The midday sun illuminated the town of Ponyville.
In the castle, Twilight was going about her princess duties, which now consisted of filling out some papers.
She was reading one when the doors opened and Spike walked in with a stack of parchment in his hands, a stack so large that it blocked his view, so he staggered a little on his way to the table.
"Here I bring more documents." said Spike before the pile spilled over him, burying him in a pile of scrolls from which he poked his head out.
Soon after, Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's student in the friendship field, entered the room through another door.
"Wow. That sure is a lot of paperwork." said Starlight.
"You're telling me. I know I really like sorting and writing things down, but this is starting to get to be too much for me. Why didn't anyone tell me that being a princess was such hard work?" asked Twilight.
"Would you have taken the job if you had known?" asked Spike.
Twilight thought about it for a moment before lowering her head in defeat with a frown.
"Yes." said Twilight.
"Well, no one said being a princess was just sitting on a throne and ruling over others." said Starlight.
It was then that Twilight sensed something.
"Huh?" asked Twilight before walking off somewhere else.
Spike and Starlight looked at each other in confusion before following the princess of friendship.
The three of them were walking until they were in the mirror-portal room, where they could see the book with a bright, flickering aura.
"It's Sunset!" exclaimed Twilight happy to receive a message from her friend in the other world and with her magic, she brought the book towards her and began to read it with a smile, but the more she read, that smile faded until an expression of horror formed on her face. "Oh, no. Oh, no!"
"Twilight, what's the matter? It's not like you've seen a ghost." said Starlight.
"King Sombra is back!" exclaimed Twilight in horror.
"What?" asked Spike startled.
"You mean that evil unicorn that tried to take over the Crystal Empire all those years ago that you and the others stopped?" asked Starlight remembering what she learned from the old enemies of Mane 6.
"Yes, the same one." said Twilight.
"What exactly does Sunset's message say?" asked Spike.
Twilight proceeded to read the message out loud again for the others to hear.
"Dear Princess Twilight, I know I recently sent a letter sending greetings, but I'm afraid something very terrible has happened. It all started when my friends and I were going for a drink when we ran into a foreign girl named Orihime who apparently came to city in a mysterious way. While accompanying her to the restrooms, a strange man tried to take her away by force and it was then that he revealed his magic, a magic that belonged only to King Sombra. He attacked us with a magical beast and we fought back when some of Orihime's friends suddenly appeared and helped us. All of us have questions and I think it would be a good idea for you to be present, since out of all of us, you had the most contact with him. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, your friend, Sunset Shimmer."
"I suppose you'll go right away, won't you?" asked Starlight.
"Of course. If it's about King Sombra in the other world, then it's a bigger deal than I imagined." said Twilight.
"That's why we should head over there right away." said Spike.
"Very well. I'll send a message to the other princesses advising them of the situation and I'll keep watch at the portal in case anyone or anything comes out." said Starlight.
"Good. Let's not waste any more time." began Twilight before placing the book and applying her magic, causing the device to connect and the portal to open. "There is one thing that confuses me a bit, though."
"What is it?" asked Spike.
"Who were those new friends Sunset mentioned in the message?" asked Twilight.
"There's only one way to find out." said Spike.
Without another word, the two crossed the portal which disappeared shortly after, leaving Starlight alone in the room who set off to accomplish her task.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the portal, Mane 7 along with Ichigo, Orihime and others stood between the entrance of Canterlot High and the statue that served as a portal between that world and Equestria.
"So, they were the ones who helped you?" asked Ichigo.
"Yes, I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for them." said Orihime with a smile.
"In that case, we thank them for helping her." said Rukia bowing a little in thanks.
"Oh, no need to thank us." said Sunset.
"Yeah, we just did what anyone would have done." said Twilight.
"Well then, now that we've found Orihime, I guess it's time to head back, right?" asked Renji.
"Oh, but I wanted to get to know you all a little better." said Pinkie Pie appearing from behind Renji, startling him in the process.
"How the hell did you do that?" asked Renji.
"You better not ask. Trust me, that'll give you less headaches." said Applejack knowing how her pink haired friend is.
"While what Renji said makes sense, I'm afraid it's not that simple." began Uryu before adjusting his glasses. "The guy who brought Orihime into this world is still on the loose."
"And if he was able to bring Orihime here once, it's safe to say he'd do it again." said Rarity understanding what the quincy was saying.
"Pff. For that guy don't worry. If he's gone out with his tail between his legs, that proves he's not as tough as he looks." said Rainbow Dash arrogantly.
"I wouldn't underestimate him, Rainbow Dash. King Sombra is known to be a very powerful being." said Sunset.
"You seem to know a lot about that guy." said Chad.
"Well, yeah, it's a long story." said Sunset.
"That reminds me, why did you bring us here? We were supposed to talk to get answers." said Ichigo.
"And that's what we came here for, but we need one more person for this to work out perfectly" said Sunset.
"Who?" asked Orihime confused.
"She mean…" began Fluttershy before Pinkie Pie covered her mouth with her hand.
"Shh. No spoilers. It would spoil the surprise even though readers already know from the beginning of the chapter." said Pinkie Pie.
"Does your friend have a mental problem or something?" asked Renji pointing a thumb at the party girl.
"That's the million-dollar question, dude." said Spike.
It wasn't long before everyone saw one side of the statue platform begin to glow and before the shinigami and others could ask, two figures exactly identical to Twilight and Spike stepped out.
"What the hell…?" asked Ichigo and the others with expressions of disbelief.
At that instant, Pinkie Pie snapped a picture of them with a flashing camera.
"Picture for posterity. Although I'm sure the readers would like this story to be animated so they can witness it instead of just imagining it." said Pinkie Pie, who was ignored by the others.
"Twilight!" shouted the Mane 7's before rushing over to hug the humanized pony princess.
"Hello, girls. It's good to see you all again." said Twilight.
"We're glad to see you too." said Applejack.
"And of course, you too, Spike." said Rarity petting the dragon-turned-dog, who enjoyed that.
That's when Twilight looked at Sci-Twilight.
(AN: Due to the presence of two Twilights, the human Twilight will be known as Sci-Twilight and the dog Spike, Dog-Spike).
"You know? No matter how many times we see each other. It's still weird and awkward." said Sci-Twilight.
"Don't worry. It's the same for me." said Twilight.
"Uh… Excuse me. I don't mean to sound annoying, but can someone please tell us the hell why there are two of them?" asked Ichigo.
At that moment, Twilight's attention turned to the other group present.
"Oh, you must be the friends that Sunset told me about in her message." said Twilight.
"She sent you a message? When?" asked Rukia.
"It's… a long story." said Sunset.
"Well, since the… person you said was missing is here, now it's time to explain. We should start with introducing ourselves to those who don't know us. I am Uryu Ishida." said Uryu introducing himself.
"Ichigo Kurosaki." said Ichigo.
"Renji Abarai." said Renji.
"Rukia Kuchiki." said Rukia.
"Yasutora Sado, but you can call me Chad." said Chad.
"As we already told Orihime, I'm Sunset Shimmer and this is Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie." said Sunset introducing herself and her friends.
"While I am Twilight Sparkle, the friendship princess of Equestria." said Twilight.
"A princess?!" asked Orihime and Rukia in shock.
"Wait, how come one is a random girl while the other is a princess who also has the exact same first and last name?" asked Renji.
"For starters, you all saw my Spike and I walk out of here, right?" asked Twilight pointing to the part of the statue she walked out of, receiving a nod from the listeners. "You see, it turns out that this is actually a portal, a portal that connects to my home world."
"Are you from another world?" asked Orihime.
"Yes and unlike this one, humans don't exist. My world where magic is real and inhabited by creatures that you would consider from fantasy stories. Like unicorns, pegasus, dragons, griffins, earth ponies, etc." said Twilight.
"Yeah, it really sounds like a world my sister would like." said Ichigo thinking of one of his younger sisters.
"And are you… a princess in that world?" asked Rukia.
"Well, at first I was just a unicorn learning under the tutelage of Celestia, one of the ruling princesses of Equestria, but due to a certain event, I became an alicorn, which is basically the species of the highest ranking in the kingdom." said Twilight.
"And then, got the title of princess of friendship. With castle and everything." said Spike.
"So how come you're a human right now?" asked Chad.
"I wouldn't know. I just know that when someone from Equestria crosses this portal to this world, they take on a human form or something that fits this world." said Twilight.
"So what were you before you came here?" asked Renji to Spike.
"You may not believe it, but there I am a mighty dragon." said Spike proudly.
"You're right. I don't believe it." said Renji, receiving a scowl from the transformed dragon.
"Stupid portal for giving me this form." muttered Spike with annoyance.
"It's not the portal's fault, it's the guys who decided you'd transform into a dog when you crossed the portal." said Pinkie Pie.
"What?" asked Spike confused.
"Nothing." said Pinkie Pie.
"So how come there are two of you?" asked Uryu.
"Well, it turns out that this world and mine are like sides of a mirror. So, if there's a Twilight in one world, there is in the other. In fact, in my world, my friends are basically their pony counterparts." said Twilight pointing to the rest of the Mane 7.
"Does that mean there's another you in that world, Sunset?" asked Orihime.
"Actually, I'm originally from Equestria. I used to be a unicorn until… certain things made me stay and live in this world." said Sunset not wanting to tell at the moment the fact that she was the typical bully who pretended to conquer everything.
"But if there is no magic in this world, how did you do that before?" asked Orihime.
"Oh, well, it turns out that, for a while, magic from Equestria was seeping into this world, giving rise to magical events. One of them led us to find these magical geodes." began Sci-Twilight as she and the others displayed their geodes. "Each of them grants us special powers. I can levitate things, Sunset can see people's memories, Fluttershy can talk to animals, Rainbow Dash is super-fast, Applejack is super strong, Rarity was create diamonds that she can use as a shield, and Pinkie Pie can generate explosive dust."
"Wow. That's impressive." said Orihime.
"Okay. Now the main question, who is this King Sombra?" asked Ichigo crossing his arms.
"Currently, Equestria is in times of peace, but it wasn't always like this. There were times when terrible enemies arose that threatened the peace of the kingdom and everything else, but my friends and I managed to defeat all of those dangers." said Twilight.
"One of them was King Sombra, right?" asked Uryu receiving a nod from the transformed princess. "What can you tell us about him?"
"King Sombra was an evil, dark unicorn who conquered the Crystal Empire and intended to do the same to the rest of Equestria. The royal sisters, Celestia and Luna, managed to defeat and banish him, but before he disappeared, he cursed the empire, causing it to disappear for 1000 years. When he reappeared, my friends and I went there to stop him from regaining his power and after a long fight, we managed to defeat him for good. Or at least, we thought we did." said Twilight.
"Yes, because now he's back and for some reason, he wants Orihime." said Sunset.
"But why does he want her? If it's because of her special powers, I don't understand why he wants a protective shield." said Dog-Spike.
"Actually, I can more than that." said Orihime.
"Really? What else can you do?" asked Rarity.
"I can throw similar slashing attacks a flying knife, but my greatest power is healing." said Orihime.
"Healing?" asked Fluttershy.
"To many, it is a healing power, but in reality, it has the power to push things back." said Rukia.
"What do you mean?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"There were once a couple of people who lost their right arms, but she used her power to restore them completely. In fact, in one of my fights, I died, but she brought me back to life. Twice." said Ichigo recalling the times he fought Ulquiorra and would have remained dead if not for Orihime and her power.
Needless to say, that left the Mane 7 and the transformed princess with their eyes and mouths wide open.
They thought their new friend had impressive power, but if she was able to do something like that, then she was much more powerful than they imagined.
"B-B-But it's impossible! The ability to heal serious wounds is one thing, but resurrecting someone dead is a complete impossibility! Not even the combined magic of all the princesses would be capable of something like that!" said Twilight.
"Such a power is absolutely incredible! It's the holy grail of medicine! People would kill for a power like that!" said Sci-Twilight.
"People like King Sombra." said Spike.
"Now I get it. He must have somehow found out about Orihime's power and that's why he brought her here. He wants to use her power to restore all his power." said Sunset understanding the evil unicorn's intentions.
"Then, I am his target." said Orihime lowering her head, feeling bad that another villain was targeting her for her power and like last time, her friends were about to die on several occasions.
It was then that she noticed a hand taking hers and turned her head to see Ichigo looking at her with a determined expression.
"Don't worry. I won't let that guy get his hands on you." said Ichigo.
That was enough for Orihime to smile as she felt better knowing that Ichigo would be by her side.
"Yes, thank you." said Orihime.
"Well, now that we've explained ourselves, I think it's time for you to do the same. Tell us, what exactly are you? I don't remember humans wearing those robes." said Twilight.
"Along with those swords." said Spike.
"It's because we, at least some of us, are shinigami." said Rukia.
Sci-Twilight's eyes widened in surprise.
"S-S-S-S-Shinigamis?!" asked Sci-Twilight.
"Do you know what that is?" asked Applejack.
"Of course I do. According to Japanese mythology, they are gods or spirits that guide humans to death." said Sci-Twilight.
"S-S-Spirits?" asked Fluttershy trembling with fear.
"But I thought spirits were beings that basically looked like floating blankets or transparent beings with no legs." said Pinkie Pie.
"That's a pretty offensive stereotype, you know?" asked Ichigo.
"That may be how humans see us, but in reality, we are more than that." began Rukia before pulling out a sketch pad from somewhere. "We shinigami are spiritual beings of the Soul Society charged with maintaining balance in the flow of souls in the world. Instead of magic, we have reiatsu and reiryoku, and those who possess the proper ability to control them are recruited regardless of their status." recounted Rukia as she showed drawings depicting the story, with the shinigami being rabbits.
"Uh… Was there a need for such childish and ridiculous drawings?" asked Rainbow Dash causing Rukia to grit her teeth with a frown and an anime streak in her head, for she did those childish and ridiculous drawings.
"What's this Soul Society thing?" asked Twilight.
"It's the world where the spirits of the dead go." said Ichigo.
"So, it's basically Heaven?" asked Rarity in surprise.
"Exactly. The Shinigami are the main force of the Soul Society, as they are in charge of sending the rest of the souls there and maintaining the order and balance of the Universe. Their main forces are divided into three major organizations: the 13 divisions, the special forces and the kido division." said Renji.
"Kido?" asked Sci-Twilight.
"Kido is a form of shinigami combat based on the manipulation of reiryoku, spiritual power." said Rukia creating a sphere of energy in her hand as a demonstration.
"Wow. It's almost like magic." said Sunset in awe.
"So what's with the 13 divisions?" asked Applejack.
"It is the main organization to which most of the graduates at the academy are recruited. It's divided into thirteen divisions, with their own specific leaders and functions, in some of the cases." said Renji.
"And you belong to one of those thirteen divisions?" asked Spike.
"That's right, I'm the vice-captain of the 6th division while Rukia is the vice-captain of the 13th division." said Renji.
"Really? Impressive." said Rarity.
"So those divisions function as Canterlot's royal guard. Interesting." said Twilight impressed by the information.
"What about you, Ichigo? What division are you in?" asked Applejack.
"None. I'm a substitute shinigami." said Ichigo.
"Substitute shinigami? Sounds like something low ranking." said Rainbow Dash.
"It's possible, but that's the one I got and I'm not complaining about it." said Ichigo.
"What's this substitute shinigami thing?" asked Sunset.
"You see, I used to be a… normal boy until certain events caused me to awaken my shinigami powers. Because of that, I was granted that title so that I can perform the duty of a shinigami despite the fact that I am human." said Ichigo.
"Oh, so you're like a superhero with a secret identity and all." said Pinkie Pie.
"Seen from that point of view, you could say so." said Ichigo.
"And those swords you have? I highly doubt they're for decoration." said Dog-Spike.
"They are zanpakuto, the main weapon of the shinigami. They are the manifestation of our soul and help us accomplish our missions. You could say they are like us. They even have names of their own." said Rukia.
"One question. How come your… zanpakuto look like normal swords while Ichigo's looks like that?" asked Sci-Twilight.
"The size of a zanpakuto depends on the power of its wielder. While most can manipulate the size of theirs to keep them from getting bigger, I have that tricky field, so mine stayed that way." said Ichigo pointing at Zangetsu.
"Wow. Well that's mind-blowing. Makes me want to have one." said Rainbow Dash.
"You'd have to die to have one. Literally." said Renji, scaring the sporty girl slightly.
"What about you? What are you really?" asked Twilight to the other two boys.
"I'm a quincy. Unlike shinigami, we are humans with supernatural powers and our weapons are mainly bows and arrows made of reiryoku." said Uryu.
"In my case, I am a fullbringer. They are humans who can manipulate the soul of inanimate objects." said Chad.
"Wow. I'm all awesome." said Sunset.
"Yes. You're like the Avengers or the Justice League. Well, if those groups were made up of spirits or humans with abilities related to them." said Pinkie Pie.
The others simply decided to ignore the party girl's comment.
"There's one thing I haven't figured out yet." began Sci-Twilight drawing the attention of the others. "When we first met, you asked if we could see you. What was that for?"
"That's because, being spirits, we can't be seen by normal humans unless they possess special abilities like the case with Ichigo and the others." said Rukia.
"I understand. It must be because of our magic that we can see you too." said Twilight.
"Wait, are you saying that while we can see you, the others can't?" asked Rarity.
"Yes. Which means that if you were talking to us somewhere, people would just see you talking to nothing." said Renji.
"Oh, I'd die of embarrassment for that." said Fluttershy.
"Well, now that the matter of introductions is settled, let's move on to the important thing. What do we do about that Shadow king?" asked Ichigo.
"If he's the one who brought Orihime, it's possible that he'll be back in action again." said Sunset.
"Then we just have to find him and kick his ass. Piece of cake." said Rainbow Dash.
"I prefer pie." said Pinkie Pie.
"I don't think it's that simple. He could be anywhere in this city." said Sci-Twilight.
"When we got to the place, I wasn't able to detect his… magic. Which points to the fact that he's either skilled at hiding his presence or he's so weak that we can't locate him." said Rukia.
"It makes sense. When he appeared in front of Orihime and me, I felt that his power was less than I imagined, he will have used a portion of what power he has in that attack, so he might take a while for him to recover enough to attack again." said Sunset.
"And when he does, we'll be ready." said Ichigo wanting to take down the one who kidnapped his friend.
"Do you know what that means?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"That we're going to have a complicated few days?" asked Spike.
"No." began Pinkie Pie before quickly appearing between Ichigo and Orihime. "It means we have more time to get to know our new friends!" said Pinkie Pie pulling the two into a hug.
While Ichigo was surprised by that, Orihime chuckled at the girl's amused attitude.
"Is your friend always like that?" asked Rukia.
"Yes, but we love it when she's like that." said Sunset with a smile.