Ponyville.
About three years before Sithmane's arrival.
"...And then they said that if I didn't have 'Any proof of these humans existing before recorded history, then they would cut my expedition funding!" Lyra said to her roomate and fond special somepony, Bon-Bon.
"But we live off that funding Lyra!", Bon-Bon exlamed. "We need to have that money to get food and plan things together!
"I know," Lyra loked at Bon-Bon, half angry at at the University of Canterlot's Budget Advisory Board, and half worried about what she and Bon-bon planned for a hug party together. "But whatever the cost, I need that funding for the basics for my next fact-finding mission."
"Which will be as fruitless as the last five you went on in the far north.", Bon-bon sighed. "Look, I know these...humans, Homo Sapiens, whatever you call them's are real, but can't you just go and do that without being nearly ridiculed by the University?"
"But my department needs me to-" Lyra exclamed, then she sighs." Perhaps you're right...I'm getting way too into this."
"Lyra..." Bon-Bon says, hugging her. "I didn't mean to-"
"To what? Laugh, just like those idiots in the University do about my lectures, my disertations?!" Lyra shouted, she was frightfully angry, and picks up her bags and heads for the front door to her and Bon-Bon's door. ""I'll be back before you know it, honey,"
"You better, Lyra..." The two hug and nuzzle, then part ways at their home. With Lyra heading to the train station, and Bon-Bon going for vegitables.
North of Stalliongrad
Two-and-a-half years before Sithmane's arrival.
The one thing Lyra hated about the north during winter was the cold.
It had been blowing blizzards for nearly every day for the past month since Ponyville had it's Running of the Leaves race, and Lyra missed seeing it due to the archiology site that she dug up that found an old rusted and metallic chariot of some kind. The University of Canterlot called it a "Metal Chariot", but Lyra saw something else in it, a metallic engine, that ran on a weird viscous fluid that burned even in the cold of the Stalliongrad Tundra. She found a human car.
"Get this engine to Ponyville, and have the old ponies at University laugh now!" Lyra was excited, and hoped to find a cave or something that she belived, that humans dwelt in long ago.
If I can get this find recorded and considered real, then I will get more funding, and me and Bon-Bon can finally-!
"Excuse me, Ms. Lyra?"
Lyra hid her blush about her thoughts and saw one of the interns from the University. "Yes, Mr....?"
"Just call me Grave Digger, ma'am." The intern answered.
"Oooooook..." Weird name to call your kid, Grave Digger. So what you got or is this an autograf request?"
"No, ma'am," Grave Digger said. "But we found this in a weird bag made of some streachy matirial that we sent to our scientists, but I broght the contents with me." He dumps an entire bag-load of toys, small quill-like writing devices, and a book. The toys Lyra shifted through and found that they were like other toys with human-like warriors in weird dresses that helped humans not be detected. Camoflauge. Then she saw the book and gasped.
"Where. Did. YOU. Find. THIS?!" Lyra exclamed in surprise.
"With the other things that I brought you," Grave Digger said. "And there are more books and stuff that we are delicately removing from another metallic moterized device. This one has wings!"
"That's bull," Lyra said. Humans couldn't have flown at...all....?"
She sees the strange flying craft and gets giddy. "Get me Canterlot! They are going to have strokes!"