Kind Hands

I was never a practical man. My hands regularly failed me whenever I was required to roll my sleeves up and put something together. The only saving grace in those situations was that I was usually fortunate enough to be able to keep my failure to myself.

“You bastard…”

Yet this was no longer the case. As I stood, perched up on a chair, my feeble attempt at hanging up the girls’ drawing was on full display. I’d underestimated its size- and overestimated my ability to see in straight lines, as my antics drew the attention of two children who likely would be better suited for this job than I was.

“Are you okay, Mr. Bayard?” called one.

“Let me help,” called the other.

Sadly, even with our powers combined, the scroll remained unfastened and unfulfilled as it dropped down to the floor for the final time. “That was a health and safety nightmare,” I conceded as I fought off the urge to kick the bloody thing. “Sorry, girls- We’ll have to ask someone to help us.” Turning to face the pair, I watched uneasily as they jumped from their perch, the chair beneath them bouncing worryingly as they leaped from it.

Despite the sourness of this event, this new day had been an enjoyable one so far. My schedule was empty for once, so I was finally allowed to spend some time with the people that I was supposed to be stranded here with. For now, at least. Celestia had asked to have a chat a bit later in the day- something troubling, no doubt- but at last I was given a moment to let loose and hit the town. Just as soon as this banner was dealt with.

“Tell you what, you two,” I began, capturing the two girls’ attention. “Let’s have a look around town and see if we can find something that might help us. I mean, I got paid this week, so…” I shuffled towards my pouch of coins and juggled it in my hands for emphasis. It was funny- I was actually due to get paid on Friday back home.

This suggestion proved to be a good one, as Eve stopped and stared up at me, eyes sparkling so brightly that if we knocked the lights out, she could surely glow in the dark. Eva was unable to show quite the same level of excitement, but it was clear as she rushed to put her shoes on that she was similarly eager to leave the confines of the castle.

Eve eventually snapped out of her trance as well, after her sister’s movement caught her eye. “Where are we going?” she asked as she also prepared herself for the day ahead. Instincts ever-alive, she grabbed her and her sister’s belongings before mindlessly throwing them into the doorway.

“Erm…”

Unbothered by the chaos outside of my vision, I continued to jostle the bag of bits while thinking of an idea. “Let’s just go explore. It’s a lovely day. It’s hot out, though; let’s make sure to pack some water.”

During the cold winter months back home, I’d longed for spring to roll through and bring its warmer temperatures, but my desire for hotter days appeared to have been something of a monkey’s paw. The abrupt transition from winter to…whatever season we were in at this point became more apparent with every step.

“I swear the desert was easier than this,” I mumbled to myself as I enviously looked on at the two girls in front of me, who moved as if they were in a completely different climate.

Undeterred and invincible, Eve and Eva ran ahead with joyful enthusiasm, looking back every now and then to check that I was still in tow. “Come on, Mr. Bayard!” Eve shouted, running back to me and dragging me by the arm.

“You don’t even know where you’re going,” I retorted, my comment doing little to dissuade the ball of energy who clung to me. “I think you just like being outside.” Taking advantage of Eve’s grip on my arm, I wrenched it up into the air with the girl still attached, who squealed in surprise as her feet left the ground. The sudden noise drew the ire of some ponies around us, but Eve’s laughter signalled that she was unaffected by the stares. That made one of us.

Once she was lowered back to the ground- and denied the opportunity to go up in the air again- she asked, “Where are we going?” once again, adding to the numerous times that that question had spilled from her lips on the way out of the castle. Despite how many times I’d been interrogated, I lacked an answer, as I scanned the buildings around me for inspiration.

“I don’t suppose an art museum piques your interest?” I asked hopelessly to the two sisters, who stared back at me blankly. “…Yeah, me neither.” My half-hearted brainstorming was thankfully brought to a close by Eva, who tugged lightly on my shirt and waited for me to reward her enthusiasm.

“Bowling,” was the only word she said as she led Eve and I around a corner and pointed up at a building some distance away. Some blue, white, and pink block of nothing, the building in question was decorated with large cutouts of bowling pins that told me everything I needed to know. Large panes of glass offered passers-by a clear view of the activities available inside. Hopefully air-conditioned activities.

“Hmm… ‘Strikedown’? Must be pretty hardcore,” I wondered aloud as I read the building’s name before turning my attention back to Eva. “You ever been, sweetheart?” The little girl responded with a simple shake of the head, her auburn hair flapping messily as she gave her answer. Eve also tried to respond by running towards the building in question, but she was quickly restrained by a grab of the hand.

“No, no, no. There’s lots of people now- stay with me.”

My not-so gentle reminder emphasised the sheer number of ponies that had begun to fill the streets. Everywhere the eye could see was full of ponies, mostly unicorns, as they fritted to-and-fro, fancy clothing and monocles galore in a glorious display of decadence. “Who knows where they’re going,” I commented with a hint of concern.

“Who knows?” Eva repeated as she stared off into the crowd. I gave her hand a squeeze before proceeding forward, thankful that I could at least see over the crowd and pretend that I was elsewhere.

“What’s the point of a bowling alley in this city? Who’s using that?”

Almost immediately after walking into our lovely little bowling alley, I was greeted with something not-quite-so-lovely; despite the large windows that the building possessed, it was impossibly dark inside. Only the blindingly bright lights illuminated a path for the girls and I to follow, leading up to some sort of help desk. On any other day, I would’ve questioned how this level of darkness was possible, but it certainly wasn’t the strangest thing that I’d encountered.

True to form, Eve and Eva scampered ahead of me, awestruck by the change in atmosphere. With numerous exclamations showcasing both delight and bewilderment in equal measure, they began their exploration, bathing in the synthetic lighting. The light thudding of techno music and the thunder of falling pins continuously captured the girls’ attention, heads swivelling as they attempted to locate the sounds’ many sources.

I made good use of this distraction, moving behind Eva and lifting her into the air. From her new position, she gave a small squeak before instinctively wrapping her arms around her captor, closed eyes preventing her from even realising who she was clinging onto.

“How you doing, Little-Miss Shuteye?” I asked her with a playful intonation. “It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere like this. This is a bit of an assault on the senses, eh?” The girl in my arms responded by gripping my neck slightly tighter. Come to think of it, the inadvertent suddenness of my movements may not have been all that helpful; maybe scaring the girl wasn’t the best idea.

“Where do we go now?” Eve asked from below, having been drawn to her sister’s plight. There was nothing that particularly stood out to her in the darkness, so she turned back to her familiar source of guidance. Truth be told, I had no idea, so it was lucky that we were about to be interrupted.

“Perhaps I may be of assistance?” a dainty yet energetic voice asked to my left. Turning to meet this new sound revealed a small unicorn, cream in colour with a simple brown mane that curled over the right side of her neck. Beneath both of her eyes lay three freckles in an inverted triangle formation.

Even by pony standards, she was fairly short, and her body had a hard time keeping still, suggesting that she was younger than most. So short in fact, that I had a hard time reading the name tag that hung lifelessly off her cute little jacket. Maybe more of a waistcoat. “Perhaps you can, Miss… ‘Tempyn’?” I suddenly stopped after taking in the mare’s name. “…Subtle, that.”

“Tempyn Boleyn to be precise,” she elaborated with pride. Raising her head and closing her eyes, she thankfully missed the sight of me shaking my head in disgust. “Here for a round, I presume?” Without waiting for an answer, the unicorn headed off through the lights, gesturing for her customers to follow.

“This way, my otherworldly friends!”

This whole thing was bizarre, and my ears hurt, but this new unicorn’s way of addressing me made it seem as if I was the outlier here. I mean, I clearly was, but that’s not the point. Still, Eva wanted a round of bowling, so that was exactly what she was going to get.

“So, how do I do it…?”

After a moment of wandering and an awkward conversation, the three of us were ready to begin our game. Thankfully, we were all tucked away in a dark corner, largely out of site; most of the ponies around us remained committed to minding their own business. With the knowledge that I’d likely be left alone, I had the peace of mind to let my guard down and have a bit of fun. Just as soon as the introductions were out of the way.

The semi-agreement had been for Eva to go first, followed by Eve, so that the two could try things out. However, braced with a new experience, Eva was clearly reluctant to do much on her own, nervously looking back to the rest of her group for some form of reassurance. “How does it work?”

Her voice was hard to hear over the excessive background noise, but I moved forward regardless, grabbing a ball of my own as I went over to assist. “You’ve really never been before?” I asked, crouching down to look the girl in the eye. She answered with a shake of the head, a small smile evident despite her apparent confusion.

“Well, you take one of these…” I began, gesturing to the ball in my hands. “And when it’s your turn, you throw it down there and try and hit the pins.” My explanation was a bit crap, but Eva nodded all the same. Her agreeableness is such an asset sometimes. She immediately put a plan into action by moving over towards a bowling ball and picking it up off a shelf- before immediately collapsing to the floor under its weight.

“Woah, woah, woah!” I cried out as I flung myself forward to catch the girl as she fell, smacking the side of my head on the ball as I hit the ground. There’s nothing like giving your head a whack to really make your eyes spin.

Feeling slightly groggy, I felt Eva push away from me, a soft hum suggesting that she was unaffected by this episode. “That’s heavy,” she commented with a contented smile. Not even bothering to try and pick up the ball again, she was greeted by Eve, who grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Are you okay?” Eve asked while brushing her sister’s clothing. Receiving a nod in response, the raven-haired girl was able to turn her attention back to me, just as I finished pushing myself off the floor.

“Yeah, that says ‘9’ on it,” I explained, picking up the ball in question. I slammed it back onto the shelf with aplomb, hoping that the loud thud could serve as some form of emphasis. “Look for one with a smaller number.” With this command, the girls scampered away to find something lighter, worrying eager to leave my sight. “Don’t get lost…” I grumbled under my breath as the girls disappeared into the strobe-lighted wilderness.

Soon enough, the two sisters returned, each carrying noticeably smaller cargo. “3!” Eve declared, waving her prize around. I instinctively ducked as the ball neared my head, weary of the girl’s grip on it. One lapse in concentration and there would be quite a mess to clean up.

“Well, you can clearly carry that one,” I remarked, reaching down to pick Eva up. My plan was to carry the girl to the start of the lane and allow her to use her entire body weight to throw the ball. It might not work, but it was better than nothing. “You ready?”

Eva’s first throw proved that my plan, in fact, wasn’t better than nothing. Upon hitting the ground, the girl’s ball span harmlessly, barely moving forwards as it lethargically shifted towards the end of the lane, lacking the strength to do little more than push a single pin out of place.

I’d internally questioned how much enjoyment could be garnered from a throw like that, but the behaviour from the girl in my arms suggested that this was unnecessary. Enraptured by its movements, she stared at the ball as it glistened in the fluorescent lighting, mouth slightly agape and body slack as she abandoned all of her other senses.

“You get another go, you know,” I announced once the ball had finally reached the end of the lane, although a lack of any feedback- neither verbal nor physical- piqued my curiosity. I gently lowered the girl to the floor where she simply sat, her vision focused on the location of where the ball had left her sight. “Eva? You get another go.”

“No, it’s my turn!”

Looking away from the transfixed tyke, my vision was quickly filled with the frown of another, as Eve was quick to voice her displeasure about being forced to wait another minute-and-a-half. When she received no immediate reply, she turned and grabbed a bowling ball of her own, before a large hand put a stop to that, shoving the ball down and keeping it wedged in its position.

“Not yet- Eva gets two turns,” I lightly reprimanded, gesturing towards the girl in question, who was finally beginning to stir. A reminder of her sister’s existence did little to dissuade Eve’s look of admonishment. “No, don’t look at me like that- then you get two turns. Look- one-two, one-two, one-two, one-two…”

I placed a finger one the girl’s left shoulder before moving it to her right shoulder and back again, creating a rhythm of bouncing my finger in time with my counting. Eve tolerated this for about as long as you expect; almost immediately, she swiped mercilessly at my arm as it travelled through the air. With a laugh, she latched onto my wrist, attempting to bring it down to the floor. Alas, she was too weak, and she could only watch as it slipped from her grasp.

Happy to get my arm back, I asked again, “Ok? So, it’s your turn next, yeah?” Eve merely smiled back in response, stretching out both her arms in front of her, making her polite request. “You’re a big softie- you know that, littlun?” I commented as I carried out the familiar process of scooping the little one up. No response came from her- not that I needed one- until she felt her feet reconnect with the floor.

Even with her feet on the ground again, the young girl refused to let go. In a melancholy display of attachment, she squeezed her eyelids shut and gripped me with all of her strength. A familiar wetness began to spill onto the girl’s cheeks as she stood on the tips of her toes, clinging onto me with everything she had. I’d hoped that today was the day that we’d go without someone crying, but there goes that pipe-dream.

“Hey, what’s with the tears- we’re supposed to be having fun here,” I reasoned upon noticing this, beginning to mop any moisture from around the girl’s eyes. I’m sure that she said some form of apology to me while I did this, but, due to a combination of background noise and her voice’s lack of volume, I had no idea of its contents. She attempted to burrow her face into my hand until I spoke again. “Come on, you- there’s still a game to play.”

Eve proved to be a quick learner. While her sister carried out her turns by absentmindedly tossing the ball without any real plan, a sense of determination overtook the raven-haired girl, as she worked towards causing as much carnage as possible.

The girl’s irregular bursts of energy worked in her favour, as she could place an unusually large amount of force behind her throws. Resultingly, her attempts were often accompanied with cheers of delight in tandem with the crash of falling pins; she clearly gained satisfaction from watching them fall.

This eventually came back to bite her, as she was presented with a challenge. “What’s your score?” I’d asked her, pointing up at the screen that showed the number in question. The fruits of the girl’s labour sat there, clear as day, integers high enough to cause her some grief as she fixated on the two digits.

“Seven…seven…seventeen!”

“Seventy-one.”

“Is that good?”

“Pretty good. Somehow you beat me…I’ll never live that down.”

On that sultry note, I looked over at Eva, who had similarly casted her gaze towards the scoreboard. I supressed a chuckle as I took in the sight of her intense concentration; if it weren’t for the loud background noise, I was sure that I’d be able to hear the gears turning in her head. Eventually, though, her eyes burst open as she gasped in realisation.

“I getted forty-one!”

Eva turned to me for confirmation, an anxious smile present on her face. “Indeed, you did. Somebody’s good at maths,” was the answer she received. She closed her eyes as she felt a hand ruffle her hair, contentedly humming away as she focused on the stimulation. “Maybe English isn’t your strong suit, though.”

“But I still won,” Eve interjected with a hint of impatience. Her expression was a forlorn one as she looked around with a bitter disposition that was out of place for someone who, by her own admission, was better than everyone else.

“You did. But that’s not the only thing that matters,” I began whilst picking Eve up and plopping her down beside her sister. “Did you have fun?” A quick hug between the little ones sparked some life into Eve’s enthusiasm as she gave a melancholic nod of approval.

Now, we’d come too far to lose it all now. I knew the answer to this problem, and I carried out my little routine with Eve once again. I’m sure that you’re on your knees begging me to give you all the details of this interaction once again, but I’ll put them to one side. Needless to say, though, it took a while for her to calm down. “You’ve been all over the place,” I concluded with the full expectation of receiving no reply.

And I didn’t receive one. Not to anything that I said exactly. “Mr. Bayard, I’m a bit hungry,” Eva suddenly announced, rubbing her stomach as it audibly rumbled, even over the bloody music.

“Me too,” Eve commented in agreement, voice muffled by the shirt that she was currently buried into.

“You still alive?” I asked the girl as I could feel her chest rise and fall spasmodically in my grasp. “I guess you’ve earned some lunch- even if it’s a bit late.” And, so, pointing the way with one arm and carrying a forlorn girl with the other, I set off, my grunt of exertion drowning out a final comment from my passenger.

“I still won, though.”

It took longer than expected to find a place where we could eat. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. It felt like that- to me at least as I carried Eve, happy to take advantage of the free ride, a short distance to a nearby café. The girl in my arms was far too preoccupied with being helpless to aid with navigation, so the burden was Eva’s to bear. She’d pointed out a place called ‘Dégâts Désolé’- a café that turned out to offer a selection of sandwiches and soft drinks.

I liked the sound of it, even with a name as nonsensical as that, although I was still concerned about the edibility of the food on offer, if my experience with Rarity was anything to go by. Luckily, a child’s universal love of cheese worked in my favour, as numerous items of that description gave the little ones something to sink their teeth into.

The wait for their lunch did little to subdue their enthusiasm either. They appeared to be playing some sort of game in a nearby field, jumping and changing stance in a semi-constant rhythm. Frankly, it looked like some form of exercise that I was glad to be away from; I was happy to sit and watch from a distance instead.

And I wasn’t the only one. As expected, when a random pair of bipeds start playing in your field, people take notice. Luckily, nobody had had the nerve to approach the girls, although I still had some concerns about how long that would last.

Hopping around aimlessly was hardly synonymous with domestic terrorism though, so most of the looks were of intrigue, like the girls were a rare piece of art on display. It was true that they’d not been given a chance to explore Canterlot before today, but this level of interest was slightly disturbing, nonetheless.

It'd all died down once I’d inserted myself into the situation, if only to inform the pair that lunch was ready. A lunch much overdue, if the speed of our sandwich destruction was any indication. Eve had asked for more, Eva had agreed, and I’d resigned myself to spending more of my hard-earned cash.

Sometime while I was placing this second order, Eve had taken the initiative and clambered onto my lap. “Hello again,” I’d commented at the surprise intrusion. Predictably, the girl in my lap said nothing, swinging her legs and bobbing her head, happy with her new vantage point.

One child’s movement must’ve inspired the other, as a loud scraping noise signalled that Eva was on the move. Although my vision was blocked by some slick, onyx locks, I could still make out a chair slowly colliding with my own. “Let’s all huddle ‘round, then.”

I wrapped my arms around Eve’s torso and lifted her slightly whilst I got myself comfortable; I had a feeling that I’d be there for a while. A dull thud in my side confirmed this suspicion as I felt an extra body’s weight press against me.

We stayed like this for a while, mercifully quiet and enraptured by our extended lunch. That was until Eve span herself around after finishing her sandwich, fixating her blue eyes on mine while she prepared a question in her mind.

“Do you have a mummy?” she suddenly asked, eyes showing an innocent intrigue. I found it difficult to match her gaze; I would’ve preferred not to answer. I struggled to find a place to focus on, but with so much of my vision taken up by the girl in my lap, and with her sister also glancing up at me, my eyes had nowhere to run.

“Um…yeah, I, um…I do, yeah.”

Eve’s stare seemed to grow more intense with this answer, although she was yet to ask a follow-up question. And so, the torch was passed to Eva, who spoke up after giving a few experimental tugs on my shirt.

“What’s her name?”

“Holly.”

“That’s a nice name.”

I didn’t know what to say next, and my reluctance was surely obvious at this point. Not obvious enough, however, as Eve entered herself back into the conversation.

“Do you spend time with her?”

Sitting back, the girl’s gaze softened slightly, but her intrigue burned as brightly as ever as she peered up and waited patiently for an answer.

“Well…of course we did- er, do! We have little times where I’d come and see her. Like, on days when she wasn’t at work.”

“What do you do together?” Eva asked, undeterred by my unease with the subject.

“We’d um…we’d play games together and we’d chat and have lunch. We’d talk for hours…she always knew what to say…”

I trailed off towards the end of my brief explanation. Sucking in a deep breath, I looked down, hoping to see the floor, but Eve’s stare reminded me that this was something that could only be ignored for so long. “She was…really special.” There was no solace to be found in this conversation, as Eva, naïve to a fault, pressed on.

“Is your mummy dead?”

“No, no. She’s alive- it’s just hard to see her right now.”

“Is that because you’re a grown-up?”

The girl’s lack of understanding was clear; she fired off random questions in the desperate hope of piecing something together. I understood this, and I sought to avoid creating a problem that I was ill-equipped to solve. There was no need for details.

“Look, I’m sorry,” I suddenly blurted out. “With your mum- I…I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.” Accomplishing nothing except creating more confusion, I pushed Eva into my side and held her there, happy to feel her accept the gesture.

“It’s okay,” Eva reassured me, pushing away slightly. “I don’t remember my mummy.” The nonchalant nature in which she said this was particularly revealing in its candidness. I once again had no answer, nor did I really know if an answer was really necessary.

“I’m sorry that I can’t change that for you two,” I lamented. “But we’ll change things- things’ll be better from here.” As I spoke, I felt unsure of what to do at this point- of how to react. Either way, the sudden heaviness of the conversation was lost on the two girls, who looked at me quizzically.

“Can we go back now?” Eve asked suddenly, rubbing her eyes. An answer was never necessary for her; she draped her arms over my shoulders and pulled herself further up my torso. From there, she dangled, causing great neck pain to the mountain that she clung to.

“Back to the castle?”

“With you.”

The response that I received was muffled, but it was loud enough to convey its intended message. “Of course, we can,” I softly replied as I rose to my feet, supporting my passenger. Once my adjustment was complete, Eve gained extra leverage around my neck, the flexing of her arms being the only indication that she had any strength left. “Eva, are you ready to go?”

Eva nodded happily as she stood up, pushing her chair back to roughly where she found it. Once this was done, she bounded back to my side, seemingly also prepared for the day out to end. Feet swinging, she skipped ahead, turning around once she heard me speak up.

“I hope you enjoyed today,” I stated as we set off. Although a general thought, I only expected the girl at my side to reply, and she eventually did so, stopping a few feet in front of me.

“It was really fun,” she quietly replied, swaying back-and-forth on the spot. “Thank you.” She stayed stationary even after she finished, placing both of her hands on her chest as she continued to oscillate.

“You don’t need to thank me- the day wouldn’t’ve been as fun without you.”

“I don’t know…”

Eva remained rooted to the spot, her slow dance of insecurity being her only method of movement. An inability to meet anyone’s gaze only added to the troubled display, so I lowered myself down and, with some difficulty, lightly flicked at the timid girl’s forehead. “Don’t be so modest, madam. I know that it’s true.”

Jumping back from the sudden contact, Eva placed a hand over the point of impact and glanced up uneasily. A smile awaited her once she caught a glimpse of what was in front of her, but there was still some apprehension in her stare.

“I guess so…”

“I know so.”

Eva had no answer to that. After a short delay, she headed back over to me and offered her hand. It took some adjustments, but soon our hands connected- the confirmation that some form of agreement had been made.

With the hums of one sister and the snores of the other filling my ears, I began the journey back. With this part of the day all-but finished, I exhaled loudly as I felt a level of tension fade away. All I had to do now was find out what Celestia needed to talk to me about.

“What joy will you bring me this time, princess?”