Sombra had been correct in his thoughts that it would take some time to fully explain the situation to Radiant Hope, since she was still confused as to how she had been pulled out of the realm of the Umbrum and brought to the Crystal Empire, before being taken to Ponyville, a place she knew nothing about. As such Twilight informed her that her brother and his wife were the ones leading the Crystal Empire these days, as Radiant had been given a moment to understand that the beings she had seen in the throne room were actually Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, only in their transformed state since the empire had undergone the Ascension Process sometime after Ponyville and Canterlot did. She further explained that Sombra had come back from his imprisonment with the intent to conquer the empire again, since it had been taken from him, and described what happened after the Crystal Heart had been returned to it's rightful place, only at that point she had to stop since she had no idea what actually happened to Sombra after that point in time, as he hadn't told them much about his journey. It was understandable, since he had spent a great deal of time coming to terms with the fact that he and the others weren't the only transformed Equestrians in all of Equus, and there were some species that had taken the change after seeing what Equestria was capable of.
In fact Sombra intentionally waited for Radiant to know the specifics behind the Ascension Process, and gave her some time to truly understand what she had been told, before he bothered to get around to the beginning of his story, since this might be the only time he'd have to tell her and the others had had happened to him.
He told everyone how he eventually found out that the explosion that decimated him, which had rippled out of the Crystal Heart when it was returned to it's pedestal, destroyed his severely weakened mortal form and prevented him from turning into a shadow, like what happened during his first defeat, meaning that he had been reduced to wander around Equestria as a mere soul. He described what he did next, as he made his way here, to the palace that Twilight was living in, with the intention of using the special crystal mirror to send himself to another world, one where he could gain the power he deemed necessary to dominate anyone that got in his way, before coming into contact with Discord. He then revealed that the reason he had been sent through the mirror, instead of being sent to Tartarus for his actions, was because he had pissed off Discord by threatening to enslave everyone he cared about, including Fluttershy, and that very threat caused the Spirit of Disharmony, now God of Chaos, to curse his soul before flinging him through the mirror. On the other side of the mirror he told them of his first encounter with Hueco Mundo and his new form, before the curse fully seized control of his mind and stripped him of his memories, causing his Arrancar Zanpakuto to go flying once the spell had done what it was supposed to have done.
After that Sombra explained, in detail, his first meeting with Urahara Kisuke, the former Shinigami turned shopkeeper that eventually became one of the three people that taught him about the world he had found himself in, and the rest of the people that worked in the shop that became a temporary home for him. He described the training he had gone through, to awaken a mere fragment of his sealed power, and then told them about his encounters with the Hollows that were attacking Karakura Town, ones that he took out since he was supposed to be working to keep the Humans safe until a Shinigami came to claim the souls of the dead. His meeting with the real Yoruichi, who was clearly a woman and not a male, based on the voice of her cat form, had gotten a few laughs out of the assembled group, since he had been shocked by what he had discovered, but eventually he returned to what he had been telling them and got to the point where he first met Rukia, something that Ichigo was interested in hearing about. From that point he went into detail about the night Ichigo took on Rukia's responsibilities and became a Substitute Shinigami, which originally was a crime until both of them showed Soul Society that they were wrong to think that way, before promising that he'd get back to that later.
Once he reached that part of the story he shifted gears, briefly describing the various Hollows and encounters that they had following Ichigo getting some power into his body, though he did reveal how Ichigo's friends, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu either got their powers or showed them off to Ichigo, as that was what Uryu did. The encounters interested the group, especially the arrival of the hooded figure to help Sora become an Arrancar by removing part of his mask, which was the way all Hollows had been doing that, and his second appearance during the Hollow invasion that was accidentally set off by Uryu's attempt to prove that Quincies were better than Shinigami, which was the first time Sombra had fired his base Cero at something. What came after that was a shock to the group, as they learned of Renji and Byakuya's arrival in the World of the Living, to capture Rukia for the crimes she had committed and to see what her sentence would be, before Byakuya beat both Ichigo and Sombra in battle, leaving them to die as he and a weakened Renji carted Rukia back to Soul Society through a Senkaimon. From there Sombra described his training in his inner world, to unlock the power of his own Shinigami Zanpakuto, where he had to explain that he had carried an Asauchi with him and that part of his power, his ability to use crystals, had been imprinted on the blade he had been using in battle.
Sombra knew that his story was interesting, since he could tell that Twilight was writing notes on everything that he said and even noted that Arrancar, while possessing a form that was similar to a Shinigami or Human, didn't actually need to eat or drink anything, it was just his practice to drink tea that calmed the nerves.
When they were ready to continue Sombra went into detail about their 'assault' on Soul Society, as it was a simple mission to rescue Rukia that turned sour when they were stopped at the main gate, prompting them to enlist the help of one of Urahara's old friends to get them inside the Seireitei, only for them to be separated. It wasn't until after they had gotten back together, after everything was said and done, that Sombra knew what everyone else had been doing, so at first he told the group about his own encounters, with Yumichika and Ikkaku, then the rest of the Eleventh Division, which was followed by meeting Renji again, and then, not a few hours into the next day, he, Ichigo, and the rest of their small group were found by Zaraki Kenpachi, the Captain of the very Division they had escaped from the previous day. Ichigo look over for a moment to tell them about his fight with Zaraki, one that had nearly killed him since he wasn't actually expecting the Captain to be as strong as he had been, and it was only because of Yoruichi's arrival and medical attention, as well as being moved to a new area, that he had even survived the encounter, despite his later shock and surprise when he found out that Yoruichi was a woman and not a male cat. Sombra, having gone onward with the rest of their group, detailed how he bumped into Byakuya outside Rukia's cell and trashed the Captain before he could use his Bankai, the final form of a Shinigami's Zanpakuto, before having to retreat when the rest of the Captains came running to investigate his power, only that prompted him and Ichigo to begin training for their own Bankai.
While they were doing that Sombra told the group about what the others were doing, as Uryu, Orihime, and Sora had bumped into Captain Mayuri, revealing that his was the one behind the recent horrors that had been committed against the Quincies and Uryu's grandfather, leading Uryu to make the ultimate sacrifice in using a technique that could have stripped him of his powers, though it failed since he failed to kill Mayuri. In the end the three of them survived the battle, even though Orihime had run away before it actually began, but fortune was not on their side as Uryu was taken captive by Captain Tosen, while the day prior Chad had been taken out by Captain Shunsui. He revealed that he and Ichigo, by the end of their first day of Bankai training, were the only fighters besides Yoruichi that hadn't been captured, though they kept their friends captive because one of the Captains had been reported as dead, so they were the prime suspects in the murder, even if none of them had been there when it happened. Sombra then skipped most of the training he and Ichigo had gone through, save for mentioning that Renji found them and thought it was extremely unfair that he had been doing the same training that he and Ichigo were doing, before accepting his fate and did his own training. Of course they then discovered that the day of the execution had been moved up, so they wrapped up their training and went out to stop their friend from being executed for crimes that certainly didn't involve being burned alive by a flaming phoenix, as that was the order the Captains had been given.
Sombra skimmed over the next few events, as it was him and Ichigo stopping the execution, making sure that an injured Renji ran off with Rukia, then fighting Byakuya while Yoruichi came in and took Captain Soi Fon somewhere else to fight while the Captain-Commander chased after two Captains that destroyed the phoenix with a sacred treasure. He told them about their battle with Byakuya, how Ichigo found himself losing when the power of his Bankai started to tear away at his weakened body, eventually bringing Zangetsu, the real one that was sitting with them, to the surface so Ichigo didn't die, which was also the point where Sombra figured out who he was and surprised him by mentioning the name, even thought it would take some time for Ichigo to figure out the truth for himself. Once Byakuya was defeated they were graced with Aizen's presence, revealing himself to be alive and that he had faked his own death to move about freely, all so he could rip out the Hogyoku from Rukia's chest, which was the whole reason he had staged her execution with the massive phoenix, and Sombra gained the information that he planned on becoming a god, by forcing his way into the Soul King's palace and killing him. He did, however, have to explain that he found that information out later, when he was helping Ichigo train, and skimmed over the time that he and the others spent in Soul Society, save for his battle with Zaraki and the encounter he had with Soi Fon, eventually leading a confused version of himself to experience love for the first time, with someone that had feelings for him.
After that they returned to the World of the Living and came into contact with the Visored, Shinigami that Aizen had experimented on a hundred years ago, where Urahara had to use the Hogyoku, his invention that had been the goal of Aizen's plots, to stop the Visored from becoming Hollows, transforming them into Shinigami that could manifest a mask and grant them Hollow-like powers. It was around that point that he and his friends came into contact with Ulquiorra, Yammy, and the rest of Aizen's Arrancar, where Grimmjow was the one that returned his Arrancar Zanpakuto to him and got beaten up in the process, by the old Sombra no less, prompting Sombra to go into his inner world and battle Rey, the spirit of his Arrancar Zanpakuto and the representation of his old self, where he eventually won. From that point it was a matter of getting used to his old powers and the sudden fear that some Arrancar felt for him, before they discovered that the traitorous Captains, Aizen, Tosen, and Gin, were planning on destroying Karakura Town to create a key that would allow them to enter the Soul King's palace, giving Aizen the chance he needed to kill the one thing that was keeping the entirety of the four realms in balance with each other. Upon discovering what Aizen's plan was, and that both Orihime and Sora had been kidnapped, Sombra, Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad mounted an attack on Hueco Mundo, which eventually lead to Sombra discovering the existence of a certain legend among Hollows and Arrancar.
Sombra revealed that every one thousand years a specific Hollow was supposed to climb through the ranks, going from an ordinary Hollow and passing the level of the Vasto Lorde, becoming what they referred to as the Dios Hueco, the strongest Hollow in all of Hueco Mundo. Even though his power wasn't at the level that he had been told about, since he hadn't combined his Bankai with his Resurreccion, Sombra found that both Hollows and Arrancar were willing to serve him, willingly he added, and his plan changed from killing the Espada to showing them the true path they could take and create a new empire in Hueco Mundo. Many Hollows and Arrancar, either feeling his ever increasing power or suffering defeat at his hands, swore to serve him and take down whoever sided with Aizen, where Sombra paused for his followers to confirm what they had done for themselves, even if Radiant and the others were surprised that Sombra had let Ulquiorra live after he killed Ichigo, who only survived because of Zangetsu, who ditched him moments later. From that point it was a simple matter for Sombra to tell them about how he returned to the World of the Living, helped take down Aizen's forces, and then brought ruin upon Aizen himself, with the power of the Dios Hueco, before tearing the Hogyoku from his chest and sentencing the traitorous Captain to spend the rest of his life in the Shadowlands.
After that he told them about the changes he made to Hueco Mundo, as the Dios Hueco was capable of modifying the world all Hollows called home and he reverted it back to what it had originally been, a paradise of sorts, with the inclusion of a replica Crystal Empire inside Las Noches, where he and the other Arrancar lived. From there he went into detail about an event that he and the Captain-Commander called the 'Zanpakuto Rebellion', which was just the attempt of a lone Zanpakuto, Muramasa, convincing many of the others to come to his side and rebel against their partners, where Sombra and a few of his followers were called in to help quell the rebellion. He told them about how a few Zanpakuto actually followed Zangetsu's lead and separated themselves from their partners, the first being Haineko, the spirit of a Lieutenant that got tired of being treated like dirt and eventually became an Arrancar, and Zangetsu's girlfriend. The short version of the story was that Muramasa was trying to free his partner, Koga, and eventually succeeded, only for Byakuya to beat his shameful ancestor and restore his family's pride, before Muramasa joined the transformed spirits and started helping the Shinigami clean up his mess, following Sombra's example that his past did not define his future.
What was interesting to Sombra, as he wrapped up what happened with the arrival of the Toju, and them becoming Arrancar as well, was that Sunset seemed to be smiling when he mentioned what he had done and the message that his followers had spread to Muramasa, showing that she must have been an example of someone's past not defining their future and that she had overcome her own demons as well.
"That's... quite a lot to take in." Radiant commented, as she had known that the tale was going to be long, given the amount of time that she had been told about, but even then, with everyone shortening their stories to the best of their abilities, she still discovered that the shortened version took quite a while to tell.
"Tell me about it." Ichigo said, though while he had been through everything that Sombra and the others had talked about, since he and Sombra had been fighting side by side for quite a while now, it was still shocking to hear just how much they had been through since his friend arrived in their world.
"I know that it's a lot to take in, but that's what has happened to me since we last saw each other." Sombra stated, as most of this conversation had been for the benefit of Radiant, even though his adventure had also been directed to Sunset and the others, so they could understand that he had changed for the better, "I'm now the King of Hueco Mundo, all of my followers are letting go of the hatreds that had been instilled in them by the previous Dios Hueco, Soul Society is willing to call on me if anything happened that they can't take care of on their own, and I have friends in all three realms that I have been to in the last few weeks."
"Well, it's good to hear that you have friends and that your allies will reach out if they need your assistance," Celestia said, because the new Sombra that was sitting before them was worthy of being a king of an entire realm, one that he was in the middle of changing back to the paradise that it used to be, and knew that the planet he now called home was in capable hands, if she was correct in her thoughts anyway.
"Indeed. How long are you planning on staying in Ponyville?" Luna asked, because she shared her sister's view on the Sombra that was sitting before them, that he was completely different from the one they had known a thousand years ago and deserved what he was getting, though she wanted to know how long he'd be staying here, since he had a small force that could really do some damage if they were provoked.
"We'll be leaving in the morning," Sombra replied, noticing that there were some shocked expressions in front of him, as it appeared that both of the Royal Sisters thought he would have stayed for a few more days, to get used to the changes his home world had gone through and maybe make some more friends, "Look, I know that I've changed and Ponyville seems to be a haven of sorts for those that have broken the rules, only to change their ways in some manner, but with everything I did to the Crystal Empire they're not going to sit back when they realize that I'm still around. It's better that I head back to the version of Earth that I was sent to and continue living there for the rest of my days, tending to the beings that call Hueco Mundo home while dealing with whatever challenges decide to show themselves, as Captain-Commander Yamamoto did tell me that there were a few threats that might be lingering about the place."
Part of him knew that allowing so many Equestrians to go through the Ascension Process could be a problem in the future, especially since some of them were the crystal ponies that he had tormented a thousand years ago, so part of his reason for leaving so soon was because he didn't want an angry mob to descend on Ponyville at some point. There was no telling what sort of damage would be done, as he had no way of knowing if any of the godly ponies would be here at the time of the assault, and to be perfectly honest he didn't want to know what might happen if he stayed on Equus, hence the reason he wanted to leave. He guessed that he was sort of like Chrysalis, as both of them had their own reasons for wanting to leave their home world, though while the former changeling queen was hurting over the loss of her sister, and the pony that had won her heart, he wanted to leave before someone disrupted the peace because he was present. He might not be the same King Sombra, in the eyes of Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, and that included Prince Shining Armor, but that didn't apply to those he had ruled over before, though he had the feeling that both Cadance and her husband had told the crystal ponies that he had been a specter or something, one that came to reveal a lost treasure before fading away completely... and for now that was the best he could ask for, as he hoped that this would make them think he was dead and forget about him in time.
Besides, while he trusted that most of the Shinigami he knew would have returned to Soul Society after the party had been stopped, on account of Discord's untimely arrival and insistence that Sombra visit Equus for a few moments, he had the feeling that Mayuri would try to sneak into Hueco Mundo and learn more about them, despite his opinions on the matter, hence why he wanted to get back, before finding out that the Captain had been killed by one of his Espada.
"Then we should let you guys get some rest before you leave in the morning," Sunset said, surprising Sombra for a moment, as she knew that some of the displaced wanted nothing more than to find their way home, once they recalled what had been lost, while there were others that wanted the opposite, to leave the past where it belonged, and the former king was just like Chrysalis, so she couldn't blame him one bit, before another thought came to mind, "Oh, about Aizen... did you want to be destroy him for you? I could erase his existence and you would never have to worry about him leaving the Shadowlands."
"Thanks, but I'm fine with him being trapped where he is." Sombra replied, though he understood why Sunset had made the offer, because Aizen was a dangerous man and could still be a threat to the world he had once called home, but the only one that could open the gates to the Shadowlands was him, so there was no chance of Aizen leaving, not unless he pulled him from that realm for a few moments.
Sunset stared at him for a moment, imaging how easy it would be to simply destroy a threat to the stability of one of her worlds, since it was her duty to get rid of threats like that, before nodding her head, as she determined that she might as well trust Sombra's opinion on this matter, since he was the one that imprisoned Aizen to begin with. Once she came to a conclusion on the matter, and saw no reason for them to be staying up well into Luna's night, something that she and Celestia had to stop the story for so they could change the time of day, to which the group started to go their separate ways while Twilight showed Sombra's group the rooms that they could stay in for the night. Ichigo, of course, was a little surprised by the decision to stay here and knew that he'd have to tell his father where he had been, since his old man never stopped bothering him, especially after he found out that his old man was actually a former Shinigami, but he also trusted Sombra's opinion on what punishment Aizen should have gotten and determined that he could afford to stay the night without causing problems.
Sombra, on the other hand, had one of the larger rooms, big enough for himself and one other person, so tonight he would be sharing a room with Yoruichi, letting Harribel and Nel know that things would be back to normal when they returned to Hueco Mundo.
"It seems that we've had an eventful time in your home world," Yoruichi commented, as she found that Twilight and the others gods they had met, including the other transformed ponies they had encountered earlier, were nicer than what she was thinking, despite the fact that she was surprised by the sheer power that Sunset commanded.
"Indeed, though it was more than I was expecting." Sombra said, because he had been worried about other things when he said that he didn't want to come back here, but after battling both Celestia and Luna, where he found that they had control over their own darker sides, facing off against Sunset, whose power concerned him because it didn't seem like she had any limits, and dealing with his past in the Crystal Empire, "At the very least I was able to save this world from the rest of the Umbrum and pulled Radiant out of their realm before she was accidentally trapped in the Shadowlands, which would have hurt her more than the Umbrum could have."
"I bet once she's calmed down, and has gotten used to living in this era, she'll go back to the Crystal Empire and pick up where she left off a thousand years ago." Yoruichi added, as she knew that Radiant would need some time to come to terms with the world that was around her, since it wasn't like the time period that she originally came from, and she was sure that Twilight and the others would be able to help her adapt, "Though to be honest I'm a little surprised that you didn't offer to take her with us, since she was the first person you ever fell in love with."
"I've already ruined her life once, by sealing away the Crystal Empire while she was outside it, forcing her to endure the darkness of the Umbrum realm for a thousand years," Sombra replied, showing that he had been thinking about the possibility of bringing Radiant with them, back to the world he called home these days, and had determined that it wasn't the wisest move he could make, "I'm sure that she has ponies that are worried about her, despite being an orphan like I was, and that they'll be happy to see that she's okay, that I didn't hurt her in some manner and that she was finally returning to them... and then, at some point in the future, hopefully she'll settle down with someone and have a family of her own to take care of."
Yoruichi smiled as she wrapped an arm around Sombra, because she knew that he had changed from what the ponies of the Crystal Empire believed him to be, that he was a loveless being that ruled with an iron hoof, a tyrant king that tormented whoever stood against him and used fear to get what he wanted. Rather he was compassionate, kind, and took the time to understand what was going on before jumping to a conclusion, and at the same time he had found the time to make friends and forged an alliance between Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and those that called the World of the Living home, something that has never happened before in the history of their world. Sombra was a guardian of the innocent, a protector of the lost souls that wandered around the world, and wouldn't stand for anyone trying to disrupt the balance that he intended to keep intact, if what he did to Aizen and the other foes he had faced was any indication. She was proud of him, as a master was proud of their student, and she was even happier to be the one that taught him the meaning of love, which ultimately allowed him to regain his missing heart and forge a new destiny for himself, one that she and the others were proud to be part of.
A few minutes later both she and Sombra turned around and walked over to the bed that they would be sharing, as Sombra definitely needed some time to recharge his batteries after all the power he had used so far today, against both of the Royal Sisters, against Sunset, and in his attempts to please the crystal ponies, and soon enough the two of them were fast asleep, letting their worries disappear for a time.
When morning arrived the duo climbed out of the bed and stretched their arms as they headed back down to the dining area that had been set up for their group, where Sombra was pleased to find that his fellow Arrancar were already up, though they were being polite and were sampling some of the food that was offered to them for breakfast, despite the fact that many of them didn't need to eat at all. The only exception to that was Ichigo, since he was the only Human among their group, though Yoruichi, despite not actually using any of her own powers and didn't need to get back her energy, was polite and also sampled some of the food that was being offered, since she wanted to know how the food of Sombra's home world tasted before they went back home. Sombra wasn't too surprised to see that Radiant was up as well, though he paused for a moment when he discovered that she was more Human that she was the previous night, as she looked like a young lady that was like Twilight and the others, showing that Discord, who was sitting nearby, must have pushed her through the Ascension Process before he and Yoruichi came down the stairs. What he discovered, as they took their seats, was that Radiant actually wanted to go through with the change, as she would have felt out of place if she remained in her pony form while those around her walked around in their transformed states, though she was wearing a white robe over her new body, something that she said she had to get used to doing now that she was like everyone else.
It was during the morning meal, where Sombra had some tea while the others talked, that Radiant brought up the news on what she had decided to do since she had been brought back, though even as she said those words Sombra already had a small idea what her plans were.
"As exciting as exploring a new world sounds, I've decided to stay here," Radiant said, though she was pleased to see that Sombra nodded his head in understanding, as the last time she had chosen something over him, even if it had been for the purpose of discovering a way to heal his body, he had thrown a massive fit, as that was what she called his decision to learn Dark Magic and conquer the Crystal Empire, but he was far more mature about her decision now, "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to head to your version of Earth with you and see what it has to show me, but there are things about this new age that interest me, with all the history that I've missed and all the medical advancements that have been made, so I'd like to stick around and see what else has changed since I've been gone. That's not taking into consideration all of the technological advancements that have been made, all the various species that are scattered throughout the world, and everything else that has been uncovered since I locked myself away in the realm of the Umbrum... there's so much I've missed over the last thousand years, so much so that I feel it would be wrong to just leave without knowing what happened to my home."
"That's understandable." Sombra replied, as the first thing he had done was ask about the reason why there were so many transformed ponies, back when he and his group first arrived in Ponyville, and he had done the same thing she was doing now, learning about what had happened and putting everything else at the back of her mind until she had all the knowledge that she could possibly want, "I'd make the same decision if I were a scholar that had been trapped in a dark banishment spell for a thousand years, going out and seeing what happened to the world I called home, but, as you know at this point, I'll be heading back to the version of Earth that is my new home. Since I know you're eager to see what my new kingdom looks like, and the other realms I mentioned, maybe Discord would be willing to help you travel to the Earth that I call home... provided he doesn't have either of you arrive through a punch bowl and land with your faces on the ground, like when he came to check up on me earlier."
"That's the first, and the last, time that something like that will ever happen." Discord commented, speaking up for a moment, though he could tell that Sombra didn't mean anything by what he had said, he was just telling him that he'd prefer not having his guests arrive through a punch bowl, which he was going to try and prevent from happening again, not that he planned on traveling the other worlds all that much in the coming months.
"Either way, I don't think I'll be visiting for a few weeks at the very least, maybe even for a few months," Radiant said, returning to the conversation that they were having, since she didn't want to be caught up in the madness of Discord, as it was taking some time to get used to the fact that the Spirit of Disharmony, or rather God of Chaos, was sitting near her at the moment, when the last she heard he had been turned to stone, "but once I'm done with my studies, and have gotten used to both my new form and the power that it might have given me, I'll come visit you guys."
"And I'll be glad to greet you whenever you decide to come over for a visit," Sombra replied, and he meant it, as it only felt right that he be the one to be there when she and Discord arrived, whenever she decided to come by, before he turned his head towards Twilight, as there was something he needed to say before Discord opened the way back to the world he called home, "Also, allow me to say that I'm thankful that you allowed us to stay in the castle overnight, instead of just sending us back to our world once we were done telling you guys about what happened since I woke up in Hueco Mundo some time ago."
"Oh, don't worry about it." Twilight said, where she waved her hand in a dismissive manner, as she didn't mind letting the displaced spend some nights in her castle, especially since a few of them didn't have anywhere to rest when they came back from their adventures, "Considering how large this place is, this might be the only time that a decent number of the rooms will ever be used by someone that's not myself, Spike, Starlight, whenever she's here, and Sunset, especially since both Celestia and Luna usually spend their nights in Canterlot."
Sombra nodded his head in understanding once more, as both Celestia and Luna were Princesses of Equestria, even if Celestia had pushed a fair number of her duties, if not all of them, to Luna so she could devote more of her time to being Sunset's Angel, teaching her whatever magic she didn't tell her about when they were originally student and teacher. From what he had seen recently Spike, the young dragon that had been part of the reason behind his defeat when he and the Crystal Empire returned, had been busy lately, either traveling to the Dragon Lands or was currently helping out one of the displaced in some manner, hence why he hadn't seen him since their arrival in this world, though it was for the best since the young dragon would have freaked out the moment he saw him. Starlight, on the other hand, was one of the ponies that lived off world, much like Chrysalis and himself, though she was with her brother Ratchet almost all the time, helping him save the parts of the universe that they traveled to, which explained why she wasn't here, even if Twilight missed having her around so they could share their knowledge with each other. In fact while all of this was going through his head, as he recounted where the mentioned ponies were located, he noticed that Celestia said something about Rainbow and Applejack's father, the being who raised them before their adventure, coming by that afternoon to pick both of his daughters up for something he had planned.
The only things that concerned him about that exchange was the slight mention, a mere whisper considering how low Celestia said the line to Sunset, of the being's name, which was 'Beerus', the fact that the mentioned being was also a God of Destruction, which explained much about the two girls and how they fought, and the fact that the universe Equus was located in was actually 'Universe 13', while Beerus was coming from 'Universe 7'... but he made it look like he didn't hear any of that, because for now none of it concerned him, and it appeared that Sunset had everything under control.
After half an hour went by Discord pulled out what Sombra concluded was a pocket watch of some kind, as he knew that trying to understand the chaos of the God of Chaos could ruin one's mind, something that he'd like to avoid since he had an empire to run, and stated that now was the time to open the way back to the planet Sombra had been sent to for his adventure. As such Sombra and his followers gathered outside the castle that they had spent the night in, with Twilight standing nearby with Celestia and Sunset, before Discord turned towards the open area in front of him and waved his arm at the open area in front of him, forming another gateway to the version of Earth that Sombra called home. It wasn't long before Discord was leading them down the tunnel-like passage that existed when he used his 'shortcuts', as that was the term he used to describe what they were doing, and this time around Sombra and his followers just followed after him, not even bothering to look at the planets that they were passing by, since it didn't look like anything had changed since the last time they were using the passage... but, at the same time, it appeared that their journey would be short, since Discord flew through the second opening and they followed him through.
Sombra had to admit that Discord's passages, while not as great as the Garganta he and the other Arrancar used before he created the more permanent connection between Hueco Mundo and the World of the Living, were quite impressive, as they stepped out in the same area that the party they had been attending, when Discord arrived, had been held in. Discord brought them back to the very place they had been in earlier, despite the fact that he could have gotten the location wrong or something, but before anyone actually said anything the God of Chaos excused himself when everyone was on their side and headed back through the passage, disconnecting it not even a moment later. Sombra's guess was that now that he had found everyone that had gone through the mirror, or had been affected by the backlash, Discord's next task was likely to do something to the mirror to prevent this sort of thing from happening again, before he could finally relax and take some time off. In the end, after thinking about it for a few moments, he came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter if he knew what Discord was doing, because he was Celestia, Twilight, and Sunset's concern, allowing him to focus his mind on other things, like what was going on in his empire since he had been gone.
"You know, I have to admit that visiting your home world was rather interesting." Ichigo said, as he had been a little surprised by everything he had seen and learned, just like everyone else had been, but at the same time he was glad to see that his friend had some fun while he was there, since it had been a long time since someone had been able to push him while they were fighting, before he sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I had better get going. My dad's going to freak out when I get back and demand to know where I wandered off to, without telling him anything I might add, so it might be some time before he lets me go."
"Tell him I said hello and that if he has any problems with you being away for a day he can come talk to me, as I'll tell him why we were gone for so long." Sombra replied, though if he knew Isshin like he thought he did, where he might need to rethink some aspects of it since he didn't know why he was stuck in the World of the Living, he was sure that the man was just concerned for his son and wouldn't come to Hueco Mundo to talk, but the invitation to do so was there in case Isshin wanted to chat.
Ichigo nodded his head and ran off in the direction of his house, since he had stayed in his Human state and hadn't bothered to use Kon to shift into his Shinigami state before they left the party yesterday, leaving Sombra, Yoruichi, and the other Arrancar to do what they needed to do, which was turn towards the direction of the gateway to Hueco Mundo and moved out immediately. It didn't take them long to reach the temple where the gateway was located, allowing them to step through and pass into the realm that Sombra ruled over, where both he and his fellow Arrancar smiled as they returned to their home, especially since many were waiting for his return. Haineko was one of the few that had been standing near the gateway, waiting for both her Lord and Zangetsu to return to Hueco Mundo, and Sombra was happy to see the two lovebirds embrace once they stepped out of the gateway, though at the same time he found Muramasa and Szayelaporro waiting for him as well. With a nod of his head he dismissed the others, allowing them to take a break and do something else for a time, since it had to have been somewhat stressful watching him fight against Celestia, Luna, and Sunset without being able to jump in an assist him, but even as the others walked away he could tell that all of them were happy to be back home, which pleased him to see that no one hated each other anymore.
Despite the fact that he'd rather do something else, as there were still parts of Hueco Mundo that needed to be restored to their former glory, as parts of the paradise that his predecessor messed up, he knew that something must have happened in his time away and was eager to hear what his followers had to report.
"Szayelaporro, Muramasa, did something happen while I was gone?" Sombra asked, as he expected the news to be about Mayuri attempting to get access to something he didn't approve of, which was common these days, though the looks on their faces told him that his thoughts might be incorrect, which would be nice.
"A group of Gillian and Adjuchas ranked Hollows, lead by a Vasto Lorde ranked Hollow, arrived earlier this morning, with the leader asking to see you as soon as possible." Szayelaporro replied, though at the same time his tone told Sombra many things, including the fact that no one had gotten hurt in the process of the new Vasto Lorde's arrival, which might have been because of the Vasto Lorde dragon that lived near Las Noches.
"It appears that she wants to swear her fealty to you, and to commit some of her troops to your growing empire as well," Muramasa added, as both he and Szayelaporro, acting in Sombra's absence, had asked the new Vasto Lorde if they could help her with something and got that as an answer, something that would please their Lord, since it meant good things for their entire empire.
Sombra smiled as he had the duo lead him towards the location of the newest Vasto Lorde, because with Starrk, Harribel, Ulquiorra, and the dragon accounted for, and that included the dead Baraggan, he had met five of the ten Vasto Lorde that existed in Hueco Mundo before his arrival, and now he was meeting the sixth member of the group. His empire was already strong, especially since he had so many powerful Arrancar, but hearing that the newest Vasto Lorde wanted to join them meant that they were going to keep growing and expanding, hence the reason he had expanded Las Noches' walls some time ago and was thankful that he had done so. It was only a matter of time until they found the remaining four Vasto Lorde that called Hueco Mundo home, and determined what they were going to do when he finally met them, but for now he could focus on the meeting that he was heading towards, while Yoruichi walked beside him. His journey might have ended, just like all the other displaced he had met earlier, but he was sure that it was only a matter of time until another one started, and he was looking forward to seeing what the future held for him, the rest of the displaced, and the Gods that watched over their universe, because he was sure that whatever happened next was going to be far bigger than anything they had encountered so far.
Something told him that whatever was coming was going to involve his universe and the other twelve that he knew nothing about, why he felt that way he had no idea, but that only made him eager to see what happened next, and he was sure that he wasn't the only one that felt that way.