Seamus sat alone in his gigantic turret suite, alone and bored out of his mind. He would occasionally try at magic, but the cover on his horn always stopped him. He tested each and every curse Melody had place on him yesterday. All were intact and his tattoos in between his legs still ached. He threw a glance at the stars outside his bed and felt like screaming in frustration. Why do this to him? Why was he so important to that monster of a mare?

'You know exactly why she values your adorable little body.' He thought.

'Nice, now I'm talking to myself. I'm insane.' His consciousness confirmed.

'Maybe, but why ask yourself questions that you already know the answer to?' His sub-conscience asked.

'I don't know for sure, do I now?' He thought smugly.

'I know, therefore you do, idiot.'

Seamus frowned and wanted to hit his head off the headboard. That didn't help him at all, and was, quite honestly, confusing. Finally, he rolled over and dropped the five hooves to the floor. There had to be something better to do than to argue with his own sub-consciousness. Looking around, he saw only the wrap-around couch fifteen hooves below him and the tiled floor beyond, and just beyond that was the balcony surrounding the tower. He liked the room, but it wasn't furnished to one of his stature. The bed he had to struggle to get onto and the couch cushions were just huge and the lounge pillows on it could be a pillow to him.

He saw the trap doors on both sides of the tower, one led to the palace and the other to a ridiculously lavish bathroom that held a bathing pool he could swim in on one side. The sink was gold and brass and the tub itself was marble and built into the floor. There was no limit to the expense Melody would pay for her prize-winning show pony.

He heard a slam from behind him and saw a brief flash of movement as the door shut behind a servant. A large tray of food sat on the tiled floor with a small note next to it. The alicorn knew in his gut that the door was locked with all the seven steel bars from the other side. He jumped off his steps and glided to a stop at the tray. He looked closely at the note.

'Eat the meal in the following order.' Was all it said.

It listed the exact way and in what order he had to eat the meal. He scowled at the letter and wanted to throw it into a fire, but as he couldn't use magic, that was impossible. He thought about disobeying the note and eating it how he pleased, but something told him that wouldn't be wise. He picked up a small apple that was so large he could barely grasp it. Shrugging, he followed the order and bit into it. He wanted to vomit.

The apple tasted like the strange, disgusting pulp it was filled with. It was gray on the inside and tasted like iron. The note said to eat it all or else Jakben would spend the afternoon with him, which was all the incentive he needed to choke it down. The next was a bowl of oat-cream that tasted like pure copper. Why did this food taste so bad? He picked up the note again and flipped it over.

'The food is highly enhanced with nutrients and vitamins and a very high abundance of protein and iron. If it tastes bad than be grateful you're not Jakben, he has to deal with the taste all the time.'

Seamus crumpled up the note and threw it at the forcefield. It ricochet's off the invisible wall and hits him in the forehead. He finishes his foul tasting meal and paces circles around the massive suite. Directly across from his tower he could see Melody's room, which was a pure white that hurt to look directly at. Shaking his head and blinking, he grabbed the note and studied the neat writing. It was the writing of a machine, so perfect it could have been typed or copied. Only one creature could write like that.

The vampire that called this palace his abode, Jakben. Seamus hated the vampire; he seemed to be ruled by his emotions and his impulses. He had very little self-control and he wondered why Melody let him live. He was more of a hazard than an asset. Then again, there had to be something besides the rogue spirit to scare the servants into obedience.

Lost in thought, Seamus didn't notice the door unlocking or the vampire enter the room.

"Bonjour." The creepy vampire whispered.

The colt nearly screamed in terror. Jakben laughed.

"You're needed downstairs, boy. You have and appointment." He chuckled darkly.

Seamus went downstairs and to the servant's wing. It was furnished in earth-tone colors with ugly splotches of gray where the floor would fall away on occasion and just dirt would cover the floor. The doors themselves were just curtains or an assortment of things that the slaves could throw together to earn some form of privacy. No lights were in this wing and no heat was present. Unlike Seamus's turret, the wind wasn't warmed or cooled by an enchantment, so a bone- dry chilling breeze stole any warmth from the place.

Eventually they arrived at the end of the long hallway. A huge iron door stood on hinges that looked like not even Jakben could break. They saw a slit in the door at three different heights. A huge pair of eyes regarded them spastically from the other side. A number of locks clicked and a loud boom, like a huge barricade board being lifted from the door, sounded. The door swung open slowly on loud hinges and a maddened, royal purple unicorn colt looked at them from small, dirty spectacles perched on the end of his nose. His eyes flicked around the room constantly and a huge smile was on his wizened face.

"W-why hello my friends!" He wheezed. "Is this who you'd like me to see?" He stared at Seamus with yellow, insane eyes that never stood still; they always quivered or shook in their sockets.

"Yes," Jakben said. "But none of your usual crap just put the spells on him and don't do anything else."

The old quack looked crestfallen. "Why not? My treatments have a 40% success rate!"

Jakben leered at the doctor and growled. "We already took your advice on the food. Give him the spells and let us leave or I'll rip you limb from limb and chew on your femur when I get bored."

The mad doctor recoiled and muttered. "Fine, mutt."

The vampire suddenly had his hoof on the unicorn's throat. "What was that, Quack?" He spat.

"Nothing." The doctor choked out; Jakben let him go and shoved Seamus forward.

"Ah, fine specimen." He observed Seamus. "Lift your wings, please."

He obeyed the doctor and he began to poke at his sides. Soon he was squeezing his legs and demanding he jump in the air. The already confused alicorn was only more annoyed at the old quack.

"Okay, you seem fit, no apparent tumors." He stated. "No muscle problems and healthy. You said you followed my diet, correct?" He looked at Jakben, who nodded.

"Ah, you've had all your shots, no?" He asked; Seamus nodded. "Good boy. Now, are you pure-bred?" Seamus shook his head.

This put a look of confusion on the elder's face. "Those looks and you're not bred for it?"

Jakben gave a small, crude-humored chuckle. "You can tell." He nodded downward.

"Ohhhh…" The doctor said. "Well… how big is it?"

"Seven and a-half." Jakben said.

The doctor whistled. "That is small for an equine colt. Now, don't feel bad, boy, keep to my diet and give it some exercise and you'll be big as or larger than a pure-bred in no time."

Seamus bit his tongue to keep from spitting in their faces. He hated how he had no privacy whatsoever. Not even his body was his own.

"Okay, what spells do you want put on him?" The doctor asked, moving on from the subject.

"The body lock spell." Jakben stated.

"Where? His whole body?"

Jakben pulled out a note and handed it to the doctor.

"Ah, so everywhere but his wings, mane, tail, horn and frock. Seems easy enough." The doctor said and threw the note. "Okay, let's get this done, eh?"

He went farther into the room and pulled back the curtain around his office. The floor was filthy and had stains of blood and ash covering it. A furnace was open in the far corner of the room, which he flicked shut and smiled.

"Sorry, I had to toss in an idiot who tried to go at me with a scalpel. T'was a sight."

Seamus didn't like anything about this supposed doctor. He looked mad as a hatter and his neon-yellow eyes scared him.

"Okay, just hold still and hold your wings out to your sides, please. It won't take but a moment."

A small flash blinded him and his suddenly entire body was numb. After a few seconds the affect wore off and Jakben shoved Seamus towards the door. The vampire didn't say goodbye and didn't look back as they marched in silence back to the Northern wing.

Melody waited for them at the junction between the four palace wings.

"Well?" She asked impatiently.

Jakben grated his teeth and nodded.

"Good, we don't want those good looks to be marred by time, do we?" She said to Seamus.

"I'm not a foal." The colt growled proudly.

The mare slapped him across the face and said casually. "You are what I say you are."

He massaged his cheek in pain and Jakben dismissed himself. She turned on a dime and marched down the West wing. The halls were the same red and gold of the entrance halls and the doors were ornate and had the occasional golden symbol of a spear on it to represent a captain's rank. Seamus hurried to keep up with her. As they walked, she talked idly.

"These guards were very interested in you the other night. They said they wanted to see you and the one looked very happy when I agreed."

Seamus stopped dead in his tracks. He paled and began to panic.

"What are you doing, boy?" She barked. "Get over here!"

He moved forward like a death row inmate to the electric chair.

"She looked nervous, too. I guess I would be, too. You are, after all, my own personal little assistant, aren't you?" She chirped.

He looked his entire body over and purposefully began to stretch his legs further than they needed to be. He wanted to be ready if he was going to do this.

They approached a door that looked no different from those around it. Redwood with a golden handle and a silver trim, fanciful, but not exactly ornate. Seamus looked at the door like this was his last glimpse at any relative dignity or pride. He swallowed the lead in his throat and faced the door. Melody opened it nonchalantly and gestured for him to enter.

He looked at the inside of the room and memorized everything. From where the lamps were to how he could fastest get to the door. The room was cozy and had and eggshell color to the walls. The two lamps on both sides of the bed cast the room in a warm, faded yellow that almost made the alicorn relax, but he remained vigilant. The queen sized bed in front of him had a golden frame with red blankets and white sheets made military style. The door on the left side of the room led to a large walk-in closet and the one on the right led to an extravagant bathroom.

The room was so clean he was confused as to if anypony even lived here.

"Hm," Melody hummed. "She doesn't seem to be here. Oh well. I'll be down the hall if you need me. I need to clear up some issues with the interior decorator."

"You're just going to leave me?" He exclaimed in terror.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "You'll be fine." She left and shut the door.

He looked around at the walls which seemed to be closing in on him. He began to hyperventilate and sweat. What was she thinking? Was she that daft that she didn't see that half her guards couldn't stop staring at him when he walked down the halls?

He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Surely this wasn't going to be as bad as his imagination made it out to be? A knock came at the door and the pegasi guard came in drenched in mud. She had a furious scowl on her face and her usually brilliant silver armor was covered on grime and slurry. She saw him and looked galvanized by his appearance. She looked outside the door and shut it. She didn't look happy or even unhappy to see him, but she moreover tried to act like he wasn't there.

The pegasaus opened her closet and stepped in. From where he was, Seamus could see that there was only one garment on the rack of clothes. She growled and put her head against the wall. She pulled it and a towel from a shelf and strides across the bedroom to the washroom. She shut the door and he heard a shower being run.

He looked at the door curiously. Surely if she was going to abuse him, she wouldn't really care if she was clean or not? He tapped his hoof and thought about it. Surely she would get right down to it, right? The young colt mulled it over and guessed that he wasn't all out of the woods yet. She could just want to appear decent for him, which was all well and good, but did this situation call for it?

After a long wait where he did very little but stand there on the nice white-tan carpet. Finally, she came out in a tunic or skirt that guards often wore under their armor. It was a maroon that complimented her red-copper mane nicely. She had a pure white coat, but the thing that drew Seamus's gaze was her eyes. Those same pair of his eyes that had looked at him so lustfully yesterday looked at him now with a guilty, repentant expression. She looked at him and walked over to her bed and sighed as she lay down.

Seamus realized why she didn't want to wear the skirt-gown. It was too short in the back and every movement exposed her entire sleek, muscular legs and a portion of her flank. He focused on her shockingly green eyes to not be rude. She looked at him and gave him a smile. Not a 'funny ha ha' smile, either, but an 'I'm going to swallow my pride and tell you something I'd sooner die than tell you if I didn't have to.' smile. He knew this was nothing like he'd expected and things were very serious.

She took a deep breath and looked right into his eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered softly.

He felt the wind leaving his lungs. This proud mare was apologizing for that?

"You probably think I'm a monster. I lost control and wanted to act tough in front of my partner. I just saw you and I couldn't stop myself… I really am sorry…" She trailed off.

Seamus was at a loss as to what to say. He could only imagine the sheer will it had taken to swallow her pride and admit she had stooped so low. He looked at her and didn't know if he should even talk. She looked at him and bowed her head in shame.

"There. I said it. I am truly sorry and ashamed of what I did."

He finally thought of what to say. "You could have just talked to me and I would've been your friend." Her eyes began to tear. "It's not like any other of the mares here are nice to me."

The word 'friend' struck her to the core. Her eyes were watering and her mane hid her face. He saw her in a different light now, another pony under the iron hoof of Melody, like him. What impressed him the most was how she spoke, her tone was soft and she didn't speak facing him.

"Melody made me apologize and she's making me do something else, too." She said. "Melody figured out what I did so she… she asked me to convince you to do something."

He nodded and looked at her curiously. She gave him another very nervous, embarrassed smile.

"She… I need you to… Melody asked me and I told her…she's making me… then she said how young you were and…" she trailed off, but managed to finally get out her message. "She wants you and me to… well…"

He put his head in his hooves. What was with Melody? Just when somepony finds some thread of moral fiber she burns it and stomps on the ashes.

"She wants us to bed each other, doesn't she?" He sighed.

She nodded and looked at the floor.

"Why you, though? Why not her? She must want me too?"

"But I found the gall to act nicely to you, a colt and her servant, the exact opposite of what she wants. And I… she… told her I…" She fell silent again.

"What? I promise I'll understand." He assured her.

"I…" she took a deep breath like it hurt her to say it aloud. "I've never… done that before."

Seamus was at first stricken, and then he grew angry. Melody had no right to violate something so symbolic and sacred just because she unintentionally disobeyed her. She had no business and no right to take something like that away when it was the only thing the mare really had of her own.

"What will she do if you don't?" He asked, fuming.

"Feed me to the Sautilus." She whispered.

He cringed inwardly and tried not to vomit. The stories he'd heard of the monster at the end of the West wing just in the short two days he'd been here were mind-numbingly disgusting and horrible.

"Will she check?" He asked desperately; she nodded and muttered something about the doctor. "Is there any other way?" He pleaded.

She shook her head and looked at her sheets.

"Why me? Why not some random servant?" He mumbled.

She gave him a grim smile and suddenly thought of how to explain something that would change the colt's life forever.

"She picked you to break your will. You resisted when I went at you, her mantra is that I could come at you with a knife and you have no right to defend yourself. Another reason she wants you to do this is to teach you that… the act is nothing more than a physical release that means nothing. There is to be no emotion behind the act. It's not intimate and you can do it with anypony you see.

But she's wrong. Sex is not something you do with just anypony. You have to know them and there is a load of emotion behind it. It is the most intimate act you can do with anypony. The amazing surge of passion and intimacy is what makes it what it is; otherwise it's just a total, absolute lie. It can be just a simple thing you do with no strings attached, but when you begin to feel more… It's all downhill."

She smiled and looked at the ceiling, a soulful, pensive look on her face.

"I'll tell you a secret, though. A secret she'd die to keep hidden. She's abused her body so many times that she takes no pleasure in the act. The second she gets excited, she caps off and that's it for her. She wants something she can't have and that is the mental, emotional part of the act. She can't have it, so she gets off on making others do it for her. She longs for the release so bad that she's started to just throw pairs of ponies into bed and have Jakben kill them if they refuse. But I hear that isn't even enough for her now. She wants it to be real and the sex to be real; she wants to see the physical and mental act of making love. She wants it so bad she's started to throw ponies in a room and hope they have that deep, intimate connection. She's abused herself so badly she can no longer perform, so she desperately tries to replicate what she once had.

He was shocked at the sudden revelations. Now he had to revise his view on the pony he hated most in his life. In a way… he actually, felt bad for her.

"Of course," She continued. "You have to feel bad for her on some level. I pity her, how sad."

He was struck silent by the tragic story. But a sudden thought came to him.

"Are we one of those pairs?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, this is to desensitize you to this."

"Do I still have to…?"

She sighed and looked at the floor again. "I guess so… she said we could take all day if we needed to. Oh yeah, she gave us some wine, too."

The pegasaus rolls off the bed and kneels to get the two bottles beneath her nightstand. The short skirt she wore didn't cover her at all and, being the shy gentlecolt he was, Seamus' cheeks burned and he looked at the ceiling instead of her totally exposed flanks. She stood up and saw him staring at the ceiling fixedly. She pieced it together and blushed embarrassment herself.

"Sorry." She muttered and popped the bottle.

She took out two fine crystal glasses and poured them both a full cup. She offered him the drink and he looked at it wearily. She rolled her eyes and put the glass in his hooves. He looked at it for a second longer, and then downed a huge gulp of the high-proof alcohol. He puckered and closed his eyes as the bitter-sweet liquid burnt his throat for the first time. She smiled and took the glass from him.

"Never drank before?" She asked.

He nodded and looked at her. She was a nice mare at heart, but this place was the corruptor of many pure, innocent souls. He looked at her and tried to make up his mind. Would it be selfish to be too proud and refuse to perform? She would undoubtedly be punished harshly or put to death by slow, agonizing torture if he didn't. It would be selfish and inconsiderate of him, but how many times would this happen? How many times would Melody throw him at a mare to reward or punish her?

He thought for a few minutes and arrived at a solution. It wasn't perfect and didn't solve his problems, but it at least it made this somewhat right. He looked at her. Physically she was to die for and mentally she could be even better, but he wanted to know her first. He wanted to follow her words and know her before he did anything that intimate. True, Melody would be irate that he didn't do it without asking questions, but he felt that she would have the patience.

She looked at him, lost in thought. After she observed him for a moment, she spoke up and said.

"Will you help me?" she asked. "I won't make you if you say no."

"I will." He confirmed and she relaxed. "But tomorrow. I need to know you before I do this."

She looked confused at first, but then nodded. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"What's your name?" He asked and leapt up onto the bed beside her.

She smiled and lay down next to him, her wings twitching slightly. The two looked into each other's eyes and she spoke so softly Seamus could hardly believe he'd heard it.

"Silver."

Fluttershy yawned and gave a small smile at the heartwarming story.

"Was it her? Was she the one in your memory?" She asked Seamus.

"Well… no. The story gets worse after this." He explained forlornly.

She looks down at the small alicorn for a moment in confusion.

"Why tell me all this, then?" She asked.

"Because the reason I was with that pony from my memory is because of what happened next."

Wow, that was hard, I guess. I listen to music and sing along as I finish this.

I hope you all enjoyed it! Maybe it's the best yet… I'm so nervous!

Please read and review! (P.S. Don't stop me now!)