Lucy stepped away from Lyra, towards the building. "I'll get Sam and bring him back, just make sure the portal's still open. You go check on the house."
Lyra didn't feel she had the time to argue the matter, so she bobbed her head. "Please, be careful." She dashed off towards Canterlot High, leaving little Lucy behind.
Lucy let out a little breath, then smiled. "I can handle this..." She marched up to the door and entered the apartment building. It didn't look that different than she was expecting, though she noticed right away that every door had a name on it, some more than one. She began to look for Sam, but took quick note that the names were pony names, not human names.
She spied a sign at the end of the hallway pointing to the stairs. 'Party ->' Lucy raised a brow, could it be so easy? She entered the stairwell and ascended to the second floor where a second sign pointed her along into the hallway.
She emerged just in time for a flustered looking man to burst out of a room. "I don't want a party! I just want to relax. Shoo! Go! I'll call the police if I have to."
People started emerging from the apartment, looking confused. One of them smiled at who she guessed was Sam. "I'm a police officer. Did you need anything?"
Sam put a hand over his face. "No offense, but I just want to be alone."
"Roger that. Let's keep it moving people!" The officer waved down the hallway and Lucy had to move quickly out of the way for the crowd as it milled past her, and soon the hallway was quiet.
Sam spotted her standing there and frowned. "Party's over. Buzz off."
Lucy smiled at Sam. "Your attitude hasn't changed much."
"Lucy?" Sam huffed. "Are you here to drag me back to pony land?"
"No, well, yes, but not how you think."
"Not interested." Sam stepped into his apartment and slammed the door shut.
Lyra dashed down the sidewalk, almost getting hit by one of the carriages as she ran across a road without pausing. She left the honking beast behind her as she fled with all her might, only to run directly into another person who had their arms out, catching Lyra. "Lyra! Where are you running off to like that?"
Lyra blinked at her name being spoken and looked up at the person even as they continued, "And where'd you get the tophat? And what's with the monocle? Are you alright?"
Standing in front of her was Sweetie Drops, the human counterpart at least. She looked worried even as she dusted Lyra off. "You can't just bolt like that. Did you see how close you were to being run over? I don't think I could handle that." Suddenly Lyra was in Bon Bon's embrace, being squeezed gently. "Please be more careful."
Lyra's mind was a tumultuous place of jumbled thoughts. She must be Lyra's marefriend in this world too, and... they must be almost as close at least despite the relative youth. "Uh, sorry Bonnie. I really gotta go though. We'll meet up later, alright? Everything will be OK. In fact, I probably won't even remember what was so important." She flashed a bright smile, then ran away, worried she'd mess things up more for human-Lyra than she already had. She decided that mirror-world jumping was more complicated than she really wanted to deal with.
She ducked into the portal and after a moment of bending and warping, she popped out in Twilight's basement on all fours, hooves blissfully restored, and her horn where it should be. She turned for the stairs when she heard a thump behind her. She turned to face... Sweetie Drops... getting to her hooves and looking wobbly. "Where are we? Is... Is that you Lyra? Why?" She flopped to her haunches, then noticed one of her own hooves and shrieked in terror, scrambling backwards until she hit a wall and sliding to the ground. "What's going on?!"
Lyra looked around in a panic. Where was the real Twilight when she needed her? "Um, everything's going to be just fine, Bon Bon."
"Is that really you?" Bon Bon peeked up from behind her legs, shaking like a leaf.
"Yeah, it's... mostly me..." Her thoughts went to the stranger at the once-human house and she cringed. What to do... "Sweetie Drops, I need you to stay calm. You can go back th--" Just as she said it, the device let out a plume of smoke and turned off, broken. Lyra sank to her haunches. Lucy and Sam were still on the other side... Human-Bon Bon was on this side... A stranger was threatening her friends. She broke down into a sudden loud wail, unable to keep up with the escalation of errors. She didn't even notice when the once-human Bon Bon came up to her and hugged her, rocking back and forth as she weeped.
Lucy approached Sam's door and knocked lightly. "I just want to talk, unless you're afraid a little girl is going to overpower you."
The door opened a crack. "I don't want want to go back."
Lucy rolled a small hand. "Fine, they just want to talk to you for a bit, to help other people. You're officially free to migrate here if that's what you want."
Sam looked a little confused. "What, really? Just like that?"
Lucy smiled a little. "Just like that... Though I think you're making a mistake. You don't look happy at all."
"How would you know?" Sam let the door be and walked away from it. Lucy took it as an invitation and came inside, closing it behind herself. "I have a job, and money. I'm getting things put together."
Lucy nodded. "Well that's good, but you also just look miserable, and most happy people don't have to order half the neighborhood out of their apartment."