History Fanfic / Anthropology

* FantasticAnthropologist: It's right there in the title.

* [[MistakenForSpies Mistaken For A Spy]]: PlayedForLaughs, when Twilight was asked by Princess Celestia to find out as much about humans as she can, and so naturally goes to the human-obsessed Lyra for help. However, this was just after Princess Luna gets angry at Lyra for the mere mention of humans, and assumes Twilight's there to find out how much she knows and eliminate her. This goes into insane and hilarious levels of paranoia, even after Twilight's intent is proven genuine.

* [[RaisedByWolves Raised By Ponies]]: [[spoiler: Lyra somehow ended up in Equestria and was being [[RaisedByNatives raised by ponies]].]]

* SarcasmBlind:
-->'''Lyra''': I play the lyre. I heard that’s not very popular around here, though.\\
'''Nathan''': A lyre? I guess if you found someone who played [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime ocarina]], you could start a band.\\
'''Lyra''': Really?\\
'''Audrey''': She doesn’t really get sarcasm.
** Also from chapter 23:
-->'''Lyra''': I was reading that history book you gave me and it said that America had been in wars. A lot of them, actually.\\
'''Paul''': News flash. I’ve never heard that before.\\
'''Lyra''': So… It wasn’t true? I mean, if there had really been so many, you would have heard – \\
'''Paul''': That was sarcasm, Lyra.

* BookEnds: "Are you gonna eat that?"

* UnfortunateNames: After [[spoiler:arriving in the human world]], Lyra name-drops Twilight Sparkle to [[spoiler:her new human friend, Audrey. She assumes Twilight must have been raised by hippies and that she must be teased "[[Literature/{{Twilight}} because of the books]]."]]

* AllGirlsLikePonies: [[spoiler: Chloe, Lyra's human little sister, is deep in what her father calls the unicorn phase. Lyra bonds with her by telling her stories about Equestria, disguising them as stories Lyra made up, though after Discord shows up she tells Chloe the truth. She gets along well with Fluttershy, who was her favourite pony in the stories. In the finale, she mentions to Bon-Bon that she's thinking of asking Celestia to bring Chloe over to visit Equestria as a Christmas present]]

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: [[spoiler:Discord]] tries to cause the extinction of the human race on Earth, [[spoiler: just like he previously did in Equestria, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero because Lyra wanted to be a human herself]]]], and rather gleefully tells Lyra that since humans seem so obsessed with the idea of the idea of the apocalypse he might as well give it to them.
* EntertaininglyWrong: Paul's theory about why Lyra acts so odd and is [[spoiler:reading up on history that is common knowledge and would have already been taught in school]]? She's a time traveler.

* FaeriesDontBelieveInHumansEither: Nopony has even heard of humans before, except for Celestia and Luna, [[spoiler:and Lyra's parents, before she found the ancient books]]. And possibly Pinky Pie and her grandmother (see PlotHole below), who actually gave her accurate information about humans.

* PlotHole: At one point, Pinky Pie mentions that she'd heard about humans from her grandmother, but later she says she'd heard of them from Bon-Bon talking about how Lyra always talked about them. She also notes the second time that it seems like she's one of the only ones who had ever heard of humans, even though there seem to be a fair number, [[spoiler:though only a few that know they actually exist]].

* PinocchioSyndrome: Lyra desperately wants to become a human, even through nopony else has even heard of them. [[spoiler: She gets her wish, and it is revealed she wasn't born a pony.]]

* AlienLunch: Ponies find carnivory to be profoundly unpleasant, and Lyra originally dismisses the idea that humans eat meat as baseless nonsense. After she moves to Earth, she is very unpleasantly surprised to be proven wrong while eating a hamburger.

* InterspeciesAdoption: [[spoiler: it is revealed that Lyra was being adopted by a foal-less couple [[DoorstopBaby after they found her in the Royal gardens of Canterlot]].]]

* ParentalObliviousness: Lyra's parents disapproved of her human obsession and ordered her to stop, but they have no idea that she picked it up again after moving out. Lyra does a good job hiding it when they visit again, at least until [[MurphysLaw Twilight]] [[HilarityEnsues needs help writing a report on humans.]]

* IAteWhat: Lyra's reaction to [[spoiler: finding out what a hamburger is made of]]. She admits she liked it, though, but [[spoiler:she decides not to eat meat ever again]].

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Lyra is saddened and horrified by humanity's history of conflict and to a lesser extent their consumption of meat [[spoiler:the former she learns about through studies in the human world, the latter from eating a ''[[IAteWhat Big Mac]]'' while her human friends tend to be nonchalant about it. Also Lyra mentioning being on her own since she was 12 (due to pony aging standards) shocks Audrey, a human girl who is still considered a minor, and is slightly put off by her eating a plant. This trope abounds as Lyra struggles to adapt in the human world.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: [[spoiler:When she turns human, Lyra’s hair remains mint green.]]

** '''Nopony''' believes Lyra, about anything she says. Not even Twilight, the one pony who would actually listen to her, who actually has any inclination to for inquisitive fact finding. Lyra appropriately [[NotSoDifferent throws this back in Twilight's face]] when she recounts how nopony believed Twilight about Nightmare Moon.

* EmbarrassingFirstName: Lyra's real name is Heartstrings, which she doesn’t care for too much.

* GrassIsGreener: Although [[spoiler: Lyra doesn't find Earth to be perfect]], she cannot fathom why [[spoiler:humans are so fascinated by something as "boring" as magic and other things we consider "fantasy"]].
%% HumanityEnsues: To Lyra, [[spoiler:though [[ChangelingFantasy she was originally human in the first place]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: If Lyra hadn't been so interested in humans, [[spoiler:Discord probably never would've found Earth.]] Naturally, [[EvilGloating he takes great pleasure]] in [[LampshadeHanging pointing this out to her.]]

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Celestia reveals that the reason there aren't any humans around anymore is because of... humans, [[SubvertedTrope with a little help]] from Discord.

* GrassIsGreener: Although [[spoiler: Lyra doesn't find Earth to be perfect]] she cannot fathom why [[spoiler: Humans are so fascinated by something as "boring" as magic and other things we consider "fantasy"]].

* HumanitysWake: Though thoroughly gone, Human society and inventions greatly influenced Pony society.

* FantasyForbiddingFather Fanta: When her parents realize the scope of Lyra's obsession, they tell her to stop fantasizing and to throw out all her "artifacts".

* [[FantasyForbiddingFather Fantasy Forbidding Parents]]: When her parents realize the scope of Lyra's obsession, they tell her to stop fantasizing and to throw out all her "artifacts".

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: [[spoiler:Lyra's adventures in the human world]] make the bulk of the story. However, they come as a plot twist in the first few chapters.

* BodyHorror: Lyra [[ProfessorGuineaPig casts spells on herself]] in an attempt to turn her forehoof into a human hand. It succeeds, and is easily reversible, but only after many [[{{Squick}} squicky]] failures.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Lyra is saddened and horrified by humanity's history of conflict and to a lesser extent their consumption of meat [[spoiler:the former she learns about through studies in the human world, the latter from eating a [[IAteWhat ''Big Mac'']] while her human friends tend to be nonchalant about it. Also Lyra mentioning being on her own since she was 12 (due to pony aging standards) shocks Audrey, a human girl who is still considered a minor, and is slightly put off by her eating a plant. This trope abounds as Lyra struggles to adapt in the human world. ]]

** [[spoiler: Lyra, which was a human name she chose because she liked the sound of it, turns out to actually be what her ''human'' parents named her]]

* DramaticIrony: PlayedForLaughs, when Bon-Bon recieves Lyra's letter that she won't be returning home, while offering rent for nearly 6 months. Bon-Bon is overjoyed that Lyra got over her human obsession and found a musical career that pays so well. [[spoiler: Of course, Lyra was just turned into a human]].

* EntertaininglyWrong: Paul's theory about why Lyra acts so odd and is [[spoiler:reading up on history that is common knowledge and would have already been taught in school]]? She's a time traveller.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: [[spoiler: People claim this is what Discord's causing. Naturally, he takes great joy in mentioning this to Lyra]].

* FaeriesDontBelieveInHumansEither: Nopony has even heard of humans before, except for Celestia and Luna, [[spoiler:and Lyra's parents, before she found the ancient books]]. And possibly Pinky Pie and her grandmother(see PlotHole below), who actually gave her accurate information about humans.

* IntriguedByHumanity:Lyra obviously, and more or less the main plot point of the story. The[[spoiler: first part the]] story shows the consequences of believing in a creature that has not been proven to exist, and adopting their habits:namely the skepticism of her peers (and the frustration of Bon Bon) and the fear that the government is hiding the fact that they exist. [[spoiler: Her obsession is attributed to the fact they she was in fact [[HumanAllAlong born a human]].]]

* MageInManhattan: [[spoiler: Discord follows Lyra into the human world where he starts causing chaos. An interestingly literal version of this trope, as the events occur in New York City.]]

** NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: If Discord hadn't turned Lyra back into a unicorn, she wouldn't have been able to use Celestia's enchantment to return to Equestria, contact the Mane Six and bring them and the Elements of Harmony to Earth. And the elements were of use, though not as expected...]]

* TransNature: In a way. Although it is clear that she wanted to become human despite not knowing they had [[spoiler: gone extinct in Equestria and not knowing she was one from another universe]], later on, [[spoiler: she starts having dreams of turning into an unicorn again and started showing signs of being homesick.]] No one knows for certain, but there is the possibility that [[spoiler:part of her wanted to stay a unicorn and remain living in Equestria.]]
* TrueCompanions: Lyra and her [[spoiler: human]] friends. [[spoiler: They are able to defeat Discord with the Elements of Harmony.]]

* UnfortunateNames: After [[spoiler:arriving in the human world]], Lyra name-drops Twilight Sparkle to [[spoiler: her new human friend, Audrey. She assumes Twilight must have been raised by hippies and that she must be teased "[[Literature/{{Twilight}} because of the books]]."]]

* TransNature: In a way. Although it is clear that she wanted to become human despite not knowing they had [[spoiler: gone extinct in Equestria and not knowing she was one from another universe]], later on, [[spoiler: she starts having dreams of turning into an unicorn again and started showing signs of being homesick.]] No one knows for certain, but there is the possibility that [[spoiler:part of her wanted to stay an unicorn and remain living in Equestria.]]

* [[spoiler: AncientAstronauts: Celestia reveals humans were like these, though how technologically advanced they were is still unknown.]]

* CassandraTruth: '''Nopony''' believes Lyra, about anything she says. Not even Twilight, the one pony who would actually listen to her, who actually has any inclination to for inquisitive fact finding. Lyra appropriately [[NotSoDifferent throws this back in Twilight's face]] when she recounts how nopony believed Twilight about Nightmare Moon.

* [[spoiler: ChangelingFantasy]]

* DemotedMemories: [[spoiler: Lyra [[RecurringDreams dreams]] about the human world from what she remembered when she was just a baby.]]

* FishOutOfWater: [[spoiler:Lyra on Earth]].
** [[spoiler:The Mane Six as well, once they arrive on Earth. And you thought New York City was confusing to HUMAN out-of-towners....]]

* [[spoiler:HumanityEnsues]]: To Lyra, [[spoiler:though [[ChangelingFantasy she was originally human in the first place]].]]
* [[spoiler:HumanitysWake: Though thoroughly gone, Human society and inventions greatly influenced Pony society.]]
* [[spoiler:HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Celestia reveals that the reason there aren't any humans around anymore is because of... humans, [[SubvertedTrope with a little help]] from Discord.]]

* [[spoiler: MageInManhattan: Discord follows Lyra into the human world where he starts causing chaos. An interestingly literal version of this trope, as the events occur in New York City.]]

** Lyra appropriately points out all kinds of inconsistencies within the Hearths Warming Eve [[TheConspiracy story]] that everypony else takes as almost literal fact, her roommate dismisses it offhand.
** [[spoiler: Confrimed as true.]]