It took all of them to get Ret to the guest room while he was wearing all his armor. It was a guess to how the floor was able to carry his weight without cracking. After what seemed like forever they were able to get him to the bed and closed the door, letting him sleep off whatever had just happened in peace.
"So," Sound said, breaking the silence, "anypony know what just happened?"
"I have no idea," Cleversong confessed. "I'd never seen him act like that before. He's stared down cannon fire and held his own but this...THING...just made him crack."
"Maybe it's just a phobia he has," Bloomheart suggested. "After all, it is kinda creepy when you stare at it." Bloomheart was still nervous about whatever this thing was. She still felt like it was out of place in the restaurant.
"Okay. Anyway, let's get this place cleaned up. Cleversong, you know what to do?" Pepperoni said, referring to her doing the dishes when she lived there.
"On it, pops," she replied, knowing that he hated the word since it made him feel old. The family laughed as they got the restaurant cleaned up for tomorrow.
Ret rose up from his sleep, groggy and wearing his thick armor still. He didn't know how he'd ended up in this room. He remembered that he visited Pepperoni's Pizza Place to pick something up for Shining Armor and himself and that's when things go black. Something scared him, but whatever it was he couldn't remember.
"Gotta check out where I am," he said, reminding himself of his training for when you find yourself in unknown places. He turned on the light and found himself in a room he remembered seeing last Hearth's Warming Eve. "Oh! This is the guest bedroom!" he said, recalling all the workout equipment he helped to move.
"Guess they finally threw that stuff away or something." Ret tasted the inside of his mouth and was disgusted. He needed something to drink and left his room for the kitchen. He tried turning on the lights for the room but found that none worked.
"Wonder what's going on there. Better let Pepperoni know that he needs to change the bulbs," he said to himself as he tried to feel his way around. He couldn't help but knock over pots and pans while moving around the tables. He felt a long handle and figured that he must be at the walk-in. "Okay. I think if I head this way I should-" he said before sticking a hoof into a pot. He tried to pull it off but found that it didn't work. He then started shaking it and gnawing at it and resigned that it'd be a two-pony job.
"This'll be awkward." Ret moved around, trying to be quiet with the pot on his hoof. He finally found a metallic basin and realized it was the sink. Only then did he realize that he needed something to drink with. "Where'd he keep the cups?"
Before Ret could say anything else he heard swift footsteps and the door to the kitchen swing open. There was sudden clanging as some pots and pans fell without heed. Instinct kicking in, Ret managed to find a cupboard to hide in. He thought that he was overreacting for a moment, but wanted to be sure. Nighttime makes ponies more paranoid. Things were suddenly quiet and Ret was sure that he had overreacted to whatever he'd heard. He was about to leave his safety hole when the running started again. At this point he knew somepony was in there and stayed where he was, leaving a small slit to peak through. It paid off when he saw what appeared to be furry feet just standing there in front of him.
Ret's heart was beating heavily now. He didn't know why, but something felt off about whatever this was. He couldn't pump himself up like he usually did but instead felt like he was a rookie again. The feet started to turn around and he heard the kitchen door moments later.
"What am I doing?" he thought. "I'm RET! I bring the pain to anypony who breaks the law, and Breaking and Entering is against the law!" Ret got out of cover and felt his energy returning to normal. He then went charging into the dining area, ready to bring down any intruders. "Whoever's in here is under-".
Fear. That's what Ret would later realize he was feeling. Pure fear distilled from past traumas returning to light. Ret looked at what he was sure was the intruder and saw the animatronic just standing there with its mouth hanging open as if trying to say something. He remembered what had made him faint right then and found himself taking steps back. His instincts kicked in and he ran as fast as he could to wherever he could. He felt himself trip and tumbled over, hitting his head hard in the process. Ret was about to get up again when he instinctively saw a smiling face right behind him, causing his heart to stop.