//------------------------------// // The Cavalry // Story: Back To The Past // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Jack could feel the pointy stones tear apart the air inches from his face when he dove out of the way, just narrowly avoiding the giant, rocky fist that carved a new hole into the ground where he had been standing. The samurai rolled to his hooves in time to throw himself off of them once again to avoid a column of vines that had made themselves into a sphere, impaling the ground next to him. The samurai narrowed his eyes up at the giant forest monstrosity as it tore up a tree chunk and took aim at the samurai, who decided that standing still was a bad idea and was now racing around the beast as fast as he could. Yet, he found that despite how quick he had been as a human, he could move with far more impressive speed now that he was a horse. 'Yet that does not make this battle easier,' he pondered while boulders and bits of trees tore apart the places where he had been moments before. Seeing that nothing it was throwing at the samurai was working, the creature reeled back and let loose a mighty bellow that shattered the air around Jack. Jack's cries of pain were engulfed in the creature's roar, and for a moment he had to pause to cover his ears, giving the vine beast its moment to strike. Jack's eyes went wide when he felt a tendril ensnare his hoof, ripping him off of his hooves and yanking him into the air above the creature. Upon looking up at the creature's head, he found that a massive maw had opened and he was being moved closer to it. Jack quickly reached for his blade and sliced clean through the vine, causing the beast to howl while Jack began to fall towards the still open jaws of the beast. "I shall not be your dish!" Jack stated before extending his blade and catching one of the rocky teeth with the edge of his sword, allowing the samurai to push himself out of the maw's grasp and roll onto one of the trees that were sticking out of the creature's body. The beast bellowed with fury at the samurai while it lifted one of its arms and slammed the finger-like vines into the trunk, snapping it off of its body and hurling it into the forest. Jack had seen the attack coming a mile away and had leapt safely to another trunk, temporarily escaping the beast's line of sight. In a swift motion he took aim at a weak spot between the rocks and drove his blade into the slit, a small smile crossing his face when the creature bellowed with fury and pain. Yet, it was when he grabbed hold of the hilt of his sword that he lowered his guard for a moment, allowing vines that shot out of the rocks to wrap around his body. Jack let out a cry of surprise when the vines pulled both him and the sword off of the creature and slammed him into the ground, causing pain to flood through Jack's veins as the sword was knocked free of his grip. He reached out for it before the vines dragged him back up to the creature's maw, where this time it simply tossed him into the air over its jaw, opening wide as the flailing samurai fell helplessly towards the maw of the creature. Then it happened in a flash. Jack heard somepony let out a battle cry while he felt something wrap around his waist, which quickly yanked him out of the creature's maw just before the jaws snapped shut. Jack slammed into the ground near the creature's feet, dazed and confused, shaking his head to clear his thoughts before looking up into the green eyes of his savior. "Are ya alright, sugercube?" he heard a voice with a thick accent ask him while he blinked his eyes, clearing away the pain to allow him to gaze upon the orange face that was staring down at him with concerned green eyes. "I...I believe that I am fine," Jack replied as he forced himself up to his hooves, glancing down at himself to see that a rope had been lassoed around his waist. The rope end was sitting next to the orange pony that had saved his life. "I am grateful for you saving me, but I need my sword to deal with this creature," Jack quickly said while he looked back towards the beast, which had found the samurai and orange pony and was beginning to advance on them. "Yer sword's over there, if that's it sticking out of the ground," the pony said as she pointed to a hilt that could be seen sticking out of the ground. With a nod Jack and the other pony raced over to the blade, the both of them just barely managing to avoid the chunk of rock that was hurled at them. He grabbed hold of the blade and pulled it from the dirt while the orange pony began to swing her lasso, each of them staring down the monster that turned to face them. "You should flee. I cannot guarantee that I can protect you from this beast," Jack managed to say despite the hilt of his sword occupying a large portion of his mouth. "Aw how sweet, the noble warrior thinks ah need to be protected," she laughed before letting out a cry and rushing forward before Jack could stop her. The vine creature let out a bellow as it tried to crush her underfoot, but with speeds that impressed Jack the orange pony leapt and weaved around every attempt on her life. "Are ya gonna stand there gawking or are ya gonna put that sword to good use?!" Jack took the hint and raced into battle after the orange pony, who had lassoed one of the creature's hands and was trying to pull it down despite the size difference. The creature roared with fury at the orange pony's attempts to lasso it, so it lifted its other arm back before swinging down at the pony. But then there was a flash of light, the sound of metal striking stone and the roar of a furious beast as one of its stone fingers crashed into the ground next to the pony, who glanced over at Jack as he landed beside her and cut her lasso. "Thanks fer the save, but ah had it under control," the pony said with a bit of heat, but Jack's attention was far too focused on the beast to care about her tone. "This creature's armor is far too strong to try and attack it head on," Jack said to the pony while he glanced at it up and down, trying to find a crack in the armor or a weak point. The pony glanced at the creature as well before looking up at its head, narrowing her eyes when she noticed something. "That's an odd looking flower on its head, wouldn't ya say?" she asked Jack, who followed her gaze to see that there was indeed a strange flower growing out of the creature's head. He figured that he was only able to see it due to the creature moving the vines away from its head to attack the two of them, yet he wondered why it would keep a flower covered. A plan began to formulate in the samurai's mind, but as he looked over at the pony he was not sure he should ask. "Whatever ya need me to do, ah'm game," she said with a wicked smile on her face while she nodded at the samurai. "Very well. I need the beast to be distracted for just a moment, then I shall cut that flower from its head," Jack informed her as he knelt down slightly and clamped his teeth around the hilt of his blade. The orange pony then let out a holler before racing right up to the creature, waving her tail at it before racing to the side as it tried to stomp down on her. Despite the monstrous being that was trying to crush her, the pony's attention was drawn away by a yell that pierced through all of the sounds of destruction. The pony turned her eyes to the sky to see the pony in the white kimono leaping into the air far higher than any earth pony should have physically been able to, sword held high over his head as he flew towards the creature's head at a perfect arc. The creature heard the yelling and turned its head towards the samurai just in time to see the sword slash down on the small flower that rested on its head. Jack hurled past the rest of the creature and landed on the ground without a sound, slowly moving the edge of his blade across the scabbard before he sheathed it. He and the orange pony then looked up at the monster as it began to fall apart, sending tons of rock and foliage crashing into the ground. After a few moments, there was nothing left but a pile of rock and trees, allowing the two each to sigh in relief before they turned their attentions towards each other. "Thank you for your help back there. I would have been slain if you had not arrived," Jack thanked as he bowed his head before the orange pony as a sign of respect. "You have saved my life today. I am eternally indebted to you." "Uh, ya don't have to go that far. Ya did save me back there as well," the pony said as she rubbed the back of her head before glancing at the strange garb that Jack was wearing, recognizing it all too well. "Uh, ya know that Nightmre Night was a few days ago? Ya shouldn't be wearing yer costume still?" "What do you mean, 'costume'?" Jack asked her as he glanced down at his outfit, confused by her words. "Never mind. Ya got a name, stranger, or is yer sword the only strange thing about you?" the pony asked Jack. "Please forgive me, I have forgotten my manners. They call me Jack. Samurai Jack," Jack replied with a bow, getting a smirk out of the pony as she wondered who "they" were. "Is that so? Well ain't it a small world, mah name's Applejack," Applejack introduced as she held out her hoof to the samurai, who glanced at it for a second before grasping her hoof with his and shaking it. "Well, a pleasure to meet you mister Jack. That was some pretty fine monster fighting back there if ya don't mind me saying." "I am grateful, though, that you arrived when you did. But how did you know where the monster was and that I needed help?" Jack asked Applejack. "Ah learned the location of the monster from a worker ah met on the road, who also told me about this crazy pony wielding a sword that went after it by himself," Applejack said with a laugh as she glanced at Jack's weapon. "But it wasn't until ah got close to the battle to know that ya needed help. But whooee did you put on a show. Ah've never seen an earth pony fly like that before." "Not flying. Jump good," Jack corrected for her with a smile that got him an eyebrow raise in response. "Uh-huh. Well then, Samurai Jack, this has been fun and all, but it's best fer me to mosey along," Applejack said as she walked towards the trees, Jack following her to a cart that had been left by the side of the road. Applejack then lifted a brown hat from the back of the cart and placed it on her head, but Jack's eyes remained glued to the hundreds of apples that filled up the back. "Ah need to get these apples here to Stalliongrad and that's still another half a day out." "Wait a moment, please...I am a foreigner in these lands and I do not know my way around yet. Can I please come with you, at least until I can locate a map or a way to tell where I am?" Jack asked her, the desperation in his voice so strong that Applejack couldn't help but nod with a smile. "Thank you very much, Miss Applejack. Wait please, allow me." Faster than Applejack could argue the samurai had dashed to the cart and fastened the harness to his back. "Alright, if ya want to pull it then ah won't stop you. But if it gets too heavy to carry just let me know and we'll swap out." Jack nodded as Applejack began to lead the way, walking along beside her while pulling the cart without much effort. 'Yet, she must be incredibly strong to lift such a load by herself,' Jack mused as he felt the weight of the cart while he pulled. Jack had trained with far heavier weights, but he could still feel that the cart weighed a great deal and only one with considerable strength could move it. The two had to take a long detour around the rockslide and Jack had to use his blade to chop away at foliage that had entangled the cart, but eventually the two managed to break free of the forest and find the dirt path once again. "So, where are ya from Jack?" Applejack asked him once they were back on the main road, with nothing but clear skies and grassy hills ahead of them for miles. "Ah mean, ya said that you are a stranger in this land and from the way yer dressed ah would guess that yer from...Japony maybe?" "I am far from home and I am desperately trying to find a way back," Jack eventually decided to reveal, figuring that it would be easier to tell her a toned down version of the truth. "Yet it has been a long time and I am...weary." Applejack felt sympathy for the samurai, able to see the weariness in his face--a face that she could tell had seen much hardship. "Well fortunately for you, yer in luck. Stalliongrad has one of the best spas in all of Equestria," Applejack informed Jack, who perked up slightly at the prospect of rest. Then his stomach let out a loud rumble that caught both him and Applejack off guard, but a moment later Applejack chuckled before reaching into the back of the cart and tossing it to Jack. "Here ya go, one on the house. Can't have ya collapse on me before we get there," AJ chuckled. "I cannot," Jack argued as he tried to give it back. "Not after you-" "Just eat it." Jack relented upon seeing the look in AJ's eyes and glanced down at the apple, wondering how long it had been since he had seen such a normal looking fruit. He gingerly took a bite into it, chewing it once or twice before his taste buds were overwhelmed with flavor. He didn't remember taking the next couple of bites, but when he glanced down at the apple he found that only the core was left. "Wow, ya ate that so fast it's like ya haven't had an apple before," Applejack noticed, and Jack's face turned slightly reddish as he slipped the core into his kimono, planning to throw it out later. "It has been a long time since I have had a fruit such as that. You must grow them with love and care," Jack observed, getting a smile and nod from the orange pony. "Eeyup. Hoof grown and tended to with a mother's affection. Ah don't mean to brag, but ah doubt that you would find better tasting apples anywhere in Equestria," Applejack said with pride, getting Jack to smile at her enthusiasm. "After having such a delight, I do not believe that I could argue with your statement," Jack politely said, yet when he turned his attention back to the road he could see that Applejack was looking at him with a curious expression. "So, why are ya so far away from home? And how come ya don't know how to get back?" she asked with a curious glance. Jack kept his mouth shut while he debated how to answer, remembering what the mage had told him about blending in and becoming one of them. Even if he only gave her minor details, she would know that something was different about him. Fortunately Jack's salvation came when Applejack looked up at the sky to see that the sun was setting, getting a frown out of her as she began to look for a place to rest. "Looks like the sun's setting. We can camp here for the night," Applejack said as she walked off the path to a small patch beneath a single tree, helping Jack to wheel the cart over before unfastening him from it. "And ah know we just met, but there's something about you that seems...nice. Ah figure that ah can trust ya." "I am grateful for your trust and hospitality," Jack gratefully said with a bow before he walked over to the tree and laid up against it, fast asleep a moment later. Applejack pulled a blanket out from the cart and laid it on the ground before laying down on it herself. Yet as the sun sank beyond the horizon and Luna's reign began, she cast a curious glance at the samurai. 'He's hiding something. Ah can feel it,' she pondered before shrugging her shoulders and placing her head on the ground. 'Ah well, he seems pretty nice. Ah won't force him to tell me all his secrets. But ah am...curious...'