Freddy's New Job

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 18 - Epilogue
Chapter 4
Chapter 17

Chapter 1

The phone rang several times, filling the small office with its eerie tune.

Gulping audibly in a vain attempt to banish his fear, Jeremy reached out to listen to the prerecorded message.

Clank.

“Uh, hello? Hello?” a very familiar voice called out. “Listen, I know this is your last night and you’ve probably grown attached to the animatronics by now—“

Checking his camera to see if the animatronics were still dormant, Jeremy saw that Bonnie, Freddy and Chica were all gone.

Eyes widening and heart racing, Jeremy nearly knocked the brand new CRT screen over in his haste to get his mask on, hoping that he could once again fool his nightly tormentors.

“—but you should probably know, something strange happened a few hours before your shift started: all the animatronics disappeared!”

Confused, he slowly lifted his Freddy Mask and fed his flashlight some power. With nothing directly in front of him, Jeremy checked the vents, also finding nothing.

“The police were there, but they didn’t find any signs of forced entry… or blood for that matter.”

Barely wanting to believe his ears, Jeremy brought his camera up once again. Out of habit he focused his attention on the Prize Corner and wound up the music box slightly, bringing it to three quarters before checking the other rooms.

“Now as I’m sure I’ve told you, the animatronics are designed to recognise any criminals no matter what disguise they wear, so this is all very shocking to us here at Fazbear Entertainment.”

Not in any of the party rooms…click.Mangled aint’ there either… click.The balloon vendor is gone as well… click.Even those old suits are gone! I don’t believe it!

The guard whooped in unrestrained joy. He would get his week’s pay with no risk of being turned into a bloody mush!

“Now since you are already there, could you just stay there for the night?”

Having already gotten out his Bandai LCD Solarpower gaming device, Jeremy began playing Terror House. Though the once terrifying game lost most of its edge to Jeremy since his new job started. No matter how hard he tried, Jeremy couldn’t remove the gigantic grin from his face.

“Fortunately the Puppet is still safe; the thieves probably didn’t see him since he was hidden in the gift box. We just need you to guard him until morning, make sure nobody steals him, or gets killed trying to take him.”

I’ll have enough money saved to buy that new Gameboy device that’s coming out later this ye—wait…what did he just say? In a panicked surge, Jeremy got onto the security monitor again, snapping his attention to the Prize Corner.

The box was open, the Puppet nowhere in sight.

“Soooo, yeah! Enjoy your last night here at Fazbear Entertainment! Just remember keep that music box wound up!” Clank.

In the middle of the most dangerous forest in Equestria, a flash of light briefly illuminated the area. Crumbling walls, faded carpets, cracked floor tiles.

In that one instant, five badly damaged figures appeared, slumped over.

One slowly began to stir. It sensed no activity or children around it. It was not where it was supposed to be.

Two red dots appeared where the figure’s face should have been, signalling the activation of its built in motion sensors.

It looked back again. It could not go alone. It nudged the lead singer and backup singer. With a metallic screech, the yellow figure activated, followed closely by their lead singer. Both soon came to the same conclusion as the first figure.

The third and largest figure got to its feet and tapped the microphone it held several times to no avail. They would just have to perform at a lower volume.

There were no children nearby, they needed to find them, they had to entertain the children.

With an objective set, the original band of Freddy Fazbear set out to bring a smile to children and keep them safe from bad people.

From the shadows of the ruined castle, an ancient being smirked maliciously. The time for vengeance was near.

Meanwhile in a relatively safer part of the forest, three little fillies were getting ready to turn in for the night. Their day had consisted of various physical activities, from gathering wood for a fire to foraging for food, all of which was supervised by Zecora to make sure they didn’t accidentally eat anything poisonous. Needless to say none of them were willing to make the trip back to their homes that night. They unanimously decided to ask the Zebra to take them in for the night.

“Thanks for letting us stay for the night, Zecora!” said Scootaloo, shifting around slightly in her hammock to get into a more comfortable position.

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle enthusiastically agreed. “Getting camping cutie marks would be amazing, this is so much fun!”

Having finished preparing the third and final hammock in her living room, Zecora turned to the eager filly with a smile. “You are most welcome, Sweetie Belle, but for now, your need for sleep you must quell.”

“But we ain’t tired yet!” Apple Bloom complained from her spot on the ground behind the Zebra.

Zecora lifted an eyebrow in scepticism before stepping forward and lifting the young filly by the scruff of her neck, setting her into the hammock. “You must rest as well, Apple Bloom. Tomorrow with your crusading you may resume.”

Apple Bloom pouted, but complied none the less.

Zecora chuckled slightly at her reaction. “For now get the rest you need. Tomorrow we shall all do the potion making deed.”

“Yay!” Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo cried out while Apple Bloom remained silent, having already tried to get her potion making cutie mark.

With a nod, Zecora blew out the candle in the centre of the room, leaving nothing but the moon for illumination.

A bit earlier in the day Rainbow Dash had come by, asking if she had seen the Crusaders. Zecora had filled her in on the situation and assured the speedster that they would be safe in her care until morning.

Apple Bloom drifted into sleep within seconds. Along with their taxing crusading, she did chores earlier that day on the farm. Her young body wasn’t used to this much activity yet.

The other two followed suit, albeit at a slower pace than their earth pony friend. The two fillies spent several minutes just listening to the quiet serenity of the forest before darkness finally claimed them.

Chapter 2

“Is this it?”

“No.”

“Is this it?”

“No.”

“Is this it?” Scootaloo asked for the umpteenth time, holding a yellow flower on a long green stem between her teeth.

“That one ain’t even pink, Scoots!” Apple Bloom said back in exasperation. It had been like this for nearly an hour; Scootaloo would look for the Heart’s Desire flower, but would come back with every other kind of plant instead.

Whilst she was getting increasingly irked with Scootaloo’s antics, Zecora couldn’t keep the smile off of her muzzle; the energy of these fillies was infectious to the Zebra shaman. “Well done, Scootaloo. You found something my people call Heuningbos. It is a plant you do not want to toss.”

Scootaloo’s wings fluttered in happiness, believing she just found a rare, exotic plant. “All right! What does it do?! Increase the strength of any pony tenfold? Makes them almost as fast as Rainbow Dash? Oh! Oh I know! It makes their spirit leave their body!”

“Directly translated, Heuningbos means Honeybush. If harvested correctly, it makes quite the pleasing tea,” Zecora explained, holding off on its other uses.

“Oh, that sounds very nice! Can we take it back with us? Please, Zecora?” Sweetie Belle asked for the first time, never having left the Zebra’s side. After her last run in with the cockatrice, she was none too eager to be in the Everfree Forest without an adult nearby at all times.

“We may take it, or the three of you can eat the little treat. Its taste is like a candy, most sweet.”

Scootaloo scrunched up her nose after smelling the flower. “This stuff is candy? It doesn’t smell all that sweet.”

Apple Bloom, not doubting Zecora’s knowledge in plants, stepped towards Scootaloo and ate the small flower. Her suspicions were instantly confirmed. “Wow! No wonder it’s called Honeybush! It tastes like Ah’m eatin’ fresh honey!”

Scootaloo looked at her sceptically. “How are a few flower petals supposed to taste like honey?”

“Ah dunno,” said Apple Bloom with a shrug. “Let’s go find more, then y’all can have some!”

The two fillies looked towards Zecora and Sweetie Belle, anticipating permission from their caretaker.

Zecora nodded in answer. “You may go, but do not wander too far. Even here, the Everfree keeps its dangerous par.”

Scootaloo jumped for joy. It seems that even one night worth of rest overcharged the young Pegasus. “Coming, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head in the negative. “No thanks, I’d rather stick with Zecora. I want to see where Heart’s Desire grows.”

“Ya sure, Sweetie?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I’m positive.”

“Alright then, we’ll bring ya back some. Let’s go, Scoots!”

Wasting no further time on chatting, Apple Bloom sprinted after Scootaloo who took the lead in their hunt for the Honeybush.

Barely a minute of galloping had passed before the two fillies found more of the Honeybush plant, although it was nearly parallel to the ground now.

Apple Bloom stalked closer, inspecting the dead and thoroughly crushed plant. “Is this how ya found it, Scootaloo? The one ya brought ta us seemed less…flat.”

“Nope,” denied Scootaloo. “It wasn’t like this when I got that first flower. It looks like something big went through here.” She slowly looked around, as if hoping to see through the thick vegetation, “There has got to be more around here somewhere. Let’s go find some!”

“Ah dunno, Scoots, this is still the Everfree Forest. What if we run into the thing that did this?” Apple Bloom asked. The forest around her seemed to grow even darker now that she knew something potentially dangerous was nearby.

Scootaloo remained completely undeterred by this. “Oh come now, Apple Bloom, are you chicken?”

Apple Bloom frowned at her friend’s words. “Fine. Let’s go get us some Honeybush.”

With the agreement reached, the two rivalling friends set out to search for their honey-like treat.

“So, Zecora, what potion are we going to make once we find the Heart’s Desire?” Sweetie Belle asked while constantly scanning around her for the pinkish flower.

Without breaking stride, Zecora answered the curious filly. “A mother does not know what to get her filly, much to her dismay, for it is almost her birthday. The potion we seek to create will make her worries abate.”

“How will that work?” Sweetie Belle inquired. Now more focused on Zecora than searching.

“The potion we will brew works much like the love potion that went askew.” Sweetie Belle blushed, remembering the problems that had caused. “Whosoever drinks the potion first will have their most desired wish to come to the forefront of their mind. The second potion drinker will then temporarily have the other’s desires defined.”

“I’m glad we’ll be part of getting that filly the perfect gift!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

They resumed their search for the next few minutes in silence. Sweetie Belle knew she couldn’t learn more until they actually found the plant.

After a few minutes of searching, Zecora noticed several deep gashes in a nearby tree. It looked like it might belong to a bear.

Bears have claws of four, not three…what could this possibly be. The answer hit Zecora once she remembered what species sometimes moved through this part of the forest. A Manticore!

Apple Bloom hastily stuffed the sweet plant into her saddlebags after taking a small taste of it. Just to confirm it was Honeybush of course.

The small filly glanced back, confirming that her saddlebags were well and truly stuffed. With a satisfied nod, she started looking for Scootaloo, confident that she had collected the most Honeybush.

Putting a hoof to her mouth, Apple Bloom called out, “Scootaloo!”

“Over here!” came the reply.

She began trotting in the general direction of the voice. It didn’t take her very long to find some rustling bushes, no doubt it being Scootaloo collecting some more Honeybush. “Ya’ll done yet, Scoots?” Apple Bloom questioned the bush that had gone still. “Get out here so we can head back to Zecora and Sweetie.”

“Sure, sure, just gimme a sec,” replied Scootaloo from somewhere off to the side.

Confused by this, Apple Bloom reached out to the leaves in front of her and parted them slightly. Inside she found a small lion-like creature curled in on itself.

When the tiny creature spotted her, it tried to scamper away, but the scorpion tail attached to the cub was caught in some branches.

It took Apple Bloom all of two seconds to make the connection. “Scootaloo…” The baby Manticore let out a desperate, loud mewl. It was instantly answered with a great roar. “Run!”

Apple Bloom never even had time to see where Scootaloo was before a gigantic paw swiped her away, sending her tumbling over the ground.

She could weakly hear somepony call her name in a mix of fear and worry. But she could not respond. All of her focus was on drawing in some breath which seemed oddly hard to do for some reason.

Scootaloo was at her friend’s side within moments. She sported a single long, bleeding cut. The Pegasus filly couldn’t care less at that moment. “Come on, Apple Bloom, get up! Get up! Get up!” Scootaloo nudged her with each repeat of the word ‘up’. “Come on! We have to get out of here!”

With oxygen being mercifully restored in small, frantic bursts, Apple Bloom shakily got to her hooves. As she did, a terrifying sight awaited her.

The Manticore was in midair, leaping towards them.

Not even having enough breath to shout a warning, Apple Bloom closed her eyes, waiting for the end to come.

After several seconds, she finally heard a voice. “H-h-h-h-hey there! No need to fi-fi-fight!”

Confused but still very afraid, Apple Bloom slowly opened an eye to see what was keeping the Manticore from their meal.

The sight she saw left her speechless, despite wanting to scream again.

A gigantic bear with a comically small top hat was busy holding onto the Manticore from behind, seemingly unaffected by the powerful toxins its tail delivered into its body with each strike.

“B-B-Bonnie, w-why don’t you give our new friends a h-h-h-h-hug and put a plaster on his or h-h-h-her boo-boo!” the bear said in a stuttering, but very cheerful voice.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were lifted off the ground by a bulky purple arm.

Apple Bloom looked up into the thing that had just lifted her up. She immediately wished she hadn’t.

She had never seen anything like it. The monster had no face, only teeth and a mockery of two rabbit ears on the top of its head. Worse still were the two ominous red lights glowing from somewhere at the back of what remained of its skull.

The Manticore seemed like a cute little kitten in comparison.

She wanted to scream, but her breath was still coming to her in shallow intervals. Both from her injuries and from a new layer of terror.

Fortunately Scootaloo had no such issues and screamed for all she was worth.

Chapter 3

“Help!” Scootaloo screamed, kicking at the purple monster that held them to no effect. “Somepony help!”

“Don’t be afrai-frai-fraid,” the bear said in an attempt to calm Scootaloo down. It was a bit ineffective, what with the Manticore it was holding and all. “We’re your f-f-f-friends!”

As Scootaloo kept screaming, now crying as well, Apple Bloom noticed the metallic wires move but not the plaster it held. “Scoots…” Apple Bloom said in nothing more than a whisper while also nudging the Pegasus slightly.

It was more than enough to get Scootaloo’s attention in her panicked state. Her eyes immediately flew open while her mind kept going to places she wished they would stay out of.

“Put down those two or I will run you through!”

The damaged bear slowly turned its upper body to face the Zebra, giving Zecora the full view of the Manticore. “H-h-hello sir or ma-ma-maddam! Do any of these children be-be-belong to you?”

Zecora simply nodded and inclined her head towards Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, not able to speak with her staff now clenched tightly between her teeth. “Help!” Scootaloo called out upon seeing Zecora.

“Wo-wonderful!” The bear turned back to the dismembered purple creature. “Return the ch-children to their par-parents while I look for the ow-ow-ow-owners of this little skamp!”

Zecora kept her aggressive pose despite…his words. In the time he spoke, Zecora was able to get a good look at both him and his friend. The bear was obviously male, he had broad shoulders and muscles strong enough to hold back a Manticore whilst getting stung. Repeatedly. Without flinching. She really hoped she could run away fast enough with the fillies if this came to a fight.

The purple one was much more intimidating. Zecora figured that the Manticore must have gotten the jump on it considering the state it was in. Its face was completely missing, so was its left arm. The numerous gaping, yet strangely not bleeding, wounds it had seemed minor in comparison. She was impressed that it was able to walk at all.

She reached up to hook her weapon between her fetlock and ulna, allowing her to speak. “Your motives I do not understand, so release them where you stand!”

To her unending relief, the rabbit put the two fillies down.

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sprinted towards Zecora, seeking shelter behind her from the monsters. As Apple Bloom passed, Zecora noticed the cut she had on her side as well as the small brown plaster.

She relaxed slightly, but never put her weapon away.

“H-h-hi there little guy or girl!” She heard the bear say near some bushes. For some reason the Manticore he held flailed around even more wildly. “Is this your-your-your mommy or daddy?”

Zecora’s jaw went slack at what the bear did next. He released the Manticore, causing the dangerous creature to spin around and smash into the bear with its head.

Even with a blow powerful enough to have snapped any pony in two, the bear was merely knocked back onto his behind. “Please do no-no-not damage the animatronics or we will have to ca-ca-ca-kill-call security!”

The Manticore payed the bear no more mind, dipping its head into the bushes and pulling out its cub before sprinting away. “Please come again, Freddy will miss you!” Freddy said, his tone rapidly changing from cheerful, to pleading, to sad.

“Your name is Freddy?” Zecora asked once she was sure the Manticore was gone. Not that she was expecting it to return while its young was nearby.

“Y-y-yup!” Freddy replied, his tone once more cheerful.

“That you are not a complete threat, I have established already.” Zecora briefly looked at the rabbit again. He had not so much as twitched since he had put the fillies down. “Why are you here? I doubt you are but a sightseer.”

Zecora risked a glance behind her to check on the fillies in her care. Besides the scratch and the growing bruise on Apple Bloom's barrel, the two fillies seemed fine. Physically at least.

Freddy said nothing for several seconds, seemingly lost in thought. “Kindly take u-u-us to your local authoritie—oh, hello Chica!” said Freddy, lifting a paw as if in greeting.

Zecora cautiously looked back, not wanting to be taken by surprise in case it was a trick. What she saw nearly made her heart stop.

Standing not even a meter from her was a towering yellow creature, its arms spread to the sides to make itself look bigger. It also wore a dirty white bib with the words ‘LET’S EAT!!!’ written on it. However, none of those scared Zecora.

Its head did.

Its ‘beak’ was opened unnaturally wide, almost as if the lower jaw had been chopped off. Zecora could see not one, but two sets of teeth and a mishmash of metal within, ready to consume any who dared get too close. She also idly noted that the eyes were sunken deeply into its skull.

Even more unnerving to the experienced Zebra was the fact that there were no indicators that the creature approached. Not the rustling of leaves, not the grass parting where it stepped, or even the shadow that she only now noticed.

“Aaaaaah!” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom screamed. Before either of them could flee, Zecora put a hoof on each of their tails. They protested very loudly against this, but she paid them no mind. With the silent and sudden appearance of this new creature, she could not be sure how many were still around them.

“Do not flee, just remain close to me,” Zecora tried to reassure the fillies, but struggled to keep her own growing fear at bay. “I will take you to the guard.”

“Wo-wo-wonderful!” Freddy exclaimed. “Please lead the wa-wa-way!” As he said those words, the yellow creature straightened up causing Zecora to tighten her grip on the staff, prepared to strike.

Fortunately it was not necessary as it just walked past the two ponies and lone Zebra to stand next to Freddy.

With her heartbeat somewhat under control, Zecora’s thoughts drifted towards Sweetie Belle. These creatures may not seem aggressive, but there was no way to be certain. I truly hope to discover, Zecora thought to herself, glancing at the three intimidating animals, that this is just a case of not judging a book by its cover.

Her legs burned. Breathing burned. The branches attacking her stung, but Sweetie Belle never stopped running.

Zecora said to get help, to tell somepony that there was a Manticore.

The leafy roof slowly gave way to clear blue skies and the dark trees that nearly formed solid walls gave way to rows of dead looking trees.

Sweetie Belle knew this was where the Apple family grew Zap Apples every now and then. She was so close!

It didn’t take her long to reach the Apple family’s house. Not even bothering with the manners Rarity had drilled into her mind, she started hammering at the door. “Help!”

With the sound of frantic hoof beats, the door soon opened to reveal Applejack. Needless to say, the farm mare was very surprised to see Sweetie Belle so exhausted; she had never looked like this no matter how much crusading she did with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo,” Sweetie managed to say in between breaths. As she took in another breath to speak again, Applejack put a hoof to her muzzle.

“Woah there, filly, get yer breath back.”

Doing as she was told, Sweetie Belle took several deep breaths. Once Applejack thought she had enough, she removed her hoof from Sweetie Belle’s muzzle. “Zecora said there was a Manticore in the forest while we were gathering herbs, you have to go help! Apple Bloom and Scootaloo weren't with us!"

“Big Mac!” Applejack called into the house. “Get out here! Hurry!” Applejack faced Sweetie Belle again, a much more serious expression on her face. “Where are they?”

“We went directly south from Zecora’s hut, they should be around there somewhere.”

Applejack nodded to the filly, stepping aside to allow her to enter the house. “Granny! Keep an eye on Sweetie Belle and our guest, we’ll be right back!”

Seeking the comfort of the house, Sweetie Belle entered just as Big Mac began talking to Applejack. She watched the two gallop towards the Everfree Forest.

Finally having a chance to take a breather, Sweetie Belle went into the kitchen. Mere moments after she sat down, her face met the table, too tired to even keep it lifted up.

“Hi.”

Chapter 5

Freddy constantly scanned the landscape around them. The dark place with lots of trees had given way to a much brighter area with almost as many trees.

But this was good; children did not like dark places. Only criminals liked dark places, like that one criminal that kept coming in and out of the back office. Freddy was glad that the other Freddy would always capture the criminal. Alas, he would come back several times a night. He didn’t want to sound mean, but the other Freddy really wasn’t doing a good job.

Freddy would worry about that troublemaker later. For now he must do what he knows. He must find children and make them smile, and then he must find the authorities and instruct them to contact Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.

Or was he supposed to inform the authorities first and then make children smile when he got back?

It didn’t matter. Children must smile. Children must be kept safe from criminals and mean adults.

Freddy soon noticed that they seemed to be traveling towards a house in the distance. Which was good, the sun was no longer directly overhead. They were not allowed to be outside during the night.

“Excuse me sir or madam,” Freddy said as politely as he could, grabbing the attention of both the people in front of him, as well as the two children. They didn’t look too happy, but he could understand that. They were just in a fight after all. “Would you happen to have the time?”

One of them looked in the general direction of the sun and said, “It is about six in the afternoon; Princess Luna will soon be raising the moon.”

“Tha-tha-thank you-u-u!” Freddy said to Zecora before once again slowly turning his head from one direction to the next.

Ever since they had come out of the Everfree forest, all three of the giant animals had begun looking around. For what reason, neither of the mares knew.

“Ya sure about this, Zecora?” Applejack asked.

“The answer is in full view, is this not enough evidence for you?” Zecora asked as she gestured behind them with a hoof.

Applejack did and shuddered. She would never admit it, but the idea of a creature being alive but with no heart to guide it, no lungs to take in air—Applejack gave Bonnie a look—or a brain for that matter scared her to death. “Ah just don’t know, it ain’t natural. Ah don’t feel safe with ‘em around.”

Zecora certainly agreed, but she knew of a way to convince Applejack. “We should ask Twilight Sparkle. I am certain that her magical vocation could shed some light on the situation.”

“Yer right,” Applejack agreed. Twilight was the smartest pony that Applejack knew; surely she would know what’s going on. “Ya can go get her and tha guard. Ah’ll stay here an—“

Applejack was abruptly cut off by a deep, loud scream coming from the Zap Apple orchard.

Applejack recognised that voice and, in a moment of shame and horror, she realised that she had completely forgotten about her big brother with a Manticore on the loose.

“That sounded like Big Mac!” Zecora said for all to hear, confirming Applejack’s fear. Zecora looked between Applejack, the fillies and the group following them. They had behaved the entire trip back, but Zecora wasn’t about to risk the life of two fillies on that assumption. “Stay with them, I will be right back.”

With that, Zecora galloped towards the source of the scream, praying to her ancestors that the Manticore hadn’t come back.

As the iconic dead-looking trees surrounded Zecora, she listened, hoping to gain some indication of where Big Mac might be.

The silence stretched on and on. Fearing the worst, Zecora decided to shout out the stallion’s name, despite the danger she might put herself in if a threat was near. “Are you here, Big Mac!?” More silence. “Please answer if you can hear me, my nerves are beginning to wrack!”

“Over…here…”

Being as tightly wound as she was, Zecora jumped back a bit when she heard the voice so close to her.

“Run, not safe,” the same voice, who Zecora confirmed to be Big Mac, said again.

She cautiously approached the tree that his voice emanated from, her eyes still scanning around for any threats.

Zecora came around the trunk of the tree. There she found Big Mac lying on his side. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw no serious injuries. Big Mac did have a decent goose egg on his head though. His eyes were tightly closed, and his teeth were clenched. Perhaps it was more painful than it looked?

Zecora looked around once more before asking, “Can you stand? We must leave now, lest our hides be tanned.”

The red stallion opened a single eye to look at her as he spoke through gritted teeth. “Eenope.” He indicated towards his hind quarters. “The fox bit mah leg. Ah’m gonna need help.”

Only then did Zecora notice the growing stream of red beneath him. Nodding her head in understanding, Zecora trotted to Big Mac’s injured side, offering him support. She was relieved that it was only a fox, but if it was strong enough to have taken on Big Mac, Zecora had reason to be concerned.

She never looked directly towards Big Mac as he got up; all of her attention was on potential ambush spots around them. Once he leaned against her for support could she feel something wet on her coat.

As the feeling slithered further down her own leg, Zecora knew that a predator was not the only threat to Big Mac’s life.

“Ya’ll sure ya want to stay here?” Applejack asked Freddy, still trying her best to be a good hostess. Even though she was putting her guests inside her barn.

Shortly after arriving at their house, they encountered a small problem. Freddy and his friends were too large to fit through the door.

“Y-Yes thank you-you-you!” said Freddy, as creepily cheerful as ever. “We a-a-appreciate that you are letting us stay-ay-ay here for the ni-ni-ni-ni-night.”

Applejack might have been afraid of them, but she was still indebted to Freddy for saving her little sister from the Manticore. So when they had asked where they could be ‘stored for the night’, she had offered that they stay in the barn.

“Ah jus’ wish there was more Ah could do. Y’all sure I can’t bring ya anythin’?” Applejack asked for the umpteenth time.

“We-e thank you for your conc-er-er-ern, but we will be fi-fi-fine!” Freddy said before he turned towards his companions.

Both Bonnie and Chica were slumped over, seemingly asleep, even though Chica still had her arms raised.

“Allright,” Applejack conceded. “Ah’ll be back to check on ya in the mornin’. There’s a water pump ‘round the corner if ya get thirsty.”

Receiving no reply, Applejack closed the barn door before returning to the house. There was still that little colt, Balloon Boy, whose parents she had to find. Hopefully Granny Smith and Sweetie Belle kept him company while she was gone.

Run.

Just as she was about to open the door, Applejack froze at the sound of a voice. She let her hoof drop back to the ground before she turned in a circle and asked, “Who’s there?”

Nothing.

She shrugged it off as the day’s events catching up to her and stepped into the house.

“Uno!” Sweetie Belle shouted in excitement.

“Ya’ll are gonna have to do better than that,” Apple Bloom said, dropping a card that was a different colour than the previous cards onto the stack. This did not cause Sweetie Belle’s grin to leave her face.

Scootaloo groaned, picking up a card from the much neater stack, adding to the large collection of cards she held.

“You know more cards are bad, right?” Balloon Boy teased, putting another card onto the pile. Scootaloo glared at him, but said nothing.

“I win!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed, dropping a black rimmed card that had four small cards in the middle, each a different colour, and several ‘+4’s on it onto the pile.

“Oh, come on!” Apple Bloom cried, throwing her hooves into the air and showering them all with cards.

Despite the growing worry for her brother and the ‘guests’ in her barn, Applejack laughed softly at the scene. “Come on now, Ah’m sure Granny made some delicious food. Y’all can play when yer done eatin’.”

“I’m not hungry, thanks,” Balloon Boy said, gathering the cards around him. “I’ll just wait here for you guys to come back!”

“You sure, Balloon Boy? Granny Smith makes awesome food!” Scootaloo said, already halfway towards the kitchen.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

The three fillies shrugged and went into the kitchen, eager to get some food into them. Most of them had skipped lunch after all.

“Ah’ll be outside if ya need anything,” Applejack said, before leaving the house to stand on lookout for Big Mac and Zecora.

As Applejack left the house, Balloon Boy’s mouth opened in his signature smile before softly saying, “I can’t promise the same for you.”

Chapter 6

It had been a rough day for Applejack. She felt nearly as tired as when she tried to do the entire applebucking season on her own.

First she found out that her sister might be in danger, then she found out that she had nearly been killed by a Manticore, then she had found out that a group of metal monsters that looked like large animals had saved her and then her brother had been attacked by some crazy fox strong enough to overpower him!

The moment Zecora had gotten back with Big Mac, Applejack fussed over him for a short while before she galloped towards Ponyville at full speed to get a doctor or nurse to help her brother as he was in no shape to make the trip. Applejack knew she had to get Twilight, but her brother took priority over those creatures in her barn.

Nurse Redheart was the only medical pony available to go back to the apple orchard with her. The rest of the staff had been busy tending to several patients that had severe bite wounds.

By the time they had gotten back, Zecora had already cleaned and disinfected the wound using some of the stronger cider the two siblings kept hidden.

Nurse Redheart had thanked the Zebra for stabilizing the patient before she used more professional disinfectants and wrapped up the wound. She then proceeded to do the same to the wound on Apple Bloom’s side, which had been cared for long ago by Granny Smith.

While all of this was happening, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had slipped out of the house after saying their goodbyes. Zecora went with the two fillies to defend them, should the crazy fox return.

So with all of these events behind her, Applejack quickly flopped onto her bed. It had been a day that drained her completely. Both physically and mentally.

In rebellion of her peaceful sleep, her mind chose that moment to remind her that she still had guests in her barn.

Applejack groaned and nearly wished that Granny Smith didn’t teach her how to be a good hostess. Kicking off her covers, she left her bed very reluctantly.

As she passed her sister’s room, she decided to peek in. Apple Bloom’s day had been just as rough, if not more so, than hers had been.

It didn’t surprise Applejack in the least when she found the small filly fast asleep, curled up into a ball. It didn’t stop her from smiling at the sight, though.

Applejack closed the door slowly and carefully, not wanting to disturb the room’s sleeping occupant.

Walking further down the hall, Applejack made sure that the little boy in her care was alright. She opened the door leading to the guest room, but didn’t see him anywhere.

“Hi.”

Applejack nearly yelled out in surprise, but managed to stuff her hoof into her mouth before she woke the entire house.

With her heart still racing, she turned around and found Balloon Boy standing directly behind her, holding his iconic red and yellow balloon and a big sign with the word ‘Balloons!’ written on it.

Even with her heart pounding with the force of sledge hammer wielded by a Minotaur, she had time to wonder just how he had sneaked up on her like that. Her room was at the end of the hall, with Big Mac’s and Granny Smith’s next to hers. There was nothing else except for the bathroom – with the door closed – and a dead end. She should have at least heard the door open or his footsteps at the very least.

“Dag nabbit!” she exclaimed in a loud whisper. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Sorry, ma’am,” Balloon Boy said, his expression never changing.

With her heart now only going at a rate it did after a race with Rainbow Dash, Applejack addressed him more calmly. “What are ya still doin’ up? It’s past midnight.”

His teeth parted slightly, as if widening his smile. “I know.”

Applejack sighed in defeat, she did not have the energy to have to argue with him right now. “Jus’ go ta sleep, please? Can Ah bring ya some water?”

He shook his head in a negative, his eyes never leaving Applejack. “No thanks. I’ll go sleep now if that’s what you really want.”

With no further words he waddled into the room. As he passed her, his head turned around a full one hundred and eighty degrees, allowing him to keep his bright, never changing eyes trained on Applejack. Even as he put down the items he held, he still just stared.

Applejack could not hold back the shudder that ran through her body. She closed the door before he even got into the bed.

With a renewed haste, Applejack left the house. As scary as Freddy and his companions looked, she would prefer to see their sleeping forms than spend another second being looked at with those eyes.

Those eyes… They were so bright and innocent, so happy.

And yet, whenever she looked into them, she felt like she was looking at a picture of a graveyard.

Pushing the thoughts away, she continued towards the barn. Soon they would find his parents, and he would be gone.

Balloon Boy watched Applejack leave the house from the window in his room.

He had once more picked up his sign and balloon, holding them in outstretched arms.

“Fooooxyyyyy…” he began.

“Foooxyyy.” On the second repeat of the name, it sounded like a second, deeper voice had joined his own.

“Foooooxyyyy~.”

On the third repeat, a distant, pained screech answered him.

He watched as Applejack looked around her, trying to pinpoint the location of the noise before.

When she was unable to, she all but galloped towards the barn.

“Hahahahahaha… Good night, Applejack.”

A quick check, then straight back to tha house… Nothin’ to worry about…

She constantly repeated this to herself, hoping that she might eventually believe it.

Applejack pulled on the handle, not having to worry about the lock. She had never put it on earlier that day. They were her guests, not prisoners.

The moment it was open wide enough, she hurried in and closed the door behind her.

It was to keep the inside warm, of course, not because she was scared. Summer nights could get cold. Wouldn’t want her guests to freeze, after all.

Just as she thought, Freddy, Chica and Bonnie were all fast asleep. At least, she assumed so. All of their eyes, except Bonnie of course, were closed.

RUN!

This time, Applejack had no doubts. She definitely heard something that time. “Who’s there?!” she shouted, but received no answer.

Applejack squinted her eyes in an attempt to improve her vision in the darkness. It helped slightly, Freddy’s coat seemed to have gotten a little bit brighter at least, almost yellow. Though she couldn’t fathom why that was. If it was magic she could not possibly hope to comprehend it.

Still nothing.

She shook her head. Perhaps the day had just been more draining than she though.

As Applejack left the barn, two glowing serpentine eyes lit up besides Freddy. The moment she left, they shifted around the room before finally coming to a standstill on Freddy.

“This won’t do at all…”

Moments after those words were spoken, the shadows around the animatronics condensed to such a degree that only a shadowy outline and two glowing spots where their eyes would be remained, even Bonnie’s.

“Ghn,” the disembodied voice that accompanied the glowing eyes grunted. “Stop resisting, we all know you can’t last long against me.”

The white spots on their faces glowed even brighter in defiance.

“Very well, you want to remain in control so much?” The shadows softened, as did the glow from their eyes. “Then watch as you rip her apart!”

With a reluctant stutter, two red dots appeared in the gaping hole where Bonnie’s face should be, Chica’s eyes snapped open, and Freddy Fazbear stood tall.

Chapter 7

A shudder ran down Applejack’s back as she shut the barn’s door behind her and locked it.

There was obviously a crazed animal on the loose. She was honestly worried about them. Those three might have been big, but if anything could overpower her brother then it would be more than a match for them.

Her mind now set at ease, she began the short trot back, ready to put this crazy day behind her.

GET DOWN!

Applejack obeyed the disembodied voice almost by instinct, even though she had no idea why she had to get down.

She soon got her answer when she heard a deafeningly loud shriek, filled with a mix of pain and glee. Not even a tenth of a second later did something fly over her, close enough to knock her hat off.

There was a sound akin to that of crumpling a piece of paper, only much louder, as whatever flew over her impacted the door that she had just closed.

Applejack got up to face her attacker but was only met with a pile of splintered timber exactly where the door had been.

She gulped in fear. If whatever the thing was did that to a thick wooden door, what would it have done to her?

Applejack waited, ready to strike or get out of the way of whatever might emerge from the barn.

She waited, and waited, but nothing jumped at her.

After another a minute of waiting, Applejack slowly approached the barn. She picked up her hat as she passed it, taking comfort in the small sense of security it provided.

There was no movement; nothing tried rip her throat out even as she turned some of her attention to the wall near the entrance.

She soon found what she was looking for and flicked the flashlight on.

After the fiasco with the Vampire Fruit Bats, Pinkie Pie had insisted that she keep at least four flashlights hidden around the orchard in case of flashlight emergencies. At the time she had refused, insisting that she would never need them. Pinkie had ignored her and hid them anyway and made her Pinkie Promise not to remove them.

Applejack sent a silent thanks to her hyperactive friend’s shenanigans.

Being able to see properly, she swept the light around the barn. It was completely empty, that thing nowhere in sight.

Wait… She scanned through the structure again.

Freddy, Bonnie and Chica were gone.

“Huhuhu…huhu, ahhaha…”

The sound was unmistakably that of a giggle. But unlike the innocent, heart melting giggle of a child, this one was slower, deeper and just… wrong.

Throwing every bit of caution to the wind, Applejack broke into a gallop. She wanted nothing more than the safety of her house at that moment. She’d just have to lock all the doors, and then she’d be safe.

She looked over her shoulder as she ran, wondering if anything was chasing her.

Right next to the barn stood Freddy. He was leaning slightly forwards, as if he was trying to look down on her. One of his arms was lifted slightly into the air and waving slowly from side to side.

He’s too far, he can’t get me! I’ll be fi— Applejack never got to finish her thought as she rammed face first into something solid, knocking her back and allowing her to see two sets of teeth rushing towards her.

Out of pure desperation she pushed forward as hard as she could, sending her tumbling past the metal beast through the gap in its legs.

She had no time to celebrate her small victory; Chica would get her at any moment if she didn’t run.

She barely made it two steps before she saw Bonnie standing near the house. She immediately realized what was going on.

They were cutting off her escape routes.

She shot a quick glance towards Ponyville. Sure enough, a menacing red figure stood in her path. Its eyes seemed to have tiny white lights shining from them. She could also clearly see a hook in its right hand. It didn’t take much imagination for Applejack to figure out what would happen if any of these monsters caught her.

With no other choice, she sped towards the Everfree Forest.

Applejack tried to scream for help, but only a choked sob came forth. She hadn’t even noticed the tears coming from her eyes until then.

Even as she ran, she could see flashes of yellow at the edges of her vision. When she looked directly at the spot of colour, she would see Chica staring at her.

She occasionally saw Freddy and Bonnie, but only when she shone her flashlight on them. Their natural dark coats kept them partially hidden in the night.

There was no need for her to even look behind her to confirm that the red one, which was without a doubt the fox that attacked her brother, was chasing her at full speed.

Applejack knew they were leading her into a trap, much like how she would herd sheep.

Eventually she could no longer see any of her tormentors and stopped to get her breath back. But why would they lead her into the forest? If they were fast enough to constantly get ahead of her, why would they even bother, there was no way she could outrun them.

Despair hit her at the same time the answer to her question did.

They were toying with her.

Applejack gulped. She couldn’t afford to tear up any further. Even the slightest impairment to her vision could mean her death.

She turned slowly in a circle, using the flashlight to give her some vision in the darkness of the Everfree.

Not seeing anything, she walked deeper into the forest towards Zecora’s hut. The Zebra might be her only hope of survival if they didn’t stop her from reaching it.

Her pace was severely limited by her lack of vision and even further affected by the fact that she couldn’t stop looking all around her.

Without warning, the flashlight she held between her teeth ceased giving her the light she relied on so much.

“No, no, no, no!” she shouted, taking the device in her hooves. She frantically pressed the on button to no avail. She could get no more than minimal light and some static. “Work, darnit!”

Applejack finally got her wish.

She also got a clear view of a golden bear sitting in front of her before her light died again for a split second.

When the light blinked back, the bear that looked an awful lot like a smaller version of Freddy was gone.

Applejack spun around so quickly in her search for the yellow Freddy that she nearly lost the grip on her flashlight.

No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t see the thing anywhere. What’s goin’ on… Surely they can’t jus’ disappear?

As she was about to make a wide arc around where she had seen the newest monster, Applejack saw something laying on the same spot the Golden Freddy had appeared.

When she got close enough she could make out that it was a mask looking a lot like the one Freddy wore. Only with fewer holes in it.

Applejack made a growling noise. She might have been scared, but this was going above and beyond hunting her. This had escalated into psychological torture.

“Enough!” Applejack shouted, lifting the mask above her head. The flashlight lay at her hooves, barely illuminating the forest in front of her. “If ya wanna kill me, then do it! Ah’ve had enough of this!”

The flashlight stuttered on and off a few times before finally dying completely, leaving her in total darkness.

When the lights eventually came on, Freddy stood in front of her, one arm already outstretched to take her.

Even though she had prepared herself, Applejack still cried out in fear and fell back onto her rump while the Freddy Mask fell onto her head.

Applejack just sat there, eyes shut tight and shaking violently, waiting for the end to come.

But it never did.

Summoning up what remained of her courage, she removed the mask.

The flashlight was on, and Freddy was gone.

“Wha?” Applejack finally managed, unable to form any coherent words.

Dumbfounded, she held the Freddy Mask in front of her and studied it closely.

Nothing looked special about it, but there had to be something. Right? How could a mask fool such a monster? Surely he would have seen that her body was unchanged.

She shook her head, clearing those thoughts away. Ah’ll worry about that later. Ah need to get to Zecora.

With a plan set, she put the mask partially on and resumed her terrifying journey to Zecora’s house.

Chapter 8

The light flickered yet again, threatening to leave her in complete darkness.

Nope! Applejack mentally shouted before flicking the mask down.

Seconds later, Bonnie appeared before her. He stood completely still, but she knew how quickly that would change.

For what felt like the hundredth time that night, the flashlight briefly died before stuttering back to life.

Just like every time before, Bonnie vanished.

“Just a bit further…” Applejack said to nopony in particular. With the threat of death hanging over her head, even her own voice brought her some sense of comfort.

By now, Applejack had been traveling for several hours. Normally she would have reached the Zebra’s house, but the constant visits from her ‘guests’ had slowed things down a great deal.

She wasn’t sure if she could keep walking when they appeared. She certainly couldn’t test the theory. If she was wrong… Well, it didn’t bear thinking about. The stakes were the highest, that’s what mattered.

With that in mind, Applejack had decided to merely lose a few hours during her travel.

If it weren’t for the mask she had gotten, she would have been dead a long time ago. Ever since she had gotten the mask, her mysterious saviour had never appeared again.

With it though, she was safe. The monsters couldn’t get her as long as she was careful.

Her flashlight flickered once more, setting the routine in motion once again.

Back at the house, the only conscious inhabitant was busy staring out of a window. “She must think she is safe by now... At least that she has some sense of hope,” Balloon Boy said before closing his mouth, temporarily bringing his grin to an end. “Good.”

His eyes closed and he bent forward, allowing his arms to dip downwards. To anybody viewing the scene, it would look like he had fallen asleep on his feet.

Without warning, he snapped upright with his lips once more parted in his signature open mouthed grin.

“Foxy,” he began, as if speaking to an invisible person. “Crush it.”

A terrifying shriek pierced the silence that Applejack had been traveling in. She instantly recognised the sound and dove for the ground, bringing the mask down in the process.

Just like before, Applejack waited for the flashlight to flicker before she even dared to get up.

Strangely the light never wavered. It kept illuminating the area ahead of her.

Very, very cautiously, she got up with the mask still firmly in place. She tried to look around, but the mask was limiting her vision too much.

With no other options available to her, Applejack removed the lifesaving object. With speed that she didn’t know she had, she scooped up the flashlight to get a better look around her.

Sure enough, none of her pursuers were within sight.

Look again.

The voice gave her pause. She would have been a fool to ignore it. Applejack didn’t know who was talking, but the voice had saved her life just a few hours ago.

She finally decided to sweep the area around her again more carefully. She focused more intently on the areas obscured by leaves and branches.

Just to her left, she could see two tiny dots of white light that seemed to float in the air.

Holding the flashlight in her mouth, she lifted a hoof to adjust the lens, allowing a smaller but sharper light to be cast on the area. She immediately recognised the figure.

It was the same crazy fox that had attacked her brother and blocked her path to Ponyville earlier that night.

It seems the voice had saved her once more.

Following the routine once again, Applejack let the mask cover her head fully before looking in the general direction of the fox and said, “Not so tough now, are ya?” She grinned beneath the mask, allowing even more of her fear to dissipate.

Not really expecting a reply, Applejack lifted the flashlight so that she could easily see when it would stop flickering.

It took her a moment to realize that the light hadn’t even dimmed yet.

Confused by this, she lifted the mask and pointed the flashlight back towards the fox. It was still there. She put the mask on again and waited.

The light still remained constant, and the fox hadn’t moved.

Without a stutter or even slightest warning, the flashlight died completely.

MOVE!

Applejack rolled to the side just in time to see a blur of red and white swipe at the area she had just occupied. An instant after it passed, the light returned.

She screamed in fear. The exact same fear she had felt before she had gotten the mask. The fear of death.

Not wasting a second more, she grabbed the dropped flashlight and ran.

Even with the newest threat, she held onto the Freddy Mask in case one of her other pursuers decided to attack again. It would be foalish to take unneeded risks.

Sure enough, the flashlight began to rapidly go on and off again before Chica phased into existence mere meters in front of her.

She knew that if she slowed even slightly, the fox would catch her and it would be over. It seemed that she would get to test her earlier plan after all.

Not wanting to lose momentum by lifting a hoof to pull the mask down, Applejack threw her head forward and flicked it back as quickly as she could. The momentum caused the mask to slip over her entire head once more.

Using the small eye holes for guidance, she adjusted her path slightly to the right so she would not collide with Chica. Even if the mask prevented them from capturing her, it was unlikely that they would ignore her if she ran straight into them.

Like every time before then, the source of light went out completely for a few seconds before gradually returning. With her heart pounding from the combined fear-induced adrenaline and physical exertion, Applejack flicked at the mask to lift it up again.

Nothing happened. It had worked; Chica had been fooled even while she was running at full speed. Even with the grim circumstances, Applejack couldn’t suppress a whoop of joy.

With her brief moment of victory over, she looked behind her, shining the flashlight directly on nothing.

Huh? She slowed her gallop into a trot and gradually came to a halt. The fox wasn’t chasing her anymore. Perhaps they hunted in teams?

She looked just as carefully as before, but couldn’t see the red fox anywhere. Giving up on her search, she made to continue but was stopped when the area in front of her was illuminated.

The fox stood in her path, no more than five trots away. Its hook was raised and its jaw hung open, ready to jump at her.

But why isn’t it? Applejack had to ask. The mask was lifted up and she was standing completely still, an easy target. It was almost as if the light was keeping it at bay.

It was a long shot, but maybe she just had to focus the flashlight on the fox whenever she saw him.

But she had to know. If she was wrong, she wouldn’t survive if Freddy paid her a visit.

Steeling herself, she moved the light away from the fox for a moment before snapping it back on him. He still stood there, hook raised and teeth glistening.

He hadn’t moved even when she took the light away. From that she knew that there was a small time she could wait before she had to shine it on him. She could only hope that he wouldn’t strike when another one arrived.

Once more adjusting her path, Applejack moved on.

With all of her attention divided between keeping the light focused on the fox and keeping an eye out for the other three monsters, she never took notice of the crackling noise that filled the air.

The last thing she could remember was a horrible scream and a faint image of a red lipstick covered mouth filled with sharp teeth rushing towards her before she blacked out.

Chapter 9

The following morning started very peacefully for Zecora. No strange mechanical animals had tried to attack her, and she had finally been able to work on the commissioned potion.

As she finished making her morning coffee, her mind drifted back to how she found the Heart’s Desire plant. She had planned on looking for it after she had gotten home, but fortune had been on her side. On her way back from Sweet Apple Acres she had found the very plant she had been looking for, already uprooted.

The Zebra placed her forehooves onto a desk to elevate herself to a vial that contained a softly bubbling pink liquid.

She had no idea how it got there. It seemed to have been ripped from the ground. When she got home, a quick inspection had proven that it was ready for use.

She looked critically at the brew before taking a deep breath with her nostrils directly over the vial.

It smelled slightly like a cut Marula fruit. After the smell had left her senses, Zecora found herself thinking of some rare plants, specifically the Tarromin herb that was hidden somewhere in the Everfree.

She pulled back and reached out to shut off the tiny fire beneath the brew. The potion was ready; all she had to do now was to wait for it to cool down.

As she dropped back down to the floor, she took a quick look around her and frowned. Some of her more common herbs were running low, even though they were in abundance just the other day.

With a fair amount of time to kill, Zecora decided to restock her supplies. She slung her saddlebags on and, after a brief moment of hesitation, took her staff as well. If that fox was still on the loose she would need something to defend herself with.

It wasn’t long after she had left that she found a bush filled with one of the herbs needing restocking. She swiftly gathered what she needed and moved on to the next plant.

As the shamaness lifted her head, she froze. She could have sworn she saw something move in the corner of her eye.

Again there was movement, and this time she was certain of it.

Her gaze drifted in the direction she thought the movement came from.

There! Her attention snapped to the next bout of movement, but something wasn’t right. Is that…a sitting golden bear?

For no more a fraction of a second, it looked like a transparent, yellow-coloured bear was the source of the movement.

Zecora held back a groan. It would seem she wasn’t done with these new creatures just yet.

Readying her staff, Zecora trudged ahead, her herb gathering forgotten.

Several times she saw the yellow bear at a different angle, forcing her to diverge her path slightly each time. Every time she tried to look directly at it, she would get no more than the same split second image.

After being led on a zig-zaggy trail, the strange entity stopped appearing. Why did it stop? Zecora asked herself as she focused intently on her surroundings. Surely its interest in me would not take such a sudden drop?

She got her answer when she heard strained breathing coming from somewhere nearby. Her ears swivelled every which way, attempting to pinpoint the source of the sound.

It didn’t take very long for her keen ears to lock onto a ditch that had been obscured by some leaves. She would have completely missed it, had she not been looking for it.

Staff extended and ready to strike, Zecora advanced on the ditch. Once it was within reach, she used her staff to part some of the leaves over the source of the noise.

It took her a moment to process what she was seeing. It seemed unreal, as if it would fade away like the bear she that lead her here. But it never went away and eventually she had to admit it was real.

Lying in front of her, covered in blood, was Applejack.

“Big Mac!” Apple Bloom called out as she closed in on her brother. Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Scootaloo were right on her tail.

The large stallion responded by flicking his ear in her direction. He was still wrapped in a bandage to keep his wound covered and Nurse Redheart would doubtlessly drag him back to bed by the ear if she saw him standing outside. Or standing at all, for that matter.

“Ah couldn’t find Twilight,” Apple Bloom said as she came to a stop next to him. “But Ah did find Rainbow an’ Rarity; they said she went to Canterlot yesterday.”

Rainbow Dash landed next to the stallion and asked, “So what’s the deal, Mac? What did you want Twilight for?” In response he looked at the wreckage that used to be the barn’s door. Rainbow smiled sheepishly in response. “Oh.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Did you tell them?”

“She did, Big McIntosh,” Rarity replied in Apple Bloom’s stead. “Does it have anything to do with”—she gestured towards the pile of splinters—“this?”

“Ah dunno,” he replied with a shrug. “Maybe. Applejack’s gone.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she once more took flight. “Why aren’t you looking for her while Apple Bloom got us?!” Big Mac remained silent at her outburst, waiting for her to figure out the answer on her own. Eventually she did and gave a second sheepish smile. “Oh…ahehehe…”

Rarity rolled her eyes at her winged friend’s observational skills. “How can we help?”

“Apple Bloom,” Big McIntosh began, “you and your friend go inside and play with Balloon Boy a bit.”

Apple Bloom lifted a yellow forearm to her head before flicking it forward in a miniature salute. “Gotcha.” She began trotting towards the house. She was eager to play another round of Uno, especially now that she didn’t have only Balloon Boy to contend against. “Coming, Scoots?”

“Hay yeah!” she shouted in response, a grin already plastered onto her face. “I’m so gonna destroy you both this time.”

As the two fillies disappeared into the house, the three could speak freely. “Applejack up an’ vanished yesterday evenin’. Ah heard the crash, but couldn’t get up to see what was goin’ on. This mornin’ Ah found some strange tracks.”

“You mean like an animal you don’t see much here?” Rarity asked as she began looking for the tracks he spoke of.

“Eenope.”

Rainbow tilted her head, confused at what he meant by strange. “Then what do you mean by ‘strange’?”

With a large limp, Big Mac trotted towards the house until he was about half way there.

As they studied the ground he stood at, they could see two flat, near oval indentations in the ground along with what seemed to be much lighter looking hoofprints that went through the other pair of tracks.

The two mares glanced at each other, not sure what they were supposed to be looking at. They turned their questioning gazes towards Big Mac.

“Ya’ll don’t see it?” They shook their heads. “Look,” he began, pointing towards the oval tracks and then gestured to the sides, “where did these come from?”

“There’s only the two tracks?” Rainbow Dash asked, to which Big Mac nodded. “Uh, Big Mac?” She flapped her wings a few times in demonstration.

He shook his head. “Too deep.”

“Too deep?” Rarity asked, wondering what he meant. She looked at the tracks again, trying to make a connection. “Hmmm…” She lifted a hoof and tapped her chin. Mostly she was just wondering why Big McIntosh simply didn’t tell them and save some time.

She kept studying the tracks, then saw the small hoofprint she made and compared it to the others. “It would have been too heavy.” She said in realization. “Nothing short of a dragon would be able to fly with such weight.”

“So, whatever made this just…appeared? How’s that possible?”

“Ah dunno, it’s why I sent Apple Bloom to get Twilight.”

“Either way, we need to find Applejack. It looks like she was running from whatever made these!” Rainbow shouted as she threw a foreleg in the direction of the prints.

“Do not be so keen on solving these mysteries,” They all turned towards the new arrival. They gasped in shock from what they saw. “We need to help Applejack with surviving her injuries.”

Zecora trotted towards them with Applejack on her back. She was crusted large patches of dry blood. When they came closer, Rainbow Dash bolted into the sky, heading straight towards Ponyville while Rarity gasped and Big McIntosh growled deeply.

Along with many painful looking cuts and bruises, two words had gruesomely been lacerated into her barrel.

IT’S ME

Chapter 10

Many hours had gone by after Zecora had delivered Applejack, who was near death at the time, to her family. Big Mac had taken her directly to the hospital, ignoring the wet sensation and pain on his leg whenever he took a step. He knew that with each step he was taking he was making it worse.

But he couldn’t care less. His sister needed him.

Applejack had immediately been taken into intensive care after she was carried in. Big Mac was forced into a room to fill in some medical forms while Nurse Redheart treated his aggravated wound.

The doctors had worked furiously to save the farm mare. With the information they had gotten from her brother, they were able to give back most of the blood she had lost. Even though they had closed her wounds and tended to her broken nose, the large number of infections she had picked up would take time to heal.

“Zecora?” The Zebra turned away from the open door before her to find Apple Bloom staring up at her. Her eyes were somewhat glazed and red. The fur underneath her eyes was soaked; it was obvious that she had been crying for quite some time now. “Where… Where are ya goin’?”

Zecora didn’t want to leave the small filly and the elderly mare alone, but she had little choice. Applejack had been attacked, and the fox alone could not have done this. She had to find whoever did this before they could do any more harm. “I still have a few things I need to do. So for now, I must leave you.”

Much to her surprise, Apple Bloom ran up to her and hugged her leg tightly. “Please don’t go!” she cried desperately. “Ya have ta help Applejack! Yer potions can cure anythin’!”

“Is everything okay?” The two saw Balloon Boy standing in the doorway, his grin hidden behind a closed mouth, though his eyes seemed to be sparkling with glee.

Zecora was glad for the distraction; perhaps the company of Bloom’s new friend would keep her calm. No doubt she would feel much better once Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo arrived.

Gently nudging Apple Bloom with her free leg, she said, “Why don’t you go play a bit with Balloon Boy? I am certain that his company will bring you some joy.” Zecora looked towards him for help.

He nodded in reply. “Come on, Apple Bloom,” he said as he came closer. “Miss Zecora still has some things she needs to do. She needs to catch the people who did this to your sister. Wouldn’t want it to happen to anyzebra else, do we?”

Apple Bloom reluctantly let go of the black and white furred leg, allowing Zecora to go. “O-okay, good luck, Zecora.”

Nodding at the pair, she stepped outside and went directly towards the barn. She momentarily found it strange that Balloon Boy knew what she was going to do, but chose to ignore it for the time being. She had much more important things to do.

Upon arriving at the barn, she picked up the empty mask that resembled Freddy and inspected it closely. Why was Applejack wearing it? Had Freddy somehow taken off his head and put it on her as a way to mock her before he attacked? Or was it something else? In Zebrica, masks were occasionally used to ward off evil spirits, much like the ones she had in her house. But if that was the case, where would Applejack have gotten this mask from?

Knowing she would get no answers by just staring at it, she secured it to her back. There would be plenty of time to study it later that night in the safety of her home. She couldn’t risk wandering around the Everfree Forest at night; she would have to return soon.

With the mask secured, she stepped over the remains of the barn’s door. Once inside, she was not surprised to find that Freddy, Chica and Bonnie were all gone. She didn’t want to believe that the creatures who had saved two fillies would do this to another living being, but the evidence simply contradicted that idea too much.

As she was about to turn and leave, something among the wooden chaos caught her attention. She approached a support beam and flicked a few large splinters out of the way.

Carved into the floor were two large letters.

That added a new layer of confusion. It was obvious that Freddy had done this, as the letters had tufts of rough brown fur stuck to it. But why would he do it? Zecora didn’t have the slightest idea, but committed it to memory none the less.

Certain that she had missed nothing, she left the barn. She would have to hurry as it was nearly dark and she still wanted to get a look at where she found Applejack.

With her back turned, she missed two fury-filled eyes appearing in a shadowy area of the barn.

Not enough!

Infinitely far away, a certain night guard was all but screaming in fear. He tried to keep his composure by picking up his chair in one hand while holding his flashlight in the other, keeping it pointed in such a way that he could see the entire hallway.

He didn’t even bother putting on his Freddy Mask; he knew it would be useless. The guy on the phone had told him what that creepy puppet was capable of. He had no reason to doubt him; he had learned to trust the man after he had refused to believe that the animatronics were alive.

He could still hear the haunting tone of the music box. He found this strange as the puppet should have been here long ago. Not that he was complaining.

Without warning, an eyeless face appeared from the shadows, twitching spastically to one side. Even with the flashlight shining directly on him, only the face of the Puppet was visible, as if the shadows were consuming the light. Jeremy tensed himself, ready to fight for his life.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The puppet jumped, heading straight towards Jeremy who had taken to screaming while cowering behind the chair he was holding. His scream faded out eventually. He knew he was still alive, his gasps of air confirmed that. But why? Surely the puppet would have killed him.

Shining his flashlight down the hall, Jeremy could see the Puppet hanging in mid-air, paying no heed to physics. Floating between his would-be killer and himself was a semi-transparent purple cloud.

The two seemed to be engaged in silent conversation, leaving Jeremy all the more confused and even more worried. The two were blocking his only escape route; he was stuck until they left. Or decided to attack.

After a few minutes of floating, the smile that the puppet wore got wider, even though his face should not have been able to change at all. With no warning, the cloud vanished along with the puppet.

Jeremy, still panting for breath, got to his feet and made the most important decision of his life.

“Screw this, I’m out!” And with all the grace of a hippo, he ran from Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.

Chapter 11

Her revenge was within reach. She had already dealt with one of the mares who had reduced her to this pitiful state. The other five would follow one by one.

She wasn’t very happy that Applejack hadn’t been killed. But in the end that was even better since the mare gets to suffer as she did.

Now there was only one more nuisance to be dealt with. The inquisitive Zebra was slowly piecing what was happening. If she found the truth then her enemies would be aware of her and attack her with those accursed Elements again.

Even more distressing was the fact that some other force was interfering with her plans by helping the ponies. There was no other way that Applejack could possibly have gotten that mask.

It was because of this that she had been forced to go back to the other world and ask the Puppet for help.

While she could only force the haunted machines to do so much; he could make them go from meek entertainers to raging murderers in no time at all.

The moment they arrived in Equestria, her ‘partner’ had vanished, leaving her to herself.

With the night approaching rapidly, she set out to witness the removal one last obstacle.

Zecora arrived at the location she had found Applejack a little bit after dusk. Some time had been lost in her search for her destination. She cursed herself for not paying more attention to where she was going when she followed that yellow bear.

The light would fade soon, which would prevent her from gaining any information from the site of the attack.

Wasting no further time, Zecora went straight towards the covered ditch. Moving the obscuring leaves out of the way, she got a good look at the blood covering the ground, confirming that this was where she had found Applejack.

She began examining the area around her closely, hoping to find some hint as to what could have happened.

It wasn’t long before the Zebra found a flashlight deeper into the ditch. This didn’t come as much of a surprise considering that the attack happened at night.

Putting the light source into her saddlebags, Zecora continued her search in the dying light.

Finding nothing more in the ditch, she began looking outside, but found nothing. This was a major cause of concern. How could Applejack have gotten into the ditch without any tracks —or blood for that matter — on the outside?

With no other leads, she was about to leave when a blur of yellow appeared on the edge of her vision. She immediately spun to face the vanishing entity.

She just missed it. It appeared at the base of a tree not too far away from where she found the farm mare.

Zecora had a brief internal debate about trusting a potential enemy; but she eventually decided to follow it. If the bear had not come along, Applejack might not be alive right now. The least she could do is give it the benefit of the doubt.

Approaching the tree, she began examining it. She couldn’t see any obvious scratches or fur on the bark. She glanced upwards, wondering if any answers might make themselves known there.

The branches were snapped, there were deep gashes in the bark and claw marks that were barely visible in the fading light. Oddly the trees around it were unaffected, as if they had somehow climbed this tree without the slightest of indications before wreaking havoc on the branches above.

Seeing that the sun’s illumination was nearly gone, the shamaness set out in a speedy trot towards her home where she could think over these new discoveries.

Much later that night, Zecora sat at her table with the mask of Freddy Fazbear in front of her along with several sheets of paper containing the information she knows.

She had been trying for hours to figure out what was going on. It was obvious that Applejack had been attacked by the creatures in the barn, but why had Freddy scratched the letters ‘BB’ into the floor?

Even though she was very glad that Applejack was still alive, she had to wonder why. When she had found the farm mare she was barely alive and would have died had she been left there. Which brings up the question; why didn’t they just kill her when they caught her?

She shook her head. This was all too confusing; she would ask Twilight for help when she returned from her trip to Canterlot. For now, she only wanted to crawl into bed until that time came.

Behind you.

All thoughts of sleep fled from the Zebra’s mind as she leapt to her hooves, shouting, “Who’s there!?” No answer. “Show yourself! Stop this now, or for a fight you must prepare!”

Still no answer. Perhaps she had imagined it?

I have spent too much time in that chair, She thought, glancing at the table where she had been working, I must get some sleep, it’s not like I’ll be attacked in my own home by—

Her thought was interrupted by the window behind her exploding, sending glass everywhere. In place of the destroyed window was a bulky but damaged brown arm.

—Freddy Fazbear. She finished her thought as she stared at the invader. She knew she had to run. She wanted to run, but the sight paralyzed her.

The brown creature laughed merrily when his eyes found hers. “R-R-Run!”

The mask!

This time she obeyed the voice and grabbed the Freddy Mask along with the flashlight. She knew she would have to run; Freddy was stronger than a Manticore and tough enough to not even flinch after being stung by one multiple times. It would be suicide to be in a small space with him.

As she began making for the door, she stopped. He would not be alone, the others would be waiting for her to emerge from the door before jumping her.

She altered her course towards her bedroom where she leapt through the window above her bed.

She didn’t look back, she knew that the chase was on.

They would doubtlessly surround her if she tried to run towards Ponyville. Her only option was to go deeper into the Everfree and pray that she would either lose her pursuers or get to the the castle located deeper in the forest and seek shelter there.

Chapter 12

Left! Zecora immediately pointed the flashlight in that direction, but only caught a glimpse of red fur and two white dots before it vanished.

Right! She once again pointed her light source to where she saw movement, but only got a quick look at a large brown body and a smiling face before that too disappeared.

This had been going on for hours. It wouldn’t matter if she galloped or trotted, her hunters would always remain at the edges of her vision, as if corralling her somewhere. This is not a fair fight!

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find out where she was being led. From time to time, Chica would appear ahead of her, forcing her to go to the sides, confusing her further.

Each attempt she made to defy her set path had been met with a swift end. No matter which direction she went, Freddy would appear in front of her with his arm outstretched. It was hopeless to resist, and she knew it.

Left.

That voice… There was no mistaking it; it was the same voice she heard at her home moments before she had been attacked. The same one that had told her to take the mask that she still held tightly onto.

LEFT!

She had two options; either keep getting led to certain doom, or take this opportunity to attempt an escape. This is an easy choice.

Gritting her teeth, Zecora darted to her left, going from a steady trot to a full-on gallop. She hoped that the sudden change in pace would buy her a few precious seconds.

Another glimmer of colour appeared, this time directly in front of her. It was the same yellow, eyeless Freddy that had taken her to Applejack.

He was sitting slumped over in front of a purple Heart’s Desire flower, one of his arms pointing past a calmly flowing river. The Zebra looked to the other side, hoping to find what he was pointing at, but could not see anything of interest.

A piercing shriek behind her was all she needed as motivation and sprinted onwards, not noticing the Golden Freddy fading away.

Save them. Please.

High above the tree line, a dark indigo cloud with serpentine eyes was observing the events unfolding beneath her.

She was enjoying every moment of it. The terror on the nosey Zebra’s face, her sense of hope slowly being rekindled as she swam through the river. Crushing that little bit of hope would make victory all the sweeter.

Initially she had been irked that the black and white mare had not been dealt with immediately, but now she couldn’t get enough of it. The mental torture had been going on for hours, no doubt it would go on for many more before the animatronics would put it to a bloody end.

A face of white, purple and red blinked into existence directly in front of her. The smile built onto its mask reflected her feelings exactly. “Marvellous job!” She commended, completely honest. “There are six more after this one, I am positive that you will make their ends as enjoyable to watch as this one.”

A stare was given in reply.

“Yes, yes, I will keep my end of the bargain.”

The stare intensified.

“What? Now?”

A nod was added to the stare.

The cat-like eyes narrowed in challenge. “No, that was not part of the deal.”

She couldn’t remember when the change happened, but the gleeful smile on the mask became a fierce scowl. The Puppet lifted a single arm and the area beneath them got filled with animatronics.

“Ha!” The cloud barked out in amusement. “As if they could even get near me! You should be grateful that I’m doing you this favour at a—“

Whatever she was going to say was roughly cut off by The Puppet’s arm gripping the edge of the ethereal cloud. As he rushed towards Freddy’s open arms, his sadistic smile returned.

“H-How?!” In a panic, she tried to teleport away, but found her magic being blocked by the hand that gripped onto her. She couldn’t even move, no matter how hard she tried. They were now close enough to the awaiting animatronics that she could count the teeth inside of Chica’s mouth.

“Wait! I’ll do it!” Normally, she would not be intimidated by this tactic, as she couldn’t be hurt by mortal means. But she also knew that no mortal could touch her if she does not will it to be so.

Both of their descents stopped immediately. The Puppet went back to staring.

“I’ll get you for this.” She growled out before the entire cloud shimmered and disappeared.

Thump Thump,

Apple Bloom groaned; her half-sleep disrupted by the noises from outside her room.

After Zecora had left, she spent some time with Balloon Boy until Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo arrived. The comfort her three friends had provided cheered her up immensely, but sleep nimbly avoided her as her thoughts kept drifting back to Applejack.

Thump Thump,

With her curiosity overpowering her need for sleep she threw off the blankets covering her and silently made her way towards the door.

Lightly pulling back on the handle, Apple Bloom stuck her head out to get a good look of the hallway. There was nothing but darkness.

Perhaps she had just imagined it? Just the strain of the past few days taking a toll on her mind. Who would have even made those noises? Applejack was at the hospital, Big Mac was in no condition to walk around, — especially after he carried Applejack all the way to the hospital on his injured leg — Granny Smith wouldn’t be up at this hour and Balloon Boy was too small to make such a noise.

Ah need some water… Fully swinging the door open, the youngest Apple lazily went to the bathroom, hoping that a bit of hydration would help her sleep.

Immediately after she set hoof outside of the door, she heard a low hiss. She had no time to be confused by the strange sound as she dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Chapter 13

An icy shiver crawled slowly down Zecora’s spine as she continued on her path. She knew the shiver did not come from the numbing cold combined with her wet coat. Instead, it came from the unnerving silence around her.

After living in the Everfree for nearly four years, the Zebra knew that it was never this quiet in the magical forest. She hadn’t even seen any of her pursuers ever since she attempted to escape from them. Not that she was complaining; but she didn’t know why. Perhaps they were leading her to an area where they could more easily kill her, or maybe she had lost them?

Her inner musings were interrupted when the thick curtain of trees revealed an old castle across a deep looking chasm. A small bridge connected the two land masses with each other, it barely looked sturdy enough to hold a single pony, much less one of those heavy creatures that were after her.

A smile found its way to her lips as she realised that this was where the Golden Freddy had sent her. Once she crossed the bridge, she would be safe. If they even tried following her, they would surely snap the bridge and plummet to their deaths. Even if they somehow survived the fall, it would be impossible to climb back up.

With her shoulders relaxing for the first time since the night started, Zecora started traversing the gap.

Unfortunately for her, she was never able to see the smiling figure starting at her from one of the broken windows.

Far above the treeline, The Puppet observed the events unfolding below. It would seem the purple cloud had kept its promise. He knew that the one he sought was within that castle. Killing him would be so very simple. His target might be strong, but it would be impossible to fight off seven of them at once. The Zebra was of no consequence, she would not survive the night, even if he had to deal with her himself.

But something wasn’t right.

His target was aware of him. It should know that it was at a disadvantage. But it remained stationary, as if mocking him, daring him to come closer.

The playful smile on the Puppet’s white mask morphed into the same fierce scowl he had used earlier that night. He pointed a single elongated finger at the castle, and was immediately answered with the tell-tale scream of Foxy.

All thoughts of capturing the Zebra left his mind. He only had one objective now.

Springtrap will pay!

After entering the castle, Zecora went straight towards one of the smaller rooms near the library. She remembered Twilight Sparkle mentioning that the area was the most intact of the entire castle.

She had to get warm, and quickly, before hypothermia set in. It may not be winter, but the chilling evening combined with her dripping wet coat could cause unnecessary complications.

Zecora’s only problem now was dealing with her metallic pursuers. While she may be safe for the time being, she had not tried to cover her tracks as she went so they could follow her easily. She thought of the bridge outside, thinking that it would keep them out before snorting in laughter. I am not about to place all of my hopes in a few strands of ropes.

Thump Thump,

Zecora immediately became alert when the echoing footsteps reached her ears. She took extra care not to make any noises, not even daring to move to a better hiding spot than her current position in the middle of the room.

As the seconds ticked by in silence, Zecora became increasingly aware of the dripping sounds the water was making as it fell from her coat.

Thump Thump,

The terrifying cadence of the echo increased in volume. A lump of ice slowly grew in the mare’s stomach as she realised that if she stayed where she was, she would get caught with no means of escape, but if she were to run, she would immediately give away her position, which would force her to run from several incredibly fast machines in narrow passages.

Damned if I do, damned if I don’t… She thought, not even attempting to form a rhyme.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up, muscles ready to run like she had never run before.

Zecora sprinted out of the small room, but the moment she looked towards her left, towards the exit, time slowed down for her.

She could see the new creature in all of its terrifying glory. Its entire body was a dark brown, leathery colour. It had a few holes in it, but not nearly as many as Freddy or Chica. Within the holes she could clearly see patches of red.

Her heart nearly stopped when she locked eyes with the creature. It had a macabre smile plastered on its face with bits of its own skin in between them, as if it chewed off its own lips to always wear that sinister smile.

Its teeth parted, letting out a terrible hiss, causing Zecora to snap back to reality and without any hesitation, spun to her right, hoping to find salvation deeper in the castle.

To her horror, the red fox was waiting there for her, hook upraised and promising a painful death should she approach.

By now she was shaking, her only exits had been cut off. She slowly backed up hoping to find some sort of salvation in the tiny room behind her, but stopped short as she felt a hand being placed on her back. Too terrified to do anything else, she looked behind her.

No… She didn’t want to believe it, she refused to No no no… but standing between her and her only remaining hope was a tall creature with a deathly pale face and a smile that seemed to mock the fact that she was about to die.

With her back against a wall, Zecora knew there was only one possible option left to her. She jumped away and bent low, readying herself for a fight she was sure to lose.

Three against one…this will not be fun.

Chapter 14

With both of her escape routes and her only ‘shelter’ blocked off by deadly metal constructs, Zecora knew she would not make it out of the old castle alive.

Oddly, the immense bone chilling fear she felt moments before was completely gone. She wasn’t sure if she was simply losing her mind or if she was so scared that she had gone full circle and felt so much terror that it no longer frightened her.

Looking directly into the grotesque eyes of the rotting rabbit-like machine, she knew exactly what she felt.

Acceptance.

No matter what she did or how hard she tried, she would not get away from this situation. Freddy had been strong enough to lift a Manticore off the ground and not even flinch as he was repeatedly stung. If the three being surrounding her had even half the strength they could easily overpower her.

She had been running all night. Outrunning the three monstrosities was no option either.

With those thoughts in mind, the Zebra’s eyes snapped to the red fox, a snarl rapidly forming. If she was going down, she would at least take one of them with her.

“For what you did to Big Mac, you useless chunk of tech,” she charged without warning, screaming in defiance, “I will snap your neck!”

Foxy’s jaw dropped open as if mimicing a smile. He gladly answered the Zebra’s charge by leaping forwards at a speed that would have snapped the bones of any normal pony. His signature blood-curdling shriek followed closely.

With the gap between them closing much more rapidly due to the fox’s leap, Zecora turned around, preparing to buck her target with whatever might she could muster.

Waiting half a second more for the fox to come in range, Zecora put her weight into her forelegs, lifted her hind legs up and kicked for all she was worth.

Her buck connected with nothing but a few innocent air particles, causing her to overbalance and fall to the floor.

Even as she fell, she could hear the fox traveling over her. If she hadn’t fallen down, he never would have reached her at that height.

Confused, she tracked the fox’s trajectory from her position on the floor. With ludicrous speed, Foxy hit the off-brown rabbit. It remained unmoved by the deadly impact; its smile suddenly seemed mocking.

Zecora was reminded that she wasn’t safe yet when she noticed the slender figure that previously held her move. Its movement reminded her that she had to run.

Bolting towards the interior of the castle, Zecora prayed to her ancestors for protection and sent a few prayers to Luna and Celestia as well.

Huh huh uh…huh huh. Hahaha…

Upon hearing the eerily deep giggle coming from somewhere deeper in the castle, Zecora sent two more prayers to Twilight and Cadence.

Zecora ran and ran, never paying much attention to where she went, but rather focused on going in as much of a confusing pattern as possible. She doubted that it would confuse them for long, but it was better than doing nothing.

Making one final turn, Zecora came across a room with a massive organ at the far end. Panting for breath, she sat down on the organ’s chair.

She sat in silence for nearly a minute before noticing the yellow figure sitting next to the organ. After what she had just been through, his sudden and silent appearance did not affect her.

“What is your sudden appearance about?” Zecora questioned, still trying to fill her lungs with air. The bear didn’t respond. “You wish me no harm. Of that, I have no doubt.”

Her ghostly acquaintance remained silent. Just as Zecora wanted to go back to resting and watching the entrance to the room, she noticed a red bow lying at the feet of the yellow creature.

It took Zecora five slow moving seconds to make the connection.

“Where is she?!” Zecora shouted, completely forgetting that she was hiding from murderous monsters. The Golden Freddy began fading away, as if started by the Zebra’s outburst. “I must find her! She is but an innocent child. Please forgive my outburst and listen to my plea.”

The yellow bear kept fading away until he was completely gone, leaving Zecora alone with Apple Bloom’s bow.

Her mind raced with questions, she ignored all but one; Where is Apple Bloom?

Hearing a hiss behind her, Zecora spun around. Blocking the door to the room was the same off-brown rabbit from before, only this time he was slumped over.

Before Zecora could charge for an attack, the slumped figure pointed at the bow. It was only then that the Zebra noticed his lack of eyes, a trait she had only seen in one being before.

Her suspicions proved true when he started fading away, his coat slowly turning yellow once more.

As her only ally vanished, Zecora realized that her fear was no longer relevant. If she were to save Apple Bloom, she would have to face down the brown rabbit who had been strong enough to laugh at an attack from the fox who had attacked and beaten Big McIntosh without any effort.

Zecora picked up the bow and flung it across her back. Steeling herself, Zecora walked out of the room.

She immediately regretted her decision.

Waiting outside was Balloon Boy. Directly behind him were Freddy, Chica and Bonnie. Even with her mind nearly locked up by now, she noted that the three bigger machines had their backs turned to them.

“Hi.” Balloon Boy greeted casually, almost sounding friendly.

Zecora stood frozen, unable to retreat back into the room lest she alert the three bigger monsters.

“Put this on.” Balloon Boy said, holding out the Freddy Mask she had left behind. Confused, Zecora obeyed and opened her mouth to ask a question, but the small boy beat her to it, “They will not harm you. We have the same goal.” He paused for a moment, letting his smile drop. “Springtrap wants to kill again. All of us love children, we would never do anything to hurt them, but all he wants is to cause pain.

“He turned us into what we are, separated us from our families!” With his smile still not present on his face, Balloon Boy waved a hand and turned around, a signal for Zecora to follow them.

Having no other choice, Zecora did just that. She knew it was a risk going with the very monsters that wanted to kill her not so long ago, but if what the golden bear and Balloon Boy said had been truthful, then she had to save Apple Bloom from a true monster.

Chapter 15

After walking for what felt like hours, Zecora began recognising the area they were approaching. Even though she was panicking severely at the time, she would not forget the hall she nearly died in.

Her four ‘companions’ briefly looked around, trying to find a clue as to where their target might have gone. The walls, floor and even roof were littered with deep scratch marks and missing chunks. But the damage was confined to this small area; the room she hid in was untouched as were the walls further down the hall.

“Let’s go.” Balloon Boy said, snapping Zecora from her investigation.

Without seeing if she was following them, the group trudged back the way they just came from. Seeing as how easily these creatures had tracked her in the Everfree Forest of all places, Zecora had no reason to doubt their skills.

“Why are you doing this?” Zecora asked suddenly. The small boy’s head turned around completely while his body still faced forwards, his smile plastered on as always. Zecora couldn’t stop herself from shivering at the sight before she continued, “Why did you harm Applejack and Big Mac? Do you get some twisted bliss? Or is there something I did miss?”

Balloon Boy kept staring at her unblinkingly for several stretched out seconds before he replied, “Adults made us what we are. They left us in the care of mad men who would dress up in terrifying suits. Some found it entertaining, but others did not and tried to get away from the scary monsters. I ran, I was so scared,” Somewhere along his retelling, Balloon Boy lost his smile and for the first time since Zecora met the young boy, he looked genuinely sad. “I wanted to go back home, but nobody came for me.

“Then I met a man in a police man’s uniform, except it was purple, not blue like it should be. The nice man said he would help me get back to my mommy. I went with him into a room with video games in it. He told me to play while he called them. But when I sat down, I felt a hand on my neck and head. Then nothing. The next thing I knew I wanted to hurt the adults as much as they hurt me, my new friend promised me he'd help me with that.” He turned his head back forward as he finished talking.

Whatever Zecora had expected to hear from him, it certainly had not been this. One important question lingered in her mind. Glancing between the four metallic constructs, she asked her question, “What are you?”

Without turning back, Balloon Boy answered her question honestly, “Children.”

Even with the intense situation she found herself in, Zecora couldn’t stop thinking about what Balloon Boy had said.

‘Children.’

But why would they become so violent? Zecora firmly believed that spirits exist, both good and bad ones. Even so, ‘children’ and ‘evil’ are polar opposites. She peeked at Freddy through the holes in her mask. Were their hideous forms the suits Balloon Boy spoke of? The young could barely comprehend the word ‘angry’, it should be impossible for them to feel so much hatred that they would come back from the dead to seek revenge.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand why once innocent children would turn into such monsters.

It was at that thought that she remembered when she was attacked. Freddy had told her to run where he could just have reached and grabbed her instead of giving her that crucial extra second to react. Which means they might be forced into doing this.

Not to mention the Golden Freddy that kept appearing, he had saved Applejack and given her a chance at survival by leading her towards the castle where he tipped her off that Apple Bloom was in danger.

Zecora snapped back to attention so fast that she nearly threw her mask off. She had completely forgotten about Apple Bloom.

“How far are we?” Zecora asked urgently. “We must still save that little filly!”

As if waiting for her to ask just that, a metallic object crashed into Bonnie, the force of the impact toppling the blue bunny over.

Calling the tangle of metallic limbs an animal would be beyond even Fluttershy’s kindness, it was simply too Mangled to be identified as anything other than a mess of metal and wires.

The metallic mass didn’t seem to know that it shouldn’t be able to move as it leapt back into the darkness with a cry akin to that of Foxy. Freddy and Chica immediately sprinted after the mysterious thing, followed closely by Bonnie. Zecora was very sure that he was flat on his back not even half a second ago.

“He is there.” Balloon Boy said in answer to her question, his grin returning once more as he did.

Zecora needed no further prompting as she broke into a gallop. Her fear for Apple Bloom overriding the fear she felt for herself. As sorry as she began to feel for the souls around her, she would leave them without a second though if it meant saving the young filly.

Zecora didn’t have to run for very long before she came into a spacious room with two thrones at the end.

She entered just in time to see Springtrap rip Bonnie’s other arm off, sending sparks and a dark fluid flying, before throwing the armless bunny into Chica who was busy standing up.

She couldn’t see any of the others. Despite what they did, she worried what might have become of them. If dying meant that your spirit left your body, what would happen if your spirit dies?

The moment the dark creature spotted her, it let out another low hiss and charged.

“Fooooxyyyyy~” The voice of Balloon Boy sang from behind her.

A screech followed by a red blur flew from behind Zecora, slamming into Springtrap. Even at such a speed, Foxy only managed to slow Springtrap’s charge enough to give Zecora enough time to roll out of the way.

When she recovered from the dodge, Zecora looked on in horror as Springtrap took the red fox’s head in one hand and his neck in another. In one swift motion he bent it in what looked like a very unnatural angle. The Zebra’s theory was confirmed has Foxy screamed in anguish before being tossed aside.

A brief image of a Apple Bloom’s head being bent that way flashed through Zecora’s mind. Disgust and rage filled her in equal amounts. If what Balloon Boy had said was true… She stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. She would not allow that to happen.

“Where is Apple Bloom?! If you harmed that filly, I will smack you silly!” It was an empty threat and she knew it. She just hoped it would buy more time for Balloon Boy or Foxy to attack again.

Zecora’s heart stopped when Springtrap extended a hand that held Apple Bloom by her head, her body dangling uselessly beneath her. She briefly wondered why she didn’t see the foal there moments before, but decided she could dwell on it once they were safe.

But when Springtrap started lifting his free arm, Zecora surged forward. She pushed herself harder than ever before, hoping to gain just a bit more speed. But she was too late.

The other hand came to a rest on Apple Bloom’s neck and the sadistic monster smiled as Zecora screamed. “No!”

Chapter 16

Time slowed down for Zecora as she surged forward. She wasn’t fast enough and she knew it.

As Springtrap put his hand on Apple Bloom’s neck, the same metallic misconfiguration from before flew down and smacked into the arm that held the small filly, sending her flying away from the murderous robot.

Even though she was safe from immediate danger, the speed at which Apple Bloom was propelled could still prove fatal. Without missing a beat, Zecora slowed her charge before changing directions.

Upon reaching the yellow filly, Zecora could see many injuries beneath her fur, but she wasn’t able to see the full extent of the injuries due to the mask she had on. Wasting no time, Zecora removed the mask and starting fretting over the unmoving pony. “Apple Bloom, Apple Bloom!” She cried, hoping beyond hope that her words would wake the farm pony up.

There was a pain-filled scream from the Mangled robot as Springtrap tore it in two. Even though his face was now covered in a dark, viscous fluid, the monstrous rabbit still had his grin plastered on. It seemed just a little bit wider as he stared at the injured pony.

Narrowing her eyes, she crouched down to place the helmet over Apple Bloom’s head. She knew the other animatronics probably wouldn’t hurt her because she was just a child like them, but Zecora refused to leave anything to chance. “Stay safe. Please, do not let this castle become your tomb.” She whispered to her before standing up and facing the evil creature.

The two stared at each other. The one lusting for blood and death, the other standing strong to defend an innocent life.

The silence stretched on for several seconds before Zecora spoke, “What are your goals? Why would your cause so much pain to these poor souls?” She asked, gesturing to the downed forms of the other animatronics around them.

What he did next surprised Zecora. He opened his mouth, exposing more teeth hiding within. Her surprise swiftly morphed to a mixture of shock and disgust as he bent the top half of his face completely backwards, revealing a fleshy face with the same glowing eyes as before.

The second head moved its mouth around, as if trying to speak for the first time in its life. “F…faa…fuuu…” Its second mouth made an attempt at a smile before he nearly shouted, “Fun!” He snapped the mask back on, returning his sadistic smile before he broke into a sprint, heading straight towards Zecora.

Not wanting to dodge for fear of Springtrap changing targets, Zecora answered his charge. As the two combatants neared, Zecora spun around, making to buck the sinister being with all of her might.

Anticipating the blow, Springtrap merely held a hand in front of him to capture her leg should she kick.

Zecora bucked low, making contact with the thin metal casing connecting Springtrap’s foot with his leg. Normally, the hollowed steel tube would merely have been dented by the attack. But the years of disrepair on the creature weakened the once strong structure to the point where a solid enough impact would snap the connection.

The sudden loss of his foot caused him to topple over to one side and crash roughly on the ground.

Zecora put her hooves down and immediately winced. The hoof that had made contact with the metal part had a deep crack in it and her leg further up had a stinging pain running through it.

The momentary distraction the pain provided was more than enough time for Springtrap to take a swipe at her. Using his good leg, the brown bunny pounced forward and struck out with an arm.

The attack glanced off of Zecora’s side, but she was still staggered backwards. The hollow looking area beneath her skin did not bode well. The fact that she could not feel the pain did little to sooth her.

Her opponent was still trying to get up with only one good leg, but failed each time. This gave the Zebra some time to observe her surroundings. It was obvious that she could not win in a straight fight. Springtrap was faster, stronger and much tougher than her. She needed a plan, fast.

Chica and Bonnie were still down; they would be of little help to her. The mysterious monster that had saved Apple Bloom lay in two pieces a bit behind Springtrap. She sent a silent thanks to it. Lying against one of walls was Foxy, his head hanging limply from his neck. Looking discreetly into the hallway she had come from, she could see Balloon Boy. One of his hands was over his mouth, indicating her to be quite.

No matter where she looked, she couldn’t see Freddy or the slender Puppet from before. They would be of no help to her.

Off to other side of the room was a strange, crumbling pedestal with several concrete arms extended at odd angles. At the top was a heavy looking orb. An idea struck her as she looked at the unstable object. It appeared near suicidal, but it was all she had. She could only hope that Balloon Boy had some sort of plan to defeat Springtrap.

Her attention was snapped back to the evil robot as he finally found his footing. He was standing normally on one leg while he stood on the stump of the other, a dark reddish-black fluid leaking freely from the wound.

Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, Zecora slowly circled Springtrap, making sure to position herself between him and the pedestal.

As she hoped, he followed her movements intently, his body turning away from Apple Bloom. The injury he suffered made him focus solely on his attacker. His eyes were ever so slightly narrowed, the first indication of anger she had seen from him.

It wasn’t longer before he charged.

Zecora turned tail and went directly towards the pedestal. Springtrap’s injury slowed him down just enough to allow her to stay ahead of him.

Having reached the pedestal, Zecora turned to face the charging construct, ready to dodge to either side as he drew closer. She waited; her heart beating furiously, every instinct she had was telling her to move before the predator was upon her.

Springtrap extended an arm, aiming to Zecora’s head. Now! She jumped to the side, hoping to turn her adversary’s impossible strength against him.

It would have worked flawlessly, had her leg not been injured.

During the sprint, she only briefly put her weight on the leg. She felt the pain, but she ignored it. But now she was putting all of her weight onto that leg to make a swift dodge.

Her life saving dodge turned into a pathetic stumble. She could feel the rigid fur of Springtrap’s hand as it closed around her throat.

He crashed heavily next to her, but missed the trap she was relying on. With her firmly in his grip, he turned her head to face him. His mouth opened a bit, allowing her a view of the second mouth smiling widely. “D…D…” It stuttered, still not very used to talking. She felt the pressure increase, cutting off the oxygen from her lungs.

“DIE!”

Chapter 18 - Epilogue

“How are they doing, Doctor?” Twilight asked as she stared at the sleeping forms of Applejack, Apple Bloom and Zecora. Per request of their friends, the three had been placed in the same room to give them some friendly faces to look into during their recovery.

“The filly will be out by the end of the day; however Applejack and your Zebra friend have suffered much more severe injuries.” Answered the doctor who treated their injuries.

What could have done this? Doctor Stable said that there were words carved into Applejack’s side while Zecora had been chocked by something with strength that could be compared to that of a Minotaur Bull. Neither of her friends were pushovers. In fact, along with Rainbow Dash, they were some of the more physically capable ponies she knew of. “Who found them like this?”

The unicorn doctor flipped a few pages on the clipboard he was levitating before reading over some more information. “Miss Zecora and Apple Bloom were found in their state by a few young colts who wandered a bit too far in the Everfree, but we haven’t heard from them since.” He replaced the clipboard he was holding with the one at the foot of Applejack’s bed before continuing, “Miss Applejack was found in the Everfree by Zecora a few days ago and was brought in by her older brother. Are there any other questions?” He didn’t want to seem rude to the local Princess, but he had other patients to attend to.

Twilight knew this and shook her head, indicating to the doctor that he was free to go. Nodding, Doctor Stable trotted on to check on his other patients.

Once the doctor was gone, she approached Applejack’s bed. Tears slowly built in her eyes as she thought of the horrid scars beneath her bandages. She thought of the pain her friend went through, of the suffering she was unable to prevent. “I’m sorry…” she whispered, knowing her apology wouldn’t be heard. “I…I went to Canterlot. Celestia and Luna found something strange…I didn’t…I wasn’t…”

For hours, Twilight stood there, sobbing over her grievously injured friends.

For nearly a week all of Applejack’s friends came in to visit her and Zecora. The latter had yet to wake up since she was brought into the hospital.

Both the police and psychiatrists from the hospital had spoken to Applejack, hoping to gain information on her attacker. But each time, she told them the truth; she couldn’t remember anything from the night she was attacked.

During one of her visits, Twilight told Applejack about her time in Canterlot.

“So what were ya’ll doing in Canterlot anyways?” Applejack asked her friend as they played a friendly game of Old Mule. “Ah know Princess Celestia called ya, but what for?”

“Well it was actually very strange,” the purple Alicorn admitted, “A freak thunderbolt struck in the castle’s gardens, even though there wasn’t a cloud in the skies.”

The farm pony raised an eyebrow at the story “Ya’ll were called to Canterlot fer a stray bolt of lightnin’?”

Twilight shook her head in response. “Yes and no. Right after the lightning struck, the guards found four large, talking animals that walked on their hind legs. They kept saying something about getting them back to Freddy Fazbear’s or something.“

Applejack’s jaw dropped, her cards falling out of her hooves as the game was completely forgotten. “Twi’…what were their names?”

“Ummm…” She tapped her chin with a hoof, trying to recall that bit of information. “Freddy, Chica and…Bunny, I think? The last one never talked though, so we never got his name.”

“Bonnie.” Applejack corrected without thinking.

“Yeah! That was his name!” She exclaimed, happy that she got the name of the third animal. “Wait…how’d you know that?”

“They were here, they stayed at the barn.” All the colour had drained form Applejack’s face, her stare completely lifeless.

“That can’t be possible, they’re still at Canterlot!” Twilight argued. She distinctly remembered the trying to communicate with the large animals every day that she was there to no success.

She shook her head, “Ah’m sure it was them, Twilight. I’d never forget ‘em.”

Applejack looked so sure of what she was saying, she knew her friend would never lie. “Could you tell me about them?”

So she did. She told her of Balloon Boy and how he became fast friends with Apple Bloom. She told her of the three larger animatronics, of how broken they were. She even told Twilight about the crazy fox that attacked Big Mac and Zecora.

“Wait, Zecora knew of them as well?” She glanced over at the Zebra’s bed, seeing her healing, unconscious form. “Do you think they did that to her?”

“Ah don’t know.” Applejack answered truthfully. “We’re gonna have to ask her when she wakes up.”

“…What about Apple Bloom?”

“Huh?”

“What about Apple Bloom?” Twilight repeated, “She was found with Zecora, right? Maybe she knows something?”

“Ah dunno, Twi’, them doctors asked her the same thing. Says she can’t remember what happened to ‘em that night.”

Twilight walked over to the unconscious Zebra’s bed side, scanning through her medical papers. “So… Zecora is our only lead on what happened?”

Applejack nodded, “Looks like it. Guess we gotta wait for her ta wake up.”

I warned you, traitor.

The shadowy mist overlooked the scene beneath her. It was the other four she had originally brought to Equestria to destroy her enemies, but they had failed her miserably.

“Please take me to your nearest police station or Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria sir or madam.” The undamaged duplicate of Freddy Fazbear repeated for the thousandth time to the guards around him and his three companions. It was late in the night, and by now the Princesses had lost most of their interest in the unusual visitors. The royals eventually realised that they were not intelligent creatures but rather some very odd mechanical constructs.

“For the last time, we are the police!” And yet, the ones charged with watching over them were unable to process this simple bit of information.

“…Please return us to the nearest Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.”

“Gah!” The guard shouted, his wings extending in frustration. “Listen, you!”

She didn’t need to hear any more of this. The guards were only barely paying attention to the three talking Animatronics.

They never even noticed as the wicked spirit flew into the yellow suit that sat slumped over off to the side. Without a sound, the now black furred ‘bear’ faded away.

This is not over!

Chapter 4

Shortly after the strange group had begun their trek to Ponyville Zecora started stealing glances at the three creatures that followed her. More specifically at the purple rabbit.

Even with his no doubt grave injuries, he never stopped or staggered and his only talking companion seemed to take his state as the norm.

Zecora tried to ignore it, she really did. For all the Zebra knew these creatures were dangerous, but they had still saved Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s lives.

Looking back at them over her shoulder, she spoke to Freddy. “Will your friend be alright? He seems to have taken quite a beating in the fight.”

Freddy showed no signs of understanding the question at first, but once his gaze landed on Bonnie, he said, “Bonnie will be fi-fine! Our friend, the me-me-me-mechanic will fix him right up-up-up! Please do not wo-worry about him and enjoy your st-st-stay at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza!”

His words confused Zecora greatly. She knew what a mechanic was; she saw some who worked on the train that brought her from Zebrica to Equestria. But that was just it; they worked on the train itself, the nonliving, mechanical parts.

His answer also sounded very strange. It sounded rehearsed, as if he had said it many, many times before.

Noticing that the forest suddenly grew much denser, almost completely blocking the light from the sun, Zecora looked back again to make sure the rest could still keep up.

All of them seemed fine in the dark, even if Freddy’s coat was a yellowish shade now. Perhaps it was some sort of magic that made him more noticeable in the darkness? After a moment, it was gone. It seemed his bodily damage was also affecting his magical enchantments.

Before Zecora was able to continue with her line of thought, a pony galloped into Zecora’s line of sight. “Applejack!” shouted Apple Bloom before sprinting forward to meet her sister.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack answered back and gave her younger sister a tight hug the moment she came within range. “Are ya ok? Sweetie Belle told us there’s a Manticore an’ that you an’ Scootaloo got separated from Zecora an’—who hurt you?!” Her chain of frantic, near incoherent questions came to an end once she noticed the cut on her sister’s side.

Before Apple Bloom could explain what happened, Applejack saw the monster and charged, completely ignoring her sister’s pleas for her not to hurt them.

Before Applejack was able to reach them in her enraged state and show the monsters what it feels like to be on the receiving end of her applebucking, a sharp pain exploded from one of her forelegs. With her leg now unable to support her weight, she fell down.

“What did ya do that fer?!” Applejack could hear her sister shout from somewhere behind her. Wanting to see for herself who had caused her this pain and wanting to return in kind, Applejack forced herself up. She was still too angry to notice that there wasn’t that much pain in her foreleg at all.

Zecora stood still, her eyes fixed on Applejack while she was holding her staff outstretched. “Do not be in such a rush; they saved your sister from being turned to mush.”

Applejack’s boiling anger cooled down to a simmer. “Explain,” she said simply, not wanting to talk any more than needed to the Zebra who had attacked her.

“Mister Freddy saved Apple Bloom after the Manticore hit her,” Scootaloo explained. “If it weren’t for him, both of us would be dead now.” Scootaloo shuddered as she recalled the events still fresh in her memory.

That gave Applejack pause. The monsters had saved her sister? Shaking her head, she asked her, “This true, Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah,” she replied, “we woulda been done fer if Mister Freddy didn’t save us.”

Feeling very ashamed at what she wanted to do to the monsters--No, Applejack scolded herself. Freddy and his friends--Applejack tipped her hat forward as she spoke. “Ah’m mighty sorry fer judging ya’ll like that, ‘specially since ya saved mah sister and her friend.” Her guilt increased even more once she realised that this was exactly what she had done when she first met Zecora. Had she learned nothing from that experience?

Freddy attempted a smile, recognising a thanks when he saw one. “It was our pl-pleasure sir or ma’m!”

Her apology accepted, she thanked Zecora for stopping her, to which Zecora apologised for hitting her, before addressing Freddy again. “So who are y’all? Ah’ve never seen anythin’ like ya.”

“M-my name is Freddy Fazbear!” Freddy introduced himself then pointed at Bonnie, who lifted his working arm in a greeting. “This is Bonnie B-B-Bunny!” Then to Chica, who waggled an already uplifted arm. “And this is Chica Chicken! Do you want a hu-hu-hug?”

A bit surprised by the question, Applejack involuntarily took a step back and answered, “N-No, thank ya.”

“I do not mean to interrupt, but your meeting I must disrupt,” Zecora said before Applejack could ask any more questions. “I feel I should also mention,” the Zebra began, moving closer to Applejack to make sure nobody would overhear. “I believe they are inventions.”

Applejack stared at her incredulously. “What?”

Zecora started walking again as she spoke. “Let us continue our trek, I will tell you why I believe they are made of tech.”

“Uno!”

“Again?!” Sweetie Belle shouted in disbelief, looking at the numerous cards she still held. “How are you so good at this game?”

The little boy Sweetie Belle was playing the age old children’s game with giggled. “I’m just very lucky today!”

Groaning, she dropped her cards, revealing a few green and yellow cards and a single red card with a ‘+2’ on it. Sweetie Belle had met the strange boy when she entered the Apple family’s house. At first they didn’t talk, but when he suggested they play a card game, Sweetie Belle thought it might be fun.

She might have been right, but losing four games in a row could be a bit disheartening. Luckily it had the desired effect of breaking the ice between the two.

Sweetie Belle had learned that his name was Balloon Boy. She had giggled at the name, imagining what it would be like if somepony were named ‘Unicorn Filly’ or ‘Pegasus Colt’ or even ‘Earth Pony Foal’.

Balloon Boy’s clothes were also very strange to Sweetie Belle. Every dress or tuxedo that Rarity made seemed at least a bit loose fitting, and none of them looked as shiny as the clothes that Balloon Boy wore. Except maybe when she used that golden glitter stuff. His short sleeved, red and blue striped shirt hugged him so tightly it almost looked like they were apart of him. She couldn’t even see the holes the two buttons on his chest should go through!

At least his eyes and hat are normal, Sweetie Belle thought to herself, noticing his blue and red striped propeller cap. “Go ahead and shuffle again. I’m going to get something to drink. You want anything?” Sweetie Belle asked as she hopped down from her chair.

“No thanks,” Balloon Boy said. “But hurry up! I want to play again!”

Complying with his request, Sweetie Belle hurried towards the kitchen. Turning a corner, she soon faced the fridge containing the apple juice she desired so much. Firing up her magic, Sweetie Belle opened the fridge partially.

Run.

Confused at the sound, Sweetie Belle looked around. “Hello? Granny Smith?” Nothing. “Balloon Boy?”

Being given no answer, she retrieved a pitcher filled halfway with a pale golden liquid.

Run.

Sweetie Belle nearly dropped the pitcher in surprise. She was sure she heard somepony telling her to run that time. She reached out with a hoof to close the refrigerator door. The moment it closed, she got a clear view of Balloon Boy standing there with his usual open mouthed smile, causing the young filly to squeak in fright and stumble back a few steps. “Hi.”

Sweetie Belle got her heart rate under control using the breathing exercises Twilight had taught her before she would hyperventilate. “What are you doing here! I thought you were shuffling the cards!”

The smiling boy just lifted a hand, showing the Uno deck he held. “Play with me?”

With her heart still trying to escape her chest by punching a hole in it, Sweetie Belle said, “Sure, just…just let me pour some apple juice.”

“Ok.”

With her new friend staring at her unblinkingly, Sweetie Belle used her magic to get a cup from the cupboard above her.

Starting to feel a bit uneasy with Balloon Boy’s staring, Sweetie Belle asked, “So when are your parents coming to pick you up?”

“I don’t know,” Balloon Boy answered, still staring.

With her cup now filled with juice, Sweetie Belle put the pitcher back into the fridge. “But it’ll be dark soon,” she said, taking the cup with her magic. “Aren’t you worried?”

When she turned around, Balloon Boy was gone, but she could still hear giggling with his answer. “No.”

Chapter 17

“Dad! No! I don’t wanna go to Freddy’s, I don’t wannaaaaa!” a brown silhouetted figure of a bipedal creature said as it tugged against the grip of what appeared to be a larger version of the first figure, except it was pitch black.

Zecora could see the larger one face what she assumed was its child. Its outlined lips moved, but no sound came forth that the zebra could hear.

Clearly the child had, and he did not like what he heard. “I don’t care! Please don’t make me go! Please!” The larger one tugged hard on the child’s arm, making him cry out in shock and pain.

As the child’s scream echoed around the shamaness, the two of them vanished and pieces of furniture began filling the area.

Zecora stood there, utterly confused as to what was going on. Moments ago she was being strangled by the unforgiving grip of Springtrap.

Before she could ponder anymore on the matter, the chairs around her were filled with the same large black figures like the one she saw before. They all looked exactly the same, except for a few smaller ones, all a different colour. They were all facing towards a stage where more black silhouetted figures stood. They almost looked like Freddy and the other two that accompanied him. Except they appeared to be in better shape than those she had met.

At the very front sat a slim red boy, whooping and jumping on his chair as he watched the apparent show. At the same table as him sat a white outlined figure that Zecora nearly missed due to everything else being either black or white. The white one sat there, a forearm extended to rest her head upon, seeming bored by the display.

More towards the centre sat two more children gathered at one table. The one was blue, enjoying the show but with less energy than the red one at the front. Next to him was a yellow figure happily munching away on what appeared to be a pizza, not at all concerned with anything else.

She saw something brown move at the very edge of her vision. Her head turned towards the point of interest and without commanding her body to move, she began walking towards the door.

The area around her warped, the scene changing completely as she was now standing next to the same brown silhouette as before, except there were tears falling freely from where she assumed his eyes would have been. “Are you lost?” She asked in a voice that was not her own. The boy was standing on the other side of a small table, a seemingly infinitely long hallway behind him.

“Y-Yes!” The little boy said, hiccupping as he did.

“Come with me, I’ll help you find your parents.” Zecora could feel herself smiling as she spoke, “You can trust me, I’m a policeman.”

“Really?” Asked the brown figure, an arm wiping some of the tears away.

“Yeah,” She stood up, taking the boy’s hand once she was by his side, “Come on, let’s go find your mommy and daddy.”

The scene shifted. She was once again in the same party area as before. Only this time the walls and floor looked…bleaker. One of the animatronics in the front had changed to a brown colour and the white figure in the front was gone. The small red boy seemed to have lost his energy, instead lying on his forearms. The last two were completely unchanged.

Zecora blinked, and both the yellow and blue figures were gone, leaving only the red one remaining. She could see the sobs raking his body as he lay silently on the table. The other two animatronics had gained colour now.

The walls had holes busted into them and the floor looked very gritty, looking much like an uncared for shack.

The world around Zecora shifted again. This time she was looking through a mask very similar to the Freddy Mask she wore in the forest.

“We’re almost there.” She said as she looked at the red boy by her side. He didn’t reply as they continued trudging onward.

They came across a closed door with the words ‘DO NOT ENTER’ written across it. “Here we are.”

“But…it says not to enter?” He asked unsurely, looking between the door and her covered face.

“It’s ok; this is a special room where I hang out with my friends! You are my friend, aren’t you?”

The red figure nodded vigorously, tightening his grip on her arm. With that they entered the pitch black room, contrasting starkly with the white room they just walked out of.

“I can’t see anything.” The little boy echoed Zecora’s thoughts. “Mister Freddy?”

There was no answer as the door shut behind them, leaving them in pitch blackness. Zecora smiled so widely that her lips begun hurting from the exertion. One of her arms moved forward, it made contact with something solid. “Mister Freddy? Is that you?”

There was no reply as her other arm began moving, slightly lower than where her other hand was rested on. “I’m scared. I wanna go home now.” She felt the boy struggle against her grip before her other hand found its mark. “Mister Fred-“

Zecora snapped back to her own body. She was still staring into the eyes of Springtrap, and he was still choking her to death. One of his hands left its choke hold as it reached upwards.

She gargled uselessly in a failed attempt to call out for help.

She felt the hand rest on her head and immediately the monstrous animatronic applied pressure, slowly pushing her head one way while pulling her neck another.

It was at that moment that the large globe from her unsuccessful trap crashed down on Springtrap’s wounded legs, causing him to open both of his mouths in a pained scream, pulling back enough to stop her from snapping Zecora’s neck completely.

She saw her chance. The only fleshy part of Springtrap was exposed as he screamed in agony.

Mustering whatever strength she had left, Zecora pushed down on the arm choking her, sending Springtrap rocketing towards her waiting hoof.

Her hoof made contact and met about as much resistance as a particularly thick puddle of mud.

Springtrap collapsed on top of her, completely unmoving.

She did it. She had won.

Springtrap was dead.

It was then that a slender black arm effortlessly flung the unmoving animatronic from her, letting him crash against one of the walls.

Zecora stared directly into the two white pinpricks of light making out the Puppet’s eyes.

His mouth was open in a smile as he extended a hand for Zecora to take. Smiling in relief, she accepted the offer and reached out for the offered appendage.

And then she was flying through the air, hitting the same wall as Springtrap. She could feel the blood running from her mouth as she made contact with the floor, but somehow that seemed very insignificant.

The towering figure advanced tauntingly slow. Zecora tried to stand, but her leg bent in an area that it shouldn’t be able to bend, sending her back to the floor.

There was nothing she could do. She couldn’t fight, she couldn’t run, she couldn’t even fill her lungs with enough air to call out for help that she knew wouldn’t come anyway.

Her vision was tinted yellow as Golden Freddy faded into existence between her and her imminent killer.

“No…No more.” The words echoed from the slumped figure, his lips never moving.

Golden Freddy pointed a single finger at the Puppet before Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, the once Mangled pink and white robot, Foxy and Balloon Boy surrounded him. They were all in pristine condition, not a single scratch on them. Zecora could almost swear that they were glowing, bathing the room in a multitude of colours.

“Let us rest.” Spoke Freddy.

“Enough.” Agreed Bonnie.

“Please…no more…” Chica added, almost sobbing.

Foxy just hugged the white robot, neither saying anything.

Balloon Boy stepped forward. “You got him. It’s over…please…just let it go.”

There was a small stretch of silence. The Puppet not moving an inch as his glowing white eyes scanned over those in front of him.

His smiling mouth vanished, replaced by an angry looking face, his once white eyes now glowing an evil red. He screamed in rage before extending his arms and rocketing towards her.

Zecora saw an intense flash of white light as he met the group of glowing animatronics before darkness overtook her world.