"Ow. What the hell was that?" Michael goes to rub his eyes, but stops when he sees hooves instead of hands. "CASSIDY! YOU BETTER NOT BE FUCKING WITH ME!" He receives no answer from his baby brother. He awkwardly gets up on all fours. He begins examining his surroundings. Everywhere he looked there were colorful ponies going about their day. "My fur isn't purple, or peeling off, maybe I..." Michael takes a quick sniff of his foreleg. "YES! I don't smell like a corpse!"
Michael didn't notice the figure that loomed over him. The figure tackles him and begins throwing punches. Michael uses his hind legs to kick his attacker off. Finally catching his breath, Michael and his attacker locked eyes with each other.
"Where the fuck are we Mike!" His voice wasn't raspy as it usually was, in fact, it sounded like the voice Michael cherished as a child.
"It's good to see you too father." The one across from him was William Afton who was still trapped in the Springbonnie suit. "Hey quick question, why do you look more like a bunny rather than an animatronic?" This causes William to look at his new form. Instead of seeing animatronic parts sticking to his flesh, he was instead looking at his dirty fur, which was rotting away. He noted that more of his bones were showing.
"Well this is different." He looks back at Michael, who was now on his hooves. William just sat on the ground. He was just now noticing the fact that his son was a pony and that there were many others around. "You know what, how about we put our father vs. son thing aside and figure out where we are."
"Here I thought you weren't reasonable." William scoffs as he gets up. He looks back at his frame again. Then to Michael.
"Don't you think these ponies would be petrified if they saw me?" Michael looks his father up and down.
"We need to get you something to wear."
"You don't have pockets, so no cash." Michael sighs.
"Then looks like we'll have to steal some clothing."
"I don't think they'd have--"
"Oh for the love of--we'll find some bandages instead!" William shakes his head and begins walking off. "Where do you think your going?"
"I don't know maybe there's a town nearby." Michael gallops over, or at least he tries to, he trips and falls taking dirt in his mouth. He spits out the mouthful and gets back up to see William snickering. "Are you not used to your new form Mikey?"
"Shut up."
As William guessed it, the ponies were looking at him with those fear filled eyes. He's seen those eyes before. On the children he murdered. He closes his eyes, trying to block out the thoughts.
"You alright father?" William opens his eyes again.
"I normally never go back to that day, but the way these ponies are staring at me..."
"I get it. You don't have to talk about it."
"I regret everything I did that day." William said more to himself, but Michael heard him. Michael stops to talk to a pony that hadn't noticed them. William decides it best to make himself scarce for a bit.
"Excuse me miss, I was wondering if you could lend a ha--I mean hoof, to me and my father?" The mare turns to face Michael. She looks at him and then around him.
"Where's your father?" The mare pretty much whispered the question.
"What'd you say?"
"Where's your father?" She says louder. Michael looks behind him to notice his father's absence. He turns back to the mare, a sheepish smile formed on his face.
"I'm sorry miss, I gotta go find my dear old dad. Please don't go anywhere." Michael begins searching for William. He finds him watching a family not to far away. "Father!" William jumps, his fur even rises. He turns to Michael who was looking at him with curiosity.
"Don't sneak up on me okay. So, have you found a pony who's willing to help out?"
"I sure hope so. Come on." Michael leads William back to the mare who had just finished her shopping. "Sorry to—"
"Oh my goodness! W-wha-what is that?"
"I'm a giant bunny who needs to patch himself up. Care to help or are you going to just stand there and cower in fear?" The mare gulps as William's eyes glow a bright green. She looks back at Michael.
"He's harmless. Ain't that right dad?"
"Yeah, totally." The mare stares at William again. She takes in a few deep breaths to compose herself.
"Okay...I'll help. Follow me please." William cringes at her last words.
The mare had led them to a cottage that was far from the town. The cottage was also littered with animals. The mare led them inside and instructed William to take a seat on the couch. She then went to another part of the house and within minutes came back with some medical supplies.
"So are you a part time doctor or something?" William asks while chuckling. He looks inside the basket of supplies.
"I have to take care of my animals in case they get hurt."
"Where are my manners. My name is Michael Afton. That's my father, William. And thank you for doing this."
"I'm Fluttershy. It's no big deal honestly." Fluttershy says this while looking at William nervously. She forces a smile to hide her nerves, but William seemed to see through her.
"Ya gonna patch me up or no?"
"Right, sorry sorry." Fluttershy went to work in stitching William's fur back together. During this process, William just stared at her. Fluttershy had once looked up to meet his gaze. His emerald eyes were headlights to her. She couldn't deny the fact that she loved the color of his eyes and how they seemed to glow.
Fluttershy finished stitching him back up. She did the best she could with making him look "normal."
"Thank you Fluttershy. We'll be heading out now." William stood up and began heading for the door.
"Uh...where would we go father? We don't exactly have a place to stay." William groans.
"And what are you suggesting?" He knew where this was heading, and he didn't like it.
"You could stay here till we find a place for you." Fluttershy chimes in. William's frustration dies inside him. He unclenches his hand upon hearing her voice.
"She reminds me so much of her." William thinks to himself. He sighs and steps away from the front door. "Fine we'll stay. But don't expect me to be your best buddy. I just needed a favor is all." William storms off to find something to entertain himself.
"Ignore him. He's not all the way there." Michael says trying to calm Fluttershy down. Sure William didn't really yell, but it was the way his emerald eyes grew darker. It was as if another part of him was talking.
"D-di-did you see how his eyes ch-changed?"
"No. That's certainly a new thing though." Michael begins thinking about everything that had transpired today. "Father was acting different when we got here. At first he started to try and kill me, which is normal for me, but then he was being reasonable and stopped the fight. Back then, he would jump at the chance to kill me. And the way he stared at that family. He looked so....sad. Now he's gone back to being a douchebag. Whatever's going on, this world is sure having an affect on how he acts."
William ended up in the kitchen. He took a seat next to the fridge. He sighs and stares at the animal decorations. "What the hell's gotten into me?! I'm a murderer for petes sake yet here I am making small talk with a pony. I'd rather go back to Hell."
William's eyes scan the rest of the kitchen to keep himself occupied. Then he starts thinking about the family he saw earlier. They were happy. His family used to be happy. William notes the sun was now replaced with the moon.
"Time sure flies in this world. Still can't believe I'm in another world full of talking ponies. God this is worse than what Cassidy came up with." William got up and headed back to the living room. There he found Fluttershy and Michael asleep on the couch. He decides to take Fluttershy to her bedroom.
William pulls the sheets over Fluttershy after setting her down gently. Then he goes back downstairs. He sits on the couch next to Michael and pulls him closer. William messes with his son's mane, remembering the times he did that when Michael was only a kid.
"Why the hell am I doing this? I hate him. He sent me to that hellish nightmare Cassidy made up." William scoffs. He holds onto Michael tighter. He rests his head against the back of the couch. "This is only a one time thing Mikey. Don't think I'm gonna do this EVER again. Goodnight boy and...umm...pleasent dreams." William closes his eyes, drifting off. Michael smiles. He pulls himself closer to his father, feeling his warm fur brush up against his face.
Fluttershy awakens in her bed. She rubs her eyes and looks around the room. "How did I get in here? One minute, I'm talking to Michael on the couch, the next I'm asleep." Fluttershy gets out of bed and makes her way downstairs. There she finds Michael also waking up from his slumber.
"I don't mean to be a bother but, did you by any chance take me to my bed?" She says, her face was getting a tad bit red.
"No. I fell asleep seconds after you did." Michael begins looking around the living room. "Where's my father?" As if on cue, they hear whistling from the kitchen. Both Michael and Fluttershy make their way to the kitchen, only to find William stuffing himself with a pie. Two pies were on the dining table, drinks were also prepared. "Hey look at that," Michael points a hoof at William's back, "his stitches are gone."
"And he's wearing a purple vest with stars on it." Fluttershy adds. William goes from whistling to humming. Michael recognizes the jingle his father was humming. It was the same song a certain animatronic bear used to sing.
"Freddy played that tune whenever the power went out." Michael says to himself. "Father!" Michael's raised voice alerted William. He turns around to see both Michael and Fluttershy looking back at him. Fluttershy noted that his eyes were beaming brighter than yesterday. And to top it all off, he was more happier.
"Umm William?"
"Yes Fluttershy?" William's voice was back to being kind and gentle. Michael continues to glare at William, not wanting to buy into whatever his father was pulling.
"Were you the one that took me to my bedroom?"
"Of course I did. Had to repay the favor right. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Also, your very light, and clingy." Fluttershy's face heats up. She pictured the image of herself clinging onto William as he tried to set her in her bed.
"It's kinda weird to take someone upstairs to their bedroom when you've barely known them." Michael says, glaring at William.
"Pshh, please. It's weird that Charlotte wanted you to spend an eternity with her. There's a real big age gap between the both of you—"
"That age gap exits only because of what you did!" Silence stands between Michael and William. The two stare at each other without saying anything. That's when Michael notices William's eyes turn back to that greyish color that they were in he met him in Fazbear's Fright. William's face also conveyed sadness. Even more so, he was slumped over.
"H-h-how about we just eat the pie and not yell at each other?" Fluttershy butts in hoping to keep the two from getting even more aggressive.
"Yeah I can do that. Can you do that father?" Michael still carries the hatred in his eyes. William looks away from his son and back at the pie on his plate. His eyes revert back to green.
"Y-ye-yeah...I can do that." William goes back to munching on his apple pie. Fluttershy and Michael did the same. "Where'd you get these pies Fluttershy?"
"My friend Applejack. She works on an apple farm. She made the pies yesterday. She sent me and my other friends some of them."
"Applejack huh. I'd like to meet this Applejack, as well as your other friends of course."
"We're all supposed to meet up at Twilight's for a sleepover. I can bring you guys over, only if you promise to act like father and son and not...enemies."
"I promise." William says. His eyes beamed brighter as he smiles at Fluttershy. Michael notices. He frowns, but quickly pulls a smile once their gazes landed on him.
"If dad's making that promise than I will to." Fluttershy smiles. She goes back to talking to William, allowing Michael to drop his smile.
"I don't know what's the deal with Dad, but I'd better keep an eye on him. Whatever game he's playing at, he won't trick me."
William looks at Twilight's collection of books as everyone else prepared for the sleepover. Fluttershy's friends had to adjust to the tall bunny in the room as they weren't expecting that when Fluttershy said she was bringing friends along. Michael had helped himself to grabbing some cupcakes and a loaf of bread. He opted to sit by Pinkie Pie, only because he could see his father better.
"So when did you and your dad arrive to Ponyville?" Pinkie asks.
"We showed up just yesterday." Michael answers before taking a bite out of the pastry in his hoof.
"Are you two enjoying your time here?" Rarity asks. Michael nods. Rarity smiles. She watches Spike go to get some more of his gem cake, and William followed after him. Rarity felt uneasy having William around. She could tell her other friends felt that way too. Michael on the other hoof just kept an eye on him.
"Y'all seem tense? Anything on ya mind partner?" Applejack sits next to Michael, taking a drink of her apple cider.
"Yeah. My father." Applejack takes a glance at William. She notes that he was just standing near the foods presented in front of him. "I think he's planning something." Michael continues to watch his father's movements. That's when he remembers about the knife laying next to Spike's gem cake.
Michael quickly gets up on all fours and gallops towards William. Everyone watches in surprise as Michael tackles William through a table. Pastries and bread and a bowl filled with apple cider goes flying. William elbows Michael, then he grabs his throat and chunks him to Twilight's shelf.
Rainbow Dash quickly catches Michael, they stop centimeters away from the bookshelf. William gets to his feet and draws the knife from the cake. He turns around only to be bucked by Applejack. William drops to a knee. Before he could attack again, Twilight throws up a containment bubble around him.
Applejack takes notice that William's eye color had turned to a dark shade of purple. Rainbow Dash helps Michael on his hooves.
"He gave you a real nasty hit dude. You okay?" Dash asks.
"I've taken worse from him and many others."
"Oh so your one of those tough guys." Michael pushes away from Rainbow, having heard enough of whatever she was doing. He steps up to his father.
"I wish I could do that. Thanks Twilight."
"No problem. Now what is his problem?"
Michael glares at William, who returns the favor with a middle finger. "I knew you were planning something father. You know, a part of me wanted to believe that maybe this place had an affect on who you are. Stupid to think of that. Your still the same old murderer."
"And you think your hooves are clean boy? Why don't you tell your new friends what you did to your brother!" The others caught onto the conversation. Each of them shared confused looks. "You girls wanna hear a story?" Normally Pinkie would've agreed to hear one, but William was giving off an uneasy vibe. She decided to be with her friends on this one, shaking her head along with the others. "Doesn't matter. Me and Mikey here aren't from your world. In our world, we did some bad things. I'm not talking about little things, I'm talking about murder."
"Shut up father."
"I killed five kids in total, my best friend's daughter, and then four other kids. Mikey here killed his own brother. Put his head into the mouth of Fredbear and then WHAM!" William's grin grows as he sees the fear in the mares' eyes. His smile only grows wider as Spike clung to Twilight's leg. He takes a look at Michael to see him in tears. "Oh are you crying? You don't deserve to cry boy! You haven't been through what I've been through! You think your life was miserable? You make me laugh!"
Applejack watches as William's eye color fluctuates from purple and green. She took note of what he had said. "There's more to this William Afton fella than he's letting on. And what's up with the constant eye color changes? Fluttershy said he was nice and well behaved in the morning. As soon as he came here he started acting off." Applejack clears her throat, catching William's attention. "So did something happen to ya to make y'all act like this?"
She got him with that. His eyes revert back to green. He looks around seemingly confused. He notices the fear in Fluttershy's eyes, Spike hiding from him, and Michael was crying. He looks at his hands to see he was holding a knife. He drops it, looking at it in horror. William begins glitching out as if he were a video game that was malfunctioning. Soon he was no longer in the bubble, but at the front door.
"I-I-I'm so sorry for everything. I-I-I didn't m-me-mean to." William quickly exits Twilight's home, Applejack taking off after him.
"Applejack!" Rarity cries out, but her friend was long gone. "What is she doing?" Michael's sniffles catches their attention. Pinkie trots over to Michael and takes a seat next to him.
"I didn't mean to hurt him *sniff* it was j-j-just an accident. I-I di-didn't mean to hurt C-Cassidy." Pinkie pulls Michael into a hug, trying to soothe him. The others go up and give Michael comfort.
"It's gonna be okay dude. Just tell us what happened alright. We won't think of you any differently than before." Rainbow Dash says rubbing his back.
Applejack catches up to William. William sits next to a tree, resting his head against it trying to fight the urge to cry. "Mind if I join ya partner?" William looks up to see Applejack making her way to him. She takes a seat next to him, William turning his head away to not meet her gaze."What's goin on with you? Your eyes keep on changing colors every time you act different. You act nice and treat others nice your eyes are a bright green. You went into that crazy talk and your eyes went purple."
"I don't know what's happening to me. Ever since me and Michael landed here on your world, I've been acting different. I didn't think much of it...until I helped Fluttershy into bed, slept next to Michael, woke up early to set up breakfast, and I even materialized this purple bow tie and vest. I never acted like this before. I take that back. I acted only this way when my wife was still alive."
"Something happened to you. I know cause of the way y'all were talkin about it. Ya seemed hurt. Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No, not really. My childhood sucked."
"Did you have friends when you were younger? You mentioned something about a best friend."
"Yeah. Henry. We became friends in sixth grade, my dad had already died by then. You wanna know something funny? My dad hurt me when I was a kid, hurt me badly. He was a heavy drinker. And when he died...it felt like I lost a part of myself. My mom always told me that my dad was a good person back then. So to remember my dad I kept his guitar, as that was the only good thing about him that I could remember." William begins to look around the area they were in. He notices a barn, a house not to far away, and a horde of apple trees. "This your farm?"
"Yeah. Me and my family work here. It's fun, doing stuff with my family."
"I wish I could remember what that was like."
"Did y'all....enjoy what you did?"
"People see me differently. The kids I murdered saw me as a purple guy for some reason. Henry saw me as someone unstable. Michael sees me as someone who abandoned him."
"What do you see yourself as?" Applejack's question hangs around William. What did he see himself as? He always thought he was in the right when he was facing off against Henry and Charlotte and Michael.
"I'm split in two. As of right now I mean. Ever since coming to Equestria I've been acting like how I did when my wife was around. But the broken part of me, is still here and trying to come out again."
"Is it alright if I ask what happened to your wife?"
"She died. I don't know how, my boss kept that hidden from me. Ever since she died I've been trying to find a way to bring people back from the dead. That's where I started to slip into madness."
"Well it's not a good reason, but now I can understand you more. And maybe Michael can to if ya told him. I can tell you still care about him. You had the knife with you and considering since y'all glitched out of Twilight's bubble, you could've done that when you were bad. But ya didn't. I'm positive it's because that you can't bring yourself to killing your own child." William remembers the time he had so many chances to kill Michael. Fazbear's Fright. He could've killed him the first day he showed up there, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
And when he sent him to the bunker after Cassidy's death to free his sister. He knew Michael would die. But he knew Elizabeth wouldn't let her big brother just die. She brought him back. And he never dared to kill Henry. It was difficult for him to kill Charlotte.
"Hey Applejack, thanks for following me out. I needed this. To get it out. I feel a bit better."
"I'm glad to hear that partner. We should head on back." William nods. He gets up to his feet, helping Applejack up on all fours.
Michael stuffs a cupcake in his mouth. Spike took a seat next to him with his gem cake. "I think it was brave of you to risk your life trying to undo what your dad did, even if they thought you were him each and every time. At least you were able to free them all." Spike says taking a bite from his cake. Michael mumbles something while taking a piece of Spike's cake, making sure to give him the gems that were sticking out.
The door opens and in steps Applejack and William. Everyone inside looks at William, not with hatred, but more with sorrow.
"Michael told us what happened. He told us how you went down a dark path, and how it was up to him to try and stop you. What surprised us was that he blames himself for your descent into the darkness." Twilight says. William looks at Michael, who kept his eyes locked on the ground.
"I'd like to talk to Michael, privately."
"Now hold on--"
"It's okay Rarity. Me and William talked. He's all good." Applejack says with a reassuring smile. Michael gets up off the floor and follows William outside.
"You might wanna brace yourself." Michael was confused about his statement. He wished he had taken his advice. With a snap of his fingers the two were taken out of Equestria and into an office two times bigger than the office at the grand re-opening. Michael also took note that he was back in his spiritual form. His halo had returned also. The two were standing behind Fredbear, who was looking into some holographic images.
"Cassidy?" Michael got the attention of Fredbear immediately. Fredbear turns around, only to lay his eyes on William.
"How the heck did you get out again?!"
"This time I have no idea. Me and Michael were taken to a--"
"I could care less. Your back, and that means you gotta go back to being punished." Fredbear lifts up his arm, pointing his index finger at William.
"Hold on Cassidy! You don't need to do that. The world we were in changed dad for the better." Michael says. Fredbear looks at both his brother and father as if they were on something. "I'm being serious here Cassidy! Haven't you had enough of torturing your own father!?" Fredbear looks at William, his finger still pointed at him.
"Cassidy. I'm sorry for what happened to you. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to stop Michael, I'm sorry that I ignored you and Michael once your sister died. I'm sorry for everything I've put you boys through. I know that doesn't change anything, but maybe we can restart. All of us. Me, you, Michael, Elizabeth, and mom. Don't you want to be a family again?"
"You weren't there for me when I needed you dad. You let Michael hurt me. Then you hurt other kids, you went and hurt our friends, and I'm supposed to just forgive you? I don't want to hear your apologies dad." Fredbear's finger glows. William's body starts forming back to his human form, and thus he was back into his purple uniform. William's supernatural powers had been stripped from him and before anyone could protest against Cassidy, William was gone.
"W-w-where's father?" Fredbear goes back to looking at the layout of the building they were in. The game had begun again and the animatronics were making their way towards William. "CASSIDY!" Michael forces Fredbear to face him. He's taken aback by Michael's sudden action. "Bring dad back right now! He's changed dammit! I've seen it, the ponies I've met have seen it, you've seen it just now! Bring him back so we as a family can restart. We are given another chance here. We can't throw it all away."
"Okay first off you said ponies."
"Yeah so what?! It's another world Cassidy!"
"Yeah your a lot crazier than dad." Michael glares at his brother who didn't seem to care. "Look if you were given another chance than you should take it. Dad doesn't deserve that chance."
"And what about the rest of the family. Don't you think they deserve this chance? Don't you think you deserve this chance?"
"Where did you come from?"
"We came from Equestria. Why does that matter right now?"
"That's a weird name. Anyways, tootles!" Fredbear's finger glows and Michael disappears. Fredbear goes back to watching the game in front of him. "That's odd. He's not even trying to survive. Usually he's more stubborn and keeps on trying." Fredbear watches as William dies. His father is given life and the game continues. Still nothing. He wasn't yelling the usual curse words he chose, nor did he seem to care that he died. Fredbear thinks back to the conversation he just had. William's behavior was certainly different and Michael seemed genuine. "Maybe dad really did change."
Michael reappears in front of the Mane Six, back in his Earth Pony body. Pinkie Pie helps him back up as Fluttershy walks into his view.
"Where's William?"
"He's....Cassidy took him back to hell." The room is quite. No pony speaks. "I really wish Cassidy would've seen that he changed. Why did we even have to go over to Cassidy? Maybe dad was just trying to bring--" Michael's words are lost in his throat as the Mane Six, plus Spike, give Michael a group hug. Michael doesn't say anything. He just let's it happen. And for the first time after everything he's been through, Michael wanted to be with his father.
To my son Michael,
As of right now Cassidy has allowed me to write a letter to you. I just wanted to make things clear, I'm okay. I'm right where I should be. You might think otherwise. It was fun hanging out with you and not trying to kill you (even though I tried to kill Spike). I hope things are going well for you. I hope you've settled down, found a girl mare, and maybe even started your own company...or maybe your a farmer...who knows. Whatever your doing in your new life it better be making you happy. And I know you would want me to be there with you, but--and I've given this a lot of thought...I believe this was all for you. So you could have a chance at life. Sadly your siblings won't be joining you. But take this chance to start anew. I'm glad I was thrown into that world. It changed me for the better. I wish you the best of luck on your journey in that world. And remember that I'll always love you.
Your father
William
Michael kept the letter in a picture frame and kept it at his desk. Everyday he would see it, everyday he would read it, everyday he'd wish his father could see him now.
"Mikey!" Michael turns to see Pinkie at his door. Her smile lit up the room as she bounced in excitement. "They can't wait for it to open Mikey! So many have showed up to see this! Come on!" Pinkie bounces out the door. Michael chuckles to himself.
"I'll be right there honey!" Michael looked back at the letter. "If only you could see me father. If only you could see what I've accomplished in my life here. I wish you could've stayed here with me."
Michael gets out of his chair and trots out the door, head held high with a smile on his face. And for the first time, it was a genuine smile.
The newly established Fazbear's pizza was open to the public. The place was buzzing with life. Michael sits at a table with his friends. They laugh as they talk about their adventures. Michael and Pinkie sat close together sharing the same slice of cake.
"Those animatronics are amazing Michael. You certainly have a talent for this." Twilight says as she watches the robot animals sing and dance.
"Yer father would be proud Mike." Applejack says. Michael smiles.
"So after this do you guys wanna have a mega sleepover at Twilight's to celebrate the success of my stallion's pizzeria?!" The others laugh at this.
"It's good to know some things haven't changed." Rarity says.
They continue talking as the place continues to grow packed. Unaware to anypony, six figures were watching through the glass window.
William, Claire, Elizabeth, and Cassidy Afton along with Henry and Charolette Emily watch with smiles on their faces.
"I see he's still kept some things the same." Henry says.
"Yeah. He has." William responds. Then an idea struck him. He looks at Henry with a smirk. "You still got it in you old timer?"
"If we're both thinking the same thing then yes."
The six souls enter six animatronics. William was in Next Gen Springbonnie, Henry in Next Gen Fredbear, Claire in a remodeled Ballora, Cassidy in Next Gen Freddy, Elizabeth in a remodeled Baby, and Charlotte was in the Next Gen Marionette.
Michael immediately took notice of the six animatronics acting different. They were acting more...human. He smiles as he watches on.
William plays the guitar that his animatronic was equipped with while Henry was singing with a microphone. The two friends look at each other happily as they did the thing they did the first time around, entertain.
