Sisters of the Storm

By Volgrand

Pre-read and edited by JeffCvt

Chapter 1

The Storm

The blizzard erupted over Mountain Peak, bringing with it the wrath of winter. It had been a hard winter for the pony settlement, but it wasn't anything the inhabitants weren’t used to.

The night had not still arrived, but the dense clouds blocked almost all of the light. Everypony was taking shelter with their families in their homes, lighting fires to fight off the growing cold. Everypony, except one mare who defied the weather, galloping to the edge of the town. “Star!” she shouted, “Star Whistle!”.

The only response she received was the howling wind. The mother pony, who’s daughter had not come back to town, ran to the closest house and pounded on the door with all her force. “Open! Help me!”.

A stallion opened the door and looked to the hysterical mare. “Glittering Light! What's the matter?”

“My daughter!” she responded, shouting above the wind, “My daughter hasn’t come back yet!”

Star Whistle cowered under a berry bush, trying to stay warm in the freezing conditions. She was 6 years old, had a light gray coat and a blonde mane with some white tufts. She had went out to eat some wild berries -in these lands, they can grow even during winter- when the storm surprised her. She tried to find her way back to the town, but the wind and the snow disoriented her. She tried to follow her hoof-steps on the snow back, but the blizzard had erased them. She was lost.

She searched for a long time, calling desperately for her mother. But it was useless. Her mother had told her that, if she ever was lost, to hid under a bush and wait. So she did just that. Star Whistle grew colder and colder by the moment. And she was starting to get tired. She was starting to get very tired. The little filly didn't know why, but she did know that it was a very bad sign.

“Mom! Mommy!” she cried. The wind dragged the desperate call of the filly with it. She kept calling her mother, screaming, while she still had the energy to do so. The darkness was deep when lightning flashed in the black sky. The terrorized scream of Star was dimmed by the roar of the thunder. She called again to her mother, but no one answered.

Suddenly, she heard a howl. She didn't know where it came from, or how close it may have been. But she did know what it was. The winter wolves. Star backed up even more under the bush, letting the snow to fall over her, hiding her even more. She could not see any movement, apart from the storm. She felt more tired with each passing second as she tried to not fall asleep. Should she try to find her way back to the town? Was it better to stay still?

Crack.

Suddenly she heard a branch crack from a nearby bush. Someone was moving. Star Whistle immediately let a smile grace her lips. It was her, it has to be her mommy searching for her! Who else could it be, if not? She jumped out of the bush yelling “Mommy, mommy, mommy mom...”. But as soon as she saw what was there, she froze. Not from the cold, but out of terror.

Standing in front of her, she saw a thick, light gray, almost white, furred wolf. The backbone of the creature arose several feet over the ground, bypassing the size of any adult pony. The creature turned, slowly, and when it did, Star saw that the legs ended in several sharp claws. It moved with the stealth, fluency and speed of a born hunter.

It was then the filly saw its eyes: two big, refulgent amber eyes that glowed in the night. The winter wolf stared at the little pony and bared its teeth, growling.

Star Whistle screamed and started running with all her force away from the predator. The soft snow rose to her belly, making it difficult to move. She called her mom, screaming in terror, searching for any way to go back to the town. Suddenly she sank even more. Under the snow there was a hole in which the young filly got stuck. It was just a second, but enough to feel the breath of the wolf behind her. She turned back, terrorized, and looked at the fur-covered death that was coming for her.

“He's going to eat me.” She thought. It was the only thing that Star could think about. She stepped backwards and, by a matter of chance, she saw a bush behind her. She jumped under it, hoping in vain that the wolf would not reach her. But the predator got closer, walking, not wanting to waste any unnecessary energy on such easy prey. It bent under the bush, and when it was about to bite Star, a new growl was heard.

But this one had a higher pitch.

The wolf looked to where the growl had come from. Star Whistle followed his stare. There was another wolf. Or, more precisely, there was a wolverine, a wolf that was still considered a child. Although he looked like it was almost in its teenage years. Its coat was gray too, except for the belly which was completely white.

Both wolves stared each other for a long time. Star Whistle thought she heard them growling at each other, but she was not sure with the sound of the storm. Suddenly, the big wolf walked away, leaving the pony alone with the wolverine. The wolverine approached the bush where Star was hidden and laid down on the snow, staring at the pony.

Star looked at the wolverine, and could tell almost instantly that it was not going to hurt her. And, looking in detail, she discovered that it was a girl. Her left eye was amber, the right one, blue. The wolverine seemed to be studying Star at the same time. She stared at her in a very weird way, as if she was looking into her very soul. The wolverine crawled a few centimeters toward Star. But Star was still frightened and crawled back. The wolf stopped.

They stayed that way for a long time before Star managed to convince herself that the wolf was not going to attack her. Slowly, the wolverine approached the pony. Star felt very strange. She knew that the wolves were very dangerous, but she also could tell that this wolverine was not. When just a few centimeters separated them, the wolverine completely lied on the ground. Star understood that she was inviting her to lie at her side.

And so she did. Frightened at start, Star approached and laid next to the wolverine. When she felt the warmth the wolf radiated, Star realized just how cold she was. She trembled violently. The wolf put a leg over Star, trying to keep her as warm as possible.

It was a very strange situation: a pony sleeping with a predator that could easily eat her. But instead it had decided to save her. “Will you bring me home?” asked Star.

The wolf growled, very low, with a guttural sound. Star Whistle, although it scared her, quickly realized the wolverine was not trying to frighten her. The pony thought that it would be impossible to talk to her savior. Meanwhile, the wolf kept growling most of the time. Hours.

Star Whistle first thought that that they were just growls. But, with nothing else to do and unable to sleep, she listened to them. She noticed that not all of them were the same. Some seemed to come out of the wolverine’s throat . Others, from her chest. There were some growls that sounded like the adult wolf from earlier, but other were more like a cat's purr. And sometimes there were pauses between the sounds, some of them longer than others. Slowly she discovered repeating patterns. Many times the wolverine would repeat the exact same growls and sounds, with the same pauses.

Star turned her head to watch to the wolf. She was talking to her! But, what was she saying? The pony turned completely to face the wolverine. She stopped growling... talking. Star though on a way to communicate with the wolf. With a hoof she pointed herself. “Star Whistle”. Then she pointed the wolf. She didn't respond, as if she didn't understand. Star did the same a second time, and this time, the wolf responded with a growl. But, what did it meant? Was it her name? Wait, did wolves even use names?

Star looked to the bush and took 2 berries. She ate one and offered the second one to the wolverine. The wolverine sniffed the berry, before rejecting it with the same growl as before. That growl must have meant 'no'. Then that must also mean wolves do not use names. Star took a branch from the bush and, on the snow, she draw a little house. “Will you take me to the town?”.

The wolverine didn't respond. Star drew, as good as she could, a pony walking towards the house. She pointed it. “Me. Star Whistle”. Then she pointed the house. “Will you bring me to the town?”.

The wolverine made a different growl. Star understood it as a 'yes'. The blizzard started to ease, but it was still too strong to do out in. There were many hours ahead until the dawn. Neither Star or the wolverine slept that night, they were too busy learning about one another.

With dawn the storm came to an end. The ponies, who had been searching for Star in near the town, could now search further away. But they had no hope of finding her: not even the most resilient pony would have survived a storm like that, much less a filly.

Glittering Light searched for her daughter desperately, crying out her name, as many other were doing. She was about to give up when she heard somepony yell. “The wolves! The winter wolves!”

The ponies quickly grouped in circle, taking sticks, tools, and whatever else they could grab to defend themselves with. The pony that had been scouting ran back. “You're not going to believe... you're not going to believe it!”.

“What?” asked one of the other ponies.

As if to answer the question, the winter wolves made their presence known. The biggest was a wolf with a light gray, almost white, fur. It was bigger, stronger, and bulkier than any pony. At his side walked a wolverine, one who was almost a teenager, whose fur was gray and white.

And next to the wolves, a little filly scuffed through the snow. Star Whistle, in perfect, unharmed state.

“Star!” shouted Glittering.

“Mommy!” shouted Star. The filly started running to her mother. The wolves stopped walking. But Star, before reaching her mother, stopped and turned to them. Before the surprised ponies, the filly growled to the wolves with her high-pitch voice. The wolves looked at her and lowered their heads in reverence. Then they went away.

Finally, Star ran to her mother and hugged her. Glittering Light broke into tears upon contact her daughter. Some ponies caressed Star too, asking her if she was hurt and what happened. But the majority of them kept silent, trying to understand what they had just seen, and how did Star Whistle manage to survive.

After that they went back to the town. Glittering Light took Star back home, where she bathed her and gave her something to eat. Star explained how the wolverine kept her warm during the night, and that in the morning the wolves took her back to the town. Her mother was impressed and grateful. She did not expect that a wolf could show feelings in such a way.

“Honey,” asked Glittering “Why did you growl to the wolves?”

“I didn't growl to them, mommy” the filly responded. “I said 'I thank you for your help'. I think so.”

Glittering was almost unwilling to believe what her daughter had just said.

Author's Note

Welcome to Mountain Peak.

I wrote this fanfict, originally, in spanish, and I'm about to finish it. If you happen to read spanish, you can read the original version here.
I though that it was a good story, so I decided to translate it to english. And, having such a great group of proof readers in Fimfiction, there was no better place to do it.

All characters in this story are original, as they are the places in which it takes place.

I'd love to listen to your critics and comments. I'll continue translating the fict when I have time / energies for it. Of course, good criticism always gives me energies to keep on.