Being Brave Part I

Chapter 5

The sun shined over another busy afternoon at Sweet Apple Acres. It's rays glistened in the orchard giving it a sense of warmth and belonging. The grass from below lightly moved across the cool wind from the north. Among it's paved road trotted none other than honest, and ever trustworthy Applejack. Here she executed her daily business of kicking off apples for the season and selling them to market. Not too far off, her brother, Big Macintosh, with his comprisable strength, was carrying the last cargo of apple cider into their precious cellar. Meanwhile, Granny Smith, the ever loving matriarch of the family, was up in her easy chair on a porch adding the final adjustments to a new quilt. Yes, it seemed as though another busy, uneventful day would come to pass for the Apple Family. Or, at least that's what they thought.

"Applejack. Hey Applejack!!" shouted Applebloom as she and her three friends approached the farm. "Look what we found at the Junkyard."

"Applebloom" sighed Applejack as she paused on her duties. "I know what you're trying to do but...."

"But this is something totally different. It's probably something nopony's ever seen before." Squeaked Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah and totally awesome." Added Scootaloo

"Awesome, new, different. I can't take in any more souvenirs from your cutie mark adventures." Said Applejack

"Maybe if you young-uns find room in your tree house you can...."

As she travelled up the hill, staring back at her was clearly a genuine sight to behold. A bewildering shock filled her face.

"...introduce me to my first...Hu..Human." she continued her sentence as her jaw dropped in disbelief.

The creature was something not of this world. His body looked like a stripped, two branched tree that suddenly sprouted legs and developed a mouth. The face was as if it had been squashed flat by an anvil yet somehow remained intact. The color of his skin was pale with no coating of fur, as if he shaved it all off from top to bottom, with of course the exception of the top of his head.

For Cory, he was just about intrigued with her as she was with him. But what intrigued him the most was what looked a tattoo of apples placed on her thigh. The two looked at each other as if they were aliens from opposite sides of the universe finally having a chance meeting.

"We found him underneath a pile of trash. He wants to be your stable boy" squeaked Sweetie Belle as Applejack began to walk around him.

"Golly..." she stuttered as she examined him. "Twilight told me all about them from her experiences...but...I...I never thought I'd see one up close." She then looked at him in the eye.

"Boy do I have a heap o questions for you." she said gleefully as she looked at his body like a specimen.

"Do you see in black in white?"

Cory looked as though he didn't understand the question.

"Do your fillies grow tails?" she asked

There was still no response from him, as if he lacked the proper words.

"Can you talk?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

After a moment of thought, Cory nodded.

"Yes maam." he said with a quiet voice. "I can talk. "

"Well, in that case, Howdy!! I'm Applejack, and let me be the first to welcome you as the first human in Ponyville." she proclaimed as she extended her foreleg with a greeting gesture.

Cory thought for a moment since he never shook hands with a fingerless animal before. Finally, he decided to just improvise and latch his arm onto her's, executing a shaking action.

"Boy, you sure got some nasty cuts and bruises." she said as she looked at his wounded body. "You look like you just got trampled on by a pack o timberwolves."

"Timberwolves?" asked Cory

"Uhhh... Never mind." Said Applejack "Come on.  let me fix you up and get you something to eat ."

"Lets get a move on crusaders." said Applebloom as they turned the other way.  "Maybe we can still find some spare guitars over at that yard." And so as the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran off to their new adventure, Cory walked off to his new life.