Opening his eyes, Sharp found himself in a bedroom. It was still dark, but he could see the sky was turning orange. By reflex, he had woken up at the break of dawn, he didn't even need to look at a clock, he knew by instinct what the time was.

He laid in bed for a few seconds, his mind coming out of it's slumber and the well of memories his dream had been plagued by lately. It was a strange feeling suddenly laying here, not hearing the trumpet's signal the start of the morning, not having somepony burst in through the door and wake him and his section mates up.

Although he had slept peacefully on the ship that brought him and his platoon mates, it still had a sense of military discipline. Now, there was nothing but the peace and quiet of the morning. Birds chirping outside was the only thing that broke that silence, and Sharp almost found it too quiet. There was no horn playing, signaling the day's beginning. No sound of hooves moving, orders being yelled, or anything for that matter other than the birds. There was only silence...

Once, Sharp would have begged for a morning like this, peaceful and quiet, but now, he missed the noise. At first Sharp tried to go back to sleep, trying to relax, but his body was wide awake, and so was his mind. So with sleep not within reach, or nothing better to do, Sharp decided to get up and unpack his kit.

Getting up he made his bed as he would do back at camp, making it so neat that a sergeant could toss a coin at it, and it would bounce right back up. He had no idea by the schedule of his work yet, and he could not hear any hoof steps, so maybe work did not start for some time. Whatever the case, Sharp decided to be productive, and so got out his entire kit, except for his MP-99 Equestrian Rifle. Funny enough, the rifle itself had been invented and produced in the Griffon Kingdom, and they were the first ones to implement it in their army.

The one that Sharp and his fellow soldiers received had been modified from the original rifle, the MG-99 rifle, which was made for Griffons. But receiving an order for these rifles meant that they needed to be fitted out for ponies, giving birth to the MG-99 little brother, the MP-99. Saddle Arabia had first bought the rifles for their own army, but when Equestria agreed to send troops in order to secure more exposed regions, they agreed to provide equipment, such as rifles...

Unfortunately since Equestria had not ordered these rifles, it meant if a rifle got damaged, needed new parts, or anything to modify it, like getting a scope, it meant you had to buy it from Saddle Arabia. Equestria simply didn't have the logistics for it, which was another headache to deal with. Soldiers like Sharp had basically paid for their own rifles, and the army could no longer rightly claim it belonged to them, which meant, the rifle belonged to Sharp.

It had been an eye opener for him, it showed just how unprepared Equestria really was when it came to modern warfare and overseas missions. It made him and a lot of fellow soldiers frustrated, and after becoming an officer himself, he could see how much it frustrated the officers as well.

It had taken a long time before the logistics were up and running before Equestria could provide soldiers with everything they needed themselves. At that point most of the soldiers stationed in Saddle Arabia had already re bought everything they had, so the improvements only benefited later arrivals.

Sighing, Sharp laid everything out on his bed, making sure not to make a mess. Everything was put out in military efficiency and precision, giving a nice organized view of his equipment.

Bayonet and a steel helmet.
Standard entrenching tool.
Standard issue 'Diamond Dog Grey' field tunic.
Standard issue 'Diamond Dog Grey' field trousers,
Standard issue 'Tornister' knapsack.
Brown leather rear jackboots, magically enchanted to allow for bipedal movement.
Brown leather webbing and six ammo pouches, allowing for a total of 60 rounds of concentrated magic ammo per soldier.

Of course then there was all the tools used to maintain his equipment, and personal hygiene. There was also a few personal belongings, such as a journal he had kept, a deck of cards, and of course an envelope full of pictures. Doing his time in Saddle Arabia, they had taken a lot of pictures, which could sound insane, but it was not of any battle or anything like that. But like when they were at a cafe, talking with locals, having a good time.

Despite some of the times being horrible, it was easy to forget all the good times, which was why he treasured these pictures. They served as a reminder of the bonds he had formed during his time there, showed that at the end of the day, they were just ponies like everypony else, they were not cold machines who felt nothing and cared about no one.

Still, he did not dare open it. In his heart, he wanted to see those happy memories again, be reminded of the good times, but that would also mean being reminded of the pain of those who were no longer with him. Some of the ponies in those pictures, smiling, laughing, they were gone, now only alive in his memories.

Sighing, he left the envelope unopened and put it in the desk drawer. It was about then he felt the tears in his eyes. "Fuck.." He whispered, having not realized he had been letting the tears flow. Taking a deep breath, he wiped away the tears and started putting everything into his closet. Everything was placed neatly, well made, and like on the bed, he made sure it was efficient.

Sharp closed the door, making sure to lock it so no curious filly could by accident get to his rifle. There was no rounds in it, and the safety was on, but he didn't want to risk it. After hiding the key, he left his room and silently made it downstairs.

To his surprise, or maybe not surprise, Granny Smith was already working in the kitchen. Sharp had been drawn there after smelling the delicious smell of pancake batter being cooked. It smelled great, and Sharp soon found himself standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

Granny spotted him right away. "Well, aren't you up early? Good morning to you Sharp. Figured you would be sleeping in today."

"Well, you get used to getting up early in the army." He replied politely.

She was smiling, but it suddenly vanished. "Listen sonny, please don't judge my granddaughter too harshly.. I won't excuse her attitude, but.." Granny seemed to struggle with how to form her explanation. "Most youths today haven't faced the sort of hardships you have Sharp. It's easy for them to judge you because they can't understand what it's like to be there, to experience what you have.."

Sharp thought back to what Applejack said to him yesterday. Your kind is not welcome here, and, your sort, going overseas only to cause trouble. Had she meant those words? It certainly seemed like it at the time, but fair was fair, she didn't know him, and he didn't know her. Maybe it was a case judging before knowing, in which case, perhaps once they got to work together, her perception would change?

The fact was, Sharp had no idea what ponies back home had been told, he had no idea what those returning home had done while he was here. He had no idea what he had missed, other than princess Luna's return thanks to princess Celestia's student, and her friends. He couldn't remember the details though, he hadn't really cared all that much.

Sharp was not above forgiving her if she apologized, he'd rather be on her good side than her bad. Granny had a point, most ponies would probably never understand, and it was not like there wasn't reasons to be displeased with the war over there. The thing that bothered him was that the army in it's entirety were blamed for failures of command, intelligence, accidents, or individual soldiers.

It wasn't fair to those who had done their best, who had come to help, put their lives on the line, and managed to help ponies. Suddenly they were being labeled as monsters, war criminals, terrorists, when in fact nopony outside those who had been over there knew what they were talking about.

Looking at Granny Smith he could see she felt the same, young ponies had been spoiled by the generations of peace, few understood what it had taken to achieve such peace..

Sharp sent her a reassuring smile, not wanting her to worry. "Of course not. I'm not angry with her, I'm sure once we get to know each other things will be better." He was not sure he believed it, but he hoped it was true and they could simply move on.

Her smile returned. "Thank you sonny, now, how about you take a seat and I have you a plate fixed?" She asked, placing another hot one on a plate. "Big Mac is still outside doing morning chores along with Applejack, they should be back in a few."

Looking outside, he could see it was early, but not so early breakfast couldn't be prepared. Sharp was surprised he hadn't heard anypony trot around, he was more focused than he realized when he was unpacking his kit. As much as he was not used to sit around doing nothing so early in the morning, he decided to suck it up and sit down.

"Thank you ma'am." He said.

Granny Smith simply chuckled, she was quite fond of Sharp already. "You know, I myself was a NAAFI mare when I was younger."

Sharp smiled, somehow not surprised. "Really?" He asked interested.

Granny nodded, flipping the pancake before turning to him, pouring him a mug of coffee. "You betcha! We used to have an army camp not far from here back in the day. I would go there to earn a few extra bits." She let out a happy sigh. "Those were the days.."

The Navy, Army and Air Force Institute, or NAAFI for short, was a social club for the enlisted ponies. It was where they could go after a hard day's training. It was where they could socialize, buy some coffee, tea, other goods, and of course, flirt with the mares behind the counter. It wasn't hard to imagine young Granny Smith being quite popular in the NAAFI, her accent probably an added bonus.

Taking the mug in his hooves, Sharp could already tell this was real army coffee. It wasn't so much about strength, but about a perfect balance. NAAFI mares had perfected the art of making a cup of tea or coffee. Sharp strangely felt at home, and after taking in the smell, he took a sip. His whole body warmed, and he instantly relaxed.

"Wow.." Was the only thing he could say, which made Granny smirk in victory.

"Eeyup! Still got it!"

It was then that the door opened and in walked Applejack and Big Mac. "Morning." Big Mac said to the room.

"Morning." Sharp replied.

"Good morning. Come and sit down." Granny Smith smiled, making them all some plates with pancakes.

Sharp caught Applejack looking at him, but when she saw him looking at her, she averted her eyes. Something had changed, she didn't glare at him, she didn't look disgusted by his mere presence, but she wasn't happy with him either. Was it guilt he saw in her? Maybe, but right now he would not push the issue. If she felt the need to talk to him about it, he would be ready to hear her out.

"Where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked, seeming to latch on to the first conversation that didn't had anything to do with Sharp, not that he minded.

Granny looked back at them. "That filly is sleeping in again, Big Mac, go on upstairs and wake your sister."

"Eeyup."

The massive stallion left the kitchen, leaving Sharp alone with Granny Smith and Applejack, who still seemed uncomfortable as they sat at the table in silence. It didn't bother Sharp, he simply enjoyed the coffee, and each time he happened to catch Applejack looking at him, she would avert her gaze, pretending to be looking at something else.

A few times he was tempted to ask her to simply say what was on her mind, but he wasn't looking for a confrontation, neither did he wish to ruin the mood at the breakfast table. Finally Applejack opened her mouth to speak. "You will be working with Big Mac today, he will show you what to do."

Sharp looked at her, she still didn't look him in the eyes. "Understood." He replied, almost sounding stiff, which was probably a bad habit. Whenever he had a strict officer, a pony that was bothering him, or somepony creating trouble, Sharp had learned to go the basics of army responds methods, short sharp replies.

"It's Applejack's day off today." Granny said. "So just stick to Big Mac and he'll take care of you."

Applejack sighed. "Granny, I told you, I can stay and do my part and-"

"No." Granny said firmly. "With Sharp here we can finally take some rest days. You have today, Big Mac will have a day off tomorrow."

Applejack didn't look pleased, but she didn't argue the point anymore. Sharp learned something not just about the family, but of Applejack as well. She was a hard worker, she wanted to work with her family, do her part to keep the farm going. Despite their first encounter, Sharp found his opinion of the mare rising.

Big Mac returned, this time with a little filly trotting along slowly behind him. She yawned, still not seeming fully awake yet. Without thinking, little Apple Bloom jumped up on the seat next to Sharp, while Big Mac took a seat next to Applejack. "Morning Apple Bloom." Sharp said carefully, seeing the filly was still half asleep.

"Mawning..." She yawned again.

Granny chuckled, and being the family mare that she was, and knew her grandfoals like no other, she fixed Apple Bloom a plate of delicious pancakes, and placed it in front of the little filly.

It only took a few seconds for Apple Bloom to register the pancakes, once she did, her eyes widened, and her whole body woke up. "Pancakes!" She exclaimed and dug in right away, chewing happily which made the rest of the table chuckle. She swallowed, then looked around like if she was first noticing them now. "Morning everypony!" She then looked at Sharp, seeming almost surprised, but still gave him that wide adorable smile. "Oh! Good morning mister!"

Sharp smiled a little. "Morning Apple Bloom."

The filly just grinned, taking another huge bite out of her stack of pancakes, looking happier than a pig in dirt. "So.." She said, swallowing another mouthful. "Are you starting working today?"

"That's the idea." Sharp replied, glancing at Applejack, who quickly moved her eyes to anything but him. "What about you? Are you in school?"

Apple Bloom nodded. "Mmhm, miss Cheerilee is really nice, and I go with my best friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!"

"Sounds nice." Sharp smiled, taking a bite of his pancakes. "So, do you have a habit of getting into trouble?"

Apple Bloom blushed. "Well, I wouldn't call it trouble.."

"Ahem.." Big Mac hummed sternly, making Apple Bloom flinch.

"We.. We just wanna get our cutie marks." Apple Bloom defended, a sheepish smile on her face as she knew full well the kind of shenanigans her and her friends usually got into.

Sharp snorted in amusement, then chuckled. It reminded him of the days he and Pin Point would go out, trying to get their own cutie marks. While Pin was the more daring of the two, he still managed to drag Sharp into trouble no matter how much Sharp tried to avoid it.

"So how did you get your cutie mark?" Apple Bloom asked, seeming excited to find out.

"Uhm, well.." Sharp was not really sure if he should tell her. Not that the story itself was bad or anything, but he was afraid what sort of follow up questions that could lead to. "One day I was trying to shoot a bow, and, well, I was really good at hitting the target, always dead center."

"Wow, so you must be really good at shooting!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

Sharp in turn simply nodded a little, forcing a small smile as he got his coffee. "Yup.. I never miss.." He said in a somewhat sad tone.

Picking up on that, Applejack looked up at the clock on the wall. "Better get ready for school AB, I walk you there."

Apple Bloom looked up on the clock, she hadn't noticed the change in Sharp, which was probably a good thing, so she simply nodded and got down from her chair. "Thanks for the food Granny, see ya later Sharp!" The filly called as she ran out of the room.

Granny chuckled. "There is more energy in that girl than a tornado."

Applejack got down from the chair. "I'm gonna take her to school, you're sure you don't need my help today Granny?"

Granny Smith simply shook her head. "You go on ahead. With Sharp and Big Mac here we will do just fine."

"Alright then, well, you two have a ni-." She stopped, looking at Sharp for a second, but then turned her attention to her brother. "Have a good day.." And with that she left.

Sharp was left to wonder if she was trying to figure her own feelings out. Was she conflicted? At any rate, he had a job to do and he hoped he and Applejack could clear the air at some point. Big Mac and Granny was thinking the same thing. However, for now there was work to be done.

"Well." Big Mac started. "I'm gonna show you the ropes, then I will take Granny Smith to the market. Let's get going."

Sharp nodded. "Thank you for the meal Mrs Apple, it was delicious."

"Don't you worry none." Granny Smith said, waved the two stallions off, and wished Sharp good luck on his first day.

Big Mac took Sharp around the farm, giving him the basic tour, showing him the barn, the animals and gave him the basic layout of their orchard and their lands. While it would take time for Sharp to fully understand and memorize it all, he had the basic idea down already.

Big Mac figured with Sharp's training a map could help a lot, and so Big Mac got him a map of the Apple family lands. He showed him the area he would be working at, took him there, and showed him how to do it.

While Sharp was in no way a weak pony in any shape or form, it took more than physical strength to make the apples fall into the baskets. It took technique, Big Mac could probably snap a tree in half if he had a mind to, but he delivered just the right amount of force in the right place, making the apples fall into the baskets he had placed around the tree.

"It takes practice." He said, moving the baskets into the cart with Sharp's help. "Don't you worry none, we don't expect you to get it right the first time. Just do your best and I will be back to help you out before you know it."

Sharp nodded. "Understood." Once again, he used a default answer, but there wasn't really anything else he needed to say or ask.

Big Mac looked him over, and Sharp found it was hard to read Big Mac, but maybe he was thinking the same about Sharp. Before it got weird, the red stallion nodded and turned around. "I'll see you later, better start practicing."

That made Sharp smile a little, and he nodded. "I will do my best."

The two stallions parted ways, and Big Mac left Sharp to start work. He had instructed him in what to do, so Sharp would not have to many problems, and he would get back before things would become too difficult.

The job itself was simple enough, place the baskets around the tree, buck the tree until the apples fall into the baskets. Move the full baskets into the cart, move the empty ones under the next tree. This would repeat until the cart was full, or he ran out of baskets to use.

Afterwards, he would haul the cart back to the barn where they would be sorted, something he still needed to learn. Big Mac figured he would get back before Sharp would get so far, but at least work had started and a few baskets could be filled before his return.

Sharp started his work, it was hard, it made his legs wobble a bit whenever he hit the tree wrong. Big Mac made it look so easy, and he imagined Applejack had similar skills. Still, the apples did fall, although at a slower rate than what Big Mac had managed, and Sharp needed to buck the tree several times before there was no more apples to get down.

Although his legs felt a bit sore, he had been in the army long enough to know his muscles would get used to being used this way. He continued, ignoring the pains of the muscles, knowing it was about mind over matter. One by one the baskets were filled up, Sharp moved the full ones to the cart, then brought the empty ones to the next tree.

While the work was tedious, it gave him a chance to use his body, which in turn took his mind off things. He felt better when he did something, lately he had been feeling like everything was too quiet, like everything stood still. He needed to do something, because it felt like if he stood still for too long, he could die.

Although Sharp had slept relatively peaceful today, he had problems relaxing at times. Tonight he had been lucky, despite him dreaming about his time in Saddle Arabia, the memories had thankfully not turned into nightmares like they usually did. Maybe it had something to do with the new princess? Rumors said that she could visit dreams, help ponies with their nightmares, maybe that could have been the reason for his calm night? He had no idea.

He could deal with the nightmares he told himself, but he hated the sounds, the echos of battles that could haunt him, even when he was not sleeping. Thankfully it had been nothing major, but at times, he had found himself thinking for a second or two he was back there, or that somepony was taking a shot at him.

It was stupid, in his mind he knew it was stupid, but he could not ignore the feeling of danger. It was a sudden need to take cover, a sudden need to yell out commands for a squad he no longer commanded, to bring up his rifle and return fire. Thankfully these feelings only lasted a second or two and he could bring himself under control before his body would act out of reflex.

He hadn't told anypony, not even his family. Sharp knew of others who experienced the same things he did, some had it worse, others had it easier. It was not something they had spoken about, and while Sharp had encouraged the soldiers under his command to seek help, he found himself unable to do the same.

Stubbornness? Perhaps, or maybe it was pride? Maybe it was just the simple belief that what he had he could manage himself, maybe it was the belief that it was nopony else's business and he alone could handle it. At least, that was what he hoped.

As Sharp continued his work, Applejack went to Ponyville to meet up with her friends. She was a little surprised Pinkie Pie had not made a surprise party for Sharp, normally she would greet any pony new to town, ask them a bunch of questions, and then later on the day hold a massive party.

That didn't happen this time around, which was unusual for Pinkie. However, as Applejack and her friends sat down for tea and cupcakes, Pinkie was the first one to approach the subject of Sharp.

"Sooooooooooooooooooooooo, how goes it your new housemate?!" Pinkie asked excitedly, looking like someone who had been trying to keep their excitement back for a long time, but she always looked like that.

The other turned to Applejack, clearly curious about what Pinkie was talking about. "Housemate? What are you talking about Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh! Didn't you all know? Yesterday this soldier pony arrived in Ponyville, he looked all sad and serious, but Granny Smith helped him and now he is at Sweet Apple Acres!" Pinkie explained, her voice moving a hundred miles per hour.

The mentioning of a soldier arriving at Ponyville surprised them all, none of them knew of anypony from Ponyville signing up. Moreover, they were surprised one was living at the Apple household. "So darling." Rarity started. "How is he?"

"Well, he's.. Uhm.." Applejack was not really sure what to answer, her mind raced in order to find the right words, but none came. What could she say? She hadn't known the stallion for more than a few hours, and yet, she had seen fit to judge him. After dinner yesterday, Granny had scolded her, reminding her not to judge anypony before she knew them, a concept she liked to think she was familiar with.

"I don't really know, haven't really done anything to get to know him yet.." Applejack said, sounding and looking ashamed, something that the girls picked up on very fast. "I told him to, leave." The others looked confused, Applejack was never the type to turn away anypony who needed help. "I said some things, and I'm not proud of it. It was wrong of me to judge him without getting to know him first, it's just, well.." She hesitated, not looking at her friends. "I don't know how to tell somepony I don't really trust I'm sorry.."

Twilight frowned, she knew the war had not been popular, nor was the decision to send troops overseas. Twilight had an insight most ponies didn't, and so she knew the pressure, and the hard decisions Celestia had to make on a daily basis. She knew some of the failures, not in detail, but she knew some of the impossible tasks the soldiers had been facing, not to mention how unprepared they really were for an overseas mission that was supposed to be basically a guard force.

While Twilight did not claim to understand it all, or know what the right answers and solutions were, she did think it was unreasonable to blame the troops on the ground. There were many problems, and none of them simple. Maybe she was biased, her brother was a royal guard after all, and he had seen bad ponies, fighting ponies and monsters, he had never been to war though.

"Well, nopony says you have to become best friends." Twilight said, feeling a bit sad if that was the case. "But, maybe an apology can be the beginning of a fresh start?" She suggested, hopeful.

"Yeah, you're probably right sugarcube.. I just feel awful about it. Now I'm not saying I'm suddenly comfortable having him around, but I do owe him an apology, and at least a chance to prove me wrong."

Rarity nodded. "Quite right darling, although none of us are big supporters of the war, I think it's fair to say you have treated the poor stallion unfairly."

Applejack sighed, nodding in agreement, as did the others. The war in Saddle Arabia was complicated, so much so that most ponies were doubting their involvement in the conflict. Ponies had been killed, soldiers, rebels, and civilians. It shook the very core of the harmony Applejack and her friends represented, and although all of them had their own opinions about the matter, none of them liked what was going on.

Maybe the harsh reality was that Applejack, and other ponies like her were simply tired of the war. War is terrible, it was something that shouldn't happen, but it does. Equestria had not been involved in any wars for hundreds of years, they prided themselves in being peaceful, looking for peaceful solutions rather than fighting.

Was it pride that created her outrage? If she was being honest with herself, she had no idea why she felt such distrust and disgust towards ponies like Sharp. She, out of all her friends, had every reason to be supportive of them. Granny Smith's words echoed in her mind, hammering the point home, which in turn made her feel ashamed.

Would everything be alright after she apologized? Would her distrust vanish then and there? Probably not, but it was something she would have to work on, and that started with apologizing to Sharp, it meant starting over. She owed him and her family that much.

"When everything is settled, we can hold a welcome to your new home party! I can bring my party cannon!" Pinkie said excitedly, brightening the mood.

The rest of the day continued without problems, and Applejack had lots to think on, fortunately, her friends were supportive and encouraging. Unlike Applejack, Apple Bloom was fascinated by Sharp, like any foal, royal guards, wonderbolts were cool and interesting.

Although they might not understand everything about them, they knew enough to be intrigued. She had told her friends everything, and so Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and of course, Sweetie Belle, all hurried down the dirt road to get to the farm.

"He had all sorts of stuff, I've never seen any royal guard wearing all those things." Apple Bloom explained.

"Did he come from Saddle Arabia?" Scootaloo asked, seeming excited.

Apple Bloom thought for a few seconds."I think so, my sister and Granny mentioned something about that."

Sweetie Belle looked to her two friends. "Do you think he can help us finding our cutie marks?"

"I'm sure he can! He has a cutie mark in shooting with a bow and always hitting the mark." The girls all got excited, a new pony in Ponyville meant a new chance to learn how to get a cutie mark.

On their way they saw Big Macintosh walking at a steady pace down the road. "Howdy girls, what are you doing in such a hurry?" He asked, coming to a stop.

The three fillies looked up at him, smiling. "We are going to see mister Sharp! He can help us get our cutie marks!"

The other two nodded, seeming as excited about the prospect as Apple Bloom. "Well, you girls don't bother him too much, we still have work to do, and he can't play before we're done." Big Mac said, being gentle, but firm enough to let the fillies know there was no negotiation.

"Awwww.." The girls all let out, trying to give him the puppy eyes, but Big Mac didn't budge. "Fine.. We promise not to bother him.." Apple Bloom promised, and her friends nodded.

"Well, off with you then. I'm heading to town to see if Granny is alright, you three behave yourself."

"We will!" The three crusaders said in unison, and they parted ways. Apple Bloom led her friends down the last bit of dirt road towards Sweet Apple Acres, she figured Sharp would be out in the orchard since Big Mac just left, and so she steered directly towards it once home.

It didn't take them that long to locate Sharp, he was still bucking the apple trees, looking a bit winded and sweaty, but also looked quite determined. "Hey mister!" Apple Bloom called as her and her friends trotted towards him.

Sharp stopped what he was doing and looked at them, smiling. "Apple Bloom, hey. How was school?"

"It was okay, we got cookies after our last class." She said happily.

Sharp smiled. "Lucky you."

Nodding, she gestured to her two friends. "These are my friends. Scootaloo."

"Heya!" Scoots smirked and waved, Sharp nodded back. "And this is Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle smiled. "Hello."

Sharp nodded to them both as a small greeting. "Hello girls, nice to meet you. I hear you girls have some sort of club?"

"You bet!" Scoots exclaimed.

"We are looking for our cutie marks!" Sweetie put in. "Together we are!"

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

They all called out in unison, the declaration seemed well rehearsed, so Sharp couldn't help but find it funny. He chuckled a bit, and then went back to his work. "Well, that sounds cool. You out crusading or something?"

Sweetie nodded. "Mhm, we're looking for things to try out to discover our special talent."

"We hoped you could maybe help us, Apple Bloom said you are an amazing shot!" Scootaloo said, walking a bit closer to examine his cutie mark.

Sharp flinched at that statement, but recovered before any of them noticed. "I guess you can say that.."

"But my brother made us promise not to bother you while you're working, so we just stopped by to say hello." Apple Bloom reassured Sharp, which did indeed make him relax a little.

"Sounds like you got a busy afternoon ahead. I have to work, but maybe we can talk later?" The three fillies seemed satisfied with that answer and all started to head off.

"Sounds good, see you later mister Sharp!" Apple Bloom and the others waved at him, and Sharp waved back until they were out of sight.

Sharp then returned to his work, having gotten better during the hours that had passed. He was tired, sore, but it felt good. The trip back home had left him irritable, his body had missed being used, and now he had a chance to get exhausted, to be able to work and forget whatever laid buried deep within his mind.

Big Mac had been nice enough to work with, Sharp was nowhere near as good as Big Mac when it came to bucking trees, but he was kind enough to give him tips on how to improve, and how to avoid injuries. Though not a big talker, Sharp found him intelligent, and wise beyond his years.

As cheesy as that sounded, Sharp had learned a bit more about Big Mac, and through him, more about the Apple clan. He was the oldest sibling, had to work from an early age, pretty much took over all his father's duties when he passed away. Macintosh didn't want or like to speak about the death of his parents, and Sharp didn't press him on it.

Mac had been the stallion of the house, had to grow up faster than his sisters, which was why he didn't allow himself as much free time as Applejack or Apple Bloom had. He had helped Applejack with her homework, helped Granny take care of Apple Bloom, been taking whatever workload he could to make it easier on the family.

It was strange in some ways, not in a bad way, but Sharp had the impression he didn't confide in others as fast as he had with him. Big Mac had his own dreams, his own opinions and aspirations, he had told Sharp about a few of them, seeming surprised he had confided in Sharp as much as he had.

Sharp found himself respecting Mac, and thus saw him as a friend. Sharp couldn't help but wonder if in Big Mac he could perhaps confide in him about the things he had experienced. He wasn't sure he wanted to, yet.

A call suddenly interrupted Sharp's thoughts. "Mister!!" Sharp looked over and saw an orange filly run towards him. It was Scootaloo, she seemed scared, so much so Sharp immediately stopped what he was doing and moved towards her.

"Scootaloo, what's wrong?" He asked, sounding urgent, but still calm.

"It's Apple Bloom, she fell down a tree, she's hurt!" Scootaloo said, trying to hold back the tears.

Right away Sharp feared the worst, had she hit her head? Broken a leg? Did a branch move itself into her body? His heart started going faster, by reflex he told Scootaloo to take him to her, but he hardly noticed it. His thoughts moved faster than he could catch and hold onto them. Flashes, echoes, they were coming back.

"We need to get out of here now!"

"Sharp! Call in the strike!"

"MEDIC!"

He gritted his teeth, forced with all his mental powers the images back, trying to stay in the here and now. When they got to the tree and he saw Apple Bloom, everything around him seemed to come into focus, like if the sight had made his mind flick a switch, making him focus on Apple Bloom like he could focus on a friend that had been wounded.

He knew this feeling very well, his mind was by reflex going into combat mode, even though there was no battle to be fought.

Apple Bloom was sobbing, and Sweetie Belle tried to comfort her the best she could. When sharp got closer, his mind started to calm down a bit, her head seemed fine, and her leg didn't seem broken, at least, from what he could see at first glance.

"It's going to be okay Apple Bloom, I'm here." She seemed to calm down a little, but she was still hurting, and the tears still moved down her cheeks.

"I.. Sob...I fell from the tree.. Sob.." She whined, and Sharp looked up at the tree. Seemed like the railing of the tree house had snapped, so she had to have been leaning on it.

Looking back at her he nodded. "I know, it's going to be okay. Just going to look at your leg, just take deep breaths. Kay?" Apple Bloom nodded, and her friends both moved close her, trying to calm her. Sharp in the meantime looked over her legs.

All seemed fine, but her right hind leg, it was bloody, and the cause seemed to be be a nail from the railing that must have cut her leg as she fell. It was a nasty cut for sure, but she wasn't in any danger, but it was probably hurting like hell. Frankly Sharp was impressed she wasn't screaming in pain.

After a quick examination, he could conclude nothing was broken, and the blood had stopped, she was just hurting and it didn't take much for the wound to let out more blood when it was disturbed. Since it could stop itself it was clear she wasn't going to loose enough blood for her to die from it, and since the body reacted to it as it should, Sharp was relieved to know she was going to be just fine.

"It hurts.." Apple Bloom sobbed.

Sharp nodded, knowing there was not much he could do out here. "I know it does sweetheart, come on, I'll carry you back home and then we have you fixed right up." He got Apple Bloom onto his back and started to trot back towards the farm.

"Girls, do you know where Apple Bloom's family keeps their first aid kit?" He didn't really know if they did have a first aid kit, but he imagined a family such as the Apple family had to have one, and thankfully, both fillies nodded. "Okay, Scoots, why don't you run ahead and find it? Then we-." Before he could say more she was off like lightning, her tiny wings flapping as much as her body would allow them.

Apple Bloom tried her best to be brave, Sharp could see she was strong, but at the end of the day she was just a foal wanting to cry and be comforted. He didn't imagine he could provide the kind of comfort her family and friends could, but at least he could get the pain to stop.

Soon enough they arrived at the house, and walking inside Sharp spotted Scootaloo who had spread everything from the first aid kit out on the dining table. Sharp could feel Apple Bloom tense at the sight, but Sharp was quick to calm her. "We don't need all that. Take the gauze Scoots, and Sweetie Belle, can you find a cloth and soak it in water?"

Both fillies confirmed and went on to get Sharp what he needed. In the meantime he walked into the kitchen and sat Apple Bloom down on the kitchen table so her hind legs hung over the edge. Sweetie came over with the wet cloth, and Sharp washed his hooves. Once done, he took the cloth and started to clean the wound.

It was a mess with all the blood, but it looked worse than it was. He carefully cleaned the wound, removing the blood from her fur, making sure not to disturb it too much so the blood would start up again. Apple Bloom winced a few times, but otherwise didn't speak. A few sobs now and again, but she was otherwise calm, wiping away her tears as she seemed to be more relaxed now.

It was natural, her body had been full of adrenaline, the pain of the cut and the fall shocking her, he guessed she probably didn't react to it the first few seconds. Dizziness, confusion, pain, it was all very overwhelming, but she would be fine, and he imagined when it all was over, she would most likely fall asleep.

"You're doing fine, Apple Bloom. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks." He smiled, making sure she knew he was calm, and not alarmed, which in turn helped her calm down as well. He then took the gauze and placed it over the wound, he looked to Apple Bloom's friends.

They had blood on their hooves, not their own, but it did look a little scary. "Girls, why don't you go wash up?" The two of them didn't look like they wanted to leave their friend, but looking at their hooves they decided it might be a good idea to get cleaned up, besides, an adult was with them now, so everything would be fine.

"I'm sorry.." Apple Bloom suddenly said, surprising Sharp.

He looked up at her, but didn't stop his work. "For what?"

"I didn't mean to scare everypony, or pull you away from work." She said, sounding genuinely ashamed like she had done something bad.

"Well, did you mean to fall down and cut yourself?" Sharp asked, looking back to her leg.

She responded quickly. "No!"

Sharp chuckled. "Then I don't know why you should say sorry. These things happen, it's not your fault." He said simply, things like this just happened from time to time, and she was not seriously hurt. Maybe it would be good to take her to a hospital, just to make sure he hadn't missed anything, but he didn't think so. "Though you might wanna take it easy for the rest of the day, okay?" Apple Bloom relaxed and gave him a nod. "Good girl." He said and finished with the gauze.

"What in tarnation?!" A voice boomed from the door, making both Apple Bloom and Sharp jump a bit. "What is going on here?!"

Applejack was confused and upset, something Sharp didn't blame her for. The sight must have shocked her, there were blood stains here and there, a bloody cloth, and some dried blood on Apple Bloom's hind leg. Thankfully, Applejack didn't jump him, beating him up, the sight had simply shocked her.

From the gauze she quickly figured Apple Bloom had got herself hurt, and after some explanation from Apple Bloom and her friends, Applejack calmed, and even looked thankful towards Sharp. When Big Mac and Granny Smith returned the whole story was told one more time.

Sharp was thanked for reacting so fast, and Granny even mentioned making a pie for him later, which he had to admit sounded rather nice. Big Mac told him to take the rest of the day off, even though it was not something he was used to, he gladly welcomed a bit of peace.

So as the Equestrian sky was turning orange, Celestia's sun was setting in the horizon, Sharp sat at the porch, taking in the evening air. He didn't really think about anything, he didn't allow himself to. He was tired, but content with the day's work. It was about then that the door to the house opened, and a mare's voice spoke to him.

"Enjoying the sunset?" Applejack asked. Sharp didn't really reply, he simply made a noise and nodded a little. "Mind if I join you?"

Sharp shrugged. "It's your home.."

She frowned, but didn't say anything to it, she simply sat down next to him. Although he didn't look at her, he could feel how tense she was. Her voice hadn't implied she was about to yell at him, so he imagined she was upset.

"Something on your mind?" He finally asked after about a minute of silence.

Letting out an audible sigh, Applejack nodded. "Listen I... I wanna apologize for my behavior yesterday." That was certainly not something he expected to hear, not right now at least. He turned his head to look at her, and she continued. "It wasn't right what I said, and it was unfair. It wasn't my place to tell you to leave, and there was no reason for it. I judged your uniform, not the pony who was wearing it, and I'm sorry.."

He doubted she was fully comfortable with him yet, but he could see and hear she was making an effort to meet him. Looking ahead again, he took a few seconds to let her words sink in. Then, he spoke. "I'm not sure what happened here. When I departed there were so many ponies waving us goodbye, wishing us good luck. Now I'm back home and we see ponies with signs, calling us names." He looked at her again. "Can you explain that to me?"

It was a fair question, after all, what had made her judge his uniform and what it represented, what had made her take that decision, and led her to believe what she did. She sighed, not sure she could look him in the eyes. "The war is not over, none of us can see it ending any time soon." She started, and Sharp had to agree, he didn't see this conflict ending any time soon either. "We heard stories, saw pictures, films, read the papers. Now I don't normally care for politics, but things just didn't seem right to me, or others."

Sharp knew some of the press had not been very favorable about the mission overseas, not that they should not tell the facts, but they seemed to like painting the soldiers as the ones who were responsible every time, not taking into consideration what the circumstances were, or if the troops could even do something about those circumstances.

Strangely enough such papers mostly came from Prance, a country who had denied Saddle Arabia any support. Had the press really represented them so badly that their homeland had turned? No. It wasn't as simple as that, Sharp was smart enough to know things was rarely that simple.

"Some of my family." Applejack continued. "They joined up as well." Sharp's eyes widened and he looked at Applejack in shock. If that was true, why did she object to him so much? "I was angry, I think they should have stayed at home and minded their family, I didn't think they should involve themselves in something we could do little about. I guess I was angry and afraid that we would loose them." She sighed, looking up to the sky. "It ain't right that I took it out on you, or other soldiers.. I just.. I just hate this war and what it has cost."

It seemed she was dealing with a lot, and he understood. All of this, the war, the rebels, returning soldiers, confusing stories, it was all so much to take in for a normal pony. Heck, Sharp didn't understand it half the time. But he had spend enough time over there to know he had done some good, he had seen it, and that was what kept him going, knowing that at the end of the day, he had done some good.

"I'm not really sure what to tell you." He admitted, sighing a little. "But I agree, it all seems senseless, and I have seen enough of my friends get hurt to know I hate what it has cost, but I have to believe it was for something, otherwise.." He looked to the sky as Applejack did. "Otherwise I think I would break apart. The things we have given up, the things we've seen, the things we have done and the ponies we've lost, it can't be for nothing."

They both sat in silence for some time, both letting their words sink in. Then Sharp spoke again, and without hesitation he said. "For what it's worth, I forgive you."

Applejack turned to him, smiling relieved. "Thank you partner.." She held out her hoof. "Mind if we start over? Howdy, I'm Applejack."

Sharp looked at her hoof, then at her. He smiled and placed his hoof on hers, shaking it. "Sharp Shooter."

"Well then Sharp Shooter, welcome home."

Author's Note

Here we are, newest chapter. ^^

I would have gotten it out sooner, but with the shut down of the site for those two days, I lost some of my progress. The chapter also exceeded my expectations on how long I thought it would be, but I think this was a nice addition and I'm happy with how it turned out.

I hope you guys liked it, and I hope you will continue to read it. Thank you.