A Fearful Joke

by TheClownPrinceofCrime

Chapter 3: A Laughing Matter

The ponies led Batgirl to the city of Canterlot. Once they entered the city, the heroine gazed at the beauty of the palace. She never would have thought that a race who seem to be living in a primitive lifestyle would be that selective in making their city appealing. "Wow..." she muttered in awe.

Starlight ran up to her with a curious look. "So...Batgirl, right? Um...you're from Gotham?"

"Mm-hm," Batgirl nodded.

"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me what that place is like. You know, for...curiosity's sake," Starlight said, nervously smiling.

"Ha, Gotham is a..mixed bag for me," replied Batgirl. "It's a city that has a lot of good people in it, but it is also a city full of crime and psychopaths."

"Really? How do you even manage to live in a crime-infested city?"

"I have my ways of survival, I'll tell you that." Batgirl chuckled.

Then Starlight started to sweat a little. "I see. Well, I'm sure the bad guys you face aren't as worse as a unicorn who's responsible for the brainwashing of a whole village, stealing their cutie marks, and going through time travel just to get revenge on Twilight which nearly destroyed Equestria in the process...all because her friend moved away and she didn't."

Batgirl looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "What?"

Wiping little tears from her eyes, she shook her head. "Never mind. Forget it."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing, really," Starlight replied, looking down.

"We're here! Welcome to Canterlot!" Twilight announced. They stood before the doors of the castle which suddenly opened before them.

Before they could enter, they were confronted by the Royal Guard who raised their spears at Batgirl. "Halt, creature! Who are you?"

"No worries! She's with us. We're here to see Princess Celestia," said Twilight.

"Lower your weapons," an authoritative voice commanded. The guards did so and went back to their posts. After the ponies and Batgirl entered the throne room, they saw Celestia sitting on her throne. The ponies bowed before her whereas Batgirl was gazing on her majestic appearance.

"Greetings, young creature. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. What is your name?"

"Huh? Oh! I'm Batgirl from Gotham City...*clears throat*...Your Highness," she said, finally bowing.

"Please, no need to bow. You're new here, it seems," Celestia said, warmly smiling. "May I ask where this Gotham may be from?"

"It's actually from another dimension. That's where I come from."

"I see," the princess nodded. She swooped down from the throne to meet the visitor on her level. "I must admit I've never met a creature like you before. So I must ask how you got here and why you've come?"

"Well, there's this relic that brought me here. It's called the Scepter of Healing."

Celestia slightly widened her eyes in surprise. "The scepter? You know of it?"

"Yes. It used to be in Gotham where it was gonna be in a museum...until it was stolen."

At that moment, Celestia brought the scepter over with her magic. The ponies gasped at the sight of it. "Then it wasn't a coincidence after all. As you may know, I am the original owner of this artifact. I was very surprised to see it in my own room this morning as it's been centuries since I've had it in my possession. But now that it has returned, I must protect it at all costs. Luckily, whoever tried to steal it won't be able to get their hooves on it."

"Uhhh...yeah, about that...I wasn't the only one who was teleported here..." Batgirl added, rubbing her hair.

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.

Suddenly, noises of laughter were heard outside the castle. This arrested the attention of the ponies inside. Before the guards could open the doors, they were struck back by the doors as they swung open. Multiple citizens were laughing their butts out as they stumbled across the hallway. The victims fell down on the floor as they uttered their last laughs and gave up their last breath.

"What are they laughing about? *Gasp* ARE THEY HAVING A LAUGHING PARTY?! I WANNA JOIN!" Pinkie excitedly shouted.

"Uh, Pinkie, that wasn't a party..." corrected Batgirl, grabbing her batarang.

Then a sinister laughter echoed from the hallway. The guards fearfully raised their spears at the approaching villain. The Clown Prince of Crime wore his evil grin even as he held a gun.

"Freeze, clown monster! Don't move!" a guard ordered, his hooves shaking.

"Do I look like Mr. Freeze to you?" Joker asked, frowning. "Also, it's Mister Clown Monster to you! The Joker! The King of Joy! The Bringer of Laughter! Haha!"

He pointed the gun at them and pulled the trigger. But instead of firing a bullet, a flagpole was sprouted which said 'BANG!'. That both confused and relieved the guards at the same time.

"Sike!" Joker said, giggling.

"Hehehehehehe!! That guy is funny!" Pinkie laughed, rolling on the floor.

Then Joker pointed at one of the guards and shot the flagpole, impaling him on the chest. It sent him flying in the air until he landed before the shocked Celestia. His head hit the ground...dead.

Pinkie's smile instantly dropped. "Maaaaaaaaybe not."

Celestia ignited her horn and stood in front of the terrified ponies. "Stand back, monster! You are trespassing on my kingdom!"

"Well, what do you know? Batgirl has made new friends with talking horses! Hahahahahahahahaha!!"

"Why do ah get the feelin' he's worse than Discord?" Applejack whispered to Fluttershy. The latter squealed in terror.

"Have I ever told you I'm afraid of clowns?" Fluttershy asked.

Batgirl then swung her batarang and wrapped Joker up with its rope, tying him up. She brought him to his knees. "You're not going anywhere, Joker!"

"Oh really?" Joker evilly smirked. A joker card fell on his hand from his sleeve; with that, he cut himself free and grabbed his real gun from his waist. He opened fire on them, but Celestia shielded them all from the shots whereas Batgirl backflipped away from the bullets.

Joker picked a baby doll from his jacket and threw it to Celestia. "Catch!" The alicorn grabbed it through telekinesis and stared at it in confusion. Suddenly, it exploded which sent her flying towards the throne and crashing it.

“CELESTIA!” Twilight cried out.

“Now where is my birthday present?! Give it back before I make more ponies laugh!” Joker threatened.

“I don’t think so!” Batgirl retorted as she jumped on him. She punched him multiple times in the face and stomach before she body-slammed him on the floor. Starlight and Trixie looked stunned at the scene whereas Rainbow and Pinkie feasted their eyes at Batgirl beating up Joker.

However, Joker grabbed another card and grazed Batgirl’s arm, making her wince in pain. Then he kicked her off him and stood back up. “Alright, kiddies! You all have been very bad ponies, so I’m gonna give you a nice good...spanking!” The Clown brandished his shotgun with a boxing glove on front. He shot the boxing glove to the ceiling and made it explode with purple smoke.

He sprouted springs from his shoes. He jumped up and down over the ponies until he spotted the scepter lying on the floor. He reached for it, but a magical grip took it away from him. He looked and saw Starlight with her horn glowing. He angrily growled at her.

“What a way to ruin the fun, unicorn. You should lighten up a bit!” Joker sneered, spraying joker gas.

Starlight again shielded herself from the gas before she head-butted the villain. She picked him up and threw him against a wall via telekinesis. “First off, bad joke. Second, make one more move and you’re toast. So leave...NOW,” demanded Starlight, glaring daggers.

“Aren’t you a party pooper? In fact, you remind me of a certain nocturnal guy I know,” Joker smirked.

“I SAID LEAVE!” Starlight repeated, horn glowing brighter.

“This isn’t over yet, missy. But I do want to give y’all a fortune cookie. Toodles!” Joker left them with a random fortune cookie before he sprang out of the castle laughing.

After The Joker left, Batgirl lifted herself up while groaning in pain from the flesh wound on her arm. She then noticed the other ponies checking on each other and Twilight helping Celestia up.

“Is everyone okay?” Batgirl asked.

“Yes, darling. Just a bit...*coughs*...stressed out from all this. That’s all,” replied Rarity.

“On second thought, that Joker guy is one big creepy meanie. But he’s still funny! Hehehehehe!” Pinkie giggled.

“The great and powerful Trixie never fears any clown! I shall take on that foe and make him suffer!” Trixie boasted. Once she looked down on a dead pony with a dreadful smile, she jumped back in fear. “That image is stuck in my head forever.”

“What are we gonna do?! Those were the two villains Batgirl mentioned earlier! If we don’t stop them now, they will take over Equestria! We have to do something!” Starlight exclaimed.

“Two? There’s another one?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah, we confronted a guy called Scarecrow who apparently creates toxins to make ponies’ worst fears come true. He’s just as dangerous as Joker!” Straight answered.

“Yeah! He makes King Sombra’s magic seem harmless in comparison!” Rainbow added.

“I see. Then we must work together to make sure they don’t get their hooves on the scepter. I will make sure my sister is aware of this and have her assist us in taking those monsters down,” said Celestia.

“Thank you, Princess,” Batgirl smiled.

Rainbow Dash picked up the fortune cookie and cracked it open. “The note says ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. Huh?”

“RAINBOW, NO!” Batgirl warned. The joker gas erupted from the cookie and got the pegasus.

“No...*cough*... not again!! *cough*” Rainbow muttered before she laughed uncontrollably.

“Here we go again...” Applejack groaned, facepalming.

“Don’t worry, I got an antidote for it too,” sighed Batgirl.

Comments

[Wild Stallion]

“On second thought, that Joker guy is one big creepy meanie. But he’s still funny! Hehehehehe!” Pinkie giggled.

Damit Pinkie Pie! Ponies have died!

No more Creepy Pasta for you!

“First off, bad joke. Second, make one more move and you’re toast. So leave...NOW,” demanded Starlight, glaring daggers.

I mean I get why they let Scarecrow go... Sort of? Kind of? Not really?

But Joker is honestly the kind of villain Tartarus should have been made for.

Letting him slip away was a mistake, especially when he's already proven to be violent and dangerous.

Although I will grant that the idea of Cozy Glow with Joker Toxin is horrifying.

“Don’t worry, I got an antidote for it too,” sighed Batgirl.

Damn! I feel really bad for all those other pony guards now!

Good writing though. You put us in the middle of the action, and that's no easy feat.

So I will keep watching for now, despite the rather sad and disturbing turn of events.

[Wild Stallion]

Okay I just noticed the hidden details in the cover art. That plus the story so far is awesome.

Can't wait for more!

[TheClownPrinceofCrime]

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Glad you’re enjoying this so far!