Springtrapped 2: Blackjack Returns

-Ponyville (Nighttime)-

The train pulled into the station unceremoniously as Blackjack hung onto the roof out of sight of the passengers. He waited patiently until all of the passengers left before he crept off the train and made his way towards the Everfree Forest in the distance. The Castle of the Two Sisters would be the perfect place for him to hide out until he got his revenge on Springtrap and the Glamtronics. And maybe kill Starlight and her friends if he got the opportunity.

Blackjack hobbled his way through the undergrowth of the forest with great effort. The perpetual agony of his undead condition made movement extremely painful for him.

"Add that to the list of reasons to kill Springtrap," Blackjack muttered to himself. "I just need to get to the abandoned castle and plan my moves from there."

Now that he really had time to think, Blackjack began to think farther ahead. If he did kill Springtrap and the others, what would he do then? He obviously couldn't go back to his old life since all of Equestria now knows him as a child-murdering serial killer. But maybe he could do something else. He could continue his work from the shadows, weeding out the useless kids who would never be able to contribute to society full-time.

"Yes, that's it! My legacy will continue once Springtrap is gone!" Blackjack said.

A snapping twig in the distance alerted him to someone coming towards him. Blackjack quickly hobbled behind some of the bushes and waited to see if someone or something would pass by. After a while, someone did come by.

It was Zecora, the Elements' zebra friend. Blackjack forgot that she lived in the forest. If she spotted him there, his whole plan would go up in smoke. Good thing he remembered to bring his knife with him to begin his work. He had to take her out here and now if he was going to succeed. Blackjack waited until Zecora had passed him before making his move.

There was no hesitation from Blackjack and no screams from Zecora. All that could be heard was grunting, grinding metal, and the sound of a knife piercing flesh.

*****

-Ponyville (Daytime)-

The Glamtronics and Springtrap enjoyed the quiet and cozy atmosphere that Ponyville had. Twilight was gracious enough to let them stay at her castle while they were performing. Springtrap immediately made himself at home in Twilight's basement laboratory saying he wanted to work on something for "audience interaction". This left the Glamtronics wondering about what exactly their savior/manager was doing.

"You think he's making some kind of hologram projector to give audience members in the back the chance to see us up close?" Monty asked.

"Maybe he's making better speakers," Roxy said. "Some ponies have a hard time hearing our lyrics from way in the back after all."

"I just assume he's making some animatronic backup dancers or something," Freddy said.

Twilight and Starlight came down the stairs after finally waking up. Since Springtrap and the Glamtronics didn't need food or sleep, they stayed up all night just wondering what Springtrap was working on. Twilight and Starlight walked up to their friends standing in front of the basement door. Starlight joined her old friends in a group hug at seeing them again.

"He's still down there working on his little project?" Starlight asked.

"Boss says that he wanted to make something to help with 'audience interaction', whatever that may be," Roxy replied.

"Has be told you what exactly he was working on?" Twilight asked.

"Nope. He's been pretty tightlipped about the whole thing," Chica replied.

Starlight walked forward and was about to knock on the door when the door suddenly opened on its own and Springtrap emerged from the basement. He seemed genuinely surprised to be seeing Starlight standing there for a moment before snapping out of it and giving her a hug.

"Starlight! It's great to see you again!" Springtrap said. "You look good!"

"Ha! It's great to see you again too, Springtrap!" Starlight said back. "What have you been working on down there?"

"Let me show you!" Springtrap said, his silver eyes glowing in excitement. "I think you're going to like it."

Springtrap led his friends down to the basement lab and showed them something laying on a table under a tarp. Springtrap pulled the tarp off and revealed something really unique. It looked like another rabbit animatronic with a few differences.

Laying on the table was indeed a rabbit animatronic, but it was definitely one that seemed more like a large stuffed toy than a true animatronic. There were no body segments like Springtrap himself and the Glamtronics. It was mostly white with a few gray parts here and there. The rabbit girl's head had a happy buck-toothed grin and two large red eyes. The white rabbit's chest had a bright blue bowtie and messy whiskers. Springtrap looked at his creation with pride.

"You like her?" Springtrap asked. "I put a lot of love and care into making her."

"She looks awesome, Spring! But, who and what is she supposed to be?" Monty asked.

"I call her... 'Vanny'. It's supposed to be a combination of 'vanilla' and 'bunny'. I thought she would be a good way for the audience to interact with us on-stage," Springtrap replied.

"Springtrap, I don't mean to question your managerial tactics, but how is another animatronic going to encourage audience interaction?" Twilight asked.

"I'm glad you asked. Let me show how Vanny works," Springtrap said.

He walked over to Vanny and touched something on the back of her neck. He unzipped the back of her outer felt covering and revealed that underneath the outer suit was a robotic shell that was hollow inside.

"Vanny is designed to be a special suit for a pony to climb into and actually use as a suit to interact with us on stage," Springtrap said. "Don't worry, there are no springlocks in this one."

It would indeed be interesting for the audience to be able to put on a suit and walk around on their level whenever they performed. And Vanny might be particularly popular with the kids in the audience. Springtrap held out a hand to both of his pony friends.

"Would any of you like to try Vanny on?" Springtrap asked. "I need to have a pony get inside and test out her movements."

Twilight and Starlight looked at each other with uncertainty. They knew that Vanny wasn't a springlock suit, but their experience with seeing Neighsay being springlocked in the Blackjack suit left them somewhat terrified of the idea of getting into one of the suits. But Springtrap needed someone to test it, so Starlight steeled her nerve.

"I... I'll do it, Springtrap," Starlight said.

"Alright, Starry! Just climb into the suit and see how good Vanny handles," Springtrap said. "I'll help you get inside."

Starlight walked towards Springtrap as he got Vanny to stand up. Springtrap opened up Vanny further and then grabbed his unicorn friend under her forelegs and lifted her towards the open compartment inside. Starlight had to maneuver her legs in order to actually fit inside and position her forelegs to fit into Vanny's arms. Soon enough, she was seated on the special seat inside and Springtrap closed the head over Starlight's. The red eyes glowed to life as Starlight worked the Vanny suit.

"Starlight, can you hear me?" Freddy asked. "Can you see us?"

"Uh, yeah. I can see and hear everything," Starlight replied, though with her voice robotically synthesized because of the mask. "I'm gonna try to walk around."

"Vanny" took a few tentative steps forward and gradually grew to be more comfortable with moving around in the suit. Very good sign for Springtrap's creation. Starlight was now moving around comfortably in the Vanny suit.

"This Vanny suit handles super-well, Spring!" Starlight said. "I think the audience will love walking around on stage in this suit!"

"Excellent! It would be nice to see how the audience reacts to the opportunity to walk among us," Springtrap said.

Starlight got out of the Vanny suit with Springtrap's help and hoisted the empty suit over his shoulder. He then turned to the other Glamtronics.

"Alright, guys. Tonight's the night we'll be unveiling Vanny to the public during the concert. I'll get her set up backstage while you all go and practice. I'll join you afterwards," Springtrap said.

"Got it, buddy," Chica said.

"We're gonna rock out so hard, the audience will need hearing aids!" Monty said excitedly.

"No one's going to rock harder than me!" Roxy said proudly.

"We'll get everything ready for tonight, Springtrap," Freddy said.

Springtrap followed the Glamtronics out of the basement and Twilight and Starlight followed behind Springtrap. Twilight spoke to Springtrap with a hesitant voice.

"Uh... Springtrap? There's something I need to tell you that you may not like," Twilight said.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Um... the Princesses are coming here for the concert," Twilight said.

Springtrap nearly tripped and dropped Vanny at hearing that bit of news. Just from the mere mentioning of the Princesses, the painful memories of Springtrap's past flashed in his mind in excruciating detail. His failed attempts to reason with them, his springlock failure, the decades spent trapped in agony and not being able to escape, and his obsession with revenge on them. After the fight with Blackjack, he had finally confronted them and lost his desire to kill them. But that didn't mean he could forgive them for what they did to him. Springtrap sighed to calm himself.

"As long as they don't try to talk to me or even get close to me, we'll have an uneventful night," Springtrap said.

"Whew! That's good to hear," Twilight said. "I'll try to convince them to have their VIP seats placed in the back."

The group made their way to the concert venue unaware of the eyes watching them from the shadows. The eyes of a familiar enemy from the past. An enemy that was about to make his presence known once night fell.