The bodies of six cats lay in the center of an island.
This island wasn't just any island. It was towards the southern shore of a lake, connected by a fallen tree that was scorched at each end. The island was ringed with trees, with one tree being larger than the rest. The middle of said island was a large clearing big enough to fit dozens of cats.
The six cats all groaned in unison, raising their heads. A full moon shone down upon the clearing, yet the position in the sky noted that it had to be near the dawn. Despite this, the orb still shone in the sky as a reminder of the power the night held.
The first cat was a soft lavender, sporting a tail that was a mix of light purple and pink. Her legs were long and thin, yet her body was slightly larger than normal. She stood almost an inch taller than the other five.
She blinked and turned her head to see something akin to a star plastered onto her flank. The other five had similar markings upon their flank, each one looking out of place against their fur.
The lavender one walked over and she nudged the nearest one: a white cat with a soft purple tail. She had three diamonds on her flank.
The white one raised her head, "Twilight!" she jumped to her feet, only to slip down again, "Twilight, what is going on?"
"I don't know Rarity!" Twilight looked down at her new body, "I have no idea!"
A cry came out from the other side of the clearing. They turned to see a blue cat with a multi-colored tail trying to jump into the air, flapping wings that no longer existed.
"My wings! That Crookedwhatever took my wings!" Rainbow hissed, her claws coming out.
A yellow cat walked up with a pink tail and she shivered, "What's happened to us?"
"I don't know Fluttershy!" Pinkie bounced up, her energy not constricted in the slightest, "But isn't this awesome?!"
"This isn't awesome!" Rainbow cried out. All the other five blinked at the uncharacteristic remark, "He took our wings!"
"And your horn!" Rarity pointed right at Twilight's forehead. The lack of the horn was painfully obvious.
Twilight gasped and she looked around. They were all normal cats, without magic nor flight bestowed upon them. She shook her head and she began to shudder.
"Nonononononononono!" Twilight panicked, "What's happened?!"
"You've become a cat, Twilight."
The group whipped around, minus Pinkie who had somehow climbed a tree and was hanging by her front legs. In front of them stood the ghost of Crookedstar.
"YOU!" Rainbow and Applejack cried out at once.
Crookedstar chuckled, "Yes, me."
Twilight stalked up to him and looked right up in his face, "What have you done to us?! We never agreed to help you in the first place!"
The brown tom shrugged, "The prophecies of Starclan do not ask those they pertain to for permission."
"Horsefeathers!" Rainbow cried out, "We're... flipping... CATS!"
"Yes, you are, my blue friend." Crookedstar sat on his haunches, "But soon you'll be so much more."
"Turn us back!" Rainbow shouted, which Crookedstar promptly ignored.
Applejack took a step forward, "Ya' better tell us what's goin' on here right now!"
Pinkie pulled herself onto the branch and called, "HEY GUYS! I CAN SEE A LOT FROM UP HERE!"
Crookedstar ignored them all and he pointed at them, "Welcome to the lake."
"Yes, we're on a lake, we can see that." Twilight said simply, "But where are we?"
Crookedstar thought for a second, "You're at the Gathering Island for the four clans. The four clans are Thundercla-"
Rainbow was starting to get annoyed with the tom, and interrupted him by launching herself at him. Applejack put a hoof on her tail. Without the aid of her wings for propulsion, the rainbow cat was held back.
Rarity took a chance to step in, "Yes dear, we can see that we're on an island. What are we doing here?"
Crookedstar narrowed one eye and his mouth contorted in a growl, "Will you six calm down and let me speak?"
The group grumbled but they complied. He adjusted his haunches before he began again.
"As I was saying, there are four clans, Thunderclan, Riv-"
"Um, Mr. Crookedstar sir?" Fluttershy piped up, raising a paw.
"QUIET!" Crookedstar yelled and suddenly a loud explosion of thunder filled the area. The six all cowered into a little huddle as the air was light up by white light.
With the six cowed, he walked up to them and stuck his face in front of them. It was then they realized that he was slightly see through.
"Now if you six will be quiet, I'll explain just where you are and why you're here!" He spat, his fangs showing. Even if he was a ghost, they looked sharp and dangerous.
The group shivered and they scooted a few inches away from him. Crookedstar sat down and he sighed, "There, now isn't this easier? Now, let me start with the legend of the clans so you'll understand just what you are now a part of.
"Listen well, you'll need to remember this legend: long ago, there were groups of feral cats in a vast forest that lived and cared only for themselves. They fought among each other until one night they gathered beneath four great oaks. They quarreled over stolen prey and fought until they all were either slain or near death.
"Then, the spirits of those slain came down and spoke to them. They told them a simple message: unite or die. Five cats stepped forward: Thunder, River, Wind, Shadow and Sky. The cats rallied under one of them and they eventually separated and divided the forest among themselves.
"Eventually, they named their clans after the founders: Thunderclan, Riverclan, Windclan, Shadowclan and Skyclan. Skyclan was driven out due to their territory being taken over by twolegs. You'll learn about them soon enough.
"The four clans lived in the forest until the twolegs returned and began to poison and consume the land. Four brave warriors were sent up into north and discovered the lake where they could live. The clans combined and made the Great Journey to this land.
"You are sitting on the ground of the Gathering, where all the clans meet at the full moon. The lake is divided into four sections of territory, though you may find that, after the battle with the Dark Forest, those borders are rather hazy."
"What are you?" Twilight asked, finally braving to ask a question that had been bugging her for a while.
The tom stopped and he showed them his translucent paw, "Well, when a cat dies, their spirit goes to one of two places: Starclan or the Dark Forest. Good cats go to Starclan. Cats that do evil, despicable deeds go to the Dark Forest. We recently had a battle with them."
"What’re ya' talkin' 'bout?" Applejack ventured.
"Well, the Dark Forest figuered out a way to pass out of the spirtual realm and into the real world. They amassed an army of their own members as well as trained a few cats from each clans as sleeper agents. We managed to fend them off, but at a great cost."
Now it was Rarity's turn to speak up, "Alright, so what you're saying is that there are groups of cats who live together and stay in separate territories, their spirts go to Starclan or the Dark Forest when they die, and we're a part of a prophecy to save them all?"
Crookedstar couldn't help but let out a chuckle as the white cat laid out everything for them. He half expected the pink one still twitching to do so.
Twilight looked at him, "we can't be stuck here!" She growled, "We have duties back home! I'm a princess!"
"You won't have to worry about that." Came a feminine voice from behind them.
The six all turned to see a gray blue female stalk up to them. Her brilliant turquoise eyes shone upon them with extreme force as she stalked up with power in every step.
"My name is Bluestar." She spoke with a wise, low voice, "What Crookedstar said is true!"
Rainbow finally stepped forward to speak, "what exactly do you need us to do?"
Crookedstar and Bluestar shared a brief look before Bluestar spoke, "we... don't know yet."
"You don't know?" Twilight inquired. Applejack huffed.
Bluestar shook her head, "no. We are told the prophecies, we don't know what exactly will happen."
Rainbow gave a low growl. Crookedstar eyed them, "perhaps we get on with it already..."
Bluestar nodded and she turned to them, "unfortunately, you don't look anything like real cats. We'll have to change that."
Rarity looked up, "What do you mean Darl....WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
All the mane six yelled as their coats changed. Rainbow turned a navy blue with a gray tail; Rarity kept her white coat but her tail turned ginger; Fluttershy turned Brown with a matching tail; Pinkie turned Brown with a lighter pink for her tail; Twilight turned black and her tail went black as well; and Applejack turned a brilliant ginger. All their cutie marks vanished.
"What hav' ya' done to us?!" Applejack yelled, stomping her paw and hissing.
"Change us back!" Rarity cried, "oh my tail!"
Bluestar looked down at them, "you can't stick out like a sore thumb. It's impossible for cats to have the colors you do."
"But it still isn't fair!"
"This isn't good!"
"Oh I like mine!"
Bluestar shook her head, "you'll also need new names. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow and such sound too strange."
"I am not changing my name!" Twilight yelled, "Change us back!"
"Pinkie, you seem to know a bit about names..."
"Oh yeah!" The bubbly cat stepped forward, "well, we'll be warriors! You pick the first part of your name that you like and then another part! For example:" she grabbed Rainbow, "Swiftfoot!"
"That's disgusting!" Rainbow stuck her tongue out. Instantly, Pinkie hopped to the others.
"Twilight should be Robinfrost, Fluttershy Yellowpelt, Rarity Whitetail, Applejack Gorsefoot, and I'll be Partyfeet!"
"No Pinkie, we said Wildpelt!" Bluestar chimed in.
"Oh, nevermind!"
Rainbow looked at them again, only to hear cats yowling, "STOP RIGHT THERE, ROUGES!"
Crookedstar looked at them, "good luck, my dear cats. I pray your journeys fair well."
With that, the two of them faded. The pounding of running increased.
"Hide!" Twilight ordered, "We don't want to get separated!"
The group turned to run, but Fluttershy, now Yellowpelt, didn't move. Two yellow eyes peered from the darkness and gazed at her, freezing her in fear.
"Fluttershy!" Applejack called, then she launched herself out from the rock at the frozen cat.
At that same moment, Rainbow had grabbed Twilight and taken off up a tree. The fear of getting separated had caused her to try to save the nearest person close to her. That just happened to be Twilight. This, however, left Rarity and Pinkie under the tree, confused and dazed.
The sound of a group of cats could be heard. Rarity and Pinkie hid under a bush as Fluttershy and Applejack we're surrounded.
There was a patrol of five cats that all were lean, small, and had long legs. They were all extremely thin, yet they still looked very fit.
Rainbow got ready to jump down and save her friend, but Twilight held her down, not letting her leave. She hissed and squirmed, but Twilight held her firm.
One tom stepped forward, "my name is Onestar, leader of Windclan! What are you doing in our gathering place?"