• Published 15th Mar 2017
  • 860 Views, 22 Comments

Spiritus ex Machina - wonderkid125



After experiencing so much stress in such a short amount of time, Twilight and her friends, both old and new, need a break. However, as they take an all expense paid trip to a water park, they soon learn that not everything is as easy as it seems.

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Chapter 1: A Brand New Day

As the sun climbed ever higher into the sky, another day began in the peaceful land of Equestria. All across the nation; from the elegant Canterlot to the humble Ponyville, ponies of all shapes, sizes, races, and colors started waking up and going about their daily routines. Life carried on as it normally did, despite the frightening events that had happened only months prior.

It was hard to imagine getting used to normality after the hooded ponies were defeated and the knowledge of monsters and the supernatural became commonplace, but somehow everyone moved on and peace was restored. With only bad memories and the slight fear of the unknown to remind them of the experience, most ponies chose to not think about the past few months.

Although most of the ponies throughout the land were just now waking up, there were a few that started their day early. One such pony was a purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. The early bird catches the worm so they say, and Twilight was usually the type of pony to wake up early to start her day and get as much done as possible.

On this particular day, rather than roaming around Ponyville and spending time with her friends, the unicorn had more important business to attend to. Twilight sat in the back of a horse-drawn carriage with two pegasus stallions clad in royal guard attire ferrying her to Canterlot.

Dearest Twilight Sparkle… Searching for something to occupy herself with, Twilight read off the scroll that had arrived a few days ago from the princess silently.

It has been a while since you have written me with a friendship report. Are you doing alright? I know that you have more important things to do, so you don’t always need to give me a report if you can’t think of one, but it would be nice if you would check in every once in a while, especially considering recent events. Anyway, if you aren’t too busy, I would like for you to come to Canterlot this Thursday. I would like to talk to you about something very important, and I would like to do it in person instead of writing you these messages.

“Hmm…” Twilight pondered over the words in her head while wondering what her mentor could have wanted. She had neglected to write to the princess for the past few weeks, but she did have a justifiable reason at least. Ever since Raven Feather and her veritable cult of followers had been defeated, she had been assigned, or rather volunteered, to catalog and archive all of the books left behind in their mansion hideout. The old building held hundreds of books from several parts of human history. The estate’s usage throughout the ages meant that even books long past the time period of the house were included in its vast library.

Before she could elaborate further on her thoughts, Twilight noticed that she was descending from the air. The journey had come to an end, and the two stallions were bringing the carriage down right in front of Canterlot palace.

The carriage shook slightly as the pegasi’s hooves hit the ground. They gradually slowed their speed so that they could give their passenger a pleasant stop rather than giving her whiplash. Once they had stopped, Twilight quickly hopped out and trotted up to them. “Thank you for the ride.” She said courteously while passing by the two guards. They smiled before offering a stoic nod in response.

Twilight walked forward and took in the sight of the palace before her. No matter how many times she visited the princess, she would never get tired of admiring the palace’s stark beauty and magnificence. Anything that was damaged in the attack from months prior seemed to have been fixed or replaced. It almost looked like nothing had happened at all.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the unicorn started making her way up to the main entrance. After making her way through the large doors, she paused and stared ahead at the room before her. Twilight felt a slight chill going up her spine as she looked down at the floor in front of her. In this very spot just a few months ago, she had died.

It was an odd thought to have, but everything about the purple mare’s life had been odd after what had happened. She was dazed at the time, but she could still vividly remember the moments leading up to her untimely demise. She could still hear the frantic cries of her friends as they tried to save her. She could still see them crying over her bleeding body as she lay dying on the floor. And most vividly of all, she could still feel the icy coldness that came just before death.

Taking a quick glance to the side of the room, Twilight thought about someone she hadn’t thought about in a while. Her life had been so busy, and he had been absent for at least a month, so the unicorn had neglected to even think about her human friend that much. But now that she was seeing the spot where she died and remembering how he brought her back to life, memories of the blue-suited boy came flooding to her mind.

“*Sigh*… I hope you’re not working too hard wherever you are, Tom.” Twilight shrugged as she thought about the human’s absence.

“Hello, Twilight.” The voice of her mentor coming from across the room broke Twilight away from her thoughts. She looked up to see Celestia smiling at her while walking closer.

“Princess!” The purple mare exclaimed joyfully while rushing forward to meet the white alicorn. Once she got up to her, she immediately embraced her in a warm hug.

“It’s so good to see you, Twilight.” Celestia said in a sincere tone while looking down at her faithful student.

Twilight smiled as she forgot all about the grim thoughts that had plagued her mind just moments before. “It’s good to see you too, Princess. Sorry I haven’t written you in a while… things have been really busy for me lately.” She stated in an apologetic manner. Celestia merely smiled at her student as she tried to justify her reasons for not keeping in contact.

“It’s alright Twilight. You’re here now, and that is what matters. Now then, why don’t we go find somewhere comfortable to talk?” The princess suggested while motioning behind her with her head.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Twilight replied with a cheerful nod. With that said, the two walked across the room and made their way through another door. “So princess… why did you ask me to come here?” Twilight asked curiously as she followed the princess through the halls of the palace.

Celestia thought for a moment before replying. “Do I need a reason to talk with my faithful student?” She said with a slight smirk.

“Well… no, I guess not, but couldn’t you have just written letters to me if you just wanted to talk?” Twilight asked with a confused tone.

Celestia looked away for a moment while contemplating what to say next. “I suppose I could have… but I wanted to see you instead of just writing a letter. Those scrolls that we send back and forth are so… informal. I like to meet face to face every once in a while.” The princess explained in an almost awkward tone while hiding a smile. If Twilight didn’t know any better, she would have thought that the alicorn was hiding something from her.

“Right…” The purple mare muttered suspiciously.

Soon enough, the princess and her student found their way into the study. Various shelves lined with books adorned the walls of the room, while several tables and desks cluttered with scrolls and other such items were scattered throughout the area. Celestia sat down on a cushion and motioned for Twilight to do the same. The purple mare sat down across from the alicorn and smiled as she enjoyed the fact that she was having a moment with her mentor.

“So what have you been up to recently Twilight? I certainly hope that you haven’t been burying yourself in all of those books we found.” Celestia chuckled slightly until she noticed the unicorn looking away awkwardly.

“Yeah… about that… heh.” Twilight rubbed the back of her head nervously as she recalled how much time she had been spending on her studies of human history.

“Twilight… I know that learning about the human world is exciting, but you need to remember that there is a world outside of books.” Celestia gently chided the purple mare for not taking time out of reading to enjoy the finer things in life. “So, how are the girls doing? Have you at least been out of the library long enough to see your friends?” The princess asked curiously. She hadn’t been to Ponyville in a while, so she was interested to know what the other element bearers had been up to.

“I’ve been out a lot… I’m not exactly a shut-in, Princess.” Twilight said lightheartedly. She then paused and quickly tried to think of what all of her friends had been up to. “Well… Applejack has been busy down at the farm. Pinkie Pie has been trying extra hard to cheer up the citizens of Ponyville ever since they learned that monsters are real. Rarity has been busy with the boutique lately. Fluttershy has been preoccupied with her animals. And Rainbow Dash… well, she is pretty much still doing what she always does.” She explained what she could recall of her friends’ routines.

“I see… so everyone is doing alright.” Celestia said with a pleased tone. Twilight nodded in confirmation.

Now that the topic of what everyone had been doing was brought up, the unicorn’s mind drifted to her human friend again. She wondered what Tom had been up to since his departure from Ponyville. After everything that happened, the slayer had decided to live in Ponyville with Twilight and Spike, but he was unable to stay for long. The princess asked him to take care of several missions to eradicate monsters across Equestria, and he had been away for the past month or so.

“So, how is Tom doing? I haven’t heard from him in a long time.” Twilight asked curiously.

Celestia smiled and glanced over to the doorway behind her. “Funny you should ask that Twilight. That is actually why I asked you to come here.” She mused with a slight chuckle. Twilight tilted her head in confusion at the princess’s words.

“What? Why? Is he alright?” The unicorn asked quizzically.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” A familiar voice spoke up from behind Twilight. The purple mare gasped in shock and turned around. The moment she did, her face lit up with excitement. Standing in the doorway was the same blue suited human that she had learned to call friend all those months ago.

He was dressed in the same blue track outfit that he had always worn since becoming a slayer. The only thing missing from his apparel was his sword and holster. The blade had been broken during the struggle at the palace, and he had not found a replacement weapon since, so he removed the holster from his back.

Despite the lack of equipment that he had, he carried out his missions with the same spirit and heart that Twilight had come to love about him, and he still showed it even now. The boy smiled as he looked at the unicorn staring back at him with her jaw agape. He always looked at her like she was a dear friend to him, despite the short time that they had known each other.

“Tom!” Twilight exclaimed happily while getting up and rushing to the boy. She practically tackled him, although he was expecting her to do so. Still, he barely had enough time to brace himself before the unicorn plowed into him and wrapped her forelegs around his waist.

“Uh… Twilight… can’t breathe.” Tom barely managed to gasp out his words as the purple mare squeezed him tightly. Twilight smiled and laughed warmly as she let go of the human and backed up slightly. She was smiling so much that her face was hurting, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t even contain the feeling of happiness that was welling up inside of her from seeing the boy.

“I’m so glad to see you! It’s been forever since you’ve visited us!” The unicorn said while trying to calm herself down enough to carry on a conversation.

“Sorry about that. I’ve been a little busy mopping up Equestria. It seemed like every time I was about to go back to Ponyville, another assignment popped up.” Tom explained with a slight awkward chuckle.

“I apologize for sending you on so many missions Tom. I know that you deserve to have a little downtime, but there have been so many paranormal creatures appearing all over Equestria ever since Raven Feather attacked us.” Celestia said with a regretful expression. The human had wanted so badly to just stay in Ponyville with his new friends for a while, but he was the only one capable of handling the supernatural. He was the slayer after all, and killing monsters was in his job description.

“I’m not surprised… When Raven Feather and her brother unleashed all of that energy, it was like popping the cork on every evil thing that had been lying dormant since the humans died out. It’s ok, though, I’m fine with helping you guys out and keeping Equestria safe.” Tom stated with an earnest smile. He seemed genuinely happy to be keeping the land and everyone in it safe. Twilight and Celestia couldn’t help but admire the boy’s eagerness to protect the innocent. “So, how have the girls been?” Tom asked curiously while glancing back to Twilight.

“They’ve been alright, but Scootaloo and the others have been missing you a lot… we all have actually.” The unicorn admitted while smiling slightly. “But I’m sure that they’ll cheer right up when you come home with me.” She added cheerfully. Tom frowned at the purple mare’s words, much to her confusion. Suddenly it dawned on her that he wasn’t here to stay. As soon as she thought of this, Twilight’s cheery disposition vanished.

“Sorry, Twilight… I still have one more assignment to take care of. I’m heading out for Fillydelphia tonight.” The human explained sadly. Twilight shrugged and looked to the floor in disappointment.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I have decided to give Tom a much-needed break after this mission. Once he gets done over in Fillydelphia, he will be free to come home to Ponyville for a few weeks… assuming no giant monsters try to destroy Equestria during that time.” Celestia said with a slight smirk.

“Fingers crossed.” Tom added with a lighthearted smile while holding up his hand and crossing two of his fingers.

“Really?” Twilight asked with a growing smile. She looked over to the princess for confirmation. Celestia closed her eyes and nodded in response. The small smile that had been building on the unicorn’s face exploded into a cheerful grin. “Yes!” The purple mare exclaimed joyfully while jumping up and wrapping her forelegs around the human again. Tom couldn’t do anything but hold on tightly while the unicorn bounced up and down eagerly with him clutched in her grasp.

“Easy Twilight… we need our slayer friend intact if he is going to help us.” Celestia said with a warm chuckle while watching the excited mare. Twilight managed to contain her joy for a moment and let go of Tom. She settled down and nodded in agreement, though her smile remained in place even if her outburst had been calmed.

“I’ve got some time to kill before my ride to Fillydelphia gets here, so why don’t we go out to eat or something? My treat.” Tom suggested with a smirk.

“That sounds wonderful.” Twilight replied with a warm smile.

“Before you two head out, there’s one more surprise I have for you, Tom.” Celestia spoke up as the pair was walking out of the room. Tom and Twilight paused and turned around curiously.

“A surprise…?” Twilight muttered curiously.

“For me…?” Tom added curiously. “I love surprises.” The boy hummed eagerly at the prospect of a surprise from the ruler of Equestria.

“It’s in the other room along with my sister. She has been dying to see you ever since she learned that you would be back today.” Celestia said while motioning towards the doorway across the room.

“Luna is here? I thought she was away managing Glimmer Shine and the others.” Tom asked in a confused tone. Last time he checked, the blue alicorn was going around Equestria to stay with Glimmer Shine and his two teammates as they completed missions.

“Well, Glimmer Shine and the others have proven capable of handling themselves, so Luna decided to return home while they continue completing assignments on their own.” The princess explained.

“I hope they don’t get hurt…” Twilight said in a concerned tone. She had grown to know the team of monster hunters as friends. It pained her to know that they had lost half of their members during the raid on Raven Feather’s mansion, so she knew that their performance must have been suffering.

“Don’t worry, they should be fine. We have been giving the really dangerous missions to Tom, and they have been taking it easy since they need to get back on their feet.” Celestia said in a reassuring tone. “In fact, I’m fairly certain that they are taking a short break after their next job. They might be back in Ponyville around the same time as Tom.” She added with an intrigued expression.

“I certainly hope so. They could use a break from everything… I can only imagine how it must feel for them without Brimstoke and the others around… especially for Glimmer Shine.” Twilight stated in a sad tone. She didn’t even want to think about the pain that the stallion must have been feeling from losing his brother. She at least knew that she would be devastated if her own brother died, so it was scarily real to the unicorn to be able to put herself in Glimmer Shine’s place.

“Let’s get going. I wouldn’t want to cut into the time you two have before Tom has to leave.” Celestia suggested while getting up and walking over to the other doorway. Twilight and Tom nodded in agreement before following the princess.

The trio walked through the door and entered into another hallway. They traveled through the lavishly decorated corridor and continued walking until they passed through another door on their right. The door led into an open room with several racks filled with weapons adorning the walls. There were a few wooden dummies with markings on their chest used for target practice and training in the center of the room, along with a familiar blue alicorn.

“Tom, Twilight, it’s good to see you!” Luna exclaimed cheerfully while walking up to the three. Twilight immediately walked up to the princess of the night and gladly accepted a hug from her, while Tom merely stood back and smiled.

“It’s good to see you too Luna.” Tom said while holding his hand out to shake her hoof.

Instead of grabbing the boy’s hand, Luna simply smiled and walked in closer. “I think we’ve moved past the handshake stage at this point Tom. Come here.” The blue alicorn said with a warm chuckle while wrapping her foreleg around the human and pulling him close. Tom was caught off guard by the friendly gesture. It still surprised the boy how enthusiastic the princess of the night could be with her greetings.

After taking a moment to release the human and hug her sister, Luna backed up and smiled at the group. She hadn’t seen any of them in a long time, although some of them she had seen more recently than the others. “I assume that you’re ready to show him?” Luna asked her sister curiously. Celestia nodded while glancing over to one of the shelves to the side of the room.

“Show him what?” Twilight asked in an intrigued tone. The suspense was even starting to get to her. She was excited to see what the princess had in store for the human.

Luna turned around and walked a few steps to the right. She lit up her horn and focused on an object on one of the shelves. The two hadn’t noticed it before, but now that it was enveloped in a magical aura it was easy to see. The princess was lifting what appeared to be a sheath and sword into the air. Judging from the slight curvature of the sheath, the group could tell that it was a katana, possibly similar to the one that Tom originally had. The handle to the blade was decorated differently, although it was still just as ornate as the boy’s first blade, with black and blue thread adorning it.

“Is that what I think it is?” Tom asked with a giddy smile on his face as the alicorn levitated the sword over to him. The boy grabbed the weapon and lifted the sword out of its sheath a short ways. Even without the bright blue glow that accompanied his old sword, the blade was still shiny and impressive.

“It is as close to your old sword as we could get it short of gluing the pieces back together.” Luna explained cheerfully while observing the human. He resembled a young child browsing through a candy store with money in their pocket with how much he was smiling.

“We did contemplate fixing the old one, but we figured that making a new one would be for the best.” Celestia added while glancing to Twilight with a slight twinge of unease in her voice. Everyone agreed that it would be best to forget about what happened, and keeping the blade that was used to kill the purple mare around would only remind the human of his failures.

“If I may?” Tom asked while motioning towards the practice dummies with his head. The two alicorns nodded before stepping back to give the human some room.

Tom stepped towards the wooden dummy and held the sheath out in front of him before bringing it to his side. He quickly grabbed the hilt of the blade and whipped it out. In one swift motion, the boy swiped the sword across the dummy’s neck. After a brief pause, the dummy’s head fell backwards and rolled across the floor. Tom looked down at the sword and flipped it a few times in his hand before smirking.

“Do you like it?” Luna asked with a hopeful grin.

“Like it? It’s perfect!” Tom replied happily while placing the sword back in its sheath. Celestia and Luna smiled at the success of their gift.

“All that’s left is for you to imbue it with positive energy… That, we can’t do for you.” Celestia said while thinking back to the glowing blue blade that the human used when he first came to Equestria.

“No problem, I’ll do that later.” Tom said while placing the sheath to his side. He then glanced over to Twilight, who was still admiring the blade that he had received.

“I think that you two should get going. We have taken up enough of your time.” Celestia suggested while looking over to her sister. Luna nodded in agreement. Twilight seemed to be hesitant to ditch the two princesses, but they were encouraging her to leave after all.

“Are you sure? We can stay and talk if you want.” The unicorn offered courteously. Celestia smiled and shook her head.

“No Twilight, go ahead and go.” The princess said while motioning towards the door. The purple mare hesitantly smiled before turning to Tom.

“Well then… I guess we should get going. What was that you said about going to eat? If I recall, I believe you told me that it was your treat.” Twilight said with a slight smirk.

“I guess I did. I don’t suppose the princess’s student has expensive taste?” Tom asked curiously.

“I guess we’ll find out.” Twilight replied with a chuckle. She walked alongside the human toward the door while waving goodbye to the two alicorns.

The pair strolled out of the palace and walked through the busy streets of Canterlot, all the while talking and catching up with each other to make up for lost time. The ponies that passed by them offered curious stares and brief whispers of intrigue. Most people in Equestria had heard about the human that had arrived and defeated Raven Feather’s cult. A few ponies were skeptical of the boy, but most had grown to like him for the general and sincere kindness that he treated even perfect strangers with.

After spending a long time walking around and talking, the pair finally settled on a restaurant to eat at. Thankfully for Tom, Twilight had opted to keep things cheap. Ever since she moved to Ponyville, she learned to appreciate the simpler things rather than expecting luxury, not that she was rich before.

“So, you’re heading out to Fillydelphia?” Twilight asked curiously while waiting for her meal to arrive. The two were sitting at an outdoor table enjoying the view of the city. Although Canterlot was a lot more crowded than Ponyville, it still had a certain beauty to it.

“Yep... well, the countryside outside of Fillydelphia to be precise.” Tom clarified while thinking back to the details of his mission. The added detail only peaked Twilight’s curiosity even further.

“What’s going on over there?” The purple mare asked in an intrigued tone.

“According to the reports that have come in, some ponies have heard some kind of animal howling in the direction of a nearby forest, and some animals have turned up dead with claw and bite marks all over them… I’m thinking it’s a werewolf.” Tom explained in an almost casual tone. It never ceased to amaze the unicorn how much he forgot about the bizarre nature of his line of work.

“A werewolf…? Seriously?” Twilight asked in a surprised tone. “Like… full moon and everything?” She added curiously. She was surprised to hear herself asking about such a silly concept, but then she remembered that she was talking to a time traveling monster slayer with supernatural abilities.

“Well, not all werewolves operate on the whole full moon thing. There are differences sometimes between the same species of monsters.” Tom elaborated, though he was unsure of whether or not his explanation was satisfactory to the lavender pony.

“I’m not sure if I should be fascinated or confused every time I talk with you.” Twilight admitted with a slight chuckle.

“I do like to keep people guessing.” Tom said while smirking cheerfully. Twilight shared a lighthearted giggle with the human.

Suddenly, a stallion in a spiffy bowtie walked up to the pair carrying plates on his head and on his back. He carefully lifted the plate from his back onto the table and gently pushed it closer to Twilight. The plate held a simple sandwich filled with flowers. The waiter took the plate from his head and placed it in front of Tom. The human’s plate held a salad with as many normal ingredients as the boy could find on the menu.

“Your meals.” The stallion said with a slight bow before walking away.

“Thank you.” Twilight offered a passing statement of gratitude before turning her attention to her food and rubbing her hooves together eagerly.

While the purple mare picked up her sandwich and took a bite out of it, she glanced over to the human as he picked up a fork to enjoy his salad. She couldn’t help but wonder at how well he had adjusted to Equestrian cuisine.

“So… have you gotten used to our food yet?” Twilight asked curiously.

“It’s not so much the getting used to your food that is the problem. It’s getting used to what food you don’t have that’s been bugging me.” Tom grumbled with slight annoyance while poking at his salad with his utensil.

“Oh yeah, I read that humans were omnivores. It must be hard to not have any meat… unless by chance you were vegetarian?” Twilight asked with a slight twinge of hope in her voice. The boy rolling his eyes at the mention of vegetarianism told her that she was dead wrong.

“Good lord no… I actually hate salad by itself… I have to drown it in dressing to even tolerate it, but it beats anything with hay in it… or a flower sandwich.” Tom said while watching the unicorn taking a bite out of her sandwich with mild disgust. She looked down at her meal and chuckled awkwardly before setting it down.

“Well, I’m sure that we can find something you like.” Twilight suggested optimistically.

“Thank god you guys have cheese… I think I would go insane otherwise.” Tom said while haphazardly pouring a small container of blue cheese dressing over the entirety of his salad. Twilight was suddenly intrigued by the boy’s statement.

“I’ve actually been meaning to ask you about that. What religion did you follow when you were alive? I’ve been reading through some books on the subject, and I’m not sure which one is the primary religion humans follow… There are so many of them! I read one about this guy that walked on water, and another about this other guy who reached enlightenment through meditation, and-” Twilight started naming off all of the knowledge she had learned on human religion until she was interrupted by Tom.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… hold on there Twilight. I wouldn’t delve too deeply into the subject of religion if I were you. Humans believed in a lot of things, and it can be a bit overwhelming for someone who isn’t… adjusted to human norms.” The boy explained in a cautionary tone. Twilight chuckled slightly at the notion that she couldn’t handle learning about something.

“I’m sure it will be fine. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” The purple mare said in a confident tone.

“Pssh… just wait till you hit Scientology.” Tom muttered to himself, but apparently, he spoke loud enough for the unicorn to hear him slightly.

“What was that about science? Ooo I bet a religion based off of science must be really intriguing!” Twilight said in an excited tone. The human couldn’t find it in him to burst her bubble.

“Yeah… sure…” Tom added with an awkward smile while tugging at the collar of his shirt.

The two spent the whole afternoon talking to each other and walking around Canterlot. Tom accompanied the unicorn as she browsed through a few bookstores, went to a museum, and even went sight-seeing. All the while they were smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves.

As a nearby clock chimed, Tom shrugged as he realized that it was almost time for him to go. He looked over to Twilight, who was still smiling brightly, and sighed sadly. As soon as she noticed the downcast expression on the boy’s face, she frowned in realization.

“Time to go?” Twilight asked in a disappointed tone. He nodded slowly in response.

“Yeah… looks that way.” Tom stated while looking down sadly.

“I really enjoyed seeing you again.” Twilight managed to smile slightly to lighten the mood.

“Me too… but don’t worry, I should be back home in a few days… heck, all of us should be. I hear Glimmer Shine and the others are in Fillydelphia too working a case, so we might be done around the same time.” Tom explained in an intrigued tone.

“Wow, that’s an interesting coincidence.” Twilight said with an amazed expression.

“Yeah, maybe now I’ll get to test out that communication spell Glitterball put on me. She says that it should have synced me up to them, but I haven’t had the chance to try it yet.” Tom added with an eager expression. He then shrugged as he got up from his seated position.

“Well, I should probably get going. Come on, I’ll walk you back to the palace.” The human offered while extending his hand to help the unicorn off the ground. Twilight nodded before taking the boy’s hand and lifting herself up. She then followed the human through the streets of Canterlot on their way to where they would have to inevitably separate.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading through the first chapter in my next big adventure. I hope you enjoy all of the things to come.

As a sort of side note, I put the alternate universe tag in because of a few reasons. Namely, this is a story that uses characters and concepts from FNAF. It isn't an outright crossover where the group gets sent back into time to Freddy's pizzeria or anything like that, but the fact that animatronics exist kind of has to be accepted for this story to work. So just a heads up, the level of technology Equestria is capable of in this story might be a bit more advanced than it actually is. I try to keep from making too many leaps in logic wherever possible.