Being Brave part II

The trio walked up to the guest bedroom where they found Cory unpacking his suitcase and gently folding his clothes in the drawer. It was amazing how he could execute this task so neatly, while trying to hold back his tears. Shining Armor gently knocked on the opened door to catch his attention.

"Hey Cory." Said Shining Armor. "Sorry about that mess down there. We should've just..."

"No, no, no." Replied Cory as he continued unpacking. "It's not your fault. I should've told you earlier."

Cadence and Shining Armor looked at each other with concerned looks.

"Cory, you want to sit down and talk it over?" Asked Cadence as she approached him.

"No, I already told you. I'm fine. I'm just fine." He replied as if trying to hold his emotions in. "In fact, I never felt more better in all my life. I live with loving, hard working, earth ponies, I'm the student of a Princess, I get to go places, show my talent.."

"Cory.." Said Twilight

"And the best part is, I'm not afraid." He continued "I'm not afraid to express my self."

"Cory." Said Shining Armor "It's alright to be angry at your parents. You have the right to be."

Cory stopped unpacking as a long dead silent pause fell across the room.

"Wh..Why should I be angry? I already told you I'm fine. I'm happy. In fact I'm the one who should be sorry for ruining Hearths Warming Eve."

"You didn't ruin anything Cory." Said Twilight.

"Well in that case. Great!"

By now a change of tone was noticeable in Cory's voice. It sounded a little sarcastic as if he was trying desperately to hold in his temper.

"I mean, after all the hell I've been through, it could've been worse. I could've been diagnosed with a life threatening disease, I could've been sold into slavery, I could've ended up in juvenile hall, I could've killed myself which I PLANNED ON DOING, BEFORE I MET MY FRIENDS!!!"

Then out of a fit of anger, he threw one of his shirts against the wall.

"But you know what, I'm glad I didn't, because I wouldn't have been able to see who I truly was. I sured showed my parents a thing or two, didn't I? They'd look pretty silly if they saw me now. I just wish I didn't waste my time making this."

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and slammed at a nearby table. It looked like it hadn't been opened in years. Cadence, Shining Armor and Twilight walked over to it and magically unfolded it to reveal a finely detailed picture of a male a female figure hugging their child. The letter read "I love you mom and dad." Tears started to fall down their cheeks, to which they promptly wiped them away.

"I was going to give it to them on Parents Day." Cory continued "It was on the same day they left me at the airport. Ironic huh? I've kept it with me for almost 6 years, waiting to give it whoever was going to adopt me and make me their own. But since that's not gonna happen, I don't know what to do with it."

Cadence cleared her throat. "Cory, we're really sorry." She said "Truly we are. And If it helps, we can leave you alone to compose yourself."

"NO, I want you to hear." Cory insisted. "I want you to hear that I'm fine. I want you to realize that I'm in awe at how great of a family you all are part of. In fact, I want you to know that I'm envious of how supportive you've all been to each other, how you would fight together till the end, how you all had the one thing in my childhood I begged and prayed every night to have: A Family. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that families only accept those who are perfect and free of mistakes. I mean look at you. You all have a great life, a great house, a lot of great friends. Hell, you've all even given the royal promotion!! Two Princesses and a royal guard. It's no wonder I couldn't get a family, cause everyone thought I was too imperfect."

"Applejack doesn't think that about Applebloom." Said Twilight.

"What?" Asked Cory.

"Yeah. She, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are the only ones in their class without a cutie mark. But they have the best kind of support anypony could ask. Plus Scootaloo's unable to fly, yet most don't seem to mind."

"I suppose what Twily's trying to say Cory," Said Shining Armor " ..is no matter what insecurities and imperfections they have right now, their loved ones will be on their side to the very end. Everypony deserves that kind of support, even the most imperfect."

"But they had a great family." Said Cory "Plus they had a great environment of friends and relatives. They were lucky. What did I have? Nothing. My parents left me, all my other relatives are dead, there's no one I share DNA with, I'm basically the last of my kind. But you know? What am I to worry about? I turned out okay. I learned to walk without my dad, I learned to tie my shoes without my mom, I learned to socialize without my folks, I learned to speak, recite the alphabet, get a good grade in history, music and arts without them, I even learned how to live on my own! I had 4 amazing birthdays with some of the best friends anyone could wish for, and my mom didn't even have the balls to come back and apologize to me!! FUCK THAT BITCH!!

"Cory!" Said a shocked Twilight "Watch your language!"

"I don't need them now and I don't need them ever. As long as I got the greatest friends in any world, I'm as happy as can be."

Then he continued with his unpacking. By now the three of them could see he was in extreme pain. His face was red with anger and his cheeks were streaming with tears. Cadence and Shining Armor walked up to him and started rubbing his back.

"It's okay to cry Cory." Whispered Cadence.

"Don't feel sympathy for me guys." Said Cory as he shoved them away. "You should all be downstairs celebrating a joyous occasion, and not worrying about me. What's more, you don't have to worry about me, 'cause I am gonna make it. I'm gonna be a success. When I grow up, I'm going to get a job, save up my money, go to college and earn a degree, and this time, I won't CHOKE under the pressure of test taking like I did last time, and..."

"Wait! What do you mean last time?" asked Twilight

"Every year, in my world, our school district is required to take this Basic Skills Test, covering reading, writing, and math. If I got at least 60 problems right, I would pass the test and be eligible to go to another school. But the downside was, there was a time limit of no more than 3-4 hours. Regardless if you finished the test or not, when the time was up, you had to put your pencils down and turn the paper in. So on the day of the test, I went as fast as I could on the paper, getting each problem done with the greatest of ease, until I reached the 60th problem. It was a goddamn long complicated math problem that just bumped me. I couldn't seem to figure out or solve it, and by the time I think I had the answer, the test was over.

"Once again I had failed to get out of that forsaken school. And with no one to get comfort from, where was I to go? But now it's gonna be different, 'cause I have the best teacher anyone could ask for. She has helped me get through questions faster, helped find self-esteem within myself, and best of all, helped me strive to become a better human being than my parents ever were, because there isn't a damn thing they could teach me that would convince me that my life is worth something!!!"

Cory couldn't hold it in anymore as tears streamed down his eyes. He walked over to the guest bed and sat down as his fists clutched against his pants. He couldn't believe what he just said. It was as if another person was talking to these three ponies. Then, he started crying, not because he was in pain, but because he felt ashamed of himself. But it didn't seem to matter, as Cadence walked up to him and lifted his head up with her hoof. A compassionate smile grew across her face.

"Why did they hate me Cadence?" he said under his tears. "Why did they hate me?"

Then he wrapped his arms around her neck as she brought him in for a big squeeze. Twilight and Shining Armor followed soon after and formed a large group hug as Cory continued to cry.

"Shhhh, just let it out Cory." Whispered Cadence as she rubbed his back. "Just let it out."

After what seemed like the longest time, the three ponies helped him finish with his unpacking and escorted him back downstairs.

"You shouldn't be ashamed for expressing what you felt." Said Shining Armor.

"Really?" Cory asked

"Yeah just because you're not perfect doesn't mean you wont get a family. I mean, I struggled too when I was filly. It took me about 6 tries to get into the royal guards. Besides, nopony's perfect."

"Not even Cadence?" Cory asked.

"Even I make mistakes Cory." Said Cadence. "But from them I learn to be a better leader. If we never made mistakes, we never would've gotten anywhere."

"Starswirl the Bearded had his blunders too." Said Twilight "But we probably wouldn't have had the greatest spells in Equestria had it not been for those accidents."

"I hope I didn't spoil the holidays for you all." Said Cory

"We've already told you Champ, you didn't do any such thing." Said Shining Armor. "Besides, Hearth's Warming Eve is a time of togetherness."

"A time when everypony comforts everypony else," Cadence added.

"Especially when a certain somepony feels down." Twilight added.

"From what you've told us," Said Shining Armor as he gave Cory a noogie "You're a pretty brave kid."

Cory's cheeks blushed as he made a sheepish grin.

"Now lets head back to the kitchen and finish dinner." Said Twilight "I for one cannot wait for desert."

As they got back to their seats and finished the main course, Cory was truly reassured of himself and felt part of Twilight's family. Now it was Dessert time. This was an exceptional array of apple cobblers, apple strudel, carrot cake, ice cream sundaes, Rainbow coated cupcakes and a dazzling assortment of different ice cream flavors. When the meal ended, Twilight's family, Cory included, headed back to the living room and played a few Equestran versions of Twister, Checkers, Monopoly and 5-6 other unheard board games. They shared a laugh here, and told a joke there until everyone was tuckered out.

Cory headed up to his room and got ready for bed. Somehow, everything in the guest room seemed lighter and cheerful to him. The drapes were more bright in color, the wallpaper was warmer in hue and texture, and the bed looked exceptionally comfy. As he brushed his teeth and rinsed out his mouth, he wondered what Twilight's room looked like. So, he crept out of his room, tiptoed down the hallway and gently knocked on her door.

"Come in." Said a voice.

The room was almost fit for a castle. With a domed ceiling, tiled floor and bed with matching curtains, it's no wonder Twilight was destined to be a princess. To his left was a small dresser with a mirror about the size of a young filly. on the desk was a few knick knacks and items from her childhood past such as letters, a music box, and a case of pencils and quills. On her bed was small stuffed teddy bear was placed on a plain pillow below above a swirled textured blanket. To his right was what intrigued him the most. It was a yellow toy chest with a violet outline that looked like it hadn't been touched in ages. As he opened it for a closer look, he stared in awe at a vast array of childhood toys and games. It was as if he was looking into a history of somepony's life.

"I see you've become aware of my toy chest." Said a voice

"Oh, I'm sorry." Said Cory as he quickly closed the toy chest. "I didn't mean to look through your personal belongings."

"No need to apologize." Chuckled Twilight. "You're welcome to look at my childhood toys if you want."

Cory nodded in response as he straightened himself up and headed for the door.

"Um...Cory?" asked Twilight to which Cory turned around to listen.

"When you said that thing earlier..."

"What thing?"

"About me being the greatest teacher ever, did you mean that?"

"Well, I may have over emphasized on a few things but yes, I did mean it. Twilight. You and your friends saved my life. I don't know where I'd be if hadn't been for you. I probably would've ended up in some juvenile hall with a noose around my neck. You showed how I still had some living left to do, and what's more, you gave me more of a reason to live through the power of friendship. That's the best gift anyone has given me."

Tears started to fill Twilights eyes.

"Of all the compliments I've gotten since becoming a princess, that one tops it all."

Then they embraced each other in a long hug right before Cory headed back to his room for a good nights sleep. It was the first time he fell asleep with ease, assured of himself and the future.