Sirius has spent most of the day in his new room, learning different words and phrases that would be very usable in day-to-day life. When the sun begun to set, his stomach grumbled, reminding him of the energy need. He stood up from his comfortable bed and headed to the exit. As he exited, he noticed a guard standing by the door.

"Uh," Sirius uttered, gaining guard's attention. "I need dining hall."

"This way, sir." the guard replied, nodding. The two headed down the hall.

As the two went, Sirius looked at his escort with interest. The guard wore roman-like armor which was either golden or painted to look so and had a sword by his side. The former human was especially interested in the weapon. From what he could see, the hilt wasn't made to be held in hands but in something else. Noticing that the guard didn't have a horn, Sirius assumed the sword was designed to be held in the mouth. Otherwise, it wouldn't work. The shape would be pretty awkward in hand.

"Um, guard?" he asked. As the guard turned his head to Sirius, he said: "Can you show?" he pointed at the sword.

"I'm not allowed to." the guard shook his head, surprise clear on his face.

"You, uh, have it here when fight?" Sirius asked, gesturing at his own mouth. The guard nodded in response to the question. He was slightly confused, surprise was still evident on his face.

Having no other interest and seeing that the guard won't show the weapon, Sirius didn't say any other word, and the two spend the rest of their walk in silence.

Entering the dining hall, he saw Luna and an alicorn he's not noticed before. Celestia and Luna were sitting at the head of the table, preparing to eat. It seemed like supper would begin in a few minutes.

Looking at Luna, Sirius noticed how tired she was. She had a couple of slices of cake on her plate and a mug of coffee nearby.

"...go rest." Celestia said to Luna, not yet noticing the colt. "I can raise the moon for you."

"No, it's alright." Luna assured her. "I just overstayed with Sirius. It's my fault I'm—" she yawned "Tired. But I still have duties to fulfill."

"But you don't need to strain yourself so hard, Lu-lu." Celestia said.

Sirius listened closely after hearing his name. This conversation was slightly confusing to him mostly due to the fact that he still didn't know that many words to speak fluently.

"Sister..." Luna groaned, and then noticed the colt. "Oh, good evening, Sirius!"

He nodded in response, and then looked at the table.

"You may sit wherever you like." she added.

Getting the message, Sirius took the nearest seat. Then, he looked at his empty plate. How was he supposed to get food?

Luna noticed his confusion.

"Maid!" she called in a Royal Voice, startling Sirius. He didn't know whether it was directed at him or not but he prepared for the worst.

However, his worry disappeared as a maid came rushing into the hall, fear evident on her face.

"Luna..." Celestia frowned at her younger sister.

"I'm sorry, it just happens." Luna grinned sheepishly. "Sirius, the maid will help you. Just point at what you like and she'll bring it."

He nodded. The maid approached him, and he started gesturing at various foods laid on the table. He sure was going to eat a lot.

As he begun eating, Luna and Celestia conversed quietly.

"It seems he's indeed clever." the solar alicorn noted. "And you are right — there is something unnatural about him, something strange. I can't pinpoint it, though..."

"He has a somewhat silent way of walking." Luna said. "We didn't notice him until he was already here. I heard the clop of guard's hooves and figured they were changing shifts. I've not heard Sirius at all. As if he tries to stay out of sight."

"It seems he also likes to eat much." Celestia commented, looking at how quickly food disappeared from the table. "Normally, ponies of his age eat less. He seems insatiable."

"I see..." Luna frowned, watching as Sirius consumed his food quickly, without savoring the taste at all like he didn't care about it. The maid was looking slightly worried, too. "I suppose we should take into account that he was malnourished when he was found. His body is in need of nutrients, energy, and vitamins."

"I sent a group of guards to search the forest he was in." Celestia said. "They found his almost disappeared tracks near the bank of one of the lakes in that area. Near the lake Birthwater, to be exact."

"I've never heard of that lake before." Luna replied with interest. "Why is it called like that?"

"Many couples choose that lake for their 'final' date when a relationship is cemented with sex. Thus, many foals were made at that lake."

"Interesting..." Luna tapped her chin, and then took a sip of her coffee. "So, you tell me that his tracks begin there?"

"Correct." Celestia nodded. "There are also very faint traces of magic. As far as I know, they didn't come from Sirius."

Hearing his name again, Sirius' ears swiveled towards the two princesses. He didn't divert too much attention from his food but listened nevertheless.

"It sounds rather strange, sister." Luna frowned again. "It seems like the lake itself gave birth to him. It would explain some things... but it brings even more questions."

"I suppose you will find them in time if you manage to convince him to trust you." Celestia suggested.

"Alright..." she glanced at Sirius, and then lowered her voice even more. "I also think we should stop talking about him. He's listening."

The solar alicorn nodded, and the two royal sisters resumed their supper.

From their conversation, Sirius understood that they were talking about him and a lake. He was fairly certain they were talking about his origins.

He wasn't going to give them any answers. He frowned, what little of his trust in Luna diminished. Why did she want to know about him so much? Why couldn't she just teach him the language and then let him go? She wanted to push — fine. It didn't matter to him. He would retaliate if she tried to delve deeper inside him. His mind was not a place for her. It would never be. And she would never enter it.

For now, he would learn from her and see who and what she is. It might become beneficial for him in the future. What secrets did she hide? If found out, they would help him greatly as a leverage against her if she dared to enter his mind again via her weird magic or any other means.

Speaking about magic, he decided that he would definitely learn to use it. Maybe he would even learn something powerful to defend himself with or attack those who want to hurt him. It was certainly a priority for the former human — discovering how to defend himself in the new world. So far, he was completely powerless and defenseless against unicorns and alicorns.

His dark thoughts accompanied him until he went back to his room after filling his stomach up with every kind of food he could get his muzzle in.

"Sister..." Luna stopped Celestia as they strode down the hall to their personal chambers. "There is something I need to tell you."

"It concerns Sirius, doesn't it?" the solar alicorn asked.

"Indeed." Luna nodded. "You see, I've been trying to find him in the Dreamscape. But... he is simply not there. Whenever I search for him, I can't find him no matter what." she explained. "It greatly worries me... Either he never sleeps, which is impossible, or his mental block is even stronger than I initially thought."

"It seems he suffered even greater than we suspected." Celestia frowned. "Maybe you will be able to find him if I help you with my magic."

"That's what I had in mind, too. Let's go, he should be asleep by now." Luna's horn glowed for a moment. "Yes, he is asleep."

The two sisters hastily made their way to Luna's quarters. They entered the bedchambers and the alicorn of the night lied down on her bed and closed her eyes.

"I will enter the Dreamscape almost instantly after I cast the spell." Luna explained. "In case you forgot — amplify this spell as I cast it. We've not done it in a while, but it should work."

"Alright, let's do this." Celestia nodded, preparing herself.

***

Luna found herself in the Dreamscape. The colors were much brighter, and the long corridor of doors was more in focus than before.

"Tia did it..." Luna muttered to herself, and then unfolded her wings and took off, looking for a specific door.

Every door looked unique: all of them were colored as their owners. Some doors were plain, some were decorated, some were old, and some were new. Luna could open all of them and look inside. There, she would encounter a pony and their dream. If needed, she would provide necessary help. If not, she would continue her way through the hall of dreams, looking out for ponies who might need her help.

As she neared each door, she could hear muffled sounds of dreams coming through it. Most were quiet, some had moans of pleasure, and a few had nightmares. The latter were especially noticeable to the lunar princess — such a door would be encompassed in purple and green smoke, alerting her about the trouble.

Luna spent a lot of time looking for a door that belonged to Sirius. She found colors that looked the same, though the ponies inside were different as were their dreams.

She couldn't figure out why she couldn't see him. Did he wake up? Her horn glowed again, and a confirmation came — he was still asleep. If so, what was the problem?

Suddenly, Luna felt a shiver running down her spine as she heard distant rustling of metal against metal. She quickened her pace and went to the source of the sound.

She stopped in her tracks as she saw the door. It was tall, much taller than the others. It was made of ebony wood and elaborately decorated with unknown patterns and ornaments. However, it was not the size of the thing that surprised her — it was the chains that locked the door. They were massive, a single link almost half as thick as her leg. Those chains didn't look like they were made in haste — quite the opposite, in fact. They were made with care and made to endure years upon years. To open such a door would require a lot of her strength.

The door was completely, deathly silent. Not like other doors who were quiet. This one had unnatural silence, dead silence. It didn't have any nightmare mist surrounding it either. It was unknown whether nightmares or pleasant dreams waited inside.

Determined to help Sirius, Luna tugged at the chains, testing them. She was being careful, using her magic to feel his state. If anything went wrong, she would stop. At that moment, everything seemed fine.

She tugged again. Nothing happened, the door didn't even bulge.

At her third try, a loud scream appeared! It was inhuman, It was desperate, it was startled, it was agonizing, it was absolutely insane. It was the worst scream Luna has ever heard in her entire life.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Unable to stay near the door any longer, Luna dropped the spell. She found herself screaming as she fell to the floor.

"Sister!" Celestia exclaimed, rushing to Luna. "Luna, are you alright?"

Luna breathed rapidly, her eyes wide with shock and terror. Her ears have already folded, her legs were shaking. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

Nothing in the whole world could prepare her for such a thing. She's been through wars, a famine, reign of Discord, fall of the Crystal Empire. Everything paled in comparison next to what that horrendous scream expressed.

"Lu-lu, please, say something!" Celestia begged, shaking her sister slightly as if afraid she would fall to pieces.

Slowly, Luna raised her head and looked in her sister's eyes. In the teal eyes of the lunar alicorn was fright. Tears started rolling down her face as she gasped. Slowly, she stood up. She shuddered, feeling a phantom wave of cold washing over her.

"Sister?" Celestia asked again, hoping to bring Luna out of trance.

"I've never heard such a scream." the princess of dreams said emotionlessly. "Desperation... anguish, terror, horror, pain... Everything mixed together and hidden under that expressionless mask." she blinked. She inhaled deeply. "I've never seen anyone so dead."

Luna fell to the floor, unconscious.

Author's Notes:

Some might ask me: "Snorting Gentleman, you promised us there would be no special connection between the protagonist and the well-known ponies!"

There isn't. It was pure luck (or poor luck, depending on the point of view) Luna found Sirius. If he didn't eat the plant, he would probably appear in another settlement if he found one. It could've happened, but it went the other way. That's how everything in life goes: unbeknownst to you, there are many choices that lead to different consequences. One such consequence was meeting Luna.

In my personal view, Luna has a motherly affection towards foals, and she feels it's her duty to make them feel safe. Since Sirius was turned into a colt, the lunar princess took a motherly interest in him seeing how troubled he is on the inside. Motherly instinct, nothing more. While Celestia has some of it, I believe Luna has much more because she can understand foals much deeper due to her being able to see their thoughts.

"But you promised not to throw in shock moments!"

And I didn't. It's just a show of how well Sirius protects what's inside him. To unlock the door to his mind, Luna will have to do much more than solve a nightmare or two. It is a new challenge for her that will push her to the limit.

I hope the text above answered the questions you might have had after reading the chapter.