“Well, that’s strange,” Twilight said, looking over the hilltop in front of her. “I know it’s right over this hill.”
The Twilight clone had decided to retrace the original’s hoofsteps, wanting to look for new arrivals back in this alternate Equestria’s Ponyville. The journey took her past the spot where the second tribal council had taken place, in the unusual temple made of colorful bricks. Its height would’ve made it visible over the hill it sat next to, but she could now see it was no longer visible over the hill’s crest.
“Strange…” she muttered. “I wonder...”
She began ascending the hill, slowly and deliberately, so as to conserve her energy in case the need to run became apparent.
“Maybe my original misjudged the height of that temple.” She stuck her tongue out while casting her gaze upward in thought. “If the height of this hill from the east side is about twenty meters, and the temple could be seen from a distance of about forty meters that way, then– what the hay!?”
Twilight stopped in her tracks the instant she reached the top. Her eyes bulged and her mind shut down in response to what she saw in the field where the strange brick temple was.
Was.
The bricks themselves were still there, arranged in neat little piles separated by color across the field. The weird torches that her original had seen before were snuffed, the plasticy fire no longer alight, and were piled up a fair ways away from all the bricks. It was what had arranged the bricks that gave Twilight pause.
Floating in the center of the field, currently sorting through some red and green bricks, was a human-shaped hand. It was pure white, and the point where the wrist would have connected to an arm instead cut off and faded into nothing. It floated a few feet in the air, its movements smooth and graceful as it picked up and placed bricks to its liking.
Twilight stood still, slack-jawed at the sight before her, before eventually giving her head a good shake and setting off down the hill, donning an exasperated smile. Definitely the strangest newcomer yet. Actually, I’m surprised we haven’t encountered stranger yet.
The massive, floating hand took no apparent notice to her as Twilight crossed the field toward it, carefully stepping around the piles of bricks while casting appreciative glances at each one for their superb neat and tidiness. The hand continued to ignore her presence even as Twilight stepped right beside the pile it was currently sorting. Given the fact that the hand was sorting all the bricks by color, Twilight reasoned it had to possess some form of vision, despite lacking visible eyes.
“Hello?” she said, keeping her voice calm and steady. “How are you?”
The hand said nothing, its movements holding to its current bobbing pattern in the air, not even so much as a twitch in response to her statement.
Twilight frowned. “If you’re confused and scared, I’m here to let you know what’s happening and give support in case you need it.”
Still no response.
Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Are you alright, is what I’m asking?’
Still nothing.
“Hey, are you even listening to me!?” She stepped around the brick pile so she was directly facing the hand. “Do you have any idea what kind of situation you’re in right now!?”
The hand finally seemed to acknowledge Twilight by stopping in the middle of sorting another piece. Twilight ran through a list of offensive spells in case this creature turned hostile. The hand seemed to pause in its floating for a moment, becoming almost statue-like, before continuing with its sorting.
”I know why I’m here,” it said in a booming, masculine voice.
Where is that voice coming from if it has no mouth? “You do?” Twilight asked. She quirked a brow. “How?”
”The power to view other universes is among the rarest any living being can have.” He scooped up a bunch of red and orange blocks from those respective piles and began stacking them on the ground. ”I am one such being, and while I may lack the ability to relocate persons between universes myself, I know that such is the fate that has befallen me, and I assume you too.”
Twilight blinked. “... Er, well, yes.” Who is this guy? “That’s pretty much what’s happening. There’s lots of us who’ve banded together to fight back against Aza’s twisted games, and I’m part of a party sent out to round up more people.” Feeling a little more confident, she took a step forward. “Would you like to join us, Mister…?”
“Just call me Master Hand,” he replied. By now, his structure had begun to take a shape which Twilight couldn’t help but find familiar. ”And to answer your question, no.”
“Why not?” Twilight asked with sincerity. “There’s strength in numbers and–”
Twilight was interrupted when Master Hand suddenly turned toward her. One of his fingers extended outward and shone with a blue light. A laser then extended from it, striking the earth beside her and ripping through the ground for several meters while sending up a plume of dirt and rocks. He did it so fast that Twilight didn’t have any time to react, either in surprise or defense. Once her mind caught up to her, however, she turned to look, slack-jawed, at the ripped earth beside her.
”My power alone will keep me safe from harm. I need no allies.” He then resumed stacking the bricks.
Twilight managed to tear her gaze away from the line of ripped earth next to her and back to Master Hand, adopting a concerned tone in her voice as she gave her reply.
“Okay, you are powerful. But who’s to say Aza won’t find something that even you can’t beat? Power alone is only so great. Strength in numbers can accomplish so much more. I have no idea who you are, but I, or at least my original, would forever hate… us, I guess, if something happened to you.
“At the very least, could you come with me so we’ll have everyone accounted for? You don’t have to actually join our group if you don’t want to, but we’d very much appreciate it if you came so we could help should the need arise.” She smiled warmly. “What do you say, Master Hand?”
Master Hand appeared to consider her plea, stopping his stacking once again. Eventually, he resumed, saying nothing all the while.
Twilight sighed in exasperation. “Look, I’m not leaving without you, so I hope you enjoy having company.” With that, she sat her rump onto the ground, adopting a bemused expression as she watched Master Hand continue his work.
He’s way too stubborn for his own good. He might be more powerful than any of us, but no doubt Aza could and would throw something more powerful at him if it wanted to challenge him like the rest of us. But no, he thinks he doesn’t need any help. He can make statues of Samus for as long as he wants but it won’t change– wait a minute!
Twilight stared, unbelieving, at the sight before her. The bricks Master Hand was stacking had begun to take shape as a tall, red and orange bipedal figure. Though it currently lacked the green arm cannon and visor, the colors and general shape made it clear that it was, without any doubt, Samus Aran.
“Wait, that’s Samus you’re making!” Twilight exclaimed, wide-eyed, as she got to her hooves.
That gave Master Hand pause. He turned toward her, and despite lacking any and all ability to express emotion, Twilight felt a sense of incredulity emanating from him then. ”How do you know Samus Aran?”
“She's part of our group,” Twilight explained. “She has been for a few days.”
Master Hand shot over to her, to which Twilight tensed in response. ”Truly? Samus Aran is among your number?”
“Yeah, I'm not lying.”
“... Very well, I shall join your group.”
Twilight blinked, not comprehending his words at first, before her face brightened. “Really? You mean it?”
”I reserve the right to be by my lonesome when I so wish,” Master Hand stated. ”But yes, I shall indeed join your group.”
“That’s great!” Twilight said excitedly, clapping her hooves together. She then looked around the field, at all the bricks laid about, and rubbed her chin. “Actually, could we bring these bricks too? We could use a decent shelter.”
Master Hand snapped his digits, to which a blue glow began emanating from every brick in the field. Then, they simultaneously shrank to about one fifth their original size. Afterward, he proceeded to gather them all into a single pile before scooping it up. ”Lead the way,” he said, his speech apparently unimpeded despite carrying so many bricks.
Twilight nodded and proceeded back the way she’d come, Master Hand following right behind. “By the way,” she said, turning back to him, “how do you know Samus?”
”As I said previously, I possess the ability to glimpse alternate universes,” Master Hand replied, shifting his load a little as he floated up the hill. ”Samus happens to hail from one of my favorites.”
Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. “Interesting…”