//------------------------------// // Joke = Laugh // Story: Results of a Royal Wager // by SmokeShadow95 //------------------------------// Luna stood in front of her tall standing mirror. She sighed heavily. The time had come, finally. She stood there and stared at her reflection for a few more moments. She still couldn't believe that this had really come to pass. Again she sighed. This was not going to be a fun day. And as she sighed the doors to her chambers burst open as her sister entered, seemingly having a most excellent day. “Come now, Luna. The time has come,” Celestia stated as she walked in. Her words fells short, however, as her eyes fell upon her dear sister. Celestia barely held it in for the next few seconds before bursting out in a fit of laughter that was certain to draw ire from the nobility later, after Luna's own actions of course. “Please, dear sister, stop that,” Luna said, “This day is going to be bad enough as it it.” Celestia only stopped laughing due to her biological need of breath and the act of breathing. She heaved in a couple big gulps of air and looked back up at Luna. Atop her her her mane had been converted into a multicolored afro of many colors the likes of which would make Rainbow Dash's mane seem bland. On her hooves she wore shoes many sizes too big for her. It only made Celestia wonder as to how she was keeping them on. Maybe magic? Over her body she wore a loose shirt and pants with suspenders keeping everything together and held up. And yet, everything was so loose it just made Celestia laugh even more. And then there was the big, red nose. “I am sorry, sister,” Celestia said as she rolled over with another fit giggle fit overtaking her. “I am quite disliking you at the moment,” Luna said as she stepped over her flailing sister to leave her room. Luna had to use ever ounce of courage she could muster up to walk out of the castle looking the way she did. She knew what happened every time she passed a pony. It didn't matter who it was, from the kitchen staff to the royal guards to the janitor ponies. They looked at her, dropped whatever they had in their hooves and stared. At least they waited until they believed her out of earshot to start laughing. Luna sighed once again as she finally got to the ground level of the castle. There, one of her most trusted personal thestral guards was waiting for her. He barely spoke to anyone, even herself. He didn't really socialize much and had no family as far as she knew. He was the perfect pony for this job. “Do you have it?” He nodded slightly and moved away. He walked over to a small crate and levitated an item out of it. He used his magic to quickly place it before the Princess and watch her mount it. Much to his surprise the Princess he served so loyally didn't fall to her embarrassment. He held in his look of shock as he stared at her. “Believe it or not, I've ridden one of these before,” She said as she saw him staring. “I'm actually quite good at it.” And with that, the unicycle riding clown princess was off. “Hey, you there!” Several ponies turned their heads. Who was talking and where was it coming from? The heads turned and looked to try and find the source of this voice. After a moment they all went back to what they were doing, most of which was just standing around. “Hey, all you ponies!” Again, all the heads turned and looked. Only, this time they saw something. And they couldn't believe their eyes. It was a unicycle. And on top of this unicycle was a Princess. IT was Princess Luna. And she was dressed as a clown. She rode up to them with skill and precision and saw as they stared up at her. “Princess Luna?” One of them ventured to ask. “What does thee call a small door?” She replied. “What?” “What does thee call a small door?” Luna repeated. The ponies all looked at one another. Not a one of them had a clue as to what was going on. They murmured amongst themselves for a few moments before turning back to Luna. At that point they all collectively shrugged. “A-door-able,” Luna said before quickly zooming away on her one wheel. “I don't believe it,” A pony said from the crowd, “With everything that's going on, she's doing ride by jokes. And they aren't even good jokes.” Luna sped away from that first group of ponies as fast as she could. The big shoes she wore made it a bit hard for her to handle the unicycle. She eventually tossed them aside and sped off even faster. Her heart was pounding and she came to a stop in the shadow of a tall tree away from prying eyes. Well that was. . . exhilarating! Luna thought with a small giggle. She smiled and giggled some more. After that, she pedaled off and towards her next unsuspecting victims. Maybe today won't be as bad as I thought. “Princess Luna,” Donut Joe muttered in a stunned tone as she rolled up to his shop with several ponies waiting to enter for the day. He was just opening when she came up and stopped. He wasn't the only one who was stunned at the sight of her. All of the ponies could do nothing but stare. “So, I held the door door open for a clown today,” Luna started. “Who was it this time? Celestia?” A pony blurted out from amongst them. Luna didn't even budge as she retorted, “No, but that would have been a nice jester.” Luna rode off with many of the those very same ponies groaning. That was several moments of their lives they would never get back. Luna laughed as she rode away and entered the main part of the city. Her eyes widened as she saw all the potential spilling out into the streets before here. Canterlot was never going to be the same after that day. “So, I swallowed some food coloring today.” The ponies all stared up at Luna as she sat upon her unicycle. They blinked a few times but it became clear that none of them was going to answer back. That was okay, they weren't supposed to. This was just a dramatic pause. “I dyed a little inside,” Luna said with a roaring laugh. The ponies lowered their heads and groaned. Luna rode around Canterlot and told a few more bad jokes. “What do you call an alligator wearing a vest?” “NO! Not again,” A pony shouted as she began to run away in the other direction. “An in-vest-igator,” Luna said loudly enough for her to hear it anyway. “AAAHHHHH!!” Luna laughed as she came upon the next group of ponies. “What does one call a fake noodle?” They looked at each other and then back at Luna. She didn't even wait for them to respond before she blurted out, “An impasta!” “Do you know what stealing somepony's coffee is called?” “A mugging!” Luna zoomed off in a flash and left all the ponies there wondering what in the world of Equestria just happened. Luna sped through the streets of Canterlot as fast as the unicycle could carry her. All the while she was laughing like a mad pony having a really good day. Only half of that applied to her. She eventually came to a stop in a small shaded corner of the city away from the eyes of the ponies. She dismounted her unicycle and leaned against the nearest tree. She giggled a bit as her thoughts drifted back to all the faces of the ponies who she told jokes too. “My, my, my. Princess Luna. What has happened to you?” Luna looked up to see Discord hanging down from above her. “I know the Princessing game is a bit full right now, but this is low even for you. Are you all right?” “NO!” Luna shouted as she sprang to her hooves. She thrust an oversized shoe at Discord and stared at him. “I am half left.” Discord's normally cheery face was covered with his palm as he let the words sink in. He dragged his hand down his face as if that would somehow wipe away the last few seconds. “I- I don't even know what to say about that,” He said, “I don't even know what to think.” Luna looked at him and replied, “Well, I believe that whoever invented the knock-knock joke is well deserving of a no-bell prize.” She held it in for as long as she could and just let Discord soak it all in. It took him a moment to get it, but when he did face met palm again. He groaned and looked down at her. “I'm going away now, Princess. Goodbye."