Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville

On the Apple Family farm, Jax was helping the family out on harvesting the apples. Reminds him of his days in Earthrealm, when he worked on his families farm. Heck of a work out... true Equestria was different compared to Earthrealm. It didn't stop him from working, he soon heard the bell ring and turned seeing Applejack. "Lunch break ya'll!" she called out.

Exhaling and wiping off some sweat from his brow, and headed to the house. "You guys have quite the orchard... sure takes me back to when I worked on my families farm." he said to them as he chuckled. "Of course I would always get in a whole lots of trouble with the neighbor..."

"And yet, here you are now... grown and mature..." Applejack pointed out to him as she served them slices of apple pie.

"Well... kind of..." Jax replied and looked to the slice and took a small bite from it. Just at that instant, his taste buds literally popped. "Wow...! That definitely knocked my taste buds out of the park, this is the best apple pie I've ever tried." he complimented the chef.

"Thanks Jax... its an Apple Family Recipe..." Applejack said to him as she prepared more slices.

Exhaling from the taste, Jax almost felt his saliva pouring out of his mouth. "Man, what Vera would give to try this..." he took another bite of his pie.

Ears perked from hearing the name, and she seemed interested in who he was talking about. "Now's who's Vera...?" she asked the bionic armed pony as she sat down from across from him.

Looking down, Jax thought back to his beautiful fiancé back when he was human. "Vera... is my fiancé..." he started explaining to her as he relaxed. "Before I had my bionics, I met her when I was just a teenager in high school... the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one for me..." he smiled as he remembered her eyes, and beautiful smile. "But... turns out some punk was hitting on her, and I mean literally..."

Jax's High School Years, before the first Mortal Kombat Tournament

"I was on my way to see her, but by the time I got there... Jarek, a soon to be member of the Black Dragon was hurting her. I knew I couldn't let that slide..." Jax told his story to Applejack about Vera and Jarek. As jax walked through the halls, he heard the sounds of hitting and screaming around the corner. He rushed to see what was going on, and found that Jarek was hurting Vera.

"Now then Vera, are we gonna make this easy for the both of us? Or do I have to knock it through that head of yours...?!" Jarek asked her menacingly.

"Let go of me Jarek!" Vera tried to get free of his grasp.

"Not until you say what I need to her!" Jarek went to hit her again, but suddenly his arm was grabbed. He turned and saw that it was Jax.

Glaring at the abusive bully, Jax pulled him away from her and pushed him away. "Keep your hands off her Jarek...!" he warned Jarek holding a stern glare.

Dusting his shoulders off and returned the glare. "Yeah...? What do you plan to do about it Briggs...?" he asked him.

"I'm sure you already know the answer to that punk...!" Jax cracked his knuckles as he glared at him.

The students around the school saw what was going on, and started gathering knowing there was going to be a fight. "No teacher is gonna help you this time Briggs..." he said to them as he held up his fists.

"Don't need them... I got all I need right here..." Jax held up his fists preparing for anything. Jarek smirked and charged at him going for a punch, but Jax blocked his attacks and dodged the next kick and swung his left arm landing a hard punch. Jarek stumbled a bit and looked to him noticing his fighting stance was like that of a boxer, he glared and threw a few punches at him.

Dodging his attacks, Jax went for another hard punch, but Jarek dodged and kicked him in the leg knocking him off balance. He threw a few punches against his face seeing him fall to the ground. "That the best you got Briggs?!" he asked as he kicked him while he was down.

Jax grunted from it, but managed to block his next attack and kicks him away. Jarek groaned from it, and looked to see him getting back up. "I've got a lot more than that..." he charged and blocked Jarek's attack, managing to catch his arm and punch him in his stomach three times, and flips him forward seeing him land on the ground. "Stay down...!"

But rather than listen to him, Jarek got back up and turned to him. "I'm not one to quit Briggs...!" he exclaimed and threw a few kicks at him. Jax tried to block them, but he was too fast for him to keep up. Jarek managed to land three kicks against Jax, and he struck him in the neck, leaving him in a daze. Jax tried to shake it off, but Jarek landed a few hard punches to his face and landed a hard uppercut against his chin knocking him down. Vera gasped from seeing it, but she couldn't lose hope. Meanwhile, Jarek circled the downed fighter, and chuckled at him. "Man, how your old man would be laughing at you right now..." he mentioned his father to him, and that... was a bad move.

Jax's eyes snapped open clearing up from the daze of confusion, he looked to Vera seeing how concerned she was. But he knew he couldn't bear to see her this way, so he got himself back up from the ground and turned to Jarek. "You don't know my old man Jarek... in fact... he was a better man than your father will ever be." he pointed out and immediately touched a nerve. Jarek yelled out in anger and charged at him. He went for a strong right hook, but Jax ducked underneath it and punched him hard in his rib cage. The students cheered him on as Jarek lost himself to his rage and went for another punch, Jax meanwhile blocked each of his attacks and landed a fast punch against Jarek's face knocking out a tooth and see's him fall to the ground. "Cry uncle!"

Spitting out the tooth he knocked out, Jarek fumed more in anger and got back up from the ground. He threw another punch at Jax only to get one heck of a hard right hook from him in return, but that wasn't gonna stop him for he resorted to another way. He pulled a knife out and scratched his arm causing him to wince in pain of it. Vera gasped seeing it, Jax backed away as he held his arm from where he was scratched and looked to Jarek who twirled his knife. "No more fair play... time to show you what happens when you mess with me!" he went to cut him again.

Jax backed away seeing it, he knew he couldn't get him while he was holding that knife. So he dodged Jarek's attack to avoid getting cut or stabbed. When Jarek went for another jab with his knife... he immediately grabbed his wrist twisting it, and grabbed him by the neck. "Bringing a knife to a street fight...? First thing you wanna know is... the street always wins..." he said to him and slammed him on the ground knocking him unconscious.

Seeing he was knocked out, Vera rushed over to Jax. "Are you alright...? she asked him feeling worried.

"Yeah.. its just a scratch..." he assured her as he looked to his arm as it was bleeding.

Vera however, was not convinced just by looking at it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old handkerchief and started cleaning his arm up and wrapped it around his arm. "You idiot... he could have killed you..." she said to him.

"I know..." Jax replied and smiled looking to her. "Least you won't have to worry about him anymore..." he said to her as she smiled back. By that time, the teachers and Principle arrived seeing what happened... the Principle looked to Jarek who was starting to stir, but then looked to Jax noticing his injured arm.

He walked over looking at it, and looked to him with a stern look. "What happened...?" he asked him.

"Jarek was hurting Vera sir... I was trying to defend her." Jax responded and looked to where the knife is. "Things got heated up, then he pulled a knife on me and cut me..." he explained what happened.

"Its true Principle... we saw it happen..." said one male student.

"Jax is telling the truth..." said a female student.

The Principle looked to Jarek who looked to him in fear... he approached Jarek and grabbed him pulling him off the ground. "You... my office... now...!" he dragged him away. "You too Briggs..." he said to him as he walked with Jarek.

Hearing it, Jax looked to Vera seeing her worried expression. He smiled a bit and touched her shoulder. "Hey... don't worry, I might get let off easy... just wait for me after school okay...?" he asked her. Smiling at his request, Vera nodded to him as he smiled back and left with the Principle and Jarek. "Turns out I did get let off easy... got a two days suspension. As for Jarek, he got expelled for bringing a deadly weapon on Campus..."

Present Day, Equestria

"From that day, me and Vera started dating... and we knew that we'd always be together for the rest of our lives." Jax finished his story as he smiled a bit.

"Till that day you fought against Shao Kahn's army huh...?" Applejack asked him and noticed as his smile faded. "Oh... sorry, I didn't..."

"No... its alright, and given that Shao Kahn hadn't conquered Earthrealm yet, I know that she is still alive... safe..." Jax replied as he looked down thinking about her. He would give anything to see her again, even if he was a pony at the moment.

Noticing it, Applejack felt sorry for him... being separated from the woman he loved. Soon, Applebloom approached him after hearing his story from outside and touched his arm. "We're sorry you had to go through all that Mr. Briggs... but I'm sure you'll see her again." she said to him to cheer him up.

Seeing her smile at him, Jax returned with a smile and rubbed her head. "Thanks Applebloom... you sure know how to make a grown man feel better..." he said to her and chuckled realizing something he said. "I guess I'm not exactly a man, but a stallion..." he chuckled a bit as Applebloom giggled at how he realized it. Applejack smiled seeing how happy he was, to where she believed that he may have a chance to see her again.

After lunch, Jax got back to work to help around the farm. Applejack at that time kicked a few tree's, but soon noticed Nightwolf in a distance sitting alone. He was still reflecting on what he did, and what he could have done when his wolf spirit took control of him. She began to worry about him, and looked to Jax. "How long has he been like that...?" she asked him.

Looking to where Nightwolf was, Jax could only speculate. "I'd say since he started living here with you guys..." he said to her and sighed. "I've never seen him like this..."

"It's because of the wolf spirit, isn't it...?" Applejack asked curiously.

"Yeah... normally spirit animals from what I learned were meant to guide their companions, but for his spirit to be corrupted by Blaze...? That takes messed up to a whole different level..." Jax explained to her.

Looking at Nighwolf, Applejack sensed a state of loneliness. "Was he always like this...?" she asked.

"Ever since his people were oppressed by what his tribe call the white man..." Jax mentioned it to her as she looked to him surprised. "Back in the day, the English traveled to America in search of gold... the natives of that era referred to them as white devils, and the English referred to them as savages. For ages, Americans and the Natives hated one another, and when the time of the Old West came... well... lets just say things went down hill..." he explained.

This immediately caught Applejack's attention as she recalled the fight between her family and the Buffalo Tribe... only it is much more different. "You mean to tell me, that they treated the natives like vermin...?" she asked to know what happened.

"Seems that way... the remaining natives who survived walked along a trail, that they created not only with their feet... but with their own tears." Jax said to her and looked to Nightwolf. "His people had long since been victimized, that's when we met him in the Mortal Kombat Tournament."

Applejack looked to where Nightwolf was, not knowing what it may have been like to be a victim, but she knew a lonely soul when she saw one. "I wish there were some way I could help him..." she said as she lowered her gaze.

Jax reached over to her and touched her shoulder. "Its not your burden to bear... trust me, things like this take time." he said to her and left to get back to work. Applejack knew she shouldn't let it get to her... but seeing somepony in need was something she needed to handle. But she took Jax's advice to heart and went back to work, mentally praying that she may find a way to help Nightwolf. Meanwhile, Jax walked to a part of the orchard to get some fresh apples... suddenly he heard yells and grunts not far from where he was. He went to check it out, and found that it was Big Mac. Practicing his own form of boxing... he watched Big Mac practicing his stance, as he threw a few quick jabs in a form of shadow boxing. Smirking a bit, Jax soon approached him. "Your stance is off..." he said to him.

Big Mac jumped as he went back to standing on all fours trying to act casual. "It's not what you think!" he exclaimed.

"Whoa, chill man... I get it, you're trying to get yourself fit, and you want to help defend your family from Shao Kahn, is that right...?" Jax asked him of why he was training all by his lonesome.

Wanting to deny it, Big Mac knew that lying wouldn't get him anywhere... because clearly it didn't for Applejack when she was young. "Eeyup... I can't let some monster from another world hurt my family. If anything happened to them... I would never forgive myself..." he said to Jax as he lowered his head.

Jax nodded his head a bit, he looked to Big Mac and patted his shoulder. "Here, let me show you my technique... you might even be able to mix it with yours." he said to him as he walked over and helped fix his stance. "Basically what you're trying to do is a fighting style called boxing. Its an all fist fighting style, but in your case hoof... but if you really want to fight, you got to learn MMA."

"MMA...?" Big Mac asked in confusion.

"Mixed Martial Arts... its a technique that allows you to pull some kicks as well as punches. Like so..." Jax demonstrated as he threw a three hit combo and threw a high kick. Big Mac was surprised from when he saw his technique, true it was different from traditional boxing, but it could be affective. Jax turned to the large farm pony, and set his bionic hooves on the ground. "See...? Its easy... give it a try." he said to him.

Nervous about it, Big Mac knew that being on his hind legs won't be easy... but he humored Jax and threw the same three hit combo, but when he went for a high kick he lost balance and hit the ground. Jax winced from seeing it, and watched as Big Mac pulled himself from the dirt. "Maybe this MMA thing isn't for me..." he said to him.

"Don't sell yourself short... you have the talent, you just don't know it yet. Now... try it again, and this time... put a lot more strength into your legs and then go for that high kick." Jax instructed him. Big Mac didn't know if it were a good idea... but he knew he couldn't let his family down. So he stood on his hind legs, threw a three hit combo, and just at that moment. He put as much strength as he could into his legs, and threw a high kick and landed his hoof back onto the ground. "Perfect..." Jax nodded approvingly.

"Wow... I guess I've been doubting myself quite a lot..." Big Mac admitted to himself.

"Sometimes doubt is what keeps someone tied down... to the point they will never get up. But it takes strength to move passed it, and its that kind of strength you got. Never lose sight of it...." Jax said to him. His ear twitched hearing something sharp flying at them, he turned and blocked a knife with his arm and saw that it was Kano.

Chuckling at the bionic armed pony, Kano approached with a sign of fear. "I never reckoned you as a teacher Briggs..." he said to him.

"What...? Think I'm tied down as Sonya's C.O.?" Jax asked him.

Kano only chuckled as his red eye glowed. "Reckoned I would have gut you first..." he threatened him.

Big Mac turned to Jax as he pulled to knife out of his bionic arm. "Friend of yours...?" he asked him.

"Not quite... Kano is the leader of the Black Dragon, a clan of mercenaries who kill for fun. Sonya's been hunting this guy ever since he killed her partner in cold blood... I'll never forget the look on her face when it happened." Jax explained to him remembering how angry Sonya was back then.

Chuckling at going down memory lane, Kano looked to them knowing that was the best time he had. "I will admit... I enjoyed cutting up his smug face." he said to them.

Glaring at what he said, Jax knew he went too far this time. "Stand back Big Mac... its time I settle this, and make sure he gets what he deserves..." he said to him as he stepped towards the one eyed murderer. "Care for a few rounds Kano...?"

"You ask as if I had a choice in the matter..." Kano stood in his fighting stance. He pulled a knife and lashed at Jax to land a few cuts. Jax managed to block his blade, and knocked it out of his hoof. He grabbed hold of his arm and threw a few punches hitting against Kano's face. Shaking his head from it, Kano glared at Jax for it and saw him coming in for another punch. Kano managed to dodge it and punch his ribcage causing him to grunt in pain. "I ain't done with ya...!" Kano threw his left arm and slammed it against Jax's neck flipping him over.

"Jax!" Big Mac was about to help him, but he felt one of Kano's fly passed his face scratching it.

Kano smirked at him as he pulled out another knife "Stay back big boy... this doesn't concern you." he said to him about to go for a strike towards Jax while he was still on the ground. But Jax managed to dodge it and kick Kano off of him.

He pulled himself off the ground and glared at the mercenary. "Now you've gone too far dead beat..." he saw Kano charge at him and blocked his attacks.

"Not far enough...!" Kano replied and went to cut him with his extra knife. Jax punched at the blade and shattered it with his bionic arm. Kano was stunned from what happened, and went to hit him, but Jax blocked his attacks and landed a strong punch against Kano's cyborg eye causing it to flicker.

Backing up to catch his breath, Jax charged at the mercenary and gave him a hard beat down. He landed five punches against Kano's face and gave Kano a strong uppercut sending him flying. "Alright Kano... I suggest you give up while you can..." he advised him.

Groaning from the pain he received, Kano got back up and glared at him. "Since when have I ever ran away from a fight Brigg's...?" Kano asked him as he fixed his jaw.

"Like that time Sonya had your flank handed to you further down the orchard..." Jax said to him and smirked humorously.

Glaring at him as he remembered that moment. "She got lucky... but as of now...? I'm gonna rip your head off...!" Kano struck at him only for Jax to block his attacks. He went for a kick, but Jax caught his leg and punched him repeatedly in the face and threw him at a tree. He groaned from it but looked to Jax. "That the best ya got ya meathead...?"

Smirking at the downed mercenary, Jax knew he still won't give up. "If you get back up, I'll just knock you back down again." he said to him as Kano charged at him to hit him. He blocked the mercenary's attacks, but what he didn't expect... was that Kano had hidden blades in his back legs. Kano swung his right leg as a blade came out and scratched his face. He winced in pain from it, but he caught his leg and threw him over slamming him one the ground. Shaking his head, Kano was about to get back up... but Jax pinned him down and punched his head knocking him out cold. "That should keep you down..." he said to him as he panted from exhaustion.

Big Mac was astonished from what he just witnessed, he approached Jax seeing the unconscious Kano. "I have to admit... that was by far the craziest thing I've ever seen..." he admitted to him.

"He'll be out for a while..." Jax informed and turned to Big Mac. "Got any strong rope to spare...?" he asked him as Big Mac nodded to him and grabbed it with his teeth. He walked over and helped hog tie Kano to make sure he didn't go anywhere. "I better get into contact with Twilight, she may need to use her magic to remove any sharp weapons he's got hidden."

Castle of Friendship, Ponyville

At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight had just got done using her magic to disarm the unconscious Kano of all his knives. She even found a few in places she doesn't even want to remember. Sonya had them spread on the table, and exhaled looking at each and every one of them. "He sure has a collection..." she muttered.

"Don't remind me... I have to look at baby pictures of Spike to help forget what I just did..." Twilight said to her, as Spike had a completely red face hiding from them. "How can one mercenary have so many knives in so many places to hide them...?" she asked.

"Believe me, you don't want to know..." Sonya said to her and firmly turned towards Jax with an angered expression. "As for you Jax... Kano was mine to handle, and you knew that! You could have told me he was here...!" she exclaimed to him.

"Whoa, take it easy Sonya, it was a life and death situation, I had to do something." Jax explained to her of the situation and looked to Kano. "Besides... he needed to be taken down, otherwise he would have hurt the Apple Family..."

Listening to his words, Sonya sighed and looked to him. "Your heart was in the right place Jax... but next time you fight against a foe stronger than you...? You contact me immediately... that's an order..." she said to him.

"Yes ma'am..." Jax responded to her and smirked.

At that moment, Kano started to wake up and found himself in Twilight's magic bubble and struggled to get out. "Hey! You can't keep me in here! I got business in other places you flee ridden vermin!" he exclaimed.

"He always this rude...?" Twilight asked Sonya.

"You have no idea..." Sonya replied.

"I swear when I get outta hear, I'm gonna get my knives and gut every one of-" before Kano could finish his sentence, Twilight immediately put a muzzle on him to shut him up.

Sighing relieved, Twilight turned to Sonya with her eyebrows arced. "So this guy got away with all kinds of murder, and you haven't been able to catch him after all this time...?" she asked her.

"Until now that is... thanks to Jax." Sonya responded and looked to him. "Just glad you made it in one piece... but I still wish I was there to see you kick his sorry flank all over the orchard." she smirked at her partner.

"You and me both, but why do I get the feeling that its far from over...?" Jax asked her and immediately his hairs started to tingle. He grabbed Sonya and ducked beneath a projectile attack. He turned and found that it was none other... than a possessed Sindel, and Ermac. "Oh man..." he muttered.

"We came to retrieve our comrade Jackson Briggs... do not interfere..." Ermac advised him.

"Yeah...? You gonna use Sindel to get him Ermac...?" Jax asked him.

"We will, and she will not show mercy...!" Ermac said to him as Sindel stepped forward to face him.

She smirked at him as her eyes glowed green. "You will die this day Jackson..." she threatened him.

"I don't think so Sindel...!" Jax responded to her and stood in his fighting stance. Sindel grinned and struck at him with much fury, but he blocked her attacks managing to land quick jabs at her face. She grunted from it and shook her head and threw a kick at him, Jax managed to block her assault and threw her at a wall seeing her slam against it. "Sindel, you need to fight Ermac's control, this isn't who you are!"

"Clearly you don't know me as well as you think Jackson Briggs... Shao Kahn will find this realm, and he will burn it down to the ground." Sindel said to him and unleashed a sonic screech against him.

Jax covered his ears from it, but he thought quickly, and slammed his bionic arm against the ground causing the ground to shake and force her to lose balance. He charged at her and grabbed hold of her. "Gotcha!" he started pounding his hoof against Sindel's face and punched her away from him. He watched as she hit the ground, and stayed cautious. "Sindel please, think about Kitana... how do you think she would react to seeing you like this...?" he asked her.

Feeling her conscious trying to break free of Ermac's control, Sindel struggled to fight it. "My... daughter..." she muttered a bit as she held her head in pain.

"You will not break free...!" Ermac exclaimed and strengthened his power over her as Sindel let out a painful scream.

At that moment, Kitana rushed into the room seeing it. "Mother...?!" she was about to run toward her, but Jax stopped her.

"Stay back Kitana... trust me, she's under Ermac's control, and my only chance in getting through to her is to knock her out." Jax said to her as he focused on the fight. Sindel screamed out and glared at the soldier and charged at him going for a strong attack, Jax evaded her assault, and punched her in the stomach causing her to cough harshly. But Sindel wasn't going to let that attack stop her, her hair extended and wrapped around Jax throwing him over and slamming him down on the ground hearing him let out a large grunt in pain. He shook his head, and turned to Sindel. "Alright Sindel... you leave me no choice...!" he said to her and grabbed her hair.

She gasped as Jax pulled hard swinging her around the room... she screamed as she crashed against the walls of the castle. Jax then pulled her towards him, landing fast punches against her face, he then landed fast punches against her stomach causing her to cough up blood. He launched her into the air and slammed his hooves on both sides of her head, he reached behind him as a grenade launcher on his back magnetized itself onto his arm. He aimed it and hit the trigger with his hoof, blasting her away. Shaking of the pain, Sindel refused to surrender and got back up. "That attack won't be enough to keep me down...!" she cried out.

"You have a point there Sindel... in fact, I think a few more knocks to your head will do the trick...!" Jax responded to her as she charged at him. She struck at him only to miss as he dodged her throws, Jax finally managed to grab her next punch and throws her over his shoulder slamming her to the ground.

Twilight and the others were watching it as it happened, Twilight could hardly believe her own eyes that Jax was holding his own against an Alicorn formed Sindel. Suddenly she started hearing hums as she turned towards Kano who was watching the fight as well. "You seem amused..." she said to him as she removed the muzzle.

Kano finally gasped for air and sighed relieved. "Well I'm bit of a gambler sweetheart, and my money right now is going towards Jax at the moment. But I'm still rooting for Sindel to kick his sorry fla-" and just before he could finish what he was going to say, Twilight immediately put the muzzle back on him and looked back to the fight. Jax blocked another attack, and threw his elbow at Sindel's jaw cracking it. He then grabbed her and slammed her against the wall as a few books fell down and hit her in the head.

She shook her head of it and glared at Jax, she focused her magic and blasted at him as Jax blocked it with his bionics. He struggled to stay on his hooves, but he knew he had to adapt and overcome the situation. He dodged to his right getting out of the beams path and charged at Sindel, she panicked from seeing it and went to blast him again. But before she could, Jax threw a powerful uppercut and made it contact with her jaw, sending her flying as she hit the ground unconscious. "Between you and me Sindel... evil doesn't suit you..." he said to her and turns to Ermac. "Now there's you to deal with..."

"We took your arms Jackson Briggs... but now..." Ermac summoned the souls of many vanquished warriors. "Its time we finished you off for good!" he threatened him.

Glaring at him, Jax knew that he needed to bring him down before he hurts anyone else. "I know one thing... the Ermac Kenshi saved... would be fighting what ever spell has him in Shao Kahn's pocket. Looks like I'm gonna have to knock some sense into you too punk...!" he said to him and stood in his fighting stance. Ermac charged at him and threw a few soul blasts at him, Jax countered it with an energy blast from his arm seeing it blast against the soul blast. He charged at Ermac only to see he leaped into the air and kicked him in the face, forcing him to fall down to the ground.

Ermac chuckled as he lifted Jax into the air, preparing to rip him apart, but he soon felt a force take hold of him. He turned to see Twilight using her magic to hold him down. "You filthy equine...! You think your magic will hold us down?!" he asked her as the started struggling to break free.

Twilight felt it and struggled to hold her magic around him. "Just long enough for a distraction...!" she said to him as Ermac's eyes widened and turned towards Jax. He saw him charging at him again and saw him land a powerful punch against his face sending him flying towards the wall. He was about to hit it, but he quickly used his magic to keep himself from reaching it. He looked to Jax and flew towards him tackling him down to the ground, throwing hard punches to his face.

Feeling his attacks, Jax immediately took action and caught his next punch and smirked at Ermac. "You're still the same... I pity you..." he said to him.

"Save your pity for the weak Jackson Briggs...!" Ermac replied to him as he floated into the air and rammed against him. Jax slid back from the impact, but he stood unfazed by it and looked to Ermac as he went for another ramming attack. He managed to dodge the attack and slam his bionic arm against Ermac's throat.

He watched him flip backwards and hit the ground, Jax knew he was down, but not out of the fight yet. Ermac got up and used his telekinetic power to lift him up and slam him on the ground pinning him down. He grunted from it and saw he was about to finish him. Jax immediately launched an energy wave from his arm hitting his legs, Ermac stumbled from it losing focus of his telekinesis. Seeing his opportunity, Jax went for the attack, he grabbed hold of Ermac holding him down. "GOTCHA!!!" he held him down choking him out. He soon noticed the emerald amulet over his chest knowing he didn't have before. He grabbed hold of it and threw it onto the ground. "Twiligh, crush it!"

Reacting quickly, Twilight stomped on the amulet crushing it as souls spewed from it. Ermac's eyes widened as he let out a gasp feeling it. He soon fell unconscious as Jax slowly lowered him down for him to rest. Twilight and Sonya rushed over to check on him. "Is he... dead...?" she asked him.

"No, he's just out cold..." Jax said to her and looked to the crushed pieces of the amulet. "Looks like we found out how Shang Tsung managed to regain control over him. The amulet he was wearing must have been a link between him and Shang..." he theorized.

"Mind control... that's got to be the most cruel thing to do to anyone..." said Twilight as she checked the unconscious Ermac. But her attention soon turned to Kitana as she tended to her stirring mother, she approached to check on them. "Kitana... you referred to her as your mother... is it really her...?" she asked her.

"Yes... Twilight, this is Queen Sindel, my mother and ruler of Edenia..." Kitana introduced her to her mother.

Twilight turned towards Sindel and bowed in respect. "It is an honor to finally meet you Queen Sindel..." she said to her.

Smiling at hearing it, and bowed to her in return. "The honor is mine Princess Twilight..." she responded to her and looked around. "Your castle is indeed a jewel... the palace in Edenia may indeed pale in comparison..." she complimented her home earning a small blush of embarrassment from Twilight.

"Well, its not that much really... other than having a dozen rooms that I still need to label..." she responded to the Edenian Queen, earning a giggled in response, but suddenly a thought came to her. "Your highness, can you tell me how exactly this Ermac managed to take control over you...?" she asked her.

Sindel rubbed her head a bit still feeling the pain she felt from her fight with Jax. "I was traveling on an open road till I found this town... I was about to wander in, but that's when Ermac jumped me and brought me to Shao Kahn. Next thing I know, I'm fighting Jax, and he rendered me unconscious..." she explained to them.

"Is there anything else you can tell us...? Anything you saw may help..." Jax said to her.

Thinking about it for a moment, Sindel began to recall something, or someone that she saw. "Actually... when I was being escorted to the dungeon... I noticed in a cell, that Raiden was trying to regain his strength." she said to them.

Gasping from hearing it, Jax, Kitana and Sonya looked to one another in surprised from hearing the news. "Raiden's still alive..." said Sonya.

"Shao Kahn did keep him alive... and he's using him to try and cross into Equestria." said Kitana and looked to her mother. "Mother, this information must be explained further to Princess Celestia. She needs to know what's become of Raiden." she said to her earning a nod from her.

"I'll get the tickets for the next train to Canterlot immediately." Twilight rushed out to the train station.

Sonya soon turned her attention to Ermac who remained unconscious. "What do we do with him...? I doubt this place has an kind of dungeon..." she pointed out to them.

"For now, we wait for him to wake up... if there's any sign of him waking up, I'll let you know. But for right now, didn't you promise Applejack that you'd look out for Applebloom...?" Jax asked her with a smirk.

Sighing knowing she hated it when he reminded her. "Yes Jax, I better get down to Sweet Apple Acre ASAP." she said to him and walked out of the room. True she may act like she's tough as nails, but Jax knew there was another side to her than she realized.

Ponyville Train Station

At the Ponyville Train Station a few hours later, the train had just arrived to pick up Sindel and Kitana. Twilight approached them with the tickets. "This train will get you to Canterlot faster than any locomotive, I know its not much Queen Sindel, but I hope its enough." she said to her.

"It is perfectly fine Twilight, and please... call me Sindel." the Edenian Queen said to her.

Nodding in response, Twilight turned to face Kitana. "I guess for now this is goodbye..." she said to her.

"For now, yes... but do not stop practicing everything I taught you Twilight. You will need to keep practicing until I return. If you like, you're more than welcome to train with Flash Sentry..." Kitana said to her and smirked earning a red faced Twilight in return.

"Kitana, leave the poor child alone..." Sindel said to her and looked to Twilight. "But she is right about one thing Princess Twilight... you must take my daughters lessons seriously, even that of all your friends." she said to her and touched her shoulder. "Until then, stay safe young Princess... and may the Elder Gods watch over you." she said and walked onto the train with her daughter.

Taking along with the, was Kanos till trapped in an aura of magic. "Come on love, lemme make a deal with ya, if ya let me go, I'll tell ya where to find Raide-" before he could offer his assistance, Kitana put the muzzle back on him not interested in his offer to save Raiden from Shao Kahn's Dungeon. They will save him without the help and betrayal of a Black Dragon thug.

Twilight watched as the queen and her new mentor set out for Canterlot, and new that one day they were gonna meet again. She soon turned to Jax who arrived with a restored Ermac. "Did we just miss them...?" asked Jax.

"Yes, they just set out for Canterlot, sorry if you were a little..." Twilight apologized to them and looked to Ermac. "So... how are you feeling after being controlled...?" she asked him.

"Better... but we deeply regret our actions towards you and your allies." Ermac said to her and lowered his gaze. "If Shang Tsung hadn't found us, none of this would have happened." he said to them in regret.

Jax reached over and touched his shoulder. "Ermac, we didn't know how it happened... you were taken against your will, and Shang Tsung turned you back to how you were. We can't blame you for that... even after our first encounter when we arrived in this world." he said to him.

"Pardon me but, why does he say we...? And our...?" Twilight asked them.

Turning his attention to her, Ermac stepped forward to explain. "We are a collection of souls of warriors, past and present... we were created by Shao Kahn to defeat his enemies. But we were freed from his control thanks to Kenshi Takahashi, who's location remains unknown..." he explained to her.

Amazed from his explanation, Twilight forgot to write all of it down and shook he head. "Well... we will help any way we can to find this Kenshi... we just need a good description of him." she said to him as Ermac nodded in response. Jax smiled and looked out to the sunset, thinking back to when he was with Vera. Seeing the same exact sunset, hoping that one day he'll be able to show Vera the same sunset in Equestria.

Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom's Bedroom

Later that night, Applebloom got done washing up and cleaned her teeth. Sonya helped her get ready for bed, and tucked her in. But before Applebloom could go to sleep, she looked to her curiously. "Sonya... what was your daddy like...?" she asked her.

Smiling at hearing her question, Sonya turned to the young filly showing her expression. "My dad was my hero, he was in the Navy Seals fighting in Iraq back in Earthrealm. I looked up to him..." her smile began to fade remembering that one day. "But then... my mom found out... that he was killed in action." she lowered his gaze as tears brimmed. "I was devastated from when I heard the news... but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I was going to become a soldier, and live up to my dad's name..." she told the young filly.

Looking at her, Applebloom felt sorry for the loss she endured. She reached over and touched her hoof. "You're not alone Sonya... in fact, me, Applejack and Big Mac... we lost our parents in an accident. Granny took us in when we had no where left to go..." she said to her. Sonya was surprised from when she mentioned it, never before had she believed that tragedy would also be caused in this realm of theirs. "But the thing about Family... is that it never truly dies, it lives on in your heart... they'll always be with you." Applebloom smiled at her.

Looking at the young filly, Sonya could almost feel like her mother in some way. Almost... but she sighed and rubbed the little filly's head and put the blanket over her. "Get some sleep little filly... you'll need it..." she said to her.

Before Sonya could leave however... "Think you can sing me a lullaby...?" she asked her.

Hearing it, Sonya looked down thinking of anything she could remember. She couldn't think of any, but then... something occurred to her as she remembered something from her childhood. She turned to Applebloom and walked over sitting next to her in her bed. "I think I have something you might like... it was one of my favorite songs..." she said to her.

(Angel's Lullaby belongs to Reba McEntire)

Midnight, moonlight
Shining through the curtain lace

She holds Applebloom close so that she could make her feel comfortable.

Paints a perfect picture on
Your perfect face

Sonya smiles as she remembered the way her mother used to sing to her.

One sweet angel sleeping in my arms
You are the promise I knew
God would keep

Applebloom listened as she started to feel drowsy from her song. Her eyes slowly started to close.

You are the gift that makes my world complete
And you'll never know how much I love you
But I'll keep on telling you my whole life through
Now I believe in miracles, and you're the reason why
So dream on while I sing you my angel's lullaby

Sonya finished the song and saw that Applebloom was sound asleep from her song, she smiled and gently got out of her bed so that she could sleep. She stepped out of the room quietly closing the door, she soon heard a chuckle and saw that it was Jax standing next to her. "What...?" she asked him.

"Nothing..." he responded and let out a chuckle. "It's the first time I've ever seen you act so much like a mother to anyone around her." he said to her.

Blushing from the thought of it, Sonya couldn't deny that it almost felt like she was acting like her mother. She turned to Applebloom watching her sleep, and smiled that Jax wasn't wrong. "I guess there's a first time for everything..." she said to him and landed a quick jab to his chest. "But if you so much as breathe a word to Johnny, you'll be in for it..." she warned him and walked away.

Jax groaned a bit but chuckled a bit watching where she was heading. True she's tough, but she's still pretty soft. He looked outside to the moonlight as it shined over the orchard, if there was only one thing that could make this moment feel complete... it would be Vera, in his arms. Sharing this night together... maybe some day he may see her again. But until that time, he needed to help his friends in the fight against Shao Kahn. "Sleep tight Vera... I hope I'll see you again when this is all over." he muttered and headed to his bedroom, to dream about her.

Author's Note

Hey guys, sorry I took so long to complete this chapter, its been bit of a hassle given my time spent at a film class. Anyways, this is Jax's chapter, and I will mention... that Jarek will only be doing a cameo appearance in this story, given that he from what I know is still a hated character in the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Also, as to why I chose to have Sonya sing "Angel's Lullaby" by Reba McEntire... well... I couldn't help it, it was a really good song. I wanted to see how it would have looked, I tried searching for other lullaby options, but it didn't go well as planned. So... I went with Angel's Lullaby. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, just don't criticize me about the fights... I'm trying my best to make them long, but its not as easy as it looks.

Enjoy the chapter, and Sindel's design was made by yours truly.