Being Brave part II

The train came to a complete stop the next morning. It had arrived at its destination at 10:00 A.M. sharp. The passengers awoke to the hiss of the steam that came out of the engine. Cory awoke to a purple wing that was tickling his face. Noticing it was Twilight, he tugged it to wake her up. She sprung out of bed as she rustled out a few loose feathers.

"Morning Cory." Yawned Twilight as she put her wings back into place. "Sorry about that. These wings sometimes have a mind of their own."

After the two of them and Apple Family family checked if everything was accounted for, they hopped onto the Appleoosa train station, with Big Mac and the other two stallions carrying their entry as well as Cory's sculpture onto the platform. The style of the town was almost like someone watched every John Wayne movie a dozen times and copy the settings based on what they remembered. Here it had all the fine comforts one would wish to expect in a western town. With horse drawn carriages, a watering hole, the sheriff's office, wild and mild west dancing, and the stores that sold the daily trades and goods, it was hard to believe the place was once a battleground between the earth ponies and the buffalo.

As he and the others stepped off the station and melded in with the crowd, Cory noticed a few bulls eating a few pies and sharing a laugh or two with other stallions. Calves could be seen playing hoops and sticks with a other fillies and colts. And cows and mares were seen trading their quilts and bonnets in exchange for any necessary goods. How warm it was to know that two species who were once enemies were now living together as friends.

"Now Cory. I'm pretty sure by now you don't need a tour of the town. Is that right?" Asked Twilight.

"Yeah. Me and Rarity stopped by here a couple of times for supplies." He replied.

"Then I suppose you know where the INN is."

Cory looked around for a moment pointed to his right a three story wooden building with saddle shaped sign that read THE SILVER SADDLE.

"Great." Said Applejack. "Big Mac's gonna help you two unpack everything while Granny Smith and I check on the competition. Applebloom. Why don't you go check on Braeburn since he's hosting the event."

"Sure thing sis." Replied Applebloom as she galloped to her destination.

Cory, Twilight and Big Mac walked in the INN and found themselves in a special suite made for any visiting royalties. A big sign in the center stood on top of a coffee table that read: WELCOME PRINCESS TWILIGHT AND CORY, complete with a gift basket of carefully assorted snacks. As Big Mac trotted to bedroom to unpack, Cory took a moment to observe the living space. The decor and design looked like what would happen if Celestia decided to own a ranch. Engraved on the doorways and window frames were finely carved images of apples and leaves. On the floor, next to the furniture were carefully placed rugs and carpets with quilted images of buffalo in the middle of their daily stampede. On the ceiling was a small chandelier that looked could belong to an aristocratic, victorian household.

As the three explored beyond the living room, they saw before them a private library complete with a fireplace and lounge chair for reading. Twilight squealed with glee as she rushed to shelves to find a book. Cory, leaving Twilight with new found hard cover pals, came across an art studio next to the bedroom. From the look of the dried up paint and cobwebs that filled the rafters, it looked like it hadn't been used in years. But it was nothing a little TLC couldn't fix. Cory found a smock and a few cleaning materials nearby as he quickly refurbished the place and got to work on another project. Since there was no canvas to go by, he thought it would be neat to start painting the entire room. After carefully covering the floor with sheets and newspapers, he picked up a brush, de-hardened it in a cup of water, dipped it in a palette of paint, and started stroking the walls. Within an hour flat, he had covered them with a base paint of abstract shapes and forms that resembled either Miro or Kandinsky. Next he took a darker shade of paint and started on the shades and values to make them pop out more. When he was finished with that, he took a ladder from out of the hallway and moved onto the ceiling, illustrating a golden sunset with purple clouds and a few passing Pegusi. Finally, after 4-5 hours of painstaking work, he walked over to the corner of the room and placed his signature at the edge as he always did with his artwork.

It was at that moment he heard a joyous sound. He looked out window to see what it was and noticed a few pony families playing outside. Each one had a glowing smile on their faces as they were partaking in various activities. Some were playing catch, some were playing tag, others were participating in what looked like a seven legged race. There was one family where the father giving his daughter a noogie after finding her, while a mare was helping her son put a band aid on his right hoof and kissing it. But one scene that really intrigued him was a young colt crying over something. A Stallion, which was clearly his dad, rushed over to him.

"What's wrong sport?" He asked.

"Well." sniffled his son. "I didn't win that track and field race, and I worked so hard on it."

"Well, you did your best didn't you?"

"Yeah, and I also finished the race."

"Then that's really all that matters."

He promptly wiped away his sons tears and smiled at him.

"You're a winner in my book son, any day of the week." He said.

"Thanks dad."

"Now let's go home. I hear mom's making your favorite."

"Oh boy! Spaghetti and Hayballs?"

"Eeyup."

"Yay!!"

Then the father placed his son on his back and rode him home. It was then that a large tore inside Cory's heart. He fell to the floor and started bursting into tears. It's not that he didn't enjoy that moment. He just wished his parents would've treated him that way. If only they could've served as good role model as what he observed outside. If only could've understood his pain and made him feel like a winner. If only they could've encouraged him to do his best, even if he failed. This was the one thing he truly wanted: a real family. It was at that moment that Twilight entered the scene.

"Cory, you ready for..." She paused to take look at the newly painted studio. "Wow, you never cease to impress me."

"Thanks." He replied as he got up and wiped away his tears.

"Why were you crying?" She asked.

Cory sighed. "I just wish my parents were more like them."

He pointed his thumb out the window as he left the scene, much to Twilights concern. After knowing who he was referring to, Twilight walked down the hallway and found him in their room as he was rehearsing his speech. But this time, he was a little rusty on his presentation. Remembering what he learned from Zecora, he took a few deep breaths in and out while commencing in his Tai Chi.

"You know," Twilight said as she entered the room. "as a filly, whenever I got stressed the day before a big event, my mom would let me brush her tail. Would you like to brush mine?"

"I wish I had a bit for every time I saw little girls do that to their pony dolls." he responded

"Huh?"

"Nothing, it's...it's just a thing from my world. And yeah, sure. I'm up for that."

Twilight led him to her bedroom, which was almost duplicate to his. She sat down on her bed, levitated her comb into his hand and gave him the nod to begin brushing. He didn't why, but with every stroke on its soft silky texture, he started to calm down just a little bit more. It was then Twilight noticed how nonchalant he looked.

"Sorry I got you into doing this. It's kind of hard for me to reach my tail, even with magic." Said Twilight. "But, you know, princesses got to look their best."

"It's not that." Replied Cory as he continued with her tail. "I mean the pleasure's all mine. It's just...I...never had someone treat me like a real student before. That's something I never really got back home, except of course with my friends. These past few days, you really seemed to care about me in way no one has ever done in so long. You have strived to make me a better person, and make me feel proud for who I am. And for that I'm forever thankful. What's more, I can keep on living now."

"Wha...what are you trying to say Cory?" asked Twilight.

"I suppose what I'm trying to say is..." He continued as he started to yawn and rub his eyes "..Is that I like you Twilight. No. Let me rephrase that. I like like you. In fact, I can go further than that. I think..I..I...love you, and not just as a friend and teacher, but, almost like...like you were my mom. You and your five amazing friends are the closest I ever had to a family. It's so surreal and yet so good. Words cant even describe how much I love you. For the first time ever, I actually feel like...like I'm home. I never really thought, that a group who really cared for me, would be a bunch of ponies."

Then he plopped his body onto the bed beside Twilight and closed his eyes in exhaustion as he fell into a deep slumber

"I love you Twilight." He said through his breath.

Twilight made a motherly face as he said this. She always strived to be a good role model, but never expected to be like a parental figure. Not that she was against it. In fact, it was the best compliment she'd ever gotten. Twilight magically turned off the lights in the room, used her wing as a blanket and the side of her belly as a pillow and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Well I...I love you too Cory." She replied.