He was running, running for his life. Something was chasing him, and he needed to run. He ran and ran. If he stops — he dies. He mustn't be reached. And so he ran.

He could hear heavy breathing behind him. His pursuer will surely catch him. It was only a matter of time.

***

Sirius jolted awake. His heart was beating, his breathing labored and shaking. In front of him, he saw Luna's worried face. Quickly, he moved away from her. He was startled by her. Also, he still didn't trust her. She was too close for comfort as well. The alicorn sighed, not attempting to move closer. It would only worsen the situation.

Sirius peeked outside. He has fallen asleep for no more than five minutes, and the chariot was arriving at the big castle.

The nightmare he witnessed began to fade as his mind fully focused on reality. Still alive, still a pony unicorn. Nothing has significantly changed since he opened his eyes last.

Soon, the chariot stopped. Luna and Sirius disembarked and headed inside the castle. From the outside, it looked gigantic and complicated.

Sirius has never been inside a castle before. He's seen a couple of old ruins though, but they weren't even close in comparison to what stood before him. The majestic palace captured his eyes as he looked around.

Unlike the ruins and other castles he's seen on pictures, this palace was gorgeous and colorful. The towers were topped with a coned roof that was painted like a spiral of purple and gold, the walls were snow-white, and the big windows let a lot of light inside the castle.

Once within the palace, Sirius stopped. The decor of the hall he appeared in stunned him. It was even more ornamented than the outside, and windows were not as simple as one might think they would — they were stained glass masterpieces, works of art, all depicting various important events that happened in the near and far past.

Luna patiently waited for him to come out of his trance. However, she was distracted by the sudden appearance of her sister, Celestia. The solar alicorn glanced at the stallion and went straight to Luna.

"So, is he this colt described in the letter?" she asked in a low tone, making sure Sirius doesn't divert his attention from the decorations.

"Yes, he is." Luna nodded, speaking just as quietly, holding Sirius at the edge of her vision. "All words have been confirmed, as I told you earlier. Though, there is something... mysterious about him." she tapped her chin a couple of times. "It's true he's never been recorded anywhere... But it's not the most important part." she frowned. "When I first met him, he was hostile towards me. At least to a certain degree. He... well, he was very cautious, not taking his eyes off of me until very recently. But he's intelligent, very much so.

"I discovered that he doesn't know the Commonlang at all. However, the language he does understand is tone of voice and body language. I managed to find out his name — Sirius."

"A strange name for a colt." Celestia commented.

"Indeed." her sister nodded. "After we "acquainted", so to speak, he calmed down significantly, his initial hostility gone. He was still cautious, though. However, I managed to talk him into following me. So far, he didn't object." her frown deepened. "Do you remember what I told you about his mind?"

"Yes, I do. And it greatly worries me..." the solar alicorn replied.

"I managed to see through his eyes. Not fully... he is good at hiding. He certainly had years of experience." Luna sighed sadly. "This... this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. There are many negative emotions inside him, bottled up. I couldn't see deeper to find out what exactly he felt. Besides, I won't try to enter his mind again. After that little incident on the first day, he remembered me all the way up to our first true meeting. And it is clear he wants no one inside his mind."

She stopped for a couple of moments. She glanced at Sirius — he was too busy with looking at the stained glass art.

"Something terrible has happened to him." Luna continued. "I noticed how unfamiliar everything was to him. Even magic, a thing he should have already known. I don't know what happened to him, but it was certainly painful for him. Not only physically but mentally as well."

She paused again. She swallowed a large lump in her throat.

"I hope I can help him... I can't stand aside while such a young colt suffers." she said. "But... I have no idea where to start. He seems to be so different from any other foal I've treated. Their problems pale in comparison to what he has buried in the depths of his mind." she let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "I'm not sure I am enough to help him."

"Sister, you've helped many foals defeat their fears. You surely can find a way to Sirius as well." Celestia assured her younger sister. "Have patience. For now, let him rest. Give him a room of his own, let him be alone for a while. And then, you may start by teaching him Commonlang. It will certainly help you two connect, and he might open to you someday if you gently nudge him in the right direction."

"Thanks for the advice, Tia." Luna smiled.

"It's what sisters do." Celestia smiled in return. "Now, show Sirius his new room."

Luna nodded, and then went straight to the wandering colt. Attracted by the clop of hooves against the polished marble floor, his ears turned towards the alicorn, and his body soon followed. He just realized that he wandered off. Though, he saw no issue with that.

"Sirius?" Luna said, and then started to walk away. The former human understood her perfectly, following her immediately.

Celestia watched the two as they went to the guest wing of the castle, a smile on her lips.

***

Sirius was surprised to see such a large and spacious room given to him. It was far better than what he previously had, too. He did understand that Luna wanted to do something with him, probably to play a mother-son game of sorts. He didn't know what and even if she found out anything about him while he was unconscious. He hoped she didn't.

Left alone, he finally felt just how tired and fatigued he was, both physically and mentally. While it didn't seem much, the trip from the hospital to the castle took the majority of his strength, leaving only some for him to function. After the treatment at the hospital, he was still weak. The poisonous plant had taken a lot of strength from him.

He looked around. The room was rather large, divided into two sections. The closest one to the exit door was the personal office, having a small library, a table, a chair, some quills, inkwells, and papers on the table, and a couple of minor things he didn't bother to note.

The second section was hidden behind a door. He nudged it open with his muzzle and walked inside. It was a bedroom with a big bed suitable for a couple, a chest of drawers by its side with a lamp on top of it, a window that showed the scenery of the city, and a wardrobe in the corner of the room.

Another door was placed behind the bed to the right. In his curiosity, Sirius opened it, revealing a small bathroom.

Feeling the need to relieve himself as well as to bathe, he decided to use it.

Dealing with his natural needs was pretty simple, albeit some tricks had to be used to not get dirty. After getting the deeds done, he stepped into the rather large bathtub that took the majority of the room.

He looked at the tiled wall, and saw a lone knob. He stood on his hind legs and grasped the knob with his front hooves, and then gently turned it to the right. Since the right side of the knob was painted red, he was sure it would be warm. At first, the water was rather uncomfortable, but he managed to adjust it right in the end.

He hadn't showered in days, he almost forgot how good it felt. As the water ran down his body, he shivered. Legs gave out under him, and he allowed himself to fall. He was way weaker than he initially thought.

He closed his eyes and let the water to soak into his fur, running in small streams across his equine body. He didn't want it to stop.

***

Some time had passed before Sirius stood up, deciding that too much of a good thing would be bad for him. He turned off the shower and walked out of the bathtub. Immediately, he felt hot air blowing from all directions, disorienting him as his eyes closed instinctually.

Panicking, he started to run, only to hit a corner of the sink with his head, puncturing the bridge of his muzzle, right where one of his old scars was.

He cried in pain, slipped and fell to the floor, painfully hitting one of his forelegs in the process.

He lied there, whimpering, a thin stream of blood running out of the corner of his left eye, mixing with tears of pain. He couldn't move, he didn't want to. He felt so weak, stupid, and defenseless. Scared by wind and hurting himself in the process.

Deeply inhaling a couple of times, he finally stood up. He looked at the sink — it was slightly cracked in the corner. He was glad it was the sink that gave in and not his poor head.

Above the sink, a mirror hung, unnoticed by Sirius before. Carefully propping himself with the sink, he rose and looked at himself.

This time, the mirror image was much more clearer than when he looked at himself at the lake. His facial scar wouldn't be visible without close inspection only if there wasn't blood running from it. Sirius hissed, and then turned on the water in the sink, and washed his face, making sure no blood remained.

Fine with the result, he decided to return to the bedroom. He didn't want any other accidents to happen.

Sniffing, still feeling pain, he stumbled to the bed. Without much thought, he climbed onto it and relaxed. Feeling the silky-soft sheets again his fur and skin, he sunk into the bed, sighing in relief. The pain subsided.

He didn't want to stay awake anymore. He has already experienced too much for a single day. Soon, he drifted off to sleep.

Author's Notes:

Dear readers, I would like to hear your opinions about how the story goes so far. What do you like about it? What do you dislike? What do you find confusing? What predictions do you have?

I'm open for anything, be it positive or negative. Though, I'd love to hear constructive criticism instead of saying "nah, it's just bad". I want this story to be good, and I need to hear what you have to say about it.