Fireflies
All across Ponyville ponies awaited the setting of the sun, gathering up into huge crowds to have fun and play games while awaiting the night. No pony stayed indoors, for festivals thrown by the princesses were ones not to be missed. Yet one pony in particular was not enjoying the festivities, and that was because she was far too busy chewing out the god of chaos.
"Hey, the problem got dealt with, didn't it?" Discord asked in his defense as Twilight glared up at him with eyes burning hotter than any inferno.
"Dealt with?! You knew that Tirek was back and you didn't even tell Fluttershy!" Twilight bellowed with such force that it seemed like all of Ponyville shook under her wrath.
"Suspected," Discord corrected for her as he glanced at his nails, doing his best to ignore Twilight while also infuriating her even further. "Besides, I sent somepony to deal with the problem and he dealt with it. By the way, thanks for not dying on me when you fought Tirek, Jack or else this conversation would probably be a lot worse."
"You are...welcome?" Jack replied.
"Hey, Jack. Just a quick warning," Discord whispered to Jack as he pulled the samurai in close. "If you are going to seek out another god like me to grant your wish, be careful. Not all of them are as kind as me. Most can actually be pretty cruel. Might be best to find your wish another way."
"Um, thank you for the advice?" Jack said as Discord teleported away, thinking over the being's words before turning back to Fluttershy and the tea that she had made for him. He reached down and lifted the small cup, moving it to his lips and taking in a small sip. A smile spread across his face as the warm liquid helped to sooth his soul, allowing him to fully enjoy the drink despite the war going on behind him between the god and the princess. "This brew of yours is most delicious. If you would not mind, would you teach me how to make it?"
"Oh, of course I can," Fluttershy softly replied with a kind smile. "It's always nice to meet another pony that enjoys drinking my tea."
"But I enjoy it, Fluttershy!" Discord reminded her, only for a bellow from Twilight to silence him.
"Thank you for your kindness. You are exactly the way Applejack described you," Jack said as he took another sip, glancing up at the orange sky to see the sun starting to set over the mountains. "Kind to all and able to make friends with just about anyone. These are qualities I do not see enough of nowadays," he complimented as he rested the cup on the picnic cloth beneath him, giving her a bow before turning his head at the sound of hooves.
"You can all relax everypony, the party has arrived!" Rainbow Dash said with a laugh as she zipped by Jack and Fluttershy, overturning the tea set as she did so. Jack cast the pegasi a nasty glance before he smiled at Applejack and Rarity, who were approaching with the three fillies that had borrowed his blade.
"Greetings my friends. How goes being grounded till the end of time?" he asked the three fillies with a laugh, which turned to a kind smile when they all sighed and collapsed into the grass.
"Ah never want to see another dirty dish again," Applebloom complained.
"I want to move out," Sweetie groaned.
"Eh, I've had worse," Scootaloo shrugged.
"They've been fine darling, just having to work with a little less free time than they're used to," Rarity explained as she slid right up beside Jack, resting her head on his shoulder while staring up at him. "But enough about that, how have you been? Enjoying the sights? Found anypony...special yet?" Whether or not Jack had, Rarity would never know, because an orange hoof wrapped around her face and yanked her back before Applejack sat down where Rarity had been sitting.
"Sorry about that," she apologized while Rarity huffed and brushed the dirt off of her hooves.
"There is no need to apologize. Your friends are most interesting," Jack observed as Pinkie came bounding up, seemingly pulling an entire buffet of sweets from a doggy bag that she had hanging off her mane. The sight of food drew everypony to her, even Twilight who had nearly lost her voice yelling at Discord. Yet when Applejack cast a glance up at the samurai, she saw that his eyes were not entirely there and a slight frown was crossing his face.
"Is something the matter Jack?" she whispered.
"I may have finally found a way to return to my past," he whispered in reply, Applejack's eyes going wide. The pair waited until Rarity stood up and left them alone, which she did with a wink, before Jack continued speaking. "Tomorrow, Celestia and Luna will be taking me to a place that may be able to return me to the past. And if I triumph, then I shall finally be able to put an end to Aku's reign."
"That's great, Jack," she said with a smile before a shadow cast itself over her face and she glanced down at the ground. "Hey Jack, ah have a question. When ya return to yer past, ya plan to slay Aku once and fer all, don't ya?"
"That is indeed my quest, my purpose," Jack confirmed with a nod, yet his words did not erase the shadows from AJ's face. "There is more, isn't there?"
"It's just...if ya slay Aku in the past, that means he would vanish from yer future," Applejack began, getting a nod from Jack. "But if he's not in the future, that means that ya would never have had to journey through the future to find yer way back to the past. Which means that he would never had...uh...look, what ah'm trying to say is when ya slay Aku, yer gonna change the past. But if ya change the past...what happens to you?"
Jack couldn't even begin to fathom a response, but he had an idea of what would happen to him. He did not let Applejack see as he gripped his sword, his hoof trembling slightly as he did so. Yet a quick glance at the mare showed him that he was not going to be let off the hook until he gave her an answer, and from the concern in her eyes he knew that the answer would upset her.
"Look everypony! Here they come!" Jack was saved from answering by Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing around as she stared up at the now dark blue sky. Thousands of lights were slowly floating down towards the two, each of them flashing a rainbow of different colors, yet each light was soft and warm.
Jack and AJ both stood up as the small insects descended upon the town and upon all of the ponies, floating around slowly while they allowed their beauty to be gazed upon by all. Jack held out a hoof and let one of the small insects land upon him, smiling at the bug as it smiled up at him. It flashed a lush green color before flapping its tiny wings and taking to the sky once more to join its comrades.
"They're incredible, aren't they?" Twilight whispered as a plethora of the lightning bugs were drawn to her glowing horn, each of them beginning to copy the color of her magic and bathing Twilight in a violent light. The others smiled as well when the fireflies that were drawn to them began to copy the colors of their coats, especially Pinkie, who was covered by so many she was practically a ball of pink light.
"Argh, why are so many coming after me?!" Dash asked as dozens of the fireflies surrounded her, each of them changing into every color of the rainbow in order to match her mane. Fluttershy stood off to the side speaking to one, while Rarity tried to get a particularly friendly one out of her mane, where it seemed to be making a nest.
"Aw, they're cute little fellers, aren't they?" Applejack asked as she stared at the ones that glowed orange and danced around her. But when she shifted her eyes over to Jack, she found that the fireflies that gathered around him were all a bright orange or burning red. The samurai wore a smile on his face as he gazed at the bugs, their colors reminding him of the lanterns that used to hang in his home.
"It is believed that these little guys can look into a pony and see who they really are, then they create colors to match the pony they see," Twilight explained as she created little bubbles for the fireflies to rest on, their lights illuminating the bubbles and increasing their brilliance even further. "Purple is for intelligence naturally, while colors in the orange to red range represent courage. That's why you got all of them AJ."
"Ah'm not surprised in the least," AJ smirked, noticing that Jack had just as many orange ones floating around him as she did. But then her eyes widened as she glanced around the clearing, unable to find three fillies who had been there a moment ago.
"They went this way," Jack informed AJ as he pointed at the ground, knowing why she had begun to freak out. AJ looked down to see little hoof prints running off, getting a snort out of her before she pushed her hat slightly over her eyes.
"Ah swear those three have the hardest time listening to me. Grounded means they can't go off on their own," she snarled before charging off in the direction of their hoofprints, Jack following closely behind her after a quick explanation to the others. "Don't worry Jack, ah can follow their prints almost as well as ya can."
The pair raced through the green hills that were illuminated by the light of the moon and the glow of the fireflies, making even the tiny tracks of the fillies easy to see. They followed the trail until the prints came to a stop at the top of a large hill surrounded by flowers, where AJ looked around every which way, yet was unable to pick up the trail again.
"Darn it, where did they get to?" Applejack asked as Jack walked up beside her, barely able to make out the rest of the tracks. Yet to his confusion it did not look as if the fillies had gone somewhere else, but instead were-
"NOW!"
Applejack jumped as Jack's hoof clasped his sword, but the moment of tension faded away as the pair's eyes widened at the sight of hundreds of fireflies all beginning to rise from the flowers. Lights that matched the stars in the heavens began to swirl around the pair, creating an entire galaxy around the Jacks as they watched in awe. At first the fireflies remained different colors, but as they got closer and closer they began to change into brilliant reds, burning oranges and flashing yellows.
"W-where did all these guys come from?" Applejack asked as Jack cast a quick glance at the flowers that surrounded the hilltop, just able to make out three sets of eyes that stared up at them from the flowers. Jack waved them away before he smiled up at the insects, going crosseyed as one landed on the tip of his nose. When the firefly left his nose and flew off Jack sat down in the grass, simply content to watch the bugs dance their dance in the area around him.
"Ah hahaha! Ah guess they really like me." Jack cast his gaze over to Applejack and was nearly stunned by the image of the mare before him. She was covered in the fireflies that each glowed with a soft orange light, making the mare practically radiant like a goddess under all of the lights. Jack then found his eyes being drawn to her face, where her infectious laugh escaped her lips and her green eyes shown brighter than the stars.
'Can this indeed be...Applejack?' he asked himself as he gazed upon his partner as if he had never truly seen her before. AJ caught Jack's glance and gave him a curious expression, before she looked down at herself and blushed slightly.
"Uh Jack...yer staring." Jack shook himself free of the spell and quickly turned his eyes towards the ground, trying to keep his cheeks from burning up as Applejack giggled slightly at the look on his face. She then slowly moved closer to him, sitting beside the samurai as she stared up at the sea of fireflies that floated around them. She then glanced at Jack before summoning all of her courage...and resting her head against him.
Jack's face went even redder as he cast a quick glance at AJ, able to see spots of red on her face as well despite her orange coat. For a brief moment Jack didn't know how to respond, before he let out a small sigh and gently leaned into her as well. The pair remained like that as they watched the fireflies, both of them enjoying the other's company as they gazed up at the reds and oranges that--
'FOOL!'
Jack let out a cry as the fireflies began to shift colors, changing from the warm yellows and oranges to blood red, deadly green and the darkest of blacks. Both he and AJ then watched as the fireflies then began to fly around in fear, vanishing into the night sky until only the stars above provided light for the two.
"J-Jack?" Applejack asked as she sat up straight, looking around with confusion. "What happened? Why did they all...?" Applejack stopped talking as she glanced up at Jack, who had a face that looked as if it was carved out of stone. He then stood up and slowly walked away, never looking back despite hearing whispers in the flowers. "Jack, what happened?"
"I was reminded why I am here...and that I cannot allow myself to be distracted from my destiny," he whispered in a pained reply before shaking his head and continuing to walk away. 'I must bring my quest to an end soon. One way...or another. I do not know how much longer I can stand this...solitude.' AJ watched him go with sadness in her eyes and pain starting to fill up her heart, before she glanced beside her to see her sister and her friends sitting beside her.
"What happened? Ah thought fer sure that would work?" Applebloom asked.
"Maybe the bugs got spooked?" Sweetie asked, before Applejack cleared her throat and all three turned their fear-filled eyes towards the raging mare.
"Um...we're grounded again, aren't we?"
"For eternity."
--|====\
That night the samurai had a dream. For the first time in so long, a dream instead of a nightmare. In his dream he imagined that he was with his mother and father again, and they were praising him for how well he had fought against the forces of Aku. They laughed and talked and simply enjoyed one another's presence as they sat around the small table, with Jack wearing a smile that he had not worn in so long.
And for the first time in years, Jack finally felt complete. He felt like he was truly home and that the missing piece of him was finally filled. And as the vision began to fade while the grasp of slumber slowly lost its grip on him, he realized how much he had missed the feeling of being a part of his family.
And how he would do anything to be with them once more.
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Man, Jack had a nice time with AJ until he remembered his need to return to the past. Still, it was nice to see that he gets along with Fluttershy and it was funny to see Rarity try to flirt with him.
I hate it when my light gets uppity,
EDIT: Also, RELEVANT:
'FOOL!'
Cupid: "Aw, so close...."
...Ah Destiny Thou art a heartless Bitch.
Literally SECONDS after reading this I get a text from my friend that says this: http://comicbook.com/2015/12/02/adult-swim-announces-new-season-of-samurai-jack-with-genndy-tart/
Well if he kills Aku AFTER he had already sent him into the future, then there wouldn't be much of a problem. But if he's sent before, then he'd probably team up with the old Jack (assuming the universe doesn't implode) and defeat Aku that way. Once that's over with, Future!Jack would dissolve into nothing while Past!Jack lives the rest of his days in relative peace.
Wait, it's actually real? Jack really is coming back? Holy
I thought you guys were messing with me! This is F
ing AWSOME!
The classic resolution to the paradox, is that when Jack goes back, the method used inserts his mind into his his past body before the timeline split, which causes loss of memories of the alternate timeline, only a feeling of not waiting for the distracting monolog.
Jack finishes off Aku before he gets sent to the future, the future that is Aku doesnt occur, Jack is only left with a sense of loss of distant future freinds.
Which wonders how it ties in and matches up with the only Canon instance of Jack traveling back, and staying in the past, with his memories, when he lost to the Guardian.
Talk about a shiptease
Of course the crusaders would decide to play Matchmaker again, only for things to go sour
6691095 Oh my gosh...
6691095 I literally shat my pants when I saw it pop up in my sub box on youtube.
Typical Jack, really. He's so use to rushing after whatever chance he sees in the distance that he forgets to look around him first, though I'm wondering why AJ hasn't prodded him to talk to Twilight and the Princesses in detail before he goes to battle a deity.
She should well be aware that between the three of them, they may have a far easier solution.
6691095 ... I'm dreaming. Either I'm dreaming or this is the third best thing ever.
It would be the second best, but the original voice actor for Aku has long since passed.
I wish jack and applejack could be a couple.
6691095
hole crap!
It was news to me but there is actually a Samurai Jack comic out from IDW comics. It is up to 20 issues!
edit ... all it had was 20 comics and had a horrible ending ... "I cant go back to the past so I will just have to beat him in the future with all my new friends ... Sorry Mom and Dad, you are just going to be screwed."
dammit.
the feels.
6691095 I was JUST about to post that! My childhood returns at last!
This only fills me with more joy as I now know a new Samurai Jack will be making it's appearance very soon. Can't wait. Can. Not. Wait.
6692150 Yeah, but what would we call that pairing? "Jacklejack"?
6691095
...do want. *makes grabby hands* 
Just found out some good news! Samurai Jack's journey will continue! It has been confirmed to be coming NEXT YEAR to Adult Swim (probably as part of the Toonami block)! Rejoice everyone!
Edit: and seems I was beaten to the punch! Curses lol
Applejack really needs to learn to share, Rarity want a big o'l slice of Jack as well.
This alongside his martyr tendencies create a deeply worryingly picture...
Loved the chapter, the firefly's scene reminded a little of rurouni kenshin, very well done.
I see what you did there....
.
as the warm liquid helped to sooth his soul
bathing Twilight in a violent light
1. Soothe.
2. Violet.
6692598 Yes, JackJack is the best name for this pairing. All abord the JackJack train. Whoop whoop!
6984971 but it could be called the AppleJack ship!
6761255 Why are you getting thumbs down? You are just being helpful.
7333368 Some people would call him a grammar nazi.
NNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!! NNNNOOOOOO WHHHHHYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!??????!!!!!
6691358
Yeah, if he returns to the time after he was sent to the future, he would basically still be past Jack, because he wouldn't have been there after he got sent to the future.
This has nothing to do with the chapter but imagine what Equestria may look like 4 years down the line when Jack is a well known figure. Imagine all the edgy fillies and colts with longswords in vinyl trench coats and black fedoras being all like: WHILE YOU WERE OUT DRINKING AND RUTTING I PRACTICED THE BLADE
"NaTuRaLly" Twi is a legend
Was it Aku who said fool? Or was it Jack's subconscious?
He forgot about dimensions.
Yes, yes, that's it--
OH COME ON!!!
Destiny can sometimes be such a meddling jerk. 
You proceed along the new branching timeline. Why do you ask?
I mean I’m not saying Applejack is dumb or anything but where did she learn this? Maybe Twilight taught her about time paradoxes then?
10884466
When you spend all day working on a farm, you have plenty of time to think.