Boomer's Crisis

Chapters

Chapter 1 An Unwelcome Call
Chapter 2 Cutie Mark Stories Go Bad
Chapter 3 Tears, Horrors and Things Explode
Chapter 4 The Death Of Pinkie Pie
Chapter 5 Rambling Exposition, And, A Ghost?
Chapter 6 Guard Duty, and Other Comforts
Chapter 7 Wait, I’m a WHAT?
Chapter 8 So How Exactly Does That Work?
Chapter 9 A Short Walk To The Palace
Chapter 10 The Wailing Room
Chapter 11 Oh, A Party. Pardon Me When I Freak Out
Chapter 12 Boy Meets Girl, Boy Blows Girl Up, Boy Loses It In Public
Chapter 13 Putting The Party On Ice
Chapter 14 A Long Walk Home, Are You Following Me?
Chapter 15 Oh, My, That Got Awkward
Chapter 16 Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig
Chapter 17 Breakfast; With A Side Of, Well, That Was Quick
Chapter 18 A Question. Wait, Scratch That, Questions!
Chapter 19 Well, That Was Fun, But I Need To Get To Work
Epilogue: In which, Pepper beats Boomer nearly to death; Boomer gets ready to blow Pepper to dust, on purpose; Princess Luna becomes a Godmother; and Giggles uncovers a secret, support group?

Chapter 1 An Unwelcome Call

It was a day like most others in Boomer’s shop. He was charging a crystal with his magic. It was hard. Most all unicorns can do magic with their horns, but Boomer had broken his as a young colt, and could only do one or two things with the stump of his horn. He could move some small things, but for the most part, his horn was only good for one thing. But it was spectacular in its own way.

When you get called to Canterlot by Princes Celestia, you go. Granted, when you are a pony with a job like Boomer’s, you don’t necessarily drop everything. That is because Boomer made explosive devices for Equestria’s army, as well as for the ponies who worked in mining and building, and a few times a year when he helped with the fireworks production.

Yes, dropping explosives is often a bad thing. Which is why, when Pinkie Pie popped in to announce his request to appear at the palace, with her usual, “Surprise! You’re never going to guess where WE’RE going!” it was a bad thing. For poor Boomer, time seemed to slow to a dead crawl as the blast crystal he’d been holding was launched up in an arc. All he could do is cringe in anticipation, which seemed to take about a thousand years, as it hit the floor.

THOOM!!!!

Boomer shook the soot and dust from himself, not that you could tell a difference. Most of the time, being charcoal black with some fine grey spots, he looked like a scorch mark in pony shape. He was impervious to blast magic. That was part of his gift, one of the things that made him special, as shown by the grey mushroom cloud that was his cutie mark.

Two hours of work down the drain.

He looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, Pinkie Pie had been standing perfectly in his blast shadow, and not even a hair of her mane was mussed. He would never understand how she could do that. No matter which way the explosive mishap she caused came from, she was always perfectly on the opposite side of him from it, completely protected from the disasters she wrecked on his shop.

He took three great breaths, willing himself to calm down. The stump of his horn went from its glowing red, back to its standard dull black.

And yep, she was staring at him with that wide eyed amazed look of wonder. He could already see her about to yell her standard, “That was GREAT! Do it again!”

But this time he cut her off, probably with more force than was really necessary, “WHAT!” He bit back the rest of what he was about to shout at her. Why did she have to push his buttons so much.

Nothing else was needed though, because Pinkie Pie had already launched into her announcement as she bounced around his shop like a spring. “We’ve been called to meet Princes Celestia. She has a mission for us. Ooooooo! I’m so excited!” He could feel his horn heating up all over again.

Boomer took one great hoof and put it on the top of the bouncing pink bane of his existence, and forced her to the ground. He’d stopped her jumping, but he could still feel the vibrations of excessive energy that was her whole being. With his other hoof, he spun her around, so she was facing the door, and shoved her through, before she could destroy anything else in his shop. “Outside with you! I’ll be out in a minute.”

A quick look around reassured him that nothing was left out that would be too dangerous. He grabbed his service cap, to hide his busted horn, and locked up the workshop.

When he stepped outside, he was at least glad to see that the Imperial Pegasus Chariot was waiting. It was a long walk from his home on the edge of Rambling Rock Ridge back to Ponyville, which is where he feared their ride to the palace would be. He doubted he could put up with listening to Pinkie Pie’s inane babble the length of time it took to get to Canterlot, let alone that trek as well.

However, he was spared having to listen to her, as she spent the whole ride with her hoofs out like wings, pretending she was flying, rather than riding in the chariot. Such joy on her face, he couldn’t believe how much like Giggles she was.

No!

He was not going down that train of thought again. That way only led to pain. He shut his eyes and mentally recited the ingredients for various explosive compounds. He was about to start through the list for the third time when he felt the chariot land. Counting to thirty, he risked opening his eyes.

From the streamers floating to the ground, and the fact that the pegasus ponies at the front of the chariot were covered in glitter, he knew that Pinkie Pie had thrown her celebration of arrival and was most likely streaking to the palace entrance. He was getting entirely too old for some of her shenanigans. He marched towards the gates with the proper air of a former military pony.

They were escorted right in to see the Princes. To Boomer’s surprise, Princes Luna was also on her thrown, along with Princess Celestia. That was unusual. Princes Luna wasn’t normally out in the throne room during the day.

A chill went up his back, from his tail all the way to the top of his mane. Something terrible was afoot. Military instincts didn’t die easily, but they were obviously dulled. He realized he should have caught on that something was amiss from the behavior of the chariot ponies, to the summons itself.

Well, might as well get to it. Putting off bad news didn’t make it any better, or make it go away. “Sergeant Boomer reporting as ordered.” And then he bowed. He’d had etiquette nearly beaten into him in training. He would not embarrass his unit.

“You’re a SERGEANT?” Pinkie Pie gasped.

Before she could ramble on any more, he cut her off, “Was! I was a Sergeant. When I got out of the army, that was my rank. Therefore, when addressing a royal summons, that is the proper title to present myself as. Now be still.” He was still much too harsh with her. He just couldn’t help himself.

Princes Celestia must have noticed his discomfort though. “My dear Pinkie Pie. We need to speak with this pony for a moment. Why don’t you go and get ready for dinner tonight. We can talk with you then.” And of course at that, Pinkie Pie bounded off without a care in the world.

Boomer watched her go with a scowl on his face, until she was out of the throne room. Then he hung his head and let out a great sigh. Steeling himself, he then looked back up at his Princesses. “What’s wrong, and how can I help?”

Princes Celestia looked over at her sister with a wink, “Told you.” But Princes Luna held up a hoof, “Nay sister dear. He doesn’t know everything yet. His path is not set in stone, as we saw, but I too hope you are right.”

Now Boomer was a bit worried. Something big was obviously about to be dropped on him.

Princes Celestia continued, “We do need your help. Forces from the Nightmare Realm are again breaking into Equestria. If we can’t stop them, they could well drown our lands in horrors. Together, my sister and I have seen a glimpse of the future. With yours and another’s help, the dark forces can be stopped, but if the two of you are not there, then everything is in doubt. We may or may not prevail, but either way, the cost will be much greater.”

Ready to again offer his help most eagerly, he was surprised when Princes Luna again held up a restraining hoof, “Not so fast brave one. You have yet to ask who this other pony who must accompany you is, for I fear that she will be the reason for your refusal. Especially seeing as we know not if she will come back.”

Boomer cocked his head, what did they mean, “she”? Then his face fell in a horror all too real and immediate to him. “Pinkie Pie? Can’t it be anyone else? Please Princesses, NO!”

Princes Luna looked to her sister and her head hung in sadness. Princes Celestia looked back at Boomer, her face mirroring her sisters hurt, “Sadly, no. Both you and she must be part of the group sent to stop the invasion, or we may fail.”

Boomer looked up in desperate hope, “May, MAY fail. Surely you can’t ask me to take her along. Princes Celestia, your sister may have been still imprisoned in the moon, but YOU, you know what happened. How can you ask this of me?”

It was Princes Luna who looked back at Boomer with challenge, an almost fierce anger, “I too know what happened! But as we said, if she goes not, then success is in peril, and suredly many more will suffer. Yet, we shall not order you, even though we could. This must be your choice alone.” That last was said with such deep regret that he knew that she did indeed know what he had been through.

Boomer stood rigid but trembling in fury. His cap burned away revealing the stump of his horn going from glowing red, to white hot. Then his eyes too started to glow as he gritted his teeth as if in terrible pain. Everyone in the throne room backed away from him as they felt the energy building around him. Those who knew what was about to happen fled, the rest followed suit.

He was about to let the force loose, consequences be damned, just to burn the pain away, if even only for a moment, but a voice and face from the past drifted up from his memories. A bright young blue and white unicorn looked up at him with her brilliant eyes, filled with both fear and hope, “You do whatever it takes to stop them. You can help save us all.”

Boomer let out a wail of anguish and clamped down on the power. He couldn’t be selfish. They were counting on him. He couldn’t let others get hurt if he could stop it. As he let the energy drain away safely, he settled back to the floor, then crumpled to a sobbing heap. He felt a hoof gently touch his shoulder. He looked up, though he could barely see through the tears. It was Princes Celestia, with Princes Luna at her side. They hadn’t fled. They had believed in him. He almost couldn’t get the words out, “I’ll do it.” They nodded their heads, but they too hung their heads in sadness at the choice. In his head he answered that voice from the past, “No, I couldn’t save you all, and may not this time either.”

The princesses weren’t the least bit surprised that he wasn’t at dinner that night. They understood. They told Pinkie Pie only what they knew she must be told about the mission they were about to send them on. They knew that some things couldn’t be told before, at least not if they wanted to succeed. Glimpses of the future always came with conditions, and costs for failing to heed them.

The next morning the reconnaissance patrol, along with Boomer and Pinkie Pie set out for the area of the suspected break through. Boomer had acquired another service cap. This time with his rank affixed. Although there was some confusion as the quartermaster tried to give him one with a silver oak leaf, one meant for a lieutenant colonel. He handed it back and specified one with First Sergeant stripes, and ignored the odd look the quartermaster gave him. He’d looked at his cap with sad eyes before putting it on. He touched the sergeant’s stripes gently with one hoof. Although he loved his service caps, he’d not had rank on them for nearly twenty years. Some things you just can’t escape.

Chapter 2 Cutie Mark Stories Go Bad

The march was long. Well, maybe not terribly long in actual time, barely three days, but to Boomer, it felt like an eternity with Pinkie Pie’s constant blabbing or random singing. He let her bounce in the midst of the patrol, and he hung back. But the third night, around the fire, they’d all huddled in close. They knew they were close to where the Nightmare Realm was breaking through. So, of course, they were all jumpy. As a way to break the tension, they told stories.

One of the most common yet wildly different stories that could be shared by any group of ponies, was how they got their cutie marks. Nearly all of them had apparently shared by the time Boomer came back to the fire after setting out guards around their camp.

“Hey Sir, It’s your turn. How did you get your cutie mark?” one of the young ponies called to him as he tried to walk past to his tent.

He could feel his horn heating up, along with his temper. He took several deep breaths and turned back to the group. “I’m afraid I’m too old to worry about remembering what happened when I was a young colt.” And tried to sneak into his tent and a half ounce of privacy.

“That’s hogwash.” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Even Granny Smith remembers how she got her cutie mark, and she’s at least twice as old as you.” But then she turned back to the army ponies around her, still all grins and bubbles, “Besides, I can tell you guys. My dad was there and he told me all about it.”

Boomer froze, half in, half out of his tent. It didn’t matter, he told himself. How he’d gotten his cutie mark was enough of a well know story that she probably would have heard it. It wasn’t anything spectacular he thought, it was what he did with his gift later he wanted nothing to talk about. He turned around in his tent and poked his head back out, laying down; he crossed his fore hooves and rested his head on them. “Go ahead and tell it. I’ll make sure you don’t blow things too badly out of fact.”

Pinkie Pie squealed, clapping her hooves together, then put on a look of dark conspiracy. As she leaned in, even the fire cooperated with her and dimmed so she was barely lit. “I’d asked my dad about how Boomer lost his horn, because I wanted to know why he hides it. And he told me it was from when Boomer first boomed and got his cutie mark.” Boomer snorted but let her continue on. “It was like a bazillion years ago,”

“It was FOURTY!” Boomer cut in.

Pinkie pie looked over at him, “That long? Wow. Dad’s right, you guys are old. Anyway, Boomer was one of the few ponies who hadn’t yet received their cutie mark. I guess a bunch of the bully ponies were teasing him and going on and on about how since he was a unicorn, he was going to do sparkly stuff, or be one of those designer types, or something else suitably girly. Anyway, dad said Boomer got really mad and ran away crying.”

“I wasn’t Crying!” Boomer shouted. Even though he knew he had been. He was breathing hard, trying to keep his temper down, as some of the memories came back.

“Anyway, Boomer ran off. Dad says that he had a real temper on him back then. Although I don’t see how it could be worse than he is now.”

Boomer struggled to control himself. He could feel the heat building in his horn, but breathed it out.

Pinkie Pie continued, “By the time the bullies had caught up with him out in the dark woods, Boomer was banging his head over and over again on a big rock. I guess they’d never seen anyone that mad before, it kind of surprised them. But he just kept banging his head over and over until they all heard it. Boomer’s horn broke. He looked up at them with tears and blood from the stump streaming down his face,”

“Wasn’t crying, you’re making it sound worse than it was.” Boomer interjected. Yeah, even he wasn’t buying that. It had been even worse. He didn’t know how he was going to keep the men’s respect after this.

“All bloody angry and crying, he shouted at them, ‘There! Now I’m not a unicorn anymore!’” Pinkie Pie turned to look at Boomer, “Why would you say that? That could really hurt your mom and dad’s feelings.”

Ouch, that one just hurt.

But she went right back to the story, “Now the bullies were all a bit surprised at that, but then one of them laughed and said, ‘Now you won’t even be able to do girly things! Ha! You’re a nothing!’ Dad cried a bit when he told me that because he had been the one to say it. He gave me a long talk about how bullies hurt people and how awful they are, but I told him I knew, and that I was glad he’d stopped being a bully. But Boomer got even madder. Dad says his eyes and horn started to glow; he floated up a bit, and then he let out a roar like he’d never heard before. Dad says it would have been one of the loudest and scariest things he’d ever heard, if not for what came right after it. Yep, Boomer BOOMED!”

Pinkie Pie made the exploding motions with her arms, and even the fire flared brightly for a second in emphasis. “Everyone was hurled miles away!”

“It was only a few dozen yards.”

“And the blast flattened half the forest!”

“It only knocked over a handful of trees.”

“Even the mighty rock he’d broken his horn on was shattered to rubble.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that one.”

“The bullies ran back to town, only now THEY were the ones crying.”

“And that one too. They were definitely crying.”

“Dad brought grandma and grandpa running back, trying to explain that Boomer had exploded and that he was dead.”

“Yep. As you can plainly see, I died.”

“But when they got to where the blast had been, Boomer was standing there, eyes wide with wonder, staring at the destruction around him.”

“I’ll admit to a few tears of joy over that. It was so gloriously amazing.”

“Only his mane and tail were a little singed. His horn stump had fused shut, not a drop of blood to be seen. And there on his flank, looking just like the mushroom cloud above him, was his cutie mark. Dad apologized and they even became friends through the rest of school, until Boomer left for the army, where he blew stuff up a lot of times for Equestria. Dad says he would have become a general if he could have ever managed to keep his temper. But his biggest blast was the last time the Nightmare Realm invaded. But Dad would never tell me anything more about that.”

Now all the eyes around the fire turned on him. They could sense a major story, and if there was one thing military ponies couldn’t resist, it was a good battle story. Boomer looked around. Even the guards he’s posted had snuck back to the outside edge of the campfire’s light to listen to Pinkies story, and were all eager for this one, especially seeing how relevant it was to their current mission.

Damn it. This is why he didn’t like telling about how he got his mark, it always led to this story.

Pinkie Pie looked over at him, “Dad says you were a hero.”

Boomer didn’t even feel the fiery heat of his temper now. No the heat was gone, but in its place was something much worse, a cold ice. His heart was cold and hard as a winter wind as he walked out of his tent and around to the fire so he was in front of Pinkie Pie. His heart was cold as he looked down at her, as cold as death.

The other ponies backed away from him as he leaned down. Their warriors instincts told them that bad things were about to be unleashed, and they felt sorry for their bright pink companion for whatever was about to come for her in her oblivious joy. She was still smiling, expecting a story. Even the light of the fire fled. Only the dim coals still burned, their sooty red light reflecting in Boomer’s eyes as he finally spoke.

“I’m no hero.” The words were flat, filled with a seething contempt. “You want to know how we beat them last time? You really want to know? Well let me tell you. Oh yes. Everyone talks about how we saved Equestria from the Nightmare Realm. How we saved everyone. None of them know what it cost though. There were a hundred of us that went out. Three of us made it back. THREE!” he shouted. “We weren’t ready for the horrors that came from the Nightmare Realm. We should have called in stronger reinforcements, had more magic ready.” He looked around. “Oh, I can see it already sinking into some of you. If a hundred weren’t enough last time, what are we supposed to do with barely fifteen? Fair question. We can’t fight them. We can’t. Even with every pony in Equestria armed and in formation, we wouldn’t be able to beat them. They fight using everything you’ve ever feared, every single thing that chills your blood and wakes you from your deepest sleep screaming. Only there is no waking up. The nightmare never ends. You either go mad, die of fright, or simply kill yourself. How CAN you fight that.”

Pinkie Pie burst in, “Ooooo! You didn’t say we were going to start with ghost stories. Wow! You tell the best ones.”

The fire was back. He could even feel his horn burning. “These aren’t STORIES! You want to know how we stopped the Nightmare Realm last time? I blew up most everyone who was still there! I killed nearly my entire unit to collapse the rift the Nightmare Realm was coming through! THAT is why YOU are here you PINK TWIT! YOU are here to be sacrificed to close the gate they are trying to open! I’m sure it wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation when the princesses needed to choose who to send. ‘Let’s send Pinkie Pie. No one will miss her and we will be better off without her.’ I’m sure your friends and family have been thrilled these last three days without you causing all your chaos and destruction! You’re a worthless waste of space and breath! Rejoice Pinkie Pie! All of Equestria is going to be better off because YOU will be gone!”

Pinkie Pie’s mane and tail had lost all their spring and bounce and hung flat. Her wide eyes were rimmed with tears, as she looked up at him frozen in horror and shock.

Boomer turned his head away, his rage spent, no longer able to look in those lost eyes. “I am so going to hell.” He whispered to himself. What had started out as the idea of trying to instill a proper respect for what they were going to try and do, and vent some of his frustrations, has spiraled out of control into horror. It was almost like he wasn’t even in control of the words coming out of his own mouth, but spewed forth exactly what would hurt her most.

He raised his head. He had to apologize. He even opened his mouth, but then he felt it. Or moreso, he became aware of what he, what they ALL must be feeling. He froze, then broke through and bellowed, “Nightmare forces! RUUUUNNNNN!”

They all started charging away from the forest that was behind Boomer. He dove over the fire, pushing ponies in the right direction, trying to get his young charges moving away from what would be the end of them all. He trampled his tent, not caring, and was half way across the camp when it dawned on him who he wasn’t seeing fleeing in front of him. Where was Pinkie Pie?

Skidding to a stop, he spun around, racing back towards where she still sat frozen.

But he was too late. He saw the shadow things ooze out of the trees. They had no shape at first, they never did. But as the first one got close to Pinkie Pie, it started to take on the shape of her ultimate nightmare.

He tried to run faster. Tried to reach out and pull her away, but his magic was broken. He could barely lift a cup, let alone a whole pony.

One of the other shadow things hurled something made of darknes at him. It struck him in the head with the force of a mountain, and he went tumbling to the ground.

As the blackness closed in around him, he saw the shadow thing before Pinkie Pie finalize its change into her ultimate nightmare as it picked up her stiff as a board body. It looked just like, him. Figures.

Chapter 3 Tears, Horrors and Things Explode

The darkness is still around him, but Boomer feels like he might possibly not be dead. No, dead wouldn’t hurt this much. Dang, what had they hit him with? His head hadn’t hurt this bad since he’d broken his horn. Okay, time to check in. He can hear breathing, some water dripping, and another odd sound. Have to figure that last one out in a bit, but at least it seems that he can hear. And the headache, and cold stone along his flank, he can feel. Something definitely smells foul. Forcing open his eyes. Darkness. Blink. Yeah, can feel the eyes open and close, but not seeing anything. Crap, he was blind.

Wait, not total darkness, he can make regularly spaced grid of not as dark as everything else little dots.

Struggling up to a low kneeling position. Yeah, he can feel it now. There’s some sort of rough cloth draped over his head. Boomer turns his head to the side, bites the cloth and whips his head to the side, flinging the cloth off.

PAIN!

Bad plan!

Headache!

Vertigo!

Nausea!

THUD!

Owwwww. Okay, let’s not do that again anytime soon. Let’s just lay here on our side and try not to throw up as the gods of angry pain shove lightning in our eyes and crush our heads in a ginormous vice.

On the plus side, the cold stone feels really good on what must be some massive bruising on the side of his head. And his eye is swelling shut. Oh yeah, he got smacked with something good. From the nausea, most likely a concussion as well. But he was alive. And his pain sharpened brain reached out and identified that last odd sound he’d heard. Somebody’s soft sobs.

Cracking open his better eye, he could see in the near total darkness around them, yes THEM. Somepony else was here with him, the source of the quiet sobs. Even in the near total dark he could make out the bright pink of her coat. She was facing half away from him, but he had never seen her in that posture before, broken, emotionally crushed, weeping from the depths of her soul. And it was entirely his fault.

She turned and looked at him, and he stared back at HIS ultimate horror. The tears he’d caused, those eyes totally devoid of joy. With words he’d crushed a heart, and now he was looking into the windows of that shattered soul. And he couldn’t look away.

As he fought to keep from screaming himself, he was frozen, by a small voiced question. He had to close his eyes so he could think. “Wha,” his voice cracked. He tried again, “What did you say?”

He could feel that condemning empty gaze turn from him, so he opened his eyes again. He could see her with her head bowed, but the sobs stopped for a moment. “Why, why do you hate me?”

That soft question, barely breathed, but it hit him harder than the shadow weapon had.

He reached out a hoof to her. “Pinkie Pie, I’m so sorry. I should have never said those things. I was mad, hurt and afraid. What I said was an unforgiveable lie. I don’t know why they said you had to come for us to win, but I took out my fears on you. You didn’t deserve that. I was wrong, and will never forgive myself for doing that to you.”

“But, why would you say I was here, as a sacrifice?”

Okay, some of the sobbing was gone from her voice, replaced by confusion. That was good, he could work with that. He doubted he could tell her the truth about his fears if she were still crying. “It, it has to do with the last time. How I was able to create a big enough blast to shatter the gate they were coming through. I had tried my best to blast it, but my explosions weren’t strong enough. Then my little sister Giggles came running up to where we had pulled back. She had volunteered to bring some messages from home out to us. She could run faster than most Pegasus ponies could fly. But she was so young, so full of life, so much ahead of her.

“I never even found out what the messages were. She showed up, and I was yelling at her for risking herself coming out there. She just laughed that she was too fast to get caught, and that she would be back before anyone even knew she was out there. But she never finished her sentence, her eyes opened wide in horror. I went to turn, but was shoved aside by a giant shadow that grabbed her up. Before I could even get up, I heard a sickening wet crunch, and Giggles was dead.”

Boomer felt Pinkie Pie’s hoof on his shoulder. He couldn’t look at her, so he continued. “I just stared at the pile of broken that had been my baby sister. The shadow passed me by. I guess I was already experiencing my ultimate horror, it didn’t need to do anything more to me. But as I heard someone else scream, something inside me just snapped.

“Usually, when I make my blast magic, it builds with my temper. But that time, I felt the magic flash white hot in a fraction of a second. Hotter than I’d ever felt before, a hundred times stronger. I screamed Giggle’s name, and everything around me was blasted away. A circle nearly a half mile across, scorched down to bare rock, and that rock had been melted and pushed out in waves, like the ripples of a pond. The rift had been shattered, but I didn’t even care, my sister was gone.”

What did it matter that he was the one weeping now. Even the comforting hug wrapped around his neck did nothing to fill the void in his heart. "That is why I feared that you were sent with me as a sacrifice. You are so much like Giggles, I was worried that you were meant to be the sacrifice to push me over the edge again. "

Pinkie Pie looked at him with a cocked head. It was clear that her depression was evaporating, even the springy curls of her mane were back. "That doesn't seem right. The princesses wouldn't send you out to do something than would intentionally hurt you. "

Boomer laughed, "Of course, no thought whatsoever that they'd sent me out to do something that would get YOU killed. You never do see bad in others, do you? "

He saw her brighten to almost her normal levels of joy, and start to draw in a great breath. He knew what was about to come and quickly cut her off, "You break into song and I swear, I'll rethink the whole offering you up as a sacrifice."

Her giggles were so contagious, he couldn't help smiling as well. "Just keep it quite. First off, we don't want to attract any sorts of guards down here. And second, my headache can't handle any noise. "

He watched as she again drew in a great breath, then held it. He almost laughed as her face changed through several colors, and her eyes bulged. "Um, you don't have to hold your breath though."

She blew out explosively, and sank to the ground like a boneless deflating balloon. Which made him think of something. There were some things that she could do that no one really understood. And one of those just might be how they were going to get out. “Uh, Pinkie, how do you always know where to stand when something around me blows up?” From the look of confusion on her face, he knew that she had no idea what he was talking about. Perfect. If it was something that she did just because of who she was, he could finally use that to HIS advantage for a change.

Boomer got up and backed his rump against the bars of their cell. He looked around. There would be nowhere in the cell to hide from a blast that was right in front of him. Just to be sure, he kneeled down on his front knees so that even more of the cell would be exposed to the blast. There would be no place in it that was safe.

As he built a charge in his horn, and sent it into the cloth on the ground in front of him, a small part of his brain panicked at the fact that he was about to test a theory that, if he was wrong, could well kill the other pony in the cell with him. But he just knew that he wasn’t wrong.

At least he hoped so.

The main reason that Boomer used the crystals that he did to create blast charges was that their structure could hold his blast magic stably. Most anything else, when his blast magic was pumped into them, they reached a certain saturation point then, they exploded. Like blowing up a balloon, everything would be fine till that one too much puff of air and, kablooy! And the less structured and solid the item, the less energy it took, but also the smaller the blast.

Boomer figured that the cloth would hold enough energy to do some damage, but shouldn’t blow the walls out of their cell. It should be just enough, if he was right. Sure enough, it took very little effort to get the cloth to explode. But the blast was a bit stronger than he expected. As the blast hit him, the small shards of rock pelted his face, and the secondary shockwaves that bounced back from the walls of the cell, he knew that only one place would have been safe from all of that, if you weren’t immune to blast magic as he was.

Standing back up and looking over his shoulder, Pinkie Pie was standing on the outside of the bars, directly behind him, perfectly in his blast shadow once again. She cocked her head and looked at him, “If making noise would attract attention you don’t want, wasn’t blowing up our cell kind of counterproductive?”

Yep, she didn’t even question being on the other side of the bars that were too close together to even get a hoof through, let alone an entire pony body. “Don’t worry about that. Just find the keys to open this door and let me out of here. Quickly!”

She ran off and was back in less than a minute. The door was unlocked, and he stepped out. They didn’t have much time. She was right about one thing. That noise was going to draw someone there too quick. He charged down the corridor, and up the stairs at the end.

About half way up, and within sight of the door at the top of the stairs, he felt the nightmare presence descending down towards them. He held his resolve, still charging towards the door, till the presence was strong enough that he knew it must be just on the other side of the door. He planted all four hooves and thrust his blast magic towards the door hard and fast. His horn stub went instantly from black to white hot. The door, and whatever had been behind it just vanished in a shower of splinters and thunderous sound.

Boomer resumed running up the stairs and out.

They emerged into a courtyard, with a gate across the way, that was being swung closed, and several other shadow forms rushing into the open space between it and them. Boomer broke into a charge, praying that Pinkie Pie would stay in close behind him. He changed tactics with his blast magic, and used it in another way. He pushed out in front of him with a continuous blast as he charged.

He didn’t like doing it this way. For one thing, the ongoing blast wasn’t as forceful as a focused one. And for another, the blast pushed back against him almost as strong as it went ahead. It made running forward like pushing a house. If he were to lift all four of his hooves off the ground at the same time, he would be pushed backwards like he was on wheels. Crossing the courtyard at speed was going to be murder on him, and he wasn’t a young colt anymore.

But the force of the ongoing blast was enough to hurl away the shadow creatures between them and the gate. However, the resistance slowed him enough that the gate boomed closed just before they got there.

The strain was really wearing on him. His coat was completely lathered with sweat, and he was breathing so hard, it would have been impossible to speak. He turned around the see the shadow creatures that had been hurled away picking themselves up and advancing on them once again.

As they closed in, he could feel their terror energy washing over the two of them. Pinkie Pie fell to the ground shaking and covering her eyes. He almost did as well. He was so exhausted, he didn’t think he had it in him to blast the gate. But Pinkie Pie’s terrified moan at his feet snapped him out of the fear energy just for a second.

Boomer turned back to the gate, and stepped so he was standing directly over Pinkie Pie as she huddled. Instead of pumping his anger into his blast magic, as he most often did, he soaked in the terror and fear being hurled at them, and shove that through his magic and out into the gate. There was a LOT of it.

Boomer felt the claws of one of the shadow creatures swinging down towards his unprotected back just as the gate blew.

That gate had absorbed an amazing amount of blast magic before it let go. So much so, that when it blew, most of the wall it was mounted in was blown away along with it. The claw never connected with his back. Along with every other shadow creature in the courtyard, the one that was attacking him was pulped by the blast wave from the gate.

With the immediate terror energy gone, they had a chance. “Come on Pinkie! We’ve got to go! Run, run, RUN!” They both charged through where the gate had been. Boomer could see the rift back to their world about two hundred meters away. And it wasn’t very big either. It had obviously been barely cracked open. So they HAD found it before the Nightmare realm had fully opened it into a gate as the first time.

Chancing a look over his shoulder, he saw that the walls to the side of where the gate he blew up had been, were crumbling even further, and it seemed that various forms of energy streamed away from the falling debris. But he also saw new shadow creatures coming after them.

Chapter 4 The Death Of Pinkie Pie

“Run faster!” He yelled. But in truth, although Pinkie Pie was shorter than he, she was younger, and not nearly as winded as he was. He was having trouble keeping up with her.

Just before they crossed the rift, something tackled them from behind. Boomer tumbled across the ground, but quickly jumped back to his hooves, turning to face the new threat.

He was through the rift, but one of the shadow creatures had grabbed Pinkie Pie, and still had her beyond the rift, back in the Nightmare realm. It raised her up with one great hand, and reached for her with its other. From its posture, Boomer could tell it was getting ready to wring out the bright pink pony like a dish towel.

Just like Giggles.

All thought ceased.

Rage, terror and fury were all that existed for Boomer as he bellowed, “Get away from my SISTER!” And he boomed.

Words can’t even begin to describe the blast that issued forth from that single middle aged pony. Before, his greatest explosions had always been accomplished with his eyes and horn glowing white hot. This time, Boomer’s entire being flashed blindingly quicksilver white. Instead of a blast radius, as had been the case with the first Nightmare realm invasion, Boomer’s destructive energy shot forth in a blinding beam several meters across. Anything it touched burned away so completely, not even ash was left. If you were capable of listening fast enough, you would know that the beam itself didn’t even make a sound. It was the air rushing back into the hole the beam had cut through everything that made the thunderous crack.

Boomer came back to himself a fraction of a second later. The blast wave was still rippling out from where the beam had gone through. In front of him, was the smoking crescent of where the bottom quarter of his beam had plowed through the ground. It was as smooth as glass, and glowing red hot. It extended about ten meters ahead of him, and then abruptly ended; right where the rift had been.

He’d destroyed the rift.

And Pinkie Pie had been on the other side of it.

He’d, destroyed, the rift.

Boomer collapsed to the ground. His heart was so shattered, he couldn’t even cry. What was he going to tell Pinkie Pie’s father, the only friend Boomer really had? How was he going to tell him, that he’d just destroyed his little girl? Why couldn’t HE have been the one on the other side of the rift, and her back here safe?

Turning away in shame, Boomer nearly ran into a bright pink pony that had been standing behind him. Her mane and tail were straight back, like she was walking directly into a fierce wind, even though there was not even a breeze. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open as she stared at the blast channel. The way she stood there perfectly still, and the look on her face made him wonder if maybe she was simple minded. But then she blinked and said, “That, was, AMAZING!!!!” and began to bounce around like a spring in pony form.

Blinking, Boomer looked at the hyper energetic pony before him. But it couldn’t be. He shook his head, and looked again. “Pinkie Pie?”

She ran over and grabbed him, a hoof on either of his cheeks, looking deep into his eyes, and bellowed, “Do it AGAIN!”

Oh yeah. It was her alright. But, how? Then he realized that when he turned around, she had been standing directly in his blast shadow, AGAIN.

And with that mystery solved, Boomer did what any pony that had done what he had, and been through what he had, would do. He fell over sideways, passing out from the injuries, strain and exhaustion before he even hit the ground.

Chapter 5 Rambling Exposition, And, A Ghost?

Boomer opened his eyes to a broad featureless expanse of grey. The only thing to be seen anywhere around was another middle aged unicorn that was trotting up to him. She looked a little like his mother had when he’d been younger, but her color was all wrong. This pony was electric blue at her head, mane and shoulders, fading back to her white hind quarters and tail, like a streaking comet, like Giggles had been. She even had the same comet cutie mark that Giggles had earned.

“Hey there brother mine.” The unicorn called out to him.

Boomer stared in horror. Even the voice sounded right, although much older. He stammered, “But you’re…” shook himself, and tried again, “So, I guess I’m dead?”

Giggles laughed at him. A warm rich laugh full of love. “Not hardly.” The she swatted him in the side of the head that he had been hit by the shadow weapon. Pain shot through him from even the light impact, and his head started throbbing again. “If you were dead, do you think you would still hurt that much?”

Boomer tried not to throw up from the pounding pain. “Noooo?” He croaked out, “Death couldn’t possibly feel this bad. But if I’m not dead, than what are you?”

Giggles laughed again. “Oh, I’m most definitely dead. You could say that I’m a ghost. Or you could say that I’m a psychotic episode brought on by your concussion, massive emotional trauma, and exhaustion. It all depends on who you talk to and what they believe. Personally, I am going with ghost, because I would hate to think what it says about your mental state if you are making me up.”

“But, you were just a teenager when you were killed. You look nearly as old as I do.” He stated, thoroughly confused.

She shook her head, “Yeah, that was twenty years ago. What, do you want me to still look like this?” And abruptly, she was again the spitting image of her young teen self, just before she died. Then she was again the mature unicorn that had met him in all this grey. “No thanks. I was way too awkward back then, and besides, you wouldn’t take advice or listen to a punk kid. So, I’m going to stick with this.”

Boomer’s brain ground to a halt. “Wait, WHAT? You’re like my conscience or something?” he sputtered.

Again with the rich laugh. “No silly. I’m your kid sister. I’m taking the opportunity to torment you mercilessly to make up for all the grief I got from you growing up. And of course to help you back into your life. I mean, seriously, when was the last time you had any intentional interaction with someone that wasn’t work related? Yeah, since before the first Nightmare invasion. You need help brother mine, and all the souls you helped free, elected and empowered me to be that help.”

The blank look she was getting back from him stopped her for a second. She studied his lost look, then laughed again. “Oh my gosh. You mean you don’t even know what it was that you did? You really were just that ignorantly lucky? Oh this is too much!” and she proceeded to roll back and forth on the ground laughing hysterically.

Shaking his head, trying to reboot his brain, “Okaaaay. Just what is it that I supposedly did, and how did that get me my own personal ghost?”

Getting up and dusting herself off, Giggles continued, “Oh, sorry, it’s just that, you totally deserve this, but the fact that you didn’t go in seeking it, makes it even better that you got it. Uh, let me back up and try to explain. First off, how much do you actually know about the Nightmare Realm?”

Boomer's brain stuttered for a second at the change of topic, "Uh, well, we know that they were coming here into our world and killing the ponies they encountered. Beyond that, not much. "

Giggles nodded, “You guys really didn’t know what you were going up against. That explains some things. In a way, the Nightmare Realm didn’t know all that much about us either. Okay, first off, the Nightmare Realm exists separate from, but overlapping many other dimensions. They gather energy from fear, collected from these other dimensions. One way they do that is by influencing dreams. It is their primary means of gathering the energy they need to survive. In fact their entire realm is made of nothing but energy.

“They have learned that bringing beings from the other realms they harvest from into the Nightmare Realm has allowed them a much higher harvest rate. However, being an entirely energy existence, they have to create something on which the captured otherworlders can exist. The only way they know how to make anything solid is out of the substance of souls. That is what they were doing when they broke into our dimension the first time, gathering enough soul matter to create an area they could then hold living beings from our world and extract the fear energy from them. They literally scared us to death, snatched up our souls, and took us back to be their building blocks. When you boomed, nice timing by the way, they were about a half second from harvesting your soul when you blew. You not only stopped them from taking any more of us, but you also wiped out half of their harvest, as well as shattering the gate they had formed.

“It has taken them this long to gather enough energy to reopen even that tiny crack you just now destroyed. You really are hard on them. The area you were held in was made up of soul matter from raids of dozens of other dimensions. However, soul matter made into solid substances is rather unstable, and you set off four escalating blasts, that shattered the bonds holding that soul matter as they had shaped it. In essence, you breaking out broke all of us out as well.

“Not only that, you again wiped out a large amount of their harvested energy. You probably set them back hundreds of years, and I doubt that they will even try coming into our dimension again, seeing as the two times they have were monumentally disastrous for them. And they have no idea that it was one pony that was responsible for it both times. They think that any of us could have done that to them. I have to wonder if they will even risk harvesting fear energy from our nightmares, for worry of provoking us further. You really did a number on them, especially this second time, being right in the rift, and directing your full blast through it as you did. That rattled the entire realm enough that most all of us that were harvested souls were able to return to our dimensions of origin. But, as I said, in gratitude, many of them gave energy and power to help me repay you for freeing all of us. Not only did most of them like me, but being your sister, they felt that I would be the best choice.”

Boomer shook his head again, “How do you know all this, and when did these others have time to form any such plan to have you come back with me? And what do you mean by four escalating blasts?”

“First off, I’ve been trapped there for nearly twenty years, and I got to see how they work, as well, I could communicate with the other converted souls, though I doubt that the denizens of the Nightmare Realm even knew. There were souls that had been there for hundreds of years. They’d learned a lot, and taught the rest of us what they could. You would be amazed at the wealth of knowledge you can pool from hundreds of souls from dozens of dimensions.

“Second, we communicated at the speed of thought. We argued, agreed on a plan, organized, arranged and they sent me here in half the time it took for your blast to shatter the rift. Most all the rest of the souls are moving on to whatever their dimension’s version of an afterlife is, but they sent me to help you. Well, I do have to admit to bullying a few of them, and calling in every favor point I had racked up with any of them, but you’re my brother, and you’re worth it. But really, most of them were more than happy to help the one who freed them.

“And third, your blasts. First, you blew something up down in the cells, something small, but that got the harmonics going. Then that one that took out the door, freeing several souls right there. Then that long blast across the courtyard, that really got things humming. You almost broke us free with that one. But the blast you hit the gates with, man, you just shattered all the bonds that were holding the rest of us. Fortunately, you two made for the rift as fast as you did. Everything solid was coming apart right behind you. I don’t know what would have happened if you had been dumped into the pure energy of the Nightmare Realm.” Giggles explained.

“And they knew all about my life for the last twenty years and decided to send you to help me somehow straighten it all out?” he asked sarcastically.

Giggles laughed at him again, “Pfft! They sent me to help you in any way I could. I didn’t know about what a guilt ridden mess you were until they bonded me to you, and I got a peek in this messed up head of yours. I get to be the one to decide how to help you, and I figured that first thing we needed to do was get you back involved with your fellow ponies.

“Oh that, and remind you to breath. Apparently the bright pink one is really starting to freak out that you haven’t taken a single breath since you passed out and fell down.” And with that she hoofed him in the chest.

Boomer’s eyes shot open and he sucked in a great gasping breath. Pinkie Pie was hovering over him and wiped her brow in relief. “Whew, I thought that you were dead for a minute. That would have been really bad. How can we have a party for you for winning, if you died?” And with that, she blew a noise maker, threw confetti and streamers in the air and shouted, “Hooray!”

It was odd, but as he lay there on his side, Boomer realized that Pinkie Pie’s normal antics weren’t upsetting him anywhere near what they normally did. From beside him came Giggles voice, “Well, that’s a start.”

He looked up and saw a semi transparent image of his now all grown up sister standing there. “Oh, great, either you’re real, or I am a basket case.”

Pinkie Pie, having heard him trotted over, and walked right through Giggles. “What did you say?” she asked while looking down at him, while overlapping Giggles’ ghost.

In the spirit of fun, and to tease her brother, she leaned out to the side and said, “Look, I’m a pony with two heads.”

Pinkie Pie cocked her head a bit, having almost heard something. But Boomer just groaned, “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

Not knowing that he was speaking to his sister’s ghost, she just looked at him, “Uh, okay. Um, you want me to try and find somepony else from the platoon to come help you? You do look pretty bad.”

Boomer just smiled, “Thank you. That would be great. I should be fine. My sister can watch out for me until you get back.”

Pinkie Pie looked around, not seeing anyone else, even though Giggles stood right in front of her now. “Um, okay. Just stay right here.” And she raced off, amazingly, in the direction that the platoon had run off when they had been attacked at the camp site.

After watching her go, Boomer turned his good eye on his sister, “She couldn’t see or hear you. That doesn’t help me decide if you really are here as a ghost, or as you suggested at first, I’m having a major breakdown.”

Giggles just waved a hoof, “Ah, you’re a bright guy. You’ll figure it out soon enough. However, when you do, I want you to promise to do a favor for me.”

Boomer looked at her again, “Uh, I think your negotiation stance is a little flawed, but what favor?”

Giggles just grinned at him, “If you agree, then it doesn’t matter how weak my position is. But I can’t tell you till you decide if I’m real or not for yourself. But I promise, it isn’t anything you wouldn’t do otherwise.”

Boomer laid his head back down. “I guess it can’t hurt to agree to do what I can. You would already know one way or another what I wouldn’t do. Either you are my sister, and know how I was raised, or you’re a manifestation of my broken brain, and my mind wouldn’t betray my most firm beliefs. So, sure, when I know for certain if you are real or not, I promise I will do you a favor to be named at that time.”

Laughing as Boomer slipped back into blissful unconsciousness, Giggles said, “I would call you a sucker for agreeing, seeing as I DO in fact know how far you will go, and I know it’s a lot farther than you would admit to anyone. But really, I wouldn’t let you say no anyway. It’s just too important.”

He wasn’t sure how to take that. But then it was too late to worry about right then, and he passed out again, this time to deep restful ghostles unconsciousness.

Chapter 6 Guard Duty, and Other Comforts

It was nearly a full day before Boomer started to come back around. The first thing he heard was an argument. “I was closest. It doesn’t matter if it was after my time, I should win.” came one voice. Another replied, “Past is past. I was next up, I should get the pot.”

He was sure he didn’t want to know, but seeing as they sounded like they were arguing right over his head, he cracked open an eye. Only to be looking directly into Pinkie Pie’s face. I mean, she was barely an inch away in all her wide eyed excited glory. “Agggghhh!” he bellowed and nearly fell off the litter he was being carried on.

“Yay! You ARE awake. I thought they were just carrying on again. Are you going to pass out again? Did you know that you talk in your sleep? Your eye looks really bad. Are you hungry? I wonder when we’re going to stop for the night.”

She would have continued, but he reached out a hoof and closed her mouth. “What time is it?” Man, his throat was really dry. “Water.” That was all he could get out.

The ponies that his litter were tied to stopped, and they set him down. Another of the patrol came over and gave him a drink. After several sips, and he no longer felt like he had swallowed a desert worth of sand, he asked, “Where are we?

One of the ponies that had been arguing this whole time spoke up. “We have been heading back to Canterlot. We are about a day’s march from where we were attacked, and where we found you. Doc says you’re banged up, but mostly just really exhausted, so we have been letting you sleep while we marched. We we’re getting ready to stop and set up camp. So, I’m glad you’re awake finally. I sent Stumbles on ahead with word that we were okay, and that you’d closed the rift.”

Boomer looked over at the young pony. Well, not really young. He was as old as Boomer had been when he had left the army, but he seemed young to him. He was the senior member of the patrol, and other than Boomer, the oldest pony there. A voice behind him spoke straight to what nagged him most. “Makes you feel old, doesn’t he.” Giggles whispered in his ear. Well, looks like she was still with him, or he was still crazy.

Not wanting to appear crazy in front of the rest of the patrol, Boomer thought in his head, “Funny how you appear old enough to be his mother, yet you are talking to ME about being old.” The snort he heard confirmed that she could hear his thoughts, at least if he directed them at her. He wondered how he could figure out if she could hear all of them. Which was answered by another whisper in his ear, “By her letting you know, that she know, you are trying to figure that out.”

He was thankful that Doc had not yet arrived to check him over. He wasn’t sure how he would explain his sudden blush. Doc checked him and declared him fit to walk, but insisted no guard duty that night, as he was surely going to need more rest. After arguing about it for several minutes though, Doc relented and allowed him to take the first shift after he finished dinner, with the promise that he would get right to bed when his shift ended. After all, they still had a lot of marching to do the next day, and Boomer admitted that he was still rather worn out. However, he refused to not pull his own weight after having been carried all that day.

By the time the argument was over, the camp had already been set up, so he wandered over to his tent. He was surprised to see Pinkie Pie’s tent right next to his, with her laying half out the front flap, hooves crossed, in a pose oddly mirroring his from their last campfire.

First, this was odd, as she had always pitched her tent in almost the dead center of the others, so she could have lots of other ponies to talk to. He had always put his at the furthest corner of the group, so he was as far away from her as possible, and so his tent was at the corner closest to the campfire, which was the exact opposite corner from where the guards changed over. He always felt that the activity and light of the campfire in the early evening was far preferable to the regular noise and bustle of guards swapping over throughout the night.

Second, there was the fact that she was nearly still, other than her one hoof drawing circles in the dirt in front of her. It was oddly un-Pinkie like. She looked up at him finally, as his shadow fell over her dirt circles. He couldn’t help notice the flinch when she saw the shadow. “Is it okay if I stay here? I promise I’ll be quiet and not bother you all night.” Then she looked back down and resumed her dirt doodles, as if the answer didn’t matter to her the least little bit. But he could feel just how much it did matter.

He didn’t answer her right off; he went in his tent, turned around, and flopped down, half out the entrance, crossing his fore hooves. He stared at the fire for a second. “Actually despite the fact that I doubt you could be still and quite even if your life depended on it, I would be happy to have you bunk there.” Even when he looked over at her with a grin, she didn’t brighten up. Although, he did see much of the tension ease out of her.

Ah, so it was going to be like that. He’d wondered if something like this would come of their adventure. Glancing over at the fire, he saw that a couple of the patrol ponies were starting dinner. It would be a while. “Would you care to join me for a bit of a walk before dinner? I find that I’m rather stiff from being carried all day, and I would like some company.”

She cocked her head at him, “You never wanted me around before, why now?”

He got up and extended a hoof to help her up, “That is one of the things we could talk about as we stroll and I stretch out a bit.” And he turned and started off, trusting that she would follow. She did.

She just strolled along, matching his pace, none of her usual bounce and spring. It was almost painful to watch. After a few minutes, he spoke up, “Is is the shadows, or me that makes you jump? And be honest with me and with yourself.”

He saw her cringe, which told him that he’d led with the right question. “Actually,” she whispered, “it’s your shadow. I hadn’t even thought about it till you asked. But as the night is coming on, I can feel it creeping up on me in the back of my mind.”

Nodding, “I know how you feel. After the first time, it was weeks before I could sleep without several lights on. They touch a part of our minds that is so primal; we really have no defense against it. I can’t even tell you how to deal with all the after. All I can tell you is I totally messed it up. You would be wise beyond your years to not follow my example. But I doubt that will be a problem for you.” He waited for her to ask the obvious question.

“Why is that?” she asked looking at him with some doubt of her own.

He smiled. “Because you have friends Pinkie Pie. You have ponies who care about you. And, you are one of the most cheerful and happy ponies I know of. I brooded and sulked and pushed everyone away. You seek out others like a moth drawn to flame. Just go have fun with your friends when you get back. Remember that you are still alive, and that you can choose to face each day unafraid. But if you break out in song right now, I swear, I will find a way to reopen that rift and shove you back through into the Nightmare Realm.” The laugh in his voice at that last bit actually got a giggle out of her.

However, the smile slid off her face, and her shoulders sagged a bit. “But what if it isn’t enough?”

Boomer walked for a few paces, wondering himself, then answered, “If it is too much, if there are times you can’t cope, you come out and visit me. We can talk about it, or you can know that there is somepony out there who knows how it feels, or you can just have a good cry if you need to. They all told me that crying is good for you. Who knows, I may even join you. There is a lot I never dealt with from the first time. It might be good to have a friend I can talk about it with as well. One condition though…” He waited till she was looking at him. “When you do come, no surprises. Knock, and wait for me to invite you in when it is safe. Safe for me that is. You always manage to startle me right in the middle of a big charge. If you want to see me blow stuff up, I’ll invite you out to a job, but no more surprising me and trashing hours of work. Deal?”

She looked at him, and a trace of the bubbles that were the joy of Pinkie shown through as she said, “Uh, I’m not sure I can always do that. But I guess I can try.”

Boomer chuckled, “That is all I ask of you, just try. Besides, I doubt you could manage it even half the time anyway.”

She actually got a little mad, “Hey! I’ll have you know that I…” but then she saw his smirk. “Oooo. You’re TEASING me. I didn’t think you even knew how to do that.” And then she finally let out a full Pinkie Pie laugh.

He chuckled too, then after a glance to his other side where he saw Giggles transparent form, trotting along with them, stick her tongue out at him, said, “Yeah, I’ve been kind of getting reminded how.”

Giggles laughter was every bit a match of Pinkie Pie’s. Boomer thought it odd that Pinkie Pie actually cocked her head, as if she almost heard something.

Their roundabout route had almost brought them back to the camp. Boomer stopped and put his hoof on her shoulder, "Pinkie Pie, look at me." He waited till she turned and looked him in the eye before continuing, "I want you to remember this, I will NEVER let anyone hurt you. I've been overly harsh with you, and that is all on me. You didn't deserve my treatment of you, and I'm sorry."

For several seconds she just continued to look in his eyes, but then he saw her bottom lip quiver, and the tears start to form. He quickly grabbed and pulled her into a fierce hug. Crushing his own eyes shut, he fought tears himself. As she sobbed against his chest, he risked a peek at his sister's ghost. Her eyes were wet too, and she had a hoof up, that only partly hid the oddly soft smile. He didn't want to think about what that was for.

Once the weeping finally stopped, he released Pinkie Pie, and wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks. "Feel better?" She nodded and he continued, "Yeah, me too. Now, let's get back there. They should have dinner ready by now."

The rest of the way Pinkie Pie was mostly back to her bouncy self. She even hummed a little tune as she hopped. By the way she would glance at him every now and then and giggle, he could tell she was teasing him that she could break into song at any moment. It was much more subtle than what he would expect of her. And yet so endearing, he couldn't help but laugh himself. At one point, she drew in a great breath, as if the singing was about to commence, and he shot her a murderous look. However, her ensuing giggle had him laughing too, laughter that lasted till they were in line for chow. Even as they ate, neither of them could stop giggling. All it would take would be one hummed note from either of them to get them both laughing again.

After about the fifth or sixth time, the patrol sergeant finally burst out, "That's it! What the heck is up with the two of you? Pinkie Pie I can understand, but you sir, this is just too weird. Is Doc sure you didn't have some kind of brain damage?"

Boomer put on his most serious and grave expression. He was mildly surprised that, although it felt very familiar, it no longer seemed natural. He had to keep himself from jumping when Giggles whispered in his ear, "That's because you were never meant to be such a grumpy gus."

He somehow managed to maintain his composure, "It's actually rather simple Sergeant. Pinkie Pie there was going to break into one of her trademark happy songs. I threatened to tare open the rift to the nightmare realm and shove her back through if she did. And she has been taunting me mercilessly by nearly singing ever since." He held his semi-bored / superior expression as he looked at all the baffled faces around the campfire staring back at him. Then he continued with a dismissive wave of one hoof, "Ah well. I guess you had to be there."

At which point, both he and Pinkie Pie fell over laughing uproariously. The rest of them quickly followed suit.

As soon as dinner was finished, Boomer led Pinkie Pie back over to their tents. He showed her how they could roll up the walls between them and make it like one large tent. She seemed really excited by that, but then paused, looking up at him, "Are you sure?"

He smiled back down at her, "Yes I am. In fact, I would be honored. Now, get some sleep. We've had a busy couple of days, and you didn't spend the afternoon passed out, being carried. As soon as my guard shift is over, I'll be back." And with that, he went to report for his shift.

Of course nothing happened, but the cold fear of the shadow beings of the nightmare realm tickled the back of his mind. As the dread crept in, he found himself softly humming one of Pinkie Pie's songs, and instantly felt better. That made him smile to himself.

His ghost sister trotted out of the shadows to stand next to him. "Funny how something that used to annoy you to no end before, could come to be a comfort, when looked at differently." And then she trotted off again, whistling another of Pinkie's tunes.

Boomer mentally called after her, "Brat!" Her laughter echoed back to him, and he smiled even wider.

Once his shift finished, he returned to his tent. He was surprised to see Giggles already in there, seated next to where Pinkie Pie lay sleeping. Giggles was stroking the sleeping pony's mane in a comforting manner, crooning softly. He was confused by this. As a ghost, he didn't think Giggles could interact with anyone other than himself. However, Pinkie Pie had appeared to almost hear her at least twice before. And there seemed to be a slight stirring in Pinkie's mane as Giggles stroked it. But that could just have been the breeze. Her eyes held a subdued sorrow as she looked up at her brother. He then noticed that, despite the warm blanket draped over the young pony, she shivered slightly, and her face bore a worried cast.

Boomer quickly went over and lay down on the opposite side of Pinkie from his sister, and lay his head on her shoulder, offering as much comfort as he could. It seemed to help, as, with a soft mew of contentment, she snuggled in closer against him and stopped shaking.

Boomer felt some of the long held ice, deep in his soul, melt. He glanced over to his ghost of a sister. She again had that soft smile, which he couldn't quite identify. He went to scowl at her, but was distracted by another sigh from Pinkie Pie. He looked down and smiled warmly, as he touched her sleeping face.

Giggles voice broke him out of his reverie. He looked back up into her grinning face. "Sorry, what did you say?"

She chuckled softly, "I said, you'll make a great father one day."

Boomer fought the warring feelings of longing and regret. "It's too late for me. It might have been possibil long ago, but I'm old, cranky and battered. I seriously doubt anyone could ever be interested in somepony like me." And with that, he too closed his eyes, drifting off to slumber.

The last thing he heard before exhaustion claimed him, was his sister's soft chuckle and, "We'll see. Sometimes you never know what's in store for you."

The next morning, after a quick meal, the camp was struck and they were underway with the timely precision that marked all well trained military units. As they marched along, Boomer noted that although Pinkie Pie was her usual bouncy self, she seemed to struggle to keep something contained.

Not quite ready to fully trust his intuition, in light of his changing attitudes, he checked in with his sister's ghost. A glance to the side, where he felt her presence, he made eye contact. She was always much less discernible in the full light of day. However, he always seemed to know where she was. He pushed his thought out to her, trusting that she would hear. She actually started a bit, then looked at him with a small measure of pride. "That's rather insightful coming from you. You're progressing a lot faster than I would have expected. Give it a go and we'll see if you're right."

Boomer slowed his pace a bit to fall back to the middle of the column, where Pinkie Pie was chatting with a few of the patrol ponies. He tried to sound as casual as possible, "I was just thinking that a song might help the miles flow by a little faster. I know you don't really know any of our regular marching tunes, but I was wondering if you might know a song or two that would match our pace? Nothing frantic, but something that would keep our spirits up."

She was nearly vibrating with excitement, "SQUEEEE! I know just the thing!" And she launched into a merry tune. It was a rather simple song, but had many verses, and after the first few, all the members of the patrol sang along on the chorus. The day, and miles, indeed flew by.

That evening, the air of their camp was much lighter. They all told stories around the campfire. Even Boomer joined in, regaling them with tails of his misadventures as a young soldier.

Chapter 7 Wait, I’m a WHAT?

Being back in the more civilized areas of Equestria, and less than half a day's march from the palace at Canterlot, the guard that night was much reduced. Yet no military unit ever completely drops its wariness. Boomer was still feeling restless, having always felt a certain level of tension at the end of a mission, before reporting. And rarely had he ever had to report directly to the Princess. As a way to deal with his excess nerves, and expecting to not sleep well, he volunteered for a guard shift in the middle of the night. The sergeant in charge of the patrol was rather surprised at Boomer's offer. "But sir, the platoon commander isn't required to stand guard. We all respected the fact that you felt compelled to stand last night to repay us for carrying you while you were injured. But you don't have to stand guard again tonight. I have plenty of junior ponies that can handle it."

Boomer was stunned. "What exactly were you told my rank was?"

"Princess Celestia herself told me that you were a Lieutenant Colonel, but to not make issue of it as your special skills were vital to the mission, and boy, was she ever right. I just wanted to thank you sir, before we got back and get swallowed up in ceremony." The sergeant saluted.

Boomer was floored. This explained much of how he had been treated on the journey. Yet, he couldn't figure out how he could have such rank. After the disaster that had been the last nightmare realm incursion, he had walked away from the military, hadn't he? He thought about how his former commander had set him up with the contract to create blast crystals for the military. Also, there was the odd way he had always insisted on having Boomer recite the oath of service each time the contract was renewed. Boomer thought back on the medal and commendation letter he had received after he had told his commander he was leaving. He realized he never actually read it. And his commander had been rather upset that Boomer had refused to go to the palace to receive them. He'd told Boomer how disappointed the princess had been that she'd been unable to personally reward him for his service. Had that letter actually been a commission to make him an officer? That would certainly explain a lot of the paperwork he'd been obliged to fill out and turn in constantly throughout the years. He vowed to look up his old commander when this was all finished. The old pony may be long retired, but surely he could answer Boomer's questions.

Boomer almost staggered back to his tent. Pinkie Pie had again rolled up the flaps between their tents. She looked up at him as he tried to get settled. Concern spread across her face, "Uh, are you okay?"

Dazed, he turned to her, "I'm not a sergeant..."

Pinkie's baffled expression should have been a clue, but he didn't say anything more. So Giggles walked around him and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "He just found out he's actually an officer, and he's still a little shocked."

Pinkie Pie's face lit up, "You're an officer? Congratulations!" And then she threw confetti and streamers in the air. Which, with them being inside a tent, bounced off the top and fell quickly to the ground.

This snapped Boomer out of his stupor. He glared at her, his old mannerisms fully back in place, "Really? I tell you something that totally changes how I think of myself, and you..." Boomer stopped dead, eyes wide with shock. "I didn't tell you I'm an officer..."

Pinkie Pie looked at him confused all over again, while Giggles just looked back at Boomer with pride, "I guess I'm getting better at this. Well, either that, or you're muttering what I'm supposedly saying, to perpetuate me as a delusion."

Pinkie seemed even more confused, looking around the tents for anypony else, suddenly realizing that there wasn't. "Um, Boomer, uh, who was just talking to you?"

Sighing, he looked over at her, "Do you want to hear what I know for certain, or what my best guess is?"

Pinkie Pie straightened up, "Is this going to turn into one of those discussions about reality verses our perception of it? Because Twilight tried explaining it once and I fell asleep AND got a headache."

Boomer actually snorted, "No, although, I probably would have been in the same boat with you on that one. I've never been one to dwell over much on the meaning of life." He paused, glancing over at his sister's ghost before continuing, "But something has changed that has me thinking more on it."

"You mean like seeing your sister's ghost?" Pinkie asked.

Boomer froze again, eyes wide, "You've seen her?"

Pinkie smiled, "No silly. Like I told you when you came to yesterday, you talk in your sleep. You babbled about her a lot."

Boomer flinched, babbling was never good. "Well, I'm still trying to decide if she's real, or I'm imagining her. However, I think you may be starting to hear her. That, or as she'd just pointed out to me, I'm muttering what she's supposedly saying to perpetuate my delusion."

Giggles blew a raspberry at him

Pinkie Pie again cocked her head, but her ears pivoted towards the side of the tents Giggles was on, not the side that Boomer was standing in. She opened her mouth to say something, but then seemed to think better of it, paused, thought it over, then said, "What do you think?"

Boomer thought long and hard, "I want her to be real, I'm afraid she isn't, but my heart tells me it's really her."

"So, treat her as if she's real until something proves absolutely that she isn't." Pinkie smiled at him.

"I have been. It's just..." he trailed off, as he looked over to his sister's ghost, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry I got you killed, that I wasn't able to save you. I'm sorry your life was cut short. I'm sorry my last words to you here on Equestria were spoken in anger. Most of all, I'm sorry I wasn't a better brother to you, that I didn't treat you better, that I didn't tell you, I love you, nearly often enough." The last barely making it out of him through his choked sobs.

He wasn't sure just at what point he'd fallen to his knees, but he knew he lacked the strength to get back to his hooves. Then, he felt two sets of hooves wrap around his neck, in comforting hugs. Even through his sobs, he heard Pinkie Pie say, "You're very lucky to have a brother like him."

As well as Giggle's reply, "I know. Believe me, I know. And hopefully, he'll come to understand it as well."

Pinkie Pie's reply of, "I don't know. He's kind of stubborn. For all his big heart, he has a pretty thick head." froze him mid sob.

"You can hear her now?" He asked, astonished.

"Well, yeah. As you told her you were sorry, she became sort of visible. That was really sweet by the way."

The tears that followed freely now hardly bothered him.

Chapter 8 So How Exactly Does That Work?

Boomer awoke the next morning, amazingly having slept the entire night, with Pinkie Pie on one side of him, sharing his blanket, and Giggles' ghost at his other. He looked into her bright alert eyes, then looked over at Pinkie Pie, softly snoring. Looking back to his sister, he asked, "I'm kind of fuzzy on the whole ghost thing, mind if I ask you a few questions?"

With a smile and a wave of a hoof, she indicated for him to proceed.

He paused, unsure just where to begin. "Okay, I guess first off, it's been more than two days, and, well, I don't think I've seen you sleep, not even a nap. Do ghosts not need to?"

She smiled even wider, "I can't speak for most ghosts. I don't even know any others. But I think I may well be a special case. All my answers will be tainted by that. So, let's just understand that this is all going to be about just me. How it relates to any other ghost, I have no idea.

"Sleep, no, I don't. At least, not like you do. I don't have a flesh and blood body anymore that tires and needs to rest. However, there are times when I am not concentrating on something, or you are not paying direct attention to me where time seems to jump. Like I blink, and hours just disappear. It’s rather disconcerting, so I try and keep myself busy as much as I can. If you are awake, I just listen to the noise in your head. If you are asleep, I wander around. I don’t really like listening in on your recurring dreams. Watching myself die is just disturbing. But it is nice to feel how much you cared, and how hard it hit you. And I’m sorry I put you through that. I guess the only good thing we can say, is it made possible your defeat of the nightmare realm not just then, but now as well.”

Boomer tried to not squirm about the fact that she was in his head all day long. "I guess I should be glad that Pinkie is seeing you now. For a while, I was worried that you were only in my head. I feared that even if you were really you, you only existed up here." And he tapped the side of his head with one hoof. Then, he grimaced in pain. The bruises on that part of his head felt even more tender this morning.

Giggles laughed at him. "I swear brother mine, you can be rather forgetful. Do I need to give you a run down every morning about the state of your own body?" When he just grunted and looked away, she continued, "You're not young and indestructible any more. Really, none of us ever were. But you men tend to cling to that idea longer. That is one thing getting killed really brings home for you, just how fragile our lives are, and how precious every day is. You've been stuck in a holding pattern since my death, and have let a lot of opportunities pass you by. Fortunately, I'm here to help you reclaim some of those."

Boomer scoffed, "Like kids and a family? I told you the other night, it's too late for me."

"You're not that old. There are plenty of ponies your age who are available. What about mayor Mare? I know you think she's attractive."

"Get out of my head! I'm not discussing whom I find attractive with my kid sister's ghost"

"You know, you're right. Physical attractiveness isn't everything. Shared background is important as well. You need somepony who knows what it's like to have made some choices they aren't proud of, that knows about isolation and feeling different from others. Princess Luna isn't seeing anypony right now, is she?"

"Have you lost your ever loving mind? I can NOT ask one of the princesses out on a date! It simply isn't done."

"Of course, of course, you need somepony with a lot of life in her, with friends a plenty, to help get you back into the social scene." And at that, Giggles looked over at Pinkie Pie's slumbering form.

Boomer placed himself squarely between Giggles and Pinkie. His horn stump was already glowing red. "You just leave this young girl out of any sort of plans you have regarding me and any sort of relationship beyond plain old friendship."

Giggles smiled. "Good. There are some who would take advantage of a young pony that was enamoured of them, and vulnerable. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't give in to that temptation."

Boomer's look of grim determination turned to one of disgust. "For somepony who claims to know what is going on in my head, you sure aren't paying attention. I would NEVER do something like that."

Nodding her head, she continued, "Let's just say I wanted You to know you wouldn't give in. There are dark parts of your mind, just as there are in everyone's. You tend to worry over much that you'll give in to those dark urges. I think that's the biggest reason you keep yourself so separate from everypony else. Guilt and sorrow, they can be pretty powerful negative motivators.

"You tend to overlook the motivations you do act on. When you could have walked away from this mission, despite knowing or fearing Pinkie Pie might not survive, you stepped up. When the nightmare beings emerged from the woods, you went back for her, despite knowing how dangerous they were. When she was about to be killed, you forced your power beyond anything you'd ever done before. And you had the courage to open up to her, exposing your weakness, while offering her the support she needed. You could have easily ignored her the rest of the trip back, but you were willing to shift your view of her enough to begin to shift your view of yourself. THAT takes real courage."

Boomer scoffed. "Maybe so, but in the cell, I deliberately endangered her when I blew up that rag. And when I blasted the rift, I did it not thinking of her safety at all. Both times, I could have killed her."

"That's another thing you keep discounting. You have a deep understanding and belief in your magic. You knew in your heart that she would be safe. You let what happened to me color how you interact with everyone. Even when Pinkie Pie told you her father says you're a hero, your guilt over what happened, led you to present your actions as if YOU were the villain. What happened to me and all the others there wasn't your fault. In fact, if not for you, how many others would have fallen victim to the Nightmare Realm?"

Boomer finally broke. He bellowed, "That's the whole point! If I had managed to blast the gate in the first place, none of you would have been killed! You're dead because I failed! And don't try and say I did it in the end. That just shows that I should have been able to do it in the first place."

They were both startled by Pinkie Pie's voice behind him. "That doesn't make any sense at all."

They both turned to face her as she continued, "Your magic is fueled by your emotions, isn't it?" He nodded and Pinkie continued, "Then you couldn't have done it before your sister was killed." Boomer was even more confused, but Giggles was smiling. Obviously proud that the young pony had figured it out. So, Pinkie Pie finished, "Until she was killed, you never had access to the kind of violent emotion. Before, you could only channel the intensity of what you'd felt up to that point. You never experienced that much pain, sorrow or rage before. That also explains why this time was even more so. Twenty years of guilt packs a heck of a whollop. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't blow a hole in the world."

Giggles laughed. "Technically, he blew up a hole INTO the world."

Chapter 9 A Short Walk To The Palace

They left the tents and had breakfast. Boomer was rather subdued, but he helped get the patrol ready to go. Extra attention was paid to everything. Gear was stowed exactly to regs, harnesses and hooves were polished, uniforms were cleaned up as much as possible, or changed over for the best on hand, and at the end of it all, every pony was inspected by everypony else before they were allowed to fall into the marching formation. Boomer was more than a little embarrassed that he'd destroyed his service cap because of his temper, yet again. However, he was surprised by the patrol sergeant. As he joined the formation, the patrol sergeant pulled out another service cap from his pack, one with a silver oak leaf on it. "Sir, I know you've masqueraded as a first sergeant, mostly to keep a low profile, and help us avoid extra scrutiny. But I think it's time for you to step up and honor us with your leadership, even if it is only for this last march into Canterlot." Boomer took the cap and settled it on as the young sergeant continued, "And I speak for all of us when I say, it has been a true honor and a privilege to have you with us." And with that he, and all the other patrol ponies saluted.

Boomer returned the salute, but was still stunned. Even more so when the young sergeant continued again, "Sir, after I received our orders from the princess, but before we left, I had a battle standard quickly made. When I saw you only wearing your sergeant's stripes, I kept it packed away, but, as we are now returning victorious, may I have your permission to fly it?"

They brought out a banner, it was deep crimson with a grey mushroom cloud in the center, with "Boomer's Raiders" arcing above and below in gold lettering.

He just stared at it, unsure what to say, so he just nodded. The banner was quickly affixed to a pole, and then to the harness of the other pony at the front of the formation, so that they would be led by the standard of Equestria, and their temporary patrol banner. Boomer took his station just behind them, followed by the rest of the patrol in two columns. He looked back over his shoulder, and felt a swelling of pride, to briefly be associated with these brave young ponies. As he faced forward again, he stood a little straighter, and for the first in a long time held his head high, "Forward, March!"

Despite that, Boomer's thoughts raced over this whole outing, but especially over the conversations of the last few days. At least until they started entering the outskirts of Canterlot. The cheers of the growing crowds drew his mind back to the fact that he was about to report directly to the princess, possibly, both of them.

As he led them up the last few turns of the road to the palace he struggled with what he should say. He tried to compose a speech, but threw out failed start after failed start. Before he knew it, the patrol sergeant behind him called out, "Patrol, Halt!" And he realized his time was up, as they stood before the thrones. The patrol reformed behind him into two ranks, instead of columns. Now, he stood before the standard bearers, with the patrol formed up behind them. He fought the urge to look over his shoulder and verify that everything was as it should be. "Trust the training." he told himself. Then, on his command, they all bowed before the princesses.

When he arose, all remnants of the scraps of the speech he'd been trying to prepare, fled his mind. But with blinding clarity, he suddenly knew exactly what to say. He thought instructions to Giggles, trusting her to be listening in on him, especially right then.

He bowed once more, then began. "Your Royal Highnesses; a week ago, you called me before you, and laid down what I felt was an impossible task. Or should I say, the cost of completing it was beyond, what I thought, should be paid.

"Many know that I was one of a hundred who went forth to face the Nightmare Realm the first time they invaded our lands. Few know I was one of only three to survive. Though in truth, because the other two ended their own lives within months, unable to deal with the mental trauma they'd suffered, I was really the sole survivor. Even so, I too was deeply damaged. You can possibly understand that I feared this would be a suicide mission. I ask you to forgive me for doubting your wisdom. You sent me forth with just these ponies behind me, them and your faith, that we would prevail. I gladly return them to you, whole and victorious, along with a restored measure of my own faith. I thank you."

Boomer called over his shoulder, "Pinkie Pie, front and center!" He trusted that Giggles would talk Pinkie through what to do. When she stopped right next to him, on his right, he couldn't help a bit of a smile.

"All of these ponies were vital to our success, but I wanted to honor this one most of all, for without her, we would have surely failed. Her kind and generous nature kept up the morale of all the ponies of the unit, but most of all, her determination and abilities are what made this mission success possible. I doubted your wisdom when you sent her with us, and for that, I am sorry. She alone is the reason we all stand here before you. She has faced horrors that have destroyed some of the strongest ponies I knew, yet she had enough heart to help heal even some of my old wounds. She is the bravest pony it has ever been my privilege to know. And I thank you for giving me the chance to see it for myself.

"Princesses, ponies of Equestria, I give you a true hero, Pinkie Pie of Ponyvile. May you come to know and love her as I have, that you too may be blessed." And with that, he turned and marched out of the throne room.

Chapter 10 The Wailing Room

Chapter 10 The Wailing Room.

Boomer stayed just out of sight of every pony in the throne room, but close enough in the shadows that he could hear Pinkie tell her version of what happened. He was glad she left out his railing against her at the campfire before their capture, as well as making no mention of his sister's ghost. Then he heard Princess Celestia praise Pinkie and the patrol ponies, and honor them for a job well done. And with that, he turned and walked further down the dark corridor, away from the throne room and the celebration that was starting back there.

The darkness was bringing up the fear that was an after effect of facing the Nightmare Realm forces. But he had made his peace with this fear a long time ago. That this latest encounter had freshened it did nothing to change that. No, the dark held no new fears for him. In fact, it was something of a comfort to face something so familiar.

No, he walked further into the darkness because now that it was over, he could feel the loss and rage welling up inside him, and he knew he was not going to be able to keep it in. He had to get away from everyone so none of them saw when he finally shattered. The walking helped, but he knew that the fuse on this explosion was almost at its end.

Finally, deep in the depths of the palace, in a chamber he had found once when he was a young soldier on guard duty, one that he knew was far enough from any activity in the main palace, that sound from here wouldn’t reach any pony’s ears, Boomer fell to his knees. With a wail, he let out all the pain and heartache he had held back since that day twenty years before. It didn’t start out as sobs, but bellows of such pain, anyone who heard them would have thought that he had just found his family dead. In a way, he had. There were parts of Boomer’s pain that he had never touched, not even looked at, since the death of Giggles. Now, here when he knew it was truly over, and having been confronted with his sister’s ghost, and Pinkie’s revelation that there really had been nothing more he could have done before he had seen Giggles killed, he at last accepted his guilt, and sorrow and rage, and let it wash through him. It burned away all the excuses he’d made that kept him from looking at it all, and it burned away the guilt. The rage spent itself, and then, at last he was left with only the sorrow and loss. Then the sobs came.

He wept for all the members of his unit. He wept for his sister. He wept for those who died before they had even managed to make that first expedition so long ago. And then, he wept for himself. He let the tears come, and he opened himself up and he felt everything he had packed away. And he accepted.

Boomer wasn’t sure how long he had been down there. He was so spent from his episode; it was all he could do to get shakily back to his hooves. He shook himself, and sucked in several great breaths, drawing back a small measure of his strength, readying himself for the long trek back up. He turned to leave the chamber, and froze in horror when he realized that somepony was just outside its entrance.

She lit her horn lightly, and Princess Luna entered the chamber. “After my sister welcomed me back from my exile, there were many a night when I too came down to these depths and did also poor out my grief and sorrow over past deeds and events. I came to call this the wailing room. I am glad it was able to serve thee as well as it had me.” And then she smiled a soft understanding smile. One of shared pain, but still possessed of a sliver of hope.

He quickly bowed to her, “Your highness, I’m sorry if I kept you from this place. If you have need of it, please excuse me and I will leave you to it.”

She let out a soft tinkling laugh, “Not at all brave one. I came down here on the behest of thy sister, to watch over thee in thy hour of need.”

“My sister is, dead.” He replied before he could stop himself, flinching when he realized how accusing that had come out.

Luna merely nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Indeed she is brave one. But I am the Princess of the Moon and the Night. Ghosts are not unknown to me. However, I must say, thy sister is an odd sort. When she led Pinkie Pie up next to thee, I was shocked to realize that she were not a living pony, she were so vibrant. And when she came to me to ask me to come after thee, I was surprised even more when I came aware that none other could perceive her. In fact, she told me as she walked with me part way down here, that in truth, only thee and thy companion Pinkie Pie were the only ponies to see her. I believe she was surprised as well when she did realize that I was aware of her. That was when she didst ask me to come to thee.”

Boomer remembered what Giggles had said about Princess Luna being single, and blushed furiously. From far up the corridor he herd is sisters merrily call to him in long drawn out sing-song, “Heard that!” And Boomer flushed even more.

Princess Luna looked behind her up the darkness, then back at Boomer questioningly. He stammered, trying to explain, “Apparently, she is linked to me somehow, and can hear my every thought. Right now she is teasing me because she heard me, remembering her telling me, that you would be perfect dating material, and most likely heard my embarrassed flush as well.” And then he stopped in horror, as he realized what he’d just said. Out loud!

Princess Luna held up a hoof to hide her face as she giggled. “In truth, thy ghostly sister did try to bend mine ear to that same thing on our way down here. When I told her that such could not be, she told me that was nearly thy answer exactly. Although she did say that thy words did have more outrage and indignation at the thought of me sullying myself by stooping to such a lowly pony as yourself. Though, such disparity of position is not apparent to me.” She paused as she thought on something, then continued, “In fact, one thought that came to me during the trek down here doth now ring in my mind as a most excellent remedy as to how best to honor what you have done for us and our lands. My sister has already announced that thou are to be promoted to full colonel, but I have the chance to bestow my reward to thee now. Kneel.”

Although a tad stupefied, Boomer immediately dropped to one knee before his Princess, bowing his head.

“By the power invested in me, as a true princess of Equestria, I do hereby name thee, my Knight Champion. And from this day forward, shalt thou be my sword arm, and my shield. Arise, Sir Boomer, Knight Protector and Champion of the Princess of the Night.” She proclaimed and touched a hoof to each of his shoulders in turn, and then the crown of his head.

Boomer fought for words, “Princess, I, I am deeply honored. However, I don’t know what being a Knight Champion entails. What will be required of me, and what are my duties to be?”

Princess Luna smiled again. “My brave one, for I may now truly call ye mine. As Knight Champion ye will be called on, should the need arise, to stand in my stead, should someone challenge me. As well, I may call on ye to perform special tasks, that I need accomplished, that require a delicate hoof. If I had already claimed ye as my Knight Champion, this mission would have been exactly such. But most of all, as Knight Champion, ye shall be responsible for defending mine honor, and when there is need, to act as an advisor. Ye shalt be granted access to me at any time, at any place, even in my bedchamber, should that be where I reside when ye doth need me.”

Boomer looked at her and cocked his head, “Uh, Princess Luna, are you teasing me?”

She giggled lightly, “Only about my bedchamber. For ye are the defender of mine honor, and I know I could trust ye above all, to not besmirch it. Besides, ye are most comely when the blush of roses doth take thy face, and I wanted to know if I could cause ye to color so again. However, one more duty of thine must now be made clear. Now that thou are MY Knight, thou shalt no longer address me by my title when we speak in private conversation. I ask ye, please, call me Luna. For along with having you as my Knight Champion, I would also have ye as my friend.”

“Princess I, sorry, Luna, that would honor me more than everything else. I will do my best to not let you down.” Boomer stammered. But then he paused as some thought tickled the edges of his mind. “Prin… Luna, you changed how you are addressing me. You went from “thee” and “thou” to “ye”. Is that at all significant? Forgive me, for your formal mode of speech was not covered in my training, and I know that my understanding in its subtleties is, lacking. However, as it is my duty now to defend your honor, I shall study most earnestly, that I may remedy my failings, and be ready in the future.” He finished that last in a rush.

Princess Luna smiled warmly, “Indeed it is so. I hath claimed ye as, mine. That calls for a less formal address betwixt us. And even were ye not my chosen champion, as a friend, I would address ye as such as well. But fear not, I know that my speech hath fallen out of favor in the time of my exile. One thing I may call on ye to help with, is bringing my speech and mannerisms in line with those of current mode. So, by ye studying and bringing thy manner of speech into my accustomed frame, ye may also learn how best that I may bring mine in line with thine. Moreover, one other thing I would ask of ye, however, this is not tied to thy duties, so ye may freely decline if ye care not for the idea.”

Boomer nodded for her to carry on.

“If ye wilt allow it, may I call on thy sister’s ghost as well, if such is possible?” she asked, almost as if she were embarrassed to voice the request.

Boomer stood up straight in surprise. He glanced up the corridor. He knew his sister was far enough up it that she would not have heard the question asked, but that was almost irrelevant as she would have heard it echo in Boomer’s mind when it landed. Mostly, he was surprised not by the request, but by the deference the princess expressed in the asking of it. He could feel, that should he tell her, ‘no’, she would hold to that, but bear him no ill will for his choice. He struggled to figure out how to phrase his question to Giggles, when he heard her voice in his head, “I would be honored.”

At that, Boomer jumped. Princess Luna was a bit startled, but he quickly explained. “Sorry pri, Luna, as you know, my sister’s ghost can hear my thoughts. I was just startled to learn that she can make hers known to me. She said that she would be honored. And I myself have no objections. If she can serve you in any way that we all feel is appropriate, then I would be remiss, as your champion, to withhold her aid from you.” And he gave his princess a small bow.

That last thought stilled him for a moment. For indeed, Luna was now, “his” princess, his to watch over and defend, his to honor, and his to serve. In a way, it was rather intimate, yet at the same time, completely proper. The weight of that responsibility was heavy indeed. He just prayed he was up to it.

Buoyed by joy at having a new, worthy, calling, he bowed to Luna once more, but much more grandly. “My Princess, my Luna, would you care to accompany me back up to the throne room? If we are lucky, we may yet catch the last parts of whatever celebration was arranged. And if I am exceedingly lucky, we may arrive before Pinkie Pie embarrasses me by revealing what a blubbering mess I was.” And with that, they began the trek back up to the main hall of the palace.

After a short while, they were joined by Giggles. Boomer laughed, “After twenty years of self imposed isolation, it seems to be my fate to be surrounded by beautiful fillies. Luna, if you can find use for my pest of a sister’s ghost, and keep her out of my hair from time to time, I would be most appreciative. She has some grand design on mucking about in my life, and I am half afraid that if I cannot keep her distracted, she may well accomplish whatever nefarious plans she has for me.”

They all laughed at that. Then, Giggles said, “My brother is making a lot of progress on his own. But I do have plans for him. I mean to see him married. As you can see your highness, he can be rather cute and charming at times. Are you sure I can’t interest you?”

Boomer choked and stumbled over his sister’s forwardness. But it was Princess Luna who answered with a laugh. “Nay my good spirit, I have the claim on him that I need and want. Further would complicate things over much. But I wish thee success with thy mission.”

Giggles smiled and winked at the princess. “That’s okay. I have somepony else in mind anyway.”

Chapter 11 Oh, A Party. Pardon Me When I Freak Out

At that point, Boomer’s higher brain functions locked up for a few minutes. Fortunately, he was able to keep walking, and his fog broke before they reentered the throne room. Almost as soon as they did, they were confronted by Princess Celestia. “Ah, there you two are. I was worried you were going to miss everything. However, if past events are any indicator, I’m sure you are just trying to avoid the spotlight. You certainly turned it on our Pinkie Pie well enough.” She started to turn to indicate Pinkie over where she was talking with a hoard of ponies. But, she stopped half way, then quickly looked back at Boomer, studying his face most intently. Boomer was wondering if he got something on his face, the way she was staring at the spot just below his horn. Then she reached forward and took the bill of his service cap, looked in his eyes and asked, “May I?”

Unsure just what was going on, he nodded ascent, and she lifted the cap slightly, so she could fully see around the base of his horn.

Princess Celestia’s face lit up with joy and she squealed, spinning to hug her sister. “Oh sister dear, that is so perfect! I never expected you to actually choose someone, as the tradition had fallen out of favor even before we were born, but he is PERFECT! Now my little promotion doesn’t seem so inadequate. This just tops things off with just the right touch.”

Boomer leaned a bit over to his sister’s ghost and whispered, “Just what are they going on about?”

Giggles whispered back, “No clue. I can’t read THEIR minds, remember. Lift your cap up a bit and I’ll see it I can tell.”

Boomer did, and she looked for only a fraction of a second before she gasped and looked over at Princess Luna. Then, she looked back at Boomer and said, “Uh, not sure how to tell you this brother mine, but it seems that the princess there TRULY marked you as hers. You have a silver mark just below your horn that is shaped exactly like Princess Luna’s cutie mark.”

Princess Luna had managed to break out of her sister’s hug and rejoined the conversation at that point. “Fear not my brave Champion. The mark will only show when ye are on official duty for me, and only then if ye so desire it. And of course, whenever ye aret here at the palace, that all may know thy position. Outside of the royal family, none may order ye, or counter one of thy commands. Even my sister may only ask me to have ye relent in a mater I have given you orders on. As I said, ye are MY Knight. However, baring orders from me, ye are to follow her in all things.”

Princess Celestia looked slyly at them, “And I just know you are waiting for the first chance you can get to tell me “no” about him, aren’t you?”

Princess Luna raised her head and looked indignant, or at least tried to, “I have no idea why thou wouldst say that sister dear. I will use his station properly and not thwart you with my command of him.” But then she smirked a bit, “Mostly.”

Her sister laughed in glee and gave Princess Luna another hug. Then she ran off saying, “I simply MUST tell Princess Candice about this. She’ll be thrilled!” However, before she did, she touched Boomer’s service cap, and when her hoof came away, the silver oak leaf had been changed into a silver eagle.

He only knew what had happened when Giggles leaned in and whispered, “Congratulation colonel Boomer.” At which point he whipped the cap off and looked for himself.

They mingled with the party for the rest of the evening. Boomer downplayed his role in the event as much as he could, but did have one embarrassing moment when Pinkie Pie jumped him, throwing her hooves around his neck while screaming, “Thank you so much for saving me!” And then of course, being her, she launched into a song about the joys of being alive. Boomer looked at his sister, then across the crowd, to where Princess Luna was standing and just shrugged his shoulders in a, “what can you do” gesture. He was mildly surprised that he now knew almost exactly where Princess Luna was from him, just as he did with Giggles. The princess really had linked them somehow.

As the celebration was beginning to wind down, Boomer spotted Twilight Sparkle, and motioned her to join him off to one side of the chamber. When he was sure they wouldn't be overheard, he spoke in hushed tones. "You're one of Pinkie's friends, right?" Twilight nodded, so he continued, "What she went through is going to be very hard on her for a while. She needs friends around her and supporting her, especially at night. The darkness is when it will be worst. Just please, make sure she isn't left alone. She'll most likely have some really horrific nightmares, and possibly some panic attacks. Give her lots of love and acceptance. Hold her when she needs it, wipe her tears away when she cries, and listen to her. But most of all, don't let her push you away. Never leave her by herself." He paused for a second, "I guess the only exception to that is if she wants to come out and talk with me. Walk with her till you can see my house, but stop and let her walk the rest on her own. There are two reasons for that. First, Pinkie Pie has a habit of causing random explosions at my shop. She'll be safe from them, but you guys may not be. And second, she needs to do some things on her own. Even if it's something as simple as walking to my home, it's still important.

Boomer paused and looked behind him. Sure enough, four more young ponies were there, the rest of Pinkie's close friends. He smiled a bit sheepishly, "I guess she won't have to repeat what I said."

A hoof touched his shoulder, and he turned back to Twilight. She smiled up at him, "Thank you for taking care of and watching over her for us."

Boomer looked away, fighting the tears that seemed to fall far too easily these days, but stilled when he spotted another pony his age across the room. "If you ladies will excuse me, there is somepony I need to speak with. Thank you for listening to the worries of an old pony like me." And with that, he quickly made his way through the croud.

Pinkie Pie's parents didn't look much older than the last time he'd seen them nearly ten years ago. However, he could still see the young colt that had been his friend all through school in the father of the bright pink chatterbox between them. As he joined the three of them, he shook the hoof of Pinkie Pie’s father Indigenous Rock Pie and asked, “So, you really told your daughter that I’m some kind of hero?”

He grinned back at Boomer, “But of course. I don’t know of anypony I can think of who better suits that title. Thank you for taking care of my little girl. I can imagine how hard it was for you, and what you must have been thinking she was sent with you for.”

Boomer cringed. Yep, he would have known exactly what Boomer had thought. “The whole time heading out, I was sick to my stomach thinking about what I thought was coming. I really was stupid. And I wasn’t lying. Pinkie really was what saved us. If not for her, I know I probably would have botched it all.”

Another voice came from just behind him. He thought he recognized her voice, but prayed he was wrong. “That’s not how she was telling it to us.”

Pinkie’s father pointed over Boomer’s shoulder as Boomer started to turn to that voice. “And of course, I’m sure you remember Pepper.”

Boomer almost stopped turning. He didn’t want to see, didn’t want to remember. But she started to say something else, and her voice drew him around like iron to a lodestone.

Her eyes captured him first. If he could just stay locked on those lovely eyes, maybe he would be safe. His brain wasn’t even interpreting the sounds she was making as words. His panic had killed his ability to comprehend speech. He held to her eyes, and thought that maybe he could relax, but she turned her head to her right, to address Indigenous Rock, and exposed the left side of her face to Boomer’s full gaze.

The scars now visible, Boomer was slammed by the full memory of how they came to be.

Chapter 12 Boy Meets Girl, Boy Blows Girl Up, Boy Loses It In Public

Fifteen years before, Boomer had been helping out the Pie Family Rock Farm, by blasting a group of starter rocks for them over at the nearby quarry. He was all ready to go. The charges had been set. All ponies had been cleared of the blast area. And most of all, Boomer had a good head of mad on, to pump into the blast crystals he had placed around the large sapphire formation to break it free. THAT was going to bring the rock farm a lot of future profit.

He had called the all clear, and pumped his anger energy into the blast crystals. Then, he sparked the fuse and they started counting down. Twenty seconds was enough time for all the quarry ponies to get back under the blast shelters. But Boomer stayed where he was. The blast couldn’t hurt him, and these explosions were the only joy he had left now.

From high above, what he could only describe as an angel swooped down and landed near the sapphire formation. She was a pegasus pony unlike any he had ever seen before. She looked to be barely in her late teens, twenty at the oldest, a good ten years younger than he was. Her body was the color of a ripe orange, and she looked strong, like beat Big Mac in hoof wrestling strong. Her mane and tail were midnight blue with some purple accents, woven into tight braids, and she had the most vivid lavender eyes. He couldn’t help but stare at her beauty.

Then, the countdown from far behind him cut through his admiration.

“Five!”

Oh gods above! She would never be able to fly clear.

“Four!

He charged down there, knowing it was too late, but praying he could manage to do, something.

“Three!”

Maybe he could get between her and the blast, maybe.

“Two!”

She looked back at him, and saw the horror in his eyes as he charged towards her.

“One!”

Boomer reached her, and shielded as much of her as he could, and tried something he never had before. He tried to pull all his blast magic back out of the crystals he had charged. He couldn’t reach all of them, but maybe at least the ones closest to her.

THOOM!

He felt the massive force of the explosion throw them across the open ground. Shards of rock and shattered crystal slashed against him like bullets from hundreds of guns. And he heard her screams.

A cold burning was all around his horn stump as he got up, covered in heavy frost. He reached up one hoof, and felt a mass of hard cold over his horn stump. He tapped at it, and ice broke away and rained down in front of his face.

A groan turned him to look at her.

He had shielded, most of her.

She would probably live.

Maybe.

But the whole left side of her face and partway down her neck was a mass of deep cuts and burns. Half that ear was just, gone. Her wing on that side looked like nothing more than shredded meat and bone.

And it was his fault.

They rushed her to the hospital. They started working on her right away, but the doctors weren’t sure how much they would be able to do. If they could stabilize her, they might be able to save her eye, possibly. But they feared her wing was destroyed. When he heard that, Boomer grabbed the doctor and slammed him against the wall. “You save her! You save her eye! You do everything you can an more. Do whatever you can with her wing! I will pay for whatever it takes. But by all that is holy, if she can’t see or fly again, I will see you all in HELL! I will turn this hospital into a smoking crater, and do even worse to you! No more dead ponies because of me!!!” He threw the doctor back down the hall towards the operating room and ran out of the hospital.

Boomer ran to the end of town. Filthy Rich had made an offer for Boomer’s parents home when they had moved away to Baltimare to take care of her aging parents. He had been living there alone since he’d left the army, but it really wasn’t home anymore without them. And he needed money more than he needed the house.

He nearly ran Filthy Rich over on his way to his store. “How much can you give me for my parents house right here, right now?” Filthy hemmed and hawed about needing to get inspections, and appraisals taking time. Boomer screamed back, “None of that matters! How much RIGHT NOW!”

Filthy Rich quoted him a figure that was way below the offer he’d originally made. Boomer knew the house was worth a lot more than that, but right then, he didn’t care. “Fine! Meet me at the bank in ten minutes and it’s yours. If you’re not there, I’ll sell it to the first pony that can be.” and raced to his house to get the papers.

He put all of that, along with nearly all of his savings into a new account, and rushed back to the hospital. As he got to the counter where he had checked her in, some of the hospital security ponies grabbed him. He fought against them as he shoved the bank book at the nurse behind the counter. “This is for the pegasus hurt at the quarry! If it isn’t enough, I’ll get more somehow. Just please, save her! PLEASE!” The anguish in his voice had the security ponies pause, and ease up on their struggles with him. They ended up just holding him up as he wailed, “No more dead ponies because of me! No more dead ponies. Please, no more. No more because of me.”

The doctor who Boomer had yelled at earlier, was stomping towards them in a rage as that had started, but as Boomer broke down, he stopped and just stared at him. Then he turned and told the nurse at the desk, “Nurse Redheart, get a hold of Doctor Stable and Doctor Hugo and get them here STAT. I don’t care if we have to fly him in from Manehatten. Contact Doctor Whooves and Madam Zecora as well. They may be able to help us. Get Princes Celestia if you have to. Just make this happen. We have a pony to work on.” With that, he turned and ran back towards the operating room.

The waiting room had ponies come and go. Some of them tried to talk to Boomer, but he didn’t hear any of them. He just sat slumped in a corner for hour after hour. It got dark, and then light again. At some point, someone made him eat and drink something; at least he thinks that was what happened. Honestly, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

It was his friend Indigenous Rock who finally broke through the haze. “They’ve taken her to a recovery room. They saved her eye, although it may have some problems. She’ll be able to see, but may need glasses. They did what they could with her wing, but too much of it was damaged. One of the people who came to help thinks they can build her a mechanical one. She’ll be able to fly, but it won’t be like before. They asked if you wanted to go in and see her…”

She lay on the bed asleep, mostly covered in bandages. They said she would make it. But she was damaged, and would never be the same. Because of him.

He walked over to the bed and reached out a hoof to her, but couldn’t bring himself to touch her. It was his fault.

He turned away from the bed and back to his friend. He handed the bank book over. “See that all the bills get paid. If they need more, let me know. I imagine there will be some sort of physical therapy. Let me know how that goes. The wing, the glasses, anything else she needs, I’ll cover it. Just, just don’t let her know it’s from me. If she asks, tell her it was anonymous donations. NO ONE tells her anything about me. This is my fault. I’ll fix it. But she doesn’t need to know. Tell her I’m sorry for what happened, but nothing else.” And then he left the hospital.

He never went near her again. Many times, he'd watched her from afar, but never face to face.

Oh, there had been attempts to contact him. After he built a room onto his shop so he would have somewhere to live, she had come out there, several times. But he refused to answer the door. He was there in the background when she made her first flight with her prosthetic wing, but he made sure she didn’t see him. He stayed back in the shadows at the ceremony when she opened her own rock quarry, as had always been her dream. She thanked the donations that were left over from her recovery that had helped make it possible and said, “Lots of ponies laughed at me when I was growing up; a pegasus pony who loved rocks and dirt. But I followed my heart and finally, it has led me here. Thank you.”

That was the last time he had seen her, or his friend, close enough to hear her voice. Ten years of hiding away from one more pile of guilt. Hiding away, but keeping watch over her from far off.

Chapter 13 Putting The Party On Ice

As the memories released him, all he was aware of was himself muttering, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Over and over. That, and the cold. His head, his whole body, was encased in a layer of ice almost an inch thick. He could see through the distortion of the ice that a massive cone of ice extended out away from his horn stump.

Something was banging against the ice at his side. He couldn’t see what, but he felt as the ice started to break. Then, it shattered all around him, and he collapsed to the ground shaking from the cold.

Shivering with his eyes closed, he felt a warm body lay down next to him, and then enfold him in an equally warm wing of the softest feathers. It felt so wonderful, “Thank you.” was all he could say.

He heard a snort, “I’ve been trying to tell you that very thing for nearly a decade and a half. But for some reason, you don’t want to hear it from me.”

Boomer, heart now hammering, tried to leap up and away from Pepper. For that was who had freed him from the ice and had warmed and comforted him. But everything and everypony else in the throne room was also encased in ice, causing him to slip and fall crashing back to the ground.

Pepper stared at him as he leapt away from her, the hurt in her eyes quickly flashing to anger. “So this is how you really feel? I’ve never been allowed to thank you because I’m so hideous now that you can’t stand to be near me?! You could have just told me that I disgust you and I wouldn’t have bothered you anymore! Don't worry I won’t burden you with having to look on the monster anymore.”

Boomer stared at her in shock as she tried to get up, clearly determined to storm out of there, if she could get her hooves to stay under her on all this ice. Words finally broke through his shock, “What? No! You’re the most beautiful pony I’ve ever seen. It’s just, what happened to you was my fault...” Then he stopped in an entirely different shock. And then bellowed in rage, “Who called you a monster! WHO?” He jumped to his hooves, and his horn stump was glowing yellow, nearly white hot as he loomed over her. Through clenched teeth he growled, “Tell me who called you a monster, and they will be no more on this earth.”

She looked up at him in wonder. “You, you really think I’m beautiful?” she whispered to him. “Even with the scars, and this bad wing, and my glasses?”

The heat in his horn immediately went out and he smiled at her. “Your scars don’t matter. Heck, I have more in my mind and soul than you can possibly imagine. And your wing is amazing; a pure wonder.” Then he smirked a bit, leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. “And I think your glasses are cute as hell; damn sexy even.”

At that she blushed and stammered.

They were interrupted by several loud cracklings from the other side of the room. They both looked over to see Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna breaking out of the ice encasing them. He held out a hoof to help Pepper up, and they went over towards the princesses, slipping slightly on the ice. “Your highnesses, what happened?”

Princess Luna looked around and said with a laugh, “Why, ye did my champion. I know not what caused ye to do so, but whatever ye did, ye pulled on my magic through our bond. Is there some reason we all needed be sheathed in ice?”

Pepper cocked her head at Boomer, "It was sort of like when we first met, only a lot more so."

He scoffed, "We didn't meet. We had a train wreck; one that you barely survived."

"I may have been physically hurt, but from everything I've heard, you were emotionally damaged." She replied.

Boomer turned away, "I was damaged long before that." But he paused and looked back at her, "What do you mean, like when we met?"

She nodded, "Almost exactly; you got that terrified look on your face, then your horn flashed a really odd deep purple. Only, then, the crown of your head iced over, and your body went from black to covered in white frost, like somepony had left you out overnight in the middle of winter. This time, your whole body flashed purple, and everything and every pony but me were ice sculptures. I wonder why I wasn't?"

Giggles walked around from behind the frozen Pie family, "That's because both times he was sucking up blast energy trying to protect You. So, of course you wouldn't be affected. This time, he didn't have any blast magic to absorb, so he sucked the heat out of the room, and with the boost from the princess's magic, instant ice palace."

Both Princess Celestia and Pepper turned and asked, in unison, "Who are you?" But then Princess Celestia's eyes widened in recognition and she took a couple of steps back.

Giggles grinned, "Oh good, you can see me. When he sucked in all that extra energy, I felt different, and hoped this would be the case. Although, I'm probably won't be this visible for long. I'm drawing on that extra energy, and I'm using it up pretty fast."

Princess Luna, (who had been whispering to her sister, who was looking from Giggles to Boomer and back with a look of wonder and respect) spoke up, "Fear not my dear. I canst feel where thou dost draw from my knight, and can support thee. In truth, with night upon us, my power doth wax, and the task grows easier still."

Giggles leaned over to Pepper and stage whispered, "Don't you just love listening to her talk. Honestly, I hope my brother doesn't manage to update her speech. I would miss it."

Pepper looked between Giggles and Boomer, recognition dawning in her eyes, and she gasped, "Your brother, but you're..."

Giggles gave a wink, "Yep, dead. But I got to come back as a ghost to straighten out this knucklehead's life. Now don't go freaking out and run off. I have plans for you."

Boomer sputtered in outrage, "Now see here..."

But Giggles cut him off with one raised hoof, "Quite now. Us girls are talking. Why don't you help Princess Celestia clean up your little mess here. I imagine a lot of these ponies are starting to feel rather chilled."

Pepper looked at her admiringly now, "Oh, I think I like you. Yes, run along Boomer. We want to talk about you behind your back. And you have ice to break up."

Sputtering even more, he stomped over to the middle of the hall, where Princess Celestia was trying very unsuccessfully to hide that she was laughing.

His horn was already starting to glow red as he ground his teeth, when Giggles called over to him, "And don't pull on Luna's power, or you're liable to blow the palace clean off the mountain!"

At that thought, he unclenched and tried to think the problem through smart and quick. He glanced over at Princess Celestia and realized she was waiting on him. Crud, this really was going to be his cleanup. While he was sure she could magic away all the ice, she was wanting to see how he would handle it.

Wonderful, that wasn't likely to lessen the performance anxiety at all. Ah well, might as well keep it simple. "Princess, I'm going to shatter the ice just over the other ponies. If I try taking it all out, I'm liable to break windows and other things. Once I do, if you could flood the room with as much heat as is comfortable, that will help them with their chills, and start the melting of the remaining ice."

She nodded with an approving smile. He paused and mentally laid out several points around each pony in the room. It was delicate work; the kind he never would have been able to pull off in his younger days in the army. Back then, he had been about brute power in his blasts. Having to work with the more structured blasts of the quarries and mines had forced him to develop precision and fine control. But never anything this complicated without a huge amount of planning. However, Giggles had told him he had an internal understanding of his power. Maybe he should just trust his instincts. He thought a message at her, "If I screw this up because you've talked me up in my own head, I'm blaming you."

A message and mental image came back to him, "Just pretend it's Pepper trapped in the ice."

Panic slammed his mind, and the four spark points he'd plotted around each pony instantly tripled and flash-popped as one. The ice encasements shattered.

Princess Celestia's horn glowed, and the hall was bathed in the heat of a bright summer's day.

Of course, that may not have been the best of ideas. When it had been pointed out earlier that every surface had been coated in ice, it could easily be understood the forgetting that the ceiling high overhead was a surface as well.

So, it came as a bit of a surprise, when everypony in the room was drenched as the warmed water fell from above.

Boomer had the distinct pleasure of looking directly at Princess Celestia's face, and seeing her look of pride change to shock, as dozens of gallons drenched her.

When the water cleared his eyes, what greeted him was her royal highness, eyes wide, mane soaked and plastered to her head and neck, and crown slightly askew. She looked around a little wild eyed, seeing everypony else in a similar state. Then, she burst out laughing; laughter that quickly spread to everypony in the hall. Every pony except Boomer, who still stood locked in panic.

Giggles walked up to him slowly. For a change, a look of uncertainty and concern on her face. "Hey there brother mine, you okay?" she asked tentatively.

The frozen panic faded from his face, shifting to a dark fury. He turned burning eyes on his sister's ghost. "If you would excuse me, I'll be going home now." His strained formality was almost more disturbing for its coldness. "Sister; I would appreciate it if you leave me be for now. There are some things I'm on the verge of saying, that I'm sure we would all regret. I'll call for you when I feel I can be civil." Giggles flinched, as if she had just been struck.

He then turned, "Princesses, I'm sorry for the disturbance. By your leave..."

Princess Luna raised a hoof, as if she wanted to say something, then lowered it and gave a sad nod of dismissal.

Boomer turned and marched out. Once he'd started speaking in those cold tones, every pony stopped, as if they'd all been frozen in ice again. None of them dared move or make a sound.

Only as he was about to turn out of sight at the far end of the hall, Pinkie Pie came forward a few steps, raising a hoof after him calling softly, "Boomer?"

But he neither slowed or turned back. And then he was gone.

Chapter 14 A Long Walk Home, Are You Following Me?

Once outside the palace, Boomer began to rethink the whole, walking home, idea. It was a good ways to Ponyville, and then even further to his shop/home. However, he needed both the time and the activity. His mind was so jumbled, he needed them to straighten out his thoughts and feelings. It was all too much, too fast. And that last bit of manipulation by his sister, had been the last straw.

He knew she meant well; had his best interests at heart. But that particular raw nerve was not the one to pluck. And that last had been a full on two hoofed yank on it. He could see by the look in her eyes right after, that Giggles had realized her mistake even before he'd opened his mouth. But that didn't lessen the pain she'd caused.

He turned off the main road onto a footpath that was much more direct, but too rough for a carriage or cart. He had been on it only about a half hour when he heard a very distinct flapping; one that included a faint "whir, click". He froze, once again praying desperately that he was hearing wrong, but knew he wasn't. He dared not move. In the dark like this, he would be all but invisible. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was hide from Pepper in the shadows.

She flew over him. Now he just had to wait a bit more and he could be on his way again. But then she suddenly swooped back around and landed in front of him.

"Ah, there you are." She said, as she reached back and nuzzled at the base of her prosthetic wing. Then she gave it a few small flaps, and with a "tick, tick, tick, click" it collapsed and stowed itself.

She looked back at him bright eyed as she caught her breath. She could fly with her replacement wing, but it was a lot more work. A fresh wave of guilt washed over him.

She smiled at him, "You are one hard pony to catch up to. If you didn't suck so much at hiding in the dark, I never would have found you."

He looked back at her baffled, "What do you mean? I'm all but invisible in the shadows." He huffed, a little indignant.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "Really. I can imagine how with your coloring, you would think that, but that pink glow from your horn is always a dead give away. You do know I could see you, or at least your horn, all those times you were watching me from the shadows, don't you?"

His horrified look got a giggle out of her. Then she thought about it for a second, "No, all your time in the military, you would have known about something like that. So, this must be new. In fact, I didn't even see it till I'd passed you, and just happened to glance back. What were you thinking just before I turned?"

Boomer flushed. He dared not open up about it. He just desperately wanted her to go away. Being this close to her was just confusing him all the more. He couldn't believe what he'd said to her in the throne chamber.

Her eyes sparkled, "Oh, it just got brighter! What are you thinking about?"

Boomer's look got even more panicked, and he started backing away from her. She looked at his strained expression then gasped, "Oh my stars. Were you thinking about, ME?"

He stammered, "I, I, um, I..." then hung his head, clearly defeated. "Yes." He breathed softly, closing his eyes and waiting for the laughter he was sure was coming.

He was instead surprised when he felt a soft kiss on his cheek, "You're really cute with this shy flustered act. Do you even know what that pink glow is? Never mind, we can talk about it later. I don't hate you. I don't blame you for what happened either. I flew in there totally caught up in looking at that crystal formation, and didn't pay any attention to the visual warnings you had everywhere. It was my mistake, not yours. And, if not for you, I would have been killed. Then, everything you did to help get me healed, I've always wanted to just tell you thank you for it all. You made a lot of things happen that might not have. I'm here today because of you, not in spite of you."

He looked over at her, "How did you find out?"

She laughed, touching his shoulder, "You threatened to blow up the hospital for me. You think I wouldn't find out about that? You were all anypony there could talk about for months. You threaten the life of the chief doctor, and then have a major breakdown while trying to pay for everything, and you think I wouldn't hear about it? They even started..." but then she stopped and looked at him again. She smiled a bit secretively. Then, she turned and glanced down the path, a pleasant, noncommittal look on her face now, "So, you're going through Ponyville on your way home?"

He mentally stumbled as she verbally changed directions on him again. He looked her over, trying to figure out which way she was heading now, "Yeah. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking very clearly when I stormed out, and it's a long walk home. But yes, I do have to go through Ponyville."

She smiled and lined up beside him on the path, "Great. Would you care to walk me home then? I don't have a lot of flying left in me after chasing you down, and I don't really see well in the dark."

He sighed, and almost laughed. It seemed he was doomed to be constantly manipulated by the fillies around him. "Okay. Let's go. But you'll have to give me directions when we get into town. I'm not sure where you live." And they started down the path again.

She laughed, "All those times watching me, and you never once followed me home? You're not a very good stalker, are you?"

Boomer took a half step away from her, a disgusted look on his face, "I wasn't stalking you!"

She stepped over, re-closing the distance between them, and bumped his shoulder with a giggle, "Your sister's right, teasing you Is fun." Her face then got a little sad and serious, "She's very sorry by the way. She begged me to tell you that as I was getting ready to leave."

They walked a few paces in silence. Then, he hung his head a bit, whispering, "I know. It's just, I'm a little over sensitive when it comes to you. And she pulled on my guilt and protectiveness when those were already under way too much strain."

Pepper nodded, "I saw her whisper something as she was looking over at you, right before you stiffened. Then, she got the most horrified look on her face; as if she realized she'd done something terrible. Then the ice shattered. What did she tell you?"

He walked a few more steps, trying to decide how much to tell her. He decided on complete honesty. "Giggles ghost is linked to me somehow. She hears everything in my head. As well, she can send thoughts back to me. She told me to pretend it was you, along with a mental image of you trapped in each of the ice blocks."

Pepper nodded, "It seemed to work pretty well."

Boomer stiffened in rage, "It worked almost too well! Remember her warning about not pulling on Princess Luna's power? My DEAR sister underestimated my, feelings, about you. I wouldn't have needed to touch Luna's power to wipe out the palace at that moment. I, barely, managed to restrain myself enough to not. That, is one reason why I was so mad. I'm dangerous. And I won't hurt you again!"

They walked further in silence before she replied, "That's crap. And you know it. You're right about one thing you said earlier; you do have scars. But you're not dangerous. Quite the opposite in fact. You have a huge heart, and you'll willingly take damage to it, rather than let anyone else get hurt."

He glanced over at her. Even in the dimness of the starlight, he could see her smugness. He was about to respond hotly when she stumbled over what he had thought was an obviously visible root sticking out in the path. Apparently, she wasn't kidding about not seeing well in the dark. He quickly helped her back up to her hooves, checking her over. "Are you okay?" He asked tenderly.

She smiled at him as she dusted her knees off. "See, you can't even stay mad at me for five seconds. You big softy."

He tried to look away , injured, but turned right back to her, "How do you know so much about me?" He asked, deciding to let curiosity win this round.

She smiled even wider as they started walking again. However, before they could go even a full pace, Boomer grimaced a bit, and his horn glowed red. Not a lot, but enough to light the path in front of them. Her smile turning into a knowing smirk. But she let it pass as she said, "You're not the only one who has been watching somepony else for some time. The difference being, I asked questions of everypony I could. By the way, that little thing you've been doing where you sell blast crystals and supplies to my quarry at half the price of everypony else, stop it." She glowered at him, continuing with, "If I can't make my business run without charity, I don't need to be running it." The fierce pride evident in her voice.

He almost stumbled himself, having been caught at that. But she continued, "I have an account with the difference between what you charged me, and what others paid. You'll take it, and I better not ever have to speak with you about this again."

He looked over at her with her chin thrust out in proud defiance and simply said, "Yes mam."

And then he laughed saying, "Busted. Can you ever forgive me?"

She laughed as well, "We'll see. You may have to grovel quite a bit. If you prove suitably humble, MAYBE I'll relent."

Chapter 15 Oh, My, That Got Awkward

He got in front of her. Kneeling down, he took her front hoof in his, as he looked up into her eyes, "My darling Pepper..." he began. However, she began to look panicked as he continued, "I know I probably don't deserve it, but please, can you find it in your heart to accept my most humble apologies?"

She let out a huge sigh, "Whew, for a minute there, I thought you were asking me," but then she jerked to a stop, then she continued, "Never mind. Of course I forgive you. Now get up before somepony sees and gets the wrong idea." And with that she started hurrying down the path, her face flushed for some reason.

Boomer actually had to trot a bit to catch up with her. When he did, she just kept hurrying along, tight lipped and wide eyed. Finally, after several minutes of that awkward silence, he asked, "So, just what did you think I was asking,"

She cut him off with a hasty, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Obviously you thought I was going to say something specific."

"Don't want to talk!"

"But how am I supposed to avoid upsetting you, if I don't know what the problem is?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure it will never come up."

"You can tell me off about being overly generous to you, but you won't tell me how I almost unhinged you over some words I didn't actually say? What did you think I was going to say?" He demanded.

"I thought you were finally going to ask me to marry you!" She bellowed back at him, then clamped her hooves over her mouth, eyes going even wider.

They stared at each other in stunned silence for several seconds, then she started fumbling at her mechanical wing, muttering, "I'm sorry. I've got to go. I won't bother you anymore." As the wing popped out to flight position.

She started to flap to take off as Boomer shouted, "Oh no. Not so fast you don't." And he pulled with his magic. It was actually a lot easier than it ever had been before. With an almost casual ease, like most unicorns could manage with their non broken horns, Boomer pulled the catch that deactivated her wing.

As it collapsed back down, she stomped her hoof. "That's not fair! You could never do anything like that before."

Honestly, Boomer was almost as surprised as she was. But he just looked at her. "You don't get to drop something like that and just run away. Oh no. We're going to talk about this. And don't try running off. I'll just hang you a foot off the ground, and your hooves can just churn open air. I'm going to have to thank Luna. She fixed whatever was broken with my magic."

Pepper was looking away from him. "That's great. But, can we just forget what I said?"

Boomer shook his head, "No, this is obviously something important to you. It may be a bit embarrassing, but if I can survive pouring my soul out to Pinkie Pie about why I treated her so badly; you can tell me about this, and I'm sure it won't kill you."

She still wouldn't look at him. "You're just going to laugh at me."

"You obviously don't know me very well, or must not think very highly of me if you believe that." He turned her head so he could look in her eyes, "I promise, I won't laugh at you. Even if you tell me horrible puns. Especially then, I hate bad puns." He said with a grimace usually reserved for sucking on lemons.

She giggled, in spite of herself, "Okay. But if you do laugh, I'm kicking your teeth in."

Boomer nodded, "Fair enough. Do you want to start, or should I ask you questions. However, the risk there, is that I may jump right to the really embarrassing stuff before you're ready. If you just talk, you get to control how you open up. Both have their good and bad points. I guess it comes down to which particular horrible tasting medicine you want to swallow. Either way, we better do it while we walk. We still have a ways to go."

She started walking, but was silent for several long minutes. He was patient, knowing just how hard this kind of opening up could be. He thought that maybe it would be good if he started off. "Did my sister mention at all her suggestion to me about Princess Luna?"

Pepper looked over at him slightly confused, so he continued, "Giggles thought that the princess, being single, would be perfect dating material for me."

Pepper gasped, "She didn't!"

Boomer nodded, "In fact, she even suggested it to the princess herself."

Pepper stared at him, open mouthed, as he continued, "We both shot down the idea, but it is part of what led Princess Luna to declare me her knight champion." Boomer glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and asked, "That was a rather personally embarrassing episode I went through recently. Anything similar happen to you?"

A smile finally cracked her face, "You're really going to make me do this, aren't you?"

He nodded his head, "Yep."

She tensed up again, "It's stupid. You're gonna laugh at me."

Boomer kept looking straight ahead, "And you promised to kick my teeth in if I do."

A few more paces in silence, then she asked, "Your sister really tried to hook you up with Princess Luna?"

Boomer nodded again, "Yep. And she suggested Pinkie Pie as well."

This time, Pepper nodded knowingly, "Makes sense sort of. She's about the same age I was when I first fell for you."

Boomer stumbled, nearly falling on his face. "But that was..."

Pepper nodded again, "Yeah, nearly fifteen years is a long time to carry a torch for someone."

They walked for a long while before he stammered, "I, I never knew."

She just sighed, "I know."

That sad, soft acknowledgement kicked Boomer in the gut. He thought about some of the things Giggles had said to him over the last several days. Then, he froze in mid step. "That sneaky, devious, manipulative, oh I swear, if she weren't already dead, I'd strangle her."

Pepper spun to him, "What? What is it?"

Putting his raised hoof back down, he straightened up. "First, tell me what you think the pink glow is. You obviously think it's significant."

She cringed. He could tell she didn't want to discuss it right on the heels of the rest of what they were talking about. But he had a very distinct feeling that they were related. So he just stared at her and raised an eyebrow.

She hemmed and hawed, but finally spoke up, "It's just a silly fairy tale all the young fillies tell each other."

She looked at him, obviously hoping he would tell her to forget it, but he made a rolling motion with one hoof, obviously wanting her to carry on.

She blew out a breath and continued, "It's said, that when a pony finds their heart's match, their love will be so bright, it will shine in the darkness."

Boomer nodded, "Ah, that one. The boys have a similar one, but young boys come to a different conclusion. They say, if you see a girl glowing, run for the hills as fast as you can. Boys can be rather stupid." And he grinned self mockingly.

But Pepper's head hung sadly. "It doesn't matter though. I've just been kidding myself. Your horn may glow in the dark at times, but I don't, so, I'm just grasping at shadows. I obviously don't mean the same to you that I thought you do to me."

Boomer cocked his head at her, baffled, "You're kidding, right?"

Her head jerked up, stunned. He continued, "Do you know why I kept coming back to watch you, despite the pain I felt, knowing what had happened to you? It was because every time I saw you, it was like being bathed in the warmest sunshine.

"Before I saw you that first time, I was almost at my end. For five years I'd been fighting so much pain and darkness, it was all I could do each day to NOT end my own life. Then, I saw you, and the world had color and light again. For the briefest of moments, I felt hope. And then, I blew you up."

He stared into her eyes, letting her see the pain, the horror that had become his life, and then, the joy at first seeing her. Followed by an entirely new level of horror at what was about to happen to her. "I barely managed to save your life that day, but you have managed to save mine a thousand times since. Every time the weight of everything got to be too much, I would go and sneak a glimpse of you. Don't try and tell me you don't glow. You are the only light in my life that matters. Honestly, I felt guilty for getting such joy from just seeing you, after what happened. I couldn't face you, but I couldn't leave you alone either."

Pepper had tears in her eyes. He wiped them away as she said, "Really, seeing me brings you joy?"

He smiled through tears of his own, "More than anything." And he again kissed her nose. But then, he leaned in and gave her a kiss like he'd dreamed of giving her for fifteen years.

When it finally broke, she looked up at him smiling, "That was so worth the wait." Then she scowled at him. "Why did you wait so long? Honestly, I'd all but given up on you. I nearly didn't come to the palace today, but the invitation from Princess Celestia was rather insistent. That and with Indigenous Rock begging me to come along, I felt like I couldn't refuse. I didn't even know this had anything to do with you, Indigenous only mentioned Pinkie. When you led the precession in, I was stunned. I do have to admit though, you looked better than I've seen in a long time. For a change, you were walking tall and confident. I didn't see any signs of that brittle shell you wear. Well, except for around your eyes right at the end when you walked off down that corridor after presenting Pinkie Pie. I assume you went somewhere and had a meltdown, because when you came back with Princess Luna, you were even more confident and self assured. A bit startled, but more together than I'd ever seen you. Well, at least until you turned around and saw me."

Boomer cringed, "Oh yeah, nothing impresses the girls more than having a magical panic attack when you see them face to face."

They started walking again. She sidled up close, so they were walking flank to flank. He had to admit, it felt really good. So good in fact, that he was having trouble maintaining enough anger to keep his horn glowing red. After the fourth or fifth time of it cooling and the light flickering out, he half grumbled to her, "You are making it really hard to hold onto enough anger to heat my horn up. I may have to pick a fight with you, just to be able to light the path for you."

She giggled, "Maybe you should try something other than getting mad then. You said seeing me brings you joy, try that."

Boomer considered it. He knew how to pump other emotions into his magic. Anger had just always been the easiest. He concentrated on that thread of joy he could always count on when seeing Pepper, and mentally shifted it into position to power his magic, readying it to light his horn.

Concentrating on that as he was, it would be no surprise he'd not paid full attention to what Pepper was doing. What was a surprise, was that as he went to light his horn, Pepper decided to reach up and nibble his ear.

Their world flashed blindingly white.

As the light began to fade, and as Boomer blinked the spots out of his eyes, he turned to Pepper, who was also blinking madly. She laughed, "Wow! Well, at least we know that works. I'd say we have some light."

Looking around them, the area was still lit brighter than noon. And as he turned his head a single spot of light, so bright it actually scorched the grass it touched, tracked his movements. Apparently, his horn was putting out a spotlight stronger than any he'd ever seen.

He throttled down the amount of energy going into his magic more and more until at last, he was only producing as much light as would come from a full moon. He was amazed at how little it took. He actually had to lock in that tiny whisper of power, as every time he glanced at Pepper, the light tried to flare back to full blinding strength.

She looked at him gigging, "You," she started singing.

He scowled, "Don't! I told you I don't like puns."

But she kept right on singing, “You light up my life. You give me hope, to carry on…”

He grumbled, “Should have just let you get blown up.”

Then, inspiration hit. He grabbed her and kissed her with even more passion than the last time. That did the trick. She stumbled on in silence for several minutes. Although it could almost be called staggering.

Finally, she shook her head and looked over at him, “WOW! I have got to tease you more often.” Then she reached up and nipped his ear again; which caused him to miss a step or two.

Pepper smiled, "You're in trouble now. I've found your Achilles heel."

He rolled his eyes, "That's no real feat. You've always been my biggest weakness." She smiled even more warmly at that.

Chapter 16 Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

They walked on, just enjoying each others closeness, till at last they reached Ponyville. She directed him down a few streets. He began looking around, drowning in memories. "I grew up near here." He commented at one intersection. She just smiled at that.

After turning another corner, he pointed, "That house down there at the end of the street, that used to be my parents'. Giggles and I both grew up there. Dad built it that big, planning on a large family." Then the sadness bled through in his voice, "Sadly, they never got that chance. After me, they tried and tried, before they at last had Giggles..."

He just stopped; both speaking and walking. He didn't want to go on. Even the light of his horn went out, as all joy left him. His shoulders slumped, and he started to turn away.

He was stopped by a strong hoof at his chin, that turned him back, and raised his eyes up to hers. He was surprised at the look in those eyes. She wasn't angry, but obviously very determined. "You have to stop. You are Not to blame for all the bad things that happen." Her look softened, "You've done great things, some of which, you probably don't even know of. You have to let go of this horrible past you think you're responsible for. If you want it, you can have a future; a wonderful, amazing future with ponies who love and respect you."

He tried to smile, tried to feel the things she was talking about, but it just wouldn't come. Especially here, with so many memories swirling around him.

She cocked her head, "Things change. What was, becomes something different. And sometimes, it's a good thing. Come on. Walk me the rest of the way home. I'll answer the questions I know you're going to have once we get there, and if you still feel you have to walk away, I won't say another word."

She had that odd secretive smile again. Damn her. This was just mysterious enough that he couldn't walk away. He knew that even if he left now, the hint of questions he didn't know to ask yet would drag him back eventually. Might as well get it over with now.

He resumed walking down the road. He couldn't help but notice her self satisfied smirk. He almost laughed, "Have you been taking lessons on manipulation from my sister?"

Her smile grew to full grin, "Nope. I'm female, we're born with it."

He actually laughed at that, "I doubt that. But you've proven that you know me rather well. I find myself at a significant disadvantage."

Her grin widened, "Perfect. If I can keep you curious, hopefully you won't have time to get all depressed again. Trust me, that is not you at your best."

Boomer bowed his head, "Point Pepper. The game has only just begun, and already I'm behind. Not a promising start for me."

Her eyes glittered, "Oh, when I win, do I get to name my own prize?"

He grinned again, "That confident, are you?"

She nodded her head happily, "But of course. You don't stand a chance."

He snorted, amused, "You don't even know what the contest is. How can you be so sure?"

Her grin took a playfully malicious edge, "I know what the prize is. No matter what the game, I'm going to win." She got in front of him, "Tell you what, double or nothing, that I can render you speechless with two words."

He cocked his eyebrow at her, "Okay, you're on."

She pointed to her left and said, "We're here."

Boomer turned, ready to rebut her, and froze, mouth half open.

Pepper just closed his mouth, and shouldered him around to face the steps up to his old home.

He shook his head and looked at her out of the corner of his eye, as she casually inspected one fore hoof. That slight, knowing grin back on her face. Continuing to study her hoof, she asked, "So, you just want to concede now, or do you want to drag this out before your humiliating defeat?"

He couldn't help himself. He actually laughed, "Point Pepper."

She grinned again, "Excellent. And with the double or nothing, that puts me at four."

Boomer shook his head, "Left myself wide open to that one, didn't I."

The front door opened, and an older silvery blue unicorn, wearing dark glasses despite it being night, poked her head out. She didn't look straight at them as she spoke, "You going to stand out there all night, or are you going to bring the gentleman in and introduce us?"

Pepper looked over at Boomer, "Last chance to run away. If you come inside and let Koi get her hooks into you, you won't have any secrets left."

He smiled back at her, "Sadly, I don't think I have any secrets left when it comes to you. And if I do, you are welcome to them."

She nodded, "Well said. Point Boomer. At least you won't go down in this game as a complete shut out."

They walked up the steps, and Boomer held the door for her, before entering himself.

Once inside, he noted how little his old house had been changed. As he walked into the living room, he noted how Koi didn't track him with her eyes, but rather with her ears. She looked to be around his parents age, but he couldn't recall having ever seen her before. Before he could ask her anything, she smiled a little wider and said, "Welcome to Boomer House. As Pepper said, I'm Koi. I take it by the way Pepper was carrying on over you, and at her blush at me catching her at it, you must be the young pony she's been smitten with, that this care center is named after."

Boomer had noticed a slight blush on Pepper's face as they'd climbed the steps. He was about to comment on it when what Koi said to start sank in, and his brain locked up once more.

Pepper again closed his mouth. "I imagine you have questions." She said, grinning.

He shook his head, rebooting his brain, yet again. "You know what, I'm obviously way to tired to think anymore tonight. I had best bid you ladies good night, and head home myself. After all, I still have a ways to go. I'll come by tomorrow, after I've had a chance to get some rest."

Pepper looked over at Koi, pleadingly, and lightly tapped a hoof on the floor once. Which he thought was odd as, if Koi was blind as he suspected, she wouldn't be able to read Pepper's expression. But just after the tap, Koi's horn flashed quickly, and then she looked over at Pepper with a raised eyebrow, that was visible even behind the glasses.

Then she grinned, turning to look back at Boomer. Well, fairly close to looking at him. But he saw that when he breathed out, her ear pivoted exactly to him, and Koi's face finished lining up as she spoke up, "Nonsense my boy. We don't have any patients in residence right now, so we have plenty of spare rooms. Unfortunately, I can't put you in your old room, because Pepper claimed it long ago." Pepper actually looked a bit embarrassed being caught at that. Koi continued, "However, the master bedroom is available. You go make use of that, and we can all chat in the morning."

Boomer looked over his shoulder as he started for the hall. "And let me guess, you're in Giggles' old room, which would put you between where Pepper and I would be sleeping?"

Koi nodded, "That's right. Don't worry, I'll protect you from her tonight."

Boomer laughed as he went on down to the bedroom. Clearly, he was going to have a ton of questions come morning. But for now, he just wanted to shut his eyes. Yes, plenty of time to worry about everything in the morning.

Chapter 17 Breakfast; With A Side Of, Well, That Was Quick

Koi's shriek brought Pepper charging into the kitchen ready to do battle. But she was stopped dead in her tracks just after she'd entered, at Koi's laughter. Laughter at whatever story Boomer was telling her as he cooked pancakes. He continued, "Seriously, she looked like a drowned rat. Now that I'm not smack in the middle of a panic attack, I have to admit, it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen."

Boomer trotted over and kissed Pepper on the cheek, as she stood utterly confused. "Good morning. Just when I think you can't get any more beautiful, you charge in here with a warrior scowl and bed hair."

Pepper's hoof went to her mane in panic, and she charged out of the room every bit as fast as she came in.

Boomer smiled happily as he went back to the stove. He noticed one of Koi's ears cocked in the direction of Pepper's room as she quietly chuckled. He asked, "Is she always so protective of you?"

Koi smiled back, "Oh yes. We look after each other really. You rather unsettled her there. She's not used to someone thinking she's pretty. Right now she's frantically muttering about how you could possibly think she's beautiful when she just jumped out of bed. And, now she's freaking out that you just saw her in her nightgown. Now, I have a question for you. What are your intentions regarding her?"

He transferred the last of the pancakes to the serving platter and brought them to the table as he thought it over. "I don't want to hurt her any more than I already have. But I don't know if I can be any reliable part of her life. I'm more than a little damaged. I can't inflict that on her."

Koi took several bites of her pancakes as she studied him. It was odd having a blind pony staring at you like they could see right through to your soul. For a long time she just kept taking bites and looking at him. At last that ear that had been tracking Pepper began to pivot back. When it lined up with the doorway to the breakfast nook, Koi began speaking, still looking square at Boomer, as Pepper walked in, her mane and tail now in her standard work braids. "He cooks, has manners, a heart bigger than a mountain, and he cares deeply for you. If you don't snatch him up, I'm going to."

Pepper stumbled, nearly falling on her face, and Boomer was choking, having inhaled a bite of his pancake. Koi just continued eating, although her smile was much wider.

Pepper patted Boomer on the back and handed him a glass of water. "You kill him, and neither of us will get that chance." She growled at Koi.

Koi's grin just continued to grow with each bite she took. "Excellent breakfast by the way. Do I get to stay as you tell him how you ended up sleeping in his old bed, or are you going to kick me out?"

Pepper flushed even brighter, "Koi!" She yelled, but composed herself quickly, "As if kicking you out of the room would do any good. Is there anything in this house you don't hear?"

"Nope."

Finally able to breath again, Boomer stepped between the two fillies. "I assume that was my cue to start asking questions. And I guess Koi's suggestion is a good place to start. How did you end up living here?"

Pepper sat down at the table. "Not just yet. Koi is right, this is too good a breakfast to waste, so I'm going to eat first. After that, I'll tell you all about it."

Boomer thought of something he could deal with right then. He focused on his sister and thought, "I'm sorry I got so upset with you last night. Please join us, if you can."

He felt Giggles kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear, "I'm sorry too."

Koi jumped back from the table, horn lowered and pointed at Giggles. "Who are you? And how did you get in here?" She demanded.

Pepper rushed to Koi's side, "It's okay. It's just Boomer's sister. She's a ghost, that's why you didn't hear her come in."

Koi straightened up, her eyebrows visible high above her dark glasses. "You're haunted by your sister? How have you lived with that all these years?"

Boomer looked away, his head hanging a bit. But Giggles plowed right over any tender feelings he might have. "Oh no. I'm a much more recent addition to his life. Only four days now, but I'm already turning everything over on him. I'm trying to straighten out his screwed up life, and Pepper here is a big part of my plan."

Pepper and Boomer both just stared at her, but Koi shifted from shock to amusement, "Really now. Want any help with those plans?"

Giggles laughed, "I'm guessing you're responsible for the lovely gardens out back? I've spent most of the morning exploring them while I waited for my brother to talk to me after I bungled things so badly last night. Why don't we go on back out there, and you can tell me how someone blind manages to create something so beautiful. That will give these two a chance to decide to start kissing again. I can't say for certain with Pepper, but that's all that's been on my brother's mind all morning."

Boomer was blushing so hot, he thought for sure his mane was going to burst into flames. Koi and his sister walked out the back door laughing. It was a real effort to force himself to look over at Pepper. She was grinning at him

"You told me your sister hears everything going on in your head. Are you gonna try and tell me she was lying just now?" Her look all but dared him to try denying it. Did he want to?

He looked away, "I can't hurt you again." He whispered.

She all but screamed at him, "Then stop turning away from me! Stop teasing me, hovering out on the edges. If you don't want to hurt me, step up and just accept that none of us knows how anything is going to turn out, but the effort itself is worth the risk. I've waited too long. Now that I've caught a glimpse of who is in that shadow, I want all of him. If you can't give me that, then by all means, walk away. But if you do, just keep walking. I'd rather have that one big hurt of you leaving, than the hundreds of knives over and over from you hiding out on the edges."

Boomer looked back at her, stunned. "I'm, I'm sorry. I have been so long nursing my guilt, it's hard to let go. You're right though. I have been afraid to be happy. But, I don't want to be afraid any more. I, I want to try; to give us a chance. And if I start backsliding, by all means, feel free to smack me."

Pepper's grin was back, "Excellent. Now, I'm going to finish my breakfast, and I want you to think on what you'd like to say to, or possibly do with me." Boomer's blush came back full strength.

Despite Pepper taking her time eating, breakfast time seemed to just evaporate. He couldn't believe he was about to be so bold, but, this was new Boomer, right? "Before we get back to kissing, and no, my sister wasn't lying, tell me how you came to live here." He cringed, praying he wasn't too forward.

Pepper came around the table and kissed his cheek. "I'd love to. If for no other reason than to make sure I have your undistracted attention when we do get to the kissing."

Boomer sighed, "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

Pepper smiled as she headed out into the living room. "Nope, but you can give it your best shot to try and live up to it, after I tell you how Boomer House came to be."

Once in the living room, Pepper took a seat and got comfortable, indicating for Boomer to do the same. She studied him for a second before beginning, "You wanted to hide your involvement in my recovery. Maybe you should have paid more attention. My parents were in the hospital room when you came in. They told me what you said and did. When I woke up, dad told me, "That boy was as broken up over your getting hurt as if it had been himself. You could do a lot worse than having some pony like that looking out for you." Which was amazing, as he usually doesn't care for any pony who isn't a pegasus."

Boomer blinked, "They were there?"

She nodded and continued, "You impressed enough ponies there at the hospital that, when the time for me to be moved out of the hospital, yet I was still going to need care, they decided to create an outpatient care center. Many put enough pressure on Filthy Rich, that he donated your home to house it. Koi was brought in to help with physical therapy and mental well-being. After I was recovered, I was asked to stay on and help as well. We've helped a lot of ponies return to their lives after horrible things have befallen them, and you're to thank for part of it all. So, you see, great things have come out of something bad, because of you."

Boomer thought about all of that. He looked over at her, "It really does make you think about everything differently, doesn't it. My sister's death was what enabled me to defeat the Nightmare Realm, and destroy their gate. Your injury led to many others getting help they might not have otherwise. Pinkie Pie's visits and mayhem in my shop, gave me the clues needed to get us out of the Nightmare Realm's clutches this time. Which also helped free many spirits from ours and countless other worlds. That also gave me a chance to make amends with my sister..." He paused, looking towards the back yard. He spoke aloud, but also pushed the thought, "I know what your favor is, and I would have gladly done it regardless. Well, at least I would now. A week ago, I don't think I could have. Thank you for helping me heal."

Koi and Giggles' ghost entered the living room. She walked over and kissed her brother's forehead, "Like I said, it's too important. I wouldn't have let you say no."

He smiled up at her, although with a bit of sadness in his eyes, "Yes. Yes it is." He looked back over at Pepper, "There are a few things to take care of first, but soon, I'm taking Giggles to see our parents. If you would, I'd like you to come along."

Pepper looked back at him, more than a little surprised, "Really?"

Boomer smiled, "I figure, it's only fair they get to meet the pony I plan to marry."

The whole room went dead silent. He got up from his chair, went over and kneeled down in front of hers. Taking her front hoof in both of his, he looked up into her wide eyes, "I know I'm damaged, and I have a long ways to go to be whole. But I've already given up too much time to being afraid of what might be, of dwelling on what wasn't. I can't walk away from you. You are everything good in my life, and you make me want to be better than I am. I don't have much to offer you. But, all that I have, all that I am, I give to you freely. Say you'll be my wife, and I will move heaven and earth to make you happy."

Behind him, from the hallway that led to the back yard came a very distinct bubbly voice, "Oh! That was just beautiful."

Almost afraid of what he would see, Boomer turned his head. Sure enough, in the hall behind Koi, was not only Pinkie Pie, who he had heard, but the other pony he could feel, Princess Luna was right behind Pinkie, grinning. He nearly swallowed his tongue.

Pepper gently took his chin, and turned him back to meet her joy filled, tear rimmed eyes, "Yes. With all of my heart, yes."

He leaned in and kissed her, letting his tears flow freely as well.

After they separated; managing to compose themselves a bit, he heard Koi say to Giggles, "Ha! Pay up."

Boomer looked to Giggles. He was surprised to see that a ghost could actually blush. She looked a tad sheepish as she said, "Uh, Boomer, could I borrow five bits?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Do I dare ask why?"

Giggles hemmed and hawed, before Koi broke in, "We bet on when you would ask her. I said, less than a week. Her ghostlyness here said, at least a month. Pinkie Pie claimed you would need at least six months of practice being her honorary uncle before you would be ready. The Princess however, abstained. She said something about joining in not being fair, but of course it sounded a lot more flowery. Honestly, your boldness surprised all of us."

Princess Luna spoke up, "It surpriseth me not. My Knight Champion is quick to act once a decision hath been made. I felt that in him we we didst first meet. In truth, didst I feel that a momentous decision was about to be made, and journied along with his recent companion to see what aid and support I could lend. It appears that all that is needed is for me to extend ye my heartfelt congratulations."

Chapter 18 A Question. Wait, Scratch That, Questions!

Boomer looked over at the princess, "Your Highness, I do have a question."

Princess Luna smiled at him, "My champion, always so formal. Ye may call me Luna here amongst thy friends. In truth, I wouldst ye all do so, for while I wish ye all as friends to me, I now sense why Providence didst compel me to journey here this morn. I feel the bonds that will join us all in days to come. My chosen Knight Champion will need others to aid him at one time or another, and ye all shall answer that call. I wouldst call ye my Knights of the Night."

Boomer stood frozen for several seconds, along with everyone else, before he blinked, "Okay, now I have several questions. But I guess to start with my original one; last night, my magic was vastly stronger than ever before. I was able to do things as any unicorn with an unbroken horn could. Yet this morning, I struggled as I made breakfast. It was much easier than ever before, but nothing like last night. Is that because of you?"

Princess Luna nodded her head, just a bit. "Only in the smallest way, my champion. In truth, thy magic shall grow stronger as night cover the lands, just as mine doth. But thy power hath ever been limited by thyself. Ye are the one to throttle thy access to thy power, be it from thy initial self injury, or thy ongoing guilt. Ye alone are the one who canst determine the extent of thy power."

Boomer stood stunned, but Giggles nodded, "I thought so. As always, brother mine, you are your own worst enemy. It's a good thing you have friends who are here to help you out."

Boomer looked around. He stood in a room surrounded by fillies of all ages; one of whom, he'd just sworn his love to, one to whom he'd sworn fealty, one he'd rescued from death, in a way, one he'd sworn to protect, and one who he already felt a strong kinship with. Now that it had been drawn to his attention, he could indeed feel the bonds between them all. He almost laughed, "I've barely proposed, and already, I have a family. You're all helping me already. Thank you all. Luna, my princess, I've just pledged myself to another, will that interfere with my oath and position to you?"

Luna raised an eyebrow, "My Knight, didst ye expect me to flame in jealousy when thy heart healed enough to bind itself to thy true love? In truth, part of mine refusal of thy sister's manipulative matchmaking was that I couldst see the touch of soul's mate already on ye. If not for that, thy wounded soul, so in need of healing, would have led me away from ye, as mine own pains wouldst feed off thine, and too easily could we have succumbed to the darkness, dragging all of Equestria into ruin."

Pinkie Pie raised a hoof, "Um, I for one would like to vote against that. Having faced Nightmare Moon, and seeing what Boomer is capable of, I don't ever want to see that team up."

Koi smiled, "Aw come on, it could be fun. Death, destruction, random explosions, a world of eternal night and darkness, sounds like a party to me."

Pepper laughed, "Here is where I need to warn you all of Koi's dark, twisted sense of humor. Be thankful you've never had to do physical therapy when she's in a real mood."

Koi bowed deeply, "All to true, but I did get you back up in the air, did I not?" She then leaned in and whispered something to Pepper that had the maimed pegasus turning and giving the older unicorn a, "What are you up to now?" sort of look.

Boomer ignored the interplay between the two and turned his eye on Pinkie Pie. "Your house is on the other side of town, what led you to wander over here?"

She brightened, "When we got all the water cleared out, we found this," Pinkie pulled out his service cap with the changed silver eagle on it and handed it to him. She continued, "Princess Celestia asked me to return it to you. She also mentioned something about wondering when you would be closing out your account. I couldn't follow what exactly she was saying as she was discussing it with Luna. She just wanted me to bring it up."

He turned to Princess Luna who brightened, "Ah, yes. Thy posting as Knight Champion conflicts with thy oaths to the army. Thy years of service are great enough for ye to retire with full honors. However, my sister was surprised to learn that ye have not drawn from thy pay account in more than twenty years. The accrued sum is apparently rather significant, but must be withdrawn at the end of thy service. I can have thy funds transferred to an account under my section of the finances, as it shall be my responsibility to handle thy pay as Knight Champion. Fear not though, thy position earns ye double that of colonel, plus expenses when on an assignment."

Boomer stared blankly, so Giggles stepped up, "My brother seems to be suffering from brain lock, again. There are a couple of things racing around in that mess in his head. If I can get answers to them, maybe that will help kick him out of it. First off, he thought he'd left the army after the first Nightmare Realm attack. But he also thinks his old commander might have kept him on, after Princess Celestia made him an officer."

Princess Luna nodded, "Indeed, my sister told me she didst raise him up after that attack. She also mentioned that there was no record of a resignation. In fact, there are multiple promotion letters, and signed extension of service contracts."

Giggles continued, "Okay, second," but then she paused and looked over. "Blink Boomer. Pepper, would you sit your betrothed down so he doesn't fall over. Hold his hoof. That will hopefully keep him grounded and with us. Again, second, he was paid for his blast crystals. How much could he have uncollected?"

Luna looked puzzled, "The crystals were a product that were purchased from him. They hath no bearing on his pay. He hath twenty years of accumulated pay as an officer of advancing rank. That alone is in excess of a million and a half bits. And that doesn't include the accumulated housing allowances and other annual stipends for uniforms and such. From what I understand, his account is well over two million bits."

Giggles glanced, and then walked over in front of Boomer. She hoofed him in the chest and yelled, "Breath!"

He gasped and then collapsed over onto Pepper's lap, curling up into a ball. "You'll all have to excuse me. This is just all to much all at once. I'm just going to lay here and quietly freak out for a bit."

Pepper motioned everyone to clear out while she softly stroked his mane. She started to lever herself up to go as well, but he grasped her tightly. "Please, stay with me." She sat back down and kissed his forehead, continuing to stroke his mane.

After several minutes, the silence was broken when Boomer giggled. He looked up into Pepper's eyes. "Well, at least I can take comfort that you aren't marrying me for my money. Neither of us had any clue that I even had any. Heck, before this little revelation, you were much better off than I. Your quarry brings in nearly double what my blast crystal business does. Amazingly, I probably earned more this month as a lieutenant colonel, than I would earn all year making blast crystals."

Pepper kissed his forehead again. "You're making progress. You didn't try to run away this time. Either you're getting better at all this, or we're running out of things to throw you off with."

He gave her a sad smile, "Honestly, I think it's because, for the first time in I don't know how long, I'm willing to look at being happy, and it doesn't crush me. I look at you, and I would gladly face the Nightmare Realm, or a thousand things worse, to keep you safe, and make sure you were happy." And with that syrupy declaration, they decided it was time to get back to the kissing.

Chapter 19 Well, That Was Fun, But I Need To Get To Work

He wasn't sure just how long they had been at it when Pepper finally pushed him back a bit. "You sir, are an amazing kisser. But as wonderful as this is, I need to finish getting ready. And since I ran Koi off with everyone else, you're going to have to be the one to help strap my wing on."

Boomer looked at her wing stump and froze. His breathing started speeding up, and he could feel the onset of a panic attack like at the palace. Pepper grabbed his face, turned his eyes to lock with hers, "I love you." And she kissed him quickly. "That wasn't your fault." She kissed him again. "We're going to move past this together. But you need to stop blaming yourself." Then, she nipped his ear, and his heart went racing for an entirely different reason. She brushed his cheek with one hoof. "So, we good? Not gonna freak out for a while?"

Boomer let out a huge sigh and rested his forehead against hers. "Yeah, we're good. Thank you. Feel free to chastise me any time you think I need it." Then he grinned a bit, "Especially if you are going to do it like that." And then he kissed her back, "I love you."

She grinned back, "Oh, good one! Nice and direct, right from the heart. Keep that up, and I'll be the envy of every mare from here to Las Pegasus. Point Boomer."

He laughed, "I hate to say it, but you already won; which is why I asked you to marry me."

She smiled, "That's good, because I already got my prize when you did." She led him into her room. Along the wall opposite the windows, her wing and harness hung. She pulled the sleep sock off her stump, and slipped the protective sock on. He helped guide her stump into the socket/sleeve and buckled the two main straps that supported and affixed her mechanical wing. She talked him through hooking up the many small rods and cables that synced her mechanical wing with her natural one. Once that was done, she gave a few flaps to ensure everything was proper and settled, then pulled the catch that collapsed and stored the wing.

Boomer watched with a bemused smile, "That really is amazing. How did I get so lucky to get somepony as wonderful as you?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him, with heavy lidded eyes, and a smile that nearly stopped his heart. Softly she said, "I could ask the same thing." She turned and slowly stalked towards him.

Boomer became painfully aware of the fact that he was alone with her, in her bedroom. His breath caught as she rubbed her shoulder against his, sliding her muzzle up his neck, while gently kissing it. When she reached his ear, she began nibbling on it as she breathed warmly into it.

Boomer's knees went weak, and he fell on his rump. She looked in his eyes, smiling, "You are so easy. I like this vulnerable side of yours."

Steadying his breathing, he looked back at her. "You my dear," He got back to his hooves, "are an evil," he kissed the side of her neck, "evil filly." And he nibbled on her ear.

Pepper's legs went rigid, and she sucked her breath in through her teeth. She let out a moan, "And you sir, are a fast learner." She kissed his cheek. "But we need to get going. I have an appointment at the quarry this morning."

They headed out the front door. Down at the base of the steps Koi, Pinkie Pie, Giggles ghost, and Princess Luna were smiling up at them as they stood on the porch. Pinkie was bouncing happily, "Yea! You're here. Luna just finished inducting us as knights. Now it's your turn." She looked over at Boomer, "Just a minute ago Giggles jerked, and her eyes went really huge. Did something happen to you?"

Koi snorted and laughed. Boomer and Pepper blushed furiously as they descend the steps to join Giggles, who's face was also flaming. Princess Luna walked up to Pepper, who kneeled before her. The princess touched each of her shoulders, and the crown of her head. "Arise Dame Pepper, Knight of the Night." She then turned to Boomer, "Watch over thy companions. Support and train each other, and above all, love one another." Then she smirked at Boomer, "But that hath never been thy problem, hath it my champion. If anything, thy love hath ever been blinding when ye hath loosed thy heart to share it.

"But I must be off. It be far past my bedtime, and ye all hath tasks of thy own. Boomer, if ye can, please come to the palace tomorrow night. Thus, may we properly transfer ye into thy new position. Ah paperwork, the joys of this modern system." And with that, she nodded her head to each of them, as they bowed in return. Then, she leapt to the air, and began flying back towards Canterlot.

Boomer looked at the fillies before him. He noticed that they each had a silver version of the princess's cutie mark on their foreheads, but only half the size of the one he sported. Even Giggles had one. The marks faded as Luna flew further away.

He smiled at them, and they smiled back. He could feel that they stood at the start of something. What it would be, well, they would just have to wait and see.

Epilogue: In which, Pepper beats Boomer nearly to death; Boomer gets ready to blow Pepper to dust, on purpose; Princess Luna becomes a Godmother; and Giggles uncovers a secret, support group?

Just over one year later:

Giggles was livid. How could Princess Luna forbid her from helping on this latest mission. I mean, for crying out loud, even Pinkie Pie was helping on this one. Why couldn't she? It's not like she couldn't find out what was going on. Even as she walked down this street, half way across Equestria from her brother, she could still feel the edges of the beating poor Boomer was taking. Giggles could literally be there in a blink. But no, she was forbidden.

Instead, she was sent here to investigate a secret society, and then report back to Princess Luna. Giggles was to simply locate, observe, and report back. She ground her teeth. Her high and mighty princess could just get stuffed. Her brother was in trouble, and by all the gods, she was going to go help him, orders be damned.

Despite the pain he was in, Boomer had obviously picked up on her intentions. And, despite the distance, she heard the thought he pushed at her. "You come here, and I swear, you will never see me, Pepper, or any children we have, EVER!"

Giggles flinched. Although his thought was filled with anger, it was tinged with fear; fear for her. She stopped dead. He was getting his brains kicked in, but he was deathly afraid of her coming to him right then. Just what was going on with them?

A voice from behind her broke through her musings. "Are you coming to the meeting?"

Giggles spun around, startled beyond all measure. She wasn't making any effort to be present, so, she should have been all but invisible. Even though she was more discernible at night, as it now was, she usually had to make an effort to be seen by somepony not familiar with her. And that number was rather small.

The pony now before her was in fact not part of that number. However, Giggles was passingly familiar with the bright white unicorn with the lavender mane and tail before her. She was in fact the very pony Princess Luna had sent her to investigate and report on.

Giggles looked around. Sure enough, she was the only other pony on the street. "I'm sorry. Were you addressing me?"

The other pony's face fell to sorrow. "Oh my poor dear. How long has it been since you've been acknowledged by any of us in the land of the living?"

Giggles blinked in true surprise, "Wait, not only do you see me, but you know that I'm a ghost?"

The other brightened, "Oh, wonderful, you're aware of your status. It is always so hard when some pony comes to us unwilling to acknowledge their nature as one of the deceased."

Giggles was flummoxed. How was this pony able to see her, and why was she not only not surprised, but not even bothered that she was a ghost. When the bright white unicorn said, "Why don't we hurry on in. If we dawdle, Okiku will have all the coffee drank before we get there." Giggles found herself stepping along without thought.

The compulsion was very light. The mere fact that she'd caught it at all was more testament to the training she'd received as one of Princess Luna's Knights of the Night, than any personal skill. Giggles slammed herself to a stop and growled at the other unicorn, "Don't EVER do that again. You really wouldn't like what happens it you piss me off."

The other unicorn actually flushed in embarrassment.. "I'm so sorry. I've gotten so used to having to herd new ghosts I come across, it's become habit. Please forgive me. That was terribly rude of me. My name is Violet Shadow by the way."

Giggles was still wary. Violet must have sensed it, as she immediately spoke up, "Don't give me your full name, just something I can call you. Without your full name given by your own lips, I can't exert any power over you against your will."

That didn't do much to settle her nerves. "My name is Giggles."

Violet smiled happily, "Oh! The one Princess Luna was sending to meet us? How wonderful. You must come and meet the others." And with that, she continued leading Giggles to a nearby home. Not sure what else to do, she followed along.

The living room of the house had been set up with a table along one wall, which held coffee and tea pots, as well as several different snacks and cookies. A group of chairs had been set up in a circle in the middle of the room. There were two other tiny ghosts already in the room. One was eating a large cookie, that looked even larger for the fact that it was as big as the teeny ghost pony, however, the look of joy in his eyes, behind his spectacles, clearly demonstrated the quality of the treat. Another was head down in a coffee cup, making happy slurping noises, as well as a merry hummed tune. Her little hind quarters and tail the only things still outside the cup.

Violet Shadow went over to the circle of chairs. “If everyone is ready, we’ll get started.”

Giggles sat down, and the two little ghost ponies came over to take seats, bringing their treats with them. In fact the one in the coffee cup floated the whole thing over; not righting herself in the cup till it was drained and licked clean. Then, she leaned back like she was in a grand bathtub, with a sigh of contentment.

Violet continued, “To start with, I have some good and bad news. On the bad side, Sir Henry will no longer be joining us. The good news is, with the last of his great grandchildren taken care of, he has decided to let go at last, and move beyond. As well, you may notice we have a new member here with us. This is her first time here at the Ghost Support Group, and I hope you will join me in welcoming her. I thought we could start with introductions, and then after, you can each take turns telling about yourselves, and what you would like get out of our group.”

The other two ghosts were Okiku, and her brother Ukiko. Giggles didn’t quite follow the explanation for why they chose to be so tiny, as Okiku’s coffee had apparently kicked in, and Giggles had trouble following the 9000 words a minute speech of the happy little ghost. Ukiko had the opposite problem. He just stared at Giggles wide eyed, and all he managed to say other than his name was, “Wow. You’re really pretty.”

When at last it was her turn to share, Giggle was a little hesitant. But, she decided to just spill everything out in the open, and see what others thought of her odd tale, and her afterlife. She took a deep breath, and started from the day more than twenty years before.

Half way across Equestria, Boomer staggered back to his hooves. Every part of him screamed from the pain. He knew Pepper was significantly stronger than he, but to be on the receiving end of that strength when used in violence, was another thing entirely. Those glowing red eyes and that deep echoey voice, coming from his wife's mouth, was almost more than he could bare when it mocked him again, "Just give up. You can't bring yourself to raise a hoof against your wife and unborn child. Let me go, and as soon as I can find another vessel that isn't so hindered, I'll release her. There may not even be any lasting damage. You keep thwarting me, and I will consume them both. Then where will you be?"

Boomer planted his hooves. He nearly went down from the shock of pain. Oh yes, his back leg was definitely broken. He steadied himself after taking the weight off it, and faced down the specter in his wife's body. "I was given a charge. Stop you, at ANY cost." He started pumping his rage and frustration into his magic. Instantly, his horn went white hot, and his body started to glow as well. "You're vulnerable when in a physical form. I'll have to kill her, but I Will destroy You."

The look on Pepper's face shifted from smug to slightly panicked, "You can't! She's your wife!"

Boomer ground his teeth as all the energy burned through him, and he lifted off the ground in a bubble of angry force. It was too much. He didn't think he could hold off long enough. But, one way or another, this had to end here. "I will hate myself forever, but I have a duty to Equestria!" And he aimed the stump of his horn squarely at the love of his life. Tears of iridescent fire ran down his cheeks. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Pepper's body crumpled to the ground, as a sooty red energy tore itself from her. That deep echoey voice raged, "Noooooo!!!" as it pulled free of her.

Struggling to hold his power back just another second or two, Boomer bellowed, "Koi, Pinkie, NOW!"

From the tree they had taken refuge behind, the two ponies jumped out. Holding a massive book bound in deep green scaly leather, with silver accents tarnished nearly black with age; they opened the massive tome, dropping it on the ground. They leaped over to Pepper's body, and clung to it for all they were worth.

Dark lightning poured from the open book. Boomer could feel its horrid power clawing and pulling at their souls. But they were safe, anchored in their physical bodies. The specter however, wasn't so lucky. The dark lightning contacted the sooty red energy of the specter, and instantly, all the tendrils of lightning converged on it, like an octopus finding an oyster. The specter was dragged down into the book, screaming in protest and horror. Then, the book slammed itself closed.

Shifting his aim, Boomer unleashed all his deadly rage on the book.

Ponies all across Equestria were awoken from their sleep when the ground shook.

Boomer crumpled to the edge of the great crater before him, all his energy spent. As he collapsed to the ground, directly behind him, The three fillies clinging to each other became visible. Pinkie's eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open. "The flash, I saw his bones." She whispered in awe.

Koi poked her head up, "I have to agree with you on that one. That was so bright, I think even I saw it."

From the bottom of the pile, Pepper groaned, "That's a heck of a feat, seeing as you were born without eyes. Now, would you two mind getting off me. The baby makes it hard enough to breath as it is, she doesn't need any help from you."

Boomer started to slip over the edge of the crater, but he didn't have enough strength left to move even a single hoof. It was a long way down to the bottom. "How sad," he thought. "I save all of Equestria, only to be killed by my own crater."

He lost sight of his three fellow knights as the lip cut off his view. In a way, having his view of them cut off was a good thing as, just before his head slipped over the edge, all three had looks of horror on their faces at seeing him sliding over to his doom, yet knowing that they wouldn’t be able to get to him in time. At least he wouldn’t have to look them in the eyes as he died. He closed his eyes, and just hoped it was quick.

PAIN!

Oh holly gods! Boomer screamed as the pain in his broken lake flared like a super nova

He looked back up to see his broken leg bent at a ninety degree angle over the crater lip, with the broken bone poking through the shin area. Then, he slipped a bit more, and Pinkie Pie was dragged partly over the edge, desperately clinging to his hoof.

Of course karma, that evil bitch, would have Pinkie grab his broken leg. And now, he was going to end up dragging her over as well. Perfect.

Boomer tried to stop screaming in pain so he could tell her to let go, before she fell to her death; when she slipped over the edge completely as well. Then, rather than both falling, a blue glow surrounded them. They were lifted back up out of the crater.

Koi stood with her hooves planted wide, and a grimace on her face, sweat beading her brow, as she floated them back away from the crater edge. She set them down, and blew out explosively, and collapsed. “Whew. I’m not a young filly anymore.” she gasped.

Boomer looked from her, to Pinkie Pie, and croaked out, “Thank you.” Before letting the darkness swallow him. With any luck, he wouldn’t wake up till he was in the hospital.

No such luck. Boomer awoke screaming, as they were loading him aboard Princess Luna’s Night Chariot. True, they had barely tapped his broken leg, but it had dragged him out of oblivion, back into a world of raging pain. As he passed out again, his only thought was, “The chariot? How long have I been out, that they have made it here?”

Fortunately, he didn’t awaken again, until he was at the hospital, and apparently already in a recovery room. Groggily, he looked over. They were all there, Pepper, Giggles, Koi, Pinkie Pie, and even Princes Luna. Who addressed him, “My champion, we are grateful beyond measure to have ye back with us. Thy quest was successful, but methinks ye hath been again, as Pinkie Pie so adequately put it, blocking punches with thy face. We would ask ye to kindly refrain from such in the future, as it doth distress thy wife greatly.”

Boomer chuckled, then groaned in pain. Koi spoke up, “Well, they were able to put your leg back together. However, because of the compound fracture, they are not able to put a cast on it yet. Her highness here thinks she can use her magic to heal the break, and the cuts enough for them to put a cast on, but she says it will hurt, a lot. Do you want her to?”

He nodded his head. “Make it quick, before I think about it, or wake up any more.”

Princess Luna’s horn glowed, and he tried to scream. He really did. But it hurt so much, all the muscles in his body cramped and spasmed, and he couldn’t open his mouth. When it was over, Koi grinned, “Great. Now they can get a cast on it, and when you’re healed enough for them to take it off, then we can start on physical therapy.”

Boomer looked at Pepper pleadingly, “Please, throw me back in the crater.” Koi cackled in glee.

However, everyone was frozen when Pepper stiffened, and exclaimed, “Oh my!”

Boomer’s eyes bulged. “Now? But you’re early!”

Pepper nodded. “Well, at least we are already at the hospital. And it’s only a few days early; well within expected times. Honestly, with what we just went through, I’m amazed she waited till we got here.”

Koi patted Boomer’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. By the time they get done with your cast, and have you in a wheelchair, you’ll have missed all the long drawn out boring parts, and be ready for the important stuff. I’ll get your wife checked in, and send the doctor in to take care of you.” She turned to everypony else, “All right everyone, that wraps up the show in here. Y’all clear out, and we’ll go set the stage for act two.”

Pinkie Pie led the precession out of the room, bouncing and singing, “I’m gonna be an auntie!”

Koi was right. He was done, and in Pepper’s room in plenty of time. Granted, he looked funny trying to coach her from his wheelchair, hooked up to as many monitors and IV bags as she was. But he held her hoof all through the worst of it. After several hours, at last, they delivered a healthy pegasus girl, of shiny midnight black. Her mane and tail were a deep blue, with a single lock of white in her mane, and one in her tail. The doctor figured it was from some sort of trauma while she was still inside, but other than that, she was fully healthy.

Yeah, that last bit before she was born could definitely be considered trauma. Boomer was just thankful she hadn’t been drained away, and been born all white, and dead. It had been close. Too close.

Once everything was cleaned up, and the baby was resting in her mother’s arms, Boomer looked up at Pepper. “We still haven’t decided on a name.”

Pepper smiled, “I think that idea you had would be perfect.”

He looked back at her, “Are you sure? She may not agree…”

Pepper patted his hoof. “We’ll ask her, and if she says no, then we can decide on something else then. But let’s find out, and then we can have the rest come in and meet our daughter.”

Boomer debated on asking a nurse to go fetch her, but before he could reach for the call button, there was a knock at their door. Princess Luna poked her head into the room. “My champion, ye have need of me?”

Boomer looked to Pepper, who smiled and nodded her head. He looked back to his princess, and motioned for her to come in the room. As Boomer and Pepper held hooves, he addressed Princess Luna, “We are getting ready to name our girl, and we would like to name her after her godmother.” Princess Luna cocked her head a bit, but didn’t interrupt, so he continued, “We would like to name her Luna, if that is alright with you.”

The princess cocked her head the other way, “But I thought ye wanted to name thy child after…” Her eyes went wide, and her hoof went to her mouth. She sat frozen for several seconds. Tears began to form in her eyes and she lowered her hoof. She bowed her head slightly, and with a shaky breath, “I would indeed be honored, and I do accept.”

Giggles poked her head through a wall. “Is the princess done crying yet? I was sent to see if it is safe to send everypony in. There are some restless ponies out there who want to meet the newest member of the clan.” Then she stopped as she met the eyes of her new niece. She looked at her brother, “She has mom’s eyes.”

Boomer smiled and nodded, “Mom’s, any yours. Go tell everyone that baby Luna is now receiving visitors.”

Giggles grinned at the princess, who was wiping away a tear, and went back through the wall, headed for the waiting room.

Pepper looked down into the bright eyes of their daughter. “I hope you’re ready for this. We have an odd family, but I know that they will all love you very much.”

Baby Luna seemed eager to meet them. And at the head of the precession into the room, other than Giggles, (who could float through walls, the cheater) were baby Luna’s two newly christened grandmothers, both beaming with pride. As if they were the cork in the bottle, as soon as they entered the room, a flood of family, friends and well wishers poured in, along with a lot of love.

The End, for now.