• Published 7th Mar 2012
  • 97,291 Views, 4,778 Comments

Hands - Andrew Joshua Talon



A slightly more realistic take on the "Human in Equestria" story concept... For a given value of "realistic."

  • ...
339
 4,778
 97,291

Eleven

Hands

A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

By Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fanbased work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro, and the reinvention of the lovely Lauren Faust. No copyright infringement is intended, please support the official release.

- - - - - -

Night fell across Equestria, and the stars came to life above us like the lights of a theater stage. The sky here is hard to describe when it's night. It's like... It's like a vast work of art stretching over your head, with changes in the hues and tones of the night itself from the deepest black to a sensual blue, highlighted by the stars that could serve as mere decoration, all the way to the focus of a particular spot.

I was reminded of my visit to the Clyfford Still Art museum in Denver. He was an abstract expressionist. It was a painting movement that sought to bring the viewer into the painting, to keep their eyes moving to take the whole thing in. They painted on large canvases to accomplish this, with multiple kinds of paint and even different textures.

On Equestria, the night sky was an artistic experience. I still couldn't believe that nobody back a thousand years ago had appreciated it.

"Andrew, get down!" Hissed Twilight. I knelt down further behind the wall we were hiding behind with a repressed sigh.

Well, it wasn't like I was getting a lot of appreciation out of it.

"Sorry," I whispered.

Twilight sighed, looking rather like Solid Snake in her latex catsuit. Pinkie Pie was right next to us, the hood on her suit pulled up to make her resemble a cat even more. Spike was also with us, wearing latex too though it didn't do much for him.

I had declined the body suit, electing to go with the dark jacket Rarity had finished for me. It was actually blue, so deep though that it looked black and it let me blend into the night. Add a hood and I was comfortably invisible from a certain distance.

"All right," Twilight said. "The archives are in there. We're looking for Starswirl the Bearded's section. We have to be careful though-The archives are well guarded."

I peeked over the wall. Yep, two guards at the entrance, two more patrolling the walled garden that surrounded the entrance.

"I count four," I said quietly. "So, we going in when the guard shifts?"

"No time," Twilight whispered back to me. "We need to move fast. Come on!"

Twilight and Pinkie vaulted over the wall, while Spike climbed it with a little difficulty. I just swung myself over, no real difficulties.

However, with my height I was obviously going to be spotted, so I got on all fours and crawled inelegantly after them.

"Beginning Virtuous Mission," I muttered.

"Hm?" Twilight whispered. I shook my head.

"Human reference," I explained. A quiet "eep!" sounded behind us, along with a thump, and we all turned to see-

"Fluttershy? What are you doing here?" Twilight whispered harshly. Fluttershy winced, rubbing her head. She too wore a latex catsuit.

"I wanted to help, to... To make up for..." She looked at me, I looked at her, then I looked over at Twilight. My girlfriend huffed.

"Fine, fine! Just be quiet," she hissed.

Fluttershy nodded and we continued on our way into the garden. We were passing by a statue of a rearing pony when Twilight froze.

"Guards! Hide!" Twilight hissed. She leaped up next to the statue and posed. Spike and Pinkie Pie... Covered their eyes. Fluttershy curled into a ball and covered her face with her wings. I stared in disbelief and facepalmed.

Doomed... Doomed... So doomed... Well it's not like they'll throw her in jail, she's the Princess's own student! Me though, what'll they do to me? I-

The guards came along, trotted... And totally ignored us. My jaw dropped as they passed, not even sparing us a curious glance. I looked over at Twilight.

"... Was... That supposed to happen?" I asked.

"I'm not complaining," Twilight said. "I-Pinkie! Spike!"

The two were licking ice cream cones. The pink pony looked up and shrugged.

"What?"

"Where did you keep those anyway?" I asked in increasing disbelief.

"Ice Cream Place," Pinkie said. She grinned at my flummoxed expression. "Ooh! Naughty, naughty, naughty thoughts!"

"Shhhh!" Twilight shushed her. "Come on guys! This is serious!"

"You know, they could go off and cause a distraction while we slip into the archives," I suggested.

"Oh, um, that sounds good to me, I'll join them-" Fluttershy said, but Twilight shook her head.

"I'm going to... To need another pair of eyes to investigate," she said reluctantly. "You can do that, right Fluttershy?"

"R-Right," she said. I gritted my teeth.

This just gets better and better...

"All right Pinkie, Spike, go off and be distracting!" Twilight ordered. Pinkie grinned.

"Distracting? That's my favorite thing to be!" She squealed. "Aside from Pinkie Pie!"

"Which is the same thing," I said dryly. Spike snickered, and hopped onto Pinkie's back.

"Let's go!" The dragon crowed. Off they went, galloping right up to the two guards at the entrance. Spike waved as Pinkie grinned.

"Tag! You're it!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully as she tagged one of the guards with her hoof. Spike blew a raspberry. The guards frowned.

"Hey!"

"Catch us if you can!" Spike taunted.

Pinkie Pie took off, bounding merrily away. The guards gave chase. Twilight, Fluttershy and I looked at each other. I let out a breath I was holding.

"Well... At least they're having fun," I said. Twilight nodded.

"Come on, let's go!"

- - - - - -

We sneaked across the lawn to a nearby window. Twilight's horn glowed briefly, and it unlocked. She pushed it open, and swung herself inside. I heard a thump and a grunt.

"You okay?" Fluttershy and I asked.

"I'm fine, just get in here!" Twilight called.

With a shrug, I pulled myself through the window, sliding down on my stomach and guiding myself to my knees with my hands. I slowly stood up as Fluttershy followed. All three of us stood in the hallway, archways that led into corridors lined with bookshelves in place about every eight meters.

"All right... All we have to do is find the Starswirl the Bearded section," Twilight said. I nodded.

"Good, good... Where is that, then?"

Twilight blinked. She shook her head. "No idea."

"What? Isn't there a-a guide to the archive? Some idea of where his stuff is? A sign?" I asked. Twilight scowled at me.

"Not here! Only those who are allowed access can-Oh no, somepony's coming!" Twilight lit up with magic, and quickly climbed the wall like Spider... Pony. Fluttershy slid her hooves underneath my shoulders, and flapped her wings hard to get us airborne.

A guard trotted around the corner, his horn glowing to provide illumination. He passed on by below us, as Fluttershy beat her wings almost frantically.

"I'm not that heavy, am I?" I muttered to her.

"Maybe a little... Um... I think it's mostly muscle," she said.

"I wasn't that concerned with that," I said flatly.

We descended, Fluttershy slowly letting me down. Though she did nuzzle my neck as we did, making my cheeks flush red.

Twilight must have noticed, as I felt a telekinetic grip on my collar as she pulled me over.

"Hup! Twilight-"

"Shhh! I'm checking you for injuries," Twilight hissed, pulling my head down as she put her face close to mine. I sighed as she nuzzled my nose.

"That's not checking me for injuries," I said, a bit resigned.

"No... No it isn't," Twilight said flatly. "At this stage though, I don't care," she scowled over my shoulder at Fluttershy, who winced. "Now come on!"

We headed down the hallway, quietly, quietly. We looked through numerous hallways and rooms, vast archives of knowledge. The whole place had a very pleasant smell to it-Paper and history. I dunno about you but I grew up in a house filled with old books, and that musty smell is pleasant. It spoke of years, decades, centuries of ponies recording what they had learned and thought and felt...

Unfortunately, we'd circled around and still no sign of Starswirl the Bearded's section.

"Oh, this is hopeless! Where could it be?" Twilight groaned.

"Well, um, what was Starswirl's cutie mark?" Fluttershy asked.

"A galaxy suspended in an hourglass," Twilight said automatically. "It symbolized his knowledge and talent in magic dealing with space and time."

"So, magic hourglass," I said with a nod. "Right. Maybe there's a big giant hourglass symbol around here."

"Actually," said an unknown male voice that made us all jump, "it's the room with the great big hourglass in it!"

"GAH!"

"EEP!"

"ACK!" I cried, spinning around to bring my gun to bear on the voice but all I succeed in doing was tripping on my long coat and falling on top of Fluttershy and Twilight.

"OOF!"

The source of the voice trotted into view, wearing a smile-It was the unicorn guard from before.

"Oh! Hey Twilight, long time no see!" He said cheerfully.

"Nnngh... Hi Knight Light," Twilight sighed.

"Eep," Fluttershy managed. "I don't want to go to jail! I'm so sorry!"

"So, this the human you've been dating?" He asked, shining his light in my eyes. I got up, brushed myself off, and coughed.

"Uh... Yeah. Andrew Shepherd," I said.

"Shepherd? That's a Sheep Name, isn't it?" Knight Light asked, cocking his head. "Shouldn't a human have a... Human name?"

My eyebrow twitched. "That is a human name! Otherwise, it wouldn't be my name would it?"

"Sheesh, touchy," Knight Light huffed. "Sure you wanna date this guy, Twilight? He seems a bit short tempered...” He sniffed. “And heavy."

A tug on my collar from Twilight’s magic kept me from grabbing the guy and shaking him like a particularly annoying set of maracas.

"Not that heavy! And we're fine!" Twilight cried. "Now please, just tell me where Starswirl the Bearded's archive is!"

"There," Knight Light said, shining at a doorway right next to the open window we'd entered through. Twilight's jaw dropped, and mine was on it's way to the floor as well. Fluttershy still looked woozy.

Seriously, I'm not that heavy! My girlfriend said so!

"Uh... Thanks," Twilight said. "Come on! Hurry up you two!" She dashed inside. I followed, helping Fluttershy up.

"Sorry for falling on you," I said.

"It's okay. It was more my fall that hurt," she said. "And your weight forcing me down..."

"Sorry," I said again.

"Andrew! Over here, working now! Saving world! Fluttershy, get reading now too!" Twilight ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Fluttershy replied. I even saluted, and we got to work.

Several long hours later, I was again staring at pages and pages of notes. This time though, the subject was a little more interesting.

It turned out that Starswirl had originated the Pony version of General Relativity. It was primarily to explain how light could be bent around distant massive objects he saw in his telescopes, and he realized that mass was the answer through his own experimentation with magic and mathematics.

I was far from an expert in physics, mind you, or mathematics. Liberal arts, remember? But something about this particular scroll kept me glued to it, trying to figure it out.

"Andrew? Find anything?" Twilight asked.

"Well... Um, just his theories on..." I grimaced. "A transcendent loop stitch spell between two reality fabric sections...?"

"It's a bit old fashioned," Twilight said. "But it's not helping us! Come on, there's got to be something!"

The sun was shining through the window. "Uh, Twilight...?"

"Oh no no no!" Twilight cried. She held her hooves against the sides of her head. "Here it comes! The disaster! It's too late, it's Tuesday, we failed!"

"Eep!" Fluttershy cried, ducking and covering. I just sat, blinking a few times as the white form of Princess Celestia trotted slowly through the library. She smiled at all of us.

"Good morning Fluttershy, Andrew Shepherd, and Twilight! Love your hair!" She added to Twilight as she passed by. Twilight watched her go, gaping in disbelief, before she collapsed onto the floor.

"Urrrgh!" She groaned. She beat her head against the floor.

"What is it Twilight?" I asked. She sighed, and looked up at me.

"I think now that... Nothing is going to happen," she said, resigned.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, it is, but I spent so much time on this! And you two... You..." She growled, and I held up my hands.

"Hang on, hang on! Is that in the schedule-"

"Buck the schedule!" Twilight cursed. "You two kissed!"

"Yes, yes we did!" I said quickly. "And we regretted it! We couldn't hide it from you!"

"And I swear I'll never do that again! Promise!" Fluttershy cried.

"Yes! Yes, I get that, but I cannot believe it! You two couldn't control yourselves while I was alone... And you were in the Mata Hemlock plants... And the baby bunny... And I was... Was..." The purple unicorn sank, lower and lower, with each statement, until she was lying flush on the floor. I knelt down and hugged her tightly. Fluttershy nuzzled her comfortingly from the other side.

"You just wanted to save Ponyville. There's no shame in that, and even if we made mistakes, we were there for you," Fluttershy said.

I nodded. "And it wasn't because of anything you did, Twilight. It just... Happened."

"You're right too," Twilight sighed. "I forgive you guys. I do..."

"Thank you," I said, feeling very, very relieved. I hugged her even more tightly, and she hugged me back.

"Still... This whole week, I've been run ragged, freaking out, and on top of all this, you..." She sighed. "I just wish I'd known this before..." Her eyes lit up. "That's it!"

"What? What's it?" I asked. Twilight pulled away and trotted to some scrolls. She read through them and grinned.

"I found it! A time travel spell!" She said happily. "I can go back and warn myself not to freak out, and to spend more time with all of you! It's perfect! Just long enough to get a message back!"

Realization hit me like a bomb to the face. "Wait, Twilight! Don't!"

"Don't worry, it won't take a moment and everything will be fixed!" Twilight said. Her horn glowed with raw, magical power and the wind began to blow. I covered my face.

"Hang on Twilight! It's not going to-!"

SHOOM!

"-freak out over the next week because Andrew and Fluttershy will kiss and you'll be... Run... Ragged..." Twilight trailed off.

"... Work," I finished anyway, exasperated. "Closed time loop."

She sighed heavily. "Because I already did it, when I went back I... Was just setting the events I've been through in motion..." She bowed her head. "So I made myself freak out trying to calm myself down..."

"Causality is a bitch," I said, as I again hugged her. She hugged me back. Fluttershy just smiled, also feeling relieved.

"Yeah," Twilight sighed. "Did you suspect it?"

"Yeah," I said, stroking her mane. "But it didn't really click until you went through with it." I shrugged. "Still, could have been worse. You might have not gone back in time and the universe might have blown up or something..."

"That's true," Twilight said. She sighed. "I guess I just got so worked up over... Over you and Fluttershy, I..." She groaned and pressed her face into my chest. I sighed and stroked her mane comfortingly.

"Yeah... I know."

Exhausted, confused, and a bit frustrated, we made our way to a relaxation room in the Archives and found our seats on a very comfortable rug. Pinkie Pie and Spike we left behind-Last I saw, they were trying to liberate Princess Luna's chocolate cake. I wished them luck, and if they didn't have that then at least a swift, painless demise.

In the relaxation room myself, Twilight and Fluttershy sat on the floor in a circle, not really looking at each other. Fluttershy nervously rubbed her front hooves together, Twilight tapped hers on the floor, and I stared up at the ceiling, leaning against a couch for support.

Twilight finally spoke.

"I think there's a good lesson in all of this... But for the life of me, I can't decide which one to focus on," Twilight said softly. She smiled at us. "Hey, we've got that at least, right? What did you learn?"

"That rushing off without thinking about the consequences, even if my intentions are good, is stupid," I sighed. I fixed my eyes on her. Twilight slowly nodded, looking more than a little embarrassed.

"I learned I should be more trusting, and less anxious about things out of my control," Twilight replied, bowing her head slightly in humility. She looked over at Fluttershy, who was rubbing her hooves together so quickly I thought the carpet might catch fire. "Fluttershy?"

"Oh... Um... Do not kiss your friend's coltfriend," she said with a deep blush. I covered my face with a sigh. Twilight actually giggled, and my hand dropped as I treated her to my shocked expression.

Well, not so much treat as a staple.

Twilight continued laughing, and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, that works. Though, all things considered, I think I handled it all right."

"Well, I'm not dead so I'll count that as a very, very good thing," I said. "Unless you've added that to the schedule?"

Twilight sighed and rubbed a hoof over her mohawk.

"I think I'll take a... A little break from that, at least for..." And here she blushed deeply. "Us."

My own face was quite hot, and I nodded back. "Sure... Though uh... Slow works for me."

"Me too," Twilight said. She glanced over at Fluttershy, who was doing her best to hide her disappointment. I gave her an apologetic look, and Twilight nuzzled her. Fluttershy relaxed a little, but still looked melancholy.

An orb of light appeared in the center of the room, and the wind picked up furiously. I groaned and covered my face.

"Not again!" Twilight cried. The orb wibbled and wobbled, before it finally burst into two figures curled up in the fetal position. Both rose... And kept rising, revealing themselves to be two humans, both in their late teens: A girl with purple skin, brown hair and green eyes and a horn, and a boy with pink hair and my skin tone.

"Hi Moms and Dad!" They chorused. I felt faint. Fluttershy turned bright red, even through her fur.

"Oh... No... No no no..." I managed. "Noooo... This... This can't be..."

"But it is dad!" Said the boy. "It really is!"

"We came back to-"

"NO! No no no! Don't tell us anything!" Twilight cried.

"Well," huffed the girl, "you don't have to be so rude, Mom."

"Yeah! Let's talk to Auntie Pinkie! She'd be much nicer at this time!" The boy shouted.

"Or Auntie Luna! She'd be sooo cool!" The girl said with a grin.

Suspicion entered my mind, and it was confirmed as "our kids" couldn't keep a straight face under our scrutiny and soon burst into laughter. They both shapeshifted, their forms twisting and finally snapping into the forms of ponies.

"Your Majesty! Pinkie Pie!" Twilight groaned. Princess Luna, who in my previous meeting with her had been very dignified, was giggling like a schoolmare while Pinkie Pie rolled on the floor in hysterics.

"Yeah yeah, very funny," I grumbled.

"Yes, we think it was!" Luna chuckled. She smiled down upon all of us. "But do not take it hard. Twas but a humble jest!"

"Involving time travel! Hee hee hee, there are now two of me!" Pinkie giggled.

"We are, however, glad that you have resolved thine differences and come to a satisfactory conclusion... Or rather, will," Luna said. Twilight stared back at them, and then suddenly smiled.

"You're absolutely right, your Highness. I have," she said. She looked over at me and Fluttershy and smiled. "I think your suggested future has... Some merit."

I froze, as did Fluttershy. We both stared at her in disbelief. Luna's eyebrows rose and Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped.

"What," I managed.

"Well," Twilight said with an innocent look to the ceiling. "Ponies are herd animals..." She grinned. "And I do like to... Experiment..."

I tugged at my collar, as Fluttershy seemed to blush with her entire body right through her fur. I didn't think I looked much better.

I tried to speak, but nothing came. Twilight smiled over at Fluttershy, who looked back and forth between us. Her eyes then narrowed, and, with a determined snort, she got up, trotted to Twilight and kissed her on the lips.

Twilight's eye bugged out, as both of mine did as well. Pinkie Pie gasped. Fluttershy broke the kiss, trembling a bit, and turned to look at me.

"I... I can live with that," she said.

"I... It... Buh...!" I articulated. Fluttershy smiled nervously.

"Um... I-I'll see you later... I need some sleep... At home... In bed..." She trembled again, and flew off. "Eep!"

I slowly turned my head to stare at Twilight, who was still gobsmacked.

"You... You were joking... Right?" I asked. Twilight finally closed her mouth and nodded.

"I... Yes..."

"I don't think she got it," Pinkie Pie said unnecessarily. Twilight nodded again, and let out a little huff.

"Very astute," she said.

"Verily," Luna said. She turned to Pinkie Pie as she and the pink pony began to glow. "Our time is nearly up, Pinkie Pie!" She turned to look at us and smiled.

"For mine own part, we would have no objections to thou being in such a relationship," she said.

"She's joking! Or not!" Pinkie said cheerfully. "See you soon!" And with that, they vanished into thin air. I groaned.

"I have one more lesson to add," I said.

"What's that?" Twilight asked.

"Time travel sucks," I growled. "I swear, there has not been one good thing about this entire adventure."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing?" She asked. Twilight's horn glowed... And a moment later, she was in humanoid form. She'd gotten the hands and feet right this time. I could tell due to how tight the latex hugged her body, how the rips and tears in it were stretched.

She crawled over to me, and sat in my lap. She smiled at me, and rested her cheek against mine. Gingerly, I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her.

"... Okay, I'm wrong. It's a habit of mine," I said softly as I nuzzled her neck. Twilight giggled.

"Maybe... But I'm learning to appreciate it..."

"What about Fluttershy?" I asked, feeling very, very tired all of a sudden. Twilight yawned, and nuzzled my neck as she settled in against me.

"Let's let her calm down first. We've got all the time in the world to talk to her about it," she sighed.

"Yeah..."

- - - - - -

Well, if you hated this by all means tell me. This is the end of this arc, and frankly I don’t know what the next one will be about nor when I’ll write it. But if you enjoyed it, I’m glad. Thanks for reading!