A student of her own

It dawned almost immediately on Trixie what her daughter could now do with what she had seen. Questions lingered over the unicorn’s head, like what was her daughter doing there? How did she even get in here? It wasn't like Ivory had a key. The door didn't even have a lock! These questions came with few answers, and pretty soon it seemed like there was no answer. The blue mare gulped down air as she again pulled out the sceptre and smiled weakly at the 'calming' red glow.

"Trixie?" the voice of Sombra asked. He didn't appear in his true form this time, most likely trying to save his strength. "What is it my darling?" he asked.

"My daughter ... Trixie thinks she might have heard everything" the blue mare told the dark King.

Sombra groaned slightly and the red 'smoke' thickened. "I think you know what you have to do" he said, his voice sounding unusually blunt to Trixie compared with the way he would normally speak to her. The blue mare shrugged it off as nothing more than exhaustion. She looked down at the floor as Sombra's words sunk in. "Do you understand, Trixie?" he asked, sounding impatient. "She is a danger to everything we have worked for, everything we have worked for together, my darling" Sombra reminded the blue mare.

"But, it's my daughter we’re talking about ..." Trixie trailed off. Deep down, Trixie really wished to say "our daughter" but she knew that wish would never come true.

"So?" Sombra questioned coldly, raising an eyebrow at the unicorn mare.

"I ... I love her, and she loves me." Sombra erupted into laughter, shattering Trixie into tiny pieces. "Why do you laugh?" Trixie asked him.

"Oh my dear, can't you see what she's done to you?" Trixie shook her head. "She's bewitched you!" Sombra replied.

"How?" she questioned.

"I knew from the very first time I was made aware of her existence that she would be strong, strong in magic" the dark King added. "I knew she would eventually prey on you, my darling, and it hurts me to see you, to hear you like this." The mare couldn't help but blush, the dark King always had a certain way with words that calmed her down immediately, even though other ponies would normally be creeped out by it. "Unfortunately, when you told me that horrid 'Princess of Magic' had taken your daughter to be her student, I knew it was far too late to try and make her see the other side ... but you …” Sombra's physical form suddenly materialised next to the mare. Trixie gasped as the dark King seized her in his magic. "You still have a chance to be by the side, in more ways than one, my darling" Sombra cooed as he whispered into the mare's ear. She could just feel his sharp-shoed hoof tracing the inside of her left hindleg.

"M-M-MY KING!" Trixie screamed as she felt blood trickle down her legs. Sombra then dropped the mare from his magic, allowing her to drop to the floor and disappeared back into the sceptre.

. . .

Crown Princess Twilight Soleil soared high above the town of Ponyville, looking desperately for any traces of her student, Ivory Wand. The alicorn came to a stop and hovered in one place for a while. She tilted her head and squinted ... was there a scorch mark on the ground? Possibly caused by a pony teleporting? The mare swooped down to the spot in question and examined it. Indeed, she was correct, it was a scorch mark. A deep and 'angry' one, she noted as she looked around, trying to see any traces of her student.

She snorted and raced back up into the air. Twilight twisted around and looked back to where she had come from. She had to have missed something, surely, she had to have. There was no sign of Ivory, she wasn't even sure the scorch mark was from her student. She hated to admit it, but she knew her student was most certainly not capable of teleportation. She sighed and glided off, going back from where she had come from, hoping to see something.

Back at the Castle of Friendship, Queen Celestia trotted from side to side of the little waiting room Twilight had left her in. Had she made the wrong choice? No, of course not! She shouted to herself, she was not wrong, she could not be wrong! The white mare snorted as she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts; what Twilight had said to her earlier had stuck to her like a glue. Could she really have misjudged Ivory so cruelly? Had she been so jealous?

The white alicorn turned her head to the left as she heard a knock at the side of the doorway. She found Twilight standing there, her mane looking more like a birds nest and there was a small puddle of sweat forming on her forehead. The Queen of the sun gulped as she turned to face fully the young purple alicorn.

"Did you find her?" Celestia quietly asked.

Twilight shook her head sombrely. "No, all I found was a scorch mark that looked like it had been caused by a unicorn teleporting ... and I know for a fact Wanda could not have done that, she’s nowhere near that level yet" Twilight explained.

"Twilight, have you told anypony yet?" Celestia asked as she walked forward, "Have you even told Zephyr or Skylar?"

Twilight's eyes looked into the Queen's. "Zephyr knows, but, Sky ... I don’t think she has any idea about this; she's actually the one who mentioned Ivory missing to me" Twilight said.

"Skylar ... told you she was missing?" The Sun Queen questioned, her tone deep with worry.

"Well, yes and no, she just mentioned to me Wanda wasn't in her room when she went to see her" Twilight explained. "Why do you ask? You sound a bit worried" Twilight mentioned casually.

"Well, I, you see …" Celestia trailed off.

"Are you feeling alright?" Twilight asked, concerned by the white mare's sudden quietness.

"No - Yes!" Celestia answered quickly. "I'm just ... concerned for you" she answered.

Twilight raised her eyebrow doubtingly, but brushed it off quickly. "I want to send out a search party. It’ll be useless if only one pony is out there looking for her" Twilight stated.

"I suppose we could do that. Did Zephyr end up hiring those new guards who came out of his school?" Celestia asked, relieved to change of the subject.

"He did" Twilight replied, "I'll ask them."

"Good" the Sun Queen said quietly. "If you need anything, I'm only one call away" she said as she walked away sombrely.

. . .

Princess Skylar sighed as she stood next to her father, Crown Prince Zephyr. He, on the other hoof stood tall and proud, his expression unmoving from a small smile. The light purple mare looked around behind her to see her friend, Lady Royal Blue Fancy-Belle, smiling sweetly at her. Skylar quickly smiled back just as the sound of a band started up and everypony cheered loudly. The young Princess turned her head forward as the Royal Canterlot Guards began their routine. Skylar looked behind her again to Royal, who smiled and motioned her to look forward again. Skylar begrudgingly did as her friend had prompted.

"Skylar" Zephyr spoke. "You know, when I was a young stallion, I was in the Canterlot Guard? Your Uncle Fancy was in it too" the pegasus stallion stated.

"You never mentioned it, father" the Princess replied.

"I always imagined my own foals would walk in my hoofsteps" the Crown Prince stated.

"What exactly are you saying?" Skylar questioned.

"Well, I was thinking of seeing if I could get Aura in ... what do you think?" the pegasus asked happily just as a small group of pegasus guards flew over the small tent that covered Zephyr, Skylar, and Royal.

Skylar shook her head. "Aura's not really that sort of pony, father" Skylar answered. "He didn't really seem too happy to be going to school" she said quietly.

"Really? I thought he should have been over the moon" he blinked in surprise. "Perhaps you should ask his sister? She's right behind us, right?" Zephyr suggested.

Skylar smiled and nodded. She turned around to look at Royal, who nodded back. The young Princess walked back to where Royal stood. "Hi, Ro." Skylar greeted.

"Sky" Royal smiled as she and Skylar walked out of the back of the tent. "Where's your mother? I would've thought she would be here" Royal asked, looking back at the tent as they both exited it.

"She had to go back home to check on Wanda" Skylar said as they trotted up to where a large, dark green tree stood on the top of a hill. The two friends sat down next to each other.

"Why would she have to do that?" Royal questioned, raising an eyebrow at the alicorn.

"I don't really know, Ro. She just left" Skylar sighed as she looked out across the land.

Royal touched Skylar's shoulder. "Skylar, what if something happened to Wanda?" Royal said in a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Skylar asked as her eyes widened and she stood up.

Royal quickly copied Skylar and stood. "Well, what if she's gotten hurt or lost? I saw the Royal chariot leave Canterlot Palace this morning; do you think the Queen is there right now?" Royal asked.

"I ... I didn't think of that!" Skylar shouted. "We have to go help!" she said.

"Wait, Sky!" Royal screamed. "We-we can't just run off!" the white unicorn mare stated.

"Right, let's go ask our fathers! Now, come on!"