Chapter 3
Do The Monkey!
Lyra and the Monkey King rode back into Ponyville; the Monkey King was now seen wearing a suit of jade armor complete with a helmet. When he noticed an establishment in the distance with blinking lights and a line of ponies outside, he pointed a sword in his right hand as he rode towards it "Let us make haste, minty equine, to the hall of merriment over yonder!" He shouted in a mock medieval tone.
Lyra looked up at the Monkey King and giggled "You sound like Princess Luna!"
The Monkey King lifted the visor on his helmet covering his eyes to look down at Lyra "Did you say princess?" He asked curiously.
Lyra nodded "Mhm! Equestria is ran by two princesses; Princess Celestia and her younger sister Princess Luna!"
The Monkey King was intrigued. Perhaps he would go visit them once he's had enough pranks for a day. He could pull more high-class pranks on them if he felt up to it. The pair arrived at the club, and the Monkey King dismounted while he was found in his regular clothes. He spun his stick and slung it over his shoulders as he made his way towards the entrance, ignoring the bouncer that stood in front of him with a glare behind his sunglasses "Can I help you, bub?" The bouncer spoke in a deep and intimidating tone.
The Monkey King looked down at the built stallion wearing a black shirt and quirked an eyebrow before he grinned "Step aside, good sir! I have a party to crash!" He looked over at Lyra approaching and pointed at her with a thumb "Oh, and she's with me!"
The bouncer snorted "You think I'm just gonna let a complete stranger in here?" He leered at the Monkey King behind his sunglasses.
Frowning at the pony's tone, the Monkey King tapped a finger on his chin. When he had an idea, he snapped his fingers with a grin, then spun his stick as he spoke "You know, you sound pretty heavy for a pony so small! If anything..." He pointed his stick and zapped the bouncer "You should be light as a feather!"
When the beam connected with the bouncer, his body was decorated with moving feathers that brushed against him at different angles. The bouncer was then found laughing loudly, even toppling over and curling up to try and defend himself from being tickled fiercely.
The Monkey King blew on the end of his staff as if it were a gun barrel and hopped over the bouncer to make his way inside the club "Still got it!" Lyra followed inside, still ambitious about learning from the ancient prankster. The ponies standing in line did not expect to see a giant monkey and a mint unicorn get granted free access into the local club. They went to enter themselves, but then noticed Twilight and Fluttershy gallop inside after they chased Lyra and the Monkey King into town.
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Inside of the club, ponies were either relaxing by the bar or busting moves on the dance floor. Vinyl Scratch was busy on the turntables monitoring the music while bobbing her head to the beat; She wore headphones so she could listen to more of the music. At the entrance, the Monkey King was found with a puffed red afro, sunglasses, and a white disco outfit "Ah, this place is totally groovy!" He said with a grin, then took off and tossed his sunglasses "Let's kick it up a notch, shall we?"
Lyra tilted her head at the Monkey King "You're gonna request a song?" She asked curiously.
The ancient prankster turned to point an accusing finger at Lyra "Hey! The Monkey King doesn't do requests! But I have an idea...Follow me!" He said as he hopped towards the turntables with Lyra galloping after him.
When they reached the turntables, Vinyl Scratch was unaware of their presence as she continued bobbing her head to the beat. The Monkey King (Now in his regular clothes somehow) stared at her blankly before he took his staff and zapped her.
After she was hit with the beam, Vinyl Scratch was now found wearing green lederhosen with a matching hat. The DJ examined herself "What the-!?" She was stupefied to be seen wearing such tacky clothes that appeared on her.
The Monkey King then lightly shoved Vinyl Scratch aside as he was found wearing lederhosen of his own as he stopped the music and grinned at the crowd "Put on your lederhosen, folks, cuz it's time to POLKA!!" He said as he zapped the turntables, turning it into a set of instruments playing by themselves; there was an accordion, a tuba, a drum, and a trumpet.
Surprisingly, the ponies on the dance floor somehow complied and began to dance to the new song. Vinyl Scratch, however, was not amused as she scowled at the imposing intruder that destroyed her precious turntables "Not cool, dude! Who do you think you are?"
Before Lyra could introduce her new friend, the Monkey King turned to Vinyl Scratch with an insulted look in his eyes "You mean you haven't heard of me?" He pointed at himself with a thumb and a prideful smile "I happen to be the same guy that gives comedy its proper meaning! I'm the one monkey to rule them all, when it comes to making a good joke, of course! I am the Monkey King!" He flashed a winning grin towards the angry DJ.
Vinyl Scratch snorted "I don't care if you're the prime minister of Trottingham! Gimme back my turntables!!"
Lyra frowned "We should do what she says, Monkey King. I mean, we've already caused enough trouble at Sweet Apple Acres..."
The Monkey King waved a dismissive paw at Lyra "Lemme just enjoy this music first! This is good stuff!" He said as he performed a silly dance to the polka, ignoring Vinyl Scratch's anger and Lyra's plea.
"Hold it!"
The Monkey King froze in a dance position when he heard the authoritive voice call out by the entrance, and looked to see an irate unicorn with a timid pegasus "You there! The monkey!" The unicorn spoke as she pointed a hoof.
Lyra nearly jumped upon seeing the two newcomers "Uh oh! It's Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy!" She turned to the Monkey King "They must've known what happened to Applejack!" She spoke fearfully.
The Monkey King (once again in his regular clothes) looked at Lyra "I think they come here to either A: Enjoy the music, or B: Look at some of this!" He said as he transformed himself into a muscular monkey, striking poses and flexing his muscles proudly.
Vinyl Scratch called out to Twilight as she pointed a hoof at the Monkey King "Twi, this jerk totally ruined my turntables!" She looked at herself "And put me in this crappy getup..." The DJ muttered as she tried to take it off.
Twilight made her way towards the stage with Fluttershy following behind, then confronted the Monkey King "I know about what you've done to Pinkie! Who are you?"
The Monkey King groaned in annoyance "It's like I have a blank slate here!" He pointed up a learning finger "Monkey..." He directed the finger towards his smiling face "King!" He spun his staff and slammed an end to the floor "And you look like you have a problem! What can I do ya for?" He said as he tilted his head.
Twilight leered at the ancient prankster "We know what you've done to Pinkie! Change her back!!"
Lyra blinked "Pinkie? What happened to her?" She said, curious about the pony she personally sent to find proof of the existence of humans. The mint unicorn turned to the Monkey King "What did you do to Pinkie Pie?" She asked in a slightly interrogating tone.
The Monkey King ignored Lyra to look sullen "But if I change her back, that would mean having to stop my fun and deliver joy to other ponies..." He paused before he showed a face of anger to topple Twilight's "I don't plan on going back to Dollsville anytime soon, sister!!" He snapped at the lavender bookworm.
Fluttershy somehow caught on to the Monkey King's words "You mean, you were a doll once?" She asked inquisitively.
The Monkey King shrugged "More of a puppet, really, but that's not important!" He grabbed Lyra as his staff transformed into a bullwhip "Time to blow this popsicle stand and swing on outta here!" He said as he launched the whip onto the railing near the ceiling. After the whip was tied tightly to the rails, the Monkey King was found wearing a fedora and leather jacket as he swung away with Lyra while crudely singing an adventurous song.
When he reached the entrance, he tipped his fedora to the ponies "Catch you on the flipside, ladies!" He said as he giggled mischievously and ran off with Lyra.
Twilight fumed at the Monkey King escaping "C'mon, Fluttershy! We have to find the others! This Monkey King's not gonna come quietly!"
The two mares galloped out of the club, leaving behind Vinyl Scratch as she stood with the instruments still playing. She stared at them with a frown "Great..." The DJ said with a sigh.
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The Monkey King scoped the area around him for another place to have fun while eluding the two mares after him "Let's see...We've hit a farm and a club...where to next?" He looked at Lyra, who had her eyes narrowed at the Monkey King "What?" The ancient prankster felt his face with his free paw "Is there something on my face?"
Lyra replied "I want to know what you've done to my friend Pinkie, Monkey King!"
The Monkey King scratched his head in mock thought "Pinkie...Pinkie..." He then flashed his pinky finger "You mean this one here?" He said with a smile.
Lyra growled "I mean my friend Pinkie Pie! What have you done to her?"
The Monkey King crossed his arms as he frowned at Lyra "What's eating you? Cuz I don't see anything on you right now!" He said as he laughed at his own joke.
Lyra stomped a hoof "That's not funny, Monkey King! You're not answering my question!"
The Monkey King quirked an eyebrow "What, you mean how I got here? Eh, some pink pony decided to pull my leg and free me from centuries of boredom! Now she's just a puppet!" He rubbed his chin with a paw "Probably should've left her with some polish as a thank-you..." He then shrugged "Oh well! I can worry about that later! Why don't we look for another good spot?"
Lyra stared "You mean..." She paused before she gasped in realization "You turned Pinkie into a puppet!?"
The Monkey King ignored Lyra's shock as he looked around, then spotted a cyan pegasus snoozing on a cloud "Wow...I heard of having your head in the clouds, but this is ridiculous!"
Lyra approached the Monkey King "You have to change Pinkie back! It's not right for her to be a puppet forever!!" She demanded.
The Monkey King looked down at Lyra with a disapproving frown "Spoken like a wet blanket...Looks like you should dry off!" He said as he lifted Lyra and tied her to a nearby clothesline and examining her struggling with a smile "You just hang tight for a bit while I go enjoy myself! As for what you said about me talking humans, well, that's no longer my problem! See ya!" He said as he hopped away, giggling.
Lyra struggled, then focused her horn to undo the knots holding her up. When she landed, she sighed "I can't believe it! Pinkie's a puppet, the Monkey King's running amok, and it's all my fault!"
"Excuse me?"
Lyra looked up to see the cyan pegasus in the clouds wake up and swoop down towards her "What's this about Pinkie turning into a puppet?"
Lyra frowned "Rainbow Dash, it's awful! I only wanted Pinkie to look for something to prove the existence of humans, and now she's turned into a puppet because of him!" She pointed towards the Monkey King, who was running off.
Rainbow Dash noticed and glared "So he's the one, huh!? Sit tight, Lyra! I got this!" She sped off towards the Monkey King.
The Monkey King was moving along, humming a ditty, then stopped with a face of mock seriousness "My Simian Sense is tingling..." He uttered. The ancient prankster then quickly dodged out of the way when a prismatic blur shot past him from behind "Whoa!!" The blur faded to show an angry Rainbow Dash hovering in front of him "Would you look at that! A double rainbow..." He shed a fake tear "So intense..." He whispered as he looked at the cyan pegasus.
Rainbow Dash steamed from her nostrils "That's Rainbow Dash to you, buddy! You're gonna change my friend back right now, or else!!"
The Monkey King grinned "Or else what?"
Rainbow Dash growled and flew at the Monkey King again, only to have the ancient prankster leap over him without a hitch "Wow, you're fast! But it'll take more than that to catch Yours truly!" He pulled out and wore a large sombrero. Somehow, the Monkey King managed to make his feet move fast as he shouted "Ándele! Ándele! Arribaaa~!!" He then sped away from Rainbow Dash, prompting the cyan pegasus to chase him down.
Lyra watched them go, then heard galloping from behind to see Twilight and Fluttershy approach her "Oh, Twilight and Fluttershy! You don't have to worry too much about the Monkey King! Rainbow Dash is chasing him down right now!" She said with a reassuring smile.
Fluttershy frowned "Not that it's any of our business, Lyra, but...what were you even doing with the Monkey King?" She asked curiously.
Lyra frowned and looked down with a penitent look in her eyes "All I wanted was to prove the existence of humans, and he didn't tell me one thing! He just used me and left me behind when I wanted him to change Pinkie back!"
Twilight sighed "We'll settle this once we've subdued that monkey! Let's go help Rainbow Dash in case she's having trouble!" The three mares galloped after Rainbow Dash and the Monkey King.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was gradually catching up with the Monkey King, who only chattered in laughter as he ran from her. She growled as she inched towards her target with complete focus on him "When I get my hooves on you, you're so dead!!"
Before she could get close to him, the ancient prankster made a swift and sharp turn to the left. Rainbow Dash went to do the same, but slammed against a wall of a building. She slid off of it and landed on the ground with a moan.
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Lyra finally caught up to their friend with worry upon seeing her hit the wall. Twilight approached Rainbow Dash and helped her on her feet "Rainbow Dash, are you hurt?"
Rainbow Dash looked away with a frown "Only my pride..." She muttered sadly.
"There! You see now?"
The four mares looked to see the Monkey King stand a few feet away from them with a triumphant smirk "You know better than to mess with the Madcap of monkeys himself! You all should be happy that I'm brightening up your day with a ton of laughs!"
Rainbow Dash scowled at the Monkey King "That's more of Pinkie's thing. All you did was hex her and fool around here in Ponyville!!"
The Monkey King huffed "Oh, I haven't done so much damage..." He looked away with a devious smirk "yet..." He muttered before he continued "Besides, I still have more stuff to do before I actually DO get bored! Like maybe meeting one of those princesses your friend over there was talking about!"
Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all looked over at Lyra, who smiled in embarrassment.
The Monkey King continued "Now if you'll excuse me, there's fun to be had and pranks to be pulled!" He went to leave, only to be surprised by a lasso swinging over and constricting him along his midsection with his arms "Wha!?" He looked over to where the rope led.
Applejack was seen tugging on her lasso with her teeth as she kept the Monkey King still "Gotcha, ya filthy varmint!!" She yelled with the rope in her mouth.
End of Chapter 3