The grass crunched under Sunset’s feet as she cut across the field towards the Wondercolt statue outside Canterlot High, soon staring at her reflection in the mirrored surface of the statue’s base. Setting her backpack down on the ground for a moment, Sunset pulled out her journal from inside and cracked it open to a new page to write a quick message on.
That done, the teenage girl returned the book to her bag before slinging her backpack back over her shoulders. Glancing around the courtyard, she quickly checked to make sure there weren’t any students or staff hanging around. Given that it was a Saturday, she wasn’t surprised to find the field empty of people, which was a good sign considering what she was about to do.
“Coast is clear,” Sunset muttered to herself as she reached down and popped open the pocket on the front of her jacket. “Alright, Ray, you can come out now.” Holding her hand out, it wasn’t long before a yellow gecko lizard with black spots poked its head out of the pocket. Flicking its tongue a few times, the lizard soon hoisted itself up and crawled onto Sunset’s open palm before it was raised up and placed onto Sunset’s shoulder. Ray seemed to smile at the chance to be perched on its owner’s shoulder, leaning over and licking Sunset’s cheek happily as he wagged his tail in excitement.
Sunset giggled, reaching over and petting Ray’s head with the tip of her finger. Sunset had never had a pet before, but she absolutely adored having Ray in her life now, the lizard there to greet her every time she came home from work or school with a smile like a beaming ray of sunshine. “You’re in for a treat today, Ray. Today I’m going to show you my other home, Equestria.”
Ray’s smile only seemed to grow as he wagged his tail faster. Initially, Sunset had been wary of bringing Ray along with her on her next visit to Equestria, not sure how the portal would react to the little guy. She had sent a message asking Princess Twilight about it the day before, and the princess had reassured her that she had nothing to worry about, saying that since she and Spike had traveled through the portal multiple times now without injury, that Ray would be just fine. Though she had warned Sunset that the gecko lizard would likely end up transformed on the other side along with Sunset due to the portal’s magic, so she had warned her to be prepared for that.
Looking back towards the statue, Sunset watched as the surface of the mirrored base seemed to shift and warp, soon glowing with an arcane light. Walking up to the portal, Sunset pressed her hand up to it and wasn’t at all surprised when her hand sank through the glass like it was water. Pulling her hand back, Sunset adjusted her backpack before glancing back at her scaly passenger.
“Hang on, Ray, this might get a little rocky…” she warned before stepping through the portal to Equestria. Traveling between the two worlds was always a jarring experience, her vision filling with a kaleidoscope of colors as she felt what she could only describe as what it must have felt when toothpaste was squeezed out of a tube. After several seconds of this, Sunset finally crossed through to the other side, wobbling on her back hooves for a moment before dropping down onto all fours, her hooves clicking against the crystal flooring of Twilight’s castle.
“I swear I’ll never get used to that…” Sunset muttered as she shook her head to try and clear the spots from her vision.
“Sunset! You’re here!”
Once she could see clearly again, Sunset smiled as she spotted Princess Twilight and Spike waiting for her in front of the mirror portal. Running up to her friend, Sunset embraced the alicorn in a hug. “Thanks for inviting me. It’s always nice to be a pony again every now and again.”
“Of course!” Twilight replied as she pulled away from Sunset. “It’s always nice when my friends come to visit. And I hear you brought a little friend along this time?”
“Oh, right! Twilight, Spike, allow me to introduce you to–” Sunset’s words caught in her throat as she glanced at her shoulder to find a certain leopard gecko now missing from where she had put him. “R-Ray?” Worry shooting through her veins like ice, Sunset frantically searched around to try and spot either head or tail of her pet gecko. “Ray! Where’d you go?! Are you ok—”
Sunset and Twilight’s ears perked up as the sound of static filled the air, all three of them glancing over in time to see the oval mirror beginning to spit sparks erratically as the array of colors inside began to shift and warp wildly.
“Wha-What’s happening?” Sunset asked, turning to Twilight in a bid for answers. “You said it would be safe!”
“I don’t know!” Twilight replied as she stared wide-eyed at the mirror. “It’s never done this before!”
Suddenly, a massive claw larger than both ponies reached out from beyond the mirror and slammed against the crystal floor, prompting all three of them to jump in fright. Sunset, Twilight, and Spike could only stare with slack-jawed disbelief as the claw led back to an arm slowly pulling itself through the mirror. It was almost comparable to watching a gaggle of clowns pile out from a wagon far too small to hold them as a massive scaled figure gradually emerged from the mirror, casting a monolithic shadow over the pair of ponies and one baby dragon as it fully emerged.
“Wow…” Spike said as he craned his neck to look up at the fellow dragon now standing before them.
A choked gasp escaped Sunset’s throat as her brain tried to process the goliath standing before her. Twilight mirrored Sunset’s shocked expression as she too stared wide-eyed beside her at what had come through the mirror. “Oh…”
“... My…”
“... Celestia…”
Towering over them was a massive yellow scaled wyvern, the folded membranes of its wings thankfully closed as neither mare doubted they wouldn’t have fit in the room containing the mirror portal. The ceiling hung only a few feet above the wyvern’s head, any lower and the wyvern would have probably busted through the roof without much trouble upon its arrival. Black spots ran up and down the length of the wyvern’s body, each one easily a pony in length. The wyvern flicked its tongue in and out of its mouth like a snake as it took in its new surroundings.
It only took a moment for Sunset to recognize the yellow and black spotted dragon now towering over her. “R-Ray?”
The creature’s ears seemed to perk up at the sound of its name, casting its gaze down at the tiny creatures standing around its feet. His attention seemed focused on Sunset in particular, leaning down until his eyes were level with the trembling unicorn mare. Sunset was reflected back in Ray’s eyes as he remained locked onto her.
Despite the fact that her hooves wouldn’t stop trembling like a leaf in the wind, Sunset did her best to swallow her fear as she took a tentative step forward. “Ray? Is… is that you?”
Ray grunted, blowing a puff of air out its nose with enough force to almost knock Sunset off her hooves. But Sunset held her ground as she looked back at the wyvern with a mix of fear, hope, and concern in her eyes. “It… it’s me, Sunset Shimmer! I know I look different now, but I’m still the same old me! You remember me, don’t you… Ray?”
The wyvern was silent for several moments before a hint of recognition seemed to flash in its eyes. With a beaming smile that was true to his namesake, Ray stuck out his tongue and licked Sunset across the face, the sheer size of his tongue lifting Sunset a foot off the ground before she dropped back down with her face now dripping with drool.
“Ewww…” Spike murmured in disgust from the back of the room.
Despite the less than pleasant display of affection, Sunset was still smiling as she laughed with relief as she wiped drool off her face. “Yeah, I’m happy to see you to— WAH!” Sunset shrieked as she was suddenly scooped up in Ray’s claws.
“Sunset!” Twilight yelled, worried for her friend’s safety as her horn became charged with magic… only for her magic to dissipate after picking up the sound of Sunset laughing, looking up to find Ray nuzzling his scaly cheek against Sunset’s as he held her safely in his claws.
“S-Stop! That tickles!” Sunset gasped in-between bouts of laughter.
Eventually, the big reptile relented as he lifted Sunset up and plopped her down on his head, right between his ears. A pleased growl rumbled from his throat as Sunset rubbed his head.
“Amazing…” Twilight muttered, her fear quickly giving way to wondrous excitement. “I suspected that the mirror would transform him into something better suited for Equestria, but I never could have imagined he would turn into a full grown wyvern!”
“So I get turned into a dog while he gets to be a huge dragon?” Spike grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “How unfair…”
“Oh, don’t be like that, Spike!” Twilight said before looking back at her guests. “Well, after that little adventure, who’s hungry?”
“Me!” Sunset replied from her place on Ray’s head.
“I thought so. The dining room’s just down the hall. Oh, and do watch your head, Ray. The doorways in the castle weren’t exactly designed to accommodate dragon-sized creatures, after all.”
“You hear that, Ray?” Sunset asked, holding on tightly as Ray nodded his head in response. As the newly turned wyvern bent down to fit his large frame through the doorway, Sunset smiled.
This is certainly going to be an interesting visit, that’s for sure…
***
Starlight trotted up the path towards the castle with a spring in her step. She always enjoyed helping Trixie with her magic act, and the new trick Trixie had planned was sure to get the crowd pumped up at her next show. Letting herself in, Starlight called out, “Twilight, I’m back!”, her voice echoing down the crystal corridors.
After several moments passed without a reply, Starlight began to trot down the halls in the hopes of finding her friend and mentor. After several minutes of searching, she finally found her and Spike sitting out on one of the castle’s balconies. “There you two are!”
“Ah, Starlight!” Twilight replied, glancing over her shoulder at the unicorn. “I didn’t hear you come in. How did it go with Trixie? Is her new trick ready yet?”
“Oh no!” Starlight replied with a mischievous smirk. “A magician’s assistant never reveals her friend’s secrets. You’ll just have to watch her next show and find out!”
Twilight pouted for a moment, before turning her attention back to the sky.
Curious, Starlight walked over to the pair. “What are we watching?”
“Sunset and Ray,” Twilight replied.
“Sunset’s here? You should have told me she was coming! But who’s—” Starlight didn’t get the chance to finish as a massive shadow passed over the balcony, gasping in surprise as a huge shape flew overhead. “What in the—”
“Woohooo!” Sunset hollered from her spot on Ray’s head as the wyvern soared through the air, having taken to flying like a fish to water. After another loop around the castle, the leopard wyvern came around for a landing, lofting down onto the same balcony Twilight and the others were waiting on. “Thanks for the ride, Ray!”
The wyvern smiled as he let out a happy growl.
“Su-Sunset?” Starlight squeaked, staring wide-eyed at the towering goliath before her.
“Oh, hey, Starlight!” Sunset called down with a wave of her hoof. “Nice to see you again!”
Starlight’s mouth flopped open like a fish’s as she tried to form words. “Who… what is… that?”
“Oh, this little guy?” Sunset replied, patting Ray between the ears. “This is my pet, Ray. Say hi, Ray!”
With a growl, Ray raised his claw and waved at Starlight, who hesitantly waved back.
“Uh… hi?” Starlight said awkwardly, stepping back with a frightened “Eep!” as Ray lowered his head to Starlight’s level. Before the mare could even think about teleporting away, Ray licked her with his large tongue, leaving the poor mare standing there with her mane and face soaked with drool.
“... Yuk.” Starlight muttered in disgust.
At the sight of Starlight’s predicament, all three of her friends burst out into laughter. Even Ray joined in, letting out a deep-bellied laugh of his own that echoed through the air.