//------------------------------//
// XII: All Good Things 
// Story: Tinkermane 
// by Razorbeam 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight sat with her shoulders slumped in her hospital bed, her eyes looking deeply into the blanket draped over her legs as if she could see everything in the wrinkles and folds of the light-blue cloth. Her normally cheerful and vibrant amethyst eyes seemed dimmer, the rings around them a sure sign that her exhaustion was weighing on her. Yet sleep wouldn't come, no matter how often she laid her head down to try.

"Miss Sparkle?" a nurse called from the door, drawing her incredibly tired gaze. "You have a visitor."

Despite everything she knew was true, hope shook her mind back to some semblance of alertness. "Gearrick?" she asked sadly, her voice barely loud enough to be heard from her tired throat. She knew, deep down, that it couldn't possibly be him, but she didn't know of anypony else who would have known where to find her, or come looking for her.

Frankly, there was nopony else on her mind.

"Sorry, little lady," came the familiar voice of Old Jack, the bushy-browed pony stepping into the room even as he said it. Twilight could tell instantly from his tone and his posture that he was just as worried as she was, and truly regretted not being the stallion she so badly wanted to see.

"I'll... leave you two alone," the nurse said cautiously, her tone trying to remain unconcerned as she gave the two some much needed privacy.

"Jack?" Twilight asked, as if she didn't believe it. She certainly hadn't been expecting the old food vendor to be the one who came looking for her, but in the midst of all this turmoil his familiar face was a welcome sight. Tears welled in her eyes, as had been happening more and more often over the last many hours. She had stopped questioning where they came from or why, too tired to even stop them or think about it anymore.

Jack's own lip quivered slightly, as if he were close behind her in the waterworks. He looked her up and down, noting the bandages all over her legs, and the sling one of her forelegs was in to ease the strain on her recently-dislocated shoulder. "Oh, kiddo..." he said sadly, walking over to a chair by her bed. "Look what's happened to ya." It was clear from his tone that he was sincerely worried over her.

Twilight had come to respect just how strong a bond could be, even in such a short time, and in all honesty didn't find the old stallion's concern to be surprising. Despite how little she had seen of him, she knew how big Jack's heart was, and knew that there were tears brimming in those eyes behind the bushy eyebrows.

"Jack, it's okay," she said, giving him a tired smile. "I'm fine. I've had worse than this before, trust me," she said, chuckling a bit. But her chuckle sounded empty, and seemed even more fragile than she did.

"No ya haven't, kiddo," he said with a sigh to steady his nerves. "Maybe yer body's taken tougher, but yer heart's busted bad."

Twilight winced as he said those words, knowing them to be true.

"Ya haven't slept... or eaten anythin'," he said quietly. "The nurse told me all about it. And I don't blame ya... I've been up all night too, jus' tryin' to find out what's goin' on," he admitted, and with that simple statement he seemed much more tired to Twilight than he had before.

"I can't sleep," Twilight admitted quietly, her gaze once more funneling back into the blanket looped over her. "I'm not sure I want to, because then I would know for sure this isn't just a dream," she sighed, her lips moving as if to turn into a sad smile. Yet even one of self-pity was impossible right now, it seemed.

"I can't say I feel any different," Jack added quietly, nodding as his gaze, too, fell into something he wasn't truly seeing. Just staring at anything, so that he wouldn't have to see the hurt on her face. "The whole city's confused," he went on after a moment of silence. "The contest's been stopped fer now: Magnet was one of the judges, and he's been arrested... And then there's Gearrick." Jack's tone turned solemn until a lone, empty chuckle escaped his lips. "He'd be happy to be the talk of the town, at least."

Twilight couldn't help herself as she let out a laugh. Just one, but a little less empty than her most recent attempts, her eyes still fixed on the covers. She could almost hear Gearrick making some joke along those exact lines, even in his current situation.

"Did he really do all of those things?" Twilight asked quietly, at last looking back to Jack. Everything in her eyes said she didn't really want to know the answer, because she already knew it.

Jack sighed, having known this topic was unavoidable. It was why he had come in the first place. "He really did. Ya saw the warehouse yerself... Everything was gone in the fire. His tools, his home... his dream," Jack said the last as if it seemed unreal. "He'd been talkin' about that machine since the guild turned him down the first time. He was gonna change the world," Jack chuckled sadly.

Twilight couldn't bring herself to laugh, not even with that same hint of sorrow Jack's laughter carried.

"He lost everything," Jack said quietly, after a lengthy silence had passed between them. "But when it was all gone, he just... gave it up. Like it never happened. He took those pieces of the Nomad in his hooves like he didn't even remember where they'd come from," Jack said with a shake of his head. "I think it was because he knew he couldn't get it back."

Twilight's tears started to pool in her eyes again, and everything looked like it was underwater, the blue of the blanket lost in waves of sadness as she reflected on the terrible things that had happened.

"But he knew he could get you back," Jack said unexpectedly, and Twilight's teary eyes widened in shock as she took those words in, and let them settle around her aching heart.

"He picked up them pieces without a thought for the dream they'd been broken off of. I'd never seen him like that before," Jack whispered, suddenly at the side of Twilight's bed. "He'd lost so much, but refused to lose ya too. He did all those things, broke all them laws, and risked his freedom jus' to see ya again."

Twilight fixed Jack with eyes now streaming freely with tears, the twin paths from her eyes staining her coat and dripping onto the blanket below while she struggled to find words that were strong enough to break through the lump in her throat.

"It's only when a stallion loses everythin' that he understands what's really important to 'im," Jack said with a sigh, clearly struggling to remain strong in light of her reaction. "Gearrick decided that that somethin' was you."

Twilight couldn't stop herself from reaching over and pulling the old stallion into a hug as best she could. Part of it was just that she didn't want him to see her cry... not the way she was about to. More than that, though, she needed to hang onto someone while she did it.

She emptied all kinds of feelings into her tears, pouring them into Jack's shoulder as she cried her heart out. Jack rubbed her back comfortingly as she hiccupped and sniffled as much as she had to, saying nothing and being exactly the living pillar Twilight needed. She had never felt more like a lost little girl in her life.

"I'm not going to lose him," Twilight said desperately, her voice strained as she fought against the tears pinching her throat shut. "I'm not!" She squeezed Jack tighter, letting out a shuddering sigh as she at last rose above the storm of her heart. She was far from being in command of the many emotions buffeting her about, but at least she was gaining control again.

Jack hushed her quietly, like a father to a daughter as he hugged her back. "I ain't gonna let ya," Jack said quietly. "You're more like him than I think ya know," he said quietly, an edge of warmth to his voice. "He always seems calm, but when things get desperate, yer both the same."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, pulling back just enough to fix Jack with the most pitiful look he had ever seen.

Despite her confusion, and her lingering sorrow, Jack just smiled. "Because when things aren't the way they're 'sposed to be, ya fix 'em," he said warmly, stroking her mane gently as she laid her head into his chest, her exhaustion finally catching up to her, her pent up emotions at last spent.

"You're right," Twilight admitted. "It's been a while since I had to fix anything," she said with a tired laugh.

Jack laughed too, more warmly than he had in what felt like days. "Now's as good a time as any, little lady... Now, tell ol' Jack what he can do to help."

Twilight's smile as she closed her eyes was a sure one. "I need you to send a letter for me."





Gearrick sat on the edge of the low bed bolted to the wall, the multi-colored light of the city reflected off The Veil through the bars of his cell window, the long shadows of the steel barriers ruining what would have otherwise been a beautiful sight. But through such a small box, and marred in such ways, he thought instead that it seemed almost tragic.

He hadn't had the time to think of it. Any of it; the loss of the Nomad, the loss of his home. The loss of Twilight had been all that mattered at the time, and nothing was going to stand in his way, not even the tragedy of his circumstances. He had been consumed by a single goal, a reality that had surpassed any of his dreams, and had muted all of his fears. And yet, despite everything, he stood to lose her again, and in a way he couldn't tinker his way out of.

He sighed as he looked at the splotches of color on the cell's floor, losing himself in them. He'd done some amazing things. Amazingly bold, and amazingly stupid. What he stood accused of he could hardly deny, except for the charges of arson. Yet, in a way, he didn't believe he even had the right to deny that. It had been his carelessness that had sprung the trap that had destroyed the Nomad, and burned his home.

He had been the one to set everything in motion by coming to Manehattan in the first place.

He sighed, shaking his head in gruff denial. No, what he had done was right. Overwhelmingly right. Twilight had been trapped, hurt, and alone. He could easily remember the sight of her, legs covered in cuts, looking like they were about to give out. Could even remember her face in the split seconds of timelessness when the floor had given out beneath her. She had looked so tired, so wounded. If he hadn't been there, hadn't done what he had done to reach her, then she might have been hurt even worse. Or perhaps she would sooner have fought Myla to the death.

Gearrick put his head in his hooves and sighed heavily. No, he had done what was necessary. Everything had been for her. Yet, with his mind in dark places, he couldn't help but wonder if she would understand. Understand that he had done everything he did for her sake.

It would be hard to look past prison bars, if he were on the other side looking in. He could recall the expression on her face as the medics had carried away, and the police arrested him; hurt, confused, and afraid. When she looked at him now, would he be her hero? Or would he be a criminal?

Would it matter either way?

No matter how many years his sentence was, Gearrick knew it would be too many. Too many for the wonderful mare he had met to wait for him. The world was full of stallions brighter, better looking, and all of them free. What would she feel, a year from now, for a stallion with which she had shared only a week of her life, and only one adventure?

How long would it take for the heartbreak to set in for her?

Gearrick sighed, afraid to admit that, in order to save her, he may have broken her heart. That heart was more valuable to him than anything now, and he had left it in shambles. If only he had been more careful, then perhaps there wouldn't have been so much damage. If only he had been smarter, and stronger, he never would have had to build a weapon, or fought, or hurt her.

Laying down and staring at his ceiling, Gearrick did his best to clear the dark thoughts out of his head. They were so unlike him, so unfamiliar. Yet he knew the truth... he had been afraid of losing her somehow from the very moment she had first kissed him. Here, in this cell, he had never been closer to doing so, and it made him afraid. Afraid enough to shake his confidence, and leave him wondering.

"If her heart's broken... I may not be as good with pieces as I say I am," he whispered sadly, closing his eyes and doing his best to let his unpleasant thoughts fade into slumber.





It had been two days since the letter had been sent off, Jack following the instructions perfectly, and gladly forking over the bits for priority delivery by teleportation. Twilight had struggled a bit while convincing Jack that the letter really was supposed to be sent to Canterlot Castle.

Two evenings later, Jack sat slack-jawed in the chair stuffed in the corner of the hospital room, his bushy eyebrows finally high enough in surprise to catch sight of his deep green eyes. "Skies above, kiddo... you were serious," he whispered, more to himself than to Twilight.

"I came as soon as I could," Celestia said quietly, carefully ignoring Jack's look of shock, and the urge to ask who he was. Twilight's hasty letter had explained nothing, other than that she was in a great deal of trouble in Manehattan... trouble too big for her to handle on her own, and of a kind that the Elements couldn't fix. 

Celestia's carefully managed smile faded suddenly as she looked Twilight up and down. Her eyes were alight and her smile was just like the smile she had worn as a little girl. In her expression, she looked like she always did to Celestia. But she was covered in bandages, a leg in a sling. Her mane was a mess, and she looked tired... tired and hurt.

"What happened to you?" Celestia asked with a motherly sigh, unable to deny the anger seeing Twilight like this put in her heart. Somepony was responsible for this...

"Jack?" Twilight asked warmly, giving the old pony a pleading glance.

"Oh, oh, right," he said simply, having recovered a good deal by now. Grabbing his hat, he headed for the door, giving Celestia a hasty, respectful dip of his head on his way past, and surprising her when he whispered something, just loud enough for her to hear. "Don't be too hard on her, highness."

Before Celestia could respond, he was out the door, closing it behind him without another word. She turned her curious gaze back to Twilight, sighing heavily and closing her eyes a moment to get better control of her emotions as the sight of her battered and bruised student again set her mind to racing with ways she would punish whoever was responsible.

"What happened to you?" she said again, her tone sad now that it was just Twilight in the room. She could speak plainly with Twilight, not have to keep up appearances... even cry, if she had to.

"I fell in love," Twilight said quietly. Her tone was bittersweet, happy and sad all at once.

That simple, yet complex, statement dropped Celestia into silence. She didn't know what to say, having expected something very different. She expected names of ponies who had attacked her, or an explanation of some great evil lurking in the city... But she had fallen in love, and said it as if she had simply fallen down some stairs, and hurt herself.

Seeing nothing forthcoming from Celestia, Twilight continued. "And I don't want to fall out of it... That's why I need your help," she said, her voice pinching slightly and making Celestia's heart ache as she realized the sorrow barely being contained by force of will alone.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Twilight sighed, regaining control. "It wasn't supposed to be like anything." Twilight gestured to the chair Jack had previously occupied, signaling that this would be a long story.

Taking the cue, Celestia sat down, settling in with a look of mixed curiosity and worry on her face.

"I just came to see the festival... I didn't tell anyone I was coming, or give anyone here my name. I just wanted to have fun, enjoy myself. I didn't expect an adventure," she said quietly, gripping the blanket in her hooves and pinching it into tight, stressful wrinkles.

"But I met a stallion here... it was out of my control, and it was wonderful. It's nice to not have to be the one in control sometimes," Twilight chuckled, and Celestia couldn't help but smile slightly. She knew how hard it was to be in control better than anyone.

"He's amazing, Princess. Everything I could ever imagine wanting in a stallion," she sighed, suddenly letting the blanket go, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"And without your help, I'm going to lose him," she said with certainty. "They'll take him away from me, and I can't let that happen. They took me away from him once, and he refused to lose me." She became silent suddenly, clearly thinking for a moment before fixing Celestia with a determined look.

"I think it's time someone knew the whole story."





Celestia sat back in her chair, a hoof to her lips in thought. Twilight's story had not been a short one, or a simple one.

"So can you help him?" Twilight asked hopefully.

Celestia sighed, having hoped since many minutes ago in Twilight's story that she wouldn't ask that question. But, even more so, she had hoped she wouldn't have to answer it.

"I don't know, Twilight," she said honestly, and her heart broke as Twilight's face sunk in despair. "Even I can't bend the law, if he's guilty. Even if he did all of that just to save you, it can't change what's happened. Still," she went on, just as Twilight's mouth opened to protest, "I will do what I can."

Twilight's words failed as her mouth simply drifted closed. The line in her lips shifted slowly from sad to determined as she nodded. "With luck, it might just be enough," she said with a strange certainty that Celestia didn't understand.

"After all, you never really know if something will work until you test it."





"Y-your Majesty!" the mayor stammered, his fat cheeks and thick beard shaking between a combination of shock and his attempts to talk as Princess Celestia herself walked into city hall in the middle of the afternoon, accompanied as always by two of her finest guards.

The mayor's mind raced. A visit from the Princess was either very good, or very bad. Considering the recent chain of events in the city, and the fact that she had shown up completely unannounced did not encourage him to believe that this visit was of a pleasant nature. Normally the Princess had to be asked for an audience weeks in advance, if not months, and rarely did she leave Canterlot for business.

"Mayor Malter," the Princess replied casually, as if nothing were wrong. The complete lack of a scowl or a sharp tone only made the mayor even more nervous, however. "It has been a long time since my last visit to Manehattan. Your city is as beautiful as ever," she congratulated warmly.

"I-I'm glad you think so, your highness!" he bumbled, recovering finally at the end as the initial shock began to wear off, and he came to terms with the fact that Celestia was really, truly there. "It's always lovely this time of year, if I do say so myself... But you're not here to take in the sights, are you?" he inquired quietly, his tone showing his trepidation clearly.

Celestia's smile was considerably thinner all of a sudden. "No, I'm not," she admitted, her tone not quite as carefree as it had been only moments before. "In fact, is there somewhere you and I might speak in private?" she asked, her expression and tone suddenly returning to their former, abnormally normal state.

"Yes, yes, of course," the mayor huffed, nodding slightly as he glanced past Celestia to the guards. If she was bringing them along, then he was in even deeper trouble than he had previously imagined.

He lead the princess and her guards down a side hall and away from the wide eyes of secretaries and other city officials, the two of them at last arriving in an empty meeting room. Celestia took a seat at the head of the table out of habit as the mayor shut the door as calmly as he could manage. At his age, and in his particular shape, this kind of stress would be the death of him, or so he thought as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and patted his pudgy cheeks to wake himself up a little bit.

"What's this about, then?" Mayor Malter asked quietly, pulling up a seat closer to the Princess. Her guards had waited outside, which made him feel a little better. Unfortunately, though, the Mayor had seen Celestia on many occasions during his various terms in office, and was one of the few politicians who could tell when she was sincerely upset, and simply trying to hide it.

"This, as you may have guessed, is about the incident surrounding Mick Magnet, and his abduction of my personal understudy," Celestia said calmly, as if it were simply any other mundane political matter.

"I... I see," Mayor Malter said grimly, having expected as much.

"No need to be so uptight," Celestia said quietly, a small smile coming to her lips. Her tone was warm and sincere, and took the edge off of the Mayor's nerves somewhat. "I'm not here to drag you back to Canterlot or anything like that, Malter."

The mayor sighed in relief, his nerves further soothed by the casual way she referred to him. "Then what is it you need to see me for?" he asked, trying his best to put on a smile. "Whatever it is, you'll have the city's full co-operation, I'm sure."

"When are the trials for Mr. Magnet, and Mr. Tinkermane?" Celestia asked simply.

"Ah, yes. Why, we've already held them for three days, you know," he began. "The Court of Manehattan's always careful to get trials done with quickly. I believe their trial is scheduled for tomorrow morning,"

Celestia's smile shrank slightly for a brief moment, before returning to full strength. Still, some of the warmth seemed to be missing as she thought over something.

"I want you to turn the matter of their trial over to me," she said quietly after a moment.

"Your Majesty...?" Mayor Malter asked, somewhat taken aback by the unexpected request.

"I'll handle their trials personally," she said quietly. "Since the victim this whole mess centers around is my personal student, I think it's sensible. Plus, with a case this controversial, it will be easier on the city. A private trial would work best," she insisted.

"Hmmm... Yes. Yes, I see," The Mayor hummed, nodding slowly. "Truth be told, there is so little for the court to go on anyways. Most evidence in the case is missing, or burned at best, and there's little more than testimony from the ponies involved. What few witnesses the court called upon to testify insisted they hadn't seen anything," he muttered.

"Best for all of us, then," Celestia added quietly.

Many moments of silence passed before Mayor Malter suddenly cleared his throat, pulling Celestia from her silent musings. "Your Majesty... This is in strict confidence," he went on quietly. "I've no right to sway your judgment, but the boy... Be light on him, if you can," he said quietly. "His time in our city has not been overwhelmingly kind. Whatever drove him to commit the crimes he did against the Guild..."

Celestia raised a hoof, cutting him off. "Mayor Malter, my duty is what it is. If I find Mr. Tinkermane guilty of his crimes, then the sentence will be fair," she said quietly, as if even she didn't like that answer. "As it has to be," she added, so quietly that not even the Mayor could hear it in the still of the conference room.

"While you're here, then," Malter continued quietly. "Perhaps you could shed some light on something. The contest has been halted because of this great mess between Tinkermane and Magnet, but I can't stall forever. The other engineers are demanding a resolution as soon as possible. If Tinkermane is innocent, he would technically still be permitted to compete, so I have been trying to extend the delay until after his trial, but... the reality remains that without a judge to replace Magnet, the festival cannot continue," he grumbled.

"Would your majesty be able to preside over the tournament's closing ceremonies, before your return?" he asked.

Celestia shook her head silently. "I'm sorry, Malter, but I don't know the first thing about steam tinkering. I'm afraid I would make a very poor judge."

As Mayor Malter readied a defeated sigh, Celestia smiled once more. "However, I have heard of somepony who might be able to fill that role very well. And as luck would have it, she's tied to this mess too," Celestia said with a warm laugh. "If you ask her, I'm certain she'll help you."

"And who might this mare be?" the Mayor asked eagerly.

"You'll see soon. I've already had her sent for," Celestia said simply, standing from her chair and signaling the end of their meeting. "Don't worry, Mayor Malter... Everything will be put right soon. You have my word on that."





Celestia sat quietly in the interrogation room, her hoof tapping idly on the floor as she waited as impatiently as anypony had ever seen. The police ponies with her to oversee the 'trial' seemed tense, and the scowl on her brow wasn't helping matters. Even her own guards had seemed concerned before she had posted them outside the room, for the small, dimly lit chamber hardly had the space to spare. As it stood, only herself and two officers could fit inside, one of them seated at a particularly large typewriter to catalog the meeting about to take place.

Celestia had heard much about Mick Magnet, though she couldn't recall meeting the stallion personally. Still, rumors abounded about his nature as a business pony, and not an overly large portion of those were positive. It surprised her little to find somepony like him at the center of all this commotion surrounding Twilight and this Gearrick Tinkermane fellow. From Twilight's own mouth, she had quite a bit to go on about the two of them, but until she met them both and questioned them, she would have to reserve all judgment.

The part of her that separated itself from duty urged her to condemn Magnet, and let Tinkermane go. Celestia had never seen Twilight so distraught as when she had recounted her capture and Gearrick's rescue attempt. Twilight had never been so emotionally invested in anything in all the years that the Princess could recall. And there were few ponies Celestia herself was as emotionally invested in as Twilight Sparkle.

Her heart ached to have to carry this out. She feared, for Twilight's sake, that Gearrick would be found guilty. That simple resolution would put him beyond Celestia's control, and out of reach of Twilight for however long his sentence was. Twilight's heart, her first real love, teetered on the brink, at the mercy of Celestia's verdict.

She sighed heavily, and put on a mask of determined displeasure as the sound of hoofsteps echoed from beyond the door. It cracked open, the guards ushering the prisoner in, but doing little more than prodding him through the portal.

Magnet walked under his own power, his hooves cuffed in front of him. Celestia was mildly surprised to see him un-escorted, having expected him to be a more reluctant prisoner. Yet, to her further confusion, he was even smiling as he took the seat across from her at the table. Try as she might, she could not place that smile: she had seen many smiles of defeat, or even the smiles of madness, yet this was neither.

"Your Majesty," Mick said respectfully, his tone steady and unaltered by any emotion Celestia could tell. "I would say I'm a little surprised to see you here... but considering the circumstances, it makes too much sense," he continued, settling himself more comfortably in his seat before placing his front hooves together on the table before him.

Despite his disheveled appearance, with his mane badly tangled from restless nights and the stubble spotting his jaw, he held his head high, ever the businesspony.

"Mick Magnet," she replied simply, continuing to mask her curiosity and mild confusion behind the same look she had been wearing since he'd entered the room. "Personally I am surprised to be here... and not overly happy to be," she countered, scowling deeper.

"Understandable. I don't think that anyone is overjoyed with the results of my efforts against Mr. Tinkermane," he went on.

"You understand that this is to be your trial?" Celestia asked simply.

"Yes, your majesty," he replied with a simple nod.

"You are charged with fraud, illegal use of company funds, illegal production and use of military-grade weaponry, and accessory to kidnapping," Celestia went on, reading from the report in front of her. "How do you plead?"

"Guilty on all counts," Mick Magnet replied instantly, his tone unwavering and sure, taking Celestia by complete surprise.

She fixed him with a curious stare for many silent moments, before scowling. "All counts?"

"All but one, actually," he went on. "I was not an accomplice to the kidnapping. In reality, I was the one solely responsible."

Celestia's scowl shifted to one of confusion. Twilight had been very clear in her story, and had never mentioned Magnet as the kidnapper himself. However, she had gone on to say that the Trellon sisters, Myla and Phyla, shouldn't be held accountable for their actions, as they were the victims of chaotic magic. Mick's claim contradicted Twilight's story, which Celestia did not doubt the validity of. So, why would the businesspony lie... and in a way that would harm him, no less?

"Myla and Phyla carried out the kidnapping of Twilight Sparkle on my orders," Mick said firmly, causing the pony at the typewriter to peck frantically at the keys, putting that information on the official record.

Celestia came to the realization that he was protecting the sisters, in a way that she herself could not. Affected by magic or not, the twins would be incarcerated for their crimes otherwise. However, with Mick's testimony that he was the real kidnapper, that would make Myla and Phyla accessories to the crime and nothing more, reducing their sentence by many years, and entitling them to institutional treatment rather than a prison sentence.

"Leave us," Celestia said suddenly, glancing at the police ponies. The two stallions hastily left the room, shooting one another confused glances.

Mick, too, shot Celestia a confused glance.

Once the door was shut, she gave him a suspicious look. "What are you doing?"

"Doing, your majesty?" Mick asked, sounding not at all surprised by the accusing question.

"I've already heard the full story from Twilight Sparkle, and I know you are bending the truth," she said quietly.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Mick insisted, a calm smile in place.

Celestia's scowl turned into a glare, the lie obvious.

"Would you rather I let those girls suffer for their part in the chain of events I started?" he asked suddenly, his tone serious. "I could certainly let them. I could feed them to the wolves, and you would sit there helplessly and watch it happen, because you cannot bend the truth, your majesty."

Celestia's glare didn't diminish as she moved to speak, but Magnet cut her off.

"But I can," he continued. "As far as I want, to get what I want. I have been doing it for years, and I see no reason to stop now... especially since it can finally be put to good use."

Celestia was shocked. She had honestly thought that it was suspicious how quickly he admitted to the crimes, but now it was beginning to come clear. For some reason, Magnet was working to protect the Trellon sisters from their involvement as much as he was able.

"The public will never know the truth about them. They would never understand," he went on. "But I understand. And because of that understanding, I've been using them for years. They're a good asset, and the perfect scapegoat. If anything ever went wrong, I could pin it on them. The nature of their very being would have been enough to divert the public eye, and even the eye of the court, away from me in any case. They would have been a perfect controversy, covering my tracks no matter how many I left," he said with a small smile. "Look how the tables have turned."

"Why protect them, then?" Celestia asked angrily, her confusion giving her tone an edge. A pony like Magnet should have been looking for every advantage, not digging his grave deeper on someone else's account.

"Regret?" he replied casually, shrugging his shoulders. "Or perhaps it is simply because if I don't, then nopony can. Could you offer them amnesty, even with their tragic history? The public would force you to a more drastic decision, even if you took the trial into your hooves personally like this. But the reality is that only one of them is guilty, and even then it is not her fault."

Celestia clenched her teeth and then sighed, knowing he was right. She shouldn't have been surprised at the shrewdness of his mind, not after all the stories she had heard.

"Better to let the world think that they were forced to assist me, or at least coerced," he finished.

"Why?" Celestia asked again.

Mick sighed, suddenly, his shoulders slumping. To Celestia he suddenly looked much older, and much more tired. "My life has been spent taking advantage of others. Nopony would have ever known, and I would never have been made to pay the price. But, there is one pony besides myself who knows," Mick finished quietly.

"Gearrick Tinkermane. He is the only other pony who knows... and even knowing what kind of stallion I was, when he had the chance to let me die," Mick said fiercely, fixing Celestia with his eyes, filled with resolve "he choose instead to let me live."

Celestia went silent. This was not something Twilight had told her, not something she knew. All she knew about that event was that Gearrick had nearly killed Mick in their fight by accident, but beyond that Twilight had known nothing.

"He saved my life... a miserable life that flashed before my eyes in the minuscule eternity where I thought I would fall to my death," Mick said quietly. "I have stepped on people enough for one lifetime, your Majesty. It is time to atone in what few ways I can."

It made sense to Celestia. In her many years she had seen near-death experiences change ponies in profound ways. If what Mick said was true, then his desire to help the sisters was understandable to the Princess.

"It will never be enough," Mick said quietly. "My atonement will never be sufficient. I'm no murderer, or terrible villain... but the things I have done have ruined many lives, in their own way." Mick fixed her with a determined stare, looking at her from under his brow, his nose still pointed at the table, as if he weren't entirely sure he was ready to look away from his cuffed hooves.

"Before I go, I intend to save as many of the ponies involved in this farce as I possibly can, from as much as I possibly can," he went on, his tone serious. "That includes Mr. Tinkermane. I owe him my life, however many years of it I have left." He sighed heavily, before nodding to himself over something Celestia didn't understand.

"You can't save them from the law, but I can. At this moment, I am still head of the Gearbox Guild. As such, I reserve the right to make executive decisions regarding any and all of its business," he continued. "You will find that the accusing party for all of Mr. Tinkermane's charges is the Gearbox Guild. Before I am sentenced and removed from the office, I withdraw all charges made by the company against him," he said firmly.

Celestia's eyes widened in shock, bringing a smile to Mick Magnet's serious visage. "I think you will find I am quite within my rights to do so."

Celestia could hardly believe it at first. Here was the only viable solution to save Gearrick and the Trellon sisters like Twilight had wanted, and the villain of this tale was simply handing it to her, on a silver platter no less. He hadn't even asked for anything in return for his sacrifice, and that left the Princess of the Sun wondering: was a pony that was capable of such sacrifice, such change, truly evil?

"Mick Magnet," she said seriously, her tone controlled and regal, "You have been found guilty of all charges against you by the city of Manehattan and those you have wronged. You are sentenced to ten years in Canterlot Prison for your transgressions." She fixed him with a dire look, imparting the gravity of his situation.

Mick's eyes widened in surprise. "Your majesty... I'm afraid that for my crimes, your sentence is ten years short," he pointed out, his tone suspicious. "I thought you were bound by duty?"

"The only duty I am bound by, Mr. Magnet, is to issue you a sentence fitting your crimes," Celestia said quietly. "And that's what I have done."

Mick sighed in defeat, unwilling to argue the blessing he had been given. "Thank you, your majesty."