"Does not!"

"Does, too!"

"Does not!"

"Does, too!"

"Does n- Wait, do you even know what we're arguing about anymore?" Pinkie asked suddenly, quirking a brow upwards curiously.

Sombra opened his mouth to reply scathingly, but stopped as he pondered over Pinkie's question. With a hoof to his chin, he let out a small hum of thought and when nothing came to mind, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't remember," he told her, "And I'm not sure I care."

"Finally," Rainbow Dash huffed, crossing her forelegs peevishly, "you two have been going at it for hours."

"Would ya rather they start kissin'?" Applejack suggested, quirking a brow humorlessly, "I don't mind what they say as long as it ain't any of that mushy stuff."

"Now that I think about it..." Sombra said suggestively, leaning into Pinkie's side, "perhaps we could--"

"Nope!" Rainbow exclaimed, shooting into the air and above the couple as they laid in the train seat together, "You two are officially not allowed to kiss each other!"

Pinkie gasped. "But--" she tried to protest.

"I agree with Rainbow," Rarity admitted, casting the couple an apologetic look, "although I love how happy you two are, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to be more... discreet?"

Sombra narrowed his eyes at her. "Jealous?" he huffed, raising his eyebrows.

"As if!" Twilight exclaimed, looking up from her book, "The only reason I've been able to shut you two arguing out is because I learned how whenever you two decided to get cozy in the library!"

"We said we were sorry about that!" Pinkie cried, holding out a hoof in emphasis.

"Then why do you keep doing it?!" Twilight countered, leaning over her seat.

"Girls, can we please be quiet?" Fluttershy asked quietly, lifting her head up from her seat gingerly, "It's getting late and I would love to get some sleep before we get to Canterlot... It's going to be difficult to, especially since I don't know how my animals are doing..."

Twilight's hard gaze softened as she glanced over at her Pegasus friend. "It's alright, Fluttershy," she told her gently, "I'm sure Angel's taking good care of them."

"Aren't you worried about Owlowiscious?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes wide, "I mean, he is your pet, after all."

Twilight shook her head. "Not really," she replied, "Owlowiscious is able to hunt for his food, and he's nocturnal, so most of his care is self-performed."

"But-- But what about everypony else?" Fluttershy asked, looking around the train car, "Surely you must be worried!"

The girls replied with variant negatives, washing over one another into a mess of random of statements and replies.

"I don't have to worry about Gummy!" Pinkie said loudly, breaking through the jumble of noise, "Especially cause he's here with me!"

Before anypony could ask what she meant, Pinkie stuck her hoof in her mane and pulled out her small baby alligator, who stared off into nothingness as he blinked each eye individually.

"You brought him with you?" Sombra asked, scooting away from Pinkie slightly, "Are you sure that was such a good idea?"

Pinkie giggled. "If you're worried about him biting you, you shouldn't!" she told him, holding Gummy up to his face, "He ain't got no teeth!"

As if on cue, Gummy opened his mouth and latched onto Sombra's muzzle, completely covering the stallion's face with alligator saliva.

"Ew..." Sombra drawled out, screwing his eyes shut as he pulled away from the blank-faced alligator, "why did you let your crocodile Prench me?!"

"He's an alligator!" Pinkie whined, putting Gummy down beside her, "Besides, that means he likes you!"

Sombra wiped off the saliva that still dripped from his face. "Odd way of showing it," he grunted, sticking his tongue out as he hoped none of the alligator's spit got in his mouth.

Pinkie frowned at him. "It's like me kissing you, Silly!" she told him, then began to pet Gummy on the head, "And I'm really good at telling what Gummy means!"

Sombra gave Pinkie a blank stare, then looked at Gummy, then back at Pinkie again. "You can understand an alligator?" he repeated, totally disbelieving.

Pinkie nodded erratically. "Yep!" she replied, then looked back down at Gummy for a brief moment.

Sombra looked from side to side quickly, then back at Pinkie, a brow quirked in questioning. "Pinkie, what are you--?"

Pinkie shoved her hoof into his mouth, stifling his speaking. "Hush, I'm trying to listen!" she said quietly, not taking her eyes off of Gummy.

After another moment of awkward silence, Sombra found himself frowning at Pinkie's behavior and put her hoof down from his mouth as he gave her a disapproving look.

"Pinkie, I don't think that--" he tried to say.

"Hush, Gummy just told me something!" Pinkie exclaimed, holding up a hoof as she leaned closer to Gummy. Gummy continued to sit and do nothing, his eyes wandering around the room as he blinked randomly.

"Of course you can have another cupcake!" Pinkie said randomly, pulling cupcake out from behind her and putting it on Gummy's head.

Sombra stared at Gummy for a brief moment, then looked at Pinkie. "Sometimes I wonder why I like you so much," he said, his eyebrows raised.

Pinkie giggled. "No, you don't!" she exclaimed, playfully hitting his shoulder. Suddenly, she let out a loud yawn and quickly covered her gaping maw.

"Tired?" Sombra asked, then yawned with her.

Pinkie nodded and snuggled into Sombra's side. "It's really late..." she told him sleepily, "let's get some sleep, 'K?"

Sombra nodded and laid his head next to hers. "Goodnight," he said quietly, closing his eyes.

"Goodnight," she replied, pushing her head into the crook of his neck.

As the couple laid together in their seat, Twilight and the others looked at them with intrigued silence, their interest piqued at the rare innocence the couple displayed.

"They look so... peaceful," Fluttershy said quietly, not wanting to disturb the display of love before her.

"I gotta say, it's not what I was expectin'," Applejack said to Rainbow, who was sitting on her haunches next to her.

Rainbow glanced at the sleeping duo, then frowned to herself. "They may look sweet now, but just you wait," she whispered, narrowing her eyes in scrutiny, "something bad is coming around the corner, and I don't wanna be the one to say, 'I told ya so' when it does."

Rarity sighed. "Why can't you see?" she questioned, "They care for one another. It's so completely obvious! Take a look over there to clarify my claim!"

Rainbow shook her head. "I don't want to trust Sombra full on," she told her, casting the sleeping stallion a sideways look, "I know something's up..."

Just as Rainbow and the others' gazes were on the sleeping duo, Sombra wrapped a foreleg around his sleeping partner and pulled her closer to him, snuggling his head into her mane as he did. A small, serene smile played across his lips as Pinkie fell into his form and embrace, a small sigh of content escaping his lips.

"Aw..." the girls, excluding Rainbow Dash, cooed, leaning forward as the couple continued to sleep.

"Blargh," Spike said, shaking his head disapprovingly, "girls."

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "Alright, so maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I know something's up," she said, crossing her forelegs angrily as she blew a wisp of red hair out of her face.

"Must you be so reluctant to believe in love?" Rarity huffed, giving her a disapproving look, "You just saw one of the most adorable things in all of existence and you still think that there are darker powers at work?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I don't know what to believe, either," she admitted, putting her book into her bag as she tucked her wings into her sides, "I think with everything that's been happening, things seem to be getting easier and easier to see evil in."

The girls all nodded at that, letting out small noises of agreement.

Twilight let out a tired yawn and stretched out her wings briefly. "We should get some sleep," she told them, "we have a lot ahead of us tomorrow..."

The girls let out yawns of their own, nodding sleepily as they laid down on the train seats and blocked out the noise of the railroad, readying themselves for the trials the following day would hold for them.

"Hurry up, Sombry!"

Sombra blinked in shock as he heard Pinkie's voice reach him, breaking him awake from his sleep. He shook his head lightly and put a hoof to his temple as he looked around for Pinkie. But, as his eyes scoured the area, he felt them widen as he realized where he was.

The lush greenery was unmistakable, the dew on the grass glistening in the sun's light, making it look like it was made of crystals. Bright, colorful pillars of crystal jutted out from the ground in a rainbow pattern, extending in and out of his sight. Finally, the most defining feature was the crystal palace that was at the center of it all, a large intersection for the crystal city.

He was in the Crystal Empire.

'That... That's not possible,' he thought, his gaze darting across the scenery once more, 'I can't be here... I'm on the train with Pinkie!'

'You're right,' he heard Conscious tell him, sounding uncharacteristically sober, 'but this is the truth, Sombra. The truth about who you are.'

'What?' Sombra thought, totally shell-shocked.

"Sombry?" he heard the familiar voice say from behind him.

With a heavy heart, Sombra slowly turned to look behind him, his eyes widening as he summoned the courage to look completely.

It was Pinkie Pie, or somepony who looked like her, her coat and mane crystalline and shining in the sunlight. Her ocean blue eyes bore the trademark Crystal Pony gem-shaped glints in her pupils and iris, setting her apart from the Pinkie he knew. She still bore her tri-balloon cutie mark and her mane was still puffed up like cotton candy, but it was adorned with ribbons and hair ties.

"Are you alright?" she asked, worry creasing her features.

Against Sombra's will, he heard himself say, "Yeah, I'm fine! It's still hard getting used to the sights!"

'Where in Tartarus did that come from?' Sombra thought, totally flabbergasted.

Pinkie smiled at him, so much like the one he was used to, yet so totally different.

"I'm glad!" she chirped, beaming at him, "It must be difficult getting used to all the crystals, huh?"

Sombra felt himself nod. "I'm not used to so many buildings in one place," he told her, "I mean, Mexicolt is so... rugged compared to this place!"

'Mexicolt?' Sombra repeated in his mind, 'When have I ever been there?'

Pinkie giggled and put a hoof to her lips to smother them. "But if what you said about parties were true, then it couldn't have been all that bad!" she told him, playfully punching his foreleg.

Sombra found himself laughing. "Mexicolt is known for it's insane fiestas!" he exclaimed, holding up his forehooves flamboyantly, "Dale, dale, dale!"

'What am I even saying?!' Sombra was practically screaming in his own mind, begging for answers to the many questions that plagued his head.

'It's sad,' Conscious said, 'you can't even recognize your own native tongue.'

'I don't have a native tongue, Baboso!' Sombra snarled angrily, then froze as he realized what he just said.

'Such language!' Conscious gasped, 'I didn't think ya had it in ya!'

'Pendejo!' Sombra snapped angrily, then stopped once more, 'Where am I getting this from?! What am I even saying?!'

'Dirty, dirty words,' Conscious told him, and Sombra could just tell he wanted to shake his head disapprovingly, 'I can't believe you ever said those things...'

'Enough!' Sombra thought, 'This is absolutely ridiculous! Why am I even here? I don't even remember this!'

'Because that's not you out there!' Conscious replied, sounding exasperated.

"Hey, let's get to the Crystal Pond before somepony snags our spot!" Pinkie said, nodding her head towards a glistening pond in the distance.

"Race ya there?" Sombra suggested, getting into sprinting position.

Pinkie giggled and mimicked his position. "You're so on!"

Both mare and stallion gave the other a playfully competitive look, then faced the pond with determined looks, ready to take off at any given moment.

"On three?" Pinkie suggested, not taking her eyes off the pond.

"Like always," Sombra replied, narrowing his eyes in determined scrutiny.

Sombra wasn't sure what to make of the odd duo's behavior, especially since he was one of them. They were so intent on their goal, yet so friendly at the same time. It was mind-boggling for him.

"One..." Sombra said, drawing it out for dramatic effect.

He glanced at Pinkie and saw her low to the ground in starting position, an intense look on her features. Sombra felt himself grin as his gaze went to her flank, which was held up in the air rather predominantly.

Sombra heard Conscious sigh. 'It's just like a guy to sneak a look,' he said, totally unamused.

"Two, three, go!" Sombra shouted quickly, dashing off and leaving Pinkie behind.

"Hey, no fair!" she exclaimed, galloping after him.

Sombra glanced back at her and stuck his tongue out at her. "Catch me if you can, Pinks!" he taunted playfully, turning back to his destination with hungry eyes.

"OK!" he heard Pinkie shout from behind him.

Before he could turn back to to look at her, he felt something tackle into his back, causing him to fall forward. With a shout of surprise, he crashed into the ground and tumbled with Pinkie for a moment. Eventually, he landed on his back, his tongue plopped out of mouth cartoonishly as Pinkie successfully pinned him to the ground.

"It's a tie!" she exclaimed, giggling victoriously, "But in my opinion, you should lose for cheating!"

Sombra felt himself laugh at her as he pulled his tongue back in. "Whatever you say, Pinks!" he replied, rolling his eyes, "But I think my tongue wins the race, because it got here first!"

"What?" Pinkie blurted out, "How?"

"Like this!" Sombra exclaimed, rolling over and pinning her to the grass, then sticking his tongue out at her.

"Ew, gross!" Pinkie cried, but she wasn't actually struggling, "Alright, you win, Meanie Pants!"

Sombra laughed at her and rolled off of her, landing on the grass beside her as they continued to giggle together.

'How are we so...?' Sombra struggled to find the right word.

'Close?' Conscious finished, 'You two have always had a bond. One that goes beyond time and mortality.'

'Wait...' Sombra said, 'Are you saying I knew Pinkie in the Empire before I knew her in Ponyville?'

Conscious didn't answer.

'Conscious?' Sombra mused, hoping to hear from him, 'Please, tell me what's happening!'

He heard Conscious sigh. 'You didn't know her in the Empire, Sombra...' he told him.

'What?' Sombra blurted out, 'That makes no sense!'

'Take a look for yourself,' Conscious said, 'It's long overdue that you knew about your origins.'

"Come on, let's get a drink," Pinkie said, letting out a couple pants, "I'm tired from all that running!"

Sombra nodded in response and walked with her to the Crystal Pond's edge. Sombra closed his eyes as he lapped at the water, relishing in it's clear taste.

'I don't know what you expect me to see,' Sombra told Conscious, growing frustrated, 'Just tell me what you want to--'

Sombra stopped talking as his body's eyes opened, looking into the reflection the pond offered. If Sombra's eyes could widen, they would have at that exact moment in time.

'That's...' Sombra tried to say, 'that's not possible.'

Sombra continued to look at his reflection, totally horrified and shocked as he did. His eyes were still the same red he was used to having, but everything else about him was completely different altogether. His curved, red horn was segmented and gray, matching the rest of his coat. He looked so much younger and innocent, as though he hadn't a care in the world.

'This is what I meant when I said that's not you out there,' Conscious told him, sounding somber, 'That stallion you see out there...'

Sombra continued to stare, totally speechless.

'...is me.'

Author's Notes:

Alright, so if you're not aware of the changes I've made to the fic, here is the blog regarding it:

"The Not-So-Normal Adventures of King Sombra and Pinkie Pie" revising and editing plans

So, if ya were here before I edited the story, just ignore what ya read and continue on with reading.