if only firestar's story was like this...?

I agree, Firestar was not only the savior of Thunder Clan but all the Forest Clans. In a way, he did unite them, if only for a moment. The line he spoke to Tallstar in "Darkest Hour" at the top of page 314: "We have no further need for Lionclan, There are four Clans in the forest again" felt odd coming from Firestar and I thought I misread it the first time. If Tallstar had spoken it, it would have made more sense. I know Firestar was unwilling to consider such a Union if Tigerstar was to be in control but I felt he should have recognized the need for more cooperation and less "secret keeping" between the Clans (which was at the heart of Tigerstar's ability to make a comeback once exiled from Thunder Clan).

That said, there was (and still is in my opinion), much more story to tell from Firestar's POV and much material to elaborate on to have continued the original arc without resorting to abandoning the forest or turning the saga into a cast of thousands, Star Clan acting like Greek Gods, coming down to fight amongst them, blaming all evil on Mapleshade, "Jake", Dark Forest BS, talking badgers, fading from Starclan, etc . Exploring the ramifications of Blood Clans decent into chaos in Twoleg Place, the true meaning of the Warrior Code, as well what would happen next with so many of the Clan Leadership on much friendly terms (Firestar, Tallstar, Mistyfoot, Graystripe, Runningnose, Littlecloud, One Whisker), not to mention all the new interconnections with Tawnypaw, Stormpaw and Feather Paw in the other clans. There is a great deal of drama still to play out with the current cast at the end of Darkest Hour without adding tons more characters, new POVs, and more twists than a roller coaster.  

Sadly, it seemed "The Darkest Hour" was in a rush to finish, with out even a proper epilogue or farewell. Since we live in an age of "Reboots", maybe someone will decide to reboot the series from the end of The Darkest Hour onward, continuing it as if all the other arcs, books, characters, prequels, sequels, midquels, and wiki pages do not exist. Let the original books be the sole cannon, no more retconing, and just let the characters be, hopefully with just one author at the helm to stop all these "voice, story, and writing style changes". Crazier things have happened. Star Clan, help us!