Author's Note

Final author's note

Thanks to everypony for reading "A student of her own", I've really enjoyed writing my first chapter fanfic and having so much support and readers and so many upvotes! I want to take a moment to thank everypony who added "A student of her own' to their reading lists, rated it, commented, and enjoying it as much as I have, really thank you all! I'm a little sad that it's ending, but, I'm happy so many of you enjoyed it and upvoted it, so far, it's my most popular fanfic, I can't wait to see how high it can get!

Chapter 13 - Victorious at dawn (Revised)

King Sombra rose high and proud as he looked around at all of his followers; some were lying on the ground, exhausted from giving their magic to him, some were just managing to lift their heads off the ground, only a few were still standing. The dark alicorn stallion looked behind him to see Trixie lying on the floor. Of course she is, she was always a weak mare, Sombra thought coldly.

The dark stallion landed and looked out across all his followers, who struggled to stand up to see their King in his full glory. The King smirked as the front row of unicorns stood and bowed to him, even Mysteria the coward was there!, the king remarked to himself. Then the next row, and the next, and the next, until the whole ocean of unicorns was bowing for their King, some even let tears fall down their muzzles, others kept their faces still and unemotional.

"M-my king!" Sombra groaned internally as he heard Trixie's voice shout out for him. The light blue unicorn scampered over and locked herself onto his left front leg. "Trixie told you she would do it!" she gasped, looking longingly at the stallion. "A-and she did!" she added as her eyes glued on to the dark King's.

"Yes, so it would seem" Sombra said bluntly as he harshly brushed off the mare and walked forward, leaving Trixie with a confused look on her face, his armored hooves clicking along the stone floor. "Rise my subjects!" Sombra commanded. As if a spell was lifted from them, all the unicorns were suddenly able to stand. He looked at all of them, taking his sweet time to remember their faces and their good and bad features; some of them were definitely more unfortunate than others, he noted. Sombra smiled as he came back to the center of the stage, where Trixie now stood next to him. "Tonight" Sombra spoke, "We take back our rightful lands and homes." The unicorns cheered and wept for the King. "Tonight, we rise! Go, make a forcefield around us!" he commanded.

. . .

Ivory Wand gasped as the figure of the dark King launched himself into the air and watched as his 'subjects' began to race out. Is he an alicorn? Ivory questioned herself, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide with shock.

She was too late.

Everypony was too late.

The dark King had returned and there was no sign of the Moon Princess or anypony else Ivory knew to be on 'her' side. There was definitely no sign of her teacher or Skylar, perhaps they were happy with her not being with them anymore.

Ivory's ears pricked up as she saw a small band of green, white, and red unicorns coming her way. Thinking quickly, she used the Phantasia Pendant and disappeared, holding her mouth shut with her hoof as the hordes of unicorns surged past her. Once the 'first wave' was gone, Ivory raced forward and ducked behind a cracked pillar. She peeked forward and saw her mother and Mysteria, Ivory's aunt, speaking with the dark King.

"We must think of where to conquer first!" Mysteria commanded, her yellow eyes serious. "We can't just rush in blindly!" she said, her comments having added weight as her past as a trainee guard was known to both Ivory and Sombra.

"No" Trixie burst in. "We should make this our new home, Sombie" She cooed to the dark King as she snuggled up to him.

The stallion brushed her off once again and walked over to Mysteria. "The castle is far too close to Twilight, Luna and Celestia; we must move forward and go somewhere else" Sombra stated.

"But, Trixie thinks -"

"- It doesn't matter what you think!" the dark King screamed as he and her sister started to corner her.

Ivory felt her heart race as the dark King forced her mother up onto her hind legs. "D-d-did Trixie do something w-w-wrong?" she stuttered.

"Wrong?" Sombra chuckled.

Mysteria stepped backward as the King advanced on Trixie and soon she galloped away, leaving her sister to Sombra, passing a still invisible Ivory in her haste. The young unicorn then looked forward once again, only to see her mother's body thrown to the ground mere inches away from her. Ivory stopped a gasp from coming out as the King appeared, standing over her mother's shivering body.

"M-my-King -" The dark King stood on Trixie's neck, stopping her from speaking. Ivory felt her blood boil as the dark King smiled wickedly at her mother’s plight, her hooves kicking madly.

"Everything you have done has been a mistake, in one way or another" Sombra said. "You blindly followed me, and your family blindly loved and adored me ... you were a puppet, Trixie. You were never my 'right-hoof mare', just a weak mind pony who followed whoever was in power. In summary, you could never rule as a Queen by my side!" Sombra hissed as he kicked Trixie in her back. She grunted but did nothing else, her eyes frozen open. "You are just some dumb 'great unicorn wannabe' ... you are a parasite with no respect or dignity for yourself. Really, I'm surprised you didn't have more foals like that Ivory Wand of yours" Sombra hissed as he kicked her again.

. . .

Meanwhile, just outside the castle, Princess Luna accompanied by Crown Princess Twilight, Crown Prince Zephyr, Princess Skylar, Fancy Pants, Lady Rarity and Lady Royal Blue watched as a tide of unicorns flowed past them, their horns ablaze. The lilac Crown Princess huffed as she looked at Skylar and Royal, both of whom looked very uncertain. Looking at her husband, Twilight sighed and walked over to him. "Zephyr, I need to talk to you" she whispered.

The white stallion raised an eyebrow before following the alicorn over to a small clearing. "What is it, Twilight?" the blue pegasus asked.

"I want to talk to you about you something" Twilight stated.

"What is it?" he asked again and looked around, making sure there was nopony around who could overhear.

"If Trixie has joined Sombra's side again, what do you think would happen to Wanda?" Twilight asked him, her eyes uncertain.

Zephyr shrugged and spoke. "Well, I think Wanda would be sent back to Canterlot" he reasoned, “Why do you ask?"

"If Trixie has brought Sombra back and has joined him" Twilight paused and looked down to the ground, "I want to adopt Ivory." Twilight looked back up at her husband with determination in her eyes.

"Twilight, this is a big thing to bring up at a time like this, and a big thing to do ... and how would ponies react to us bringing Ivory into our home?" he questioned. "What if we can't adopt her? What if Celestia forbids us to adopt her?" Zephyr shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, Zephyr. We have to do what is right for her. She can't just be a servant for the rest of her life, Ivory is worth so much more than that" Twilight stated as she put her hoof down.

Zephyr looked at his wife. "Twilight, if we do this there may be an outcry, we may become unpopular ... But, to hell with it! We're doing it anyway!" he smiled.

"Zephyr! Twilight!" the voice of Fancy suddenly came rushing forward, the noble unicorn stumbling as he reached the couple.

Trotting forward, Twilight help the unicorn up. "What is it, Fancy?" she asked.

The stallion puffed heavily as he cleared his throat. "Unicorns ... coming" he said plainly.

"Coming? Coming here?" Zephyr raised his eyebrow.

"Yes! They came from the castle. They've started to form a sort of forcefield around us and about half of the Everfree" Fancy explained, wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "There's no way in or out ... but, I think we might be able to teleport out of here if we're quick enough" Fancy added as he tidied himself up and fixed his mane.

Twilight looked to Zephyr, who huffed and nodded. "Let's go!" They rejoined with the Moon Princess and advanced towards the castle. "Wait" Twilight spoke up, “Are you sure you all want to do this?" Everypony nodded.

. . .

Trixie lay unresponsive on the floor, only a few steps away from Ivory. The dark King trotted around the castle's hall and stared up at the stand which still held the sceptre. Ivory watched as the dark alicorn began to walk forward to where she and Trixie were. "I can feel your presence" the dark King suddenly spoke, turning his face towards the pillar. He sent ice-cold chills down Ivory's spine. "There is really no point in hiding anymore ... come out, little one" the King asked kindly.

Ivory suddenly found herself moving forward, but quickly stopped herself and went back to hiding behind the pillar. "I feel you. You are brave to come here" the alicorn continued. "Many ponies would sooner run away than try to defeat me, which I guess you are here to do ... Why must we fight?" Sombra asked with a smile, staring right at Ivory. Can he see me?Ivory asked herself. "We are one and the same, dear child."

Ivory gasped as she felt the dark King's warm breath on her muzzle. He towered over her like a giant. The light blue unicorn took a couple of steps back as the King advanced. "We do not need to fight. It would be so very unfortunate if I was forced to destroy you" he warned as he began to force Ivory away from the safety of the pillar. "Reveal yourself to me" Sombra demanded, "Let me see you!"

Ivory screamed as she felt the dark alicorn lift her up with his magic, taking the Phantasia from her neck. "Ah, as I expected!" Sombra remarked as he walked over to where Trixie lay with Ivory in his magic. Pulling the young mare in front of her mother. "Tell me, Ivory" Sombra looked straight at the unicorn, "What do you see in your mother?"

"I-I-Ivory?" Trixie choked out as she lifted her head. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Ma ... I -"

"- Answer my question!" Sombra demanded, “What do you see in her? What have you chosen to see?"

"What .. what do you mean?" Ivory asked, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at the dark King.

Sombra sighed and pulled Ivory away from Trixie. "Sombie ...?" Trixie trailed off as she watched the alicorn walk away with her foal in his magic.

"Is she worth saving? I'm giving you a choice here" Sombra told Ivory as he sat down on the throne that used to belong to Celestia and rested Ivory down onto the first step in front of him, "Is she worth anything to you?"

"I don't know what you mean!" Ivory stated. "I don't know what my choice is!" she wailed. “Please, let her go!" she pleaded.

Sombra raised an eyebrow, amused by Ivory’s persistence. "I'm afraid I cannot do that until you answer my question, Ivory" Sombra said as he rested his head on his left forehoof, "What do you see in her? What is your choice?"

"I-I just see her" she answered.

"Look deeper, Ivory ... what do you see in her?" Sombra turned the young mare around to face Trixie, who had crept forward ever so slightly. She looked directly at her mother, who looked back at her. "Do you see anything at all?" Sombra asked the young mare as he turned her back around to face him.

"No, I don't know what you want me to look for" Ivory stated as she tried to pull away from the dark King's grasp.

"So, you see nothing" Sombra nodded. "Oh, well!" he sighed as he released Ivory and let her rush over to her mother.

"Oh, ma!" Ivory wailed.

"Ivory, listen to me!" Trixie choked out as she watched Sombra stalk the pair of them. "Go! Go!" she commanded.

Ivory shook her head and forced herself under her mother's foreleg. "I'm not leaving you here!" Ivory cried. "I'll protect you!" Ivory said as she suddenly stood up in front of her mother, earning a chuckle from Sombra.

"Oh, Ivory" he cooed sickly as the young unicorn formed sparks at her horn. "Why do you waste your strength when you could leave this all behind?" Sombra asked jokingly. "You have a chance to join me; you have a choice, she does not. Choose me, or Trixie" he smiled again.

"I won't let you hurt her!" Ivory hissed as the sparks from her horn gained strength and began to glow brighter.

Sombra chuckled at the unicorn's 'pathetic' sparks. Ivory gasped as she felt the King's own powerful magic mix with her own, forcing her to the floor. "Why are you taking such a stance?" Sombra asked as he advanced on the young unicorn. "Give in; you have no other choice. You are as weak as your mother is. You could never even dream of defeating me!" Sombra mocked.

Suddenly, a violent flash of bright white light appeared in front of Sombra coming directly from Ivory's horn. The King's eyes widened as he watched Ivory's body rise into the air. "Wh-what is this?" Sombra questioned madly as he looked at Trixie, who looked equally confused. "How is she able to use this magic? Trixie! Help me!" The King screamed as the mare began to walk over to Ivory.

"Ma?" Ivory asked as she looked down at her mother, whose eyes went round and watery.

"Ivory ..." Trixie trailed off as she turned towards Sombra and pointed her head down as if she were about to charge. "I choose Ivory!" she screamed as she launched herself at the dark King. She forced him to the floor, holding him down with her cracked hooves.

Ivory fell from the air exhausted, only to be caught by familiar pink magic and placed with care. Trixie smiled weakly as Twilight came rushing forward, followed by Zephyr and Fancy. "Trixie!" Twilight gasped.

"I chose Ivory, Twilight! I chose Ivory!" Trixie said madly as she made her horn sparkle.

"Trixie, wait!" Twilight cried as she raced forward. "What are you doing?" The alicorn stood still as she watched the dark King move forward.

Suddenly the dark King rose into the air and held Trixie mid-air in his magic. "Fool! You think you can defeat me?" Sombra questioned Trixie as she smiled back at him. "I am unstoppable, and it’s all thanks to you! No pony can defeat me!" Sombra bragged.

"I know I cannot defeat you Sombra, so Trixie will do something worse" Trixie screamed as she made her horn glow with the might of the sun, wrapping her and Sombra in its glow.

"What are you doing -" Sombra questioned as he quickly faded from view, leaving nothing behind but a haunting howl and ugly scream lagging in the stillness of the old castle as the Phantasia Pendant fell to the floor in front of all three startled adults. Twilight held her breath, as did Zephyr and Fancy, who stood in front of Princess Luna, Rarity, Skylar and Royal. Had Trixie just banished Sombra? Twilight questioned herself, her eyes blinking with surprise.

"What ... just happened?" Fancy asked hesitantly as he took a well-placed, yet shaking step forward. "Did ... did that mare just do what I think she just did?" he asked as he stood next to Twilight, "Did she banish King Sombra?"

"I ... I'm not sure. I didn't even know a unicorn was capable of banishment magic! I always believed it was something only alicorns could master" Twilight said as she looked heavenward. The sun was beginning to rise, and she smiled as she felt its warmth touch her.

"If she did, what happened to her?" asked Zephyr quietly as he joined Twilight and Fancy.

"I think what she did was" Twilight paused, "I think she banished herself with Sombra. Maybe that was the only way she could do it.”

“Trixie sacrificed herself ... for us" the lilac alicorn trailed off, letting her voice swim in the still air.

"Wanda!" Skylar suddenly came crushing forward and pushed past the three adults. She skidded as she fell down next to Ivory, closely followed by Royal and Princess Luna, who both looked worried, Luna perhaps more so. "Wake up!" the young alicorn yelled as she nudged Ivory's shoulder. The unicorn groaned and shivered as Royal and Skylar gasped in joy.

"Ivory! Oh, my stars!" Twilight cried as she rushed over to her student and knelt down next to her. "Are you okay?" she asked, worry tattooed onto her face.

"It's okay, Princess ... I'm fine," Ivory smiled strongly as she stood up. "Wait" The unicorn looked around. "Where's Ma?" she asked, fear cracking her voice.

"Ivory" Twilight sighed and closed her eyes. "Your mother made a big decision. She banished Sombra" Twilight explained, her mouth in a barely perceptible smile.

"Okay" Ivory said unsurely, "But where is she?"

"What Twilight's trying to say, Ivory" Zephyr suddenly knelt down next to the unicorn mare. "Yes, your mother banished Sombra, but at a price ..." Ivory tuned out as the pegasus continued to explain.

The young unicorn felt waves of tears form in her eyes and racing down her face. "Ma's..... gone?" Ivory asked, barely able to even stop the sobs from coming out. All of a sudden, Ivory reached out and wrapped her forelegs around Twilight and Zephyr and allowed her tears to fall.

"Oh, Wanda," Twilight sighed and she placed a hoof on the unicorn's back. Zephyr quickly copied. "Shhh, it's okay, it's okay." Twilight cooed as she felt another two pairs of forelegs wrap around her and Ivory as Skylar and Royal shared the pain, small tears running down their faces too. Soon, both Rarity and Fancy joined in too.