Though Sunset was usually loathe to wake up too early, she had, in recent days, done exactly that. And the reason? She wanted to be there when her "roommate" woke up. Ray, her pet, who slept even longer into the morning than she did. Smiling widely, the Equestrian was on her knees right now, looking into Ray's enclosure. The reptile was, at this moment, resting soundly on his little rock, and Sunset watched as he breathed in and out. But, there came a time when the sun's rays poured in through the window, and as soon as that light hit her pet's eyelids, he began to stir. Sunset's smile widened further as she saw him squirm a little as consciousness returned to him, culminating in the little guy letting out a loud yawn that caused his mouth to open in such a comically wide way that even Pinkie Pie would be impressed by. Chuckling a little, Sunset reached in, and as soon as Ray's eyes opened in earnest, she gently nuzzled the side of his cheek with her finger.
"Good morning, my little ray of sunshine."
Her pet instinctively nuzzled the tip of her finger in a clear display of affection, much to Sunset's delight, and before long, she opened her hand fully, offering him a chance to get out of the enclosure. Ray, seeing this, took that offered chance, and began to slowly crawl onto her palm. Given that he was something of a slow riser, this took a fair amount of time, but Sunset, naturally, was patient in this. She gave her diminutive colleague all the time he needed to get onto her hand, and as soon as he'd done so, she slowly lifted him up, holding him up to her face.
"How about we go and get some breakfast?"
Her only response was a tiny little tongue poking out of Ray's mouth, prompting another laugh on her part.
"Sure, you got it."
And so it was that the pet and his owner walked out of the bedroom, heading towards the small kitchen area just adjacent to the main area of Sunset's apartment. Ray was gently placed upon her shoulder and, having been somewhat trained by now, he held on well as the former unicorn got to work in preparing their respective morning meals. For Sunset, it was a simple bowl of cereal, but for Ray, he was given something a bit more "him". There was a small box off to the side that Sunset promptly took hold of and opened. Within were a number of pre-dried creepy crawlies, such as worms, crickets and even the occasional ant. Taking a few into her hand, Sunset chuckled a little.
"Well...not exactly my tastes, but still..."
Carefully, she took her thumb and forefinger and slowly picked out a small pile of the long-dead bugs to put onto the surface of her kitchen, after which she settled her little lizard right beside it. Though Ray was as slow as ever, even he seemed to speed up slightly at the sight of his food. He waddled over, crunching down on a particularly large cricket, all while Sunset watched him.
“Eat up, little guy.”
Pulling up a chair, Sunset got down to her own meal, though with every bit of her cereal, she never let her eyes stray from her little yellow pet.
“You know...we ought to arrange another play date between you and the other pets.”
Ray didn’t stop eating as she spoke, which only prompted her to carry on doing so.
“I know you're still a little nervous around them, but they really are good little bunch of animals.”
Then, she paused, considering those words.
“Well...okay, maybe Opalescence can get a little high maintenance...”
A grimace crossed her face.
“...and yeah, Angel Bunny can really try my patience sometimes...”
Her smile returned.
“...but it’d still be good for you to meet up with them and make some friends.”
Rays only response to all of this was to let out a large burp after swallowing one of his worms. Or, rather, as loud a burp as a creature his size was actually capable of giving off. Giggling to this, Sunset finally got around to finishing her cereal, after which she got up from her chair and placed her bowl and spoon in the nearby dishwasher. After getting it on, she turned, once more looking to Ray. While she'd had her back turned, he’d finished his own meal, and was now standing on the edge of the counter, looking to her with a somewhat inquisitive look to him. Still smiling, Sunset walked over, offering her finger to him, which he took as another invitation and crawled up.
“You know...it might even be a good idea to head on over to Flash’s place so you can meet his pet.”
Walking to her sofa, she continued.
“Oh, did I tell you? He has this adorable little puppy called Banana. Because...well...the dog's favourite food is bananas.”
A dry chuckle escaped her as she settled down into her aforementioned sofa.
“I love him, I really do, but he is pretty terrible when it comes to naming things.”
Ray, as ever, simply blinked slowly to her words, even though Sunset was simply happy to have him close by.
“You know...I really am glad I decided to get you, Ray. I’d never considered getting pet before, but...seeing all my friends with theirs...I guess I just felt like it’d be good.”
Her smile, though smaller now, was nevertheless warm and affectionate.
“It’s only recently that I’ve really let others get close to me or be a part of my life...and having you here...yeah...I guess it’s just one more step in that.”
Sighing, she brought her hand up to her face, with Ray still upon it. Together, the two nuzzled each other with clear affection, at which point Sunset let out another laugh.
“You’re not the biggest...you're into the fastest...you might not even be something that people would think of when thinking of a pet for me.”
Turning to her pet in earnest, she looked to him with a look that could only be described as love.
“But you are the right pet for me, Ray. A pet I might never have wanted if I wasn’t the person I am now. I saw you in that little window...and I just knew you were the one.”
She considered that particular memory with just the tiniest bit of amusement.
“I guess it’s interesting to think...what might have happened to you if I hadn’t come along. I guess someone else would have been your owners now.”
Slowly, she looked back to him, seeing him lick the tip of her finger a little.
“Would they love you as much? Would you be one of several pets they’d have? Guess we’ll never know.”
Then, her prior smile returned to her.
“But what I do know...is that I love you, my little ray of sunshine.”
With her other free hand, she reached forward, giving him a gentle pat on the head with it. In response, Ray gave a little flicker of his tongue, which Sunset knew from experience now meant that he was happy. And of course, when he was happy, then she was happy, as evidenced by the wide smile she now bore towards him.
“And I’ll always be here to look after you.”
