Harry Potter and the Ponies of Equestria

by cooopercrisp

The Art of Vanishing

Chapter 5: The Art of Vanishing

“Okay, I'm listening,” Celestia said.

“We really didn't do anything to end up here, you know,” Harry said, desperation evident in his voice. “We just sort of fell in from that Vanishing Cabinet.”

“What is a Vanishing Cabinet?” Celestia asked, the embodiment of patience once her temper had cooled off.

“It's actually a set of two cabinets, and through them one can teleport himself to the other,” Hermione explained.

“Like what that unicorn did to Rowle,” Ron asked.

“Who's Rowle?” Celestia asked.

“He's the bad guy that followed us here,” Harry replied. “Twilight sent him...somewhere.”

“To a dragon's cave,” Twilight said. “I didn't trust him, but I wasn't about to off him, either. I gave him a fighting chance.”

“You did what I would have done,” Celestia said.

“That doesn't make me feel any less guilty,” Twilight said.

“Never mind that now,” Celestia said. “The point is that you eradicated a force that would overwhelm us. But why let these three come here?”

“I thought they could be trusted...” Twilight said.

“That is where we disagree, although so far they have done nothing to actively harm us,” Celestia said. “Should that change, I will see to it that they fend for themselves against a whole herd of dragons.”

“We promise we won't let you down,” Ron said. “We just want to get out of here.”

“Which is why we're here in the first place,” Spike said. “We need to get to the archives to figure out a way out of here. Do you think you can help us?”

“That depends. Can I trust these humans not to attack me, not to steal precious information from our archives, not to-”

“Of course you can,” Ron said impatiently. “Don't you think we'd have done it already?”

“Don't get testy with me,” Celestia said. “Need I remind you that you are in my kingdom and you must do as I command?”

“No, your Highness,” Ron said with a hint of mockery that Princess Celestia didn't catch.

“Then let's go to the archives. We've no time to lose.” Princess Celestia led the pack of misfits to the Royal Canterlot Archives, which impressed Hermione as soon as they entered. There were no flying books or books that screamed, just a beautifully organized, ornate library, the kind Hermione might find in London on her holidays. The group wasted no time admiring the library, however. They went right to work trying to locate a spell that would help them.

Princess Celestia sent Harry, Ron, and Hermione in three different directions to scour books that might help them. Harry checked interdimensionality, Hermione was sent to magical transportation, and Ron took teleportation. Twilight and Spike decided to look in the section on portals, and Princess Celestia chose to investigate in the general magic section, as it was the most difficult to navigate effectively. After a few hours of exhaustive searching, no one had found anything remotely related to malfunctioning Vanishing Cabinets or any other means of interdimensional travel.

“It's no use!” Ron cried as every one decided to regroup. “I knew this wouldn't work. The library screws us over again!”

“I hate to say it,” Hermione said hesitantly, “but I think Ron's right.”

“Now what do we do?” Spike asked, disgruntled.

“We can't give up hope,” Princess Celestia said. “There must be a way we can experiment to devise a method to get you home.”

“Are you sure we'll think of something?” Twilight asked.

“We have to,” Celestia said. “We have no other choice. These humans cannot stay here undetected for long, so we must find a way to send them home. The fate of Equestria may depend on it.”

“Then we have no time to lose,” Harry said. “Back to the archives, everyone. We still have work to do.”

***

Luna was the one who finally found it. It was the broken cabinet in the Forbidden Forest that caught her eye. She beckoned Neville and Ginny over to the clearing to investigate.

“That looks like the remains of a Vanishing Cabinet,” Ginny said. “I saw the one in the Room of Requirement and it looked exactly like this.”

“Looks like someone took it out with a Reductor Charm,” Neville guessed.

“Someone used some kind of magic on it,” Luna said.

“Do you think this has anything to do with the disappearance of our friends?” Neville asked.

“It better,” Ginny said, “or they're really in grave danger.”

“What happens when a Vanishing Cabinet is destroyed, anyway?” Luna asked.

“Maybe we should find out,” Neville said, and the trio immediately headed back towards the castle to access the library. When they arrived, they were surprised to find Madam Pince combing through the shelves.

“Madam Pince,” Neville said, the only one bold enough to approach the haughty witch. “We were wondering if we could ask you something about Vanishing Cabinets.”

“What do you want about Vanishing Cabinets?” she asked. “A student came in a few days before this accursed battle and asked to take a book out all about them, and he hasn't bothered to return it yet.”

“Which student was this?” Ginny asked.

“How should I know? The bastard was wearing a hooded cloak. But who am I to turn down a student in need of a book? It's not my job to discriminate based on appearance. Oh, but what a shrewd type he seemed to me.”

“Well, thank you anyway, Madam,” Neville said, and he, Ginny, and Luna left the library.

“No way that was an ordinary student,” Ginny said. “This has to do with the cabinet in the forest.”

“But how?” Luna asked.

“I don't know how,” Ginny said, “but I'll be damned if this has nothing to do with Harry's disappearance.”

“Still, what can we do about it now?” Neville asked.

“We need to find that book,” Ginny said, “or at least find a way to obtain a copy of it.”

“Why not just summon it?” Luna asked. “If Madam Pince gave us the title of the book, and it was still nearby, the solution might literally fall into our open palm.”

“I don't want to alert the person who took it out, though,” Ginny said. “If it does have something to do with the disappearance of our friends, I'd rather they not know we're on to them.”

“You make an interesting point,” Luna said, “but what choice do we have? We have little to no chance of finding the book on our own.”

“We could always get a copy at Diagon Alley. It's only a quick Apparition away, and odds are good that Flourish and Blott's has the book we need.”

“It's better than nothing,” Ginny said, and so the three returned to the library and inquired about the book's title.

“It's called The Art of Vanishing: A Reference Guide, but I hardly see how that will help you when I don't have it,” Madam Pince said.

“Thank you,” Ginny said, and the three of them left again.

“Now, let's get down to Hogsmeade so we can Apparate to Diagon Alley,” she said.

***

Rowle awoke to find himself tied to Applejack's heavy bed. He had been allowed to stay in her room over the night, but apparently he had slept through someone's efforts to restrain him. He looked up and saw three ponies glaring at him: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and a white one with a flowing purple mane.

“Who are-?”

“Rarity,” the pony answered. “I'm the one that tied you up.”

“And I'm the one who convinced Applejack to let her do it,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Ah still don't see the point,” Applejack said. “Shouldn't we at least get to know the fella before judgin' him?”

“Fat chance,” Rainbow Dash said. “Twilight didn't need to judge him before banishing him to the dark denizens of a dragon cave. And how exactly did you weasel your way back here?” Rainbow Dash asked Rowle.

“I got lucky,” Rowle said with a scowl. “Now untie me from this accursed bed!”

“Not until we get some straight answers,” Rainbow Dash said. “Why did you come back to Ponyville when it was clear we didn't want you here?”

“For the life of me, I have no idea,” Rowle lied. He wished so desperately to say that he came back to kill that horrible purple mare, but he knew saying so would probably earn him a liberal beating from the unruly creatures.

“That doesn't seem very likely,” Rarity said. “It must have been a long way to travel, and there were many other places you could have chosen to go.”

“I wanted to...talk some sense into you brutes,” Rowle growled. Rainbow Dash knocked him in the head with her hoof.

“Watch how you talk to us 'brutes',” she warned, “or you'll see how brutal we can be.”

“I've seen enough for a lifetime,” Rowle said. “I just want to go home.”

“Good, then we're on the same page on at least that,” Rainbow Dash said. “We want you to get the buck out of here, too. So how are we going to manage that?”

“Rainbow, are ya sure we need to keep him tied up like this?” Applejack asked. “He had all night to attack me and he didn't.”

“Because you're the only reasonable pony in the herd,” Rowle said. “This blue one judged me before she even got to know me! And the white one went along with it.”

“I beg your pardon, but I always err on the side of caution,” Rarity explained. “Rainbow Dash seemed to think you were dangerous, so I followed her gut, and from the sound of it, you're not a very pleasant human to be around.”

“At least we can agree on that much,” Rowle said.

“Enough chit-chat,” Rainbow Dash said. “It's about time we figured out what to do with this creature.”

“Ah reckon we figure out how to send him home,” Applejack said.

“That will take way too long,” Rainbow Dash said. “I say we throw him in Tartarus and let the foul beasts there deal with him.”

“That's unduly harsh, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said. “This human may be uncouth, but that doesn't make him a threat. I say leave him tied to the bed and write Princess Celestia about what to do.”

“And how are we gonna keep him fed?” Applejack asked. “How are we gonna let him do his business? Did ya even consider that maybe he has the same biological needs as we do?”

“Applejack, don't be ridiculous,” Rainbow Dash said.

“The orange mare's right,” Rowle said. “You have to let me go if you don't want me pissing all over the floor.”

“So garish...” Rarity commented.

“I don't think so!” Rainbow Dash fired back. “He has some kind of stick that lets him do all sorts of weird magic. I wouldn't trust him any further than I could throw him.”

“Then what are we gonna do with him?” Applejack asked.

“I think Rarity's right. We'll write to Princess Celestia and ask her what to do.”

“Good plan,” Applejack said. “Let's get crackin' on that letter.” The three ponies left Rowle in the bedroom as they left.

“No, go ahead, take your time,” Rowle said. “I'll just sit here and wait for you to come back.” He sighed, hoping he wouldn't be in this helpless situation for much longer.

Comments

[cooopercrisp]

Sorry for the short update, but with this story, I try not to embellish if I'm low on ideas. Next week will be more interesting, I promise!

[Tygerburningbright]

863224 authors don't count so for the first time FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!

[Demi Pegasi]

hhhhmmmm when and how did rarity get into the picture. She all of sudden appeared in the story by tying Rowle. I find it a bit weird, she is the element of generosity so she wouldnt just tie somebody up without a good reason. Followinf RD guts, kinds iffy. Other than that seems fine so far.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Once again our trio of wizards have been screwed over by a library.

[shadowblaze]

new chapter soon i hope

[NowhereBlackout]

PONY POTTER

[Decepticon Barricade]

More!

[Sunny Smile]

MoAr

[cooopercrisp]

3259711 Good one.

[Fire-Flare]

MLP+HP=Awesomeness (Well, for me at least )

[Aqua Drops]

C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-CANCELLED?