Agony is what many living creatures experience before death. The dying body thrashes around as it is violently brutalized, torn apart, and maimed by a great force. Such agony can only be described as excruciating and death would be a release from pain and suffering rather than something to avoid at all costs.

But how long does an agony last? Usually, it's a few minutes to a few hours, depending on how the being dies. Sometimes, it can last up to a day or two.

That is the physical agony. But what about a mental one? After all, living beings, especially those with a great amount of sentience, have not just a body but a conscience.

Mentally broken again and again, the psyche of a person dies painfully, replaced with insanity and madness, longing for death as extreme amounts of emotional pain course through the mind of an individual, each time increasing the already unbearable suffering more and more until there is nothing but an empty shell of a person, replaced with something that cannot be called one. A mess of negative emotions, a person suffers more and more until eventual death, if such a release is even granted to them. You can't release your mind without releasing your body first, after all.

Princesses Luna and Celestia were alone in a small room next to the secure section of the royal hospital where Sirius and Iclyn were housed. The lunar alicorn still had her chest bandaged, a grimace of pain on her face as pulsating sensation went through her body from her wound. Her features smoothed out soon as she applied a spell on herself. Her sister looked at her with worry but didn't say anything, knowing well that Luna was far stronger than the princess of the day could ever know.

"How are they?" Celestia asked with worry, glancing at the door and then returning her eyes to look at her sister.

"Iclyn will live. She will get a scar but I made sure it won't be noticeable." Luna replied. "The damage to her insides was big but the doctors and I managed to piece everything back together and start the healing process." she sighed tiredly. "As for Sirius... Chrysalis did something horrible to his mind." she paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "She broke his mental block, she made him do what he didn't want, and worst of all - Sirius hurt Iclyn because of her." she looked at the door. In the small window, she could see Iclyn lying on the hospital bed. "He is very emotionally unstable. I'm not sure we can fix him, make him let go of this darkness."

"Is it that bad?" the solar alicorn asked, furrowing her brows.

"Worse than I could ever imagine, sister." Luna let out another sigh. "His world... it made him into this. He would be better off if he were born here." she paused yet again, finding it hard to speak. "At first, I thought it would be hard to fix him. But now I know that it will be nearly impossible."

She stopped and looked at the floor. A single tear rolled down her cheek and fell down on the floor, leaving a small, barely noticeable wet spot on the floor. Without raising her head, she entered the hospital room.

Sirius was all alone in the padded room as he tilted from side to side aimlessly. The walls that were supposed to be white were comprised of many pictures of different sizes, colors, contents. Those pictures were images from his life, they contained his memories, something he held close and never allowed anyone to see, not even those closest to him. After all, why would they wish to know, why would they wish to see what was truly on his inside?

His body was shaking as he cried, he couldn't understand where he was or what was happening to him. His eyes darted from one picture to another, not realizing that they were not there in reality, just the images of his broken mind. They were just small parts of his past, meaning little if looked at separately. However, all of them contained a bigger picture, they made Sirius who he was.

The first picture was of him and his still whole family, camping in the forest. Stanislav was sitting near the fire, smiling slightly as he looked at the dancing, calming flames. He remembered the scent of burning wood, the quiet cracks of fire as it ate through the dry timber. He and his family were happy, he didn't even suspect his life could go in the direction it did.

The next picture was the car crash that changed the former human forever. Bloody remains of his father could be seen, no longer making someone whole, no longer alive. A man was dying in another car, killed by Stanislav's own hands, blood streaming from the wound, tainting the hands of a once innocent boy. The third picture was him meeting Anastasia, a light in his life for a long time until the two eventually separated, leaving Stanislav blaming himself for the utter failure. Everything else was still a blur, something he didn't wish to see again in his entire life... if he had any more time to live.

"You can't enter, you're not in the state!" arguing sounded from behind the door to Sirius' confines. His ears swiveled slightly, his trance-like state slowly fading away. Who was coming for him? Why? Did someone need him? If so, why?

The door burst open and a familiar figure walked in, limping slightly and wheezing quietly. Sirius, still consumed by his memories, didn't even turn to acknowledge the sudden guest.

"Sirius!" the guest exclaimed, rushing to him. Soon, he felt a comfortable warmth around him as someone familiar hugged him. A strand of snow-white hair covered his sight, preventing him from seeing the pictures.

Why?

He didn't move, didn't look. It wasn't real. No one would come for him and he deserved it. But could it be... No, it couldn't be Iclyn. He had hurt her badly, most likely killed. He couldn't stop himself from doing it, torn apart between trying to control himself on the outside and the inside. He had lost the battle with himself, gave in to the pressure, and now all he could do was cry, knowing there was no way to fix what he had done to the one he deeply cared about.

But the warmth didn't fade away. It washed over his whole body, stopping it from shaking, drying his tears as if someone wiped them for him.

"Don't cry, please... Everything will be okay." he heard someone whispering into his ear. "You are safe. You are here."

He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. All he wanted to do was to figure out what was happening but he didn't know how to do it. He did wrong things, why wasn't he hated? Why was someone showing him... acceptance? Support? Care?

Love?

Sirius inhaled sharply, his vision coming into focus. His eyes widened as the reality came to him. He could hear the breath and the beating of the heart someone close to him, he could feel the pulse, he could see the comforting white of the mane, something so familiar, so warm and so comfortable, it was almost unbelievable. He could feel it, see it, touch it, but was it real?

"Sirius, please talk to me..." another whisper made its way into his ear. His frozen state slowly melted as he turned his head to meet the eyes of the very pony he held the dearest in his aching heart.

"Iclyn..." he whispered back, looking deep into her eyes. Where was the anger? The hate? Disappointment? Why was there only... care? Understanding?

"I'm here for you." she replied to him, gently stroking his back with her wing, her hoof on his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

"Iclyn..." Sirius whispered again, disbelief in his voice. He reached out a hoof and touched her cheek. It was warm, it shifted under his hoof as Iclyn smiled at him. "You... are..."

"I am here, Sirius." Iclyn helped him stand up. "Let's go."

He noticed her chest was bandaged and she was still wheezing. His eyes filled with tears as he let out a sob.

"I'm so sorry..." he cried, hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

"It wasn't you." the pegasus assured him, guiding him towards the exit. "I know it wasn't."

As the two exited, the hospital staff was quiet, looking at the two and yet allowing them to pass without a problem. At the end of the hall, Luna was standing, looking at the two ponies in surprise. Sirius noticed her but didn't feel hatred. He didn't feel anger. He felt regret and remorse.

"Princess..." he kneeled, more tears streaming down as he realized what he had done to those that wanted to help him, his purple eyes looking at her with regret. "Please..."

Luna looked into his eyes and saw no evil, no ill intent, just pure... innocence. As if something awoke within him, sprung from his very soul to show itself to the world. She looked at him and saw a young boy. Looking for shelter, afraid of monsters. But the monsters he knew were not under his bed but inside his head, stalking him everywhere he went.

"There is still light in you." Luna said, a smile forming on her face. "Go home. Rest with your loved one."

"I... I..." Sirius stuttered, not believing his ears. "You forgive me?"

"I do." the alicorn nodded. "Iclyn... you are his light. A chariot will be waiting outside for the two of you to take you home."

The pegasus nodded, guiding Sirius to the exit, hugging him close to herself, making sure he felt loved and cared for. He still couldn't believe it, fearing his darkness would appear once again and pull him deeper into misery and suffering. He knew his darkness wasn't gone, it was still inside him, and he hoped Iclyn would find a way to help him.

"T-thank you..." he whispered to Iclyn, who in turn hugged him closer and nuzzled him. "You still... love me?"

"I do." she nodded, the two entering a long hallway.

"Even... even after what you saw?" Sirius asked for confirmation, fearing that it was all untrue, that deep inside, she hated him, feared him, and wanted to have nothing with him anymore.

"You didn't know what to do. You thought it was right. He hurt your family." Iclyn replied. "I love you, nothing will change it."

A small smile made its way onto Sirius' face as he recollected how her and himself made a connection. She did care about him from the beginning, something he questioned ever since they first met. His smile fell as he remembered why Iclyn had to enter his mind in the first place.

"I'm s-sorry for not believing in you..." he said quietly. "I thought... I thought it was all... fake."

"Do you still feel you don't deserve to be loved?" she asked him.

"...I don't know." he replied after a long pause. He sighed deeply and looked ahead. Iclyn, not knowing what else to say, just kept him close as they walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle.

A couple of minutes later, a pair of ponies met them at the entrance to the castle. They rushed to Iclyn and Sirius, smiles on their faces.

"Sirius!" Anastasia hugged her friend tightly. "You're alright..."

"I, um, glad to see you two." Wave Rider added. "Like, not with that bug queen doing stuff... It was harsh, Sirius. I'm glad to see you in one piece. And you, Iclyn..." he looked at his friend. "It's good to see you again!" his eyes shifted to her bandage. "Ow... looks painful."

"It's nothing." Iclyn waved dismissively. "We're all alive, that's what matters. Sirius is back, too." she nuzzled the pony in question. "I also made a decision... I will become a psychiatrist."

"Huh, that seems pretty reasonable." Wave Rider commented. "Don't take me as insensitive, I just... don't really know what to say."

"That's alright." Iclyn assured him, nodding. "Let's all of us get back to the mansion, I think we all need some rest. Especially Sirius."

Sirius was silent during the trip to the mansion, his new home in Equestria. Deep in thought, he watched as buildings passed by as the chariot drove him and others through the bustling streets of Canterlot. Those ponies didn't know his inner struggle, didn't know what Chrysalis did to him. They only knew him through rumors and by the heroic deed he had done for Equestria but mainly for the one he loved.

He didn't know what was waiting for him next. His mind was strangely empty, the usual noise of thoughts gone and replaced with an eerie silence. His memories were still inside him, hurting him, and he was unable to let them go, but his mind was silent. Was it silence before the storm or was it waiting to be filled with something new, something positive? He didn't know.

He looked at Iclyn. She was sitting at his side, pressing her body against his and embracing him with a loving warmth. It felt strange for him. He remembered feeling cold chains of metal grinding against his flesh and bones, eating away at him. But it was all gone, and now he felt empty. He knew the feelings for Iclyn were there, and they indeed were, but he needed to get himself together again.

"Everything will be alright, Sirius." she whispered into his ear. "Trust me."

"I trust you." he replied, nodding. "You see... me. You accept me. I trust you." he nuzzled her, longing for her warmth and comfort.

"I'm glad you are back." Iclyn replied and nuzzled him back. "But we'll need to work on you. No more secrets, alright?"

"No more secrets." he repeated, knowing well that he could tell her of his life. "But... we take it slow."

"Yes, we do." the pegasus placed a kiss on his cheek, making him blush, his soul filling with warmth. "We will go through it together. We will become happy together."

"We will." Sirius replied, returning the kiss, planting it on her forehead.

"I believe in you, Sirius. You can get through it. You don't have to be alone." Iclyn continued encouraging him, feeling her connection with him strengthening. "Would you mind if Luna also helps?"

"I... I wouldn't." he replied after a moment of hesitation. "It was never her fault. It was all me."

"Don't blame yourself for every misfortune." Iclyn said, cupping his cheek with her hoof and looking directly into his eyes. "You are damaged, I saw it from the inside. You can be fixed."

"I hope I can be." Sirius sighed deeply, looking away for a second.

"You can be." the pegasus assured him once again, boosting his confidence and making a smile appear on his face.

There was hope, he felt it. Even if he was broken, he could become whole as long as there was help. A fuzzy, warm feeling appeared inside him, spreading through his body quickly, like fire, making a blush appear on his face. There was still hope for him, even though it would take a long time for him to heal.

But what is a better healer than love?

Author's Notes:

Sirius, with the help of Iclyn, managed to climb out of his grave, at least temporarily. With hope rekindled, he is more than willing to live again. Will Iclyn be able to fix him? What do you think awaits her?