[Early Saturday Afternoon]

[Cyan’s POV]

When Lumina and I left the forest clearing, we did end up hearing a train on its way to our first destination in our adventure around Equestria. We were lucky as it was slow enough for us to get on safely as we were well on our way to the city known for its wide variety of fashion, theatre, and busy urban life. We sat in the last car of the train, and I was practicing making more shadow figures while no one else but Lumina was around. I’ve been getting a better handle on it as I was making the black blob above my dark aura-covered hand taking not only geometric shapes, but also figures such as a dog, cat, sock, and whatever comes to mind, but at a small scale.

“Looks like you’ve gotten a pretty good hang of that huh?” Lumina asked starting the conversation.

“Yeah, Shadina asked me to practice this some more before we go into our next lesson,” I responded, which left Lumina lifting an eyebrow.

“Who’s Shadina?”

“OH! That’s right! I forgot to tell you. Remember the mare I told you about who taught me this last night?”

“Yeah?”

“Okay, well you’re definitely not gonna believe what happened after last night,” I claimed.

I then told Lumina about my dream, who and what the mare was, and passed the information she told me about my magic and our ‘connection’ to her. I also told her about how it was a tradition for a Wielder of an Element to name the manifestation of said magic before I woke up this morning. Lumina just sat there drinking the information at once before speaking.

“Goodness… That’s certainly quite the experience,” she commented.

“Right? Hey, since you have your Light Magic, do you have a guardian manifestation as well?” I asked.

“Now that you mention it…" She said while she puts a finger up her chin in thought. "I think I did see something similar in a dream once, but the first and last time that happened was sometime after I got my Light Magic, which I was around your age at the time. It was only for an instant though, and we never really spoke either.”

“That’s odd… Shadina seemed so eager to see me too. Maybe there are different manifestations for different ponies?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Still, Shadina seems like a sweet mare. Wish I could see what she looked like,” Lumina commented. I sat there for a moment, and thought of something interesting.

“Maybe you can…” I replied.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Well I can make visual figures right now, only at a small scale though; however, I got a pretty good look at Shadina the last few times we met, and I haven’t tried making larger scaled figures yet.”

“You think you could use your magic to show me what she looked like?”

“It’s worth a shot,” I stood up, and looked around the car once more to see if anyone was around. “Okay, let’s see if I can make this work…” I put both hands out, and focused my magic with my eyes focused ahead of me. Both of my hands and horn glowed the black aura as I tried to visualize every detail of Shadina I could remember as I put in more magic than usual to make the scale bigger than the previous ones. The blob I was working with earlier was getting bigger, and started to morph into the size and shape I visualized. Beads of sweat were forming on my head, but I still maintained my focus as I fixed and edited the image of Shadina before me facing forward. I finally got the image just right before I finished. I panted heavily while wiping the sweat off my brow, and checked my finished work.

She seemed to turn out okay. The proportions matched, the dress was the same, the mane and tail were doing the waving thing like before, the only difference was the white eyes that were gone, which only made sense since this was only a figure like I tried with the cat and dog earlier.

“Goodness…” Lumina spoke. “She looks beautiful.”

“Doesn’t she?” I asked. “I can’t believe I actually pulled it off.”

You certainly did, Cyan Dusknight, and I’m quite proud of your excellent progress, A familiar voice regarded before the figure’s white eyes appeared and open, causing me and Lumina to jump back in shock.

“HOLY SHIT!” The both of us exclaimed.

Excuse me for barging in so early, but I thought I’d stop by and congratulate you on your achievement, Shadina spoke while closing her eyes with joy and clapping her hands… Which weren’t making a sound.

“Sh-she’s alive…” Lumina remarked with a tinge of fear in her voice. “W-why’s she so quiet though? And why’s can’t I hear her clapping?” She asked.

“Wait, you mean you can’t hear her?” I asked in disbelief. “But I could hear her just fine and clearly. Except for the clapping.”

She can’t hear us because you and I are connected Cyan, Shadina explained. Because of our connection, you’re the only one who can hear me, and anyone outside of it can’t.

“I guess that makes sense,” I agreed.

“W-what do you mean it makes sense? What did she say?” Lumina asked.

“Shadina said you can’t hear because she and I are connected in a way, and anyone outside of it can’t,” I translated. “Which would make sense since she’s the manifestation of my magic and all.”

“O-of course,” Lumina understood.

“But I think Shadina can hear you just fine though, isn’t that right?” I asked the Shadina, which she nodded in response. “Oh! This is actually a good opportunity! Let me make the introductions. Lumina, this is Shadina. Shadina, this is my friend, Lumina Lustre,” I introduced respectively.

Lumina stood up to face Shadina and shakily held up her hand. “I-it’s n-nice to meet you Shadina,” she quavered.

And a pleasure to you too Lumina, Shadina replied before she tried to take Lumina’s hand, but the former’s black hand phased through the latter’s, which made her pull back from the shock. Oh goodness, I apologize. Though Cyan can bring me out as an image, he doesn’t have enough experience to make me have a physical form yet, Shadina explained.

“I see, that explains why I didn’t hear you clap earlier,” I remarked, to which Shadina nodded to confirm.

“W-what did she say? Why did her hand phase through mine?” Lumina asked still in shock. I translated what Shadina spoke, and added that meeting Lumina was a pleasure. She sighed a breath of relief after the explanation. “Okay, that makes sense. Sorry for the freak out earlier.”

It is of no trouble. And I must admit, it was kind of funny seeing you scared from that, she commented before she gestured a giggle while I followed in agreement.

“W-what’s so funny? What did she say?” Lumina asked.

“She said it was fine, and it was kind of funny scaring you like that,” I translated. Lumina sat there taking it all in, before she giggled a little at the event as well.

“Okay, you got me there,” Lumina remarked, to which Shadina nodded.

Anyway, I just wanted to stop by to congratulate and introduce myself. Keep up the good work Cyan Dusknight, and I’ll see you later tonight,

“You got it Shadina. I’ll see you again soon, and thanks,” I finished before she nodded in response. She placed her black palm on my own that still had the black aura around it before she closed her eyes, faded out back inside of me, and I released my focus.

“Well, that will certainly be the highlight of my day,” I commented.

“Surprises aside, I guess you’re doing well in controlling your magic,” Lumina remarked. I nodded in agreement before the intercom spoke.

“We’ll be arriving in Manehattan in ten minutes. Please gather your bags and belongings, and thank you for riding with us today. We hope to see you again soon,” the conductor in the intercom announced.

Lumina and I opened the window and peeked outside, to which we stared in awe at the large city on the island it stood on as we rode across the bridge towards it.

[Lumina’s POV]

We got our bags and left the train as we got to the station. As we walked out of the station and into the city, I was still shaken up at what just transpired at the car.

Sweet Celestia that was scary. I don’t even know how Cyan was able to look past the eye thing when he first saw her. I could see nothing but the endless open space inside which I could get lost in forever. Other than that though, she seemed like a nice mare, and I could see how Cyan likes her so much. Kind of annoying how he can only hear her though. It’s like he was talking to an imaginary friend. Only I can actually ‘see’ her friend, and I feel somewhat left out… Wait, why did I feel left out? Was it because of how I don’t have a guardian thing like Cyan does, or was there something about her that looked like she was really close to him? And by close, I mean like she was his coltfriend or something… But that’s just my imaginations playing tricks on me… Right?

“This city looks so incredible doesn’t it Lumina?” Cyan asked which snapped me out of it.

“O-oh yeah! It certainly does,” I replied before something came to my mind. “Oh shit.”

“What? Did we forget something in the train?” He asked as he quickly inspected our gear. “It looks like we’re good.”

“It’s not that Cyan,” I responded. “What just struck me is that if we’re going to be staying here for a while, we’ll need to find a place to stay, and possibly find jobs to help get us around. I only have…” I said as I took my bit pouch and counted what I have inside.

“50 bits, which could probably last us a few days if we ate lightly.”

“As for me…” Cyan said while looking in his own pouch and thinking something else. “I have 20 bits on me, plus 103 bits in my piggy bank I have in my bag, so that makes 123 bits on my end,” I stood there wide-eyed at how a fourteen year old could save that much money.

“Shit Cyan, what got you that much money anyway?”

“When you have upper-class parents awarding you for good grades in school, plus the allowance for keeping your room clean, you get some good money, and put some away for later. Simple as that,” Cyan explained.

Shit, I wonder if Mom would do the same if I did that? Then again, big sis and I were pretty messy with our rooms most of the time. We only cleaned it when we had guests coming over.

“Well you better hold on to those bits tight Cyan, and I wouldn’t tell off how much money you have on you so loudly either,” I warned.

“Ponies pick-pocketing?” Cyan asked.

“Yes, or even professional thieves. With a city this big, chances of a robbery are probably pretty good,” Cyan nodded in agreement before we strolled around the city. Taking in the sights while coming up with a plan.

“So we need to find a place to stay and jobs along with that… Boy this is gonna be new to me. I didn’t think I’d start finding a job so soon,” Cyan commented.

“It’s not like we’re gonna stay for long Cyan,” I replied. “We just need to stick around long enough to find clues on special magic like ours.”

“You said an acquaintance of yours will be coming by to help us right? Nil Thunder if I’m correct?”

“Right. And don’t let his looks and chill attitude fool ya. He was the top genius in our squad back in the academy.”

“Wow… Does he know a lot of things?”

“Probably whatever he finds interesting. Mostly science, magic, and mechanics. Unfortunately he’s not good with mares and social situations like you are.”

“What do you mean by that? How does he behave around other ponies?”

“Let’s just say… Show him something that shouldn’t be seen in public, and his IQ would drop like that,” I stated with a snap, which Cyan raised an eyebrow at that before he shrugged. “Anyway, he won’t be by until a couple days, so we got some time to see the sights and explore a little.”

“So I guess our first priority would be to find a cheap place to stay for a couple days right?” Cyan asked.

“That it is. And with how big this city is, it may be for the best if we got jobs in the same building. I’m kind of worried one of us will get lost or something else happening if we’re too far apart,” I reasoned.

“Sounds good to me. You seem to know what you’re doing, so I’ll follow you wherever you go,” he confided in me.

Sheesh, I feel like a parent or big sister watching out for Cyan like this. He looks like he has some capability of handling himself, but I can’t help but worry for him. I just hope we’ll find something the both of us can do under the same roof once we find a place to stay.

With that in mind, Cyan and I strolled through the streets of Manehattan. Finding a temporary place to stay, and hopefully good jobs to go along with it.

Next Chapter: Side Chapter 4: Roxxie's Earth, and Teala's Water Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 35 Minutes