A half-moon glowed on smooth granite boulders, turning them silver. The silence was broken only by the ripple of water from the swift black river and the whisper of trees in the forest beyond.
There was a stirring in the shadows, and from all around lithe dark shapes crept stealthily over the rocks. Unsheathed claws, wings, and horns glinted in the moonlight. Wary eyes flashed like amber. And then, as if on a silent signal, the creatures leaped at each other, and suddenly the rocks were alive with wrestling, screeching cats.
At the center of the frenzy of fur and claws, a massive rainbow tabby pinned a pink-colored she-cat to the ground and drew up her head and wings triumphantly. “Pinkie Pie!” the tabby growled. “How dare you hunt in our territory? The Sunningrocks belong to ThunderClan!”
“After tonight, Rainbow Dash, this will be just another RiverClan hunting ground!” the pink colored cat spat back.
A warning yowl came from the shore, shrill and anxious. “Look out! More RiverClan warriors are coming!”
Rainbow Dash turned to see sleek wet bodies sliding out of the water below the rocks. The drenched RiverClan warriors bounded silently up the shore and hurled themselves into battle without even stopping to shake the water from their fur.
The rainbow tabby glared down at Pinkie. “You may swim like otters, but you and your warriors do not belong in this forest!” She drew back her lips and showed her teeth as the cat struggled beneath her.
The desperate scream of a ThunderClan she-cat rose above the clamor. A wiry RiverClan tom had pinned the tan warrior flat on her belly. Now he lunged toward her neck with jaws still dripping from his swim across the river.
Rainbow Dash heard the cry and let go of Pinkie. With a mighty leap, she knocked the enemy warrior away from the she-cat. “Quick, Bon Bon, run!” she ordered, before turning on the RiverClan tom who had threatened her. Bon Bon scrambled to her paws, wincing from a deep gash on her shoulder, and raced away.
Behind her, Rainbow Dash spat with rage as the RiverClan tom sliced open her nose. Blood blinded her for an instant, but she lunged forward regardless and sank her teeth into the hind leg of her enemy. The RiverClan cat squealed and struggled free.
“Rainbow!” The yowl came from a warrior with a tail as red as fox fur. “This is useless! There are too many RiverClan warriors!”
“No, Big Mac. ThunderClan will never be beaten!” Rainbow Dash yowled back, leaping to Big Mac's side. “This is our territory!” Blood was welling around her broad cyan muzzle, and she shook her head impatiently, scattering scarlet drops onto the rocks.
“ThunderClan will honor your courage, Rainbow, but we cannot afford to lose any more of our warriors,” Macintosh urged. “Luna would never expect her warriors to fight against these impossible odds. We will have another chance to avenge this defeat.” He met Rainbow Dash's rose-eyed gaze steadily, then reared away and sprang onto a boulder at the edge of the trees.
“Retreat, ThunderClan! Retreat!” he yowled. At once his warriors squirmed and struggled away from their opponents. Spitting and snarling, they backed toward Big Mac. For a heartbeat, the RiverClan cats looked confused. Was this battle so easily won? Then Pinkie Pie yowled a jubilant cry.
As soon as they heard her, the RiverClan warriors raised their voices and joined their deputy in caterwauling their victory.
Mac looked down at his warriors. With a flick of his tail, he gave the signal and the ThunderClan cats dived down the far side of the Sunningrocks, then disappeared into the trees.
Dash followed last. She hesitated at the edge of the forest and glanced back at the bloodstained battlefield. Her face was grim, her eyes furious slits. Then she leaped after his Clan into the silent forest.
In a deserted clearing, an old blue she-cat sat alone, staring up at the clear night sky. All around her in the shadows she could hear the breathing and stirrings of sleeping cats.
A small yellow she-cat emerged from a dark corner, her pawsteps quick and soundless. The blue cat dipped her horn in greeting. “How is Bon Bon?” she meowed.
“Her wounds are deep, Luna,” answered the Pegasus cat, settling herself on the night-cool grass. “But she is young and strong; she will heal quickly.”
“And the others?”
“They will all recover, too.”
Luna sighed. “We are lucky not to have lost any of our warriors this time. You are a gifted medicine cat, Fluttershy.” She tilted her horn again and studied the stars. “I am deeply troubled by tonight’s defeat. ThunderClan has not been beaten in its own territory since I became leader,” she murmured. “These are difficult times for our Clan. The season of newleaf is late, and there have been fewer kits. ThunderClan needs more warriors if it is to survive.”
“But the year is only just beginning,” Fluttershy pointed out calmly. “There will be more kits when greenleaf comes.”
The blue cat twitched her broad wings. “Perhaps. But training our young to become warriors takes time. If ThunderClan is to defend its territory, it must have new warriors as soon as possible.”
“Are you asking StarClan for answers?” meowed Fluttershy gently, following Luna's gaze and staring up at the swath of stars glittering in the dark sky.
“It is at times like this we need the words of ancient warriors to help us. Has StarClan spoken to you?” Luna asked.
“Not for some moons, Luna.”
Suddenly a shooting star blazed over the treetops. Fluttershy's wings twitched and the fur along her spine bristled.
Luna's ears pricked but she remained silent as Fluttershy continued to gaze upward.
After a few moments, Fluttershy lowered her head and turned to Luna. “It was a message from StarClan,” she murmured. A distant look came into her eyes. “Fire alone can save our Clan.”
“Fire?” Luna echoed. “But fire is feared by all the Clans! How can it save us?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I do not know,” she admitted. “But this is the message StarClan has chosen to share with me.”
The ThunderClan leader fixed her clear blue eyes on the medicine cat. “You have never been wrong before, Fluttershy,” she meowed. “If StarClan has spoken, then it must be so. Fire will save our Clan.”