Back To The Past

by Onomonopia


At Any Cost

Jack stared down from the airship's deck into the black chasm below him. The sound of the wind bursting free of the darkness almost seemed to call to him. Celestia had used her airship to bring Jack to the location of the patient dragon...of the creature that could finally return him home.

"Jack...are you sure you wish to do this?" Celestia asked the samurai from the ship's wheel, yet any further questions were silenced by the look of pure determination Jack flashed back at her. So, with a sigh the princess began to lower that airship down into the depths of the chasm, which quickly turned into utter blackness as the darkness of the deep enveloped them.

"Do not worry yourselves, my eye can see far better in the dark than any other pony alive," the voice of Luna said from within the blackness. "Sister, you need to steer more to the left!" The ship changed course in accordance with Luna's directions, yet Luna was not the only one able to see in the near pitch black darkness. Jack's eyes were indeed blind, but his other senses were at their peak. His ears allowed him to pinpoint each drip of water, each creak of the old stones and a faint, but very heavy, breathing off in the distance.

He was also able to pick up on the heartbeat that was pounding like a hammer behind him, causing him to turn to where Applejack stood on the deck. He need not be able to see her face to know that she wore a look of absolute concern upon her features, but Jack did his best to cast the image out of his mind.

In near total silence, with only the voice of Luna calling out where to go, the group floated through the underground caverns, each of them lost in thought. But when a small light began to peek through the darkness, both Jack and the ponies knew that they were closing in on their destination. Now that they could see, Jack had to work even harder to avoid the look Applejack gave him, instead choosing to focus on the battle that was about to unfold.

The darkness slowly melted into a golden light as the ship ripped free from the claws of darkness, emerging into a massive cavern that glowed like the brightest of gold. The reason for the light was not due to the sun nor the light from torches, but the massive, golden dragon that rested in the center of the room upon a massive island that hovered over a dark pit below. His scales were what cast the golden hue, but it was the fire within him that made the scales shine.

Yet what everypony noticed immediately was the size of the monstrosity, his sleeping form covering nearly half of the island that floated above the nothingness. And the island was far bigger than the airship was. Undaunted, the samurai began to walk towards the edge of the airship as it descended towards the island, ignoring the warning of Celestia to turn back.

"Finally. My quest is at an end," he sighed as the airship touched down next to the island, but when he tried to take a step off a hoof wrapped itself around his arm and held him back. Jack glanced behind him with emotionless eyes into the eyes of Applejack, eyes that burned with defiance but were also clouded with fear.

"Jack...ah can't let ya do this! Ah've heard the stories of what this monster is capable of! Please, don't do this," she begged the samurai, but Jack's face remained unchanged by her words. "We can find another way! There has to be another portal...or a magician...something other than this!"

"I thank you for your concern for me Applejack, but this is where my destiny has led me," he informed her with an emotionless tone as he gently freed his arm from her grasp, yet when he glanced back at her with his eyes she shivered at the icy stare. "And I will battle this dragon, for he has what I need to return home."

"But Jack..."

"Applejack." His sharp tone caused her to visibly reel back, her reaction telling Jack that his voice had been too sharp. He bowed to her in apology before continuing. "I understand that you only have my best interest at heart, but...today I join my family. At any cost." Applejack's eyes slowly shrunk as Jack walked away, her heart beginning to burn at the tone of...finality...in the samurai's voice.

As Jack approached the giant dragon, he quickly sent up a prayer to his ancestors to aid him in the battle, before drawing forth his blade. The sound of the sword scraping against the scabbard caused the golden dragon's eyes to snap open, and with a bellow of power he roared towards where Jack was. Yet the samurai remained unmoved while he glared up at the creature, who smacked his lips before narrowing his watery eyes at the samurai.

"Who are you?" he asked in an ancient tone that made the island beneath the pair quake. Before Jack could answer, the dragon took in the sword he was holding before glancing past Jack towards the airship, a toothy smile spreading when he recognized the ponies on board. "Ah Celestia and Luna. How long has it been since the two of you challenged me? Are you here to do so again?"

"No. We have...brought another who seeks to challenge you," Celestia replied in a whisper. The dragon raised an eyebrow before glancing down at Jack, who glared up at the dragon with determination in his eyes as he readied his blade.

"No thank you," the dragon muttered while he closed his eyes and curled up again, making Jack's eyes go wide as AJ let out a sigh behind him. "You're not worth my time. You don't have any magical power, you're not particularly strong, and your toothpick won't so much as scratch my scales. Go home before I get hungry." Jack's face narrowed and his eyes darkened, making the other ponies glance at him with worry.

"I have not come here to be turned away. I will find an end to my quest this day," he promised as he took up a stance, getting a smirk out of the dragon.

"You'll find death."

"I am ready to take that risk." The dragon smirked at Jack's response before deciding to show him a sample of his power. Tundrous raised a claw over the samurai and swung it down slowly, giving the fool enough time to get out of the way. He expected the samurai to either dodge or go splat. What he didn't expect was to feel the bite of the samurai's sword cut through his scales.

"GRAH!" Tundrous cried out more with surprise than actual pain, glancing down at his claw which was bleeding slightly before turning a now curious gaze to Jack, who had a smirk of his own on his face. "Very interesting. That blade of yours has quite the edge, doesn't it?"

"You will see soon enough," Jack promised. The fight in the samurai's voice made Tundrous laugh, the dragon then shaking his head as he slowly rose to his feet and stretched out his limbs. Jack narrowed his eyes while the monster towered over him, Tundrous' eyes burning with the fires of the fight.

"Very well samurai, a battle you shall have. But before we begin, let me ask this now. What is it you seek from me if you win?" Tundrous asked Jack, who tilted his head slightly at the dragon's choice of wording. "I ask now because all of my past foes were a little too dead to answer after the battle. So what be it you want?"

"WHEN I win, I ask that you return me to my world...and to my past," Jack demanded, not seeing the look Celestia and Luna gave each other.

"So you're not even a pony then?" Tundrous smirked as excitement shivered up his body. "Today is going to be a good day after all. Very well...Jack, was it? If you manage to best me, I shall grant your wish. Now let us...begin."

WHAM!

The two princesses gasped as Tundrous' claw slammed into where Jack was standing, pulverizing the island and breaking off small chunks of it that fell into the darkness. Applejack held her hooves to her mouth with tears beginning to form in her eyes, before all four of them heard a scream, turning all four eyes skyward to see Jack hurling down at the dragon with sword held high.

Tundrous snapped his arm back as Jack sliced at the air where the dragon's limb had been a second ago, not wasting a second before he lunged forward again with sword held at his side. With little room to maneuver due to his size, all Tundrous could do was move his arm between the samurai and him. He gritted his teeth when he felt the blade slice through his scales and draw blood, but the grit turned to a smile as he flapped his wings and blew the samurai nearly off of the island with one, mighty flap.

"GWAHAHAHA! How long has it been since I last felt pain?!" he bellowed with excitement as Jack rolled up to his hooves and narrowed his eyes. "You are worth the challenge, Samurai Jack. That sword of yours might just be able to kill me if you get the right chance." Then Tundrous' smile became far more menacing as his eyes flashed like lightning. "So that means I cannot hold back my fighting spirit!"

With speed nopony would associate with a dragon of that size, Tundrous slashed at Jack with blazing agility. The samurai barely had time to leap into the air as the claws raked across the stone where he had been a second before. Yet the moment he leapt into the air the second fist of Tundrous slammed into Jack, who roared with pain while he was sent hurtling back into the stone he had just left.

"JACK!" Applejack cried out as she took a step forward, but the samurai held out a hoof to stop her before he slowly pushed himself back up.

"This...is my battle. My destiny," he wheezed as he turned his head back towards Tundrous, ripping of the shredded part of his kimono before narrowing his eyes.

"Good, you managed to survive my blow. Already you are far superior to most that I have battled," Tundrous smiled with enjoyment.

"So when I fell you, what will you think of me then?" Tundrous bellowed with laughter at Jack's words before slamming his fist into the stone island, the shockwave blasting Jack off of his hooves. The moment the samurai was off balance, Tundrous swung his jaws down with fangs gleaming like swords. Jack rolled just in time to get back to his hooves and his sword flashed in the golden light, slicing two of the blade like fangs free of the dragon's maw.

Tundrous growled as he moved his head back and held a hand to his jaw, giving Jack a brief opening to lung forward and stab his blade into the leg of the dragon. Tundrous snarled with pain as he swatted at Jack, who kicked off of the leg and onto the hand that tried to crush him. With a path that led to Tundrous' head, Jack kicked off the dragon's thumb and hurtled through the air right towards Tundrous' face.

"This ends now!" he roared as he prepared to swing...before a blast of air exhaled from Tundrous' mouth stopped the samurai dead in the air. With all of his momentum gone, Jack could do nothing while Tundrous' hand swung through the air and drove itself into the samurai's body, hurling him back into the stone island and shattering the area where he crashed down.

All three of the ponies watched with horrified faces as Tundrous brought back another fist and slammed it into Jack once more, shattering the stone further and imbedding the samurai within the rocks. He then clasped both fists together before slamming them both into Jack once more, drawing his fists back to see that the shredded samurai lay motionless at the bottom of the stone.

"This battle is over," Tundrous declared before turning his gaze to the horrified and furious faces of the ponies that glared up at him. "Do not be angry with me. Jack knew the risk of battle when he chose to engage me and he paid the-"

All eyes were drawn to the crater when all four heard the sounds of stone shifting. All eyes widened as the broken samurai slowly began to pull himself out of the stone. None could speak when Jack grabbed his blade and used it as a crutch to push himself to his hooves. All were able to see his gritted teeth under his fallen black mane.

The heavily panting samurai then lifted his blade and pointed it at the dragon, his practically faded eyes burning with the faint embers of fight from beneath his mane. All stared at him with disbelief before Tundrous began to laugh, a toothy grin crossing his face as he nodded at the samurai.

"You truly are the greatest fighter that I have had the pleasure to do battle with," he praised the samurai, who seemed far too gone to even register the words. "For the incredible, albeit short, battle you have given me, I allow you to leave with your life. You may not leave with your wish, but you leave knowing that you have earned my respect. Train well warrior, and may we do battle once more." Tundrous began to turn away from Jack, before the samurai's voice stopped him and the ponies dead.

"No." Tundrous turned back to look at Jack as the ponies gazed upon him with horror, yet Jack's face was one of wrath as he painfully dragged himself forward. "This battle...is not yet over...not as long...as I draw breath. You wish to claim...yourself victorious? Then you shall...when I...no longer draw breath. I will have my wish...or you will have my life!" He lifted his sword over his head as he said this before glaring up at the dragon, his eyes daring Tundrous to make a move. For a brief moment Tundrous stared down at him with slight confusion, before a smile spread across his face.

"Truly, you are a warrior to the end. I have never seen such a display of courage in nearly six thousands years! You are the greatest warrior I have battled. And for that I shall grant you," Tundrous said as he lifted both of his fists over his head while Jack crouched down slightly and held his sword tight. "A warriors death!"

Yet just as the dragon was beginning to swing his fists down towards the samurai, two hooves slammed themselves into the back of Jack's head. The samurai barely had a moment to register what had happened before he fell to the ground unconscious, where Applejack wrapped her hooves around him and hurled the both of them out of the way. Tundrous managed to cease his attack right before it struck the ground, but as he drew his arms back he glared at the orange mare with fire in his eyes.

"Why do you interfere? Do you wish to taste death as well?" he whispered to Applejack in a low growl, that made both of the princesses' manes stand on end. Yet with shaking knees, Applejack managed to look back into the eyes of Tundrous with enough courage to speak.

"This battle is over. Ya won. So ah'm taking Jack home," she stammered out, getting Tundrous to narrow his eyes.

"This battle is not over. Not until the samurai-"

"But ya said yerself the battle was over. And ya also said that as a reward for being the greatest challenge ya have had, he could go with his life," she reminded Tundrous, whose eyes narrowed with fury at her words. "So unless ya want yerself to be labeled a liar who doesn't keep his word..."

With a scowl Tundrous waved Applejack away, the orange mare barely taking a moment to drag the unconscious samurai to the airship. The moment he was back onboard with the princesses, Applejack began to apply bandages while gently moving Jack's bangs to the side. The princesses nodded to one another as the ship began to rise, but just when it seemed they were free Tundrous glared at Applejack with cold eyes.

"He will not forgive you for this," he informed her, his words like ice that froze the orange mare's heart when she turned towards the dragon. "That warrior wished to die honorably in battle. I could see it in his eyes. What you have taken from him...is something he will never forgive you for."

The airship slowly began to leave the island after Tundrous said this, leaving the dragon to curl back up and begin to slumber once more. As the darkness began to overtake the ship, Applejack looked down at the sleeping face of Jack with concern tearing at her heart. She knew that it was the right thing to save him; she knew that she couldn't let him die.

Just as she also knew that he would hate her for her actions.