//------------------------------// // Barrel of Laughs For Me LMFAOOOO // Story: Five Nights in Equestria // by RandomHamster33 //------------------------------// “Is Freddy okay?” Pinkie Pie questioned, an actual frown on her muzzle. The mares looked to Twilight for answers. The group hadn’t caught much of the conversation, so were a bit unsure of what was happening. “I don't know. I think Freddy might be a little . . . upset,” the violet unicorn replied, one eyebrow cocked. “You don't say,” Rainbow Dash retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Twilight frowned at her momentarily before Rarity spoke up. “Perhaps we should comfort the poor thing,” the fashionista suggested somewhat uncertainly. “Poor thing? Where have you been?” Dash asked with a snort. “I've been here. I'm just saying that maybe we should show him a bit of compassion instead of ignoring him.” The two ponies frowned at one another. “Look, Ah don't much like Freddy either, but he seems like he’s feelin’ . . . guilty,” Applejack stated. A small whine emanated from the cluster of animatronics, and the five ponies glanced over there. They all met eyes in the middle again. “You can say that again,” Twilight muttered. Pinkie opened her mouth and Rainbow quickly stuffed a hoof into it before anything could be repeated. “And I really don't know what to think about this whole thing.” “I'd say tough love,” Dash snorted. “After what he did, I'd say that's exactly what he needs.” Twilight frowned, tilting her head just slightly. “I don't know. I understand what you're getting at, Dash, but I don't think that's what we need to do. After all, he did unintentionally volunteer to take back the Elements of Harmony. From inside the Nightmare, may I add.” “That's true,” Rarity agreed. “Maybe he and the other animatronics should . . . go back to the library.” “Alright, well that'd be one problem taken care of,” Rainbow murmured, rosy colored eyes shifting between her friends. “Yeah, there's still somethin’ wrong here,” Applejack said. The mares shifted uncomfortably, body language saddening. “More like someone’s missing . . .” Pinkie Pie whimpered. “What are we going to do? Foxy can't be gone forever!” Rainbow declared suddenly, perking back up. She stomped her hoof angrily. “There's gotta be something we can do.” “I know there is, too, I can feel it,” Twilight stated. She quickly glanced over at the animatronics. They were still in the same positions; Freddy hunched over with Bonnie and Chica crouched down beside him. “Rainbow Dash!” “Applejack!” “Rarity!” The five mares turned to the small, high-pitched voices. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were being pulled behind Scootaloo’s scooter in the wagon. They pulled up and jumped towards the ones they'd cried out to. “Glad you're safe, squirt!” Dash proclaimed, giving the orange filly a noogie. “Sweetie Belle, I told you to stay at home,” Rarity chided, but by the look on her face, she was glad her little sister was safe as she nuzzled her. Applejack hugged Apple Bloom to her chest, “Are ya okay? Are the others okay, too?” “We’re all fine—everypony,” AB replied. She was set back on the ground. “Where’s Foxy?” All conversation stopped. The mares glanced around, faces dark. “What? I know them looks!” “Yeah! What happened?” Scootaloo asked. “We never got to meet Foxy.” “Well, technically we did, that one night in the library. We just didn't talk to him much,” Sweetie Belle interjected. Scootaloo frowned at the white unicorn. “Not helping.” “Um, girls, there's been some complications . . .” Twilight began, lowering herself to their levels. Scritch scratch scritch scratch Foxy blinked, eyes widening. He looked around furiously, mind in a frenzy. Where was he? Wait, he was in the Cove. Why was he in the Cove? Foxy heard the sound of . . . was that his walk? He could never forget the clicking of his claws on the floor. He had to find the source. He pushed the curtains to Pirate Cove open, only for his hook to go right through it. Okaaaay, what's happenin’ here? I must be dreamin’ . . . but why? Wasn't I . . . in the . . . Foxy paused, gripping his head with his hand. He couldn't remember what was happening. Where he was last. Why he was here. I-I might as well follow, I guess. Foxy hesitantly pushed his way through the curtains, still shocked by being able to pass through them as if they didn't even exist. He twitched his ears, tracking the sound of ‘him’ walking. He hurried forward, and soon found himself at the window, looking into the sky. Why was he there? He was so confused. Wait . . . wait. I’m broken. But . . . I’m not broken. Foxy looked down at his own body. His chest and legs, they were fixed. They weren't broken and patched like the dream him. Foxy glanced back up and discovered that Freddy was standing right behind him. He jumped away, scared. A moment later, he realized that Freddy couldn't see him and was talking instead to the other Foxy, the broken one. “Foxy,” Freddy said. The dream Foxy exhaled loudly. “Foxy, you should get back to the Cove.” “How ‘bout no,” dream Foxy huffed back. Foxy frowned at the exchange as it kept going. This felt . . . familiar, somehow. As if it happened before, but . . . I don't know when this coulda happened. Freddy was glaring narrowly at the dream Foxy, but soon nodded and walked away. ‘Foxy’ stared back at the sky, watching the stars above. The real Foxy watched silently, cocking his head. What am I doin’? This is so confusin’ . . . That was when Freddy’s angry yelling echoed down the hallway. Foxy flinched, but the other just sighed, ears moving down. A few moments later, the dream Foxy straightened up and turned around. He passed right through the real Foxy, who gasped and shuddered slightly, and then vanished into the darkness of the pizzeria. “Well, that's . . . disappointin’,” Apple Bloom said after a moment. The two other fillies nodded in agreement. “But you're gonna get him back, right?” Scootaloo asked. “If you're referring to you three helping us, no,” Rarity retorted gently. “But, for right now, we adults are trying to . . . figure out a solution.” “Aw man,” Sweetie Belle muttered. The CMC looked a bit unhappier. “Well, you can't blame us for not wanting to put you in harm’s way,” Twilight said gently, an apologetic smile on her face. “I guess . . .” Scootaloo grumbled. Rainbow mussed the orange pegasus’ purplish mane. “Don't worry, squirt. We’ll take care of everything,” Dash reassured. “Well, if we can't help by lookin’ for Foxy, then let us take the other animatronics off your hooves,” Apple Bloom suggested suddenly. The five mares appeared startled, all of them recoiling just slightly. “What?! Ah will allow no such thing!” Applejack barked, stomping her hoof. “But—” “No!” “Wait a second,” Twilight said, stopping the arguing. “They are, well, kids. Maybe they can help them—Freddy—calm down.” She shrugged, giving her friends a helpless look when their eyes shot over to look at her. “That'd actually . . . make sense,” Rarity admitted, however regretfully, with a tiny shrug. “Rares is right,” Dash added with a slight nod. The three members of the CMC were grinning hopefully now, eyes pleading. “I vote yes!” Pinkie Pie declared, a hoof shooting into the air. She held it up and waved it there for a few moments before letting her arm fall back down, a smile on her face. “Because I don't like to see big, unhappy robots and I think the kiddies will cheer them up!” Applejack frowned as all the other mares agreed. She glanced down at Apple Bloom—still with a large smile on her face—and sighed, letting a small grin slip onto her muzzle. “Well, alright. It does make sense. As long as they stay in the same place, Ah say let it happen.” “Alright then,” Twilight said, a smile on her face now. “Let’s get back to the library. There, we can sort things out and then find Foxy.” “Sweet! Let's get down to business,” Apple Bloom declared. She turned and trotted to the cluster of animatronics. “Hi, Apple Bloom,” Chica said quietly as she approached. The mares listened in on the conservation from their positions, and the two other Crusaders waited a few paces away from the yellow filly. “Howdy, Chica. How's Freddy?” she asked gently. Bonnie tried to pry his boss’ hands off his face but was unsuccessful. “Not well,” the bunny murmured, defeated. “Ah see,” was all AB said. She exchanged a quick glance with Chica, who was the closest to her, and the chicken scooted backwards a little. “Freddy?” A low whine was her only reply. “Ah know that you're feelin’ a bit sad ‘bout this, but ya don't have to blame yourself,” Apple Bloom continued, setting a hoof on his arm. He didn't respond. “Why don't ya just calm down and come with us to the library?” Once again, Freddy didn't say anything, nor did he even seem to register her question. “Come on, Freddy. Don't be like this.” AB frowned. “It's your job to cheer others up, not mine.” “And look how badly I've failed at that!” Freddy cried suddenly, lifting his head from his hands just long enough to make that fact known to the world. Without another word, he planted his face back into his hands, crying almost comically. Apple Bloom recoiled at his outburst, taken by surprise, but then grimaced. “Freddy . . .” she started. “I don’t deserve to be a children’s entertainer!” he wailed again. Oh for Celestia’s sake. “Freddy, stop cryin’!” Apple Bloom shouted, stomping her hoof as her mood suddenly changed. The animatronic stopped immediately, lifting his head from his hands to look at her. He was met with a fierce yet concerned pair of sunset eyes. “Ah get you’re sad and feelin’ guilty, Ah do—but that’s no reason to carry on for twenty minutes,” the filly admonished, using the same kind of argument from when Applejack would scold her during her temper tantrums years ago. “Just calm down and everythin’ll be fine—you’ll see. Now buck up, ‘cuz we’ve got a job to do.” Freddy blinked at her, producing a mechanical click. A few moments later, he was making a small whining sound. AB narrowed her eyes. “Don’t ya dare. Don’t ya dare make the face,” she warned, snout crinkling. Freddy’s blue eyes became big and shiny, his ears falling back even farther than they already were. He quietly whimpered at her. Apple Bloom threw her hooves into the air in a gesture of ‘screw everything.’ (If I could find the comic, I would, I swear!!) The ponies/animatronics stared at the spectacle. Their mouths were all slightly parted, eyes wide. They all exchanged quick, synchronized glances. “Freddy Fazbear, you’re going to get up and be the slightly mean bear you’ve always been!” Chica suddenly began. Like Apple Bloom, she’d had enough of this whiny behavior and decided to take action. She put a finger right into his face, nearly touching his nose. He stared at it before glancing quickly up at her angry face. “You’re not going to pout the whole day away. It wasn’t just your fault this happened to Foxy, so you’re not going to take the blame. Do you hear me?” Without responding, Freddy stared. Then, after a moment, he sunk lower, eyes still pouty. Chica sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to get up. She looked to Bonnie. “Bonnie,” was all she said. “Yup,” the bunny replied, rolling his eyes just slightly. Bonnie bent down and wrapped his arms around Freddy, then hefted him up to carry him bridal-style. The sad animatronic continued to sulk, face turned downwards. “Let’s go then,” Twilight said—uncertainly—after a moment. She raised an eyebrow at Chica, who gave her a thumbs up, as she took a cautious step forward. “Alright, uh, yeah. To the library.” Rainbow Dash flew over the hills leading to Fluttershy’s cottage. The ponies needed her with them, but she was most likely crying inside. “Fluttershy?” Dash called as she knocked rapidly on the door to the cottage. She smushed her face against the door, trying to hear her fellow pegasus. “It’s me, Rainbow Dash! We need you to help look for Foxy!” There was the sound of shuffling hooves from inside, and the yellow mare appeared in the doorway. Her eyes were red and puffy—she’d been crying for a while. “B-but h-how? He’s g-gone,” Fluttershy sniffed, her voice barely a whisper. “There’s always a way, ‘shy. Come on—we need everypony’s help if we’re to find that pirate.” Rainbow shot a grin at her friend. “I-I don’t know . . .” “Come on. You don’t get a choice; you want to see Foxy again, right?” She pressed her face closer to Fluttershy’s. “O-of course!” “Then you’re going to want to be there when we find him!” Fluttershy scuffed a hoof against the wood. “How d-do you even know w-we’ll be able to f-find him?” Rainbow gave her a level gaze. “Because after all the work we—though mostly you—have done, there’s no possible way we won’t be able to find him. Determination, ‘shy!” Fluttershy perked up, letting a shadow of a smile flicker across her face. “You’re right. I’ll help; just let me get Mike really fast.” She didn’t even close the door all the way as she turned around, trotting through her cottage. She vanished down a hallway and soon returned with the security guard trailing behind her. “Alright! Sweet! Come on, you two!” Dash proclaimed, rearing onto her hind legs and bounding into the air, arms outstretched as she whirled about. She took off in a zip of technicolor dust, leaving the two of them far behind in no time at all. Her excited cries rang out across the land. Fluttershy, hopes renewed at her friend’s enthusiasm, grinned and shot a quick glance at Mike. She ran off, wings helping to propel her forward. Mike started after her, trying not to be left too far in the dust. Foxy followed his dream counterpart as the night went on. It had skipped—this was definitely a dream, so there was no worry of him being completely crazy. Right now, dream-Foxy was resting in Pirate Cove, not yet activated for the night. A little while later was when the action really started to happen. As dream-Foxy switched positions, a peculiar glow spread out over his body. Foxy watched this with a wary curiosity, not sure what was going to happen. Yet the deep seated feeling of déjà vu settled over him once again. This has definitely happened before! Right? I can't stand feelin’ this and not knowin’ what it's from. Perhaps I should try and communicate with this dream me. But the glowing Foxy took off down the hallway, startling the one who’d been thinking readily about the odd events taking place. Foxy glanced up, then made his swift way to the security office. The sound of the door slamming shut rang in his ears and dream-Foxy slunk back down the hall. He was glowing more violently now. It was very strange. “Foxy? What are you doing? You're glowing!” Chica snapped, giving him a scolding glare. Dream-Foxy acknowledged her presence. “I don’ know. It jus’ started happenin’,” the pirate replied with a quick look at his blueish arm. “You need to go back to Pirate Cove, and stay there. You're jeopardizing this mission.” Chica whirled around and angrily padded off, leaving the two Foxys alone. Dream-Foxy let his ears fall down, looking sad. I've heard Chica say that before! There's somethin’ strange goin’ on here, and I intend ta find out what it is. Foxy followed his fake self once again back to the Cove. There they sat in silence for a while longer, until the glowing on dream-Foxy began to grow in intensity. He rushed out of the Cove. Foxy sprinted out after him, wanting to figure out what was happening. They ended up in the kitchen. A moment later, an angry looking Freddy appeared. He cornered the two pirates, though only saw one as he snapped something demeaning to the dream-Foxy. “Ya gotta get this off ‘a me!” dream-Foxy cried as he flailed his arms. The real Foxy frowned, thinking as hard as he could to remember what was taking place. Come on, think, think! There's somethin’ you're gonna remember sometime . . . Maybe I should touch one ‘a them? Foxy reached out and hesitantly swiped a hand through Freddy. The animatronic didn't respond to this action, but his figure did waver just barely. Neither of the dream apparitions seemed to notice anything amiss. He was going to try and touch his dream self but before he could, he was knocked to the floor next to him. Dream-Foxy grimaced, gazing up at Freddy’s angry snarl. An arm was extended and a finger pointed in the direction of Pirate Cove. Dream-Foxy stayed low in an act of submission and crept past Freddy before breaking into a run out of the kitchen and across the pizzeria. Foxy watched Freddy for a moment longer, but he appeared frozen. He studied him, confused. If this is a dream, wouldn't Freddy still be movin’ by himself? Nothin’ seems familiar ‘bout this moment now, so I must have ta stay close ta myself. Foxy trotted off, heading back to his Cove. Once there, he discovered a pouting dream-Foxy. He watched the flustered pirate for a few minutes, but then everything began to go dark. Foxy’s gaze switched places, trying to learn why this was happening. Dream-Foxy wavered on his worn feet, and then toppled to the ground. The real Foxy gasped as a cold claw of discomfort stabbed through him. A moment later, there was nothing.