AN: Sorry for the long, long wait. Without further delay, I give you the long in coming (since early December of 2011) chapter 7.
I'm not sure how long it'll be until I get the next chapter out, since I'm also working on another story and I'm just entering exam time at University. I can safely say though that the wait will be much shorter than it was for this chapter.
I am very pleased with this chapter, so I hope that you enjoy it.
~A Chance at Revenge~
'What did he fail to protect her from? And what did he do that he doesn't want to bring up?' Twilight set the journal back on the desk with an exasperated groan. She had originally thought that the journal would provide more of an insight towards Raymond, but reading that last passage left her in no better of a position in her understanding. "Now I have even more questions than before."
Twilight trudged back to the cushion by the fireplace where she had deposited the books that caught her eye during her exploration of the vast library. After reading the journal entry she had thought that other pages may reveal something useful, but recalling how enigmatic Raymond acted she assumed that the rest of the journal would be just as irritatingly vague.
She lay down on the cushion and levitated the first book on the pile towards her, 'History of the Silent Kingdom: The Dream State Reign'. Suddenly the small amount of concentration she needed for such a trivial task was shattered as Twilight felt a powerful wave of magic wash over her. Tainted with such strong resent and bitterness, Twilight immediately recognized it for what it was.
"That's… but the Elements… this can't be happening!"
Fluttershy sat and watched in awe as the family of phoenixes weaved and danced through the branches and dense foliage of the trees edging the garden pathway, singing their strange melodious song all the while. The newly reborn phoenix chick was perched atop Fluttershy's head, fluttering its small wings and chirping in delight as it's watched the others fly overhead.
The phoenix was still small, but it had matured considerably during the short time since its rebirth. Fluttershy was amazed at how the little guy was almost big enough to fly already.
The young phoenix stopped chirping and hopped down to curl up in Fluttershy's mane. She watched it with a warm smile, but her smile was quickly replaced by a frown when she noticed its shaking.
"What's wrong little phoenix, did something scare you? Don't worry, Fluttershy's here to protect you," she calmly soothed. However her gaze was drawn upwards to the sudden alarmed squawks of the rest of the family. The older phoenixes had stopped their aerial dance, their own eyes directed in the direction of the library and the castle beyond.
The ensuing silence had Fluttershy's heart racing. The seconds crept by into minutes, and neither the phoenixes nor the timid pegasus moved a muscle.
"Fluttershy!" The pegasus jumped at the sudden noise of her name being called, the little phoenix that had been clinging to her being scared a few feet away by Fluttershy's jarring movement.
"Fluttershy, where are—" Twilight rounded the bend at a gallop, a small glass orb enveloped in a purple glow floating in her wake. "There you are. Come on, we need to get back to the others."
"W-why, what's w-wrong?" Fluttershy asked, anxiety creeping its way into her mind and making her voice tremble. "The phoenixes all suddenly stopped flying, and now they look pretty defensive."
Twilight shot a brief glance towards the branches overhead, her eyes quickly sparkled with wonder at seeing a group of such a rare species.
Shaking her head and returning to the matter at hand she hurriedly stated, "I'm not sure, what I do know is that I felt Nightmare Moon's magic suddenly flare into existence. We need to get to the others now!"
The pupils in Fluttershy's eyes quickly contracted from fright, "Nightmare Moon?"
Twilight nodded, "I don't know how, but somehow she returned. Now come on, we have to go try to help!"
She was about to shatter the glass orb she brought from the library on the ground under Becky's instruction before Fluttershy said, "But our friends aren't here, how can we stop Nightmare Moon without all the Elements?"
"I don't know," Twilight replied sourly. "But we have to try."
Before Fluttershy could voice any further objections, Twilight launched the orb towards the ground at their hooves. As soon as it made contact with the dirt path it shattered and a glowing white mist akin to that which swirled in the gate that brought them to the Keep escaped the broken sphere. The mist wrapped around the two friends becoming a thick white veil separating them from the rest of the world. Thin wisps drifted skywards, and eventually the veil dissipated leaving the garden path empty. The only exception was the phoenix chick. It stood there staring longingly at the spot the pegasus had been sitting in.
The rapidly twisting ethereal shroud of dark blue sparkled with small white lights reminiscent of the night sky. As this was happening Celestia and the two Sentinels looked on, the former was trembling with an expression masked in horror as she unintelligibly mumbled her disbelief. The latter two regarded the event with a more calm and calculating gaze even as they felt strong pulses of magic being emitted from the lunar princess.
"Princess," Raymond finally spoke, turning to face the ivory equine and noticing her shaking. "What's happening to her? What's going on?"
Celestia slowly shook her head never taking her eyes away from her sister, "T-this shouldn't be happening—"
"Celestia!" Raymond snapped, his one good eye locked with her two amethyst irises, his calm demeanor replaced with a snarl of impatience and looking all the more intimidating with his blistered features. The Princess eyes were shimmering with tears. "We can—"
Raymond's words caught in his throat as the swirling dark mist flared outward, revealing an ebony coated Alicorn taller than even Celestia. The dark equine threw her head back, her ethereal mane, the same dark mist as before, flowed backwards and sparked with energy as she gave a bone chilling laugh. The helmet on her head, the peytral plate covering her chest, and the slippers she wore on her hooves were all made of the same ancient blue tinted metal.
"Princess, what is that?" Raymond whispered as the equine continued its cold laughter. "We can help; you have to trust us on this. But we can't do anything if you don't tell us what's going on!" he finished with a hiss.
Celestia shuddered as she let out a ragged sigh, "That's Nightmare Moon."
"Nightmare what?" Becky interrupted.
Raymond shot her a cold glare even as Celestia continued. "It was born from the bitterness in my sister's heart just over one thousand years ago. I fought her and… regrettably, in order to save the world from endless night I was required to banish her to the moon." She shuddered again, her own ethereal mane matted against the side of her face by ill concealed tears. "A couple years ago Twilight and her friends wielded the Elements of Harmony and purified the darkness that took hold of my sister's heart."
Nightmare moon had stopped laughing, her gaze was now fixated on the three individuals before her. Eyes once a deep cyan were now a dark azure colour and her pupils were dark slits, her stare exuded anger and a perverse joy for the revenge she was about to exact.
"Hello sister," her voice tinged with a cold mirth. "It's so nice to see your sun loving face again. It's a pity that you'll be leaving so soon though," Nightmare Moon took a slow step towards Celestia. "You'll be missing the return of my glorious night."
Celestia, on her hooves again, shook her head defiantly, "You are no sister of mine foul creature. I demand that you return Luna to me!"
Nightmare Moon chuckled silently as she continued her slow approach. "Don't you see Celestia, Luna is me, I am Luna. It was her resent towards you and your precious day that created me. She knew what was happening, she could have easily stopped it if she so desired… yet she didn't!" She threw her head back, "She welcomed me, grateful for the company of another who enjoyed the night as much as her!"
"You took control, you imprisoned her mind!" Celestia retorted angrily, her bloodshot eyes unblinking.
"Because she soon started to fear me, she was frightened of the things I was capable of. Luna was becoming weak with fear, a weakness that I was required to lock away," Nightmare Moon replied with a deathly calm voice. "That's in the past now though…" she paused. "Now all that's left is for me to finish what I started!"
She lunged at Celestia, sparks of energy leaping off her horn as her eyes glowed white. Celestia prepared for a counter, her own horn glowing with golden light. Before Nightmare Moon could reach Celestia her path was blocked by Becky. Her signature jovial expression replaced with one of serious determination as she reached out with her hand and grabbed the dark equine by the head, the deadly horn sliding between her fingers. As hand made contact with head Nightmare Moon's gathered magic was dispelled, leaving the equine frozen in bewilderment. Before she could retaliate, Becky threw her arm to the side and Nightmare Moon found herself flipping head over hoof through the air.
Landing with a heavy thud, Nightmare Moon grunted, and before she could even begin pushing herself into a standing position she felt something cold pressing down on her. Raymond's horn was glowing as ice started forming over the prone body.
"This isn't your fight Sentinel; you have no right to interfere!" Nightmare Moon spat, her words dripping with hate.
"Actually I do, in case you weren't listening," Raymond replied steadily. "Though since you know what I am, I'd say it's safe to assume that you were aware of everything happening up until now."
Nightmare Moon said nothing; she simply continued to glower at the ice blue Alicorn. Her icy prison covering all but her head, she couldn't move and the cold was beginning to penetrate the protection of her ebony coat.
Raymond turned to Celestia, "Now that we have some time, is there anything else you could tell us that may aid our efforts?"
Celestia was about to respond, but she remained silent as her gaze was drawn to the spot directly behind Raymond. The Sentinel turned to see what had caught Celestia's attention; his eyes were greeted by a swirling white mist. As the mist began to clear he could make out the forms of Fluttershy and Twilight, though they weren't the only ones watching.
A sinister grin crept its way onto Nightmare Moon's face, "What do we have here? The Elements of harmony… but what's this, there's only two of them?"
All eyes shifted towards the now laughing Nightmare Moon, "A what a glorious chance this is!" the dark Alicorn all but shouted as her body burst apart into a dark cloud, escaping the encasing ice.
"What impeccable timing Miss Sparkle," Becky said flatly as she dropped into a crouch and rolled up her sleeves.
"Get back now!" Raymond yelled at the two new arrivals as the ethereal body of Nightmare Moon shot towards them.
Quick to heed his advice, Twilight and Fluttershy retreated to Celestia's side as a blue glow flared to life around Raymond's horn. The dark cloud almost caught up to them before it was stopped by a thin translucent blue membrane. Deflecting upwards and spiraling back at another angle, Nightmare Moon continued her assault, each vicious attack made the barrier vibrate. One particularly fierce attack left a small crack which Raymond quickly sealed.
"We came to help!" Twilight spoke with urgency.
"And how were you planning on doing that exactly?" Raymond retaliated, his patience beginning to wear thin.
"I… the Elements—" Twilight started.
Celestia gently cut her off, "—Are useless without all six present."
Fluttershy trembled against Twilights supporting body and flinched each time the dark cloud collided with Raymond's barrier. The lavender unicorn replied disheartened to her mentor, "I know… I just felt Nightmare Moon and thought we could do something to help."
"Don't worry Twilight," Becky spoke somewhat detachedly as her eyes darted after the dark cloud, her hand pressed against her forehead. "We've got this."
Raymond nodded in agreement, "Now Becky, do you think you could try to catch her now?"
"What do you think I've been trying to do?" Becky returned with a grimace. "If you didn't notice she doesn't have a physical body right now, and that makes it just a little challenging to pinpoint her mind!"
"Well then allow me to correct that," Raymond said, fixing his own one eyed gaze at the ethereal form of Nightmare Moon.
After a moment his horn flashed again and a translucent sphere materialized around the dark cloud, successfully trapping it and halting its erratic movements. With a grimace Raymond cracked open his blistered eyelid as his eyes began to glow. Slowly the floating blue orb began to shrink, compressing the ethereal cloud within. The walls of the orb began to distort and stretch until finally with an agonizing howl of pain the cloud solidified once again into the form of Nightmare Moon.
"Thank you very much," Becky stated as her eyes briefly flashed green.
Suddenly Nightmare Moon's body went limp. Raymond released his hold on his magic and the two barriers faded away, the ebony Alicorn falling to the ground in a heap.
"Do you have her?" Raymond asked turning to Becky, it was visible in his expression that he already knew the answer.
"What does it look like?" Becky responded with an exaggerated shrug.
Celestia spoke up, "What did you do? Why did you—Watch out!" She dropped into a battle ready stance as Nightmare Moon climbed to her hooves.
Twilight and Fluttershy watched with fear as Nightmare Moon approached and the two Sentinels just stood there. Nightmare moon stopped her advance directly in front of Raymond and lifted a hoof towards his head. Before any of the onlookers could offer the aid that it appeared Raymond needed, Nightmare Moon's hoof gently poked the end of Raymond's snout, an action accompanied by a fit of giggling coming from Becky.
"Yes, yes. Very funny Becky," Raymond said flatly.
"What is going on here?" Celestia pondered aloud, looking from one Sentinel to the other, then finally to Nightmare Moon. As she looked closer she noted how the dark Alicorns eyes were glazed over and staring at nothing in particular.
"Becky took control of Nightmare Moon's mind," Raymond replied while pushing away the ebony hoof, which was now stroking his mane. "Right now she's having a bit of fun."
"I assure you that this isn't as fun as it looks," Becky stated with a pout. "I'm just getting used to moving her body. It's quite disconcerting actually, what with being in two minds at one time… well technically I guess you could say three minds right now, though Princess Luna's being a bit unresponsive at the moment."
"L-Luna?" Celestia stammered. "Is she alright?"
Becky nodded, "She seems fine, just a bit shaken up and drained of energy."
The ivory Alicorn gave a relieved sigh, "Thank goodness. Can you free my sister now?"
"Not yet," Becky started. Though when she saw Celestia's expression shift to one of sadness she explained, "I'm not saying that I can't, just that we should remove Nightmare Moon first so Luna's magic doesn't cover up her presence."
"You can remove Nightmare Moon?" Celestia asked in disbelief.
"Yes, we can," Raymond replied. "But first we need a vessel to contain her. Becky, take everyone to my house while I search the vault for a suitable unit."
Becky nodded, and before anyone could say anything he disappeared in a flash of blue light. Becky turned to the others and said, "You heard Ray, time to get going." Directing her attention briefly to Nightmare Moon she said with a grin, "You too Hokey Smokes, don't think I forgot about you."
With a flash of green light the group found themselves standing in front of a small log cabin surrounded by a flower garden. A decorative water fountain gurgled gently off to the side, beside which was a swinging bench made to seat two. On a hill in the distance they could see the tall turrets of the Sentinels Keep.
"This is where Raymond lives?" Twilight spoke surprise at the quaint little structure. "I would have thought that he stayed at the Keep."
Celestia nodded her head in agreement, "As did I Twilight. This is quite the surprise."
"Well I like it," Fluttershy added. "It's so calm and relaxing here. The only thing it's missing is the sound of birds singing."
"Raymond never liked the Keep much," Becky said quietly. "He rarely ever associated with anyone, not even the other Sentinels on the council. Sure he often worked alongside the head of the council, Aldrich, and he and I were good friends. Other than that though, there were very few on the council he spoke with, and even fewer would ever come visit him."
"What about Caroline?" Twilight asked softly.
Becky's eyes widened in shock as she stammered, "W-where did you hear that name?"
"I… read it in Raymond's journal…" Twilight trailed off. "Why, was I not supposed to?"
Sighing, Becky turned away and said, "It's… a very sensitive topic for him. A sensitive topic for all the remaining Sentinels actually." She spun to face Twilight again, a forlorn look in her eyes, "I'd advise you do forget about it. Don't mention anything that you saw to Raymond." Casting her gaze over the others she said sternly, "Not a word."
Before anyone could object however, Raymond appeared in another flash of light. In front of him floated yet another orb, though this one was metal, its surface incrusted with gems all inscribed with runic markings.
"Alright, we can get started now. Princess, you may watch if you wish, though I must request that you two stay out here, Twilight, Fluttershy," Raymond instructed the group. "Bring Nightmare Moon inside so we can begin."
With that said, Raymond trotted into the cabin followed closely by an anxious Celestia. Becky and Nightmare Moon brought up the rear. The door closed once they were all inside, leaving Fluttershy and Twilight alone in the flower garden.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Fluttershy asked, worry seeping into her voice.
"I don't know," Twilight truthfully replied. "I still don't see how Nightmare Moon was able to come back in the first place, the Elements of Harmony were supposed to have purified her." She sighed, "I just hope they really can save Princess Luna."
"I'm just glad Raymond and Becky were here to stop Nightmare Moon. Beating her just looked so easy for them."
"I guess…" Twilight muttered. She still couldn't get over that fact herself. The two Sentinels both had incredibly potent magic, and the way Becky was able to completely take control of Nightmare Moon's body… it terrified her. "I'm just glad that they're on our side."
Fluttershy nodded in agreement and the two friends fell silent. Eventually they eased back into conversation, the less stressful topics of their time spent in the library and garden.
"So how is this going to work," Celestia inquired.
Celestia stood back by the wall while Raymond and Becky stood on either side of Nightmare Moon's prone body.
"I'll be creating a barrier to help guide the transfer, and to prevent Nightmare Moon from escaping in the off chance that she regains her senses," Raymond explained.
"And I'm running the transfer," Becky added. "I'll be pulling the shards out of Luna's core and sealing this thing in that orb there," she finished pointing at the containment vessel floating between the two Sentinels and above the dark Alicorn.
"Shards?" Celestia said voicing another question, "Shards of what?"
"You said the Elements of Harmony purified Nightmare Moon didn't you?" Raymond stated more than questioned, receiving a nod in return from Celestia.
"Well from what I can see, she wasn't purified," Becky interjected. "These Elements you mentioned sort of… shattered, Nightmare Moon. The shards I was referring to are the fragments of Nightmare Moon that remained lodged in Luna's core, the place where most of one's magic resides in any magical being."
"But why would the Elements of Harmony do that to Nightmare Moon?"
"I assume that the Elements of Harmony purify things that aren't… well, harmonious. Correct?" Raymond asked looking for clarification, receiving yet another confirming nod from the ivory Alcorn. "Well that's the problem right there. As evil as Nightmare Moon is, there was nothing really chaotic about her other than wanting to put an end to the sun and bring about eternal night. There is harmony between good and evil, light and dark… sadly one cannot exist without the other."
Celestia was quiet, contemplating what she had just been told. "I see. What you said is true… nevertheless, it would be wrong to stop fighting the evil in the world."
"I wholeheartedly agree with you, Your Majesty," Raymond replied. "Which is why we should get this over with now." He turned to face Becky, "Let's begin."
The two Sentinels closed their eyes; Becky extended her hands and held them above the vessel. Raymond's horn and Becky's hands began glowing their respective colours as Nightmare Moon's body was enveloped in a green light and two translucent membranes formed around them, one a dome over the three figures in the center of the room, and the other smaller one surrounding Nightmare Moon and the vessel. A soft humming filled the air as the containment vessel began to pulse slowly in response to the dark mist lifting from the ebony Alicorn. The dark mist began to slowly swirl around the vessel as it continued to flow out of the prone body, this process continued for several minutes, the dark cloud slowly growing larger each passing second. Suddenly there was a soft flash of white from the body of the Alicorn lying on the ground. When the light subsided, there lay in the place of Nightmare Moon, a sleeping Princess Luna. Her mane and tail were no longer ethereal and sparkling like the night sky, they had turned light blue, and Luna's mane covered half of her face as steady breaths caused the dangling ends to sway.
Celestia found herself crying with tears of joy. Nightmare Moon was gone once again, and her dearly beloved sister was safe. Luna's light blue locks showed a significant drain of her magic, but she would quickly make a full recovery like before. Celestia was brought back from her thoughts by Becky's distressed voice.
"Ray, I can't finish the transfer!" Becky's face was strained, her forehead glistening with sweat. "The vessel isn't compatible with Nightmare Moon's entity!"
Raymond swore. "Of all the rotten… Becky!" Raymond hollered, getting the females attention. "Give me control of the transfer, hurry!"
"But—"
"No objections! Quickly, before we lose it!"
Becky lowered her head and closed her eyes, suddenly the glow around Raymond's horn turned from blue to green. The glow around his horn brightened considerably and the barriers turned opaque. All was silent as the seconds crept by into minutes. Finally the solid blue dome faded away, revealing Luna sleeping soundly, the containment vessel discarded on the floor nearby, the two Sentinels standing on weak legs, and Becky glaring daggers at Raymond.
"Princess," Becky started slowly, her voice trembling with suppressed anger. "Please take your sister and go check on Twilight and Fluttershy. I need to talk to Raymond… alone."