//------------------------------// // The Gift of Ignorance // Story: Disappear // by ShimmeringStallion //------------------------------// The Gift of Ignorance Twilight couldn’t believe what she had just heard: Princess Celestia was a target that Vanish was told about. “B-But… Why Princess Celestia!? She’s not a Pegasus pony!” Twilight was trying to desperately form an excuse to keep her mentor safe. “S-She’s not even in Ponyville! She’s not even from Cloudsdale! What reason could you-?” Fluttershy softly placed a hoof on Twilight’s back, hoping to get her attention. This stopped Twilight for long enough that Vanish walked over to her. “I do not argue with my orders, for I am simply a pony of business. This is not my first job, and it won’t be my last. My client asked me to acquire the wings of the princess… at the end.” Those last words lingered in the air like a bad odor, slowly seeping into the ears of the other ponies in the room. Pinkie Pie spoke up before the others. “Hold on a second! I thought you said you would end things at Cloudsdale! Are you saying the princess is coming to Cloudsdale or something? That doesn’t make any sense!” Vanish raised his hoof to stop Pinkie Pie before she came to any further conclusions. “I said no such thing, my dear. I said that I was going to take the wings of those residing in Cloudsdale, but that is not where my plans end, or at least, not as long as my client wishes it to be so.” One mare shouted angrily. “Alright, I've heard enough!” Rainbow Dash was tired of hearing about Vanish's plans. “You keep talking about your client. ‘Client’ this, ‘Client’ that! This pony is clearly bad news, so why don't you just not do what they say!?” Vanish smiled at Rainbow Dash, but it was different than he had done in the past; it was a sad smile, almost seeming to wish such an option existed. “I’m not just ‘some pony’, Miss Dash. I have an obligation to fulfill. This is not a 'hobby', it is a job. I do what is asked of me, and I get paid. Those are the brass facts.” Rainbow was not content with that. “But these are lives at stake! If you take the wings of Cloudsdale’s Pegasi away, well... H-How can they monitor and adjust the weather in Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash had a point, but Vanish had an answer for her question. “Before I take a request, I ask all sorts of questions to ensure that no innocent ponies get hurt. You saw my concern for Derpy; I was careless, and as a result, I only have myself to blame for her suffering.” The dual-horned unicorn fixed his gaze on Rainbow Dash. “My dear, this is precisely why I require your wings: To allow myself to quickly obtain the wings of the other Pegasi, in a swift and progressively painless manner.” “What about the fact that the Pegasi are in the clouds!? They’ll fall right through if they become Earth ponies! Do you have any idea how many could get hurt, or worse?” Rainbow Dash clearly didn’t want any harm to come to her friends, nor to any single Pegasus pony in Cloudsdale. “… Rainbow Dash, listen to me. Even with her wings gone, Derpy is still a Pegasus pony. The clouds know this.” “You’re wrong! You’re just making things up, now!” The enraged mare was ready to charge at the menacing stallion, but saw that he was standing near her friends, causing her to stand down, settling with a glare of seething hatred. "… At least you are taking the time needed to consider your actions. You understand the risks, and I’m the same way.” Vanish used the magic of his second horn to produce Derpy’s wings once more, changing his coat from dark, dark blue to gray in the process, as the wings appeared on his body. “After placing the book, I did not simply wait for you. While you were taking the time to get to where Derpy was, I used her wings to grab a cloud from the sky above me, proving I could move clouds myself, despite not being a real Pegasus pony. Without this power, I could not do so. I placed it on the ground, and carefully rolled her onto the cloud. It cradled her gently, proving my hypothesis that she was still a Pegasus pony, at which point, I pushed the cloud behind the boulder and rolled her off of it, hiding her from sight of other ponies until she woke up.” Vanish brandished the wings, but did not flap them, noticing that Rarity had started working on his hat, and did not wish to disturb her. “Let me tell you something. Despite me having these wings, they are not ‘mine’; they are still hers, and are therefore ‘connected’ to her.” He closed the wings, and reverted to his normal state and color. “I understand how this magic works, at least for the most part, and I understand the risks of using it. This is why I tentatively request your voluntary ‘assistance’.” The stallion bowed in front of Rainbow, catching her by surprise with the sudden lowering of his guard. Rainbow didn’t know whether to offer her hoof in acceptance, or to use her hoof to smash the stallion’s head into the floor of Carousel Boutique. “W-What do you mean, ‘assistance’?” Vanish looked up at Rainbow Dash, but remained bowing. “I have been given until tonight to ‘secure’ Cloudsdale, as my client ordered. Should things go as planned, I will be granted the opportunity to discuss my payment.” “PAYMENT!? This is all about MONEY to you!?” Rainbow slammed Vanish’s head into the floor with her hoof, causing him to grunt in pain. The other ponies, aside from Rarity, pulled her off of him, allowing him to try regaining his balance, before he fell onto some fabric that was piled off to the side of the store. “Ugh… Nngh… I hope… you are satisfied… heh heh… given how I did a similar thing… to Derpy, to knock her out, this feels… the pain… feels suitable.” Vanish struggled to stand up again. The horn of a unicorn was a sensitive spot, and taking a hoof at full force to the forehead, so close to the two horns on his head, was knocking Vanish for a loop as he continued. “Listen… Rainbow… don’t judge me yet… n-not until you’ve seen everything… please… if at the end of this, you still want your ‘revenge’… then I won’t stop you.” Rainbow stopped struggling against her friends as Twilight stopped to contemplate how the stallion was acting. “Vanish has no intention of putting up a fight. Actually, he's been telling us all of his plans since we entered the boutique… and even before that, when we were at the hospital… it’s almost as if…!” Twilight scowled as she voiced her thoughts. “You’ve been intending on using us from the start, haven’t you?” Twilight was right, and she knew it. Vanish stood up, regaining his balance before allowing himself to collapse on the floor of the store yet again, still speaking in near-mumbles, but trying to communicate legibly, anyways. “… Rainbow Dash… take this time… do exactly as I say, understand?” Rainbow Dash knew that Vanish was using her, but didn’t question the reason behind his clearly obvious manner of doing so. She didn’t care, because she held no desire to help him. “Why should I!?” Vanish closed his eyes and pointed to his saddlebag, trying to focus solely on his words. “In my saddlebag, there’s a paper... among an assortment of other things, detailing the orders from my client, with regards to what I am supposed to do when in Cloudsdale… It details specific orders, such as removing the wings of the Pegasi, and my rendezvous point with my client… what it doesn’t explain, is what the Pegasi in Cloudsdale will face, upon me doing so… They may lose much more than their wings, Rainbow Dash, so tell me: How do you… get around Cloudsdale?” “You can’t do that! If they lose their wings, they might as well be stranded where you leave them!” Vanish laid on his side, clearly suffering from the blow that Rainbow Dash had inflicted upon him. “You can’t stop the inevitable, Rainbow Dash… But I’m giving you a chance to prolong it; to prepare for the storm that will be brought to Cloudsdale… do you understand, my dear? I’m only… looking out for the best interests of my client… as well as yours, assuming you are who you claim to be.” Vanish chuckled, as Twilight motioned for Pinkie Pie and Applejack to pick the stallion back up until they knew that he was finished speaking. “Regarding my client, I can tell from my discussion with them… they could not care less if those who lose their wings by the use of my magic are safe, hurt, or worse. You… have very little time left, Miss Dash… use it wisely.” Vanish shrugged his Earth pony-crutches away, falling onto his side in the process and causing one of his saddlebags to open, spilling out numerous contents as a result: Papers, books, even pictures of various ponies from around the area, had all littered the boutique floor from the bag he was carrying. “I want to make sure… you are truly as loyal… as your friends believe.” With that, Vanish laid motionless, aside from breathing, his eyes closed as if to signify his last statement was his ‘final statement’. With her teeth gritted, Rainbow Dash turned around and made a beeline for the door, which Twilight noticed immediately. “Rainbow! Where are you going!? Can’t you see he’s just using you!?” The light blue mare swung the door open, almost knocking down the bell hanging over it. “I don’t care about that. If he’s lying, he’ll pay, but right now, I have to make sure Cloudsdale is ready to weather any storm, no matter how bad!” With that, Rainbow Dash jetted off in the direction of Cloudsdale as quickly as she could.