Joke's on You

by Lychee

Chapter 2

Joke’s on You

chapter two

Rarity whistled a jaunty tune to herself as she hopped down the road that led away from Sweet Apple Acres and back towards Ponyville. Having determined her next course of action, she took a fork in the road, one that would lead her around the outskirts of the the town rather than through it. She didn’t want her friends to find her and spoil the surprise after all.

Besides, Rainbow Dash was a creature of habit. It was early afternoon now, the perfect time to catch her napping. Rarity couldn’t help but roll her eyes and giggle at the thought of Rainbow Dash sprawled out and snoring on a cloud somewhere. Getting to Applejack had at least taken a little finesse; casting a sleep spell on the farmer unnoticed had been no easy task. But Rarity Suspected Rainbow Dash would be a much easier target. It was simply a matter of timing.

Halfway around Ponyville, Rarity spotted a tuft of rainbow hair poking out over the edge of a cloud not too far off the trail. Grinning, she carefully made her way over to it. It certainly looked like Rainbow Dash was sleeping. The cloud hadn’t moved for a few minutes; much longer than Rarity had ever known Rainbow Dash to stay in one place without fidgeting. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be sure.

“Oh Rainbow, Rainbow Daaash,” Rarity called in a singsong voice, careful to keep her voice just loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to wake a sleeping pony, “Are you up there?”

There was no reply. Rarity waited for a moment before calling again.

“I know you’re there Rainbow Dash. I just thought I would stop by and let you know that the Wonderbolts have absolutely atrocious fashion sense, and their flying is nothing special either.”

Rarity tensed, ready to flee at the first sign of a reaction. But besides a twitch of the rainbow tail hanging off the cloud, there was none. Well that settled it, she thought, letting out a breath. If that hadn’t gotten the pegasus’ attention then she was sleeping soundly indeed. Good thing too. She didn’t exactly want to get into a physical confrontation with Rainbow.

Rummaging through her saddle bags, Rarity withdrew the bottle of mane dye she had discovered earlier. As soon as she had seen it she knew who it would be perfect for. She squinted up at the cloud Rainbow Dash was sleeping on. That just left the problem of getting to her. She couldn’t just fly up there, she didn’t have wings. Not anymore at least.

She scratched her chin with a hoof, thinking carefully. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her and she let out an excited gasp. If she couldn’t go up to Rainbow Dash, then she’d just have to bring Rainbow Dash down to her. She began to focus her magic, her horn glowing brightly. She winced as her horn sparked and the magic fizzled.

“Oh really now horn, I know you can do better than that,” Rarity said with a huff. She took a deep breath and tried again, doing her best to focus. This time, she managed to grasp the cloud with her magic. She gave it a gentle tug and the cloud rocketed down towards the ground, leaving Rainbow Dash behind for a moment before she began to fall. Rarity barely managed to contain a cry as Rainbow Dash fell, landing on the cloud with a muted thud.

Rarity’s heart hammered in her chest as she waited for Rainbow Dash to wake up. However, the pegasus merely grumbled in her sleep and rolled over. Rarity let out a sigh of relief. That had been too close. But why had the spell reacted so violently? Telekinesis was so basic every unicorn could do it, so what had happened?

She tried picking up a nearby stone and tested her grip. The stone vibrated as though under tremendous pressure. Strange, she thought, releasing the stone and letting it fall to the ground. Normally when she performed that spell, it felt as if whatever she held was being cradled by a silk pillow, guided carefully by her skilled touch. But for whatever reason, the spell she had just performed felt as though she had gripped the stone in a steel vice and pulled it with all her might.

It was odd, but she shrugged it off. These sorts of things tended to sort themselves out, and she had more pressing matters to attend to. Looking down at the sleeping Rainbow Dash, her eyes shined and her smile spread from ear to ear.

“Rainbow Dash, you are simply going to love your new look.”

---

Applejack pulled her hat down and stared at her hooves as she and Twilight walked through Ponyville, trying to hide the blush spreading across her powdered cheeks. She could hear the giggles of the other ponies as they walked by, and it was all she could do to keep herself from hightailing it back to the farm.

“Twilight, are ya’ll sure you can’t just do some of your hocus pocus and at least get it so Ah can walk around town without other ponies laughin’ at me?” she asked. Applejack wasn’t normally one to be embarrassed about her appearance, but she wasn’t usually made up like a filly’s doll either.

“It’s not ‘hocus pocus,’ Applejack,” Twilight replied. “Unicorn magic is an incredibly delicate and complicated science. The stay-stuck spell is designed to dissipate after a certain amount of time. I’m sure a counterspell exists, but it would take longer for me to find and learn it than for us to just wait for the effects to wear off.”

“Alright, Ah get it,” Applejack said with a resigned sigh, “Ah’ll just have to show a little patience Ah guess. Ah’m used to being covered in dirt and mud; that kinda thing comes with bein’ a farmer and there ain’t no shame in it. But Ah ain’t had much experience with this make-up business, and Ah would’ve preferred to keep it that way.”

Twilight chuckled. “Well I can’t say I’ve ever been much for getting all dressed up either. As Princess Celestia’s protege, I had to attend a fair number of functions in Canterlot requiring formal dress. I never really enjoyed doing it though. It seemed like a lot of effort to go through just for the sake of appearances. But tradition is tradition I suppose, and I wouldn’t have wanted to bring shame to the Princess.

“Well Ah ain’t sayin’ it don’t have its place,” Applejack said as the pair made their way through Ponyville square, “Even Ah can see that. Rarity gets enough business that it’s obviously somethin’ some folks are lookin’ for. Ah just ain’t comfortable with it, never have been.”

Nearby, a passing earth pony did a doubletake when he caught sight of Applejack, tripping over his hooves and tumbling to the ground. Applejack scowled and pulled her hat down as tightly as she could. She kept a sharp eye out as they headed towards Sugar Cube Corner. As embarrassing as it was to walk around town looking as ridiculous as she did, she knew most ponies respected her enough not to say anything. She could hardly blame them for being surprised or for letting out the occasional chuckle. But the last thing she wanted was for Applebloom to see her looking like this. That filly would never let her hear the end of it, and if she was out crusading with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo there was no telling where she was now.

The pair rounded a bend and the welcome sight of Sugar Cube Corner’s candy cane arches and frosted windows came into view. The bell over the door rang as they entered and the colorful earth pony behind the counter looked up from frosting a tray of cupcakes, a warm smile gracing her face.

“Well hello Twilight, Applejack! It’s good to see you...” Mrs. Cake trailed off, catching sight of Applejack, “Oh my. What happened to you dear?”

“It’s a long story,” Twilight cut in before Applejack could reply, “We were actually looking for Pinkie Pie. Is she around?”

“No, I’m afraid Pinkie Pie is out with the little ones today,” Mrs. Cake said. “I must admit, we were more than a little apprehensive the first time we let her look after Pound and Pumpkin, but Pinkie has proven herself to be a quite wonderful babysitter. We had a large catering order come in today and Pinkie took took the children to the park. She said something about taking them to visit Fluttershy afterwards, but who knows when that will be. You know Pinkie Pie; she’s so excitable she could get distracted by anything.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said with a smile, “We’ll get out of your mane and let you get back to work. Hopefully we’ll be able to find Pinkie at Fluttershy’s cottage.”

Mrs. Cake looked back to Applejack, whose displeasure with the situation was evident on her face. “I’m sorry if Pinkie has caused you any trouble Applejack, you know how she can be. I know that girl can get a little carried away, but she doesn’t mean any harm by it.”

“Ah don’t think Pinkie’s behind this one Mrs. Cake,” Applejack replied. “Ah thought it mighta been her and Rainbow Dash, but it looks like we’re lookin’ for somepony else. A unicorn, accordin’ to Twilight.”

“Oh my,” Mrs. Cake said, her eyes wide, “A unicorn prankster could be trouble. Those two can cause enough mischief on their own. I can’t imagine what they might get up to if they had a unicorn with them.”

“Well, hopefully Pinkie can give us some answers,” Twilight said. “I’m not too crazy about that prospect either, but it looks like we might have someone troublesome on the loose.”

Just as the pair turned to leave, a violent crash sounded from behind them and the door flew open to reveal a blue-white streak hurtling towards them through the air. Twilight shouted, scrambling to get out of the way but was bowled over and crashed into Applejack, sending the whole lot of them tumbling to the ground in a heap. The room spun as she looked up to see the concerned face of Mrs. Cake looking down at her.

“I’m okay,” Twilight said in a slurred voice, her eyes spinning, “Gonna be just fine. Gimme a second.”

“Aw man,” a familiar voice groaned. “When are ponies gonna learn not to stand so close to doors?”

Applejack stood shakily to her feet. She shook her head, trying to clear the fuzziness left over from the collision. “Ah’ll have you know we were standin’ just as far from the door as we could be Rainbow Dash. Y’all just need to learn how to control your flyin’ before you wreck the whole of Ponyville.” She turned to glare at her friend, but her eyes widened as they landed on the cyan pegasus standing and dusting herself off. “Landsakes! What in the hay happened to you Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash’s normally vibrant rainbow mane was nowhere to be found. In its place was a mane of the purest white. Twilight stood, her mouth agape. Rainbow Dash placed almost as much pride in her characteristic colors as she did in her flying skills. Twilight never would have come out and said it, but Rainbow Dash’s vanity could rival Rarity’s at times.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight exclaimed, rushing to her friend’s side, “What happened to you? Your mane is white!”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Rainbow Dash replied, rolling her eyes, “Now where’s Pinkie Pie? I need her to tell me how to get my mane back to normal. Oh, I’m gonna get her good for this one. I didn’t think she had the guts to pull something like this.”

“Well Ah hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Applejack said, getting over her initial surprise, “But Pinkie ain’t here, and if Ah had to wager Ah’d bet that she weren’t the one to make your mane look like chicken feathers.”

“I think you’re right Applejack,” Twilight said. “It looks like whoever is responsible for your condition got to Rainbow Dash too.”

“Eh? What are you guys talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking from Twilight to Applejack. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and her body began to shake with barely contained laughter. She collapsed on the floor in hysterics, tears pouring from her eyes. “Haha! Oh man Applejack, what the hay happened to you? Did you lose a bet with Rarity or something?”

Applejack just sighed, shaking her head. Just like Rainbow Dash to find time to poke fun at her despite her own situation. She waited nearly a full minute for Rainbow’s fit of laughter to subside before responding.

“Yeah it’s very funny Rainbow Dash, but if ya’ll think you can manage to get a hold of yourself we need to find out who did this to us. Ain’t no way Ah’m letting some upstart unicorn get away with doing this to me and mah friends.”

Rainbow Dash managed to calm herself enough to stand again, though she couldn’t help the occasional snicker. “So, what? It wasn’t Pinkie Pie? But we always prank each other! I mean, yeah this is a little extreme, but what makes you think it was a unicorn?”

“Applejack woke up with these cosmetics applied to her face and mane, and has so far been unable to remove them,” Twilight said. Mrs. Cake, who had managed to duck behind the counter to avoid getting caught up in Rainbow Dash’s entrance, shot the pegasus an exasperated look as she reset the door in place, “It’s a spell I’ve seen before, but only a unicorn is capable of casting it. Whatever else she may be, Pinkie is no unicorn.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked, narrowing her eyes and leaning in close towards Applejack. Slowly, she raised a hoof before poking Applejack sharply in the cheek. Applejack blinked. “That’s so weird. Wait! Does that mean I might be stuck like this too?! But I’m Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash, not White Dash! That name sounds super lame. And besides, the Wonderbolts already have a white-maned member, what if this hurts my chances with them?”

“Calm down Rainbow Dash!” Twilight urged. “It’ll be alright. I’m sure it’s only temporary. But in the meantime we need to find the pony responsible.”

“Well c’mon, if there’s a new prankster in town we need to get out there and find them! There’s no way I’m gonna let myself get outdone by some unicorn, and I need to get my colors back!” Rainbow Dash blasted out the front door, leaving the door hanging off its hinges and an irate Mrs. Cake in her wake.

“Aw dangit!” Applejack cursed. “Ah better get after her. You know how Rainbow can get when she’s on a mission. She’ll hound every unicorn in Ponyville if she thinks it’ll help. Ah’ll chase her down and meet you at Fluttershy’s Twilight.” With that, Applejack took off after the blur of a pegasus, shouting after her.

“Sorry about all that Mrs. Cake, “Twilight said, resetting the door in a flash of violet light, “I’m sure Rainbow Dash didn’t mean any harm.”

“Oh, she never does I’m sure, “Mrs. Cake replied with a smile, “But she really should learn to slow down a little every now and then.”

Twilight bid the baker goodbye before starting off towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Now that she was alone, she’d hopefully have a chance to think. She couldn’t help but feel there was something she was missing, some piece of the puzzle lying just out of reach.

She smiled in reply to the greetings she received as she walked leisurely through Ponyville. It would take awhile for Applejack to catch up with Rainbow Dash and get her to Fluttershy’s. Besides, she could think more clearly if she didn’t hurry.

So far, this new prankster had gotten both Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder if there was something significant about the two of them being targeted. Another thing to consider was the nature of the pranks themselves. She didn’t know much about pranks, but these seemed a little out of the ordinary. Wouldn’t a bucket of water over a door or some sneezing powder have been more common for a first-time prankster? But both of the pranks had been similar in nature. That led to two possible conclusions: Either the prankster was no amateur, or there was something about cosmetic pranks that suited them.

At that last thought, Twilight’s eyes widened. A unicorn, skilled enough to perform a sleep spell, that knew both Rainbow Dash and Applejack and had an affinity for cosmetics? There was only one pony Twilight knew that fit all of those criteria. But that couldn’t be right. Rarity was the last pony that would go out and play jokes on her friends.

But Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling. Maybe it would be best to check in on Rarity before meeting the others. If nothing else, the current trend seemed to suggest that Rarity might soon become the target of this mysterious prankster. She might also be able to help Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Rarity wasn’t as skilled magically as Twilight, but her knowledge of all things related to fashion was second to none.

Twilight changed direction, heading for Carousel Boutique. She felt a sudden chill down the back of her neck, like somepony was watching her. She looked around carefully, but there was nopony to be found. She broke into a slow gallop, eager to get to Rarity’s as quickly as possible. Something told her the unicorn was somehow involved in all this.

In a nearby alleyway, Rarity watched as Twilight ran off. The Element of Laughter glowed softly around her neck as she stroked it lovingly. She chuckled, rubbing her hooves together in anticipation. Leave it to Twilight to put two and two together quicker than the others, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still have her fun. She watched the retreating form of her friend before setting off after her, careful to stay out of sight.

Comments

[IraqLobstah]

OH MY GOD YOU FINALLY UPDATED!

I LOVE YOU!

[Tonto the Trotter]

This is brilliant, loved this update . Rarity's magic acting strangely is a nice little plot device/teaser/clue and the fact she got Rainbow and made her Mane white of all things was pretty cute and funny.

I can't wait to see what Rarity does to Twilight, I can imagine a rush to the rescue scene in the next chapter for Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack and Twilight all trying to get there in time to prevent Rarity's next prank.

[Rainbow Dash the Awesome]

There's one small problem I' seeing here. I get that Rarity is pulling these pranks because of the Element of Laughter, but the way you're portraying this corruption makes it seem more like a demonic possession. Yeah, she's been brainwashed and influenced by a magical artifact, but remember that even if it's not her Element it's still an Element of Harmony; it's a tool of good, but you're kinda making it look like a cursed tool of evil. Basically what I'm getting at is you should probably try and make her seem a bit less sinister, making her MO stay at the level of pranking without sounding as much like evil plotting. What she's doing at the moment seems more like Discord's style of pranking than Pinkie's.

[Lychee]

Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I really appreciate it, and I'm glad to see people are enjoying the story.

460556

Thanks for the observation. It's something I've been working on, and did some changing in the first chapter to try to make it seem a little less intentionally cruel. As for her pranking style being closer to Discord's than Pinkie's, that was sort of what I was going for. I didn't want to make Rarity just another Pinkie Pie, and was trying to consider what would happen if an Element of Harmony tried to force a new bearer to embody its values. I never really considered Discord to be evil, or the Elements to be incapable of doing wrong. But it does seem like it's coming across a little harsher than I had intended. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I'm always open to feedback and I appreciate your comment.

[Pathfinder]

460556
I personally think that this is somewhat cool. Not everybody can be bearer of every element. I can imagine that if for example AJ got influenced by generosity element she may want to give up all her possessions. I can imagine that you must have some understanding of true value of this particular virtue, to make good use of the elements. That is how I explain that RD is far more often honest than AJ - but her honesty is brutal and serves no real purpose. It may be funny too make a fic when every pony switches elements. And by funny I mean shadenfreunde funny.

[Ema Nekaf]

I don't mean to sound like THAT guy, but took you long enough. Anyhoo, this is an awesome chapter.
FUN FACT: White is all the colors combined. That's why when white light is passed through a prism it makes a...wait for it...RAINBOW! So it made sense when Rarity made RD's mane white.
460556 Good point. But remember that Rarity has been a prissy princess all her life, never really having any fun. So the concept of fun(aka pranks, party parties, and bouncy balls) is new to her, so she doesn't know where the line is and when she's crossed it.

[PinkiePieisbestponya+100]

This was an awesome chapter! I loved it!

[FanOfMostEverything]

This certainly opens up an interesting field of inquiry: How would each Bearer react to each Element?

My only complaint is this: How did Rarity know that Twilight suspected her? Did she read the text of the story? (Element of Laughter, wouldn't put it past her...)