Darkest Night is the fourth book in the sixth Warrior Cats series, A Vision of Shadows.
The two-page-long prologue focuses on an unnamed loner tom. Needletail shows up - he recognizes her - and she tells him that she's made mistakes, and that she needs his help to set things right. He agrees to help, then notices an odd glow about her, and asks her how she died.
The book itself opens in Twigpaw's point of view as she hunts with a few other ThunderClanners. They discuss SkyClan, wondering where they're going to settle - it will be decided at the next Gathering. At this point SkyClan and the weaker cats of RiverClan are still staying in the ThunderClan camp. They return, and some of the RiverClan cats start bickering with ThunderClan cats, but Mistystar returns to camp and announces that RiverClan is ready to return home. Ivypool tells Twigpaw that it's time for her warrior assessment soon, but Twigpaw wonders if ThunderClan is still her home, since her father's in SkyClan and Violetpaw clearly intends to join him.
The Gathering is held a few days later. The Clans argue yet again over whose fault the whole Darktail thing was, and there's tension as to whether SkyClan should be treated like the other four Clans. In the midst of this, Mistystar announces that RiverClan is going to close its borders and not go to Gatherings for a few moons while they rebuild. Eventually Rowanstar offers part of ShadowClan territory, and Leafstar promises that SkyClan will be an ally to all the other Clans. Some time after that, Twigpaw passes her assessment, and as SkyClan leaves, she announces that she is going to join them.
SkyClan moves into their new territory and sets up a camp. Violetpaw and Twigpaw remain apprentices, as Leafstar insists they need to learn SkyClan's ways. Violetpaw dreams of Needletail, and feels a bit out of place in the Clan for a bit, but Hawkwing tells her that while Twigpaw is more like their mother Pebbleshine, Violetpaw's more like him. Twigpaw has trouble adjusting to the pine forest. While hunting with some other SkyClanners, a large, heavy branch falls on Finpaw's tail, and they run and get Puddleshine, who amputates half of it to free him.
Back in ThunderClan, Sparkpelt flirts with Larksong, and Fernsong and Ivypool talk about having kits: Ivypool doesn't want to be stuck in the nursery for so long, but Fernsong offers to move in and take over their primary care after they've weaned (Ivypool thinks the idea of a tom moving into the nursery and raising kits is odd, but she considers it). Some SkyClan cats arrive and ask for ThunderClan to send a cat who knows where the gorge is to help them find it again so that they can look for their missing Clanmates, and ThunderClan agrees. The medicine cats (minus the RiverClan ones) go to the Moonpool shortly after, and they decide that Leafpool should stay with SkyClan until they've trained a medicine cat of their own. StarClan greet them in their dream: Firestar tells them they need to bring RiverClan back to the other Clans, and Echosong tells them all, "The dark sky must not herald a storm."
Violetpaw, Hawkwing, Rabbitleap, and Molewhisker set out on the very day Tinycloud has her kits. Violetpaw causes a car accident on a Thunderpath, interestingly. She sees Needletail in the waking world: looking like she's lit from inside (and she confirms that she's dead), but no stars in her fur.
Meanwhile, in SkyClan, Finpaw's moping and refusing visitors, but Dewpaw (who knows Twigpaw and Finpaw like each other even if the two don't necessarily realize it yet) convinces Twigpaw to speak to him. The leaders all think the "dark sky" in the prophecy means SkyClan, and all step up their border patrols - though RiverClan refuses to even listen to the prophecy that the medicine cats have come to share.
The SkyClan travelers find Barley's barn and are reunited with Hawkwing's sister, Cloudmist, and their mother, Cherrytail. Violetpaw is shy and doesn't think she's anything like them, but feels kinship nonetheless. They're not sure yet if they want to leave their comfortable life in the barn, and promise to tell their decision when the traveling cats return.
Back at the lake, Twigpaw's training with her SkyClan mentor, Sandynose, and falls out of a tree; she sneaks out of the medicine den with Finpaw and they discover Tigerheart and Dovewing meeting on SkyClan territory. Willowshine visits Alderheart (going behind Mistystar's back) and tells him about a vision: she saw the sky darkening and a paw with six toes, and heard a voice saying "To fend off a storm, you will need an extra claw." The two medicine cats go around and tell the other leaders and ask them if they know of any cat with six toes, and they're frustrated by how none of the leaders seem to want to listen to StarClan and take action. They split up after the ShadowClan patrol they'd been speaking to starts to fight among themselves over whether Rowanstar is worth following as a leader.
The traveling SkyClanners reach the gorge, where they find Nettlesplash, Mintfur, their four kits (who had been too young to travel when SkyClan had left), and the medicine cat apprentice Fidgetpaw. They share news and Fidgetpaw reveals that Frecklewish is nearby, being held captive by Twolegs. They show the travelers the place the next day: it's a tall apartment building, and she's on an upper story, too high to escape through a window. Then Violetpaw notices a fire escape and tells Hawkwing she has an idea.
Twigpaw accidentally crosses the ThunderClan border and encounters Ivypool, and tells her about having seen Dovewing and Tigerheart, and thinks herself about how she'd feel if she were in a different Clan from Finpaw. Alderheart ventures over to the greenleaf Twolegplace near RiverClan and ShadowClan's territory to try and find a six-toed cat. He encounters the kittypets that Darktail had recruited, but they aren't aware of any in the area. Sparkpelt finds him (and rescues him from a hostile kittypet) and they argue before regaining some of their closeness.
The SkyClan cats at the gorge find Frecklewish's window and speak to her on the windowsill of her nest, and, following Violetpaw's plan, Frecklewish makes the large leap from the sill to the fire escape, down the fire escape to a tree, and away.
Sandynose - Twigpaw's mentor in SkyClan, and Finpaw's father - tells Twigpaw she should stay away from him and try to discourage him from hanging out with her all the time, claiming it's distracting Finpaw from his training and it's for the good of the Clan. A ThunderClan patrol comes asking if they've seen Dovewing; Twigpaw admits what she saw, which makes SkyClan upset with her for not reporting it and makes her wonder whether she really belongs, especially with Violetpaw and Hawkwing growing closer while they're away.
During a rainfall that lasts for days, some of the ThunderClan cats discuss how similar weather made a tree fall from the cliff above, which crippled Briarlight as an apprentice. Right as they're talking about it, a mudslide begins and the Clan evacuates, though Snowbush's leg is broken as he tries to bring medicine herbs out. After it's over, they re-enter the camp, and the mudslide pretty much reaches the edge of the quarry, blocking dens, covering the Highledge, etc. They wonder if this is the "storm" StarClan predicted.
The SkyClan traveling group - including the ones that had remained in the gorge, and Cloudmist and Cherrytail from Barley's barn - head back to the lake. When they're near it, Violetpaw sees Needletail in the waking world again. Needletail brings her to a tom and says she thinks he's important to the Clans. She's not sure where she is - she hasn't found her way to StarClan yet and is not in the Dark Forest - but whenever she opens her eyes he's there, so she thinks she's meant to introduce him and Violetpaw since they're the only ones who can see her. She vanishes, and the tom wakes up and introduces himself as Tree, explaining that he met Needletail when she was an apprentice (as we saw in the bonus story in Thunder and Shadow).
A ThunderClan patrol visits SkyClan, asking for herbs since they lost their stores, and they accept. Sandynose points out during this whole thing that Twigpaw has divided loyalties and needs to decide where she's staying, and she realizes that it's true. Alderheart tries to save Snowbush, but the warrior ends up dying of an internal infection. The next Gathering is shortly afterward. Rowanstar announces that Tigerheart has vanished, and that without his son/deputy's support he cannot lead the Clan anymore. He offers Leafstar ShadowClan's territory in exchange for ShadowClan being absorbed into SkyClan; Leafstar accepts. Alderheart realizes that this is the "storm" of the prophecy: there are supposed to be five Clans.
The traveling SkyClan cats return to their camp, understandably shocked to find ShadowClan there too. SkyClan explains what happened. They introduce Tree, and are about to send him away, when Puddleshine notices that Tree has six toes on his hind paw, and they allow him to stay. Leafstar announces that it's time Violetpaw and Twigpaw moved to the warriors' den. They hold the warrior ceremony, and Violetpaw is named Violetshine, but when Twigpaw pictures herself in the "I do" part of the ceremony, she realizes that she's a ThunderClan cat at heart. Violetshine's upset, Hawkwing understands her decision, and Finpaw decides to join ThunderClan to be with her.
The medicine cats meet by the shore of the lake per Leafpool's request. She introduces Tree to them, and brings Rowanstar and Tawnypelt along too, saying they need to see what he can do: he has the power to make dead cats visible to living cats. He clarifies that he thinks it's only cats who are still tied to the living (he hasn't seen any StarClan cats) and that once they've done what they need to, they'll move on. He uses his power to make Beenose, Mistcloud, Birchbark, Lioneye, Dawnpelt, and Needletail of ShadowClan appear. Needletail tells Violetshine that they'll always be sisters, while the others tell Rowanstar that he must save ShadowClan by finding his missing Clanmates. Rather than giving Rowanstar hope, it causes him to give up, deciding that he's Rowanclaw now and that StarClan is wrong about him. Alderheart fears what this means for the future of ShadowClan.
The Barnes-and-Noble-exclusive is from the point of view of Nettlesplash, near the gorge a half moon after SkyClan was driven out. He spies on Darktail's camp, and thinks about how he hasn't seen Ebonyclaw or Harveymoon in several days; they probably feel that there's nothing left for them there. One of Darktail's cats finds him and warns him away after he claims he's not a SkyClan cat, and after he notices her coughing he suggests she take tansy.
Not long after, he encounters her again, and her condition is worse. She says her name is Dragonfly and that she'd been a loner until Rain convinced her that Darktail's group was safer than being alone. Nettlesplash realizes that she's near death, and brings her back to his family's den. Over the next quarter moon, they nurse her back to health, and offer her a place with them. She considers it, but also is thinking of going back to Darktail now that she's healthy. He advises her to sleep on it, and in the morning, she's gone.
Darktail and Dragonfly run into him when hunting some time after. Darktail wants to punish him for making them lose their catch, but Dragonfly pretends she doesn't know Nettlesplash and convinces Darktail that Nettlesplash isn't worth the effort. Nettlesplash finds his mate and kits after and they share a meal before leaving to find a new nest. He knows they have Dragonfly to thank for their current moment of safety and holds on to the hope that SkyClan will come back for them.
Tropes appearing in this book:
- An Arm and a Leg: Half of Finpaw's tail has to be amputated to free him from a massive, heavy branch that the cats cannot shift. The situation emphasizes SkyClan's need for a medicine cat, and it is during his stay in the medicine den that he and Twigpaw first start to realize their feelings for each other.
- Copycat Mockery: During an argument with his Clanmates, Rowanstar points out that giving SkyClan part of their territory was Tigerheart's idea. Scorchfur taunts him by mimicking him and asking when he last had an idea of his own.
- A Dog Named "Cat": One of the cats who appears in the bonus scene is named Dragonfly.
- Ensemble Cast: The A Vision of Shadows arc features three main protagonists: Alderheart, Twigpaw, and Violetpaw.
- Extra Digits: A prophecy claims that the cats need to find a six-toed cat, who ends up being Tree.
- Ghostly Death Reveal: In the prologue, Needletail shows up as a ghost to speak to Tree, a cat who she'd met during her life, and he's surprised and asks how she died.
- Meaningful Rename: Violetpaw earns her warrior name. Leafstar chose the name Violetshine for her in honor of Violetpaw's mother, Pebbleshine.
- Mourning an Object: After Finpaw's tail has to be amputated, he and Twigpaw jokingly suggest holding a vigil for it and visiting its gravesite to pay their respects.
- Rouge Angles of Satin: In the Allegiances, Ratscar is described as a "skinny darn brown tom" instead of dark brown.
- Series Continuity Error: Beetlewhisker of RiverClan appears in the Allegiances, despite having been killed in The Last Hope. He even is given an apprentice in this book!
- Tell Me About My Father: Twigpaw asks Hawkwing to tell her and Violetpaw about their late mother. Violetpaw's a bit mad at her for asking, thinking that Twigpaw's being insensitive, but Hawkwing assures them that he's always happy to talk about Pebbleshine and tells them a story about when she was young.
- Unfinished Business: Darkest Night introduces this concept. Tree can see cats that haven't made it to the afterlife yet, who have some sort of tie to the living and something they have to do yet before they can move on.
- Unsuccessful Pet Adoption: Sometime around the events of Hawkwing's Journey, Frecklewish was captured by humans and brought to live in an apartment building, several stories high. They lost their new cat not long after, when she escaped by jumping from their windowsill to a fire escape and then to a tree that she was able to climb down.
- The X of Y: The series name A Vision of Shadows.
- You Remind Me of X: Twigpaw asks her father Hawkwing if she and her sister Violetpaw remind him of their mother. He says that Twigpaw reminds him of her, while Violetpaw reminds him of himself.
