• Published 23rd Apr 2013
  • 15,330 Views, 914 Comments

Let's Be Evil! - MythrilMoth



The mane six play a very ridiculous game.

  • ...
39
 914
 15,330

The Poison Joke's On You

The sun rose bright and clear over Ponyville. As the first rays of the morning sun filtered through her window, Cheerilee rose from her bed, stretching and yawning. She eased herself out of bed and onto her hooves...

...or tried to. She wound up landing in an ungainly heap on the floor. Her hind legs didn't seem to be cooperating this morning.

As the schoolteacher tried to assess the problem, she made a terrifying discovery:

Her hind legs were entirely missing. Moreover, the entire rear half of her body had been replaced with a huge fish tail, with shimmering scales the exact same color as her mane. The tail flapped and flopped uselessly on the floor.

She threw back her head to scream...but the only sound that came out of her mouth was:

"Shoo-be-doo, shoo shoo-be-doo!"

* * * * *

Four mares plus one dragon awoke in Fluttershy's cottage as the sun crested the morning sky. They had spent most of the night working out a search plan to find their wayward friend and the marenapped princess.

Before anypony was even fully awake, the screaming started.

"PLAID?!" Rarity screamed, examining her coat. Her pristine white fur now sported a lurid puke-green plaid pattern which, for some bizarre reason, remained fixed in place when she moved. "Oh, how GHASTLY!"

Fluttershy trotted over to Rarity. As her hooves touched the ground, they made a series of raucous farting noises. Wide-eyed, the startled and embarrassed pegasus bolted into a corner, quivering.

Rainbow Dash fell on her back laughing. "Oh man, Fluttershy! What'd you EAT?" she teased.

"Rainbow Dash, you MIGHT want to...er...that is, if you can...look in the mirror, darling," Rarity said.

"Huh? What...?" Rainbow Dash turned to face Fluttershy's mirror and flew toward it...and smashed into the wall perpendicular. "What the?"

"Turn around a bit...just...yes, like that...careful now."

At a much slower speed than she cared for, Rainbow Dash flew toward the mirror. She stared in it and gasped. "What the?!" One of her eyes drifted off to look at another wall. She let out an anguished cry. "I'M DERPED?! NOOOOOOO!!"

"Being derped isn't as bad as being plaid," Rarity muttered.

"Whut're y'all..." Applejack asked sleepily. She stared around at her friends. "Whut HAPPENED ta y'all?!" She stood up...and her rear end slammed down on the floor.

Everypony stared at her (well, Dash more or less tried to stare at her). Rarity snickered. "Oh dear. Um. Applejack, dear...you seem to have, er...put on a bit of weight, there."

"Whut're y'all talkin' about? Ah'm fit as a—" Applejack turned to look at her flank, and her eyes tripled in size.

Because her rump had quadrupled in size. "Whut the huh?!"

Spike was the last to wake up. "What's all the commotion?" he asked grumpily. Or tried to. What actually came out of his mouth was:

"skrika-skrika-SCRATCH-skrika-SCRA"

"Uhh...how's that again, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"skrika-skrika-SCRATCH-skrika-SCRA—skrik, skrak?"

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy stared around at each other, and at Spike. As one, they said, in a flat tone:

"Poison joke."

* * * * *

The entire town was in chaos. Everypony had been affected by the poison joke spray in some fashion. Ponies were screaming, laughing, crying, and having all sorts of reactions to the strangeness that the Crusaders' midnight caper had wrought.

As the Crusaders wandered through town, they discovered that:

• Derpy's head was upside-down. The mailmare didn't seem to actually notice.
• Big Macintosh had a big frizzy afro and his hooves were backwards.
• Lyra's horn had mutated into a bloated, fleshy appendage with five stubby fingers.
• Time Turner's coat had turned blue, and the words "Police Public Call Box" had appeared in place of his cutie mark.
• Cheerilee had turned into a Seapony.
• Snowflake, the overly-muscled, tiny-winged pegasus, was now half the size of a bunny rabbit, with a tiny, high-pitched voice.
• At least three ponies had turned invisible.

And far more. They could barely restrain their mirth at the chaos their prank had wrought. Once they reached their clubhouse, they lost control and exploded in laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Scootaloo screamed. "OH MY GOSH, THIS IS TOO FUNNY!"

Sweetie giggled. "Okay, I admit it, Apple Bloom. This was a great idea!" She paused. "Um, but...everypony will be okay, right?"

Apple Bloom laughed. "Course they will. Ah copied th' recipe for th' remedy th' last time this happened ta somepony, an' Ah already brewed up a big ol' mess'a it. We'll sell it ta everpony fer, hmm...oh, ten bits each?"

"Oooh, nice idea!" Scootaloo said. "We'll be RICH!"

"I don't know if profiting off a mean prank like this is such a good idea," Sweetie said, frowning.

"Course it ain't a GOOD idea," Apple Bloom said. "It's a EVIL idea. An' we're bein' evil, right?"

"Weeeelllllll..." Sweetie said. With a sigh, she nodded. "Alright. But ten bits is too much. It should be five."

"Eight."

"Six."

"Seven."

"Okay, agreed. Seven bits. Now let's git ta sellin'!"

* * * * *

"Good morning, everypony!" Celestia greeted. The Pie family gaped in shock at the sight of the ruler of Equestria standing in their kitchen, wearing a frilly apron and humming a cheerful tune as she busily directed multiple pots, pans, plates, knives, and ingredients around the room with her magic. "I hope you don't mind, I felt like being adventurous and cooking breakfast. I haven't cooked breakfast for myself or anypony else in...at least three hundred years!" She let out a delighted squeak reminiscent of her faithful student. "Fun!"

"Uh, that's, uh, right kind'a you, Your Highness," Clyde said. "We're mighty grateful."

"Yippee! Royal breakfast!" Pinkie cheered, zipping to the kitchen table.

"Wow. Being served breakfast by royalty," Inkie said. "I feel...I feel so...fancy!"

"Is it really okay for you to still be here, though?" Blinkie asked. "Um, not that you aren't welcome, you certainly are, it's just, uh..."

Celestia laughed. "My sister will raise the sun in my absence, and I expect it won't be too terribly long until Twilight Sparkle and her friends come to collect us." She eyed Pinkie. "That is, unless they have trouble remembering where their good friend Pinkie hails from."

Pinkie laughed sheepishly.

* * * * *

"I don't get it. How'd we get hit with poison joke again?" Dash asked.

"Oh...maybe it's a relapse," Fluttershy hedged.

"Fluttershy, it's been almost two years," Rarity said. "Also, we're suffering entirely different maladies than the last time."

"Maybe one of us should go see Zecora," Applejack suggested.

"Well, I am certainly NOT going to be seen in public like THIS!" Rarity huffed, tossing her mane.

"I...can't fly straight. Or even walk straight," Rainbow Dash admitted.

"Um. I, um...don't want to walk," Fluttershy said, hiding her head behind her whoopee hooves.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Fine, Ah'll go. Uh...if Ah can stand up, that is." With difficulty, Applejack raised her massive, bulging rump off the ground and trotted toward the door. "Ah uh, might be a while," she said.

"Skrikaskrikaskrikaskrikaskrikskrikskrak," Spike opined.

"Uh, yeah, you just...go do that," Rainbow Dash said.

Rolling his eyes, Spike rummaged for a parchment and quill and wrote, "I'll go to the library and see if Twilight Sparkle is back from Canterlot yet."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Good thinking."

* * * * *

Ten minutes later, Spike ran back in. "SkrikskrikaSKRAKskrikaskrikaskrikaSKRAK!"

"On the paper!" Dash ordered.

With another eyeroll, Spike scrawled a note. "The whole town's been hit with poison joke! It's a total mess out there!"

Rarity gasped. "Oh my. How...how dreadful! Is...is anypony else plaid?"

"Not that I noticed," Spike wrote.

"Then I'm still not going out there."

"Was Twilight back yet?" Fluttershy asked.

"I didn't make it back to the library yet," Spike wrote. "I'll go there now. I just thought you all should know how bad this is." He pulled out another parchment, and wrote, "Do you think Pinkie Pie is behind this, too?"

"I dunno, maybe," Rainbow Dash said. "We can't say for sure until we find her."

"She could've done this to slow us down, make it harder for us to find her," Fluttershy said.

"Anyway, Spike, go back to the library. Twilight'll know what to do."

Saluting, Spike left.

* * * * *

The instant the Twinkling Balloon docked in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle knew something was horribly wrong. She galloped to the library and threw open the door. "SPIKE!" she yelled. "What the hay is happening?"

Spike jumped, startled, and started making noises at her that sounded like a record scratching. Then, smacking himself on the forehead, he pulled out a quill and parchment and wrote, "Poison joke. Whole town's affected. Might be Pinkie Pie. Applejack's trying to get to Zecora's, but she may not have made it yet. The poison joke made her a fatty-flank."

"Everypony else...Rarity, Rainbow Dash, the others...they're affected too?"

Spike nodded.

Twilight groaned. "I'll go find Zecora. In the meantime, I need you to do something for me..."

* * * * *

"Step right up, everpony!" Apple Bloom called from a hastily-erected stand. "We got th' cure for what ails ya right here! This here Cutie Mark Crusaders Wonder Mineral Bath'll fix all yer ails, from wonky hooves ta frizzy tails! Only seven bits per pony! First come, first serve, so get yers first!"

"Huh duh wuh nuh thuh wuh?" Aloe asked.

"Here, Ah'll show ya," Apple Bloom said. "Big Macintosh, trot on up here!"

Big Macintosh obligingly trotted up to the stage, where a large washtub sat bubbling and steaming. He gingerly stepped in, and Sweetie and Scootaloo began scrubbing him down. Almost immediately, his mane returned to normal, and he stepped out, glistening, sparkling, and with his hooves facing the right way. "Hey, Ah'm back ta normal!" he said. The crowd cheered.

"Y'all saw it right here with yer own eyes, everpony!" Apple Bloom said. "Now, we got plenty, so if'n y'all want it, it's just seven bits a bottle!"

The crowd began climbing over each other, trying to be first to buy a bottle of the miracle cure. A large sack next to the Crusaders was quickly filling with bits, and a large rack of bottled mineral bath was just as quickly emptying.

Apple Bloom laughed. "Now Ah know what makes them Flim-Flam Brothers tick."

* * * * *

Twilight found Applejack barely twenty paces into the Everfree, struggling to drag her enormous rump. "Oh, Twilight!" Applejack gasped. "Thank heavens, Ah don't reckon Ah can make it ta Zecora's in mah condition!"

"Go on back to Fluttershy's place," Twilight said. "I'll get Zecora to make a batch of antidote for this."

After ten minutes of hard galloping, Twilight reached Zecora's hut. There was a note pinned to the door.

Visitors, welcome, but I'm afraid I'm not here
I am investigating a strange object that crashed very near.

There was an arrow pointing deeper into the forest. Wasting no time, Twilight sprinted off to find the zebra.

* * * * *

Once Applejack returned, Rainbow Dash and Rarity finally convinced Fluttershy to fly into Ponyville to assess the situation and make promises of a cure. It was difficult to force Fluttershy to leave the house; in addition to her farting hooves, they had discovered that every time she flapped her wings, she involuntarily said the word "booger".

"Man, that poison joke got you GOOD this time, Shy," Dash had said.

An hour passed, and everypony was discussing how Pinkie Pie had managed to disrupt the whole town with poison joke AND kidnap the Princess. Faintly, they heard the silly sound of "boogerboogerboogerboogerbooger" drawing closer.

Fluttershy trotted through the front door, her hooves farting with every step. She didn't notice. In fact, her eyes were narrowed in anger.

"Whoa, Shy, what's up?" Dash asked.

"Those. Little. TWERPS!" Fluttershy barked.

"What little twerps?" Rarity asked.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders," Fluttershy said angrily. "THEY DID THIS!"

"Whoa, whut now?" Applejack asked.

"Those three just happen to be selling poison joke antidote in the town square," Fluttershy seethed. "AND they just HAPPEN to not have been affected by the poison joke AT ALL!"

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash glanced at one another.

"Oh, possum poo," Applejack said.

Rarity sighed. "I suppose this is MY fault, isn't it?"

"Ya think?!" Dash retorted hotly.

"But...but...HOW did they manage such a horrific feat?" Rarity wondered.

"We'll find THAT out after we BEAT th' truth outta 'em!" Applejack said, smacking her forehooves together.

"No. For now, we'll wait for Twilight to get back with Zecora's antidote," Fluttershy said. "Then, we'll stop those girls and make them give back all the money they've swindled out of everypony."

* * * * *

"So...this is how you farm rocks, is it?" Celestia asked.

Despite Clyde's protests, Celestia had offered to help with the day's rotation chores. The four Pies plus the princess were out in the field; the chore was going far more swiftly because Celestia was doing most of the work with her magic.

"It's a right shame we can't get more unicorns t'do earth pony work," Clyde said.

"Oh, back in Ponyville, Applejack wouldn't hear of it," Pinkie said. "She only lets Twilight use her magic on the apple farm when she's too worn out to buck trees." She tilted her head upward. "Which is kinda dumb because Twilight can pick like fifteen trees clean in the time it takes AJ to buck one, but I guess it's a pride thing."

"I for one would hate to be shown up by a unicorn," Inkie said. She flinched. "Uh, no offense, Your Highness."

"None taken," Celestia said with a chuckle. "I'm not a unicorn." She stretched. "But your sister is right. If unicorns took over all the farming, it would shame the earth ponies, and earth ponies have a proud heritage of hard work. It's best for the balance of all ponies if earth ponies do what they do best the way they prefer to do it, and let unicorns use their special talents for what THEY do best."

Pinkie blinked. "But some unicorns have talents that are really earth pony-ish," she said. "I mean, Rarity's talent is gem-hunting, and that's kinda earthy, even if Rarity isn't a really earthy pony."

Celestia chuckled. "Well, yes, that's true," she admitted.

"Hey, how come you never write home and tell us about your friends, Sis?" Inkie asked.

Pinkie huffed. "I would if I had time!" she said. "You have any idea how much WORK it is bringing joy and cheer to a whole pony town? All day long it's make ponies smile, throw parties, plan parties, think of new ways to make ponies smile, bake cakes and cupcakes and muffins and pies...it's nonstop work being Ponyville's premiere party pony!"

Her sisters blinked at her. "Throwing parties is work?" Blinkie asked.

"Just being Pinkie Pie is hard work, from what I hear," Celestia said. "I've learned that your sister singlehoofedly rid Ponyville of a horrible Parasprite infestation!"

"Oooooh," Pinkie's sister said, impressed.

Pinkie shrugged. "It wasn't THAT big a deal. I knew exactly what to do after that time a swarm got loose here on the farm."

The Pies shuddered. "Please, Pinkamena, don't EVER mention those...monsters...again," Clyde said.

"So, now what do we do?" Celestia asked as she looked around at the cleared field.

"We go inta th' south field an' squeeze 'em," Clyde said.

"Squeeze them?" Celestia asked, blinking.

"To see if they bleed," Pinkie clarified. "If they bleed, they're not really stones, they're Gemimics."

"Gemimics eat up a good third of our rocks every season," Clyde said. "Gotta find 'em an' get rid of 'em before it's too late."

* * * * *

A half hour's trot from the hut, Twilight found Zecora...and gaped in shock at the thing the zebra was standing in front of.

"Zecora!" Twilight shouted. "What the hay IS this?"

Zecora shrugged. "I cannot identify this object, Twilight. Believe me, I have tried with all my might."

Twilight studied the pile of wrecked wood and machinery, frowning. "It's...some kind of machine," she said. "But nevermind that right now. Zecora, I need your help! All of Ponyville has been attacked by poison joke!"

"Oh dear, an outbreak of poison joke?" Zecora asked. "How terrible for the pony folk."

"So we need a huge batch of your special antidote, as quickly as possible!"

"It will take time, but not too long. If the whole town is affected, it must be extra strong." She paused. "I wonder how this could possibly be? Poison joke only grows in the Everfree."

Twilight frowned. "That reminds me. Have you seen or heard Pinkie Pie around these parts in the last day or two?"

Zecora shook her head. "Why?" She paused. "Is it related to the game? Do you believe Pinkie to be to blame?"

"We're not sure," Twilight admitted. "But we think she might have used the poison joke as a diversion. She marenapped Princess Celestia."

Zecora's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

"I'll explain on the way to your hut."

* * * * *

"—I warned you this game would not end well," Zecora said. "Now look: a princess missing, a town under a spell."

"I know, I know, but it's PINKIE PIE," Twilight moaned. "I just...I never would have..."

Zecora frowned. "Are you positive your pink friend brought Ponyville to this sticky end?"

"I don't know," Twilight admitted. "It's just a hunch."

"In any case, let us make haste. With a whole town affected, there is little time to waste!"

* * * * *

It was late afternoon when Twilight and Zecora returned to Fluttershy's cabin. Immediately, Zecora prepared a mineral bath for the afflicted Elements. The grateful ponies eased themselves into the large bath.

"It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Fluttershy told Twilight as the four ponies bathed. "They're behind this poison joke. They're selling the antidote in the town square."

Twilight scowled. "Those little...we'll deal with them when you four are back on your hooves."

"Uhhh...Zecora?" Applejack said. "This bath ain't workin'."

"That is odd," Zecora said. "My brew is correct. The poison joke's pranks should be wrecked."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Zecora, Apple Bloom's been learning a lot about potion brewing from you. Is it possible that she mixed up a poison joke potion that the normal antidote doesn't cure?"

Zecora rubbed her chin with a hoof. "I believe your theory is sound. In which case, Apple Bloom's secret must be found."

Applejack grimaced. "Or," she said distastefully, "we can just let those fillies have this one. Their cure's workin', ain't it Flutters?"

Fluttershy nodded. "The cure they're selling is most certainly curing the poison joke," she reported.

Twilight frowned. "Alright, I think we'd better go visit those fillies."

* * * * *

The sun was just beginning to set when six mares and one angry dragon approached the platform where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were just making their last sales. "APPLE BLOOM!" Applejack roared.

Apple Bloom's ears wilted. "Oops."

Fluttershy flew up to the Crusaders. "What you girls did was just...just...VERY. VERY. WRONG!"

"But...but...we was only playin' y'all's game," Apple Bloom complained.

Five of the mares twitched.

"Yeah, we just wanted our turn!" Scootaloo said.

Zecora raised an eyebrow.

Applejack ducked her head, her hat covering her ashamed eyes.

Twilight sighed. "Alright. You win. And the reward for winning is anything you want from Sugar Cube Corner, on us. BUT!" she added. "You have to give everypony back their money, or we'll tell the whole town just who's responsible for this mess in the first place."

"Awwww," the Crusaders whined.

"No arguments, girls," Rarity said. "But before that...PLEASE, for the love of Celestia, CURE ME!"

"And the rest of us," Rainbow Dash added.

"Okay," the Crusaders chorused.

"One last thing," Twilight said. "Just how DID you do this?"

Apple Bloom shared a look with the others. Then, somewhat proudly, she said, "We built a flyin' machine!"

"A flying machine? You mean like a balloon? Or an airship?" Twilight asked.

"That woulda took too long," Apple Bloom said. She pulled a blueprint out of her saddlebag and showed it to Twilight. "Here's whut we built."

Twilight's jaw gaped. "That's...that's the thing Zecora found in the Everfree Forest!"

"Uh-huh. We had to ditch it," Sweetie explained. "It was a big clue pointing right at us."

"And what, precisely, did you do," Zecora asked Apple Bloom, "to make the poison joke resist my brew?"

"Oh, that's easy," Apple Bloom said. "Ah brewed a concentrated potion that had a ingredient in it that nullified one'a th' ingredients in your mineral bath. Then Ah added a counteragent to THAT ingredient t' OUR cure bath, an' that's why ours worked an' y'all's didn't."

"How ingenious!" Rarity said. "But still very wrong."

A short while later, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike were all back to normal. Twilight looked up at the sky and sighed. "It's almost night," she said. "We've wasted a whole day with this mess. We'll have to get an early start tomorrow on finding Pinkie Pie."

"Yeah, she could've hidden the Princess ANYWHERE by now!" Rainbow Dash complained.

The Crusaders stared up at them. "Wait, what?" Scootaloo said.

"Pinkie Pie's marenapped Princess Celestia," Twilight said.

The Crusaders gasped in unison. "NO WAY!"

"Yeah, an' we gotta find 'em right quick," Applejack said. "Afore things get REAL ugly."

"Oh my gosh!" Sweetie said. "If we knew THAT was going on, we'd NEVER have pulled this dumb prank! Let us help you find them!"

"That's sweet, but...you girls have a LOT of refunds to issue tomorrow," Twilight reminded them.

"Awwwww...."

"Well, you'd best give these girls their treat for winning," Zecora said. "For tomorrow, your search is only beginning."

* * * * *

The Pie family and their houseguest sat around the kitchen table at supper time, utterly exhausted.

"My, that was the most exercise I've had in ages!" Celestia said cheerfully. "My entire body aches, and yet I feel...invigorated! Glorious!" She looked up at the moon. *Oh, I do hope everything is going well in Canterlot, though. As much fun as I'm having here, I hope Twilight and the others find us quickly...*

Author's Note:

Well, wasn't that fun?

Pinkie's evil plot continues in the next chapter. There may be an omake, at the end of the story, with more expansion on the whole poison joke fiasco.