Successfully, Sirius passed the qualifying rounds, gaining victory in all five duels. Even after said duels, by the end of the day, he wasn't tired at all, still full of energy and ready for combat. He wanted more, he craved more fights, more duels. The sensation of adrenaline in his body was almost orgasmic to him, he didn't want it to end. However, there were no more duels for that day, and he had to suppress his urge to fight. After having a hearty meal, he went off to his bed to rest. He needed to be ready for the next day, for it would be much more important than the first one. He would need to show his best, to be his best, and to win the tournament.

As the night came upon the land of Equestria and the moon was raised by the nightly princess, Sirius found no rest. The bed was soft and comfortable, but it didn't do it, it just didn't. His mind was occupied with different thoughts, ranging from the tournament and his part in it to his personal issues and problems, even relationships. He needed fresh air, he needed to spend the energy.

Under the dark of the night, he slipped out of the tent with his longsword and went for a walk to a large lake nearby. The moonlight was lighting his way, making it easy to navigate through the darkness. Rare Royal Guard patrols didn't mind his presence nor did they notice him at all as he moved absolutely silently and only the keenest ear would be able to hear his careful steps.

Sirius soon found himself on a sandy beach. He took position in his usual fighting stance and prepared his late night self-training. He moved with a predatory grace, fluidly but dangerously and equally deadly. It was like a dance, but with more power, more force and speed put into it, making it look like a fast-paced waltz. Everything was smooth and beautiful, but much more energetic. It was a perfect combination of skill and beauty as Sirius swung his blades, cutting the air with a distinct whoosh. He imagined an opponent, one that would try to get Sirius no matter what. And he swung and thrusted for his dear life.

He viewed each battle as his last. He couldn't slack, he couldn't relax for a second. He needed to make sure he was left standing while his opponent did not. It was a game in which beating your opponent didn't mean victory — you needed to survive the battle, too. Each strike must be dealt with the ultimate goal of hurting your foe without exposing yourself. It was the easiest explanation of what all deadly martial arts were.

However, his dance didn't bring adrenaline. Sirius was disappointed — he needed something else, something to vent his emotions on. Something to obliterate with strong emotions, using his blade to conduct it into powerful strikes.

He walked along the beach until he found a log of a dead tree. He levitated it and placed it upright, making it a crude and tall training dummy.

But he didn't want to practice technique. He wanted to unleash his force upon the dry wood, shatter it, destroy it until it's nothing but a pile of dust.

He swung his sword at the log, biting deep into the wood. It wasn't satisfactory — he needed to do more than that. He slashed, hacked, and stabbed again and again, not stopping for a moment. He needed to make sure it became nothing under his powerful and mighty blows. He wielded no axe, but even his sword made a huge impact.

Soon, he ran out of breath. The log was almost cut in half, but there was still place for destroying. But Sirius didn't care.

He grabbed the log in his magic and smashed it against the ground, growling in the process. He felt the anger, the frustration, the fear, everything boiled inside him as he destroyed the already dead tree trunk.

Finally, he let it go. Sweat covered his forehead, his breath was heavy. He didn't feel much better, however.

Suddenly, a voice came from the lake, calling him by his name. Not by the one he adopted for the colorful pony world, but by his real one. He turned around sharply and faced the water, and saw a figure walking to him. It was distant, but he immediately recognized who it was.

"Y-you..." he sighed shakily, taking a few steps towards the water. "I-it can't be..." he spoke in his native language as his wide eyes focused on the figure. "Y-you... You are just a part of my imagination!" he pointed at the figure, his voice filling with aggression.

"Even if I am, does it make me less real?" she asked, her soft voice clear for Sirius to hear.

"But... I... I'm just insane." Sirius sat down. "T-they found me, revived me, drugged me... This can't be real, I know it! Just a... hallucination. I know you can't be here, it's impossible!"

"I'm always with you, you can't deny it." the girl spoke softly, comforting him as she stepped closer.

"W-why? This... I..." Sirius grabbed his head. "I just don't understand!" he lost all control all over himself. It was just so surreal, so strange, weird, and odd. Was he dreaming or was he awake?

"I came to tell you that I wish you to have a good life." she said.

"...Life?" Sirius responded quietly, setting his forehooves down on the sand. "We've separated before... before I became this." he snorted. "You don't know what I've been through since then. Life? I... I don't... want it." he turned away, hiding his tears.

"You can't lie to yourself." the girl spoke, mere a dozen meters away. "You told Iclyn how much you want to live with ponies."

"I... No, it... I..." Sirius sighed nervously and shakily, his whole body shivering as if he was cold. "I just..." he hadn't talked to her in years. The two grew distant as the time passed by, separating completely a year after what Sirius called an 'accident'. Seeing her again was bizarre. Was he truly going mad from the loneliness?

"You know that you want to live." his love spoke. "You passed through many bad things, but should they drag you down?"

"What do you know?" he jumped to his hooves, anger in his eyes. "You have never even seen it! You... are nothing to me now, I need to move on!" He yelled, his voice growing louder and filled with anger almost to the point of violent hatred. But his heart ached as he said those words. It stung like nothing else could. "We... we separated. I... I don't need you! You are gone! I am gone! I better be alone than with you!" tears of immeasurable pain rolled down his cheeks as he yelled out those words.

With a sad and comforting smile, the figure of his love disappeared, fading into the moonlight, leaving nothing behind. Sirius breathed deeply, trying to calm down. It was just a vision, a hallucination, nothing more, he assured himself of it. He just needed some sleep and it all would go out of his head in the morning. Just some rest should, no, must work fine.

"Sirius?" another voice called him from behind, this one was different but still female. He turned around and faced Iclyn. "Is everything alright?"

"Go away." Sirius grumbled, looking down. His tears almost dried and he didn't want Iclyn to see it.

"Sirius, we've not talked much since that day at the hospital." the filly came slightly closer but was still wary. "Please... Let me help you. I see how much you suffer, you even told me about it. I can listen and at least try to understand you. I know you're an alien, but everyone deserves to be heard out. I don't want to be intrusive, but we won't move a millimeter if we continue to be silent."

Sirius was silent for some time, thinking. He couldn't deny the truth in her words, but he would never admit it aloud. Then, he stood up, grabbed his longsword, and sheathed it. Without looking back at the lake, he went to Iclyn.

"I don't know if trusting you was right." he said when he got close. "I was... having memories. You don't need to know. It's too personal." without giving Iclyn even a glance, he headed back to the tent. "We need sleep. Let's go back."

Iclyn knew it would be bad if she tried to push at that moment. Sirius was not in the mood for anything like it, and she certainly wasn't going to test her luck. She just needed to be sure he was safe and had good dreams — that was the least she could do as a friend.

She thought about hugging him. However, she remembered he didn't like unwanted physical contacts, and thus refrained from doing it.

The pegasus filly needed to figure something out before it was too late.

Author's Notes:

This is one of the smallest chapters, but it plays an important role in the story. During the tournament, not only Sirius' physical capabilities are challenged but his mind as well. Even if such episodes are small, they bear much meaning. Feel free to try to guess what this is all about. However, it will eventually be clear as the story progresses.

Also, how do you like this format of smaller but meaningful events of Sirius' personal life put into slightly vague chapters of their own? Should it stay like this or should it be bigger?

I'm currently working on the artwork for the tournament. It's not much, but it was something I decided to do to practice my drawing skills. I still need a tablet to be able to draw more accurately. Anywah, you will see the results when the second day of the tournament comes out.