"Oh, I'm so excited!" Pinkie exclaimed, but then ceased her excited bouncing as she added, "But I'm also nervous!" She gasped. "Ooooo, I know! I'm--"

"Nervouscited," Sombra finished for her, "Yes, dear, as you've told me many times."

Pinkie had been practically vibrating with excitement ever since they boarded their train to Pinkie's hometown, Rumbling Rock Ridge. It hadn't even been an hour and the trip still had many to go.

Pinkie giggled obliviously. "I can't wait 'til we get back home! I get to see Mom and Dad and Marble and Limestone!"

"Shame that Maud can't be there," Sombra said, though he wasn't sure if he meant it, "she's still trying to get her doctorate, isn't she?"

"Rocktorate, Sombry," Pinkie corrected, then added, "Ya gotta be careful about that kind of stuff in front of my family. They take that stuff super seriously."

"You mean rocks?" Sombra furrowed his brows. "I can't imagine why. They don't really do anything."

Pinkie gasped and she put a hoof to his lips to silent him. "Don't say things like that! My family'll tear you to pieces!"

Sombra sighed once he put Pinkie's hoof down. "Pinks, I know a lot more about rocks than I care to admit: crystals, in particular. Did you know that there are seven different types of crystals overall, using only the lattice types? And that if you combine the 7 crystal systems with the 2 different types of lattices, you end up with 14 Bravais Lattices, which is named after the pony who discovered them?"

Pinkie gave a him silent stare before saying, "If you say things like that in front of me, I don't know if I'll be able to keep my hooves off of you."

Sombra arched a brow. "I'm not sure what to make of that information, but I think it would be wise to save it for a later date."

"Besides, if you whip out your knowledge of crystals in front of my parents, they're probably going to steal you away from me!" Pinkie giggled. "I wonder if Maud wouldn't have given you such a hard time if you had told her some of the stuff you knew when you guys first met!"

"She still would've hated me, I'm sure," Sombra said nonchalantly, "Honestly, I'm surprised to hear she's fond of me now. What changed her perception?"

"Huh... Ya know, she never said. I'll have to ask her sometime..."

Sombra chuckled. "So, do you write to your other sisters like you write to Maud? What are they like?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Marble and Lime still work on the farm, but they have different specialties. Marble knows a lot about geodes and Lime knows a lot about sedimentary rocks. I haven't really written to them. I usually let Maud tell them what's going on in my life."

Sombra arched a brow. "I thought you and your sisters were close with one another."

"Just Maud. Marble and Lime are kinda weirded out by my personality, so they don't like to spend time with me."

"Hey, now." Sombra leaned into her side. "You're not weird, alright? You're a mare who's comfortable with who she is and she doesn't need somepony to tell her who to be."

Pinkie smiled and leaned into his side in return. "I'm glad you understand me so well."

"Not so much as understanding as it is knowing that you're an enigma, Pinks. And as far as I'm concerned, enigmas aren't meant to be understood or comprehended." He leaned into her side. "But that doesn't mean I can't try."

Pinkie giggled. "Are you nervous?"

"About what? Meeting the family of the mare I plan to spend the rest of my life with?" He scoffed. "Please, I've faced against bigger foes."

"Ya know, it's alright to be worried." Pinkie nuzzled him lightly. "You don't have to act so tough all the time."

Sombra returned her nuzzle. "And there's nothing wrong with meeting your family, I'm sure. What are you so worried about, anyway?"

Pinkie sighed. "Well, one of the reasons I left home when I was younger was because of the fact that they're really old-fashioned about a lot of things."

"Pinks, I have over a thousand years of experience regarding all things 'old-fashioned'." Sombra chuckled at her expression. "You shouldn't be so worried."

"That's it, though! My family is gonna be really, really, really, really, really, real--"

Pinkie was silenced by Sombra putting a hoof to her lips. "Wrap it up before you lose your train of thought."

Pinkie moved his hoof away. "I'm not gonna-- Wait, what was I talking about?"

Sombra sighed. "That your family is old-fashioned and that they're going to be really, really, really, really, really...?"

"Oh, right!" Pinkie bonked herself on the head. "Duh! My family's going to be really, really, really, really, really--"

Sombra gave her a warning look as to remind her of his earlier point and she paused for a moment.

"--really, really upset when they hear about..." Pinkie trailed off.

"About what?" Sombra questioned, wondering what she could possibly be so concerned about.

"...Remember what happened before we left this morning?"

The question was so random and out place, Sombra couldn't help but blink in surprise. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Pinkie sighed. "Well, do you?"

Sombra gave her a strange look, but sighed in surrender. "Alright, let's see... We woke up, got our things for the trip--"

"No, before that."

Sombra spared her an annoyed look before continuing. "Alright, fine. You woke up before me and tried to wake me up, like you always do, and I pushed you off the bed, like every morning. Me, being the idiot I am, I keep forgetting what you do everytime I do that and I was soon tackled to the floor by none other than yourself."

"And...?" Pinkie leaned in as she drawled out her words.

"Then, we fought a little, then started to--" Sombra froze as he realized Pinkie's implication. "Ohh... That's why."

"Yeah, and, knowing my dad, he's gonna try to kill you like he tried to do with Baritone when I brought him home with me a couple years back."

Sombra shuddered. "Good thing I know how to run like nopony's business..."

"Can't you teleport now that your magic's back?"

Sombra spared his exotic horn a glance. "Oh, right. I'm still not used to having it back, even though it's almost been a year."

Pinkie giggled. "I think it's bad that we let them know when we were coming... He might be getting his pickax sharpened."

Sombra sighed. "Sweet Tartarus, why did I have to fall in love with the farmer's daughter?"

"Because the farmer's daughter is really fun!"

Sombra sighed once again. "I hope that this trip doesn't go as bad as I think it will..."

Pinkie giggled. "I'm sure it won't be that bad. Besides, we got a couple hours before we get to the farm. What do ya wanna do until we get there?"

Sombra grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Pinkie gasped. "You wanna get food, too?!"

Sombra smacked his hoof to his forehead. "Again, I ask myself, why did I have to fall in love with you?"

The train whistle resonated in the air as it pulled up to the station, the screech of the brakes signifying that Pinkie and Sombra had arrived at their destination.

"Whoo! We're here!" Pinkie jumped out of her seat with her usual amount of flourish and cheer. "So nervouscited!"

"How can you move after all that food you ate?" Sombra asked incredulously as Pinkie moved about as she normally did: that being, extremely erratically. "Seriously, I think you ate the train's entire food stock!"

"Hey, I was hungry!" Pinkie whined, the sound of her stomach rumbling following shortly after, "I guess I still am."

"How?" Sombra sighed as he realized it was ridiculous to question Pinkie and shook his head. "I guess we'll eat when we get to your parents..."

"Oooo, maybe they got some rock candy!" Pinkie gasped. "Or maybe even some rock candy cupcakes!"

Sombra shook his head as he levitated his saddlebags onto his back and he prodded Pinkie forward. "Let's hurry along. Your parents will be expecting us soon and it's getting rather late."

"Maybe we should have slept on the way?"

"Pinks, you can't sleep when you're hungry, remember? And if you do, you kick in your sleep. A lot."

"Oh yeah..." Pinkie shrugged. "Let's just hurry up and meet up with everypony before my stomach eats itself!"

"Again, I can't believe you ate all the pickle hay fries..." Sombra muttered as he followed Pinkie's bouncing form off the train.

After they boarded off, they walked across the platform for an approximate three seconds before Pinkie gasped.

"What is it?" Sombra asked as he stepped up beside her.

"My... My parents... They're..." Pinkie let out a series of small, incoherent noises as she attempted to make words.

Sombra's confused eyes followed to where he saw Pinkie's looking, and he too, froze in shock. Although he wasn't sure if he was right or wrong, by the look on Pinkie's face, he could see that her parents were standing only a couple feet away from them.

'Oh, great, now they're here... And now they're coming over...' Sombra froze. 'They're coming over! Should I stay here or should I make a run for it? Drat, now they're too close!'

"Hey, Daddy!" Pinkie greeted ecstatically. Her smile was strained and her eyes were anxious. She was nervous, Sombra knew.

"Hello, Sweetheart," Pinkie's father returned her greeting with a hug and a warm smile.

'Alright, so maybe he's not as bad as Pinkie says...'

When Pinkie's father turned his attention to Sombra, his smile dissipated almost immediately.

'Or not.'

"You must be Sombra," Pinkie's father said stoically, not unlike Maud's voice whenever she spoke.

"Yes, sir, I am," Sombra replied. He wasn't used to referring to someone else as if they were higher in stature, despite the fact that he was a common pony.

"Come now," Pinkie's father told him, his head nodding towards the exit of the station, "we have a lot to discuss."

Sombra couldn't help but feel the same sense of dread he did when he hear Princess Cadence say the same thing almost a year before. Only this time, he was sure survival wasn't an option.

Author's Notes:

YEAH, THIS IS A SERIES! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, ENJOY IT, YOU GUYS!

So, if you didn't know, this was originally meant to be a one-shot, but then I thought:

And said:

And, ya know what that means? MORE SOMBRAPIE! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!