//------------------------------// // 1 - The Other Brother // Story: Pride of the Apples // by LightningSword //------------------------------// “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 . . .”