//------------------------------// // Chaos // Story: Anthropology // by JasonTheHuman //------------------------------// It was too dark to see exactly where they had ended up. “Twilight? Rarity? Could you guys maybe…” Lyra looked down at them expectantly. Twilight did nothing for a moment, then shook herself. “Oh. Of course.” Her horn lit up, casting a glow all around them. The light glinted off the jewels in the necklaces each of them wore. “You really can’t do magic anymore, can you?” Lyra shook her head. “But it’s not that bad, honestly. I’ve gotten used – “ “What is that?” Rarity exclaimed. She rushed over to something that had caught her eye. As she got closer, they could see from the light of her horn that it was a store display. All around them – shelves, racks, clothing everywhere. “I’ll admit I wasn’t sure about you before, Lyra, but if this is the human world, I completely understand,” Rarity said. “Now did you say that you humans wear clothing every day?” “Of course,” Lyra said. She looked around – it seemed to be a normal department store. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, and everything seemed to be in order, other than the fact it was empty. “Any of this look familiar?” Rainbow Dash said. “You are supposed to be our guide, y’know.” “There’s stores like this all over the human world. We could be anywhere,” Lyra said. “There were some like this in Philadelphia, where I live, but they also had them in Des Moines. And everywhere in between, probably.” “Um, that’s great, but… Could we get out of the dark? I don’t like it here…” Fluttershy said. She shrank down, backing up slowly. She hit something. She looked up to see a headless human figure. She squeaked and flew close to the group. “It’s just a display. Come on,” Lyra said. “The layouts of these places are usually pretty similar. The exit should be this way.” Twilight’s horn lit up even brighter to allow a circle of light around the seven of them. They moved slowly through the eerily silent store. “You’ll have to excuse me, Lyra, but you said that there are shops like this everywhere in the human world?” Rarity said. Her eyes moved all over the store, constantly finding something new to look at. “I suppose you would need plenty of clothing if you were to have an outfit for every single day, but… Oh, this is simply magnificent!” “Let’s hurry it up, y’all. I don’t like how quiet it is,” Applejack said. “Discord could be anywhere.” Pinkie Pie seemed to be the only one unfazed by their new surroundings. If anything, she was giving Lyra a suspicious glance – her hands, her stature – but she seemed excited more than anything else. “You already saw him?” she asked. “What did he do? Did he do the chocolate rain thing again? What about the cotton candy? Giant apples? Those weird bunny things?” “It was just like last time,” Lyra said bitterly. “He was just getting started.” “Oh, come on. You have to admit he was a little bit funny, right?” It got a little bit easier to see once they got closer to the windows, but not by much. It was night outside. “I didn’t think I was gone that long…” Lyra said. She expected the front doors to be locked. Strangely enough, it opened easily. She held it open for the others. They stepped out of the dark building and into the open street. Applejack stared up at everything around her. “Looks like Discord’s already done a number on this place…” Towering structures surrounded them. Looking up at the one they had come out of, it was a glassy reflective surface all the way up to the sky. Down the street were more buildings, boxy shapes with endless windows. A few billboards – advertising mobile phones, airlines, a few logos that Lyra recognized. A bike was locked on to a pole with a crossing sign. There were street names, but they were only numbers. “No…” Lyra said, shaking her head. “No, it’s always like this.” “Y-you mean this is normal for you?” Fluttershy said. “There’s… no grass, or trees…” A car sped past – the only one moving on the street – and she shrank back. “I don’t like it here.” “It’s just a city like the one near where I live. Bigger, though…” Lyra looked around at the surroundings. Other cities she had seen would pale in comparison to this. There was more of everything. Larger buildings, tons of cars, even if most of them weren’t moving. Definitely more advertising. The only thing there wasn’t much of were humans. At least not as many as Lyra would expect to see in a city of this size. They stared at her. Normally humans wouldn’t give Lyra a second glance, but here it was like they didn’t want to approach. One held up a phone, probably taking a picture. Rarity scrunched up her nose. “It could do with some redecorating. These buildings seem a little drab…” “Kinda reminds me of Manehattan,” Applejack said. She watched another car go by. “And what in the heck are those? Are they supposed to be movin’ like that?” “There’s way too much to explain,” Lyra said. “First of all, we need to find out where we are. The Princess said she would try to drop us somewhere close to Discord. At least it’s not the middle of nowhere like last time.” Twilight was quickly taking inventory of everything around her. She was currently focused on a stoplight glowing red. “That’s supposed to be there, too?” She looked to Lyra for confirmation. “You said the human world wasn’t exactly like what we’ve studied, but this isn’t anything like what we studied. None of this makes any sense!” “Please, Twilight, I really don’t have time to explain everything.” The first time Lyra arrived in this world, there had been a gradual transition into a city that wasn’t even this overwhelming. She could only imagine what an overload it must be to ponies who had never been here before. “If you want, I guess I could find you some books to take back with you. But for now, there’s no time.” “But these are the same creatures you studied…” Twilight said. She watched some of the humans across the street. “I think that much, at least, is the same. Isn’t it?” “You’re sure none of them are going to eat us?” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Humans don’t eat ponies. Trust me, I’ve lived here for a while now,” Lyra said. “Actually, we eat a lot of the same things you do.” Which wasn’t a lie. Just not the whole truth. “Enough talking,” Rainbow Dash said. “We came here to beat Discord again, so where is he?” “Lyra, you did say that everything here is normal?” Twilight tilted her head. “I’ll admit it doesn’t look that way to me, but it doesn’t seem like Discord’s up to his usual tricks.” Lyra looked up at the sky. It was dark, completely starless. The ground was dimly illuminated by scattered lights in the windows, but the street lamps were dark. She wondered what time it was. Her phone was in her pocket. Now that her fingers were back to normal, it was easy to turn it on. It said the connection was back. It also said it was just past five in the afternoon. She scratched her head. “That’s… I mean, it feels like that should be right, that’s about how long I was in Equestria, but it shouldn’t be this dark.” As if in response, the sky immediately brightened. The sunrise took only a split-second and then the sky was clear and blue. It was blinding for a moment until their eyes adjusted. “Lyra, just one more question. Who controls the sun in this world?” Twilight asked. “Obviously it’s not Princess Celestia… is it?” Lyra shook her head. “It’s supposed to just happen on its own. This isn’t right.” “On its own? That’s simply ridiculous,” Rarity said. “Look, I really don’t have time to explain everything about this world. Just let it go. It’s too complicated. You guys just need to get to work,” Lyra said. Lyra watched the crossing signal. It was flashing a red human hand – the symbol for “stop,” as she’d come to learn. But then it was replaced with a six-pointed pink star. That flashed a few times, then changed to three red apples, a multicolored lightning bolt, a cluster of blue diamonds… Her concentration on that was broken by a hollow thud. She jumped, and looked over to notice one of the store mannequins in the window had fallen over. She let out a sigh of relief until the one next to it stepped forward and started pounding against the glass. “We’d better get out of here,” she said. “Hold on. We don’t even know where Discord is yet,” Twilight said. “We’ll just get lost.” Lyra pointed at the crossing signal again, which had gone back to the pink star. “I think he’s already found us.” Applejack watched the flashing lights, which had gone back to the three apples. “Now I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to do that.” “Just stay here, Lyra. We’ll go take care of Discord. We’ll find you when we’re done,” Twilight said. She looked at the charm hanging around Lyra’s neck. “After all, you’ve got our only way to get back.” “Right. I should let my parents know I’m okay, too…” Lyra said. Lyra watched them gallop off into a hazy, colorful blur in the distance. The sky went dark again and it was impossible to see them after that. She shuddered, and reached into her pocket for her phone. It was somewhat comforting to use it with her normal fingers again. She really appreciated the slenderness and flexibility after using her crudely-formed hoof hands just hours ago. Here was the contact list, only a few names listed, and the one she wanted was… Home. Maybe it would still work. Discord wouldn’t know how to ruin the phone system, would he? Even Lyra wasn’t sure exactly how they worked. It would be best not to wander too far, like Twilight said. She hoped they wouldn’t get lost here. She hoped that she wouldn’t get lost here. There were a few stores around with familiar names - Walgreens, or Office Max, but they weren't the same ones from Philadelphia. The same stores were all over the place in the human world. She could be anywhere. Maybe this was the capitol of America, it was definitely big enough. She stared down at the phone in her hand, remembered its purpose, and dialed the number for home. It would be over soon, wouldn’t it? It rang a few times. She knew the sound. If it kept going, it meant that the human on the other end didn’t pick up the phone in time. She frowned when it rang again, almost worried that nobody would answer… Twilight’s head was down, looking at the strange yellow stripes on the road. It was made out of some odd black stone. Were the stripes supposed to be there, or was that Discord? It was so difficult to tell. There was a blaring noise and a screeching to her left. One of those wheeled machines had just come to a stop as they went past. Rainbow Dash flew higher to dodge. "Watch where you're going!" she yelled at it. “What do you reckon those things are?” Applejack said. She glanced back at it, but kept galloping along with the others. “I don’t know. There’s no time to worry about that, though. Just stay close, everyone,” Twilight said. “He might try to separate us again. We can’t let that happen.” “Um, Twilight? Do you even know – “ Fluttershy’s voice faded out as she was distracted by more humans. “Do you know where we’re going?” “Well… no,” she admitted. The road they were on kept leading them down farther, so she continued to follow it. There was a rumble coming from behind them, some glass shattering. Another machine was driving along the side of a building, a couple stories above their heads. It kept going until it was around the corner onto the other side. "I didn't know they could do that!" Pinkie Pie said. "It looks fun!" "Do you think it's supposed to be able to do that?" Rainbow Dash said. “I’m going to guess not,” Twilight said. They barely paused to watch it as they crossed another intersection under those red and green flashing lights. It was almost like that hedge maze - just an endless labyrinth of grey buildings. At least they hadn't been separated. Things were confusing enough as it was. But they were together. Discord hadn't had time to play games with their minds, he didn't even expect them to show up, and the Elements would work. Maybe. “Hello?” “Mom?” Lyra’s face broke out into a relieved grin immediately. “Thank goodness. I’m back.” “Where are you? Your father…” Her mother hesitated for a moment. “He said you were…” “Yeah. I’m human again. Everything’s going to be alright.” There was a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.” “Wait, you… You believe me?” Lyra said. She had just finished explaining everything to her dad, to Bon-Bon, to Twilight… The last thing she had expected was for her mother to not have any questions. “He said something about a ‘spirit of chaos,’ something like that. We’re fine here now, but a few hours ago I’m not sure what was happening. It’s not that difficult to believe you turned into a unicorn.” There was a pause. “And you left chocolate milk hoof prints on the stairs.” “Sorry.” “It’s fine, Lyra, but where are you? You said you were back, but where?” “From Equestria,” Lyra said. She began to pace. “Look, I brought the Elements of Harmony with me. I think Discord is in this city. We’ll have him taken care of in no time.” “The city? You’re in New York?” “I don’t know,” Lyra said. There was a metal cart with a green umbrella next to her. The umbrella began to spin, lifting it up into the air, eventually rising over the tops of the buildings. “Whoa! Uh... We just appeared in the middle of it all. I have no idea where we are.” "After things stopped happening here, there started to be stories that whatever it was had moved to New York City. It's been all over the news." "Already? That seems fast," Lyra said. "I guess that's how human news travels, though, isn't it?" "You really did grow up in a different world, didn't you?" her mother said. "Lyra, just tell us where you are. We can probably be there in a couple hours to bring you back home." “No, don’t come here yet! It’s dangerous. We’ll have Discord taken care of in no time, just… keep your distance until then. I’ll call you later.” She looked up to see where that cart had gone, but didn't see it. "You're sure?" "Trust me. He already did this to Ponyville... but they stopped him then, and they can stop him now." There was a pause. “Just be careful, Lyra.” “I will,” she said. “I’ll talk to you soon… Bye.” She ended the call, switched off her phone, and slid it back into her pocket. Now to wait for the others to put a stop to all this. Someone bumped into her from behind. She turned around and saw it was a young human male with a large camera around his neck. “Excuse me,” she said softly. He stopped for a moment, then spun around. “Hey, you see anything around here?” “Huh?” “A guy on 43rd Street said he saw a herd of unicorns go stampeding through. Right through traffic." He made a sweeping gesture with his hands. "You see anything like that?” Lyra frowned. “They weren’t all unicorns…” she muttered. “You saw them? Which way’d they go?” “I mean, uh…” She scratched the back of her head. “Unicorns? That’s not possible.” “Look around you. There’s crazy stuff all over the place. A buddy of mine said he saw the Statue of Liberty switch arms, like she just got tired of holding up the torch after all those years. You’ve at least seen the thing with the sun, right?” “Oh.” She looked up at the sky as if it was about to change right that moment. “It’ll all be over soon.” He looked at her strangely. “I dunno about that, but I gotta see what’s down there.” He continued running down the street. Lyra stood there dumbfounded. The human world was doomed to destruction, and yet they just wanted to watch. She shook her head, and kept walking at a brisk pace. There was no telling what else might come alive. She crossed the street. A few people here were talking to each other, watching her as she went past. She passed a store with the windows broken. A car that had somehow turned itself upside down. A sign overhead had a guitar, almost like the one she played. This one was red, probably a different model. A music store? Or a concert hall? On closer inspection, it actually said Hard Rock Cafe. Like it was a restaurant or something. Whatever it was, something about seeing that sign made her feel a little bit better. Things would be back to normal soon enough, she could go back to playing her music. She took a closer look at the windows. Whatever this place was, it interested her. “Lyra?” The voice behind her was familiar. “No way… I’d recognize you anywhere. What are you doing here?” "Can we maybe slow down, please?" Fluttershy had stopped running and started flying, but even then she was beginning to lag behind. "Perhaps we should. All this running and we haven't found anything," Rarity said. A trash can got up and ran away as they approached. "Other than... that, I suppose." The grid of flat streets and cold stone and metal buildings seemed to come to a clearing. A few of those wheeled machines were sitting around. Two flagpoles with unfamiliar banners stuck up in the middle of the plaza. Giant human faces stared down from huge posters. A few panels were dark. “Do you think this goes on forever?” Fluttershy said. “’Course not. It can’t,” Applejack said. She glanced around. “I think.” They came to a stop. The roads split off and went in different directions. It really was just another maze. No wonder Discord would come here. Suddenly everything went dark. The sun had set again, as quickly as it had risen. It took their eyes some time to adjust to the moonlight. “Ah, the Elements of Harmony. I’m surprised to see you here, I really am.” Twilight’s head jerked up. “Discord!” He was in one of the posters, his claw curled around the shoulder of a female human. “So Celestia decided that the human world was worth saving and sent you here. That’s certainly unexpected.” Rainbow Dash flew up right in front of his face. “Stop joking around and get out here!” She turned around and kicked him, but he quickly moved away and circled around to one of the dark panels on the other side. “Let’s not be too hasty, Rainbow Dash. Enjoy your visit. This is New York City, home to about eight million wonderful humans, give or take a few hundred thousand,” he said. Then he gave a shrug. “Or at least it was. Just a light cola storm and some tricks with their giant statue and they all pack up and leave town. At least some of them. But looks like there will be more coming just to see the show. What can I say? Humans appreciate chaos just as much as I do!” “That’s enough,” Twilight said. “We didn’t come here to play your games. I may not be sure what this place is, but I know that we need to stop you.” Discord sighed, and then emerged out of the flat panel. His form became three-dimensional as he pulled himself away from it. He glided down to float before them. “Alright, girls. Let’s just get this overwith, shall we?” He folded his arms across his chest and waited for them to make a move. Twilight stepped back for just a moment. Then she turned to the others. “Ready?” “Let’s finish up here so I can go home,” Rarity said. “Sounds good to me,” Applejack said. The pendants around each pony’s neck began to glow. They could feel the familiar rush of power – although they had only used the Elements twice before, it was unmistakable. And slowly, their hooves lifted off the ground until they hovered in front of Discord. Something changed in his bored expression – a look of realization. There was hardly enough time for him to register the burst of color emerging from each pendant, forming into a vivid rainbow against the grey backdrop of the city. It surged through the air, swooping up high before dropping down and heading directly for the draconequus. The rush of power seemed to last forever, though it couldn’t have been more than a couple seconds. Slowly, the pendants darkened, returned to normal, and each of the ponies floated back down and placed their hooves back on solid ground. The light cleared. Discord idly inspected the talons of his left arm. “You know, for a second there, even I was sure it was going to work.”