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.
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I waited sooo long....now i want more.....
If only there were mp3 players in equestria! I couldn't live without mine
5905516 There will be more. Trust me.
5905556 When it comes to writing pony fics, we do our best with what we have. *shrug*
As someone with borderline autism, This story intrigues me. I'm also reminded of the Rainman a little.
5907212 Thanks for taking a look at it. I hope it continues to intrigue you.
Try not to take everything Scootareader listed as overall valid points off on the story, a good bit of that was just personal perception and pet peeves even though they forgot to list it as such.
5907431 I figured as much. Still, doesn't hurt to take another point of view into consideration. Scootareader was actually pretty helpful.
Personally, I think they handled the situation with the record wrong. What they should have done was just let Cal have his tantrum until he tired himself out.
5915386 That's the general response for any autistic "meltdown", I think. But trust me, you'll know soon enough why they did it this way.
5931713 You'll have to wait and see . . . .
Autistic people tend to over react when angry, I myself am autistic (mind I'm on the end of the spectrum as the character portrayed here although I could be wrong , I'm high functioning and am above average intelligence.) My principal and I became good friends in elementary school because I was easily angered and overreacted when I did.
I have only read two chapters but I already love this story. Great job!
6122328 ditto, i'm mythology
That is accurate. When an autistic person becomes involved in something, everything else ceases to exist. Very good. Most people do not know this. I read more and I saw that A.J. also mentions the sensitivity to touch and sound. Kudos to you, good sir.
7597702 I know how Cal feels >.< it sucks but we all have to embrace it
As soon as twilight asked--
--I lost it. I put my phone down cause the tears came so fast.
Having an autistic sister of my own, I sympathize with Applejack on how hard it is to handle this kind of situation.
Bless Twilight's heart.
I often repeat songs and YouTube videos I enjoy on repeat too. Even though my form of autism isn't as severe as Cal's, I can still identify with him in a way.
5915386
What happened was not a tantrum. That was something called a meltdown and they suck. I'm Autistic and change (especially the disruption of something I am doing) can trigger a meltdown so easily. He was stimming (stimming is self regulatory behavior and we also express our emotions with it as well. It's very important and shouldn't be stopped unless it is harmful to others or ourselves) and that was interupted and that is extremely unpleasant for many autistic people. I think you should learn more about autism and autistic people.
As a high support needs autistic person who has a lot of trouble communicating and struggles with meltdowns, understanding others, and processing issues this is good to see. I don't remember the other chapters currently (this is my third read through) but I'm probably going to comment on the other chapters too. Something I would like to mention is that functioning labels are very harmful and they force autistic people into boxes when autism is not clearcut. Autism is not a linear spectrum from barely autistic to severely autistic, every autistic person is just autistic and has things the struggle with and things they are good at. There is no severely autistic or barely autistic (Asperger's for example. Also Aspergers is a term coined by a Nazi so that's not good). I hope this makes sense to those who read it.