"Hello there Mrs. Cake!"

"Why hello there Twilight, how've you been?"

The Alicorn trotted through the door, her saddlebags bobbing up and down in unison with her body as she approached the counter, "I've been great, thanks!" she replied, her horn illuminating a violet aura around her bags, "how've you been?"

"Oh, I've been getting through it. The twins have been a real pain in the flank lately, but Miss Cheerilee's been keeping them in line at school, so we've been able to manage just fine."

"That's great to hear Mrs. Cake."

The mare behind the counter suddenly gasped in surprise, looking towards the lavender Alicorn with a sense of shock, "Oh, my apologies Twilight," she cleared her throat, "what do you need?"

"Oh, I'm here for Gummy's After-Birthday Party," Twilight said with a smile.

"It's...not until seven I thought..."

"Oh, I know."

An awkward silence soon followed, apparently unbeknownst to Twilight, who continued to fumble through her saddlebags, nonchalantly looking for a certain item that she apparently couldn't find. Mrs. Cake broke the chain with a gradual, "Wellllll okay then. I'll go get Pinkie."

"Thank you Mrs. Cake."

The yellow mare walked out from behind the front counter, taking a moment to adjust her apron before she approached the staircase and brought a hoof up to her mouth and called, "Pinkie Pie? Twilight's here to see you!"

The mare in question idly stood by, facing toward the staircase and watching in silence. It wasn't like Pinkie to not immediately throw herself down the staircase at the mention of a friends name, but Twilight assumed that she, in the slightest chance, might just be taking a rare nap. After all, she was planning parties 24/7, and Pinkie Pie or not, it had to take its toll at some point.

Even as she thought this, she couldn't help but suddenly find herself right by the yellow mare's side as she exited her thoughts, her face fixed into one of deep concern.

"Pinkie Pie? Are you up there?"

The two mares were met with silence as they stared up towards Pinkie's bedroom, a bright yellow light passing through the open door and illuminating the walls adjacent to and across from it. "Pinkie Pie?"

Not a single sound was given back, and Mrs. Cake gave a long sigh, before she began to trot up the steps, followed closely behind by Twilight, who continued to show concern for her friend. As they reached the top, the sound of something crashing sounded throughout the house, causing the two mares to jump in surprise at the sudden rupture of the silence they were accustomed to.

A million worrying things ran through Twilight's mind as she followed Mrs. Cake into Pinkie's room, where the sight of normality met their worried gazes. Mrs. Cake's eyebrow rose as the purple mare walked alongside her, examining the rest of the room with a professionalism not unlike a hardened detective. She wouldn't let the seemingly untouched state of Pinkie's room slide by; she knew something had caused that crash, and she wouldn't give up until she found it.

She bent over to assess whatever she knew was hiding underneath the bed, whether it was Pinkie's party cannon or Pinkie herself, but to her disappointment, she was met with nothing but a few discarded candy wrappers and a colony of dust bunnies. Groaning in annoyance, her attention turned toward the dresser by the bed. Rolling her eyes at the very idea, she opened the drawers and examined each one, expecting her pink friend to pop out at her at any time. Unfortunately, she was met with ill silence at every creaking opening.

Shutting the drawers with finalization, she looked to her right and mentally slapped herself in the face. As there were not other drawers or desks or clothes hampers in Pinkie's room, she quickly deduced that something must have fallen inside of her closet. Approaching it cautiously, she prepared herself for whatever she knew would pop out at her just as she had with her friend's drawers before, reaching for her magic and looking toward the closet door intently.

As a magenta aura engulfed the handle, she closed her eyes and imagined the closet door swinging outward.

A slam met her ears as she suddenly threw her eyes open.

Looking down in disbelief, she watched as a small green alligator stared blankly at her, his eyes pointing in opposite directions and his tail flicking back and forth idly. A fly zipped past Twilight, who watched with bated breath as it approached Gummy, before circling him and landing on his left eye.

Not once did he blink.

Author's Note

New cover, new idea, new inspiration, short chapter. All of which are for good reason, I assure you.