He was a hard being to track down.
Jack grunted as he pulled himself higher up the mountain side, trying to ignore the biting wind and the piercing cold. Neither of which could kill him, but they annoyed him all the same. He glanced down to see that he was so far above the clouds that they looked like balls of fluff from where he was. He had to be close.
For a moment he pondered if a fall from this height would kill him. Nothing else was able to, aside from combat, but even Aku’s curse wouldn’t be able to save him from a fall like that. Jack then shook his head with a smirk. Knowing his luck, the fall would decimate his body and leave him in a cast for the rest of his immortal life, preventing him from ever finding an opponent that was able to best him.
Which is what had brought him here. To this mountain top far beyond the borders of Equestria. He had been traveling for weeks across the world, trying to track down this mountain. Trying to track down that who lived upon it. For it was home to one of the greatest warriors in the land…and a being that Jack owed a promise to.
The summit was in sight, forcing Jack to redouble his efforts climbing. He pulled himself up with a renewed speed, leaping from hold to hold now that his goal was in sight. With one last heave, he leapt onto the mountain summit. Needing to regain his breath, he took a moment to observe his surroundings.
The summit was far larger than he had been expecting, nearly the size of one of the ponies hoofball fields. The land was flat and covered in permafrost, yet the air was somewhat warm due to being so close to the sun. No clouds moved overhead, as even they couldn’t make it up this far. But it was who lay in the center of the field that drew Jack’s eyes. The being he had come here to see.
For sleeping atop the summit was a massive, golden brown dragon. A dragon who Jack had battled a long time ago. Tundrous. The dragon of the earth. The dragon that Applejack had to save him from. Lifetimes ago.
“Tundrous,” Jack said. The dragon did nothing in response. He hadn’t heard. “TUNDROUS! I CHALLENGE YOU!”
This time Tundrous answered and his answer was him beginning to laugh, before he slowly lifted his massive head to look at who had spoken. “A challenge to me? Ha! You climb all the way to the tallest mountain in the world just to challenge me. Whoever you are, I haven’t met somepony as crazy as you since…”
Then Tundrous laid eyes on Jack and the laughter stop, but the smile remained. “…since a crazy pony by the name of Jack decided to challenge me all those years ago. Greetings, Samurai. It has been a long time.”
“Indeed it has, Tundrous. Lifetimes,” Jack agreed.
“I see that you are alone this time. No annoying princesses and no orange mare to save your life. With how she looked at you I’m surprised that she would let you go anywhere without her at your side.”
“She…has passed on. Nearly twenty-five years ago,” Jack whispered.
“Twenty-five years? Has it really been that long since I saw you last?” Tundrous asked with some confusion. “Yet you look exactly the same as the last time we fought. Surely at best it could not be more than a year or two?”
“It has been over seventy years since we last fought. It seems that neither of us are affected by the rivers of time,” Jack said with a bitter smile. Tundrous narrowed his eyes at Jack before he nodded with a frown.
“Yes, I see it now. There is something off about you, in a way that makes time avoid you at all cost. A curse, maybe? Or just the effects of being removed from your own time like you were. I cannot say. But I assume that this curse is what has brought you here to me.”
“Yes. If it is possible…can you remove this immortality from me? Make it so I age again?” Jack asked. “I know that you only grant wishes to those who defeat you…and I am ready to take that challenge.”
“First, you cannot beat me. Second…no, I cannot remove this from you,” Tundrous said with a shake of his head. “Sending you across worlds or through time is doable. Incredible difficult, but doable. But even sending you back to your own past would no undo this. If I had to guess I would say that there is only one way to undo this curse…and from your face, you already know what it is.”
“Yes…I believe I do,” Jack replied, before drawing forth his blade and taking up a fighting stance.
“Hmm, that is a new blade you have there. Not as strong as the old one, but far more magical in nature…Jack, you cannot best me. You must know this,” Tundrous said with a shake of his head. “If you had your old sword, there would be a chance. But I am immune to the ponies magic. And that blade is barely sharp enough to scratch my scales. You have no hope of victory.”
“Perhaps. But I also made you a promise. A promise that so long as I drew breath I would never give up. And it may have taken lifetimes for our match to resume, but my honor demands that I face you once more. And this time, I will best you.”
“…what would drive you to this, Samurai?” Tundrous asked him. “You have had plenty of time to come and face me, but you choose now. What had brought you to me?”
“…I will have to bury my daughter. And then one day, her son. And then his son. I will have to watch all of my family die,” Jack replied in a whisper. “I will be forced to live and watch as everything I love is taken from me by the hands of time. Yet I will live. I…I cannot carry that burden. I am not strong enough. But Applejack would not forgive me if I just allowed myself to die. So I am going to keep a promise. I am going to battle you. Win or lose. To the death.”
Tundrous didn’t say anything for a moment. He simply stared off at the horizon, not answering the samurai. Then he rose to his full height, stretching out his wings before he let loose a roar so powerful that the very mountain shook beneath him. And slowly, he turned to face Jack.
“Very well, Samurai. To the death.”
Tundrous was on him in an instant. A bellow filled with fire erupted from the dragon as he slashed down with his claws, tearing apart the spot where Jack had been standing. The rock was torn from the mountain face and cast down below, yet the samurai was not there. Tundrous looked up to see Jack above him, coming down with his blade aimed at the dragon’s eye.
Tundrous swatted at Jack with his claw and sent the samurai reeling through the frost. Jack was on his hooves a moment later, just in time to see Tundrous tail whipping towards him. Jack leapt just above the tail before slashing down with his blade, nicking the dragon. Yet aside from a small grunt, Tundrous didn’t seem to be affected by the strike.
“You’ve gotten faster,” Jack said to the dragon.
“You assume that just because I am this strong that I do not train? Even after a thousand years of living, I still train daily,” Tundrous said, before a smile crossed his face. “Just in case the day comes where somepony like you challenges me.”
Tundrous made a fist and hurled it at Jack, who leapt to the side to avoid being hit. Yet in doing so, he fell right into Tundrous trap. As Jack was in the air, Tundrous tail returned and smacked the samurai sideways. Jack snarled in pain as he was sent tumbling through the frost. He landed hard on his back and looked up in time to see Tundrous fist coming down at him. He needed to dodge.
But should he? Jack could dodge it in time, there was no question about that. Yet if he was killed here, then he would have kept his promise to Tundrous and would finally be with Applejack again. He would have died a warrior’s death. That moment of hesitation cost him the time he needed to dodge. So Jack closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, waiting for the blow that never came. When he opened his eyes again, he found Tundrous staring at him with arms crossed.
“None of that, samurai. I will not kill an opponent who seeks only death. If you wish to fall at my claws, then you must be willing to strike me down as well,” Tundrous said to Jack, who was back on his hooves. The samurai nodded to show that he understood. Tundrous spread his wings and lowered his arms, preparing his next attack. Jack took up his own stance, closing his eyes for a moment to center him.
Tundrous let out a bellow and lunged towards Jack just as Jack snapped his eyes opened and leapt at Tundrous with a scream. And the battle resumed.