The Second Miracle
The day after the festival ended, I saw my parents to the train station, promising that I would come and visit during Hearth's Warming Eve. After all, they had come to visit me, so it was only fair for me to do the same at the next major holiday. And as the train headed off down the tracks, I waved goodbye, pondering what that visit would be like. Would I still be Silverspeak the Earth pony? Or would my parents see their son carrying wings upon his back? Only time would tell.
With my parents heading home, I turned my attention to the new challenge of getting wings. While offering more possibilities then my previous endeavors, I faced the problem of convincing Beakbreaker to look into making them, as she probably wouldn't be keen to embark on such a lengthy project so soon after her last one. If I was going to convince her, I needed evidence to prove that it would be a worthy endeavor. It'd be difficult, but if the need arose, I could use my charm on Beakbreaker, and...persuade her to take the challenge. It was an uncomfortable thought, but if I wanted to get any closer to my dreams, I might have had no choice.
I hoped it wouldn't come to that.
***
I spent the next few weeks preparing my pitch for Beakbreaker, and was ready to go when she invited me to have lunch with her at the company cafeteria. We were both late, but when I saw that no one else was around, I knew the time was perfect for me to make my move.
“So,” I asked. “How's the newest batch of legs coming along?”
“Very well," Beakbreaker said. "Another week, and then I'll be doing so many surgeries to attach them."
"Then what?"
"Oh, keep repeating the process, I suppose."
"Have you thought about doing research on anything else?" I made the most charming face I could. "Like wings, perhaps?”
“Oh, sweet Celestia, we're not back to that, are we? Silverspeak, I told you, I can't do wings.”
“I remember you saying you couldn't do horns. You didn't say wings were impossible.”
“If I didn't know better, I'd say you were obsessed with them."
"Well, I want you to succeed," I said. "When I was preparing all those proposals and speeches, I did a lot of reading on Equestrian scientists, and I noticed something: when they managed something giant, something that defines their whole career, they usually stop. They figure they've proven themselves, or they're too afraid to try something else and fail. I don't want that to happen to you.”
"That's a long way from happening," Beakbreaker told me. "Besides, there's still so much work to do: the legs have to be tweaked and perfected, we need to streamline the growth process, and finalize therapies for post-op work.”
The debate had begun, and I quickly realized that Beakbreaker wasn't going to be easily persuaded. I could have used all my memorized reasons for creating the wings, but I didn't have time. The lunch period was ending, and I didn't want to drag out the process of persuading Beakbreaker over several weeks or months. With a heavy heart, I realized that my best strategy was to play my trump card early, and overwhelm Beakbreaker's defenses before she could mount them.
Telling myself that it was for a good cause, I turned on the charm.
“Those are valid reasons to keep going,” I said. “But you have so much potential and talent. If you keep pushing yourself, I really think you could become the most famous scientific mind Equestria has ever seen.”
“Oh Silverspeak, don't be silly. I––”
“Think about it,” I said. “If you could manage wings, then you could bring hope to all the pegasus ponies out there. You could make their worst nightmare a thing of the past. If they lost their wings, they wouldn't be grounded for the rest of their lives. The nightmare of an entire race would be gone!”
Beakbreaker said nothing, but she inched forward in her chair, intrigued.
I had hooked her.
“I remember what you said about the horns, and how it's impossible to make them. But what if you manage to find a way while working on the wings? If you could manage that, and perfect a method for creating naturally grown horns, then you would have single-handily created legs, wings, and horns for all ponies. Can you imagine how incredible that would be? You would usher in a new era; you would single-hoofidly make prosthetics obsolete. You'd be the greatest medical scientist Equestria has ever seen!”
I paused to let my words sink in, then hit with the killing blow. “You've already started the process. Why not take it all the way to the end?”
A strange thing happened: I had thought I would need to use my charm throughout the conversation, but halfway through, I found I didn't need to. The thought of Beakbreaker pulling off both wings and horns was tremendously exciting. True, I wanted those wings and horns for myself, but at the same time, that technology would make Beakbreaker famous, and help so many other ponies. It would be a win-win-win situation for everyone, and benefit everyone for ages to come.
But if I played my cards right, I'd be the first to reap the rewards.
“That's... that's a lot to contemplate,” Beakbreaker finally said. “I'll... I'll have to think about it.”
I nodded, taking care to neither be disappointed or happy. I had done my part, and planted the seed of an idea.
All I could do was wait to see if it would grow.
***
Nothing more was said about the wings for several days. I wasn't anxious at first, figuring that Beakbreaker was just taking her time. But after a week, I got concerned. Whenever I passed by her at work, she gave no clue or indication of what she was thinking. It was tempting to ask about what she thought of my idea, but I remained silent, figuring it would be counter-productive to show that I was anxious.
My waiting paid off when she came to my office two weeks later and knocked on the door. “May I come in?” When I nodded, she pulled up a chair and sat down. “I've been thinking about what you've said,” she told me. “And while I don't like the idea of spending several years in the lab, I think you're onto something.”
I pretended to be surprised. “Oh?”
“The past few days, I've been going over my data, and what literature there is about wings, looking to see if they're feasible... I think they might be.”
It took most of my willpower not to leap up and cheer.
“Now, that was on my own time. If we're going to go any further on this, we need to set up a meeting with the higher-ups and get both approval and funding. You think you can write a proposal?”
I pulled one from my drawer. “Already done.”
Beakbreaker was surprised. “Really?”
“Things were a bit slow this week, so I decided I might as well write one up in case something like this happened.” I explained.
Beakbreaker took the proposal, looked it over, and nodded as she read. “Only a few things I'd change, but this is actually pretty good... do I have anything scheduled for this afternoon?”
I checked. “No.”
“See if you can schedule a get-together with the CEO's. Might as well work to get the ball rolling.”
Scribbling a few suggestions on the proposal, Beakbreaker left me to my work, and I went like a madpony, quickly sending out notes to the CEO's and adding the suggested changes to the proposal. It seemed destiny was on my side that day, for I had scheduled the meeting for later that afternoon. When it came around, Beakbreaker appeared in her finest medical wear, took the revised proposal, and headed up to our corporate overlords upstairs.
Was I nervous? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but I highly doubted Medicomp would turn down an opportunity to make even more bits, and especially if the opportunity was coming from their most famous scientist. Still, there was a gnawing sensation I couldn't get rid off, the feeling that something wasn't quite right. Perhaps it was my conscience, reminding me that I was treading a very fine line. It was one thing to make a suggestion, but something else to quietly steer an entire company to make what I wanted. And just how would Beakbreaker react if she discovered that I was influencing her just to make my dreams a reality?
I didn't have time to finish that thought, for Beakbreaker came back into my office, having spent just an hour upstairs, and looking mighty pleased with herself. “Congratulations Silverspeak,” She said. “Thanks to you, we now officially have the go-ahead to start research on wings.
I grinned.
***
With the company backing her up, it was easy for Beakbreaker to jump from working on legs to working on wings. There was still work to be done on her original project, but Beakbreaker turned it over to her assistants, and by the end of the week, work was officially underway on creating replacement wings. Much like before, life settled into an entirely predictable pattern: Beakbreaker all but retreated into the world of the laboratory while I was once again plunged into the heart-pounding life of writing reports and summaries for CEO's. In one of my earliest notes to the higher-ups, Beakbreaker said that due to the more delicate nature of wings over legs, she had no idea how long research and development would take, emphasizing that it could be anywhere from a few years, to even a decade before they got results. She wasn't kidding; for five months she labored away in her lab, working day and night, leaving only to sleep and perform the next round of leg replacement surgery when the next batch was ready. Her entire waking world was confined to the laboratory; she even took her meals and restroom breaks in there.
Being mostly limited to my office, I didn't see Beakbreaker all that much during those months. The few times I did, she always had a look of excitement on her face; even on days when things didn't go as planned, she wasn't going to let a few setbacks stop her, no matter the cost. I was pleased to see her working with such vigor, but I wondered how it would affect her health. Coin Counter and the other higher-ups didn't help: unlike the legs, in which they largely stayed upstairs and let Beakbreaker do her work, they began to come down to the lab to check up on how things were going. They were smart enough to not make uninformed suggestions, but they were eager for results, and wanted an even more successful repeat of the legs, which continued to sell at a phenomenal rate.
As we drew close to the one year mark for the project, I noticed that Beakbreaker's mood was improving. She had the look of a pony who could see the end of a long journey ahead, and the daily reports revealed why: there were marked improvements in muscles, nerves, and especially in having feathers grow in correctly. We were finally given a timeline for the first prototype. While Beakbreaker didn't have a confirmed date, she was able to say that it would be sometime within the next two months.
That date came sooner than I thought.
As one long day came to an end, I was preparing to head home when Beakbreaker entered, giddy and looking about. “Is anyone else around?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “Why?”
“Perfect. Follow me.”
I didn't know what was going on, but I had the sense that something big awaited me within the lab. Thus, I eagerly followed Beakbreaker inside. And as it turned out, I was right.
Lying upon a table before me was a large container of blue gel, and within, a pair of wings.
“The first prototype,” Beakbreaker said proudly.
I walked up, awestruck. Just a year before, the dream of wings was just a dream, the fantasies of a pony who wanted to be more then he was. And now, here they were.
I ran my hoof over the container, peering longingly at the wings within. Much like the legs that had preceded them, they looked perfect. "So, what's left to do?” I asked. “Putting real muscles in?”
Beakbreaker grinned. “Oh no. Everything's in. Nerves, sinew, muscles, blood vessels, they're all there. All we need is a pony who's lost their wings, and we can proceed to the testing phase.”
I almost volunteered myself for the procedure right then and there, but managed to stop myself even as I opened my mouth to speak. I had been fortunate to get Beakbreaker to work on the wings at all, and proposing myself as the test subject would be going too far. Besides, these were prototypes; despite their apparent perfection, there could have been flaws or mistakes that needed to be ironed out. I didn't want to take to the skies, only for them to fail mid-flight.
Biting my tongue, I remained quiet. I would have to bide my time once again.
***
As could be expected, the Medicomp higher-ups were ecstatic when Beakbreaker showed them the prototype. Months of waiting, investing and being not a little-too-patient had finally yielded results, and the call went out among the staff for any pegasi who had lost their wings. One of Beakbreaker's fellow scientists had a neighbor who had been forced to undergo amputation after colliding with a tree and mangling her wings beyond repair. She came in a few days later, all too eager to try these new wings out. I couldn't blame her; while I envied pegasi and unicorns for their abilities, the loss of their gifts could be devastating. To lose a horn or wings was, in some ways, worse than death. Unicorn horns could grow back, but it was a process that could take years, sometimes decades. Pegasi have it worse, as their wings can't grow back. While they could get magical replacements, they were temporary at best, and the metal prosthesis available are crude and cumbersome.
The chance of getting new wings was something no crippled pegasi could pass up.
With the patient chosen,it was time to proceed to the all-important surgical attachment. With the surgical room filled, and the patient put to sleep, Beakbreaker went to work. But unlike the legs, this was so much harder, due to the more complex and intricate network of nerves, tissue, and sinew that needed to be put in place. Not only did she have to rip out the patient's atrophied wing muscles, she then had to insert the new ones and ensure that they were correctly lined and attached to the surrounding muscles and bones, lest they be ripped out mid-flight.
Attaching legs was fairly simple, and with practice Beakbreaker had shortened the procedure to two hours. But with wings, it took five hours. And for those of us in the audience, it was nerve wracking knowing that a single mistake or slipped scalpel could ruin everything. I can only imagine what it must have been like for Beakbreaker, who had to work all that time without a break, relying on her assistants for everything, including wiping the sweat from her eyes. But before I knew it, the five hours were gone, and Beakbreaker was finishing the final stitch, and collapsed into a chair as the patient was wheeled away. She had done her part, and all we could do was wait and see if the patient's body would accept the wings.
After spending the week in a medically induced coma to let her body heal, the patient was finally awoken. Beakbreaker and the higher-ups all feared the worst, but the universe was in a good mood that day. When the patient awoke and tried her wings, they moved perfectly. Any visitor to Medicomp that day would have heard the celebrations taking place throughout the tower.
As could be expected, the patient was eager to get going and jump back into the sky after being grounded for so many years. While she was warned that a full recovery could take a long time, she wasted no time in physical therapy, and was spending her days in the tower's gym, doing her utmost to work her new muscles to full strength. I was there to watch, eager to see how fast she would progress, and see the results of my hard work. She had no idea, of course, but it was because of me that the patient had gotten this far. I was going to watch every step of her progress, knowing that, given time, it would be me down on that track. I was there to see every inch of progress, every additional second of air time. I never missed a session.
Because of that, I was there the day everything fell apart.
None of us saw it coming. The patient, making great strides, had gone from jogging around the track, to steadily cruising for a few minutes at a time, all within two months. She still had a long way to go, but at the rate she was going, anything seemed possible. But on that day, she was too eager and too confident, wanting to rush ahead, safety limits cast aside.
After completing a few laps at slow speeds, she took a short break, trotting around the gym. From my place at the observation deck, I watched as she continued on, and then ran, going faster and faster. From so high up, I could see the mischievous grin on her face as she leapt and spread her wings, pounding them as fast as they could go. In seconds, she was going faster then she had ever managed before. For a few moments, she was as free as she had been years before, ready to take to the skies.
Then it happened. Her grin vanished. Her wings stiffened, and then locked up, sending her crashing to the floor, where she grabbed her back and howled in agony.
When the news came back from surgery a few hours later, it was the worst possible outcome. The stress of the shoulders being forced to go full blast so suddenly had torn the implanted muscles to shreds, leaving the patient with a bare back, her precious, ruined wings removed once again.
Everyone was devastated. The patient, the therapists, the CEO's, but most of all, Beakbreaker. After all her successes, this was her first real failure, and to have it happen on a patient made it so much harder. But that only redoubled her efforts to make the muscles stronger. She went back into her lab and didn't come out for three days, not even to sleep or eat. On the fourth, she emerged, barely able to stand as she told me to write an update for Coin Counter. The next batch of muscles had been pumped full of steroids and growth hormones, making them at least twenty percent stronger then before, and less likely to tear themselves apart.
With the message passed to me, she collapsed to the floor and passed out. I had to carry her to her apartment, where she slept for almost two days. And while she did, her fellow scientists checked the muscles, and confirmed that they were stronger than before. It wasn't long before the patient had her second surgery, and when she woke a week later, found her new wings working as well as the last. It was back to physical therapy for her, but there was no brashness this time. She was slower and more cautious, eager to avoid a repeat of her past impatience.
For six long months, the patient worked to regain her strength. Her pace was slow, but her progress was undeniable. At the two month mark, she was cruising for short distances. At three months, she could hover for almost five minutes instead of one, and at four months she could cruise for ten minutes instead of two. All the while, Beakbreaker and I watched, anxious at her progress. Beakbreaker feared that the muscles could fail at any moment, and the process would have to start again. But it was much more personal for me: if the muscles failed, so would my dream. All my efforts, persuasion, and work to ensure that things went the way I wanted, would have been for nothing.
Finally, almost a year after the surgery, the day finally arrived for our patient to do her final test and see if she had fully healed. The observation room was packed, and I was barely able to peer out the window as the patient started her tests, measuring her hovering capabilities, flight speed, maneuverability, and all the other attributes that pegasi use in flight. For three long hours I watched, constantly holding my breath, hoping against hope that everything was going to turn out all right.
At the end of the tests, the patient finished up her hour of laps around the gym, and wiped herself off with a towel, not having worked that hard since before her accident.
Her therapists, after giving her a mug of water, asked the all-important question: How did she feel?
The patient thought for a long moment, and then burst into a grin, saying that it was like her accident had never happened.
Within an hour, I was writing a new speech for Coin Counter to announce Medicomp's next miracle.
***
Medicomp has been the leading medical innovator in Equestria for the past several decades, making an enormous breakthrough once every ten years or so, but never before had they announced two within a few years of each other. The company, and the public, were thrilled beyond words. The firestorm of excitement, having tapered down after the legs, now roared back, blazing like an inferno. Within a week, orders for wings had skyrocketed beyond Medicomp's wildest dreams, until the waiting list was almost ten years long. They even got some orders from griffons and other similar species.
I watched it all, in that lovely position of being anonymous, able to walk around without anyone recognizing who I was, something Beakbreaker and the CEO's couldn't enjoy. No one knew that I was one of those responsible for this second miracle, letting me wander the streets and listen to conversations in restaurants, bars, and stores. Almost everyone was in favor of these changes, especially after seeing long-crippled relatives literally flying out of depression or lethargy that had consumed them, body and soul.
Not only was approval for the wings high, but there was the sense that change was in the air. If Medicomp had created legs and wings, then what was next? It was an exciting time for society, and for me. It was wonderful to watch pegasi get their wings back, and flying away from Medicomp to enjoy a life that had been taken from them, never failing to whoop in sheer joy, or to spin and do loop-de-loops as they sailed into the wild blue yonder. I smiled every time it happened, and with so many ponies getting wings, and with no reports of injuries or failed muscles coming in, I had every reason to be pleased.
It seemed that the time had finally come to ask Beakbreaker the big question.
***
The day finally came. I couldn't have asked for a prettier one, for it was an unnaturally beautiful day for Manehattan. I wasn't even nervous as I headed to work, for years of working and biding my time were about to pay off. I was on top of the world, and nothing was going to stop me.
At least, that’s what I thought.
The first sign of trouble was seeing so many police officers at the front of the Medicomp building. “Excuse me,” I asked the closest officer, “what's going on here?”
“You work here?”
“Yes.” I showed him my company badge.
“There was a break-in last night; group of unicorns tried to get into the labs. We think they were after those fancy new wings.”
I couldn't stop my panic, but I was able to get under control quickly. “Did they get in?!”
“No. Security devices detected them, and they fled like jackrabbits.”
Relieved, I suddenly remembered that Beakbreaker had almost certainly been in the tower. “Was anyone hurt?”
“No.”
Relieved that my employer was safe, I wanted to go in and ask if she knew anything. “Can I go in?”
The officer shook his head. “Sorry, but nobody’s allowed in until we’ve finished our investigation.”
“You have any idea how long that’ll take?”
“We should be done by the end of the day, so hopefully you can go back to work tomorrow. I suggest you go and enjoy your day off.” One of the other officers came over, and the two walked away, working on some new part of their investigation.
Had I known what was coming, I would have been in a foul mood, but I was just relieved that the wings hadn’t been stolen. But then I began to wonder what the thieves had been thinking. Breaking into a library by yourself was one thing, but breaking into the headquarters of a giant corporation with much higher security, and with more then one pony? That was practically begging to be caught. And even if the burglars had gotten away, it made no sense. Why would they be that crazy?
Perhaps, I realized with a chill, someone shared my dream of becoming an alicorn.
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
601 users online
542,150 hits today, 1,223,141 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
2403302
Thank you!
YAY! New chapter!
Hope it isn't more trolling...
2420745
Nope, I promise it's not. We're done with that!
2420756 I know so. I was trolling with my comment.
Competition.
The desire to overcome those before you.
The driving force that convinces people to keep trying.
I hope Silver's ready for this.
After the troll chapter, here we are again... Nice chapter by the way
This I love.
Just one question. How old is SilverSpeak and Beakbreaker now? I mean, time frames keep jumping ahead, months and years pass by in a blink and it feels off kilter. I think both of them should be in their 30's now or something like that.
Why do I detect a beakbreaker and silverspeak marriage?
I found it interesting that Silverspeak seemed to imply that wings were being grown in pairs, unlike legs which could be grown individually. I assume it's because flight has a lot more technical differences than walking, and two mismatched wings would mess a flyer up a lot easier than one leg being a fraction shorter than another.
As if it wasn't hard enough, now he had to get past all the other ponies vying to become Alicorns.
Can't wait for the next chapter!
I love the rate this keeps moving at! So many fics can drag on or focus on things that don't matter for chapters and chapters. But you always manage to keep the fic moving at full steam ahead often leaving me wanting more; which is always a good thing I think.
I really have no guess as to what you have planned next, but no doubt those unicorns were looking to become Alicorns! The fall out for that could be pretty bad, guess we'll just have to wait and see
One mistake I noticed
Didn't know Beakbreaker also managed hands secretly.
This is going to be interesting. I am eager to read the end.
Oh my gosh.
I don't believe it. It's like you knew what I was thinking. Literally inches from the end, the thought just randomly popped into my head "what if a unicorn came in demanding wings?" Granted, you made it unicorns-trying-to-steal-wings but it's the same concept. You must be some kind of psychic. The shock that you nailed what I was thinking was nowhere near the shock of other ponies having the same dream. I mean, I literally hadn't thought of other ponies wanting to become Alicorns in this story until today and what do you know? That's the cliffhanger we end on here. Seriously, be it God, chance, or some weird star alignment, that coincidence is just too good.
Anyway.
I'll be honest, I found the first half a little slow. But I swear, it's like you saw that and said "Oh ye of little faith, let me hit you with a more-or-less twist!" I was going through it thinking it was a little boring then *BAM* the wings don't work. Then I perk up and I'm like "okay, you have my attention." And that ending, well... I know you can't confirm or deny this but gee, it looks like Silver's got some competition. If that's true, I wonder how he'll handle it. Like I said, I know you can't confirm or deny, and if you can, don't tell me, I want it to be a surprise.
Oh, and that 20% stronger thing. Did you just pick a number for that or are you referencing something...?
I squealed with excitement when I saw that a new chapter was up! This story is fantastic!
2420996
I don't have an exact age, but I figure that if both Silverspeak and Beakbreaker were humans, they'd be in their early to mid thirties, so you're pretty much spot on!
2422144
Thanks! It is indeed a balancing act trying to keep the story going without being too fast, or too slow, and hopefully it'll stay that way to the end!
2422178>>2422613
Whoops! Fixed! Thanks for pointing that out!
2423263
Heh, what a coincidence indeed! I can also understand what you say about the story being a tad slow, but that was an effort on my part to try and avoid rushing something this big/important. And yep, he's got competition in going for his dream. As for the 20% stronger, that's a little nod to Rainbow Dash's catchphrase.
2423309
Yay! Out of curiosity though, did you see it through Equestria Daily, or via an alert note here on Fim?
THE SUSPENSE!
I was listening to pony music on my phone and I read the line
and then this song came on
My mind was completely blown to smithereens.
Aaaaaaanyway, loving this as usual- whenever I'm reading this story I always have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. A feeling of real unease about what's happening and I can't help but feel that something will go deadly wrong. No other story has managed that to invoke that feeling of dread (except NIGEB, god that terrified me) and I commend you for that.
Oh shit son, somepony else might have the same idea as silverspeak
2427899
NIGEB?
Oh man, things are about to get nasty. The unicorns already have the lighter bone structures of pegasi (I think) and the horns. That means that every megalomaniac unicorn is going to be out for it, and Silver is going to have one heck of a time getting either wings or a horn. Unless, of course, he decides to take matters into his own hooves. . .
2432135
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/60407/nigeb
/\ That. It was done for the Equestria Daily Nightmare Night fanfiction competition thingy. I read a load of them at 3:00 a.m. in the pitch black because I love giving myself a good scare. Then, I read that one and it utterly terrified me. I still get a bit twitchy whenever I think about it....
2423818 Both, actually. But I saw it first in my email
2427899
Another happy coincidence? Nice! And thank you for the comment! It's actually an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as NIGEB!
2432324
Ah, okay. I've just been seeing a lot of people not getting notices about the updates on this site, so I was wondering how many do get them.
I've read the chapter... but I'm late from my concert. I'll be back soon to give in my thoughts xD
That moment when you catch up to the current chapter of a great fic in progress...
4.bp.blogspot.com/-mGJ44H7HZ2Y/UA_9ce4v6iI/AAAAAAAAAPc/mhdX9tXrByk/s1600/134229087437.jpg
2475768
Heh, that picture's getting saved. And don't worry, the next chapter should be out by the end of the week.
I've still got another chapter to go
Because nothing says suspicious like being prepared for a surprise. If I were Beakbreaker, I would start to question his enthusiasm cor my career.
The obvious next step is... Tails! Think of all the poor ponies who have lost their tails. It may not seem like it in the show, but tails are important to horses.
Dat ending. Oh, man.
The moment i got here i said this: FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!
And i am not exaggerating
Ah, finally we see visible corporate espionage fail in action...
I think you might mean unlike the 'legs' instead of wings, which they're actually working on. Otherwise, damn good stuff!
9548676
It never fails to amaze me that no matter how many times I've gone through this with proofreaders, errors still keep popping up. Still, thanks for catching that!
Beautiful twice.