With a single strike of his ax, Jack chopped the log of wood clean in two. He kicked the now split pieces of log into the pile he had made, before he let out a small sigh. A few more pieces and he would be done, finally able to go in from the cold. A shiver passed through Jack as he glanced around Sweet Apple Acres, amazed at how different it looked under two feet of snow.
A biting wind blew through the farm and snapped Jack back to his job. He grabbed another log and took careful aim at it, before splitting it like it’s brethren in a single strike. He had no time to delay. The other members of the Apple family had already completed their jobs for the day and were inside warming up. Jack had taken a little longer to complete his, mostly because he had wanted to take his time and enjoy life, as Aku was finally gone.
But with the sun setting and the wind starting to pick up, Jack stepped up his pace a bit. The thought of a warm fire and an equally warm Applejack fueled him on, allowing him to ignore the biting cold as he chopped log after log. He fell into a rhythm, striking again and again without thought, until finally there were no more logs for him to split. He stacked the wood onto the piles before finishing his task by driving the head of the ax into a stump. With that done, the shivering samurai turned for home.
“Need a little something to warm ya up?” Applejack asked. Jacks eyes widened at her appearance, as he hadn’t heard her approach, Yet the sight of his wife sent a wave of warmth through his body. She was wearing her winter attire, complete with a red scarf and a red, puffy vest that was designed to keep heat in. An outfit Rarity had called ugly, yet Jack found that when his wife wore it, it looked amazing. His eyes were drawn immediately to her smiling face, before he spied the hot chocolate in her hooves. That’s when he felt himself fall for her all over again.
“Yes, thank you,” Jack answered with a small bow. He received the cup and drank it rapidly, not caring about how the heat burned his throat and mouth. He had felt worse. When his drink was finished, he sighed in content and smiled at Applejack, who had raised both her eyebrows at his display.
“Ya know that we usually let that cool a bit before we chug it?” AJ asked. Jack smiled in reply and Applejack rolled her eyes, but smiled as well. The two headed back to their home, with Applejack pressing her body up against Jack to warm him up. He drank in her presence and pushed himself closer to her, the two enjoying each other as they walked home. The stars shone in the cold sky overhead, the snow crunched softly under their hooves and there was a sense of peace and calm that Jack hadn’t felt since…he was a child.
“I see that Applebloom is excited about something,” Jack noted, able to see AB’s silhouette bouncing around past the windows.
“She just wants to hear the next part of yer adventure,” Applejack shrugged. “All of em done. Yer tales about yer world, the battles ya fought and the people ya helped are the highlights of their day sometimes. Not to mention ah’m looking forward to it as well. Ah need to know what happens to the princess and prince after Aku got ahold of them.”
“Well, that is easy. The pair of them were brought back to Aku’s tower…”
“Nope! No no no! No spoilers! Big Mac would kill me if I heard the story before him,” Applejack cut him off. Jack chuckled slightly at her and she gently elbowed him in the side. “Oh yeah, Big Mac was wondering if we would like to go on a double date with him and his marefriend. There’s this expo about dolls and figures he wants to take her to, but is too nervous to go with just her. He’s wondering if we would want to come along and back him up.”
“Do you wish to go?”
“Sure. Sounds like fun. Ah get to spend more time with ya and we get to watch Big Mac try to impress his marefriend over his doll obsession. What could go wrong?” AJ said with a smirk.
“Going to watch your brother squirm. I see now why you are not the Ambassador of kindness,” Jack teased in reply. “But I would like to go as well. I have not had the chance to meet Big Mac’s marefriend yet and this will be a good opportunity to do so.”
“She’s great. Kind, smart and funny. You’ll like her,” AJ said, before bumping closer to Jack, resting her head on his shoulder and looking up at him. “Of course, not as much as ya like me, right?”
“Do not worry. There is no pony or person that will or can replace you as my number one,” Jack replied, kissing her on the forehead. AJ giggled in response. The door to the house was kicked open with a bang, causing both Applejack and Jack to jump.
“What is taking you two so long?!” Applebloom roared at the both of them. “You can be all lovey dovey later! Ah want to hear how it ends!” Jack and AJ shared a smile with each other before they headed inside.
Applebloom raced ahead of them and plopped down on the couch next to her brother, the both of them giving Jack the same impatient look. Granny smith sat on her rocking chair, flashing Jack a happy smile when he walked in with Applejack. He smiled back, glad to have brought some joy to the old mare, even if it was unintentional. Ever since he and Applejack had revealed their relationship to her family, Granny Smith seemed to smile more. Perhaps seeing her granddaughter so happy made her happy. It was just a guess. He never felt the need to ask.
Applejack sat down on a seat, prompting Winnoa to jump into her lap, and Jack walked up infront of the four, taking a moment to gaze upon them with a soft smile on his face. They were all his family now. They had accepted him, welcomed him and even allowed him to be a part of them. And in doing so they had brought him a greater happiness than he ever believed he would have. It was a debt that he would never be able to repay. But still, he would try.
Jack continued his story where he had left off, with the prince and princess captured and being interrogated by Aku. He told the Apples of how he infiltrated the tower, hoping to finally get his chance to slay the demon. Yet when he saw that Aku had condemned the pair to be slaves, he followed after them instead, sacrificing his chance at the demon so that he could save them. Something he had done many times.
Give up his chance to get back to save others. The story of his life in the future. No matter where he went or who he fought, there were always those in need of saving. And it would always come at Jacks expense. Sometimes, on his blackest days, he would wonder if he had made the right choice. That if he let someone die to go back to the past, the future would be changed and the person who died would most likely never exist in the first place. Which was right? A question he had wrestled with many times.
Yet as he got to the part where he freed the two from their chains, he glanced over at Applejack to see her beaming up at him with pride and love in her eyes. That was all he needed to know that he had made the right choice. Everytime.
His story continued on. From returning the pair to their crashed ship, to the armor of death beetles Aku had sent after them, Jack told it all with vivid detail and suspense on every word. Despite how long ago it was, he was able to recall each moment, each block and strike, with crystal clear detail. He wondered why?
When he reached the part where he was being shredded by the numbers of the beetles, he added a bit more despair to the tale, making it seem like he wouldn’t make it out alive. Applejack smirked at him, knowing what he was trying to do, but the other Apples were hooked on his every word. They winced at each, they held their breath at each near death experience and when he prince and princesses finally burst forth from their ship to aid Jack, the three of them cheered.
“…and then they headed out to the stars, and I continued my search for a way to defeat Aku,” Jack finished, bowing as he did so. The Apples all applauded for his story, until Granny told them it was getting late and it was time for bed. Applebloom hopped off the couch and raced past Jack, thanking him for his tale, while Big Mac just nodded as he walked by. While the stallion helped granny out of her chair, AJ nudged Jack with her shoulder. She motioned for him to join her and the pair walked up the stairs together.
“Sometimes ah hate listening to yer stories,” Applejack whispered. “To have to hear about all that pain and suffering ya went through by yerself…it hurts me. Ah know it all worked out in the end and Aku’s finally been beaten, but still…”
“There is no need to be so upset, my dear,” Jack comforted her. “True, there is a great deal of pain and suffering in my tales, but we both know of this story of pain ends. It ends with Aku beaten and us married. And if this ending was only to be achieved my all the suffering I had to endure, then I would endure it a thousand times over just to see you smile once more. You are worth every moment of suffer and pain I endured. You are worth even more.”
“Ah told ya Jack, yer romantic speeches like that don’t work on me,” Applejack said, but Jack noticed her wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. Applejack and Jack headed into their room…their room…Jack still had trouble believing those words were true. Applejack took off her hat, coat and scarf and draped them all over the back of a chair, before shivering slightly at a chill.
“Whoo, seems like there’s a cold draft in here. We’re gonna have to look fer that crack tomorrow,” AJ noted. “Also, ah’ll be heading to Twilights castle to make sure that there’s no friendship problems in the land that need mah help. Then there’s the trees on the south end of the farm that have gone missing…looks like it’s gonna be another busy day tomorrow. Anything important ya like to add?”
“You are wonderful,” Jack said. Applejack’s eyes widened at him before her cheeks went crimson and she looked everywhere except where Jack was.
“W-what are ya going on about? Ah asked if there was anything important that ya needed to say, not something like that.”
“It is important. It is true. And you need to hear it more often,” Jack replied. Applejack stammered out something he could understand before she started to tinker with something at her desk. Jack smiled at her before he took off his kimono and folded it up, placing it on a small night table. He then placed his sword atop the kimono, always wishing for it to be nearby. Just to be safe.
Jack crawled into bed and draped the covers over himself, shivering for a second in the cold before calming himself down. After a few minutes AJ joined him in bed, clicking off the lamp and leaving the both of them in darkness.
“Whoo, it’s cold in here. Jack, let me use yer warmth.”
Jack smiled slightly as AJ pulled herself close to Jack, tucking herself into his arms before she gently placed her head into his chest. She did this often. Said it was too cold. Or that she was going to fall out of bed. Some excuse for them to spend the night close together. Jack didn’t know why she needed to make an excuse. He wanted to spend every night like this. With his orange mare who often got flustered or embarrassed because of him held close in his arms, free of thoughts about his duty or Aku. This was his life now. She was his life now. And his life was perfect.
And as Jack closed his eyes and allowed the darkness to take him, he found himself dreaming. Not of Aku and his kingdom burning to the ground. For the first time in the longest of times, he found the demon gone from his dreams. Instead he dreamed of teaching a class of foals, about training the Royal Guard on fighting and word techniques. And about an orange mare who snored in her sleep, despite her insistence that she didn’t. Jack dreamt about his life. And he was happy.