The Invisible Pegasus
“Whoa, that was… a very boring dream,” muttered a cyan pegasus mare named Rainbow Dash. She sat up and let out a huge yawn as she rubbed her eye with a hoof.
Judging by the dim light coming from her window, it was early morning. Which meant that she had plenty of time to clear the morning sky. She shrugged then flopped out of bed and stretched her back. After a few satisfying pops from her back and shoulders, she trotted into her bathroom. Where Rainbow’s drowsy mind automatically started her normal morning routine, stumbling around the bathroom to flip on the light and crawling into the shower.
After a short refreshing shower, she dried off her coat and mane then tossed the towel into the hamper. She walked over to her bathroom sink, looked at the mirror, and saw… nothing.
“What the hay?” Rainbow blinked a few times and gazed deeper into the mirror, still seeing nothing more than an empty bathroom. “Um… Oooook.”
Thinking she was seeing things, she raised a hoof and touched the mirror. The mirror moved as if a hoof pushed against it, but she could not see that hoof. “Alright, that’s really weird.” She thought aloud.
She picked up a nearby wing shampoo bottle and turned to the mirror again. She was startled to see the shampoo bottle floating in mid-air right where her hoof was supposed to be.
Rainbow gasped, dropping the shampoo and backed away from the mirror. She quickly brought up both forehooves in front of her face, hoping that her suspicions were wrong. Her hooves were stubbornly absent. Now that she thought about it, she could not see her muzzle that normally blocked the lower part of her vision. She shot up and franticly spun around to look at herself. Her entire body was invisible, and she was not even casting a shadow on the floor.
Rainbow’s breathing quickened as panic took ahold, “No… Ohnononononono! This isn’t happening!” she panicked as she spun around in circles trying to find her body.
“This has got to be a dream! Yah, just a crazy dream!” she laughed and shook her head, “Now to wake myself up from this crazy dream.”
Rainbow glanced around her bathroom for anything she could use to wake herself up; her eyes fell upon the sink. Her eyes widened as an idea popped into her head and she rushed over to the sink. She turned on the water and splashed the water into her face, “Come on, time to wake up.” she told herself between splashes.
Soaked and irritated, Rainbow stared at the mirror and saw a ghostly image of her face. Water clung to her coat as it would normally, but due to her condition, it created a creepy empty outline of her face. She frowned and shook her head, spraying the floating water everywhere.
“I’ve got to wake myself up! I’ve got cloud napping to do!” she yelled and she flew out the door into her room. Without thinking, she grabbed her closet door and bashed her head against it, “WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE- OW!” She cried out in pain and clutched her now aching forehead.
Rainbow growled, cursing silently and slammed the door. She flew down stairs into her living room and landed next to her coffee table. She looked around the room, trying to find anything that would work. Her eyes fell upon a small spinning top that Pinkie gave her a few years back for a party of some kind, “Aha! Perfect!”
She grabbed the top and cleared off the coffee table; she placed the top onto the table and spun it (Don’t ask how, its pony magic, I don't know). She brought her head at level with the table and anxiously watched the top spin. The top spun for about twenty or so seconds before losing momentum and falling over.
“B-Buy some apples!-K!” she flipped the table over and flew into the kitchen.
Rainbow grabbed a frying pan, thinking that pain would do the trick and sat down. She flipped her tail to her side, and raised the cooking tool to strike. Only to realize that she still couldn’t see it, and she remembered banging her head against the closet door.
“Well that was a complete waste of my time.” She groaned and smacked her forehead with a hoof.
------
After several failed attempts to wake herself up, Rainbow found herself defeated and flopped down onto her bed. Her pet turtle, Tank, finally awoke from his peaceful slumber and poked his head out to look around. He glanced towards Dash’s bed, expecting to see his owner. However, he saw nothing except a depression in the mattress shaped like a pony.
“Oh, hey Tank.” His owner’s glum voice said from nothingness. He jumped and glanced around the room in confusion. He heard a chuckle and suddenly felt a warm, furry object stroke the top of his head. Tank immediately did what his kind does best; he pulled his head back into his shell.
Rainbow watched her pet hide himself and sighed, “It’s alright buddy, it’s just… me.” She patted Tank’s shell and sat up, she looked down at the depression in the mattress she made and shook her head, “Well… I’m definitely not dreaming.”
Her eyes (if one were able to see them) suddenly snapped open as a thought ran through her mind, “Twilight! She can help me!” she gasped and bolted out her bedroom window.
------
After a short ten-minute scenic flight over Ponyville, Rainbow landed at the doorstep of the library and tried to push open the door. “Twilight? Are you in there?” She called out to the upstairs window but got no reply. Then she noticed a note nailed to the library’s door.
Walking up closer, she read the note aloud,
“Hi! This letter is to inform anypony who reads, that the library is closed for the morning. Spike and I had to go on an unexpected trip to Canterlot and were unable to prepare the Library for this morning. However, we will return sometime around midafternoon. Sorry if there is any inconvenience, I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I possibly can.
~Twilight.”
“Midafternoon? What am I supposed to do until then?” Rainbow asked to nopony in particular. She re-read the letter for a few minutes, before sadly sighing and walking away.
Rainbow wandered aimlessly through Ponyville with her eyes glued to the dirt. She didn't have a destination since her mind was elsewhere. “How did this happen to me? What would happen to me if Twilight somehow can’t help?” She sighed sadly, “Well I guess I’ll just cross that bridge when I get to- Oomph!” She let out a pained grunt after bouncing off a passing earth pony stallion, getting the wind knocked out of her.
Rainbow got up and dusted herself off, “Hey! You mind watching where you’re going next time?” She snapped.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! Ah didn’t… Miss?” The stallion looked around in confusion, knowing that he did just walk into somepony. “Hello?”
“Pffft, don’t worry about it.” Rainbow spat and she walked away.
The stallion watched with widening eyes as a trail of hoofprints appeared in the dirt, walking away from him. He blinked his eyes once and turned to his original destination, the Scallion Bar & Lounge. He looked between the hoofprints and the bar a few times, before trotting away.
“Nope.”
------
Rainbow continued her journey through town deep in thought, when she smashed her nose into a door. “Ow! What the-?” She grabbed her nose and looked up, seeing the large gingerbread styled bakery called Sugar Cube Corner. Shrugging, she pushed open the door and found the bakery strangely empty. She glanced around the silent bakery for a minute, and then turned to leave. Figuring nopony was around.
“Hiya Dashie! What brings you to Sugar Cube Corner? Oooo wait, Let me guess! You’re here to buy some cupcakes?” Rainbow jumped almost twice her height in the air, after her overly excitable friend Pinkie Pie shouted directly into her ear.
“Pinkie?! What are you-? Wait, what? Why would I-?” Rainbow blinked and facehooved. “Let’s start over, how did you know it was me?”
Pinkie bounced once and giggled, “That’s an easy one! My left shoulder started twitching, my ears started flopping, I had an ache in my hooves, and I smelled skittles! So that told me that you were in the bakery!”
Pinkie poked Rainbow’s nose and tilted her head, “Also, why can’t I see you Dashie?” she gasped loudly, “No Wait! Let me guess! You lost your colors and now you need to find them! No wait, that’s not it! You’ve found some kind of ancient artifact that makes you invisible, like that cloak from Daring Doo!”
At that moment, Mr. Cake poked his head through the kitchen door and saw Pinkie talking to thin air. He shuddered, thinking that Pinkie might have finally gone off the deep-end.
Pinkie would have continued to ramble on, if it were not for Rainbow shoving a forehoof into the party pony’s mouth. “My aching head.” she thought in agony as she rubbed an ear with her free hoof. “Pinkie, what are you talking about?”
Pinkie freed her mouth and smiled innocently, “About what? That I can’t see you? Or why you smell like skittles? Oh that’s easy to explain, all of our friends have different smells that I can smell really easily! Liiiike, Applejack smells like apples, Twilight smells like grapes, Rarity smells like marshmallows, and Flutter-Mmph!” Rainbow shoved her hoof into Pinkie’s mouth again.
“Nonono, about how did you know I was here? How can you tell I’m standing in front of you?”
“Well I can’t actually see you standing there, but I can smell skittles and these also help a bunch!” Pinkie pulled out a pair of large odd-looking goggles from nowhere, before strapping them to her head.
Rainbow tilted her head slightly in confusion, “And those are?”
“Infrared goggles!” Pinkie chirped, “They allow me to see your body heat!”
------
Meanwhile, on earth, a human named Sir Isaac Newton is rolling around in his grave. “God Damnint Pinkie Pie.”
------
Rainbow nodded slowly as she stared at Pinkie’s goggles. “Uh-huh.”
Pinkie suddenly gasped as if she had met new pony in town, then grabbed Rainbow by her cheeks. Yanking her towards her own face, “Do you know what this means?!” She asked with a large grin.
“It means that I’m a freak and or cursed now?” Rainbow replied, raising an eyebrow.
Pinkie giggled and booped Rainbow’s nose, “Tehe, No silly filly.” Pinkie’s large grin turned into a smirk, “What does it look like, when somepony who’s invisible picks up something?”
“It would like something floating in mid-air. Like a ghost or something.” Rainbow deadpanned, then something clicked in her mind and she did a double take to Pinkie. Who was now grinning even wider than before.
“Now you’re getting it!” Pinkie dropped Rainbow then trotted over to a nearby table, and set down a plate with a few cupcakes on it. She took a quick glance at Rainbow, and then removed her goggles. “Hey Mr. Cake? Can you come in here for a second please?”
Mr. Cake poked his head out of the kitchen door behind the counter and walked in. “Yes Pinkie Pie?”
Pinkie glanced at Rainbow, then looked at the cupcakes and winked at her. Rainbow blinked for a second then quickly got the hint, “Oh!”
Pinkie turned to respond to Mr. Cake as Rainbow grabbed two cupcakes and slowly lifted them off the plate, which Mr. Cake noticed almost immediately.
At first Mr. Cake didn’t seem to be frightened, until he noticed that the cupcakes did not have a unicorn’s magic aura surrounding them. He fell silent and turned to Pinkie. Whose mouth was flopping open and closed like a fish. Rainbow smiled mischievously and loudly pealed the wrapping off the cupcakes and took a large bite out of each. Mr. Cake’s eyes widened and he lifted his foreleg up and let out a frightened gasp. Rainbow dropped both cupcakes and took flight. She started making ghost noises and moved tables and chairs around the room, “Ooooo, Ooooooo!”
As Rainbow moved a few pastry trays on the countertop behind Mr. Cake, he started panicking. “Pinkie! What is going on?!” He asked with his voice cracking.
Pinkie looked around in fright and she let out an eep when Dash picked up a tray of muffins, and placed them on a nearby windowsill. “I… I don’t know Mr. Cake.” She suddenly squealed in fear and dashed behind the table beside her.
Rainbow suddenly stopped moving objects and fell silent, she flew over Mr. Cake (who was shaking and looking around franticly). She slowly closed the door behind him, which squeaked loudly as it closed.
Then, with an evil grin, she flew up as close as she could to his ear.
“Get. Out.” She whispered in a raspy voice into Mr. Cake’s ear.
Mr. Cake reared up on his hind legs and let out a piercing shriek. Then he bolted out the front door as if his life depended on it. He was completely unaware of the two mares laughing hysterically on the bakery’s floor.
“Oh Sweet Celestia! That was Awesome Pinkie!” Rainbow gasped between laughs.
“Yeah! Did you see the look on his face?! He screamed like a little filly!” Pinkie giggled, clutching her belly and rolling on her back.
After some more laughing, the two finally calmed down enough to talk normally again. “Aww, yeah that was a good one. And here I was too sad to realize that I probably have the best thing possible for a prankster. Thanks for snapping me out of it Pinkie!” Rainbow said with a few giggles.
Pinkie nodded then gasped (again) and sat up, “Oooo! You know what we should do? We should prank all of Ponyville!”
Rainbow stared mouth agape at Pinkie, completely forgetting her earlier problems. “Pinkie… You just read my mind.”
~~Cue Epic-Prankage montage!~~
The two mares exited Sugar Cube Corner giggling like two school fillies gossiping over a varsity hoofball jock, when Dash spotted a parked taxi carriage nearby. A grin slowly grew across her face, “Hey Pinkie, follow me!” She flew ahead with Pinkie following and hooked herself up to the taxi’s harness.
“Uh… Dashie? What are you doing?” Pinkie asked while tilting her head as Rainbow fastened the final strap. Rainbow turned to Pinkie and scoffed with a grin.
“Just watch and follow my lead.” Rainbow pulled the taxi into town, with Pinkie following at a distance.
Rainbow stopped at an intersection, looked around at the shocked faces of passing ponies, and snickered.
“TAXI!” called a voice nearby.
She grinned. This was it.
Rainbow trotted toward the blue stallion on the street corner and slowly came to a stop, “Hey There! Where would you like me to take ya?” She asked in her best stallion-like voice.
The stallion did not respond. Instead, he just stared at the taxi, then at the harness with wide eyes.
“Hey dude, you alright? Did I forget to clean my mud flaps again?” Rainbow asked, struggling not to laugh.
“Uh… Y… you know. I… I think I’m good.” The stallion stuttered as he backed away, sweating slightly.
“EEEK! A haunted taxi! Everypony ruuuuuun!” Pinkie screamed, and then galloped between Rainbow and the stallion.
The stallion watched Pinkie fly by and turned back to Rainbow, who let out an evil chuckle. “Boo.”
The stallion screamed and galloped away as fast as he could. Meanwhile, Rainbow chased after a still screaming Pinkie.
“Oooo!! I’m a haunted taxi! Fear me! Oooooo!” Pinkie screamed louder as she fled, nearby ponies turned in their direction and panic quickly spread throughout the street. Ponies started screaming and they all ran away as fast as they could.
Pinkie turned down an alley and Rainbow followed suit. They caught their breath for a moment before collapsing into laughter.
“That was amazing! You totally timed that perfectly!” Rainbow said as she unhooked herself from the taxi.
“Tehehehe! Thanks Dashie! The way I ran between you two, totally scared that stallion!”
“Heheh. Alright where to next Pinkie?” Rainbow asked excitedly.
------
After a short time of pranking in Ponyville’s marketplace, which had Rainbow walking up to a few stands and picking up some fruit. Paying for them, then walking around the market and eating them. With Pinkie doing her ‘Run everypony run ghost!’ screams, everypony in the marketplace had ran away screaming.
The two ponies walked into an outdoor Café and sat down at a table. Pinkie supplied both herself and Rainbow with fancy top hats and monocles, as well as fake moustaches. They picked up their menus and pretended to read; they waited a few minutes, then Pinkie called over a waiter. A French earth pony walked up to their table to take their orders. He was about to speak when he noticed Rainbow’s menu, along with her mentioned accessories, floating over the seat across from Pinkie.
“I say good sir, what shall be your most fabulous dish on the menu this fine evening?” Rainbow asked in a mockup Victorian accent as Pinkie struggled to hold back laughter.
The poor stallion could only stare in shock at Rainbow’s seat. She turned her head towards him, the accessories on her head doing the same. “Sir, is everything alright? Do I have something in my teeth?” The waiter dropped his clipboard and screamed.
-------
The next victim on their list just so happened to live in a shop called the Carousel Boutique, and happened to be one of their closest friends. They trotted up to the front door, and Pinkie knocked a few times. After a short wait, the door opened to reveal Rarity. Her expression lit up upon seeing Pinkie. “Oh! Pinkie, how good it is to see you! How have you’ve been today dear?” she asked in a cheerful tone.
“Oh, today’s been just great Rarity! I have been having so much fun!” Pinkie chirped in her usual hyperactive tone as Rainbow flew over the both of them and into Rarity’s workshop.
As Pinkie distracted Rarity, Rainbow rubbed her forehooves together while giggling evilly. “Ohhh, Rarity is so gonna lose it when she sees this prank.” She crackled, looking around at the organized fabrics and dresses.
No less than five minutes pass when Rarity leads Pinkie into her workshop. “So Pinkie, that is why I simply must finish this dress I’m working on-” Rarity cut herself off upon seeing the workshop.
Most of Rarity’s dresses had been swapped out with incomplete ones. Her fabrics were all removed from their proper places on the shelves, and her curtains had yellow dots hastily painted all over them. But what was truly unusual, was the two wedding dressed mannequins that had somehow removed themselves from their poles, and started dancing in a minuet all around the room.
Pinkie looked around the room in awe, while Rarity made her best impression of a fish. “Wow Rarity you’re dresses sure are lively today.”
Rarity turned toward Pinkie, then back to the still dancing mannequins and collapsed fabulously to the floor with a thud.
------
Rainbow and Pinkie left the Boutique to head for their next destination, Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie asked Big McIntosh where their friend Applejack was, and he pointed her toward a secluded part of the apple tree orchard. They found Applejack doing her afternoon run of applebucking. Pinkie turned toward Rainbow and nodded, and then she took off her goggles. She bounced up to Applejack, while Rainbow flew into the tree nearby and laid down on a branch.
“Hiya Applejack! Whatchya doing?” Pinkie chirped as she bounced next to AJ.
Applejack turned to see who had addressed her and smiled, “Howdy Pinkie Pie. Ah’m just harvestin' these here apples for the afternoon.”
“Oh cool! Would you like some help?” she asked as she glanced at the tree behind AJ.
Applejack held up a hoof and smiled kindly, “Sugar cube ah can handle these here trees, this ain't like that last apple buckin' season. It’s just a small chore-“. AJ cut herself off and her ear twitched, it was the sound of somepony biting into an apple.
Applejack frowned and turned to the tree, “Hey! Quit eating my crops ya thieving varmint!” she shouted, only to see a floating half-eaten apple.
“What in tarnation?” She tilted her head in confusion, thinking she was seeing things. Only to be snapped back into reality when the perpetrator mockingly tossed the apple core at her hooves, then grabbed another apple and bit into it.
Applejack’s left eye twitched and she let out a growl. She stormed up to the tree and bucked its trunk as hard as she could. “GIT OUT OF MAH APPLE TREE YA DARNED THIEF!”
The buck shook up Rainbow, but she managed to keep her grip. “Oh, so that’s how you wanna play it huh?” She grabbed a hoof full of apples and started to chuck them at Applejack.
“OW! What the-?!” Applejack yelped as apples struck her, “HEY! Cut that out!”
Rainbow threw another apple at the earth pony, striking her in the face and disorienting her. “Whoa… look at all them apples.” Applejack slurred as she wobbled on her hooves.
Rainbow flew down from the tree and picked up a nearby apple-filled bucket. She carried it slowly in a circle around Applejack. Applejack shook her head and looked around in irritation, and then she spotted the apple bucket hovering around her. Her eyes widened and her jaw struck the ground when she saw no aura around it. She turned to Pinkie with a bewildered look, “Wha… What’s going-?”
Applejack’s words were cut off when Rainbow dumped out the bucket on top of her, and then slammed it down onto her head. Applejack looked around in fright, not realizing that there was a bucket on her head. Then Rainbow had a very sly thought.
She landed, trotted up beside Applejack, whom was shaking and leaned in close to her ear. “Hey Applejack. Run.” She whispered in her ghost voice, then extended her wing and brought it down (hard) onto AJ’s rump.
“WHAAHH!” Applejack screamed, her voice muffled by the bucket. And she galloped away, right into a tree. She stumbled back up and fled again, this time toward the farm’s barn. Rainbow and Pinkie watched her flee before they both collapsed, busting their guts with laughter.
Rainbow recovered first and nudged Pinkie with her elbow, “So who’s next Pinkie? Fluttershy maybe?”
Pinkie immediately stopped laughing and stared at Rainbow for a few unsettling moments, and then shook her head, “No no! We can’t prank Fluttershy; she’d be traumatized by a ghost prank!”
Rainbow sighs and nods her head, “Yeah I guess you’re right. Say, you wanna see a movie?”
------
A few hours later, the Friendship Express arrived at Ponyville’s train station. Twilight Sparkle and Spike exit along with the rest of the passengers. As they walked down the street, the unicorn and dragon quickly noticed that the town was deserted. Spike glanced up at Twilight, “Hey Twi, where is everypony?”
Twilight glanced down at him then looked around the empty street, “I’m not sure Spike, but we’re going to find out.”
------
Elsewhere, the Ponyville Theater’s front doors burst open and a large group of ponies came out screaming at the top of their lungs. A short time later, a pink earth pony and a floating popcorn bucket walked outside.
“Ehhh, I’ve seen way scarier movies before. Heck, I could make up a better scarier story for a camping trip!” Rainbow said as she popped another piece of popcorn into her mouth.
Pinkie Pie giggled, “Tehe, Even though I’m not a huge fan of scary movies. I’d have agree that it could have been better. So I guess we did help out those ponies in getting the scare they were looking for.”
Rainbow laughed and was about to agree with Pinkie, when she spotted a familiar lavender unicorn walking alongside a purple dragon down the empty street ahead of them. “Hey Pinkie who else do we have on our scare list?” she asked while nudging Pinkie’s shoulder.
Pinkie pulled out a long list that had numerous crossed out names on it and a pair of reading glasses, “Hmmmm, I think Twilight and Spike are the only ones left. Why?”
Rainbow pointed toward the pair with her popcorn bucket, and Pinkie’s face lit up.” Ooooo! They’re back! How should we prank them?”
Rainbow thought for a second, and then her eyes widened as the master of all pranks came to mind. Rainbow leaned into Pinkie’s ear and whispered her idea to her. Pinkie’s eyes lit up with a wide grin and she nodded eagerly.
Pinkie frantically galloped toward Twilight and Spike, while Dash flew off to go prepare. “Twilight! Twilight! You’ve got to help me!”
Twilight’s head flipped towards Pinkie’s voice and she adopted a concerned look as her pink friend approached her, “Oh gosh Pinkie! What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.
Pinkie looked around in fear then turned toward her friend, “There’s been a ghost haunting Ponyville, and I think it’s after me!”
Twilight’s concerned expression turned into annoyance, “A ghost? Is that why Ponyville is deserted?” She facehooved and groaned, “Pinkie, ghosts don’t exist. They’re nothing more than an old pony’s tail used to scare foals into behaving.”
Spike looked up at Twilight and shrugged, “I don’t know Twi, Pinkie seems to be pretty convinced about it.” He gestured toward Pinkie’s terrified expression.
Twilight still refused to believe it and Pinkie let out a whimper, then she got down onto her belly and held up her forehooves. “Please Twilight! You’ve got to believe me, maybe there’s a book in the library on how to get rid of ghosts.” Pinkie gave Twilight a puppy dogface, complete with large watery eyes and a quivering lip.
Twilight kept her stern look, but she quickly faltered and sighed. “Alright Pinkie, if you’re so convinced of it. We’ll go to the library and find a book about ghosts.” She shook her head and walked in the direction of the library, and muttered, “In the fiction section.”
Pinkie had to resist the urge to squee with happiness and she followed Twilight, still pretending to be scared.
A short walk later, the three friends made it to the library. Spike turned toward Pinkie while Twilight opened the door. “Say Pinkie? What has this ghost been doing while we were gone?”
Pinkie looked up to the sky in thought, “Well… it’s been scaring ponies like a big meanie pants. As Ponyville’s number one party animal, I felt it was my job to warn others to stay in their houses, but the ghost always beat me to them.”
Spike’s eyes widened in shock and Twilight rolled hers as she opened the door. Inside, the library was pitch dark with the window shades drawn and doors closed. “Hey Spike did you closed the window shades when we left?” she asked as she lit up her horn with a light spell.
Spike looked a bit nervous, “Um… no, no I didn’t Twilight.”
Suddenly the front door loudly slammed shut and locked itself, causing the three of them to snap their heads toward it. Pinkie spoke with a shaky voice, “T… Twilight, did you do tha- Mmph!” Pinkie was pulled away into the darkness with muffled screams, as if somepony covered her mouth with a hoof.
Spike yelped and Twilight spun around to where Pinkie disappeared, “Pinkie?!” she looked around in the darkness, but could not find a trace of Pinkie Pie.
Spike pressed himself against Twilight’s side, shaking. “Wh… where did Pinkie go Twilight?”
Now getting uneasy herself, Twilight stared into the darkness where Pinkie vanished. “I… I don’t know Spike.”
------
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Pinkie was busy with Rainbow making herself look all scary. She held up a zombie costume kit she had for Nightmare Night and a bottle of ketchup, she glanced towards Dash with a grin. “You ready Dashie?”
Rainbow smirked, “I was born ready. Let’s do this.”
Rainbow flew out of the kitchen to see Twilight and Spike still standing in the middle of the room, she smiled and flew around the room. Knocking down books and moving chairs, while using her ghost voice. “Ooooooooo, oooooo. Twiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiight, I’ve come to huaaaaaaaant yooooou.”
Twilight’s eyes widened slightly when she didn’t see anypony moving her furniture and books, and Spike started shaking violently. “Uhh, may I ask… why you are haunting me?” she asked with a hint of fear.
Rainbow flew up to the ceiling; “You have forgotten the true meaning of friendship!” she spoke, making her voice bounce off the walls to make it sound like it was coming from different angles. “Never, abandon you’re friends!”
Twilight was taken aback, “What? I have not! How could you say that?”
Rainbow didn’t respond, and instead flew into the kitchen. Grabbing the ‘zombified’ Pinkie Pie from under her shoulders, and picked her up. Pinkie hung limply in Rainbow’s grip as she carried her into the room, where Twilight was still demanding an explanation. Twilight screamed loudly when she saw the ‘blood-covered' floating Pinkie Pie appear from the darkness. Rainbow kept Pinkie just outside Twilight’s light to make her partially lit up like in a scary movie.
Pinkie lifted her head and looked at Twilight with half-open eyes, the angle of the light lighting up her face in a freighting way. “T… Twilight, Why?” she croaked.
Spike screamed and ran under Twilight, who wrapped her forelegs around him and held him to her chest. Twilight started to tear up and shake in terror as she watched Pinkie hovering before her. “P… Pinkie?” she stuttered.
Pinkie stared blankly at Twilight, “Twilight… why didn’t you believe me? Why did you let the ghost get to me?” she whispered and Rainbow slowly lowered her to the ground.
Twilight forgot all sense of reality and she started crying even harder, “I… I… I’m Sorry Pinkie! I didn’t realize you were telling the truth!”
Pinkie started to stumble toward Twilight, shuffling in an uncoordinated, zombie-like gait. Twilight slowly backed away, sobbing in fear and guilt, taking Spike along with her as Pinkie drew closer. Her grip on her crying assistant tightened, and she started looking around the dark room for an escape route. Her light spell weakened when she found none and her rump bumped up against the back wall.
Pinkie shuffled up toward Twilight while making angry growling sounds and a blank, lifeless stare. Twilight started sweating buckets and she sat down, shaking violently as her ‘death’ approached, and she let out a whimper. Rainbow was hovering nearby, struggling to hold back her laughter. Pinkie was now within a foot of Twilights face, “You betrayed me Twilight.” She whispered flatly.
Twilight shrank to the ground, curling herself around Spike and covering him with her forelegs like a protective mother. “I… Pinkie. I… im-“
“BOOP!”
Twilight’s senses where assaulted by Pinkie pushing on her nose with a hoof and the lights flashing on.
“BWAHAHAAHAAHAH!” Pinkie and Rainbow fell to the floor laughing so hard that they started having violent coughing fits, which made them laugh even harder.
Twilight sat by the wall still protecting Spike, with her jaw on the floor as her brain attempted to process what just happened.
Then she heard a familiar laugh, “Wait a minute… Rainbow?!” she turned to a hectically laughing Pinkie and smelled ketchup. “What is going on?!” she shouted, blushing hard and her eyes twitching.
Rainbow sat up and rubbed a tear from her eye, “Heh heh. Well Twi, Let’s just say you have to see it to believe it.” She resumed laughing as Twilight looked in her direction with a baffled expression.
------
“So let me git this straight, ya’ll are invisible now?” Applejack asked Rainbow, whom was now wearing a pair of sunglasses.
The mane six were all sitting in the library, a short time after Rainbow and Pinkie pranked Twilight and Spike. They were still trying to wrap their heads around Rainbow’s condition.
“Yup, I just woke up like this.” Rainbow replied with a nod.
“Oh my.” Fluttershy whispered.
“You… just woke up like that? You don’t even know how this could have happened?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rainbow shrugged (not like anypony could see), “Not a clue. I don’t know how this happened. I just woke up invisible Rares.” She chuckled, “But I did gave Tank the scare of his life.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. After all those little ghost stunts you and Pinkie pulled in town today.” Twilight said with a slight glare.
Pinkie coughed nervously and adverted her eyes from Twilight. Rainbow scratched the back of her neck and giggled nervously.
Twilight narrowed her eyes and stomped a hoof onto the floor, “You two went up and took something that could for all we know, be very dangerous, and used it as a personal gain for a prank! Do you realize how foalish that was? Why didn’t you seek help first?”
Rainbow smiled sheepishly, “Ah, heheh. Well Twi, I did try to go find you this morning. But you and Spike were gone till the afternoon and well, I wandered around town for a while to wait for you. Then Pinkie found me and… you know the rest of the story.”
Twilight gave Rainbow a confused look, “Wait, how did Pinkie find you if you were invisible?”
“Oh, that’s easy! I just used these.” Pinkie piped up, she grabbed her inferred goggles and strapped them onto Twilight’s head. “Plus, Dashie smells like skittles.”
“Wha, Pinkie!” Twilight yelped then went silent, staring at Rainbow. “A… are these infrared goggles?”
Pinkie nodded, “Yep! I never really had a reason to use them until now.”
Twilight shook her head and took off the goggles, “Alright enough games. Rainbow, I’m going to change you back. Then you and Pinkie are going to apologize to Applejack and Rarity, and to Ponyville for scaring everypony like you did.”
“Aw come on Twilight, it was just a harmless prank. Admit it, they were really good.” Rainbow complained as Pinkie made a sad whining noise.
Twilight grunted, “I don’t think they were very harmless in my opinion. I’m pretty sure that Spike will not be sleeping in the dark for months after what happened today.”
“Heh, no offence Twi. But your opinion kinda sucks. But, I can see they we may have gone a bit overboard with your prank.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, “That’s an understatement of the century, now hold still.” Her horn lit up and Rainbow felt a tingly feeling, but nothing more.
“What? Why didn’t it work?” Twilight asked when she saw that her spell had failed.
“Maybe it wasn’t a spell dear.” Rarity offered.
Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof, “Hmmm, maybe your right. Rainbow what can you remember doing yesterday?”
“Oh that’s an easy answer Twilight. I was doing… wait. What was I doing yesterday?” Rainbow blinked in confusion at her blank mind, “Twilight… I can’t seem to remember anything that happened yesterday.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in alarm, “Nothing?” Rainbow shook her head and Twilight sighed. “That is concerning. I’ve never run into something like this before.”
“Wait, ya’ll don’t know what could have caused this? Don’t ya know any spells to fix Dash?” Applejack asked.
Twilight turned toward Applejack and gestured towards Rainbow with a hoof, “Well that’s the thing, I should. However, the spell I’m using is not doing anything to her; it’s almost as if magic didn’t cause this. It could be Poison Joke but that can’t explain her memory loss.”
“Maybe Zecora might know Twilight.” Pinkie offered while placing a book onto Rainbow’s back, making it float in mid-air.
Twilight watched Rainbow shake the book off her back, and then slowly nodded her head. “Well since this isn’t a type of magic I know of, then maybe Zecora might know. Good idea Pinkie.”
“Yay! Adventure time!” Pinkie chirped and bounced happily next to Rainbow.
------
After a short and surprisingly uneventful walk through the Everfree forest, the six of them find themselves in Zecora’s hut. Zecora was examining Rainbow’s eye as Twilight explained the problem.
“Well we don’t know exactly how this happened to Rainbow, but we do know that Poison Joke wasn’t responsible. Since the plant as far as we know, does not turn ponies invisible or most importantly, cause memory loss. So we came here in hopes that you might be able to help us out Zecora.”
Zecora closed her eyes in thought and turned to Twilight, “My dear friend Twilight, I’m afraid that you are mistaken. Poison Joke is most certainly the reason why Rainbow’s visibility was taken.”
Applejack tilted her head, “That is makin’ no sense. Poison joke had never caused us to forget a whole day when it affected us. Ah still remember trudging through that large patch of it the night before it shrunk me.”
Zecora hummed and trotted toward a shelf with various potion books, “This is not the work of that type of joke. No, this was the work of Useful Joke.”
“Useful Joke? I don’t think I have a book on such a thing.” Twilight said, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. “What makes you think it’s that?”
Zecora smiled warmly and picked up a large book called ‘A Guide to Magical/Mythical Plants By: Star Swirl the Bearded’. “The reason you do know, is not of the books you own. But that Useful Joke isn’t well known.”
The zebra pointed a hoof in Rainbow’s general direction, “Miss Dash has invisibly, a trait that is advantageous for most.”
Rainbow grinned and pumped her wings, “Hay yeah it advantageous! I can sneak around wherever I want; whenever I want, and nopony would even know it’s me! I have the best advantage over any prankster whoever lived!”
Rarity smirked at Rainbow’s enthusiasm, “But Rainbow, whatever would happen if you needed to show off you’re moves? Nopony would be able to admire your tricks if you can’t be seen.”
Rainbow’s smile slowly turned into a horrified frown as she thought about Rarity’s words. Then without warning, she grabbed Twilight’s face (making her do an accurate impression of a duck). “You’ve got to change me back Twilight! How can I show off my awesome tricks to my adoring fans if they can’t see me do them?! Or what about- *GASP* THE WONDERBOLTS! If they can’t see me do my tricks, they won’t ever let me join!” She collapsed to the floor wailing, “My life is ruined!”
“And thus the irony of Useful Joke, often overlooked by most.” Zecora said with a light chuckle.
Applejack looked up at Zecora from the spot where she thought Rainbow was (judging by the tears on the floor), “Come again?”
Zecora opened the book and flipped over to a page, then hooved it over to Twilight. Twilight grabbed the book and her eyes widened as she read the page.
“What’s it say? What’s it say?” Pinkie asked while bouncing close by.
Twilight snapped out of her trance and moved the book so that the others could read the passage.
Magical/Mythical Plant #83: Useful Joke
Description: Useful Joke is an unusual, rare, red-hued variant of the magical plant Poison Joke (see plant #14 for more details). Like its cousin, Useful Joke affects ponies after they simply come into contact with its petals. But unlike Poison Joke, Useful Joke gives its victim’s unique advantages instead of playing practical jokes. The advantages typically match up to the victim’s traits and personality. It also erases the victim’s memory of the day they encountered it, and turns those memories into a dream the following night. The exact reason the plant does this is yet to be known.
Advantages that the plant gives to its victims often appear to be very useful. Victim’s often think that their advantages would help make their lives easier, more entertaining/livelier, etc. However, the supposed advantage would always turn out to have a large disadvantage.
A good example would be somepony with very poor eyesight being inflicted, resulting in them getting perfect eyesight. However, the plant would make them become severely cross-eyed or googly-eyed, effectively making the advantage completely useless to the victim.
The effects of Useful Joke can be cured by an herb bath similar to Poison Joke.
“So is this what turned me invisible?” Rainbow asked inquiry.
“Indeed Rainbow Dash, your invisibly gives you an advantage for pranks and to sneak. However, it costs you greatly when you wish to promote yourself, which is very bleak.”
Rainbow remained quiet, and then remembered something. “Huh, now that I think about it, I do remember having a dream about the Everfree and a red colored Poison Joke flower this morning.”
“You think that could have been something useful to say earlier Rainbow?” Twilight asked with a hint of annoyance.
Rainbow grinning and smirked, “Maybe, but I didn’t.”
Twilight just sighed and shook her head.
“But now we know that there’s a cure for Dashie! Just like Poison Joke, we just need to give you a bath! Right Zecora?” Pinkie said while patting Rainbow’s back.
Zecora bowed her head in a short nod, “Indeed my pink friend, while Useful Joke may be rare. The common herbs for the cure I may spare.”
Pinkie smiled and turned toward Rainbow, “See? We’ll make you visible again Dashie. After that, I can throw a 'Rainbow Dash is visible again!' party!
------
The six ponies entered the Ponyville spa a half hour after leaving Zecora's hut with the special herbs for the cure bath.
“Hey Lotus we would like a Poison Joke cure bath with these herbs instead of the normal herbs please.” Twilight said after hoofing Lotus some bits. Lotus gave Twilight and her friends a look. Then she walked into the back room with her sister Aloe.
After a short wait, they all walked into the spa room, where the Useful Joke bath was waiting. Rainbow trotted up to the edge of the pool then jumped in, she stayed underwater for a few seconds then resurfaced. She breathed a deep sigh of relief when she saw her hooves resting where they should be in the water.
Pinkie bounded happily and hugged Rainbow when she exited the bath. “Congratulations Dashie! Now I can get started planning for your party!”
Rainbow laughed and pushed Pinkie off herself to stand up, “Sounds good Pinkie, but first, why don’t we all go to the café? I’m starved!”
“Oh, you mean the one where you scared everypony off with your Victorian ghost pony act?” Twilight asked with a smirk.
Rainbow smiled sheepishly and Pinkie just did her trademark grin, “Heh heh, Maybe?”
“Then there shouldn’t be any wait for a table. But I think you and Pinkie still have something to say to us.” Twilight said while tapping her hoof.
Applejack and Rarity stood beside her with expecting looks, while Fluttershy stood off to the side since she wasn’t pranked. Rainbow looked at Pinkie and they both sighed. “We’re sorry for pranking you.” Rainbow perked her head up and added, “But we did get you good!”
Applejack chuckled and shook her head, “Shoot, ah’d be lying if ah said ah wasn’t scared. Ya’ll did git me good you two.”
“While I must admit, I’m not too thrilled on what you did with my dresses and supplies. It was a decent prank though.” Rarity said with a smile.
“You were always great at pranking in flight camp Rainbow.” Fluttershy shyly added with a smile.
Twilight walked up to Rainbow and Pinkie levitating some parchment and a quill, “Well now that apologies are taken care off, I think that the lesson you two have learned would make a great letter to the princess would you think?”
Rainbow and Pinkie looked at each other and grinned, “Yeah Twilight I think we can write a friendship letter, give me that quill.” Rainbow said.
One letter later, and the six best friends made their way toward the café.
------
Elsewhere, in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had just finished her Day Court and was walking down the massive ivory/gold hallway with extreme relief. “Mother of me, I thought that noble would never stop talking.”
She entered her bedroom and laid down onto her bed with a content sigh, when a letter appeared before her and landed on her nose. “Oh, a letter from Twilight.” She opened the scroll with a smile and began reading.
“Dear Princess Celestia,
This is your two most favorite subjects Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie speaking. We’re writing to you to explain how awesome it is to prank ponies when they can’t even see that you’re the one doing it! But, there’s always a limit to fun and we may have gone a little overboard with some of the pranks. But hey, where’s the fun if there’s no risks involved right? And besides, parties can always fix a frowny face from a spooky prank!
Anyway, the point of this letter is that even if you scare your friends with awesome pranks. That friendship you have is a bound that will always be strong and can never be broken. Even if you’re a little too transparent to see that.
P.S. Would you also happen to have some more Useful Joke laying around? If so, Please send them!
Your faithful subjects,
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.”
Celestia chuckled with a smile and rolled up the scroll. Then she got up and walked to her balcony to lower the sun.
After she finished, Princess Luna walked into the room. “Evening dearest sister, as our subjects would say; what’s on your mind?” She asked, stopping beside Celestia.
Celestia gave Luna a warm smile and chuckled, “Oh nothing, just two of our little ponies had some fun with our old friend Useful Joke.”
Luna chuckled and shook her head, “That’s great Tia, glade to hear about our subjects having some fun added to their lives.”
The princesses overlooked the moonlit Equestria for a few more minutes, before Luna let out a sigh and headed for the door. “Well, we must get ready for the Night Court. We wish you a lovely sleep Tia.”
Luna was just about to step out the door when she smirked, “Hey Tia?”
Celestia glanced towards her sister, “Hmm?”
“Remember when thou first discovered that trickster of a plant?”
Celestia let out a small shutter and nodded. “Yes.”