Anastasia heard everything Sirius and Iclyn were doing in the bedroom. The sound insulation wasn't very good as she found out. At first, there were strange noises that bothered her all the way downstairs. She got to the second floor to investigate and the result surprised her and made her blush. She even peeked inside the bedroom to see if her suspicions were correct. Thankfully, Sirius didn't notice her because Iclyn was entertaining him while being on top of him, also hiding Anastasia from his view. The girl quickly retreated downstairs.

She was surprised Sirius was that comfortable with his new body to do something so explicitly intimate. In fact, she was happy for him that he found a new love. Anastasia didn't love him but she always wished he would get a caring girl. She felt bad after rejecting him but she just didn't feel anything more than friendly affection towards him. She couldn't see how their loving relationship would work in any way. Unfortunately, her decision led to the two growing apart and him becoming sad and then angry. She had no idea what he felt after it but she remembered a sad look on his face as he left her on that day. He grew less and less emotional and caring — he quickly became completely isolated from the rest of the class.

Anastasia tried reaching out to him a few times but received nothing but aggression in return. Eventually, they stopped talking altogether. Stanislav became a shell of his previous self, just a shadow of whom he used to be. He often got into arguments with classmates, especially with those of the worst kind — bullies. He even punched a teacher and almost got himself expelled if not for the fact that many other teachers sympathized with him. Anastasia was shocked by it, she never expected him go do something like that. He disliked a lot of people but he never touched adults. However, it wasn't surprising he let his aggression flow and destroy those that stood in his way.

Fortunately for him, teachers liked him. He rarely caused big troubles or had problems with grades. He studied decently and was quiet most of the time. They didn't know it was due to his time with Anastasia. She supported him and helped him a lot during the two years they were friends. However, there were a few strange moments.

On one day, Anastasia decided to make a joke. It wasn't good or bad but it seemed funny to her. She and Stanislav were playing at his house after finishing homework. They were both fourteen and it happened about three months prior to Stas' confession of love.

As he was finishing a level of a game he was playing, Anastasia lay on his bed. Her head was propped by her arm as she watched him play. An idea crawled inside her head.

"Stas..." she called to him quietly. He turned his head to her. She looked at him slightly seductively and said: "Rape me."

He turned back to the computer and blushed heavily. Anastasia suppressed her giggle — she found the joke funny at that time.

"No." Stas replied shyly as he forced himself to look away.

"Mhh..." the girl moaned and changed her position slightly. "Stas... rape me..."

Slowly, the boy turned his head to her. A bright blush was present on his cheeks. He slowly got up and went to his bed. Anastasia watched him with interest as he kept looking at the floor. His hands were trembling slightly, most of his face was covered by long hair.

Suddenly, he jumped into bed and hugged her close to himself, one of his hands finding itself on her belly as another slid behind her. He inhaled her scent as he placed his head on her shoulder.

"Oh, stop!" Anastasia giggled, pushing him away softly. "Let's not get this too far, shall we?"

Slowly, he backed off and released her from his grasp. There was a look on his face that she couldn't quite describe. At the time, she thought he just went along with the joke.

Later, the girl realized he already loved her by that time but was too shy to tell her about it. She didn't know whether he would indeed have sex with her if she didn't stop him or not. She didn't know much of his sexual fantasies. They did talk about sex a couple of times and Stas admitted he found her beautiful. He even said he would masturbate to her which surprised her.

After his failed confession, the two grew apart. Many of his secrets and desires remained with Anastasia while a lot of hers remained with him. Neither revealed them even after their relationship became worse.

Stanislav disappeared completely soon after he became sixteen. No one knew where he went. Even Anastasia didn't know what made him drop the school. She knew he was still somewhere around him, she even saw him on a few occasions but he simply couldn't be reached. He always found ways to disappear.

Anastasia remembered a few other people disappearing during the last two years. Some of them dropped the school, some disappeared into nothing. Those mysterious cases were investigated by the police but nothing was found, not even the bodies. The last known case was the disappearance of Stanislav. Anastasia found him but where were the others? Were they with him at some point? Were they in Equestria? She didn't know. All she knew was the fact that he appeared in the new world and changed his name. His life also changed quite a lot.

Anastasia's mind returned to Sirius and Iclyn. She was jealous at the fact that Sirius found someone to love. She had never been good with guys and no serious relationship ever came out of anything. She didn't have standards that were too high for her own good but she still couldn't find anyone that could become her significant other. Besides, studying and taking part in many other things left her with very little free time. She simply couldn't find time to actually look for someone she wanted to be close with.

With a heavy sigh, she sat down on the sofa. She understood that Sirius wouldn't come with her if she found a way back to Earth. He had achieved a lot and she doubted he wanted to leave it. She didn't want to leave her friend but she understood that she would have to return to her family. She wanted to return to it, after all.

Sirius was cuddling with Iclyn on the bed. He couldn't feel happier or more relaxed as positive emotions buzzed inside his head. Years of repressing sexual desires and love gave him a lot of stress. Finally relieving it was a feeling Sirius couldn't describe. He felt light and life seemed worth living. He had someone to love and care for, and it was what he always wanted.

He felt alive.

He didn't want to stand up and go anywhere. He just wanted to lie next to Iclyn and feel her warmth, hear her breath, see her. She was like an angel that pierced the darkness surrounding him. He used to feel alone, broken, forsaken and abandoned. With her, he felt complete, he felt he belonged.

A smile spread across his face as he nuzzled Iclyn lovingly. Thanks to her, he changed for the better. He was sure he would become even better with more work. He had motivation and support, he had someone to be better for. He wouldn't let her down.

"We're going to miss the training if we keep lying like that." the pegasus said, chuckling.

"I don't want to go anywhere." Sirius replied quietly. "Can you stay with me, please?"

"I think I can miss a training, yeah." Iclyn nodded and nuzzled him affectionately.

In truth, she was happy as well. Seeing Sirius being so positive reflected on her own mood. She had rarely seen him smiling and it felt good to see him so relaxed and happy after many bad things he had gone through. She knew she has given him a reason to live and enjoy it. She hoped he would become more social and befriend more ponies. He didn't have to be alone all the time and Iclyn was sure she could nudge him in the right direction.

Eventually, the two had to get up to do the homework for the day. Anastasia was invited as well and all three of them did the homework including teaching the language to the girl. It all went in an atmosphere of love and friendship. It made everyone much more productive than they otherwise would be. Sirius helped Nastya learn magic and language, too. It went smoothly and soon the girl was able to understand and create simple sentences. It was a huge step in the direction of learning the language and adapting to the new world.

After all the learning was done, everyone went to the kitchen and prepared food for themselves. Sirius brought the meat he had sent Flora for some time before. He shared it with Anastasia. Iclyn didn't find it disgusting — pegasi liked eating meat, especially fish, and a lot of them did it quite often. Actually, the pegasi were partly carnivores even though their canines were quite small and dull in comparison to a lot of predators' teeth. Iclyn even tried the meat and found it quite tasty. Not something she would eat on a regular basis but it was still very good. She was more accustomed to a traditional herbivore diet.

Soon after finishing their meals, Sirius and Iclyn went to the sports hall of the mansion — they decided to practice fencing. Anastasia went along with them to look at it.

Everything started with a sparring session for a warmup. It was a relatively small duel with a lot of exchanges.

Anastasia looked at how Sirius fought and saw that he had greatly improved since he started fencing. She had attended a few tournaments as a viewer and she could see the development Sirius went through. Even his equine body moved precisely, not a single move of his body was wasted as it conserved energy. He moved quickly and swung his sword quickly and yet precisely. His style was as aggressive as it was back in his earlier days even though his moves were a lot more refined than they used to be.

The girl remembered his first tournament. He was dressed in all black: pants, high boots, gambeson, gloves, and even his protective mask. An image of a skull was painted over the mask, too. He fought fiercely and gained a third place among all other contestance, much to everyone's surprise. He disregarded defense in favor of offense and pressing down on his enemies. Due to this, he managed to reach only the third place.

Anastasia could see how his style improved. It remained very aggressive while still having room for defense. Sirius protected himself quite well against the attacks. He deflected most of them and followed with his own swings. He was turning opponent's efforts against them. Even his limp wasn't much of a hinderance but more of an assist, allowing him to perform dodges as he masked his movements by using limping to fool his opponent.

All in all, a lot of things had changed about Sirius ever since he disappeared from Anastasia's life. She wasn't sure she even knew him anymore. Would he accept her as a friend? It didn't seem like he needed her anymore.

In truth, she was depressed ever since she appeared in Equestria. Even after Princess Luna assured her that a way back would be found, she feared she would be stuck in the new world forever. Sure, everyone seemed very nice and friendly, but they were simply not those she had known for years. The one she used to know as Stanislav had drastically changed. There were substantial and meaningful changes not only to his appearance but to his mind as well.

Anastasia believed she lost all her knowledge about him. He became way too different from whom he used to be with her. He had said that he wanted to remain friends with her but the girl wasn't sure if it would work. It was all too confusing.

A thought appeared in her mind. She turned to Sirius to ask him a question. The training had ended by that time and he was placing the practice weapons back where they belonged, and Iclyn went into the bathroom to clean herself after the tiring workout.

"Sirius, you still haven't told me how you appeared here." Anastasia reminded his friend.

He stopped what he was doing. Slowly, he turned around to face her. His expression was dark and unsettling. He hadn't talked about it with anyone besides Iclyn. However, he felt it would be fair for Anastasia to know the truth.

"Nastya..." he breathed in deeply. "I suddenly disappeared because of one reason. I left nothing behind, I made sure my house would burn down by the time anyone arrived to save it. I went to that lake, and there..." he took another deep breath. It was very hard to talk about it to someone he knew even before coming to Equestria. He feared it would devastate Anastasia. After all, she was one of the reasons that pushed him towards the end.

"Then... what?" the girl asked, fearing the answer.

Sirius knew he had to say it. Gathering the strength he needed, he finally said three simple words. They gave no life or comfort but pain and horror.

"I killed myself."

Author's Notes:

My headache is finally gone and I can continue writing my stories as usual, including this one.

What do you think will happen next?