The night sky above twinkled with countless stars, and a half-moon hung in the sky, casting its milky light down onto the grass below. Stars danced on the grass like countless fireflies, and once a breeze clawed through the land, the stars were stirred up into the sky, mixing into a shimmering tornado of tiny stars. 

The stars then settled still and landed on the grass. A few of them dotted the pelt of a lone cat sitting by the edge of a pool. The cat's pelt was littered with sparkling stars and their eyes shimmered with the color of the ocean. They seemed to be staring down into the pool of water, their eyes fixed on something that only they could see.

"Cinderpelt," a voice spoke. A gray tom dappled with dark gray flecks approached the dark gray she-cat, his dark blue eyes shimmering. He walked with purpose, stirring up stars as his paws touched the soft grass.

"Yes, Ashstar?" Cinderpelt prompted.

Ashstar sat down next to the small she-cat, his eyes dark. "I believe that times are changing," he sighed. "All the Clans will be in a great danger if Featherpaw and Smokyflame continue to be together."

"I know," Cinderpelt meowed. "But you can't stop love," she murmured, moving her tail.

"But, we have to warn the Clans before it's too late. It has already been a moon and a half since Featherpaw and her littermates have been born. When Featherpaw becomes a warrior, she is going to have kits with Smokyflame. And one of these kits will wreak havoc on the Clans."

Cinderpelt narrowed her eyes. "Well, you aren't allowed to send prophecies anymore,  Ashstar. You abused that power. You told Stormgaze a fake prophecy and you warned ThunderClan of the Sharptalon prophecy without permission," Cinderpelt growled. "Thunderstar has already said that if you give out a prophecy without permission, you will be punished."

"But, the Clans need to be warned before it's too late," Ashstar argued.

Cinderpelt turned towards him. "Unfortunately, it already is too late, I'm afraid. We can only sit and watch as the Clans either fall or unite against the rising threat. We shall hope that everyone pushes their pride aside once the darkness rises to power," Cinderpelt meowed.

"And SkyClan is a part of this too," another voice spoke behind them. A silver-gray tabby she-cat with green eyes padded forward, the stars in her pelt shining brighter than Ashstar's.

"Echosong," Cinderpelt greeted, dipping her head.

"I'm proud that ThunderClan has found SkyClan, and with SkyClan with the other Clans, they can rise against the looming threat," Echosong meowed. "Featherpaw's destiny is greater than finding SkyClan. Her destiny stretches beyond SkyClan. She must find the courage to rise against this threat, and I know she can do this."

"And what about Mudpaw? He must make a decision too," Ashstar meowed. 

"And Nightpaw must make a decision as well. Either outcome of the decision is big," Cinderpelt meowed. "Such a big destiny on three apprentices is stressful," she murmured.

Echosong shuffled her paws. "The rogues will only get stronger, and once SkyClan joins, the rogues will be driven out of their territory, and in rage many lives will be lost. This will be a war, and this looming threat will make it worse. We can't stop Featherpaw eventually having kits as a warrior, so we can only fight back."

"And what about the Dark Forest?" Ashstar asked. 

"The Dark Forest isn't a threat now, but soon, it will be, and there is a root in every Clan," Cinderpelt meowed. "The Clans are ready for this soon-to-come threat, though, and I have high hopes for them."

"Well, Cinderpelt, should be send out a prophecy at the half-moon meeting?" Echosong asked.

"Not this half-moon. We must not cause this much worry this early. We will wait," Cinderpelt meowed, getting to her paws. "I must discuss this with the others."

"But why wait? If we wait, it will only be too late for a warning," Ashstar protested, lashing his tail. "The Clans-"

"Quiet, Ashstar," Echosong snapped.

"What place in this argument do you have here, SkyClan cat? Your Clan was missing for tons of moons!" Ashstar hissed, flattening his ears.

Cinderpelt bristled. "Ashstar," she growled. "You're making a fool of yourself," she hissed. "Echosong, let's go," she meowed.

As the medicine cats left, Ashstar sat down, tempted to break the rules once more to send out a prophecy. I don't care if I get punished. His claws tore at the grass, and his tail lashed. Smokyflame has to die. He thought of the thunderpath that the ThunderClan and SkyClan cats would have to cross. That's it, I'll make sure a monster hits him.