The Samurai's Tale
With a start the emerald eyes of the mare snapped open, her breath catching in her throat while both consciousness and the image of the giant boulder crushing her returned at the same time. Applejack sat up straight while holding a hoof to her chest, pushing against her heart to keep it from bursting out while she glanced around the moonlit night with fear.
"You have finally awoken. I am glad to see that you are alright." As AJ's eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and the burning flames before her, she spied the samurai sitting across from her with tired eyes and a shredded kimono. She then looked down at her own body to see that she was perfectly fine...despite knowing that when she lost consciousness, she had been crushed between a rock and a hard place.
"Jack...what's going on? Why are we sitting in a grass field?" she asked Jack while looking at her hooves, never seeing the crippling sorrow that flooded Jack's eyes as he glanced down in disgust. "Last thing ah remember was fighting that titan...and then he hurled that rock at ya...and ah pushed you out of the way..."
"I am so sorry." The bitterness and pain in Jack's voice silenced AJ's words on the spot, and when she turned her gaze to the samurai she found him hanging his head and his teeth gritted with fury. "It is my fault that you were injured...killed, in the battle with the titan. Had I managed to best him sooner, or fallen to him sooner, you would not have been harmed. I apologize for failing you."
"Jack...it's alright. Ah chose to enter the fight and ah was ready fer what might have-"
"It is not alright! I am supposed to be able to face an evil, to protect innocents such as yourself from harm!" Jack roared with a fury that made the flames flicker away from him, yet AJ could hear pain in his voice. "Yet once again, in the face of such a monster, I failed to protect those who depended on me. And had it not been for the titan's mercy, you would have been lost to your family...I thank you for all that you have done for me, but I must ask that you leave me to journey on by myself. It is safer for you that way."
Despite the pleading in the samurai's voice, Applejack was no longer listening to his words. Instead, she was listening to the self-loathing and guilt that was consuming the samurai's every word--a guilt for something over which he had no power. A guilt that Applejack remembered hearing in her own voice after her parents had died so long ago.
"Jack."
Jack slowly lifted his head to gaze up at Applejack, who had a stern yet also caring look on her face as she stared the samurai down. "Ah know that ya feel responsible for what happened to me, but ah entered that fight because ah couldn't stand by and watch mah friend die while I stood by. From what ah know of ya, you sacrifice so much fer others, yet yer not used to anypony helping you. And ah'm guessing that's why ya need yer wish granted so badly...was because somepony else out there needs yer help?"
Jack nodded only once to show that she was correct before he closed his eyes and lowered his head again, sympathy spreading across Applejack's face before she walked over beside the samurai and sat down. She placed a hoof on his shoulder and looked at him, trying to get him to open up a little in some way.
"By the way...ya said that if ya put the titan down sooner ya would have been able to save me," she began, getting another small nod from Jack. "That's means ya beat him. But if ya did so, then that means that ya would have had a chance to get yer wish granted. So-"
"When the piece of heaven asked for my wish, I used it to bring you back from the dead," Jack admitted to Applejack, who only softened her eyes when she heard the despair in his voice.
"Ah...guessed as much when ah saw that ah was perfectly unharmed, but ah have to ask...why?"
"Because if I allowed my friend to die while I stood by and did nothing, when I had the chance to save her, I would never be able to face my family again," Jack mirrored AJ's own words, confusing the pony slightly.
"But...ah thought...that this Aku killed yer family and friends?" The look that Jack had upon his face when he lifted his head would be burned into Applejack's mind for as long as she could remember. In a brief moment, between the light of the fire and the bright moon, Jack's features seemed to age thousands of years, as if that were his true age. But then he turned his head towards her, and she found that while his face looked young again, his eyes seemed ancient.
"Then, perhaps it is time that I told you of my greatest failure...and of my quest," Jack accepted with a sigh before he moved his body towards Applejack and crossed his legs, looking her dead in the eyes as he began to speak.
"I am...was the prince of a powerful nation that, under the rule of my father, experienced bounty and wealth a thousand times greater than that of any other nation I knew of. I grew up with a loving mother and a brave and noble father. For the early years of my life, I lived in peace and happiness, with not a care in the world."
"But then one day, an eclipse spread across the land. An eclipse, that was able to free from his prison my father's most hated and feared enemy. Aku." At the mention of the demon's name, Applejack felt the air around her chill a bit and the fire seemed to die down slightly, allowing the shadows to creep in. "Aku is the shape shifting master of darkness, a being that wanted nothing more than absolute control over all of the world. But first he came to my home...for my father was the one who imprisoned him before."
"His plan was perfect. He caught my family and nation when we were experiencing peace, so none of us were ready for his return. He went straight for my father, capturing him before he could defeat the monster once again. He then laid waste to my village...to my home." Jack stopped for a moment as tears welled up in his eyes, eyes that still remembered the burning city that was forever seared into his mind.
"With no one else to turn to and Aku victorious, my mother sent me off while she held onto the only weapon in all of the world that could vanquish that evil. The sword." Jack unsheathed his blade slightly as he said this, and the light that reflected from the blade illuminated the darkening atmosphere, causing the shadows to retreat and allowing the light to burn stronger once again. "I was only allowed to return once I was strong enough to slay the monster, so for years I had to imagine the horror that Aku was unleashing upon my people."
"The next part of my life was spent training. I learned how to fight from not only the greatest warriors that had ever lived, but also from philosophers, pacifists and leaders. And from them I learned everything that I would need to defeat the evil...and at the same time turned my body into one that would be able to withstand Aku's evil. Then, when I was ready, I found my mother and she granted me the blade that would slay Aku. I was ready."
"Finally, I returned to my home...to find it as well as the rest of the nation completely enslaved by Aku," Jack whispered, unable to raise his voice as the sorrow choked at his throat. "My once proud and smiling people...enslaved. My father...reduced practically to nothing by the work Aku had him do, to punish him for his defiance before. But when they saw me again, when they saw that the prince who was once a boy returned a warrior, there was hope in their eyes. Hope that I would defeat Aku and free them."
"Jack..." Applejack whispered with terror in her own eyes. Terror for what she knew would happen next.
"I then found the monster, resting on his laurels within his tower. I challenged him to battle, brandished my blade...and battle we did." Sparks flew everywhere as Jack's blade deflected a claw strike from Aku, getting the demon to howl with pain as the sacred blade cut at his hand. Jack then let out a cry of fury as he lunged up at the monster, slicing through his darkness and causing him to collapse to the floor with Jack's blade held high. The final strike within his reach.
"I managed to defeat Aku, managed to overpower him despite his darkness and mastery of shape shifting. But...in a moment of weakness, where I listened to his words instead of slaying him then and there, he played one last trick on me." Jack's face constricted with a wrath Applejack had never seen on the face of a pony before, his whole body trembling before the failure extinguished the rage. "He tore open a portal to the future and flung me into it, casting me away from my home and into a distant time."
"But without anyone there in the past to stop him, there was only one future that could occur. When I was free of the portal's grasp, I found myself in the far off future...a future that was in the clutches of Aku." Jack hung his head once again, wallowing in his failure. AJ's eyes teared up before she rested her head on Jack's shoulder, able to feel the pain burning within him.
"I had failed. My moment of stillness cost me not only the chance to slay Aku, but it also caused me to fail all of those who believed in me," Jack seethed with guilt as he started to shake once again. "They all believed in me. Not one of them doubted that I would save them and that soon they would be free from the clutches of Aku. I cannot begin to image the heart crushing despair that they felt when Aku returned from the battle instead of me. I failed my people...and the future of the world, when I failed to slay Aku."
"W-what happened when you found yerself stuck in the future?" AJ managed to blurt out, trying in desperation to get Jack from thinking about his own failures and instead continue his story.
"Once I discovered where...rather when I was, I swore that I would find a way to take me back to the past, to return to...before Aku managed to hurl me into his future. I swore that I would go back and right the wrongs that the monster had done and finally free my people and the future of his clutches!" Jack said with a burning passion as his eyes blazed. Applejack's own eyes widened in amazement when it looked like, for a moment, the Jack she knew had returned. But then his face fell and his shoulders slumped and once again he lowered his head.
"But for so long I have been on this quest, always getting so close to my goals...only to have my dream ripped away from me again and again," Jack quietly whispered, the wear and tear of his journey in every word. "Each failure takes a toll on me, and with so many failures...I begin to wonder if I can ever return to my home, to undo the evil of Aku."
"But then I heard of a mage who would have the power to send me to a place where magic and wishes were aplenty, a land that could finally grant me my only desire," Jack admitted as he motioned a hoof to the area around them. "I sought out this mage and he sent me here, altering my appearance so that I would fit in more. But despite the best of hopes when I arrived, I have found what I found back in my world. Failure. Is that my destiny? To continue to fail no matter how hard I strive? Is my quest for naught?"
Jack fell silent for the longest time after telling his tale, staring into the fire as images of his life flashed before his eyes, each one a failure to some degree. But his eyes never glanced over at Applejack, who had tears streaming down her face as well, when she finally understood the pain and suffering of the samurai.
"B-but ya had the chance. Back there in the temple," Applejack managed to stammer out, yet her words did not draw Jack's eyes. "Ya defeated the titan. Ya could have wished to go back in time, to return to yer world! Yer quest means saving yer people and undoing a horrible future, so why didn't ya-?"
"It is as I...and also you, said. If I am to sacrifice the life of an innocent in order to achieve my desires, then I am just as evil as Aku...worse actually. Aku is pure evil. He has no good in him. But I do. And I would not let your family mourn your death so that I could save mine. Not as long as I had the power to prevent it."
Applejack had no idea how she was supposed to feel at that point, with all of the emotions conflicting within her. She felt sympathy for Jack; she both pitied and respected him at the same time for his sacrifice, while also wanting to cry with him for the agony that was tearing him apart. As she tried to regain control over her own emotions, she focused instead on saying one more thing.
"This story of yers...dear Faust this story of yers, also confirms that yer not a pony. Because if ya were, ah would have heard of this," she stammered out through her own tears, ignoring the fact that Jack's eyes remained glued to the fire.
"You are correct. I am a human from another reality. As I stated, a mage changed me into this form so that I would...fit better," Jack muttered with pain. "But it has done me no good. Aku still rules and I am no closer to stopping him than I was when I started. It seems that this journey shall end like all the others...in failure. Perhaps I am avoiding the truth. Perhaps Aku...has already won."
"So that means, as we speak, there's another world out there that's in the clutches of an evil pony who tore apart yer whole life to get it?" Jack slowly raised his head as Applejack said this. Not at what she was saying, but at the tone of her words. He glanced over at her to find that she was shaking with rage, a fury in her eyes that Jack had only seen in his. Applejack then let out an angry sigh before pushing her hat forward, yet she seemed to look even angrier like that.
"Jack...ah'm sorry." Jack raised an eyebrow at her words as AJ looked down at him, true guilt in her eyes. "When ah first met ya, ah wasn't sure if ah could trust ya or not. Ya didn't seem like a normal pony and ya sure didn't talk like one. Then when ah found out that ya were seeking a wish that could grant ya anything, ah...suspected that ya might be like one of the other crazies that tried to use magic to take over the world."
"And in all honesty, while I was grateful for ya stopping Tirek, ah was also afraid of ya. Afraid of yer weapon," Applejack admitted. "As far as we knew, there was only one weapon in all of Equestria that could stop him, then ya show up with yer sword and cut him in two, with no effort. After that ah decided to follow ya, to see what yer true intentions were. And...ah've come to realize that yer one the most selfless, kind and noble ponies that ah've ever met. That yer intentions are pure and that ya want the wish nothing more than to help those ya care fer."
Applejack then faced Jack and held out a hoof to him, a fire burning in her eyes that mirrored the one that Jack had held within his moments ago. "So enough of chasing these maybes or possibles. We're done with all those. Ah'm gonna take ya straight to the most powerful magic users in all of Equestria...no, in all of the world. And if they can't help ya, then ah'm damn sure they know somepony who can. What do ya say Jack? Does that samurai who fought across time to save his home have enough strength to try one more time?"
Jack looked up at her hoof, still feeling the crushing weight and agony of all of his constant failures upon his back. But then he remembered the hope in his peoples' eyes, eyes that held no doubt that he would win. And then he remembered the faces of all those who believed in him in the future, a future that was ruled by the ultimate evil. Yet they still chose to believe. Believe in him. And with that thought, that they refused to give up even after being under Aku's foot for so long, Jack found the strength to grab her hoof.
"Your words ring true, Applejack. I cannot give up. Not until either I fall or Aku does," Jack said with the strength in his voice that Applejack had come to respect. She pulled him to his hooves in one pull, neither of them noticing that the fire was burning far brighter than it had before. "So where can we find these beings of ultimate magic? On top of the tallest mountain? In the darkest of caves? Space?"
"No Jack, we're going someplace where the excitement never dies and magic is in the air," Applejack said with a large smile as she pushed her hat back. "We're going to Ponyville."
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This chapter was great.
Huh. I was expecting them to head straight to Canterlot. But this is even better! Time to meet Twilight!
Well... He was sorta right. They'll probably go to Canterlot at some point...
Awesome chapter.
About time and great chapter.
Aku: The embodiment of pure evil. Samurai Jack: The embodiment of pure good.
Hm... now Applejack found the truth about Jack... it's time to see what he can do, but it's also time to see how they will react to him and his magical sword. A sword that can slay evil, and even then that made guards in a city panic over it... For some strange reason I have an odd feeling about what Twilight's reaction will be when she meets up with Jack.
I don't know why, but I feel as if something isn't exactly... right. I mean he was able to slay Tirek, but no one can know his intentions and I think that can scare many ponies if he has a sword that's as strong as the elements of harmony...
I don't know... it's either a bad feeling... or a feeling that something else is going to happen here.
Hearing Jack's story again after all these years, it brought me to tears.
This chapter was beautiful.
The guards suck.
Twilight will cast a time traveling spell on Jack, sending him to the crystal empire. He'll kill Sombra in front of the princesses, marry Luna...
Nah, too silly.
Wow, some strong words and deep thoughts in this one.
...Jack may end up wishing for that tallest mountain or darkest cave.
This chapter almost brought me to tears, one could feel the sheer emotion and pain that Jack felt when he told his story.
Back to the begining... After too many hardships, he need to return to Ponyville
i.imgur.com/MIj6o.gif
My feelings right now.
oh lord, don't let the cmc meet him.
6633187 this
also REALLY emotional chapter
This was a good chapter in that we explore how Jack had kept his many failures inside of him, only for them to pour out with his latest one. It was a beautiful sadness of sorts, but at least Applejack had managed to lift his spirits once again.
It's about time that Jack talked about his past to Applejack. This is a very emotional chapter for Jack, especially with all the pain and hardships he went through throughout his journey...all just to get back to his 'home'.
Now Applejack is going to help him with a help of her friend, Twilight!
It is finally time for Jack to meet the rest of Mane 6 and the Princesses.
Only one quote comes to my mind here:
6632999
By this point Jack may be the Element of Stubbornness
6632999 Not exactly, Jack isn't pure good, as the sword can still harm him
Jack you will soon face one that not even all your skills can match...beware Samurai BEWARE! For you are headed for the lair of the Pink Menace, the Queen of Parties, the Embodiment of Laughter....the mare that beats up physics and logic for their lunch money. JACK YOU SHALL FACE PINKIE PIE!
Wanna cupcake?
6633106 Now I want to see Jack's reaction to learning that to meet Discord he didn't have to climb the coldest mountain in Equestria but just go to Ponyville and ask around.
Please tell me what song you think I should listen to at the end for this.
6634815
The ending credits to samurai jack generally is the way to go.
That... was intense. There was so much emotion in this chapter, I almost felt something while reading it. Good job, closest any writer has been in 2-3 years. Keep up the good work!
Eagerly awaiting your next chapter,
Zettareido
Man, I'm really enjoying this fic.
...So when is the mane 6 going to appear?
Is that my destiny? To continue to fail no matter how hard I strive? Is my quest for naught?"
inb4cuitemark
You are now imagining a version of Equestria where Nightmare Moon wins and hurls Celestia 1000 years into the future where her rule is law. Now she seeks to return to the past and undo the future that is Nightmare Moon.
6640549
...wow...that,...could actule work ....SOMEONE MAKE A TV CARTOON FOR THIS VERSION!
I feel that the journey trough a space cave would be safer...
Very good work, well done.
I was wondering why Appplejack never suggested for the samurai to go to either Twilight or Celestia in order to help him. Now I know why. Well, we are heading to the place us readers have been demanding. Ponyville.
This should be fun.
I'm looking forward to seeing Twilight's reaction. I'm sure it will be rather plain... after all, it's not like Twilight will have a panic attack. Since when does she freak out over nothing? She'll totally sing an entire aria over... not freaking out.
Totally calm.
TOTALLY CALM!
CALM!
CALM!
NOT CALM!!!
i.pinger.pl/pgr273/0c0e9d26002691c65105859a/my_little_pony_friendship_is_magic_2x03_lesson_zero_08_crazy_twilight_sparkle-1024x576.jpg
could not stop crying during this chapter it was so touching.
-goosebumps-
This story so perfectly encapsulates what makes samurai Jack an amazing show
final to ponyvillage!
Jack's story was very well told. It somehow makes his tale sound so much more powerful than before. Well done
I know every detail of the Jack's story, it has been ingrained in my head since my childhood. But the way you told it, how you conveyed Jack's feelings of regret and failure, and how it moved Applejack to tears, you moved ME to tears. Very well done.