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// Chapter 11 Oh, A Party. Pardon Me When I Freak Out 
// Story: Boomer's Crisis 
// by WEKM 
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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.