Diamond Rose

The darkness was closing in on her.

The frost crept down the walls, slowly climbing up her legs and threatening to suffocate her in its feathery coldness. The leering shadows reached out with long, thin tendrils that snaked toward her, twining around her, invisible thorns jabbing her and reopening a thousand invisible wounds. Though her eyes were squeezed shut, she could hear the whisper of the rising lake of blood, and feel the sticky, warm wetness soaking into her coat, and taste the sharp, metallic tang in the frigid air.

She wanted to scream, to thrash and fight against this unknown enemy, but she was frozen in place.

Slowly, slowly, the blackness opened up and swallowed her, and she sank into its silky-soft depths.

Scarlet Radiance woke up to a shrill, terrified shrieking. Bolting upright, she looked around with wild eyes to find the source of the screech. She didn't have to look far. Soon enough, her throat became hoarse and started to sting quite badly, and her shout dwindled down to a scratchy cough.

"Erm. Ahem, ah-er-erm." Scarlet scratched at her neck, wincing as her voice caught painfully in her throat. She wrinkled her nose at the stench of death in the dank air of her crystal cavern, a smell that she had gotten used to by now.

There was nopony else down here to provide company, and that was just fine by Scarlet. Her last cellmate, the creaky, insane old stallion that she had begun to think of as Rock, had died exactly nine days ago. The crystal-cave prison guards had come by to drag away the body yesterday, after Rock had been lying dead for more than a week. Even though Scarlet had never cared for Rock, she was still angered by this blatant display of disrespect.

Her ears twitched at the sound of a key being fitted into a lock. She turned to see two guards, both unicorns, opening the sturdy old door, which creaked and groaned and was as thick as a pony's head. They never brought her the only meal of the day so early. Something was up, and it certainly wasn't her release after thirteen years in prison. She had only served one so far.

Armor clanking, the guards stepped into the cave, leaving the door slightly ajar behind them. Their horns lit up with magic, instantly ready to defend if Scarlet lashed out. Between the strongly built stallions was a thin, timid unicorn mare in her thirties, with a light cream coat and a graying tangerine mane. Scarlet caught sight of that familiar cutie mark, the juicy slice of orange on the mare's flank, and something sharp pierced her heart. Something that wasn't longing, or love, or any of those other mushy, softhearted emotions that she could never feel anymore.

Scarlet stayed where she was, keeping her batpony wings tucked as comfortably as could be against her sides. A silver collar around her neck was attached to a long, heavy chain of some magically treated metal, which in turn connected to a huge bolt driven deep into the middle of the stone floor. It had been added a few weeks ago, after she'd attacked some prison guards with nothing but her bare hooves. The guards had been sporting several black-and-blue bruises and some ferociously bleeding gashes when she was done with them.

"Scar? Is that really you?" The mare edged closer to the young prisoner, her amber gaze glistening. "Are you really my daughter?"

With an odd, empty emotion that surprised even herself, Scarlet stared blankly back at the mare that she no longer thought of as her mother. "Morning Glory. A pleasure to see you," she said flatly, feeling and showing nothing but the cold unfamiliarity that she would show a stranger. She formed her face into a mask of stone, hard and sharp and impenetrable.

Glory took a step back, hurt flickering clear and bright in her widened eyes as her ears pinned back. "What happened to 'mother', to my precious, radiant daughter?" she whispered in a quivering voice, tears welling up at Scarlet's hardness. "Have you forgotten how to care? To love? Don't you feel remorse, or anything at all, for what happened to your father?"

"Winter Evening is not my father anymore. He deserved to be murdered," snarled Scarlet, releasing little hints of her anger. She felt nothing for this pony who claimed to be a mother, and nothing for the thestral who had died at the tip of Scarlet's own dagger. "If you knew what he did, you would be glad I killed him." She caught herself before she could say the words trust me, because she couldn't even trust her own self anymore.

She watched, completely still like a mare made of ice, as Glory shut her eyes and let the teardrops leak out. Beside the older mare, the pair of guards wore no expressions, but underneath their facades, Scarlet could detect wisps of surprise. She curled her lip in contempt. Surprise that a single pony could cry for a murderer, even if that murderer was her own daughter.

But Scarlet wouldn't cry for this traitor.

Besides, her eyes had been leeched dry of any tears so long, long ago.

When Glory opened her eyes, the once-clear, once-brilliant golden irises were clouded and darkened with sadness. "Look me in the eyes, Scar, and tell me you don't care about me. About family," she murmured, daring to get closer. She gingerly touched Scarlet's face with a hoof; her daughter tensed up at the contact. "I refuse to accept that you don't care."

"Then you're a fool." Faster than a lightning snake, Scarlet lunged forward and jabbed Glory in the chest. Hard. She imagined that her silver gaze, narrowed to slits of ice and fire, was burning a hole through this mare. A stranger, nopony important. Certainly not a pony she cared about.

She suddenly realized that, when a normal pony would have been screaming in rage, she was calm. Unnervingly calm, in fact, even to her.

"You don't know a single thing about what I went through," Scarlet hissed, leaning close to glare directly into Glory's face. "You don't know what it felt like to be a killer, and you will never understand. I know you, Morning Glory. You will just go on living your life, pretending that I never existed, that you didn't have this mistake for a foal." She spat out the words as if they were laced with poison. "Against my better judgment, I would never wish death on you. But if you think that I hold any affection for you, then you will be sorely disappointed." She smiled coldly, just enough so that the trembling mare in front of her could see the short, sharp, gleaming thestral fangs, and turned away.

Wordlessly, the guards began to escort a wilting Glory from the cavern.

"She's a monster!" The scream echoed, hitching on the last word.

Monster. Scarlet had heard it countless times. It was a perfect, precise description of her. So why did it hurt now, coming from the mouth of a mare who had abandoned her?

"Fine," Scarlet replied, her back to Glory. "I am."

The following silence was split only by the sobs of a shattered mother.

"And that will never change," Scarlet whispered.

"No matter what you wish for, I am nothing but a monster."

Once she was outside, standing in a tranquil park a fair distance away from the Canterlot Castle gates, Morning Glory fell against a tree and broke down in tears. Her shoulders shook with silent wails, and she slowly crumpled to the lush grass, folding like fragile paper. She couldn't stop the rain of tears from falling, and she didn't care if anypony saw her.

There was an aching hole in her chest, and it wasn't from Scarlet's strike.

"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you all right?"

The kind, gentle-sounding voice curbed Glory's crying. Hiccuping, she looked up to see a younger earth pony—twenty-one years old, perhaps—standing close by, a concerned look on her face. The mare wore a crisp white doctor's coat with a gilded pin on one lapel; pristine silver letters spelled out DR. FLORA FELICITY, PHD. Underneath the name were the words LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST.

That pale pink coat, the raspberry-and-white mane, this cutie mark of a flower with caring hearts for petals . . .

Recognition quickly dawned on Glory, and she gaped up at the doctor with her mouth hanging open. This was Flora Felicity, early graduate of the prestigious Hayvard University, the youngest pony in the history of Equestrian medicine to ever receive a PhD. And a female earth pony, no less.

But no, this was not the reason for Glory's knowledge of the famous mare.

"Flora!" she exclaimed in shock, the tears subsiding in her astonishment. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in such a long time!"

The unicorn's expression was mirrored on Flora Felicity's face. "Morning Glory! I did not expect to see my favorite sister here." Her surprise dissolved into a pleasant smile, and she stepped forward to give her older sibling a warm hug—exactly what Glory needed right now.

"I'm your only sister," Glory laughed, her grief momentarily forgotten in the happy reunion as she leaned into Felicity's embrace.

"That does not matter; you are still my favorite sister, and you always will be." In the blink of an eye, the delighted young family member disappeared, and in her place was the ever-so-professional Dr. Felicity, world-renowned psychologist. She smoothed out the long white coat, primly brushing off a few specks of dust. "I am, in fact, en route to the castle to give my dear niece a check-up. I heard about her . . . situation several weeks ago." Seeing Glory's expression, she added, "Glory? Is something wrong?"

"Yes!" Glory's sob was torn out of her as she threw herself into her sister's hooves once more. Felicity stumbled back in surprise, but she let Glory cling to her and cry into her fine uniform. "Scar-Scarlet—sh-she hates me, F-Flora! Do y-you know wh-what she said t-t-to me?"

"Glory! Shhh, shh, everything's okay," Felicity whispered soothingly, lightly patting Glory's back. "Glory. Glory, listen to me. I'll go and talk to Scarlet, all right? We'll sort this out; I'm sure she didn't mean it. Everything is going to be fine, do you hear me?"

The only evidence that Glory had heard her was a quivering nod, before Felicity pulled away. "Sharp Blue!" she called out, looking around. "Sharp, where have you gotten off to this time?"

"Here, Dr. Felicity." Some nearby bushes rustled, and a young stallion trotted out, shaking leaves from his light blue coat and darker blue mane. Glory's eyes, the ones that had seen too much grief and heartache, barely caught his presence before they glazed over, unfocusing.

"Glory, this is Sharp Blue, my new intern," Felicity introduced. "Sharp, meet my sister, Morning Glory. Would you be kind enough to escort her back to the train station? She will be boarding the next train to Manehattan. You can trust him, Glory. Hail a carriage to take you from the city station to my apartment right away; I will return home either tonight or tomorrow morning. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Sharp Blue. He gave the doctor a cheeky salute, but Felicity knew that seriousness and trustworthiness lay beneath the cocksure smile.

Glory just nodded, looking numb, and allowed Sharp to guide her away.

Satisfied with their departure, Flora Felicity continued on to Canterlot Castle.

It was time to meet with her criminal niece, the murderer that Felicity would only ever think of as her beloved little filly and perfected creation.

She had a mission to do here, and she was going to accomplish it today.

". . . And good morning to you. I'm Dr. Flora Felicity, here to see Scarlet Radiance. My niece."

As she stood there, staring up at the prison guards, Felicity wondered if her calm words had gotten into their ears at all. The two hulking, full-armored stallions just looked back at her with those blank, stoic expressions that every guard seemed to wear.

"Do you have an official pass?" one guard said finally, leaning forward with the clanks of shifting armor.

As if she would be here without it! Felicity flashed the gleaming gold-and-silver badge around her neck—a royal castle pass, signed by Princess Celestia's aide—at the unicorns. "Now, if you would let me see her? Without any further delay?"

I don't need your permission . . . or anypony else's . . . to speak to Scarlet Radiance.

I have my ways.

"Very well." The second guard levitated a huge black key from some hidden pocket and inserted it into the enchanted lock on the door. Magical orange runes in the dark metal flared briefly before dimming and allowing the door to be opened.

Felicity's breath caught in her throat at the sight of her niece.

Scarlet Radiance was no longer the innocent little thestral-unicorn she knew and loved. The young mare looked like she hadn't washed herself in months (which was actually true), and her wings hung limply at her ungroomed sides. But the most heart-twisting thing was the look on her face.

It was one of fury, frigid and calm but simmering uncontrolled.

The doctor swallowed her rising apprehension and attempted a smile that didn't hold up.

"Hello, Scarlet."

The formerly white prisoner turned her head and leveled Felicity with a lethal glare. "What do you want?" she growled in a low, dangerous voice.

Felicity's ears flicked back, but she quickly straightened them again. She couldn't find her niece in this coldblooded killer in front of her. Not anymore.

"I don't need your 'psychological treatment'," Scarlet snapped, turning away. "I want everypony to leave me alone." There was an almost visible bite in her words.

"I'm not leaving." Felicity was surprised to find that her answer was steady and resolute. "And I'm not here to 'treat' you."

"Then why did you come?" demanded Scarlet. Though she wasn't facing her aunt, one of her ears was swiveled toward Felicity. She was listening.

Felicity's next words stopped her dead.

"I can get you out of here."