The Battle of Canterlot was the decisive battle in the Changeling War. At day’s end, mountains of changeling corpses fouled the fields and streets of Canterlot, and Chrysalis - defeated by Luna herself - was captured, ending her plan to assassinate Luna and end the war in her favor. But our victory came at a horrific cost: In a single day, the Equestrian army lost half its strength. Over a hundred thousand soldiers had died, and the wounded were almost beyond counting, their cries of pain lasting long into the night.
Though exhausted and injured from the battle, Luna wasted no time in leading a task force of her best soldiers into the hive beneath Canterlot. In the deepest, darkest pit of that lightless abyss, they found Princess Celestia and the Bearers, drained of life to the point that death was a heartbeat away. No effort was spared in racing them to the castle’s medical wing, where the best doctors in all of Equestria labored to save them, working through the night until they announced that the seven were stable.
With Celestia and the Bearers safe, those who could still fight were sent out into the tunnels beneath Equestria to find Chrysalis' surviving minions and their captives. Countless hives were found with ponies, griffons, yaks, and other species webbed to the walls; many were still alive, but for many it was too late.
It took two weeks to complete the search of the tunnels and hives; all the missing, both alive and dead, were recovered and returned to their families. Rounding up Chrysalis' surviving minions was surprisingly easy, for without a queen to guide them they were scattered and aimless, and those who didn’t surrender were quickly eliminated.
With the changelings no longer a threat, the armed forces turned their attention towards finding other arch-dragons that might have been in Chrysalis' employ. Interrogations of the changelings revealed that she had been in contact with several, and planned to have them deployed once Canterlot was taken. But when scouts reached the hiding place of the dragons, nothing was found but a cavernous tunnel that went deep into the earth. No one knew why the dragons retreated, but some guessed that with their partner incapacitated, the dragons had broken off whatever deal existed between them and Chrysalis. Regardless of the reason, the armed forces used their best unicorns to seal the passage, placing spells to raise the alarm if the dragons ever returned.
With the changelings defeated, and the arch-dragons nowhere to be found, there was only one loose thread to tie up. Three weeks after her capture, Queen Chrysalis was put on trial for starting the most destructive war in Equestria’s history. Her appointed lawyer struggled to portray her as a concerned leader who was only doing what was best for her starving children, but the jury wasn’t swayed. It took them only ten minutes to announce a unanimous verdict of guilty.
For her crimes against Equestria, Princess Luna took great pleasure in sentencing Chrysalis to life in Tartarus without the possibility of parole. Though humiliated before the thousands that packed themselves into the courtroom and the streets outside, Chrysalis yelled in defiance upon hearing her fate, vowing that she would get her revenge on us all, no matter how long it took. But she scared no one as she was immediately clasped in chains and dragged to the deepest, darkest cell in the infernal realm, where Chrysalis was locked into a cage that was welded shut and sealed behind five massive doors built to withstand the most powerful magics and the greatest of physical strength. Rumors and whispers persist that Chrysalis’s guards force her to stay awake, denying her the hibernation that would grant her relief from her imprisonment, and that they’ve long learned to ignore the queen’s furious screams.
While it was easy to put a monster like Chrysalis away, figuring out what to do with her minions was trickier. There were calls for Luna to exile them as had been done decades ago, and many more wanted the changelings exterminated, but Luna decided to try a different path: All the changelings would be detained indefinitely, but those who were open to reforming themselves would be given a chance to join Thorax's hive and become part of Equestrian society. Such a decision brought outcries from many, but Luna noted that only understanding and friendship could show Chrysalis' minions that our way of life was superior to theirs, and, given time, they would hopefully abandon their parasitic ways.
With the changeling queen put away forever, and her army safely locked away, the Changeling War was, at long last, finally over.
There were many celebrations throughout Equestria in the days following Luna’s declaration of pace. But while spirits were high, there were many who had nothing to celebrate. Some took their own lives, unable to bear losing their families or recover from the trauma of being captured and drained.
One of those who would never recover from the war was TechInc, which had to deal with the outcry of an enraged public that saw them as villains in the war, for their technology had led to the deaths of thousands and torn countless families apart. It didn’t matter if the claims were true or not, for the death of Glasseye, the destruction of Genesis, and the casualties from the Battle of Canterlot was too much. Less than a month after the war’s end, TechInc finally succumbed. The company’s remaining leadership signed the required documents, put their assets up for sale, and walked away.
TechInc, once the brightest and most promising company in Equestria, was no more.
Yet, even with his company gone, Glasseye’s work didn’t go to waste.
Medicomp, sensing an unprecedented opportunity, put up an astronomical amount of bits to acquire TechInc’s remaining assets (including the data taken from the surviving Goliath ships) and hired the company’s scientists and researchers, securing Medicomp’s place as the largest medical company in Equestria. Even Onyx Shield, who had managed to escape Chrysalis' ship with only minor injuries, was hired on as the company’s chief security adviser after it was determined that Genesis had fallen through no fault of his own.
Slowly, Equestria began to heal. Canterlot was repaired, and all the communities through Equestria were restored. Thorax and his changelings returned to Equestria and helped with healing as best they could, knowing the dangers that prejudice, anger, and hate could do to them, even though they had nothing to do with the fight. Thus, they began the long work of trying to heal and convert their bretheren, and to ensure that none of them would follow Chrysalis' path of death and destruction.
Slowly, bit by bit, everyone went on with their lives.
Everyone, that is, but me.
***
I don’t remember much of what happened the first few days after my parents died. Most of it is a blur of voices, faces, and crushing guilt. Beakbreaker tried to tell me that it wasn’t my fault: no one, not even the most skilled healers, could have saved my parents. Their organs, weakened from their illness, couldn’t survive being shot at point-blank range. But I didn’t believe her. I was convinced she was lying to try and make me feel better.
Just as my parents had succumbed to their wounds, so did my body succumb to the damage it had never been built to endure. I was taken to the medical wing of the castle and equipped with a new body created by surviving TechInc scientists. I don’t remember the process, only that I was dangling from a harness, little more than a neck and head with wings while mechanical innards dangled above the floor. But I do remember wanting nothing more than to die. I had been through surgery without anesthesia; I had seen my dreams be extinguished and watched as all of Equestria united against me.
Believing that I had let my parents die was so much worse.
My new body was eventually completed; it was a big, bulky thing, crude and ugly compared to what Glasseye had given me, but it allowed me to move. Beakbreaker took me with her to Manehattan, and to Medicomp, where she immediately put me into the building’s medical wing. I was given anti-depressants and saw doctors and therapists to help me recover from the trauma of losing my parents. They did their best, but nothing could break through the grip that depression had on me.
It wasn’t just the death of my parents that crippled me, though. Beakbreaker and the doctors tried to keep information of the Battle of Canterlot from me, fearing what it would do to my already fragile psyche. But I saw the mangled ponies coming to Medicomp who needed new limbs, both organic and metallic. I saw the suffering and heard the screams of those who had lost a part of themselves, and when I came across a newspaper someone had left lying on a chair, I finally learned just how many had died.
That was the moment that broke me.
In my mind, helping Chrysalis had led to every single death from the Battle of Canterlot. Chrysalis had ordered the attack, but I had enabled her, and the blood of so many was on my hooves. When the public learned what I had done, everyone who had lost a loved one would be screaming for my head a pike.
I sank deeper into depression, falling so deep that the best anti-depressants and mood stimulants failed to help me. I stopped leaving my room. I spent hours curled up on my bed, convinced that I was worthless and that nothing I would ever do would ever atone for my crimes.
At some point in our lives, we’re all told that we’re stronger than we know. Like the heroes of old, or in our comics and films and books, we’re told that if we stay strong, hang in there, and never quit, we can endure anything. But that’s a lie. No one can endure suffering forever.
Everyone has a breaking point, and when they reach it they will do anything to end the pain.
In a desperate effort to make the guilt go away, I snuck a razor into my room and began to cut myself, believing that the slow, drawn-out gashes in my neck would make me feel what the dead had gone through, and that when I caused enough pain to myself, the guilt would finally leave.
The thought came to me that after all I had done, perhaps it would be best to die. No matter what I did, I just ended up hurting others.
The thought was like a siren’s call: alluring... intoxicating, even. It would give justice to all those who had suffered, and keep me from hurting others ever again, while finally freeing me from all the guilt and the shame.
I succumbed to the thought, and began to cut harder and deeper into my throat, going slowly to maximize the pain... and that was when Beakbreaker opened the door to pay a visit.
In less than a minute, I was magically grabbed by orderlies. In less than five minutes an inhibitor ring had been attached to my horn, and in less than ten I was locked inside a padded room and put on a suicide watch, technicians having disabled my legs to keep me from using them. But instead of helping me, the process only furthered my implosion. At first I screamed, my rage defeating the sedatives intended to knock me out. I was incoherent, yelling that everyone were demons trying to keep me alive so I would suffer as long as possible. Had I the means, I would have slit my throat or used magic to crush my artificial heart. But the inhibitor ring made my horn useless; I couldn’t even break it off to stab myself.
Helpless, and denied the ability to do the one thing that could have ended my misery, I was left to stew in hatred towards myself, and to those who put me in the room. When someone looked inside the clear door every five minutes to check on me, I screamed at them. When the doctors and therapists tried to talk to me, I screamed at them, too. But my greatest rage was saved for Beakbreaker. I screamed the loudest the few times she came to visit. To me she was a betrayer, the one who had taken away my one chance to make things right, and I hated the mere sight of her.
Had I means, I probably would have attacked her.
Eventually, I stopped screaming. I turned my back on everyone who came to me, wanting nothing to do with them. Even when they told me that they were only there to help, or that I was doing this to myself, I convinced myself that they were lying. They were only trying to gain my trust so they could hurt me. My refusal to acknowledge them was the only weapon I had, and I used it. I was convinced that, if I ignored everyone long enough, they would finally leave me alone.
I spent almost a month in the padded room, refusing all the attempts of the doctors and medical staff to help me. They tried to gain my trust by putting books, stuffed animals, and other things in my room, but I wasn’t fooled. I rejected them all; I would fight them as long as I could, until the moment I could use my magic once more and end my life.
But life is strange: even when it’s taken everything you care about, it will give you something to help you.
When I awoke one morning, I wasn’t surprised to find another object in my room. But this wasn’t some soft object a foal would cuddle with at bedtime. It was Little Celestia. She was dirty and a little smudged up from being in my saddlebags for so long, but her smile was as radiant as it had always been, and her enchanted eyes peered up at me.
I didn’t expect seeing the figure to have as great an effect as it did; I spent the day watching it, fantasizing that Celestia had shrunk herself down and stayed with me.
It wasn’t until night fell and the lights were dimmed that a familiar thought came to me: What would Celestia do?
I almost screamed at the question. The last time it had come to me, it had cost my parents their lives. But the thought refused to leave me, and when I realized I wouldn’t get any sleep because of it, I forced myself to contemplate what Celestia would do in my situation. Everyone has a breaking point, even her. But Celestia has never crossed it. Equestria isn’t always the peaceful kingdom we know it to be: it has been invaded and lost towns, cities, and kingdoms. Tyrants have come within a hair’s breadth of enslaving us all, and at times even Celestia herself has been helpless to save us. And yet, no matter the odds, she has never given up. She’s taken every opportunity, no matter how small, to make things better.
I’ve never faced the challenges Celestia has. Yet, like me, she once had parents. Like me, she no doubt knows the pain of losing them. Yet, she kept going. She didn’t let grief take over her life like I had. She would want to live her life to the fullest, to live a life that her parents would be proud of.
If my parents were in that room with me, I thought, they would be horrified at seeing me so broken and desperate to die. They would understand why I wanted to, but they would also tell me not to give up. What’s done is done, my mother would say, and it could not be changed. And my father would say that I could be like Celestia: accept what has happened, and do what I could to improve my life.
That was the tipping point. If I was dead, I would be seen as a failure forevermore. But if I was alive, I could show all of Equestria that I wasn’t, and I could rebuild my life into something my parents would be proud of.
When the orderly came to check on me, I looked at him for the first time and politely asked to see Beakbreaker. She was at my room minutes later, hastily dressed, her eyes bloodshot, and her body sagging from exhaustion, but all that was forgotten as the orderlies opened the door and let her come in, their horns at the ready.
In a quiet, tired voice, I told Beakbreaker I was ready to get better.
No one spoke as Beakbreaker remained where she was, seemingly frozen in place, unable to make up her mind on what she should do... and then she knelt, her legs wrapping around me as tightly as she could. I leaned into her embrace, trying not to cry as I felt the one thing I never thought I’d feel again.
Hope.
***
It was a long, hard road to recovery. Though I was determined to get better, I would backslide many times in the coming weeks. But Beakbreaker was my anchor. When I was convinced that nothing would ever get better and the desire for death came again, she gave me strength when I had none for myself. She helped me to therapy, to visits with the doctors, and to the exercise room where I had once adjusted to having wings. And many times she just stayed with me, saying nothing but being the soothing, nurturing presence I needed.
As the months passed, the doctors finally found a combination of medication that worked for me; I would wake up in the morning and no longer feel dread at what miseries that might befall me. It took time, but my therapist finally helped me realize that what had happened to Canterlot was not my fault. If they were in my position, anyone else would have acted to save their loved ones. While I had given Chrysalis the Control Crystal, it had been under duress, and I was not responsible for what had happened afterwards, and more importantly, I had tried to stop her.
But more importantly, she led me to accept that I had not let my parents die. The guilt with their deaths lay with Mangus Bluehorn, who was now a faceless corpse somewhere deep in the earth, smashed to pieces upon boulders and cast into a darkness from which he would never be found. He had been given a chance at redemption, and had thrown it away in an act of hate.
It was a fitting end to someone as wretched as him.
Bit by bit, my depression lifted. Guilt and hopelessness faded away until the day finally came where I no longer needed to take any medication. While the sadness of losing my parents remained, I could now handle it. All that remained to me was to begin the process of rebuilding my life... but before I could begin, there was one thing that need to be addressed: my status as Equestria’s first cyborg.
As part of my treatment, my therapist had allowed me to read the newspaper to help me prepare to be a part of society again, and that included reading the rumors that one of TechInc’s creations had still not been found a year after the battle of Canterlot. While Princess Luna had confirmed the existence of a pony-robot hybrid, she had refused to say where it was, only that it was not a threat to anyone.
The day after I was declared healed, Beakbreaker took me into her apartment and said that when I had first been brought to Medicomp, Princess Luna had sent a letter summoning me to Canterlot. Beakbreaker and my old boss, Coin Counter, had personally intervened and told the Princess that I was in no shape to visit her, physically or emotionally, and had continued to say so during my treatment. But now that I was well, Luna wanted to see me. For what, Beakbreaker didn’t know, only that I was to travel to Canterlot as quickly as possible.
I was nervous, of course. Even with my therapist sessions, a part of me still feared that Luna would blame me for what had happened at Canterlot. I was ready to face her and, if worse came to worse, I could put up a defense for myself. That’s what I kept telling myself when Canterlot sent a ship to pick us up: it was identical to the Raven, and even had Gusty at the controls. He was pleased to see us again after so long, and still called me Boss as we flew to the capital. After the battle, he had gained a new ship and continued to act as one of Luna’s best pilots, and joked that this would be a lot less dangerous than our previous get-together.
I appreciated Gusty’s humor. It helped put me at ease as we reached Canterlot. Much like the rest of Equestria, it was almost completely rebuilt, with few signs of the battle that had ripped it apart. Only a few buildings were still under construction as Beakbreaker and I went to the castle, where I introduced myself to the guards and said I had an appointment with the princess. A guard appeared ten minutes later and told me to follow him. My heart was pounding as Beakbreaker and I were escorted through the castle to Luna’s chambers. I was told to go inside, but Beakbreaker would have to wait for my return.
Beakbreaker put a hoof on my shoulder, wordlessly telling me that everything would be all right. That gave me the strength to open the doors and become one of the few ever to enter the princesses’ private quarters.
Luna was waiting for me as the doors closed. She bore healed scars from her fight against Chrysalis, and her face was a little harder than it had been before the war. She didn’t smile, but nor did she seem angry as I bowed and told her that I had come as requested... and asked if she knew that I had helped Chrysalis get the Control Crystal.
She nodded.
With sweat on my brow, I asked if I was to be punished for what I had done.
Luna said that, no, I wasn’t. She had learned how I had been blackmailed and forced to act, and would not hold it against me.
I could have melted into the floor with relief, but Luna said there was still the matter of my transformation to settle. I took off my coat and pants, revealing my robotic body for Luna to see. She inspected it for several minutes, but my horn was of great interest to her. She asked if I remembered what I had been told about becoming an alicorn.
I did, and I asked if she was going to have the horn removed.
It was silent in the room as Luna pondered my question. She finally said that while her opinion hadn’t changed, it was interesting that I had carried the horn for over a year without any ill effects. Every other pony who had tried had not been so fortunate. Perhaps, she told me, there was something about this horn – or me – that merited further study. I would be allowed to keep the horn (on the condition that it would be removed at the first sign of trouble) and trained in the art of wielding magic. It would, she said, be an excellent study to see if earth ponies could adapt to casting magic.
I had to grab a chair to keep from falling.
There was one last matter to resolve, Luna told me. The public knew that cyborgs existed, but had yet to learn my identity. Luna wanted to avoid a repeat of the Medicomp fiasco, and said that she would take charge of my public reveal, so as to show that cyborgs were not inherently dangerous. Thus, Luna asked if I wanted to become her representative to go throughout Equestria to show this latest advancement in technology.
When I found my voice again, I asked Luna if she was serious. Why would she pick me, the pony who had inadvertently destroyed Genesis and led to the worst battle in Equestria's history?
Luna pointed out that I was the only one of my kind. There were no others she could enlist. But she also pointed out that I had seen what this new technology could do. I knew the importance of using it wisely, and proving to others that I wasn’t a monster.
With a smile, Luna asked me if I wanted the job.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. I had gone to the castle with the fear of the princess removing my horn or doing something deplorable, and here she was, giving me the opportunity to work for her. I immediately asked if this meant I would be working with Princess Celestia. Luna said I eventually would; Celestia was still recovering from having most of her magic and life force drained. But I didn’t care how long it would take; the fact that it would eventually happen was enough to make me feel giddy, a feeling that grew when Luna said that I would also be living at the castle so I could be ready to depart at a moment’s notice.
Working for the princess, living at the castle, and eventually working with Celestia herself. It was a dream come true, and like anyone would do when given such an opportunity, I accepted it without hesitation.
Beakbreaker was waiting for me when I exited Luna’s room, anxious to know how it had gone. It was one of the most satisfying moments of my life to tell her about my new job, and she was as surprised as I was. I was grilled all the way back to the heliport about what I would do, and more importantly, when I would start. The princess had given me a week to get ready and tidy up my affairs. Or, as I saw it, to close the door on a chapter of my life.
I was delighted and more than a little proud that Beakbreaker was happy for me. And yet, there was a sadness about her. Beakbreaker assured me that nothing was wrong, that she was just a little shocked about what was happening.
With my new assignment looming, I turned my attention to putting my affairs in order. Gusty was still available to help us, and after I made a brief stop at one of Canterlot’s less visited buildings, he flew Beakbreaker and me to Saddle Lanka. There was no joy in returning to my childhood home; stepping through the door and seeing all my parent’s things was almost too much, but Beakbreaker was once again my anchor. With her help, I was able to manage my parents' estate, including selling off my mother’s shop and the house itself. I had no desire to keep either; it was hard enough to go through the home and take photo albums and a few trinkets and treasures that held sentimental value. But after everything that had happened, I could never again go into the house again without being overwhelmed by grief and tears.
After two days I had gathered everything I wanted to keep. The rest of my parents’ possessions would be sold in an estate sale before the house was put on the market. I checked the basement and found a massive steel door welded across the entrance to the caves beneath the mountain, the numerous locks and chains ensuring it would not be opened ever again. Just for safety, I contracted a construction company to fill up the basement with concrete, so that no one else would be tempted to go down there again.
With the house ready, and my mother’s store about to be sold, I had one last duty to fulfill... and it was the hardest one of all.
Despite not being tended to for over a year, my mother’s garden was as beautiful as ever as I went to two trees where my parents had enjoyed many lazy afternoons in a hammock. It was there that I dug a deep hole and took the ashes of my parents and placed them inside. It took me several minutes before I could finally place the soil and dirt back in place.
I sat there as the sun set, Beakbreaker holding me tightly as I struggled not to weep.
With my business concluded in Saddle Lanka, all I needed to do was return to Manehattan and manage what little businesses I had there. But I instead turned my focus to Beakbreaker. She had done so much for me without asking anything in return, and I wanted to return the favor. Thus, I asked Beakbreaker if there was anything I could do to help her.
It took Beakbreaker a few minutes to answer, for she had to confront something she had pushed to the side for so long. She told me that with tending to my recovery, and the needs of Medicomp’s patients, she had never found the time to put her parents to rest.
With Gusty piloting his ship, we made record time in reaching Beakbreaker’s homeland. Unlike the last time we had come here, I was with her as she stepped off the ramp and headed to her old village. It was like she had described it to me: sitting at the base of a small mountain and surrounded by fields of grass. In its prime it would have been full of life, but the scars of war remained: most of the homes were damaged, and only a few zebras had returned to live there.
I stayed with Beakbreaker as she reunited with her old neighbors and friends and carried out the difficult job of telling them what happened with her parents. Everyone in the village then joined Beakbreaker at the communal graveyard beside the mountain, where the dead had been laid to rest for centuries under tall groves of trees that stretched higher than any others upon the grassy plains. A small ceremony was held as a grave was dug, and small wooden figures of Beakbreaker’s parents were laid inside, stand-ins for bodies that had gone with Genesis to the bottom of the sea.
I remained to the side during the ceremony, not wanting to intrude on such a sacred moment. But when the village leader sing a farewell song, Beakbreaker began to cry. I went to her and held her as she had held me, wishing I could do more to comfort her. But I knew that, in a way, there was little I could do. Like me, she had lost her parents before their time.
We were both orphans.
***
We didn’t stay long after the funeral was complete. Beakbreaker bid farewell to her neighbors and childhood friends, and then Gusty was once again flying us back to Manehattan. When we arrived at the Medicomp building, the two of us bid Gusty a fond farewell as he flew back to Canterlot.
Figuring that we both needed a break after bidding our parents a final goodbye, I suggested to Beakbreaker that we go out to eat. Grateful for something to take her mind off things, Beakbreaker said she liked the idea, but wanted to try something a little more intimate. After going out to get some food, she returned, and we ate dinner on the rooftop, surrounded by the glow of Manehattan’s countless lights. And when the meal was finished, we lay on a sofa, watching the stars twinkling above us.
I was content to lie there and enjoy the breeze, along with the quiet sound of muted traffic far below us. Beakbreaker was the same.
The silence was eventually broken when Beakbreaker asked if I was looking forward to my new job. I noticed a hesitation in her question and asked her what was wrong. Beakbreaker hesitated for a long moment, and then confessed that though she was happy for me, she was also afraid. When I left for Canterlot, she said, she was going to be alone.
Feeling like a dunce for not realizing what had been wrong, I immediately assured Beakbreaker that we’d be able to work something out. After all, it would be unrealistic for me to stay in Canterlot all the time; I could fly out to Manehattan in less than a day when we wanted to get together. It wasn’t as if I was moving to the moon or some faraway country.
I had hoped my assurances would put Beakbreaker at ease, but it didn’t. Scooting closer, Beakbreaker quietly told me that despite all her achievements and triumphs, she wanted something more meaningful in her life. Oh, she had the knowledge that she had helped so many regain wings, legs, and their mobility after terrible accidents, but she wanted someone to share her life and accomplishments with. Even after so many years, she remembered what her parents had told her before she had first set out for Manehattan: When all the fame and treasures of the world leave you, the only thing left will be those you love, and who love you.
As if embarrassed to say it out loud, Beakbreaker whispered that after everything we had gone through, I meant more to her than anything in the world.
Sliding her legs around me, Beakbreaker held me close, her voice quivering as she said she never wanted to lose me again.
It took a moment to gather myself, and I put my legs around Beakbreaker and pulled her close as well.
I whispered that I didn’t want to lose her, either.
We said nothing more, lying together as we watched the stars.
***
As I went to bed that night, I thought about what Beakbreaker had told me. I didn’t get a wink of sleep, but for once my insomnia was not from worry or fear; I was too busy to sleep as I pondered a thought that had long been in my mind. And when Beakbreaker woke up the following morning, I was already in the kitchen with breakfast waiting for her. She was delighted, as I hoped she would be, and I wished her well as she headed off to work.
The moment the front door closed, I rushed to my room and made several calls. When the arrangements had been made, I got dressed and headed upstairs to meet with my old boss. Our first meeting after so many years was a little awkward; I didn’t blame Coin Counter for being uncomfortable, given our history together. But we soon settled in as I went to business, asking him a very important question. It took quite a few hours of talking and negotiating (and a little application of my charm), but I finally persuaded him to agree to my proposal.
All that remained was to find a most important item. Making sure my wings and body were covered up to avoid any unwanted attention, I rushed onto Manehattan’s busy streets, where I spent the rest of the day combing through the shopping district in search of a most important object. There were many to be found, but none matched what I was looking for. And as the afternoon came to an end, I began to fear that I wouldn’t find it... but then I did. It was in the final shop I visited; I don’t know what caught my eye, but it just felt right, as if it had been created just for me at this point in my life. I immediately bought it and raced back to Beakbreaker’s apartment, managing to get inside before she got off for the day.
When Beakbreaker came inside, tired and happy to cast off her lab coat, I suggested that we go out to eat, and at a restaurant this time. As I hoped, Beakbreaker agreed. When she asked where we were going, I just smiled and asked her to trust me.
We took a cab to a restaurant on the outskirts of Manehattan’s upper class district. It was fancy, yet not so expensive as to break the bank when the bill came. Beakbreaker was curious as we went inside, and her puzzlement grew as we sat in a booth near the window. I asked her what was wrong, and she said the place seemed familiar. I told her that was no coincidence: it was the restaurant where we had first met, and we were sitting in the same booth where we had first talked to each other.
Beakbreaker blushed as the memory came back. And as we ate our food, she joked about how so much had changed since that night. And as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, Beakbreaker asked if there was any reason I had brought us there.
I told her that yes, there was. I asked if she wanted to come to Canterlot with me. Medicomp had an office there, and we could remain close even as we worked.
Beakbreaker was shocked. When she finally found her voice, she asked me if I could really do that. I told her I already had. I had called Canterlot and asked if she could live with me, and they said yes. I had persuaded Coin Counter to let her move and be in charge of the Canterlot office.
All Beakbreaker had to do was accept the offer.
Choking up, and with tears in her eyes, Beakbreaker joked that it wasn’t every day someone was invited to live in an actual, honest-to-Celestia castle with princesses, much less the princesses. And when I asked her once more if she was interested, she almost squealed as she said yes. Her mouth went into overdrive, saying she’d pack the moment we got back, and that she’d spend the next few days getting her affairs in order.
I let her talk, waiting until she had calmed down before revealing that there was another reason I had bought us there.
Puzzled, Beakbreaker asked what that was.
I tried to quiet my heart as I told Beakbreaker that I had been thinking of her since before the war began, and especially when I had gone to prison. Her memory had helped keep me sane in that dark place, and all I could think about was getting back to her. And we had. No matter the circumstances, no matter the obstacles, we had always found our way back to each other.
I told Beakbreaker that perhaps we were meant to be together.
In a heartbeat, Beakbreaker realized what I was saying.
Her hooves went to her mouth.
Taking a small box from the pocket of my coat, I took a deep breath, knelt, opened the box, and asked Beakbreaker the most important question of my life.
***
There are days in our lives that we all long for: days when we finally get opportunities we've worked and sweat and bled for, and days when our dreams - sometimes decades in the making - finally come true.
For me, that day has finally come.
In the two weeks since I asked Beakbreaker a question, she and I have moved from Manehattan to Canterlot. We’ve settled into a good-sized apartment near the castle, and Beakbreaker has easily moved into her new job as both manager and head researcher of Medicomp’s Canterlot office. She enjoys the work, and having others she can teach and instruct. Even better, she was able to get a new body constructed for me, this one almost identical to the one Glasseye gave me, but with artificial skin that matches my old coat.
Only a day after my body was complete, Princess Luna held a press conference outside the castle and finally revealed me to the world. As expected, the reaction was quite mixed. Seeing a pony with a body of steel and gears was a shock to everyone, and doubly so when they learned that the pony behind the Manehattan incident was the recipient. But with Luna sponsoring me, the crowds were more interested than fearful. And on my first tour, I was careful to present myself as humbled and honored with such a gift. The first tour of Equestria went far better than the one I took years ago, and from the articles in the paper, it seems ponykind might be more open to the idea of these bodies than they were with wings. There’s no way to prove it, of course, but I like to think that getting used to wings and legs has made it easier for everyone to be open to the idea of a cyborg.
It’s satisfying to see the curious looks on everyone’s faces on tour, and to behold their wonder as they touch me and my artificial wings. In time, we’ll be able to convince everyone that a new age of medical advancement has dawned. Of that, I have no doubt. But I’m not interested in that day. I’m not interested in awards, recognition, or articles about me in the papers. A long and painful chapter of my life has come to an end, and another has begun, this one full of hope and promise... but before I can begin it, there’s one last thing I need to do.
Standing before a mirror, I adjust my tie
A clock ticks. It's a few minutes to midnight.
It's time.
Breathing deeply, I walk out of the sitting room and into Canterlot’s royal gardens. They’re beautiful during the day, but they take on an otherworldly beauty at night, with fireflies dancing among the flowers and trees. I follow a path through the gardens to a small clearing among the trees, where a pony and a zebra wait for me.
Beakbreaker can’t stop smiling as I take my place beside her, her black dress shimmering like the stars above.
Taking out an an old book, Luna opens it and begins to recite words that are known far and wide. But I can barely focus on them: my gaze keeps turning to Beakbreaker. I wish her parents were here to see this.
I wish mine were, too.
Luna turns a page and continues to speak.
I always imagined this moment playing out differently: my mother and father would be here, dressed in their finest clothes, smiling as their son took one of the biggest steps of his life. My father would beam, and my mother would cry, as mothers always do.
That dream is gone. Life hasn’t turned out the way I wanted, and for a moment I feel a deep sadness within me.
Beakbreaker doesn’t notice the tears dripping down my cheeks.
Breathing deep, I wipe the tears away. I won’t let sadness ruin this moment. My dreams didn’t turn out the way I wanted... but as my mother once told me, life never goes the way we want. All we can do is make the most of what we’ve been given. That’s what Celestia would do. She would gently let go of dreams that can’t come true and focus on those that can. I will, too... and there’s one dream I’ve had ever since the day when Beakbreaker held my hoof on a train to Canterlot.
It's time for that dream to come true.
Finishing her speech, Princess Luna asks me a question. I’m so choked up that I can barely get my answer out, but I do.
Pleased, Luna asks Beakbreaker the same question.
Beakbreaker can barely speak as she nods, tears falling as she says yes.
Smiling, Luna closes her book and gives her official proclamation.
I reach out to Beakbreaker, and she reaches to me.
We look deep into each others eyes... and we smile.
Together, under the light of Luna's moon, we share our first kiss as husband and wife.