Two days after Silver Boulder's departure, his parents finished packing their things and followed in their son's footsteps. Only a few neighbors bid farewell to the family. In silence, Star Whistle watched them leave.
"Don't worry," Mulberry reassured her as he noticed her concern. "Silver won't be coming back here."
"I hope not," Star replied, and then added, "she was so damn right."
"Who?" Mulberry asked.
"My wolf friend."
During the time since Silver left the town, many of the neighbors visited Star and her mother, inquiring about the well-being of the young healer and offered their help if there were any problems. The idea that Star had betrayed the town by telling the winter wolves how to hunt them was so absurd that it was not even mentioned again. At least not without a hearty laugh. However, Star knew well that some doubts would always linger over her, and that she had to be very carefull from now on.
Three nights after Silver Boulder's departure, a howl echoed through the night. Star got her coat and headed out to meet her friend, but somepony called her from the vicinity of the town.
"Star!"
"Mulberry! What are you doing?"
"I'll accompany you. What if Silver tries something again?"
"But what are you saying! My friend might... I don't know... get scared if she sees me coming with somepony."
"I don't think so. If you told me the truth about your friendship, I'm sure she followed you after Silver Boulder caught you. She has probably already seen me."
Star thought about it for a moment, and cam to the conclusion that Mulberry was probably right. "It's going to be really strange... you won't understand us when we talk."
"I won't stay," Mulberry said. "I'll just accompany you and then leave."
"Alright."
They walked down the mountain together. The night was quite clear, and the moon was almost full. Still, they didn't see the wolf until they heard a growl in the night. Mulberry froze in terror, but Star was the only one who understood what the wolf was saying.
"I see you're not alone, my friend". The wolf emerged from the darkness, revealing herself to the ponies at a certain distance, trying to avoid scaring Mulberry.
"He insisted on accompanying me to protect me. His name is Mulberry," Star replied in the language of the ponies, stating her friend's name.
"I saw him the other night. He risked himself for a female of the herd. A good male."
Star blushed slightly at what the wolf implied. Mulberry noticed her reaction. "What is she saying?" he asked.
"Uh... she says she appreciates you helping me the other night."
"Oh... yes, of course. Um... I think I'll leave you alone now. But when you come back..."
"Tell him that I'll protect you back to the to your hideout, pony," the wolf said.
"She says she'll scort me. Don't worry," Star assured Mulberry.
Mulberry nodded and, after a moment of hesitation, began his journey back. The two friends entered the cabin, and Star lit the fireplace. The wolf's eyes gleamed in the flickering flames.
"I told you he would betray you," the wolf began.
"Yes, you did."
"Why didn't you believe me?"
"Because I loved him, my dear friend," Star replied. "I didn't want to believe it."
"What happened?" the wolf asked.
"He carried out his threat," Star explained in the language of the wolves. "He told the town that I was a friend of the winter wolves and that I was providing them with information to hunt ponies easily. No one from my herd believed his words."
The wolf chuckled softly.
"To prepare for a hunt for nearly ten winters is too much, even for the most patient hunter."
"Yes. After that, Silver Boulder left the town."
"He won't bother you again."
"I hope not," Star replied.
A few seconds after giving that response, Star noticed that what her wolf friend said was no question.
"Wait... what... what do you mean?" Star looked at her friend, somewhat puzzled.
"I think you know, my friend."
"Have you...?!" Star exclaimed in her own language, alarmed.
"The pony that attacked you has been hunt by my brothers and sisters."
Star looked at the wolf with wide eyes. "Why?!" she asked.
"I don't understand your question."
"I thought wolves didn't hunt ponies. Why did you do it?" Star asked.
"Wolves are hunters. What differentiates a solitary pony from a deer? We usually avoid hunting ponies because of the friendship that binds us, my friend, and because in group you are dangerous prey."
The pony stood up and approached her friend with a mix of anger, guilt and disbelief. Her hooves resonated on the cabin floor.
"Then why did you attack Silver?"
"I don't understand your anger, my friend. That pony attacked you and tried to drive you away from your herd. If he could, he would have waited for a moment when you were weaker to seek revenge."
"You don't know that! He left the town!"
"I am a seer, pony. I know he would have returned to try to harm you again when you were weaker. I know it. Besides, among wolves, if a male attacks a female like he did with you, he is hunted by the rest of the pack."
"But those are wolf laws, not pony laws!"
"It's not a law, it's survival of the pack.", she said after thinking a bit about the meaning of the word 'law'. "A female is more important than a male because only she can bring new offspring into the world. If a male dares to attack a female to the death, what prevents him from doing the same to a cub? Or to the leader during a hunt?"
"But you didn't have to kill him! You didn't have to get involved!"
Suddenly, the wolf stood up and confronted the pony. Her teeth clenched, she roared a response that, had Star not understood its words, would have terrorised her.
"I did it to protect you!"
Silence fell. Star sat down, feeling a weight on her head that she had never felt before. A tremendous sense of guilt. If she hadn't allowed him to see her with the wolf... if she had acted differently, Silver Boulder would still be alive.
"Did you also hunt his parents?" she asked.
"No."
Star began to breathe rapidly, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Silver was a monster; he had tried to... But the healer had only hoped he would leave the town, she never wished his death! She wasn't prepared to accept that it was her best friend who had killed in order to protect her. The wolf laid back down on the ground and, for the first time in her life, Star felt that her friend was apologizing... without actually doing so.
"I understand that pony wayss are different from the ways of the winter wolves," the wolf said.
"He didn't have to die..." Star said.
"You know it's not your fault. It wasn't in your paws to stop what happened."
Both of them stayed there, under the glow of the fire, for quite some time. Finally, Star broke the silence.
"I need to go back. I need... to think."
"I understand. My pack may leave tomorrow."
Star didn't respond, but they both knew that the pony would need a lot of time to process what had happened. After extinguishing the fireplace, Star declined the wolf's offer to accompany her to the town. She needed to be alone. The wolf didn't argue but followed her secretly to fulfill the promise she had made to Mulberry to protect her.
Star arrived in the town and headed towards her house. It wouldn't be until the next day that she would meet Mulberry and tell him that Silver Boulder had died. No onepony else needed to know.
The following week winter fell with all its fierceness upon Mountain Peak. Storms raged over the small town, and like every year, its inhabitants sought refuge in their homes. During that time, Star had plenty of work as the ponies fell ill due to the cold and confinement -it wasn't strange for full families to get sick from the same disease. Despite being busy, the healer couldn't stop thinking about what had happened with seer of the winter wolves. On one hoof, she felt relieved -perhaps that was the word?- to know that Silver Boulder was dead. She was ashamed to think that way, but deep down, she had feared her former boyfriend and aggressor returned.
On the other hoof, she felt guilty. She knew her wolf friend had done what she did to protect her, that it was their friendship that had led her to... hunt Silver. During this time, Star masked her conflicting feelings and the guilt that was slowly creeping in her mind, as she thought that, given enough time, she would find the answers to the doubts that plagued her.
But as the weeks passed, the weight on Star's shoulders grew heavier and heavier. It was almost a month later when she finally reached her breaking point. In the midst of a relentless snowstorm, after tirelessly caring for a sick neighbor, she felt as if the entire world was collapsing around her. Each step she took toward the edge of the frozen stream was accompanied by the deafening roar of her internal turmoil, turning the biting cold and swirling snowflakes mere background noise to the storm raging in her soul.
In that moment, surrounded by the desolate beauty of the winter landscape, Star realized the true depth of her confusion. It wasn't just a matter of questioning her friendship; it was a battle within herself, a struggle to reconcile her loyalty to her friend with the overwhelming fear that had taken root in her heart. She stood there, in the heart of the snowstorm, feeling small and insignificant in the face of the vast unknown.
She didn't think about it when her hoofsteps walked her to Mulberry's gome. The young colt opened the door and, before he could greet her, he saw the look on her face. He invited her in, took off her coat, and sat her by a table by the fireplace. Before Star could realize it, Mulberry had served two steaming glasses. The strong smell of spices and alcohol made Star blink a couple of times.
"It's spiced hot wine," Mulberry explained. "I always make it when it's cold. My grandmother used to say it warms the body and soul."
Star offered a polite smile rather than a sincere one and took a sip of the drink. The strong aroma of the wine filled her nostrils. She took a longer sip, and just as Mulberry had said, the cold was chased away from her body.
"What's wrong, Star?" Mulberry asked.
"It's about... what happened with Silver."
The healer explained her internal struggle to her friend: the guilt she felt, her doubts about her friendship with the wolf, whether she was a danger to the town... Mulberry listened without interrupting at any moment.
"I don't know what to do, Mulberry. She's my best friend, but I'm afraid she might hurt somepony else in my defense."
Mulberry took a long sip of wine. Star was surprised by his next question.
"Star, can I speak to you honestly?"
"What? Of course, Mulberry."
"And promise me you won't get angry?"
Star looked at her friend, not quite understanding. What was he going to say? Was it really that bad?
"Okay, I won't get angry."
"Star, sometimes I think you're foolish."
"What?" she asked, somehow incredulous.
"That you're foolish," Mulberry stated firmly. "You still feel responsible for the death of a pony who intended to rape you and, when he failed, expel you from the village and separate you from your own. But what the hell is going through your mind?"
"But Silver Boulder is dead. And it was my wolf friend who killed him. I don't know if..."
"Well, I'm glad she did!" Mulberry interrupted.
"You're glad that Silver died?"
Mulberry emptied his glass in one long sip and slammed it on the table. He spoke fast, loud, and with a certain contained anger. "He would have come back for you, Star. Silver Boulder was a settlement pony, he wouldn't have fit in with the nomadic tribes. And in River Hills, he wouldn't have lasted long before news of what he had done to you arrived. When he had nowhere else to go, he would have returned here, he would have come back for you. And when he did, either he or I would have ended up six feet under, no doubt about it."
The pony looked at her friend as he spoke. The winter wolf seer had told her the same thing. But now Mulberry was saying it using the logic ingrained in ponies. His arguments were different, but his conclusion was the same.
"And yet you forget that your wolf friend saved the village from the shadow that took my father, and who knows how many more it would have taken! She took the risk of approaching a pony village, knowing that we could have all hunted her down. And she didn't do it for me, she did it for you, to protect you" he concluded, emphasizing that last word. "And you still doubt her friendship? Have you lost your mind, Star?"
Star remained silent, unsure of how to respond. She went to take a drink and realized her glass was also empty. Mulberry refilled both glasses, and after taking another sip, Star said:
"You... you may be right..."
After a while of not saying anything, they gradually changed the subject. After finishing their second glass of hot wine, Star seemed to relax. They spent the rest of the night talking about many things, genuinely laughing at the jokes and amusing anecdotes they shared. Mulberry taught Star how to play 'Quick Pony', a tile game where speed and deception were the keys to winning. Obviously, Star didn't win a single game.
"But you're a liar! I can't do this!" she exclaimed, frustrated-
"Me, a liar? No way! The tiles don't lie!"
"I can definitely beat you at checkers."
"I know, that's why we're playing Quick Pony!"
Star turned around, puffed her cheeks, and crossed her hooves without looking at Mulberry. After a few seconds, a game tile bounced off her head, making a comical "tock" sound. Star turned around, burying a hoof into her healer's bag.
"Oh, you asked for it, now you'll see!"
She took out her hoof and blew a powder that floated like a little cloud towards Mulberry's head. He breathed it in, and after a few seconds of wrinkling his nose, he sneezed.
"What did you...? Whoa!"
Taking advantage of that moment, Star circled the table and pushed Mulberry, causing him to fall onto the carpet amidst laughter. But the mare's joy didn't last long as he grabbed her from the ground and made her fall as well. He quickly immobilized her and, from his advantageous position, stared at her maliciously. Star looked at him, fearing that nothing good was about to happen.
"Mulberry, what...?" she started, but Mulberry didn't say anything. He opened a nearby trunk with his snout and pulled out a long feather pen. It dawned on Star what he intended to do, and she began to struggle against her captor. "No, no! Not that!".
Mulberry brought the feather to the mare's belly and started tickling her. Star burst into uncontrollable laughter, trying to ask him to stop.
"Say it," Mulberry demanded.
"What?" she replied between laughs.
"Say it!"
"What?!" Star asked, now crying from laughter.
"Say that I'm the best at playing Quick Pony."
"Okay, okay! You're the best, you're the best!"
Finally, Mulberry let her go and lay down beside the panting Star Whistle.
"That... was... mean," Star managed to say.
"Really? I think you enjoyed it."
Outside, it was already dark. The wind started blowing stronger, carrying fast-falling snowflakes with it.
"I should go back home," Star said, getting up.
"Don't you prefer to stay?" Mulberry suggested. Although he didn't mean it that way, both of them interpreted certain implications in that invitation. Star looked around, slightly blushing from the idea of staying and from the wine. Honestly, she felt tempted to accept.
"Um... better not, Mulberry. My mother will worry."
"Oh, sure, sure..." he responded.
Star gathered her things and headed for the door. Mulberry accompanied her. Before leaving, the young mare turned around and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Mulberry. You've helped me a lot."
"You're welcome. Come whenever you want," he replied with a smile.
"I will. Goodnight."
The pony stepped out into the storm. The temperature had dropped significantly with the night. She ran towards her house and entered abruptly, shaking off the snow and cold.
"I'm home, Mom!"
"Oh! Star, aren't you staying overnight at Mulberry's?" her mother asked, widening her eyes.
"But how do you know I was with Mulberry?"
"I didn't," Glittering Light said with a triumphant smile, "but now I do. It's so easy to fool you, Star."
"Mom, please, don't," she said, slightly annoyed.
Glittering Light laughed as her daughter went to her room to put away her things. Laughter gave way to a smile of happiness. Ever since the attack by Silver Boulder, Glittering had been worried about Star's well-being. But knowing that Mulberry would be by her side brought the greatest reassurance a mother could have.