The Alicorn Prince

Chapters

The Nightmare
Finding Family
Darkness Rises
Next Stop, Ponyville
A New Start
A Dream Come Alive
The Castle Calls
Confrontation
Magic Duel
The Element of Harmony
Eye of the Hurricane
Equestria's Fall
The Most Dangerous Place in Equestria
Training, Routine, Strategy
The First Spark
Prologue
Years' Past

The Nightmare

"I.Q." whispered his mother in the darkness,
"Mom where are you?" called I.Q. into the darkness,
"I'm here, and I will always be with you."
"What, I..I don't understand." I.Q. started to worry Whats going on where am I? thought I.Q. He suddenly was pulled at by an unknown force and lurched upwards out of the darkness to reveal an unknown figure with twisted horns, yellow eyes with red pupils, and a donkey's head,
"My my what an interesting little child you are much different from your mother much more." the creature paused as it came up with the word,
"Who are you, what have you done with my mother!?" shouted I.Q. in question,
"Well you don't need to know that now do you." stated the creature with glee as it levitated him towards a creature more terrifying than the last, "You have done well my friend." the beast stated with a menacing voice. I.Q. felt the first creature release his grip and was given to the second one by a grip not of magic but by physical force and he felt the magic in his body be sucked dry as he woke up covered in pools of sweat screaming, "ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" he looked to his left to check on the baby phoenix sleeping next to him. Good he's still asleep poor little guy thought I.Q.

~~~

After that ruckus of a nightmare I.Q. tried his best to push through the day until his teacher, Ms. Night, pulled him over out of class and gently spoke to him, "I.Q. are you okay you aren't usually this out of it."
"Oh yeah I'm okay Ms. Night I..I'm just a little tired I had a really bad nightmare that kept me up after I woke up." muttered I.Q.
"I.Q. you shouldn't let small things like this get to you. remember my motto 'live in the present not the past'"
"of course I do, but there was something odd about this dream it felt too real to just be a dream." I.Q. said dazed,
"Well considering you are my best pupil and possibly the most entertained with all that we do I suppose I could let you go for today's homework." Whispered Ms. Night, I.Q. was surprised by his teacher's generosity,
"No I...I can't it isn't right." I.Q. would never take shortcuts to get his way he never thought he needed it,
"Always the most determined to go your own path, that is why you are my best student. Okay just be sure you don't overwork yourself, go at your own pace even if it means not completing certain assignments." assured Ms. Night just as the bell rang to go home.

I.Q. went home without any protest and took the quickest all the while thinking about the dream what were those creatures I saw, what was going on, why was it so dark these were only a few questions that ran through his mind on the way home

Once he got home and said hello to his mom and dad before he left he went straight to his bedroom to feed Scorch and get started on his homework, but something felt off. He felt an unknown force at his house's door, How can I be feeling this this has happened before at Princess Twilight's coronation seeing this is the second time he must have a gift for tracking large quantities of magic. he started towards the door to his bedroom and peeked outside. What he saw unsettled him even more, the creatures from his dream right in front of him how are these things real thought I.Q. He watched as the large red beast sucked every bit of magic and strength from both of his parents, "Is that it, are there any other ponies here." asked the red one. a few moments after the creature with the donkey head flew in with one wing of a Pegasus and the other of a bat-pony,
"I believe so Tirek." so that's the red ones name thought I.Q. maybe a little too loud because the donkey head one said, "but I might be wrong" I.Q.'s heart nearly stopped I need to find out how to figure out how to hide myself and fast thought I.Q. then he remembered a spell he learned in school he tried as hard as he could to cast it and succeeded, now he needs to hide Scorch's magical trace which was an easier task considering the baby phoenix has less magic, now to hide myself he managed to fit himself and Scorch into his closet keeping quiet as he heard screaming coming from his parents, "I believe that is the last of it" exclaimed a voice that I.Q. presumed to be the donkey headed creature. "you better not be wrong this time Discord" scolded Tirek,
"I'm absolutely positive." Discord exclaimed with glee. with that they left and I.Q released his breath that he didn't know he was holding and went to check on his parents.

What I.Q. found was beyond his magical knowledge. He saw the lifeless corpses of his parents, the magic strength and life drained from their very core. And he just broke down sobbing as he clutched the pendant his mother gave him just that morning, he will never forget what she said to him before he left for school, "no matter what happens I will always be with you."

Finding Family

I.Q. couldn't stay where he was, he needed to find his brother, Black Bolt, before those monsters get to him. It is a very low chance that they were after my family directly so the princesses must know about them and be on high alert so Bolt must be at the castle I.Q. concluded.

~~~

I.Q. went on to Canterlot Castle to find his brother. Once he got into the castle he saw row after row of unconscious guards each without cutie marks and gray pupils he went on until he came to a familiar brown coated earth pony with his signature dark brown mane, "Bolt!" exclaimed I.Q. as he galloped to his older brother's side
"I.Q.? What are you doing here you need to be with mom and dad." Bolt said tiredly
"Bolt mom and dad are d....d...dead." I.Q. sobbed
"How? tell me what happened." asked Bolt
"I don't know but I felt something at the door,"
"What do you mean you 'felt something'" Interrupted Bolt
"I mean I felt something...powerful li..like during princess Twilight's coronation, some sort of large trace of magic. I don't know how I felt it but I did and a few moments later two large beasts came through and sucked the life, strength, and magic from both of them." I.Q. explained, by then Bolt has started to sit upright
"what did they look like I.Q."
"Well one was large red and had yellow pupils, the other had red pupils and a donkey's head." I.Q. described, Bolt froze at his description
"I.Q. what you need to do now is to get home and rest I'll be by in a little bit but you need to get out of here right now." commanded Bolt in a whispered voice
"No I'm not leaving you here." I.Q. countered
"Yes you are, those creatures are here and you still have your magic." whispered Bolt, I.Q. had no choice but to get out of there
"Okay Bolt, I'll go." I.Q. ceded, but before he could he saw shadows on the other side of the hallway
"Discord this is the second time you have second guessed yourself if it happens again you are going with the princesses." threatened Tirek, I.Q once again had to hide from the two creatures so he ran towards a pillar and hid behind it putting into place a spell similar to the magical concealment but this time hid his entire body.
Ok I.Q. don't make a single sound I.Q. warned himself, Tirek and Discord went by without giving any thought to if somepony was hiding in near plain sight. Once they got past I.Q. realized that they blocked the only way out without wings, well great looks like I didn't think this through enough thought I.Q.
"Now what" Mouthed Bolt, at that moment he realized that he needed to test a spell that he was trying to master. He sprinted towards the throne room expecting to see the four princesses but didn't I.Q. paid no mind to the missing royalty but headed straight to the balcony and looked for his house. after scanning the horizon he found his home and started to push his magic to teleport towards his home c'mon you can do this you have the knowledge you just need to focus I.Q.told himself, he was able to just about muster enough of his magic to teleport home.

~~~

Once he got home he barely got inside before he passed out from exhaustion. when he woke up he was on their couch and Bolt was next to him with his oh so familiar black lightning bolt shield cutie mark and his dark brown eyes, "Bolt you have your strength back." I.Q. concluded, "Yeah it happened while you were unconscious." explained Bolt. once Bolt got him caught up on what happened they went and informed others about what happened to their parents and arranged a funeral for the both of them.

~~~

I.Q. and bolt stayed together for the next few days until the legal guardian info was addressed, until then Bolt had been living back at their parents' house to take care of I.Q. but he was never addressed as a legal guardian. At the hearing the judge insisted that I.Q. was to stay with family but the only family close by was Bolt, his aunt was in Cloudsdale and his sister moved to Ponyville. Other than Bolt, one couple stepped up to become his guardian, Jetset and Upper Crest, they insisted in a mocking tone that an earth pony has no ability to take care of a unicorn colt. to which Bolt replied,
"At least I can give him what he truly needs."
"Order now I know of what you do Black Bolt and I respect it but I have heard that you have very important duties to attend to so until you complete said duties I.Q. will stay with these two as foster parents, do I make myself clear." ruled the judge
"Yes your honor" replied Jetset, Upper Crest, and Bolt in unison.

the meeting was adjourned as Bolt told I.Q. what will be going on for the next week but assured him he will be back with a great surprise. but then came by the two unicorns without giving regard to Bolt told I.Q to pack his things and get ready to go.

~~~

When they arrived at the couple's home I.Q. was astonished at the size but decided to just relax take deep breaths and get it over with.

Darkness Rises

A shadow rose from rest I can't believe this. it thought how could my own brother go against me. it moved to look through the ruins of the castle Soon my lord very very soon, I will let you continue your genius. prayed the shadow to a massive constellation in the night sky.

~~~

In Canterlot I.Q. went through every day with dread and misery over his lost parents. Today was no different, he walked through the halls with his head down and eyes closed until the one pony he thought would rather make fun of him than comfort him, tried to, Blue Moon had always bullied him for his lack of a cutie mark but today when he tried to be a friend, I.Q. snapped. "Hey I...." I.Q slammed him against a locker with his magic before he could finish his sentence,
"Why do you constantly harass me just because I have no cutie mark, the only reason I don't and you do is because of stupid fate, so why..WHY do you enjoy my misery." the entire hallway stopped and looked at the scene while I.Q. had been engulfed in rage and his horn stopped glowing its usual green but turned a sickly purple with spots of black flashing on and off, "I'm sorry I didn't mean any of it." apologized Blue Moon, after that I.Q. had broke down and started sobbing, a few hours later I.Q. had found he was expelled from school and the two foster parents were not at all disappointed,
"You didn't need them anyways we could just hire the best tutor in Canterlot." bragged Jetset,
"What how are you so calm about this I really hurt Blue Moon."
"You sure did and I'm proud of how your magic is so powerful." complimented Upper Crest, I.Q. didn't know what to think why aren't they mad at me? I.Q. decided to go to his temporary bedroom as he heard a knock at his window,
"I.Q. you in there?" it was his pegasus friend Neon Circuits with his oh so familiar black mane, gray coat, and red eyes.
"Neo. it is so great to see you again." they haven't been in contact with each other since before the two creatures attacked Equestria.
"I've been trying to find you but you weren't at your house so I tried to find your brother and he told me you were here." Neo explained,
"well its great to see you again." Downstairs Jetset and Upper Crest started walking up the stairs and found the source of a voice they were hearing. "Oh, hi Jetset, Upper Crest."
"What is that Pegasus doing here." asked Jetset furiously disregarding I.Q.'s greeting,
"This is my friend Neo, Neo these are the ponies that are taking care of me until I get word from my brother."
"What brother, you are our son and an only child with no friends that aren't like you." Upper Crest scolded,
"What are you talking about you aren't my actual parents just a temporary foster care, this is the only friend I have, and I clearly have a brother."
"No you don't, that Pegasus is nothing but a brute savage and so is this brother you are talking about we are the only true family that you will ever have." claimed Jetset, Neo would've flown right up to them and snap if I.Q. hadn't stopped him,
"My brother is a great soldier and Neo is an even greater friend than who you would want me to befriend and my parents were thousands of times better parents than either of you could hope to be." as he went into the topic of his parents he started to choke up in between words, he started to walk out and down the stairs when Jetset asked,
"And where do you think you're going?" I.Q. replied with a single word,
"home" and before either of them could respond he was out the door heading where he said he would go.

~~~

I.Q. and Neo arrived at I.Q.'s old home in a few moments and walked right in.
"this sure brings back memories huh I.Q?"
"Yeah if only one wasn't so tragic." replied I.Q.
"I.Q. I know how you feel..." before he could finish his sentence I.Q. interrupted
"HOW, how could you know how it feels to lose both of your parents in front of you and end up with two insane foster parents that hate everyone you know and love."
"I'm sorry I.Q. I should've chosen my words better."
"no I'm sorry I've been under a lot of stress and I shouldn't have taken it out on you." after both of their apologies they went up to his old bedroom and looked through his collections of graphic novels and novels alike when I.Q. came across something interesting, "Neo come look at this, the definition for discord 'a term describing disharmony' that was the name of one of the creatures that attacked my parents I wonder if 'tirek' is in here." after searching through neither of them could find anything in his history books or dictionaries,
"I.Q."
"Yeah Neo." I.Q. put down his dictionary and walked over to him,
"Look at this, 'the age of disharmony'" Neo advertised,
"I remember learning about this in school it may not have been a subject but I still learned it, there was an odd creature that was the...spirit of disharmony" realized I.Q, "but what was its species it was far away from anything resembling a pony."
"here it is, a draconekoos?"
"no a draconequus." I.Q. corrected, once that got out of the way they started a short casual catch-up conversation before going their separate ways. Once I.Q. got back to his foster home he went upstairs without a word and went to sleep awaiting another day.

Next Stop, Ponyville

I.Q. had had his last day with these foster parents and was relieved to be in the custody of his brother with much resistance from the foster family. they went to their old home and as I.Q was packing the rest of his books Bolt told him of a private courting he got with Princess Celestia for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I.Q. couldn't contain his excitement and Bolt looked on and smiled at his little brother's joy.

~~~

The meeting was at noon and I.Q.'s stomach was filled to the brim with butterflies but Bolt assured him that everything will go okay. they got to it and I.Q. started to struggle with the spell they wanted him to perform, an age acceleration spell. The more time he took the more nervous he and Bolt looked. c'mon work I've done a teleportation spell for crying out loud this should be easy I.Q. scolded himself. He did all that he could besides channeling all of his magic, he tried to do so with great effort and formed an amount of magic too powerful and ended up not only opening the dragon's egg but also causing him to nearly evaporate the baby dragon inside.
"Wow you are stronger than others your age." complimented Princess Celestia,
"Thank you your highness." bowed I.Q,
"Now now no need for that I wish for you to treat me as an equal, especially since I want you as my personal student." at those three words he nearly fainted but there was a catch, "Sadly your brother must move to Ponyville because of a new guard we are establishing for Princess Twilight." after those words he didn't know what to do, he'd always wanted to go to Celestia's school but he couldn't stand being away from family after what he's been through he had to make a choice between his dream school or family,
"Your highness with all due respect I will have to deny your invitation, I don't feel that I could leave my brother after what happened to our parents." he said in a sincere professional tone. Bolt went over to him and whispered,
"I.Q. are you sure? you won't get another chance like this."
"Actually," interrupted Celestia, "there is another way you can still be apart of my school, I may not be your mentor but how about being the student of princess Twilight?" at the princess' proposal I.Q. once again had his smile slammed onto his face. Not only could he stay with his family but he also was able to learn from a princess, he bowed once again,
"Thank you so much for this generous offer your highness."

~~~

Once I.Q. and Bolt got out of the castle I.Q. lost his calm, professional demeanor and went ballistic jumping around and laughing uncontrollably. Bolt laughed himself at his brother's happiness.

~~~

They got to the train station just as the train had arrived, Bolt pulled out the two tickets and they boarded. I.Q. instinctively placed Scorch's portable nest on a shelf in their cabin along with the little blue phoenix. Both ponies got into their bunks, Bolt fell asleep almost instantly where I.Q. guided by the light from his horn read more on the creatures that killed his parents. As the conductor announced, "Next stop, ponyville"

~~~

I.Q. woke to a dark cabin but once his eyes adjusted he saw his parents,
"how are you two here?" the two shadowy forms of his mother replied in a grim tone,
"that doesn't matter sweetheart."
"I am so sorry I should've hidden faster its my fault your gone." sobbed I.Q. his father replied,
"the only ones you should blame are those creatures, please don't blame yourself but try to avenge us." they started walking towards him, held him in their hooves as they said in unison,
"now you need to wake up, its time to go." before he could respond he was shook awake by his brother.

~~~

"I've just gotten word that the princess will be gone for a few days which gives both of us some chance to get settled." explained Bolt,
"It will also give me a chance to look around here." stated I.Q. gleefully. They unpacked in their home on the outskirts of ponyville close to the large tree-like crystalline castle. Once they finished I.Q. decided to take a walk around the main village.

A New Start

I.Q. had been busy traveling the town to make a "mental map" as he liked to call it. But as he came across a building looking like a gingerbread house bam! he was hit in a flash of grey and blinding neon yellow, "Hey you okay I didn't mean to crash into yo-" it was Neo at a loss for words,
"Nice to run into an old friend." I.Q. quipped,
"What are you doing here?" asked Neo,
"I could ask you the same thing" countered I.Q,
"you have to answer my question first book worm." one of many nicknames I.Q. was given,
"Well I live here now, I moved here with Bolt after the foster fiasco, as for you. I thought you lived in Cloudsdale." he replied,
"well I do but I come here to go to school and see my sister, have you seen her?" the sister he was looking for was Rainbow Dash, not one of the most humble ponies in I.Q.'s opinion,
"sorry no, did you say she was friends with the princess before?"
"yeah why?" asked Neo,
"I believe she went with her out of town for a few days." concluded I.Q., "my brother said he got word that princess Twilight and her five friends went to a special calling from her new castle." as they continued this conversation I.Q. filled him in on the other reason he was here and Neo was at a loss for words until he asked I.Q. to come meet a few friends of his of which he could relate.

the first destination was a small house near the center of ponyville, Neo then knocked on the door. An earth pony mare with a cutie mark of a foal's bottle along with a teddy bear and a heart came to the door, "Neo what a pleasant surprise I'll go get Button." she left inside and came out a few minutes later with a brown coated earth pony colt with a propeller hat and no cutie mark,
"Hey Neo how are you?" asked the colt,
"I'm fine Button Mash I want you to meet my friend from Canterlot, I.Q. Quips." introduced Neo, the colt shook his hoof and introduced himself. They talked to get to know each other, I.Q. leaving out what happened to his parents.

they eventually went to see three more of Neo's friends being an orange pegasus named Scootaloo, a white unicorn named Sweetie Belle whom Button had difficulty speaking to, and lastly in a large expanse of land an earth pony of the same soft yellow fur color as I.Q. who he had trouble speaking to named Apple Bloom. They started chatting and as they started to depart I.Q. had noticed that each of the three fillies that he had met didn't have their cutie marks, which gave him glee seeing that he wasn't the only one with a blank flank.

~~~

He went through Ponyville with a smile as he ran into two ponies his same age with pink and grey coat colors and cutie marks symbolizing wealth lets get this over with I.Q. thought as he approached the two ponies on the way top his house. "Hey who's the new..." started the pink one but she froze with an open mouthed expression on her face. I.Q. stood there with an indifferent expression where the grey one was confused at why her friend stopped in the middle of an insult. suddenly the pink one spoke up, "Hi I'm Diamond Tiara and this is my friend Silver Spoon, I just wanted to say welcome to Ponyville." she said with a shy grin,
"Di what's going on with you?" asked Silver Spoon I.Q. just said a polite greeting, farewell, and quickly left the strange encounter

~~~

He went home and did his usual after school routine, he placed his saddle bag on the couch, grabbed a book he was reading, fed Scorch, and began to read. After he got to a good stopping point he placed his bookmark inside and put away the book into his library. After Bolt got back they ate and I.Q. went to bed afterwards, but not before setting it up first.

~~~

He awoke to an image of his older self and five other ponies sitting at a picnic table when a wave of magic blankets the entire town receding almost instantly and the only thing left standing is the six ponies. The image went away in a flash and was replaced by an image of the same six ponies walking towards a crystalline tree with five branches with glowing gems and a star shaped gem at the center. The image flashed away once again and showed the six ponies with only one standing and a hooded unicorn with yellow eyes smiling mischievously. This image didn't go away in a flash but instead in a mist of shadow accompanied by a gray pony with sharp red eyes and even sharper teeth lunging out towards I.Q.

~~~

I.Q.'s eyes shot open as he saw Scorch standing over him, illuminating the room. he realized it was just a dream but couldn't help but to second guess himself and worry about times to come.

A Dream Come Alive

Four years after his arrival in Ponyville I.Q. found himself with five friends and no cutie mark. He talked with his friends about the matter but they couldn't provide an uplifting answer, "Maybe you just don't have a special talent" joked Neo and Scootaloo in unison,
"Aw hush you two everyone has a special talent Ah-Q. is just a late marker." defended Apple Bloom in her common country accent.
"Yeah he may not have a special talent but, I mean look at what he can do." added Sweetie Belle, I.Q. wasn't listening he only felt a strange sense of deja-vu. He had no idea how, but he couldn't help but feel as if he's seen this before, but then he realized something. The dream he had his first night here! he thought he needed to do something but,
"Ah-Q ya'll listenin'?" interrupted Apple Bloom,
"Yeah I'm fine I just can't help but feel like this had happened before." responded I.Q. wearily, he began to get up and looked towards the horizon and saw a wave of magic coming towards town. "GET DOWN!" yelled I.Q. as he ran towards the table and used his magic to emanate a magic force field to block the wave of magic. The wave went over them ferociously and it left faster than it had came. I.Q. slowly got rid of the field and walked away from the table curiously as the others started asking questions,
"Hey book worm, what in Equestria was that!" shouted Neo,
"I don't know" responded I.Q. quietly,
"What just happened?" asked Button,
"I don't know" responded I.Q. slightly louder,
"Ah-Q what in the hay was that?" asked Apple Bloom,
"I don't KNOW!" yelled I.Q., Apple Bloom took a step back, startled. "I'm sorry" he apologized, "I have no idea what just happened or why, but I do know that we need to stay calm and try to find out what that wave did." assured I.Q. They started to calm down and once they did I.Q. started giving orders, "Apple Bloom, you search Sweet Apple Acres and see if anypony knows what happened, Scootaloo and Neo, both of you search any nearby clouds, Sweetie Belle and Button Mash, you both search the town square, I'll search the outskirts everyone good?" "yep" replied everyone in unison, "good then lets go"

~~~

As I.Q. approached the outskirts of Ponyville he noticed that no ponies were there probably in their homes he thought. he wondered who would know what happened but then he realized, Princess Twilight!. He rushed to her castle and knocked on the door, but was surprised to see Spike answer, "I.Q. I'm so glad you're here!" Spike said, relieved,
"Spike what's wrong, where is the princess?" asked I.Q,
"I don't know I was just in bed and when I woke up Twilight was gone!"
"It's okay Spike come with me." assured I.Q. as he started to turn around,
"Wait! Where are we going?" questioned Spike,
"I have a theory, but I need more evidence." replied I.Q. as they started towards his home.

They went towards I.Q.'s home and found that Bolt wasn't there but Scorch was, "interesting, same situation all ponies are gone but other creatures remain." realized I.Q,
"What does that mean?" asked Spike, shakily,
"Nothing yet, just one more example will prove my hypothesis, lets go to Fluttershy's cottage next."

I.Q., Spike, and Scorch got to Fluttershy's cottage and saw that her animals were all there, but no Fluttershy. they went in and I.Q.'s expression immediately turned sour when he saw Discord searching frantically, but when he saw I.Q. he stopped and floated directly over to him, "I.Q. thank Celestia, Silver and Fluttershy are gone."
"Can it draconequus I only came here to see if she was and I already know the answer." snapped I.Q. as he quickly left and went to the rendezvous to wait for his friends. leaving Discord at the cottage.

~~~

I.Q. found that his friends didn't find anypony either, but that didn't stop him. he thought back to the direction that the spell was coming from, "Well looks like we have to go into the everfree forest." I.Q. concluded calmly,
"WHAT!" yelled everyone else,
"Ya'll do realize how dangerous that place is yet you can go into it calmly?"
"Yeah my brother taught me how to fight and I developed a high pain threshold along with being able to incorporate my magic into my fighting technique." he replied,
"I think it'll be fun." entered Neo as he flew to I.Q.'s side,
"me too" copied Scootaloo as she did the same,
"don't worry, Princess Twilight taught me a spell that can repel any everfree monsters" I.Q. assured,
"Okay we'll come but ah'm still sticken' close just in case something comes by." surrendered Apple Bloom, the six ponies stood together as they prepared to go towards the strange forest,
"Everypony ready." asked I.Q. they all nodded but Neo and Scootaloo nodded with pride where Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Button Mash each had indisputable fear in theirs

The Castle Calls

As the six ponies entered the forest they had confronted I.Q. about his theory, "I.Q. you never did tell us the 'theory' you were going on about." noticed Button Mash,
"well I theorized that the spell used to possibly teleport every pony in Ponyville was an experiment by Starswirl the Bearded however he disappeared before he could finish." told I.Q,
"disappeared? whattaya' mean?" Apple Bloom questioned,
"there were no records of his death and no records of imprisonment, he simply vanished, he was working on two spells before then one has actually been finished by Princess Twilight but she could never figure the other one out because the base spell wasn't even finished, but we could get the basic abilities of the spell, sadly we had no lead on why." responded I.Q,
"Sorry to interrupt, but are we basically just wandering the forest until we find something or do we have any idea of where to go?" Neo flew in, "Well if I can recall I believe that the spell originated somewhere around or inside the castle of the two sisters." I.Q. guessed,
"Well what are we waiting for? lets get to the castle!" said Scootaloo enthusiastically.

~~~

They approached the castle and I.Q. started to hear voices and even sobbing coming from the back of the castle, "Hey everyone, come look at this." whispered I.Q. They rounded the corner and found a broken down window to peek through when I.Q. felt four small claws on his back. he immediately spun around and found that Spike and Scorch had followed them, "What are you doing here?" asked I.Q. quietly. before spike could respond, "it doesn't matter just stay quiet." he looked through the window and saw a hooded figure surrounded by six tables each with his sister and her friends along with a wide magic-lined cage filled with ponies, I.Q. only being able to distinguish his brother, Black Bolt, collapsed on the stone floor covered in cuts and bruises.

"For the last time, WHERE are the elements?" shouted the figure,
"Why should we tell you!" Twilight shouted back,
"Because if you don't I'll start beating it out of you, starting with the weakling." he threatened, starting to walk over to the terrified Fluttershy.

I.Q. felt a flash of fear at the threat and knew he needed to get the elements so he started to gallop towards the cave below the castle with his friends following reluctantly behind him

~~~

I.Q. ran as fast as he could when he got out of earshot of the castle, once he got to the Tree of Harmony his friends started their questions, "What was that all about, what is this?" asked Button Mash,
"the Tree of Harmony, where the elements were created and where one of the last pieces of my vision took place." responded I.Q, "Now before you ask any more questions, I don't understand why I have visions, I don't know who or what that creature was, I don't know why he is after the elements, and most of all I have no idea what we are up against. the only thing I do know is that the elements will take him down, now I need to focus. Princess Twilight taught me a spell that would help me distribute the elements accordingly to their traits if the need ever surfaced." the moment he finished his eyes began to glow white as the elements came out of the tree and spun creating a spinning rainbow ring then slowing bestowing themselves onto each of the six ponies, Button Mash, Kindness, Scootaloo, Laughter, Sweetie Belle, Generosity, Apple Bloom, Honesty, Neo, Loyalty, and I.Q, Magic.

I.Q. fell to the floor with very little strength left in him but powered through knowing what was ahead, "well," paused I.Q, "here we go."

Confrontation

The six friends walked out of the cave and into the chaos, literally. as they exited a strange storm formed above soaking the six in chocolate milk. "you have got to be joking" groaned I.Q.
"I'm sorry but I need to help her..." spoke discord from the shadows,
"you will end up doing more harm than good draconequus so why don't you go ruin lives somewhere else." advised I.Q, defeated, discord began to leave,
"wait discord we may need your help" objected Sweetie Belle,
"WHAT!" shouted I.Q.
"she's right Ah-Q we might need his help. not to mention he has loved ones on the line too." reasoned Apple Bloom.
"I cannot believe this. You think he can help?" criticized I.Q.
"We just have to trust him. Like you have to trust us." Spoke Scootaloo. I.Q. stared at each of his friends in disbelief looking to Neo and Button for support but he was given a simple shake of their heads,"fine he will come with us but he stays far away from Fluttershy." I.Q. gave.

~~~

The sounds of the castle hadn't changed, the faint whimpering still sounded, someone was still demanding the elements and there was always a denial. "Everyone ready?" Asked I.Q, they all faintly nodded, "well then let's give this thing what he wants." Joked I.Q. as they snuck into a crevice leading them to the dungeon of the castle.

"Time is almost up, now how do you respond?" Warned the creature. There was no sound only silence,"that's too bad, I didn't want to do this it could have been so much easier." Spoke the creature softly. He started towards Fluttershy with a faint glow arising from under his cloak near the hood. She could not hold back her tears and prepared for the pain about to come to her,
"HEY YOU!" Shouted a figure in the darkness,"You want the elements" a glow arose from the source of the voice,"you can have them."

I.Q. signaled his friends as they all floated upwards with I.Q.'s horn and eyes glowing. A sudden shout rang out,"NO I.Q. STOP." Before he could react the beam from the elements shot towards the figure, a faint smirk appeared on his face, just as a red beam shot from the figure pressing back the elements and going towards their users. It covered the six fillies and colts with red light as bright cracks began to form in the elements. A flash of light consumed the area blinding everypony, as the light faded, the creature was left standing with his hood off of his head revealing a white mane yellow eyes and a blue coat on a unicorn stallion with a smile spreading across his face,
"how pathetic, this is the next generation of the elements of harmony? Mother sure would have been disappointed." Gloated the stallion his grin growing ever wider. I.Q. opened his eyes slightly to see his friends unconscious around him each surrounded by their element broken beneath them. Using what little strength he possessed he began to get up and gained the attention of the stallion. "Now isn't this interesting, you sure are special not many remain conscious after that spell let alone have the strength to stand, and at such a young age too. Tell me child, how did you withstand that?" Asked the stallion,
"let's just say I'm not your average teenager." Puffed I.Q.
"You know your strength could be useful to me. How would you like to be my apprentice." Proposed the stallion,
"I.Q. don't do it you aren't like him." Twilight pleaded, I.Q. smirked as he walked towards the stallion,
"that is an enticing offer but I already have a teacher and she teaches me all I need to know" replied I.Q, twilight smiled and took a deep breath, "well if you won't join me then you are of no use to me." Gloated the stallion as he sent a blast of magic at I.Q. slamming him into the wall causing him to collapse on the floor.
"I.Q!" The six shouted.
"It truly was a shame he didn't listen, my master would have enjoyed having another." Pitied the stallion. Behind him I.Q. was slowly getting to his feet,
"is that all you got" he taunted.
"Foolish child you should have stayed down." Yelled the stallion as he sent another, more powerful blast at l.Q. slamming him into the same wall and leaving a crack in the brick.
"Why should I." Rebelled I.Q. wearily.
"JUST STAY DOWN!" The stallion shouted as he sent yet another more powerful blast at I.Q.
"I will never stay down I will keep fighting whenever someone threatens my family." I.Q. Stood up easier and stronger, when the next blast came he shielded himself and ran towards the stallion. with a fierce expression on his bloodied face then a sudden flash surrounded the both of them. When the light was gone, so were they.

Magic Duel

I.Q. slid across the forest dirt while turning to face his dazed opponent, "Clever very clever child." admired the stallion, "But do you know who you are up against?"
"Actually I have an idea" grinned I.Q. the stallion simply smirked and sent an electrical charge towards I.Q,
"then you must know my power," I.Q. deflected the charge back to it's sender, "my agility," the stallion dodged the charge and sent a small invisible beam towards I.Q, "and most importantly..." I.Q. was struck by the beam and was stunned, "...my intellect" the stallion warped to I.Q.'s side and bucked him into a tree. "so tell me... who am I?" asked the stallion,
"S-starswirl the beardless" I.Q. let out a laugh at his joke but had the wind knocked out of him as Starswirl hit him in the stomach,
"That is me no longer, now I have more power because of my master. now I am midnight blade." I.Q. chuckled,
"Starswirl the beardless fits you better." before he could get hit again he warped behind midnight and swiftly kicked him into a tree followed by an electrical charge. "by the way beardless I learn by example." joked I.Q,
"you little brat." grumbled midnight. he charged at I.Q. planning to beat him to a pulp.

"everyone hurry get to the exit, anyone strong enough, carry the unconscious." ordered twilight. I.Q. had managed to buy time for their escape but twilight was still worried, "Discord, look for I.Q. and help him he can't handle the stallion on his own." Big Mac carried three of the unconscious teens and Applejack and Rainbow Dash grabbed the other two. everyone was trying to get Bolt up but nobody could but Fluttershy. "W-where is I.Q. h-he needs to be safe." he stammered Fluttershy was the one to tell him which made him nearly injure himself even further.
"Bolt I.Q. will be okay he can handle this we are meeting him at the tree of harmony and Discord went to help him." assured Fluttershy.

I.Q. and Midnight were at a standoff both had cuts and bruises but neither had won yet. "why do you insist on fighting just DIE!" shouted Midnight as he flung a kunai made of magic at I.Q. which he deflected and charged at Midnight,
"Because there are ponies who need me." he dodged another kunai. "and if I stop fighting I'll be only thinking about ending my own pain." he dodged a slash of a magic. "I will never stop protecting my family from ponies like YOU!" I.Q's eyes glowed white as he sent a large beam at Midnight, he put up a shield but the beam broke through it easily. I.Q. felt a sudden rush of power in his head as another attack was sent towards Midnight of which he couldn't defend himself. he was slammed into a tree which broke on impact as Midnight fell unconscious. I.Q. felt a rush of headaches and saw a dark furred pony with piercing red eyes and teeth like blades, all of a sudden I.Q. saw black then from the darkness came the same pony with bat wings and a curved horn with eyes of a dragon. He stepped towards I.Q.
"what a pleasant surprise the body I wish to control is owned by a pathetic child." laughed the creature.
"what are you where did you come from?" asked I.Q. in fear,
"I am the darkness in your heart, your rage, your fear, and your family curse." explained the creature with riddle.
"Family curse?" I.Q. repeated,
"you will know in due time child but now is your demise." the creature growled. he unleashed a flurry of dark blades at I.Q. of which he deflected and countered with a slash of magic that cut through the pony like butter. the pony chuckled, "you don't get it do you?" laughed the pony, "I am a shadow, no attack can defeat me." laughed the pony triumphantly.
"well being a shadow you cannot be physically harmed but shadows always flee from light." realized I.Q. he brightened his horn as the pony screeched like a banshee,
"You think you are rid of me? We will never stop this struggle. Eventually you will give in to the darkness, and when you do, I will be there to take control." he chuckled as his fur started to sizzle under the light,
"Well then, looks like you will be waiting for a while." he joked as he brightened his horn more. Once the pony had disappeared the darkness around I.Q. faded into a starry cosmic view as two alicorns with stature to rival Princess Celestia and manes as bright as both night and day appeared in front of him each with large smiles on their faces.

Discord got to Midnight but he didn't see I.Q. "Okay you torturing monster, where is I.Q." Midnight didn't respond but his breathing was faint so he was still alive. Discord wrapped Midnight in black licorice rope, "Don't leave." warned Discord. he continued his search and found nothing, when he returned with the bad news he wasn't noticed.

The Element of Harmony

I.Q. started to walk towards the two alicorns, "Why hello there little one." approached the mare softly, her fur was a subtle white, but she had a mane the color of the sunset with brightly colored feathers, her cutie mark was half of yin and yang in a bright orange coloring with a single dot of black, "My name is Bellatrix and this is Titan." she was referring to the strong standing stallion with a dark grey coat, a mane dark as night with bright stars gleaming inside, and the other half of the symbol except his was a very dark coloring but a single dot of orange.
"We have been keeping an eye on you since you were a young foal I.Q." he explained without halt.
"I know you may have a million questions but you will be answered in time but for now a little story." Bellatrix interrupted. She smiled as her horn began to glow and a bucket of popcorn appeared next to I.Q. as Titan rolled his eyes at her antics. "lets begin."

"Long ago before Equestria was formed there lived three alicorns, Titan, Bellatrix, and Charmant, Bellatrix and Charmant ruled over the crystal empire while many lands away a lone king ruled over an unnamed kingdom, one day Bellatrix took a notice to the lone king Titan. Charmant saw a longing in him, the emotions she saw in him were also in Bellatrix so Charmant took action and arranged their meeting. The two rulers got along perfectly and eventually.. fell in love. Years later they had two children one was a unicorn the other an alicorn like his parents. their names where Orion and Sweet Violet, they got along perfectly. eventually two more children came about, first Celestia then Luna both as sweet and kind as their siblings. Eventually Violet got married and had two children of her own, Starswirl and Solar Flare. Orion loved his parents' day and night but not many were able to see his father's night for they worked during the day and were left exhausted at night. He proposed to his parents an idea, to combine night and day so everyone could see their beauty. However he had a dark means of doing so. He wanted the world to be in an eternal eclipse causing the land to be blanketed with eternal darkness. When his parents refused Orion found a spell book to give him the power to sustain the eclipse. They met him with sadness at the dark being he had become, and with infinite regret and despair had to banish him to the stars for as long as time. Soon after they became drastically ill with no hope of recovery, they eventually died leaving sweet violet to take care of Celestia and Luna. Starswirl had admired his uncle greatly and when he was banished, he felt it was unjust and cruel. Long after his mother had passed he found an opening to follow through with his uncle’s work, however his sibling had seen the outcome of his rule and banished him to the shadows with the gem that grew from the grave from their grandparents not before Starswirl laid a curse on his brother that every one of his descendants that are born with the magic of the king and queen shall be cursed along with his aunts. Eventually the brother had children of which he hid in the recovering kingdom as he perished, with Luna and Celestia to care of themselves.”

"That's it?" asked I.Q. in confusion,
"yes we expected this reaction." Titan replied,
"But why, what do I have to do with any of this, I'm just some unicorn from Canterlot. I don't even have a special talent."
"That's because you haven't had time to look." Bellatrix responded joyfully as she pointed her hoof at I.Q's flank, making him notice a strange symbol, a blue phoenix with its wings in a crescent shape on a golden shield,
"Sixteen years old and now I have a cutie mark, but why am I here?"
"Because you are the child,” Titan answered, “you possess the heart to control our magic.”
“and you presented this by your fight with Starswirl, you laughed in the face of death, you stayed by the side of your friends when offered power, you didn’t stop fighting for the ones you cared about when wanting your pain to end, and ever since birth you have been honest and kind, and most importantly you have limitless magical potential, you just couldn’t access it until you showed your wisdom.” Bellatrix slowly trotted over to I.Q. and softly put a hoof on his shoulder, “this is what you were born to do, I know that this is scary and what we ask of you may be impossible but, we know you can withstand this burden.” Bellatrix and Titan’s horns began to glow along with their eyes; they joined hooves as their manes flowed upwards and a rainbow swirled around I.Q. enveloping him as his mane began to flow as well. He was blinded from the light and when it faded he was lying on the ground with everyone’s eyes looking at him in awe.

“Um what is everyone staring at.” Asked I.Q. in confusion, before anyone responded Apple Bloom ran straight into I.Q. pulling him into a powerful hug with tears streaming from her face passing over small bruises. “OW OW OOW!” he shrieked in pain,
“Sorry I just was so worried. After I woke up I had no idea where you were, and no one would tell me nothin’.” She sobbed; I.Q. wiped her tears and pulled her into a softer embrace.
“I’m okay I can handle myself in a fight.” He assured,
“I know but-“ she cut herself off when she noticed two strange things on I.Q. “Ah-Q you have your cutie mark!, a-and” she began to stutter,
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he looked at his back, his shirt was torn to shreds and it had two holes on either side with… WINGS! They had turn him into an alicorn, “Wait why?” he turned to the tree of harmony, “why did you make me an alicorn.” He said in a hushed tone for he knew how crazy he would sound. “Wait are any of the others awake yet?” he asked urgently to no one in particular,
“No but they’ll be okay, but what about you, how did this happen?” Twilight was the most confused at his new transformation. I.Q. felt a sudden wave of exhaustion,
“I’ll explain in a little bit but now we... need… to get home.” At his last word he collapsed from exhaustion and found that he had been running on adrenaline for most of the fight.

Author's Note

Bellatrix is one of the stars on Orion's belt titan is the largest moon of Saturn and charmant means lovely in french

Eye of the Hurricane

Weeks after Starswirl was less recognized as a genius but rather an enemy and after I.Q. became the seventh most popular pony in Ponyville everyone had been able to return to their normal lives or as normal things can get with two alicorns and a draconequus living in town. However I.Q. could never return to his life in Ponyville, he had many responsibilities even if he wasn’t to become royalty. For some strange reason he was called on by the map, he also had to fight against that accursed demon for control, and every time he got even stronger. I.Q. had done his best to stay under the radar of many ponyville news companies and very rarely managed to get to his daily lessons with Twilight, now needing flight lessons from Rainbow Dash and Neo, he also needed to juggle foalsitting for Bolt and Rarity long story along with a part time job at Sugarcube Corner. He only had time for fun when Bolt was off duty which rarely happened.

~~~

I.Q’s alarm went off with multiple blaring buzzes, “Please be Sunday…..” He yawned. I.Q. got up and put on his shirt and glasses to look at his calendar , his wings threw themselves upwards when he saw what was written on today’s date, “Nononononononononono that’s not possible, already?!” he frantically paced around trying to find his savings bank. Bolt stepped into the room with a small filly with a red mane and white coat suckling on a pacifier in one hoof and his other on the floor.
“I.Q. are you okay? Why are you throwing your things everywhere?” He asked in a hushed voice careful not to wake the sleeping filly.
“Yes found it.” I.Q. said not noticing his brother enter the room as he flew out the door holding a small pouch, and towards the Ponyville marketplace.

At the market he looked from stall to stall for a jeweler. “C’mon are there no jewelry merchants here today.” He asked himself. He perked up when he saw a sign with a gold bracelet on it with an earth pony working, as he dashed over to it making sure not to bump into anypony. “Excuse me... do you have any lockets for sale?” he panted to the owner,
“Why yes, and in various styles too. Trying to impress your special somepony?” she kindly replied, I.Q. felt heat rise in his cheeks,
“Yeah. Do you happen you have an apple shaped locket?“ He asked frantically,
“Why yes we do.” She looked under the table and when she came out she had a gold necklace with a small apple shaped locket,
“that is beautiful. How much for it?” he asked,
“Two-hundred bits.” I.Q. dug through his saddle bags, pulled out the pouch and pulled out the required amount. The vendor was stunned, “I was not expecting that, well here you go, hope she likes it.” She pushed the necklace to him and he levitated it into his bags and trotted off relieved.

He neared Sugarcube Corner to work when he saw Apple Bloom leaving Carousel Boutique with a bag on her back looking around before running towards Sweet Apple Acres. He was confused for a moment, but he knew how to ease his curiosity.

After he finished working he trotted over to Carousel Boutique. The bell above the door chimed at his entrance and Rarity began her welcome phrase, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic unique and magnifique, how may I help you.” She announced gleefully, “Hey Rarity, How’s business?” I.Q. asked mischievously,
“Why if it isn’t my brother-in-law, why ever do you ask?” she exclaimed,
“Business seems to bloom during this time.” He joked,
“Well Hearts and Hooves day does make many ponies go shopping for loved ones, you have that scheming look on your face darling, what really made you come here.” She asked suspiciously. I.Q. had no way of getting out of this, he is the element of harmony and in turn honesty,
“Okay, I saw Apple Bloom come out of here when I was heading over to Sugarcube Corner.” He confessed,
“Is that what you are here for? Why darling, I can’t tell you what she bought. Customer confidentiality and all, not to mention she made me pinkie pie promise not to tell you.” Pinkie pie promises, the strongest promise in Equestria. His ears drooped in defeat,
“Well whatever it is it must be important to her.” He smiled faintly at his last word remembering to put others before himself,
“I’m sure it is,” she said, lifting his head with a hoof, “Well you better get home darling, Bolt is likely wondering where you are.” She said, ushering him towards the door,
“Don’t worry he doesn’t ever expect me to be home in time.” He started towards the door and stepped out into the cool afternoon air.

okay now what else do I need for a perfect night. he kept going over any possible problem that might arise during his date and planning a counter to it. Changelings, easy, discord, no need for the elements, parasprites, easy peasy cider squeezy, “this night will be perfect.” He congratulated himself. He suddenly felt an intense pain in his entire head bouncing from his brain to his horn, he cursed under his breath, one thing he didn’t plan for. He trotted towards home to find aspirin, the moment he opened the door he collapsed only seeing his brother running towards him before blacking out.

He awoke to see Bellatrix and Titan with worried and concerned expressions on their faces, “I.Q. we are so sorry we didn’t tell you before.” Bellatrix trembled; I.Q. was even more worried now than he was about his plans,
“What’s wrong?” He said slowly,
“I.Q, we have another story, one that isn’t quite finished.” Titan told, Bellatrix had an even more worried expression on her face at his words, they had a whispered conversation but I.Q. couldn’t make it out Bellatrix backed away with a face of worry, however Titan kept his expression firm, “We should have told you this before but we didn’t want you to be overwhelmed, when Starswirl placed the curse he created a prophecy, it said ‘In many millennia every darkness to plague this land shall return, led by the very first to conquer, but one pony with the strength of an earth pony, the flight of a Pegasus, and the magic of a unicorn, who faced one demon and lived, shall rise from the ashes of the old kingdom of ponies to triumph or join the darkness.’ We first thought that the pony mentioned would be Twilight, but after seeing you we knew who it was. Sadly we didn’t know that the prophecy would come so soon.” I.Q. became even more confused and worried,
“What are you saying?” he asked,
“You are the one that will determine the fate of Equestria, you are the chosen one.” Titan said his voice firm. I.Q. couldn’t help but snicker at how cliché that phrase was, but he immediately regained his composure at Titan’s piercing glare.
“Wait but what do you mean by ‘we didn’t know it would come so soon’” Titan nodded and turned to his right as his horn began to glow and an image of the stars appeared, with the Orion constellation glowing brightly. A bright flash appeared and the constellation was gone. The image switched to Luna screaming as her body morphed back into Nightmare Moon, I.Q. wore a terrified expression, “Send me back!” he demanded with urgency, “I need to warn them.”
“It is too late to warn them, but you can and must protect them.” I.Q. merely blinked and he was in his bed with only Rarity by his side,
“Thank Celestia, we need to go.” He took no hesitation and flew out the window pulling her in his magic.

Equestria's Fall

I.Q. landed on the... checkered hill? And he took a look around at what was left of Ponyville, he set Rarity down as Scorch flew out behind them. I.Q. felt his lips curl into a frown, "Discord." he said through gritted teeth. He turned to the town hall and saw the back of a tall chair with antlers on the top, "Bingo." he grinned angrily and sped towards the throne, on his way he spun and sent his rear hoof soaring into the back of the throne with all of its force, causing it to break and causing the one sitting in it to fly out and turn to face the attacker
"Why you-" he was cut off at a large stone being thrown into his back pinning him to the ground,
"And now.. the final touch" I.Q. stood on top of the stone and began to charge his magic, with his horn aiming at the draconequus. He was prepared to release the energy when he heard a familiar voice,
"No I.Q. stop!" he turned to the voice and saw Fluttershy standing behind him with a small filly cradled in her wing with a pure white mane and a grey coat. He turned back to Discord and sent his magic into the air as he charged a weaker blast that was directed at Discord, which knocked him unconscious. Fluttershy ran towards him and wrapped him in a hug, "Thank you, I know it wasn't easy." she said quickly, I.Q. was stone-faced,
"You have no idea." he warped out of her grip and walked back towards Rarity and Scorch with Fluttershy following close behind. "So, do either of you know where to go from here." he asked in an annoyed tone,
"Twilight's castle, that's where everypony has taken refuge due to it's magic, it can withstand Discord's chaos." Rarity said,
"Well, what are we waiting for?" he said, starting to fly towards the castle

The castle was the only thing that discord was unable to touch due to it's origin. I.Q. immediately ran to Twilight leaving Fluttershy and Rarity to find Black Bolt. Twilight was at her throne looking around for any new refugees when she saw I.Q. fly over the large crowd of scared ponies. "Twilight we need to talk." He said in a stern face with an urgent tone,
"Of course, surely you know something about whats happening." she stood up and walked over to him. "More than you can imagine, but that's besides the point, we need to evacuate the whole town." Twilight stood before him in shock,
"Wait, why?"
"Long story, but..." He took a deep breath, "Everythingthatthreatenedequestriaisbackalongwithstarswirlandmeyoufluttershyandyourfriendsarethreatstothemwhichtheyknowsoifjustussevenleaveeveryoneinponyvillewillbeatargettoourlocation *gasp* whichwillcausethemtobehurtandtheywouldonlybehurtbecauseofusidon'twanttoberesponsible." he started to pant as twilight looked on with even more confusion,
"That was Pinkie Pie levels of 'long story yet no time', why not just tell me the short version."
"Okay, every being that had threatened Equestria is back, and we are threats to them, so we need to go into hiding along with everypony in Ponyville so no innocent ponies are put in harms way due to our carelessness." Twilight smiled sweetly,
"That is very noble of you, but where would we possibly go?" I.Q. started to walk towards the map,
"I have no idea, that's why I came to you, Canterlot has most likely fallen due to the moon being up at noon and the mare in the moon being inside of it." he placed one hoof on the map and it began to glow, showing his cutie mark fly around the map eventually landing in an area miles within the Everfree Forest, "Convenient." he said with a joking tone,
"But what about the vines? Surely those would make the area uninhabitable." she asked perplexed,
"Only the beings of dark magic returned, not their effects, so the crystal heart is still protecting the crystal empire, and the tree of harmony has it's magic to prevent the growth."
"How are we supposed to tell an entire town to leave their homes?"
"Well I was hoping you would help with that, you are the only princess that can do anything at the moment. Princess Celestia is in the moon, Princess Luna is Nightmare Moon, and Cadence is cornered in the crystal empire. I doubt that they will listen to me."
"I'm sure that they will, you saved them from Starswirl in the first place, what would make them forget the new element of harmony."
"I guess so." he looked at the crystal floor, "Well, better get to it." he started to walk towards the map and fluttered onto it. He brightened his horn to gain their attention, everypony soon began to look towards the source of the blinding light, "Attention everypony, I know that this may be sudden but we have to leave Ponyville. Equestria's enemies have taken control and we are all considered threats to them and if we don't leave, there will be no hope for Equestria's return. I know that what I am asking is absurd, but you all need to trust me." there was a long silence as everypony looked at him in awe and confusion. Nopony said a word for a good minute until a small yet prominent voice spoke up,
"I trust ya' Ah-Q." she pushed herself through the crowd to him, "I'll trust ya' no matter what." he lowered his hoof to lift her onto the map and they both looked back into the crowd,
"So? Who's with me?" I.Q. said in a soft tone. They all lifted their hooves into the air, some even cheered.
"Good, grab only important items such as food and tools, be sure to limit sentimental items. The princess and I will keep an eye on discord to make sure he doesn't wake up. We all need to meet at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Nopony will be left behind. Everyone good?" Everypony looked at each other for any denials for which they encountered none. "Good." he said as everypony began to spread out and leave the castle.

The Most Dangerous Place in Equestria

Everypony was accounted for, made sure by Pinkie Pie, and they were all as ready for the hike as they could be. Many ponies felt afraid, but Pinkie sang "Giggle at the Ghosties" whenever it was needed. Many dangerous creatures appeared only to be taken out by Twilight, I.Q., or the stronger ponies in the crowd. They took few breaks to have nurse Redheart or any of the other doctors check on any possible wounds. They found themselves a mere hundred yards from their destination when they saw a storm morph into existence by itself overhead. "We are almost there everypony, we can withstand a few storm clouds." Twilight was commonly the first to respond when any "natural" things happened in the forest.

Their destination was a very surprising sight at arrival, not due to what was there but who. Their first observations were multiple roughly built shelters in a wide opening surrounding a fire pit, sitting at the base of the pit was Zecora with her head hung low and occasional tears dripping from her muzzle. Apple Bloom was the first to speak up, "Um.. Zecora?" her head shot up and spun to face the hundreds of ponies watching her with awe, "My my, what is this before my eye" she paused to scan the crowd in front of her, "A whole town before me? Now that is surely a sight to see." she said in her cryptic voice
"Zecora what is this place?" Twilight asked with major curiosity
"Well the village you see, used to house me. This was the home of my tribe, of their whereabouts I do not wish to describe. " her tone became somber as another tear dripped from her cheek.
I.Q. flew around the area making sure to not disturb the craftsmareship of the likely deceased.
"I know what happened." Zecora turned her attention to him,
"If you know my tale, then you must know who made this fail."
"All too much." he flew back to the crowd, "Zecora we need your help, Equestria's been taken over and all of us are targets, you know how it feels to lose your home along with the ones you care about. So could you please just let us take refuge here so we can fight to get our home back."
"I hear your plea, and I will let you be, for I was once a refugee." she wiped her eyes with her hooves, "I shall leave and let you get settled in, so you eventually can fight those creatures of sin." she began to walk back into the large forest.
"Okay everypony, stay with your families, only one hut per family we are limited on space." Twilight began to distribute orders as I.Q. found his family and their hut.
"So, I.Q. what caused Zecora's tribe to disappear?" Bolt was the first to ask
"Discord" I.Q. gritted his teeth as though letting out the word would cause him to appear.
Fluttershy stared at him with fear and confusion, "No Discord would never do this."
"Well during his second rein the Everfree creatures became more ferocious and attacked, Zecora was the only one to survive." he used his hoof to trace a claw mark on the wall of the hut.
"How do you know this, you were in Canterlot when he took over." Fluttershy asked with suspicion.
"Twilight told me." he lowered his head,
"Twilight knew and she didn't tell me?" her expression was a mix between disappointment and denial
"Starting to rethink who your 'true love' is now aren't you." he held a smug expression.
"No, No you're lying." tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Want the truth? Go ask Twilight yourself." she ran out of the hut and flew as fast as she could to Twilight
"What is wrong with you!" Bolt turned to scold him,
"Me? I'm trying to protect her from that monster!" their voices began to rise, and both of the foals started whimpering which made them both quiet down
"I.Q. why can't you understand that she loves him. Discord has done terrible things and I don't expect you to forgive him or respect him, but you need to remember that she loves you too, you're her little brother and when she sees you like this she doesn't know how to feel." his tone became more gentle, "When you do this, you make her pick between two families. That tears her apart."
I.Q. held a furious expression, "You don't think I know what I'm doing, I'm trying to make her choose a side. I hate seeing her like this, but if this is what it takes to protect her, then so be it." he walked past his brother to the back of the hut and lied down to sleep. Before he drifted off he heard his brother,
"If only mom and dad were here..."

He awoke with a sense of dread, awaiting bad news from Titan and Bellatrix or another nightmarish vision but the only thing he saw was him and Neo back in Ponyville having fun while playing carnival games.
was I daydreaming? he thought to himself
"Sorry bud but that wasn't the dream." I.Q. nearly leaped out of his coat
"Oh C'MON! why can't I have a normal dream?" he started to feel annoyed
"Calm down, they just wanted you not to stress, and to remind you of someone." I.Q. felt an all new feeling of guilt greater than that fateful day in Canterlot
"No, this is all my fault, how could I be so careless. I could remember a town of ponies some of which I've never met, but I forget my best friend." he sat down with his face hanging low, "I need to know how to control the elements. Bring them to me, please." he pleaded to the magical copy
"Look they don't think you're ready for this, you need to stay protected, you are the o-"
"I'm not the one that needs protecting, i have the power to save everyone, I just need to know how to use it." he started to get angry,
"Fine, but they might not be so open." suddenly a large door appeared in front of the two, it opened to reveal the cosmic plane that Bellatrix and Titan reside.
"I.Q, what are you doing here?" Bellatrix said with fear and confusion
"Cut the act, I know what you were doing. Sadly you made this clone, too similar. I need you two to teach me how to control the elements."
Titan stepped up, "You aren't ready, the power and endurance needed to withstand their use is too high for a mere child."
"Why is everyone treating me like a little kid, I can handle this, I took down Starswirl didn't I?"
"That was different, the elements found their way to you, using them is almost impossible at your age."
"Almost, look I know that you are trying to protect me, but I have ponies to protect too, that includes bringing back Celestia and Luna." a mischievous smirk plastered itself across his face as he turned to see their angry yet sullen faces.
A smirk suddenly appeared on Titan's face as well, "Very well, if you must know how. Lets do this one by one, I will be teaching you how to control loyalty, honesty, and magic, while Bellatrix will be teaching kindness, generosity, and laughter. Seeing as the most important is magic, that will be last. You will be taught in the harshest way possible, and you cannot back down, if you do, we will go to our original plan, understood?"
I.Q. stood at attention, "Yes sir!" Titan merely chuckled.
"Good, then let us begin."

Author's Note

ZECORA IS DIFFICULT TO WRITE, I'm sure other writers know that if they ever place her in their stories

Training, Routine, Strategy

The training was grueling and he felt the weakness when Rarity shook him awake. "Good, um... twilight, I.Q, we need to get to the fire-pit for assignments." I.Q. stood up slowly and left quickly with Rarity to the village center. The assignments were given orderly and appropriately with each pony having a job that is somewhat similar to their job in Ponyville. I.Q. however was assigned to perimeter check with his brother, which he wasn't looking forward to.

After everyone got their assignments Twilight pulled I.Q. back. "You know why I assigned you with your brother, right?" she had a concerned yet angry expression.
"Why else, he is my brother after all." he said knowing full well why.
"I.Q, cut the crap," I.Q. was slightly shocked at her words, "yes I said that, I told you never to tell Fluttershy about what happened to Zecora's tribe, not to mention when she flew through my door she could hardly say a word because she was crying so much." I.Q. began to feel a drop of guilt,
"I was doing what I thought was right for my family, at any cost."
"And that was making your own sister, one of my best friends, cry because you can't deal with the fact that she loves Discord?" I.Q. lost guilt and began to feel frustrated.
"Do you forget that he is the reason my parents are gone, he's the reason i had to put up with insane foster parents, he's the reason-"
"That you came to Ponyville," she cut him off with a quiet tone, "that you became my student, that you got involved with Starswirl, that you got your cutie mark," she paused as she looked through I.Q's expression to try and find any trace of understanding or realization. However, the only thing she saw was a cold stone without a single crack or chip at her words.
"Look Twilight, I understand that you want to help but I need to get to work." he started to trot in the direction of the patrol groups, leaving behind a defeated Twilight.

There was a short instructional lecture given by Black Bolt, seeing as he has the only military experience. The brothers completed their shift in a heavy silence with the weight increasing by the second, the first to break it was Bolt, "We both had the wrong thought last night." his words fell on deaf ears,
"Bolt, why do you accept the fact that she loves it." he spoke with quiet anger, not moving to face his brother.
"The reason I accept it is because, even though i may not respect this decision, I can see that they truly love each other through my anger. You, however, are a different case, I've seen how close you were with Mom and Dad, you probably felt the closest to them than me and Fluttershy, but we all loved them and we all were devastated when they were killed, but we each handled their deaths differently, it just seems like you haven't yet." his words hang in the air with no response, only a drip on the forest floor. followed by another... and another... and another, until they were mere seconds apart. I.Q. stopped and sat down, he felt an overwhelming lump in his throat, choking him, until he let it out. he sat there, sobbing, with his hoof trying to trace a heart that wasn't there, they sat there for the rest of their shift, having traced the camp's border multiple times, and held each other, not as guardian and child, but as brothers.

The next few days went more smoothly, wake up, work shifts, eat, sleep, train, repeat. It wasn't until I.Q's final lesson that he had troubles. The first night of training he failed miserably and woke up with a pounding headache and a desert throat. He looked over to his brother but only found his sister-in-law sleeping soundly as she can. He began to feel suspicious but his overwhelming thirst took control of his thoughts. He stepped out to the camp's stream and began to hear voices coming from the main hall, after he took a quick drink he investigated and found his brother and many other ponies, few he recognized immediately, talking to each other, with Twilight and Black Bolt at the center of attention going back and forth,
"Bolt, we need I.Q. on this, there's no other way." said Twilight in an angered tone,
"There is no way I'm letting my little brother fight, he barely managed to survive against Starswirl." he said in even greater anger, "He and Fluttershy are the only siblings I have, and I'm not gonna let some beasts take either of them. What about the crystal empire? Surely they could help."
Before she could respond I.Q. found himself at the center of attention as everypony there turned to face him one by one. Until Bolt, too faced him with a look of worry.
"What's this about 'no other way' and 'little brother'?" I.Q. asked with suspicion. He looked back and forth between the two dumbstruck ponies.
"I.Q. this doesn't have anything to do with you." Bolt lied
"Nothing to do with me? If you're taking a vote on whether or not to use me as a weapon you can at least let me know about it." he said with sarcastic anger,
Twilight stepped up "I.Q. we would never consider using you as a weapon, it's just that-"
"I'm the only one capable of stopping them, I know," he paused, "But I'm also the only threat to their power, if I died, then they'd win, and everyone here will-" he had a flash of realization, he could be the death of them.
"I.Q?" asked Bolt concerned "I.Q. I know what you're thinking, don't do anything stupid, just head back to the hut and go to sleep. I'll be right behind you." he quickly turned to give a quick "this isn't over" to Twilight, while I.Q. was going through the phases of the most dangerous plan he could think of. For now however, he needed all the sleep he could get. biding his time until he put his "plan" into action.

The First Spark

I.Q. woke up yet again in a pool of sweat, after another failed training session and took this as another opportunity to check if anyone else was awake so he could put his plan into action. He looked over to where his brother slept and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his brother sleeping soundly. They wouldn't have a meeting without him there He thought.

He decided to make a hasty escape and found himself in front of the saddlebags he hid for the trip, and behind them was one of the ponies he wished he hadn't dragged into this, "So, you're leavin' and you didn't think about telling me?" tears began to well up in her eyes
"Apple Bloom, I'm doing this to protect you, to protect all of you." I.Q. said in a hushed tone
"So you try and protect me by disappearin' without me knowin'? Why did any of this have to happen." she paused and sat down, letting her tears drip one by one. I.Q. stood next to her and wrapped his wings around her,
"I know how much you don't want me to do this, and to be honest I don't want to either, but this is something that I need to do, it's the only way to protect all of you." he paused for a moment, "Tell my brother if you get the chance, just make sure he doesn't do something as stupid as I'm about to do." they smiled for a short time, but the situation broke their small moment of happiness. they sat in silence for a while holding each other, until they both knew that it was time to go,
"Wait," she stopped him before he grabbed his bag, she looked up at him, untied her bandana, and tied it around his neck, "somethin' to remember me by." they both paused for another second, until they both leaned in, and their lips touched, each savoring the moment, but it wouldn't last. I.Q. finally grabbed his bags and began to leave, but quickly turned back and whispered.
"I love you" while dropping the apple pendant into her hooves, and quickly escaped into the brush.

I.Q. made his way to the edge of the forest and paused to look out over what remained of his home.

What used to be grass and dirt paths was replaced with a checkered pattern. there were many odd constructions that replaced different buildings including a giant house of cards and a plethora of upside-down buildings.

I.Q. felt rage fill him when he saw his sister's cottage turned into a gargantuan castle, but had to keep himself from steering away from his mission. he used his magic to teleport from location to location, trying his hardest to hide from patrolling guards, eventually managing to make it to the train station before realizing that the trains weren't running, he cursed under his breath, how else am i going to get to canterlot he thought. He decided to search the entire town, soon getting lost in the chaos, he cursed again, there's got to be some sort of transportation.

he continued his search, eventually coming across an airfield hidden in the chaos, he used his magic to warp onto one ship, named The King, going as fast as possible to find a spot to hide, in hopes that this ship would take him to canterlot. luckily the ship did go to the capitol, and I.Q. managed to get within the castle walls before.

"HALT!" I.Q. heard a guard call out from behind him, he began to run but felt an arrow go through his leg, making him fall to the ground. the pain had paralyzed him, leaving him vulnerable. The guard then grabbed him by the neck and bashed I.Q. with the butt of the crossbow, knocking him unconscious.

I.Q. awoke in a cell and saw starswirl begin a monologue, while he planned his escape, only to get knocked out of his trance by one of the two guards beginning to try and beat information out of him

"We have the elements of harmony in custody uncle" starswirl said to a large alicorn with a black swirling mane and a dark blue coat,

"I thought you had said that the elements were absorbed by someone?" the alicorn stated confused

"they are lord Orion" starswirl confirmed

"so bring them to me! there are very few that can wield the magic of my parents and i wish to meet one of those few, this pony could be of use to our cause." Orion said with a slight tone

"of course my lord, as you wish." Starswirl walked out of the throne room, towards the cell of their new prisoner while Orion sat on his throne, looking away from the painted glass that lined the hall.

Prologue

`"Well well, what a pleasant surprise." gloated a unicorn standing over a bloodied alicorn, "such a young pony has gotten past my entire army." he leaned in close, "and how did that work out for you?" he started to walk out of the cell, "Get the location of them out of him do whatever you can but don't kill him." he commanded to two snake-eyed bat-pony soldiers as they walked in, the one on the left held the young alicorn against the cell wall as the other one started beating him with his hooves and asking the same thing over and over, "Where are the others!"

~~~

Once upon a time. In the magical land of Equestria... Now I'm sure you've heard that one before so lets start over a year after in Canterlot with a small unicorn colt with an interest in magic. He had thought magic was his special talent but was sadly mistaken although that didn't keep him from trying again and again to find his special talent. Anyways this is the story of how this little unicorn ended up doing great things.

~~~

I.Q. started his day like any other he woke up put on his plaid shirt his baseball cap along with his black and green parachord bracelet and looked in the mirror. Nothing was different he still had his soft yellow coat, from his mother, his bright green mane, and his hazel eyes. Every day he went through this routine. Every year he was bigger and had stronger magic, not to mention intelligence, he trained every day with his brother to learn how to defend himself. But this day was unlike any other this one day will change his life forever for better and worse.

Years' Past

I.Q. enjoyed his years in Ponyville he learned a lot from Princess Twilight and was joyous to see his sister, Fluttershy, he quickly became friends with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Button Mash, and came to see a special connection between Sweetie and Button and wanted the same connection between him and Apple Bloom. after a while he realized his regular classes with the princess weren't well on a schedule with the castle's Cutie Map constantly interrupting, but some of these he was happy about (especially ones on test days).

~~~

It took a while but Twilight eventually decided to show I.Q. to the Tree of Harmony and told him the stories of her and her friend's use of the elements. Along with a few others I.Q. grew to know the three ponies he hadn't even formally met that his teacher had as friends. There wasn't much excitement for I.Q. he had always been on the sidelines of all of the action in the town. But he did have a few bits of social excitement when he found that his four friends had gotten their cutie marks but he had still been without one. He had held in a crush for Apple Bloom for several years but eventually found the courage to tell her. She responded ecstatically and said she had always known that he had a crush on her which made I.Q. turn red and smile sheepishly.

~~~

There were many years of quiet with a few bumps and maybe even a mountain for I.Q., but no matter what his family was his brace and he got through everything (except the mountain). All the while remaining without a cutie mark and a constant thought of his strange dream after his first day in Ponyville