Boomer's Crisis

by WEKM

Chapter 6 Guard Duty, and Other Comforts

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.