“What do you see?” I asked the red pegasus beside me as he looked though a golden and bronze spyglass.
“Lass definitely seems ta have somethin’ on her mind…she’s just layin’ there starin’ inta space,” he said, lowering the miniature telescope. “I’m gonna get ‘er down here-“
“Wait, are you sure that’s a good idea?” I asked, grabbing his hoof before he could fly off. Foxy started into my eyes for a few seconds before shaking his head.
“What do ye mean ‘a good idea’?”
“Well, maybe it would be easier if she didn’t know what we were doing,” I suggested.
“Eh, fair enough so what’s the plan?”
The Whitetail Woods are a beautiful place – unlike the Everfree Forest, filled with nothing but darkness, the Whitetail Woods are filled of trees with light coloured trunks and bright green leaves, just far enough apart so that a good amount of light shined it’s way through the leaves. It was a safe haven for small creatures of every kind, from the smallest ant to the sneakiest fox.
Despite this, the woods aren’t too close to society and are fairly easy to get lost in, so they aren’t visited very often. So imagine the animals surprise when a strange golden earth pony with creepy black eyes with simple white dots for pupils made his way through the woods on the lookout for anyb-pony who may need assistance.
He raised his eyes to the sky, looking through the leaves at the bright blue sky and smokey white clouds. “Ne’er thought I’d see this again…”
His thoughts were cut off as a rustling came from a group of bushes nearby. Golden Freddy stepped into position, crouching and ready to pounce if needed. He flashed his eyes menacingly. “Who’s there!?”
Suddenly a black figure burst through the undergrowth, panting and wheezing. Gold pounced knocking him to the ground – only then did he get a good look at the pony.
He was an earth pony, a rather tall and thin one, his fur completely black from head to hoof. Covering his face, save for eye and mouth holes, was a white mask with purple stripes and two red dots on the side. Said mask is also depicted on his flank, with white dots in the eye-sockets. The stallion’s eyes were as cold as ice and his long wavy mane like snow. He blinked a bit behind his maske before asking in a deep melodic voice.
“Goldie?”
Goldie’s eyes widened as he realised who he had pushed to the ground. “P-puppet?”
“Heh, hey Gold!” Puppet confirmed, giving a small grin.
Gold, backed off of his old friend, chuckling “Geez, man, ya scared the yellow outta me! What were ya doin’ running around like that?”
Puppet’s relaxed expression turned stressed quickly. “It’s Springtrap, he won’t wake up!”
The purple unicorn looked with intrigue over the large acade area. It was basically just an empty space of leand flattened out with a bunch of arcade machines set up around. Wires at the end were set up neatly and out of the way connecting to a generator to one end of the area. Most of the consoles had seats in front of them, most of which were filled by fillies and colts of various type and age, with a few adults mixed in.
Bonnie was walking through when he noticed a brown colt staring at him strangely out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to the small earth pony he panicked and looked back to his game, acting like he had never looked away. The ex-bunny let curiosity get the better of him and walked over to the colt.
“Hey kid, watcha playin’?” he asked.
“O-oh, uh hi! I’m playing this game called Undertail, you see…” Bonnie looked on smugly as the boy went on and on explaining the concepts of the game.
“You got a name kid?” he asked once the colt was finished his ramblings.
“OH! Right! I’m Button Mash!” he said, holding his hoof out.
Bonnie took it and shook it. “Bonnie,”
Button’s eyes suddenly widened but he looked back to his game, occasionally looking back to Bonnie nervously, thinking the unicorn wouldn’t notice. But the unicorn did notice.
“Hey, why you looking at me like that?”
“HUH AH WHAT what do you mean!?!” Button yelled, almost jumping out of his seat.
“Don’t play dumb kid, I’ve seen how you’ve been looking at me, even before I came over here you were looking at me weirdly. What’s going on?”
“Oh, well, uh you just remind me of a character from a video game…”
“Really? Tell me about him,” Bonnie said, leaning on the console.
“Well, he’s a purple robot bunny with red eyes, he plays guitar and his name is Bonnie…”
“Alright you guys this better be good. I don’t appreciate ya interrupting my nap,” Rainbow said, clearly miffed.
Yeah. Nap. Suuure Dash.
It was 5 o’clock. We were standing in front of a small restuarant, a popular spot as it seemed and most of the tables were full. Next to us was a table full of food and drink but nopony eating it.
“Well, we uh, needed some help with the weather!” Foxy said, following the script. “Tha’s what ye do, right?”
Rainbow looked to the sky, which was completely void of clouds. “Looks pretty clear to me.”
I cringed and, thinking on the fly, said, “Yeah, uh, exactly! We want more clouds!”
Rainbow looked to me oddly and raised a non-existent eyebrow. “Why would you want MORE clouds?”
“Because, uh, it’s too sunny and we don’t want to get any sunburns, r-right Foxy!?” I said nervously, nudging my friend.
“Uh yeah! Yeah I uh don’t spend much time outside and the sun’s really bright and stuff! Heh heh…” I could see the sweat on Foxy’s brow and hoped Rainbow wouldn’t.
“Yeah, well, sorry but I can’t help ya with that,” Rainbow said. “I’m not allowed to position clouds anywhere where rain isn’t scheduled. Sorry, them’s the rules!” she shrugged.
“Oh, uh that’s OK!” I said nervously. Come on Twilight hurry up!
“Ah! Freddy, Foxy, there you are! You said you needed my help on something?” Twilight said, trotting up to the three of it.
“Oh thank god…” Foxy muttered.
“Oh, yes, but we’ve already got it covered! Sorry about that!” I said. “Sorry for dragging you out here.”
“Oh, it’s OK! I need to get some fresh air anyway! Oh, and hi Rainbow!”
“Hi.”
As Twilight and Rainbow started making small talk, I felt a poking in my side and turned to Foxy, who was tilting his head towards the table we set up earlier. I nodded.
“Hey uh, you know while you’re here we noticed some ponies on a totally not romantic outing but they had to leave, and they left they’re food behind! Maybe you could have it, it’s still hot! I offered, signalling to the table, complete with glasses of wine, a fancy tablecloth and scented candles (rose and lavender – they were actually Foxy’s idea!).
Rainbow and Twilight looked at eachother in confusion, before Rainbow shrugged and sat down in front of a plate of pasta with some sort of red sauce mixed in and smothered in cheese.
“Eh, why not,” Twilight said as she sat down opposite the blue pegasus with a bowl of salad in front of her.
“Well, looks like there’s not enough room fer all o’ us so me an’ Fred here should jus’ get goin’!” Foxy said, backing off. I quickly followed suit.
“Yep bye!” I added. As the mares looked away we quickly ran into a nearby bush.
“Hey. Springtrap! Spring, Springy! Wake up!” Golden Freddy shook his oldest friend but it yielded no response.
The green-gold unicorn simply laid there peacefully in the soft grass, yellow mane covering his eyes. Unlike his friends he bore no clothing or accessory of any kind other than the bandages that covered most of his head and parts of his legs. He also had a purple bandana wrapped around his forehead.
Golden sighed. “Wow, ya were right Pup, he really is out of it…”
“Yeah…and don’t call me ‘Pup’,” the black stallion glared at Gold.
“Heh, sorry!”
Puppet sighed. “This is all my fault…”
Golden was taken aback by this comment. “What do you mean?”
“I was…experimenting with some new magic spell, I was trying to find a way to teleport others with you instead of yourself and an object but something…went wrong. My magic just went haywire, beams of blue, yellow, red, purple, black, they all just flew up through the roof. A green one was also sent in Springtrap’s direction and I was captured in a white one. When I woke up we were like this and Spring wouldn’t wake up…”
“Yeah, that would explain it alright. Ah was on mah way ta visit ya when a beam o’ black started comin’ in from the basement,” Gold said thoughtfully.
“This is why I was running like that, I was trying to find help for Springtrap!” Puppet explained.
“Ah see,” Gold walked up to his sleeping friend, lifting him onto his back. I was awkward but he made it work. “Come on, Ah know a way inta town.”
Bonnie slammed his hooves onto the younger pony’s shoulders, gripping them like his life depended on it. “And this guys friends, who are they!?!”
“Uh, well, we have Chica the Chicken,” Button began. “She sings backup and I think cooks sometimes as well, then we have Foxy the Pirate, he used to perform for kids in like a pirate act but he’s broken and out of order now…and of course you can’t forget Freddy Fazbear! He’s the ringleader, he sings!” Button put a hoof to his chin. “There’s also this random slumped over bear that just appears sometimes, people just call him Golden Freddy, since he’s basically a yellow version of Freddy…”
“What the hell…”
“Hey, Bonnie, why are you holding that child like that? You know that’s inappropriate right?” Bonnie turned to see his favourite yellow pegasus standing there smugly, snickering to herself.
“CHICA!! That’s not what I’m doing!”
“Wait did he call you Chica?” Button Mash asked.
“Um yes why do you ask?” Chica replied.
“Aw, Cheeks, you’re never gonna believe this…”
"So...uh...how's your day going?" Rainbow asked, scooping some spaghetti onto her fork.
"Um, good, good...yours?" Twilight asked, chewing nervously on her leaves.
"Good..."
I face-hoofed.
"..."
"So how's Spike? How's the little guy going?" Rainbow asked.
"He's going great! He's been feeling really good lately, I think it's because he's been spending so much time with Rarity!" Twilight replied. A few quiet chuckles filled the air.
"Jeez, he does realise he doesn't have a chance with her, right?" Rainbow pointed out.
"Yes, but I'm not going to be the one to break it to him," Twilight replied. "Besides, he does have a small chance I think, he is her type."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I mean, sure he may be young, but he is a gentlecolt and very helpful. I can see them being a good match but again, it seems kind of awkward..."
I heard a sigh of boredom next to me. I turned to my side and saw my matchmaking partner leaning his head of a hood and twirling his hair with the other, eye dull.
"Ugh, Foxy focus!" I said, nudging his side"
"Aye, aye, sorry cap. This is jus' gettin' real borin', when will they get to the interestin' part?" The pegasus asked.
"They'll get there when they get there! You can't rush this kind of thing," I explained before turning back to the conversation, worried I had missed something.
"Well, I mean, I guess there is someone..." Rainbow said, face turning a shade of red. Yep I missed something.
"Oh, really? Come on Dash spit it out!" Twilight teased.
"Well, I, I mean I, uh..."
A silence filled the air as the two mares stared into each other's eyes, magenta gazing into purple as an orange light surrounded them, the setting sun in the background. Come on, this is the perfect atmosphere, tell her Rainbow...
I looked to the side to see Foxy staring at them intently as well. I looked back. Twilight and Rainbow were centimetres apart.
"Twilight?"
"Y-Yes?"
"You, uh, you've got a leaf stuck to your muzzle."
Twilight's eyes widened as she wiped her chin and chuckled sheepishly.
"SERIOUSLY!!!???!!" I exclaimed bursting out from the bush, drawing the attention of many of the ponies in the area. Including the two we were watching. I was suddenly pulled to the ground and in a blur found myself laying underneath a red pegasus stallion.
"Cap'n, what the hay do ye think yer doin'!?! Do ye wanna get caught!?" He exclaimed, scowling at me accusingly. Kind of adorable actually...wait what? UGH!
"Uh, Foxy..."
"Aye?"
"Can you, uh, let me up?"
Foxy blinked as he realised our rather compromising position and clambered off. I could be wrong but I could've sworn I saw his face go redder than it already was.
Wait, why are my cheeks so hot?
A heavy panting could be heard as 3 stallions walked into Ponyville, one carrying another on his back. Golden put down his old friend and sat down as Puppet walked over to the crowd.
"Does anyone here know where the nearest hospital is?" he asked.
A few ponies looked at each other, slightly nervous about the strange stallion, before a pink mare bounced out from the crowd, a large smile on her face.
"Hithereareyounewintownwellyoumustbenewintownotherwiseiwouldknowyouandsinceidon'tknowyouyoumustbenew!" she exclaimed, getting up on her tippy-hooves and in Puppet's face, curly mane bobbing in his face.
"Um, look I just need to get to the hospital, my friend won't wake up and we're worried about him," Puppet said calmly, a hint of nervousness in his voice.The pink mare stood back, tilting her head and watching him inquisitively. After some seemingly deep thought, she nodded. “OK, I understand. This sounds pretty serious. Follow me.”
She turned around and proceeded to trot in another direction. Golden and Puppet locked eyes for a moment before nodding as Gold heaved Springtrap onto his back.
“A…video game?” Chica looked at me with an expression that just screamed ‘are you serious?’
Bonnie nodded. “Kid, tell her about it!”
“I have a name you know…” he said grumpily as he approached Chica and explained the situation to her. All about the game where you play as a night-guard, being hunted by animatronics matching our identities and you attempt to survive five nights.
“That sure sounds right…but, are you serious! Are we really just characters from a video game?” she asked, barely hiding the devastation on her face.
“Hmm…well, not necessarily…” Bonnie said, putting a hoof to his chin. “I believe we’re in some sort of alternate dimension, in which case our universe is simply a video game. I wouldn’t be surprised if in another dimension this whole ‘Equestria’ place is nothing more than a TV show…”
I looked up and chuckled sheepishly. “At least, that might be something like it…heh, heh…”
Chica simply stared at him in shock, eyes wide and jaw dropped. Button just looked confused.
“I don’t get it,” he said.
“Wow, where did you learn all that science-y stuff!?” Chica exclaimed.
“Oh, y’know, I just, picked it up I guess…” he said nervously.
“Well, whatever, we need to tell the others about this!”
“Well, looks like that was a bust,” I say as we watch Rainbow and Twilight go their separate ways.
“Aye…” Foxy sighed. “An’ I was so sure it would work…” he stepped to his hooves and walked out of the bush, looking back to me. “Well, no use mopin’ about it, right? I’m sure there be some way to get them together!” He said, grinning at me.
I smiled back as an odd glow filled my heart. “You’re right.” I stood up and followed him out the bush. We headed towards Twilight’s place, where everyone agreed to meet up.
“Let’s see…the mood was right, maybe they’re both jus’ too shy…” Foxy said, looking up slightly, mind whirring. “We could try mistletoe, but then we’d have ta wait until Christmas…maybe some kinda love potion!”
“Bad idea.”
We turned our heads to see three fillies looking up at us, strangely having very similar ‘cutie-marks’, as Twilight told me they were called.
“Trust us on this one,” the same filly that spoke before, and orange pegasus with a purple mane. With that the three foals left, leaving Foxy and I to stare after them in confusion.
“No love potion, then?” Foxy asked.
“No love potion.”
“H-Hey…wait up!” I looked to the left to see a pink blur zip past, followed by two stallions, one carriying another on his back. On closer inspection…
“Gold? OI, GOLD! OVER HERE!” I called out. Gold turned around and glanced towards me, face lighting up upon seeing us.
“Freddy, Foxy…good ta…see ya,” he panted. Sweat dripped down his brow and his breath was short and ragged. You could see his chest heaving underneath his fur.
It was then I noticed the unicorn on his back.
“Hey, who’s that?” I ask, moving to take a closer look at him.
“He looks like Bonnie.”
I jumped, letting out a small scream and whipped my head behind me to see Foxy standing there thoughtfully. I didn’t even notice him there…
“Yes, well, there’s a reason for that, but for now we need to get him to the hospital,” the other stallion, black with a white mask, walked up from behind him.
“P-Puppet!?” Foxy exclaimed in shock.
“The one and only,” he smirked, mouth visable through his mask.
“Geez, you all are slowpokes…” a pink mare with a mane that resembled cotton candy came bouncing over. Yes, I said bouncing. “I thought you wanted to get to the hospital quick!”
“Right, right, sorry Pinkie! Come on, Puppet!” Gold turned ready to continue his trek to the hospital…wherever it was.
I nodded. “Foxy, go get the other’s and make your way to the hospital! You’ll probably be able to easily see it from the sky.” He nodded and flew off, as if he’d been flying his entire life.
“Come on, slowpokes! Jeez!” the mare, Pinkie, yelled as she bounced off, Gold, Puppet and I quick on her tail.