It is to Laugh!

Start of the joke....

Comedy is a difficult thing, far harder to pull off than drama or tragedy. You have to make up a funny joke,  get the timing right, and deliver the punchline just so for maximum effect. It was a lesson Surprise had learned long ago, as in the early days of her comedic career she had bungled that one quite a few times, and one she kept in mind with every joke she played. But if there was one  pony in all of Dream Valley that had been born into being the queen of the practical joke, it was this nigh-insane Pegasus.

"Okay, Tickle! Everything's ready!" Surprise called out, pulling the anvil up on the block and tackle she had tied it to. "Is Paradise down there yet?"

"Here she comes now, boss!" The pink Pegasus with a feather cutie mark told her teacher. "Let her have it!"

It wasn't very long, until the white mare with the Palm trees cutie mark walked underneath the balcony the two other ponies were standing on. Surprise let go of the rope, and let the heavy anvil fall...

"Hmm, I thought I heard some talking in here." Paradise thought aloud, looking around in confusion. "I wonder what-"

CLANNNNGGGG!

The heavy piece of metal came crashing down on poor Paradise's head, the the Pegasus librarian hit the floor with a loud THUD! Cracks then formed all along Paradise's body, and the mare broke apart into tiny parts.

"Ha Ha! Looks like Paradise went all to pieces!" Surprise laughed hysterically, almost falling off the balcony.

The anvil didn't really hurt Paradise, of course. Like all of Surprise's gags, it had been enchanted to cause only a mild headache, and create a comedic and cartoony illusion when it struck some pony's head. Paradise quickly pulled herself together, and looked up at the other mare in anger.

"Ohhhhh, damn you Surprise!" The angry mare called up, shaking her hoof. "Can't you even be serious for one minute!?"

It was true, Dream Valley's number one comedian did have a hard time taking anything seriously. Ever since she had moved here from Hoofkaido,  the little lunatic had made a name for herself by playing all sorts of pranks and jokes. Queen Majesty had found her putting a whoopee cushion on Gusty's chair in the banquet hall hilarious, and Surprise  earned herself a position as the royal court jester. She had played an even better prank on that annoying mare Truly, by stealing her boyfriend Tex right out from under her.

Yes, life in the castle had been good. Surprise had even earned herself a student; Tickle, an eager young mare from fort Rainbow Dash. She was learning everything she could from the mistress of comedy, in hopes of one day becoming a jester herself in one of the royal courts of Ponyland.

"Yipe! She's coming after us!" Tickle yelled in a panic, zipping away as Paradise flew up to the balcony. "Run for it, boss!"

Surprise zoomed away through the castle hallways, the other Pegasus in hot pursuit. The other ponies in Dream Castle watched the two speeding white blurrs zip by, shaking their heads and wondering what the little blonde nutball had done this time.

"What's wrong, Paradise?" The first Pegasus giggled, looking back over her shoulder and sticking her tongue out. "Gettin' slow in yer old age?"

"Ohhh, Surprise! I'm gonna get you for this!" Paradise howled, bearing down on the jester with a murderous look in her eye. "I swear I'm gonna rearrange that freaky face of yours!"

"Oh yeah? That's what you think!" The first mare giggled, zipping up to the door of her apartment, and quickly jumping inside. Surprise quickly shut the door, causing Paradise to slam into it with a loud SPLAT!

"Ohhhh, I think my headache, just got worse..." Paradise grumbled, pulling herself up to her hooves, and stumbling away. Behind the door, Surprise was laughing uncontrollably, almost going into hysterics over the epic prank she had just pulled. From over by the window, the husky form of a stallion watched the pretty mare from the shadows.

"Ohhhh boy, let that be a lesson to ya, Paradise!" The white mare giggled, not noticing the shadowy form sneaking up behind her. "No mare in Dream Castle get's the better of Surprise!"

"Maybe no mare can, pardner...." The shadowy form hissed, trotting over towards her. "But y'all think there's a stallion who can get the drop on ya?!"

"Aieeeee!" Surprise cried out, as the earth pony with the cactus cutie mark jumped her, tackling her to the bad. The mysterious stallion then unleashed his deadly tickling attack on the mare, and  she began to giggle even more hysterically. "No, Tex, please stop... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!"

"Sorry, little filly, but naow it's time fer me ta play mah little prank on y'all!" Tex grinned, pressing his warm lips against his wife's mouth.

"Mmmmm, this is a neat trick..." She replied playfully, rolling over on top of her husband, wrapping her hooves around his neck. Tex pressed the lower half of his body into hers, even as Surprise wrapped them both in a fluffy cocoon of her white feathery wings....

Yes, Surprise had a good life here in Dream Valley, one that she wouldn't trade for anything in all the world. But something beyond the kingdom's borders would soon challenge this mare's title as the prankiest prankster in all of Ponyland, and drawing her unsuspecting friends into the craziness, would set themall on the wildest and weirdest ride of their pony lives...