[Late Saturday Afternoon]

[Teala’s POV]

After I had left the book and scroll in the nightstand of my room, I had a small lunch one of my chefs made for me. I had warned him and the rest of the kitchen staff to prepare when Blaze is ready for another buffet, and they looked like they were preparing for war soon after I said that. When I had finished lunch, and had my new maid Cinny take the dishes back to the kitchen, I read one of my favorite romance novels while I waited for Roxxie, Nil, and Blaze to return.

Roxxie was the first to return as I let her in through intercom before she got inside. She had her backpack for school, and her other bag with what I had assumed to be clothes for the next few nights. “Hey Teala, am I late?” She asked as she walked to the living room.

“Not at all,” I responded. “You’re actually the first to come back. Let me get those bags for you. Sigmund!” I exclaimed before my trusted butler came to the room. “Would you take Roxxie’s belongings up to my room please?” I asked him.

“At once Milady,” he complied before he took Roxxie’s bags, and brought them upstairs.

“Hey where’s Blaze?” Roxxie asked while she scanned the room. “I thought there’d be chefs coming in and out with food by now.”

“Blaze is going through a Code Four cleaning,” I responded nonchalantly.

Roxxie stood while she shuddered from my answer. “C-Code Four?” She asked nervously. “As in… Th-three levels above the one time Cyan and I went through after our mud wrestle?”

“Indeed,” I answered without hesitation.

“Oh the poor bastard,” Roxxie pitied before she covered her eyes. “What did he DO to you that made you go this far with him?”

“Did you not SMELL the stink he came in here with?” I asked with emphasis. “He was a walking landfill, and he didn’t remember the last time he had bathed! I had to get everything he came in contact with disinfected three times before anyone caught whatever disgusting germs he had left,” I caught something different in the clean air as I whiffed the scent to find the source in question. “You may need to freshen yourself up before bed tonight too Roxxie,” I suggested.

Roxxie raised an eyebrow before she raised one of her arms to smell one of her pits. She cringed from the scent that came off of it before she blushed at the embarrassment. “I guess I forgot to shower after my jog this morning,” she confessed. “All that had happened today must have gotten my head on auto pilot.”

“I guess that’s reasonable,” I agreed before I marked my place in the book I was reading.

Soon after, the intercom rang again, and it was Nil who came next. After letting him in the mansion, he was carrying a sturdy metal suitcase, a camp set, and a bag of suckers which he already had one in his mouth. “So you got a bit of a sweet tooth old perv?” Roxxie asked first as he walked inside.

“Shugah hulps keep my bwain actif,” Nil responded with the candy still in his mouth before he held up the bag that contained more. “Want one?” He asked, offering us a share.

Roxxie and I glanced at each other before we shrugged, and took one of each from the bag. I had a blueberry while Roxxie had butterscotch.

“I’ve returned Master Teala,” Sigmund called as he came back downstairs where the three of us stood. “Ah, Master Nil, welcome back,” he greeted with a bow.

“Are Nil’s and Blaze’s rooms ready for their stay?” I asked with my sucker out.

“Quite so Milady, and I do believe Master Blaze should be almost finished with his clean up,” Sigmund reported.

“Excellent. Please show Nil to his room, and have him come to the private study after he unpacks. Send word of this to the maids taking care of Blaze as well,” I requested.

“As you wish. Right this way Master Nil,” Sigmund directed before he led the way.

“Sure ding. Want a shuka?” Nil offered as he followed him out of the room.

“Huh, didn’t think he had it in him,” Roxxie commented before she finished her sucker with a crunch.

“Indeed,” I agreed. “Shall we head to the private study and wait for everyone to gather?”

“Lead the way. Still can’t believe I get lost in here sometimes,” Roxxie commented while scratching her head before I led us to the study as I took my sweet time to finish my own candy.

Roxxie and I sat together on a couch while we waited for the other two to arrive. Nil came back first with the book we saw this morning as Sigmund led him in. The former sat on a chair to the left of us while the latter sat on a chair from across the space, leaving only the last chair empty on our right.

“Sheesh, what’s taking Blaze so long?!” Roxxie asked impatiently.

“You must understand that a Code Four takes QUITE some time to take care of, and Blaze was struggling as the maids carried him to the bath house,” I explained. “I can only assume his acts of protest only adds the time to finish.”

“He did stink when we first saw him,” Nil added. “I’m surprised his ‘heightened sense of smell’ didn’t catch any whiff of it.”

Soon, the door opened a crack before Cinny peaked through the opening nervously. “U-um…” She stuttered.

“Did everything go smoothly with Master Blaze’s cleaning Ms. Cinny?” Sigmund asked.

“W-well…” Cinny replied. “You might… Want to see for yourself,” she nervously suggested before she opened the door some more, and almost immediately loud guffaws of laughter filled the room from Roxxie and Nil while my face heated up from the sight.

“Oh dear… I think Code Four might have been too far for him,” I admitted with regret.

Blaze was standing at the door with a Renaissance era-like attire. Starting from the top, his tri-colored mane was styled in a perm on his red and orange face with mixed expressions of anger and embarrassment. On his upper body, he had a turquoise vest that stretched below his waist with a matching cape over a white, puffy long-sleeve shirt. He had a pair of trousers that matched his vest, and white frills sticking out of the bottom.

“DUDE! You look ridiculous!” Roxxie exclaimed in between laughs while rolling on the floor.

“And ponies thought I had poor taste in fashion!” Nil asked while wiping tears from his eyes.

“I look so fucking STUPID!” Blaze roared while tried to fix his mane back the way it was using his Fire powers like a heating press.

Huh, that actually looks pretty handy. Wonder if he could do that with mine?

“Well at least you’re clean now, and I do so apologize for my exaggerated actions,” I broke in. “Sigmund, please take note to prepare some clothes like the set he was wearing earlier before he leaves tomorrow.”

“Dully noted Master Teala,” Sigmund responded while clearing his throat, trying to stifle his own laughter.

Note to self, make adjustments to the Code Four cleaning emergency, and review the other three before putting them to use again in later time.

“Well now that we’re all gathered here, please have a seat Blaze,” I gestured towards the empty chair before he gruffly complied. “Cinny, be sure no one interrupts us in here unless there’s a dire emergency.”

“Y-yes Master,” Cinny complied while she curtsied before she left the room.

“Now then,” I said. “I think the first order of business is discussing what the four of us in this room have in common that Mr. Nil Thunder will now explain. If you will please?” I asked in his direction before he held up the book in his hand, and opened to the page he was looking for.

“I should probably begin with the legend that started it all,” Nil said. “This isn’t the first time I had told this, as the last one who heard it was my acquaintance at the academy who I suspected to have one of these powers. Her name is Luminescent Lustre, but she likes to go by Lumina. She’s the mare that I’m sure who’s looking after your friend Cyan right now.”

How odd. Somehow the name ‘Lustre’ rings a bell, but I can’t recall where I had heard of it. I’ll have to look into it later.

With that mental note, Nil began telling the legend of the Six Titans, how they represent each Element of Magic that helped build the world we stand on, the sun and the moon, and the lives they created. I was surprised that our ruling monarch, Princess Celestia, was one of the first living life forms that roamed across the land, and she wasn’t the only one ruling it after the great war of the alicorns. I had to ask what happened to the other ruler, Princess Luna, and why she isn’t here today. He explained how she turned into Nightmare Moon, and how she wanted to bring an eternal night when ponies at the time didn’t look up to her for raising the moon. Princess Celestia had resorted to use the Elements of Harmony the diarchs received from the Tree of Harmony in order to banish Nightmare Moon to the moon to prevent an eternal night. I never knew that was part of how the holiday of Nightmare Night came to be until then.

After going off the adjacent, Nil returned to the previous legend with the Six Titans. Starting with how they wiped the alicorns’ memories clean of the war besides Celestia and Luna in order to stop it. After that, they had split everyone except the two princesses into the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns we came to be today. Once the Titans created enough life forms like the animals, and other beings like the griffons, minotaurs, and buffalos, they left the seed that would grow into the Tree of Harmony later before they had disappeared from the world. What the Titans may have not took to mind when they left was the Magic of the Elements they gave the alicorns before they split. Chances were that same magic followed through, and is still residing inside them to this day.

“I believe this was how the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies are able to use the abilities we know today,” Nil added in. “unicorns using magic to cast spells, pegasi to fly and control the weather, and earth ponies with their physical strength, and connection to the ground to grow food.”

“But how are the four of us able to cast fire, move the earth and water, and control electric shocks?” Roxxie asked.

“Not to mention, using the power of light, and manipulate shadows at will?” I added in.

“That I’m still trying to figure out,” Nil answered with his hands interlocked together while staring ahead. “From what I can gather, we aren’t the first ponies in Equestria that are able to do this, as there have been occurrences and reports I’ve read into that I can assume are the results of using this type of magic. The main questions right now are one, HOW did we tap into our magic; two, WHY can we use this magic; and three, HOW LONG has this information been kept away from us?”

“What made you think about the last one?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well let’s recall what happened this morning at your friend’s place,” Nil suggested as he counted out the occurrences on his fingers. “We had no idea WHY Cyan left, WHAT his parents talked about that made him leave, and most importantly, WHY didn’t his father, COMMANDER Marine Dusknight of the ROYAL GUARD explain to us what happened because he wasn’t OBLIGATED to say?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, BACK UP,” Blaze exclaimed while waving his hands out front. “Are you telling me there may be some TOP SECRET information about this that the Guard ITSELF is hiding from us?” Blaze asked, which may have been the smartest thing he had asked up to this point.

“That’s what I can guess, and Lumina herself can probably vouch for that,” Nil answered.

“Wait, why her?” Roxxie asked.

“She didn’t enroll in the academy on her own, OR took the exam to pass in order to get in like the rest of us,” Nil reasoned. “She got in through a ‘special recommendation’ with reliable resources it seems. Not to mention when I tried to call her out the first few times, she was being difficult before I had to pull out alternative measures to get her to open up. And before you interrupt, I DIDN’T do anything to that extreme. I wouldn’t be here right now if that were the case.”

“Wait, what’s he talking about?” Blaze asked with his innocent mind.

“Never mind that Blaze,” I interjected as I knew what Nil was talking about, and I didn’t want to bring up any questions as to WHY we might have assumed as such. “So what WAS the alternative you had to resort to?”

“I showed her MY magic, which I’m STILL having trouble taking control of to this day,” Nil answered as he held up his bandaged arms. “I have to use metal plates under these bandages to act as resistors to keep my Thunder Magic down. It gets unstable once I try to bring it out, and even without effort, I still get these build ups to the point I would need to pass it to something else before anyone got hurt.”

“Could that be part of how you got your cutie mark?” I asked out of curiosity.

“As a matter of fact it is,” Nil answered with a nod. “One night I accidently sent my magic to a toy that ran on solar power. Since the sun wasn’t out at the time, the toy couldn’t run, but it seems the energy in my magic was enough for it to get going for a bit before it stopped. I was amazed that despite its destructive power, this magic could be used to bring something like that to life without the power of the sun. At that point, I wanted to learn how to build more things that could run on what I had in me, so I looked into how to invent common items. My cutie mark came in after I brought to life my very first creation; or should I say, the first thing I refurbished when I found the pieces to replace the broken ones,” he reached into his coat pocket, and took out an old pocket watch. He opened it up, and sure enough, it was ticking like it was brand new.

“How delightfully fascinating!” I exclaimed.

“I’m going off topic though,” Nil replied as he closed the watch and put it back to his pocket. “When I demonstrated my destructive power to Lumina enough for her to submit defeat, she told and showed me the Light Magic she had. She mentioned how her old teacher taught her how to use it, which brings back to my argument that we’re not the only ones who can use this magic. In fact, keeping to mind that I had still kept my magic a secret as I had to get in the old fashion way, I can only guess it was actually HER that sent the special recommendation to enroll Lumina into the academy. Which brings to question how INVOLVED she was with the Royal Guard before she taught our Light Wielder.”

“Light Wielder?” Roxxie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh yes I forgot,” Nil admitted with a slap to his forehead. “I came up with the term ‘Wielder’ for ponies that are able to use this magic.”

“Come to think of it, I think you referred Blaze as a Fire Wielder earlier right?” I asked.

“That sounds awesome!” Blaze exclaimed before he stood up in a dramatic action pose. “Blaze Fullthruster, the Dragon Busting Fire Wielder! Yeah! I like the sound of that!” He gloats with a big grin.

“You know, that would actually look slightly cooler if you weren’t wearing that ridiculous outfit,” Roxxie pointed out before the three of us giggled a little. Blaze pouted before he crossed his arms and sat back down.

“Anyway, yes, Blaze is a Fire Wielder,” Nil continued. “I’m a Thunder Wielder, Lumina’s a Light Wielder, Roxxie’s an Earth Wielder, and finally, Teala’s a Water Wielder.”

“And if Roxxie and mine’s discovery of our magic is no coincidence with the six of us in the same general area,” I added in. “I think it’s safe to assume that Cyan may have become a Shadow Wielder after he left us from the Magic Duel yesterday.”

“A Shadow Wielder huh?” Roxxie asked while looking up in thought. “It sounds cool, but it has a strange, eerie ring to it. I don’t know why that is.”

“Well as eerie as someone able to manipulate shadows to their own will sounds, I think we found the reason why Cyan’s parents behaved so unusually last night,” Nil concluded.

“That still doesn’t answer the question why his parents sobbed like it was the end of the world this morning though,” I argued. “Marine won’t tell us what happened last night that made Cyan leave, but he and Olive looked very guilty when they found out he was gone.”

“If I can guess why,” Nil said. “He may had trouble weighing his priorities on who to put before him first: the safety of Equestria, or the safety of his own son.”

“That is FUCKED UP,” Roxxie commented with emphasis on the last two words.

“Anyway,” Nil continued. “If one of the Commanders of the Royal Guard isn’t obligated to release information to the public about our magic, and if we add in the possibility that what the legend told was true, including Princess Celestia herself getting involved with the war...”

“Then the Princess is hiding a deep secret that the world shouldn’t know about,” I finished.

“Precisely,” Nil agreed. “With that in mind, I think we need to keep our magic, and Cyan’s whereabouts a secret until we find out more on what our fair princess is hiding under her royal throne.”

“So you’re saying we shouldn’t see Cyan again so soon then?” I asked for clarification with ears folded.

“I know it’s hard Teala, but it may be for the best,” Nil answered. “Not forever though, as I can assume he wants to find out more about this as much as we do. Which is why I think the best course of action is while we try to figure out our magic, we’ll scatter across Equestria to find our own information on this, and meet again at a later time to gather what we’ve come across. This will not only widen our search, but it will also be safer for Cyan since his magic is considered a possible threat, and he’ll need to be on the move while we learn more about what’s going on.”

Roxxie and I looked down on the floor with our ears still folded. “…I guess you have a point,” I agreed melancholically. “But we still want to see Cyan again just to see if he’s alright, and all six of us don’t have to be together to regroup.”

“…I think I might know one place we could ALL meet again,” Blaze interrupted, which got all of our attention towards him. “I can tell that we have some strong ponies in our group of six. With Cyan and Lumina travelling, they’ll need to find some way to earn money to get by, and I think I know a place holding an event I found yesterday that could help them greatly: The Summer Ending Fighting Tourney, or The SEFT for short.”

“Oh YEAH! I saw that flyer!” Roxxie included. “It’s being taken place at Baltimare four weeks before school starts again, and the winning prize is 5,000 bits of prize money!”

“The place of the Tourney sounds convenient as well,” Nil added. “The city I’m planning to see Lumina, and sure enough, Cyan, is in Manehattan, which is just north ahead of where Baltimare is, not to mention it’s the same place my adoptive mother and step sister live.”

“How about we do this then?” I suggested. “Over the next few months in the summer, Roxxie and I will hone our magic at my summer cottage that’s to the West of Neighagra Falls. Nil, we’ll give you a message to give to Cyan and Lumina about our plans, meeting them a few weeks before the Tourney. You can meet me and Roxxie at the cottage if they decide to send a message back. Blaze, what’s the next destination you’re planning to go tomorrow?” I asked as I turned to him.

“Uh, Fillydelphia,” he answered.

“Ah, the town in between the first two places,” I pointed out. “Maybe we can have Cyan and Lumina meet you there, and travel as a group then. There’s safety in numbers I always say.”

“ALRIGHT! I get to see the two in action then!” He exclaimed while he punched into his palm.

“I like to point out there’s also a beach at Horseshoe Bay, just further South of Baltimare,” Nil added in. “Can’t have all work and no fun is what I always say. We could probably spend some time there to lounge in the sun before the Tourney, and I do hear the beach is a good place for your *ahem* training as well.”

“… You just want to see mares in bikinis over there don’t you old perv?” Roxxie argued skeptically.

“Take what you will, I’m standing in my point,” Nil defended.

“Well the beach DOES sound nice,” I agreed. “And possibly a good way to end the summer too. Plus, we can spend time with Cyan over there as well.”

I sat there as I drank in my statement while I thought of what Cyan would look like in just a pair of swim trunks, and imagined what his upper body would look like. Not to mention what the two of us would do at the beach. My face heated up at the thought while I glanced over, and saw Roxxie in a shade of red as well.

“Alright! I think that’s it then!” Blaze concluded as he stood up with a look of determination, interrupting our thoughts. “Nil will meet Cyan and Lumina in Manehattan, then he’ll go to Roxxie and Teala at the summer cottage with the message, I’ll meet them in Fillydelphia, and we’ll travel further South to Baltimare while we train for the tourney! The six of us will meet a few weeks before that, and spend some time in Horseshoe Bay! That about sums it up right?” He asked.

“That is correct,” Nil confirmed. “Just remember that we need to dig up on as much info about our magic as we can. See what we can do to get the juiciest info.”

I looked up in thought as an idea came to mind, despite how crazy it sounds coming from me of all ponies. “I think I know one place to start, but I think I’ll explain more on that tomorrow,” I said

A moment of silence passed before a chorus of growls was coming from our stomachs.

“Well, I do believe that’s the cue for dinner time,” Sigmund declared.

… You know, I totally forgot he was there the whole time. He was certainly quiet throughout the whole discussion. What does HE have to say in all of this?

“I’m with ya on that!” Roxxie exclaimed as she got up from the couch. “I’m gonna beat Blaze on the best burp after tonight!”

“Oh HO! You think you’re THAT confident huh?” Blaze asked with a snarky skepticism. “I accept that challenge! May the best stallion win!”

“… Uh you mean pony right?” Roxxie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Oh boy, here it comes.

“No! I really do mean stallion!” Blaze exclaimed with confidence. “Two of us, in a battle of eating to get the biggest burp for victory! A true competition for stallions to the end!”

With that, I could have sworn a vein was shown pulsing on Roxxie’s forehead. “Blaze? Are you referring to me as a COLT?” She asked through her teeth.

“Uh… Yeah? You are a colt right?” Blaze asked in confusion.

“I’M A FILLY YOU FUCKING DOLT!” Roxxie yelled before she tackled Blaze from where he stood, and trapped him in a head lock.

“You know, you can’t blame the kid for making that misconception,” Nil added in. “I mean even I thought you were a colt at first from the way you threatened me with that accent of yours-GRK!” Nil commented before Roxxie got him in a head lock in her other arm, having both colts gasping for air under her vice-like grip.

“Oh NOW you’re asking for it pervert!” Roxxie exclaimed with fury. “You two will be lucky to have stomachs left to fill for dinner when I’M through you!”

“Gack! Is this, the end, for Blaze the Dragon Buster?!” Blaze asked with what air he had left.

“I think, I walked right into, GRK, THAT one,” Nil added in his stranglehold.

I laughed at the sight before me as this turned out MUCH better than what I had originally thought.

Oh Teala, you conniving little filly. You’ve outdone yourself, and you didn't even have to lift a finger.

“Sigmund, please have the chefs prepare for a feast at once, and make it quickly before the colts run out of air,” I requested with a few giggles left over.

“Right away Milady,” Sigmund complied before he calmly left the study, leaving the four of us in this unusual setting.

Well I certainly didn’t think our plans for the summer would change so dramatically so soon. Assuming Cyan got in the same situation as Roxxie and I, I think it’s safe to say all three of us had acquired our Cutie Marks on the same day. At least that’s one thing we won’t have to worry about anymore. Now it seems like we’re going lengths to uncover secrets that Princess Celestia herself has been hiding for centuries, maybe even millennia of years! I feel like we’re about to go against Equestria’s law and government for digging into this, especially with the plan I have that will happen Monday if we agree on it. Going against all odds to find the answers we seek, while claiming Cyan’s love in the process, romantic novelists would KILL for a story like this! But this is no story, this is actually happening, and despite the risk of getting caught in deviant acts, I can’t help but feel excited to be a part of it! Is this what Roxxie feels when she does this? It’s quite invigorating!

Speaking of Roxxie, I still need to talk to her later tonight about what we’ll do later once we reunite with Cyan once more. I’m not sure if she’ll be into the plans I have for the three of us, but if Mother and Father are still thinking about going in that direction for my future, I HAVE to give this a try at the very least. I may be a pegasus noble filly, but I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty to earn the happy ending I so desire. Watch out Equestria, the Fencing, Water Wielding Princess is taking a stand. Next Chapter: Chapter 16: First Night on the Job, and Bed Chat Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 17 Minutes