Pre-read and edited by JeffCvt and Aatxe360

Chapter 2

The soul of your herd

Everyone knows the great kingdom of Equestria. Once ruled by the Princesses Luna and Celestia, now ruled solely by Celestia. It is famous, no doubt; not many kingdoms counted the Bringer of the Sun and the Moon among their ruler cast. The ponies of Equestria live calm, tranquil lives with sporadic surprises. Many of its inhabitants think that Equestria covers the totality of the world, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Although the princesses are powerful, they couldn’t cover the whole world under their protective wings. It’s where their influence wanes that the frontiers of their kingdom rise. And, behind them, rise the wild territories that even Canterlot’s scholars knew little about.

It was not something most ponies talked about, nor was it something they would want to talk about anyway. And truth be told, they had good reasons for not talking. Beyond the frontiers of Equestria are creatures forgotten by the vast majority of ponies: Predators. Animals that ate other animals. It was the power of the princesses that kept them out of almost all of Equestria, with the exception being the Everfree Forest. No pony from Equestria would ever, in good judgement, venture abroad.

However, beyond the borders of Equestria, there do exist pony settlements and nomad tribes. These settlements and tribes had their own culture, traditions, and ways of surviving. Settlements and tribes traded with one another and managed to survive the hard conditions of these wild territories without being affected by events that took place place in Equestria. Even though they knew of Equestria, why should they leave and abandon their homeland and way of living?

If you head northeast from Canterlot, after several weeks of travel, you will reach the furthest frontier of the region. Behind it, the territory transforms in a chaotic mosaic of hills, rivers, mountains and lakes. The cool and dry summers let pass to savage, stormy winters. Farming is impossible in these lands. But, curiously, the trees seem to have adapted to these harsh conditions, blooming and giving fruit year round.

That is the real reason the ponies were able to settle in this land. What else can you wish for apart from food and water?

Continue heading northeast and you will eventually find a little town. Over the years scattered houses were built over two hills near a river that ran through them. Nopony had ever bothered to give the town a proper name, but to the locals it was known as River Hills. Beyond the hills rose an imposing mountain. At the mountain’s base there was a path that twisted all the way to a waterfall halfway up. The land here overflowed in an abundance of berries, mushrooms, and various fruits that ponies liked.

And it is there where Mountain Peak is located. A tiny, isolated town used to the most brutal winters, its inhabitants wished only to live in peace.

It was still about one generation until the birth of Shining Armor and The Mane 6. Even still more time until Nightmare Moon managed to escape from her prison on the Moon and tried to plunge the world in the eternal night.

A year had passed since Star Whistle got lost in the snowstorm and had to be saved by the wolves. She hadn’t told anypony else that she was able to communicate with the wolves. Her mother was afraid that everypony else would not understand if they found out, and that they may even try to hurt her, even if she was only seven. While Glittering Light was sure that there was little chance of that actually happening, she didn’t want to press her luck. She made her daughter swear not tell anyone.

Star stepped out of her house and walked to the edge of the village. She sat next to a bush and ate some berries as she waited for dawn to come. She liked to get up early and watch the sunrise. Someone once explained to her that there was a special pony, Princess Celestia, who moved the sun every day. Star often wondered how the princess could manage such a feat. Of course she had to be a unicorn. Star had seen an unicorn once, when she went with her mother to River Hills. There were no unicorns that lived in these lands. The few that happened to pass through River Hills didn’t usually stay long. Star also thought the princess might be a flying pony, a pegasus, who flew to move the sun. But she knew that couldn’t be true, because her feathers would burn and she would fall to the ground. She had to be an unicorn. Definitely.

Star wanted to see a pegasus. She’d never had the chance to see one. Her town was territory of earth ponies. The morning was cold, but it was bearable. Autumn was about to give way to winter. That’s why Star had gone out that morning: soon she would not be able to leave her house before the sunrise. She remembered for the millionth time the night she spent with the wolverine. Star had a very hard time trying to understand her saviour. The language of the wolves seemed very complicated.

Star was sure the wolf wanted to see her again. And that she was going to meet her again.

The sun rose over the valley, reflecting off the river that passed near River Hills and covered the little filly with its light. Star smiled, feeling the warmth on her tiny body. She heard sounds start to come from town. Her neighbors were waking up. She decided to go back to her house before the entire town was up. Today she had to go with other ponies to search for berries and mushrooms to fill the reserves for winter. Then she had to help her mother prepare canned jam and dry grass.

While it’s true that fruit on the mountain grew year round, there were times during winter that it was dangerous to even leave the house. That’s why they had to stock up on fruits and berries now, before it got to that point.

Star entered her home. Glittering Light had just woken up and was preparing breakfast. She heard her daughter enter. “Star!” she said. “Where were you? I thought you were still asleep!”

“I went out to see the sunrise, mommy,” she explained.

Her mother smiled. “Come on Star, eat your breakfast while I get ready to start working.”

Glittering Light was a sky-blue earth pony with a blonde mane. She was slightly taller than most of the mares in town. Her cutie mark was a wooden doll playing with a hoop. While her daughter was eating breakfast, she went to her workshop on the other side of the room. Glittering was an artisan: she fabricated everything that the village needed from canning jars to wicker baskets. And, of course, she made her own artistic works as any good artisan would: figurines, toys, drawings, paintings... From time to time, she would descend the mountain and go to River Hills to sell her works to the passing travellers.

Today was going to be a lot of work, for she knew everypony in the town was going to ask her to make canning jars or to repair ones from previous years. While she prepared her tools, she heard her daughter get up from the table.

“I’m finished, mommy!”

“Very well. Go and meet up with everypony now. You’re all going to harvest today.”

The little filly ran excitedly from the house after yelling, “Bye!”. Actually, she was going to play with the other foals and fillies of the town before going to harvest. The harvesters of the town were going to take some of the fillies with them to teach them the profession. Everypony needed to know how to harvest in Mountain Peak. It was a matter of survival.

“Look at all the fruits!”

“Be careful Mulberry,” Star said.

Mulberry was a yellow furred foal with a light green mane, slightly older than Star Whistle. He was hyperactive, incredibly curious, and a bit senseless. With them there was an adult stallion, an expert harvester, who showed them the best places to look and tricks of the trade while he watched over them.

Mulberry was trying to climb a tree and reach the fruit at the top. The adult stallion tried to tell him that it was dangerous and unnecessary. Mulberry, as usual, ignored the advice and kept on climbing. Star meanwhile, located a spiky bush filled with acid blackberries. She didn’t like them very much, but they could stay fresh during the entire winter, making them a perfect choice for the reserves.

“There are a lot of berries here,” she said. Mulberry, despite the harvester desperately telling him to get down, kept trying to climb up the tree. Star shrugged and started harvesting on her own. Carefully, she started collecting the berries using a curved knife that the harvester gave her. She had already filled almost half of the basket when she heard a scream.

“Mulberry!” The harvester yelled. Star heard a ‘thud’ and then Mulberry crying. She ran to see what was going on. Star froze when she saw what had happened. Mulberry had fallen out of the tree. His back right leg was bent is an unnatural position, and seemed to be bleeding. However, Star couldn’t see how bad it was until the foal moved, revealing a small puddle of blood under his belly. She had no idea what to do. She had to help him, but she didn’t know how! She was becoming more panicked by the moment.

Taking the initiative, the harvester dropped his baskets and pulled Mulberry onto his back. “Star, let’s go!” With those words, they both galloped back to the town.

Star observed as the town’s healer mixed different herbs and pulverized them with his hooves. “Senseless foal.” He said. “What were you thinking trying to climb that tree? You are a pony, Mulberry, not a lynx.”

Plantain Hooves was an elderly pony, dark green coloured, with a graying mane. He was tall and thin, and had many wrinkles on his face. His cutie mark was a plantain leaf, a medicinal herb.

The elder put the mix he had just prepared on a piece of cloth. Without doubt or hesitation, he took a straight piece of wood and made a splint for the foal’s leg. Mulberry screamed in pain as the healer forced the bone back in place. Then Plantain put the poultice over the wound and finished wrapping the whole set together. Mulberry’s face relaxed when the poultice started to kill the pain.

“You’re going to have to stay at home for about two weeks. Right as we need everyones help preparing for winter. Who is going to do your share of the work, huh?” Plantain hooves scolded Mulberry. The foal looked away from Plantain’s harsh eyes.

After that he was taken home by his mother. The healer accompanied them to the exit and said goodbye, but not without scolding Mulberry one last time. When Plantain closed the door and turned around, he saw that Star Whistle was still there. “What’s wrong, little filly? Are you hurt too?”

“No..” she said, a little shy. “Well... I...”

“You can tell me anything, Star Whistle,” Plantain said. “If it’s something personal, I won’t tell anypony.”

“No! It’s not that. I... I wanted to ask you if I could learn,” Star Whistle said. She saw that Plantain Hooves didn’t understand her, so she explained. “To heal. To heal other ponies.”

Plantain looked at the little foal. Star Whistle, the same foal who had miraculously survived that storm last year. The one that two wolves, for some reason, took back to town.

He doubted. Not because of what happened last year, but because Star was young. Too young. It was not usual to teach a pony in the art of healing until they were a teenager. The things that a healer sees are not something a mere foal should be exposed to.

But even more important than that: a healer is born, not made. A pony discovers he or she is a healer the same moment they get their cutie mark. As it was his: a plantain leaf. But Plantain Hooves had already seen three generations born in Mountain Peak, and not a single natural born healer appeared.

“Why do you want to learn to be a healer, Star Whistle?” He asked, “It’s a very hard responsibility. You will see very unpleasant things.”

“Well... because...” The little filly looked around nervously, trying to put her feelings into words. “Because... when Mulberry was hurt I wanted to help him. I wanted to! But I didn’t know how.” While she spoke, she took a few steps towards Plantain, staring at him with the desperation of remembering what had happened that morning. “What if we couldn’t come back? I can’t carry Mulberry myself. I felt... very bad. I was very afraid.”

Plantain Hooves leaned closer to her, but the filly simply stood, staring at the ground, hiding her eyes. The elder pony heard a sob.

“I don’t want to see somepony like that again and not be able to do anything. I don’t want to...”

Plantain bent down and gently lifted her head. She was crying. The healer wondered if it was her heart that was speaking, or if it was simply the recent scare. He wasn’t positive, but Plantain was almost certain that she was speaking the truth from the deepest part of her soul. And, even if he was wrong, it wouldn’t hurt to teach her a little during the winter.

“These days are going to be busy, now that your friend is no longer able to help,” He said. “But tell your mother that, if she agrees, I will teach you the art of healing other ponies during the winter.”

Star’s face shined with a smile, her tears still rolling down her cheeks. “Yes! Thank you, thank you thank...”

“Come on, go already, you have a lot to do.” Plantain ushered her out with a smile.

The excited filly ran out the door and instead of going to ask her mother for permission, she started sharing the good news with everyone. Plantain smiled. Maybe he had made a good decision. And besides, he often got very lonely during winter. It would be good for him to have a pupil.

And it would be very good for the town to have a new and hopeful healer.

A few hours later, everyone was lying in their beds, sleeping. Everyone, except Star Whistle that is. It was strange, usually being the first in town to wake up, she was almost always the first to lie back down at night. But tonight she was unable to fall asleep. She didn’t know why. She was not worried about what happened to Mulberry, and she wasn’t nervous about training to be a healer. It was something... deeper.

She felt like there was somepony else with her.

She got up from her bed and opened the window. The temperature had dropped when the sun went down. It wasn’t too cold yet, but she still shivered a little. She looked at the valley that extended beyond the foot of the mountain. Through the darkness, she knew there was the river that lead to River Hills. Further out, a storm was forming and she could hear the thunder. A heavy storm was about to come through the valley.

She felt the presence grow stronger. It was strange, but she didn’t sense any hostility. On the contrary, she felt... protected? The clouds cumulated slowly, extending over the valley and Mountain Peak. The wind started to blow.

She heard, way out in the valley, a howl. After which a second one joined in. And another, and another... until they formed a chorus of wolves howls. Without warning, a powerful bolt of lightning erupted from the clouds, striking somewhere in the valley. Star observed the bolt strike, but was unafraid. It had happened quite a distance away. The thunder, after several seconds, reached the town. It continued to echo through the valley before finally dying out.

When the thunder finally died out, Star heard another howl. This howl sounded much closer and higher-pitched than the previous ones. Star recognized it right away. It was the wolverine that had saved her. She had kept her promise and came back. Star put her coat on and lit an oil lamp so she could follow the glow back to the town, then snuck out through her window. Her mother would never let her go out this late at night, especially after what happened the last year.

She walked at first, but was soon running down the mountain. Star stopped just before losing sight of the town. She looked around, but she didn’t see anything. Again, she heard the howl of the wolverine. She was calling to Star. Star somehow knew what she had to do: she raised her head to the sky and howled into the night. It was a very long and high pitched howl.

After that she stood still, waiting for any signs the wolverine was coming. The wolf slowly showed herself. The first thing Star saw were her eyes: one amber, the other blue.The wolverine had grown a lot more than Star had: she was already a teenager. Her muscles had developed proportionally to her height.

The wolf showed herself and bowed her head in a respectful greeting. Star did the same. The wolf growled, or better said; “I knew you would come, pony.”

Star, surprisingly, understood her. She cleared her throat, searching the needed wolf ‘words’. “Why did you call me?” she asked.

“To learn,” said the wolf.

“I don’t understand.”

The wolf observed Star. Seeing how Star didn’t say anything else, she decided to explain herself. “Your people and mine are separated. A prey that never wanted to learn about the hunter. I wish to learn about your soul. I wish to know how ponies see the mountain, the valley, the rivers and the lakes”.

“But... why me?” asked Star.

“Because you listen with your soul, not with your ears,” explained the wolf.

“How do you know it?”

“I see it”.

Star didn’t know what to say. A wolf wanted to learn about her people? What for? She didn’t know what to think. Her instinct was telling her that the wolf meant no harm, but everything she had been told about the wolves by town said the opposite.

“I don’t wish to hurt you or your people,” said the wolf.

Maybe that was the only think Star needed to hear. Just to be sure that the wolf would not use her to hurt or anypony else. Star sat on the ground. “What do you want to know?”

The wolf sat in front of the pony. She seemed to think about what she wanted to say. Maybe she had expected Star to say no. Or maybe there were so many things she wanted to know that she could not decide what to ask first. “Your words,” she said finally.

They spent many hours talking, Star teaching the wolf her language, and the wolf teaching Star her’s. Star learned to speak the wolves’ tongue very fast. It was very easy for her. They didn’t use names for the things, rather, they referred to them in a generic way: ‘the green plant’, ‘the big rock’... The wolf was unable to speak the pony language, but she began to grasp a basic understanding of the words.

Out of nowhere, the wolf asked Star a question. “What does your soul say?”

“I don’t understand,” Star responded.

“The soul of your herd. Ours says: ‘The night is our reign. The snow is our sister. Our howls call for the storm”.

Star Whistle didn’t know how to respond. She had never heard of ‘the soul of a herd.’ “I don’t have an answer,” was all she could think to say.

Suddenly, a howl came from the foot of the mountain. The wolf righted herself. “I have to go with my pack”.

Star Whistle stood up too. The wolf bowed until her head almost touched the ground. Star did the same. After that, the wolf ran toward the howls, disappearing in the darkness. Star went back to the town. The light she had left on served as a reference so she would not lose her way. She quietly climbed back through her window, closing it behind her. After that she turned off the lamp and went to sleep. No one, not even her mother, knew ever of her escape into the night.

The sensation of companionship slowly started to disappear.

Author's Note

Second chapter, finally. We're taking some time for it. As my english is far from good, my beta readers need a lot of time to go through the mess. On other good news, I have finished the spanish version! As I received very constructive criticism, I'm taking some time to not only translate it in english, but to improve the story and the characters.

I hope you enjoy it. Credits for beta read and edition to JeffCVT and Aatxe360. Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated.