The fencing training started with a simple warmup. Since Sirius was already warmed up quite a lot after the recent duel, he decided to stretch his body. It was already pretty stretchable, but there were horizons he could reach.

Then, came the hoof-work. Training it would make anyone faster and more agile, not to mention more stable in the fight. While the posture didn't have as much importance as it did with humans, it was still mandatory to learn. A correct posture would turn a pony into a spring that would be able to move in all directions without hindrance or any problems at all.

Sirius knew it too well since he's been training for a long time. While he lacked endurance or strength in his body, he made up for it with his skill, which was unparalleled by anyone except the trainer himself.

At the second half of the training, Sirius was tasked with teaching the novices how to block efficiently. There were three sectors of attack: upper, middle, and lower. Head, body, and legs correspondingly. So, the former human taught the novices how to efficiently not only block but parry the attacks. Placing the sword in right position would allow it to deflect the blows with ease. If one angled the blade the right way, their opponent's one would slide off of it, not conducting energy to the sword, making retaliation quite easy.

And while the novices said they understood it, their defense wasn't very good.

"It's just not fair!" one of them complained aloud, missing one of Sirius' trick swings — he would fool his adversaries by swinging one way, only to attack from another direction. It was simple and yet very effective.

"Fights never fair." Sirius replied. "Everypony wants to win. They won't go easy on you if you are new to swordplay."

"You don't even use patterns for attacks!"

"Patterns are for fools." the former human replied. "Good attacks are not predictable. Learn how to defend against them."

"But when will we get to attack?"

"Defense is much important." Sirius explained. "Anyone can swing sword. You need come out of duel alive and not hurt. Swordplay isn't blindly attacking hoping to get the opponent. You need to get them and not be hurt by them, too. Learn defense, and it will help you good. But if you want to strike, try... counterattacks. They should work if you do right."

The novices weren't too bad, but Sirius' defense couldn't be penetrated by them. He effectively deflected their blows while simultaneously hitting them without much struggle. Though, he had no pride in it — any swordsman even with two months of training could beat novices and unarmed civilians easily. What brought challenge is another swordsman.

Near the end of the training, a small tournament was done. It consisted of duels between everyone. In the end, Sirius and Pride Fight came out with the highest results. They fought fiercely, but the old stallion had good defense while the former human had superior agility and speed. They decided to end it with a draw — no blows were landed.

Overall, the training was fairly productive for Sirius. He learned how ponies fought without magical assistance. While pegasi and earth ponies were at a disadvantage of shortened reach, pegasi were highly mobile and had superior endurance, and the earth ponies were pretty strong, able to crash through blocks with appropriate anti-armor or other heavy weaponry used.

Sirius finally went to the apartment to rest, accompanied by Iclyn. His body was pleasantly numb from all the stress he had put it under. He knew that it might hurt in the morning but he didn't care. In such situations, pain meant progress.

"You're really good at that sword stuff, Sirius." Iclyn told him. "Where did you learn it?"

"Mostly by myself." the former human replied. "But I had to train with other to practice skills. Theory is not thing without practice."

"And why did you decide to start?"

"It's fun and keeps in fo— uh... shape." Sirius replied. It wasn't too far from truth — swordplay was truly enjoyable for him. It was one of very few things he actually liked to do. Knowing how to beat people up with sharp sticks was a nice bonus. Besides, it helped him develop agility, speed, strength, perception, and reaction time to danger, and all of them greatly helped him in his times of need. He could rely on his training to keep him safe during most situations.

"Sounds good to me. Though, I prefer flight." Iclyn said, smiling slightly. "You know what? Let's go grab a snack."

"Wait me there. I need pick up plates I borrowed and return them." Sirius said. "Also, need place the sword somewhere."

"Alright, I'll search for a place for us to sit." the pegasus said, and the two parted ways.

Iclyn was pretty happy with the outcome. Sirius became less hostile to her and far more talkative. It seemed swordplay had done him good. Though, he still seemed a bit off to the filly. However, she could quite place it — she didn't know him well enough yet.

However, she was sure the two could become friends after a while. She just needed to try harder and show Sirius a good time.

The new colt didn't seem that bad overall. Sure, he had some problems, but it didn't seem he wanted to hurt anyone he saw. Everyone he had hurt on that day were bullies. The most he had done to Iclyn was pushing her against the ground after she stalked him. It was entirely her fault, she understood.

She remembered she wanted to apologize for it. Since Sirius wasn't too far away yet, she caught up with him fairly quickly.

"Hey," she said, gaining his attention. "Sirius... I want to say something to you."

He looked at her questioningly.

"I..." it was actually hard for her to apologize. Though, she needed to do it. "I'm sorry for what happened during the night."

Sirius stood silently, staring at her emotionlessly. Then, he turned around and left in haste.

"...Did I do something wrong?" Iclyn asked herself, her ears folding. She was confused by his reaction. Maybe she shouldn't have apologized? Maybe the apology wasn't enough? Maybe he just didn't want to hear about it?

Sirius didn't go away because she did anything wrong. In fact, she did right, and he was shocked by it.

He considered the accident to be so minor he wouldn't care whether she apologized for it or not. However, she did. He didn't expect her to say sorry for such a small thing. His trust in her rose significantly, seeing that she didn't see it below herself to apologize for small accidents.

He knew he overreacted when a couple tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. He couldn't control it. She apologized!

He kept repeating it in his mind as he trotted to the apartment. He tried to keep his emotions down but couldn't, and found himself smiling slightly.

He couldn't help himself, he was completely under the feeling of sudden happiness.

At least he felt good. He liked feeling good. If there was a chance to feel good, he would take it.

He shook his head. He needed to rearrange his thoughts into a pattern.

***

Soon, Sirius joined Iclyn in the cafeteria. The filly watched him as he grabbed a lot of food, and then walked up to the table and took a place near her. He looked at her apologetically.

"Iclyn, I'm sorry for my... um... my..." he tried to find the necessary word. He still needed to improve his vocabulary.

"Reaction?" the filly suggested.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry for my reaction." Sirius said awkwardly and yet sincerely. He rarely apologized, and when he did — it always came out bad, and yet honestly. "I don't... didn't mean you did bad."

"Alright... Let's eat?" Iclyn suggested, breaking the awkward moment.

Sirius had a big load of food to eat, and started to devour it pretty quickly. Since it was the first time Iclyn saw him eating, she was surprised to see the speed with which the colt was eating his food. It looked like he was starving and was desperate to grab as much as he possibly could because he feared his food might be taken away.

However, she decided not to comment on it and let him be. It wasn't too important anyway, at least to her.

As for Sirius, he enjoyed stuffing his stomach. Not only did it help with his hunger, it also made him feel good.

He looked around from time to time and noticed that many ponies warily glanced at him occasionally. It didn't bother him too much — they better fear him than see him as weak. Eventually, they would stop. Besides, the fear would make them afraid to approach him with any intention, and he was fine with it. He would be pretty comfortable only having Iclyn around. He had to live with her, after all. Developing a somewhat friendly relationship would be very beneficial for him. And if he wanted, he could make her life hell. He could make her suffer so much she would want to end her own life. His own experience on the receiving side could 'help' him a lot in such a terrible situation.

He didn't want it, however. But he would reserve the option for a special occasion. He hoped it wouldn't happen. In truth, he wanted to hurt only those who deserved it, and so far she wasn't hostile or aggressive to him in any way. Hurting her would serve no purpose but getting sick pleasure. And he rarely derived pleasure from hurting people. It was a necessity he had to do to survive, nothing more.

He discovered that even the food didn't divert his attention from his inner problems and issues. His mind become less and less stable with each passing moment. He couldn't stop thinking about depressing things, they plagued his mind constantly. He needed his favorite sport to keep him alive. Knowing that the trainings happened each day, he would take part in all of them. It was the best choice for his sanity. He didn't want to fully lose himself. He had to keep himself together.

He sighed silently. Maybe he would be able to get help in time. If Iclyn proved herself trustworthy, he would have a chance to get what he wanted, to finally have a release of sorts. If he couldn't die, he could find someone that would maybe understand him and help him find joy in life again.

However, those thoughts were the deepest, hidden beneath so many others. He would never admit what he thought. He merely wanted to get to know Iclyn to see if they could coexist peacefully, nothing more. Anything else would be a waste of time and effort. At least he made himself think so.

His body shivered, his heart sunk. He knew he was lying to himself, but he forced the feeling to fade away. There was no way he would allow such thoughts to overcome his mind. He had a clear goal in mind, and even as much as making a step to the side wouldn't be good for him. He still needed to find a way to permanently end himself. Friends die, loved ones perish, he couldn't care less about making many friends or finding one true love. Besides, he would never like ponies that way. They didn't appeal to him.

"Sirius?" Iclyn called him.

"Huh?" the former human turned to her, his line of thought ending.

"You've been staring at the table for quite some time already." the filly said. "Everything's alright?"

"I've been... What? St... starring?" he asked in confusion, mispronouncing the word. He didn't know what it meant yet yet.

"Looking at one place without moving." Iclyn explained.

"Ah... I'm sorry, I... was thinking." Sirius replied in understanding.

"No problem, we all think about things from time to time." the filly smiled slightly. The former human barely contained a frown. She had no idea what kind of thoughts were in his head. "Alright, I suppose we can go as soon as you finish with what you have left."

The former human nodded, and proceeded to eat the rest of the food. Soon, he was ready to go. He needed to finish some homework and then rest to replenish his strength.

Maybe everything wasn't that bad after all. At least it wasn't the worst thing that could've happened to him.

He was happy it wasn't.

Author's Notes:

Sometimes, when everything is so bad you want to end it once and for all, small things make you happy. It is what happens to Sirius.

If he doesn't get help soon, something bad will happen. The question is, how much time will it take for him to open the flood gates of his mind and let his darkest thoughts control him completely?

Only the time can tell.