Switch on the Sky and the Stars Glow for You

Sunset had always been a time of day that he favoured.

It was fitting, in a way. He'd been named, in fact, for the sunset tones that gave his pelt its colour - the oranges and reds of his fur, his wings, his mane - so perhaps, Sunray had to suppose, he was kind of drawn to those colours generally. There was certainly something about seeing the sky bathed in such vivid hues that called to him, drew him in, soothed him to look at... and, in the week or two since Orchid had slipped away when he wasn't looking, he'd needed that soothing reassurance all the more.

Was there a chance... no matter how unlikely it seemed, he couldn't help but wonder... that she'd had enough of him? That she hadn't told him that she was going, or where she was going, in the hopes of leaving him behind? It was stupid, irrational, he knew his girl far better than that... and yet, as the days drifted by without any sign of her, he just couldn't help but... wonder. Wonder and fear.

At present, he drifted above the treetops, letting the wind under his wings carry him. He flapped them once or twice, as necessary to keep himself level, but had no direction in mind; the Pegasus simply let himself flow with the wind. Letting his tension, his worry, slowly ease little by little at the caress of the gentle breeze. Not knowing where Orchid was was hard - harder, in fact, than he'd ever imagined anything could be - but now, he let his mind drift out to her. Imagining her looking at the same sunset he was, imagining her... calm, happy. At ease. Picturing the unicorn he loved; her light fur, her blueish-purple mane, those stunning green eyes that he just fell into whenever he saw her...

A sigh of longing was breathed, rustling some of the nearest treetops a tiny bit.

After a few moments more, Sunray turned his attention groundward. Dark eyes scanned the canopy, looking for a gap in the trees where he might be able to land. There was a stream nearby, he thought he recalled; and he wouldn't say no to roosting on the water for a while. Maybe even splashing around a bit, like he'd always done with his siblings... and occasionally with Orchid, though he never thought she'd been as big on it as his fellow Pegasi were. Still, the memory shot a fresh ache through his heart.

"Orchid..."

He mumbled her name softly, not expecting it to carry.

True to his expectation, it took only a moment for him to pick out the glint of water through the wooded canopy. Though his enthusiasm had been dulled by the fresh reminder that his beloved wasn't here to share it with him, the Pegasus still moved to swoop in for a water landing. It was only then, as he did so, that his eye was caught by a shape at the water's edge. So lost in thought, he'd barely even noticed, but there... right there... as though summoned by the mere whisper of her name...

He couldn't breathe, for a moment, as hope and disbelief warred with one another. That she was out here, right here, right now... it was too much, too good to be true. But he was getting closer and closer as he pulled in for his landing, and she was coming into clearer and clearer focus, and there was simply no denying just who he was looking at...

"Orchid! Orchid!"

It was the unflattering bray of an overexcited colt who'd just seen his most favourite person in the world... but Sunray literally couldn't have cared less. In that moment, everything else had ceased to matter; but that it was HER, she was HERE and he couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe it, she might as well have been a figment of his imagination and he wouldn't believe it until she was nestled up against his side once again--

And somewhere in all that, his course had shifted ever so slightly, so he was no longer aiming for the water, but straight at Orchid where she stood on the bank. If nothing gave, if she didn't move, he would quite literally bowl her straight off her feet, and who knew how that would end for either of them?

Consequences weren't even considered, beyond the hope that they would end this unceremonious - and only partially intentional - tackle with her in his arms once more.

"ORCHIIIIIIID!"

Orchid wasn't the only one to get doused by the splash as she was knocked off her hooves and onto her butt in the stream; the impact splashed the water over his own pelt too. While Sunray noticed, however, he barely even registered it; all he registered was the the feeling of the unicorn pressing her face into his chest, her horn resting in its familiar spot upon his collarbone. The feeling of her breath tickling through his fur where she had pressed her muzzle; the sound of her breathing which, right then, sounded like the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard... second only to her voice, which was now uttering his name in return and sent pleasant shivers down his spine.

It was real; she was here, his beloved Orchid. The instant they'd touched, he'd lost any doubt that this was a trick of his own wishful thinking; she was solid beneath his forelegs, as they clumsily wrapped around her, and his wings swept forward to envelop her, too, beneath their feathery embrace.

She was here, she'd found him, or he'd found her, or they'd found each other... he didn't want to let go of her. The reassurance that she'd missed him, too, was all he had needed to hear to send his initial worry, that she'd been trying to get away from him, skittering away back to the dark recesses of his mind, to be forgotten in the present moment.

"Missed you too." He leaned down, nosing his own muzzle through her beautiful mane, planting equine kisses on her ears. But all the time he'd spent missing her hardly mattered; this moment, being together again, more than made up for the days of waiting and hoping and not knowing.

"I'm so glad you're safe. One of the cupids told me you'd gone out to the war, I was worried about you..." His words came out muffled as he refused to lift his face out of Orchid's mane, but the intention behind them was still clear. Again, though... how much did it matter, now? She was here, and she was safe.

"Have you only just got here? Did I overtake you on the way?"

Oh yeah, he'd noticed her absence first, of course. But he hadn't known where to look for her when all of their typical hangouts had turned up empty. Sunray had all-but turned their valley upside-down before finally being given the hint as to where Orchid had gone... something that hadn't quelled his anxiety for her by any means. But that was in the past now; what mattered was that she was safe, and he didn't want to make her feel guilty by going into detail on just how scared for her he'd been.

Eyebrows raised slightly as Orchid pulled away, explaining that she had indeed been here for a while before him. Here, he supposed she meant, as in this world as a whole, because she'd certainly not been seen anywhere in these woods in the week since he'd arrived; and he indicated his understanding with a nod. That, of course, begged the question of what she'd been doing, if not throwing her lot in with the Gilded Wings, but... they would come to that in due course, he had a feeling. Right now, he was still just too happy to be with her, to see her again... gazing into her sparkling eyes, he found himself realising that he'd missed her even more than he had thought.

She was beautiful; and he would have been content to spend the whole rest of the day just watching her, drinking in her lovely presence.

He frowned a little, however, at her apology. Not that it wasn't accepted in a heartbeat, of course - there was no way he could hold a grudge against the unicorn who he loved so dearly - but at the accompanying explanation. Sure, he understood that she'd been trying to protect him... but the mention of her not being able to picture him fighting suggested to him, by extension, that she was in the thick of said warfare, and Sunray couldn't help the way his stomach lurched at the thought. He could hardly imagine his gentle girl in the middle of a battle; but that was, at least, the way he read her explanation.

"So... you are fighting, then?"

Every nerve in his body was screaming at him to protect her, to drag her out of there if need be, and make sure she stayed safe and not at imminent risk of harm... but Sunray forced the impulse down. He'd already reminded himself once that Orchid was more than capable of making her own decisions, and if she felt like her place was in the middle of battle? The best he could do was be supportive, not force his own wishes on her.

"I've, um..."

He had been about to answer her question, but trailed off as Orchid interposed an additional explanation of her own. She'd joined up with the Enchanted Suns... the two armies didn't mean much, to Sunray, but he had at least gathered that side was the nobler of the two, as far as that went. Orchid clearly agreed with that much, because he couldn't see her joining up with any cause that wasn't a noble one, and Sunray bobbed his head in another little nod.

"I didn't know where you'd gone out here, or I'd have been right there with you. But I found the Gil--"

He bit his tongue. The Gilded Wings were a closely guarded secret, known to only a few outside of their number; and while Sunray trusted Orchid absolutely, he had a feeling that the Wings' leadership wouldn't see things the same way. He hastily reconsidered his words.

"--Found some people who are all about helping those who get trampled underfoot by the war. I mean, you're right of course, I'm not a fighter; so I let myself get hooked up with them." He shrugged, a small roll of his shoulders.

"I kinda thought that's where I'd find you, too."

Oh. Oh... that was a relief. A large amount of tension visibly dropped from Sunray's shoulders the instant Orchid reassured him that she wasn't planning on actually fighting. Like she'd said, he hadn't thought it was like her at all... he'd just been too quick to jump to the conclusion that he was most afraid of, the Pegasus supposed. But, no; it sounded like she must have found some other way to fit in out here.

Between his relief, the way she also seemed to relax as he explained where he'd ended up, and the accompanying nuzzle - not to even mention, the nickname that always made him smile when she uttered it - the thought of asking exactly what she had found for herself took a while to make itself known again. In the meantime, Sunray simply lent into her embrace again, nickering contentedly at that oh-so-special touch.

The question reared its head again at almost the exact moment Orchid started speaking about it anyway; so the sunset-coloured Pegasus didn't press or hurry her. She was a bit nervous to share it with him, if he was any judge... and while that was enough to make him worry again, slightly, Sunray didn't show as much. Rather, he gave her an encouraging smile as she explained. He wasn't going to be upset with her, no matter what role she'd found; as long as she was happy with it, he would be too.

At least, that was what he convinced himself.

He could kind of see what she was building up to before she got there, at least in general terms; she was a healer of some description, and... okay, that was a role he could quite easily imagine her filling. With her gentle manner, her concern for others, and her knowledge of healing plants, she was practically made to fill that kind of job. And even if a small, selfish part of him did still wish she had joined up with the Gilded Wings instead, so they'd be together... that was very quickly brushed away.

Even if the word cleric was a foreign one to him, when she summoned her courage to voice it, the context gave Sunray all the answers he needed. It did, indeed, sound like a healing role, and an important one, at that; and her bravery, her determination, the way she'd found herself a place that suited her...

It made him glow with pride in her.

"That's great, Orchid. Really."

He pulled back - with some reluctance - just enough for her to see his smile, to tell that his words were genuine. There was no disapproval, if that's what she'd been expecting; while Sunray wasn't sure that, personally, he would have been able to stomach that sort of role, that had no relevance. What did, was the fact that he was absolutely supportive of his beloved. His dark eyes sparkled with emotion as he looked at her.

"I'm so proud of you."

"How could I not be?"

There wasn't any possible answer to that question, as far as Sunray was concerned. He may have been terrified for his girl, he would grant that... but there was absolutely no ignoring how brave, how caring, how dedicated she was, to have come all this way, to help save the lives of people and animals she'd never met. And if that was kind of what he was doing too, if not so directly, it was only because he was following her lead.

He loved her so much; and even if he wished she'd just told him when she was going, all this had made him think even more highly of her, not less.

And that nuzzle, her nose against his, was just... he all-but melted at her lovely touch.

He came back to the present, with a rueful chuckle, as Orchid spoke again. While Sunray saw very little danger in his reckless bad-weather flights - so long as he had the common sense to stay clear of where lightning bolts were being thrown around, of course - he knew that his beloved didn't see it the same way he did. And he couldn't blame her, at that; from her perspective, it had to be wildly different than the tricky, but essentially harmless, adrenaline rush that he saw it as.

He'd feel the same if she was caught up in something dangerous, no matter how good at it she was.

"I never want to worry you." He nuzzled his own face against her mane, the part of it that fell across her eye, nudging it back just a little so he could see both of her beautiful spheres. They sparkled as the evening light fell upon them, shooting him with a fresh rush of appreciation of her beauty.

"No more thunderstorm flights unless I absolutely have too, okay? I promise."

He couldn't guarantee none at all; he'd sworn loyalty to the Gilded Wings, and at present, Sunray didn't rightfully know what they might ask of him. If some kind of rescue mission in bad weather came up, he'd feel little choice but to volunteer... but he could, at least, promise her that he wouldn't do so frivolously. And he didn't mind, he really didn't; he could live without his reckless behaviour, if it set Orchid's mind more at ease.

"I have... I have." He nodded at her question. Of course she knew him so well; not a day had passed, since she had left, that he hadn't worried after her; and even now that he knew where she was, he would most likely continue to hold some degree of concern until they were back in the same place... but that was something he could live with.

"It's a lot different out here. All these tight spaces, all these humans... but I think I'm getting used to it. Just as long as I remember not to try and take off when I'm indoors."

Had he done that not just once, but a few times, over the course of the last week?

He wouldn't necessarily admit to it, but... MAYBE.

Every time she found a new nickname for him like that... every time, Sunray was sure, he fell still more in love with her. Hearing his beloved Orchid putting her own spin on his name never failed to make him feel indescribably special; and a rather goofy grin adorned the Pegasus' muzzle, all other concerns forgotten in that moment.

Her sunbeam.

It only took a moment or two for him to come back to the present, of course, as Orchid continued to speak. Her initial words got a little shrug out of the sunset-coloured equine.

"If I damaged anything, I think it was just my head. Human ceilings are... surprisingly solid." He didn't think he had any noticeable bruises; but the fact remained that he had, on at least one occasion, rocketed skyward while inside and thumped his head against the roof. It wasn't what one would call a pleasant memory.

"But that only happened a couple of times," he hastened to reassure Orchid. He didn't want her to fret about him over something so trivial; and he certainly hadn't been making a habit of clonking his head against the rafters. More often, it was just, like in his encounter with those two dogs the other day, he made an attempt to hop up and over something, and found he didn't really have room to manoeuvre. That mostly just ended in him causing an awkward and embarrassing scene, not any real harm... so, while he could have mentioned it too? Sunray didn't really feel like he needed to, unless Orchid asked for more detail.

Maybe some other time, it would come up again.

Rather, he listened with interest as his beloved described her own experiences. He hadn't really thought about it much; but now that she mentioned it, it wasn't hard to see the similarities between centaurs and humans... above the waist, at least. Sunray himself had never much minded the centaurs back home, one way or another - they didn't bother him, he didn't bother them, was his kind of approach - but he also understood why Orchid felt about them the way that she did. It was good, therefore, that she was finding the humans, where she had ended up, to be far more pleasant company.

"That sounds pretty wild!" He chuckled a little as he tried - and failed - to envisage what a rabbit that big must look like. He didn't disbelieve her, of course; there were all sorts of unusual creatures out here, and Sunray was starting to decide he should just roll with it without questioning it very far. And, speaking of...

"I met a couple of unusual animals myself, the other day. They called themselves... dogs, I think? About so big -" he held up a hoof to indicate "- furry, pretty friendly. Apparently they're quite common in this world." Far more so than unicorns and pegasai, at any rate.

At her admission, a gentle smile stretched across the male's face. Really, if Orchid was happy... that was all he could ever truly ask for. She had company that pleased her, and he didn't doubt - or maybe at least hoped - that they would take care to keep her from harm if it came down to that. Even if distance between them was still going to be hard to get used to, knowing that she was safe and happy where she was certainly took a lot of weight off Sunray's mind. He nudged his forehead against her own, his gaze never quite leaving hers.

"I'm glad you're doing well there. I'm glad you're happy."

Of course, he couldn't help but wonder where there was. Sunray couldn't honestly remember - if it had ever come up - just where the Enchanted Suns army was based out of; he did, however, recall that the Gilded Wings had hideouts in quite a few places, not just in the heart of this forest. Perhaps a word in the ear of the right one of the Wings' leaders could get him assigned primarily to whichever Snuggly Duckling pub was nearest the Suns' encampment... the closer to Orchid, the more moments like this they could sneak together.

It was just a thought; though one that he kept to himself, for now.

While Sunray would have been lying to say that he wouldn't have been completely happy to just sit there the entire time... he was also equally happy to do otherwise. In all truth, the pegasus hardly cared what they were doing, so long as they were doing it together; Orchid could have suggested pretty much anything, and he would have gone along with it if it meant she was happy and he could stay at her side.

And if frolicking and playing was the order of the day? Then that was even more perfect. There was just something, something about romping in such a way, the two of them together, that he adored; somehow, it was far more fun to do so at her side than it ever had been with his brothers and sister back before he'd met her. It was like Orchid had unlocked some part of himself that he hadn't even realise had been missing, and he adored her for it even more.

She didn't look foolish, to his mind. Nothing could ever make him think that; and, in fact, Sunray was quick to bounce to his hooves and join her. His wings fluttered a little, eagerly anticipating the game to follow; and while he didn't intend to take to the air right away... he was already forming a few plans along that line for later on.

He'd wait and see, on that count. Wait until he could surprise her a bit more with it.

"I've missed it, too," he confessed a moment later. It just wasn't the same with anyone else; and to be honest, he hadn't been able to give much thought to frolicking anyway, not when he had been so concerned for her whereabouts. Now, though, they were together, all his concerns had dropped away, and he was just... in love with her all over again. He trotted an eager circle around her, only belatedly realising, as his hooves splashed into water, that Orchid must have been sitting in the stream the whole time they'd been cuddling. Only having had eyes for her, he'd hardly noticed; and for a moment, a sheepish expression touched his face.

But she would have spoken up if she'd been uncomfortable, he was sure. There was nothing to apologise for... so even if that was his immediate instinct, Sunray bit back the word; choosing, instead to initiate their game instead.

"You wanna maybe... catch me!"

He phrased it as a challenge, bounding a little further into the stream. The water came up over his ankles at this point, but not much deeper as he splashed his way further downstream, certainly not deep enough to pose any danger to either of them; and, as a Pegasus, his natural inclination was that water was for playing in, more than anything else. If Orchid was going to let him take the lead, he was going to be sticking to the waterway for at least a little while longer.

Not that she couldn't catch him any time she wanted, of course. He might have been bigger and longer-limbed; but, when it came to his beloved, Sunray loved being caught up to by her just as much as he loved the chase. He would never let her think he was going easy on her, because he didn't think of it as such at all... but just, somehow, he never really tried overly hard to win.

But then again, it also wasn't truly a competition.

One wing scooped downwards, flicking a little bit of water in her direction. Not meaning, really, to splash her; if he'd aimed right, the droplets wouldn't do more than scatter harmlessly in the stream in front of her. No, it was more an invitation than anything, teasing her to come after him, and... well. Where it went from there would be as much up to her as him.