1) Well, yes. The real world does tend to be real.
2) Every now and again, certainly!
3) Stupid, huh? Charming.
Maybe I don’t want to follow around some windbag as she spouts existential jargon. Maybe I wanted to play at the concert level. But you know how good you have to be to do that professionally? You think I’m the only one with a special talent for playing the lyre? Special talents aren’t all created equal. You know how infrequently lyres are used in contemporary performances? The few spots available are taken by ponies that are just better than I am.
4) I don’t want to leave Equestria. As for where ponies came to Equestria from, historically those willing to put aside their differences followed our ancestors here. Those that couldn’t let go of their hate, stayed behind and perished.
I don’t really want to talk about marriage anymore…
5) I go by Lyra but my legal name, the stuff I fill out on official papers, is Liora, surname: not available. I could tell Jane McRandom that my surname is Freechmen if I felt like it, but it wouldn’t make it true.