“And so I’ve found that using aerial bombardment followed by corralling them into a canyon or a ravine is the best way to deal with swamp pythons,” Jack said. Heavy Metal nodded and finished taking down notes, before looking at his great grandfather.
“It is incredible all the creatures you have had to battle over the years. I’ve already have two books worth of material and yet you still have more stories to tell,” Heavy Metal said, before waving his notebook. “But with all of this information I can now defend Equestria and Princess Twilight far better than before. With your permission, I would love to share this information with all of the guards.”
“By all means. This information is meant to be shared. It will help to ensure that you will be able to defend Equestria, with or without me. I want to make sure you will be ready.”
“Jack, what are you saying? Your talking like you’re going to die soon,” Heavy Metal said. “And since you can’t die to age, illness or poison, that would mean you…”
“Calm yourself, I am not planning on taking my own life. Nor do I plan on falling in combat. I…may be going away for a while. For how long, I do not know. But there are many things I left unfinished and friends I have not seen in a long time. I wish to complete these tasks and meet with them…” Jack replied.
“Alright, I trust you Jack. After all you’ve done for our family and Equestria, I guess you’ve earned a little time off. And I am honored that you would trust me to defend our home in your absences. I have to admit, it was a little hard being in your shadow for most of my life.”
“I am sorry if you ever felt you needed to compare to me. You are a fine soldier and an even greater stallion. Do not compare yourself to me. Carve your own destiny, just as I did,” Jack said. Heavy Metal nodded and the two resumed gazing out over Equestria from a balcony in Canterlot. They looked on in silence for a while, before Heavy Metal cleared his throat.
“And great-grandfather…if you would not mind…would you mind telling me more about your home and my great grandmare? I…would like to hear more about them both.”
“Of course. Now what story to tell. Ah, how about the time I was turned into a rooster?”
========
With one last blast of violet magic, Twilight’s work was complete. She raised her goggles and looked down upon the sword she had been working on, smiling with satisfaction. She then waved over Jack and motioned for him to look at the new sword, which he did so with interest.
It was in the same shape as a katana, but this sword had a violet colored blade and a white hilt and guard, reflecting its nature of having being crafted by an alicorn. Jack grabbed hold of the sword and lifted it, able to feel it’s magical and divine might running through. Once again, Twilight had pulled off a miracle for something he had asked.
“Everything about that blade should mirror the one you used to wield, from the weight and length to the grip and edge. It is almost a perfect copy, expect this one should have far more power as I’ve added my own magic on top of Celestia, Luna and the new Elements of Harmony,” Twilight explained. “They were all ecstatic to be able to help make you a new sword.”
“I see. Let them know how grateful I am for their aid in making this blade,” Jack replied. He gave the sword a few test swings, before nodding with satisfaction. He sheathed the sword and then bowed to Twilight. “Thank you again for doing this. It will make the upcoming tasks much easier.”
“Jack, what are these tasks, if you don’t mind me asking?” Twilight inquired.
“They are nothing to concern yourself over. They are simply tasks that I never thought I would ever be able to do, but now, as an immortal who is alone, I find I have all the time in the world to do them. Might as well get started,” Jack replied.
“Okay, if you say so…Jack, I just want to let you know that you’re not alone, even if you think you are. You’ve got me, Spike, the former princesses, your family…plenty of other ponies who all care about you. So what if you’re a hundred and fifty? You’re still one of Equestria’s greatest heroes and one of my closest friends.”
“Thank you, Twilight. It means much to hear you say that,” Jack whispered with a smile. “But do not worry. We will meet again. It is only a matter of when.”
===========
“…And then the tower collapsed in upon itself and formed into some kinda black hole, sucking in everything around it fer miles like mah mother at a haggis eating contest! And just like that contest, there were no survivors! Had ah not jumped in and destroyed the orb with mah sword, the whole world might have been devoured…just like me poor pa.”
“Wow, that is quite a tale,” Jack said, looking over at the ghostly form of the Scotsman, who was looking down from his castle balcony over the land. “And so you perished in the blast? Well, take comfort in knowing that your last act was one of heroism.”
“Perished in the blast?! HA! Glad to see that ya haven’t lost yer sense of humor over these past hundred years!” the great Scotsman laughed. “Please, if ya think something as petite as a cosmic rending event would be enough to keep me down, yer dafter than Aku was! Ah walked out of that explosion with mah pride and most of mah body intact. Ah did lose the other leg, so ah put a shotgun there instead!”
“I see. Then how did you pass away?”
“Expired haggis! Apparently one of me great grandbabies forgot to put it in the icebox the night before and left it sitting out. Ah was the first one to find it and when ah took a bite, it killed me dead! Let me tell you, it’s quite a shock to wake up and die! Ah, but ah can’t be mad at the wee lad. Ah remember ah killed me grandpappy by putting poison in his drink instead of his grog and ah killed him dead on the spot! No great loss, he was well into his nineties, but still, that was an embarrassing day.”
“Death comes in all sorts of forms, I suppose. But how does your spirit stay in this realm? Why does it not move on into the next?”
“ANCIENT RUNES!”
“Of course. Well, aside from your untimely demise, I am glad to see you again, old friend,” Jack said as he clasped his hands together. Hands. How long had it been since he last seen his hands? Or any of his human body. It had taken him days to get accustom to it again. But he remembered quickly. Or perhaps he had never forgotten.
“What’s the matter? The immortal life not being kind to ya? Ya don’t like living forever, able to watch as your enemies grow old and die, cursing yer name because they know that ya won’t be following them? You need more enemies then! There is no greater sound then hearing them curse ya with their dying breath! Ah swear it added a few extra years to mah…ghostly life!”
“Perhaps. I simply…miss my wife, is all.”
“Ah. Ah feel ya there. Ah remember how heartbroken ah was when me own bonny lass passed into that great beyond! To know ah’ll never feel her bone crushing hugs or hear her majestic voice that killed every cat in a five mile radius dead…it makes me want to off mahself just so ah can be with her again. Except ah’m already dead, so ah don’t know how that would work.”
“I understand. Far more than you realize.”
“But at least ah can take comfort in knowing that she died happy, going out as she would want. Screaming, bloody, and fighting everything in her sight! Ya should have seen the battle! She took on an entire invading alien army all by her wee self! Everyone thought just because my wife was so dainty and sweet that she was no threat, but when she leapt into the atmosphere to tear down that battle cruiser, they all learned that ya don’t mess with the dainty ones! Ah fell in love with her all over again after watching that.”
“That does sound like something she we do.”
“Aye. Perhaps one day ah’ll move on and be with her again, but there’s still a bit more to be done down here. All mah daughters are gone and living their own lives, but ah’ve still got the daughters of Aku to look after. Turns out due to the magic used to make them they age incredibly slowly! Some of them barely look any older than when ah first found them! Aku really wanted ya dead!”
“He is…was a persistent one. I will allow him that,” Jack replied.
“Excuse me. Samurai Jack?”
Both Jack and the Scotsman turned to see they were no longer alone. A young lady was standing on the balcony with them. She wore similar clothes to the rest of the Scotsmans daughters, plaid kilt with a white shirt and numerous swords and guns on her, but her face and hair were different. The hair especially drew Jack’s eyes, as it was black and went up straight on the back of her head. He felt like he should know her, though he wasn’t sure why.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
“If it’s not too much to ask, I was wondering if I could…spar with you,” she asked. “I mean, I don’t want to kill you or anything like that, but after being raised all of my life to be able to counter you in every way, and then add dad’s less than traditional teachings on top of that, I want to see just how good I am. If you would not mind.”
“Of course he wouldn’t! Jack here is the greatest fighter that this world has ever seen, second only to me! You should have seen the time he took down an evil wizard who had enslaved a continent using nothing but a rope and several glass jars! It was a sight to behold!”
“Yes, I will spar with you,” Jack agreed. He and the lady stood across from each other, each taking up a fighting stance. Jack smirked, as he was able to tell simply from her stance that she would be trouble. “Before we begin, may I trouble you for your name?”
“Oh, of course, Samurai Jack,” she said with a smile. “I am Ashi.”
==========
Applejack’s grave. How long had it been since he had last been here?
Despite a great deal of time having passed, Jack was happy to find that her tombstone and grave was still as clean and well managed as he had remembered it. One of his family? Or maybe Twilight? It mattered not.
“Hello, my beloved,” he said softly as he approached the grave, placing a bouquet of flowers on it. “I am so sorry that it has been so long since I came to visit. There are many things that need to be done and even an immortal doesn’t have as much time to do everything as he would like.”
The grave said nothing in reply.
“I know, I am making excuses. And I know what you would say. If you have time to make excuses, you have time to get the work done. And you are right. But the work is almost done. I’ve helped Heavy Metal be the greatest of guards, I’ve dispelled what little darkness remains in Equestria. I’ve helped the new Elements learn their greatest power. I checked on our old farm to see that it is bigger and better than ever…I’ve met and talked with all of my friends. I have gotten a lot done.”
A small breeze blew the scent of apples through the air.
“And now there is only one last task to complete. One last promise to fulfill before I can finally rest. But this will be the toughest one yet. Which is why I saved it for last. And why I came by to visit you first. To hope that you can understand my decision. Because once this task is done…”
“I will be with you once more.”