//------------------------------// // VIII: The Veil Shall Cry // Story: Tinkermane // by Razorbeam //------------------------------// Twilight smiled to herself as her tail swished back and forth on the blanket beneath her, looking up at the glittering coat of steam that shone with a thousand colors in the night-life of the city. As always it was warm under that everlasting cloud overhead, the gentle breeze coming across the river doing nothing to chill her despite the dampness in the air. Here and there the soft 'plink' of a water droplet would grace her ears as some moisture far above joined together for a trip to the world below, dripping onto the tin roof of the warehouse where she and Gearrick had decided to have their dinner together that night. "So is it always there?" she asked, pointing to the cloud. Gearrick smiled, leaning back and looking up at it. "It always is, but it's not as large in the colder months. By the time fall comes around, it's usually thinner, and in the winter the vapor turns into snowflakes or ices up windows. You wouldn't believe the tricks the lights play then," he said with a laugh, placing his front hooves behind his head and closing his eyes. Twilight tried her best to imagine what it would be like with the lights glinting off hundreds of thousands of snowflakes, all falling gently, saved from the winds of winter by the tall buildings around them. "It sounds wonderful," Twilight said with a smile, unable to take her eyes away from it. "The locals call it The Veil," he explained, opening his eyes and gazing up at it again. "It's been around long before I came here, but in reality it's a pretty new thing. Most of the ponies here can remember a time before The Veil. But nobody complains, it's been very useful to the city. You can kind of use it to predict the weather, if you know it well enough. Like Jack, for example; he's warned me plenty of times when rain was coming, just by looking at it," he said with a chuckle. "It's very easy to explain, in all reality. But the children, those who've grown up under it their whole lives and can't remember a time without it, see The Veil differently," Gearrick said with a comfortable sigh. "I do too; I never got to see this city without it." "What do you mean 'differently'?" Twilight asked, pulling her gaze away from the colorful cloud and paying closer attention to his words. "To the children and out-of-towners like you and I, The Veil isn't just a cloud of steam. It's a magical thing, no matter how silly it sounds. I could explain it inside out, and yet that feeling that there is something mystical about it won't go away," he said with a smirk. "Rumors abound, young legends started by the older kids in the city. These stories get passed around to the younger children all the time, and even the adults of the city know them now. I know it's stupid, but it would have to be magical to have legends about it; even if they're made up," he finished. Twilight looked back up at it, smiling to herself as she laid down next to him, resting her head on his chest as she thought about his words. "I don't think it's stupid at all," she admitted at last. "Tell me one of the legends about it?" she asked, wiggling around to get more comfortable, and dragging an 'oof' out of him as she pressed into him harder in the process, squeezing some of the air out of him. "Alright," he chuckled. "I'll tell you the one I like the best. The Veil never used to stay, except for in the spring, when the damp and chill in the air would keep it around. No matter how the power plant churned, every summer it would vanish," he started quietly. He laid one of his forelegs across Twilight's waist in a gentle hug before he continued. "A young stallion who was born in the city was always amazed by it. How the lights danced, how it kept the city warm in the cool spring. He looked forward to it every year, and regretted it every summer when it was gone. He would stay up all through the night sometimes, just looking at it from his rooftop. But one night something very different caught his eye. On another rooftop not far away, a young mare was watching The Veil as well. She was just as beautiful as the lights above, and though she never once saw him, he couldn't look away from her. That night, he watched her instead, until at last she left. From then on, every night the stallion would look for the mare on her rooftop, and secretly share his love of The Veil with her. She never knew that she had a partner in her nighttime viewings, until at last one night she caught him looking at her. When she did, the stallion looked away quickly, turning back to The Veil in his embarrassment. The mare was confused at first, but the more she thought about it, the more she began to realize that he had been gazing at her, despite how beautiful The Veil was. She was flattered when she realized that; that the stallion thought she was more beautiful than The Veil. She never caught him looking at her again, though she often tried. She was now the one watching him, despite how beautiful The Veil was. One night, the mare decided to meet him. She went to his home just before she knew he would go up on the roof, and knocked. When the stallion answered the door he was shocked and embarrassed. The mare was just as sheepish, but she had made up her mind, and so she quietly asked if he would like to look at The Veil together. From that night on, the two gazed upon it together, and soon they fell in love. When The Veil vanished in the summer, the couple was saddened. But their memories of it, and their new life together, kept them warmer than The Veil ever had. For years and years The Veil came and went in their lives, and their love grew." Gearrick paused, his gentle hug around Twilight's waist growing tighter, his voice getting a little somber. "But one summer, the stallion was in an accident. He was badly injured, and the doctors said he wouldn't live much longer; until the end of the next spring at the latest. The mare's heart was broken, but she vowed to take care of him until then, to make sure that he would live comfortably until spring, so the two of them could look at The Veil one last time together. On the last night of spring, the young stallion passed away in the mare's embrace, on the rooftop they had shared for so long. His last words to her had been that he never wanted to forget the sight of her and The Veil. The mare cried deeply, and stayed on the rooftop all that night, wishing over and over that The Veil would stay, and never leave her. It was all she had left of him, and she refused to lose it. As she cried, The Veil cried with her, raining slowly and endlessly to share in her sadness. The Veil missed the stallion too, and from that day forward it honored the mare's wish, and never departed," he finished quietly. Twilight didn't know what to think. The story was so sad, yet somehow bittersweet. "It's a beautiful legend," she admitted quietly, gently rubbing the leg he had draped across her. "Sad, but beautiful." "I think so too," Gearrick said, sitting up a bit so that he could look down at her as she laid across his lap instead of his chest. "They say that on nights like tonight when it rains gently, The Veil is crying again. Not for the friend it lost, but for the friends it might lose again as time goes by," he said sadly. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked, feeling a sudden tightness in her heart because of his tone, and the look in his eyes. "I've never seen anyone who likes The Veil as much as you do," Gearrick said with a small laugh, a laugh that didn't last long or feel very sincere. "But I think it knows, just like I do, that soon you're going to have to leave. That's why it's crying tonight." Twilight's heart skipped, the tight feeling growing crushing. She'd been trying to avoid this topic as long as she possibly could, but now she was all out of options. She knew that she'd have to go back to Ponyville eventually. Aurus and AJ's wedding, her duties at the library, her work as the Element of Magic... She couldn't stay away from all of that for long, but she had hoped that she could pretend for just a while longer. Everything here had been so magnificent; almost like a life of luxury, doing whatever she wanted and spending time with the first stallion she had ever had feelings for. Sadly, nothing in life was perfect. "Gearrick, I'm sorry," she sighed, looking away from him and ears drooping. "Sorry for what?" he asked with a disbelieving laugh, one that she could still sense the sadness behind. "I knew from the very beginning that I was going to have to leave eventually, and then I dragged you into-" she started, her tone growing somewhat angry with herself before Gearrick stopped her. "I knew you'd leave too," he said simply, easily killing her argument. "You didn't drag me into anything. You probably think it's stupid to start a relationship you'd have to walk away from so soon, don't you?" Twilight sighed. It was like he was reading her mind, and they weren't exactly pleasant thoughts. "It's not that the relationship is stupid," she said quietly. "Just that in the end, no matter how wonderful it is, I can't stay. I mean, you're the first stallion I've ever met that I felt this way about, and then I have to leave?" she asked angrily, but it was a bitter anger, not a biting one. Gearrick sighed, bending low and kissing her gently on the lips, stopping her unpleasant words. "I know it seems like you started something just to lose it, but that's not how I think of it," he said quietly. "Even if you can only be here for a week, it's been one of the greatest weeks of my life. I've never met anyone like you, and to be honest I don't think I ever will again. So what if you're hours and hours away? No matter where you go, it's not like this week won't have happened between us, or I won't still love you..." His strong words trailed off suddenly as he realized he'd said one that maybe he shouldn't have. A word that Twilight's heart latched onto gladly, though it made the bitter beat that much harder. He loved her? In such a short time, could he really mean that? Twilight didn't doubt for a moment that he did, because deep down she felt the same, had been wanting to use that word so badly, but hearing it made it that much more painful a thing to lose. "I know, Gearrick. I feel the same way," she said quietly. "It hasn't been very long, but I'm already getting used to the feeling of waking up and being excited to see you every day. I've spent this whole week trying and trying not to think about leaving that behind." "I know it's not easy, trust me, because I'm in the same boat," he said with a laugh, a laugh with a little more warmth in it. "I know the feeling of wanting to see you every day. Even if until four days ago I had never seen you before. It almost doesn't seem like enough time to feel like I do about you, but it's not something I can change, or that I want to. To me it doesn't matter how far away you are, or how often I'll see you. Just that when I do, it will make things that much better," he said with a smile. "I can come see you anytime, right?" Twilight asked, feeling warmed by his words, but not enough to alleviate the tremors of worry in her heart. "Anytime you want," Gearrick said quietly, scooping her up and hugging her tightly. "Like The Veil, just because you have to leave me doesn't mean you won't come back. And who knows... maybe just like The Veil, someday you'll never leave again," he said with a small laugh. Twilight couldn't deny the smile playing at her lips as she hugged him back. That legend seemed almost too convenient now, and she was sure it had been made up, and not by some local Manehattan child. It fit their situation too well to not be specially built for it; after all, he was an engineer. "I'm sure you're right," she said with a shaky giggle, kissing him on the cheek. "I wish I could be as carefree as you," she said with a sigh, squeezing him gently. He just smiled as he pulled away from her, turning his gaze back to the lights above. "Give me enough time, and I'll teach you to be." "What are you going to do?" Myla asked fearfully. Phyla seemed even further away than usual, as if her eyes contained a layer of ice that obscured her soul like fractured glass. "I'll take it," Phyla said idly, taking a bishop even as she said it. "What are you saying?" Myla asked, trying desperately to protect her king. Phyla had never played so fiercely, so perfectly. Even the desperate tricks Myla had hoarded over the years were not sufficient to best her. "I will take everything away from him. I will take his mare, his home, his dreams and his desires," Phyla said emptily. "And in their wake, I will leave only you. It is so simple, so easy. He will love you, because I will leave him nothing else to love, dear sister." "You can't!" Myla cried in horror, upsetting the table in her emotion. As always though, the pieces flew back to where they had been only seconds before. "Do you not want his love?" Phyla asked quietly. "Of course I do!" Myla whimpered, knowing that answering that question was not going to solve anything. "But I don't want you to hurt him!" "I'm not going to hurt him. He will be unharmed," Phyla said, taking another piece. "I don't want you to hurt his heart!" Myla growled, angry that her sister couldn't understand. But of course she couldn't; damage to the heart wasn't something she could comprehend anymore. There was no way to prevent Phyla from enacting her plan... A plan Myla feared was perfect. "He hurt your own heart. Nopony hurts my sister. I will take everything from him, and give it all to you," Phyla whispered coldly, making one final move and ending the game. "Because I love you, Myla." Twilight sat bolt upright in the bed, looking left and right in shock. Something had woken her, a loud crashing sound, like shattering glass. A quick glance at Gearrick showed him to be sound asleep, which didn't surprise her after his late night guard duty from the night before. She strained her ears, listening for some other sound, uncertain if she had simply dreamed it all. Just when she was ready to give up on it and let her heart rate drop, light flickered from underneath the bedroom door before flaring brightly and then vanishing suddenly, the sound of shattering glass coming to her ears once more, though this time as if from further away. Confused, Twilight got out of the bed and headed for the door, pulling it open. One step into the hallway resulted in the crunching of broken glass underhoof as she stepped on the remains of a light bulb. She tried the light switch, but none of the hallway lights came on. All she could see were the twin shafts of light parting around her long shadow down the length of the hallway from the bedroom window. A high-pitched whine sounded from down the hallway for a split second, and suddenly the door behind her snapped shut, slamming into her hard and throwing her forward. Unable to stop herself, Twilight fell to the floor a few feet ahead, gasping as one of her front legs was cut by the remains of yet another bulb. "What's going on?" she whispered to herself, terribly confused. She got back to her hooves, lighting her horn to see in the pitch black. Up and down the hall there was nothing, just shards of glass glimmering in the purple glow, and little specks of her own blood dotting the floor from her various small cuts. Her heart clenched with the feeling that something was horribly wrong; that she was being watched. Unable to keep the worry out of her mind, she started back for the bedroom, thinking to wake Gearrick. She had only taken four steps before she ran into something she couldn't see, even with her horn lighting the way in front of her, causing her to stumble back. She looked around, unable to see the flicker of magic that would indicate a barrier, though what she had run into hadn't felt like one. "Who's there?" she asked angrily, a slight tremor of fear in her voice. "Show yourself!" she growled at last, gritting her teeth against her worry. "As you wish," came a quiet reply from directly in front of her, startling her and causing her to backpedal. The air in front of her shimmered suddenly, and it looked as if a bubble of some sort were falling down all around the form of somepony she hadn't been able to see only seconds before, revealing her bit by bit. She was white, but was wearing a strange black suit of armor, or so it seemed. Very little of the pony could be seen, except for her eyes behind a small, glass visor in the helmet that otherwise covered her entire face, the visor glowing a gentle shade of blue. Twilight had never seen anything like it before. Whatever it was, it was obviously some sort of steamtech suit. "W-who are you?" Twilight asked, her shock and the sudden return of the nervous feeling driving her confidence from her. "You should be quiet," came the reply, sounding as if it were coming through a metal pipe. The voice was obviously female, and seemed incredibly familiar to Twilight. "You would hate to wake Mr. Tinkermane." "Gearrick?" Twilight asked suddenly, his name giving her a little more stability. "What do you want with me? With him?" "I don't want anything to do with you. But you have sadly involved yourself in a situation far outside your own control. As for Mr. Tinkermane, what I want from him is to take his life apart, and put it back together in a more fitting manner." "What?" Twilight asked, shocked by such blunt, bold words. "Why?" "Because my sister loves him, and I will make him love her," came the reply, the cold eyes behind the glowing blue visor unnerving Twilight. "Like hell you will!" Twilight growled suddenly, those words making it incredibly obvious who this other pony was. It was that other sister, the one that worked for the guild! Lighting her horn, Twilight fired a beam of light right for her opponent. The same high-pitched whine she had heard earlier suddenly filled the air and the black armor lit up like a torch, lines of blue energy illuminating it in strange patterns. Twilight's laser bent around the armored pony, following some kind of curved barrier Twilight couldn't see. The beam orbited several times at blinding speed before it finally launched free, flying back towards Twilight. Too surprised to react, the beam slammed into her, throwing her back down the hallway, gashing her back every which-way with the tiny shards of glass. She gasped as she fought for consciousness, finally forcing herself to her wobbly legs. "You leave Gearrick alone" she gasped, her horn lighting again. Another whine sounded before she could even fire and one of the doors next to Twilight suddenly rocketed off its hinges, slamming into her unexpectedly from the side. The force of the impact shattered the door to pieces and crumpled the shoddy wall it had slammed Twilight into, leaving her badly beaten and bleeding on the floor of the hallway. Twilight groaned and tried to stand again, but it was clear to her that something was broken, or dislocated at the least, because the leg that the door had slammed into directly burned with pain and gave out underneath her, throwing her back to the floor. She threw up a barrier around her as the whining noise started up again, just in time to block another door. From the far end of the hallway she could hear Gearrick shouting and banging on the door, which wouldn't open. Twilight watched as the pony walked closer and closer. And right through her barrier. It parted like water around the whining, pulsing suit, and Twilight could feel her coat stand on end as it approached, the whine getting louder and louder. "Leave Gearrick alone," she hissed angrily, glaring at her enemy. "Worry about yourself," came the calm, hollow reply. Twilight's world faded to black as an armored hoof slammed into the side of her head, knocking her out cold. Gearrick put his shoulder down and roared, slamming into the door with all his might and finally breaking it off its hinges. He raced through the opening as quickly as he could, and gasped suddenly as one of the hinges he scraped against burnt him as if it had been hit with a torch only moments before. Any thoughts on the matter quickly faded as he caught sight of Twilight being lifted onto the back of somepony in black, blue-lined armor. "Ah, Mr. Tinkermane," came a metallic-sounding, emotionless voice. "I am sorry to have woken you, but I am afraid your friend could not be dealt with quietly." "Put her down!" Gearrick growled angrily. He had never really excelled in his magical studies, beyond what he had needed to get by, but the sight of Twilight beaten up like that stirred his blood, infuriated him. From the door behind him he picked up the bronze handle, sharp, jagged pieces of wood splintering off and still attached to it within the copper glow. "No," came the plain, simple reply, accompanied by a high-pitched sound. The door handle whipped out of his magical aura and slammed into the ceiling above him, burying itself there, and startling Gearrick. He hadn't meant to move the handle an inch! What was going on? "Who are you?" he asked with a growl. "Somepony you say you are not afraid of," came the reply. "The guild," Gearrick hissed, glaring at the armored foe. "Why are you messing with me? You're too late, the contest ends tomorrow! The city will be all over you when they hear about this, you won't be able to hide behind your usual political bullshit!" "This has nothing to do with the contest, or the guild. I am here on my own orders this time," said his adversary. Gearrick's glare only deepened. "So you're the sister she was talking about." "Yes," she said simply. "Give her back to me," Gearrick growled. "Love my sister, and everything will be made well," Phyla said coldly. Gearrick's brain stalled. That's what this was about? "Are you insane?" he roared, slashing a hoof through the air in front of him in his anger. "Why the hell would I love her, just because you tell me to? Do you even see what you've done to Twilight?" he asked viciously, pointing at the unconscious, purple mare. "Do you honestly think threatening me will make me love that crazy sister of yours?" "When you have nothing left, where will you turn but to Myla?" Phyla asked quietly. "I am not threatening you, I promised not to harm you. I am threatening this mare, and everything else you hold dear." "Give her back!" Gearrick roared suddenly, charging Phyla. She was clearly insane, and if he wanted Twilight safe, he would have to fight for her. Phyla made no efforts to stop him, but simply turned tail and fled down the stairs to the lower level. Gearrick chased after her as fast as he could. The staircase in front of him collapsed suddenly, the nails holding it together rocketing skyward just as he reached it. Bracing himself, Gearrick leapt the two stories down, trying to slow his fall with his magic as he tumbled, rolling through the remains of the stairs. He ached everywhere, was cut in a few places, and despite his best magical efforts his knees burned from the impact of the fall. Still he ran after Phyla as she made her way to the front doors of the warehouse, which were wide open. She was slower than him, encumbered as she was with the suit and Twilight, and so he closed ground quickly, and had nearly caught her as she raced out the front doors. Just as she left the warehouse Phyla jumped before landing and continuing her mad dash. It registered too late as Gearrick's front hooves snagged on something, a slight pressure that readily gave under his own forward momentum, not halting him in the slightest. A tripwire. Time slowed down as he looked over his shoulder and watched in horror as the fireball billowed out from under the Nomad. His precious life-achievement blew apart in a cloud of orange flames, the painstakingly crafted bronze plates bursting at the near-seamless welds, the gears flying about and slamming into anything and everything. He watched as the shrapnel tore the walls of his simple home to pieces, as the fire consumed the wood and stacks of papers from the old printing business. He watched as his greatest dream as a mechanic became the force that destroyed the only home he had known for the last two years. Time caught up with him in his shock as the blast funneled out after him, the simplest path it could take. Though the fire never reached him, the pressure from the detonation lifted him from his hooves, throwing him forward far faster than he had been running, and rolling him across the cobblestones. His vision was blurry and fading between darkness and reality as he came to rest at Phyla's hooves, looking up into the glowing mask she wore, now purple as the blue light blended with the reflection of the raging fire that consumed his dreams and his home. "I leave you with nothing," Phyla said coldly, walking away. Gearrick had no reply as his bruised body and terribly injured heart coaxed him into waiting unconsciousness. Gearrick coughed as he woke, the smoke from the still-raging fires filling his lungs. Ponies raced all around him with buckets and hoses, doing anything they could to try and quench the flames. He was laying on top of a table at one of the nearby establishments while city folk ran to and fro to try and kill the spread of the fire. "Twilight!" he cried suddenly, the memories flooding back. "Easy, son!" came a familiar voice, and a gentle hoof on his chest. "Jack?" Gearrick asked quietly, coughing again. "What are you doing here?" "I came as soon as news started going around that there was a warehouse fire by the river. Ya've told me plenty of times you keep yer workshop out in these parts, and I got worried real quick," he explained, pushing on Gearrick's chest a little firmer. "Now lay back down, boy. Ya took a pretty good beatin'." "Have you seen Twilight?" Gearrick asked, unable to fight against the urge to lay back down and close his eyes. "I haven't seen yer lady, Gearrick," Jack said quietly. "But I know they haven't found any bodies in that fire of yers." "She wasn't in there," Gearrick groaned. "She was kidnapped." "Kidnapped?" Jack asked in disbelief. "By who, and what fer?" "By an agent of the guild," he said quietly. "The Gearbox Guild?" he asked, shaking his head. "I'll be damned, you weren't kiddin' about them. They did this?" "Yes." "The Nomad was lost in the fire, kiddo," Jack said with a heavy sigh. "I'd say for sure they took you out of the contest." Gearrick's eyes snapped open, and he gritted his teeth in anger. "I don't care about the contest, Jack," he growled. "They took Twilight, they hurt her, and I'm going to get her back." "But how? They blew up yer workshop, and the best invention ya ever made," Jack said carefully. "All ya got left is pieces." Gearrick sat up and then climbed off the table, his adrenaline too powerful to remain idle. "Funny thing about that, Jack... I've always been good with pieces." The sun was up, and likely the contest had already started for the day. The fourth stage was a sort of extension of the third, an entire day spent in which a team of tinkers from all over Equestria would thoroughly test the limits of the remaining eight semi-finalists' machines. Combined with the third stage, which was a far less interesting affair, the structural and performance tests were jointly referred to as 'The Technical Review'. Only those four who could best meet or exceed the expectations of their machines formed during the structural review would be allowed to continue on to the fifth and final stage as the finalists, where they would compete for the order of their placement as contest winners in one last, simple stage. Having passed the structural review portion with flying colors, he should have been there as one of the traditional eight semi-finalists. However, it was certain now that the Nomad would not be meeting any of the expectations the board of tinkers had compiled. Even if he still had the Nomad, Twilight's absence would have prevented him from going. Her rescue consumed him. Ultimately his failure to attend would mean a failure of the Technical Review as a whole, and his inevitable disqualification, but that was the furthest thing from his mind. Nothing contest-related would have mattered to him in the slightest anymore, if not for one crucial, useful detail. It meant none of the other seven engineers would be in their workshops. All of his own tools had been lost in the fire, and he would need new ones if he wanted to be able to find Twilight. He had no idea where she would have been taken, but he had a perfect idea of who to ask. He had spent most of his morning trying to figure out what had been going on with that suit Phyla had been wearing. The high-pitched whining, the unseen ability to manipulate objects... he had later realized that she had only been affecting metal objects. The door handle and hinges, the nails on the stairs. Electromagnetism. The same force that drove his motors, but able to be used on objects at a great distance. That's what the suit was designed to do, to manipulate strong EM fields, allowing her to push or pull any metal object, or even bend light if the field was strong enough. Magic was a strong force, and in many ways was far superior to magnetism, but unfortunately it was not something he was particularly gifted with. His only hope was to fight technology with technology, and now knowing what he did about the suit, he had an idea of what he could do to stop it. It hadn't had any kind of engine on it, so likely it couldn't power itself for long. Whatever it was, it was truly a mechanical and electrical masterpiece. Regardless, with its secrets uncovered, it was now the unfortunate study subject of his brilliant mind. Gearrick picked the lock on the warehouse doors easily, the same lock he had picked only days before in his midnight efforts to save the lifting machine. The tools he had ignored then were now his primary focus. He shoveled wrenches, screwdrivers, even gas canisters and a welding torch into the bag Jack had given him. He left without sealing the doors to the warehouse back up. He had bigger problems than worrying about trespassing right now as he ran back off towards the river. Jack was there, waiting with his stall like he had asked. Gearrick sighed in relief, glad to see that his old acquaintance hadn't left him to his fate. His ruined warehouse, his shattered home, still smoldered in the morning sunlight. Smoke rose from piles of rubble, staining The Veil overhead a darker shade of grey as the vapor trapped the shroud of ash. Pieces of torn and blackened bronze were everywhere, sticking out of boards, gears resting in the holes of cobblestones they had shattered. "What are you going to do, kiddo?" Jack asked, his worry clear. Gearrick's heart was warmed by Jack's concern. "I'm sorry Jack, but I'm going to need some of the parts from the stall," he said quietly, trotting into the ruins of his warehouse, darting from scrap to scrap of the Nomad. Whenever he found a suitable piece he would pile it by the cart with his magic. "Take anything ya need," Jack said, stepping away from the food stall. "I can't do much, but I'm not gonna let that little lady get taken without lending ya a hoof. I'll help ya any way I can." "I appreciate that," Gearrick said, his tone sincere even through his heavy breathing as he hefted a sheet of bronze metal. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need an extra set of hooves." "What're ya gonna build?" Jack asked. Gearrick's cold look unnerved Jack as it appeared suddenly from behind another metal sheet. "I'm going to build a weapon, Jack. After all, I can't go after her without something to fight back with. Besides, there's only one pony I can think of who might know where Twilight's been taken," Gearrick said quietly, dropping the last metal sheet and his bag of tools onto the ground next to the stall. "Who?" the old pony asked, clearly perplexed. "Mick Magnet, head of the Gearbox Guild. The pony who kidnapped Twilight was working for him directly before all of this. If anypony would know anything, it would be him," Gearrick replied with a sure nod, though his gaze seemed far off; lost in thought. "To see him, ya'd have to-" Jack began, but Gearrick's devilish smirk cut him off. A confident look unlike any Jack had seen on his face before. "I'd have to go straight to the executive office of the guild. I know," Gearrick said with a chuckle. "They're not going to let me in without an appointment... but I won't need them to 'let me'. When I'm finished with this latest invention, they couldn't stop me if they wanted to." Even as he finished his little speech, Gearrick was pulling out a welding torch and an lighter, preparing the tool for use. "I'm not going to destroy the place, or hurt anyone," Gearrick explained slowly, catching sight of Jack's concerned look out the corner of his eye. "I'm not a criminal like they are. But I'm not going to waste any time arguing with security. I want my answers straight from Magnet, and I am going to get them." Jack sighed, still worried, but relieved enough to let his concerns go. "I trust ya, Gearrick. I know that friend must mean a lot to ya, so I'm not about to leave you on yer own." "She's not just a friend... Thanks Jack," Gearrick said, placing a hoof on Jack's shoulder in gratitude. "I've never seen ya this way before... Ya don't seem mad, or scared, or worried," Jack said. Gearrick just chuckled, smirking. "Twilight's a strong girl. I don't think they'll hurt her more than they have, and certainly not before I find out where she is. I can't afford to be nervous or scared. I don't have to be, because I know something Magnet and his kidnapper don't." "And what's that?" Jack asked, smirking as Gearrick put his goggles in place and lit the welding torch. "They pissed off the wrong pony."