Erin's previous visit to Ponyville, when the gateway to Earth was last open, had been as a human. News of the humans had spread pretty far, and they weren't an uncommon sight in Canterlot. But Ponyville was far enough off the beaten path that they still hadn't seen many at that time, outside of the occasional documentary crew. Her existence had been the cause of a lot of stares and whispers, though no one seemed to connect the visiting human with the mare named Sunflower at that time.