Plus One
Vultures circled menacingly under the blazing heat of the sun, stalking what they were certain were two soon-to-be meals that were walking a fine line along a large cliff side. One of the future meals wore a white outfit that was stained with dirt and dust, yet the face of the meal remained strong as he pushed himself close to the cliff face while sliding forward. Behind him an orange pony followed along, nearly able to keep up with the samurai step for step.
One misstep would spell certain doom for the duo, yet each of them placed one hoof in front of the other without fear. In silence they continued to slide along the rocky wall, keeping close while they each avoided looking down as best they could. The samurai misplaced one of his hooves and kicked a rock out from beneath his hoof, forcing him to jump forward slightly as the whole section he was standing on collapsed. The orange pony glanced down at the missing part of rock before, with legs that could kick down apple trees, she propelled herself to the samurai's side with one mighty leap.
"Your strength is most impressive. You would be a great warrior," Jack praised in an impressed tone when she touched down beside him and managed to keep her balance.
"Who's to say ah'm not already a great warrior, sugar cube?" Applejack asked Jack with a smile as she scooted past him and took the lead. "Come on, we should nearly be out of this death trap. And ah know ah'm tired of the buzzards up there thinking that they're gonna have us for their next meal."
Planning his steps carefully to ensure that he did not lose his footing again, Jack followed the mare's steps as he ascended the rocky path to where she had gone. A few moments later, the samurai found himself standing on the top of a large cliff face, overlooking a beautiful orange and red land that seemed to go on endlessly across the horizon.
"Nice view, huh? Ah don't come by this way too often for my deliveries, but ah figured that ya had to see it," AJ informed him with a smile while she stole a glance at Jack, who continued to stare across the landscape as if his eyes couldn't get enough.
The samurai's eyes softened while they drunk in the sheer serenity and peace of the land before him, a land free of fires, pain and the wrath of Aku. He let out a small sigh that gained him a curious glance from Applejack, yet when he turned to look at her, she found that he had a curious glance of his own.
"Thank you for showing me this place, Applejack, but I must ask once again why you came with me," Jack tried to pry once more, yet all Applejack did was wink at him before turning back along a road that Jack could barely make out. "I thought that you had deliveries to make, yet you left your cart and your supplies in the city and instead came with me. Not that I am not grateful for your offer to help me, but I-"
"Jack, tell me something. Do ya know where Stalliongrad is?" she asked him as she stopped and glanced over her shoulder at the samurai, raising an eyebrow with a smirk when he shook his head. "How bout Canterlot? Manehatten? See Jack, even if ya think ya don't need help, ya have no idea where anything is in this land. Ya need a guide who can help ya to find yer way around. Now come on, we're burning daylight and Celestia won't hold up the sun for me...well, maybe if ah asked Twilight to ask her to."
Pillars of stone that jutted out of the ground were the pair's only way to cross, from the cliff they were standing on to a hillside that sloped back down into a valley, so without hint of fear or caution Applejack began to hop from pillar to pillar. Jack followed after her with a curious gaze, wondering why she would be so willing to help a pony who was still a stranger to her.
"Because after that stunt Tirek pulled back there, ah now feel as if ah'm in yer debt," Applejack spoke out as she crossed to the other side and glanced back at Jack while waiting for him to catch up. "If it hadn't been fer ya, mah magic and life would both belong to Tirek. Thanks fer saving all of us, by the way. Ah'm in yer debt."
"No, there is no need for you to say that. I am still indebted to you for saving me from the vine monster that attacked me when...well, back in the forest," Jack tried to argue when he landed next to Applejack. "And there is no need for you to escort me when you have such a busy job to-"
"Well, too late fer that. Ah sold mah cart and all the apples in it to the highest bidder back in that city so ah could help ya," AJ informed Jack with a mischievious wink before motioning for him to follow after her, leaving the stunned samurai to stare at her while she started to walk on ahead.
"There was no need for you to go to that extreme. I would have been fine on my own...I always am."
"Well, what's done is done and ah'm gonna make sure that ah pay off mah debt to ya before ah go home...where Granny Smith will probably yell mah ears off fer selling our cart," Applejack chuckled while sliding down the grassy hill into the valley below, with Jack following her moments later. "However, ah can use the bits that the cart got me to pay fer Applebloom's field trip that's coming up and maybe get Big Mac a new harness."
"Your family...may I hear more about them?" Jack asked, getting Applejack to look back at him with a smile.
"Sure. Ah think ah told ya about mah brother, baby sister and granny," Applejack began she looked off into the distance, her eyes far away from there. "Mah baby sister's precious, but she wants to grow up too fast fer her own good. Mah brother's a hard worker, but ah fear that he's starting to turn into a recluse. And then there's granny, who keeps us all in line whenever we start to fight with one another. Heh, talking about them makes me realize how long ah've been gone."
"It sounds like you have quite the family," Jack smiled a pained smile as he thought back to his father and mother, sorrow slowly filling up his eyes before he pushed it back down. "But what about your father and mother? You have said nothing about them?" Applejack's eyes fell as she looked down, and Jack recognized the sorrow on her face was the sorrow that he had just felt a moment ago, already answering his question before she spoke.
"Mah parents...passed away soon after mah baby sister was born," Applejack softly said with pain. Jack hung his head out of respect for them as Applejack went silent for a moment, allowing the samurai to look around at all of the orange and red trees. Although some leaves were still being held by the trees' fingers, the many that had fallen crunched beneath their hooves as they walked in silence, with a gentle wind that carried with it the scent of autumn. "But what about yer family?" Applejack asked as she snapped out of her thoughts and smiled back at Jack. "Ya haven't said anything about them? Or ya home. What are they like?"
"I used to have a happy family and home, what feels like a lifetime ago," Jack quietly answered as he stared off into the distance, his words causing Applejack's face to fall slightly. "But now my quest is a lonely one and my home is wherever I rest for the night."
"Jack...ah'm so sorry. What happened to yer home and family?" Applejack asked with sympathy, but to her surprise Jack began to shake with a fury that she could feel burning within him.
"Aku."
It was Applejack's turn to try and worm information out of Jack, but no matter how hard she pried Jack refused to say anymore about Aku. "You have never heard of him, and it is best that you never do," was all he would say on the matter. So for hours to two walked together in silence, each of them enjoying the stillness of the day aside from the crunching of leaves beneath their hooves. But every once in a while, Applejack would look over at Jack to see that his eyes were far away. Yet she could also see anger in them, a just anger the likes of which she had never seen before.
"So...about what happened in the city back there...do ya have any idea who ya...well...killed?" Applejack eventually asked Jack, trying to start a conversation with him once again. Jack shook his head and the anger eased out of his eyes before he glanced at Applejack, his face showing her that he did not. "That was Tirek. He's...one of the scariest monsters that we've ever fought."
"If he is able to steal the lives and magic of others, then you had every right to be afraid of him," Jack said with a nod before looking ahead. "But there is no need to be afraid any more. He cannot hurt any of you now."
"Er, yeah. Thanks fer that. But ah was wondering...how did ya manage to defeat him?" Applejack asked Jack. "The only way we were able to defeat him when we last fought was because we unlocked a magic so powerful that even he couldn't stand up to it. You beat him...with a sword." Jack frowned at her words before he reached down and drew his blade, allowing the light to shine down its edge as Applejack gazed at it.
"It may look like just a sword to you, but this blade holds within it the magic to slay any evil," Jack informed her as he flipped it around and offered the hilt to her. Applejack hesitantly took the hilt a moment later and held it in her grasp as she looked it over. "It was forged by my ancestors and infused with the justice and will within myself. No matter what evil or malevolent force that I face, with this blade I cannot be beaten. No matter how powerful Tirek was, he was no match for this blade."
"It's...an incredible blade, that much is fer certain," Applejack muttered as she felt the burning magical might of the blade, able to feel the pureness and righteous of the sword, thanks to her rainbow abilities. She then offered the blade back to Jack, who took the sword and sheathed it once more. "But why are ya carrying a blade like that? Does it have something to do with this Aku fella?"
The moment she mentioned Aku again, Jack fell silent and refused to speak any further. So with no other choice, she let out a sigh and walked along silently with Jack, occasionally casting glances at him to see that he had the same look of rage on his face that she had seen when he slayed Tirek.
'No doubt about it, this Aku is responsible fer Jack's family and home. But the only question ah have is, why haven't we heard of this evil creature?' she asked herself as she stared on ahead. 'And then there's Jack's sword. Only the Rainbow Power was able to harm Tirek, but his sword was able to cut through the darned centaur and cut him down fer good. How the heck has Celestia or Luna not heard of a weapon like that?'
"Who lives there?" Applejack had been so lost in her own questions that when Jack suddenly spoke to her she visibly had to shake herself out of her thoughts. She looked to where Jack was pointing to see a small hut that rested at the edge of a pond, with a number of strange assortments surrounding the house.
"That's where Ratpack the trader lives. He has all sorts of items, maps and other things in that pigpen," Applejack told Jack with hints of disgust in her voice. "He's a sleazy pony that's always trying to acquire new things, but if ya want something he's probably got it."
"I wish to see him," Jack informed AJ before walking in the direction of the house, Applejack following after him with a shake of her head. Jack had to sift through a large pile of trash in order to reach the pony's front door, but upon reaching it he knocked against it with his hoof three times. On the third knock the door swung back to reveal a brown pony that was covered in grime with a messy mane.
"Visitors! Come in, come in," he welcomed while kicking some stuff to the side so that the two could enter. Applejack visibly gagged when she followed Jack into the hut to see trash, trash and more trash completely filling up the hut, yet Jack didn't seem to mind as he followed Ratpack to a table, the only place in the hut that wasn't covered in trash.
"Do not bother speaking, for I know why you are here," he said with a giggle as he rubbed his hooves together. "You seek something from me, something that nopony else has. That is why any come to see me."
"You are correct. I am here because I seek something that is hard to find. I seek a way." Both Ratpack and Applejack raised their eyebrows at Jack's request, neither of them certain what to make of it. "Be it a wish on the stars or a portal through time, all I need is a way back. That is all I need."
Ratpack frowned at Jack's request before he turned and dove into the trash heap behind him, leaving Applejack and Jack to both share a look before he burst back out a moment later, holding a scroll in his hooves that was filthy.
"Yes, this may aid you," Ratpack said as he rolled up the scroll and placed it at Jack's hooves. "In here is the location of a ferocious titan that is said to guard a piece of the stars itself. This star piece is rumored to be able to grant whoever touches it a single wish, but the titan has yet to be felled despite the numerous ponies that have tried. This map is the last of its kind, with all others burned."
"Thank you for this," Jack said as he reached out for the scroll, but in a flash Ratpack snatched the scroll from Jack and held it out of arms reach. "What is the meaning of this?"
"The meaning of this is that I am a business pony, and I do not offer my services or items for free," he smiled while holding out his other hoof to Jack. "If you want this map, it will cost you fifty bits." Jack bit his lip as he reached into his kimono, reemerging with a ball, some coins and a paperclip. He then looked up at Applejack with a pleading desperation in his eyes, getting a sigh out of the mare as she flipped off her hat and reached into it for her bits.
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Applejack, Jack personal piggy bank.
s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/newageman/images/2013/thatfeel/thatfeel_17.jpg
Triple god forged swords: for all your evil slaying needs.
Why look to AJ? He has a paperclip! Fortunes rise and fall before the trading power of a paper clip!
Nice chapter, especially with AJ bonding with Jack.
HA HA HA HA HA HA!
6600354 It might not have been red
Thanks to this fic i ended up rewatching the cartoon, how i wished they never decontinued it, along with Megas XLR.
The Samurai never was good with money.
If there's one thing that Jack doesn't like to talk about the most, it's Aku...
Fifty bits. What a steal!
I really like the character development and interaction between Jack and Applejack. It helps me to invest into their stories more and more. Now that I know that Applejack is gonna tag along for the rest of the Samuri's journey, this will certainly retain my interests more and more.
Poor Jack, I wonder when is Applejack going to learn about the past of Jack...
P.S: Is coincidence that Jack is traveling with AppleJack?
I thought Odin, Ra and Vishnu made the sword, you even mentioned that in an earlier chapter. Was this an oversight or is Jack lying so he doesn't have to explain the true origin of the sword.
6600841
The blade was created by the gods, but in the comics it was broken and Jack re-forged it with his own spirit. Not to mention in the show his ancestors strengthened the blade when he needed their help. So I'd say it's a mix of the three.
6600765 I'm inclined to agree.
6600686 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its AKU somebody stop him before he goes to Equestria and ruins it for everypony.
6600862 FOOL! None can stand against the might of AKU! And I won't ruin Equestria, that's where I keep my summer home.
6600848 wait, there are comics about Samurai Jack? I thought that there was only the TV show.
6600968
Nope. Twenty issues published by IDW
6600946 How do you even have a summer house in equestria when you are even in another universe, and are you related to discord?
Look on the bright side, Applejack: At least you're actually repaying your debt to Jack
6600341
"Huh! Hah! Hyaaaaah!"
- A satisfied owner of their own god-forged blade.
6600672 I know
6601087 I can travel through space time with ease. I belive my small cottage is called 'The Crystal Empire' by the locales, I left a small piece of myself behind to watch over the place last time I was there, I belive it began calling itself Sombra? No, not related to Discord.
To the author: good job, love the interaction between AJ and Jack.
Awww, Applejack and....jack is bonding.
6601256 wait a minute. you mean to tell me that you are the rightful ruler of the crystal empire
. Sorry to break it to you but that is now under the protection of cadence 
. As for Sombra he's MIA until he decides to reveal himself in season 5 or in the future 
.
6600341
Works well enough for Link. Now that I think on it, Link and Jack face a similar problem. Link is able to kill/banish his ultimate evil of whatever time but in general they never stay dead. Jack has the means to kill his and has failed many times but inversely Aku and all his minions and various other whatnots have never killed him either. Hmmm...
Great chapter. So Jack now has a travel buddy.
6601384 Well, I guess I have a reason to go to Equestria(hint hint)
6601351 nope
6601912 Do you know what AKU has done?
Just beat Undertale on True-Pacifist play through and I cried for an hour
So Sad
6602229 Starbusting punches OP. God-busting punches OP.
Jack vs a titan.... this will be interesting. And at the very least, a piece of a star could mean meteorite metal which can be made into awesome weapons if it can't grant a wish.
6601960
6602601
and i read all these lines in the right fucking voices...i need a new hobby...
6603306
i admit it was weird reading your lines in a mix of Jack's and Sora (that is who is the first voice i 'heard' was), but oddly it worked.
Especially since it was Sora circa KH2.
6602601 *creates a portal through space time under everyone that sends them into a black hole*
6604014 Yes, because I have the better voice actor. Also, if you wish to continue this, do it in a PM.
So for hours to two walked together in silence
1. The.
InuYasha beats all! If Naraku can't kill InuYasha, Aku has absolutely no chance. Sankon TessÅ! Kaze no kizu!
6601382 would we just call the ship Apple X Jack?
6600672
I don't know if you have seen it, but Adult Swim made a fifth season in 2017.