//------------------------------//
// Sonic Nightmare 
// Story: Broken Wings 
// by Lt_Voss 
//------------------------------//

	"We could go to Canterlot." Celestia mused as she took her time descending the stairs.

"What kind of leisurely activities are there to do in Canterlot?" I asked. "I mean," I added rather hastily. "I've only been there once, and that was on a special day."

"Hmm," my aunt noised thoughtfully. "You're right. I doubt you'd want to look at gardens all day."

"With all due respect," I said with a grin on my face. "No. Garden gazing is not, I'm afraid, my passion."

Celestia chuckled. "I thought as much."

Luna jumped in. "Sister, if I recall correctly, you were going to host a flying competition in Cloudsdale. You were supposed to meet with the mayor in..." she trailed off, trying to remember the time. "Will," she said to me. "Could you check your log and see what day it is?"

"Sure," I told her. I pulled out my log and checked the date. It read December thirty-first. "December thirty-first."

"Dear," she said in a tone I could best guess sounded slightly worried. "Sister, you were supposed to meet with the mayor of Cloudsdale tomorrow to get the competition organized."

We exited Fluttershy's house, to find that the sun had begun setting. "Well," I intoned gently. "If I memorized the maps correctly, we could be in Cloudsdale shortly before midnight if we start now."

"You don't get it, Will," Celestia countered me, not unkindly. "Cloudsdale is a mobile city. It moves slightly with the wind, every day, and every now and then the citizens, all pegasi, of course, will push the city elsewhere." She shook her head. "I know," she said to me before I could say anything, as if she expected me to point something out. "It's rather arbitrary, but it's still a very beautiful city; I can allow them some leeway."

"Yes," Luna agreed. "They may be pushing the boundaries in what is allowed and what isn't, but they can do so because of the services they provide."

I nodded. "So... it's gonna be hard to find Cloudsdale?"

Rainbow, ever the braggart, spoke up. "No way, Will. I can find Cloudsdale in my sleep!"

Celestia nodded, knowingly. "It's said the pegasi of Cloudsdale can always find their way back. Now, it seems we'll have to put that legend to the test."

The five of us, Celestia, Luna, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and I, took off at once. Rainbow Dash took the lead while the rest of us metaphorically followed her blindly. She more or less flew in a straight line, which worried somewhat more than if she were banking left and right. I don't know, I guess it was just paranoia that told me that banking would mean correcting course and straight just meant lost.

A wind picked up, blowing to our left, and Rainbow banked slightly right in response. I understood the reasoning behind this; flying into the wind while also going in the general direction of our destination would allow us to arrive at our destination. The wind would cause us to drift to the left, but since we were flying somewhat into it, we'd still be on course. Unfortunately, the last vestiges of light provided by the setting sun were dispelled, throwing the five of us into complete darkness.

Luckily for me, though, the moon was already partially up, providing a little light by which I could make out Rainbow's outline. Not all of us could though, and Fluttershy, who was flying beside me, flew over and grabbed a hold around my neck from behind. "What's wrong, love?" I called back to her.

"Will," she began, her voice sounding slightly fearful. "I'm... I'm scared."

I quickly adopted a gentle tone as I spoke to her. "Whatever for, love? I'm right here."

"I'm scared... of the dark. I might get lost!"

"Shy," I said gently, using the shortened version of her name that Luna had used earlier this night. "I would never let you get lost. Never. You just need to stay near me, and I'll do the rest."

"I don't want to let go, Will!" She cried, literally, into my shoulder. She was burying her face in my shoulder. It was a little difficult flying with her on my back, obstructing some of the movement of my wings, but I felt small gusts of air hit my wings, which told me that she was also beating her own wings, and her putting forth the effort stopped me from even thinking about complaining. Not that I would have to begin with, in all honesty, but it's worth mentioning. I think.

Risking it being taken the wrong way, I chuckled. "Then don't, love," I called back to Fluttershy. "I've got you; I won't let you fall!"

My, playing the heroic knight, are we? My blood ran cold, and I missed a wing beat. I quickly corrected, trying to think. 'That isn't Bill's voice,' I thought. It sounded familiar none the less, a female, but with all that had happened recently, I couldn't for the life of me match it to a face. I sense your weakness. I felt a chill shoot up my spine, and from a quiet whimper from Fluttershy, I knew she had felt it too. I just have to embrace you, surround you, then you would fall to your death, and I would simply drift away, unseen and unheard. It spoke in a sing-song voice... confidant and self-centered.

Unfortunately for Fluttershy and I, I picked that moment to figure out who the voice belonged to. When I did, I violently shuddered, and if it weren't for my mother, Fluttershy and I would be hurtling to our deaths. "Will," Luna asked concernedly. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"It's..." I began, not sure if I should continue. I settled for speaking to her in her mind; I didn't want to speak aloud and frighten Fluttershy. 'Mother,' I told her in our silent exchange. 'It's the Nightmare. It's found us.' Are you sure? 'Positive.' Hell... Hang on. We'll wait and see what it does. 'With all due respect, mother, I have an objection or two to that.' Naturally, but I won't let anything happen to you. Remember what I said: I will find a way to kill the Nightmare... Luna was silent for a moment. I just need time to find it.

I withdrew from Luna's mind, half fearing that the Nightmare would be able to intercept my consciousness or something. With everything that I had seen in my life, I wouldn't put it past the Nightmare to have just that power at just the right moment... or wrong moment, I guess, from my perspective. Sadly, in my case, I didn't have Bill to fend off the Nightmare, which meant that I couldn't completely shove it aside. I could however, tune most of it out, and I did so to the best of my ability.

With that, I wondered what exactly the competition my parents had scheduled in Cloudsdale was. Seeing as how it was being held in a city that only pegasi and specially enchanted ground ponies could reside in or visit, I deduced that it had a ninety nine percent chance of having something to do with flying, but that's about all I could figure on my own. So I turned to my parents for help. Actually, I put the question out for anybody, but I was pretty sure only my parents knew the answer. "So what's this competition for?"

"To put it simply," Celestia answered. "There is a task all competitors must perform. It is a difficult task, yet it is not complex. The challenge is to perform a sonic rainboom."

I'd heard of those. Supposedly, according to local legend, sonic rainbooms were just that: legend. However, Rainbow Dash is accredited with performing it twice, and many of her social circle knew better than to believe legends. I guess I should have seen the boasting coming a mile away, honestly. "That's it?" She asked in an arrogant tone. "I could do one in my sleep!"

"That, my dear Rainbow Dash," my aunt said politely. "Is why, unfortunately, I don't want you in the competition. I have nothing against you, but I would like some of the participants to have a chance. The competition will only go on until somepony performs a sonic rainboom, and knowing your skills, the game would end as soon as you entered the field."

"Oh," Rainbow said sadly, her ears hanging limply. "I... I guess that wouldn't be fair..."

I hated seeing her like that, so I had to find a way to cheer her up. "Hey, Dash."

"Yeah, Will?" Her tone was still down.

"I could go in your place. You know, if I win, I'll be sure to shout out, 'I did it for Rainbow Dash!' Make sure I spread the word and stuff."

That seemed to cheer her up. Her ears perked up and her tone immediately went back to its sporty, lively setting. "Hey, thanks, Will! You're a good friend."

I chuckled. "I try, I try." Rainbow Dash suddenly banked left while also descending fairly rapidly. "Slow down, there, Rainbow," I called out to her. "I don't want to hit the ground hard."

"Afraid of a little pain?" She asked. I had a feeling she wasn't thinking when she said that.

"No," I answered. "But I've got a passenger here, and I'm afraid the jolt might hurt her." Whether it was in response to my words or not, Fluttershy hugged my back tighter.

"Oh," she said, in a way that said, "oh, right." She slowed down, as did we all. What surprised me was that I could barely see Cloudsdale. I mean, I was standing on it after another thirty seconds of downward flight, and still I could barely make out any features.

"Good god," I whispered. "Can't see shit, Captain." I wasn't talking to anybody but myself, but it was a quote, and you don't need to be speaking to somebody to quote something.

"Hmm," Celestia sounded. "It's very much darker than it normally is... even at this time of night. There are usually a few lamps burning..." her voice trailed off as she started forward. "Let's look for an inn. We can start the competition tomorrow."

Finding an inn wasn't hard at all, what with Cloudsdale being a major tourist attraction. After all, Cloudsdale was home to Flight School, the school that taught young pegasi to fly; the Rainbow factory, where the rainbows that appear after storms are made; and Wonderbolt shows and tryout auditions, where ponies watch the Wonderbolts perform, and a select few audition to become one themselves. So, in all, an inn was found quickly. The innkeeper kept insisting that our party inhabit the penthouse suite free of charge, with Celestia, of course, declining the offer just as stubbornly. In the end, though, Celestia finally relented with coaxing from Luna and I. It's not so much that we wanted to stay in a luxurious suite, although that may have had a hand in it, but we really just wanted some sleep.

There were only two beds, albeit large beds, in the penthouse suite, so we divvied them up as best we could. It was pretty much by unanimous vote that since Celestia and Luna were comfortable with each other, they would take one of the beds. Rainbow Dash simply flew out one of the windows and brought in a small cloud and fashioned it into a bed and slept in that. That left only Fluttershy and I, and I was inclined to sleep on the floor. It wasn't until a slightly red-faced Fluttershy patted the bed beside her that I slowly made my way over and took a side of the bed with her. I didn't sleep directly next to her; I was too shy to do so. I had no qualms with sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, and I could tell Fluttershy felt the same way.

I closed my eyes and waited for sleep, but it did not come easy. My mind kept filling with horrid thoughts and images of atrocities I wouldn't wish even on my worst enemy. When sleep did come, it was fitful; my dreams, or more accurately, nightmares, were of worst-case situations I wished would never come true. One was Fluttershy getting up as I slept and stabbing me repeatedly. I knew whose hand was in my fitful rest, obviously it was the Nightmare. I did as best I could to shove aside her presence so I could get some rest.

I was deep asleep, soundly or not, when the nightmares suddenly stopped coming. As I was unconscious, I couldn't tell why, nor could I know the reason for their stopping. It wasn't until I awoke, before anybody else, that I found out why I was allowed a sound sleep.

When I woke up, a horrifying situation presented itself. I'd gone to sleep on my right side, facing my parents' bed, away from Fluttershy. Waking up, I saw that I was on my left side, facing Fluttershy. One of the more shocking things was that Fluttershy had also turned in her sleep and she was now facing me. My left hand was acting as a pillow; her head was resting atop it. My right arm was draped over her, and her own legs were around my body.

I gasped, and I know not for the life of me why I did, involuntarily. Unfortunately, this was enough to wake Fluttershy, even when the cradling treatment she got from my sleeping body wasn't. Her eyes lazily drifted open, but when she saw how she and I were positioned, they shot open. Her eyes searched mine, and I could tell that she saw the fear and surprise in them. "I..." I began, somewhat sleepily as I had only woken up a few minutes earlier. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy..." I yawned against better judgement. "I... I don't know... know how this happened..." I yawned again.

She spoke before I could apologize or explain further. "It's... it's okay, Will..." her face reddened as she said this, which eased my rising tense emotions. "I... it's... kind of... comfortable..." She began smiling. An awkward silence, which lasted only a few seconds, crept upon us, until Fluttershy did something I would never have expected her to have done. She, hesitatingly, leaned her head closer to me. At first, because I was groggy, I didn't understand what she was doing. Frankly, I didn't know what was going on until she actually did what she was planning.

Her lips, gently, slowly, met mine. The first thought that ran through my mind, and I will never forgive myself for it, was that it was strange and awkward. Our facial structures were different, though not too terribly so, but just enough that I had to crane my neck to find a position from which to comfortably kiss her. After the initial shock of realization, I shoved aside the patronizing thought and instead focused on the kiss itself. It felt similar to when I kissed her cheek, only with the softer skin of her lips. If I had thought I had no idea what had gotten into Fluttershy then, I was sorely mistaken. She surprised me again, when her tongue gently pressed its way into my mouth.

I got scared, then. Not because Fluttershy was kissing me; well, not entirely for that... I had always wanted to since accepting her as my marefriend. I was scared because Fluttershy was taking this kiss very far. We'd already held it for longer than ten seconds, and she went the whole nine yards when she stuck her tongue in my mouth. Unfortunately, I couldn't cry out in protest; our lips were locked and her tongue was... good god, was she playing with mine? It was drowning out any moan I could produce.

Eventually, though, after about fifteen seconds of kissing, the fear passed away. I don't know why; it just did. All of a sudden I was perfectly okay with this. Our kiss had to end, sadly enough, after twenty seconds. It turns out, kissing takes more breath than simply holding it, and after twenty seconds of straight kissing, Fluttershy and I both were out of breath. We lay there, panting, staring at each other with half closed eyes. "Well," I said after a while. "That was... interesting."

Instead of Fluttershy answering me, though, much to my distress, my mother called out, "Having fun over there, you two?" Fluttershy squeaked, which caused Luna to chuckle. "I hope," she said. "Will, that you are wearing protection."

My eyes, against what I thought was possible, widened even further. I thanked the gods that the innuendo had gone over Fluttershy's head; if Luna kept this up she would get to know just what I could do when I was angry. "Mother," I said sternly. "Stop it. You're hurting Fluttershy's feelings." I tried as best as I could to inconspicuously signal to Fluttershy to be quiet and go along with my act. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

I could tell she wasn't expecting this. "Will, I was only-" she got out, before I interrupted her.

"I'm ashamed of you, myself. You know I would never do anything to Fluttershy she didn't want." For some reason, I winked to Fluttershy. She smiled back at me, and I continued. "Frankly, that you would even suggest that sickens me."

Celestia, who I had no idea was awake, spoke out to us then, saying, "Sister," I could tell she trying to hold back a laugh. "It seems your son has bested you." She could hold back her laughter no longer, and it filled the room.

I was tempted to join her, but Luna stopped me. She picked me up, magically, and made me face her. I was a little disoriented, floating in the air under her power. She was in her Paracorn form, and she had her hands on her hips. I tried something: I went up to her with my consciousness. I felt my way inside her mind, and tried to give her a tap to disrupt her concentration and let me go. Before I could do so, however, I felt Helen throw me out, as Bill had said earlier. "No fair!" I shouted to her from her vise grip.

"Oh?" I could see that her smile was miles long. "What isn't fair?"

I snarled. "I don't have my Oracle to help me!"

She chuckled. "You just have to say one thing, son, and I'll let you go."

I became wary then. "What do you want me to say? The sky is blue? Water's wet?"

"No, my dear." She chuckled again. "Tell me you love me."

"WHAT?!" I couldn't contain my anger, and I felt horrible for it. "That's it?! You're holding me for that?! I would have said it without the imprisonment, thank you very much! I love you, mother. I love you, as I love my aunt Celestia. Happy?"

She unceremoniously dropped the levitation spell, and I fell to the ground in a heap. She didn't even have the courtesy to drop me on the bed, the meanie. "Now you know how outmatched you are."

Celestia, from behind Luna, and thus out of sight, winked at me. I took the hint, saying, "I want a rematch!"

Luna gave me a crooked smile. "As you wish, son." She picked me up again, and held her smile. "What will you do now?"

I gave my crooked smile. I waited for Celestia to be right behind Luna before saying, "Nothing, mother."

Celestia wrapped Luna in her arms, giving her younger sister a bear hug. Her concentration was broken and I dropped to the floor, ready this time. "What?" Luna said in shock. "No fair!"

I smiled at her, beamed at her, really. "Now you know how my enemies feel when I lead my team against them."

"So am I your enemy?"

I chuckled. "Think of it as payback for that innuendo, mother. You really shouldn't have said that, joke or not." She stomped her feet in frustration. To which, in the best sing-song voice I could muster, I told her, "I love you mother."

Celestia released Luna. Luna walked over to me, standing directly in front of me. In a menacing voice, she told me, "I love you too, son." She hugged me, then, and from behind I felt Fluttershy wrap her legs around me as well..

When they all let go, Celestia said with finality, "Let's go get this competition started."




And that is how I came to be standing on the edge of a cloud, staring at the ground some miles down. I was up to go. It was my chance to perform the sonic rainboom that so many believed was only legend. I gulped, then looked across the gap at the other cloud where the spectators sat. My mother and aunt were sitting in the royal booth, smiles on their faces. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were sitting in the front row, ready to cheer loudly.

I looked back down. It was a long way down, to be sure, but being in space... and hurtling towards the ground at Mach 3, tends to alleviate fears of heights. I huffed in semi-preparedness. I took a few steps back, and got a running start. I flung myself off the edge, and folded my wings back along with my arms. After a few seconds I extended my wings to flap them... and I was mistaken to do so.

Out of nowhere, a black cloud the size of one of my wings shot up at me. But my face wasn't its target: it was my wing. It shot through my right wing, agitating and inflaming the already damaged wing. I spun from the impact, and because I wasn't far down, I could hear the collective gasps from everybody in the audience. I looked "down" at the cloud above me, seeing it come about for another run.

This time, though, I fought it. I conjured a shield, deflecting it from my path. I heard it hiss at me, and it was then I knew just who I was up against.

The Nightmare.

With a renewed vigor, it charged me again and again, too fast for even my mind to keep up with it, much less my eyes or hands. It hit my left wing, both of my legs. It would have gone straight for my head had something it didn't expect interrupt it. Honestly, I didn't expect it either. A form shot across my view, intercepting the Nightmare before it could decapitate me. The form began pounding the cloud as if it were tangible. I recognized just who it was.

Bill.

I had no idea how Bill could have gotten here, nor could I fathom what was going on. The Nightmare screamed, but I couldn't see what was happening then. Air friction caused me to spin in the air, and I started facing the ground I was plummeting to. Several seconds of this fight and falling passed before the Nightmare gave out one long shriek, which faded away into the wind.

Bill, arms by his side to reduce drag, moved next to me, where he began holding my hand. "Thought you could use a hand, Will," he shouted over the wind.

I was astonished. "How did you get here?" I did the same.

"I just thought, 'Will's in trouble, I need to be there,' and now here I am!" He shook his head. "Just wish I could fly. Sorry!"

I knew what he meant. If he could fly, he could get me out of here. But we were stuck there, falling to our deaths. A wingless being, and a being with broken wings. Not a good combination if you want to stop plummeting to the ground and terminal velocity. A sudden surge of air broke our hold on each other, and Bill drifted away. It wasn't for want of letting go, because he tried to grab at my hand, but gravity was a bitch. That same surge of air caused me to spin, so I was now facing up. And what I saw was amazing, shocking... frightening.

Fluttershy, like an angel with sun to her back, was hurtling towards me, her wings flapping furiously in an effort to catch up. A steely look of determination was on her face, and tears were streaming from her eyes, though it that was from crying or from the wind, I couldn't tell. An incredible thing happened then, and I couldn't believe my eyes. She was but fifteen feet from me when the air in front and around her started to bend. When she was less than a foot away, the bending air broke.

A loud bang assaulted my eardrums, and I felt Fluttershy's hooves, not with hostility, press forcefully into my chest before they wrapped around me. A beam of yellow, almost like a ray of sunshine, trailed in her wake, and I knew what had happened.

Fluttershy, my fiance, my love, my life, had broken the sound barrier and performed a sonic rainboom. My eyes teared up in this revelation. I was so happy for her... and I would have been happier for her, had I not been flown at Mach towards the ground. My downward flight, though, ended when she pulled up and began flying towards the spectator's cloud. As we flew back up, I saw just what she and I had left in our trail. The yellow beam of her flight intermingled with the redness of something I had been leaving.

My vision darkened around the edges and the sounds, what little I could hear to begin with, faded away. Everything went by with gusto, but the last thing I remembered seeing was the sky, with me on the cloud, and everyone important to me standing worriedly over me... even Bill.




I let the memory projection spell draw to a close. I spoke to the men in front of me and the men still in the orbital shuttle. "That's why I'm not going back with you guys." I shook my head. "I've given too much just to leave this all behind." Behind me stood Fluttershy, Bill, and Luna, and when I finished my second sentence they strode forward and stood beside me: Fluttershy to my right, Bill to my left, and Luna to his left. Had this situation not had so much gravity, I would have noticed the shocker: Bill and Luna... were holding hands.

One man strode out to meet me. My best friend and companion for the longest time. "Will," Mason said. "Don't go."

"I..." I began, chuckling and tearing up simultaneously. "I have to, Mason. I know we've been through a lot, but I can't let go of them." I gestured to Luna and Fluttershy. "They mean too much to me now." Mason was silent for the longest time before nodding. Taking that as my hint to leave, I took hold of Fluttershy's hoof and began walking through the forest toward her home. Bill was still beside me.

"Victor." I froze in my tracks, and everyone else did so as well. I turned, slowly. Mason was starting to cry as well. "Victor," he said again. He stifled an outcry of sorrow before saying, "Victor... good luck." He took three steps forward and embraced me. "I hate to see you go, but I'll miss you and wish you were still by me... goodbye, Vic." With that, he turned and walked back into the shuttle. He didn't look back.

I had not heard that name since Paris left me at Sangre del Toro. I had Bill hide it from me so that I could bury my past. Strangely, though, I did not react violently or manically when I heard it. In fact, it was... oddly relieving. It meant, from a philosophical point of view, that I had moved on. I was no longer caught up about my past. I felt happy. Luna was, as well. She smiled, and said, "I wondered when that would come up." She embraced me. "I hope I did good on the name."

I smiled sadly at her, and returned the hug. "Mother, I would have been happy with Billy-bob, as long as it was you who named me."

She gasped sadly, and placed a hand on the back of my head. She placed her head on my shoulder, and I could feel her tears drop onto my shirt. "Harry would have been so happy... I wish he was here to see this."

Several minutes of silently hugging and crying passed. During this time, the Army packed up their final things, and took off to fight another day, another world. It was the last time I would ever see Mason, or any other soldier from Charlie Company, 4th Battalion, 42nd Infantry Regiment. And, to my dismay, I was both sad... and happy to see them go.

Luna finally cut off the hug, and, holding my hand and Bill's, we turned away and resumed our trek to Fluttershy's home. We never turned our eyes to the sky for the rest of the night.