse for wear.

Upon trying that magic in the waking world, she found herself lethargic, and weak. Strangely, company seemed to help.

"You are tapping into Entropy itself; who knows the source of your magic? Best not to question it and go with it," the little fly with yellow eyes said to her in a dream.

And so she did not question it. Instead, she found ways to utilize it. The Pegasus mare, though in a distant, dreamless sleep, still kept Firefly feeling just strong enough to cast a spell she had learned: Cut off magic at its source.

She first learned it in a dream, and found herself unable to do a thing until next she woke. Upon sleeping again, she used this new-found magic to tap into her own energies. It was a mess --- the magics of the body were not limited to the three tribes, as one might believe. She instead found little annoyances, such as the Cutie Mark, or tiny little trails leading to different body parts with no comprehensible reasoning behind them. She cut these off.

That was another wasted night. Her Cutie Mark was important, it seemed.

But now, she knew what was safe to do, and how to isolate that exotic Pegasus magic from her guest. All unnecessary magics were cut, as links to dreamscapes and destinies all snapped like a brittle twig in Firefly's foreign magic.

Before her was a broken mare.

Before her was the first step to her Ascension.

A grin sliced across her face, "May Entropy set you free..."