“I need to stay here,” Fluttershy said, “to take care of Rarity.” She gestured to the unconscious unicorn, whose side was coated in blood and whose chest was rising and falling at an almost nonexistent pace. “But I want you two to go out and catch that criminal. I don't know what to think about it, but . . . please be careful.”
“You be careful too, Flutters,” Pinkie Pie responded, gently touching her friend’s arm. “Goldenjack and I will totally get him and Rainbow Dash! Then we can all go home to Equestria and be happy and junk!”
Fluttershy smiled. “Good. Now, you guys better go, and fast. I'll be fine; I've got Foxy to protect me, anyways. Time is running out for us, though.” She flashed a quick glance up at the pirate next to her.
“Yes, she's right, dear,” Goldenjack said. “We've got to leave. Every second wasted here is another opportunity for Springtrap to strike.”
“Aye, be on your way,” Foxy urged. “We’ll hol’ down th’ fort.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie agreed. “Come on, Goldie, let's go!” She grabbed their arm and the duo hurried out of the room.
Fluttershy watched as they disappeared around the corner, and then turned her face towards Foxy.
“You think they'll be okay?”
The pirate stared forward. “I'm sure they will.”
Springtrap could sense Fast following him. She trailed behind him as though he couldn't see her. How ridiculous! He wasn't stupid. Besides, with all the noise she made when she jumped around like a rabbit, it was a wonder how she ever got around without drawing attention to herself.
We can take her out . . . It'd be easy . . .
Springtrap stopped in his tracks.
Hehe . . . yes, it'd be very easy wouldn't it? I could lure her down, and take this knife, and jab it into her jugular vein-!
There's the spirit!
Springtrap was grinning like a madman, his fingers itching to retrieve the knife from where he'd put it in his suit. The dark thoughts clouded his mind and he found himself devising a plan.
“So, are we getting close?”
Goldenjack didn't turn to look at Pinkie Pie, instead searching the streets with black eyes. A few moments later, with nothing dangerous or suspicious showing up, they turned to face her.
“You've asked me that question seven times now. And no, we are not close yet!”
“Aw.” She paused. “How about now?”
Goldenjack rolled their eyes, irritated. “You are very annoying. Please be quiet.”
Hey, don't talk to her like that!
Seriously, why do I care? Dear, she's hella annoying.
Ah’ll kick ya outta here if ya don't behave. Ah won't have ya insulting one of mah best friends.
Golden Freddy refrained from groaning loudly and resigned to her commands. I shall do as you please. Even if you would not be able to ‘kick me out.’ And when that talkative strip of bubblegum gives us away to Springtrap, don't come crawling to me.
Says the guy who's in mah body.
Golden Freddy rolled their eyes and ignored her. He instead focused back on the task at hand. Pinkie Pie was still looking at them with her large blue eyes, head cocked slightly.
“Come on, we don't have time for this,” Goldenjack sighed, quickly moving across the street. Pinkie bounced behind him.
Celestia was gazing up at the moon as she lowered it to make way for the sun. As always, she had to be very careful not to destroy her sister’s work even more than it already was. The broken of pieces of space rock floated around, barely held in check by the force of gravity. As the sun peeked slowly over the edge of the horizon, Celestia felt something go wrong. Her breath was forced rather abruptly from her body and she almost jerked the sun to the side. It would've happened if she had been less experienced, but after doing the same thing for centuries, she was an expert.
As soon as she was done with her duty, she turned and nearly stumbled over her own hooves. Celestia stood still for a few moments, catching her breath, before taking off. Her wings opened and she leaped from the balcony where she stood into the cool night air. She needed to get down to the Element containment chamber.
Celestia landed on another balcony, where she ran swiftly down the halls to the throne room. Her guards made way, though some had expressions of confusion on their faces at her behavior instead of the usual stoicism. Once inside the throne room, she slowed down and prepared her spell. Her horn lit with golden magic and she inserted it into the lock. Gears shifted and she pulled her head away as the doors began to unlock and pull apart.
Celestia waited until she saw the marble pedestal. On it sat the gilded chest that contained the Elements of Harmony. She moved forward, lighting her horn once again to open the chest. It popped open with a click and the solar alicorn gazed down upon the gems. Her eyes immediately took in the sight of the five.
Four were healthy and smooth as always, but there was one that was cracked and seemed dimmer than the rest . . .
Magic was the odd one out.
Rainbow Dash noticed it immediately.
The strange animatronic had faltered in his steps slightly, one leg seeming to give out from under him. He tried to move forward but continued to stumble until he eventually half fell against the side of a building. Dash narrowed her eyes, unsure of what was happening.
The animatronic was attempting to get back on his feet, but he was unsuccessful. It seemed like he didn't have enough power to go anywhere. The pegasus on the rooftop watched carefully, unsure. Was he really stopping, or was this all a ruse?
I’ll wait all night if I have to. I won’t just rush in and let you trick me.
The animatronic slumped against the brick building and went limp. Rainbow watched for a few more moments before snorting slightly and settling down on the roof. Eyes narrowed, Dash glowered down at him.
It was time to play the waiting game.
Fluttershy contemplated what to do next. She could always bring Rarity to the hospital; it would be easy. But then again, why would she need to? After they caught Springtrap, they needed to get back to Equestria. She would, of course, say her final goodbyes to Jackson and then she assumed Twilight . . .
Suddenly, Fluttershy froze. Without Twilight, how would they get back to Equestria? And if they somehow returned without Twilight, would everything be fixed as they had said it would? What would become of their equine world?
Oh dear. What's going to become of us?
Fluttershy looked towards the door of the back room where she still sat with Foxy. A moment passed where she could only stare at it. Then she looked back down to Rarity, checking for the telltale signs of life.
Fluttershy frowned.
She turned, trying to stay calm as her blood ran cold, and put two fingers to her friend’s pale neck. She waited.
“Lass? Is somethin’ wrong?” she heard Foxy ask. There was a small scraping sound as he scooted towards her.
Fluttershy didn't respond and instead kept her attention focused on Rarity’s nonexistent pulse. Thirty seconds passed with nothing. Fluttershy began to feel sick as she realized another one of her best friends had passed. Quickly leaping into action after the fact, she began to hurriedly do CPR.
Please, Rarity, please! Don't—don’t . . .
Fluttershy’s desperate thoughts were drowned out as she became focused on the task at hand. She could sense Foxy behind her, unsure of what to do. Unfortunately, he couldn't help, as he didn’t even know what she was doing.
It was minutes later and Fluttershy realized she wasn't getting anywhere. It was too late. Rarity had lost too much blood. Feeling tears welling in her eyes, Fluttershy sat back, wings drooping behind her. Foxy put his hand on her shoulder.
“Is she-?” the animatronic asked cautiously. Fluttershy could only nod sadly. “’M sorry.”
She sniffed. “I just wish I could've done more.”
“Ye did all ye could.”
Fluttershy shook her head, then allowed her neck to droop sadly, eyes half lidded. A few moments later, her gaze slowly made its way up to the room’s door, and her eyebrows furrowed.
“Lass?”
Fluttershy stared at the door for several more moments before she began to move. Foxy removed his hand from her shoulder as she stood up and made her careful way to the door.
“Fluttershy, is there somethin’ wrong?” Foxy asked, wobbling to his feet after her.
“I . . . need to check on something,” Fluttershy murmured in response, hand on the doorframe.
“’M comin’ wit’ ya.” Foxy followed after her. The pegasus didn't object to this; in fact, she didn't even respond.
What am I feeling? It's so weird. I need to know why I'm feeling like this.
Fluttershy walked down the hallways, Foxy on her tail. She kept a careful eye out for anything strange, but didn't see anything until they reached the showroom. Her eyes fell upon Freddy, who was lying face down on the floor.
“Oh . . .” the pegasus whimpered quietly.
Foxy walked forward to stand beside her. “Aye. Goldie got ta Freddy ‘fore I made ‘im normal ‘gain.” Fluttershy frowned, seeing the blank expression on the dead animatronic’s face.
Well . . . there’s no use standing here. He’ll be fixed later. She exhaled gently. Though I do wish I’d be able to say goodbye to him in case we never see each other again. Honestly, Fluttershy was surprised she was sad. She never thought she’d ever forgive Freddy for what he did to Foxy. But as she got to know him through the years she’d been there, she had realized he wasn’t as bad as they’d all originally thought.
“Come on, Foxy,” Fluttershy said after a moment, stepping over the top hat that’d ended up in front of her. Foxy nodded and padded after her as she approached the room.
“Are ye goin’ into that ‘idden room Freddy was talkin’ ‘bout earlier?” Foxy asked as Fluttershy stopped in front of a wall that was seemingly only that to him—a wall.
“Yes, Foxy. I’ve got to go in.” Fluttershy hesitated briefly. “Something just seems odd about this whole situation. I’ve got to confirm my feelings.”
“But what could there be in there that could possibly be good?”
“Maybe not good. But I need to know why I’m feeling so odd all of a sudden. Since you can’t come in, you just wait here.” Fluttershy patted his shoulder gently. “I’m going in.”
With that, the pegasus entered the dark hallway.
Princess Celestia lit her horn and picked up the fractured Element of Magic, holding it at face level. Her eyes sparkled with sadness and she felt herself droop, flowing mane seeming to die down a bit and lose some of its sparkle . . . until another jab broke her out of her daze. This one was more intense and seemed to needle its way into her heart. She coughed, gasping. She nearly fell against the wall but managed to stay on her hooves. The princess could faintly see a few drops of blood spattered on the floor through her blurry vision.
Celestia hacked once more before standing up straighter. There was a fierce throbbing in her ribcage, but she deftly ignored it and shook some strands of pastel hair out of her face. Her horn’s light intensified and another Element was picked up. The purple gem was rapidly falling apart as if made of dust. Any life Generosity had in it was draining out, the light visibly dripping like water.
Celestia’s eyes widened visibly, panic showing on her face. She quickly shook her grimace away and closed her eyes. A spell began to take place. A spell she’d worked on for years; all the years she’d spent waiting for the ponies’ present. A moment later, twin twinkles were absorbed by the two Elements. Princess Celestia opened her eyes.
Fluttershy entered the hallway with a cautious air. She didn’t want to race into trouble like Rainbow Dash surely would have. She wanted to live, thank you. While it was very unlikely that there was anything dangerous in there anymore, one could never be too careful.
The room was pitch black by now. Narrowing her eyes in the dark, Fluttershy felt along the wall for anything resembling a light switch. Dust coated her fingers as she slid her hands over the smooth surface, and she coughed slightly as it invaded her nostrils and caught in her throat. A moment later, she found the switch and flicked it on.
And promptly screamed.
Twilight’s consciousness was being bounced around. Or, at least, it felt like it. Voices murmured in the darkness and she felt like she was floating—no, she was. She was floating in darkness, back to her pony form. The voices were indistinguishable at first, but one eventually stood out among the rest.
“. . . hear me, Twilight?”
The unicorn paused, ears flicking in the direction of it. She scrunched her nose, shifting her head, eyebrows furrowing. Twilight willed her eyes to open, but it seemed she was unable to, no matter how hard she tried. Her hooves twitched under her, her arms and legs tucked close to her body.
“Twilight, can you hear me?”
There it was again! Twilight lifted her head, craning her neck to try and get closer to the mystery voice. The owner of it was someone she knew; that much was sure. The name was on the tip of her tongue . . .
“Twilight, it’s the princess.”
Princess-? Princess Celestia! Her mentor and the bringer of the sun, Princess Celestia! Twilight kicked her legs, instincts telling her to find the origin of the disembodied voice. Unfortunately, her body wouldn’t move. She opened her mouth to try and cry out so she could have some sort of direction, but the soft sound of her mentor’s voice came again:
“Do not try and move. You will not get anywhere with that, I am afraid.
“Now, listen to me—you have been killed in the human world, Twilight. I am not sure how, but I do know you were. Luckily, but also something I had hoped not to need, I devised a spell many a years ago for just this purpose. I call it the Renew Spell, and anything beyond that bit of information is not vital. Just know that it will bring you back; it’s like a backup life. So go forth now, my faithful student, and fix this mess!”
Twilight found herself swirling downwards quickly. She could finally move her limbs, and she wasted no time in throwing her hooves up with a soundless yowl as she was tugged into the vast expanse of nothing below her. Twilight’s eyes opened and flashed white, mouth open with no sound coming out.
Fluttershy screamed, eyes squeezed shut. Her hands were tucked under her chin and her back was pressed against the wall behind her. She continued to scream at a constant volume.
Twilight, who was partially kneeling, finished standing up all the way. Her legs wobbled under her briefly, but she put her hands out for balance.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight croaked, throat a bit sore. She rubbed at her neck, and was surprised to find blood that hadn't dried yet. She glanced down at her body and saw most of the front of her shirt was soaked in blood. “Oh, wow. Sorry, ‘shy. I had no idea I was still . . . messy.” She wiped her hand on her jeans, imprinting the mark of it. “Um, Fluttershy?” Twilight looked back up and realized her friend was still screaming. “Fluttershy, it's okay! I'm okay! We’re all okay here!” She moved forward and placed a hand on the pegasus’ shoulder. Fluttershy finally stopped screaming, opening her eyes.
“Y-you're s-sure you're okay?” Fluttershy stammered, shying away just slightly.
“Yeah, I'm fine; I feel great, actually. Well, except for how, you know, bloody I still am. Speaking of which, I need a bathroom.” Twilight began to walk out of the hidden room. “I'm glad you're safe. Who else is here?”
“Well, um . . .”
Rarity frowned, eyeing the blood stain on her dress. “Hmm, that is most unnerving.” Her sapphire eyes landed back on her friends. “Anyways—ignoring my ruined outfit—have we heard anything from Pinkie Pie and Applejack—I mean, um, Golden Freddy in Applejack’s head?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No.”
“Well, shouldn't we go after them? To back them up?”
“I imagine on of us should, at least. They haven't got any magic between the three of them,” Twilight commented. “Now, I'm not saying they need magic to beat Springtrap, but I think it'd be helpful.”
“Okay then. Twilight, you can track them, right?” Fluttershy asked.
“I mean, I could. But I could also ask Goldie about it just as easily. I still remember what his consciousness feels like.” Twilight closed her eyes and spread her consciousness out.
Goldie? You there?
There were a few empty moments with no reply . . . Well, hello there, dear. I had heard you were lying dead on the floor in the old fitting room. But I had also not felt your consciousness at all, so you were indeed lifeless. Tell me, what's behind your reincarnation?
Princess Celestia. Now, I'm going to teleport to your location. Where is that?
. . . Hold on a moment, dear. Twilight felt his consciousness fade out briefly. Then, I don't know how to tell you with words. Here.
Suddenly, Twilight saw a rush of images flash through her mind. They were all a little different, but she got the gist and a few moments later, she was standing on an empty street with Goldenjack and Pinkie Pie.
“Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!” Pinkie shouted, eyes growing three times as big as they already were. She leaped at the unicorn, hugging her tightly. “I'm so glad to see you!”
Twilight stumbled slightly at her friend’s embrace, but smiled down at her. “Me too.” She patted Pinkie’s curly hair. “Lead the way, Goldie.”
Goldenjack rolled their eyes. “Come along. Time’s a-wasting.”
Rainbow frowned, then checked the position of the moon. She'd been waiting for the animatronic to move for an hour already. He hadn't so much as even twitched since he'd fallen, and she was beginning to think he might have actually deactivated. If not, then he was one heck of a good actor. But he was a tricky character, so all in all, Dash was perplexed. It was either wait longer and possibly uncover a plot he'd hatched, or wait and never do anything ever again and look like an idiot once the rest of her friends arrived, seeing how she’d sat there for an hour straight staring at an animatronic.
“Gah . . . I'm not gonna wait any longer!” Rainbow scoffed, standing from her position on the roof. She cracked her back and stretched her legs. She was rather stiff from that hour, so she was glad to be on her feet again. Dash opened her wings and carefully descended to the ground, still trying to be as quiet as she could. Very slowly, she approached the limp animatronic from the side, keeping a keen eye on his body language. He still wasn't moving.
Okay, I think I'm good. Hmm, what should I do now? I'm not going to leave him here. Maybe I should tie him up? Will that even work? Rainbow shrugged. Whatever. Might as well try.
Dash glanced over at the animatronic, then checked around for something to use to restrain him just in case he woke up.
“I can feel him. He's very close,” Goldenjack said, glancing around.
“How close?” Pinkie Pie asked in a loud whisper from the end of their small line.
“Very. Which means you should be quiet, pink one. We don't need him knowing we’re coming.”
“He's right, Pinkie. Just try to be quiet now,” Twilight agreed.
“Okey dokey lokey!” Pinkie cheered. Goldenjack rolled their eyes. The continued to lead the way, taking soft steps and moving quite slowly through the night. Twilight made sure to give them room as they crept along.
“So . . . close . . .” Goldenjack murmured. They skirted a building and came upon an alley that went through several streets, picking up on the other sides. Something shifted in the darkness. “Wait, I see something!” His superb night vision easily picked up the movement.
Twilight narrowed her eyes, struggling to see. “What? What is it?” Her pulse began to race.
“I think it's the rainbow one.”
“Rainbow Dash?!” Twilight gasped. Suddenly, Goldenjack stiffened next to her. Twilight caught the action and looked at them. “What? What do you see?”
“It's Springtrap! He's about to get her!” It was true; he could see Springtrap’s outline and, more specifically, the knife he held in his hand as it glinted in the moonlight. He was only about two feet from Rainbow, who had her back turned to him. She seemed to be looking for something.
“Oh no!” Pinkie Pie wailed, putting her hands to her head. “Somebody do something!”
Golden Freddy emerged from Applejack’s body with a flash, leaving her stumbling around in a daze for a few moments before his smoky form took off. Twilight’s magic activated, hands glowing as she followed quickly after him with Pinkie and AJ on her tail, and with the voice magnification spell, she shouted, “Rainbow Dash! Watch out!”