Five Nights at Freddy's: Cybersense

by 99 Streax

Rating: teen
Tags: Spike, Science Fiction, Comedy, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Other, Princess Luna
Length: 17304

After the thrill of the original Fazbear chain, Hazard and the others are called upon once more to save Equestria from the lingering threats of CREATion.

She was right.
It wasn't over.
The real threat still remains.
And now they've made an experiment that could give them an edge.
If it wasn't for her free will.
This is a much larger web than any of us could have imagined.
The fate of Equestria rests on our shoulders.
One wrong move?
Equestria could fall.

Note: This is a sequel to Five Nights at Freddy's: Body vs Mind. Do NOT dislike this story just because it's another FNAF/MLP crossover.

Published 2015-04-21 16:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-08-13 00:51:05 UTC

The End of a Beginning

Author's Note

I'm lazy. But I want the FNAF timeline to be correct now. Bottom line, thirty years have passed and no one has aged a bit. It would have made things too complicated for me to determine how Tesla and Mirage would get along considering that Mirage won't age. However, the timeline is also parallel to the current cannon universe now. Anyway, I wanted to let you know about the plot hole before the rants came. Enjoy!

The End of a Beginning

Celestia's hair seemed to quiver in its flow. Despite all of the threats that Equestria has been facing, from Discord to Tiereck, she still couldn't get over the event that took place not long after '87. She still felt mildly guilty about overlooking the situation long before.

"Tia, is thou alright?" A familiar voice said.

Celestia turned around to see her younger sister in the doorway. Although Luna had adjusted to the modern equine language, she still resorted to her old ways when she was concerned.

"I'm fine, Luna. It's just..."

"What?"

Celestia was uncertain whether Luna would understand, but she didn't have much of a choice but to tell her.

"You see, something happened while you were in exile, and I can't get my mind off of it..."

............................................................?

"Okay..." Tripwire said, "I still don't know why you chose this job. I want to make sure that the Fazbear's chain isn't still hacked by CREATion, but why are you here?"

Thirty years had passed. Tripwire had talked with Princess Celestia, and she had ordered the restaurant to be immediately shut down and destroyed. Many flocked to the sight to learn exactly what the truth was behind the animatronics and the pizzeria. However, as the years passed, The thrill of the murders and the Bite of '87 had lost their attention.

But a few years ago, the Flim-Flam brothers saw the real estate as a prime way to rake in some bits. They bought the land and sold it to another pony who examined the lore. That pony made the attraction known as "Fazbear's Fright." It reignited the thrill of the Fazbear clan, and Tripwire's suspicions. He couldn't forget the operation that his own mother had been a part of: the Civilized Restoration of Eternal Anarchic Times; aka, CREATion. It centered around attacking innocent ponies and storing their last moments of fear in a robot. That was the sole purpose of the original Fazbear restaurants. Four foals had been physically killed. Trip scanned their minds to keep them alive. Although Trip escaped, he was injured to the point of which he had little choice but to rebuild parts of himself. In a nutshell, Tripwire was half-robot. Trip and the others killed Blown Fuse, the mare behind the murder, but she claimed that she didn't run the program. The true mastermind was still out there.

"I want to see what the experience of the nightguard would be without the psycho rag dolls," Jasper replied, "Or so I thought."

"What do you mean?" Trip asked.

Jasper thought for a few minutes, and said, "I found tapes from one of the superintendents the other day. I don't think that this place is free from Freddy yet. It's a good thing that you're here."

Before Trip could reply, the clock struck midnight.

Jasper started scanning over everything figuratively while Trip did it literally. "Okay... Let's see... There's a tablet with access to the cameras... Nothing surprising there..."

"-But there's something new." Trip said, motioning toward a second tablet. Examining it, he noticed something.
"The systems in this facility easily malfunction. This tablet reboots the appropriate system." With that, he tapped where it said "Ventilation System: error." After a few seconds, the system worked okay.

"Trip? You need to see this." Said Jasper. Trip looked at the camera tablet to see Spring Trap, the animatronic made for the restaurant, staring at the camera from the stage.

'That can't be a coincidence,' Trip thought. Just then, they heard laughter.
'Balloon Boy? His suit got scrapped decades ago, even before the murders.'

"Did you hear that?" He asked.

"Hear what?" Jasper asked, setting down the tablet. Then, he gasped.

There was Balloon Boy, staring at them. Before the two stallions barely had time to react before Balloon Boy's bloody, invert-color face screeched at them. There was a white flash, and Jasper was partially blinded.

"What the heck was that!?" Jasper yelled, stumbling as his vision gradually returned. From what he could see, there were red flashing lights.

"That was a hallucination," Trip said. His living eye, too, was blinded, but his mechanical eye was fine. He pulled out the system tablet to find a problem with the camera system. But when he tried to reboot the system, nothing happened. "The controls have been severed!"

Just then, both stallions' vision was completely restored.

"Okay, the controls are back on li... What?" Jasper asked.

"I could be wrong, but I thought I just saw Spring walk by the window," Trip said as he started to reboot the cameras.

Before the cameras were back, however, Tripwire's suspicions were confirmed.

Spring Trap walked into the room. His suit was a mottled yellow color and wires were everywhere. What was worse, however, was his distorted face. It looked more like a skull than an actual face. And his eyes, black with white pinpoint pupils. He didn't rush with a scream like the other animatronics in the past, but walked with a deathly hissing sound.

Thinking quickly, Trip teleported himself and Jasper into a familiar place: the lab in which those four other ponies got a second chance.

Jasper looked around and nodded. Trip rushed to a keyboard and immediately began to code a message:

'Guys, we have a problem. It's them.'

Back Again

Wind whistled through Axle's mane as he shot through the air. He let out a whoop of delight. It felt so good to feel the sensation of flight again. He dove until he was inches from the ground and sped up.

'I'm so glad that Trip chose me to have those micro jets when we took on Fuse.' He thought, 'I ought to challenge Rainbow Dash to another race sometime.' He had challenged her once before, but it hadn't ended well.

"Just try to keep up with me," she boasted.

The two had taken off, and Axle kept up with her easily until they hit the upper atmosphere.

Axle may be a Pegasus, but he couldn't navigate the clouds like Rainbow could. As a result, she won by a landslide.

'Another reminder that my racing talent has nothing to do with flight.' He thought.

His thoughts, however, were cut off when he suddenly heard a voice in his head. Tripwire's voice.

It was an urgent need to meet up at the lab beneath the restaurant once again.

'Just like old times,' Axle thought as he took to the air once more.

Hazard slowed as he stepped into the restaurant. His life was changed here. For better and for worse. Whatever was behind the CREATion was a force to be reckoned with, but Hazard wasn't going to back down. Not now.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out. Hazard turned around to see Axle land next to him.

"So, what disasters have you caused since we last saw each other?" Axle asked smugly.

"Nice try, Axle," Hazard replied.

"Dang it!" Axle said, "It was so much fun back then! When you were still falling--"

"-- For immature jokes?" Hazard asked, "That was then; this is now."

"Fine," Axle said, rolling his eyes, "So how do you think the girls are?"

"We've all been tight ever since we cleared out CREATion, including you. Why do you ask? Amplitude practically idolizes Vinyl Scratch and Mirage and Tesla have been as inseparable as Celestia and Luna."

"I mean in terms of the fact that we're back together like old times."

Hazard thought, silent.

"I see," Axle said, "They're on your mind... I can see it now..."

"Shut up!" Hazard yelled.

"I knew you still had a bit left in you," Axle said with an air of triumph.

"Let's just go to the lab," Hazard said, rolling his eyes.

It was high noon. As they entered, they were greeted by unpleasant sights. The place was decorated for the now-exaggerated version of the tale of the pizzeria. There were eerie decorations everywhere, including the heads of the original animatronics, each with a light in one eye.

Spring Trap was on stage, eyeing them inconspicuously. At the same time, through the bustle, two ponies seemed to be having a suspicious conversation. They both wore sunglasses. Hazard stopped suddenly.

"What's up, slowpoke?" Axle said.

Hazard put a hoof to his mouth with a quiet hush. Hazard could usually tell when queer things were going to happen. Just out of instinct, not mechanics.

He didn't rely on his tech often, but he tuned in to hear the conversation. Something about "one like them" and "maybe more powerful."

The ones talking then noticed the two stallions and took off, each giving a nasty look. One of them muttered something under his breath before taking off.

"What's their problem?" Axle said.

"I'm not sure," said Hazard, "But I don't like it. Let's keep an eye out for others like them and let Trip know about them. I think that Spring Trap may be Freddy 2.0."

The duo made their way to the office, when stuff immediately caught Hazard's eye.

"Why is there an earless Freddy suit in the doorway?"

"More importantly, why is there a box of animatronic parts covered with blood?"

"I don't know if it's more important, but it's definitely something else worth mentioning to Trip."

The duo made their way into the lab, where they saw Tripwire and Jasper examining footage that must have come from Trip's mechanical eye.

Mirage, Amplitude, Tesla, and even Mild Soul, the stallion originally accused of the murders of Hazard and the others, were clustered around some computer screens.

"'Sup?" Axle said.

"The ceiling. Look, we're analyzing the footage Trip got last night." Mirage said.

When Hazard squeezed in, he saw two screens, each going frame-by-frame on the night. The left screen currently showed the invert-colored Balloon Boy that Tripwire's living eye saw via hallucinating. The right screen displayed what must have been Tripwire's mechanical eye, for there was no hallucination.

"Wow! This is... really boring," said Axle.

"Then how about kicking up the speed?" Said Amplitude.

With that, Tesla pressed a few buttons the frame-by-frame turned into a slow video. BB could be seen lunging at the left screen, while both screens showed Trip (from his perspective) moving back in surprise. A white flash was seen from the left screen while the right screen indicated a closing eyelid.

The left screen then went black while the right screen indicated flashing red lights. After a few seconds, Spring Trap walked into view, and set everyone screaming like fillies, except, ironically, for Mild and Tesla.

"Sweet Celestia!" Yelled Mirage, "Why the hay did that freak me out so bad!?"

"I think that it has to do with your computers," Trip said, walking in, with Jasper close behind.

"Trip and I already reviewed the frames, and I wasn't freaked out by it, either."

"My living brain wasn't startled by anything in the video, but in my mechanical brain, I felt something. Something deeply disturbing. Almost like a threat."

"No kidding!" Axle exclaimed, "That hiss!"

"I thought I heard something in that hiss," Amp added, "I don't know what, but if we slow down the sound, maybe we'll find something."

"Actually," Hazard said.

"Hold that thought, Hazard," Trip said. Hazard gave a look of frustration, but said nothing.

Five minutes later, Amplitude finished editing the sound (she insisted). When she pressed play for the new version of the sound, it left everyone in a state of shock, especially the robots.

"Now I understand," said Trip, "There's a sound meant to manipulate the mechanical mind, rather than the living one. When sped up greatly, it brings the rush all at once. Whoever is behind it knows our weak spots."

"I might have an idea as to who it may be, or at least what they're trying to do. When Axle and I were heading to the lab, we overheard a conversation about something powerful and better than 'them,' which I'm assuming is the original animatronics."

"Maybe," said Tesla, who had been silent all this time, "but I felt the electrical signals in that thing when I was in the attraction. I felt two different sets of signals, one of which was essentially dormant."

"Really?" Mirage asked. "You mean, there could be another one of those things?"

"It may not be 'one of those things,'" Tripwire said, "If you remember way back when, when I was being held hostage by Fuse, she kept me in that room of lasers. I don't know if I ever told you, but she was scanning my mind. She got the information on robotic ponies, and she could have just as easily transmitted the information to others."

"In other words," Mild said, "We could be dealing with another robotic pony."

Author's Note

These chapters are harder for me to write, since I'm straying even further from the FNAF events and diving into my own imagination. I just wanted to let you know that you might have to wait longer for chapters. Not too long, but I won't be posting several at a time on a daily basis. I want to make decent chapters and I'm trying to piece together other fanfic ideas. Just FYI.

Make new friends, Keep the old

Hazard strolled up to the amethyst tree that was now Princess Twilight Sparkle's castle.

'And to think that this was once the Golden Oaks Library,' he thought, 'This is like having a taste of the Crystal Empire here in Ponyville.'

When he knocked on the door, a violet purple alicorn stepped outside.

"Well, I wasn't expecting anyone, today!" She exclaimed. Looking him over, she said, "Hazard, isn't it?"

"Right," Hazard replied, "Listen, Your Highness, if we could go inside, I would really appreciate it. An echo from the past is returning, something from when you and your friends were just fillies. My friend Tripwire is already addressing Princess Celestia, but I figured that you might be able to help us out."

"I'll do what I can," Twilight replied, "but my castle may not be private enough for us to talk. There are always ponies walking in and out, from town citizens to my friends. Do you know of any other place?"

"Actually, I do," Hazard said, "Follow me."

He started to walk off when Twilight said to him, "Do you think my friends should come, too? We all might be able to help."

"Quite possibly," Hazard said, "If that's the case, meet me outside of Fazbear's Fright at sundown, and bring your friends."

The princess nodded, and the two went their separate ways.

Celestia was filing through papers when a guard rushed in.

"News from Ponyville, your majesty. I have just received a message from somepony known as Tripwire.'"

Celestia dropped her papers. She hadn't heard from the half-robot pony ever since the destruction of the pizzeria nearly thirty years ago. All of the guards that remembered the event had retired.

"What did he say?" She asked.

"Not much. He said that another Fazbear restaurant has opened, and that there's an animatronic there that is behaving suspiciously. He requested to see you in Ponyville at sundown. Also, his friend Hazard is talking to your former student, Princess Twilight Sparkle, about helping in the case."

"Respond to the message. Tell him that I'll be there."

"Be where?" Luna asked.

Celestia jumped slightly. She hadn't realized that her sister had come in.

"Remember about that crime I told you about?"

"Yes. Why?" Luna asked, until a slow look of realization spread across her face.
"It has to do with it, does it not?"

"Indeed," Celestia said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Luna asked.

"Until I get back from Ponyville, no. But afterwards, I may need you to help with the case. After Tiereck's rampage, much of Equestria is still under repairs, so I have many duties to attend to."

"I'll do whatever I can," Luna replied, "Farewell, dear sister, until we meet again."

'Old habits die hard for that one,' Celestia thought, 'But then again, I'm as concerned as she is.'

Day 1

After Luna began raising the moon, Celestia decided that now was the perfect time to see what she was called for.

A flash, and Celestia was there in the peaceful town of Ponyville.

She glanced around and saw Tripwire standing in front of the attraction

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Princess," he said.
He didn't bow but simply nodded his head in a slow, deliberate way. Celestia understood. Although she respected all of her subjects, she subconsciously respected Tripwire in a way much like an authoritative figure from another region, like Saddle Arabia. And although Trip is no alicorn, he holds knowledge that Starswirl the Bearded wouldn't dream of. Twilight, maybe, but not Starswirl.

Speaking of Twilight, it wasn't long before the purple alicorn approached the duo with her friends.

"Oh! You must be Tripwire," Twilight said.

"Oh...my..." Fluttershy said, with fear evident in her voice, "I've heard of the rumors that happened here..."

"The rumors that you heard were probably manipulated over time, but at their core, they're all true."

Fluttershy let out a small squeak and hid behind Rainbow Dash.

"I understand if you're feeling afraid, but nothing dangerous is going to happen anytime soon. Certainly not tonight."

Tripwire teleported everyone to the lab, where everyone stared in shock, except for Celestia, who had seen it all before.

"Unbelievable. Ya made all this?" Applejack asked.

"Technically, Blown Fuse did," Trip replied, "but I was able to take control of it."

"This is amazing!" Spike, who had tagged along with Twilight, said.

Twilight, who was looking at one of the holographic screens, said, "A lot of this tech reminds me of many of the things from the human world. Do you have connections with it?"

"All that I know came second-hoof. I learned from Fuse. I just didn't replicate her mentality."

"Was Fuse your mother?" Spike asked.

"Biologically, yes. But I don't consider myself to be her son."

"Hang on. Where in Equestria is Pinkie Pie?" Rarity asked.

"THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!!!" Screamed a voice down the hall.

"Hey, hey," Mirage could be heard saying, "Calm down! That's really fragile!"

"I better get everyone together," Trip said, "I don't see the point in repetition when one is capable of being present but isn't."

Night 1

A void of cyberspace. That's all she knew. What she experienced was merely the view of another. Yet she wasn't even aware. She had never seen light. She had never even had an emotion. She just drifted in a subconscious wait.
.....................

"Fuse's abandoned lab in the Everfree Forest is-- no has been-- back in commission. That has to mean something," Trip said after a few hours. Celestia had returned to Canterlot, but the mane 6 and Spike were still in the lab.

Everyone had gone through introductions (As Trip says, there's no point in unnecessary repetition, so I'll save you the trouble again), and there were some interesting reactions.

"I envy you, Axle," Rainbow Dash said, "You get all of this awesome tech!"

"Did you remember that race the other day?" Axle said, "I may have the bells and whistles, but I still couldn't keep up with you."

As the two kept talking, Twilight turned to Tripwire.
"If you were capable of creating artificial magic and design wings, why did you not give them to those who didn't have them?" She asked, tilting her head slightly towards Hazard.

"I don't view them as robots," Trip answered.
"I don't think all of them would have adjusted to the new appendages. Think about it. Are you used to flight, yet?"

"Somewhat," Twilight answered, "But not entirely. Point taken."

...........................
"Seriously, why did Trip pick us!?" Amplitude asked. She and Mirage were in the office, waiting for Spring Trap's arrival.

"Can we just focu-aaaAAAAHH!" Mirage said as she suddenly saw Spring looking at them through the window.

"And I thought Freddy was creepy," Amp said. The two robotic mares just stood there, staring Spring down for what felt like an eternity, until alarms started going off and the red lights started flashing.

Before Mirage checked the systems, the duo saw what looked like Freddy tiptoeing behind Spring, almost in a dancing fashion.

"Ohh, hello, Freddy! Won't you be my partner tonight," Amplitude said in a singsongy voice.

Suddenly, both Freddy and Spring Trap vanished.

"Something tells me that a living pony would be having a hallucination right now," Mirage said, sort of panicked as she tried to reboot the audio system.

Suddenly, Spring walked into the room with its dearth rattle.

Both mares cringed at the sound.

"Sweet Celestia. Amplitude, try to block it out!" Mirage said.

Amplitude, covering her ears, took to the air, beating her wings in her own "death note," a high-pitched whistle that's barely audible but virtually impossible not to cringe at. Well, unless you're Spring Trap.

Still hissing, that discount Bonnie lunged at Mirage, who fought him off with an electrical pulse fired out of reflex. Just in time for the clock to strike 6 am.

"Thank goodness!" Mirage yelled. She and Amp were about to get back to the lab when when she noticed the bloody box of animatronic parts Hazard had mentioned, and made up her mind to get rid of it.

As she lifted the box, she decided to look through it real quick.

"What's taking you so long? The place is gonna open soon," Amplitude said. Mirage responded with a hush.

She lifted out the parts, surprised to see that there was no blood on the parts themselves. But she saw something at the bottom of the box.

"What the--" she said, "Amp, do you see that?"

When Amplitude looked in the box, she said, "I see it, but I don't know how it's relevant."

"What are you doing?" A voice cut in. The mares turned around to see a pony with sunglasses.
"Wait, I know you... You're the one who sabotaged our operation."

Without a word, Mirage grabbed Amplitude and teleported them both to the lab, making sure that she brought the box.

Evening 2 (we're not quite at Night 2 yet)

Something was happening. She was being manipulated, but she was only half-aware of it. She was only half-aware that she existed. She couldn't do anything about it.
...............................

"Wow, Celestia wasn't kidding when she described the lab," the Lunar alicorn said. The two sunglassed ponies were also staring in shock, although they still had a look of suspicion.

Twilight had rounded up her friends, none of which found any useful information about Spring Trap or CREATion's plans. But Trip hoped that these two ponies could help them.

"Would it be better to have everyone here or for me to talk personally?" Tripwire asked.

"I suppose that everyone can be here," one of the ponies asked, although Trip only now realized that the voice was female.

"All right," replied Trip.
He went on to introduce everyone (you know the drill).

Although the ponies had been very careful not to show their coats and features, the mare slipped off her glasses and let the light hit her. She was a pegasus with a coat color that was a paler blue than Tripwire's and a scarlet mane and tail. Her eyes matched her mane and her cutie mark was what looked like a short, thick telescope.

"My name is Infra Scope," she said.

The other pony did the same. He was a gray earth pony with a midnight blue mane, tail, and eyes. His cutie mark was a computer chip surrounded by a yellow jagged circle.

"My name is Spark Chopper," he said.

"So, why did ya get so angry at Hazard an' all that?" Applejack asked.

Infra hesitated, and said, "We were once technicians for CREATion. We angled towards improving Equestria's technology, but we didn't know about its true purpose until about a year afterwards, days before the murders."

Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.

"But why did you not seek us out after we became well-known?" Amplitude asked.

"The mastermind behind this warned us never to leave. He would do something terrible if we did," Spark said, "and he ordered the plans of the murders. We thought you would know about us, and we thought that there was a chance that you would be a threat to us."

"Has anyone noticed the time?" Pinkie Pie squealed. Everyone turned to see that it was nearly 11:00.

"Hang on," Twilight said, "Luna, what about the moon?"

"Celestia said that she would take care of both the sun and the moon while I was here," the blue alicorn replied, "What we should be worrying about is that monstrosity above us."

"She's right, you know," Rarity said, "I can't stand that monstrosity of a restaurant above us." She received eye rolls from everyone.

"Hang on!" Tripwire suddenly said, "Before I forget, there's something I need to show you."
He showed them the inside of the box, revealing the design and number.

"That--- that's the design we saw on that alicorn robot!" Spark exclaimed fearfully.

"Okay," Tripwire said, "But do you know anything about the number?"

Infra and Spark shook their heads.

'Those buttons in the office, they have to be the key,' he thought.

"I'll run the night shift tonight. But I would like you to come with me, Hazard," Trip said, recieving a reluctant nod from the blue eyed robot.

"Okay, but I hope that we don't run into that thing," he said.

'Careful what you wish for,' Trip thought, 'Because we may not be in the office for very long.'

Author's Note

It was about time I named a pony after Scott.

Night 2

"Okay, what's the plan?" Hazard asked. 12:00 had struck. Spring Trap was already on the move.

"Let's see..." Trip muttered to himself, eyeing the cinder block buttons. After scanning them once more to confirm his suspicions, he began entering the "box code."

'3...9...5...2...4...8.'

Suddenly, alarms started blaring, and they weren't the alarms for a system malfunction.

The power in the building shut off, and Spring Trap could be seen falling over.

"What the--" Hazard said before falling over.

Tripwire felt himself waver. Something was meddling with his mechanical brain. Whatever it was, it got Hazard. Trip decided to let himself fall. If worse comes to worst, he could escape using his living brain.

.......................

She felt a stirring. Someone was there. She didn't notice.
......................

Hazard felt so weird. He had never been in a place like this before. He could hardly feel his body, yet he could see and move it. He looked queer, almost 8 bit. He saw Trip suddenly appear.

Trip looked around and said, "Interesting. It seems like we're in some sort of cyberspace network. We have artificial intelligence, so entering the code transported us here."

"You're kidding me, right?" Hazard said, "How is this possible?"

"Something tells me that CREATion never forgot us. Our minds are experiencing this sensation, not our bodies. It's kind of like an artificial dream."

Hazard thought for a second, and said, "So, what do we do now?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that we should explore," Trip replied.

The two stallions walked side by side through the "rooms." It looked like another version of the old pizzeria, with water dropping and mice everywhere.

"What is the point of this?" Hazard said, frustrated.

There's got to be something here," Tripwire said, absentmindedly.

Suddenly, he stopped. "Hazard," he said.

Hazard, who hadn't been paying attention, stopped and gasped.

Laying on the floor in front of them was a pony. With a horn. And blade like wings.

'The robotic alicorn,' Trip thought.

The alicorn was a midnight blue with a copper mane, tail, and wing frame. Her cutie mark was the same design that matched the one drawn in the box.

'I'm going to investigate,' Trip thought. With Hazard staring with a look of fear, Tripwire cautiously approached the strange pony, who was in a dormant state.

........................

Something wasn't right. Something was happening. She's slowly starting to gain conscious.

......................

"I can't wake her," Tripwire said.

Hazard had a look of shock on his face. "Tripwire, behind you."

Trip turned around to see his dead mother facing him.

"See you two around," she said in a hissing tone. She barreled toward them and struck them both.

Hazard was screaming when he realized where he was. Tripwire was breathing rapidly and sweat was dripping from his face. They were back in the office. It was six o'clock.

"Trip," Hazard said, "I just had the most disturbing dream."

"That wasn't a dream," Trip said, "It wasn't even a vision. Our minds were being engaged in a simulation at the subcircuit level."

"This doesn't make sense," Hazard said, "We saw that robotic alicorn, we saw Blown Fuse, who's been dead for 30 years, and she said something about 'seeing us around.'"

"I'm going to enter in these codes when we get back to the lab," Trip replied, "I have a feeling that this alicorn isn't aware of what she's doing. And we need to tell the others about it, especially Infra and Sco-- Spark."

Author's Note

If you're wondering who the Scott pony is, I basically handed you the answer.

Day 3

"You've got to be kidding me right now," Luna said. Tripwire and Hazard had returned to the lab and are sharing their experience.

"Sounds like Discord's kind of place," Rainbow Dash said.

Pinkie Pie gasped, "What if he's involved in this!?"

"I don't think that he would do anything like this," Fluttershy said, barely audible, "He likes to play jokes on others, but he would never kill anypony."

"But we did see the alicorn," Hazard said, "She was simply laying there, and we couldn't wake her."

"I'm going to enter the codes I received into the maneframe. I have a feeling that this alicorn isn't evil, or at least, not yet." The maneframe was the primary computer that Trip used to decode and hack into devices.

"What are you implying?" Mirage asked.

"My theory is that CREATion plans to wire her brain to be corrupted, but signs in the cyberspace area indicated that a frayed circuit is delaying the program." Trip strolled up to the large computer and inserted his horn into an unusual hole. His natural gray aura was accompanied by gray sparks, not unlike Mirage's aura.

"You can actually control the computer with your mind?" Twilight asked, recieving nods from the robots.

"Ya know," Applejack said, "Why exactly are we here? We haven't done anythin' an' I'm not sure what we can do."

"I'm going to need your help very soon," Trip said, with his horn still in the maneframe, "You've been able to reform villains. That's going to be of great significance in the next day, at the latest."

"And the earliest?" Rainbow asked.

"In minutes," Trip said.

.....................................

A surge of energy shot through her. It felt like a seizure. The sensation was gone in less than a second.

...............................

Jasper and Mild, who had been giving Spark and Infra a tour of the lab, peeked in.
............................

The energy surges were coming again and again, faster and faster, over and over.
............................

A light began to appear in the lab. The ground started to tremor.
...............................

It was now one big power surge. There was no stopping it. She was still unaware of it.
...............................
"Go to another room," Tripwire said through gritted teeth, grey aura sputtering brightly.

Everyone headed into the next room over. The whole area was vibrating and the light was now blinding. Tripwire was straining.
..................................
A huge jolt. Darkness. Quiet. The first sights and sounds.
She felt her own body for the first time.
She had to figure out where she was.
Her first thought.
.................................

Tripwire stepped away from the maneframe, falling over out of dizziness.

"Trip, are you okay?" Hazard asked, peeking in.

"I'm fine," Tripwire replied, "Just extremely dizzy."

"Oh... My..." Fluttershy whispered, terrified. The pony that they all had been hunting down was now in the same room as them. She had the distinct cutie mark, the navy blue coat, and the mane, like in the simulation, were copper.

"Guys, she's waking up," Twilight said.

Then Tripwire saw something no one had seen before: her eyes. They were as copper as her mane and tail, but unlike Hazard and the others, her whites were a synthetic white, rather than black. Her pupils, though, weren't quite black; they were a dark brown.

The pony stirred, and saw the others. She immediately stood up in a defensive pose, legs slightly apart and wings spread.

"We're no one you need to be afraid of," Tripwire said. All the ponies started coming out, looking curiously at the new robot. Infra and Spark, however, moved slowly and looked at the alicorn suspiciously.

Luna was the first to approach the pony, who has been silent until now.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"The lunar princess," Luna replied, "I must ask the same for you."

"395248," the pony replied. She then turned to the others. "And you must be Tripwire, Hazard, Amplitude, Mirage, and Axle."

"Whoa whoa, hang on!" Axle said, "How do you know who we are!?"

"Programming," the pony replied, "I know the five of you by name and face, but nothing more about you."

"I don't like this," Rainbow Dash said.

"Neither do I," Axle added.

"Slow down, both of you," Hazard replied.

"I agree," Applejack said.

"This is why I want you guys here," Trip said, "I think that you can help me get 395248 adjusted to a real Equestrian life."

"Are we going to have to call her 395248?" Twilight said.

"I was never given a proper name," the pony said.

"Well, then I say we should give you one!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "A frayed circuit had kept you from becoming all evil and rampagey and stuff like that, if that gives you any ideas!"

"I have to admit," the pony said in return, "Circuit Fray sounds like an ideal name."

"All right then, Fray," Tripwire said, "Let me show you around."

Author's Note

I'm trying to avoid posting chapters on a daily basis. You can probably tell which chapters I took time on versus those I didn't.

Night 3

Fray was in the simulator, in a dark cave. She felt the ground begin to tremble, and the stalactites came crashing down. Thinking quickly, she took to the air, dodging the fatal rocks. When the ceiling itself began to cave in, she landed, stomped on the ground, and lit up a brilliant display of copper lighting, turning the rocks into dust.

"She's so amazing!!!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Tripwire didn't reply. A signal was tracking her.
..............................

"Excuse me, sir," Overdrive said to the mastermind, "It appears that a frayed circuit has led to our second prototype malfunctioning and going rogue.

"I should have known," replied the stallion on the line, "considering what happened to our original version."

"What should we do?" Overdrive asked.

"Shut it down and deactivate the systems. Our Canterlot branch is developing one of its own and the calibrations have been promising. But I thought that you had this frayed circuit examined. How did the robot go rogue?"

"Earlier today, I heard strange noises in the lab. When I looked in, there was nothing but a mess of wires. The robot was in cybersleep. An outside force activated it. Tripwire must have found our data and somehow teleported it out while activating it."

Silence.

"Of course," the mastermind said,
"Is his lab still there?"

"As far as I know, yes."

"Then that's where our prototype is. Deactivate it permanently. Don't bother rewiring it. We'll just pull out the stops with prototype number 331987. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Overdrive said, ending the call. He had a job to do.
............................

Tripwire slammed his hoof on the "stop" button, ending the cave scene.

"Circuit Fray!" He yelled, just as she slumped over.

"What's going on!?" Twilight asked. Everyone had worried looks on their faces.

Trip didn't bother running. He teleported himself and Fray to the maneframe. He did a quick scan to confirm his suspicions of her being deactivated.

He quickly inserted Fray's horn into the port in the computer. She wasn't gone yet. It takes a robot about the same time to deactivate as it takes a normal pony to die from suffocation or the like.

He pulled up the deactivation code coming in and immediately began writing a code to counter it.
......................

Overdrive saw the code coming in.

'Tripwire?' He thought, 'Of course. He's been a thorn in CREATion's side ever since he killed Blown Fuse. Not to mention the other robots he made.'

He frantically tried to keep the code up and running.
............................
Tripwire was no longer relying on his living mind. His computer mind was easily overpowering the deactivation code.
............................
'I can't keep this up,' Overdrive thought, 'but I can send 331987 his way once it's ready. That son-of-a-madmare will pay.'
.............................
Circuit Fray stirred, and opened her eyes.

Spark ran into the room with Infra at his side.

"Tripwire!" He practically yelled, "I was looking into some codes and I found out the locations of two other alicorn robots!"

"Wait, what?" Axle said, peeking in.

"Trip's not the only one who can hack," Infra said.

"Wha--what happened?" Fray said, dazed.

"CREATion tried to deactivate you," Trip said, "They know that you're here. However, while I countered their code, I shut off the signal being used to track you. You're safe here."

"But what about the two other alicorns?" Infra asked.

"One has been abandoned and one is in progress. The former is in a lab in the Crystal Empire and the latter is in a lab beneath Canterlot."

"Canterlot!?" Luna exclaimed.

"Sadly, yes," Spark said, "We'll send a message, but it would probably be an ideal move if you went to Canterlot yourself to help prepare for anything."

Luna nodded.
.....................
In the sleeping quarters, Rainbow Dash and Axle entered.

"My goodness!" Rarity exclaimed, "You both need a bath! No offense, but you smell like a dead body."

"How would ya know what a dead body smells like?" Applejack asked, waking up.

"Opal sometimes brings a mouse onto the front doorstep. Sometimes they'll sit there for days," she said, shuddering.

"I reckon that you two were keepin' watch over Spring Trap."

"Yeah!" Rainbow said, "It was awesome!"

"Spring got us at 5 am, but Dash kept him on his toes," Axle said, "Then I just unleashed my blades and kept slashing him."

"You should have seen his inside!" Dash said, "It looked like there were intestines inside or something."

Of course, their shouting woke up the others.

"I don't know why they like this," Fluttershy whispered.

"No kidding," Tesla added.

Author's Note

Sailing camp was a lifesaver for me. I was able to focus my thoughts and share this story with other FNAF fans. They loaded me with fresh ideas and now I think that I'm really getting somewhere. Chapters may take longer to make but I'll make it worthwhile.

Day 4

"First stop: The Crystal Empire," Tripwire said.

"Shouldn't we go to Canterlot first?" Spike, who until now hadn't been paying attention, asked.

"We're not ready to take on Canterlot," Hazard said, "I don't know why, but I can tell."

"I know why," Spark said, "The lab beneath Canterlot is the center point of CREATion. There are sensors, traps, ponies, and security everywhere. Not to mention that the place is like a labyrinth. Fuse's lab pales in comparison to it."

"Plus, the mastermind behind all of this is there," Infra said, "And this organization is like a hydra. If you take out the mastermind, someone else is sure to take the lead. We need to have enough backup to annihilate CREATion all at once."

"Right," said Trip, "If we can take down the lab in the Crystal Empire, it'll weaken the organization."

"And find that abandoned prototype," Circuit Fray said.

"And I can say hi to Cadance and my brother!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Well then, let's get going!" Axle said.

"Do you think that we can take the train?" Mirage asked, "It would be nice to not be running around for once."
She received nods from Fluttershy, Rarity, and Tesla.
.........................
'I knew that Twilight's castle looked like the Crystal Empire,' Hazard thought. Everything, from the plants to the ponies, sparkled. Things were either in a shade of blue, pink, or purple. There were even some ponies on ladders, polishing their houses.

"Snap out of it," Amplitude said, "Here comes Cadance!"

Hazard turned to see the pink alicorn walking everyone's way. Out of the ponies, two did not bow; Tripwire, who merely bent down his head, and Twilight, who ran up to her sister in law.

As the two were chanting their childhood rhyme, "Sunshine Sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake," a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail walked up.

"BBBFF!" Twilight exclaimed, leaping up to hug her brother.

"Twily!" Shining Armor said.

Meanwhile, Cadance started talking to the others.

"So, although I know what brought you here, could you explain it a bit more?"

"I can explain, princess," Tripwire said.
.................
One recap of the story you've been reading later...
...................
"Wow," Cadance said, "You've all been going through a lot."

Everyone nodded in agreement except for Rainbow and Axle.

"I've been loving the thrill!" Dash said.

"Same here!" Axle added.

"Well, for the rest of you, you could probably use a break," Shining said.

"You guys go ahead," Trip said, "I'm going to scout out possible entrances for the lab."

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, "You've been running yourself harder than any of us."

"I appreciate your concern, Fluttershy," Trip said, "But trust me; I would be less at ease relaxing than I would be doing this."

"I believe you, Trip," Mirage said, "You go do what you need to do."

Trip smiled in gratitude, and slowly walked off.

"This is a real honor, your highness," Jasper said.

"Oh, it's nothing," Cadance replied, "To be honest, the Crystal Empire could use a bit of excitement. Anyway, what do you guys like to do?"

"If you don't mind, princess, I'd like to see the pasture and see how the sheep are doing," Fluttershy said.

"I, for one, would like to go to the spa. I need the relief from the drab lab," Rarity chimed in.

"I'd like to see how the crystal berry orchard's commin' along, and if anypony there needs help," Applejack said.

"Oo! Oo!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "I could gather things for a 'First Crystal Empire Visit for Hazard, Axle, Mirage, Tesla, Mild Soul, Jasper Gemini, Tripwire, Circuit Fray, Infra Scope, and Spark Chopper party!'"

After taking several deep breaths, she said, "Maybe I should come up with a shorter title."

"You guys go ahead," Cadance said, and everyone went on their way.

"No offense, princess," Rainbow Dash said, "But I'd much rather be practicing flying. The crystal clouds here make unique obstacles."

"Oh! Maybe you could show me some of your techniques!" Axle said.

"Sure," Rainbow replied, "As long as you can keep up." The two then took off and were gone.

"Okay," Tesla said, annoyed, "Anyone else?"

Everyone replied with shaking heads.

"Do you think that you could show us around?" Mirage asked.

"Sure," Cadance said.

"I can't," Shining Armor said, "If this is like what happened back then, but worse, then I better organize the guards in case of an attack."

After hugging Cadance and Twilight, he headed to his post, rounding up the guards.

"It's been a while since we last talked," Twilight said, "I'm glad that we have the chance to talk again."

"Without Discord in the way," Cadance added, "You know, Circuit Fray, do you have powers equivalent to that of an alicorn?"

"I wish, but no," Fray replied, "Trip scanned my system. Although I'm more powerful than the everyday unicorn, I simply have the bells and whistles of both robotic pegasi and unicorns."

"How do you feel thinking that you're not alone?" Spike asked.

"I feel amazed, and terrified," Fray replied.

"So anyway, let me show you guys around," Cadance said.
..................................
"How could I get in?" Trip thought out loud, "I'm practically standing on the signal, but my scans revealed nothing."

'Wait, what if I shouldn't use a tech scan?' He recalled back when Twilight fired the beam of dark energy at the Crystal Throne, revealing a secret passageway. Did the lab adopt the same method?

He combined his magic with his tech scan to scour the area for any potential active areas, and sure enough, he came across something.

'Bingo,' he thought, 'Once I regroup the others, we can come here and raid the lab. Wether we find anything or not, I'll learn something about the new branch of CREATion, and maybe even the mastermind.'

Author's Note

This is filler/introduction/stuff to help me get my bearings.

Evening 4

"You know, what are we going to do about Spring Trap?" Amplitude asked that evening.

"Luna talked with Celestia. She removed the animatronic and shut down the restaurant," Shining Armor said. Everyone had come back together, and were clustered around the Crystal Heart.

"That's good," Mild said, "I don't know what I'd do if I had to watch that place again."

"Either way," Tripwire said, "I know where the alicorn is."

"Really?" Fray said.

"Yeah. Follow me," Trip said. He led them towards the outskirts of the Empire near the ice where King Sombra was locked.

"It turns out that the entrance is sealed off by a spell. One that I can't seem to do."

"Why not?" Twilight asked.

"I'm an expert in technology, not magic. That's where you come in, princess. I believe that you've used this kind of spell here before."

Twilight gave a look of shock, but then nodded, understanding. She approached the seemingly bland ice. Her horn began to glow with her usual pink aura, but it quickly turned to black. She fired it at the ice, and a hidden door was opened.

"Shining, the guards are close, right?" Cadance asked.

"Yes," he replied, "If anything suspicious happens, they'll come at my signal."

"All right, girls. We're goin' in," Applejack said.

"Hey," Axle said, "We're not all girls."

"It doesn't matter," Hazard said, "As long as the point's across, it doesn't matter."

"As a matter of fact," Tripwire said, "I think it's best if you guys stay up here. There's no telling what's down there."

This resulted in sighs of either relief or disappointment.

"Let's go," Amplitude said.

They sprinted into the building.
....................
"What!? Come on!" Axle yelled. Even Mirage stood in disbelief. The lab was empty. Abandoned.

"They must have known that we were coming," Hazard said, "They shut the whole place down."

"We don't know that," Fray said, more to herself than anyone else. She started wandering through the corridors of the abandoned building. There, she came across a room full of computers, and a metal filly. She turned on one of the computers, finding a sequence of dates. She clicked on the first one. It began displaying a log or something.

'March 24th, 1991. The prototype is looking successful. It has passed all of the basic maneuverability tests. We're working on the wiring, but this could give us a new edge. Equestria will see what we're trying to do.'

'So it was just a prototype. A figment of their experiment,' Fray thought, a combination of anger and wonder. She clicked on the next date.

'May 24th, 1999. Making the artificial mind is proving to be a challenge. The robot has too much of a free will, and it constantly glitches with its coordination. The problems include twitching eye movement, trouble walking, and poor speech. We're shutting down the project and starting work on prototype 395248 in October.'

'Me,' Fray thought. She hesitantly clicked on the next date.

'December 20th, 2002. Overdrive was wise to scan Blown Fuse's mind.'

'Blown Fuse..' Fray thought, processing the word. She didn't literally look up a picture of the madmare and scan for information-she wanted to refrain from using her tech- but she definitely knew that name.
'Blown Fuse was Tripwire's mother, and the madmare that killed Hazard and the others. She was a cornerstone in CREATion. Of course they would scan her mind.' She kept reading with a combination of anger, fear, and determination.

'We are now able to insert the information into the robot's data. We don't want to repeat history. We're not activating it any time soon. Tests will be calibrated on a regular basis until the prototype is ready for activation. A mirror project is taking place in the Canterlot lab.'

'A mirror project?' Fray thought, 'They must be talking about the other robotic alicorn.' She clicked on the next day, unaware of Spark Chopper coming in.

'May 7th, 2016. Two technicians in the Manehattan branch have gone rogue and destroyed much of their lab's equipment. Sent prototype 395248 after them. We controlled it manually; it's not ready to be fully activated yet. The two ponies escaped, but the experience revealed no abnormalities in 395248's systems. It won't be long before it can be activated. All that's needed is to work out the last glitches in the circuits.'

"So you weren't aware of when you attacked us," Spark said, startling Fray.

"No, I wasn't," Fray replied, catching her "breath" (the robots have systems that provide a breathing reflex to appear more lifelike).

"You know, they waited a long time to activate you compared to the first prototype. I wonder why."

"Me too," Fray said, with a look of doubt and sadness.

"Why the long face?" Spark asked.

"I don't know," Fray replied, "It's just still a lot for me to take in." She decided to skip some of the listed days and clicked on the last day on the list. One that was listed just a few days ago.

'April 20th, 2017.
7:17
An interference in the cyberspace has resulted in a frayed circuit seen in the prototype. The cause of the disturbance is unknown. Will investigate and get it fixed today.'

"That must have been when Trip and Hazard went into that cyberspace thing. That's when they first saw you." Spark said.

"Unbelievable," Fray whispered, her synthetic heartbeat accelerating. She read on.

'7:20
Noises were heard in the wire room. Investigated to find the robot gone. Don't attempt to get it back. The circuit was never repaired. Will commence a shutdown immediately.'

"Fray, are you alright?" Spark asked.

"No," Fray answered.

"We can always sto-"

"I have to read this. I can't stop."

"Okay..."

'7:30
Attempted shutdown failed. A code interfered with the sequence and the tracking signal has been neutralized. Tripwire is supposedly behind this. Contacting Vice Militude.'

"Vice Militude?" Spark asked.

"The mastermind," Fray replied, "I must know that from my programming."

'8:00
Turn attention away from 395248. It's been fully activated and has officially gone rogue. Immediately evacuate any branch directed and provide assistance for prototype 331987 in the Canterlot branch. We've put the prototype into a cyberlock. Activation will occur soon. Set the trigger blast in the evacuated labs. CREATion's future is in critical condition. We need to act soon. We will not fall.'

Fray shut down the computer, staring at the black screen.

"That was... I don't even know," Spark said after a few minutes.

"We have to warn Trip and the others," Fray suddenly said, "The trigger blast could kill them."

"Is it strange that I never heard of the trigger blast?"

"It's a recently installed system. If any sort of signal activity is detected, the set explosives will detonate."

"I'm assuming that you know it from programming?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. We have to warn the others!" Fray took off with Spark close behind.

Night 4

Fray raced through the facility, and ran smack into Infra.

"Well, fancy meeting you here!" She exclaimed.

"What are you doing?" Spark asked.

"Nothing, really. I haven't found anything important yet."

"Well, could you get the others here?"

"Sure."

A few minutes later, everyone was gathered in a group.

"I found........ the prototype," Fray said, struggling with the words.

"Why don't you head out?" Hazard said, "This seems to be an emotionally riveting place for you."

"I'm fine, but--"

"I think that a few of us should stay outside the lab in case anything happens," Mirage said.

"Good idea," Tripwire said, "In fact, it's probably best if all of you get out of here. I don't know what might happen, and I don't want anyone to get hurt."

As everyone nodded in agreement and headed out, Fray stayed behind.

"Thank you for making them leave. There's a trap in here," she said.

"I know," Trip replied, "but I won't be able to activate this outside of the lab. Get ready to run."

Fray nodded in understanding.
Tripwire didn't notice. He was too focused on the task at hoof.

His aura brightened as he focused.
He touched the metal. Much of the former prototype was covered in rust, forcing Fray to turn away. It was too heart-wrenching.

The metal filly began to twitch. A rusted eye opened, and gave an expression of fright. Fray turned around, and saw that eye. It blinked, and began to skitter around.

'The problems included twitching eye movement,' Fray thought, 'Poor thing.'

Suddenly, alarms began blaring.

"We need to get out!" Tripwire yelled.

"I know!" Fray replied. The two took off, with Tripwire carrying the rusted filly.

The lights began shutting off. And metal floor began to shake and rip.

"We have 30 seconds to get out of here!" Trip yelled. The two were hurriedly making their way to the exit.

"There's the door!" Fray exclaimed. The two ponies made a run for it.

As the door was closing, Tripwire kept through, dropping the prototype.

"No!" Fray cried. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to grab her, just as the door closed.
.....................

"Fray!" Tripwire yelled. Banging on the door. The others rushed over, including Cadance and Shining Armor.

"We have to get back!" Hazard said, "This place is going to blow!"

"But Fray-" Amplitude said.

"Is trapped, and there's nothing we can do," Mirage cut in.

"So we're just going to leave her behind!?" Rainbow Dash said, racing up, "You can't tell the element of loyalty to do something like that!"

While everyone else was scrambling back, the cyan Pegasus barreled toward the door, until she was stopped by somepony unexpected.

"Don't do it," Axle said, flying in her path, "You know that it's suicide."

Dash gave a look of shock, then anger, then defeat. She reluctantly landed.

"Listen, Tripwire can just rebuild her," Infra said, perking Dash up.

What Dash didn't see was the worried glance she exchanged with the half-metal pony. They both knew it was a lie. Tripwire never scanned Fray's circuits.
..................

Fray desperately fired at the door. She had to get out. For the filly. For Hazard and the others. For Equestria.

She looked at the filly. Its eye had stopped twitching, and was now focused on her. It was too much.

"I'm not going down," Fray said, her voice rising in volume, "I will not let myself fall with this facility! Not now. I am not a part of this! And neither is this filly! We will get out of alive," her voice quickly lowering, "We have to."

She immediately saw the necessary information in her eyes.
'10 seconds,'

She grabbed the filly,

'8'

She spread her wings.

'5'

Her horn began to glow.

'4'

A copper sphere surrounded them.

'3'

She closed her eyes.

'2'

She reopened them.

'1'

She took off.
........................
The ice shattered. The explosion shook the ground.

"Sweet Celestia!" Applejack exclaimed.

Rarity saw something barreling towards them.

"Everypony, DUCK!!!" She cried out.

"Duck!? Where!?" Pinkie Pie squealed, only to be pulled down by Twilight.

Fray tumbled into the snow, while the rusted filly came crashing behind her.

"FRAY!!!!" Pinkie yelled as she bear-hugged the robotic alicorn.

"Okay, Pinkie. Take it easy," Fray said.

"Y'okay, sugar cube?" Applejack asked.

"My gravity sensors are a little out of whack, but I'm fine," Fray answered, "But I don't know if she is," she added, nodding toward the rust filly. Her eye was twitching again, but it would be still for several seconds at a time. Fray could see the pony's gratitude.

Author's Note

My friends' comments about this story brought something to my attention that I would like to address.

-I don't intend on adding a "romance" tag. I'm not going to ship any of the characters. I know that my writing has led to some people to think that some of the characters are in love (primarily Axle and Rainbow Dash), but I just see them as good friends.

-I'm working on gradually developing the characters individually, so there may be some scenes in which there will just be a few characters.

-I've been thinking about this story for too long. The concept has run dry and the writing is extremely slow. I'm not putting this story on hiatus, but expect a bit of a delay with future chapters. I have another fanfic idea and I want to work some on "Clarity," another one of my stories.

Thought you should know. See you before too long!

Day 5

"Okay, thank you, everypony," Tripwire said. Only minutes have passed. Trip teleported everyone back to the lab, and everyone turned their attention to the rusted filly, still twitching her eye.

"The best course of action would be to put her into a sleep and wake her after we fix her up a bit."

"A BIT!?" Rarity cried out, "She needs more than a bit! Have you looked at her!?"

"Ummm... I don't mean to interrupt," Fluttershy said, "But I think that she's still awake." She was right. The filly had her open eye fixed on Rarity.

Fray, to the side, whispered, "Are you okay with this?" She received a grateful blink from the filly. She smiled.

After the filly had been put into a sleep, Trip said, "Okay. Rarity, I want you to scrub off the rust."

"Why me?" She whined.

"Because it's going to be the cleanest job that you'll be able to do, unless you want to scrub some oil."

"Oh, okay, no thanks."

"As for the rest of you, gather parts. Except for Hazard, Infra, Fray, and Spark. You guys will help me figure out what to rebuild."

As Rarity walked off in disgust, Twilight whispered to Trip, "Does she even USE oil?"

"No," Trip answered, "But how else was I supposed to get her to do it?" The two of them shared a few snickers, and then went their separate ways.
...........

"So what are we going to do?" Spark asked, an hour later.

"Trip found out the blueprint for the filly. He, Hazard, Tesla, Mirage, and Fray are working on it. Rarity's getting a shower. Rainbow and Axle are racing in the simulator. I think that the others are napping," Infra said.

"What do you think that the mastermind would do if he saw us helping these ponies?"

"I don't know, but he probably knows that we're here. He has a way of knowing."

"And concealing who he really is. I don't think I've ever heard his real name."

"Vice Militude."

"What?"

"Fray told me back in the abandoned lab. We, or rather, she, found a journal of some sort. They're making another prototype, but they're pulling out all of the stops."

"Maybe I can find something. I just hope I can still tap into CREATion's system."

"Maybe we don't have to," Spark said.

"Huh?" Infra replied.

"I bet there's something in our old lab that can give us clues. It's definitely something worth mentioning to Trip."

"Agreed."
........................

The filly was good as new. She had a metallic silver coat and a gold mane, tail, and eyes. Fray was shaking from anticipation. She slowly approached the small robot, still asleep, and tapped its shoulder.

The filly moved, and opened its eyes. She looked at herself in amazement, examining herself. Her right eye, however, began to twitch and turn. She immediately shook her head and her eye steadied. She looked at Fray.

"Th-th-thank you," she stuttered.

'Poor thing,' Fray thought, looking at the others, 'We were never able to get rid of the glitches.'

But she shook it off. "You're welcome."

"Where a-am I?"

"You're in our lab. Don't worry. You're safe," Tripwire said.

Hazard called everyone else in, and introductions went around as usual.

"Do you have a name?" Jasper said, walking up.

"I-I-I think s-so," the filly said, "Th-th-th-they would c-c-call me... G-Glitch."

"I have to say that it suits her," Rainbow Dash said.

"Woah! Time out! Did you hear the words coming out of your mouth!?" Tesla said.

"I... I don't mean to be offensive, but I have to admit that she fits the name. In a cute way. But I'm fine if you pick something different," Fluttershy whispered.

"I-I could-d tell th-that they m-meant for it t-to be of-f-fensive. B-but I don't know what e-else to c-call mys-self," Glitch said.

"Okay. I feel bad, but I guess that you'll be called 'Glitch,' at least for now," Tripwire said. Glitch nodded, sending her eye spinning again.
..........................

"Tripwire?" Spark asked, later that afternoon, "I think that we should go to Manehattan next. If CREATion hasn't removed the data from the lab that Infra and I shared, there may be some answers-"

"Forget it," Infra said, walking in, "I hacked into our old computer. There's nothing. They scrubbed the database clean. The only way for us to find anything would be to either go to the lab itself, or to hack CREATion's maneframe. They're expecting us to do the former, so I say that we work on the latter."

"I have a ladder!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, appearing out of nowhere with a huge, pink-and-white candy cane-style ladder.

The three ponies looked in surprise, until Spark said, "You never cease to surprise me, Pinkie Pie."

Everyone bursted out laughing, except for Tripwire, who merely chuckled and rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Say, Trip," Pinkie said, "That's the closest thing to a laugh I've ever heard you do."

"I'm not exactly the type of pony to laugh," Trip replied, "Too many negative associations. I grew up with an everlasting maniacally laughing madmare who tried to kill me. I have nothing against laughing, but my body must've built an involuntary resistance to it. I snicker and chuckle as much as almost anypony, but it takes a lot to get me to actually laugh."

"Hmmmmm," Pinkie said to herself, "Sounds like a challenge to me."

"Go ahead," Trip said, "I'm actually looking forward to laughing again."

A scream was heard in another room.

"Tripwire!" Mild yelled across the hall, "Come quick! It's Glitch!"

Trip and the others ran into the room where they saw Glitch having what looked like a panic attack. Her chest was heaving, her eyes wide and unusually dilated, as if she just saw something traumatizing.

"C-Canterlot!" She cried out, "P-princesses! H-help!"

Everyone was crowded around the robotic filly, trying to comfort her. Except for one. The pony that Trip least expected to. And she looked just as frightened.

Tripwire didn't notice her, but Jasper did. Trip touched his horn to Glitch's.

"She was never fully severed from the facility. They sent a message that she must've picked up. It's encrypted. Hang on..."

With Tripwire occupied with Glitch, Jasper walked to Fray. She had eyes just as wild, but her breathing was more steady. She was staring at the ground, seeming to be fighting back emotions.

'She's trying to keep her composure,' he thought.

"Fray, what's wrong?"

Fray looked up at him.
"Canterlot's under attack," she said fearfully, "CREATion's making a move. They've activated the third alicorn,"
Everyone fell silent. Even Glitch stopped panicking.

"Cyber Lock."

Author's Note

No words need to be spoken. But here I am, in the author's notes, saying that because I want to say something. Now that I have, mission accomplished (I don't know. I'm bored.:ajbemused:)

Evening 5

Spike burped, and a letter appeared in a puff of smoke.

"It's from Princess Celestia!" He said, "Spring Trap mysteriously disappeared from the container he was in. There are no scratch marks or anything."

"He probably came back here," Tesla said.

"You know," Tripwire thought out loud.

"You know what?" Hazard asked.

"Remember when the two or us went into that cyberspace area?"

"Yeah"

"And we saw Blown Fuse?"

"Yeah"

"And we woke up when she 'smashed' us?"

"Yeah. What are you implying?"

"Axle. You saw flesh in the suit, correct?"

"Yes. It was awesome, but disgusting. What's your point?"

"Spike, what else does the letter say?"

"Not much. It says that scientists didn't have much of a chance to see it. They found the guts, although they had no idea whose it was. They also noticed a weird spring at the back of the neck. It looked like it wanted to pop out at any moment, but it never did."

"Bingo. I don't know how much of a major part it plays, but I have a hypothesis on something. We know for a fact that Fuse's brain was scanned after she died, but we never thought about her body. What if she wasn't entirely brain dead when she was stuffed?"

"Whoa, whoa, time out!" Rainbow Dash said, "You stuffed her?"

"No," Trip said, "But the animatronic suits are designed to sense a pony's agony, and in essence, avenge its anger mindlessly. What if someone from CREATion stuffed Fuse's body into the suit?"

"What drew you to that conclusion?" Axle asked.

"Pull up your memory files," Trip said, "Did the body show any signs of trauma or injury?"

"Hang on..." Small lights blinked in Axle's pupils as he accessed that night.

"Oh my Celestia, it shows signs of getting hit by a beam of energy!"

"Talk about dressing a corpse!" Rarity said.

"What?" Applejack asked, "Since when have ponies started sayin' that?"

"Never," Rarity said, "The fact that Fuse's mutilated body was placed inside a less-mutilated animatronic suit just reminds me of how certain ponies are hired to make a corpse look pretty before a funeral."

"Okay...." Trip said, "But the major sign of it is the spring."
He formed a 3D holographic model showing Spring Trap's suit.
"The Spring Trap model is just a hollow animatronic with no endoskeleton. For obvious reasons, it's not the typical suit model. Even ponies can fit in and control it without worrying about anything cutting or killing them." He compared the inside of the Spring suit with Freddy's suit, the former being hollow save for a small spring at the back of the neck, the latter being filled with wires and sharp projections.

"Oh," Spark said, cringing, "That must've hurt when YOU guys were stuffed."

"Those four were already dead," Trip said, gesturing toward Hazard, Amplitude, Mirage, and Axle, "But it did hurt. Think of a million tiny blades and wires digging into your skin. I had a lot of stuff that was damaged beyond repair. Not to mention that my horn was cracked."

"Okay, I think that's enough detail," Twilight said.

"Anyway, as you can see, the spring model has a spring right there," Trip continued, pointing out the spring in the suit and zooming in on it.
"When the spring is coiled back, it won't do anything." He demonstrated by showing the model of a pony in the suit.
"But the spring has a high tendency to.... Malfunction."
The holographic spring then shot out, deep into the pony's neck.

Fluttershy gasped, then fainted. Glitch walked up and shook her awake, although seeing that image had caused her eye to skitter again.

"According to the letter," Trip continued, "The spring was never out of place. That means that whoever was in the suit did not die from a puncture to the back of the neck."

"What if they had a heart attack or something?" Twilight asked.

"Believe me. Someone would've noticed. And think about it: the suit has these capabilities, yet they were never mentioned. Why?" Amplitude asked.

"My theory is that they wanted to fine tune everything, and then sell the fatal suits under a secret name," Mirage said, "Who's a better fit for the experiment than the pony who's behind all this?"

"And don't forget about Vice," Glitch said.

"Who?" Tesla asked.

"Vice Militude."

"Wait, what?" Tripwire said. A look of anger, fear, and doubt crossed his face before a look of sadness kicked in.
"I should've known," he muttered, "I thought he'd been killed."

"Hang on!" Pinkie said, "You know this guy? Are you friends!?" She asked with her usual hype, until she recognized the mood of the atmosphere and felt awkward.

"I know him by name, face, and blood," Trip answered.

"You know," Pinkie said, "When I looked through Twilight's genealogy scrolls, I remember seeing your name, saying you're the son of Blown Fuse and..." She gasped in realization, "YOU'RE THE SON OF CREATION'S MASTERMIND!!!!!!!"
The cry resonated throughout the lab, and everyone stared at Trip.

"I'm not surprised," he said, "My father was just as insane as my mother, if not more so. While she was into emotional distress, he was into power and deceit. He lives up to his three namesakes. He's the living definition of the word 'vice,' which is a synonym for 'bad quality,' he's lives up to the word much like his last name, 'militate,' which means to have a hard impact on something, and the word resembling the two combined words: verisimilitude, which means an appearance of the truth."

He paused, and added, "I can't think of anything else specific. The memories are too obscured. All I know is that he vanished one day when I was three, although something, probably an experiment of some kind, gave me the mental and psychological maturity of a ten year old. That's why I remembered it."

'That's also why he acted twenty back when we were ten,' Hazard thought, 'Because he was a twenty year old in a ten year old body. If his body matured as fast as his mind, he'd probably be as old as Applejack's Granny Smith right now.'

"We need to think of something," Twilight said, "We have a dead Madmare possessing the body of a discount Bonnie, a robot alicorn beginning to terrorize Equestria, and a mad stallion that's coordinating the whole thing. What do we do?"

Suddenly, there was a flash, and a draqonoqueis was among the ponies in the room.

"Oh no," Axle groaned.

"Bingo," Tripwire said.

Author's Note

This entire chapter dawned on me this morning. I got both my finals done in about an hour and a half (each. We had 2 hours each to do them) so I had some time to type this out. I'm trying to focus on individual characters more and nail the ones I've been skipping. So I apologize for not delivering another action scene, but I'm still trying to decide how the action scenes will go.

P.S. Vice is named after Vincent, the rumored name of the "Purple Guy." I would've named Blown Fuse after him had I known sooner, but oh well.

Night 5 part 1

Author's Note

I'm sorry. It's very short and I know it. But I couldn't picture any fighting going on in this chapter. This is more like another introduction. If you haven't read my latest blog, the writing has been slow-going. But I know that I get driven crazy when too much time elapses between posted chapters for stories that I like, so this also serves as a way to say, "Please know that I haven't given up on this yet."

Night 5 part 1

"Well, hello, Fluttershy," Discord said.

"Thank you for coming," Fluttershy said, "We could really use the help."

"Wait, what in tarnation is goin' on here!?" Applejack said.

"You didn't know I was coming?" Discord said, "Fluttershy wrote to me, saying what was happening, asking me to come."

"He really COULD be a great help," Tripwire said.

"And really annoying!" Axle shot back.

"Hay, just be glad that he's not like how he was BEFORE the reign of Tiereck!" Hazard said.

"Hazard's right," Twilight said, "Although Fluttershy reformed him years ago, he truly became good after he saw the true light of friendship."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said, "Even I've gotten less annoyed by him than usual."

"By the way," Discord said, snapping his fingers. A cotton candy cloud appeared above Pinkie and began to shower her with chocolate milk rain. Yet as soon as it hit the floor, it vanished.
"Just being considerate with the computers," he said.

"Uh.... Thanks?" Tripwire said.
..............................

"So what's the deal?" Axle said, "With the lord of chaos on our side, it should be an instant win, right?"

"It's not that simple," Spark said, looking at the computer with Infra, "The Canterlot base is protected by a force field of the magic-nullifying energy. Discord COULD shut down all the generators, if it wasn't for the fact that the force field nullifies magic."

"What about Spring Trap? And Cyberlock?" Fray asked.

"And how are we supposed to combat without magic?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know," Tripwire said, "The only thing I can think of as capable of counteracting the negative energy is you and your friends in your rainbow power forms. And I doubt that even that could take it on."

"Hmmmm," Hazard muttered.

"Come on, Trip!" Pinkie said, "Where's a positive attitude?"

Trip sighed, and managed a small smile of appreciation of the sympathy.

"I have a plan," Hazard said,
"We have three targets: Spring Trap, The Canterlot base, and that robot.

I could take on the lab with Mirage, Amp, Trip, and Axle. Fray could take on the robot, since the two of them likely match one another in terms of skill. Infra and Spark could keep tabs on the lab and, hopefully, hack into something that could help us. The others could work together to keep Spring Trap out of the way.

Don't try to combat Spring Trap. It's too strong. Magic is rendered useless by the energy, so we'll have to destroy the source. Once we do, the rest should be relatively smooth sailing, although you never know with CREATion."

"What about Tripwire's device? You know, the one that can counteract the energy?" Tesla asked.

"I already tested it. It can withstand up to five hundred watts. The energy at the lab far exceeds five thousand. I can rework the wiring, but it would take days AND be too large to wear," Trip answered.

"What's Spring Trap's wattage?" Amplitude asked.

"Around 650," Trip said, "Although the device could work against the field, it's too much to attempt to attack. You could only use spells on yourself."

"Like teleportation?" Twilight asked.

"Exactly," Trip replied.

"Then it looks like a diversion is the best course of action."

"Okay, now let's go over specifics..."

Night 5 Part 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Night 5 Part 3

'We're doing our best,' Trip tried to assure her. He and the others were approaching the lab.

'Tripwire,' Spark said, 'The code to open the door is the date of the bite of '87.'

'Got it,' Trip replied. He tapped the sequence on a touch pad on the door.

331987

The door slid open, revealing a long, empty hallway. The five made their way in.

"I like this," Amplitude said, "It's nice and quiet."

"I don't," Mirage answered, "It's too quiet."

'I've hacked into the cameras. They know that you're here, and they're waiting for you,' Infra said, 'But I've found a fault in their line. I can temporarily make the cameras go offline. And that includes the heat sensors.'

'And I can create illusions to confuse them,' Mirage added.

'Guess history is repeating,' Tesla said.

'What do you mean?' Spark said.

'We'll explain later,' Hazard said.

'Got it,' Infra said, 'Go while you can!'

Axle shot through the lab with Hazard and the others close behind.

"Do we even know where we're going?" Amplitude said.

"Not yet," Tripwire answered, "But it's too dangerous to stay in one place for too long." He paused and added, "This place is a labyrinth. We need to find Vice and his associates."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Mirage said.

'Infra,' Trip thought, 'Can you turn the cameras back on and find him?'

'I'm afraid not,' the mare answered, 'It's a miracle that I was able to shut them down in the first place.'

'I have another idea,' Trip thought.
"I'm going to have to get away from you all."

"Why?" Hazard asked.

"I'm going to tap into the wiring of this place. But doing so might reveal my location to Vice. The cameras could fire up at any moment. If they see you, we would have a hard time fighting the ponies."

"I could stay nearby and encase you in an invisibility spell," Mirage said.

"But there are heat sensors," Trip said, "You need to wait until I know where Vice is. Until then, stay on the move."

Everyone reluctantly nodded and ran off. Tripwire, using some nearby boxes, touched his horn to one of the cameras. But suddenly, he felt like he was having a seizure. His right eye started to go static.

"Dang it," he thought, "I was afraid of this." A virus was attacking his computer systems. He immediately shut them down, immobilizing him. He sent out a brainwave to Tesla.

'You can't talk to me via signal. I was foolish enough for a virus to cause my mechanics to malfunction and I can't let Hazard or anyone else get it. Warn them, and tell them that Vice is after them. Tell them to break a hole to the surface. They'll have the upper hoof then.'

Tesla was about to say, "I'm on it," but remembered that the virus would infect her earpiece if she did.
...........................

Fray was leaking the coolant used when her systems overheat. It was her own version of sweating. She was locked in firing a powerful ray desperately trying to counteract that of Cyberlock. Then, she heard Hazard trying to reach her.

This would divert her attention from the attack, so she played defense. She ceased firing and set up a force field just before the ray hit her. Although it still took energy to keep the protection up, it was less tiring than firing a death blast.

'Tripwire is infected with a virus,' Hazard said, 'He wants us to help you take care of Cyberlock so we can drag Vice out. Where are you?'

Fray gave Hazard the coordinates, and seconds later, the ground beneath the wicked robot collapsed. Cyberlock took flight just before he would've fallen in, but Axle shot out with wing blades drawn and slashed at his foe. But he didn't even scratch him.

"Did you really think that it was going to be that easy?" Cyberlock said.

"For your information," Axle answered, "I don't think. I act."

Cyberlock looked to the ground.
"It appears that I'm outnumbered," he said, taking off, "But I might as well reduce the number of opponents at a time."

Seeing what he was talking about, Amplitude took off with Fray close behind.

"Are you afraid to fight us!?" Amp yelled.

"Cowardice has nothing to do with it," Cyberlock replied, "It's strategic thinking." And with that, he fired a red pulse that almost electrocuted the three airborne ponies, but Fray swooped in and fired a pulse of her own. The result was a blast that hurt everyone airborne except for the target.

"You are all so foolish," Cyberlock said, "I have a flawless design. You all, on the other hoof..." He fired another blast.
..............................

Back on the ground, Mirage and the others were watching.

"He's got to have a weak spot!" Mirage cried out.

Hazard thought.
'Tripwire fell to a virus. If Cyberlock has no physical weak spot, maybe we could take him down with that.'

Hazard raced through the lab until he finally saw the pale blue unicorn laying on the ground, but breathing. The lit up iris of his right eye was no longer on, but his left eye moved to look at Hazard.

"What are you doing here?" Tripwire asked.

"Trip," Hazard said, "Do you think you can fire up your tech and transfer the virus to Cyberlock?"

"Maybe," Trip said, "But I can't move. The virus will send my systems into a spasm."

"Relax," said Mirage, walking up. She lit up her horn and teleported the trip to where Cyberlock was.

The black alicorn saw them.

"Well, well, if it isn't the ringleader of the anti-CREATion," he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. And it will be even more so to beat you."

"Hazard," said Trip, "Tell Infra to find a way into Cyberlock's mindset. From there, I'll speak with her, and she speak to Cyberlock."

'Did you hear that, Infra?' Hazard asked.

'Yeah,' she said, 'But I'm not finding anything. I think that the only way to transfer it is for you to get to a location in the lab where you can actually do it.'

Amplitude, overhearing the conversation, immediately dove into the hole in the lab.

"Amplitude, what are you doing!?" Hazard yelled.

"I have a plan!" Amp called back, "Just trust me!"

Night 5 part 4

'Amplitude, what are you doing?' Spark said.

'Is Tesla there?' Amp replied.

'We haven't heard from her for a while, now that you mention it,' Infra said, 'Or Twilight or anyone else in the restaurant.'

'Oh, no,' Amp said, 'But I guess that it's time for plan B.'

She began to zip around the lab, adjusting her wings so they generated the "death note." The lab was complicated, but she kept track of where she had been, much like leaving behind a virtual trail of bread crumbs that you didn't have to worry about getting eaten.

Through the wind in her ears, she heard sounds of scuffling and minor groaning.

'Bingo,' she thought. Just as she heard buttons getting pressed. She froze, and began to spin, sending out super sonic sound waves. The metal trembled, from the floor to the ceiling. She whipped around her wings, sending a huge shockwave through the lab. Then, electromagnetic waves were sent out and hit Amplitude, disorienting her. She tried to reach the others, but her communication lines were messed up. She just hoped that they got her more subtle message.
...........................

Trying to buy Amp some time for whatever she was doing, Mirage kept firing at Cyberlock, who kept dodging the blasts with ease. Suddenly, the ground shook. She turned to the direction of the shockwaves and saw the ground cracking several yards away.

'So is that what she was trying to do?' She thought. She tried sending a signal to the fellow robot, but couldn't get a reply.

'Amplitude needs our help!' She thought to the others, immediately sending a code message that would take too long to think verbally.

Hazard, Mirage, Axle and Fray all gathered near the cracks, but Mirage concealed the cracks with magic.

Cyberlock fired at them, but hit the hidden cracks instead.
...........................

Amplitude felt the blast, but she couldn't look to see what caused it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mirage racing towards her.

"Amplitude! Are you alright!?" She said. Amplitude tried to answer, but couldn't.

Hazard approached and put his ear up to Amp's chest, where he could hear the hum of electricity.

"She'll be okay," he said, "Something severed her motor connections." Cyberlock tried to blast the vulnerable ponies, but was blocked by Fray's force field.

Amplitude no longer heard the breathing of the pony. He must've gotten away.

But then, a loud crash ricocheted through the hall. Then there was indistinguishable yelling. One from some unknown pony. The other was from

"Twilight Sparkle?" Axle said, "What's she doing here?"

Shouts could be heard from the rest of the mane six.

"What are we waiting for!?" Axle said, "Let's go!"

The ponies quickly ran to the source of the sound, with all but one unaware that Cyberlock didn't follow them.

They saw Applejack tangling with a bluish purple pony with ragged gray hair. The pony activated a taser of some kind, knocking her off. Then they really saw Vice Militude for the first time. He had deep blue eyes, but his pupils were as empty as Cyberlock's. His cutie mark was covered by a lab coat.

"Well, I'd say that my son has talent that rivals my own," he said, "It makes a father proud, really." He shook his head, saying, "It's a shame that he had to leave us. To turn on us and prevent the spread of our CREATion."

"I can honestly see where he's going with this," Discord said, appearing out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here!?" Hazard said, "Weren't you and Twilight supposed to be helping Tesla contain Spring Trap?"

"She insisted that we help here," said Twilight, "I may be unable to perform magic, but that doesn't mean that I can't help." And with that, she charged toward the purple stallion, cutting him with her horn.

Mirage joined in, firing carefully aimed lightning.

All the ponies began to charge Vice, except for Fluttershy and Hazard.

'Something's not right,' he thought. He then looked at a series of buttons on a dashboard behind Vice.
'Oh no,' he thought.

Vice dodged the ponies and ran toward the board, but Hazard beat him to it. He bucked the dashboard, destroying it.

Vice growled in anger. Suddenly, Twilight began to emit a light from her horn.

"I can use magic again!" She cheered. She and Rarity began to light their auras, along with Mirage.

"You can't stop me that easily!" Vice yelled, running to a platform. He pressed a few buttons, and the platform and the air around it began to glow. A bright light filled the room, and he was gone.

Hazard examined the wreckage.

"That was terrible!" Fluttershy cried.

"Where's that smile?" Pinkie asked, "We made it through, didn't we?"

"Now we need to focus on fixing Amplitude," Axle said, "I say that we look for what caused her motor malfunction."

"I'm glad to see that you're using your head for once," Hazard said.

"Hang on," said Rainbow Dash, "Where IS Amplitude?"

"And where's Fray, for that matter?" Mirage said.

"Let's see..." Discord said, pulling out a telescope that squiggled down the hall, "Hmmmm... It doesn't look good..."

"What do you mean?" Axle said.

Just then, a blast shook the room. The ponies scrambled to where Amp was to see Fray fighting Cyberlock once again.

The two were locked in combat, each firing a single beam at each other. The sparks that ignited at the point of collision grew increasingly brighter and bigger.

"I don't like the look of this," Rarity said.
............

Fray felt exhausted, but she kept going strong. She didn't even notice how tired she was.

The same emotions cycled through her mind:
Rage, fear, courage.

Cyberlock's ray was inching toward her and she didn't even notice.
..................

"What are we standing around for?!" Twilight said. She lit up her horn and fired, her beam fusing with Fray's. Rarity and Mirage joined in. The combination of beams struck Cyberlock, who exploded, still with a smug grin on his face.
..................

The ponies were practically panting, even the robots. The sweat-like coolant dripped down Fray's face as she looked at the fried remains of Cyberlock.

"We may have stopped Cyberlock," Hazard said, "But we still have to fix Amplitude. And how are we supposed to fix Tripwire's problem?"

"Oh, no," Axle said, "We probably destroyed whatever was supposed to fix the glitch! This is bad. This is very bad."

"Relax," Discord said, snapping his claws. Amplitude and Tripwire immediately appeared in front of them, perfectly fine.

"Thank you, Discord," Trip said, "But why didn't you do that as soon as the magic-nullifying energy was stopped?"

"Oh," Discord said, "Must've slipped my mind."

"Of course," Twilight said.

"This isn't over," Hazard said, "We may have destroyed Cyberlock, but Vice got away. It's only a matter of time before he strikes again."

"You know," Pinkie said, "If he's so focused on dominating Equestria, then why does he bother with the animatronics? It's like he's just wasting time with terrorizing fillies and foals, which is not cool."

Suddenly, Infra's voice rang out,
'Guys, you need to get back to Ponyville now! Spark and I just got a distress signal from Tesla. She's been able to use magic again, but she's been having to make her own barrier to keep Spring Trap away. She's been suffering from the hallucinations. Now she's trapped and unable to teleport and the restaurant is burning to the ground!'

Day 20

Tesla opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry. All of her senses were.

'Where am I?' She thought. She then heard a familiar voice.

"Tesla?" Mirage asked.

Tesla tried to answer but ended up croaking.

"Here," a strange female voice said, "Maybe this will help." Tesla felt water slipping down her throat, and she drank it thirstily.

"Thank you," she said, now seeing the mare along with Mirage.

"You're lucky to be alive," the mare said, "Had you been in that smoke for much longer, and you would've had irreversible brain damage, or more likely, death. I honestly didn't expect you to wake up."

"How long was I out?" Tesla asked.

"Your organs, primarily your brain, faced problems due to the lack of oxygen. I had to place you into a coma in order for you to recover. You were asleep for two weeks."

"Thank you for tending to her, nurse Redheart," Mirage said.

"You're very welcome, Mirage," Redheart said, "After hearing what you and your friends have been through, I didn't want you to face something like losing your sister. By the way, with all that you've been through, how have you not been expressing any signs of trauma?"

"You'd have to ask Tripwire," Mirage said, "He knows about that stuff."

"So, can I go home now?" Tesla asked.

"You're still a bit woozy from the coma and I want to check you for any signs of stress, although I'm amazed that you're doing so well, too."

"Oh, try telling that to my past self. After Mirage was supposedly killed, I was in a very depressed state. It wasn't until Mirage saved me from Freddy that I began to improve emotionally."

"I had saved her from getting killed at the cost of my own life," Mirage said.

"Survivor's guilt," Redheart said, "I've seen it before."

"Well," Tesla said, "Now that we've gone down memory trail, what happened to Spring Trap?"

"The fireponies put out the blaze. Although they claim that it was caused by faulty wiring, Tripwire scanned the area and determined that it was no accident. Someone set it. But it wasn't Spring Trap. We don't know who it was. But Spring Trap was no where to be found.

"But anyway, some plush animals and other things were salvaged and the owner of the land wanted to discard them."

"Why didn't he?" Tesla asked.

"The Flim-Flam brothers wanted to fetch a pretty bit from those toys, so they held an auction. Literally five ponies came: Flim, Flam, Fancypants, Fleur de Lis, and the filly they just adopted, Serendipity. Fancy and Fleur wanted a child, so they decided to come to the Ponyville orphanage to adopt one. Serendipity fell in love with those toys so they got them for her."

"Doesn't sound quite like rainbows and butterflies, though."

"Yep. Tripwire, however, was speaking with the princesses about further defense from CREATion. He was still in Canterlot when he heard about the auction. He met up with the family when they got back and told them that if they suspected anything wrong that might tie to CREATion, that they should tell him."

"Okay," Tesla said before yawning.

"You get some rest," Mirage said, "I'll return to the lab and let everyone know that you're okay."

Night 20

"Thank Celestia that Tesla's okay!" Amplitude cheered. Mirage was back in the lab, listening to the whirring of the machines above. After the fire, the Ponyville construction department had cleared the rubble and as a thank you for saving Equestria on more than one occasion, were building a small set of apartments for Tripwire and the other ponies who had to call the lab their home (this includes Trip, Hazard, Axle,Mirage, Tesla, Infra, Spark, Mild, Jasper, Amplitude, Fray, and Glitch).

"She's always been strong willed," Mirage said.

"Got it!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Got what?" Hazard asked.

"Since CREATion has a code name, I figured that you needed one as well."

"Well," Trip said, "It could help when we need to conceal our identities. What do you have?"

"Defending Innocents From Fathomless Evil Ruses Executing Nefarious Codification Effectively. DIFFERENCE."

"Wow," Mirage said, "That took a lot of thinking."

"That title could come in handy," Hazard said, "I have a feeling that CREATion is going to try to go back into hiding. We can't be flamboyant with our actions."

"Perhaps," Trip said, "But CREATion is much larger than I anticipated. If we wipe out Vice, someone will inevitably take his place. If we want to wipe out CREATion, we're going to have to have support from Equestria."

"What are you saying?" Spark said.

"Despite our strengths," Trip replied, "CREATion outnumbers us at least 120 to 1. We can't give CREATion the chance to harm civilians like this again. We need to actually prepare Equestria for what could become of this. I don't believe that we need to raise our numbers to match theirs, but one pony could make the difference between overcoming CREATion or falling to them."

"You're sounding like a paradox, now," Twilight said, "You're saying that we should prepare Equestria from this abomination, but not prepare the citizens for a fight?"

"I hate to say it like this, but I doubt the citizens' abilities to combat the robots. What I'm saying is that they should defend themselves, which might give us an edge over CREATion. We wouldn't have to worry about the ponies getting killed while we attack CREATion, at least not as much. That's the best way I can explain it."

"I suppose that makes sense," Twilight replied, "To some degree."

"We'll need to venture around Equestria, informing ponies about CREATion and what they can do to defend themselves," Trip said, before mentally facehoofing, "I apologize. I just have a lot of things in my mind that I need to sort out. I'm usually not one of redundancy."

"I understand," Twilight said, "But I would recommend that you sort out what you want to do before you tell the others. If you want, I can help."

"That would be appreciated," Trip said.
........................

The plan went that the mane 6, the robots (including Fray, Glitch, and Trip), and Infra, Spark, Mild and Jasper would separate into two groups and go around a mapped route of Equestria to inform the citizens. The robots would hit large cities like Canterlot, Manehatten, and the like. The mane 6 would pair up with Infra and the non-robots to inform Ponyville, Appaloosa, and the more suburban areas. Of course, the nation was divided in half for each group to take on, and they would meet up back at the apartments.

'It's a good plan,' Pinkie thought, 'Now just one more thing I need to take care of...'

Author's Note

Pinkie is going to pull a prank and I can't think of anything. Hit me with ideas.

Bonus

"So, why do you want me to help you pull this off?" Trip asked.

"Because you're clever," Pinkie said, "We need to do it to them before they wake up." It was late at night. Everyone else was asleep.

Trip sighed.
'I cannot believe I'm doing this,' he thought.
......................

When Hazard woke up the next morning, he felt uncomfortable. Something was on his head. He placed his hoof on... a hat? Who put a hat on him while he was sleeping? He started to get out of bed, when he felt something itching his neck. He looked down.

'A bow tie too? What the heck?' He thought. He looked at his bedside table and saw a microphone.

He then went to the mirror and looked at himself.

'Oh, I get it now,' he thought, 'It's Freddy Hazbear. Axle, you are so getting it.'

Just then, Axle yelled to him.
"Okay, how did you do it?" He said, bursting into Hazard's room, only to stop and gape at him. Hazard was doing the same thing.

An eye patch covered Axle's left eye and there was a hook on his right hoof.

The two just stared in silence until Amplitude approached them.

"Very funny, you two," she said, "I guess we're all playing dress-up now."

"I did not sign up for this!" Mirage said, appearing, looking very annoyed. She had a bib with the words "Let's Eat!" scribbled on.

Then, Pinkie Pie walked up, with Tripwire right behind her.
"Hey guys," she said, "Liking your new outfits?" The four ponies just stared at her, before beginning to laugh. It grew louder and louder until Pinkie was laughing with them.

Tripwire couldn't help it. The scene was crazy. Before he knew it, he was laughing so hard that he was hurting.

'Mission accomplished,' Pinkie thought as everyone's laughter echoed through the halls of the lab.

Author's Note

This was actually inspired by a picture I drew. I'll be sure to show you guys once I can. I'm writing this on my phone and my brother is using my laptop, so.... Yeah.

Day 2

"This is really interesting," Tripwire said, after seeing the design.

"Why, whoever designed that really has an eye for style," Rarity said.

It was what appeared to be a "c" shape in a circle with two perpendicular lines crossing through it like a target.

"Am I the only one who thinks that looks like a logo?" Axle asked, receiving head shakes from everyone.

"Forget the logo," Twilight said, "Look at that number. What could it mean?"

At the bottom of the box was a number hastily scribbled: 395248.

"I'm going to look around the restaurant today," Trip said.

"We'll go with you," Twilight said, "Right?"

The rest of the mane 6 and Spike nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Trip said, "But keep a careful eye out. We've seen these strange ponies twice already, so be careful."

Later that day, the group walked out of the lab and into the restaurant, where they decided to split up.

Tripwire's first stop was the office. There, he scanned everything through his right eye.

'Interesting,' he thought. Nine of the cinder blocks were actually buttons, arranged like the number keys on a phone. Trip thought back to the number at the bottom of the box.

Twilight snuck backstage, where she saw two ponies with sunglasses on.

'Oh no,' she thought. However, from what she knew, neither of these ponies knew that she was involved with Tripwire and the others.

"Excuse me," she said, causing both ponies to jump.

"Oh... Princess..." One of them said.

"May I know what exactly is going on?" She asked, "What are you doing?"

"Well," the other replied, "What makes you ask?"

"I can answer that," a regal voice sounded behind them. The three ponies turned around to see Princess Luna approaching them. The two sunglassed ponies quickly bowed, but Luna didn't notice and turned to Twilight.

"One of my guards saw something and informed me of it." She then looked at the two ponies.
"You were trying to figure out the layout of something when a robot of some kind attacked."

"Indeed!" One of the ponies said, shocked, "A robotic alicorn!"

Twilight took a few steps back in shock, bumping into Tripwire.

The two sunglassed ponies glared at the half-metal pony.

"I apologize for intruding, but I couldn't help but overhear. Did you say, 'A robotic alicorn?'"

"Yes," one of the ponies said, "You don't know anything about it?"

"I was temporarily held hostage by CREATion years ago, but they scanned my brain and decoded the way to build an equine robot."

"You mean, you didn't try to attack us?" The pony asked.

"Who are you, anyway?" Trip asked.

"Here is not the best place to talk," the pony said.

"Then I say that we we go back to the lab," Twilight said, "Besides, it's nearly closing time."

Author's Note

From the pattern, expect days to be setup chapters and nights to be action chapters.

Night 5 part 5

Flames threatened to lick at Tesla's mane. She was gasping for air. Her vision was blurred by tears and smoke.

'This is it,' she thought, 'This is how I die.' She managed a sad laugh. 'I was one of the original targets for CREATion. They were bound to get me sooner or later. At least I played my part.' She heard footsteps. Spring Trap.
'Goodbye, Mirage,' Tesla thought.

Then, a cry broke through her daze.

"St-st-stop!!" A filly screamed. Tesla would've recognized the synthesized voice and stutter anywhere.

'Glitch?' She thought, "What's she doing here?' In a darkening vision, Tesla saw the robotic rabbit get hit by an electrical shock, along with it hissing in protest. Then a light filled the room and the others were there, too.

Despite the ringing in her ears, Tesla heard Tripwire's voice.

"Care to do the honors, Fray?" He asked.

"Gladly," Circuit Fray replied. Another light filled the room, combined with a loud boom and a shockwave.

"I think that did it," Axle said.

"You guys should have checked the stability of the building, first," Hazard said as pieces of the roof began to fall.

"We've g-got to get out-t-t of h-here before the place collapses!" Glitch yelled. Tripwire began to light his horn, but Mirage eyed her sister, and gasped.

She leaped out of the area in which she would be teleported and raced toward her sister. She just got to the doorway to the office when that section of the roof collapsed, separating the two sisters.

"Tesla!" Mirage yelled, "Can you hear me!?"

'Yes,' Tesla thought, but her vision was graying out. She was too weak to yell, and her throat was clogged with smoke.

Afraid of hurting her sister, Mirage began to levitate the burning wood to clear a path. Tesla could see the wood being moved. But she was fading fast. The last thing she saw before blacking out was her sister breaking through the wall.