“I’m gonna get a hotel room. I get good discounts through the place I parked my airplane.”

“WHAT??!!!” Everyone except Big Mac exclaims in unison, almost slipping in the press all at the same time.

“You don’t have to make space for me.”

“Nonsense! We already made space fer ya!” Applejack says.

“Eeyup!” Big Mac blurts as indignant as the others.

“You can sleep with my sister.” Apple Bloom quips.

“Phrasing!” AJ and I shout.

I put my hands on my hips indignant with Apple Bloom while her older sister scoffs.

“Save yourselves the drama, I’ll just get a hotel. Or I can sleep on my plane.”

“NO!” All four shout.

“I have the space for ya.” Applejack says.

“Don’t make excuses now. I don’t want to intrude.”

“Nah, I’m serious. I do.”

“Fine. I’ll take your word for it. But I do need to grab something from my airplane. You don’t need me for anything, do you?”

“For now, no. But you’re expected at the dinner table.”

“I can do that.”

“Good.”

“Is there anything you need until then? Errands, groceries, anything like that?”

“No thanks.” Apple Bloom snickers as she pulls her pant legs up. “We’re good.”

“Well then, I’m gonna go grab what I need from my airplane. Call the ball, I mean the soup on, if you don’t mind.”

“Wilco, Max.” AJ winks back.

“Less chatter, more splatter!” Granny Smith barks as I fire up the truck.

Just as I put her in gear, the revs drop and the engine coughs, dangerously close to stalling out. Immediately, I put it in park and the engine idles normally. I let it idle for about 5 seconds before I put it back in gear again. After the box clunks into engagement, I give throttle and head out after some dark exhaust spews out the tailpipe.

“Oops. Must’ve flooded it.” I respond jokingly in reference to the EFI.

When I reach TAC Air, I ask for ramp access and head onboard, getting comfortable in a first class seat to get everything in my head off my chest. Given my feelings for Applejack compounded to the fact that she’s left space in her bed for me tonight, I really don’t feel like leaving her hanging, but I also don’t think now’s the right time to address the situation.

Upon closer inspection, I took the flight without arming the back 6 doors, which would mean that if I had passengers aboard, the slides would not inflate. Embarrassed, I arm all the doors preemptively, even though I’m traveling alone anyway. When I finally get comfortable in the cabin, I check on the family and share laughs at some of their conversations before I close my eyes for an afternoon nap.

*Call from Applejack*

“Hello?”

“SOUP’S ON!!!” Is all she shouts before hanging up.

“Welp, time to mosey on over.” I whisper rhetorically as I head out of the airport.

When I return to the farmhouse, Granny and Apple Bloom’s trucks are inside the garage, with AJ and Big Mac’s trucks blocking the open entrance. I decide to block all 4 trucks in as a joke before heading in. Breakfast for dinner apparently, I sit next to Granny Smith as we exchange conversation for the evening.

Shaking nervously on the inside, I wait for the others to take their share before I load my plate. As we all fight for leftovers, I finish early and head out back to the airport again.

“Where are ya goin’?” Applejack asks.

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

“Ok, Bono.”

“Let me clarify, it’s not a Joshua Tree I lost.”

She lets out a few hearty chuckles before I step out the door. As I leave, this time without any problems, I return to FSM and head back onboard. Regardless of rules against APU’s, I’m not gonna run it for noise reasons. It is noticeably warm in here, so I disarm the front four doors and open them all to try and get some circulation in. Relatively successfully, I let the cabin chill but relax in the first row to let the hot air escape before locking and rearming the back two, leaving me to relax with L1 and R1 along with the cockpit windows wide open.

Eventually, as the sun goes down, I head to the terminal and brush my teeth, so as soon as I return to the plane, I get comfortable and fall asleep to the gentle sound of rustling leaves, blowing wind, Applejack calling me…

“Hello?”

“Where are ya?”

“Still looking.”

“How in the world does it take you this long to find what you were looking for?”

“Every seat, nook and cranny has to be inspected.”

“What are you looking for anyway?”

“That, is personal.”

“Okay… well, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were making excuses to not stay with us. Is that so?”

“I do. It’s just that… I’m antisocial.” I sigh before continuing, “uh, you know what? Fine. I’m nervous.”

“About what?”

“Sharing a bed with you, actually.”

“Aw, shucks. I’m not a sprawler, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I just have issues with sharing beds in general. It’s genuinely a wonder how I’ve been married three times.”

“Look, you got nothing to worry about. You’ll thank yourself for not sleeping on an airplane.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm.”

“You’re sharing a bed with me, what’s not to love?”

“Phrasing, actually.” I respond with a chuckle.

“Look, if you want to shut Apple Bloom up, we’ll just have to humor her.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Yup!”

“Great. Your sister’s splendid!”

“Okay, come on back now, ya hear?”

“On the way.”

“Alright, Bye.”

“Cya!” “God damn it.” I say as I rearm R1 and close the cockpit windows. After I wish the desk well, I fire the truck up and head back, where Applejack is waiting for me on the porch.

After I turn the engine off, Applejack comes down and meets me at the truck. She’s red in the face and very cross.

“Hi Applejack.”

“Don’t ‘hi applejack’ me.”

“Excuse me for being antisocial.”

“You know, there’s antisocial, and there’s just plain leaving us behind.”

“That’s not what I wanted and you know it.”

“And abandoning us just to be alone is?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just, there are issues I have that need to be addressed and sorry to say, even being here on the farm hasn’t exactly helped.”

“Well, that’s because you’re not really doing much actual work. Not that we need you outside of deliveries anyway.”

“It’s fine. I’d just slow you down.”

“Trust me. I’ve worked with plenty of others, you wouldn’t be the worst.”

“You overestimate my abilities.”

“And you don’t give yourself enough credit.” She says as she offers me her arm for locking, which I oblige. Cheerily, we walk in and head to her bedroom after I drop my toiletries in her bathroom.

“Do you have a side you sleep on?”

“Uh, usually the left so I can open the blinds.”

“Cool.”

“You really that uncomfortable with this?”

“No. I, I, I…” I sigh. “Maybe I should just sleep on the floor.”

“Nonsense! You can cuddle with me. I don’t mind. If it’ll help you fall asleep.” She winks.

“Wouldn’t that feel nice?” I mutter to myself.

“Say what now?”

“I appreciate the gesture. Be warned now, you might get snuggled tonight.”

“I thought you weren’t comfortable sharing a bed.”

“I’m not, but I might mistake you for a pillow. Just warning you now.” I say putting my hands up.

“Oh alright. But don’t be surprised if you get whooped in response.” She winks back.

“Yay.”

*text!*

“Hi, you can pick me up whenever you’re ready.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know when I leave. Night.”

“Night.”

“Rosalina?” AJ asks.

“Yeah. She was just talking to me about some stuff from her parents’ estate. She’s ready for me whenever.”

“Do you need to leave?”

“I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

“Good, ‘cause we plan on keeping you around for a few days.” She responds, and with that, we both climb into bed and get comfortable. Her alarm is set for 5:00.

Author's Note

EFI stands for electronic fuel injection. As fuel is injected directly into the cylinders, controlled by an electronic distributor, flooding the engine would generally refer to carbureted engines, and less commonly piston aircraft with mechanical injection systems.

The APU is a small jet that provides electrical power in lieu of a generator, it is very loud and is likely why a jet plane is very noisy even when the engines are not running. For obvious reasons, there are often very strict rules on the use of APUs on a ramp.

Referring to the emergency exit doors, L1, L2, etc are those doors on the left side of the aircraft, from front to back. And R1, R2, etc are those doors on the right side of the aircraft, from front to back.