Story of a cyborg pony

System boot up…

Running preliminary checks…

Downloading tasks for today…

Initializing…

“Another day of solitude,” I sighed.

It has been a few months since we’ve defeated Erikson. We cleaned out his labs & brought peace back to the region where he was in, but we still haven’t found a way to revert what he did to me. I wanted to see my friends, but I couldn’t because I might scare ponies. I wanted to see the mare of my dreams, but I don’t know how she would accept the new me. I couldn’t stand being forced into solitude.

“Machete, I can’t stay here for the rest of my life. Please let me see my friends again.”

“You know I can’t do that, Quick Shot,” Machete said. “We’re doing our best to change you back, but all of our efforts proved to be failures. We can't risk you scaring ponies.”

“Scaring ponies?! Are you serious? They’ve dealt with Nightmare Moon, Discord, Changelings, King Sombra, & Tirek! How would my appearance frighten them?”

Machete sighed. “Trust me on this, Quick Shot. We can’t risk anything at this moment. I’m sorry.”

“But I can't stay here on base for the rest of my life. There has to be something you can do,” I pleaded.

He shook his head & walked away to do some paperwork. I stood there in disbelief, knowing my life went to shambles due to a maniac. I went to the engineers & scientists everyday, hoping that they would have an answer to getting me back to normal again. Unfortunately, they had the same answer. The modifications done to my body were far from reversible. They told me that if they were to do anything to me now, the consequences could be devastating. I stayed in my barrack for days, distraught about what happened to me until I had an idea.

One night, I decided to start writing a letter to Applejack. If there was anypony that I wanted to talk to through all of this, it was her.

My letter said, “Dear Applejack, I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t been around lately or why it has taken me this long to contact you, but rest assured that I’m alive & roughly in one piece. Army life keeps me busy, but one of the main things that keeps me going is wanting to see you. I’ve missed seeing you & helping you on your farm. I do wonder how is it by the way. I really wish that I could be there to help you with apple bucking. I wish I could tell you what’s been going on, but it’s highly classified information that I can be put in jail for telling you. But what I think I can tell you is that I would like to see you again, & I would do anything to achieve it. Best wishes, Quick Shot.”

I went to the post office that same day & mailed the letter off. Days passed since I had sent it off. I was pacing in my barrack just hoping that she received it & hoped that she remembered me. Finally, after 4 days of waiting, I got a reply to my letter. I opened it up to read this,

“Dear Quick Shot, It has been many moons since I’ve talked to you. I thought y’all forgot about us or the worst happened. Anyways, it’s good to hear from ya. I’m getting ready for apple bucking season. We have a hefty harvest & could use the extra help. I would like to see you again as well. We have so much catching up to do. Hope to hear from ya soon.” -Applejack

She remembered me, I thought, and she wants to see me as well. But I don’t know what she would say when she sees what I’ve turned into. That same day, I went back to the engineers, hoping that they would’ve made some progress with getting me to look normal again to walk among ponies. They told me that they were at the same progress from 4 days ago. I asked if it would be possible for them to make another body for me & transfer my brain & conscious to it. Although the idea was full of good intentions, they said that it wouldn’t work since I’m not completely robot & there are still organic aspects about me, so a new body would & could never match. They told me that it was impossible to turn me back & that I am stuck like this forever.

Weeks passed as I was stuck on base. I’ve been talking to AJ again for a while & slowly felt like we were reconnecting. However, we were missing that face-to-face contact. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to go see her. I had to confess my love for her no matter what the cost. One night after lights out was called, I programed my charging station to act like I was on there. With a few extra battery cells on me, I could make it to Ponyville, try to talk to AJ, & hopefully explain to her what happened. When I got there, I landed in the west part of the orchard. It was the middle of the night, so no pony could see me. I asked her in one of our previous letters to hopefully talk to me. I waited for over an hour, till I heard some leaves crinkle.

“Is some pony there? If so, identify yourself,” I asked firmly.

“Relax, sugarcube. It’s just me,” a familiar voice said. “Ah still don’t understand why you asked me to come out this late.”

“It’s a long story, Applejack. I… had an accident, & well, the injuries were so severe that I’m not sure how you would react to seeing me like this,” I said cautiously

“Oh come now, Quick Shot. Ah’m sure you haven’t changed that much,” Applejack said, sitting down next to a tree. “Ah mean you sound the same to me in the flesh, & well, if y’all’s letters have told me anything is that you’re lonely.”

“AJ,” I said, sitting on the other side of the tree. “You honestly don’t know the half of it,”

She laughed. “Considering I’m the Element of Honesty, you can tell me what’s going on, Quick Shot”.

“I still don’t know AJ. It’s just I don't want you to look at me any differently than what I already am.”

“Trust me, sugarcube. It doesn’t matter what y’all look like on the outside. What matters is that y’all are the same pony on the inside & that whatever happened to you doesn’t change who ya are or how ya act. For all Ah care, you could’ve lost a limb, but if ya let it get’cha down, then ya weren’t strong to begin with. & Ah know ya are strong. Ah saw it in ya when you were helpin’ me on my farm, & I liked that about ya.”

My heart skipped a beat when she said that. For the first time in a long time, I felt happy. I felt like I didn’t have to hide who I was. We talked for a few more hours until she had to go get some sleep. I let her leave first, so she wouldn’t see me. I flew back to the base & got on my charger without being detected. The next morning, I was in the best mood I’ve ever been in. During target practice, I felt more energetic than how I usually did. The engineers didn’t understand why that was, but they were glad to see I was having better results than usual. When Machete heard about this, he came to see me.

“Quick Shot,” he said, walking up “I heard you’ve taken a turn for the better with your training exercises. What happened to cause this?”

“I guess I really had to take a long look at myself & just weigh the pros & cons,” I said.

“Well, I know these last few months have been a real challenge for you, & well, knowing that you’re permanently stuck like this can be a bummer, & I’m sorry,” Machete sighed

“I’ve been cooped up in here for 6 months. I had my hopes crushed & my spirit wither away in this hell hole. I can’t even leave to interact with other ponies because you’re afraid that they will be afraid of how different I look. After all that, all you have to say to me is that you’re sorry?”

Machete looked at him. “You know it isn’t like that.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I said. “What’s done is done, & we can’t change the past.”

I walked out before Machete could react. I decided to go back to my barrack & recharge for tonight. Later on, after lights out, I snuck out again. This time, I was determined to show AJ what I looked like no matter what. I landed in her orchard.

“Quick Shot?” she asked. “Are y’all here?”

“Yea, Applejack,” I said.

“Y’all said in ya letter that ya wanted to show me something?”

“Uhm yea… I just hope when I do show you that you don’t look at me differently,” I said nervously.

“Ah’m sure Ah wont,” she reassured me.

The moon shined bright. I walked out from the shadows & immediately had a spotlight shown on me.

Applejack looked up. “What in tarnation?!”

“Here he is, sir!” called a voice from above.

Machete landed in front of him. “I knew something was different about you, soldier.”

AJ looked around him & got a good look at Quick Shot.

“I couldn’t take being cooped up there on base any longer,” I pleaded.

“That doesn’t matter,” Machete scolded. “You disobeyed a direct order.”

“Quick Shot?” AJ looked.

“AJ,” I said. “I didn’t want this reintroduction to happen like this.”

“That’s enough out of you. Take him back to base!” Machete ordered.

“YES, SIR!” said some soldiers as they took him away.

“What did y’all do to him,” AJ said angrily.

Machete turned to her. “That isn’t any of your concern. Why don’t you mind your own business, & we’ll mind ours.”

“It’s mah business when it comes to mah friends,” she said, standing up for herself.

“I like you, but seriously mind your own business.” Machete flew off.

AJ sat there in disbelief to what just happened. “They turned mah friend into some machine,” she thought.

The next few days were hell. Quick Shot was under 24 hour supervision per Machete. He was only allowed to go to the shooting range, the engineer’s lab & his room. His productivity & motivation plummeted. Quick Shot didn’t talk or interact with anyone. All he heard was Machete saying, “It’s for his own good.” Machete worried about him & questioned if what he did was the right thing. As more time past, Quick Shot slowly started not to leave his barracks. A counselor was called to help him through this tough time; however, that proved to be useless. Quick shot remained in his depression until he got a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he said.

Princess Celestia walked in. “Hello Quick Shot.”

Quick Shot darted up & bowed before her. “Y-Your highness?! What can I do for you today?”

“Well, I was wondering how you were coping with your cyberization?” she asked.

“W-Well, if I’m being completely honest, I’m depressed,” he said. “I hate being cooped up in a place where I interact with nothing but scientists & machines. I miss that pony-to-pony contact. They say I’ll scare ponies with my appearance.”

“I see. What if I told you there’s one pony who wants to see you?” she asked.

“Who?” Quick shot asked.

Princess Celestia stepped to the side to allow AJ to run in & hug him. “She had contacted me & told me everything that you told her in your letters.”

“I… I don't know what to say,” he choked up.

“I’ll let you two be for now,” Princess Celestia said, walking out & closing the door.

“How did you do this?” he asked.

“Ah have mah ways,” AJ said. “But what’s important is that y’all are alright & somewhat in one piece.”

Quick Shot looked away. “I’m sure I have some explaining to do, don’t I?”

She turned his head back to her. “Sugarcube, those letters that y’all sent me reminded me of the sweet red stallion who came to mah farm looking for work before he went in the service. Y’all will always be the same pony to me no matter how much you change.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me,” Quick Shot said, smiling.

“& if y’all want to, ya can live on mah farm, so y’all can be around friends,” AJ smiled.

“I’m not sure if I can get that cleared with my commanding officer,” Quick Shot sighed.

“Let me worry about that. Ah’m sure the princess can be quite convincing to him.”

He smiled. “Alright, but can we just talk for now?”

“Sure, sugarcube,” she said, sitting on his bed.

Within a few days, I was released from the base. I stayed in the barn since they didn't have a room in the house itself. On most days, I’m helping Applejack buck apples & just keeping her company while she works. Other times, I have to go to Canterlot to make sure I haven’t gotten rusty. However, living on the farm has helped me with getting reacquainted in pony society. The CMC bring their friends to come see me, & I tell them what I do for a living & how I got this way. Twilight comes by to gather information on being cyberized, & other ponies come to just take pictures. All in all, talking to AJ was the best decision I made, & I couldn’t be any happier.