Wild breathed deeply, enjoying the scent of anticipation. Some were anxious, nervous; others were ready, determined; and yet few were preening in the attention, expecting an easy victory for themselves. Wild held no such notions - despite being the best in the martial arts club, he was still not an adult physically even if his experience was far more than anyone could guess. He was trained how to fight since he was old enough to do so, thanks to the encouragement of his father. He wasn't a professional, but he studied diligently and attentively, doing his best to learn from both others and himself. He knew one thing when it came to fighting - preparations paid off. His muscle memory wasn't like before, but his new body was quickly catching up, and his magical hands compensated a lot for his lack of more precise control over his body. Not to say that he didn't make great strides there - at least a few kilograms of muscle appeared on his body since he came to the orphanage. Not only that, but he also looked up stretching routines - they were easy to follow, considering the majority of such guides was pictures.

"Alright, everyone," Steadfast Protector said, standing in front of a bag, "To eliminate the possibility of cheating, each of you will use the training crystal from this bag. Form a line and each grab up to three but no more than that."

Wild was one of the first in line and quickly grabbed one crystal. He challenged himself - as Swift Strike said, this tournament was to show how the club would fare without preparations. One sword would be enough for it. He stepped aside and poured his magic into it, turning it into his favorite sabre, and a scabbard appeared on his side, strapped to his body. Perhaps it wasn't the most versatile weapon, but he didn't see anyone wearing any sort of chainmail or plate armor. Gambesons were resistant to cuts up to a degree, of course, but he noticed the majority of contestants were not wearing anything protective. It was another challenge for him - he needed to avoid being hit at all. He knew he was only making it harder for himself, but that was the purpose of the challenge. If he didn't challenge himself, he didn't grow. If he wasn't thrown into unfair situations, he'd never learn how to come out victorious when odds were against him. A couple of his clubmates looked at him oddly as they donned their own gambesons - Swift Strike brought them with him - wondering why he wasn't concerned about protection. The magical training blades didn't hurt, but melee was allowed, and it would certainly leave a few bruises.

Precision considered putting on a gambeson. However, one look at Wild made her change her mind. If he was going in without armor, then so would she. She needed to beat him fair and square, to show him that she was just as good if not better than he was. And, of course, to bring down Swingblade's ego a bit. Even though he was right after her when it came to skill, he still managed to beat her in at least half the duels they fought.

"Now, I will remind you of the rules and the scoring system," Steadfast Protector said once everyone claimed their crystals and adjusted them to fit their preference, "We do full contact. It means you can strike with either your weapon or your body. However, be mindful of the latter - we don't want anyone hurt too much. Nurse Redheart agreed to oversee the tournament in case there are any injuries that need her immediate attention."

Wild looked completely indifferent to that announcement while a few contestants looked slightly uneasy, including Twilight Sparkle. She was initially apprehensive about joining Ponyville Sunrise Club, but her brother insisted she needed to know how to fight properly. However, it didn't make things any easier now that she knew for sure she could get hurt in what was a friendly tournament. She glanced at Wild - he looked like someone who would hurt someone else, that's for sure. His look of complete indifference only served to solidify her belief.

"For unicorns - every kind of magic aside from telekinesis is forbidden. I will be monitoring it personally, cheaters will be disqualified immediately.

"You are scored based on hits. Debilitating hits are scored higher than glances or scratches. The bout ends when one of the opponents receives what would be a death blow. Additionally, you are scored based on how long you take to defeat your opponent - the shorter the time, the better.

"And lastly, to ensure fairness and accuracy, scores will be counted by the spell matrix Tournament-L, provided by Swords and Spells company."

A metal device was set on a small podium and turned on with a push of a button. A few seconds later, it lit up in green, and a lot of images flashed through it.

The audience and the contestants settled down when the first pair was called. Wild was attentive, watching the fight of an earth pony against a pegasus. The accompanying music was simple and rhythmical as the drummer beat the single bass drum and the string duet released a slow staccato without any apparent melody. Immediately, the pegasus rose in the sky, a long pike attached to her body on a swivel of some sort. The duel ended swiftly after the pegasus managed to thrust the pike at the chest of the earth pony while remaining completely out of reach. Wild noted the winner - who was indicated by a floating magical image of a shining sword above - and thought of how he would be able to defeat her. Yanking the pike was one choice - pegasi were notoriously lightweight due to their hollow bones and smaller stature than the other ponies. So, the first order of business in the duel against a pegasus is to ground them somehow.

The second pair was called - two pegasi. It lasted longer than the previous fight with both of them dealing only scratches and insignificant cuts to each other - all, of course, no actual physical damage was dealt - and it showed by tally marks floating where the audience could see them. However, one lucky strike grounded one of them, and the other quickly won. Pegasi seemed to be much more manageable when on the ground - they didn't have the strength of the earth pony or versatility the unicorn telekinesis could give them. Although Wild knew not to underestimate them - they could still be quite vicious.

After a few more duels, it was finally his turn.

"Wild of Royal Orphanage Martial Arts Club versus Lucky Clover of Ponyville Sunrise Club," Steadfast Protector announced, and the pair stepped into the ring.

Wild eyed his opponent - an earth pony of light gray, slightly bluish fur, light blue eyes, and very dark-gray mane; his name signified the special mark - a trio of four-leaf clovers. Wild knew to be careful - skill beats luck almost always, but sometimes luck is enough to come out a victor. Lucky Clover had a quilted cap and a gambeson for armor, and he wielded a spear as his main weapon and a sword as a backup.

"Begin!"

Lucky Clover studied his opponent carefully. It seemed Wild was relaxed, his gaze aimed at something far behind Lucky's head, and his expression was detached as if he wasn't even there. His sabre was pointing downwards, bobbing ever so slightly in his magic. Feeling quite fortunate, the earth stallion charged forward, hoping to end the duel with a swift stab into the heart. To his surprise, Wild jumped aside quicker than lightning, and Lucky Clover overextended himself. He only began to turn when he felt the blade of the sabre collide with the side of his neck. If it were a real fight, his head would be rolling on the ground.

"Wild wins! Perfect score! Baiting the opponent with the show of carelessness, excellent tactic against the unaware," Steadfast Protector declared with a look of approval on his face aimed at the young unicorn.

"He's damn quick," Applejack commented to her friends, "One moment, he was just standing there, and the other he wins! Ah've not seen anything like it before. Not counting you, Rainbow Dash."

"He's fast, but I'm faster," the pegasus replied, her narrowed eyes aimed at Wild, who took his place in the stands among his clubmates.

Precision was sitting unperturbed - she knew perfectly well just how fast Wild could be, and she suspected he wasn't performing his best. It's entirely possible the duel would end quicker if he acted first. He was usually more aggressive, but maybe he didn't have much sleep the night before, which she already suspected. He looked more out of it than he usually did.

"Precision of Royal Orphanage Martial Arts Club versus Swingblade of Royal Orphanage Martial Arts Club!"

The young mare was looking forward to it and sent a smirk to the pegasus, only to see a large, challenging grin aimed at her. The two stood opposite each other, weapons at the ready. She had a shield and a bastard sword - a bit longer than regular swords that were paired with shields, certainly enough to use on its own if ever needed. Swingblade had a spear and a sword as backup - traditional pegasi equipment. Both of them wore regular gambesons and quilted caps.

"Begin!"

Eagerly, Swingblade flew upwards, swiveling his spear to aim down. Then Precision revealed her hidden weapon - a set of five throwing knives. She threw them one after another; three of them missed completely, fading into nothingness after flying too far away from her, but two other hit true: one clipped a leg, the other stuck right in the middle of his right wing. He went down on the ground in a heap. Confident of her victory, Precision strode towards him.

Swiftly, Swingblade used his mouth to take his sword out of the scabbard but stumbled, and a swing of his head sent the sword flying... right into the unicorn. She barely managed to flinch before the sword slashed her right on the neck, and the victor was declared.

"Swingblade wins! Sometimes, accidents can prove to be your savior and your opponent's downfall."

A dumb grin spread over the pegasus' face as Precision's own darkened and reddened. She didn't even bring up her shield in time! What a mess... Grumbling a string of curses under her breath sailors would be afraid of, she stormed out of the fighting ring and sat down on the far end of the bench, not looking at anyone. However, this stupid grin of Swingblade's seemed to be burned into her mind. He would certainly not let her forget about this accident in at least a century.

Wild didn't feel bad or good for Precision - as a matter of fact, he wasn't even much aware of her name until this tournament. However, he took note of the accident that earned her a loss of her first duel. She was overconfident and careless, although he had to admit he didn't consider something as ridiculous as a sword just accidentally killing her when flying out of Swingblade's grasp. It was one in a million without a shadow of a doubt. Thankfully, he was fairly certain he would avoid something like this if it happened to him. It didn't hurt to be a bit more careful, however. He became acutely aware of how many things could've gone very wrong in his life - present and past - if he was a bit less lucky.

He almost missed the next announcement while he was in his thoughts.

"Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville Sunrise Club versus Quick Cut of the Royal Orphanage Martial Arts Club!"

"Good luck," Rainbow Dash told her unicorn friend, "You know all the techniques, you can do it."

Twilight gulped nervously but stood up and went into the ring. She noticed - and felt - Wild's gaze on her. She glanced at him and saw his seemingly dispassionate gray eyes. She shivered and turned away.

"Begin!"

Quick Cut, a young filly barely old enough to attend the tournament, lived up to her name - she sprung into action, slashing with her longsword. Pages of books flashed in Twilight Sparkle's head, the many historic and modern manuals on swordsmanship went through her mind. Her body stiffened, she raised her own longsword, blocking the strike. Not stopping there, she pushed it aside and thrust her blade forward using both her magic and body to propel herself further, too close for Quick Cut to use her sword in time against her. The fight was over as quickly as it began.

"Twilight Sparkle wins! Excellent, textbook-accurate technique on display here, a perfect counter to an aggressive slashing attack," Steadfast Protector declared, and the unicorn mare released a sigh, feeling her body shaking slightly from the adrenaline.

"You did it!" Fluttershy met her with her quiet voice, "I knew you could do it, Twilight."

"Hell yeah, sister!" Rainbow Dash bumped her shoulder, "You are fast! Maybe I should take a look at those manuals too someday... Not that I really want to!"

"Excellent show, darling." "Yeah, you showed them!" "Ah'm proud of ya."

Twilight Sparkle blushed furiously, mumbling thanks for the praise as she sat down, still shaking a bit. She inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled, calming herself down. In the corner of her vision, she could see Wild eyeing her with some interest. She immediately hoped her next round wouldn't be against him - she didn't know if she could match his speed and precision, and his technique looked good too.

Unbeknownst to her, he gave her an appraising look that remained hidden behind his mask. She, undoubtedly, knew what she was doing - her technique was perfectly executed, and he suspected a certain manual his trainer once showed the club. He himself wasn't much fond of manuals - he relied more on creativity. Certainly, knowing manuals was great, but it could only carry one so far before rigidity and thoughtless adherence to them brought one down. Against the less trained, knowing techniques to perfection worked very well, but it would be foolish to expect seasoned fighters to be unaware of those same manuals. One had to remember well that manuals also featured counters to the techniques. Wild much preferred being unpredictable, so he developed his own style, which couldn't really be summarized. That was the important part of it - he incorporated some of the techniques he saw in the manuals and while watching videos, then he made sure they were at least a bit different. It threw his opponents out of the loop on quite a few occasions.

He wondered just what kind of response his own actions would elicit from Twilight Sparkle. Would she be confused or would she be able to respond to it, thinking quick on her hooves? Undoubtedly thinking was a part of fighting that was the hardest to do in the middle of it - it took time for the brain to process what was going on, and that was precisely why martial arts hugely depended on muscle memory. For Wild, it was also true to a certain extent. However, he didn't allow himself to rely only on it - he trained himself to think quicker, think clearer, and think concisely. It was an advantage he couldn't let fall out of his practice.

This day was shaping up to become quite interesting indeed, and all the better for everything it did to make him focus on something different other than what transpired at night and what the princesses might want to talk to him about.

Among the fighting, looking at it and participating in it, he felt... not at ease, perhaps, and not quite at home either. However, it was his element, the thing he was good at, the thing he honed to perfection over his life. His dedication spanned almost a decade, and all he wanted was for it to pay off.

Author's Note

Finally, I presented to you Wild in his natural element. First and foremost, he's a fighter. He aims to win, and he aims to not come to harm himself. This is where he shines, this is what he gives his best to.

I'm quite excited to bring you this part of the story, although I promise this relatively small and unimportant local tournament isn't the only one he's going to take part in. This is just preparations for something bigger, something that will catch quite a bit of attention when it's finally there.

And, of course, it also shows how he looks at his opponents and how other ponies view him.