My Little Warriors: The Final Battleby Lionblaze103ChaptersPrologueThe PatrolThe NewcomersYellowfang's ProphecyDeterminationWarriorsFluttershy's NightmareFanartApprenticeshipThe ClanPrologueRarity and Fluttershy were walking together towards Twilight's house. "What do you think it is Twilight wants to show us?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't know darling, but knowing Twilight whatever it is is going to be impressive." Rarity said. Fluttershy nodded, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Within 5 minutes they reached the library. Rarity knocked on the door, and Twilight opened it. "I'm glad you're here. You're the last ones." she said pulling them inside. As Twilight said, they were the last ones there. Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were already there. "Were all here so hurry up already." said Dash impatiently. "Hold on Dash." she said levitating a book to in front of her, as she pointed her horn at an apple on a stool. Twilight took one last look at the book and set it down. Then her horn started glowing as she built up magic. She then released it at the apple. Suddenly though a dark energy appeared in front of it, absorbing the spell. "What is that? What's happening?" Rarity asked panicking a little as it started to move out to fill the room. "Is that supposed to happen?" Applejack asked. "No it's not. Something is wrong. We have to get out of here." Twilight said. But it was too late. The shroud of darkness enveloped them all. They were unconscious so they couldn't feel their bodies hit the forest floor. The PatrolA little over an hour later Twilight roused. The first thing she noticed was she was no longer in the library. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud. She saw 5 strange looking cats. One a blueish gray, one a pure white, one golden yellow, one orange, and the last one a light brownish red. She tried getting up, but her body felt strange. She figured this was because she was a little weak from casting that spell, so she laid there resting for a bit. After a few minutes she tried getting up again, and succeed only to find herself staring down at furry paws. She blinked, and looked back at the 5 cats, only just now realizing how much they resembled her friends. She looked back down again, to find she still had paws. She looked behind her to see the sleek body of a cat, and a twitching tail. There was no mistaking it she had become a blueish black colored cat. Instead of reacting how most people would she walked over to her friends, and one by one shook them from their sleep. They each had different reactions "Oh my." "Even as a cat I still look fabulous." "Aww man how am I supposed to fly now" "Well how do ya' like that." "Wowie, this is so cool." "Girls. Girls! GIRLS!" Twilight said, trying to get their attention. They immediately became quite. Twilight took a long breath, and let it out. "We need to find out where we are, why we're cats, and how we are going to change back." she said. Applejack spoke up, "We're in the Everfree forest, so maybe we can see if Zecora has a potion or something." "That's what I thought at first too, but look around." Twilight said, giving them a minute to observe their surroundings. "The Everfree is different. This is a different forest." Twilight pointed out. "Well then what are we gonna do?" Applejack asked. They sat in silence pondering what to do when their thoughts was interrupted by a voice, "Well, well, well, look at what we have here, kittypets." *In Thunderclan earlier this morning.* "I'll take Lionblaze, Ivypool, and Berrynose for the morning patrol along the Shadowclan border." Brambleclaw, the deputy, said. The selected cats gathered around the entrance to the camp, waiting for Brambleclaw to finish up patrols for the day. After he was done Brambleclaw joined the cats waiting by the gorse bush. "Let's go." he said walking out of camp, the others following behind him. Everything along the border seemed fine, and about halfway through Lionblaze scented a mouse, and fell into the hunters crouch, easily catching it. He quickly ate it in a few bites, and they continued patrolling, making sure to stop every few tail lengths to make sure to renew the border markings. There was no trouble along the Shadowclan border, but when they were almost done patrolling the lake side Ivypool caught a strange cat scent. Her fur stood on end, and she let out a small hiss. "What is it?" Lionblaze asked. "I smell strange cats." she said. The others lifted their heads, and gave a few sniffs, confirming what she had said. Berrynose let out a hiss of his own, "Kittypets." they followed the scent a little ways from the lake shore, to a clearing where some marigold was growing. There they found 6 well fed kittypets. They stepped out into the clearing, and Brambleclaw said, "Well, well, well, look at what we have here, kittypets." The NewcomersEveryone turned to the gray cat. "What is it Jayfeather?" asked the one called Firestar. "I had a prophecy about these cats." Jayfeather said. "A prophecy? What the hay is he talking about?" Applejack asked Twilight. "I think it means he was expecting us." replied Twilight. The cats started whispering amongst themselves, and Firestar asked, "What was this prophecy?" "Starclan told me that 6 cats would come to the clan, and that we would have to show them our ways." Jayfeather said. A knowing glance passed between them, and Firestar nodded. "Very well. If Starclan has decreed it we shall bring these cats into Thunderclan." Firestar said. Suddenly there were yowls of disagreement. "Look at them, they're just kittypets." one said. "Yeah, why should we let them in our clan?" another asked. Firestar said, "Silence!" and everyone was quiet immediately. "If Jayfeather has had a prophecy then we must listen." he said. The arguments quickly quieted down. "Jayfeather, if you would see to them." he said, and the gray cat nodded. The group started to dissipate as they followed Jayfeather into the cave he had come out of, with the golden cat he had sat next to earlier walking next to him. They sat down on some moss in the cave, and the girls sat down in front of them. After a while Rainbow Dash got agitated, and asked, "What are we waiting for?" "They'll be here soon." the golden one said. *Dovewing* Dovewing couldn't help but to be distracted by the commotion in camp. Her tail accidentally brushed against the leaves covering the ground, alerting the thrush she was stalking. Luckily she was fast enough to catch it though. "Are you okay?" Brightheart asked, "You seem a little distracted." Dovewing shook her head, and said, "I'm fine." "We should get back to camp now, I think we have enough fresh kill." Brightheart said. Dovewing nodded, and they dug up the squirrel, and 2 mice Dovewing caught, and the 2 voles, and mouse Brightheart caught. When they returned to camp it was almost sunhigh, and everybody was chatting. Firestar walked up to them and Brightheart asked, "What's going on around here? Sounds like something happened while we were out of camp." "I'm sure your clanmates will fill you in on it. Dovewing follow me." he said as they set down their catch on the fresh kill pile, or where it would be. Dovewing followed Firestar into the medicine cats den where Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and the 6 strange cats were sitting. Dovewing took a seat next to Lionblaze, and Firestar sat next to Jayfeather. Firestar nodded to Jayfeather, and he started. "Now that Dovewing, and Firestar are here I will explain." he said, "It happened 2 moons ago during my trip to the Moonpool." Yellowfang's ProphecyIt was the half moon, the time where medicine cats from each clan to gather at the Moon Pool to share tongues with their ancestors. Halfway there he met Windclan's medicine cat, Kestrelflight. The gray tom mewed a greeting, and Jayfeather mewed one back, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Ever since a few moons ago the clans split apart. Even the medicine cats who usually had no boundaries had been divided. They were the first ones to the Moonpool, so they waited for a while until Littlecloud, and Mothwing, and her apprentice, Willowshine, appeared. They all mewed greetings to each other, and took a seat by the water. They bent down to touch the cold water with their noses. Almost immediately Starclan sent them to sleep. When he awoke he saw Yellowfang. "Yellowfang!' he exclaimed, happy to see the old Thunderclan medicine cat. "Hello Jayfeather." she said in that raspy voice of hers. "I have a prophecy for you." she told him. He froze immediately. "A prophecy?" he asked. "Yes, a prophecy." she said. They were silent for a bit until Jayfeather asked, "What is it?" Her eyes glazed over as she started talking, "6 cats shall come who know nothing of our ways. You must teach them, and train them because they shall help in the battle with the Dark Forest, and shall bring back harmony to the clans." She returned to normal as Jayfeather asked, "Who are these cats? How will I know them." "I do not know who these cats are, but I do know what they look like." she said. "Then she described you to me." said Jayfeather finishing his story. "Well?" asked Firestar, "What will you do?" "We-We need a minute." said Twilight finding it all a little hard to take in. She gathered up the others, and started talking. "So what do you girls say?" she asked them. "It's okay with me, I mean if you don't mind." said Fluttershy. "Well we can't just leave after hearing that." said Rarity. "Sounds like fun!" said Pinkie. "What do you think? I'm in." said Rainbow Dash. "I want to help too, but do you think we should tell them we're not cats?" asked Applejack. "I thought about that too, but it can't be a mere coincidence that we turned into cats that look the same as from a prophecy. I say we help them." Twilight said, then turned back to the cats. "We will help you." she said. Firestar dipped his head in gratitude, and said, 'Thank you." "I have a few questions though." she continued, "What's Starclan? And what's a Kittypet?" "All these questions shall be answered in due time." said Firestar, "For now you should rest. I'll send someone with something to eat for you." With that he, and the golden cat, and the pale gray cat got up, and left. "We should get a bit of rest." Twilight said lying down. The others agreed, and laid down themselves, some watching as Jayfeather worked. He pulled out a small pile of some plant, and sniffed at it. "We're low on marigold." he commented. Rainbow Dash opened one of her eyes, and said, "No duh. Can't you tell just by looking at it?" Jayfeather looked straight at her with his unblinking eyes. "No, I can't." he said, "I'm blind." They all gasped when they heard this, and Dash started apologizing, "I'm sooooo sorry. I didn't know. I wasn't trying to offend you or anything. I would never-" she was cut off by Jayfeather, "Don't worry about it. You didn't know." Everyone went quiet again, until Fluttershy asked, "How long have you been blind? I-If you don't mind me asking that is." Jayfeather shook his head, and said, "I don't mind. I've been blind my entire life." which made the others gasp again. "Your whole life darling? That must be terrible, to not be able to see anything." Rarity said. "Well, that's not entirely true." he said. "What does that mean?" Twilight asked. "I can see in my dreams. I have a gift, but let's not worry about that right now, food is here." Jayfeather said, staring at the moss covering the entrance to the cave. DeterminationWhat came next disgusted them. In stepped a black cat, holding a dead squirrel, and rabbit in her mouth. She walked over to them, and set the rabbit down. Then she sat next to Jayfeather, and dropped the squirrel. "Thanks Hollyleaf." he said, taking a bite out of it. They were appalled at this. He was eating what had once been a live animal. Rarity could never imagine her Opal wopal doing such a thing. Hollyleaf took notice that they weren't eating. "Not hungry?" she asked. Twilight's stomach growled. "I'm hungry, it's just-" she cut off looking for the proper word. "Never had rabbit before?" asked Hollyleaf. Twilight shook her head. "You should, it's not as good as mice, but it's better than that kittypet slop twolegs feed you." Hollyleaf told them. Twilight knew that her new body would have different taste buds, and would be adapted to eating it, but Twilight was still reluctant. "We have to eat to keep up our strength." she said. Then to show her conviction, she bent down, and took a bite. The others looked away as she chewed. As she predicted her new body had changed taste buds, making it easier to eat. Finally she swallowed it, and turned back to the girls. "So. . . How was it?" asked Applejack. "It was actually kinda good." Twilight told them. "I don't care, I'm still not eating." said Fluttershy. "I don't like this any better than you do, but we gotta keep up our strength like Twilight said." Applejack told her. "I still won't do it." Fluttershy told her. "I will." said Rainbow Dash, leaning in, and taking bite out of the rabbit. "Well ah don't suppose ah can be picky right now." said Applejack, also taking a bite. Pinkie took a bite without a word, and Rarity took a bit of time, but she also took a bite. "See sugarcube, we're all eating. You should too." said Applejack, as gently as she could. Fluttershy didn't like it, but knew they were right. They had all taken several bites already, and she was still hungry. Tentatively Fluttershy took a small bite, and ate it. She was disgusted at herself, and wondered what Angel would think of her if he knew. With 6 of them together, the rabbit was quickly demolished. "I'll go bury these." said Hollyleaf, taking the remains of the squirrel, and rabbit, and leaving. "You should get some rest. You can stay here for tonight. You'll need moss though, I'm sure Briarlight can show you where to get some. It would also be good for her to get out." Jayfeather said. "Briarlight!" Jayfeather called. From farther back in the cave a dark brown cat, they hadn't noticed before, pulled herself towards them. Not walked, but pulled. She was dragging her back legs along the ground. Fluttershy let out a gasp. "A-Are you okay? What's wrong with your back legs?" she asked. "They got injured when a tree fell. I can't use them any more." Briarlight told her. "Oh. That's horrible." Fluttershy said. "It was, at first." Briarlight said, "It meant that I could never achieve my dream of being a warrior. But Jayfeather helped me get back on my paws. He kept me going, when I had given up. Now at least I can help him with his medicine cat duties, even if I'm not one." "We should probably go get you some bedding now." Briarlight told them. WarriorsAs they walked, Fluttershy asked, "So what does Jayfeather do?" "Jayfeather is the medicine cat for Thunderclan. He takes care of all the injured, and sick." Briarlight told her. "Oh. That's nice." she said. "Yeah. He helped me when even I didn't believe in myself." Briarlight told her. "Really?" she asked. "Yeah. When the tree fell, and I got injured he helped me. Even when I had given up, he didn't. He may be a bit grumpy, but he's really good at heart." Briarlight said. "He seems like a really nice po-, cat." Twilight said, catching herself at the last moment. "He is." Briarlight said, "Oh, here we are." They stopped in front of a tree that looked like pretty much any other tree in the forest. "How can you tell?" asked Twilight. "Don't worry, you'll learn the territory soon enough." Briarlight told her, "Now I'll show you how to get bedding, so you can do it yourselves later." She then took a few clawfulls of moss, and squeezed the moisture out of it, then made it into a ball. "All you have to do is get the water out, and make it into a ball so it's easier to carry." she explained, tossing the ball over to them. "Here, let me help." Fluttershy said, walking over. "Thanks, uh, what was your name again?" she asked. "Oh, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Fluttershy, and that's Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy told her, motioning towards each of them. "Weird names." Briarlight commented as she grabbed some more moss. Fluttershy copied her, grabbing some moss, and squeezing the moisture out of it. "Is this okay?" she asked. "Yeah, that's good." Briarlight told her. She set it down, and they continued until they had six moss balls. "There. Now let's get back to camp." she said. "Alright let's go!" Dash said, walking off. "Wait! No! That's a-" Briarlight was cut off by a yowl, "Thorn bush." *Lionblaze* Lionblaze decided he would go hunting while he pondered this new development. Right now he was stalking a thrush. He swiftly killed it, and buried it. They had yet to find the fourth cat in the prophecy Starclan had given them before, and now there was an entirely new prophecy. Lionblaze scented a squirrel, and got into the hunter's crouch. He didn't understand it at all. Why's there so many prophecies in the first place? He wondered as he pounced on the squirrel, and killed it with a swift bite to the neck. He decided he had caught enough, and decided to head back to camp digging up thrush, and 2 mice he had killed earlier. He entered camp, and put his catch on the fresh kill pile. He took a mouse for himself to eat, and sat down with the other warriors. As he listened to them talk he learned the names of the 6 cats that had came here. He saw Firestar walking towards him, and finished his mouse of in a few bites. "Lionblaze I'd like to ask you to do something." he said. "What?" Lionblaze asked. "I'd like you to help train the six cats that came here. There'll be a ceremony tomorrow. They won't have mentors, but the clan will teach them, and I'd like your help.' Firestar told him. Lionblaze knew why Firestar wanted his help. "Okay." Lionblaze said. After he buried the remains of his meal he walked to the Jayfeather's den. He saw the Jayfeather putting cobwebs on the one called Rainbow Dash. "What happened to you?" he asked. "I'll tell you what. This mousebrain ran straight into a thorn bush." Jayfeather hissed out. "Well how was I supposed to know that was a thorn bush!" she retaliated. "By using your eyes!" he said. She huffed, and let Jayfeather go about his job. "Anyways." Lionblaze interrupted, "I'm here to talk to all of you." "About what?" asked Twilight. "Tomorrow Firestar is going to have a ceremony, and you shall start your training as warriors." he told them. "Um, about that, I don't want to be a warrior, I'd like to be a medicine cat, if that's alright.." Fluttershy said, catching everyone's attention. "Are you sure?" Lionblaze asked her, "You'll have to deal with Jayfeather." "Yes, I'm sure." she said. "Then it's up to Jayfeather. Well?" he asked his brother. "Please?" asked Fluttershy. "Being a medicine cat isn't easy. The whole clan depends on you. Are you sure you want to take on that responsibility?" Jayfeather asked her. "Yes. I'll do everything I can." Fluttershy said, determined. "Very well then. You can train to be a medicine cat." he said. "Yay!" she said. "You'll have to talk to Firestar though." he told her. "I'll take care of that." Lionblaze said, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" "Okay." Jayfeather said, following him to the back of his den. "Why did you say yes so easily?" Lionblaze asked, "We both know you don't want an apprentice yet." "Because it'll be easier to find out who they are." Jayfeather explained, "And besides." "Besides what?" he asked. "I felt strong determination from her." Jayfeather said, revealing what his powers had told him. "I see. I'm going to talk to Firestar now, but before I go I just want to know if you've figured out who the fourth cat is yet." Lionblaze said. "No. I'll tell you when I learn something." Jayfeather said with a bit of annoyance in his voice. "Alright." he said, and left. Fluttershy's NightmareThe sun was setting, casting shadows all around the camp. Firestar had been informed of Fluttershy's decision, and right now Jayfeather, and the other six were sitting in his den. He had just finished a vole, and was laying in his nest. Fluttershy let out a yawn. "You should get some rest." he told her, "You start training tomorrow, and as it just so happens it's the half moon." "What's so special about a half moon?" she asked. "The half moon is when all the medicine cats go to the Moon Pool to share dreams with Starclan." Jayfeather told her. "What's Starclan?" asked Twilight. "Starclan is where cats go to after they die. It's where our ancestors live." Jayfeather told them, "Medicine cats communicate with them, and read signs sent from them. You should get some rest, we have a long journey tomorrow." "Okay." said Fluttershy, laying down in her nest. The others quickly followed suit. It didn't take too long before Fluttershy started becoming sleepy, and she drifted off to sleep. Fluttershy's eyes fluttered open, and she expected to be in the medicine cat den, but instead she found herself in a forest. This wasn't any normal forest, though. It was completely dark. No light shone down from the starless sky. Fluttershy felt something off about it. Even more so than the Everfree. Fluttershy immediately knew she wasn't supposed to be here, and she started to back up. She bumped into something, and let out a squeak, quickly turning around to see it was only a tree. Then the tree took on the appearance of a monster with big pointed teeth. Fluttershy quickly turned around, and ran away into the undergrowth. She didn't know how long she was running, but she had to get away. Finally she stopped, gasping for breath. She was still in the dark woods. It seemed that no matter how far she ran she couldn't get out. It was then that she heard voices. They were too far away to make out what they were saying, so she carefully crept towards them. After a little while the voices settled into recognizable words. "Go for the neck if you can." said one voice. It was cold, and hard, sending a shiver down her spine, but she continued anyways. She reached a bush, and the voices were really loud. She stuck her head out to see a clearing filled with cats. "Always go for the kill." said a large brown tabby. Fluttershy gasped as she saw two cats fighting. She could even smell blood. He must of heard her, though, because his ears twitched. He sniffed the air, and growled, looking at the exact spot she was hiding in. He turned to a smaller brown tabby, and said something. She gasped again as he stood up, and started walking towards her. Fluttershy quickly backed up against a tree. The bushes rustled, and she didn't waste any time turning around, and bolting through the forest. She ran as hard as she could, but she could hear the pawsteps of the large tom right behind her. She pushed herself harder, but the pawsteps became closer, and closer. Finally Fluttershy was tackled from behind, and thrown on the ground. She felt claws digging into her pelt, making her bleed. She wailed out in pain. The brown cat leaned down, and spoke. "Well what do we have here? A spy?" he said. "N-No. I'm not. Please let me go." she said, struggling against him. "Oh, but what kind of warrior would I be if I let my prey go?" he said menacingly, digging his claws deeper, eliciting more wails of pain from her. "I'll make you into an example." he hissed, raising his head for the death strike. Then, just before he plunged his teeth into her neck she jolted awake. She sat up, breathing hard. She winced at the pain from her wounds. Wait wounds? That was just a dream wasn't it? Suddenly she was aware of the presence of her friends, and Jayfeather. Fluttershy was so relieved to see them that she flung herself onto Rainbow Dash, sobbing. "Fluttershy?!" said Dash. "Oh Dash! I was so scared!" she sobbed. "What happened?" asked Dash, concerned "It was horrible!" cried Fluttershy. Jayfeather stepped forward. "Tell us what happened. We need to know." he said. "I-I was in a forest, and it was dark. Then I saw these cats talking about fighting, and killing. And one chased after me. It was horrible!" she choked out. Jayfeather let out a sigh. "I was afraid this was going to happen." he said. "What do you mean? What was that place?" asked Twilight as he got cobwebs, and applied them to Fluttershy's wounds. "It's time you know who we're going up against." he told them, "That place is known as the Dark Forest." FanartHey guys! This isn't a chapter, I just wanted to upload some awesome fanart I've gotten. It's all made by a guy called Derpypaws. Apprenticeship"So what you're saying is that you're being threatened by dead cats?" asked Twilight, thinking she might have heard wrong. "Yes. And soon they will rise up against the clans and wage a war." said Jayfeather. "But they're dead! They can't hurt us!" Rainbow Dash said. "Just ask your friend Fluttershy." he told her, shrugging. Fluttershy flinched at the memory of Tigerstar's claws digging into her, and how close she had come to dying. She still had the wounds to prove it too. "So what do we do?" asked Twilight. "Nothing." he said. "Nothing?! We can't just do nothing!" Twilight said. Jayfeather glared at her and she felt a shiver going down her spine. If she didn't know better she'd say that he could see her. "I don't like it either, but there is nothing we can do." he told her, "All we can do is prepare ourselves while we still can." Twilight wanted to say something. To argue, but she knew he was right. They had only just came here. What could they do? "Let's go get some fresh kill." he told them. They didn't argue as they followed him into the clearing. Jayfeather lead the way to the fresh kill pile, and none of them argued as he picked out a squirrel for them to eat, not even Fluttershy. The reality of the situation was now setting in. They were stuck as cats with no way home, in the middle of a war between the dead and the living. They quickly finished their prey, just as the sun started to rise. Jayfeather stood up, and stretched. It was then that a white cat walked up to them. It wasn't until she turned that they saw the other side of her face. They all winced instinctively at the way her face was mauled. "Hello. You're the new cats. I'm Brightheart." she introduced herself. "W-What happened to your face? I mean if you don't mind me asking." asked Fluttershy. Brightheart smiled. "Not at all." she said, "Back when I was an apprentice I was mauled by a dog." They all winced at that. "Did Jayfeather help you?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh, no. Jayfeather wasn't around then. The medicine cat then was a she-cat called Cinderpelt." Brightheart told her. "Oh." she said. "Anyways Jayfeather I need to talk to you." Brightheart told him. "Sure. What is it?" he asked. "I'm having kits!" she said, "I-I want to know if that's okay. I'm not as young as before." "You should be fine so long as you don't overexert yourself." he told her. "Great! Thank you Jayfeather!" she said, leaving. Jayfeather turned back to the others. "We should get some rest. There's going to be an announcement soon." Jayfeather reminded them. It had been decided last night who would become their mentors. They also requested that they keep their names, and Firestar agreed. They nodded their heads in agreement, and headed back into the medicine cat den. -- Dovewing woke up from a dream she'd been having about stalking a mouse. She stood up, and stretched out, making her back pop. She then decided that she'd get something to eat from the fresh kill pile. She walked out of the apprentice's den, and into the clearing. She walked up to the fresh kill pile, and sighed. There wasn't much left. Two mice, a thrush, and a vole. They'd need more then this since Leafbare was almost on them. She'd have to go hunting later to catch some more fresh kill, and teach her new apprentice some hunting techniques. Technically she still didn't have an apprentice, but she would get one today. She had heard Firestar and Brambleclaw talking last night. She had just sat down with her vole when Brambleclaw walked up to her. "Hello Dovewing." he greeted. "Hello Brambleclaw." she said back. "You are to take on an apprentice today." he told her, "Do you think you are ready?" Dovewing nodded. "Very well then, you'll be given Applejack to train." he said. "Okay." she said. "By the way is Ivypool up yet?" he asked. She shook her head. "I'll have to talk to her later then." he said, heading towards the warrior's den. Dovewing sat down, and took a bite out of her vole. She quickly ate it in a few more bites just as Ivypool emerged from the apprentice den. She stood up just as Brambleclaw walked up to her sister. She waited until they finished talking to walk to Ivypool. "I suppose you got an apprentice too." she said. "How'd you know?" asked Ivypool. Dovewing's ears twitched in response. "Oh." Ivypool said, embarrassed she forgot about her sister's powers. "So who did you get?" Dovewing asked. "Don't you know already?" Ivypool asked. "I don't listen to everything." Dovewing said, feeling a bit offended. "Oh, yeah, sorry." Ivypool apologized, "Anyways I got Twilight to train." "I got Applejack." Dovewing told her, "I wonder when Firestar's-" She was cut off by a yowl. "Every cat old enough to catch their own prey gather her beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting." Firestar called out from atop his den. "I guess now." Ivypool said as they walked to gather around the Highledge. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jayfeather and the others walk out of the medicine cat den. "I have called this meeting to welcome six new cats to the clan. They will be trained in the ways of our clan until they become full fledged warriors." Firestar called out, jumping down from the Highledge. "Rainbow Dash come here." he called out. The blue she-cat pushed her way through the crowd to stand in front of Firestar. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Lionblaze!" he called out. Lionblaze made his way up to the front. "Lionblaze you are ready for another apprentice. You will be Rainbow Dash's mentor. I know you will pass down all your strength to Rainbow Dash, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Lionblaze barely had to reach down to touch noses with Rainbow Dash since she was almost as tall as him. "Twilight Sparkle come here." Firestar called out. Twilight made her way to the front before Firestar. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Ivypool." he said. Ivypool walked to the front, and stood beside her. "Ivypool, you are ready for your first apprentice. You will be Twilight's mentor. I know you will pass on your loyalty to Twilight, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Firestar said. Ivypool was the same height as Twilight so she didn't have to bend down to touch her nose to her new apprentice's. "Applejack come here." Firestar called out. Applejack followed her two friends to the front. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Dovewing." he said. This was what she'd been waiting for all this time. Finally she'd have her own apprentice. Suddenly she was nervous. What if she messed up? How was she supposed to teach her the skills she would need anyways? She carefully made her way to the front and waited for Firestar to continue. "Dovewing, you are ready for your first apprentice." he said, "You will be Applejack's mentor. I know you will pass on your courage to Applejack, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." This was the moment she was waiting for. Applejack was a little smaller than her. She reached down gently, and touched her nose to Applejack's. She let out a sigh as she pulled back, relieved that nothing had gone wrong. Yet. But she would worry about that later. Right now she had an apprentice, and could barely hold her excitement. Firestar continued. "Rarity come here." Firestar called out. Unlike her other friends Rarity almost glided across the ground, her rear swaying, making some of the toms stare. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Cinderheart." he said, Cinderheart walked through the crowd, and up to her apprentice. "Cinderheart, you are ready for another apprentice. You will be Rarity's mentor. I know you will pass on your wisdom to Rarity, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Cinderheart gently reached down, and touched her nose to Rarity's. "Finally, Pinkie Pie come here." Firestar called out. Pinkie bounced her way to the front, as light, if not lighter, on her paws then Rarity. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Hollyleaf." he said. Hollyleaf made her way to the front, and stopped in front of Firestar, looking nervous. "Hollyleaf, it is time for your first apprentice. You will be Pinkie's mentor. I know you will pass on your bravery to Pinkie, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Firestar said. With that Hollyleaf nervously leaned down, and touched her nose to Pinkie's, and the clan erupted into cheers. "Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie!" they called out. Firestar waited until they were finished before he spoke up once more. "Attention Thunderclan." he called out, "There is one more announcement to make. Jayfeather." As Jayfeather and Fluttershy walked to the front everyone started whispering, wondering what was going on. "Cats of Thunderclan." he called out, getting everyone's attention, "As you know I will not be around forever, so it's time I took on an apprentice. I have chosen a cat that has shown kindness. Your next medicine cat will be Fluttershy." "Fluttershy," Firestar cut in, "Do you accept position of apprentice to Jayfeather?" "I-I do." stuttered Fluttershy. "Then tonight during the half-moon we shall travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by Starclan before the other medicine cats." Jayfeather said. "The good wishes of Thunderclan goes with you." Firestar told them. With that Jayfeather reached down, and touched his nose to Fluttershy's who didn't even flinch, her eyes filled with determination. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy!" called out the clan. "Come." he told her, "We must be prepared for the journey to the Moonpool tonight." Fluttershy nodded, and followed him back into his den. The ClanThey turned around to see a dark brown tabby with a cream colored, a golden tabby, and a silver and white tabby behind him. They gathered together as the cats surrounded them. "Follow me." said the brown tabby, before walking off. "Twilight, darling, what should we do?" asked Rarity. 'Nothing" said Twilight, "we should and can't do anything. we don't know where we are, so we should follow them. maybe they'll know." They walked the rest of the way in silence, until they reached a barrier of thorns. "we're here." he said walking into a tunnel going through the vegetation. They hesitated, and the cream colored one let out a growl. They walked through the bushes to find a large number of cats scattered around a clearing, some looking hostile with their fur sticking out, and some just looking curious. Just then a cat came out of the rock pile in the middle, and jumped down, walking towards them. He had a flame colored pelt. The tabby gave a quick bow, and said, "Firestar." "Brambleclaw." he replied, "Why have you brought these cats into the camp?" *Jayfeather* Jayfeather was agitated, wondering what that prophecy he got 2 moons ago meant. It didn't help that it was almost leafbare, and there was absolutely no fresh kill in camp. He hadn't eaten since yesterday. Luckily there were two hunting patrols out, one of which Dovewing was on, so there should be plenty more prey soon. Just then a commotion broke out in camp, and he smelled strange cats. He quickly walked outside into the clearing where a crowd was gathering. He sat next to Lionblaze and asked him, "What's going on?" "We found 6 kittypets in our territory." he replied. He froze. "6 cats? What do they look like?" he asked. Lionblaze described them to him, and he knew instantly that these were the cats spoken of in the prophecy. That's when Firestar said, "Run them out, and teach them not to intrude in Thunderclan's territory again." "Wait!" Jayfeather called out. *Ponies* They watched with unease as all the cats gathered around them. "Well?" the flame colored one asked again. "I found these kittypets in our territory." the brown tabby said. Twilight was wondering what a kittypet was. They had mentioned it several times already. Then she noticed a gray tabby come out of cave, and sit next to one of the cats that had brought them here. She sensed something about him, but changed her attention to the flame colored cat when he started talking. "Run them out, and teach them not to intrude in Thunderclan's territory again." he said, making her heart sink. If they were run out now they might never find out where they were, and how to get back. Just then the gray tabby she noticed earlier spoke out, "Wait!"
PrologueRarity and Fluttershy were walking together towards Twilight's house. "What do you think it is Twilight wants to show us?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't know darling, but knowing Twilight whatever it is is going to be impressive." Rarity said. Fluttershy nodded, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Within 5 minutes they reached the library. Rarity knocked on the door, and Twilight opened it. "I'm glad you're here. You're the last ones." she said pulling them inside. As Twilight said, they were the last ones there. Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were already there. "Were all here so hurry up already." said Dash impatiently. "Hold on Dash." she said levitating a book to in front of her, as she pointed her horn at an apple on a stool. Twilight took one last look at the book and set it down. Then her horn started glowing as she built up magic. She then released it at the apple. Suddenly though a dark energy appeared in front of it, absorbing the spell. "What is that? What's happening?" Rarity asked panicking a little as it started to move out to fill the room. "Is that supposed to happen?" Applejack asked. "No it's not. Something is wrong. We have to get out of here." Twilight said. But it was too late. The shroud of darkness enveloped them all. They were unconscious so they couldn't feel their bodies hit the forest floor.
The PatrolA little over an hour later Twilight roused. The first thing she noticed was she was no longer in the library. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud. She saw 5 strange looking cats. One a blueish gray, one a pure white, one golden yellow, one orange, and the last one a light brownish red. She tried getting up, but her body felt strange. She figured this was because she was a little weak from casting that spell, so she laid there resting for a bit. After a few minutes she tried getting up again, and succeed only to find herself staring down at furry paws. She blinked, and looked back at the 5 cats, only just now realizing how much they resembled her friends. She looked back down again, to find she still had paws. She looked behind her to see the sleek body of a cat, and a twitching tail. There was no mistaking it she had become a blueish black colored cat. Instead of reacting how most people would she walked over to her friends, and one by one shook them from their sleep. They each had different reactions "Oh my." "Even as a cat I still look fabulous." "Aww man how am I supposed to fly now" "Well how do ya' like that." "Wowie, this is so cool." "Girls. Girls! GIRLS!" Twilight said, trying to get their attention. They immediately became quite. Twilight took a long breath, and let it out. "We need to find out where we are, why we're cats, and how we are going to change back." she said. Applejack spoke up, "We're in the Everfree forest, so maybe we can see if Zecora has a potion or something." "That's what I thought at first too, but look around." Twilight said, giving them a minute to observe their surroundings. "The Everfree is different. This is a different forest." Twilight pointed out. "Well then what are we gonna do?" Applejack asked. They sat in silence pondering what to do when their thoughts was interrupted by a voice, "Well, well, well, look at what we have here, kittypets." *In Thunderclan earlier this morning.* "I'll take Lionblaze, Ivypool, and Berrynose for the morning patrol along the Shadowclan border." Brambleclaw, the deputy, said. The selected cats gathered around the entrance to the camp, waiting for Brambleclaw to finish up patrols for the day. After he was done Brambleclaw joined the cats waiting by the gorse bush. "Let's go." he said walking out of camp, the others following behind him. Everything along the border seemed fine, and about halfway through Lionblaze scented a mouse, and fell into the hunters crouch, easily catching it. He quickly ate it in a few bites, and they continued patrolling, making sure to stop every few tail lengths to make sure to renew the border markings. There was no trouble along the Shadowclan border, but when they were almost done patrolling the lake side Ivypool caught a strange cat scent. Her fur stood on end, and she let out a small hiss. "What is it?" Lionblaze asked. "I smell strange cats." she said. The others lifted their heads, and gave a few sniffs, confirming what she had said. Berrynose let out a hiss of his own, "Kittypets." they followed the scent a little ways from the lake shore, to a clearing where some marigold was growing. There they found 6 well fed kittypets. They stepped out into the clearing, and Brambleclaw said, "Well, well, well, look at what we have here, kittypets."
The NewcomersEveryone turned to the gray cat. "What is it Jayfeather?" asked the one called Firestar. "I had a prophecy about these cats." Jayfeather said. "A prophecy? What the hay is he talking about?" Applejack asked Twilight. "I think it means he was expecting us." replied Twilight. The cats started whispering amongst themselves, and Firestar asked, "What was this prophecy?" "Starclan told me that 6 cats would come to the clan, and that we would have to show them our ways." Jayfeather said. A knowing glance passed between them, and Firestar nodded. "Very well. If Starclan has decreed it we shall bring these cats into Thunderclan." Firestar said. Suddenly there were yowls of disagreement. "Look at them, they're just kittypets." one said. "Yeah, why should we let them in our clan?" another asked. Firestar said, "Silence!" and everyone was quiet immediately. "If Jayfeather has had a prophecy then we must listen." he said. The arguments quickly quieted down. "Jayfeather, if you would see to them." he said, and the gray cat nodded. The group started to dissipate as they followed Jayfeather into the cave he had come out of, with the golden cat he had sat next to earlier walking next to him. They sat down on some moss in the cave, and the girls sat down in front of them. After a while Rainbow Dash got agitated, and asked, "What are we waiting for?" "They'll be here soon." the golden one said. *Dovewing* Dovewing couldn't help but to be distracted by the commotion in camp. Her tail accidentally brushed against the leaves covering the ground, alerting the thrush she was stalking. Luckily she was fast enough to catch it though. "Are you okay?" Brightheart asked, "You seem a little distracted." Dovewing shook her head, and said, "I'm fine." "We should get back to camp now, I think we have enough fresh kill." Brightheart said. Dovewing nodded, and they dug up the squirrel, and 2 mice Dovewing caught, and the 2 voles, and mouse Brightheart caught. When they returned to camp it was almost sunhigh, and everybody was chatting. Firestar walked up to them and Brightheart asked, "What's going on around here? Sounds like something happened while we were out of camp." "I'm sure your clanmates will fill you in on it. Dovewing follow me." he said as they set down their catch on the fresh kill pile, or where it would be. Dovewing followed Firestar into the medicine cats den where Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and the 6 strange cats were sitting. Dovewing took a seat next to Lionblaze, and Firestar sat next to Jayfeather. Firestar nodded to Jayfeather, and he started. "Now that Dovewing, and Firestar are here I will explain." he said, "It happened 2 moons ago during my trip to the Moonpool."
Yellowfang's ProphecyIt was the half moon, the time where medicine cats from each clan to gather at the Moon Pool to share tongues with their ancestors. Halfway there he met Windclan's medicine cat, Kestrelflight. The gray tom mewed a greeting, and Jayfeather mewed one back, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Ever since a few moons ago the clans split apart. Even the medicine cats who usually had no boundaries had been divided. They were the first ones to the Moonpool, so they waited for a while until Littlecloud, and Mothwing, and her apprentice, Willowshine, appeared. They all mewed greetings to each other, and took a seat by the water. They bent down to touch the cold water with their noses. Almost immediately Starclan sent them to sleep. When he awoke he saw Yellowfang. "Yellowfang!' he exclaimed, happy to see the old Thunderclan medicine cat. "Hello Jayfeather." she said in that raspy voice of hers. "I have a prophecy for you." she told him. He froze immediately. "A prophecy?" he asked. "Yes, a prophecy." she said. They were silent for a bit until Jayfeather asked, "What is it?" Her eyes glazed over as she started talking, "6 cats shall come who know nothing of our ways. You must teach them, and train them because they shall help in the battle with the Dark Forest, and shall bring back harmony to the clans." She returned to normal as Jayfeather asked, "Who are these cats? How will I know them." "I do not know who these cats are, but I do know what they look like." she said. "Then she described you to me." said Jayfeather finishing his story. "Well?" asked Firestar, "What will you do?" "We-We need a minute." said Twilight finding it all a little hard to take in. She gathered up the others, and started talking. "So what do you girls say?" she asked them. "It's okay with me, I mean if you don't mind." said Fluttershy. "Well we can't just leave after hearing that." said Rarity. "Sounds like fun!" said Pinkie. "What do you think? I'm in." said Rainbow Dash. "I want to help too, but do you think we should tell them we're not cats?" asked Applejack. "I thought about that too, but it can't be a mere coincidence that we turned into cats that look the same as from a prophecy. I say we help them." Twilight said, then turned back to the cats. "We will help you." she said. Firestar dipped his head in gratitude, and said, 'Thank you." "I have a few questions though." she continued, "What's Starclan? And what's a Kittypet?" "All these questions shall be answered in due time." said Firestar, "For now you should rest. I'll send someone with something to eat for you." With that he, and the golden cat, and the pale gray cat got up, and left. "We should get a bit of rest." Twilight said lying down. The others agreed, and laid down themselves, some watching as Jayfeather worked. He pulled out a small pile of some plant, and sniffed at it. "We're low on marigold." he commented. Rainbow Dash opened one of her eyes, and said, "No duh. Can't you tell just by looking at it?" Jayfeather looked straight at her with his unblinking eyes. "No, I can't." he said, "I'm blind." They all gasped when they heard this, and Dash started apologizing, "I'm sooooo sorry. I didn't know. I wasn't trying to offend you or anything. I would never-" she was cut off by Jayfeather, "Don't worry about it. You didn't know." Everyone went quiet again, until Fluttershy asked, "How long have you been blind? I-If you don't mind me asking that is." Jayfeather shook his head, and said, "I don't mind. I've been blind my entire life." which made the others gasp again. "Your whole life darling? That must be terrible, to not be able to see anything." Rarity said. "Well, that's not entirely true." he said. "What does that mean?" Twilight asked. "I can see in my dreams. I have a gift, but let's not worry about that right now, food is here." Jayfeather said, staring at the moss covering the entrance to the cave.
DeterminationWhat came next disgusted them. In stepped a black cat, holding a dead squirrel, and rabbit in her mouth. She walked over to them, and set the rabbit down. Then she sat next to Jayfeather, and dropped the squirrel. "Thanks Hollyleaf." he said, taking a bite out of it. They were appalled at this. He was eating what had once been a live animal. Rarity could never imagine her Opal wopal doing such a thing. Hollyleaf took notice that they weren't eating. "Not hungry?" she asked. Twilight's stomach growled. "I'm hungry, it's just-" she cut off looking for the proper word. "Never had rabbit before?" asked Hollyleaf. Twilight shook her head. "You should, it's not as good as mice, but it's better than that kittypet slop twolegs feed you." Hollyleaf told them. Twilight knew that her new body would have different taste buds, and would be adapted to eating it, but Twilight was still reluctant. "We have to eat to keep up our strength." she said. Then to show her conviction, she bent down, and took a bite. The others looked away as she chewed. As she predicted her new body had changed taste buds, making it easier to eat. Finally she swallowed it, and turned back to the girls. "So. . . How was it?" asked Applejack. "It was actually kinda good." Twilight told them. "I don't care, I'm still not eating." said Fluttershy. "I don't like this any better than you do, but we gotta keep up our strength like Twilight said." Applejack told her. "I still won't do it." Fluttershy told her. "I will." said Rainbow Dash, leaning in, and taking bite out of the rabbit. "Well ah don't suppose ah can be picky right now." said Applejack, also taking a bite. Pinkie took a bite without a word, and Rarity took a bit of time, but she also took a bite. "See sugarcube, we're all eating. You should too." said Applejack, as gently as she could. Fluttershy didn't like it, but knew they were right. They had all taken several bites already, and she was still hungry. Tentatively Fluttershy took a small bite, and ate it. She was disgusted at herself, and wondered what Angel would think of her if he knew. With 6 of them together, the rabbit was quickly demolished. "I'll go bury these." said Hollyleaf, taking the remains of the squirrel, and rabbit, and leaving. "You should get some rest. You can stay here for tonight. You'll need moss though, I'm sure Briarlight can show you where to get some. It would also be good for her to get out." Jayfeather said. "Briarlight!" Jayfeather called. From farther back in the cave a dark brown cat, they hadn't noticed before, pulled herself towards them. Not walked, but pulled. She was dragging her back legs along the ground. Fluttershy let out a gasp. "A-Are you okay? What's wrong with your back legs?" she asked. "They got injured when a tree fell. I can't use them any more." Briarlight told her. "Oh. That's horrible." Fluttershy said. "It was, at first." Briarlight said, "It meant that I could never achieve my dream of being a warrior. But Jayfeather helped me get back on my paws. He kept me going, when I had given up. Now at least I can help him with his medicine cat duties, even if I'm not one." "We should probably go get you some bedding now." Briarlight told them.
WarriorsAs they walked, Fluttershy asked, "So what does Jayfeather do?" "Jayfeather is the medicine cat for Thunderclan. He takes care of all the injured, and sick." Briarlight told her. "Oh. That's nice." she said. "Yeah. He helped me when even I didn't believe in myself." Briarlight told her. "Really?" she asked. "Yeah. When the tree fell, and I got injured he helped me. Even when I had given up, he didn't. He may be a bit grumpy, but he's really good at heart." Briarlight said. "He seems like a really nice po-, cat." Twilight said, catching herself at the last moment. "He is." Briarlight said, "Oh, here we are." They stopped in front of a tree that looked like pretty much any other tree in the forest. "How can you tell?" asked Twilight. "Don't worry, you'll learn the territory soon enough." Briarlight told her, "Now I'll show you how to get bedding, so you can do it yourselves later." She then took a few clawfulls of moss, and squeezed the moisture out of it, then made it into a ball. "All you have to do is get the water out, and make it into a ball so it's easier to carry." she explained, tossing the ball over to them. "Here, let me help." Fluttershy said, walking over. "Thanks, uh, what was your name again?" she asked. "Oh, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Fluttershy, and that's Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy told her, motioning towards each of them. "Weird names." Briarlight commented as she grabbed some more moss. Fluttershy copied her, grabbing some moss, and squeezing the moisture out of it. "Is this okay?" she asked. "Yeah, that's good." Briarlight told her. She set it down, and they continued until they had six moss balls. "There. Now let's get back to camp." she said. "Alright let's go!" Dash said, walking off. "Wait! No! That's a-" Briarlight was cut off by a yowl, "Thorn bush." *Lionblaze* Lionblaze decided he would go hunting while he pondered this new development. Right now he was stalking a thrush. He swiftly killed it, and buried it. They had yet to find the fourth cat in the prophecy Starclan had given them before, and now there was an entirely new prophecy. Lionblaze scented a squirrel, and got into the hunter's crouch. He didn't understand it at all. Why's there so many prophecies in the first place? He wondered as he pounced on the squirrel, and killed it with a swift bite to the neck. He decided he had caught enough, and decided to head back to camp digging up thrush, and 2 mice he had killed earlier. He entered camp, and put his catch on the fresh kill pile. He took a mouse for himself to eat, and sat down with the other warriors. As he listened to them talk he learned the names of the 6 cats that had came here. He saw Firestar walking towards him, and finished his mouse of in a few bites. "Lionblaze I'd like to ask you to do something." he said. "What?" Lionblaze asked. "I'd like you to help train the six cats that came here. There'll be a ceremony tomorrow. They won't have mentors, but the clan will teach them, and I'd like your help.' Firestar told him. Lionblaze knew why Firestar wanted his help. "Okay." Lionblaze said. After he buried the remains of his meal he walked to the Jayfeather's den. He saw the Jayfeather putting cobwebs on the one called Rainbow Dash. "What happened to you?" he asked. "I'll tell you what. This mousebrain ran straight into a thorn bush." Jayfeather hissed out. "Well how was I supposed to know that was a thorn bush!" she retaliated. "By using your eyes!" he said. She huffed, and let Jayfeather go about his job. "Anyways." Lionblaze interrupted, "I'm here to talk to all of you." "About what?" asked Twilight. "Tomorrow Firestar is going to have a ceremony, and you shall start your training as warriors." he told them. "Um, about that, I don't want to be a warrior, I'd like to be a medicine cat, if that's alright.." Fluttershy said, catching everyone's attention. "Are you sure?" Lionblaze asked her, "You'll have to deal with Jayfeather." "Yes, I'm sure." she said. "Then it's up to Jayfeather. Well?" he asked his brother. "Please?" asked Fluttershy. "Being a medicine cat isn't easy. The whole clan depends on you. Are you sure you want to take on that responsibility?" Jayfeather asked her. "Yes. I'll do everything I can." Fluttershy said, determined. "Very well then. You can train to be a medicine cat." he said. "Yay!" she said. "You'll have to talk to Firestar though." he told her. "I'll take care of that." Lionblaze said, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" "Okay." Jayfeather said, following him to the back of his den. "Why did you say yes so easily?" Lionblaze asked, "We both know you don't want an apprentice yet." "Because it'll be easier to find out who they are." Jayfeather explained, "And besides." "Besides what?" he asked. "I felt strong determination from her." Jayfeather said, revealing what his powers had told him. "I see. I'm going to talk to Firestar now, but before I go I just want to know if you've figured out who the fourth cat is yet." Lionblaze said. "No. I'll tell you when I learn something." Jayfeather said with a bit of annoyance in his voice. "Alright." he said, and left.
Fluttershy's NightmareThe sun was setting, casting shadows all around the camp. Firestar had been informed of Fluttershy's decision, and right now Jayfeather, and the other six were sitting in his den. He had just finished a vole, and was laying in his nest. Fluttershy let out a yawn. "You should get some rest." he told her, "You start training tomorrow, and as it just so happens it's the half moon." "What's so special about a half moon?" she asked. "The half moon is when all the medicine cats go to the Moon Pool to share dreams with Starclan." Jayfeather told her. "What's Starclan?" asked Twilight. "Starclan is where cats go to after they die. It's where our ancestors live." Jayfeather told them, "Medicine cats communicate with them, and read signs sent from them. You should get some rest, we have a long journey tomorrow." "Okay." said Fluttershy, laying down in her nest. The others quickly followed suit. It didn't take too long before Fluttershy started becoming sleepy, and she drifted off to sleep. Fluttershy's eyes fluttered open, and she expected to be in the medicine cat den, but instead she found herself in a forest. This wasn't any normal forest, though. It was completely dark. No light shone down from the starless sky. Fluttershy felt something off about it. Even more so than the Everfree. Fluttershy immediately knew she wasn't supposed to be here, and she started to back up. She bumped into something, and let out a squeak, quickly turning around to see it was only a tree. Then the tree took on the appearance of a monster with big pointed teeth. Fluttershy quickly turned around, and ran away into the undergrowth. She didn't know how long she was running, but she had to get away. Finally she stopped, gasping for breath. She was still in the dark woods. It seemed that no matter how far she ran she couldn't get out. It was then that she heard voices. They were too far away to make out what they were saying, so she carefully crept towards them. After a little while the voices settled into recognizable words. "Go for the neck if you can." said one voice. It was cold, and hard, sending a shiver down her spine, but she continued anyways. She reached a bush, and the voices were really loud. She stuck her head out to see a clearing filled with cats. "Always go for the kill." said a large brown tabby. Fluttershy gasped as she saw two cats fighting. She could even smell blood. He must of heard her, though, because his ears twitched. He sniffed the air, and growled, looking at the exact spot she was hiding in. He turned to a smaller brown tabby, and said something. She gasped again as he stood up, and started walking towards her. Fluttershy quickly backed up against a tree. The bushes rustled, and she didn't waste any time turning around, and bolting through the forest. She ran as hard as she could, but she could hear the pawsteps of the large tom right behind her. She pushed herself harder, but the pawsteps became closer, and closer. Finally Fluttershy was tackled from behind, and thrown on the ground. She felt claws digging into her pelt, making her bleed. She wailed out in pain. The brown cat leaned down, and spoke. "Well what do we have here? A spy?" he said. "N-No. I'm not. Please let me go." she said, struggling against him. "Oh, but what kind of warrior would I be if I let my prey go?" he said menacingly, digging his claws deeper, eliciting more wails of pain from her. "I'll make you into an example." he hissed, raising his head for the death strike. Then, just before he plunged his teeth into her neck she jolted awake. She sat up, breathing hard. She winced at the pain from her wounds. Wait wounds? That was just a dream wasn't it? Suddenly she was aware of the presence of her friends, and Jayfeather. Fluttershy was so relieved to see them that she flung herself onto Rainbow Dash, sobbing. "Fluttershy?!" said Dash. "Oh Dash! I was so scared!" she sobbed. "What happened?" asked Dash, concerned "It was horrible!" cried Fluttershy. Jayfeather stepped forward. "Tell us what happened. We need to know." he said. "I-I was in a forest, and it was dark. Then I saw these cats talking about fighting, and killing. And one chased after me. It was horrible!" she choked out. Jayfeather let out a sigh. "I was afraid this was going to happen." he said. "What do you mean? What was that place?" asked Twilight as he got cobwebs, and applied them to Fluttershy's wounds. "It's time you know who we're going up against." he told them, "That place is known as the Dark Forest."
FanartHey guys! This isn't a chapter, I just wanted to upload some awesome fanart I've gotten. It's all made by a guy called Derpypaws.
Apprenticeship"So what you're saying is that you're being threatened by dead cats?" asked Twilight, thinking she might have heard wrong. "Yes. And soon they will rise up against the clans and wage a war." said Jayfeather. "But they're dead! They can't hurt us!" Rainbow Dash said. "Just ask your friend Fluttershy." he told her, shrugging. Fluttershy flinched at the memory of Tigerstar's claws digging into her, and how close she had come to dying. She still had the wounds to prove it too. "So what do we do?" asked Twilight. "Nothing." he said. "Nothing?! We can't just do nothing!" Twilight said. Jayfeather glared at her and she felt a shiver going down her spine. If she didn't know better she'd say that he could see her. "I don't like it either, but there is nothing we can do." he told her, "All we can do is prepare ourselves while we still can." Twilight wanted to say something. To argue, but she knew he was right. They had only just came here. What could they do? "Let's go get some fresh kill." he told them. They didn't argue as they followed him into the clearing. Jayfeather lead the way to the fresh kill pile, and none of them argued as he picked out a squirrel for them to eat, not even Fluttershy. The reality of the situation was now setting in. They were stuck as cats with no way home, in the middle of a war between the dead and the living. They quickly finished their prey, just as the sun started to rise. Jayfeather stood up, and stretched. It was then that a white cat walked up to them. It wasn't until she turned that they saw the other side of her face. They all winced instinctively at the way her face was mauled. "Hello. You're the new cats. I'm Brightheart." she introduced herself. "W-What happened to your face? I mean if you don't mind me asking." asked Fluttershy. Brightheart smiled. "Not at all." she said, "Back when I was an apprentice I was mauled by a dog." They all winced at that. "Did Jayfeather help you?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh, no. Jayfeather wasn't around then. The medicine cat then was a she-cat called Cinderpelt." Brightheart told her. "Oh." she said. "Anyways Jayfeather I need to talk to you." Brightheart told him. "Sure. What is it?" he asked. "I'm having kits!" she said, "I-I want to know if that's okay. I'm not as young as before." "You should be fine so long as you don't overexert yourself." he told her. "Great! Thank you Jayfeather!" she said, leaving. Jayfeather turned back to the others. "We should get some rest. There's going to be an announcement soon." Jayfeather reminded them. It had been decided last night who would become their mentors. They also requested that they keep their names, and Firestar agreed. They nodded their heads in agreement, and headed back into the medicine cat den. -- Dovewing woke up from a dream she'd been having about stalking a mouse. She stood up, and stretched out, making her back pop. She then decided that she'd get something to eat from the fresh kill pile. She walked out of the apprentice's den, and into the clearing. She walked up to the fresh kill pile, and sighed. There wasn't much left. Two mice, a thrush, and a vole. They'd need more then this since Leafbare was almost on them. She'd have to go hunting later to catch some more fresh kill, and teach her new apprentice some hunting techniques. Technically she still didn't have an apprentice, but she would get one today. She had heard Firestar and Brambleclaw talking last night. She had just sat down with her vole when Brambleclaw walked up to her. "Hello Dovewing." he greeted. "Hello Brambleclaw." she said back. "You are to take on an apprentice today." he told her, "Do you think you are ready?" Dovewing nodded. "Very well then, you'll be given Applejack to train." he said. "Okay." she said. "By the way is Ivypool up yet?" he asked. She shook her head. "I'll have to talk to her later then." he said, heading towards the warrior's den. Dovewing sat down, and took a bite out of her vole. She quickly ate it in a few more bites just as Ivypool emerged from the apprentice den. She stood up just as Brambleclaw walked up to her sister. She waited until they finished talking to walk to Ivypool. "I suppose you got an apprentice too." she said. "How'd you know?" asked Ivypool. Dovewing's ears twitched in response. "Oh." Ivypool said, embarrassed she forgot about her sister's powers. "So who did you get?" Dovewing asked. "Don't you know already?" Ivypool asked. "I don't listen to everything." Dovewing said, feeling a bit offended. "Oh, yeah, sorry." Ivypool apologized, "Anyways I got Twilight to train." "I got Applejack." Dovewing told her, "I wonder when Firestar's-" She was cut off by a yowl. "Every cat old enough to catch their own prey gather her beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting." Firestar called out from atop his den. "I guess now." Ivypool said as they walked to gather around the Highledge. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jayfeather and the others walk out of the medicine cat den. "I have called this meeting to welcome six new cats to the clan. They will be trained in the ways of our clan until they become full fledged warriors." Firestar called out, jumping down from the Highledge. "Rainbow Dash come here." he called out. The blue she-cat pushed her way through the crowd to stand in front of Firestar. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Lionblaze!" he called out. Lionblaze made his way up to the front. "Lionblaze you are ready for another apprentice. You will be Rainbow Dash's mentor. I know you will pass down all your strength to Rainbow Dash, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Lionblaze barely had to reach down to touch noses with Rainbow Dash since she was almost as tall as him. "Twilight Sparkle come here." Firestar called out. Twilight made her way to the front before Firestar. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Ivypool." he said. Ivypool walked to the front, and stood beside her. "Ivypool, you are ready for your first apprentice. You will be Twilight's mentor. I know you will pass on your loyalty to Twilight, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Firestar said. Ivypool was the same height as Twilight so she didn't have to bend down to touch her nose to her new apprentice's. "Applejack come here." Firestar called out. Applejack followed her two friends to the front. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Dovewing." he said. This was what she'd been waiting for all this time. Finally she'd have her own apprentice. Suddenly she was nervous. What if she messed up? How was she supposed to teach her the skills she would need anyways? She carefully made her way to the front and waited for Firestar to continue. "Dovewing, you are ready for your first apprentice." he said, "You will be Applejack's mentor. I know you will pass on your courage to Applejack, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." This was the moment she was waiting for. Applejack was a little smaller than her. She reached down gently, and touched her nose to Applejack's. She let out a sigh as she pulled back, relieved that nothing had gone wrong. Yet. But she would worry about that later. Right now she had an apprentice, and could barely hold her excitement. Firestar continued. "Rarity come here." Firestar called out. Unlike her other friends Rarity almost glided across the ground, her rear swaying, making some of the toms stare. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Cinderheart." he said, Cinderheart walked through the crowd, and up to her apprentice. "Cinderheart, you are ready for another apprentice. You will be Rarity's mentor. I know you will pass on your wisdom to Rarity, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Cinderheart gently reached down, and touched her nose to Rarity's. "Finally, Pinkie Pie come here." Firestar called out. Pinkie bounced her way to the front, as light, if not lighter, on her paws then Rarity. "Until you become a full fledged warrior you will train under Hollyleaf." he said. Hollyleaf made her way to the front, and stopped in front of Firestar, looking nervous. "Hollyleaf, it is time for your first apprentice. You will be Pinkie's mentor. I know you will pass on your bravery to Pinkie, and teach her the skills that will make her a proud warrior of Thunderclan." Firestar said. With that Hollyleaf nervously leaned down, and touched her nose to Pinkie's, and the clan erupted into cheers. "Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie!" they called out. Firestar waited until they were finished before he spoke up once more. "Attention Thunderclan." he called out, "There is one more announcement to make. Jayfeather." As Jayfeather and Fluttershy walked to the front everyone started whispering, wondering what was going on. "Cats of Thunderclan." he called out, getting everyone's attention, "As you know I will not be around forever, so it's time I took on an apprentice. I have chosen a cat that has shown kindness. Your next medicine cat will be Fluttershy." "Fluttershy," Firestar cut in, "Do you accept position of apprentice to Jayfeather?" "I-I do." stuttered Fluttershy. "Then tonight during the half-moon we shall travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by Starclan before the other medicine cats." Jayfeather said. "The good wishes of Thunderclan goes with you." Firestar told them. With that Jayfeather reached down, and touched his nose to Fluttershy's who didn't even flinch, her eyes filled with determination. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy!" called out the clan. "Come." he told her, "We must be prepared for the journey to the Moonpool tonight." Fluttershy nodded, and followed him back into his den.
The ClanThey turned around to see a dark brown tabby with a cream colored, a golden tabby, and a silver and white tabby behind him. They gathered together as the cats surrounded them. "Follow me." said the brown tabby, before walking off. "Twilight, darling, what should we do?" asked Rarity. 'Nothing" said Twilight, "we should and can't do anything. we don't know where we are, so we should follow them. maybe they'll know." They walked the rest of the way in silence, until they reached a barrier of thorns. "we're here." he said walking into a tunnel going through the vegetation. They hesitated, and the cream colored one let out a growl. They walked through the bushes to find a large number of cats scattered around a clearing, some looking hostile with their fur sticking out, and some just looking curious. Just then a cat came out of the rock pile in the middle, and jumped down, walking towards them. He had a flame colored pelt. The tabby gave a quick bow, and said, "Firestar." "Brambleclaw." he replied, "Why have you brought these cats into the camp?" *Jayfeather* Jayfeather was agitated, wondering what that prophecy he got 2 moons ago meant. It didn't help that it was almost leafbare, and there was absolutely no fresh kill in camp. He hadn't eaten since yesterday. Luckily there were two hunting patrols out, one of which Dovewing was on, so there should be plenty more prey soon. Just then a commotion broke out in camp, and he smelled strange cats. He quickly walked outside into the clearing where a crowd was gathering. He sat next to Lionblaze and asked him, "What's going on?" "We found 6 kittypets in our territory." he replied. He froze. "6 cats? What do they look like?" he asked. Lionblaze described them to him, and he knew instantly that these were the cats spoken of in the prophecy. That's when Firestar said, "Run them out, and teach them not to intrude in Thunderclan's territory again." "Wait!" Jayfeather called out. *Ponies* They watched with unease as all the cats gathered around them. "Well?" the flame colored one asked again. "I found these kittypets in our territory." the brown tabby said. Twilight was wondering what a kittypet was. They had mentioned it several times already. Then she noticed a gray tabby come out of cave, and sit next to one of the cats that had brought them here. She sensed something about him, but changed her attention to the flame colored cat when he started talking. "Run them out, and teach them not to intrude in Thunderclan's territory again." he said, making her heart sink. If they were run out now they might never find out where they were, and how to get back. Just then the gray tabby she noticed earlier spoke out, "Wait!"
