With the situation resolved by Luna, my friends and I went outside to grab some ice-cream. I heard that it helps with stress, so I think it'll do good for all of us, and especially Blueblood. Even now, as we walk through the streets of Canterlot, he often looks around in fear, probably expecting his parents to suddenly appear and take him back. Poor guy, seriously... I'd hate to have his parents as mine. I know my parents were on the strict and less reasonable side of, well, parenting, but damn... Blueblood's are a few levels above that. Fortunately, we managed to help him break out of that bullshit.

Thankfully, he didn't just run away without telling anyone. That would probably result in him being returned to his family, and then... It would only get worse. I doubt it would be hard to convince the guards that he ran away because he just was rebellious. They might not even listen to him saying that his parents, well... abuse him. I don't know if that's the right term, I don't know if his parents ever beat him, but I'll go with that. Forcing kids into stuff they don't like isn't that good.

Some would say that it is important to get a kid into school. But... if the kid dislikes the school, hates it, then what would he get from it? Better yet, why not search for an alternative? Our world isn't perfect or anything, but there are always options. We should definitely show love to our children, not just treat them as if we own them in some way.

Whew... that is one hard topic to think about. Parenting is a sensitive thing, a lot of people have a different opinion to mine. I mean, they treated kids like adults in Medieval, from what I know. Same expectations, same responsibilities, and... we all know that Medieval wasn't that good of a period in our history. I'm not the smartest, but I know for sure that we could use some improvement... everywhere.

Anyway, Blueblood now needs to find a new family... and that might be pretty difficult and stressful. I know he dislikes his parents but, well, they're still his parents. Natural instincts and whatnot would still make the separation at least a bit painful.

When I moved out of my parents' house, I felt better and worse at the same time. I felt... even more lonely than before, I suppose. Despite the arguments, disagreements, they were my family. They did support me, even if it wasn't exactly the right way. But they never hated me, they just... mis-loved me. No idea if that term actually exists, but let me invent it now: loving someone and wanting better for them but doing the opposite without knowing or acknowledging it. I think that fits my parents rather well. Blueblood's, though... They seem like the manipulative, controlling kind that don't want better for their children, only for themselves. But isn't that what nobility and similar kind of people do? I don't want to generalize, but there are plenty of shitty people high up in social status.

But what do I know? I'm not a parent... yet. I know I will be, but I'm not one yet, and I still don't know how to deal with children, my own or not. However, in around a year, I will have to deal with not just any kid, but a pony kid. Pegasi can fly, unicorns can do magic, earth ponies are... uh... strong? In any case, I could be dealing with someone shooting lasers out of their horn or a restless flying featherball or overly energetic earth pony... I'm definitely fucked and not in a good way. Well, it did feel good until I learned that I just made a kid. But, uh... yeah...

Ugh, I'm thinking about this thing again... I definitely need that ice-cream to relax. Thankfully, the closest place that sells them is in my sight, so let's just go there! A simple sign saying "Ice-Cream: All Kinds of Flavors!" hung above a small colorful building; the display showed pictures and descriptions of everything that it had. And hey, that's plenty of flavors! Now, what do I get... I tapped my chin in thought, browsing the display with my eyes until I stopped at a particular flavor.

"One raspberry cone, please," I placed my order, giving the needed amount of bits to the shopkeeper. Yep, I'm in a mood for some berry. Why not?

"One chocolate waffle cup, please," Moonshine was next. Not a bad choice — a simple one and yet a good one! I'd get a mix of vanilla and chocolate, though... But I already ordered the raspberry cone.

"Another raspberry cone, please," Iridia said. Well, can't say I didn't expect that, but still... too many similarities. It's like having a twin sister... which is a clone...

Okay, I need more ice-cream than just a cone. But that's for later. Now, I just need to think about something different.

...

I wish they had Spongebob. That was a fun little cartoon that I've almost forgotten. To be honest, I wouldn't mind refreshing my memory! The only thing I can remember is a stupid video that edited an episode or two of Spongebob; he and Patrick found over who would be Dirty Dan. I think that video also had a lot of dildos involved... Oh right, that was a YouTube Poop! My favorite kind of idiotic amusement!

"A vanilla waffle cup, please," Blueblood was the last to order, breaking my line of thought. Then, his ears folded as he looked at me as he muttered quietly, "Uh... I forgot that I don't have any bits..."

"No worries," I smiled at him, putting the money on the counter, "That'd be on me, I'm fine with that."

"Thanks, dude!" he returned the smile as his ears perked up, "You're like... doing a lot for me!"

"That's what friends do," I told him, "Helping each other, even if it's something small like getting an ice-cream."

I heard clanking of armor all of sudden. I turned around and... oh no. Blueblood's family is here, and they're coming for us with two royal guards. This can't be good. Can't be good at a—

"Blueblood!" I heard a booming voice coming from above. I looked up and saw Princess Luna with four night guards.

And that is how the Equestrian Civil War started. Did they have a civil war? Oh wait, that's what formed Equestria. Wait, what am I even thinking about? Why is my mind so... random?

So, I returned to my friends and saw Blueblood looking fearfully at the princess. His eyes shrank to pinpricks as he cowered, ears folded against his head.

"Don't worry, she's not here for you," I assured him, keeping an eye on what was happening over there with his family.

"Thou art coming with us, Prince Blueblood!" Luna told the father of the family strictly. Also, what's with their names, couldn't they be a bit more original? And I noticed Luna used her ye olde English, uh, Commonlang. That does sound pretty good, so why not? "Thou art under arrest!"

"W-what?!" he angrily replied, "You have no right! Y-"

"If another word of defiance cometh out of thy mouth, it would be forcibly shut!" the princess snapped back at him, "Do not forget, We are the rulers. Not thee, not other nobles. My sister and I are thy rulers," she exhaled slowly, keeping her eyes on the father, "It was brought to my attention that thou commitedst a crime against a foal, Blueblood. It is completely inexcusable, and thou shalt face the due punishment."

"It is called parenting, it is none of your concern, Princess!" he aggressively replied. Oh boy... that can't be good for him.

"The happiness of all of our subjects is Our concern, and thou art denying the happiness of one of them," Luna retorted sternly, "Now, dost thou come freely or do We need to use force?"

With that being said, the princess, the guards, and the family of Bluebloods soon disappeared. I heard my friend Blueblood let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" I asked him with worry. I mean, he probably feels bad or something... In any case, as a good friend, I must provide support to my friends when they need it. Even when my brain wants to think of something else and whatnot.

"I'm fine," he replied quietly, "It's just... I feel free. But... what do I do next?"

"Princess Luna will help you, and I definitely won't leave you hanging, buddy," I put a hoof on his shoulder, "I'm with you to the end of the line. That's what friends do, remember?"

"Yeah..."

"Anyway, let's finally eat the ice-cream before it melts."

Thankfully, this situation was resolved quickly. But if Luna were just a minute too late... Things wouldn't be pretty. I wouldn't simply let Blueblood's parents take him away, so I would probably have to fight the guards. As a human, I knew some moves. My father made sure I could do at least something if I'm attacked. And hey, it probably saved my face from being permanently... modified. A broken nose is a nasty thing to deal with, and I've never had to do it, mostly thanks to my slightly above average skills when it comes to swinging fists at someone. In any case, I don't know anything about fighting as a pony. I can probably use magic, but that's all I can. I am an alicorn, so that means I'm strong, but... They are from the Royal Guard. Probably trained professions who know what they're doing. I wouldn't want to stand in their way.

Just like usual, many things could've gone wrong in a different scenario. But that's life, am I right? If you just think about it, you might wonder how you even came to where you are now. Hm, is it philosophy? I feel like it is.

"I'm sorry for all of this..." I heard Blueblood say.

"It's not your fault, Blue," I was quick to assure him. And it is indeed not his fault. Crappy parents are never a child's fault, "Stuff happens. I'm just glad I was able to help you. Look at the bright side of things!" I actually hate saying that but... it's still true in some way.

"Oh, right, I'll be getting a teacher for drums!" he exclaimed in joy, "Dude, I almost forgot! Like... I can actually start that now!"

"Yup," I nodded, smiling at him, "We'll be able to hang out together more, too!"

"Yep, that is another good thing!" he nodded vigorously, his smile brightening even more, "I really, really wanted to hang out with you more but, you know... My parents don't like you that much."

"I figured," I chuckled, "It's not a problem now, though."

"For sure! And... do you remember the castle exploration?" he asked, and I nodded in response, "We could do something like that again if you want."

"I wouldn't be against it, that's for sure," I told him happily. Exploring abandoned stuff? Exploring castles and whatnot? Sign me in, really! What kid or teenager doesn't like running around and exploring stuff? Boring kids and nerds!

In all seriousness, I just like exploration. Places have history, things to discover. In videogames, I did the same — I explored each and every corner of the map to the best of my ability. Sometimes, it was rewarding, I found some useful stuff. Sometimes, it was nothing. And in some modern titles... Invisible walls and "Return to the field of battle in five seconds!" type of crap. Why, just why? Please... just don't do that. Exploration should be rewarded, not punished. Like when Blueblood and I found that set of armor and fabric we used for our Nightmare Night costumes. Was that rewarding? Heck yes!

Not to mention that I like castles on their own. I don't know if I'd like to live in one, but they're interesting to just be in. Their scale, it's absolutely magnificent! And that's probably why a lot of kids like castles as well. They're just... interesting. I know I'm repeating myself, but I can't stretch that enough!

Castles. Are. Amazing.

Unfortunately, our time together was cut short when Luna arrived. She had to take Blueblood to ask some questions and make things clear to him. After all, he needs somewhere to live, a new family, all that. It would require much more than just, you know, taking him away from the existing family. Even though Equestria has magic, it doesn't mean that any and all issues get magically resolved. Ponies have real problems just like us humans. Some of those problems might seem mild in comparison to what some of us face, but hey — different worlds, different problems.

I've already encountered two ponies that had trouble with their parents. There are probably more ponies with similar problems, and I'm glad I managed to help already. Equestria is really a nice country, and I want it to be even better! It's a giant step from what I was used to seeing back home, and I definitely don't want to see Equestria degrade into my country. That didn't sound very patriotic but frankly, I don't care. Patriotism shouldn't mean overlooking your own country's errors and such. I'm not blind to Equestria having problems either.

As perfect as the two ruling princesses seem to be, they're still ponies. Living, thinking, emotional beings. They make mistakes, everyone does at one point in our lives. If we didn't make mistakes... would we even be able to become better? Some probably could but not most people. I'm not sure where I am in there... Probably in the "most people" category. I've done my share of mistakes, I regret making them, but they shaped me as a person. I bet the same is the case with the princesses.

Anyway, it's time to return to the present, as in this day. Today. Ugh, my thoughts are so awkward sometimes... Anyway, stuff's going well, in my opinion. Blueblood will have a new, better family; we will hang out more, hopefully; he will get an actual drum teacher. And most important of all, we will finally make a band! Though, that only comes after Blueblood is good enough with the drums. Until then, we can't really do much.

Actually... we could start at least thinking about attracting ponies to us. Show them that there will be a band, make them have interest in it. I just need to think about how to do it without hyping it to the point that they can't handle the wait... That can happen, and I don't want to tire them out before the performance even begins. I'm not the smartest person in the world (or two worlds, depending on how you look at it), but I think I can figure out... something. Gotta use my brain for the right purposes, after all.

I might have an idea indeed... But I need to assemble the band, there's no way I can pull this off on my own. Well, I probably can, but I'd rather not stretch my luck. I've been caught up in many different things that prevented me from doing what I want — making a band to play metal, bring this genre of music to ponies. Problems won't stop here but I can at least start making my dream come true.

Author's Notes:

I'm very sorry you had to wait so long for a new chapter. I've been having a lack of inspiration and I finished another story, but still... I know such things will keep happening, but I'll try to minimize the negative consequences.