On the next day, I had to introduce Iridia to the class. Well, not the class, but the teachers, for the most part. The explanation I came up with is pretty simple, really — Iridia is my twin sister. Even if she's physically a bit younger than me, the legal paper stuff she has is almost the exact copy of what I have. Luna made sure that no unnecessary questions would be asked, which I'm grateful for. I don't want too many people to know that I have a clone of myself. That would obviously be weird and draw attention that neither I nor Iridia wanted. All in all, the legality of the situation was settled quickly and reasonably well. However, there are still some problems with housing her since the current apartment Moonshine and I have isn't big enough for the three of us. I'm sure we'll find a solution soon, though. After all, Luna is my friend, and she's a princess. I'm really glad she's helping me, otherwise I'd be stuck with... honestly speaking, a lot of things would've already gone wrong if she wasn't there to save my butt.

Speaking of Luna, I should really do something for her to thank her for all the effort. Hmm, I need to think about it... Oh! I think I have an idea! Although, it's relatively long-term and... well, perhaps it's not the best idea in the current situation but I'll still keep it in mind. I need to figure out something else, however. I do know that she doesn't need anything but my friendship as gratitude, but hey, I like thanking people for stuff they do for me. It makes me feel... good, for the lack of a better word. Actually, what is better than good? I mean, according to the rules of English language, the better of good is the best. Or something like that...

Okay, I'm thinking about dumb stuff again, I shouldn't get distracted so easily. At least not yet.

So, back to school stuff. I caught quite a few colts glancing at Iridia with some obvious romantic or plain sexual intentions in mind. This makes me... I don't know. It feels somewhat weird. After all, she's me, and the female version of me is liked by guys. So... I'm both handsome and beautiful? I guess that's what being an alicorn — or a good-looking unicorn in case of Iridia — gives. We're complete copies of each other, so we have the same genetic stuff... At least I think so. I don't remember biology very well, unfortunately. In any case, that would mean that Iridia has alicorn genes... I think. So, if she ever has kids, they might be alicorns. Just like my kid might be one. Or kids. Oh no, I'm thinking about being a father again...

Focus, Flame. Focus. After all, I'm playing dodgeball right now. How can I think about all these things while I'm trying to, well, dodge a ball? I don't know. What I know is that I'm pretty agile. Everything is... slower. At least it seems so. For example, right now, I see a ball flying towards my face. It's still flying as I dodge it. It passes by me and I'm pretty sure I could see all the details on it.

Am I the One? Is this Matrix? I mean... I bet I look like I'm super fast. I don't know since I only have my own perspective.

Another ball flies past me. This is fun! Right now, it's relatively easy since there are three more ponies dodging balls with me, including Iridia. She's not too bad herself, doing things just as well as me. And, uh... She's sorta flashing her privates because her tail keeps going places. Oh, I think my tail does the same thing, so... There are more balls on the field than those that fly around, hah.

I don't know why I'm even thinking about this. I don't want to fuck myself. At the very least, I don't think I do. I might want it but it's a bit weird. Well, not a bit — it's really weird.

Okay, two more ponies are out. Iridia and I are the last ones standing. Welp, here come the balls, and it's not in a good sense.

Whoosh here, I dodge. Whoosh there, I also dodge. Hah, they can't hit me for the life of them!

*WHOOSH*

Okay, I don't need to be cocky. On a random note, I'm glad I'm quadrupedal. I don't need to shield my balls in case a ball flies straight to them. Unless someone hits me from behind, and that'd be a really lucky — or unlucky, depending on whether it's my perspective or not — hit. It also seems that ponies are more strongly built as well. Most of us take a hit to the head without any trouble whatsoever. Of course, the dodgeball balls are relatively light but still, I don't remember humans shrugging off headshots.

*thump*

Iridia is out! The original is always better! I smirked at her as she picked up a ball and went to the rest of the ponies.

Oh no. Now I need to dodge it until I'm hit. Or until the timer runs out, which is exactly one minute.

Oh. No.

I dodged this! Dodged that! And this, too! Phew, this suddenly became really hard in a non-pleasant way.

*whoosh*

Dodgy dodge! And another dodge! And-

*THUMP*

Oof... Alright, Iridia is standing there, grinning at me. Welp, no surprise she was the one to hit me right in my chest, almost knocking all the air out. That was definitely a powerful hit without a single doubt. Should've expected that...

Anyway, this is the last class for today. Iridia and I planned to have some music practice after it, inviting Moonshine along. After all, we need to make a band, finally! The only problem is, I need to find a drummer. I remember Blueblood wanted to be one, I should probably check on him and see how well he's doing with that. I wonder if he made any substantial progress. I no longer have the benefit of programmable drums on a PC, unfortunately. Frankly, I can barely play drums, so I'd rather get some help with that. I knew I should've learned to drum but, well, the past is the past, and I can still learn it when I can. I must remember that I can't be a one guy band. That's way too much stuff to do at the same time. Thankfully, now I have a theoretically infinite amount of hands and fingers, so I probably can play multiple instruments at once since I don't have bodily restrictions anymore. In any way, I think a band of multiple ponies would look better.

So, Iridia, Moonshine, and I will first and foremost go to Blueblood's place. I already sent a letter to him so he should be there to meet us and talk to us about drums and stuff. Once we fetch him, we'll go straight to Canterlot Castle. Luna was helpful once again, providing a hall for us to practice at. I don't know how she does it but I'm thankful she does.

Time to go!

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. As we finally came to Blueblood's place, we weren't met by him alone. Unfortunately for all of us, his parents were there along with his older brother, all of them bearing frowns on their faces. This won't go well... This won't go well at all...

"Well, well, who's here!" the father stepped forward. Well, if that's not the closest to Aryan, then I don't know what is. His fur was purely white, the mane was blond and slicked back, his beard was neatly combed as well, and his blue eyes looked at me with anger. "A group of no-good teens..." he snorted. "So, you are those who have been a bad influence for our son. Making a musical band? Rabble..." he turned his snout away in what I presume is disgust.

"I'm sorry, guys..." Blueblood Junior said only to be cut off by his father.

"Silence! I'll deal with you soon..." the father said menacingly. "Now, you three, you will stay away from our family or else you will face terrible consequences!" he stomped angrily at us.

Frankly, I didn't expect something like this. That's just... poor parenting on his part. Reminds me of my parents a bit, but even they weren't nearly as restrictive to me. Blueblood's family surely fits into the "Christian family" stereotype. Or... how do I even call it here? Well, I can say that they're stuck-up nobles that seem to know that they know the best for everyone else. Yep, that'd be pretty accurate.

Actually... Now I have an idea that might work. I looked at Iridia and saw her looking at me. Hah, it seems we came to the same conclusion, judging by the look in her eyes. Well, I hope it works. And if it does, we'll have to get Luna to help us sort this mess out. No way am I leaving Blueblood Junior like this. I bet, oh I bet it will cause a big scandal but hey, he's my friend, and I should've helped him with family stuff long ago. I suppose this is the best time!

"Blueblood..." I looked at my friend in the eyes, trying to suppress a mischievous smile. "No offense, but..."

"Your family fucking sucks," Iridia finished, and both of us ignited our horns.

Before anyone else could say anything, the four of us disappeared in a blinding flash of light. After a moment of seeing nothing but a white void, we appeared in the hall Luna promised to get for us.

Yes, four of us. As I've said before, no way was I going to leave Blueblood there. And now he's with us, blinking slowly in the stupor. Yay, it worked! Not the stupor, of course, the teleportation. This rescue plan, thankfully, worked as we wanted. It'd be quite... unfortunate if it didn't. But the good part is, we won't have to worry about Blueblood's family for a while. Plus, the guy's here with us now!

"W-wow, guys..." he finally opened his mouth. "T-thanks..." he let out a long sigh, turning to me. "And... I didn't know you had a sister."

"Now you do," I smiled at him. We're not the closest of friends but I'm sure glad I managed to help him. "Now... I'll go get Luna, you guys stay here."

I turned to the exit from the hall. From what I remember, Luna promised to meet us at the entrance. I feel slightly tired, so I should save up energy for the practice. So, I walked through the halls of the Canterlot Castle, and the guards didn't mind me. It seems they now know me quite well. And I bet some of them think that Luna and I meet for some... not so safe for work activities, if you know what I mean. Ironically, I've never had sex with her and I doubt I ever will, even though sometimes it seems like she wouldn't actually mind it.

Okay, I need to focus again. Even though Luna helped me get rid of most of my sexual thoughts, some still slip in like a lubricated di- alright, I stop here and now. No need to think about that just yet.

"Flame?" in all my perverted thoughts, I didn't notice how quickly I came to (not in just yet. Argh, damn my brain!) Luna. "I was expecting you'd come from the other side of the door."

"Well... my friends and I have a problem," I said and then told the princess about the situation we have. It was a short tale but it left quite a deep frown on Luna's face, which is to be expected. I remember her reacting when she heard about Moonshine's parents... Yeaaah, that was quite fearsome. This reaction is mild in comparison.

"I see..." she said slowly. "I'll see what I can do about it. Bluebloods have been quite a nuisance for Celestia and me for quite some time and we've been desperately trying to find a reason to take away their status. Unfortunately, the family has grown quite... snobbish to an extent we don't allow," she paused for a moment. "Now, we have the perfect reason to bring them down. Thank you for informing me, Flame," she made a small smile, looking at me. "Blueblood Junior will be fine. Though, I believe quite a few things must be made to ensure that he would have a better future, possibly with another family."

You know, if that's how the government takes care of kids, I don't mind it. I don't remember that... how's it called, actually? When the government separates a kid from their parents due to abuse and such? Hmm... I don't seem to recall what it is. Whatever, I'll just look it up later when I have the time. In any case... Welp, and here I forgot what point I was trying to make. Ugh.

One thing I can say is that Blueblood should have a better family that would help him with his tastes. I mean... That's pretty insulting what his family said about me. Bad influence? Fucking hell, we don't offer him drugs! Unless you count music as a drug. I don't even think that Equestria has a drug problem or a smoking problem or whatnot. Hell, I don't recall seeing a single pony smoke. It's not a family-friendly cartoon, so what gives? Actually, some older cartoons had smoking characters. In any case, it doesn't seem like ponies smoke at all. Which is good for sure!

Why am I going on about this? Ugh, I get infinitely distracted by just about anything. Do I have a disorder of some kind? I should be able to keep my mind on one thing from time to time, that's for sure. Instead, it seems I keep jumping from one thing to another in a span of a few seconds. Maybe that's another Discord effect? Or is it my personality? Honestly, I don't know anymore.

Anyway, everything about Blueblood is more or less settled. Time to return and actually practice!

After around half an hour, all of us were finally ready. Iridia and I had the guitars, Moonshine was behind a keyboard, and Blueblood was on the drum set. That's a classic set: kick drum, three toms, a snare, a crash, a hi-hat, and a ride. As I found out, the traditional position is sitting on a stool, holding drumsticks in the hooves. I mean... it makes sense? Not for a unicorn, though. In any case, I think it will work well, even though fancy spinning tricks with drumsticks wouldn't be easy to do.

"So, uh... I'm really just a beginner," Blueblood admitted. "I can't do much just yet, especially not with my parents almost constantly watching me. Getting this set was hard, finding a place for practice was also hard, and finding a teacher... Well, uh..." he blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah... I only had a book."

"Let's see what rhythms you can do, I suppose," I said, nodding. Blueblood started a metronome at... I think that's one hundred and twenty beats per minute, which isn't bad in itself. Then, he grabbed the drumsticks and started drumming.

Okay... this beat is basic, even I know that. Yeah, Blueblood needs a lot, and I mean a lot more training to be able anywhere near close to what Ghost needs. Not to mention that he's a bit off the beat. It might not be noticeable to most right away, but to me, someone who practiced with a metronome for plenty of time, it is. And it irks me to no end!

"So yeah... not much..." Blueblood said, placing the drumsticks on the drums. "Sorry guys..."

"Don't worry, I think we'll be able to get you a teacher," I assured him. "None of us started talented. Moonshine here had to spend plenty of time to become good, and I'm sure you can develop your skills just as well," I smiled at my friend. "You know what... since we can't really practice that well due to the difference in skill, how about... hmm..." I tapped my chin. "Why don't we go get some ice-cream? Leave all the stuff here, I'm sure we can come back to it later. Plus, maybe we'll find a teacher for you, Blue!"

"Sounds good to me!" his ears perked up and his mood lifted up. That's the spirit!

Even though the plans changed, I'm sure all of us will have fun together in one way or another. But first and foremost, ice-cream!

Author's Notes:

Don't ship Blueblood with Iridia... or do