“Foxy, you’re putting this tux on even if I have to break every limb in your body to do so!”

“Arr, I ain’t wearin’ no tux!”

Rarity grunted in effort as her horn brightly sparked. Foxy was currently trying to run away, but her magic was just barely holding him back.

“We’re going to the Grand Galloping Gala! You’re lucky you get to come, it’s a huge event! And you’re not going with nothing on!” Rarity screeched back.

“Why do I have ta come?! I’ll be so outta place!” Foxy retorted, grabbing onto a nearby doorframe. Rarity tugged harder, putting her last amount of magical strength into her horn. With a large exhale, her horn died down and Foxy sprinted out of her store.

“Foxy!” She took a deep breath. “Get back here!”

Rainbow Dash appeared in her window. “What’s with all the yelling? I’m trying to get a nap in.”

Rarity turned to the pegasus. “Foxy is being a stubborn little brat, that’s what!” She stomped a polished hoof, rubbing her horn softly.

“Oh, is that all?”

Rarity huffed and straightened up. “Would you be a dear and go get the other girls? We should really get dressed. And make sure Twilight gets Foxy, s'il vous plait?”

Dash saluted. “On it.” She flipped around and took off into the sky.

“Please, dear, just put the suit on! We don’t have all day,” Rarity continued to plead. In her magical grip was the suit she’d made a few days earlier. The mares and Spike were all dressed, waiting in the other room, and the stallions were waiting outside to bring them to Canterlot.

“Urg, but I don’t wanna,” Foxy whined, much like a child would. Rarity sighed. Dealing with a ten foot tall seven year old wasn’t very high on her to-do list.

“Now, now, darling, this Gala is a very big deal. Maybe you’ll make some friends or something. Explore a bit. The castle is a wondrous place.” She smiled gently. “I’m sure you’ll have a ton of fun if you give it a try. Besides, the girls and I would very much like you to come.”

“Mmm, f’ne,” he sighed in defeat, slumping down. Rarity perked up.

“Alright, let’s just get you changed! Follow me behind the curtain, it’s just back here-!”

Chica was staring at Pirate’s Cove. The partly drawn curtains revealed nothing but darkness. She blinked and walked forward, clambering onto the stage. She vanished behind the curtains. The cracked and damaged ship that sat in the center was covered in dust, and as she ran her metal hand over it, she couldn’t help but give a sad sigh.

“Chica?”

The animatronic turned around. Freddy stood there, watching her.

“Oh, uh, hiyah, Freddy,” Chica said.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked as he stepped onstage.

“Just, you know, reminiscing.”

Freddy paused. “We’re going to get him back. Don’t worry.”

“You don’t know that,” Chica retorted sharply. “It’s been over a week. Mike knows nothing. We know nothing. How are we possibly going to find Foxy?”

“Uh . . .”

Chica glared at Freddy. She then stalked past him, off the stage.

“Tada! Mwah, tout simplement fabuleux!” Rarity declared, her voice joyful.

“Oh, wow! Looks great!”

“Coolio-mazing!”

“Mighty impressive!”

“Awesome!”

“I love it . . .”

The mares stood around Foxy as Rarity added the finishing details to his attire. A tape measurer, hairspray, and a brush hovered around and moved in quick, agile movements around Foxy’s head and body. He flinched away from these, only to have one jerk around and get a swift brush or spray right where he’d moved to.

“Now, Foxy, just stop moving, and we’d get this done a lot quicker,” Rarity said after a minute of this. She sighed, stopping. “Alright, I’m done anyways.” She cooed. “Aw, don’t you look handsome.”

Foxy wrinkled his snout. “Arr, don’t say that.”

Pinkie Pie appeared over his shoulder. “But it’s totally true!”

“Pinkie, get off him! You’re going to wrinkle his suit,” Rarity admonished. “And your dress, now that I think about it. Shoo, shoo.”

Foxy was clad in a black suit (tailored to his body type and size, obviously) with a white undershirt and golden tie that was pinned to his suit with a clip. Rarity had gone with the slightly more casual look with it, and decided it fit him better than a more formal attire. Along with that, there were three clip-on earrings on one of his ears; golden hoops that got progressively smaller. The unicorn straightened out his tie and admired her work more closely.

“J’adore cela! Everything’s perfect! Come along, ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a carriage ride ahead of us~”

“I can’t believe we’re finally here. With all that we've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this . . .”

“The best night ever!”

Foxy paused as the mares burst into song. He glanced at Spike.

“This happen often?”

Spike shrugged. “Just let it happen.” So they waited. (Blah, blah, blah)

“Yeah! This is gonna be the best night ever. You know why? Cause we're all gonna spend time at the Gala to . . . gether. Or not,” Spike deadpanned as he realized he was alone. Even Foxy had vanished, taken by one of the mane six. “Great.”

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed, her magic tugging Foxy along behind her.

“Twilight! It is so lovely to see my star student. And Foxy, how are you? I’ve heard things are getting better,” Celestia greeted, a warm smile on her face.

“Aye, they be fine,” Foxy said.

“That’s good to hear.” She glowed.

“Oh, I'm so excited to be here! We have so much to catch up on,” Twilight interjected, her excitement catching up. The princess looked down.

“Well, I want you right by my side the entire evening, so we'll have plenty of time together,” Celestia said happily. “Foxy, you can go pretty much wherever you want during the Gala. And I also notice you’re dressed very sharply. Rarity?”

“Aye.”

Celestia gave a chuff of amusement. “Yes, of course she’d want you to look nice. Why don’t you go explore the Gala? The gardens are beautiful this time of year.”

“Ooh, Princess, can I tell you about . . .” Twilight started quickly. Celestia turned her attention away from the pirate to her student.

Foxy nodded, turning around as he realized he’d been kicked out. He flicked his tail idly as he began to wander away. As he did so, he felt a prickle of unease run down his spine. It wasn’t all from nervousness, however. He’d been ignoring his urges to go on roaming mode for a while now, at least three weeks, and it was getting harder to not switch off.

You can’t stop it forever, you know. It’ll get you sooner or later.

Foxy continued walking.

The feeling of dread you get every night, I can sense it now. The moon is in the sky, and stars are shining . . . ponies fill the area. And guess what? None of them are in their suits.

I thought ye were jus’ blamin’ me; now ye’re tryin’ ta get me ta go psycho?

Just tempting you. It’ll give you more reason to throw yourself off a cliff into a river.

Nice sentiment.

Foxy strolled out into the main lawn area, where most of the ponies were. And almost immediately, the eyes of at least a dozen ponies were on him. Foxy faltered momentarily, then resumed his walk to the gardens. Whispering spread throughout the crowd as more and more ponies took notice of him. His ears tucked against his head as he quickened his pace.

I knew this was a bad idea.

Foxy sighed in relief as soon as he was out of the view of the crowd. He slumped his shoulders, continuing through the large and rather extravagant garden. The details of it quickly took his attention and he lifted his head to look.

Hmm, I can see why Fluttershy wanted ta come.

A species of bird he didn’t recognize flittered over his head. Foxy allowed a small smile onto his face. Bushes filled with vibrant flowers of every shape and size grew along the path on which he walked. A trail of ducklings emerged from the leaves on one side, waddling across the trail.

“Aha!”

Foxy stumbled as something ran into him. He looked down. Fluttershy was on her back, face screwed up as her vision went double.

“Arr, lass, my apologies,” Foxy said, picking her up and placing her back on her hooves.

“O-oh, no, it was my fault. I was too excited about getting to the animals,” the pegasus admitted. She blinked and looked down.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s just that the animals won’t let me near them. I keep scaring them, the poor little dears . . .”

Foxy tilted his head. “Well, I’m sure they’ll come ‘round. Jus’, uh, keep tryin’.”

“I guess you’re right.” Fluttershy glanced around. “Ooh, there’s a wallaroo!” She took off in a blur.

After the gardens started to get boring, Foxy worked up the courage to go back to the palace yards. Deciding to check out how well Applejack was doing with her sales, mostly because he didn’t have anywhere else to go, Foxy started in that direction. Once again, ponies whispered. There was a ten foot radius around him, but he decided to ignore it.

“Uh, excuse me!” a voice called from behind him.

Foxy turned around. A white stallion and tall mare were standing there, gazing up at him.

“Yes, hello!” the stallion continued.

Foxy hesitated. “Ahoy?”

“Sorry to bother you, it’s just, when I heard there was a fox in a tux walking around, I couldn’t resist tracking you down.” The stallion chuckled. “Though you weren’t very hard to, if you’ll forgive me.”

Foxy shrugged. “Tis okay.”

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Fancy Pants and this is my wife, Fleur Dis Lee. I was once a scientist, if you can believe me. I’ve heard a selection of rumors from Ponyville about what I can only presume is you, since you’re a robot pirate.”

Foxy shuffled his feet awkwardly. “Aye, that’s me.”

Fancy Pants maintained the polite smile on his face. Fleur Dis Lee was randomly striking poses and pretty much flinging herself all over her husband’s back. He didn’t seem to even register she was there.

“I know Equestria has been making large leaps forward in the fields of science and mechanics, and I’d just like to say how incredible it is we could make something like you in a short amount of time! Who built you, I’d like to know,” Fancy Pants said.

Foxy couldn’t just say he came here from another world, so he lied. “Twilight Sparkle.” She was probably the only one who could’ve done it, anyhow. She was a smart pony.

Fancy looked surprised. “I always knew she was a smart mare! I must congratulate her. Especially since you seem to have a mind of your own. I hope I’m not offending you with any of this. Your programming must be extraordinary to actually be able to respond to me.”

Fleur Dis Lee finally stood straight. “Husband, dear, Princess Luna is coming. We should greet her.” Indeed, the lunar goddess was soaring down from the sky.

Fancy looked towards his wife. “Of course, darling.” He glanced towards Foxy. “It was nice to exchange words with you. I shall have to congratulate Twilight on her brilliance.”

“Au revoir!” Fleur called smoothly as the couple turned their backs.

Foxy stood still for a couple for moments, surprised. He didn’t freeze up at all during that. Ponies were stealing glances in his direction, now wondering if they should converse like Fancy Pants did. Foxy shrugged and turned to find Applejack. Around a corner, along a path, he found her stand. She looked bored as heck, but perked up when she saw Foxy approaching her.

“Howdy, Foxy! What brings ya over here?” the southern mare asked.

“What do ye ponies do here? It’s not very excitin’,” Foxy said, frowning.

“Well, I don’t reckon Ah do know. It’s mah first time here too.”

“Hmm. So how’s business?”

Applejack sighed. “Not very good. Ah’ve gotten one sale. Rarity and her date were over here earlier, but he was . . . a hay-hidden shower-bag, as they say in France.” She gave a small giggle. “Rarity told me that one.” She cracked up, and Foxy grinned. “Say, where ya headin’ off to now?”

“Dunno. Wander, I suppose.”

Applejack tapped her chin. “Hmm, Ah ain’t got any ideas for ya.”

Foxy sighed. “Guess I’ll go see what Pinkie’s doin’.” He turned away.

“Right! See ya later!” AJ waved a hoof, going back to being bored.

Pinkie Pie spotted Foxy immediately and raced over to him.

“Foxy! Just the robot I wanted to see!” the party mare cheered. “Come on, we’ve gotta get these ponies into the spirit! The party spirit!” With a giggle, she bounced off towards the stage. Foxy quickly followed after.

“Come on, everypony!” Pinkie yelled, a tune beginning to play. “Stage dive! Foxy, catch me!” She dove off the stage, right onto the unsuspecting crowd. Foxy jumped back in surprise, but caught himself. He threw his body weight forward, leaping ahead as the rest of the ponies sprang back. Pinkie was blissfully unaware of her incoming smash into the floor, but Foxy was almost there . . .

Until he tripped.

His foot caught on a random mare’s dress and he tumbled. He went down, momentum throwing him forward. By what was perhaps a miracle, Pinkie landed on his upturned feet.

“Okay, all you high-class ponies. Here's a highfalutin apple cake for your hoity-toity taste buds,” Applejack’s voice sounded from behind them. A cake was rolled in, unfortunately right behind the action going on. There was an exclamation as Applejack lost the pastry and it went flying.

Pinkie Pie giggled in giddiness as Foxy caught himself and launched her backwards, sending her flying skywards. She had her eyes shut, arms up in the air. Foxy rolled back onto his feet, quickly putting his arms up.

Good idea, stab her with your hook!

Ah, crap!

Foxy put one arm down and readied his hand. Pinkie dropped back down and was ensnared in his grasp by one of her arms. She dangled there, a foot or two off the floor.

“Woo! Again, again!” the pink mare cheered. She wiggled in his grasp, and then was dropped the rest of the way onto the floor. Pinkie started bouncing. “That was awesome!”

“You, sir, are the most uncharming prince I have ever met! In fact, the only thing royal about you is that you are a royal pain!” Rarity’s shout came after a collective gasp. The white unicorn approached Blueblood, her anger fueled by the cake.

Rainbow Dash flew forward like a bullet. Columns toppled like dominoes. Ponies screamed in horror. All of this happened in the timeframe of a minute.

Princess Celestia and Twilight appeared in the door. Their faces mirrored one another’s, the expression incredulous.

“Well . . . it can't get any worse,” Twilight said.

The doors on the other side of the room busted open. Animals of all kinds fled in terror. Fluttershy appeared through the cloud of dust, breathing heavily.

“You’re . . . going to LOVE ME!” the pegasus screeched.

Foxy was watching this from behind a felled pillar. He was about to step forward, but stopped.

It’s time!!! Dark laughing filled his mind and Foxy gripped at his head, a growl coming from his throat. When he lifted his head, his eyes were glowing brightly.

They’re not wearin’ their suits!

“Foxy? What are you—AHH!” Rarity screamed in terror as the pirate grabbed her by the collar of her dress and lifted her off the floor. She kicked in his grasp, only managing to hit him a few times in the chest.

“What do we have here—here?” Foxy snarled, voice breaking and repeating.

“Help!” the unicorn screeched again.

“Foxy! Put her down!” Princess Celestia demanded.

Foxy’s head turned swiftly to the princess. He dropped Rarity roughly and stalked forward, ready to attack. Without further notice, he lunged forward quickly and tackled the solar goddess to the floor. Celestia used her magic to keep his snapping jaws away from her face, and fired up a keep-away spell. A layer of golden magic appeared over her body and Foxy was immediately thrown backwards. He regained his balance and snarled.

“Run,” Celestia said to her student. Twilight nodded and brought her hoof up to her mouth, whistling. The mares sprinted towards her, and the group retreated.

“Foxy, what are you doing?” the sovereign asked levelly.

“Ye aren’t in your suit,” Foxy growled in a frightening voice.

Celestia narrowed her eyes. Destroying him wouldn’t solve anything, so she thought of another plan. A bright beam shot from her horn to the celling. A large structure formed and then dropped suddenly. It was a magical cage, but Foxy leaped out of the way.

“I can easily defeat you. What are you trying to accomplish?” Celestia asked. Foxy didn’t answer, but instead just grinned at her, showing his sharp teeth.

Hmm. What’s the meaning of this? Celestia paused. Perhaps my student has not told me everything.

The princess lit her horn again and a large net-like structure flew towards him. Foxy sprang backwards, but the net ensnared him. He snarled, kicking and clawing at his prison. The connection to Celestia’s horn broke and she approached him cautiously.

“I am sorry, but—”

The magical trap exploded into dust and Foxy leapt to his feet, jaw open as he dove at the princess’s head. She gasped in shock as blood welled in her neck from his bite. Her horn lit on instinct and he was forced backwards.

How did he break that?!

Princess Celestia backed away, trying to blink the blood out of her eyes. They weren’t deep; no, she’d been too fast to have his teeth dig into her flesh. They were simply puncture wounds, though the head injury part made them bleed faster.

“Whatever has taken over you, you must control it,” Celestia said. She used a wing to wipe some of the blood from her neck and face, flicking the wingtips to rid it from her feathers.

“Nothin’s taken control ‘a me!” Foxy argued, a sinister grin on his muzzle. “I’ve always been like this!”

Celestia frowned. An idea formed in her head, and she decided to go with it. The spell was simple (for her, anyway) and caused no harm. She opened her wings fully and flew back, golden light enveloping her horn. She closed her eyes and took the shot. A far-reaching bolt of energy flowed downwards, enveloping the entire room. The light began to die down quickly.

“And there we go,” Celestia said, hooves touching down. She walked forward, eyes searching for her prize. A jar appeared in her magical grip and she levitated something from the floor. It struggled in her magic but she easily deposited it in the glass jar. A one inch version of Foxy pounded on the glass. It was like someone tapping it with a needle, and Celestia smirked.

“Sorry, but you’ll grow again. I shall give you to Twilight, and perhaps I shall get an answer for your behavior.”

“Princess!” Twilight’s horrified cry sounded.

The solar sovereign hadn’t even bothered to wash off, so blood trails were apparent on her face and neck, even down to her long legs. She, however, had a smile on her face. She lowered something onto the table around which they were all gathered.

“Before you panic, I’m fine. Here is your robot friend,” Celestia said. The ponies looked in the jar.

“B-but Princess, what happened?”

“Foxy attacked me—you saw it, my student.”

Twilight gaped. “I saw Foxy tackle you! Not bite your face!”

“Well, yes, but that happened after you left. Somehow, he broke my magical force. He managed to graze me. Went from my ears to my neck. However, I am fine, I assure you.”

“What about the injuries on your side?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing. Celestia flipped up a wing and saw a long scratch down her left side.

“Oh, his hook must’ve gotten me. I didn’t even notice,” the princess mused. She put her wing back down. “I would like an explanation for his actions before you all worry about me, however.” Her face became one of seriousness. The mares and Spike looked away, ashamed.

“Twilight, what happened?”

The violet mare gulped and shrank away from her mentor’s burning gaze.

Celestia sighed. She shook her head. “I am disappointed you would not tell me. But I hope you realize how dangerous it is to keep secrets. Foxy has definitely learnt that lesson—several times over, if your story is correct. Though he seems not to think over the consequences.” She eyed the snarling and biting pirate inside the jar. “He shall return to his full size in ten hours. Thankfully, he’ll be out of his ‘roaming mode’ then.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m sorry, Princess.”

Celestia nuzzled her student. “It’s fine. I’m not mad. I shall tell Luna as well, so she is informed of the circumstances.”

“Okay.”

Celestia began to head for the door. “I must return to the castle. See you all next time.”

Author's Notes:

I got a review that said Foxy was under powered!!?? So, of course, I had to make it right. *evil laugh* But Celestia is not under powered either in this chapter, so keep that in mind. And sorry, you won't get much of the other animatronics until they're relevant again. There's just no place for them right now.

And hey, I didn't procrastinate this time and I actually got this done in under a week, just like nearly every other chapter!