WARRIORS - The Pony Prophecy

Chapter 16

Bubblepaw's POV (Pinkie Pie)

"Spicepaw??" I called out, my gaze darting in every direction as I tried to catch sight of the golden brown she-cat. As soon as I'd realized she disappeared, I noticed the gray and white tom was nowhere to be seen either. Suddenly I spotted a flash of fur, and I sprinted toward it at once. Even if the cat wasn't Spicepaw, they might have seen her.

The cream coloured she-cat spun around when she heard me coming, her fur bristling and blue eyes narrowed. I quickly realized she was an apprentice, and recognized the RiverClan scent on her. Her golden brown striped tail lashed back and forth and she bared her teeth.

"What are you doing on RiverClan territory?" the she-cat hissed.

"I came from the Gathering," I meowed, quickly explaining about the gray and white tom, and about Spicepaw's disappearance. The RiverClan apprentice's pelt smoothed as I spoke, and once I finished she offered to help me look.

As we walked, she introduced herself as Sweetpaw, and I told her my name was Bubblepaw. Soon we spotted another cat, and once we came closer, I recognized the tortoiseshell she-cat who'd appeared at the previous Gathering. She seemed to sense my concern, because she quickly padded toward us. Sweetpaw tensed, but I laid my tail on her shoulder to tell her it was okay.

Sweetpaw still looked skeptical. "Who are you?" she asked the she-cat. The older cat hesitated, and instead asked why we looked so worried. As soon as I mentioned the gray and white tom to her, her amber eyes widened in shock and what seemed to be anger. 

"Thistleclaw!" she exclaimed, but then realized what she'd said and tried to backtrack. But Sweetpaw and I heard the name and recognized it.

My tail began lashing back and forth as my concern doubled. "That cat from the Dark Forest?" I asked, remembering the stories from the elders. "He's the one who went after Spicepaw?" The tortoiseshell's pupils became narrow slits as I mentioned the golden brown she-cat, and her expression changed from anger to worry.

"He can't have," she breathed, "I told him not to attack any of you. If he's gone against that order then we must find them." Without another word, the three of us raced off in search of either of the two cats' scents. The tortoiseshell quickly picked up on Thistleclaw's scent, and we followed her. I desperately hoped that he hadn't caught Spicepaw, because if the elders' tales were true, then he would show her no mercy.

I eventually noticed a second cat's scent, and quickly realized who it belonged to. "I found Spicepaw's scent!" I called out to the other two. They nodded and began following it at once. It seemed to lead toward ShadowClan's territory, and I let out a small sigh of relief as I noticed Thistleclaw's scent was growing weaker as we followed Spicepaw's.

We stopped at the Thunderpath, where a monster sat at the edge. Making sure it wasn't moving, we carefully crept past it and onto ShadowClan land. I quickly realized that Spicepaw's scent had vanished, and raced back across the Thunderpath. Spicepaw's scent was strong up until there, but it disappeared under the scent of monsters and twolegs. 

Sweetpaw and the tortoiseshell she-cat padded up beside me, and both seemed to know what I was thinking. "The scent ends here," the tortoiseshell meowed, her voice full of dismay. "If we can't see or scent her, then there's no way to find her now."

I let out a long sigh and slowly began walking back the way we'd come, heading toward the island to tell the others what we'd found, or rather, what we'd failed to find.