I do NOT Own these cats! I just felt, y'know, that this needed to be made! ENJOY!

I dashed into the Nursery, running over to Sorreltail's side. She panted, eyes narrowed, as contractions over-came her. I grabbed the leaves I had brought, and started giving Sorreltail the leaves. At that moment, a horrid stench filled the den. Spinning around, I saw a badger, its striped, narrowed head banging into the den. I shrieked as the badger slashed a large paw towards me, connecting with my side. Falling to the ground, I lay there wounded.

Leafpool raced into the den. "Sorreltail, it's me, Leafpool. Where's Cinderpelt?" I heard her ask faintly. She hurled herself at the badger, raking her claws along its' side. "Out! Get out!" Leafpool gasped. Lashing out, she scored her claws against its nose, and blood spewed out. The scent of blood clashed with the strong scent of badger. The badger aimed at Leafpool, but before it hit her, Crowfeather appeared next to her, slashing at its muzzle. The badger howled in pain, barging past Leafpool, and left the Nursery. Squirrelflight and Ashfur peered in.

"What's going on? Is Cinderpelt hurt?" Squirrelflight's hoarsely mewed.

"I don't know yet. I'll look after her. You stay on guard." Leafpool mewed, her mew shaking with fear. She nodded, going back to guard the entrance with Ashfur.

Crowfeather touched noses with Leafpool before following. "Call me if you need me." he meowed.

Leafpool started slowly walking over to Sorreltail, when she brushed past me. I closed my eyes, feeling myself go limp with fatigue. I could feel blood slowly pooling from a gash on my side. "Cinderpelt..." She whispered. "Cinderpelt, it's me, Leafpool. Wake up."

I opened my eyes, looking up at my apprentice. "Leafpool," I rasped. "I prayed to StarClan you would come back."

"I should never have left you." Leafpool crouched beside me. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Cinderpelt, please don't die!" she scooped a pawful of moss from the floor and pressed it into my wound. "You're going to be fine. As soon as the bleeding stops I'll fetch some marigold to make sure the wound doesn't get infected, and some poppy seeds for the pain. You'll be able to have a good long sleep, and you'll feel much better when you wake up."

"Stop it, Leafpool." I whispered. "There's no point. I'm going to join StarClan." My eyes gleamed.

"Don't say that!" she protested, clawing up more moss against the tide of blood that had no sign of stopping. I tried to lift my head, but the effort and pain was too great, so I let it fall back down.

"It's all right." I murmured. "StarClan told me they would come for me soon. This is the fate they have laid down for me."

"You knew?" Leafpool stiffened in shock. "You knew you were going to die and you didn't tell me?"

"It was my destiny, not yours." I sighed.

"But you knew I was meeting Crowfeather! You knew that if I went away ThunderClan would be left without a medicine cat! Cinderpelt, you should have forced me to stay." She mewed quietly.

I blinked slowly. "I would never force you to do anything, Leafpool. I didn't want you to stay if it was going to make you unhappy. You must want to be a medicine cat with all your heart."

"I do," Leafpool whispered. "I do."

"You are a wonderful medicine cat," I told her.

"No, I'm not. I went away and left you, and my Clan. Oh, Cinderpelt, I'm so sorry!" Leafpool's eyes were filled with worry and sorrow.

The tip of my tail gave a tiny, restless twitch. "There's nothing to forgive. I am happy to join StarClan, knowing that ThunderClan will be cared for."

"No!" She cried. "This is all my fault. I should have been here. I should—"

I shook my head. "It would have made no difference," I mewed. "We cannot change our destiny. We just have to have the courage to know what it is, and accept it." I let out a long sigh. "StarClan are waiting for me. Good-bye, Leafpool." I closed my eyes. Opening my eyes, I saw my body lying on the floor, Leafpool looking at it.

"Cinderpelt!" Leafpool pushed her nose deep into my fur.

A few moments later, Crowfeather appeared, brushing his flank along Leafpool's. "I'm sorry, Leafpool," he murmured. "I know what she meant to you."

"She taught me everything, and now she's dead," Leafpool wailed. "I don't know what to do. I trusted Spottedleaf. She told me to follow my heart, but she knew Cinderpelt was going to die! How could she do that?"

Crowfeather pressed closer to her and drew his tongue over her face and ears with gentle, comforting strokes. "You did follow your heart," he meowed. "Your heart told you to come home. You could never be happy away from your Clan."

At least Crowfeather will try to cheer her up. I thought, my tail twitching.

Leafpool turned her head. Pain glistened in his amber eyes. "But what about you?" she whispered.

Crowfeather bowed his head. "Your heart lies here. Not with me. It was never truly with me."

I could see pain and sorrow flash through Leafpool's eyes as he said this. He's right. I thought. She leaned on Crowfeather for a few moments, then pushed her nose into my cold fur.

"It's all right," she murmured. "I'll stay here and take good care of the Clan, I promise. One day we'll meet again, walking among the stars." I stood up. Spottedleaf stood beside Leafpool, beckoning me over. I trodded over.

"StarClan is with you, Leafpool," Spottedleaf murmured, and I added, "We will always be watching over you." Dipping my head, I followed Spottedleaf into the stars.

I padded into a clearing, Spottedleaf by my side. Spottedleaf ran over to sit in the circle, with contained Yellowfang, Bluestar, Lionheart, Brindleface, Runningwind, Whitestorm, and Redtail. Bluestar stood up.

"Welcome, Cinderpelt." Bluestar dipped her head, while I settled down between Spottedleaf and Yellowfang.

"It has been a while." Yellowfang grunted, while Lionheart, Brindleface, Runningwind, Redtail, and Whitestorm murmured their welcome.

I sighed. "I was glad to live a good life, but it wasn't the path I had truly wanted."

Redtail sighed. "You were not supposed to lead the life of a medicine cat."

I pirked my ears. "So, you didn't know that I'd be a medicine cat?"

Bluestar shook her head. "We were all shocked when you were hit by the monster. From that point on, your destiny was changed."

"You were never meant to be a medicine cat." Lionheart mewed.

My eye's widened. "So, I never had the destiny I was supposed to have?"

Bluestar stood up. "Yes, which is why you are here," She flicked her tail, and four cats appeared from the undergrowth. Their faded pelt were flecked with stars. "Thunderstar," Bluestar dipped her head to the largest autumn colored tom. "Windstar," she flicked her tail at a wiry brown she-cat. "Shadowstar," She pointed to a dark she-cat. "And Riverstar." She mewed, looking to the silver tom.

Thunderstar paced forward. "We have decided to give you a second chance."

"To live the life you were supposed to have." Windstar added.

"We're letting you have another life." Riverstar warned.

"To be a Warrior." Shadowstar grunted.

My eyes widened. "Is it possible?" I whispered.

Thunderstar nodded his broad head. "You will be Cinderkit, one of Sorreltail's kits."

"Go now." Shadowstar nodded.

"May StarClan forever light your path." Riverstar and Windstar mewed in unison.

"Good luck." Bluestar mewed, touching her muzzle to my head. Immediately, the star-filled clearing vanished.

I squeaked, pressing closer to Sorreltail. I heard voices, and lifted my head to hear them.

"Cinderpelt?" a deep tom voice mewed. There was a pause, then Brambleclaw said: "It's all right, Brackenfur. It's only us. There's nothing to be afraid of."

I felt my father relax, then shift even closer to my mother.

"Sorreltail…" I heard another deep tom voice mew. He padded over to my mother, nuzzling her shoulder.

"Rainwhisker, is that you?" Sorreltail mewed, looking over at her brother. "Are you hurt?"

"I'll be okay," Rainwhisker replied. "But I've got some bad news. It's Sootfur. He's…dead."

"No! Oh, no!" Sorreltail wailed. I could feel sadness and shock coming off of my mother's pelt. I let out a faint wail of protest as she shifted.

"Sorreltail, it's all right!" Brackenfur mewed. "Sorreltail, I'm here," he went on. "Think of the kits. You have to care for them."

"How did he die?" Sorreltail's voice trembled, but she shifted until we were tucked once more in the curve of her body. We scrambled back into place and kept suckling, pressing into her belly with tiny soft paws.

"The badgers killed him," Rainwhisker told her.

"Sootfur was a brave warrior," Brambleclaw meowed. "He's safe with StarClan now."

Sorreltail nodded and reached out to give Rainwhisker a comforting lick. "Thank you for telling me."

A slender she-cat nudged her leaf wrap closer to the young tortoiseshell. "That's borage," she meowed. "It will help your supply of milk." She hesitated and then added, "If you can't sleep, I'll get you some poppy seed, but it would be better for the kits if you can manage without."

"It's all right, I can do without it." Sorreltail bent over and chewed up the borage, wincing at the taste but swallowing until it was all gone.

"Brackenfur, can you find some fresh-kill for her?" The she-cat suggested. "As for you, Rainwhisker, you'd better stay right here while I have a look at that leg."

Brackenfur touched his nose to Sorreltail's ear, promised, "I'll be right back," and slipped out of the nursery past a gray body.

Sorreltail's gaze followed him. "It's my fault Cinderpelt died." Her voice rasped with grief. "She could have escaped the badger, but she stayed to help me."

"It's not your fault." The she-cat sounded unusually fierce. "Cinderpelt was doing her duty as a medicine cat. That was the choice she made."

"That's true," meowed a ginger she-cat. "Sorreltail, just think—if Cinderpelt had left you, the badger might have killed you too, and your kits. You wouldn't want that, and neither would she."

"They're beautiful kits," Brambleclaw said, trying to distract her. "Have you given them names yet?"

Sorreltail nodded. "This one is Molekit." She touched my brother's head with the tip of her tail. "He's the only tom. Then this is Honeykit and Poppykit." She touched in turn a pale bracken-colored tabby and a tortoiseshell-and-white kit who looked like a tiny copy of Sorreltail. "And this is Cinderkit."

I felt all eyes turn on me, staring at me, then back down to the body. A gasp escaped from the ginger cat's mouth.

"They all look strong and healthy," Brambleclaw meowed. "Come on, Squirrelflight, we have a job to do for Cinderpelt now."

Squirrelflight paused and touched Leafpool lightly on the shoulder with the tip of her tail. "You should get some rest soon," she mewed. "You look awful."

"I don't have time to rest," Leafpool responded, not looking at her. "What are all these wounded cats going to do if I take a nap?"

Squirrelflight's gaze was troubled. "But I'm worried about you. I can feel how tough it is for you right now."

"Come on," he repeated, lowering his voice to add, "give her a bit of space. She can cope; she just needs time."

I turned back to my mother, closing my eyes. I wonder who Cinderpelt is. I thought before falling asleep.

I just felt that Cinderpelt needed a story, y'know? Anyways, please R&R! All of this was part of Twilight and Sunset, except for the parts that had Cinderpelt go back and be reborn :3 Bai!