My mind was doing back flips. “Surely,” I thought, “there’s now I saw what I just did.” And as I wracked my brain, thinking how it could be possible, I was blindsided the mare standing beside me’s question.
"So, Spike, how are things going with you and Rarity?"
"What!?" The sudden question threw Spike into a coughing fit. "Wha-wha-what do you mean?" Why is she suddenly asking me such a loaded question? Could it be that she found out what happened between us… Did she find out?! There's absolutely no way. Unless…
"I mean how are things going with your crush? Did you finally tell Rarity yet?"
Like the beach waves washing over the sand, so too did Pinkie’s questions over Spike's worries. "Oooooh! You're talking about my secret crush with Rarity."
Pinkie nodded. "Yes indeedie. It is still a secret isn't it?” She looked at his face, noticing it twist and twitch slightly. Believing she was onto something she leaned in, edging the curious smirk on her face closer to his. “Or have you finally told her?"
Okay… The memories of what happened before came flooding back. The hectic trouble he'd had, but more importantly what had happened as a result. Just calm down, you can do this. Look her in the eyes, keep a straight face and say "no". Despite his mental prep work the best he could muster was keeping his head turned slightly to the left as sweat ran down his blushing face with eyes that erratically darted between Pinkie’s and the floor. “No…” There’s no way she’ll believe that.
The dragon’s image clearly spoke the opposite of his mouth but Pinkie stayed quiet, staring at him with laser like intensity. “Is that so, huh?” Her eyes narrowed, giving Spike the chills.
Spike sighed. I was right… I better come clean.“Actual—”
“Okie dokie!”
Seriously! Spike’s eyes widened, shocked that she actually ended up believing him. Happy to know he wasn't going to be grilled on his love life, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and felt the warmth in his cheeks begin to fade. "Yeah, nothing’s changed yet. Wait a second..." He’d finally realized he’d gone off track "That's not important right now!" Remembering why he came and the incredible thing he witnessed, Spike circled around Pinkie Pie and looked over her hooves, examined her mane, and checked her tail in search of any clues to her mysterious vanishing act. "What I want to know is how you did that."
She stared with an obliviously happy look on her tilted face. "Do what?”
"You know,” Spike replied, as her turned the focus of his examination on her face. “Suddenly appear out of thin air like that."
"Oh, that?" Pinkie smiled, her face now pulled close to Spike’s. "I have no idea. It just happens sometimes."
A thought suddenly sparked in Spike’s head. Letting go, he slowly backed away from Pinkie. Could this be it? Could this actually be the how she does it? Feeling like Twilight must on the verge of a major discovery; he asked his all important question. "Is that how you can suddenly pop in from one place to another?"
Pinkie ears perked in response to his theory. "Huh? Oh no,” She then dashed out of the room and leaned out the side enough so Spike and the Twins could see her head through the door way. "I do that with—" Pulling her head back and out of sight, she instantly appeared hanging above the three of them back in the room. "—lots of practice."
The twins giggled at her antic while Spike looked slightly crushed. The mystery continues. "Okay... If turning invisible is something you have no control over then why haven't you gotten it checked out?"
"I did. There was just one problem. When I wanted to show someone, it just wouldn't happen. So without any proof that I could disappear, no one could tell what was wrong with me. Over time it happened less often, until one day I didn’t notice it any more. I figured it’d just gone away and forgot all about it."
"So how long has this been happening?"
Dropping down on the floor between the twins, Pinkie picked up the twins and started cuddling them. “Well it happened more when I was a little filly.”
“That long ago!” Spike let out.
She pulled the twins close. “Uh huh.” With Pound and Pumpkin held up to her face facing her she spoke to them in a coddling voice. “Just a little filly only a few years older than you two. Yes I was.”
“Was there anything you remember that happened back then? Something that could be causing this?”
Putting the twins down to play with their toys, Pinkie concentrated on her past. Spike and the twins watched her being unusually focused and then gasped as she raised a hood in the air. "Wait!” They all leaned in ready to hear her. “No… I don’t really remember. It just started happening one day and then vanished until now. I thought it was gone… But now…” She held her hooves up to her face and gasped. Spike looked at her and watched in disbelief. Slowly her hooves started losing their color. As they further more transparency by the second, Spike could see Pinkie’s gently glooming face. “It’s happening worse than ever.” She threw her legs down, not wanting to see them anymore. “I figured with Twilight being all super duper smart and stuff, she could find out what’s wrong. There was just one problem. That time when it happened, not only could ponies not see me, but they couldn’t hear me either. When I ran into you and found out you could see me I ran as fast as I could to explain to Twilight, but when I tried to show her, nothing happened. I knew she been super busy lately with her studies, so after a few minutes passed with nothing happening, I decided not to waste any more of her time and left."
Spike sighed as Pinkie mentioned her. “Yeah… Twilight sure has been pretty busy lately. A little too busy if you ask me."
"So I decided to come back here and now… I…” She looked down, her hooves flickered before finally returning to normal. A fleeting moment she thought, wondering how long it would last. “What do I do now, Spike?"
"Well… how about we go see Zecora? Maybe she’ll know something about what's going on with you. After all, when even Twilight can't figure something out, she usually goes to see if Zecora might."
"Hey yeah!” Pinkie suddenly sprang back to life. “Zecora!” Now pumped, she headed for the door. “She'll definitely know how to fix me. Let's hurry and see her right—" Before moving any further, she looked down at Pound and Pumpkin who stared at her with wanting eyes and walked back over to pick them up. "I mean right after we play a bit more and put these two down for a nap."
Both Pound and Pumpkin cheered in agreement.
An hour of peek-a-boos, upsy-daisies, and sing-alongs flew by before the twins finally fell asleep. Truth be told they would have been out like logs a lot sooner if not for their sitter’s desire to keep playing. I played along too, though I spent most of the time keeping a close eye on Pinkie. Never taking my eye off her even as we made our way to Zecora’s, worried I might lose her if I looked away for too long. We made our way over, unaware that she had beaten us there.
"Let me have a look, my dear.” Reaching out her hoof, Zecora’s brow furrowed as the guest showed her. “It is as I have exactly feared."
Pulling back her arm, the guest smiled as to calm Zecora. "Don’t worry, Zecora. I can still handle it. I just need a little more research."
Zecora let out a hefty groan knowing full well what she couldn't convince her. "Should you fail with your solution, I've told you already the resolution."
"No.” Snapped, the guest. “I can't do that. I'll definitely find another way.” She calmed herself, shifting gears. “That’s enough about me for now. What about her? Do you know what's wrong?"
Although she didn't really want to end their last discussion, Zecora calmed herself as well and answered her. "Ah, the mare that’s always full of cheer, who claims that she can disappear. I do indeed have the answer she may seek." Hearing a unique spring like hoof steps, she looked to her window. "Why here she comes as I speak."
Surprised by Pinkie’s sudden appearance, the guest looked at Zecora. "One last thing, the potion you gave me isn’t lasting as long as before. Is there something you can give me to help?”
Zecora shook her head and solemnly replied. “The worse you condition gets, the lesser the potions effects.”
“Okay... I just have to work harder to find a cure. Just remember, don't tell anypony about this." With a flash of magic the mysterious guest vanished, leaving Zecora to greet her new guests as they arrived.
"Why hello there Spike and Pinkie Pie, what is it that brings you by?"
"Hey, Zecora,” said Spike, walking up to her with Pinkie following beside him. “Pinkie here need some help with a problem we think you might know how to solve."
"A problem you say, is this true? Let's see what I can do for you." Turning her attention to the smiling mare, Zecora looked her over from head to hoof. "What is it that ails you Pinkie Pie? So far nothing catches my eye."
"Well, I know this may sound a little strange, Zecora, but lately I've been disappearing. Not really disappearing exactly but I become invisible. Ponies could still hear me but I was all see through and stuff. But now, when I disappear, sometimes I can’t be heard either. I’m worried this means I might end up disappearing for real. I don’t want to disappear.”
"Vanishing before our eyes?"—Zecora chuckled, lifting Pinkie’s chin up.—“Though for Pinkie, that is not a surprise." Her levity helped calm Pinkie as Zecora finished her examination and walked over to her bench. "You say sometimes you 'disappear'. Has it happened with friends near?"
"Well... Not really. When I noticed I was invisible earlier and headed to Twilight's, I ran into Spike and turned visible again. Then when I tried showing Twilight, it wouldn’t happen either. I think the only time I did was when Spike and I spoke just before we decided to come over. But it was just my legs and only for a little bit that time."
With her eyes closed and head slowly nodding, Zecora gave them the impression she knew exactly what was wrong. "Just one more question should make things clearer; do you remember seeing an old mirror?"
"A mirror?" Spike questioned. "What does a mirror have to do with anything? I mean Rarity’s got dozens of mirrors over in her Boutique. Does that mean she too could disappear?"
"This mirror is very unique. You will not find it in a boutique. This mirror must be hidden away, where nopony would ever stray."
"Huh?" Spike rattled his brain, translating what he thought she meant. "A mirror hidden from sight, like a mirror that’s been stored away somewhere?"
“Stored away and never used, its purpose completely refused.”
"Wait!" Pinkie let out. "I remember something like that!" Both Spike and Zecora gave Pinkie their attention and listened as she told them a story. “It happened long ago when I was a filly…
A long time ago, a young filly had discovered what made her special. Full of excitement and newfound purpose, she decided to take a journey to spread the happiness she learned she could share to others. While searching for supplies to begin her trip, she wound up in her family’s attic. It was innocent curiosity that drew her away from the boxes and towards a large veiled object far in the back. Without even thinking, she pulled back the dusty sheet to uncover a mirror. She stared at her reflection, envisioning her future, no idea that something was staring back.
Absolutely certain now, Zecora spoke out a name. “Parallel Plunderer.”
Both Spike and Pinkie Pie gave each other a confused glance before looking back her. “’Parallel Plunderer,’” they repeated together. “What’s that?”
“A mystical creature that’s rare in this age. So why it affects Pinkie I've yet to gauge.”
Pinkie looked on in wonderment, as Zecora began grabbing and mixing things from her shelf into a bowl. “Why? What’s does this Plunderer thingy do?”
Mashing together roots and stems, Zecora grabbed a nearby cup of water and poured the mashed ingredients in. “The Parallel Plunderer makes it home on a reflection, so mirrors fit them to a perfection. The less likely seen the better the fit; for a Plunderer wants no one to look at it.”
“Not looked at, why not?” Pinkie asked.
“You see the Plunderer has no form of its own, it fruitlessly searching for it alone. The lack of a body brings a fear of obsolescence, so it attacks other it sees and consumes their essence. The victim starts to disappear, their bodies turning crystal clear Pretty soon they are completely gone, with out even a 'so long'.”
Spiked looked at Pinkie. Her usual cheer had since vanished. Her body was trembling slightly and he noticed her say something quietly to herself.
“My essence…” In a panic, Pinkie turned her head back and looked to see if anything was missing. She felt something grabbed at her leg and was about to scream when a tug that drew her eyes downwards. It was Spike, holding her hoof tight; reassuring her she was still there.
She clutched Spike tightly, her body shaking widely. While not as vividly as Pinkie, Spike too was also just a frightened, though not for his sake. “Please, Zecora, tell me you know or have something that will stop Pinkie from disappearing.”
With the cup of her mysterious brew still in her hoof, Zecora held it up in front of the two. Both Pinkie and Spike smiled. But instead of doing as they thought, she pursed the rim against her lips and gulped it down herself.
“Nope.”