Welcome Home Soldier

"He's not breathing, weak pulse."

"Come on, come on -------, wake up!!"

"Sharp, relax, keep calm. ----- none responsive."

"Double amputation, critical condition."

"Where the fuck is that medevac?!!"

"Keep calm Sharp, keep calm. You need to stay with me, okay? We're going to get ------ help. Sharp, Sharp?"

"Sharp?"

A voice called gently to him, it was like a lifeline back to the light. Sharp had no idea what had happened, but as he slowly opened his eyes and he saw Applejack sitting next to him, he could guess he had somehow fainted. His eyes moved around, looking at his surroundings, quickly it became clear he was no longer at Sugarcube Corner.

"Where am I?"

He asked weakly, earning him a worried look from the orange mare. "We're at Twilight's library, we carried you here after you," she stopped herself, hesitating.

"After I, what?"

Applejack let out a sigh, looking worried to tell him whatever had happened. "Honestly," she began. "I don't rightly know what happened.. After Pinkie Pie fired the cannon you just started screaming. You leapt to the floor, crawled for a bit and then you started to shake.." Her eyes glistened with tears. "You just kept screaming, we had no idea what to do, so Twilight put you under a sleeping spell, sedating you." Sharp didn't like seeing Applejack like this, he’d rather see her smile.

"Well, I'm here now, I'm back.." He reached out with his hoof, placing it over hers to calm her down. It helped, but only a little as she still looked at him with worry.

"What happened to you?"

How was he supposed to answer that? The easy answer was to say he didn't know, and frankly, he didn't. He didn't know why it happened, but he was not unfamiliar with this phenomenon. He had seen it happen before, soldiers who got wounded, or ponies who had not been able to cope with the stress. They all had names for it, none of them medical recognized, so mostly it was just nicknames. Shakies they called them, it was a horrible name, they all knew it was no fault of their own, what they had seen, what they had experienced, they had just snapped.

Sharp had just about seen it all, done it all, so it came to no surprise to him he carried the echoes of war with him. Only question left was what he should do now? As far as he knew there was no cure for his condition, there was not even a term for it. From what he had heard the condition was simply written off as insanity, or temporary insanity. It was wrong, all wrong, and Sharp hated it, and he hated himself for having made a spectacle out of himself.

"Sharp?"

Applejack's voice cut through his dark gloomy thoughts, his eyes turned to hers and he somehow felt more calm looking into them.

"I.. I don't know, I've seen it before, but what actually happened I have no idea.."

It was the truth. As much as he wished it to be different, as much as he wished to deny it he could not turn away from what had happened. Nightmares, that was all he thought it would be, but it was clear now he had far larger problems.

"Maybe I can help.."

Another voice joined the conversation, and both Sharp and Applejack turned their heads to find Twilight standing in the doorway. She smiled, though Sharp could quickly see it was filled with, not fear, but nervousness. It was a look that unnerved him, he had seen such looks before, and it usually came before some really bad news. She trotted closer, but her steps were slow, as if afraid he would suddenly leap at her with a bayonet if she startled him.

"You gave us all quite the scare, are you alright?"

"I guess that depends what you mean by alright," Sharp groaned as he still felt like he was going to vomit. "I'm alive, but.." He moved his foreleg around a little, it felt sore.

Twilight nodded understandingly. "You dove under a table, you probably struck your hoof pretty hard from that dive."

Sharp sighed, sitting up straight despite the worried looks he got from the mares. With another look around he could confirm they were alone, he was grateful for that. He didn't need ponies all around him right now, he was thankful for having been taken somewhere else, and he was even more thankful for the fact that the place they had taken him to was not a Hospital, or a mental asylum.

"Where're your friends?"

"They are either home or still at Sugarcube Corner, helping Pinkie clean up after the party." Twilight's frown deepened, and it was clear as day that something had her worried, a lot. "Pinkie, she.. She's really sorry for what happened, she feels like it was her fault.."

"Well tell her there's nothing to be sorry about," replied Sharp without hesitation. "It's not like she knew this would happen, or there was a risk for it, hell, even I didn't know. Even if I did I should just have told her and refused to go. She's about as much to blame as myself, and none of us knew, so I say we're pretty much even.."

Twilight notably relaxed, so too did Applejack. It would have been easy to blame Pinkie Pie, some part of him even wanted to do just that. Sharp however didn't want to lash out, he didn't want to assign blame for something nopony could have predicted. He'd might as well blame princess Celestia, the doctors, the whole stinking system that had failed him and his brothers and sisters in arms. Sure, there was blame to go around, but Sharp did not want to waste his time on that, he was a soldier, and it was just part of the life path he had chosen.

It was a tough pill to swallow, and he knew not all returning ponies shared that sentiment. He didn't fault them for their anger, they had every right to be pissed, to feel let down and now excluded from the ponies that had two years ago waved them goodbye like heroes. Those who still had family and friends that accepted them back, they were the lucky ones. The rest was left on their own, confused and angry, questioning every single decision they had made.

It hurt just to think about, it was like a rusty knife in Sharp's chest to think his brothers, his sisters, those who had chosen to fight for someone else and put their lives on the line, that they were being discarded like used tools. In his mind, Sharp knew it was not that simple, but in his heart he knew that was what they felt like, discarded.

Who was there to blame for that? Who could they blame for their scars on body and mind? No one, they had volunteered into an army that did not have the experience needed for the task ahead. The lessons learned had come at a high price, Sharp's only way to justify any of it now was with the hope that there would be drastic changes to better the armed forces. At least then his pain had been for something.

"Sharp, if you don't mind, could I ask you some questions about your time overseas?"

He narrowed his eyes, already feeling apprehensive about this. Sharp didn't want to share his experiences with somepony who had not been there. It was not some soldier code or that other ponies would be too stupid to understand it. The simple truth was while they may understand the situations, they would not understand the emotional strain.

It was the pony aspect of it, one could look into history and understand there was a battle and why it was fought. At times one could even easily identify the good and the bad, one could easily judge right from wrong, put the reasons for the battle up on a scale of morality and see which of the reasons had more merit. To them though, the faceless soldiers were just numbers on a page, a shadow in whatever story Sharp could tell.

You could always understand and maybe even feel bad for the nameless ponies in your mind, but nopony could ever truly understand what it was like to be one of those soldiers. Never.

"No."

His tone was colder than he intended, that much was clear by how Twilight flinched at his answer.

"I'm sorry, but with all due respect Miss Sparkle, what do you hope to gain from my answers?"

Twilight didn't understand, it was clear from the way she looked at him. Sharp didn't have a problem with Twilight, but he could tell she would only be interested in the academic side of things, the numbers, the details of his feelings. He knew that, because it was the exact same enthusiasm he had whenever he read a history book.

"Well, it could serve to better help other soldiers who might return." She didn't seem to notice she used the word might. "Your experiences could be valuable to begin research, then we can better understand how to give the proper care."

It all sounded very good, and Sharp could see it all came from a good place. Twilight really cared, and he appreciated that. There were just a few problems that he needed to address first.

"Miss Sparkle, can I ask, are you a doctor?"

"No, but I-"

"Are you a psychiatrist?"

"N-no, bu-"

"A psychologist?"

"No.."

"Do you have any influence in the institutions they work in?"

"No.."

"Then I'm sorry Twilight, I know you want to do good. Though other than a letter to the princess, I don't think you can do much. As for me, you're simply not qualified to even begin to help me in any professional capacity."

Twilight seemed a bit deflated, he didn't want her to feel bad, but he did need her to understand. She wasn't done however, she tried one more time, either to get him to open up, or justify her curiosity.

"But if Celestia knew how you were affected then-"

"She knows," replied Sharp, his voice a little more stern now. "Miss Sparkle, princess Celestia has lived for over a thousand years, she has seen battle before. She might have forgotten after so long since the last war, but I doubt she would not know about these episodes by now. What she'll do about it I have no idea.. Send your Letter Miss Sparkle, urge her to do something if nothing is being done, but don't ask me to share.. I've been here for three days, I've only been home for four. Don't expect me to open up so quickly."

Silence befell the room, and Twilight didn't look him in the eyes. She really wanted to help, he knew that, but he just couldn't, he needed time to recover himself. Not wanting to take advantage of her hospitality he stood, his nausea had vanished and he felt a lot better.

"I'm sorry Twilight.."

Sharp added, not wanting to leave her with the idea that he was angry with her. Quickly she stood and shook her head with an understanding, but still disappointed smile.

"No, I understand. Please let me know if I can help in any way."

"I will, Twilight, thank you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight sugarcube."

Applejack added as both she and Sharp made their way out of the library. Already he could feel Applejack's eyes on him, he wasn't sure if she wanted to protest his stand or not, but he was not in the mood to have that discussion right now.

"I'm sorry.."

Said Applejack, surprising Sharp as he turned his head and looked at her. The surprise must have shown on his face, and she gave a low chuckle.

"I know Twilight can be, well, excited. It comes from a good place, and I think you did the right thing." She gave him a look, then the faintest of smiles. "Just because I am a simple country mare doesn't mean I don't know when it's time to put one's hoof down."

"You don't think I was wrong?"

"That's not really for me to decide.."

Sharp was taken aback, he had thought Applejack would give him a scolding, or at the very least told him he was wrong. Instead, she agreed with him? That filled him with relief, and as they walked he felt a little less worried.

"We all have things we don't wanna talk about, or are ready to share.."

There was a sadness to her tone, it carried so much weight, she didn't even look at him as she spoke. He knew that tone, it spoke of pain and sorrow, didn't take a detective to figure out what she was talking about. Sharp had never asked about it, it was none of his business, and so he would not push the issue.

"You were stern, but you were also understanding, I don't think anypony can rightly ask more than that. You don't need to worry, you don't have to talk about anything you're not ready to share, but you should know she will probably not be the last one to ask you."

Sharp frowned, he knew what Applejack said was true. After tonight everypony in Ponyville would know for sure he had issues, that he was a soldier. His little episode would just fuel the rumor mill, it couldn't be helped.

"I know.."

He said in a long and tired sigh, the only thing on his mind was to get to bed, this whole ordeal had left him pretty drained. Despite how the evening had started the open star filled sky did bring a smile to his face. The gentle breeze felt good, and he could feel his body relaxing. Once out of town and back on the dirt road towards Sweet Apple Acres, he took a moment to stop, look back out at the fields before him, the tall grass waving like the sea in the wind. Applejack noticed him stopping and did so as well, she didn't speak, seeing Sharp was fine and simply looked out at the landscape. After a few seconds he spoke.

"I've always liked the quiet life, a simple life. I often dreamt of adventure, like the heroes in my books. There was nothing better than sitting in the shade of a tree, feeling the soft grass beneath me, the gentle summer breeze in my mane, just to relax with a good book and a snack." He chuckled. "I wanted adventure, but inside me I knew I was probably never going to leave Trottingham, so my only escape was my books.. My father was a strict stallion, which can be good in some ways, but he was no dreamer, which meant he didn't like me dreaming of a future away from what he wanted me to do.." Sharp closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he shared this with a mare he had only known for three days. "The day that I signed up, it was the only time I truly felt I had taken my own destiny into my own hooves.."

Applejack thought back to their confrontation at the dining table: 'It's complicated.. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms when I went to Saddle Arabia.. We don't talk much now..' She frowned, but still she did not speak.

"My father was less than pleased, he disowned me. It was pretty hard, but I had made a choice, you know? Despite my sadness and fears I somehow felt free." He turned, looked into her green eyes. "Now I'm no longer a soldier, but I don't feel free at all.." He let out a sigh, turned his head and looked to the landscape. "I'm not even sure who I am anymore, I feel, broken.." That was the best word for it, broken.

He didn't have family anymore, he barely had friends, so what was he to do now? His life in Ponyville had hardly just begun and already he had made a total ass of himself. Applejack regarded him for a moment, letting his words sink in. He had just been talking, not really to make a point, but just talking. She liked that, not that he was obviously in pain, but that he entrusted her enough to give a little part of himself. It was a truth about him, he was broken and felt lost, not an easy thing to admit. She trotted up beside him, not sure if it was her place to say, but that had never stopped her before.

"Well, you're welcome to stay and find out, maybe we can help you?"

Sharp smiled a little, but didn't look at Applejack, he just stood there beside her, looking at the stars.

"You think your family is going to let me stay?"

"Ya kidding? I think Granny and Apple Bloom likes you too much to let you go."

Both of them shared a laugh. It felt good, and Sharp looked at her with a grateful expression. "Thank you, Applejack, I needed that."

She smiled and gave him a small nod. "Anytime sugarcube, anytime."

The next morning felt like a gift, Sharp had not been sleeping very well, and to him, morning could not have come fast enough. He had nightmares before, but this time it felt more vivid, like even if he woke up he could still smell the gunfire, feel the sand on his hooves, hear the sounds of battle.

He had no idea how much of the night he actually slept, even when awake it felt like a strange middle ground of being half aware of his surroundings, and half dreaming. He was so tired, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. A glance out the window told him it was way past the time he usually got up, it was only confirmed by the smell of breakfast coming from downstairs.

Sighing, he got up and made his bed, trying to make himself at least a little more presentable, and then walked downstairs. As soon as he entered the kitchen the apple family members looked at him.

"Mornin' sonny, you're finally up, just in time for breakfast! Sit down." Granny grinned and fixed him a plate.

That was not what Sharp had expected to hear, he had expected questions, a lot of them. Mostly he had expected Apple Bloom to look nervous, or scared, but she just smiled at him with her mouth full of breakfast. Big Mac in the meantime enjoyed a cup of hot coffee and a sandwich, not paying him much mind other than a polite morning greeting, then he returned to reading the paper.

Applejack gave him a kind smile, much kinder than what he was used to. Well, that was not quite true, she was polite enough, and smiled at him a lot more after they made up, but the smile she was giving him now, it was much more, warm? What had made this change? Was it pity? After hearing about his background yesterday, did she pity him? No, that was not right. He wasn't sure how exactly he could tell, but he could. It was not like it was an unpleasant smile, he quite liked it and he found himself smiling back.

"Well, we have a long day ahead of us!" Granny declared after putting a plate in front of Sharp. "Applejack, Big Mac, I expect you to step it up today while I'll take Sharp Shooter to the mayor's office." Sharp raised an eyebrow, looking at the old mare with a bit of confusion. "Don't look at me like that, sonny. You've been here for four days, it's time for you to register as a resident here."

Now he their eyes turning to him, but he did not look at them, just at Granny. He was confused, did she really want him to stay here, at Sweet Apple Acres, working for them? After yesterday he had actually assumed Granny would politely, but firmly, ask him to leave.

"Uhm, well I.."

"Unless you have other places to go?" Granny said with a slight grin, seeming to read his fears, but was polite enough not to talk about it in the open. Sharp shook his head, almost looking ashamed, but Granny just smiled. "Alright then. So you will come with me and Apple Bloom, and you two get started in the west orchard."

"You got it Granny!"

"Eeyup."

Sharp was still a little stunned over Granny's hospitality, but he didn't complain. In fact, it did make him relax slightly, knowing he wouldn't have to find a new place to live, or work. When everything was said and done, he had a good place here. He doubted he could live at this farm forever, but it was at least a place for him to begin a new life.

Once breakfast was over and done with, Sharp found himself in the company of Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. After breakfast and some cleaning they had taken off towards Ponyville. Apple Bloom's leg was doing much better, still a little sore, but she could at least walk by herself and play outside again.

Apple Bloom did most of the talking on the way to town, talking about all sorts of adventures she and her friends had been on. Sharp didn't mind, her stories were quite interesting and it was a nice distraction. Granny didn't talk much either, only once in a while would she reply to something Apple Bloom said, either confirming something, or correcting.

They had barely trotted into Ponyville before ponies began to greet Granny as she walked by. All of them seemed to have a lot of respect for the older mare, and Sharp could easily understand why. Granny Smith was probably the oldest resident in Ponyville, at least as far as he knew, so she had seen a lot, seen many of the ponies grow up. She took Sharp straight to the mayor's office, not wanting to dance around the issue or waste time, that was their first stop of the day.

"Well good morning Granny Smith." A young secretary said from behind a desk. "How can I help you this morning?"

Granny walked straight up to the desk with a polite smile, Apple Bloom by her side and Sharp only a few steps behind. "This here young fella has moved in with my family, he needs to register."

The mare understood instantly and levitated some papers to the desk. "Of course, here are the forms Granny, you need to sign as well to confirm he is moving in at your address."

"Alright, we have them papers done in no time, come on sonny."

She nudged Sharp over to the side where a few tables and chairs had been set up for ponies waiting, although right now they were the only ones here. They sat down, and Sharp began to look over the papers. They were simple enough, write down simple information like his name, age, last known address and current occupation. He wasn't sure what to write in that last part, his time was up, but he still had some connection to the army. Deciding to play it safe he just wrote, farmer, and was done with it. Granny co-signed the form, and it was done.

"Thank you, welcome to Ponyville sir."

Sharp just nodded and mumbled a small thank you before they walked out of the building again. Apple Bloom seemed eager. "What now, Granny?"

Granny put her hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose we should go to the market, then I reckon we could stop by the park for some ice cream. What do you say to that?" Apple Bloom nodded eagerly. "Alright then, Sharp Shooter, mind coming with us?"

Sharp wasn't sure, he didn't mind at all, but he still felt a little too exposed. After yesterday's events he would rather stay at the farm and do some work. However, it seemed Apple Bloom had other ideas. She hurried over to him and gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen in his life.

"Aww, please Sharp, please! Come with us! We're going to have so much fun! Promise!"

"Well, uh... I don't see why not, it's the least I can do."

"Yay!"

Sharp relented, and Apple Bloom was satisfied. In his private thoughts, Sharp couldn't help but find it amusing he had been defeated by a little filly, but what the hay, if Apple Bloom was happy and he could help Granny Smith out, then some time in town would be worth it.

"Well then, let's not waste the day light!" Granny declared and they were on the move.

Their trip started at the market, Apple Bloom enjoyed going around and looking at all the different things being sold. The most exciting things typically came when out of town sales ponies showed up and set up a stall. They would have some things you couldn't easily obtain in Ponyville, if not Equestria.

Granny seemed on good terms with many, if not all, of the owners of the stalls. Many times she stopped and greeted them, talked prices, or haggled for a deal. Apple Bloom was by no means a newborn, but Granny still asked him to keep an eye on her, which he did.

Sharp was first wary of the looks ponies gave him, he had been correct in assuming they would look, but none of them were hostile, just a little nervous, or even concerned. Granny paid them no mind, and soon enough, neither did he. Sharp decided to carry whatever Granny Smith bought, which was not much, so it was hardly a bother to him.

Once done with all their shopping, the group made their way towards the park, but in doing so they would pass Sugarcube Corner. Sharp stopped, wondering if Pinkie Pie was okay. Twilight had mentioned she was feeling guilty, and the two hadn't talked since yesterday. Of course there was every chance she would be okay, but he didn't like to imagine if she was not, and he hadn't come by and told her they were okay himself.

So, looking to Granny Smith and Apple Bloom he waved them on and said. "I'll catch up, just need to check on something."

Apple Bloom tilted her head in confusion, but Granny was quick to usher her along and gave Sharp a nod in the process. "We'll be waiting at the park. You come and find us there when you've concluded ya business."

Sharp gave a nod back, grateful Granny understood so fast and did not pry. He turned to the building, the sight kind of giving him nausea when thinking back to what happened. Still, there was no crowd inside, and hopefully not some sort of cannon, so he took a deep breath and walked towards the door.

The little bell above the door rang, signaling somepony had entered the store. Sharp had not been here before without the crowd, so it was the first time he really got a good look at it. The place was rather cozy, and had a warm feeling to it. There were some tables and booths for customers to sit and enjoy their pastries, and at the end of the room a counter.

Behind the counter stood two ponies, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. The stallion was tall and thin, a rather gangling pony with yellow fur and an orange mane. The mare was smaller, a little plump, but had warm and kind eyes. She had blue fur, and a very strange mane color Sharp could not put his hoof on, redish?

They spotted him quickly, and at first it seemed they were going to smile, but then a flash of recognition sparked in their eyes and they started to frown. They didn't seem unfriendly or hostile towards him, more concerned as he made his way to the counter.

"Excuse me, my name is Sharp Shooter, you must be Pinkie's, uhm, parents?" He asked in a questioning tone.

"Oh no, sorry dear." The mare said. "We're not Pinkie's parents, this is our shop and she works for us, and rents a room upstairs. Though we do see her as part of the family." She smiled a little as she talked about their and Pinkie's relationship, but then the frown returned as she looked him in the eyes. "We heard what happened yesterday, and we're so sorry."

Carrot Cake nodded. "That we are, but please understand that Pinkie meant no harm, she just gets excited when-"

Sharp held up his hoof, stopping Mr. Cake in his tracks. "Don't worry, I'm not here to yell at Pinkie, or you. I came because Twilight told me she feels guilty, and I just wanted to come by and tell her I do not blame her for what happened. It wasn't her fault, and I would hate it if she trotted around feeling guilty for something she didn't know about."

Both of the ponies visibly relaxed, letting out a relieved breath they had no idea they had been holding. "Thank Celestia.. Pinkie has been very upset since yesterday.." Mrs. Cake explained, nodding towards the backdoor leading to the kitchen. "She's in there working. I'm sure she will be happy to know you're okay. Please, go in."

Sharp offered them a short thank you, and walked through the doors and into the kitchen. Didn't take him long to spot the mare, although when he saw her he was a little surprised. Her normally bright pink color seemed to have faded, not much, but it was like the color had dulled slightly. Her mane was no longer puffy, it sat straight, which was not a bad look honestly, but it was a far cry from the mare he met the day before.

"Pinkie Pie?" Sharp called gently.

The mare jumped slightly, her eyes widening as she looked around for a moment until she finally noticed him. "Sharp Shooter? What are you doing here? Are you okay??"

Sharp trotted towards her, and he could see how Pinkie almost seemed to shrink down as he came closer. "Pinkie, I came by to see if you're okay?"

She looked at him, clearly surprised, and clearly not what she had expected him to say. It reminded him of his own surprise this morning, how he had not expected Granny to let him stay, or how he expected a firm scolding, but did not get one.

"I'm fine," Sharp assured her. "Twilight told me you were feeling bad?"

Once again she looked away, her eyes drifting to the cookie dough. "It's just, it looked like you were hurting, like you were really really hurting, and it all came after I fired my party cannon." Sharp had no bucking clue party cannons even were a thing, but apparently they were. "So I was afraid I had hurt you.."

Again, it would have been easy to blame Pinkie, but that would be unfair. She was just trying to bid him welcome to town, nopony intended for it to happen, and nopony knew it could happen. He didn't blame Pinkie, and she should not feel bad about anything.

"You didn't, you didn't do anything that wasn't already there.."

"But!"

"Pinkie," Sharp cut in. "Thank you for throwing a party in my honor. Despite what happened I am thankful for the thought and the effort. What happened wasn't your fault, you had no idea it could happen, neither did I. If I did, then I would have told you, and respectfully declined your invitation."

Her eyes seemed to be holding back a few tears, but she removed them with her hoof. "I'm so sorry.."

"Come on Pinkie, you have nothing to be sorry for." Sharp didn't really know Pinkie Pie, but he still felt it was right when he walked behind the table and gave her a forgiving hug. She was surprised, but quickly embraced him, sobbing a little as she let out all the fear and guilt that had been building up over the night. Sharp just let her get it all out, not minding doing this if it would help her feel better. It wasn't like he hadn't done this before, Pinkie kinda reminding him of his younger sister, maybe that was the reason this felt a bit calming to him too.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, then Pinkie drew back, looking much better, though still a little emotional. She smiled slightly as she looked at him. "Maybe we could try again? Just a small gathering, with no cannons, promise."

Sharp nodded and sent her a warm smile in return. "I'd like that."

The two parted ways and Sharp was happy that he could help Pinkie. The Cakes even thanked him as he was leaving the store, and he could not help but think he had made a small connection there. At least when they looked at him from now on they would not think of him as the crazy stallion with mental issues.

A few minutes later he joined Granny Smith and Apple Bloom at the park. Granny was relaxing on a bench, watching her granddaughter run around and playing with her two friends. Sharp decided to join Granny, so after taking off the saddlebags he sat down beside her.

"So," started Granny after a few moments. "How'd it go?"

She didn't need to clarify what she meant, Sharp understood. "It went well.. I think we're okay."

Granny chuckled. "A real gentlecolt." Sharp let out a small laugh in response, but did not argue her point. Both of them sat there in silence for another minute or two, then she continued. "You're a good pony, Sharp." He looked at her, but Granny just kept looking at her grandfoal. "It's not fair what happened to you, or to any other of those young ponies. It's not right, and some won't come back the same. You yourself have probably changed a great deal I reckon."

Sharp returned his gaze forward, letting out a tired sigh. "I probably have.. It's like I can't imagine myself as who I was before the war."

"War changes you," Granny nodded. "Some more than others, but you change. Most ponies go through their entire life without having to make the choices you had to make, without compromising their lives or their morals. Most ponies will never have to go through the trials you had to go through." She let out a sigh, then leaned back slightly, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "Not that morals are not important mind you. If I had my way, and I'm sure most would agree, then every conflict would be solved peacefully. That would be an ideal world."

There was a time Sharp felt exactly that, felt that the world should be able to solve their issues with talk instead of force. But, Sharp had come to terms with that for good or for ill, force was without a doubt the final method of resolution for any conflict. "The world is rarely ideal.."

Granny nodded. "Sadly, it is not.. Which is why we should count ourselves lucky some are willing to do what must sadly be done. It is a choice not everypony can make, and you made it sonny. You've done your duty, and now it's time for you to come home."

He looked at her again, a confused look in his eyes. "I... I don't understand.."

"You're still there, aren't ya? You can still hear the sounds, smell the smells, it's like you never left at times."

Sharp frowned, how did she know that? He looked forward again, leaning back as he tried to come to terms with what she said. Then he nodded. "Sometimes, it's like I'm still there.. I have nightmares, and sometimes sounds make me flinch, like I'm expecting an enemy to jump out of the shadows.."

Granny nodded knowingly. "I've seen it before, though I imagine it was on a much smaller scale than this. Back then we called it battle fatigue, though I don't think they use that term anymore."

"So, what do I do?"

"You keep moving forward, you keep living." Granny replied, a sudden sad tone touching her voice, like if she had said it before. "You're strong, Sharp, so you keep moving. Everyday, try and be better than the day before, push ahead and try and come to terms with your past. Not all wounds can be fully healed, Sharp, but, they can be treated, they can become manageable."

He looked at her, but she still didn't look at him, she couldn't. "You've seen this before?" It was more of a statement than a question, and Granny nodded in confirmation.

"I told you I was a NAAFI mare. Well, some of those boys were involved in a particular nasty battle with some changelings.. We lost some good ponies, lost them way before their time. The others, they were not the same, and many quit the guard. Most did alright, but some, some could not recover, and I wish I could have helped them.. But it was out of my hooves." She looked to Sharp, giving him a stern look.

"I can't help all, but I can help you. You have work, and you have a home, not all will be so lucky. So, Sharp, you don't need to talk about anything you don't want to, but please, for the love of apples, do your best, keep living, and know that you're not alone." A small smile appeared, and she looked back out at Apple Bloom. "You're not an apple, but you could be, and I think you make a fine one too."

Sharp wasn't sure what to say, he was stunned. A smile crept onto his face and he looked ahead as well. Before he knew it, he felt some warm tears moving down his face. He wished his own family would greet him like that, showing him the same kindness instead of dancing to his father's tune.

"I.. I don't know how to tha-"

"You probably make a good husband for my Applejack too." Granny suddenly declared, doing a complete one eighty on the conversation.

"Um, I, I don't.." Sharp stammered, not sure how to respond.

"She's stubborn, but she needs somepony who can handle her. If you decide to court her, then you must be double as stubborn." She chuckled. "But then you will be an Apple, and I can get my great grandfoals."

And just like that the moment had vanished, and Sharp found himself blushing. "I've not even known her for a week, Granny!"

"Well I have a feeling in my old bones, and I'm a good judge of character!" She grinned. "You just wait and see."

Before Sharp could reply Apple Bloom ran over to them. "Granny, can we get ice cream now?"

"Yes!" Sharp said, jumping on the opportunity to escape this conversation. "Come on, you can pick whatever you like."

"Yaaay!"

Granny watched as the two made their way across the grass and towards a small ice cream parlor. She chuckled, then leaned back and looked to the blue sky above. "One day at a time, Sharp. Just keep moving forward.."