The classes of Math were uneventful and passed by Sirius almost unnoticeably. He didn't have any trouble solving equations or problems. The math teacher asked him pretty frequently, testing his abilities. As it turned out, Sirius was rather good at math. It also helped him that the math itself and its systems were almost exactly like those he had learned on Earth. Thus, there was barely any difficulty with adjusting to the new system since it was rather familiar and not overly complicated. Overall, his math experience was positive.

After the students exited the school to have their free time, princess Luna discreetly arrived and assembled all teachers that had had a good look at Sirius during his first two days there. The princess needed to know how well Sirius was faring so far.

"I'd say Sirius is a capable colt." the math teacher said. "Not very talkative, but it's understandable — his language is lacking. He has absolutely no problems with the subject I teach as well. The only thing that stands out is the fact that he carries a sword. Well, colts love doing 'stuff' they see as funny. Sirius hasn't even once done anything that would get him into trouble during the class or break, though. In fact, he's quiet, busying himself with a dictionary during the break, and not playing with a sword like it's a toy."

"He's tough son of a— ahem." Pride Fight spoke next. "Well, Sirius is a bit quiet and perhaps too serious for a colt his age, maybe a bit less emotional as well, but I can say he'd make a good guard if he ever applies. Though, he surely needs to get some weight. I've never seen such a skinny colt in my life.

"Also, I'm unsure about his leadership skills, but he has the toughness and, I'd say professionalism. He's capable of defending himself and others — hell, he defeated an advanced student in a duel and can hold on against me! Not to mention that he took on three most athletic stallions in the class and won by being smart and thinking ahead. So, he is indeed a very intelligent colt. Though, I've not seen his fighting style used among ponies... He has a strange way of using his weapon. His magic aura represents a pair of minotaur-like hands holding the grip of the sword. It's pretty interesting, really." he finished with a hoof tapping his own chin.

"Yes, he's indeed a quiet colt, though there is aggression inside him." the Magic teacher Aura Wand said. "It is mildly disturbing, but colts can be aggressive at times. At my subject, he's average, at least yet. It might change."

"Sirius hasn't shown anything during History. I can't say anything about him but, as mentioned by others, he carries a sword." the history teacher said.

"Thank you for the information." Luna said, nodding, a slight frown appearing on her face.

"Your majesty, mind if I ask you something about him?" Aura asked.

"No, not at all. Go on." the princess nodded, interested in what the teacher of Magic had to say.

"Is he... special?"

"...I don't think so. At least not in the meaning you have put in the world 'special'." Luna shook her head. However, she knew he most likely had some mental issues. "However, he is indeed a very interesting person. I can't reveal much, but I want all of you to keep an eye on this colt. Make sure he doesn't get into unnecessary trouble. Also, keep me informed about his behavior, and make sure you know if it changes suddenly."

Every teacher agreed to do what the princess suggested, and the meeting ended.

So, Luna discovered that Sirius was pretty good at hiding his identity. Not counting his emotional slip during the accident at the cafeteria she had been informed earlier about, he was completely closed. Though, only two days had passed — maybe the teachers would notice something else later on.

Luna figured one thing — he learned how to use magic. He was also good at fencing, and not many ponies could say they were as good. Certainly, Sirius took up fencing not for recreational purposes but for practical — self-defense, for example. It made sense to Luna since he was aggressive towards anyone who tried to mess with him in any way. She decided not to do anything about it — Sirius wasn't a murderer and it was doubtful that he would do it. However, he needed to be closely watched — he was still a mystery, one that could be potentially dangerous to those around him.

Luna already knew that Sirius was verbally and physically harassed by local bullies, ones she wasn't aware about before she sent him to the school. She made certain that they wouldn't show up near him again. Sirius was already unstable in mind, and Luna couldn't afford any accidents to happen to him that would mentally disturb him. She figured he had already endured too much in his life.

Sirius lied on his bed, the dictionary in his magical grasp. Between the school and the training, he needed to fill up the space with something. If his mind wasn't busy, he would think about himself and his state, and it never led anywhere good.

However, he found himself unable to concentrate on the book. There was just too much buzz inside his head as his thoughts erratically flew around, disrupting his learning process.

It was the end of the second day of the school. What was he going to do? While it wasn't as bad as he expected, the school still had problems. How long would he need to study there? He realized he was a teenager again. He remembered how such a time had turned him into a hopeless and depressed wreck he was at the moment. Many things had happened to him back then, most of which he didn't want to remember. It was his turning point in life that led to his death, and he hoped it wouldn't repeat. Going through it once was more than enough for him.

If only he had internet, he would be able to play games or read something to spend his time in a more or less entertaining way. However, he had no such luxury.

Sirius groaned, displeased with his state of mind. It was still a bit more than half an hour before his training started, and he needed to get his mind off of things he didn't want to think about. Perhaps, he could talk with Iclyn. At the moment, she was lying on her bed, reading a book. A small talk wouldn't hurt, the former human thought.

"Iclyn?" Sirius called her.

"Yeah?" the filly replied, lowering her book to look at the colt.

"Can you tell more about school?" he asked. "I am still new. Not just to this school, but... uh... edu— educationnel system."

"Well, there's nothing too much interesting about it." Iclyn replied. "Most of us will reach thirteen this year, meaning we would be free to choose a couple of things. After this year, we will have another year of light studying before we would be able to choose whatever we want to do next. Either follow our special marks or stay to study more. Yeah, the next year's gonna be much easier. We'll be preparing for exams and that's pretty much it."

"So, what does thirteen mean?" Sirius asked. "What happens when we reach age?"

"You must be from really far away to not know that." the filly looked at him. "Alright, whatever... Well, we'll be able to marry, get full-time jobs, legally have sex with whomever we want, and some other things I forgot."

Sirius was slightly puzzled by this revelation. It was rather strange to him that such young people—

He paused his line of thought and directed it another way. They weren't people. They were ponies. They were different. He shouldn't project his experience with humans on ponies — the two were completely different species and had nothing in common outside intelligence.

Everything made sense to him. Perhaps, ponies grew up much faster mentally than humans. Besides, Sirius thought ponies were at least sixteen and he was studying at a high school. He never really bothered to ask anything about age. So, it made sense indeed. He wouldn't know the difference if he didn't receive the recent information from his roommate.

But did it mean ponies had a shorter lifespan? If they age faster, shouldn't they live less? Sirius was unsure. Not that it mattered to him — he was sure he wouldn't live long enough to find out the natural way.

"Sirius?" Iclyn addressed him. He realized he had zoned out again.

"Sorry, was thinking." he replied. "Everything is... slightly different where I am from. A-anyway, what do you do after next year?"

"Well, I dunno." the filly replied. "I... um, I haven't really figured it out yet. My special mark makes me good at creating blizzards during the winter and... I suppose I just like snowy weather and doing stuff with it." she shrugged. "Maybe I'll stay to study. Hey, I still have this and the next years to think about it. And you?"

"I? Um..." Sirius didn't know what he would do if he survived that long. "Um..." he looked down. He hadn't thought about it. Whom did he want to become? Then, it hit him — he didn't have a special mark yet. However, he doubted he would get one anyway. "I need to find my talent first." he finally said. He was unsure if he wanted to find it, but it was a better answer than anything else he could make up at the moment.

"Oh, yeah." Iclyn looked at his blank flank. "Well, good luck with it. Some ponies really struggle with searching for their talent, and I hope you'll eventually find yours."

He didn't think so, but he decided against voicing his concerns. What would a mark give him? He could just paint something on his flank and it would work just as fine. However, he didn't plan on doing it — he would be very stupid if he did it simply because others had it. He didn't care — he was fine without having a picture on his backside.

The awkward silence fell upon the two. Sirius didn't know how to keep up the small talk he started, and Iclyn was unsure of what else she could say to him.

"So, Sirius..." Iclyn said slowly. "What about the training? How hard is it?"

"When I train, I got bruises, not thing more." Sirius replied. "It shouldn't be hard. Do you... exercise?"

"A bit. I'm certain I'm more or less fit." the filly replied.

"You'll have no problem. But I not know how pegasi train. Maybe it'll be hard. You can see for youself." he shrugged.

"Okay, I think I'll do fine." Iclyn nodded. "Well, let's go? The training's starting soon, and I want to talk with the trainer before it does."

Sirius nodded, picked up his sword, and then exited the apartment with the filly in tow.

As the participants filed into the sports hall, Sirius was already doing the warmup for the upcoming training, not forgetting to stretch his body, too. He ran a couple of laps to ensure his legs would work perfectly and did a few exercises to make sure he would be ready for combat. Being fast and agile, as well as having good perception and reaction time meant a lot in fighting. Strength played a role in it as well, but not as big. Strength is nothing without the knowledge how to use it, and Sirius knew it well. He had fought many opponents stronger than him and came out a victor. It doesn't matter much how hard you hit — it matters if you know how, where and when to hit.

Iclyn was off to the side, talking with Pride Fight about something. She had a couple of questions about the training routine and the schedule, as well as some questions about the weaponry and safety. As it turned out, the safety was top notch, and available weaponry ranged from simple spears and halberds to elaborate claw-like attachments that could make pegasi formidable opponents that would be able to utilize their ability to fly to their greatest advantage over any other pony tribe.

After Pride Fight finished the discussion with the new filly, he went straight to Sirius.

"You're doing well, son." he said. "I suggest you continue helping me with training others. I don't think I can give you anything but practice."

Sirius nodded while making a split, landing on his belly with his legs perpendicular to his body. The sight once again caught the attention of most club members.

"Alright, then." Pride smiled. "I'll give you some unicorns to train while the filly you brought will be trained by my best pegasus. Is it alright?"

"Why ask?" Sirius replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I thought you two are a couple, and many stallions don't like when their mares spend their time with other stallions." the old stallion explained.

Such straightforwardness surprised Sirius. He didn't even think about it.

"We're not in relationship." he stated firmly. "She is just... acq... acquitance." he specifically chose not to call her a friend. In his opinion, people had begun throwing the term around, making it completely worthless.

"Forgive me for my little intrusion, then." Pride said. "Continue with the warmup."

Sirius nodded, and then proceeded to finish the warmup. He was more or less ready for practice.

There were some training dummies to strike. They were enchanted to be tough and regenerate 'wounds' that appeared on the due to cuttiing, hacking, slashing, or stabbing.

So, the former human began. He switched stances and made strikes from different positions, aiming carefully. While the dummies weren't real, thinking opponents, figuring out how to reach a certain part of body was never bad. With a longsword, it was pretty easy because of its reach and mobility.

Soon, others joined him, practicing with their own dummies. Iclyn was told by Pride Fight to start off with a simple spear as an offensive weapon, paired with a sword for defense. The spear was tied to her side in a specific way while the sword was held im her mouth. First, Pride taught her the right posture: slightly bent legs, straight neck, eyes front. It was simple and yet effective.

The spear used full power the user generated while moving or charging to stab right through the dummy. The spear was placed in a way that would allow the wings to move and the muscles to shift the shaft of the spear in a way that would allow more precise aiming. Slashes were also possible, but were much more energy consuming.

Due to its inability to be used as a defensive tool, a sword had to be used instead. Having long and flexible necks, ponies were able to effectively block and parry attacks with their swords. The higher field of view provided by the placement of the rather large eyes gave ponies the ability to follow their opponent even while turning the head.

Other pegasi had claw-like attachments on their hooves, allowing them to perform aerial dives at the enemy or generally having a higher position, making them harder to hit. Blades of middle length were protruding from the attachments, allowing the pegasi to thrust or slash effectively.

Earth ponies used the ground technique of the pegasi, but had more strength to back up their lack of magic or flight.

Overall, each pony could do well in battle if they were trained in the right way.

Sirius took his time to observe how others trained, memorizing new fighting styles that he saw were being used. It would certainly help him if he were to fight a pegasus or an earth pony.

***

Some time later, all ponies were paired up with each-other, and Pride Fight decided to pair Iclyn with her roommate.

"Go easy on her." he told Sirius. "She needs to learn, and she could use a friend here. Allow her to think and understand what is going on, alright?"

Sirius nodded, preparing for the duel. He knew it would be pretty easy due to Iclyn being inexperienced, but he learned not to underestimate any opponent, for they might have surprises up their sleeves, and the former human needed to be ready for anything.

So, the duel started. Iclyn started to approach her opponent. She moved cautiously, ready to act.

Sirius waited for her, standing in his defensive position. He didn't have to wait for long — Iclyn charged, trying to make the first hit.

Being an experienced fighter, the colt dodged to the side and swung his blade. He moved much slower than he usually did, and Iclyn managed to block his attack.

"Don't block — parry!" Pride Fight yelled. "Direct his own energy against him!"

Iclyn turned to Sirius, trying to get him with the spear. It didn't work due to her slow speed, but she tried to follow it up with a quick thrust, but it was also dodged easily by Sirius.

Then, he tried to get her by swinging the sword. His hit was blocked, but he quickly went in for a thrust, and managed to hit her. She couldn't figure out how to turn her head to prevent Sirius from stabbing her.

"Yeah, that is why we use a lot of armor to protect our chest." Pride commented. "What is your mistake, Iclyn?"

"I guess I should've dodged it." the filly said.

"Correct!" the old stallion nodded. "So, whenever you feel like you're going to be hit and you don't know how to block or parry the incoming hit — dodge. Be like a spring, ready to jump in any direction."

Iclyn understood perfectly.

So, the first training wasn't as taxing or demanding as she expected. Though, it would be quite some time before she would be able to fight even half as well as Sirius could.

However, Iclyn liked the new activity. The sense of training sent shivers running down her spine as the adrenaline from the fight wore off. She could definitely start taking up fencing. Besides, she always wanted to have something good for a free time activity, and what was better than honoring her pegasi warrior roots?

Author's Notes:

I've said it in the blog and another story of mine, but I suppose I should repeat it one more time.

I believe that ponies would grow up faster, both physically and mentally. I didn't like how the show's characters never grew up, and that's why I decided to change it a little bit, even touching questionable things as sex.

However, I would like to see ponies being really different from humans in almost every single thing. I'm no scientist, I wouldn't be able to provide you with reasonable, complex, and logical explanation. Making one would probably take months of my life since I would need to study biology very deeply to understand the processes that happen inside our body.

So, today we learned something new.

Also, I guess it is apparent now that the pegasi were a more warrior-spirited tribe than any other. I guess it makes sense, but I will explain it in the later chapters.

Leave your comments down below. I would really like an in-depth review if anyone is up for it. I always like long comments that tell me what the readers like about my stories, what they don't like, and what they don't understand.