//------------------------------// // On The Road // Story: Anthropology // by JasonTheHuman //------------------------------// Lyra felt warm sun and a gentle breeze on her face. She found herself standing in the middle of a flat stone road, but it stretched off farther than she could see in either direction into a clear blue sky. Flat green fields were on either side. There were also tall poles with ropes stretched tight between them, for some indiscernible reason, running along the side of the road. A faint smell hung in the air, a bit like something burning, that Lyra couldn’t identify the source of. But what really concerned her was that gigantic sign towering over everything. A 15-minute call could save you 15%. It was written in legible Equestrian, even if the actual meaning didn’t make sense. The part that bothered her the most was the picture of a lizard next to it. Not a human. And it looked much more like a photograph than a drawing. Maybe it was a gecko, but the word was spelled wrong. Had Celestia really sent her to the human world? She didn’t see any other humans around. What if there had been some mistake? She turned away from the sign. If there was a road, it would go somewhere. She just had to follow it. She chose the direction going away from the sign and started walking. Lyra stared down at her feet, which treaded along the yellow line painted down the center of the road. Who had painted it? Hopefully not a giant lizard… It seemed to stretch on as long as the road itself. Just moments ago she’d been standing in Canterlot Castle. Now she was… Somewhere else. These fields all seemed close enough to what she was used to in Equestria, but the road itself, those weird poles – and that sign with the lizard – proved this was definitely some other world. Whether or not it was the right one remained to be seen. A few minutes passed without any event. Then there was a low rumble coming from behind her. She turned around to see some kind of object coming towards her. It was getting closer, and fast. She stood there stunned. It came right past her, swerving to the side and making an incredibly loud noise like a trumpet blast forcing her to clap her hands to her ears. That burning smell got stronger as it passed. That was one of them! The carriages from her dreams. Like the one she’d tried to make herself out of Applejack’s cart. And there was also one in that photograph of her parents. Humans drove them. They were real, and Lyra had just seen one in real life. As horrifyingly fast as it had been, she was excited. There could have been a human inside that thing. Lyra was grinning. It had been going in the same direction she was headed, and by now it was a tiny speck in the distance. Lyra headed over to the side of the road. If more were coming, she didn’t want to be in the way. She knew from experience that it was hard to steer those. Continuing on, she saw a green sign – about eye level, not massive like the lizard one – with just a few words on it. She stopped in front of it. DES MOINES                        7 How was she supposed to pronounce that? And what was it? At least the other sign had been in readable Equestrian, by some stroke of luck, but Lyra had no idea what this meant. Lyra talked to herself as she continued walking, trying different ways to pronounce “Des Moines.” None of them sounded right. Oh, well. She’d figure it out. Something was starting to come into view down the road. A white speck, starting to take the form of a house. It didn’t seem too different from one she’d see back home. Any building would have been a good sign, but somebody might live here. She could figure out where she'd ended up. As she got closer, she noticed one of those carriages was outside it – red, slightly rusted, and sitting completely still. Lyra headed towards it to investigate. At the moment it did nothing, but she walked around it carefully just in case. Leaving the main road, she continued down a dirt path past the house and followed a wooden post fence running along the path. Then she saw them. Not humans, but ponies. They looked different from the ones back home. Their coats were dull shades of grey and brown, and as she got closer, Lyra realized they didn’t have cutie marks. Their faces were a bit longer too. But still, it was good to see anyone else that she could talk to. Lyra stepped up to the fence and leaned her arms on the top beam. “Um, excuse me. I’m new around here. I’m looking for humans.” The ponies didn’t say anything. One of them flicked his tail. “You know about humans, right? They’d look... well, like I do…” Lyra’s voice trailed off. There was something wrong here. “Do you speak Equestrian?” Still no response. “’Scuse me. This is private property.” At first Lyra thought the voice was coming from the pony, which was strange because he’d never opened his mouth. Then she turned around and saw a human standing there looking directly at her. She stumbled backwards, hit the fence, and put out her hands to steady herself against it. The human was a male – she was pretty sure. His hair was very short, barely coming past his ears, like most human males were shown to wear it. He wore a white shirt and dark blue pants, with heavy mud-caked shoes. It took Lyra a while to find her voice. “Oh – i-it is? I’m just…” Her mouth had gone dry. “I’m, uh, looking for somewhere with humans. Like us.” She flashed a somewhat uneasy smile. The human looked at her like she’d said something strange. He lifted one arm and pointed a finger in the direction she’d been walking. “Nearest city’s Des Moines. It’s a few miles down the road.” He pronounced it like  “day moyne.” Lyra’s eyes were locked on his hand, the way that he used his fingers. “Oh… Thank you!” “I don’t know where you’re headed, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You’re scaring the horses,” the human said. “Y-yeah… Sorry…” Lyra was in shock. She stared down at her two feet, which at the moment she could barely remember how to use – just move one, then the other… “Thanks again!” She turned and ran for the road again. She headed off, head down, arms crossed in front of her. She waited until she had a good distance away to slow down. In spite of how terribly that conversation had gone, Lyra couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing. She’d just talked to a real human. Of course, she was one herself, but still, it was amazing. As impossible as it seemed, humans were alive and well, and she was about to see even more of them. Lyra had to make sure, though, so she reached up a hand and prodded herself in the face. And then again, a bit harder, but still nothing. She wasn’t sleeping, then. She half expected to wake up, find out she’d passed out from boredom at the Gala, and dreamed the entire thing. But she was here, and she was a human. It was going to take Lyra a long time to get used to the fact that humans were common in this world. They’d always seemed so far away and unapproachable. But in this world, there must be thousands of humans. There would be more like that one in Des Moines. “Des Moines...” Lyra said aloud to herself, trying out the way that the human had pronounced it. She’d probably be expected to know how to say it. Next time she saw a human, she’d have to try to stay calm. This was just another stage in her research – close-up observation. It was going to take some time to learn how this world worked, and she’d have to use everything she knew about humans if she was going to live here for the rest of her life. The rest of her life... This was her home now. She looked around, even though the scenery hadn’t changed much. It seemed peaceful. There was nothing to worry about. The human world would be great. Still... something else bothered her. The ponies had never talked to her. Then again, they didn’t exactly look like ponies; their facial features were different. They had still been close enough to at least resemble ponies like the ones she’d lived with... Lyra shook herself. No need to worry about that. She was a human now. There was no reason to worry about ponies anymore. Her feet were starting to feel sore. It was impressive enough that she was having such an easy time of walking on two legs, but it was still unfamiliar. The only other time she’d ever done this had been in dreams. Trying to keep her mind off of her sore feet, she took some time to examine her hands. She moved the fingers of one hand over the other, feeling her skin, and the bone structure underneath. She studied the interesting patterns of lines on her palms. These were completely unlike anything ponies had, even different than her magically-created hands had been. But the best part was – these hands were here to stay. Bon-Bon couldn’t tell her to get rid of them anymore, and besides, these were an integral part of what made humans what they were. “You thought we didn’t even exist,” she said under her breath, smiling. “If you could just see me now, Bon-Bon…” That made her stop. Because now, she’d suddenly realized that she wouldn’t see Bon-Bon ever again. Lyra would probably never talk to another pony – the ones she’d just seen weren’t capable of speech, as far as she knew. Only now was it starting to sink in just how much she’d given up to be human. It wasn’t too bad, right? She’d wanted this ever since she was a filly. This was a kingdom inhabited by the creatures she’d read about for so many years - her own species, as it turned out. That made her smile again. A few more of the carriages passed by over the next hour or so, and Lyra watched them pass with interest. How exactly did they move if humans couldn’t use magic? They were much faster than a pony-drawn carriage. One of them that drove past was huge, with several sets of wheels and a big box-shaped section on the back. There was writing on it, but it had been too fast to read. At least, she was pretty sure humans couldn’t use magic. Lyra saw a glass bottle on the side of the road, and focused on it. She tried to raise it up into the air... Still nothing. It sat there lifeless. Lyra lifted up her head and saw some buildings off in the distance. A group of houses, much closer together. Probably the village she’d been looking for. That was her goal, and seeing it gave her an extra boost of energy. The other humans would be there. Maybe even her parents. Walking on two legs was barely a conscious effort anymore. She focused on those buildings. Another carriage zoomed past, blowing her hair into her face. She brushed it away with her fingers – they were so useful. As she got closer to the city, the structures were beginning to come into focus. It wasn’t much farther now. For the past few hours, she’d been headed into the city. The few scattered farmhouses along the road had given way to a neighborhood of hundreds of houses, all just one or two stories. Then the buildings just got progressively larger until she reached these massive towers at the center. This could easily be the capital of the human world. Or at least whatever country she was in. Lyra stared up at the tallest of the buildings. She was right underneath them now. This one must have been at least thirty floors, capped with a dark pyramid shape. It was dizzying being so close to it. She’d seen some tall buildings in Equestria. These particular buildings, though… They seemed absolutely massive. Once they’d come into view, she’d been able to tell they were big, but they were definitely larger than anything in Manehattan, and they even would have dwarfed Canterlot Castle, which could be seen from miles away in Ponyville. Just like Princess Celestia had said, these humans were far more advanced than the ones in Equestria had been. Her neck was craned up as she walked, trying to see the top of the tower, and she bumped into a human. She jumped in surprise. “E-excuse me…” Lyra stammered. “Watch where you’re going.” The man, dressed in a suit and tie, hurried off in the other direction. There were hundreds of them. Humans, everywhere. All different colors – but, as Lyra had expected, the spectrum of human colors ran from dark brown to a light tan (like herself). There was a bit more variation in hair color. Lots of brown and black, but also a few reds, yellows, and greys. Lyra was conscious of her own green hair. Nobody seemed to be making a big deal about it, but she was getting a few looks. Maybe… It could just be an especially rare hair color for humans. Like how Rainbow Dash was the only pony Lyra knew with a multicolored mane like that. It was just one of many questions she had right now. This city was almost exactly like the ones she’d dreamed of. She didn’t recognize anything specific, but it was extremely similar. This was undoubtedly where she came from. It was so exciting. It hardly felt real. Lyra was here in the middle of a human city, surrounded by them on all sides, and she fit right in. She was one of them. She may have been raised by ponies, but she was a human at heart. There was just so much energy here. Ponyville was such a quiet little town... Most days, at least. But a normal day here was filled with so much motion. Humans walking in all directions, flashing lights everywhere like it was a festival... And those carriages were running right in between all the buildings! Apparently they could slow down enough to be controlled with precision in these tight passages. Whatever magic humans used, they had excellent control over it. That was the only explanation that made sense. Lyra was watching the humans around her, but none of them were actually using magic. At least, not anything that she recognized. They carried everything with their hands. But of course they would – if you could choose between carrying something with your mind, and having a real, solid, physical grip on it, the choice was obvious. Still, she wasn’t sure how these carriages and lights would be working if humans didn't have any kind of magic. She was at another street corner, waiting to cross. Lyra had decided she would only try to cross in a group. At these intersections, there were panels that lit up with pictures of human figures and bright red hands. That on its own had instantly gotten her attention. After watching the behavior of the humans, she’d determined that the hand meant stop, and the walking human meant to cross. Either way, it was best to follow another human across just to make sure. One of the carriages pulled up and came to a stop. There was loud music playing from inside it. Well, more like just a low bass beat that seemed to shake the ground. Lyra turned to stare at it as she crossed, and saw a human in the front seat tapping his hands with the rhythm. Where was the music coming from, though? Lyra kept going deeper into the city, but she was feeling lost. This network of buildings and streets was like an endless maze, and she wasn’t even sure where she was headed. She just wanted to see everything. There were signs and words all over the place, even if not all of them were very clear. How was she supposed to know what “Drive-Up and ATM” meant? And she was pretty sure “Quizno’s” wasn’t a word. Or maybe it was. Maybe she didn’t know as much about this world as she thought. One building with large red letters was apparently called “Marriott.” It seemed to be a hotel. That reminded her - she’d need a place to stay. But there was no way she’d be able to do that without some money. Whatever humans used as currency, she didn’t have any of it. Besides, this hotel looked incredibly fancy. From what she could see of the lobby, the rooms would be even nicer than a private suite in Canterlot Castle. Down the street she saw a store with some books on display in the windows. Lyra paused, and looked at the titles. These were different from Equestrian books. The covers were interesting, usually with full color photographs on them, but they were hardly thicker than the pages. There were a couple traditional hardbound books in the mix, but those were a minority. Lyra walked inside to look around, a bell ringing as she opened the door. A few tables were set up in the front, with some books set up, and towards the back there were rows of shelves. “Hey, how’s it going?” There was a human behind the counter – probably the owner. A male with thick-rimmed square glasses. “Just fine…” Lyra said. “Let me know if you need anything.” “Thanks.” She headed into the shelves at the back without looking at him. It was such a casual greeting. A pony would do the same thing if you walked into their store, but this was a human. A creature that had just recently stopped being a picture in a book and was suddenly speaking to her. It was going to be hard to get used to that. It was quiet here, and the smell of paper reminded her of home. It was good to see that humans valued books just as much as ponies did. Lyra ran her fingers through her hair, enjoying the sensation as she tried to decide on a course of action. Her attention drifted to the books in front of her. Some of them had been placed with the covers facing outwards instead of the spines. The names of the authors were featured even larger than some of the titles – Robert Jordan, Steven Erikson, Thomas Michelakos… Humans had such interesting names. She picked one up off the shelf. It felt heavy in her hands, but it was a nice weight. The humans pictured here looked more like the ones she knew about from her books, based on the clothing styles. On closer inspection, this cover was a painting, not a photograph. The thatched-roof houses in the background could have been just like the one she’d lived in with Bon-Bon, but instead of ponies, there were humans - dressed in armor and carrying long blades and axes with them. Putting the thick book back on the shelf, she noticed the label on the top of the shelf. So this was the “fantasy” section? But… These were the only things that looked very familiar from her studies. Everything outside seemed more like a fantasy, to be honest. Lyra wandered around the store a while longer. Most of the books here were fiction. Still, just about every single one was about humans, so they were all fascinating to her. She’d just like to know how things here in her world worked. She felt so lost here. She couldn’t let herself feel overwhelmed. The first thing she had to do was earn some money. Then she could worry about finding a place to stay and getting something to eat. Lyra noticed for the first time that she was hungry - probably something to do with the long walk into the city. Leaving the store, she headed further down the street. The number of humans she saw was truly staggering. In Ponyville, she’d known just about everyone else. Canterlot had even seemed like a big city. But here there must be hundreds of humans. The buildings gave way to an open green park. It was amazing how similar it was to the one in Ponyville. There was grass, trees, well-maintained gardens... There were a few humans walking through, so she’d have an audience. That was the important part. Lyra sat down on a bench, just like she did back home. She took her lyre out of her bag, set the case down in front of her, and started to play.