Lyra Heartstrings

Lyra Heartstrings is a background unicorn pony frequently used by a layout artist for background gags, such as her jumping excitedly in crowds with a big smile and small pupils. Her name is not mentioned in the show, and the name Heartstrings first appeared in the accompanying pamphlet of a mystery pack toy released in January 2012, later expanded to Lyra Heartstrings in another mystery pack release. She shares her design with Amethyst Star. She has no prominent speaking roles in the English version of the show, but the Italian version of Friendship is Magic, part 1 and the Polish version of Call of the Cutie give her clearly spoken lines, that was until Lyra finally had a speaking role in A Canterlot Wedding. Her cutie mark is a lyre, and "heartstrings" refers to deep feelings of love or compassion, commonly used in the phrase "tug at the heartstrings".

Depiction in the series
Lyra is frequently used by one of the show's layout artists for background gags, such as bouncing on clouds, jumping around excitedly, drinking from a cup, or slouching like a human on a park bench. According to a layout artist on the show, background ponies are nameless, but this pony is labeled "Incidental Unicorn #2" at the studio. She cries when the parasprites eat her pie in Swarm of the Century. A partial list of her appearances is specified in the charts below.

Lyra is frequently seen alongside Bon Bon. The pairing has been explained by a layout artist to be mostly coincidental and based on aesthetic considerations as far as season one is concerned. The two are depicted talking in crowd scenes, enjoying a snack, or watching Applejack and Rainbow Dash during the Iron Pony Competition.

In Lesson Zero, at one point in the background she physically fights one-on-one against Bon Bon for the possession of Smarty Pants; the two stand next to a well in Secret of My Excess and are surprised when Derpy pops out of the well. A unicorn with her coat and eye color is disguised as a mummy in Luna Eclipsed. In Hearts and Hooves Day, she's standing next to Bon Bon in the village shot and appears shortly in Apple Bloom's fantasy scene. In A Friend in Deed, she is seen multiple times in Smile Song, along with bouncing off a roof with Bon Bon. She appears in the background throughout the market scene in Putting Your Hoof Down, at first slumped on a table, then later sitting up, holding a drinks cup and talking to Bon Bon.

In A Canterlot Wedding, she gets a speaking role as one of the first bridesmaids for the Changeling Queen along with Minuette and Twinkleshine. Lyra comments on their dresses, saying, "I love them".

Variants
A number of background pony variants using Lyra's basic design and color scheme exist. They are included in the appearances table below. The most common of these is an Earth pony that matches Lyra exactly, safe for the absence of a horn; this design is primarily used in crowd shots. A unicorn variety with red eyes appears occasionally in scenes where Lyra Heartstrings runs around town, either on her own - as in Applebuck Season - or as part of a throng of other ponies, as in Boast Busters and The Ticket Master. Not every "running Lyra" has red eyes, however; she does not in Hearts and Hooves Day, and while she has red eyes for most of the race in Fall Weather Friends, they are yellow at the beginning of the race in that episode.

An earth pony with Lyra's coat, mane color and mane style, but red eyes, appears in two episodes: Over a Barrel and Luna Eclipsed. In both cases, she wears a bonnet. A Pegasus variant with Lyra's color scheme but wings and a different mane style appears briefly in the episode Sonic Rainboom.

The lyre is a common cutie mark in the series, but it also appeared in previous My Little Pony generations, for example on the G3 Earth pony Bee Bop.

Appearances
Times stated below are approximate and taken from various videos.

First party
A pony named Heartstrings appears in the January 2012 mystery pack toys, being of the same pony kind and bearing the same cutie mark, coat color, mane color, and eye color as the unnamed character on the show, though her mane is missing the light streak. Her pose and mane style are the same as the Twilight Sparkle mystery pack toy mold. The toy comes in two variations, light teal as the toy on the left picture in the gallery below, and Irish green as the drawing on the card. The upcoming "Wave 5" set of mystery pack toys features another similar pony, named Lyra Heartstrings, though her coat is much lighter and her mane now has a white streak. A prototype for a brushable toy with Lyra Heartstrings's design was on display at the 2012 Hasbro Toy Fair, and is expected to be released as part of the seventh "wave" of Playful Ponies.

Despite only being paired coincidentally with Bon Bon on the show, the designer of the Comic Con 2011 promotional poster commented in an online forum that he intentionally placed the characters together for the poster.

Second party
WeLoveFine.com carries fan-designed licensed merchandise using the character from the show, always posed similarly to her slouch in Dragonshy and sometimes referred to on the website as Lyra. The first design, a men's and women's T-shirt, features her exclusively. The second design, a men's and women's T-shirt and an art print, features her and 15 other ponies. The third design, a papercraft diorama, features her as one of the characters on its backdrop. The fourth design, a men's and women's T-shirt, features her on one of its three colorways.

Gallery

 * Lyra Heartstrings image gallery