Sirius was the first one to tire out and go to sleep after the movie. He took a place at the edge of the large bed and placed some pillows for additional comfort. Others, however, were still awake, discussing their day.

"So, what do you all feel about Sirius?" Iclyn asked. She saw with her own eyes that Sirius was friendly, and it made her feel good. She hoped her other friends accepted him.

"He's fun." the twins said in unison.

"He looks a bit... unhealthy, but yeah, he's fun." Coral nodded.

"Well, um... To me, he's alright. He's better and more fun than he was at the school." Wave Rider put his own words. "But... I dunno, there is something, um, unsettling about him. Maybe I'm just kinda paranoid since, you know, I'm afraid of, um, big stallions." he blushed in embarrassment. He had confessed his phobia to his friends a long time ago, but he still felt it was a silly fear.

"That's why I invited him here." Iclyn said. "He's just so... serious all the time. I wanted to show him that he can have fun, too."

"So, do you like him?" Coral asked with interest.

"Cor, I've known him for less than a week." the pegasus looked at her with a slight frown. "He's my roommate, and I just want to see him unwind, nothing more. I want him to become friends with ponies so that he wouldn't have to act like everypony's hostile to him."

"I think you forgot the best way to show fun to colts." Coral winked.

"I don't think he wants that sort of fun." Iclyn blushed slightly. "He has a tough time making friends — he doesn't seem like he wants to do it at all. I doubt he even has a, you know, romantic interest in either of us. Or in anypony at all."

"It seems he's a kinda weird guy." Coffee Mug said. "But he's having fun with us! I think we should do what we do and, um, play games with him and, you know, such things."

"I think so, too." Wave Rider nodded and then yawned.

"Yeah, I think it's time everypony's go to bed." Iclyn nodded, yawning as well. "Oh... yep, time to sleep."

Soon, everypony found themselves on the big bed in the bedroom. Iclyn lied down near Sirius, acting as a sort of shield between him and the others. She thought that he might not like waking up to new ponies. So, she decided to be near him as a precaution.

Everyone was soon asleep. Except Iclyn — she couldn't get Sirius out of her mind.

He was so strange to her, unlike any other pony she had ever met before. He was serious, aggressive, smart for his age, and sad. She could see it in his eyes when he sometimes zoned out during the lessons. She didn't know the cause for that, but she suspected he was harboring some very bad feelings.

But on that day, he had much fun playing with her and her friends. It seemed like he put the pain away for some time and truly enjoyed the moment of peace and comfort.

Iclyn understood one thing — she should work towards having fun with him more often. She thought it would help him become better and feel better.

At least she hoped so.

***

Sirius was asleep. For some time, there was nothing but the comforting black void he was so used to see. It was warm and soft, allowing him to relax for sometime until he inevitably woke up. Sleep was one of the few things Sirius had never wanted to end.

But sometimes, dreams changed into nightmares.

Suddenly, Sirius found himself in a long and blank corridor. The walls, ceiling, and floor were gray stone, and there was nothing else.

He looked around. Behind him, a solid gray wall stood, preventing him from going backwards. There was only one way to go.

He checked his side. Unfortunately, the sword wasn't there. He frowned deeply — he had nothing to defend himself with.

He started walking forward. It looked like there would be a turn to the right soon. He felt the urge, the need to continue going. Something obviously wasn't right.

Suddenly, the wall behind him broke. Sirius turned around sharply and faced... something.

It was a tall and gaunt humanoid figure, completely nude and pale-skinned, its body and arms plastered with blood. Its eyes were gouged out, replaced by black holes in the skull. It began to move towards Sirius in a set of broken, twitching, unnatural steps. He stared at the nightmarish creature in horror, frozen in fear.

Then, the creature raised its left hand. To his great terror, Sirius saw a revolver.

*BLAM!*

The creature missed, urging Sirius to run. He turned around quickly and dashed to the turn. He didn't stop, feeling the nightmare behind him. He needed to get out of its reach.

It followed him, its feet slapping against the cold stone floor. It groaned as it walked, its left hand raised and revolver aimed forward.

Another shot was made, which slightly scraped Sirius' side. He hissed, feeling the hotness of the bullet, and then quickened his pace. However, he didn't seem to increase his speed much. It felt like his legs moved through swamp water, which didn't allow him to move faster than the walking speed.

And the creature followed relentlessly.

Sirius begun to cry in despair. He couldn't possibly outrun it, the struggle was futile. He panted heavily and rapidly, panic overcoming him.

A shot cracked through the still air, and it reached its target, wounding the hind leg.

Sirius cried and fell, sharp pain throbbed through his leg. Clenching his teeth, he managed to get up. He couldn't allow himself to stop. He resumed his escape, but the noticeable limp prevented him from going fast. He was only slightly faster than the haunting figure behind him.

He couldn't stop, he mustn't. He must escape, he must run away. There was no place to hide. He couldn't allow himself to stop. His crippled leg ached painfully, but he couldn't stop even for a moment, he had to endure the pain.

*BLAM!*

Sirius collapsed, immobilized by a shot that hit his spine, paralyzing his hind legs. He helplessly scraped the floor with his front hooves, trying to crawl away from danger.

An invisible force made him turn around and face the creature. It stood mere few meters away, looking down at Sirius with its black holes for eyes. The revolver was aimed at him.

Sirius' eyes widened, tears streaming down from them. Would he die there, all alone, hopeless and helpless?

The creature raised its revolver and pressed the muzzle against its chin. Then, it pulled the trigger.

Its head's top exploded, splattering brains and blood across the ceiling. For a moment, the creature stood. Then, it fell on its back, the metal of the revolver clanking against the ground.

And then Sirius woke up with a gasp.

He shot his eyes open. Pale moonlight shone through the window, illuminating his surroundings. Everything was calm. The sound of sleeping ponies filled the room as their chests rose and fell as they breathed. It was peaceful indeed.

He felt wetness around his eyes and understood that the tears made their way into the waking world, staining his face. He blinked a couple of times, trying to shake the last remaining nightmarish visions away.

He sighed slowly. Another nightmare had been gone through. Another night without good sleep. Another restless night.

And there he thought things could get better. On the outside, maybe. But on the inside...

He sighed again, this time shakily. Pain never let him go, even when he was sure he was having fun. It always slithered its way back into his mind, twisting everything on its way.

Suddenly, he felt warmth against his stomach. His eyes widened in a horrifying realization.

He discovered that he hugged Iclyn close to himself while he was sleeping. Hurriedly, he released her from his grip and nudged himself away from her as far as he could without falling from the bed. He couldn't allow to be so sentimental and weak.

As the warmth faded from his skin, he shivered as if ice was placed there instead. He already felt lost and uncomfortable without that warmth Iclyn gave him.

He felt like a creep. He didn't want to be so intimately close to Iclyn. It was terrible for him to do that.

He raised his hoof. He must be punished,

He hit himself in the face, and hissed in pain. But he knew he deserved it. He mustn't get so uncomfortably close to anyone. Ever.

Even if it felt good to feel that warmth. He craved more.

He slapped himself again, almost whining in pain as it shot through his head. No, he would be a creep if he got close to her again. It was disgusting, sick, dirty. He felt like a stalker, a rapist. He wanted to hurt himself even more.

He rolled onto his other side, away from Iclyn, and closed his eyes. Maybe the distance between them wouldn't let him hug her again, he hoped.

Unbeknownst to him, Iclyn was wide awake. She had been woken up by Sirius' shivering in his sleep. She felt the tight grip he had on her during the sleep, afraid to let go. But he did.

Then, she heard slaps and hisses. Her eyes widened in realization — he had hurt himself for hugging her in his sleep. She didn't know why he did it to himself, why he felt the need to do it. It was so scary for her, she couldn't understand why would anyone hurt themselves for something so innocent.

Iclyn was certain about one thing — Sirius needed someone to help him. She couldn't just stand aside and do nothing when someone hurt themselves because they felt they had done a bad thing.

Sirius wasn't a bad person, she realized. Bad things were done to him, and he tried to evade falling there again. He didn't want to harm — he wanted to be safe from dangers of the world.

Just what was going through his damaged mind?

Author's Notes:

I know this is a smaller chapter, but I didn't feel like adding anything else to it would be good.

I must say that everything Sirius experiences in his nightmares has a meaning. Try to guess what was the meaning behind this one. What was that creature and why it chased him? Why did it shot itself? I'd like to hear your guesses.

On the side note, I was researching much about people with depression and how they think. I'm not sure I want to go any further — what I found made me feel slightly sick and sad.