//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Camp // Story: My Warrior Ponies // by Winter Solstice //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Where the mane 6 meet the clan! "This is our clan!" Firepaw told them proudly, he puffed out his chest,"It's the best clan ever!" The forest cats lead them nimbly down the rocks to the bottom of the ravine, they pushed their way through a thick patch of gorse, their sides scraped against the prickly gorse, Rainbow Dash looked down to see the ground at the centre was bare, hard earth, probably shaped from generations of paws and cats. She saw that eventually the tunnel opened up. She felt impatient, she was squashed in the gorse tunnel and wanted to stretch her legs. She looked at the clearing, there were cats everywhere, and they were grooming each other! She watched silently; the only good use for a tongue was for eating, not this. She felt her tummy rumble slightly, she was starving! What do these cats eat she wondered. She knew that Opalescence had cat food, and sometimes waffles as a treat. But there was no cat food, and no ponies to look after them. She knew that they were attracting attention, she saw as the cats turned with curious faces at the newcomers. At the head of the clearing was a large boulder, a large grey she-cat padded, silently toward them, white hairs streaked her muzzle and she bore a scar that parted the fur across her shoulders. "Why are these kittypets here" She questioned , she looked at each of her friends in turn, her piercing blue eyes showed her rank, she was the top cat, the she-cats gaze lingered mostly on Twilight. What did she want with Twilight? "They claim to not be kittypets, they also want to seek shelter," Whitestorm answered "We came to you immediately, to ask permission, Bluestar" "I want you, Lionheart and Spottedleaf in my den" Bluestar ordered, she gestured to Whitestorm, Lionheart and a dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a dappled coat. All four cats walked into a cave in the rock, it had lichen growing at the entrance. "What do we do now , y'all?" Applejack said as soon as Firepaw and Graypaw left, "I know that Twilight, here can help us get back, but I am just slightly worried. I mean what about Apple Bloom and Big Mac, they don't know where I am. Everyone in Ponyville doesn't know where we are! At least Twilight can get us back, right?" Twilight looked uncomfortable, she turned around, her tail drooping. She gave a slight nod then slowly padded away. "I just need some more time!" Twilight said, she continued walking, the rest of her friends were now more relieved. They started talking amongst themselves. They talked about how funny this will sound once they get back to Ponyville. Imagine turning into cats! "Hey, I think Bluestar is going to tell us what they decided!" Greypaw said. They looked to the big boulder, all four cats were coming out of the cave. Bluestar climbed on top of the rock and yowled "Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting" All cats were all out of their dens so the just had to look. "We have reached an agreement, we shall allow the newcomers to stay," Bluestar said, there were some yowls of disagreement. "We already have a kittypet why do we need some loners as well" "But they need a place to stay!" "We barely have any clanborn cats now!" Bluestar's yowl silenced the clan, "we shall have a naming ceremony at moonhigh!" Then with a flick of her tail she closed the meeting. Twilight's all turned towards her, "I just need some air," She muttered, she walked across the clearing, out of the gorse tunnel. She thought about Spike, what would happen to that little baby dragon. She climbed onto a rock and she breathed in the scents of the forest , it was autumn and the leaves were coloured with reds and browns. She sniffed the air and looked around, she could feel some other cats presence. "Hi!" Firepaw called, the ginger tom walked up to Twilight, "I saw you leaving and didn't want you to get lost, we do have a big territory!" "Thank you for the offer but I can manage fine on my own," She replied, the last thing she needed was him boasting about his clan. She leapt neatly off the rock and walked away. "You know, it's okay to admit that you're a kittypet, I was but now I am a loyal apprentice to thunderclan" He said as he padded after her. So he thinks I am lying Twilight thought furiously. She turned around. "Firepaw, I swear I have never seen a twoleg before" She growled, Firepaw looked at her. "So you really are not kittypets" He muttered, he had a look of disappointment on his face. Maybe it was hard on him that he had kittypet origins. She decided to forgive him. She stopped and thought, she wondered why StarSwirl the Bearded would create such a spell, that transports ponies to a land of cats. She wanted to know more about this world. "Look I am sorry that I snapped at you Firepaw" Twilight murmured. Firepaw nodded, "Sorry for saying you were lying" "Hey do you want to head back to camp!" Twilight exclaimed, "Race you back!" "You're on" The raced back through the gorse tunnel, Firepaw had a last burst of adrenaline which sent Twilight in the dust. They both started to pant, as they reached the clearing. "There you are sugarcube!" Applejack called, "We have been looking all other for you!" Her friends all rushed over, to greet her. "It's almost moonhigh!" Fluttershy said, they all watched as Bluestar as she climbed onto Highrock, she began the ceremony. "This moonhigh, we gather here to name six new apprentices, come forward, what are your names" Bluestar said, they each said their names. "From this day forth, Rainbow Dash until you have earned you warrior name, you shall be known as Swiftpaw, your mentor shall be Runningwind" Bluestar called each of them in turn. Rarity became Snowpaw, her mentor was Willowpelt. Applejack became Amberpaw, her mentor Longtail. Pinkie Pie became Brightpaw, her mentor Mousefur. Fluttershy became a medicine cat apprentice and became Petalpaw. Twilight became Lightpaw, her mentor Bluestar. They each touched noses with their mentor. Once they completed the ceremony most cats went to their dens. Lightpaw and her friends started to look around, confused. Where were they supposed to go? "You are supposed to go to sleep here!" Firepaw said, they walked they saw a large tree stump, and a large patch of ferns. Spottedleaf walked up to Petalpaw, "You are going to sleep in the medicine cats den." He walked inside to a small clearing. "You need to scrunch the moss like this to make a nest!" Graypaw and Firepaw helped to scrunch the moss and helped them in making each nest. "Goodnight!" Twilight said, they all stretched and started to curl up in their nests. "Goodnight" "Goodnight" "Goodnight" "Goodnight" They all started to fall asleep, Twilight had some trouble going to sleep, she tossed and turned but it was not to be. She walked out of the den silently, trying not to wake any cat. She looked up at the moon, she turned to see a shadow disappear through the gorse tunnel. She wondered who that was? She slowly crept back into her nest and fell asleep