Waterway
With a grunt and a heavy push, Jack freed the raft from the weeds that had entangled it, allowing the small, wooden raft to continue its trip down the large river. He sighed when he sat down on the planks next to the captain of the raft, who was leaning against a cooler and strumming on a small banjo.
"Thank ya kindly for freeing us from those weeds. They can be nasty this time of year," the bluish pony said before plucking away at his instrument. Jack nodded in reply before a small shiver ran through his body and he pulled his attire around him tighter while he glanced at the trees, which were missing some of their leaves.
"This land confuses me. Just two days ago the trees were filled with healthy green leaves and the sunlight was strong. But now it seems as if winter is right around the corner," Jack observed as he held out a hoof and caught an orange leaf within his grasp.
"Heh, ya must have come from Stalliongrad. Yeah, those ponies up there are always the last ones to prepare for winter," Sundance said with a small chuckle when he grew bored of plucking at his strings, and instead began to play a piece for the samurai. "I remember one year they refused to let summer go and it was halfway through winter before Celestia came down to tell them to change to winter. They were none too happy about that."
"The ponies here make the seasons?" Jack muttered to himself as he glanced up at the clouds, his eyes widening when he saw numerous pegasi moving winter clouds around while talking to each other. "That is indeed far from what I know."
"You're not from around here, I can tell," Sundance continued while he glanced over at Jack from under his beat up hat, the samurai nodding in response and getting a chuckle out of the musician. "We haven't had natural weather in Equestria for centuries, at least that's what they taught me in school. Much easier if the ponies do it, and that way there's no chance of a freak storm ruining a town or city. Keeps things much nicer."
"I...suppose that's one benefit of being able to control the weather," Jack agreed as he continued to watch the pegasi flitter around above him, waving in return to one that waved at him. He then turned his ears to the song that the pony was playing, closing his eyes while the music danced in the air around them. The song was as gentle as the river that carried their raft along, yet Jack was aware that the pony had an eye on him the entire time he played.
"So, are ya a changeling or something? Because yer not a pony." Jack snapped out of his enjoyment of the music and turned his shocked eyes towards the pony with alarm, getting a chuckle out of the pony who glanced over his shoulder at Jack with a smile. "Don't be ashamed if ya are, yer not the first changeling I've had on this raft."
"How...how did you...why do you assume this?" Jack asked while doing his best to regain his composure, yet the pony closed his eyes and strummed on his instrument for a minute before glancing up at the sun.
"The way ya held yer blade when ya saved me from that serpent that attacked us. Now ah don't know too much about sword fighting, but even I know that the royal guards hold their weapons with their hooves, not their mouths. Thanks again for dealing with that, by the way."
"You are welcome but...how do ponies hold items with their hooves? That should not be possible," Jack pointed out, but Sundance's response was to hold up his banjo in both of his hooves and play a few bars to prove his point. "So, ponies can hold items in their hooves," Jack muttered before he unsheathed his blade and rested it on the raft at his hooves, glancing down at it with a groan. "How do I...pick it up?"
"Ya just do. Go ahead and practice some, ya have all the time in the world." Jack nodded in thanks before reaching down and placing his hoof on his sword, willing for his hoof to lift the blade. Yet when Jack lifted his hoof, the sword remained resting on the raft. A hint of annoyance flashed through Jack's mind before he let it go with a sigh, placing his hoof down once again and trying once more. Yet again the sword remained on the deck of the ship, causing the annoyance to return in another wave.
'No. I have faced everything that Aku has thrown at me as well as whatever his future held. This will not be what breaks me,' Jack promised while he placed his hoof against the sword hilt once again.
Sundance let out a small sigh as Jack continued to fail at lifting his sword, a small smile growing when he realized that not only was Jack not a pony, but he also couldn't be anything with hooves. Yet, he left the samurai alone for hours as they drifted down the river, content with strumming away on his instrument while Jack continued in vain to lift his weapon.
But when noon rolled around and Sundance unrolled some bread for the two of them, he found that not only had Jack's sword not moved, but now the samurai also wasn't moving either. He raised an eyebrow at the meditating pony while he scooted over next to him, placing the loaf of bread beside him before biting down on his own food.
"Don't feel too bad with yerself. It takes foals a few weeks to learn how to grab things with their hooves," Sundance tried to help, but the samurai remained motionless. Another thirty minutes rolled by before the samurai finally moved, cracking open his eyes to find that the bread had rolled into his lap and crumbs were now on his kimono. "Enjoy yer nap? Or were ya just working on your tan?"
"I was meditating, as a way to prevent the anger from taking hold within me," Jack replied as he placed both hooves around the bread and lifted it, awkwardly taking a few bites before the bread slipped out of his grasp. "I still do not understand how you can hold anything with these two hooves, let alone one."
"Well it takes practice. I can play my banjo just fine, but I doubt that I would be able to wield that sword of yours like you do," Sundance pointed out before laying down on his back and staring up at the sky. "But if it helps ya to get a grip, heh, yer welcome to try my instrument." He tipped his hat over his eyes after he said this, leaving Jack to glance at the instrument with interest. He walked over to the banjo and scooped it into his arms, holding it in a way that mirrored the way Sundance held it.
"This is indeed most curious. How did he manage to play those songs without fingers to hold down the strings?" Jack mused as he started to mimic the way he had seen the pony play the instrument, yet after a few unsuccessful attempts he found that he couldn't even get anything that remotely sounded like music out of the instrument, let alone a song.
"Ya have to feel it." Jack took his eyes away from his efforts to glance over at Sundance, who was still resting with his head covering his eyes. "Don't think, don't try. Just...feel." The samurai nodded even though he wasn't too sure what the pony meant before he closed his eyes and tried again, tuning out his constant failures as he focused on just feeling.
Day turned into an afternoon and the afternoon quickly fell to Luna's rule, yet all the while Jack continued to strum away on the banjo despite how badly he sounded. Yet even with a patience that had endured years of wandering a lost future, Jack could feel his nerves beginning to wear away at him as he continued to fail at making so much as a strum correctly.
'It is no use,' Jack finally admitted while he moved the instrument to the side and stared up at the starry sky, amazed by the billions of lights that illuminated the dark sea of space above him. Then lights began to flicker around him and with a small smile Jack found that hundreds of fireflies began to ascend into the star sky, adding their lights into the sea of stars.
'How much simpler would my life be if I was a firefly. No worry about my destiny or this battle with Aku that has taken nearly everything I have. And I know that I would not be concerned with learning the banjo,' Jack thought with a smirk while he glanced down at the instrument and its owner, neither of which made a sound in the silence of the night.
Jack then turned his attention to his blade, which was still resting in the center of the raft in the same spot where he had placed it. 'And yet I must learn how to wield you once again, despite the years that we have spent in battle together,' Jack continued. 'You will not aid me as you once did. What has changed? Why can I not lift you?'
"Because yer trying to hard to make it happen, instead of letting it happen." Jack quickly spun his head towards Sundance, who, aside from having rolled to his side, looked as if he hadn't said a word. Jack frowned while he turned his attention back towards his blade, which reflected the light of the fireflies, causing it to glow with a soft, golden light.
'If it must come naturally, then I will gain nothing from trying to force my will,' Jack accepted before closing his eyes and taking up his meditative position once more, quickly drifting off into slumber.
--|======\
Darkness swept around the samurai as he raced through the tunnels, his feet striking the pavement hard while he sprinted at full speed away from the darkness that tried to consume him. The samurai came to a dead stop when he ran head first into a dead end, with no way out aside from a little window that rested far out of his reach.
Jack spun around to face the darkness that was barreling down on him, a smile breaking through the darkness as a laugh echoed throughout his mind--a laugh that he knew all too well. The samurai reached down for his blade, but to his horror he found that his sword was not there. With fear beginning to fill his eyes Jack turned back to the shadows, which now consumed everything in his sight except for him.
"Foolish samurai warrior! Did you believe that there was a place where you could escape to that I could not follow!" a voice roared at him with a degrading laugh while the darkness began to swallow him. "Your story will not end until I have finished you once and for all, samurai! That is your destiny!"
Jack fought as best he could while the darkness began to drown him, making him feel as if he were being drowned in an ocean. And then he awoke.
--|======\
Jack's eyes snapped open when he felt the waves crushing him, startled as he looked around to find only water surrounding him. Quickly taking control of the situation he was in, the samurai began to swim up towards where light was shining into the water. He burst through the surface a moment later, taking in a few quick breaths before he looked behind him to have his breath stolen away once again.
"Ah, good morning," Sundance said with well hidden panic in his voice before he was slightly squeezed by the tail of the large serpent that had coiled itself around him. The frilly headed serpent hissed at the pony before turning its gaze towards Jack, who snarled in defiance while he moved his hand down for his sword...only to find that it wasn't there.
The samurai quickly glanced around to see what was left of the raft resting against numerous large boulders, with even larger teeth marks in the side of what remained. With a burst of speed the samurai swam towards the raft, barely avoiding the fangs of the serpent when it tried to bite down on the warrior. A quick look over the raft informed him that his sword was not there, so he took in a quick breath before diving beneath the waves. Under the crystal clear water, he found that most of the items on the raft had sunk down to the bottom of the river, including his sword, with the blade imbedded in the mud at the bottom.
Jack swam to his sword and wrapped his teeth around the hilt, yet even all of his might was not enough to pry it free of the sticky fingers that kept it held at the bottom of the river. Jack let out a gasp and had to resurface, yet when he took in another breath to try again he felt something wrap around his leg. A second later he was pulled into the air by the serpent, who hissed at him before its red fangs lunged for his head. In an instant Jack struck the tail holding him with one of his strongest strikes, loosening the muscles enough for him to slip free and fall back into the water.
"Sundance, are you alright?" Jack asked when he surfaced again, glancing up at the bank to see the pony crawling out of the water and onto land. Jack let out a sigh of relief before turning his full attention back to the scarlet serpent, which was giving its full attention to the samurai as well. Jack then spun and dove into the water, clamping his teeth down on the hilt of his blade once again, yet again he was unable to pull it free.
A sudden strike to his side forced the air out of his lungs while hurling him out of the water. Jack barely managed to gasp in a breath before he struck the rocks near the edge of the bank hard, darkness filling his vision while he slowly slipped down the rocks and back into the water. But in the darkness he heard a laugh, a laugh that had mocked him all throughout his journey. A laugh that made his blood boil and rekindled his focus.
"Come then, creature!" Jack roared as he forced himself back to his hooves, spitting out water while he stood defiant in the shallow end of the river. "I do not need my blade to battle with you!" The serpent roared before it lunged at Jack, who dove out of the way of the attack. He rolled to his hooves just in time to hear a satisfying "CRACK," and when he glanced back at the serpent he discovered that it had gone skull first into the stones.
Yet his moment of victory was short lived, as once again the serpent's tail caught him unaware and slammed into his side, hurling him across the river and into what remained of the raft. Jack gritted his teeth in pain when he felt himself slip into the water once again, forcing his eyes open to see the face of the serpent crashing through the surface of the water to get to him.
The moment before the serpent was upon him, Jack felt his hoof strike something, so without a thought he grabbed hold of whatever it was and swung with all of his might...and slicing a line clean across the serpents face. The sea creature howled with pain as blood began to ooze from its wound, before it dove into the river and swam away downstream as quickly as it could. Jack broke through the surface just in time to see the creature vanish from sight, before he paddled to the riverbank and pulled himself onto dry land.
"That was pretty impressive," Sundance whistled as he held out a hoof to Jack, one that Jack gratefully accepted as he held out his own hoof...only to be amazed by what he saw was within its grasp. "Well, whaddya know? I guess that having your life on the line helped you to grab without thinking."
"Indeed...it does seem that way," Jack agreed as he released his blade, yet this time he was able to pick it up a moment later without thought. "And it seems that I owe you a great deal. If not for you, I would never have learned to hold my blade as I once did. I am in your debt."
"Well you saved me from a sea serpent twice, so I'd consider us even," Sundance said as he walked over to what remained of his boat with a sigh. "I'm going to stay here and try to salvage what I can of my ship. But if you follow the river for about half a day you should come across another town."
"Thank you very much," Jack thanked him as he sheathed his blade with a smile.
"And Jack...if ya ever need a boat down the river again, I hope you look me up," Sundance said with a smile while he pulled his banjo from the river and shook the water out of it, his smile growing larger when he found it still played.
"I will make sure to do that," Jack promised before he turned and walked away, following the flow of the river.
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Nice to see Jack learn d how to hold his sword properly in pony form and befriend another pony in the process.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Goodbye Sundance, i hope we meet again... someday. man i really miss scotsman.
You are doing a swell job capturing the episodic/vignette nature of Samurai Jack series! Thanks!
6566336
Thanks
Woot woot awsum.
*plays the ending theme*
Great chapter, as Always you are really keeping this story true to the spirit of the SJ cartoon.
Hm... Jack has been traveling through Equestria now, though it does fit in with what he would actually do in the show from what I remember too.
Though eventually he will make his way towards somewhere else, somewhere much more important.
6566608
I spoil nothing.
Well, now that Jack can finally grab with his hooves. <--- (THIS SPOILER IS PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE CHAPTER SO PLEASE DO KEEP ON READING IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE CHAPTER YET) Ponies jaws will break through the planets crust surely.
I'd be surprised if Luna hasn't been watching his dreams just out of there strangeness
6566662 cool
Another great chapters. Good to see Jack making new friends in this new world.
Will more Samurai Jack characters fine their way to the MLP world? I'm kind of hoping to see the Scotsman appear in the story myself.
static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/14/147020/3109416-2781839514-tumbl.png
i want him to show up at some point. YOU KNOW HE WOULD.
6570620 Yes, god please yes!
6571108
and his explination of getting there?
static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_super/11111/111111188/3688784-3850588944-Runes.jpg
6571368
Wonder if he would change too or not.
The gun leg might be a bit easier to use that way too.
Well I'll be. His hooves finally work.
6574020 As he learned to jump good, so has he learned to wield that holy katana with hooves
6566400
Starting end theme!
[youtube=Ukkq9XYXmQg]
Since Jack can now pick stuff up with his hooves, you think he'll know about the pony pockets?
Ten kudos to those who get the reference!
6580830
Thats not a link
Sundance is such an interesting character. I wanna see him more. What are the chances that he's Celly? Regardless hes a chill dude for a pony and I like that.
6580860
that is doctor whooves? is it not?