Wild and Free #1: Freedom

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: CHANGES

The sun is now beginning to set. Sable, Marista, Relment, and Tellis all head back to the rest of the herd.

Sable kind of feels bad about having to banish Zanzeph. Sure he was rude and disruptive, but there may have been some good in him deep down. He was raised to believe that there was some good in everyone, even if it was too deep to come to the surface very often.

He now dreads having to tell Copious that he banished her son. He has no clue how she is going to react. Tellis seems to be taking it well, but as Sable glances at the banished horse's brother, he cannot help but notice that he still looks pretty heartbroken.

As the group draws closer to the herd, Sable spots Copious and Zedly grazing. Marista looks at him, and then glances at Copious as if telling Sable to go ahead and break the news to them.

"Just do it gently," she tells Sable in a soft, reassuring voice. "I'm sure that Copious will understand."

Sable breathes in deeply, gaining a little more bravery from just hearing Marista's voice. He then heads in Copious and Zedly's direction, as Tellis follows closely behind him.

"Excuse me Mom, the leader has something to tell you," Tellis says.

Copious and Zedly both look up from grazing, and direct their gaze to Sable.

Sable now begins to feel nervous. He hasn't even been the leader of this herd for very long, and he has already had to banish someone! "I-I'm really sorry to s-say this, Copious," he begins. "But I had to b-banish your son, Zanzeph."

The expression on Copious's face drops. "What?" She replies. "But... why?"

"His attitude just wasn't fit for this h-herd," Sable replies sadly. "It was what was b-best for the herd... and f-for Zanzeph."

"But I can't see my son causing any trouble in this herd," Copious says to the leader.

"You sure didn't know him very well, Mom," Tellis replies. "He was acting terrible towards Sable... and even many others in the past." Tellis looks down at Zedly when he says this.

Zedly is not sure what to think about all of this. He doesn't know whether to be happy that his bully of a big brother is gone, or to be sad that he never really got to give Zanzeph a chance.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Sable finally says, "Once again, I am very sorry for all of this, but it h-had to be done."

After another short pause, Copious replies, "I understand. You all obviously saw a side of my own son that I never did. Since you are the leader, I respect your decision."

Sable smiles a little bit. He was afraid that Copious would be mad at him, and not agree to let him banish her son, but it seems that everything is okay. Copious still looks upset, which Sable can understand. Zanzeph was still her son, after all. But he is glad that Copious is kind enough to respect his decisions.

Sable leaves the small family alone, and heads to the same hill that he stands on to watch over the herd. As he does so, he reflects on everything that has happened to him in just the few days that he has been here. A raging river, a couple of growling bears, a blazing fire, a banished horse... more adventure than he would have ever had on the Timmons's horse farm!

But then, he thinks about his old home again. He thinks about his mother, and the day she was taken away from him. Does she still think about him? Why did that man with the red cowboy hat want her so badly?

Sable also thinks again about Claire. He hopes she isn't too sad about his disappearance. If she is sad, then Sable is sad. Maybe her parents will buy her another horse. He hates the thought of being replaced, but he hopes deep in his heart that Claire will be happy no matter what. No one else in the world could possibly replace the special spot in his heart that Claire fills, even if he never sees her again.

Sable's life has changed drastically in the past few days, but he knows that he is not the only one. Zedly now has a new mother and two new brothers, though one of them was banished. Tellis no longer follows Zanzeph's every move; he thinks for himself now. Zanzeph was banished from the only herd he has ever known, and there is no telling where he is now. Then there is the entire herd that now has a new leader.

As the sun disappears, and the moon's brightness floods the land, Sable lets out a loud neigh to announce to the herd that it is time for sleep. A smile breaks out across his face as he watches Copious, Tellis, and Zedly curl up together as a family and go to sleep. He also sees other families of horses in the herd whom he hasn't met yet, resting together, but he knows that he will know them all someday. He also sees Relment sleeping while standing up in the middle of the herd.

And Sable smiles even wider when he sees Marista find a place to sleep, and then lay down in the soft, green grass. She shakes out her long, beautiful, mane, slowly lays her head down, and closes her gentle, brown eyes.

Sable looks up at the sky above him, and he sees all the billions of stars. They are so far away, but tonight they look so close. He doesn't know what is going to happen to him in the future, or what is happening to his mother, and to Claire. But he still feels happy. He has met some new friends, and they feel like family to him. He knows that he will face many changes in his life, some of them good, and some of them bad. But whatever life throws his way, he is willing to accept it.

He will always be willing to accept change.

--The End--