//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Switcharoo! 
// Story: The Not-So-Normal Adventures of King Sombra and Pinkie Pie 
// by Harmony Charmer 
//------------------------------//

	Sombra was in his cot, reading the end of his Daring Do book to cool down from the excitement of the night before. Being caught up in his own reading , he didn't take notice of Twilight's pacing around the room. 

She was pouring some random chemicals into a flask of blue liquid, which bubbled from the multiple reactions within it. She'd been working on the potion for a number of days, dabbling in it here and there. 

This was the first time she had actually spent an extended amount of time to focus on it, what with her new found responsibility to prevent Sombra and Pinkie from having falling outs. Although she loved Pinkie and Sombra was starting to grow on her, she knew that their relationship was fragile and anything that tipped the balance out of their favor would keep it that way.

"So, I add just a little of this..." Twilight said to herself, trying to snap herself out of her own thoughts. The liquid turned from blue to magenta and began to glow, then dimmed back into it's original hue. Meanwhile, Spike was reorganizing books from Twilight's study room, where she had been studying some new spell. The baby dragon turned towards his employer/friend, his eyebrow quirked upwards.

"Whatcha workin' on, Twilight?" Spike asked, placing the books down on a table. Twilight blinked and looked around the room, stopping she saw Spike.

"I'm working on a new potion," she told him, placing the flask down, "and I think I'm finished with it." Spike peeked at the strange potion and poked at it, then jerking his hand back. When nothing happened, he quirked his brow up again.

"Uh..." he drawled, "What does it do?" Twilight sighed and levitated the flask to her study table.

"Hopefully, you'll never have to find out," she said, putting a cork on top of the small flask. When Twilight walked away, Spike walked over to the table where the potion sat and studied it, hoping to find it's use and intent.

"Is it a mind control potion?" he asked, alarmed at the thought. Twilight shook her head as she levitated a book over to herself, then cracked it open. "Is it a love potion?" Spike asked, waggling his eyebrows. Twilight's snapped her head up, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment.

"N-no!" she stammered, attempting to cover her blushing cheeks. Sombra, who had just finished his book, looked over at the embarrassed alicorn with interest.

"What about a love potion?" he asked, giving Twilight an incredulous look, "Are you seriously that desperate for a love life?" Twilight shook her head rapidly.

"No, it's not like th-" she tried to say, but Sombra interrupted her.

"Cause you could've told me, you know," he said, raising his eyebrows, "it's not like I'm taken." The alicorn's jaw dropped, her eyes wide and her cheeks reddened to a deep, ruby shade.

"But..." she trailed off, then started again, "But what about Pinkie?" Sombra had gotten out of his cot and walked over to place his finished book on a large stack that had been recently returned.

"What about her?" he asked, obviously not getting why Twilight was so shocked by his statement.

"There's something going on between you two, isn't there?" Spike joined in, picking up Sombra's book. The unicorn king quirked a brow upwards, a look a confusion playing his features.

"What told you that?" Twilight put a hoof to her head in frustration and groaned, shaking her head as she did so.

"How about the fact that you guys kissed the other day?" she reminded him, putting her hoof down. Sombra froze in place, dropping the book he had picked up from the stack on the table.

"Th-that meant absolutely nothing!" he exclaimed, hiding his face from the two of them. Spike walked back around to grab another book to put away and his eyes widened at seeing Sombra's expression.

"Dude," the baby dragon said, "are you blushing?" Sombra responded by slamming his hoof on the dragon's head. "OW!" Spike shouted, grabbing onto his throbbing head.

"Sombra!" Twilight exclaimed, using her magic to twist his ear.

"Gah!" Sombra roared, "Let me go, you wench!" She jerked his ear to make him face her, stopping when she managed to do so. His cheeks were a light shade of pink, just brushing across the bridge of his nose. He resembled Pinkie, in a odd sense.

"Oh, my gosh," Twilight said with a laugh, "You are blushing!" She began to laugh at Sombra, whose cheeks only reddened with anger with each guffaw. During her laughing fit, she released her magic from Sombra's ear, allowing him to escape. He rushed past her and over to her study table, where her potion resided. He picked up the flask and put his canine of the cork.

"That's it!" he shouted from the side of his mouth, "I've had enough of your insults!" Twilight ceased her laughter and her eyes widened in horror at the sight of her precious potion in danger.

"Sombra, we were just teasing you!" she exclaimed, attempting to take step towards him. He pulled the cork off the flask, vapors of magic leaking from the glass container.

"Stay back!" he warned, "Or I'll throw it and it'll... Well, I don't know what it does, but it can't be good!" Twilight took another step forward, her eyes determined.

"Sombra, you're acting like a child!" she told him, causing Sombra to growl angrily.

"I AM NOT A CHILD!" he screamed, throwing the flask over her head. At that very moment, the door to the library opened, with Pinkie Pie hopping in, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Hay, gu-" she stopped suddenly and let out a scream as the flask's contents emptied onto her. Everything seemed to freeze in place as Pinkie's body became coated in the magical magenta liquid, her scream becoming gurgled as the liquid sloshed into her mouth. Sombra's jaw dropped in horror while Twilight put her hooves to her mouth shock. Sombra rushed over to the frozen mare, whose jaw remained dropped in surprise.

"Pinkie, are you alright?" he asked frantically, checking her for any injury. Whilst looking at her face, Pinkie began to take small, light intakes of breath, her nose scrunching up further with each one. Her eyes screwed shut instantly as she took in one last breath before letting out a loud:

"AH-CHOO!" 

The magenta liquid that had gotten into her nostrils and mouth, along with on her face, flung onto Sombra, covering his entire face with the potion. He just sat there for a few moments, in stunned silence, before letting out a screech unlike any other. 

"OH, MY GOD, IT GOT IN MY MOUTH!" he screamed, attempting to spit out the potion, "Is there any other bodily fluids you want to get on me, you stupid, pink mare?!"

Suddenly, both Sombra and Pinkie began to glow, starting off dim, then becoming so bright it was almost blinding. "What's happening?" Pinkie shouted, looking alarmed. Sombra held up his glowing hooves, his eyes widening in fear. In a moment of pure instinct, he grabbed onto Pinkie and held her, fearing the outcome of what was to come. Then, a large flash of light overtook the two of them, enveloping the room in light.

Sombra clung onto Pinkie's form as the illumination faded, leaving the library as it was before. 'Strange,' he thought, 'Why do I feel Pinkie's chin on my head?' 

"Uh... Sombry?" he heard Pinkie say fearfully. He opened his eyes and saw a coat of gray fur in front of him. His eyes widened in shock he looked up and he froze in horror at what he saw. It was his own face, his red eyes wide with shock and his jaw dropped in horror. Sombra fearfully looked down at himself and was horrified to see that his large, gray hooves were replaced with adorable, pink ones.

"OH, MY GOD!" he screamed, his voice remaining the same. He slammed a hoof into his mouth, frozen in shock. He pulled his hoof out and looked at himself. He tugged at the curly magenta mane on his head and the three balloons that covered his flank. He felt his tail under his back legs, unbelievably soft and curly.

Pinkie prodded at the curved horn on her forehead, her red eyes wide with shock. She took the time admire the slope of Sombra's back, then gazed at what was now her cutie mark. His small, black tail lacked the comfort that her own tail held, a cushion for her legs and blanket for her exposed legs. She felt her lower lip quiver when glanced down at the downtrodden hooves that replaced her well manicured pink ones.

"You're in my body!" they screamed together, leaning into one another's faces. Pinkie jumped back and began to stomp in place, letting out an impossibly shrill scream, her eyes screwed shut. Sombra's reaction was no better, his deep voice coinciding with Pinkie's. Twilight, who had just gotten over her initial shock of the body switch, walked over to the two screaming ponies.

"Guys, calm down!" she shouted, but it was drowned out by their loud screams, "Guys!" After her second attempt failed, she let out a loud groan and sparked her horn. Sombra and Pinkie's mouth turned into zippers, which she used her magic to zip close. While they attempted to let out more yells, they only came out muffled and indistinct.

"Now," Twilight said, trying to calm herself down, "let's take a moment to discuss what just happened." When Sombra and Pinkie attempted to protest, Twilight gave them a look of finality, causing them to fall silent. "Sombra is in Pinkie's body and vice versa, correct?" Two nods originated from the two ponies, whose eyes were wide with anticipation.

When Sombra, or rather, his body, tried to talk, Twilight unzipped the stallion's mouth to understand him/her better. "Are we going to be stuck like this?" she heard Sombra ask in Pinkie's voice. Twilight's ears flattened against her head, a look of pure shock taking over her features. She put a hoof to her mouth, as if to keep from gasping. Then, a small, muffled laugh escaped past her hoof. After several failed attempts to cover her amusement, she let out a series of guffaws, collapsing to the ground as she did so.

Sombra, who had frowned at the sight of the laughing alicorn, grabbed the zipper and pulled it open. "It's not funny!" Sombra shouted, causing Twilight to laugh even harder. Spike, who had been watching from the sidelines in silence, joined in on laughs and collapsed next to Twilight, who was holding her sides as she panted from lack of breath.

"You're right..." Spike said in between pants, "...It's hilarious!" Twilight and Spike's laughter descended to a level where everything just seemed hysterical, no matter what it was. No matter how Pinkie and Sombra tried to get through to the laughing alicorn and dragon, their attempts only made the two beings laugh harder and harder.

"Just leave them," Pinkie said, turning away from the laughing pair, "they're past the point of no return." Pinkie bounced off, humming as she did so, but it didn't have the same effect that it normally did. She stopped and stared at the short tail that was on her rear with scrutiny. After a moment of uninterrupted study, her eyes became cartoonishly large as she said, "I miss my old tail..."

'What are you talking about?' The Voice asked in a confused tone, 'That's how your tail has always looked!' Pinkie let out a small squeal and her eyes darted around rapidly.

"Who said that?!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide and her pupils dilated.

'Wait...' The Voice said, 'Pinkie Pie?!'

"Who said what?" Sombra asked, looking around the room with her.

"Yeah, it's Pinkie Pie," Pinkie said aloud, "What's your name?"

"Who are you talking to?!" Sombra shouted, beginning to grow frustrated.

'Well, I don't have a name. Sombra's just been calling me 'The Voice' for the past couple months,' The Voice told her, causing Pinkie to gasp.

"How can you not have a name?!" she shouted in a incredulous tone, then gasped again, "Are you Sombra's conscience?" At Pinkie's inquiry, Sombra could feel his entire body freeze.

'She's talking to The Voice,' he realized, his eyes growing wide. Twilight would no doubt have questions about The Voice's existence and Sombra knew that it would be anything but beneficial for himself. "Uh, Pinkie, I think that-" Sombra tried to say, but his words were lost on Pinkie as she turned to face him.

"Sombra, how could you not give your conscience a name?" she scolded, "Everypony deserves a name!" 

While Sombra gave Pinkie an incredulous stare, The Voice laughed at her proclamation.

'Indeed, they do, Pinkie,' he said with a chuckle, 'I enjoy your sense of thinking.' 

This caused Pinkie to giggle, the sight of which frightening Sombra.

"I like you, too, Conscience!" she replied, "How's that for a name?"

'Hmm...' The Voice mulled it over for a moment, then said, 'I like it!'

"Yay!" Pinkie said, clapping her hooves, "You have a name! Hay, I have a question for you." 

'Yes?' Conscience asked, rather giddy after receiving a new name.

"Do you like Chimi-cherry or Cherry-changa better?" she asked randomly, "I asked somepony that before, but I never got an answer!" 

Conscience remained silent for a moment, as if taken aback by Pinkie's out of place question.

'Why not both?' he replied, 'Chimi-cherry, Cherry-changa! Chimi-cherry, Cherry-changa!' 

Pinkie giggled and grinned.

"I was thinking the same thing!" she replied, continuing to giggle happily. 

Sombra watched in stunned silence as Pinkie carried a conversation with The Voice(or, Conscience, as it seemed). He had expected the being within him to be frightened by the mare's strange behavior, but by Pinkie's reactions, he could deduce that it was the very opposite.

"What in Equestria are you two talking about over there?" he heard Twilight call, turning towards the alicorn. She had ceased laughing, but Spike was still going strong, tears rolling down his face. 

Sombra slammed a hoof into Pinkie's mouth, cutting off her giggles.

"Nothing," Sombra said quickly, giving Pinkie a sideways glance, "right, Pinkie?" 

Pinkie, understanding that Sombra would like to keep Conscience's presence a secret(although she couldn't guess why), nodded her head.

"Right!" Pinkie said, earning a suspicious look from Twilight, "Just stuff about Chimi-cherries! Or Cherry-changas! I like both!" 

As Pinkie continued to ramble on about her strange food invention, Twilight had to force herself not to fall into another fit of laughter at Pinkie's voice coming out of Sombra's body.

"Alright, so it's very obvious that you two have switched bodies," she said, causing Sombra to give her a look that said, "You don't say?" Ignoring the look, Twilight continued. "Well, the good news is that I know there's a potion for this very situation, in the event that somepony misuses it."

Sombra narrowed his eyes at the alicorn, then fully realized what Twilight was implicating. "And the bad news is...?" he said, fearing the answer. 

Twilight took a deep breath to keep a calm demeanor.

"It's going to take a couple of hours to make it," she replied, then gave Sombra a hard look, "because I used most of my ingredients for the one you wasted!" 

Before he could give a retort, Pinkie, who had ceased her rambling, stepped in.

"So I'm in Sombry's body for the next few hours then?" she asked, sounding rather curious at the idea. When Twilight nodded, Pinkie put a hoof to her chin and let a out a hum of thought. "I always wondered what it would be like to be a stallion," she mused aloud, causing both Sombra and Twilight to give her incredulous looks.

"What?!" Sombra practically shrieked, while Twilight gaped at Pinkie.

"What are you so surprised at?" she asked nonchalantly, "Haven't you ever thought about what it would be like to be a mare?" 

Sombra narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yes, I thought, 'Gee, it'd be awful to be a mare'!" he replied, "And I was right! It is awful!" He held his flank up, then shook his tail briefly. "I have a curly pink tail!" He held up his forehooves. "I have adorable pink hooves!" He pointed down at his flank, looking at it with contempt. "I even have balloons on my rear! I'm the picture of femininity!"

"Well, how do you think I feel?" she challenged, "I'm starting to think I took being a mare for granted!" She held up her rear, flicking her short, black tail. "How can you stand to have such a short tail? Put a bow or something on it to make it look cuter, will you?"

"Well, excuuuuuuuuuse me!" Sombra exclaimed sarcastically, "I'm sorry my tail isn't 'cute' enough for you! I'll have you know, that if a stallion of my ranking and stature were to have a long tail, he wouldn't be taken seriously!" Pinkie leaned towards Sombra, her red eyes narrowed.

"Oh, you mean a pompous jerk who can't accept the fact that he's not a king anymore?" she snarled, baring her fangs, "'Cause that's all I see." 

Sombra's jaw dropped and he gaped at her.

"You did not..." he said, narrowing his eyes at her. 

Pinkie didn't let up her glare, then leaned closer to Sombra until their noses were touching.

"Oh, yes," she replied, "I just did." 

As they continued to stare on another down, Spike, who had finally recovered from his laughing fit, let out a loud groan. 

"Ugh," he said loudly, "Are you two going to kiss again?" 

Pinkie jumped back, a blush covering her cheeks while Sombra recovered from his shock and waggled his eyebrows.

"Want another one, do you?" he teased, causing her cheeks to turn an even darker shade of red.

"Th-that didn't mean anything!" Pinkie exclaimed, sounding like Sombra did when Twilight had made the implication that he liked Pinkie. 

Still feeling angry about Pinkie's earlier insult, he decided he was going to have fun with this.

"You know, I wouldn't mind it," he said, taking a step towards her. By then, her entire face was red, her eyes wide. "Tell you what, I'll make you a deal," Sombra continued, "I'll let you kiss me again, right now; but only, and only, if it didn't mean something to you."

The room was silent afterwards, making Sombra feel triumphant. He knew that Pinkie wouldn't be able to bring herself to do it; she was too kind and caring to do so. Besides, even if she did do it, he would finally be able to show that annoying voice in his head that there was nothing going on between him and Pinkie.

But, even he wasn't prepared for Pinkie's response. Her lips were against his in an instant, shocking Sombra enough to freeze. Although in reality it lasted only seconds, to Sombra it felt like an eternity, long and somewhat painful. When she pulled away, Sombra remained in the same position, stunned into silence.

"See?" Pinkie said, "Absolutely nothing." When she walked away, Sombra could feel his shock turn into dread as her fully realized what her response meant.

'Absolutely nothing,' he thought, 'it meant absolutely nothing to her.' For some unknown reason, this fact hurt him in a way that he hadn't felt since that vision with Pinka, when she had left him alone in the frightening world they lived in.


*	*	*


Hours later and he was back in his old body. Sombra couldn't ignore the rock in his stomach, the very thing that was reminding him of the day's events. After Pinkie's kiss, he couldn't get over the meaning of it, the cause of his misery. With every avoided look, either directly or from their peripheral vision, or accidental touch, whether it be their hooves when they reach for the same thing or just a simple bump as they passed one another, he could feel it sink lower and heavier than before. 

As soon as they returned to their respective forms, Pinkie had jumped at the chance of escape and left with an excuse to foalsit for the Cakes'. Twilight, sensing Sombra's negative emotions, decided to leave him be and allowed him to retire to his cot for the remainder of the evening.

'Conscience?' Sombra asked with uncertainty. He never called for the voice's presence beforehoof, but he was desperate for somepony to converse with. Twilight and Spike weren't options and Sombra couldn't speak to Pinkie because she was the reason for his depression.

'Yes?' Conscience replied, his tone laced with concern. Sombra took a deep breath, preparing himself for the question he was about to ask.

'Was she lying?' He knew the question itself sounded small, unimportant, even. But, to him, it held something deeper, thicker than blood itself. 

So, when the voice within him replied to his question, the small hope he never knew he was capable of having was diminished.

'...I'm sorry, Sombra.'