Warriors: Beyond the Stars

"So Twilightpaw, tell me about the Princesses you talked about earlier," Bramblestar continued their conversation.

"Princess Celestia raises the sun each morning and her sister, Princess Luna raises the moon each night. Princess Cadence, on the other hoof, she's the Princess of Love. She's the best Princess ever- not including Celestia and Luna, of course, but she's the most caring, most fun foalsitter ever!" Twilightpaw's tail swished some leaves across the floor of Bramblestar's den. "She's different than the Celestial Sisters, though. Princess Celestia told me that she was a pegasus from Cloudsdale, the City of Clouds. Her specialty was love, and when she found out everything there was to learn about it, she was transported to a mysterious realm."

"My mentor, Princess Celestia met her there. To paraphrase, she said that since Cadence had learned all she could about love, it was time for her to ascend to Princesshood. A powerful spell was cast, one synonymous with the magic of the universe, and have her unicorn magic in addition to her pegasus magic." Twilightpaw concluded her miniature lesson on Equestrian history.

"And you say that this Celestia is basically the persona of the sun itself?" Bramblestar mused. "Interesting."

"Yes, very interesting. I mean, she's been around all these years and done so much as a leader and pony, it's astounding!" Twilightpaw said proudly.

"Twilightpaw, do you remember what the Gathering is?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, isn't it when all Clans meet at night?" Twilightpaw asked.

"You're right. At Moonhigh, specially selected cats from the Clans meet to discuss news. The medicine cats all come, which includes Flutterpaw, and several warriors as well. Since you have been training hard and learning about the Clans as much as you possibly could, I'm inviting you to come to the Gathering with your other friends." Bramblestar meowed amicably.

"Me? I would be honored, Bramblestar." Twilightpaw dipped her head in thanks. "But shouldn't the mentors of the others know?"

"I've already told them. And you might want to keep Skypaw in check; I heard Foxleap mention something about how she was teaching him."

Twilightpaw stifled a laugh. "That's just P- Skypaw being Skypaw. But something's been bugging me for a while. Why did our names change?" She traced a shape in the dust. "I mean, Twilight Sparkle was a fine name, not to criticize your choice of naming, of course."

"I'm guessing an observant cat like yourself saw the age pattern for the names?"

Twilightpaw nodded. "Yes, the fi- kits and apprentices generally have 'kit' or 'paw' to end the name."

Bramblestar stood up. "Come on. See, the first half of the name is something kept for life, while the other half changes. Like if something were to happen during an apprenticeship, they wouldn't be locked into a name that doesn't fit them well." They emerged from the dim cave. "See Brightheart?" He flicked his tail toward said cat.

"Yeah?"

"When she was an apprentice, she was mauled by dogs. The current leader at the time had lost faith in StarClan and gave her a terrible name, but Firestar changed it when he became leader."

"Something like that happened once near Dodge City," Twilightpaw said after recovering from the shock of Brightheart's predicament. "A pegasus filly -I think her name was Bloom Sky- got attacked by some renegade Diamond Dogs and lost an eye. An earth pony named Tree Kicker rescued her and ran to the Manehattan Hospital. I got to meet him at his ceremony for a Medal of Loyalty."

"That's an Element of Harmony, right?" Bramblestar leaped down from a boulder and waited for the apprentice to follow.

"It's actually Rainpaw's. She really earned it not all that long before we were sent here. So sh-" Twilightpaw stopped talking and laughed awkwardly. "You know what, I'll tell you later."

Bramblestar laughed in return. "Go and talk to your friends."

The lilac cat dipped her head. "Yes, Bramblestar." She picked her way over some wrestling kits to chat with Applepaw.

Bramblestar sighed. "Squirrelflight!" he called.

"What is it, Bramblestar?" the ginger she-cat greeted him.

"There's something about Skypaw. Something... different."

"I've noticed something as well. She just has this -what's the word- this aura. Just being near makes me giddy," Squirrelflight meowed quietly, as if someone was listening in.

"That whole group has those auras, to quote you. Gempaw makes me want to give my freshkill to one of the kits, though they're usually stuffed when I'm around her. And Applepaw... it's like she can see every lie I've ever told." Bramblestar flicked his ear. "Even here, they're still the Elements."

"Elements?"

He fixed his deputy with a long stare. "You know their origins?"

Squirrelflight rolled her eyes. "They're from an 'Equestria'."

"They embody the six core elements of friendship." He informed her of the nature of the Elements of Harmony.

"So you mean to say that they--" Squirrelflight flicked her tail at the apprentices. "--are capable of power greater than anything?"

Bramblestar nodded.

"And I'm training one of them."

Another nod.

"And a warrior fresh out of apprenticeship gets to train the leader."

"You underestimate Dovewing, Squirrelflight. She held her own and more during the battle." He didn't need to elaborate on which battle.

"It's true, but why not a more experienced warrior? And why did they ally themselves with us in the first place? They could have just refused to fight." She flicked her tail in anxiety.

"Squirrelflight, I don't know why they came to us. I chose the cats whom I thought were qualified to receive an apprentice; I thought you were ready for one. And by the looks of Gempaw, it looks like you are." Bramblestar sighed. "Look, I want you to speak to her about the Gathering. I want them all to be there, and I want you to tell no one of the Elements. They can only know that they're some cats that wandered in after fighting a badger with us. They wanted in, we let them. that's the story, understood?"

Squirrelflight nodded. "Their secret's safe with me. And I'll speak to her about it during training later."

"Good." Bramblestar surveyed the Clan. "The Clan's aren't ready for this yet. I'm not sure that even TunderClan is ready, either."