Lil Cheese chewed slowly on her breakfast cupcake, her mother's special pink and light blue frosting with white sprinkles a highlight of her morning routine. Though her daddy's double chocolate milk was her second favorite, she was just more of a cupcake filly.
"Mom, can I ask a question?" Lil cheese scrunched her snout before shoving away her breakfast delight with a sigh.
Pinkie was joyously busy with making sure Big Cheese had adequate amounts of jelly beans inside his hay sandwich for lunch. Counting out a long line of candies atop the kitchen counter, colors needed not to clash.
"Of course! Momma is here to answer all your questions, even the life changing ones! " Pinkie swung towards her daughter with an adorable snort.
"No, not life changing like last time. " Lil Cheese grinned with a giggle.
"Hmm?" Pinkie tilted her head towards her filly intrigued by the mystique.
"You and Daddy each have a familiar, I was wondering if I could get one too?" Lil Cheese asked her question with a lighthearted smile that only a child could achieve.
A loud crash could be heard echoing through the house as Cheese Sandwich came toppling down the staircase in a blur, his body smashed into the wall as a photo of himself and a short maned Lil Cheese fishing fell upon his head with a thud.
"Did you say, familiar!?" Cheese Sandwich gasped for air as he wobbled into the kitchen.
"Yes, she did!" Pinkie squealed in utter delight as she swung open a shelf and pressed a bright pink button.
Lil Cheese wasn't too surprised when the ceiling opened up and colorful confetti filled the room. "So that's a yes!?" She asked with an excited tone of voice.
"Of course! We've been waiting years for this day, a familiar is a right of passage and...wait I'll tell you the rest when we get to the Familitorium!" Cheese Sandwich rushed out of the room at full gallop.
"It's true, oh my little filly is growing up." Pinkie smiled with a tear in her eye, nudging along her child to follow her father.
"Wait? I thought I hired a magician up there?" Pinkie squinted her eyes towards the confetti hole in the ceiling before shrugging and following along.
A withered old magician's hat slowly wafting down to the floor with a thud.
Lil Cheese and her father slid down a twirling yellow slide into a large polka dot room laughing. "Wow, I didn't know this room even existed!" She giggled with glee dancing around the box-covered area in awe.
"The Familitorium! A one-stop-shop for any familiar imaginable!!" Cheese Sandwich chuckled proudly as his wife shot out of the slide giggling happily.
"Whee!" Pinkie rolled into a ball as she slid to a stop next to her daughter and unraveled.
"Wowzers, I can't wait to pick one!" Lil Cheese bounced towards a large pink box only to be snatched out of the air by her father.
"Before you can begin, you must pledge to forever protect your familiar!" Cheese Sandwich spoke in a stern tone.
"I know that. " Lil Cheese rolled her pale green eyes.
"I'm serious, this can't end like the guitar lessons. " Cheese Sandwich frowned.
"I got hoof blisters."
"Don't forget The Scouts, painting, and those toy trucks." Pinkie chimed in.
"The badges were too complicated, I'd rather write, and boring. " Lil Cheese pouted.
"I'm just saying taking care of your own Boneless will be a full-time job." Cheese Sandwich chuckled as he ruffled his daughter's mane and placed her down.
Pinkie snorted aloud as she walked towards her husband with an eye roll. "Ahem, a boneless chicken toy? Don't you mean a pygmy gator? " She popped her lips loudly in her husband's face.
"A gator!? No offense dear but those things are pretty...boring. " Cheese Sandwich scoffed as his hoof poked her chest.
"Mm-hmm, and a plastic toy is so challenging!" Pinkie sarcastically slapped her cheeks.
Cheese Sandwich glared at his wife as anger grew in his soul. "At least he's got a sense of humor!" He snapped aloud as his daughter folded her ears back.
She knew a fight was upon the horizon.
Pinkie huffed as she reached into her mane pulling out Gummy. "Gators are not only wise but also loyal! " She screamed angrily as she held up her pet who in reply licked his eye.
"Boneless can dance!" Cheese Sandwich twirled his friend around himself in a perfect figure eight.
"Gummy can carry around things!" Pinkie popped his jaw open as she pulled out a slobber covered coin purse.
"Can Gummy tell a joke!?" Cheese Sandwich snapped as he squeezed the toy, a loud squeak echoed around the room.
"Hahaha, good one buddy! " He chuckled heartily afterward.
"Phst, can Boneless question the universe!?" Pinkie gazed longingly into the eyes of her precious little gator.
"Chicken or Gator, what exactly makes a familiar, a friend? Is it the squeak of air being exhaled in a humorous manner or the simplicity of a gator sharing his time to listen to the problems of his master? Does one's race, gender, or ethnicity even matter when it comes to the choice to trust another? Shouldn't we all simply step back and watch as the one who chooses, makes their own choice? After all, who better to see the qualities of a friend than they who are in search of said companion? "
Cheese Sandwich looked towards the silent gator with a loud yawn. "Yeah, really wise there." He rolled both eyes sarcastically.
Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich scrunched their muzzles against each other as fire built within their souls. Both willing to defend the honor of their familiar to the bitter end, mare and stallion chest to chest.
As the tension built in the room Lil Cheese began to search through various boxes with curiosity. One filled with a creepy stuffed golden-colored rabbit toy, a second overflowed with spiders, a black box had a meowing kitten, and a tiny box had a cricket.
It wasn't until she tossed away a metal ball screaming about space, that Lil Cheese found her perfect companion for years to come.
"I found it!" Lil Cheese gave her familiar a nice big hug, a loud squeak echoed into the room.
Cheese Sandwich smugly smiled as he heard that unique noise of a perfect friend. "Ha, Toys rule and Gators drool!" He chuckled as Pinkie spun around with a saddened look.
"But Gators are so sweet." Pinkie sniffled as she watched her daughter climb out of a huge pile of boxes.
But to her surprise, she held an inflatable gator toy clenched between her teeth. "I love her, I'll call her Squeaky! " Lil Cheese shook her toy side to side in utmost happiness.
At that moment Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich turned to face each other with a look of apology and love. Without a single word, they leaned in close to share a loving deep kiss, the family growing by one this day.
"Hee, she's both funny and wise!" Lil Cheese watched her parents kiss with a large smile, giving her new friend a big happy huggle.
