//------------------------------//
// Family Grievances 
// Story: Broken Wings 
// by Lt_Voss 
//------------------------------//

	"Medic!"

"Bravo's medic is gone, sir!"

"What about Charlie's?"

"He isn't moving! Oh god, he's not moving, sir!"

"Hell... run over and get Alfa's medic!"

"But that's across the street!"

"Live up to your namesake, Private, and go get him, dammit!"

Private Ronald Speirs hopped through an open window and dashed over to the house across the street. Not a single monster attacked him; I think they were too stunned by what he was doing. But that wasn't the amazing thing. The amazing thing was, after he got Alfa squad's medic... he came back.




I dashed across the street, firing off a few shots from my rifle as I did. Following the Private who got me, I jumped into an open window. "Medic!" I heard a call from farther back. I dashed over a counter and slid on my knees to a wounded man.

He was supine, blood covering his lower abdomen. "God..." I whispered. If he was hit by a rock thrower, he was a goner. I was surprised he was even conscious. "How did this happen?" I asked to no one in particular.

"He stood up to get inside," A corporal paused in his shooting to tell me. "That's when two rocks hit him square on."

'Hell,' I thought. 'This guy is dead.' "What do you want me to do with him?"

"Fix him up, obviously!"

I sighed. "Er," I said. "I don't think there's much I can do. Two rocks in the stomach? One would kill a man. Two..." I trailed off, shaking my head. "By all rights this guy should be dead now. I have no idea how he's even awake. My guess is adrenaline, but..."

"What do you mean you can't do anything? You're a damn medic!"

I ignored him, opting to lean closely by the wounded man's mouth. I asked him softly, "What would you have me do?"

Surprisingly, he spoke, albeit strained and almost inaudible. "I know I'm a dead man, sir. I took a biology major in the hopes of getting medic... the first rock hit my spleen and stomach... the second... hit my pancreas. By the feel of it, it bounced up and crushed my sternum..." He choked then, struggling for breath. When he composed himself, he said feebly, "Don't listen to the Corp. I know there's nothing to do. Nothing to do with a field medic. I'd have... to be put... in a hospital... for any chance..."

Before he could continue, I heard the scream of engines roar by over head. The metallic sound of machine guns firing could be heard. I looked outside to find that every monster in the vicinity of the bridge was mowed down. Frost radioed in. "Will, I heard you could use support. So here you go. A Raven and a Stork, just for you. You can thank 1st Lieutenant Mason for that."

'Lieutenant Mason?' Was all I could think before the tell tale sound of another strafing run arose. Over the cacophony of guns blazing, I heard engines power rev down, signaling the arrival of the Stork. I looked towards the bridge to see what was happening there, and saw several grenades land in the midst of the monsters. At first, I thought they would detonate, causing damage to both the monsters and the bridge, but instead they just poured out a pale green gas.

"Everyone," I shouted over the radio. "Masks on!" I myself pulled out my gas mask from my pack. Putting it on, I felt a bit lopsided at first, as the filter hung out the left side, but I quickly adjusted and became accustomed to it. Bill didn't have a mask, but I gave him the dying soldier's mask to him after he tried to give it to me himself. I tapped Bill on the shoulder when he had the mask firmly secured on his face. He looked at me behind black lenses. I pointed to the dying man, then to the general direction of the Stork. He nodded.

I picked up the man, and for all the good it did us, I said, "We'll get you to the Stork, soldier." I'm pretty sure it turned out something like, "Her hret hoo oo huh hort, hohher." I nodded to Bill when I was ready. He counted down from three with his fingers, and when he got to zero, he busted the door open and began pouring suppressive fire on the enemy. Thanks to him, I was able to run to the Stork in relative safety.

Key word being "relative." I had just about reached the lowered ramp of the Stork when pain exploded in my shoulder: my left shoulder. As in, the shoulder that, on Bill, was behind a wall. That could only mean one thing. I twisted around thanks to physics, but tried to make sure the wounded man ended up on top. Squishing him under me would be bad. "Sergeant!" I heard someone yell, and soon after I felt two sets of arms grasp at the two of us.

I opened my eyes, and saw two battle-clad soldiers, not medics. I heard heavy machine gun fire off to my left, and saw tracer rounds fly off towards the bridge. 'Wait a minute,' I thought. 'The Stork's guns can't fire at this angle.' I looked to my left and saw a jeep. "Delta?" I managed to say aloud.

"Right, sir. Here, we'll get you inside." I felt one of them lift off the wounded man, while the other brought me to my feet and helped me up the ramp. I looked towards the bridge after they set me down, but didn't see the other Delta squad member bringing up the wounded soldier.

"Where's the other guy?" I asked my helper. He simply shook his head. It was then I saw the other Delta member run up the ramp, sans the wounded man. "Where's-" I began to ask him, but he too shook his head.

"He saved your life, man." I stared at him blankly, not understanding. He continued. "Apparently, a rock was coming at you. He saw it, and tried to knock it away with his hand. He was only partially successful; as he was pushing the rock aside momentum was too much and plowed the rock and his hand into your shoulder." He took one look at my shoulder before whistling. "Man, that's gonna need some serious healing."

I looked at my shoulder for the first time since this incident, and found that I completely agreed with the man. It was visibly dislocated, and I could see that my uniform was soaked to the last fiber, thread, and stitch. "Eek," I said nonchalantly.

"Yeah," my helper, a corporal, said. "Eek."

"Well," the other said. "We'll leave you here so we can-" but he didn't get further. Two rocks came flying into the Stork, and they weren't aimed, but random. Strays. They didn't come in in an orderly fashion, they came in at different angles, and at a slow speed, probably ricochets. The first buried itself in the second man's head. Thankfully, he died instantly.

The second, however, impacted my right wing, shattering the top bone. I don't remember much of what happened after that. I remember leaving the Stork and running in a direction I could only vaguely guess was town hall. There was something I remember encountering on the street, though.

There was a diamond dog, standing triumphantly in the center of the road. It circled around, revealing a grey lump with a blond length of fur on either end. it growled ferociously, then pointed a rock-thrower at the still body. Everything moved slowly then. I remember raising my rifle and squeezing the trigger. Only one round left the chamber, as I must have had only one shot left.

I missed, but the dog felt the air being sliced as the round sped by. It turned and barked several times at me, pointing its weapon at me instead. Knowing I'd be too slow to reload and fire, I dropped my rifle, itself clattering against the dirt road. Tears came to my eyes, at the loss of the mailmare, Ditzy Doo, who was so kind and polite. At the loss of that wounded man whose name I never got. At the loss of that Delta member who risked his life to help two wounded soldiers in the middle of a battle.

At the loss of myself. This was it. There was nothing I could do. I closed my eyes, which forced a few tears to roll down my cheeks, and braced myself for impact. 'Goodbye, Fluttershy." It was my final thought. I winced in anticipation.

Nothing came. I heard a grunt of pain that barely stifled a cry of anguish. I opened my eyes, to find that the first Delta member, the one who brought me to the Stork, had jumped in front of me. He was on the road in front of me, gasping for breath. The diamond dog snarled, but the man, with a shaky hand, drew his sidearm and put several rounds into the thing.

I ran in what seemed like slow motion to him, kneeling beside him when I reached him. He looked up at me, sadly. "He... was my brother..." he said, choking for breath. I saw where the rock had hit him: right above his heart. His lung and heart both were probably crushed. "My brother... I told him I'd keep him safe... that if he... stuck with me... he'd be safe... and... he died before me... I failed him..." With that, he let out one final breath before his pulse stopped. He died with his eyes open.

I set him down gently. I closed his eyes for him, tears freely falling unhindered from my own now. I gave a silent prayer of thanks to the Lord for his sacrifice... his selfless action. I got up, not bothering to wipe the tears from my eyes as I walked over to the unmoving lump. Indeed it was Ditzy, the kind, polite mailmare who just wanted a friend.

"No..." I said weakly. "Why... why can't anyone get through this mess without getting hurt!" I shouted, slamming my fist on the ground, as if that would return her. "Why..." I buried my face in her side, almost wishing that my tears would bring her back. "C'mon, Ditzy... get up... please, get up..."

"... Will?"

"What?! What do you want?!" I screamed through Ditzy's fur.

"Why are you crying on me?"

My eyes, tear-sodden, shot open. I snapped my head up, and looked at Ditzy's face, which had risen up to turn to me. "Ditzy..." I said, almost breathlessly. "You... you're alive!"

"Well of course I'm alive. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, if you're okay, then why are you laying out here in the middle of the road?"

"I said I was alive, Will," she said, rubbing a hoof against her head for emphasis. "Not okay. My head hurts a lot. I think I have a concussion."

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

"Well," she told me. "That diamond dog did kind of knock me out."

"What were-" I began to ask, but she interrupted me.

"Yes, there's a war going on. But the ponies still need their mail."

I said nothing for a while. Finally, I got up and helped her to her feet. "Here," I offered her my hand. "I'll walk you to the town hall. If for no other reason than to get your head checked out."

She exhaled. "Sounds good to me. I could use a rest right now."

Fate apparently hated me, though. After gathering up my rifle, I, with my left hand on her shoulder, began walking with her towards town hall. I had taken but one step, with my right foot, before my brain reminded me there was a problem with my wing. A big problem. I let out a barely stifled cry of pain and fell to my knees.

Ditzy, the kind mare, turned and asked, "Will, are you okay?" It was then she noticed my wings. "Sweet Celestia!" She shook her head frantically from side to side. She apparently had had an idea when she said to me, "Stay here, I'll go and find help!" She ran off towards the hall. Hopefully a medic was free for me.

Minutes later, help arrived. "Oh my," the helper said. "That's... very serious." She moved to me and gently flexed my wing in different directions. Thanks to my medical training, I knew this was useful to find which position a limb would be most comfortable in for moving. Several directions sent pain coursing through my body, but eventually a nearly painless position was found. By awkwardly bending the farther half of my wing forward while bending the half closer to my side back, I felt relatively painless.

"Thank you," I told my helper.

"Oh, it's no problem," she replied. "The only problem here is that I hate seeing ponies and people hurt."

I sighed and looked back towards the direction Ponyville bridge was. "So do I," I said softly. "So do I." My helper... er, helped me up, and took me away. I had a very slight discomfort when we went past the town hall, leaving Ditzy behind in the safety of its confines, but that discomfort was replaced with calm happiness when I figured out where we were going instead.

"Now, Will, mind if I ask how you managed to get so... messed up?"

I grunted, not out of disrespect, but out of... pain. "The fighting was going pretty badly. We'd already lost three men with another on the way. When the cavalry arrived, I set out to bring the wounded to safety." I sighed and looked down at my feet. "I almost did it, too." I looked up, focusing on the road ahead of me. "He was going to die. There was no stopping it. A rock was coming my way... and he sacrificed his hand to turn it away. Instead of hitting my spine, it gave me my shoulder injury." I rolled it with a little pain to prove a point.

"Then," I continued, our destination just clearing the horizon. "I was carried aboard our Stork by a couple buddies. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't as safe as we thought it would be. Two stray rocks came hurtling in. One crushed one of the guy's skulls. The other," I said, pointing to my injured wing. "Got my wing."

"I'm sorry, Will." My helper said. "Come. Let's get you back to the house as quickly as possible. You'll need to be taken care of fast."

"Don't I know it," I said under my breath. "Shame we couldn't fly there."

"What do you-" she started, before taking one look at my wing. "Oh, right... I can't... can't believe I forgot about that... I'm hopeless..."

I was surprised by the sudden change in mood. "What? No! No, you're not!" I sped up to walk next to her. "Don't you believe for a second that you're worthless! You know it isn't true! I forget things all the time! I forgot what I had for breakfast this morning!"

"Will," she said sadly. Her voice sounded like she was ready to cry, but not quite there yet. "You didn't eat breakfast."

I stopped dead in my tracks, with my eyes wide. "I-I-I..." I stuttered for a minute, before saying comprehensibly, "You see? I just proved my own point. Ow," I said, clinging onto my head with my right hand. "I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not. Now my head hurts thinking about that."

My totally intentional tactic that I didn't accidentally commit to worked, and she laughed. "Will, you are very silly sometimes."

I chuckled along with her, and after most of it died down, I said to her, "I'm here to please. Here to serve."

We arrived at the house, and despite my injuries, I still managed to open and hold the door for Fluttershy. She entered, and I thought it was because she had believed the gesture was an insistance that she go first. Regardless of her reasons, she stopped just inside and to the side of the door to make sure I came in after her. When I noticed this, I sighed. "Fluttershy, I know my... recent actions... don't merit this, but could you trust me?"

"Oh... I'm sorry... Okay... sorry..." she said sadly. This time, I didn't apologize. I didn't refrain from it to be rude or mean. I simply couldn't apologize. The blood loss caused me to fall straight to the floor after taking but three steps into the house. The last thing I remember hearing was Fluttershy shouting, "Will!" The last thought that ran through my mind before I lost all consciousness was, 'God, that is so corny.' I felt bad for it.




When I awoke, I was laying in a hospital bed. I was in an actual hospital, not a clearing station or field hospital, so I knew I was currently residing in a pony-built and pony-used facility. I didn't know how I got there, but I wasn't going to complain if it was for good reason. That was when I remembered: I'd fainted due to blood loss. Frantically, I jerked my head to face to the right to check the condition of my wing. It was bandaged and it didn't hurt very much.

Someone entered the room; I heard a door open and close. "Ah, Will, you're awake," a familiar voice, a feminine voice, said. "I told Fluttershy you'd be alright."

I turned to face Nurse Redheart. "Hello, Redheart. How are you today?"

She laughed. "Will, I'm pretty sure I'm the one that's supposed to ask that question." She smiled warmly at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows in realization. "When is today?" I asked vaguely, but I hoped she would understand me.

She did. "It's been three days, Will."

The shock of it hit me hard. "Wh... What?" I couldn't believe I'd been out that long.

"I know," she said, reading my mind. "I don't believe it either. You'd lost a lot of blood before passing out. In my medical opinion, you probably lasted so long by running on adrenaline."

I nodded. "Makes sense." I paused for a minute, before asking about her wording. "You said in your medical opinion?"

"Yes, I did," she replied.

"Does that mean you have another opinion?"

She hesitated a bit before answering. "Well... yes, I do. It's a... rather... personal opinion." Seeing my surprised expression, she added hastily, "It's nothing bad, I promise. It's... well, I think it's because you wanted to keep Fluttershy happy for as long as you could. Eventually, though, and this is all just personal speculation, your body's needs overtook your wants."

I sat up and propped myself against the headboard. I sat there, silently staring at the foot of the bed, for several minutes. During that time, Redheart left to take care of another patient. When she returned, she had Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow in tow. I had not blinked, and I did not move to acknowledge their presence. "Will?" Twilight took the initiative. I did nothing save furrow my eyebrows. "Will," she said, sterner. "We're here to see you."

It was only then did I turn my head to look at them. Though, my eyes remained fixed on their spot at the foot of the bed for a while longer, before they too swung to meet my visitors. Fluttershy and Rainbow both looked very concerned about my condition, while Twilight's face displayed no emotion. Not even a single hint in either direction. "Hmm?" I asked.

Fluttershy and Rainbow stole the spotlight, trotting up to me. "Man," Rainbow said, looking at my wing. "That looks bad."

I chuckled. "Should have seen it a few days ago."

Rainbow grinned. Fluttershy spoke now, saying, "Will? Are you okay?"

"Well," I began, hugging her with my left arm. "Now I am."

I heard Twilight grunt, obviously displeased. The two important mares, however, made an "aw" sound. "I love you, Will," Fluttershy said softly, nuzzling my chest.

"I love you too, Fluttershy. You too, Rainbow."

"What?" Fluttershy asked, more confused than upset.

"Yeah, what gives?" Rainbow said hotly.

"Well," I began, realizing my statement was a little... ambiguous, for lack of a better word. "Not the way I love you, Fluttershy. I love Rainbow in a friendly way. Make sense?"

The two calmed down and accepted my explanation. "Will," Twilight said. "We came to see if you were okay, and you are, so I think we should go. C'mon, girls."

Fluttershy, being herself, immediately did as she was told. Rainbow hesitated for but a second before turning away as well. I raised my left hand, palm out. "Now hold it there, Twilight." She turned back to face me, anger clear in her expression. "You may not want to see me any longer, but I know for a fact that at least one of these mares does not want to leave my side." She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. "Especially since I've been out for three days. Kind of a lot of catching up to do, now."

"Yeah, Twi," Rainbow said, defending me. The ultimate wingmare. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean we don't either." She trotted to stand at the foot of my bed.

I flashed a crooked smile. "Wow, Rainbow. I didn't take you to be a philosopher."

"Gesundheit," she replied. I sighed.

"Um, I'd like to, um, stay with Will. I mean, uh, if... that's okay with him."

I laughed. "Never a worry. I always want you with me," I told her, pulling her into a close hug. "I love you, remember that. No matter what happens."

"Oh?" Twilight asked, mischievously, deviously. "Then how would you feel if I told you Fluttershy went to a dance with Big Mac?"

I swung my legs over the side of the bed so fast I almost kicked Rainbow in the face. I took several long strides to tower over Twilight. Her smug smile was replaced with a fearful frown for a second, until it was replaced with an angry expression. "You dare defile Mac's memory with an attempt to goad me?!"

"Will," Rainbow said placatingly. "Calm down, no need to-"

I ignored her. "You just don't get it, do you?! I love Fluttershy; nothing will change that! She loves me, and nothing would change that either! Have you forgotten Celestia's orders already?! You keep trying to provoke me, only this time, you succeeded! And now, you dishonour Mac's good name in attempt to anger me!" I drew back my fist quickly, causing Twilight to flinch. "Tell me, right now," I told her, drawing out each word menacingly. "Why I shouldn't clock you."

For the first time, I saw Twilight's face display true fear. She realized her mistake; she teased the powder keg, now she dropped the match. She'd gone too far. "I... I..." she stammered, but couldn't continue.

"Well?" I asked, fist still poised to attack. "You've gone too far, Twilight." She was quiet for a good minute, when I let down my arm. "If you ever do this again, especially using Big Mac, I will follow through." I stormed out of the hospital ward then, turning myself to the exit. I rounded a corner that a sign indicated was the way to the lobby.

And ran straight into my mother.

"Will?" She asked warily. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" I ignored her and ran past her, afraid that I may lash out at her as well. "Will!" She called after me. "Wait, come back! Will!"




Fluttershy couldn't handle it anymore. Seeing one of her best friends trying to get her fiance mad was bad enough, but this time, Will actually blew up in Twilight's face. It was too much. She didn't like it when ponies fought, and the fact that these beings were very close to her in her life... it only made her feel worse.

But what drove the spike home was that they were fighting about her. She was the source of this animosity. Tears came to her eyes. Before her vision was completely impaired, she spotted an open window and flew out, crying, towards her home.

Rainbow Dash, being the friend that she was, made to follow after Fluttershy, but Twilight stopped her. "Leave her, Rainbow. Let her cry. If this is what it takes to see what kind of person she's being with, then so be it." Twilight let her words sink into Rainbow's mind before turning to leave.

Rainbow Dash thought about her "friend's" words. As the Element of Loyalty, she was taking it pretty hard. On the one hand, Twilight was one of her best friends. On the other hand, she knew Fluttershy since Flight School. She was also one of her best friends, and she wanted to see Fluttershy happy. Up until now, as far as Rainbow knew, she'd been happy with Will. Right now, however, Twilight had angered Will to the point of violence, and Fluttershy was really broken up. Rainbow Dash made her decision.

"Wait just one moment, there, Twilight." Rainbow zoomed up into Twilight's face as she turned around. "That was wrong, what you just did."

"What?" Twilight replied offhandedly. "I made Fluttershy see Will's true nature."

"No you didn't! You provoked him! You angered him so much, I'm amazed he didn't hit you!"

Luna stood outside the doorway, pressing her ear against the door. She was hearing everything being said inside the ward.

"If he had hit me, Rainbow, he would have proven me right."

"And what point are you trying to make, huh? That you're a viciously jealous mare? Sweet Celestia, Twilight, I thought that with all the lessons in friendship you'd been learning the whole time you've been here would have taught you something!"

"Rainbow!" Twilight raised her voice in anger. "You just don't get it, do you?! Will is dangerous!"

"I know that, Twilight!" Rainbow half-screamed. "He's a soldier! I know he kills things! It's his job! But you know what?!" Rainbow accentuated her question with a hoof to Twilight's chest for each word. "You're too blind in jealousy to see that Will is a sweet guy off the clock! He was really shaken up over Big Mac's death! And by the way, you using Mac as a tool to provoke Will was incredibly dickish!"

Luna was appalled at the use of the slightly vulgar human word. 'Where did she get that from?' She wondered.

"Will was right!" Rainbow yelled. "You ruined Big Mac's memory by trying to use him to despoil his relationship with Fluttershy! And now Fluttershy is at home, crying her eyes out, ALL BECAUSE YOU ARE A JEALOUS MARE WHO CAN'T LET GO! YOU CAN'T ACCEPT THAT YOU AREN'T THE CENTER OF THE WORLD!" Rainbow paused to take in a few breaths in. Twilight was stunned. She hadn't expected this reaction from Rainbow Dash. She had misjudged where Rainbow's loyalties lied. But Rainbow wasn't finished. As a final note, she screamed, "FROM NOW ON, FORGET OUR FRIENDSHIP!" Then she flew out the open window to try and find Fluttershy to comfort her.

Twilight stood in stunned silence. She was so disoriented, she didn't notice Luna enter the ward. "Twilight?"

Twilight spun around at the Princess's voice. "Princess Luna! What are you doing here?"

Luna narrowed her eyes and a slight frown crept upon her face. "I came to see Will. I saw him." Luna stepped around Twilight so she could face Twilight and the door simultaneously. "He was running out of the hospital as fast as his legs would carry him." Luna raised a single eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to know why that would be, do you?"

Twilight hesitated for a moment, before she sighed and hung her head. "Yes, Princess Luna," she said, defeated. "I do know why."

Luna waited a bit before asking Twilight, "Well? Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I provoked him into anger, and he almost hit me before he ran away."

"Good; you're telling the truth."

Twilight raised her head in confusion. "How would you know that?"

A smirk crawled around on Luna's face. "Because," she answered. "I heard everything you and Rainbow Dash said to each other, before she left." Twilight gasped. "I heard it all. It appears you've forgotten Celestia's ruling. But," she said in a semi-resigned voice. "I'd like to know why you keep trying to antagonize Will."

"But-" Twilight made to deny doing so, but Luna's glare stopped her. "Fluttershy loves him."

Luna snorted in anger. "So because somepony you had hoped to have loved loves another, you'd attack that other?!" Luna's eyes flared. "If you lay a hand or harsh word on my son again, I will personally punish you in whatever way I deem fit. Do I make myself clear?"

"What? Will is-"

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

"... Yes, Princess Luna."

Luna stormed past Twilight and into the hall. Turning herself towards the path to the exit, she heard a very familiar voice say softly to her, "That was a poor way of handling that situation."

Luna spun around and was confronted with an incredible sight. There, leaning against the wall, was Celestia in her human form. "Celestia?!" Luna asked in disbelief and shock. "You're alive?!"

Celestia smirked. "Not in a way I'd like."

"But... how? I felt no life in you!"

Celestia chuckled. "Lulu, there's a problem we have."

Luna sighed. "I know, but I'm only one Paracorn."

"Then get another. Or two."

"But," Luna objected. "Will's the last one."

"No, he's not," said Celestia. "Which is our problem. The Nightmare still lives."

"So your sacrifice failed?"

"Not quite. I limited its power. But..." Celestia sighed.

Luna knew this expression and what it meant. "Tia," she said, using Celestia's nickname. "What is it you're not telling me?"

"Will's Oracle is a fine being. Strong, smart. Just like my own..." Tia looked down at the floor. "Only Bill is morally good."

"What do you mean? What is it, Tia?"

"Lulu," Celestia mused. "You found Will to be a bit slow in the critical thinking process. Now I know where he got it from." She smiled. When Luna made to protest, Celestia held up her hands and said, "Peace, I meant it as a joke. But do you truly not see where I am going with this?"

"No, dear sister, I do not. Pray tell, what is on your mind? What is our problem that I might combat it?"

Celestia shook her head. "I'm still alive, as is the Nightmare." Luna shook her head in confusion. "I am the reason it still lives." Luna still did not understand.

"Out with it, sister! I need to know what we're dealing with!"

Celestia sighed again. "The Nightmare... Bill is not the first Oracle to be separated from his master's mind."

Finally, realization dawned on Luna. "No," she said, disbelievingly. "No, it can't be. The Nightmare, your Oracle?! It's... I don't believe it. I shan't!"

"Luna," Celestia began seriously, but her sister cut her off.

"You've played too many tricks on me, Tia. I don't believe you!"

"Search my mind, then! Find the truth!" Luna happily did so.

And the truth frightened her more than Death himself.