Stardust pelted through the crowd of fighting animals as she searched for Moonshadow. After she heard about Windblaze's injuries from Talonswipe, her anxiety levels rose higher with each passing second for Moonshadow's safety. 

I hope he's not injured too badly, Stardust thought as she ran. Suddenly, something crashed into her side and knocked her to the ground.

"We meet again, kitten!" A terribly familiar voice growled from above her.

Raking her hind paws against her attacker's belly, Stardust managed to throw the small enemy off her. Her attacker was a dark furred weasel with angry amber eyes. Voleclaw. Stardust had met him when she was captured by a trap that was set by him and Darkmoon; the black-feathered eagle. Voleclaw's face looked different now; his muzzle was scratched and scarred like he had been badly beaten up by somebody.

"Voleclaw, I'm going to make you pay for trapping me in the first place." Stardust hissed as she lashed her tail from side to side.

"Oh yeah? You wanna bet on it?" Voleclaw challenged her.

"You better think twice about it, I'm not the weak kitten I once was three months ago." Stardust warned him.

"Ha! You don't scare me!" Voleclaw spat and he leaped towards her neck.

Stardust ran forwards to dodge him and Voleclaw landed on his muzzle in the mud behind her. Voleclaw groaned, got up and rubbed his aching nose which was starting to bleed; spattering the ground with spots of crimson.

"You're the one who's going to pay for for this," Voleclaw hissed and he bared his needle-like teeth at Stardust.

"It's not my fault you landed nose first on the ground," Stardust retorted. She slashed Voleclaw's side as she leapt past him, causing Voleclaw to reel away from her as he clutched the new gash on his side with his paw. Stardust spun around and attacked again before Voleclaw could recover. She pummeled at Voleclaw's face, feeling satisfaction each time she slashed him. Voleclaw screeched and clawed back at her but each time he slashed, his blows grew weaker and feebler. 

"This." Stardust hissed as she swiped. "Is." She clawed. "For." Stardust slammed her paws down on Voleclaw's side, pinning him down. "Siding with the scarred wolf's cruelty and hurting me when I was only a kitten. Next time, YOU are the one who shouldn't mess with me." Stardust hissed near his ear.

"Okay! Okay! You win, let me go!" Voleclaw thrashed underneath Stardust's paws but she sank her claws into Voleclaw's flesh, causing him to stop struggling and howl.

"You're not going anywhere just yet Voleclaw." Stardust sternly told the weasel.

Suddenly, Stardust felt the ground tremble as a rumble of hoof beats thundered towards her and Voleclaw. Looking up, Stardust saw that it was Rushingstream and six of his stags.

"We'll take the prisoner from here," Rushingstream told Stardust as his stags formed a circle around them.

Stardust nodded, then jumped off Voleclaw and watched as Rushingstream and his stags escorted the weasel away towards the other rebels. When the last stag had disappeared from sight, Stardust whipped around and continued her search for Moonshadow.

                                               ***

Stardust raced through the crowd of fighting animals like a silver lightning bolt. After passing a few burning corpses on the ground- the rabbits shot Flare Stones at the wolves, Stardust detected Moonshadow's scent in the air. She slowed down and sniffed the air again; the scent was faint but it was recent and as Stardust looked around her, she saw a den made of twigs and leaves. Apart from Moonshadow's scent, Stardust recognised the bitter scent of wolf. Scarface.

Suddenly, a white blur of fangs and talons exploded out of the den.

"Scarface!" Stardust heard Moonshadow growl at Scarface. "You killed countless innocents, you murdered Stardust's parents, you hurt Dawnwing and threatened Robintail. I will kill you so that you'll never murder and hurt anyone ever again!"

Scarface snarled, then he slashed at Moonshadow's head but the pale grey owl ducked just in time and he raked his talons at Scarface's shoulder. Stardust was about to help Moonshadow fight Scarface but she heard a distant voice called her name.

"Stardust! Stardust, over here!"

 Looking behind her, Stardust saw Twilight frantically waving his forepaws at her and he was metres away from where she stood. Stardust glanced back at Moonshadow, then back at Twilight. What should I do?  Help Moonshadow or run to Twilight?

"Stardust! I've got a Flare Stone!" Twilight yelled above the screeching and howling of the battle.

Flare Stone!  Stardust thought, If I can quickly get the Flare Stone, I can save Moonshadow and end this battle. Stardust spun around and bolted towards Twilight. As she bolted across the scarred wolf's camp, Stardust felt her paws begin to ache each time they touched the rugged blood-soaked ground. The faster I get this done, the better for everyone. Finally, she reached Twilight and he swiftly passed the Flare Stone over to her.

"Stardust, this is our last Flare Stone. I'm afraid you only have one shot at this; try and shoot Scarface." Twilight told her, Stardust nodded. 

"Stardust, you are our only hope. We're all counting on you, good luck." Stardust heard Twilight say before she carefully gripped the Flare Stone in her jaws and whipped around, streaking back towards the place where Moonshadow grappled against Scarface.

Stardust, you are our only hope. We're all counting on you, good luck. Twilight's voice echoed in Stardust's head as she halted a meter away from the furious whirling white ball of fangs and talons.

Scarface snapped his razor sharp teeth at Moonshadow, then he leaped into the air above the pale grey owl. Moonshadow rolled away to dodge Scarface's paws from slamming down on top of him. He quickly got back on his feet as Scarface swiped at him. The scarred wolf was slashing at Moonshadow but the owl managed to dodge each slash. Stardust wanted to throw the Flare Stone but Scarface was behind Moonshadow, the owl's back was facing to Stardust. Moonshadow was in the way which meant that if Stardust threw the Flare Stone; there was a high chance that Moonshadow could get hit instead of Scarface.

Suddenly, as if sensing her presence behind him, Moonshadow flapped his wings and flew over Scarface's head. He landed behind Scarface and the scarred white wolf spun around to continue their fight. 

Taking the oppurtunity, Stardust aimed.

She bent her head back, the Flare Stone in her jaws. 

Then she jerked her head forwards, released her grip and let the Flare Stone fly.

   .

                .

                            .

                                         .

                                                  .   BOOM!

The Flare Stone landed. It exploded but lamentably it was nowhere near Scarface. 

Scarface's pelt remained unscathed apart from the claw marks Moonshadow gave him. The owl was still fighting against the wolf, both of them were beginning to tire but they would never back down to each other.

No... No, Why did I miss? Why??  Stardust felt like a flame being quenched by water, she had failed to save Moonshadow, failed to win the battle, failed to save the world. Glimpsing behind her, Stardust caught Twilight and Rushingstream staring sadly at her. Twilight nodded slowly at her as if to say; You tried but failed. Stardust bowed her head, feeling shameful. We're going to lose, all of our strives and efforts; for nothing.

Suddenly, Stardust felt a breeze ruffle her fur and she heard multiple paw steps racing towards her. Both familiar and unfamiliar scents filled her nose and Stardust looked up. Heading towards her was a dark grey tom with amber eyes, a silver tabby she-cat with sky blue eyes, countless Silver Viels and other animals, a powerful looking Snowie owl with amber eyes glided with a beautiful Snowie owl with green eyes- she looked almost identical to Talonswipe. All of their shapes were fuzzy and ghostly transparent.

Stardust felt tears well up in her amber eyes when she recognized her parents; Ash and Lilac. She felt faint memories resurface in her head when she stared at the Silver Viel cats. Looking over at the other animals- White voles, Grey otters, wolves, raccoons, rabbits- Stardust felt their gazes burning holes into her. Staring above her, Stardust met Ember's and the other Snowie owl's gaze. 

I'm so sorry that I failed you all, Stardust wailed in her mind.

The spirits glanced at one another. "The rise of the Scarred wolf will be no more for the Star and Moon shall vanquish all evil," they whispered before they faded away leaving Stardust alone once more.

What's that supposed to mean? I already failed you, Stardust stared hopelessly at the empty space in front of her where the spirits stood seconds ago.

Just then, paw steps raced towards her. Beesting's scent wafted towards her and Stardust looked behind at him. Beesting's pelt was marked with scratches and bites, his left ear tip was nicked and bleeding but apart from that, he wasn't too badly hurt. Stardust saw that Beesting was carrying a small object in his jaws. As he drew closer, Stardust gasped. The object Beesting was carrying was a Flare Stone!

Her amber eyes burning with a hopeful flame, Stardust exclaimed, "where did you get that?"

Panting, Beesting halted beside her and carefully placed the Flare Stone on the ground. "I had one with me during the entire battle. I thought I needed one just in case but I guess you and Moonshadow need it more than I do."

Gently pawing the Flare Stone over to Stardust, Beesting mewed, "here, you can do it. This time, I'm sure you won't miss."

His encouragement filled Stardust's heart with warmth. Blinking with gratitude at Beesting, Stardust picked up the Flare Stone in her jaws and then she turned to aim at Scarface once more. 

Stardust threw the Flare Stone. Beesting and Stardust watched as it streaked like a shooting star towards Scarface.

Moonshadow's talons sliced Scarface's ear and the wolf snarled. Suddenly, a bright amber object caught his eye. Moonshadow darted out of the way just as the Flare Stone hit Scarface's chest. The Flare Stone exploded, setting Scarface's white fur on fire. 

"NOOOOOOOO!" Scarface howled as the flames began to spread, engulfing him until his shape was unrecognizable. The acrid smell of smoke and seared flesh filled the entire camp. Wolves and rebels stopped fighting and sniffed the air, then they all turned to stare in shock at the charred remains of the scarred wolf. The animals nearest to Scarface's remains could feel the scalding heat of the flames. 

"We did it," Stardust murmured. "We won the battle."

"You did it," Beesting purred to her. "Without you, we wouldn't win the battle and defeat the scarred wolf. Your parents would have been proud of you."

Stardust smiled back at him. "You helped too; if you hadn't brought the last Flare Stone, we wouldn't have won." Suddenly, something caught her sight. 

Stardust turned and saw Moonshadow limping towards them. Most of his pale grey feathers were stained dark crimson and one of his talons bled from a deep cut. There was a small scratch above his eye which had stopped bleeding.

"Are you alright?" Beesting meowed as he and Stardust rushed to Moonshadow's side, Stardust let Moonshadow lean on her shoulder.

"I'm alright," Moonshadow replied wearily. "Just tired. You two?"

"We're okay." Stardust breathed out in relief. "Come on, let's get you patched up."

Stardust and Beesting helped Moonshadow walk towards the place where the other battle-weary rebels were grouping together. Some rebels were busy rounding up Scarface's wolves and taking them away whilst medical assistants rushed over from rebel to rebel, patching up and treating wounds. The sour smell of medical herbs filled the air and Stardust heard a few cries of pain erupt around her. Luckily, none of the rebels had died fighting but most were severely injured. 

"Stardust! Moonshadow!" Stardust heard Twilight's voice call their names.

Looking around the crowd of rebels, Stardust spotted Twilight standing next to Rushingstream. Twilight had a few scratches and claw marks on his flank whilst Rushingstream had a deep gash running down his shoulder, staining his short brown fur red. A raccoon medical assistant was busy patching up Rushingstream's gash.

Beesting helped Moonshadow and Stardust make their way slowly through the crowd towards Twilight and Rushingstream before he walked off to get his wounds treated. Twilight saw Moonshadow and Stardust's injuries and immediately called two medical assistants to help them. 

"You two fought well," Rushingstream told them, "and so did the other Dawntreader cat. I'll tell Sunblaze about him."

"On behalf of the Rebellion, we want to thank you both for helping us win the battle." Twilight thanked them.

"Well, we won the battle because of Stardust but the Moon didn't appear." Moonshadow hooted.

"Moonshadow, the Moon did appear. It was you." Rushingstream smiled, his short white tail flicked.

"Me?" Moonshadow asked in shock.

"Twilight, Rushingstream?" A voice said behind them.

Turning around, they saw that it was Skywing. The dark-tailed brown wolf with blue eyes had a few claw marks and bites but he didn't look too injured. 

"We've got good news and bad news; we freed Scarface's prisoners, treated their wounds and rounded up all of Scarface's wolves but three of Scarface's lieutenants have disappeared- that's the bad news." Skywing reported.

"Any trace of where they've gone?" Rushingstream asked.

"Icefeather escaped by flight which makes it hard to track her down. The two wolves, Hawkclaw and Flintscar have disappeared. I've seen Hawkclaw before the battle started but I haven't seen Flintscar." Skywing answered.

Just then, a few rabbits rushed towards them. "Sir, we found Hawkclaw's remains. He burned to death from a Flare Stone."

"Did you find Flintscar's? Or Icefeather's?" Skywing asked.

"No sir. No trace, nothing."

Turning back to face Twilight and Rushingstream, Skywing said, "I'm afraid that Icefeather and Flintscar have managed to escape."

"Then we'll have to track them down somehow and capture them." Twilight concluded.

If Icefeather and Flintscar have escaped, then they might cause trouble in the future, Stardust thought. Hopefully, they'll be captured soon.

Suddenly, Stardust felt something watching her. Whipping her head around to look for the mysterious watcher, Stardust saw nothing behind her. The presence of the watcher vanished.

I must be imagining things. Stardust thought to herself. Turning back to focus on Twilight and Skywing's conversation, Stardust kept her ears pricked up so that if the mysterious watcher returned, she would hear it.

                                                          ***

A day had past after the Rebellion returned back to camp after the battle as the sun rose high above the horizon. Scarface's prisoners were jovially grateful for their rescue; the small baby grey squirrel reunited with his mother who had joined the rebellion after her child's kidnapping due to Icefeather, many other prisoners had also returned to their families. Scarface's wolves became prisoners and they were kept locked up in a den under surveillance as they awaited their trial. The rebellion's camp was busy and bustling, full of victorious freedom fighters. Scarface was no more and the North was saved from evil.

Stardust sat outside the cave entrance and watched the animals hurry about doing their work. She remembered sitting here before on that morning when Twilight sent Rushingstream to bring her and Moonshadow to Rabbit Burrow for a meeting.

The sound of paws heading towards her brought Stardust out of her memory and back to reality. Behind her, Beesting halted and smiled. In his jaws were two brown voles. Stardust smiled back at him. 

"Hi," Beesting mewed as he put a vole in front of Stardust. "I thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks Bee." Stardust purred and she nibbled the vole.

They ate their voles happily and they watched the rebels go about doing their job. When they finished eating, Beesting asked, "why do I feel like this is deja vu?"

Stardust swallowed the last piece of her vole and answered, "because it is."

Beesting grinned at her. "I gave you a mouse last time, which one did you like? The mouse or the vole?"

Stardust thought hard, "Umm... I don't know. I guess I like both."

"Hmmm... next time I'll bring a mouse and a vole for you then. I can't carry too much in my jaws so I'll eat nothing." Beesting joked.

Stardust purred in laughter. "It's fine, I'll have anything. I'm not fussy over prey."

Just then, they spotted Twilight, Rushingstream, Moonshadow, Sunblaze and Talonswipe heading towards them. 

"Good morning you two," Twilight greeted them. "I hope you've had a good rest after the recent battle. Moonshadow, Sunblaze and Talonswipe have told me that they will be leaving the rebellion's camp today at sunset and returning back to their homes or territories."

Glancing at Moonshadow, Stardust realized that she would be leaving the rebellion and going separate ways from the Dawntreaders and Snowie owls- she would probably never see the new friends she had made before and during the battle. She might get visits from Robintail and Dawnwing but she may never meet Beesting and her other friends again.

                                                ***

The sun bled out a bright hue of red and orange as the sky began to darken. The Snowies, Dawntreaders, Moonshadow and Stardust were about to leave the Rebellion's camp. Looking around her, Stardust saw Snowie owls and Dawntreader cats exchanging their thank yous and goodbyes to one another. She felt her heart ache when she looked left. Her Dawntreader friends; Brightflame, Redstorm, Streamtail, Driftclaw and Beesting were staring sadly back at her. Tears blurring her vision, Stardust looked away. 

Talonswipe and his Snowie owls hooted their goodbyes to Twilight and Rushingstream before they flapped their wings and flew south through the alder forest towards their own territory. Then Sunblaze meowed something to Twilight and Rushingstream before he led the Dawntreader cats towards the thorn barrier entrance of the rebel's camp. 

                                                   ***

"Um... can I ask you a question?" Beesting meowed.

"Yeah?" Stardust cocked her head to the side.

"When this war's over- if it will end- what are you and Moonshadow going to do?" Beesting asked.

"I don't know, Moonshadow and I didn't discuss about this." Stardust answered.

"Well, maybe you could join my clan and be a Dawntreader. You could be an apprentice like me and we could have loads of fun playing in the tall grass. What do you think?" Beesting looked at her earnestly.

"Um... I'll think about it." Stardust replied, her amber eyes shone dimly in thought.

                                                 ***

"Wait!" Stardust absent-mindedly yowled. Sunblaze stopped and stared curiously at her.

"Um...I-I want to join the Dawntreaders," Stardust mewed uncertainly. After the flashback, Stardust knew the answer to Beesting's question but she didn't know if it could happen.

Sunblaze looked surprised, he turned to look at a large red ginger tom. The red ginger tom padded to Sunblaze's side and whispered something to him. They murmured to each other for a minute before the red ginger returned to the crowd of Dawntreaders. Stardust's heart raced with uncertainty. What if Sunblaze says no? How will Moonshadow react if I join the Dawntreaders? Will he be angry or sad?

"Do you really wish to be a Dawntreader warrior- to stay loyal to the clan, to look after the clan's kittens and elders, to hunt food for the clan and fight battles for the clan even at the cost of your life?" Sunblaze asked Stardust.

"Yes." Stardust replied, feeling certain.

"Then you may join our clan. We will train you as our apprentice and look after you as one of our own warriors." Sunblaze smiled.

Stardust felt like she could fly to the moon. She saw Beesting and her other Dawntreader friends cheer and smile at her. 

"Oh my gosh! You're going to be a Dawntreader apprentice like us!" Brightflame yowled.

"Welcome to the Dawntreaders!" Driftclaw, Redstorm and Streamtail welcomed her.

Turning to Beesting, Stardust mewed, "this is my answer to your question; I want to join your clan after the battle."

Beesting smiled his priceless smile and purred. 

"Stardust?"

Stardust froze. She forgot about Moonshadow. Turning slowly to look at the pale grey owl, Stardust dreaded Moonshadow's reaction.

"I'm not angry at you, I'm just... surprised." Moonshadow began. "I'm kind of alright with your decision but I also feel sort of sad to see you go. If this is what you really want, sure- go for it. Chase your dreams and have fun with your friends. All I wanted was for you to have a bright future."

Stardust felt tears streaming down her face. She was touched by Moonshadow's words. "I'm... I'm glad that you're not too upset about my decision Moonshadow. I know that you've been there for me the entire time this war's been going on and I'm really grateful for it, I'm really grateful for having you."

Behind Moonshadow, Stardust saw Robintail and Dawnwing smiling at her. They seemed alright with her decision which made Stardust feel relief. Moonshadow headed over towards Stardust and gave her a hug, Stardust hugged him tightly for as long as she could before Moonshadow gently pulled away.

"Have fun, promise me that you won't get into too much trouble and you won't forget me." Moonshadow hooted quietly.

"I promise." Stardust gazed solemnly into Moonshadow's amber eyes. Then she followed her new clan out through the entrance and towards her new home.