Starlight stood with her sword at Yanavan's throat, not tolerating motion from either of them as her friends slowly came to. Maple, Valey, Gerardo... Harshwater was there as well, the cave's waters lapping gently against their stone platform.
Valey was the first to get herself together, rolling upright into a dazed fighting stance before noticing Starlight. Her eyes widened as she read the situation in a heartbeat.
"Caful," Starlight mumbled around the hilt, teeth bared. "He cam make moom glaff."
"You got a little something in your mouth, there," Valey pointed out, still sounding dizzy. "Here, gimmie."
Starlight relinquished the sword to Valey's wing, but didn't step back. Her eyes locked with Yanavan's, and they both knew she could do everything he could, but also had friends. "So," Valey said beside her. "I, uhh... What happened?"
"Unnngh..." Maple started to stir, sitting upright and rubbing her forehead.
"What did you see?" Starlight glanced up at all of them. "We were exploring this cave, but I think it was a dream. We're awake now, right? I stabbed him with the sword..."
Gerardo shook his head to clear it, rolling and getting his talons beneath him. "We flew in this place, and you were approaching the door, and..." His eyes widened. "Is that an obsidian-afflicted sarosian?"
Valey stared down at the surrounded stallion. "You're Yanavan, aren't you?"
"How did you get my powers?" Yanavan wheezed, ignoring her question entirely and focusing only on Starlight. "You don't have them. You were bluffing. How did you even know what they do?"
"I don't have any powers," Starlight said flatly. It wasn't far from the truth: the Nightmare Modules may have all been there, sitting at the back of her mind and waiting for their knowledge to be called on, but that wasn't going to happen. Maple was here with her harmonic flame, and Starlight was going to leave her glassed state behind and never use it for anything again. "And you should have thought twice before threatening my friends."
"Threatening us, was he?" Valey narrowed her eyes. "Look, buddy. I don't like waking up, finding that I've been knocked out, and seeing the ponies I'm supposed to protect have needed protecting while I was down. I don't care what kind of powers you have, I have a sword that will end you the moment you even think about trying anything. Got it?"
"No..." Yanavan was still fixated on Starlight. "You fool. You cannot hope to fight me..."
Valey blinked. Only Harshwater was still out, and she was showing signs of life as well. "So, uhh..." She glanced to the pegasus. "Hey, everyone. We kind of came to get her, and hope this guy stayed sealed, or whatever. Now that Starlight's somehow kicked his butt after he got free, what do we actually do with him?"
Maple tilted her head. "He looks almost kind of sad..."
"Of course he does." Starlight frowned down at the defeated stallion. "He's Nightmared. Remember that pirate? I'm okay when I use this, but I'm different. He's been like this for thirty years. I bet he's like Chauncey, and has forgotten what being a real pony is even like."
Yanavan curled up on the stone, and Valey wrinkled her nose. "Dude sure doesn't smell like he's having the best day of his life. But are we seriously going to start feeling bad for him? He's not just a monk. He's, like, an elite monk. With Nightmare Modules."
"One of the Nightmare Modules lets him make moon glass," Starlight warned. "Don't leave him alone or he could kill you."
"While pity and empathy may be valuable," Gerardo interjected, clearing his throat, "please bear in mind he supposedly attacked the other elites of the grand temple entirely without provocation, with the goal of stealing the power that brought about this transformation in the first place. While he may be a victim of his state, it would be foolish to assume he's also an innocent victim."
"Victim or not, anyone who can make moon glass gives me the creeps." Valey glanced up at Maple. "Hey, Ironflanks. We don't have any evil-sealing tools, so if we're gonna keep him around..."
Maple tilted her head. "Hmm?"
"Just thinking aloud." Valey kept the sword point fixated on Yanavan's neck. "We leave him here, he's gonna bail. But I can't hold him like this for the rest of my life, and if anyone else tries, he could get some sneak attack in, so we gotta either kill him or take away his powers. Now, I dunno how to deal with the whole dangerous monk thing combined with shadow sneaking. Like, I knew how annoying I could be with it, but I never really realized how annoying it could be, you know? But the whole Nightmare Module thing, at least..." She nodded slowly. "You've used the flame from the windigo hearts to put Starlight back to normal before, right? What are the odds it would work for this dude, too?"
Maple took a small breath. "Oh, I bet it would..."
"What?" Yanavan finally paid attention to someone other than Starlight, worry creasing his brow.
"I'm not sure how much it will take," Maple apologized. "Starlight, did you want this? Or are you fine waiting until we get back to the ship to go back to normal, just in case this uses it all? I know the harmonic flame was effective on you and on Puddles, so I bet Valey has a point."
Starlight swallowed, glancing at Yanavan. "Use a harmonic flame on him to take away his Nightmare Module powers?" She could wait. "That's smart. Do it."
"What are you doing?" Yanavan hissed as Maple stepped closer, only kept from writhing by the presence of the black sword. "Stop! Don't tempt me, you fool!"
"Don't tempt you?" Maple curled her lip disapprovingly. "With what? This?"
Harmonic energy briefly danced across her coat, and Starlight felt a deep sense of need tingle through her body. Whatever the cave had tried to do to her, whatever fears it had preyed on, her friends were here. Maple would be there for her. All she had to do was hold on until they got back to the ship, and she could stay as close to that as possible for however many weeks it took to fly where they were going next. It was there for her...
...And Maple wanted to use it on Yanavan. Starlight sighed, but she knew it was the right thing to do. If she let others have what she wanted, maybe that would make them want to return the favor. She wasn't about to force anyone to give her anything. Not after the kneeling illusions of her friends, or everything the armored alicorn had said in the altar.
"Don't you know this is a place of exile?" Yanavan glared up at Maple as she stood over him, harmonic energy rising gently from her fur. "Light and goodness are banished from this undeserving land. Stop showing them to me! Didn't my children tell you to leave?"
Valey blinked. "Hold on, your children? And a place of exile? Those batponies were cool with you?"
"Exile," Yanavan rasped. "This is not my prison. It is my home. I am hidden to my sarosians, but I make it a home to those the Night Mother looks on without favor. A place where her all-seeing gaze does not reach."
"Uhhh..." Valey scratched her head with her free wing. "You know, I'd believe that a lot more if they hadn't just almost gone extinct from fighting with some badly-equipped castaways. Ironflanks, light him up."
"Stop!" Yanavan shied away as Maple reached a hoof for him, and Valey's sword quivered. But he didn't move quite far enough, and a flash of light quickly enveloped Starlight's senses. Something was pushing on her, filling her, starting at her heart and inflating her outwards as she felt the harmonic flame being used with an even deeper sense than sight. Something whooshed in her ears, she felt her mane lift from proximity to the fire... and then it was gone.
Maple still glowed, but not as brightly. On the stone in front of her, Yanavan was transforming: flakes of darkness hovered in the air, drifting downward and applying themselves to the congealed mist which formed his haunches and legs. Slowly, like intricate tiles, they reformed the surface of his body, melding together until the seams lost their luster and vanished entirely beneath growing fur. Within seconds, he was a normal batpony.
"...Yep," Valey confirmed, still keeping the sword ready. "Dude just got a lot less dangerous. Is also still really dangerous, so watch out. I don't wanna know what his monk arts can do."
"D-Did..." Yanavan was shaking. "Did you destroy them? They're gone. I can feel..."
"I have no idea." Maple shook her head.
A tear splashed onto the stone beneath the prone batpony. "You fools..."
"Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up." Valey held the sword a little looser. "Guys, I really don't think he's about to fly into a zealous rage and blow us up at the drop of a hat. Anyone wanna see to Harshwater?" She glanced back down at Yanavan. "I have no idea what your deal is, and you're still our prisoner at absolute best. But before we make any decisions, we're getting your story along with everyone else's." She shook her head. "Bananas, I still have no idea what's going on in this crazy place. Nothing about this makes sense. Not the Varsidelians, not the locals... I don't know why I expected you to be any different. There's gotta be something everyone here isn't telling us. I'm just done stepping on hooves because we ran in and set off something we didn't understand. We are getting this right, once and for all."