"Ugh...my head..." Twilight groaned, opening her eyes slightly. She was looking up at the sky, and as her eyes slowly came into focus, fluffy white clouds drew her attention. "Pretty..." she mumbled, rolling over onto her side. The soft springy grass felt good on her back as she wiggled around, basking in it. Twilight let her head fall to the left, ready for a nap.
Her droopy eyelids instantly shot open as she saw what lay before her eyes. Six furry cats lay all around her, snoozing softly as they slept. Their slender bodies' flanks rose up and down with each breath they took. Their pelts matched the colors of her friends. Twilight suppressed a scream as she struggled to her...paws? What in the name of Celestia is going on? Speaking of Celestia, there was a cat that was pure white with a slightly pinkish-bluish hue to her. This was obviously the sun princess. Another dead giveaway was the cutie mark. Princess Celestia's cutie mark, along with the others' was still there. There was just one thing that was really unsettling. The royal alicorn didn't have her horn or wings.
Twilight glanced at the rest of the cats too. She could tell who each cat was; their colors were distinctly different. Rarity didn't have her horn, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash didn't have their wings. Of course, Pinkie and Applejack would be the same, despite the fact that they were now cats. This could only mean one thing for Twilight. MY HORN! Twilight reached up with her paw to feel her head. Nope, no horn there.
"GREETINGS, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" boomed a voice from behind Twilight. Twilight sprang into the air, spinning around so she faced the speaker. Twilight's back was arched, and she let out an involuntary hiss. Luna tilted her head at Twilight's odd behavior. Twilight could've face-hoofed, but she lacked the latter. "Is something the matter Twilight? Look! I got a friend!" Luna exclaimed, holding up a small mouse.
So many things were going through Twilight's head, but she was now focused on the mouse that Luna had started to toss into the air. Food, Twilight thought. No Twilight! You are a pony! You eat vegetables and fruit! Not meat! Luna's mouse had landed on the ground, and now struggled to get away. Luna smiled gleefully as she levitated the mouse back to her paws.
"How did you do that, princess?" Twilight asked Luna.
"Easy! It's just like using your magic, but without a horn!" Luna responded, letting the mouse scamper a little ways away before bringing it back to her paws.
"Do you mind if I try?" Twilight asked Luna.
"Go ahead!" Luna put the mouse on top of the grass. It ran for a tree, but before it got there, Twilight already had it in her magic's grasp.
"Phew! That's a relief. I thought I wouldn't be able to use my magic!" Twilight said, letting the mouse go now that it had served it's purpose. Luna watched the mouse go. "Say, Princess, when did you get up, and what was your initial reaction to being turned into a cat?" Twilight asked the dark she-cat.
"I woke up several hours prior to your own awakening, Twilight Sparkle. When I did, I was shocked to feel not the soft, springy mattress that is mine, but rather the soft, springy bed of pine needles instead. When I saw all of the cats surrounding me, I knew it was us. Do you remember being in the Canterlot library with my sister and your friends? The last thing I remember is...fainting. When I woke up, I kind of freaked out at first. Then I stood up, and realized that I too, was a cat. So I decided to take a stroll, thinking maybe I could come up with a solution to our strange transformation and our current location, as well as adapting to this new, feline body. Of course, I had realized right away that my horn and wings were missing. When I encountered the mouse, I decided to try to speak to it. I forgot that I was a mouse's worst enemy, and tried to approach it. When it tried to run, I cast out a spell to keep it in place, hoping it would heed my words." Luna finished.
"So what do you think the other ponies' reactions will be?" Twilight asked Luna. Twilight's question was answered quite quickly as Rarity had awoken from her slumber.
"AAAAAHHH!" Rarity shrieked shrilly. This caused the other ponies to awaken as well. Twilight face-pawed as Rarity finished speaking. "Of all the things that could happen, this is the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" then promptly fainted on a nest of patchy grass. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia had gotten to her paws, and stared down at one.
Fluttershy swung her head to and fro, trying to figure out which cat she should hug first. Fluttershy wasn't ashamed to say that her friends were the most adorable things she had ever laid her eyes on. Before she could decide, Celestia spoke.
"Sister? What is the meaning of this?" Celestia asked her sister. Luna shrugged.
"Why do you ask as if I know? It is quite infuriating!" Luna pouted. Being blamed for stuff she didn't do was Luna's pet peeve. It happened quite often too, with her being the younger sister and all.
"Twilight Sparkle! Do you know anything of this?" Princess Celestia asked. Just as Twilight was about to shake her head and offer an intelligent explanation, rustling was heard from the bushes.
* * *
"Shh! Do you hear that?" Sandstorm asked the rest of the dusk patrol. The rest of the patrol ceased their conversations as they listened for noises in the forest's growth.
"It sounded like it came from over there!" a she-cat's voice called out, and fronds of grass were parted as the speaker moved towards the warriors' place.
Sandstorm flicked her tail as a signal for the rest of her patrol to get down. The cats expertly flattened themselves against the ground as they waited for the potential trespasser to show herself. As soon as the grass in the patrol's clearing parted, a pink nose with black fur around it poked it's way out from behind some fronds. Sandstorm gave the battle cry as she leapt at the intruder.
Luna's eyes widened in shock as she saw the ginger she-cat leaping at her. Of course, her natural reaction was to use her magic to deal with a threat such as this. Sandstorm stared at the ground in shock as she was suspended a few mouse-lengths in the air. The other warriors stared in shock as Sandstorm was enveloped by a black aura. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO ATTACK US! WE ARE ROYALTY! YOU SHALL PAY!" Luna shrieked at the cat who was suspended in the air.
Sandstorm struggled to get out of Luna's magic's hold, but with no avail. "Fetch Firestar! Now!" Dustpelt yelled at Bramblepaw. Bramblepaw immediately dashed into the undergrowth. Twilight Sparkle took a step after him, but Celestia intervened.
"I'll take care of this." Princess Celestia closed her eyes and was surrounded by her magic's aura. Next thing she was gone.
Bramblepaw ran faster than he ever had before in an effort to alert Firestar about this new threat to ThunderClan. Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright flash. A large white she-cat now stood in his path. "Stop right there small one!" Princess Celestia bellowed, towering over the shaking Bramblepaw. This she-cat was big, probably even bigger than Firestar. Bramblepaw couldn't ignore Dustpelt's orders, but this cat was the very definition of intimidating. Her fur was pretty oddly colored too...
"Hey! You're a kittypet, aren't you?" Bramblepaw asked Celestia. Bramblepaw knew that only a Twoleg would be cruel enough to color their pet's fur. He defiantly stood up to Princess Celestia. This she-cat was big, but Bramblepaw knew that kittypets had no skill in combat.
"What?" Celestia asked, confused. "What is a Twoleg? What is a kittypet?" Celestia asked, angry that she had to do so. She was the all knowing Sun Princess! She should not have to learn these new words from a mere, mortal cat!
Bramblepaw mewled with laughter. "You can't fool me, kittypet! Why don't you go back to Twolegplace and save me the time of dealing with you?"
The look Celestia gave Bramblepaw was worse than that of a cockatrice. Luckily for Bramblepaw, warriors were not the same as ponies. He was still scared out of his pelt though. Bramblepaw was saved by a voice from behind him. "Bramblepaw? What's going on? Who is this cat?" Firestar asked, coming out from behind a tree with Cinderpelt walking out from behind him.
Celestia looked at the dark ginger cat behind Bramblepaw's head. Celestia was surprised by what she saw in Firestar's eyes. There was wisdom there, far beyond that of any mortal being of his age. There was a fire that burned in his eyes, a look of determination on his face, and utter confidence in himself. Celestia looked to the gray she-cat standing next to Firestar. She saw knowledge glimmering in this cat's eyes; even more than that of Firestar himself. Celestia also saw pain in this cat's eyes.
Celestia had noticed the way this cat limped. Her hind leg was twisted critically. This bone would never heal. But this wasn't the pain Celestia saw, no it was not. The pain Celestia saw was a dream; a crushed dream. This cat would never be what she wanted to be; instead following a destiny that wasn't meant for her. Celestia realized that these cats were not what she had thought they were. These cats showed intelligence and promise. Not like the cat that attacked Luna.
"You there! You are trespassing on ThunderClan territory! What do you have to say for yourself? Don't you know about the forest clans, kittypet?" Firestar yelled, rage smoldering in his eyes. Firestar remembered the first time he had entered the forest from his kittypet home. The day he finally decided to gather up the courage to cross the border of his fence and the forest. That was where he had first met Bluestar. Firestar missed the majestic she-cat greatly.
"Firestar! Do you need help dealing with this intruder?" Thornclaw called, padding up from behind some ferns. Firestar kept his gaze on Celestia as he answered Thornclaw.
"No. Go find Sandstorm's patrol and tell them to return to camp immediately. I wish to speak with this intruder there. We have left the camp unguarded for too long. The threat of BloodClan still hasn't been scourged from the forest. We head back at once!" Firestar finished. Firestar began to pad off, then turned around as he realized only one cat was following him. Celestia remained in the same spot. "Follow us!" Firestar said, turning back to the direction of the camp. Celestia was reluctant to follow, but maybe she could clear some things up with this cat. So Celestia followed the two cats to the ThunderClan camp.
* * *
Thomas woke up in the middle of the night. His dreams had ceased, but now the whole ThunderClan camp was in a commotion. Thomas stood up and stretched his muscles. Cloudtail sat a fox-length in front of him, looking very tired. His eyelids were drooping, and he kept letting his head touch the ground. "Cloudtail! Go get some rest! You obviously need it!" Graystripe said, padding up to the white warrior. Cloudtail stood up, nodded his head in respect, then retreated to his den. Graystripe walked towards Thomas. "Hungry?" he asked. Thomas looked up at the broad-shouldered gray warrior. He saw no malice there, only concern.
"Yeah." Thomas replied. Graystripe nodded, and left Thomas to stare in horror as he padded off to the fresh-kill pile. There wasn't much there that appealed to Thomas's stomach, but if anything, a bird would definitely be the best thing. Thomas let out a sigh of relief as Graystripe grabbed a magpie off of the pile. He brought it to Thomas, stood back, and stared expectantly at him. Thomas made a disgusted face at the magpie. How bad can it be? Thomas asked himself. He found out as soon as he bit into it. It tasted...like chicken actually. An uncooked, bloody chicken. Thomas didn't care. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and anything would do.
Thomas devoured the magpie quickly, and felt very cat-like afterwards. I just ate a freaking raw magpie... like a boss, Thomas thought, pleased that he had actually been able to stomach something that he would have totally rejected the day before. Suddenly Graystripe's ears perked up. "Do you smell that?" he asked Thomas, parting his jaw a little to let the scent pass over his glands better.
"No." Thomas replied, trying to open his jaw in the same fashion Graystripe did. He then realized what a tard that made him look like, and shut his mouth. The other cats who were still up had their ears perked up as well. Thomas wondered what the warriors were so hyped up about. All of the warriors were heading for the gorse tunnel. Graystripe remained where he was though, keeping a watchful eye on Thomas. Thomas gave Graystripe a 'come on' look.
"Do you really think I'm going to try and escape?" Thomas asked Graystripe. Graystripe looked at Thomas doubtfully, but his curiosity was too much for him to bear.
"Fine." Graystripe said, and quickly sprinted to where the other cats were gathered. Yes! Time to get outta here! Thomas thought. Let's see... what's the best way to get out of this place? Aha! Behind the nursery! Thomas was about to make his escape, but turned around when a series of gasps was heard. Thomas's jaw dropped when he saw what came through the gorse tunnel. A patrol of warriors, headed by Firestar, came in single file through the ThunderClan camp's entrance. Thomas counted eight warriors that entered the camp; and in the middle of those cats were eight more cats. These were the cats from his dream, from the show his little sister was watching earlier that day. The marks by their butts were unmistakable.
Oh. My. Gosh. Thomas thought. These were the ponies, warrior form.