Warriors: Beyond the Stars

"Y-you want me to eat that?" Flutterpaw stared in horror at the mouse laying at her paws.

"Yes, we eat mice here.What in the world do you eat?" Jayfeather curiously asked.

"We eat hay fries, daffodil sandwiches, uh, apples and-"

"Oh, right. Lionblaze told me. Just try the mouse." he pushed it toward her.

Flutterpaw jumped when the fresh-kill landed on her paws. "Y-you don't understand. I take care of animals at home,"

Jayfeather cocked his head. "You'll starve if you don't eat. And we eat while we can; leafbare can be brutal."

Flutterpaw paled under her cream fur. "This is all you eat?"

"Yes. We also eat squirrels, birds, and sometimes we get a rabbit." Jayfeather said patiently.

"N-no apples or hay?" she queried as her stomach rumbled angrily.

"No apples or hay. Eat the mouse or starve." he turned around and went to the medicine den to help Briarlight.

Flutterpaw once again stared at the mouse. Imagine it as a pickle. It's a dill pickle. she tried to think as she took a small bite. Her eyes widened. How is a mouse this good?! Even better than-

"Hey Fluttersh- Flutterpaw! whatcha eating?" Rainpaw sauntered over.

"Nothing, nothing," she attempted to hide the fresh-kill.

Rainpaw moved her friend's paw out of the way. "No. Bucking. Way. Hey Twilightpaw, check this out!" she called to the exhausted bookworm entering camp.

"Just...take a bite." Flutterpaw whispered.

"Are you crazy? It would taste awful." Rainpaw gave her a weirded-out look.

"It's actually good. Better than hay fries or pie." Flutterpaw tempted her with a certain Wonderbolt's favorite dish.

"It can't be. Twilightpaw, hurry up!" she hollered.

"Eat it," Flutterpaw Stared.

"O-okay," Rainpaw took a bite. "Mother of- Twilightpaw! Come over here and try this!"

"In a minute, Spike!" Twilightpaw yelled, annoyed. She then blushed. "Oops. Sorry."

Flutterpaw ate until she was content. Noticing that the mouse was almost gone, she brought back another from the fresh-kill pile for her friends.

Minutes later, most of the Equestrian travelers were enjoying their very first mouse while Flutterpaw returned to the medicine den, hunger satiated.

She was surprised to see Jayfeather gathering different herbs and bundling them up into the piles.

"Hello Flutterpaw. I'm getting the herbs ready for the trip to Moonpool tomorrow." Jayfeather greeted her.

Flutterpaw crouched down near Jayfeather. "What herbs go into these bundles?" she asked.

Jayfeather chuckled. "My, eager aren't we? Okay, we have chamomile, daisy leaves, and sorrel."

"What do they do?"

"Well..."

Rainpaw sparred with Applepaw outside camp. Applepaw reared up, attempting to force Rainpaw down.

Rainpaw kicked a paw, unbalancing her adversary and giving her the upper paw. She pinned Applepaw down, raking her belly with sheathed claws.

"Okay, sugarcube, you win," Applepaw laughed as Rainpaw helped her up.

"Very good. Although why the sheathed claws?" a dark figure with glowing white eyes asked from the shadows.

"I don't wanna hurt her, duh." Rainpaw rolled her eyes.

"Why not?" the shadow asked.

"Well she's my friend. I wouldn't think about hurting her." Rainpaw unsheathed her claws and sank them into the pale soil.

"Very well. You are not ready yet." the figure faded, glowing eyes narrowed and remaining for a moment after the body dissipated.

"That was weird. I'm kinda creeped out, RD. Let's go back to camp." Applepaw uneasily glanced at the spot where the mystery cat appeared.

"Okay." Rainpaw gazed blankly at the shadows.

"Uh, Rainpaw?" Applepaw waved a paw in front of her friends face.

Rainpaw shook her head. "What? Oh, yeah, going back to camp. Right."

"Um, you wanted to see me, Bramblestar?" Twilightpaw poked her head into the Clan leader's den.

"Yes. Come in." Bramblestar invited.

Twilightpaw walked in and sat down in front of Bramblestar.

"You are the leader of your friends, correct?" Bramblestar asked.

"I guess."

"Good. I have something to ask you, then," he leaned in. "Why are you here?"

Twilightpaw chuckled. "I honestly don't know. If I had my way, I'd be back home, rearranging books at my library.

"What's a library?"

Twilightpaw's fur lifted. "You don't know what a library is?" she said. alarmed. "Its where knowledge is stored in books and anyone can learn."

Bramblestar looked taken aback. "Anyone?"

Twilightpaw nodded. "Anyone. My nuber one assistant, Spike helps me around the library." her heart lurched with homesickness when she thought of Spike.

"Spike... you truly have strange names in Equestria." Bramblestar smiled.

"Spike is a dragon, Bramblestar. He has little spikes on the back of his head and neck." Twilightpaw explained.

"A dragon?"

"A- whatever. Why did you really want to see me, Bramblestar?" Twilightpaw cut the explanations.

Bramblestar sighed. "If you really want to know. Jayfeather had a dream from StarClan, vague as usual, tell him to accept six new cats into the Clan. Tell me, Twilightpaw, do you happen to have any powers?"

Twilightpaw stared blankly at him. "Here or in Equestria?"

"Anywhere."

"In Equestria, I used magic daily, so did Ra- Gempaw. We were unicorns, rainpaw and Flutterpaw were pegasi, and Applepaw and Skypaw were Earth ponies. Rainpaw and Flutterpaw had wings and could fly; Rainpaw was one of the fastest fliers in Equestria. Applepaw and Skypaw were strong, and had more accurate Cutie Marks. Skypaw was a partier, a really intense partier. Applepaw has incredibly powerful hind legs from bucking apple trees on her farm. In Equestria, I was the private student of one of the most powerful ponies, Princess Celestia. She has wings and a horn, her sister is also like her. They raise the sun and the moon, and once Princess Luna-" Twilightpaw rambled.

Bramblestar raised his tail. "I've heard enough. One more thing, was there anything special about the six of you?"

"Oh yes, we are the Spirits of the Elements of Harmony."

Bramblestar leaned back. "And is there anything you want to know about Clan life?"

"Well, everything."

"There are four Clans by the lake. RiverClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and ThunderClan. There is another Clan, one far,far away called SkyClan, but nobody has seen one of them in a while..."

"Let me see your pounce."

Gempaw leaped high into the air and hit the root she had been told to pounce on.

"This isn't a beauty show, Gempaw. Show me a more practical pounce." Squirrelflight said with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh, fine," Gempaw sighed and backed up to retry.

She dispatched the root swiftly.

Squirrelflight nodded. "That was better. You still need to work on your stalking. But good nonetheless."

Gempaw fluffed up her fur in delight. "How do you stalk again?"

"Crouch down,"

Gempaw crouched, haunches waving in the air.

Squirrelflight pushed to offending rear down. "Keep your back end down; tail low to the ground but not dragging. But careful with your paws; don't disturb the ground. And... pounce!"

Gempaw efficiently slaughtered the root.

"That's good. Try it again."

Gempaw stalked another root.

"I think you got it. You have to learn to scent prey. Actually, I smell squirrel. Watch and learn." she said and slowly walked into the trees.

Gempaw peered into the undergrowth to see Squirrelflight crouch down and stalk a squirrel at a pace that would be comfortable for snails.

In a blur of motion, Squirrelflight pounced and bit the prey in the neck, quickly killing it.

Scooping the deceased squirrel in her jaws, she eyed Gempaw. "Think you can do that?"

"And sorrel is a good traveling herb," Jayfeather finished. "Tell me what chamomile does?"

"Um, it makes you feel better if you're sad and it gives you strength." Flutterpaw parroted back.

"Very good!"

"Jayfeather!" Graystripe yowled.

His head snapped toward to cat.

"Brightheart got a thorn stuck in her pad!"

Brightheart limped into sight, heading for the medicine cat den.

Jayfeather turned to his apprentice. "Think you can manage this?"

Flutterpaw nodded. "I think so,"

Brightheart sat down in the den and held out her front paw. A massive thorn was lodged in the middle of her pad.

Flutterpaw gripped the thorn in her teeth.

"She's going to- AUGH!" Brightheart yelped as Flutterpaw pulled it out.

Flutterpaw scooped up some damp moss and cleaned the dirt from the wound. Then she tossed it aside and chewed some chervil and marigold into a pulp and prodded it into the red spot where the thorn was.

Brightheart sighed with relief and noticed Flutterpaw staring at her face. "Just now noticing it, eh?"

Jayfeather was surprised at how fast Flutterpaw remedied the injured paw. She was a natural medicine cat.

"When I was an apprentice in the old forest, another apprentice and I went after some dogs running through our territory,"

Flutterpaw sat in awe as she explained.

"I was lucky they found me when they did, or I'd be dead right now, like Swiftpaw." Brightheart grimaced at the terrible memory. "But thanks for taking the thorn out of my paw, it feels better now." she called as she walked back outside.

Flutterpaw turned to Jayfeather. "Did that really happen?" she whispered.

Jayfeather nodded. "Yes. But that was moons ago."

She looked outside, deep in thought. It barely registered that Twilightpaw was climbing down from Highledge to see two frantic cats.