//------------------------------//
// Finding Yourself 
// Story: Back To The Past 
// by Onomonopia 
//------------------------------//

Jack hurled himself to the side as black tendrils impaled themselves into the floor at his feet, Jack panting heavily as he sprang to his sandals while glaring at the black demon that towered far above him. The Master of Darkness had a smile on his face that clearly showed that he believed himself to be victorious.

"Come now samurai, do not make this too easy for me!" Aku laughed as he clapped his hands together, causing black spikes of solid darkness to erupt from the ground. Jack cried out while the spikes sliced at his legs, forcing him to dive to the side to escape the pointy doom.

"You were foolish to face me, Aku! Because now I can-" Jack began as he reached down for his blade, but with cold horror that gripped at his heart he realized that his most trusted ally was no longer with him.

"What is the matter samurai? Have you lost your sword?!" Aku laughed as he threw his head back, Jack's eyes shaking before he shook his head and took up a stance against Aku. "What is this? The fool believes that he can best me without his sword? That is very brave of you samurai...and makes it all the easier to devour you!"

As Aku said this, he reeled back while extended his maw far beyond what any man could do. Aku then swung his head straight down towards the samurai, whose eyes widened right before he was devoured by the monster and was consumed by his evil and darkness, not able to see a light.

--|======\

A weak groan escaped from the samurai's lips when his eyes fluttered open, slowly taking in the hay roof that covered his head. He blinked weakly before a rain drop descended and splashed onto his nose, getting the samurai to slowly push himself up. But when he placed pressure on his right arm, agony flooded his senses and he quickly recalled the place where Dark Horse had impaled him. Yet the pain had only just begun to fade before Jack placed a hoof at his side, only to confirm that his blade was indeed gone.

"Then it is true. I have lost my friend," Jack whispered to himself, able to hear the pounding of the rain outside that seemed as relentless as ever. Jack sighed softly before he heard the faintest sounds of snoring, and when he glanced beside the bed he had been resting upon he discovered Applejack, who was fast asleep with her hat still on top of her head and black bags under her eyes.

Despite the situation in which he found himself, Jack couldn't help but smile slightly at her before he forced himself off the bed and to his hooves with a grunt. He forced down the pain in his shoulder and in his back, which reminded him of how he ended up in this state, before he began to stagger towards the shack's exit. From the cool breeze he could feel, he knew that his outfit had been shredded again, adding to the list of things he needed to fix.

"But my sword comes first."  Jack stepped out of the shack to find that the shack was in the center of a large jungle, with the large leaves overhead preventing the rain from striking down on the area near the shack. Only a few droplets managed to sneak past the foliage's net, but the absence of rain was the last of the samurai's concerns since his attention was fully glued to the zebra that rested upon a staff ten feet off the ground...on her head.

A few memories came back to Jack as he watched the zebra balance, reminding him of his days training with the Xiaolin monks before he waged war with Aku. Yet he had never been asked to balance on his head when he trained with them. Curious to see how the zebra was managing, he slowly approached the staff. He glanced up at the zebra when he got close, but to his confusion he found that her eyes were closed and she seemed to be balancing...on her mane.

"It is because of myself I have complete mastery. That is how I can balance so effortlessly." Jack took a few quick steps back when the zebra opened her eyes and looked up at Jack, a knowing smile crossing her face before she moved a hoof down to the staff and lifted herself upon a single limb. She then twisted and moved her body in a way so that she sat right side up, before slowly descending the staff with only her hooves, Jack was amazed that she could move so effortlessly and that the staff never swayed during the actions.

"Forgive me for staring, but I have rarely seen one who can move with such fluidity and grace as you do," Jack humbly apologized as he bowed. "I should introduce myself. I am called-"

"Yes, the samurai who wishes to get back. The samurai that they call, Jack," Zecora finished for him, her smile increasing slightly when Jack's eyes widened at her words. "Oh yes, I have heard of the name Jack. It seems to be the one all the travelers now bring back. The samurai who helps all with no desire for fame. The samurai who finally brought an end to Tirek's dark reign."

"Yes...I am indeed, Jack," Jack confirmed, yet as he caught a glimpse into the zebra's eyes he caught signs of mischief, mystique and...knowledge. The zebra then smiled and started to walk to a small pool of water that had been created by the rain, placing her staff in one end before sitting down.

"I am called Zecora, my famous guest. That is what you wanted to know, yes?" Zecora stated with another large smile as she turned to Jack, seeming to read the samurai's mind every time he wished to ask a question.

"Yes, that was one of my questions, Zecora," Jack quietly said with a nod before glancing down at himself once more. "But how did I come to this place? Where is this place anyhow?"

"I am not the one who carried you here. That would be Applejack, who is such a dear," Zecora answered. "She pulled you from the river that wished to claim your life, yet in the process almost extinguished her own light." Jack felt a twinge of guilt about learning that Applejack had almost died for him again, but with a shake of his head he banished such thoughts. "It was fortunate that she then ran into me, for you would not last much longer, you see. I took you into the place where I spent some moons, helping to heal you and repair your wounds."

"I see. Then I am indebted to you," Jack said with another bow that got an eyebrow raise out of Zecora. "It seems that I owe you my life." Yet to Jack's confusion, Zecora let out a sigh of frustration before tapping the edge of her staff, causing it to fly out of the water and spray the both of them.

"Were you not listening to a word I said? If not for Applejack, then you would already be dead!" Zecora repeated as the staff came twirling back down towards Jack, but even though he was injured the samurai still caught the weapon with little effort. A thin smile seemed to crease Zecora's lips before she motioned for Jack to return her staff to her, which he did so. "She pulled you from rapids that should have killed you dead! So turn around and go indebt yourself to her instead!"

"I will...do that. Yet I still do owe you for tending to my wounds," Jack politely said with another bow, getting another sigh out of Zecora, yet her smile didn't leave her face this time. "And I must also ask that you tell me which way we came from. There is something that I must do."

"If you wish to retrieve your sword, then you had better pray to your lord. With your current skills you will lose twice, but this time the cost will be your life," Zecora warned the samurai, whose face darkened slightly at her words. "And then you will break poor Applejack's soul, while I dump your body in a hole."

"I can best him. My skills as a warrior are unmatched," Jack stated with absolute certainty, yet Zecora merely chuckled at his words before driving her staff into the mud. She then turned to Jack and stood up on her hind legs, making Jack raise an eyebrow at her actions.

"Your skills may be far above the rest, but let me put you to a little test. If you can strike me once I shall let you be free. But if you fail you will listen to me," Zecora wagered. Jack barely needed a second to think about his answer before agreeing to her terms, rising onto his back hooves as well and mirroring Zecora. 

The two silently stared at each other for a brief moment before Jack made the first move, covering the distance between the two in a flash as one of his hooves aimed strike for her face. Yet with a simple flick of her wrist Zecora deflected the strike and struck Jack in the hind leg, causing him to growl when his leg gave out from under him. He skidded into the mud, kicking the numbness out of his leg while wondering what the zebra had done.

"You fight as if you are in your previous form. Yet your previous strength is no longer your norm," Zecora informed Jack, who was starting to become numb to the fact that everypony seemed to know that he was human. "That throws off your strikes and skills, making it easy to tell when you go in for the kill."

"So, the reason that I was bested was because I had simply not become fully accustomed to my form yet," Jack caught on, yet when he glanced down at his hooves the zebra kicked his legs out from beneath him and drove a hoof into his neck that made his entire body tingle.

"This victory belongs to me. But there is more to this than your body." Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion before the zebra helped pull him to his hooves. "The issue with your form I can mend like your skin, yet this battle I speak of comes from within. There is a darkness that pulls at your heart, a pain and suffering that seeks to tear you apart."

"If this darkness is within me, then what can I do to vanquish it?" Jack asked with no trace of fear, but Zecora held up a hoof with a shake of her head.

"Everypony's darkness is dealt with in a different way. The solution to your pain is something I cannot say." Jack frowned at her answer before both he and Zecora heard the sounds of hooves running towards them and they both turned to see Applejack racing towards the pair, relief in her eyes when she saw Jack standing on his own.

"Oh thank Faust, when ah saw ya were gone ah was certain that ya had gone off after Dark Horse all on yer lonesome," AJ visibly sighed with relief before wiping under her tired eyes. "Ah'm glad to see that yer not as wounded as ah thought. Ah...after ah pulled ya from the river ah was so afraid that..."

"Applejack has stayed at your side for four sleepless nights, watching over you as you battled your fight," Zecora informed Jack, who bowed towards Applejack with gratitude in his eyes. "But here is a fact that I find weird. Applejack said that you had been slashed, yet that wound does not appear."

"Yer right," Applejack said after a quick yawn as she glanced at Jack's chest, not able to see where his blade had slashed across his chest. "Ah know for certain that yer blade struck you, but there's not a scratch on ya from where it struck. How did that...?"

"There will be time to explain that later. But right now I must ask that you train me," Jack pleaded as he turned back towards Zecora and bowed to her, getting her to raise an eyebrow at his request. "It is clear that you are a great warrior that has far surpassed me. If you can show me how to properly move, then perhaps I will be able to best the Dark Horse."

Zecora raised an eyebrow at Jack before letting out a small chuckle as she pressed her hoof against a few of his joints. "Do not sell yourself so short. From what little I saw you will not take much work. Your skills are already far beyond mine, you are only held back by body and mind. So I will teach you how to move and soon your skill will you prove."

For the rest of the day Zecora had Jack throwing punches while standing on his back hooves, yet she had also tied a sharp rock to his back that dug into his skin if he threw a punch that was out of place. AJ watched from the side with worried eyes as Jack constantly gritted in pain every few punches, but after a few hours Jack had nearly perfected how to punch.

"He learns quite fast. This shall truly be a blast."

She then had Jack balance hot tea on each of his limbs, yet the difference in this training from similar training that he had received was that he was keeping his legs bent backwards in a way only his new body could bend. Every time that he spilled even the slightest drop Jack was forced to bend all the way back down a repeat the task. The sun had set on him by the time he had begun to get the hang of his legs being able to bend the way they were, but as Zecora headed off to bed she informed him that he was to stay that way through the night.

"Don't worry Jack, ah'll be here with ya every step of the way," Applejack offered him, but with the tiniest shake of his head Jack refused her offer.

"You have already done so much for me and you stayed up for nights making sure that I was fine.  Go rest, Applejack. This task is one that I must complete alone." Despite his words Applejack watched Jack as he remained perfectly motionless for the first few hours, but eventually the sleep deprivation got to her and she snoozed softly off to the side as Jack remained in place.

"I am impressed. You have passed the second test," Zecore said with a smile the following morning when she found Jack in the same position that she had left him the previous night. He bowed to her once she had removed the tea from his arms and legs, before turning towards Jack with a smile on her face. "Now I can see that your life of training has allowed you to learn fast. So instead of the smaller touches, this task shall be your last. All you have to do now is simply best me. Now doesn't that sound easy?"

Yet to Jack's amazement, Zecora proved to be a far stronger opponent than he believed possible for a zebra that said his skills were greater than his. The sun had just began to rise over the horizon when they engaged in their first battle, where Jack was quickly bested. Undeterred, he rose up and challenged her once again, only for the same result to be repeated just as fast. Their battles continued until noon, where the exhausted samurai was forced to take a moment to rest and tend to his bruises.

"How are ya doing?" AJ asked Jack while offering him apple juice and tarts that she had made with some of Zecora's groceries.

"She is an unbelievable foe. Every time I believe I have caught her in skill or speed, she seems to leap to another level above me," Jack replied as he graciously accepted Applejack's offering, clearing the plate and glass quickly. "But I am learning, even if it is only how to move. Let us see what the rest of the day has to offer."

The sun set and rose as the two continued to battle, and despite Jack starting to learn how to move faster and get a better feel for his body, Zecora constantly beat him with little effort. It was when the sun set for the third time that Zecora finally held up a hoof during one of their sessions, causing the depleted Jack to stop an attack mid-swing.

"It seems that you still do not see. Jack, you could best me easily," Zecora admitted to Jack, who was too tired to even raise an eyebrow. "Yet you still believe yourself to be as you once were. But here is a thought that your mind shall stir. There is now another side of you, a pony side. Why is it that, that is the side that you continue to deny? Embrace all of who you are and you will be able to reach even the stars." 

Zecora resumed the battle after saying that, yet this time Jack finally allowed himself to fully embrace the four legged equine that he had become. 'With this new form I have been given a new strength as well,' Jack silently thought as he closed his eyes, allowing his mind to feel out his body for the first time. 'Perhaps it is time I stopped relying on my old strength...and started fighting with the new one. I thank the heavens for granting me this body to deal with this new threat. Now I shall put its full power to the test.'

Then Jack lunged forward, reaching Zecora within an instant. Zecora raised her hooves to defend herself...before blinking and finding herself flat on her back, staring up at the smiling samurai. Applejack let out a gasp before following it up with a whoop, racing over to Jack as he offered a hoof to Zecora. A smile crossed her own face before Jack helped her back up, both bowing to each other before Zecora then waved Jack away.

"Your have finally passed the last test. So what are you still doing here, you pest. Get out of my sight and stop being a sore...but the next time we meet, you better have your sword." Zecora then clapped her hooves together and created a cloud of smoke that blinded both Jacks, yet the samurai had a smile on his face when the smoke cleared and they found that she had vanished.

"Thank you for teaching me your way. Now there is a certain pony that I must make pay."

--|=======\

Even though there was no rain that pounded away on the stone bridge, the dark clouds that rumbled overhead made the dark pony know that that could change at any moment. Yet the rain was the least of the pony's concerns. What concerned him was that a pony in a shredded kimono, that he had supposedly killed, was now walking onto the bridge with his orange friend at his side. 

Jack came to a stop a slight distance away from the Dark Horse, simply staring at him for a moment before nodding to Applejack. She nodded in reply before walking across the bridge, not giving the Dark Horse so much as a glance when she passed by him.

The moment she was off the bridge, Dark Horse lunged forward while drawing forth Jack's blade, smiling under his helmet at the thought of getting to kill the samurai a second time. Yet when the pony reached Jack, the samurai moved in a blur of motion, one hoof catching the hilt of his sword while the other struck the Dark Horse in the elbow. He cried out as the blow forced him to release Jack's sword and he staggered back with a snarl as Jack slowly moved his recovered sword in front of his face.

Dark Horse drew his magic blade before roaring with fury, lunging at Jack with the weapon held high. Jack returned the favor by leaping into the air with him, both warriors slashing at each other at the same time. They both hit the bridge simultaneously, neither one of them moving for a few seconds...before Jack slowly stood up and slid his blade across the top of his scabbard.

He then sheathed his blade before walking towards the end of the bridge where Applejack was waiting for him, never turning around to see Dark Horse slowly collapse to the very bridge where he had claimed so many, joining those that he had claimed. Yet as Jack felt the weight pulling slightly against his side again, he couldn't help but smile down at his blade.

"Welcome home, my friend."