INTRO:  http://pastebin.com/6ETeJZdT
PART 1: http://pastebin.com/ACSQ11iw
PART 2: http://pastebin.com/vuDWd0gN
PART 3: http://pastebin.com/FHsBM3FS
PART 4: http://pastebin.com/JQQyvrGT
PART 5: http://pastebin.com/qA7iNnNK
PART 6: http://pastebin.com/MC8nJrAD
PART 7: http://pastebin.com/TMPtZnp9
BONUS7: http://pastebin.com/BWztXa7k
PART 8: http://pastebin.com/cd1hAeip

LAST TIME
Exploring the Castletown bazaar near Lyra's family estate, you ran into a human witch and bought some potions that might help you out, who knows. Lyra's setting up a rendezvous with the AEIOU tomorrow, and you've got to survive a night in the estate.

AND NOW
You've got Lyra on her back in the music room of the estate. No, not like that, as much as she seems receptive to it, but you were just discussing her alibi for a trip to the AEIOU tomorrow: an MMO guild meetup. You've promised to go with Lyra and inform the AEIOU about your fatherhood.

You're still alone in the music room with Lyra, and Bonbon and Mom are reportedly enjoying the hot tub; Dad's probably still Downtown at work. On a nearby bench are the guitar pick and Rarity's sketch of your hands. You have no mittens.

"You still look a little flush from being out in the cold." Lyra rubs your cheek with her hoof. "You sure you don't wanna... warm up a little? We've got plenty of time before dinner."

...

>>2719965 >>2719968 >>2719970
You reiterate to Lyra that now is really not the time and place.

"I'd love to be balls deep in you, but we really shouldn't do it when we could get caught, i.e. in a house full of ponies. Not to mention some of them may be keeping a closer eye on us than others."

"Like who?" Lyra tilts her head, ear flicking in curiosity.

Should you tell her about the encounter with Kiwi Keen, deflect the subject, or drop the spaghetti?

...

>>2720258 >>2720281 >>2720297
"I'm just not used to the whole maids and butlers deal, you know? I always feel like somebody's watching me. I've got no privacy."

"The mai—ohhh." Lyra nods sagely and gets a knowing smirk. "You met her, then."

>>2720222
"I-I didn't 'meet' her, she was all, like, and I—look, the point is, I turned her down. Not gonna name names, but there you have it. Nothing happened."

"Wait, but when did you run into her? Our rooms were already prepared, and then we had the massages..."

You could get on the same page with Lyra.
Or if you want to deflect, please REALLY try to deflect.

...

You decide to be straight with Lyra.

"She was sent to my room to give me a massage, and well, she got kind of interested—highly unprofessional—so I told her no." You shake your head and try to shrug it off. "Nothing happened."

"Huh. Okay." Lyra scootches out from under you and turns away, wandering between the instruments set up in the room. Her voice seems to drift around you as it resonates in the acoustic paneling, a dark undertone becoming apparent. "Really, there's no way you and I are going to have a moment to ourselves this 'vacation'? The only time we'll be together is at the AEIOU, getting poked with sticks and sun-knows-what. Well, I'll be the one getting tests and stuff. You're not the one carrying a..."

...

>>2721290 >>2721304 >>2721351 >>2721384
You catch up to her and interrupt her sad tirade, first with a finger gently placed on her mouth, followed by a peck.

"It's starting to get to me, too. Maybe we can get a motel on the way back or something?"

"Or something." She sniffs and tries to smile. "So what do you want to do this afternoon? Aside from me, that is. Maybe I can give you a tour of the place... or we could go out again if you're not too cold. Canterlot's lovely at night."

...

"Can you give me the short version? Then maybe we can spend a little time out after dark."
"After dark? We need to be home for dinner."
"I thought you were a big pony?"
"W-well...!" Lyra gets a little flustered. "It's a big place, there is no short version."
"Okay, just choose a couple places to show me."
"Well... this is the music room. Parents built it just for me, like I said." She shrugs and smiles before suddenly brightening and pulling you with her with a telekinetic tug.

She takes you on a whirlwind tour of the estate: through what you first think is a greenhouse, but she explains is a pantry (through a mouthful of dandelion greens); through the glass and steel atrium over the pool, where you glide straight past Bonbon and Lady Travis with a wave as Lyra pulls you around; up the great staircase gilded with paintings of her lineage; and finally to a room wreathed in dark swaths of cloth and stark shadows carving through moonlight.

Lyra's old bedroom is surprisingly somber, given her personality. Nothing at all like the ecstatic catastrophe you saw back in Ponyville, save for the mangled sheets on her bed. She flops onto it like it was a second home to her and takes a moment to rub her face in the sheets and inhale deeply.

"It may look all prim and proper but even this room would look like a mess when I've been in it for a few days..." She wanders over to her window, throwing the glass pane open. "You wanna hang out here or just get going?"

...

"Actually, I wanted to ask about all those paintings we saw on the way here."
"Changed your mind about going out?" She's magicked the sheets over to herself for some unknown purpose.
"Hey, we have plenty of time to go 'exploring' tomorrow." You wink, and she giggles as she closes the window.

"First, this is Singer, the first member of the family to settle in Canterlot. Yeah, I know, earth pony, not what you'd expect for a old money in Canterlot. She came to the mountains in the Jewel Rush and struck it rich, particularly since she had a talent for carving and extracting gems just using her voice. Mom says I inherited her musical ability, but it's not like I'm cutting crystals with my singing."

"And this is Lapidary. Actual unicorn this time. He collaborated on the design of the Princess' armor!"

"These are my grandparents... I never got to meet them since they died when mom was young. Her sister took care of her growing up. Speaking of, here's Aunt Skye—"

As Lyra introduces you to each of her predecessors, you notice a pattern: they're all from her mother's side of the family.

...

"Anyone from your dad's side of the family? I thought nobility was a point of pride."

"Er, not in dad's case, because he... isn't?" Lyra looks up and down the hallway, quietly beckoning you to follow.

Soon, you are in her father's study. The walls are less walls than shelves, and less shelves than books and scrolls. Certainly the home office of a district attorney. Lyra scours his desk for a picture frame, and places it in your hands: a sad grey photograph of two ponies with their unicorn foal.

"Dad lost his parents at an early age, too, but didn't have anyone else to look after him. He moved between homes. It's kind of cheesy but I guess he and mom connect on that level. They've always been there for me, though, so I wouldn't really know..." She sits down in an armchair and thoughtfully rubs her belly. "Must be the saddest thing, a child all alone in the world."

...

>>2723004 >>2723028
You kneel down and wrap your arms around her, kissing her belly and gently resting your ear against it. "That's not happening on our watch."

"How do you know?" Lyra sighs. "I mean, it's not normal for humans and ponies to—and I'm still with Bonbon... my parents think—I admit I've fucked up big time, Anon. And my baby's going to pay for it. There's no excusing what I've done to them. And to you. You've stuck with me so far, but is it really going to last? I don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow."

She pulls you up into the armchair and curls up on your lap. "I don't want to go outside any more."

...

>>2723343 >>2723361
You hold her close and gently stroke her mane. "We have all of tomorrow to figure this out. And the day after that, and every day after that. I'm not going anywhere."

You spy a grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Dinner will be soon—

"Who's in there? Miss Fright, is that you?" A stern, dark voice calls into the study, followed by a horn, followed by the imposing figure of Lord Travis standing in the doorway with his briefcases.

Lyra's just about frozen in your lap, and you hope her tears have dried as you try to discern the stoic expression on the old stallion's face.

...

>>2723617 >>2723675
"Uh... good evening, sir."

"Good evening. Lyra, are you quite alright?"

Lyra nods weakly and slinks away from you and the chair. You work up a response, "She was telling me about the family's history, got a little emotional, is all."

"I see." He telekinetically snatches the photo of his parents out of your hands before putting down his briefcases by his desk. It's almost eerie, how unmoved he is; even when Lyra throws herself on him, he affords her just a peck on the forehead while straightening out his belongings. "Did I miss dinner?"

"No. I think you're just in time."

"Get cleaned up. Tears don't become you." He nods at Lyra, and she dutifully turns to leave. He stops her from beckoning you to follow. "I hadn't had a chance to talk much with your friend, if you don't mind."

"Oh. S-sure." She waves goodbye to you, leaving you alone with Lord Travis. He looms over you with a bottle of cider and two shot glasses.

"Drink?"

...

"Yes. Please."

"A true gentleman graciously accepts his host's hospitality." He gives you a glass of cider and pulls up a chair for himself. "She is... easy to make friends with, yes?"

...

"Almost to a fault, but she doesn't throw herself at strangers like some ponies I've met."

"Yes, she's told me about this... Pinkamena Diane. But this conversation isn't about her." He summons a pipe and begins to blow bubbles as he maintains a withering gaze on you. "I take it you get along quite easily with ponies."

...

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have lasted a minute in Equestria." You laugh it off. He hmms nonchalantly.

"Forgive me for prying. After a day Downtown one can't help but be... curious." He pours out another glass for himself. "What do you really think of the situation downtown? Can our kinds commingle?"

...

"Time will tell, but I'm hopeful. It's a tricky situation, but it's one we've seen a lot of within our own kind—it's still an issue in many places, even violent."

"That is nice to hear, but I meant biologically." He looks you over. Thankfully, your fear and nervousness haven't revealed themselves, but it's still no easier to discern what he's thinking. "It is a sticking point of the arguments downtown."

...

"Don't ponies ever get involved with... I dunno, griffons and zebras?"

"Equinoids maybe, but alien species are right out. It really makes me wonder what's going on that's got the idea stuck in people's heads. Sadly, I've only rumors to go on." He turns away and starts rifling through his files. "I realize you must have been asked this many times already, but do you intend on finding a wife? Moving to Ponyville seems an hermitage on your part."

He continues, "Unless you were open to interspecies relationships. In which case, perhaps you'd find out what's going on in the AEIOU that's got people in a tiff."

...

"While I'm here, I might do some sleuthing for you."

"I don't need you to do anything for me, except stay away from Lyra." With a single gesture, he enchants his files to arrange and stow themselves, then he turns to leave. "If you want to test your theory, I suggest you pursue Miss Keen."

He doesn't wait for your response, and in the distance you can hear a bell calling you to dinner.

[end]