Author's Notes:

It's been three months. Three damn months. I've been trying to finish this chapter for at least two weeks now, and I finally managed to do it. I apologize for this wait (one fourth of a year!), but I hope you will enjoy this chapter nevertheless. I can't say when I will update it next, but I will do my best to make sure it won't be as long as it took me to write this chapter.

After making sure everything was where it was supposed to be, I teleported back to school to finish the classes. For a few minutes, I was shaking with adrenaline, fidgeting in place, ready to jump back into action. I've never had anyone break into my house before, and despite the safety of Canterlot, I instinctively expected to be stabbed or shot. You never know when it comes to robberies and such. Some thieves are just random people looking for something easy to steal, but others are ready to leave no witnesses, and that's the scary thing. I'd say I'm lucky that I didn't stumble on that kind of people.

Fortunately, the rest of the classes went as usual. During a break, I told Moonshine, Iridia, and Night Breeze what happened. Iridia complained that she wasn't there to kick butts with me, but oh well... what happened, happened. Maybe next time, we will kick some butt together. But, to be honest, I don't want any next time, I'd rather just not get robbed or have my stuff stolen.

I told Moonshine, Iridia, and Night Breeze what happened while I was gone, but since it all ended well... We just did our classes as usual. Thankfully, this time, no one tried to break in while we were gone. Maybe the security started doing their job like they were supposed to. I mean... As Celestia said, the building and apartments are supposed to be the safest in the entire city. They definitely can't be the safest if someone can break in and the only reason they were caught was an accident.

I guess I'm still a bit shaken because of the whole thing. Hopefully, it won't happen again. And I should probably learn some spells for self-defense. I think I've seen a poster about it somewhere... Hm, let's see.

After I told the girls that I'll catch up to them in a moment, I turned around and went to the news stand that is situated on the first floor of the school. From the glimpses of it I caught while passing by, it was mostly stuff about sports events, concerts, reminders about the no litter rule, and so on. Basically, general school things, as far as I'm aware. I didn't really look at them much since I just go to the school to study. But hey, I might pick some extracurricular activity or two someday. Not sure about it yet because I still need to create the band to bring metal to Equestria. I've been planning, or, well, just thinking of it, for far too long. I have almost everything I need to finally start, and now I understand that it's not as simple as getting people together to play things.

In any case, I need to look up things relating to self-defense. I might be an alicorn, but that doesn't mean anything if the only thing my body is good at is sex. I need to learn more.

Alright, here's the news stand. Let's see... chess club, hoofball club... a reminder to flush the toilets... Wait, what? Someone doesn't flush after relieving themselves? That's fucking disgusting. Anyway, the next thing is a list on students that need to see Celestia about their grades. Good thing mine are fine. Alright, here it is, a note about self-defense.

Mares and stallions! Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns invites you to partake in classes dedicated to self-defense!

Planning to take a vacation in a foreign country? Want to become strong and agile? Want to enlist in tournaments and matches? Want to feel safe and prepared for anything?

We shall teach you how to properly fight in any situation! As a wise master once said, "It is better to have a sword and not use it than not to have it and get in a situation where you need it." We shall teach you in hoof combat and magic combat, and if you are inclined, combat with weapons as well. Come to the sports hall at 16:00 each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The training is free of charge.

Courtesy of the Royal Guard of Equestria.

That sounds very nice! I remember when my father taught me how to fight. Sure, it wasn't really pleasant, but it did come in handy a couple of times. My father wasn't one of the fat officers in the army, he was pretty fit for his age, and as flexible as a trained child. Heck, I think he looked younger than anyone his age in the neighborhood. He was harsh and nearly broke my fingers once, but I wouldn't say that his training wasn't effective. But now, I'm a pony, and whatever my father taught me can't be applied. Besides, I've not trained in almost a year. I'm definitely a bit rusty, so these self-defense classes will help me remember what it means to fight. I probably won't end up needing it, but as a wise master once said...

So, the classes start today in a bit. I can go home for now and deal with things. Maybe even practice the guitar or keyboard. That'll help me unwind after the earlier events today.

Ah, home... Not quite the home, but still a very nice place to sleep at and such. The room isn't too small, the bed is rather long and wide, the colors are nice and soft... A nice dorm overall. I remember when I called it an apartment, but, well, it's not one. It's a dorm. Funny how I didn't remember that word. But I've never lived in a dorm, and no one ever bothered to fix me, so...

In any case, maybe one day, I will have my own house. Live together with Moonshine, Night Breeze, and the kids. However, I don't know what will Iridia do. Chances are, she's thinking the same thing I do. However, she'll be pretty different from me once enough time passes. And... I can't help but wonder if she feels lonely. In just one moment, in what seemed an instant, a small trick from Discord made her real. She's me but at the same time, she's no longer me. We share over twenty years worth of memories.

As I practice my guitar, I wonder how she feels about everything. She's not living with us but a dorm across the hallway. You know what? I think I'll visit her.

I put down the guitar and stood up from my bed. After telling Moonshine of what I'll do, I exited the dorm and went to Iridia's. Her door wasn't closed but I knocked a few times and waited for her to answer. I know I can probably barge in without a problem, but I don't want to walk in on anything.

"Enter," she said, breaking my line of thought. I nudged the door open and stepped inside, "Oh, hi Flame. I thought you'd be practicing guitar."

"I was, but I kept thinking..." I paused to gather my thoughts.

"About what?"

"About you, Iridia," I walked closer and sat on the bed with her, "How do you feel?"

"You know, it's funny you're asking," she chuckled lightly, "I expected you to. And... To be honest, I don't know how to answer it," she looked down, her long mane obscuring her face, "I am you, and yet it seems I've lost everything you had. You know... I love Moonshine. I care about Night Breeze. And now it seems I was just... torn away."

I listened silently, my mind completely blank. Her words were painfully true, and I had nothing to say, not a thought.

"One day, I was you, we were one person, and the next... I'm a mare, I'm a clone... And you're still you," she let out a deep sigh, "I don't even know how to explain it..."

"I understand what you mean," I nodded, "And if I'm honest, I don't know what to feel about it either. I can't ignore it, but I have no idea what to do. You're not just my, uh, sudden sister. You're me. And... you should be a part of my family."

"That's what I want, yeah," she nodded, slightly straightening her posture but still looking down, "But I don't know... I can't be a father if I'm a mare. I can't be a coltfriend if I'm, well, not a colt," she let out a short, somewhat sad laugh, "Even if I were an exact copy of you, I don't know if I could be you even though I am you. Ugh, this is complicated..."

"Yeah..." I sighed and nodded, and then stated half-jokingly, "Maybe we can make clones of those we love?"

"That'd just make things worse," she chuckled, "Imagine trying to figure out whom gets whom and all that stuff."

"Yeah..." I nodded again with a chuckle of my own. And then, silence came upon us again as we sat on the bed together.

"I've never thought something like this would happen," Iridia said after a short while, "But you know... we're in the land of talking colorful ponies with magic and stuff. No surprise something weird happened, am I right?"

"True enough," I agreed, "You know... maybe we should all get together and talk about it. Figure things out, you know?"

"Sounds right, yeah," she nodded, but then her ears folded, "But... I don't know how. I mean, how do you even begin?"

"...I don't know," I replied honestly, "But maybe we'll figure it out. I have something interesting on my mind, actually."

"Oh?" she raised a brow and looked at me.

"There's a self-defense class in..." I glanced at the clock, "Twenty-five minutes. Wanna go with me?"

"Hm, maybe beating things will clear my head, yeah," she nodded, "So, are we going now or..."

"It's better to be early, I suppose. Get to know the trainer, all that stuff," I replied and stood up. With a nod, Iridia stood up as well, and both of us exited the room. We headed straight to the school.

Maybe the class will help Iridia relax a bit. Sure, it's a physical activity, and we might get some bruises, but... that's better than sitting in one place staring at a wall, isn't it?

Iridia and I soon reached the sports hall. We nudged the doors open and entered it, and saw the trainer placing training equipment around the hall. The trainer was a unicorn stallion maybe in his thirties. He was a bit smaller than me in height, but definitely made up for it in muscle. His mane and tail were both rather short, which I understand – long hair can get in the way. That's why Iridia and I got hair bands to tie the top of our hair in the back so that it wouldn't get in our eyes while training.

"Good day, young ponies!" he said once he noticed us, "I'm Steady Steel, your trainer," after we named ourselves, he continued, "Pleasure to meet you both! Now, I'm going to ask you a couple questions, alright?" both of us nodded, "So, have you been into any martial arts before?"

"No, not really," I replied, and Iridia shook her head in turn, "We know a bit, but... I guess we're new to this thing."

"Very well, then I will personally train you," Steady Steel nodded to our reply, "I've been training ponies for almost a decade now, so I would gladly pass on my experience to those who need it. Now, I see you two aren't exactly muscular, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to become good at self-defense. However, I'd recommend getting more protein for muscle growth. It helps a lot when it comes to any physical activity."

I can attest to that. Or, at the very least, I used to be somewhat fat and not at all muscular. It changed later on, and that change really, well, changed stuff. I've never been into gym life myself, but I can understand people who are. After all, it's pretty damn impressive to lift more than your body weighs. Heck, even manipulating your own body can be difficult. Some people can do pretty crazy stuff like parkour, and it requires strength, dexterity, agility, endurance, and whatnot.

"Well, to start it all of, you should warm up. Just remember your usual warm-up routine and stick with it," the trainer said, "Once all the students come in, we'll begin."

The warm-up started with the two of us trotting laps around the sports hall. Then we switched to side-stepping. This does get the heart pumping in the right way for sports stuff. But unlike what I did as a human, the routine consisted mainly of trotting in different ways because of four legs. I didn't have to swing my arms or anything like that. I also couldn't slap my butt with my hooves like I could with my feet because, well, pony legs just don't bend that way.

I'm actually glad I don't have to work my arms. I always disliked that part because of its awkwardness. Just flapping my arms around like I'm drowning or something just didn't seem right. Watching others do that was also quite funny. So, now, I glad I can do without that. However, my forelegs do bend in some weird ways like my arms normally would. That's what allows me to do clapping and other human-like movement. I don't know much about equine anatomy, so I could be wrong.

Anyway, I like this warm-up. You just do the breathing right, move your legs, and you're free to think about all the things you would want to think about. I looked to my side and saw Iridia, and I bet she's thinking about... something. Don't know what, but she is. Because I often think about stuff, so should she because, well... she's my clone. We're not too much different just yet. I hope she'll have fun here, because I definitely will. I mean, all boys got into fights, real or friendly, and we loved it. I, for once, loved to fight with sticks. Because they were swords in my head, so... Picking up a long stick and pretending to be Darth Maul was fun. Or picking an even longer stick to use as a spear. Shame trees don't grow stuff that looks like shields.

I noticed that a bunch of other students funneled in as time went by. Some of them were obviously not new here. They were rather fit and had a certain bounce in their step. All in all, there was about twelve more ponies coming in. That's not really that many, but hey, maybe more people will come a day after tomorrow. Or just different people. Whatever. My point is, I'm probably seeing just a half if not less. But on the other hand... Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns is a fancy place, so fancy people go here. I bet most of them can afford private lessons. Some maybe don't do it at all because they can afford to hire security. And... most ponies probably don't even bother. The streets are safe, the country as a whole is safe. In the city I lived, it was mildly dangerous to be around at night, so I carried a spray can with pepper. I would've bought a gun, but there were certain hoops I would have to go through. And besides, a gun can be expensive, and I wasn't in the best financial position to afford one.

In any case, soon the two of us were ready for the main training to begin. The trainer addressed each student separately, and soon our turn came.

"Now, I suppose we should test how strong you can buck first," Steady Steel said. Did I mishear or... "Bucking is the main method of defense equines have, and it's the most powerful one." Bucking. Not fucking. Good. I mean, I'm good at one of those two things, so it should count for... something. I noticed that Iridia was giving me a knowing look. It took us a lot of strength not to give even the smallest of smiles. "Let me just set this thing up..."

He proceeded to set a pillar made of some soft material upright, and it had a wide plate at the chest's height, as well as a small monitor on the other side. Once the thing was up, Steady Steel moved out of the way.

"Alright, you two need to buck the plate as hard as you can. Of course, not at the same time, but one by one," he instructed us.

I was the first one. I positioned myself like the trainer told me to, and then bucked. This is a weird move I've not done before, but damn, it does feel pretty powerful.

"Huh, that's not what I expected," Steady Steel said after a small pause, "Your technique is far from perfect, but the raw power behind it is impressive for your size."

I guess it makes sense. After all, I'm an alicorn, and alicorns are supposed to be stronger than anyone. Hm, now that I think of it, I probably should hit the gym to become even stronger. Definitely no harm in that, so I might give it a try.

Iridia took my place and bucked the plate. Hm, maybe we can hit the gym together?

"Pretty identical results, but just slightly weaker," the trainer commented, "You two are inseparable twins, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah, I suppose you can say that," Iridia replied, and I nodded. In a manner of speaking, what he said is true. Or, at least, was. We were literally inseparable. That is, until we were separated.

"That explains just how similar your techniques are. I say, they're identical," he continued, "In any case, you two have a good base, and now it needs to expand. I'll gladly help you with that. First of all, the proper stance..."

It has just started, but I already feel excitement. I've never been to a martial arts class before, and I didn't imagine it would go down like this. My father left the impression that I would be shouted at and stuff so that I would push through and succeed, but here... The trainer is polite and explains everything patiently. My father could explain things calmly, but he much preferred yelling. I wouldn't say it didn't help, but he was loud, and by loud I meant that he could outshout a heavy metal concert.

Don't trust me? I bet my nipple he can. I can't prove it now, but if anyone ever meets my dad and hears him yelling, they'll get it. But for now, I'll focus on training.