One beautiful morning in Ponyville, as any day of a visitation by royalty very much aught to be, Princess Celestia sat across from Princess Twilight and one of her friends, Pinkie Pie, at one of the front window booths of Sugarcube Corner. Fresh late morning sunlight speared it's way through the window, illuminating the quiet seats and tables of the empty restaurant wherein the trio sat.
Pinkie pie bounced up and down in her seat as the two princesses relaxed in the peaceful atmosphere while discussing matters of politics.
"Well Twilight, although Thorax and his delegation will be passing through here on their way to Canterlot, do you think it would be prudent to disclose it to the public, given Ponyville's propensity for-" *ahem* "-overreaction?" Celestia asked Twilight concernedly.
"Of course they are Pr- Celestia." Twilight corrected herself for the seventh time that day and continued.
"I'm pretty sure that after the Yakyakistani prince incident that the residents of Ponyville have learned how to show a little friendly hospitality to our foriegn guests, err, regardless of their dubious and not to mention, recent, past."
Celestia nodded in understanding, taking an opportunity at the lull in the conversation to sip at her tea, which was of course, courtesy of miss Pie, ridiculously filled to the brim with sugar cubes and a sparkler for some inexplicable reason.
Putting her unnecessarily flamboyant refreshment back down on the table with a slight grimace, Celestia continued, "You have a good point Twilight, Ponyville has seen an awful lot of unusual and unsettling disturbances in the years prior. Perhaps because of this they won't be as overtly distraught at the idea of former changelings waltzing unescorted into their town stead, unlike the aristocrats in Canterlot."
Twilight smiled back at her, "Thank you Pr-" *eighth "-Celestia. I have been working extensively with the citizens of Ponyville to make them more accepting towards other Equestrians, regardless of their race species or creed." she concluded with one hoof raised to her chest.
Celestia smiled warmly back in return, th-
*rfflf*
She turned her eye towards Pinkie Pie, who was at that moment staring and waving like mad out the window at a seemingly random pedestrian, but for a moment, Celestia could have sworn to her own mother that the disorganized pink mass that was apparently the mare's mane had just jostled around slightly.
Narrowing her eyes Celestia returned to the conversation absentmindedly, "Yes.. You have done an excellent job here in Ponyville Twilight. And as such I think it would be acceptable to..." Her eyes narrowing and focusing back incredulously on Pinkie's shifting cotton candy curls. ".. And as afternoon court is *ssshhfuflfrr* beginning relatively soon I.. ... Should be, getting back to Canterlot shortly."
Twilight nodded but stared at Celestia expectantly as the solar diarch continued to sit motionless and continuing to gaze off seemingly into the proverbial distance in her friends general direction. Twilight grinned awkwardly as the moment grew to a prolonged lapse, "Is there something else you wanted to tell me Prin-" Ninth, "Celestia?"
Being snapped back into reality Celestia turned, looking back to Twilight's questioning expression.
"Mhmm.. Oh! Yes. No that is, no, I think that was everything we had to cover, it's been wonderful to see you again Twilight, and I look forward to hearing about Thorax's experience in Ponyville."
Temporarily forgetting altogether about the shuffling noises emanating from Pinkie's head, Twilight spoke "Oh before you go I have got to ask you if Thorax has intentions to position the new hive closer to an inhabited town, or perhaps somewhere further away? But before that I need to go use the little fillies room, I'll be back in just a minute" Twilight dashed off leaving Celestia and Pinkie alone at the booth.
Celestia rose elegantly from her seat, levitating her tea cup and saucer back to the counter, Pinkie Pie suddenly interjected,
"Aww are you leaving already? But we didn't even get to eat desert yet and I made your favorite vanilla strawberry double layer sponge cake even though you were coming for breakfast I didn't know if you would want it but I figured I might as well make it anyway since you eat so much of it and I thought if you didn't you could just bring it back with you *shfhful* but then I thought wouldn't it get smashed up in a box so I-"
Pinkie was cut abruptly short by Celestia placing her hoof just over top of Pinkie's mouth "That is all right miss pie, I am thankful for your thoughtfulness but I will not be requiring the cake, and as this is a bakery I am quite sure you will have no difficulty in making good use of them."
"But I made 6 of them!" Pinkie said seemingly distraught.
....
"I.. think I know how to take care of that." Celestia briefly added.
"Okie dokie lokie! I'll go get them!" Pinkie said immediately dashing up the stairs and returning with all 6 cakes inside individual cake boxes wobbling precariously on her back.
*Rflflffff*
Pausing for a moment to think, Celestia turned around and addressed to her two guard stallions stationed at the doorway.
"Erm... Would you both so mind as to deliver these to cakes to whichever nearby locals will accept them? I really don't think they would survive the air chariot ride back to the castle." The stallions marched forward and obediently took three cakes each and rushed off to distribute them as quickly as possible.
Sighing with mild annoyance she turned back to pinkie, *ruflfflsh*
"Now that we have that taken care of, *fluffnfsh* Pinkie, I do have one last question for you," Celestia said twitching almost noticeably, "What, *Shffflf* Is, that sound?" Celestia said perturbedly, then, holding Pinkie's head still with her magic, she dug her front hooves into Pinkie's mane, pushing the locks of pink fuzz apart and looking inside she immediately gasped and stumbled back, letting go of pinkie and unfurling her wings in shock.
There was a good stretch of awkward silence as Celestia, breathing heavily, slowly regained her composure.
Lips pursed and putting on her casual diplomacy face, Celestia carefully inquired to Pinkie pie of what she had just witnessed. "Ahem... Um... Miss pie. Are you aware you have a live alligator in your mane?" she uttered with carefully punctuated words. "Of course! His name is Gummy, he's my pet!" Pinkie beamed back seemingly oblivious to Celestia's state.
Celestia turned her head up a bit, staring down dubiously at the strange pony, to which Pinkie spoke up "Why? Don't you like baby alligators?"
"Well, I have no probl-" she responded before Pinkie suddenly plucked Gummy out of her hair with booth hooves and put him down on the counter saying "-then you can watch him while I go get the cake twins to take their nappies, Bye bye Princess!" disappearing upstairs in a literal flash of confetti and streamers.
A heavy silence rung over the room.
Celestia stared at Gummy.
Gummy stared into the four corners of space and time, with no apparent rhyme, reason, or consistency to his eyeballs gaze.
One purple hued globe rotated painfully slowly towards Celestia, locking eye/s? Directly with her.
"So..." Celestia spoke up at last. "Does she know?"
Gummy's other eye, looking off completely to the side, rotated slightly up, and smacked his lips once with the speed and moisture rivaling a decrepit old chess player's mouth during a particularly tense session of play.
"Right..." Celestia glanced down awkwardly, even somewhat contritely. "I do apologize about that, it was very rude of me to intrude like that."
Gummy remained utterly motionless.
Celestia took a moment to turn one side of her mouth up in a slight smile, "I don't suppose you figured on seeing me again after so few centuries, particularly since Miss pie's nature is as elusive as one can find, still though, it is a bit out of character for you, this... Place."
Gummy's tongue shot out lightning fast, sticking, and then sliding across one eyeball in a slow wet motion before sliding back into his toothless maw.
"Fair enough, I suppose there is something attractive about that wild and supremely optimistic outlook on life, even if it is such a simplistic one."
Gummy flicked his tail once and rotated his one eye back to the other side of the room.
"So she does know? No? What do you mean sort of? Oh yes well, that's to be expected, she's not really the most.. Aware of ponies is she?"
Gummy shut and reopened his eye in a painfully slow manner, double eyelids scraping away the at least several minutes worth of particulate.
"I see.. Well it was good to see you again old friend, and do remember that since my dear Twilight is now an alicorn you really should introduce yourself, it's not proper to leave her in the dark and I'm sure she would have a great multitude of questions for you.. If you feel like entertaining them." Celestia added smiling.
*plop*
Gummy rolled over and fell off the counter face down onto the floor in front of her.
"Speaking of which," Celestia twisted her neck around, "I suppose Twilight isn't coming, but oh well, I very much need to be going presently. I'll leave her a message so that she remembers to write me concerning her questions at a later time." Celestia said, quickly summoning a scroll and jotting down a note. Pinning it to the door frame so Twilight could find it she strolled over to the door. She then turned her head one last time to say to the small reptile,
"Take care Gumeron Rhkasck, do remember to keep a close eye on Miss pie, shes quite gifted but terribly naive... Perhaps that's why you chose her hhmmm?"
With a slight chuckle Celestia trotted off to her chariot waiting outside, conveniently just as the guards were returning from their deliveries. Meanwhile, Twilight, who had returned some minutes ago, slowly trotted out from the kitchen where she had been listening in on...
Princess Celestia's conversation with Pinnkie pie's pet alligator? Twilight glanced behind her, and then she stared for a long, hard while, regarding the little green reptile laying on the bakery floor.
Nope.
Straight faced and eyes forward, Twilight walked right out the door then down the street back to her castle. Whatever that was had nothing to do with her and of course, never would. She smiled contentedly as she opened the castle door and called spike to take a letter for the princess.
Meanwhile back at sugar cube corner, Gummy the baby alligator sat motionless upon the bakery floor.
One bulbous purple eye slowly rotated in a slow semicircle, up and down repeatedly.
The other eye however, pointed directly towards the the ceiling, following an unseen point above him.
After all...
He did have to keep an eye on her.
Author's Note
What?
Wait no seriously what?
*Came back and edited this again, hard to get the feel right.
Also the title of the chapter pays homage to a small god.
