Kai walked slowly around the halls of the castle, following the sounds of metal-on-metal that he had been following for a while. He was still under pseudo-house arrest, Celestia and Luna wanting to make absolutely sure he wasn't going to harm anyone. His paw pads made his walk silent in the empty marble halls of the castle. At the end of the hallway, a large door opened up to a large courtyard, hard-packed dirt making the courtyard floor where the clangs came from. Several ponies, all dressed in guard armor, not the ceremonial guard armor that most of the guards wore, but different types of armor. Some wore leather armor and attacked their partner with a shortsword in their mouth, a few wearing shiny steel armor and wielding either a shortsword, mace, or other weapons, and a single stallion, his stature making him nearly as tall as Celestia and Luna, wearing thick steel-plated armor and had a large shield that he was practicing defense stances with.
A few ponies were standing around in clean outfits, appearing to be the commanders or officers helping ponies perfect their combat techniques through yelling and harsh words. Still, it seemed to work, as the ponies getting yelled at don't make similar mistakes in their next bout of fighting. One of these officers spotted Kai, a stallion with sharp eyes and a strong jawline, and tentatively approached the large wolf that was watching the ponies train and fight. Before making his presence known to the wolf, the officer pressed a hoof to pin on his outfit, a soft glow emanating from the pin. Within a half second, with a bright flash and a loud pop, Celestia and Twilight both stood a few feet away, one looking a bit nervous, the other her usual stoic expression. As soon as the two alicorns appeared in the courtyard, everypony present dropped into a bow.
"Please, rise, everypony," Celestia spoke, her eyes drifting over the training ponies, before returning her eyes to Kai. The wolf just watched from his position, curiosity in his eyes. Celestia approached Kai and the stallion that had called her, looking over at the large stallion, then back to Kai.
"Princess, our guest entered the courtyard, and I felt it best to inform you so you could get him to leave before he got hurt," the stallion spoke, with no malice or hate in his tone, but just mere caution for the wolf. Kai looked a little upset at that, a small spark in his eyes wishing to show off his fighting prowess. A spark that Celestia caught, causing her to smile with interest.
"Captain Stone Hoof, I request that a spar be held between Kai and one of the officers of the guard," Celestia announced, to both the commander and the rest of the ponies in the courtyard. The sound of spars that had just begun immediately stopped, leaving the courtyard quiet again. The Captain seemed unsure about letting the wolf fight one of his officers but swallowed his doubt and nodded to his princess. He glanced around for a second, before waving over a pegasus mare in dark blue armor, except, to Kai's curiosity, her wings weren't feathery, but webbed like that of a bat. Once she was in front of the solar princess and her captain, she raised a hoof to her chest.
"Sergeant Dusk Storm, waiting for orders, sir, and ma'am," she greeted before Celestia dismissed the salute with a wave of her wing.
"Sergeant, I would like to see a friendly spar between Kai here, and you," Celestia stated, her tone making it clear this wasn't a question. The sergeant immediately nodded, before walking off to a table to prepare, mainly by removing her lunar armor. Kai, however, was sitting eagerly, his tail unknowingly swishing about behind him, much to Celestia's silent delight. "Kai, this fight is a friendly spar, you are not to maim or seriously injure the sergeant, the first to give up loses, and even though I doubt you can do much yet, no magic."
Kai just nodded to the tall pony, before the captain led him over to a circular ring of chalk on the ground, and Kai stepped inside, giddiness and nerves building up in his body as his stomach started to twist. He had no real fighting practice, except for the fights with his siblings, and he definitely never has fought anything like a pony. The thestral guard walked over to the ring, and stood opposite Kai, waiting for the declaration to begin.
"This is a friendly fight, no maiming or serious injuries, and no killing the other opponent, the first to surrender or collapse, lose," the captain announced to a slowly gathering crowd of guards, interested in seeing the wolf fight.
"I bet the sergeant will finish this fight instantly," one guard whispered to his group.
"Nah, the wolf will put up more of a fight than that, I give him three minutes with her before tapping out," another guard responded.
"20 bits says the wolf wins," another guard bets, immediately causing several other guards to either bet on the wolf or the sergeant. As the various guards will quietly betting on the two fighters, the captain announced for the fight to begin after the wolf and the thestral shook hoof and paw.
Kai stared at the bat pegasus, watching her move slowly around the ring, always remaining opposite to himself. Kai observed her, watching for any signs of weakness or hesitation. Finally, when the guard went to take another step, Kai rushed forward, snarling softly as he crossed the short distance between himself and the guard, and pounced. Dusk Storm quickly rolled to the side, nearly dodging the wolf and a paw that swiped at her. As soon as Kai had his paws on the ground, he swiftly turned around, relying mostly upon his instincts to help him win this fight. What he lacked in training and experience, he made up for in endurance and instincts. However, proper training and experience in a fight will almost always outpace instincts, as a kick to his side caused the wolf to yelp, taking a few steps back, making sure not to step out of the ring. The kick, while not as painful as some other wounds he's had, hit just below his shoulder blade on his left side, causing the leg to be held up by the wolf.
He huffed as he limped around in a circle, testing his leg every couple of steps before lifting it back up when his shoulder cried out in pain. Dusk had a look of pride on her face, but she didn't let herself become cocky at a single strike on her opponent, making sure to keep the wolf's movements in her line of sight at all times. After another couple of seconds, the wolf rushed his opponent again, this time opting to keep low and barrel into his opponent instead of pinning her, which immediately proved fruitless as Dusk jumped up, planning to go over the wolf. Kai watched as her front legs went over his head, before immediately turning and biting into the thestral's back right leg, catching her midair as he spun on his back legs and pulled to slam her into the floor. However, Kai felt a kick to the side of his head and instantly felt the world spin, his vision blurring and his body tilting as he landed on his side. The metallic taste of blood in his mouth, as he lay on his side, before falling unconscious.
"Kai!" Twilight immediately rushed over to the wolf, worry evident on her face, as the thestral mare landed on the ground, keeping her weight off her back left hoof as blood ran down her leg from the teeth marks in her leg. She looked terrified, as she approached.
"I-I didn't mean to kick him that hard, I just meant to get him to let go, but a part of me said if I didn't kick I was going to die, I'm sorry," the sergeant immediately began apologizing, nearly on the verge of tears. Not only from the fear of seriously hurting the guest of Celestia, and the repercussions that may have, but the unbridled fear that ran through her when he bit into her leg.
"It's alright, Dusk Storm," Celestia approached the panicking thestral. "You will not be in any trouble for this, and Kai is fine, just unconscious. Head to the infirmary and get your leg looked at, then take the next couple of days off."
"T-Thank you, your highness," Dusk nodded and bowed before slowly walking and limping off to the exit of the courtyard, a couple of guards approaching and helping her as Celestia turned to Twilight and the unconscious form of Kai. If any could read the princess, they'd find a small amount of fear in her eyes, as well as uncertainty. She wasn't sure if Twilight felt it, but she definitely felt it when he bit into the thestral's leg.
Dark Magic.