Once again, a pause ensued after Sirius' duel. He observed how other ponies fought while resting. He was still full of energy, but it didn't mean he wanted to spend it without need. He needed to save everything for later, for he was sure his battle with Blueblood wasn't the last. He wasn't the strongest opponent either, and Sirius was wondering if there was anyone whose skill would be on par with his own. So far, he encountered no such pony.

Sirius was pretty confident in his success and victory. Ponies were not warriors, at least not to human standards. They were slower, had more reaction time, and overall less efficient at fighting. Centuries of peace made them soft, and Sirius gained a lot of benefit from it. Unlike them, he had to learn fencing to make his body better, stronger, and agiler. Not to mention that hand to hand combat could be nullified if one had right tools, and Sirius always carried at least some sort of weapon. He didn't carry his sword in most situations, but a telescopic steel baton was more than enough, capable of breaking bones upon impact. While it required little skill to use, Sirius' training made him far more efficient with it.

There was a situation when someone with the same weapon attacked him. Not only was Sirius able to parry the sudden attacks, he managed to retaliate and disable his assailant with but a few hits to a couple of important spots the former human knew would hurt a lot if damaged, and such damage could be permanent. He cared little for the state of those who attacked him — he wouldn't even care if he made them vegetables who could only move in an electrified wheelchair via finger twitches. After all, Sirius knew all too well he could end up like that, and he wanted to avoid such a fate at all cost.

He knew one way of turning someone into a complete vegetable who would be unable to live but would still exist. Blind the eyes, cut off the tongue, pierce the eardrums, slice off the nose, burn the whole skin to the point when nothing would be felt by it, and then let them exist. They would have no sense, leaving utter blackness and dead silence, only their own mind and feelings of hunger and thirst accompanying them, slowly driving them insane until they're nothing but a human-shaped living bag of flesh and bones. Such was a fate Sirius feared greatly.

His mind returned to the tournament. There were duels ahead, and he needed to get ready for them lest he wanted to fail. Any and all thoughts that weren't about the tournament must be hidden and suppressed. He had prizes to win, after all.

Finally, it was announced that eight ponies were chosen for the quarter-finals. Sirius noticed that Fancy Pants successfully passed into it, as well as a few other ponies, one of them of lunar pegasi kind. Sirius was looking forward to dueling any of them, for he was ready to act and eager to fight.

Fortunately, his duel was the first one. He was battling against a lunar pegasus mare dressed in dark armor of almost the same style as the golden Royal Guard one. It bore dark shades of blue and purple and had an eye-looking decorative piece on the chest plate in the front. The lunar mare had a fake horn on her helmet, the horn was made of what looked like deep blue sapphire. It twinkled in the sunlight as a bluish magical aura surrounded it. The same aura was around a double-bladed glaive — a long weapon with a pole as its base, two falchion-like blades attached to it at both ends, their sharp edges facing different directions.

"Sirius of Golden Sun Fencing Club and Midnight Hour of Night Guard!" the announcer declared as the two contestants stood in front of each-other.

Sirius hadn't seen such a weapon in action before. He had fought against spears and halberds, but what was a double-bladed glaive? He had only seen pictures of such weapons, and they were too into fantasy to be practical in any way. Though, this particular piece of weaponry seemed to be practical as all normal weapons were.

In conclusion, Sirius was going in more or less blind. However, he expected his opponent to use both blades, switching them with a twirl. However, that didn't mean the mare has two weapons that would be hard to parry — it was one, and the time during which the blade would be switched would be enough for Sirius to react, at least he expected so. However, he remembered not to misjudge his opponent and never underestimate those who were fighting him.

The first round started. Sirius needed nine hits to achieve victory. Or just one if he hit the head.

He decided to use his longsword for the duel. He felt much more comfortable using one weapon at a time, the one he trained with the most. He saluted at the mare, expressing his respect in a manner only a swordsman could.

The lunar mare was advancing towards her opponent rather quickly, her weapon ready to be used. Sirius assumed a defensive stance, waiting for her to make the first move. He could already see that she was eager to fight him and certainly wished to see him lose the fight. However, unlike his other opponents, she was completely silent, choosing to completely focus on the duel instead.

Sirius admired such devotion and thus respected his opponent in a way only a warrior to a warrior could. They were not enemies — by the end of the day, they were just two beings that didn't even know each-other outside the tournament. How could one be an enemy to another if the latter didn't get to know the former first? Sirius had made many enemies during his life, and he knew who they were. He had feelings towards them, albeit they were negative in nature. To consider someone an ally or enemy, one must get to know them first, have feelings towards them, be they positive or negative. For Midnight Hour, Sirius felt nothing but respect, which told him she was but another adversary he had an honor and pleasure of dueling.

The mare struck first, her blow swift and strong. Sirius parried the blow and then was forced to block another that came immediately after as his opponent rotated the weapon, almost hitting Sirius with the opposite blade. He made a mental note of it, and then parried another incoming hit.

Midnight Hour seemed to be proficient with her weapon, using it to drive Sirius into a completely defensive mode. He couldn't allow it, and thus dodged the next blow and thrusted his blade, almost getting his opponent. However, the mare managed to dodge it by propelling herself backward by her leathery wings. Sirius took a note of it, too.

Not stopping there, Sirius advanced, aggressively delivering a blow after blow, now forcing his opponent into defense. He even got to score two hits by hitting her legs. However, it all ended when one of her blades connected with his chest, sending him backward from the sheer force of the strike, making him stumble before he resumed his stance.

Sirius understood that Midnight Hour had more skill than most ponies. However, it didn't mean he was defenseless against her. He had his own tricks to perform.

As the mare moved towards him, he quickly closed the distance and used the curved crossguard of his longsword to hook her blade, and then spun the weapon to deliver a blow on her body. He continued the movement, making a slicing cut towards her leg and achieving another hit, taking almost a half of her hit points.

Then, Midnight Hour did something completely unexpected. She used her weapon to knock Sirius' sword away from her, and then spun on her front legs and delivered a hard buck on his chest, sending him flying a couple of meters forward. He slammed into the ground, and the air was knocked out of his lungs.

The mare was almost immediately above him, preparing to strike him right in the head. As she thrusted, he moved his head away, barely dodging the hit, and then used magic to throw himself onto his hooves. He swung his sword, but the hit was parried by his opponent who quickly followed it up with a counterattack, getting a point for herself as her blade connected with his side.

Sirius now knew how dangerous she was. Until that very moment, no opponent had delivered a blow to him, but she had scored quite a few hits.

Without hesitation, he swung his sword at her fiercely, his aggressive style fully kicking in as adrenaline was being pumped through his veins. He needed to win.

Almost stunned by such determination, Midnight Hour was forced into defense again, barely managing to block the hits that came from seemingly random directions. However, Sirius didn't leave a single opening for her.

Finally, Sirius' blade impacted the side of her helmet, slightly denting it, but not actually hurting her due to the spell the princesses put on the arena.

This round was for him. Midnight Hour bowed to him respectfully, and then took her place to fight the second round. Sirius copied her moves without mock, and assumed a high stance. It was meant for heavy and powerful attacks that would come from above or the sides.

Sirius knew he had to be even faster and much more precise. The pony he was fighting against had much more skill than he anticipated.

This time, he moved towards her. Sirius hoped he would be able to use a trick that would help him earn a hit or two before his opponent recovered.

Midnight Hour went for a thrust, and it was the moment Sirius had been waiting for. He brought his sword down, knocking the blade of his opponent into the ground, and then retaliated with a swing that got her shoulder. Before he could deliver another blow, the mare jumped to the side while recovering her weapon. She decided to be more cautious next time.

The two circled each-other, looking for an opening to strike. Sirius kept his sword in a position that would protect most of his body while Midnight constantly shifted her weapon, anticipating a move.

Suddenly, the mare swiped swiftly with her weapon, trying to get the most vulnerable spot Sirius had at that time — his hooves. He jumped while dodging backward, avoiding being hit while putting some distance between himself and his opponent, making himself harder to reach.

He dashed forward and attempted a thrust, and somehow succeeded. Midnight Hour almost managed to knock his sword aside, but its tip connected with her chest a moment before, earning him a hit.

The duel went on like that for another minute as the two pinpointed the spots they wanted to hit and struck them with precise accuracy, leaving four points for Sirius and two for Midnight. It was almost a tie, and Sirius decided to go for a head strike. He dashed to the side, and then forward, thrusting into the side of mare's helmet, making a small dent, earning himself a victory.

"It was a pleasant duel." Midnight bowed.

"I'm glad it was." Sirius bowed as well and then went to his club members. Another victory, another completed duel. He grew closer and closer to victory.

He understood one mistake that led to him losing so many points — he should've used his second weapon to block and parry while striking with his main one. That way, he would be able to defend himself much easier and more effective. That mistake nearly cost him his victory, he understood it clearly. He learned from his own mistakes and understood that there was a way to be better.

With the quarter-finale behind, there was another duel after which Sirius would face the last contestant and hopefully win the tournament. This time, he was up against a stallion from the Royal Guard. He was a unicorn who wielded a longsword, just like Sirius. The former human decided to play it safe and use his second weapon. It would give him more advantage over his opponent since the latter didn't have a sidearm.

As the first round began, Sirius saluted. He received a salute back, and then both of the contestants started moving towards each-other.

The guard advanced towards Sirius cautiously, his steps soft but firm, his sword slightly lowered but ready to spring into action, the eyes of the stallion were set on his opponent.

Sirius walked calmly, making sure his emotions were unseen, his anticipation hidden. He wanted to lure his opponent into believing that he didn't take the fight as serious as he should have. His blades were aimed downwards in a relaxing manner as Sirius' eyes were looking in the direction of his adversary, not focused on anything in particular.

The guard made the first move by thrusting his blade forward in an attempt to score an easy hit. Sirius saw it coming a kilometer away and dodged to the side and struck with his own sword. His opponent reacted swiftly, and the two blades connected briefly, clashing against each-other for a mere moment before separating again.

Sirius swung his sword again, and then performed a feint — a move to fool his opponent by making it look like he wanted to strike in one direction while quickly switching the way his blade went. That way, Sirius managed to score a successful hit, striking from another angle.

His opponent struck again, but Sirius parried and then riposted him by thrusting the blade shortly after he deflected the blow. However, this time he didn't score a hit — his opponent dodged to the side.

The battle went on for half a minute with Sirius scoring a few successful hits while receiving no blows in return. He made the use of the second blade by blocking deflecting the incoming strikes, rendering his defense absolutely impregnable.

Suddenly, his opponent's sword flashed right before his eyes, almost hitting his head. The former human understood that the guard meant business and wanted to end the round as soon as possible.

Sirius decided to make a move his opponent certainly didn't expect. As the guard attempted a thrust, the colt made a split and moved his sword swiftly, its point connecting with the chin of the stallion, immediately taking all remaining points. The crowd of ponies cheered and applauded Sirius by such an elegant and yet deadly move. If not for the spell, Sirius would've pierced the brain of his opponent, most likely killing him.

The second round began shortly. Sirius decided to use the same tactic with sniping his opponent's body parts since the guard seemed particularly weak to it. The former human couldn't quite understand how someone like that stallion got that far into the tournament. Perhaps, with the elimination of Rainbow Dash and Blueblood Senior Sirius accidentally let weaker opponents fill the holes? It could be so, he thought. He had already defeated what he considered the strongest opponents, and now he was dealing with the rest of ponies who signed up for the tournament.

Midnight Hour was a positive exception to his conclusion, however. She was pretty strong even for Sirius, and it spoke quite a lot about her devotion to the noble and deadly art of fencing.

Sirius' opponent wanted to end the round as soon as possible, focusing entirely on the head. The colt expected such moves and thus decided to prevent his opponent from doing it by doing so himself.

The second round ended in less than twenty seconds after Sirius managed to score a head hit once again.

Overall, he was entertained and happy about the tournament. It gave him a way of letting his emotions out by using their energy to transform into his moves. It also let him experience the most pleasant sensation of adrenaline. Even after the last fight ended, he shook slightly as the feeling radiated inside him.

However, there was still a duel.

The final round.

Author's Notes:

This chapter is the most accurate representation of a tournament that I could give. I've been to four of them, and they all went in almost the same way. However, I'm not nearly as good as Sirius and thus haven't earned even a third place in any of said tournaments. I don't care much, I'm more into having fun than competing.

Now, I will go to sleep. Lately, I've been staying up late to about three or four in the morning. As you've probably guessed, I spend my time writing. I have a couple of stories to update aside from the current one, after all.

So, please refrain from pointing out any mistakes in this particular chapter. I will go through it again tomorrow morning and fix all the small mistakes I seem to always put in my stories.