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I: Gotta Get Back1,924 words
II: Jack and the New World1,578 words
III: Jack and the Ponies2,008 words
IV: A Cry for Help1,064 words
V: Jack and the Forest Monster1,405 words
VI: Reflections1,433 words
VII: Jack vs. the Bandits1,536 words
VIII: Jack on a Train1,262 words
IX: Jack vs. the Swordspony1,426 words
X: Jack in Ponyville1,747 words
XI: Jack's New Friends2,232 words
XII: Jack's New Quest1,549 words
XIII: Jack's Reflection1,863 words
XIV: Jack vs Mad Jack2,469 words
XV: Spirit of Chaos1,923 words
XVI: Jack and the Scotsman Reunite1,470 words
XVII: Jack and Scotsman in the Empire1,682 words

VIII: Jack on a Train

Jack silently sat on a bench, awaiting the next train. He had arrived at the town station, seeing the ponies apprehend the bandits that once controlled them. He had to admit, it was strange to see a world that looked so peaceful turn against itself, but he knew that the righteous would succeed no matter what.

Jack took another sip of his bottle of water, seeing he had enough to last the trip. He was glad that he gained more supplies, such as food and more water. He didn't want them offered for free, but they insisted. It was then, the samurai realized that at some point he should figure out a way to gain currency in this world.

A smile appeared on the samurai's lips and he reached into his small bag, finding his trusty straw hat. The man placed it over his head, covered his eyes and leaned back on the bench, taking the moment to relax and calm his nerves. He closed his eyes, his other senses able to figure out when the locomotive was arriving.

"Hey."

Hearing the voice, Jack opened an eye and gazed to the side, seeing a gold yellow pegasus mare take a seat next to him. The mare crossed her legs and hunched herself on the wooden chair.

"I just wanted to say, thank you for coming. You may not be a pony... But I think you've earned our trust."

"...Thank you. I only did what was right." replied Jack, folding his hands over his lap.

"No, I mean it. To hear what happened to Hold Over... I had to admit, if he was telling the truth, then I feel bad despite how he lead a regime here,” the mare sighed, "Sometimes, I wish the world was as black and white as it appears. To know he did this just to teach us a lesson. He wasn’t doing the right thing, but I see where he was coming from."

Jack nodded and only said, "There are better ways to do right than harm those who do not deserve it. I come from a world where terror reigns all over. There is many good still remaining, but the threat of whom conquered it lingers across the planet and possibly my universe. I wish to avoid the same happening to this world."

"Do you think we should tell Princess Celestia or Princess Luna of what happened?" the mare asked.

"Do as you must. It would be a good decision to alert those in authority of what happened. Perhaps it can prevent the same from happening in another town. Do you know how these bandits came to power in this small town?" asked Jack.

The mare shook her head, "Honestly, not even I know. They just showed up one day with weapons, pummeled the mayor, and then claimed the town as their own. Anypony who dared to fight back was beaten by their superior skills. That is, until you arrived. They plundered us, beat us, ruled over us, and we couldn't do anything about it. Celestia knows we've tried before, but it always ended with somepony becoming paste outside."

The samurai glared ahead, listening intently to the pony's words, "I see... Then I am glad to have arrived before the matter would get any worse." he stated.

A loud whistle was heard, prompting Jack to open his eyes and lift his straw hat a little. Before the train arrived, he reached for his map and opened it, seeing that the direction it was heading was in fact for Ponyville. Content, Jack stood up and watched the locomotive slow down as it reached the station at last, and a loud noise revealed its stop.

"I wish you the best of luck in reforming the town." was all Jack said as he stood up.

Ponies stepped out of the now open doors. Some of them gave the samurai a confused look, having never seen anything quite like him before. After all, he only made his presence known to a two towns. He ignored the looks and decided to step onto the train.
****
The man took a seat next to a window and tipped his straw hat downwards, choosing to keep to himself close to the window for however long it was going to be. It took a bit before the train started to move, especially while the other seats on the train car began to fill up with ponies.

Now deep in thought, Jack looked back on what he discovered so far in this new world. He found the inhabitants to be friendly for the most part, a welcome change from worrying about a bounty placed on his head across the planet. Still, the man knew that back on his world, it was only a minor inconvenience considering his skill compared to the low-class hunters that would gang up on him at a bar or walking down a street.

As the train moved, Jack looked out the window and saw the passing trees and fields, being reminded of his many travels. He had trekked fields, scaled mountains, and explored the deepest caves, temples, and jungles. He wondered if he would have to repeat any of this while searching for the Chronos Compass, should it be real and not some fantasy.

Then again, the samurai has proven many legendary artifacts to be real back on his world. The many portals, objects, and people he had encountered with such power. He had faith that this would be the key in ending his journey.

But of course his mind trailed back to one single thing: Aku.

Jack was aware that by coming to this world, he would be leaving his own temporarily. It was all for the purpose of saving it, of course, but that came at a small cost. He saw the green trees, the grass, the flowers, and the animals peacefully wandering without a care in the world. He saw the ponies sitting around him. How peaceful this world was. All of this. If Aku were to come, his terror could end all of this in a matter of hours, possibly minutes.

But the samurai shoved those thoughts aside. A few days have passed and Aku was none the wiser in his disappearance yet. But that thought continued to linger in his mind every day.

A bump in his seat from the train knocked Jack out of his inner voice for a second and brought nim back to reality. It was then he realized how calm the ride was. It had been a while since he could sit somewhere without someone causing conflict. Jack smiled and looked out the window again, absorbing the scenery. But he had no idea of how long time had passed, so he faced a pony sitting in a leather chair across from him.

"Excuse me." Jack says.

His attention brought to the warrior, the stallion turned his head to face the strange looking person.

“How much longer until we arrive in Ponyville?” Jack asks.

"Three more stops. I'd give it an hour tops." the pony stated.

"Thank you." replied Jack with a small bow.

The rear end doors of the train car slammed open and closed in seconds.

“Stranger!" a voice bellowed out, getting the attention of Jack.

The voice also got the attention of the ponies sitting around him.

It was a pony with a sword strapped to his side. Jack recognized the pony as Blade Bringer, one of the bandits from Whinnyapolis and he stood up, ready for what was likely to come.

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Boltstrike58

Boltstrike58 #1 · Mar 24th, 2017 · · ·

Eh, not as crazy as the last fight Jack had on a train (I love that episode).

Gamerdestiny6

Gamerdestiny6 #2 · Mar 24th, 2017 · · ·

Quick! Somebody find awesome train music!
*runs to cabinets and starts looting them for a good song*

Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee #3 · Mar 24th, 2017 · 2 · ·

8047141

I like to think they figured it out by his choice of clothing and skills with a sword. Plus the guardians were omniscient, so they most likely knew from the start.

Yeah, the Guardians pretty much got the story when Jack heard "the voice" recount his history to them all.

However, the others would not only have to be extremely familiar with Neighpony culture--honestly, I'm not even sure the existence of that nation is even canon to MLP. Even if it was, it's a bit of a stretch for them to assume that Jack was one when he's clearly not even the same species that would be living in such a nation. I would expect that only Twilight might be able to figure it out and she realistically probably wouldn't be able to put the pieces together until she saw him fight.

Don't forget, even in Jack's show, his being a samurai was actually rarely mentioned. Only Aku's minions, who were actually sent out by Aku, knew he was a samurai without being told by Jack at some point. Most everyone else he met had no idea of who or what he was when he first showed up among them.

Kevin Lee