The night was calm and relaxing for Sirius. After the small walk, he felt much better and certainly sleepier. Thus, the soft veil of darkness enveloped him as soon as his head hit the bed. In his sleep, he snored softly, neutral expression on his face.

However, Iclyn couldn't fall asleep as her mind was occupied by Sirius. She saw how painful it was for him to talk about his past. What happened to him? The filly had no idea. Was he an orphan? Were his parents abusive? Iclyn couldn't know.

Sirius had shown that he wanted her to become his friend. He tried to start a conversation, but it fell apart as soon as his past was touched. He even openly admitted he was troubled inside, and Iclyn saw it as a sign of trust. Little by little, step by step the two became closer. Maybe they would become friends, it was only a matter of time.

But how long? How much time would pass before Sirius accepted the filly as his friend? It could be days, weeks, months, maybe even years. To her great sadness, Iclyn suspected it would be either of the latter two options. She had enough friends to know why friendship was so desired by many and so cherished by those who had it. She couldn't imagine why Sirius had doubts about befriending someone. Iclyn was friendly and supportive of him, and yet he hesitated. The filly suspected he was deeply hurt by someone he loved or cared about. Maybe his friends abandoned him in his time of need.

She knew one thing for certain — it would take a lot of time to bring Sirius out of his hard shell and into the light.

The question was — did he truly want to achieve it? Iclyn had no way of knowing. She knew he wouldn't tell her about it. He was simply not ready to lay out his thoughts to her.

When they walked in the pale moonlight, Iclyn finally noticed his scars. Most of those who had scars had only a few and only on their legs, maybe one or two on the barrel, but none had them on the face. There was a barely noticeable scar, hidden by fur — one that was between his left eye and the muzzle. It was small and straight. How did he receive it? Was it an accident or, dare she think, a fight? If it was the latter, why had he fought? Had he fought for his life?

Just where was that colt from to receive such a harsh treatment he didn't deserve?

Iclyn glanced at Sirius. He was sleeping peacefully, lying on his side away from her as if he tried to hide something. His chest raised and lowered with his each breath as he slept. Thankfully, nightmares didn't plague him.

Iclyn found a few new questions to ask. It was only a week she knew him, and he experienced nightmares twice. It wasn't impossible, but it brought some questions: couldn't Luna help him? Why was he having the nightmares? Iclyn remembered going over the first question in her mind some time ago. She figured out that maybe she could do something by herself.

The pegasus filly stood up from her bed and silently went to Sirius' one. She slowly got up on his bed, which was wide enough to support both of them. She got under the cover and hugged Sirius softly.

"I promise you everything will be alright." she whispered into his ear as she shared her warmth with him. "You know I'm here if you need me."

His tense body relaxed as he allowed himself to unconsciously drop his guard. A pleasant dream made its way into his mind as a small smile appeared on his face.

Iclyn sighed slowly and hugged him slightly tighter. She would guard his dreams on that night.

Sirius was walking down the street. It was slightly cold, the snow was falling from the sky. It was evening, the streetlights reflected from the shimmering white snow, illuminating the surroundings. Only a few cars passed by as the teenager made his way to a certain house. He held something in his hands — it was wrapped in old newspapers. He was certain that whoever he was going to give it to would be happy to receive it.

Soon, he reached his destination. It was a simply one-storeyed house. He stepped on the porch and knocked the door a few times. Soon, it opened, revealing a girl roughly his age. It was her. She had white skin, long dark-brown hair, hazel eyes, and a pleasant smile on her face.

"Oh, hi," she then called Sirius by his real name. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"I have a surprise for you," he said her name. He unwrapped the gift before her eyes. It was a set of three white roses — her favorites. "I... I just wanted to say, um..." he then called her name again, this time softly and lovingly. "I, I..." he extended his arm with the flowers. "I love you."

"Oh~" the girl blushed, accepting the flowers. "Come in. I think you need to get warm."

Sirius nodded happily and yet shyly, and then entered the house. The hall wasn't too big and hosted just a few wardrobes and a bench. He took off his jacket and hung it, and then proceeded to take off his winter boots and place them near the exit to dry from the snow that sticked to them during the walk to his beloved.

Then, he waited for her to invite him further, his heart aflame with love. He could barely wait. To his relief, the girl appeared at the doorway pretty soon.

"I prepared some tea, if you don't mind." she said with a smile on her face, gesturing for Sirius to enter. He smiled back and followed her with a happy spring in his step.

The two took seats at the table close to each-other. Sirius warmed his hands against the cup of tea. The flowers he brought were placed in a vase on the table he and his beloved were sitting at. Everything was peaceful and comforting, just,like Sirius wanted it to be.

Soon, the two sipped their tea in a comfortable silence, content with each-other's presence. Sirius was beaming with happiness, often glancing at the girl with love in his eyes. She was his, all his, and there was nothing between them. She hadn't yet said those three words, but Sirius felt the love already. He basked in its warmth, enjoying her presence. Finally, that moment had come, he confessed his feelings to his special person, the one who was by his side, the one who protected him, the one he inevitably had fallen in love with.

After the girl finished her own cup, she looked at Sirius and called him by his name. He turned to her, hope in his dark-green eyes. They were wide, taking in as much of the girl as they could.

"I wanted to say to you..." she blushed, her hand finding its way to Sirius'. She squeezed his palm softly, looking into his loving eyes. "I love you too."

The two leaned in and kissed on the lips. Sirius felt the soft texture of her lips, their taste, their warmth as he melted into the kiss, closing his eyes, enjoying it together with her. He was happy — not only did she return the feeling, she also kissed him! It was a heavenly feeling, one he would preserve for the rest of his life.

Only if it truly happened and wasn't just a wish-fulfilling dream.

Sirius opened his eyes. He was a pony, lying on his bed in the hostel. The dream quickly flied away, no matter how hard he tried to bring it back.

It was what it was — only a dream. A fantasy, nothing more.

And it pained him to the core. A lone tear rolled down his cheek, dripping onto the pillow. He couldn't go back in time and maybe find a way to make it all right. The past was the past. He must throw it away. However, he couldn't. It ate away at him, and yet he couldn't let his past go. He failed many times in his life, and the memories wouldn't ever fade.

He felt warmth against his back. He slowly turned his head and saw Iclyn hugging him as she slept.

Sirius clearly realized she made her way to his bed on purpose. Why? He certainly felt better with her hugging him, but why did she do that? He couldn't understand the motivation.

Though, the dream she brought was pleasant. What if she tried to protect him from the nightmares by lying next to him and hugging him? He couldn't say it didn't work. He couldn't say it didn't feel nice, too.

He allowed her to remain there. It would be better for both of them.

Iclyn was the first one to wake up in the morning. Carefully, she got up from the bed, not disturbing her roommate. It was time for school again, she needed to prepare herself.

As she started the shower, Sirius woke up. He had enough sleep to function properly during the day, and thus it didn't take long for him to stand up and stretch himself.

After Iclyn finished her preparations, Sirius went into the bathroom to clean himself up. First of all, he looked into the mirror. His face was still rather dark, the circles around his eyes remained, but the redness of the sclera disappeared. All in all, he looked more or less fine.

He quickly finished his morning routine and collected everything he needed into his saddlebags and went with Iclyn to the school.

By the end of the classes, he was bored. He didn't like sitting in the auditoriums listening to teachers and occasionally writing something down. It was history and math on that day, and both took two academic hours. Sirius hadn't displayed any particular interest in history, but he got very good at math, reaching the top of the class on that subject.

He was sitting in the cafeteria, eating his food peacefully, his sword strapped by his side. He never forgot to take it with himself, after all.

Later that day, he and Iclyn went to the sports hall for fencing training. It was more of a practice for Sirius, but it was welcome nevertheless.

"Alright, listen up!" Pride Fight said as everyone assembled. "The grand tournament is coming on the first weekend day! And thus, our club has the honor of participating in said tournament. One pony is required, no more and no less. But! All of you are welcome to watch and learn.

"The tournament is sponsored by our princesses, and thus is free of charge to participate in. I believe that the best candidate from our club is Sirius." the old stallion looked at the colt. "I become more rusty with each year, and I believe it is time the younger generation takes my place. I believe Sirius is a capable warrior, one that will bring fame and glory to our club.

"With this out of the way, here's the plan for today: dual wielding. It is mostly for unicorns, but pegasi can try it as well. Earth ponies do it all the time, and thus their training will proceed as usual. I'll tell you all more after the warmup."

As usual, Sirius prepared his body for the training, making sure it was as flexible as ever.

The trainer talked with each pony personally, asking about the tastes and which weapon they would prefer to be their second. Soon, the turn came to Sirius.

"I believe you are capable even with only one weapon." Pride Fight told him. "However, practice with something else won't hurt. Usually, longswords aren't paired with anything. However, there are quite a few options: a shield, a parrying dagger, or a shortsword. Each requires their own tactic, and each is pretty interesting. Say, have you used weapon pairings?"

"A couple of times." Sirius replied. "I guess I can choose shortsword as my second."

"Excellent! Let's proceed, then." the trainer said, and then left to pick up the shortsword.

Sirius had trained with weapon pairings, though he was much comfortable with just a longsword. However, he acquired magic, which meant that arms or hands would no longer be a problem for him. So, he could use a second weapon indeed.

Soon, Pride Fight returned with a shortsword. It was designed like most, featuring usual crossguard. However, the blade was shorter and narrowed towards the point, making the blade somewhat triangular in shape.

"Here it is." the old stallion said, handing the sword to Sirius. "It is a thrusting sword, more commonly known among the fencers as the estoc. It's not capable of cutting, but thrusts and stabs with it are perfect. Of course we're not going to use it for even as much as wounding our opponents. Well, aside from wounding their pride, but it is an elegant weapon. You can parry with it, and either use your main weapon or try to get a successful stab. Usually, the first option is easier. Are you ready to begin the training?"

Sirius nodded, and the training began.

He didn't have much problem parrying with the estoc and then using his longsword for attacking. All in all, it became easier to defend, especially considering that he didn't have hands or arms. He could turn the weapons in whatever direction he wanted, and thus he didn't have any trouble while using a second weapon. He didn't even hit the swords against each other even once since he had very good coordination that wasn't hindered by his anatomy.

"You're doing pretty well." Pride Fight said after a sparring session was over. "So, let's talk about the tournament now. Are you ready to defend the honor of our club?"

"Yes." Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to partake in the tournament!"

And he indeed couldn't. He always looked forward to taking part in the tournaments. Not only did they allow him to show and develop his skills, it was also a great way of unleashing all the emotions, concentrating wholly on the duel, feeling the adrenaline coursing through the veins, feeling the weight of a weapon in his hands, beckoning for him to take action. He always enjoyed those feelings.

"Good!" Pride Fight said. "Since it is a big tournament, there will be a few nominations. The obvious one requires you to beat all your opponents, of course. It is a skill-based nominations. However, there is another one — artistic. Fight with grace and honor. It is cherished by both nobles and the princesses, and thus will bring you not only fame but a great reward as well." the old stallion explained. "Basically, you get to beat the crap out of everypony both skillfully and with style. Got it?"

Sirius nodded, he understood everything perfectly.

"Excellent!" the trainer said. "So, when you get to the second stage, the actual tournament that is, try to fight with nobles gracefully. That is why you should dual wield — they love it. You can also apply magic to make your weapons glow or do something else, it is just as welcome.

"But there is another thing. You need a costume, a set of wonderful armor. Let me show you..."

***

Sirius was dressed in an old royal guard armor set with long piece of red fabric attached to its edges, resembling a cloak. The fabric had a couple of slits in the front and back, allowing Sirius' legs to move properly and without any problem. The armor set came with a helmet. However, unlike normal royal guard helmet, this one had the crest with red hair instead of standardized blue.

Beneath the armor, there was a rather thin gambeson that allowed some space between the metal and the skin, making everything pretty comfortable for Sirius.

"I'd say you look pretty good in this." Pride Fight said. "Try to move around and say how it feels.

Sirius did as asked. He jumped, crouched, walked and ran.

"It's alright." Sirius said. The armor, contrary to popular belief, wasn't heavy. Its weight was more or less evenly distributed across the pony body, making it almost unnoticeable even for someone as thin as Sirius. However, this one seemed particularly light. "Why is it so light?"

"It's for parades. The standard-issue armor is certainly heavier." the old stallion replied. "You won't need it as actual protection. Though, it would still work nicely in some combat situations... Alright, I suppose you can use it during the tournament."

"Thank you, sir." Sirius said with respect. Then, he took the armor off. It was rather easy as he had to just unstrap individual pieces of armor and take off the helmet. Then, he took off the cap that was under the helmet, and finally took off the gambeson.

"I suppose that's all for today." Pride Fight said. "Now, I need you to do some light sparring with the novices, and when time's up — go home and rest, just as usual. I'll be nearby if anything happens."

Author's Notes:

Soon, Sirius will have his chance to show his combat skills in front of both princesses and even more other ponies, including those who have great influence. I wonder how it will turn out...