//------------------------------// // Luna's Nightfall // Story: Juke Box Ponies // by NightmareDash //------------------------------// The disc spun from its upright position to lie flat on the turntable, and an arm let go of its side as another brought the needle down on the record's edge. Once again, the label was unfamiliar, though Vinyl could make out the title a little easier. "What is... Skyfall?" Back at the Royal Palace, several months into the relative future, the two Princesses had met together for a long-avoided discussion of a long-avoided topic. "Luna, it seems like ever since you came back to Equestria, you've been sliding more and more into isolation. You almost never leave your room anymore. Is there anything you want to talk about?" "Sister, there's so much I'd love to tell you, but you'd never understand me." "Now, Luna, I doubt it's that complicated. Just tell me what's on your mind." "No, you could never understand it. You don't know what it felt like." "Please, just give me something." "Fine...The pain never went away." "What do you mean?" "When I came back to Equestria, I hoped things could be different, that ponies could maybe appreciate the night as they do the daytime. But nothing has changed; they still think it a simple waiting period between each day. All this beauty, everywhere around them, and they won't even acknowledge it." "I won't pretend I know how that feels, Luna. But I know it must hurt inside." "Nor should you. But that isn't the only thing that hasn't left me. When I was on the Moon, there was no food; I was nourished by pure moonlight. There was nothing at all on the Moon, actually; just an empty, grey, endless desert. And it was all I knew for a thousand years. You can't imagine how dull it became. I think I went insane two or three times, just for a change in routine." "Luna, I never meant to bring that on you. The Elements did what they did, regardless of my intentions. And if you didn't forgive me, I couldn't say I blamed you. But I thought we had put this behind us." "No, sister, this is not something one simply puts behind them. It never goes away so easily. It's always there, defining you, influencing you, haunting you. There's no way out of that. I can't escape my past, no matter how I try." "Don't go down that path any further, Luna. Your despair can easily turn to anger, which clouds your judgement." "Too late..." An ominous royal blue spark came into Luna's eye, as a trumpet chord blared throughout the room from no source in particular. "It was the end, I held my breath, "Just count to ten" Watch the world move and then Feel my heart burst again For this was the end All over in one moment My mind and body broken Past wasted, future stolen Then came nightfall, when it crumbled Watched you stand tall, then no more "together" At the night-fall, when I crumbled Back to the wall, hear my call, forever At nightfall Sad night's fall Nightfall is where it starts A thousand years and worlds apart Then worlds collide, a day so dark You may have my number, you can change my name But you'll never stop my heart No more nightfall, I won't crumble I can stand tall and face you, altogether No more nightfall, night won't crumble Even if all must come down, I'll never Let night fall Can't go where I go Can't see what I see I know you'll never know me or what I was meant to be For your "loving arms" brought me naught but harm In this land, in my land, so I'll stand Let the night fall, day will crumble The Moon will stand tall, rule it all, forever Let the night fall, you must crumble And you'll watch fall, a vengeful call together With nightfall Let the night fall Darkness for all Last nightfall, oh-ah-oh, oh-ah-oh, oooh." Upon conclusion of her final belted note, the spark left Luna's eyes, and she collapsed on the floor in less than complete consciousness. The wooden entryway burst open, revealing a frightened Twilight. "Princess Celestia! I came as soon as I heard the noise! What happened to Luna?" "I'm not sure, Twilight, but I think she may have... expressed a deep-seeded hatred of me through powerful music. And regarding that, I've never heard the song she was singing before, and it sounded like nothing an Equestrian artist would write. Not to mention the music she was singing to had no source." "Just like at the wedding..." "What do you mean?" "At Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding reception, he broke into song about his love for her, and nopony knew what he was singing. And the background music for the tune came from nowhere, according to Pinkie." "Do you have any ideas about what caused this?" "My best guess is magic, and sinister magic at that." But as the two conversed, Luna had quietly reawakened and, with her faculties restored, leapt out a nearby window, gliding across the Everfree Forest. "Luna! Stop!" "Where's she going?" "I honestly don't know, Twilight. There's a hundred different sites she could be visiting, or she could just as likely have touched down in some random spot to search for privacy." "What do we do?" "'About her? Nothing. Luna needs time to think; if we try anything hasty, she'll just push us further away. But we do find the source of this unexplained musical phenomenon, because whoever caused it may have just stolen my sister from me a second time."