Matt slid the plastic key card into its holster and quickly back out, popping the lock and opening the door to the magnificent, thirty-fifth floor suite. The girls followed a step behind followed lastly by Frank. However, despite having to step around their suddenly dumbstruck guide as soon as they went inside, they too came to a screeching halt, bowled over by the level of class that permeated about the room. Even the high-society fashionista was at a loss for words. It wasn't anything Frank hadn't seen before.
It didn't look as if a single spec of dust was on any of the furniture. The chairs and couches were a soft, cream color similar to the flowing drapes lining the windows. The frills on the bottoms of both spoke of the elegance and expense they just walked into. The few various coffee and end tables practically glowed and could double as mirrors despite being made of some of the finest wood on Earth. The pair of decorative vases sitting on the table behind the couch in front of them probably cost more than Matt's last car. Even the TV didn't look to have a single scratch anywhere on its frame.
"Ho-ly shit," he muttered.
"This sure is, um...snazzy," Applejack agreed.
"Snazzy? Snazzy?!" Rarity gasped, snapping out of her beauty-induced coma. "This...this is...sweet Celestia, it's stunning! It's beyond exquisite!"
"Err, thank you," Frank said with a smile. "We do our best to keep our rooms and suites as immaculate as we can, especially the really important ones like this. As the suite's name implies, we've had several presidents stay here. This'll definitely be a first."
"Why don't you girls go look around for a bit?"
At Matt's suggestion, the mares eventually remembered how to walk and went to take a look around when Frank motioned their friend over.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I...don't want to sound, well, like an ass or anything, but could you make sure they're careful? Some of these things are quite valuable, and if you do manage to send us back and things are damaged..."
"Oh yeah, no problem. Yeah, management would probably have your ass. I'm sure the stuff will be fine once you're home. I mean, everything made it here in one piece, right? But, how would they know anyway?" Matt asked.
"Well, you know we have power, and we do have cameras here and there. Wouldn't be hard to figure out."
"Wouldn't the equipment have run out of room recording by now?"
"I honestly don't know. I don't remember the last time I was in the security room and I don't know how their stuff works in there," Frank confirmed with a shrug.
"Fair enough. Question, you said the power is working, obviously. Is...the water?" Matt wondered, biting his lip in worry.
"It wasn't for the first few days, but it is now. The mayor insisted to the utilities companies to get everything working. May as well keep people as comfortable through a crisis as possible, right?" As Matt nodded in agreement, Frank watched Twilight disappear into the next room behind the rest of the girls and lowered his voice. "Listen, I didn't want to ask in front of them, but are they, uh...err, well, housebroken?"
Matt nearly fell over laughing, making his new acquaintance feel a touch embarrassed. "Dude, they're basically four-legged people. Yes, they have bathrooms in their own homes and know how to use them. Speaking of which, a shower sounds really nice about now."
"I'll bet, after what you've told me you've been through."
"Mhm. Well, I think I'll head inside, check the place out." He stopped himself just as he was about to depart. "Oh! Do you know how to get to the roof for tomorrow morning when we go see what that stupid thing floating overhead is?"
"Yeah, but the maintenance crew has keys for that, and I haven't seen any of them in a few days. No idea if they've tried to get off the island or are holed up in one of the rooms or whatever. It's not like they wouldn't be able to get a room key on their own, y'know?"
"Could always blast the doorknob off if need be," Matt suggested, smirking as he motioned at the shotgun.
Cringing, Frank answered, "Eh, I suppose if it came down to it. Would prefer not to, if we could help it."
"Look at it this way, a doorknob is cheaper to replace than a Ming dynasty vase, right?" Not wanting to think about either, the employee curled his lips and shrugged. "Alright, well...call you in the morning?"
"Sure, that'll be fine," Frank said. "There are instructions by the phone that'll tell you how to call another room. Not hard."
"Figured so, yeah. Thanks again for this. You really didn't have to."
"Not a problem. The food for the room was a fair enough trade if you ask me. Give me a holler if you need anything before then."
"Will do."
The two shook hands firmly and Frank headed out. With that, Matt turned and entered the living room. Twilight had found a bookcase with a fine selection of literature which she was more than happy to go through. Rainbow Dash was already comfortable on another heavenly couch they had stumbled upon, even with Pinkie Pie hopping on the cushion next to her. Matt got her attention and crossly shook his head at her. She got the hint quick enough and stopped in midair a few inches above the pillows only to flop down beside her cyan friend. Applejack and Fluttershy were by the window admiring the astonishing view. The timid pegasus made the mistake of looking down and gulped back her fear.
Just as Matt was about to ask for the food and drink they brought to toss it in the fridge over in the kitchen, the quiet was broken by a loud, ecstatic wailing from the next hall over.
"This should be good," Rainbow muttered as she and the rest left what they were doing to investigate what had gotten Rarity hyped up this time. Given how starry-eyed she became ever since they entered the hotel, it could have been just about anything.
After a brief search, they found the unicorn in the bedroom at the farthest end of the hall with her hooves practically glued onto the tile floor in the attached lavatory.
"What'd you find, Rares?" Matt asked.
"Th-th-there's a hot tub in the bathroom!" she sputtered.
Some smirked. Others blinked. A few rolled their eyes. None were terribly surprised in the slightest.
"Oh. Couldn't have been something more interesting like a dead body or something, huh?" Matt quipped. The girls were a bit more surprised and confused by his own ridiculous comment.
Despite what he said – though whether or not she heard him was anypony's guess – Rarity bounded out with a wide smile and leapt to her hind legs, wrapping her forelimbs around Matt's unsuspecting head and nuzzling his neck affectionately.
"Whoa, watch the horn."
"Ooo, Matt, sweetie, this is the most extravagant place I've ever been! I mean, I've stayed at places that've had hot tubs outside in the pool area, but in their very own room?! Why, even the castle in Canterlot can't compare to this place! Oh, thank you thank you thank you so much for selecting this hotel for us to stay at!"
The angry clear of a certain mare's throat snapped her out of her enthusiastic rambling. The dressmaker knew immediately who it was and sheepishly set herself back on all fours, blushing in embarrassment when she saw Applejack glaring fiercely at her with a single raised brow.
"Err, what I meant to say is – and I think I speak for all of us when I say – that we truly appreciate this incredibly thoughtful gesture, Matt. I mean, we could have stayed in that...vehicle and instead you decided we should experience the fabulous lap of luxury that this city has to offer," Rarity babbled, desperately trying to save face. "You really didn't have to do this."
"You know we're not really here on vacation, right?" Fluttershy interjected.
"I, uh...yes. Yes, of course! First thing in the morning, we take care of that...thing outside and all this will be put behind us." She turned back to her best friend. "Applejack, dear, would you like to bunk with me tonight? As you can see, there's plenty of space."
While the cowgirl was still a little miffed at Rarity for getting a little too chummy with Matt for her liking, she buried her irritation for the moment and glanced over at the king-size bed. Its tremendous decorative pillows and fluffy bedspread certainly did give the whole thing a cozy look. Deciding to check it out, she snatched her saddlebag off her back and tossed it lazily on the chair in the corner of the room.
"Sure, why not?" she said, hopping onto the bed and setting her stetson beside her. She could have fallen asleep right there as she sank into the comfortable mattress. "Oh wow, this is nice!"
Rarity floated her own bag to sit alongside her friend's and climbed up to join Applejack, moaning in delight. "Sweet Celestia, this must be what sleeping on a cloud feels like!" she squeaked.
As the pair got lost in euphoria, Matt went from one saddlebag to the next, collecting the food and drinks. "Well, you two can get comfy if you want. I'm going to go put this away, take a shower and then make a phone call. The water's running, so yeah, probably wouldn't be a bad idea if you wanted to clean up a bit. And yes, you could probably hop in the hot tub at some point if you want. I call the biggest bed here, by the way."
Applejack shifted uneasily at mention of the phone. Guess it'd likely only be a few more hours and then she could see what was so damn special about this Rachel girl, provided she was going to arrive that day. Even Rarity stopped swooning for a moment and looked over with concern for the farmer.
"Why do you get the biggest one?" Rainbow asked.
"...Cuz I'm the biggest one here?" he replied with a stupid grin.
"These beds are plenty big enough already. Heck, you could probably fit just about all of us on one of them and still have room," Twilight remarked.
"Then it should be real easy for you guys to stretch out. Anywho, I'll be inside. Why not see if there's anything on TV if you got nothing else to do?"
"Do...what?"
"Y'know, this thing?" Matt said, thumbing at the one on the wall across from the bed. "There's one in the first room too. There's probably one in every other room in this place. Go check it out. Maybe some of the stations have stuff playing to help keep people distracted. Most of that shit's probably automated anyway."
"Um, we don't know how to work that thing," Fluttershy reminded him.
"Oh. Err, yeah, good point." Matt could have smacked himself in the head hard enough to dislodge his brain until he spied the remote on the end table beside Rarity. "Here, float that over."
Taking the familiar electronic, he displayed it for the girls to see as he gave them a brief introduction. "This is what the remotes look like. I guarantee the others will look similar enough. The only things you have to know is that the 'power' button here turns it on, the 'volume' buttons should be obvious enough, and push 'oh-two' to start from channel two and then just work your way up and down with the 'channel' buttons. Some of them may have static, but whatever."
The TV came to life as he demonstrated its abilities for them in case they didn't understand. Upon finding a functioning channel, the Elements stared in awe at the new toy as the commercial displayed some rather amazing special effects – amazing compared to their average cinema, at least.
"That's really it?"
Matt flicked the set off and lobbed the remote onto the bed. "Basically."
Rainbow lifted her hoof and looked it over with a discerning eye. "And if we can't manage to push the buttons? I mean, you know we don't have fingers like you do."
Matt snatched the hoof and tapped the edge. "So use here. You'll be fine! And if not, I'll be in in a little while. I've seen you use your wings like hands before, so don't give me that."
"Yeah, and I can fly up and smack you upside the head with them."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said dismissively as he exited the room and went for the kitchen. The girls followed aside from Applejack and Rarity.
Once they were safely away, the country girl grumbled, "Wish I could take that phone thing and just flush it away."
The fashionista took hold of her orange hoof and squeezed it warmly. "Listen, I know I was going on and on about it earlier like a little filly, but if you want to wash up, you can go on ahead of me. Maybe a hot shower will help you relax, melt some of the worry away?"
With a heavy-hearted sigh, Applejack rolled over and crawled off the covers. "Maybe."
As the bathroom door closed behind the apple farmer, Rarity let out a sigh of her own. After everything she had tried to do and recommend, the last couple days threatened to have everything come crashing down, and that threat was only a short time away. She silently begged that Rachel's appearance would result in nothing more than a long lost reconnection.
A distraction. Yes, she needed a distraction as much as the rest of the humans in the city did right now. The television on the other side of the room called out to her, and curiosity got the better of her. With a smirk, she sat up and willed the remote beside her head. She loved a good book as much as the next pony, so this tiny movie screen thing just seemed silly and low-brow, especially after what Matt had said about it from time to time. Remembering what he showed them a moment ago, the 'power' button obeyed the lady's command. Might as well see what the fuss is about.
-----
"Just, well, follow the path of destruction and you should be fine. Pretty much looks like we ran a bulldozer through the streets. Mostly on the sidewalks, whatever. Couple of tight spots along the way, but you should be able to get around them without any trouble. Once you get the white Hummer, that'll be it. We parked it in front of the hotel," Matt told his phone as he paced in his room with a towel around his waist.
"How the heck am Ah supposed to get in?" Rachel asked.
"We have our ways, don't worry. Can you see the city yet?"
"Yeah, it's just like ya said it'd be. May be, Ah dunno, half hour, forty-five minutes away from that spot ya told ya busted through."
"Good. Just be careful. It'll probably be a little dark by the time you get here. I mean, shit, the sun's almost on the way out of here already. If you bump into any cops, they shouldn't give you any trouble – at least I hope they don't, as long as that one guy wasn't bullshitting me," Matt muttered with a sneer.
"Who?"
"Eh, this cop I got into a fight with. Said he'd tell his buddies you were on the way and to let you by after me and my friends took him down. We'll see, I guess."
"What was the guy's name in case they do stop me?"
"McCarthy. Not a bad idea."
Rachel breathed deeply into her phone, trying to calm her nerves as she got ever closer to the metropolis. "Still can't believe all this."
"Heh, yeah. Pretty crazy."
"Ah better get off the phone. Gonna need to pay attention 'n, like ya said, it's gonna be dark soon."
"Right, right. Call me when you get here, okay? We'll come down to get you."
"Ah will."
Matt laughed to himself. "You're gonna love this room we have. You'll...you'll just die when you see it. It's awesome!"
Rachel chuckled too, but it wasn't hard to hear from her voice that a tear or two must have rolled down her cheek. "Can't wait. Ah'll see ya soon, 'kay?"
He felt his own eyes starting to water a little as well. "You know it."
As he hung up, Matt breathed deeply and calmed the nerves in his chest that were starting to flare. It almost felt like he was preparing for his first date with her all over again. So much for his shower relaxing him almost to the point of falling asleep. At least his nerves were firing on all cylinders for a good reason this time unlike so many others in the last several days.
He flung the phone onto the bed and finished toweling himself off. It felt good to be clean again. It was a good thing he brought an extra set of clothes with him. Putting the same stuff on that he'd be wearing on his back for two solid, sweaty days would have made the shower feel like a bit of a waste.
Once dry, he folded the towels, replaced them on their racks and pulled his fresh wardrobe from his backpack – a pair of loose, beige shorts and a simple gray t-shirt with a trio of blue diamonds sewn wear a breast pocket would be. That mare was always promoting her product, but she always did make quality merchandise.
Matt slid his iPhone into his pocket and headed to the foyer where he found all but Fluttershy and Twilight. Everypony else had cleaned up by then; only they were left and would most likely be out soon enough. The others had curled up on the couches and chairs and were arguing over what things to watch. He had to hold in a snort of laughter once he saw the bickering.
But now it was his turn. Snatching the remote from Rainbow's feathered grip, he flopped onto couch next to Applejack and spread out like how he used to back in his old apartment. Set a beer in his hand and he would've been all set.
The TV switched to channel two and almost immediately flipped from one station to the other. Most of the channels were static, as Matt expected, but from time to time he'd land on something only to move right past it a few seconds later. It seemed like about a third of the stations were functioning.
"Come on, slow down! How are we supposed to know what we're looking at when you're going that fast?" Rainbow criticized. God, it sounded like he was at his parent's house when he was a youth and had a chance to take over the tube all over again.
"I'll find something, don't worry."
For the first several minutes, Matt proved to be a liar, though most of the things he found were commercials at the time. He eventually settled on a ridiculous action movie that he didn't recognize. The explosions and gunfire were excellent testosterone fuel, but it didn't take long for the girls to voice their displeasure in his viewing choice. The only one that showed any mild interest in the show at all was the speedster, and she lost the vote to keep watching four to three once Twilight and Fluttershy eventually joined them in front of the idiot box.
Matt was a bit surprised at first when Twilight of all ponies sat and watched with them, but considering how novel something as simple to him as TV must have been to her and her friends, it started to make sense. Whether she'd wish it were still around once everything was sent back home, they'd just have to wait and see. He was just glad they didn't ask many questions about what was going on in the programs he put on for them. Equestria may not have had CGI in their movies, but the girls seemed to get the idea that some of the things they saw must have just been some complicated special effects they were unfamiliar with and accepted a fair amount of it at face value.
After a couple more half-hour programs were under their belt, the channel surfing commenced once again. As he landed on the intro of one of the city's functioning cable news networks, something caught Matt's eye. The times they had zipped through the news channels before, there was some text in the top corner indicating that the broadcast was a rerun. However, it wasn't there time. Strange. Did something else crazy happen in the last couple hours to bring this about?
The disheveled newscaster came on as soon as the opening credits ran with a typical 'startling development'. The first clip of several stringed they showed, which looked to have been recorded by a phone or some other amateur recording equipment, just about made their hearts stop.
"Ohhhhh shit."
Matt was shown on the screen brawling with McCarthy earlier that afternoon with half of his entourage jumping in to help.
"Hey, look, it's us! We're gonna be famous!" Pinkie cheered.
"That's not what we wanted, remember?" Applejack snarled.
"Oh... Oh yeah."
"Shh!"
Next were a few grainy shots of their protected Hummer plowing through various parts the city and lastly, the seven of them standing outside the hotel before disappearing in a flash of purple light. The person filming the final scene was bleeped out several times when they teleported away.
The video looped as the reporter asked numerous questions as to what their purpose in the city was. Did the mysterious equine creatures in the clips have anything to with their situation? Were they up to something malicious? Scouting ahead for some kind of invasion from the city across the bay? Was the young man caught on film working with them or did they have him under their control somehow? What's the significance of the Waldorf Astoria?
"We're going to try and get a camera crew out to the Waldorf and see if we can get a statement from the authorities. We'll bring you more as this story develops."
Matt held his face in his hands. "Juuuuust wonderful."
"Are we going to be safe here?" Fluttershy asked.
"As long as the cops do what they said they would, we should be. I hope. If nothing else, they never exactly saw us walk directly into this place. Lot of rooms here too."
"So what do we do in the meantime?"
He thought hard for a moment, curled his lips and shrugged. "Not answer the door?" A better idea came to mind, and he got up to head off to his bedroom. "Actually, I'm going to go get the gun, keep it close. Might as well play it a little safe."
"I really wish there was something else you could use to scare any potential threat away," Rarity pouted. "I just...hate that thing!"
"A big gun people are familiar with; they know to stay away. What they don't know is how much ass you six know how to kick," he retorted with a wide smirk on his face. The roundabout compliment got a giggle from a few of them.
-----
It took a quick channel change and most of an hour-long program to put aside any fears of the public suddenly coming down on them that night. Roughly every ten minutes, Matt would switch back to the news networks only to find that they had yet to be harassed at ground level. Fortunately, a few skipped checks almost made them forget altogether as they were too engrossed by a bad comedy. The girls missed many of the jokes, but considering the cultural differences, it wasn't much of a surprise.
As the silly movie started approaching its climax, the phone rang out on the coffee table. Matt perked up in an instant and correctly assumed who it was, especially considering the number on the caller ID and the fact that there was only one other person in Equestria that had the means to contact the phone, as far as he knew. He quickly turned the TV off and answered the phone.
"Hey hey, what's up?"
"Ah'm finally here. Ah should've gotten here a little faster, but Ah got stopped a few times. They let me through though, so, whatever, y'know?" Rachel replied.
"Any other problems?"
"Nah, not really. There're a few news crews out here, had to practically fight to get around 'em. Didn't see any vans or what not though. Kinda weird."
"Eh, probably came on foot or something. Where are you outside?"
"Ah'm right by that Hummer ya told me to look for."
A smile quickly streaked across his cheeks. "Cool, cool. Hang tight, we'll be down soon. Probably take longer to go down the thirty-five floors we gotta go down than to get through the lobby!"
"Ah'll be here."
"Sounds good. See you soon."
"Bye."
He hung up and shared his wide grin with the Elements. They were all excited to finally meet Rachel – save for two. Applejack's smile was as genuine as she could muster, but Matt didn't see through her ruse. Rarity managed to fool him as well, and after he got up from the couch and sauntered to the door with the others in tow, she glanced at her orange friend and blew out a heavy breath with her eyebrows raised. Here went nothing! Could only cross their hooves and hope for the best.
Just as Matt went to close the door behind them, he checked his pocket and, sure enough, the key card was there. That would've been embarrassing! As they strolled toward the elevator, Pinkie spoke up with a question that was on everypony's lips.
"So, what's she like?"
"She's...well, she's beautiful. Dirty blonde hair, about half-way down her back. Pretty good head on her shoulders, but I always liked teasing her when I knew something she didn't that was kind of important to the situation. Always got her a little worked up. Was pretty funny but she always knew I was just fucking around. Could be pretty snarky when she wanted to be though. I remember once how we were at a sports bar watching...I think it was an Alabama game...and this drunk asshole comes up and starts hitting on her right in front of me. I was about ready to kick this guy's ass, but the shit she said to get him to fuck off was kinda hilarious. She probably would've knocked him on his ass either way if he kept it up for another minute or so. Was a country girl through and through." He smiled proudly at Applejack. "Y'know, I'll bet you two would probably hit it off pretty well."
She fought through gritting her teeth behind her lips. "Yeah, heh. Sure sounds like we would."
"Did she have any pets or anything?" Fluttershy asked.
"No, her apartment complex didn't allow them. Probably would have had a hard time taking care of one anyway. She was a waitress at a place with some ridiculous hours, and she had to put in a lot. Sometimes, they'd do things like have her close and then open the next morning. They did that a lot, actually. The money was decent but, yeah, she wouldn't have been able to take proper care of one with her wonky schedule," Matt explained. "Last time she had an animal, she said, was the last year that she was living at home with her folks. Think it was her second year in college and then she moved into one of the dorms if I remember right."
They reached the elevator and pushed the button. A couple minutes passed before the light went off and the doors opened, but Matt continued fawning over his old girlfriend in the meantime.
"After the first few years we were seeing each other...well, we used to go out, do this, do that, but after a while, we just kind of stayed in more and more. We'd go over to each other's place and curl up on the couch together and put on some movies we liked or watch a game if there was one on. Every once in a while, she'd put on a rom-com she knew I couldn't stand. Was probably punishment for when I'd tease her."
"'Rom-com'?" Twilight asked as they boarded the lift and began their descent.
"Romantic-comedy. Chick flick." He turned to Rarity with a smirk. "Bet you've dragged a guy or two to see one, eh?"
"I...can't really deny it, no," she responded, blushing. "It's not a bad test to see how the stallion handles something a little feminine without being completely direct, if you ask me."
"I knew it!" he hissed, jokingly shaking a fist. "Funny though, it doesn't sound like you even like those movies to begin with."
She lifted an eyebrow and waved dismissively. "I've seen a few decent ones, but more often than not, those 'chick flicks', as you call them, use just about every cliché in the book. The stories are usually quite ridiculous."
"And yet you read romance novels," he countered.
The white mare stiffened up, realizing she'd been caught in a bit of an inconsistency. "It's...I...th-the books, um, typically go into more...err, detail that I...sometimes enjoy. In the privacy of my own home."
"'Detail', eh? That's what you're calling it now?" Matt quipped, chortling under his breath. "Okay."
The innuendos didn't register to the rest through the awkward silence.
"Uh, right. Anyway, if you don't like them, then why do you go see them?" Applejack queried.
With a toss of her mane and a bite of her lip, she answered, "My dates usually like to take me to dinner first."
"So you get a free meal out of the deal," Matt observed.
"Dear, you know me by now. I want to be wined and dined, swept off my hooves. It's just...nopony's really done much for me. They always make it rather obvious they only want one thing by the third or fourth date. Sometimes not even that far in. Would be nice to meet someone who desired me for more than just...that. Honestly, I wonder sometimes if I'm doing something wrong," the fashionista sighed.
"Eh, maybe you're just not showing interest in the right people," he suggested, subtly glancing away and hiding a knowing grin.
The hint wasn't lost on the unicorn, but she played dumb nonetheless. "And what might you be saying, sir?"
"Nothing," Matt quickly replied.
The moment of silence as the ride continued was broken by the blue pegasus. "What are they talking about?"
Twilight snorted and lifted a brow. "You mean you don't know?"
"Foreveeeer!" Pinkie hissed. Her protective glare sent her purple friend shrinking into her shoulders, looking like she was worried that she was about to be killed at a moment's notice.
"...Know what?"
"Uh, heh, i-it's nothing. Don't worry about it!"
Rainbow shrugged and looked up at the numbers overhead. Ugh, the descent was taking forever! But finally, the elevator came to a rest on its springs and the doors slid open.
-----
Matt and the Elements stepped down the familiar staircase that led to the entrance. It had gotten dark out and there were few lights directly outside, mostly thanks to when they carved a path of destruction up to the front door. The few bright lights that shone through appeared to be coming mostly from what must have been the live reporters and their camera crews. A handful must have set up their equipment close enough that the cops outside would allow.
Through the sharp beams of light, a figure paced back and forth on the other side of the door, looking around at the goings on in the street. A backpack sat draped across their shoulders, just barely hiding flowing dark yellow hair, and a small cooler sat hanging in one hand. They were hugging themselves as the crisp northern air had started nipping at their skin. Maybe it would have been better if they didn't wear shorts, but it was far too late now.
"There she is," Matt whispered just loud enough for the girls to hear from behind him.
"In the purple shirt?" Twilight asked.
"Mhm. Bring her in here?"
"Of course."
As her horn lit up, so did Rachel as a layer of magic surrounded her. She stopped in her tracks and looked over her body in panic before appearing four feet behind herself and inside the building. Like with Matt, the teleportation knocked her for a loop. A long forgotten pair of hands grabbed onto her arms and helped her keep her balance. Her free hand found his forearm and then her eyes his.
The cooler fell hard to the floor.
Despite speaking to him several times, the sight of the man she had thought lost left her without words. He stared back into her soft, blue eyes as they began to water, equally speechless. A warm smile found his lips, and he casually cocked his head as if only a weekend had gone by since last they saw each other.
Wanting to make sure she wasn't just seeing things, she cautiously reached up and caressed his cheek. Tears rained down her own as she suddenly threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck and sobbing.
"Oh my God!"
His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her comfortingly into him.
"Hey baby," he whispered.
Two-thirds of the mares smiled happily for the reunited couple, but it took every ounce of Applejack's willpower to keep a stone face. Unfortunately, it didn't stop her stomach from tying itself in knots or the lump in her throat from nearly choking her. A gentle hoof found her shoulder but she pulled angrily away from it.
The pair eventually let their embrace go and gazed at each other face to face. Sighing blissfully, Matt motioned off to his side. "Rach, these are my friends."
She nearly jumped out of her skin. While most were sitting calmly and nodding hello, the hopping pink one wasn't making a great impression. "M...M...M-M-Matt, wh-what–"
"I know, they're not what you expected, but they're good people. They helped me after I disappeared and...well, ended up here. And they talk too, so don't be alarmed when you hear it."
"What?!"
"It's true," Twilight muttered, not wanting to spook her further.
Rachel looked them over, studying every hoof, every smile, the wings, the horns, their rather large yet human-like eyes. She blinked in disbelief despite what was clearly right in front of her. If not for Matt being there to assure her, she would have probably began shrieking in terror.
"Ah...A-Ah don't understand. What is all this? Where are we?"
"It's a looooong story," Matt said. "Come on. Let's get back up to our room and we'll tell you everything."
Nodding timidly, she grabbed her cooler and followed Matt up the stairs with the ponies a step behind. She barely took her eyes off him as they went, as if she was afraid he would vanish all over again.