The morning sun shines down on Sweet Apple Acres, and the Apple foursome, after a hearty breakfast, discuss matters around the table.
“So Coyotek’s wanted again this morning? That’s three times since last week. Sounds like he’s makin’ his presence felt.”
“Don’t I know it, sis,” Apple Bloom responds. “There’s talk of an after-school ‘logic lovers’ group, if he’s willing to be a part of it. Given his interest in the subject, that seems like a formality now.”
“So does this mean he might be lookin’ to findin’ his own place?” Granny Smith asks. “Not that I’m in a hurry to get him off the farm, but he has been in Ponyville for a good couple o’ weeks now. Might be the right time for him to move along.”
Big Mac nods in agreement. “Eeyup.”
“Well,” Applejack begins, “the truth is that he has been checkin’ out vacancies around Ponyville. He hopes to be out on his own within a month, maybe sooner if his skills continue to be in demand.”
“Well good for him,” Granny Smith acknowledges. “Even if he is something less than helpful on the farm.” This is greeted by another “Eeyup.” from Big Mac.
“I gotta get ready for school. Catch y’all later.” Apple Bloom excuses herself and heads off.
“I’ll go check the barn and see what’s keeping the canine. Not like him to miss a meal; that guy can eat like a horse.” Applejack, after receiving dirty glances from the others, leaves the dining area to check in on the coyote.
Minutes later, Apple Bloom trots over to the barn to check in on things. She walks in, and sees that Applejack is visibly shaken. The coyote lies prone on the floor, lifeless.
“Apple Bloom, you wait here with Coyotek. I gotta get Twilight.”
* * * *
“So he was fine last night?” Twilight asks.
“Fine and dandy,” Applejack responds. “He was lookin’ forward to spendin’ another day at the school. He didn’t meet us for breakfast, so I popped in to check on him. Found him just like this.”
Twilight uses her magic to lift the coyote’s head slightly. She reaches her head close to the coyote’s snout and mouth, and can feel slight breaths. “It looks like he’s in a trance. Something is keeping him from waking up.”
“Any idea as to what coulda caused this?”
“Nothing comes to my mind … but a hypnotic state is similar to a deep sleep. If I’m right, I know one pony who can probably help: Princess Luna.”
“But even if he’s in a dream state, does Luna have any experience getting into the dreams of non-ponies?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight admits, “but I can’t think of anypony else who can help. I’ll fly to Canterlot; she should be able to reach into his mind from there. You and Spike stay here in case he wakes up.”
“Good luck to you and Luna, Twilight. I’ll be right here if ya need me.”
* * * *
Once in Canterlot’s throne room, Twilight proceeds to tell Princesses Celestia and Luna about the coyote. She is caught off-guard by Celestia’s initial reaction:
“Yes, I am aware of our canine friend from another dimension. I’m only surprised that I didn’t hear that news from you first. Instead, I got this information third-hoof, from Princess Cadence through Sunburst, of all ponies. Honestly, Twilight, I’m disappointed that you didn’t feel it necessary to share this information with me first-hoof.”
“Well, he genuinely seemed interested only in figuring out how he came here, and how to get back to his world. And he certainly doesn’t seem like a threat to Equestria.”
“Nevertheless, this information should have been brought to my attention from the start. Though his actions and beliefs may be well-intentioned, there may be more to fear from his arrival than meets the eye. Now then, you seem agitated by recent events; please share.”
“This morning,” Twilight starts, “Applejack found Coyotek lying in the barn. He’s in a hypnotic state and can’t be woken. Basically a deep sleep. None of us know how that happened, as he seemed fine last night. We’re concerned for his well-being … and after what you just said, Princess Celestia, I’m concerned with what else this might signify.”
Twilight and Celestia turn to Luna. “I see what I must do, but I do not know what to expect from entering the dreams of one foreign to our lands. It could be quite bizarre. I shall report my findings once my foray into his mind is complete.”
Luna closes here eyes and goes into a trance …
* * * *
Luna opens her eyes to a rocky terrain. The sky is cloudless and the air is clear. In the distance, she eyes a patch of forest. She hovers in the air as she sees a figure approaching from the distance. She recognizes the figure as a coyote, who soon reaches a pile of boulders. To her surprise, the coyote changes form to that of a robotic humanoid. He begins to speak into a device on his wrist.
“Coyotek to base, do you read me?”
Luna is unable to hear the responses from the wrist, and continues to listen to half the conversation.
“I’m at checkpoint Alpha-7. Looks like these communication devices Rhinox created work like a charm … No sign of predacon activity. Where exactly did the protoform pod land? … Understood. Coyotek out.”
The robot transforms back into coyote form and runs off towards the forest. Luna realizes the implications of what she is witnessing …
This isn’t a dream. I’m seeing Coyotek’s memories. Why?
Undaunted, Luna tracks the coyote on the ground as he enters the wooded area. After ten minutes of following, she observes the coyote stop and revert to robotic form. Not far off, she eyes what she believes to be the goal of this trek: a vessel that appears to have crashed from the sky. In the trees, she also spots a trio of black birds, perched and observing.
“Coyotek to base, come in … I’ve located the pod. Looks like it hasn’t activated yet; it may have been damaged upon re-entry … OK, but you’re gonna have to talk me through this. I haven’t performed a manual activation sequence before.”
The coyote-robot walks over to the pod. Before he is able to reach, laser fire explodes at his feet. Two other robots reveal themselves from behind various trees. The coyote takes a position behind a nearby tree, pulls out a laser gun and returns fire as he shouts into his comm. device.
“IT’S A TRAP! I’M ENGAGED WITH SCORPONOK AND TERRORSAUR! THEY GOT HERE FIRST! I NEED BACKUP! REPEAT, I NEED—“
Another blast blows the covering tree apart and sends Coyotek flying backwards. He lands in a heap, offline and out of commission. Luna observes as the scene around her blurs into nothingness.
…
The images around her reform into the interior of a laboratory, with herself hovering near the ceiling of a far corner. She sees the coyote, still in robotic form, tied down by steel cables to an operating table. Another robot, with large spider legs protruding from his body, is at a desk working on a device.
“Finished,” the spider-robot comments in a raspy, mechanical voice. He turns to the still figure on the table. “Time for you to be my little scout.”
Luna observes the spider-robot attach a device to behind the coyote head’s ear. “If you and your maximal friends find any rich sources of energon on this planet, I’ll know about it before Megatron. And in case you become a liability …” He laughs at the thought of potential consequences.
A voice over a loudspeaker addresses the spider-robot: “Tarantulas, are you done interrogating the prisoner?
Tarantulas walks over to a wall and pushes a button before responding: “He seems to know nothing, but give me a few more clicks.” He returns to the still-lifeless body on the table. “What they don’t know won’t hurt me. Now then … got to make this looks good.” He then undoes the binds holding down the coyote-robot. Pulling out a blaster and pointing it at the prisoner with his right hand, his left hand held behind him in a fist, he then emits a high-frequency pulse.
Luna hears nothing, but observes the coyote-robot coming to.
“It appears that you are of no further use to the predacons. You know what that means …”
Tarantulas’s left hand appears to move slightly; a sudden explosion blows apart a wall to the lab and sends the two flying backwards toward the other wall. Luna is unaffected physically by the blast, noticing the open fields beyond the rubble. Sirens blare as the coyote-robot, seizing an opportunity, reverts to his animal mode and runs from the lab.
Luna flies after the coyote, being careful not to be seen. From behind, she spots a vulture giving chase. The vulture passes her, then transforms in flight to a humanoid form. He begins shooting at the coyote, who attempts to evade the blasts by zigzagging his path.
In the distance, Luna sees a flash of lightning; a hole forms in the air just above the ground, ever-widening. She watches the coyote and vulture run straight into the void and follows. She suddenly observes and feels as if she is traveling through a wormhole, accelerating faster, until the environment around her goes completely white.
…
Luna observes her surroundings; she sees the operating table, with Coyotek still bound by steel cables, but everywhere else is an endless nothingness. No walls, no sky … just whitespace.
She approaches the table, and sees that the robotic form’s eyes are unlit. Her horn lights up and fires a blast at one of the cables, which snaps. Instinctively, the robot’s eyes light up.
“Who is that? What are you doing?”
“I’m getting you out of these binds. Now hold still.”
“NO! LEAVE ME HERE!” There is terror and anguish in Coyotek’s voice as he pleads with Luna.
“I will do no such thing,” Luna responds as she shoots off another charge. A second cable cracks from the shock.
“I MUST STAY HERE! I CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR WORLD’S END!”
“You’re incoherent! This is just another nightmare you’re having. Now one more, and you’ll be free!”
“YOU’LL DOOM EQUESTRIA!!! PLEASE STOP!!!”
One more charged shot severs the final cable. The coyote-robot and operating table explode upon impact; the force sends Luna flying head over hooves backwards, somersaulting over and over until she suddenly crashes into a wall, knocking her unconscious.
…
“Princess Luna! Wake up! Please, wake up!”
Luna wearily opens her eyes. Twilight is standing over her, tears flowing from her eyes, as she pleads for the princess to regain consciousness. Celestia stands behind Twilight, stoic in her appearance; her façade gives way as she sees Luna coming to.
“Sister! How are you feeling?”
“Such fear … it bore into my soul …” Luna looks to her sister. “Tell me … how long …”
“Minutes, dear sister. Mere minutes.”
“You were just sitting there,” Twilight adds, “and then you were thrown back to the wall, as if an explosive had gone off right in front of you.”
“What did you see, Luna?”
“I saw memories,” Luna begins … but before she can continue, a missive spontaneously appears with a bang. Celestia begins to read the message. Her eyes dilate at the words …
* * * *
“Sis, you think Coyotek is gonna be OK? He’s just been lyin’ there for an hour now.”
“Whatever is going on in that head of his, I’m sure Luna will—“
“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”
The sudden cry of anguish from the coyote shatters the eerie calm. The coyote springs to his feet and inspects his surroundings. He frantically paws at his ears. “No. Not here. Can’t be here.” he says to nopony in particular.
“What’s not here? What happened to you? What’s goin’ on?”
The coyote ignores Applejack and turns to Spike. “Where’s Twilight?”
“She’s in Canterlot with Princesses Celestia and Luna. We were hoping—“
“Can you send a message to them?”
“Uh, sure, but—“
“Tell Twilight to come to the Everfree Forest at once. And you better round up all your friends.”
“Coyotek, what’s going on?” Apple Bloom asks.
“Remember our first conversation? When I mentioned ‘unforeseen, even catastrophic consequences’?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s just pray it’s only the first.”
The coyote suddenly bolts out of the barn and runs off to the forest.