The heavens restored

“Twinkle Star! TWINKLE STAR!” Ruki screamed as she dashed forward. As the body touched the ground, Ruki began to shake it.
“Twinkle Star! Talk to me, Twinkle Star!” Her tears flowing freely, Ruki shook her aunt's body, not even noticing the wings were gone. Why was nobody helping her?
“Mom, help me!” She cried, but Taira didn't help her.

Instead, she felt her father's legs holding her.
“Stop it, Ruki.” He whispered softly.
“No! No, I won't stop! Why isn't she moving? Why isn't she doing anything!”
Her father was too strong for her desperation though, and Fjaril moved her back. Letting go of the body, Ruki finally looked at her family. Her grandmother was looking bewildered, crying without words as she slowly approached her daughter. Hikary was comforting her mother.

“Is she... My child, is she....” Regina stammered. Taira also entered the circle now.
“I... I'm sorry mother... I didn't know this...” her mother stammered.
Did she... did we... fail?” Hikary asked as she gazed upon Twinkle Star's body. No one knew what to say. The stones were shining ever brighter and the daylight star shone brighter than the sun, but Twinkle Star was dead.

“You didn't fail, princess Hikary.”
The voice entered her mind through her soul instead of her ears. She had never heard anything like it before, and yet it was so familiar. The voice was so pure, like clear water slowly falling down a mountain stream, and as strong as thunder in an autumn's storm. Ruki looked up, and for a moment she thought it had all been an illusion- Twinkle Star was still up there, coming out of the gate of the heavens towards them.

The pony shone so bright she could have been a star herself. An aura of light came from her large wings. Ruki could see the pony was made of pure gold, her mane softly moving as her large wings slowly went up and down. On her head, Ruki saw a large silver horn, so large Stelline's paled in comparison. It was almost as if the pony was not real, as if she was a product of her imagination and she could see right through her.

But as the pony descended upon them, Ruki could feel by the warmth coming from her large wings that the pony was real. As she looked beyond her, Ruki saw more ponies exactly like her. They were small, but their wings were so large they still made an impressive sight. Five in total- One shining as pure as a river of silver, one burning as bright as a bonfire, one sparkling like prana in the morning light and the last one as warm as copper. All of them had a large horn on their forehead, matching the color of their wings.

“The guardians...” Ruki whispered as the five of them landed in the valley. They were here- the heavenly creatures had come back to this world once more. Here they were, the daughters of the daylight star...
“Heirs to the High Throne, you have summoned us once more to this world.”
Ruki thought it was the golden pony that was speaking, but as the pony did not move her lips she couldn't be sure.

Ruki didn't know how long she stared at these unearthly ponies with her mouth wide open. It must have been rather rude indeed, but she didn't really care. They were so...so... she couldn't really name them. So like nothing she had ever seen before. She realized she wasn't the only one with this problem. Her mother didn't know what to say either.

The silver pony flapped her wings slowly and ascended into the sky, only to land next to Twinkle Star's body.
“Saule... the girl is crying.” The silver pony said.
“Saule... Saule! You! You're the one who spoke to us in the shrine at the end of the breach!” Ruki blurted out, remembering now where she had heard the voice before. She stared at the golden pony in the field, and realized this was the entity that had spoken to her and her mother that day.

“That indeed was me, Ruki. And Fiume... I know the girl is crying, but that is of no concern to us. We have work to do before our Mother closes the gate again.” Saule said as she ascended into the skies as well. The other three followed her without hesitation. Fiume glanced at Twinkle Star's body and then also followed the others.

The skies were still dark, Ruki noticed, except for the large star. So the world had not yet been saved... The five guardians flew up towards the star and then started flying in circles. Ruki just began to wonder what on earth they were doing when once again, the five stones began to light up with force.

The light once again broke loose of the stones and connected with the guardians, each of the stones linking itself with one of them in the sky. The five guardians, now so high in the sky Ruki could only identify them by the beams of light connected to them, split up their formation and started soaring through the night sky at an enormous speed. Ruki had never seen anything move that fast before.

When the first star returned, Ruki barely noticed. Amidst the light of the daylight star, the stones, the beams ánd the guardians, one small star was barely visible. But soon enough, one by one, the others returned, as if torches lit again after being refueled by oil. As more and more stars began to shine, the light of the beams began to wane until in the end it was but a thread binding the guardians to the earth.

“The stars are back. We're saved...” Hikary gasped.
The guardians continued to fly in the skies though, and Ruki was pretty sure their job was not yet finished. She glanced at the body of her aunt, and noticed Stelline was standing next to her now. Ruki approached her, calmer now than before but still horribly upset.

“Is she really...” she began, but stopped when Stelline nodded.
“She passed away. I don't know what happened but... her spirit moved on to the next world.” Ruki noticed Twinkle Star's eyes were still closed. She looked really peaceful, content...
“Do you think she knew? That it would...” Ruki couldn't finish her sentence, her words locked up in her throat.

“I... I don't know. Twinkle Star, she... long ago, she saved me. She pulled me out of the darkness I had been lost in for too long. But I never understood her. I don't know if she ever understood herself. I just hope she has found some answers... and peace.” Stelline said, allowing her tears to come now.

Ruki collapsed, her legs simply giving way to gravity.
“Why!” She cried, no longer willing to hold in her tears. “Why did she have to die... She has two children waiting for her! It's not fair!”
Ruki didn't care anymore what others thought of her. Whether they would think her mad or wanted to comfort her. It didn't matter at all, because her aunt was gone and it was just not fair. No one had told them this would happen!

“Did you think restoring the heavens... summoning us back to this forsaken world would come cheap, child?” The flaming guardian had returned to them, Ruki noticed. The others were still in the sky, restoring stupid stars, ignoring the death of her aunt.
“Cheap? So Twinkle Star's life was just a price we had to pay?” Ruki couldn't believe it. Had it only been an exchange? She didn't want these guardians at all, if that had been the price.

“Not a price... But not something that could have been avoided either.” the fire pony said.
Ruki looked away. She couldn't even look at them anymore. The stupid guardians... Her grandmother had collapsed as well, she noticed. Regina sat in the grass, surrounded by Ivy and Taira who tried to talk to the woman. But Regina didn't hear them- her grief was simply too large to let anyone or anything else in.

“Twinkle Star...” Ruki cried, her hoof touching the mane.
Câlin and Meran... were they now all alone in this world? Kiyoi was here... but their complete family was now broken forever, only because of this... Twinkle Star would no longer be there to hold them when they are sad, would no longer pick them up when they fell down... She would never cook her delicious food again that could make everyone smile...

While the guardians were restoring the skies, no one was there to smile when the twinkling stars shone once again. No one cared- for their own star had passed away. The fiery guardian seemed to sense she was better off in the skies right now, for she took off once again to assist her sisters in the heavens.

How long it took for the light to dim, Ruki couldn't tell. There was no such thing as time anymore- only a dark black hole inside her that everyone else seemed to feel. It connected them like the beams of light connected the guardians. Weren't they sad? The woman who managed to summon them back was gone...

But in the end, the light dimmed. The daylight star faded, though it still remained the brightest star in the sky. The stones still radiated, but not so that they erased all other light from the world. And the guardians returned together this time, all following the golden one named Saule. Was she their leader? Ruki couldn't tell.

“The heavens are restored. The link between the earth and the skies has been reestablished. Darkness won't follow you anymore.” Saule said as she landed.
“So... so you did it? You saved the world?” Hikary stammered.
“Yes. The world is safe now- you can sleep peacefully tonight.” For the first time, Ruki saw a sign of emotion on the guardian's face. She actually smiled- did she really think anyone could sleep peacefully this night?

“So what will happen now? What about you, and the daylight star?” Hikary asked.
“The daylight star will slowly fade. Your eyes should be able to see her at least until the following night. Enjoy it- it is not often she shines this bright. As for us...”
 Saule glanced over the group of ponies that was left in the meadows. Ruki followed her gaze and realized only her direct family was still here, and Yuuro and her father. The mayors, the nobles, they had all gone inside. But no one related to her would leave Twinkle Star alone.

“You summoned us here, you descendants of the High Queens. You pulled us back when we were about to fade away forever. We are back on this world, and we will not go anywhere. We are grateful to you, but we have work to do still. You can summon us wherever and whenever you want now, and we will try to answer.”

Saule flapped her wings once more and slowly lifted herself from the ground. “We must go now. Just because the heavens are restored doesn't mean the world is fixed as well. We must make sure the link is strong everywhere and that the earth accepts this reformed bond.”
Ruki blinked her tears away, realizing that she had never quite understood the complexity of what the guardians had done. She had never thought that a link with the heavens was not something easily restored, something the earth would have to accept as well.

As they flew away in the sky, she heard Regina yell.
“Wait! Please!” The guardians stopped and turned around again, lingering in the sky.
“Yes, Queen Regina?” Saule said.
Regina slowly got back on her hooves and walked towards the body of her lost daughter. Ruki got up to make place for her grandmother, only to find out her legs still didn't really want to work with her yet. She forced herself anyway and took a few steps aside.

As Yuuro stood next to her to support her, Ruki gazed at her grandmother who sat down next to her lost daughter.
“What about Twinkle Star? What will happen to her? What must we do to... to...”
Ruki realized her grandmother held on to the hope that somehow, Twinkle Star could still return to the earth. Ruki wasn't so sure, and when she looked at the guardians, she knew for sure. The silver one named Fiume closed her eyes, unable to look on, while the others all looked so sad Ruki felt she didn't quite understand the extend of their emotions.

“Twinkle Star returned to her Mother in the heavens.” Saule said as she landed on the ground.
“But I am her mother.” Regina objected weakly.
“That is only partially true, your majesty.” Saule objected. Her eyes glanced over the ponies still left in the valley. “I guess it is time someone explained to you the truth about the guardians, for I am sure that our existence has become knowledge all but forgotten. It is time you learned the truth about the world... and the truth about the daughter you call Twinkle Star.”