A day after Twilight received the message about King Sombra's return and Starlight went to tell the princesses, the rest of the Mane 6 decided to stay at the castle to await any news, good or bad.
"Shouldn't they be back by now? This is starting to get boring." said Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow Dash, this is King Sombra we're talking about. He's not someone who can be taken down that easily." said Starlight.
"But we did." said Rainbow Dash.
"Because we were together, dear, but this time, Twilight and Spike are in another world that isn't as magical as ours." said Rarity.
"Although our counterparts have those mind-blowing powers gained from their Camp Everfree adventure." said Pinkie Pie.
"W-What if something happened to them?" asked Fluttershy worried about her friends.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'm sure we'll hear from them soon." said Applejack.
Just at that moment, the mirror started to activate, drawing everyone's attention.
"Uh. Here they come." said Pinkie Pie.
They all stepped forward, awaiting the arrival of their friends.
However, a wave of black magic erupted from the mirror, sending them all flying backwards before something black shot out of the mirror and then spun towards the ceiling, piercing it and leaving a hole in the process.
"What happened?" asked Applejack.
"I don't know, but it doesn't look like that's the only thing that's going to happen." said Starlight pointing to the portal that was still activated.
They all became alert in case something dangerous came out of the portal and then, they were all shocked when they saw Ichigo come out of the portal.
"Ugh. What a dizziness. I'd prefer senkaimon to this a thousand times." began Ichigo rubbing his head before realizing the ponies' presence. "Wow. When I was told this world was inhabited by ponies, I didn't picture it this way."
"Whoa. Who or what are you?" asked Rainbow Dash in amazement.
"That outfit, that sword, that bearing. *Gasp* Are you some kind of super hero?" asked Pinkie Pie with a toothy grin.
"Yeah, I can tell you're their counterparts." said Ichigo seeing the resemblance between them and the ones he met on the other side.
Before anyone else could say anything, Twilight, Spike and Sunset, in their natal forms, stepped out of the portal which closed shortly after.
"Twilight, Spike, you're back!" exclaimed Starlight before noticing the other unicorn. "And I see you brought someone else."
"Good to see you again, Starlight." said Sunset with a smile.
"Wow. Ichigo, I see you're keeping your human form." said Spike.
"Yes and I'm glad. I'm not interested in becoming a pony right now." said Ichigo.
"Wait a minute." began Rarity getting everyone's attention. "Twilight, could you tell us who he is?" asked Rarity pointing to the substitute shinigami.
"Girls, this is Ichigo, a friend. It's a long story, but that's not important now." said Twilight.
"Did anything happen before we came?" asked Sunset.
"Well, except for something that flew quickly from the portal to the outside, nothing interesting happened." said Pinkie Pie.
"Oh, no. We were late." said Spike in horror.
"Why? What was that?" asked Starlight.
"That was King Sombra." said Ichigo.
"What?" asked Fluttershy in horror.
"We can't waste any more time. We have to stop him." said Twilight.
"I'll go ahead." said Ichigo before flying away through the hole in the roof.
"Oh, no. You're not going to get all the fun." said Rainbow Dash flying after the substitute shinigami.
"Sunset, Starlight, come on." said Twilight before flying off with the two unicorns, who were using their magic to levitate, going after her.
The others simply ran off towards the exit.
Once he left the castle, Ichigo flew straight and it wasn't long before Rainbow Dash, Twilight and the two unicorns were at his side.
"Hey, buddy, how come you can fly if you don't have wings?" asked Rainbow Dash surprised at that.
"And how come you didn't transform when you came through the portal like the others?" asked Starlight.
"I think I have a theory. This world and the other one are like sides of a mirror, so your form is affected when you cross it, but since Ichigo isn't from either of those worlds, that rule doesn't apply to him." said Sunset.
"Yeah, that makes sense." said Ichigo.
"Fascinating. We'd have to look into that. It could change the concept of travel between worlds." began Twilight excitedly before noticing that everyone was looking at him seriously. "Or… we'd better save that for later. Hihi." said Twilight with a nervous smile.
"There he is!" shouted Rainbow Dash pointing to the front, where they saw King Sombra floating in the air with a toothy, evil grin on his face.
"Ah. It's nice to be home again fully recovered. Maybe I should stretch myself a bit by destroying this place." said King Sombra.
"I won't allow it! Getsuga Tenshou!" shouted Ichigo launching a wave of blue energy that King Sombra noticed in time before shooting a magic beam that neutralized the attack with an explosion.
By the time the smoke cleared, Ichigo and the others stood in front of him.
"You again? I see you're more persistent than I imagined." said King Sombra.
"And I will remain so until I'm done with you." said Ichigo.
"I dare you to try." said King Sombra before launching a wave of black magic that they quickly dodged.
Twilight, Sunset and Starlight shot magic beams from their horns, but King Sombra raised a shield that blocked the beams.
"Hey, old man. I'm here too." said Rainbow Dash before flying around him quickly, forming a tornado in the process.
King Sombra tried to resist the force of the wind as he took hits from the pegasus coming from every direction.
"That's enough!" exclaimed King Sombra generating an explosion of magic that undid the tornado and sent Rainbow Dash flying towards the ground directly.
"Rainbow Dash!" exclaimed Twilight.
"Watch out!" exclaimed Sunset standing in front of her to create a magic shield to defend against a magic beam from the evil unicorn, but even though it didn't hit them directly, there was an explosion that pushed them back.
Ichigo quickly appeared near King Sombra and prepared to attack him with his zanpakuto, but King Sombra created a sword from his horn to block the attack.
In the next instant, the two began a sword duel, trying to hit each other, but only succeeded in blocking each other without stopping.
At one point, the two crossed their weapons and looked at each other.
"Why are you going on with this? This isn't your world. It's none of your business!" said King Sombra.
"Of course it is! It has been since the moment you took MY Orihime!" said Ichigo mustering enough strength to push the evil unicorn back.
"I know we're in the middle of a crucial fight, but you heard what he said, right?" asked Sunset with a small smile.
"Yes and we'll tell the others after this." said Twilight with a smile.
"What are you two talking about?" asked Starlight with an arched eyebrow.
"I'll explain later." said Twilight.
"Well, if you really want to get into this, then I will gladly destroy you." said King Sombra before shooting a huge magic beam, but Ichigo used his sword to cut off the attack, causing it to pass by his sides.
After that, he quickly moved in front of him and punched him in the face that sent him to the ground, forming a crater in the process.
When he recovered, King Sombra shot upward as he wrapped himself in black magic.
Ichigo brought his zanpakuto to the front just as King Sombra impacted on him, generating a powerful explosion that sent Ichigo backwards into the ground diagonally, smashing through several buildings in the process to a stop along with an explosion.
"Ichigo!" exclaimed Twilight and Sunset at the same time.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you." said King Sombra directing his gaze at them before shooting a magic beam, but then, Starlight quickly appeared and shot a huge magic beam that collided with the evil unicorn's.
Both attacks remained neutral for a few milliseconds before King Sombra's began to engulf Starlight's, but luckily, they ended up disengaging each other due to an explosion, but because of how close the explosion happened, Twilight and the two unicorns flew backwards a bit.
Then, King Sombra launched a series of magic missiles, but Twilight reacted quickly and launched her own series of magic missiles that neutralized those of the evil unicorn.
However, King Sombra quickly attacked again with a magic beam, but then, all three fired their own magic beams that combined into a single one of three different colors that spiraled around.
The attack of King Sombra impacted against the girls' and the two attacks remained in the same place.
King Sombra tried to overcome the others' beam, but the girls didn't give up and increased the power of their attack.
In the end, they managed to make their combined beam surpass that of the evil unicorn to the point where it was very close to overpowering him completely.
"You won't be able to beat us, King Shadow. Not as long as we have the power of friendship with us." said Twilight.
"Your friendship magic may be powerful, but what could be more powerful than that? THE HATE I FEEL FOR ALL OF YOU!" shouted King Sombra greatly increasing the power of his beam, quickly overpowering that of the girls and striking them.
Upon impact, there was an explosion that sent them flying to the point where they fell to the ground, but while Starlight fell to the ground, Twilight and Sunset managed to recover in time and stay airborne, though they were both panting from exhaustion and pain.
"I'll make sure you two never interfere with my plans ever again!" said King Sombra shooting a magical beam.
The two were horrified to see the attack flying towards them quickly, giving them no time to react, but before it reached them, something stepped in front of them and cut off the attack in such a way that it passed both sides.
Twilight and Sunset were shocked when they saw Ichigo in front of them and using Zangetsu to cut off the attack.
Once he finished, Ichigo gave the evil unicorn a serious look.
"This may not be my world, but I won't let you hurt any more innocents." said Ichigo.
"And what will you do about it? You have already checked the power I possess. Compared to it, your power is nothing." said King Sombra.
"There is one thing you are wrong about." began Ichigo pointing his zanpakuto forward. "I didn't use all my power." said Ichigo before turning his head to look at the two in the back. "You two had better step aside."
Despite the fact that they didn't know what he was going to do, they didn't hesitate to heed his suggestion, so they moved quite a ways away from the substitute shinigami.
When he saw that they were away, Ichigo prepared to untie him.
"BANKAI!" shouted Ichigo before there was an explosion of light followed by a smokescreen and when the smokescreen dissipated, Ichigo could be seen in a different outfit and his zanpakuto had changed from large to a normal black katana with some sharp segments on the counter edge as fangs and a short chain hanging from the tip of the handle. "Tensa Zangetsu!"
Everyone around, including Mane 6 and some spectating ponies were astonished, especially two ponies who already knew him.
"I-Incredible." said Sunset in amazement.
"Is that a bankai?" asked Twilight, since she had been told about the shinigami's zanpakuto bankai.
King Shadow was also surprised, as he could feel how his power had changed, but taking a look at his appearance and weaponry, all he did was chuckle lightly.
"Is that supposed to scare me? With your big sword from before, you had at least some advantage, but with that tiny sword, you won't even have a chance of…" began King Sombra before Ichigo appeared in less than a second in front of him with his sword at the ready.
King Sombra's eyes widened in horror and he managed to raise a shield that protected him from the blow, but the force put on was so immense that he shot backwards, landing on the ground and sliding a little to a stop, leaving a trail in the process.
Everyone's mouths and eyes widened at the sight.
With a groan of effort, King Sombra stood up and shook his head before looking at the substitute shinigami in shock.
"What's the matter? Are you afraid, little pony?" asked Ichigo.
That greatly enraged the evil unicorn and it let out a cry of rage before flying off at him.
Creating a huge sword with his horn, he set about attacking ferociously, but Ichigo was able to block all of his attacks with ease without moving from his spot.
When King Sombra tried to give him a horizontal slash, Ichigo moved very quickly to dodge it, almost disappearing.
Ichigo began to move back and forth at such a high speed that he seemed to disappear and appeared anywhere to the point where several of them were visible at the same time.
Twilight and Sunset were shocked to see the enormous speed of the substitute shinigami.
King Sombra looked from side to side, trying to locate him, but he only became more enraged and released a burst of magic.
By the time he looked around, he saw no one.
"Where are you?!" asked King Sombra.
"Up here."
Looking up quickly, he saw Ichigo descending towards him without giving him time to react when he gave him a vertical swipe with his sword, sending him back to the ground with a loud impact, leaving a crater in the process.
With more fury than before, King Sombra shot towards him as he covered himself in black magic like a missile, but Ichigo managed to block the attack easily with his zanpakuto, though there was an explosion in the process that pushed them both back a bit.
King Sombra proceeded to shoot a magic beam, but Ichigo cut it off with his sword that he was holding one-handed.
He then shot several magic missiles that flew in each direction to hit the substitute shinigami from all sides, but Ichigo proved to be fast enough to destroy all the missiles with his zanpakuto.
That not only infuriated the evil unicorn more, but he was starting to feel something he never thought he felt before.
Fear.
"Who… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?" asked King Sombra.
"I'm someone you should have never pissed off." said Ichigo before holding his zanpakuto with both of his hands, causing the blade to become enveloped in a large amount of black energy.
Twilight and Sunset saw that to then look at each other.
They felt that that attack should be the one to finish off the evil unicorn and wanted to make sure it did, so they nodded to each other before shooting their magic beams at Zangetsu, causing the black energy to mix with two different violet and amber energies.
Ichigo saw that and accepted his friends' help.
Without giving the evil unicorn time to react, Ichigo shot straight at him.
"Getsuga Mahou Tenshou!" shouted Ichigo raising his sword.
When he reached King Sombra and before he could react, Ichigo threw a vertical slash right in front of his nose, causing him to launch a huge wave of various energies that hit the evil unicorn directly.
King Shadow tried to resist with all his might, but the combined power of the substitute shinigami, the alicorn princess and the unicorn was too much for him and in the end, he could only scream out of sheer rage before…
BOOM
A huge explosion went off in the place.
All the spectators stared at the huge curtain of smoke, hoping it was all over.
By the time the smoke cleared, everyone was shocked to see that Ichigo was the only one left in the place, which meant one thing.
He had won and King Sombra had been destroyed.
In the next instant, everyone erupted in shouts of celebration and joy at seeing a powerful and fearsome enemy defeated.
Although they didn't know exactly who their savior was, the fact that he saved them was more than enough for them.
"Ichigo!"
Ichigo turned around in time to receive a hug from Twilight and Sunset.
"I can't believe it. You won!" said Twilight.
"Heh. Of course. I wasn't going to let him get away with it." said Ichigo with a smile.
"I never doubted you. Not for a moment." said Sunset.
After that, the three of them went down to the ground as Ichigo undid his bankai to return to his previous form, but the moment they stepped on the ground, Ichigo found himself surrounded by several ponies, with the rest of the Mane 6 and Starlight being in front of them.
"Man, what you did was mind-blowing!" said Rainbow Dash.
"I've never seen power like yours before!" said Starlight.
"I still don't know what you are, but as far as I'm concerned, you're a hero." said Applejack.
"And let me tell you, your outfit is pretty awesome." said Rarity.
"T-Thanks for saving us." said Fluttershy.
"This calls for a celebration in honor of our human savior from another world." said Pinkie Pie.
"Yes. That's Ichigo for you." said Spike crossing his arms.
It was then that Sunset noticed something in the sky.
"Girls, look." said Sunset pointing to the sky.
Everyone looked up to see two figures flying from the sun and when they noticed who they were, they were shocked, though Ichigo was confused.
They were the princesses Celestia and Luna.
"Celestia? Luna? What are you two doing here?" asked Twilight.
"When Starlight told us of King Sombra's return, we were afraid something bad would happen." said Celestia.
"And that's when you felt the magic of King Sombra colliding with a huge, strange energy we've never known before." said Luna.
"So we came here immediately to help, but everything seems to have been resolved." said Celestia looking at the substitute shinigami.
"Oh, right. Princesses, this is Ichigo Kurosaki, a friend that Sunset, Spike and I met in the world on the other side of the mirror. Ichigo, these are Princesses Celestia and Luna." said Twilight making the introductions.
"I see. It is an honor to meet you princesses." said Ichigo bowing in respect.
"The honor is ours, Ichigo Kurosaki. In fact, we are grateful to you for saving our subjects from the threat of King Sombra." said Celestia.
"You're welcome. It's the least I could do." said Ichigo rubbing the back of his head.
"So, you and any friends of yours are welcome to Equestria if you ever visit again." said Luna.
"Thank you." said Ichigo bowing in thanks.
"Also…" began Celestia before turning her gaze to one of her former students. "It's good to see you again, Sunset."
"Same here, Princess Celestia." said Sunset with a smile.
"I hope you can tell us in detail everything that has happened so far." said Luna to Twilight.
"Oh, what I have to tell you is fascinating." said Twilight with a smile.
For quite a while, Ichigo, Twilight and Sunset were telling everyone about the shinigami and Orihime's power, as well as everything that had been going on since that adventure started.