Hours had passed since Orihime woke up in that unknown place and since she started walking through the streets.
The first thing she noticed during her walk was the fact that she was no longer in her city, but neither was she in the Soul Society or Las Noches.
Fortunately, she could understand the language and the handwriting there, though she didn't know exactly why.
All that didn't matter to her, however, as all she could think about was that she was alone in an unfamiliar place without having the means to be able to communicate with others.
"What if… Ichigo and the others don't manage to find me? Will I stay here forever?" asked Orihime mentally and starting to get depressed, but then, she started to remember the events that happened in Las Noches when she was forced to go there, so she shook her head to shake off her depression. "No. I believe in Ichigo and I know what he will do his best to come here. I just have to wait."
She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice what was in front of her and when she crossed a corner, she bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't going where I was going." said Orihime bowing apologetically.
"It's all right. No harm done." said Sunset who was standing next to her friends.
"Hey, are you by any chance from Japan?" asked Twilight.
"I am. From Karakura City precisely." said Orihime surprised that someone knew where she was from at first sight.
"Really? Well you speak our language well." said Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, I'm surprised too." said Orihime with a nervous smile. "Especially because in English classes, my grade is average."
"So what are you doing here? Are you here for tourism or for business?" asked Applejack.
"Well… neither one nor the other." said Orihime.
"What do you mean?" asked Rarity.
"It's just that…" began Orihime wondering if she should tell their, but seeing the looks on their faces, she could tell they were trusting. "I was at my house recently, but then, for some reason, I woke up here."
"Just like that? No portal or summoning or even a glowing symbol?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Uh… No, nothing like that." said Orihime. "Though the former did happen."
"So, are you far from home?" asked Sunset.
"Yes." said Orihime with her head down.
"Oh, poor thing." said Fluttershy feeling sorry for her.
That's when they all heard a growl and Orihime blushed due to it coming from her stomach.
"Hehehe. Sorry, I didn't have many breakfast this morning." Orihime said rubbing the back of her head.
"No worries. In fact, we were just going for a drink right now. You can come with us if you want." said Sunset.
"Y-You're serious? I wouldn't want to be a bother." said Orihime.
"Oh, you wouldn't be, dear. I don't mind inviting someone else." said Rarity.
"But… we just met." said Orihime.
"Well, a wise man said that strangers are friends you haven't met yet." said Pinkie Pie.
Orihime was surprised by that sentence and couldn't help but smile at the easy acceptance.
"In that case, I'll accept the invitation. Oh, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Orihime Inoue." said Orihime introducing herself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sunset Shimmer and these are my friends." said Sunset.
"I'm Rainbow Dash." said Rainbow Dash.
"Applejack." said Applejack.
"F-Fluttershy." said Fluttershy.
"I'm Rarity." said Rarity.
"I'm Twilight and this is Spike." said Twilight introducing her pet dog who barked by way of greeting.
"Aw. He's so adorable." said Orihime bending down to scratch the dog's chin, much to the dog's enjoyment.
"And I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie Pie and since you're my friend now, you can call me that." said Pinkie Pie quickly shaking the younger woman's hand, making her nervous.
"Nice to meet you all." said Orihime.
"Well, we better get going before a long line forms." said Sunset.
With everything finished, the group of 8 set off.
What they didn't know was that they were being watched by the man who was possessed by the dark bubble.
"Damn. With those meddlers, it won't be easy for me to go after her. No matter. At some point, she'll be alone and when she is, I'll act immediately." said the man.
Soon after, the eight of them were sitting at a table drinking various things from ice cream to milkshakes.
"How are you doing? Are you feeling better?" asked Sunset.
"Yes, much better. Thank you for inviting me, Rarity." said Orihime.
"Anytime, my dear. And let me tell you, I love your hair pins." said Rarity pointing to Orihime's hair pins.
"Thank you. They were a gift from my older brother." said Orihime taking a hand to the hairpin and remembering those events involving her brother being a hollow who tried to kill her, but was cured.
"So, you don't know how to get back home?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"No. I don't have my wallet or my cell phone. So I have no way to get back." said Orihime.
"And there's no one who can help you?" asked Fluttershy.
At that moment, a sweet smile formed on Orihime's face.
"Yes. I'm sure he'll be doing his best to find me and take me back." said Orihime.
"Who is he? Your boyfriend?" asked Pinkie Pie.
That made Orihime's face turn red as a tomato.
"H-He's not my boyfriend. W-We're just friends. That's all." said Orihime waving her arms in denial.
"Right…" said Rarity with an amused smile as she could see the truth.
"So, are you all students?" asked Orihime changing the subject.
"That's right. Not to brag, but we're the best there was at Canterlot High." said Rainbow Dash.
"Though one's grades leave a lot to be desired." commented Applejack causing the others to chuckle as she received a scowl from her friend.
"Not only that. We're part of a group called the Rainbooms." said Twilight.
"You play in a band? I'd like to hear you guys." said Orihime with a smile.
"Well, until your 'friend' comes for you, maybe we'll play a song." said Sunset.
"Thank you." began Orihime before getting up. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to the bathroom."
"I'll walk you." said Sunset getting up as well.
Just like before, they were being watched by the man who moved as soon as the two of them left.
The two went to an area away from the others.
However, when they were halfway to their destination, the man stepped into their path.
"Uh… Can we help you?" asked Orihime.
"No, but you can." said the man grabbing Orihime's arm and trying to pull her towards him.
"Hey, let go of me." said Orihime trying to free herself from his grip.
"Leave her alone!" said Sunset grabbing Orihime and pulling her the other way.
"You stay out of it!" said the man slapping Sunset away.
"I said leave her!" exclaimed Sunset giving the man a punch in the face knocking him back as he let go of Orihime.
"You will pay for your meddling." said the man extending towards her his hand, in which a sphere of dark magic formed, something that surprised the girl to no end.
The sphere shot out towards her directly and due to her state of surprise, she couldn't react to it in time.
However…
"Santen Kesshun!" shouted Orihime standing in front of Sunset before, from her hairpins, three spirits emerged and formed a triangular shield that blocked the sphere with ease.
Needless to say, that left the girl even more surprised, as she hadn't expected the girl she had just met to have special abilities.
"Orihime?" asked Sunset.
"I won't let you hurt her." said Orihime undoing the shield and looking at the man with a serious look.
"Insolent! How dare you talk like that to the one who brought you here?" asked the man.
That shocked the young woman, for apparently, he was the one who brought her to this world.
In fact, now that she looked, she could see that his eyes were the same ones she saw in the mirror before the portal that sucked her in opened.
"You… You were the one who…" began Orihime in shock.
"Anyway. If I can't take you the easy way, I'll have to take you by force." said the man causing green smoke to rise from his red eyes, just as a dark energy surrounded him.
Sunset was totally shocked, as she could feel the dark magic surrounding him and there was only one person who could have such power.
"It… It can't be…" began Sunset completely horrified.
"Sunset?" asked Orihime confused by her expression.
"You… ARE KING SOMBRA!" exclaimed Sunset pointing at the man.
"Do you know who I am?" asked the man confused and surprised that someone from that world knew of his identity.
"Sunset! Orihime!"
Everyone turned their gaze to the side to see the rest of Mane 7 approaching.
"We heard some screaming. What's going on?" asked Twilight.
"And who's that guy?" asked Applejack pointing at the man.
"Girls, get out of the way! He's very dangerous!" said Sunset urgently.
"D-Dangerous?" asked Fluttershy fearfully before stepping behind Rarity.
Meanwhile, the man, now recognized as King Sombra, looked closely at the group that had just arrived and now that he was looking closely at them, he couldn't help but see how very similar they were to a certain group of ponies that ended up with him.
"You…" began King Shadow, drawing the attention of the others. "You took everything from me!"
"What are you talking about? I don't even know who you are." said Rainbow Dash.
"You'll know soon enough." said King Shadow before shooting a magic beam at them.
"Santen Kesshun!" shouted Orihime creating a triangular shield that protected everyone from the attack.
That shocked the girls as they saw Orihime's ability.
"I didn't know she could do that." asked Rarity.
"I did." said Pinkie Pie although no one listened to her.
"Grrr. That shield won't protect you forever!" exclaimed King Sombra shooting beams nonstop, only for Orihime's shield to block them all.
Before he went to shoot another beam, a cupcake flew straight at him and the moment it hit his face, it exploded, knocking him back.
Orihime was shocked when she saw Mane 7 standing next to him ready to fight.
"If you think we were going to stand behind a shield the whole time, you're wrong." said Applejack.
"You may be King Sombra, but I can sense that your magic is weak compared to what I was told." said Sunset.
That only infuriated King Sombra.
"Weak? I'll show you who's weak!" said King Sombra before creating a beast composed of dark magic.
The beast let out a roar before charging towards them and trying to strike them with its paws, but then, Rarity created a diamond shield that blocked the attack.
Orihime was taken aback before looking towards the fashionista who turned her head towards her.
"You're not the only one who knows how to make shields." said Rarity with a wink.
"Come on girls, attack." said Sunset.
"You don't need to tell me again." said Rainbow Dash before quickly dashing around the beast, causing it to shake its head from side to side in an attempt to locate it.
That left it open for Applejack to leap at him and throw a punch that sent him backwards.
"I declare the fireworks inaugurated." said Pinkie Pie before throwing cupcakes with sparkling powder at it which, upon impacting the beast, exploded loudly.
However, the beast turned out to be unharmed, to everyone's surprise, and rushed towards them to give them a strong claw.
Before any of them could do anything, someone fell from above and gave a powerful slash to the beast, which was destroyed in an explosion.
Mane 7 was shocked when they saw the cause of it rise up, revealing a young orange-haired man with a black kimono, a thick red belt wrapped around his chest and a huge sword without a hilt.
While they were wondering who their savior was and whether he was friend or foe, Orihime stared at the young man in disbelief.
"Ichigo." said Orihime, causing the young man to turn around.
"Orihime." said Ichigo in surprise.
"Ichigo!" exclaimed Orihime quickly running to him then giving him a hug that made him bow a little. "I knew you would come. I didn't doubt for a moment."
Ichigo smiled before returning the hug.
"Well of course I would. I wasn't going to leave you alone again." said Ichigo.
"Uh… E-Excuse me." said Fluttershy shyly, catching both of their attention. "Who is he, Orihime?"
"Wait, can you see me?" asked Ichigo in surprise.
"Like not to see a guy with a sword the size of his body." said Pinkie Pie.
"Which, by the way, is cool." said Rainbow Dash with a smile.
"This is weird."
That's when Rukia and the others appeared on the scene, surprising both Mane 7 and Orihime.
"Rukia! Guys! Are here!" said Orihime happy to see them all.
"Of course we are. We weren't going to let Ichigo take care of everything on his own." said Rukia with a smile.
"Uh… Hello? Can someone tell me what's going on here?" asked Applejack.
"Who are you? And what are those powers you used earlier, Orihime?" asked Twilight.
"And more importantly, where is King Sombra?" asked Sunset realizing that the man was no longer in the area.
"He must have taken the opportunity to escape." said Rarity.
"Ok. I think there's a lot to explain." said Uryu.
"Yes. That's very clear." said Spike, startling the newcomers.
"Did that dog just talk? That's weird." said Renji in surprise.
"Really? Out of everything that's happened, the talking dog thing is the weirdest?" asked Spike.