Sirius was asleep after a tiring day. The party had ended with everyone searching for a place to sleep at, and he chose his own bed he shared with Iclyn. Anastasia had to join the two to allow others more room downstairs. And so, everyone drifted off to sleep in a matter of just a few minutes.

Unfortunately, the former human didn't sleep peacefully. As soon as he was in the world of self-conjured dreams, he saw a barren land littered with ruins of different buildings that were in various states of decay. The wind was blowing dust across the ground, the sky was completely covered by gray lifeless clouds. The roads were broken and lacked maintenance, and not a soul could be seen or heard around the streets. The bushes and the trees were long dead and dried up, their leaves long since had turned to dust. Yellow and fragile grass blotted the ground in some spots but it didn't give any life to the environment.

Sirius stood in the middle of everything in his pony form. He had no weapons and nobody on his side. He was completely alone in the deserted town. He warily looked around and found nothing of interest or any sign of danger. The place was like it seemed — empty and hollow.

He started moving. He was slow and something was creaking behind him. He turned his head and saw that his hind legs were very thin and looked more like a pair of skin-covered sticks than proper and working limbs. A wheelchair cart was welded to his body, its wheels not properly oiled in ages and broken through a lot of use, its frame bent in some places as well as rusty and decaying like the world around its defenseless and fragile owner.

Sirius could do nothing but move as he suppressed the urge to cry out loud. He didn't know what manner of creatures hid among the ruins of the town and was searching for prey. He moved cautiously but the squeaking of his wheels was loud enough to compromise his plan to stay hidden and out of sight. He was exposed for all the world to see.

There was one building in particular he was interested in. It looked like a familiar house. Maybe Sirius could find weapons there? He hoped so at the very least.

Slowly and painfully, he made his way to the ruins. They were empty, nothing but piles of trash and materials. Everything was rusty and untended, the gray bricks were covered in cracks and what remained of the paint. Sirius looked inside the building but found nothing of interest. However, there was a small mirror. It was cracked in one of its corners and was dusty. Sirius looked at his reflection and nearly screamed at what he saw.

His body was unhealthily thin and skinny, the fur was messy and dirty, and his mane was no better, featuring many strands of white, hiding its natural dark-blue almost completely. His eyes were sunken deep into his skull and were almost glowing eerily as they reflected light. His head looked like someone wrapped a skull in skin. The teeth in his mouth had a yellow tint to them, and his fangs were longer.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. It was calling him from somewhere out in the streets. The voice was full of worry and concern, as well as subtle fear. Sirius rushed out of the building as fast as he could. He saw a silhouette at the end of the street. He didn't know who they were but he felt he needed them.

"I'm—" he tried to shout but his throat was dry, forcing him to wheeze and cough. He looked at the ground and saw specks of blood. Was it his own? "I'm coming!" he managed to wheeze out quietly, and then poured all of his strength into his pace. He needed to get to them as quickly as possible.

He grunted and panted as he went. His limbs were shaking, he was entirely covered in sweat. The wheels of the wheelchair cart squeaked under his weight as he almost crawled. He opened his mouth to increase his breath but it didn't help.

The voice called for him again but he couldn't move any faster. Suddenly, the figure at the end of the street disappeared in one of the buildings. Sirius panicked and poured all his power and might into moving, he couldn't stop. His legs were burning from exhaustion, the sweat stung his eyes and made his vision blurry, the heart was pounding in his chest fast as his breath wheezed the air rapidly in and out.

In a few minutes, he finally reached the building. He coughed, and then vomited on the ground, covering it in his blood and chunks of his lungs. He almost collapsed into the pool he made but he managed to stay upright and continue. He couldn't give up.

He entered the building. The inside was dim and dusty, a strong smell of iron in the air. As soon as he stepped further, his hoof splashed against something. He looked down and saw something red. Was it blood?

If so, he needed to get to that person as soon as he could. If not for the liquid on the floor being so sticky.

He heard steps from upstairs. He looked up and saw the dust coming down from the ceiling as it creaked under someone's slow steps. The steps sounded like they belonged to two people or someone with four legs.

Sirius didn't know what to do, his confidence left him. What if they lured him in to kill or worse, torture and rape? He didn't want to go through it, he had no strength to fight. He was defenseless and worst of all, alone. No one would come to rescue him. He needed to get out of there before something terrible happened, before he was forced to do something against his will. He would never go through it, not again.

The steps stopped. A ringing silence replaced all sounds. Sirius held his breath, his mouth slightly open. He felt like his pounding heart could be heard across the whole city. His eyes darted around in fear of ambush.

The ceiling broke, and a body fell from it. It stopped with a nasty cracking noise, suspended by a thick rope above the floor, it tied around its neck. Sirius stood there, stunned and shocked, tears in his wide eyes.

Through the hole in the roof, what sunlight there was shone upon the body.

The body of Iclyn. Her lifeless eyes stared off into the distance, her mane tangled and her face bloodless.

"I-Iclyn..." Sirius took a step back. "W-why?"

A figure jumped from the ceiling and landed on the floor, creating a splash of blood. It was a tall and gaunt humanoid figure, its skin pale, its eyes sunk deep into the skull. In one hand, it held a piece of rope.

"Y-you!" Sirius growled out. "You've done it! I will murder you!"

With a loud cry, the former human dashed at the figure as he bared his teeth and prepared to tore it to pieces. But the creature hit him in the face with a fist, sending him across the room and into the wall. The wheelchair broke, some of its parts going deep into Sirius' body, ripping it. He cried out in pain as he felt the lower part of his body being torn apart and stabbed through by metal, revealing his guts and bladder.

The figure looked at Sirius without as much as a hint of emotion on its plain and almost featureless face. It slowly walked up to Sirius and stood at his body, watching him tremble in agony.

The nightmarish being raised his other hand. It held a bloodied revolver. A hammer was cocked with a deafening click.

Sirius couldn't even look up at his murderer as he cried on the floor, his tears mixing with blood. He couldn't utter a world as he screamed silently, his mouth wide open as he gasped for air.

The figure continued watching him for a few more seconds. Then it finally pressed the trigger.

Nothing happened.

The creature half-cocked the revolver and spun the cylinder. The gun was fully cocked again.

*Click*

As Sirius moaned on the floor, the figure let out a small laugh.

Half-cock, spin, cock.

*Click*

Half-cock, spin, cock.

*Click*

Sirius cried out in pain, wishing for everything to end. The figure laughed at his misery and suffering, displaying a row of bloodied and rotten human teeth.

The whole process was repeated. And again. And again. And yet again.

The former human had no strength to even cry as he wheezed on the floor, his front legs scratching against it as life left him bit by bit, ever so agonizingly slowly.

The creature squatted and flicked open the revolver. It turned the gun around and showed it to Sirius as he looked up at his tormentor.

There were no cartridges in the cylinder.

Sirius whimpered and let his head fall down. The creature guffawed as if it had just made a funny joke. It stood up and raised its hands. The rope it had was securely tied to a wooden beam on the ceiling and made into a noose.

Effortlessly, the being grabbed and lifted Sirius by the neck, letting his guts fall out and drag across the bloodied floor. The former human had no strength to fight. He gave up.

After tying the noose around Sirius' neck, the creature let go. The former human started choking as he wiggled his front legs to try to do at least something. For a few moments, the creature just stood and watched as Sirius struggled without getting any results, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as his mouth opened and closed in an effort to breathe.

The figure raised the revolver and grabbed it by the barrel. It started pounding Sirius' face with the handle, turning it into a mush of blood, broken bones, and eyes. The former human shook violently as his head turned into a bloody mess and opened like a grotesque flower.

Finally, he woke up, his eyes shot open. He could see Iclyn's face in front of him as she looked at him with worry and concern, a hoof raised in the air. Anastasia was behind her, peeking at Sirius from the safety of Iclyn's back.

"Sirius?" Iclyn asked nervously as she lowered her hoof. He was finally awake and stopped trashing on the bed.

Sirius blinked. Suddenly, he lunged forward and hugged his lover tightly, tears rolling down his face as he cried, letting out muffled sobs as he pressed his muzzle against Iclyn's neck. The filly didn't hesitate to hug him in return and whisper comforting things in his ear.

"Shh, it was just a dream. I'm here." she whispered softly. "You're safe."

"I, I, I..." Sirius sobbed, trying to say something.

"No need to speak, Sirius." Iclyn said even more softly as she tried to calm him. "Everything is alright. Let it out."

Anastasia watched it all, her mouth slightly opened. She had never seen that side of him before. He was vulnerable, weak, and scared. His body shook as he cried into Iclyn's shoulder. She caressed him lovingly and with great care.

For a second, the girl almost opened her forelegs to hug him. She stopped — was she even welcome? Was she needed? He had Iclyn, someone he loved and was loved by. He didn't need someone he had certainly almost forgot.

Slowly, she lowered her forelegs with a quiet sigh. Her ears drooped as she looked down at the floor. A small frown appeared on her face, accompanied by a tired look of half-lidded eyes. Her gaze dulled as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.

Stanislav replaced everything. His name, his friends, and his love. He became a pony named Sirius. He was no longer human and didn't want to do anything with humans. He helped Nastya only because he felt like he needed to even after his feelings for her faded away. The girl was sure it was so. He didn't even spare her a glance once he finally woke up from the nightmare. He looked only at Iclyn and cried in her embrace.

Anastasia didn't know what that nightmare was and she was sure Sirius wouldn't tell her anyway. He had Iclyn. He didn't have to care about his old friend from times long gone. The two went their separate ways. One ended up killing himself and appearing in a new world, and the other tried to find him and was transported to the new world as well.

The girl didn't believe in destiny or fate. There was no purpose for her in the new world. What would she do? Where would she work? How would she find friends? Most importantly, would she able to return to those she knew and forget the new world? It could go without her. Sirius could go without her.

As he and Iclyn embraced each-other, Anastasia turned her gaze away and stared at the wall.

She was very, very lonely.

Author's Notes:

The rate of updates have decreased as of late. I'm going through a hard time right now. I also want to work on quality and stop pumping out chapters. I've noticed that it would be easier to polish everything if I take more time.

This chapter is very important to the story and I want to hear what you have to say about it. For example, what do you think the nightmare meant for Sirius? What will happen to Anastasia? The old friend of Stanislav is falling into depression, unfortunately.

At least Sirius has Iclyn for comfort, but what does Nastya have?