> Heavenly Virtues
>  by Doctor Song MD
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Temperance: Twilight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Temperance, or abstinence, is the opposite of gluttony. Without temperance to some degree, a pony would surely become very fat and unhealthy. But what happens when a pony is too temperate? Well, Twilight happens, and it isn't pretty.





"Oh, Spike, time for breakfast!" Twilight called out to her number one assistant from the kitchen. Twilight had made pancakes with loads of butter and syrup on it, and she even put some gems in the pancakes, just for Spike. Twilight walked into the living room, and waited for the baby dragon.

Spike trudged down the stairs slowly, yawning. "Hey, Twilight, what'd you make?"

"Oh, just your favorite," Twilight said with a mischievous grin.

"Okay, let me guess." Spike paused for a moment to think. "Cupcakes?"

"No."

"Ice cream?"

"No again. Why would I make that for breakfast, anyhow?"

"Uh, waffles?"

"Getting warmer."

"Cake?"

"Sort of."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"C'mon, can't you smell it?"

Spike sniffed the air. "Hm...waffles?"

Twilight shook her head in disappointment. "You already said that five seconds ago."

"Yeah, I give up. Can I eat now?"

"Oh, fine. They're pancakes by the way."

They went into the kitchen and Spike and Twilight sat down at the table. Spike exclaimed, "Oh my word! These have gems in them!" Spike then proceeded to shovel pancakes in his mouth with his bare baby dragon hands. Hopefully the greedy dragon wouldn't get a stomach ache from that.

Twilight watched him for the short while that it took him to finish his breakfast, giggling to herself all the while. He could be pretty cute sometimes, when he wasn't being defiant. She felt like a mother to him, which in a way, she sort of was. She was all Spike had ever known. Too bad Spike never had a father. But despite what Twilight had read about single parenting, it was actually pretty easy.

Spike putt more pancakes on his plate from the stack that sat at the center of the table. "Mmf...om nom," grunted Spike. "Aren't you going to have any?"

"Oh, yeah. Though it wouldn't hurt if you slowed down a little bit."

"What'd you say?" said Spike, unable to hear over his own chewing noises.

"Never mind, Spike." Twilight slowly started eating her pancakes. She didn't put any gems it hers, obviously, but they still didn't look that tasty.

"I'm going to go out to a friend's house for a while, okay Spike?" Twilight told him. "Can you watch the house while I'm gone?"

"Yeah, sure," said Spike, still preoccupied with his pancakes. He looked up at Twilight's plate. "Can I have those?"

"Haven't you already had enough? Oh well, you can have them." Twilight moseyed out the front door, sighing. What was with her today? She had been feeling a little bit down all week. She had been so busy studying the entire time, and not really thinking about having fun. Maybe visiting Rarity would help.





Twilight knocked on Rarity's door.

"Hello, who is it?" Rarity called out. She was too busy to get the door.

"It's me, Rarity, Twilight."

"Oh, come in dear."

Luckily, the door was unlocked. She walked inside to find Rarity working on a new fashion collection. Twilight was never really into fashion, but she still thought that the dresses so far were pretty awesome.

"At it again, huh? They're beautiful," said Twilight.

"Thank you, darling, even though they're not finished yet. Would you mind handing me that purple thread over there?" Rarity was obviously talking about the small wooden spool on the table near the entrance. Rarity was quite unorganized, it seemed, when she was designing dresses. Some ponies swore that they could find things better when their belongs were unorganized, but Twilight was pretty sure that their claims were due to sheer laziness.

Twilight gave Rarity the thread. The dress she was currently making was purple, adorned with white and lavender sequins made out of gemstone fragments. The other dresses around the room also had sequins. Twilight guessed that was the common theme in this collection.

"Twilight, have you ever gone on a diet?"

Twilight looks at Rarity with an eyebrow raised. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just wanted to watch my figure, and wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the subject, that's all."

"I might have some books in my library about that. I've been thinking that I've been getting a bit chubby lately." Twilight's eyes moved down to her barrel, which seemed to be growing by the hour. With all the parties of Pinkie's she had gone to lately, it was no surprise. The cupcakes, the candy, and the punch had all gone to her stomach. She had never gone on a diet before. Really, she had never even cared about her weight before now.

"Oh, you don't look that bad darling, but if you want to join me on my diet, you're more than welcome. I wouldn't mind having a diet buddy for motivation."

Twilight smiled at that, and said "Sure, I'd love to." The both stood there for a moment, thinking about the time they would spend together. Maybe they would go out for walks together, play some sports, go swimming. Maybe it would be a good learning experience for both of them to share.

Rarity broke the silence by saying, "I've had some experience dieting before, so I'll give you a few tips. Here, I'll write them down for you." Rarity grabbed a quill and paper with her magic. She read out loud what she wrote to Twilight. "Number one, drink plenty of water. Sometimes when you think you are hungry, you are actually thirsty. Number two, eat lots of fiber filled foods, and stay away from the sweeties. Vegetables will fill you up more than cupcakes. Number three, exercise is important to increase muscle mass and rev up your metabolism. Number four, don't keep fattening foods in your home, they will just tempt you. And finally, number five, weight yourself once a week to keep track of your progress."

"Wow, Rarity, you sure know a lot about dieting! Thanks a bunch." She left Rarity's house with a smile, and so Rarity could finish up her sewing.

Twilight decided to go to the market to buy some fresh fruit and veggies. She bought apples, carrots, cherries, and various other foods. She brought everything back to her house and was ready to start her diet. 

Spike greeted her, and saw that she had her hooves full. "What do you have there?"

"Just some fruits and veggies. I've decided that I'm going to go on a diet."

"Um, okay then." Spike didn't think Twilight was the type to diet, but hey, maybe she wanted to try something new. Or it could be a research project for the Princess.

Twilight unpacked her groceries, putting some fruit in a bowl in the middle of the kitchen counter. She had been out shopping for a while, she realized. It was already noon. She picked up an apple to eat. "You want one Spike?"

"No thanks, Twi. I was going to clean up around here a little bit. If you want to go somewhere else today, I can keep an eye on things for you."

Twilight considered this for a moment. "You know, I think I will go out. Maybe I should check and see if AppleJack needs any help on the farm."





"Yeah Twilight, if ya really wanna help out, Ah'd 'preciate it," said AppleJack. "I'll buck the trees, ya catch the apples, alright?"

"Let's do this!"

They spend a good part of five hours out in the orchard, working and laughing. Twilight never knew exercise could be so much fun. Maybe Twilight would even have lost some weight by morning. As the sun set lower and lower over the horizon, the two mares headed inside.

"Would ya like ta stay fer supper, Twi? Ya been such a big help today, that I think ya'd be pretty hungry."

"No thanks, AJ. I really have to get home to see how Spike's doing. I need to make sure he hasn't gotten into too much trouble. Thanks for the offer though. Maybe I'll be able to stay for dinner some other time. Sorry, I really wish I could stay. Maybe we'll see each other tomorrow?" 

"It's fine, hun. Have ah safe trip home." AppleJack waved good-bye, and brought the last basket of apples with her into the barn.

Sure, Twilight was worried about Spike, but the real reason she wanted to go home was so that she could avoid any potentially fattening food that the Apple family might serve. It's better to be safe than sorry. Twilight was just so happy to finally be on a diet, and have a chance to flatten out her barrel a bit. From all the books she had read, she knew that with every extra pound, there was an increased health risk. She couldn't afford to stay at the Apple's for dinner.

"Welcome home, Twilight!" Spike greeted. "I did all my chores, and even fed Owloysius."

"Good job. Uh, I'm going to go to bed now. I'm exhausted from the long day. You can make yourself anything you want for supper." Come to think of it, Twilight had only had one apple all day. But she was too busy all day to care. Why bother eating when there were so many fun things to do?

Before going to bed though, she weighed herself. The display on her scales showed that she weighed two hundred-fifty pounds, quite a lot for an Equestrian pony. She decided then that she would continue her diet until she was two hundred pounds even.





For the next several days, it was the same as the day before. Eat a little, skip most meals and snack times. Twilight felt so tired, even though she had gotten a full night's sleep. She had already lost two pounds, so she wasn't ready to give up yet. She figured dieting was supposed to make you tired and hungry. She would go over to Rarity's house, and they would share diet tips. Sometimes they would go out for a walk, or go shopping for clothes. Twilight was already beating Rarity at this weight loss game. She was losing weight so rapidly, and yet she couldn't stop. She counted every calorie, every ounce, every morsel, every crumb that touched her lips had to be accounted for. Her obsessive personality had gotten the best of her.

At this point, it was more than a diet. It was an obsession. And the smaller she got, the less she ate. And the less she ate, the hungrier she grew. And the hungrier she grew, the more she obsessed. It was an endless cycle. One day, she ended up too thin. Her body couldn't handle the strain anymore. She fainted, and was admitted to the hospital. There, she was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. She was the last pony anypony would suspect of being anorexic. She was so smart, so talented, so beautiful. She just wanted to be a better pony. She wanted to be happy.





All of Twilight's friends had come to the hospital. RD, Rarity, Fluttershy, AJ, and Pinkie were all there for their dear fried, worried that she would die.

"Twilight, I'm so sorry," apologized Rarity.

"I wish I had known," said Rainbow Dash, digging at the floor with her hoof.

"Cheer up, and get better, Twi," said Pinkie Pie. She was tempted to force cupcakes down Twilight's feeding tube.

"I told you not to work yourself too hard," said AppleJack. She had brought a get well present of Zap apple jam. 

"Angel says hello and to get better," said Fluttershy. "Please be ok."

Twilight whimpered. She was hooked up to IV, a feeding tube, and a bunch of other monitors. She was hanging on to life by a thread. Her face was sunken in, her ribs visible. Her mane didn't shine like it did before. Her hooves were chipped, and her skin rough. Her friends could only wish that she would get better. What could they do? They didn't know if they would be able to talk any sense into Twilight. A mentally ill pony wasn't easy to persuade.

Rainbow Dash leaned in over Twilight. "We like you just the way you are Twilight. We need you. We can't protect Equestria without your Element of Harmony. You're our leader."

Tears begun to form in Twilight's eyes. "I love you girls so much. I need you, too. I need you to help me get through this. We can do this together. I couldn't possibly leave this world so soon."

"Oh Twilight, I should have never suggested going on a diet," said Rarity.

"No Rarity, it's not your fault. I was just so sad at the time, and my emotions overcame me.	 So, please don't blame yourself. I'll get better, I promise."

Twilight kept her promise to her dear friends. She lived, and even became Princess of Equestria. She gained some of her weight back, and cherished every moment from then on. She had learned a very valuable lesson about friendship from her anorexia. She learned that sometimes your friends could keep you from dying.

That is the true magic of friendship.
> Kindness: Fluttershy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The kind and gentle Fluttershy loved animals so much that she even had a butterfly cutie mark. Nopony would have thought that she could get into trouble of any kind with her gentle personality.





Somehow, everypony in town knew Fluttershy, even though she should have been so quite for most ponies to even notice. Sometimes ponies would bring her their pets for her to babysit while they were on vacation, not that she didn't already have enough animals on her hooves. Because of her great capacity for kindness, she would take in animals under her wing that she found in the woods, and invite them into her home. Sometimes the animals would go back to the wild after they healed, but sometimes they would stay because they loved Fluttershy so much. Fluttershy loved them, too.

"Angel, where are you? I made your favorite!" called Fluttershy.

When Angel heard this he came scampering out into the kitchen. He was the most stubborn, grumpy, picky animal out of all of Fluttershy's pets, but he would do anything for his favorite meal. When his face showed up in front of his owner (not that he would admit anypony owned him) he was grinning. He dug into the meal that Fluttershy made especially for him.

"Good boy," said Fluttershy. She then said to every animal in the room, "Now, you all behave while I'm gone, okay?" She then fluttered outside, and shut the door behind her ever so gently, so she didn't wake up anypony who might have still been sleeping at that time in the morning.

Just as she had started walking outside, Fluttershy was approached by a young filly with a blue coat and white mane. She was carrying a box on her back, and crying. "Oh, Fluttershy," she whined, "Won't you take care of her for me?"

And, of course, Fluttershy couldn't say no to a helpless animal. "Sure. Um, what kind of animal is it?"

"It's a white kitten," said the little filly. "I found her in the alley, and she was being tormented by some mean colts!"

"Oh my, that's just terrible," said Fluttershy. She took the box from the pony's back, and put it on her own.

"Thanks a bunch," said the pony, who then trotted off, relieved. 

Who knew I would have gotten another animal to take care of so soon in the day thought Fluttershy. And it's a kitten, too. How adorable. She brought the kitten back to her house.

"Hello, everypony. I mean, every animal." Fluttershy giggled at herself for calling the animals ponies. "We have a new resident. And her name is," Fluttershy paused dramatically, not only for the suspense, but also because she had to come up with a name. "Opalescence!" She put the box containing the cat on the floor, and opened it to reveal the small white persian kitten.

"Oh, how adorable," said Fluttershy, admiring the approximately three month old kitten. "How could those colts be so mean to you?"

The kitten looked up helplessly, with those big wide kitten eyes, trembling in fear. It mewed. Fluttershy couldn't resist stroking her a few times. After her urge was relieved, she went into the kitchen, and came back to her huge living room with a bowl of Magical Mama brand milk and set in on the floor for Opal.

With reluctance, Fluttershy said to the kitten, "I'm sorry I have to leave you so soon, but I really have to get some work done." For the second time that morning, she went out the front exit of her home to check on some woodland critters. Over the course of the day, she found an injured robin, a tortoise flipped over on its shell, a bear cub with a thorn stuck in his paw, and a squirrel that ate just one too many acorns, all of which she brought into her home to care for. That brought her total up to about, oh, I don't know, one hundred and fifty-four? Most of them were quite small, but animals are such a hassle to take care of all of the time. You have to feed them, bath them, and depending on the species, trim their claws and empty their litter box.

Fluttershy was so busy with all of her animals, that she never had time to clean her house. She asked her animals sweetly to clean up after themselves, but they never would listen. Fluttershy didn't have any money to hire somepony to clean her house either. Almost her entire budget was spent towards animals supplies. She could barely find supplies for some of her animals, like monkeys and anteaters, so she had to order them from Canterlot, or even Phillydelphia. The pet stores never seemed to give out enough coupons. Fluttershy had to work two jobs just to keep up.

Fluttershy's animals grew in number by the day. She couldn't find it in her heart to let go of them. She wouldn't let her friends come over to her house anymore, because she was too embarrassed of the mess. It seemed that the only time she got to see them anymore was at pet day. She eventually had so many animals that she had to stay home all day taking caring of them.





Soon, Fluttershy's friends became very worried about her. They knew she was usually quiet, but she hadn't been speaking to them at all lately. Twilight came up with a plan: the five of the mane six would meet at Fluttershy's house to confront her. They were afraid that if they told her about their plans, she would deny that anything was going wrong.

Twilight knocked on Fluttershy's door, with her friends waiting patiently behind her. "Fluttershy, are you home?" she said loudly enough for the pegasus to hear. She didn't answer immediately, but then they all heard something come crashing down. They were worried that she was hurt, so Rainbow Dash used her street smarts to pick the lock to her door.

The mares hurried inside, only to find Fluttershy buried under an assortment of animal care-taking supplies.

"Dear, are you okay?" called out Rarity.

No response. Just a groan from their winged friend.

"I'll take care of this," said AppleJack. She began digging out Fluttershy from the pile of stuff. Rarity and Twilight used their magic to help clean up. Rainbow picked up things with her mouth and began tossing them across the room. Pinkie Pie just hopped up and down frantically, trying to get a response out of Fluttershy.

After five minutes, they uncovered their friend. "Are you alright, sugarcube?" asked AppleJack.

"Y-yeah," Fluttershy managed to say.

"Why the heck do you have so much stuff?" asked Rainbow Dash. 

"And so many animals!" added Pinkie Pie.

"And so much, ugh, filth," Rarity said, spitting out the last word.

Twilight helped Fluttershy to her hooves. "Why didn't you tell us you were an animal hoarder, Fluttershy?" inquired Twilight. "We could have helped you sooner."

Fluttershy made an uneasy facial expression. "I, uh, didn't want you all to worry." She didn't think that would suffice, so she added, "And I'm not a hoarder. I just love animals."

Rarity took a couple steps in Fluttershy's direction. "Sweetie, I believe that is called being in denial. All of us can see the situation you are in here. Just look around." 

Fluttershy did as she said. "Yeah? All I see are animals. What's you point?" She was getting defensive.

"Can't you see?" asked Rainbow. "There are feces on the floor! And it reeks."

Fluttershy hadn't really paid much attention to that before. She had never even acknowledged the fact that her animals were defecating on the floor all over her house. She had been living in these conditions for so long, she didn't even realized that it stunk like decaying bodies. Maybe...

Before Fluttershy could respond to Rainbow's comment, Pinkie pushed the sofa away from the wall. "Eep!" squealed Pinkie.

Everypony froze. Fluttershy decided to be brave, and asked, "W-what is it?"

Pinkie was paralyzed with fear. All of the ponies, excluding Fluttershy, walked over to stand behind Pinkie. Though none of them really wanted to do that, they felt like they had to because of Pinkie's state of shock. Slowly, they craned their necks to see behind the couch.

"By golly, a bunny!" cried AppleJack.

Twilight corrected her, "Not just any bunny, AppleJack, it's--" Dare she say it? "It's Angel. And she's..."

Fluttershy gasped. No. No! screamed the voice inside of the mare's head. She ran over to see her beloved Angel. She fell to the floor. Her body started to tremble, and tears soon came streaming down her face, one by one.

"...dead," Twilight whispered, as if she thought whispering would keep Fluttershy from becoming anymore upset.

Fluttershy reached out her shaky hooves, and carefully picked up the corpse. A single tear fell on the rabbit's face, and came down off his eye, just as if he was crying. Fluttershy ran her hoof across the rabbit's body a couple times, then set him back down.  She was thinking of saying "I'm so sorry, Angel," but that didn't amount to anything.

The other ponies in the room looked like they were about to start crying, too. Twilight broke the silence by saying, "We'll give her a proper burial. I promise." 

Instinctively, everypony embraced Fluttershy at that moment. 





The next day, everypony in Ponyville had gathered behind Fluttershy's house to pay their respects to Angel. Fluttershy put a gravestone in the ground next to Angel's grave. It said:


Here lies Angel the Rabbit.
He truly was sent from Heaven, and now he has gone back.
He will always be in our hearts, and in our memories.
His spirit will be with us during pet day from now on, and even after all of us have passed.


After the burial, Fluttershy gave many animals away to the townsponies. She gave the white kitten, Opalescence, to her friend Rarity. Ponies left bouquets of flowers and carrots at the grave.

Fluttershy claimed that she loved her animals. The truth was, all she really wanted was to feel loved by surrounding herself with her furry friends. She could have just reached out to her friends, if only she had known how to express her feelings. She learned her lesson from that tragic event, and never again would she hoard animals in her home. Of course, she would still take care of animals, but she would release them to the wild after they had recovered, with no exceptions. 

After all, that's what Angel would have wanted.
> Humility: Pinkie Pie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pinkie had always been the center of attention. There were always at least one hundred ponies at every party that she hosted, because everypony in Ponyville knew her. If somepony was sad, Pinkie would always be around to cheer them up. But the thing was, Pinkie couldn't cheer herself up.





"Hey, mare friends!" Pinkie began, talking to all of her friends who we gathered in Sugarcube Corner. "Guess who's birthday it is?" She left no time for the mane six to answer. "Gummy's!"

"Oh, congrats! Tell Gummy I said 'Happy Birthday'," said Twilight.

"So, what are you telling us for?" Rainbow Dash grumbled.

Pinkie answered, "I'm inviting you to his party, silly filly! It's here at twelve."

"Oh, why thank you Pinkie," said Fluttershy. "I will make sure to come. I'll bring Angel, too. That is, if you don't mind his coming."

"Oh, of course I don't mind. The more, the mare-iry, I always say. Ha!" Pinkie laughed.

"Wait, didn't you have a party for him just yesterday?" asked Rarity.

"Oh, I didn't invite you to that one because it was just a pre-birthday party. We were practicing for the real party."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Pinkie Pie, you are like so weird."

"Uh, Pinkie? What exactly do ya git fer a toothless crocodile?" inquired AppleJack.

"You know, some toys. He especially likes squeeky toys."

After Pinkie's friends left, Pinkie decided to go out to get some fresh air. Shortly thereafter, she met Trixie.

"Heya there, Trixie!" greets Pinkie.

"Oh, hello Pinkie," says Trixie unenthusiastically.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," Trixie mumbled. "It's just that, I am never going to be famous. The Great and Powerful Trixie is not the Great and Influential Trixie that she wants to be."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Can I help?" she said, worried for the sad little unicorn who just wanted to be recognized.

"No, there's nothing you can do. You throw parties, and everypony loves you. I do magic, and all anypony does is hate me. I just don't understand," Trixie sniffled.

"Do you want to come to Gummy's party tomorrow?" she offered.

"Really? You're inviting me? I tried to banish Twilight from Ponyville, and you want me to come to your party? Why would you be so nice?" Trixie barraged Pinkie with questions. 

"Please come, Trixie," Pinkie pleaded.

"What time is the party?"

"Noon. You can bring a gift, but you don't have to."

Trixie waved good-bye to her new friend, and Pinkie watched her with a smile on her face. She had done a good deed.





The next day, Pinkie spent her morning decorating Sugarcube Corner. At the front of the store was a big sign that read, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GUMMY!" in all caps. Pinkie thought the capital letters would make it much more noticeable, as if it wasn't already.

"Good morning, Ponyville!" she shouted to everypony. Some waved, some guided their foals away from the scene.

After Pinkie finished decorating, she could hardly stand to wait until noon. First, she twiddled her hooves and twirled her hair, then she made an extra batch of cupcakes for the party, just in case somepony got extra hungry. Plus, she had invited an extra pony, Trixie.

When noon finally arrived, she stood right in front of the Sugar Cube Corner entrance. By five minutes past noon, all the ponies she had invited were there. Except Trixie. She waited, and waited. After fifteen more minutes, Trixie showed up, with her head hung low, almost between her front hooves.

"Aw, cheer up!" Pinkie said to Trixie. "It's a party after all!"

Trixie didn't say anything. She just walked into the store. I wonder why she still seems so down? Pinkie thought. She shrugged it off, then went inside.

"Okay, everypony! Are you ready to par-tay?" she yelled.

"Yeah, we're ready!" everypony shouted back in unison, as if they were reading a script from a play.

"Okay," she began. "Let's play Gummy's favorite game first, limbo."

Mr. and Mrs. Cake brought in the limbo bar and set it on two stand on the top slot. Mr. Cake turned on the stereo. It started playing Pinkie-inspired music. Everypony formed a line. Except Trixie. Worried, Pinkie Pie walked over to Trixie.

"What's the matter?" Pinkie asked.

"Them." Trixie pointed to a group of beautiful young mares. Pinkie could hear them whispering amongst themselves.

"Who invited her?" said the pink pegasus.

"Ew, I don't know. She's such a liar and no pony is even friends with her," said the light blue pony.

"She's probably going to try to show off again, even though she can't do magic to save her life," said the gray unicorn.

Trixie head hung to the ground, as she slunk off into a corner, all by herself.

"C'mon, Trix! Don't let that get to you," Pinkie urged.

"No, Pinkie. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I am always going to be made fun of. It's because you held this stupid party. I shouldn't have come at all. I'm going home!" Trixie yelled, then ran out of the building. Alarmed, Pinkie raced out after her.

"Trixie! Trixie!" she called. "I need to talk to you!"

Trixie just kept running as fast as she could. Pinkie could tell that Trixie's lungs couldn't take the stress much longer, so she slowed down to a trot. Trixie dashed behind a tree to catch her breath, and Pinkie followed her behind it.

"Just leave me alone. You don't even like me," Trixie whined.

"Why would you say that? Of course I like you!" Pinkie insisted.

"Nopony else likes me though. You heard them! Nopony would even approach me, let alone talk to me. I am the Wimpy and Misfit Trixie."

"Pinkie wrapped her legs around Trixie's shoulders. "Don't say that."

Trixie pulled away. Unexpectedly, she shouted, "Just leave me alone! It's all your fault anyway! You just have too much pride in yourself and your little parties. Nopony cares, Pinkie. Nopony. Not about me, or you. We don't matter, okay? So just go away and stop trying to be the hero." Trixie ran away again. Pinkie didn't dare to follow this time.

Pinkie just sat there for a few minutes, trying to hold back her tears. It's all your fault anyway! The words echoed in Pinkie head. She believed those desperate words from that voice full of misery. Nopony cares, Pinkie. Maybe they just came to her parties to be nice. Maybe they actually hated Pinkie. Maybe she did take too much pride in her parties. Maybe...

Tears rolled down her face, and plopped down onto her hooves. Wiping her face, she galloped back to Sugarcube Corner. She walked in, a wreck. 

"Everypony," she yelled, trying to steady her voice. "The party's over."

The music stopped. Everypony sat there, looking confused, thinking she was losing her mind. The first pony walked out the door, and soon afterwards the building emptied out. Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake go to Pinkie and surround her in hugs when they see her sobbing.

"What in Equestria happened?" asked Mrs. Cake.

Mr. Cake hooved the tissue box over to Pinkie, and she quickly snatched up a tissue and blew her nose into it. She breathed in deeply, and said, "I'm not having parties anymore."

The Cakes looked at each other in astonishment and confusion. Turning his head back to Pinkie, Mr. Cake asked, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Just what I said." Pinkie freed herself from their hooves and trudged to her bedroom. She slammed the door behind her.

If I stop having parties, nopony gets hurt. Nopony has to cry anymore. Nopony will blame me. she thought. She looked at her self in her bedroom mirror and immediately saw her flattened hair. Sighing, she walked into the bathroom and prepared to curl her hair. She didn't want her friends to worry about her, after all.

She suffered through the rest of the day, trying to keep a smile on her face. Despite her efforts, Mr. and Mrs. Cake knew something was up. But they decided to leave Pinkie alone, thinking that she was just going through an episode. They made sure, however, to give her lots of sugar. She passed up on a lot that the couple offered her. At eight pm, Pinkie went to bed. The sight of the moon through her window reminded her of Luna's loneliness for all those years, and the tears gushed out that she had held in all afternoon.





Pinkie's routine from that day on consisted of waking up wearily from her bad night's sleep, curling her straight, pink hair, making cupcakes that didn't taste good to her anymore, and walking through Equestrian fields and meadows. The fields seemed to stretch on and on, as well as her depression.

Ponyville didn't seem exciting at all without partying. It was just like any other town in Equestria, where the residents just lived to survive, and nothing else.

After a few months, Pinkie had given up on living. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen, walked into her bedroom, and slit her throat. With blood squirting out, she fell down to the floor and screamed. The Cakes hurried to her room, terrified. Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw.

They raced Pinkie to the hospital, Mr. Cake carrying her on his back, and Mrs. Cake putting pressure on her neck. In the ER, they sewed her up. Pinkie had long since passed out from blood loss, and all the Cakes could do was hope that she would wake up.

Nobody cares, Pinkie. Not about me, and especially not about you. Die already, die! 

We love you, Pinkie. 

Pinkie! Pinkie!

Look, she's opening her eyes.

Pinkie woke up staring at the blinding white ceiling of the hospital. "Where am I?" she asked.

"Look, nurse, look! She's waking up!" hollered Twilight.

Nurse Redheart ran in when she heard Twilight's cry of joy and relief. She confirmed Pinkie's state of consciousness, then congratulated Twilight on her friend's recovery. She then left the two alone to talk.

"So, what happened exactly?" asked Twilight.

Pinkie blinked and stared. "I can't remember. I don't know why," she lied. She didn't want to make her friend be any more worried than she already was.

Pinkie thought she saw a tear stream down Twilight's face. "I guess that's expected. The doctor said you might not remember anything for a while. I think it's a defense mechanism."

All of a sudden, Pinkie jumped up and hugged Twilight, pressing her muzzle into her mane. "Oh, Twilight," she said through the mane muffling her voice, "I don't know what happened, but I'm so glad you're here."

Twilight felt her mane dampen with snot and tears. She embraced Pinkie, and patted her back. "There, there," she assured Pinkie, "Everything will be alright now."

Mr. and Mrs. Cake peeked around the corner to Pinkie's hospital room. Pinkie saw Mrs. Cake holding out a pink and white, extravagantly decorated, delicious, sweet, and sugary cupcake. Suddenly, Pinkie stoped crying and her hair fluffed up.

"Cupcake!" she screamed. "Yay!" She leapt over Twilight and ate the cupcake out of Mrs. Cake's outstrectched hoof.

"Goodness, Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake said.

That one cupcake, a symbol of celebration, partying, and enjoyment made Pinkie remember her purpose in life: throwing parties. She hadn't thrown a party in so long that she forgot why she threw parties in the first place. Celebration made her happy. Without her parties, Ponyville had become a solely a place of work and study.





"Citizens of Ponyville!" called Mayor Mare at the center of Ponyville. "I have an important announcement." She waited a couple minutes for everypony to gather around. "I have Pinkie Pie here to tell you all something." She nods, cuing Pinkie to step up to the podium.

"Um, hello everypony. From this day on, I Pinkie Promise to not stop throwing parties ever again."

Everypony in the crowd looked at each other, shortly followed by loud cheering. The excitement of the crowd was a triumph for Pinkie Pie. But she was not the only pony who gained something that day. All of Pinkie's best friends were so glad to finally have Pinkie's normal self back. Pinkie though she had hidden her depression well under her poofy hair, but true friends can tell when a pony's down.

Pinkie didn't even have to go to a therapist. All she had to do was turn to her friends for support. She was so lost in her depression before her attempted suicide that she forgot what friends were for.

Though the doctors at the hospital had saved her life, her friends kept her living.
> Diligence: AppleJack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was apple bucking season at Sweet Apple Acres, and this year it was a bigger responsibility for Applejack than ever before. Big Mac was out of commission for at least a couple of weeks because of his pulled muscle, and Granny Smith's tired old self obviously couldn't do anything to help harvest, so it was up to AJ and Applebloom to finish out the season.





"Hey, Applejack," said Twilight, approaching AJ in the apple orchard. "I'm sorry about what happened to Big Mac."

Applejack set down the basket of apples she was currently holding and turned to face Twilight. "Oh, don't be sorry, sugar cube. It ain't yer fault. He was just bein' a bit reckless, that's all."

"I know that, but is there anything I can do to help?"

Applejack shook her head. "I don't wanna be a burden to ya, sweet heart. Ya don't have the strength to buck apple trees anyway."

"But couldn't I help Applebloom carry the basket back to the barn? I'm sure if she can do it as small as she is, I can too," Twilight pleaded.

AJ sighed. "Well, alright. But don't stay too long, I don't want ya wearin' yerself out, alright?"

Twilight simply nodded, propping the basket of apples that AJ had been previously holding onto her back. She seemed to struggle a little bit, and decided to levitate the basket with her magic. Apparently her magic "muscles" were stronger than her actual muscles.

After about an hour of transporting baskets, AJ told Twilight, "Sweety, ya really should git goin' now. Bloom 'n I can handle the rest.

"But really, I can keep going!" protested Twilight.

"Twilight, ya don't usually do this kinda work, so I want ya ta head home and git some rest, okay? Otherwise you're gonna be aching some badly tomorrow."

"But you're not used to doing this much work either!" With a glare from AJ, Twilight reluctantly headed back home. Applejack watched as she left.

Applebloom trotted over to her big sister. "Sis, how long do we have ta stay out here workin' today?"

Applejack bit her lip. "I dunno, lil' sis. But we have to make up for all the work that Big Mac can't do. I'm sure we can git it done if we do our best. Just like that time when two certain someponies tried to run us out of business."

The filly frowned. "I'm plum tuckered out already. Can I take a break?"

Applejack felt drowsy, too. "Well, okay. I guess I could use a break, too. Let's not take too awful long though. Can't let the apples rot of the trees." 

The two went into the house. Granny Smith was in the kitchen. "You young 'uns want sum apple pie?" she asked loudly.

"Sure, granny!" replied AJ. "And don't ferget the whipped cream on top!"

The young ponies sat down at the kitchen table, impatiently waiting for the pie to brown in the oven. Their mouths watered at the scent of Granny Smith's home made apple pie. Her pie was famous for bring back ponies to get a second slice. That's how the Apple family paid to buy all the apple trees.

Finally, the pie was finished. Granny put on her oven mitts and carefully slid the pie out of the oven. She cut the pie and dished it out onto two dessert plates. AJ and AB dug into the pie with their muzzles, ignoring the burning sensation in their mouths. When AJ was finished, she put her plate in the kitchen sink and said, "Hurry up, sis. We gotta git back ta workin'."

"But ya didn't even have a second slice!" the younger sister replied.

AJ said sternly, "There's no time fer that. We gotta git goin'!"

Applebloom ignored her comment and helped herself to another slice of pie. Applejack gave up on moving her out of the chair. As she walked out of the house, she gazed at the thousands of apple trees in the orchard that were full of bright red, shiny apples. She mumbled under her breath, "I have a lot of catching up to do."

"No, don'f leaf!" said Applebloom through her pie-filled mouth. She quickly swallowed. "The apples ain't just gonna rot off the trees any second."

Applejack said with her nose turned up, "Yer just lazy."

"Am not!"

"Then git out here."





Applejack would work all day long, whether anypony was there to help or not. She didn't care if she felt light-headed from exhaustion. All she wanted was to keep all of the Apples happy and without burden. She sacrificed precious time with her friends to help out on the farm. The only time she saw them was when they came to help her with work. She couldn't bear to have them there any longer than a couple of hours, though. Her work was her burden, and hers alone.

The mare's muscles became more defined from the huge workload, as if she wasn't strong enough already. Her appetite couldn't keep up with her metabolism, and she started to lose what little body fat she had.

Applebloom tended to Big Mac when he needed anything. Even though her brother was the pony who was sick, she couldn't help worrying about AJ, who she watched from the window everyday.

After Big Mac was all better, AJ still couldn't seem to take a break. She would always find something to keep her busy around the farm. Perhaps she didn't want her friends to see her health deteriorating.





Big Mac, who seldom uttered a word, said to Applebloom, "What 'er we gonna do about AJ? Should we go over ta talk to her together?"

"I dunno, Bic Mac. She might not even listen. Let's ask Granny first."

Big Mac stamped his hoof. "But if we don't talk to her, what's gonna happen to her? I don't wanna worry Granny over this. She's too old and senile to understand anyway."

Applebloom frowned. "Applejack probably won't listen to us. Why bother?"

"We have to at least try. Better 'n lettin' her...die." The word sounded like a swear coming from Big Mac's mouth.

"Don't say that!" said Applebloom. "She ain't gonna, she can't just leave us like that." She began to weep.

"Things happen, little filly. Sometimes ponies get sick and die. And if we don't try and help her she's not gonna live. A pony can't live like this. It's like when I was hurt and you had to take care of me. She just needs a break for a little while."

Applebloom finally understood. She wiped away her tears and said, "Okay. Let's do this."

Applejack was pulling a cart back to the barn when the two concerned family members approached her. Big Mac and Applebloom looked at each other nervously, and Big Mac nudged AB to speak up first.

"Uh, we need ta speak ta ya, AJ."

Applejack looked annoyed. "Yeah?"

"Me and Big Mac decided we'll take care of the farm by ourselves will you uh....rest fer a while."

"Two weeks," added Big Mac.

"Huh? I can't let you two do this by yerselves. We got a business to run!"

Big Mac responded, "And I can't let you push yourself this hard anymore, so take a break. We're just worried about you, little sis."

Applejack was surprised. "I–I worried y'all?"

"Eeyup."

Applejack blushed. "Well, I guess I have been over doin' it. Alrighty, I'll take a break. Just promise me you two won't get behind on work okay?"

Big Mac nodded. "And you make sure you git some food in to ya."

Applejack giggled. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
> Chastity: Rainbow Dash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	 Rainbow Dash had but one chance to be noticed among Equestria's flier elite. There was only a week left for her to train until the day of the First Annual Pegasi Competition, and one week left until she final got a chance to prove herself. If she won the competition, she would get an all expenses paid trip to Los Pegasus.





Poof! The speedy pegasus burst through the other side of a fluffy cloud. She slammed on her brakes and landed in front of the Ponyville library.

Acting as Rainbow's coach, Twilight shouted out, "That's a new record! Thirty clouds in one minute!"

After catching her breath, Rainbow said, "Seriously? Wow, I never thought I'd make it to thirty!"

"Well, you have been training six hours a day for the past two weeks."

Rainbow puffed out her chest. "I am the best flyer in all of Equestria, after all."

Twilight rolled her eyes at Rainbow's bragging. "You won't know that until you win the competition next week."

"Oh, really? What do you wanna bet I'll win first prize?" Rainbow said raising an eyebrow.

Twilight sighed. "Look, I'm not here to bet money, I'm here to be your coach." She added, "And if you keep wasting your breath bragging, you won't even win tenth place."

Rainbow blushed. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Twi."

The First Annual Pegasi Competition wasn't the only thing only Rainbow's mind, however. She had her eyes on a special somepony, and that pony also happened to be her coach.

Rainbow collected herself again. She waited for Twilight to signal her to fly off again. She zoomed through the clouds, with her attention only diverted by thoughts of her love interest. Oh, Twilight, I act like a tough guy, but I still don't have the courage to tell you how I feel. During that thought, Rainbow went off course and nearly crashed into the ground.

Twilight ran up to her and said, "Oh my goodness, what just happened? You had that cloud in the metaphorical 'bag' but you still managed to miss somehow. Are you okay?"

Rainbow avoided her eyes and said, "Yeah, uh, I'll be fine. Just go back and I'll start again."

All Rainbow wanted was to tell Twilight her feelings, but her pride made her wait at least until after the competition so she wouldn't worry about Twilight accepting her feelings.

"Ready, set, fly!" Twilight shouted. Rainbow was gone in a split second high up into the air to where there were the most clouds. She was eager to impress her friend once again with her skills. 

"Good job, Dash! This time you got 33! Amazing!" Twilight clapped her hooves. 

"Thanks, Twilight. Do you think I'm good enough to get first place in the competition?"

Twilight smiled. "Of course. You're the best flyer in Equestria after all."

Rainbow Dash felt her face getting warm again, and looked away. "I think it's about time I headed home, so see ya."

"Already? Well, I guess you have been working extra hard today. Get some rest, and I'll be here tomorrow." Twilight said her goodbyes and headed back to the library.

Rainbow whispered in her direction when she was far enough away, "I love you, and I'll miss you tonight." Her chest was aching not from exhaustion, but from being in love. Either way, it was enough to justify some extra sleep that night.





It was the day of the competition, and over a hundred pegasi were going to be participating in the event. There were hundreds more in the crowd ready to watch the competition. Rainbow was going to be participating in the sky clearing event and obstacle course today.

Twilight said to Rainbow, "Now remember, do this just like we practiced, and you'll be fine."

If you only knew Twilight, that I won't be fine until I confess my love for you.

A loud speaker came on. "Welcome, mares and gentlecolts, to the First Annual Pegasi Competition! The first event is sky clearing, so will the participants please walk up to the starting line."

"That's you, Rainbow. I'll be cheering for you!"

"Thanks."

When all the pegasi were lined up at the designated point, the race official called out, "On your marks. Ready, set, go!" The horn was blown, and Rainbow was the first pony off the ground.

Rainbow blasted through so many clouds at once that she could barely see. As far as she could tell, she was in the lead. After the two minutes of cloud busting was up, the pegasi floated back down to the ground to wait for results.

Twilight ran up to talk to Rainbow. "You did great out there!"

Rainbow blushed. "Aw, thanks." I've got to tell her, I can't take it anymore.

Twilight noticed the uneasy look on Rainbow's face. "Is something wrong?" Rainbow didn't respond. "If it's about the competition, don't worry. You did better than everypony else out there."

Rainbow took a deep breath, then said, "Twilight, can I talk to you in private?"

Twilight tilted her head, unsure what her friend could possibly have to say. "Well, okay." She followed Rainbow into a somewhat secluded area.

"So, what is it?"

Rainbow shuffled around nervously. "Uh, I, don't know how to say this but, I," Rainbow gathered all her courage, then said, "Twilight, I'm in love with you."

Twilight just stood there for a moment before responding. What is a pony to say in that situation? All she could say was, "I had no idea."

Rainbow sighed with relief. "I'm glad I got that off my chest. I guess I'll head back to–" She was interrupted by Twilight.

"Wait Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed, holding her by the shoulder. "I have to tell you something, too."

Rainbow Dash looked at her her with an expression of astonishment and confusion. "What?"

"I l-love you, too," she managed to choke out. "So please don't leave."

Rainbow had nothing to say, but what the expression on her face said. Her flush cheeks and open mouth said it all. She walked closer to Twilight slowly and embraced her. "I won't leave, if you don't want me to."

Twilight pulled away a little bit, then planted a peck on Rainbow's lips. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything for you, Twilight," she stated simply.

"This is a weird question to ask, but can you, y'know, pleasure me?"

What?! Rainbow screamed in her mind, taken aback by the suggestion. "Aren't you moving a little too fast, here?"

Twilight's ears flattened. "I'm sorry, I just really need you right now." She was ashamed.

"Don't take it the wrong way, I really do want to do that with you, but, so soon? I don't know, Twi. I feel a little awkward about this." Then she added, "This competition is really important to me."

Twilight frowned at that last sentence. "More important that I am to you? If that's the way it is, then, then..." Twilight couldn't finish her sentence.

"If you're worried about me leaving to Los Pegasus, then I won't."

Twilight's eyebrows wrinkled. "What's the point of winning the competition then, huh? Tell me that."

Rainbow didn't have a good comeback for that. "C'mon Twi, try to see it from my point of view. This is a once in a lifetime chance."

"And this is your once in a lifetime chance to be in a relationship with me!"

"You'll be here when I get back, won't you?" Rainbow inquired.

Twilight slight changed the subject by saying, "It's me or Los Pegasus, take your pick."

Rainbow couldn't just chose on the spot. "I want both, Twi. I can't just pick one."

Twilight huffed. "Then Los Pegasus it is. Just remember that this is the day you broke a mare's heart." Twilight galloped off into the crowd.

"Wait!" yelled Rainbow, but it was too late. She was gone. The mare who could have been the one just ran off because of Rainbow's stupidity. Los Pegasus wasn't worth losing a dear friend.