The Sun Stallion flirted with both cloud and horizon, as if he were one of the mortal unicorns on the beach and in the darkness, choosing his future like any of them. The pair on the sands, with the cool waves lovingly licking their hooves, knew which he would inevitably choose, as the Sun cannot rise back into the clouds when the night is coming, but that did not make it any less wondrous to behold.

The pied stallion and rose mare, unlike the indecisive youngsters still cavorting just far enough off that their voices were nearly drowned out by the soft song of the curling waves, had chosen each other days past. As the rush of spring coursed through their veins, they had sprinted full gallop onto the beaches, shifting anxiously during the necessary meeting with the herons before launching themselves into the joys of the courtship.

It seemed like a lifetime ago, and now the pair had moved away from the addictive, hormone-driven fray and into their own world, where none but the Sun could disturb their privacy.

And he, it seemed, had made his choice: the horizon had claimed him.

"Come, love," the black-and-white stallion dipped his head to croon. And the rosy young mare lifted her lithe frame and stood, arching her neck to delicately pass her muzzle across his. In the darkness, they were at long last alone.

EDIT: I added a proper story. More I looked at it, more I thought it needed one. =3



YAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Gawd, this had got to be the fastest I have ever painted anything useful in the history of ever. I just got really into it, then took a break for gardening and subsequent Maggie-in-a-tree shenanigans, then went right back to painting and was happy within eleven hours of work, all told.

I know I could refine the background a LOT, but I actually really like it this way for some unknown reason, and whenever I ask a family member about it, they say they like it the way it is also. So the rough, painterly background stays. The unicorns themselves were inspired by the reference photos they were painted from... the rose mare was originally dapple-grey, and the black paint was actually dark bay, but the ideas were similar. They're just random pretties, no real story there... although gradually as I was going I kept getting the idea that these two were stragglers as the rest of the Vale herd paired off, watching the last sunset together before the journey back home... So yeah. I guess there is a bit of a story there.

Anyways, this is my entry for *Unicorns-of-the-Vale's Summer Sea contest, and I'm vereh pleased. Go enter, by the way. It's awesome, and the grand prize is art by *Losmios. Yeah. You know you waaaaant it.

Stock references from:

With inspiration from (not exact referencing)
Detail shots: [link]

Painting and unicorns are the belongings of the me. Yes?