With one final twirl of the strand, Jack finished the brim of his straw hat. With a smile of contentment he then placed the hat on his head, letting out a small sigh when the shade fell on his face and blocked the rays of the burning sun. He then gazed through the slits in the straw brim to observe the few ponies that were walking through the small town, all of whom had their eyes on him.
Jack was used to the stares, since in his world both his outfit and wanted status made him the center of attention, but he was still getting accustomed to the friendly waves and happy smiles that were sent his way, instead of bullets and knives. He nodded politely to a small foal that ran past him before he heard the door behind him open, and he turned to see Applejack emerge with a scowl on her face.
"I take it that you did not find what you were seeking?" Jack asked the mare, who grunted once before motioning for Jack to follow her.
"The nerve of someponies! Ask them a simple question and suddenly they get ah'll up in yer face," she growled with a snort, Jack raising an eyebrow at her as she continued her rant. "And that foal wonders why his shop's so empty! If yer gonna be a jerk to everypony that ya meet ya shouldn't be surprised if nopony likes ya."
"I am sorry to hear that talks did not go well. I have dealt with numerous frustrating individuals before," Jack tried to sympathize, but all AJ did was snort in response before glancing at the horizon to see that the sun was starting to set.
"We'll have to find a place to stay fer the night. Hopefully there'll be a pony here that's far nicer than that one," AJ steamed. Jack figured it would be wisest to let her stay angry, so he remained silent while the two began to walk down the streets of the small town while seeking out a place to rest. Yet, the both of them were confused when they found that, not only was there no hotel or place for guests to stay, but also that with the setting of the sun, ponies started to lock their doors and usher in young foals with looks of fear on their faces.
"So, ya noticed it too?" AJ asked Jack when she saw his eyes narrow. "There's something wrong going on here. Let's see if we can find a pony that'll tell us what that 'wrong' is." With nearly all of the other buildings locked and barred, the only place that remained available to them was the local bar, which also seemed to be on the verge of closing when the two showed up.
"I may not know much about these drinking establishments, but I do know that they seem to always be open long into the night," Jack observed as a slightly obese pony exited the bar and closed the door behind him, glancing around nervously as the shadows grew longer.
"Yer darn right. It's strange. Pardon me, but can we talk to ya fer a second?" Applejack asked the bartender, who nodded rapidly before glancing up at the setting sun. "Can ya please tell us why everypony here seems so plumb terrified of the night? Nightmare Moon's no longer a problem, in case ya haven't heard."
"It's not Princess Luna that we're afraid of, it's something else," he whispered with fear in every word, motioning for the two to get closer. "It's a monster. A giant, clawed creature that shows up in our village every night. It steals our food, and its howls keep us awake long after it has left. It appeared ever since the discovery of the Pony Totem, which is the pride of our village. So every night, we hide in our houses and pray that it doesn't come for us. Now if you will move, I need to get home quickly, and if you were smart you'd both do the same!"
He scurried off after saying his piece, leaving Applejack and the samurai to watch as he ran down the street. Once he was out of sight, the two glanced up at the setting sun before the pair of them shared a look that was reflected in each other's eyes.
"I see that our thoughts are traveling down a similar path," Jack stated while he began to walk towards the town center, drawing forth from his garb whatever food he had with him. "If there is a monster attacking this town, then I must do something to stop it."
"Ya mean us, right?" AJ added, getting a concerned look from Jack. "Oh no ya don't. Ah'm not letting ya face this clawed creature all by yerself. Ya might have a magic sword, but yer body ain't as magical, right?" Jack was forced to nod, getting a smile out of AJ. "Besides, dealing with monsters is a weekly occurrence back where ah'm from. So don't ya fret none, ah'll be perfectly fine."
"Very well, but I ask that you leave most of the fighting to me," Jack instructed while he placed the food in the center of the square before diving into the shadows for cover, never seeing the eyebrow raise that AJ gave him in response to his orders. She dumped whatever food she had next to Jack's as well before joining the samurai in the shadows.
"Ya know what's funny? Ah didn't even know that there was a village here," Applejack whispered to Jack, who was far too focused on the trap to answer her. "Caught me completely off guard when we saw these buildings, honestly. Wonder why it didn't show up on the map of pony towns and cities?"
Their talk died off there, as the two fell silent in anticipation, neither of them daring to move let alone speak while the hours slowly began to tick by. The breeze of the night air whistled a hollow tune around them as the chill of the night clawed at their bodies, yet the thrill of the fight to come kept their spirits warm.
Then, around midnight, they heard the sounds of claws striking the road, immediately putting the pair on guard. The two crouched down deeper into the shadows as a large, hairy figure slunk out of a dark street. Even with little light, both Jack's eyes were able to see the glistening of its fangs and the size of the beast. With a shuffle, the beast suddenly dashed over to the pile of food, digging into it without even bothering to look around. Jack tapped AJ on the shoulder with a nod before he walked out of the shadows and into the pale light of the moon.
"Halt there, creature," Jack demanded loudly. The creature stopped eating as it spun around with a snarl towards the samurai, who was now able to see the long, razor like claws that extended from each hand. "I will only ask you once to leave these ponies and their food alone. Or I shall be forced to remove you myself."
The fanged creature let out a low snarl as it began to back away from Jack, keeping its black eyes on him while it reached down for the food. Jack remained unmoved, feeling no need to act as long as the creature moved closer to the exit of the town. But then the creature's eyes turned from the samurai and focused on Applejack, causing its eyes to light up before it let out a howl and sprinted towards her in a blur.
Before it could reach her, there was the sound of steel and a flash of light, causing the beast to come to a stop as Jack's bade sliced through the air in front of the creature's nose. It leapt back with a yelp as Jack seemed to appear before it, holding his blade in front of his eyes and reflecting the pale moon back at the creature.
"Leave me alone!" the creature roared before lunging at Jack, who held his blade in front of him while he prepared to strike. The beast howled as it slashed at the samurai with its claws, yet the fury of the animal was nothing compared to his blade's steel and the attack was deflected with little effort. Jack then took a swipe at the monster, yet with reflexes that could match the samurai's the creature leapt out of Jack's sword range.
"You are nimble, creature, but it will not save you," Jack promised as he lunged forward and began to rapidly slash at the creature with a precision and skill that few could match. Yet to Jack's frustration, his blows were each either deflected or dodged by the creature, which leapt back away from the samurai and latched itself to the roof of a building.
"Having some issues there partner?" Applejack asked Jack when she finally managed to catch up to the samurai, the both of them staring down the creature as it leapt from rooftop to rooftop.
"It is far quicker than I believed. It managed to deflect or evade each of my blows," Jack said with some slight annoyance. AJ lowered her head for a second before it shot back up with a smirk on her face.
"Keep it distracted. And try to get it to stand still fer even a second."
Jack wanted to ask her what her plan was, but at that moment the creature let out another howl and lunged towards the samurai with claws glistening. Jack brought up his blade to deflect the blow and the two collided in a flash of moonlight, the beast trying to push against Jack's blade to overpower him.
"I wish that it did not have to come to this, creature, but I will not allow you to harm the ponies any further," Jack promised the creature, getting the beast to snarl as it pushed even harder against his sword.
"I have done nothing to them aside from take some food! They are the ones who took everything from me!" Jack's eyebrows raised in confusion at the creature's words, but before either of them could speak further a lasso sailed through the air and wrapped itself around the creature's neck.
"YEEEHHHAAAWWW!!" AJ whooped with glee while she yanked on her rope hard, choking the beast as it staggered away from Jack while clawing at its throat. "Now Jack, before it cuts the rope!" With a yell Jack took aim at one of the beasts arms, slicing with his blade for all he was worth. The blade flashed in the moonlight and the sound of steel striking flesh echoed across the town...
Yet the blade didn't even scratch the creature.
Both Jack and Applejack looked on in complete shock before Jack slashed at the creature's arm once again, only for his blade to fail to knick the creature. Jack staggered back a bit with a puzzled expression on his face before the creature reached up and slashed the lasso off of its neck, leaving it free to lunge at Jack with claws extended.
"Oh, no ya don't!" AJ roared right before she placed both of her hind hooves into the creature's jaw, snapping its head to the side as the force sent it straight into the dirt. The second the creature was down, AJ wrapped what remained of her lasso around the arms and legs of the beast, preventing it from moving any further. "Whooee! Whaddya think Jack? Would I have taken first in the rodeo fer that?"
Jack narrowed his eyes down at the creature as it began to struggle, pondering something as the lights in the houses came on and slowly ponies began to creep into the streets to see what had happened. Most of them gasped in fear when they saw the wriggling beast on the ground, but after seeing that it was tied up they all began to get closer.
"Well I'll be. You actually caught it," a pony with a button saying 'mayor' on it said with an impressed tone while he walked up to the creature, with the creature's eyes flashing in anger as the pony approached it. "Now we can be rid of you and you can no longer steal from us or our land."
"Your land?!" the creature howled with rage, getting the ponies to back away as it struggled against its bonds. "This used to be a place for me and my people, where we lived within these very homes! But then one day I come home and I find all of you living here, with no trace of my pack! What did you do with them?!"
"We did nothing, you beast. Ponies have lived here as far as we can remember," the mayor snapped back before flashing both Jacks grateful smiles. "I don't know how we can possibly thank both of you for what you did. If there is anything I can do, please let me know."
"Ah think a place to sleep is all ah want. What about you, Jack?" AJ asked Jack while he continued to stare down at the creature, but his eyes were narrowed as he seemed lost in his thoughts. "Anything ya want before we move this pain in the flank somewhere else?"
"Can you bring me the totem that I have heard about? I wish to see it." The mayor nodded before ordering one of the ponies to grab the totem, which they returned with a minute later. Both Jack and AJ looked at the pony-shaped object that was a strange black and green color with interest, yet Jack's eyes seemed far more dangerous than AJ's.
"Anything else, brave heroes?" the mayor asked as he took the totem back.
"All I ask," Jack began as he slowly drew his blade again, getting him looks of confusion before his blade flashed...and the ropes holding the creature fell to the ground. "Is that you trust me." The ponies all gasped in fear as the beast slowly rose back up, snarling at the ponies as it glared at all of them. But before either side could act, Jack stepped up to the creature before bowing.
"Forgive me creature, I have been unjust with you. When I heard the ponies' story, I thought you a monster, but now I see that there is more to this." Jack then turned to the mayor with a stern look on his face. "You said that ponies have lived here as long as you could remember, but how far back is that exactly?"
"Um, let's see. We remember the fall festival we had last year and the find of our life before that, but then...it gets a little hazy," the mayor admitted.
"I see. And I take it that was around the time that your pack vanished?" Jack asked as he turned towards the beast, who nodded slowly to confirm Jack's suspicions.
"Jack, what's going on? What are ya trying to say?" AJ interjected, but Jack's answer was to lift his sword again and take aim at the mayor.
"What I am trying to say, my friend," Jack began before his blade flashed once again and the totem was severed in half. "Is that I have found the true culprit." An unholy shriek erupted from the totem, causing the mayor to drop it to the ground as it continued to wail. Darkness began to seep from the two halves before Jack's blade flashed twice more, shattering the two pieces to end the wailing. The moment the darkness faded away a blast of light erupted from the pieces, covering the land. AJ and Jack were both forced to shield their eyes as the light enveloped them, but when it faded, one Jack's eyes opened wide while the other Jack nodded.
"W-what happened?" AJ asked as she looked at the "ponies" around here...to find that all of them now resembled the same creature that Jack and she had just fought. All of the creatures looked down at themselves before they all began to smile, letting out howls to the moon.
"They have been restored. This is my pack," the beast that Jack and AJ had done battle with said as he rose to his feet, glancing down at Jack before bowing to the samurai. "Thank you, warrior. You have restored my family to me. I am eternally indebted to you."
"There is no need to thank me. I should have been far more understanding than I was," Jack said with a bow of his own before sheathing his blade and turning towards the village exit. "Come, Applejack. I suspect that this place shall be far too noisy for us to sleep here tonight."
"How did ya know?" AJ asked Jack once the two of them had left the village, with only the night sky to listen to their words.
"I will admit that I was in the wrong to begin with, and that I believed the beast to be every bit as fearsome as they said," Jack admitted with a shameful shake of his head. "Yet the creature's words confirmed my suspicions that there was more going on than I believed. That, alone with the strange totem that had been found, further fueled my thoughts, and when they brought it before me I could feel the evil coming from it. So with one strike of my blade I put my thoughts to the test and I was correct. The reason the creature's pack had vanished, and why the ponies didn't remember there ever being other creatures...was due to a black magic that had infected all but one of them."
"That's...some pretty quick thinking," AJ admitted when she thought back to everything that had happened, able to follow Jack's line of thinking. But then a question shot to the front of her mind and she had to ask, "But you said that yer suspicions were confirmed when the creature spoke, but ya never told me when ya began to suspect."
"That is easy, Applejack," Jack said as he drew his blade and allowed AJ to glance at it. "It was when my blade failed to harm the creature." And with that "reveal" Jack continued on his way, leaving AJ to stare at him with confusion, while wondering how a sword that could kill Tirek could fail to harm a simply beast.