//------------------------------// // "Twilight, I'm concerned for your mental health." // Story: Five Nights in Equestria // by RandomHamster33 //------------------------------// Fluttershy landed gently in front of the giant tree that had been made into a library. She brought up a hoof and knocked three times on the wooden door. In a matter of moments, a familiar magenta aura coated the oak, pulling the door open in a fluid motion. The sight of the purple unicorn relieved Fluttershy. “Hello, Fluttershy. What brings you here this early in the morning?” Twilight Sparkle asked with a slight yawn succeeding her words. She’d evidently just awaken a short while prior. “Hi, Twilight. I really need your help with something,” Fluttershy answered, glancing around to make sure nopony was listening. Twilight tilted her head. “What with?” She noticed the cart behind her friend. A hoof pointed at it. “What’s that?” Fluttershy quickly shushed the violet mare and scooted them both inside. Twilight tried to get a word in, but the pegasus didn’t allow her to as she put a hoof over her mouth. She checked for the familiar purple-and-green dragon before nudging Twilight down the stairs to her lab. “Fluttershy! What’re you doing-?!” Twilight asked, shocked. She nearly tripped down the stairs as she was herded down them. Dozens of small electronic items were scattered around the area, along with large machines and testing stations. A few areas were charred black, presumably from failed experiments. “Twilight, have you been working on anything, um, large, recently?” Fluttershy asked quickly, narrowing her eyes at the mare. “Um, no. Mostly small stuff. Well, actually, I did try some large scale experiments, but as you can see, they didn’t turn out very well,” Twilight responded, waving a hoof at a large, lightning-shaped scar running along a far wall. She grumbled something under her breath. “Had to scrap ‘em.” “So . . . no robots that can walk?” She raised an eyebrow. “Or run?” Twilight narrowed her eyes slowly at the pegasus. “No . . .” “Are you sure? Maybe it just slipped your mind?” “No, why would it? Fluttershy, what are you talking about?” She settled for a firm glare. “Does it have something to do with whatever is in that wagon?” Twilight pointed her hoof at the cart that was still hooked onto Fluttershy’s back. The pegasus frowned. “I was afraid you would say that.” She unhooked herself from the cart and scooted to stand beside it. She gripped the tarp in her jaws and yanked it off in one fluid motion, unveiling what was inside. Twilight’s jaw dropped and a gasp escaped. “Oh my Celestia!” Twilight cried, quickly rushing forward as Fluttershy started to untie it. “What is this?! This is amazing!” Magic quickly joined in on the pegasus’ efforts and soon the deactivated animatronic was loose. “Fluttershy, where did you find this?!” Twilight’s face was covered by a giant smile that seemed like it reached from ear-to-ear. “I found it in my garden, hiding. I chased it down after it took off and then it went inactive. Must’ve gotten damaged by the water,” Fluttershy explained softly, watching her friend’s reaction. “Wow, this is simply divine!” She rubbed a hoof against the ragged fur. “I was wondering if it was one of your projects.” “No, not at all! This has got to be one of the most astounding things to ever happen to me!” Twilight lit her horn, then stopped. She looked to Fluttershy. “Yes, I was hoping you could fix it,” she confirmed with a smile. Letting out a happy squeal, the unicorn lifted the robot out of the wagon and set it on a nearby work table. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it! I haven’t even begun and I can see it’s got to be the most technologically advanced specimen in Equestria!” Twilight exclaimed, her eyes wide and sparkling. Her horn glimmered, prodding the animatronic to find a control panel through the fur. With a grin and a gasp, she flipped the fox over and the back popped open. Controls and wires were now on display to the two mares. “Ooh, I’m so excited!” the unicorn cried with a small wiggle of happiness. “Oh! I should catalog everything!” She summoned a small recorder and held it in her magical grasp. “Well, I’m just going to go now . . .” Fluttershy said softly, backing up. “Yes, of course!” Twilight agreed, too caught up in getting a pair of welding goggles on. “Come back tomorrow, ‘shy! Then you can see my progress!” With a small giggle, Fluttershy unfolded her wings with a ruffle of feathers. She flew back up the stairs, leaving the unicorn to her work. Fluttershy, like Twilight had advised, returned the following day around noon. She landed on the balcony where Twilight kept her telescope in a rustling of feathers. She closed her yellow wings and trotted inside. There was nopony to be seen. Twilight must still be in her lab . . . oh, I hope she didn’t stay up all night. A trifling feeling of trepidation fell over the pegasus as she made her way downstairs. She didn’t see Spike, nor the unicorn she was looking for. She glanced around a few times before knocking on the basement door. “Come in!” called the familiar voice. Fluttershy slid the door open. Downstairs, she heard movement and as she got closer, she could see something moving about in brief flashes of violet. “Twilight?” Fluttershy asked cautiously. She peeked out her head from the staircase. “Fluttershy! I knew you’d be showing up sometime! Come over here!” Twilight’s voice said in a pitch or two higher than normal. Fluttershy grimaced but walked over to her friend. The unicorn’s mane was mussed up and her tail was no better, random hairs sticking up from the indigo locks. Yet, Twilight looked well rested and alive as she pulled up her working goggles from her eyes. “Uh, hi, Twilight,” Fluttershy said slowly. “If you’re wondering if I stayed up all night; I did. But I used a spell to give me a full night’s rest,” Twilight assured, a smile on her face. “It’s really come in handy as of late. There’s not even any repercussions of it, either! I can stay up as long as I want!” She squeed and rubbed her hooves together. "Twilight, I'm concerned for your mental health." “What?” “Nothing. So . . . how’s it going?” Her cyan gaze became focused on the much better looking animatronic laying still quite inactive on the work table. Of course, the holes and scratches that had covered it were still there, but no wires were sticking out and the jaw looked somewhat fixed. “Splendidly, thank you for asking!” Twilight stood up from her stool and took a place beside the table. Fluttershy stepped up next to her. “It took me most of yesterday, but I succeeded in finding out a bit about the specimen. Its circuitry is exceedingly cutting-edge. “This is definitely the preeminent thing in Equestria. No wonder you had to chase it down; the AI coded into it is astounding. This robot could do anything it wanted to. It could read, write—learn!” A wide grin split across Twilight’s face. “AI?” Fluttershy asked. “Artificial intelligence. It’s what makes something able to act on its own. Say, for example, that you have a robot like this, but its AI is only three. You’d have to program it do approximately everything. While this one here,” Twilight elucidated, “I’d say, has an AI of roughly twenty. That means it can do everything one of us can do. It’s virtually living.” Twilight’s eyes sparkled and she rubbed its fur gently. “It’s purely marvelous.” “Wow, that’s really interesting.” The pegasus smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Can it turn on yet?” “I haven’t endeavored yet—I was waiting for you.” Twilight shot Fluttershy a quick smile. “But I’d say it would almost certainly work. I’ve fixed the motor functions and the jaw—the voice controls are located in the back of its mouth, so I did that while I was at it, too. There was a lot of water impairment. Some waterproofing measures were worked into it, but most of it had either worn off or been damaged. Maybe if it had been just a spray of water, it could’ve continued to be serviceable.” “Okay then. Can we try now?” Fluttershy asked, a small smile on her face. “Of course!” Twilight declared. “I’ve been waiting forever to hear those words.” She rubbed her purple hooves together with a maniacal grin and then levitated a pair of safety goggles to the pegasus without even looking at her. Her own came down over her almond-shaped eyes. Fluttershy quickly strapped them on, feeling them press against her neck and face. She braced herself, trying not to think about the charred and decimated sections of the lab. “Alright, here we go!” Twilight announced, her eyes wide underneath her goggles. She flipped a switch on the inside of the controls and closed the panel, then sat it up on the table. From the animatronic came a soft humming. Static crackling was heard through it. The golden eyes of the fox lit up slowly, the shining irises glimmering. “It’s working!” Twilight squealed quietly in excitement, her grin expanding. Fluttershy gave a small, nervous laugh, starting to have second thoughts about this whole thing. The fox sat there. The eyes stared forward. Foxy felt his systems rebooting. Well I’ll be! Someone did fire me up after all! Wonder who did . . . A blurry image made its way into his circuits. He could see brown mixed with gray and some other colors in front of his face. Violet and yellow blended together with a bit of pink and blue, but he couldn’t distinguish any actual shapes. His eyesight slowly adjusted. Two creatures were brought into view. The yellow female, as Foxy was not sure this was a horse, and a purple—presumably female also—creature gazed at him. They were much smaller than him, he could tell. The pirate remained silent. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the purple one’s grin fell. She cocked an eyebrow and flicked her gaze over him. “Uh, Twilight, did it work?” the yellow one whispered quietly, leaning into the other. “I thought it would. Its eyes are glowing; something happened,” she replied. She lifted a leg and tentatively brought herself a step forward. “Um, hello? Can you hear me?” Foxy didn’t know what to do. Should he answer? If this thing fixed him, then maybe it could tell him where he was. Maybe. He slowly nodded, a few groans emanating from his endoskeleton as he did so. “Oh, good! It seems like you’re a little stiff, huh? Here, I’ve got some oil to fix that right up!” The violet equine-like thing’s horn lit up like a lantern, a magenta color casting its faint light onto the surrounding areas. Foxy’s eyes widened upon seeing it. That pattern! That’s what had been all over him in the restaurant. Albeit it had been a blue, and a much darker blue than this color, it was still the same distinct energy. “Here you go,” she said, lifting the oil can up to the back of Foxy’s neck. He felt the lubricant slide down his gears. “Is it better now?” With a quick roll of his shoulders, he nodded. “Splendid!” she cooed, a grin splitting her face even more. She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “So . . . can you talk?” Foxy couldn’t help but look down, the circuitry in his face heating up. He rubbed his metallic paw over his gleaming hook. He could feel the eyes of the two equines on him. “Twilight?” the yellow one asked from the place she was in—still behind the purple one. “Yes?” ‘Twilight’ turned to face her. “Can you give me a few moments with it?” “Huh? Why?” ‘Twilight’ cocked an eyebrow, tilting her head with the motion. “Just trust me, please.” She gave her a small smile, trying to reassure the violet colored equine. “Well . . . I don’t know. What if something happens?” ‘Twilight’ asked, frowning. The yellow one took a tiny step forward and leaned into her ear. Foxy could hear her whisper something, but couldn’t make it out. ‘Twilight’ brought her head back, a frown still on her face. “Okay then. If you think you can. I trust you, Fluttershy. Just be careful.” She started towards the staircase. “I’ll be right upstairs. Spike is probably still asleep. I should get him up.” The female started up the steps. ‘Fluttershy’ waited until she was gone and heard the door close gently from the top of the stairs. She took a few steps forwards. I hope this works, Fluttershy thought. A feeling of unease wormed into her mind. She approached the fox sitting silently on the work table. “Hello,” Fluttershy started softly. She stood before it. “I’m Fluttershy. What’s your name?” There was no response; no surprise for the pegasus. “You know, I’m shy, too. I mean—I’m not assuming that you’re shy—for all I know you’re the boldest, um, fox out there, but”—Fluttershy felt her confidence draining away—“Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe your voice just isn’t working.” She scraped a buttery hoof against the wooden floor. I shouldn’t have asked Twilight to leave . . . maybe she just needed to repair something . . . Wait, you know what? I’m sure I’m right! I can’t give up now! Puffing up her chest to prepare herself, Fluttershy kept her gaze to the floor. “I just, you know, see all the signs of diffidence. I understand if you’re quiet. I’m sure you had a really hard time.” She tentatively glanced up. Two golden eyes stared back at her. A low humming came from the animatronic. Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and she took a teeny, cautionary step back. “I be Foxy,” came the low reply. Static crackled with its voice, but she could still hear the words. “Foxy? Oh. I nearly thought you were a boy!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Foxy looked at her with a deadpan expression on ‘her’ face. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow before realizing her mistake. She blushed red and let out a stammered beginning of a sentence. “O-oh, I’m so sorry! I just thought—” she stuttered. Her eyes shot to every corner of the room except for at the fox. “I mean, uh, uh . . .” She shrank back, hiding behind her hair. Foxy stared at her. After a few moments, he apparently decided he should say something. “Aye, it be 'right, lass. Not the first t'me . . .” he ended with a grumble. Fluttershy peeped out from behind her mane, one large cyan eye opening. She blushed and tried to give Foxy a small smile, but it ended up as more of a grimace. Easy, Fluttershy. I just need to stay calm and collected. I highly doubt this robot is going to judge you. After all, I made him speak! Twilight will definitely appreciate that. “Uh, F-Foxy, so, um, where are you from?” the reticent pegasus asked quickly. She brushed a bit of pink hair of her eyes. Foxy paused, shrinking back on the table. “It’s okay.” Fluttershy felt her nervousness dissipating as the animatronic’s hesitant nature became noticeable again. This isn’t so bad. Maybe I can help him. “Whenever you feel comfortable. I don’t mind waiting. If you need a bit of time to yourself, I can leave.” Fluttershy gave her wings a few flaps to sit on a nearby stool. Her tail swung down by the floor. Foxy stared. For cryin’ out loud! Jus' stop. “No . . . I be fine. It’s jus' . . . odd?” the pirate rumbled. His voice was crackling but there wasn't much he could do about that. Fluttershy, as she’d introduced herself as, leaned forward on her perch. “What’s odd? Being in our, uh, world? I mean, I’m presuming you’re not from here. We've never seen anything like you, and Equestria’s technology definitely isn't advanced enough for you to even exist,” she commented. She shifted her fore-hooves. Foxy blinked a few times. Of course. Jus' my luck. But it makes sense, I guess. “Equestria?” “Oh, yes, that’s where we are. It’s our nation’s name,” Fluttershy said. “Uh . . .” Foxy paused. He didn’t even know where the restaurant was, how would he know what planet? Fluttershy frowned. “Oh my, is something wrong?” “Are ye all . . . horses?” “Um, mostly. It is predominantly equine, though we refer to ourselves as ponies. In the other countries, such as Griffonia and Zebrifa, there’s griffons and zebras. You won’t find many species of intellectual beings other than ponies in Equestria.” . . . So, magic land???? Foxy nodded, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. This place sure was odd. “How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked. She tapped her front hooves together lightly. With a shrug, the pirate looked down at the floor. “Well, the unicorn you saw earlier is Twilight. She’s the one who fixed you—I asked her to. I hope she did a good job.” Fluttershy smiled at him. “Are you feeling okay? Maybe . . . I could bring Twilight back down here?” A concerned frown formed on her lips. “I mean, only if you’re comfortable. She’s very eager to learn about you, and if that makes you uncomfortable, then I’ll tell her to wait for however long it takes,” she finished with a caring look on her features. Perhaps this Twilight could help me get back ta the restaurant . . . but then again, why would I want ta? I’m broken and unwanted . . . I could at least try ta understand what happened ta me. “Ye can let the lass in,” Foxy decided. Fluttershy’s ears tilted forward; a small smile tugged at the ends of her lips. “Okay. I’ll get her,” the pony replied, flapping her wings a few times to lift herself off the chair. She traveled across the room and up the stairs. In a few moments, she returned, the purple one behind her. Twilight was no longer grinning, but had a more serious look on her face. She’d obviously heard the circumstances of the situation and was no longer here just to help herself. “Hello, Foxy. That’s your name, right?” Twilight started. A clipboard was picked up with her energy. “I am,” came Foxy’s low and somewhat rough reply. “Hmm . . .” Twilight took a few notes on her clipboard and then levitated it to the other side of her body as she went closer to the fox. She used her magic to open his jaw, much to his surprise, and with a few tricks in the back of his throat, she let it swing shut again. “There, that should help. You had some static interference,” the purple pony explained, writing on her board. Foxy narrowed his eyes at her. “Twilight, that wasn’t very polite,” Fluttershy warned from behind her. “I—oh, sorry.” She blushed. “Sorry.” Twilight cleared her throat, “Should’ve told you first.” “Aye,” Foxy mumbled, reaching his paw up and rubbing under his chin. Twilight wrote some more notes and then looked up at Foxy again. “So, Foxy, I’m betting you’re fairly confused. I know I have questions for you, but do you have any questions for me first?” The fox stared at her for a moment before pointing at her horn. Twilight glanced up at his pointing finger. “My magic! Oh yes, I’m sure you are wondering about that. Well, I’m a unicorn—Fluttershy over there is a pegasus—but only unicorns have the ability to use magic. It’s essentially energy that we move with our horns, enabling us to manipulate objects and our surroundings,” Twilight explained. She smiled as she demonstrated by lifting several nearby objects. “Uh, Foxy?” The animatronic broke out of his trance upon hearing his name. “Are you alright? You’re just . . . staring,” Twilight said. She tilted her head. “That’s what I saw when I was taken ‘ere,” Foxy explained. Twilight’s eyes seemed to get three times bigger, if that was at all possible. “What!? Magic brought you here?!” “Aye, lass.” The unicorn leaped into the air, legs churning, and vanished in a magenta flash of light. Fluttershy and Foxy—startled—sprang backwards, the pegasus ending up behind a table and Foxy on the floor with a clanking of metal. “—amazing! I can’t believe it! We need to inform the princesses!” Twilight shouted, popping back into existence. She looked around. “Oops. Must’ve teleported out of pure excitement!” “Twilight?” Fluttershy hissed, her eyes wide. “Not now, ‘shy!” Twilight exclaimed. She threw herself into Foxy’s face. “What did the magic look like?!” “Uh . . .” Foxy started. His ears were pressed against his head. “Twas blue.” “Blue?” Twilight paused, standing up straight on the table. “Was it perhaps—just out of curiosity—dark blue? Like, a midnight blue?” “’xactly it, lass.” Foxy got to his feet. Twilight’s mouth fell open and her pupils shrank. Looking around, she began to breathe a bit heavier. “I—I—how? Why? Wha’?” And with that, the purple unicorn promptly fainted. Fluttershy couldn’t believe what had just happened. Mostly because she’d never seen it before. Twilight had just had a nerdgasm. And fainted. “Um, Foxy, perhaps we should—” “I’m alright!” Twilight’s hoof shot up from the floor. The two other creatures peered over their hiding places, looking down on her. The unicorn scrambled to her hooves, shaking her slightly frazzled mane. “Alright. I’m alright.” She blinked violet eyes before turning back to the others. “I’m pretty sure I know who brought you here!” “And you would be correct, Twilight Sparkle,” came the gruff yet melodic voice of the alicorn princess. Three heads shot over to the door, where the words had come from. Princess Luna floated down towards them, wings wide and beating the air. “P-Princess!” Twilight gaped, quickly ducking into a bow. Fluttershy did the same, closing her wings. Foxy, however, had already ducked behind the work table once again. “You may stand. I thank thee, Fluttershy, for getting our guest here; I also thank you, Twilight, for fixing him. Now, Foxy, you may come out,” Luna said. She stood tall where she had touched down, wings out and ears pricked. “Princess, I’m confused,” Twilight started, taking a step forward. “I shall answer your questions in good time.” Luna waited a moment. “Foxy?” “He’s hiding, your majesty. Do you want me to get him?” Fluttershy asked softly. “Hiding?” the lunar sovereign questioned. “No need.” Fluttershy was about to ask something when Luna’s horn lit up and grabbed the pirate from his hiding place. He let out a startled yelp as he was hauled upward, then deposited on the floor in front of Luna. He looked up at her, ears folded back. “Foxy, I’m glad to finally meet thee.” She dipped her head. There was no response. “Foxy?” Nothing. Twilight went behind him and opened up his control panel. “ . . . Yep, he froze. Sorry princess. You must’ve gotten here after we established the fact that Foxy does not like to meet new ponies.” “I scared him,” Luna deadpanned. Her ears flopped backwards. “Pretty much.”