//------------------------------// // ????? // Story: Five Nights in Equestria // by RandomHamster33 //------------------------------// Fluttershy listened attentively to Foxy as he quietly explained to her what he'd done when he snuck away. She felt bad; if she’d thought more, he wouldn't have run off and gotten himself injured. When asking him about his hand, he replied with he wasn't sure what had come over him, and the next thing he remembered, his fist was stuck in a tree. “I'm sorry,” Fluttershy murmured, putting a hoof over his hand. Foxy shrugged. “Ye have nothin’ ta be sorry fer,” Foxy replied. Fluttershy shook her head. “I should've known you'd feel this way. I wish I could give you some comfort.” The pegasus looked away, eyes shining. “But . . . I don't even know how it's all going to turn out.” “I . . . It's fine. None ‘a this is your fault. I was jus’ . . . angry. And embarrassed.” Foxy blushed and twitched his tail. “I understand.” She looked up into his face, for even when sitting, she was still shorter than him. “I just wonder what happened to make you “black out” as you put it.” Foxy shrugged. Fluttershy continued, “Do you think it's because . . . you need to switch into roaming mode?” Once again, he shrugged. “Foxy. I'm being serious.” The pirate let a small whine crawl out of his throat, eyes looking away. “I don't . . . I dunno. Maybe.” Fluttershy nodded. “. . . I'll talk to Twilight later.” Twilight yawned. Her fore-hooves stretched out over her head, back legs nearly straight under the dark blue comforter. A few moments of luxurious stretching later, she rolled onto her stomach, blinking fuzzily. She gazed around, surprised to find herself in her room. The last thing she remembered was working in the lab. Hmm . . . I suppose it’s not unlikely that Fluttershy put me up here. Gee, I wonder what time it is. Twilight pushed herself up . . . only to find the blanket slipping out from under her. She flopped onto the wooden floor, face smushed against it. Picking her head up, the unicorn glanced around. The clock sitting on her nightstand read 4:17. “What?! I’ve been sleeping all day!” She leaped up, scrambling to get downstairs. Her hooves skidded on the wood, tossing her down the steps. She rolled horn over tail, a cry of astonishment making its way out of her throat. Twilight landed in a heap, tail draped over her face at the bottom of the stairs. “Gosh, Twilight, are you okay?” came the concerned voice of a certain pegasus. Sighing, the violet unicorn flicked her tail out of her face. “Yes, I’m fine.” Twilight pushed herself onto all fours, shaking her messy head full of hair. “How’s this day gone?” she asked quickly after. Fluttershy blinked, tilting her head with a curious appearance. “The day’s gone fine. Is something wrong?” she questioned innocently. Twilight shifted slightly, clearing her throat. “No, nothing’s wrong; I was just wondering. Did, uh, Foxy get back?” “Oh, yes. He’s in the other room. Why?” Fluttershy gazed silently back at her friend. Twilight shook her head furiously. “Ugh, never mind. Are any of the other animatronics up yet? What about Mike?” “Mike woke up. None of the others did. I’m sure they’d appreciate that, however. And before I bother you with anything, I want you to go and tidy yourself up.” The pegasus crinkled her snout. “You look like you need it.” Twilight glanced down at her body, lifting a leg carefully. She could feel sweat and dirt, and her mane felt greasy. “You’re right. I really feel like a shower.” Twilight smiled at the pegasus. “Thanks for looking after things, ‘shy.” She glanced up at the stairs. “And for bringing me to my bed. Any longer on that floor and I would’ve been stiff as a board.” The duo shared a quick laugh. “I’ll be down soon.” “Take your time,” Fluttershy called as Twilight trotted up the steps. Suddenly, the unicorn paused, and twisted around. She looked sheepishly at her friend. “So, you do mind activating the other animatronics for me?” Twilight wondered meekly. Fluttershy stared for a moment before shaking her head, a soft smile on her face. “Oh, good, thanks even more. I really ought to give you something for all your help.” “No problem, Twilight. I’ll do that now.” With a flick of her tail, Fluttershy turned around and padded towards the laboratory’s door. Twilight vanished upstairs. Fluttershy continued downwards, taking the longer route of the steps. The animatronics sat where they’d been earlier, eyes closed and bodies limp. Okay, first, I’ve got to unplug them. Fluttershy trotted over to Bonnie first—he seemed like the least irritating. Chica was . . . hyper, mostly, and Freddy was angry. Well, for now, at least. Taking the power cord in her teeth, Fluttershy tugged quickly yet gently, the plug popping out. She repeated the step on the other two. Then—back at Bonnie—she searched for the switch to activate him and pushed it into the ‘on’ position. A moment of whirring later, his magenta eyes blinked, ears barely twitching. He sat up a bit more from his position against the wall before looking over to find the pegasus at his side. “Fluttershy, hello,” the bunny greeted. “Hi, Bonnie. Feel rested?” she asked. “Yeah, actually.” “Good. I’ll just wake the other two; you wait here.” Fluttershy activated Freddy and Chica and stood back a safe distance. Freddy yawned, exposing the very back of his machinery. Fluttershy very nearly cringed away at the creepy sight, but held still other than an anxious twitch of an ear. Chica sprang up onto her feet with vigor, eyes bright and still slightly moving as they adjusted. “Great—I was seriously hoping this was some sort of nightmare,” Freddy growled, fingers grasping at something invisible. He seemed to notice this and quickly stopped, though his fingers still twitched with anxiety. “It did kind of seem like it, huh?” Chica quickly babbled on. “Ooh, do we get to go out and do something today? Instead of sitting here all bored and stuff?” Fluttershy flinched back at her attitude, not used to someone besides Pinkie Pie doing that. “U-uh, not as far as I know. Ponyville is barely used to Foxy, even,” the pegasus answered timidly. She tried a quick smile but looked away just as fast. “Oh.” Continuing, Fluttershy said, “How about we go upstairs, huh?” She smiled weakly and bit the inside of her lip. "Whatever," Freddy muttered, stalking past her, disdain clear in his movement. Chica followed after and then Bonnie. Fluttershy cringed when they weren't looking; she really wished this was over. After following the animatronics upstairs, they settled in the main room. Foxy was nowhere to be seen; the pegasus sighed. Chica noticed this as well and frowned. “Where’s Foxy? We barely talked at all last night.” Fluttershy glanced over at her and replied, “I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Let me go find him.” She shot them a quick smile and dashed off. “Foxy, Foxy. Come out, please? We can't have you running off every two minutes.” She threw open a closet door and found him sitting in a mix of boots, cleaning supplies, and beakers. “Oh, ahoy,” Foxy responded, embarrassed. Fluttershy stood there with one hoof holding the door open. “Foxy.” “Aye, aye, I know. But I don't know if I can face ‘em again.” His muzzle turned downwards and his eyes became half lidded. Fluttershy softened and rubbed his arm in an attempt to comfort his fears. “I understand,” she said. “But you'll be better off if you work past your doubts.” Foxy clenched his fist. “But ye know—” He cut off, blinking. “’S not important.” He tilted his shoulder away from her. “What?” “They don't take blame fer what happened to me. It's my fault,” he whispered. The pegasus watched him closely for a moment. “Are you talking about after the bite?” she asked. Foxy merely shrugged. “Look, I get it. But have no fear—as long as we’re here, nothing bad will ever happen to you.” She paused. “Unless something seriously drastic happens. And I think most of what has happened, was drastic.” Foxy dipped his head quickly in reply to her words, “True ‘nuff.” Fluttershy smiled. “There’s no need of fear. Come now—Chica still wants to see you. Why don't you give your old workmates a chance?” Sighing, the pirate resigned himself to his fate. “Fine.” He pushed himself to his metal feet and ducked under the closet’s doorframe. Fluttershy backed up and waited for him to compose himself before slowly beginning to walk forward. "It won't be so bad, you'll see,” the pegasus strode forward. Foxy sighed behind her. “We’ll work through your problems.” She swallowed, unknown to him. “No matter how big.” Foxy stopped as soon as he saw the three another animatronics. He could feel their eyes on him, seeming to examine his every movement. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. “Foxy?” Chica asked. “Are you okay?” “’m fine,” the pirate replied in an undertone. He saw her orange feet in his vision, since he was looking down. “Come on,” she urged. “If ye cared so much ‘bout me, why'd ye leave me ta rot in Pirate’s Cove?!” Foxy snarled, his anger boiling over. Chica backed away as he loomed over her, shadow darkening her face. “Don't act like ye care so much! Ye never cared and I don't know why ye bothered ta try and find me!” “Foxy! Calm down!” Freddy shouted, surprised. Bonnie stood by him, eyes wide. “No! I won't calm down!” Foxy, he's going to get you. Foxy felt his vision blurring, edges becoming fuzzy. Freddy moved in the circle of sight he still had, hand outstretched as if to hit him. Anger surging through him, Foxy opened his jaw and let out a furious roar, then leapt forward. Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard screams resounding from downstairs. Her brush falling from her magic grip, the unicorn practically flew down the steps, eyes wide. As soon as she got around the corner, she was met with an unpleasant sight. “What's happening?!” Twilight exclaimed in disbelief. Fluttershy was on panic mode, trying to avoid being hit. She saw Twilight in the corner of her vision and twisted her head to look. “Twilight, help me!”