Anastasia stared at Sirius, her eyes wide open, her ears flat against her skull and her mouth slightly opened. She couldn't believe what she had heard just a moment ago. Surely it was a crude joke and not something actually serious, right? She just couldn't see the reason. The whole concept of suicide was shocking to her. For her, there was nothing worse than killing oneself. She had never expected one of her friends to even think about it. She knew that people killed themselves for various reasons but they were very distant from her. However, Stanislav used to be very close to her. Finding out that he ended his life was very hard to comprehend and understand.

She had always seen him as a very strong person. He was always standing up to himself and would often get in trouble for his way of thinking and acting. He fought the kids that constantly teased Nastya, he never hesitated to go into a fight if the cause was just for him. Learning that he just gave up on life and did the unthinkable was surprising in a very awful and terrible way.

Sirius just stood there, his eyes staring at the floor. He already regretted telling her this. He saw how shocked she was by his horrifying revelation and he blamed himself for making her feel down. Because of him, she was separated from those she knew and cared for. Because of him, she felt bad. It seemed like he did nothing but brought trouble and worries to her.

She was a nice girl, she didn't deserve to be treated like that. A lot of what he did in the past harmed her and it looked like it came back.

"Why?" Anastasia finally asked as she got back the control over her voice. "Why, St— Sirius?"

"...You don't want to know." he replied and then turned away from her. It was a mistake telling her this. It was a huge mistake, he understood. His words did nothing but scare her. All he could do was leave her so that he wouldn't hurt her again.

"Wait!" the girl rushed to him. She wanted to know one very important thing. "Was it... because of me?"

"I don't blame you." Sirius stated firmly. He wasn't going to make her feel even worse. Besides, she wasn't to blame at all. It was all his wrongdoings. "It wasn't your fault."

"But... I left you when you needed me." Anastasia tried to argue.

"As if it wasn't my fault. I pushed you away, not the other way around, Nastya." Sirius said, looking his friend in the eyes. He inhaled deeply before continuing: "Let's just... not dwell on the past. Alright?" he looked away, not able to look into her caring and warm eyes. "It's not your fault. It never was. It was just... me." he sighed deeply. "We shouldn't talk about it."

"Why, Sirius? I just want to help you!" the girl told him.

"I... don't need your help." the former human replied with slight uncertainty. "I already got it. I have... a life. At least now I do." a lone tear rolled down his cheek. "I understand your... intentions. I simply don't need your help. We may be friends. Talk about... things, do homework together, maybe... do something, um... else. But you need to get back to Earth. Your home is there. Mine is here." he paused for a moment. "That's how it is."

Anastasia opened her mouth but didn't say anything. He was right. There were loving people waiting for her to return. He had no one to return to. She knew his family was no longer there for him, he had no friends left but her. Even then, it would bring him nothing but sadness if he returned. He had nowhere to live at, all his belongings were gone.

In Equestria, Sirius had everything. Reputation, respect, money, a mansion, and a loved one. There was no reason for him to return to his previous life. Anastasia understood it clearly.

"I... I see." she gulped nervously. He didn't reply as he looked down. "But..." the girl tried to say something but she found there was nothing to say. She sighed sadly.

"I don't expect you to understand, Nastya." Sirius said. He turned around and exited the sports hall, leaving Anastasia all alone.

She sat down. She just needed some time to think.

A few hours later, Sirius was lying on the bed reading a book. It was nothing special — just an adventure book about a young colt and his faithful talking dog. The former human just needed to take his mind off of things. The impact his suicide had on him was tremendous and being reminded of it made him feel slightly sick. It obviously wasn't the best experience he had ever had in his life. The death itself, painful transformation, and inability to stay dead. He found much more in his second life but he feared all of it would be taken away from him someday. What would happen when he died again? Would he rest or would he be thrown into another world or back on Earth? He didn't want to leave Iclyn or even leave Equestria.

Speaking of the pegasus filly, she invited Sirius to play with her friends. Reluctantly, he agreed. However, there was an issue.

"Can we bring Nastya along?" he asked.

"Well, I can't see why not." Iclyn shrugged. "I think it'll be good for her, actually. She looks... sad. Maybe playing with somepony will cheer her up."

"I'll go ask her." Sirius said, nodding.

He went downstairs and saw Anastasia sitting on the sofa and staring blankly at the wall. Her eyes were unmoving, even her ears barely flicked to acknowledge Sirius. He flinched — he was the cause of her sadness. He hoped he would be able to redeem himself by helping her. She needed support more than ever and maybe meeting new ponies that were better than Sirius would help her. He never considered himself that great of a friend but he could do something for Nastya to feel better. She would eventually move on and have a better life. Sirius just needed to make sure she would forget him. It seemed the friendship between the two wouldn't work.

"Nastya?" he called her softly. "Um... Iclyn invites you to, um, play with her friends."

"...What?" the girl turned to him. "Um, really?"

"Yes." Sirius nodded assuringly.

"But... I can't even speak right." Anastasia replied. "Um, will they like me?"

"I'm sure they will." Sirius nodded. "You are one of the best girls there can possibly be." he blushed slightly but his face quickly reverted to its previous state. "Just... be yourself."

"...I think I can try." the girl nodded slowly. "So, um... when do we go?"

"In a few minutes. I'll go ask Iclyn."

Some time later, the three ponies were walking through the streets of Canterlot. Sirius decided not to carry his weapon this time. He wanted Anastasia to feel relaxed. Besides, he didn't want to be an eye-sore. He was still quite noticeable because of his limp but he was sure he wouldn't need to walk once they arrive to the place.

Iclyn told him that it was one of her friends' house that was empty for that time. Since there was school the next day, traveling to the treehouse and back would take a lot of time. And thus it was decided to hold a sleepover in Canterlot.

Anastasia didn't know how to feel about the whole event. She was quite nervous and it showed in her eyes and the way she walked. Her gait was stiff, her eyes were looking forward and darted around as if they could find no place for themselves. Her ears were drooped, her head slightly low. She was very uncertain about how ponies would perceive her. Was she good enough for them? Would they share her interests? Would they even accept her?

She had never had big trouble making friends but meeting aliens who might think differently from her was both thrilling and scary at the same time.

Sirius was walking alongside her. His eyes were scanning the surroundings, his body tense. He was nervous because of the lack of weapons and it showed. He knew it was for the better but he felt vulnerable without means of defense. Iclyn was close to him and even encouraged him to be unarmed. He saw that she wanted him to feel more comfortable but it only brought stress. Sirius hoped that he wouldn't need his weapons.

He also worried about Anastasia. He looked at her and saw her stare, saw how she walked. She was tense as he was but for a different reason. Sirius blamed himself for making her feel that way but he hoped new ponies would cheer her up.

Some time later, the three finally arrived to the house the sleepover would take place at. The house had two floors but was much smaller than Sirius' mansion. Nevertheless, it looked like spending time there would turn out to be fun.

"Here we are." Iclyn declared. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Soon enough, the door was opened and the three were greeted by none other than Wind Rider.

"Uh, hi everypony." he greeted them and the opened the door wider. "You're early. Um, there's no one else but I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Sirius, Iclyn, and Anastasia were let inside. The door was quickly closed shut behind them. Sirius glanced at Wind Rider and saw that there was a twitch in his movements and anxiety in his eyes. He even glanced outside and quickly returned. He tried to hide it but the former human could see everything.

Suddenly, Sirius noticed something very unsettling. There was a bruise on small colt's chest. It was barely noticeable since it blended in almost perfectly but it was there. The former human didn't know what to think about it but he suspected it could be pretty serious.

Sirius looked around. The house lacked decorations and everything was on a more practical side of things. No paintings or photos on the walls but there were wooden practice weapons. Everything was arranged to take as less place as possible. The colors were dull and didn't elicit much attention.

"Um, let's go to my room." Wave said and then led the three upstairs. He was obviously nervous, Sirius noted. The way he walked was cautious and stiff. Iclyn could see it as well.

Wave Rider's room wasn't too big but had an extra bed aside from his own. Everything was pretty dull and featureless otherwise. There were small tables with chairs behind the beds, a few bookshelves above the beds with books neatly arranged in alphabetic order, and there were closed drawers under the beds.

"Don't touch my brother's stuff, please." Wave Rider gestured at the right bed. "Um... wanna some coffee or tea?" suddenly, he finally noticed Anastasia. He looked at her and said: "Uh, hi. I remember seeing you at school. I'm Wave Rider." he extended his hoof slightly awkwardly.

"I'm Nastya." the girl introduced herself and bumped hooves with the colt. "I, uh, can't speak language yet."

"Ah... um, alright." Wave said awkwardly nodded. Then he turned to Sirius. "She's from your country, right? The accent is similar to yours."

"She is." Sirius nodded. "Do you mind her being here?"

"No, not at all. The more the better, really." the colt replied. "Alr—"

"What I told you about inviting friends here?" a familiar voice called from the outside. Everyone looked through the window and saw Sweetwater, Wave Rider's brother. "I'm coming in."

"Should we leave?" Iclyn asked with worry.

"N-no, I think I can, uh, discuss it with him." the colt said with great uncertainty while nervously fidgeting in place. His eyes darted from the window to the door and back, their pupils dilated, sweat appeared on his forehead as his breath increased in frequency. The change was subtle but Sirius could see it.

And so, everypony awaited Sweetwater. Sirius' muscles were tense and ready to jump into action — he didn't expect the talk to work. Iclyn was very nervous, too. She didn't know much about Wave's brother at all — the colt hadn't talked about him much. Anastasia just didn't understand what was going on. Wave Rider himself was very scared but he hoped for the best.

Soon, Sweetwater's hoofsteps could be heard. The door to the room opened and finally he entered.

"Oh, Sweetwater, I ju—" Wave started saying but he was interrupted by a punch from his brother. Everyone gasped as the small colt fell on the floor and his eyes widened in fear, his glasses breaking and landing near him. His brother raised his hoof to land another hit but magic encompassed it.

Sweetwater turned his head and saw Sirius' horn glowing. Anger was rising in both. Sirius' pupils were pinpric-small, his nostrils flared and his ears flat against his skull. His body took the familiar fencing position, ready to spring in any direction.

"Get out of here, it's not your business." Sweetwater said.

Sirius' eye twitched.

"So..." he said lowly and calmly as he tried to contain his urge to seriously injure Wave's brother. "You beat your own brother?"

"Unless he listens to what is told to him." Sweetwater replied threateningly. "He needs to be strong. He must endure the pain and listen."

Meanwhile, Wave Rider was lying on the floor, his eyes full of tears. He didn't expect his brother to return until the next day. He hoped he would have some fun with his friends while his family members were away but it was gone.

"It is not the way to treat your own family." Sirius replied, his magic still gripping Sweetwater's hoof tightly.

"B-brother..." Wave Rider tried to say meekly.

"Shut up, I will deal with you later." Sweetwater retorted and returned to Sirius. "I don't care about what you think you are. Get out of here right fucking now."

Sirius looked at Wave Rider. Silent pleading could be seen in colt's tearful eyes. A bruise was appearing on the side of his muzzle as well. The small colt didn't want his friends to leave but was afraid to say anything.

"Make me." Sirius dared as his eyes returned to Wave's brother.

Without any warning, Sweetwater bucked and sent Sirius flying. Everyone gasped as the former human landed outside the room. He quickly returned to his hooves and saw the big colt charging. Sirius dodged to the side and used his magic to grab a book and smash it against Sweetwater's head to disorient him. It didn't work as well as expected — the book wasn't as thick as it needed to be in order to have a punch.

"You fucker!" the big colt growled, and then used his magic to grab a wooden practice staff from the wall. He swung it but Sirius used the same book to block the hit. Gladly, the book was made from a good material and thus wasn't broken from impact.

There was another staff which Sirius quickly took a hold on. The corridor was pretty narrow but he knew how to use a weapon efficiently even with such restrictions. First of all, he thrusted with great force. He hit his opponent's chest, knocking the air out of him. Quickly, Sirius hit the chin and then the side of the head in a rapid succession.

Sweetwater growled and swung his weapon. Sirius parried the hit and struck his opponent's head again. The big colt was disoriented, allowing Sirius to turn around and buck him very hard. Sweetwater hit a wall with his back and dropped the staff. Sirius hit him in the head again, sending him to the floor. Sweetwater moaned in pain as he instinctively covered his head.

"F-fuck..." he groaned as he felt a small stream blood tickling down his forehead.

"You want to make your brother into someone like me?" Sirius asked. "I have anger issues that make me unsocial. Do you want your own brother to suffer for the rest of his life?"

"You're... strong. If not for that, you wouldn't have saved Canterlot from those insect fuckers, would you?" the big colt replied.

"I did it for the one I love." Sirius replied. "No one would come for you." he snorted, and then went around his fallen opponent. He returned to the room where his friends were.

"I... I think, um, we won't party tonight..." Wave Rider sighed sadly.

"We can do it at my place." Sirius replied. "Do you want us to leave you with your brother?"

"...N-no, but... I'll have to return eventually." the colt said with uncertainty as his eyes darted between Sirius and fallen Sweetwater behind him.

"Do you like it here?" the former human asked, looking into Wave's eyes.

"F-father will be very upset if..."

"Do you like it here?" Sirius repeated his question.

"I..." Wave Rider sighed and looked down. "No, I don't. This... military thing just isn't for me."

"You may live with me and Iclyn." the former human assured him. Iclyn nodded — she didn't want to see his friend suffer.

"I... I don't know." the small colt said with uncertainty. He finally stood up from the ground and picked up his now broken glasses. "Ugh, not again..." he complained under his breath.

"Wave, we can help you." Iclyn assured him as she put a hoof on his shoulder.

"But... what about other ponies? They, um, will come here." Wave Rider replied.

"I'll stay and meet them." Sirius said. "Go on with Iclyn and Nastya, I will soon return with other ponies who'll come here."

"...O-okay." the small colt nodded. "I just... gather my stuff."

Sirius didn't like this situation at all. He had known some abusive families but it surprised him in a bad way to see something like this in Equestria. However, he hoped Wave Rider would be free of his brother's influence. Sirius saw that Sweetwater and possible his father were militaristic while Wave Rider wasn't. It created a conflict within the family and thus the small colt was bullied by his own brother because of that. He was forced to go through what he didn't want.

The former human saw why Wave was shy and not very social. He tried his best to have a good time with his friends but his family didn't allow him to do it. Sirius was raised by a good family and it pained him to see less fortunate people.

As for Wave Rider, he didn't know how to feel about the whole situation. At one side, he was going to leave his family and it could turn out very badly for him in the future. On the other side, he was finally leaving his abusive brother and settling down with his friends. He didn't know much about Sirius but still liked him in a very friendly way. Wave Rider didn't have many friends and seeing someone standing up to him was a very pleasant surprise.

He loved his friends more than his family. He never liked the militaristic routine he had to go through with his brother. While Sweetwater liked it, Wave Rider would like to spend more time studying and going out with his friends. He knew he would do everything for his friends.

At least they liked him for who he was.

Author's Notes:

Characters in this story suffer a lot.

Sirius: anger issues, depression, self-hate, PTSD.
Anastasia: developing depression, loneliness.
Wave Rider: depression, shyness, loneliness, lack of self-esteem.

The only one that is normal is Iclyn.

A reminder for you all — abuse in the family isn't right. I've not suffered from it but I know some people who have very strict parents. More often than not, those who were abused either become criminals or simply unsocial. Support from friends help those people a lot.

There will be a lot more for Wave Rider in the future. He will certainly have to deal with the consequences of his decisions.