Welcome Home Project
As the Apple Blooms
Part 64; Welcome Home Project
Standing in front of a rusting fishplate, Apple Bloom held a powerful saw in her hands and wore a protective mask, gloves, and apron to protect her from any potential sparks. To her side, Chromia and Ironhide watched, never more than an arm’s length away from their niece. All in all, the tension had turned from tense to palpable.
It had been two days since the history fair, and things had returned to normal. Now, however, Ironhide had decided that it was time to finally have Apple Bloom use some of the heavy equipment. Now, the former farm girl stood in front of an old rail, prepared to cut it up for the smelting pools.
As Apple Bloom took a deep breath, Ironhide called out, “You can do it kid.” Turning to her uncle, the young girl gave him a thumbs up as she powered the saw on and began to lower it onto the rusting fishplate. The moment it made contact, the saw began to cut through, sending sparks flying all around her.
After a few minutes, the saw made its way through the old fishplate, sending the large chunk of steel crashing to the ground. Stepping back in surprise, Apple Bloom powered down the saw, lifted her mask, and turned to her uncle and asked, “Did Ah do good?”
She received her answer as Ironhide wrapped her in a tight hug, twirling her around as he proclaimed, “That was perfect kid!” As he set her down, he continued, “That’s the way. Guess you’re a scrapper now!”
Upon hearing this, Apple Bloom lit up as she wrapped her uncle in a bone crushing hug while squealing, “Thank you Uncle Ironhide!” As he hugged her back, Ironhide asked, “For what?” The former farm girl released her uncle as she answered, “For sayin’ Ah’m a scrapper. Ah’m actually part of the group now.” This remark lead to Chromia joining the hug as she corrected, “You’ve been a part of this family from the beginning.”
Once they finished their group hug, Ironhide asked, “So kid, you had enough of the power saw?” Shaking her head, Apple Bloom enthusiastically replied, “Ah’m just getting started!” She then paused before humbly continuing, “Ah mean, if it’s alright with you.”
Patting his niece on the shoulder, Ironhide playfully replied, “I think we can do that.” Smiling, Apple Bloom lowered her protective mask and quipped, “Then let’s tear this thing apart.” With that, the young girl took her power saw and turned it back on, ready to finish her first piece of scrap metal.
Later that Day….
Setting the power saw down, Apple Bloom took in the sight of the now four dissected fishplates that laid before her. The former farm girl removed her protective mask as she wiped the sweat from her brow and pulled out her new blue cap. ‘Heh. Guess Ah am gettin’ the hang of this.’ She thought to herself as she put the hat on her head. ‘Never knew scrappin’ could be this much fun.’
From behind her, Apple Bloom heard Chromia call out, “I have to say, that color suits you.” As the former farm girl turned around to face her aunt, the older woman added, “After all, I don’t think anyone can pull off gray.” The young girl folded her arms as she quickly added, “Marble looks great in gray.” Shrugging, Chromia accepted defeat as she replied, “Ok, maybe she could pull it off, but only if it were a dark gray.”
After both aunt and niece shared a quick chuckle, Chromia continued, “Well, it’s getting late, and Ironhide doesn’t want you overworking yourself.” She then nudged one of the chunks of broken up fishplate as she continued, “That and these things are quite heavy, so he and Wheeljack will get them later.”
Letting out a sigh of relief and exhaustion, Apple Bloom stretched her arms as she remarked, “Ok. It’ll be nice to get off mah feet for a bit.” She then asked, “So, do we just leave these here?” Nodding, Chromia replied, “Yup, but we should take the saw with us.” And so, Apple Bloom scooped up the power saw and her protective gear as she and her aunt made their way back to the house.
The Living Room
“So Wheeljack was trying to unlock the trashcan, but all he did was get the key stuck in the keyhole!” Sideswipe said as she finished regaling the events of her day to Chromia and Apple Bloom. Needless to say, both aunt and niece found her story very amusing, and now found themselves struggling to control their laughter. Once she regained her composure, Apple Bloom remarked, “Maybe that will teach Wheeljack to think before gettin’ himself into trouble.”
Sideswipe then turned to Chromia as she asked, “Hey Chromia? You mind if I ask a dumb question?” The older woman reassured her, “There is no such thing as a dumb question dear.” Now that she had permission, the pale biker asked, “So I know Ironhide was off fighting in the war, but I was kind of wondering…. What were you up to while he was gone?”
For a brief moment, Chromia found herself speechless, leading Apple Bloom to ask, “Aunt Chromia? You alright?” The older woman returned to her senses as she answered, “Of course, I’m fine. It’s just….” Pausing for a moment, she continued, “Last time I was asked that was from Torque Wrench when she was a little girl.” The former farm girl began to scratch the back of her neck as she asked, “Oh. Is it somethin’ we shouldn’t have asked?”
Thankfully, Chromia let out a small chuckle before answering, “Of course not dear. It’s just been a while since someone asked me.” She then began to explain, “Well, for starters, Ironhide and I always tried to write to each other, or at least as much as we could.” As both Apple Bloom and Sideswipe felt their hearts melt at the gesture of kindness, the older woman continued, “And other than that, I was joined a group of volunteers called the “Welcome Home Project.””
“What’s the Welcome Home Project?” Apple Bloom innocently asked. Standing up from the couch, Chromia explained, “It’s a group of people who help soldiers coming home from war. You see, not everyone returning from the military has somewhere to go, so we would take them in and help them get back on their feet.” As the former farm girl took this in, Sideswipe spoke up with, “That’s actually pretty cool. How’d you help them?”
Scratching her chin, Chromia began, “Well, that actually reminds me of one of the first people I was assigned, a young man named Private Ramrod.” As Apple Bloom and Sideswipe leaned towards their niece, the older woman continued, “You see, what happened was….”
Canterlot City Airport, Many Years Ago….
“Excuse me, coming through please!” A younger Chromia cried out as she fought her way through the crowd at the central terminal of Canterlot City Airport. ‘Ugh, why couldn’t we meet him outside?’ She thought to herself as she straightened her overalls. Still, there was someone she was here to meet, and they needed her far more than she needed some peace and quiet.
Making her way to a secluded bench, Chromia reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper she’d been given by the charity organizer, a veteran of the last great war by the name of Willie Pete. Unfolding the paper, she read to herself, “Private Ramrod, 92nd company. He will be coming out of terminal D.” The young woman steeled herself as she said to herself, “Alright, you can do this.”
Making her way through the seemingly endless crowds of the airport, Chromia eventually arrived at Terminal D. Before she could get too comfortable, one of the airport employees walked up to her and asked, “Excuse me young lady, are you waiting for someone?” The young woman turned to him as she answered, “Yes. I’m from the Welcome Home Project, and I’m here to pick up a Private Ramrod.”
The airport employee nodded as he replied, “Oh yeah. I heard about you guys. His flight should be arriving right about now.” He then pointed to the entry point and said, “Given their uniforms, you shouldn’t be able to miss him.” Chromia let out a gentle sigh as she replied, “Thank you sir.” The employee then left the young woman, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Twenty Minutes Later…
“Here they come.” Chromia whispered to herself as people began to exit from the terminal. For the most part, it was a standard collection of civilians, generally tourists who were returning from Japan. However, there was one man who caught Chromia’s attention; a young man who was about her age with burgundy skin and green hair and eyes. He was dressed in a dark green army dress uniform and carried a duffle bag slung over his right shoulder. However, none of this was what caught the young woman’s attention.
The obvious feature that had grabbed her attention was that this man was missing most of his right arm. While there was clearly something from the shoulder, the sleeve from the elbow down was clearly empty. The other detail that caught Chromia’s attention was the fact that, while he was clearly about the same age as her and Ironhide, his face carried the signs that he’d been under an unimaginable amount of stress and probably hadn’t slept in a while.
Making her way up to this lost man, Chromia asked, “Excuse me, are you Ramrod?” upon hearing his name being called, the young man snapped to attention as he reported, “Sir, Private Ramrod reporting sir!” As everyone around in the terminal began to focus on them, Chromia reassured him, “It’s alright. Just calm down.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Ramrod apologized, “Sorry about that. It’s…. It’s been a while.” Chromia then tried to rest an arm on him, only for the now former soldier to back away in confusion and fear. Thinking fast, she introduced herself, “It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Chromia.”
“Chromia?” Ramrod asked. “I swear I’ve heard that name before.” Chromia would have asked about it, but she was distracted by the sound of Ramrod’s stomach rumbling.
Taking a deep breath, Chromia asked, “You’ve had a long flight? How about we get you something to eat?” The burgundy man nodded as he replied, “I’d love nothing more than to eat something other than MREs.” With that, the young woman lead Ramrod out of the terminal and out of the airport.
She knew just the place to take him.
Delta’s Diner, Ten Minutes Later…
Entering the diner, Chromia turned to Ramrod as she asked, “What do you think?” The former soldier scanned the simple diner as he remarked, “Kinda quaint. Reminds me of this place my dad used to take me on the weekends.” The young woman smiled as she replied, “Great. Now, where do you want to sit?”
Pointing to a booth near one of the far windows, Ramrod suggested, “How about over there?” Chromia followed his finger as she replied, “You’ve got it.” Soon the two made their way to the empty booth. Once they’d sat down, a lavender teenager on roller skates rolled up to them and asked, “Welcome to Delta’s Diner? What can I get you two to drink?” Ramrod gently replied, “I’d love a cola.” Chromia then added, “I’d like a cola as well.” Jotting this down on her notebook, the teenaged waiter said, “Alright, I’ll be right back.”
Once the waiter had departed, Chromia turned to Ramrod and asked, “So, how’s it feel to be back?” The former scratched the back of his head as he answered, “Honestly, I can’t really believe it. Just being here….” Starting to find himself overcome with emotion, he began to sniffle as he continued, “I just can’t find the right words.” Chromia then rested her hand on his as she reassured him, “You don’t have to find them right now.”
However, at that moment, Chromia found her eyes drifting to the former soldier’s empty sleeve. Realizing he was being watched, Ramrod held the sleeve in his hand as he dejectedly quipped, “Yeah, guess I came back with one glove too many.” As he let the sleeve fall to the table, Chromia apologized, “Sorry for staring.”
The young man let out a gentle chuckle as he replied, “It’s alright. If anything, I guess I’ll have to get used to people staring from now on.” He then asked, “You want to know what happened?” Hesitating for a moment, Chromia replied, “I mean, only if you’re comfortable.”
Taking deep breath, Ramrod explained, “We were stationed at a firebase near the Quan Chi pass when we were overrun by insurgents. One of them threw one of those old stick grenades at us and I caught it. I tried to throw it back but….” He then extended what would have been his right arm as he deadpanned, “It didn’t get far before it went off.”
Once Ramrod finished his story, Chromia rested her hand on his left hand as she said, “I’m so sorry.” The former soldier smiled as he replied, “If it’s any consolation, I don’t remember feeling anything.”
Both Chromia and Ramrod were distracted by the waiter informing them, “Excuse me, but I have your drinks.” She then slid two glasses of cola to them as she asked, “Have you two decided, or do you need more time?” Turning to her new friend as he gave her a meek look, Chromia answered, “I think we need a few minutes.” Nodding, the waiter replied, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Once the waiter rolled away, Ramrod took a deep breath as he apologized, “Sorry if I’m taking a while.” Chromia gently reassured him, “You’re not. We have all day.” She then added, “Right now, we don’t do anything you don’t want to do.” The young man was taken back a bit as he remarked, “Heh. Haven’t had this much freedom in a while.”
However, Ramrod’s smile was replaced by a confused look as he asked, “Why are you doing this? Anybody else would have just… I mean….” Chromia took a deep breath as she answered, “You see, right now there is someone very special to me trapped over there in that hellhole.” She then reached into her front pocket as she pulled out a photograph and placed it on the table as she continued, “My boyfriend. He’s been gone for almost two years.”
Ramrod took the photo and inspected it. The image showed Chromia and a young man with gray skin and blue eyes who wore a uniform that contained a red beret and a green overcoat with light green spots. Squinting at the picture, Ramrod lit up as he said, “Wait a minute. This guy looks familiar. What’s his name?” Chromia found herself blushing as she admitted, “His name’s Ironhide.”
“Ironhide?!” Ramrod asked, overcome with surprise and joy. “You mean you’re Sergeant Ironhide’s girl?” Confused, Chromia answered, “Uh…. Yeah?” She then asked, “You know him?” The young man happily answered, “Of course! He saved my life!”
Unfortunately, Ramrod’s enthusiasm caught everyone’s attention, leading many of the diner’s patrons to shush him. The young man raised his remaining hand as he apologized, “Sorry everyone.” HE then returned his attention to Chromia as he explained, “But yeah, that attack that caused this?” Pointing to his missing hand, he finished, “The Wreckers showed up just in the Knick of time to chase those bastards off.” He then let out a gentle sigh as he added, “You’re lucky to have a guy like him.”
Shrugging, Chromia tried to downplay this information with a simple, “Oh please. I’m sure he just did what anybody would have done.” Ramrod shook his head as he quickly rebutted, “I’m serious. I saw him charge into a group of ‘em and blasted ‘em away with a shotgun!” He then calmed down and added, “However, when we talked after everything, he sounded kinda… Broken. Guess everything’s starting to get to him.”
Chromia felt her heart sink when she heard this. She knew from his letters that Ironhide was trying his best to keep his spirits up in the face of a war he didn’t know why he was fighting, but she’d known her boyfriend enough to know that even he couldn’t take something like this forever.
She was distracted when she heard the sound of a familiar voice calling out, “Chromia? Is that you?” Turning around, Chromia was greeted by the sight of none other than Pear Butter and Bright Macintosh. As the two made their way up to them, the bright yellow farmer asked, “We haven’t seen you in a while. Who’s your friend?”
Shaking hands with Bright Mac, Chromia explained, “This is Private Ramrod. I’m helping with the Welcome Home Project, and we’re just out getting some lunch.” Intrigued, the red haired man turned to face the former soldier and asked, “Really? You killed anyone?”
Upon hearing this, Ramrod instinctively turned his head away and held his empty sleeve as he tried to control his now increasingly panicked breathing. Realizing this, Chromia walked up to her new friend and asked, “What’s wrong?” As the young man struggled to keep himself calm Bright Mac innocently asked, “What’s going on? I was just asking a question.”
Realizing the situation was devolving quickly, Pear Butter took her husband’s arm and said, “I think we should give them some space.” She then began to drag her husband away, all while he awkwardly asked, “What did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
Once Pear Butter and Bright Mac were gone, Ramrod finally calmed down as he apologized, “Sorry about that. It’s just….” Allowing a tear to escape from his eye, he continued, “There’s a lot of things I don’t want to talk about.” Chromia wrapped her arm around his shoulder as she explained, “It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”
After a few minutes, the waiter returned and asked, “You two decide, or do you need a few minutes?” To Chromia’s surprise, Ramrod asked, “You guys have chicken fingers?” The waiter nodded as she answered, “We sure do.” The young man nodded as he sheepishly continued, “Then I’d like a plate of chicken fingers please.” Chromia then added, “And I’d like a club sandwich.”
Once the waiter left, Ramrod said, “Hope you don’t mind. I used to love chicken fingers as a kid and…. Guess I need something comforting right now.” Chromia reassured him, “It’s alright.” She then asked, “So, what would you like to do after this?” Pondering for a moment, the young man asked, “Well, are there any bookstores around here?” Chromia smiled as she answered, “There sure are. In fact, there’s one not too far from here that’s right next to a coffee house. We can stop by if you’d like.”
Smiling, Ramrod replied, “I’d like that very much.”
The Living Room, Present Day…
“Awh.” Apple Bloom said as her aunt finished the story. The older woman smiled as she wrapped up with, “Yeah. We didn’t do too much else that day. We just walked around as he talked. I think he just needed someone to listen to him.” Sideswipe then asked, “So, was that all you did? Take guys out to lunch?”
Standing up, Chromia answered, “That was part of what we did. In truth we did anything they needed. Whether it was a bite to eat, a walk in the park, or just someone to listen, we did what we had to make them feel welcome.” She then let out a wistful sigh as she added, “Of course, we had to accept the hard truth.”
A confused and worried Apple Bloom asked, “What do you mean by hard truth?” Letting out a defeated chuckle, Chromia answered, “The war…. It didn’t end well, and a lot of former soldiers found themselves wondering if it was worth it. It didn’t help that, as it went on, they apparently had to start using some questionable tactics and….”
Finally, with her eyes watering, Chromia tearfully admitted, “Some of the boys who came home, they couldn’t handle what happened, and they…..”
Apple Bloom and Sideswipe realized what she was implying, and both girls stood up, made their way to Chromia and wrapped her in a tight hug. Hugging her daughters back, the older woman admitted, “The men I spoke with, several of them couldn’t adjust and…. I still wish I could have helped them.”
After a few minutes, Apple Bloom asked, “You feelin’ better aunt Chromia?" Wiping away a few tears, the older woman replied, “A bit, yeah.” She then added, “Well, I know Ironhide and Ratchet are handling dinner tonight, so is there anything you girls would like to do?”
Pondering for a moment, Apple Bloom replied, “Ah’m fine with anythin’ you guys wanna do.” Sideswipe, however, asked, “Well, you guys want to play some chess?” Smiling, Apple Bloom answered, “You’re on, but Ah’m white this time.” The pale biker extended her fist as she quipped, “You’re on.”
Chromia then added, “Alright. But I play the winner.” Both girls nodded as Apple Bloom replied, “Understood ma’am.” And so, Apple Bloom and Sideswipe pulled out the chess board and began to line up the pieces, all while Chromia thought to herself, “I love those girls.”
Sweet Apple Acres, That Night….
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Big Macintosh stared out his bedroom window as he took in the sight of his family’s farm. As he observed the rows of growing crops, the young man said to himself, “It’s almost perfect. Just wish Apple Bloom was here.” Indeed, even though things had been going smoothly at the farm, the young man couldn’t help but miss his baby sister. It also didn’t help that contacting her wasn’t exactly easy since Applejack had “misplaced” her sister’s phone near the woodchipper.
However, Big Mac was distracted from his train of thought when he noticed light coming from the barn. “That’s odd.” He said to himself. “Who’d be in the barn this late at night?” Deciding that he couldn’t let this be, the eldest Apple sibling made his way out of his room.
The Barn
Quietly walking up to the barn door, Big Mac thought to himself, “Somethin’ weird is goin’ on. Who’d be in there at this hour?” After all, all chores for the day were done, and there wasn’t any reason to clean the barn for something, so why would anyone be in there?
Peaking into the lit barn, Big Mac found Applejack pacing up and forth behind what could only be a mock family meeting. Seated around a large table were several scarecrows that had had their heads replaced with small watermelons that were decorated to resemble the members of the Apple Family. There was one with white hair for Granny Smith, one with yellow hair for Big Mac, and one with red hair in braided pigtails for Apple Bloom.
Walking up and down the barn, Applejack pulled out a baseball bat as she asked, “Do y’all know what Ah love about baseball?” The tone of her voice sent a small chill down Big Mac’s spine as he thought to himself, ‘Ah thought AJ wasn’t a sports person?’ When none of the mockups said anything, Applejack answered, “It’s because in baseball, you are part of a team.”
Now circling the table, Applejack explained, “When you’re on the plate, that is the time for individual achievement. That’s when you can show what YOU can do.” She then twirled the bat in her hand as she continued, “But when you’re on the field, whether you’re on first base, second base, third base, center field, pitcher or catcher, you’re not alone. You’re part of one big team, and you’re in it together.”
Letting out a gentle chuckle (one that Big Mac found unsettling), Applejack explained, “So when you go out onto the plate, you might be doin’ it for yourself, but remember…..” She then allowed a gentle smile to form across her face as she focused her attention on the effigy of Apple Bloom as she finished, “Ah get nowhere unless the TEAM wins.” She then raised her hands, as if to take in her imaginary applause. Big Mac couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “Maybe she’s gettin’ over it all.”
And then, as her smile quickly morphed into a furious frown, Applejack grasped the baseball bat with both hands and, with speed Big Mac never expected his sister to possess, slammed it into the fake Apple Bloom’s “head.”
As the chunks of fruit flew across the barn, Applejack took the baseball bat and slammed it back into the remains of the crushed watermelon, this time letting out a feral growl. She then repeated this process multiple times until the head shaped fruit had been reduced to nothing but a slurry of red. Once she’d utterly destroyed the large fruit, Applejack straightened herself and readjusted her hair and hat as she asked the others, “Any objections?”
“Ah have one!” Big Macintosh called out as he made himself known. As Applejack realized she was being watched, her brother folded his arm as he asked, “You mind explainin’ what you just doin’?” The middle Apple sibling began to nervously sweat as she answered, “Ah don’t have to tell you anythin’!”
Big Mac wasn’t taking his sister’s non answer for a moment. Snatching the baseball bat from her hands, the eldest Apple sibling belted, “Don’t try that with me! You just destroyed somethin’ made to look like Apple Bloom while blabbin’ about teamwork!” He then allowed his eyes to focus on the wet and sticky bat as he angrily grumbled, “You’re still angry about what happened.”
Snatching the bat from her brother’s hands, Applejack angrily admitted, “Alright, fine! Ah am angry! Ah’m angry that she just had to go and betray us the way she did!” She then threw the bat at the effigy of her sister, knocking it over as she continued, “She lied to me! She posted that dumb nickname on the damn internet! And she tricked me into thinkin’ it was Sunset!” As she turned to face her brother, he was shocked to see her eyes were watering as she began to stammer something. “AH…. Ah…..” Sighing in defeat, Big Mac ordered, “Just say it!”
“AH HATE HER!”
Both Big Macintosh and Applejack were shocked by what the latter had just said. Sighing, Big Mac angrily began, “Ah’m gonna pretend Ah did not hear that.” As Applejack collapsed to her knees in shock of what she’d done, he continued, “And Ah’m not gonna tell Granny Smith about all this.” However, he folded his arms as he warned, “But Ah’m only gonna say this once. You need to get over it right now!”
As Applejack looked up to her older brother, Big Mac explained, “She’s been gone almost six months, and you’re still angry. This isn’t right, and you know it, so knock it off! Apple Bloom will be home in about a month, and Ah do NOT want her to know you’ve been behavin’ like this.” He then began to leave as he finished, “So clean up your mess and get some sleep.”
Once he made it back to his room, Big Mac closed the door, curled up against the wall and began to weep as he muttered, “Dad, our family is fallin’ apart.” As the tears poured out of his eyes, he continued, “Apple Bloom is gone, Applejack is losin’ her mind, and Ah don’t know what to do. Ah wish you and Mom were still here.” Of course, he knew that while his parents were in his heart, they were otherwise gone, and couldn’t help him. All Big Macintosh did know was that once Apple Bloom came home, they would all have to ask themselves some very serious questions.
And he knew no one in the Apple Family was going to like the answers.
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Dude, Big Mac. This has gone beyond anger. You need to tell an adult and get AJ therapy YESTERDAY!
All in favor of Uncle Ironhide and the Scrapers to take custody of Applebloom and put a restraining order on Applejack so that the latter doesn't do anything horrible to the former say I.
11137851 Finally, somebody said it
11137904 *raises hand* Aye
11137851
Indeed. As a meme from a former NBA Star goes:
Stop it. Get some help.
11137904
AYE!
11137904
Aye!
Good chapter. I hope Applebloom never goes home. For HER sake!
I hope Sunset and the other girls learn about this and tear into AJ.
11137904
Aye.
Applejack needs professional help. With the way she's been acting through out this story it understandable why Sunset avoids her.
11137904
Yeah considering I think if she goes back the way things are now then her mental health is going down. And how stupid was her dad asking that question of a soldier. War equals death and someone is always pulling the trigger. It is a sad fact.
11137851
11138054
11138132
I was thinking on something like this to deal with AJ's behaviour:
Just let either Ironhide, Chromia or Sunset Shimmer do the work.
11139676
Oh, trust me. I have something fitting in store for Applejack.
11139692
Fair enough. As long as Applejack knock it off and ask for forgiveness - not to mention the penitance she'll have to do - I'll wait.
It's about time someone told Applejack to leave the past in the past. Let's hope Applejack gets the message soon.