"You're my favorite author. Will you please sign my book?" Lyra asked Delancie, a bearded unicorn with a scroll cutie mark. Delancie, the foremost expert on ancient Equestrian folklore was signing copies of his latest book, Human and Their Habits. He had been invited to sign books at the Ponyville library by Twilight Sparkle and was very happy to meet his book's readers.
"Sure," Delancie responded. He signed Lyra's copy with his pen.
"Thank you," the green unicorn said, "Mind if I ask you a question?"
"I'm all ears."
"I recently read about the many worlds hypothesis. Do you think that somewhere in another dimension, humans still exist?"
"Probably. Maybe someday ponies will be able to visit them or vice versa, hopefully peacefully."
"Thank you very much," Lyra said. Ever since she was a little filly, Lyra had been fascinated by humans. They were considered mythological creatures by most ponies, but she felt that not only did humans exist, but they also had a major impact on pony society. According to the books she read, humans came from another world and much of pony culture was inspired by their creations. The stories she enjoyed most were about a teenage girl named Megan, who befriended the ponies of Dream Valley.
She put the book in her bag and walked out of the library with her romantic partner Bon-Bon. It was a lovely night in Ponyville and the two started walking back home from their romantic night out. They had been living together ever since Lyra had moved from Canterlot to Ponyville. They had developed a close relationship, but sometimes Bon-Bon had to learn to tolerate Lyra's odd quirks.
Same-sex couples were rare in Equestria, but not completely unknown. On occasion, other ponies had criticized them having a relationship, but Lyra's friend Twilight Sparkle approved and reportedly so did Celestia. The only reason why same-sex marriage hadn't been legalized was that it was too controversial. Lyra wondered why same-sex relationships between mares weren't more common since they clearly outnumbered stallions three to one.
As they were walking, Bon-Bon said, "You know that the humans described in that book are purely mythical."
"Well, I still choose to believe that there is a world populated by humans."
"Not this again. You should have outgrown this by now."
"Yes, but I've read many books that say they existed in our world thousands of years ago," Lyra insisted, "Somehow, I know that they still exist in another world, like the one Megan came from."
"Oh come on," replied Bon-Bon, "She's a character from a book for little fillies. Next thing you're telling me is that the smooze was real."
"Okay, but how do you explain bowling balls? They have three holes in them, but ponies don't have fingers."
"I don't know, but there has to be some kind of explanation."
Lyra thought about this and sighed. "I guess you're right. Besides, we have to get back home so that I can get up in time for the music recital."
The only thing that Lyra enjoyed as much as reading about humans was playing with her lyre. She made her living performing with her lyre on stage. In one of the books she read, the lyre was a human invention. When Lyra looked at the instrument, she became convinced that it was made with fingers in my. However, when she pointed this out, other ponies thought that she was crazy.
As they got home, Bon-Bon decided to get ready for bed. Lyra wasn't as tired so she decided to practice her lyre. She had a big day tomorrow and she wanted to make sure she was fully prepared. Using her horn, she manipulated the strings in perfect fashion, creating a soothing music that anypony would enjoy listening to.
When Lyra was finished practicing, she started to walk upstairs only to experience a white flash from nowhere.
Some time later, she awoke to find herself in a field near a large red building similar to Apple family's house at Sweet Apple Acres. The field was populated by ponies, but they looked very different. None of them had cutie marks and they were all in shades of brown.
"Um, excuse me," she said, "Can you tell me where I am?" There was no response. None of them even looked in their direction.
Suddenly, she noticed a small human with a pink bow, red hair, and a yellow dress. Lyra felt a mixture of both fear and excitement.
It said one word, "Unicorn!"
Lyra turned her head to see a small human about the same height as her running towards her. The human had a pink bow on her head and a yellow dress. This was the most exciting moment in Lyra's life.