//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Hands are a handful // by will1982 //------------------------------// Hands are a handful Chapter 3: Final draft: 8/13/2012 A/N: My prereader can't preread this chapter, so please try to point out any mistakes in the comments BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Ugh. Bon-Bon always sets the alarm too early. Lyra thought as she dragged herself out of bed. Before she was even out of the bedroom, Bon-Bon had already packed her saddlebags and brushed her teeth. The exact opposite of Bon-Bon, Lyra was not a morning mare. During the morning, she hated everything in Equestria until she got her cup of beloved coffee. Lyra sat down at the table and tried to blink that tired, crusty feeling from her eyes. She kept blinking furiously until Bon-Bon set a cup of heaven coffee on the table. Lyra picked up the mug by the handle, taking slow sips of the deliciously bitter liquid. As she slowly regained her critical thinking skills, Lyra remembered what she was going to do today. She looked down to see what she was using to hold the mug. --30 Minutes later-- Lyra was ready. She had taken a shower, which really "cleaned" up her morning (I'm not funny). She had persuaded Bon-Bon to go with her in her first trot through Ponyville with hands (exposed ones, at least). After milling around for a bit and just cleaning up, Lyra was ready. She opened the door (with her hand, of course) and stepped out confidently. Lyra flexed her fingers and began trotting, Bon-Bon beside her. It was a truly beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was just a good vibe in the air. The grass was waving gently, and there were a few patches of puffy white clouds in the sky. As expected, Lyra got some pretty weird stares from a handful passing ponies. Most ponies looked interested, with a slightly confused look on their face. But there were some ponies that just looked mad. Why would they be mad? But Lyra really didn't care. She had the hands that she's always, and at least she had one friend. And that one friend didn't judge her for things she liked. After a happy little walk throughout Ponyville, the two mares decided to get a snack at Sugarcube corner, as neither of them really had breakfast. A bell rang as they walked in, alerting Ponyville's resident fourth-wall breaker, Pinkie Pie, to their presence. She bounced up to the duo and asked what they would like. "We'll just have two cupcakes." said Lyra. "Okey dokey Loki!" replied Pinkie, as she hopped away happily. The two decided to make small talk for about 15 seconds before Pinkie came back with two cupcakes, fresh from the oven. After setting down the cupcakes on the table, Pinkie stared at Lyra's hands for exactly 2.4 seconds before saying "Here ya go!" and starting to trot away. "She didn't say anything." said Bon-Bon. "But she stared..." remarked Lyra. "Oh, sorry about staring, Lyra." Pinkie said sincerely. "It's just I've never seen a pony with hands." Pinkie then proceeded to stare at youthrough your...imagination, while bouncing away from Lyra & Bon-Bon. "Typical Pinkie Pie." said Lyra, unsuprised. The two made small talk while they ate their cupcakes. These were even better than normal, Pinkie must have put extra care into this batch, or maybe they just improved their ingredients. After they finished their food and left a tip for Pinkie, they left, Lyra leading the way. "So, what do you want to do now?" Asked Bon-Bon. "Want to go to the park? I don't wanna spend all day inside." replied Lyra hopefully. "Sure." replied Bon-Bon. It's not like there was anything better to do. Lyra got more of the same weird looks as she and Bon-Bon walked through Ponyville, heading towards the park. After walking with a couple minutes and getting some more stares, the pair of mares arrived at the park. They sat on the bench, Lyra assuming her trademark position. After looking around and seeing nothing, Lyra asked Bon-Bon if she wanted to play some games. "What kind of games?" --1 hour later-- After attempting to thumb wrestle, (not possible with hooves) play Rock-Paper-Scissors (Bon-Bon always got rock) and other "hand games" Lyra sadly realized that she couldn't play any of those games with her friend. Lyra suggested they go for a walk instead. Bon-Bon, rather bored, gladly accepted the offer to get some exercise. Lyra led the way to a short little trail through the woods. The duo just walked through the woods, admiring nature, and the sun shining through the leaves. There were animals busy at work, trees waving in the wind, After they left the woods, the pair decided to return home for the day, trotting back to their apartment in a couple of minutes. "Thanks for the great day Bon-Bon, I really enjoyed it." said Lyra in a sweet, appreciative voice. "No, thank YOU for the great day!" Bon-Bon replied, blushing slightly, then sitting on the couch and picking up Hayrey Potter and the Unicorn's Stone, the newest hit book in Equestria. Lyra decided to relax and read a little too. But she wanted to read something different. She picked up that old journal, sad to see that she destroyed most of it when she performed the hand spell. But as she opened the cover, a note that hadn't been there before fell out. It read: "3..." Three what? Lyra pondered. I know it has something to do with the spell, because it's apparently the page right after it. 3. 3 what? Lyra sat there, pondering all types of threes, like three bits, three bananas, three milkshakes, and all other types of crazy stuff. After about an hour, Lyra had gotten to dates. Three years? Three Months? Those were too big. Maybe three days? But what could three days mean? Maybe three hands? No, that's dumb. Maybe the spell wears off in three days. But Lyra couldn't be sure, it had a thousand meanings! But she knew who could be sure.