Rainbow Dash's Five Nights at Freddy's

by PrometheusX

The Third Day (Murder Mysteries)

The first thing Rainbow Dash did as of leaving the pizzeria?

Race to her cloud bed and get a well-deserved bit of sleep. She practically passed out the moment her face made contact with the cloud, not taking a moment to take her nightsticks out from under her wing or even to just get in a more comfortable position. One touch, and it was heavenly bliss.

And as an extra topping of this ice cream of relief? She didn't have a single nightmare.

As for what she did dream...

"Die, you darn dolls!"

With a mighty thrust, Dash stabbed the leering purple bunny with her electric lance, watching as it exploded in a great big ball of fire. A bark of laughter escaped as she turned to her companion.

"How ya holding up, Foxy?"

Her red-furred pirate companion turned his head towards her, eyepatch snapping upwards as he swung the sword in his grip at the yellow chicken he was fighting, it too exploding in a ball of flame and smoke.

"Yar! I'd be doing fine, Cap'n! Let's hurry up and take care of ol' Freddy!"

She smiled. "Oh yeah!"

They both turned to the brown bear with his black tophat, who just stared at them for a second before turning and running as fast as his legs could take him.

"Avast, matey!" Foxy called with laughter as he bolted after him. "I'll race ya!"

Dash didn't answer, simply chuckling as she followed.

...they were pleasant, to say the least.

Alas, all good things must come to end. And as Dash was forced to wake up due to a sudden beeping sound, just as she and Foxy were discussing what would be the most epic way to dispatch of Freddy, she was forced to be reminded of that fact.

"Mmmph..." she grumbled to herself, shifting her position. "Five more minutes..."

The ringing continued. Dash raised her head and slowly opened her eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the sunlight as she blinked, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.

"Alright, alright! I'm up! I'm up!" she muttered as she raised a hoof to her head, trying to block out the sound. Still, it continued.

She started to glance around, yet the shrill sound seemed to have no source. Her annoyance growing by the second, Dash prepared to spread her wings and go find the source.

The moment she lifted them, the sound increased. Dash's head snapped towards her nightstick packs, the left one in particular.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Still, she removed the stick, grimacing as the sound got even louder. She noticed that a small part near the tip seemed to be flashing red. On a whim, she pressed the switch, watching as it extended. The previously sparking tip was now just barely showing any sparks, and (more importantly to Dash) the noise had finally stopped.

"...Guess it ran out of juice," she decided, then she pressed the switch again, watching as it went back to small mode and thankful the noise didn't start up again.

The thought of going back to sleep tempted her, but Dash shook her head as she looked towards the big clock in the center of Baltimare, noticing the time was apparently 3:47am.

"Darn, I really slept," she muttered to herself, then suddenly felt her stomach growl. "Wonder what's for breakfast?"

---

A shower, a few sandwiches, and three cups of coffee later (that was becoming a thing, apparently), Dash found herself walking through the streets of Baltimare past the city's residents, making her way to Freddy's. A part of her knew she could have just flown there, but she wanted some time to collect her current thoughts, specifically that of the pieces of information that appeared on the white safety poster.

Five foals were murdered there? Dash couldn't believe it on some level. She would have thought Griff would have mentioned it to her at some point when she came to him for answers, but he hadn't even given it a single hint of it.

She recalled what Griff had said about not knowing about something that had happened during the early days of the establishment, when his grandad was in charge. Was this what he meant?

'Then how do I know about it and he doesn't?' she wondered. 'I mean, I found it out on a changing poster after two nights. How come he couldn't after several years?'

She stopped walking for a moment. Actually, how was she even certain it was even true? All she had to go on was a changing poster in a maybe-haunted pizzeria, and if some of the horror stories she had read about things like that meant anything, that usually wasn't the best source of info to go off on.

'...Maybe I need a new angle,' she thought to herself. 'But where could I find something like that?'

She thought back to all the times Twilight needed to find an answer to a big problem. What did she do...

Her eyes widened as she stomped the ground in realization. "The library!" she shouted aloud in a eager voice. A few ponies glanced at her in confusion at her outburst, but she paid them no mind.

'The library has everything somepony needs to know,' she told herself as she started glancing left to right. 'Now, where can I find one here-'

She stopped when she looked at the building to her immediate right. On the sign in great big silver letters were the words: Baltimare City Library.

She stared for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Well, that was easy."

---

Getting the information, however, was not.

Dash had gotten used to having the librarian of Ponyville also being her best friend and said library also her house, which meant she had the option to bend the rules so much that she could form pretzels with them. She could be loud, talk without thinking, roughhouse, the whole nine yards and all she'd get in return would at worst be a sort of scolding.

Here though, said library was run by a far more serious mare who seemed to live and breath the rules, especially the 'be quiet' one.

Safe to say, ten minutes in and she had already gotten two warnings, with the last coming with the barely disguised threat of expulsion if she acted up again.

Still, for all the said mare's faults, she was helpful in finding the stuff Rainbow Dash wanted, if only because she seemed to want Dash out as fast as possible.

And so, Dash found herself sitting by a table while looking over several newspaper articles about Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, attempting to find any trace of any reference to the articles she found during her night watch.

And she had come up with jack.

She growled softly as she looked over an article about an interview with Griff's father, Phone Schmidt (what kind of pony names their foal 'Phone'?), and all she got was just some generic questions about the establishment and how his father had gotten started. Interesting, but nothing that said anything about murders and the like. She pushed it aside with a small pile of articles she had deemed useless and grabbed another one, this one far more recent, as in earlier this year.

Local pizzeria said to close by year's end.

After a long struggle to stay in business after the tragedy that struck there so many years ago, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has announced that it will close by year's end.

Despite a year-long search to find a buyer, companies seem unwilling to be associated with the floundering pizza place.

"These characters will live on. In the hearts of foals, these characters will live on." - CEO, Griff Schmidt (Third owner and grandson of FFP's founder, Scott Schmidt.)

'That still doesn't tell me about the foals,' Dash told herself. 'For all I know, they're talking about the Bite of '87.'

She pushed the article away. Everything she was reading was either something she already knew from Griff or something useless to her. She got up from her seat and walked back over to the librarian.

"You sure this is all you have on Freddy Fazbear's Pizza?" she asked the mare.

The librarian sighed. "Yes, Ms. Dash," she replied. "That is all we have left on the subject of the pizzeria."

Dash blinked. "'Left'?"

"About five years ago, a fire accidentally started in the library," she elaborated. "While we were able to snuff it out relatively quickly, several dozen books and articles were lost, among them it would appear were many that documented the pizzeria's earliest years. Does that answer your question?"

Dash sighed and hung her head. "No, that's fine. Thanks anyways," she replied as she turned to leave the building, mentally cursing that almost a whole hour of searching had been for nothing.

"My pleasure, Ms. Dash," the librarian called after her. "Have a nice day."

'Nice day? Try nice night,' Dash thought in turn as she exited the library.

---

"Murders?"

Dash nodded her head as Griff leaned back in his chair. They were in his office, Dash having decided to check to make sure he knew that, yes, she was alive and yes, she was coming back to work, so he wouldn't be on the verge of a panic attack. If nothing else, it looked like he hadn't been drinking this time around.

"And you saw these things on the poster in the East Hall?"

"Yup," Dash replied. "Care to shed some light on this?"

Griff shrugged his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine... though it would definitely explain some things about what my dad said."

"You've never seen the sign change?" Dash asked incredulously. "In all the years you've been in charge, you've never once seen the safety list turn into a doomsday report?"

"Not once," he clarified. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're the night-shift... if nothing else, it adds to the 'haunted doll' theory that I've always bought into a little bit: Five foals, five magic dolls."

Dash blinked. "You don't honestly think that-"

"I honestly don't know," Griff replied with a sigh. "It would certainly explain their behavior and some of the more... unpleasant things about them before the Bite and afterwards. Of course, it also would imply I shot a tortured soul right through the chest with a magic bolt as well."

Dash decided not to comment on that. Griff continued, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"However, it would appear that you had a bit more excitement last light than just learning about the pizzeria's dark past, if Bonnie's condition is any indication."

The way he said it made Dash rub the back of her head, chuckling nervously. "Yeah... those sticks were handy."

He just sighed. "I suppose if it kept you safe, I'm not complaining... though I do wonder about the condition of Bonnie's leg and ear. It looked like something solid and tough had hit those areas, like something made of metal, and they were too wide to be from your nightstick. Mind shedding some light, Rainbow?"

Dash stopped rubbing her head. Should she tell him about Foxy? She didn't know how he'd react to learning that the supposed defective magic doll was not only capable of leaving Pirate Cove, but also functional enough to be able to overpower one of his fellow dolls. Not only that, it would also open a whole new can of worms on the subject on exactly what Foxy's relationship (should she use that word? It seemed like the only way to describe it) with her was, something Dash wasn't entirely comfortable with talking about right now.

After all, just because they had heart-to-heart talks (or just moments with herself rambling and him maybe responding, if it wasn't just her imagination), sang a song, and now apparently added kicking doll flank to their resumes didn't mean he still wasn't a maybe-maybe-not killer doll who just so happened to take a shine to her. Heck, if Shep's message meant anything, he was just as responsible for stuffing ponies into suits as the others were.

But then why was she so different?

"Dash?"

She blinked when she realized that Griff was waiting for her answer.

"Uh... I might have grabbed a pan and hit Bonnie a few times?"

...That could have been better thought out.

To her surprise, Griff seemed to accept that explanation after staring at her for a moment. "...Well, it's no worry, I suppose. Bonnie has enough spare parts to have those fixed up just fine. Took care of it this morning, actually, though I doubt he'll be as eager to come after you anymore."

'Wow, I can't believe he fell for it-'

"Foxy, however, does not have such an option of easy repair though. I'd recommend being a bit more careful from here on out."

'...Okay, scratch that. Guess he put two and two together.'

Dash expected him to follow through on that, but instead he seemed to let it slide entirely. Griff turned away from her for a second.

"I'd like to have your nightstick though, just to recharge it in preparation for tonight. One charge won't do much by its lonesome, and it's rather awkward to dual-wield them."

Dash nodded, pulling out the used stick, but paused as Griff's magic took hold of it and brought it over to him.

"...Wait, how would you know?"

He just stared at her for a second. "Ms. Dash, I've taken the time to prepare these things for the protection of my worker's well-being. At least expect me to have taken the time to test for effective ways to use them."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, just asking. Sheesh."

---

11:35 PM.

Dash spent the rest of her day just resting and preparing for the coming night. She knew she had to be at the top of her game and so got herself ready the best way she knew how: Eat something good for lunch, take a nap, do so fancy maneuvers in mid-air to get her blood pumping, take another nap, and finally occupy herself with thoughts of beating the crap out of the magic dolls if they came for her.

Of course, that last set of thoughts was tempered somewhat by the idea that they were really just poor foals who somehow possessed the dolls and were now taking their vengeance out on the living. Reminded of a good horror story she once read, though it had a demon possessing a little filly instead. Maybe they should invest in an exorcist to take care of the problem... and then they may or may not have the spirits try to possess them.

Yeah, maybe she'd settle for just keeping them away from her behind a few feet of steel doors... and just think of them as crazy magic dolls. That had worked so far.

Finally though, she made her way back to the pizzeria, and was once more in the security room with Griff, who handed her back the newly charged nightstick.

"Well, it's about time," he told her. "I guess I can leave things to you?"

She flashed him her trademark smile. "Of course, boss. Who the hay do you think I am? No magic dolls are gonna get me tonight or any other night."

He chuckled at her words. "True enough," he admitted, then looked at her seriously. "But if you see the sign change anymore tonight, don't hesitate to tell me about it come morning."

She nodded, briefly losing her own smile. "Right."

Griff turned to leave. "Good luck, Rainbow Dash."

She smiled again. "Thanks, but when you're as awesome as me, sir, you don't need luck."

Griff didn't say anything in response, just kept trotting away. Dash waited until she saw him leave on camera, then decided to make her way to Pirate Cove.

'Let's see if I can get any answers from an inside source...'

---

"Yo, Foxy!" she called as she pulled the curtains back. "How've ya been lately?"

Again, the fox offered no answer to her call, but she didn't let that bother her.

"Silent treatment again as usual, huh?" she asked without missing a beat. "Well, I can deal with that."

She sat down on her haunches in front of the damaged doll, staring up into his golden eyes. Despite herself, she found herself trying to see some spark of the intelligence she knew was secretly inside of the doll, some trace of the mind that controlled it. Her search found nothing in those glass eyes though.

'Do they always possess the dolls,' she wondered briefly to herself, 'or do they just, like, hang out outside of them until closing time?'

"...So..." she started slowly, deciding it was time to get serious. "mind if I ask you a question?"

No response. Considering how most of their conversations went, she took this as her cue to continue.

"Why do you keep on helping me?" she asked him.

No visible reaction from Foxy. Still, she continued.

"I mean, I get I'm awesome and probably the first guard who's showed you this much attention in a long time, and that I promised to keep visiting you as long as I come here to work, but is that really why you sang that song for so long last night? Why'd you helped me with Bonnie? I thought you were just a doll that liked stuffing guards into suits. The others seem to think of me like that. Why not you? What makes me special, really, in your mind?"

Admittedly, this was some pretty deep thinking and stuff she usually didn't indulge in. She left things like the 'why' to eggheads like Twilight while she focused on the 'how' and 'what'. But then again, she didn't usually spend time in places with possessed-killer-magic dolls where one of them apparently had a soft spot for her. She'd liked to know exactly why that was the case.

Foxy, however, provided no answer. He was as silent as before, no indication he even registered her words.

Rainbow Dash sat there for what seemed like hours, fidgeting in place as she waited. Finally, she just threw her hooves up in exasperation.

"Okay, okay, I can take a hint," she said as she flapped her wings, bringing herself up to his eye-level. "But I'm gonna keep this up 'til I get an answer eventually."

She went back over to the curtain ropes and put her hooves on them, taking a second to look at him one last time. "...See you later tonight, Foxy."

Foxy didn't move, even as she pulled the curtains back over him. With that, Dash made her way towards the exit.

"...Not yet, lass. Soon, but not yet..."

Dash stopped and turned back to the curtains, having heard the faint whisper even through the fabric. She thought about going back towards him, but decided against it after glancing towards the clock. She didn't have time to spare.

---

12 AM.

Dash sipped some of the hot coffee as she sat at her desk, noting with some satisfaction that the taste wasn't quite so bad anymore when heated. She also checked her nightsticks to be sure she could grab them quickly, then grabbed the tablet.

"Alright Shep," she muttered as she glanced towards the phone. "Anyday now..."

Right on cue, the phone rang and she pressed the button. "What've you got for me tonight, Shep?" she asked the machine casually, already flicking up the tablet to start observing the dolls.

"Hello, hello?" came Shep's voice over the line, still as cheery as ever, though Dash noticed just a hint of strain in the usually happy voice. Then again, two nights of this would probably do that to anypony, even some like a male Pinkie Pie. Heck, she only made it this far because she had Foxy backing her up.

"Hey you're doing great! Night Three, huh? If you're listening to this, that makes you the first pony aside from myself that's made it this far."

"Don't know if I should be really proud of myself by that statement," Dash muttered in-turn.

"Uh, most ponies don't last this long. I mean, you know, they usually quit and move on to other things by now. Uh, I'm not implying that they died. Th-th-that's not what I meant."

"Seriously dude, stop it," she muttered as she focused on the show stage, showing all three of the magic dolls in their proper places. "Just shut up if you're gonna try and be reassuring."

"Uh, anyway, I-I better not take up too much of your time. Uh, things start getting real tonight."

Real? How much realer could it get?

Dash got her answer when the show stage camera suddenly flickered and died, going completely black. All she heard was what sounded like squeaking noises, as if they were quickly moving about under the dark cover.

"What!? Oh come on!"

She quickly flipped to the party area camera, glad to see that it was still working, and found Bonnie standing there facing towards, but thankfully far away, from the camera. Another flip brought her to the restrooms, only to see that was offline, and then to the East Hall, which was also offline.

"Waiting for your advice, Book," she said through gritted teeth as she flipped to Pirate Cove, letting only a slight amount of tension to leave at the fact that Foxy was still hidden. "Come on, give me something..."

"Uh, h-hey, listen, I had an idea: if you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uh, try playing dead! You know, go limp."

"...Something useful, darn it!" she replied as she flipped back towards the party area (Bonnie was still there, good) and then back to the East Hall when the camera finally came back on, showing her that Chica was at the far end of the area, giving her the trademark stare. "What good is that to me?"

"Then there's a chance that, uh, maybe they'll think you're an empty costume instead, you know? No need to stuff you in a suit if you're already a suit."

"...You know, that doesn't actually sound too bad-"

"Then again if they think you're an empty costume, they might try to stuff a metal skeleton into you. I wonder how that would work. Y-Yeah, never mind, scratch that. I-It's best just not to get caught."

After that horrifying mental image, Dash was quick to agree. "Yeah, let's continue that conversation never, okay?"

"Uh, ok, I'll leave you to it. See you on the flip side."

The line went dead. She stared at it for several moments, contemplating the advice she had been given.

'Well that was useless to me.'

She then looked back to the cameras, seeing that Bonnie and Chica had changed positions once again.

She took a deep breath. Well, useless or not, she was going to survive.

"Alright, let's do this!"

---

2:48 AM. 73% power remaining.

Dash's eyes flickered to another camera as she pressed the right door button, allowing the metal to block Chica off from sight. Surprisingly enough, it was the chicken that had been taking the initiative tonight. This was the third time tonight she had come to the office, forgoing her usual forays into the kitchen to get something to eat. Dash wondered if it had something to do with the fact she shocked Bonnie last night. Maybe Chica made a bet that she could do what he couldn't?

"Sheesh, Chica. Couldn't you go grab a snack?" Dash muttered as she checked the West Hall camera, seeing it was clear. "I'm here all night. Might as well relax a little bit."

She flicked the camera again, finally catching sight of Bonnie in the supply closet. What he was doing there, she had absolutely no clue.

...Come to think of it, he hadn't come by the office once tonight. Maybe he was having flashbacks to getting shocked? Getting jumped by Foxy probably hadn't helped matters.

Still she wasn't complaining. If he wanted to spend the night far away from her, who was she to judge? One less thing to worry about.

"Keep it up Bonnie," she muttered quietly. "I just might make you my second favorite after Foxy."

And speaking of Foxy...

Dash flipped to Pirate Cove, being greeted to the sight of the damaged fox himself peeking out from his curtains.

"Yo Foxy," she greeted the doll, "how ya hanging?"

As if in answer, she started to hear a familiar swashbuckling tune start to play. She immediately started to sing along, humming in tune.

"Da da dum dum dum diddly dum du diddly di..."

A few minutes of that, then she changed view to the Kitchen, to which the sound of pots and pans shifting around greeted her ears. Guess Chica finally took her advice.

Still, she took a moment to check the right door's lights, then opened it when she found it clear. She also checked the left door, seeing it was clear as well.

Another glance to the camera. Bonnie still in his hideaway.

She snorted as she put the tablet down, taking a moment to just get her bearings. "Wow, I think this is easier than the first night on the job," she chuckled to herself, then flipped the tablet back on to look at the show stage. There, Freddy Fazbear stood like he always did, not even glancing towards the camera.

"You hear me, Freddy?" she couldn't help but boast to the doll. "What've you got left to throw at me, aside from turning the cameras off? I know how you guys work, and I can take it. Got anything actually new for me tonight?"

That probably wasn't the smartest idea, but really, what was left? Foxy was on her side (more or less), Bonnie was currently hiding away, and while Chica was keeping up the fight, Dash could handle her. Aside from the blackout early on, nothing major had really changed against her favor. What was left that Freddy could throw at her?

Seriously, was he just gonna come up off the stage? Shep did say that he only started moving when it got dark, and there were still lights on. Unless she ran out of power, she was pretty much safe by now.

Dash decided to change the screen, checking up on Bonnie again (still hiding), then to the West Hall Corner. She didn't know why she did it, since Chica didn't come this way and she probably could just conserve power if she turned it off, but she was curious to see if she could find anything new like on the East Hall.

'I think there was a poster over here,' she tried to recall. 'Something to do with Freddy?'

She focused on the poster, then she blinked. Yeah, it was definitely a Freddy poster, that much she remembered... but she didn't recall it being like that.

The old picture had been of Freddy with his microphone waving with big words saying 'Let's Party!' overhead. Now, it was missing the words and Freddy appeared to be-

"What the hay?" Dash whispered softly.

He had grabbed his head with his hands and was now... ripping it apart. His right hand was gripping the upper part of his head and jaw (with his hat one of his eyes missing) while his left had his lower jaw, with the two parts connected by some thin red wires and the whole thing itself only connected to the neck by a couple of black ones. Worse part was he was still staring directly at her.

"Like what you see?" it seemed to be saying.

She quickly shut the tablet, a brief cold sweat breaking out. 'It's not real, it's not real, it's not real...' she repeated to herself quickly, but she didn't bother to look back at the camera for several minutes, trying to get her breathing under the control.

Thank goodness for the fact Foxy's song was still playing. She found herself repeating along with the pirate doll.

"Dum dum diddly dum dum dum diddly dum dum diddly di..."

After a few verses, she managed to calm her nerves. She took another breath.

"Okay, I'm good."

The sound of slow groaning to her right interrupted her.

"Go away, Chica," she deadpanned, shutting it on the overeager chicken once more.

Seriously, could they really only get her if she was distracted by something else?

---

4:20 AM. 41% power remaining.

Dash shut the left door again, kinda disappointed that she didn't get a purple ear in the bargain. About twenty minutes ago, Bonnie finally stopped loitering around in the back areas to finally come at her. Maybe he finally psyched himself up, or maybe Freddy threatened to tell Chica some embarrassing stories about him if he didn't get to work.

Actually, that was an interesting thought. What did killer magic dolls consider embarrassing?

Before that, it had been standard for her. Check cameras (mostly on Foxy, the singing fool), shut door on Chica, check East Hall Corner to see if any new articles had appear, and avoid West Hall Corner like the plague. Of course, since Bonnie hadn't been working until 4 o'clock, she didn't have to worry about that blind spot.

"You know Bonnie," she irritatedly sighed, "You were almost on my good list. You could have been No. 2 on my favorite magic doll list, but noooo, you just had to come back."

Of course, she said No. 2. Sorry, but no one was taking the No. 1 spot from Foxy. She quickly flipped up the camera to see that, yes, he was still there looking up at her.

"Don't worry Foxy," she said with reassurance. "You're still No. 1 with me."

The pirate song had long since stopped, but she didn't let that bother her. Not that she would have been able to fully enjoy it, what with constantly opening and closing doors.

She put the tablet down and pressed the right door's lights, grunting when she saw Chica was still there.

"I'd say you're about No. 2 right now," she admitted. "At least you haven't tried to stuff me in a suit yet."

Granted, she hadn't gotten close enough to try, but enough about that.

Dash flipped the cameras back on, aiming for the East Hall Corner. It probably wasn't the smartest move, since she now had both doors closed, which would take up even more power, but it was also the most secure she would get if she wanted to see if there was anything new on the East Hall Corner.

This time, she was in luck. She began to speed-read the article so she wouldn't have to worry about power loss, mentally thanking the times the due dates for her Daring Doo books made her have to learn how to absorb info on the fly.

Local pizzeria threatened with shutdown over sanitation.

Local pizzeria, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, has been threatened again with shutdown by the health department over reports of foul odor coming from the much-loved animal mascots.

Police were contacted when parents reportedly noticed what appeared to be blood and mucus around the eyes and mouths of the mascots. One parent alikened them to "reanimated carcasses".

She sat there in silence, rereading that last bit. Reanimated carcasses.

Five missing children.

Formerly five magic dolls.

'Getting pressed inside a suit doesn't sound that bad when you think about it... if the suits themselves were designed for ponies and weren't filled with cross-beams, wiring, and magic devices, especially around the facial area. You can imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of... discomfort... and death...'

Slowly, ever so slowly, she changed her view to that of the show stage.

There was Freddy Fazbear, standing there with his black eyes staring into the camera.

'Still think I have nothing left?' she almost imagined him saying.

"...Buck..." Dash whispered.

She switched her view to Foxy, but he was no longer visible. He had gone back behind the curtains again, though she could hear his theme just faintly from behind the curtain.

But it had changed. It seemed to have lost the upbeatness of before and now it sounded more... sad. Like he was remembering a happier time before all of this.

She put the tablet down and checked the lights. No sign of either Bonnie or Chica, so she let the doors up.

For some reason, daytime seemed farther off now than it had over four hours ago.

---

5:50 AM. 8% power remaining.

She wasn't gonna make it.

Dash had already removed one of the nightsticks from her wings and had it at the ready to activate at any moment. She had the left door down and shut, Bonnie behind it like a darn dog waiting for a treat. She had no idea where Chica had gone, but all she cared about was that she stayed away for a while longer.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." she whispered softly as she glanced at the clock. Eight minutes to go, but only 6% to spare. She wasn't a math expert, but she could tell that it was gonna run out before the clock hit the magic number of 6:00.

She quickly brought up the camera up to Pirate Cove. To her relief, Foxy had his head out once again, as if saying "I've got your back, friend."

"Please don't abandon me now, Foxy," she said with just a hint of desperation. "I've still got time to hang with and things to talk to you about."

Eyes to the clock. Seven minutes. Five percent.

She checked the right side. No Chica.

She checked the doorlight. No sign of Bonnie.

She prepared to press the button, but paranoia stopped her. What if he had just backed off slightly so that when she opened the door he could rush her? She didn't know how far exactly the light spread, what if he was just waiting for her?

She looked back down at the tablet.

'Just a quick peek,' she decided. 'If he's gone, I can let it up.'

She checked the West Hall Corner.

Nothing.

She let out a small sigh of relief and prepared to lower the tablet. However, a flash of bright color caught her eye, right where the poster of Freddy was.

Her eyes glanced to it just for a second, but they remained rooted to the spot.

The poster had changed again. This time, the background was completely black, with an extreme close-up of Freddy's face.

But it wasn't Freddy anymore. Instead, a new doll was staring at her, looking like Freddy's brother or something. Where Freddy had been brown, this new one was golden, but also dirty like it had been stuffed in a corner somewhere for a long time. Similarly, in place of a black tophat was a blue one. But the main difference was the eyes.

Freddy, at least when he wasn't going for the black eyes with white specks, had almost baby-blue eyes. This doll didn't even have those. All she saw were two black eyeless pits staring right back her, and they creeped her out even more than the other dolls.

"Who the buck are you?" she whispered softly, feeling like she knew this one somewhere. "You're like a gold Freddy-"

It came to her like a thunderbolt.

The fifth doll.

The cause of the Bite of '87.

The one that damaged Foxy and Griff attacked.

The one the family destroyed.

The golden Freddy.

Golden Freddy.

Suddenly, a giggling laugh echoed inside the booth, literally right in front of her. It sounded like a filly who just played a joke on somepony.

For Dash though, that giggle was like a death knell, because it meant something was inside the booth. With her. And she knew what happened when things got inside with somepony already there.

"Not this time!" she yelled as she dropped the tablet and activated one of the nightsticks, swinging it in front of her even as she heard it click and spark. She wasn't even aiming, just desperate to hit something.

That 'something' turned out to be the real Golden Freddy, right in front of her face and looking just like he did in the poster... except now she could see he had a blue bowtie to go with his hat and a microphone just like the real one. He stared right at her with his eyeless holes, one eyebrow seemingly raised and head tilted to the side as if to say, "What'cha doing?"

...Actually, that'd be pretty funny if he wasn't just sitting there with his mouth open, all limp and slouched like he was sleeping... or dead. She couldn't even spot any metal teeth inside his mouth like the other dolls. It was like she was just staring at the costume, not the actual doll.

Not that it mattered either way, because her swing went right through him like he was a ghost, the lack of expected resistance accidentally causing her to fall face-first out of her chair. Dash collided with the ground and quickly tried to get off, already imagining Golden Freddy's fingers grabbing her, but all she heard was... honestly, it sounded like a weird warbling sound that wouldn't have been out of place coming from a doll's mouth.

What came next was far less comforting, because as she raised her head, an image of a close-up of Freddy suddenly popped in front of her vision, everything around it going black. It wasn't the sudden invasion of privacy that spooked her though.

No, that was reserved for the fact that Freddy's eyes were different. They weren't glassy eyes that could be mistaken for a pony's or even the black eyes from before. No, these were actual honest-to-the-Princesses pony eyes, bright blue and bloodshot, staring into hers with the most disturbing expression of crazy she had ever seen. Pinkie on her worst day never looked this creepy.

"Buck!" she screamed, swinging her stick again. Like that, the image disappeared, though just before it did she swore she could words on the black, two of them to be exact.

IT'S ME

'It's not real, it's not real,' she repeated to herself as rapidly as she could, feeling sweat break out as she steeled herself. 'It's all because of that damn gold doll.'

She clenched her stick tightly. 'I'll show him to mess with my head!'

She turned her head to look back where the golden bear had been, a mighty yell escaping her mouth as she prepared to swing, but she didn't see anything. He was gone like he had never existed.

"What the-"

She didn't get time to wonder what had just happened though, because any such thought was extinguished when her eyes landed on the clock.

5:56 AM.

One percent.

Then the lights went off, everything shutting off just like the first night. The left door went upwards with a clang, the emergency functions no doubt activating to make sure nopony would get locked inside. Bonnie was gone, and Chica wasn't at the right door.

Silence. Even the fan in the corner had gone off.

But it wasn't completely silent. Every little moment in the restaurant was like a cymbal crash to Dash's ears. She could hear the crackle of sparks on her stick, the slow breaths that she was letting in and out, and the beat of her heart.

Most importantly though, she could hear the sounds of something shuffling towards the office in the dark from the west side, steps far too heavy to be somepony coming to help her, and too muffled to be Foxy's metal feet. And as the sounds got closer, she could hear her own heart speed up.

Thump.

She desperately tried to think of a plan. She could run, but what if Bonnie and Chica were waiting for that? Maybe Freddy demanded anyone who ran out of power got the special treatment from himself, but who wasn't to say those two wouldn't be waiting for her on the east side if she tried to bolt before six?

Thump.

Fight? She still had full charge on both sticks. She only lost charges when she actually struck something, and she didn't think hallucinations and ghosts counted.

Thump!

But would they be enough? Six blasts would definitely hold him down, but she doubted they would be enough to break him if he expected it, not if Bonnie could take two while off-guard and still need Foxy to take him down.

Thump!

And where was Foxy? Was he hiding? She couldn't blame him, not if Freddy was apparently the leader of the bunch. He was even creepier than other ones when he wasn't even moving, though Golden Freddy was moving up in that title. For all she knew, that also meant he was way more dangerous, and the dark was his element, not Foxy's.

THUMP!

Dash slowly inched back into her chair, turning ever so slightly to the west side.

"Uh, h-hey, listen, I had an idea: if you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uh, try playing dead! You know, go limp. Then there's a chance that, uh, maybe they'll think you're an empty costume instead, you know? No need to stuff you in a suit if you're already a suit."

THUMP!

'...Let's see if you were right, Shep,' she thought desperately.

THUMP.

Silence again. For a moment, she actually wondered if Freddy had given up.

Suddenly, a strange tune reached her ears, like a music box being played to help a foal sleep better at night. It was so out of place from what she expected she just stared dumbly at the west door entrance, the source, from her position.

'Okaaayy...' she couldn't help but wonder. "So what do you do for an encore-"

Suddenly, Freddy's face lit up from inside the doorway like he had just switched on a light switch, his eyes and the inside of his mouth glowing with a yellow light, staring right at her. Dash, to her credit, didn't jump back in her seat, though every instinct screamed at her to do so, and instead kept as still as possible. Maybe the 'playing dead' tactic could buy her a few more seconds of time before six. Maybe he'd think she'd had a heart attack and leave her alone.

...Or maybe he would get another doll and try to stuff it inside of her.

Buck that, she'd bust out the sticks and shock him for all he was worth before that happened, be damned to whether Bonnie and Chica would come after her.

Still, he did none of those things. Instead, he just kept staring at her, the light flickering constantly to give him an even creepier feeling, all seemingly in tune to the music box song he was playing was.

She suddenly felt really bad about mocking him about not having anything left to scare her with. She could almost see it in his expression in the darkness, like he was saying, "I've got plenty left, meatsack. You haven't seen the half of it."

Still, she refused to move, anything to draw out the time. If she could just make it to six, she'd be golden. So she remained still, and Freddy just kept on playing, grinning at her like he was already thinking about how she'd look in his costume... or how'd she look with an endoskeleton in her. Either way, she didn't share his feelings on the subject.

However, after what seemed like an eternity, the music started to wind down, the light dimming more and more as it did so. Dash had a feeling it wasn't because he was bored and just gonna walk away.

'C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...' she thought faster and faster. 'How long does it bucking take!?'

Slowly, the music petered out. Suddenly, the entire room went even darker than before, to the point she couldn't even see Freddy anymore.

However, she did hear the sounds of footsteps walking into the room, slowly coming towards her.

She clenched her nightsticks even tighter, ready to wrench them out at a moment's notice. Her heart seemed to thunder with each step.

'Alright Freddy,' she thought to herself, a part of her glad they were finally getting to the point. 'We'll play your way!'

The footsteps halted. A moment of silence longer than any before this one.

She didn't know when she had the urge. Maybe it was instinct, her fight-or-fight response kicking into gear, randomness, or just plain luck. All she did was push back into her chair and pull her sticks out, electricity crackling along their tips as she thrust them forward.

Not a moment too soon, because Freddy suddenly popped up in front of her arms spread out wide and with a big smile on his face, his eyes beaming.

"Give me a hug, Dashie!" he seemed to be saying with his motions.

"I'll give you something!"

She slammed both sticks into his chest, watching as the sparks surged into him. He jerked back in response, waving his arms in surprise as he tried to regain his balance, eyes wide in surprise.

"No hugs for you!" she yelled again as she jumped out of her seat and towards the west entrance, slamming her left stick into him again for good measure. This time though, he didn't stop like Bonnie had for the follow-up. Instead, despite the sparks all over his body, he tried to grab her again, his smile from before suddenly far more menacing.

She didn't let him though. Her tail barely avoided his grasp as she barreled through the west door, aiming straight for the main exit through her mad dash. Despite her speed though, the corridor was far too small to let her fly as fast she'd like, so she settled for hoofing it. Behind her, she could the sound of heavy footsteps following her.

She didn't pay attention to that though. Her attention was on the area ahead of her, ready for Bonnie or Chica to come lunging out out nowhere to get her. However, no flash of purple or yellow greeted her eyes as she ran.

"Gotta go fast..." she muttered to herself as she came barreling out of the West Hall into the party area, expecting Bonnie and Chica to be there waiting.

They were, but not like she was expecting.

Bonnie was face-down on the ground, his right leg seemingly trapped under a table and a chair on his head. It was quite clear that he wouldn't be going anywhere, even as he reached feebly for the latter item. Chica was in a similar face-up position, though she had her entire lower half covered by a table, while her arms were both being weighed down with some sort of magic speaker. She wasn't even trying to move, saving for spastically jerking her head, her eyes on Rainbow.

"Well, that was fun."

She turned her head towards the sound of the voice, near the entrance of Pirate Cove. To her dull surprise, it was Foxy, standing there in all his glory.

"Couldn't just let them gang up on you like that, lass," he said simply. "Had to teach 'em I still got some moves."

Dash would have something, maybe like how he could have worked faster, what had taken him so long, how he got them like that, a witty one-liner. However, she didn't have to.

"Fooxxxyyy..."

Both turned their heads towards the west hall, seeing the blue eyes of Freddy staring back at them, though his gaze seemed especially focused on the red fox.

"You know I don't like it when you mess with things like that," Freddy said in the voice he used during the day, though they seemed far colder now. "I thought you knew the rules."

"I do, and a pirate's meant to break 'em. It's in me job description, after all," Foxy replied. "Besides, ya don't have time for chit-chat, Freddy."

Suddenly, Dash was aware of the fact that the dark room was getting brighter, Celestia's sun shining through to chase away night.

"Get going, me lass," Foxy told her suddenly, his gaze never leaving Freddy. "'Tis time ye left this place."

"But-"

"Don't worry," he replied. "I've got nuthing to worry about. Freddy won't hurt me or you now."

She looked towards Freddy, whose eyes bored into hers. She didn't know why, but something in the way the doll was standing now seemed to support that statement. He looked angry, like he just missed out on a chance of a lifetime, but he didn't bother getting any closer.

"Just go," Foxy said again. "We'll talk tomorrow."

Dash wasn't about to say she knew exactly what was going on (heck, she had so many questions she wondered if this was what Twilight felt like during an experiment), but she decided to listen to the fox's words.

"It's a date then," Dash replied, slowly moving towards the door, her eyes shifting between the remaining three dolls. Bonnie and Chica just watched her from their various positions. She didn't want to be in their suits right now given the way Foxy put them down. Freddy just glared at her the whole way, his black scorching still visible even now.

"You're mine," he said simply. "I'll get you yet, mare."

Dash might have been scared just a few minutes before. Right then, after all this tension, she just felt the urge to talk smack.

"Whatever you say, Buckbear," Dash replied. "Got to catch me first."

Freddy's face couldn't really glare. However, he was doing his darndest to try as she made her way out of the pizzeria.

Somehow though, it just made her laugh.

An echoing laugh from inside told her at least someone else agreed.

Comments

[Gobeman]

----...---
GOOD
________

[Space-Timecontinuum]

The thought of going back to sleep tempted her, but Dash shook her head as she looked towards the big clock in the center of Baltimare, noticing the time was apparently 3:47am.

Doesn't she work at night?

[FoalLanguage]

Well. I think I’m gonna stop reading this here, I can’t really ignore them talking to eachother like that.