Jack finally brought his wheeled suitcase to a halt by a nearby bench and sat down. Around him, people everywhere were walking by hastily, probably to catch their next flight. A huge, white sign in blue letters was hung high on the ceiling that read, "Livingston Airlines." Looking up, Jack watched as the flight screens flashed each individual flight to all different corners of the continent of Humansport, and even across the sea to different continents. Jack didn't know which flight he should take. He didn't have a clue to where he was going to go, nor what he was going to do when he got there. Jack hung his head and sighed. All he did know was that he had to leave.
He couldn't stay. Not since Tyler was back in town. The only reason Jack even came back home was because Tyler was on vacation. It was a good chance to catch up with old friends and family. Now, it was time to head on down the road. Tyler didn’t want to see him. That’s what he said all those years ago. And after all that had happened, Jack felt like he owed it to Tyler to honor his last-spoken request.
“Excuse me, son.”
Jack immediately snapped out of his trance and looked up. An elderly woman with thick-rimmed glasses was standing in front of him, holding a decent-sized bag and smiling sweetly.
“Is this seat taken?” She asked, directing to the vacant space on the bench.
“Not at all,” Jack responded kindly. “Go ahead.”
The lady smiled wider and sat down next to Jack. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a newspaper. As she began to read, Jack glanced to the cover. It read Livingston Leopards lunge to victory over Mannesota Barbarians, 35 - 12. Jack chuckled a bit. The Leopards hadn’t won a game in a while, but then again, he didn’t really focus on football that much. He laid his head back on the bench and looked up at the ceiling, his thoughts soon returning to him. After a few minutes of silence, the lady looked up from her paper and turned to Jack, catching his attention.
“I’m going to Mansville to visit my grandson,” she said happily. “He just graduated from high school.”
“Congratulations,” Jack commented.
“Where are you going?”
Jack chuckled softly as he sat up. “Well, I don’t know yet.” He looked up at the flights flashing across the screens. “I was thinking of just heading back to my apartment in Chickago, but I could use a mind-relaxing vacation. Maybe to scenic Manhattan. I also heard Baltiman’s nice this time of year. I could go sightseeing, or-”
“What’re you running from?”
Jack’s brain froze for a minute. In no way did he ever expect someone to ask that. How in the world could she even guess that? She asked that so casually too, like she was asking about the weather. He quickly regained himself and turned to the woman, whose face was soft and curious. Jack gulped a bit and smiled. “W-what makes you think I’m running?”
“Young man,” she began, sitting up straighter and straightening her glasses, almost like she was ready to give him a lecture. “I have been around for a good many years. I have seen many things and learned a thing or two about people. My late husband, God rest his soul, used to have your same expression when he was trying to run away from his problems. Right now, you’re reminding me a lot of him. Now come on. Out with it.”
Jack looked at her for a second, his smile fading a bit. Her face was as determined as ever. It was clear that she was not backing down. Finally accepting defeat, Jack sighed and leaned forward, looking down at his feet.
“Not what,” he said quietly, “but who.”
“A woman?” asked the lady.
Jack smiled slightly. “Nothing like that. An old friend.” His fingers twiddled a bit. “A very old friend. I haven’t seen him in a while, and he’s just come back in town.” The woman tilted her head slightly.
“Were you close?”
Jack sighed. “Like brothers.”
“Then why’re you running from him?”
“Because,” Jack sighed again. The memories were coming back in full force. “He said he never wanted to see me again.”
“Why?”
“It’s a bit of a long story,” Jack responded. He suddenly felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the lady looking at him with a caring smile.
“We’ve got time before our flights,” she said sweetly, “and I love stories.”
Jack glanced at the flight screens. The flight to Mansville wasn’t for another hour. Turning back to the woman, Jack smiled softly and sat back up. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell someone.” He then cleared his throat, thought for a second, and then finally spoke. “I should probably start at the very beginning.”
“I first met Tyler when we were five. I was being teased on the playground, and he stood up for me. Ever since then, we were inseparable, like brothers. You could never see one without the other.” Jack’s face fell a bit as he repeated, “Never,” in a quieter tone. He quickly shook his head though, and continued.
“While some friendships only grow faint with age, thankfully, ours was not one of them. We stayed best friends all throughout elementary, middle, and high school. We went to neighboring colleges as well, just to make sure we weren’t that far from each other. We even had similar majors in school. I was studying Child Psychology, and Tyler was going for Child Care. Tyler was always great with kids. I remember during our years in high school, we took a summer job at the local daycare. It was like all the kids were drawn to him at once. I was pretty popular myself, but Tyler was special. He had this uncanny ability to get on their level and connect with the kids in ways I’ve never seen.” Jack stopped and chuckled. “A lot of the kids even referred to Tyler as their ‘big brother.’ Anyway, even through college, we were thick as thieves, always helping each other out with our studies. I couldn't think our lives could get any happier.” Jack smiled again. “Of course, that’s before Clarissa came into the picture.”
“Who’s that?” the lady asked, never taking her eyes from Jack.
“She was one of my classmates,” he replied. “I had first introduced her and Tyler during a study session at the campus library. The two immediately hit it off. I normally don’t believe in love at first sight, but with how those two talked and laughed that evening, it was undeniable. Sure enough, not too long after that, they became a couple.”
“Aww,” sighed the lady. “That’s so sweet.”
“It was,” Jack nodded. “At first I was afraid I was just gonna end up as a third wheel to them, but they never made me feel like that. All throughout the rest of college, our brotherhood stayed strong.” Jack’s smile widened. “And then, after graduation, I was the best man at Tyler and Clarissa’s wedding.”
“How wonderful,” the lady swooned.
“Yeah, well, after they got married, it definitely looked like the good times were here to stay, and for a while, they did. Tyler and Clarissa were happy, I was happy for them, and nothing was wrong. However,” Jack’s smiled faded, “little did we know what was gonna happen next.” The lady’s own smile fell as she looked with concern at Jack. “Eventually, a tragedy struck our corner of happiness. Only a few years after their marriage, Clarissa lost her life in a car accident.”
“Oh my,” the lady gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.
“It gets worse,” Jack continued. His voice was cracking a bit, and a tear had appeared in the corner of his eye. “At that time, she-” Jack stopped a moment, holding back the tears as best he could, “Clarissa was...four months pregnant.”
The lady gasped again and placed her other hand over her mouth. Jack hung his head again as the memory painfully worked its way back through his mind. He heard the lady let out a dry sob, and he continued. “I remember so well how happy the two were when they told me the good news.” Jack smiled again, but only weakly. “The first thing Tyler said to me was, ‘Jack, you know you have to be the godfather, right?’ I was absolutely honored!” Jack chuckled again, but it died away as quickly as it came. “I still can recall that night that Tyler got the phone call. Just from the look of sheer horror and emotional destruction had I guessed what had happened. It completely destroyed Tyler emotionally. I had never seen him so depressed, so...broken. He shut himself out from everyone after that and asked not to be disturbed for some time. I don’t blame him. To lose a wife is one thing, but to also lose a child that hadn’t even come to light yet, well, I can’t even imagine what it did to him. Naturally, I abided by his wishes and left him alone to recover. During that time, I had taken to traveling all around and taking temporary jobs and volunteer work at many child care establishments around the continent.”
“About a month after Clarissa’s passing, I went back home with hopes that Tyler was doing better. I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only had Tyler not recovered, he seemed to be just as emotionless as the day I left. That is when I decided that I couldn’t just do nothing. I needed to find a way to cheer him up; help him to move on and get back out there. Help him become is old, cheery self again. That’s when I got the idea.” Jack turned to look at the lady. “Have you ever heard of Equestria?”
“I believe I heard of it on the news,” she replied. “It’s that continent just north of here that’s inhabited by talking horses, right?”
“That’s the one,” Jack nodded. “During my time away, I had also visited Equestria for the first time. It was,” Jack sighed and leaned forward in his seat, like he was intently watching a movie, “like a whole new experience; the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The whole place seemed...so much more colorful than Humansport. Almost as if it had come from a cartoon show. And the ponies!” Jack leaned back again and gave a short laugh. “Talking, pastel-colored, ponies of all various shapes and sizes. The adults looked about the size of…” he scrunched up his face in thought, “I’d say a fully-grown Golden Retriever. Though I have seen the ruler of the land, Princess Celestia, and she was about the size of a Great Dane if you can believe it.” The lady nodded, her eyes wide with wonder.
“At that time,” Jack continued, “I had taken some volunteering jobs at the orphanage in the capital city of Canterlot. I helped take care of the kids, do construction and maintenance, and even helped out with the adoption process. The thought of Equestria gave me my idea. I thought, Tyler had never been to Equestria, and I know how much he loves kids. If I could take him with me on my next trip so he could see the smiling faces of those fillies and colts, maybe, just maybe, it could put a smile on his face again.” Jack stopped for a second and smiled again as more memories, more pleasant this time, passed through his mind. “You have not lived until you’ve seen Equestrian children. Puppy-sized, adorable, and as innocent as a patch of flowers. All I knew was that if they couldn’t melt Tyler’s heart, nothing would. It took some persuading, but he finally agreed to the trip. We took the first plane down there, and when he saw the new land,” Jack paused for a second, shaking his head and chuckling some more, “he was awestruck. It was like he was transported to another world. A world filled with pastel-colored, talking ponies. Residents turned to stare at us. Most of them had probably never seen humans before with how they gaped at us. After taking in the scenery and checking into a hotel, I led Tyler to the Canterlot Orphanage. I was excited to show Tyler, but needless to say, he was less than enthusiastic.”
“That is where the story truly begins.”