Jax was walking home. The rain had started before he even got outside, and the wind was playing with his wet hair. It flew into his face a couple of times, annoying him. He needed to get it cut soon.
The storm hadn’t hit entirely yet, so it wasn’t so bad, but sometimes a more forceful gust of wind would make it hard to walk.
He just wanted to get home before the lightning started.
Rainbow had been very reluctant to take his help, but in the end she had conceded. He had no clue how to help her though. He really needed to stop promising to help ponies without knowing how. He still had to help Luna with her reputation, but he had no new ideas.
He sighed. Somehow, he was going to make it happen. It was only a matter of inspiration.
Jax didn’t mind rain much - when he was looking at it from the inside. As it was making his clothes wet and sticky, he remembered why it was only from the inside. He started running to get home faster. He was already close to the farm, it wasn’t much further. Then he could drink some delicious tea from inside his very own home.
He couldn’t help but smile. He may not have much in this world, but thanks to his friends, he at least had a house of his own. And more importantly, he had friends. Good friends, that worried about him and wanted him to be happy. And of course Luna, his very own… marefriend. Girlfriend. Partner? Whatever. It was nice to have someone he could share that level of intimacy with. Kissing her was better than eating even the most delicious cake Pinkie could make.
Lightning lit up the orchard in a beautiful way, but the thunder that followed made him flinch. It was way too close for his taste.
He sped up, only to slip on the mud that had taken over the path. He cursed as he fell into a cold puddle. He quickly got out, sputtering and shivering, cursing his luck. It was way too typical, but it was his own fault for running when it had been raining hard for the last hour, and it was rather dark.
He shrugged and continued running. He needed to wash his clothes and take a shower anyway, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was just annoying right now, as the mud grated on his skin from beneath his clothes.
The orchard was dark as well, and he almost slipped a couple of times more, but his desire to get home fast outweighed thoughts of caution. He finally ran past the last tree in the orchard to see his home on the hill. Then he froze in place when another lightning lit it up properly.
In front of it stood a big red stallion, previously hidden in the shadows. He stepped forward as the thunder rolled over them and the light disappeared.
“Big Mac.” He breathed out, regretting his rush to get home. Starting out with a short breath is not the best way to face an enemy.
“Weird creature.” The being that Rainbow Dash was convinced was a changeling answered. Of course it could also be Sombra if Twilight was correct. There was no way to really know at this point. Maybe Big Mac had just lost it, but that didn’t explain the subtle smell of rot, noticeable even through the smell of rain and earth. That smell had been there last time he had faced Big Mac as well. Only this time help wasn’t coming.
Jax wanted to turn around and run. He couldn’t take on Big Mac, their last match had proven that… but he couldn’t outrun him either. His eyes darted over to his house, inside of which his Stick of Awesome rested, along with a sturdy door to keep Everfree creatures out.
And his bear. He could really use Mr. Bear right now.
“Oh don’t worry, creature. I’m not going to hurt you.” Big Mac’s deep voice assured him, even as the slight echo that shouldn’t be there annoyed him. “You interest me, you see. To be able to connect two separate locations together like you did yesterday… not many can do that. Not even I could do it at my peak. But I will be able to…” Big Mac flashed him a wolfish grin that looked so very, very out of place. “When I take over your body!”
Many things happened at once. Another lightning lit up the area from behind Big Mac, who suddenly collapsed when something came out of him.
That something turned out to some sort of dark mist, with, weirdly enough, a unicorn’s head. It had grey fur, a black mane, red pupils with green around it instead of white, and a red curved horn, along with sharp teeth.
Honestly, it should have looked absolutely ridiculous, a head coming out of black mist, but as it was, framed by the lightning behind it, those red eyes looking at him greedily, Jax couldn’t help but be terrified.
All he could do was to think ‘well, guess it wasn’t a changeling. Must be Sombra then.’ Before the mist descended on him. His eyes widened as he realized the severity of the situation. It had said it was going to take over his body. Was it going to use a spell for that?
‘Cell, prison, caught in a trap, restricted…’ He started to think fanatically, as panic descended over him. If the dark mist was going to use a spell, he hoped that his natural ability would kick in and fuck it up.
Sure enough, he felt the familiar phantom feeling of a spell being used on him, this time it was as if cold coils were wrapping themselves around him, and sure enough, the familiar feeling of his natural chaos magic started, kicking the coils back where they came from.
‘What… What is the meaning of this? NO! NOOOOOOO!’ It was a weird feeling… It was a thought in his head, but it wasn’t his thought.
For a moment, Jax just stood there, frozen in place. Then he fell forward on his hands and knees into the mud with a relieved sigh. He was still in control.
‘How? My spell is perfect! How am I trapped? WHAT DID YOU DO?!’ Sombra wasn’t happy, but Jax could care less. What he did care about was that Sombra seemed to be trapped… inside of him. That was not what he wanted… But his control of the chaos magic he had was… fleeting, at most. It required a certain mood that he wasn’t very good at creating, like Discord and Pinkie were. He guessed it was more fun for his magic to trap Sombra inside of him instead of outside. Whatever, at least he wasn’t taken over by a crazy pony.
He took some deep breaths. He wasn’t taken over… but this might be the spark Rarity feared, that would reignite the flame that were rumours about him. He didn’t want that… but he couldn’t exactly keep it quiet.
Well… maybe he could…
But should Sombra somehow break free… that would be bad. Very bad.
God fucking damnit. Why did shit like this always happen to him? Why couldn’t life just be easy?
‘Answer me!’ Sombra’s… thoughts echoed in his head. They were filled with hatred. Jax shivered.
‘Maybe you should do some research before you try to take other people’s body, bitch. Jax - 1, Sombrero - 0.’ He gloated. It felt good to take some of the frustration out on the one who had caused it in the first place. It wasn’t the victory he wanted, since he was still stuck with Sombra, but it was so much better than Sombra getting his way.
‘I am King Sombra, filth. You will do well to address me as such.’ Jax almost laughed out loud.
‘King?! King of what exactly, Sombrero? You have nothing, not even a body of your own. You. Are. Nothing.’ He taunted, knowing full well that Sombra couldn’t do anything to retaliate.
‘No! I am the king! I will get my revenge on those who stole the throne from me, and then I will take back what was mine!’ Jax got up and started making his way towards his house, but stopped when he noticed Big Mac’s unconscious body. He sighed.
Doing the right thing was going to be such a pain…
‘Sure you are.’ He answered sarcastically, while kneeling beside Big Mac. ‘Didn’t you steal the throne from someone else though? What comes around, goes around, and all of that. Maybe you should learn that lesson.’ He could practically feel Sombra’s hate inside of him. He tried to lift Big Mac up, but he was much heavier than other ponies he had tried to lift, even Luna. The rain was still coming down, reminding him that he was covered in mud, so close to his house, yet he was going to drag this heavy pony through the orchard.
‘There is only one rule in life, creature. You own what you take. I took the throne, so it is mine.’
‘And then Cadence took the throne from you, so it’s hers. Good rule.’ Jax took a hoof in his hand and started dragging Big Mac over the ground. The mud was both a blessing and a curse in this case, since it made Big Mac slide over it, but it also provided little footing for Jax.
‘It shall be mine again! I just need… I must… I will…’ Sombra’s thoughts stopped as they became more flustered. Then suddenly: ‘The parasite! I will use it again… Just need to find it… been a long time…’
‘Parasite?’ Jax stopped dragging Big Mac. ‘What parasite?’
‘…’
…
‘Worry not, freak. By the time you realize what is going on, it will all be over.’ Jax didn’t like the smugness in Sombra’s thoughts. He didn’t like the sound of a parasite either. It reminded him of the Limelight.
But apparently Sombra wasn’t stupid enough to just tell him what he was planning.
He started dragging Big Mac again. This was gonna be a long night.
***
“Howdy there, sugarcube.” Applejacks tired voice fit well with the bags under her eyes. “What can Ah help y-“ Her eyes widened as they fell on Big Mac, laying unconscious beside Jax. “Big Mac! Is he okay?” She rushed over to him, checking his vitals. Whether or not she could feel his pulse through her hoof was a mystery to Jax.
“He’s fine, I think. I can explain everything to you.”
***
Jax was sitting across Applejack in their living room. They had dragged Big Mac over to the couch, and he had just told her everything, as promised.
Jax had expected her to be… scared, wary, suspicious, maybe even directly hostile, but lo and behold, ponies proved how kind they were yet again.
Applejack went around the table and gave him a hug.
Jax realized how much he needed that. Sombra growled from somewhere inside of him, but otherwise it felt just as good as other hugs he had received. Applejack may be a hard working pony, but she took care of her fur enough for it to be soft.
Of course, Luna’s hugs were better. And softer. But this was a nice substitute at the moment, and he really needed it.
He relaxed in her firm embrace. “Why do things like this happen to me, AJ?” He asked her, not really expecting a reply.
She gave a low, humourless chuckle. “Ah don’t rightly know, sugarcube. Well, except that ya live in Ponyville. Things often happen ‘round these parts.”
Jax mirrored her chuckle. “Maybe I should move away then. I’ll start my own village and call it Humanville.” He joked half-heartedly.
“You might be joking, but Ah know quite a few ponies that would be sad to see ya leave.” He could hear the smile in her voice though. All his friends ran through his head at her comment, reminding him why he wasn’t serious about it. Other than the fact that starting a new village was ton of work. “Listen, this might be selfish of me but… thank you for bringing Big Mac home. Ah’ve been worried sick over that stallion.” He could hear the sincerity in her voice, along with… shame?
“You’re welcome. It was a pain to drag him over here in the rain, through an orchard, but nothing I would call you selfish for thanking me for.”
“Ah wasn’t talking about that part sugarcube.” Yep, that was shame, or maybe guilt. Jax wasn’t quite sure. “Ah was talking about giving that Sombra fella a new target.” She sighed. “Sounds even worse when Ah say it out loud.” She shook her head. “Ah’ll try to explain it to ya so you don’t think Ah’m some kind of monster that’s okay with other ponies’ suffering as long as it’s not ma family.”
Jax… didn’t know how to feel about this. He could kinda understand, that was her brother after all, but it didn’t feel very good to hear that she was happy it was him instead. He certainly wasn’t.
She drew back from the hug and looked him in the eyes. “Ever since we were little, Big Mac has always been the gentle kind. He was big, and work around the farm soon made him strong, but he’s never used that strength for anything other than some good old tree bucking. Even when some of the other colts at school found out that he never kicks back and started bullying him, he never lifted a hoof against them. Because that’s not the kind of stallion he is.”
She sighed and looked down at the floor. “Look, Ah ain’t sain’ that Ah don’t feel bad for ya, Jax, but you are made from sturdier stuff. Y’all bounced right back from being burned, being in pain for three days straight, and being stuck with another pony. Whatever comes you’re way, you don’t let it overwhelm you. Big Mac ain’t like that. If Sombra had killed Scootaloo in his body, Big Mac wouldn’t be able to take it, even if it wasn’t exactly him that did it. For the rest of his life, he would blame himself, and Ah… Ah don’t want that. That’s why Ah’m… relieved.” She finished by looking up at him with those big eyes that ponies had. He hated when they looked at him like that, almost begging to be forgiven for whatever they did. At least she didn’t fold her ears, and there were no tears in her eyes.
He realized he was just kinda looking at her when she looked down at the floor again. He didn’t exactly know what to say. What could he say to that? It’s okay? I’m fine? It wasn’t okay and he wasn’t fine.
“It still doesn’t sound very good, does it? Ah’m sorry sugarcube, Ah can understand if y’all are angry with me. Just know that you did my family a favour, and we ain’t gonna forget it.” She looked at him with determination.
‘Yeah, because that will help you. Is this the magic of friendship I have been hearing so much about? It is even more stupid than I imagined.’ Sombra commented. ‘She might as well have told you that she’s happy you broke your leg instead of her brother because you can take it and he cannot. Makes you feel so much better, does it not?’ He mocked.
Jax sighed. “Maybe you should tune down with the honesty, AJ. Actually, you could just not have said anything.”
“I know sugarcube. I just feel better when Ah say what’s on my mind.” She gave him a small smile that he mirrored. It wasn’t like he was actually mad at her or anything, what she said just didn’t make him feel all that good about himself… because he would have preferred if Sombra had stayed with Big Mac, and that made him feel like the biggest douche ever, especially after what he had just heard.
“I’ll be making my way home. It’s late and I need a shower.” He told her as he rose from the chair.
“Alright. Ah’ll be seeing ya tomorrow, Ah hope?” She sounded a bit apprehensive, like she was uncertain whether he would want to come or not.
“Yeah… See you then.” He said as he left through the front door.