• Published 10th May 2021
  • 12,316 Views, 603 Comments

The Human Incident - Boopy Doopy



Lyra Heartstrings loves humans, so much that she might have summoned one to Equestria

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Jokes On You

“Well, what are we waiting for girls?” Twilight asked as the five of them stood in front of the dark forest. “Let's go in.”

“Are ya sure about this, Twi?” Applejack asked. “Ah mean, there ain't even any tracks leadin’ into the forest. How do ya even know it went in there?”

“Well, like I said,” Lyra explained, “it likes trees cause its species uses trees for energy, so it definitely went someplace with trees. Plus, it repels magic, so since the Everfree is magical, it’s gonna obviously not leave any hoofprints in the dirt.”

The group looked to Twilight to see if that made sense, and despite the urge to roll her eyes at the nonsense, she nodded her head in agreement. None of what Lyra said made any semblance of sense in her eyes, but she decided to agree with her for a little while anyway, at least until she could be proven wrong.

“Is there anything else we need, Lyra?” Twilight asked. “Do you have everything you want?”

“Ummm… yes!” she responded after looking around at everything she was carrying. “Except catnip. We still are gonna want to get that.”

“Oooo catnip!” Pinkie got out. “That’s one of my favorites! It makes me feel all funny and happy! Oh! I could put that in the next cake I bake at my next party!”

“Um, don’t do that, Pinkie,” Applejack told her. “Yer gonna have the whole town goin’ crazy on that stuff if ya do. Ah've seen what happens ta Rarity's cat, Opalescence.”

“Awww… but it was gonna be fun...”

“Can we go already?” Twilight asked with a tone in her voice. “We need to find it before something bad happens! It said it could destroy the whole town! And I really- ugh, this mayo is making my horn feel sticky and gross! This smell is going to take forever to get out!”

“Oh, I wonder what it looks like! I have so many questions to ask it!” Pinkie Pie said eagerly as the five of them started into the Everfree forest, following the path that was marked in the dirt. “Like whether it likes to put pineapples on his pizza!”

“Nope, he doesn’t,” Lyra told her. “He said the creatures that do that are gremlins where he comes from. He told us.”

“Awww, but it just tastes so good! So sweet and tangy and wonderful! How could anypony be a gremlin for liking it?”

“If it tells me it doesn’t like pineapple on pizza, I’m gonna throw a pineapple in its face!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed. “Pineapple on pizza is great! Everypony knows that!”

“Ugh, can we walk quietly please?” Twilight asked, sounding very annoyed. “We need to watch and listen for anything suspicious, alright? We can’t do that if you guys are all jabbering and scaring it off!”

“Are y’all okay, Twi?” Applejack asked the mare. “Ya seem like yer in a bad mood.”

“No, I am not okay!” she yelled as she stomped and the rest of them walked through the forest. “We have a dangerous creature on the loose, one that’s somewhere in the most dangerous forest in Equestria, and magic doesn’t work on it so we have to rely on a net, garlic, and a chicken to catch it! AND THIS MAYONNAISE IS STICKY!”

"Baaaaawk!" bawked the chicken.

"Be quiet, chicken! You're scaring it off! Jeez!"

“Alright, Ah hear ya Twilight, it’s a stressful situation yer in. Just take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Calm down.”

“I can’t calm down! What are we going to do if it escapes? What are we going to do if it tries to burn down the Everfree forest or destroys the town? What if-”

“Twi, ya have ta calm down. Freakin’ out ain’t gonna help us find this creature. Ya were just talkin’ about how much noise they were makin’, and yer makin’ just as much as them now, if not more. Just take a breath for me.”

“You’re right,” the alicorn agreed, taking a breath as her friend told her. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just getting concerned. We have to find this thing before something bad happens.”

“Ah hear ya Twilight, but gettin’ all worked up ain’t gonna help us do that,” Applejack told her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “We’re gonna find it and do whatever ya think we need ta do. As long as ya have yer friends with ya, there ain’t nothing we can’t do.”

“Thanks, AJ, I appreciate it. I needed to hear that.” She took another breath before continuing, “Now let's find this creature so I can give it a piece of my mind for running away like that.”

“I mean, it was your fault it ran away,” Lyra mumbled to herself as the group started walking again. “It said it would.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, hiding her slight embarrassment as they walked through the forest. It felt strangely quiet as they made their way through, but she didn’t pay much mind to it. She had her attention on scanning the ground for tracks, trying to ignore the sour sauce drying on her horn. As well, she ordered Rainbow Dash to fly ahead to see if she could see it anywhere and report back to her every so often.

“Still nothing,” the pegasus told her as they silently trotted through. “Maybe we should split up and try to find it that way.”

“It mighta been a good idea ta bring Flutters with us,” Applejack commented. “Ah mean, she’s the best with animals and such, so she mighta been able ta find it easier.”

“She would’ve been,” Twilight agreed, “but we don’t really have time to turn around now. Besides, Lyra was the one who suggested against bringing any more ponies.”

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure her tea party with Discord is scheduled for today,” Rainbow Dash added as she flew above them, “and we all know how he gets about that.”

“Yeah, that’s not something I want to have to deal with. We already- what was that?” Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard a noise.

“Ah didn’t hear anythin’,” AJ commented, looking around.

“Didn’t see anything either up here,” Rainbow added as she lowered herself back to her hooves.

“I know I heard something. It’s probably somewhere nearby.”

“Oh, I hope it is!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Then I can ask it all kinds of questions! Like what it’s favorite food is and how many marshmallows it likes in it’s hot chocolate and-”

“Maybe we should split up,” Lyra suggested. “We could be in two groups. One can go with Twilight since she has mayonnaise on her horn-”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie giggled at that, Twilight sending a look their way.

“-and the other group can come with me since I have the net. That way we can catch him twice as fast.”

“Fine, but can we please hurry this up?” Twilight asked. “This feels disgusting in the sun and is going to take forever to-”

All of a sudden, there was a loud roar behind them, and the next thing the group knew, they were face to face with a manticore.


“Humph. Some friends they sound like then.” Discord commented, taking a sip of his tea. “I mean, Fluttershy here has taught me a thing or two about friendship, and I’m certain good friends don’t leave their companions standing out in the rain.”

“I mean, the whole point was to go out to the forest in the rain!” Archard continued, making his point as Spike and Fluttershy listened intently, interested in the scenario. “We picked today because of the rain! It was part of the game! And then Aaron and Lee just abandoned us! Although I guess if they were there, I might not have cast Fulmineum on that ogre, and then I might not be having tea with you, so I guess in the end it all worked out. Although I hope the ogre is dead. Can’t just leave Troy with that to kill by himself. That would be rude.”

“Bah humbug, I say!” Discord replied.

“Just like Scrooge!”

“If they were there, you might not be intruding on our tea party!” he continued. “I ought to go there and give them a piece of my mind myself. Spending some time with the Smooze ought to teach them some respect. Or perhaps I should turn their homes into a desert, since they seem to be so afraid of water as you suggest.”

“Oh, that reminds me! I should try and call them!... but I don’t have my phone,” Archard said disappointedly, looking at his hands. “But I do have my watch!” he remembered. “I wonder if Equestria has cell service.”

“Your watch?” Spike asked curiously, leaning over to look at his wrist. "You're going to call somepony using a watch?"

“Yup! It’s a smartwatch actually. I’m kinda surprised Twilight hadn’t asked about it, although she was probably going to get to that soon. Let me just see…” He fiddled with it a little bit before announcing, “Nope. No service. Equestria is a dead zone. But funnily enough, it looks like it’s charging. Weird. Anyway, I guess I can’t call them. I was gonna totally brag about this to them.”

“Wait, you were gonna call them from that tiny thing?” Spike asked. “How?”

“Oh, well, like I said, it’s a smartwatch,” the human explained. “It can do a lot of things, like monitor stress and see my sleeping patterns and check my heart rate and call people… and play music! Listen to this!”

A few seconds after he said it, a song was playing, one that made all three of the listeners tilt their heads in confusion for a moment before Discord smiled while Fluttershy cringed and Spike put his hands on his ears.

“What kind of music is that?” the dragon asked. “I’ve never heard of anything like that! It sounds terrible!”

“Oh, it’s one of my favorites!” Archard told him happily. “It’s called Angry Chair by Alice in Chains! It’s really good!”

“Um, that’s um… certainly… um, unique…”

"It sounds awful! How can anypony listen to that?" Spike asked. "All the creatures in your world must be deaf if they like that!"

“It sounds quite chaotic,” Discord commented. “Very nice. I do believe I’ve found the music for this year’s Grand Galloping Gala.”

“At least somepony can appreciate it,” the human said firmly, letting it play for a few more seconds before shutting it off.

“Awwww, look at that!” Fluttershy cooed. “You two are bonding! How precious!”

“We are not bonding,” Discord immediately objected, frowning again. “Just because this creature has shown me interesting music does not mean that we’ve bonded. He still interrupted our tea party, and hasn’t even had the good grace to apologize for it yet.”

“Oh. Well… I’m sorry. I can show you more music as an apology if you want?”

“Well, it’s certainly the least you can do.”


The manticore looked angry and took a step closer to them as the five ponies stood frozen, four of them with fearful looks on their faces.

“Wow! That thing looks really angry!” Pinkie Pie commented with a foolish grin. “I bet a party would make it feel better!”

As if to respond, the creature roared angrily at the five of them, its breath blowing their hair some and getting spittle on their faces.

“Well, sheesh! All you have to do is say no, silly! You don’t have to yell!”

“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash got out. “Now might be a good time to do something.”

“Already on it!” she answered, lighting up her horn and sending a blast of magic the thing’s way. Or rather, that’s what she expected to happen. Instead, though, her horn only produced a few sparks that caused the creature to tilt its head in confusion.

“What the heck? My magic’s not working!”

“What? Why? Is it the mayonnaise?”

“Why would it be the mayo? You said it would make my magic stronger, Lyra!”

“I said it should,” she reminded her, “but I also did say it might have been miracle whip that we were supposed to use!”

“Miracle whip and Mayo are the same thing!”

“No they’re not! One has less oil and so it’s cheaper to make! They don't even taste the same, and anypony who says so is lying!”

“Argh! Everything that’s happened today has been your fault!” Twilight got out angrily. “I can’t believe I keep trusting you!”

“I told you that it was dangerous and that you shouldn’t-”

“ROAR!!!” The two were interrupted, looking back up and watching the manticore snarl and stalk closer to them.

“Uh, Twilight, Ah think we better do somethin’ soon…”

“Let me think!” Twilight got out frantically. “Um, uh… Lyra, do you still have that bag of sand?”

“Yes, but we were going to use that on-”

“No time! Throw it in its eyes!”

The manticore took another step as Lyra did as she was told, using her magic to take a hoofful of the stuff and hurl it into the beast’s eyes. The move caused the creature to rear back and howl in pain, and Twilight saw the opportunity presented and wanted to take advantage of it.

“Run!” she yelled, the five taking off after her as the manticore started to chase after them.

“This is all your fault, Twilight!” Lyra told her as she ran beside the mare. “If you would’ve just believed me about humans, none of this would be happening!”

“You were the one who put those instructions in that book!” Twilight argued. “What if somepony else summoned that thing? That’s very irresponsible of you!”

“I said in the book it was dangerous and told you in pony it was dangerous! You’re the irresponsible one for not listening to the expert!”

“Yeah but you- whoa! What’s happening to me?”

Twilight’s sudden stop in the middle of the trail caused the others to trip forward and push themselves into the dirt on the forest floor, a few scrapes and bruises coming from it. Worse than that though was the familiar blue flower they saw on the ground in front of them, one that they recognized but were unable to stop themselves from tumbling into, one that was commonly known as ‘poison joke’.

Twilight began to change first, watching in horror as her hooves started to turn into… she didn’t know. Something soft and squishy, she could tell that much. She carefully took a step forward, her look of horror changing into a frustrated scowl as she heard a distinctive “fraap” and felt her hooves vibrate beneath her. It caused her to give an angry stomp, and she groaned when her now whoopie cushion hooves made another farting sound.

Lyra was the next to transform, looking confused for a moment before smiling as she watched her own hooves change into hands. She giggled as she stood on her front hooves to flex her new fingers happily. However, her happiness changed into concern once she realized that her new hands were still growing, to twice, thrice, four times the size of what she knew Archard’s hands were. They were large and clumsy and caused her to stumble when she tried to walk, not nearly as great on her as she expected them to be.

The other three ponies with them fell into the flowers and began to change a few seconds after them. Applejack watched as the bulk of her body was turned into sand, pressing a hoof into her side as it did so and watching as it morphed and indented where her hoof pushed. She could only say she was happy that it didn’t break off, although she did feel heavier, and much more grimey than usual, even for her.

Rainbow Dash’s body remained the same, except for her head, which she felt get bigger and start to bobble. She used her hooves to feel what she knew was now plastic, the same stuff that made up her Wonderbolt and Daring Do figurines that she would never admit she had. A tap of her hoof made her head shake more, like a bobblehead she realized. She frowned because of it, thinking about the fact that she was now twenty percent less cool.

Pinkie Pie, for her part, seemingly enjoyed the change, giggling as her limbs and body were turned into balloons, resembling after a moment something a clown would tie up for foals at the carnival. She hovered just a bit off the ground, somehow able to move by almost swimming through the air.

“Look at me, Twilight!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I’m a balloon! Now I can take the party with me wherever I want! Hurray!”

Twilight responded with an annoyed huff before lighting up her horn again, pointing it directly at the manticore. A few more sparks came, but after a second, she was being flung backward from the force of her blast she sent the beast’s way, the sound of a fart coming when she landed. The creature was also flung backward by the mare’s magic, most of the mayo on her horn getting caught in its fur and onto the grass around it.

“Good job, Twilight!” Lyra cheered. “I told you the mayonnaise would work, and it did!”

“Not yet, it didn’t,” she countered as the manticore shook its head and stood back up, growling angrily at the group. The alicorn took a defensive stance as the thing started to stalk the group again before turning its attention to the white cream-like substance now in its fur. It sniffed a foreleg carefully, and once deciding it was safe, took a small lick, and then another, and then a third and fourth. Before long, it was sitting on its haunches, happily lapping up the tasty treat in its fur.

“I… guess that works?” Twilight got out, tilting her head in confusion.

“Certainly better than that thing chasin’ us,” AJ commented, attempting to shake her mane before remembering that it was now sand. “Wish it wouldn’t’ve chased us into this poison joke though.”

“Um, guys?” Rainbow Dash started. “How am I supposed to fly like this?” The group turned and got a good look at how big her head had gotten, snickering once they saw it was almost as big as her body. Even Twilight had to smirk at the sight despite the seriousness of the situation.

“It isn’t funny!” the mare continued. “How am I supposed to fly like this? I’ll be at least twice as slow like this!”

"Why didn't you fly before, Rainbow Dash?" Lyra asked. "I mean, you have wings! You didn't have to run with us."

"I didn't think about it, okay?" the mare said defensively. "It was the heat of the moment! It's not my fault, and it's definitely not funny!"

“I mean, it’s kind of funny!” Pinkie Pie replied. “You’re a bobblehead now! Didn’t you always say you wanted one of you?”

“Yeah, and besides, at least your ego hasn’t changed,” Applejack had to laugh. “Now you have a head to match how big it is.”

“Yeah, well… now you have a body to match your personality, Applejack!” the pegasus replied angrily.

“Okay, Ah walked right into that one,” the earth pony admitted. “Ah deserved it.”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! And now I can throw a party all the time!” the pink mare got out excitedly, floating over to them. “Because you know what they say! Where there are balloons, there’s a party! And with your bobble-y head, it’ll look like you're always dancing to the music!”

“And I have hands, and I gotta say, they’re pretty cool!” Lyra chimed in. “Although I have to say, they’re a bit bigger than I imagined they would be, and kind of clumsy to walk with.” As she said it, she took a few steps forward before falling on her face, struggling to get back up on her own from how her body was now proportioned.

“Um, a little help here?” she asked expectantly, holding up a hand as Applejack tried to pick her up. However, her hoof only became deformed by Lyra’s grip like wet sand. She sighed because of it and did her best to push herself up on her own, taking a minute as she struggled to do so.

“Well, now we know that you don’t know what you’re talking about, Lyra,” Twilight huffed. “That mayonnaise didn’t do anything to make my magic stronger. You were wrong.”

“Nuh uh! You fell backward on your flank from how strong the blast you sent out was! It made your magic better! Admit it!”

“Yeah, after making it weaker and almost getting us killed!”

“Uh, guys?” Applejack interrupted. “Maybe we shouldn’t be standin’ here yammerin’ when there’s a manticore right there. Ah think we should be lookin’ for Zecora ta get us back to good, especially while that thing’s distracted.”

“No, we need to find the human before something bad happens,” Twilight said with authority, taking a step towards Applejack, the sound of her whoopie cushion feet removing any seriousness she tried to portray. “We can’t just leave that thing out and about like it is right now! I mean, look at what already happened because of it!”

“Yeah, but maybe we should check farther away from that thing and let it lick that mayo in peace?” Lyra suggested as she started forward, getting the dirt of the forest floor into her nails as she stumbled.

“I still think we should split up like Lyra was saying before,” Rainbow got in, her head bobbling as she spoke. “We’d cover more ground that way. We could-”

Growl…

The group tensed up at the sound of what they thought was the creature’s stomach, turning around to see it once again stalking towards them, its tongue hanging out of its mouth.

“Wow! That manticore sure is hungry looking!” Pinkie Pie said happily. “Hopefully it doesn’t like ponies or balloons or hands or whoopie cushions or sand or bobbleheads! That would be a very unhealthy, plastic-filled meal if it did!”


“Honestly, this is pretty crazy,” Archard said aloud. “Being in Equestria and all? This is crazier than that time I was awake for four days straight and thought my house was being invaded by frog people.”

“Ooo, that sounds so delightfully chaotic!” Discord said with glee. “I’ll have to meet with Luna to see what she could cook up in these ponies’ dreams. Or perhaps we could have that happen in Ponyville. That sounds like it would be quite the day to have. I’ll have to mark it in my planner.”

“Please don’t give Discord ideas, um, if that's okay Mister Archard,” Fluttershy told him. “He already makes enough trouble on his own.”

“Oh, come on, didn’t you want me to be friendly, my dear, sweet Fluttershy?” Discord asked as he put a claw around the human. “This creature and I are just palling around as it were. Isn’t that right, Arching?”

“Archard, and of course! Although I’m honestly surprised that Twilight hasn’t gotten here yet. I thought she would have found me by now. She’s usually quick about these things.”

“I really, really hope she didn’t go into the Everfree Forest like you told her. I think we should go in there and look for her if she’s not back in a little while. It’s not safe, especially since you’re not there. She could be in there for days looking for you.”

“I’m quite sure she didn’t go in there, Fluttershy,” the draconequus assured her. “As annoying as that mare is, I have to give her credit. She’s quite the smart unicorn, now alicorn. I’m sure she’s just dusting through her textbooks and rubbing mayonnaise on her horn to make her magic more powerful for when she sees it.” He paused and placed a paw on his chin in thoughtfulness, continuing, “Or is it miracle whip? I can never remember which one.”

“I agree with Discord,” Archard said. “I’m sure Twilight’s fine. She’s probably making a list about all the things to do before she catches me, like how to chain me up like the guy from Hostel. But, uh, yeah. She’s probably fine.”

“Heh, Twilight sure does like her lists,” Spike chuckled.

“Well… if you all really think so,” Fluttershy reluctantly agreed.


“I almost wish this thing would just eat me,” Twilight got out with annoyance as the manticore licked her horn happily, a bit of its slobber dripping down onto her muzzle. “This is all your fault, Lyra. I could make a list about all the ways that this is your fault.”

“Sounds like somepony’s mad that my mayo idea worked,” the mare shot back. “It might not have been in the way we expected, but still.”

“Ah, yes, you have found the way,” a familiar voice started before Twilight could argue. “To stop a manticore, use mayonnaise.”

“Zecora!” the group called excitedly all at once, Twilight herself taking the lead, saying, “Thank Celestia you’re here! What are you doing out here?”

“I was cooking a brew before something quite weird; a powerful magic burst had appeared.”

“A magic burst? That means the human is nearby! Did you see it? What did it do? Do you think it’s going to destroy the forest? Is it nearby? We have to find it soon because it’s very dangerous!” Twilight got the sentences out all in one breath, her whoopie cushion hooves farting as she almost pranced in place. It wasn’t until she stopped to breathe that Zecora answered her.

“I assure you, I’ve been quite keen, but no new creatures I have seen,” the zebra told her. “The forest of late has been quite still. The burst must have come from Ponyville.”

“Ponyville. That… makes sense, since the human was just- would you cut that out?” the alicorn demanded angrily, jerking her head away from the still licking manticore, making it whine like a puppy.

“Ah, I see a manticore you have brought. It’s quite a creature to have caught.”

“Well, we didn’t exactly catch it,” Lyra explained. “It kind of charged at us and Twilight shot mayonnaise all over it. Like, it got everywhere, so the manticore licked it up. It was just a white, slimy mess all over the forest and it's fur because of her.”

“Hehe, the manticore licked up her mayonnaise,” Rainbow Dashed chuckled, Applejack smiling and Pinkie Pie snickering along at the joke as Twilight and Lyra gave them an oblivious and confused look.

“I see, and for that, I must give praise. Everypony knows manticores like mayonnaise.”

“It also makes unicorn magic stronger,” the cyan pony added, standing unsteadily as she tried to balance on her new appendages. “Guess we’re lucky it wasn’t miracle whip.”

“Miracle whip is not the way, although I must ask what this creature is you say?”

“A human. It’s a creature with long lanky legs and long arms, and hands like a centaur, and very tall. Oh, and it’s afraid of chickens and is resistant to magic, so…”

“Such a creature I’ve heard of I believe. Come back to my cottage and we shall see. As well, I cannot let you all stew. A cure for poison joke I will brew.”

“Yes! That sounds perfect! Real knowledge about the human sounds wonderful! If we had that, we might not have run into poison joke.”

"It was your fault that happened though," Lyra mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, but before we go,” Rainbow Dash asked as her head bobbled wildly, “what are we going to do about that?”

She pointed to the manticore who was sitting on its haunches, pawing at the ground as its stomach rumbled loudly. As it did, it looked up at the group and made the saddest puppy dog eyes it could muster, looking almost adorable as it did so.

“Ugh, does anypony have any more mayonnaise?”

Author's Note:

Fun fact! If you support me on patreon, you can get early access to new (unedited) chapters of The Human Incident and Beyond Me, if you're interested in that kind of thing.

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