Dreams are strange phenomena that are yet to be explained. No one truly knows why they appear or what they mean, and if they have any meaning at all. Some people can even control their dreams, creating whatever they want from nothing. However, most dreams are uncontrollable and often matter little to the person experiencing them. As such, they're easily forgettable and usually don't stay in mind unless a person makes a conscious effort to put it inside their memory for whatever reason they had at the time.

It is known that dreams enhance and amplify the feelings during it. Euphoria, happiness, pleasure, all of it is multiplied tenfold and brought upon the dreamer. Because of that reason many people prefer dreams to the waking hours. It can be said that sleep is a kind of drug.

There is an interesting and at the same time scary kind of dreams, and that type is something no one wants to experience — nightmares. They evoke strong senses of danger, phobia, amplified feelings of fear, anxiety, and sometimes even cause depression. They are built of negative things which are connected to one's memories and experiences. Traumas, emotions connected to specific events, even various psychological disorders can cause nightmares.

If those causes are left untreated, the nightmares produced by them may come to life.

Sirius was struggling to break free from the forced sleep he was put in. Different images flashed inside his head, blinding and deafening him, making him shed tears of pain and regret as he recalled all his memories at once. He knew everything that he had been and was, everything that had made him whom he became. Many of those things he didn't wish to remember.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." he muttered rapidly, sweat rolling down his forehead as he tried to open his eyes. "Please, forgive me! Forgive me! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! Punish me, beat me, hit me! I deserve it, I'm sorry!" his mumbling turned into shaking, almost incomprehensible cries and babbling. "P-please, forg-give me! I w-will do anything, please! Just let me... I'm a good person! I, I just need to... Please! I can b-be better! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

He continued to cry and shout, his body rocking, swinging on the bloodied chains that held it captured. His limbs flailing helplessly, the iron of the chains biting deeper into his dying body, Sirius cried loudly, hoping someone would come and save him.

Save him from himself.

Iclyn was frantically scanning the surroundings, looking for Stanislav. She could hear his cries for help, and it made her fur stand up as a chill ran down her spine. She needed to find him before anything bad happened to him. And if it had already happened, she could at least try to get him out and comfort him. There was no way she was leaving him alone and unprotected.

Finally, she saw something down below. It was a small one-storeyed house hidden between the trees. She immediately flew to the ransacked and abandoned building, the cries of the boy growing louder as she closed in. Her breath was rapid as she flapped her wings as hard as she could. Soon, she landed at the house's entrance and dashed inside. She had no time to waste.

She stopped as soon as she saw a terrifying creature blocking her path. It was a brown dog with matted fur, its eyes red, the maw opened with at least three rows of shark-like teeth visible in it. The dog growled, and then charged at Iclyn.

The pegasus let out a yelp as she dodged to the side, avoiding the pounce of the dog. Before it could recover, Iclyn bucked it in the head, knocking some teeth out of its maw. It growled loudly, but the pegasus delivered another blow, rendering the creature unconscious or possibly dead. She had no time to think about it or make sure of either option — she had to get to Stanislav first. He depended on her and she wasn't about to let him down.

Iclyn charged into the next room and came upon a small pack of spiders, each one about two thirds of her size. All of them had elongated equine-like heads with sharp and crooked teeth peeking out of the maws. Completely black but glistening eyes covered most of the body of each spider. However, no spider seemed to have noticed the pegasus, moving forward instead.

She gagged at the display of nightmarish creatures, and then looked around carefully but quickly. There was no way she could deal with them all by herself, at least not with just her hooves. She couldn't fly because of the size of the room, and she couldn't use her natural pegasi powers. Thankfully, there was a slightly rusted sword lying near a wall. There was also an L-shaped metallic thing lying nearby but Iclyn decided to stick with what was familiar. She proceeded to grab the sword with her maw, and then fearlessly charged into the spiders. She knew her recklessness could cost her something that couldn't be returned — her own life. However, she couldn't afford to search for another way. Time was running out, and she had to get to Stanislav the quickest way, even if it was the most dangerous one She managed to cut the spiders up before they could react, leaving twitching limbs and oozing body parts lying on the old wooden floor.

Iclyn panted but didn't let go of the sword. She fought back the urge to vomit as she shook her head, clearing it. She knew she had a goal and she intended to complete it. She focused her mind on the task and moved forward.

"Help!" she heard Stanislav crying desperately and fearfully.

Without a doubt or hesitation, Iclyn went further inside the house. In the deepest room, she found the boy curled up in the corner, weeping and sobbing. His clothes were covered in dirt, his hair was a mess, and one of his socks appeared to be missing.

"I'm here, Stas." Iclyn said, walking up to him. He looked at her and his eyes widened. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

Suddenly, everything warped around her, disappearing into nothing. Aside from the boy himself, everything became almost completely black, fading from her vision. It seemed like the darkness would swallow both Iclyn and Stanislav without much effort, but it soon left, and the two appeared back in the boy's room, unharmed.

Iclyn sat down and sighed in relief, her heart still pounding. Stanislav, on the other hand, was staring wide-eyed at the pegasus. He slowly stood up from the bed and walked up to her.

"Iclyn..." he said quietly, rubbing his legs together. "Thank you." he leaned in and hugged her tightly, nuzzling her neck.

Iclyn was surprised but welcomed the feeling. Stanislav was warm and nice to touch, his breath washing over her fur. She hugged him back without hesitation.

She managed to do it. However, did it matter? After all, everything she had been experiencing was just Sirius' memories. But how was she able to interact with them and change them, probably even add to them? It made absolutely no sense. Even if it was just a dream, only Princess Luna could interact with them, or so Iclyn thought.

Finally, she had the time to look around the room. She immediately noticed something very familiar — a L-shaped metallic object that looked exactly like one from Stanislav's nightmare. However, the tip of its longer part was painted orange.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the object.

"What is what?" Stanislav asked, separating from her and looking where she was pointing at. "Ah, this..." he stood up and picked up the object. "That's a pistol." he ejected the magazine, his index finger of the holding hand kept off the trigger. "I want to become a policeman like my dad was! I need a gun to be safe." he quickly disassembled the pistol, and then added: "But I won't use it unless I'm or others are in danger."

"What's a pistol?" Iclyn asked with interest. She already understood that it was a weapon. Judging by its shape and structure, she assumed it was close to a revolver.

"That's, uh..." Stanislav scratched the back of his head. "Like, um... Uh... Do you know what, uh, a cannon is?"

The pegasus nodded.

"Pistol is way smaller and can fire more than once." the boy explained. "I guess it's like a crossbow, too. I think you know what it is, right?"

"That's interesting." Iclyn commented. "And your father was a police... man? Why isn't he one now? Did something happen to him?

"I don't know." Stanislav shrugged. "I mean, my parents escaped from a collapsing country... I don't know much more. I probably should ask." he paused. "I... don't really want to. They get sad whenever I ask anything about it. I still want to become a policeman, though. Police helps people, and I want to be one of them!"

"That's really noble of you." the pegasus said. She frowned as doubts crawled inside her head. Was Stanislav really Sirius? She had a feeling he wouldn't say those words. He was all by himself and cared about just a few people. Besides, his aggression didn't fit well into all of this.

"It's not much, really..." the boy averted his eyes as he trailed off. "So, um... Whom do you want to become?"

"I don't know." Iclyn shrugged. "I can do something... Help people in my own way, I guess. I think I'll do that."

"And what is it?" Stanislav inquired.

"Well, we pegasi control the weather." the pegasus explained. "That way, we help others grow food and do a bunch of other useful stuff."

"Never knew pegasi could do that, huh." the boy scratched the top of his head. "I mean, I believe you totally can do that. And it's really cool to control that rain, clouds, whatever. I would like to have some clouds all the time. But no rain! It gets all messy when rain pours."

For a few moments, Iclyn completely forgot that she was in Sirius' mind. Instead, she found a lively chat with his younger self quite enjoyable and even fun. The boy was willing to share different stories and experiences that he had with his friends and family. However, he didn't go into much detail about the school aside from saying that his studies were alright.

In the end, the conversation was satisfying to both of them. It was time for the pegasus to live and search for the real Sirius. She politely said her goodbyes to the boy and his family, and then left the house after getting some information.

She had to go back to the forest.

Anastasia was in the hospital room where Sirius and Iclyn were. Both of them were connected to life support, and everything was being observed by none other than Princess Luna herself.

"When will they wake up?" the girl asked with worry.

"It's unknown." Luna replied. "But I assure you that they will wake up as soon as everything is resolved."

"Can I help?" Anastasia offered.

"...I'm afraid not at the moment." the alicorn shook her head after a few moments of thinking. "After Iclyn entered Sirius' mind, the door to him was reinforced. I don't want to risk him going insane, and so I won't try to open it again. I'm sorry, but that's how it is."

"I understand." the girl nodded, the frown on her face deepening. "I just... I think I'm part of the reason he's like this. I just want to help him."

"Don't blame yourself. I'm sure Sirius doesn't blame you either." Luna replied. "I believe he's been suffering from a mental condition for many years. It could've warped his perception of reality and how different things work. It can be fixed but it will take time."

"I... guess." Anastasia replied. "I just... feel useless."

"There are many things we can't influence or change." the princess sighed. "I'm afraid that's just how life works, and even beings like myself or my sister can never change it."

Author's Notes:

I want to know the full portrait of Sirius, how you imagine him to be. What do you think he suffered from to became what he is now? What mental issues does he have? I'd love to hear all about it, and especially theories and guesses.