King: Number 50! A huge milestone for me~ I want to gush a little, but I also just want to set into this, you know? So, let's get into this one now, and I can gush at the next milestone. Sound good? Okay! See you at... which ever milestone hits next... I guess...
Inspiration: Lullaby for a Princess by Ponyphonic / My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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King? King, you there? The screen was alone to play the next round. And so, it played one it liked. Not just that, one it felt had to be played.
The screen opened to a beautiful stain glass form showing Yang in regal attire, the sun behind her head like a halo. A large crack ran up the middle of the piece, each piece broken along a line.
Yang locked up. That glass haunted her ever since she'd first seen it.
Tai noticed but wasn't there at the time. "What's up? Is that bad?"
Ruby groaned, "In this reality… Yang and Jaune were siblings and they got into a really bad fight."
"How bad are we talking? Like you-and-Yang bad or Qrow-vs-Raven bad?"
"Magical attacks breaking towers bad."
Yang's fist tightened, threatening to break skin. "I was a terrible sister in this reality. One where I ignored him for years and didn't try to help when he needed me…"
Tai brought his daughter into a hug to help calm her.
Yang's voice rang out through the world. "I'm sorry Jaune… For so much…" The camera pulled back to show Yang standing before the glass. A musical tone started to play on the wind in the castle.
King popped back in and looked around, "What's up? What did I miss?" He jumped at the music and spun around. "Oh… Back here again. And… Oh?"
Yang remained torn for a moment before a realization hit her. Her cowlick stood at attention like an exclamation point. "Hold up! All of these are supposed to have Jaune in them! That means he's not dead!"
"Your counterpart never killed him, though I can understand the confusion. This is likely running to give the new viewers context. And, it that tune is what I think it is, this going to be… emotional."
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "So, we're going to hear Yang sing?"
"Yep."
Ruby groaned, but in a manner that clearly meant it as a joke, "Ugh… Do we have to?"
Yang grinned and punched Ruby's shoulder. She was in a good mood finding out she didn't actually kill her pseudo-brother.
Yang walked along the hall and out to a balcony overlooking the kingdom.
And so began her lullaby.
"Fate has been cruel and order, unkind. How could I have sent you away?"
Pyrrha looked on with a somber visage, "She's… singing to Jaune?"
Yang took a breath, preparing herself for what was to come.
"The blame was my own… The punishment yours. The harmony's silent today." Her eyes began to glow a bright gold as her hand raised toward the Moon, still etched with Jaune's symbol. "But into the stillness, I'll bring you a song. And I will your company keep. Till your tired eyes, and my lullabies, have carried you softly to sleep."
The world went white for a moment. When they could see again, Yang was surrounded by what looked like old paintings in a world without form. There were only the painting, Yang, and small bright lights around her. Yang's magic flared out behind her, forming her golden, angelic wings. She reached out and placed her hand against a painting.
"One did a princess, who shone like the sun, look down on her kingdom, and sigh…" The painting showed Yang sitting atop a throne in profile with her people off the left of the scene. "She smiled and said 'surely, there is no other so lovely! And so well beloved, as I~!'"
Yang took a calming breath. She hated this reality. She really did. She'd effectively abandoned her family… Though not in traditional form, she'd effectively left him in her shadow to suffer. It was painful, but there was still hope, right?
The scene swapped to show Yang standing in the center with her arms out, ready to embrace the world, her auric wings spread out. "So great was her reign, and so brilliant her glory, that long was the shadow she cast!"
The scene moved again. Now Yang was addressing her subjects to the scene's left while Jaune sat behind in her shadow. "Which fell dark upon the young brother she loved and grew only darker while days and nights passed."
Salem swallowed a lump in her throat. Her heart broke seeing Jaune like that. Her baby boy cast aside and forgotten by his own sibling…
"Lullay my Moon prince, goodnight brother mine. Rest now in moonlight's embrace. Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth, through cloud and through sky and through space! Carry the peace and the coolness of night, and carry my sorrow in kind. Jaune you are loved so much more than you know, forgive me for being so blind."
The scene changed from a painting to a moment in time. A young Yang stood in the doorway to Jaune's room. He was seated at his desk, clearly distraught.
"Soon did that princess take notice that others, did not give her brother his due."
Yang tried to grin and strike up a conversation, but the damage had long been done. Jaune slammed his fist into his desk and turned toward her. They couldn't hear them, but it was clear they were arguing. Jaune tossed her out using his magic and slammed the door in her face.
"And neither had she loved him as he deserved. She watched as her brother's unhappiness grew."
Nora's face fell to sadness, "I don't remember that part…"
Ren rarely let emotions get the better of him, a side effect to his training and semblance. But this choked him up long enough to need a pause. "It likely happened before the events we see."
"But… then why did they still happen?"
Gira sighed, "Because neither side was really listening. They shouted at each other instead… This doesn't solve problems. It only makes things worse." He glanced toward Sienna, who easily picked up his disappointment in her.
To the leader of the White Fang, the most dangerous woman in all of Remnant, that hurt. She'd failed the man who she looked up to. She failed to truly listen and find compromise with those she called her enemies. She'd failed her… hero…
Jaune stood in his room, breathing heavy, as he glared toward the door. Tears formed and fell down his cheeks. A pair of hands in dark armor reach around his head. Standing behind him was Tantabus, the nightmarish form he would soon take, wrapping his arms around the Prince of Dreams, embracing him when no one else would.
"But such is the way of the limelight, it sweetly takes hold of the mind of its host."
The scene cut to Yang in the hallway. Her eyes wide. This was her chance to stop this. To be there for Jaune when he needed her. Her stubborn pride and anger got the better of her, and she turned away.
"And foolish princess did nothing to stop the destruction of on who had needed her most."
Yang slammed her fist into her chair, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET BACK IN THERE AND HELP HIM!"
Raven rolled her eyes at her daughter's actions. This weakness of spirit and body was nothing more than the actions of the unworthy. If anything, her respect went to the Arc of this world, willing to rise up and take what he wants.
The camera panned up to the glass roofing above her, showing the eclipsed sun.
Tai went wide eyed, having never seen a total eclipse, "Woah…"
Ruby giggled at his reaction, "I said the same thing."
A sudden impact appeared in the skies. Orbs of blue and gold slammed into one another before the eclipse. The camera snapped closer on one impact to show Tantabus and Yang, their fists having collided. Both had their auric wings out and their eyes glowing.
"Lullay, my moon prince, goodnight brother mine. Rest now in moonlight's embrace."
The pulled back and Tantabus fired a beam toward Yang. She created a shield, but it was easily broken. The Sun Princess was able to dodge the attack but found herself in Tantabus's trap. He grabbed her by her neck, keeping her still, before landing a punch to send her flying downward. Tantabus tried to attack using beams, but Yang would dodge each and fly back upward.
"Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth, through cloud and through sky and through space!"
Neptune leaned to the side slightly, "Kind of reminds me of that bug-Jaune world, the way their fighting."
This got many in the audience to think back, and they had to agree. Granted, this world had magic. Is they could shoot lasers, they'd do so in a heartbeat.
Yang pushed Jaune downward with a beam. From the camera's angle, it appeared as though the two were on opposite sides of the moon. Two beams charged and fired into one another, creating a glowing ball that seemed to eclipse the eclipse.
"Carry the peace and coolness of night! And carry my sorrow in kind."
The two each struggled in this moment. While, her brother struggling to finally take her down, Yang was broken up by heartbreak. Her brother, the only family she'd ever known, was swallowed up by hate and was trying to kill her. The ball moved closer to Yang as Tantabus's fury spurred him onward. He let out a roar of anger, pouring more power into his attack.
"Jaune, you are loved so much more than you know… May troubles be far from your mind."
Yang was blown away and crashed into the tower holding the maiden stones.
Yang's whole body tensed up. This was it… This was the moment where she sent him away. She was happy to have learned he wasn't dead, but in some way that made it worse. It meant he was still there, he still hated her. Likely even more so now that she'd done that to him.
Yang found the maiden stones as they fell from their perch and to the ground. Tantabus shattered the glass window and flew in to finally finish her. In desperation, she acted without thought. She wielded the Stones as the world turned to slow motion.
"And forgive me for being so blind."
A burst of power erupted from Yang, turning her dress a bright gold and causing her hair to glow. Tantabus was knocked back. Soon after the camera changed to show as he dissolved, his symbol etching into the Moon. Yang was stunned. So many emotions ran through her head in that moment, but only one truly mattered. Sorrow. Her tears formed, fell, and she cried out in despair for what she'd done.
Ruby shrunk in her chair, "This is really hard to watch…"
Yang's teeth clenched, "Why… Why do I have to see this again?"
"The years now, before us… fearful and unknown. I never imagined, I'd face them on my own."
The world cut back to the castle. Now, Yang stood in a brilliant golden dress as her hair flowed behind her, glowing like the very sun she commanded. This was a Yang wizened by experience and made regal by station. Princess Yang, Ruler of the Dawn and monarch of all of Vale. She continued to sing her song, her lullaby to her brother.
Everyone who knew Yang, even only tangentially, were in shock. Before, they saw Yang and were surprised to find out she was a princess. Now, they saw a princess and were shocked to find out it was Yang! Seriously, this Yang was very definition of royalty.
"May these thousand winters, swiftly pass I pray! I love you, I miss you… All these miles away."
Yang raised her hand toward the moon. This had become somewhat of a routine. Her song rang out over all of Vale as her subjects slept. Many believed she sang this to her subjects, to help them find peace in sleep. In reality, she sang for her brother, trapped in the Moon. She'd been singing this lullaby for so many years, now…
"May all your dreams be sweet tonight. Safe upon your bed of moonlight. And know not of sadness, pain, or care! And when I dream I'll fly away and meet you there. Sleep… Sleep… Sleep…"
The moon set upon the world once more.
There were few dry eyes in that theater after that. Some tried to hide their tears with their hands, others simply let the dams flow. One Peter Port simply sat in his seat, shedding manly tears, which just means he was crying but didn't hunch over.
By tomorrow's dawn, it will have one thousand years since Tantabus was banished to the Moon. The dual Arc symbol seemed to glow for a moment. "Soon…"
