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.
Phew... Dodged a bullet there with Twilight not being home.
Quite a good chapter. I enjoyed Jack meeting Applejack's family. The scene with Apple Bloom confusing Jack with her sister's boyfriend and the embarrassed argument with Applejack had me laughing. Jack's meeting with RD was very funny given how she's ruder than usual when she's going to nap. The end scene is endearing, watching the mystery pony thank Jack for saving Applejack even if he had to kill Tirek. I am looking forward to seeing Jack meet Twilight in the next chapter.
6665179
Cliffhanger bait 'n' switch!
I am so looking forward to when Rainbow realizes how AWESOME Jack really is....
I can't wait for when Twilight, Celestia, and/or Luna to meat Jack.
Let's be real, the Elements of Harmony maybe good for vanquishing Equestria's "evil". But when compared to Aku, those tyrant are more humane, so if anything the elements will just piss Aku off.
That wont do anything to Aku. If anything it will slightly burn him or a better metaphor: I would be like putting his hands under hot water for him
6665644 That's true. However if combined with Jack's skill and blade it would be enough. If anything he failed the first time by being distracted.
6665508 Tirek wanted to drain the magic from everypony and rule over the planet with godlike might.
Aku... does much the same.
Nightmare Moon wanted to cast the world into eternal night, which would likely, without the warmth of the sun, cause everything to freeze to death. Those that could find warmth would only survive as long as their food supplies did.
Aku might not care much for those he rules, but he hasn't outright attempted to kill all of them in a fit of pique.
Discord... well. Discord didn't care for the suffering or joy of others, so long as he was amused.
Aku runs a very strict world, certainly, but at least those who live there are guaranteed a tomorrow, as long as they don't step out of line.
Sombra did almost exactly the same thing Aku did, but on a smaller scale.
So, Aku has at least one of the villains beaten.
I dunno. I think Aku is much more 'humane', though he may be more evil.
6665793
Aku literally means evil and its obvious you dont fully know of Aku's powers. So I urge you check out his wiki page here then tell me if or if not Elements would harm him
Great chapter.
I'm curious any chance of Twilight or somepony else using something like a memory spell on Jack. That way they could see Jack's adventures themselves.
6665842 A: I'm well aware of what he's done, and what he can do.
He's neither omnipotent, nor omniscient.
The wiki itself also notes that he is weak to magic, and especially the strength and purity of a living soul.
Rainbow power is based off of the 'magic of harmony' which seems to be pretty solidly associated with the purity of the user's souls, and is definitely Magic.
As long as Aku is merely a shard, yes. He should be vulnerable to the elements of harmony.
6665964 Not to mention the Elements are much more versatile. They purified Luna, petrified Discord, and drained Tirek. Also, Twilight mentioned a spell when they used the elements to release Discord, meaning there are actual spells one can cast through the Elements. Could you imagine how screwed Aku would be if the Elements empowered Jack's sword?
Rainbow, I swear if you ask Jack to race (On foot/hoof) I'm pretty sure that you'll be very surprised...
And don't even get me started in his offensive abilities. I mean, in the episode "The Guardian" he literally took, oh I don't know, 20 or so ninja stars seemingly without moving his ARM.
oh, this WILL NOT END WELL.
6665964
I can see what you're saying but, Aku can be subdued by the Elements; But not Destroyed. The elements are tools of purification, not actual weapons. The Sword that Jack caries is a weapon forged for the purpose of destroying the growth of a piece of a Cosmic Evil on Earth. (Which is Aku.) The Elements of Harmony are incapable of destruction, therefore are useless as a way to permanently deal with Aku.
6666260 I can agree on that note.
But I was merely noting that the elements could do something to Aku, and that he isn't actually all that much worse than the normal foes or threats comparably.
A few things got me curious:
- Is there a point to have AJ and Jack go all the way to Twilight's castle today/last chapter just to find her not home? It'd felt better if they had arrived to Sweet Apple Acres late in the afternoon/early night so AJ decided to have a good night's sleep before meeting Twi (i.e.: better moved the "welcome to Ponyville" chapter to the next day)
- I can get the ponies getting all sorts of weirdness around them so having the odd monster and somesuch can be viewed as normal by them, no problem. But the way the Apples' first reaction to AJ dying and being revived is basically shrugging is too much for me. (No, a subdued conversation with Jack later doesn't count)
- Again, is there a point in hiding the name of the pony who talked with Jack in tha last part of the chapter?
Looking forward to the next chapter,
6666260
I'd like to think that if Aku were to have the elements or the "Rainbow Power" used on him that it would not be able to destroy Aku but put him into a similar state as when he was sealed, in which case our time traveling protagonist gets to go full lumberjack (pun intended) on the now Aku tree, I'm fairly sure sealed or not that the "Pure-heart" sword Jack wields would strike him down quite readily. Although if the sword had been around as long as before Aku was released it would bring into question why that didn't simply get done before, I may be missing some key facts, it has been quite a while since I watched me some Samurai Jack...
6665793 What about the viking warrior that was trapped in a golems body. Aku came and attacked his village, but rather then kill the man he imprisoned him in an unbreakable gem, dinying him a warriors end. Then Aku destroyed the village and killed everyone in it, including the man's wife and child, all while the man watch helplessly. Then Aku took the man's prison and thrusts it deep into a mountain, where he would be imprisoned forever, never to reunite with his friends and family in Valhalla. Do you think Equestria's villains can match that level of cruelty?
6666452 Just check out the his wiki here
6665842 He's nearly been killed with a weapons made from on person's integrity. Now imagine if he was hit with power in the form of multiple souls each embodying a facet of integrity and more. It would most likely not go well for him.
6666468 They never got the chance, but yes.
Again, remember: Before he was reformed, Discord cared only for his own amusement.
He was more than willing to do whatever struck him as amusing, even if that meant torturing ponies emotionally (which he did to the mane 6, recall).
Tirek was also more than happy to see all of pony-kind reduced to empty husks, and Sombra was really into reducing his subjects to hopeless, emotionally broken slaves.
Aku may be named 'Evil', and he may, indeed, be horribly so, but that doesn't mean that he's the only one that is that evil.
In fact, in terms of power, both Discord and Tirek at their peaks were more powerful than Aku; those two were fully capable of altering all of reality according to their whims, whereas Aku is comparatively limited in every way.
And again, note: Aku is noted to be weak to magic, and also the "Strength and purity of a living soul". Which is, again, basically what the Elements are: The purity and strength of harmonic friendship in super-weapon form.
Sure, they likely will only weaken his power at worst, or seal him at best. But that's still, you know. A big deal, in general.
Luna Luna Luna!
A needful dreamer calls to you!
Beware what you will find!
6666260 I don't know about anypony else, but I find it hard to predict what the Elements of Harmony will do when used. When used on nightmare Moon, they sent her to the moon for a thousand years. When used on her again, they purified her, making her... not evil... somehow. When used on Discord, they imprisoned him in stone. Then, they turned him into stone again. Then, they killed his dark vine-things as they were killing the Tree of Harmony, while somehow leaving Celestia and Luna unharmed.
That said, there's no knowing what would happen to Aku if the Elements were unleashed on him. Maybe they would kill him, or maybe they would remove the evil from his soul, or maybe they would take all of his magical powers away. Who knows?
I for one would love to see what kind of effect the Crystal Heart would have on him. But, I'm sure that won't happen.
Now, bring me that cray-cray Twilight that I crave much more than I should.
It was the evil laugh of.... MANDARK!
AH-HAHA! AH-HAH-HAH-HA-HAH!
7198224
Best reference ever
DEXTER WILL STOP MANDARK ALWAYS!
Hopefully Jack can have calm and happy dreams now. Also where da heck is Twilight
=======•=======G=======•=======
=======•=======G=======•=======