Five Nights at Equestria Girls

In another part of the forest, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were walking around, trying to locate Golden Freddy. Applejack, whose feet were beginning to ache, slowed down and was now walking a few feet behind her friends. She did her best to keep up for the sake of them being able to catch Golden Freddy. Yet, unlike Rainbow Dash, she could only go so fast for so long. She was exhausted, and her legs felt like they were on fire. Golden Freddy was fast, though Foxy was still the fastest out of all the animatronics. Applejack stopped walking and leaned back against a nearby tree. Her eyes caught the sight of Pinkie Pie skipping towards her.

“Have you seen any sign of that blasted robot, Pinkie?” asked Applejack, taking a few deep breaths and enjoying the feeling of relief that washed over her tired calves.

“Nope, sorry, AJ,” replied Pinkie Pie.

As Applejack stayed against the tree, slowly catching her breath, she noticed a thick fog rolling in around them. It slowly covered the forest floor, making its way towards her as it enveloped the surrounding bushes and trees. Where had this mysterious fog come from? Why had it appeared now? Applejack wasn’t sure, but an uneasy feeling flooded throughout her body as she looked around. When she saw the fog drift upwards, she followed it and watched as it clouded over the moon. With the fog hiding the moon’s light, it dimmed more than usual. Though, the stars still occasionally shone through it but did nothing when it came to illuminating their path.

Pinkie Pie skipped away from Applejack, seemingly unaffected by the thick fog around her. It dispersed as she moved through it. It looked like smoke swirling around as a breeze blew through the trees and helped moved it around. Pinkie Pie continued to skip happily through it, not caring if it obscured her view of the ground beneath her feet. She walked until she was standing next to Rainbow Dash, who busy scanning the area around her.

“Where’d the fucking robot go?” asked Rainbow Dash as she turned to Pinkie Pie.

The girls had lost sight of Golden Freddy when it had disappeared in between the maze of trees. It had grown darker the further in they went into the forest, and now with the fog rolling in, the visibility decreased even more. And with it being nighttime, there was no sunlight to help with their search. Applejack pushed herself off the tree and walked past Rainbow Dash and PInkie Pie. She looked at what few trees were visible and motioned for Pinkie Pie to come over.

“Uh, Pinkie, I think we have a problem,” said Applejack, her eyes scanning each of the paths in front of her.

The cowgirl had come across a series of seven paths, each going in a different direction. They headed deeper into the thick forest around them, diverging from each other as they did so. The trails were also darker than the area they were currently standing in. What pale moonlight filtered in from the treetops did little to nothing to illuminate the forest floor below. That prompted Applejack to grab her cellphone from her back pocket. She turned on her flashlight and shined it down each of the seven paths, hoping to find some evidence of which one the animatronic took. Sadly, the visibility didn’t allow her to see if there was a trace of it. Applejack tried but couldn’t see more than 2-3 feet in front of her.

“Wowza! That’s a lot of paths,” said Pinkie Pie as she joined Applejack. “Which one should we explore first?”

Applejack looked at the paths, debating if going down any of them was the smartest thing to do. There were seven paths and only three of them. If Applejack and the girls were to go down one or more, they could easily get lost. Applejack knew that wasn’t going to do them any favors, especially if their other friends arrived and found them missing.

Applejack turned to Pinkie Pie as she stepped back from the clearing and said, “Pinkie, I think we should wait for our friends to meet us here.”

“Ok,” said Pinkie Pie as she skipped alongside Applejack.

Rainbow Dash, ignoring what Applejack said, looked down one of the paths and saw something that caught her attention. She stepped closer to it, turning on her flashlight as she stepped forward. Several footprints that belonged to an animatronic were running down the path. Rainbow Dash looked back at her friends. They wouldn’t notice if she went on her own, right? Sensing a gut feeling that Golden Freddy went that way, she decided to follow the footprints to who or wherever they went. She held out her phone’s flashlight out ahead of her, tiptoeing, so it was not to alert Applejack to her plan. The thickening fog made it hard to see further than 2 feet in front of her, but she kept walking regardless.

After walking down the path for a couple of minutes, Rainbow Dash turned around to see how far she’d walked, only to find out the fog had thickened and concealed the path from her. That left her hidden from her friends and on her own. She turned attention back to following the tracks and turned a corner on her left. Then she turned another one on her right and was met by another one-way intersection to her left once more. This zig-zag pattern continued as Rainbow Dash made her way further along the dirt path. Eventually, the sharp turns stopped appearing, and she reached a clearing with two lanes.

“Oh...crap…” Rainbow Dash facepalmed as she looked between the two paths. “Applejack is never going to let me live this down.”

Rainbow Dash hesitated for a second before she decided on the path to her right. Walking down the dirt path, she immediately felt her foot sink into an impression on the forest floor.

“Ow! What the fuck did I step into?” asked Rainbow Dash.

She looked down and shone her flashlight on the impression. It was a footprint that belonged to one of the animatronics. However, Rainbow Dash noticed that this one was different from the others. The print lacked the roundness on the toe area that the others had. It seemed more straight and rectangular, like whatever animatronic made it didn’t have the padded feet of a normal one.

“What th-? How many of these damned animatronics got into our world?” Rainbow Dash mumbled under her breath.

Quickly, she used her super-speed to follow wherever the tracks led until she reached a clearing. By this time, the fog had thickened immensely around the polychromatic athlete. She couldn’t see a foot in front of herself, let alone her hand in her face. Her flashlight did little to help her. And the moon’s glow had long since disappeared, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the darkness of night. She spun around in a desperate attempt to find the path she’d previously been on. Unfortunately, the fog covered all traces of it.

Swallowing hard, Rainbow Dash said to herself, “Oh crap… this is not good.”

*** *** *** ***

Meanwhile, back at the first clearing, Applejack turned towards Pinkie Pie.

“This fog is gettin’ pretty thick, eh?” asked Applejack, looking at where Rainbow Dash was standing a half-hour ago.

“Yeah. It’s almost like whipped cream,” said Pinkie Pie as she waved her hands through it. Using her pointer finger, Pinkie Pie made shapes in the swirling fog. “Ooh, fun.”

Applejack sighed. Pinkie Pie was a mystery and one that should be left unsolved. Wrapping an arm around her friend, she said, “You’re not gonna try and do something ridiculous with the fog, are you, Pinkie?”

“No, silly. I am just going to see if I can make some life-sized fog models of our friends,” replied Pinkie Pie as she kneaded a ball of the thick fog in her palms. “Want to help?”

“No thanks, Pinkie Pie. I’m good,” said Applejack, eyeing the growing ball of fog in Pinkie Pie’s hands.

Pinkie Pie didn’t respond, too focused on sculpting fog sculptures of her friends. Applejack removed her hand from around Pinkie Pie’s shoulder and continued to look around the clearing. Hard as she tried, she couldn’t find Rainbow Dash anywhere. It was like the fog had swallowed her completely. Though, she had an idea as to where her friend had disappeared to. As she stepped further away from Pinkie Pie, Applejack made sure to keep her in her sight. She took one last look around and confirmed her theory.

“Pinkie Pie, I think Dash went off on her own,” said Applejack.

“Oh, maybe she wanted to find Golden Freddy,” Pinkie Pinkie suggested as she added the finishing touches to her sculpture of herself.

“Typical Dash. Never thinkin’ before she does somethin’,” mumbled Applejack, pulling out her phone. “Better text the rest of the girls and let them know about the fog and Rainbow Dash runnin’ off.”

“Okie dokie, I am going to continue on this fog sculpture of Rainbow Dash. It’s missing something…” said Pinkie Pie as she circled the life-like fog Rainbow Dash.

AJ: Sunset, when you and the girls get here, watch out for the fog. Also, Dash ran off on her own, and we’ve lost her.

SunShim: She ran off without thinking, didn’t she?

AJ: Yeah, typical Dash-like behavior.

SunShim: Did you at least find Golden Freddy?

AJ: Sunset, we haven’t found Golden Freddy yet. We got to a clearing that breaks off into seven paths, and we decided to wait for you girls to get here. That’s when Dash disappeared.

SunShim: Okay, we’ll find Golden Freddy first. Then, we’ll find Rainbow Dash and make sure that she is okay. I will text her later and see if she responds. The rest of the girls and I will meet up with you.

AJ: Okay.

SunShim: See you soon!

Sunset Shimmer put her phone away as she finished texting Applejack. With her phone put away, she looked at Twilight. Their eyes met, and she could see the hurt that she’d caused. It darkened the mulberry in Twilight’s eyes, hiding that shine that Sunset adored. Sunset froze, unable to look away as her stomach began to knot up.

“You caused that pain she’s feeling now. You revealed that you were indeed hiding something from her. Yet, you stupidly didn’t admit what that was. How’d you think that was going to go, huh, dumbass?” hissed Sunset’s conscience.

“Shut up, I already know that I fucked up as soon as the words left my mouth,” Sunset said through gritted teeth as she looked away from Twilight.

“I am not going to shut up until you tell her about the she-demon thing. It’s wrong that you want to hide that from her. She thinks she is alone, that no one else has been through a similar transformation. Do you want her to think that? To feel like no one can understand her?” asked Sunset’s inner voice.

“No, I don’t. But if I tell Twilight the truth, that I almost killed our friends, she’ll hate me…” said Sunset, now arguing with her conscience.

“Yes, she’ll hate you for that.”

“Oh gee, thanks for the fucking support there. You are a real motivator,” Sunset said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“What? You think she doesn’t have a right to hate you for lying to her face?” Her inner voice sounded louder and more aggressive, making Sunset Shimmer flinch as a result.

“No… I-” Sunset Shimmer didn’t know what to say. Twilight did have every right to hate her.

“Yes, she’ll hate you for keeping it from her, but if you’re honest with her, I am sure she’ll be willing to look past that. All you have to do is be willing to give her a chance. You have to trust her.” Sunset heard her conscience emphasize the word ‘trust.’

“And if it turns out, she no longer trusts me because of it… then I guess I dug myself into that one, didn’t I?” Sunset whispered to herself.

Sunset Shimmer looked at her friends, noticing that Twilight had moved further away from her. She was glad that none of them paid attention to the conversation she’d previously been carrying with herself. That was one less thing she had to worry about, which was a relief to her. Sighing heavily, Sunset decided to stop arguing with her conscience, knowing that it had a point. A point that she knew was accurate, and that annoyed her. Sunset pushed that aside and forced herself to focus on finding Golden Freddy and Rainbow Dash.

Sunset Shimmer wanted to walk next to Twilight, but when she saw Fluttershy walking next to her, she dropped it. She figured that it was better to leave them alone rather than bothering them. After all, Twilight Sparkle had made it evident to Sunset that she needed to keep her distance. It hurt, like hell, but Sunset knew that she deserved it. Yet, she was thankful that Twilight was still willing to support her and speak to her. Silently, with her hands shoved into her pockets, she walked over to Rarity.

Rarity spotted the small glances Sunset Shimmer stole at Twilight Sparkle when she thought no one was looking. She overheard their earlier conversation. Even Fluttershy had heard it. Rarity wasn’t sure she could fault Twilight for saying what she did. She knew that she had the right to say it. Sunset wasn't entirely honest. That was evident during the incident at lunch. One thing she did know was that Sunset was hurting because of it. Tentatively, she rested her hand on the redhead’s shoulder.

”Darling, are you okay? Is it… Twilight?” asked Rarity as she and Sunset continued walking ahead of the group.

Sunset Shimmer pulled her hands from her jacket pockets and wrapped them around herself. She knew Rarity meant well, but right now, she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“Yes, but I’m fine, Rarity,” said Sunset, avoiding saying Twilight’s name.

“So, it is Twilight. Are you still upset about what she said?” asked Rarity.

“Yeah, I am still upset, Rarity. Twilight's words cut like a thousand knives under my skin. Can we please stop talking about it now?” muttered Sunset Shimmer, trying to keep her temper under control.

“Sunset, I know you are hurting inside. Please, talk to me.” Rarity stepped closer to Sunset Shimmer. “Twilight is hurting too. You’re not the only one that is getting hurt in this.”

“I know that, Rarity. Why do you think I am upset? It’s not because I missed the latest fashion and will have to buy it in retail. I hate the fact that every time I try to tell her about you know… I fail, and that’s causing her pain,” said Sunset, her anger slowly building with every word.

Sunset cared for Rarity. She was one of her closest friends. But she was close to losing control of her temper if the fashionista didn’t lay off on the questioning and prodding. She was beating herself up for it as it was. It wasn’t making it any easier for her that Rarity was trying and failing at helping her. As the wind blew past her, Sunset pulled her jacket even tighter around herself. It was then she started to become aware that her body was beginning to heat up, just like it did right before she punched Trixie.

“Well, maybe you should tell her that you’re scared. Sunset, you should stop lying to her,” Rarity said, seemingly unaware of the redhead’s growing anger. “The girls and I warned you that you would end up hurting her if you chose to lie.”

Sunset Shimmer let her hands fall to her sides. Her anger was making it impossible not to fidget. Her hands balled into fists as she tried to control her breathing. She could feel her temper building with every inhale she took. It was like her body was readying itself to attack the fashionista. Sunset’s anger was beginning to show visibly as her hands started to shake from the effort it took to keep it bottled up. Deciding to remain silent, Sunset hid her face away from Rarity.

“You know that Twilight deserves to know what happened to you. I am sure she’ll understand how you feel about it. She felt the same way about her transformation, but she had you to help her,” said Rarity. “Let her help you see that you’re not the monster you think you are.”

That was it. Sunset reached her breaking point and turned angrily towards Rarity.

“I know that, alright, Rarity?! I hate that I am scared to admit that I went through a demonic transformation like her!” shouted Sunset, her eyes narrowing to slits as her sclera went from white to black.

Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her breathing was picking up pace as she fought to keep herself from doing something physical to Rarity. Her cheeks were also warm, an indication that she was close to losing complete control. Sunset Shimmer forced herself to take a deep breath and step back from her friends. The anger that had slowly been building up inside of her began to die down, allowing her to see her friends’ reactions. Twilight and Fluttershy both were staring at her, their mouths covered and fear in their eyes.

“Darling…?” Rarity asked, her voice giving away her uneasiness about Sunset Shimmer and her temper.

“I am so sorry, Rarity. I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you,” apologized Sunset, her voice breaking as her anger dissipated into tears.

The girls and Gabriel had all stopped walking, mostly because they were all stunned by Sunset Shimmer’s sudden outburst. None more so than Twilight Sparkle. Sure, she’d seen Sunset’s temper first hand at the Friendship Games as well as when Trixie had tried to bully her again earlier that day. Yet, it was still quite shocking to see her go from hurt to angry in a split-second change. Though, that wasn’t what Twilight was concerned about. The fact that she just heard Sunset admit she did go through a demonic transformation shocked her more. A tugging sensation on her wing distracted her and made her look at Fluttershy.

“Everything okay, Shy?” asked Twilight.

“No. Can we please leave soon? This forest… is creeping me out,” whispered Fluttershy as an owl hooted in the night air.

Rarity looked at Fluttershy. She could see that she was trembling as she clung to Twilight’s wing. Wanting to ease her fears, Rarity turned her attention back to Sunset Shimmer, giving her a forgiving smile. She understood why she lashed out at her. But that didn’t mean she had any right to take it out on her friends, even if she was troubled by her choices. And right now, they had a more pressing matter to return, which meant that the long-awaited reveal about her past had to wait until afterward. Rarity squeezed Sunset Shimmer’s arm, prompting the redhead to meet her gaze.

“Look, Sunset, I understand that you’re frustrated and angry. But, it wasn’t me or Twilight, or any of the girls that put you in the position you’re in,” said Rarity.

“I know. You girls warned me about my choice to conceal that,” said Sunset. “But, foolishly, I...I didn’t listen, and now I am here.”

“Wait, what?” asked Twilight, her eyes going from Fluttershy to Sunset. “You lied to me about going through the same thing that I did? And knew that before we became close friends?”

Sunset cringed away as Twilight Sparkle spoke. She didn’t want to answer Twilight’s question. Yet, she knew that she had to, even if it meant she’d paid the price for her actions. She glanced down at her hands in an attempt to avoid having to answer her question. But that only served to make her feel worse.

On top of that, her eyes felt sore like they were dry and itchy. Sunset Shimmer pulled out her phone as discreetly as she could and went to her camera. Looking at herself in the camera, she watched as her sclera went from black to its natural white color. Worry washed over her as she stared at her eyes. She had seen her eyes shift for the second time that day, and that made her wonder what was going on.

“Sunset, answer me,” demanded Twilight Sparkle as she took a few steps closer to Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset Shimmer shut off her phone and met Twilight’s gaze. “Y-yes, I did.”

“And what about the demonic transformation? Is that true?” asked Twilight, curious to know if Sunset would be honest.

“Maybe…” replied Sunset, not ready to give Twilight a definitive answer.

Unfortunately for Twilight Sparkle, a bush rustled and made Fluttershy jump. Before Twilight knew what was happening, she found herself moving towards Applejack’s farm. Sunset, Gabriel, and Rarity followed behind, trying to keep up. Twilight felt the grip on her wrist lighten, and she looked down to see that Fluttershy had let go. They were only standing a few feet from the dirt road leading to Applejack’s house.

“Goodness Fluttershy, you run fast. Almost as fast as Rainbow Dash with her geode,” said Rarity as she, Sunset, and Gabriel joined up with Twilight and Fluttershy.

“S-sorry girls. I was just too spooked to stay near that forest any longer.” Fluttershy looked at Twilight. “I hope I didn’t stop you from saying anything too important.”

“You didn’t, Fluttershy,” said Twilight, glancing at Sunset briefly.

“I do hate to stop this chat we’re having, but we must hurry because Applejack and Pinkie Pie are going to need our help,” Rarity said, reminding the group of what they needed to do.

“Right,” said Sunset. “Our friends need our help. Hell, Rainbow Dash needs to find her before something happens to her.”

“Okay. Sunset, can we talk about this later? When our friends are safe?” asked Twilight.

“Twilight, I-” began Sunset.

“Sunset, we need to talk. I have a feeling that you said maybe because you didn’t want to admit that you’ve had a similar transformation. Please, I can’t take you keeping things from me anymore. I feel as if I am not…” Twilight Sparkle couldn’t finish her thought. It hurt too much to say it aloud.

Sunset Shimmer could see the pain in Twilight Sparkle’s mulberry eyes, and the fact that her bottom lip was quivering told her that she had made the wrong choice. Her actions. Her choices had caused more pain to the one person who just wanted to know about her past. Someone who said they wouldn’t judge her because of her past. However, hearing Twilight say that wasn’t enough to ease Sunset’s worries about her being scared off. That didn’t change the fact that she loved her. Every time she felt the book worm’s hand brush against her own, whenever they sat so close that their bodies were almost touching, or their eyes would meet, allowing to see the kindness in her eyes, her heart would race. It was an adrenaline rush, and she enjoyed every second of it.

Holding out her hand towards Twilight, in hopes that she would take it, Sunset Shimmer said, “Okay, Sparky. I will tell you the truth after we get Golden Freddy and get our friends home.”

Twilight Sparkle looked down at Sunset’s hand before meeting her gaze again. “I am holding you to that, Sunset.”

“That’s fine,” said Sunset, her hand still outstretched. “You ready to go find our friends?”

Cautiously, as if Sunset Shimmer might attack her, Twilight Sparkle reached out and grabbed the redhead’s hand. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They ran up the dirt path leading to Applejack’s house, leaving the creepy forest behind them. The dim moonlight shone down on the girls, casting long shadows on the ground behind them. The barn where Gabriel’s friends were was just up ahead. When they got closer to it, the thudding footsteps that followed them, stopped. That caused all the girls to turn around and see what was wrong.

Gabriel has stopped because in front of him were his friends. Although they had become trapped inside of animatronics, he still could recognize them. The familiar plastic eyes of the restaurant’s mascots had the sparks of his friends’ personalities. Not even the dirty, worn-out plastic could fool him. These were his friends. And by now, he had grown accustomed to who inhabited which animatronic. Spending five-plus years trapped in the same place and the same bodies gave him that advantage. Gabriel looked at his friends, his eyes stopping when he looked at Susie.

“Su-Susie?” asked Gabriel. His voice sounded staticky as he spoke.

Susie blinked. In front of her stood a Freddy animatronic. Yet, the eyes showed it was her friend, Gabriel, inside there. It had been years since she and Gabriel last spoke. The last time they had spoken was right before he murdered the night guard. Her eyes took in every detail, wanting to make sure that it was him and not some hallucination. Susie was glad she didn’t see any blood on him. Having Jeremy kill two kids was bad enough. Whether it was by accident or not, it didn’t matter. Another series of murders would be enough to attract police to the situation. After a few minutes of remaining silent, Susie finally spoke.

“Gabriel? Is that… you?” Susie took a step forward.

Fritz and Jeremy just stared at Gabriel, shocked and surprised to see him. They hadn’t talked to him since the incident that night, partly because they all chose to force their consciousness down. However, it was also due to him shutting them out. It had been hard to adjust to what happened, especially on Gabriel. Though, it didn’t diminish their joy at seeing their friend again.

“Yes, Susie, it’s me. It’s Gabriel,” replied Gabriel.

“Wow, it’s been so long since I last heard your voice.” Susie turned to Sunset and the girls, a grateful gleam in her eyes. “Thank you for finding him.”

“You’re welcome,” said Sunset. When she glanced in the direction of where Golden Freddy ran, she continued. “Uh, I hate to cut the reunion short, but my friends need our help finding Golden Freddy before anyone else gets lost or hurt.”

That made Gabriel look from Susie to Sunset. “Wait, Golden Freddy is here?”

“Yes, and my friends are waiting for us to help them capture Golden Freddy,” replied Sunset, a sense of urgency in her voice.

“Okay then, let’s go,” said Gabriel, hearing the urgency.

Together, with the kids joining, Sunset and the girls ran in the direction that Golden Freddy went.

*** *** *** ***

Applejack watched in amazement as Pinkie Pie sculpted a perfect fog replica of her. She was amazed at the detail she had managed to get; even her freckles were a part of it. She walked up to it and inspected the fog sculpture. How Pinkie Pie managed to do this was beyond her. And if there was one thing the cowgirl knew, it was never to question her pink-haired friend. As Applejack took her attention off the sculpture of herself, she saw that the fog had disappeared from the clearing. She examined the sculptures once more only to find them dissipating with the rest of it.

“Pinkie, why is all the fog disappearing?” asked Applejack, a mix of confusion and surprise in her voice.

“I don’t know. Maybe it has to do with this,” said Pinkie Pie as she held up a fan.

“Um, Pinkie Pie? Where did that fan come from?” asked Applejack.

“I just found it behind this tree here,” replied Pinkie Pie.

Applejack shook her head, not wanting to continue questioning Pinkie Pie and her weird antics. Despite the weirdness of the situation, the cowgirl was thankful that the fog was gone. It was easier to see ahead of her, and the moonlight now illuminated the clearing. The paths, on the other hand, were a different story. The thick canopy of tree leaves and branches left them shrouded in pitch dark blackness.

“Sure hope Sunset and the rest of the girls get here soon. Rainbow Dash could be injured,” said Applejack.

A few seconds later, a familiar voice rang out in the forest. “Here we are, finally.”

“Rarity?” Applejack asked, looking in the direction of the mysterious voice.

“Yes, it’s us, Applejack,” said Rarity as she and the girls came into view with kids behind them. “And the kids as well.”

Applejack sighed and smiled at the fashionista. “I am sure glad you’re here.” She glanced at Pinkie Pie. “I don’t feel like losin’ any more friends tonight.”

“That’s understandable, dear. We’re all concerned for Rainbow Dash,” said Rarity as she placed her hand on Applejack’s bicep.

Feeling Rarity’s gentle touch on her arm, Applejack felt herself smile. The fashionista knew the cowgirl’s weaknesses, and that drove her wild every time that she tapped into one of them. Clearing her throat, Applejack did her best to ignore the growing butterflies in her stomach. She glanced over at Gabriel and Susie, who was whispering something to him. There was a creep factor to him, and it unnerved her. Deciding to not focusing on Gabriel anymore, she turned her attention to Sunset Shimmer. Applejack witnessed Twilight pulling her hand away from the redhead’s grip and walking away from her. That was enough to make her realize that something had happened when they went to find Gabriel.

“Wonder what happened between those two…” thought Applejack. “Maybe Sunset finally came clean. Or… she deflected… again.”

Applejack, driven by her curiosity, walked over to where Rarity was standing.

“So, erm, what happened between Twilight and Sunset?” asked Applejack, noticing the small glances and darting looks the two were giving each other.

“Oh, Sunset and I had a bit of a… disagreement,” explained Rarity. “It wasn’t good. They’re both hurting pretty badly.”

“Oh…” was all Applejack managed to get out before Sunset Shimmer walked over to them.

“Rarity just told you about the argument, didn’t she?” said Sunset, her eyes never leaving the ground.

The fight between her and Rarity was still fresh in her mind. She hadn’t meant to yell at her. After all, all the fashionista was trying to do was help her, and she snapped at her for it. But the one thing Sunset Shimmer regretted more than that was in the heat of the moment, she revealed her secret. She had wanted to tell Twilight Sparkle more gently, not just blurting it out in the middle of a heated argument.

To make matters worse, when Twilight asked, she couldn’t give her a definitive answer. The look of brokenness and hurt Twilight had given her only made her guilt dig deeper into her consciousness. While Sunset Shimmer stood there, waiting for the cowgirl to respond, a tear threatened to fall onto her cheek.

“Yeah, she told me,” said Applejack. “My guess is it was about your constant lying to her about your past. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right about that. It was about the fact I couldn’t be honest,” replied Sunset. “Can we please not talk about this right now?”

“Yeah,” said Applejack, turning to the seven paths. “What should we do first? Find Rainbow Dash or go after Golden Freddy?”

Sunset Shimmer walked past Applejack and the rest of the girls. She looked at the seven paths splayed out in front of her. On a hunch, she took out her phone and shone the flashlight down the first path in front of her. Walking a few feet down the forest path and she saw that her hunch was proven right. There, on the dirt path, were footprints made by animatronic that looked precisely like Gabriel’s. Sunset turned back and approached Applejack.

“I have found the path that Golden Freddy took,” said Sunset, pointing to the footprints by shining her flashlight on them. “We’ll go after Golden Freddy first. I’m going to text Rainbow Dash and tell her not to move.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan to me,” replied Applejack.

Sunset Shimmer walked away soon after and pulled out her phone. She stood in the corner of the clearing furthest away from Twilight Sparkle. After what happened earlier, she wanted to give her the space she needed. Opening her contacts, she quickly found Rainbow Dash’s number.

SunShim: Dash, don’t move from where you are. We’ll find you after we’ve located Golden Freddy.

Dash: Why aren’t you coming to find me first?

SunShim: Because Dash, you aren’t going to murder anyone if we don’t get to you. So, don’t move!

Dash: Okay, I won’t move.

SunShim: I mean it, Dash! Don’t move.

Dash: Okay, okay. I won’t move. I swear.

SunShim: Better not.

Once she finished sending the text, Sunset Shimmer put her phone away. She joined her friends in walking along the path and following the footprints. As she made her way down the dirt path, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Sunset looked up to see it was Fluttershy who had approached her. That prompted her to look at Twilight. She saw that the book worm was now walking alone, her wings pulled close to her body.

“Is everything okay with Twilight? Or is she still upset because of what I said?” asked Sunset Shimmer.

“She’s just trying to deal with the fact that you’ve gone through the same type of transformation,” said Fluttershy, trying in vain to cheer the redhead up.

“Oh, so I guess she figured it out, huh?” Sunset glanced at Twilight, wishing she had said yes instead of maybe.

‘Well, you did blurt it out in front of her, Sunset. It’s not likely that she thought that you hadn’t gone through one after that,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset Shimmer looked directly at Fluttershy as she asked, “Do you think she’ll hate me for it? For hiding it from her?”

“I don’t know. Twilight might or she might not, but that’s for Twilight to decide.” Fluttershy knew that wasn’t what Sunset wanted to hear, but it was all she could offer.

Sunset Shimmer shifted her gaze from the animal lover to Pinkie Pie, watching her skip happily along the path. Her hair bounced up and down to the beat of her skipping. That cheered Sunset up a little, but not much. She had to admit it was nice to see a friend that wasn’t hurt by something she did. Yet, deep down, that only made her feel worse. Twilight was suffering because of her, but none of the other girls were.

“I should’ve said yes, not maybe. How much of a coward can I fucking be…” thought Sunset Shimmer.

As they walked farther along the path, it widened and allowed the girls to walk side by side. And because of that, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle ended up getting paired up. As they both continued to walk, Sunset felt a wing brush against her shoulder. Looking, she saw that Twilight had moved closer to her. The feeling of feathers brushing against her skin made the redhead’s heart race. It took every bit of strength she had not to give in to her desires. So, instead of holding out her hand, she shoved it into her jacket pocket.

Looking at her from the corner of her eye, Sunset began to say, “Sparky, I am sorry that-”

“Don’t, Sunset. Don’t apologize for lying to me. I don’t want to hear it, not now.” Twilight’s voice was soft as if she was afraid to speak to Sunset.

Sunset Shimmer noticed that. “Okay, Twilight. I have to ask you one more thing before we find Golden Freddy.”

“What is it, Sunset?” asked Twilight Sparkle, not wanting to continue talking with Sunset.

“Are you mad at me for keeping that from you?” asked Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight Sparkle looked at the redhead, her eyes showing no emotion. “I… I don’t know, Sunset. I am still trying to figure out how I am supposed to feel about what you said.”

“Okay…” said Sunset. “I understand, Twilight.”

Sunset Shimmer pulled her hand out of her pocket, and for a second, thought about touching Twilight’s wing. But, she managed to keep herself from doing that despite wanting to do so. Letting her hand fall back to her side, she continued to walk alongside Twilight. For now, Sunset was content just being near Twilight. She didn’t know when she might lose the closeness she had, but a sinking feeling told her it was soon.

Just then, a bush rustled in front of the girls, stopping them in their tracks. All eyes turned to the hedge that had made the noise. A few seconds of bated breath later, and it rustled again. This time, a golden bear head popped up out of the bushes. It made all the girls, except Pinkie Pie, flinch away from it.

“Found you!” Pinkie Pie sing-songed as she pointed to Golden Freddy.

That made the gold-colored animatronic jump up from the bush. It stared at the group, finally noticing the kids standing behind the girls. For a moment, a flash of recognition sparked in its eyes as it looked at the kids. However, just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. As it stood in front of the girls, it started to phase in and out before any of the girls could figure out what was going on, the animatronic phased out of the bushes and appeared behind them.

“Quickly, after that golden bear!” shouted Applejack.

Pinkie Pie grabbed a few cupcakes from her hair and tossed them at the animatronic. Some of them hit the animatronic, but others flew through it as it continued to phase out. The trees behind it had become coated in frosting and cupcake batter. It became see-through, much like a ghost would be.

What the fuck?!” shouted Sunset Shimmer.

“Why is it phasing like that?” asked Twilight, trying to figure it out.

“It used to phase out like in the game. It was supposed to be just a hallucination in the game,” replied Sunset. “But when the magic transported it here, it must’ve retained that ability.”

“Okay, that is great and all. But how the hell are we going to catch them if they can phase out like that?” said Applejack, turning to Sunset and Twilight.

“I don’t know!” shouted Sunset Shimmer, growing frustrated by her lack of answers.

Sunset Shimmer saw that Golden Freddy was making its way towards some large rocks. That gave her an idea, but she needed Twilight’s help to do it. Sunset made her way over to where Twilight Sparkle was now standing. Sunset faltered when she saw her step back from her. It was evident that she had messed up, and asking for her help was going to be tricky. Yet, she decided to go through with it because she knew that catching the animatronic was important.

“Twilight, can you blast those rocks?” asked Sunset as she pointed to them.

“Sunset, what if I end up hurting our friends?!” Twilight Sparkle turned around and looked at Sunset. “I can’t hurt them.”

“You won’t hurt them, Sparky. Just aim for the rocks,” said Sunset, taking Twilight’s hand in her own.

“Sunset’s holding my hand… Why? Why do I give into her gentle touch?”

“I should be stronger than my feelings. Sunset couldn’t even admit that she’d been through a similar transformation. I mean, I had figured it out after the incident with Trixie. So, why can’t she say it? Why can’t she trust that i won’t see her any differently?”

“Ugh, focus Twilight. Sunset needs your help to capture Golden Freddy, not you wondering why she is lying to you.”

Sunset Shimmer was shocked by Twilight Sparkle’s inner thoughts. It bothered her to see her friend so torn up because of her. She knew it was because she had been indecisive about telling her the truth and that only worsened her guilt. The lies, the secrets, and all the dodging, it had to stop now. Sunset was well aware of that fact. The question is, could she push herself to do that? To let Twilight Sparkle in and see what she had done in her past? Could she trust that Twilight’s friendship would be strong enough to make her see past the mistakes she’d made? Of that, Sunset Shimmer didn’t know. What she did know was that Twilight was worth the risk.

Gathering whatever strength she could, Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath. Her friends were counting on her to help them. So, without hesitating, Twilight squeezed Sunset’s hand. Although the redhead had lied to her numerous times, and some shocking revelations had come to light that night, she couldn’t help but feel grateful for her support.

“Okay, I am ready to try,” said Twilight.

Shakily, Twilight Sparkle raised her hand upward. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her powers. Gradually, blue light emanated from her hand. Opening her eyes, Twilight let go of the building magic. It shot from her hand to the rocks, successfully knocking them to the ground. As the rocks tumbled down, the animatronic got caught and trapped beneath their weight. Seconds later, a smaller shower of stones fell, hitting the animatronic’s head and causing it to turn solid again.

*** *** *** ***

The sound of the rocks getting blasted was loud enough for Rainbow Dash to hear it. It caused her to look up, trying to find the source of it. Unfortunately, from where she was, she couldn’t see it.

“What the-? What the hell was that?” asked Rainbow Dash as she pushed herself off of the tree she was leaning on.

Rainbow Dash pulled out her phone and turned it on. For a split second, she thought about texting the girls to find out what had happened. But when she looked at the battery and saw it at 50%, she decided not to go through it. So, she turned off her phone and sighed.

“Great, just great. I am lost, and my friends are probably not going to find me at all,” said Rainbow Dash as she approached a giant boulder.

As she slid down the surface of the smooth boulder, Rainbow Dash hoped that her friends would find her soon. She didn’t like being out in the forest by herself. Besides, she couldn’t seem to shake off this odd feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

*** *** *** ***

“Woah, that is some serious firepower,” said Applejack, looking at Twilight Sparkle in shock.

“Well, she did obtain that power from becoming Midnight Sparkle again,” said Sunset. “It does come in handy when rogue animatronics make a run for it.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I just hope Twilight can’t make any portals,” Applejack said, unaware that twilight had cringed at that.

“No, AJ, she can’t make any portals.” Sunset Shimmer looked at Twilight, mouthing the word, “Sorry.”

That prompted Applejack to look at the bookworm and say, “I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay, you just wanted to make sure I was safe to be around,” Twilight Sparkle said, her voice sounding monotone, almost rehearsed. “You might want to tie up Golden Freddy before they make a break for it. Again.”

Applejack thought about hugging Twilight Sparkle, but she walked away, pulling her wings close to her body. Reluctantly, she made her way over to the downed animatronic, grabbing her new lasso. It had come in the day before, which she was excited about. Supposedly, it was able to restrain something like an animatronic. Applejack hoped that was true as she started to tie it around Golden Freddy. It struggled for a bit, trying to phase out of the binding rope. But it was still too weak to escape the binds. Its body slumped forward as it gave up fighting against the tightened lasso.

Gabriel and the kids approached the animatronic. Its worn golden plastic had become covered in blacks marks. There also appeared to be some blackish goo coating its plastic as well. The smell that emanated off it was comparable to gasoline. And it was intense, making all the girls cough from the scent of it. Upon closer inspection, it seemed there were scuff marks on the exposed metal beams.

“Woah, that thing looks creepy as heck,” whispered Fritz as he eyed the animatronic.

“And we look any better than them?” said Susie, Gabriel, Jeremy in unison, motioning to their own robotic bodies.

“Alright, point taken,” said Fritz, holding up both of his hands.

“Besides, chances are that it is one of our former classmates. Remember the dead girl that we saw inside of it?” asked Susie, recalling the decomposing body that had gotten tangled up inside of the suit.

“Yeah… The girl did seem familiar. Yet, we never managed to figure out her identity, did we?” Gabriel looked at the motionless animatronic, trying to rack his brain for answers to their identity.

“Nope. We did talk about it for months but came up with nothing. And by then, the flyers you had mentioned were long gone,” added Fritz.

“Probably the Purple Guy’s doing,” Jeremy mumbled.

“Most likely.” Susie wasn’t happy to be talking about the Purple Guy, not when he had murdered her and her friends. “So, Sunset, you’ll just ‘see’ their memories and bring them back to consciousness?”

“Like you did with us?” interjected Gabriel.

“Yep, exactly,” said Sunset Shimmer. “It worked for you, so theoretically, it should work for them too. Assuming that they don’t phase out as I am doing that.”

“We’ll do everything we can to keep that from happening,” said Susie.

“Thanks,” said Sunset as she turned to Fluttershy and Rarity. “Mind helping me if I need it?”

“Um, I can try,” replied Fluttershy in her usual quiet and meek voice.

“Of course, dear,” said Rarity, placing a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “We’ll do what we can.”

“Gl-glad to see you girls are still there for me.” Sunset shimmer stuttered, which was unusual for her, and something that didn’t go unnoticed by the girls.

“Sunset, relax. Twilight is still there for you as well. She hasn’t gone anywhere,” said Rarity, her voice soothing yet stern. “But, after we help whomever this is, tell her the truth. Stop the needless lying.”

Sunset Shimmer cringed at the reminder of her lying.

“You know she’s right. You have to stop the needless lying. This choice of yours is your worst mistake ever, even more than the Fall Formal incident with Demon Shimmer.” Sunset’s inner conscience remarked, wanting to remind her of her past.

“Yeah, I got that. Thanks for the lovely reminder, though,” hissed Sunset Shimmer, not in the mood for her mind’s games.

“I will, Rarity. But, let’s focus on getting whoever this is back to reality before someone else gets hurt,” Sunset said, pushing past her worries and her inner voice.

Applejack triple checked the ropes, making sure that they were secured. “Huh, guess those rocks really did do a number on you.” Applejack looked at Sunset Shimmer. “Alright, it’s safe to come near them.”

“Thanks, AJ.” Sunset glanced at Twilight Sparkle for a moment. She saw her smile for a second before it vanished, drowned out by the hurt she had caused.

Sunset Shimmer looked away, her body starting to shake, both from being cold and holding back tears. She had thoroughly fucked up things with Twilight, but right now was not the time to be breaking down or trying to fix the mess she had made. That would have to wait until no more animatronics were running around Canterlot City. Though, there was a strong desire pushing her to be honest right then and there. Sunset sat on her knees, readying herself for the disturbing images she was soon going to see.

“Sweet Celestia, I hope that her memories are better than the others. Though, I would deserve the punishment for what I did to Twilight…” thought Sunset, struggling to control her shaky hands.

“Okay, I am going to see what your memories are. Hopefully, then, you can tell us who you are,” said Sunset.

Just as Sunset Shimmer went to place her hand on Golden Freddy’s shoulder, she felt a small, warm hand touch her shoulder. It was close to her scars, making her almost flinch as a result. Thankfully, she had managed to curb the reaction before anyone saw it. Looking up, she was shocked to find that it was Twilight Sparkle.

“Twi-Twilight? Why are you here?” asked Sunset, unable to keep herself from stuttering in Twilight’s presence.

“I said I would be there to support you.” Twilight Sparkle kneeled next to Sunset Shimmer. “And right now. You look like you could use a friend,” said Twilight, wrapping one wing gingerly around the redhead’s body, ignoring the occasional ‘awws’ from the group behind them.

“Thank you, Sparky,” whispered Sunset, taking Twilight’s wing and carefully wrapping it tighter around herself. “I am pleased to have you here.”

It was heartening to have the book worm next to her, supporting despite the pain she had caused. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to overpower the guilt that she felt for lying to her. Eventually, Sunset Shimmer’s shaking started to ease underneath the warmth of Twilight’s wing. Smiling, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. In her mind, she knew that this was one of those moments to remember in case things with Twilight fell apart.

“I will always catch you, Sunset,” said Twilight Sparkle.

Sunset Shimmer’s hand hovered the plastic covering Golden Freddy. Her vision grew blurry with unreleased tears. As she struggled to contain them, memories of all the times she had lied to Twilight Sparkle came flooding back. Having her wing on her, Sunset wanted that to last forever. Guilt made it harder for her not to cry as the reality of losing the one person she cared for began to dawn on her. Finally, after a few more seconds passed, several tears fell from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Sunset silently sobbed as the pain of her actions hit her at full force. Now she realized just how much it hurt to have Twilight close by, only to wonder if she would walk away after she learned of her past. And knowing that it possibly wouldn’t last long, only made her feel like a large part of her was beginning to slip away. A few sobs later, Sunset Shimmer managed to stop the flow of tears and focus on Golden Freddy.

“Okay, it’s time to buck up, Shimmer. It’s just some horrible, graphic images of a kid’s untimely death, not a big deal. Yeah, it’s fine…” muttered Sunset, trying to muster enough strength to push herself to continue with the task.

“Don’t worry, Sunset, I am right here for you,” said Twilight Sparkle, holding Sunset’s other hand.