The Samurai Called Jack

by MetalJrock

III: Jack and the Ponies

Jack finally reached the town. Once he entered, he decided to get more answers of the world he was in from within. He wished to keep to himself, and not cause any conflict in his very temporary stay. He also hoped that the locals of this town were more welcoming than some other spots he's been to. It was here, he got a closer look at neon-colored horses walking by. Many of them had horns or wings or none at all. He can definitely tell that the ones with horns were unicorns, and the ones with wings were pegasi. They were giving him strange looks, which he did to shrug off.

'It seems these equines have never seen a human before.' he thought.

He began giving each pony a friendly wave, showing that he was not hostile. That didn't stop some of them from shuddering, shivering, and have agape jaws at the mere sight of him.

‘Perhaps I should have been more discreet about my appearance.' he sighed, disappointed in himself for not thinking ahead.

But, he saw a run-down building, with a cup as a logo on a sign hanging above the door. He recognized it as a bar and so he entered in, having plenty of experiences getting information from such a place.

He grabbed a straw hat from his bag, placing it over his head to conceal his face better. He had to lower himself slightly in order to enter the building and walked in. When he did, he saw ponies insider who were giving him strange looks just like the one outside. All except for a greenish-yellow pony with a horn who was obviously the bartender. He approached the counter and quietly sat himself down on a stool next to it.

Instead of tapping or yelling, Jack simply awaited the bartender to acknowledge him. He was getting more weird glances in his direction, but chose to ignore them, simply folding his hands on the bar. The bartender, appearing to be older, gave the samurai a quick glance before trotting to him.

"Excuse me, stranger," Jack muttered, "But do you have a clue as to where I am at?" he asked kindly.

The bartender chuckled, "Heh. Haven't seen somepony like you around these parts. What brings you around here, anyway?"

"I do not wish to bring anyone harm." the man assured, raising a palm in honesty, "I seek to gain information."

The older stallion opened his mouth, "Ah. You must be new around here. Welcome to Fillydelphia, sir. A town that is a part of the land of Equestria. Don't mind the ponies confused by ya showing up. A stallion of my age has seen many things anyhow. Best not to question this anymore. So welcome, stranger."

"Thank you." Jack mumbled with a small nod. "It has been a long day."

"Ya want something? Water?" the bartender offered. "You must be tired after your travels."

"I cannot. I do not have the currency." Jack declined.

Smiling, the bartender passed a small cup of water to the samurai, earning a look of confusion from his customer.

“Consider it on the house for a newcomer to Equestria." the bartender said.

"...Thank you." Jack said, taking a sip.

A gruff voice and the sound of slamming made Jack raise his head.

"Hey!"

Looking in a mirror, he saw that it was a hornless and wingless blue stallion with red hair standing at the entrance/exit.

Fearing that a conflict was likely to ensue, he remained calm and still, his hand still gripping the mug the elder bartender handed him. His eyes were narrowed, focusing on what's ahead of him and not the sound of the seemingly angered voice, choosing to remain neutral. He heard and felt hoofsteps getting closer and louder and he could tell that whoever it was, he was very angry.

The bartender, meanwhile, rubbed a rag into a dirty mug, taking his time in cleaning it. His time working made him numb to any vocal outbursts, but he would intervene if things got violent.

"Why does this stranger get a free drink, huh,” the pony asked with a snarl, "He's not even a pony for Celestia's sake. So, why does he get a free pass, huh?"

The bartender narrowed his eyes, "He's new to Equestria. Thought it'd be a nice gesture,” he said calmly with no hint of fear in his voice. "Guy has no money now."

"But yet when I have no money you make me pay anyway and I can't drink!"

Sighing, the bartender replied, "I shouldn't have to explain this to you again, Clear Can. You come here every night and practically drink everything I have in the back. I'm only lookin' out for you by limiting you like this. In fact, it looks like you already had too much. Why don't you just sit and--"

Clear Can slammed his hooves on the counter, making everyone in the bar flinch in surprise and gaze at the drunk and angered pony.

“Listen! I do not need to be babied! I am a grown stallion, Mug Tapper! I'm a loyal customer!"

The other customers were ready to step in once the silence kicked in, but one voice stopped their efforts.

"Stop."

Hearing the sound of the voice, Clear Can took one long glance at Jack, who remained in his spot. "Oh, look at that! The funny lookin' stranger thinks he can square against me! You lookin' for a fight?"

Shaking his head, the human answered, "No, I am not. I am asking you to quietly leave. You are disrupting the other patrons here." he never faced the drunken pony while making this command.

Clear Can laughed, "Ha, so you think you can boss me around," he stood on his hind legs and reared a front off back, "Listen here, pal! I don't like others tellin' me what to do!"

He brought his reeled hoof forward, with the attempt to hit Jack.

But the samurai swiftly caught his hoof, and took a sip of his water. He tried to defuse this matter peacefully, but unfortunately, some do not listen to reason, even if it is the better solution. Surprised, the stallion tried again, only to get blocked again.

"How?"

Jack sighed, flipping Clear Can over his shoulder once he saw an attempted kick. The samurai tossed him onto a table, where he landed with a thud. He tried to fight back, but a few other ponies held him down. Jack gave them a gratifying nod, thanking them for their assistance, and he watched them escort Clear Can out.

"I am sorry for making such noise." Jack apologized, drinking the last of his water.

Mug Tapper raised a hoof, "Don't worry. Clear Can always has too much when he's here. At some point I should just put out a ban for him soon enough. But business comes first, ya know?"

Jack nodded, "I understand. Perhaps it would be for the best if I left."

Shaking his head, Mug Tapper pointed at the other patrons, "Why, stranger? Ya aren't ruinin' anypony else's night."

"I’m glad I am not. But I have to keep moving. I can't stop until I reach a goal that I have had for a long time,” Jack declared, standing from the stool and going towards the door. "Thank you for the water."

Mug Tapper nodded earnestly, "It was no trouble at all. I wish you the best of luck in wherever you're headin', and feel free to come back. Heck, I don't even know your name."

"...They call me Jack." was all the samurai said before making his exit.

After he left, the ponies looked on from where Jack. They felt very curious about what he was up to, but, they decided to keep going about their day.

---

Jack continued his quest in silence. Those passing by watched the samurai move past them without saying a word. Jack decided it was for the best. After all, he was not here to socialize, but rather, bring an end to his journey. He had no clue on where to head next, or in his case, what he could do to get back to his past.

It was at that moment, Jack found another building with a sign that read 'Fillydelphia Pawn Shop'. Perhaps he could gain more information from there. With nothing else to do, Jack entered the building. Inside it, he saw glass displays, with unique artifacts, toys, books, anything of value. The samurai ignored all those and went to the desk with a female orange pony with wings standing behind it.

"Excuse me." Jack quietly called out, gently placing a hand on the counter.

The pony turned around, taken felt aback by Jack, "Well, this is new. Heh, good evening sir. I'm Fast Keeper. What may I help you with? Something specific you're lookin' for?"

Nodding, Jack spoke, "It is not material I seek. But rather, information."

Fast Keeper raised a brow, "Information, eh? What kind?"

Jack paused, "I am on a journey. One that I wish to end soon. Do you know of something that can go back in time?"

"Time travel?" a chuckle escaped the pawnkeeper, "I'm not into treasure huntin' honestly. I'm a pawnkeeper. But I have heard of a few legends."

Jack frowned, "I see. What have you heard of?"

Fast keeper raised a hoof, "Well, I ain't too sure on it myself. It's been years since I've heard of it. I do recall a story of an artifact called the Chronos Compass. It is said that there are pieces of it scattered across Equestria, and whoever collects all the pieces can use it to travel across to their desired spot in time, with each piece leading to the next. But that's all there's been: legends."

Jack sighed, "Well, from my world, there have been plenty of artifacts proven real." he revealed.

This was starting to remind him of the pieces of the Threads of Time he had to collect, each connecting to a bigger rope.

“Perhaps there is someone who knows more of this." he wondered.

Fast Keeper shrugged, "You can check down in Ponyville. Lots of weird stuff has happened there. That's where Princess Twilight Sparkle lives. Perhaps she has more to offer. Heard she's a bit of a bookworm. I'm only goin' off by what I remember. Now, did that help you any?" she asked.

"Yes it did. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I would ask for a map, but since I am new to this world, I cannot pay for any of your antiques." Jack admitted.

Without a problem, the pawn-shop owner dug into a box anyway and brought out a neatly folded piece of paper on the counter. "Here. Consider it a gift for a newcomer. Here in Equestria, we're all about welcoming. And so far you seem like a friendly fella. It details every location of this nation."

The samurai was taken aback by the pawnkeeper's generosity. Perhaps this world was more friendly than he gave it credit for. He opened the paper and looked at the map. He saw Ponyville and how far it is. He had no time to waste,

“Thank you for this, miss. Now, I must be on my way. I will pay you back when I get the chance."

"Ah, don't worry about it. You need it more than I do anyway." Fast Keeper waved off, "I'm just glad to help an explorer like you. Do tell me if you found out if the compass is real. It'd be great information." she chuckled.

Jack smiled, "I will. Thank you again for this."

And with that, Jack walked out. Now, he had a new goal: head to Ponyville. It will take a while and a few pitstops, but he had to get there as soon as possible. If he were to find out more about the Chronos Compass, he can perhaps finally end his journey once and for all.

It was like he never left home.

Comments

[Jake Shadow Wings]

And so Jack sets out for ponyville. I can't wait to see what happens to the samurai as the story progresses.

[qazse]

7980900 How much you wanna bet Rainbow Dash is gonna attack him because he's "strange" looking?

[Jake Shadow Wings]

7980960
That does seem to be a common theme for Rainbow. We'll just have to see, though if she doesn't it'll be a pleasant surprise.

[fractalman]

"How?"

Well, little pony, sure you're stronger than a real-life human by quite a bit, but so's Jack, and he has a ton of experience fighting, you see.

[sonicfan05]

I'm liking this so far. From another crossover story with Samurai Jack on this site, Jack went to multiple places in Equestria to find a way to get to the past before he eventually headed to Ponyville. But that didn't happen until the middle of the story. Here, he's heading to Ponyville at the beginning of his journey. I hope Jack will have more interactions with the Mane 6 in this story than he does with the other one.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

[qazse]

7980965 Agreed, cause with every story with a non pony character appearing, she just attacks them simply because "they're not ponies, so they must be monsters", seriously who does that? At this point she's Equestria's most paranoid pony.

[Helljumper206]

I wonder if he'll get a 'warm' welcome from Rainbow nd Applejack.

[crossed]

Oh fuck yes.

[Samusbot]

A compass split into pieces that will lead one to the next piece?
So Jack is going to have an adventure, ala Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door—specifically the Luigi sub-plot.

[prism heart]

friendly ponies so far but i expect dash wont trust jack for a while after they meet

[creonman]

i can only imagine when any of the princesses take a look at his sword... it is made with good magic...

[nightmaster0]

Excellent chapter

[MetalJrock]

7940457 There are some fics I can recommend. There's only a small number of them.

7959906 Maybe we'll see him.

7980900 Well, he's gonna make some pitstops along the way.

7980981 'Back to the Past'. To me, it's the best Samurai Jack story to read on the site. I hope that I can make a story as good as that.

7980960
7980993
7981865 That does seem to be common with Rainbow. She would act without thinking, but not to the extent some crossovers go for. It depends on the character, and it's a cliche I'm hoping to avoid.

7981616 Jack's going to the Waffle Kingdom!

7982109 Hopefully they don't get the wrong idea seeing him with a blade.

[prism heart]

7983876 im not saying she will attack him... just that she wont trust him

[Dodsodalo]

I like this.
...
....
Plain and simple, it's good.
That was a saying.
Not calling the story plain, and /or simple, rather, that the story is good, and there's that.

[Alondro]

The idea is sound enough, but the writing style is very basic and often switches verb tenses, which is quite jarring to smooth reading.

[Kevin Lee]

7980960 I wonder if she'd recognize Jack from her dimensional travel in Double Rainboom? Unlike Jack, she was at least keeping her eyes open.

Also, there is a common theme in Jack--he only asks for water to drink. One, for the most part is water is usually free. And two, he uses it to make his own tea.

[ArreClonClipo]

This started off with so much promise, and then you went and added in a completely unnecessary character in the form of Clear Can, made him as unlikable in the shortest amount of time possible(defs not well executed) and served no purpose than having Jack act badass because reasons and stuff. Quite frankly it's lazy, blatantly manipulative writing. Like finding a taste of sour milk in the morning coffee you like so much.

Still, I do so like Samurai Jack, so I'll give the story a few more chances.