Six years. It took my six years, and I was finally done. I had completed it. I looked down at my creation. Two appendages with four what I call fingers and one thumb. Meant to even out the playing field a bit, because you see, unicorns, and pegasi all had things that earth ponies didn't. One had magic and the other had an ability to fly, I've always felt this was unfair. So I made these... hands, yes I think I'll call them hands, after all that's what the minotaurs called them and they look similar enough. They are meant to give earth ponies something that unicorns and pegasi didn't have, the manipulate things with their hooves.
I turned and looked at the almost covered chalk board behind me. It listed all my failed attempts over the years. Electricity worked for a bit but then you needed to recharge the appendages and there was nowhere to keep a battery. Using earth ponies natural magic made them weaker and if was kept unchecked would sap the ponies life away. I looked over to a corner where a blue corpse was covering a pink one. Poor Lotus.
Necromancy was tried next, but it also had one unfortunate drawback. I looked over to a bright pink corpse, Lotus' sister, Aloe, strangled to death by her own body. The spell gave the hands a mind of their own, and for some reason the hands didn't like being attached to a pony so they killed her. They both came for the same reason, it was much easier to massage with fingers than it was with hooves, if it worked they would have had the most successful spa in the world.
But I found the solution this time and it was so obvious I don't know how I didn't think of it earlier. Dark magic, it was the easiest to cast and it barely drained any energy at all the keep the spell going. All that there was left was to test it out. And I had just the volunteer.
"Are you sure you want to do this Bonnie? You saw what happened to the last pony that tested these." I pointed towards the corpse of Aloe.
"I trust you Lyra, and this time the hands won't have a mind of their own and you said this magic uses barely any power, so there shouldn't be any problem."
"I guess..." I said, searching through my desk before pulling out a recorder. I pushed a button on the side and spoke into it. "Test subject three, Bon Bon. Method, dark magic." I left it running and placed it on my desk. "Okay, I want you to tell me if you feel any pain at all, even a tiny bit. And if you want me to stop just say something." She nodded.
Okay, she won't be hurt... just don't mess this up and she will be fine. I concentrated and brought my golden magic to my horn. "Step one complete" I said for the sake of the recording. Now for the hard part, I thought of my darkest fears, my inner anguish, what kept me up at night. I felt my horn go cold. "Step two complete." Dark tendrils began to grasp at the seems of the room, seeking to tear it apart. "Onto step three." I aimed my horn at Bon Bon. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"
"Yes." By the time she finished the word I let the magic release itself into her and the hands. Before my eyes the hands knit themselves into her hooves. I pushed my thoughts into balancing them to the right size so she was balanced. "Step four complete." I felt for the nerves in the hands with my magic. I used the remaining flesh of Aloe and Lotus for the hands, they didn't need it anymore and it gave me nerves that I was more familiar with. I began weaving the nerves to the ones in her hooves. She seemed to feel this part from the expression on her face but she didn't tell me to stop so I continued. "Step five complete" I said, slowly cutting my magic.
"Bonnie? How are you feeling?"
"Fine" She said, scratching her head with the side of one of her hands.
"Subject appears to be fine with the changes. Can you try moving one of the fingers?" She focused on her hand and I saw one of the fingers twitch.
"Subject appears to have some control over the fingers. Can you try walking?"
"Yes." She stood up from her position on the floor and walked over to the far wall and walked back.
"Subject keeps fingers straight out pointing forward and has no problems walking. Do the hands hurt while walking?"
"No, but I can feel things better under them than under my hooves."
"Subject has no pain from increased sensitivity in hands. Operation was a complete success!" I shouted, clicking the button on the recorder to turn it off. "Okay, before I submit this to the royals I want you to try using these for a few days. Just do what you normally do and these should help you out a lot in your work. And if there are any changes and/or discomfort come straight back to me and I'll lower the sensitivity a bit." She nodded and walked out the basement door. I turned around and looked over my lab. Blood, papers, pieces of chalk and various broken pencils and pens. I sighed and lit up my horn, casting a cloud of magic over the twin corpses, they rose and began cleaning up the mess. Necromancy was good for one thing at least. When you think about it necromancy is really just creating golems from flesh instead of stone and wood, I really don't know why it's banned. I scoffed to myself and walked over to my desk and sat down. Agh, dark magic takes a lot out of me, maybe this would be a good time for a nap. I closed my eyes and drifted away.
A book fell off a shelve as the twins were cleaning, the center page stated in bold letters NEVER LEAVE A CORPSE WALKING.
