Silver Lining was close to a panic attack. His worst fears have finally come true; he was out in the open, in broad daylight, surrounded by ponies. He tried to control his breathing and was barely listening to what Twilight was saying,
“Down there, you can see the train tracks; it’s the path the trains take. Train tracks are placed all over Equestria. You should probably note that trains are the most frequently used mode of transport for ponies.”
“Okay.” Silver said dismissively.
“And we are currently standing on what is called a platform on a train station. These are placed across Equestria too and trains stop at these platforms so ponies can board the trains.”
“Understood.” The human said shakingly.
“You know, you should really take notes on this; it will help you remember the information.”
“I would, except that I’m totally freaking out right now!” Silver whispered as so nopony but Twilight could hear.
“Why? The charm is working.”
“How would you know? The charm doesn’t even affect you.” Silver said. The human looked down at his necklace. The angel coin was still there, but there was a something new; a blue, crescent moon.
Two days have passed since Silver arrived at Ponyville and became Twilight’s pupil. The purple alicorn was so excited that she wrote a letter to her former mentor, Princess Celestia, who was impressed by Twilight for taking on a student. Twilight told Celestia that Silver was not a pony and from a foreign land. The princess of the sun was not troubled by this; she said it would be a great experience for Twilight to teach somepony completely new to Equestria.
At first, Twilight tried to teach Silver as though she was teaching herself. Unknown to her, Silver was not as smart as the pony was. After many trial and errors, they found a learning curve that suited them both. Then came their big argument of introducing the rest of Ponyville to the human. So far, only Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Princess Celestia, her sister Princess Luna, and Zecora new the existence of the human. In the end, Twilight succumbed to Silver’s pleading and didn’t force him to reveal his true self to the townsfolk. Since Twilight didn’t want her student to spend all day indoors, she sent a note to the princesses for help. The help came in a form of a crescent moon pendant. The pendant, courtesy of Luna, who was apparently a master illusionist, continuously casts a magical illusion around Silver that changed his appearance into a regular pony. The only ones that can see his true form are himself, and those that have already seen him as a human.
“What happens if I lose this thing? What happens if it needs to recharge when I’m in a public place? What happens if-”
Twilight stifled a giggle, which did not go unnoticed by the human,
“Is my freaking out really that amusing to you?” Silver said, slightly hurt.
“It’s not that.” Twilight said, “It’s just that you remind me a lot of, well, me. I also get really nervous, so why don’t we try some breathing exercises. First, bring your arm to your chest and inhale, then extend your arm out as you exhale. Try it.”
Silver sighed and did the breathing exercise.
“Again.” Twilight said.
He repeated it.
“Again.”
After the third time, Silver felt a lot calmer. He chuckled in relief as he was now able to think clearly again.
“It worked, didn’t it?” Twilight said with a hint of smugness.
“Surprisingly, yes.” Silver admitted. He then bowed his head, “Thank you, Twilight-sama.”
The mentor raised an eyebrow, “What’s ‘sama’?”
“It’s a saying in one of the human’s culture. It’s used after someone’s name as a sign of great respect.”
“Oh, well, thank you.” Twilight said. She was slightly blushing from the praise she received.
“Twilight! Silver!” somepony called. The pair turned around and saw the rest of their friends walking towards them.
“What are y’all doing here?” Silver asked curiously.
Rarity, who was leading the group, raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about, Silver?” she turned to Twilight, “Have you not told him yet?”
“Told me what?” the human asked, now very confused.
Twilight turned to Silver, “Rarity is participating in fashion week at Manehattan, so we’re going to go and support.”
The word Manehattan created images of a bustling and crowded city inside Silver’s mind. He cleared his throat and turned to Rarity, “Sorry, but I won’t be able to go to Manehattan because I’m a hopeless coward, so I’ll be rooting for you in spirit. I really do hope you win and I wish you the best of luck.”
He turned to leave, but Twilight stepped in front of him, “Oh, no you don’t, mister. As Rarity’s friend, you’re going to root for her in person, and as my student, you’re going to Manehattan. If you’re going to learn about Equestria, then you need to get out and explore, and what better way to learn about Equestrian society than by going to an actual city filled with ponies?”
“Are you trying to persuade me to go to a packed city after I had a panic attack from just going outside of the library?” Silver said, shivering at the thought of such a huge change of scenery.
“Come now, darling.” Rarity said, patting Silver on his elbow (she was too short to reach his shoulder), “Manehattan is such a wondrous place that it would be a crime for you to not see it.”
“I have to agree with Rarity on this one.” Applejack said, “Even though I was in Manehattan for only a quick spell, it still left its mark on me.”
“So let’s see that nervous frown turn upside down!” Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically as she literally tried to rearrange Silver’s mouth into a smile.
“We’ll all be there to support you.” Fluttershy assured.
“And besides,” Rainbow Dash added, “I’ll be there to smack you straight before you blow your top.”
Silver couldn’t help but chuckle, “Do you mind if I ask you something? Why are y’all being so nice to me?”
“Because we’re friends.” Twilight said simply.
This made Silver chuckle even more; the ponies have known him for less than a week and they already consider him a friend. He felt so stupid that he was at actually terrified of these ponies.
“Alright, you’ve convince me. Let’s go and show Manehattan what we got!”
Everypony cheered at this proclamation. Then, they heard things falling and a painful groan. The ponies and human turned to see Spike being crushed by luggage.
“Seriously?! How is nopony helping Spike?!” Silver said, flabbergasted, as they all made sure the baby dragon was alright.
________________________________________
Silver had never been to a big city in the human world, so he was a bit overwhelmed when he and the ponies walked down the crowded streets of Manehattan. As the girls happily talked about an opera they were going to watch (Silver had reassured Rarity that it was unnecessary to apologize for not having a ticket for the human since it was such short notice), the human kept bumping into other ponies, who said very unpleasant things to him.
‘That’s the city for you’ Silver thought as an elderly mare called him a useless oaf for not watching his step. As he wondered what other surprises he was in-stored for, he suddenly heard someone singing
Oh Manehattan, what you do to me~
Silver then heard music. He turned to see where the band was, but there was none. He then turned to his friends to see if they knew where the music was coming from, only to see that it was Rarity who was singing:
And there is always, opportunity, to do the friendly thing~
Silver smiled in amazement as he looked at all of the surrounding ponies; how can nopony be at awe of this amazing and sudden singing? Silver watched as ponies just kept walking past Rarity as though a pony bursting into song was a common thing in this world.
He turned his attention back to Rarity, only to find they were all in a different place. What was once a crowded sidewalk was now empty and they were all standing in front of what appeared to be a hotel.
“Um, Twilight, where are we?” Silver asked the princess as Rarity talked to a bellhop. The music had also died down and turned to background music.
“We’re at the Mane Fair Hotel.” Twilight said.
“How did we get here so fast?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
“I mean we just got off of the train station, and now we’re suddenly at this hotel, a hotel that that was nowhere near where we were.”
Twilight looked at her student concernedly, “Are you alright? Did you bump your head while we were walking.”
Silver was about to protest that he was perfectly fine and it was the world that was acting weird, but he decided against it, “You know what, you’re right. I’m just overreacting. I probably just spaced out because of this new environment.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” Silver assured, “Come on, let’s go and enjoy ourselves. And do you mind telling me the history of Manehattan?”
Twilight smiled, “Gladly!”
As Twilight began to talk, the music started up again. Silver immediately turned the opposite direction and tried to remember every little detail; he wanted to know whether the songs in this world made him lose chunks of memory, or if it simply teleported the singer and anyone nearby. If Twilight’s lecture sounded as though it had missing parts, then it was memory lost. If the scenery changed suddenly, then it was teleportation. As he scanned his surroundings, he could no longer hear music or the background music. He turned back to where the six mares and baby dragon were standing, but they were nowhere in sight.
A horrible feeling began to spread inside Silver as he slowly realized what happened.
“Songs teleport; good to know.” He muttered weakly.