When they reached Twilight's castle, and settled down into the ballroom that was now used to seat large groups when one of the displaced ponies came back to Equus, Twilight and the others held their questions at bay as Rarity started telling them her tale. While she spoke Spike, who was glad to see her, wheeled in something for them all to snack on while they talked, where Rarity discovered that she had quite the appetite and savored the flavors that she encountered, because it had been some time since she had anything to eat. When she made that comment, as she had to explain why she wasn't eating with her proper manners, which usually got on Rainbow's nerves in the past and surprised Rarity when her friend didn't have a problem with how she ate, she also had to tell them the exact nature of her condition while she was in Drangelic. Suffice to say that most of the group was surprised to hear that she had, upon arriving in Drangelic, had been labeled as an Undead and had the mark of the Curse... and that she not only died several times throughout her travels with her new friend, but had also been unable to eat anything since Undead creatures didn't need to eat.
"Dying must have been painful in the world you went to." Rainbow commented, though both she and Applejack touched their chests for a moment, reminding those that knew their own story that they had died at some point in their journey, only to be revived.
"Well, it didn't get any easier until I first unlocked my Dark Magic," Rarity replied, noticing that Rainbow was much more respectful towards her friends, making her wonder what sort of life the former pegasus had gone through, as Discord had only told her a small bit of Rainbow and Applejack's adventure, "being impaled in the chest repeatedly, as that was the favorite method for my enemies to kill me, was how every foe ended my life until I came back at the bonfire. When I first unlocked Dark Magic the impaling stopped and became a fact for me to taunt my opponents, until I realized that doing that was wrong and started treating them with more respect... even though most of them were weak to lightning based magic."
"Really?" Twilight asked, as that shocked her, because she would have thought that there would have been some diversity in weaknesses in Drangelic, especially because of the types of spells she had seen in the spellbook she had been given when they were reunited with Rarity, "That's... extremely odd."
"My thought's exactly." Rarity said, to which she raised the cup she had been drinking from and took a few sips, as she hadn't had any sort of tea in quite some time and she was enjoying the brew that had been prepared, so much so that everyone insisted that she keep the rest of it for herself while they drank something else, "Even Edric was caught off guard by that fact and purposely allowed me to test our enemies so I could figure out which elements they were weak against before I fully joined the battle."
"Speaking of which, whatever happened to your new friend?" Applejack asked, as she expected Rarity's friend to come to Equus with her, especially since her and Rainbow's family had come with them when they first returned to their home planet, along with Pinkie's brother and Starlight's brother.
"Oh... I had to leave him behind." Rarity replied, to which she sighed as she stared down at her cup for a moment, remembering Edric's final actions towards her once they had secured the Throne of Want, before she looked up at her friends and knew what they were thinking, "Edric's fine, he didn't die or anything. Rather... well, he took the four crowns of power we had gathered and left me standing before the main goal of our quest, so he could return to him home and be with his family. Instead of linking the fire, and securing the Age of Fire for some time, he turned his back on it and made sure that the Fire would fade at some point in the future, bringing forth an Age of Dark. We could have saved the age from ending... and he decided not to do that."
Sunset, who had remained silent while Rarity talked about her adventure and was remaining silent now, knew that this Edric must have weighed the options in his heart and had gone with protecting his family over a land that was clearly not his place of birth. She could see that Rarity had taken the decision rather badly, as her friendship with Edric had cracked a little and she could tell that Rarity resented the man a bit for his choice, but that hadn't destroyed the seamstress at all, rather she took the blow and simply left her friend to his own devices. At the same time she could tell that Rarity's power had increased since she had last seen her, which was reflected throughout her journey and the challenges that she had to overcome to get to this point.
"I still can't believe that you shattered your limits as well." Twilight said, causing Rarity to raise an eyebrow, to which Twilight beckoned to Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie for a moment, indicating that all three of them had done the same thing on their own adventures, "All three of them did something like that on their own adventures... and maybe that's a side effect of going through the mirror, which means we might have some trouble."
"And why would you say that Twilight?" Rarity asked, as she couldn't remember who else Discord had told her about and knew that Twilight was bound to remind her, though it couldn't be worse than what Sunset was able to become and she was still surprised when the girls told her what Sunset really was... a God of Destruction, capable of blowing planets to pieces with a flick of her fingers if she so desired, even though she'd rather not do that.
"Well, Chrysalis and Sombra went through the mirror as well," Twilight replied, though while it appeared that one of them might have changed, and become good by her own actions, there had been no update on what Sombra was doing and that worried her, "but Discord has been checking on the others and they should be back soon enough."
At the mention of Discord there was a cracking sound, like a piece of glass become cracked because something collided with it, and the Spirit of Disharmony poked his head into the area and looked around for a few seconds, before he dropped a piece of paper into Sunset's lap and departed... causing Sunset to frown when she looked down at the paper and read the note she had been given.
"Apparently something has happened in the area Chrysalis was sent to," Sunset explained, though none of them knew anything about the place the former changeling queen had sent herself to in her quest for power, save for the fact that it was a dangerous zone that she had to study herself from time to time, "and a small 'crack' has appeared in the mirror."
"The mirror has a crack in it?!" Twilight exclaimed, while at the same time the rest of the group, those that knew about the power that the mirror possessed since most of them had gone through it at some point in the past, "Impossible! That artifact was crafted by Starswirl the Bearded, there's no way a crack could appear on it's surface."
"Well Starswirl is gone and Discord has been pouring his power into that mirror since Starlight and I were first displaced some time ago," Sunset stated, recalling something from her personal past for a few seconds, before she sighed as she sort of realized what might be happening, "I guess there's only so much chaotic energy something can take before it starts to break under pressure... that, or one of the other ponies is strong enough to crack it from wherever they are."
"Speaking of power, I have a question." Rainbow said, to which she turned towards Rarity for a moment, where those that knew her could see the look in her eye that they knew all too well, "Rarity, want to have a practice bout with me? I want to see these powers of yours for myself."
Rarity knew that Sunset and the others had a specific planet they trained on, to avoid destroying Equus in the process, and already determined that Rainbow was bound to constantly pester her until she either agreed or lashed out at her friend to stop her from asking her the same question. Part of her wanted to relax, as she had been through quite a lot since she first walked through the mirror, and yet the new part of her, the part that desired a good battle, was the one that eventually won out in the end.
"Sure." Rarity said, to which she set her cup down and looked over at Rainbow, though if the others were surprised by her reaction they didn't show the change in their faces, "So, where are we going to do this?"
"There's a nearby planet that I've been keeping around for when things like this happen." Sunset stated, to which Celestia nodded her head for a moment, revealing that she knew where Sunset was talking about and knew where to go from their planet, "I've dueled others there over the last year, so it's the perfect place for you two to have some fun."
Rarity nodded her head and knew that this was the best way to get Rainbow off her back about fighting her, though that still didn't stop her from wondering what sort of powers her friends possessed, despite the fact that she sort of knew from the tales she had heard from Discord.
Getting to the unnamed planet was rather easy, as Rarity soon discovered, because what they did was gather outside Twilight's castle and Celestia surrounded all of them in a protective sphere that apparently protected them when they entered and exited the atmosphere of a planet. She would have asked what Celestia meant by that, but she soon found out the answer when they rose into the air and surged towards the atmosphere, where they easily headed into the space surrounding Equus and headed towards their target. She looked back at her home as it disappeared into the distance, where the Crusaders were pleased to be doing something like this again, before she looked out at all the stars that were around them and the various planets that they flew by. Rarity was surprised by what was going on, since this was something that hadn't been possible before Sunset became what she was, but instead of asking questions she focused on what was going to happen when they landed on the planet.
When they reached the planet, and headed towards the part of it that wasn't covered in ash and fire, Celestia set them down in an area that appeared to be a plains of some kind, though she picked a high point so she and the other observers could watch the fight from a good vantage point... to which Rainbow floated into the air and flew towards the area in front of them, where Rarity recalled how she did that and followed after her friend until they were facing each other.
"I'll let you make the first move." Rainbow said, though at the same time she raised her hands and moved her body into what Rarity guessed was her battle stance, something she likely created over her long adventure.
Rarity studied Rainbow for a few seconds, wondering what sort of game her friend was trying to play, before she determined which attack she should start with, to which she charged at Rainbow like she was going for a straightforward attack while also throwing a screaming sphere off to the side. Since Rainbow was focused on her, and not on the sphere, it seemed to work in Rarity's favor, because instead of attacking she jumped into the air and sailed over Rainbow's head, though as her friend followed her movements the screaming sphere emerged from it's portal and slammed into her back. Rainbow staggered forward for a moment, surprise written all over her face, before lightning flickered over her body and she raced towards Rarity, where she slammed her fist into Rarity's chest and set her flying towards the cliff wall that the others were standing on. At first it appeared that Rainbow had done it, ending the fight in a moment, before Rarity flashed through the air and reappeared near Rainbow, who seemed surprised for a moment before a grin appeared on her face as she dropped back into her battle stance.
The two of them rushed at each other and let their fists collide, though while their attacks met each other in the middle of the air Rarity realized that Rainbow was doing something to empower herself, as her attacks and speed were moving like she was one with the lightning... until Rainbow knocked her away again and remained where she was standing as Rarity regained herself. Rarity stared at her friend for a moment, wondering if there was something special about what she was doing at the moment, before she held her hand out and formed a Lightning Spear, which she hurled through the air and sent it racing towards Rainbow's position. Rainbow, on the other hand, raised her right hand and let the Lightning Spear touch her palm, while at the same time not being pushed backwards at all, before Rarity watched as Rainbow reined in the Lightning Spear and stood like it was her own attack.
"I'm surprised," Rainbow said, to which she tapped the attack for a moment, where the lightning seemed to vibrate in her hands for a few seconds, before she stared at Rarity once more, "You barely charged this attack and yet it's so strong on it's own... but even still, my affinity over lightning is much stronger than this, allowing me to rein in and negate your attack."
"That makes me happy," Rarity replied, as she had been getting tired of enemies who were weak to lightning based spells and was pleased to find that Rainbow contained the power to put up a fight, before the air around her vibrated as her dark aura flared to life for a few seconds, "Come then, Rainbow Dash, and show me your power over lightning."
Rainbow grinned as the energy of the lightning flared for a moment, causing those that recognized her signature attack to know what she was doing, before she converted the energy into a sphere that she closed her hands around and focused her mind for a few seconds. Rarity, confused as to what was happening, remained where she was standing as she opened herself to the shadows around her, ready to move the instant Rainbow showed her hand, while wondering what level of the Forbidden Nova attacks she should use in this situation. A few moments later Rainbow pulled her hands apart and the energy formed into a lance of some kind, one that acted like a bolt of lightning and had a level of power that easily matched her greatest Forbidden technique. Before she could react, however, Rainbow grabbed the lance for a moment, spun it around so that the tip was pointed right at her target, and sent it flying through the air, where Rarity snapped back to reality and held her hand out to stop the attack in it's tracks.
What she wasn't expecting, however, was for the lance to push her backwards with the intensity of the power it contained, where she growled as she tried to fight back and struggled under the force that was pushing against her... though as she neared a rock wall, and knew what was coming, she opened herself to her true power and let what was coming happen anyway.
Rainbow stood there as the lance detonated it's payload and shook the area around them, while at the same time kicking up tornado level winds that put many pegasi to shame, or would have if Cloudsdale hadn't actually followed Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire in ascending to their new forms. That was no where near the strongest she could have made that attack, as five minutes would have created a truly devastating attack that Rarity might not have been able to recover from, but she could recover from this one. When the smoke cleared she found a mass of darkness gathering where Rarity had been, meaning she must have protected herself in some manner, before the darkness parted and Rarity, with the Dark Magic mist rolling off of her eyes, stepped out into the open.
"You're lucky that I unlocked the ability to use Dark Magic on my journey," Rarity commented, though at the same time she stretched her arms and legs for a moment, as that attack had been quite powerful and she knew that Rainbow likely had one or two more attacks like it that she was keeping hidden, "otherwise that would have done some real damage to me. Now then, I believe that it's my turn to show you what I've learned so far."
With that said Rarity raced forward and started moving around the area that Rainbow was standing in, letting the shadows hide her movements as she forced her friend to track her before she could actually do anything, though while she did that she sent Soul Arrows flying through the air. Rainbow, seeing the arrows coming her way, raised her hand and started firing small energy blasts at them, causing the arrows to explode in the air before they could reach their intended target, but that was just fine for Rarity's plans. While Rainbow was distracted by the arrows Rarity stopped moving all over the place and raised her hand into the air as she willed a trio of Forbidden Suns into existence, to which she smiled as the three of them merged into their base form, the powerful Forbidden Nova. Once the attack was ready she sent it flying towards Rainbow's location, who smashed the remaining arrows to pieces and turned her focus to the sphere coming her way, where she raised a hand and stopped the sphere when it reached her.
Rarity knew that Rainbow would turn the tide against the base form of this attack, and could see that since she was already doing that, which was why the Forbidden Nova was a distraction and was starting to forge three Nova level spells together, or more accurately the dark, fire, and soul type attacks. When she fought Nashandra she had skipped the Forbidden Hypernova level of this attack and went for the Forbidden Reorigination level, but since she knew that Rainbow was holding back she decided to do the same. As such she burst into the air and held her hand towards the trio of Nova level attacks, where they merged into a large flaming sphere with rings of darkness and soul energies wrapped around it, though she waited a few seconds, for the energy to stabilize, before she hurled it towards where Rainbow was standing.
Rainbow, seeing the more impressive attack coming her way, shifted her stance slightly and sent the flaming sphere up into the air, where it exploded a few seconds later, before turning her attention to the incoming attack, which seemed even stronger than what she had been facing. This time around the three elemental attack barreled into her and actually pushed her back down into the ground, revealing that the attack was as strong as she believed it to be, though while that happened she did her best to force it backwards. Those that knew her strength knew that she wasn't using her full power, as that would have been unfair for Rarity to experience right off the back, but she had to admit that if Rarity was thing strong, with only using three of the four elements she gained access to, she could only imagine what her friend was like when she used all four of them. A few moments ticked by before Rainbow found herself sinking into the ground, with a crater forming around her, and knew that her thoughts on Rarity's power were accurate... even as the sphere above her head detonated and consumed her in a flash of light.
Rarity stood there for a few seconds, wondering why Rainbow hadn't tried to push the sphere back and fought it like she had, since she knew her friend was stronger than this, though as the smoke cleared Rainbow appeared in the middle of the crater with smoke emitting from her hands... and there was a smile on her face, indicating that she was enjoying herself in this battle. Before either of them could continue the battle, however, something happened that both of them should have seen coming; Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom, along with Gale Wind, rushed towards the two of them and started asking for them to help train them. Rarity chuckled as she dismissed the dark mist around her eyes and landed on the ground, as it appeared that their fight was going to have to continue another day, though another reason came up that the crusaders wanted to have some training. It appeared that all of them commanded their own elemental affinity, which she thought was too young for them to unlock, but with Sweetie commanding fire, Apple Bloom having some control over earth, and both Scootaloo and Gale having control over wind she knew that they needed assistance in their training.
It appeared that life was going to get more complicated than she originally thought, when she first stepped through the crystal mirror, but she wouldn't trade her experience for anything... and she would gladly train Sweetie Belle in the future, so long as her little sister didn't ask to fight her at some point in time.