“Wake up!”
I groggily opened my eyes to see Pride standing over me. I checked my phone’s clock. It was over an hour before my alarm was set to go off. “Pride, I don’t need to get up for another hour.”
“You’ve gotten eight hours of sleep. It’s time for breakfast.”
“Breakfast?” I don’t have any food. I crawled out of bed and followed Pride out to the kitchen. Gluttony was cooking in the kitchen, and it smelt delicious. It was a refreshing break from the burnt grease smell she’d been bombarded with for the last few years. “Did you use your powers to create the food?”
“Yes”
“Is it safe for human consumption?”
“Yes, it is chemically identical to naturally grown food.”
“Okay, that’s good.” I sat down as Pride went into the kitchen.
He grabbed the coffee pot and cup and some sugar and cream from the fridge and brought them over to me. He remained standing as I fixed my coffee to my liking.
“Does caffeine have any effect on demons?”
“No, it does not. We do need to speak about what you need to become a veterinarian.”
“I’ve already figured out what I need. I need money to pay for my remaining seven years of school and a strong support system so I don’t drop out again.”
“We can talk with Greed about finances, but I’m not sure which one of us can help with your support system.”
As they were talking, Gluttony brought over the food, way too much food. He brought over a total of three plates, one for the eggs, one for the veggies, and one for the sausage and bacon.
“Thank you, Gluttony, but this is too much.”, I said.
“Ya need ta put some meat on yer bones. Eat.” His voice was deep and gruff. I couldn’t place where his accent was from, but it sounded like a mixture between a Scottish and Slavic accent.
“If she eats this much, she’ll get sick.”, Pride said. “Lady Fluttershy, eat what you want. Gluttony will put what you don’t eat away for later.”
Gluttony, clearly unhappy, grumbled and disappeared.
“Um, Pride, I haven’t seen Envy since she, eh, slithered away yesterday. Is she okay?”
“She is temperamental and fickle. She most likely has already forgotten.”
“Oh, okay.”
I didn’t end up eating much of the food, less than one plate. I’ve never had much of an appetite. As Pride created some cling wrap and Gluttony reappeared, the latter seemed to notice the meat was completely untouched.
“Wha’ ya don’t like meat?”
“No actually, I’m a vegetarian.”
“Well, if y’re not gonna eat it.” Gluttony picked up the meat plate and poured it into his mouth.
“Gluttony, when you eat, does the food go through your body the same way as mine?”
“Eh, no, ze food is completely turned inta energy zat Ah c’n use late’. Ah jus’ like ze feelin’ a’ eatin’,”
I guess when Pride means ‘put it in his body’ he means put it in his mouth. “Thank you both.”, I said as I went back into my room to change. When I entered, I saw my uniforms clean and neatly folded on my bed.
I felt arms wrap around and a horn graze the side of my head. “We need to get you a different job, one that doesn’t leave your clothes all nasty.”, the seductress voice of Lust said.
“Yeah, I would really like that.”
Lust was right next to me. Her cute, little tail was in arm’s reach. I did tell her she could tell me to stop. I reached behind Lust and grabbed her ass and worked my way up until I found her tail. All the while, she rubbed her bum against my hand. It was very fluffy and softer than a goat’s tail normally is. I reminded myself that she isn’t actually a goat, just a goat/human-like demonic energy based lifeform.
“Your tail is very nice.”
“Mmm, thank you.”
I separated myself from Lust and walked over to the bed. I changed into my uniform and packed my second one. I grabbed my phone then headed out. As I walked through the living room, I stopped to talk to Pride. “Pride, do you know anything about electronics?”
“No, I do not. I am a being of magic, not science.”, he said indignantly.
“Okay, I guess the garage will stay broken for a while.”, I said as I walked out to my car.
I sat on the curb with my head in my hands, breathing heavily. I didn’t even feel like eating, I was so stressed out. All I did was drop an empty container. It didn’t even break. My boss, who had a habit of doing this to others, spent ten minutes shouting at me for it. My body shook like a leaf in the wind as I came down from my adrenaline high. I wasn’t sure if I could safely drive.
I must’ve been too far into my own head as someone was able to get close enough to me to backhand the side of my head. I covered my head and shakily looked up and behind me only to see the sinister sneer of Sunset Shimmer. I froze and let out an involuntary squeaky whimper.
“Well, look who we have here. I knew you weren’t going anywhere in life. And you’re a dishwasher at that. Is there anything lower?”, Sunset said.
“Please leave me alone.”
“What was that? I couldn’t catch that.”, she said mockingly while putting her hand up to her ear.
“Hey! Simmer! Don’tcha have some puppies ta kick!”
We both looked over to see Rainbow marching up to us.
“It’s ‘Shimmer’ you feather brained buffoon.”, Sunset said menacingly.
“Not with that bacon hair it ain’t.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. Bacon sizzles. Water simmers.”
The two of them were now face to face, and I stumbled away from them. Sunset had about a foot and thirty pounds on Rainbow and was a fighter while Rainbow isn’t.
“You haven’t matured at all since high school. You’re still that arrogant brat that couldn’t care about another person to save her life. What has your fancy engineering degree gotten you?”
“A job that doesn’t leave me smelling like grease and soap.”
“A good job doesn’t make you a good person. Is there anyone that cares about you?”
That seemed to have struck something as Sunset’s face went from cocky to murderous rage. She lunged at Rainbow, but instead of fighting back, she bolted in the other direction. Sunset chanced after her, and I was left frozen to my spot. It wasn’t until Sunset stopped and looked back at me was I finally able to move again and run to my car. I peeled out of there, not caring if I hit her. It turns out she didn’t try to rush me as I drove past her on the sidewalk. The way she looked at me… she looked more demonic than the literal demons.
I drove home with my hands and whole body shaking. Driving like this definitely didn’t feel safe, but I was doing surprisingly well. Once I was in my driveway and the car was off, I placed my head on the steering wheel. My body was still shaking. I didn’t feel like I was going to cry. The look Sunset gave was still front in my mind. She was always off and a bully, but that was different.
I waited until my shaking wasn’t visibly noticeable before heading inside. Like last night, I was greeted by Pride and the lights turning on the moment I stepped inside.
“Welcome home, Lady Fluttershy.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to greet me like this when I get home.”
“Would you prefer it if I didn’t?”
“Yes, please.”
I walked into the kitchen and placed my to-go bag in the fridge. Maybe Gluttony could make it into something that wouldn’t flush out my bowels. I turned around to see Greed sitting in the living room. I guess it’s time for the finance talk. I walked over and joined him on the couch. Pride stood behind Greed.
“So, you need to be putting away large amounts of money fast. Let’s talk about your bills.” Greed’s voice was slightly rumbly, but he otherwise sounded like any bank teller. He held a pad of paper and
“Okay, the house is paid off; I only have to pay the property taxes. If you guys can continue converting my trash into energy, I won’t have to pay for trash pick up.”
“We can do that.”, Greed interjected. “I don’t like the idea of other people stealing our trash.”
So, Greed’s a straight up hoarder. At least Pride should be able to keep him in check. “That leaves me with electricity, water, gas, car gas, maintenance fund, all my insurances, taxes, and phone. Oh, and I need to get internet set up.”
“What is this “internet”, and is it really necessary?”
“Nowadays, absolutely, especially if I want to get a new job. Most employers only accept applications sent in over the internet.”
“Okay, that’s our next item of discussion. How much do you make?”
“Between both my jobs, about thirty-two-thousand dollars a year. After all my expenses, that leaves me with about twenty-thousand dollars.”
“How much does… what was it?”
“Vet school, and two-hundred-twenty-five-thousand dollars.”, I said with a bit of a cringe.
“Okay, at your current rate, you’ll need to save up for eleven years and three months to pay for your school.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve looked into getting a loan, but the interest rates are incredibly high.”
“Okay, what can we do to get you a better paying job?”
I pulled out my phone and looked up jobs that don’t require a degree, and immediately, something stood out to me. “Mail sorter is an option.” I looked further. “It has health and dental and pays double what I’m currently making. I’ll get the internet set up, and we can look more into this then.”
“Good, now, what can we do to reduce your expenses?”
“Can you make my car run off magic?”, I said while looking at Pride.
“Grease monkey work is beneath me.”, Pride said indignantly.
“What he means ta say is, he doesn’t know how to.”, Lust said from behind me.
“I was wondering where you were.”, I said.
“I’d never miss an opportunity to annoy Pride. You seem tense. What’s wrong?”
“I had a bad day.”, I said quietly.
Lust wrapped her arms around me and rubbed her horn against my head. As nice as it was, it wasn’t the same as another human’s touch, and there was only one human I wanted wrapped around me.
“Tell me.”, Lust said.
How do I even describe it? “Well, my boss yelled at me, and then I ran into my high school bully in the parking lot. If it weren’t for an old friend, I’m not sure what she would’ve done.”
“Were you scared?”
“Yes”
“Then why didn’t you call Wrath? Battle is her thing.”
“What do you mean?”
Lust unwrapped herself and looked at me with a serious look. It was a new look on her. “We haven’t given you the full rundown on what you can do, have we?”
“No”
“And we shouldn’t.”, Pride said.
“What, do you think she’d be one to abuse her power?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Well, I’m telling her anyway. I’m not sitting idle in this dump for another decade because she got killed when one of us could’ve saved her.”
“Can you do that after we’re done?”, Greed asked.
“Sure”, Lust said before disappearing.
“So, electricity, water, and gas, could you use your magic to subsidize those?”, I asked.
“We have been using our magic to light the house. Many of the bulbs are non-functioning.”, Pride informed. “Electricity is relatively cheap. I’d recommend focusing our limited extra energy into something more costly, unless you intend on producing mountains of garbage.”
Wait, really? I thought back to my first night, and yeah, it was much darker that night. I was too distracted by everything to notice. “Okay, I’ll stop by the store tomorrow and pick up some bulbs. Pride, please count how many bulbs we need.” I should get those energy saver bulbs. What kind of bulbs do I have?
“It will be done.”
“You seem to have already medicated expenses as much as possible. We’ll start job hunting once you get this in-ter-net set up.” With that, Greed disappeared.
“Thank you”, I said unassuredly into the air.
“Would you like me to count the bulbs now?”, Pride asked.
“Yes, I’ll go shopping tomorrow.” With business taken care of, I went back to my room.
The now familiar and welcomed feeling of Lust hugging me from behind. She ran her hands under my shirt, pants, and underwear, taking them off. I remembered what she said about sitting idle for over a decade. That would drive just about any human nuts in just about every way imaginable. The way she touched me and served me made it clear she enjoyed this. I don’t have any fetishes like that and am still a bit uneasy with it, though I am growing to enjoy it more. I wanna make her happy. I’d like to make them all happy, but Lust, so far, seems to be the only one open to it.
Lust took my shoes and socks off then gathered everything up into a pile in a corner. She began walking to the bathroom, swishing her tail in an extra showy way. It was hot. I followed her, and like last night, the bath was filled. I stepped in and let the water cleanse me of the fast food filth.
“So, what can I do?”
“Well, for starters, you can summon us. All you have ta do is call us, and it works outside of the house too. Even though we are bound to this property and can’t exactly leave it, you summoning us is the exception to that rule.”
“And nobody will be able to see you?”
“Not unless we want them to see us. Even if we do need to expose ourselves, we can make ourselves look more human.”
“Pride’s talons?”
“And yeah, we can go in the opposite direction too and change into less human forms. This just so happens to be a good middle ground.”
“So, all I have to do is say your names?”
“With a bit of oomph. You need to say it like you're calling someone. If you say it like you’re just mentioning us, it won’t work.”
“Is there a range limit, like can I get too far away to summon you?”
“Yes, but the range limit is all of Earth. So long as you don’t leave the planet or realm jump, you can summon us.”
“That’s good.”, I said with a smile.
“We also can’t disobey you if you give us a direct command, but we can delay executing the command if you don’t give a time constraint, like Wrath did when we first met.”
“I remember you mentioning that when we first met, and I don’t want to do that to you.”
“But you used it on me and Pride yesterday.”
“I wanted you guys to stop arguing. I really don’t want to force you guys to do anything.”
“You might need to with the less obedient of us, like Sloth, Greed, or Envy. Greed is going to try to steal from you. That’s what he does. Sloth will spend all day in the aether if he can. And Envy is the most entitled and spiteful of us all. I, on the other hand, don’t need that kind of power to be used on me, but I’d like it if you did.”
“Right” I sunk down into the water. “Anything else?”
Lust started thinking and counting on her fingers. “I can’t think of anything. If I do, I'll tell you.”
“Okay” I finished up my bath, Lust dried me off, and I went to bed.
Like every other week night, I walked out of work with a bag of gastric reflux and cinnamon covered cardboard. Gluttony liked what I brought home yesterday and was able to convert it to something more nutritious and less gut destroying, so I planned on giving this to him too.
“Hey! Fluttershy!”, the unmistakable voice of Rainbow called out.
I turned around to face her as I reached my car’s bumper and couldn’t help but smile. “Hey”
“About yesterday, are you okay?”, she asked as she came to a stop in front of me.
“Oh, I’m fine. I got out of there safe thanks to you distracting her.”
“Good, that’s what I hoped.” Rainbow fidgeted awkwardly. It has been so long since either of us could just talk with each other. “Um, so, what are you doing later?”
“I actually have ta do some shopping. I need new light bulbs.”
“Cool, I’ll come with you.”
“Oh, um, thanks.”
Each of us gave the other a little wave as we headed back to our cars. I got into mine and began to drive. As I drove to the store, Rainbow drove close behind. I parked in the nearly empty parking lot of the Depot-Depot store. This place sold everything you needed for home improvement and your office. Rainbow parked next to me and followed me in. As we walked, we stayed close to each other.
“So, light bulbs, I think they’re this way.” Rainbow led me over to the correct section. The whole time, we stayed so close that our hands brushed up against each other. I wanted to grab Rainbow’s hand but was too nervous to. “So, what kind do you want?”
“Um, let me look.” I looked at all the options. I searched for what would last the longest and use the least amount of energy. “I think this would work.”
Rainbow came over and looked at my selection. “Yeah, that’s a good brand.”
“How do you know? You never seemed like the handywoman type to me.”
“A girl I was dating was, and I picked up some stuff.”
My heart sank in my chest until I fully processed what I heard. “Was dating?”
“Yeah, she really wasn’t as attentive as I wanted from a partner. It felt more like we were friends with benefits after a while, and I broke up with her.”
“What do you want from a partner?” It came out so quickly, I had no time to stop it. I froze as my nerves got the better of me, but another part wanted to hear the answer.
Rainbow looked at me and then back down at the light bulbs. “Um, let’s get back to shopping. I have some things I need to pick up.”
I nodded. “Yeah, okay.” I grabbed as many bulbs as I needed and a few extras for when a couple inevitably burn out.
Rainbow led me to a couple different sections and grabbed some repair stuff. I stayed next to her the whole time, but my exact distance to her wavered as the two sides that wanted to run away and jump on her warred in my head. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding as the two sides seemed to feed off each other, the fear making the jumping side even more excited, and the added excitement making the other side want to run even more. Don’t do something stupid. Don’t do something stupid.
Once Rainbow got everything she needed, we headed to the self-checkout. At this time of night, they were the only things open. I went to start scanning my items when Rainbow put a hand on my shoulder. “I got it. Don’t worry.”, she said.
“Oh, no, it’s okay.” The physical contact sent my body wild, but I managed to keep it from showing.
“I insist. I got money to spare, and it’d be more efficient.” Rainbow was the star player for our state’s soccer team, so she definitely wasn’t lying.
I do need to be saving every cent I can. I didn’t like it, but logic was on Rainbow’s side. “Thank you.”
I moved out of the way and let Rainbow ring up our items. The whole time, I noticed her stealing glances at me. Every time our eyes met, we would quickly look away. I felt like a teenager again. Rainbow bagged our stuff and handed me my bags of bulbs. I smiled at her, and we headed out to the parking lot.
Should I tell her how I feel now? Wait, how long ago was her breakup? I don’t want to complicate things if she was still hurting from it.
“Hey! Fluttershy! Your car’s back here!”
I spun around, having been pulled back to reality by Rainbow. She stood next to my car which I definitely passed. “Oh, thank you.” Fuuuck, now she thinks I’m some sort of idiot. I scurried back to my car and over to Rainbow.
“Lost in thought?”, she asked.
“Y-yeah, sorry.”
Neither of us said anything as we awkwardly fidgeted.
“Well, it was nice hanging with you.”, she said quickly and scurried to her car. Rainbow left, and I was left alone.
I leaned against my car and smacked the back of my head against it. “Stupid, stupid. I thought love was supposed to get easier after high school.” I rubbed the back of my head and got into my car. I drove home, and when I got inside, the lights turned on on their own. “Pride”
Pride appeared in front of me, already in a butler’s bow. “You summoned me?”
“I got the light bulbs. Please replace the bulbs that need to be.” I handed them to Pride, and he took them.
“It will be done.” He walked off with the bulbs, and I went into the living room.
In the living room was Envy. She was using her coils as a makeshift seat and looked me down intensely.
“Hello, Envy.” The way she looked at me was scary, and she’s an intimidating figure. Her tail looked to be about ten feet long, and her human body gave off the impression of a very confident woman.
“I am supposed to help you build this “support system”. Come sit down.”, Envy ordered. Her voice was calm and silky smooth.
I nodded and sat down on the couch. Envy’s length totaled about thirteen feet. Her scales have diamond patterns with gold accents. Her tail’s thick and muscular. I imagined what it would be like to be wrapped up in it, and I began to feel a bit wet. “Um, how exactly are you going to help me get a support system? The sin of envy doesn’t really seem like it would aid in that goal.”
“You want friends, a degree, a better life, all things other people have.” Envy “got up” and began slithering closer. “Envy is wanting what other people have, and I intend on helping you get those things.” Envy was close enough to touch. I could see her belly muscles moving her across the floor. “Now, who do you want in this support system?”
“Rainbow Dash”
“And what do you need to do to get her?”
“I don’t know. I know she’s into girls and wants someone attentive, but her previous girlfriend was a handywoman. I think she might prefer stronger women.”
“Oh, so it is a mate you seek.”
“Well, getting a mate would definitely go a long way to building my support system.”, I said sheepishly.
“Hm, Wrath can work with you to build up muscle.”
“Yeah, but I barely have time to work out.”
“Call Wrath. This is a conversation you should have with her.”
“Okay” I stood up and looked up somewhere. “Wrath”
Wrath appeared in front of me, looking not very happy. “You summoned me?”, she said with a mountain of snark.
My mind flashed back to Sunset, and I cowered away instinctively. “I-I’m sorry.”
Wrath’s face softened, and she looked (worried?). “Why was I summoned?”, she asked sternly.
“She wishes to impress a potential mate. She needs to be stronger to do so.”, Envy explained.
Wrath looked me over like a drill sergeant inspecting a new recruit. “Change into something more suitable for physical activity. We’ll start out with a jog.”
“Oh, okay.” I put my take-away on the kitchen table then hurried to my room and changed into my old gym clothes. I hadn’t worn them in many years. I stuffed my phone and earbuds into my pockets then went back out to the living room. Wrath was standing at the end of the hallway, waiting for me.
“Let’s go.” Wrath turned around and walked to the front door. I followed her, and she led outside to the sidewalk. Wrath began jogging, and I tried to follow. Wrath, being much taller and much more fit, had a higher base speed than me. She turned to see I was lagging behind and slowed to my speed. Her jog turned into a speed walk, but she had to slow to a normal walk as my jog gave out.
As I walked, I remembered the conversation Lust and I had last night. “I thought you guys couldn’t leave the house, at least that’s what Lust told me.”
“Lust is the youngest of us. She is still ignorant of much. I’m guessing she told you that we’re bound to the house. Though that is true, we are also bound to you, so we can go anywhere that you are. Also, try to keep talking to me at a minimum, unless you don’t mind your neighbors thinking you’re crazy.”
Oh, right. I pulled my earbuds out and stuck them in. They weren’t one of those stealthy types of earbuds. They’re the kind that have that loop that goes around the earlobe and built in controls. “There, now, people will think I’m talking on the phone instead of my imaginary friend.”
“What are those?”, Wrath asked with a skeptical look.
“They’re wireless earbuds.”, I began explaining, making sure to keep looking forward so as to not look like I’m talking to someone next to me. “They connect to my phone and take the sound from my phone and bring it directly to my ears, so I can listen to whatever I have on my phone without bothering anyone else. They also have microphones in them, so they can pick up my voice, and I can talk to someone on the phone without having my phone up to my ear.”
Wrath still looked skeptical. “You humans find odd ways to use your magic.”
“It’s not… never mind.”
I picked back up to a jog, and Wrath led me around the neighborhood with me alternating between walking and jogging. I don’t know how far we walked, but I was definitely tired by the time we got back home. When we got inside, Gluttony had dinner ready on the table. I sat down to eat, and Wrath came over and looked over my food.
“You’ll need more protein in your diet if you want to build muscle.”, she said to me and Gluttony.
“She’s vegetarian. Ah can’t feed her meat.”, Gluttony said with a shrug.
“Eggs, potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, green peas, and any kind of bean and lentils are all high in protein. I can grab a vegetarian cookbook tomorrow.”, I said.
“That would be good, and now that I know what you’re capable of, I’ll be able to tailor a workout routine to you. We’ll start with stretches tomorrow.” With that, Wrath disappeared.
That was the test? You’re doing this for Rainbow. You’re doing this for Rainbow. This is gonna hurt.