Rewriting Mapleshade, Appledusk, and Reedshine’s Stories by Sky

Sky rewrites the stories of controversial characters.

Hello, Blog! This is my second article in a row.

I was inspired by Jetty to rewrite a cat’s story, and Mapleshade was the first cat to come to mind. However, after thinking a bit, I realized that in order to change her’s, two other cats – Appledusk and Reedshine – come into play as well.

Many people who dislike her but like AppleduskXReedshine often say, “Without the couple, Appledusk and Reedshine, Crookedstar wouldn’t have existed, meaning that Silverstream wouldn’t have existed, meaning that Feathertail and Stormfur wouldn’t have existed.” And then they go on to list what would have happened without Feathertail and Stormfur.

However, I think that with a simple tweak, Mapleshade would get her well-deserved GOOD story. Although I have nothing against Reedshine, she doesn’t exactly get a good ending.

Now, say that Appledusk wasn’t the big butt he was and he stood up for Mapleshade, therefore convincing Darkstar to let her stay in RiverClan.

Mapleshade would probably go on to have another litter with him, and… ta-da! Willownose and her sister(can’t remember her name) are born. It’s so simple! And I think much of the people reading warriors would be content with this result.

However, Reedshine wouldn’t be so happy – she’d be jealous and near the brink. So I think she’d try to assassinate Mapleshade, but Appledusk would die for Mapleshade, and some apprentice – maybe still Perchpaw – would kill Reedshine. Reedshine would go to the DF and haunt Crookedstar, and Mapleshade would live on in RiverClan. It might be a bit awkward for them at gatherings, though. 😛

Plus, when Mapleshade dies, she’d go to StarClan, and she’d be reunited with her precious three kits of her first litter! Yay!

All you have to do is switch Reedshine and Mapleshade, make a few minor tweaks, and life would go on just the way it is. It’s pretty simple, and I guess we’d all feel bad for Reedshine – but we wouldn’t have so much debate about Mapleshade, Reedshine, and Appledusk.

In conclusion, there’s nothing too bad about not having AppleXReed. I can’t wait to read your comments, and I’ll try to reply to them all. 🙂

~Sky

It’s definitely a thought but I think it’d be even easier if Oakstar just wasn’t as big of a butt and didn’t drive out Mapleshade and her kittens.
I don’t think Mapleshade would’ve had another litter with Appledusk after it came out that he was going to have kits with Reedshine.
There are three ways Mapleshade’s story could be altered for the better:
IF Oakstar didn’t drive out Mapleshade and her kits: I think there’d be a lot of bad blood and things would be difficult, but I think that Mapleshade and her kits could earn back ThunderClan’s trust if given the chance. Oh it’d be tense and there’d definitely be a lot of tension and anger. And Mapleshade would be fighting to keep her temper around her clanmates, but I think for the safety and livelihood of her kits she’d hold her tongue and just encourage them to do their best.
I could see the kits struggling and hurting from the dark looks they’d get from ThunderClan cats. But I can see maybe a few cats coming around and being decent since they were only kits.
It’s very tricky to parse through this theory as it’s even more unlikely, since Oakstar had lost a son to the father of Mapleshade’s kits, and this would turn this story into a minefield of problems. But if Oakstar hadn’t driven out Mapleshade at the very least, Many cats wouldn’t die, her kits, and the two thunderclan cats. And ThunderClan would’ve kept a strong warrior who’d have a grudge against RiverClan especially if she saw Reedshine and Appledusk together. I could see Mapleshade maybe in a moment of jealousy still doing Reedshine harm if an opportunity presented itself, or framing RiverClan to allow for her to have that opportunity.
OR perhaps with her kits lives at stake and needing to walk on eggshells to keep ThunderClan kind to her and her family Mapleshade would keep herself in check get a happily ever after with her kits in ThunderClan.

IF Oakstar still drives out Mapleshade, but her kits survive the trip across the river
This could go two ways:
Mapleshade and her kits are accepted into RiverClan, and she lives happily with her kits in a clan, there would be animosity between her and Reedshine of course, but I think we’d see Petalkit, Larchkit, and Patchkit grow up still. I think there’d be some bitterness towards her birth clan, but again for the sake of her kits I could see Mapleshade holding her temper in check. After all, she’s in a clan where she could still potentially be with Appledusk.
Or maybe she and Reedshine come to see past their differences even. I’ve seen stories where since Reedshine wouldn’t want Appledusk to be driven out would vouch for his character, and by extension protect Mapleshade since if RiverClan decides they value Appledusk as a warrior, they’d want to keep him, and in turn his blood (Mapleshade’s kits) in their clan.
The kits are accepted but Mapleshade is not. This occurred to me as an extension of Reedshine vouching for Appledusk and his value to RiverClan, and in which the leader decides that while keeping/forgiving Appledusk is fine, and his kits could be valued members. Mapleshade is too much of an issue, and they toss her out. I think Mapleshade would possibly form a relationship with that cat she meets (Myler I think), since her kits are safe and allowed to live. Though if some disaster were to befall them I think there would be trouble to pay from her.
Then there’s the possible option of her getting driven out with her kits and Appledusk as well for breaching the code. In which we see what sort of relationship they have, while trying to raise their kits. In this situation Mapleshade has Appledusk, and her kits but no clan. And I don’t think Appledusk is too fond of Mapleshade at this point since thanks to her and the kits he got thrown out of RiverClan. Maybe they come to terms with each other, maybe they wind up seperating and splitting the kits between them. Maybe they split up with the kits and Appledusk finds his way back to RiverClan thanks to Reedshine smoothing things over, while Mapleshade is stuck living as a rogue either with some or all of her kits. But I think while she’d be bummed she’d be sane since she didn’t have grief driving her crazy.

Lastly:
Her kits still die in the river:
There’s your possible outcome. RiverClan takes pity on her and accepts her. Maybe she does come to terms with Appledusk, and Reedshine does go dark side.
Her kits visit her from StarClan to guide her away from the darkness after she’s been driven to be alone (I’ve explored this in a story XP)
Or what happens in the books happens.

Phew. That’s a lot of different ways this could go and there’s even more I haven’t mentioned XP That’s what’s fun there’s so many ways a story can be changed if different actions are taken and who knows what kind of ripples they’d cause in the warriors time line.

35 comments

Leave a Reply to Jetclaw Cancel reply

Sapphie (Sapphireheart) says:
February 23, 2018 at 1:02 am
Very interesting 🤔
Sleet That Falls On Frozen Flower (Sleetfall The Yellow Eraser) says:
February 23, 2018 at 1:57 pm
Nice! If only…
Larkfeather says:
February 24, 2018 at 5:56 pm
Hmm….Good Point. Again, your articles help me look at characters through a new prespective. I think you are right, and things could have played out just (about) the same, just with the roles reversed. 🙂
Jetclaw says:
February 26, 2018 at 10:14 pm
It’s definitely a thought but I think it’d be even easier if Oakstar just wasn’t as big of a butt and didn’t drive out Mapleshade and her kittens.
I don’t think Mapleshade would’ve had another litter with Appledusk after it came out that he was going to have kits with Reedshine.
There are three ways Mapleshade’s story could be altered for the better:
IF Oakstar didn’t drive out Mapleshade and her kits: I think there’d be a lot of bad blood and things would be difficult, but I think that Mapleshade and her kits could earn back ThunderClan’s trust if given the chance. Oh it’d be tense and there’d definitely be a lot of tension and anger. And Mapleshade would be fighting to keep her temper around her clanmates, but I think for the safety and livelihood of her kits she’d hold her tongue and just encourage them to do their best.
I could see the kits struggling and hurting from the dark looks they’d get from ThunderClan cats. But I can see maybe a few cats coming around and being decent since they were only kits.
It’s very tricky to parse through this theory as it’s even more unlikely, since Oakstar had lost a son to the father of Mapleshade’s kits, and this would turn this story into a minefield of problems. But if Oakstar hadn’t driven out Mapleshade at the very least, Many cats wouldn’t die, her kits, and the two thunderclan cats. And ThunderClan would’ve kept a strong warrior who’d have a grudge against RiverClan especially if she saw Reedshine and Appledusk together. I could see Mapleshade maybe in a moment of jealousy still doing Reedshine harm if an opportunity presented itself, or framing RiverClan to allow for her to have that opportunity.
OR perhaps with her kits lives at stake and needing to walk on eggshells to keep ThunderClan kind to her and her family Mapleshade would keep herself in check get a happily ever after with her kits in ThunderClan.
IF Oakstar still drives out Mapleshade, but her kits survive the trip across the river
This could go two ways:
Mapleshade and her kits are accepted into RiverClan, and she lives happily with her kits in a clan, there would be animosity between her and Reedshine of course, but I think we’d see Petalkit, Larchkit, and Patchkit grow up still. I think there’d be some bitterness towards her birth clan, but again for the sake of her kits I could see Mapleshade holding her temper in check. After all, she’s in a clan where she could still potentially be with Appledusk.
Or maybe she and Reedshine come to see past their differences even. I’ve seen stories where since Reedshine wouldn’t want Appledusk to be driven out would vouch for his character, and by extension protect Mapleshade since if RiverClan decides they value Appledusk as a warrior, they’d want to keep him, and in turn his blood (Mapleshade’s kits) in their clan.
The kits are accepted but Mapleshade is not. This occurred to me as an extension of Reedshine vouching for Appledusk and his value to RiverClan, and in which the leader decides that while keeping/forgiving Appledusk is fine, and his kits could be valued members. Mapleshade is too much of an issue, and they toss her out. I think Mapleshade would possibly form a relationship with that cat she meets (Myler I think), since her kits are safe and allowed to live. Though if some disaster were to befall them I think there would be trouble to pay from her.
Then there’s the possible option of her getting driven out with her kits and Appledusk as well for breaching the code. In which we see what sort of relationship they have, while trying to raise their kits. In this situation Mapleshade has Appledusk, and her kits but no clan. And I don’t think Appledusk is too fond of Mapleshade at this point since thanks to her and the kits he got thrown out of RiverClan. Maybe they come to terms with each other, maybe they wind up seperating and splitting the kits between them. Maybe they split up with the kits and Appledusk finds his way back to RiverClan thanks to Reedshine smoothing things over, while Mapleshade is stuck living as a rogue either with some or all of her kits. But I think while she’d be bummed she’d be sane since she didn’t have grief driving her crazy.
Lastly:
Her kits still die in the river:
There’s your possible outcome. RiverClan takes pity on her and accepts her. Maybe she does come to terms with Appledusk, and Reedshine does go dark side.
Her kits visit her from StarClan to guide her away from the darkness after she’s been driven to be alone (I’ve explored this in a story XP)
Or what happens in the books happens.
Phew. That’s a lot of different ways this could go and there’s even more I haven’t mentioned XP That’s what’s fun there’s so many ways a story can be changed if different actions are taken and who knows what kind of ripples they’d cause in the warriors time line.
*~Irismist~* (Iris) says:
February 26, 2018 at 10:32 pm
This is a erally good article Sky! I really wish the story had ended like this, Appledusk is such a butt! If only he had stayed loyal to her…
Also, lots of things would have been better if the cat who gave Mapleshade away just shut his trap, then everyone, even Reedshine, could’ve been happy. 🙂
But also though, if you go deeper into the story, you notice that Mapleshade shows up in the Dark Forest in Omen of the Stars, so if she hadn’t died then Great Battle wouldn’t have happened and poor Ferncloud wouldn’t have died 🙁
Great article Sky! 😀
I'm in me mum's cAr says:
June 13, 2018 at 7:44 am
I don’t think it would’ve been possible for Appledusk to change Darkstar’s mind. Not only was he simply just a warrior, but he was an exposed traitor, and I doubt he would’ve changed his leader’s mind. RiverClan was already mad at her for accidentally drowning three kits.
Berrywind says:
August 8, 2018 at 3:32 am
I do think Mapleshade should have a nice life. I honestly hate Reedshine because of her bratty attitude and Appledusk for letting Mapleshade down. It would be interesting to see how Reedshine would react when being a Mapleshade’s shoes 🙂
Falconbreeze says:
September 6, 2018 at 10:35 pm
I really wish this was canon!!! Great article, Sky!
Night-tail says:
March 5, 2020 at 11:18 pm
That works. Makes sense. Weird story line though…
Turtlepaw/ dapple 🐢🐢🐢 says:
July 7, 2020 at 9:17 pm
If this happened, it would be awesome! 😀
Turtle 🐢
Echokit says:
July 7, 2020 at 11:10 pm
I really LOVE this version of Mapleshade’s fate! Mapleshade is like, my favorite Dark Forest cat if I had to choose one (I’m not into villains) and I really think it is SO unfair that Mapleshade’s kits die like that and Appledusk completely BETRAYS poor Mapleshade…! Anyways, great article!
.:Crow Ships Jake X Talltail:. {Crowfrost}🪶 says:
January 8, 2021 at 5:42 pm
I wish Maple were a good character, but she is definately a five-star villain!
Dawnspirit of Thunderclan says:
April 20, 2022 at 3:35 pm
Oooh plot twist. Ive always felt sorry for poor Mapleshade. Ive also made an au in my head about mapleshade and appledusk switching roles, but I actually like this theory better.