//------------------------------// // 10 - Lets go to the city! // Story: Living where the crossing life leads // by Warioexpert //------------------------------// ‘’Wow! how long were we in there? It's almost lunch time!’’ Jack exclaimed looking looking at his watch, he and Alfonso had just made their way out of Seismos Cave. ‘’Well we did come here in the morning...’’ Alfonso stated, still dusting himself off after crawling out of the cave entrance. “Fudge... I even left without any breakfast...” Jack said while rubbing his stomach. “You wanna swing by my place for some lunch?” Alfonso asked invitingly with a smile. “Nah...” Jack simply replied before snatching Twilight’s briefcase out of the gator’s claws “I think we should just split for today” he said before he slid down the gravel hill. Alfonso followed, looking rather disappointed “Awww, but I wanted to see Twilight get her lost case back, we worked really hard to get that...” Alfonso said before Jack shot him a piercing glare. “What the hell do you mean we? I was the one that climbed twenty feet of dead Dino bones all by myself just to nab it!” Jack snapped at him. “Gyah! Okay then!” Alfonso retorted stepping back a few inches from Jack. Jack kept glaring at him before he sighed “... sorry man... I'm just a little on edge from that big fall I had a moment ago...” Jack said in apology, patting Alfonso’s back. "I understand" Alfonso nodded, looking back at him he dawdled with his thumbs ‘’Jack, I've been thinking..." "That sounds dangerous..." Jack chuckled, dusting off Twilight's briefcase. "I'm serious Jack... how are you going to get Twilight back to her own world?’’ he tilted his head Jack paused for a moment, rubbing his chin as he looked at the sky “...I don't know man... I'm no physicist when it comes to inter-dimensional travel...’’ ‘’You do realize that she might be stuck with you forever if you don't find a way to send her back’’ Alfonso deadpanned. ‘’Yeah I know’’ he casually said scratching the side of his head ‘’but the thought of it doesn't seem to bother me that much, it's only been a week and she seems to follow my rules to the letter’’ Alfonso blinked, taken aback by Jack’s reaction ‘’Are you alright Jack???’’ he said checking his temperature. A vein popped on Jack’s forehead before he bonked Alfonso’s noggin, “Cut it out! I didn't catch Twilight’s cold!” “Ow!!” Alfonso said rubbing his head “....Hmph” Jack huffed before he strutted off “Twilight’s probably still sleeping, I’ll ring you up when she starts feeling better. If I feel like it!” “.....” Alfonso stood there quietly as he still rubbed his head 'Something’s definitely going on with Jack, it looks to me that Twilight’s starting to growing on him' he thought to himself as he stood there, he smiled with a shrug before he began to head home. Just as Alfonso had left, Seth slowly poked his head out of the cave crevice. 'Looks like they chose to split... Good', the wolf thought as he crawled out, shaking the dirt off his fur he looked around to see that no one else was in the area before he began to jog north-west Making his way down the trail he jogged in a casual manner, preemptively surveying his surroundings. ‘’Then I flip a switch and fluffy is everything!~ plush and sweet and soft and pink!~ I flip a switch!~ heavy is everywhere, crash through the ground from out of the air!~ I flip a switch!~ time goes down-down-down, stretching thin and stretching out!~ I flip a switch!~ loose the gravity, light as a feather and floating freeeee!~ Nananaaa-nananaaaa-nananaaaa!~’’ ‘’Okay that's enough...’’ Jack stopped himself from singing as he arrived at his house. ‘’Greetings Master Jack’’ Lloyd spoke up from his spot as he spun in place. ‘’Anything going on while I was out?’’ Jack asked his clay cladded doorman as he rubbed his feet on the doormat. ‘’Negative Master Jack, there have been zero visitors and zero visits from Pete the mail-pelican’’ Lloyd stated, still spinning rapidly in place. ‘’Good, thanks Lloyd’’ Jack nodded. ‘’Master Jack’’ Lloyd stopping Jack from opening his door. ‘’Hm?’’ Jack turned his head ‘’what is it Lloyd?’’ ‘’May I request a change of color? I find myself unsatisfied with my current color scheme’’ Lloyd asked, much to Jack’s surprise. "U-Um... Okay?’’ Jack said with an inquisitive look ‘’what kind of paint job do you want?’’ ‘’Hot-rod flames’’ Lloyd stated still spinning. ‘’Hot-rod flames???’’ Jack exclaimed. ‘’Indeed, a vibrant display of Hot-rod flames,’’ Lloyd stated again, stopping dead center to stare at Jack with his empty eye holes. ‘’....I guess it's okay,’’ Jack said, slowly opening the door. ‘’Excellent, you have my gratitude, Master Jack,’’ Lloyd span in place as he stepped inside and closed his door. "Yeah- Yeah," shrugging off the compliment, Jack blinked as he stood there behind the close door 'what the fudge was that all about?' he thought before kicking off his shoes. “Must have breathed in too many mushroom spores in that cave, messing up my head and all’’ he thought aloud while he began to walk upstairs “better get this to Twilight... she’ll probably be very happy to see it’’ Jack thought as he looked at her briefcase. Slowly making his way up the stairs he looked around Twilight’s room, since her curtains were closed the room was dark. Jack gently tip-toed around her room, holding his hand out to not bump into anything 'Now if I can just find a-' “Gah!” he yelped after he stubbed his toe on a stool. '!!!' covering his own mouth he looked over to Twilight’s bed in alarm. A tense moment passed as he waited to see if his ninja skills had failed him, alerting the sleeping mare to his presence. But the moment passed as the pile of bed sheets remained undisturbed on the bed. "Phew~ That was a close one," he whispered to himself, quickly placing the suitcase down on the stool and hobbling as quietly as he could to the stairs with a sore toe. Cringing with each step, the pain slowly faded to a dull ache in his foot as Jack headed downstairs. Patting himself on the back, Jack felt a reward was in order for all his recent good deeds. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, time for some Ice tea, a snack and a nap,” he chuckled, looking forward to the R&R while quietly reaching the bottom of the stairs and reaching the entrance of his fortress of solitude. ‘’Ahh... No place like the Man Cave!~’’ Jack chimed, but something in the air gave him pause as he turned the knob to his personal sanctuary of manliness. "Wha-!" Taking another whiff, he tried to place the odd scent. The smell lingering in the air was a mix that brought about thoughts of the darkest concord grapes, and a field of Lavender. "Not too bad~" Jack thought aloud, blissfully, before realizing how unmanly he was acting in front of his sacred 'Man Cave'. Slapping himself to snap out of the alluring scent's grasp, he scowled as he resisted its unmanly temptations and swung the door open. Slamming his fist on the light switch, he glared about to try finding the source of the feminine corruption. In the light, everything seemed as it should, as he stalked into the hallowed halls. All of his trophies and baubles remained in their place, but there was an imbalance permeating the room that tugged at the back of Jack's mind. Finally, when he could find nothing wrong, Jack could only guess his mind was playing tricks on him after all the craziness he'd been going through recently. Must've gotten something on my clothes in Twilight's room, He thought, wondering if he'd need to burn his clothes later to get the scent off, as pressed a button on the room's vending machine. Popping the can's lid with a 'hiss', he took a big swig before belching. ‘’Ahhh.... bonafied bliss in a can’’ Jack sighed before sidestepping to a fridge. Checking its contents he shrugged indifferently ‘’Meh... nothing I'm in the mood for here..’’ he slammed the door shut before he walked over to his bed, he took a moment to look around his room more. ‘’Jeez... I'm so lazy right now, I don't even feel like going out again’’ he stifled a yawn while sitting down on the side of the bed, leaning back against the pile of unkempt blankets. Placing his can onto the nightstand next to his bed, he kicked of his shoes and got under the sheets, too tired to change into PJs. ‘’Oops... almost forgot’’ Jack clapped his hands, causing the lights to go off. Jack smiled as he stared at his ceiling. with the lights off small stars that were painted on glowed in the dark like the night sky. 'Alone again' he began to feel a sinking sensation as those words echoed in his mind. Turning on his side he closed his eyes, his sinking feeling suddenly changed to a pleasant warmth, followed by the smell of grapes and lavender from before, only much closer then before. A goofy smile grew his face "Mmmm... that smell again’’ Jack’s eyes shot open as he came to a realization ‘’Hm!?’’ ‘’Zzz....’’ Jack’s face lit up red hot at what he was seeing and feeling, because sleeping there with her arms and legs wrapped around him, slightly drooling on him was Twilight!. ‘’....G-G-Guhhh....’’ Jack felt paralyzed from both the enraging fact of Twilight being there in his Man-Cave and that her arms and legs were impairing his movement. "Nnnngg!!" with his heart trying to pound out of his chest he forced himself out of her clutches and threw himself out of the bed, landing stomach first into the tile flooring ‘’Ow!’’ At this point Jack looked like he had the life shocked right out of him, he breathed heavily pulling himself off the ground. Slowly rising up from the floor his shadow loomed over Twilight, Jack’s hair and face gave off hot steam as he watched her sleeping in his bed ‘’How... dare you...’’ he said under his breath as his eyes blanked out with rage. ‘’There it is...’’ Seth said as he ran up to Jack’s house. Lloyd began to spin in place as he approached the door. ‘’Hmm... you must be Jack’s Gyroid...’’ Seth said tilting his head. ‘’Greetings, Master Fleabag’’ Lloyd said. Seth scowled ‘’....Yep, thats Jack’s alright... door gyroids are so expensive, yet Jack has to be the only one to have one because he sculpted his own, dork’’ he snickered. Seth quickly looked over to the bushes, thinking he had seen something in the corner of his eye. ‘’Hm... must have been a bird...” Seth said to himself, turning his head. ‘’Yipe!’’ He yelped as two paws reached around and covered his eyes. “Guess who!~’’ A loud and cheerful voice rang into Seth’s ear, it was too familiar and too annoying to forget. 'D’oh, fudge' Seth thought placing his paws on the ones that covered his eyes. “Hello...” Seth said with a forced smile “Maple...” “Aww Seth, how did you know it was me?” The honey bear said, taking her paws off Seth’s eye’s, she giggled as Seth turned around to greet her. “Its been so long” Seth said, still having a forced smile on his face. “Ohh don't be silly, you silly wolf! I’ve only been gone for a week!” Maple said giving Seth a jabb on the arm “Ouch!” Seth cringed rubbing his arm “watch the punches!” he snapped at Maple. “Oops, sorry! I don't know my own strength sometimes’’ ‘’Have you been working out??’’ Seth said still rubbing his arm. ‘’Yeah! I try my best to get stronger, one day I’ll be as strong as Jack too!” Maple said proudly with her paws on her hips. “Why on earth would you want to be a strong as him? that guy’s a beast and just as dumb as one too” Seth deadpanned. “Hey! Don't you say that about my Jack!” Maple pouted and gave Seth a straight arm punch, this sent him crashing into a tree. “OWWW!” Seth’s head spun from the impact. “Oh! I'm sorry-I'm sorry-I'm sorry!” Maple shouted running to help Seth. “I'm okay, no need to worry” Seth said getting up on his own “Say, speaking of Jack, I heard he was having lunch at the Roost today, why don't you go say hi?’’ he said while propping himself up on the tree. ‘’Really!?’’ she gasped with a smile as her eyes glazed over ‘’I was waiting to see him ever since I left for my holiday!~’’ ‘’Yeah, he’s probably waiting for you with a slice of cake too!’’ Seth added. ‘’Wait for me my handsome prince! I’ll feed you that cake!~’’ Maple dashed out of sight, leaving a trail of dust in the air. Seth watched as she ran out of sight ‘’Wow... that worked better than I thought it would’’ he said to himself as he walked around the house, he slowly ducked before peeking into a small window basement window 'What the?' Jack slowly curled his fingers as he raised his fist. Twilight, who was still asleep had her arms stretched out where Jack was, her hands opened and closed, as if she was looking for something ‘’Mmmm.... Cupcakes....’’ she mumbled in her sleep, the drool on the side of her lip dropped slightly. At the sight of it Jack’s heart began to pound again, he gulped ‘’Grrr, H-Huh!?’’ his eyes widened as he found himself unable to move, even though every intention to knock her straight out of dreamland boiled in his mind, he couldn't bring himself to bonk her on the head. 'Grah, what the hell is wrong with me?' 'Having trouble there?' his conscious rang in his head 'You! are you doing this?' Jack thought back with an angry twitch in his eye. 'Pfft-! Haha!... of course not! this is all you, Jack' 'What's that supposed to mean!?' 'Hehehe... you always crack me up Jack' his conscious chuckled out, 'she probably wandered in here because of her dizzy state, remember that? I mean just look at her!' Jack grumbled as he turned his back 'I'm not gonna! She’s fudging naked!' 'Hmph... you really need to learn to lighten up with the ladies' his conscious snidely suggested. ‘’Shut it!’’ Jack shouted out loud. ‘’Ah!!!’’ ‘’Eh?’’ turning his head something soft hit his face with a squeaking sound ‘’Gah!’’ he scoffed. ‘’Jack!? What are you doing in my room!?’’ Twilight shouted covering herself with the sheets. ‘’Grrrr!’’ Jack growled at her before he recognized what she hit him with ‘’Hey! were you sleeping with my Squirtle doll!?’’ Jack barked before picking it up and wrapping his arms around it protectively. ‘’I asked you a question first Jack!’’ Twilight scowled at him ‘’were you watching me sleep???’’ she questioned, getting out of the bed and crossing her arms. ‘’Gyah!’’ Jack shielded his eyes from Twilight’s naked body ‘’Fudge!’’ ‘’Answer the question Jack...’’ Twilight pressed Jack into answering. ‘’Grrrr, Fine! Yes, I was watching you... because this isn't your room!’’ Jack faced the opposite direction from Twilight, he put his doll down before he clapped his hands up in the air. ‘’Huh?’’ Twilight spat out just as the lights turned on, she covered her mouth in disbelief as she looked around. ‘’This Is the MAN CAVE!’’ Jack held his arms out as his roar echoed through the room. ‘’Man cave?...b-but, how did I end up...?’’ Twilight shook her head, taking a step back ‘’oh no...’’ her eyes began to well up as she held her head. Jack stood there silently with his arms still held out. ‘’I just broke rule number two!’’ Twilight cried out. "!?" Jack's eyes shot open at this. ‘’I’m so sorry Jack!’’ Twilight desperately hugged him from behind. Jack blinked, trying to keep his face hidden as Twilight kept saying sorry over and over and over. ‘’Im sorry, Im sorry, Im sorry! Please don't kick me out Jack! I have nowhere else to go!’’ Twilight pleaded for forgiveness as she wiped her tears on the back of his shirt. 'Is this mare for real!?' Jack thought, a sudden wave of guilt washed over him for a moment and it took several minutes for her to quiet down enough for him to speak. ‘’Alright! Enough!’’ Jack answered sternly ‘’get off me!’’ he ordered with his arms crossed, Twilight quickly let go of him, taking a step back her head slumped as she dawdled her fingers nervously. ‘’I'm appalled to hear you apologize to me like that? Where’s your sense of pride!?’’ ‘’B-but-’’ ‘’No butts!’’ Twilight’s ears laid flat as Jack scolded her. ‘’Hmph...’’ Jack huffed ‘’did you honestly think I would kick you out because of this? I will do no such thing! as much as I have to tolerate you being in my house I will never go back on my word!’’ Twilight lifted her head slightly from hearing this ‘’S-So you're not kicking me out?’’ ‘’Oh course not...’’ Jack said with a nod ‘’however!’’ ‘’H-However?’’ Twilight gulped. ‘’However you have still broken a rule, a damn sacred one at that and for that you shall be penalized for it!’’ ‘’...Yes Jack...’’ Twilight nodded, wiping her eyes ‘’I’ll take any penalty that you find just for my wrongdoing’’ ‘’Good, now go to your room! I shall pass judgement on your deed momentarily’’ Jack said pointing at the opposite direction to the stairs. ‘’Understood...’’ Twilight slumped her head slightly as she made her way toward the stairs, looking back for a moment she raised an eyebrow as she noticed that steam emanated off the top of Jack’s head. ‘’And don't forget to get dressed!’’ Jack ordered. ‘’Right’’ Twilight nodded before closing the door. Jack quickly looked behind to make sure she was gone. Grabbing his iced tea he quickly dumped the cold drink over his head, he gritted his teeth while the drink hissed as it evaporated off him like water being dumped on a hot grill. "I HATE GIRLS!" Twilight paced around her room, she was wearing the green T-shirt Alfonso gave her and had her horn concealed in a green bow that matched the shirt. ‘’I see you're wearing Alfonso’s shirt’’ Twilight’s ears flicked towards the stairs as Jack walked into her room ‘’It was the first piece of clothing I could find...’’ she looked down slightly. ‘’Meh, it’ll do...’’ Jack said with a wave of his hand. “Are you going to punish me now?” “Nah, I haven't quite thought of the proper punishment yet...” “I see...” Twilight slumped her head. ‘’Did you see the surprise I have for you?’’ ‘’Surprise?’’ Twilight looked around the room ‘’Is it about the penalty?’’ she asked with a scared look on her face. ‘’No dumb-dumb! I still haven't thought it up yet’’ Jack scowled at Twilight before walking over to her window to open the curtains. Twilight shielded her vision from the sudden change in light, before her eyes widened with surprise. ‘’My briefcase!’’ she gasped. ‘’Yep, I happened to find it with Alfonso back where we first found you’’ Jack smiled waiting for Twilights eminent thanks. ‘’Oh Jack... I don't know how to react to this... I'm so happy you found it... yet I still feel sorry for breaking your rules...’’ ‘’Hey, don't sweat it... everyone breaks rules now and then, I do it all the time’’ he snickered. “Somehow that doesn't surprise me...” she deadpanned. “.......” Jack began to rub his stomach “Oww!” his stomach grumbled loudly. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked with a concerned look. “I hadn't eaten all day! I'm starving!” he exclaimed clenching his stomach. “I’ll run down to the kitchen for you!” Twilight said running toward the stairs. “Wait...” Jack grabbed her arm, stopping her “this isn't some kind of hunger you can put away with a triple decker sandwich...” “What are you talking about?” Twilight tilted his head. “Come on... were going to the city!” Jack dashed to the stairs pulling on Twilight’s arm. “Hey! wait! but what about my penalty?” “Forget about it! we have to go now!” The door bursted open before Jack rushed out full speed ahead “come on Twilight!” Twilight quickly stopped at the door, gently closing it “goodbye Lloyd, take care of the place while we're gone!” “Understood Mistress Twilight” Lloyd gyrated in place. “Wait up Jack!” she trailed behind Jack, who was already far off. Seth came up from behind a tree quickly going after them, keeping himself unseen from Twilight as he zipped from one bush to the next. 'Alright Seth... time for a little more fieldwork investigating' He thought as he kept trailing behind Twilight 'there’s something fishy about you... and i'm going to find out what' He could spot Jack as he stood on a small platform with a bus stop sign, Twilight walked up to him. “Couldn't you just plan the next time we’re about to go out? I couldn't bring any money with me” Twilight said, still catching her breath from all that running she did. “I’ll give you some allowance money when we get to the city, right now I really need to get there” Jack’s fingers tingled as he paced on the platform. “Heeey Jaaack~!” The voice of Rosie the cat called out. . “Yeah-hey-there-Rosie” Jack spat out quickly as he kept pacing. “Hey there Gal-pal!” Rosie said ecstatically while raising up a hand for a highfive. “Umm... Hey there Rosie” Twilight said, not really knowing what a highfive was she kept talking “What's wrong with Jack? he says he hasn't eaten all day and now he wants to go to some city” “Oh! You're going to the city!” Rosie’s eyes sparkled after lowering her arm “Smashville City is a wondrous place to visit! There’s clothes shops and restaurants and clothes shops and the theater and clothes shops!” “You just said clothes shops three times...” Twilight pointed out. “I know they're amazing!” Rosie gave a twirl “Can I go with you guys!?” she asked giving Twilight kitten eyes. “Sure, if you like” Twilight stepped back slightly, feeling her personal space was being invaded. "Twilight!” A familiar voice called from behind. “Alfonso!” Twilight turned around with a smile to greet him. "You're okay!" Alfonso then gasped immediately noticing Twilight wearing the t-shirt he gave her “and you look... amazing...” the gator said as he stood there with a goofy smile on his face. “Why thank you Alfonso, the shirt you gave me is very comfortable to wear” she said still smiling. “Hey Alfonso~” Rosie chimed walking up to him. Alfonso, quickly snapped out of it to greet her “Hi Rosie!” “You're looking buff today, have you been working out?” Rosie purred rubbing Alfonso’s arm. “Ohh no, just- Woah...” he said as he noticed Jack still pacing on the platform “Looks like Jack’s got a major Ramen appetite” “Ramen? what's ramen?” Twilight questioned tilting her head. “Oh! I know! ramen is that pasta in a cup you pour hot water into right?” Rosie said looking at Alfonso. “No-no-no-no, that's the cheap cupped version made by corporate fat-cats to make a quick buck, real authentic ramen is... sublime...” Alfonso shook his tail from the thought. “Hey! here’s an Idea, why don't all four of us go for some ramen?” Rosie suggested while wrapping her arm around Alfonso’s “Lets make it a double date!~” “Eh!?” Alfonso blushed. “Hmmm....” Twilight rubbed her chin 'not really sure what she means, though visiting the city and trying new food does sound fun' “Yeah-sure-whatever-I'm-in” Jack quickly said as he leaned against the bus stop sign while tapping his foot on the cement. “Great! Lets go!” Rosie cheered as the bus came into view. ‘’What is that?’’ Twilight exclaimed, surprised by the large growling vehicle. ‘’You've never been on a bus before?’’ Rosie said while pulling on Alfonso’s arm. ‘’No.. not really’’ Twilight admitted ‘’Come on Twi, it’ll take us straight to the city’’ Alfonso said as they began to board the bus. ‘’Well, alright’’ Twilight said getting on after them. ‘’.....’’ Seth growled as he reared up from behind a nearby tree ‘’rats... now I’ll have to wait for the next bus...’’ he thought aloud. ‘’Ohh Seeethhh!~’’ ‘’!!!’’ he froze up in fear as he saw who was calling him closing in on him from behind. ‘’You lied to me Seth, Jack wasn't there at all!~’’ Maple said in a cheery voice, cracking her knuckles as she did. ‘’Fudge-RUN AWAY!!!’’ he shouted, instinctively running for his life. ‘’Oh Seeeeth! Come back and take you medicine, you silly wolf!~” Maple chimed as she skipped after him. As she stood next to the door Twilight couldn't help but look out the window as the bus rolled out of town, looking over the town she could take a better look of what it looked like from above the cliffs that surrounded it, the colored houses, the lush green trees, some even bared many kinds of fruit and all in the same place and the sea shone with sunlight from the angle in which she was perceiving it all. ‘’Wow...’’ Twilight said in awe. ‘’Quite the sight ain't it there lassie?’’ ‘’Huh?’’ Twilight turned her head to see a peculiar looking animal, sitting in the drivers seat wearing a blue bus driver uniform. ‘’Smashville be quite the beautiful town’’ the green turtle like animal said in a salty old sailors accent, his eyes on Twilight yet only enough to talk to her and pay attention to the road at the same time. ‘’Yes... it is a nice town...’’ she said looking back at it ‘’I just got here a week ago, but I never managed to see it like this...’’ ‘’Yarr... you ought to see it during a sunset, tis as golden as anything you could ever see in yer life lassie’’ he said with a look of nostalgia planted on his face. ‘’...Hmm...’’ Twilight smiled, imagining the same thing. ‘’What be yer name young sea flower?’’ the driver politely asked. She turned her head to him ‘’Twilight sir’’ she said with a smile. ‘’Gar, It be a fine name for a mare such as yerself’’ he chuckled ‘’Name’s Kapp’n’’ ‘’Oh! so thats what you are! a Kappa!’’ Twilight exclaimed ‘’I once read about your kind in a book I got while I've been here’’ Kapp’n smiled ‘’Yarg, that what I be... many of the like’s of me aren't around nowadays’’ ‘’I see...’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’...Arr, we be nearin the city in a few minutes, ye better grab a seat’’ Kapp’n suggested. ‘’Thank you’’ Twilight said, looking to the others she had almost forgotten that she left with them, Rosie leaned slightly on Alfonso as he was looking over to Twilight, Jack sat at the very back of the bus, his eyes fixated on the window as he had his chin in his hand “Hey...’’ Twilight said, sitting down next to him. ‘’Oh, Hey’’ Jack said glancing at her. ‘’So... What's this ramen I heard about before deciding to go on this trip with you?’’ Jack began to smile ‘’What's ramen you say? ah... I can sure as hell tell you what it is as a food, but as an experience... hard to say...’’ Twilight smiled, listening attentively. ‘’What it basically is, is noodle soup made with different kinds of broth ranging from vegetable, to meat, to seafood’’ he said looking at her. ‘’Interesting’’ she said jotting down on her notes. ‘’Wait- you're taking notes of this??’’ Jack blinked. ‘’Yeah, as a matter of fact I've taken notes of almost everything I've found and looked at here’’ “That's a lot of notes...” Jack said. ‘’Yep, 5 Notepads full, 200 pages each’’ Twilight said with a smile. “Eh!? that's how many a college textbook would have!’’ Jack exclaimed “Oh-please, I eat books like that for breakfast, with some buttered toast and a cup of tea on the side’’ she giggled. “Uh-Huh... Anyway, there’s the broth of the ramen, then there's the noodles... long, stringy with a chewy texture... and the toppings, an important part of the ramen’s presentation, if you ask what kind of toppings it's really what goes into the broth to give it a good flavor combo and it's all served up in a large bowl’’ ‘’Sounds appetizing’’ Twilight remarked “and the experience?’’ “Almost forgot that... in my opinion it's something special that you should have at least once a month... I like it as a way to take me back to those... simpler times in life...” “Simpler times in life?...” Twilight tilted her head. “....” Jack sighed “so yeah, that's ramen for ya” “Hmm...” Twilight smiled, looking over her notes “I can't wait to try it!” Jack smiled, the bus wheels screeched slightly as it slowed to a stop at it's destination. “Yarr, we have arrived!’’ Kapp’n announced before opening the doors, Alfonso and Rosie were the first ones to get off. ‘’Come on Alfonso! I want to check out Gracie Grace!!” Rosie said pulling on the gator’s arm. “Woah! alright Rosie!” Alfonso went with her. “We won't be seeing those two in a bit...” Jack said as he walked up to the front of the bus. “Jack’’ Kapp’n said tipping his hat off to him. “Kapp’n” Jack motioned back with a smile. “You know Kapp’n Jack?’’ Twilight said cutting in on the conversation. “Yarg! Know him? I be the one who brought him in town the first time he moved to town, I can still remember the wee snapper being yay high!’’ “Hahahaha Yeah, those were good times” Jack said scratching his nose. “Aye! I see ye found yerself a fine lass too!” Kapp’n smirked nudging Jack on the shoulder. “She’s not my girlfriend’’ Jack simply stated. Twilight tilted her head. “Whatever ye say there Jack’’ Kapp’n leaned back on his seat with a smile. “See ya later then!” he said getting off the bus, followed by Twilight. “Finally here! Twilight Sparkle, welcome to Smashville City!’’ Jack threw up his arms Twilight opened her mouth in awe as she beheld the city, standing in the town plaza she could already see a clothes store, a theater and and a barbershop all within a few feet “What's that over there?” Twilight asked, pointing at a sign with a gyroid on it. “Oh that's the auction house, some people put their stuff up for sale there” “And what's that?” she then pointed to a marble building with a house on it. “That's the happy room academy... really annoying people there...’’ Jack rolled his eyes. Twilight’s smile suddenly sand into a blank expression as she looked over to the fountain situated in the center. “I don't like that fountain” she said, staring at it intently. “Neither do I” Jack said walking past it, it was a fountain with a statue of Serena on top “Come on we're burning daylight” “Wait up!” Twilight said jogging after him. Twilight gazed at the different sights and stores they passed by on the way downtown “Do you happen to know of any bookstores around here?” she asked. “I do, but that’ll wait till later’’ Jack said looking ahead “We're almost there!” “Right… ramen comes first” Twilight smiled with a roll of her eyes, starting to feel famished herself she decided to put her sightseeing urge on hold for now “How much more until we get to this restaurant?” “Just a few more blocks down” Jack said looking back at her “Any big cities back in your dimension?” “Yes as a matter of fact… not that I visit any of them much…” she mumbled the last part. “What are they like? Any you can name off the top of your head?” “Sure! There’s Manehattan, Canterlot, Oh and the Crystal Empire is a really big city too” “Crystal Empire? What is everything made of crystal?” “Yep, the buildings, the plants. Even the ponies living there” “Seriously?” “Well... it's more like a crystalline appearance, but everyone that visits and shares in the kingdoms magic are turned into crystal as long as they are there” “Really???” Jack stopped at the thought “That sounds awesome! I always wanted a crystal sculpture of myself, but being the sculpture sounds even better!” “Ehh…” Twilight smiled scratching her head “First you have to find me a way back home before we can do anything like visiting the Crystal Kingdom Jack…” Jack frowned as the thought smacked him out of his daydream “…Don’t remind me…” “Hey, is that it?” Twilight pointed to a small building made of wood and logs, the dark cedar wood contrasted with the white brick buildings it was wedged in between. “How did you know?” Jack said walking up to it. “The sign says restaurant am I right?” she said pointing out the sign. “...Oh, right… Duh” he said walking through the doorway, pushing aside some drapes hanging as decoration “Hello?” The restaurant looked very old fashioned, from the cedar wood flooring, to the sliding paper doors, to the kitchen implements behind the counter and even the short tables with cushions to sit on. “This is different” Twilight looked with intrigue at the unfamiliar setting “Not a lot of people here...” “That's because it's Monday” Jack stated before sighing “It’s good to be back” he said with a smile on his face “Hey! Is anyone here?” “Coming!” walking through a curtain leading to the main kitchen was an orange cat, she wore a green apron and she looked like she was using a lot of lipstick “Hello Jack, it’s nice to see you again” she said with a bow. “Two hot bowls of ramen Kaitlin and make em snappy!” Jack ordered as he took a seat at the bar. “Jack! Where are you manners? Be more polite!” Twilight scolded at him. Jack rolled his eyes “Jeez sorry…” “It’s alright miss” Kaitlin said with a soft voice “Jack is always well mannered whenever he visits our restaurant." This made Twilight lift an eyebrow “Jack? Well mannered?” “Yep” Jack said with a smirk before belching. “So where’s Katie at?” “Gross…” Twilight remarked. “I sent Katie out to buy some fresh crabs…” Kaitlin said walking towards the window; she hasn't come back yet… I’m worried sick…” “….” Jack looked at her “How long has she been gone?” he said getting off his seat, which caught Twilight’s attention. “I sent her out this morning…” Kaitlin whispered with a sniffle. “That’s long enough” Jack scowled as he went for the door “Come on Twilight, were heading out!” “We're leaving already?” Twilight got up surprised as ever “What about the Ramen?” she walked to him still confused from his sudden decision “The ramen can wait, there’s a lost kitten out there in the big city!” Kaitlin looked up to Jack “Are you going out to find her?” she asked with a hope filled look. Jack stopped at the doorway as he looked back “Your damn right I’m going out to find her!” he said with a pump of his fist. Twilight's eyes widened before she gave a smile “Right! And I’m joining him!” she stood next to him mimicking his heroic pose. “Really!? Thank you, thank you both very much!” Kaitlin bowed her head repeatedly in gratitude. “Off we go!” Jack rushed out the door, Twilight followed suit. “Alright, here’s our plan of action!” Jack said as he unfolded a map of the city. “Here we are at Tortimer Ave with 22nd street, the closest seafood market is five blocks east from here” Twilight nodded “Got it, so we start searching there? then what?” “We continue to search around a ten block radius, since Katie always gets easily distracted she’s probably at a nearby comic book store” “How do you know that?” Twilight said quizzically. Jack gently pulled Twilight closer “Believe it or not this isn't the first time I've looked for the same lost kitten” he whispered. “Really? does she get lost often?” she whispered back. “Yeah... and her mom never really notices she’s gone until she’s out of the kitchen, that restaurant really keeps her busy, even when it comes to taking care of her own kitten...” “Wow, that must be really tough on her...” Twilight frowned at the thought “In that case we must not delay our search! who knows what kind of dangers lurk in this city!” Jack nodded “Well said, now lets hightail it!” “Come on Alfonso! you're as slow as a rock!” Rosie called as she turned behind her. “Ughhh... I'm... coming...” Alfonso groaned as he carried a tower of boxes in his arms, and at least ten different bags hung on each arm as well. “Are all those clothes weighing you down?” Rosie tilted her head as she looked at him. “Yes.... very much....” Alfonso muttered. “Tee-hee!~” Rosie giggled “this shouldn't bother you, you're a big strong gator, this should be easy for you” she smiled as she kept walking. “.......spine... about to snap... in two.... someone... please..... help” Alfonso whimpered. “Here we are, the seafood market!” Twilight said as she and Jack slowed their pacing through the city streets, at this time there were not many people roaming the market. “Alright, lets start asking the merchants here” Jack said walking up to the first vendor. “Excuse me, have you seen a kitten around here? orange, about this high?” Jack held a hand up to his arm describing her height. “Oh yeah! saw her this morning I did, I think I saw her head down Rodway” “Fudge, well that figures...” Jack deadpanned. “Is that bad?” Twilight tilted her head. “For us who are searching for her it is, Rodway is the longest stretching street in this city, and where the most shops are located too” “That is bad...” she rubbed her chin. “You're darn tootin it's bad, It would take us forever to look through each store there just to find her!” Jack crossed his arms. “Unless...” Twilight looked up at her bow. “Unless?” Jack looked at her. “There’s this tracing spell I could use to track her” “Negatory!” Jack snapped “we don't want to draw any attention remember? and I don't want you to strain your busted horn” he huffed. “I understand that very well Jack, but you're doing so much by looking for this lost kitten, I just have to help you!” Twilight pleaded while pulling on his arm “It's the least I can do for all you've done for me, I don't even feel sick either if that's what your thinking... Pleeeeeeeease~” she begged, looking up at him with big beady eyes. “.....Grah... fine! but we need to go to a less crowded area and let go of my arm!” “Oh right, personal space...” Twilight nodded 'Yes! thank you Applebloom!' After moving onto Rodway street they turned into a dark alleyway, Twilight undid her bow revealing her wrapped up horn. “You sure you want to go on with this? the damn thing could explode for all we know” Jack said while keeping watch for any possible bystanders. “Highly implausible, unless I were trying to force a spell that could lift a mountain, I managed to lift a broom yesterday so this spell is a piece of cake” Twilight said confidently as her horn began to glow, she winced as the crack on her horn began to spark. “Twilight, I said you didn't have to do this already!” Jack looked at her with concern in his eyes. “Its alright Jack, I can handle it!” she said as she pushed further, her horn’s glow began to intensify to a bright light “By the way, I need to hold your hand for this spell” “What!?” Jack exclaimed “The spell won't work unless I have memory’s of what she looks, talks and smells like” Twilight explained while holding out her hand “Hurry, I can't hold this spell for long!” “Why didn't you tell me before?” Jack scowled at her. “Would you have said yes to begin with?” Twilight asked. Jack grumbled "Good point..." forcing himself he took Twilight’s hand, by doing so a blinding flash of light bursted from her horn. “Caramba coño! my eyes!” Jack shouted as he covered his eyes. “Jack! it's working!” “Huh?” slowly opening his eyes everything around him was covered in a violet veil, a blue line began to glow on the pavement in a straight line before turning to the left. “Woah...” Jack’s mouth gaped slightly as he walked out of the alleyway. “Look over there!” the blue line angled to the right toward a store visible about three blocks away. “Hey! That's a gamechamp store, those are my favorite stores!” Jack exclaimed. Not two seconds after pinpointing the location the blue line and the violet veil began to fade. “Ohh...” Twilight, nearly fainting propped herself against the wall. “You gonna be okay?” Jack looked back at her. “I’ll be fine... just a little light headed...” she chuckled. Jack, giving a thumbs up of approval went and handed Twilight her bow, soon after they walked out of the alleyway and toward the store. “Alright Twilight we do this quick without any surprises” he said while opening the door. “Kya!” Jack had the pants knocked nearly out of him as an orange kitten tackle hugged him “Onii-chaaan!” Jack groaned annoyed as the kitten happily squeezed him around his stomach “Katie, how many times have I told you not to call me that!” “Awww, don't be so mean Onii-chan! I've been waiting so long for you to come back and play with me!” Katie looked up at him with a smile. “Mew!” “D’aaaawww!” Twilight’s eyes glazed over at the sight “That's so cute!” “Quiet you!” Jack snapped at her, Katie looked at Twilight and back at him. “Hey, Onii-chan! who is that? aren't you going to introduce me?” Katie tilted her head. “There’s no need for that-” Jack grouched before Twilight cut in. “Hi there! nice to meet you little one, my name is Twilight!” she introduced herself with a friendly smile. “Hello Twilight! I'm Katie!” Katie went and hugged Twilight. “Yes alright you got yourselves introduced... now can we get you back home already? Your mother is worried sick” Jack grumbled. “....D’oh!” Katie slapped her forehead “I completely forgot that I had to go back to the restaurant! I got the crabs though!” she said pointing to a large green bag next to an arcade machine, the bag was teeming with the live crab inside. “Good” Jack went over, grabbed the bag and hung it over his shoulder. “Thanks Onii-chan” Katie smiled, hugging his arm “Mew!~” Jack choked for a moment ‘Must... maintain... manliness... against... cuteness... FUDGE!’ he bided in his mind as he began to walk. “Hey Jack, what does ‘Onii-chan’ mean?” Twilight whispered as she walked next to him. “Big brother...” Jack mumbled embarrassingly “....” Jack then noticed that Twilight was smiling from end to end. “What's with the face???” Jack whispered with gritted teeth, an angry vein popping on his forehead “Is Onii-chan Jack taking little Katie out for a stroll?” Twilight teased with a big grin on her face. “WHY YOU-” Jack quickly stopped himself from screaming in front of Katie as she yanked on his arm. “Come on Onii-chan! we need to hurry!” Katie shouted as she made Jack run after her. “Yeah Jack, come on” Twilight followed with a smile. “Hello there Alfonso, it's nice to see you again” Kaitlin bowed as Alfonso and Rosie walked into the restaurant. “Hi there!~ Is this the ramen restaurant Alfonso and Jack have told me about?~” Rosie asked excitedly. “Yes it is” Kaitlin said with a smile “Would you care to take a seat? I will take your orders as soon as my daughter comes back” “Okie dokie!” Rosie then walked over to Alfonso, who was putting down all of her bought clothes. “Awww that feels so much better!” Alfonso stretched out, making his spine crack. “This place is pretty barren Alfonso, are you sure this ramen is as good as you say it is?” Rosie tilted her head. “Of course it's good, it's only empty here because it's Monday” “Ohhh, that makes sense!~” They went and took their seats at a table next to the window, after waiting a few minutes Katie came walking through the doorway, still pulling on Jack’s arm. “Mom, I’m back! and I brought Onii-chan with me!” Katie hollered “Katie!” Kaitlin rushed to hug her child “I was so worried about you!” “Mom! I was only gone for a few, you're embarrassing me in front of Onii-chan!” Meanwhile Twilight and Jack stood back as they watched mother and daughter reunited, Alfonso and Rosie both greeted them after witnessing the touching moment themselves. “Jack, that was so nice of you!~” Rosie chimed “Yeah! I couldn't have done anything nicer than that myself” Alfonso added. “Meh... it is nice and all, but I shouldn't be the one to take the credit” Jack waved his hand dismissively. “Hm? what do you mean?” Rosie tilted her head. “Twilight’s the one who deserves the praise here” he pointed at her with his thumb “If it weren't for her I would have been searching for Katie all day” Twilight smiled at him. “Thank you Miss Twilight, I am in your dept...” Kaitlin bowed her head as she still held Katie in her arms. “Oh... it was nothing really...” Twilight tugged down on her t-shirt while her cheeks blushed from the flattery, suddenly everyone in the room turned their heads to Jack as they heard his stomach rumbling. “What? I haven't eaten all day!” Jack scowled, the others began to laugh at Jack’s expression. “Onii-chan looks so funny when he’s mad~” Katie hugged him around the waist after her mother let go. “Grrrr....” he grumbled. “Ahh... well this has been a good Monday indeed” Kaitlin smiled “How does a nice hot bowl of ramen sound? It's on the house!” “YES!” “Woo-hoo!” “Yes please!” “Its about damn time!” The bus engines revved up as Jack and Twilight climbed on the bus back home, Rosie and Alfonso took their seats all the way in the back next to the pile of clothes Rosie had purchased today. "How many bells do you think she spent on all that?" Twilight whispered. "Not much i'm guessing, if anyone can haggle a good price its Rosie, I once heard that she even gets good prices at Gracie Grace, no one gets good prices at Gracie Grace..." Jack whispered back. "Maybe you should take me there next time" Twilight giggled. "Yeah, just maybe" "Yarg, we be shovin off for Smashville town, all aboard!" Kapp'n stated before closing the bus doors After a few minutes of traveling Twilight looked over at Jack, who had his eyes glued to the window the same way he did on the way to the city. "Something on your mind?" Twilight asked "Your not still thinking of ramen are you?" "No, I already had like 5 bowls today..." Jack answered. "Then what is it?" she swayed her head. "Its just..." he paused for a moment "I've been thinking..." "That sounds dangerous" she giggled. "I'm serious Twilight..... wow, De-ja-vu..." Jack blinked. "Is it perhaps... about how I'm going to get home...?" Twilight asked. "No..." Jack lied. "Then what is it?" Twilight tilted her head. "Um... Cake! Yeah we need cake, chocolate cake" "Hmmm... cake does sound good right now..." Twilight rubbed her chin. "Yeah, we'll swing by Nook's later" "Okay!" Twilight smiled "Great then..." Jack smiled back 'That was close' he thought slowly turning to the window again 'What am I gonna do to get you home?...' “Thanks for the trip Jack, I had a lot of fun with kitten searching and noodle slurping...” Twilight said as she got off the bus with Jack. “Its no problem, least I could do after you invaded my privacy” Jack said with a snicker. “I said I was sorry Jack...” Twilight slumped her head. “I was just kidding! forget about that already” he waved his hand with a smile “Alright...’’ she said with a nod “Um... Maybe when we get home I could show you my briefcase?” “Oh! right, I forgot to ask you what was in there” Jack said as they soon arrived at his house, they went inside and up into the guest meeting room. “I’ll get the briefcase” Twilight said walking up to her room. Jack nodded as he waited, Twilight came back down with the case in her hands. “So lets see it” Jack crossed his arms. Twilight shuffled nervously in place for a moment “Um.. Jack? can I do something before I open the briefcase? It was something I was planning to do before leaving Equestria’’ Jack tilted his head ‘’Eh? Sure I guess’’ ‘’Great! You might want to sit down’’ ‘’Okay?’’ Jack did as instructed, sitting on his sofa, Twilight placed the case down next to her. She smiled before clearing her throat ‘’Ehehem... Greetings and Salutations foreign life form! , I am Twilight Sparkle, apprentice of Princess Celestia and guardian of the Element of Magic’’ Jack raised an eyebrow as Twilight continued. ‘’I come from a far off land of Equestria, a land where friendship is magic and everything is filled with untold beauty, from the wild life, to the ponies that inhabit it’’ she went on as she unbuckled the briefcase ‘’What I will show you now is a Map showing the almost entirety of Equestria’’ she said before pulling out a small telescopic chart stand. Jack began to show interest as Twilight unfurled the map and clipped it onto the stand. ‘’As you can see there are many locations named here on the map, I must apologize for the reason that this is only a older version of the map and it does not show locations such as the Crystal kingdom, which I will go more into as this presentation goes on’’ Jack nodded while crossing his legs as Twilight went on, pulling out sheet after sheet of paper with brief facts about Equestria’s inhabitants, locations and climate, different animals and creatures Jack had always thought to be mythological but exist in that world, Equestrian technology and architecture and most importantly some of the adventures Twilight herself had gone through with her friends. ‘’and finally, to conclude this presentation allow me to give you a gift, as your inter dimensional pen pal’’ Twilight smiled as she placed a large book into Jack’s hands. ‘’Wow, thanks... what is it a spellbook?’’ Jack said while skimming through the pages. ‘’No Jack, it’s a book on the brief history of Equestria’’ ‘’Ahh...’’ Jack said in fascination as he held the book up, watching as the gold unicorn on the front cover glimmered with the sun. ‘’So... what did you think of my presentation?’’ Twilight asked tugging down slightly on her T-shirt. ‘’Amazi- I mean... yeah... very interesting...’’ he stated with a nod. ‘’Thanks Jack! i'm just glad I could do all of it even though I can't use my magic...’’ she said while looking at her hands. ‘’Any questions?’’ ‘’Yes! Um... what do your friends look like?’’ he asked with a tilt of his head. Twilight looked surprised for a moment before slapping her forehead ‘’Oh no! I forgot to take pictures before leaving! I knew I was forgetting something...’’ ‘’Wait, you have flash photography in your world? I thought you said you didn't have electricity’’ ‘’Well, we don't...’’ ‘’That doesn't make any sense’’ Jack deadpanned ‘’So far I heard you have quill and parchments, hourglasses, and only use candlelight’s at night.’’ Jack said reaching over and snatching a sheet of paper. ‘’Hold on... Microphones? Cast Iron Radiators? Hazmat suits? and even Reel to Reel Projectors? That still doesn't make sense!’’ Jack exclaimed as he kept reading it over. ‘’Hey, I don't question why Lloyd can talk or how you can seem to fit anything in your pockets, so don't think too hard about it...’’ Twilight said taking the paper back from Jack. ‘’But I can't help it!’’ Jack held his head ‘’Jeez... alright I’ll try not to delve into it too much or else my brain might hurt...’’ Twilight giggled ‘’Again, sorry I can't show you what we really look like, I was in such a hurry to come here I only grabbed small bits of information to show to you... I even intended to show the entire town as well...’’ ‘’Not a good Idea... they would still freak out if they found out you were a Unicorn’’ ‘’Yeah, I guess you're right’’ Twilight said admittedly. “Speaking of which... how’s your horn?” “Its fine I guess, my head stopped hurting now that my fever’s gone’’ “Hah! I knew it would work! bringing your briefcase back would snap you out of your homesickness’’ Jack said slapping his knee. “Don't be silly Jack” Twilight giggled “I was under an alien sickness, Homesickness has no kind of effect on the body like any other common diseases, though I still appreciate you bringing it back...” "It was a cold..." Jack deadpanned. "Oh... really? that's embarrassing..." Twilight scratched her head. "I just thought of another question...” Jack said, Twilight looked at him attentively. “Don't you think your friends have noticed you've been gone on this little expedition of yours a little too long?” Twilight then rubbed her arm awkwardly. "They do know your here right?" Jack crossed his arms. “Um... actually... they don't.... they just think I was just off on vacation...” “....What?” Jack blinked trying to comprehend what Twilight’s thought process was behind all this. Twilight sighed “Yes I know its dumb when you think about it..." she pinched the space between her eyes "Of course its dumb! did you even think ahead of the risks before coming here!?" Jack scolded. "Yes Jack... I understood the risks very well..." Twilight said, turning away from him. "Then why in flying fudge did you decide to go through all this trouble?" Jack questioned again with a twitch in his eye. Twilight paused for a moment, thinking it over she then nodded "Alright Jack... since I got you involved in all this... you deserve to know why I came here in the first place...” she said before sitting down on the couch across from him, Jack kept his arms crossed. “You see... when I said you're kind was part of my research, I wasn't making it up... in fact no pony has ever seen your kind before In Equestria, yet tails of your species were told in story books for foals” “The stories in the books tell at of a highly intelligent race of beings that were capable of using the surrounding elements of nature to build entire civilizations of stone and metal, but of course everypony dismissed them as just creatures of story and myth... but not me...” Jack narrowed his eyes, he began to feel a certain tension as she went on. “Since I was a young filly I was fascinated with the story’s of your kind, and when Princess Celestia herself appointed me as her apprentice... it gave me free range of the Canterlot archives, where I found ancient scrolls that dated farther back than Pony history could recall and it was then that I really began my investigation, during my spare time of course." “And then you made this spell to see if you could find Humans in other realms?” Jack asked. “Not exactly... after a couple years of investigating and putting the pieces together I was just about to give up... until I came across this...” Twilight said before reaching into her briefcase again, she showed Jack a sheet of paper with old looking text, a drawing in the center resembled the sphere that Jack shot at when Twilight first arrived. “I was confused to what this spell would do at first... so I scaled it down from a traveling spell to a simple opening spell, you know like reaching through a pipeline to grab an object, except this pipeline stretched as far as other universes and with this I began pulling objects from other places... simple things like fruit’s... until I came across something I theorized would lead me to sentient life beyond Equestria” Twilight said before reaching into her briefcase again, Jack watched at the edge of his seat. She pulled out a simple ordinary letter “This letter, signed to this address, under the name Gemheart... does this ring a bell to you?” Jack blinked “...Unfortunately yes...” he rolled his eyes “Gemheart... is my last name” Twilight blinked “I didn't know your last name was Gemheart” “Yeah-yeah say what you like, it's not my fault I have a stupid last name!” Jack snapped at her, snatching the letter out of her hands. “Actually... I think it's a nice last name...” Twilight said sheepishly “Hmph...” he huffed tearing open the letter “So let me get this straight, through all of your investigations you came across this letter which so happens to be from my mail, so you sent your own letter through the same pipeline?” “To summarize it yes...” “So what were you planning on doing after getting back? report your discovery's to your world?” “Technically no... this was a top secret experiment after all, not even the Princess knows about it...” Twilight said laying her ears flat. “Smooth” Jack snickered, pulling out the letter inside “Yatta-yatta-yatta, Nook point system, bla-bla-bla, Wario hat... Wario hat?” “What’s the letter say Jack?” “Hey! it's the Wario hat I got from the Nook point system!” he reached into the envelope and pulled out a large yellow hat, fitting it onto his head it showed a blue ‘W’ emblem “Cool!” Twilight blinked before smiling “Well, at least you got that back...” she said plodding over to the couch, sitting down next to Jack “I’ve discovered so much while I was here... and now I can't go back to share it with anyone...” “.....” Jack’s eyes shuffled left and right in thought, he got up and began to pace around the room. “Jack?” Twilight watched. “What’s on your mind?” “....Your punishment...” he answered, pacing all around the room. “I thought you told me to forget about it” "I did... but I'm not going to stand around anymore!” he finally came to a stop and looked at her “Stand around?” Twilight tilted her head "Jack, what do you mean?" Jack stood and pointed his finger at her. “Twilight... You're going to teach me magic!”