Earth, Manhattan, 21:00

The crate was rocking back and forth, accompanied by several groans. Groans that made Rarity's heart race like wild. If they would open the crate, she would be found out!
“Dude! What did they send to this guy?” One of the men complained, “A ton of bricks? A horse?”
Inside Rarity's jaw had dropped in the meantime, aghast at the remark about the weight. She was as light as a feather! Surely it was this big and heavy crate being most of the weight, not her. There was a short fall and one part of the crate bumped to the ground.

“Careful, you dumbass!”

“Well, sorry! It slipped out of my grip. Seriously, what's in there?”

The crate was put down and the two men were wiping the sweat from their brows. Daring to peek through one of the many tiny holes in the crate, Rarity managed to get a look to the outside, where an older woman stood in the door.
“I don't think he owes you any explanation of what he's ordering, young man.”

They went outside the room and all Rarity could make out was some muffled chatter. But then, the two men returned and made their way to the exit.
“Alright, then... we took note of that scratch, Mrs. ummm... . Fletchett, was it? It's late, we will come back tomorrow to open and install it for him. “

Silence surrounded Rarity and suddenly this crate was very uncomfortable. Trying to push it open from the inside, her efforts were to no avail. Harrumphing a bit in frustration, she shook her head while her horn began to shine a little brighter.
“It can't be helped...” In the next moment the side of the crate was blasted open and the hatch fell to the ground along with the packing material. Crouching outside, Rarity looked around to find orientation again. She was standing in a big white living room from the looks of it. The furniture was set in almost clinical white, but the texture of the wood screamed modern art. Due to her, the floor was a mess with the packing material spread half over the place. However, as much as Rarity noticed, there was no single picture on the walls, no flowers to brighten up the place. The walls were simply blank. But all of this didn't matter, she had to leave. Opening one of the glass doors to the outside, a sudden wind gushed into her face, causing her to step back a bit.

Upon getting accustomed to the wind, she found out that she was about forty stories high in the sky. And that a walk to the ground had to happen through the building. The buildings around were huge, even more so than in Manehattan. She chuckled a bit. 'What was this city named? Manhattan? Oh the human pun...' Coming back inside, she closed the door behind her. She had to leave this place in the normal way, too bad there was no Pegasi carriage or balloon around. Suddenly there was a distinct noise that she heard. A key was put into a lock and was turned, followed by a series of clicks and a mumbling voice.

In her mind, Rarity cursed the fact that she didn't know where to find the exit. Then again the origin of these noises had to come from the front door. The owner of this place was coming home. Hiding behind a white sofa, she carefully peeked over to the man entering the living room. Wearing formal clothes and sun glasses, he put down some keys before taking off his jacket. Then, all of a sudden, a short melody sounded off and Rarity cowered a little more, uncertain what caused this. The little mystery was solved as he took out a small device from his pocket, pushed it a bit with a thumb and held it to his ear.
“Yes? Ah, Mrs. Fletchett! Yes, I just arrived. I take it the crate was delivered without any complications? A tiny scratch on the floor?...Yes... Yes, I understand... Tomorrow I will speak with you about it. I-” He paused for a bit. “No, I didn't think of that. Thank you for taking care of that, Mrs. Fletchett. Yes, I agree, if the parquet floor suffered, their company will have to pay compensation.”

He seemed to be talking with someone with this device. Someone not in this room, maybe not even in this building. Human technology seemed... useful. It was like Spike sending letters between Twilight and Princess Celestia, only that this device seemed to give him the ability to speak with the other person, as if she was standing right next to him. But this was of no importance. In this living room, Rarity was a sitting duck and had to find another, a better place to hide. Once he went into another room, Rarity headed straight towards the door she first heard the noises coming from. This had to be the front door. But as she tried to open the door, she found it locked. Clenching her teeth in a mild panic, she galloped up the steps of a spiral staircase, silently damning every hoofstep she deemed too loud.

In a panic, she stormed into a room, looking for a place to hide properly. There was a bed. No, this was not a good idea. As she heard steps coming upstairs, all alarm bells rang in her head and once the stranger entered the room, the bedroom was empty. It was dark and muggy in the cupboard, but no one was calling her out. Seemingly that was a good sign. A swooshing sound became audible like someone went under a shower. Slowly, but surely, Rarity calmed down again.

However, when the doors of the cupboard suddenly opened, Rarity almost gave out a shriek. Not because she was spotted, this man didn't even see her for some reason. The fact, however, that caused her to arch back was the one that this man was nude and his sex only inches away from her face. 'It'simpropertostare!It'simpropertostare!It'simpropertostare!It'simpropertostare!It'simpropertostare!It'simpropertostare!It'simpropertostare!'Closing her eyes for the fear of rustling the clothes so much to draw attention when turning away, the mare's cheeks began to emit heat as they began to fill with blood while she stood still. It was so close. Never before was a male ever allowed to be 'that close' to Rarity. A lady had to maintain a distance until perfectly sure a gentlecolt would be the one for her. And now this stranger who hadn't spotted her yet had his most precious jewels dangling right in front of her face, inches away. The scent of shampoo paired with the musk of male sex filled her nostrils, a fragrance entirely new to Rarity. At least this one was a very clean and orderly one. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed that a few clothes were taken out silently and that the the stranger was clothing himself.

After he left the room, Rarity opened the cupboard gently, just passing through the opening and tried to sneak towards the door. The carpeted floor of the floor muffled her hoof steps almost perfectly. But that wouldn't help her at all to sneak past him and out through the locked door and the entire building and city. As for now, of this the white unicorn was certain, she was trapped.

* * * * *

Stepping inside the private airplane, Rainbow looked around with uncertainty.
“And you guys are totally sure that this thing is capable to fly? Looks more like a bigger... car, was it?”

Shaking his head, Flynn looked at Rainbow while talking to Rick.
“RD was never flown by anything that doesn't have biological wings. She doesn't trust these kind of things very much due to lack of experience with them. And of course, if you have wings yourself, this becomes a matter of pride.”

Already taking a seat, Rick fastened his seatbelt.
“Uh-huh... Does she trust you?”

Sitting down right beside him, Rainbow arched a brow.
“Sure I do! Flynn told me about his whereabouts being a pilot. I have faith in his capabilities, I just don't trust this piece of junk!”

“Well then... Flynn can fly even heavier birds than this if I'm not mistaken.”

Flynn now nodded.
“That is correct. Rainbow, sit back and relax while I take the stick.”

Rainbow grumbled a bit. It was not that she had no trust into Flynn's capabilities, yet this inability of hers to fly for herself right at the moment was infuriating, frustrating.
“Well, if you say so...” Following procedures, Flynn communicated with the tower while Rainbow leaned back in the seat and fastened her seat-belt. Rick couldn't but look at her. This was certainly no normal pony. Still getting accustomed to the fact his little brother was with a pony, he didn't noticed the dark look on Rainbow's eyes that grew darker with each passing moment until she turned over to him.
“What? If you have a question, shoot it! Otherwise it would be nice if you could stop staring at me!”

Taken by surprise, Rick looked up front.
“Oh! Uh... Sorry!”

While her mood got better, Rainbow looked over to Rick.
“You two are really brothers. One can see that.”

That left Rick stumped.
“Really? How so?”

Snickering for a bit, she shook her head.
“You're as dense as he is .” He grumbled a bit and tried to mind his own business, but Rainbow shot him a glance now. “It's because I'm a pony, right?”

Giving a sigh, he looked at her again.
“I guess so. This is... strange for someone who just recently found out that his own brother who was supposed to be dead comes back from the grave with a talking pony. It's a bit much, you know?”

Rainbow replied with a snicker.
“Oh don't worry. I won't bite. That is, unless he wants me to.”

Slightly puzzled about her openness, he lowered his voice.
“So you two...”

Amused by his behavior, Rainbow couldn't but chuckle.
“Yeah! And we're having lots of fun with it. He was the same first. Over-thinking stuff like that. But I'm proud to be with him. Over there in Equestria, Flynn is doing his part to ensure that everything is kept peaceful with the other rangers.”

“Rangers?” Rick asked.

“Oh, yeah... You don't know. Back where I'm from, the four humans stranded in our world founded an organization that uses human methods and invention alongside with pony abilities to secure the nation aside from the regular military.”

That prompted Rick to look to the front to his younger brother, a smile began growing on his face as pride filled his heart. Not hearing anything from behind, Flynn simply spoke into the microphone of his headset.
“Alright, we are clear for take-off. Rainbow? Once we're in the air, you can take a good look out of the windows. Might be a convenience to be flown instead of flying yourself.”

Rainbow simply grinned and shook her head when she saw the speed the airplane was flying with over the surface.
“If we were in Equestria, I would take this thing on in a race anytime and win, slowpoke!”

* * * * *

It was quiet after the stranger had left the room Rarity was in. It was way too quiet for her taste. Thinking for a bit in her hideout, she had come to a conclusion: The keys. If the front door was locked she might get the keys to it, which were most definitely in the living room.

While the stranger was in the kitchen, Rarity made her way towards the front door. A few more steps and then she could hide in this building. Probably somewhere in the staircase or the basements, hidden away from human eyes. She would come up at night and signal the others once the coast would have been clear. Then, all of a sudden, it happened.
“Hello?” That question from behind her stopped Rarity in an instant and she froze in mid-motion. “I know you are in here!”

Rarity cringed a bit. Maybe this was an inevitable confrontation. Coming forth into sight, she lowered her ears a bit.
“It appears I must apologize. It's just... I was afraid to be discovered with this... This mishap.

“What do you mean?” As he approached her, he went right through the mess on the floor, what caused him to stop. “What is... What's this? Feels like something is on the floor!”

A sigh escaped Rarity in a mixture of compassion and relief. This poor soul was blind. No wonder he didn't recognize her sitting in the cupboard if she's perfectly still and silent or see her here although a pony right in the center of the room would clearly stand out. This of course meant that she wasn't found out, but had to be careful for it to stay that way. Her hooves would surely give her away since she had four legs and humans only had two.
“Yes, um... The crate... I was inside and somehow the hatch closed and I was locked inside.”

The young man frowned at this, then shook his head in confusion.
“Couldn't you yell for help? Surely they would let you out in an instant!”

“Well, um... The thing is...” Rarity noticed her stammering and cursed herself for not being more eloquent right now. Finally she sighed when she thought of something and lowered her voice. “The truth is: The last thing I remembered was this hard thump on the back on my head and then I woke up here, inside the crate.”

Now his facial expression darkened.
“I've heard enough! I'm calling that company! Whosoever did this to you will lose his job over this! You could have suffocated in there! And after that, I'm calling the cops!”

Gritting her teeth, Rarity acted quickly. More people knowing about the crate would mean more people asking questions. And then she would be found out for sure.
“Please! No more about this incident! I... well... I should be going now. I must flee this embarrassment. And I shouldn't be here anyway I guess.”

Cocking his head, the man hummed in wonder.
“Hm? Why's that?”

“Because...” Another sigh escaped her. She couldn't tell him nothing but lies. She had to at least tell him something that's true. “Because I'm being followed by someone who wants to end my life. I can't go into much more detail, for you wouldn't believe me. Getting imprisoned in this crate was bad enough. I... I don't want to be a bother.”

With this she headed forward the door. Somehow she would probably make it without being found out. However, much to her surprise, he addressed her again.
“No, please! Let me make up for this! If you're really in that much trouble, the least I can do is to let you crash here until you've called some friends to go to. I... Well, I admit I don't have visitors very often. And besides Mrs. Fletchett, female visitors are an absolute rarity in my place.” That made the white unicorn hear up. “I have to ask though... You see: Since I don't get many visitors, maybe I could ask for some conversation as trade-off? Not that a blind guy could pose a threat to a gorgeous sounding lady such as you. I would probably fall all over the floor before I could make a move on you, so there's no risk for some awkward situation.” Looking back at him, she mustered him a bit. He was charming in a way, and fortunately for him the awkward situation already passed, but she wasn't planning to tell him about that.

With a flattered smirk she let her hoof slide over the floor.
“I think I can stay. I have some friends in this city who might come get me if I'm giving them a call. But I should probably wait until nightfall. May I stay until then?”

He nodded with a smile.
“Until your friends come for you, alright. Please! Have a seat on the couch.” For the next hour, Rarity and this young man conversed a bit. He introduced himself as Matt Richards, age 28 and he listened with great interest about her whereabouts as a seamstress and designer. Naturally, Rarity left out the fact of her being a pony. He might find it hard to believe or worse, might find this claim interesting to touch her. Right now he kept his promise and his distance from her. After he prepared some glasses of juice, he placed both glasses on the table and sat down in front of Rarity in a nice and comfortable armchair.
“I believe, Rarity... that you are a woman who longs to express herself, but hasn't found the recognition she longs for yet. Maybe you should move away from your hometown to get your business started. What was the name of it? You never mentioned it once.”

Again a drop of sweat ran down Rarity's temple. He asked a lot of questions uncomfortable to answer without revealing too much.
“Oh, uh... I doubt you ever heard of it... It's... uh... It's Ponyville.”

He blinked twice before he shook his head with a smile.
“And where would this Pony Ville be? Guatemala? This sounds quite foreign or simple. Rarity, you should really look for a better location.”

Rarity giggled nervously.
“I guess you're right. If you would see my place, you might think it's a completely different world.” He chuckled along and seemed genuine about this. This made Rarity sigh in relief. “I know that for greater success I had to leave my hometown, but my friends mean almost everything to me. They gave me so much support on so many different occasions. I won't do them justice if I just abandon them. But really... Places? Like what?”

“Milan, Italy or Paris, France... Not many places better to look for fashion. I may be blind and never see these creations, but that's something everybody knows. Milan and Paris are the way to go if you want to achieve something bigger. Then again, it's all up to you. If your friends mean so much to you, maybe your fortune lies with them. I probably don't know half as much about fashion than you do, so I can't judge your work or give you proper advice.”

“I guess so... Being blind does have its limitations... What do you do for a living?”

“I'm a singer. Well, I'm trying. I'm admiring Bocelli. His music is an inspiration for me.”

“Bocelli?” Rarity asked.

Waving the question away, Matt shook his head.
“Oh, you know... The italian singer who sings opera, operatic pop, easy listening and more. He as well is blind. Since he's twelve, as far as I know... His music always inspired me. I think it shows that you don't have to see the world to see its inner beauty.”

Beaming now, Rarity listened up.
“That sounds wonderful, Matt. Would you mind giving me a sample of your vocal chords?”

Matt seemed flattered, but uncertain. A slight blush formed on his face.
“Oh, I don't know, it would probably be an unrehearsed mess.”

With a mischievous giggle, Rarity leaned in.
“You started it, darling. Now let's hear some.”

Giving a sigh, Matt gave up and nodded.
“Oh, alright... But no complaints later, OK?” He hummed a short melody in order to get the rhythm right and began to sing. It wasn't a language Rarity recognized. Closing her eyes she listened for a bit and began to smile. Matt was no amateur. In fact he was better than Tyler at the Grand Galloping Gala. His devotion to singing truly shined through.

When he ended, Rarity had to pay attention not to clap her hooves.
“That was gorgeous, Matt! Simply gorgeous! Certainly not perfect, but you have so much potential! You should really work on that!”

“Aw, it's nothing special...”

“Oh yes it is! And don't let anypo-” She stopped for half a second, but recovered fast. “Uh, I mean anyone else tell you otherwise! You have vocal chords of pure gold! Is that how you afford this... this wonderful home?”

Matt shook his head.
“No... I'm from a rather wealthy family. My parents passed away last year, but a friend of the family, Mrs. Fletchett, keeps an eye on me once in a while. She knows me since I'm a little boy, seems to see me like a son or something. For her many services, I thought it best to give her one of the many lofts my family owns here in Manhattan. She lives in one similar to this one. Maybe too generous, and she always said she didn't do this for money, but I rather give her something back than to let bad blood boil up between us.”

Looking around, Rarity took a glance at the loft once more.
“Such a beautiful home sure is a wonderful and generous way to say thank you to a good and dear friend. I feel so much sympathy in that. If only every member of society would be like this.”

Now he cocked his head.
“You somehow sound like you remember something or someone rather unpleasant...”

“Well, I came across a member of high society once and was rather disappointed by his rude and utter brutish behavior. A character called Blueblood.”

Matt already scoffed at the name, a hand covered his big grin.
“Oh dear... The name alone screams uptight already. But please: continue!”

Rarity harrumphed. She wasn't actually planning to relive this night once more, but on the other hoof letting off some steam might do her well now.
“Well now... I'm not going to detail, but let's just say that I know what a lady should be treated like. He did the very opposite of all of these things. He plucked a rose and kept it. Instead of opening the door for me, he expected me to do it for him. And once that cake was falling at us, he used me as a shield to stay clean while I got all dirty.”

Matt listened to this with folded arms and nodded.
“While I don't understand the full situation due to lack of context, I understand your point of view, Rarity. This Blueblood guy sure isn’t a man of dignity. Good to see that there are still women out there believing in the old codex of gentleman behavior for a lady instead of all that feminist bullshit that makes men inferior to females. Well I can't offer such things, only the honest affection of a blind guy. I won't see the rose in front of me, and couldn't put it into the hair of the one I love to say it underlines her beauty. Well... Yeah, I could, but coming from a blind guy? Good luck with that. I'll praise one for things I hear, not things I see.”

This prompted Rarity to arch a brow.
“And what would that be in my case?”

“For instance? Your laughter. I know it sounds stupid, but laughter can reveal so much about a person without him or her recognizing at first. I can tell you were more than nervous about me finding you in my loft. I assume it was mostly due to this mishap and you somehow landed in the crate down below in the foyer. My first thought was that one of my friends deemed it funny to pull a prank on me for being without a girlfriend for so long.”

“I can assure you that I'm not part of a prank.”

Turning his head to her, Matt gave her another genuine smile.
“That's nice to know. I don't have many friends, so a new one is always welcome and dear to me.”

“Why are you without a girlfriend, Matt? You seem like a fine gentleman to me.”

He sighed in frustration and shook his head.
“Well, not every lady out there has the patience to adjust to the life with a blind person. Others are spooked off by a myriad of things. The simple question of 'Do I look good?' Yeah... What can a blind guy say to that?”

Realization hit Rarity now and she nodded in thought to herself. A humbling thought indeed. What good was all outer beauty for an individual unable to see? Matt could never judge a person by their appearance, but by their behavior. Suddenly his wish for her to stay a bit longer seemed far more flattering than she first thought. A slight blush began to form on her muzzle.
“I... I guess you have a very good point there, Matt.” Taking a sip from her glass of juice, she arched a brow. This was good tasting juice. “I wonder... How can you- Oh, this must sound so stupid...”

Remaining silent for a bit, Matt then shook his head.
“What is it?”

Grimacing a bit, Rarity was happy he couldn't see her struggling for words.
“How did you get these glasses, darling? I mean... How does someone who can't see...”

Now Matt got the idea and smiled.
“...manage to live in a loft like this? I'm blind, Rarity. Not helpless. The trick is to memorize the furniture layout of the room. Being in the kitchen, it's two steps to the fridge, another two steps for the glasses, six steps back to the couch and table with you. Takes a while, but once you get the hang out of it, you can live by yourself without being a helpless mess.”

Rarity looked down to her glass of juice.
“I guess that's one way to live without eyesight. You are so much stronger than I am in that aspect. If I would lose my eyesight, I couldn't live like that.”

“Yes, you could.” he countered. “It's not the end of the world, just the end of one of your senses. Though I won't lay judgment on you. What most of us forget is that humans depend greatly on their eyesight, it is by far our most important sense. Unless of course, you're like me. A guy that's been blind from birth.” Rarity wanted to say something, but Matt raised his right hand and waved the thought away. “I may not have compliments for outer appearance, but I know a thing or two about romance.” Again Rarity's ears twitched in interest. But she wasn't speaking up to stop him. “Did no one ever tell you that gold is nothing but a cold metal? That jewels are but pebbles of the earth that glitter in a cold light? And that true wealth is here and above and all around… A male and a female together…” Rarity gulped as he said that. True, gold and jewels WERE only these lifeless things and her dresses, despite being glamorous above all could not hug her or love her back.

* * * * *

Five hours later, the main group of Sam, Rachel, Applejack, Pinkie, Lyra and Fluttershy stood in front of a warehouse, where Sam had assembled a spotlight.
“Pinkie? Where ever did you get these things?”

Grinning wildly, Pinkie just waved the thought away.
“Oh, I always have spotlight accessories with me for fast party advertising.”

Giving it a chuckle, Sam now bowed down to her and tickled her chin.
“Let's me wonder what else you're hiding in this mane of yours...” Pinkie closed her eyes and beamed as she enjoyed his attention.

Looking first up into the sky, Rachel then looked down to Fluttershy.
“You think they will notice this? The sun will rise in about an hour.”

With a confident nod, the yellow Pegasus looked up to her.
“If Rainbow Dash will notice anything about this city it's sure to be her own cutie mark projected high up into the sky over the harbor.”

And truly, not half an hour later, Rainbow, Flynn and Rick arrived at the Dock after managing to sneak Rainbow out of the airport. Approaching the others by hoof, she shook her head with a laugh.
“You guys won't even believe how slow these flying machines are the humans have built... They might be comfy, but if they would have something like that in Equestria, it would be so out of business in no time!” Seeing the slightly puzzled, yet relieved faces, she grinned. “Oh yeah! Flynn and I have met his brother and escaped Mimesis! Rick's a secret agent of some sorts. Cool, huh?!?”

When they approached the others, Rick slowly shook his head in disbelief and stopped.
“There are more of them...”

“Sure there are. Rick, before we head over to them, I'd like to thank you for using your status as federal agent to step up for her. We might have been found out if you wouldn't have waved your badge into that guy's face.”

“Hey... I might be a federal agent, but I like the TSA as much as everyone else. Sure I'll help out my little brother and his extra-dimensional girlfriend...”

Looking over to Rick, Flynn began to smirk.
“You sound like you're beginning to accept Rainbow.”

A sigh escaped his older brother.
“It's helping me to see her as an alien from another world, not a stupid animal. Still, it's not easy to digest. And... maybe I'll skip that pony detail when I'll tell Mom about her.”

Flynn nodded.
“True... She wouldn't understand without a proper talk with Rainbow. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others. They're all pleasant characters.”

When both brothers approached the others now, Applejack looked up to Rick and corrected her Stetson.
“A secret agent? What's this all about?”

Looking around, Rick then presented his badge.
“Rick Marshall, FBI...”

Upon seeing the badge, Rachel rolled her eyes with a laugh.
“Great... A federal agent... What does the FBI want with talking ponies?”

“Frankly we weren't even aware of that, no one was...” Rick then replied with a shrug, “But that thing you got following you around is on a rampage and killed an entire police station and several SWAT units. As of right now, we can't let that thing roam free. Let's just say that all highway patrols and Sheriff Departments are looking out for a and I quote: 'mass murderer of unknown proportion and lethality.'”

Taking off her Stetson, Applejack looked up to Rick.
“We're mighty sorry about that thing being on a rampage. Things would be different in our world.

Rick nodded and looked to the others.
“Where do you think it's going to go? A killing spree throughout the states?”

Lyra shook her head.
“No! If he'll come anywhere, it will be here. Because here he can sense the magic.”

Seeing Lyra pointing at the tip of her horn, Sam gulped with a bit of worry.
“We need to get to Rarity. Tyler and Twilight might be able to fight that sucker off for a while, but Rarity is all alone. She may come to someone's rescue, but for what I know, she's not the fighter type. Especially not here on Earth.”

Flynn looked over to his brother and frowned.
“What are the authorities going to do about that thing?”

With a heavy sigh Rick then began to elaborate.
“Well, normally a report of a monster killing people would fall on deaf ears, maybe even cause some to laugh. Now? After an entire police station was wiped out? Not only are the California cops and officers from the entire West Coast out for revenge... Heck, no! Even police stations of other states have joined forces for a manhunt. They're out for blood now. There's a big mobilization going on right now and I gave the one or another person a hint to head for New York. All thanks to my little brother and his odd girlfriend.”

“I'm not odd!” Rainbow protested.

“Well you certainly stand out by human standards.” Rick now continued, “I just hope these cops won't end up in body bags. A lot of good police officers died already and I'm afraid the death toll will rise until that thing is put down. But enough of that... Does anyone of you know something about the whereabouts of Tyler Jones?” The friends looked at each other in silence. No one knew about Tyler's or Twilight's current location and even if they knew, of that every face showed utmost certainty, they would not deliver Tyler to the authorities of Earth.

* * * * *

Meanwhile Rarity was hiding again. Another visitor had come to Matt's loft and was standing with him at the front door Both were whispering and Rarity was eavesdropping. As soon as the door bell was ringing Rarity went into the bathroom claiming to have the need to. Matt was blind, but not this person. She could fool her blind host into believing her to be human with muffled hoofsteps, but any other person might see her for what she truly was. Right now, she listened to the both of them.
“Come on, man... You want this stuff or not? You're not the only rich kid I could sell it to, alright?”

Grumbling for a bit, Matt nodded.
“Sure, Fred, I'll take it. Hope you'll choke on the payment...” Taking out a few pieces of paper from his pocket, he handed them over to Fred who grinned widely.

“Always a pleasure, man. See you next month.”

After he left, Rarity looked around and a short glimpse to the outside revealed something that gave Rarity a lot of hope. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark was high up in the sky as if projected up there. The others were in the city looking for one another. Not losing any time, she activated the flush and came back.
“ Was that someone you know?”

Matt seemed pretty jumpy all of a sudden.
“Oh, uh... Just an old friend delivering something for me...”

He sat down on the couch and tampered with a small plastic bag with a white powder in it. Not knowing what he had there, it got Rarity's attention.
“What's this?”

Getting out something that looked like a plastic business card, Matt then deployed a tiny amount of the powder from the bag onto the table with the card.
“I don't want to sound rude, Rarity, but that's actually none of your business.”

The sudden change of his character left Rarity to believe that Matt was very uncomfortable with her seeing him do this. This unfriendly tone of his rang her alarm bells.
“Who was that? A friend of yours?” Matt simply ignored her and lined the white powder up to a thin straight line before he took a short and thin tube and bent forward.

Sniffing it in with one short go caused him to shudder a bit before he leaned back with a relaxed sigh. Then, like nothing happened before, his calm and gentle voice returned.
“That was Fred. He comes once a month and has a little something for me...”

Taking a deep inhale through her nostrils, Rarity realized what was going on here.
“You're intoxicated! This is a drug!”

Nodding in delight, Matt grinned.
“Yep! It sure is...”

Looking at Matt aghast, Rarity shook her head before clenching her teeth.
“All that talk about inner beauty and now look at you! You use this to escape your own misery!”

Now Matt shrugged and pointed vaguely into her direction.
“Hey! Other people take two cups of coffee each morning, I take this once a month. It will last me for a few days. So what?”

Her right eye twitched a bit in anger.
“So what?!?”

Her horn lit up and she snatched the little plastic bag out of his hands.
“Rarity! Give me back my stuff!” As she took her distance from him, Matt, obviously believing she would stand right next to him, jumped up as to catch the little bag again. But by doing so, he tripped and fell to the ground.

Rarity looked back to him and once she saw that he wasn't injured, her short thought of worry for him was yet again replaced by anger.
“No! These drugs are nothing but an easy way downhill! Taking this away from you is doing you a favor!” With this she trotted into the bathroom. And once the flush was sounding off again, she returned. “There! All gone! I can’t let you become a scoundrel who wastes his own life on such garbage!”

Matt now was in a turmoil. Anger and shame clouded his thoughts. He was uncertain what angered him more right now. Rarity or the fact that she was right and he wasted his life and money on such dead ends.
“I think it's best if you would leave right now... I'm... I'm giving a rather pathetic picture here, I'm sorry I can't be a better host or guy in front of-”

“Yes, you can!” Rarity interrupted him in a harsh tone.” You are so much stronger than this.”

“Meh! Just a hopeless romantic, an addict and a failure as a singer no one wants to hear anyway…”

But the unicorn mare shook her head.
“Matt... You have a fabulous singing voice and a big heart. I wouldn't call you hopeless.”

Looking up, his sweaty head shook as he turned to her.
“How can you say that? You don't even know me!”

Tipping her chin with a hoof, Rarity looked up to the ceiling, searching for words.
“Well… How do I put this…? You're not a complete mess, just dirty here and there. You are a diamond in the rough, you need some shaping! Once that’s done, you can shine and glitter brilliant, darling… But If you waste your life on that stuff 'Fred' is handing to you, you're going to shatter. And how better to repay you for giving me shelter than to help you out of that? Now stand up!”

Upon getting up, he held up a hand.
“How about a helping hand?”

Rarity raised a hoof, but took it away in realization that she almost revealed herself to him with this. If he would feel a hoof instead of a hand, he would begin to ask questions.
“I don't think so... You are the one who has to muster the strength to get up and I don't mean the floor.”

He looked down to the floor and contemplated upon this for a few minutes, before he finally nodded and got up on his own.
“You’re right... It's strange. You come into my life and you shake me up, like waking me from a nightmare… And you ask for nothing in return… You are an amazing woman, Rarity.”

Chuckling a bit nervous, Rarity looked around.
“Aheheh… Yes… I… I think one could say so.” After he sat down properly, she got him a glass of water and a towel to clean his sweaty face. Slowly the effect of the drug ceased and Matt's breathing normalized. “Do you feel better?”

Taking a deep breath, Matt shook his head.
“Yes and no. A bit of both... I feel better because you're still here and seem to care so much about me. And I don't feel better because now I'll have to confess to Mrs. Fletchett about my addiction.”

“You will find your courage. I only gave you a bump into the right direction. What are you planning now?”

Probably a detoxification from that stuff. Man, I'll never hear the end from Mrs. Fletchett regarding this. And you? I'm sorry for being such a bother myself... I mean you have plenty of problems on yourself and I'm just dragging you down with my own problems.” He sighed deeply now. “I'm afraid I am a terrible host to you. Seems your streak of bad luck with members of high society is persistent.”

Giving it a smirk, Rarity rolled her eyes.
“It could have been worse. You might have been a knave and rapist. Excuse me for a moment...” Stepping outside, she saw the projection of the Cutie Mark in the harbor region of the city. Frowning a bit, she charged up her horn and projected her own cutie mark into the sky high above her. It lasted only a few minutes before the magic faded away, but hopefully the others had seen her own beacon and came for her. Deep within though she felt a bit weaker as the spell had taken a heavy toll on her remaining magic.

Inside Matt was sitting there and was holding his head while his elbows were resting on his legs. Seemingly she had interrupted his drug consumption just in time so he was still responsive and didn't waste himself.
“You know? I guess I can see what you aim for. Looking for the fairy tale prince coming to your rescue. And nothing is wrong with that. I myself have wished and longed to find my own princess, but was always unable to do so. An evening in the loft, lighted by the lamps of the stars glittering for her. The loneliness is wondrous when one isn’t quite alone… I'm simply sorry I'm nothing but another notch on your streak of bad luck with men.”

His words brought a slight shiver on her spine. 'He’s better than Tyler in this…' she thought. While she spotted the cutie mark signal of Rainbow Dash earlier on the other end of the city and gave signal herself towards the others, she was certain they were on their way to her. But no matter how she looked at it, she was out to tell Matt the truth about her. Being kind enough to let her stay instead of sneaking through the dark alleys of the city facing Celestia knew what, he deserved the truth. Hopefully, this wouldn't backfire at her.
“Matt... I'm about to reveal myself to you, if this works. Do you trust me?”

Matt was silent a long time now as his faced turned to her. Finally, he was nodding.
“You're not a human, are you? Rarity?”

The fact that he already had this idea baffled her for a few seconds.
“Since when?”

A grin formed on his lips and he shook his head with a chuckle.
“I am blind, Rarity. Not deaf. You may have muffled your steps, but even then I heard more than one pair of footsteps.”

Looking down to her hooves, she blushed a bit.
“Yes, you are right. Could you come down to your knees a bit? I think I can work much better when we're eye to eye.”

Coming down to his knees, Matt seemed highly uncertain of what to think of the situation.
“Uh... Sure... What are you now, some kind of gnome or something else that's smaller?

“Smaller than a human is quite fitting. But I'm not a... gnome? What's a gnome?”

Upon coming closer to him, he arched back a little at the sensation of her breath.
“You're not up to something, are you?”

Rolling her eyes, she now began to smirk.
“Matt, I won't bite you, so hold still now. Don't make a lady wait!” He nodded and complied and Rarity charged her horn. 'Now, Element, please don't fail me on this! Whatever I have left, please use it to do that little wonder I'm asking of you.' Her horn began to sparkle and her Element first began to glimmer, but then it began shining brightly until the room was filled in a easing white light. When the bright light ceased, he held his eyes. At some point in whatever was happening, they had begun to hurt awfully. But when he moved his hands away and slowly dared to open his eyes, bright shiny forms appeared in front of him. As he moved his fingers, he recognized these things to be his hands. The blur in his vision made them look almost like shapeless forms, but the blur was ceasing and the edges of the forms became sharper. The realization struck him equally with the same amount of confusion. He couldn't explain his sudden and miraculous recovery from being blind since birth, but all he deemed important right now was the experience. Taking a gulp, his head slowly turned over to Rarity. The unicorn took a step back away from him. “I... well... I guess it worked? I hope you're not disappointed in me not being a human woman.”

While shaky hands rose to her, he touched her face ever so gently. He had to 'see' her like he would see her being blind. But everything confirmed, what his eyes told him. The same facial features, the soft and brushed coat, the exquisitely well done mane. Rarity didn't protest, but let it happen. Surely the gift of sight was a revelation and he needed some time to digest this.
“You... You really are a talking pony?”

Her hoof gently caressed his cheek.
“That I am, Matt. You can feel my hoof and coat, can't you? This is no hallucination of some drug, you're not out of your mind.”

He puffed at that.
“Good Lord, I was worried for a bit...” Again he held his eyes. “Hrrmmm... My eyes hurt...”

Cocking her head, Rarity looked up to him with a bit of worry.
“That is probably because you never used them like this before. Sit down, Matt.“

Sitting down to her haunches, Rarity looked at Matt for a few seconds before arching a brow.
“You look disappointed.”

Looking up to her, Matt seemed to return his focus to her, snapping out of it.
“Huh? Oh, I'm sorry if I do. It's just... I'm just processing that I somehow can see despite being blind my entire life before and the first thing I see is a talking white female unicorn with a... well, a explicitly well done mane!”

Clearing her throat, Rarity gently patted her mane while a slight blush formed on her muzzle.
“Why thank you... For someone who can see for just a few minutes you're getting observant quite fast.”

But now Matt seemed intrigued about her real whereabouts and leaned in.
“So since you're real and I'm not a nut-job on a bad trip... What's this all about? The real story of Rarity...”

Resting her hoof gently on his hand she looked into his face.
“I am part of a small group of ponies and humans that are here on this world by accident, Matt.”

Confusion was all over his face as he tried to made sense of what she said.
“By accident? What happened?”

“This is a rather longer story and maybe you should sit do-” The door bell rang and their heads darted to it.

Patting her shoulder, Matt stood up.
“Visitors? Odd... I'm not expecting anyone now. You better go hiding while I see who that is.” With a bit of worry Rarity complied and went back into the bathroom, her makeshift shelter from curious eyes. Moments passed. Moments that took almost an eternity for Rarity. She had revealed herself to Matt. Now she could only hope he wasn't out to show her around to other curious humans. However, her fears got interrupted when she heard a knocking on the door and Matt's gentle voice speaking from the other side. “Rarity? I believe you know these folks?”

When she entered the living room again, she immediately recognized the others. While the humans gave her warm smiles upon seeing her, the mares galloped straight at her for a group hug, what prompted some tears of relief out of her.
“Oh thank Celestia you are finally here! A lady should be able to be independent, but all alone in a strange city in a strange world? That's a bit much.” She then left the group hug and stood in front of Matt. “Fortunately for me this gentleman here let me stay the night over. May I introduce? Matt Richards, a wealthy young man, who allowed me to stay here until you could come for me. And until today, he was blind.”

Flynn leaned over to Sam and lowered his voice while pointing at the remnants of cocaine on the table.
“She's lucky... No one would believe an addict about a talking white unicorn mare...”

Rachel on the other hand arched a brow.
“Until today? What do you mean by that? Some operation or something?”

Chuckling nervous, Rarity looked down in a bit of embarrassment.
“I... well... With the help of my element, I gave away what was left of magic in my horn for him to gain sight.”

Rachel's eyes widened and Fluttershy gasped in shock while coming to Rarity's side.
“But Rarity! Since we don't have have any magic on this world this means...”

Looking down a bit, the white unicorn nodded with a sigh.
“It's gone, I know... Oh, it's alright, dear. It was the right thing to do. What Element of Generosity would I be if I would not act that way? We'll get back to our world soon anyway and then it will return to me all by itself.”

Applejack corrected her Stetson.
“Well Ah'll be damned! For somepony so depending on your magic that's mighty fine and generous, Rarity! Ya got mah respect for that! Still... Ah didn't know they could do that.”

Sam nodded and gave the trinkets a thorough look.
“Makes you think of what more they could do if brought to the test...”

Lyra gave Matt a thorough look.
“Hmmm... I don't know, Sam. If it would be that easy to repair broken nerve tissue, it would have been done already in Equestria. It might be only temporary.”

Everyone looked at Matt, who gulped a bit at the theory.
“Even if it would be only for an hour, it would be an hour so rich of sensations that all my money couldn't grant me in a million years. Whatever the duration of this little miracle, I am forever grateful for this.”

The others nodded and Rachel headed towards the front door.
“Well, it's time for us to go. We still have to find and meet up with Twilight and Tyler. And we still have that Changeling on our tail; we don't want him to find us here.”

Looking up to Matt, Rarity gave him an uncertain smile.
“I… I really should be going. Thank you so much for letting me stay with you for the while.”

Gritting his teeth, Matt knew that he had to do something. Rarity was the best thing that ever happened to him in a long time. To hell with people would look at him being with a pony that could talk and think! He never gave much about people looking at him since he never recognized their glances anyway. So why start now? In the next moment, he was on his knees in front of her to be eye to eye with her.
“I’ve never seen a pony before. Neither from Earth or someplace else… I’ve never seen anything before! But from what I see now, I see a white unicorn mare, pure and shining with the brilliance of a gemstone. Not only did you help me into the right direction out of this mess, but you also gave away your most precious ability of magic to help me. I owe my eyesight to you and I owe you the wonder of seeing beauty for the first time I open my eyes.” Matt then looked down, searching for words. “If… if you go, take me with you! I want to see the world you live in.”

Pondering the pros and Cons for quite some time, Rarity then found her words after a heavy sigh.
“I can't take you with me.”

He shook his head, not understanding.
“Before I met you, I was a blind rich guy with nothing but a singing voice almost no one wanted to hear. Thanks to you, my eyes can see now and I got a motivation. But only to see that life has more to offer than what others wanted me to believe.” His palms caressed her cheeks as she slightly blushed. “I would be an idiot for letting a chance like that go. Letting you go…The best thing that ever happened to me. I may have started to get free from that stuff... and surely will have to work hard to get truly free from it, but only to become addicted to you...”

Caressing his cheek with a hoof, Rarity shook her head.
“Matt... You have a lovely voice and a big, generous heart. There's a real gentleman beneath that.. I hope soon ex-addict... You're able to get rid of that. But please understand: We're about to get back into my world, where we'll face dangerous enemies. Maybe we will never return to this world. And although my world is filled with wonders I'd love to show you, there are dangers over there I don't want you being exposed to. It would be wrong for me to drag you into this.” She gave him a smile. “Besides... You know I do love to take the stuff away that makes you feel good.” With that, she placed a kiss on his forehead and turned around to the others and they left the loft.

Rachel looked over to Rarity as they left the loft.
“You sure you want to leave him behind?”

Giving her a look and a nod, Rarity smiled.
“I'm sure he will understand, Rachel. And I do hope I made a positive impact on his life.”

Trotting at her side, Applejack shook her head.
“If ya ask me, yer an idiot, Rarity... That guy was throwin' himself at ya, he would lick yer hooves clean if ya ask it of him. It doesn't take Princess Cadance to see that this feller was had feelings for ya. And ya were always complaining that ya want someone like Tyler in yer life.”

Rolling her eyes, Rarity shook her head.
“That might be true, but I'm a lady, not a fast conquest accepting someone I barely know for a couple of hours. He would be a keeper, if not for these circumstances... Besides, he has other things on his mind now than romance with someone from another world.”

Flynn looked up the stairs once more.
“Getting rid of this addiction you mentioned you mean. True... And that takes more than a couple of hours, which should be more than enough for us to find Tyler and Twilight and head home towards Equestria.”

In the garage they all entered the mini-bus while Rachel was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Alright! Five Elements of Harmony, four Harmony Rangers! I think it’s time to get Jones and Twilight, before we go into hiding until we found a way back home.”

Flynn nodded.
“We should just get to the airport after reuniting and head for Bermuda again.”

“Basically that’s a great idea, Flynn...” Rachel stated. “...but we don’t know if the vortex that brought us to Equestria comes every time. It could have been a fluke. Oh and before we head to Equestria, maybe we could grab some cold beers, hard alcoholics and cigars. I really yearn for some luxury items. Stuff they don't produce over in Equestria.”

Sam grumbled at this when the bus started moving, Rick's car following them.
“No time for sightseeing, Rachel!”

* * * * *

Meanwhile, up in the north of New York City, at the northern edge of the city of Yonkers, a police block was completely destroyed. The police cars were battered, perforated multiple times and tossed aside on their backs while blood and gore marked almost every square inch of the street. Police officers were lying over the ground limb by limb. All of them were dead. All of them but one. Barely daring to breath, he watched it fade away into the distance. Their entire arsenal, the cars, the bulletproof vests... 'Nothing could have prepared us for something like this. This shit was huge, three stories high, maybe even bigger!' His mind was racing, his thoughts blurring and whirling to an uncertain mixture of adrenalin and fear. Crawling over to one of the car wrecks, he grabbed the last remaining functional radio while keeping eye contact with the monster further down the street.
“Rob? Rob! Rob! Rob, come in, please...”

Robert Smith was sitting in a comfortable chair in the Police Department and was doing radio duty. He preferred this task since it always meant being in the comfort zone rather than going out to the streets. His voice was calm and he raised a mug of coffee.
“Yeah, what is it, Sean? You're not making a call because you guys are bored out there, are you?”

Sean Miller cowered behind the car wreckage, carefully trying to spot anything in the distance.
“They're dead, man... All of them! It came and simply... walked right through us.”

This prompted Robert to listen up with a stern look on his face.
“Now hold it! This is nothing to make fun of, you little dipshit! You guys were sent out there because some lazy ass pencil pusher from the bureau talked to us. I know it's lame and boring, but-”

Looking at the radio in his hand, Sean Miller gritted his teeth in anger.
“Listen to me, you stupid fucker! I would never joke about this, OK? Bill , Gene, Edward and Jim... They're all dead, man! And whatever it is that got us here... It's on its way to Yonkers! It's coming towards you! “

Robert took a look outside of the window and gulped. If it was a joke, it was a damn straight dark one. Suddenly a very cold feeling crawled down his spine.
“Sean...? I can see some trees moving out there. What the fuck are you guys doing out there? Felling trees?”

“I already told you about it, Rob! It's freaking huge and-” He paused as the sound of a falling tree became audible in the distance. “Call the National Guard, man! This is too big for us!”

Taking a gulp, Robert got out of his chair and gulped. A slight shiver ran down his spine.
“I... I get it...” Hanging up, Robert then dialed a new number. A number he was certain he was never going to dial in his whole life as a police officer. “This is Robert Smith, Yonkers Police Department. Give me the governor!” After a short reply his eyes got more serious. “Then wake him, Lady!”