Madness is a state of mind when a person can no longer think clearly or reasonably. Their logic is twisted, their reasons found within their own depths of mind. They think they're right, they believe they're right, and they know they're right. They lose touch with reality and yet they think all is real around them. They see things no one else sees, they hear what isn't there, and they feel something they can't.

Sometimes, they unknowingly create their own realities. Their own thoughts are combined, twisted, pressed, mashed together to create something that can't be logically explained.

The common portray of people with psychological issues is this — a person in a straightjacket locked inside a soft-walled room, bubbling nonsense to themselves as saliva uncontrollably streams from their mouth. They can also be portrayed as murderous psychopaths without sympathy or any human feelings.

Neither is almost ever the case. You can have a friend and not even suspect them of being insane. That one person you see everyday? He could be insane, lost in his own reality. How can it be so?

Only just a few people are too insane to be in public. Others hide their issues very well since logic and reason still remains, albeit it can be limited or almost paranoidal. They know that if they let others know of their insanity, they will be locked up in a mental hospital and probably never leave it in their lifetime. Years upon years spent in a prison-like facility would only deepen their issues as a lot of them can't be cured with simple medicine. While it is true that mental issues can be genetic or start from birth, they can also appear in a person who experienced things his mind couldn't handle well enough.

Once their last link to the real world is gone, they fall into the depths of their own minds, and getting out of there can be difficult. They are locked up in their fears, anxieties, wishes and desires, all of them put into a single pile of thoughts and mixed together.

How one can get out of such a situation?

The answer is — one can't. They would be too deep to pull themselves up. They are deluded and made themselves believe they don't need to be rescued from themselves.

That is why they need outside help. Without it, they're as good as dead.

Or maybe even worse.

Iclyn found herself in a plain gray corridor. She cautiously looked around but saw nothing but stone. The door was closed behind her and became almost invisible as it was as gray as the walls, ceiling, and floor. Ahead darkness lay, veiling the rest of the corridor in it. It was like a curtain, flowing in the wind but without it. Something Iclyn wanted to know was behind it, something pulled her to it. And at the same time, she feared.

The pegasus breathed in deeply, her legs shaking slightly. It was it, she was inside Sirius' mind. There was no going back. And even if there was, she wouldn't retreat. She chose it and she had to go through all of it. She must do it for the one she loved. She inhaled, waited a few moments, and exhaled, calming herself down. She must focus.

Iclyn knew that Sirius needed her help. No one else would be able to do it but her, and she wasn't about to leave even if it was easier to do so than stay and travel the difficult way.

Two eyes were glaring at her from the darkness but she hadn't noticed them yet. After a few seconds, the eyes disappeared, muffled footsteps suddenly soundings but growing quieter as seconds passed until they disappeared completely.

"Sirius?" Iclyn called warily, squinting her eyes, trying to look into the darkness. She raised her hoof, tilting her body forward. However, she didn't make a single step. "Can you hear me?"

Nothing answered her. Deathly silence continued to reign, the grayness lying undisturbed. With a great sigh, the pegasus went forward. No matter how much she feared, no matter how much anxiety she had, she knew she had to go forward. She subdued her shaking body and aimed her eyes forward, a frown of determination appearing on her face. With her steps strong, she went.

Iclyn noticed that no sounds were produced by her hooves as she walked. She could feel the stone underneath her, she could see it, but everything was silent. She wasn't even sure if she could hear her own heartbeat or breath.

She didn't know why it was happening but she had to move forward. There was no going back. She forced her mind to think about that, and so she went.

Sirius was in the same position as before — suspended by the chains in the middle of nothing. He felt a tingle of something he could almost recognize, a fleeting thing he couldn't understand. It was like a spark of light in the corner of his vision. A whisper in the back of his head. A soft touch of something small against his skin. A scent he couldn't catch even with the deepest breath.

He lifted his head up slightly and opened his eyes. He couldn't open them all the way, barely managing to bring the eyelids half up.

He knew he felt something. What was it? What could it be?

"Luna is trying to enter your mind." a gravely voice came from the darkness.

Sirius couldn't believe his ears at first but realized it was what Luna was trying to do from the beginning. So, it was true? Was she trying to bring him under control? His eyes darted around, his breath shaky and his heart beating rapidly, sending jolts of pain through his whole body.

He mustn't trust the Figure, however. How could he know it spoke truth? It wanted him dead, after all. It wanted him to suffer. Also, what he felt wasn't painful. It was something that... brought hope. It couldn't be Luna, he concluded. However, he wasn't completely sure.

"You wish for death." the Figure spoke softly, the condescending glare in its eyes suppressed for a moment. "You want your life to end, do you not? After so many things that had happened to you, death will be your only salvation."

Sirius was silent. He knew the Figure was right. Nothing remained, nothing to cling to, nothing to hold on to. Why live if there was no reason to? There was no goal, no destination, nothing to at least keep him busy. There was nothing for him.

He was present. He existed. He was there.

And yet, he didn't live.

"I can deal with Luna for you." the Figure suggested, a smirk appearing on its face, but soon was replaced by a frown. "Otherwise... She will prod your defenses, test out the weaknesses, and then rape you into submission. You will become her toy, her plaything. Once she gets you, you will be castrated and mutilated in both mind and body. We both know it will be beyond excruciating.

"Do you know your biggest fault?" the Figure paused for a moment. "You didn't bring the revolver." the silvery gun appeared in its left hand. The Figure flicked it open and looked at the cylinder full of cartridges. The creature gently stroked the revolver as it continued to speak: "Powerful, sudden, mysterious, precise... Winning cards were in your hands all along." it closed the revolver, a satisfying click sounding. "You wanted the fight to be close and personal, you say? Well, you failed so miserably!" it aimed the revolver and took a shot at Sirius. The bullet went into his side, breaking his ribs and getting stuck in them.

The former human gasped in surprise, and then the acute pain rushed in, making him scream as pieces of bone tore his flesh. Sirius shouted, convulsing, spasming as the pain pulsed. After he ran out of breath, he whimpered, more of his blood oozing from his wounds and rolling down the chains.

"You're the eighth wonder of the Earth — how did you not kill yourself with a simple kitchen knife even before such an idea crossed your mind?" the Figure taunted. "Knowing your costly stupidity, you would open up your veins instead of a can you were supposed to!"

It glared at Sirius, but soon turned away. Without any other word, it returned into the surrounding darkness, leaving the former human alone. Dark thoughts wrapped him completely as tears rolled down his cheeks, his mouth opening and closing as he rapidly and shakily inhaled and exhaled, his whole body trembling like a leaf on a wind.

"You will not die." the voice of the Figure sounded. "A forced existence is your future. That is the price for failing to do what was needed to be done. You will have to bear it for the rest of your pitiful existence."

Sirius could do nothing but wait for Luna to catch him and twist everything that he was and turn him into a lifeless, hollow, obedient husk.

A pitiful existence indeed.

At the end of the corridor, a table stood. Iclyn inspected it but found nothing else but a chair. It was lying on its side on the floor, its seat cracked slightly. A few dried up drops of red color were present on the table, as well as a few brass cylinders the filly didn't know anything about.

Right behind the table, a door was placed. It was a simple door made of dark wood. No locks, no handle, no decorations. Iclyn walked up to it and inspected it. Seeing no other way, she pushed the door.

She blinked and appeared in the middle of a forest. The door was nowhere to be seen when she turned around.

It was early autumn. Just a few leaves had turned into their autumn colors, the weather was comfortably warm as if a light blanket was put over one's body. The sun was shining through the foliage, its rays casting soft shadows on the grassy ground. The shadows hid the forest in a pleasant shade, one that dimmed the light but didn't cancel it out completely.

Iclyn couldn't understand it. Why was she in a forest? She was in Sirius' mind, and seeing it being that calm was unusual, to say the least.

Maybe he was resting in peace? Maybe his attempted suicide let him finally be free and enjoy it?

The pegasus couldn't really believe it. It looked right but something was way off. But what?

Iclyn looked down and inspected the ground. It looked normal albeit slightly blurry. The finest details couldn't be seen and everything seemed misplaced in a way that the pegasus couldn't explain. Maybe the plants were different, maybe some even smaller details didn't make sense. Subconsciously, she new something was wrong.

Nevertheless, she must find Sirius. It was his mind, he must be somewhere around. Maybe he was waiting for her to come to him and tell him something that would make him return and solve the problems.

At least Iclyn could hope there was something for him to consider.

Luna was observing Iclyn and Sirius. Both of them were in hospital beds, both supported by magic. The filly was in an artificial coma, her breath was deep and calm. Sirius on the other hand was sweating, his heartbeat increased, and his breath was trembling. His eyes were turning under the lids, his nostrils flaring.

The princess sighed deeply, feeling the tiredness. She was still healing after the duel. It left her damaged not only in body but in mind, too. She had witnessed brutal rage unleashed on her, pure hatred and no restraint. Sirius was ready to kill her and he almost did. Even if there were no amulet, he would still hurt her. Maybe not as severely but he would, his desire to hurt was amplified by the amulet. It couldn't create what wasn't there before, and it made Luna feel anxious about her next talk with him. He might not even want to see her anymore.

She stood and then turned to leave. She couldn't see inside Sirius' mind even through Iclyn. There was nothing else she could do to help.

However, she had to speak to Iclyn's parents about everything. She sighed again, this time wearily. Explaining everything to them might take a lot of her time.

It was going to be a long day for the princess of the night.