I don't own the song in this chapter. It belongs to its respective creator
- Below the Abandoned Pizzeria -
It's been a whole year, now. One whole year ever since that night. The night that rotting bastard Springtrap and his vermin friends fought him and caused him so much pain. And now here he was, lying in pain and fury.
He, Neighsay, or "Blackjack" now, tried his best for the benefit of Equestria by weeding out worthless students who had no chance of improving and this was his reward? Springlocked in a metal costume and trapped in this rotten state of perpetual agony. Every time he moved in the cramped suit, his rotting wounds would spike with pain. The felt of his suit had somewhat rotted over the year he'd been trapped down there, making his appearance only become more and more terrifying. Despite being trapped underground for a year, he no longer felt the need to eat or sleep.
Just like Springtrap, he too was physically dead, but his soul remained in his body and animated it. This and his immense hatred had kept him going all this time. And all this time, he was looking all over for a way out of his underground prison. Ever since he died, he lost his ability to use magic. He wouldn't stop until he got his revenge on Springtrap, and his friends, too!
Tonight, Blackjack was hammering away at the rubble when something finally happened. A large chunk of the the rubble fell away and a stream of moonlight shot through. Blackjack would've smiled underneath his mask if his lips hadn't rotted away. He laughed to himself with his robotically distorted voice.
"Haha! Now's my chance!" he said.
Blackjack set to work clawing away at the rest of the rubble until the opening was big enough for him to climb through. He shot his arm up through the rubble and pulled himself the rest of the way out, basking in the light of the moon. He was now free from his underground prison! And now to get down to business.
"Now that I'm free, it's time to get down to business!" Blackjack said. "It's time for revenge! Hope you miss me, Springtrap, because I'm coming for you!"
- Manehattan, City Recreation Center -
The Glamrocks had brought in a large crowd. Ever since their first performance over a year ago, they've become extremely popular almost overnight. They've been getting contract deals left, right, and center. Springtrap was having a hard time keeping up with everything, but he managed. He was happy to be getting a gig at the Recreation Center.
Ever since his encounter with Starlight a year ago, his "life" has been changed for the better. He started seeing a therapist to talk about his problems. As it turns out, his therapist happened to be Starlight Glimmer. She really helped him get out of the bad place he was in, and he liked to think that she helped her out with her Glamrock friends. Now that he was able to put his past behind him, Springtrap now had an animatronic family to look after and had a blast being with them as a band.
The doors to the backstage areas opened and Springtrap saw the Glamrocks approach looking like they were all ready to rock. Freddy walked up and put an arm around Springtrap.
"You nervous, Springtrap?" Freddy asked. "This is your first time performing on stage with us, after all."
"Are you sure it's normal for a band manager to be singing with the band they're supposed to be managing?" Springtrap asked.
"Ha! Come on! We even wrote a song for you to sing and everything," Chica replied. "You have to sing at this point!"
"Well, as long as you all have fun out there, then I'm gonna try to best to rock this out," Springtrap said.
"Okay, we'll be heading out soon! Now, if I recall rehearsals correctly, I'm singing and the rest of you will be dancing," Springtrap said. "After that, it should be our usual routines, yeah?"
"Yep. And we'll be sure to give them an amazing performance!" Monty said.
The group waited until the announcer introduced them to the crowd and the curtain pulled back to introduce them. The ponies in the audience cheered wildly when they saw the Glamrocks and Springlock. Freddy walked up to the mic and spoke to the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming out here tonight!" he welcomed. "We have a very special song to start this concert with, performed by our very own manager, Springtrap!"
Springtrap walked up to the mic as the crowd cheered him on. He was happy to see that no one was bothered by his appearance anymore. He spoke quickly to get on with the concert.
"Hello, Manehattan! Thank you so much for coming to our show tonight and I hope you enjoy my performance!" he said.
The lights went off as Sprintrap began to sing while he and the Glamrocks began dancing.
Once he was done, the crowd was having a field day. They were cheering louder now that the song was over. Springtrap smiled under his mask and took a respectful bow. He was about to speak to the audience again when he noticed one pony in particular in the front row. It was a small Earth Pony colt with green fur and a brown mane and tail. The dark galsses and cane told him that this little colt was blind. And it looked like he was trying to get Springtrap's attention. He waited for the crowd to calm down before talking to the colt directly.
"Hey there, big guy! What's your name?" he asked.
"My name is Occipital Optics, Mister Springtrap," the colt replied. "I'm a huge fan of you and the Glamrocks!"
"Why thank you, kiddo! How old are you?"
"I'm turning seven today!"
"Wait, today's your birthday? Well, how about we all sing you happy birthday, then?"
Occipital smiled as Springtrap, the Glamrocks, and the whole crowd sang him "Happy Birthday". By the time they were done with the song, Occipital smiled with tears streaming down his face.
"This is the best birthday ever!" he cried. "I can't wait to tell my grandpa about this next month when I visit him in Ponyville!"
"Well, good thing you brought that up, because we're playing in Ponyville next month!" Springtrap said.
The boy was so excited that he actually fainted after hearing that. Springtrap chuckled and let his friends continue with their part of the concert. He smiled knowing that everything was looking up for him and his family.
- Canterlot Train Station -
Blackjack had waited until the cover of darkness to make his move. He had heard that Spirngtrap and the Glamrocks were heading to Ponyville for a concert, and there was no way he was going to pass up his chance for revenge. He waited until the train had loaded up with passengers to make sure no one saw him.
Once he saw his opening, he climbed up onto the roof of the last car of the train and held on as the train sped away from the station. He now had a straight shot right to Ponyville. And to Springtrap. He smiled darkly.
"Hope you're happy, Springtrap! I'm going to enjoy making you suffer!" Blackjack said. "Once I'm done with you, you won't even remember what happiness feels like!"
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.
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 have 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 at the stage 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.