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The next morning, Fluttershy mumbled in her sleep as she lay down on the sofa in her living room, a warm blanket wrapped over her body. The bed in her bedroom had been offered to her guest, Pride, who accepted it eagerly. “Mm… Harry, could you please pass the scones over? Oh, would you like some more tea, Angel Bunny?”

The smell of cinnamon waffles greeted her nose, and she stirred about on the couch. “That smells wonderful… I would love to try some. Thank you…” Fluttershy’s eyes opened slowly, and she let out a quiet, graceful yawn as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What? Is somepony using my kitchen?” she asked herself as she slowly climbed off of the couch, and to her hooves.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Fluttershy yelped and jumped back, hiding behind her couch as she peeked her head over it. She noticed Pride setting two plates and two glasses of orange juice onto her dining table. “Excellent timing! Breakfast will be ready in, oh, ten minutes?”

“B-Breakfast?” Fluttershy asked, before letting out a loud gasp and hovering in the air. “Oh, no! You’re the guest! It’s my job to make breakfast!”

Pride waved her hoof dismissively. “Maybe, but in this case, you may make an exception! For it is an honour, and a privilege, to be able to experience firsthoof, the wonderful culinary skills, of the Great, and Powerful, Trixiiiiie!” Fireworks shot out around Trixie as she struck a pose, startling Fluttershy and causing her to hide behind her couch again. “Relax. They’re only illusions! Totally no fire hazard whatsoever!”

“I-Is that right?” Fluttershy asked as she once again came out of hiding. “E-Even so, it really should be me that-”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie must insist, Fluttershy. Besides, it is already too late; the food is almost ready.”

“Well, I guess, if you’ve already put so much work into it, it would be rude to turn you down now…”

“If you like, consider it payment for allowing Trixie to stay here. Though personally, the Great and Powerful would have thought her mere presence to be payment enough…”

Fluttershy slowly began to make her way towards the kitchen. “What are you making, anyway? It smells like cinnamon waffles, but I’m pretty sure I was out of them.”

“Oh, that? Our guest had some food on her, and offered us some.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at that. “‘Guest’?” she asked, receiving only a nod from Pride, who was focused on setting up the table to look just right, which seemed to include everything being perfectly symmetrical.

“Not quite right… This plate should be a little to the left, and…”

Fluttershy decided to get to the bottom of this herself, and made her way towards the kitchen, where she assumed this ‘guest’ of theirs to currently be. And she was right. Standing before her now, was another Trixie, this one carefully reading from a book held in her magic, as she panicked over the breakfast being prepared.

“Oh dear. Is this right? I think it is, but knowing me, I’ve probably just messed it up. If only Pride were here…”

Fluttershy ran the seven Trixies from yesterday through her mind, as she tried to deduce which one it was that she was currently looking at. Smiling as she reached her conclusion, she approached the new Trixie to greet her. “Good morning, Envy,” she said, startling the blue mare and making her drop the book in her magic. “Oh my, terribly sorry.”

“N-No. I probably would have dropped it anyway. My magic isn’t really so great after all, Miss… Um… Butterfly?”

“Fluttershy,” the yellow mare corrected, still smiling at the Trixie standing before her.

“O-Oh, right. Sorry, I’m not really good with names and faces.”

“That’s quite alright. But, do you mind if I ask why you’re here?”

The blue mare’s face turned into a frown, and she looked down at the floor beneath her hooves. “I-I’m sorry. I guess, I’m not welcome here after all, huh?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head. “Oh, no no no no! I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant, why are you here at my house, when I thought you were staying with Applejack?”

The Trixie looked up at the mare with a questioning look. “Staying at Applejack’s place? What do you-Oh! Oh, you must have me confused with another Trixie!” The blue mare laughed, confusing Fluttershy for a second, before stopping and giving the Pegasus a concerned look. “S-Sorry… was that too harsh?”

“Um… N-No… I’m just a little confused, that’s all.”

“Understandable. Even I am getting confused with all of the Trixies around. Oh! Not that I’m trying to put myself on a higher plane, or anything…”

“The table is set!” Pride shouted as she entered the kitchen. “The Great and Powerful Trixie, will now add the final touches to this breakfast! Prepare yourself, Fluttershy, for the most delicious meal you will ever taste in your entire life!”

“I can’t wait,” Fluttershy said, admittedly curious as to how this meal would taste.

“It won’t be that good,” the other Trixie said, causing Pride’s left eye to twitch.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is a master of the culinary arts!”

“We just know a bit about cooking. That’s all, really.”

Pride grit her teeth together, but kept her composure. After all, she wasn’t going to bring any sort of harm to another Trixie, no matter what. “… Well then, Fluttershy, why don’t you go and take a seat? The Great and Powerful Trixie will be with you shortly.”

Fluttershy looked between the two Trixies with a confused look on her face, before nodding and slowly trotting out of the kitchen. As she made her way towards the table, where there were now four placements (she suspected that the fourth placement was simply to uphold the symmetry), she couldn’t help but wonder to herself: ‘If that wasn’t Envy… then who?’

The sound of her alarm clock ringing stirred Rainbow Dash out of her sleep, and prompted her to groan as she sluggishly lifted her head from her pillow, which was soaked in her drool, and flail her arm about blindly to her side, in search of the noisy object currently offending her ears.

“Where is it?” she asked herself weakly as she searched her bedside table for her clock.

“GAH! Shut that thing up, already!” The sound of an explosion startled the rainbow-maned mare, and caused her to jump out of her bed, and clutch onto the cloud ceiling above her. She noticed that the sound of the alarm had ceased, and looked down to see Trixie – or rather, ‘Wrath’ – and the charred remnants of her alarm clock on the floor, beside her bed. “Much better…”

“H-Hey!” Rainbow Dash shouted, letting go of the ceiling and flying down to press her nose against Wrath’s, the two of them exchanged intense glares with the other. “What the hay?! That wasn’t your clock to break!”

“Well, if you had just shut it up sooner, then I wouldn’t have freaking broken it!” Wrath turned around and began to storm out of the room. “I’m taking you up on your offer last night; I’m helping myself to your fridge! After that, I’d appreciate it if you just stay out of my face!”

Rainbow Dash would have loved to just leave obnoxious mare all to herself. To just end the argument right now, before it escalated into exchanged kicks and blast of magical energy, and not have to listen to another word from Wrath’s mouth until Twilight came up with a solution. She would have loved to do that, but unfortunately, she had already made a decision last night.

“Wait,” Rainbow Dash called out, drawing Wrath’s attention.

“What?” Wrath asked, annoyance clear in her tone.

“After breakfast, there’s somewhere I wanna take you.” Wrath raised an eyebrow at that, and eyed the Pegasus suspiciously. “It won’t take long, and it’s something I think that you – or rather, Trixie – could really do with seeing.”

“What is it? And why should I care?”

“You’ll see when you get there. As for why you should care… well, it’s either this, or we go and visit the others. I’m sure Pinkie Pie would just love to spend some time with you. Or maybe we can go and see how Lust is doing.”

Wrath cringed at both suggestions, remembering full well how utterly crazy and insufferable the pink one was, and how disgusting and even more insufferable her sex-crazed other was. “… And what if I just want to stay here?”

“Then you’d be in trouble, since I have no intention of just hanging out here all day. And without me, you can’t get back down to the ground.”

Wrath growled at Rainbow Dash, who remained calm and straight-faced as she gave Wrath a stern look. Finally, the blue mare let out a disgruntled sigh. “Fine… If it’ll get you off my freaking back, I’ll go see whatever this so-called ‘important thing’ is.”

Rainbow Dash grinned, and gave Wrath’s shoulder a slight nudge, prompting the other mare to throw a kick towards Rainbow Dash’s face in response. It missed when Rainbow Dash, anticipating the attack, flew further up into the air, and gave the mare below her a smug look. “Good! Then, let’s go eat, and then we can leave!”

“Why are you so eager to leave?” Wrath asked, storming out of Rainbow Dash’s bedroom, with Rainbow Dash following behind her in the air.

“Because I want to get this over with as quickly as possible,” Rainbow Dash responded. “I want to show you this thing because of… certain reasons. But I certainly don’t want to have to spend more time with you than I have to!”

“… Good point,” Wrath said. “The first one you’ve made since we first met.”

“… I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Let’s just eat, go, and then never talk to each other ever again. Agreed?”

“Works for me.”

“WHY ARE WE IN A FREAKING FOREST?!” Wrath shouted as she pushed a few branches out of her face. “I thought you just wanted to show me something! Why does it have to be all the way out here?!”

“It’s just a little further ahead,” Rainbow Dash said, flying above Trixie at a leisurely pace. “What’s the big deal?”

“You can freaking fly! Of course you’re okay with it!”

“Quit your whining! We’re almost there.”

“I’m not whining! I’m ranting! There’s a difference! All these twigs and leaves in my hair! All the cuts and scrapes from these infernal branches! All the freaking bugs flying around! OW! Great! Now we’re moving past thorn bushes?! I better not be allergic to any of these flowers, or I swear I’m going to kick your ass!”

“We’re here,” Rainbow Dash said, doing her best to ignore Wrath’s ‘ranting’. Admittedly, she actually found it quite amusing. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“I’M BLEEDING!” Wrath yelled, holding up her hoof to show the long cut caused by a recent branch. “Not so bad my flank! And what the hell is meant to be out here that’s so damn important?! All I see is a giant tree!”

“And that’s it!” Rainbow Dash declared, landing next to the large tree in question, which towered so high up into the air, that the top couldn’t even be seen by the two mares at it base. “This tree right here, is what I wanted to show you!”

“… What?” Wrath asked, her right eye twitching and her horn sparking up. “If this is a joke, I am not. A. MUSED!”

“Whoa, just calm down for a second!” Wrath’s horn remained lit, but she at least seemed to refrain from firing before Rainbow Dash could explain. “Alright, I’m gonna let you in on a secret, okay?”

“A secret?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Look, you’re not the only one who gets fed up of other ponies now and then. Heck, I’ve had my fair share of other ponies constantly giving me grief, and when I was a child, I had a very short fuse! But after enough scoldings from my folks, I realised that I needed a better way to vent out my frustrations, rather than just picking fights with everypony that pisses me off.

“That’s when I found this baby. This tree is a special one, y’know? It’s been around for over one thousand years, and in all that time, it has never changed! Not only that, but it’s tough, too! You can buck it all day long, and it won’t suffer a single scratch!” To demonstrate, Rainbow Dash flew a good distance away from the tree, and then charged at it with such high speed that any regular tree would have felled from the impact she caused. However, the tree remained completely undisturbed and, as Rainbow Dash had said, unscratched.

“This is my secret spot, where I come to vent out all my anger, and give this tree the beating I wish I could give some of the ponies that anger me. This tree has helped me through a lot of hard times…”

Wrath nodded, showing that she was following so far. “And? What does that have to do with me?” she asked, clearly growing impatient.

“Look, I know you’ve been through hard times. And, if you’re supposed to be Trixie’s anger in pony form, then that means she has a lot of anger pent up inside of her. Now, I’m not saying I like her or anything, but when I saw your face last night, I remembered how I used to look, whenever the older colts gave me a hard time for my reckless flying…

“I guess, what I’m trying to say, is that, I’ll let you use this spot, whenever you start to get worked up. It’s a good, quiet place to just chill out, and forget everything for a bit.” Wrath didn’t say anything. She just stared up at Rainbow Dash, examining the blue Pegasus closely, with a sceptical look on her face. “… And, about what Pride said yesterday, about having no friends to turn to? … I just want you to know, you shouldn’t be afraid of approaching Twilight, just ‘cause of us.”

“Who says I was afraid?!” Wrath shouted, aiming her horn and firing a blast of magical energy. Rainbow Dash blocked with her forelegs, but was surprised when she felt nothing at all. In fact, the beam had passed her completely, and struck the tree behind her. It was followed by two more blasts. “Damnit! Don’t pretend you care! Don’t pretend you give a damn about me! You’re just like the rest of them! You give me crap whenever I try to perform one of my shows! You hate me just for being who I am! You’re intolerant! Hateful! Horrible!” Every word was punctuated with another blast of magic from Wrath’s horn.

“Hey! Don’t go comparing me to those ponies that chased you out of their towns!”

“Why not?! What’s the difference?! Magic is my talent, and performing is my passion! Whether you simply heckle me during a show, or try to chase me out of your town before I can even perform, it’s all the same!”

Rainbow Dash bit her lower lip. “I didn’t know,” she muttered.

“WHO CARES?! Maybe, you should have thought before you acted!”

“And what about Rarity, huh?!” Rainbow Dash countered, stopping Wrath relentless attacks on the old tree. “Rarity is super sensitive about her looks! Sure, I’ve pulled a few pranks on her from time to time, but I’ve never gone so far as to make such a mess out of her mane! Not after I learned the first time just how much it hurts her feelings!”

“She asked for it!” Wrath shouted. “She insulted my magic! She tore up my curtain! She-”

“Even so, you still went too far!”

“I DIDN’T KNOW!” Wrath paused, and stared wide-eyed at the mare flying above her. After a moment of silence between the two, Wrath turned her head away with a huff.

“No. You didn’t. And if you had, what would you have done?”

“… If it was Trixie… I’d imagine she would have settled for ruining the dress that Rarity had just made, instead.”

“And you know what I would have done, if I knew how much performing meant to you? If I knew how much you hated ponies that interrupted your show?” Wrath didn’t respond. “I would’ve waited! I would’ve waited until after the show, before challenging you! I’ll admit I was wrong, but there are two sides to this, Trixie!”

“My name’s Wrath,” Wrath corrected.

“No, I’m talking to Trixie right now. Trixie, I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry I tried to ruin your show like that. And I’m sorry I’ve been kind of a jerk to you in the past…” Rainbow Dash waited a moment, but received no words back from Wrath. “Well? Don’t you have something to say, too?”

“I’m Wrath,” the Unicorn repeated. “Anything I say will only stem from Trixie’s anger. If you want to hear Trixie’s response, you’ll have to wait.” Rainbow Dash sighed, but nodded in understanding. “… But, I will say this: right now, my hate towards you isn’t quite as strong anymore. I think that might be a good thing… Thanks, Rainbow Dash. For at least trying to reach an understanding, rather than just judging me right away.”

Rainbow Dash blushed, and turned her head away. “I just don’t think it’s fair how you’ve been treated, is all. Okay, so you lied. Big deal! Daring Do is a work of fiction, but it’s still the most awesome story I’ve ever read! Definitely beats Twilight’s stories of visiting the Royal library, or Granny Smith’s tale of how she bought two apples for just one bit!”

“So you sympathise with Trixie, is that it?”

“… I hate bullies,” Rainbow Dash said, turning back to Wrath and landing on the ground. “Hate ‘em, hate ‘em, HATE ‘EM! And Trixie was being bullied all across Equestria! To tell you the truth, I had actually wanted to talk to her after the Alicorn Amulet was off! I wanted to show her this place sooner, since it was clear she had no idea how to deal with her problems. But after she ran off, and I couldn’t find her, I guess I just… kinda forgot.”

“… Deal with my problems… You mean, like this?” Wrath’s horn lit up again, and she blasted the tree behind Rainbow Dash one more time. As the light from the blast faded, Wrath shot the Pegasus a grin, which was returned by the recipient.

“That’s the spirit! Don’t let nopony get you down! And make sure that Trixie knows, she’s welcome here whenever she gets angry!”

“Hmph! You make no sense. A bitch one moment, then kind the next.”

Rainbow Dash scowled at the Unicorn’s harsh word. “Ponies are like that, y’know?”

“It pisses me off.” Wrath turned to the bushes behind her, her horn glowing up threateningly once more. “It also pisses me off when somepony follows my shadow! So come on out, before I set you on fire!”

“What?” Rainbow Dash looked at the same bushes that Wrath was focused on, and noticed them shuffling. She quickly landed onto the ground, and cast a harsh glare on whoever was following them. “Who’s there?! Come on out!”

“N-Now please, don’t do anything rash. I meant you no harm, I assure you.” A pony stepped out from the bushes, and both Wrath and Rainbow Dash gasped at what they saw. “And I didn’t follow you here. I simply tacked you down.”

“Trixie?!” Rainbow Dash asked, staring at the blue Unicorn mare standing in the bushes. “But… which one?”

“I don’t know,” Wrath said. “She doesn’t act like any of the others, that’s for sure.” Wrath raised her voice as she addressed the new Trixie. “Hey! What’s your name, and why do you look so much like Trixie?!”

Gluttony groaned as she ran the dish in her hooves under the hot water of the kitchen sink at Sugarcube Corner. “I’m hungryyyyy. When’s snack time?”

“You just ate,” Mr. Cake said. “We’ll be opening up soon, so I’d suggest that you hurry up, if you want to pay off your remaining debt as quickly as possible.”

“Can’t I just have one little piece of shortcake? Pleeeeease?”

“No,” Mr. Cake said sternly. “Those are for the customers. However, if you do a very good job today, I’ll think about giving you some of the leftovers after we close up shop. Deal?”

“… Ugh, fine.” Gluttony placed the now-washed dish on the rack beside the sink, and moved on to her final bowl. Her stomach roared loudly, causing her to groan even more. “I hate working… I prefer eating.

“Well, these fine ponies put a lot of work into the food that they make. If you just ate everything without paying, they would be the ones to suffer for it.”

Mr. Cake nodded his head, before stopping what he was doing and looking towards the entrance to the kitchen. “Who’s there? You can’t be here without-” He stopped when he saw who was there. It was Trixie. But, Trixie was just behind him! He looked behind himself, and saw that Trixie was still there, washing a bowl in the kitchen sink.

“Who are you?” Gluttony asked, finishing up her bowl and setting it on the rack beside the sink.

“You should show some restraint,” the new Trixie said. “Only take what you need, and not any more than that.”

Gluttony frowned, and approached the other Trixie. “Oh yeah? Well I need all those sweets, to sate my appetite! And what’s it to you, anyway? Who are you? Wrath? You look too calm to be her…”

“All I’m saying, is that you should consider those around you. It was un-thoughtful of you to eat all that food, and then attempt to run away without paying.”

“I asked you who you are. Answer me!”

“I’m…”

Rarity sighed as she stirred a spoon in her tea slowly. It had been a good fifteen minutes since she mixed the milk into her tea, and the beverage had already grown cold, but Rarity hadn’t even noticed. She was too busy focusing on something else.

“Morning, Rarity,” Lust said as she descended the stairs of the boutique. She then proceeded to wrap her forelegs around the white mare, and rub the side of her face into Rarity’s mane. “That was quite a night we had, huh?”

“Y-Yes…” Rarity responded, squirming out of Lust’s hold and rising to her hooves. “Lust, dear, I need to step out for a moment. Would you mind waiting here?”

“Not at all. Just don’t take too long,” Lust said, winking and blowing a goodbye kiss to Rarity, who blushed and turned to exit her store. Once she was outside, Rarity let out a deep sigh.

“What have I done?” she asked herself, walking down the street with a guilty look on her face.

“Howdy there, Rarity!” Rarity’s ears perked up, and she looked up from the ground to face Applejack as she neared. “Y’all look pretty tired. Lust must’ve been a hoofful last night, huh?”

Rarity’s ears flattened against her head. “Yes… I guess you could say that…”

“Hey, how ‘bout we grab a couple of shakes from over there?” Applejack pointed towards a refreshment stand behind Rarity. “Ah’ve got one heck of a tale ta tell. Ya ain’t gonna believe-” Applejack noticed the frown on Rarity’s face as the white mare began to follow her. “… Looks like you’ve got something on yer mind, too. Wanna talk about it?”

Rarity shook her head. “N-No. Really, that’s quite alright.”

“Aw, c’mon now, Rarity. Y’know you can always count on yer friends when ye’re feelin’ down!”

“Really, Applejack, I-”

“Ah ain’t takin’ ‘no’ for an answer. Is it about Lust?” Rarity said nothing, but Applejack was able to read her facial expressions like an open book. “So that’s a ‘yes’… So ah guess she really was putting the moves on ya all night, then.” Rarity only nodded slowly. “Ah see… It must’ve been tiring, keepin’ her off of ya all night long.” Again, Rarity said nothing. “… You did keep her away, right?”

Finally, it was all too much for the dressmaker to bear. “I couldn’t help it! She got into my adult’s clothing line, and picked out the most perfect saddle that just made her look so… So…”

Applejack’s eyes widened. “Y-Ya mean, you an’ her…”

“Nine times,” Rarity admitted with a blush. “Ten, if you count her last ‘gift’ to me at the end. Or would that just be nine-and-a-half? Ooh, that’s not the issue here! I’m so, so sorry, Applejack! I just couldn’t resist her any longer, and I-”

“Why’re ya apologising?” Applejack asked. “Ah mean, sure ah’m surprised, but it’s none of mah business who y’all sleep with.”

“Well, it’s just… a lady shouldn’t give in to such temptations, and I know you aren’t exactly a fan of Trixie’s. I just… didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Applejack placed a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Hun, now you listen closely here. While it’s true that ah didn’t exactly approve of Trixie comin’ in here an’ showin’ off like that, does not mean ah don’t like her. An’ quite frankly, the only thing ah’m disappointed ‘bout is that y’all will think that’s what kind of pony ah am.” Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but Applejack continued before she got the chance. “Furthermore, even if ah didn’t like her, yer love life ain’t none of mah business. Y’all can date a diamond dog or the changeling Queen, for all ah care. Ye’re mah friend, an’ ah’ll stand by whatever decision y’all make. ‘Cause that’s what friends do.”

Rarity simply stared at Applejack with two wide, sparkling eyes, her mouth agape as she felt moved by the farm pony’s words. “Applejack…”

“Still, ah didn’t take ya for the kind ta be taken in by a pretty face an’ a few seductive lines,” Applejack teased, causing Rarity to back away and blush. “Nine times, huh? Woo-hee! Ah think y’all better tell Pinkie Pie right away! It’s been a while since her last ‘new-found love’ party!”

Rarity shook her head sadly. “I-It isn’t love, Applejack… That’s actually what I feel the worst about.”

“And so you should!” a venomous voice called out, drawing both of the mares’ attentions towards its source. “How could you do such a thing?! The pony body is sacred, and you defiled it last night, without any hint of remorse?!”

Applejack frowned and stepped in to defend her friend. “An’ just which Trixie are you, huh?”

The Trixie stopped approaching the two mares, and gave them both hate-filled glares. “Mother Faust made all of us little ponies using her own heart and soul. To defile our bodies with such sinful acts is blasphemy against her! Those kinds of actions should only be performed between those who have sworn eternity together!”

The Trixie pointed a hoof at Rarity, who backed away with a whimper under the blue Unicorn’s glare. “And, to top it all off, you show no signs of remorse! No hints that you shall take responsibility for your actions! You slept with somepony who you don’t even love? Shame on you!”

“Hey!” another Trixie shouted, running up to the first one. “Who d’you think you are, deciding who she can and can’t sleep with like that? And I don’t care if she doesn’t love me! Like I said, there’s a chance that Trixie won’t love her! All that matters is we enjoyed ourselves, and let out a lot of stress! No harm done to anypony!”

“But there is harm! Harm to herself, and to the pony she does love!”

“Ah don’t see how it’s any of yer business what Rarity does behind closed doors, an’ ah would appreciate if ya didn’t try an’ make her feel guilty about it!”

“You’re siding with her? Are you serious?! She’s tainted her body with that heinous act last night! She’s unclean! Unholy! She’s-”

“That’s enough!” Applejack shouted, stomping the ground with her forehooves for emphasis. “Like ah said, who are y’all?!”

“… Hmph! My name is Chastity. I am a part of Trixie. Perhaps the only part that has yet to be broken by this world.”

Applejack raised a curious eyebrow at that. “What d’ya mean?”

“Don’t say it!” Lust shouted. “Pride would die of embarrassment if anypony found out! Not to mention me!”

“Say what?” Rarity asked, also curious.

Chastity gave a proud grin, and ignored Lust’s pleas. “Why, that Trixie’s body has remained untainted, despite the hell that she has lived!”

“… You mean-”

“Quite right!” Chastity interrupted. “Trixie Lulamoon is a virgin!” Lust slammed her forehooves into her face, and let out a muffled scream. “Or at least she was, until you happened. Though, maybe it doesn’t count, since it was only one aspect of Trixie.”

Rarity’s eyes widened in shock, and her mouth began to move on its own, but no words formed. Applejack decided to speak up instead. “That can’t be right. From the way Lust talked yesterday, it seemed like Trixie had-”

“An act,” Chastity said. “Pride wouldn’t allow ponies to know that Trixie is a twenty-three year old virgin. For what reason, I don’t know. That’s honestly the only thing she had going for her, after the rest of her had been corrupted by this world’s evil.”

“You mean… I was her first?” Rarity asked.

“Like I said, that doesn’t count! Lust is only one aspect of Trixie! Trixie’s body will still remain pure when she returns! You’ll see!”

“But… she was so good,” Rarity said, blushing as she realised what words had just escaped her lips. “I-I mean-”

“Trixie,” Lust started, removing her hooves from her face slightly, “Read a lot of books. And watched a lot of movies. She could never find somepony to spend her lonely nights with, so she had to satisfy herself most of the time. And in that time, she learned all the tricks to making a mare’s body feel good. I gained that knowledge from her.”

Applejack shot Chastity a slight grin. “Doesn’t look like she was so pure, after all.” Chastity growled at Applejack, but didn’t say anything in response. “Anyway, this reminds me: there was something ah wanted ta tell everypony, about this mornin’.”

“Oh?” Rarity asked.

“Well, we woke up this mornin’, and Envy wanted ta give apple buckin’ a go. However, when we got out ta the field…”

“There she is!” The group turned their attention towards the two new Trixies heading towards them. “Applejack, sorry we’re late! We got a little sidetracked.”

“Don’ worry ‘bout it! Ah was just about ta tell Rarity ‘bout our new guest… Wait, which Trixie am ah talkin’ to, right now?”

The Trixie that called out to Applejack offered a warm smile to the orange mare. “I’m Kindness. Envy here tried to take a balloon from a little filly in the town square, and I had to stop her, and teach her the value of being content with what she has.”

Envy sighed, and turned her head away from Kindness. “I want a balloon too… I almost had it, but you took it away from me…”

“Now, now. I know that things were hard for Trixie, but you’ve got to admit, they could be worse. We should just be thankful for the things that we have, like our magic.”

“I want stronger magic. I wonder if we could find the Alicorn Amulet again?”

“NO!” Applejack and Rarity shouted in unison. To their surprise, the other three Trixies shouted it, too.

“No!” Lust repeated. “Above all, that is the one thing we should never do!”

“For once, I agree with Lust!” Chastity said. “That amulet almost killed Trixie!”

“It did?” Applejack asked in surprise.

“Only in a sense,” Kindness explained. “If Trixie had never taken that off, she would have gained the power that she so desired… but it wouldn’t have been her. Just somepony that looks like her.”

Envy’s frown grew. “I don’t care. Just as long as I get that power I so desperately want…”

Lust sighed, and looked around for something. “It was Trixie’s desperation that made her seek out the amulet. But it was her anger and her jealousy that ultimately led her there, and compelled her to put it on.” Lust found something in the distance, and walked over to Envy. “Hey, Envy. Check out that neat ball over there.”

Envy looked over her shoulder, and found three little fillies playing with an orange ball, with yellow stars on it. “That’s a nice ball…”

“You want it?” Lust asked. “That’s a shame, ‘cause it’s theirs, not yours.”

Envy’s frown returned, and she sat down on her haunches. “I wish I had that ball…”

The other three Trixies sighed. Even if Kindness didn’t agree with Envy’s desire for material possessions, the fear that Envy might actually seek out the Alicorn Amulet completely overrode that part of her brain.

“So, let me get this straight,” Rarity said. “There are nine Trixies?”

“Fourteen,” a voice corrected. The voice belonged to Twilight Sparkle, who approached the six ponies with a book in her magic, accompanied by three more Trixies. “I knew there was something wrong! Eastern magic almost always revolves around the idea of ‘perfect balance’! It seemed odd that she would only be split into her ‘sinful aspects’!”

“Her what now?” Applejack asked.

“Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Envy, Pride, Lust, and Sloth. Those are the ‘seven deadly sins’ of pony. But for each of these ‘sinful aspects’, there is a ‘heavenly aspect’, which, together, make up the ‘seven heavenly virtues’ of pony.”

“… Ah… don’t really follow,” Applejack admitted.

“So basically, there are seven more Trixies, each one mirroring the seven that we encountered yesterday?” Rarity asked, and Twilight nodded happily.

“That’s right! It seems that these other seven were teleported somewhere separate from the first seven when the spell went off. Possibly due to the spatial limitations, since Greed told me that the spell was performed in Trixie’s trailer.”

“Or the wreckage that it once was,” Lust said, rolling her eyes. “Fixing it was going to be the first thing she had all her clones do. So, there were more of us created, huh?”

“That’s right,” one of the Trixie said as she stepped forward. “We were surprised, too, when we had heard that seven other Trixies had been sighted on the train to Ponyville. So, we decided to hop on the next train and follow you all. Unfortunately, the next train was delayed until the following morning, due to an explosion on the tracks…”

“That was probably Wrath,” Envy said. “She threw one of Pride’s fireworks out of the window in a fit of rage, but it turned out to be one of the more powerful ones… She didn’t even ask if I wanted it,” she added with a pout.

The other Trixie nodded her head. “I see. Perhaps introductions are in order: my name is Charity, and this is-” Charity stopped when he noticed the three fillies from earlier sitting on the floor, looking rather depressed. “Excuse me.”

The rest of the group watched in confusion as she ran towards the three fillies. “Excuse me, my little ponies,” she called out, drawing the attention of the three depressed fillies. “What’s the matter? Why do you look so down?”

“We tried to get our Cutie Marks in hoofball,” the white one explained.

“But it was no good,” the orange one added.

The yellow one let out a depressed sigh. “D’ya have any idea for us to try next, Trixie?”

Charity’s ears twitched at the mention of her former self’s name. ‘So she’s met one of us? Or maybe the original…’ Charity smiled, and reach out a hoof to pat the yellow filly on the head. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find your Cutie Marks, just as long as you keep trying.” An idea formed in Charity’s head, and she huddled the fillies together to share it.

Meanwhile, Greed decided to introduce the other Trixie herself. “This is Diligence,” she said, and said pony stepped forward to greet Applejack and Rarity, the latter backing away and gagging when she got close enough to smell the stench coming off of this Trixie.

“What you smell there is the result of all of my hard work and exercise!” Diligence boasted, flexing her forehooves to show off her muscles. “Unlike that lazy ‘Sloth’ back in the library, I am actually willing to apply and make something of myself! I’m not going to just sit around when my entire future is at stake! I’m going to do my best, to erase those stories of the ursa minor from everypony’s minds!”

“I wish I had that kind of drive,” Envy said, tracing circles in the ground with her hoof.

“Hard work or not, I think a visit to the spa is most certainly in order!” Rarity said, holding a hoof to her nose.

“No time to lounge around in some pool of water! I’ve gotta get back to my jogging!” Diligence turned around and stretched her legs a bit. “Let me know when you’re ready to fix us!” she told Twilight.

“Actually,” the librarian began, “I am ready. I just need all fourteen of you here.”

Diligence clapped her forehooves together. “Great! Then I’ll go find them! You guys wait right here!”

“I think it would be best if we split up,” Twilight said. “Diligence, Gluttony should be over at Sugarcube Corner. Can you go and get her for me, please?”

“Sugarcube Corner! Got it!” Diligence began jogging on the spot, before turning to Twilight. “Which is where, exactly?”

Twilight pointed Diligence in the right direction, and the energetic mare was off soon afterwards. “Applejack, Rarity, could you two split up and find Wrath and Pride?”

“What about the other virtues?” Applejack asked.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Kindness said. “When we got here, we heard from the locals about the other Trixies, and we were able to deduce who was staying with whom. We then split up and decided to seek out our opposites.”

Applejack put a hoof to her chin and nodded. “So in other words, we find those sins, an’ we find them virtues?”

“That’s about it,” Kindness confirmed.

“I’ll stay here with the Trixies we currently have gath-Wait! Where’s Charity?” Everypony turned to where Charity and the three fillies once were, but now found that they were gone. “Oh, great! Just great! Where could she have gone?”

“Knowing her, she’s out offering her services to anypony who looks like they need help,” Chastity said. “In other words, she could be anywhere.”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Applejack, you find Rainbow Dash, who should be with Wrath. Rarity, you go get Fluttershy and Pride. On the way, could you ask Spike to go and find Charity when you pass the library?”

The two mares nodded. “Will do, Twilight,” Applejack said.

“You can count on me!” Rarity said. “But, what about Sloth? What should we do with her?”

Twilight let out a groan. “We’ll need Rainbow Dash for that. I was going to carry her here with my magic, but I need to save it for the spell.”

“What about me?” Applejack asked. “Ah reckon ah’m plenty strong enough ta carry that mare here, all on mah own.”

“Trust me, she’s heavier than she looks.”

“Hey!” all of the Trixies gathered shouted in unison. Twilight winced and shied away from their glares. Lesson learned: never say that a mare is heavy whilst she can hear you. Especially not when there are five versions of that mare there at the same time.