Sky opens his electric –navy eyes to Celestia's harsh morning sun hovering on the eastern horizon, casting the clouds and landscape in a haunting sepia tone so strangely beautiful that animals stopped and looked at the scene. Sky looked at the clouds and longed to be out there among the morning lights, staring at the sunrise and maybe, just maybe be sitting on that cloud with the pony next to him. Just as soon as it started though, a grey cloud covered the sun and the landscape was once again shrouded in darkness, the animals took cover and the storm began to set upon the palace.

Sky let out a sigh and reached over to pull a pillow over his head and go back to sleep, he was having the most amazing dream about Seamus and him in the rain, a rainbow in the sky and the smell of cinnamon and roses filling the evening air. Why couldn't that be real? Why was he having such a dream about the alicorn in the first place? He reached over and nearly pulled out a clump of the other colt's mane. He stiffened and let his hoof fall, accidentally hitting his horn and brushing his ear. He felt the alicorn's wing over his side, the feathers brushing his stomach.

The pegasaus felt a burn in his cheeks at how close the colt was, his leg was against the small of his back and his hoof was hard against his tail. He couldn't imagine how this had happened, but he was literally and inch away from him. Sky felt warm all over, the feeling in his hooves was fading and the heat in his cheeks was intensifying, the scarlet blush burning through his pale blue coat. This was one of his dreams come true.

Then, a drop of rain hit the balcony and he heard the slam of a door in the distance. It seemed distant, but he then heard the dull clops of hoofsteps coming toward them. The steps grew closer until Melody came into view, her white mane and white coat blending into the clouds behind her. She had black eye shadow on that made her eyes seem as black pits, hollow and devoid of all sympathy or care. She turned her head to the side and smiled, the black makeup on her lips making her seem even more unnaturally… dead. Her eyes held no warmth or sparkle, they were opaque, lusterless.

"Aww… isn't that just… adorable. I must say, your face is the most vivid shade of red. Getting a little… excited, are we? I would think you would know better."

Sky was getting redder and redder as she spoke, he could feel her eyes tracing over him and Seamus together and the gears turning in her head, she had a plan to torture him.

"Okay, let me get this straight. You like him, though he is totally oblivious to this?" She asked rhetorically. "That is most unfortunate. I would go so far as to say tragic."

Sky's blush was fading and he was getting more nervous by the second. He knew that she was planning something and it wasn't going to be at all pleasant for him. The look on her face said it all, she was thinking of how to get him in serious trouble.

"You do know it's against the law for two colts to be close in such a manner?" She sneered. "Oh, wait, he probably has no idea you're a queer, does he?"

Sky snarled at her; she backed away two paces and looked back at him in disgust. "I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve? I must have for you to take such offense. Allow me to test this… WENCH!" She screamed so loudly it echoed. "Get up!"

Seamus blinked once, twice and then three times. He looked at the position he was in behind Sky and looked at Melody. He felt the warmth of Sky's back and side on his wing and began to flush himself, but he couldn't show that emotion in front of her. He took one more look at her and pushed Sky out onto the hard stone floor with a dull thud. The wind rushed out of the small pegasi and he coughed as his side impacted the ground at Melody's hooves. She sneered down at him in corrupt enjoyment. He recovered and glared at her from his new place on the cold floor.

Seamus looked down at him in guilt, but still held onto his mask of mock anger. He had to hide the emotion somehow, if Melody figured out what he had almost done he could be branded, or hung, or even fed to Jakben. He tried to think of a way to tell the other colt he was sorry, but right now that was impossible. He leapt down and gingerly stepped over Sky, who was still trying to recover his breathe. Melody looked into his eyes one moment longer and then barked.

"Both of you reek, go bathe!" She ordered.

The two colts looked at each other, one on the floor and one standing up. The exchange was awkward, with traces of confusion and dread.

"Well? GO! Or do I have to watch the two of you?"

Seamus looked at her and the once more at Sky and asked. "You mean both of us… together?"

"What do you think? Of course that's what I mean! Both of you pathetic, short pieces of dung could equal one real colt, so I may as well preserve water."

The two looked at each other one more time and then Seamus marched off to the washroom. Sky followed and Seamus waited for him by the door. The two colts began to march down the stairs until they heard the door slam behind them.

Seamus looked at Sky and apologized. "I'm sorry, it was a reflex and if she saw us like that together there might be a bit of a misunderstanding."

"What do you mean a 'misunderstanding'?" Sky asked.

"Y'know, she might think we're together."

"What would be the problem there?" Sky pressed.

This struck Seamus silent for a moment, then he said. "Well… It's illegal… and it's wrong I guess…" He fumbled to find an argument, some form of rebuttal.

"So you think it's wrong just because it's illegal?" Sky asked, trying to lead Seamus to the right answer.

"Well… no… I mean… err… there has to be a good reason if it's a law, right?"

Sky shook his head. "Sea, just because it's a law doesn't mean its right. I mean really, if two ponies are truly in love with each other, who is anypony to get in their way and say that they're wrong in that?"

Seamus looked at the tile floor. "I guess I never really thought about it like that…"

Sky was trying not to force this onto him, but he was going to have to. "Sea, I hope you know that anypony can be together, even if it's 'wrong' by the world's standards."

Seamus could think of no other argument, so said. "But it's a law! Don't you understand that?"

Sky narrowed his eyes in fury. "For a pretty smart colt, you can be pretty thick, you know that?" He held up his left hoof and ripped off the kerchief, revealing the brand. "Not a day goes by that I don't understand it's against the law! This is what they accused me of and now every day I live with this mark that was put on me by my stupid, pig-headed, narrow-minded parents and their idiotic, homophobic law!"

Seamus stepped away from Sky and averted his face in guilt. "I'm sorry… I didn't know…"

Sky sighed and set the kerchief on the counter by the sink. "No, I'm sorry. I should've known that you would side with what you were born into. Just… don't talk to me about it of you don't agree with me, okay?"

Seamus didn't have anything else to say, so he walked over and turned on the faucet to the huge tub. Imagine a small public swimming pool, but the bottom was polished marble and it had a huge tap at one end that could put out water as fast as a hydrant. Seamus turned the knob to the stopper and stepped out of tub to let it fill.

"So… we still have to wash in front of each other, huh?" The alicorn asked, not looking at Sky.

"I guess so." Sky answered.

Even though neither of them wore clothes, there was something about bathing in front of another pony that didn't seem right to them. Sky looked over at Seamus, his long black mane concealing his face. He tried not to think of being in the water with him, his long mane wetted down and out of his face, his wings sodden and his silky coat… the pegasaus stopped the train of thought before he could do anything that might make things awkward. Steam began to fill the room and it was all he could do not to remember his dream.

After a long while, Seamus stepped into the water and turned off the tap. Sky jumped in and immediately began to reach for the shampoo, trying to bathe and get the whole ordeal over with as soon as possible. The two's hooves touched as they both reached for the bottle at the same time. Sky looked away and withdrew, looking at the wall to hide his intense blush. The heat of the water and the thoughts of the alicorn were overwhelming to him, the steam clouding the air around his and his wings trailing out behind him. He washed and Sky did his best to avoid all visual contact, he looked at the ceiling and walls, trying desperately not to look at the other colt. Seamus did the same, but soon he looked at the bottle in confusion. There was next to no shampoo left, but he could have sworn that was a new bottle.

He looked at the opposite end of the pool, where the bar of regular soap lay. Sky picked it up and looked at it for a moment, then he heard Seamus ask.

"Could you pass the soap?' He said quickly, as if he could barely speak at all.

Sky went to hand it over, but the bar slipped from his hooves and flew high into the air. Both of them lunged to catch it at the same time. Their heads smacked into each other and they both began to stumble around the tub, knocked senseless by the impact. The bar of soap landed in the water directly in front of Sky and he slipped forward into Seamus, knocking them both into the hot water.

It took a moment for the two to come to their senses, but when they did they were both a hairsbreadth from each other, their long silky manes flowing into the rapidly cooling water. The smell of warm cinnamon and fresh roses filled the air as Sky blushed a deep shade of scarlet. This was exactly like his dream. The two colts lay there in the bathwater for another moment, then Sky began to notice Seamus blushing deeply too. He smiled warmly at him and he returned the sensual gesture. The alicorn was nervous, but not so nervous that he would back away from the other colt. Sky leaned forward, closing the distance between them. He felt himself getting excited, but held himself far back in case Seamus decided to back out of the escalating situation.

The alicorn held back another moment longer, then pressed his forehead to the pegasaus and closed his eyes.

"I don't know, Sky. What if somepony figures this out? You'd be tortured and I'd get branded."

Sky paused and grated his teeth. "Nopony has to know. I swear I won't tell."

"But Melody's onto you and you know it." He said, opening his amethyst eyes to look deep into his partner's electric-navy irises. "If she figures us out it would be… awful. The last pony I was interested in she… killed right in front of me…"

Sky leaned away from Seamus and ignored the smooth, wet feeling in between his legs as he slid away from the other colt. "I'm sorry… I didn't know."

Seamus got to his hooves and picked up the bar of soap, careful to keep his grip this time.

"We can still be friends though, right?" Sky asked. "After all, maybe one day we'll be free and maybe… y'know… to celebrate we could…" He hinted.

Seamus smiled. "Maybe one day. I'm glad you opened my eyes to this. In hindsight I kind of feel like an ass for telling you off."

"You were a little inconsiderate, but it's okay. I forgive you. After all, I guess we can all learn form each other. Love and tolerate, right?"

He nodded and the two finished their bath., eventually they went back out into the room, where Melody waited. She eyed them, looking for signs of a recent affair, maybe a jostled mane or a limp, but she saw nothing, much to her irritation. They heard a door slam as Amethyst walked into the turret suite. The mare looked form her parent to the still damp colts and narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Mother, what are you doing to these fine young colts?" The royal's daughter snapped. "I never told you that you could came in here, either. It's their room."

"First of all it's my castle, second, these mangy vermin were cuddling each other when I came in. So, I told them to go bathe, as they both reeked of death. That is when you walked in, spouting nonsense about these foals owning anything, especially a suite in my castle."

"Mother, leave. I need to talk to these two in private."

The ruler looked annoyed, but cantered out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Amethyst eyes them and sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Hold up your left hoof, Sky." She ordered; he did so proudly. "Well… that's fine. Sea, do you know what that means?" the alicorn nodded. "Are you okay with it?" He nodded again. "One last question… would you be able to wear the same brand?"

This gave Seamus pause, was that all it took to convince him of something? One quick bath and he was now changed? He'd always liked mares and he still did… but this was different. This was between him and another colt that he shared so many qualities with it almost scared him. They both understood each other and they had that click, like a piece of a watch that lets it run smoothly. The one gear that finished a continuum.

"I'll let you think about that, okay." She finished and left the two alone.

Seamus and Sky lay in bed later that night, Luna's moon shining through the canopy bed's lilac curtains, bathing the two in a light purple tone.. They were on separate sides of the gigantic bed again. Despite this, they both looked at each other right in the eyes, longing to be closer.

"Sky… do you think that… maybe I could… move over to your side?" Seamus asked.

The colt nodded and moved to the center and meet the other. The smaller pegasaus wrapped his hooves around the alicorn's shoulders and buried his face in his partner's soft neck, inhaling the scent of warm cinnamon and fresh roses, gratefully nuzzling him.

"Sky? Can I ask you something?" Seamus asked; Sky nodded. "Should we maybe… limit ourselves? So we don't lose control too soon?"

"What do you mean, Sea?" Sky asked.

"Like.. Let's not bathe together anymore, I came really close to kissing you and after that we both know we wouldn't stop. And let's not think about each other in that way yet… I think that if we do that it'll be a lot easier, y'know?"

"We have to do some things together." Sky replied.

Seamus smiled, wrapped his hooves around the pegasi's and nuzzled him in return. He smelled of fresh pine and tea leaves, the smell of the Great Northern woods filled his senses. He looked at the softly glimmering stars for another moment and then let his held breathe out, trying to think of a more quintessential, perfect moment.

"We sleep together, that should count, right?" He said.

Sky leaned back and put his forehead onto the alicorn's , their noses touched and he had a sad smile on his mare-ish face. "I guess so. Can you make me a promise?" Seamus nodded. "If we ever get free of here, we'll give it a shot. And if you ever get free, you have to help me and if that happens in reverse, I will too."

The alicorn saw the bottomless lakes of sympathy and love that were Sky's eyes and nodded, unable and unwilling to say no. That was the one time that Sky had been able to look at him like that, and so Seamus would remember it for as long as he lived.

Fluttershy woke up on her couch. Seamus looked at her curiously, but with small hints of nervousness and regret in his eyes. She took a moment to collect herself, then took a deep breathe and asked.

"So that was the pony from your memory?" She asked.

He nodded and stared at her pleadingly. "Please don't tell anypony I'm a colt coddler! We only slept in the same bed for one night, then she separated us and we hardly ever saw each other except on Sundays and Saturdays when we didn't have to work! And we really did love each other, I can show you the countless time we worked together in the gardens or when we would just relax in my suite and read books and laugh when I told a joke or he would berate me about philosophy or social issues that we would argue about. Sometimes we'd plan a way to escape, but things just never… things just never took off, I guess. Then came the night to leave and I… he asked me to help him escape and I said yes… then he asked me… in case he never made it out… you know what I mean. I told him no… but he got so angry and eventually we started to scream at each other… I've never fought with him like that before… ever… I told him that I never really loved him and that I never really cared. I told him I'd lied and that he never meant anything to me."

Seamus' eyes watered and he buried his face in a pillow. " I want to take it all back. He looked at me after I said it and ran away firm me crying. I wanted to run after him, but I was so mad I just left… I want to shoot myself for it… we lived as promised friends for three years under Melody's iron hoof. I don't even think he would ever trust me again…"

Fluttershy looked at him and tried to think of anything to say that would make him feel better. She couldn't think of anything, nothing would come up in her mind. After all that and to say something so awful… he did look genuinely sorry… but still. She sighed and finally said to him.

"You need to help him escape, it's the only way to let him know you still care." She said gently.

He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "How? He's a thousand miles away and she won't accept any trade unless she gets me back."

She was yet again at a loss of what to say.

The night dragged on and Seamus fell asleep. Fluttershy went upstairs and crawled into bed, unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched. Soon the feeling lapsed for one that she liked a lot more, the image of Seamus and Sky on the floor of the washroom, their lips a hairsbreadth apart and their sheaths almost touching. She was so turned on by that thought it scared her, but it also sent a wild spike of adrenaline through her, exciting her beyond anything she could imagine before. The thought of him, so close to her… she wanted to be right where Sky was, pinning him down and his hot breathe fluttering her mane, his sheathe pressed to her stomach and his eyes… gods, those eyes! She wanted to drown in those eyes as she finished… have him kiss her lips as she moaned and gasped, their fluids leaking out of her and onto the floor…

She tried to sleep, but the unbearably horny, erotic thoughts persisted and soon she couldn't stop herself. She got out of bed and went into her bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Okay, that is all I submitted to Fanfiction.net to the letter, so I will leave it to the reviewer to decide if I should write more.

Let the contraversial hate mail come to me! I hope you comment!

Next Chapter: Removing Curses and Cursing Yourself! Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 21 Minutes