It wasn’t all of Ponyville that came out to witness the wreckage; it just seemed as such.
And “wreckage” was far too strong a term. No ponies were harmed, and there was no massive destruction.
Nevertheless, several dozen ponies gathered around the train that derailed coming into the station that morning. The locomotive and first passenger car were on their side, while the remaining cars remained upright. The handful of ponies in the first passenger car were helped out by numerous pegasi; all others were able to walk away, shaken up but otherwise OK.
Starlight Glimmer and the coyote come from near the back of the train and meet up with Trixie upon walking the remaining distance to the station’s platform.
Like all the others, Trixie is shaken at the turn of events. “Are you two OK?
“A little on edge,” Starlight replies, “but we’re both fine. Did you see what caused this?”
“Trixie did not see anything. Applejack is currently scoping out the scene.”
“Wait,” the coyote interrupts, “Applejack is a trained investigator for accidents like this?”
The two unicorns turn to the coyote. Starlight responds: “Ponyville doesn’t need ‘investigators’: nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Trixie recounts the scene: “Applejack and the others were waiting for the train, just as Trixie was. We all saw it happen; the loco jumped a rail and fell to the side, taking the first car with it. Fortunately, the train was traveling at such a slow speed that no further damage took place. Immediately after the accident, Applejack sprang into action.”
“I can see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy assisting as well,” Starlight notes. “Looks like they might have just gotten the last of the trapped ponies out of that car.”
The coyote ponders the information taken in. My first train trip in this world, and the train derails. And for the first time ever, apparently. Coincidence? What to make of all this.
The crowd starts to dissipate as it becomes more obvious that no major damage or injury resulted from the train wreck. The threesome spot Twilight Sparkle, who strains to use her levitation magic to right the fallen loco and passenger car. Sure enough, both cars are soon realigned with the track; several other ponies gather to inspect the vehicles.
“Some ‘welcome home’ greeting this turned out to be,” Starlight quips.
“Well, Trixie hopes that your trip to the Crystal Empire wasn’t all for nothing.”
“It was nice to meet up with Sunburst again, but sadly, no firm answers. Looks like our little coyote friend is stuck here, at least for now.”
“Looks like nothing more to see here, either. Trixie needs to set up for tomorrow night’s performance. Would you be willing to assist?”
“Sure thing. Coyotek, want to come along?”
“Thanks, but I’d like to stick around and maybe find out what happened here.”
“Trixie hopes to see you for tomorrow’s performance!”
“I’ll be there.” The coyote then turns and leaves the company of the two unicorns. He walks over to Applejack, who is now conversing with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Dash is particularly incredulous at the preliminary results.
“You’re kidding! A couple apples caused all this?”
“More like a bushel,” Applejack corrects. “Actually … it was a bushel. I just sold a bushel of apples to ‘Little Miss Scatterbrain’; looks like Derpy dropped it flying back home, and it landed right in front of the train.”
“Not the first time she’s caused some havoc,” Twilight remarks.
“Yes, but she is very nice to everypony,” Fluttershy counters.
“AND she makes really tasty muffins!” The others all turn to Pinkie Pie, bouncing in place and smiling as wildly as ever.
Where did she come from?
“So who else’s muffins do we want to talk about? Rarity’s? Cause she makes delicious muffins. And Sweetie Belle tries so hard too, even if her muffins come out like molten lava.”
Twilight interrupts Pinkie’s stream of consciousness: “Pinkie Pie, did you see what happened here?”
“Sure I did: I saw our new coyote friend run up to join in the conversation. Funny that he hasn’t said anything yet. Maybe the cat got his tongue, but I think Opal’s still with Rarity back at her boutique.”
“Before that!” Applejack pleads exhaustingly. “Didn’t you see the train derailment?”
“Oh that! I’m sure that was just a metaphor.”
The coyote is not sure what to make of that comment. “What? ‘Metaphor’? Pinkie, what do you mean by—“
Rainbow Dash suddenly breaks into the conversation: “Say Pinkie: think you can beat me to Sugar Cube Corner? Last one pays for snacks!”
“Oh, you are so on!”
Pinkie bounds off at a surprisingly incredible rate of speed. Dash then turns to the coyote.
“Don’t mind Pinkie Pie. She’s always been a bit on the weird side. Best to just let her ramble on about whatever’s on her mind and go about your business.” With those words spoken, Dash then soars off to catch up with Pinkie Pie.
The coyote turns to the remaining three. “Uh, is all this ‘normal’ to you ladies?”
Applejack is first to respond: “Shoot, I can’t remember a time when Pinkie ever took things seriously.”
Twilight adds, “Still, there’s usually method in her madness.”
“But what did she mean by ‘metaphor’?”
“Over the years,” Twilight continues, “I’ve learned not to try to figure out that which cannot be figured out. Pinkie is a one-of-a-kind. It’s probably best not to pry too deep.”
“Yep. She’s a mystery wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in a cotton-candy-colored coat.”
Strange. Starlight Glimmer warned me as much yesterday, too. ”OK, point taken. But then what about Rainbow Dash.”
“What about her?” Applejack asks.
“The first time I met all of you, in the Castle of Friendship, it seemed like Rainbow Dash was trying to stop Pinkie Pie from telling me certain things.”
“Oh, that’s just Rainbow Dash’s nature,” Fluttershy remarks. “She can be … controlling? No, that’s not the right word. Insistent? No, that doesn’t sound right either.”
“Well, the two of them do have a lot in common,” Twilight notes. “They both have a penchant for practical jokes, for one.”
“And they both traveled to Gryffinstone that one time,” Applejack adds.
It’s more than that. I’m sure of it.
“Well, I feel like I want to do some more exploring of Ponyville. Looks like I might be here for a while, after all; may as well get to know the town better.”
“We’ll save your usual spot in the barn for when ya get back.”
“Thanks again.”
It’s probably best that they don’t ask where I’m going. Now, where is this ‘Sugar Cube Corner’? …
* * * *
Whatever the time and place, there’s just no comparison to that first whiff of freshly baked desserts!
Seriously, all this stuff smells great! Pity I got no money on me. At some point, I guess I have to figure out how to earn a living here.
Focus, ‘Tek. That’s not why you’re here. Not now, anyway. No sign of either of them. Maybe the proprietor can help me.
The coyote notes who he believes to be the proprietor of the shop. “Excuse me, Miss …”
“Cake. Mrs. Cake. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.”
“I’m new to Ponyville. I was just wondering; have you seen a pink or blue pony come by here recently?”
“Normally I’d ask you to be more specific … but I assume you mean Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh, you know them?”
“Pinkie works here. Actually, she lives right upstairs. In fact, she and Rainbow Dash just went up—“
“Oh, hey!” Rainbow Dash, upon hearing the conversation down below, comes down to converse with the coyote, whose appearance has now stirred up feelings of anxiety within the pegasus.
“So … what brings you here?”
“Actually, I had a few questions for Pinkie Pie.”
Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. “Um, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Why not? Rainbow Dash, is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Hey, look at the time. Getting late, eh?”
“It’s two in the afternoon.”
“Well I’m sure Luna’s raising the moon somewhere, right? I mean, long day! What with the train derailment and all.”
The coyote’s demeanor shifts towards anger. “Yeah, about that. Pinkie Pie said something about a ‘metaphor’. Seems odd to me …”
“Hey, she’s always odd. It’s who she is.” Tiny beads of sweat form on Rainbow Dash’s forehead.
“… But what’s really odd to me is that you felt compelled to send Pinkie away after she made that remark.”
Rainbow Dash continues to perspire. “I … I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And it’s not the first time you’ve interrupted her since I got here, either. You know something. Do you know how I got here? Does Pinkie know? Are the two of you responsible???”
“OF COURSE NOT!”
”Then what are you two hiding???”
Rainbow Dash shakes her head, gets her bearings, puts a wing around the coyote, and escorts him to a distant corner of the shop, away from anypony’s ears. Her words are quiet, so as not to let Mrs. Cake or anypony else hear her.
“I’m telling you, in no uncertain terms: do not ask Pinkie Pie what’s going on. Just enjoy what you have here, and move on with your life.”
I don’t believe it! These two have the answers I’m looking for!
“I don’t know what it is the two of you are hiding from me … but I want the truth.”
“You can’t handle the truth!”
Pinkie Pie shouts from above: “I HEARD WHAT YOU DID JUST NOW!”
Rainbow Dash shakes her head and speaks solemnly. “There are things that some beings were never meant to know. I’ve said all I’m going to say, and I won’t stop you now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She then steps aside, allowing the coyote to walk over to the stairway and head up.
As he enters Pinkie’s loft, the coyote notices that she appears to be reading a tome of some sort. “Hey Pinkie. So, what’cha reading?”
Pinkie looks up and smiles broadly. “Coyotek! I had no idea you were so well-known.”
“Excuse me?”
“Look at you, all modest and coy. Oh wait, “coyote” starts with “coy”. Isn’t that hilarious?”
“Can I … see that book for a second?”
“Sure!”
The coyote walks over to the tome and inspects the title. ‘Beyond the Matrix’? What the heck is this?
“So what is a ‘matrix’, anyway?” Pinkie inquires.
The coyote begins reading a passage: “ ‘… Gazing at the computer screen, Nightscream said to Coyotek …’ … Pinkie, where did you get this?”
“I find things. It’s what I do.”
“I thought ‘parties’ was what you do.”
“That too. I do all sorts of things.”
The coyote scans more of the pages in the tome. “Some of these names are familiar to me, but some of these … I never heard of many of these characters.” He puts down the book and turns to face Pinkie. “Is this … Pinkie, are these events supposed to take place in my future? Does this book’s existence indicate that I will get back to my world?”
Pinkie falls onto her back, laughing uncontrollably. “Oh, that’s hysterical! You are too funny!”
The laughter only serves to anger the coyote, but he maintains his poise. They warned me about her. No going back now.
The coyote points to the tome as he speaks: “Well how else am I supposed to interpret … this.”
“It’s fiction, silly. It’s a story of what your life could be. Don’t take it so seriously! You should see what happens to me in some stories!”
“You’ve read stories that have you in them?”
“Me, Twilight … pretty much everyone in Ponyville. All of Equestria, even.”
“But who’s writing these stories? Are there well-known authors in Ponyville, or elsewhere in Equestria?”
“Nopey-dopey,” Pinkie cheerfully replies. “These stories come from somewhere else.”
“So where are you getting them?”
Pinkie stretches out her right-front hoof … and half of it disappears into a glimmering blob that mysteriously appears and floats in space.
WHAT IN THE NAME OF—
Pinkie then retracts her hoof, which is now clutching another book. The coyote stares at the hovering, glimmering blob in stunned silence.
“From here!” Pinkie inspects the title of the book. “Oopsie, I already read this one.”
Pinkie shoves her hoof back into the blob, only to retract it a moment later, bereft of text. This recent series of events has completely shaken the coyote’s sanity. He stammers as he speaks. “Pinkie Pie … did you cause me to come to this world?”
“What? No, of course not, silly. Like I’d be capable of transporting ponies and coyotes and other creatures into other universes.”
“But you know how I got here.”
“Well that’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“WHAT? NO, IT’S NOT ‘OBVIOUS’!!! TELL ME!!!”
“You act so serious … but that’s what makes you so funny! You’re gonna be great here! Whatever you got planned, I wanna be along for the ride!”
The coyote is at his wit’s end. ”YOU’RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!!!”
Pinkie calmly reaches into the blob one last time, pulling out a red book. “Here, take a look.”
The coyote peruses the title of this book. “ ‘Coyote in Equestria’ ... What’s this?”
“This is us, in this world.”
“ ‘Us’? As in, you and me?”
“As in, this whole world.”
The coyote begins reading through the book. The beginning summarizes my appearance in the Everfree Forest. My meeting with Zecora. It has … it has my thoughts???
The coyote turns to Pinkie. “I don’t understand. Has someone been following me around since I got here?”
“Nah, this is just your story.”
“I can see that I’m being featured here, but why?”
“No, I mean you’re writing this story.”
“ME???”
“Well, who else? By the way, what’s with the ‘4’ in your name?”
“Waitaminute … what do you mean I’m writing the story!!? I’m not a writer. And even if I was, I’ve been spending my whole time in Equestria trying to figure out how I got here and how I can get back home. I haven’t had time to write an autobiography.”
“Well not ‘you’ you, of course! You’re just an avatar.”
“A what?”
“You’re only here because the author wants to be here. I can’t blame him; Ponyville really is a great place to live, with so many friends and fun adventures. Say, did you ever hear about—“
“PINKIE! What are you telling me? That my whole life is just a story? That I’m just a figment of some guy’s imagination?”
“Hey, don’t take that the wrong way. As far as you know, your life is what you’ve made of it. So why does it really matter?”
“ ‘As far as I know’? But you just told me—“
“Funny thing is, there doesn’t appear to be anything after this conversation. What do you think that means?”
The coyote turns back to the book and skips ahead, reading through the end of Chapter 7, ‘Off the Rails’:
‘The coyote turns back to the book and skips ahead, reading through the end of ...’ … There’s nothing else here. It just stops. But that would mean …
“I’m … not … future … gone? …” …
The coyote can only muster a handful of random words before collapsing into a pile of despair and confusion. Seconds later, Rainbow Dash re-enters the room. She takes a look at the canine on the ground and sighs.
“You had to tell him, didn’t you.”
“Oh, he’ll probably wake up and chalk it all up to a weird dream. From what I’ve read, that’s one of his ‘things’.”
Dash inspects the body on the ground. “I dunno; he looks really bad.”
“Hey, you’d be too if all your stories garnered only a handful of looks. Cut the guy some slack, huh Dash?”
“Whatever. I gotta get back to work. Catch ya later!”
“Hey, before you go, you wanna help me stuff Coyotek into my party cannon?”
“Why do you want to do that?”
“Did you see what he had us go through in Fillydelphia?”
Dash ponders for a moment. “… you grab his hind legs.”