Who Fears Ponies on Equestrian Airways Flight 9?

by boardgamebrony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Human, Spitfire, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Soarin, Other, Mystery
Length: 5604

On a maiden flight carrying humans and ponies to their final stop in Equestria, a woman displays signs of distress. Two people investigate why she's afraid of ponies, yet intrigued by AJ & RD. They try to solve the mystery before landing...

The island of Equestria has appeared in the Pacific Ocean. After talks between both governments, humans and ponies have agreed to allow a cultural exchange between the two.

On the maiden flight from Hawaii to Equestria on Equestrian Airways Flight 9, people get the chance to talk to ponies in-person, but there is one woman who fears them. It becomes the mission of two caring passengers to find out why this woman booked a flight to Equestria when she's so afraid of ponies. And why is she so interested in Applejack and Rainbow Dash?

(DO NOT read the comments until after reading story if you don't want it spoiled :P )
--You might like this if you also like:--
Mysteries Taking Place on Airplanes In-Flight
Applejack being sweet
Fluttershy being shy and adorable
Rainbow Dash opening up
Humans and Ponies sharing their culture with one another
Ace Attorney-style deduction
Steadily growing tension
Heartwarming Moments that will make you want to cry
Celebrating Heroes of the Past

Published 2016-06-16 21:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-06-16 21:40:01 UTC

The Mystery on Flight 9 - (Complete Story)

It’s finally the day of the first international flight to Equestria from the United States of America and I can’t stop thinking about how amazing an airport run by pegasi must be. Everyone keeps focusing on the fact that a new continent appeared in the Pacific Ocean several hundred nautical miles north of Hawaii. Yet, all I can think about is what kind of aircraft they must have. Pegasi don’t need planes, so why would they build their own machines? The other races can’t fly, though, so it’d only be fair that they have something to help the landbound ponies get around.

How wonderful it must be to have an airport completely devoid of commercial restaurants and retail stores. Would the ponies have their own local chains or would they reserve the airport solely for flights and nothing else?

I boarded the Equestrian Airways 757, constructed by Boeing in collaboration with Airquestria. I noticed right away that there was a lot more space between each individual seat. The aisles weren’t crowded, and the windows were a lot bigger than I was used to. Other passengers began to take their seats. Sadly though, I got an aisle assignment. No clear video of Equestria from the window-side seats today. After about an excited fifteen minutes of shuffling around baggage and passengers, everyone began to notice something a little off about the seating arrangements.

“Stewardess,” asked an older gentlemen, “Are we missing a lot of passengers? Half of the seats are empty.”

“No,” she said with a very large and genuine smile. “We are at full capacity for this flight.” She had an air of giddiness to her actions that was unmistakable.

The older man nodded. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

“I just…really love ponies,” she said, trying to contain her excitement. “This is gonna be so awesome!”

The loudspeaker came to life. “Attention, this is your Captain speaking. Welcome to Equestrian Airways maiden flight.” Everyone started clapping and cheering. The atmosphere was electric. It was hard not to smile. “Before we start our pre-flight demonstrations of the safety equipment, I have a special guest for you. Ready?” he asked someone the passengers couldn't see. His voice was calm, even and with just enough enthusiasm to color every one of his words with a playful tone. However, the next voice was feminine, strong and fiery in its wild presentation.

“Goodddddddddd afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am your co-pilot and my name…is Spitfire.”

At that moment, several in the cabin turned to each other and started whispering in excited tones. “No way,” several of them said. “She’s a pony!” One of them said. “A pegasus!” Someone specified.

Spitfire continued and everyone quieted down. “Some of you may know me as Captain of the Wonderbolts, which is the air guard of the Equestrian Armed Forces. I am a pegasus, which means this 757 is almost as fast as I am. But as excited as I know you are to meet me, or any pony for that matter, I have a special treat for you today. You may notice that half of the seats are empty.” Spitfire paused long enough for everyone to look around even though she couldn’t see them. She knew what she doing, building anticipation. She really was a performer. “That’s because they are already reserved. You see, you can tell a lot about a culture by its people. Or ponies. So today, you’re going to experience both. HOWEVER…” She cut off the excited murmurings just as they had started. “We are going to follow some ground rules so that we are all happy and professional with one another. Reach into the seat pocket in front of you and pull out the folders we have prepared.”

I didn’t even notice there was a folder there. Inside it were visual representations of pony/human meetings much like an in-flight emergency manual. Small graphics showed humans and ponies meeting with checkmarks next to what I assumed were desired actions and red “x’s” next to sequences which seemed rather…inappropriate.

A nearby middle-aged woman laughed at the manual. “I would never get on all-fours to greet a pony. I know my manners.”

“No random hugging?” The excited stewardess said as her face dropped a little while reading the manual. Her name tag read 'Skylar.'

“You didn’t read this ahead of time?” I asked her.

“No, they kept EVERYTHING a secret, including this!” she said as she looked back at the manual. “Hoofbumping seems to be okay, though.”

Spitfire’s voice came back on the loudspeaker. “The basics are: No unwanted physical contact with the ponies. Respect their personal space. Do not get into arguments and calmly decline to speak for as long as it takes for you to settle down. If you or the pony are too nervous to speak, respect that and enjoy the flight in peace. Other smaller considerations are written in the manual, which I hope you’ve been reading this entire time. Now then…stewards and stewardesses, please prepare for pony boarding procedures.”

“YES!” stewardess Skylar said.

“You going to be able to control yourself?” I asked her. She was too busy rushing to the front to be the first in line to open the door. The other stewards and stewardesses laughed at Skylar, but she didn’t care. She was ready.

Several people at the front of the plane near the windows started making sounds of awe. “The Princess is coming aboard!”

“Which one?” a woman asked.

“The cute one.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down at all!”

“STALLIONS!” A young lady yelled near the front. “Oh my gosh, if I get a stallion next to me, I’m gonna ask if I can ride them in Equestria!”

“No you won’t,” said her brother across the aisle. “I don’t want you arrested five minutes before the flight takes off.”

Everyone around was so excited that it was nearly impossible to find someone who wasn’t talking. Save for one person sitting right next to me. I turned and looked at the older woman who was quietly reading a book. “Aren’t you excited?” I asked her. She looked at me with kind eyes and pulled back hair which I appeared as though it had been a brighter golden blonde at one point.

“I’m just…not getting my hopes up, that’s all,” she said. The woman bit her lip then nervously adjusted her blue overalls, which seemed worn by years of wear.

“You think it’s not going to be what you expected?” I asked.

The woman closed her book and looked at me with kind eyes tinged with concern. “It’s just…hard to expect much. I don’t want to ruin your time, sir. Don’t worry. My mind is elsewhere.”

“Don’t worry,” I raised my hand, “My name’s Chip, by the way.” She took my hand in her own.

“I’m Ms. Williams,” she said. “I own a ranch and cattle business in Texas. I…” she stopped mid-sentence as she looked towards the front. She gulped down, clearly nervous. “They’re here.” She pointed and then opened her book and held it up close to her face.

“Ma’am…are you all right?” I asked. A sudden cheer went up from the front as a winged lavender pony stepped forward. Streaks of color lined her dark purple mane. “Hey everypony!” She shouted. “I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle! Nice to meet all of you!” Several ponies followed behind her in a line, including a bouncing pink one, a fabulous ivory mare, an orange pony with a cowboy hat, a rainbow haired pegasus and a shy one who stayed at the door and peeked in as she shook in fear. “These are my friends Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy!”

Ms. Williams head shot up. “Who? What names did they say again?”

“I’m sorry Ma’am,” I said. “I’m having a hard time focusing. Can’t believe this is real!”

Many more ponies walked through the door, each more fantastic than the last. There had to have been at least a small village’s worth of ponies in the plane at that point. Each one sat down next to a human and most started conversation, save for a problem I hadn’t noticed until a pony walked up to me. She was the one named Rarity.

“Darling,” she told me, “I believe you are in my seat.”

“Oh, my apologies madam!” I said and started to get up.

“No!” Ms. Williams suddenly said as she held me down. I was shocked at her response. “He and I need to sit together. Um…medical reasons. Sorry.” The entire time, I noticed she avoided looking Rarity right in the eyes.

“Oh…my apologies. I will find another seat,” she said and walked off.

I turned to her and whispered. “What was that about?”

“I…I can’t…,” she stammered, almost out of breath. “I can’t sit next to one of them.”

I couldn’t help but notice the way she talked seemed odd for someone who had booked a flight on the first-ever trip to see a land full of ponies. “Why are you so afraid of them?” I whispered.

“Help…help me get to the restroom, please. I feel ill.” I stood up and helped her out of her seat. She buried her head on my shoulder as we walked towards the back. Several humans and ponies turned to stare at us. A few averted their gaze politely, but some didn’t.

Skylar the stewardess ran up to me. “THIS IS SO AWE…” she saw Ms. Williams. “What’s wrong? Is she sick? Ma’am?”

I whispered. “I think she’s having an anxiety attack.” Ms. Williams nodded but kept her face buried. “She needs to go to the restroom.”

“Oh my. Okay…sure this way.” Skylar guided us through the aisle and to the back. “Too much excitement?” she asked, trying to smile. Receiving no response, she dropped her expression and started to show worry. “Here,” she opened the door.

“Wait for me, Chip. Don’t leave me alone,” she said as she stepped inside, slammed the door and shut it. The small colorful sign read OCCUPIED.

Skylar turned to me and spoke in hushed tones. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. She’s been nervous even before the Equestrians boarded. And when they were walking through, she was really interested in knowing who they were.” I turned around and saw a cabin full of humans and ponies talking with one another. “Weird thing though: she didn’t want any of the ponies to sit next to her. She won’t look them square-on either. She’s been avoiding them this whole time.”

Skylar stared out at the crowd, then back at me. “You think maybe she’s trying to hide from someone?”

I looked back at the crowd. It’s true that someone could cause trouble on the flight, but each passenger was screened many times over by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency before they were allowed on-board. I remember getting a visit from some very intimidating men in black at my home a month before the trip. Maybe Ms. Williams had experienced something similar.

“I don’t know who it could be,” I said. “And what is she worried that they’ll do if they find her?”

“You think we’re in-danger?” Skylar asked.

“Hold on,” I said. “I’m not jumping to that conclusion yet. But maybe she thinks she is in danger.”

“Stay with her. Try to get some information,” Skylar said. “Let me know if I can help in any way.” I nodded in response.

I listened to a few of the conversations going on between human and pony while waiting for Ms. Williams.

A portly older man with a fantastic beard and mustache talked with Applejack. “You got an apple orchard?” he asked. “That is fan-tastic! I got a horse ranch myself.”

“Oh that sounds mighty fine!” Applejack said. I tried not to laugh at how similar their accents were. “You got like a resort for horses and stuff? I’d love to visit.”

The older gentleman hesitated. “Yeeeep,” he said. “They like it there.”

“What do they do, your horses? Like play games and go trail running?”

The man was very nervous and I was starting to understand why. “They do a lot of things, like…um…racing! Racing each other and they each got their own trainer…I mean, guides, to help them explore the surrounding area.”

Oh no, I thought. This can’t be good. I stepped forward, hoping to stop and impeding social disaster.

Applejack nodded at the rancher’s statement. “So if I wanted to visit, do I get like a ranch house to stay in or…”

“HEY!” I said, interrupting the conversation. “How are you two getting along?”

The rancher exhaled in relief. “Could use a potty break myself.” He motioned to the pony with his eyes which meant Get me out of here.

“Sorry. Occupied,” I told him through gritted teeth.

“Drat,” he said.

“Howdy!” The orange pony raised a hoof. “I’m Applejack!”

“I’m Chip!” I said, taking her hoof in my hand. It was a very hard surface, exactly like the horses I’d seen anywhere else on earth. “You been in the ranching business long, Applejack?” I said, trying to think of anything I could to start steering the conversation away from the rancher’s horse farm.

“It’s ah family business,” she said. “My mother and father were in it too, Celestia rest their souls.”

“Oh they passed away. I’m sorry.”

“That’s all right, sugarcube. I’ve been taking care of the Apple Family business ever since my mother raised me from a foal!”

“So you’re named after what you do? Applejack?”

“Well yeah, my mom was Applejack too. Guess she liked the name so much she gave it to me,” she said and smiled.

There was a slight gasp from the area next to the restrooms. Applejack and I turned as one to see Ms. Williams duck into the bar cart area and out of sight.

“Um…” Applejack said. “Who’s that?”

“My friend,” I said. “She’s super shy, so if you wouldn’t mind, please don’t talk to her when I guide her by. She’ll talk when she’s ready.”

“Oh, I know what you mean,” Applejack said. “I got a friend just like that named…” she looked around. Then up at the closed luggage rack nearby. Strangely enough, it was shaking. Applejack sighed, stood up, and slid open the rack.

“EEP!” A yellow pegasus squeaked from inside. She reached up, grabbed the sliding luggage door, and pulled it down.

“Fluttershy, you can’t be hiding right now,” Applejack said and raised up the door. Fluttershy’s eyes were wide as she looked at me.

“Y-Yes I can!” she grabbed the luggage door and closed it again.

“See?” Applejack said as she gestured to the closed luggage rack. She sat down again. “She’ll come out when she’s ready. Tell your friend not to worry. I bet she and Fluttershy would have a lot in common if they’d just work up the nerve to talk to each other.”

“That’s not a bad idea…and Fluttershy can’t see her…and she can’t see Fluttershy…” I said. “Perfect! Watch this Applejack.”

I walked over to the back as Applejack and the human rancher eagerly peeked at us from over their seats. I peeked over at Ms. Williams, who was being held by Skylar the stewardess.

“It’s okay, ma’am. They’re not going to hurt you,” Skylar said. “They’re ponies. They can’t hurt anyone.”

Considering what I’d heard about Princess Twilight Sparkle’s level of magic, I could have said something to counter that, but now was not the time. “Ms. Williams?” I said.

She looked up and saw me. “Applejack’s mother…is dead?” She asked.

I hesitated, not knowing where this conversation was going. “Yes.” Ms. Williams stood up and leaned on the wall, out of sight of anyone in the cabin of the plane. “Hard to think such happy ponies can pass away, right?”

She nodded. “That’s heartbreaking,” she said. Tears fell from her eyes. “I feel…like I’ve lost one of my own…”

“You really care about these ponies…” I said.

For the first time in half an hour, she looked me straight in the face. The red around her eyes did not take away from the vibrant blue of her irises. “Yes, Chip. I really do. It hurts to see them in pain…” her voice cracked at the last word.

I was confused. “But Applejack’s not in pain…” Skylar pointed at Ms. Williams from behind her back, mouthing the words She means herself. “Ah. I understand ma’am. Let’s get you back to your seat. And don’t worry. Applejack won’t talk to you. She understands cause she has a friend who’s just as scared as you are.” I pointed to the shaking luggage rack door. Ms. Williams looked at it with great interest. “Her name’s Fluttershy. She’s…”

“…shy. Yeah, I got that,” she said as she walked ahead. I was shocked she didn’t need me. Applejack tried not to stare at her as she walked by, but when she passed, AJ and the rancher human both looked at Ms. Williams to see what she would do next. She reached into her overall pocket and pulled out a small sugarcube. Applejack smiled from behind her.

“Um…” Ms. Williams said as she looked down, saw a pony, looked away, saw another pony, then looked straight up at the ceiling where there were no ponies. “Fluttershy?”

“Who’s there?” she asked. The shaking continued.

“I’m…a friend. I have something for you. Here. It’s food. You open the door when you’re ready and take it from my hand. I promise not to look at you if you promise not to look at me.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Then, “Okay.” The door slid open a little and a tiny yellow hoof came out, grabbed the sugar cube and reached back in, closing the door. “This is pure sugar.”

“Do you not like it? I have baby carrots too.”

“Okay,” Ms. Williams pulled out a little plastic bag with carrots and held one out. The door opened again, and Fluttershy replaced the carrot with the sugar cube. This time, the door stayed slightly open. Ms. Williams started to look nervous as she saw it wouldn’t go down. Fluttershy closed it. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to make you nervous.”

“It’s not your fault,” the woman said as she closed her eyes. “I can’t stand being around so many ponies anymore.”

“Me either,” Fluttershy said. “I’m terrified of crowds.”

“Yeah…I’d rather be around my animals.”

Fluttershy raised open the luggage door quickly. Her blue eyes locked on Ms. Williams for a second. “I LOVE ANIMALS.”

Ms. Williams froze. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“Oops,” Fluttershy quickly closed the door. “Sorry! I'm sorry! I’m not used to dealing with others who are shier than I am.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Ms. Williams said, though mostly to herself. “Fluttershy…I need to ask you a question.”

“Yes?”

“I saw a…blue pony with a rainbow mane and tail walk in. She looks really familiar. What’s her name?”

“You mean Rainbow Dash? She’s my best friend! She’s super cool,” Fluttershy said.

“Rainbow Dash? I…guess that names makes sense.” Ms. Williams expression depressed. “I thought…nevermind.”

“Did…did you want to talk to her?”

“Naw…it wouldn’t matter anyway. Hey…can you…can you tell Applejack something for me?”

Applejack peered from around her seat and listened very closely.

“Why?” Fluttershy asked. “Do you know her?”

“No…” the woman said. “Just…tell her I’m sorry about her mother.”

Applejack stared unblinking, mouth slightly open. Ms. Williams returned to her seat, pulled out a book and buried her face in it. It was obvious she was crying.

I turned to Skylar. “Did you see all that?”

“Yes! Why is she crying?”

Applejack trotted up to Skylar and I. “Why did she say that? About my ma?”

“I don’t know,” I asked. “But I think we need to find out.”

“You better hurry," Skylar looked at the clock on her phone. "We’ve got about fifteen minutes before we start landing procedures. Then you won’t be able to move around the cabin.”

“We’re almost to Equestria! This is going to haunt me for a long time if I don’t figure it out. Applejack,” I turned to the pony, “Do your mother and Rainbow Dash have any connection?”

“Not that I know of,” she said. “Rainbow Dash never met my mother!”

“Great,” I said. “I’m going to ask Ms. Williams directly. Both of you stay here. Try to come up with a plan.”

I walked over and sat down next to Ms. Williams. “Hey, how are you doing?” I hugged her. She didn’t respond. She was not asleep. She sniffled. “I promise I can help you if you just tell me what you’re trying to do.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “When this plane lands, I’m going to stay aboard and wait till it takes off back to Hawaii. I’m going to leave that land of false promises to the ones who live there!”

“'False promises?'…Wait…what do you know about Equestria?”

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” She screamed. She thrust me back with both hands into the aisle and onto the pink pony I had seen earlier.

“Oh hello!” Pinkie Pie said. A human stood up down the aisle, and by his movement towards me, I knew who he was.

“What are you doing?” he yelled with firm authority. No doubt he was an American Air Marshall. I turned and saw a blue pegasus stand up. He wore a Wonderbolts uniform and I knew right away with that look of intensity on his face that he was the Equestrian Air Marshall.

I raised my hands. “It’s a misunderstanding. We had a disagreement.” Dangit. I used the wrong word.

“Rick,” the pegasus said. “We’re over Equestrian airspace. He’s in my jurisdiction. Let me handle this.”

“Your move, Soarin,” Rick said. He stayed standing.

I turned to the blue-suited pegasus. “I was just trying to talk to my friend.”

“Why’d she push you?” Soarin asked.

I turned to Ms. Williams. She saw me look at her, turned and ran towards the restroom. She made it past Skylar and shut the door, locking it.

Soarin looked back at me. “Doesn’t seem like something a friend would do. I need you to come with me.”

“Where? We’re in a plane!” I asked.

“Sit down next to me for the rest of the flight,” Soarin said. “And maybe we’ll consider letting you see some of Equestria before we ship you back.”

I turned and looked at Applejack, who was standing next to Skylar. Help, I mouthed.

Applejack stood forward. “Soarin, I got somethin’ to say.”

“Right now, AJ?” he said.

“Chip and Ms. Williams are friends.”

“Williams…?” A small female voice said near the front of the plane. I turned and saw several ponies staring my way. I couldn’t tell who it was. But someone up near the front knew her. My eyes scanned the crowd for any clues as Applejack continued. Everyone else was staring at me.

“Soarin, ah know this looks bad, but Chip, Skylar and I have been trying to help Ms. Williams open up. She’s scared…scared of us, for some reason.”

“Us?” Soarin said.

“Ponies. She’s afraid of ponies.”

“All right,” Soarin said, “then we should stop antagonizing her before she ends up saying she dealt with a hostile atmosphere and causes this whole flight to be shut down. And then there goes the only major connection we have between both our worlds.”

“Soarin,” I said. His stare was ice in my direction. I found the strength to push forward anyway. “This isn’t the only connection that’s happened between Equestria and the human world, is it?”

“Of course it is,” he seemed perturbed. “You think we’d hide something from you?”

“No, not me, but…” I looked back at Rainbow Dash. Her expression locked with mine and she didn’t back done. “Other ponies maybe.”

“What are you implying?!” Rainbow Dash yelled. I knew it. Her voice was exactly the same as the voice I heard earlier.

“You’re the one who said Ms. Williams name as though you recognized it just moments ago,” I said.

Dash looked around as though she’d just been caught doing something wrong. “Yeah. So?”

Soarin interjected. “Sir, I don’t need you starting an argument with one of my Wonderbolts. You’re going to come over here and sit down and wait till we land.”

“Soarin look,” I said. “You didn’t hear Ms. Williams, but she said she was going to stay in this plane and refuse to go to Equestria because it was a land of ‘false promises.’ Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash over here recognizes her name but refuses to give information. In addition, Ms. Williams reacted strongly to the news of the death of Applejack’s mother and it was after that she became depressed. No one reacts like that to someone they don’t know! And Ms. Williams clearly said she can't stand being around ponies anymore. When was she around them the first time? She then asked about Rainbow Dash saying she looked familiar, but upon learning her name, acted as though she had found the wrong pony, sat down and started to cry.”

Everyone listened in undivided attention at the deduction.

“So it stands to reason that Ms. Williams knew Applejack’s mother somehow, and was somehow in Equestria once before, or else why would she say it held any ‘promise’ in the first place? If Rainbow Dash looked familiar, but isn’t the pony she thought she was, then based on the premise that she knew AJ’s mother, she must also know someone from the previous generation before Rainbow Dash’s. Rainbow Dash, I'd bet money that Ms. Williams knew your mother.”

“Wait?! That’s…that’s ridiculous!”

“Is it? Why did you respond to her name like you did then? The only thing I can’t figure out is why you aren’t bringing this information forward. But I think I’m starting to understand, because whatever reason you have for withholding is the reason Ms. Williams has for being so fearful to look at any pony in the face. Rainbow, all I want to know is one thing. Based on Ms. Williams response to Applejack’s mother, I think I know why she’s on this trip. Is your mother alive?”

Rainbow Dash stared and opened her mouth. Then lowered head and looked back at me with intensity. “Yes, but that doesn’t matter, because why would she want to see the girl who left her alone?”

The interior of the cabin was so silent that the only sound came from the hum of the engines outside. Rainbow Dash shook her head and started again, but this time quieter, more lost in thought.

“Yes, there was once another opening to Equestria. Thirty years ago my mother met a human girl who cared very much about her. They were so young back then. I’d never seen my mom speak about anything with such happiness…such longing for better days. Williams was the first human to ever walk upon Equestria’s plains. My mother, Applejack’s mother, even Twilight Sparkle’s mother all knew Williams. They worked together to fight against the darkness that plagued Equestria from monsters and tyrants. The way my mother described it, it seemed like Williams had given her life a purpose it never had before. But at some point, Williams went away. My mother…never explained why. But she was always so sad about it. And that made me angry. You don’t leave your friends like that. And no one does that to my mother.”

Rainbow Dash looked up and saw Ms. Williams standing in the aisle. Ever since Rainbow Dash started speaking, she had quietly made her way to the front and stood right next to where she had talked to Fluttershy, who was now peeking out of her luggage rack hiding spot. Ms. Williams wasn’t shying her gaze away from the rainbow mare.

“I didn’t want to leave…” she said through tear-filled eyes. “I…I thought I’d made that clear to your mother. Maybe I didn’t…maybe I’m remembering it wrong. But I had to go. I don’t know at what point she thought I did it to hurt her. I loved her. She was my best friend. And she’ll always be.” She reached into her overalls and pulled out a small heart-shaped locket. “This isn’t the same one I had before…but it's close enough.” She opened it and showed it to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow looked at it and her gaze softened. “That’s my mother…and is that little girl you?”

“Was me,” Williams said. “So much time has passed. I was worried a misunderstanding had occurred. Worried your mother hated me for leaving. I don’t know why I thought that, but the fear grew in my heart. And even worse, I thought she might not be alive anymore and I’d never get closure.”

“But she is alive,” Rainbow Dash said. “You…you should meet her.”

Williams smiled so brightly she almost looked like the image of the little girl in her locket. Almost. “I’d like that.” She turned to me. “Wow, Chip…that deduction was something else.”

“I’ve…been playing a lot of Ace Attorney,” I said.

Williams turned back to Rainbow Dash. “Do you think your mother will…remember me? I don’t look the same anymore.”

“Of course,” Rainbow Dash said. She smiled. “She never forgot you.”

The passengers took their seats as the plane started its descent. They landed at the runway and talked excitedly amongst themselves while waiting to deboard. Skylar came up to me and hugged me, though I’m not sure why. “We’re not allowed to hug ponies, apparently.” Oh. “And you were amazing!” Oh!

Rainbow Dash led Ms. Williams up to the gate as I walked behind them with Applejack. “Your mother never mentioned Ms. Williams?” I asked.

Applejack looked up at me as she walked. “My mother was a private pony, Mr. Chip. She wasn’t one to talk about the past. Too focused on what she could do with the future.”

I turned and saw Ms. Williams stop at the gate and drop her bags, her mouth agape. In front of her about fifty yards away stood a pink pegasus, whose expression of shock mirrored Williams’.

“FIREFLY!” Williams said as she ran forward to meet her long-lost friend.

“MEGAN! Is that really you?!” Firefly said as she flew forward into the waiting arms of her childhood companion. “I missed you so much!”

“Are you mad at me?” Megan asked.

“Never,” Firefly said.

The two held each other as Megan pressed her head against Firefly’s. Tears rolled down their cheeks. They both opened their eyes and laughed. Megan spoke first. “I will always love you, Firefly.”

“And I, you.” Firefly said.

The scene was so beautiful. In my whole life, I had only ever seen a few instances of true friendship. And yet, nothing was quite a special as the moment between this girl and her pony. I wanted it to last forever. And then I thought…

“Hey,” I said. “Applejack, come here. I gotta ask them something.” She walked up to the friends in their loving embrace. “Ms. Megan Williams,” I said, giving special emphasis to her name. “I don’t believe I’ve met your best friend.”

“This is Firefly!” She said with a smile that lit up Equestria. I shook the hoof of the pegasus.

“I’m Chip,” I said. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. Heard a lot about you.”

“All good, I hope,” she said.

“Rainbow Dash has a lot to live up to,” I said. Rainbow’s mouth opened in surprise.

“She sure does,” Firefly said.

“MOMMMMMM!” Rainbow Dash said.

“And I know the perfect way to do it,” I said. “Megan. Firefly…both of you need to show me, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack around Equestria, so we can see all the places you guys used to visit.”

Firefly’s eyes lit up, just like her image in the pendant. “YES! That’s a wonderful idea! This is gonna be SOOOOO AWESOME!”

Megan stood by her friend and the two walked off together as Applejack, Rainbow Dash and I followed.

It was a beautiful new day in Equestria. Perfect time for new adventures.

Author's Note

Extra Story Details

Writing Time: 4 hours 28 minutes
Draft Number: 1 Draft
Story Settings: Equestrian Airways Flight 9 en-route from Hawaii to Equestria
Story Themes: Cultural Celebration, Old Friends, True Friendship, Love, Analytical Deduction

Story Background:
This story is a celebration of several very special MLP characters who helped start the series long ago.

It was originally inspired when I went on a flight across the United States and thought "Wouldn't it be cool if we were going to Equestria on this plane and we got to meet ponies in-flight like Spitfire?" I then began to wonder what Equestrian airports would look like and how humans and ponies would interact with each other. I loved the idea, but forgot about it for over a year, until I remembered it last night when trying to come up with a unique story concept while listening to an Airplane Cabin White Noise generator on youtube. I'm glad I did. :)

Here's the Airplane Cabin ambience for those who would like to use it for studying, writing or sleeping:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7KgV2edvI

And if you need some good music to feel the relief that the characters felt at the end, trying listening to this song "Departure from Regret" from Phoenix Writing Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. It really is a beautiful song for this ending. I listened to it while writing the finale after all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChSrK51k0sg

The final image was altered from this screenshot:
http://bit.ly/1Q9hnvA