Sandy and Stardust: A Sunnyweed Story (NO CRYING UNTIL THE ENDING!)

"I'll Be There"

Perspective: Tumbleweed

The night in the Rainforest was cool and smelled of earth and humidity, a tangle of trees and vines and leaves ruled over by the three crescent moons overhead in the sky. A hazy, beautiful fog settled over everything tonight, making the whole area decidedly romantic.

Just as Tumbleweed had imagined it for the past nine months.

He had told her to meet him in a secluded spot away from the center of the Rainforest. It was a special secluded spot as well; one that meant so much to the two of them that words could not describe.

It was the spot where they had first met in person.

Tumbleweed shifted uncomfortably, fidgeting with a green leaf that shook with every tremble of his talons.

He checked on the necklace he had prepared for her one last time. To make sure it was a surprise, he had hidden it beneath a canopy of plants, out of sight of her soul-melting green eyes.

But what if some rainforest creature had stolen it?

He brushed back the plants in trepidation.

Phew.

It was still there, and shone brilliantly in the light of the three moons in the night sky.

The necklace was made from the finest turquoise and the shiniest gold Rust could find for Weed. He had specifically asked his best friend to forge it in the shape of the sun, with a solid turquoise disk surrounded by golden, curving rays branching out from all sides like tentacles on an octopus.

Just as she loved it.

He couldn't check for long; it would be too obvious that something was up if she saw him rummaging through the bushes.

Quicker than Tangerine could spit her venom, Weed covered the necklace back up as he heard wing-beats in the distance.

"Weedy?" a beautiful little voice that made Tumbleweed's heart skip a beat called out.

"Back here, Sunnybun," Weed responded, and within half a minute, the angelic little dragoness landed in front of him.

"Hi, Weed," she said, giving him that same smile that sent his heart into somersaults. No matter how long they'd spent together, Weed had never ever gotten used to how pretty Sunny was. Everything about her, from her gorgeous green eyes to her golden scales to her spirit of overwhelming joy, took the SandWing healer by storm.

But being distracted by Sunny's beauty and sweetness was not an option right now. He had a few very specific goals in mind to fulfill tonight, and falling apart into a goo-goo-eyed pile of jelly was not one of them.

"Hey, Sunnybun," Weed said in return, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just wanted some time with you. I thought we'd need it after all that Darkstalker business and... well, you know."

Sunny nodded, waving away the last part of this sentence.

"Starflight's been helping me with the five stages of grief," she replied. "I think I'll be all right... at least, now."

But something in Sunny's eyes clued Tumbleweed in that it wasn't that simple. There was a look of heartbreaking pain in her eyes that only flashed for a split second before disappearing into her usual cheerful demeanor.