Chapters Blaidd Cave: A Wolf Adventure
1: The School Presentation
"Don't forget Everypony!" called Miss Cherilee, as the school bell rang "Presentations in by tomorrow!"
Applebloom trotted home with her two faithful companions, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell.
"What are you going to do for your presentation?" asked Sweetie Belle
"I'm gonna give the class a presentation, on the history of pegasi" Scootaloo said proudly
"I'm gonna give the class a presentation on design and fashion!" Sweetie Belle squeaked "What about you Applebloom?"
"Ah dunno" Applebloom said simply.
They reached sweet apple acres, just in time to see Big Macintosh and Zolziac return from their run in the fields. Applejack then ran to greet them.
"Looks lahke that paw is healin' up good" she smiled
"Yup" said Big Mac
"Any prahblems out in the field?"
"Nope" Zolziac smiled.
Applebloom looked at Zolziac... An idea then flew into her mind.
"That's it!" she cried
"That's what?" asked her friends
"Zolziac" said Applebloom "Ah bet the class has never heard a presentation on wolves before!"
"Are you sure he'll want to be presented in front of an entire class?" Scootaloo said.
"Ahf course!" Applebloom said
Later on that day, when the apple family had just settled down in front of the fireplace, and when Granny Smith had finished her story of the great bat infestation (For the 100th time) Applebloom saw the opportunity to ask Zolziac.
"Uhh Zolziac?" she asked
Zolziac was curled up in front of the roaring fire, but he raised his head.
"Would ya lahke to be in mah presentation tomorrow?" she asked
Zolziac paused for a moment.
"Who will it be with?" he asked
"Everypony!" Applebloom said "They've never had a class presentation on a wolf before!"
"Well" Applejack smiled "Ah think that's a swell idea"
"I'm not sure" Zolziac said looking at the floor "I mean, i'm not that popular, even with the fillies"
"They'll love you!" Applebloom said "Trust me. You can tell them about your old pack!"
Zolziac looked at the floor again.
"and ah've done mah research!" she said, flinging down a book on wolves.
Zolziac looked across the room to Applejack
"Give it a chance Zolziac" she smiled "You never know, you may become popular with the school fillies"
Looking down again, Zolziac thought. Was Applebloom right? Was he really going to become popular? Well there was only one way for him to find out. He looked at Applebloom... and nodded.
The class stared in bewilderment at the large, brown wolf standing in front of the class. Even Miss Cherilee was sat at her desk staring. But Zolziac wanted to do this for Applebloom, and he had agreed to it, so he stood proud and tall, in front of the enchanted class.
"This here's a wolf" Applebloom began "He comes from the Everfree forest. His pack was once roaming the Everfree forest until they evacuated to the badlands. His name's Zolziac. He's the Apple family's pet. Alongside Winona of course"
The class continued staring at the the big, brown, fluffy giant.
"Now he's gonna tell ya about his tahme's bein' wild"
Zolziac's breath caught in his throat. He was going to have to talk to the class? This wasn't what he agreed to, but as Applebloom stepped aside, and the class' attention focused on him, he cleared his throat.
"Well... Hello" he said, silence followed "I... I'm Zolziac"
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a pink pony in a tiara sniggering.
"... and i was once a member of the Everfree pack."
A student raised their hoof.
"Y... yes?" Zolziac stammered
"Why did you become a pet, and not stay wild?" asked the filly
"Well..." said Zolziac, before telling them the story of how he had become tamed to the apple family.
"... So that's how i became tame" Zolziac finished. The class was silent for a little while, before it applauded both Zolziac and Applebloom.
"My, my that was a very special presentation" said Miss Cherilee "Thank you Zolziac and Applebloom."
Zolziac waited outside for Applebloom, when he was approached by the classmates, and asked numerous questions.
"Wow, that was great!"
"What was Harinka like?"
"Were you friends for long?"
"Can we come and meet Anique sometime?"
"I'd love to see you again"
Zolziac was flattered. Then someone shouted.
"Can we ride on your back?" and the cry was taken up.
"Alright" Zolziac laughed "But just around the school, no farther"
Rainbow Dash meanwhile, was flying over the school practising her flying techniques and moves. She looked down to see Zolziac giving the fillies rides.
She smiled and went off to tell Applejack.
"There yarr, ya see?" Applejack smiled, as Zolziac returned, carrying a sleeping Applebloom on his back
"I guess it wasn't so bad" Zolziac smiled.
"Ah'll have dinner on the table in fave minutes" Applejack said "Ya wouldn't mind havin' ta put Applebloom to bed would ya?"
"Sure" smiled Zolziac.
Zolziac pulled the covers around Applebloom, then went over and closed the curtains. He walked over and smiled at the sleeping filly.
"Goodnight Applebloom" he whispered "Pleasant dreams"
With that, he left the room and slowly closed the door behind him...
Blaidd Cave: A Wolf Adventure
Zolziac, though, did not have a pleasant dream. He was running, but he didn't know from what. Something, or somepony was chasing him along a desert plain. Suddenly, out of the swirling sandstorm, came a familiar voice...
"Zolziac!" It called. It was his grandmother... No it was Applejack... No it was Rainbow Dash... No it was...
Zolziac paused. He pricked his ears up in order to hear the voice better... It couldn't be... It was... It was indeed Rainbow Dash. But what did she want? What did she need? What was she calling him for?
Suddenly, out of the sand, came the black, red eyed phantoms of two wolves. Zolziac gasped. It was Harinka and Shamak. The former members of the Everfree pack... Which he had killed.
The phantoms of Shamak and Harinka, started to run for him. They wanted revenge! They were the reason that Rainbow Dash was calling him. Then he heard he again.
"Zolziac! Run!"
Zolziac didn't need to be told twice. He ran as fast as he could, but the black phantoms kept up with him. He ran and ran and ran. His legs started aching, but he had to keep running.
Suddenly he felt a stinging agony in his paw. The same paw that he had injured on the night that both of them had died. Zolziac didn't want to see anymore. He heard his name called again and again... It was Rainbow Dash... It was Shamak... It was Harinka... It was... It was...
"ZOLZIAC! WAKE UP!"
It was Applejack. She had thrown a bucket of cold water over him to get him out of his bed.
"W... What's the matter?" he asked
"You were havin' a naghtmare" Applejack said "Scrambling around like a worm in a basket o' apples"
Zolziac got up and shook off all the water... All over Applejack.
"Any more Zolziac?" asked Applejack, dripping wet.
"Oh sorry Applejack" Zolziac said quickly
Applejack looked at him.
"There's no need to apologize sugarcube" she winked
The town was busier than ever that day. Ponies bustled from shop to shop, buying and selling different things. They had gotten slightly used to having a wolf in their town by now, but Zolziac still felt out of place. He trotted around the town looking for what was on the funny little list he held in his paw.
"Okay" he murmured "We need 8 apples, 2 berries and a cup of flour"
"Pinkie Pie!" Applebloom cried. Both her and Zolziac had saddle bags on.
Zolziac packed the list away.
"Looks like a visit to Pinkie Pie's is in order" he smiled "Fancy a lift?"
Applebloom looked delighted
"Yes please" she beamed. Zolziac picked her up and placed her on his back.
"Hold tight" he said.
Sugar cube corner was not far from the town square. Pinkie Pie was serving up guests as usual, but she'd been rather bothered lately. Work in the cake shop had grown increasingly boring, and she needed something to lighten the mood.
Zolziac then strode in through the double doors with Applebloom giggling on his back. Zolziac suddenly felt everypony's eyes fall on him. Well it was hardly usual that a large brown wolf with a saddle bag and filly on his back, strode into a cake shop.
"Zolziac! Applebloom!" Pinkie cried, overjoyed "Finally, something that I can smile for"
"Hi Pinkie!" called Applebloom
"Could you help us with this list?" Zolziac smiled, handing Pinkie the list that he had been given.
"8 apples, 2 berries and 1 cup of flour coming right up!" she flew into the kitchen, and Zolziac and Applebloom exchanged glances as the unmistakable sound of smashing glass and crashing pots was heard.
"Aha!" came the voice and Pinkie strode out with a big paper bag.
"Thanks" said Applebloom "come on then Zolziac"
Zolziac turned to leave, but he suddenly saw a large, grey shape fly past the door. It was only there for a few split seconds, but Zolziac knew what he had seen... It was another wolf!
"Huh?" he exclaimed out loud.
"What is it?" Applebloom asked, finally lifting her head out from the paper bag.
Zolziac just stood there. Watching the door. He was sure it was a wolf. It couldn't have been anything else. He picked up Applebloom and placed her gently on the ground.
"You can find your own way home right?" he asked
"Sure" Applebloom said, confused "Why? Where are you going?"
"I think" Zolziac said "I just saw another wolf"
"Another wolf?" Applebloom cried "What's another wolf doing here?"
"I'll soon find out" said Zolziac as he charged out the doors.
He sniffed the ground. If a wolf had been there, he'd be able to track it. He smelt the baker, the barber, Twilight Sparkle, two ponies, a mule and.... A Wolf.
"Finally" Zolziac said quietly. He began to follow the trail.
Zolziac sniffed along the streets of Ponyville. He had hardly gone a few metres, when he suddenly hit a market stall. It was a shoemaker, and he didn't seem pleased that a wolf had just bumped into his cart.
"Hey. What do you think you are doing?" he said in an Italian accent.
"Sorry" said Zolziac "I was just wondering if you'd seen a wolf anywhere?"
"The only member of the canine family I've seen today" said the shoemaker "Is the disastrous mutt stood in front of me right now"
Zolziac's ears dropped, and he hung his head low. As he was plodding slowly home, he heard the other ponies whispering as they walked past. They said things like...
"How on earth does that wolf survive here?"
"Tee hee hee, he looks like a great furry mattress!"
"Applejack must've made a terrible mistake!"
"I don't see why he came here. He clearly doesn't belong here"
Zolziac dragged his dropped tail up the hill to Sweet Apple Acres. Winona greeted him warmly, she bounced off, grabbed a stick and desperately wanted Zolziac to play with her. She got a nasty shock when Zolziac plodded past.
He went into the barn, crept up to the rug by the fireplace, and lay down without even looking at Applejack, who was by the door.
"Everythin' okay sugar cube?" she asked, slowly shutting the door.
She walked up to him and gently stroked him. Zolziac hated to admit it, but it did feel soothing. Especially on a woolly rug in front of the crackling fireplace.
"Anythin' happen in town today?" she asked. For a moment, Zolziac said nothing. He then sighed heavily.
"Do you think I belong here?" he asked softly.
"What makes you ask that?" Applejack asked "of course you do"
"You don't mind" said Zolziac "You see me everyday. But for ponies from Canterlot or other parts of Equestria. Seeing a wolf is the height of their fears. I... I..." he paused "I just wish I knew more wolves"
"Zolziac" said Applejack soothingly "We're your family. We're your pack. Who needs a pack when you have us mane six"
Applejack got up and began to ascend the stairs.
"Are you coming up to bed?" she asked. Zolziac just curled up next to the fireplace.
Applejack's words had affected Zolziac far more than she realised. Zolziac was awake for about an hour afterwards, tossing and turning over Applejack's words. While he thought, the ponies remarks kept flying round and round his head. Eventually though, he drifted off to sleep............ completely unaware of the adventure to come.
Blaidd Cave: A Wolf Adventure
Zolziac woke with a horrible start. He had cold sweat dripping from his brow and looked around quickly. Still under the assumption that he was still in his dream. His dream was the same as that of the previous night.
"Whenever a dream repeats itself, it's never good news" he said. His mother had taught him that as a pup, and he was now finally thinking about those words.
Suddenly, a large crash of dustbin lids came from outside the barn. Zolziac leapt around to look at the door. He was amazed to find the door was partially open. Was that possible? He could've sworn Applejack had closed it earlier that evening. The crash came again, only this time, it was joined by a yelp. Not the kind of yelp a dog makes, but it still sounded small and in trouble.
Zolziac darted out from the barn and around the side. He found the dustbins had been overturned and raided. It was then that he saw a shadowy figure fleeing back to the Everfree forest... It was the same figure he'd seen outside the Sugar Cube Corner the previous day. Well, he wasn't going to let it get away this time. He flew after it at a rapid pace. The figure wasn't a unicorn, so it couldn't use any magic against him.
Whatever it was, it knew the forest just as well as Zolziac. It knew just where to dodge trees and where all the shortcuts were. Zolziac slowly got closer and closer, before he leapt, growling, and tackled the figure. The grunt he heard from it was female, but he wasn't going to let this figure get away, mare or stallion. They rolled over and over until they finally stopped at the bottom of a hill.
It was then, Zolziac got a glimpse of who she was. He backed off immediately.
"... Sophie?" he said, a hint of recognition in his voice. The light grey wolf staggered up.
"Z... Zolziac?" she asked "Is that really you?"
"It is you!" Zolziac cried "Oh thank Celestia, yes it is me Sophie. It is me. Zolziac! I'm Zolziac Sophie!"
"Zolziac!" Sophie cried and both her and Zolziac bounced around each other like two excited puppies, meeting for the first time.
"I thought you'd been killed!" Zolziac said
"I thought you were killed by Shamak!" Sophie smiled.
"Oh at long last!" Zolziac yelped happily, leaping in joy "At long last I finally know you're alright"
"I can't believe it" Sophie said excitedly "Here we are again. Ironically in the place we first met."
Zolziac looked around. Sophie and him, had first met when they were merely pups. Their mothers were good friends, so it wasn't difficult for the two to get along. They chased bugs, ran through fields and had even once outrun an angry bull. To Zolziac, they were fond memories, but on the night of Zolziac's explusion from the pack, Sophie was in the audience and so Zolziac presumed she had been killed by Shamak's shoulder wolves. But now they were reunited, under the same trees that they'd first met under.
"What are you doing here?" Zolziac asked
"Looking for you of course" Sophie giggled "Don't you know what night it is?"
"No?" said Zolziac, slightly confused. Sophie laughed
"Ee hee hee" she giggled "It looks like becoming tame has made you forget. It's the night of the moon silly!"
Zolziac looked, and the moon was definitely full.
"So?" he asked
"So, wanna spend this night together?" Sophie asked
Zolziac was, for a few minutes, lost for words.
"S... Sure" he said after a moments pause.
"Come on then" said Sophie "See if you can keep up"
She then took off at a rocket pace, Zolziac swiftly following. Every now and again, Sophie would stop and hide. Zolziac would then have to sniff her out to find her. It was like a game of hide and seek for them. They spent hours, just running around, hiding, seeking, laughing and wrestling. Zolziac had never had so much fun since before he'd been tamed.
At one point, he and Sophie were chatting, when they walked past a large pond. Fireflies bounced around the outside. Zolziac and Sophie tried to catch them, but they would fly off immediately. That didn't stop their fun though. More than once, a firefly would go over the pond and, in an effort to catch it, one of them would fall straight into the pond.
After they'd grown bored of chasing fireflies, they began to play wrestle around the forest. They played and laughed until they reached a small ledge in the forest. There, they both got a clear view of the moon. Sophie smiled at Zolziac and howled. Zolziac, not wishing to disappoint, joined her. The two howls were carried by the wind and joined over the trees like a woven cloth that was carried over the forest for eternity. Sophie, after she and Zolziac had finished howling, leaned on Zolziac's shoulder and looked with him, up at the clear night stars.
The next morning, Applebloom woke up and ran downstairs in her nightgown.
"Good mornin' Zolziac!" she called. But Zolziac wasn't by the fireplace, the door was open and there were paw-prints leading outside.
"Applejack" Applebloom called "Have you seen Zolziac?"
Applejack was cooking bacon on the stove. She turned around and caught her sister as she came flying in.
"Now don't you worry sugar cube" Applejack said "He was just feelin' a little down last night as all. He's probably just gone out for a little walk or something. I'm sure he'll be back"
Zolziac and Sophie laughed as they climbed up a ledge. They were just talking, when Zolziac noticed the sunrise.
"Oh no" he said "Sophie I gotta go"
"W... What?" Sophie said.
"Sorry" Zolziac said sadly "But the apple family will be expecting me"
Sophie looked at Zolziac for a few moments.
"They're a family on an Apple orchard" he explained "B... But I promise I'll see you again"
Sophie said nothing, but a tiny smile crept across her face. She then walked up to Zolziac, gently kissed him and ran back off into the Everfree forest, from where she came.
Blaidd Cave: A Wolf Adventure
4: This Must Be Kept Secret!
"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...