Blaidd Cave: A Wolf Adventure

"So where'd ya get off to?" Applejack smiled as Zolziac walked in through the barn doors.

"N... Nowhere" Zolziac said, he didn't want to tell his new owners that he'd spent a night in the wild.

Applejack stared at Zolziac for a few moments, before she went back to cooking. Applebloom had already gone off to school with Granny Smith and Big Mac was out in the orchard fields. So Zolziac went to the downstairs room, where the fire from the previous night was merely a few cinders in ash. He went to a nearby chest of drawers and opened one. He picked up his collar and threw it over his neck.

"Ya know" said Applejack, walking in "Ah reckon ya ought to keep that thing on. It suits ya"

Zolziac smiled. He thought for a moment.

"Hey Applejack" he said

"Yeah?"

"What if Winona found another dog that she.... liked?"

Applejack stared

"Why'd ya ask?" she asked

"It's just" began Zolziac "I may have met someone last night"

"Met who?"

"An old friend"

"And yall tellin' me this because?"

Zolziac fretted for a second. But it was too late, he'd let his tongue slip.

"Are ya tellin' me that yah found somepony ya like?" Applejack smiled.

Zolziac sighed.

"Well...." began Zolziac, but Applebloom came running in.

"Come on Zolziac" she cried "Ah wanna get to school"

"Coming" Zolziac smiled. He was about to leave, when he was stopped by Applejack.

"Would ya like to discuss it tonaght?" she asked. Zolziac nodded. He then picked up Applebloom on his back and ran off for the school.

It was a warm day, warmer than usual. The pegasi had forecast a large heatwave to cover for all the recent rain they'd had the past few months. So Zolziac was soon at his water bowl. He looked inside it, but a different wolf stared back at him.

'Sophie?' Zolziac thought. He looked up, and Sophie was staring, rather irritably down at him.

"Hey Sophie" Zolziac smiled "Everything okay?"

Sophie said nothing. She walked closer to him, put a paw under his collar and swung it round his neck.

"What's that then?" she said.

"What? This?" Zolziac asked, stopping his collar from spinning. "This is just my collar"

"A collar?" Sophie said uncertainly.

"Sure" said Zolziac, puffing out his chest. "Pretty neat huh"

Sophie just stared.

"So.... You like being tame?"

Zolziac nodded

"It's awesome!" he smiled "You get to be part of a family. You're loyal to them, they love you."

Sophie glared.

"So the pack never loved you?" she asked.

"Well... Uh..." Zolziac muttered "Well, after I was expelled from the Beta school, where was I meant to go?"

"You could've come and lived with me" Sophie said "But no 'Oh look at me'" she mimicked "'I'm Zolziac, and I'm going to mope and mope until the day I'm set free from this pack. If only there was someone who wanted to take me in the wild' Well, y'know what? There was."

"Well Sorry" said Zolziac "But you never said anything, so I assumed I was alone in the world"

"Well you weren't" Sophie snarled "You realised how I felt about you right?"

"Felt what about me?" Zolziac asked "The fact I was a traitor to the pack? That I was unworthy? That I hated anything wild?"

Zolziac began to walk off.

"No!" cried Sophie "I loved you!"

Zolziac stopped. Tail stopped and ears pricked up.

"W... What?" he stammered, turning back to Sophie.

Sophie sighed.

"Remember when we were pups. We used to go outside and play almost every single day. We didn't care about danger or anything that was remotely threatening. The only worry on our mind was, are we going to have lots of fun today? Well.... When I was growing up, I saw something in you that I didn't see in the other wolves. You were kind and gentle. So after a while, I began to get emotions for you. Those emotions then turned into feelings, and those feelings haven't changed" Sophie said. She looked up. "I remember when mum and dad died" she continued "You always were the one who would accompany me on the high rock. Remember how we used to believe about our ancestors in the stars?"

Zolziac sighed.

"We used to howl to them" he smiled, remembering "Letting them know we were safe and sound."

Sophie looked at Zolziac.

"When I thought you'd been killed" she continued "I cried and cried all night. You were the most important wolf to me. My parents were gone, my siblings were all killed by Hanrinka, and now they had taken you too."

Zolziac stared.

"I never knew you felt That way about me" he said in bewilderment.

Sophie stared, then smiled.

"Why don't we go for another run" she smiled

"Sure" said Zolziac, trying to contain his excitement "I'll go and get Applejack to tell her what I'm doing."

"What? No!" Sophie said. Zolziac stopped.

"What do you mean?" Zolziac asked

"You have to keep this secret" Sophie said "No one must ever know"

"Why not?" asked Zolziac

"Because I'm afraid that they'll see me as bad company" Sophie frowned

"Well, I know how that feels" Zolziac said "... Okay. Let's go!"

Sophie and Zolziac darted into the wilderness of the everfree forest. But from far behind them, somepony had watched the whole conversation. Heard every word, and was now watching the happy pair run off. She began to go after them...