The winter wolf pack remained in the vicinity of Mountain Peak and River Hills for several weeks. Star Whistle and the wolf saw each other every night they could. Rather, they saw each other while time allowed them to.

As soon as the first snows fell, Star could see how true her friend's prayer was. She had already noticed how well the wolf could see at night. But when the snow covered the mountain, the predator showed that it really was one with it. Its fur camouflaged it perfectly, until it was hidden on a plain without vegetation. It moved freely on the virgin snow, while Star's fine hooves sank hopelessly. Yes, the winter wolves were the brothers of night and winter.

One night, sitting in the snow, the she-wolf asked something. "Why do you ponies live here? Snow is not your element."

"Because there is food and water, because we can live in peace". Star replied in the pony language.

"You could live in peace somewhere else with food and water. Less danger to your pack"
"It is our home. We live happily here"
.
They were silent for a long time. It was common between the two, even when they were so young. But to tell the truth, those silences bored Star. Too much, for a seven-year-old pony. An idea crossed the little pony's mind. While the wolf was distracted looking at infinity, Star made a snowball.

"Hey," the pony called.

The wolf looked at her, and before she could react ... splat! The snowball hit his forehead. She shook her head, brushing off the remains of the treacherous attack, while Star Whistle laughed out loud at the bewildered face of her friend.

"Why do you attack me?"

"I don't attack you!" Star replied in wolf language. "I'm playing!"
"Playing?. The wolf rose and advanced threateningly toward Star Whistle, "We wolves play differently, pony."

Star looked at her friend with fear. What was he doing? She watched her as he got closer. The wolf crouched in the snow, and when the pony wanted to notice, it was already a blur in the dark. He heard her growl. She wasn't talking in the wolve's language: he was growling.

Star Whistle got up and ran towards the town. Her friend was going to attack her! She tried to follow a path of shallow snow, but it was of little use. Her hooves sank too far and she couldn't move forward. She heard the wolf beside her just a second before receiving an impact that sent her rolling across the ground. She opened her eyes to see the wolf pounce on her with her jaw open, direct to her neck. Star screamed, closed her eyes and tried to hit her. She felt the bite on his neck ... but the pain never came. And she kept breathing.

Finally, she dared to look. The wolf had bitten the pony's neck, but hadn't squeezed. She pulled off, releasing a trembling Star Whistle.

"I killed you, pony. Your turn."

Then he started running. Star watched her walk away. Of course, the ponies played in imitation of their elders: building houses, picking fruits, helping in the kitchen ... And the wolves did the same: they played hunting. It was a haunting idea, but now that he knew it was just a game ... Star wasn't going to let her friend win that easily!

She ran looking for areas with low snow and overhanging rocks, thus avoiding sinking. When her friend made a turn, the pony made a tighter turn to catch her. She jumped with all her might to fall on the wolf's back.

"Arrrr! Die, die, die ...!"

Star was pathetically leaning on her friend's back, holding on with her front hooves and making a bite. The wolf looked at her blankly. Star returned a ridiculous smile. Then the wolf pulled away from the pony and leaped on top of her, knocking her and pinning her down again.

"I killed you again, pony."
"I can't beat you, you have claws and teeth," Star told him as she got up.
"You can never beat me with my weapons."

The wolf started running again. Star pondered her words. It was true, she couldn't beat her by jumping on her like a wolf. What weapons did a pony have? Wolves were fast and deadly. The ponies were slower, but they were strong and very resistant. She could never hunt, even playing, an adult wolf. But her wolf friend was very young, and just a little bit older than her.

She started chasing after her. Little by little she shortened distances - after all, the wolf was playing, not running away. When they both made a curve, Star closed in on the turn and charged with all her strength against her friend's side. Surely she would manage to knock her down! But the wolf saw her coming and stopped dead. Finding nothing to crash against, Star lost her balance and rolled onto the snow.

Once again, the wolf pinned her to the ground, biting her neck.

"You died three times tonight. If you want to hunt prey you must first camouflage your intentions.
"You're very fast!" Star gasped. "I have a hard time catching you to even think so much!"
"A bad hunter chases. A good hunter awaits."

Star was making a mental note of that lesson when a howl was heard from the foot of the mountain. The wolf raised her ears to listen to him. Star did too and understood the message.

"Your pack goes hunting ..."
"Yes. You better get back to yours, pony."
"Will we see each other again tomorrow?"
"I will call you from this very place."

They said goodbye with their heads and left in opposite directions. As always, Star returned home without waking anyone up. She fell asleep, still thinking of a way to beat her friend in the game of wolves.

The next morning, no pony understood why Star seemed so tired.

"The first thing you need to know, Star, is what a healer's job is all about. Many think that I dedicate myself only to healing wounds and illnesses, but ... Star Whistle! Are you listening to me?"

Plantain Hooves hit the ground with his hooves. Star woke up suddenly.

"Yes Yes! I'm listening!"
"Go sleep earlier tonight. You can't be taught if can't stay awake."

Star lowered her head. Plantain was absolutely right to scold her.

"As I was saying," continued the old stallion, "a healer's job is not just to heal wounds and illnesses. It's much more than that."

On a piece of paper Plantain drew a pony, which he draw a circle surrounded in shadows.

"The first thing healers do is keep the spirits of the disease from reaching the ponies we care for."

On the same paper, he drew a shadow breaking the circle and reaching the pony.

"The second is, when a pony becomes ill or is injured, it must be treated until it recovers."

Finally, he changed several lines to the pony so that he was lying down, and drew a bed underneath.

"Finally, when we cannot heal someone, we take care of them and prevent them from suffering until their time comes."

It took Star Whistle a few moments to understand what the old man meant. "They die??" Star asked incredulously. "But why? Healers are supposed to be there so the ponies don't die, right?"

"Little one, you have to accept a fact: You can't avoid death."

The filly looked at her teacher, with the expression of a child who had just known that sooner or later she was going to die.

"Everypony is going to die, Star, and not even the best healer can help it," Plantain said. "When you know that someone is going to die, and you can't prevent it, the only thing you can do for them is take care of them to prevent their suffering."

The little pony nodded, feeling that a small part of her childish world had broken. Plantain imagined how she felt, but it was better that way. That was the first lesson that every healer had to learn, probably the most difficult to accept of all.
The old healer rummaged through his things and pulled out a large book. Inside were stuffed specimens of medicinal plants, with notes and recipes.

"Let's start with the healing herbs. This plant is a belladonna flower, and serves to ..."

After a few minutes, Star had to make real efforts to keep her eyes open.

That same night, after a good nap, Star slipped quietly into the snow. Her wolf friend would be in the same place as always. And I wasn't going to see her arrive. It was a calm night, with a light and cold breeze coming down from the top of the mountain. The moon was full, illuminating the snow, so the filly could see very clearly that night. It was the perfect opportunity to catch her friend.

She was going to beat her in the game of wolves.

With a smirk on her face she crawled between rocks, bushes, and mounds of snow, always out of sight. When she was close enough, she peeked out from behind a hedge. In the same area as usual, her friend was lying on the ground, unaware. The wolf raised her head a little, but did not see Star Whistle.

Star calculated the way to the wolf's back before getting closer. She had everything in mind: she would jump on her back and lie on top of her so she couldn't get up. And then she would 'kill' her, and she would win the game. It was a perfect plan. It was going to work.

Finally she got to the right place. She glanced only once, to see her friend's back and calculate the jump. She got into position, raising her hindquarters to propel herself. She just couldn't help but smile one last time. This time she was going to win! Star calculated the jump once more, leaned back slightly ... and jumped with all her might ...!

... to land on the snow.

"What?"

Star looked around looking for her friend ... and saw her at the last moment. From one side, the wolf leaped onto the pony, throwing her off balance and knocking her to the ground, where she pinned her down… again.

"I killed you again, pony."

"But how did you see me?" Star asked incredulously.
-I have not seen you. I have smelled you. Never follow a prey with the wind behind you."
"Oh, come on!" - exclaimed the very frustrated Star Whistle.

The wolf released her friend and lay on the ground. The pony sat across from her.

"It took me two years to hunt down my older brothers."
"Yeah ... I guess."

After that, they spent a good long time talking and playing in equal parts. Star did not manage to knock the wolf down even once, but she was also becoming a very elusive prey. In one of the breaks the wolf asked her:

"Do you already know the answer to my question?"

Star remembered: She asked what the soul of his people said. The filly had thought a lot about it, and thought she knew how to respond.

"Yes. Ponies do not have a soul like yours."

The wolf looked at her, intrigued.

"Every pony is different, Have you seen the marks we have on the flank?"
"Yes. I have also seen that you do not have it", The wolf replied.
"That's! When a pony discovers what makes him special, the brand appears. There are ponies that build, ponies that collect food, that heal, that take care of their children, that fight ...

Star stopped to see if her friend was understanding her. The latter replied:

"Then your personal desires move you. That will make you weak. We wolves move with a single will".

The pony, while not really expecting a very different response, was surprised by the wolf's appreciation.

"No no no! You're wrong! When a pony is especially good at something, why would we force him to do another task for the people? The ponies let everyone do what they are passionate about. This way you will do better than anyone!"

The wolf stared at her friend for a few moments, taking in what she had said and reflecting on it.

"The ponies are a strange herd."
"Same thing, friend."
"Some more than others, as only a fool would speak face to face with her hunter."
"And only one pony would talk to another pony, right 'hunter'?" , Star replied sarcastically.

Both friends met her gaze. Star made a strange noise, followed by a giggle. Soon the pony started laughing heartily. The she-wolf stared into the snow, throwing the flaps back and showing her back teeth, and snorted against the ground, in a silent laugh.

They laughed for a long time. When they calmed down, Star laid on her back, gazing at the stars. She remembered a question she wanted to ask the wolf. This time she spoke in the language of the ponies, as the she-wolf was beginning to understand it.

"When you found me in the snow, why didn't your big brother eat me?"
"Because I told him so."
"But you are just a filly."

The wolf looked at her blankly. Star kept talking in wolf.

"You were just a wolf cub. Young ponies obey older ones, not the other way around. Why did he listen to you?
"Because I have a blue eye."

Star looked at her. Now she really didn't understand anything. The wolf went on to explain:

"In my pack, each generation, a wolf is born. A wolf that is capable of seeing beyond the obvious. The only wolf who can see the soul of beings, who can speak to the storm like no other wolf can."

Star sat up, looking at her friend directly, lost in the story.

"That wolf," the wolf continued, "can sense the passing of the packs. They say that some can see the future. There are never two at the same time: when one dies, he is reborn in the next litter of cubs; a puppy that will be destined to become the leader of the pack.
"And how do you recognize it?"
"Because his right eye is always blue."

The pony's mouth, by now, was about to touch the snow beneath it.

“It's you!”

The wolf nodded.

"So I am. I am not the leader of the pack yet, I am very young. But they listen to me."

Star looked at her friend, realizing that she was before the future leader of the winter wolves. But…

"But why did you save me? So we weren't friends. Only hunter and prey."

The wolf seemed to ponder the answer for a few seconds. The breeze turned into a fairly cold wind.

"The elders in my pack tell stories of the ponies.They say that you were once our prey, but that you learned to defend yourself. Not with fangs and claws, but with your wits. That you can live anywhere, without having to migrate. And that some of you master magic. I could never know your way of seeing the world, because the ponies still remember the time when we hunted them. But when I saw you I knew you would know how to listen. That you would see beyond your instincts. And I also saw ..."

The wolf was silent. Star exclaimed.

"Then what? What did you see?"

The cold wind increased in intensity, ripping the heat from both friends, but especially from Star Whistle.

"The storm is coming, pony. We must return with ours, Said the wolf, getting up.
"But what did you see?", Star asked, exasperated.
"I'm not going to answer."

Grumbling, Star got up too, and was surprised to see her friend approach her. She stopped right in front of the filly and lowered her head, bringing her to the side of Star's neck. The wolf stuck her head to her friend's neck. Star realized it was be like a hug for the wolves, and returned the gesture.

When they finally separated, the wolf said:

"If the storm becomes too strong, the dams will move away from the mountain. If that happens, we'll see each other the next time my pack returns."
"I will miss you, wolf."
"Me too, pony."
"Take care, friend," said Star Whistle.

The wolf said nothing more and began to descend the mountain with a calm step. Star Whistle watched her as she walked away. She was going to miss her so much, as she was the only real friend she had ever made, and she could only see her a few weeks a year.

Star returned to her town slowly, but when she saw the storm clouds over the mountain, she started to run. As soon as she reached her house and closed the door behind her, the first clap of thunder was heard. It began to snow, and the rising wind blew the flakes in all directions. Star Whistle, terrified, slipped into the covers, fighting the drastic drop in temperature.
Soon after, the exhaustion of two nights sleeping shortly overcame her, and Star fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Note

I know. It's been years. But well... translating a text is a chore. But today I chose to be simple about it: I used google translate, then corrected some typos and miss-translations and I think the result is pretty decent.

If any of you, kind readers, would like to assist me translating Sisters of the Storm, I'd be so much obliged :)