WARRIORS - The Pony Prophecy

Chapter 17

Spicepaw's POV (Applejack)

(A little bit earlier...)

I raced toward Duskpaw as I saw her collapse on top of Bluepaw. Softpaw and some other medicine cats reached her first, and after a moment's hesitation, I turned my attention to the gray and white tom, who had managed to finally throw Featherpaw off of him. I looked at her briefly, checking that she was alright, before flinging myself at the tom. 

I seemed to have caught him off guard, because I managed to knock him off the island and into the lake. He gripped my shoulders with his claws, and I quickly realized what he was trying to do. I tried to keep a grip on the ground with my hind legs, but it was too late, and the both of us plunged into the water. 

Before I could swim back up to the surface, the tom's grip on me increased, and his claws dug deeper into my pelt until they reached my skin. I kicked outward, trying to knock him off of me long enough to escape. He swiped his hind legs at mine, leaving deep scratches which stung more due to being underwater, and I bit one of his forelegs. He let go of me with the other, and before I had the chance to use that to my advantage, he slashed furiously at my cheek, causing me to let out a yowl.

This was a mistake for two reasons. Not only did it mean I let go of the tom, but it also caused me to lose even more air than I was already. It was also pointless, as it made no sound. The gray and white tom quickly took advantage of this and continued to attack, before a dark figure crashed into him. The impact knocked him away from me, and without waiting to see what happened, I quickly swam back up to the surface. 

My intention was to climb onto the tree bridge and back to the island, but I noticed the tom catching up to me, and I decided instead to flee onto RiverClan land, and from there head to ShadowClan. As soon as my paws hit solid ground, I sprinted off as fast as my legs would let me. As I got deeper into RiverClan's territory, I heard the tom behind me, and when I looked back I could see he was gaining speed. 

Gathering what little strength I had left, I sprung forward and finally managed to lose the gray and white tom. At last the Thunderpath could be seen ahead of me and I slowed down, panting heavily. Checking that no monsters were coming, I slowly padded forward, though just as I was somewhere in the middle, I suddenly felt dizzy. I heard a loud honk in the distance and tried picking up my speed, but as I lifted my paw, my other legs gave out and I collapsed.

I let out a weak and desperate yowl, hoping that someone would hear me. My vision faded, and I heard one last honk before losing consciousness completely. 

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I was startled awake by a cat crashing into me, and another let out a quiet hiss. "Watch where you're going, Cloudy!" A brown tabby she-cat called, while still keeping her voice down. "She's still recovering, and needs all the rest she can get."

"Sorry," a young tom meowed. 

 I lifted my head slightly to look around at where I was. Tall wooden walls surrounded myself and several other cats, and bales of hay were scattered here and there. At once I recognized the kind of building I was in. A barn. 

The tabby she-cat lay beside me, and I suddenly realized there was a cluster of small leaves and flowers hanging from her ear. These other cats are either kittypets or loners, I thought, but what's a medicine cat doing here?