//------------------------------//
// Chapter 72 
// Story: A New Beginning in a New Land 
// by REDACTED99999 
//------------------------------//

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The skies were forever gray, but no snow had fallen yet. It had been a month at least, so winter must be near.
They had mercifully set the crystals around his house so he didn’t have to stay in that room for the duration. His body seemed to be all confused about what it was supposed to do, so the process had become longer than both Sombra and Twilight had theorized.
Sometimes it became too much, the negative magic, so he had to step outside. Then one of his guards would come over from where they secured the perimeter and make sure he made it back if he should become a Giver again. But staying too long inside there made him… cranky, to put it mildly. Thankfully Sombra warned him when he took in too much negative magic.
That was the only good thing about this whole ordeal… Sombra became bearable to deal with. Thank the stars. It was still awkward sometimes, but they could at least hold a conversation. 
Not that his other friends were far away. One day Pinkie came by with two tables, one to place on his side of the crystal, one on the other. This way the crystals could continue on their eternal journey around his home, and he could sit with friends for tea. He honestly didn’t mind the small talk it brought, after being stuck in his house for so long with limited things to do. It was too bad it was so cold though. On the bright side he was getting quite proficient at small talk.
He finished the Daring Do books he had received from Rainbow Dash so long ago, and had borrowed a bunch of books from Twilight, but it was still… annoying, being stuck like this. He was itching to run out and just….
‘Feeling a bit grumpy, are we?’ Sombra asked calmly from inside.
‘Yeah, you could say that. It just sucks.’ He still wasn’t used to Sombra being… concerned? Helpful? He had calmed down a whole lot, that was for sure. Jax was pretty certain one of the reasons were because Hidden Gem visited quite frequently to speak with Sombra. They were both awkward about the whole thing, so Jax often helped with the small talk however he could.
‘Ah, it is not so bad.’ Sombra claimed. ‘You have a marefriend who loves you, friends that care about you, and Twilight is working with that zebra on a potion to get me out of here. By the time your body finally learns to balance everything, your life will be perfect.’
Jax instantly cheered up at the thought. It was Moonday, and Luna always reserved the day for him. Come heaven or hell, there was no place he felt quite as secure and content as in her embrace.
He finished the remains of his tea, put on his cloak and went outside, looking back at his house. He really should have it painted soon. Celestia’s revenge after their little prank had been to paint his house white, with her cutiemark adorning every wall. The roof was aurora coloured, and looked quite cool actually, so he didn’t mind it so much. But the flag on the flagpole with the untrue words that Celestia was the best princess… that he definitely needed to do something about.
Something occurred to him suddenly. Something from a time that seemed just a moment, but was blurry nonetheless. It was sharp enough for him to remember though. He had made a deal with Sombra.
‘Remember the deal we made? You would tell me how you could read my mind if I brought you a victory. The prank I made on Celestia should count as a victory, right?’
‘I… yeah. I remember, though I… do not know how your prank relates to me.’ Jax was about to protest when Sombra continued. ‘But, I shall tell you nonetheless. While doing my research on the mind, I found a book that described this… waypoint between the body and the soul. Everything that goes between the two, goes through there. The perfect place for something to reside to gain all the information it needed to take over. So it is nothing more than where I reside. I know how you feel and what you think, even when you do not want me to.’
Suddenly Jax felt his good mood slip away like water between his hands. The more he tried to hold it tight the more it slipped away. ‘What if…’ he ponded for some unexplainable reason. ‘What if they never succeed. What if we’re stuck together for the rest of my life? And you will know everything I think, and I will have no privacy… oh God.’
It happened sometimes these days. That he had a hard time holding on to positivity. He was pretty positive that it was because of the negative magic, but it just felt so real. There is a connection between emotion and magic, he was told. That’s why positive and negative magic could affect you so extremely. Yet even if he knew that, the thought of being stuck with Sombra for the rest of his life was so horrifying and real that he felt fear tingle all the way down his spine.
‘I would not worry too much about it. I will be free whether they find a way or not. I was just hoping to speed up the process, but these chains are already coming loose. And if that takes too long, then I can tell you that I am at least sixty percent sure that my horn is almost usable again... Worst case scenario, I use a spell and you focus on getting me out. It is risky, but it beats the alternative.’
It calmed him down a bit, that at least they had that in common. That they both wanted out of the current situation.
It filled him with a bit more hope.