//------------------------------// // Do You Remember? // Story: The Friends That Follow // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Tonight, everything changed. The grandfather clock continued its terrible chime for who knows how long. I wasn’t keeping track. How could I? My chest was still hurting, heart still pounding, mind rekindling the nightmare I had recently awoken to. The golden bunny. The fanged grin. The pony eyes. All ending in a terrible scream. Too bad. After catching my breath, I swallowed slightly and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I looked around my bedroom for any sort of disturbances. My bedroom remained pitch black, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dark, but it hardly even helped. I could hardly discern even the slightest of noises. Howling wind. The barking of the neighbor’s dog. Then silence. Why did it feel so…wrong? Why did everything feel so wrong? “Mommy?” I called out, then went silent as I waited for a response. After several seconds of nothing, I called once more. “Mommy!” Silent still. A quick shiver raced across my coat, up and down my spine, just to make my teeth chatter. On any other night, once I called for Mommy, she would respond—usually in a sleep-deprived tone—and ask what was wrong. Then she would trot down the dark halls, come into my room, and stay with me until I fell back asleep. The only times she didn’t call back were when… No. I woke up. I woke up! It can’t be a dream, it just couldn’t! I pinched myself, and felt nothing but the cold numbness. My heart pounded against my chest in lament, eyes flicking back to the black. On a second glance around my bedroom, I noticed some severe changes. The toys I played with all day long, their happy faces, the colorful robot, they turned to me, stared me down, and refused to look away. The howling wind was absent, in its place a soundless void that promised unknown terrors. Not even the dog was barking any longer. The pain in my chest, constant from my frightened heart, seemed to have spread to my head. It was as if I had gotten sick, and my dreams were affected as well. It wouldn’t have been the first time. I could still remember when I was younger whenever I stayed home from school after I got sick. I lay in bed all day, waiting for the sun to fall and the moon to rise, bringing the night. My dreams were so odd, never the same when I was sick. Whatever this was…it was very much the same when I was ill. But much worse. So much worse. I glanced back to my toys, their eyes blank and without life, and managed a quivering exhale then quickly turned away. The pain in my forehead was worse than before the moment I turned to them. I didn’t want to look at them anymore, to acknowledge their presence. It was sad. They were my friends, and they didn’t deserve such treatment. They were my friends. …Right? At least Freddy was my friend. Always there for me. I tightened my grip around the plush bear, his soft fur and comforting hug allowed my mind to drift away from the monsters and onto what mattered: closing my eyes…and letting the dream end. I had just let my head fall back into the pillow, my hooves clutched around Freddy as I held him tight. I closed my eyes…and let the dream end. “Hm, hm, hm, hm…” My eyes shot open again, my breath left me in a second as I quickly sat up in bed, Freddy still safe within my forelegs. I searched the darkness of the room once more, I checked for any disturbances, but found none. I listened carefully, but heard nothing. Squinting, the dresser and the closet appeared, but only in shadows, in darkness. I could hardly see a thing. It was so strange. I could’ve sworn I heard— “Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hmmm…” Then a gasp. I heard it. I actually heard the gasp, like something breathing right next to my ear. I turned right just to be safe, and saw nothing but the dark. As for the laughter, I couldn’t even explain it. It was so loud, so heavy, so…mean. It wasn’t anything I had ever heard before. Unlike the monsters from before, this new laughter held some sort of evil intention I had yet to find, something I really didn’t want to find. But I couldn’t let it get me. Not now. I set Freddy down behind me and kicked the blankets off, then turned towards my night stand. The flashlight. Still in one piece. Hopefully still working. Without a second thought, I snatched the flashlight off the stand and flipped it on. Thankfully, the dim, ghostly light filled my room. I pointed it straight, left and right, and straight again. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump! I flinched harder than I should have, then spun to the door right of me. It was barely open, some dark presence hid in the shadows beyond the wooden frame. But this presence didn’t sound anything like the others. It was bigger, carrying twice as much pain and suffering with every heavy footfall that hit the wooden floorboards in my home. I was reluctant at first; wondering whether or not I should investigate. If I left my bed, those Freddy monsters would take it. If I didn’t leave, they would come for me anyway. Each choice sounded horrible, but I would rather deal with the Freddy monsters again then wait for them to get me. Flashlight in hoof, I hopped off my bed, and slowly approached the right door. The silence was horrible, deafening, a high-pitched cry only noticeable when there was no other sound. It made it so much worse as I finally approached the towering, white door. I gulped. Slower than before, a quiver in every vein in my body. I raised my hoof and pressed it against the ice-cold wood. It was so cold to the touch it nearly made my hoof freeze, which was definitely new. I pushed the door open, and cringed at every creak the wood made, then gazed into the dark hall. I could only imagine Chica staring at me from the end of the hall, because I didn’t hear a thing. Not a sound. Not a breath. Nothing. So I flicked on the flashlight. And stared right into the face of evil. It was a quick flick, a second of reaction, but it was all I needed to capture an image that would never leave my mind. The golden skin was charred and broken, almost like it was burnt. Black wiring from the endoskeleton underneath the skin stuck out from the eyes. Its teeth were sharpened to the point of needles, filling both jaws in rows of skin-tearing horror. Red stained the pearly whites, and an unknown liquid dripped from its fangs onto the floor. Razor sharp claws stood poised to rip any unsuspecting pony to shreds. But the worst it had was its eyes. Blazing red and black, endless, a void that could suck anypony away and never return. I slammed the door right in its face, then pressed my back against the door for added weight. My eyes bulged out, and nearly fell out of my skull. If my heart hurt before, now it was crying to me, begging for the terror to end. The pain in my forehead was almost unbearable, sweat streaming down in unorganized panic. I knew who came to haunt me this time. I knew that golden skin anywhere. That purple bowtie. That big, black nose. It was Fredbear. Pure, unfathomable evil. “No…” I whimpered, slowly sinking down to the carpet. “No, no, no, no… Please…not him. Please…” It was near the point of sobbing did I stop and compose myself. This was no ordinary monster like before. I could tell myself over and over that I wasn’t afraid of Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, or even the golden bunny from before, but there wasn’t any way I could convince myself that Fredbear—the thing behind my door—was something I could stand against and declare my bravery. To tell it that I’m safe from it just because I was brave. I just… I just couldn’t. I’m sorry, Daddy. I just wish I could tell you— “You...will never be safe...in the shadows.” I slowly lifted up my head, quickly backpedaling away from the closed door. Did… Did he just…? The faintest sound of scratching came from just beyond the closed door. Like some predator was sharpening its claws for a hunt. “Not from me.” I shook my head, denying what I heard in my ears, like something right behind me, whispering to me. I spun around again, jamming my flashlight and its piercing glow in the direction. Nothing again. Just me. Alone. In the dark. With him coming. Then the deep, horrible laughter that made my skin crawl returned, followed by his heavy footsteps leading to the door directly in front of me. The left door. “Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hm…” I spared no chances of a second look and slammed the door shut, my hooves clutched onto the handle with what little strength I had. And I waited, watching the doorknob for any slight traces of movement, of any source of life that existed behind the door. Creeeeaaak. I knew I shouldn’t have. I knew I should have just screamed for Mommy to help me, but realized it was pointless. It was a dream, a nightmare. Nopony was coming to save me. It was just me. Alone. In the dark. With him. So, I turned my head right and saw the closet open. “No!” I cried as I rushed over and pointed my flashlight right into the blackness. There he was again, the rows of teeth easily recognizable alongside the golden skin. But he was just a head this time. My ears were also assaulted by a high-pitched squeal, tears flowed freely from my weary eyes as fear commanded my actions, and it stopped me from shutting the closet or turning off the light. I could only stare into his eyes, his red orbs of evil intent as the squeal continued. A flicker of my flashlight’s light and he was gone, the closet empty. “Hm, hm, hm…” I froze. Behind me? I thought, and then nearly screamed at the response I got. “I can taste your fear, child. It is delicious.” I spun around, flashlight following me and spotted Fredbear’s head resting on my bed. The same high-pitched squeal came, causing me to flinch, but not enough to turn away from Fredbear. I stared on, and anticipated him make his next move. Like before, the flashlight flickered and he was gone. Silence once more. He was everywhere. I couldn’t escape. I couldn’t run, hide, fight, or do anything to stop him. Wherever I went, every turn I took, every hall I stared down, every door I opened, he was there watching me, staring at me with malicious intent. “Run... Hide... Fight... But in the end, you'll be gone.” It was like he was reading my mind. “Search for me… Pray you see a flicker of color. Simply pray.” No…get out! Stay away from me! I hate you! I screamed in mind, as if by some scant chance he would listen and return to the nightmare from whence he came. I ran to the left door, pushing it open and staring into the empty hall, my light landed on the grandfather clock and nothing else. “The pain...” Please… “The suffering…” Please no… “The agony… It’s all that’s left for you, now.” I backed away and dropped the flashlight. It fell to the carpet with a clatter. The pain in my forehead was no longer bearable. I couldn’t go on. It was as if something was tearing into my head, a thousand needles piercing my skull and destroying my mind. I cried out, tears falling from the eyes that I shut so tight, forelegs pressed against my head, my voice screaming for the pain to stop. And then silence. And then I opened my tear-filled eyes. And then I gazed upwards at what little light the flashlight managed to give. Straight into Fredbear’s hellish eyes. “Welcome home.” He reached down and effortlessly plucked my body off the carpet and into his awaiting jaw. The teeth came in close, and I shut my eyes. I waited for the alarm, for the grandfather clock, for anything. But nothing. Unlike before, unlike the last week, there wasn’t any sunlight. There was no waking up. There was only the darkness…and him. Somepony…anypony…please… Wake me up from this nightmare. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! “Happy birthday, ya big baby! My pals have been dying to play with ya!”