Bob had been aboard airliners for more hours than he could count and knew all the tricks. He could have had his pick of any of the red and blue upholstered seats in the first class cabin, and had decided to sit near the rear curtain. There would be no one behind him, and it was closest to where the stewardess would appear with refreshments.
He loosened his tie and sat back. It had taken long hours of negotiation, but his hard work had paid off. He was aboard the first passenger airline flight from the newly completed Canterlot International Airport.
Just getting an American company permits to operate in Equestria had been hassle enough without even going into the kind of care a company with a footprint the size of Pan Am required. Ponies were not great believers in technology, especially not heavier-than-air aviation.
A unicorn mare wearing a blue hat, jacket, and skirt appeared. She pushed a drink cart up the red carpet in the center of the cabin, balancing unsteadily on her hind legs. She smiled awkwardly. "May I offer you something to drink, sir?"
He couldn't blame her, it was her first flight, after all. Still, Bob made a mental note to ask one of the human stewardesses brought in for training to check up on her.
He ordered a highball. She did that decently, at least, taking precise measurements and filling his glass with deft moves of her magic.
Bob accepted his drink and she moved on. He looked around the cabin. The flight was disappointingly not full, though he knew Pan Am was still making a profit. The exchange rate with Equestria's gold-based currency was incredible.
He leaned his seat back a few inches and put his hand in his shirt pocket looking for his Camels. There was only one left in the pack - couldn't buy them in Equestria - so he decided to wait a little longer.
Ahead of him, a young purple pony sat in her first class seat, looking absolutely too small to be allowed. Maybe she was. Then again, Equestrian safety standards hadn't quite caught up. With any luck, they wouldn't realize it until someone had a major accident. And hopefully that someone wouldn't be Pan Am.
Still, Bob at least made an effort to see whether the lap belt looked like it would hold the filly down. He glanced at the next seat, looking for her parents but not finding any.
Maybe she was a midget. No, probably just young. She didn't have one of those cutie marks on her hip.
The little pony noticed him looking and turned her huge purple eyes on him.
"Hello," he said. His customer service instincts kicked in. "How are you enjoying the airline today?"
"Oh, it's…good," she said.
"Are you flying alone?"
"Yes," she admitted.
It wasn't unheard of for children to fly without chaperone. Bob was not yet a decent judge of pony ages, but thought she might be somewhere in her single digits.
"Did your parents make sure a stewardess knows?"
"They're…" The filly swallowed. "I booked the trip myself."
The exchange rate with gold might have been ridiculous but that was still a lot of money for a kid.
"So what will you be doing in New York?" he asked.
"How did you know where…oh, right that's where this airplane is going. Silly me." She laughed nervously.
Even the laugh didn't take the tension out of her body. While she might have been a purple talking unicorn on a plane, Bob felt like he could at least see a similarity to horse body language. He kept that to himself, though.
She hadn't answered the question so Bob went first. "I'm going back to headquarters. I work for Pan Am. I'm Bob, by the way." He thought about presenting a business card, but remembered that she had no pockets.
"My name is Twilight," said the filly. "You work for this airline? That sounds interesting. When I first heard that humans were opening an airport, I had to read all about it. The Boeing schematics were a little tough, but-"
"You read about the planes?" Bob interupted.
"I read all about it," she said offhand. "I wouldn't know what was important unless I read everything." Twilight tilted her head. "By the way, I read that every Pan Am aircraft is called a Clipper, but every one has a unique name. Do you know this one?"
"Clipper Friendship," Bob chuckled. "Mr. Trippe thought it would help us get on the good side of Princess Celestia so she would agree to let us operate."
For some reason, the Twilight's ears drooped at the mention of the Equestrian leader. "Oh, I guess that makes sense. Everypony loves her."
Bob had noticed. "She seems alright. I met her briefly over lunch to finish arranging the airport rights." He paused, wondering what anecdote a filly might appreciate, and went with, "She really likes her cake."
"Really?" Twilight's eyes briefly showed new interest before dropping again.
"I was quite surprised," he went on. "They say she's a few thousand years old, but she was still very easy to talk to."
"I was going to go to her school, but I don't know if it's what I want." Twilight paused, and then blurted, "What if Celestia didn't like me? She's so powerful, if I did something wrong-"
She abruptly broke off, covering her face and taking heaving breaths.
"I think you'll do just fine at the school," said Bob. "You seem pretty smart."
"But it's not just about that." Twilight looked at him again. "You have to be good at magic. Really good. It's Princess Celestia's own school for gifted unicorns, after all! What if I'm…" her eyes dropped to the floor "…not good enough?"
Bob decided to have his last cigarette. He thought better that way.
"When I got out of the Army," he began, opening the packet, "I'd never even heard of Pan Am between all the Krauts that needed killing. And here I am twenty years later as the man they sent to set up the airline in a new market. It isn't what I pictured myself doing, but I think I've done a swell job of it.
"If you want to go to that school, it's a good goal, but don't think a setback is the end of the world. If it doesn't work out, then you'll know. Don't sell yourself short before you see the market."
Bob finished lighting his smoke and took the first drag.
Twilight's brows furrowed and one of her small hooves rubbed her chin. "I…suppose failure wouldn't be the end of the world." Her breath quickened again. "But I would disappoint everypony, and-"
"Last call before takeoff," the stewardess announced, pushing her cart by.
Bob snapped his fingers and gestured to his cigarette.
The stewardess blinked at him. "Oh!" She floated an ashtray off the cart to him.
Bob tapped his ashes off and took another puff as the stewardess moved away.
"Are humans sort of…brusque?" Twilight asked.
Bob paused, but then shrugged. "We can be. Nothing against you."
Twilight nodded. "I guess maybe I can think of the Princess that way. She wouldn't take it personally. She doesn't even know me."
Twilight paused, and then suddenly threw off her seatbelt, heading for the cabin door.
Bob frowned, watching her go. He wasn't sure if he'd given her good advice, regardless of the outcome it had caused.
He transferred his cigarette to the other hand and picked up his drink.
Author's Note
Pan American World Airways Boeing 707-321B N761PA "Clipper Friendship"
This aircraft began service with Pan Am in 1962. Friendship was special as she was one of only five of her type to have a large ventral fin, possibly adding extra stability. This could have been a contributing factor in her safe landing after an engine explosion in 1965 sheared 25 feet off of one wing. All passengers survived, and Friendship was rebuilt, continuing to serve all over the world until 1976. After her time with Pan Am, she went through a couple of owners before being bought by the US military and used for spare parts. Today, the remains of her airframe lay at rest in the desert at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
I would have used Clipper Celestial except that one was firebombed in a terrorist attack in Rome in 1973.
