Lyra Heartstrings

Lyra Heartstrings is the partially fan-given name of a background unicorn pony frequently used by a layout artist for background gags. The name is not mentioned on the show, but it first appeared in merchandising as Heartstrings in the accompanying pamphlet of a mystery pack toy released in Europe in January 2012, and was later expanded to Lyra Heartstrings in a Playful Ponies toy, a trading card, the mystery pack toy's U.S. release, and another mystery pack toy. Her cutie mark is a lyre; "heartstrings" refers to deep feelings of love or compassion, commonly used in the phrase "tug at the heartstrings".

Depiction in the series
Lyra Heartstrings is frequently used by one of the show's layout artists for background gags, such as bouncing on clouds (in spite of being a unicorn), jumping around excitedly, drinking from a cup, or slouching like a person 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 list of her appearances is specified in the charts below.

Lyra Heartstrings 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, and even fighting each other: They watch Applejack and Rainbow Dash during the Iron Pony Competition. They have a tussle with each other in the background of one scene of Lesson Zero for the possession of Smarty Pants. They stand next to a well in Secret of My Excess and get surprised by Derpy when she pops out of the well. Lyra Heartstrings stands next to Bon Bon in Hearts and Hooves Day in the village shot, and appears shortly in Apple Bloom's fantasy scene. She appears in multiple shots of the Smile Song, in of which she bounces 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. Lyra Heartstrings also appears solo on occasion: A unicorn with her coat and eye color is disguised as a mummy in Luna Eclipsed. She is one of Queen Chrysalis's first bridesmaids in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 and A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, along with Minuette and Twinkleshine. In Part 1, she comments on the bridesmaids' dresses, saying that she loves them. In Part 2, she speaks in unison with the other two brainwashed bridesmaids who are blocking Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance's path. These two episodes were her only speaking roles thus far in the English dub. In the Italian version of Friendship is Magic, part 1 and the Polish version of Call of the Cutie also give her clearly spoken lines.



Variants
A number of background pony variants using Lyra Heartstrings' 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 Heartstrings exactly, save 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. Examples are Amethyst Star and Diamond Mint, and she shares her mane style with Rose

An earth pony with Lyra Heartstrings' 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 Heartstrings' 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.

Merchandise
A pony toy named Heartstrings in Europe and Lyra Heartstrings in the U.S. 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. According to the European toy package, Heartstrings "sings all day". The U.S. mystery pack toy package has a longer description and reads, "LYRA HEARTSTRINGS sings and plays all day!"

A "Royal Wedding" brushable toy named Lyra Heartstrings was displayed in prototype form at the 2012 Hasbro Toy Fair, and was released with a DVD of Lesson Zero by Kmart on May 4th of 2012. This brushable toy's packaging still uses the eye design of Twilight Sparkle, but uses the mane style usually seen on Minuette and Sea Swirl. According to the package, Lyra Heartstrings "loves to play! She finds a way to have fun no matter where she goes". The "Wave 5" set of mystery pack toys also features a pony named Lyra Heartstrings, differing from the previous mystery pack release in that her coat is much lighter and her mane now has a white streak. According to the European toy package, Lyra Heartstrings "loves to play!"

The designer of the Comic Con 2011 promotional poster commented in an online forum that he intentionally placed Lyra and Bon Bon together for the poster, even though they were only coincidentally placed together in the series. Lyra adorns a collectible trading card along with Golden Harvest, with the description "There's two in every crowd! Lyra Heartstrings is an excitable pony often seen bouncing and grinning at the back of the herd or lolling in the park sharing bonbons with Golden Harvest, her PFF. Golden Harvest earned the nickname Carrot Top because carrots are always on her mind. These two ponies can be found all over Equestria, enjoying various activities like jumping across rooftops, running from buffalo, and joining in musical numbers!"

WeLoveFine.com carries Hasbro-licensed merchandise of fan designs of Lyra, often posed similarly to her slouch in Dragonshy. The products include T-shirts, art prints, dioramas, and others.

Gallery

 * Lyra Heartstrings image gallery