Tension began to wear off after the fifth time Applejack knocked her hoof against the crystal doors, both she and Jack sharing a glance. The next time, Jack lifted his hoof to knock against the doors for her.
"Ah think she might not be home," Applejack finally suggested, when even Jack's knock proved no better than Applejack's. "Normally, she's here by the fourth knock. Well, ah guess we can postpone you getting to see her until she returns...which gives me a little time to figure out how to introduce you. Sorry that you'll have to wait to see if her magic can help you."
"I have been traveling for a long time and have had my 'journey's end' stolen from me many times," Jack reminded Applejack with a calm expression on his face. "I can wait a little longer."
"That's some patience ya got," AJ said with a smile before catching a rainbow blur zip by overhead, heading in the direction of her apple orchard. "And there goes one of the most impatient ponies that ah've ever met. Come on Jack, with Twilight out of town that gives me a chance to show ya mah home. Yer gonna love mah family."
"If they are anything like you, then they should be most interesting," Jack agreed, getting Applejack to raise an eyebrow at him.
"Ya saying ah'm interesting?"
"In the good way, of course," Jack said calmly and without disrespect, but his eyes flashed with mischief for just a moment.
"Of course," Applejack smirked back before she began to head into town with Jack following close behind. The pair walked through a different part of the town on their way to Applejack's home, allowing Jack to spy the charred remains of a building that was still being cleared out.
"What happened to that building?" Jack asked AJ, surprised to see wrath flashing in her eyes as she glanced over at the burned area.
"That used to be Twilight's library--before Tirek blew it up." Jack's eyes narrowed at the monster's name while AJ seethed a bit. "Yeah, that darned centaur attacked us not too long ago. Stole all of the magic in Equestria and used it to become super powerful. Twilight fought against him, but her house was one of the many casualties of that battle."
"It is similar to Aku. All of those who have evil hearts desire only power," Jack nodded.
"Yeah, but he wasn't the first to try and take over our world. Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra...ya know Jack, our world might have ended up like yers if we didn't have our friendship to fight against the evil here," Applejack muttered before an idea popped into her head, and she glanced back at Jack, who read in her eyes that she had realized something. "Hey Jack, whenever ya fought against Aku, did ya have any help?"
"No. Only I with my magical blade can possibly hope to slay the demon," Jack clarified for her, but he knew that she would not ask unless there was more. "What are you trying to say?"
"That perhaps, that's the reason you've had so much trouble," AJ began, Jack listening to her words carefully. "Because whenever our world's been in danger, the only way we've been able to save it time after time was because we had our friendship. If we tried to fight them by ourselves, we would be beaten. But with the greatest magic we have, friendship, we've been able to prevail."
"Are you suggesting...that the reason I have yet to best the demon is because I have been fighting him alone?" Jack asked, a frown spreading across his face when AJ nodded. "It...is an interesting idea to be sure, but I cannot ask another to battle against Aku with me. Only my blade has the magic within it to hurt the monster, and therefore I am the only one who can best him. It is how it must be."
"Are ya sure about that?" Jack cast his gaze to AJ, who had an expression upon her face that he couldn't entirely read. "Because the power of our Elements, and now our Rainbow power, has been known to best quite a few evil beings as well. Yer forgetting, Jack, that yer in Equestria now. Perhaps yer blade was the only magic in yer world that could hurt Aku, but here there's a lot of magic."
Jack pondered over Applejack's words, knowing that there was truth in them. He had never tried to use another magic against Aku before, and while he did not believe any weapon aside from his sword to be able to harm the demon, he silently admitted that the possibility of another force that could defeat Aku...
"Hey Jack, look up." Placing those thoughts within the confines of his mind, the samurai lifted his eyes, which immediately widened at the lush green trees that held thousands of ripe, red fruit within their leaves. And as far as the samurai looked, all he could see were apple trees, each one as bright and full of life as the next.
As Jack took in the sheer volume of trees that surrounded him on every side, he found his thoughts returning to when he was a boy, back to when there were trees like this in his village. Visions of him racing through the orchard, swinging from branch to branch and eating apples under the trees.
"Uh Jack? Ya spaced out there for a second." Applejack's words brought him back to the present, and with a small shake of his head he returned those memories to the part of his mind that kept his cherished days safe.
"Forgive me, I was...ah, I believe that I see your home."
As Jack said this, a red barn with a smaller house beside it had just come into view over one of the hills. A small smile crossed Jack's face and his pace quickened slightly, but AJ held out a hoof to stop him before she glared up at a tree.
"Get down here, Rainbow! Ya know what ah've told ya about using mah trees fer yer naps!" she hollered up at one of the trees, which Jack was only now noticing seemed to be snoring. A grunt could be heard followed by the shifting of leaves, and a few moments later a pony's head stuck out from the branches, a rainbow mane flowing behind her as she squinted at the pair.
"Oh hey, AJ. You're back much later than you said you'd be," Rainbow said with a yawn while she blinked twice, her glazed eyes looking from Applejack to the samurai, who stared up at her with a curious expression. "So who's the stallion? He your coltfriend or something?"
"I am called Jack," Jack introduced himself, while Applejack glared daggers at the rainbow pony. "You are another of Applejack's friends, are you not?"
"What, you've never heard of me?" Rainbow Dash asked with an almost insulted tone in her voice. "Jeez, you must have been living under a rock to not have heard of the greatest flier in Equestria."
"I am sorry. I meant no disrespect," Jack said as he bowed, getting Dash to raise an eyebrow with confusion before sighing and resting against the branch she was sitting on once more.
"It's cool, just stop bowing. Now can the two of you go away, I'm trying to get some shut eye."
"Listen here, ya..." Applejack began with a harsh tone, but then she quickly glanced over at Jack. She growled to herself before letting out her anger in one sigh before waiving for Jack to follow her. "Come on Jack, ah want to introduce ya to my family before nightfall so we best get moving. Ah'll have words with ya later," she then promised Rainbow Dash, who was already sound asleep once more.
"Ah swear, that mare..." Applejack thundered to herself under her breath, not noticing that Jack had moved a little bit further away from her. As the two reached the front gates to the farm, Applejack finally managed to repress her frustration and her smile had returned to her face as the scent of home filled her nose. "Take it in, Jack. Isn't it just the greatest farm that you've ever set your eyes upon?"
"It is incredible, I cannot deny that," Jack muttered as he realized that the apple tree went on far further than he at first believed. "You must have quite the number of ponies that work for you in order to maintain this farm."
"Nope. Mah brother and ah tend to the full farm ourselves," Applejack laughed, not noticing the look of sheer surprise that flashed across Jack's face at her words. "Well, we hope that Applebloom will be able to help us as well, but right now she's a little to...scatterbrained to really help out with the hard stuff."
"How can all this be done by two ponies...?" Jack murmured to himself, barely hearing what AJ had said. The orange mare then practically raced up to her door and tore it open, a huge grin on her face as she called out,
"Howdy everypony! Ah'm home!" Even outside Jack could hear the sounds of hooves followed by cries of delight. Through the open front door, Jack could see flashes of a small, yellow pony tackling AJ while laughing, the two holding each other tight before the little filly called into the house,
"Granny Smith, Applejack's finally home!" she called out with delight before her gaze turned to the front yard, where she finally noticed the samurai standing there. "And you were right! She brought home a stallion!"
"She what?!" another, much older voice rang throughout the house.
"It's not like that, Granny!"
Jack chuckled slightly as an older, green mare appeared in the door way as well and glanced him over before turning back to AJ, the two arguing with each other while Applejack's face continued to turn a darker shade of red. While the two of them bickered, the yellow filly waved for him to join them before racing off into the house. Jack smiled as he took a few steps towards the house...before spinning around with one hoof on his hilt.
His eyes narrowed while he gazed into the trees, hills and eventually into the far off forest, scanning every shadow that was within his sight. Despite there being nothing that he could see, Jack knew that for a brief moment he had felt eyes upon him...eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Come on Jack, get in here before Granny can think of a reason to keep you out!" the flustered voice of Applejack called out to him, breaking through his thoughts and causing the samurai to slowly let go of his blade.
'Perhaps...I have simply been on edge for too long,' Jack decided before turning and walking into the house, where the sounds of three voices all trying to speak all at once graced his ears.
--|======\
While Jack had in the past had far more awkward and dangerous dinners, he had never before experienced being stared at by an old green mare, that refused to take her eyes off of him for even a second the entire time he had been in her home. Even though Applejack had invited Jack to dinner, he was always aware that Granny Smith had her sharp, but not unfriendly, eyes on him. That was until AJ had started telling her story of why she was home so late.
Yet, Jack was far too preoccupied with his first home cooked meal in many moons to care about the glare of the mare or the retelling of a tale he knew. Every dish that rested on the checkered tablecloth before him was apple based, but the samurai could care less as he ate dish after dish, each one more delectable than the last. He had finished his fifth piece of pie around the same time Applejack got to the part of the story where the two finally reached Ponyville.
"...And then the two of us finally managed to make it back to Ponyville, where ah promised to take Jack to the princess as soon as she get back," Applejack wrapped up, leaving all jaws slacked and eyes widened as her tale came to a close.
"Wow...ah can't believe that ya went through all of that during yer delivery run. No wonder your were late coming home," Applebloom gawked with wide eyes as Applejack came to the end of her and Jack's adventures, though Jack noticed she had left out the part about Tirek and his past. "Fighting monsters, stopping evil swordponies...nearly dying..."
"Weren't ya listening to a word ah said? Ah did die Applebloom," Applejack reminded her sister in a very gentle voice before flicking her head at Jack. "But Jack used his wish he got from defeating the titan to bring me back to life. It's thanks to him ah made it home at all."
"That is so, but you saved my life on more than one account," Jack brought up once again, getting a groan from AJ as she rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her hoof.
"Don't start this again Jack, it's too late in the day," Applejack cut the samurai off before he could start, glancing out at the setting sun. Jack bowed to her words and left his story at that, but he was aware that the filly and the red stallion that sat across from him had yet to remove their eyes from him.
"Thank you for the meal. I shall find some way of repaying you," Jack said with a bow to Granny Smith as he rose up. "But night will soon be upon us and I need to find shelter for the night."
"Hold it right there," Granny's sharp voice said as Jack turned to the door, stopping the samurai in his tracks. "The Apples have never turned away a pony that was hungry, and we never let a pony sleep out in the cold while we've had shelter. Ya can sleep in the barn fer the night if that's alright with ya."
"Thank you for your kindness and hospitality," Jack thanked them with another bow. Applejack stood up and led Jack to the barn, opening the doors for him before showing him around inside.
"There may not be much here, but ya can sleep on the hay. It's quite comfortable," Applejack said as she motioned to the hay. "Did ya get enough to eat? We always have more."
"Thank you, but I do not wish to impose myself," Jack said as he tried to bow, but AJ wrapped a hoof around him and pulled him back up straight.
"Yer not imposing yerself Jack and yer not a burden," Applejack reminded him with a half smirk. "Yer a friend of mine and mah family, so yer welcome to stay as long as ya need. And as the only pony here who knows of yer quest, ya can be damn sure that ah'm not gonna let ya fight evil on an empty stomach. So, are ya still hungry?"
"No, but thank you for your generous offer," Jack finally decided. Applejack nodded before letting Jack go and heading towards the exit, glancing off at the moon that was slowly starting to rise on the horizon.
"Alright, but if ya need anything don't be afraid to holler," Applejack informed him as she slowly began to close the barn door behind her. "Also, we get up at the crack of dawn, so don't be surprised if we're all up before you."
"If there is anything I have learned while journeying with you, it is that there is nothing that you can do that will surprise me." Applejack raised an eyebrow at the samurai, not sure if he was being honest or sarcastic. She eventually just decided to smile and wave to him before closing the door.
Jack then rested his head against the soft hay and began to think of his eventual meeting with Twilight. It was clear that the princess did not trust his weapon, but he was certain once she knew of his tale that she would aid him in returning to his home. If she was as kind and strong as Applejack had described her, then he had no cause to be nervous.
"Is what Applejack said true? Did ya really give up yer wish to save her?"
Jack's eyes shot towards the door from where the voice had come, instantly recognizing it.
"Well? Did ya?"
"Yes. I did," Jack finally responded.
"Why?"
"Because she is my friend. And I would not use my wish for my sake if I could use it to save her," Jack clarified for the speaker. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before the voice finally spoke up again.
"And the rumors about Tirek returning...and mind controlling a whole city...you were the one that freed the ponies from him, weren't ya?" the voice asked, getting Jack to narrow his eyes slightly. "You were the one who saved Applejack then as well?"
"You knew she was there?"
"In the paper it said that an Element of Harmony was there, so it could have only been her. But tell me the truth, was Tirek going to kill her as well?"
"Yes, he was."
"But you...killed him before he could hurt her?"
"I have already lost many I care for to evil. I would not allow Applejack nor any other to fall to evil as well. Not as long as I draw breath." The two once again went silent before Jack could hear the sounds of hooves walking away from the farm. He assumed that their conversation was over and was just about to close his eyes when the speaker spoke one last time.
"Thank you."
A small smile crossed the samurai's face as he heard the hoof steps grow fainter and fainter, finally allowing Jack to close his eyes and rest his head. He realized that it had been a long time since he had been thanked in such an honest way, and he could not help but wear a smile as he drifted off into dreams...dreams of darkness, agony and the laugh of the greatest evil he knew.