WARRIORS - The Pony Prophecy

Chapter 12

Softpaw's POV (Fluttershy)

I rushed forward eagerly, following closely behind Shadespark as she led me toward the Moonpool. Half a moon had passed since the Gathering, and now as the half moon rose above the horizon, it was time for the special meeting between all the medicine cats where we spoke with StarClan. 

Shadespark had told me about it a few days into my apprenticeship, and I'll admit I was quite nervous about meeting the other medicine cats. At the Gathering I had chosen to sit with my friends rather than the medicine cats, so other than Firepaw, this would be the first time I met them. 

After a little while, Shadespark lifted her tail to stop me, before padding away for a few moments. When she returned she had a pretty blue flower in her mouth.

"What's that for?" I asked. By now I knew that borage was a blue flower, but it looked different from the flower Shadespark had picked. 

She placed the flower gently on the ground before simply smiling and saying, "You'll see." She then picked the flower back up and signaled to continue walking.

Soon other cats came into view, and I guessed they were the other medicine cats, as I had asked Shadespark to tell me a little bit about them before we left camp. Slowly, I recognized Firepaw, as well as her descriptions of Leafwing from ThunderClan, Splashfeather and Lilypool from RiverClan, and Oakwhisker from ShadowClan.

Once Shadespark had introduced me to everyone, she sat down and beckoned me forward with her tail, laying the flower down by her paws. "Before we speak with StarClan, there is something I must do," she meowed, "Softpaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

"It is," I replied quietly, remembering her instructions on what to do during the ceremony.

Shadespark flicked her tail gently. "Then come forward." She lifted her head up to the sky before continuing. "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will."

The dark gray she-cat then picked up the blue flower and stepped toward me, carefully weaving it into my fur, just under my ear. It was then that I realized each of the other medicine cats had some form of nature around their ear, and I guessed it must have been given to them by their mentors, just as Shadespark did with me.

All of us crouched down around the Moonpool, drinking a few drops from it in order to speak with StarClan. I closed my eyes, and when I reopened them I somewhere on WindClan territory near the lake, and it was leaf-bare. The sound of tiny paws moving through the snow caught my attention, and I turned around to see a small dark gray kit struggling to walk with how deep it was.

"Maybe I should go closer to the lake," she mewed, her blue eyes thoughtful. "The snow won't be as deep there, and it'll be easier to find catmint." I followed her toward the lake, where she seemed to get distracted and started to jump around, clearly having a lot of fun. It was then that I suddenly remembered something. Kits aren't allowed out of camp! And what is she doing on the lake? It could break under her and she could fall in! She's too young to swim! 

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a cracking sound. I looked back at the kit and saw she was staring down at the ice, her eyes wide with fear. She tried to carefully move toward the shore, but as soon as her paw moved, the ice gave out and she fell into the water. Immediately I rushed forward, trying to grab her by the scruff and pull her to safety, but for some reason my jaws simply phased right through her.

This is a memory! I realized. I then saw a young gray tom running forward to where the kit had fallen in. He leapt into the hole and soon resurfaced with the small dark gray kit in his jaws. As I looked closer at the tom, I realized both he and the kit seemed familiar. The tom had a small cluster of orange flowers around his ear, which meant he must be a medicine cat, while the dark gray she-kit had silver and black patches.

Splashfeather and Shadespark, I thought as I recognized them, or at this point they would be Splashpaw and Shadekit.