//------------------------------// // Unwelcome Visitor // Story: Disappear // by ShimmeringStallion //------------------------------// Unwelcome Visitor After being led along on a path that seemed to last far longer in the ponies' minds than it had actually taken, Princess Luna had finally stopped walking on the darkened streets of Canterlot, having reached their destination. “She’s in here. Stay quiet, knave.” Vanish bowed his head, using his hoof to tip his hat down slightly in acknowledgement. Princess Luna went into the Infirmary, seeing several guards stop the other ponies at the door until the Princess of the Night addressed the elite pony guards directly. “They are here to visit a patient. Let them through.” “Princess Luna?” They heard a voice coming from a room in the distance. Princess Luna had a voice that carried itself farther than she carried herself as royalty. When ordering others around, she used the traditional ‘Royal Canterlot Voice’ to address the guards. Unfortunately, she forgot that hospitals had patients who were trying to rest and recuperate. Hiding her embarrassment, she noticed somepony wearing a Wonderbolts uniform, that was peeking their head out from inside one of the rooms. Rainbow Dash shouted to the stallion that craned their neck out of one of the rooms. “Soarin’!” The wingless mare tried to run ahead, but the guards halted her progress swiftly by crossing their spears. The stallion had been allowed to roam freely to the rooms of the Wonderbolts, being a member himself, after escorting Spitfire from where she lay after her ‘battle’, all the way to the Canterlot Infirmary. “Are you here to see Spitfire? The doctors are operating on her now, but she should be ready for visitors in a-…” Soarin’ stopped talking, once he noticed the stallion that was behind Princess Luna: Vanish. “… You…” The fedora-sporting stallion stepped forward, as Soarin’ walked to where the guards had their spears drawn and crossed in order to prevent unwanted entry, prompting Rainbow to move out of the way as the lone Wonderbolt member addressed the mercenary. “How dare you show your face here!” The receptionist hushed at Soarin’, who ignored the warning completely as he focused on making sure Vanish remembered what he did by pointing out his crimes. “You destroyed the Wonderbolts, you took our wings, you mortally wounded our Captain, you…” Soarin’ paused, shuddering in fury, before he jumped onto the crossed spears, having the guards hold him up with great difficulty given the flailing of his hooves. “HOW DARE YOU EVEN LAY A HOOF ON SPITFIRE!!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, SHOWING YOUR FACE HERE!?” Vanish didn’t change his unreadable, blank expression, despite the furious, flailing hooves that were inches away from him. The pony behind the reception counter stood up, prepared to administer a more audible warning, but was halted by the hoof of the dark, dark blue stallion as his attention remained on Soarin'. “If you get yourself removed from the hospital due to your own attitude, you may never be allowed back.” The enraged stallion cast a furious glare towards Vanish, who remained unfazed by the gaze, as he paused before directing his attention to the receptionist. “My dear, where is Spitfire?” The receptionist looked at her list, before Soarin’ turned to her. “Don’t trust him! He’s the reason she’s here in the fir-!” Princess Luna raised her hoof between Soarin’ and the receptionist, lowering her tone considerably. “As Princess Luna of Equestria, I command that you tell us where Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts, may be seen for visitors.” The receptionist was shocked at the tone of voice she was being addressed in; dumbfounded at the fact that royalty itself had paid a visit to the Canterlot Infirmary. “S-She’s in surgery right now. Please wait a moment in the lobby over there, and keep your voices down. The ponies sat in the waiting lobby, Soarin’ included, as an awkward silence was accompanied by the strict tension in the air. Soarin’ had left the room of another member of the Wonderbolts who he had come to visit, but the visits were heartbreaking. By the end of last night, he was the only Wonderbolt without wings. Now he was the only Wonderbolt who was healthy enough to be allowed permission to walk around the hospital floor without an escort. An hour had past before the receptionist called the ponies over to the reception desk once more. “The doctor has given his permission for Spitfire to accept visitors. She’s on the third floor. Soarin’? Please show them to her room.” “Oh, I’ll gladly lead them to her, but he doesn’t have any right to-…” Applejack raised her hoof to interrupt Soarin’s statement. “Don’t even start, just get goin'.” Soarin’ was furious, but he led the way regardless. The ponies went into a stairwell, not wanting to attract too much attention with the use of the unicorn magic-powered lift. Princess Luna walked next to Soarin’, and raised her hoof in a successful attempt to keep Soarin’ from moving forward momentarily, but Vanish inadvertently bumped into the light blue stallion as a result. Soarin’ turned around, eyes brimming with fury. “YOU STAY BA-” The gray-maned stallion interrupted Soarin', raising his voice just enough to get through to the Wonderbolts member. “I’m sorry.” Vanish removed his hat, placing it in his saddlebag. Soarin’ saw what he believed to be crocodile tears falling from the menace’s eyes, and became all the more furious, before Vanish muttered his words, which were just barely able to be heard by anypony but himself. “… J-just… walk.” Vanish kept his hat in his saddlebag, as he stared into Soarin’s emerald eyes with his own light brown, sad eyes. Soarin’ was still mad, but turned away from Vanish, continuing up the stairwell to the third floor. Getting out into the hallway, he saw a doctor outside Spitfire’s room, and ran over to them quickly in order to speak to them while the other ponies were out of earshot range. As they approached, the blue-maned stallion thanked the doctor, and turned to the other ponies. “She’s resting right now, but we can still go insi-huh? H-HEY!!!” Vanish shoved Soarin’ aside, knocking him over in the process. Princess Luna activated her horn, preparing for the worst, but noticed Vanish simply standing in place in the doorway. Rainbow Dash ran over to Soarin’, helping him up and directing their attention to the stallion in the doorway, who had stopped shedding tears, but was clearly entranced by what laid in the room. Laying before Vanish, on a hospital bed, was a bandaged-up pony that looked less like a pony and more like the victim of a train wreck. Cotton, bandages, casts, a neck brace, and even a heart monitor all decorated the body of the poor mare who occupied the bed. Soarin’ had described his dear friend well when he called her ‘mortally wounded’. One of Spitfire’s forelegs, as well as her mouth and small holes for her eyes and tail, were the only parts of her without bandages or some sort of fabric covering them; even her mane was covered up in the body-cast. Vanish walked into the room slowly, not wanting to jostle anything nearby with his steps towards the patient in the hospital. The other ponies followed suit, gasping at the sight of Spitfire. Applejack couldn’t believe how bad she looked, while Rainbow Dash found tears welling up in her eyes, considering how this was the second patient that the pony had visited in a hospital in lieu of recent events. Twilight stood near Shining Armor for comfort, the latter of whom looked on without expression, but kept his sister close to him with a hug of assurance. Princess Luna didn’t know how to feel, considering how she didn’t really know Spitfire, but the alicorn hoped that she could understand the pain of all those who were in the room, or at least, all but one. The solitary exception was Soarin’, who didn’t even look at Spitfire. He kept his stare focused on Vanish, waiting for the slightest sign of aggression from the stallion. If he did anything, Princess Celestia would need all the magic in Equestria to piece the mercenary back together from what Soarin’ had in mind. Vanish activated his horn’s magic, levitating his saddlebag to a nearby chair, before dropping it onto its seat cushion, and taking his fedora back out to place it on his head, covering his horn. Vanish walked around the bed, looking to find the best angle to observe Spitfire with. First he walked to the right of Spitfire’s body, with Soarin’ watching him closely for the slightest form of provokation, from the opposing side of the bed. Vanish turned around and went back around the bed, to its left. Soarin’ tried to go around him, but Vanish raised his rear hoof, motioning that he wanted Soarin’ to stay where he was. Vanish spoke softly to the ponies in the room. “She’s your friend, but if you aren’t here to see her, I expect you to leave. I’m speaking to each of you.” Princess Luna glared angrily at Vanish. “This was NOT what w-MMPH!” The stallion used his magic to cover Luna’s mouth with his hat acting like a muzzle in order to muffle her voice, only glancing in her direction to do so. “You have no need to shout, my dear, so please know your place in this hospital; we are all visitors.” Vanish turned his head to Luna, removing his hat from her mouth with his magic. “We are expected to comply with the rules.” Luna stood dumbfounded at how disrespectful the stallion was being, until he turned in her direction and bowed gracefully as he elaborated. “I apologize if I offended you, but ‘titles’ have no place in here, nor do grudges. I came here for a purpose, and if everypony seeks to judge me, then I welcome their judgment. But right now I ask that you let me have this moment to myself.” Twilight looked at her friends and nodded to them in order to confirm her choice to comply with Vanish's request. Twilight Sparkle walked out, as did Shining Armor, Applejack, and Princess Luna. Hesitantly closing the door, they left Rainbow Dash, Soarin’, and Vanish to remain in the room with the gravely injured mare.