The group made its way back to the pizzeria. There, they discussed what had happened and how to solve their problems.
“We can return to Equestria,” Twilight Sparkle sighed.
“But not until we find the spell gems,” Rarity continued in a saddened voice. The six mares exchanged weary glances.
Rainbow Dash scraped at the floor angrily with a foot, hands in her pockets. “Stupid Springtrap.”
“I agree,” Pinkie Pie murmured, head drooping.
Fluttershy stood in silence much like the rest of the group. She stared down at the floor as she tried to come up with a solution. What could they possibly do?
“Can't you, well, sense them or something? Like, find a magical signature?” the shy pegasus asked.
Twilight frowned. “No . . . the gems hide their power. Besides, the little bit of magic they each contained wouldn't be enough to lead me across town if Springtrap had ditched them along the way.”
Fluttershy fell quiet again. “Oh.”
She paused.
“What about Golden Freddy? Could he help us?”
The group of five looked at her in shock.
“Golden Freddy? How could we possibly get help from him?” Applejack angrily spat.
“He's a traitor!” Rainbow declared.
“He's gone dark side, darling,” Rarity continued.
Fluttershy put her hands up in defense, shying away slightly. “Look, I know, but please listen. I know Springtrap did something to him so he turned against us, but don't you remember what he said when he first talked to us?”
The rest of the girls exchanged confused glances.
“Uh . . .” they all droned.
“Springtrap said something about how Goldie doesn't know who he is or what he's doing, but he can take orders,” Fluttershy explained. The other girls seemed to be catching on.
“But what if he doesn't listen to us? I mean, he was only listening to Springtrap,” Pinkie Pie said. There was a murmuring of agreements.
“Of course, there's that possibility. But Springtrap powered down, so who else is there to take orders from?”
Twilight hummed, rubbing her chin. She let a small smile cross her face as she looked at the pegasus.
“You know, Fluttershy, I often wonder what we'd do without you,” Twilight said gently. Fluttershy blushed slightly, embarrassed.
“O-oh, plenty, I'm sure,” the shy girl replied softly. She hid behind her hair.
Twilight’s smile grew bolder, and she removed the magic cube from Pinkie’s mess of hair. The party pony merely beamed widely and rocked on her feet.
"Let's hope this works,” Applejack murmured just as soon as Twilight released the animatronic from within his prison. There was a flash of gold, and the next moment, Golden Freddy was standing there. He turned in what seemed to be confusion, though his facial expression didn't change whatsoever.
“Goldie?” Twilight asked cautiously. The bear cocked his head at her, blinking silently. “You can understand me, yes?”
Golden Freddy seemed to ponder her question before nodding.
“Will you do what I say?”
The animatronic stared. He made no actions.
Twilight frowned, swallowing dryly. “Go find the spell gems,” she ordered in what was hopefully a stern enough tone.
Golden Freddy stood there stiffly. Twilight felt a little sweat beading on her forehead. Maybe she should try again?
Just as she was about to open her mouth to repeat the command, Golden Freddy dissolved into smoke and sank into the floor. The group of former ponies looked around worriedly, picking up their feet to look at the ground.
“Did it work?” Rainbow asked uncertainly.
“I’m not sure—”
Twilight didn't get any farther than that as gold smoke surrounded their feet once again. It seemed to be funneling from a nearby air vent. The form of Golden Freddy materialized, and in his large metal hands he seemed to be holding something. He stretched out his arms and opened his cupped hands. The entire room of girls gasped in happy shock.
“The spell gems!” Twilight exclaimed.
“He found them!” Pinkie cheered.
“Good job, Goldie!” Fluttershy complimented, patting his arm gently. He glanced down at her. She smiled shyly at him briefly before turning her attention back to the goings on.
“Does this mean we’re leaving?” Rainbow piped up as she hovered just above Twilight’s shoulder. The unicorn had taken the spell gems from the animatronic, holding them in her magic.
Twilight glanced up at the pegasus, smiling. “Yes, it does.” She then directed her attention to Fluttershy, and the rest of the girls soon copied the action.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight began. “It's already six.”
The pegasus glanced at the clock, blinking. “Oh, yes, it is!” She seemed surprised. What with all the action happening, she'd totally forgotten.
“Would you like to . . . come back with us?”
Fluttershy smiled, her eyes sad. “Of course, girls. I could never leave you; I already said so.”
"Even though you've got a family?” Rarity asked, stepping forward to press a hand gently against her friend’s stomach. The pegasus seemed to hesitate for a moment, but she still nodded.
“Yes. It'd all be worth it.”
“Then,” Twilight continued, “would you like to say goodbye to your husband?”
Fluttershy glanced towards the door. “. . . No. He won't remember me; I can already tell. He'll be okay, and so will I.” Her smile was sad, but she seemed content with her decision.
“Alright then.” Twilight glanced around her group of friends.
“You're leavin’?”
They all turned to see the animatronic fox standing in the doorway to the showroom. He'd been powered down in his cove before they'd gotten back, but he'd woken himself and made his way out to check on them.
Fluttershy walked up to him and took his hand. “Yes, Foxy. We’re leaving. Equestria needs me—needs us, the Elements of Harmony.” She felt empowered as she said that.
Foxy turned his eyes down. “I'll be all ‘lone ‘gain, then.”
“No, that's not true. You'll have your friends.” Fluttershy glanced towards the animatronics in the room, from Bonnie and Chica onstage to Freddy laying splayed across the floor and finally to Golden Freddy standing next to the group of ponies.
“But—but what if I forget ya all?” he whispered.
“It'll be okay, Foxy. Hopefully you will remember at least some of what happened to you, and hopefully they will, too. Things will be better, I promise.” Fluttershy reached up and brushed her knuckles against his broken jaw. The animatronic met her eyes. “Don't be sad, please.”
“I . . . I'll miss you lasses—ye most ‘a all.”
Fluttershy smiled. “I'll miss you too.” She glanced back at her friends, who were all giving her soft smiles, which she returned. “But I need to go now. I have my own world to return to.”
Foxy nodded slowly. “Goodbye.”
The pegasus patted his hand once more before breaking away. Before she walked back to her friends, however, she padded over and bent down next to Freddy’s inanimate body.
“You be good to them, okay? I'm sorry I couldn't help you,” Fluttershy whispered. She gently ran a hand over his head. Maybe, just maybe, he'd hear this, wherever his mind was. She then stood and made her way back to her friends.
“Goldie, you stay here. We’re leaving,” Fluttershy told him, lightly touching his arm, and he took a step away from them. She glanced at her friends. “I'm ready.”
Twilight nodded. “Goodbye, you two. Take care.”
The other girls copied her sentiment. Foxy nodded, giving a small wave, while Golden Freddy merely stood there silently, watching.
And with that, the group of six made their way back to the entry point. The spell gems were spread out in a wide circle, and the ponies stood within its confines. They all shared a moment of silence as they gazed towards the moon.
Twilight activated the spell.
Fluttershy woke up in her cottage. She lifted her head up, blinking. She rubbed at her bleary eyes with her hooves, scrunching up her nose.
“What-?” the creamy coated pegasus murmured. She wasn't even under the covers on her bed.
I don't even remember falling asleep, she thought to herself as she gazed up at the moon through her window. It was a large circle in the sky, illuminated fully. She smiled gently up at it, a warm feeling spreading through her body.
Something felt . . . right about this, like she'd just accomplished something amazing. A sense of pride made her chest swell, but she couldn't place why she was feeling like this. Her heart felt changed for some reason.
Well . . . for whatever reason I feel like this . . . I’m thankful.
Foxy jerked awake with a small twitch of limbs. He shook his head before touching his worn metal hand to it. His mind felt fuzzy for a few moments.
Mm . . . what time is it? he asked himself. The pirate stood, stretching, and then he made his way across his stage, pushing the curtain open. It seemed to be late at night. Curious and confused, Foxy padded down the hall to the window at the end of it. His claws scratched against the smooth floor.
It was definitely nighttime, judging by the stars in the sky. Leaning against the windowsill, the broken animatronic gazed up at the darkness. Something felt different about tonight. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, he felt . . . better. He tried to think of something negative, but found he couldn't, even as he glanced down at his destroyed body.
Years of being inactive, caused by him developing that glitch back in ’86 that had made Zach shut him down, had caused him to slowly fall into disrepair. It couldn't be stopped. Zach had resigned from his job to take a higher paying one to better support his family, and the new engineer didn't bother repairing Foxy because it was a pointless endeavor. After all, why waste time fixing a never going to be used again animatronic?
But that didn't matter to Foxy all that much. He had his friends—no, family— to help put himself back together.
A small smile flickered across the weary pirate’s muzzle. He flipped up his eyepatch to gaze with both golden eyes into the night.
A shooting star streaked across the dark sky.
The End