Seamus sat in a room with green walls, a dark cyan carpet and a large desk to his left. To his right was a couch and directly in front of him was a large chair, seated in it was a bright green unicorn with a purple mane. The colt looked at the unicorn, complacent, almost bored. He had a Cutie Mark on his flank, the astrological symbol for Venus, The Goddess of Love. He watched as the unicorn picked up a notebook and scrawled a note, swapping to magic to hold it to the side as he talked to Seamus directly. The colt looked absolutely fine, except he had dark, almost painful looking rings under his eyes and his legs looked as if he hadn't walked anywhere in weeks. He was emaciated and tired, yet his mind was alert and his eyes flickered almost madly between the unicorn and the notes he held.

"So." Began the unicorn. "Seamus, you have been taken to me, the castle therapist, because Celestia and Twilight are concerned with your behavior. Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know. I feel fine."

The doctor scribbled a note, then continued. "You look tired. And it also seems you haven't been outside for some time. Why is that?"

Seamus shrugged. "I don't like to go outside. Only on cloudy days."

"Why?"

"I don't like the color blue. It hurts my head and makes my temples hurt."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

The doctor scribbled another note. "Well, what if I told you that your favorite color was blue?"

"Then you would be a liar. My favorite color was always maroon."

"But not even a month ago, according to Twilight and Celestia, your favorite color and weather was blue skies and you loved the color indigo. Besides that, does this have to do with Sky? Was your favorite color based on his coat or mane?"

"No. I don't know anypony named Sky and I love the color maroon."

The doctor raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment. "Well... Sky did die a week ago and you seem to be taking it rather well. You knew him quite well, you were the best of friends."

"I never knew anypony named Sky."

The doctor sighed. This was going nowhere, fast. "How about his real name? Did you know that? Indigo Sunset? Does that ring a bell at all?"

"Not even faintly." Seamus replied.

The doctor flicked his purple mane out of his face an gave another long, drawn out sigh. Every time he would ask it was the same answer. He was beginning to come to a fairly accurate conclusion, but he needed more information first.

"How about this. Have you ever met anypony named Jakben or Melody?"

"No. I would probably remember with those names." Seamus responded, inspecting his hoof.

"Hmmm.... Where did you grow up?" The doctor knew he had something here, it had been three long days of questioning the colt and finally he had a nibble at what may be wrong with Seamus.

"The Northern Counties, I spent most of my life there and I came here to be Twilight Sparkle's student."

"What about that Cutie Mark? How did you get it?"

"I don't know, it just appeared one day."

The doctor left the room soon after, pleased with himself. Almost immediately he ran into Twilight, who grabbed the notepad off of him and read his scribbles at breakneck pace. She kept reading until she came to the diagnosis. She dropped the notepad and looked at the doctor in confusion  

"What do you mean he's in denial? He loved Sky for three years of his life! He couldn't have just forgot about him?"

"But he did." The doctor sighed. "He has buried and repressed all memories of Sky and now he's painted a more ideal, almost perfect past for himself. He's rejected all of his memories of Jakben, Melody, Sky, Silver, all of them. He is in total denial."

"How? The evidence Sky existed is right on his flank?! The mark appeared when he saw Sky die."

"I asked him that, he said he had no idea where it came from or when it happened."

"But why would he do this? He loved him for so long and they even... well..."

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Well... I know this is weird, but I know for a fact that they were a bit more than friends. You've got to remember that they grew up together in an abusive environment and they only had each other."

"Do you mean that... they were a couple?"

Twilight scuffed a hoof. "Well... yeah. I know it seems odd..."

"Actually, it explains everything. He remembers, he just doesn't want to face it. The memory is too painful. I can see it in his eyes that he knows he saw it. He knows he loves Sky, even in death. He wishes he could just forget."

Twilight grabbed the doctor and shook him violently. "I already knew all that! He hasn't slept in four days and he hasn't left his room at Rarity's for a week! Ever since this happened he just sits where the bed used to be and cries. Sometimes he whispers things... it's usually in some different language. When we asked Rarity to translate she just walked away, crying herself! Something is wrong and I don't know what it is or how to fix it! that's why I came to you!"

He pushed her away and brushed himself off. "There is nothing wrong besides post-traumatic stress. It's just something that takes time. He'll get better, but it will take patience."

Twilight looked at the floor solemnly. She wanted to do something, anything to help Seamus through this. But every time he would push her away. He hid behind denial and regret, trying to hide the fact that he was now truly alone in this world. Nopony knew him better than that blue pegasi. He was gentle and caring, loyal and proud. He would always be remembered as the one who saved Seamus from becoming a reclusive hermit. But now he was gone and somepony else had to take up that job. That pony happened to be the one eavesdropping on the two studious unicorns.

"Well..." Luna chuckled. "I think that I'll cheer Seamus up myself."

Seamus kicked a pebble he had found down the hallway, looking at the floor and trying not to think. He desperately wished there was some way to forget. He wanted to escape this torture. If only he had gotten upstairs a second sooner. If only he had taken the necessary precautions and put spells on Sky to protect him. It would have saved his life. But no, it was done and he was alone. The only reason he was walking down this hall alone was because he had been to late, he hadn't been fast enough. As he passed a table of flowers he saw a rose, a rose just like the one Sky had behind his ear the first time they met.

A tear leaked out from the corner of his eye and down his cheek as he picked up the flower. It had thorns on it, but he didn't care as he tucked it behind his ear, a memory of his past lover surfacing in his head. He wanted so much for the pain to end. He wanted to tie his wings down and jump off a cliff. Anything to make this stop. It hurt, every waking moment knowing that he was the reason Sky died. Like the thorns in his ear, but in his gut, in his throat, everywhere. It was a personal, isolated Hell. He lost the will to stand, the colt fell to his knees in the middle of the hallway. He lost the will to hold his head up; his face met the floor, nearly breaking his nose. He lost the will to hold back the tears...

Seamus sobbed,  his wings limp at his sides and his long legs tucked under him. He put a wing over his face; he didn't want everpony to see him like this. Why couldn't he just have died when he was born and spared Sky? Why did life have to be so cruel? Minutes passed... then an hour... It seemed like forever... but the tears just wouldn't stop.

Luna smiled as she saw the miserable colt. She had on a fanciful lace and silk evening gown, a necklace of sapphire and onyx and her usual blue-pearl tiara adorning her shapely blue figure. She saw the rose behind his ear and arched a disapproving brow. This colt was gayer than a double rainbow all the way across the sky. She knelt by him and gave a fake smile, brushing his wing away from his face. Seamus looked at her streaks of tears running all the way down his neck, soaking his fur. She picked him up gently, trying to gain his trust, being as helpful as possible in his time of need. It was all she had needed for that wretched pegasi to die. Now she could take full advantage of his misery and desperation.

"Come back to my quarters. I have something to help you forget"  

Seamus sipped another shot of whiskey, tears dripping into his drink, held by his shaking hoof. Luna laughed at him, this was great, absolutely hilarious. This was his eleventh shot and he was fall-down drunk. She wanted to pull her trick now, but she wanted to see how this kid acted while shit-faced. He tried to stand, just to fall again, shaking like a newborn dear. His eyes were bloodshot and his wings kept opening and closing, the muscles contracting and retracting rapidly. She enjoyed this, he might die of alcohol poisoning and his young liver giving out, but anything for a laugh. He took another few unsteady step just to fall over again. It was time to put her plan into effect.

The princess reached under her necklace and retrieved a small bag of a powder she had ordered be made just for the occasion. She poured half a shot and tipped the drug into a drink.

"Seamus, I do believe that another shot may knock that memory out of your head. Here."

The desperate colt took the shot and dropped the glass, almost passing out. She watched in grim amusement as he managed a few more steps, then fell to the floor, unconscious.  

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