HOME | DD

Description
“Alright, now that we’re all settled down,” Twilight began, looking around the table in the library’s main room, “Let’s talk about this peacefully and civilly.” She looked around at all of the ponies that were gather around: seven Trixies, Spike, who had walked into the library just now, and was not happy at all to see all of the Trixies, Rainbow Dash, who was fleeing from one of them, Fluttershy and Rarity, who were accompanying two of them, Applejack, who was following one of them secretly out of concern for Twilight’s safety, and Pinkie Pie, who was chasing one of them over a case of ‘dine and dash’. “Now then, Trixie?”

“Yes?” all seven of the Trixies answered at once, each one in a different tone of voice. Twilight slammed a forehoof against her face.

The Trixie wearing her hat and cape cleared her throat. “Perhaps introductions are in order,” she said, before pointing a hoof towards herself. “The Great and Powerful Trixie’s name is Pride! A pleasure for you to meet Trixie.”

Rarity leaned over to whisper to her friends. “Her third pony is even worse than before. I can see why her name would be ‘Pride’.” The others nodded in agreement.

“I’m Wrath,” the angry-looking Trixie said in a bored tone of voice. “Don’t piss me off, and I won’t kill you. Deal?”

The others nodded uneasily. They weren’t sure if ‘Wrath’ was serious, but they certainly didn’t want to take the risk. Twilight noticed something, though, and looked over the seven Trixies once more.

“I’m Lust,” the third Trixie along said, before crawling over to Rainbow Dash, who started to back away nervously in response. “But you can call me ‘Lusty’. How about later, we get better acquainted?” She finished with a wink, sending shivers down Rainbow Dash’s spine.

“Cut that out! It’s disgusting!” Wrath shouted.

“I beg to differ,” Lust responded, running a hoof up Rainbow Dash’s leg, before being pulled back by Pride’s magic.

“Let’s at least wait until we’ve explained ourselves before we start trying to get into their beds, okay?”

“… Fiiiine,” Lust sighed, before blowing a kiss over to Rainbow Dash, who quickly ducked to the side to dodge it.

The fourth Trixie along, who was stuffing her face with potato chips, stopped her eating for a moment to introduce herself. “I’m Gluttony. Hey, you got any more of these things? They’re delicious!”

Twilight shook her head, bringing a disappointed moan from the gluttonous mare. The fifth Trixie along introduced herself next. “I’m Greed! And… Hey, nice hat,” she said to Applejack, walking over to her to examine said hat more closely. “Give it here!”

Applejack glared at ‘Greed’. “An’ why should ah? It’s mine!”

“Wrong!” Greed shouted, grabbing the hat and pulling it off of the farm pony’s head. “Everything in the world is mine by right! This hat is mine, and so I am taking it back from you!”

Applejack rose to her hooves and growled at mare now wearing her hat. “Y’all better give that back, ‘fore ya regret it later!”

Greed stuck her tongue out, before something caught the corner of her eyes. She turned her head to see what it was, and her eyes widened as she saw a big, bright red gem lying on a desk to the side of the room.

“What are you-” Twilight started, but stopped when she realised what Greed was looking at. “Oh… Oh no you don’t!”

“That gem’s pretty,” Greed said, smiling innocently as she began to walk closer to it.

“Greed, sit down!” Twilight warned, furrowing her brow as she rose to her hooves.

“But… it’s pretty. I want it!”

“GREED!”

“Twilight, a moment, please!” Pride said, rushing over to the purple mare before she could lose her temper. “Twilight, Greed literally can’t help herself. If you try to keep the gem from her now that she has seen it… trust Trixie, it won’t be pretty,” Pride whispered to Twilight.

“So, what? We’re just supposed to let her do what she wants?” Rainbow Dash asked, glaring at Pride.

“Well… yeah! Listen, once Trixie – that is, the real Trixie – is whole again, she will surely return any and all items taken from you by Greed.”

“An’ we’re supposed ta jus’ believe that?” Applejack asked sceptically.

Pride nodded. “Yes. Even though such a gem could clearly sell for quite a bit, the Great and Powerful Trixie is not so stupid as to try to steal it right in front of your eyes. And besides, Trixie would never steal from a friend.”

Twilight’s eyes widened at that. “A… friend?”

Pride’s face fell into a frown. “Oh, was Trixie mistaken? She’s not quite sure what a friend really is, so she-”

“Oh, no!” Twilight said quickly, shaking her head. “It’s not that! I’m just… I was surprised that you would consider me a friend, considering how much you hated me before for… well, you know.”

“True, but then, you’re the first pony to have ever shown any kindness towards Trixie,” Pride explained, smiling at Twilight. “You may not realise this, Twilight, but the Great and Powerful Trixie was on the verge of ending her life at one point. It was thanks to your random act of kindness, when you forgave Trixie for the whole Alicorn Amulet fiasco, that Trixie’s will to live sparked back up! You literally saved Trixie’s life!

“So you can rest assured, that when Trixie is back to normal, she will return whatever objects were stolen from all of you.”

“And pay the bill at Sugarcube Corner?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Pride bit her lip. “Well, Trixie doesn’t really have much money right now… but, we can cross that bridge when we reach it!”

Twilight examined Pride carefully, and then let out a sigh. “… Fine. I trust you, Tr-Er, Pride.”

Pride smiled. “So, we are friends?”

Twilight smiled back, and nodded her head. “Of course we are. I’d be happy to be your friend…” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Or should that be: ‘I would be honoured to be your friend, oh Great and Powerful Trixie.’?”

Pride giggled, followed by Twilight. “Trixie’s friends may drop the title, and need not speak to her so formally.”

“I see…”

A moment of silence passed as the two mares smiled at each other. “Good… now kiss!”

Twilight’s face turned red, and she immediately backed away from Pride, and turned her attention to Lust, who looked disappointed with the two for not complying.

“HEY!” Wrath shouted, startling everypony in the room. “Can we just get this over with already?!”

Twilight nodded slowly, and then turned her attention to the sixth Trixie, who was still lying down on the pile of cushions, her head in her hooves. “… I’m Sloth,” she mumbled, and then didn’t say anything during the silence that followed.

Twilight then turned to the final Trixie in the room, who looked as if she was about to speak up. “Let me guess: Envy?”

The final Trixie stopped just as she was about to speak, and stared at Twilight with a bewildered look, as if to say: ‘How could you do that?’. She then lowered her head to look at the floor, and started to whimper as tears formed in her eyes. “… Why?” she asked, confusing the six ponies and the one dragon that weren’t Trixie. “Everypony else got to introduce themselves, so why not me?! I wish I was allowed to introduce myself!”

Fluttershy quickly trotted over to the now-weeping mare, and placed her wing around her as she pulled her into a comforting hug. Pride followed, joining Fluttershy as she held Envy close. “Twilight,” Pride began, looking over at the purple mare, “How could you do that? Envy’s sensitive!”

“I-I didn’t know that!” Twilight quickly defended. “I-I’m sorry, alright?!”

Pride stroked Envy’s mane, and she slowly began to calm down. Wrath groaned at the display, and slammed a hoof down into the floor below her, causing it to crack, and causing her hoof to bleed slightly.

“STOP. CRYING!”

Envy flinched, and dove her head into Pride’s shoulder as her tears started up again.

“Wrath!” Twilight scolded.

“SHUT IT! Why are we even doing this, anyway?! I thought we were just after that damn book!”

“We are,” Pride said. “But our one-and-only friend wanted to speak with us. The Great and Powerful Trixie couldn’t very well turn her down.”

“What book were you after?” Twilight asked out of curiosity. “And also, what happened to you guys, exactly?”

“… It’s a long story,” Pride said.

“Yeah! One we don’t have time to tell!” Wrath shouted, getting up and approaching one of the nearby bookshelves. “Screw this. If you want a job done right, you’ve got to do it yourself!” Wrath began to pull out books one-by-one with her magic, throwing them backwards whenever it wasn’t the one that they were searching for.

“H-Hey! Stop that!” Twilight shouted, running over to Wrath and pulling on her tail with her magic.

“LET GO!” Wrath shouted, turning around and blasting Twilight with a beam of magic, sending the purple mare flying backwards.

“TWILIGHT!” her friends shouted out of concern for her, but before Twilight could land on the hard floor below her, she felt herself being supported by something. She opened her eyes, and looked up to see one of the Trixies holding her up from behind.

“T-Thank you, um…” The Trixie chuckled, and then leaned closer to Twilight’s face. Twilight was about to ask what she was doing, before she felt something long and wet running against her horn. “AH!” Twilight yelped as she quickly teleported away, staring in shock at the Trixie that had just caught her from a safe distance. “L-Lust! You’re Lust! A-And you just… Ew ew ew EW!”

Twilight quickly ran into the kitchen connected to the library’s main room, and returned a few moments later with a tissue in her hoof, rubbing it along her horn. Lust chuckled at the librarian’s reaction.

“Virgins are always the best,” she said, winking at the purple Unicorn mare.

“Fina-fucking-ly!” Wrath shouted, pulling a thick, red-covered book out of the shelf. “Found it!”

“What’s ‘it’?” Applejack asked, walking over to examine the book that Wrath had. “‘Unusual Spells From The East’?”

“It’s exactly as it says on the cover,” Pride said, walking over to Wrath and taking the book from her. “Our own copy got burned, so we needed to find a new one. Unfortunately, this book is rather rare. However, we came across somepony who knew where we could find a copy. They told us that there was a copy in the Ponyville library.”

“What does it mean by ‘unusual spells’?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“In the east, the ponies there use a different kind of magic than what we generally use here in Equestria,” Twilight explained. “The ‘unusual’ is simply to say that it’s magic we don’t usually use over here. Over there, our magic would be ‘unusual’.”

Pride nodded. “The Great and Powerful Trixie found a spell in here that would help her out. As you’re aware, her shows have not been going well.”

“Still?” Twilight asked with a frown. “Because of that one little incident?”

“The Alicorn Amulet incident did not help, either,” Pride said. “Anyway, Trixie considered our second magic duel that time, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie remembered how you beat her with your… friendships with these other ponies.

”But even if you forgave Trixie, she was sure that your friends had not. And so, Trixie couldn’t very well ask you to help, since you would then be obligated to side with your friends.”

“No I wouldn’t,” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow at Pride. “Why would you ever think that? I’d be happy to help somepony in need, even if nopony else agrees with me! Especially when it’s a friend…”

Pride smiled, and then let out a sigh. “If only Trixie had known that a week ago… Because Trixie was so sure that she had nopony to turn to, she went with the next best thing: cloning herself.”

“‘Cloning?!’” Rarity and Applejack asked in unison. The non-Trixie ponies and dragon in the room shuddered at the memory of their last encounter with clones, confusing the seven Trixies.

“Yes,” Pride said, deciding not to question the overreactions of everyone else.

Wrath then stepped in, and continued from where Pride had left off. “Of course that bonehead Trixie would have to mess up in her translation of the book’s contents! She thought the book said that the pony’s soul would be split into seven!”

Pride lowered the brim of her hat over her eyes, and looked down at the floor. “… The Great and Powerful Trixie may have jumped the gun a little bit when translating the spell’s passage. She thought that her soul, in other words, her lifespan, was the thing to be divided.”

“Your lifespan?!” Twilight shouted.

Pride nodded. “However, it seems the thing to split was… Trixie’s personality.”

Twilight nodded, and put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Pride, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Envy, and Sloth… But, something doesn’t seem right…”

“How so?” Pride asked.

Twilight looked at the book that Pride was carrying, and then turned her attention to the clock hanging on her wall. “… It’s getting pretty late,” she pointed out, and everypony turned around to see that it was already 17:35. “Now that we have the book, we can do something about this whole mess. But it will be hard with everypony crowded around here, and I think we could all do with some rest from today’s events.”

Pride nodded. “Agreed. The Great and Powerful Trixie woke up early this morning, and could do with some catching up on her beauty sleep.”

“Do you somewhere to stay?”

“Trixie is currently sleeping out in the Everfree forest. It’s quite warm out there, so she doesn’t have to worry about catching a cold.”

“Oh, sure,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. “No worries about a cold. Just all of the dangerous animals out there that just love the taste of pony flesh!”

Twilight gave Pride a stern look, and said: “I am not allowing a friend to sleep in such a dangerous place!”

Pride’s eyes widened as she regarded Twilight with awe. “Then… where will we sleep?”

Twilight thought about it for a second. “Well, there’s not really enough room for all of you to stay here…” She turned her head to her friends. “Guys?”

Rarity and Fluttershy nodded, but the other three seemed a little reluctant.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Applejack said. “But ta be honest, ah don’ think it’s a good idea letting any of ‘em stay at the farm. It kinda seems that they’d be a bad influence on Apple Bloom.”

“What about Envy?” Twilight suggested, motioning a hoof to the timid Trixie that was still in Fluttershy’s hold. “She seems pretty tame. At least compared to some of the others.” She shot a glare towards Wrath as she made her last point, earning one back from the angry Trixie.

“Well, ah guess ah could let Envy stay over,” Applejack conceded, looking over at Envy with a nervous look on her face.

“Ooh! I call dibs on Dashie’s place!” Lust shouted, jumping up and down on the spot.

“Keep her away from me!” Rainbow Dash shouted, backing up against the bookshelf behind her. “Anyway, my house is made of clouds! You’d fall through it if you tried to stand on it, so-”

“Not to worry!” Pride interrupted. “For the Great, and Powerful Trixie, knows a spell that will allow a Unicorn to walk on clouds for a few days!”

“… Darn it. I forgot about that.”

Twilight cleared her throat to gain the group’s attention. “Listen, Lust. I think that pairing you with Rainbow Dash would be a bad move… considering you’ll most likely be kicked out of the house and sent plummeting to your death.”

Lust considered this for a second. “Before or after I get laid?”

“… Before,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Awww, well that’s a bummer!”

“And I don’t think I need to explain why it would be a bad idea leaving her with Fluttershy.” The rest of the group nodded in agreement. “Sugarcube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres have children there, so those are no-goes.” Applejack let out a sigh of relief. “And Spike’s a baby dragon, so… he counts as a child.”

“Hey!” Spike shouted, about to protest. However, a purple aura turned his mouth into a zipper, which closed immediately afterwards, preventing him from speaking.

Rarity swallowed the lump in her throat, and regarded her friend nervously. “Um, T-Twilight darling… I can’t help but notice that-”

“Sorry, Rarity. But… you’re really the only choice left.”

Rarity’s ears flattened against her head, and she quickly looked to her right for support from Fluttershy. However, the shy Pegasus was backing away slowly. She then turned to her left, and saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash pretending to be caught up in a conversation with each other.

“Ooh, so I’m with the pony who fixed Pride’s cape,” Lust said, approaching Rarity and wrapping a foreleg around her shoulders. She then used her other hoof to trace circles on the dressmaker’s chest. “Those hooves of yours must be pretty skilled, huh?”

Rarity once again looked over to Twilight, and mouthed: “Help me.”

“Sorry,” Twilight mouthed back. “Be strong.”

“Traitors! All of you!”

Twilight cleared her throat again, trying her best to ignore Rarity’s outburst. “Well then, that leaves five Trixies now. I don’t mind Sloth staying here, and quite frankly, I think the only trouble she’d cause would be if we tried to move her in the first place. That leaves Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, and Pride.”

“All bad choices,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Actually, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight started, “I was thinking of pairing you with Wrath.”

“WHAT?!” both Rainbow Dash and Wrath shouted in unison.

“You can’t be serious!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Twilight, think about it!” Applejack pleaded. “They’ll kill each other overnight!”

Twilight turned to Wrath, who was absolutely fuming at the purple Unicorn. “… Wrath, remember what you said earlier? About how you wouldn’t kill us if we didn’t anger you?”

“Yeah, what about it?!”

“Well, I have a proposition of my own: if Rainbow Dash leaves you alone, then you leave her alone.” Twilight then turned to her rainbow-maned friend. “Get it? In other words, you can just totally disregard each other’s existence, and then neither of you has to die!”

Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her chin. “I don’t know…”

“It’s either that, or somepony who eats all your food, or takes all your things, or won’t stop talking about herself all night long.”

“… When you put it that way…” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine then. I guess I’ve got no choice.”

Wrath harrumphed and looked away. “Just don’t piss me off, and I’ll have no reason to kill you. Got it?”

Rainbow Dash growled at Wrath, but quickly stopped herself by taking a deep breath.

“Hey, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, gaining the librarian’s attention. “Can Gluttony stay with me? She can work off her debt while you look up a way to fix all of this!”

“Are you sure? She might be hard to control…”

“Pfft! C’mon, Twilight! Harder to control than the twins? I doubt it!”

“Well, if you’re sure… That just leaves Pride and Greed.”

“I’m not leaving my collection behind!” Greed shouted, sitting inside of her book fortress, narrowing her eyes at the librarian. “Either I stay here, or you guys help me move everything!”

Fluttershy raised her hoof timidly. “Um, Twilight? I don’t mind letting Pride stay with me.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, feeling a pang of relief from the Pegasus’ offer.

“Of course. I-If that’s okay with Pride, though…”

“… The Great and Powerful Trixie will allow this!” Pride stated, flicking her mane. “You may entertain Trixie tonight, Miss Fluttershy, and in return, Trixie will regale you with many stories of her travels.”

Rainbow Dash made a gagging expression behind Pride, whilst Fluttershy simply smiled at her.

“Well then,” Twilight said, “If everypony’s in agreement…” She sighed as she went over the pairings in her head once more. “… Good luck, guys.”

Applejack and Envy walked down the dirt path leading up towards Sweet Apple Acres, walking side-by-side, and both trying their best not to make eye contact with each other.

“This town seems nice,” Envy said in an attempt to break the silence. “More so than my first visit. I wish I lived somewhere this nice.”

“Well, where’re ya from?” Applejack asked, curious about the blue mare’s life.

“Well, I was born in Canterlot, but nowadays, I just spend my life travelling from town to town, trying to find somewhere to sleep. Occasionally, I have to break into ponies’ homes and sleep in their basements, or steal their food, in order to survive.”

“So ye’re a thief?” Applejack asked with a hard glare.

“I only steal from those that chase me out of their towns in the first place. I can’t earn a living thanks to them, so I take it by force. I wish I could I just live a normal life, like everypony else, but…”

“That still doesn’t excuse breakin’ the law.”

Envy shrugged. “Well, Trixie decided that, even if she were to be arrested, at least she’d have a warm place to sleep and meals to eat, so it’s really a win-win situation.”

“… Why didn’t ya go ta Twilight for help? Pride said that Trixie considered her a friend.”

Envy shrugged. “I was afraid of-I mean, she was afraid of you. And the others, too.”

Applejack groaned and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “Look, just… refer to Trixie as if she were yerself. It’ll make things easier.”

Envy nodded. “Okay.”

“Anyway, what did y’all mean when ya said that you were afraid of us?”

“Well, I thought that Twilight would undoubtedly side with you guys over me, and since I didn’t want to lose the one friend I’ve ever had… I stayed away.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes at Envy. “No offence, sugarcube, but that’s the stupidest thing ah’ve ever heard.”

Envy winced, and turned her head away. “… I wish I could be that brutally honest.”

“Sorry, Envy, but c’mon. What’s the point of havin’ a friend, if’n ye’re not gonna let them be yer friend?”

“… Are we there yet?”

“Don’ try ta change the topic on me! Tell me: did ya ever have any intention of actually vistin’ Twilight again? ‘Cause from what Wrath said earlier, y’all only came here with the intention of getting’ that book, not visitin’ Twilight.”

“Please just drop it. I don’t want to-”

“Applejack!” a voice called out. The two mares stopped and turned to one of the nearby apple trees to see a small yellow filly waving at them. Next to her was a big red stallion, giving the apple tree behind him a big, strong buck. “Who’s that?” the filly asked as the two mares made their ways towards her.

“You guys don’t recognise her?” Applejack asked. “The ‘Great an’ Powerful’ Trixie? Mare that passed through here not too long ago, and took over Ponyville?”

The big stallion nodded his head. “Eeyup,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Envy.

“Yeah, well, it’s a long story, but she’ll be staying with us for a little while.” Applejack turned to Envy, and motioned her hoof over her two siblings. “Let me introduce y’all: this’s mah younger sister Apple Bloom, an’ mah big brother Big Macintosh.”

Envy looked over to the big red stallion standing before her, and then looked down at the apple baskets by his hooves. “… You’re harvesting apples?” she asked, receiving a silent nod from Big Macintosh.

“That’s what we do here,” Applejack said flatly.

“… How nice. I wish I could do that, but I’m not good at bucking…”

Apple Bloom looked up at Envy curiously. “What about your magic? Aren’t ya supposed ta be good at magic or somethin’?”

Envy thought about it for a second. “I guess… though it’s nothing compared to my sisters.”

“Sisters?”

“Yeah… Well, that’s what I call them. They more like… a part of my soul. Anyway, their magic is so much better than mine… I wish I could do magic that well.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed groan. “Ah’m startin’ ta see where the name ‘Envy’ comes from,” she said as she grabbed Envy’s foreleg, and pulled her along. “C’mon now. It’s mah turn ta cook dinner today, an’ a wanna show y’all the guest room ‘fore ah get started.”

“Um… Is it okay… if I stay here for a bit?”

“What for?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. She still wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted to trust Envy yet.

“I… want to see what ‘family’ is. And, maybe, if it’s possible, to experience it?” Envy scuffed the ground with a hoof. “I… don’t know what family feels like, but I want to know.”

Applejack eyed Envy suspiciously for a bit. ‘She may only be a part of her, but she’s still Trixie. This could just be an attempt of gettin’ revenge on me for what happened before…’

“Oh, I know!” Apple Bloom shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. “How ‘bout ah show her the family photo album? That way, she’ll be at the house, an’ ah can show her what family is all about!”

Envy smiled at the little filly. “You have a family photo album? I wish-”

“You had somethin’ like that?” Applejack asked, causing Envy to flinch, and then nod slowly. Applejack let out a slow sigh. “… Fine. If that’s what ya wanna do… Just as long as ya stay outta trouble, ah don’t really mind all that much.”

“Ah’ll stay outta trouble!” Apple Bloom responded.

“… Ah was talkin’ ta her,” Applejack said, pointing at Envy.

Envy let out a little giggle, surprising herself. “… Wow. I’ve never done that before… That’s one thing I guess I can cross off of my ‘wish list’.”

Apple Bloom grabbed Envy’s forehoof, and started to tug at it, motioning for her to follow her. Applejack led the way back to the house, with Apple Bloom and Envy following behind her, the yellow filly teaching the blue mare all about what ‘family’ is.

“Soup’s on, everypony!” Applejack shouted as she finished setting the table. In the adjacent room, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom quickly rose to their hooves and made their way to the dining room, where they took their places at the dining table opposite to each other. “Where’s Envy?” Applejack asked as she pulled Granny Smith’s chair back and helped the elderly pony into her seat.

“Envy?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Uh, ah mean, Trixie.” Applejack sighed. It would be too much hassle to explain the fact that there were seven Trixies in Ponyville. Especially when she herself didn’t fully understand the situation, either.

“Oh, she’s in the bathroom! Wan’ me ta go an’ get her?”

Applejack shook her head. “Ah’ll go. By the way, did y’all get along okay?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “She was really interested in our family’s history, an’ asked all kinds of questions! But, she looked pretty upset, most of the time…”

‘That one seems to be the mood killer of the seven Trixies… but at least she’s the easiest ta deal with. ‘Cept maybe for Sloth.’ “Ah see. Ah’m sure she’s just nervous, that’s all. Anyway, ah’ll be right back. Jus’ gonna make sure she’s okay…”

Applejack excused herself from the room, and trotted up the stairs to the upper level of her house. She made her way to the bathroom door, which was closed and locked shut. “Envy? Y’all in there?”

“… Applejack?” a sad-sounding voice asked from inside in the bathroom. “Your sister showed me your Apple family reunion pictures…”

“That so? Anyway, dinner’s ready, so hurry up in there, y’hear?”

“… I’ve never had a family tradition like that before,” Envy said, followed by a sniffle. “I wish I had a family to hold reunions with, and make quilts with, and celebrate birthdays and Hearths Warming Eve with, and-”

“Okay, ah get it! Ya want a family! … What happened? Did ya have a fallin’ out with yer family or somethin’?”

“I’ve never had one.” Applejack cringed at her answer. She was seriously hoping to avoid this kind of conversation. “You’re all so close to each other. I’ll never feel that closeness… I’m so sad, I just want to flush myself down this toilet!”

“N-Now hold on there!” Applejack shouted, not sure why she was afraid of such a threat. It was impossible to flush yourself down a toilet… right? “Listen, why don’ ya come on out of there an’ join us for dinner? Ah’m sure y’all will feel better afterwards.”

“… A family dinner?”

“It’s something y’ave never had before, right? Well, now ya can!” Applejack waited for a few seconds, and then heard the door unlock. She stepped back as Envy opened the door, and started to walk outside. Before she could move any further, though, Applejack stopped her with a hoof. “Hold on now. In this house, we wash our hooves before leaving the bathroom.”

Envy blushed, and then turned around and re-entered the bathroom. “S-Sorry. I was just so excited at the idea of having a family dinner with you guys.”

“Don’ worry ‘bout it. Jus’ wash up so we can go eat already! Ah’m starvin’ right now!”

Envy quickly ran her hooves under some hot water from the bathroom sink, and picked up a nearby bar of soap to clean them with. Once she was done, she exited the bathroom, and walk with Applejack back towards the kitchen.

“Stop cryin’,” Applejack said flatly as they descended the stairs. “Ah get ye’re happy, but-”

“It’s not that,” Envy said, choking back a few sobs and running a hoof against her face.

“Then what?”

“Applejack? Is she okay?” Apple Bloom asked as the two entered the kitchen, all eyes now on Envy. “Trixie?”

“I’m fine,” Envy lied, walking over to the seat next to Apple Bloom and sitting down. “I was just thinking of all the fun family things that you guys get to do together, and how I can never have that, because I have no familyyyyyy…” Envy lowered her head to the table, and started to cry into her hooves.

Apple Bloom quickly reached over to hold the sobbing mare, and Big Macintosh walked over to pat her gently on the head. Applejack wasn’t sure what to do, so she simply watched from a distance.

“Don’t ya have yer own family ta spend time with?” Granny Smith asked. Envy shook her head in response. “Ah see. Ye’re a bushel of jus’ one apple, ain’tcha?”

“That’s terrible!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, holding Envy tighter. “Nopony deserves ta be without their family! Right, Big Macintosh?”

“Eeyup,” the red pony replied, sniffing as he wiped a lone tear off of his face.

“Well, ya don’ have ta worry!” Apple Bloom declared, drawing confused looks from Envy and Applejack. “From this moment on, ah declare y’all ta be an honorary member of the Apple family!”

“What?” Envy and Applejack asked in confusion.

“That way, ya can come an’ celebrate yer birthdays or Hearths Warming Eve with us! Ain’t that right, everypony?”

Big Macintosh and Granny Smith both nodded in agreement. “That’s right,” Big Macintosh said. “Nopony deserves ta be alone. Y’all are welcome here whenever ya want.”

Applejack gaped at how easily her family was accepting the blue mare, but decided not to say anything about it. After all, the three of them had already agreed on this together, so she was outvoted. And besides… the smile on Envy’s face, replacing the frown she had been wearing all evening, just wouldn’t allow her to turn her down.

“What’s wrong now?” Apple Bloom asked as Envy soon started sobbing again.

“T-That’s nice of all of you, but…” Envy slammed her head back into her hooves. “I still won’t have family connected by blooooood!”

Applejack let out an exasperated sigh, and moved over to join her siblings in comforting the crying mare. ‘This is gonna be a long night. Ah wonder how the others are holdin’ up?’

“Can’t you loosen your grip, you stupid featherhead?!” Wrath shouted as flailed about in Rainbow Dash’s hooves. “Why are you carrying me, anyway?! Just move your damn house down!”

“‘Cause that’d be too much effort! And I have to hold on tight so that I don’t drop you, as much fun as that would be!”

“Screw you! I swear, if you bruise me, there’ll be hell to pay!”

“… Y’know, I actually think I would prefer Lust to this.” As Rainbow Dash finally reached her cloud home, she gently set Wrath, who had enchanted herself with the cloud walking spell, down onto the clouds. “There! Now, go help yourself to whatever’s in my kitchen and then go to bed or something.”

“You can’t tell me what to do!” Wrath shouted, swinging a forehoof towards the Pegasus’ face. Rainbow Dash quickly dodged it by jumping into the air, where she stayed hovering for a bit as she glared down at the angry mare below her.

“Hey! There’s no need for that!”

“Shut up, shut up, shut UP! Come down here so I can kick you already!”

“I think somepony needs a timeout.”

“I WILL END YOU!” Wrath’s horn lit up, and she fired a blast of purple energy towards the Pegasus mare, who simply dodged with her nimble flying. “ARGH! Hold still already!”

Rainbow Dash dodged a few more blasts, and then tackled Wrath down onto the cloud surface below them, pinning her forehooves and making sure to stay out of the way of any potential attacks that could come from her horn.

“Calm. Down,” she said sternly, glaring at the struggling Unicorn mare below her. “Why are you angry, anyway?”

“WHY?!” Wrath asked, her eyes burning with rage as she stopped struggling, and returned the Pegasus’ glare. “I’ll tell you why! Because I’m pissed off! I’m pissed off at ponies that butt into my business! I’m pissed off at how I’m forced to resort to thievery in order to survive! I’m pissed off at all of the ponies that laugh at me, and kick me out of their towns! And I’m pissed off that nopony will even GIVE. ME. A CHANCE!”

Wrath huffed and puffed for a while after her rant, whilst Rainbow Dash simply stared down at her with a mix of shock, and bewilderment. “… You-”

“SHUT IT! You ponies are all the same! One little story, and I am suddenly nothing more than trash blowing in the wind! I have nowhere to go, and I’m forced to live as if I were some monster, constantly hiding from ponies’ judging glares! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU ALLLLLLLLL!”

Whilst Rainbow Dash was caught off guard, Wrath blasted her off with a shockwave of magic, and then quickly ran towards the cloud house in front of her. “Wait!” Rainbow Dash called out, but Wrath simply ran inside, and slammed the door behind her.

Rainbow Dash remained outside for a while, looking down at the cloud beneath her with mixed feelings running through her mind. Sadness, confusion, anger, and… guilt…

She slammed her right forehoof into the cloud beneath her. “Darn it…”

“Dishes are doooone!” Gluttony called out as she placed the final dish into the rack beside the kitchen sink. “Is my debt cleared now?”

“Not quite yet,” Mrs. Cake said in a stern tone of voice. “But I guess that’s good enough for now. Pinkie’s playing with the twins, if you would like to join her.”

“You got any snacks?” Gluttony asked, her eyes wide as she smiled hopefully at the mare.

“… No,” Mrs. Cake said flatly, immediately bringing a frown to Gluttony’s face. “But, I may be willing to whip something up… if you can help Pinkie Pie with the twins.”

Without giving her answer verbally, Gluttony sped off out of the kitchen, and made her way towards the twins’ room, upstairs. “My, my,” Mrs. Cake said, her eyes wide as she saw the trail of dust left in the Unicorn mare’s wake. “She’s certainly a gluttonous one, isn’t she? … But, I guess a deal’s a deal.”

With a sigh, Mrs. Cake made her way towards one of the cabinets in the kitchen, and got to work on making some snacks.

“Wheeeeere’s Pinkie Pie?” Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake looked around their room, confused looks on their faces as they tried to deduce where the disembodied voice was coming from.

Pinkie Pie suddenly removed her hooves from her eyes, startling the two foals as she shouted: “HERE I AM!”

The two foals awarded her trick with laughter and clapping of their hooves. They stopped when they heard hoofsteps coming their way, and looked behind Pinkie Pie with curiosity. Pinkie Pie also turned around to see who was there, and smiled when she saw Gluttony.

“Glutty! You here to help me play with the twins? Ooh, wait! You haven’t been introduced yet, have you?” Pinkie Pie waved her hoof over the young brown colt. “This is Pound Cake…” She then waved a hoof over the young orange filly. “And this is Pumpkin Cake!”

Gluttony nodded, and sat down on her haunches behind Pinkie Pie. “I see. Mrs. Cake said that, if I help with them, I’ll get some snacks… but I don’t really like dealing with kids, to be honest. They’re not gonna slobber all over me, are they?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Nah! They’re well past that phase!” She turned her attention to the two foals. “Riiiight?”

“A-laaaa!” Pumpkin Cake responded, waving her hooves in an arch.

Gluttony had to admit that the scene was cute, but she still felt uncomfortable dealing with the two foals. Still, if Pinkie Pie was there with her, she was sure that she’d be okay. “So, what do we do?”

“We have fun, duh!”

“That’s it? Just… entertain them?” Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously, and Gluttony smirked at the pink pony. “Well then, if that’s all that’s required, then this will be no problem!” Gluttony stretched her hooves in front of her, and then moved her hooves towards Pinkie Pie.

“What’re you doing?” Pinkie Pie asked as Gluttony began running her hooves through her mane.

“Juuuust searching for something… A-ha!” Gluttony pulled her hoof back, pulling out a bouquet of flowers from Pinkie Pie’s mane. “I knew I left this somewhere!”

The two foals laughed and clapped at the magic trick displayed to them, along with Pinkie Pie. “That was great! How did you do that?”

“A magician never reveals their secrets,” Gluttony said. “This is actually just low-level street magic, though. This is the kind of thing I did to start up my career. Normally, adults wouldn’t be very entertained by this, but if you’re just looking for a quick bit, it’s a great way to make kids part with their allowances.”

“Oh! I think I’ve got it!” Gluttony looked at Pinkie Pie curiously as she reached over, and pulled out a bit coin from her ear. “Yay! Now I can go to the arcade!”

Gluttony stared at Pinkie Pie in shock for a bit, but then shot her a knowing grin. “I see. So you’ve dabbled in street magic, is that it?”

“Nope!” Pinkie Pie replied with an innocent smile on her face. “I just thought about it logically, and figured out how you did it!”

Ignoring the fact that this pony ‘thinking logically’ didn’t seem possible to Gluttony, the blue mare was completely bewildered by the pink mare. Finally, she gave a disapproving frown. “This is the one reason that Trixie preferred a younger audience over an older one; children generally don’t care for reason, so long as they see something awesome.”

“Well, it seems things are going well up here,” Mrs. Cake said as she entered the room, smiling as she saw the smiling faces of her two children.

“Yep! Glutty here was just showing us some neat-o magic tricks!” Pinkie Pie reported cheerfully.

“Glutty?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“Short for Gluttony,” Pinkie Pie explained.

“But… I thought her name was… Oh, never mind,” she said with a sigh. She was sure that this was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. “Here, I’ve brought snacks for all of you.” Gluttony’s eyes lit up, and her tail started to wag as she watched Mrs. Cake lower a tray of food down to the floor. “Make sure you all share now.”

“We will!” Pinkie Pie replied, though Gluttony’s response was a lot less cheerful.

“Fiiiiine,” the blue mare said as she levitated one of the cupcakes on the tray to her mouth, stuffing it in immediately and swallowing it whole, along with the paper that it was wrapped in.

Pinkie Pie quickly turned to the two foals. “And that, kids, is how not to eat in front of others!”

“And that, Trixie’s captive audience, is how the Great and Powerful Trixie successfully escaped the basilisk Queen’s lair!”

Pride stood up tall on her hind legs and struck a theatrical pose as she waited for her audience to shower her their love and adoration.

Whereas Angel Bunny was yawning out of sheer boredom, and doing his best not to pay her any attention, Fluttershy was clapping her hooves together, smiling at the showmare standing on her coffee table.

“Oh, my. That must have been so scary, Miss Tr-I mean, Miss Pride… Um, what should I call you, exactly?”

“You may call Trixie whatever you wish! And for you, Fluttershy, no title is necessary, for you have been such a wonderful audience!”

Fluttershy noticed the empty cup next to Pride’s hoof. “Can I get you a refill on your drink, Pride?”

Pride shook her head. “Thank you for your offer, but the Great and Powerful Trixie’s story is still only at its halfway point! The next part of Trixie’s story involves how she saved Manechester from the wrath of the basilisk Queen!”

Fluttershy sat back in her seat, listening quietly and respectfully to the showmare’s story.

“After escaping their nest, the enraged basilisks naturally gave chase! Of course, the Great and Powerful Trixie could have dealt with them just fine, but time was running short! Once you’ve been infected by a basilisk’s venom, you only have a short time before your body turns to brittle stone! Trixie may have dropped the antidote earlier, but she had more waiting for her in her trailer, so that is where she headed…”

“And then?” Fluttershy asked, completely enthralled by the story.

“… When Trixie caught site of the city of Manechester in the distance, she stopped herself immediately. The basilisks were still behind Trixie, and going there at that point would put the ponies there in danger! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not put innocent ponies in danger, and so, she did the only thing that she could do at that point.”

“What was that?”

Pride grinned, and summoned an illusionary figure of herself taking down an army of basilisks. “Naturally, the Great and Powerful Trixie defeated each and every one of those fiends, all on her own!”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up ‘There it is… She was telling the truth, up until this point. But now, she’s making it up. I can see it in her eyes, and hear it in her voice… Trixie, why do you lie in your stories? I can understand that you want them to be more exciting, but is there something else to it?’

“You don’t need to win to be a hero.”

“And then the Great and Powerful Trixie-” Pride stopped, and looked down at the yellow Pegasus, who quickly covered her mouth with her hooves upon realising that she had interrupted Pride’s story. “Come again?”

“… W-Well, even if you aren’t a mighty monster slayer, I still think you’re worthy of praise. After all, you put the safety of others before your own needs.” Pride remained silent as she simply stared at Fluttershy with a look of awe. “If you ask me, Trixie is a hero, in her own right, and doesn’t have to resort to lying to make her stories captivating.”

Pride continued to stare in silence for a bit, visibly making the timid Pegasus uncomfortable. Finally, she smiled. “Thank you,” she said, jumping off of Fluttershy’s coffee table and offering a hoof to her. Fluttershy wasn’t quite sure why, but she extended her own hoof and shook it anyway. “But unfortunately, not everypony agrees. If Trixie runs from an opponent, that means she’s weak, and a coward.

“Ponies don’t give a damn about reason. They simply look at the surface, and jump to conclusions based on what they see. Trixie can never be Great and Powerful in the eyes of others. Not unless she is able to take down any opponent that comes her way. That’s why Trixie had to challenge your friends, who questioned her skills. And also, why Trixie was so determined to defeat Twilight Sparkle, the one pony who had ever beaten her.”

“She was the first?” Fluttershy asked. “… No wonder you handled it so badly. All alone, and you experience your first ever defeat by somepony so modest… You must have had no idea what to do next, and nopony was there to offer you any guidance.”

Pride shrugged, and sat down beside Fluttershy on her couch. “It didn’t help that Trixie’s life went downhill as a result. She had to blame somepony, but taking revenge on two colts wouldn’t exactly have helped her image. Besting the pony that defeated her, on the other hoof… But Trixie never intended to involve the others. Anypony who stayed out of the way was to be left alone. It’s just, that amulet made Trixie feel… strange.”

“It corrupted you,” Fluttershy explained. “That’s what the Alicorn Amulet does. It feeds off of whatever emotion is strongest when you wear it, and enhances it. In your case, that was your anger, and your desire to get back on top.”

“That would explain why Trixie suddenly wanted to rule over Equestria.” Pride shook her head and sighed. “… Well, Trixie saw that revenge is not the way, and that bending to the will of darkness, although it works, will completely destroy who you are.” Pride looked up at Fluttershy with a smile. “And being Trixie is just awesome! Trixie doesn’t want to give that up.”

Fluttershy smiled back, and leaned forward to hug Pride, who blushed at the sudden embrace and looked around nervously, not sure what to do. Eventually, Fluttershy sensed that she was making Pride uncomfortable, and then let her go. “… So… how did the battle end?”

Pride’s face suddenly lit up. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is glad that you asked!”

“STAY BACK! STAY BACK I SAY!”

“Oh, come on, Rarrrrrity,” Lust said, rolling the second ‘r’ of Rarity’s name and she slowly approached said mare with a sultry look on her face. “Just one little kiss?”

“You said that the last three times, and each time you stuck your tongue practically down my throat!” Rarity threw a small wooden bowl at the advancing mare, but Lust simply deflected it with her magic. “I told you, I’m not interested!”

Rarity resumed her running around her shop, with Lust giving chase, using her magic to clear obstacles as she closed in on the white mare. She soon caught up to Rarity, and tackled her onto the floor.

“Come oooooon,” she said, tracing her hoof in circles over Rarity’s chest. Rarity continued to struggle, but was being pinned down by Lust’s magic. “I’m booooored. I promise I’ll be gentle… if you want me to be.”

“I said no! How many times must I repeat myself, Lust?”

“… Very well then,” Lust said, surprising Rarity as she released the mare from her grasp. She then turned around, and headed into another room in the shop.

“… Well, that was unexpected. But at least now she’s-”

“Oh, Rarityyyyyyy,” Lust called out, gaining Rarity’s attention once more. Rarity’s eyes widened, and her jaw hung open, as she saw Lust re-enter her bedroom, wearing a light-blue saddle, with a purple frill. “How about now?”

“W-W-W-Where did you g-get that?” Rarity asked, slowly backing away as the mare approached her. Her eyes snapped to Lust’s flanks, which suddenly looked more appealing to her now that they were half-covered by the frilly saddle.

“From your ‘adult’ section, of course.” Lust leaned down, and whispered into Rarity’s ear: “So, how about it?”

Lust’s breath against Rarity’s ear caused the white mare to blush intensely, and her own breathing started to increase as she felt her face becoming hot. She looked over the saddled mare one last time… and cursed her own fetish for the sexy article of clothing.

“Oh… my…”

“No way! It’s mine!” Spike shouted as he pulled on the wooden box being held in a purple aura.

“No, it’s mine!” Greed shouted, pulling on the same box with her magic.

“Mine!”

“Mine!”

“MINE!”

“SPIKE! GREED!” Twilight’s sudden interruption caused Spike to lose his focus on the box that he was pulling, and allowed Greed to take it from the baby’s dragon’s claws, smiling victoriously as she nuzzled it.

“Mine!” Greed shouted, quickly levitating the box out of Spike’s reach after he made an attempt to grab it.

“Greed, what is that?” Twilight asked, putting a hoof in front of Spike to make him stop.

“It’s my gem collection!” Spike answered, glaring at the blue mare before her. “Give it back, you thief! I worked hard on that for all these years! They’re gems that I’ve sworn never to eat, because they hold sentimental value to me!”

Twilight gave Greed a stern look. “Greed? Is there any chance that you could give that back to him?”

“Nope!” Greed sang, before running off down the library stairs with her next box of gems.

Spike fumed, and was about to give chase, before he was stopped once again by Twilight’s hoof. “What the hay, Twilight? You’re just gonna let her take it?!”

Twilight looked down at her friend apologetically, and leaned down to talk to him at eyelevel. “Spike, I’m sorry, but do you think you can just put up with this for now?”

“Are you serious?! That’s my-”

“I know it’s important to you, but right now, it’s important to Greed, too. She’ll take good care of it, I’m sure. And when we get the real Trixie back, she’ll return it to you. She gave me her word as a friend.”

“Pride gave you her word.”

“And if any of the seven Trixies right now can be trusted on their words, it would be Pride. Anyway, I’m almost done reading and understanding the spell that Trixie used in the first place, so with any luck, we should be able to fix this whole mess tomorrow! Until then, I’d like to keep things as peaceful as possible.

“I know this is asking a lot of you, but it’s really important to me, Spike. Do you think you can do this for me? Please?”

Spike looked into Twilight’s big, pleading eyes, and tried to argue that they shouldn’t have to put up with this. But, seeing that Twilight was determined to help Trixie however she could, which of course meant harbouring the seven current Trixies until that time came, Spike let out a deep sigh, and gave in. “Fine,” he said, receiving a hug from Twilight almost immediately.

“Thanks, Spike!” she said, nuzzling the baby dragon for a bit, before letting go and heading over to her bed. “Well, it’s getting late. I’ll continue reading in bed for a bit, but if you want to go to sleep now, I can dim the lights for you.”

Spike stretched his arms, and let out a loud yawn. “Nah, it’s fine. I’m not really tired yet, anyway,” he lied. Truthfully, he was very tired. But he didn’t want Twilight reading in the dark so much. He was worried about her damaging her eyes enough from all the reading that she did, let alone from her reading with barely any light.

Spike wandered over to his basket, and lay down in it, whilst Twilight settled into her own bed and opened up her book to the page that she had left off on. “Good night, Twilight,” he said as he pulled his blanket over his head.

“Good night, Spike,” Twilight called back. She then turned her head over to the stairs. “Good night Greed, Sloth!”

Greed and Sloth had both decided to sleep downstairs. Sloth simply didn’t want to relocate to a new sleeping place, and Greed wanted to sleep in her fort. “Good night!” Greed answered back. No response came from Sloth, but Twilight paid it no mind. She simply returned her attention to her book, and read through it very carefully, using a translation guide and making sure to check everything three times, so that she didn’t make the same kind of mistake that Trixie did.

Hopefully, tomorrow would go quite well…