"I'll answer your last question first," Pinkie replied. "I saw you, Twilight, and some other ponies having a race earlier, but I didn't recognize the ponies you were racing with, so I wanted to follow you all and meet those guys once you all finally landed. Then I saw you all make your way into a huge ship, which made me think to myself, 'Ooh, these guys have an airship? A bit odd if they can already fly, but an airship is the telltale sign that these guys are awesome!' So I walked in through a door near the back of the ship, walked around for a moment, and next thing I know, I bump into you! Pretty neat, huh?"