DawnfireofSkyClan's "What If" Scenarios

Willowkit

Scenario: What if Willowkit never died?

Contains spoilers for the following books:
Dawnstar's Trouble

This is a question I get asked a lot, what if Willowkit never died? Willowkit's death is arguably one of the most important moments in the series, its what set Dawnstar's story in motion after all so what would've happened if she never died? First of all, she would've been Thornpelt's apprentice instead of Dawnpaw and Sunstream would not have been killed.

Thornpelt would've caught on to Willowpaw's ambition quickly and used it for his advantage. He would've raised her to be just like him and her ferocity would only be fueled by his and he manipulated her into following his ideals.

I do think that Tigertail still would've died, but I think Thornpelt would've waited to get Snakewhisker to step down or try and make Willowpaw a warrior name as soon as possible. I've been asked what her warrior name would be and I think I'll finally decide. I think her name would've been something fierce, she would've been a great fighter and Thornpelt would've been her idol, so she would've requested she be named after him: Willowthorn.

If this happened before the death of Dovetail then Thornpelt would've been made deputy after Snakewhisker stepped down, but if it happened after then he would go through with his plan to kill Blazeheart, but he would not have sent Willowthorn to the fight or he may have killed him a different way.

Regardless, Thornpelt would have ended up as Flowerstar's deputy and later killed her to become leader. Thornpelt still would have had kits with Applespots and probably had Willowthorn mentor one of them.

Eventually Thornpelt would go through with his plan of murdering Flowerstar and become Thornstar of SunClan, naming Willowthorn as his deputy. Now the question is, who would stop Thornstar, if anyone?

I believe this is more of an open interpretation for you guys. Do you think Dawnfire would've had the same destiny? Would she still rise up to defeat the leader or would it fall on another cat's shoulders, perhaps one of Flowerstar's kin? This is the part that I'm really not certain of.

If Dawnfire's destiny would've been the same then she would've defeated Thornstar as well as her sister, maybe Willowthorn would've ran away like Echoheart and sought revenge on her sister and we could have a reverse situation with AshClan, Riverstorm and Echoheart. It's fun to think about.

Let's shift the scenario a little bit and say no one stopped Thornstar. He lived his life as a bloodthirsty leader and probably would've lost his 9 lives very quickly, and thus Willowthorn would be named Willowstar. In Dawnstar's Trouble, Feathernose shows Dawnstar a vision of what would've happened if Willowkit lived, explaining his belief that everything happens for a reason, while this wouldn't have been exactly like the vision, she would've been a very blood thirsty leader indeed.

I like to believe she would've chosen her brother, Turtleblaze, as her deputy and he would've tried his best to stop her, but as shown, he still would've been mates with Fawnheart and her influence would give him the confidence. Either Willowthorn changes her way, or she doesn't and like her mentor, loses her 9 lives very quickly, making Turtlestar the leader after her.

But that's all my speculation and what I would've done as the author but as always, I would love to see what you all think! Feel free to discuss and have fun!