Lyra went down her checklist again before glancing up at the diligently working Twilight, working on that strange machine of hers. "Almost ready?"
Twilight threw a switch and the portal was open, waiting for them. "Don't forget, if you see somepony that looks like you, stay away from them." She looked to Darrell. "Stay with Lyra, and watch out for each other. It's an alien world and everypony should stick together. Thankfully it was mostly harmless last time I was in there, but it can catch you by surprise." She held up a hoof. "You will arrive dressed. Why? I'm still trying to figure that out, but it's probably for the best. They do appear to be dressed at all times. A nudity taboo?"
Darrell nodded quickly. "We don't have fur."
Lyra bit back the urge to correct Darrell, this close to the humans, it just felt silly to say. "Ready to go?"
Darrell gave a hoofs up gesture and hopped to the ready, looking quite eager to go through the portal.
Lyra moved up beside her. "I should warn, there's nothing about this that's been shown to change sexes, just species."
Darrell gave a less cheerful nod at the reminder. "A man can dream. And I will be a man at least, er, human. Let's go." She strode forward into the portal, and Lyra rushed through after her.
Bright colors, distorted images, and the sensation of being pulled apart drew a startled scream from Lyra. she could hear Darrell's voice calling out through the non-space. It took forever, but also an instant, and they were ejected onto cement.
Lyra pushed up onto all fours and quickly realized her body was entirely off-balance. Her butt was up in the air, and her shoulders low to the ground. Why were her hind-legs so long! And she only had fur on her head, though her skin was the right color? Her self-inspection was cut short as a familiar female voice yelped beside her. She was still white, with the red mane that Lyra remembered. She was also a she, as far as Lyra could tell, at least they looked pretty similar.
Darrell sat up and stood up quickly, wobbling a moment before she had full apparently control over her new form. "This isn't quite right."
Lyra tilted her head at Darrell. "You look alright from here?"
Darrell shook her head. "The... it's hard to explain. It's human... like... without being human? And humans don't have these skin-tones! White like chalk and green? We'd be rushed to a hospital."
Lyra pushed up, trying to imitate Darrell's standing position. She started to topple, but Darrell caught her and steadied her. "Thanks. So... this isn't the right place?" The mystery only felt deeper to Lyra. They had come to a human world, only for the supposed human to reject it? "Let's assume a moment it's just Twilight's portal messing up. How does everything else look?"
Darrell started to meander, looking around curiously. "We're in front of a school. Looks like a High school. We're a bit old to be wandering in there, unless we want to pretend to be teachers. Pass. Let's find a library."
Lyra found no fault in the idea and followed the mare, er, woman? She certainly seemed to understand the human world. The strange rolling things on the road reminded her a little bit of an automobile, but they were too quiet, and too sleek, and too a lot of things. Darrell knew how to get past them, and Lyra followed along after her, taking in the new world with large eyes. Darrell suddenly pulled up short and Lyra bumped into her from behind.
Darrell gestured subtly to, oooo, more humans. They were just as colorful as ponies, and they appeared to be a herd, walking down the side of the road in a group of five, all talking loudly about things Lyra didn't understand. Darrell nudged her off the sidewalk and they let the group go past before Darrell shook her head. "This is not my Earth. Did you see their pants and skirts?"
Lyra shook her head. "What about them? They looked perfectly serviceable."
"Cutie marks!" Darrell threw her arms into the air. "They all have cutie marks! How does that even work? Humans don't have them, but each one had their own icon in about the right place."
Lyra couldn't say with certainty if humans should have cutie marks or not. The book didn't talk about them having them, but that doesn't outrule the possibility. "Wait, but it was on their clothing?" Lyra looked down, and beheld her own cutie mark on either side of her skirt. "Huh..."
Darrell followed her vision and choked out a laugh. "This is some kinda crazy pony version of Earth." She turned and resumed her journey.
Lyra moved up beside her. "Well, speaking hypothetically here, does this feel like 'home'? I mean, are you... more comfortable?"
Darrell sighed a bit as she walked. "That's hard to say. I like having the right almost-shape back, even if the proportions feel a little off. But I'm still a damn girl. I'll stick with you. The ponies have magic at least, there's still hope we can fix that."
Lyra smiled. "There's always hope, and I'm not giving up on you."
Darrell stopped, then turned and smiled at Lyra. "Thank you. I don't say that often enough, but you really have been trying to help, and I do appreciate that. It's just... so hard. I'm not trying to be a huge downer the entire time, but I look in the mirror and that's not me! Am I being stupid?"
Lyra had less confidence in calling her misguided. "I don't think... you are. But please, indulge me. I'd like to see more proof that you know how things actually are here, rather than what they shouldn't be."
Darrell waved her forward, and soon they arrived at the library. She moved to a seat and sank into it in front of a strange set of objects. One showed a picture that kept changing, while the other had letters and numbers on it. Darrell began striking the letters and moving a third object around, interacting with the image on the screen without a problem. "Let's try a Google search... No Google?" Darrell seemed to get frustrated before she found... something? Lyra really had no idea what was going on, and tried to just watch and learn.
"Poogle? Hooftube? I'm getting the drift here. It's like a huge cosmic joke at my expense." She flopped against what she had called a keyboard before she sat up. "Alright, what do you want to see?"
Lyra chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "How about a pony?"
Just a moment later a video was playing showing the rather graphic scene of a horse giving birth. Lyra went red and turned around. "Less ponies!" She peeked and saw an educational video about how to make a chair was playing instead. Harmless, but damning for her thoughts that Darrell didn't know what she was doing. "What about... a mountain." Whatever she asked for, Darrell could produce pictures and sounds and more to go with it. Lyra was amazed. "Wait a moment. You said humans don't have magic, but this is pretty magic right here, and you obviously know how to use it. What's up with that?"
Snickering came from a few stations down. A glance showed the back of a male human's head. Darrell pushed to her feet and grabbed Lyra's hand, guiding her towards the exit. "You sound crazy." Lyra did not miss the irony of this statement and couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her. "They're not magic, they're technology."
"I've seen technology. That is not technology." Lyra frowned a little. "I thought you trusted me. Tell me the truth."
Darrell wobbled one of her hands. "I can't even start to explain how it works without explaining how ten other things work. We'd be here all day, but I swear. I double-swear! Those were technology. Really advanced technology compared to what you have on Equestria, but still technology. They run on electricity."
That word Lyra knew and she bobbed her head. "Electricity is good for moving things or for light." She frowned. "How did they fit so many colored lightbulbs in such a small space?"
Darrell looked surprised. "That was actually a very good guess right there. Again, Not really my specialty. I think we should go back."
They walked side-by-side back to the portal. Lyra rubbed behind her head. "Forgive me for saying this, but it feels kind of odd. I mean, alright, you convinced me. You are a human, at least up here." she tapped herself on the head. "So why are you coming back instead of running away?"
"This is not my home. And I'm not a girl." Darrell frowned and waved a hand at the town as a whole. "And these aren't even really humans. I'd be settling for a cheap facsimile. At least I know where I stand with the ponies, and I have a house, and some friends, and maybe some crazy pony magic can put me back together later."
Lyra made quiet mental plans. The treatment would continue as planned. After all, Darrell had to live as a mare, just as the others were ponies now. She would teach them how to be happy ponies. "Oh! Wait... if this is not your home, doesn't that mean there could be lots of not-home human places?"
"Uh? I guess?" Darrell looked uncertain. "Why?"
Lyra shook her head. "When we get home, compare notes with the others, see if their 'home' is your 'home'. And you can tell them I'm on their side. I mean, it doesn't make them not ponies, but I won't call it a story anymore, sorry."
Darrell pulled Lyra close and kissed her forehead. "If I showed up on Earth saying I was a talking pony, they'd do a lot worse than give me a cozy house, try to find me a job, and a therapist that seems to want me to be happy."
They returned to Twilight's castle, where she turned off the portal with a relieved expression.
Lyra sent Darrell ahead into town before sharing her findings with Twilight. "She is human! Or was? Or is? I'm not even sure anymore... She could use the 'computer' and she knew how to cross the roads and use the doors and everything! She was walking in that awkward body like it was meant to walk instead of being designed to make you look as stupid as possible."
Twilight helpfully picked up Lyra's monocle and put it back in place. "This is becoming a habit. You're serious though? I mean... I believe you, and that does explain a few things, like how a crystal pony can go missing without a single parent actually missing their foal." She suddenly started turning green. "Oh Celestia, that means it really was meat." She sagged to the ground, weak and nauseous.
Lyra put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Calm down! She said it wasn't 'her home'. She's a human, but the human world behind that portal wasn't the same, and there were other differences. So, you know, that burger could have been hay, just like ours! He said there was a lot of pony stuff about that human world."
Lyra soon left a much-relieved Twilight behind, trotting briskly to make notes about the exciting journey and consider her next plan of action.
And in the end they will be happy ponies and Lyra will be considered to be crazy.
Needs more monocle. Besides that minor(glaring) error im really enjoying this.
I'm curious, with transformation magic Darrell could be a stallion, getting a magical sex change. Is transformation magic that Lyra knows only temporary, not permanent? Not that I mind that twist, I'm all for gender benders. I guess transformation magic for sex changes is only temporary, used for a fillyfooler couple to have children, but them still living both as mares?
I'd be surprised if most of them didn't reject the mirror world, if for no other reason than they'd have no history and family there, and be constantly reminded of the uncanny valley nature of the place and how its 'humans' look. I'm pretty sure this also applies to the missing Samantha, who cared about her boyfriend, her stuff, and her family, and all of that would be gone anyway there. Thomas might not care, but then again he might surprise me and not be able to freely cut meat that he knows is sapient in Equestria. And he currently has a good job.
I'm thinking the only one who may actually take the offer of running away inside there might be Sam. He seems unstable enough and he thinks he reincarnated anyway. Then again, without the others, maybe not.
Dang, was wondering if it would be the real world or not xD wasn't sure where you were going with that. Still, i'm super glad to see Lyra believes them now after seeing so much evidence proving they aren't just making stuff up. Her goal of making them happy ponies hasn't changed but now she has a reference point to build off of. Wonder if Lucy will be able to get out of school since she can pretty much prove she was an adult.
Also I wonder how many given the choice would choose the human world over the pony one, even if it isn't their world. I can't imagine many would unless they were desperate to be somewhere other than equestria.
I'm going to quote Handy on this.
This is actually really good; it took some convincing though.
The first two chapters got on my nerves but were really well written... so I clicked on the last existing chapter to see if this was going anywhere. And lo and behold, it is!
Proceeded to read the story backwards, chapter for chapter, and realised it was only the first two chapters I didn't agree with.
Yeah I'm strange. Never judge a story immediately when it's well written with hardly any mistakes.
And yes, Lyra (whose characterization is really nice) is the one who'll end up crazy in the ponies' perception.
I am not really sure how to comment on this chapter it is different but the same.
we all know the portal is not earth as we know it but yet it is just different.
Lyra is trying to help and now she kind of knows the truth and if all the pony's are from the same place / earth well ???
Harts Fire
Yay! It's no longer quite so hopeless for our poor humans. Now Lyra just needs to do something about the mentality of making them happy ponies. If you ask me her priority should be to make them happy beings, trying to railroad them to be happy ponies seems like it can cause some problems.
6015745 Did you say you read it backwards? Why, dude?
Finally!
Lyra opening her eyes!
About damn time!
But she's right thinking that they should check together if they come from the same Earth.
I wonder if one of them is from somewhere else?
6015965 This I think was my early problem with the story her seeming insistence they can only be happy as 'ponies' with no other options really and having to say they were always ponies. At least the admittance they once were something other makes room for them to figure out a place in this world without having to lose what they once were.
she's still super lucky none of them are stubborn enough to just outright refuse to accept their new place in life, at least so far she is. . .
6015974 Because I'm weird :b
Nah... it works as a series of oneshots, even if you read it 11-10-9-8....
Probably because I didn't like the first two chapters and decided to carefully approach them from the opposite direction because I liked the concept? Well, it paid off! Don't ask me. I'm tracking this now.
Very good chapter here, finally got past the whole "C'mon, you guys aren't really humans" attitude Lyra had before, which, despite how helpful she's been trying to be, was undoubtedly undermining her efforts. Also really like the idea that this is another alternate dimension (the human one, that is) unrecognizable to the former humans like Darrell. Makes a lot of sense, really. Was pretty sad that Darrell was still a girl, but hey, maybe the ponies will be able to figure out something to change that at some point. Can't wait to find out what happened to Samantha, and hopefully she's doing alright!
I think I'm getting a vibe of Multiverse theory in this story, or it's just me
Cause in this chapter about the mirror world, it might connect to that kind of theory
But of course, it might just be my guts only and I hope Lyra finds a solution in this problem
6015651 It was like 'Welcome to the Uncanny Valley!' They look human, but they aren't, and you know it. At least the ponies don't try to pretend.
6016104
Just the thought makes me shudder. The principals of that high-school place look about as different from the "normal" humans there as the princesses look from regular ponies. Imagine having those things stand in front of you in natura.
Kinda dark if you think about it, Lyra's basically saying that it's best to forget who they were as humans, and fully embrace being ponies.
...Of course, they could actually have a real problem, too.
I feel that this is relevant:framedigitalmedia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/qw-cheatsheet-print-zoom.jpg
6016236 No one said to forget. If you get an arm chopped off, do you 'forget' you had two arms once, or do you learn to work with the one arm you have left?
6016331
I'm sorry, I worded that wrong. She is basically treating it like a mental condition though. Not that that's a bad thing, since she doesn't know any better (if they were, in fact, human at some point) but still kinda dark.
6016335 This is what I ment.
I approve of this chapter. Never saw Equestria Girls, probably won't, or anything with their human counterparts... outside of still pictures, anyway. There was a few smirks here and there but... I definitely liked the Lyra P.o.V in this chapter. Really gives me an idea of how a pony might describe human technology... and other human stuff. "Like it was meant to walk and not look stupid" or something along those lines? Ah that was a good one.
6022926 This was a tricky chapter, with Lyra shoved out of the pony world and reacting to a whole new reality. I didn't want her to be too blase, but her also just gawking and immobile would also not be very fun to read about.
Typo? Slip of the tongue? Or...?
6025392 The EqG world has a lot of subtle pony references. It is a mirror world, as befitting the mirror portal.
You went to EqG and handled it well... how?
The fact you were able to pull that off has me on the edge of my seat for the rest.
HeyHay hay hay! Stay outta my shed!Because all wizards wear monocles!