The End of an Era

As the door to the spa clicked shut behind him, Jack stared out at the town. Somehow everything seemed different, but he couldn't quite place what it was. Taking a few steps forward and feeling the sun on his face and skin, he felt something rising up inside his stomach. Something he hadn't felt in years. His pace quickened as he started to smile, the feeling rising from the pit of his stomach and up into his chest. As he made it to the market, having trouble keeping his feet under his body he broke out into a run causing the ponies conducting their business to stop and clear the way.

The library appeared as Jack turned the last corner, leaning into it causing dust to be kicked up from under his feet from skidding across the ground. He never had this much energy before and his mind was lost to the mixture of emotion and endorphins that flooded his body. Slowing only enough so that he didn't burst down the door with his body he flung it open and dove inside, rolling to a stop in the middle of the main room. He stood up, breathing heavily, and looked around the room to find it was just as it had been from earlier in the day. There were still cushions lying around on the floor and a few cups of tea on the table.

Jack took a few steps farther into the library, his breathing returning to normal slowly. He approached the doorway to the kitchen and peeked inside. He wasn't sure why he was trying to act stealthily, seeing how he practically blew the door off the hinges. However, to his surprise the kitchen was empty and looked like a tornado had blown through it. Plates remained on the tables and in the sink and the trashcan looked as though it would spill over at any moment.

"The hell was Spike doing while we were gone?!" Jack asked no one in particular as he returned to the main room. "If Twilight see's this place she'll flip her shit."

He scratched his chest lightly and sighed to himself. "Better get this over with then..."

Jack walked over to the closet that was under the stairs and pulled pulled out a broom, dustpan, a feather duster and a few rags. He then paused and looked over to the phonograph. If he was going to clean, he was going to clean with some good tunes. Leaning the broom and dustpan on the wall next to the desk, he picked up the needle of the phonograph and thought of a few songs, then placed the needle on the record. Music started floating through the room and he steeled himself for the task that he set before himself. He removed his shirt and placed it next to the phonograph and headed off to the kitchen area to begin his work.

After an hour he had finished cleaning up the kitchen. It had taken him an hour because after he started cleaning, he took it upon himself to reorganize the refrigerator, the cabinets and cooking utensils. He basically pulled everything out and cleaned, and replaced it in a more logical order. Jack made his way out into the main room and started picking up the cushions that littered the floor and placed them off in a corner, stacking one on top of the other. He started to dust the bookshelves, working his way from top to bottom, cleaning has he had been taught all those years ago. Another cleaning song began to play and he smiled to himself at the irony, but began to bob his head in tune with the music. Just as the music had switched over the front door opened quietly.

"I'm not a playa I just fuck a lot.." He said to himself along with the music. Jack began to sway with the music as he moved from dusting to sweeping, grabbing up the broom and beginning with his back to the door.

In the doorway stood a puzzled looking Twilight and a slightly smirking Rarity. The two mares stood outside and watched Jack as he swayed and sang along with the lyrics. As Twilight watched, she had a bit of a hard time figuring out the meanings of some of the words, but she clearly understood others. Her face flushed brightly as she watched Jack dance around the room and make very suggestive motions with his hips.

"You're gonna holla 'oh my', I'm big, I'll rub my prick through ya hootas, I'm sick and you couldn't measure my dick with six rulers. Hold up, true lie, I'm all about gettin loot, but I'll knock that boot if you out to get hoof."

As the chorus started up again, Jack turned to the side and grabbed the broom, holding it up straight and thrusting his hips into it. "Hump town baby, hump town."

Just then, Rarity couldn't take any more of the show, and she erupted in laughter, causing Jack to freeze, drop the broom and slowly turn his head to the front door. His face and chest were glowing red with embarrassment as he locked eyes with a flustered Twilight and a hysteric Rarity. The music continued to play in the background while Jack remained frozen in place. After a few moments he regained control of his body and quickly moved over to the phonograph, picking the needle up and silencing the music.

"I love from butter pecan to blackberry molass, I don't discriminate I regulate every shade of that ass. Long as you pass my test, fat ass and breasts, and highly intelligent bachelorettes. That's the best I won't settle for less ----"

"Uh... heh heh... hey... ladies..." He chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his head with a hand.

Twilight remained frozen, her eyes never moving as it seemed she had just had some sort of mental overload, whereas Rarity had finally calmed down a bit.

"My word Jack, that was quite a show." Rarity giggled a bit more and stepped into the library, pulling the semi-catatonic Twilight with her. "I think Twilight enjoyed it as well."

The front door lit up with a soft blue aura and then closed behind the two entering mares. Jack reached out for his shirt but it floated away in it's own blue aura over to the ivory pony.

"Hmm.. it seems that you may require a new wardrobe sooner than expected. Let us be off and we can get started right away."

Jack looked at Rarity, then to Twilight. "Is she going to be alright? I don't think we should just leave her here."

Rarity turned her head to look at her friend and then nodded. "Well, we can just take her to the boutique then. You'll have to carry her of course."

Jack scratched his head and then nodded. He moved a bit closer to Twilight and then took a moment to figure out the best way to pick her up. He decided to just carry her with her bridal style. He picked her up and her legs folded themselves against her chest and stomach, her head leaning back against his arm and her eyes staring up at the ceiling. Rarity cooed softly as she watched Jack.

"Oh my, how romantic."

"I don't wanna hear it. Let's get to the boutique."

"Very well... player." Rarity giggled and exited the tree-brary. Jack grumbled softly to himself and held Twilight a bit tighter to his chest. He didn't want to drop her, and her fur felt soft and rather nice against his bare chest.

After walking through town and getting semi-quizzical stares from the passing ponies, Jack felt his passenger squirm a bit in his arms. Twilight had finally come to and she blinked a few times, getting the stinging in her eyes to go away. She then realized that she could smell something enticing. Something that smelled both slightly repulsive, and amazing at the same time. Twilight moved her muzzle around a bit to get a better sense on where it came from, and it rested gently against a warm and firm surface. She opened her eyes slowly as she continued to breathe in. Twilight had buried her muzzle into Jack's neck.

Twilight yelped and started squirming and kicking violently. Her hooves made contact with Jack's chest several times before she finally teleported out of Jack's arms, landing in front of him and blushing furiously.

"Well hello to you too..." Jack said, rubbing his bare and now red chest.

Rarity turned around to see what all the commotion was about and smiled. "Ah, Twilight dear, so glad you're all right. We're on our way to the boutique in order to get Jack some new clothing made for tomorrow. He didn't want to leave you at the library so he carried you over here."

Jack wondered why she just repeated everything with no questions, however he figured she knew Twilight for much longer and just assumed she knew what she was doing. He then turned to the red and purple unicorn and gave a slight smile to her. After a few minutes more of silent walking the three of them made it to the front door of Rarity's home-slash-business. The sign on the door read "Closed for Spa". Jack began to get a bit more frustrated at how silly this world seemed to run. Resigning himself to figure it out later, he followed the fashionista into the building, his warden just behind him.

Rarity's horn then lit up and several measuring tapes, a clip board, a quill and a bottle of ink floated over to her. "Now then Jack, please follow me. I'll need to take more updated measurements."

He nodded to himself and followed Rarity behind one of the tall courtesy blinders that were towards the back of the room. He untied his boots and slipped his feet out of them, before undoing his now fully tightened belt. His pants immediately fell from his shrunken waist, however a gasp was heard from the tailor standing in front of him. He looked up and her coat turned quickly from white to pink to deep red as her eyes focused on Jack. He followed her gaze and found that he had a rather large bulge in his underwear and quickly placed both hands in front of it to try and cover it up. He was semi successful, but he found himself more surprised then embarrassed. He found that before he could cover 'himself' with a hand, now he could barely get both around it. Jack quickly forgot about Rarity and then reached his hands for the strained elastic waistband on his underwear and pulled the front out a bit to inspect himself. Finding everything in basically the same condition, only much much larger than previous, he moved his eyes up to find Rarity looking down as well.

Jack cleared his throat uncomfortably, which caused Rarity to back up a step and then giggle nervously. "Oh.. oh my Jack, I'm sorry it's just..."

Jack placed a finger on her lips, silencing her, and he shook his head slowly. "Just get the necessary measurements and we'll pretend this never happened."

Rarity nodded slowly as Jack removed his finger. She quickly focused herself and floated the measuring tape around his body. Every now and then, Jack would catch her taking sideways glances at his package, but remained still and said nothing. He figured he could cut her some slack because after all, she was a female who was measuring a male. He thought he'd do the same thing if the rolls were reversed. After a few moments, Rarity hurried off, leaving Jack alone to get dressed in the clothing he had.  After getting redressed in his pants, Jack stepped out from behind the screen and looked around the shop for Twilight. She was off in a corner looking at a magazine and every page she would lift her head and glance around quickly before returning to the page.  Jack walked across the room towards her and on the next page turn she spotted him, hurriedly closing the book and putting it face down on a pile that was next to her.

"H-hey Jack..." Twilight said as she looked everywhere but his face.

"Hey Twi." He replied, mentally noting how she was acting. "You alright? After your little... reaction.. I mean."

Twilight nodded slowly while Jack sat down next to her, on the other side from where the magazines were. He reached his hand up slowly and then set it back down in his lap, unsure of what to do at this moment so he just sat quietly and looked at the staircase that was on the other side of the store. Twilight fidgeted nervously and cast a sideways glance at his face, to which he caught and smiled softly at her. After a few more moments of nervous silence, Jack decided to break the ice.

"So Twi... What were you looking at?"

"N-n-nothing!" Twilight stuttered, visibly tensing up. Jack smirked and placed his hand on the back of her neck and ran his fingers through her mane.

"Mmhmm.. Didn't look like nothing."

When Twilight didn't say anything else, Jack sighed and continued to rub the back of her neck gently and down to her shoulders, trying to relax her a bit. "Alright then, it was nothing. You know if you ever want to talk about something other than me you can talk to me right?"

Twilight turned her head and looked into Jack's eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but fate it seemed, had other plans. Just as Twilight was going to speak, Rarity called out.

"Oh Jack, your clothing is ready. Do be a dear and try it on and tell me how it fits."

Jack nodded in her direction and then stood up, removing his hand from Twilight's shoulder. He walked over to the floating stack of folded clothing and took it out of the air, returning to the spot behind the changing screen. He untied his boots and then looked over the new set of clothing. Rarity had made him a pair of black jeans, the fabric felt sturdy and slightly warm, as if they had just been removed from a dryer. He removed his larger pants and then replaced them with the new trousers. He squatted down a bit to test out the range of motion and found them a bit tight in the crotch. Unsure of how to phrase that to Rarity he decided to try the shirt. He picked up the red button up and slipped it on. It was slightly tight across his chest and arms, but it didn't limit any range of motion and didn't seem to be under any danger of tearing. He was getting the assumption Rarity had made these clothes in order to show off his new physique.

Jack looked in the mirror that had been placed behind him and reviewed his "new look" once again. He had to admit to himself, he looked pretty good. A new haircut was all he needed and he'd look better than he ever had in his entire life. Smirking slightly to himself he decided to toy with Rarity a bit since she had caught him in an embarrassing situation. Jack cleared his throat quietly and then yelled out.

"RARITY! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

Jack heard a crash as if a ponyquin had been knocked over. "J-Jack... darling..? Is... something wrong?"

"You're goddamn right there is something wrong!" He shouted through the screen at the Ivory seamstress. "These fucking clothes! They're... They're... Grrr!"

Jack could hear the whimpers coming from the other side of the screen and he decided enough was enough. He stepped out from behind the screen with a scowl on his face and he knelt down in front of the quivering Rarity. Twilight had gotten up and stood next to her friend who was on the verge of tears. He looked her right in the eyes and said quietly.

"They're great. These clothes make me look too good. You're ruining my self image." He then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to his chest. Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she watched Jack hug Rarity and smiled softly. Rarity however, was frozen in place with her face pressed against Jack's chest. He patted her back gently and then pulled away from the hug and looked back into her eyes.

"You know it's rude to not hug someone back, right?" He said with a sly smile across his face. It was then, Rarity snapped, slapping him firmly across the face. Jack laughed loudly and placed his hand across the red mark that was on his cheek. Rarity started to shake in anger and then took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

"Holy shit.. haha.. that was good." Jack said as he rubbed his cheek and opened and closed his jaw, trying to work the pain out of it. "At first I thought you were nice and cuddly, but you hit harder then Applejack!"

"Jack! That was not funny!" Rarity exclaimed, and then glared at him, having calmed down just enough to not slap him again.

"Alright alright, I'm sorry. But really, thank you. Rarity these clothes are great. The only complaint I have is that the pants are a little tight in the crotchal region." Jack said waving his hand over the front of his pants in a circular motion. "These are fine for now, just make the rest a little bit more... roomy please?"

Rarity nodded and took a step back, reviewing her work. Twilight as well was looking over Jack's form, the attention making him a bit more uncomfortable than usual, but he decided to just let the girls have their time. As they circled him, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood up. He looked out of the window in the front of the store and saw that the sun had almost completely set. The last rays of light causing the sky to glow with shades of red and pink, eventually giving way to the comfortable darkness of night. He smiled to himself as he watched the light outside fade slowly. After a few more moments he looked down to the two ponies who had been trying to get his attention.

"Jack!" Twilight said, waving a hoof in the air in front of his face. He reached out and grabbed it in his hand and ran his thumb over the top of it.

"Yes?"

"Finally. It's time to go home. Rarity said she has plenty of work tomorrow, and so do you." Twilight said, her hoof still in his hand.

Jack turned his head and looked at Rarity, then nodded gently. "Very well. M'lady, thank you for the clothing. The warden says it is time to depart, so until the next time we meet, I bid you adieu." He then bowed, releasing his grip on the purple hoof.

Rarity smiled gently and bowed her head gently. "Why thank you, fine gentlecolt." Twilight however glared at Jack, placing her hoof back down on the ground. Jack then stood up and returned his gaze to Twilight.

"Alright boss, let's get back home." Jack said, then froze internally, realizing what he had just said. Twilight however, didn't seem to notice. She smiled and turned to her friend.

The two unicorns said their good-byes and Twilight walked out the front door with Jack only steps behind her. His mind was racing, while he wore his best poker face on the outside. He called the library, his prison, 'home'. The walk home was mostly silent on the outside. The only sounds that were heard were soft footsteps and hoof falls. The streets had cleared and all of the market stalls had closed up, or had the goods removed. The lamp lights cast warm glows on the ground, lighting up the dirt road, but not giving off enough light pollution to block out the view of the stars.

Upon returning home to the tree, Twilight opened the door and Jack followed her inside. He rubbed his stomach gently as he looked down to his house-mate.

"Twilight, I'm going to make a sandwich, do you want one?"

She smiled and nodded to him. Jack left for the kitchen as Twilight levitated two cushions to the table in the center of the room. She suspected that Spike was already asleep, so she just let him be. Her mind then drifted back to the events of the day. There was so much to report to the Princess. Twilight's horn glowed as a roll of parchment floated over, followed by an inkwell and a quill. She sat down on the cushion and began to write out her report for the Princess.

Jack made his way from the kitchen with two plates, a sandwich in each. One was a daffodil and daisy sandwich, the other was just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for himself. He spied Twilight busy with her writing and he sat himself across from her, placing her sandwich next to the parchment. She looked up at him and nodded, her smile never leaving her face. Returning to her work, she levitated her dinner from the plate and took a bite. Jack quietly ate as well, watching her and wondering how she could multitask so well. He figured levitation was the same for her as it was for him to do things with his hands, only she could probably do more due to his limitations of only having two hands.

Twilight finished her letter and placed the quill back down on the table. She wrapped it up and floated it across the room to her main work lectern. Her gaze then returned to Jack. He chewed slowly on his yummy, yummy sandwich, a bit of smile on his face for feeling like a kid again. His eyes raised up to meet hers, and he sighed slightly. She looked worried, but he could tell she had on a false smile.

"Yes Twilight?"

"I... have some questions." She said after a few moments of silence.

"More questions the Princesses want to know?"

"Not exactly..." She said as she glanced down to the table and then back up to him. "I want to know... for me..."

He raised his right eyebrow slightly and then nodded. "Alright then, ask away."

"If there was a way you could... go back to your world, would you?"

He chewed and swallowed another bite of his sandwich slowly, then placed it back down on the plate. He wished he had a drink to stall for more time, but alas, once again he forgot drinks. Jack ran his fingertips slowly across the scar on his neck as he stared into her violet eyes, searching for the right words.

"Twilight... I don't know. Probably not. I don't really have anything to go back to."

Twilight tilted her head slightly in confusion. "What do you mean you don't have anything to go back to?"

Jack placed his hands on his face and rubbed slightly. "Twilight... I ..." He paused for a moment and dropped his hands away from his face and stared into them.  "I tried to kill myself. The last thing I remember is the branch on the tree snapping. The next, I woke up in the hospital surrounded by you ponies."

She sat there stunned, her eyes drifted from his to his neck. "But... Is that... you..." Her mind was suddenly flooded with the answers to most of her questions she had about him, along with more questions about what had lead him to his decision. Her mind suddenly ground to a halt as one question slammed itself into the front of her mind. Would he try again? Her vision clouded slowly as she thought about losing someone she called a friend in such a manner.

Jack sighed and placed his hand gently against Twilight's cheek as her tears started to fall. Her body started to shake as her eyes focused once again on his. Jack moved his way closer to her and wrapped his free arm around her neck and placed his hand on the back of her head, guiding her into a gentle hug. As her muzzle made contact with his chest she started to sob. She quickly threw her fore hooves around his body and held tightly. The only question, "Why?", was all she could choke out between her sobs.

Moving the hand from her cheek to her back, he pulled her body in a little closer and rocked the distraught mare gently from side to side. He placed his chin on the top of her head and shushed her gently, trying his best to comfort her. After she had calmed down a bit he answered her.

"I was alone. I had no reason to keep going, and no one to come home to."

After a few moments, Twilight shifted into a much more comfortable, and closer position to Jack. She sat in his lap, straddling him, and burying her face into his neck. She continued to sob quietly and whimper, her grip tight around him. She felt as though he would just simply stop existing if she let him go. They sat together like that for the better part of an hour until Twilight had stopped crying.

Jack opened his eyes and leaned his head back slightly and saw that she had fallen asleep in his arms, perhaps crying herself to sleep. He felt a twinge of guilt in hurting her, but he knew that she deserved to know the truth. He secured her against his body with an arm and used the other to push himself up off of the floor. He readjusted his grip on her, causing her to stir gently, but remain asleep.

Jack made his way slowly and quietly up the stairs to Twilight's bedroom and pushed the door open. He could hear the light snores of Spike sleeping in his basket at the foot of a bed that rested up another flight of stairs and in an alcove above yet another book case. Shaking his head and smirking, Jack made his way over to Twilight's bed and pulled the covers down just enough to fit the purple unicorn into her proper place. He pulled the covers up over her and gently brushed her mane out of her sleeping eyes.

His smirk faded slowly into a frown as he turned and walked out of her room quietly, his boots hardly making a sound as he crossed the hardwood floors. As he exited the room, he looked back at the mare sleeping soundly now in her bed, illuminated by the moonlight filtering in from the window behind her. He closed the door and headed down the hall to his room.

After getting quickly undressed, Jack climbed into his bed, dreading the coming thoughts that always plagued his mind just before he slept. Getting himself situated under the covers didn't take long. He closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep before his mind caught up to him.

After a few minutes, Jack opened his eyes stared out of the window in his room towards the moon, reviewing the passed events of the day. He closed his eyes as the last events of the night played out before him. Then he felt the cool air of the night along with the slight weight of the blanket he was under. He heard the faint sound of his own heartbeat and breathing in the silence of the room. Just as he was drifting off to sleep he thought to himself once again. "I'm still alone."

Jack's eyes opened as he heard the door to his room open slowly. He could barely hear the sounds of hoof falls coming from the door, and then the door clicking shut again behind the intruder. He mentally followed the hoof falls from the door to his bedside, seriously considering if he should fight for his protection, or just let his would be murderer kill him. Just as he had decided to accept his fate, he felt the mattress depress under the weight of the pony's front hooves behind him. He resumed his slow steady breathing, trying to seem asleep, even as his mind raced. He then felt the weight on the mattress shift again as the pony pulled itself up onto his bed and press it's back against his. Then he smelt it. The faint smell of lilacs mixed with the gentle smell of parchment. Her scent.

Jack turned his head, ever so slightly to see Twilight curled up into a ball behind him, with her back pressed against his gently. She was lying on top of the covers, and tonight was unseasonably cold. Jack smiled slightly, but quickly replaced it with a neutral expression. He slowly rolled over and pulled the covers out from underneath her. Twilight's head lifted up from all of the movement and Jack pulled the blankets up covering both of their bodies. As she turned her head, Jack's eyes met her's.

"Jack..." Twilight whispered, but was quickly silenced.

"Shh..." Jack shushed, his hand rubbing gently on her side under the covers. He laid his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes.

Twilight then scooted back into his arms, making him spoon her. Jack briefly opened his eyes as he felt her soft and warm coat press against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her chest and in between her front hooves, Jack placed his face into her mane and closed his eyes.

"Thank you." He whispered gently to her, possibly only loud enough for himself to hear it.