//------------------------------// // Manic // Story: My Little Arkham // by ADHD365 //------------------------------// Consciousness slowly returned to Pinkie Pie. She wasn’t fully aware of what was happening around her. Her mind wouldn’t officially wake up. She couldn’t tell what was real. It felt like a very vivid dream that she couldn’t wake up from. At least it did until she felt a throbbing pain in her head. Like her brain had bounced around the inside of her head and was now sore. Her eyes were shut, but her ears weren’t. Every little sound bounced off every surface around her. The air was surprisingly very hot, unlike the rest of Arkham City. She heard steam hissing, metal clanging, and machinery whirring. She slowly opened her eyes, her deflated mane covering up one. She noticed that two clown thugs were dragging her. They talked and walked while they dragged her along the ground. The area she found herself in was filled with mountainous industrial equipment. In the effort to regain her bearings, she focuses on the balconies above. The multicolored lights shone in the windows, and were similar to the ones she had noticed at the entrance to the Steel Mill. She did not need to be as smart as Twilight to figure out she was inside. If her mane could have gone any straighter, it would have right then. She hung her head low again and began to cry softly. She had been optimistic; she hoped that she could find a way around it at the last minute, but in the end, she had broken her pinkie-promise she made to Fluttershy. She felt like such a hypocrite. “Will you stop staring at it?” “I can’t help it! It’s freaky! What the hell is somethin’ like that doin’ in a place like this?” “How the hell should I know? Look, we’ll take it to J, he’ll do his thing, then we can get rid of it.” “Unless he wants to keep it.” “What? Why would he do that?!” “Its Joker!” “Huh. Good point.” They still thought she was out. She thought it best to keep it that way. She had no idea what would become of her. Fluttershy had told her about Joker. She said he was a cruel, heartless, evil person who did awful things just because he could do them. Fluttershy was clearly upset about him. She had stopped the jokes about him and promised her that she wouldn’t go near him. However, this was Fluttershy. If anypony had a reputation for blowing minor things out of proportion it was her. With a name like Joker, how bad could he be? He makes jokes; he likes to get a laugh. Maybe all the bad stuff that Fluttershy had said he did was just her way of saying he plays lots of pranks. Fluttershy was always so sensitive when it came to pranks so that’s why Pinkie had always left her alone. Maybe Joker plays pranks on everyone, regardless if they’re sensitive or not. That had to be it. She didn’t really believe that Joker was as bad as she said. She carefully looked around at the lights on the balcony above. They were like the ones all over Canterlot around Hearth’s Warming Eve. They were strewn about with bright greens, reds, yellows and oranges. Behind them had a picture of a man with a white face, green hair, and red lips curving into a wide smile. He looked like he was laughing at something really funny. Sure, he looked kind of creepy, but she just figured that it was because of the old paint on the walls. Maybe that picture had been up for a long time. “Look, its awake.” Pinkie turned and faced the two clowns. They both stared at her with astonished curiosity as they continued into the hallway leading to the next room. The one on the left had clown paint on his face while the right one had a mask on. It had bright orange hair sticking out on either side that made Pinkie feel strangely amused and frightened at the same time. They both stared at her for a few moments. “Uh, okay. Good.” The left clown replied. Pinkie stared at them both before yawning. “That wasn’t the best nap I’ve had. I’m still tired!” The two clowns looked back at each other and continued walking. “So where are we going?” She asked. They said nothing for a moment before the masked one cleared his throat. “We’re, uh, we’re gonna go see the boss. He wants to see ya.” “Ooh! That’s Joker, right? I’ve heard about him! He sounds like a really funny guy! Well, everyone says that he isn’t really nice, but I don’t get it! He likes to make jokes and laugh! Laughing is great! I love laughing! In fact, I represent the Element of Laughter! There are six altogether: honesty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, magic, and laughter. That’s me! All my other friends represent the rest of them! There is Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Flutt-“ “Okay can you please stop talking?! Please! Its freaking me out here!” The left clown interrupted. He sounded desperate. “Oops! Sorry!” Pinkie whispered. “Thank you!” The right clown replied. They walked around a corner and stopped in front of an industrial elevator door. The masked clown pressed a button on the wall and the doors opened. They all stepped inside. “Um, Mr. scary-clown-guys?” Pinkie asked quietly. “I know you said not to talk, and I’m sorry, but I have a question. Just one teeny, tiny question! Then I won’t talk anymore until you say its okay!” The clown with face paint rolled his eyes. “What?” “Do you think you can let me walk? I promise I wont run away! I want to talk to Joker, I really do! I’d just feel more comfortable if I could walk instead of having you carry me like this.” She asked. The clowns looked at each other, suddenly suspicious. They raised their rifles they were carrying and slowly lowered Pinkie to the ground. She set her hooves on the ground and started stretching them around. She twisted herself into odd positions and tied herself up in a few knots before she swiftly sat on her haunches and looked at them both with a smile. The clowns were officially weirded out now. They looked back at the door while the elevator ascended to the room above. Pinkie just sat there like a puppy dog with her smile and watched the walls move as the elevator continued to rise. Her hair had gotten poofier, but it still wasn’t as poofy as it normally was. She was still sad about breaking her promise she made with Fluttershy. However, she knew it would be okay in the end. She still couldn’t believe that someone with a name like Joker was evil. She sat there and eagerly waited for them to arrive at their destination. --- The elevator opened into a large room filled with paper and garbage all across the floor. There were doors and passages across the wall on the opposite side of them. Above, there was a large twisting of train tracks and metal that led from one opening to another on the other side of the room. To the left was a large stage that had a big fence preventing access. On the stage was a large mirror. To the right was a single door. They all walked toward the door to the right. Pinkie followed close behind. Once they got a few feet away, the clowns turned back to her. “Joker says he wants to see you alone.” The masked clown said. “Yeah, we’re gonna wait here. He said to send you on through and turn left when you get in.” The other clown added. Pinkie stood there for a few moments, looking at the door then back to the clowns. Then she hopped in the air with a smile. “Okie dokie lokie!” She said. The clowns jumped back, startled as she bounced toward the door. It opened up into a hallway. The floor had green lights in the shape of arrows pointing to her. The walls on either side had “HA HA HA HA HA” written in green. As she walked forward she heard a voice. “Ring riiiing! I was just remembering when it first occurred to me, it was about six months after you left me on that rooftop back at the asylum.” The voice said. It sounded sick. Not weak, but there was a hint of anger in it as it spoke. “As the bones knitted back together, I had plenty of time to think. So how do you keep a secret from the World’s Greatest Detective? Well do you know? It’s easy! You stick it right in front of him, right under his long pointy nose, and wait! HA HA!” Pinkie cautiously stepped around the corner and looked left. She saw a skinny man sitting in a chair in front of a large window. The window looked out to all of Arkham City. He was holding a telephone in his left hand and had his feet propped up on the windowsill. He placed the phone down on a nearby desk and returned his gaze to the window. He sat there silent and still. Pinkie just stood there, waiting for him to do something. He was wheezing softly with every breath. He sounded really sick. She had overheard people outside talking about Joker being really sick. She wondered what was wrong. “So, you’re one of those pony things that Harley told me about.” He said gravely. Pinkie looked around to make sure he was talking to her. “Uh, yep! I’m Pinkie Pie!” She replied happily. He stood up, but continued to look out the window. “Pinkie Pie? Sounds silly.” Pinkie giggled. “Oh, I’m very silly! I love to play pranks and laugh and joke and have all kinds of fun!” Joker paused for a long moment. Pinkie’s smile started to slowly go away as the silence made it awkward. Suddenly, Joker pulled something out of his pocket and turned to her. He threw the chair off to the side and quickly walked toward her. She jumped at the sudden movement and noise. Joker was in the dark so she couldn’t see his face. As he swiftly got closer to her, the light from the hallway illuminated what he was carrying. It was a gun. Pinkie gasped. Even though he was in the dark, she saw the white of his teeth curl into a wide smile. She was shocked. He was going to kill her right there and there was nothing she could do. Her hair totally deflated and she took a few steps back as Jokers finger wrapped around the trigger. This was it. Pinkie shut her eyes as tight as she could and cowered to the ground. She covered her face with her arms and whimpered as she heard the subtle click of the gun. *BANG* Pinkie yelped. She waited for the pain, but it never came. She cautiously opened her eyes and slowly looked back at Joker. The air around the gun was smokey and he was still pointing the gun at her. The gun, however, had a yellow flag protruding from the barrel. The word ‘BANG!’ was written on the flag. “I like to play pranks too!” Joker said as he twirled the flag above him. He then threw back his head and laughed as hard as he could. Pinkie was scared stiff. It was a prank? It seemed so real. Finally, she nervously exhaled and began to laugh with him. “Whoo! You really got me there with that one! I was so sure you were gonna shoot me! That’s a good one!” She laughed nervously, her hair still totally flat. Joker laughed for another few seconds before he began hacking and coughing. He bent over and covered his mouth, but continued to laugh as best he could. “You know, I’m so glad someone else here appreciates a sense of humor!” He wheezed. “It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside!” Pinkie giggled nervously. “Yeah, me too! This place has been really scary and everyone in here has been rude! Me and my friends have been really scared the whole time!” “Your friends? You mean there’s more of you?” Joker asked. “Oh yeah! Five of my bestest friends are in here with me! That meanie-pants Mr. Strange put us all in here! He says he wants to use us for something called Protocol 10.” Pinkie said. Joker blinked. “There it is again! Protocol 10! Bats said something about that when he was here.” Joker threw his hands up in frustration and began to pace back and forth across the room. “Accusing me of working with Strange on that. I’ve never even heard of it! Bah! What does he care? Batman has never seen things from anyone else’s perspective but his own! He shows up, looking like the hero! All goody-two-shoes, Boy Scout with a utility belt, freak in a mask! Well I’ll show ‘em. I’ll show ‘em all!” He vented angrily. Pinkie looked confused. “Um, a-are you okay? You seem a little upset about something. Did Batman do something bad to you?” Joker shot her a look. “Bad? Bad?! It’s worse than bad! It’s downright despicable! It’s his fault I’m like this, you know.” Pinkie cocked her head. “Like what?” Joker paused before taking a step into the light. Pinkie gasped. She hadn’t gotten a clear look at his face yet. She remembered the picture in the previous room of the white-faced man with green hair and a wide smile. It was Joker. Except, the real Joker looked awful. The skin on his face was peeling in multiple places and some spots on his head were bald. His bright red lips were now faded and extremely cracked. His green eyes were really, really bloodshot. He looked absolutely terrible. “Oh my gosh! How did this happen to you? When did this happen?” Pinkie asked. Joker sniffed and wiped his nose with a finger. “Well, I suppose you could say that I wanted to throw a great big party a year ago and Batman was the party pooper! One minute, you’re passing out the goodies, playing games, creating biologically enhanced monsters, and the next, you’re sitting in a small room with a bunch of stupid doctors telling you that they don’t know how to fix you!” Pinkie took a step forward and looked closer. “Oh Joker, I’m so sorry for you! I wish I could do something to help.” Joker grinned. “Not to worry, my dear! I've arranged for a little get well present to me! I had Mr. Freeze working on a cure for this, but he’s gone dark on me. So, I had Batman go and convince him to get crackin’! Our days are numbered, after all!” “Wait, Batman agreed to help you?” Pinkie was confused. “Not willingly, of course. All I had to do was just injected a bit of my poisonous blood into him while he took a power nap, and threaten to poison all of Gotham if he failed! Worked wonders, lemme tell ya.” Joker laughed. Pinkie blinked. “Poison Gotham? Y-you mean that city outside of this place?” She asked nervously. Joker looked at her quizzically. “You really aren't from here, are you?” She shook her head. “Well, I’ve told you a bit about me, so why don’t you tell me a bit about you?” Joker said with a smile. He pulled up a chair. “Come on! Don’t be shy! This will be fun!” Pinkie stepped toward him. She had lost her bubbly, cheery attitude and was now on alert. Her assumptions of him hadn’t been exactly what she expected. Either he was just messing with her, or he didn’t know how far was too far when it came to jokes and pranks. She was sure he was ill in the head as well. After she finished her story, she would ask him more. She spent the next few minutes telling him about Equestria, the Elements of Harmony, her friends, some pranks she had pulled, and a little about her life on the rock farm. “So after you earned your cutie mark thingy, your parents laughed and played with you all the time after that?” He asked. Pinkie nodded before looking at the ground. “Well, not all the time.” She slowly said. “What happened?” Joker said. Pinkie looked at him for a moment and then back down. “Oh come on! You can tell me! I’m your friendly Uncle J! I’ll understand.” Joker said with a smile. Pinkie smiled for a moment before frowning again. “My parents and my sisters didn’t really like my parties. I mean, they loved the first one I threw, but after that they seemed to not love them as much.” Pinkie gulped. “Every time I would sing or dance or try to make them smile, they would tell me to knock it off and keep working on the rock farm. I tried to tell them that I could sing and dance while I worked, but they would keep saying ‘Pinkamena Diane Pie, this is the last warning! You stop that noise! Nopony needs to hear that much noise! Do your chores! No singing! No Dancing!’ It was awful!” Joker nodded. “Go on.” Pinkie’s hair was totally straight now. “Well I couldn’t smile or laugh while I was working, so for the next few weeks, I would sneak out at night into the furthest silo we had on the farm. In there, I would sing, dance, laugh and play as much as I could. It was fun, but I had nopony to share it with. I really wanted my family to enjoy them as much as I did. I was all alone.” Crying softly now, Pinkie Pie continued. “Pretty soon, my parents found out about my late-night parties. They came to my door and knocked on it angrily saying ‘Get out here right now, little filly! You’re in big trouble!’ I was scared, but I went out to face them. I told them ‘I like parties and playing and having fun! Why cant you see that? I’m just playing! There’s no bad stuff about it!’ but they just said that parties and playing were never allowed here. So later that night, I packed up my things and I ran away from home. I walked all the way to Ponyville. That’s where I met Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They took me in and taught me about baking yummy treats like cupcakes and cookies and all sorts of stuff! Ponyville had lots of great ponies that loved playing and having fun all the time! I knew it was where I belonged!” “See? Right there! I know exactly how you feel!” Joker exclaimed. “I always try really hard to get people to laugh and smile, but everyone in this urban cesspool doesn’t understand the jokes! They’re all buying the crap that Batman dishes out to them! He tells Gotham that he can make a difference in the world, that he can change things, make the world better. The truth is, we’re all on the same ride on our way to the same place. All I’m doing is having fun and making laughs, but oh no! Batman doesn’t want that to happen. Laughter, giggles, fun, its all the things that he’s trying to change, get rid of, smash to pieces! I want to show the world that no matter what happens, we’re all sliding into madness, why not have some fun?” Joker yelled. Pinkie thought for a moment. “Everyone ends up in the same place?” “Everyone. It’s inevitable! The liar is preaching to the people of this miserable town that he can change things for the better. And everyone here believes it! They’re letting a crazy person like him roam free out there while I’m stuck in here.” Joker folded his arms and sat back down. “That’s why I totally understand you. Your parents wanted you to change. They wanted you to believe something that wasn’t true. They wanted you to change for their world. Why should you change for them? They should change for you!” Joker said. Pinkie nodded and stomped in agreement. “Yeah! All I wanted was to have fun and play! They thought it was a silly thing to do. They wanted me to go totally against what my cutie mark said I love doing, and do something I hate doing instead! I hated working on that rock farm! I hated how they wanted me to change!” “That’s why I do all the things that I do! I’m making them see the truth. Batman will continue to spread his filthy lies about me, but he knows as well as I do that I’m right. I’ve always been right!” Joker said. “I believe you, Joker. Laughing and being happy is how everything is meant to be. If everyone else in here doesn’t want that happiness, then they deserve whatever you do to them!” Pinkie agreed resolutely. Joker threw his head back and laughed. “You’re damn right they do! Unless they see as we see, they will continue to lead miserable, pointless lives that they don’t even deserve.” He said and laughed again. Pinkie and Joker both laughed and laughed and laughed. In the short time they had been together, they had formed a powerful bond fuelled by their want for laughter. Somewhere in the laughing, Pinkie Pie randomly thought about the Elements of Harmony, all six of them together. They seemed different somehow, but still the same. She was familiar with hers, but it also seemed very alien to her. The thought came completely out of nowhere. She thought about all her friends. She wondered where they were, if they were in trouble. Pinkie stopped laughing and wiped a tear away. “Well Joker, I was wondering if you could help me with something really quick.” She said. Joker coughed and wheezed after he finished laughing. “What can I help with?” “Well, I was walking toward the food drop off place to pick up some food for Fluttershy. You remember me telling you about her?” Joker nodded. “Well I found some, but the road behind me exploded! I don’t know what happened, but it was just gone!” Joker grunted and jumped out of his chair. “Ooh Penguin! That little bastard destroyed the freeway?! That’s not fair! Just because he’s rich doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants!” Pinkie blinked. “Penguin is the man who kidnapped Fluttershy and Rarity! He’s the reason Fluttershy got hurt! I need to get some food back to her as fast as I can!” Joker looked at Pinkie solemnly. “I’m sorry, but he cut me off from the rest of Arkham! We’re stuck here.” Pinkie started to panic. She wasn’t going to break any more promises tonight. “We have to find a way! Twilight and Rainbow went to rescue Rarity! What if Batman meets them there?” Joker gasped. “We can’t have that now, can we?!” He thought for a moment before he snapped his fingers. “Don’t worry! Some of my boys are guarding a tunnel off to the side of the Steel Mill. It leads underground and goes underneath Strange’s base. Hopefully, it will lead to the other side!” Pinkie took a few steps closer to him. “Can I please go? I really need to get some food to her! I’m her only hope!” “Yes! I want you to! Any enemy of the Bat is a friend of mine!” Joker said. “Go to your friend and help her as much as you can! Then tell her about Batman! He can’t be trusted. He may have saved you in the church, but don’t buy into that little show he puts on about being the hero! It’s all a sham.” Pinkie nodded and ran to Joker. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug. “Thank you so much for all your help! I knew they were all wrong about you! You’re a great person, Joker!” Joker hugged her back. “Thank you for seeing the truth, Pinkie! I wasn’t expecting this at all today!” They released and Pinkie ran back to where she came in. Joker called after her. “Don’t worry about my guys! They won’t hurt a single pink hair on your head!” --- On the ground floor, Pinkie stepped out of the elevator with the two clowns she had previously been with. “So Joker agreed to help you with your friend?” The masked clown asked. “Yep! Turns out, we have a lot in common! He’s really not as bad as people say he is. He’s so sick, I feel awful for him.” Pinkie said. “Pfft! Naw, don’t believe that for a second. Joker wants you to think he’s sick, then wham! Gotcha! He’s just pulling our legs with this thing.” The other clown said. Pinkie turned to him. “No. I saw him. He’s dying. It’s all Batman’s fault. He better come back soon with his cure.” The two clowns looked at each other, bewildered. “J’s really got you wrapped around his finger, doesn’t he?” The masked clown said. “No, he told me the truth about what happened! He threw a huge party and Batman crashed it! He’s a big party pooper!” Pinkie said. The clown shrugged and walked toward the door on the right. Pinkie and the other clown followed. The two clowns had agreed to accompany Pinkie to the tunnel that led underground. She would be on her own from there. She was exited to finally help Fluttershy. She couldn’t wait to tell her all about Joker. She would explain why she had no other choice and she had to see him. She was sure Fluttershy would understand. She would also be grateful for Joker’s help. They opened the door and walked through. It led to a large room filled with all sorts of machinery. There were many hooks hanging by chains from the ceiling above. The walls were old and the paint was beginning to flake off in some places. They walked to the right across the elevated balcony. They turned left after a few steps and went down the stairs into the main part of the room. Above the main door to the Steel Mill was the office that Pinkie had just been in. There was a doorway leading out to the main room. The wall around the doorway had many pictures of Joker smiling, and the words “HA HA HA HA” were written everywhere. “So what are your names?” Pinkie asked the clowns. The masked clown turned to face her. “Mine’s Dom. That’s Harry.” “Yeah, how do ya do?” The other clown said bluntly. He walked toward a button on the wall next to the door. Pinkie smiled. “Well, it’s great to officially meet you!” Dom chuckled. Harry pressed the button and the alarm began to blare. Yellow lights began to flash and the door started to open. The icy air hit Pinkie and caught her off guard. She shivered and held herself tight. It was so warm inside the Steel Mill that Pinkie had totally forgotten about the icy environment outside. They all walked outside into the main yard. There were a few broken down vehicles scattered around the yard. The trio walked toward the main gate and the large metal doors swung open toward them. There was a large sign above it that read something, but it was written backwards. Pinkie got to the other side and turned around. It read “Sionis Steel Mill.” She shrugged it off and continued down the street. The road forked and they turned left. They passed a few other clown henchmen who all gave them strange looks as they walked. Dom and Harry didn’t seem to care. Even though it was still weird for them, they had gotten somewhat accustomed to having Pinkie around. It made her feel good. They continued walking through the alleyways and streets until they reached a few armed clown thugs. They were spread out and looking inside a large hole in the ground. It looked like a crater on the surface of the moon. “I’m tellin’ ya, man! It went down there!” One of the armed clowns said. “You’re just seein’ things. No way did something get past us and go down there. No way” Replied another. The first clown was persistent. “It did! I told you it looked like a Ninja! You know, all sneaky and swords and stuff?” Pinkie cocked her head. Ninjas? Here? This place was full of all sorts of surprises. “Look around you! There are no secret Ninja assassins in Arkham City! That would be insane! We would’ve seen ‘em.” “I saw it! It went down there!” Pinkie approached the hole and looked inside. It was very dark, but she could make out the ground below. It looked like it ran into the sewer system. “Hmm. How am I supposed to get down there?” She thought to herself. “I could jump, but that wouldn’t be very safe. Maybe if I could find a rope or something, I could lower myself down there.” She looked up. “Hey narrator! Could you narrate me down into the hole please?” No Pinkie. Find your own way down. “Aww come on! Please? I’ll be your best friend!” No Pinkie. I’m still kind of ticked that you’re talking to me right now. You aren’t supposed to know I’m here. “But you ARE here! How can I possibly ignore someone who is supposed to be telling the story of ponies in a world from a video game?! Its impossible!” Okay, fine. We’ll do things your way. I’ll help you out in just one second. Pinkie smiled. “Yipee! Thanks!” Pinkie turned around. Dom and Harry were both staring at her with the strangest looks on their faces that she had ever seen. “What?” She asked. They both continued to stare at her. “Uh… Who were you talking to?” Dom asked. Pinkie giggled. “I was talking to the author! He’s the one who made this little crossover story a reality for us!” Pinkie, I swear… They blinked again. “The author?” “Yep!” She replied happily. They both looked at each other before shrugging it off. “Whatever!” Harry said. Pinkie looked confused. They weren’t making any sense at all. She heard a grunting noise from behind her. She turned around and saw a clown falling to the ground beside the hole. He hit the ground with a loud thud. The other clowns exclaimed in surprise. They all ran to him. “What’s going on here? What happened?” “I don’t know!” Pinkie, Dom, and Harry all ran to join the other armed clowns around him. He was unconscious. “Did anyone see anything?” Dom asked. “No, nothing!” Out of nowhere, a cloud of smoke appeared and impeded everyone’s vision. The armed clowns sprayed rounds into the air wildly. They were all coughing and hacking their lungs out. Pinkie couldn’t see anything two inches in front of her. She heard shouting and grunting all around her. The only thing she could make out was the faint shadows of the clown thugs panicking around her. While trying to make sense of everything, she felt herself being lifted into the air and out of the smoke. She shrieked and looked at her captor, ready for a fight. Rainbow Dash was holding her and flying up and out of the cloud. Her eyes widened. “DASHIE!!” Pinkie exclaimed. She hugged her cyan-colored friend as tight as she could, causing Rainbow to lose her balance and crash to the ground. They only fell a few feet before they impacted a small patch of snow. Pinkie immediately got up and hugged Rainbow as tight as she could. “Dashie! I’m so happy to see you!” She said. Rainbow hugged her friend back just as tight. “I’m happy to see you too Pinkie! Fluttershy told me about what happened, and we were all worried sick!” “You talked to Fluttershy? Oh gosh! Is she okay? I tried to get back to her but the road blew up and I couldn’t so I had to break my Pinkie-promise I made with her! I feel so awful about it! I was just about to go down that hole to get food for her when you showed up!” “Its okay, Pinkie. I’m sure she’ll understand why you had to break it. We were about to go down the hole too! We’re chasing a Ninja!” Pinkie released her. “There really is a Ninja?” Rainbow nodded. “Yeah! She knows where to find this guy who has the cure to-” Pinkie interrupted her and hugged her again. “Oh that’s wonderful news! You know how to find the cure!” Rainbow paused. “How do you know about the cure?” Pinkie was about to answer when it hit her as well. She released Rainbow and looked at her again. “Wait. How do YOU know about the cure?” They both felt a presence behind them and looked to the source. Immediately, Pinkie’s hair deflated and she looked very, very angry. “What is HE doing here?!” She demanded. “I’m helping him get the cure and save you.” Rainbow replied slowly. “I like it here! I don’t need help! Especially from the likes of him!” Pinkie yelled, shoving her friend away. Rainbow caught herself and looked back at Pinkie. “Pinkie? Why are you acting like this?” “Because! Batman is a big, fat jerk who wants nothing but misery for everyone in the world! Joker told me everything!” Pinkie yelled. Rainbow looked at her sorrowfully. “Oh no.”