Being Brave part II

It was dusk over at Sweet Apple Acres. The Apple Family were making their last round of checking on the daily produce. But Cory seemed to be most active today. He was caught between practicing his new found math skills through organizing the zap apple jam jars by quantity size, and brainstorming as to what to write for an upcoming essay to which Miss Cherilee assigned in class. Now when it came to math, things started to go by more smoothly for him. He remembered his breathing and Tai Chi skills Zecora told him the other day as he calmed his thoughts and thought of nothing but the task at hand. Now that the day was ending, He rewarded himself by messaging his feet, drinking a cup of apple cider and admiring the view of the orchard from the barn house.

"Boy howdy, I never seen you work so hard in all your days on the farm." Commented Applejack.

"Um, thanks." Replied Cory as he hauled the last bit of cargo onto Big Macs wagon.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you so organized before."

"Well I'm just doing my job here on the farm."

"Hey Cory, Big Mac, Granny Smith and I are headin over to Dodge Junction to sell some produce and drop off one o yer creations. We'll only be gone till tomorrow but mind if ya hold the fort for the night and babysit Applebloom and her pals?" Asked Applejack.

Cory turned around to notice the CMC front and center.

"We can help ya with yer essay if ya want." commented Applebloom

"Besides, most of the time we can take care of ourselves." added Sweetie Belle

"Or if not, we'll make sure we wont distract you one bit." added Scootaloo "It'll be as if we weren't even here."

"Well I haven't really babysat anyone before, but I'll give it a shot." Said Cory.

As the sun made it's last red haze into sky before turning in for the night, Granny Smith, Big Mac and Applejack packed their things and carted off to the train station. Meanwhile the CMC were up in Applebloom's room planning one of their nightly crusader adventures. Cory was up in his sleeping quarters trying to come up with a subject for his essay. He paced around the room, fondled with a few art supplies, and practiced some of his self defense moves to get the jitter out of him. But he just couldn't seem to figure out what to write.

Might as well check on the girls Cory thought to himself after an hour or two of brainstorming.

He walked downstairs, peered into Appleblooms room and saw the CMC playing a little made up game of theirs. As he against the side of the door and watched them reenacting some imaginary adventure, a dreamy look befell across his face. He reminisced on the day those three fillies found him at the junkyard. It was the first time in so long anyone said hello to him. The first time in so long anyone gave him a warm welcome. The first time in so long that anyone accepted him as one of their own.

"Hi Cory." Squeaked Sweetie Belle upon noticing him "Wanna play with us?"

"That depends. What are you girls playing?" he asked as he entered the scene.

"Were playing creature catching." Replied Applebloom. "Sweetie Belle and I are playing the dashing knights and Scootaloo's the dangerous creature."

"But were kind of missing on a third hero. Sort of looks better that way." added Sweetie Belle. "Wanna join in?"

"Sure, why not?" Said Cory with a deep sigh.

As he sat in their little play circle, the CMC dressed him up in a heap of tinfoil armor, a silver coated plastic sword and a cardboard shield with the cutie mark crusader emblem. Then they placed him as well as themselves in a fighting position as if ready to take on a dangerous creature.

"RAWR, I am a dangerous creature from the Everfree forest, RAWR." Proclaimed Scootaloo as she put on a mask and cloak.

"Halt dangerous creature from the Everfree forest." Proclaimed Sweetie Belle "I am Sir Sweetie Belle the Dashing."

"I am sir Applebloom the pure." Proclaimed Applebloom.

The three then looked at Cory, waiting for him to say his line.

"Oh, and I am Sir Cory the.." Cory thought for a moment. "What's my name again?"

"Yer Sir Cory the Brave." Whispered Applebloom.

"...Sir Cory The Brave." He said out loud.

"And together we're...." Said Sweetie Belle.

"The Cutie Mark Crusader Creature Catchers." The three of them said together.

"And we're here to catch you." Said Sweetie Belle

"You can never get me." Said Scootaloo "I am far too powerful and dangerous."

"You cannot run from us." Said Applebloom.

"RAWR." Shouted Scootaloo.

Soon she chased the three of them out of the Bedroom and around the house. They ran up the stairs, through the hallways, into the kitchen and even outside on the front lawn. The game had changed into a simple yet exciting combination of hide n seek and tag as Cory could hear the sounds of giggling and clopping all around the barn. He hadn't had this amount of exhilaration in so long. What's more, he was surprised the CMC would give him a name like "Sir Cory The Brave."

Then, suddenly, he realized something. After a few minutes of being lost in imaginary land, he couldn't find the girls. Though he could hear sounds of laughter, he couldn't find a filly anywhere.

"Girls!?" Shouted Cory "Girls!! where are you?!

Cory frantically searched the entire barn, cellar included, but couldn't find a trace of them. What am I gonna do He thought to himself. Applejack and the others are gonna be back in the morning. How am I supposed to explain this to them? Alright. Get a hold of yourself. Just do your meditation and breathing, and you'll find them.

Then he sat down in meditative position and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in and a deep breath out, to which he repeated according to Zecora's wishes. He thought of nothing but his breathing, and the occasional gust of wind blowing into the house. After a few minutes, he calmed himself down and continued his search. So if they're not in the barn he thought They must be somewhere in the orchard

So he promptly dashed outside and into the endless orchard of Apple Trees, each one thick and strong in their own design. Suddenly, he heard a few murmurs and giggles from a few yards away. He got closer and closer as the noise got louder. With his pretend sword in one hand and cardboard shield in the other, Cory crept in the greatest of ease. Soon he could see a large, bulky figure amongst the clutter of the vegetation. With one fell swoop, he pretended to stab the ominous object. Then, as he took a deep breath, he leaned over for a closer look. It was merely the makeshift creature costume Scootaloo was wearing.

"Aaaaa!! You found us!!" shouted a gleeful voice from up above.

The CMC landed on top of Cory from a nearby tree branch, hugging him and laughing at the same time. He let out a sigh of relief as he hugged back.

"Dont you ever to that to me again kids." Said Cory. "What are you even doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"We were wondering if you were strong enough to save us." Squeaked Sweeite Belle.

"Ya defeated the dangerous creature." Said Applebloom.

"I knew we were right to call you Sir Cory the brave." Said Scootaloo.

The CMC then thought for a moment and huddled up into a circle. After a few murmurs and mumbles they nodded in unison and turned their heads back to Cory.

"Cory. Would you like to be our first Cutie Mark scout master?" asked Applebloom.

"Scout master?" asked Cory with a look of shock on his face.

The CMC nodded in unison.

This was a really big responsibility being offered to Cory. Though he always wanted to be part of a team, he never really viewed himself as a leader. Now he was being asked to be some sort of a role model to three little fillies. Then he remembered how they were the first to welcome him to Ponyville, and how much life had in store for them. He also rememberd a quote Rainbow Dash told him a few days ago: Don't be afraid to try a new thing. Though it may not be your thing in the end, that thing'll make you learn a new and better thing about yourself. From remembering that quote, Cory nodded to Applebloom.

"Alright." Said Scootaloo. "Sweetie Belle? Care to do the honors?"

"With pleasure Scootaloo." Responded Sweetie Belle.

Before he knew it, Cory was escorted to a quaint little treehouse at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. To his right was what looked like a roll call sheet, and too his left was what appeared to be a lunch table. Among the items found were a few wooden crates, paper, crayons, a lantern, windows with pink curtains and other items fit for a CMC clubhouse. As he sat down on the wooden floor, he saw in front of him Sweetie Belle in front of a podium with Applebloom and Scootaloo to her left and right. All three were wearing magenta scarves with an emblem of a yellow pony in the center of them. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and picked up a piece of paper.

"We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders elect Cory Agees to join us as a counselor, friend, compadre, amigo, chum of chums, compedant, ally, leader, role model, bosom buddy...

"Uh, maybe you should get to the reason why we're here." Applebloom interrupted.

Sweetie Belle blushed, skipped a few pages and continued reading.

"For your bravery in defeating the dangerous creature from the Everfree Forest, by the power vested in us, we have voted you as our first Cutie Mark Scout Master."

Then, all three of them ran towards him and fashioned him with a golden coated scarf. On it was an emblem of a pony with a sword in one hoof and a shield in another. Then they all ran up to him and gave him a big group hug.

"Congratulations." Said Scootaloo

"Welcome to the club." Said Applebloom.

At that moment, Cory had an idea. He sprinted out of the clubhouse through the orchard, back into the barn and up to his bedroom. Then he sat down in his studying chair, took out a paper and pencil, put everything on his writing table and started to write. He jotted down how the CMC had so much youth and innocence in them, how they were always brave enough to try something new, how the call of adventure always helped them get up in the morning and start the day new and fresh. It was the perfect material needed for an essay. He kept writing and writing until his fingers were numb. Soon he orchestrated 3 pages worth of written material. At that moment he remembered from Twilight how important it was to proofread and edit your work. So he went back and, with the help of "The Art Of Essay Writing" book Twilight loaned to him, checked for any spelling and grammar errors, plus any improvement when it came to sentence structure. After 3-4 hours spellchecking, editing, and proofreading, Cory rested his head on the writing desk drifted off into a deep slumber of exhaustion.

It was at that moment the CMC quietly creeped up to his room. With the greatest of ease, the three of them carried him over to his bed and gently put the written essay in his backpack.

"Pleasant dreams scout master." whispered Sweetie Belle

"See ya in the morning hero." whispered Scootaloo

"Gnight bro...I mean, Cory." whispered Applebloom.