Sisters of the Storm

As the wolf predicted, the storm was very intense, punishing Mountain Peak for several weeks. The ponies, used to this type of winters, spent refugees in their homes. Occasionally they went out to visit a neighbor and exchange supplies, see the medicine man, or make some repairs. But no one was so unconscious as to leave town in that time.

Star learned a lot that winter. With nothing more interesting to do, and without a wolf to distract her every night, she punctually came to Platain Hooves' house. The first classes were really boring. The teacher did not memorize her dozens, but hundreds of plants. Mostly medicinal, some poisonous.

But after a few weeks, he was teaching her the most practical part of the profession: What plants were used to heal wounds, which ones to ease pain, to sleep, not to dream ... He even told her about a plant of love, although he never said which one was, exactly.

As was customary at that time of year, the healer's job was reduced to treating chest diseases such as colds, pneumonia, or fevers. Star was mechanically memorizing which plant they used for what, although it was still a long way to understand why they used it.

Winter ended, and after him came spring. Or what Mountain Peak meant by such: a time that softened while the snow was still present. It was at the end of the season, almost arrived the summer, when the sun managed to beat the cold. With the thaw the river ran again, overflowing with water. The waterfall was resurrected and Mountain Peak came to life.
The year went by calm, peaceful and lazy, as it used to be at the top of the mountain. Occasionally some daring merchant dared to go up to the town, where he spent a few days staying at a neighbor's house selling his products.
Star turned eight years old.

When winter returned, the little pony eagerly awaited her friend's call. But that year was late. Wolves usually arrived shortly before the first snow. She didn't dare ask his mother about it, what if she found out that Star Whistle's best friend was the same wolf that saved her? It would be a huge mess!

Shortly before the really hard time of winter began, a howl echoed through the night. Star woke up immediately. It was her. It was her friend. Silently she put on her winter coat, opened the window, and left the house. As always, leaving a light behind her so she could return.

She walked as fast and quietly as he could to the area where they used to see each other. She didn't think about hiding to surprise her friend, didn't even remember that she wanted to beat her in the game of wolves. She only knew that her friend was there.

She came to the meeting place and saw nothing ... until the wolf rose, camouflaged in the snow. They had both grown a lot that year. The wolf was already beginning to have the bearing of an adult hunter. Star ran to her friend, who only waited to receive her, and they collided in a 'wolf hug', stroking the other's neck with their heads.

It was not that the wolf was not happy to see her friend. But, for a winter wolf, bearing was everything. There was a reason they were the lords of winter.

"I thought you wouldn't come," Star Whistle said, speaking in wolf.
"I almost couldn't", she said, "the herds have passed away from the mountain. Today is the only night that we will stay close to your town."

Star separated and looked at her with bright eyes.

"Will you only stay tonight?"
"Yes. We have a lot to tell each other, friend."

The little pony looked at the ground ... and didn't look up. The wolf was surprised, what was wrong with her friend? He stepped closer, ducking his head, trying to see the pony's face ... when she looked up. The wolf realized her mistake too late: Star Whistle jumped on her, throwing her off balance, and both friends rolled on the snow, fighting to win the match.
A few seconds later, the pony stood up on top of her downed friend.

"I killed you! I hunted a wolf!"

The wolf stood up and brushed the snow from her hair.

"You used the surprise well, pony, but it won't happen again."

Saying this, she jumped on the pony, which dodged the onslaught and ran.

They played, talked, and laughed for several hours. It was an intense, fun night, and too short for the young friends. But all good things have to end, and shortly before dawn, the she-wolf returned with her own.

They said goodbye with a long wolf hug, vowing that they would see each other again every year.

The years passed, endless and intense, just as children experience them. Mountain Peak did not change too much: There were some births and some deaths, and a family asked to settle in the town, to which the inhabitants of the town happily agreed. They were a couple of artisan ponies with a foal a year older than Star. The neighbors helped the young family build their house, an opportunity that all the young people took advantage of to learn how it was done.

The foal was called Silver Boulder. He had brown fur, brown eyes, and very short reddish hair. He was a very curious and outgoing pony. He loved to play scouts, and Mountain Peak was a little scout's paradise. Star, Silver Boulder, and Mulberry spent their days playing, looking for hidden passageways between the caves under the waterfall, or building makeshift wooden shelters, leaning against the rocks, to take refuge from their imaginary enemies. Star had, for the first times, made a very good pony friend at Mountain Peak. Although she did admit that, in the end, she got along way better with Mulberry, after all.

This did not prevent the little filly anxiously waiting for the arrival of winter to see her friend. Every year, as soon as the first howls were heard, Star waited for the night to leave the house and meet her friend, the Seer of the winter wolves. The winter that Star turned twelve something very dangerous happened to her: A snowstorm hit the mountain when she was with her wolf friend. She had to run back to town, and even accompanied by the she-wolf, she almost did not make it. She decided that she had to do something to avoid seeing himself in that situation again.

The following year, in the summer, Star secretly gathered materials and tools near her gathering area. She found an ideal place: between a large rock and a tree, far away from the path that led to the town. That would be the site where she would build her shelter. It took her all summer to complete it, since to keep it a secret she couldn't be away from town for long. But in the end she obtained a small wooden structure that, although it was not very beautiful, would serve as a shelter if a storm surprised them again.

But, not satisfied with this, she decided she would make a fireplace. She made a hole in a wall and put a circle of stones just outside the cabin where she could light a fire if she had to spend a night under an storm.

She was dying to show it to her friend! And she would be able to brew tea! Their next meetings would be very fun and warm in the heat of the bonfire.

One night the following winter, both friends sat in front of the flames. There was a slight snowstorm and it was quite cold, but they felt the heat of the fire on their faces. The wind carried fast flakes of snow that, like needles, hit the fur of the she-wolf and Star. The sky rose above them, but the clouds prevented seeing any star.

The flames, rising into the dark sky, covered what had been Star Whistle's little humble cabin. The only thing that survived was the stone circle where the uncontrolled bonfire began.

"I told you there would be too much fire, pony."
"Shut it." Star replied with a nervous tic in her eye.

Star was angry. Very angry, but with herself. How comes she didn't think that the fire would would burn the wall of the cabin? All summer working ... for this! The wolf watched her grumble under her breath; the seer could understand why the pony was angry, for she had just lost her burrow. But to tell the truth, she never really understood the love of ponies for fire. Didn't they see that it was dangerous?

Suddenly the wind brought a distant sound to her. It was very similar to that of a frightened elk herd, but much more organized. The wolf looked up at the mountain and saw small flashes lighting up the pony town.

"You must return. Your herd have seen the fire."
"What?!"

Star looked where her friend was staring ... and also noticed the glow. It was true, she could see some torches moving between the houses.

"No! Oh no! Oh no!"
"What scares you so much?" The wolf asked.
"Mine will never understand that we are friends. They could attack you!". Star was so nervous she didn't even think about using the wolves' language. "And ... and they'll be very mad at me, for sure."

The wolf mused, watching the pony spin, nervous. She would never understand ponies. Among the wolves, although it was strange, no one objected about her friendship with a pony. Although of course, no wolf expected a pony to attempt to devour another wolf.

But first things first: Star Whistle needed someone to point out the way forward.

"You will have to be a prey as elusive as in our games and return to yours without being seen."

Star nodded.

"You must go back to your pack, too," Star muttered wolfishly.
"I will do it. Be careful pony, we will see each other again, friend, but it will surely be next year."

They said goodbye with a hug of wolves, before the she-wolf began to run towards the darkness, down the mountain. The pony circled back to town. Her house was on a side of the buildings. With a bit of luck, she could enter her room without being noticed ... But what if her mother had already seen that she wasn't there? It would be a disaster. She would discover everything! And Star had never been good at making up lies.

When he was a short distance from the town, he could see several neighbors who, with torches on their hooves, looked towards the huge bonfire that Star had accidentally built.

"Come on, we have to see what happened. Perhaps somepony was injured! Somepony yelled.

Star calmed down: they weren't looking for her. Crouching in the snow, she moved little by little to her house, always keeping herself out of sight. The whole town was on its hooves, watching for somepony to help. In the end, the young pony reached the corner closest to her window which was still open. Her mother surely hadn't even entered the room, lucky for her!

She left her hiding spot and galloped the remaining meters to the window. But as she was about to reach it, she heard a voice.

"Star! Where were you? Haven't you seen the fire?"

The filly turned to meet brown eyes.

"Ah ... uh ... hi Silver Boulder. Yes, yes I have seen the fire." Star added with a chuckle.

Silver Boulder looked her up and down.

"But ... why is your coat covered in snow? It looks like an avalanche has fallen on you! And why are you not with the others?"
"This ... was looking to see if ..."

Star was out of ideas when someone yelled "Star Whistle!"

Glittering Light appeared from around a corner, watching the little girl sternly. Star cringed. It was over, she had been caught. Now she would have to tell that her best friend was a wolf, that they had seen each other for years every winter, and that she had caused the fire by secretly building a cabin. The ponies would chase the wolf off the mountain forever.

"Star Whistle, what are you doing here?" Glittering Light asked. Silver Boulder moved out of her way, looking very angry.
"I ... Mommy, I ...
"I've told you a thousand times not to go out the window! What are the doors for? And look how you bring the jacket! Why have you fallen on your back in the snow? Huh?"

Star gaped at her mother. She had given her the perfect excuse! But had he ever said that to her? Who cared, anyway!?

"Yes Yes! I jumped out the window and fell. I'm sorry, Mom..."
"Well, you're going to be even sorrier tomorrow, because you'll have to do the laundry."
"But mom ...!", Star exclaimed.
"No 'buts', youngling! And come, the two of you to the center of town until the mountain fire is cleared up."

Saying this, Glittering made Silver Boulder walk in front of him. But before turning her back on her daughter, he looked at her with a half smile and winked. It didn't take long for Star Whistle to figure out what that meant.

Her mother knew. She knew the whole time! And had just covered it up!

The neighbors took almost an hour to get to and from the scene of the fire. The only thing they found was the remains of a shelter between a tree and a rock. The circle of stones of the bonfire helped them to know that this was the one that had caused the fire. In addition, they also saw wolf and pony tracks. Luckily for Star, ponies aren't great trackers, and they couldn't figure out much more.

Theories ran about it. Some said they were travelers attacked by wolves. Others claimed that a mountain spirit had set the refuge on fire, but this story did not have many followers. But what kind of travelers carried lumber with them to build shelters at night? The town was going to have a topic of conversation for a long time.

When everything calmed down, Star returned home. Her mother looked serious, but not angry. She closed the door behind her, "Sit down Star. We have to talk", she said immediatly.

Star sat at the kitchen table, feeling butterflies in her stomach due to uncertainty. Her mother heated water to serve tea. "How long have you been seeing the wolves?"
"But how do you know? No one has ever seen me!", Star exclaimed.
"It is true," Glittering Star replied, "but I am your mother and I have noticed that many nights you sneak out of the house. Always during winter, and always after hearing the howl of a winter wolf."

Star realized that she had never been able to cheat on her mother. But why didn't she even try to stop her? The filly did not understand anything.

"So how long have you been visiting the wolves?" He asked again
"For six years , Mommy. Since the winter after I got lost. But they are not wolves: she is only a wolf. The same one that saved me from the storm. She's my age, more or less."
"I get it. And can you talk to her?"

Star nodded.

"When you learn to distinguish grunts it is easy."

The kettle rang. The mother got up and poured two cups of sweet herbal tea and served one to her daughter. He sat down on the other side of the table before speaking again.

"Star, I've never told you anything about all this for a very simple reason: if I had tried to stop you, you would have ended up escaping. Or worse yet, the people would have found out. And if you've been seeing the wolf for so many years, I'm sure she doesn't want to hurt you. Otherwise..."

Star did not need her mother to finish the sentence. She still remembered the first time the wolf 'killed' her while playing. If she was alive it is because her friend had never wanted to hunt her. Because they really were friends.

"You made the fire, right?" Glittering asked.
"Yes," Star began, "it was a shelter in case a storm caught me, but I built a bonfire and..."
"Okay, I just wanted to know that. It is a good idea."

Glittering went back to drinking tea.

"You will have to find another place to meet, my little filly, a better hidden place where you can build a real cabin. I'll lend you a hoof with that, but it will have to be in the summer. I'm only going to ask you one thing Star."
"What is it?", asked the filly.
"May this remain a secret. Don't tell anyone, not even your friends."

Star promised not to, as she had already done for several years. She wasn't planning to, but not because of the promise itself: she didn't want to risk ponies trying to do something against her wolf friend. She could only guess what the whole Winter Wolves' pack would do if the seer was injured or killed by ponies.

Mother and daughter finished their teas and then went to sleep.

At the base of the mountain, the wolves welcomed their future leader. They were restless, for the storm had brought them the smell of fire. Although at no time did they feel that the seer was in danger, they relaxed when they were able to see her with their own eyes. The current pack leader approached.

"The herds drift away, we must leave."
"I know."

Wolves are beings who speak the right and necessary words. The she-wolf looked up the mountain with her seer's eye and felt no death or pain in it, indicating that Star Whistle was fine. But suddenly she noticed that her sight darkened, until she could no longer see the mountain. Not even the snow nor her brothers..

Her seer eye was showing her something.

It was hungry. It felt a great emptiness. It felt that its death was near. . It was flying. It was cold, very windy, and snowing. It was lost, alone and weak. It would not survive.
And suddenly it felt heat, a warmth that it felt in its spirit, and not on its skin. It felt it had a chance to survive ...

The wolf noticed how someone was pushing her. He shook his head, regaining his own senses. A wolf had pushed her with his snout when he realized that the seer was in a trance.

"What have you seen?" He asked.

The seer did not respond, for she did not know it herself.