//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Brony 
// by Markarian 
//------------------------------//


- Brony -





Chaper 3





by Markarian








	

Squinting in the darkness, Caleb could only feel his way through the cold void in which he stumbled. Try as he might, his hands could not find purchase in the burning blackness. The pain had returned in full force, tearing at his arm and his ankle like vicious dogs. He was freezing and nauseous all over again and the more he bent double, the more he stopped moving, the worse the sickness became.  Voices rang in his ears, urgent and fearful. Someone was in trouble. He had to find them. The voices grew louder and more frantic. Caleb would have given anything just to know what they were saying. Just one word. 
The smell of solvent stung his nose, reminding him of gasoline or acetone, its tang threatening to ignite at any moment. With each labored breath, the nausea returned in a sickening wave. Caleb knew he had to escape; someone was in trouble! Then came the hands—the cold, clammy hands from all sides that pressed him down, snakelike fingers gripping his arms and legs, even where he was injured. They held him so tight he couldn’t breathe. 
It was disturbing. But, then again, nightmares often were. And as Caleb slowly drifted away from that hellish state, he quickly reminded himself that nightmares were not real. Whether it was his own desire to escape the bad dream, or the distant creaking in the floorboards from downstairs, Caleb was gradually stirred to wakefulness. He felt the cool, coarse sheets beneath his hands and ran his finger slowly over the embroidered apples on the edge of the bedspread. He licked his lips, feeling thirsty once more.
The cool morning breeze had waned, with the linen drapes hanging motionless against the edge of the window through which the setting sun cast its deep orange glow on the room. There was a quiet stillness about the room that only now Caleb realized was so elusive at the small apartment he normally called home. He had forgotten just how used to the sounds of car alarms going off or the neighbors quietly laughing while they talked on their cellphones and smoked. Here, things were different. 
Caleb sat up slowly, feeling his dirty t-shirt peeling up from the damp halo of sweat he had left on the old sheets. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of bed, testing his weight on his ankle. It was better, the pain having faded from the intense throbs of agony that plagued his dreams. He walked to the window slowly, peering down on the farm below. Aside from a few hens that idly pecked at the dusty yard, he saw nopony in sight. Returning to the door, he hesitated as he placed his hand on the doorknob. Though he knew where he was, he still felt as if he might be able to imagine just hard enough in his solitude that he was in the real world. In his world. 
He licked his lips again, feeling the dryness on his tongue and decided to turn the doorknob. Stepping out of his room, Caleb crept slowly down the hall, wishing he could haunt the place as a ghost without making his presence known. But every step he took gave a satisfying creak in the worn old timbers that made up the floor. He stopped for a moment, listening as voices drifted up the stairs.
“…still asleep?” the little girl said.
“I reckon so. We ain’t seen hide nor horsetail of ‘im.” Said another girl. This one older, more confident. More familiar. Caleb’s hands trembled on the edge of the banister. 
“You seen ‘im?” the little girl persisted.
“Ehh, nope,” came a deep voice. Caleb swallowed, inching forward. 
“I’m gonna go check on him,” the little girl said again, impatiently.
“He ain’t inna zoo,” came Granny Smith’s sharp rebuke. “Feller’s our guest and you leave ‘im be.”
“Granny’s right. Don’t go botherin’ him,” the older girl said.
Caleb slowly descended the stairs, not bothering to step lightly as every footfall made his presence known. It wasn’t just voices that wafted up the stairway to Caleb. His stomach growled fiercely as the yeasty scent of fresh baking greeted his nose. But his appetite momentarily disappeared when he reached the landing and gazed down at the family of ponies that quietly conferred in their living room. 
The first to meet his eyes possessed a silky blonde mane, tied with small ribbons at its end. Her light orange face was marked with small, white freckles that danced beside her smiling, green eyes. Even behind the nervousness, the fear, and the trepidation Caleb could so easily see the compassion and determination that shone within them.
“Er, howdy there, partner,” she said.
“Oh, God.” Caleb whispered. The ponies simply stared, worried. Luckily, it was Granny Smith who broke the awkward silence.
“You have a nice rest there, sonny?” she asked, approaching him on the landing. “I reckon yer a bit hungry after bein’ out like a light fer six hours.”
Caleb just blinked, his eyes shifting occasionally to Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom, but mostly just staying pinned on Applejack. After a moment, he responded to Granny.
“Er, yeah, I think I could probably use a bite to eat,” Caleb said, his appetite gradually returning now that he was practically breathing the fresh scent of something baking. 
“Well come on down, partner. We’re mighty glad you’re okay. Lily came by the farm and told me that you had a bit of a rough time out there in the Everfree Forest.”
Every time she spoke, Caleb had to fight his disbelief. But he realized he was being rude once more, shook himself, and finally descended the stairs the rest of the way.
“Yeah, pretty rough. Thanks for taking me in everypony,” he said with a tentative smile. “I hope I’m not imposing on you guys.”
“Ehhh, nope,” the large stallion quietly nickered. Big Macintosh certainly lived up to his name. He was, by far, the largest pony he had seen since he arrived earlier in the morning. Standing a few hands taller than Applejack, he carried himself with a quiet, reassuring power that immediately put Caleb at ease with the red pony. He had taken off his plough yoke, but still had the day’s dust caked to his broad hooves. 
Apple Bloom, on the other hand, was downright diminutive. The little filly stood scarcely taller than three and a half feet—the bright pink bow affixed to her sandy red mane making up for the lost height. She watched him with bright, curious eyes, behind which brimmed a million questions Caleb knew he likely wouldn’t be able to answer. 
“Well, I’m Applejack, and this here’s my brother Big Macintosh, and my lil’ sister, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said. “’Course you already met Granny Smith.”
“Howdy!” Apple Bloom piped up, as if suddenly realizing she could speak to this strange creature.   
“Hi,” Caleb said, looking down at the eager filly. 
“We was just sittin’ down for dinner, Caleb. Why don’t ya join us?” Granny Smith said, gesturing toward the dining room. 
“I’m ah…much obliged,” Caleb said, pleased with himself at his choice of words. 
“Ain’t nopony comin’ away from Sweet Apple Acres hungry,” Apple Bloom said proudly. “We’re havin’ mashed potatoes and gravy, with apple cobbler ‘n apple salad. Made the cobbler myself!”
“Hey now, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Sweetie Belle helped, too.”
“Wait a minute,” Caleb blurted. “Sweetie Belle was over here?”
Big Macintosh gave him a curious look, and Apple Bloom nodded a bit. 
“Uh huh! She came by while you were asleep. I was gonna introduce ya’ll, but Granny said I wasn’t allowed to,” Apple Bloom said ruefully.
“We wanted to let you rest,” Applejack explained. “You know Sweetie Belle? Lily said somethin’ about you knowing my friend, Rarity.”
Caleb felt a twinge of panic. He had to play this cool. “Well, I don’t know Rarity. I mean, I’ve heard of her. I’ve never really, ah, met her, or anything.”
“Well, she is tryin’ to make a name for herself,” Applejack explained, turning away from Caleb and leading him to the table. It was a worn, grand piece of furniture, set with a quilted apple tablecloth and huge, family-style serving bowls of food that coaxed him the rest of the way into the dining room. To Caleb, the spread looked like Dr. Atkins’ own, private hell.  He couldn’t wait to dig in.
“I got to help her make some dresses once, but then she got mad when I cut the wrong fabric,” Apple Bloom said. She was already spooning a large heap of potatoes onto her plate before passing it to her older brother. The ponies sat on the large, wooden chairs with their back hooves resting firmly on the floor. It was odd to see them dining around a table at the very least. 
Caleb awkwardly poured water into the large, hoof-handled dinner mug that sat in front of him and passed it to Granny. After a moment of hesitation, he took a modest portion of potatoes and drizzled a little gravy over the top. His appetite was bigger than that, to be sure, but he still felt as if he had no right to be here. Even smelling the food felt like taking too much from this place. Big Macintosh noticed the small portion, but said nothing. Slowly, Caleb started to eat. 
“Rarity’s got a new collection comin’ out for the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s a big secret, won’t let anypony see it,” Applejack said, trying to break the ice. “She’s makin’ me one too.”
“Like your Gala dress?” Caleb said quietly through a mouthful of potatoes. Immediately he realized he had done it again. The knowledge and excitement that boiled in his head had once again spilled over, despite his efforts. He didn’t look up, and instead continued eating. There was an awkward silence as Big Macintosh noisily set down his fork, looking to his sister.
“Um, yeah, s’pose it might be like that,” Applejack said, blinking. She took another bite of salad and chewed it for a bit, trying not to stare at Caleb. Caleb had never seen the Apple family dining, but he had a feeling that their dinner conversations were normally a bit livelier than this.
“You been to the Grand Galloping Gala last year, sonny?” Granny Smith said, still smiling at least.
Caleb set down his fork and made a long show of finishing his chewing, then wiping his face with the old napkin. He had to think fast.
“No, unfortunately. I had a friend who went though. I heard there was a bit of excitement there,” he said with a nervous chuckle. 
“Ayup,” Big Macintosh said.
“Excitement’s one word for it, ah suppose,” Applejack said. “’Course we got a lot more catering jobs after that cake.”
Caleb felt emboldened.
“Would this happen to be the cake that did some aerial acrobatics in the ballroom?” he chuckled.
“The same,” Applejack said. “I s’pose word travels pretty fast to where you’re from. Speakin’ of which, just where are you from?”
“I’m from a town called Auburn,” Caleb said, realizing he was on thin ice. “It’s, well, it’s not in Equestria.”
“I ain’t never been outside Equestria, what’s it like?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly. She had finished her dinner quickly, turning her attention now to the odd, pink primate sitting with her family.
“Well, it’s um…it’s cold,” he said flatly.
“Do they have ponies there?” Granny smith asked curiously. 
“Yeah, they’ve got ponies there,” Caleb said, digging back into his potatoes. 
“Well, as far as I know, we ain’t got any of your kind here,” Applejack said. “Not that we aren’t glad you dropped by. Lily said you had some trouble in the Everfree Forest.”
“Yeah, I took a really nasty fall down an embankment. Then I got lost,” Caleb said, finishing his dinner. 
“Aw, you poor thing. Well, don’t you worry, Caleb. You’re a lot better off now that you’re in Ponyville,” Granny smith said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. 
Caleb turned to her and smiled, trying to disguise a heavy sigh with an awkward cough. 
“I want to thank you for taking me in. All of you. I, don’t really know what to say,” he said. 
“Ya just said it,” Applejack said with a self-satisfied smile. 
The sun had finally set outside, and the soft, lazy chirp of crickets was drifting into the house with the cool summer air. Caleb tried the salad as the rest of the dinner conversation edged toward more mundane topics, such as crop projections and Apple Bloom’s plans to expand her tree house. Caleb felt grateful he could just sit and listen, something it seemed at the moment he shared with the large, red pony to his right.
After dinner, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh cleared the table, bringing the dishes to Applejack. The light orange pony was busy pumping the sink full of water which was already beginning to froth with soapy bubbles. 
“Didja like the cobbler?” Apple Bloom asked Caleb. He was standing up from the table slowly, his ankle definitely feeling better. 
“Loved it.”
“Trick is, ya gotta put in just the right amount of cinnamon, or else it just doesn’t taste right,” the filly said with pride. 
“Hey now, sugar cube. You’re not givin’ away the Apple Family secrets already are ya?” Applejack teased. “Why don’t you finish the dishes up for me so I can get Caleb’s help out in the yard.”
Apple Bloom started to protest. “But I can go out in the yard too!”
“You sure can, ‘soon as the dishes are done,” Applejack chuckled. “It’s your turn, remember?”
“Ugh, fine.” Apple Bloom reluctantly traded places with her sister, scrubbing the pile of dishes in a hurry to catch up with them.
Turning to Caleb, Applejack quietly nickered “C’mon, I know you’re a little beat up, but I thought you might want to get some fresh air.”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” he said, having quietly wondered how he was going to do farm labor with a sprained ankle and a bad arm. Applejack dried her hooves off on a towel by the sink and pushed open the Dutch door to the yard with Caleb in tow. It was early evening, and the glow from the moon was still competing with that of the setting sun, creating a gentle light that brought long shadows to the objects in the yard.
“Caleb, I just want to say I’m sure glad you’re alright. Lily said you was lucky to get out of the forest alive,” Applejack said with concern. She led him to the chicken coop where several hens were pecking idly about the yard near their open paddock. She pulled a sack of grain from where it hung on a worn fencepost and began to sift some of the oats onto the dirt. In a great cacophony of fluttering and feathers, the chickens came storming out of their coop and clustered eagerly around the small pile of grain by their feet. She offered the sack to Caleb, who tentatively began feeding the chickens as well. He felt the ruffle from their wings flapping against his jeans as he threw the oats about clumsily.
“Lily’s really sweet, but I think she might be exaggerating about me,” he said with a dismissive chuckle, plunging his hand back into the sack for more oats.
“No, Caleb, she ain’t,” Applejack said, her voice suddenly stern. Caleb paused, licking his lips and turning reluctantly to meet the narrowed green eyes beneath the wide cowboy hat.
“What do you mean?” he asked blankly.
“Caleb, I don’t want to be rude and pry into other people’s affairs, and such. It ain’t my way. But I know when somepony ain’t tellin’ me the whole truth, and I don’t like it. Rarity’s a mighty fine dressmaker, but she ain’t known much outside of Canterlot or Ponyville.”
Caleb looked at his shoes, saying nothing.
“Plus you mentioned Sweetie Belle and she ain’t never been outside of this part of Equestria. You seem to know an awful lot about us ponies for a feller from outside Equestria. I reckon you ain’t tellin’ us the whole story, Caleb,” Applejack said. There was more concern in her voice than irritation, but every word, every admonishon felt like the end of the world to Caleb.
“Look, Applejack, I’m sorry,” he said quietly, resting his hands on the fence and looking away. “You’re right, there’s a lot I haven’t told you because I didn’t know if you’d believe me, or if you’d trust me.”
“Well, beggin’ your pardon, Caleb, but how’m I s’pose to trust a feller who can’t level with me?”
“Element of Honesty,” he quietly muttered. Caleb swallowed and took a deep breath. This was it. He had to spill it. He knew he couldn’t keep this charade up forever. And he realized that the longer he played stupid, the more he was insulting them. He knew it wasn’t right.
With great effort, he looked Applejack in the eye once more. 
“I know a great deal about you, about Ponies, about Equestria in general. I feel like I’ve been here before, but I know I haven’t. And please trust me when I say I have no idea how I got here,” Caleb said, his voice shaking slightly. He spoke in a conspiratorial murmur, as if terrified someone might overhear them. “That’s the honest truth.”
“Alright, Partner, that’s more like it. I believe you, and I ain’t mad at you. We just wanna help you, Caleb. Now what’s goin’ on?”
Caleb took a deep breath, leaning his head back. How could he explain this? Would he tell her to look for a tattoo that said “© 2011 Hasbro Inc?” Could he ask her if she gets the Hub or what her favorite episode was? No, this was much more than that.
“For the last couple of years, I’ve watched you and your friends lives on a medium called television,” he said simply, feeling stupid with each word.
“Tell a Vision? You’re seein’ us in visions?” she asked, worried.
“Kind of,” Caleb said, already frustrated. “It’s hard to explain. It’s a technology we have where I’m from. It’s like…watching a party from a window outside, but you can’t go in, and no one can hear you or see you. All you can do is watch.”
“Er, you’re watching us from far away?” Applejack asked. “Why?”
“Well the whole problem is that you’re not real!” Caleb blurted. Applejack frowned, almost as if sizing him up for a trip to the equine psych ward.
“Not real?”
“I mean, I didn’t think it was real until now,” Caleb said. 
“Ya mean, like a dream?”
“Exactly, though other people where I’m from see these visions too. But we think it’s just fantasy,” he said. He felt he’d rather keep to himself the fact he still wasn’t convinced that everything around him was just that.
“Well, I can tell ya with reasonable certainty that I am the genuine article. And I’m pretty sure I can vouch for my family too,” she said with a chuckle. To Caleb, she seemed to be taking this reasonably well. He could only hope she wasn’t leading him along. But he knew that Applejack would be the last pony who would ever do so. 
“I know, I know,” Caleb said, sighing. “I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I got here, or why I’m here. I just didn’t know if I could tell anypony because I didn’t think they’d believe me.”
“I believe you, Caleb,” Applejack said simpy. She put her hoof on his shoulder and gave him another kind smile. “Don’t you fret none. Tell you what, partner. I’ve got a friend who might be able to help figure this one out.”
“Twilight Sparkle?” Caleb asked.
“Um, yeah, how did you…ah, never mind.”