People deal with problems in many different ways. Problems appear almost everyday: some are short-term, others last for a while. A variety of methods can be used to solve them. The right one would be approaching a problem, figuring out what it truly is, and then one must find out what caused it. When the understanding comes, so does the way to solve it. Any problem can be solved that way, but it can be either easy or hard, depending on the scale and importance of said problem.

The easier way of solving problems isn't actually solving them. It's ignoring them, running away from them, hiding from them. Many people do it in hope that problems will vanish by themselves and never return. These people have a child's mentality — if I can't see them, they don't exist. However, it is almost never the case. In fact, it's completely false most of the times.

Problems stay. If the first one isn't solved, the second one gets stacked on top of it, amplifying both. Then the pile of troubles grows and grows until it collapses under its own weight, often crushing a person holding it. No one can ignore problems for long, especially if they are significant or personal. Hiding from them never solves problems.

However, people often ignore it and hope. Hope isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if it's a blind hope, then it will only get worse and worse until either the person realizes their fault or until they are broken by the weight they couldn't possibly carry.

Searching for solutions that help understand and realize the problem is the right way to deal with what life throws at you constantly. Life is always a series of problems in need of solutions, and ignoring life is simply impossible.

Problems must be solved. Sometimes, it can't be done alone.

Sirius opened his eyes. He was standing in the middle of an immense field. It was dry, deep cracks running along its brown surface. The skies were a dull gray color with a tint of red, and nothing could be seen beyond the ground or the sky. Only tall, dark columns were standing in line by pairs, their tops disappearing into the clouds above. Everything was silent, not even the wind was blowing.

The former human could hear his own heart beating and air coming in and out of his nose. He carefully took a step forward, dry dirt and sand crunching under his hooves. He stopped and looked around once more. Nothing changed, and he was still alone in the strange land.

His weak form shuddered as a horrible chill ran down his spine. He felt as if something very important disappeared, leaving him completely vulnerable, open to attacks. He frantically looked around but saw no danger.

He inhaled sharply only to regret it immediately as a coughing fit hit him, making his eyes water as he got out the dry air out of his body. The fit lasted for about a minute until everything subsided and Sirius was able to think and see clearly.

Ashes were falling from the sky, coating the ground in gray. Something very bad happened, Sirius could feel it. But what? He had a faint understanding but it was evading him, slipping out of his grip, mocking him for his disability to comprehend the situation.

Suddenly, chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around Sirius, going through his body, making him scream in pain beyond agonizing. He was pulled down, and no matter how much he struggled he couldn't do anything against the chains as they bit into his skin, drawing blood.

He let out a pained scream, and he screamed until he was forcibly pulled down into the dry ground, which closed above him.

And the silence reigned again.

Iclyn looked around. She swore she had heard something coming from somewhere. She couldn't understand what it was but it made her shudder and sweat extensively, her heartbeat increasing. Something happened but the pegasus had no idea what it was. Maybe another monster?

She calmed down in about a minute, bringing her body back under control. No one was attacking her, silence replaced all sounds again, leaving Iclyn's ears ringing as the swiveled around. She looked back at the bridge and saw that it disappeared behind the mist completely.

The car blinked its lights, beckoning the pegasus once more. Sounds came into focus, her ears turning to the vehicle. The engine was humming slightly, accompanied by the sound of rustling leaves that were blowed along the asphalt road by a chilly wind.

Iclyn shivered before going to the car. She cautiously looked inside it and found it devoid of any passengers or even a driver. There was something lying on the back seat, however. It was a single chocolate bar in its original wrapping, still unopened.

Hesitating slightly, Iclyn got inside the car and closed the door. She settled comfortably on the rather large back seat, and inspected the chocolate bar. Its wrapping was dull and had no writing but a simple 'Chocolate Bar'.

Iclyn curiously unwrapped the bar. The chocolate was of usual brown, nothing special or noticeable about it.

Something made the pegasus take a bite of it, and suddenly the piece of chocolate in her maw exploded in taste, making her moan lowly as it melted on her tongue. She immediately took a large chunk out of the bar and felt her energy being replenished.

Just a few moments later, she was swallowing the rest of the chocolate bar, throwing its wrapping under the seat. She sighed in satisfaction, her fatigue and overall tiredness gone. Her wings fluttered slightly, her muscles flexing, making heady to take off and fly.

The car's engine became louder and the vehicle began to move. Without a driver, without anyone but Iclyn inside. The steering wheel turned, making the car ride onto the road and into the unknown.

The pegasus looked out of the window: the trees were passing by, but nothing else was happening. A milky substance seemed to envelop everything around her in a certain radius, making it impossible to see beyond it.

Thoughts creeped inside Iclyn's mind as the car softly went. She found out that Sirius committed murder at the age of twelve. His past self hadn't told her the age but she somehow knew it. It was the same age as Iclyn's. It made her shudder, a chill running through her — she wouldn't be able to kill like that in his place.

She wasn't him. He had been having problems since his early childhood, and Iclyn was just a normal pegasus like many others around her. Sirius had gone through the pain of losing his father in a gruesome accident while Iclyn had a happy and whole family. She understood that her life couldn't possibly make her into someone like Sirius.

From what little she had seen, she assumed that he used to have a loving family. Losing a half of it would be enough to make anyone stumble. Having psychological issues since birth, Sirius fell very easily.

Suddenly, Iclyn heard a click. She looked at the dashboard of the car and saw that a new light was glowing. A soft, ethereal song started to play. Gentle, comforting, a song that puts babies to sleep. No words, no instruments, just calm that couldn't be explained in words. Like a music from entirely different world, a whole new universe, incomprehensible and yet speaking so much.

Iclyn yawned, her eyelids growing heavy. She didn't know if she wanted to fall asleep or not but the desire to rest grew, quickly overpowering her. To the soft hum of the engine and music playing from the speakers, the pegasus finally closed her eyes, her form relaxing completely as she went to the land of her own dreams.

Flying through her own mind, she rested. Warmth and comfort encompassed her in an embrace unlike any other.

She heard her name being called. She opened her eyes slightly and saw Sirius. He was standing in front of her, looking at her with a sad smile. However, something seemed off. His eyes were glowing in a way that Iclyn couldn't find friendly or welcoming.

"Iclyn, please, leave me be." Sirius said gently. "With all the kindness you have, all the compassion you possess, you need someone better than me. Someone not so broken as me. You can't fix me, Iclyn." he spoke softly. "I have been through many things, one of which you already know. There is no going back, and it would be best for both of us to separate. I love you but I understand we can't be together." he sighed. "We're incompatible."

Iclyn looked at him wide-eyed. Were his words true, should she leave him for someone better? She knew that murder was always something not many people had in their head to do. Sirius had suffered a lot, and maybe it would indeed be better to let him die, let him be released from his pain.

Something was wrong. The pegasus couldn't say what it was but she was sure something wasn't right. Sirius wanted to be helped, why would he change his mind? It didn't seem logical at all.

Maybe it was just an illusion. A defense mechanism of his mind to prevent others from entering. But what if his words were indeed true? It could be either way, after all.

Iclyn fidgeted in place, trying to come up with an answer. Sirius' eyes were piercing her, and even a warm smile on his face didn't help her feel more relaxed. His posture seemed relaxed but at the same time predatory. It wasn't unlike Sirius but Iclyn remembered he was always more relaxed around her. It didn't look that way at the moment, however.

"You don't have to die, Sirius." she said reluctantly but her voice was growing with confidence as she figured out what she needed to say. "Maybe you think you do, but it's not true at all. Think about all the ponies you've helped. You're a hero. You're welcome among us. What is inside here, that's the problem." she tapped her head. "You've done much good. Even if you did bad things in your past, you have already redeemed yourself by saving the entire country. Please, come back to us."

Sirius' face twitched, almost forming into a frown. Iclyn immediately noticed it and realized she couldn't stop. She knew that look. While it was his own, it only represented a part of him, a part that wished nothing but to die and bring down others with it.

"I won't go anywhere without you." she stated firmly, watching as the smile he bore began to falter.

"Your... choice." he managed to reply, his tone gaining a malicious note as his ear twitched slightly. "Don't regret it later."

Iclyn's vision blurred, shapes becoming blobs, and only two purple dots continued to glow, creeping into her very soul. She felt as if she was underwater, the sounds around her becoming muffled.

The pegasus blinked, and immediately found herself back inside the car. The engine was running, Nadezhda was at the steering wheel. Her son Stanislav was in the back with Iclyn, sleeping calmly.

She could see that his mother became completely gray in her hair, and a barely noticeable streak of the same color could be seen in Stanislav's. A pink scar stretched from the bridge of his nose to the left eye, his first scar. His hair was pretty long at that point, almost reaching to his shoulders. He wore black clothes as usual, an unzipped dark-blue jacket on top of them. There was a medium-sized backpack on his lap, packed full of different things.

Iclyn sighed softly, looking at the poor boy. He had already endured a lot at such a young age, but she was sure more was to come. After all, one bad day isn't always enough to break a person, and Stanislav was a proof to that. He wasn't twelve, fourteen, or even sixteen when he died. He couldn't have kept himself alive for six years until becoming eighteen if his father's tragic death was the only thing pushing him to the edge.

He still had his mother and most of himself. Already cracked, he was one step closer to his first suicide. Fatherless at a young age, murdering a man, all of it couldn't be just shrugged off by anyone unless they were a psychopath, who by definition don't have regrets or concerns about people surrounding them.

Iclyn knew Sirius wasn't one, and so he could still be helped. However, she must find the source of his problems first. See them, understand them, and figure out how to help him solve them and move on.

She knew she might not succeed, but hope drove her forward. The one she loved was in need of help, and she wouldn't abandon him, she wouldn't leave him alone.

He was alone for far too long.

Author's Notes:

Any theories or predictions, ladies and gentlemen?