There's an Alligator in the Air Duct
“You’d better not screw this one up, private.”
The alligator licked his eyeball.
“I will not have you make a fool out of me in this mission. Do I make myself clear, Private Gummy?”
Gummy remained unresponsive.
The rain outside was hammering onto the roof of the Amusement Factory. The noise was so loud that it was able to mask the sound of a mare and her reptilian friend bumbling around in the ventilation shafts. The two slowly but surely scuffed their way through the ducts of the factory.
“All right.” Pinkie moved her oversized goggles from her forehead to her eyes, completing the outfit that began with her black sweatshirt and ski mask. “Now that Colonel Dash has laid down some cover, it’s time to move in.”
The duo continued, crawling their way through the dusty shaft, stopping at a vent cover. Pinkie leaned into the grill of the cover and got sight of her target. Cheese Sandwich was walking through the main halls of the factory, approaching his vice president.
“Cloudsdale never said anything about a rainstorm coming today. What’s going on, Sans?”
Sans Smirk adjusted his glass and cleared his throat. “We aren’t sure, sir. But, this can’t be a good look for the factory. It looks gloomy enough even without the bad weather.”
One of the production managers adjusted their tie. “The shower seems to only be coming down on the factory, and nothing surrounding it… uh, sir.”
Cheese gave his chin a scratch. “That’s… curious. Funny, even.” His eyes shot open. “Yeah. I think I know what’s going on here.” Cheese turned and began walking back to his office. “Search the factory.” he said with a stern voice, squinting his eyes and putting on a serious face. “We have an intruder on the premises.”
Both employees looked at each other anxiously before jetting out in opposite directions to begin a building-wide search for the intruder. Cheese retreated to the head office.
“Haha! Sorry to rain on your parade, Cheese Sandwich.” Pinkie said with an unusually menacing tone, while rubbing her hooves together.
Gummy opened his mouth, and bit down on Pinkie’s tail.
Pinkie turned around to lock eyes with her partner. “All right, newbie. We have our route to the treasure. Let’s move.”
Gummy, once again, remained unresponsive.
Pinkie and Gummy kept moving through the ventilation shaft before arriving at their target destination. The head office of the Amusement Factory.
The duo were right above Cheese Sandwich's desk. Pinkie moved her goggles back up onto her forehead, and peered through the grate overlooking the office. Her eyes tracked back and forth as she watched Cheese pace all over the room.
“Now all we need to do is wait for Colonal Dash’s signal.” Pinkie whispered, looking at her watch. “23 seconds to breach, Private.”
“What is she gonna do? What am I gonna do?” Cheese mumbled, circling around the room.
The seconds ticked away at a snail's pace. Sweat began pouring off of Pinkies face, as if the rain shower was occurring in the duct itself. She glanced at Cheese, then at Gummy, then back and forth, over and over. Pinkie reeled her hooves back, ready to strike the vent at a moments notice.
“3… 2… “ Bang! A clap of thunder rang through the building, and Pinkie Pie had busted through the air duct. Cheese Sandwich jumped from the seat at his desk. He looked out the window to see what was going on, but the view was obscured by the rain constantly pounding on the glass. Pinkie repelled down, head first, into the office. “Dun Dun dundun…” she sang to herself, whispering soft enough to still be masked by the storm.
All of a sudden, the downpour subsided completely. Cheese watched from the window as the grey skies became sunny, and the noise from the rain was replaced by chirps from the crows nesting on the factory’s roof.
The stallion took a moment to ogle at the sudden change of weather. A few seconds had passed before his eyes went wide and his head slowly craned around. Cheese turned to see Pinkie Pie hanging upside down over his desk. He let out a loud yelp and jumped a foot into the air. “I knew you were planning something…” he stopped to catch his breath and regain some of his composure. “funny.”
The two ponies met face to face, glaring, flaring their nostrils, and moving their lips to the sides of their faces.
Cheese opened his mouth slowly. “You think you can g-”
Pinkie placed a kiss on the lips of Cheese Sandwich, causing his eyes to widen in surprise before calming down and coming closed. The warmth seemed to have washed the shock from his body completely.
“Get one over on you?” She giggled as she gave him a satisfied smirk.
Cheese blushed, embarrassed both that he was outplayed by his old rival, and that he was left speechless by the climax of her scheme as well.
Pinkie placed her hoof on his head, stroking his mane softly and gently. “Happy monthiversary.” she said in a tone much more demure than her last. The mare let out a satisfied sigh.
Cheese giggled coyly. “Another mission success, thanks to Brigadier General Pie.”
At this point, all the two could manage to do was give out a hearty laugh. Once they were done chuckling, Pinkie Pie returned to her previous persona. She smacked her goggles back over her eyes and cleared her throat to regain the gruff tone she had before. Pinkie broke character for a brief moment, giving Cheese a happy ear-to-ear grin before fully returning to the role. She tugged on the line she had repelled down from and began her ascent back up into the air ducts. “Dun dun dundun…” she mumbled to herself while crawling back into the duct and scurrying her way out the building.
Immediately after, the door to Cheese Sandwich’s office shot open, revealing Vice President Sans Smirk in a worried and dishevelled state. “What’s wrong, sir? I heard you holler. Was the intruder here? Did you see them?”
Cheese took a moment before sitting back at his desk where the dusty grate from the vent laid. He let out a sigh of relief that the situation was over. “Yes. She was.”
Sans looked and the grate, then up at the opening it had come from just trying to make sense of things.
“You may have won this battle, Brigadier General Pie. But, General Sandwich will win the war!” He chuckled maniacally.
“Uh… Sir?”
