Pride of the Apples

Chapters

1 - The Other Brother
2 - The Offer
3 - The Sparkles
4 - The Picnic
5 - The Flight
6 - The Sky Apple
7 - The Party
8 - The Banner
9 - The Meltdown
10 - The Reunion
11 - The Eclipse
12 - The Pride of the Apples

1 - The Other Brother

“I can't wait to see 'im, Granny!” Apple Bloom jumped up and down excitedly. “I'm finally gonna see 'im! Calvados is comin' home!”

“Now, now, seedlin', don't git yer mane in a tangle,” Granny Smith calmed her, “Cal ain't been in Ponyville in quite some time. He's gonna need a while to git his bearin's, is all.”

“Oh.” Apple Bloom cocked her head, confused, “Well, it's a small town, so I could show 'im around! Me'n Scootaloo'n Sweetie Belle can give him a tour!”

Granny Smith shook her head, “I don't think so, young'n. Calvados ain't like the rest o' the Apple family, you see. He's quite a bit . . . . diff'rent.”

Big McIntosh came in from the kitchen just in time to agree with his grandmother, “Eeyup.”

“Different? But why is he so different? Does he have his cutie mark, yet? Is that it?”

“No, hon, that's only part of it. He ain't got his mark yet, but he's quite a bit older than ya.”

“How old, Granny? Older than Applejack?”

“Nope, he's right between ya.”

“Well, that's not so bad,” Apple Bloom shrugged, “We can let 'im join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“He could join if'n he wanted ta, but I ain't sure he'd wanna. Cal ain't quite . . . comfy 'round crowds, ya see.”

“But, why, Granny?”

Granny Smith sighed, “It's hard ta explain. You'll just have to see fer yourself when Applejack comes home with 'im.” She then turned to her eldest grandson, “Everythin' all set, Mac?”

McIntosh nodded assuredly, “Eeyup.”

“Got his favorite foods all laid out for 'im?”

“Eeyup.”

“And y'all promised to share your room with him fer the next two weeks, right?”

“Eeyup.”

Granny Smith nodded in approval, “Well, now that everythin's set, we can welcome Calvados real proper-like. This may slow down our gettin' ready fer the Eclipse Celebration, an' all, but family comes first.”

“You bet, Granny!” Apple Bloom chimed, trying to pick up her spirits. “So, what is Cal like, anyway? Is he nice? Can he do neat stuff, like Applejack and Big Mac?”

Granny Smith held up a calming hoof, “Fer now, all ya need to do is just mind yer manners, Apple Bloom. As I said, Cal ain't like anypony else in the family . . . matter of fact, Cal ain't quite like anypony you may've met . . .”

Apple Bloom sat down on the living room floor; the lack of information seemed to be getting to her. She'd been told about Calvados, but wasn't even sure what he looked like. She was just excited to meet another member of the Apple family. Especially since this member was her brother.

Her other brother . . .

Applejack hurried along through the streets of Ponyville, making sure Calvados was close by. She dodged a couple of ladders being set up and a few streamers that were being strung up. Ponies all over town were set to celebrate the Equestrian Eclipse, an event in which ponies regarded the upcoming solar eclipse as a symbol of unity between the two Princesses of Equestria. As such, Ponyville was ripe with excitement at an upcoming visit from both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to facilitate the festivities in town.

“Oops! Sorry, Applejack!” called out a pony on a shaking ladder setting up a string of decorations across the streetlights.

“No problem,” Applejack called back absently as she kept Cal close. It wasn't hard; he'd clung to Applejack ever since he'd been dropped off at the train station. She'd seen his teacher drop him off, she'd met up with them, gotten any information she may have needed, helped him with his luggage, and they'd been off. She'd been hoping that Cal wouldn't draw attention to himself in the way he'd been known to do, especially with the Equestrian Eclipse Celebration being so close at hoof. In fact, she'd been dreading this whole two-week-long stay since she'd first gotten word from Cal's teacher. But if she said it was good for him, there was nothing else to be said; the Apple family always made time for each other, no matter what the situation.

But this was a fairly complicated situation.

“Hello, Applejack!”

The orange Earth-pony jumped at the sound of a familiar voice, and her charge ran behind her quickly. Applejack was afraid of this. Twilight Sparkle stood in the road before her, adding to her greeting with a wave. Alongside her stood Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, all wearing excited smiles.

“Oh . . . . uh, howdy, there . . . wasn't expectin' y'all to be here . . . fact, I don't recall tellin' anypony I'd be here . . .”

“We heard that you were having family over, and we wanted to meet him here,” Twilight explained.

“Wait, who'd you hear it from?” Applejack asked nervously.

“The grapevine, as it were,” Rarity answered, “Your sister told my sister, who in turn told me. So we're all here to give the little darling a warm welcome to Ponyville!”

“So, where is the little guy?” Rainbow Dash hovered upwards, looking over Applejack to see the pony hiding behind her.

“Careful, now!” Applejack said, a touch defensively, “Don't startle him.” She looked behind her and spoke softly, “Come on out, hon. Don't be bashful. My friends wanna meet you.” Slowly, a small colt tiptoed out from behind Applejack, staring at the ground the whole while. He had a rich, golden coat and dark-red mane, but no cutie mark. This was unusual, he looked younger than Applejack, but he seemed well beyond the age Applejack and her friends were when they had gotten their marks.

“Oh, he's simply precious!” Rarity exclaimed. “Hello, little darling, and welcome to Ponyville! We hope you have a lovely time!”

Cal stood there, glanced up at Rarity, and began to rock where he stood as he continued staring at the dirt.

Dash looked on, confused, “What's his problem? We're just trying to be nice here.”

“Hi, there!” Pinkie Pie squealed, getting close to Cal's face, “I'm Pinkie Pie! Welcome to Ponyville! Have you ever been here before? How long are you staying? What's your favorite color? What's your favorite candy? Do you like parties? I could throw you a great big 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!!”

Cal looked up at Pinkie Pie and began to whine. He looked at Applejack, stamped his hooves and reached forward with a hoof, pointing to the end of the road, “Nnnn . . . Enh! Enh! Enh!”

“Calm down, sugarcube,” Applejack soothed him, running a hoof over his mane, “Don't get upset. Remember what Dr. Lyze said: 'Use your words'.” She then aimed a piercing stare at the pink mare, “Pinkie! Don't get up close to him like that! He ain't as willin' to chat as y'all are!”

Pinkie looked downcast at Applejack's scolding, “Sorry, AJ . . .”

“It's okay, little one,” Fluttershy approached him with her usual gentility, “Nopony's going to hurt you. I promise. My name is Fluttershy. What's your name, sweetie?”

Cal stared at Fluttershy with a pair of blank hazel eyes, then he sat down on the ground and covered his eyes with his front hooves.

“Aww, he's shy,” Twilight smiled. “It's okay. Tell us your name. My name's Twilight.”

Cal mumbled his response, “. . . is Twi- . . . is Twileye?”

“Yes, that's my name,” Twilight nodded, “What's your name?”

“. . . is your . . . is your name?”

Applejack sighed and stepped in close to him, “His name is Calvados.” She hesitated when she added, “He's . . . . . . he's my . . . . younger brother.”

The surprise forced everypony into an awkward silence.

“WHAT?!” Pinkie broke the silence suddenly, “HE'S YOUR BABY BROTHER!?!”

“Pinkie, quiet down!” Applejack yelled over her, “You're makin' a scene!”

“Hold, it, I'm a little confused,” Twilight pressed a hoof to her head in thought, “I always thought Big McIntosh was your only brother.”

“Well, he ain't,” Applejack replied, a bit bitterly. “In case ya didn't catch it before, Cal here is a little . . . different. We just couldn't take care of him the way he needed after our parents died, so we sent him to live with our cousin Harrison in Fillydelphia. There's a special school there for kids like him.”

“Well, that's good, isn't it?” Rarity asked, “I mean, if he's there, the little sweetheart will get the schooling he needs, won't he?”

“Well, it ain't always about the special schoolin'. His teacher, Dr. Anna Lyze, told us he needs to be with family as often as possible. We had him over a lot when Apple Bloom was still just a baby, so she don't remember much.” She glanced between Cal and the far end of the road, “She didn't blabbermouth that much, either.”

“Wait a minute!” Dash exclaimed, “So, you went on this whole time making us think you had only one brother? I've known you for years, Applejack! How come you couldn't tell us about Calvados until just now?!”

“Well, maybe there's a lot of things y'all don't know about me, Rainbow! And maybe I'd rather keep it that way!”

“Calm down, Applejack,” Twilight tried to quell her friend's distress, “There's no need to get snappy. We just wanted to meet the little guy.”

“Well, ya did. Now, I'd appreciate it if y'all just let him be!”

Cal broke up the argument by resuming his flustered fussing, “Enh! Enh! Appajak!”

Applejack turned to her brother, “What is it, sugarcube? What's wrong? Use your words.”

“Enh! Enh!” Cal fussed longer, before finally yelling, “Go home?!”

Applejack sighed and nodded, “Yes, Cal, we can go home.” She addressed her friends, “Look, I gotta get him to Sweet Apple Acres. I'll see y'all later, all right?” With that, she ushered a still-fussy Calvados down the road to the farm. He slowly calmed down as he trotted next to his sister.

“Goodbye, Calvados!” Rarity waved after them, “We hope to see you for the Eclipse Celebration, darling!” Cal didn't even turn around; he was staring up at the enormous blue banner, reading “Eclipse Celebration”, being erected above the street, and seemed as if he hadn't even heard.

Everypony looked on as Applejack and Calvados left, in a confused silence. Pinkie was the first to speak, “. . . . Well, that was weird!”

“No, Pinkie,” Twilight shook her head, “Calvados isn't weird. He really is just different from other ponies.”

Fluttershy looked worried, “Goodness . . . he's even more timid than me . . .”

“I just don't get it” said Dash, “What is it about him that makes him so . . . . strange?”

Twilight sighed, “I . . . . . I don't know. But I think I can find out.” She paused before hesitantly adding, “At least, I hope I can . . .”

2 - The Offer

The Ponytones record started over for the tenth time. Apple Bloom pressed her front hooves to her ears, grinding her teeth together in irritation. Granny Smith rocked in her chair, the creaking getting increasingly louder, almost as if to counter the sound of the record. Even Big Mac was annoyed by this time; being a quiet pony, there was only so much of his own voice he could take.

When Applejack had brought Calvados home, Apple Bloom had tried to greet him. “Hi, there, Cal!” she had said, a large, welcoming grin on her face. “Welcome home! 'Member me? I'm your little sister, Apple Bloom!” Cal had merely wandered around the living room for a few seconds, then suddenly made a beeline for the record player.

Applejack remembered that that was exactly what Cal had done the last time he'd come home. Some things never change, she thought to herself. She then resolved to talk to Apple Bloom later; she'd seen that her sister had been upset at Cal's perceived indifference.

In the middle of the record's progress, Applejack finally decided to attempt an intervention. “Uhh, Cal, honey,” Applejack tried to speak to him, “don't you think you've heard that record enough?”

Cal wasn't listening; he was stomping in place and shaking his head around in excitement. This tended to happen when Cal became preoccupied with something—that record was now the only thing in the world to him.

“Come on, Cal,” Apple Bloom insisted, “I think this old record's had enough, don't you?”

She made her way to the record player to stop it, but Cal saw her move and ran towards her, gently pushing her away and fussing, “Enh! Eeenh! Ponytoe?”

“Yeah, PonyTones, we get it, Cal,” Apple Bloom nodded, “but you're gonna wear a groove in the record soon. Why don't ya give it a rest?”

“Enh-enh-enh!” Cal whined insistently, shooing her away, “Ponytoe? Ponytoe?”

“I think you'd best let 'im alone, little sprout,” Granny Smith advised. “Cal goes off in his own mind sometimes. Why, I tend to do the same thang ev'ry once in awhile. Why, just today, I was in the kitchen, bakin' fer Cal, when I . . . hmm . . . mighta left the oven on . . .”

Apple Bloom sighed, glancing amongst her elders. “So, is that just what he does? Like, is it part of his . . . condition?”

Bic Mac glanced at his brother with a worried look before answering, “Eeyup.”

Applejack sighed as well, sensing tension already. She loved Calvados like any other member of her family, but the way he was made him difficult to care for. She was baffled by his behavior, but she was also worried for him. Their parents were the only ones who knew what to do for him; with them gone, their only option was to send him to Fillydelphia for proper care. For years, Applejack had told herself that it was for his own good.

It kept her from thinking that it was for her good, as well.

“Hey, Cal!” Apple Bloom suddenly spoke up, “Granny Smith baked you a big cinnamon apple pie! I'll bet it's done coolin' now. Want some?”

Cal looked up from his frenetic dancing and smiled, “An' s- . . . an' some? Mmmm . . .”

“'Mmmm' is right!” Apple Bloom giggled. “Come on! It's in the kitchen.” Cal eagerly followed Apple Bloom into the kitchen, and as they left, the latter quickly turned and gestured to the record player. Apparently, this was her way of distracting him so that he wouldn't notice the record being stopped. Granny Smith and Big Mac merely rolled their eyes and smiled.

Applejack went up to the player and turned the volume down. “There, that's a little better. Cal's got good taste in music, but I don't know whether Dr. Lyze taught him about moderation.”

“Oh, the young'n's just eager, is all,” Granny Smith replied. “Weren't never no harm in bein' happy.”

Big Mac agreed with a nod, “Eeyup.”

Applejack agreed too, but something still bothered her. The entire household would be going back to work in the fields tomorrow, which meant that it was on herself, Mac, and Granny Smith to take shifts watching Cal, making sure he couldn't get into any mischief. Of course, teaching Cal how to use the heavy farm equipment was out of the question; no one really knew how much Cal retained whenever something was explained to him. That, combined with his zealousness and short attention span made it difficult to find a decent job for him on the farm. Again, Applejack found herself wishing her parents were still here; they always knew how to handle their little colt.

Although Applejack worriedly imagined that, were they alive, they'd be very disappointed with her.

There was a knock at the door, and Applejack held back a groan—she was almost certain she knew who it was. Surely enough, she went to open the door, and one of her friends, Twilight Sparkle, stood on the other side.

“Hi, Applejack,” Twilight greeted her with a smile, “I was hoping I could have a word with you.”

Applejack saw this coming, and stepped back to let Twilight inside. “Sure, come on in.”

Twilight walked in, and as Applejack closed the door behind her, she greeted the rest of the Apple family, “Hello, Granny Smith. Hi, Big Mac.”

“Well, hello, Twilight, dearie,” the older mare replied. “Nice of ya to come up an' see us!”

“Eeyup.”

Twilight turned to Applejack, “Listen, I think I know what's going on here—”

“Hold on, Twilight, I gotta say somethin' first,” Applejack interrupted. “I . . . wanna apologize for the way I acted before. I was a little too defensive . . . y'know, of my brother . . . and I guess I didn't care much for all y'all askin' so many questions. And me bein' snappy wasn't fair to any of ya. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Oh . . . well, that's all right. I completely understand. He's your little brother, and the way he is, all you want is to keep him safe.”

Applejack sighed. “No, you don't understand. I wish you could, but I don't even understand him. None of us do. See, Cal's my baby brother, and I love 'im with all my heart, but . . . . I just don't know what to do with him. He doesn't talk like colts his age. Fact, he rarely talks at all. His ears and hooves are real sensitive, and once he gets a hold a' somethin' he likes, it's like he blocks the whole rest o' the world out. And ordinarily, he's pretty happy, but if he gets upset . . . well . . . .” She closed her eyes and tilted her head down, “The truth is, I ain't sure how to figure out what's goin' on in that mind o' his. His doctor told us about his condition, and about how nopony's sure what it is, or where it comes from, or . . . . or what to do about it.”

“I understand, AJ,” Twilight repeated, more insistently. “Believe me, I do. There's no reason to be ashamed or anything—”

“'Ashamed'?” Applejack's tone went up slightly; it wasn't a yell, but she still sounded affronted, “'Ashamed'? Why, that's a right insensitive thing to say, Twilight! We're Apples, and we never feel shame where family's concerned! I ain't ashamed of my brother just 'cause he's different! I wouldn't change him for all the bits in Equestria! And I don't take kindly to folks who think they know more about my brother's condition than they really do—”

“AJ,” Twilight placed both hooves on her shoulders to calm her down. She was now looking deeply into Applejack's eyes, a serious look in her own. “He's autistic, isn't he?”

Applejack's eyes widened at Twilight's words. In the brief pause that followed, her eyes also began to mist over. She fought back those tears for all she was worth, though; crying would do her no good, and she knew it. “How . . .” she tried to reply, “. . . how did you know . . . ?”

“I've been doing some reading in the past few hours. Look, I may not be an expert on the subject, but I at least know about Cal's disability. And I get why you don't want anypony else to know.”

“It ain't that, Twilight,” Applejack argued, “it's just that if anypony in town knew, it'd make things complicated. Nopony'd treat him like a normal pony. And I'm scared that he might be teased and made fun of. He don't know how to handle things like that.”

Twilight took one hoof off of Applejack's shoulder. “But that's not all, is it?” she asked seriously. Applejack didn't respond; she merely closed her eyes and turned away again, as if in the very shame she tried to deny seconds earlier. “I never said you were ashamed of him, Applejack,” Twilight continued, “all I said was there's no need for it. I know you love your brother. In fact, I think what you did for him was commendable. You sent him to a place where he'd be understood and cared for properly, and would learn all the things he needs to learn, in a way he can understand. That's not shame, AJ. That's love.”

Granny Smith and Big Mac had approached by this time. “Yer friend's right, dearie,” Granny said, running a wrinkled hoof through her granddaughter's mane. “We all did what needed doin' for Cal's sake. An' he's a better pony for it.”

Mac agreed, his voice matching the tone of the conversation, “Eeyup.”

Applejack sighed again and shook her head, “I just don't know . . . . his doctor said he needs to be with family often, but we just don't know how to take care of him. We need to start workin' on the fields tomorrow, so we need to take turns watchin' him while—”

Twilight held up a hoof, “I'd be more than happy to help you watch Cal.”

“No, no, you don't have to do that. Besides, Cal's not used to y'all, he'd get upset if I left him with somepony else.”

“Then I'll stick around until he gets used to me,” Twilight gently rebutted. “I'll ask the others if they'll help out, too. I'm sure they won't mind. What do you say?”

Applejack looked up and smiled at Twilight. “Even after I kept all this from you? Even though you don't even know Cal? You'd still be willin' to do all that?”

“We're friends, AJ. Of course I would. And I know Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash would, too. After all, we're family, too.”

“APPLEJACK!!”

All four ponies turned to the sound of Apple Bloom's scream, and rushed into the kitchen in a panic. They walked in to see Cal standing on the kitchen table, up on his hind legs, reaching out to a cabinet with his front hoof. The table shook beneath him, and he looked as though if he leaned any further, he would fall.

“I turned around for only a second!” Apple Bloom wailed. “Really! I didn't see! I'm sorry, big sis!”

One of Cal's back hooves slipped, and he wavered on the spot, close to falling. Suddenly, Big Mac raced toward the table, stood on his hind legs, and scooped up Cal with a front leg just as the colt took a tumble. “Nope!”

Cal fell forward into Mac, and both ponies collapsed to the floor, shaken, but otherwise unharmed. Cal looked jarred for a second; his eyes were wide and he was fussing again. But when he saw that he was on top of Big Mac, uninjured, he looked up at the stallion and giggled, “Beemak? That funny?”

Everypony sighed with great relief. Granny Smith walked up to them both and gently scolded, “Now, Cal, don't you go scarin' yer old Granny like that. Ain't good for the old ticker, ya know . . .”

Without looking away from the disaster that could have happened, Applejack leaned toward Twilight. “Ya know . . . . I might just take you up on that offer.”

Twilight nodded slowly as Cal, still on the floor with Mac, nuzzled Mac's ear, and Mac ruffled his brother's mane affectionately.

3 - The Sparkles

The whole Apple family got up bright and early the next morning to start work. Granny Smith took the first shift in watching over Calvados, and Applejack and Big McIntosh started working the fields. There had been a bit of an incident that morning before Apple Bloom left for school; Cal didn't seem to understand why Apple Bloom was leaving, and was upset at having to see her go. It took a little coaxing and calming to settle him down and prevent an incident.

Another incident . . .

Applejack and Big Mac started in the pumpkin fields, but the former felt that her heart wasn't quite in it. Her feelings were split two ways, with the first being the most obvious: her worry over her younger brother. It was well-placed worry, naturally; she'd had a hard enough time allowing Apple Bloom to stay home alone, and she couldn't even bring herself to do that. Cal may have been older, but being autistic, it was difficult to tell whether that would make a difference. He tended to get easily distracted, he was resolute and single-minded in whatever goal he wanted most, and most days, the whole rest of the world didn't exist to him. What he could possibly do without Applejack to watch over him, she didn't even want to guess.

The other feeling was something she'd suppressed ever since before Cal had come home. She fought it every time it threatened to surface again, especially when Twilight had inadvertently brought it up yesterday. She didn't want to feel this way, but it was always there, no matter how much she tried to will it away.

As they began harvesting, Big Mac seemed to notice Applejack's lackluster attitude, and in a rare moment, spoke up on it: “You okay?”

Applejack knew what she must look like at that moment if Mac took a moment to speak on the matter. “I don't know, Mac,” she replied, struggling to explain, “I'm just startin' to think this visit was a bad idea. I don't wanna think that way, 'cause I know Cal's been lookin' forward to this, but I just feel like somethin' bad might happen while he's here. Somethin' havin' to do with him. Maybe I'm just bein' paranoid, maybe not . . . . I just don't know anymore, Mac.” She turned toward her older brother, feeling worry lining her face. “Is it bad to feel this way?”

Big Mac looked back at his sister with a warm gaze and gently shook his head, “Nope.”

“Are ya sure?” Applejack insisted.

“Eeyup.”

Applejack still wasn't sure. She knew that, no matter what she felt, or toward whom, the shame should truly lie with her.

“AJ!”

Applejack looked up to see two ponies trotting briskly into the fields, towards her and Big Mac: Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy. She was relieved to see them, but at the same time, she just couldn't shake off that feeling of foreboding. Nevertheless, she greeted her friends, “Howdy, Twilight, Fluttershy. How y'all doin'?”

“Good morning, Applejack,” Twilight said brightly, “morning, Big Mac.”

“Eeyup.”

“I've actually been looking forward to looking after Cal,” said Fluttershy with a grin. “He's so cute and sweet, and I think we might really get along.”

“I sure hope we will,” Twilight added. “We've decided to rotate every day when we come visit. We'll always come two at a time, and each of us comes two days in a row before going to the next. Fluttershy will be back tomorrow and bring one of the girls with her, then the next day, the pony Fluttershy brought will bring another, and so on. That way, Cal will get used to all of us, and with two of us here at a time, he won't feel too overstimulated and get upset.” She looked at Applejack to read her for a response. “Sound good?”

“Yeah, I suppose . . .” Applejack trailed off, glancing back at the house, then resumed in an authoritative tone, “Now, look. Y'all oughta know a few things about Cal. He's awful sensitive and don't like havin' his hooves or his face touched—”

“We know, Applejack,” Twilight assured.

“An' if he don't answer you, it don't mean he's bein' rude. He just don't hear things right the first time—”

“It's okay, Applejack, we know.”

“He can be a picky eater, too. And he likes the record player on often. And if he ain't through with somethin', don't try to take it away—”

“Yes, Applejack, thank you, but we understand—”

“—unless he's got a hold of something sharp, or hot, or made of glass. In that case, don't panic, and ask him real nice—”

“Applejack!” Twilight spoke up over her, and the Earth pony stopped mid-sentence.

“Um, sorry, Applejack,” Fluttershy apologized for Twilight, “but, well . . . Twilight had something to say . . .”

Applejack sighed and pressed a hoof to her forehead. “Sorry 'bout that, Twilight. I just need to make sure of these things, ya know?”

“Believe me, I get it. That's why I brought this.” Twilight unfurled her left wing and encased a thick, leather-bound book in her magic, bringing it out for Applejack to see. On the front cover read the words: Ponies on the Autism Spectrum: Common Behaviors and Responses. “It took me hours to find books like this yesterday, but I've spent some extra time reading them since then, and now I think I can handle things.”

Applejack looked back at Twilight with skeptical eyes. “Twilight, I already told you, I don't care for when ponies think they know—”

“Relax, AJ. Like I said, I'm not an expert. But I at least have an idea of what Cal is like and how to appeal to him, and now I have a better idea than yesterday. You can trust me. Cal will be just fine, okay?”

“I just don't know,” Applejack frowned, “I don't feel right pawnin' him off on you two. He's s'posed to be with family . . .”

Fluttershy approached Applejack and gave her a reassuring smile. “We're family too,” she said, “and we'd do anything for you, if you needed us.”

Applejack closed her eyes and tilted her head down, deep in thought. This would be difficult, given her need to protect her brother and how unusual he could be in the eyes of strangers. But Twilight and Fluttershy were her best friends—if she couldn't trust them, they wouldn't be. And as much as they'd been through together, she couldn't refuse their willingness. Finally, she took another deep sigh and replied, “I'll be back inside every now and then to take over. I still say he needs to be with family, even if we are all working for the Eclipse Celebration.” She looked over at Big Mac. “Can ya handle these fields alone when I do?”

Mac looked back at his sister with a benign look, and his voice matched it, “Eeyup.”

“Okay,” said Applejack, satisfied, before she answered, “I'll take you to him and introduce ya, just so he don't get a fright. Keep an eye on him, and remember everything I said. I'll be back inside in an hour.”

Twilight and Fluttershy both nodded. “Don't worry, Applejack,” Twilight smiled, “your brother is in good hooves.”

Big Mac's bedroom had an extra-large cot set up on the opposite side from the bed. Calvados was now sitting in the bed itself, gently bouncing in place as he scribbled away at a sheet of paper with the blue crayon in his mouth. He looked as though he hadn't even noticed three ponies walking into the room. He looked as though he thought he was the only pony in the world—it was just him and whatever portrait he was working on.

“Uhh . . . Cal?” Applejack spoke up. “I want you to meet somepony. You remember Twilight and Fluttershy from yesterday, right? From when they met us on the way from the train station?” Cal didn't respond, and continued to scribble at his paper. Applejack sighed and spoke a bit louder, “Cal? Honey, these are my friends. You met them the other day, remember?”

Finally, Cal dropped his crayon and looked up with blank eyes. He saw the two ponies that had accompanied Applejack, and like before, he threw his hooves over his eyes, shutting himself off right away.

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy mumbled, “I . . . I hope we're not scaring him or anything . . .”

Applejack sighed again, sounding a bit frustrated. “He does this sometimes,” she explained. “Like I said, he ain't too comfortable 'round strangers.”

“It's okay,” Twilight nodded. “May I?” Applejack nodded, and Twilight slowly walked up to the bed and stood beside it. “Hello, Cal,” she said gently. “Remember me? I'm Twilight. We met yesterday.”

Cal slowly lowered his hooves from his eyes, peeking over them at Twilight.

“Yeah, that's better,” Twilight smiled. “You remember me, right? Twilight?”

Cal muttered his answer, “Is Twileye? Is your name?”

“Yes, that's right,” Twilight giggled, “I'm so glad you remember!” She glanced at the drawing Cal had been working on, and continued conversation, “So, do you like to draw, Cal? What's that you're making, huh?”

Cal almost repeated his hooves-over-the-eyes gesture, looking over his hooves at Twilight again. He then reached a hoof out to the doorway, toward his sister, “Appajak! Appajak!”

Applejack and Fluttershy entered the room, and the former answered, “What is it, sweetheart? Remember, use your words.”

Once Cal saw that he had Applejack's attention, he pointed a hoof to his masterpiece, spread his hooves up over his head in a wide arc, and grinned. “It's big? It's big?”

Applejack and Fluttershy laughed good-naturedly at Cal's enthusiasm. “Yep, you can make that as big as you want it, sugarcube,” she replied.

“Oh, he is just so cute,” Fluttershy fawned. “I'm surprised you never told us about him, Applejack.”

Applejack glanced at the floor several times, feeling that same powerful sense of worry (and shame) from earlier strike her again, “I . . . I'm kinda surprised myself.”

“It's big!” Cal continued chanting, starting to sound agitated. “It's big!”

“I know, Cal, I know, you wanna make it big. You can make it big if you want to.”

Cal continued stretching his hooves above his head, then pointed one hoof out the window (which had been bolted shut for his safety). He now seemed frustrated for some reason. “Enh! Enh! Eeenh!!”

“Oh, no,” Applejack muttered, worried, “no, Cal, not again. Please, not now—”

“Hey, Cal,” Twilight said calmly, “Cal, look over here. Look, Cal, look! I want you to see something, okay?” Cal stopped fussing long enough to look at Twilight, and the Alicorn lowered her head, pointing her horn directly above Cal's head. Her horn then began emitting sparks, and a small burst of light flew from it.

“Twilight, what in tarnation d'ya think—”

“Relax, Applejack,” Twilight calmed her, “watch.” The light hovered over Cal for a second before exploding in a burst of sparkles that showered all over Cal. He looked as though he weren't in any pain; in fact, he looked ecstatic. He glanced all around at the sparkling lights as they rained down on him, and he brought his hooves up close to his face, waved them repeatedly in front of his eyes, and began rocking back and forth where he sat.

Applejack and Fluttershy looked in bewilderment as Cal kept up this unusual act. “Well,” Fluttershy spoke up, “he looks like he's having fun. That's good, right?”

“He does this a lot, too,” Applejack said. “Dr. Lyze talked about this with us, 'bout how he likes to give himself fun sensations and things. Now, what'd she call it again? Stam . . . stem . . .”

“Stimming,” Twilight corrected, “as in 'self-stimulation'. If Cal feels agitated, he reduces stimuli in his environment by controlling what he observes and interacts with. Usually, it involves isolating one observation, like bright lights or a fast-moving object, and interacting directly with it in his own way. It's a coping mechanism.”

Applejack's eyes widened slightly. She was impressed with how much Twilight knew about Cal's autistic behaviors. It gave her reassurance that Twilight would take very good care for Cal if she had to, but it also brought back that feeling of lowness she'd had since this morning. She'd thought Twilight was exaggerating her knowledge on the subject of autism just to appear knowledgeable, like most other ponies did when they didn't really know what they were talking about. But this made Applejack realize the effort and time Twilight had taken to learn more about this subject—and not just passive, nonsensical 'advice' ponies offered to make themselves feel helpful, but true, honest knowledge.

Twilight had done her homework; it showed how dedicated she was to helping her friend. And it proved that Applejack had nothing to fear after all.

Cal reached out to Twilight's horn and giggled, “Again? Again?”

Twilight met his giggle with one of her own, “Oh, you want more sparkles?”

“More sparkles?”

“Okay, here they come!” Twilight replied excitedly and projected another light with her horn. The magical sparks showered Cal, and the colt began rocking and waving his hooves again.

4 - The Picnic

Twilight and Fluttershy had gathered Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike at the Golden Oaks library for an assessment of their encounter with Calvados. They had just finished explaining Twilight's maneuver in calming his sudden temper, along with Applejack's following need to cut their visit short.

“Well, that doesn't sound at all like our Applejack,” Rarity said worriedly. “I know she cares for family, but isn't it a bit extreme to throw you out like that?”

“Oh, she didn't throw us out, Rarity,” Fluttershy gently corrected, “she just needed some time to keep Cal calm, so he wouldn't . . . well . . . do something . . . bad? I-I guess . . .”

Rainbow Dash had been listening most of the time, seeming unable to comprehend what her friends had been talking about. “So . . .” she began, uneasily, “. . . is he, like, crazy or something?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight reprimanded. “That's a very insensitive thing to say! Calvados is autistic! That doesn't make him incompetent or insane!”

“Gimme a break, Twilight!” Dash defended. “It's not like I know everything about autism, like you do.”

Twilight sighed, “No, no, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting, you guys don't know as much as you should. Even I don't know as much as I should, and I've read every book I could find on the subject three times. In fact, I sent a message to Princess Celestia asking for more books on autism. Hopefully, she'll be getting back to me any sec—”

Twilight was interrupted when Spike's cheeks suddenly swelled, and he released a fiery green belch. From the light, green ember, a rolled-up letter materialized, and he grabbed it out of the air. “Well, speak of the princess!” Spike quipped as he unfurled the paper and stared reading out loud:

“Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

I am proud of you taking the initiative to learn all you can about a topic that is still very obscure in Equestria. There aren't many books on the subject of autism that I know of right off hoof, but I will do all I can to send you everything we can find from the royal Canterlot library. There should be a delivery of every relevant book available by tomorrow. Simply return the ones you already have copies of, along with whatever you are finished with.

Good luck, Twilight.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia”

“Excellent!” Twilight smiled. “We'll have a lot more to learn from tomorrow. And right now, we need all the help we can get.”

“Booooooo-ring!” Dash moaned. “Who needs to read about taking care of kids? It's not that difficult. You watch 'em, you play with 'em, you take 'em out for a bite to eat, then you hand 'em back to the family and go home! You don't need a book for that!”

“Why, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity stepped in. “You ought to know by now how invaluable books can be. Besides, you should also know that little Cal isn't like other colts! He takes in things differently, and we simply must be careful around him!”

“Exactly,” Twilight nodded. “Now remember, girls, it's Fluttershy's turn to bring somepony with her tomorrow, and Rainbow Dash has to go with her this time.” She turned to the latter with an emphatic look. “And remember, we have to be patient, calm, and understanding. No matter what happens.”

Dash sighed, annoyed at first, but gave a relenting nod a moment later. “All right. I don't get what 'autism' is supposed to be about, but Applejack's one of us. We gotta stick by her.”

“That's the spirit, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy beamed. “And I'm sure you'll like Cal. He's so cute! And he's nice when you get to know him.”

“But you have to remember,” Twilight insisted, “it won't be easy to get to know him. He'll seem like his mind is a little . . . .” She struggled for the right words before settling on, “. . . off the walls.”

Twilight quickly realized that it still didn't sound quite right.

Applejack kept her stressed thoughts to herself: This boy is bouncin' off the walls!!

Calvados galloped back and forth from the front door to the kitchen, stopping long enough to run in place and make funny noises, making himself giggle. He'd been told earlier that the house rules included no running in the house, but he hadn't listened to (or rather, hadn't retained) anypony's warnings, and continued running. Big Mac had tried to obstruct his path and face him, but that was met with more of Cal's upset cries. In the end, Granny Smith had allowed Cal to burn off his excess energy, as long as there was nothing nearby he could knock over. Applejack and Apple Bloom had attended to that.

At least, they thought so.

Giggling and galloping back into the living room, Cal inadvertently brushed a shoulder against a table next to the kitchen entrance, and it, along with the lamp on top of it, wavered around on the spot.

Applejack dove toward the table just as the lamp fell off, and caught it just before it hit the floor. Cal turned toward Applejack and saw what had happened, but didn't seem to understand that he'd been the cause; he started giggling again, thinking his big sister was just being silly. “Appajak! Is that funny?”

Applejack sighed as she put the lamp back on the table. She kept her voice down, but she could no longer stay silent, “Doggone it, Cal, I told ya not to run in the house . . .” She banged a hoof on the floor in frustration. She couldn't handle another two weeks of this. As much as she loved her brother, getting through to him was something she could never do. And she wasn't sure she could learn before something worse happened than just a broken lamp.

She turned toward Cal, and saw him sitting in front of the door, his front hooves over his ears and an upset look on his face. He seemed to have been scared of the sound of Applejack banging the floor. “Darn it all, Applejack,” she cursed herself, “you should know better, scaring yer brother like that. How sensitive he is, an' all . . .” She calmly approached Cal and took his hooves off his ears, “I'm sorry, Cal. I didn't mean to scare ya like that.”

“Enh! Noise?” Cal asked worriedly. “Noise?”

“No, it's okay. The noise is gone, I promise. It's just, I told you that you shouldn't run, honey. You could knock somethin' over, or you could trip and hurt yourself. You don't wanna do that.”

“Wan- . . . wanna do that?”

“No, ya don't. Cal, I just want ya to be safe, that's all. I don't want ya to get hurt.”

“Get . . . get hurt? I sorry . . .”

Those last two words hit Applejack square in the heart. Dr. Lyze had taught Cal how to apologize if he'd ever seen someone he thought he'd hurt. Cal had taken this to mean that anyone that looked upset to him deserved an apology, whether he was at fault or not. So he did so whenever he saw upset on somepony's face.

Applejack took a shaky breath and pulled her brother into a tight hug. Cal hugged her back, nuzzling her ear like he had done yesterday with Big Mac. He may not have had a care in the world—he may not have even been capable of it—but Applejack's worries would only get worse from here. Cal's safety took up a bulk of it, but her feelings about his behavior around others encased it like a cocoon.

She still fought off her shame from yesterday.

The Apple siblings both turned to the sound of a knock on the door. As soon as the two parted, Cal took off and hid behind the couch, occasionally peeking up over the arm.

“Oh, Cal, don't be frightened,” Applejack tried to calm him. “Just somepony at the door, is all.” She got up to answer it, and saw two Pegasi on the other side, ready to greet their friend.

“Oh, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack greeted them, “How y'all doin'?”

“Good morning, Applejack,” Fluttershy smiled. “We're here to help you watch Cal today.”

“Yeah, I know. Come on in.” Applejack allowed her two friends in; Fluttershy walked in, and Rainbow Dash hovered. “So, I guess Twilight's had a chance to talk to ya about Cal?”

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy nodded, “you don't have to worry at all. We're all ready for anything that might happen.”

Applejack tried to hide her frown. I doubt it . . . .

“Hey, there he is!” Dash exclaimed, hovering over to the end of the couch Cal hid behind, setting down, and reaching a hoof out, “Hey there, buddy! Remember me? Rainbow Dash? Ah, of course you do. I tend to leave an impression on ponies! So how's it goin', pal?”

Cal simply threw his hooves over his eyes and gave a gentle whine.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy gently admonished, “remember what Twilight said. He's not very social. You can't get so familiar with him so quickly. Let him warm up to you first, okay?” She then approached Cal and applied the same gentle tone, “Hello, Cal. It's okay. Don't be scared. I want to be your friend. Can I be your friend?”

Cal slowly lowered his hooves, but kept his eyes down as he replied, “Be your . . . be your friend?”

Fluttershy grinned. “Yes. Your friend. My name is Fluttershy.”

“Is Fah . . . is Fah-Shy?”

“Oh, you're so cute,” Fluttershy giggled. “It's okay. That's close enough.”

“Why does he do that?” Dash asked, confused. “That thing where he repeats whatever you just told him. What even is that?”

“Dr. Lyze told us about this, too,” Applejack explained. “He does it to learn more words and how to talk to ponies by imitatin' 'em.”

“That's right,” Fluttershy added, “I remember Twilight talking about this too. I think she called it 'echolalia'. Lots of autistic foals do it. Oh, b-but . . . not all of them, of course . . .”

Dash looked at Cal funny for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Hey, if it helps him learn, I won't say anything. I got weird ways of learning, too.”

“I'll check in every so often to see how everythin's goin',” Applejack declared, “and if I have to, I'll take over for ya if you need a break. In fact, I'd better do that anyway. He needs to be with family, even if we are busy—”

“Relax, AJ,” Dash assured her, “me and Fluttershy got this! Just get your work done, and we'll take care of everything.”

Applejack forced herself not to frown. I sure's heck hope so, she thought worriedly before turning to Cal, “I'll be in the fields again today, Cal. Now, you be good for Rainbow and Fluttershy.”

“And Fah . . . . and Fah-Shy?”

“Yes, be good for Fluttershy. Now, don't be upset when I'm gone. I'll be back to check on ya when I can, y'hear?”

“Y'hear? Okay . . .”

Cal then reached out and hugged his sister, and Applejack returned it. She looked over his shoulder at the two Pegasi and told them firmly, “Take care of 'im.”

Fluttershy nodded assuredly, but Dash shrugged. “Like I said, we got this! It'll be a breeze—” She stopped and turned to Fluttershy when she tapped her shoulder, and saw a serious, pleading look in her teal eyes. That look alone told Dash that this was not a trifling matter.

Dash turned back to Applejack and nodded, as well.

“Would you like another acorn, Mr. Squirrel?” Fluttershy asked politely. The squirrel chittered and nodded, and Fluttershy took an acorn from the bowl on their picnic blanket and passed it to him. Next to the squirrel, two field mice squeaked and nibbled on a block of cheese, three orioles pecked at a bowl of seed, and Winona took big bites from her dog bowl. Tank sat next to Rainbow Dash, chewing on a leaf, and Cal sat between Dash and Fluttershy. He looked excited, and was vigorously petting Angel's head, ears and back. Naturally, Angel looked highly displeased.

“Come on, Fluttershy,” Dash groaned, “it's a beautiful day out here! Bright sun, no clouds—it's perfect flying weather!”

“Now, now, nothing too awfully exciting for Cal, here,” Fluttershy advised before turning to him. “Are you having a lovely time, Cal?”

Cal giggled when Angel shook after another hard head rub. “Hee-hee! It's bunny?”

Fluttershy smiled. “Yes, Angel's a bunny. Isn't he cute?”

“Is he . . . is he cute? Awww . . .” Cal fawned over Angel, still petting him a bit too hard. After a few more seconds, though, Angel got fed up and hopped away, stopping on Fluttershy's other side and crossing his stubby paws in protest. Cal tried to follow, but Angel just kept hopping out of his reach, knocking over the bowl of acorns as he hopped.

A few seconds of chasing later, Cal began to voice his frustration, “Enh! Enh! Bunny?”

“I know, Cal, I know,” Fluttershy assuaged him, “Angel bunny can be grumpy sometimes. But he's not being mean.”

“He just doesn't want you petting him so hard, kid,” Dash added. “Ease up a little, all right?”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, it's not his fault. He doesn't understand.” Fluttershy approached Angel and attempted to coax him, “Angel, I know Cal is a little too eager. But he just wants to play with you. He wants to be your friend. Please give him a chance?”

Angel glanced at Fluttershy with an irritable glint in his eye.

“Please?”

Angel turned away.

“Pretty please with a carrot on top?”

Angel merely turned towards Cal and blew a raspberry at him before hopping away from the picnic area. Rather than be angry or offended, however, Cal merely giggled and mimicked the sound.

Fluttershy, however, was not amused; she gasped and hovered ahead of Angel, landing in his path. “Angel bunny! I'm surprised at you! That's no way to treat your friends. Especially ponies like Cal. Now you apologize to him right now.”

Angel glared angrily at Fluttershy, as if daring her to make him. Fluttershy merely glared back, dealing that silent dare right back at him. Normally, Fluttershy would have folded, but this was a situation involving a young pony with a serious condition. Fluttershy had promised herself to draw the line where Cal was concerned, and this was the time.

The battle of wills continued, with Fluttershy not budging an inch. Rainbow Dash had taken to scarfing down the acorns that had spilled from the upturned bowl as she watched the tension unfold (much to the chagrin of Mr. Squirrel). Finally, Angel pouted, hopped back over to Cal, and rubbed his head against the colt's left front hoof. He seemed contrite enough.

“Good boy, Angel,” said Fluttershy warmly before approaching Cal. “Now, remember. Be gentle with the bunny. Bunny doesn't like it when you pet him too hard, okay? Like this.” She demonstrated, gently placing her hoof on Angel's head and sliding it down his neck and back. Angel looked pleased; his foot thumped against the ground a few times at the pleasant feeling.

Cal giggled again and tried it himself, reaching his hoof out to a suddenly panicking Angel. “Remember, Cal,” Fluttershy advised, “gently with the bunny. Gently.”

“Gently?” Cal repeated, staring at Angel in fascination. “Ah bunny?” He then reenacted Fluttershy's method, gently putting his hoof on Angel's head and running it down his back.

Dash observed the whole thing, still fascinated and confused at the same time. “This is just too weird,” she blurted out.

“I know he seems strange to you, Rainbow Dash,” said Fluttershy as she guided Cal's shaky petting hoof, “but Cal has feelings, too. Even if he doesn't always show them, he has them.” She then spoke up to Cal when his petting got too hard again, “No, no, Cal. Remember, gently with the bunny.”

“Gently? Ah bunny? Awww . . .”

“Very good, Cal,” Fluttershy nodded and patted Cal on the head. Dash glanced at Cal, still puzzled, while Angel stood under Cal's hoof, alternating between smiling and grimacing at the ever-changing pressure of Cal's petting.

5 - The Flight

“Oh, but Applejack, you can't possibly believe that!” Rarity complained as she'd heard Applejack finish explaining. She and Rainbow Dash had come by for their day of helping the Apples take care of Calvados (who was at the kitchen table, drawing), but Applejack had stopped them for a lecture on her feelings on the matter.

She'd kept most of her feelings to herself, though.

“It actually feels kinda weird agreeing with Rarity on something,” Rainbow Dash added, “but I think she's right. We may not know everything, but you need the extra help, and we can give it to you! Come on, don't be such a downer!”

Applejack shook her head. “I don't know. I have a sneakin' feelin' that somethin' bad might happen. I just can't shake it. But I really think it'd be best if y'all didn't get involved.”

Rarity was insistent. “But there must be an explanation! If you'd just tell us what's troubling you, we could help.”

“I . . . I don't think so . . . .”

“AJ, what's the big deal?” Dash asked, starting to sound annoyed. “What are you so afraid is gonna happen?”

“Nothin', I . . . .” Applejack was starting to run out of excuses and assuaging comments, “I just . . . can't say for sure, okay?”

“But darling, why ever not?”

“I just can't, all right?!” Applejack finally snapped without meaning to. She realized a second too late how forceful she sounded; in the other room, Cal dropped his crayon on the table and threw his hooves over his ears, whining at the sound of Applejack's angry voice.

Applejack sighed and walked into the kitchen, rubbing Cal's back and calming him down. “It's okay, Cal, it's okay. I didn't mean it.”

Cal sat up and waved his hooves in front of his face, huffing worriedly. “Not angry?” he asked, “Appajak? Not angry? I sorry . . . .”

“No, sweetheart, don't apologize,” she assured him. “I ain't angry. My friends an' I were just talkin', is all.” She reached out to hug him, and he leaned into it, not returning it, but not resisting either. He seemed focused on the blue crayon he'd dropped; it was significantly shorter than it had been two days ago.

“Oh, dear,” Rarity fretted as she and Rainbow Dash followed Applejack into the kitchen. “My sincerest apologies, Applejack. I completely forgot how sensitive little Cal is.”

Dash glanced at Rarity, confused. “Huh? I thought that was only his hooves and ears and stuff.”

Applejack shook her head. “It's more than just feelin' and hearin', Rainbow. Cal senses when ponies are upset. That upsets him, too. It's sorta like when you're readin' one o' your 'Daring Do' books, and Pinkie Pie is messin' around and bein' too loud, and you can't focus. It's like that, but a lot worse.” She took her front legs off of Cal and turned him around to see his face. “Honey, you okay?”

“You o- . . . you okay?” Cal replied softly, mimicking his sister's accent. The others knew as well as Applejack by now that Cal's repetition of a question indicated a positive response.

“Darling, I must apologize, as well,” Rarity added guiltily. “Your sister was just a bit frustrated, that's all. I shouldn't have been prying so much. Can you forgive your auntie Rarity?”

Cal glanced between Rarity and the floor, still gently waving his hooves. “Reh- . . . Reh-tee?”

“Ooh, I'm so glad!” Rarity smiled, then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Well?” she asked her expectantly. “Don't you have something to say, Rainbow Dash?”

“What?” Dash asked, still a bit lost, until Rarity nudged her. The Unicorn gestured toward a still-shaken Cal and eyed the Pegasus expectantly. Finally, Dash sighed as she got the message. “Okay, okay . . . I didn't mean to work up Applejack like that, all right?”

“There, you see?” Rarity asked Cal, smiling. “You're not upset with Rainbow Dash, are you?”

Cal turned to Dash and repeated his glancing from her to the floor. “Are . . . are you? Raybodash?”

“There's a good colt!” said Rarity proudly, and she knelt down and nuzzled him. Put off at first, Cal giggled lightly and leaned in towards Rarity, widening the one eye closest to her and closing the other. Applejack was worried that Cal might not let Rarity get too close, but after a few seconds, she relaxed. He seemed content enough.

Elsewhere, at the same time, Spike suddenly shuddered with no explanation, almost dropping the checklist and quill pen in his claws.

Twilight noticed this as she split time between taking inventory of the stationery and reading her seventh book on autism. “Spike,” she asked, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Spike replied, slight concern in his voice, “I just . . . .” He couldn't bring himself to tell Twilight straight that his “Rarity snuggle senses” had been tingling.

Later that day, Applejack had made the tentative decision to teach Cal how to buck apple trees. Big McIntosh accompanied her and Cal to the orchards, ready to give some assistance whenever or however needed. The three of them stood before one of the smaller apple trees and looked up at the gorgeous fruits hanging in the branches; the afternoon sun glistened off the bright red skins.

“Okay, Cal,” Applejack began, “I'm gonna teach ya how we Apples harvest our apple trees. Apple buckin' is a long family tradition, it's a big part of our work here at Sweet Apple Acres, and it's just a barrel o' fun!”

Big Mac smiled and added, “Eeyup.”

Cal merely giggled at Mac's single-word affirmation, and imitated his brother, “'Eeyup'! Beemak say 'Eeyup!'”

Mac gave a soft chuckle, ruffled Cal's mane, and repeated: “Eeyup.” Cal giggled excitedly again.

Applejack smiled as well, but kept things on topic, “Okay, Cal, you ready? Watch your big sister, and do as I do, y'hear?”

Cal watched eagerly, replying with another excited laugh, “Eeyup!”

Applejack chuckled at Cal's zeal, and turned around to demonstrate her apple-bucking skills. She looked back over her shoulder, lined herself up perfectly, and bucked her back legs as gently as possible (it was a demonstration, after all). Her back hooves struck the tree and made a few lower branches shake, and three ripe apples fell from the branches and landed in the soft grass around the base of the plant.

Cal giggled even louder and stamped his hooves excitedly. “Again?” he asked mid-laugh. “Again, Appajak? Again?”

Applejack chuckled, “You like that, huh? Hold on, then . . . .” She looked back and repeated, kicking the trunk of the tree a little harder. This time, four ripe apples fell to the ground. Cal continued to laugh and stomp around and he chased after the rolling fruit. He gathered all seven apples into a pile, sat down in front of the pile, and rocked back and forth in front of it. He kept his eyes on the apples the whole time as he waved his hooves in front of his eyes.

“Uhh, Cal?” Applejack asked, trying to catch his attention. “Why don't you give it a go, kiddo?” Cal didn't seem to be listening; he was still flapping his hooves and staring at his hoard, taking a moment to periodically run a hoof over the skin of one of the apples. He seemed to be fond of the texture. “Go on now, Cal,” Applejack tried again, “your turn.” Again, Cal didn't respond.

Big Mac stepped forward and lowered his head down to Cal. “Whatcha got there?” he asked calmly, still smiling.

Cal glanced up at Mac, returning his smile. “Apples!” he squealed with glee, “Apples, apples, apples!”

Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.”

“'Eeyup'! Ah shiny? 'Eeyup'!”

“Yeah, Cal, they're shiny,” Applejack replied. She turned to Mac, and saw that they were both incapable of suppressing grins of pride. “Well, he loves his apples,” she said. “He's definitely an Apple, no doubt about it.” She vaguely felt the sense that she spoke as much to Big Mac as to herself.

“Eeyup.”

“Eeyup'!” Cal repeated, kicking his front hooves and laughing. Despite feeling glad that Cal had shown such love for the Apple family's mutual passion, Applejack was still mystified as to how such simple things could keep him so entertained, so easily.

Applejack approached Cal and attempted to lead him away from his “toys” and back to the tree. “Come on, Cal, you try,” she encouraged. “Just walk up, turn 'round, and give it a good kick.”

Cal looked back at his sister in confusion. “Good kick?”

“Yep, just like I did. Like this.” Applejack bucked the tree for the third time, the gentlest of all. Now, only one apple fell from the tree, and Cal chased after it, catching it before it could roll away.

“Got apple!” he declared triumphantly. “Appajak! Got apple!”

“Good job, sugarcube!” Applejack replied. “Now you try. Just give that tree a good buck, and you can get some apples, too!”

“Get apples?”

Applejack nodded. “That's right. Try it.”

Cal looked up at the tree and its remaining yield, then turned around, just as Applejack had done. He checked behind him, as Applejack had, but she gently moved him back, toward the tree, until he was a leg's length away. Cal then stood on three legs and kicked the tree with only his right front leg. Nothing happened.

“Try again, hon,” Applejack advised, “and be sure to use both back legs, okay?”

Cal tried again immediately, but could still only lift one leg. Once again, the buck gave no fruit. Cal huffed and tried again, this time picking up his other back leg a little, but not enough to reach the tree. For the third time, Cal's efforts were in vain.

Cal turned around and glared at the tree, as if offended that it would not cooperate. “Enh! Enh!” he started whining, turning to Applejack and grimacing in frustration. “Enh! Appajak! Want apples!”

“I know, Cal, I know,” she tried to calm him, “but you're not buckin' hard enough, honey. You gotta put all your strength into it.”

Cal turned around and tried again, this time with both back hooves (the left still didn't have quite as much impact as the right). When no apples fell for the fourth time, Cal turned back to Applejack and stamped his hooves angrily. “ENH! ENH!! APPAJAK! WANT APPLES!!”

“Cal, please, calm down!” Applejack plead desperately. “Don't start this again!”

“Is this a bad time?”

Between Cal's screams, Applejack heard a familiar voice. Turning, she saw Rarity approach her with a look of heavy concern on her face. Rainbow Dash hovered six feet above her with traces of the same look.

Applejack frowned and glanced between her friends and her fussy brother. “Matter of fact, it is a bad time,” she replied to Rarity’s question, “I'd be much obliged if y'all could come back later.”

“Oh, but Applejack, please let us help,” Rarity asked. “We'd like to be able to do something for him.” She trotted up to the squealing colt and ran her hoof through his dark-red mane; he shut himself down at first, as he usually did, withdrawing and pressing his hooves over his eyes. “Calvados, do tell me what's the matter, darling,” she asked sweetly. “Whatever's wrong, auntie Rarity will make it all better.”

“All . . . all better?” Cal sniffed before taking his hooves off of his face and pointing up at the tree and explaining his troubles. “Want apples.”

Rarity glanced up at the tree's harvest and laughed, “Oh! Is that all?” She then lit the magic of her horn, and an apple on a higher branch was encased in the same glow. Rarity used her magic to easily pull the fruit off of its branch and lower it down in front of Cal. “There you are, pet. All is well. After all, there are so many of these things about, I cannot begin to see the trouble in acquiring them—”

This only served to continue Cal's frantic display. He stamped his hooves and squealed, turning away from the offered apple.

“We're tryin' to teach him apple-buckin'!” Applejack spoke up over Cal's fit. “He wants to get some apples himself, and he's upset because he can't hit the tree hard enough.”

Big Mac glanced at Cal, his worried look not detracting from his composed voice, “Eeyup.”

“Oh . . . .” Rarity replied, crestfallen, and released her magical grip on the apple, making it drop, “. . . I see.”

“Psh! Not a problem!” Rainbow Dash landed on the ground next to Cal. “We can get those apples together, buddy! Just the two of us! It may not be the old-fashioned way,” she wrapped her forelegs around Cal's waist, “but it'll definitely be more awesome!” She then pumped her wings and carried Cal off the ground with her, lifting him ten feet in the air without so much as breathing heavily. “Okay, kid!” she called to him, “take your pick!”

Cal did no such thing. Instead, he turned, grabbed Dash around the neck and screamed at the top of his lungs. “Want down!!” he bellowed, clinging to Dash for dear life. “Want down!! Want down!!”

“Huh?” Dash looked at him, confounded. “You want down? You mean you're scared of heights?”

“WANT DOWN!! WANT DOWN!!”

“RAINBOW DASH, JUST PUT HIM DOWN!!” Applejack suddenly screamed, her fear and frustration finally reaching a breaking point. Dash, Rarity, and even Big Mac looked at her in shock. In all honesty, Applejack had shocked herself—she'd tried hard to make sure she'd never go crazy like that with Cal around.

Still reeling from Applejack's sudden anger, Dash slowly lowered herself to the ground. Cal's hooves touched earth first, and he immediately galloped to Applejack, embracing her and shaking vigorously.

“Appajak . . . .” Cal struggled to speak over his shaking. “Was scary . . . .”

“It's okay, Cal,” Applejack whispered, running her hoof over his mane, “it's okay. You're all right, honey, you're all right.” She then turned to Rainbow Dash and stared daggers at her. “Rainbow, what in tarnation were ya thinkin'?! Y'all oughta know by now how sensitive he is! I even told ya this mornin'!”

Dash struggled to reply, “I . . . I didn't know he was afraid of heights . . . I didn't think—”

“That's right!” Applejack interrupted. “Ya didn't think! It's like I keep tellin' ya, Rainbow, ya gotta keep his feelin's in mind!”

“Hey, come on, AJ,” Rainbow argued, “it was just a mistake. I'll cool it next time—”

“I think you'd best just leave.”

There was another pause, permeated only by Cal's distressed breathing. Rarity and Big Mac glanced at each other nervously as Rainbow Dash stared back at a livid Applejack. Finally, Dash responded weakly, “. . . What?”

“Just go!” Applejack demanded, still holding her little brother. “Please. I . . . I'll talk to y'all later, but please, just go.”

Dash continued to stare at Applejack, a touch of hurt now creeping into her dumfounded expression. Finally, Dash's face went from surprised to angry as she snapped back, “F-fine! I was only trying to help!” And with that, she pushed up off the ground and sped away from the orchard, just in time to keep anypony (except Rarity) from seeing a stray tear slip down her cheek.

Rarity looked forlornly at the shrinking cyan dot in the distance, then turned to the Apple siblings. “Oh, Applejack, I'm so sorry,” she offered. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I think you'd better go too, Rarity,” Applejack replied simply. “Cal's had enough today. I'd better get him inside. I'll see ya later, all right?”

Rarity glanced at the ground dejectedly before nodding. “If you insist. But if it makes you feel better, you don't have to tell me what it is you're afraid might happen.” With one more sad glance to the Apples, Rarity turned and left the orchard, stopping and turning long enough to say, “Good-bye, Cal, darling. See you soon.” Cal didn't even turn around.

Applejack took a deep breath and brought Cal's face up to meet her eyes. “Come on, sugarcube,” she said, trying to keep her voice level, “let's get you inside.”

Big Mac stepped up to Cal's other side and nodded, adding a soft, “Eeyup.”

The three Apples walked back up to the house together, with Cal staring at the ground the whole time. He took the time to look up at his sister and ask, “Appajak sad? I sorry . . . .”

“No, Cal,” Applejack replied, “don't be sorry, honey. I just . . . .” She turned away, trying hard not to let either of her siblings see her. She felt her eyes start to mist over, but she blinked back the tears. On the inside, Applejack, she reminded herself, cry on the inside.

6 - The Sky Apple

“I'd never seen her like that, you guys!” Rainbow Dash finished explaining to Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike in the Golden Oaks library. “She was angrier than I'd ever seen her! I don't think I've even seen her angry! It was so weird!” She glanced at the floor before resuming, “I was just trying to help.”

“I know, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight replied, nodding, “but it was still pretty irresponsible of you to try and take Cal flying like that. As long as you know not to do that anymore, there shouldn't be a problem.”

“I'm afraid there is a problem, Twilight,” Rarity argued, worry lining her voice. “Now, Applejack is very unlikely to talk to us after this. I do hope she can forgive us, but with what's already happened, I'm just not sure . . . .”

“Don't worry, Rarity,” Spike chimed in, “this is Applejack we're talking about here. She would never break off a friendship over one little incident. You and Rainbow Dash could go back tomorrow and apologize.”

“You think she'd let us keep coming over to help out with Cal after this?” Dash asked. “I don't know about you guys, but if it were me, I'd need a few days alone, too.”

“Maybe,” Twilight said, shrugging, “but Applejack is our friend, and she needs our help. We need to stick by her, and Cal, too. We need to help him just as much.”

Rarity sighed before replying, “I suppose you're right, Twilight. It'll be my turn again tomorrow, so I suppose—”

“Me too!” Pinkie Pie chirped, interrupting Rarity. “I get to go, too! We're gonna have so much fun with Applejack's little brother!”

“Uhh, Pinkie Pie?” Twilight stopped her. “I know you've been looking forward to this. And it's not easy to say this, but I think it would be best if you didn't go tomorrow.”

Pinkie froze, looking at Twilight strangely, as if she'd just lapsed into another language she couldn't speak. “Why is that, Twilight?” she asked. “I wanna hang out with Cal as much as you all do!” Excitement started to make her shake all over as she continued, “I still haven't asked him what his favorite color is, or his favorite flavor of frosting, or what kind of games he likes, or how many ponies we should invite to our great big 'We Love Cal' Party—” Pinkie only stopped talking when Rainbow Dash jammed a hoof into her mouth.

“That's why,” Twilight answered. “We can't take any risks with Cal. He doesn't like that much attention and over-stimulation, remember?”

Dash pulled her hoof out of Pinkie's mouth and added, “And no offense, Pinkie, but if anypony here can 'over-stimulate', it's you.”

Pinkie looked shocked for a brief moment, then looked down at the floor, looking a bit disheartened. Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder to comfort her. “Sorry, Pinkie,” she said calmly, “but I think it's for the best. You understand, right?”

There was a short pause before Pinkie Pie's spirits perked back up instantly. “Okey-dokey, Lokey!” she squeaked. “I think I know just what to do! This will be the best 'We Love Cal' party ever!” She then rocketed out of the library door, leaving a Pinkie-shaped cloud of dust behind her.

“Pinkie, no parties!” Twilight called after her. “Pinkie!” But it was too late. She'd already gone.

“Oh, dear,” Rarity muttered. “This complicates matters, doesn't it?”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, Rarity,” Spike offered, “I could go with you tomorrow. You need the extra help, and . . . .” He trailed off when he glanced at Twilight's skeptical eye pointing at him. “W-well, that, and I haven't met Cal myself, yet. A-and I'm curious about him, a-and what he's like. Yeah, that's it . . .”

Rarity smiled at Spike's offer. “Oh, Spikey darling, that's so thoughtful of you!” She caressed his head with a hoof, and Spike sighed pleasurably.

“That is nice of you, Spike,” said Twilight, “but you have to remember, Cal is autistic. He's sensitive, he doesn't always hear you the first time you speak, and he takes things in differently than you.”

“I've heard you talk about that before, Twilight,” Spike assured. “Trust me. I can handle it.”

This prompted more head-stroking from Rarity. “Oh, you sweet little thing, you,” she continued to fawn over him, and Spike sat on the floor, sighing in comfort.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash merely rolled their eyes.

***

Applejack and Apple Bloom walked on either side of Calvados as they strolled through the marketplace. Ponies were still busy preparing the town with decorations for the impending Equestrian Eclipse Celebration, and Cal looked around in equal wonder and agitation at all of the ponies bustling around him. He walked between his sisters, a bit shrunken into himself as he went.

“Hey, Cal,” Apple Bloom said to him with a smile, “see all the ponies decoratin' for the Eclipse Celebration? It's gonna be fun, ain't it?”

“Be fun . . . ?” Cal muttered as he stared at the ground. “Be fun . . . ?”

“Sure!” Apple Bloom went on. “'Cause the Eclipse Celebration is when we watch the solar eclipse! That's s'posed to be a symbol of the two Princesses bein' together again! And there's this big banner that we shine a light through to make our own mini-eclipse, and that's when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna arrive, an'—”

“Apple Bloom, remember,” Applejack interrupted, “Cal ain't as fond o' these things as you are. ’Sides, I don't think he understands the point of the Eclipse Celebration. Best not to get him riled over nothin'.”

“It's big?” Cal asked, still staring at the floor, his ears flattened to the sides of his head. “It's big?”

“You mean the banner?” Apple Bloom asked. “Yep, it'll be big, all right!”

Applejack suddenly remembered something from three days ago. Cal had said those very words in Big Mac's room that day, as he was coloring. Was that what he had been talking about? Was he referring to the banner being set up over Ponyville for the Eclipse Celebration? She remembered walking underneath it as she took Cal home the day he'd arrived; he was more than capable of remembering it the next day, so it was possible. In fact, the drawing he'd been working on since then was colored quite similarly to that very banner.

“Hello, Applejack!”

Her thoughts were disrupted by a familiar voice. Ahead of them, Applejack saw who it was: Rarity, accompanied by Spike, approached them from down the road, looking glad to see their friends. Applejack held back a sigh—she knew why Rarity would be here, and was certain it would come up fairly quickly.

“Fancy seeing you here!” Rarity greeted happily. “It's a perfectly lovely day to spend at the shopping venue, don't you agree?”

Applejack nodded, suppressing her agitation. “Yeah, I s'pose . . . look, if y'all came here about yesterday, don't get worked up about it—”

“Oh, nonsense, darling!” Rarity interrupted. “No need to fret. What's past is past. Today is a fine day to put it all behind us.” She stepped closer and lowered her head to Cal's level. “And hello to you too, precious. How are you feeling today? Better, I hope?”

“I hope?” Cal repeated, glancing at the dirt beneath his hooves. “Ah Reh-tee?”

“Oh, I'm so glad,” Rarity replied with a smile and ran a hoof through his mane. Cal just kept switching his gaze from Rarity to the ground and back. Applejack watched him the entire time, hoping he wouldn't start to get upset again.

And feeling low when she realized why she watched.

“Hi, Cal,” Spike said as he too stepped forward. “I haven't gotten to meet you yet. The name's Spike. How you doing?” Cal saw Spike approach, and once again covered his eyes with his front hooves.

“It's okay, Cal,” Apple Bloom soothed as she put a gentle hoof on Cal's right foreleg. “Spike just wants to meet ya. Don't worry, he's nice.”

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed, “no nicer dragon could be found.” She put a hoof on his shoulder, prompting a goofy grin from the dragon.

Cal's hooves slowly lowered, and he saw Spike in full. His hooves moved slowly up and down as they hung there in front of his face, but he could still see his new acquaintance. “It's dragon?” he asked quietly.

“Yep,” Spike answered with a nod and a grin, “I'm a dragon, all right. The name's Spike.”

“Name Spike?” Cal replied, his voice still low. “It's dragon?”

“Yeah!” Spike then held out a claw. “Put 'er there, Cal!” He gently took Cal's hoof and shook.

Cal started whining immediately. “Enh! Enh! Owie! Owie!”

Applejack shooed Spike away and stooped down to inspect Cal's hoof. “What's wrong, Cal? What happened? Tell me where it hurts.” Cal would only shriek and hold up the hoof that Spike shook.

“Spike!” Rarity gasped. “How could you?”

“I didn't mean it! Really, I didn't! I remember how sensitive his hooves are! I didn't even hold him that hard! I-I'm sorry!”

Applejack finished looking over Cal's hoof, then kissed it as Cal's cries started to lessen. “There, there, sugarcube,” she consoled him, “it's not that bad. There ain't even any blood. You're gonna be just fine.” She turned to her friends and sighed, consciously willing herself to stay calmer than she had been yesterday. “I reckon it ain't your fault, Spike,” she assured him, “but ya gotta remember, Cal's sense o' touch is a lot more sensitive than ya might think. He gets antsy just gettin' a mane cut.”

Spike looked at the ground dejectedly. “Sorry, Applejack. That was really dumb.” He then turned to the panicked colt, “Sorry, Cal. I didn't mean to hurt you. We can still be friends, right?”

Cal's anxiety suddenly got worse, and he ran to hide behind Applejack. “Enh!” he squealed, squeezing his eyes shut and turning away, as if from a scary movie, “Enh! It's owie! It's owie!”

“Oh, no, Cal, don't be frightened,” Rarity coaxed him, “Spike is a good dragon. He wasn't trying to hurt you, dearest. He wants to be your friend. Please give him another chance? Do it for your auntie Rarity? Please?”

Cal sniffed and glanced between Rarity and Spike, periodically glancing back at the ground. “R- . . . Reh-tee?” he said when his glance fell on her again, his eyes desperate, as if asking if he really had to.

Looking even guiltier, Spike rubbed the back of his neck with one claw, a wrinkled brow and dejected stare clear on his face. His head then perked up as he snapped his claws, as if enlightened. “I got it!” He slowly approached Cal (the colt moaned fearfully as he did), stood on his tiptoes, and stuck his nose in Cal's ear, snorting in a goofy fashion.

Scared at first, Cal calmed down when he realized what the dragon was doing, and started giggling as though he'd never been afraid. “It's ear?” he asked between giggles. “It's ear?”

Rarity seemed giddy at the scene. “Oh, that is simply precious!” she squealed in delight. “Never have I seen a more adorable sight!!” Applejack couldn't agree more; it seemed as though Spike had been paying attention to what Twilight had been studying, and knew how much Cal enjoyed a playful nuzzling of the ear. She gave a relieved sigh; things finally seemed to be turning out for the better. There may have been a long way to go before Cal's visit ended, but the scene before her reassured Applejack that there was no danger of Cal's turbulent history repeating itself.

As Cal ran a hoof against Spike's purple scales, marveling at the smooth texture, both jumped when Apple Bloom started yelling, “Look! Up there!” Applejack, Rarity, and Spike looked up, and saw a most unusual sight—a slim, silvery contrail in the sky that had taken the shape of an apple, with another contrail extending from the bottom taking the shape of a lightning bolt.

“Cal, look up!” Apple Bloom called to him. “Look up at the sky! Look!”

Cal looked up immediately, and when he saw the large sky drawing, he jumped up onto his hind legs and reached up for it. “It's apple!” he yelled gleefully. “It's apple! It's bigger, bigger, bigger!!”

“Well, I'll be,” Applejack awed at the massive sky picture. Amazed though she was, she knew that only one pony could have done this.

“Hey, guys.”

Everypony turned to see Rainbow Dash hovering toward them, her smile half-friendly, half-smug. “I see you caught that awesome drawing I did,” she continued, nodding towards it. “Just a little something I whipped up out of boredom.”

Rarity's eyes misted over. “What . . . what a lovely gesture, Rainbow Dash. To have gone to all that trouble for little Cal . . . simply marvelous, darling . . . .”

Rainbow Dash landed and walked up to Applejack and Cal, and addressed the former with a tentative look, “So, AJ . . . are we good?”

Applejack could do nothing but smile as she struggled for a reply. Finally, she simply held up a hoof, and Dash glanced at it before putting up her own. The two mares exchanged a hoof bump, and the tension between them felt lighter already. Applejack even held back the impulse to give another deep sigh.

Dash then turned to Cal and smiled. “So, kiddo. You like the apple I made for you?”

“It's apple!” Cal yelled excitedly as he dropped back down on all fours. “It's bigger!”

“Yep, and it's all yours, pal!” Dash replied with a grin. “So, is everything cool with your buddy Rainbow Dash?”

“Raybodash? It's apple?”

Dash kept her grin and gently ruffled Cal's mane. The look on the Pegasus' face proved that she felt much better than she had yesterday. And Applejack shared the feeling wholeheartedly.

“Cal,” Applejack said to get his attention, “what do you say?”

“You say?” Cal repeated, then seemed to remember his manners. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome, kiddo,” Dash replied, giving him a gentle tap on the back.

***

A few minutes later, the group left the market together, and walked back to Sweet Apple Acres, approaching Sugarcube Corner on the way. Rainbow Dash and Rarity had hung back a few steps as they walked, to give the illusion of a more relaxed setting and less stimulation for Cal. Applejack walked with her family and friends with an easy, almost carefree spring in her step. Bad vibes had been dissolved, and she felt better about Cal's visit now than she ever had. She'd even forgotten about Cal's potential behavioral problems in public, and felt that she could rest easy, knowing that he'd be perfectly fine as long as he wasn't in a particularly large crowd.

And once again, she fought the notion that this would be just as much for her benefit as for his.

“Well, just one more stop to make, y'all,” Applejack announced as they stopped at Ponyville's sweets shop. “I made a special order of flour at Sugarcube Corner, and I need to pick it up.”

“I can wait outside with Cal if you want, big sis,” Apple Bloom offered, throwing a foreleg around Cal's shoulders as he stood staring at the ground.

“Nah, that's all right, Apple Bloom,” she replied. “In fact, I'll bring him inside with me.” She stepped up to Cal and brought a gentle hoof to his face. “You wanna come inside with me, Cal? I'll get ya a cookie if you want.”

“A cookie?” Cal repeated, looking up at his sister with a gleeful grin. “Appajak?”

“Sure, hon,” Applejack assured with a nod, “you've been really good today, so I think you got somethin' nice comin'.” When Cal started stomping in place and shaking his head excitedly, Applejack calmed him, “Now, now, Cal, keep your horseshoes on.” Applejack couldn't help but feel her heart swell at Cal's excitement; the way she felt right now, it seemed like for the first time since Cal had arrived—maybe even for the first time ever—she was truly happy at having Calvados as her brother.

As Applejack and Cal walked into Sugarcube Corner, she was surprised to see the whole shop bathed in darkness. “Hello?” she spoke up, straining to see any movement or hear any response. “Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Pinkie Pie? Anypony here?”

“Enh! Appajak!” Cal fussed, upset at the darkness of the shop. “Can't see!”

“Calm down, sugarcube,” she replied, holding him close to her. “Hmmm . . . that's just plum odd . . . if the shop was closed, there'd’ve been a sign or somethin' . . .” She turned to call out to Apple Bloom, Rainbow Dash and Rarity, when she and Cal jumped at the lights suddenly coming on overhead.

And a gathering of ponies inside the shop collectively whispering, “Surprise!”

Applejack was shocked at the sudden turnout inside Sugarcube Corner. Lyra and Bon-Bon waved from the counter. Mr. and Mrs. Cake grinned as they finished setting up a table loaded with refreshments. Berry Punch stood on the other side of the table, eying the punch bowl. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle waved streamers and kicked up balloons. Surprisingly enough, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were also present; they sat off to one side, pouting as if they had been made to come today.

Pinkie Pie pushed through the surprise crowd and grinned widely and proudly. “Hiya, Apples!” she greeted them with zeal. “Welcome to Ponyville's first-ever 'We Love Cal' Party!” She pointed to a large pink banner that stretched between walls above their heads that read “We <3 Cal”. The heart in the middle had what appeared to be Cal's face painted inside.

Applejack felt her earlier relaxation vanish instantly, along with her insides. She glanced at Cal, and saw him shrink into himself and cover his eyes with his hooves.

7 - The Party

Author's Note

REMINDER: This is set before "Crusaders of the Lost Mark". So, yeah, Diamond Tiara is still a bitch.

7 - The Party

“Uhhh . . . howdy, ever'pony . . . how y'all doin'?”

Applejack briefly wondered if the amount of awkwardness in the room was directly proportional to the number of ponies in it. She found herself incapable of measuring just how awkward she felt.

The whole room prolonged a deep, cumbersome silence for a good few minutes, permeated only by Calvados' slowly-growing fussing. At last, Mrs. Cake was the first to speak up. “Um, Applejack?” she said gently. “Are you okay, dear?”

Trying to overcome her own nervousness, Applejack glanced at Cal, and saw that his agitation was not settling at all. “Uh, yeah, I'm fine,” she said, struggling to show it, “it's just . . . I didn't expect anypony to be plannin' a party . . . .”

At this, Pinkie Pie stepped forward with a huge, almost prideful grin. “Don't sweat it, AJ!” she chirped. “Your baby bro is gonna have a fun time! ’Cause it's his party, and he can have fun if he wants to!”

Applejack held back a shudder at remembering how that phrase was meant to be worded. “Pinkie,” she spoke low and through gritted teeth, “you and I need to have a long heart-to-heart when this is over.”

“It's okay, Applejack,” Pinkie replied out loud, “Twilight told me about Cal, and how he gets all jittery around crowds. Besides, party-planning is my specialty, remember? So, I made this party especially for Cal!”

Applejack was about to respond with more irritation, but she took a moment to look around the room, and she felt her anger slowly fading. It was at this point that she noticed, excluding herself and her siblings, there couldn't have been any more than ten ponies attending, all strategically placed to give the illusion of more empty space. The table was lined with dozens of delectable pasties and snacks, a large apple-shaped cake as the centerpiece. Funny-looking noisemakers resided on the table beside the food. Bunches of red balloons were anchored low to the ground for easy access. A PonyTones record played in the back, on repeat. And in the corner of the room was a most bizarre object: a lamp with different shapes cut out of the lampshade, the shapes filled by colored plastic glued to the inside. With the shade over it, it gave off a bright display of glowing color.

Seeing all of the different things Pinkie had done to accommodate for Cal took Applejack's breath away. “Pinkie, I . . .” Applejack struggled to reply, “I don't know what to say . . . .”

Pinkie stepped up closer and laid a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. “I know what you could say,” she said with an almost sneaky tone. “You could say . . . IT'S TIME TO PA—oops!” She stopped when she seemed to realize her loud voice might upset Cal (his whining had stopped increasing, but remained constant). Pinkie lowered her voice to a strained whisper, “It's time to party . . . .”

Cal glanced up at Applejack and reached a hoof up to her. “Appajak? Go home?” he fussed, rocking a little on the spot.

Applejack turned to answer, but Pinkie Pie beat her to it. “Hi, Cal!” she greeted him, keeping her distance and providing a stark contrast to her first meeting with him. “Remember me? I'm Pinkie Pie! I hope you like parties, 'cause I threw a special one just for you!”

Cal glanced between his sister and the pink mare, huffed for a few seconds longer, then sat on the floor and covered his eyes with his hooves.

“Uhh, Pinkie?” Applejack asked warily. “You do remember not to be too pushy with him, right?”

“Relax!” Pinkie replied gleefully. “I heard a lot of what Twilight said about Cal! I think I can play with him without making him a grumpyface!” She sat down in front of Cal (not too close, Applejack observed again), reached a slow hoof out, and gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder. “Hey, Cal?” she said in a playful singsong tone. Cal lowered his hooves slightly to see over them, and when he did, Pinkie Pie threw her own hooves in front of her face, waved them in front of her, and rocked back and forth on the spot.

Just like Cal.

“Pinkie!” Applejack yelled, insulted. “Whattaya think you're—” She stopped when she heard Cal start to giggle. His laughter built up in little time, and soon, he was shrieking with laughter at Pinkie's behavior.

“It's funny?” he asked, looking back at his sister once again. “Appajak! It's funny?”

Now, confusion overtook anger, and Applejack's reply made it clear, “Yeah . . . funny Pinkie . . . .”

“Funny Pinkie? It's funny Pinkie?” Cal continued laughing, his amusement increasing when Pinkie occasionally pulled her hooves away for a second to make a face, peek-a-boo style.

Seeing the complete opposite of what she was expecting, Applejack calmed down, and a fresh wave of guilt struck her hard. “Sorry 'bout that, Pinkie,” she said, head tilted down. “For a second I thought . . . well, I thought you were . . . makin' fun of 'im . . . .”

“It's okay, AJ!” Pinkie replied as she pulled her friend into a hug. “We're all here to have fun and be friends with Cal!” She released Applejack and turned back to her brother. “What do you say, Cal? Wanna have some fun?”

“Have some fun? Yes!” Cal squealed happily, his cheeks rosy and his eyes glistening.

Ten minutes into the party, Applejack showed no indication of anxiety so far. Cal was enjoying himself, and he was even slowly opening up to other ponies. Sweetie Belle sang (in a subdued voice) to the PonyTones record as Cal danced in his devil-may-care style. She, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had even taken turns sitting in front of the glowing lampshade with him and mimic his “stimming” motions, including the rocking and the waving of hooves in front of the eyes.

“Why are we doing this again?” Scootaloo whispered while Sweetie Belle took her turn.

“Because he’s my brother,” Apple Bloom whispered back, almost pleadingly. “He may be diff’rent, but I want him to make some friends. And this is the only way.”

Both fillies glanced back at Cal, who had giggled loudly when Sweetie Belle spun the lampshade around. “It’s pretty?” he asked between stimming sessions. “It’s pretty?”

Scootaloo sighed, her face worked up into a confused stare. After a while, she shrugged and said simply, “Well, any brother of yours is okay by me. Besides, I guess all that matters is that he’s having fun.”

“Well, I’m not!”

The snobbish retort came from behind and made the two fillies grimace. Turning, they saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon approach from the corner of the room they’d been brooding in since the party began. Diamond Tiara wore an obvious frown, while Silver Spoon stared at Cal in confusion, not unlike Scootaloo had moments before, but with a slight hint of revulsion.

Scootaloo scowled at the pink prima-donna. “Well, if you don’t wanna be here, why even show up?”

“Daddy made me come,” Diamond Tiara replied sourly. “He says it’s a good idea to . . . what’d he say . . . oh, yeah. ‘To promote awareness of and kinship with ponies who are different from us’.” She gave a light scoff. “Whatever that means . . . .”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo glanced at each other, both wearing frowns. Apple Bloom then glanced at her brother, who seemed to be taking a break and leaving for one of the food-laden tables, then turned roughly back to Diamond Tiara. “Now you listen here,” she growled, keeping her voice low so as not to cause a scene. “Calvados may not be like other colts, but he’s my brother. If you do anythin’ to upset him, so help me Celestia, I’ll—”

“Uhh, Apple Bloom . . . ix-nay, ix-nay . . . .”

The command came from Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom turned to look at her, catching somepony in her eye on the way. Cal was standing next to them, having taken a few cookies from the table before joining them. “Appaboom?” he said, his blank eyes showing a hint of concern. “Is angry?”

Apple Bloom’s brow furrowed anxiously as she answered, “Naw, Cal. I ain’t angry. We were just talkin’ is all. No need to fret.”

Diamond Tiara squinted a bit as she looked over Cal, seeming to scrutinize him for some reason. She stepped closer to him, making him recoil. “Why don’t you talk right?” she blurted.

“Diamond Tiara!” Sweetie Belle chastised as she approached the scene. “That’s not very nice!”

“Talk right?” Cal mumbled, staring at the floor. “Talk right?”

“Yeah. ‘Talk right’. Why don’t you?” Diamond Tiara insisted.

“Don’t you?” Cal repeated, still looking down.

“What is wrong with you? What are you, stupid?”

Sweetie Belle gasped, and Apple Bloom almost dove into Diamond Tiara, were she not being held back by Scootaloo. Even Silver Spoon looked shocked by her friend’s audacity.

Cal, however, took no offense whatsoever. “You stupid?” he repeated as if it meant nothing.

The pink filly, however, seemed to take the utmost offense. “I am not stupid!” she barked back. “Just who do you think you are?!”

“Calm down, Diamond Tiara!” Apple Bloom admonished when she finally calmed down. “He’s not callin’ ya stupid! He just repeats things other ponies say!”

“Hmph!” Diamond Tiara snorted. “Well, stop it!”

“Stop it,” Cal muttered with a hint of a giggle. Evidently, he thought Diamond Tiara was being funny.

“Grrr . . . I said stop that!”

“Said stop that!” Cal imitated, embellishing her growl for his own humor.

“STOP REPEATING EVERYTHING I SAY!” Diamond Tiara finally shrieked, her words so fast that they seemed to blend together.

This only served to tickle Cal even more. “Stop repede-bede-bede-bede-say!” he laughed, galloping in place and shaking his mane.

Diamond Tiara’s eyes began to twitch in annoyance, and she roared incoherently in frustration. “I don’t need this!” she finally resolved. “I’m leaving! Hmph!” As she stuck her nose in the air and stomped away indignantly, she continued airing out her grievances, “I refuse to ‘develop kinship’ with him! Daddy can cut my allowance down to fifty bits a week, for all I care!”

As Silver Spoon followed behind, she glanced back at Cal and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, then looked at her fellow rich filly in confusion. “Your dad gives you fifty bits a week in allowance?”

“Oh, shut up, Silver Spoon!”

As the snooty Earth pony fillies stormed out the door of Sugarcube Corner, there was an awkward silence in which the four remaining foals glanced back and forth at one another. Even some of the adults had glanced over at what was unfolding. Soon, slow grins started forming on the faces of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Uhh, Cal?” Scootaloo began. “Just so you know. That . . . was . . . awesome!!” She reached forward and hugged Cal, who recoiled at first, but adapted. “None of us have ever been able to get under Diamond Tiara’s skin like that! Way to go!”

“Way to go,” Cal giggled, and began to nuzzle Scootaloo’s ear. The Pegasus filly giggled in return, and Apple Bloom looked on in amazement.

“Wow . . . .” she marveled, “I ain’t never seen Cal get on so quickly with somepony before. He must really like you, Scootaloo!”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said, her tone dubious as her smile faded. “That was kinda mean. I mean, Diamond Tiara hadn’t done anything to us. Well . . . yet.”

“Who cares?” Scootaloo rebutted as Cal continued to sniff her ear. “That was the best thing I’ve seen all week!”

“‘Sides, he can’t help himself,” Apple Bloom explained. “He repeats ponies all the time. He ain’t doin’ it on purpose. It’s just part of what makes Cal . . . Cal. Know what I mean?”

“Knowta mean?” Cal mumbled back as he giggled with Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle glanced between the two youngest Apples with concern, while Apple Bloom merely stared at her brother. She looked as though a sudden feeling of foreboding had overcome her, and she just couldn’t shake it.

A feeling that her older sister wholeheartedly shared.

Applejack had been at ease for a while during the party, and had even gotten to a point where she could relax entirely. Unfortunately, she had not seen the incident with Diamond Tiara until she had blown up and left; this reactivated her buried instincts and put her on high alert. What was I thinkin’?! she chastised herself. Why’d I even think for a minute that nothin’ would go wrong? I shoulda seen it comin’! I shoulda been payin’ attention! I shoulda been ready for Calvados to make a scene and draw attenti—

Suddenly, she realized—or rather, remembered—that it was Diamond Tiara who’d made a scene. Not Calvados. Applejack suddenly felt the guilt strike her harder than it had all week.

“You all right, AJ?”

Applejack glanced up from her reflections to see Bon-Bon, the speaker, approaching with Lyra, both with friendly faces. Lyra wore a party hat over her Unicorn horn, and Bon-Bon was half-finished with a slice of cake.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Applejack assured, trying to save face. It wasn’t entirely false, but it still hurt Applejack, the Element of Honesty, to lie. It hurt almost as much as the guilt.

“You sure?” Lyra asked. “You look like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Come on, cheer up!” Bon-Bon beamed. “Your little brother’s having fun! That’s what this party’s about!” She stopped as she appeared to consider something for a moment. “You know, come to think of it,” she added, “I don’t think you ever talked about having another brother. How come you don’t talk about Cal a lot?”

“Uhh . . . well . . . .” she began, distressed and unsure of how to answer, “. . . well, he lives outta town, see? An’ I don’t get to see ‘im all that often. I guess I don’t think about it a lot. “I prob’ly should, though . . . .” Again, Applejack felt her stomach churn with guilt at her semi-honest wording. Still, even she could see the glimmer of truth in the last sentence.

“You really should,” Lyra replied, grinning. “That Cal is such a doll! I swear, I have never seen a cuter colt!”

“And the way he handled that little brat Diamond Tiara?” Bon-Bon added, scorn for the filly in question plain in her tone. “You must be so proud of him!”

Applejack was about to answer, when she caught a sight in the corner of her eye. Cal was now running around in small, tight circles, as if chasing his own tail. The older Apple remembered his therapist saying that this was another of his “stimming” methods, and let it be. After all, Cal was going to act however he wanted to act, and there wasn’t much to be done about it.

At that notion, the knot in Applejack’s stomach tightened.

“It sort of makes me wonder,” Lyra said longingly. “You know, what it would be like to have a foal. Bon-Bon and I talked about it, but it’s kind of a touchy subject right now—”

Suddenly, there was a beeping sound, and Bon-Bon brought her foreleg up to look at her watch. “Oh, no!” she cried as she turned off the alarm. “Oh, I’m sorry, everypony. Urgent missio—I mean, urgent business to take care of. Enjoy the party!” And with that, the cream Earth pony quickly made for the exit.

Lyra merely scoffed. “And there’s also her job, I suppose. I mean, I know work brings up a lot of problems, but it’s as if she has these problems two or three times a day. Makes me wonder what she’s doing that’s so important . . . .”

Applejack shrugged as Bon-Bon left. Her exit was punctuated by the (likely unintentional) slamming of the door. Calvados, who had stopped spinning to get another slice of cake, froze in place just as the door slammed. As he dragged the entire pan of cake towards him, the shock of the noise made him drop it, and it clattered against the floor, destroying the cake and spreading crumbs and frosting all over.

Calvados’ fussing started almost immediately.

“Oh, no,” Applejack murmured. “Please, Cal. Get it together. Please get it together . . . .”

But Cal could not. His breaths became labored and strained, his voice rose several decibels, and his movements became spastic. “It’s broke!” was the only intelligible phrase heard from him as his mood escalated.

“What happened?” Scootaloo asked worriedly.

“Oh, no!” Sweetie Belle squealed. “He dropped that cake!”

“Oh, don’t you worry, hon,” Mrs. Cake walked up to him, her tone calm and motherly. “We can make you another one. Don’t be upset.”

Cal wasn’t listening. His whining was now bordering on full screaming, and he accentuated it by stamping his hooves furiously. He glanced around the room whenever he was not screaming, but the faces of ponies looking back at him with varied reactions seemed to intensify his building meltdown. Not even Apple Bloom, swiftly making her way to him for a calming embrace, was enough to slow it down.

Applejack had seen enough.

“The party’s over!”

8 - The Banner

“What?” Pinkie asked, sounding affronted and dejected at the same time. “But AJ, I thought everypony was having fun—”

“Didn’t ya hear me, Pinkie?” Applejack scolded. “I said ‘the party’s over’! It’s time to leave, now!”

Most of their words could still be heard over Calvados’ shrill cries. He was still jerking around and pounding the floor with his hooves. Apple Bloom, still trying to hold onto him, was being shaken and jarred left and right, her eyes frantic and her grip slowly weakening.

“Cal, come on!” she yelped, trying to contain the colt’s sudden temper. “What’s wrong with ya?! I never seen ya act like this! Please calm down!”

Applejack stepped up towards her younger siblings, separating them and taking over for Apple Bloom. She wrapped her longer, stronger forelegs around Cal and began rocking with him as he shrieked and jerked around. “Shh, shh, calm down, sugarcube,” she whispered in his ear, even though nopony could hear her. “Shh, shh, calm down. It’s all right. It’s all right . . . .”

Cal’s cries lowered in volume, and his shaking lessened, but still it remained. Applejack persisted, though. She held him tightly and continued to rock him and whisper to him calmly. It was difficult to tell whose face held the most agony.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake glanced at one another, both with anxious expressions. “Umm . . . I think Applejack is right, honey bun,” Mr. Cake said.

“Hmm . . . I suppose you’re right,” she replied. She turned to the rest of the party-goers. “Everypony, I think it’s time to leave. We’ll be closing up, soon.”

The remaining attendees glanced around at each other, a mixture of awkwardness and apprehension now drowning the entire room. Eventually, Berry Punch was the first to move, filling a cup full of punch and downing it in one gulp before slipping towards the door and out of Sugarcube Corner.

“Uhh . . .” Lyra mumbled, “I . . . guess I’d better see if Bon-Bon needs anything . . . .” And with that, she was the next to leave. On her way to the door, she took regular, fretted glances at the two distressed Apples rocking together on the floor.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo approached their third Crusader solemnly. “Um, Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle said to her calmly, almost whispering it. “Is there . . . is there anything we can do?”

Apple Bloom’s eyes were blank, almost stupefied, as she stared at her elder siblings on the floor. She slowly shook her head, but did nothing else. Not a single sound escaped her throat.

“You sure?” Scootaloo asked. Again, Apple Bloom’s sole response was a wordless negative. The silence seemed to spread amongst the three of them, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo spoke no more as they carefully made their way away from their friend and out the door.

A few feet away from the struggling Cal and the whispering Applejack, Pinkie sat on the floor, staring with a look not dissimilar to Apple Bloom’s. Her eyes, however, were swimming in tears, and her mane and tail had become limp, straight, and lifeless. “I . . .” she tried to speak, but Applejack merely glanced at her, burning into her with an enraged glare. Pinkie was silenced instantly, and she sniffed as she stood, walked to the staircase, and ascended. Her wide-eyed, teary gaze remained locked on the floor the entire time.

Cal was almost silent by now, in a room now only occupied by himself and his two sisters. Even the Cakes had stepped away; they’d both gone to the kitchen to give the Apples their much-needed privacy. Aside from the occasional loud squeal and the accompanying slam of his hooves on the floor, Cal was silent in his elder sister’s forelimbs. Both of them breathed heavily, one in exhaustion and the other in frustration. The awkwardness in the room had drained away, and was replaced with a powerful melancholy.

“B-Big Sis?” Apple Bloom struggled to speak at last. “What . . . what’s wrong with him?”

Applejack did not respond. She held her brother tightly, pressed her cheek against the top of his head, and continued rocking. Her hat had fallen off long before. The whole scene had finally unlocked an ordeal from the past she had struggled to repress her entire life; against her will, it returned to her head full-force, and the guilt that had crippled her all week now had a fully-formed source.

A tear slid down Applejack’s face and sank into Cal’s mane as she held him.

All she did was take back her doll.

Applejack saw the results of her grievous mistake. The young filly could hardly believe a foal that size could knock over a dresser, break a lamp, and put a hole in the wall all in the space of ten minutes. At first, she was just annoyed by his screaming. Then, she was shocked at his naughty behavior. But once he started to break things, Applejack became scared enough to hide in her bedroom for as long as it took for the tantrum to end. She didn’t know what to do or how to stop him, and was afraid he would destroy the whole house unless he got what he wanted.

Then, her mother had stepped in and defused the situation; despite being pregnant with Applejack’s youngest sibling (the sex was still unknown), she had taken care of it with the care and finesse of a seasoned veteran of child-rearing. Wrapping her forelimbs around her littlest colt, she held him tightly and rocked with him as they both sat on the floor. Within seconds, Cal’s screaming had ceased, he had stopped pounding his hooves on the floor, and had even slipped into a peaceful slumber.

Calvados’ rage was over. For now.

Applejack stood in the living room with her mother and her sleeping brother as they both continued to rock soothingly on the floor. Her mind was a jumbled mess, and she consciously made the effort to keep from crying. At the same time, seeing the damage that Cal’s outburst had caused provided her unwillingly with a sense of helpless confusion. She didn’t like it.

She didn’t like it at all.

“Mama?” the young filly asked. “What’s wrong with him . . . ?”

“Don’t you fret, honey,” their mother assured her. “Cal is just different. He handles things differently.”

“But,” Applejack argued, “he was naughty. He took my dolly, and he threw a fit when I took it back. You always say that Apples don’t raise no naughty foals.”

“He wasn’t tryin’ to be naughty, Applejack. He learns differently. He sees differently. And he reacts differently. It’s all a part of his condition.”

Applejack found herself growing indignant at this. She and Big McIntosh had done naughty things in the past; at best, they’d get a stern talking to, and at worst, they’d get spanked. But her youngest brother gets neither of these, nor anything in between, and is instead rocked to sleep like it’s bedtime? This made no sense at all.

“But Mama, that ain’t fair!” she complained, her voice shaking with her growing rage. “Big Mac and me were taught that we can’t do naughty things! How come Cal ain’t taught that?!”

“Applejack, I’ve told you. Cal learns differently.”

“Well, can’t you teach him diff’rently?”

“Nopony really knows how, honey. I just have to do the best I can. Me and your daddy and your Granny Smith all have to do our best.”

“Well that ain’t good enough! Cal can’t do wrong and get away with it—”

“Applejack!” Her mother was firm and unyielding; she wasn’t as loud as Applejack was getting, but she was loud enough to be heard without waking Calvados. “This discussion is over.”

“But Mama!”

“I said it and I meant it, young filly. End of discussion.”

Applejack’s insides boiled with resentment. Tears bubbled over and slid down her cheeks, but her face was anything but sad. It contorted with the frustrated anger she was now about to unleash.

“No!” she screamed. “He’s just—”

No! Applejack asserted in her own mind, stopping the flashback with all her mental effort. That was different! I was just a filly! It was wrong then, and it’s wrong now! I won’t believe all that about my baby brother! I won’t! I won’t do it!!

By now, Cal had finally relaxed, and was no longer making noises. He made the occasional jerking motion, but he responded to nothing else. Applejack only went on holding him as if he were the most precious thing in the world to her. As painful as it was to admit, Applejack didn’t feel that way as strongly as she felt she should have.

Now, the guilt was being replaced with shame.

“Uhh, Applejack?” Apple Bloom finally spoke again, but much quieter. “You want any help with Cal?”

“No,” her sister replied instantly. “No, it’s okay. Just go on home, Apple Bloom. Cal and I will be right with ya.”

“Are . . . are ya sure?”

“Just go!” Applejack snapped without meaning to. “I mean, just go on home, sugarcube. We’ll be right there, okay?”

Apple Bloom frowned, hesitated, but complied. She turned and trudged toward the door of Sugarcube Corner, opened it, and stepped out. She took one last glance at her sister and brother before closing the door behind her.

And so the only two ponies remaining were Applejack and Calvados. The former hesitated herself before getting up to leave, but it felt appropriate to wait a bit longer. Whether this was because of Cal’s volatile emotions or because of her own oppressing her, she couldn’t tell.

“Oooh, that stuck-up, arrogant, mouthy little blank-flank! Just who does he think he is, talking back to me that way! Laughing at me! Mocking me! My father will hear about this!”

Outside, as the townsponies set up for tomorrow’s Equestrian Eclipse Celebration, Diamond Tiara paced back and forth in front of a merchandise stall. Silver Spoon had been listening to her fuming rant for the last twenty minutes, and was starting to get bored.

“Well, if you hadn’t messed with him, he wouldn’t have said any of that stuff,” Silver Spoon reasoned.

“Oh, what do you know?!” Diamond Tiara snarled. “That big-mouthed doofus of a colt just needs some manners taught to him! That’s no way to treat an elite like me!”

Silver Spoon pouted and turned away. This was getting ridiculous. This happened every time she had something decent to say. I’m getting a little tired of this drama, she thought spitefully.

“I’ll show him . . . .” Diamond Tiara continued to sulk. “I will show him . . . ERGH!” Finally, out of frustration, she kicked a wooden post on the stall they stood beside with her back legs, and both fillies were surprised to see the post fall off the stall and topple over.

From behind the stall, a gray Pegasus mare with crossed eyes and a hammer in her mouth hovered upwards, seeing her stall fall apart. “What happened?” she mumbled past the hammer.

At this question, the two rich fillies could only tremble and grin sheepishly.

The wooden post fell to the ground, slamming into a table on the way. A seesaw effect sent a flower pot on the table flying through the air several feet. At another table, Golden Harvest was sitting down to a glass of ice water; the pot landed on her table and knocked her water over. At the same time, Lyra and Bon-Bon, having reunited, were pitching in to help with the Eclipse setup; Lyra used her magic to lift a large stuffed pony as a prize for one of the game stands. As she passed by Golden’s table, the upended ice water splashed her from behind, soaking her rear in freezing cold water. She yelped and jumped, accidentally sending the large toy flying backwards through the air and towards an unsuspecting Alicorn and dragon . . .

“I knew I shouldn’t have told Pinkie Pie about this,” Twilight lamented as she and Spike walked through town, checking up on the Eclipse Celebration setup. “I knew she’d try to do too much. Now Cal could have a serious episode at any moment. He’ll get overstimulated, and he’ll freak out and start—”

“Whoa, whoa, Twilight!” Spike interrupted, calming her. “Look, Pinkie will figure it out eventually. She’s not stupid. I mean, is it really worth getting upset over?”

“Yes, Spike,” she replied uneasily. “It is. You see, Cal handles his emotions differently from other ponies. Autistic ponies like to be on a schedule, or are comfortable with a cause-and-effect pattern that’s constant. If something happens to disrupt that pattern, they get agitated, overly emotional, and in some cases, even violent.”

“Violent?” Spike replied. “You mean he could hurt somepony?”

“I’m not sure, Spike. And it might not happen, so it might not be that big of a deal. But Applejack has seen it before. I know she has. That’s why I’m sure she feels ashamed of—”

“LOOK OUT!”

Spike’s scream interrupted her, and it was followed by the sudden feeling of being pushed to the ground. Spike had dove into her and sent her spilling to the ground just in time to avoid some large fluffy projectile that had almost hit her from the sky.

Instead, it hit Spike.

The falling object landed on Spike and knocked him to the ground. The heavy thing pressed down on Spike’s stomach, making him belch out a jet of green flames into the sky. “Ooohhh . . .” he moaned in a daze. “No free refills . . . .”

“Oh, my gosh, Spike!” Twilight cried, getting up from the ground to help him. It was only now that she was able to see that the object was a large pony plushie, bigger than her. She lifted the large stuffed toy off of Spike with her magic. “Are you okay? Say something!”

Spike slowly pulled himself up off his back and sat up on the ground, clutching his head and his stomach in equal discomfort. “Uuugh . . . did anyone get the license number on that thing?” he quipped, sounding a bit woozy. Shaking his head quickly, he brought himself together, but caught a sight in the air above him. “Oh, no!”

“What, what is it?!” Twilight panicked, looking around. Turning to the direction Spike stared in, she saw it—the gorgeous blue “ECLIPSE CELEBRATION” banner that had been stretched over town for the last week had caught fire, as a result of Spike’s run-in with the flying doll. The flames already spread quickly, staring from the ornate circular pattern cut from the space in the middle of the “C” in “CELEBRATION”, and spreading across the artwork so that half of the word “ECLIPSE” and the first four letters of “CELEBRATION” were caught in the greenish flames.

“FIRE!!” somepony screamed.

“No, not the banner!” somepony else shouted. “It took a week to finish that!”

“Hurry, call the fire department!” another pony pleaded.

As the citizens of Ponyville rushed to have the fire put out, Twilight and Spike stared at the scene in shock. “Oh, man . . . .” Spike moaned, crestfallen. “I’m so sorry, Twilight. I can’t believe I did that. I messed up again . . . .”

Twilight reached out and hugged her friend. “It’s not your fault, Spike,” she said gently. “You couldn’t help it.” She looked up at the now-extinguished banner, and the charred black remains emitted smoke and obscured nearly the whole message. Two-thirds of the first word and the first half of the last word were all gone, and the circle cut from the middle was warped and distorted. There was no way it would work in the Celebration now.

Suddenly, something clicked in Twilight’s head, and she shivered with dread. Cal likes that banner, she thought. It’s been up there since he arrived. And now that he’s used to it being up there—

“Ohh, dear,” she muttered, hoping now that Cal wouldn’t see them taking it down.

The walk back to Sweet Apple Acres was silent for them both.

Applejack trotted briskly through the busy streets, and Cal followed closely, hiding away from the multitudes whenever possible. The former wore a stoic expression, while the latter’s usual blank eyes took cursory glances out around town, as if searching for something. He was still vaguely fussy, but it wasn’t nearly the same storm of temper he’d shown before.

Of course, he’d had to apologize soon after they’d left Sugarcube Corner.

“Appajak? Is angry?” he’d said.

Applejack hadn’t responded right away; she almost felt like she couldn’t. Eventually, she’d replied with, “No.”

“‘No’? I sorry . . . .”

At that point, Applejack’s tears had almost started up again. But she held it together. One loose tear was bad enough. From now on, she had to be strong. Not some weak, whiny little foal like she was so long ago, but a strong, take-charge parental figure.

Just like Mama, she added in her head.

Applejack was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of chatter up the road. There was a large group of ponies gathered in the middle of the road, all sounding and looking worried. “Lan sakes, what’s all the fuss about?” she asked herself, slowing her pace so that Cal could keep up easier. “Cal, stay close to me, okay?”

“Close to me, okay?”

Hearing his unique consent, Applejack made her way into the throng of distressed ponies, seeing disappointed faces and hearing voices bemoan the loss of something. Surveying the scene, Applejack had the strangest suspicion that something was missing, and the feeling of dread returned to assault the pit of her stomach.

“What happened . . . ?”

“. . . was the strangest thing . . . .”

“. . . anyone see that doll come flying . . . ?”

“. . . just don’t know what went wrong . . . .”

“. . . can’t have the Celebration without a banner . . . .”

“. . . could take days to make a new one . . . .”

“. . . might have to cancel . . . .”

Applejack heard some of these comments loud and clear, and she felt her heart disintegrate. The banner that Cal had shown so much fondness for had somehow been taken out of commission. True enough, she looked up to see Flitter and Cloudchaser hovering above the road, lowering the banner—which had somehow become charred and unrecognizable—down to the streets.

And already, Cal began fussing.

“Enh! Appajak!” he cried, reaching out a hoof to the descending banner. “It’s big? It’s big?”

“Oh, for goodness sakes, Cal, it’s called a banner,” Applejack replied with a minimum of roughness.

“Call banner?” Cal replied, still whining and reaching for it. “Enh! Call banner? It’s big?!”

“Cal, it got damaged,” Applejack explained. “They gotta take it down. We need a new one.” Fat chance o’ that happenin’, she finished in thought. She knew how long it took to make that banner, and that it wouldn’t be possible to have a new one made by tomorrow.

“Enh! No!” Cal argued, his frustration starting to rise. “Stop it! No! ENH! EEENH!!”

“Darn it all, Cal, I don’t know what to tell ya!” Applejack snapped back, her voice slightly raised. “The banner’s damaged! It ain’t workin’ no more! I can’t fix it! You’re just gonna have to live with it!”

At this, Cal released an ear-shattering squeal that half-silenced the crowd around them.

“Stop that!” Applejack scolded.

Cal screamed again, louder this time.

“Cal, I mean it, stop it!”

Cal’s third scream now had the entire crowd focused on the two of them. Before Applejack could admonish him again, Cal ran to the nearest merchandise stall, jumped up onto his hind legs, and slammed his forehooves against the wood over and over again, creating small impressions in the wood with each strike.

“NO!” Applejack yelled, rushing after him. “CAL, NO! DON’T DO THIS AGAIN!” She sat down and grabbed him with her forelegs, pulling him away from the stall and attempting to rock with him again. This time, it didn’t work; Cal’s agitation had reached critical mass, and a simple rocking motion would not help him this time.

Cal threw his head back several times to shake himself free, almost hitting his sister each time. On his fourth attempt, the back of his head slammed into Applejack’s nose, making the larger pony grunt in pain, release him, and fall backwards onto her back. Applejack gripped her face in agony; she’d felt a break, and was sure it would start bleeding in seconds. Meanwhile, Cal went right back to pounding relentlessly against the wood of the stall—he plowed a large hole in the hollow structure by the time he was done.

And the ponies in town stared in awe all the while.

9 - The Meltdown

“Well that ain’t good enough! Cal can’t do wrong and get away with it—”

“Applejack!” Her mother was firm and unyielding; she wasn’t as loud as Applejack was getting, but she was loud enough to be heard without waking Calvados. “This discussion is over.”

“But Mama!”

“I said it and I meant it, young filly. End of discussion.”

Applejack’s insides boiled with resentment. Tears bubbled over and slid down her cheeks, but her face was anything but sad. It contorted with the frustrated anger she was now about to unleash.

“No!” she screamed. “He’s just a little brat! An’ you’re treatin’ him better than me!” she screamed, making Cal stir in his mother’s grasp. “An’ I’m your daughter! An’ all ‘cause Cal has some kinda disease? It ain’t fair, Mama! And how does an Apple get that kinda disease anyway? Apples are strong! We don’t get messed up in the head like that! Only he does, an’ it makes him bad!”

“Applejack! You hush with that kinda talk this instant!”

“No! It ain’t fair! You’re treatin’ him better than an Apple, but he ain’t no Apple! He ain’t even a pony! I don’t know what he is, but he ain’t one of us! He ain’t never gonna be one of us! It ain’t fair, Mama! It ain’t fair!” The rage was present, but it had been offset by the sobs. Little Applejack’s eyes swam in tears as she screamed, and when the filly blinked them away, they returned quickly.

Applejack would have continued, but she found herself swept up into the forelegs of somepony behind her. Her heart plummeted; she knew she was in trouble now. After all that screaming and crying and insulting her brother, she knew she was going to get it this time, and the tears flowed more heavily.

“Calm down, sugarcube,” came the deep, soothing voice of Applejack’s father. “I know you’re frustrated. Believe me, I get it. Your Mama an’ I don’t understand your baby brother, neither. But not understandin’ somethin’ means ya gotta try to. Don’t go dismissin’ your brother just ‘cause ya can’t explain him. He’s your brother, Applejack. Ya can’t choose your family. You can only love ‘em for who they are.”

“B-but Daddy . . . what’s wrong with him . . . ? I just don’t get it . . . .”

“I know, baby, I know,” her father replied, still soothing. “He’s gonna be hard to teach, and he might not be able to take care of himself without us around. We need to be able to give him the schoolin’ he needs.” He turned her around to face him and looked deeply into his daughter’s eyes. “Ya gotta promise me somethin’ Applejack,” he spoke earnestly. “If somethin’ ever happens to your Mama an’ me, or to Granny Smith, you gotta be the mare of the house. You know that, right?”

Applejack sniffed, but replied, “Y-yes, Daddy.”

“So if that happens, ya gotta make sure the Apple family stays strong. It might not always be easy, but you do what ya gotta for family, don’t ya?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“So, if it happens, ya gotta make sure Cal can get the attention he needs, from ponies who know more than we do. We can’t do for him like he needs, and we can’t do for him at all when we’re gone. So if we ain’t around no more, that falls on you, honey. Do for Cal what we couldn’t do, if you can. Okay?”

Applejack hesitated, wiping the wetness from her face as she glanced between her father’s solemn eyes and the floor. “Well . . . .”

“Applejack, we need you to be able to handle this. Apples take care of family. Don’t ever forget that.”

Sniffing again, Applejack nodded, finally replying, “Yes, Daddy. I-I’ll try.”

“That’s my big filly.” He helped her wipe the remnants of tears from her eyes. “Now, be strong for your dear ol’ Dad, okay? Cryin’s okay, but there’s a time for it. An’ that time ain’t now. Now, ya gotta be strong, and cry on the inside, y’hear? Cry on the inside, and be strong for Daddy.”

“Cry on . . . .” Another sniff stopped Applejack, but she slowly gathered herself. “Cry on the inside . . . .”

“That’s right, Applejack,” he replied as he brushed his hoof over her blonde mane to relax her. “Be strong, sugarcube. Be strong . . . .”

Ponies on either side of the road continued to stare as Applejack lumbered through town, dragging a kicking and screaming Calvados behind her. Nearly breaking Applejack’s nose (by accident, of course) and bashing a hole in a wooden stall had done nothing to assuage this fresh rage. Having to walk on three legs and having no dependable grip on her flailing brother only exacerbated the situation for the elder Apple. As she stumbled down the dirt road, she was reminded of the apt terminology that Dr. Anna Lyze had given her for these turbulent displays—“meltdown.”

“What is going on?”

“Gracious, that colt is throwing some kind of fit!”

“Why isn’t Applejack doing anything about it?”

“Yup, bad parenting, right there.”

“He wouldn’t act like that if you break out the belt every now and then . . . .”

“Nonsense! That kid should be kept at home for his own safety!”

“You mean ‘our’ safety . . . .”

Each judgmental word and presumptuous phrase was a minute, yet agonizing stab in Applejack’s heart. They don’t know him, she thought resolutely. They don’t know what’s goin’ on. They ain’t done any research, like Twilight did. They know even less about autism than I do . . . .

Cal continued to scream and flail as Applejack struggled to keep her grip over him. The struggle to keep her grip over her temper was even more difficult.

“Someone shut that kid up!”

“Jeez, what a brat!”

“There’s no way in Tartarus my colt get away with throwing a tantrum like that.”

“Never should have been let out of the house—”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!”

Applejack hadn’t even realized she’d spoken. She wasn’t aware that her voice had overwhelmed even Cal’s, and now, everypony in town seemed to turn their attention to her. She had even let go of her diminishing hold over Cal.

Now, it was Applejack’s turn to melt down.

“Don’t any of y’all even dare thinkin’ about judgin’ me, or him!!” she screamed fit to make the whole town listen. “You ain’t never had to deal with a kid like Calvados before! You think you know everythin’ about what’s goin’ on?! Y’all don’t know a doggone thing!! He ain’t misbehavin’! He ain’t a brat! And he ain’t some kind of circus freak! He’s my baby brother! And he’s autistic! He don’t realize what he’s doin’ is wrong! He’s upset and don’t know how to handle it! Y’all can call it what you want! It’ll only go to show you’re just plum ignorant! Y’all can say what y’all want about me, but I’ll be darned if you go spewin’ your idiot words all over my baby brother! He’s an Apple, and he’s family! And I won’t let none of y’all treat him any worse than he’s already had!!”

By now, the entire town, perhaps all of Equestria, was stone still and silent. Even Calvados had stopped crying by this time. Applejack’s legs quivered with rage beneath her, her breathing was quick and heavy, and she was so disoriented from her own screaming, she could hardly see clearly. Every look she cast at another pony caused the crowds to stir slightly and mumble amongst themselves in short bursts. They acted as though Applejack were the freak now.

Good! To heck with ‘em! Applejack’s rage continued mentally. Better they start gawkin’ at me than keep hurtin’ my brother!

“Come on, Cal, let’s go home,” Applejack spoke low, reaching out to Cal and pulling him along. It got easier to lead him along now.

“Go home?”

“Yes, go home . . . .”

The service went as well as could be expected. But the rain only served to make it more obvious how painful this would be.

As the two coffins were lowered into the Apple-oosa Cemetery, everypony showed different degrees of misery. The entire Apple family had turned up, flooding the graveyard with ponies who were all sniffling, sobbing, and hurting. Aunt and Uncle Orange held each other tightly. Braeburn took off his hat and pressed it to his chest. Goldie Delicious mopped the tears from her eyes with her favorite hanky.

Applejack stood, blank-faced, as her parents’ coffins descended into the dirt. She had just gotten her cutie mark, and had just welcomed her baby sister, Apple Bloom, into the world. She’d felt as though all were right with the world, that nothing could go wrong. Even Calvados’ violent meltdowns were getting better. And now, it was all coming down.

She’d never even gotten to say goodbye.

Off to one side, Granny Smith was holding an infant Apple Bloom under a sturdy black umbrella; the infant was the only Apple to turn up (aside from little Babs Seed, who was about the same age) who knew nothing of what was happening. Next to them, Big McIntosh had his left leg draped over Calvados’ shoulders; the elder brother’s eyes shone with tears, and his mouth shook slightly. Cal showed the same blank face that Applejack had, but for a different reason.

“Beemak?” he muttered, looking up at his older brother. “Mama and Daddy?”

At this, Big Mac could only hold Cal tighter.

“Beemak? Mama and Daddy? Is coming?”

Mac grimaced in response. He knew—they all knew—that this would happen eventually. Mac held Cal close and shook his head slowly in the falling rain. “Nope,” he muttered softly.

“Is Mama coming?”

“Nope.” Mac’s tears started to fall.

“Is Daddy coming?”

“Nope.” A moment’s hesitation this time. Mac’s breaths began to come out in sobs.

There was a pause after Mac’s last answer. Finally, Cal’s voice went off again. There was no question of where his parents were. There was no question of why they weren’t coming back. There wasn’t even an angry or sad shout of denial, begging Mac to say something other than “Nope”.

It was a sudden, shrill scream.

Goldie Delicious dropped her hanky and turned toward the noise, startled. Soon, the entire gathering followed suit, just in time to hear another scream from Calvados.

“Cal, calm down, honey,” Granny Smith tried to coax him. “I know it’s hard, but time heals ev’rythin’—”

But Cal would have none of it. He released a third high-pitched squeal, this one making Applejack’s ears hurt. His screams echoed all throughout the Apple-oosan desert, only slightly muffled by the rain. Now, Cal was stomping in place furiously and shaking his mane back and forth. “Mamaaaaaa!!” he screamed. “Daddyyyyyy!!”

Now, the stirring had begun, and the whispers soon joined in. Applejack was afraid of this. Only a few members of the Apple clan outside the immediate family had ever met Cal, and they didn’t understand him any more than she did. She could only imagine the reactions from those who’d never met an autistic pony in their lives.

One more high-pitched screech later, and Granny Smith leaned over to Big Mac, keeping a tight hold over baby Apple Bloom. “Mac, hon,” she asked quietly, waiting until Cal finished another loud scream before continuing, “could ya take the little ‘un back inside?”

“Eeyup.” Mac nodded, took Cal by the foreleg, and tried to lead him away from the service. Cal struggled against Mac’s grip, and began flailing his legs and screaming up at the sky. The water running down his face could easily either have been rain or tears. “I’m sorry, Cal,” Big Mac could just barely be heard over the rain, and not at all over Cal’s screams. “I’m sorry . . . .”

“WANT MAMAAAAAAA!! WANT DADDYYYYYYY!!”

As Mac kept leading him away, Applejack looked at her two brothers over her shoulder, and suddenly, she felt herself overwhelmed with contempt. A fiery anger rose up in the pit of her stomach just at the mere sight of her kid brother’s flailing, at the sound of his shrieking. The water on her face was far too warm to be rain.

What she said next, she never thought she’d regret:

“I’m glad Mama and Daddy never have to deal with you anymore. You’re a disgrace to the Apple family.”

It was a whisper, lost in the cold Apple-oosan rain. Nopony heard her say it. But it would be a statement that would change Applejack’s life forever.

The front door opened, Applejack and Calvados stepped inside, and they were both safe at home—the former from the stinging judgments of others, and the latter, from himself.

I deserved every word.

As they’d reached Sweet Apple Acres, that memory had slipped, unbidden, into Applejack’s mind once again. She remembered the rain. She remembered the overpowering melancholy. She remembered Cal’s piercing shrieks like thundercracks across the gray Apple-oosan skies.

But worst of all, she remembered the guilt. The guilt she’d been hiding for days. The guilt that lent itself to her silent self-castigation here and now.

I deserved every word they said.

Cal had expended his meltdown by the time they’d walked in the door; it had wound down to the occasional squeal once they’d reached their own land. He now spent his time running around in tight circles across the floor, one of his usual “stimming” practices. Applejack didn’t even leave the doorway. She merely closed the door behind her and sat down on the hard wooden floor. She leaned back against the door behind her, eyes wide and still and staring straight ahead. There was nopony but the two of them in the room, but there could have been fifty other ponies in the room, and the Earth mare wouldn’t have known the difference.

They weren’t even really talkin’ about me. They saw Cal meltin’ down, and they reacted. They called me a bad parent. They said I oughta discipline him more. They think I never shoulda let him outta the house. How can they be so wrong, but so right at the same time?

I knew this was a bad idea. I knew I never shoulda brought Cal back home. Now, all of Ponyville just got a look at real Apple family values for the first time.

At last, the real secret of the Apple family was out.

“Appajak?”

She heard Cal’s voice shake her away from her thoughts, and she turned to him. “What is it, Cal?”

“Is angry?”

Another jab in the heart. But Applejack kept it together. Be strong. Cry on the inside, and be strong. For Daddy . . . .

“No, sugarcube, I’m not angry.”

“Not angry?”

He was almost fishing for reassurance now, as if he desperately needed it. He wasn’t the only one who did.

“I promise you, honey, I am not angry.”

She hoped he would just apologize, as he usually did, and just be done with it. By now, she was going through the motions. She just wanted it to be over before something happened that she couldn’t control.

What she heard next made it all moot.

“Was I bad?”

Applejack felt her heart throb with pain again. It wasn’t just a jab; it felt crushed under the world’s most powerful vice. Her legs gave under her, and she dropped to the floor. Her tears flooded her eyes, and she buried her face into her forelegs. The time for “crying on the inside” was over.

Applejack sobbed. She sobbed for what could have been seconds or days. She didn’t bother keeping track. She didn’t have the capacity to care. All that mattered was the white-hot explosion of emotion that had suddenly burst forth from her, rending her asunder inside and out. Every sob was another squeeze of that world’s most powerful vice around her heart, superheated to the hottest degree. Every tear felt like an ineffectual piece of fallout from this eruption of guilt and misery.

Every excuse she’d ever used in her life crumbled to dust right before her mind’s eye. I was just a foal. I was upset, and wasn’t thinking straight. I was grieving. I didn’t understand like I do now. I didn’t bother to research. Nopony knew what autism was back then, and no little filly could understand even if they did . . . .

The excuses were gone. And without them, Applejack felt so vulnerable, so weak.

And so wrong.

“I’m the disgrace . . .” she murmured through her cries. “Not Cal. It’s me . . . I’m the one you should be glad to be without . . . I’m sorry I let you down, Mama and Daddy . . . I don’t deserve to be an Apple . . . I don’t deserve to be your daughter . . . .”

“Appajak sad?” Cal whined slightly and crept closer, patting her gently on the head. “I sorry . . . .”

“No,” Applejack said firmly and stood up, wiping the moisture from her face. “No . . . don’t you say that, Calvados. Don’t ever say that. Don’t ever be sorry for who you are, you hear me? It’s not your fault. It’s not . . . it’s n-not . . . .” She couldn’t go on. The pain was too much. She swept Cal into her forelimbs and hugged him tightly. Having felt so numb and lifeless for the past few seconds (minutes? hours?), feeling Cal’s warm fur made her feel again. As if she’d been trapped in a strange black void for decades, and his touch brought her to life again. The life she remembered, took for granted, tossed aside in a fit of indignant grief.

I love you, baby brother. And I never wanna let you go. Ever again . . . .

“Appajak? I sorry . . . .”

“It’s . . . not your . . . f-fault . . . .”

10 - The Reunion

Applejack held her brother tightly, crying into his fur and muttering her apologies for everything, to anypony who would listen. She shook and jerked in place and held Calvados for dear life, caressing his mane, breathing him in, as if trying to recapture all the lost moments they never had together. Rather than repel the guilt she knew she deserved, she embraced it, let it wash over her, drown her, properly punish her for all of her wrongs.

“Appajak sad?” Cal muttered wonderingly, almost confusedly. “I sorr—”

“I’m sorry, Cal,” she finally spoke up through her weeping. “I’ve been treatin’ ya so terribly. Hidin’ ya away like you’re some kinda freak . . . keepin’ you a secret from all my friends . . . all embarrassed like you were anythin’ less than a real Apple . . . I’m the worst big sister in the whole world . . . Mom and Dad would hate me for this . . . .”

“No, they wouldn’t!”

Startled out of the embrace, Applejack broke away from Cal and looked out to see her family, reunited in the living room with them. Apple Bloom stood in front, with Granny Smith and Big McIntosh on either side of her.

“Mom and Dad wouldn’t hate ya, Applejack!” Apple Bloom continued. “I didn’t get to know ‘em, but I know they’d never hate you! You promised to do everythin’ ya could for Cal, and you did! You got him to a great school! You’ve got him visitin’ family! And best of all, he’s made so many new friends! I mean, you shoulda seen him playin’ with Scootaloo today!”

“The little sprout’s right,” Granny Smith added, nodding. “Cal wouldn’t be the foal he is without ya, honey. Why, just him bein’ here has made him the pride of the apples!”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac assured, a wide, warm grin on his face, making Cal laugh.

“Know what, Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked, walking up to her and Cal excitedly. “‘Cause of everythin’ you’ve done for Cal, you’re not only not the worst big sister in the world . . . you’re just about the world’s greatest big sis!”

“Big sis!” Cal repeated, giggling in elation and mimicking Apple Bloom’s accent.

Applejack could not smile, even at the heartwarming sight of her supportive younger siblings. “But . . .” she struggled, “but what’s the difference? It’s like . . . it’s like he ain’t learned nothin’ since he was last here . . . I never shoulda—”

“It’s more than jest the special schoolin’, dearie,” Granny Smith interrupted her, “if’n ya can call it that. Yore baby brother ain’t judged by what he learned at some school. He’s judged by his own character. An’ case ya didn’t cetch it, he’s jest ‘bout the sweetest li’l thang ya ever did meet!”

“Yeah! He sure is!”

“Eeyup!”

This made Applejack think for a moment. They had a point. In fact, at Pinkie’s ill-fated soiree an hour earlier, she remembered Lyra and Bon-Bon’s kind words for Cal. How he was so adorable and how he’d handled himself before his meltdown: he’d been something of a hit. And her friends adored him, and were willing to do whatever it took to welcome him to their town.

“And I guess he did learn somethin’ at school,” Applejack added as she watched Cal sit on his haunches and flap his hooves before his eyes, not a care in the world. She’d thought back to every incident that had happened since he’d arrived—whether he’d made it occur or not, he’d always apologized. “He learned to use his conscience . . . .”

Granny Smith and Big Mac approached, and the elder mare put a wizened hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “These thangs take time, hon,” she said deeply. “He may not seem like he’s learnin’, but he’ll get there. I promise ya that.”

“Eeyup,” Mac concluded, nodding.

Applejack glanced between them both, and finally, her smile began to take form. “Thanks, y’all,” she said poignantly. “You’re the best family a mare could ever get. I just wish I could do more . . . .”

“Ya already do, apple dumplin’,” Granny Smith assured. “Ya already do.”

“Eeyup.”

“Applejack,” Apple Bloom called out, “Twilight and the girls are here!”

Applejack turned back towards the door, and saw that, surely enough, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike, and a sniffling Pinkie Pie were walking through the door.

Applejack’s smile widened. “Howdy, girls,”

Cal, instead of running and hiding as he usually did around visitors, gasped in sheer delight. “Is Fah-Shy!” he squealed and ran to Fluttershy, his face luminous with a grin of ecstasy.

“Hello, Cal!” Fluttershy greeted him back and threw her forelegs open wide to hug him. They parted quickly, and they nuzzled their noses together, with Cal opening one eye wide as he did so. “Ooh, you’re such a cutie!” she fawned, giggling when they separated.

“Is bunny coming?” Cal asked excitedly. “Is bunny cute?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Cal,” Fluttershy admitted, crestfallen. “Angel bunny didn’t come with me today. Maybe next time, okay?”

Before Cal could be upset, a bright light went off in the room, and Cal turned to see Twilight firing off a series of sparkly lights, just as she had three days before when they’d formally met. Cal could only smile wider. “Is Twileye! Is sparkles!”

“Hi, Cal,” Twilight greeted him. “I remember how much you loved these, so I came prepared. You ready?” And she released another cloud of beautiful sparkling lights, at which Cal laughed in exhilaration and started flapping his hooves.

“Yep, Twilight’s magic is pretty cool, huh?” Spike said suavely, stepping up to the fun-loving colt.

“Is dragon!” Cal greeted him happily, then stepped up and pressed the side of his head to Spike’s face, his giggling increasing.

The ponies were confused at first, but not when Spike obliged with the greeting he’d given Cal when they’d first met. Snorting and sniffing, he dug his reptilian snout into Cal’s ear, and Cal’s laughter heightened in pitch.

“Oh, now be careful, Spike,” Applejack cautioned. “Remember what happened last—” She was interrupted when Spike held up his claws in front of him to calm her—they were covered with thick, fluffy gloves.

“I took the liberty, darling,” Rarity informed. “Fear not. Your precious brother could not be in safer claws. And he looks just so adorable in them, if I do say so myself!”

Cal turned away from Spike and looked at the Unicorn’s proud face, and his glee expanded. “Is Reh-tee!”

“Yes, Calvados!” Rarity greeted him, hugging him as soon as he approached. “Oooh, auntie Rarity missed you so much, pet! I was so worried about you!”

“Nah, no need to be!” Rainbow Dash interjected, hovering over the two. “This little guy’s tough. He went flying with me, after all!” Dash then set down before Cal, lay down on the floor, and kept her wings tightly folded at her sides. “Come give your buddy a hug!”

Cal went starry-eyed. “Is Raybodash! Has got apple, and it’s bigger, bigger, bigger!”

“You betcha!” Dash laughed as he threw himself into her for a hug. “And I’ll make another one for you anytime you want, kiddo!”

As Applejack watched on, she began to tear up. Apple Bloom’s earlier words about how Cal had made many new friends were true; her friends were now his, and they cared for him just as they did for her. There was no doubt about it—autism or no, they would easily have made him one of them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack saw movement, and turned to see Pinkie Pie approach her, her smile shaky and her eyes glistening. She held up a tray between her hooves and on it was a series of cleverly-made cupcakes. Each one was made with golden-yellow cake, and was decorated with huge, adorable candies that looked like hazel eyes. The tops were decorated with rich, dark-red frosting, so that each one looked like a miniature representation of Calvados himself.

Pinkie sniffled again before she spoke, “I hope you’re not still mad at me . . . .”

Now, it was Applejack’s turn to tear up. She took the tray away from Pinkie and set it down gently on a side table. She then jumped onto her fellow Earth pony for a tight hug. “Thank you, Pinkie,” she said, her voice breaking slightly. “You tried your hardest for Cal. What happened back there wasn’t your fault. And I’m sorry I made you feel that way.” She parted from Pinkie and addressed the rest of the gang, “And I’m sorry to all y’all, too. I’ve been downright unbearable. Always comin’ down on ya for gettin’ too close to Cal or upsettin’ him. Being overprotective, when you were just tryin’ to help . . . I oughta be ashamed of myself . . . I coulda ruined our friendship that way . . . .”

“Don’t be ridiculous, AJ,” Twilight chuckled. “Nothing can ruin our friendship. That’s why we helped you and Cal to begin with. Because we wanted to be there for him, and for you.”

Applejack felt her heart swell at Twilight’s words. The wonderful feeling only got better as she looked around the room at her friends and family. As weak and broken as she’d felt before, seeing everypony in her life that meant the most to her gave her a new resolve. Nothing could have made her stronger.

Or more sure that Mom and Dad are proud o’ their little Apples. All of ‘em.

“Appajak! Appajak!” Cal yelled out, drumming his hooves beneath him and grinning wildly. “Look, look! It’s Twileye, and Fah-Shy, and Raybodash, and Pinkie, and Reh-tee! It’s your friends?”

Applejack aimed a warm glance at her brother. “Yes, sugarcube,” she replied. “They’re my best friends.” And I wouldn’t have it any other ol’ way. ‘Specially with a buncha friends who’ll accept my baby brother for who he is.

“Group hug!”

The group all turned to Spike with varying degrees of skepticism. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with his gloved claw as he concluded, “Ehehe . . . never mind.”

“Aww, come here, ya little softie!” Applejack said as she reached for the little reptile and pulled him in for a hug. Soon, Pinkie Pie jumped in, followed by Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy. When Apple Bloom joined in, the massive group hug was complete, and Applejack felt like the luckiest mare in the world.

I’m so proud to have friends and family like this. I was a fool, thinkin’ I was in this alone.

“Appajak!” Cal called out. “Appajak! I fix? And the big and blue? And I fix?”

That’s when the group hug dispersed, and everypony started taking cupcakes from Pinkie’s tray. “What’s that, hon?” Applejack replied. “Oh, the banner, right.”

“The banner? And I fix?”

“No, Cal, ya don’t have to fix anything. Besides, you couldn’t fix that banner. We’d have to make a new one.”

“Make a new one?” Cal asked eagerly. “Be right back!” And with that, he rushed quickly to the staircase and out of sight.

The group watched him go, befuddled at this sudden departure. “What in blue blazes was that all about?” Applejack asked, scratching her head.

“I dunno,” Rainbow Dash replied, shrugging. “But he sure seems like he can do something about the mess that’s going on in town right now.”

“He would be the only one,” Rarity added dejectedly. “The Eclipse Celebration is tonight, and that banner is the centerpiece of the festivities! There’s no possible way we could have another one ready before the party starts!” At this, Spike sighed guiltily, looking down on the floor. “Oh, but Spikey, darling, you mustn’t blame yourself!” she implored, stepping up to him and touching a hoof to his back. “You couldn’t help yourself! Besides, you were protecting Twilight! You’re quite the hero, you know!”

Spike glanced back up at Rarity, a faint smile on his face as her words sunk in. “Thanks, Rarity,” he responded, blushing. “I guess I was pretty good today, considering all that, huh?”

“A true gentleman,” Rarity asserted, and Spike hummed with pleasure as she proceeded to stroke his scales gently and caressingly.

“Well, I suppose we could just carry on without it,” Fluttershy suggested. “As long as we all have fun and make sure everything else goes as planned, we can make it work out in the end. Applejack, maybe you could—”

“Hold on, Fluttershy,” Applejack stopped her, holding up a hoof. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go out there tonight. Not after what just happened.” She closed her eyes and heaved a deep sigh. “I made a darn fool o’ myself out there. And there ain’t no way them ponies out there will accept Cal now—”

“On the contrary, “Applejack,” Twilight intervened, “you may find them quite a bit more agreeable than you last left them.”

“Huh? Wh-whattaya mean, Twi—”

“We thought we’d do a little damage control after Cal’s meltdown,” Dash explained further. “You know, letting everypony know what just went down and why you blew up the way you did.”

Fluttershy nodded. “They were all acting very rude. It’s not polite to talk behind ponies backs, you know. So, we all pitched in to try to make everypony understand what they were doing and saying—”

“And you shoulda seen Fluttershy!” Dash interjected. “She was on point! Layin’ down the law! She was all like ‘Calvados is a good pony, and don’t you ever talk about him like that again!’ I mean, not quite that intense, but still, she spoke up more than any of us! It was pretty epic!”

At this, Fluttershy could only blush and hide her face under her mane. “Oh, please . . . it wasn’t . . . that good . . . .” Beneath her mane, the group could easily hear a soft, excited “squee”.

“The point is,” Twilight concluded, “that we all explained what autism is and what it does to ponies like Cal. So, if you ever take Cal out again, they’ll know what’s going on, and may even know how to help you out.”

Applejack’s shock overwhelmed her, and her mouth slowly dropped open. “You . . .” she started, hardly knowing how to continue, “. . . you girls really did that . . . for Cal?”

Pinkie Pie stepped up next to Applejack and squeezed her tightly in a hug. “‘Course we did, AJ!” she squeaked joyously. “‘Cause we’re your friends! And we’re Cal’s friends, too!”

Aww, these girls, Applejack said to herself, feeling ecstatic tears start building up again. These girls . . . .

“Hey, speaking of Cal,” Dash remarked, “he’s been gone for a while, hasn’t he?”

“Goodness, you’re right,” Rarity agreed. “I do hope he’s all right up there.”

“Me, too,” said Twilight, her brow furrowing. “We couldn’t have scared him away. We were having such fun together. Of course, he does tend to get—”

“Overstimulated,” Applejack said it at the same time as Twilight. She continued alone, “Yeah, you’re right. He probably just went up to rest awhile—” She was cut off by the sound of hooves thundering down the stairs in the distance, and seconds later, Cal returned, a sunny smile on his face and a large stack of construction paper in his mouth.

“Mmpmmdmmk!” Cal mumbled with his mouth crammed full of paper. “Mmph mmnmm? Mmpmmdmmk! Mmph mmnmm?”

Applejack chuckled as she replied, “Cal, honey, I can’t understand what you’re say—”

“He said, ‘Applejack, it’s banner’?” Pinkie Pie translated. Everypony in the room turned to her, looking bewildered. “What?” she responded. “I speak fluent ‘mouthfull’!” She accentuated this declaration with her usual squeaky-toy grin.

Cal then set down his papers and began to push them around the floor. “It’s banner, Appajak!” he insisted. “It’s banner!”

Applejack sighed, “Cal, not now, hon. Besides, you’re makin’ a mess . . . .” She trailed off as she saw that color of each paper was the same. The same color she’d seen him use several times before. The same color as the very item he’d been so excited to see since coming to Ponyville.

“Is . . .” Twilight began, sounding amazed, “. . . is that what I think it is?”

“Gracious,” Rarity mumbled breathlessly. “It’s absolutely stunning . . . .”

“Whoa!” Spike exclaimed. “He’s good! Like, some kinda genius!”

When Cal finished laying out all of the papers flat across the floor, the complete spread stretched from one end of the living room, in the back, to the other, almost reaching the front door. It was colored the same deep blue—in fact, the whole thing may as well have been a spitting image. If it hadn’t been for the speedy, somewhat juvenile craftsmanship, the girls would all insist they were looking at an exact replica.

“Girls,” Applejack addressed the whole room, her heart and soul swelling to the maximum with immense pride. “I think Cal here just saved the Equestrian Eclipse Celebration!”

11 - The Eclipse

The crowds throughout Ponyville parted, mixed expressions on their faces, as Applejack marched proudly back into town. All six of her friends walked with her, forming two lines behind her, and Calvados walked closely next to her, scanning the area as if looking for something.

The whole town went silent as they walked past.

“Oh, I know we haven’t the time, but please do your best!” squawked the Mayor as she observed the decoration ponies debating whether to try assembling a new banner. “Yes, I realize it cuts into your time assembling the hanging lanterns, but we’re low on optio—” she cut herself off as she saw Applejack and Cal leading their friends toward her in the middle of the road. Ponies on either side bustling around preparing for the Eclipse festivities froze where they stood, looking unsure of how to react. Even the Mayor herself seemed at a loss for words.

Applejack wore a wide, assured smile the whole while.

“Hello, Applejack, Princess Twilight,” the Mayor greeted them as they met in the road. She shot a nervous glanced at Cal, and resumed diplomatically, “I hear that one among you is responsible for the . . . ahem . . . ‘incident’ earlier today—”

“Appajak?” Cal interrupted, looking up at his sister. “Appajak? I fix?”

“Hold on now, hon, let me talk to the mayor first,” Applejack soothed him before turning to Mayor Mare. “I understand you’re upset, your honor, but Cal here is autistic. He can’t really help himself. And besides, he wants to help out.”

“Well, that’s as may be,” the mayor replied, straightening her collar, “but I can’t take any more risks with this celebration. We are behind schedule enough as it is.”

“Appajak?”

“One sec, Cal,” Applejack calmed him before resuming. “I’m just tryin’ to make things right, Madame Mayor. And Cal here does, too.”

“I’m afraid not, Applejack. Your brother might have good intentions, but I’m afraid he is too volatile to be able to provide any assistance. You’ll have to keep him out of the way for tonight’s festivities.”

Applejack looked back at the mayor, her eyes showing confusion and offense simultaneously. “What’re ya sayin’, your honor? That I should just keep Cal locked up at home like some kinda outcast?”

“I’m saying, you must do what you have to for the Eclipse Celebration to work,” the mayor answered, her own eyes steely. “As it stands, the banner, the centerpiece for tonight’s light show, can’t be replaced soon enough for the arrival of the Princesses, so we must alert them that their appearance will have to be canceled—”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Madame Mayor,” Twilight stepped forward, her face and tone steady. “Calvados here has a solution to your problem, and I’m sure once you’ve seen it, you’ll be more than willing to—”

“Princess, with all due respect, as the Mayor, I cannot condone such actions. As it stands, we simply do not know enough about his . . . condition to know how to handle him in case another incident happens.”

Applejack stepped in, looking affronted. “Well, if y’all would be willin’ to try to learn about Cal’s ‘condition’, you might be prepared, your honor.”

“We haven’t the time for such trivial things, Applejack!”

“This is far from trivial, your honor!” Twilight contested.

As the three mares argued, Cal wandered off the dirt road towards a wooden stall several yards away. “Cal,” Fluttershy gasped as she saw him, and trotted after him, “please, don’t go off by yourself. You could get hurt!”

Cal ignored her words, approached the stall, and muttered, “I fix . . . .” Fluttershy stared at the stall, and saw a large hole in front (one that the gray, cross-eyed Pegasus mare was trying to fix with a roll of tape in her mouth). Cal reached into the hole in front of the stall, pulled out one of the chunks of wood that had been punched out, and attempted to stick it back in its proper place inside the hole. When he let go of the wood chunk, it fell out of the hole, and he made a second attempt, yielding the same result. After a third try ended in failure, Cal huffed and turned toward Fluttershy. “I fix!” he whined, upset that the wood would not stay. “I fix!”

The arguing ponies stopped and turned toward Fluttershy and Cal with furrowed brows. “Oh, no!” the mayor was the first to react. “Not this again!”

“What’s he doing?” Twilight asked. “I know he wanted to fix the banner, but what does he want to fix that stall for?”

“That ain’t just a stall, Twilight,” Applejack responded. Her voice went low, almost breaking, as she continued, “It’s the one Cal broke durin’ his meltdown . . . .”

Cal attached two pieces of wood haphazardly back to the inside of the hole, in such an arrangement that kept both chunks in place. Neatness was compromised, but the hole was definitely smaller. “I fix!” Cal yelled out again, this time in happy triumph. “Good job!”

As the rest of the town realized what Cal was doing, several ponies at once gave a collective sigh of, “Awww . . . .”

Applejack cantered toward her brother and gently pulled him away from his work. “It’s good that you wanna help out,” she cooed to him, “but why don’t you just let the nice mare handle it from here? Okay, Cal?”

“Okay, Cal? I fix?”

“It’s okay, hon, you don’t have to. Just let the big ponies handle it, okay?”

“Okay? I sorry . . . .”

“It’s all right, baby,” Applejack soothed, holding him close and giving him a light kiss on the top of his head, “it’s all right . . . .”

Another wave of “Awww” came from the surrounding ponies, much louder than before. In the crowd, Rumble looked up at Thunderlane and grinned, and the older Pegasus grinned back before the two hugged. Lyra looked on with a mist in her eyes, and Bon-Bon helped dry her joyful tears. Apple Bloom came bustling through the crowd, flanked by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and all three saw Applejack and Cal together. Sweetie Belle smiled, Scootaloo waved, and Apple Bloom began growing teary-eyed herself.

Mayor Mare observed for a good few seconds before clearing her throat and clumsily resuming her authoritative tone, “N-now, make no mistake, Princess Twilight. Calvados’ character is not on trial, here. He’s clearly a good colt. I simply must reduce risk of further complications in this festival.”

“I understand, Madame Mayor,” Twilight replied, “but as soon as we show you how Cal has contributed to the Eclipse Celebration, there will no longer be a need to worry.” As she finished speaking, Rarity produced a large sheet of paper—so large, it appeared to be rolled up ten or eleven times. Using their magic, Twilight and Rarity held the paper in a bright glow, lifted it up above the crowd, and began slowly unfurling it. A few seconds later, the whole crowd began to stir in marvel.

The complete length of the paper was almost the exact length of the now-destroyed Eclipse Celebration banner, and colored the exact shade of midnight blue. The large, pale type spelled out “ECLIPSE CELEBRATION”, complete with space in the middle of the “C” in “Celebration” (left blank instead of cut out). At first glance, the citizens of Ponyville could swear that the banner that had been up for two weeks before being burned down had risen again, as good as new.

“Did . . .” the Mayor began, her face full of shock, “did . . . did Cal . . . ?”

“He sure did, your honor,” Applejack nodded, smiling proudly. “Soon as Cal saw that banner, he fell in love. And since he loves to color, he’s been workin’ on makin’ his own banner ever since he came home. I . . .” Applejack stopped to glance at Cal, his face lighting up brighter than the sun at the sight of his art on display. “I just . . . didn’t realize it until today.”

As Applejack and Fluttershy guided Cal back to the road, Twilight’s and Rarity’s magic lifted Cal’s replacement banner into place, exactly where its predecessor had been. It stretched between two posts and hung over the street, a near-perfect representation of the destroyed piece that hung there hours earlier. Sighs of awe and excitement reverberated through the crowd, and ponies everywhere pointed and commented on the craftsmanship.

“It’s amazing!”

“It looks just like the old one!”

“And they said that colt made it, too . . . .”

“You mean that colt from before?”

“I didn’t know he was so talented!”

“If he could make that . . . .”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have . . . .”

“After what I said about him, he . . . .”

“What a sweet kid . . . .”

“We were so wrong . . . .”

Applejack looked all around and heard the praise for the art become praise for its artist. Cries of astonishment melded together with sighs of shame to form a bizarre cacophony of emotion. I can definitely understand that, she said to herself. Fact, I know that feelin’ better than most everypony here . . . .

With the new banner set up, Twilight used her magic to cut out the space inside the “C” in “Celebration”, as a finishing touch. “I think it will do quite nicely,” Rarity said with a confident grin as she looked up at the splendid new banner. “Don’t you think so, Twilight?”

“I do, Rarity,” the princess replied, nodding and returning her grin. She turned her attention to the older mare. “Wouldn’t you agree, Mayor?”

“I . . .” Mayor Mare tried to answer, but her face told more than her tone. She gazed up in silent wonder at the banner, eyes wide, for a good minute before finally addressing Twilight. “Ahem . . . uh, yes. Indeed. This will be a suitable replacement. Thank you very much, Twilight. And thank you, Applejack for the donation.”

“Much obliged, your honor,” Applejack replied, “but it ain’t really me you should be thankin’.” She placed a hoof on Cal’s head, ruffling his mane, and Cal beamed.

The mayor glanced between the two Apple siblings, and Cal looked up at his sister as if waiting for her to speak again. The mayor cleared her throat again as she approached Cal, and the colt sat down and covered his eyes with his hooves. “Um . . . Calvados?” the mayor began, unsteadily at first, but slowly adapting. “On . . . on behalf of all of Ponyville, I wish to congratulate you on a job well done.”

Cal peeked out at the mayor over his hooves. “Good job?” he mumbled.

“Why yes. ‘Good job’. And as the mayor of Ponyville, I thank you for your contribution to the Equestrian Eclipse Celebration, and for your efforts to preserve the integrity and good spirits the Celebration brings—”

“Uhh, Madame Mayor?” Applejack stepped in. “Beggin’ your pardon, but most o’ that’s just goin’ over his head. Best to just tell him he’s done good.”

“Oh,” the mayor reacted absently, “yes, of course . . . well . . . Cal?”

Cal looked up at her again, over his hooves.

“Well . . . ‘good job’.”

At this, Cal responded with a winning grin. “Good job!” he said back, looking up at his sister with bright, shiny eyes. “Good job, Appajak? Good job?”

“That’s right, Cal,” Applejack assured, pulling him in for another hug. “Very good job. Mom and Dad would be so proud of you.”

They’d be proud of all of their little ones. I’m sure of it.

Another collective “aww” from the crowd punctuated the Apple siblings’ embrace, until, just as the two were about to part, somepony in the crowd shouted, “Look! His flank!”

Applejack and Cal both looked down at Cal’s flank as it began to glow faintly, and Applejack felt her heart tremble. “Is that . . . oh, sweet apple pie, it is!”

Applejack’s friends, as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, gathered around Cal, and the crowd closed in on them a bit as they watched. When the glow faded, the blank space on Cal’s flank was filled: it was a thin ribbon of rainbow-colored paint, drawn in the shape of a small apple, with the paintbrush that drew it ending the line on top and forming the stem.

“I don’t believe it!” Apple Bloom called out from the crowd, spellbound. “Cal just got his cutie mark!”

“Awesome!” cried Scootaloo.

“It’s so pretty!” Sweetie Belle squealed.

Everypony in the crowd began to applaud—soft, gentle applause—in celebration. Pinkie Pie stood on her hind legs and cheered. Rainbow Dash did multiple somersaults in the air. And Applejack and Apple Bloom pulled their brother in for another tight hug.

“Way to go, big brother!” Apple Bloom yelled out with irrepressible glee. “You got your cutie mark before me! Congratulations!”

“That’s my baby brother,” Applejack said as she pressed him close to her. “Nothin’ less from the pride of the apples!”

Calvados wasn’t showing whether he knew how big an event this was. He simply hugged and nuzzled his two sisters, giggling and looking so alive.

***

The festivities began as soon as the dark circle of the moon began to creep in front of the sun. Pinkie Pie giggled out loud and Rainbow Dash grated her teeth in frustration as the two faced off at the water pistol shooting gallery. Applejack bought a large cake from the Cakes’ stand and split it four ways amongst her siblings. Rarity observed as Fluttershy made several weak attempts at knocking the bottles down at another game stand. Two tries in, she hadn’t even made the stack shake, but after Cal had seen a stuffed bunny prize that looked exactly like Angel, Fluttershy had aimed her last ball perfectly, knocked the stack over, and won the game.

“Most exciting!” Rarity exclaimed. “Well done, Fluttershy!” At this, the Pegasus could only blush and smile.

The pony running the stand gave her the prize she asked for, and Fluttershy turned to Cal with the toy in her hooves. “Here you go, Cal,” she said, holding it out to him, “now you have an Angel Bunny of your very own!”

“It’s bunny!” Cal cheered and snatched up the plushie, hugging it tightly and rocking in place. “It’s cute bunny!”

“Cal,” Applejack said with slight reproach in her tone, “what do you say?”

“You say?” Cal replied before remembering his manners. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, sweetheart,” Fluttershy answered, reaching out to hug Cal. Cal quickly returned the hug, nuzzling Fluttershy’s ear.

“Fah-Shy . . .” he muttered dreamily as he held her and his new toy close to him.

***

Lyra and Bon-Bon sighed as they sat at their own table and watched Calvados playing with his friends and family. “Applejack is a lucky mare to have such a sweetie for a brother,” said Bon-Bon with a smile.

Lyra nodded next to her. “Yeah . . . you know, Bonnie, I was hoping we could talk about this, but . . . you always seem like you don’t want to. I’m not sure how everypony would react, but, maybe we could talk about . . . you know—”

“Having our own?”

Bon-Bon had said the words as if they’d occurred to her long before Lyra.

“You mean you’re open to it?”

“Of course!” Bon-Bon replied, beaming. “I know it’s not all that common, but everypony in town knows us. They’d understand, and if not, they’d get used to it. After all, they didn’t understand Cal until Applejack and her friends talked about him more.”

“I’m not too worried about their reactions. It’s just . . . .” Lyra struggled to speak, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof. “You always seemed like . . . like you weren’t ready—”

There was a sudden beeping sound, and Bon-Bon glanced at her watch. “Oh, no,” she muttered, “work. Listen, I gotta go. I’m sorry I have to skip the Eclipse, but I promise, we’ll talk more when I get back. Okay?”

Lyra, initially showing a glimmer of disappointment in her eyes, lit up with Bon-Bon’s last words. “You really mean it?”

“Lyra, this isn’t me trying to avoid the issue. I really wanna talk about it. I’ll see you tonight, and we’ll talk as long as you want. Okay?”

As Bon-Bon held up a cream-colored hoof, Lyra smiled at her companion and reached out to hold it with hers. “Okay, Bonnie,” she replied. “Just hurry back, okay?”

“I will.”

With that, Bon-Bon turned and trotted off briskly, leaving Lyra smiling and awaiting her return.

***

At an arts and crafts booth, Spike observed the Cutie Mark Crusaders creating their own projects for Cal. “Not bad, you guys!” Spike announced, smiling. “These are more than good enough for the mantle!”

“Which do you think he’ll like best?” Sweetie Belle asked as she sent her hooves gliding over the recreation of Cal’s cutie mark made out of modeling clay.

“I reckon it don’t matter much,” Apple Bloom answered distantly. She was focused on a statue of Cal made of popsicle sticks (which had prompted a comment from a passing Twilight about the legendary Trot-jan Horse). “Cal will love ‘em all, no matter what!”

“I sure hope he likes mine!” Scootaloo chirped as she dabbed at her hoof-painting project.

“A bit faster, dear.”

Spike and the fillies heard the voice a few feet away, and turned from their projects to see Filthy Rich standing in the middle of the dirt road. When they saw whom he was talking to, they had to suppress a spontaneous fit of laughter.

“Daddy, this is so unfair!” Diamond Tiara whined as she and Silver Spoon pushed piles of litter across the ground with large brooms. “Didn’t they hire ponies for a job like this?”

“One, you know perfectly well the staff is short-hoofed tonight,” Rich replied sternly. “And two, I figured this was the best way for you to continue aiding ponies with disabilities, since you didn’t feel obliged to do so at Pinkie Pie’s party, when I asked you to.”

“But it was his fault!”

“Not another word, young mare,” Filthy Rich responded with a shake of his head. “Either you keep sweeping, or it’s down to ten bits a week.”

Diamond Tiara froze in place and stared at her father with dinner plate eyes, an offended scoff completing the scene. Scowling, she turned away and kept sweeping, a bit more roughly now.

“My parents don’t even give me five bits a week . . . .”

“Oh, shut up, Silver Spoon!”

As the fit of half-giggles subsided amongst the Crusaders, Spike rolled his eyes, and Sweetie Belle felt a sigh escape her throat. “You know, guys? Sometimes, I kinda feel sorry for her.”

“Not me,” Apple Bloom said simply. “At least not right now. After the stuff she said about my brother . . . .”

“Relax,” Scootaloo soothed. “Some ponies don’t understand, and some don’t want to. It’s just something you gotta be ready for, right?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you’re right . . . hey, that looks really good, Scootaloo!”

Sweetie Belle looked up from her sculpture to see, and she grinned. “Yeah! Great job!” she squeaked.

Scootaloo smiled proudly, with a hint of a blush, as she went back to putting the finishing touches on her painting of her and Cal smiling and playing together.

***

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” Twilight announced from a stage in town square, “the coming of dusk concludes tonight’s festivities! With the alignment of the earth, the moon and the sun, the Equestrian Eclipse is upon us! Ready the banner, and prepare for the Eclipse Reenactment Ceremony!” Her words were met with cheers, and Twilight glanced up at the beautiful hoop of orange light in the late afternoon-early evening sky.

At Twilight’s signal, the banner stretched out over the street was detached and moved, courtesy of Rainbow Dash on one end and Fluttershy on the other, over the crowds and toward the stage. The two Pegasi stopped and hovered six feet above the ground, by which time a group of Unicorns, led by Rarity, marched through the street and up to where the banner now hung.

“Tonight is more than an observation of the convergence of the sun and the moon!” Twilight announced. At the same time, the Unicorn group readied the magical glow of their horns.

“Tonight is an observation of a different, very special kind of unity!”

The Unicorn troupe’s horns glowed brighter as the crowds churned in their excitement.

“A unity not just between two sisters and rulers, but between two differing points of view that, through adversity and strife, can still stand strong together and weather the worst of conflicts!”

The Unicorns took aim at the hole in the banner.

“This special display of togetherness demonstrates that, while we may all be different in many ways, and while we may not understand each other at first, we all share the same heartbeat, the same blood racing through our veins, the same air we breathe, the same ground on which we stand, the same sun that warms us in the day, and the same moon that watches over us at night!”

At last, the crowds cheered as the Unicorns’ magic spiked, and the glow from their horns exploded into a dazzling collective beam of light that shot perfectly through the banner’s hole. The light melded together from a multitude of colors into a solid white pillar of light, like a spotlight aimed at the darkening sky.

“All of us—Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth pony; mare and stallion; young and old; civilian and royalty; handicapped and non-handicapped—we are all ponies, through and through. And after all is said and done, it is our differences that unite us! Our special traits, beliefs and experiences that bring us all together!”

The Unicorn magic surged, and the pillar of light that shone through the banner began to grow dark, mirroring the great eclipse in the heavens above them. The crowds began to cheer as the pony-made ring of light grew brighter still. In seconds, the ring exploded in a burst of sparkles (Cal had to cover his ears by this time), and from within the cloud of stardust came two beautiful silhouettes.

Those of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

The two rulers slowly descended from their spectacular entrance point, and the crowds roared louder. Two sets of hooves touched down onto the stage, and Celestia went right to Twilight for a hug. As they parted, Luna took over oration:

“Tonight is a night I cherish more than any other. This night symbolizes the reunion of my sister and myself after 1,000 years, and thousands of miles apart.”

“Indeed,” Celestia added. “As Twilight said, the Eclipse Celebration does more than reunite the Equestrian Diarchy. It reunites family. And though we once did not see eye-to-eye, tonight proves that even the most different of siblings can still love and care deeply for one another, no matter what has transpired between them.”

This last statement prompted a heartfelt embrace between the two heralds of the heavens, and the crowd released a poignant sigh at their bond. In the crowd, Applejack looked down at her younger brother, smiled, and approached him for what must have been their fiftieth hug that night. The orange Earth mare felt a tear slide down her face as she held Cal close to her.

“Now, before the festivities conclude for the evening,” Celestia said after she parted from her sister, “we have one last thing that needs to be addressed.” She turned to Luna and nodded, and when she nodded back, the two princesses descended from the stage and began walking slowly through the crowds, which parted at their approach. The princesses stopped before the gathering of Apple siblings in the crowd, and both aimed their benign gazes directly at Calvados—who, as per usual, hid his eyes behind his hooves.

“I hear we have you to thank for tonight, Cal,” Celestia spoke to him gently. “I must say, it’s very nice to finally meet you in person.”

Cal peeked over his hooves at Celestia, and his eyes showed the slightest trace of a sparkle. “Pretty . . . ?” he muttered curiously.

Celestia gave a light giggle before replying, “Why thank you. And may I add, you’ve been a big help to tonight’s party. We may not have been able to end it properly without you. Thank you, Cal.”

“That goes for me, as well,” Luna added. “You’re quite the amazing young colt, Calvados.”

Cal merely stared back at them for a few seconds, occasionally glancing at the ground. Finally, he replied quietly, “Good job.”

Celestia and Luna both smiled. “Yes,” said the younger princess, “very good job.”

“Very good job,” Cal repeated. He then stared in confusion as Celestia lay down on the ground before him and covered her own eyes with her front hooves. A few seconds later, Celestia pulled her hooves away and whispered, “Boo.”

Cal began giggling and drumming his hooves on the ground. “Is that funny?” Cal asked. “Appajak? Is that funny?”

Applejack nodded and smiled and held Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh close. From that point on, for several minutes, they and the rest of the crowd seemed to want nothing more than to watch Celestia play with Cal. Applejack once again felt tears bubble over, and for the first time in a long time, she felt her heart blossom with glee at the same time.

Daddy always said to cry on the inside, she thought as Luna began to join the fun. But I don’t think he’d mind this one time.

12 - The Pride of the Apples

The second week seemed to fly by too fast. Applejack felt a twinge in her heart as she stood at the train station with her friends and family, waiting for the train that would bear Calvados back to Fillydelphia. It’s too soon, she thought. It’s like I was just gettin’ to know him. We could finally be a real brother and sister . . . .

“AJ?” Rainbow Dash’s voice poked through her reflections, and she was shaken back to the present. “Hey, you in there?”

Applejack sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I’m just . . . sad to see him go, is all.”

“I understand,” said Fluttershy, putting a gentle hoof on her shoulder. “I wish we could have him for just a little longer, too. I didn’t get to teach him about all the animals at my cottage, but he was so good at the guessing games we played. He might know almost as much about animals as I do now.”

“I wish he could stay longer, too,” Twilight added, downcast. “And not just because we’ve had so much fun together. Observing him has given me enough insight into the autism spectrum to start giving lectures on the subject. That way, Ponyville could be better prepared to handle autistic foals in the future.”

“Appajak! Appajak!”

The orange mare turned to her excited brother. “What’s up, Cal?”

“Came home?” he said. This was the beginning of a sort of communicative recap of all of Cal’s favorite experiences since coming back to Ponyville. He’d said it all, every part in an exclusive order, repeatedly over the last few days. But Applejack never interrupted him once.

“Yep, you came home for a while,” she replied.

“Pet bunny?”

“Yep, you got to pet Angel Bunny.”

“And Beeg Mac say, ‘Eeyup!’”

Applejack turned to Big Mac, who smiled and replied, “Eeyup.”

“Got apple, and it’s bigger, bigger, bigger?”

“Bigger, bigger, bigger, that’s right,” Applejack kept replying without a hitch.

“Had a party?”

“And Pinkie threw you a party.”

“Had fun!”

“Yeah, it was fun.” After the Eclipse Celebration, Applejack had decided not to suppress memories of the unfortunate way Pinkie’s party had ended. Never again, she’d thought. I’ll never forget again.

“And big and blue? ‘It’s called a banner’?” Cal mimicked his sister’s voice for the second sentence.

“Yep,” Applejack replied, giving him a gentle tap on the back, “and you did a great job on that banner, hon.”

“Good job!”

“Ya sure did.”

“And Fluh-tah-shy got bunny? Awww . . . .”

“Yeah, Fluttershy won you your own bunny.” Cal hugged it close to him even now.

“And big light? And pretty princess?”

“Yep, Princess Celestia came out of the big light. And she loved your banner, too.”

“Here we are!” Cal announced cheerfully, ending his recap.

“Here we are, hon,” Applejack said back to him, feeling a slight pinch of irony.

Cal meandered a few steps away before Pinkie Pie asked for one last moment to play around, just as they had every day for the last week. It’s amazin’ how well she understands him now, Applejack thought as she watched Pinkie and Cal both sitting on the floor, rocking, waving their hooves, and giggling.

“The train should be here any minute,” Rarity said as she stared down the tracks with a glistening gaze. “Oh, such injustice! Why couldn’t Calvados stay just a bit longer?”

“I’m with you, sis,” Sweetie Belle added from her side. “I wanna get to know him better, too.”

Next to her, Apple Bloom stared at the wooden floor, and behind her, Scootaloo sighed and occasionally glanced at Cal as he played around with Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, Sweetie, it’s more than that. In the short time we’ve had him, I feel as though he’s changed us all somehow. In fact, I daresay he could change all of Ponyville if he stayed!” Rarity then began to grow even more misty-eyed as she turned toward Cal. “Oh, I wish you didn’t have to go so soon! You’re an inspiration, darling!”

Cal looked to Rarity with a furrowed brow. “Reh- . . . Ra-ree-tee? You okay?” he asked. Applejack heard him and felt a swell of pride at the effects of her extra teaching.

Rarity sniffed and took a moment to compose herself. “I . . . I’m fine . . . please don’t fret, darling. I simply wish you could stay, that’s all . . . .”

“Back to school?” Cal asked in a low voice.

Rarity nodded, and Applejack added, “Yeah, Cal. Back to school . . . .” She took a shaky, unsteady breath and fought the sting in her eyes. Not yet. Not until he leaves. He’ll be upset seein’ his big sister cry.

“Listen!” Twilight announced, pointing down the track. “The train’s coming!”

Rainbow Dash glanced down the tracks, then took off, hovering several feet in the air before looking again. “She’s right!” she yelled down from her vantage point. “Just a few more seconds!”

Applejack took a deep breath and walked up to Cal, who was still giggling from his games with Pinkie. “Okay, honey, now just remember, Dr. Lyze will be on the train waitin’ for ya. She’ll wanna hear all about your trip, so be sure to tell her everythin’ okay?”

“Everything? Okay, Appajak,” Cal muttered, his eyes wandering.

“That’s a good colt . . . .” Applejack had to take another breath to steady herself before resuming. “N-now say goodbye to all your friends, okay?”

“Friends? Okay . . .” Cal replied, then was promptly snatched up into a hug by Pinkie Pie.

“Oooh, I’m gonna miss you, new bestie!” Pinkie squealed. “We had such a good time together! I don’t want you to leave just yet! I miss you too much already! I can’t wait to see you again already! I already wanna plan your great big ‘Welcome Back to Ponyville’ party—”

“Pinkie,” Applejack said with slight sharpness, “please, don’t squeeze him too hard now.” She took another deep breath, but was otherwise calm.

“Oops! Sorry,” Pinkie replied before releasing Cal.

Cal simply giggled more as he turned to the pink mare. “Silly Pinkie!”

Pinkie Pie proved his point by displaying some of her best “funny faces” for Cal’s amusement. Applejack watched them smile and laugh together, and felt the twinge in her heart come back. Not yet . . . .

“C’mon, Pinkie, save some goodbye for the rest of us!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, stepping up to Cal. When Cal turned to her, she began, “Hey, you take care of yourself, little buddy,” she said, more calmly. “Maybe next time, if you’re up for it, we can really go flying together.”

“Fly?” Cal asked. “With Rainbow Dash?”

“Yep, we sure can. So that when I make you another sky apple, you can be right there with me!”

“It’s apple? And it’s bigger, bigger, bigger?!” Cal hopped up and down at the prospect.

A steam whistle and a mechanical rumble pierced the air (Cal covered his ears with his hooves). “Oh, dear,” Rarity said, eyes misting slightly, “there it is. You be good now, pet. We’ll meet again soon.” She bent down to give him his next hug. “Auntie Rarity will miss you.”

Cal removed his hooves as Rarity held him. “Ra-ree-tee? Miss you . . . .”

At once, Rarity began to break down in gentle sobs. Applejack felt the tears begin to bubble over herself. Not . . . now . . . .

“Oh, I wish you didn’t have to go so soon,” Sweetie Belle whined. “But we’ll be here when you come back, Cal. Okay?”

“Come back? Sweetie Belle?” Cal asked. “Okay. Miss you . . . .” Sweetie Belle giggled and hugged Cal, and he nuzzled her ear and sniffed, making her giggle more.

“Come on, Sweetie Belle, my turn!” Scootaloo spoke up. She approached Cal, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. “Hey, so, uh . . . good luck out there, pal. We’re . . . we’re really gonna miss you . . . .”

“Scoo- . . . Scoo-tah-loo?” Cal mumbled. “Crying?”

“Huh? No! I’m not crying! I’m too tough to cry. I won’t cry . . . I won’t . . . cry . . . .” Scootaloo sniffed twice, and betrayed herself immediately, falling into Cal for a tight hug.

“Scoo-tah-loo? I sorry . . . .”

This only made Scootaloo cry more. Applejack observed and shook her head slightly. You may not know it now, kiddo, she thought, but sometimes, the toughest ponies are the ones who can cry.

After Scootaloo stepped back, sniffling and blushing, Fluttershy was next. “I’ll miss you too, Cal,” she said as she gave him a gentle hug. “Now you hold on tight to your Angel Bunny until you come back, okay? Then we can learn more about animals! Oh, you could even get your teacher to help you learn more. That will be oh-so-fun!”

“Oh-so-fun!” Cal replied giddily. “Fluh-tah-shy? Miss you . . . .” Their hug went on for a few more seconds as the train finally rolled up to the station, letting off a whoosh as it slowed to a full stop and opened its doors.

As ponies filed off the train, Twilight was the next to speak to Cal. “We have so much to thank you for. Come back soon, okay?”

“Twilight?” Cal asked. “Is sparkles?”

“I figured you’d want to see them one more time,” Twilight chuckled. “So, I made you something.” With her magic, she lifted up what looked like a golden pendant on a necklace and put it around Cal’s neck (he inhaled sharply and closed his eyes, but settled down quickly). The pendant was emblazoned with Twilight’s cutie mark on one side, and Cal’s cutie mark on the other. “I’ve been working on this for the last few days,” Twilight explained. “Just touch it, and you’ll have sparkles whenever you want them!”

Cal lifted up the pendant with one hoof, and touched the surface with the other. Soon, a small burst of light shot up into the air before him and exploded in a burst of white sparkles. Cal’s face lit up even brighter than the magic sparkles; he quickly sat down and flapped his hooves over his eyes as he watched them descend.

As ponies disembarked, they glanced at Cal in confusion. Applejack merely gave a smile that bordered on smugness. Let ‘em stare. Autistic or not, they’re lookin’ at a true Apple.

Applejack then glanced at a door of the train, and saw a peach-colored Unicorn with a frizzy, pale yellow mane standing and waving in the doorway. “That’s Dr. Lyze,” she alerted Cal, “we’d best be gettin’ you on that train.”

Apple Bloom and Big Mac walked up to Cal first. “Not before he gives his brother and little sister a big hug!” said the younger Apple before squeezing Cal tight in her forelimbs. “Sweet Apple Acres won’t be the same without ya, big bro! Y’all take care o’ that new cutie mark, now! We’ll all be waitin’ for ya to come back!”

Big Mac nodded and pulled both his younger siblings close, ruffling Cal’s mane. “Eeyup.”

“All right, let’s not keep him too long, or we’ll never be able to let him go,” Applejack announced. The Apples parted, and Applejack approached her brother one last time. “Now . . . now, y-you be good now, Cal. Listen to Dr. Lyze, and . . . a-and show her everythin’ you learned, okay?” The tears were getting stronger.

“Appajak?” Cal asked, looking up at her with wide eyes. “You okay?”

“I’m . . . I’m fine, sugarcube . . .” Applejack replied, sniffing. “You . . . you promise you’ll be a good colt for me?”

“Be good colt? Okay . . . .”

“Good.” Applejack pulled him in for one final hug. “We love you, Cal. An’ we want you to come home real soon, okay?”

“Appajak?” Cal muttered. “Is sad?”

“Well . . . yeah. Yeah, I am. I just . . . .” She struggled for the words, almost feeling as though it was a struggle for life itself. “I don’t want ya to go. You’re my baby brother, but we still hardly know each other . . . I don’t . . . want you to go . . . .”

The silence between them seemed to drown out the sounds of trotting hooves and voices around them, as if it were a pocket of silence isolated from the rest of the world. Applejack felt herself wanting it to last forever. A single tear slid down her cheek as she held onto Cal.

Applejack jumped slightly when she felt Cal’s forelimbs wrap around her in turn. His face pressed against her fur, and a tiny voice could be heard in the gaping maw of illusory silence:

“Appajak? Love you . . . .”

The emotional dam broke, and Applejack’s single tear was accompanied by two small rivers down her face. “I . . . I l-love you too, Cal . . .” she replied, sobbing and hiccupping.

Off to the side, Rarity’s and Scootaloo’s tears continued. Even Big Mac saw a fresh warm droplet fall from his face. He sniffed and turned his head away, so that now, no one could see.

After another lengthy pause, the two Apples parted, and Applejack took a deep, uneasy breath before urging Cal toward the train, and his teacher. “C-come on now, hon. W-we gotta get you on that train before it leaves. Can’t . . . can’t keep sayin’ goodbye all day, you know.” Her broken voice and slow, shaky movements told a different story.

Soon, Dr. Lyze took Cal with her on board the train, and Applejack took several steps back as they disappeared into the train car. The tears still poured down her face, and it only fleetingly occurred to her how stupid and juvenile she must have looked.

I miss him already. He’s not even gone yet, and I miss him already . . . .

Applejack took a slight inhale at feeling a hoof on her shoulder. “He’ll be back someday,” Twilight’s voice spoke up from her side. “He’s family. It won’t be forever.”

“I know,” Applejack replied, nodding, “but still . . . I was just . . . I was lookin’ forward to havin’ a baby brother again . . . well, really, for the first time . . . .”

Twilight just pressed her hoof gently into Applejack’s shoulder. On her other side, Rainbow Dash did the same, and from behind, Fluttershy started stroking her back.

“You’re right to be proud of him, darling,” Rarity said as she walked up to Applejack. “He’s a wonderful little colt.”

“Sure is,” Dash added, “and look at it this way. Next time he visits, he’ll remember us, and we’ll be a lot better prepared for him!”

“That’s a good way of looking at it,” Twilight said, smiling. “We know much more than we did. And either way, that’s for the best.”

Applejack only nodded. She kept her eyes facing front, staring at the door that had swallowed up her brother.

It ain’t fair. It just ain’t fair . . . .

In minutes, the conductor called for all passengers to board, and the doors closed before the train started off. Finally, as the large machine began to move, Applejack looked away from the door and to one of the windows, where Calvados was sitting, looking back at her and waving with a blank look in his eyes. A single tear slid down the colt’s cheek.

“Goodbye, baby brother,” Applejack whispered. “I’ll always love you. And I will never be ashamed of you again. That’s a promise.”

Cal merely kept waving and staring as his visage started to move along with the train. The angle made Calvados harder to see over time, until none of the windows could be seen at all. Soon the train itself began to shrink as it picked up speed and raced down the tracks. The caboose grew smaller and smaller in the distance, until finally, it could no longer be seen.

For Applejack, that moment seemed to last the rest of her life. Watching that train run away with her flesh and blood almost made her angry at the train for taking him away. Why . . . just a few more days . . . just a few more . . . it wasn’t enough to make everythin’ up to him . . . a week longer, and we’d be a real family again . . . .

“AJ?” Twilight asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. “You gonna be okay?”

“I just need a minute alone, is all.” Her eyes were closed, and her voice was so low, is was almost inaudible.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked softly. “We could stay with you, if you want.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll catch up with y’all later.”

With that, the group began to disperse. Rainbow Dash patted Applejack on the back before taking to the skies. Rarity and Sweetie Belle trotted off next, followed by Scootaloo. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie each gave Applejack a quick hug (she did not respond) before leaving with Twilight. Soon, the only ponies remaining on the platform were Apples.

“You gonna be okay, big sis?” Apple Bloom asked. All she got in return was a nod. With a sigh, Apple Bloom added, “See you at home, then.” And she and Big Mac left the station without another word.

Applejack stood there at the platform, staring down the tracks long after the train, her friends and family, and everypony else had left. She stood there for hours, gazing absently until she no longer had the strength to stand.

And so she sat, and continued staring.

After a couple of hours, Applejack reached a trembling hoof up underneath her hat and pulled something out. She sat the small object in the middle of her hoof and shifted her stare to it instead. It was a small blue crayon, a mere nub of its former self, not much longer than half an inch.

She sat there all afternoon, and well into the evening, staring at the tiny crayon with drowning eyes, as if staring at a final memento.

Cal . . . you really are the pride of the apples . . . and don’t you let anypony tell youdifferent . . . .