Being Brave Part II

by artman7391

Meeting Zecora

Cory rode on Twilights back with his hands tightly clenched onto her mane as the two flew over the vast thickness of the Everfree Forest. On this particular day, the mysterious habitat seemed to convey more welcoming territory. With its lush vegetation and enigmatic variety of trees, the aerial view made it almost a duplicate to the amazon. The two searched until they found an opening of the forest floor where Twilight softly landed on.

"Now before we meet Zecora, are you able to remember where you were the first time you came into this world?" Asked Twilight as Cory hopped off her back.

"Why do you ask?" asked Cory

"I might need to know in case...well...it doesn't really matter, yet. Could you just tell me where it was?"

Cory thought really hard as to how he got here. It was hard to pinpoint the exact location where he first landed in Equestria, what with the dense forestry and almost un-transparent fog. But if there was one thing he was actually good at, it was photographic memory.

"There." he said as he pointed in the direction.

In front of them was a large, smooth stone slab covered in discolored moss and twisted vines. Twilight approached it and using her magic, removed the unnecessary greenery for closer examination. Then, she levitated a thick piece of wood off the ground and mended it to make it look like a boomerang. She flung it towards the slab, and to her surprise, it went right through the solid material, as if it were nothing. A few seconds later it flew back out and landed softly on the forest floor.

"Amazing." she told herself. Then she turned to her left and saw a flickering light through the vines.

"Oh, and what luck." She said. "It's right next to Zecora's hut."

Twilight opened the vines like theater curtains to reveal what looked like an African equivalent of Twilights home. The design and decor made it look like Yoda's house and Rafiki's canopy if the two decided to live together. With it's curved trunk and twisted branches, it seemed like a perfect fit for the African savannah. Surrounding it were tribal masks and medicinal bottles hanging by rope, indicating the resident was possibly a witch doctor of some sort. The two slowly approached the door as Twilight gave it a knock. The door opened to reveal a rather attractive zebra with a mohawk for a mane. She sported a set of two large golden earrings as well as a row of rings wrapped around her neck and right foreleg. This accessory seemed to compliment her stripe pattern which looked like black, tribal paint rather than natural skin pigment.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle." She said with a soothing chant. "What a pleasant surprise, and what is this creature before my eyes?"

"Hi Zecora." Responded Twilight. "This is Cory, he's a creature from a world I visited once. He's my private student, and..."

"A Human? My my. After all these years. The creature who walks on two legs reappears." Replied Zecora as she approached him for further examination.

"Wait! What do you mean by after all these years?" Asked Twilight.

"I'll tell you later. Now come in my hut, and perhaps I can help with what puts him in a rut."

The interior looked no less complimentary than the exterior. Surrounding the air was an intoxicating incense of various spices and herbs. It's sources obviously coming from the various racks that filled the walls, which contained an infinite assortment of bottles, jars, cups, cans, and other items containing medicinal elements. It gave him the feeling he was entering a shop in New Orleans. Though faint, he swore he could hear the music of The Lion King. But then again, it was probably his imagination.

Zecora fixed the two of them with cups of her special herbal tea. As he took a few gulps, he wondered how it was even tea. The flavor was more along the lines of silky hot chocolate mixed with fresh raspberry and apricot. Every sip filled him with a zen like energy as if he were becoming one with himself.

"Now tell us what bothers our bipedal friend, and perhaps there is something I can recommend." Said Zecora.

"Well," began Twilight as he scooted her to the corner of the room. "From what Cory tells us, he hasn't really had the happiest of childhoods."

So Twilight started telling her about his sad upbringing, how his parents abandoned him, how he was sexually harassed, how his friends were taken away from him, and how he struggled with his basic math, writing and athletic skills. A tear was seen falling down Zecora's cheek when Twilight finished, to which she promptly wiped it away with her hoof.

"His tale of woe upsets me so. It is so undeniably unfair, for a child to go through all that despair. " Said Zecora.

"And that's the reason why we came here." Said Twilight. "We were wondering if you could help Cory with his concentration skills so he can be better at his general studies."

Zecora thought for a moment. "Cory, may we see the marks on your back?"

Cory hesitated for a moment, then turned around and lifted his shirt.

"My, my. That is one nasty attack." she commented as she lightly touched the whip marks.

"I know the just the trick, that can get rid of those lashes quite quick."

She swiftly ran over to her brewing cauldron and mixed and few herbs and spices that filled the room with a sweet aroma. Then she mixed it together with her ladle until everything blended as one. Then she carefully poured the brew into a wooden tray and gently rubbed the mixture on her hooves.

"Please bend over so I can see closer." Zecora requested as she went over and touched her hooves on Cory's back.

He lied down on his stomach as she began to rub her remedy all over his lash marks.

"There is an old prose in my homeland which goes:
Ujasiri si kupatikana kwa nini unaweza kufanya
Pekee ambaye yeye anafanya hivyo kwa ajili hawezi kuvumilia dhoruba" She recited as she continued rubbing his back

"Huh?" asked Twilight and Cory with confused looks.

"It means, Courage is not achieved by what you can perform
Only whom he does it for can he truly brave the storm."

The two were still puzzled as to what it meant. Then she lifted her hooves from his back and Cory walked over to a nearby mirror. To his surprise, the marks on his back were gone, as if it hardly been touched.

"Are you some kind of angel?" Asked Cory as he put his shirt back on.

Zecora chuckled. "I wish I had a bit for every time I'd find, a compliment like that from your humankind."

"Speaking of which," Twilight intervened, "What did you mean by seeing a human after all these years?"

Zecora walked over to her cauldron and dashed a few clay fragments into the bubbling brew. Then, before their eyes, a few shadowy figures appeared on the hut's ceiling.

"In my homeland, in days of yore." Zecora said "A creature roamed the grasslands on two legs, not four. Though forbidden it was to talk or employ, it was I, a young filly, who befriended their girls and boys."

As she continued with her story, the smoke figures moved along to her words, almost like a virtual storybook.

"As time went on, I became a secret teacher, educating each day this homo sapient creature. I taught them my ways and traded them my herbs, and, most importantly told them how to calm thier nerves. But just as fast as a hummingbird steers, all the humans one day, unexpectedly disappeared. Since then, I had become a nomadic vagabond, to ask myself where the humans had gone. Then I finally lost the will and settled in Ponyville. Then one morning, not long ago, as I was returning with my stash, I could have sworn I heard from nearby a muddy splash. I went over to see what it could be. It was an imprint of the back of a human body."

Then she clicked her heel and the smoke vanished into the cauldron.

"So, can you help him?" Asked Twilight.

Zecora nodded "I can teach your student how to ease his stress. For a steady mind and soul is the key to success."

A smile grew on Cory's face as Zecora led him to the back of her hut.