Ponyville was quiet that day, due to the lack of activity that went on during the day on weekends. Many were still sleeping after Friday night's shenanigans caught up with them, and others were just lazing about, whether it be with friends or by themselves. Sombra was one of those lazing ponies, laying in his cot, deep in thought.

"Sombra!" he heard Twilight shout. He yelled in surprise, his shock causing him to fall out of his cot. After landing on his face and prying it off the floor, he sent Twilight rueful glare.

"Yes?" he snapped in a exasperated tone. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I was asking," she said, "if you would be interested in helping me pack for the picnic the girls and I are going on."

Sombra blinked in surprise. Twilight didn't normally asked for his help for anything and the fact she was doing so for not only herself, but her friends as well shocked him. He thought about declining, but Pinkie's smiling face appeared in his head. His heart skipped a beat as he imagined the joy on her face when she finds out he helped Twilight.

"Er, yes!" he said quickly, jumping out of the cot, 'I'll be happy to help!"

Twilight blinked in surprise and she quirked a brow. Then, she smiled at him and closed her eyes while doing so.

"Great!" she chirped, then looked at the scroll checklist she was holding, "can you get the bread for me?"

Sombra gave a small salute and nodded.

"On it!" he shouted, dashing into the kitchen. Twilight heard Spike let out a laugh and turned to see him doubling over in laughter.

"Man, is he whipped!" he called, muffling his laughter with his hands.

Twilight quirked a brow, then smiled deviously.

"Spike, could you get some daisies from the backyard?" she asked politely.

Spike stopped laughing and stood up straight.

"Yes, Twilight!" he exclaimed, running out of the room.

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth to smother her giggles.

"Works every time," she said to herself, watching her little assistant waddle out of the room.

"Alright, Crusaders!" Scootaloo called, "Are there any updates on our matchmaking quest?"

Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged a look with one another, worry creasing their brows. Scootaloo groaned and put a hoof to her forehead.

"You guys didn't get anything, did you?" she moaned.

Two heads shook side to side simultaneously.

"It's just, we've been busy crusading," Apple Bloom admitted. Sweetie Belle nodded and held up a hoof.

"And we've been trying to get ready for the Equestria Games!" she squeaked.

Scootaloo sighed. "I get that," she said, "but, how are we supposed to set those two up if we don't have any tools to even make the setup?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pondered for a moment, their brows furrowed in thought. Applebloom's head perked up, a look of realization upon her face.

"Rarity said that she and the girls were goin' on a picnic at Sweet Apple Acres!" she squealed, "Pinkie'll be there and Sombra might be, too!"

Scootaloo grinned and threw her hooves in the air. "Awesome!" she cheered, "Now we can start the setup!" Sweetie Belle rose a brow, a look of puzzlement on her features.

"How are we supposed to do that?" she questioned, "We don't even have a plan!"

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, a devious grin playing on her lips.

"Yes, we do!" she called, pumping her hoof into the air, "Get me my scooter! We've got work to do!"

Sweet Apple Acres was peaceful and quiet that afternoon. The birds would occasionally tweet a song or a few notes, but other than that, the orchard was silent. Gathered on a hill beside the barn, were Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Rarity had brought the picnic blanket, which was laid flat against the green grass, while the others brought confectioneries and food.

"Anypony know where Twi is?" Applejack asked, looking around the clearing for her alicorn friend. When everypony's head shook simultaneously, she furrowed her brow.

"I'm sure she'll show up," Rainbow assured, "She always shows up!"

Rarity pulled down her pink sunglasses to look at her pegasus friend.

"I do hope we don't have another nervous breakdown episode like last time," she said crisply, pushing her glasses back up.

A loud gasp originated from Pinkie, to which the group turned to look at her.

"SOMBRY!" she squealed, zooming past her friends.

The group collectively turned to see Twilight, Spike and Sombra coming towards them. All the ponies, except Rarity, gasped in shock. Rarity had wanted Sombra to show, just to show the others that Sombra had changed since he first arrived in Ponyville. That, and she wanted to see how they were with one another after they spooned with each other for who knows how long.

"She brought him?" Applejack whispered, narrowing her eyes.

Rainbow Dash growled angrily, while Fluttershy hid behind her wings.

"I really hope he doesn't try to bite me again..." she whispered, shuddering. She heard Rainbow's growls cease suddenly and she peeked over her feathers to see what caused it. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack's jaws were dropped, their eyes wide with shock.

"Ah...Ah don't believe it!" Applejack breathed.

Fluttershy put her wings down completely to see what they were gawking at and her eyes widened. Pinkie had tackled Sombra to the ground, hugging his torso. His signature smirk had been replaced by a warm smile and he greeted Pinkie, as if he hadn't been pummeled to the ground.

"Oh..." she squeaked, "Oh, dear." Rarity walked past the three gawking ponies and rushed to greet the new arrivals.

"Sombra, Twilight!" she beamed, "I'm so glad you could make it!"

By then, Pinkie had gotten off of Sombra, who was standing in one piece. Pinkie leaned against Sombra, grinning happily.

"I am, too!" Pinkie exclaimed, hugging his leg.

A light blush came over Sombra's cheeks, something Rarity wouldn't have noticed, if not for her attention to detail. Pinkie released Sombra and bounced in place, giggling as she did so.

"Come on, Sombry!" she chirped, hopping back to the picnic area. The group were still gaping as they made their way over. Sombra caught sight of this and gave them a somewhat smug look.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," he said as he walked by, causing them all to snap out of their trance. Applejack and Rainbow Dash growled at him and sent a glare his way. Sombra ignored them and sat down beside Pinkie, who was bouncing in her spot.

"Oh, I can't wait for dessert!" she chimed excitedly. Sombra flinched at the mention of 'dessert', which Pinkie noticed. "Don't worry, I didn't put any cakes in," she reassured him.

Sombra relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. After the incident with cake batter, he had developed a serious phobia of cakes, which Twilight had identified as "Jophobia". She had found out after attempting to give him a cupcake, which he had flailed at the sight of and smacked out of her hooves and onto her face. Needless to say, Sombra was no longer allowed to have cakes.

After earning some rather strange looks from those who weren't there for the cake batter debacle, they continued the picnic's proceedings. Sombra only watched and listened to the mares as they socialized with one another. After a few moments, he began to zone out and lost himself in his own thoughts as he sipped his punch.

"Hey, Pinkie, what's up with you and Sombra?" Rainbow Dash asked. Sombra choked on his drink, whereas Pinkie spit out a piece of her daisy sandwich.

"What?!" they shouted simultaneously, their eyes wide and their jaws dropped.

Rainbow held up her hooves while raising her eyebrows.

"It was just a question," she said, putting her hooves down. Sombra frowned and furrowed his brows in annoyance, while Pinkie blushed.

"Oh..." she said, "...right."

Rainbow Dash exchanged a confused look with Applejack, who shrugged in response.

"OK..." Rainbow said uncomfortably, then cleared her throat, "So, what is going on with you two?" Pinkie and Sombra snuck looks at one another from the corner of their eyes, both uncomfortable and apprehensive.

"Ya'll both seem pretty chummy, if ya ask me," Applejack commented, arching a brow.

Sombra began to sweat under all the looks from Pinkie's friends around him, his anxiety levels rising. The mares continued to comment on his and Pinkie's relationship, his want for disappearing growing.

'I have to keep quiet,' he reminded himself, 'I have to keep quiet about what happened.' Sneaking another glance at Pinkie, she appeared to be thinking the same thing. If the girls found out about what happened between them, he knew without a doubt they'd make a bigger deal than what it was.

Rarity watched the couple sweat under the gazes of her friends, pondering as to why they could be so apprehensive. She looked at Pinkie's eyes, hoping to find some definitive answer. Upon looking at the mare's irises, she saw Pinkie's disdain and... was that shame?

She thought back to all the times she'd seen Sombra and Pinkie with one another, trying piece something together. She thought about how Pinkie tackled Sombra after seeing him flirt with one too many mares, then about how he held her when she was at her worst during her emotional breakdown.

Then, she finally thought about how she saw them walking out of Sugarcube Corner the next morning, thick as thieves. Upon closer examination, it looked an awful lot like-

Rarity gasped and put her hooves to her face in shock. Everypony in the clearing turned towards her, wondering what could have caused her reaction.

"You two... Sugarcube Corner..." she sputtered, then screeched, "You spent the night together?!"

Everypony's jaws dropped in shock and horror, their gazes turning towards Pinkie and Sombra, who remained speechless.

"You what?!" Applejack shouted.

Twilight's eyes widened as she made the connection.

"Is that why you were acting so strange when you came back the next day?" Twilight breathed, her eyes wide.

Rainbow Dash snapped her head in her direction, her eyes narrowed.

"You left them alone?!" she screamed, pointing her hoof at Sombra, "Do you have any idea how irresponsible that was?"

The group continued to argue, their shouts and screams overlapping one another. Pinkie made herself smaller, hiding her face in her knees. Sombra's eye twitched from the anger that began to overtake him and once another shout reached his ears, he had had enough.

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP?!" he roared, slamming his hooves on the ground.

Everypony was silenced his loud outburst, their grievances silenced. Sombra took a deep breath through his nose and released it through his mouth.

"Pinkie and I are both adults," he stated simply, "meaning, we can make our own decisions without expecting to be judged by them... Especially by her own friends."

The group looked down in shame collectively, except Spike, who didn't understand what was going on.

"But, seriously," Rainbow said, looking at Pinkie, "did it really have to be with him?"

Sombra narrowed his eyes at her.

"I resent that statement," he said, "I'll have you know, that I-"

Sombra was interrupted as a loud chorus of screams resonated across the clearing. Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack's eyes widened collectively and they turned towards one another with the same horrified expression.

"THE CRUSADERS!" they shouted, leaning into one another faces. The others shared their concern and spread out to look for the "Crusaders". Sombra watched in confusion as the mares and baby dragon scurried about frantically, wondering what to make of their reactions.

"Scoots!" Rainbow yelled, "Where are ya, Scoots?" She flapped her wings hard and zoomed through the air, leaving her trademark rainbow streak.

Applejack darted around the barn, her stetson somehow managing to stay on her head.

"Apple Bloom!" she bellowed, "AB, where are ya and the girls?"

Rarity jumped onto a table that was near the barn, looking left and right.

"Sweetie Belle, where are you?" she cried, "Tell me where you are, Sweetie!"

Sombra's eyes widened in realization as he placed the name of Rarity's younger sister. Another chorus of screams flowed through the air, Sombra recognizing it as the three fillies who knocked into him.

He turned his head left and right frantically, trying to place where he heard the sound. As a third cacophony of screams reached his ears, he turned towards the direction of an abandoned pathway. Sombra rushed towards it, his onyx mane flying behind him. Upon running down the path, he saw several warning signs and he could only assume that the girls had ignored it in their conquest for whatever it is they wanted.

He saw the path stop suddenly and skidded to a stop, just coming short of the ledge. He looked around frantically, his heart beating exponentially. "Girls?" he called, "Where are you?" After a moment of silence, he began to assume to worst and he was overcome with dread.

But, thankfully, he heard a small voice reply, "We're down here!" He looked over the ledge and saw that a couple feet below him were Sweetie Belle and her friends. The orange pegasus' scooter had been caught by the root, thankfully, and she and her friends were clinging onto it for dear life.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you!" Sombra called back down, reaching towards the fillies. Rainbow Dash, who had flew after him, saw him and her eyes widened in shock.

"He found them!" she called to the others, "Sombra found the girls!" The girls gathered and ran towards the area collectively. As Sombra's hoof came closer and closer, he felt the ground beneath him begin to lose its solidity.

"Careful!" the southern pony warned, "The ground here ain't solid like back at the farm!" Taking the filly's warning, Sombra shifted his weight, carefully extending his leg further and further down.

"Grab on!" he told the pegasus, who was closest to him. She reached for him, straining her muscles, until their hooves touched. He wrapped his around her ankle and pulled upwards, grunting from the effort. Just as he was about to get her all the way up, the ground began to crumble. He watched in horror as he and the fillies both fell off the ledge.

All the girls gasped collectively, while Rarity and Applejack dashed to the ledge in a futile attempt to catch their falling siblings. Rainbow Dash flew down into the open area, zooming towards the falling ponies. She grabbed onto Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, who had started crying. Upon grabbing them, she spared a glance to Sombra, who gave her a pleading look. She swallowed her guilt and flew back up to the ledge, where her friends were waiting.

Sombra looked over at Sweetie Belle, whose tears flew into the air and screams resonated within the area. He grabbed the small, crying filly and held her.

'I have to get us out of here somehow!' He looked down at the ground as it came closer and closer towards him, his adrenaline rising to it's peak.

He screwed his eyes shut as he clung onto Sweetie Belle's small form.

'I wish I back up there!' he thought, knowing it was foolish thought, 'I wish... I was with Pinkie...'

Unbeknownst to him, his horn had begun to glow brightly, the red light enveloping the crevice. Sweetie Belle gaped at him, her eyes wide with shock. A loud POP! echoed in the trench, Sombra and Sweetie Belle disappearing from sight as Scootaloo's scooter crashed against the stone ground.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had just landed on the ground, where both Rarity and Applejack were waiting anxiously.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack cried, running towards her sobbing sister. Rainbow Dash cradled her adopted sister, who wept into her coat.

"Where's Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked frantically.

Rainbow looked down and hung her head.

"Rainbow?" Rarity whispered, "You got my sister, didn't you?" When she didn't reply, the unicorn's eyes filled with tears and she put her hooves to her face as she sobbed. "Sweetie Belle!" she cried, repeating her name until she collapsed to the ground.

Pinkie stood there, frozen by horror. Sombra had fallen, too, and Dash hadn't caught him. An ear piercing shriek came out of her throat as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Her curly hair fell flat against her head as she sobbed, her eyes screwed shut as more tears leaked from her eyes.

"Sombra!" she sobbed, falling to the ground and covering her face with her hooves. Rainbow Dash released Scootaloo and took a step towards her, but Pinkie snapped her head up and glared at her. "You!" she snarled, "You let this happen! You let him leave me!" Her lower lip quivered and her eyes fluttered shut when another cry left her lips.

Suddenly, a loud POP! reached the groups' ears and they turned together as one. Laying on the ground, was a disoriented Sombra and shocked Sweetie Belle.

Rarity's tear filled eyes blinked in shock, then she ran over and enveloped her sister in a hug.

"Sweetie Belle!" she cried, holding her close, "I'm so glad you're safe!"

Sombra looked up, his eyes rolling around while his face turned green. Pinkie, who saw Sombra's sudden appearance, smiled and she could feel her heart racing. Her flat hair returned to it's original craziness, her smile full and bright.

"Sombra!" she cheered, running over to him. Sombra had just managed to get on his hooves, which still wobbled underneath his weight, when Pinkie tackled him back to the ground. They rolled for a moment, while Pinkie laughed happily. When they settled, Sombra was on his back, while Pinkie stood on his stomach.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" she cried, hugging his neck. Before he could even react, she pulled away and planted a kiss on his lips. His eyebrows raised upwards while his cheeks went bright red. The girls jaws dropped, the Crusaders cheered collectively.

"Finally!" Sweetie Belle called, high hoofing Scootaloo.

Pinkie pulled away from the kiss, to look at her group of friends. She cleared her throat awkwardly and climbed off of a still shocked Sombra.

"Er..." she drawled, "Sorry about that."