Knight of Equestria - On Distant Shores

by SupraMacPringles


Chapter 10: Everybody Talks

It was another glorious day in Ponyville. The chilly autumn air was offset by the warmth of the sunshine, making for a particularly nice day. The newest resident of the small town was strolling down the central avenue. Twilight had advised him to go out and become more familiar with the place. Despite his reluctance, he thought it best to heed her advice. She was in a similar situation years before. As he continued walking, unsure what to do or where to start, he heard a voice call out to him. The only thing he found odd was the fact that it came from above him.

"Hey, Matt!"

He looked up to see a sky-blue Pegasus resting on a cloud, something he didn't even begin pointing out the impossibilities of.

"Ah, hello, Rainbow Dash." he said, covering his eyes from the blinding sunlight.

She flew down and landed next to him.

"What's up?" she said, raising a hoof.

"Nothing much. Just getting familiar with the place."

"Familiar, eh? I thought you weren't staying long."

"Neither did I." he chuckled. "Turns out my stay is going to be quite long."

"... Really? How long?" she asked, somewhat anxiously.

"Permanent."

Her eyes seemingly got wider and a smile spread across her face.

"Awesome! Want me to show you around? I know this place like the back of my hoof."

Though it bugged him how happy she was that he was technically stuck there, he let it pass. He thought it would be perfect to get shown around by someone with a bird's eye view. Before he could agree, her face soured.

"Aw, shoot. I'm on weather patrol today. We'll go later, okay?" she said.

She took off in a gust of wind and trail of rainbows as Matt waved goodbye. Now that his potential guide was gone, he'd have to find his way around alone. He took a seat on a nearby bench and examined his surroundings. He could see Carousel Boutique and Sugarcube Corner. Though he had seen these places before, he still couldn't tell exactly where he was. His train of thought was effectively derailed when he noticed he was no longer alone on the bench. To his left, from seemingly out of nowhere, sat the pink mass of seemingly unlimited energy known as Pinkie Pie.

"Hi! What're doing all by yourself?" she said.

Though he normally couldn't understand her lightning-fast speech, today was different. He seemed to be able to comprehend her.

"Just out for a bit of a walk."

"But you're not walking. You're sitting, which is like, the opposite of walking."

Apparently nothing got past Pinkie Pie.

"Well, I'm trying to get used to Ponyville's layout. I'm tired of getting lost."

"Oh! Why didn't you say so!? I can help!" she said.

Though he thought her annoying, he couldn't help but be nice. She was the kind of person anyone enjoys to see happy.

"Are you sure? I'm sure you've got things to do, being a baker and all..."

"Of course I do! I'm doing errands right now. You can come with me, and I can show you all my favorite places!" she said, hopping off of the bench.

He hated admitting it, but her reasoning was sound. Perhaps there was more to her then he expected.

"Alright, then. Lead the way." he said, standing up.

She seemed more ecstatic then ever and began literally bouncing ahead, Matt close behind. Within twelve bounces, they were in what looked like a marketplace.

"This is the market, and over there's town hall, and that's the Ponyville day spa..."

She continued calling out names of all the buildings in sight, but not stopping anywhere.

"Uh, Pinkie? I thought you said you were on errands?"

"I am, silly. We haven't gotten there yet."

Despite how painfully obvious that was, she did have a point. Although he did find it strange that they were walking through a market on bakery errands and not buying anything. She did eventually stop outside a familiar looking candy store.

"And this is Sweetie Drop's."

She approached the door and tried to tug it open. She kept pulling with both hooves to the point of losing her grip and flying backwards.

"I... don't think anyone's home." said Matt, holding back laughter.

"Aww, I wanted super-sized cotton candy lollipop..." she said in a sad sounding voice.

She picked herself up and began bouncing again.

"Never mind, come on! We're almost there!"

He should've assumed she wasn't going there for anything important. What would a baker need from a candy store? They continued onward, passing many other interesting shops without stopping at any. Eventually they walked out of the town's borders on a dirt path. A large, red farmhouse-like building was in sight. As they approached it, Matt spotted an orange and blonde pony with a bucket of apples on its back. She noticed him and Pinkie and waved to them.

"Howdy, ya'll. Be with ya in just a sec." she said, opening a door in the ground and descending some stairs.

As they waited for Applejack, Matt inquired about their location.

"What exactly is this place?"

"This is Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack and her family live."

He looked around at the withering trees, bare of fruit and leaves. The bucket of apples Applejack was carrying was probably the last of the season. Probably the end of the harvest, considering the change of weather.

"So... It's an apple orchard?"

"Uh-huh, and it's where the sweetest, juiciest, most delicious apples in all of Equestria come from!" she said enthusiastically flailing her forelegs in the air.

"You don't say..."

He recalled Twilight's food stock consisting mostly of insanely sweet apples. This was probably the source. Applejack popped out of the assumed apple cellar, a small basket of apples in tow.

"Here ya go, Pinkie Pie." she said in her usual southern tone.

Pinkie scooped up the basket before forcing conversation.

"Hey AJ, you remember Matt, right?"

"Yeah... I figured you'd be long gone by now."

Though he couldn't tell why, he could feel a hint of animosity from the orange mare.

"Believe me; I'm not still here by choice. I can't go back."

Her expression lightened somewhat.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He stopped himself from asking what she meant by that.

"Thanks..."

Thankfully, Pinkie had some reason to leave.

She let out a large gasp. "I just remembered something! Come on!" she said, bouncing away.

He was relieved to have an excuse to get away from a pony he was sure didn't like him. Though, he couldn't help but wonder why Pinkie had taken off so suddenly.

"Pinkie? What did you forget?"

"I forgot I was showing you around Ponyville! We're almost done."

He sighed. Nothing she did made sense. Then again, most things didn't anymore.

They continued the tour, until they ended up back at the bench they started from. The sun was setting and in clear view.

"... And this is the bench we started from. There! All done!"

He sat down on the bench and she took a seat left of him.

"So, by 'errands' you meant, 'pick up some apples'?" he asked.

"Yep. We ran out at Sugarcube Corner."

"Of course..."

She took one from the basket, somehow holding it in her hoof, and finished it in two bites. She took another one and offered it to him.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

She then posed a very odd question.

"Do you even eat?"

He took a moment to register that in his mind.

"Of course I do."

"I've never seen you eat."

He stared at her blinking blue eyes in confusion. He grabbed an apple from the basket, took a bite, chewed, and swallowed.

"Satisfied?"

Instead of the expected reaction, she looked more confused than he was.

"I don't get it." she said. "Everypony in town's been talking about you all week. But you don't seem that different."

He wanted to question her quality of vision, but decided to go with a less insulting option.

"But I am. Clearly."

She shook her head rapidly. "You're just like me. Or Applejack."

"... I'm going to need you to explain."

"You can't fly or do magic. You're just like an earth pony."

The more he thought about it the more it made sense. From a technical standpoint, she was correct. Besides the obvious physical differences, earth ponies were just like the average human being. This, in an odd way, made him feel less alone.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Pinkie. Everybody talks. They'll find something else to gossip about eventually."

"I know. What if nopony could talk? That'd be so horrible! I couldn't talk for awhile this one time, almost a full day! Can you..."

She seemed to be spastic about everything again, which made him smile. She definitely had a lot more to her than just being a scatter-brained baker.

Before long she said her goodbyes and bounced off, leaving Matt to test his new knowledge of Ponyville's streets. It wasn't long before he realized they hadn't gone past the library the entire day.