"Remind me again why we're doing this, Icy?" Darcy asked. Any plan that involved disguising themselves as fairies was a plan she wasn't overly fond of.

"I told you Darcy, we need to find out what it is about the Winx that lets them keep beating enemies like Valtor, never mind us." Icy said. "Maybe it will give us a clue on how to obtain the power that we're seeking. And I told you to call me 'Sapphire.'."

"Do you know how hard it is going to be to put up with having to act like fairies for an entire school year, maybe more?" Darcy asked, "Assuming that nobody at Alfea catches on."

"We can let loose in our room." Icy assured her. "As long we don't attract attention anyway. Now, let's review. I'm Sapphire, Stormy is Sunny, and you're Darla."

"Why did you pick such a lame name for me?" Stormy asked.

"Because the idea is to not stand out." Icy replied. "Now let's go."

ウィンクズ

"This school will be your home for the next three to five years." Griselda, the head of discipline began once all of the new students had lined up before her. "But this home can cease to be yours at any moment. The rules of this institution are based on discipline. Disregard these rules and I'll personally escort you to the front gate. This is not a magician's school. You're not here to learn 'hocus pocus'. Consequently, you may not use your powers in the hallways or other common areas. In fact, the only place where you may display your powers is in your classroom under teacher supervision."

"Great..." Darcy said with a roll of her eyes, and Icy elbowed her to knock it off as Faragonda approached with the various instructors.

"Ladies, here comes your headmistress—Attention." Griselda called.

A redhead standing near the Trix sighed.

"Oh, really, there's no need to be so stodgy." Faragonda told Griselda. "I hope Miss Griselda hasn't frightened you too much. Welcome to Alfea, the best fairy school in the whole of Magix. Mind you, it's also the only one. Come on in ladies. Here we are." She said as she opened the front door to the school. "And so we begin our orientation session, by the end of which, we should all know each other better. Becoming a fairy is hard work. But I know everyone here can do it. Keep in mind that the teachers and I are always here to help you. Okay, enough with the boring stuff. Feel free to explore your surroundings. But be very careful, there are dangers lurking about. Stay away from the witches of Cloud Tower." At this, the redhead raised her hand. "Yes, Rosella?" Faragonda prompted.

"Headmistress Faragonda, I understand that witches and fairies generally don't get along, but is it really good to have a rule like that? The primary difference between witches and fairies is what kind of emotions we use to channel our powers. Witches primarily channel their powers using negative emotions, while fairies primarily use positive emotions, but beyond that, we're not really that different. Witches aren't inherently evil, nor are fairies inherently good. After all, Headmistress Griffin was a member of the Company of Light, just like you. On the other hand, Diaspro of Erakylon has been known to use her powers for selfish means and even go so far as to align herself with those who would threaten the Magic Universe itself. Isn't the real reason that we don't get along the fact that we understand so little about each other and make no attempts to change that. Witches assume that fairies live easy, happy lives, free from worries, but nothing could be further from the truth. Meanwhile, fairies assume that witches are capable of caring only about themselves, but that's not true either. If we were not fundamentally the same, we wouldn't have the ability to choose to change our class."

Griselda blinked and looked at woman with blonde hair, "You're going to have a field day with this one, Professor Daphne."

"I've heard that the Witches of Cloud Tower often attempt to play tricks on those of us who attend Alfea during the welcoming party held between Alfea and Red Fountain, but isn't that really because their feelings are hurt that they weren't invited?" Rosella continued, ignorant of Griselda's comment. "I believe that if we truly wish to preserve harmony within the magical universe, we should first seek to foster understanding between fairies and witches in order to promote peace between us."

There were various murmurs among the students along the lines of "Is she nuts?" Or "Is she kidding?" and "Why would we want to be friends with witches?" Hearing this, Rosella subconsciously grasped her arm with her opposite hand and hung her head. Seeing this, Daphne stepped forward.

"If I may, Miss Faragonda, Rosella is correct. Professor Griffin did fight alongside you and my parents to protect Domino from the Ancestral Witches. On the other hand, despite being a fairy, Diaspro of Erakylon actually tried to kill Bloom on the day of my coronation. Maybe witches and fairies have more similarities than either side wants to believe."

Faragonda smiled and nodded at Daphne before walking over to Rosella and placing a hand upon her shoulder, causing the young girl to look up at her while biting her lip. "You have a kind and noble heart, Rosella. It's very honorable that you wish to understand those who are different from you." The woman told her gently. Rosella smiled weakly, but immediately curled back into herself as Faragonda stepped back. "All right. That's enough girls. You are dismissed."

Rosella remained where she stood as the other girls dispersed, chattering amongst themselves and still whispering about her. She only looked up when she noticed Daphne approached her.

"Hi, I'm Daphne." The woman said with a friendly smile, "I teach History of Magic here at Alfea, but it looks like you already know a lot about it."

"Professor Daphne!" Rosella said with a smile before looking down shyly, "Actually, you were the reason I decided to come to Alfea. I'd probably fit in better at Lynphea College, but... I really wanted to take the opportunity to learn from you."

"You like history that much?" Daphne asked in surprise. Very few of her students had such enthusiasm for her subject.

"I believe that learning about the past can help us to avoid mistakes in the future." Rosella explained, "Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn't mean that it's the right way. And... the past doesn't dictate the future, but they aren't unrelated either. The past influences the present, and the choices that we make here and now will influence the future." Daphne nodded and Rosella smiled wistfully. "And also... knowing the past helps us to find who we are. Like your sister, Bloom. By learning about her past, she discovered the truth of who she was and created a bright future."

"Have you spent a lot of time talking to Bloom or something?" Daphne asked a hint of curiosity.

"Not a whole lot." Rosella replied, "But I've studied the exploits of the Winx since someday, it will be called history' too."

Daphne nodded in understanding, "Well how about I show you around?"

"I appreciate the offer, but... to be honest, I think I'd rather just find my room and try to avoid attention for a little while..."

"I understand. Follow me."

When they were finally alone in the hallway, Darcy spoke to her friends. "Wow, was that girl a joke or what?"

"Seriously? Fairies and witches learning about each other?" Stormy asked, "It was all I could do not to laugh in her face."

"Even the fairies thought she was lame." Icy agreed, "I don't think that girl is gonna last long here. Not from what I saw today. But never mind that. Come on, let's go find our room."

ウィンクズ

"Oh sweet, we have the same room!" Stormy said when they found their dorm and entered.

"Well at least that makes things easier." Icy remarked as the three of them walked in.

"But... wait, there are three bedrooms, but this door over here says that Stormy and I are sharing one. Do we have a roommate?" Darcy asked.

"That's right, you do." Came a slightly familiar voice as the door to the third room opened and Rosella walked out, "And quite frankly, you're lucky that you wound up with me for a roommate... Trix."

"What? How did she figure out who we are?!" Stormy exclaimed.

"Stormy!" Darcy scolded as Icy face-palmed.

Rosella snorted, "Oh please. You guys are terrible at imitating fairies. Besides, I'd recognize your neuro-patterns anywhere. But you don't need to worry. If I was going to expose you to the faculty, I would've done it at orientation."

Icy raised a brow and relaxed slightly, realizing that the girl had a point. "So why didn't you?"

"Because I can tell that this time, you didn't come to Alfea with evil intentions, but rather, a genuine desire to learn." Rosella said.

"What did you mean by 'neuro-patterns'?" Darcy asked.

"Simply put, brainwaves, but that's a little misleading." Rosella told her. "I'm not a telepath, I'm an empath. I can sense people's emotions and personalities. Every person is unique, so even if their personalities change with time, I can still identify them." She waved a hand at the door to their dorm, pink sparkles flying from her hand as it hit the door and cast a glow over it briefly. "There. That soundproofing spell will keep anyone from overhearing our conversation. It'll get broken if somebody knocks though."

"So, let me get this straight." Stormy began, "You know who we are, but you're not going to rat us out to Faragonda. ...Why?"

"I already told you, I can sense that you're not here to wreak havoc." Rosella said as she leaned on the doorframe to her room, "That being said, if you guys don't want to get kicked out within the first week, I suggest you use today to learn what fairies are really like."

"We've passed ourselves off as fairies before." Darcy said with annoyance.

"It doesn't count if the Winx and instructor or instructors are too distracted by a rampaging sphinx or a horde of mummies to pay any actual attention to your behavior." Rosella said with a raised brow. "Plus, you guys have got to learn how to do magic using positive energy by the end of today, or the instructors are going to see right through you tomorrow."

"Positive energy?" Stormy asked while wrinkling her nose, "But we're witches!"

"They might not do it very often, but fairies can use negative energy. It stands to reason that witches can use positive."

The Trix looked at each other, and then Icy turned to Rosella with a raised brow. "And you can teach us how to do that?"

"The basics, yeah."

"Well, then, go ahead Teach." Darcy replied, almost sarcastically.

"Not yet." Rosella said with a shake of her head. "For one thing, we'll need to go off of school grounds for that. If you mess up and use negative energy by mistake, the faculty will notice. Besides, it's better to start with a break down of what fairies are really like. There are a lot of misconceptions that I need to at least try and get out of your heads."

"Like what?" Stormy asked with a scoff as they followed Rosella into her room.

"Best to start at the beginning." Rosella replied, "Rule number one: Fairies are not a bunch of bubbly, carefree, happy-go-lucky airheads who walk around with their heads in the clouds." She said bluntly while sitting on her bed, "Our lives are not perfect or easy. We have problems just like everyone else. We laugh, we cry, we get mad, and we have days where we just wanna scream at everything in frustration. We're no different from other girls, except for the fact that we have powers, and where witches are concerned, even that difference doesn't exist. Above all, we do not smile constantly. Doing so is just totally unnatural, so can it with the fake happy faces. You're making yourselves look like you're made of plastic. Which brings us to rule number two: Fairies are not always nice. Some can be downright mean like Diaspro, but even more... ahem.. traditional fairies are not immune to fits of jealously or acting petty or even acting like spoiled brats. It's not even unheard of for fairies to play pranks, but they usually only pull them on other fairies. Because, you know, that makes sense." She said with a roll of her eyes. "So if you guys need to let off some steam... well... just don't take things too far. Anything that puts somebody else in actual danger will get you kicked out of Alfea and metamorphosis spells are totally off limits. It's needs to be temporary and with no lasting harm done... at least nothing that anyone can see. How a person reacts emotionally is somewhat out of your control. That being said, I wouldn't take it too far. Play too many pranks and people will start to ostracize you and say you should become witches, which will get the attention of the faculty. Plus, playing pranks makes you more likely to slip up and use negative energy by mistake. Which I guess brings us to rule number three: If you didn't notice during orientation, fairies are not always friendly toward everyone. Frankly speaking, I envy you three. A friendship like yours is rare. I'm a fairy and I don't have any friends at all."

"But I thought fairies liked having friends." Stormy said in confusion.

"I never said I was a loner, I just don't have any friends. Or at least, I don't have any friends who have powers."

"Why?" Icy asked.

"My powers freak people out." Rosella said simply, closing her eyes in resignation, "And my ideas that are born from them are considered a bit, um, radical. Even fairies are prone to ostracizing other people who aren't like them."

"What did you mean when you said a friendship like ours was rare?" Icy asked.

Rosella opened her eyes again and looked up at them. "I mean that the three of you have a powerful bond of friendship that surpasses that of most people, regardless of their 'class'. Darcy and Stormy, when Icy was infatuated with Tritannus, even though you were beyond annoyed with her, you didn't abandon her. I mean, yeah, you might've gone off on your own for a little bit, but when Tritannus betrayed her, you were right there to help her pick herself back up. And during the final battle against Valtor, the three of you chose to stand against him, together. I'm sure there have been times when you've fought with each other, but ultimately, you've never allowed something to permanently tear the three of you apart." She looked at the ground, "I've seen many friendships simply fall apart for one reason or another. People have a falling out over something petty... they get busy and drift away." She looked back up at them, "You say that witches are loners, but you three have always been together. You have each others' backs. The bond you share is a rare gift, a valuable treasure that can be more powerful than any magic. That's part of the reason I believe that the three of you are capable of using positive energy. Especially you, Icy. In addition to your friendship with Darcy and Stormy, I can sense that there is a deep love in your heart. In days past, it wasn't something I could feel, but now I can tell that deep down, you have a noble heart. That's also part of why I want to help you."

"How do you know so much about us anyway?" Darcy asked.

"Well if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a history fanatic." Rosella said as she drew a book over to her using her powers, "And history is just as much the recent past as it is what happened centuries ago, so I've done a lot of in-depth study on both you guys and the Winx. Aside from that," She closed the book and set it aside, "I grew up in a place that's close to Gardenia, on Earth. So I've been around during a few incidents. That's how I knew your neuro-patterns to start with." The red-haired teenager abruptly stood up, "But enough about that. Let's head out so that I can teach you the basics of using positive energy to control your magic so you don't blow your cover on day one tomorrow."

Part of a new story inspired by Icy's backstory in Season 8. I don't know if they're going to make a season 9 or not, so I'm just writing this for fun.