Goldenshine's POV

I was completely and utterly speechless. I felt dizzy and ready to collapse all over again.

I was almost sure that my eyes were playing tricks on me, that maybe my grief at Snowstorm's death, and the loss of Snowflight's spirit was forming exactly what I wanted to see into my own head.

But just as I'd been able to see when Snowflight's spirit had first attempted to escape from Snowstorm's body just moments ago, the shocked expressions, and astonished whispers of my Clanmates around me revealed that that was not the case.

Snowflight had returned.

For several moments, all I could do was stare back at the white she-cat's figure as the bits of stars and the bright light continued to disappear from around her, and her form seemed to become less and less faded.

And because of that, I hardly heard Swiftflight's pawsteps, and only realized that he was behind me when he spoke. "Goldenshine..." he whispered to me, slowly padding up to me so that our fur brushed. "...that's not Snowstorm, is it?"

I slowly began to shake my head, my eyes welling up with emotion, and a purr beginning to rise in my throat as what was happening, this wonderful, too good to be true, thing that was happening, finally began to set in. "No, Swiftflight. It's not..." I whispered back to him, my voice thick with emotion as I then watched the spirit slowly turn around to face me.

And then, my heart seemed to physically grow as I met her gaze. "That's my sister."

Snowflight stared right back at me, looking at me with the same warm, caring look that she always did through her ice-blue eyes, despite the cold, harsh season that they reflected.

And she spoke in the same gentle, sweet voice too. "And that's my sister," she meowed, fully turning around to face me. "Hi, Goldenshine."

I actually let out a snort of amusement at Snowflight's words. "Hi? Is that all you've got?" I purred, my voice still hoarse with all of these overwhelming, immensely wonderful things that I was feeling.

I then found that I couldn't stay in my place another moment, beginning to trot forward towards Snowflight as nimbly and energetically as a kit. "Come here, you clump of fluff!"

Snowflight's blue eyes brightened, and a loud purr erupted from her throat as she burst ahead to meet me. "You don't have to tell me twice, you bossy furball!"

I then couldn't hold back the liquid that had been welling up in my eyes as I pressed my fur against my sister's, and she pressed her own head against mine. "You're here," I practically whimpered.

I then pulled away, desperate to look into my sister's eyes again. "You're actually here. I..." My voice then broke, and I found that I was too emotional to speak.

Snowflight purred with amusement, her eyes also glossed over as they glowed with affection. "Well, my goodness, my arrival must be sort of a big deal," she murmured as she continued to purr. "I don't know if I've ever seen you fall speechless!"

I let out a gasp, pretending to be offended as I gave Snowflight a light bat over the ear with a sheathed paw. "Oh, hush!" I exclaimed to her, my voice full of laughter. "All you do is fall speechless!"

The two of us then burst into laughter, the laughter then turning into emotional purrs all over again as we bent our heads together a second time.

And in that very moment, my heart was filled with so much ease and happiness that I could barely stand it. Just as my grief and sadness from just moments had felt unmatched, this amount of joy had definitely, definitely felt like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Snowflight and I are together once more... something that, just heartbeats ago, I thought wouldn't get to happen ever, ever again.

I then forced myself to pull away from my sister's touch when I noticed a very familiar dark gray figure very hesitantly walking up to meet us, and I turned to see Swiftflight standing there.

His gray-blue eyes were filled with awe, but were also dark and curious. "You're Snowflight?" he murmured.

Snowflight flashed me a half-amused, half-admiring glance before looking to my son. "I am," she replied gently, dipping her head to him. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Swiftflight?"

Swiftflight's eyes slowly widened, quickly glancing at me in complete disbelief. "You... you know who I am?"

Snowflight stared lovingly back at my son, giving him another nod. "I've known you since the day you were born," she purred. "In fact, I was the one that delivered you. And I was right there beside your mother when she named you."

I then tilted my head to the side, humored and confused as my sister seemed to let out a skeptical grunt. "But even with all of that, I'm puzzled!"

"Y-you're puzzled?" Swiftflight repeated, his eyes managing to widen even more.

Snowflight gave Swiftflight a sharp nod. "Very much so," she replied. "You seem to think that I wouldn't know you, is the thing. Because I suppose that I have been with you much further beyond the day you were born." She then took a step closer to my son, her eyes warm. "Don't you remember that first time that the two of us played mossball together as kits? Training alongside each other as apprentices? All of our talks... that night in the Dark Forest?"

Snowflight then put the tip of her tail on Swiftflight's shoulder, her eyes glowing with affection and warmth. "I know you, Swiftflight. I know you very well."

Swiftflight seemed to hardly believe what he'd just heard. "After all of this time..." he breathed, his head shaking slowly in astonishment as he stared back at my sister. "You've been the one that's stood beside me? You've actually been my best friend?"

"And you were mine," Snowflight whispered. "The greatest, truest friend that I could ever ask for."

Swiftflight's gray-blue eyes then seemed to wash over with immense regret and shame, and he broke his gaze from Snowflight's. "Oh, please," he muttered. "It wasn't until you pulled me out of the Dark Forest that I was able to become anything close to a true friend."

Snowflight touched her muzzle to my son's cheek. "But you are now, Swiftflight. That's all that matters," she meowed softly. She then looked back at me, her blue eyes full of love. "And I was glad to be apart of what could make that happen."

"Oh, Snowflight..." I whispered, returning my sister's loving glance. I found that my voice was growing hoarse and shaky all over again. "Thank you for protecting him." I then stepped forward so that I was flanking Swiftflight, and I wrapped my tail around his back. "For raising him when he wouldn't let me."

Snowflight stared back at the two of us as she slowly nodded. "It was what I was meant to do," she whispered. "And even if it hadn't been, I would have done the same thing without hesitation." She then looked specifically at Swiftflight once again, her eyes beginning to glow with admiration. "Now, you should be immensely proud of your son, Goldenshine. He's come so far, and I've been so blessed to be able to see it all."

I kept my gaze on Swiftflight, love for him rising and burning inside of me just as it did every time I laid eyes on him. "Oh, don't worry. I am," I purred softly as I ran my tail down my son's flank. Swiftflight then looked back at me, his eyes full of just as much warm as I felt as I spoke my next words. "Definitely a son worth waiting for." I couldn't be more proud of him if I tried.

I then nuzzled my son's head, pulling him even closer to me with my tail before looking back at my sister, my heart welling up with longing and love again. "Oh, Snowflight. You've been here with the both of us, in a way, but I've still missed you more than I could ever tell you..."

For some reason, my sister seemed to find that question confusing. "More than you could ever tell me?" she inquired, her head tilting to the side. "Are you sure?"

I exchanged an intrigued glance with Swiftflight. "What do you mean?"

I looked back at Snowflight to see her pale blue eyes blazing with fierce gratitude, and she seemed to be shaking her head in disbelief. "What you and Jayfeather did for me... to help Snowstorm fulfill my own destiny... that tells it all right there," she meowed. "You both have spent countless moons now trying to get to the bottom of all of it. You did as soon as I returned as the lost kit in the forest, and your determination hasn't wavered."

She then seemed to have to suppress a surge of emotion rising in her throat, and she gave a small shrug. "You never even thought to give up on me."

I stepped forward to lick my sister's cheek, and I stepped back to give her a warm, sincere look. "It was the least I could do, Snowflight," I replied to her, then giving a sharp nod and slightly puffing out my chest. "I always tried to stay by your side in life, and the fact that you had died wasn't going to change that!"

The two of us then shared another laugh. "Fearless and headstrong, as always, aren't you?" my sister purred, her head shaking slowly.

She then took a step back, beginning to scan her eyes around the camp, her gaze resting on certain cats as her eyes glowed with admiration. "You've grown so much - becoming a mother, a mentor, you've found true love..." She then flashed Dustystorm a warm look in greeting, which my mate nervously, but kindly returned.

Snowflight then let her gaze rest on me again. "But that obstinacy of yours has never changed!" And after the two of us shared yet another purr of amusement, she sniffed and shook her head again. "If any cat is going to be having trouble putting their feelings into words, it's me," she then meowed more softly. "I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am."

She then stepped forward so that her nose could touch mine. "Thank you, Goldenshine," she whispered. She then stepped back, her eyes blazing with love and appreciation. "You're my hero."

Hero.

I couldn't even give a verbal reply to my sister with how touched I was by her words. I'm a hero, I thought, not even being able to imagine what little Goldenpaw would think if she had gotten to witness this very moment. I've finally done it. I got to be the true hero that I always wanted to be...

I then stared back at Snowflight as she gave me one last look of love. And it was all for my sister. Who knew?

I then watched, still hardly being able to speak as Snowflight then turned to the cat who had been completely unable to speak this entire time.

Jayfeather, the cat that was probably almost as close to Snowflight as I was, had not spoken a word since the she-cat's return. He'd simply been staring back at her, his eyes blazing with so much grief, love, relief, and sadness all at the same time, and had clearly been too overwhelmed to speak.

But a purr began to rise in his throat as Snowflight stepped towards him, gently brushing her muzzle against his. "And you..." my sister whispered warmly, then pulling away so that she could gaze into the tom's eyes. "You really meant it when you said that you'd always be there for me, didn't you?"

Jayfeather then slowly reached his tail forward to twin it with Snowflight's, and I couldn't help but take a quick, cautious glance around to make sure that no cat was seeing this.

I quickly sighed with relief, noticing that many of our Clanmates were also sharing moments with loved ones that they'd lost. ThunderClan cats, dead and alive, were scattered around the hollow, and they surely weren't giving this any attention. Even Swiftflight had wandered away to speak with Thornclaw and Lilypetal. Phew!

I then looked back at Jayfeather and Snowflight as I heard Jayfeather speak. "I would have given my last breath trying, Snowflight," he whispered back to her.

"I could never, ever doubt it," Snowflight then replied, her eyes gleaming with love as she tightened her grip on the gray tabby tom's tail. "Even before we... said certain things to each other, I never doubted it."

She then leaned forward to touch her muzzle to his again. "Thank you, Jayfeather." She then sighed and closed her eyes, as if she was letting herself breath in the scent of the tom she'd cared about so deeply for so long, before she knew that she'd have to leave it again soon. "Thank you so much."

Jayfeather pressed back at the touch, a purr continuing to rise in his throat. "Every single heartbeat was worth it."

I then flicked my ears in surprise as the medicine cat then pulled away, rolling his eyes and letting out a snort as he lashed his tail towards me. "At least, the heartbeats that your sister actually let me be involved."

As I feigned an offended gasp, Snowflight let out a mrrow of laughter and gave Jayfeather a nudge. "She's always been incredibly stubborn!" she purred. "You should know that by now!"

"I truthfully don't know how I haven't ripped her to shreds yet," Jayfeather muttered, rolling his blind eyes a second time.

Snowflight gave me a flick on the ear with her tail as she continued to purr. "I'm surprised that I never did!" she exclaimed teasingly before she took a deep breath, her gaze softening as she looked back at Jayfeather and me. "Thank you. Both of you, for all that you've done for me," she then meowed softly.

She then seemed to flit her gaze back and forth between the two of us, her eyes glinting with admiration and thoughtfulness. "You two make a great a team."

"And your mother is going to make quite the spectacle if her long-lost daughter doesn't get her tail over here right now!"

All three of us whipped our heads in the direction of the yowl we had just heard to see Lilypetal and Thornclaw close by, their eyes full of an overwhelming amount of love and excitement as they stared back at the daughter that they had lost so many moons ago.

Snowflight and I purred at the comment that Lilypetal had made, and Snowflight then proceeded to give Jayfeather and I one last nod before pelting over to join her parents.

I followed my sister's sparkling, slender white figure for a moment, then not being able to hold back a squeal as I nudged Jayfeather on the shoulder. "Oh my StarClan, Jayfeather..." I nearly yowled out of excitement, still hardly being able to believe everything that we had just experienced. The fact that I could look at my sister's sparkling, slender white figure at all still felt utterly unreal.

But along with that, all of the grief, confusion and loss that we'd felt already seemed so far away. "We... we did it!"

"Yes," Jayfeather murmured, shifting his blind gaze towards me from where he'd been staring off at Snowflight. "We did."

"And we were prepared to spend moons and moons trying to figure out what had gone wrong, but that's not needed now!" I went on as I began to practically prance the area.

But I stopped after only a few of those, light, prancey steps, and I felt my heart beginning to sink as something occurred to me. "That's... that's not needed now. The two of us don't have to figure anything out together anymore..."

As he always did, simply by knowing me, or with his strange powers that still baffled me, Jayfeather immediately sensed my change in mood. "What's the matter?" he asked me, his eyebrows furrowing.

I lowered my head, beginning to shift my paws back and forth. "Oh, I don't know..." I murmured, actually hesitating to vocalize what was on my mind. "It's just... trying to figure out Snowflight's destiny has definitely brought us together, you know? I've lost count of how many times we've bickered over the situation in that medicine den."

I then took another quick glance back at my sister. "Snowflight even said that we make a great team..." I went on. "But now... that's all resolved."

I then nervously looked back at Jayfeather. And honestly, as I tried to read his expression, I couldn't tell if he just didn't see the problem with what I'd said, or he truly didn't understand. "And...?" he prompted, his head tilting to the side.

I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes, deciding to not bury the lede anymore. "Well, it's almost as if our whole friendship has revolved around Snowflight and solving her problem," I explained to the medicine cat.

I then looked away from Jayfeather once again. "And now that we have... I have no excuse to pester you anymore."

I then shut my eyes, bracing myself for some harsh or sarcastic comeback that would undermine or make fun of what I had just said.

But instead, there were a couple moments of complete silence until I heard Jayfeather let out a sigh. "The fact that we're best friends isn't enough of an excuse?"

I flicked my ears and felt my eyes widen as I whipped my head back towards Jayfeather. "...best friends?" I repeated. "Really?"

The gray tabby tom them let out an annoyed huff and rolled his eyes. "What? Does this come as a surprise to you?" he muttered. "You really think that I expect to just speak with you about Snowflight whenever you come into the medicine den?"

He then flicked my ear with his tail. "Sure - Snowflight was the reason that you ever began to barge into my den uninvited, meowing on in the first place, but... that doesn't mean that that's the reason why I still let you in."

I stared back at Jayfeather, my mouth dropped open as I shook my head slowly. "Why... you little softie!"

"Shut up."

"You little furball!"

"Shut up."

"You sweetheart!" I purred, annoyingly jabbing my tail against the medicine cat's head. "I can't believe you! He says that we're best friends!"

I then burst into laughter as Jayfeather let out a hiss, pushed my tail away with his front paws, and then began to walk away. "I don't think I've ever regretted speaking so strongly in my entire life."

I watched him go, my voice still full of laughter as I called out to him. "Oh, please!" I exclaimed. "You meant every word, and I'm going to hold you to it until the day that you join StarClan!"

I then shook my head slowly, letting out a sigh as Dustystorm padded up to sit beside me. I leaned into my mate once again, twinning his tail with my own.

The sandy gray tom looked down at me and touched his muzzle to my head. "So..." he murmured, his eyes full of humor and affection as he flicked an ear towards Snowflight, who was deep into conversation with Thornclaw and Lilypetal. "It seems that you have some explaining to do."

I then purred, leaning deeper into Dustystorm as he touched his nose to my ear and meowed teasingly, "Hero."

Hero.

I straightened myself up, pulling my head away from Dustystorm's fur so that I could meet his gaze. "Oh, yes. I do!" I purred, suddenly welling up with so much pride and warmth. "Lots and lots of explaining."