Luna had been pacing in her personal chambers for some time already, her mind occupied with the thoughts of Sirius.

So, he was indeed an alien. While it changed little in her view of him, she figured out one very important thing — whatever damaged him happened in his world. While Luna would like to see what that world was like, she feared that a contact with it would most likely have a negative impact on her or even Equestria. If the inhabitants of that world had advanced weaponry and were as aggressive as Sirius, they would be able to conquer Equestria and pretty much all other countries. No one was ready for another war, and Luna wasn't going to let one happen.

Most likely, Sirius was used to be bipedal — Luna remembered that he had problems with the stairs. He projected two hands, meaning that he could indeed be bipedal, just like minotaurs. He also had fangs, which indicated he could either be carnivore or omnivore. So far, Luna hadn't noticed him having any problems with food. So, he was most likely an omnivore.

The bigger concern was his skills in fighting. Luna was told that he was a very capable duelist and knew some deadly moves that could only be seen on the pages of old manuals that dated back to the times where wars were common. Sirius had means of both ranged and melee attacks, meaning he was prepared for almost any situation.

If his world needed its inhabitants to be that skillful in fighting in order to survive, not to mention how he suffered because of it, Luna would like to never make contact unless her suspicions and assumptions were proven untrue. In the light of events, it wasn't likely.

Was her decision to return the weapon to Sirius right? Luna didn't know if she regretted it or not. The alien could use it to harm ponies. However, she was sure he wouldn't do it without a very good reason. Besides, he had a chance to kill the bullies, and he didn't take it, at least according to his words he merely made them run away by showing the sword.

But what if they didn't? What if they were stupid enough to attack an armed colt who knew how to use his weapon? Would Sirius butcher them? Luna feared that he would. But if she took away the revolver and never gave it back, would she be good? After all, everyone could commit a crime, and doing something to them just because they had the ability would be wrong. There wasn't a reason for Luna to legally punish Sirius — he hadn't done a thing that would put him behind the bars.

Luna knew she and her sister were law, and any and every word of theirs was law as well. But would she be a good ruler if she did whatever she pleased? It would be tyranny, and Luna knew it would be no good for both herself and her subjects. She almost became a tyrant once, and she knew the consequences.

In truth, she felt depressed over it. What if she had killed anyone during her outburst? She would never forgive herself. More yet, she already couldn't forgive herself for almost dooming the entire world to eternal night. Not just ponies, but griffins, minotaurs, yaks, zebras, and a number of other nations across the world.

Luna sighed, lying down on a sofa. She felt tired and sad, especially after Sirius stirred a pot of bad feelings inside her, making her remember her own failings.

Luna felt she wasn't any better than Sirius. She had done a much worse thing that he could ever do, and she thought it was all her fault. She fell for her desires and lust, abandoned her sister in the name of being the only ruler, and almost murdered her in cold blood.

Celestia forgave her, of course.

But Luna... She couldn't forgive herself yet.

After Sirius got back to the apartment, he found out Iclyn had gone somewhere. He decided to use the time to thoroughly inspect the revolver.

First of all, he placed it and the box on the table. Then, he picked up the revolver and flicked the cylinder to the side. He ejected the bullets and looked at them. Four of them were ready to be shot while the fifth was an empty casing with scent and remains of gunpowder. He decided to place it inside the box as not to lose it.

Then, he looked at the four other bullets. One of them looked like it was fresh from the manufacturer while the others were dull. He frowned slightly, picking up that bullet and proceeding to look at it.

Indeed, it was fresh, even slightly oiled. Then, he compared it to a duller one. Indeed, there was a noticeable difference.

He couldn't understand why it was like that. The revolver had been lying underwater for maybe slightly more than a week, and there was nothing, no trace of corrosion or anything else, especially on the newer-looking bullet.

Sirius shook his head slightly and opened the metallic box to get a new bullet. To his great surprise, he didn't find the empty casing he put there. He checked twice, thrice, looked around, and yet there was nothing to be found.

The box itself was a big mystery. Sirius didn't remember having one in the first place.

His confusion grew. He decided to check an idea that had just appeared in his mind. So, he dissembled a bullet and put its parts separately inside the box. He closed it and reopened. The parts were gone, replaced by one whole bullet, ready to be used.

He figured out he would have infinite ammunition as long as he kept putting the casings into the box. At least he would be able to train his marksmanship. It wasn't that great in the first place, especially considering the high recoil of the hunting revolver. Perhaps magic would help him be more accurate.

All in all, he was satisfied with the state of his revolver. It was ready to be used, it had an infinite amount of ammo to constantly reload it without the fear of running out of bullets. There were still downsides: small bullet capacity and the need to reload, which wasn't fast at all. He didn't have the special bullet holder that could help him reload faster, and that was why he had to manually insert each bullet, and it took time.

So, he loaded the gun with fresh bullets, and then decided to hide it and the box between the wooden base of the bed and the mattress. He was sure no one would find it there. Also, he wasn't going to walk around with them — the less the world knew about his weapon, the better. He didn't want unnecessary questions.

Finally, he could allow himself to do something else. He decided to use his spare time to read the dictionary and Commonlang Grammar book. The latter was actually a rather thin book with only fifty pages, most of which were tests and tasks to complete in order to determine if the reader fully grasped the subject. Commonlang, while being a rather well-made language that didn't lack colorful metaphors or basically anything else related to the beauty of fiction and literature, was rather simple, and that was why Sirius had been able to learn so many things in such a short time.

He was also rather smart, even if not exactly gifted. He had faced many problems with the studies back when he was a human. Most of the said problems appeared later during his teenage years and were connected to his inner state of mind that gradually decreased over the years. Deep chronic depression, great stress, alarming suicidal tendencies, all of it lowered his desire to learn to the minimum. Without getting any help, he never returned to the state before his downfall, and it greatly impacted him.

While he had little desire to learn even as a pony, he understood clearly that knowing the language was absolutely necessary. Though, he found himself getting more interested in other subjects, mainly math and astronomy. He wanted to know if he was still in the same universe. Maybe the star patterns in the sky could tell them the truth. However, he would be much more content if Equestria and neighboring countries on the planet were indeed in another universe. In truth, he didn't want humans to find this place.

While he didn't outright hate all humanity, he held many deep grudges against it and deemed them unworthy of exploring space and encountering new intelligent beings. He doubted they would get that far without murdering themselves in another world war. To him, it was all too possible.

Sirius thought of ponies much better than humans. They were calmer, less prone to needless violence, not to mention that he hadn't heard of even robberies happening anywhere at all, and he read a couple of newspapers. Sure, there were some bad ponies, but they were easily punishable, unlike humans. Adults were more or less understanding of the problems, even the ruler of the country was reasonable, even to the point of not announcing an alien to the public or imprisoning him to study.

Overall, Sirius felt much better surrounded by ponies. He didn't expect them to suddenly turn on him. And if they did... Well, he could use his knowledge of self-defense to make sure the attackers would never assault anyone ever again. It would be very difficult to do once they were dead.

Indeed, Sirius didn't fear taking lives. He took his own — there was nothing harder than that, at least to him. He had nothing to lose as well. He didn't care about his belongings or his new life. Not to mention his mental health — he was damaged enough to not care about murdering people. If they stood in his way, he would clear it. He had the means to do whatever it would take for him to not die horribly, for it was what he feared the most. He didn't want to die in great pain. He wanted it to be quick or at least peaceful.

His line of thought was interrupted when Iclyn finally returning, carrying two large paper bags on her sides.

"Hey, I got us something to munch." she said, setting the bags on the floor. "You know, some vegetables, flowers, and some really great apple juice. C'mon, food won't eat itself!"

Sirius nodded, accepting one of the bags that was offered to him. He opened it and his nostrils were assaulted by a heavenly scent: fresh vegetables mixed with flowers.

First of all, he pulled out a daisy sandwich. He began to nibble on it while unpacking the rest of the food.

As promised, there were vegetables along with something else: some mashed potatoes, cucumbers, green onion, bell pepper, and some fried mushrooms, the name of which he didn't know. Then, there was a one and a half liter glass bottle of apple juice.

He didn't bother to cook anything, he ate everything as they were. He even drank the whole bottle in one go. Afterwards, he felt a sense of satisfaction and fullness. Indeed, the food was quite filling.

"I guess I'll have to buy some more food for supper." Iclyn said, surprised by the fact that Sirius had eaten so much in one go.

"..." Sirius considered saying something for a few moments. "Thanks."

He wanted to make sure he was polite. After all, Iclyn was nice to him, and he felt he should be at least bearable for her to live with. Thus, he shouldn't be aggressive to her or ignore her. He thought it would be beneficial if he was nice to her. After all, he wasn't a complete monster.

As for Iclyn, she wasn't surprised too much. After all, she expected most ponies to be nice to her, and nothing ever made her doubt it. Politeness was spread throughout the pony society, and frankly, almost every one of them used it every day.

Anyway, she needed to do the homework. She could think about politeness and Sirius later.

When the evening came, Sirius decided to go for a walk. Finishing up his supper, he stood up and went outside, not forgetting to grab the sword and buckle it against his side.

"Sirius," Iclyn called him as he was about to exit the apartment. "May I come with you?" her mind was slightly numb from all the homework, and she could use some fresh air.

"..." Sirius thought for a couple of moments. He wouldn't exactly mind some company. "Alright."

So, the filly and the former human went outside.

"Where do you usually go?" Iclyn asked as the two rounded a corner.

"I just walk until I feel it's time to go back." Sirius said. It wasn't exactly true. He would often go to the edge of the city and look down. Somehow, knowing that he could die if he wanted, the thought of it calmed him greatly. Besides, the wind was stronger there, and it felt good feeling it brushing against his skin. "But there is place... I sit there and... relax."

"Sounds good to me." the filly replied. She was slightly unnerved by the second pause in his sentence. It didn't feel right. He might've hidden something from her.

The two walked in silence for some time. There weren't many ponies in the streets. Most of them were royal guards patrols. They weren't necessary but made the citizens feel safe and secure nevertheless.

The city was almost completely asleep. The light provided by the lamp posts was soft and dim, blanketing the streets with warmth and somewhat comfortable feeling. Families ate their supper and prepared to go to sleep as the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon. Truly, it was a peaceful sight of a wonderful world.

Soon, Sirius and Iclyn reached the spot. He sat near the edge, and only a tilt in its direction would decide his fate. The filly sat nearby. She knew she wouldn't fall, and she had wings to support herself.

"So, um, Sirius..." she began. "Ever since last night I wanted to ask you... What was the nightmare you saw?"

"..." Once again, Sirius thought before replying. He considered telling her partial truth. She was supportive of him, and he couldn't really say she asked him that question only for a talk. It was more than that. Besides, he wanted someone to be able to talk to. It was his chance. "I... I faced my fear." he finally said. "Face to face. I ran away, but it got me." Sirius sighed shakily. It was hard for him to speak of that. "I... I was powerless to do a thing."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Iclyn said softly. "As a young filly, I had a nightmare when I ran away from something, but couldn't really outrun it. It happened to me a couple of times, but I've not seen it for years." she looked down. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized how high the city really was. "Somepony says all dreams have a meaning. I don't remember what, though... Maybe there's something you need to do here to stop your own nightmares?" she looked at him.

"...Maybe." he knew it was true. He wouldn't admit it, though. Not yet. "I have... many problems." he let out a pained sigh. "But you already guessed it, didn't you?" he glanced at her.

"Well, um... I suspected it." Iclyn replied. "And... Sirius, maybe I can help you?" she saw his muscles becoming tense as his lips thinned. "If you don't mind, that is."

Sirius had to push away an aggressive response that was conjured immediately after her question. He wanted to have a friend, he didn't want to push her away.

"I..." he gagged. He couldn't believe he was honest with someone he barely knew. But maybe Iclyn had something to help him? He recognized he needed help. Getting it was another deal entirely, however. "I'm troubled." he looked at the filly. "Iclyn... I can't tell you much." he looked away. "I'm... not ready. I don't know you much." he made a small sigh. "What... what do you like to do?"

"I don't know..." Iclyn said slowly. She could let Sirius know more about her, especially if he would let her get closer and help him. "Well, I like to have fun, but everyone likes that, right? I also like flight. And... daffodils. They smell nice." she blushed slightly. She always found it so silly. "Aside from that... I dunno. Maybe I like getting to know ponies? I mean, I have really great friends and, I guess I just like being in a company of those I like and those that can understand me, and... Have fun with me."

Sirius listened patiently. He couldn't tell whether he liked her or not.

"You know... There are some questions that seem to have like, obvious answers, but are really hard." Iclyn continued. "So... Yeah. Um..." that moment was slightly awkward. "How did you get to Canterlot?"

"...I don't want to talk about that." Sirius said. He truly didn't — it was painful.

"I'm sorry..." Iclyn said softly. "And... Where are you from?"

"...Nowhere." he said.

"W-what?" the filly was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I..." the former human looked at her. "Don't want to talk about that." he stood up. He didn't want to stir bad memories more than necessary. "Let's go back."

Iclyn didn't say anything else. She could see the pain and fear in Sirius' eyes as he forced the words to come out of his mouth. It literally pained him to talk about that.

The filly didn't know why he didn't want to talk about his home. Surely he had a loving family to visit on weekends and holidays, right?

Author's Notes:

Slowly and painfully, Sirius is making some progress in his recovery. But it will take much more time than a few minutes of talk.