Glare was surprised, but he didn't seem impressed.
"We will talk later, Daughter," he said smugly. "Papa has some business to attend to. Then we'll talk."
A bolt of powerful magic hit Glare in the side, sending him hard into the opposite wall. The hold he had on Twilight and her friends broke and she fell hard to the ground.
"Don't... ever call yourself that again!" Luna said through gritted teeth.
Glare slowly picked himself up. "As much as you would reject me...," he said quietly. "It won't change the fact that I am your father, girl."
"No you're not," Luna growled. "You never were..."
"Luna, you wound me," Glare said sadly. "I mean that. The one thing that remained constant was the fact that I always did my best for my daughters..."
"I'm gonna buck him again," Applejack said.
"AJ! Wait!" Twilight said. "Dash, you wanted Plan B? This is it! Luna can distract him while we build up energy for another shot. We hurt him bad with the last one, we can finish him off this time!"
No you can't Twilight Sparkle, came a familiar voice. Not like that, you're going to need some extra help. We can give it to you without a problem, but you're going to have to wait for Luna to... relieve some stress.
Twilight paused. "Did anypony else hear that?"
Dash looked at her blankly. "Hear what?"
Oh. only you can hear me! said the voice gleefully. I cam hear everything you think, but talk out loud if you want. They'll need to know about this too, if you six want to stop Glare...
"Who gave you permission to be in my head?!" Twilight screamed, incensed. "And how did you manage it anyway? You're-"
Dead?
"What?" Twilight snapped. "No! You're not dead just-"
Petrified, right. Let's examine the symptoms of "petrification" for a moment... I have been completely turned to stone. My lungs are solid marble now so I can't exactly use them to breathe. There is a very ornate sculpture inside of me resembling a Draconequus heart within me... very good for decorating a mantlepiece but not so much for pumping blood. And while it is perfectly acceptable for you to think with a rock, I require a far more complicated apparatus. Come on Twilight! Use that fabled logic I hear you ponies like so much!
I can't breathe, my heart has stopped, and my brain is non-functional. Discord finished. What does that mean?
"Wait...," said Twilight. "Are you saying we killed you?"
"Uh... Twi?" Applejack asked concerned. "Who're you talkin' to?"
Oh relax... Discord said dismissively. It won't take this time if Luna can just focus...
"Focus on what?!" Twilight asked desperately.
"Twilight, you're scaring me..." said Fluttershy.
"We just watched an unstoppable Alicorn get half his face blown off to show that he had no flesh, only fire," Rarity clarified. "And Twilight talking to the air is what's scaring you?"
"Yes!"
"Quiet!" Twilight demanded. "Focus on what?"
I don't know... I'm just doing what he tells me Discord said calmly.
"He?!" Twilight was more confused than ever now. "Who?!?!"
Explain later! Discord said gleefully. The connection is a bit fuzzy, and I wouldn't miss this for the world...
"Hello?" Twilight shouted as the voice left her mind. "Hello?! Uuughh..."
"Uh, Twilight?" Dash asked. "Do you want to tell us what that was about?"
"Change of plans," Twilight said through gritted teeth. "We're staying put. We're only going to intervene if Luna needs us. In the meantime we hang back. We'll only get ourselves killed."
"What?!" asked Dash. "Why?"
Twilight didn't answer. "Discord, I'm trusting you," she muttered to herself. "You'd better not let me down..."
"Discord?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight stood silently as she watched father and daughter exchange blows.
Glare skidded backwards as a bolt of magic hit him in the chest. "Very good...," he smiled. "I thought you girls well..."
"You thought me nothing!" Luna snarled as she rushed at her father.
A swift wing from Glare made Luna fly into the nearest wall. "I want you to know Luna," Glare sighed. "I truly hate doing this. You are my own flesh and blood. It truly pains me whenever I must raise a hand in discipline. But I had to. I had to do it to keep you from turning out... From turning out like this. Maybe I did it once too often... Maybe I didn't do it often enough. All I know is that what you are now cannot be allowed to survive..."
Luna tried to stand, but fell back to the ground.
"I'm sorry Luna." A tear evaporated on Glare's cheek. "I'm sorry I failed you."
"We've gotta do something!" Rainbow Dash cried. She tried to fly off to assist Luna, but Twilight caught her tail with her teeth. It wasn't time yet. Luna was just getting started.
"Don't be...," Luna said quietly. "You didn't fail me. You were all you could be for me."
She slowly rose to her hooves.
"Every child needs a monster," she said in a voice filled with rage. "Something to terrify them into making the right descision. Some evil to show them the good. A twisted, evil, perversion of everything they hold dear to them.
"In other words... A nightmare."
Glare winced at the term.
"Something to keep them awake. Something to stray from. Something they can look at and say "if I ever resembled this I have failed.'" Luna began to fly skyward, all the while eyes locked on her father. "You were that for me. For a long time you were that nightmare. And thinking of the disgusting creature that you are kept me from losing myself to the point where I couldn't be brought back.
"There was a time where I let the fear of you turn me against the one person I could trust. I was younger then, and thank Equestria I was given time to think. Not only about my actions, but about where you fit into my life. During that time, something interesting happened. Something you led me to believe would never happen. Something you didn't want to happen.
"Look at me now, Papa. I'm all grown up.
"I've learned so many things. One of the most important, and it helps me with my work every night, is that there is no sense in being afraid of bad dreams... I'm a big girl now."
Winds began to pick up and swirl around the throne room. Luna was now silhouetted against the brilliant moon she took care of, her eyes began to glow.
"You have done nothing in your life but tear things down. The only thing that you can do is destroy. Year things down. This is my night, father. I created this! This peaceful respite is my pride and joy! My legacy! And despite the things I've done it will be what I am remembered for! All you will be remembered for is yet another tyrant that fell at the hands of the just!"
Twilight looked in awe at Luna's confidence. She was ashamed to say it, but she never really payed Luna the respect she deserved. She always saw her as a friend, but never as a princess. Her perception changed looking at her now. This was the beautiful terror of a starry night. This is what people thought of when they heard a creature howl at the moon. This is what made Luna so strong, and Nightmare Moon so horrifying.
This was the Princess of the Night.
"You are nothing but a spoiled colt who can only break toys when he is done with them! Not to be feared but scorned!" Luna screamed in what she called the "Royal Canterlot Voice." "You have nothing you can harm me with. Nothing to hold against me. I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU ANYMORE!!!"
And then more Magic than Twilight had ever seen fired from Luna's horn directly at Seraphim Glare's face. Glare countered quickly with a bolt of his own, and thus began the struggle. The two beams pushed at eachother, neither one gaining an inch.
And it was at that moment when Twilight remembered a few choice words from a friend.
As for what I'm doing, Twilight. I'm giving you a back up plan. Remember, I'll be right here when you need me.
It all clicked then. She knew what she had to do. She fired the most powerful spell she could think of...
Behind Seraphim Glare.
The struggle came to an end and everything turned white. When Twilight could finally see again she saw that both Luna and Glare had been knocked to the ground. Glare rose almost immidiately and marched straight for his daughter.
"Impudent girl!!!" Glare shouted as he grabbed Luna by the neck. "I was the one who raised you! Let you eat from my table! And that... THAT pathetic attempt at magic was the best you had! Did you honestly think that that would do anything more than annoy me?!"
"Oh it did much more than that...," Luna coughed.
CRACKLE.
"What?!" Glare said, dropping Luna. "What in Tartarus was that sound?!"
"The beginning of the end," Luna smiled.
CRACK!!
Twilight smiled. It had worked. She wasn't sure if she could do it on her own, but it had worked. The playing field had completely changed now. It wasn't long until her friends cast their eyes behind the throne and realized what was going on.
He was waking up. Discord was stirring.
With a mighty SNAP Discord broke free of his stone prison and stretched his arms and neck. "Oh," he sighed. "No matter how many times that happens to you it never gets comfortable..."
"WHAT?!" Glare shouted.
"Oh dear!" Discord gasped. "You seem to be missing some face there. It's alright. I'll find it for you!"
Glare gritted his teeth. "Well...," he seethed. "Things do seem to be going wrong today don't they? Well it won't last. It never does. As for you March... I am going to give you thirty seconds to write your epitaph. Starting now."
Discord thought for a moment and shrugged. "We'll be right back!"
Discord snapped his fingers...
And he, Twilight, and her friends were gone from the room.
Discord nearly collapsed when he got to the empty white void that was their destination.
Fluttershy rushed to him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Discord coughed. "I can't come here too often. Or else I'm not going to be able to get back."
"Where is 'here'?!" said Rainbow Dash looking at the void. "And why did you bring us here and leave Luna all alone?! She needs our help!!"
"Relax, Loyalty," saiid a familliar voice. "I asked him to bring you here, and I made sure Little Wings wasn't alone..."
Twilight turned around, and what she saw made her jaw drop. She said the only thing she could say in this situation.
"I... You... How... I mean... Where did you---WHAT?!"
The figure laughed.
"Oh yes, you are most definitely the second Element of Magic," said Star Swirl the Bearded