[Early Saturday Morning]

[Teala’s POV]

After my shower, I went straight to bed, and slept until the next morning while trying not to think too much about the new cutie mark I recently gained. It was strange, once a pony gets their cutie mark, their first reaction would be the great joy of finally getting something that represents them in some way. With me though… I was confused. Mine was unique, yes, but with the circumstances that happened yesterday, the same day that Roxxie, Cyan, and I planned to spend the summer finding our cutie marks, plus the unfortunate turn of events afterwards that led to… Well, THAT last night, I just wanted to sleep and try to forget that happened, and it was all part of some crazy dream that I would wake up from.

“MASTER TEALA!” A loud voice yelled from the hall which made me groaned from being awaken in such manner as I sat up tiredly. The door opened, and Sigmund was at the door gasping for breath with a rolled up scroll in one of his hands.

“Sigmund… What’s going on?” I groaned while wiping my eyes. “It’s Saturday, and I don’t have school. I should be sleeping in today instead of waking up at…” I checked the clock in my room to check the time. “… 6:45 in the morning,” I finished with a grunt of annoyance.

“Believe me, Master Teala, I would love to let you sleep in today if I didn’t found what was in the mail during my routines this morning,” he explained solemnly as he walked over and handed me the scroll that was in his hand.

I unraveled it, and tried to read it with my tired eyes before they shot wide open while I gasped.

To Teala,

It is with great regret to say that there’s absolutely no chance of me staying in Canterlot anymore. It seems with a recent discovery I found after we parted ways, told my parents about it, and what happened today, they came to the conclusion that I poise too big of a threat to be around them, and the two of you anymore. They want to send me someplace far away where I won’t hurt anyone, but I’ll be saving them the trouble. If what they said was true, I don’t want to take up any chances of being around you if there’s a chance I could hurt you, as you are one of the best friends I would ever ask for. I’m sorry that I won’t be able stay with you two, but it’s for the best for all of us that I was gone. I’ll always treasure the memories we made together up to this point, and it has been a great honor, and pleasure to be your friend. I wish you the best of luck in finding your cutie marks, and what the future has in store for you two. I’ll always love having the both of you being in a significant part of my life, and I’ll always cherish the memories we made together.

Goodbye forever,

Cyan Dusknight

My hands trembled while gripping the parchment in my hands after I finished reading. Tears started welling up in my eyes, and my lips quivered from the message that I pray to Celestia it was some kind of cruel joke.

“Master Teala, I…” Sigmund said before I raised my palm to stop him.

“Sigmund… Leave…” I ordered with a crack in my voice. “Gather a search party, scour the city, and inform me ASAP as soon as you find any clues to where Cyan is. I’m going to change, get Roxxie, and get to the bottom of this. Right. Now,” I finished with anger and sadness.

Sigmund was silent as he bowed solemnly and left the room while closing the door. At that moment, I quickly changed out of my night gown, and into some casual clothes: a blue V-neck cashmere sweater while fitting my wings through the holes, and white jeans. I opened the large bedroom window, and flew off quickly while gripping tightly to the scroll. I left the mansion and its property while I flew as fast as I could to Roxxie’s place in the West Side.

My wings started to ache from the harsh flying, but I didn’t stop as I lowered myself to the ground, damp from the heavy rainstorm last night, as I was a couple blocks away from Roxxie’s home.

“TEALA!” A familiar voice screamed from a figure that sprinted towards me. The both of us slowed down to a halt, and caught our breaths. Roxxie was wearing a sweat shirt and matching pants, probably was on a morning jog before I ran into her. “Teala… Please tell me you’re not here for the same reason I was while trying to find you,” she pleaded while she held up a rolled up parchment.

The two of us quickly exchanged parchments to skim over each other’s letters. As we feared, it was the same message, only with our respective names making the difference. “This can’t be happening… Please tell me this can’t be happening… Not after how we left last night…” I begged with my voice shaking.

“Only one way to find out,” Roxxie replied with a mix of fear and anger in her eyes. I knew what she meant then, and I nodded in agreement. The both of us ran to Cyan’s home to find some answers.

We were running so fast, we wouldn’t be able to slow down fast enough, especially when a tall, light green, whitish blonde mane and tail colored pegasus in a black bucket hat walked out from an adjacent road into our path. “WATCH OUT!” I screamed as we sprinted, unable to slow down to a stop. The pegasus wasn’t fast enough as he stopped and turned to our direction in confusion, while I ended up ramming into him. The both of us screamed as we toppled to the damp ground, and groaned in pain afterwards. I tried to get up before I realized that we were in a VERY awkward and indecent position. I jumped back, and screamed from the top of my lungs while my face blushed brightly red, hoping someone nearby would wake up from the noise.

“W-wait a minute, I’m sorry for what happened there! I didn’t mean-"

“You. Filthy. PERVERT!” Roxxie interrupted the stallion as she charged in with a battle cry, and gave him a strong right straight in the face. He was sent flying backwards, knocking his hat off, and some kind of book out of his foreign looking top before he roughly landed on the ground once more. He lied there with a swollen cheek, and dizzy from the impact while Roxxie stomped up to him, grabbed his collar, and shook him back in forth in a violent manner. “WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YA CAN ASSAULT MY FRIEND LIKE DAT HUH?! YA BETTER ‘AVE A FUCKIN’ DAMN GOOD REASON FO' RAMMIN’ INTO US LIKE DAT UNLESS YA WANT ME TA POUND YA INTO TARTARUS YA SON OF A BITCH!” Roxxie threatened loudly while her voice temporarily reverted to a more recognizable Manehattan accent.

“Forgive me for intruding ladies,” he apologized while still being shaken, speaking dizzily and delusional. “But I was on my way to Marine Dusknight’s home for important guard academy business. You wouldn’t happen to know where he might be would you?”

Roxxie stopped shaking him immediately after the question was brought up, leaving the three of us silent for a moment.

“A-actually, we were heading there ourselves,” I answered to break the silence while the heat in my cheeks died down. “We can lead you there if you’d like.”

The stallion shook his head to regain stability, and sighed while trying get his composure before responding. “That would be nice, thank you.”

“But you BETTER not try anything funny again or I’ll send you flying out of Canterlot. Capiche?!” Roxxie asked while holding a shaking, tight, fist in front of the stallion.

He swallowed nervously. “C-crystal,” he responded before Roxxie pulled him up by the collar. He brushed himself, and the hat that he wore that fell out from the tackle before he put it back on, and tipped it to us. “Again, I apologize for running into you earlier, and for… well, that,” he apologized with a cough.

“L-let’s just not speak of that again, shall we?” I requested, which the stallion nodded in agreement. “I’m Teala Crystalwaters, and this is my friend, Roxxie Stone.”

“Nil Thunder, Cadet of Squad 13 in the E.U.P. Guard Academy… Well, soon to be ‘ex’ anyway,” Nil introduced.

“Ex? What for?” Roxxie asked with a raised eyebrow while crossing her arms.

“I was offered to join the Royal Guard yesterday, but I’m deciding to decline that, and resign from the academy,” Nil reasoned.

“That’s odd,” I commented. “I would think you enrolled in the academy for joining the guard in the first place. What made you change your mind?”

“I enrolled for a different reason entirely really,” he explained. “But now that I came and found what I was looking for, it’s time that I move on to someplace else.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with what’s in this book does it?” Roxxie asked while she skimmed through the pages of said book.

“Dah! G-give that back!” Nil insisted before he reached for the book, but Roxxie reacted by dodging his attempts while she read. Her eyes suddenly shot wide open at a certain entry she found.

“Wait a minute… Six Titans… Earth, Fire, Water, Thunder, Light, and Shadow…” Roxxie mumbled incoherently as she scanned through the pages. “Hey pervert! Do you know a lot about what’s in here?” She asked while holding up the book in questioning, which Nil swiped from her hand in reaction before putting it back in his shirt.

“Yes, and it’s of none of your concer-Yipe!"

“Actually pervert, I think this DOES concern me,” Roxxie interrupted with a snarl as she pulled Nil down to her level by the collar again. “When we get through with our businesses at Dusknight’s place, I have some questions that I need to ask ya, and you’re going to answer them even if I’ll have to BEAT them out of ya,” Roxxie threatened.

What got Roxxie so interested in this all of a sudden? One minute she was worrying about Cyan, and the next she’s interested in whatever’s in that book of his… Wait a minute… Did one of those things she said was ‘Water?’ Not to mention, ‘Six Titans?’ That sounds like something Sigmund told me about last night… Did something similar happened with Roxxie too? Hold on, now that I think about it…

It seems with a recent discovery I found after we parted ways, told my parents about it, and what happened today, they came to the conclusion that I poise too big of a threat to be around them, and the two of you anymore.

…That was part of what was in Cyan’s message too… Did something like me and Roxxie happened with him as well?

“… I’d like to know about this as well,” I added in, which got the both of them turn to me in surprise. “There’s something strange about what’s going on right now, and I think the information you have may be a piece to the puzzle of finding this out. Once we’re done with our businesses there, you’re going to comply to OUR demands, or I’ll press charges on you for sexual and pre-adolescent assault. You owe me THAT much,” I finished with an ice cold glare with my wings flared.

“…Dude, I think you should follow her demands,” Roxxie suggested to Nil. “Teala’s from a big family that knows good sources, and if SHE’S serious about this as I am, you do NOT want to cross us.”

Nil just lied there with his wings furled, and trembling from the pressure that was pressed on him. “Y-yes. Of course. I’ll answer whatever questions you ask, just please don’t hurt me,” Nil begged quickly before Roxxie dropped him to the ground.

“Excellent. It was a pleasure negotiating with you Mr. Thunder. Now if you would follow us please,” I ordered politely as I walked past the two of them before I turned and glared at the stallion. “And don’t even THINK about flying off Mr. Thunder, or I WILL find you, and I WILL bring you down,” I threatened before I continued walking while Roxxie was at my side. With a defeated sigh, Nil got up, straightened his hat, and followed us sluggishly to Cyan’s home.

The three of us got to the front door of Cyan’s house, with feelings of outrage, fear, and despair lingering around us as what will happen next is unknown to us.

“Roxxie, if you would do the honors please?” I asked politely while crossing my arms.

“With pleasure,” Roxxie snarled before she popped her knuckles, got to the door, and back kicked hard enough to break the entrance down off of its hinges. I stood there with an unamused expression as I knew her strength would result to this. Nil however hopped back and yelped in surprise like a little filly. I’d be giggling at that right now if I wasn’t so serious for what will come next. Roxxie stomped inside the house, and looked upstairs. “YO! MARINE! OLIVE! GET THE BUCK DOWN HERE! WE NEED TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU!” She ordered loudly.

Cyan’s parents came downstairs at a normal, loud pace with his dad leading. “What is the meaning of this?! I demand-!” Mr. Dusknight said before he and his wife saw us at the entrance. “... Roxxie, Teala… Nil Thunder? What are you three doing here at this time of the morning?”

“And what happened to our door?!” Mrs. Cross added.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just dropping off my resignation form here before I leave the academy,” Nil answered with a nervous laughter while holding up said form.

“Forget about that,” I said. “What WE want to know, is what you said to Cyan that made him do THIS?!” I demanded while Roxxie and I held out the letters Cyan had left us.

His parents took the letters and skimmed over them, with their expressions changing from anger to… Fear and anxiety?

“W-what?” Mr. Dusknight stuttered. “But, Cyan was…” He said before he looked at his wife, and the two ran back upstairs.

“HEY! YOU TWO GET BACK HERE!” Roxxie demanded while she, Nil, and I followed Cyan's parents.

We got to Cyan’s room with his parents standing there stunned. The room was empty, with Cyan’s school supplies lying across his bed next to his stuffed bear. His window was wide open, with a patch of wet carpeting below it, signifying how long the rain last night pelted inside. The closet, drawers, and bathroom door was open as well, with the first two unusually empty of clothes and jackets. There was also a plate of lasagna on his desk that gave the room a certain stink as it was probably sitting there since last night. The only thing that wasn’t there that should be was our missing friend. “…No…” Mrs. Cross said before she covered her muzzle with her hands with tears welling up in her eyes. “Did he somehow heard us?” She asked herself.

“HEY!” Roxxie yelled as she stomped to Mr. Dusknight before she turned him and grabbed his collar. “I ASKED YOU WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?! WHERE’S OUR FRIEND?! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU EVEN SAY TO HIM?!” She roared, demanding answers while tears were welling up in her eyes as well.

Mr. Dusknight just stood there while doing something I've never seen up until now… He was crying. “… I’m sorry…” He apologized. “… I just… I’m not… Obligated to say…” He stuttered.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!” Roxxie rebuttled. “YOU DROVE HIM AWAY! YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! WHY WON’T YA FUCKING ANSWER YA SON OF A BITCH?!” She shouted before she dropped him and pounded his chest weakly with tears coming down as well. “TELL ME DAMMIT! Tell me… Please just… Tell me…” She stopped before she dropped on her knees and elbows to the floor, and cried loudly in sadness. My legs broke down as I got to my knees and cried behind my hands as well. Mrs. Cross sobbed on Cyan’s bed while Mr. Dusknight just stood there looking down on the ground with his back turned to us, with his own tears dripping to the floor. The only one who wasn’t crying was Nil who just stood there at the door way. He wasn’t confused at the situation, but was deep in thought as he observed all of what transpired in the past couple of minutes. After a few moments, Nil placed a hand on my shoulder, which caught my attention as I looked up to him while he was kneeling beside me.

“We may need to talk. We should get out of here while we can,” he whispered.

I nodded, weakly got up to my hooves, walked over, and kneeled to Roxxie’s side while I had my hand on her back. “Roxxie… We need to go…” I croaked.  “We can’t get anything out of them right now, so let’s leave them alone,” I suggested. Roxxie just sat there silently for a moment before she slowly got up, and pointed to the doorway, gesturing me and Nil to lead the way. Nil set his resignation form on Cyan’s desk before he left the room first. I followed with both of Cyan’s letters in hand, and Roxxie came after. She stopped at the exit and turned to Cyan’s parents once more.

“I will never forgive you for whatever the fuck you did to Cyan…” She snarled to them. “I swear, I’m going to make you pay, if it’s the last thing I do,” she finished before she left the room, and the three of us left Cyan’s household with feelings of dread weighing on our shoulders.

We started walking to the East Side of Canterlot in silence before Nil started talking. “So… Where are we heading now?” He asked.

“My place,” I answered solemnly. “We’ll discuss about your ‘findings’ once we get there.”

“Um… Sorry to hear about your friend leaving,” Nil apologized. “I think your earlier actions suddenly made sense to why you were so… demanding.”

“She’s not always like that you know,” Roxxie added. “Mine’s pretty normal considering the circumstances earlier, but I didn’t think you’d use your money and status to go that far Teala. What gives?” Roxxie asked.

“Well…” I said before a voice stopped the three of us in our tracks.

“MASTER TEALA!” The voice yelled, recognized to be Sigmund as he, our new maid, I think Cinny was her name, and a strange pony wrapped in a tarp were briskly walking towards us, and we ran to them.

“Yes Sigmund? Did you find anything?” I asked.

“We may have,” Sigmund answered, to which Roxxie and my ears perked up at the response. “This young colt here said he might have seen someone passing by late last night,” he continued before he pulled back the colt’s tarp hood.

His appearance was… What’s the best way to describe it? Wild? His coat was light orange, while his mane was short and spiky with mixtures of red, orange, and yellow, as if flames were spouting out of his head. His tail might have been too short to reach his knee while hiding in the tarp, but I’m sure the colors there were the same. The colt however… Didn’t look all that healthy. He was kind of trembling in place, as if he was using a lot energy just to stand. “I… Might have saw someone…” He croaked with a dryness in his voice.

“Is it a colt?! Was he a unicorn?! Please! You gotta tell us!” Roxxie asked while shaking the exhausted looking colt.

“P-please… Need… Food…” The colt pleaded dryly before he lost what energy left, and fell to the ground.

“Crap!” Roxxie exclaimed. “What should we do?!”

“You heard the colt! He’s starving to death!” I exclaimed. “Let’s get back to the mansion, and get some breakfast there. Roxxie! Grab him, and let’s go!” Roxxie nodded, and picked him up to her shoulder.

“What about the stallion with you? Who’s he?” Cinny asked while pointing to Nil.

“Don’t mind me, just going along for the ride against my will,” he replied sarcastically, to which Sigmund and Cinny quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

“Nevermind him. He’s with us,” I chimed in. “Roxxie and I have some questions for him, which might answer what happened to… Yesterday,” I answered hesitantly. Roxxie and Nil looked at me with confused glances in response while Sigmund nodded in understanding.

“Of course. Let’s hurry now while the colt’s still conscious,” Sigmund replied. The four of us agreed, and ran back to the mansion with the fiery colt on Roxxie’s shoulder.

Things are just leading to one thing after another this morning. Cyan left to who knows where, his parents seemed to not know about his departure until today, and they won’t tell us about what happened last night. What did Mr. Dusknight mean when he wasn’t obligated to answer? What could have happened that made him keep his lip shut, but choking on his tears? In any case, whatever information Nil has that got Roxxie interested somehow, may only be part of the reason why all of this was happening, leaving more questions left unsolved. I don’t care how many obstacles there are, I won’t give up until I find out what’s going on, and find out where Cyan is. He’s not gonna leave us with how he was last night, and that last statement he left in the letters:

I’ll always love having the both of you being in a significant part of my life, and I’ll always cherish the memories we made together.

If that isn’t as close to a confession of love as it could get, I don’t know what is. I will find him, and I WILL express my feelings for him like I should have done a long time ago. Maybe Roxxie feels the same way, it would make sense considering how she was acting earlier. I’ll have to talk to her about that soon, but if there’s one thing I’m absolutely sure about in all of this confusion, it’s this: I love Cyan Dusknight, and I’ll do whatever it takes to see him once more to profess that to him. Next Chapter: Chapter 12: Getting Closer: Lumina's Inner Conflicts Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 8 Minutes