Nothing But Business
As far as Vanish was concerned, Sweetie Belle’s words fell on deaf ears. Even with her voice cracking as the result of her emotions getting the better of her, she continued shouting at him. “Who do you think you are!? You attacked Rainbow Dash, and my friend Scootaloo! Then you have the nerve to call my sister a DEMON!? How dare you!” Pinkie Pie and Soarin’ stepped in front of Sweetie Belle, unsure of what Vanish’s reaction would be to such words, should she fall within his proximity.
“You stole Derpy’s wings, as well as Rainbow’s wings, and didn’t even apologize! Why should my sister do anything for you, when all you’ve done is take things from other ponies and insult her? Why should anyone care about your stupid hat!? Why should we help you after you’ve done so many terrible things!?” Vanish was looking straight ahead, towards Rarity, but his peripheral vision allowed him to see the looks of panic on the faces of the other ponies in the room, painting clear opinions for him of their collective mindsets; Vanish might not have had Gather's horn with him, but he was clearly not the type of pony to anger, let alone insult. Sweetie Belle was treading on thin ice with him.
“……… Hmph.” Vanish used his magic to cloak himself, causing the other ponies in the room to back themselves up to the bookcases, walls, and doors surrounding the lobby, aside from Sweetie Belle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Soarin’. Once Pinkie Pie and Soarin’ turned to see that Vanish had disappeared, he quickly reappeared on the floor in front of their forelegs and opposite the unicorn filly, lying down, with only a small amount of space between the almost whimsical stare he displayed, and Sweetie Belle, who was surprised at how Vanish suddenly appeared almost right in front of her, though she was nowhere near surprised enough to make her forget the anger she had towards him.
Vanish began to speak to the wide-eyed unicorn, looking directly at her. “Filly, I think you need to be shown where you stand.” The sudden threat didn’t scare Sweetie Belle, but Vanish wasn’t intending on following up, regardless; Pinkie Pie and Soarin’ had their hooves between him and the young filly, as if the filly and stallion were on opposing sides of a large gate. “… But aside from that, it’s something called ‘responsibilities’. I don’t know if you’d understand such things, but let me explain it to you.” Rarity watched Vanish closely, expecting him to attack her little sister at any moment. “As a hard working tailor and fashion designer, your sister has certain tasks she is expected to perform to the best of her abilities. I am no different than her in that regard; it is called ‘job expectations’.”
Sweetie Belle slowly sat down, as she listened to what the stallion had to say with a frown on her face. “With that in mind, my own client has asked me to use his magic to obtain the wings of several Pegasi. If you want to be mad with anypony, go find them. As for me, it’s just a job.” Vanish crossed his forelegs, looking dignified. “I am trusted to do my job regardless of what it may entail. Your sister is the same, correct?” Sweetie Belle disliked how this stallion was leading her into the replies he was looking for, but gave a reluctant nod in response to his question as he resumed. “She understands it, too; how she should do exactly what a client requests when they ask her to do something.”
Rarity stepped forward, having walked next to where Vanish materialized and motioning for Pinkie Pie and Soarin’ to step aside, which they did with hesitance. “Sweetie Belle, dear, it’s true that this stallion is being rather rude, but I assure you that I can handle myself. His anger is not without reason. Even if it is rather excessive for a hat, maybe the hat is really important to him! You know, like how you're important to me!”
Sweetie Belle saw Rarity raise her hoof, and the filly tentatively walked into a hug from her sister. Rarity continued. “I appreciate how you care about me, I really do, but you need to understand that his hat, while not important to us, is important to him, oka-” “It’s not mine.” Vanish interrupted Rarity rather suddenly. So suddenly, that some of the ponies in the room barely heard what he had said, allowing an awkward silence to develop in the room before he repeated himself. “The hat I wear? It’s not mine. I just wanted to correct you, but please accept my apologies for the rather bold interruption.”
Rarity was confused by this sudden statement. “But… at the hospital, a-and at my sto-” Vanish cut in again. “Look, the fedora may have immeasurable sentimental value, but it isn’t mine. I wear it not as a fashion statement, but to serve as a reminder of sorts. Ergo, I need it to stay like it was, the way that it was on the day I obtained it. I felt that you were getting the wrong idea with regards to why I have it, hence my interruption, but for the record, it’s not my hat… though such things as ‘ownership’ hardly matter at times like this.” Vanish stood up and turned to Sweetie Belle. “Listen, little one: My opinion of your sister was bad as soon as I saw her horn. It was made worse with what she did to the fedora. I could always just take it to Canterlot, but I’m giving her a chance to fix what she did. Anyone should deserve that much, at least: A chance to make amends for their transgressions.”
Rarity's fellow unicorn friend stepped forward, having remained silent for a while. “Her horn?” Twilight couldn’t help but single that part out as she recalled how the stallion had reacted in the past. “Vanish, do you have something against Unicorns and Pegasi, personally?” The stallion closed his eyes, deeply considering his response to the question he had just been asked. “I don’t expect somepony like you to understand: One who is ‘entitled’. Regardless, not all things are explained with simple answers, so I ask that you grant me the opportunity to compose a proper response.” Vanish walked towards the exit, stepping off to the side. “Well? Are you going to loiter about in this lobby all day, seamstress?”
Rarity didn’t know what to say in response. Vanish’s hat wasn’t even his own; it belonged to someone else. On top of that, he had been judging Rarity, not because of her skill or personality or even the element she represented, but it seemed to be because of her very existence as a unicorn. As she pondered these new revelations, she calmly carried the hat in front of her with her magic as she made her way to the exit, with Sweetie Belle refusing to leave her sister's side. The other ponies prepared to follow, but Twilight stopped them. “Spike? I heard you come down the stairs earlier. I want you to add a message in the scroll I gave you previously.”
As the baby dragon looked out from the stairwell, Twilight stated her request. “Ask the princess to get in touch with the Baltimare Police Force. Ask her to specifically tell them that Gather will be in Canterlot, and to send members of the ‘Prisoner Transfer Squad’." Twilight turned to the other ponies in the room. "As for the rest of you, I need you to stay with Fluttershy and make sure she takes this time to recover. Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.”
Twilight walked out of her library, taking a moment to watch how far ahead the other ponies had gotten before speaking. “Spitfire, let’s head to Carousel Boutique.” Twilight turned around again to address the others in the library, as Spitfire gave a salute and trotted outside. “Everyone else, meet us at the train station once Fluttershy has had time to recover, and when I say ‘everyone’, that includes you, Spike. We’ll be making our way to Canterlot shortly.”