Sirius awoke first in the morning. He had a pleasant and undisturbed sleep. He opened his eyes and, to his great fear, saw Iclyn. He was face to face with her, hugging her tightly. She was still asleep, breathing deeply, a small smile on her face.

He told her too much. He didn't know what to do next — should he run or should he stay? He confessed his deep feelings, he told her of his fears, he showed her his weak and sensitive side, one he had buried inside a long time ago. It was the first time in ages since he had shown it, and it scared him.

He couldn't run from Iclyn, not after what he told her, not after he broke down in tears in front of her. She knew his origins, she knew he had deep-rooted troubles, she knew he killed himself and appeared in Equestria because of it. His deepest, darkest secret was unveiled to her. It was the ultimate sign of trust.

Sirius could only face it. He had to. He thought of Iclyn as a friend, and she agreed to be one. He needed to trust her unless he wanted to fall again. He had climbed out of his own grave, but even a slight push could bring him back there. He wasn't certain he would be able to crawl out of it again.

He could only go forward. Maybe Iclyn could indeed help him? She was his only hope, she was the only one he talked to about himself. He couldn't leave her and go away, not after his revelation.

Iclyn didn't push him away. Even after Sirius told her of his suicide, she still allowed him to stay with her. He was joyful, he was happy she did it. It showed just how much she truly cared for him — a stranger, a nobody. Just a weird creep who never socialized and stayed away from everyone. He couldn't believe it was happening, he was almost sure it was an agony-induced dream during his last moments of life, right at that lake. He feared he would wake up for a moment and see that it was nothing but his wish-fulfilling dream, an illusion he craved so much, which was still not real.

He didn't want to wake up from that dream. He wanted it to be a reality, his new chance to live in peace. He desperately wanted to enjoy life again.

Sirius even harbored warm feelings for Iclyn. He was sure it wasn't love — he couldn't love. He and a pony? There was no way it would be possible. It wasn't affection or attraction, it was simply... warmth. He enjoyed being in her presence, being close to her. It was a sort of motherly and yet loving warmth, one he had missed for many years.

Was that it? Did he finally find peace?

No, he didn't. There were many troubles, many deep, dark secrets hidden inside his still broken soul. They would better be left unknown for anyone but himself. He didn't know he would ever speak about them to anyone. They caused him invisible but hurtful and deep wounds he wasn't sure could be healed. How? How could such wounds be healed? Was there a cure, a remedy? Even in his brightest moment of hope, he doubted there was.

He knew someone he could talk to about it. It wasn't Iclyn, no — while he trusted her, he couldn't bring his most painful memories for her to see. There was another person, the one he loved deeply, the one he could never forget. It was her, the sweet girl he had seen in his last dream. She was his everything, a part of his very soul belonged to her, and yet he knew she would never be his. She was left there, back in the world of humans. But it wasn't the problem, however. She would never be his because of himself. It was all his fault, he could do nothing about it now, only wish for her to have a happy life. Without him.

Sirius pushed those depressing thoughts back. He couldn't allow them to overcome him. He needed to move on, he had to. He couldn't change the past, he couldn't erase it.

But it was still there, hurting him like nothing else could.

The former human found his eyes watering again. The dam was broken, shattered in one moment of his horrifying revelation. He couldn't close it again.

He forced himself to calm down. There was no need to cry if no one was going to hear it. Not even Iclyn, and especially not her.

If Sirius could revert the time back, he would not tell Iclyn anything. It felt good to relieve, but now he felt only shame and misery. She now knew he wasn't as strong as he seemed. He was just a weak, small child, crying at a scraped knee. He pictured himself as such, at least. There were people who had it worse than him, and they weren't to blame for it. However, Sirius thought he is to blame for everything that had happened to him — he just wasn't strong enough to go through it. As much as he wanted to be strong, he couldn't.

The former human unzipped the sleeping bag and got out of it. Lying there any longer was pointless. He let out a long sigh and then went to the bathroom. The sun was shining through the window, bringing light into an otherwise dark room. However, he still had to light his horn to see in the bathroom.

He looked at himself in the mirror. There were dried-up tear trails from his eyes, and overall his facial features looked sagged. He sighed again and then went into the bathtub to clean himself.

Meanwhile, Iclyn woke up to the sound of rushing water. She got up and looked around. Besides Sirius in the bathroom, there wasn't anyone. She stretched her body and then yawned, readying herself for the day.

She looked at the bathroom. She sighed to herself, knowing well her relationship with Sirius would never be the same. He wasn't just from another country — he was from another world. As crazy as it seemed, Iclyn found it believable. She didn't think Sirius was dishonest or merely messed with her — his emotions and tears spoke for him, he simply couldn't fake it. He shed tears of sadness, and they were hard to fake.

The pegasus filly didn't know what to do. How was she going to help him? She wasn't sure she would be enough to help him. She was just a teenager who barely even received her special mark. What could she possibly have to help someone like Sirius? She didn't know, truthfully. However, she would try anything to make him feel better. She remembered one particular saying: a friend in need is a friend indeed. Sirius needed a friend, and she could stay with him in his darkest times. That's what friends must do, otherwise they couldn't be friends.

Friendship with Sirius would certainly be hard. Iclyn tried to understand him, she truly did, but something felt... lacking. Like she wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe there was something else Sirius needed, something Iclyn couldn't give him? She was confused — it was a nagging feeling, but she didn't know what to do with it. What did she need to give him? She had compassion, she had kindness. However, feelings as a whole were more obscure than clear. She never had a friend so deeply hurt, she never even worried about something like this.

Iclyn remembered reading about constant sadness which she could see in Sirius. It was depression. She knew there were medications to help with it, but she doubted Sirius would accept that way. He needed company, not pills or spells. Friendship was something medication could never give.

Finally, Sirius emerged from the bathroom, his body still slightly wet.

"Sirius, you alright?" Iclyn asked with worry.

"...After I told you... yes." Sirius replied slowly. "You... don't think it was a joke, do you?"

"No, I wholeheartedly believe you." the filly answered. "I just... I will try my best to help you, alright? You can rely on me, really."

"Thank you." the colt smiled slightly. "But now we need to get out here. There is lesson our classmates need to learn." anger flashed in his voice as he said the last word. He picked up his sword and buckled it as always.

***

A few minutes later, Sirius and Iclyn finally exited the room they were locked in. As soon as they did, they found themselves face to face with the classmates. Everything was silent for a few moments.

"I heard one of you yelled 'fuck'." a pony spoke.

"Now, I need all of you listen to me." Sirius stepped forward, a frown on his face. His voice was of steel as he surveyed every single pony in the room excluding Iclyn. "I do not like what you did." he inhaled. "It was stupid and unnecessary. Games are suppose be fun. We did not have sex there, Iclyn tripped over and fell. She hurt herself because she couldn't see in that room. You are to blame." he snorted. "I need remind you of one thing. There were bullies, I got rid of them. What they did? Tell me, did they make you do what you don't like?"

Hesitantly, most ponies nodded.

"Now, how are you different if you do same?" Sirius asked. He didn't receive anything in response. "I don't like bullies. You did something they would do. I don't take it lightly." his heavy gaze fell upon one particular filly that made the dare that got him locked up with Iclyn in the first place. "And I certainly don't like who had fun from that. You invited me for a game — it turned out like sick joke." he snorted once again. "This is... disappointing. I hope we won't have it happen again."

Then, he grabbed the saddlebags he brought from the school and put them on. Without hesitation or doubt, he headed to the exit. He wanted to get back to the apartment and not see his classmates, maybe except for Iclyn.

"Coral and I are sorry, we tried to open it but they pushed us away." Wave Rider said to Iclyn, his ears folded.

"I don't blame you, you didn't seem to have fun when all of that happened." Iclyn assured the small colt. "C'mon, the storm's over, might as well return home."

"Oh, right! My mom's probably sick with worry!" the colt nodded quickly, and then went to gather his belongings.

The next day.

Due to the storm, the remaining of the previous day was passed in boredom for Sirius since the only thing he could do was further learning the language. The training was cancelled as well, leaving him without physical activities. He didn't even talk with Iclyn about his problems — he wasn't yet ready, and he told her so. He needed some time to think and accept his own revelation.

However, there was one very important thing to note — Sirius did according to the dietitian's advice and got some meat from the griffin shop. The prescription allowed him to get a large amount of food free of charge, meaning that he would certainly have enough protein to develop his otherwise unhealthy body. As soon as he finished eating his first meat-containing meal, he felt full, truly full. It was a pleasant sensation in his stomach. And thus, Sirius' hope in gaining some actual weight increased. It would be great if he could become at least somewhat muscular and not as thin as he was.

The next day after it was promising. Last two lessons were Physical Culture, during which Pride Fight called Sirius specifically.

"So, Sirius, the tournament is coming in a few days." the old stallion said. "It also happened that the next few days have only Physical Culture lessons. Our principal thinks devoting a few days purely for physical activities will be great for your whole class. I have a special task for you. Since the tournament is near, and you need to wear armor for it, here's this: you train in armor from now on. You don't have to come to trainings as well, I believe the classes will be enough for you. I called a few stallions that are free during the classes, and they will have sparring sessions with you. It will be tiring, but I believe it will be beneficial for you."

Sirius nodded. He couldn't wait to take part in the tournament, and some extra endurance training wouldn't hurt. Besides, he liked the armor. Even if the colors of his body contrasted with it, it still looked quite nice on him and felt right. He even thought about applying to the Royal Guard in the future. Or maybe not. He wouldn't like to be too close to the princesses, after all.