Sunset Shimmer sighed as she picked at her lunch. “Shouldn't we be living together, or something, first? I mean, how would we sort out custody? Besides, it just wouldn't be fair—”
“But that doesn't mean we can't start planning now!” exasperated Wallflower Blush, “We've already looked into apartments and furniture, why not a pet as well?”
“We've already got Ray.”
“But he's your pet. I want one that's ours.”
“Okay, let's nail down an apartment first. Then, we can discuss pets. Though, now I guess we gotta look into ones that would let us have one. And pet rates... You know that's gonna limit the type of pet we can get.”
“Perfect!” Wallflower beamed, “I knew you'd come to my side eventually.”
“I never wasn— You know what? Nevermind,” She began gathering her things, “You better hurry up, or you'll be late for class.”
“What about you?”
“Study hall. You going gardening after school?”
“Yep. You can join, if you want.”
“I would, but the girls and I are doing another study session at Pinkie Pie's tonight.”
“Oh?” Wallflower raised an cynical eyebrow, “And what class are you gonna stay up and not study for this time?”
“Physics. You can join, if you want.”
“No, thanks, I don't want to be a walking zombie.” She pecked Sunset on the cheek, “See you tomorrow. I'll text you later.” She yelped as an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in.
“What kind of kiss is that?”
---
“Wallflower wants a pet? I thought you were it.”
“Oh, har, har, Rainbow Dash.”
“She's moving a bit fast isn't she?” asked Rarity, “I mean, you two haven't even found a place yet.”
“She's just excited,” Sunset said as she scrolled through apartment listings, “Besides, I think Ray might enjoy the company.”
“Okay,” began Twilight Sparkle, “what is the equation for weight?”
“Oh, mass times acceleration” said Fluttershy, “Which, in this case, would be gravity, so it's mass times nine-point-eight meters per second squared.”
Wallflower gently stroked Sunset's hair. “I did warn you.”
Sunset only mumbled, shifting slightly to get a better sleeping position. The yearbook room floor wasn't the most comfortable place to try to catch a quick nap. Though, with her girlfriend as a pillow, it was made more tolerable.
“How did you do on your test?”
“Ahi unno,” Sunset yawned, “Now, what's this about a pet?”
“You sure you don't want to sleep a little more?”
“If I really fall asleep, I won't wake for a few hours. And I might as well see what it is now.”
“Okay,” Wallflower said, “but I'll have to get up.”
“You brought it here?”
“Fluttershy brings her pets here.”
Sunset grunted as she sat up. “Yes, but that's Fluttershy.” She stretched as Wallflower went to go retrieve her pet.
“Here he is!” Wallflower proudly announced, placing a small potted plant on the table.
“Wallflower!” Sunset yelled, jumping between her girlfriend and the plant, “Get away from that thing!” She pulled out her phone and immediately started texting.
Sunset stopped. “Say what now?” She looked at the tiny plant monster.
It looked at her inquisitively and cooed.
The girls jumped as the door to the room swung open and six more girls came running in. One of them turned on the lights, momentarily blinding them all.
Wallflower took the moment to run between Alistair and the girls. “Don't harm him!” she cried.
“Who?” asked Rainbow Dash. She gasped when she saw the plant behind Wallflower. “Look out!" she yelled, "Plant monster!”
“What? No!" Wallflower said, "This is Alistair.”
“Um, why is there a plant monster in the school?” asked Rarity.
“He's my new pet!”
“You have a plant as a pet?” asked Rainbow Dash, “Why am I not surprised?”
“Wallflower, babe,” Sunset said, “Can we talk for a moment?”
Wallflower hesitated, but when the other girls agreed not to hurt Alistair, she agreed. She yelped as Sunset grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to a corner of the room.
“What the hay, Wallflower? Where did you even find that thing?”
“In my garden. And he's not a thing.”
“He was just growing in your garden?”
“Yep.”
“Are you insane? You know how big those things get? Do you not remember the one that ate the track and field course at the Friendship Games?”
“I remember it quite well,” Wallflower retorted, “And I also know that not all of them are monsters. Alistair is quite intelligent.”
“You're going to try to train a plant?”
“Why not?" Wallflower raised an eyebrow, "You used to do it all the time in Equestria.”
Sunset let out a very equestrian snort. “Not the same thing.” Just by chance, she happened to glance at the table where the plant was sitting. “Fluttershy! Be careful!”
Fluttershy was tenderly petting Alistair's tiny head. “It's so scared,” she said, “It's lost without it's mommy.”
"Awe," Rarity said, comforting the small plant, "Poor thing."
“Then, let's return it to its mommy,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Easier said than done,” Sunset said, “It could be anywhere in Equestria—or Equus, for that matter.”
Applejack looked deep in ponder. “My question is how did it get here? Did another portal open?”
Sunset shook her head. “I'm pretty sure we would have noticed.”
“Probably my doing,” Twilight said, “It's very likely that it came over during the Friendship Games.”
“More like its mama came over and dropped off the seedling here,” said Pinkie Pie.
“You mean there could be more popping up?” Sunset cried. She jumped as Wallflower grabbed her arm.
“Just give him a chance,” she said sternly, “Give me a chance.”
Sunset looked back and forth between the plant and Wallflower. She let out a sigh. “Fine. But if we get eaten—”
“We won't. Now, come over and say hello.”
Sunset winced as she neared the plant. The other girls seemed to already have warmed up to it.
“Go ahead,” Wallflower coaxed, “say hello.”
“Uh...” Sunset tried to smile, “Hello.”
Alistair looked up at Sunset and chirped happily.
“See?” Wallflower hugged Sunset, “He likes you already!”
Sunset folded her arms. “If he's going to stay with us, he's going to have to learn to earn his keep.”
“I'm afraid he's far too young for that,” Fluttershy said, “He's only a baby.”
“And how would you know that?” asked Rainbow Dash, “It's a plant, not one of your animals.”
“I suppose he is a bit like an animal,” said Twilight, taking a closer inspection of Alistair.
“Fluttershy's right,” Wallflower said, “He is only a seedling.”
Sunset glared down the plant sitting on her coffee table.
“Why don't you take him for the weekend?” Wallflower had said, “Really get to know him.”
Sunset had been taken aback by the offer. “You're really trusting me with a plant?” she had said.
“Sure, why not?”
“Oh, nothing really," Sunset teetered, "except that I'm really bad with plants.”
“I highly doubt that. The ones in your apartment seem fine.”
“You never noticed that the plants in my apartment are either artificial or cacti?”
“Oh...” Wallflower winced, “Well, take Alistair anyway. I'll stop by Sunday to see how you're doing.”
Sunset let out a huff. She wasn't too happy about the arrangement then, and, now that Alistair was in her apartment, she was even more so.
Alistair looked up at Sunset, as if longingly—or, at least what Sunset interpreted as longing. She had a difficult time reading the little plant. With no discernible eyes, a small mouth and very few leaves, it was near impossible to understand what he was trying to say.
He turned his head again and chirped.
“Yes,” Sunset replied, “this is my place.”
“Irp!”
“I'm sorry it's a mess. I'm in the process of moving.”
“Irp! Irp!”
Sunset crossed her arms. “Well, I wasn't expecting company...” She stopped when she realized what she was doing. “Great! I'm beginning to understand him! That's not scary at all!”
“Irp! Rrrrrhhhhooooo.”
“Look, we seem to be stuck with each other for the weekend. You might as well learn the rules.”
For his own safety, Sunset had put Ray in a little carrier. She held the gecko to where she perceived Alistair could see him.
“This is Ray” she said, “Ray is a leopard gecko—not food.”
Alistair seemed intrigued by the new companion and emitted a small series of chirps and clicks. Ray responded in kind and they continued this back and forth before erupting into a full-blown conversation.
“Okay...” Sunset said, setting Ray down on the table, “I'll just leave you two to it.”
Sunset walked to the kitchenette and began to prepare herself a sandwich for dinner. She started to wonder what Alistair would want to eat—or if he was even hungry.
Ray had gobbled down some crickets the previous day, so he wasn't going to be eating.
A buzzing sound drew her from her thoughts. She pulled her phone from her pocket. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey!” Wallflower replied, “How's it going?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“Alistair settling in well?”
“Yeah. Seems so. He's talking with Ray right now... You still there?”
“Uh... yeah...”
“Yeah,” chuckled Sunset, “I had the same response, too. By the way, what do I feed him?”
“He seems to like insects. Just open some windows and—”
Sunset frowned, “I'm not letting bugs into my apartment.”
“What does it matter? The new owner's gonna gut the whole thing anyway.”
“Yes, but I gotta live here in the meantime.”
“You bring in crickets and mealworms.”
“Those are different.” Sunset rummaged through her mini-fridge. “How about meat? I have some ground beef here.”
“You're vegetarian. What are you doing with ground beef?”
“One of my neighbors gave it to me when she moved out—along with half the other stuff in this fridge... Nice old lady, didn't have the heart to say no.”
“... or the mind to remember to throw it out, apparently. Is it any good?”
Sunset looked at the wad of meat. It had a very unappealing grayish coloring. Sunset could barely bring herself to smell it and nearly gagged. “I think it may be rotted.” She pulled the phone away from her ear just in time for: “NO PET PLANT OF MINE IS EATING ROTTED BEEF!”
“Well, sorry, I don't stock steak tartare.”
“Well, don't put it back in the fridge!”
“I'm not,” Sunset said, hauling over a large garbage can, “I'm going to throw it out—along with half the stuff in this fridge...”
“... Maybe it's best if I came over.”
“I would like that very much.”
“I'll have to pick up some dinner... Have you eaten?”
“I had a sandwich.”
“Was it a piece of cheese between two slices of bread again?”
“... Tofu, actually.”
“Okay, I'm going to get you some real food. I'll see ya in a bit.”
“Okay,” Sunset smiled, “love you.” She hung up and tapped her phone in thought. Then picked up her journal and pen and, very hastily, wrote:
Dear Princess Twilight,
What do plant monsters like to eat?
---
About a half-hour later, Sunset opened the door to greet her girlfriend.
Wallflower had a small duffle bag in one hand and takeout in the other. “I stopped by the Greek place down the street,” she said, handing the food to Sunset.
“You're amazing,” Sunset said. She gave Wallflower a kiss on the cheek.
Wallflower giggled, “I try.” She glanced around the apartment.
Alistair quickly noticed her and began his gleeful chirps. Wallflower acknowledged him and he resumed his conversation with Ray.
“Those two have just been at it,” Sunset said, her mouth full of spinach pie. “In the meantime, I have a princess threatening to jump over.”
Wallflower jumped. “You told her?”
“I had no other choice! It's been a long time since I've dealt with the care of these plants.” She dug through the bag. “Did you get hummus?”
“Yep. Dolmades, too.”
Sunset opened a container. “Here's your souvlaki. I guess we'll split the salad?” She relocated Alistair and Ray to the computer desk and she and Wallflower settled to eat on the couch.
“I see you've started packing already,” Wallflower said, pointing to cardboard boxes stacked in a corner.
“Lots of years of stuff to pack. Gonna miss this old place.”
“This 'old place' is a walking code violation.”
Sunset shrugged, “That's why it was so cheap.”
“It's a wonder and a shame you never got hurt. You could have sued and gotten millions!”
Sunset rolled over and opened her eyes. Something had woken her up. She laid still and listened. There was a noise that she couldn't quite pick up on.
Next to her, Wallflower laid fast asleep.
Sunset listened more intently. It sounded like the television. They had watched a few shows before bed. Maybe they'd forgotten to turn it off.
Careful not to disturb Wallflower, Sunset arose from the bed and went downstairs to where Alistair was sitting on the coffee table. Ray had been returned to his tank for the night.
Sunset walked toward the living room just in time to see Alistair pecking away at the remote. “No!” she whispered loudly, taking the remote away from the plant, much to his protest.
"No," she scolded, “It'll rot your brain and you'll be a ve—”
Alistair cocked his head to the side.
“You know what?” Sunset said, turning off the TV, “Let's forget about what you'll become.” She sighed. “Don't you sleep?”
Alistair rolled his head the other way.
“Obviously, a foreign concept to you.” She paced, lost in her thoughts. “Do plants even sleep? They must do something when the sun goes down.”
“Creeee,” said Alistair.
“No,” Sunset replied, “everyone else has gone to sleep and you should, too.” She set the remote next to the TV and proceeded to return upstairs. She stopped, however, when she heard Alistair begin to mumble and cry.
Sunset let out a long sigh. “Fine...” she said, “Come here.” She picked up the little plant and sat down on the couch, placing Alistair in her lap. “You're such a baby.”
Alistair cooed happily, rested his head on Sunset's chest and, soon, was quiet and content.
---
Wallflower pawed at the empty bed beside her. “Sunset?” She opened her eyes, but her girlfriend was nowhere in sight. Out the window, Wallflower could see that the sun was beginning to come up. Figuring Sunset may have already woken up and gone downstairs, Wallflower arose and left the bedroom.
Immediately, she found Sunset asleep on the couch with Alistair gently cradled in her arms.
Wallflower smiled as she covered the two with a blanket. Leaning over, she gave Sunset a kiss on the head. “You're such a good plant parent.”
