• Published 27th Feb 2015
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Tale of a Tainted Mandolin - Spirit Guide



What will happen to MandoPony when he takes a new job?

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Survive the Night

“Okay, rookie. It’s time I showed you around the place.”

Mando smiled. He’d actually been looking forward to this job ever since he’d heard the news. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was in danger of closing down, ever since the missing foals’ case was classified as incomplete and the parents took matters into their own hooves. Now on the verge of closing for good, the once-popular restaurant was still seeking employees for the night shift.

Mando himself was interesting enough. He’d made himself a name with his musical hits all over Equestria. Ponies everywhere knew him and often came to him for advice for their own music, which Mando generously gave them. With his horse-fame and caring fans, Mando felt certain that his accepting the night shift at Freddy’s would help the restaurant stay open and motivate ponies to cracking the case themselves. Also, he was looking for a new experience and decided that guard duty would be the spice of his life.

His guide, a stallion named Marcolt Plier, was the day shift guard. Marcolt had been working at Freddy’s since before the foals went missing and some ponies said that he was around since the restaurant opened. Whether this was true or not, Mando found he liked the earth pony, handy with a pizza slicer and always alert for colts and fillies getting too near the animatronics.

The animatronics. Oh boy, Mando loved them. The restaurant’s mascot, Freddy Fazbear, had gone through several changes over the years, as did the others: Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, even the new additions such as Mangle and Balloon Boy. But Bonnie was, without a doubt, his favorite. The large blue anthropomorphic bunny had always appealed to Mando in ways the others never did. Even though Freddy and Chica were the ones who stuck out more, guitar-playing Bonnie was the animatronic Mando enjoyed seeing the most.

Marcolt led Mando through the Main Hall and into the next room, where the Show Stage was set up. Standing on top of the stage, looking ready for a concert, were Freddy, Chica and…. Bonnie. When Marcolt stopped in front of the animatronics, Mando made sure he was standing directly in front of the large blue robotic bunny. Marcolt didn’t fail to notice Mando’s staring up at Bonnie. “So you know your favorite, eh?” the day guard said with a smile.

Mando faltered and blushed. “Um, it’s not really like that. It’s just-“

“Don’t worry, Mando.” Marcolt stepped over to Bonnie and laid a hoof on the animatronic’s large rabbit foot. “It’s just interesting you picked Bonnie as your favorite. Most of the fillies and colts prefer Freddy, Balloon Boy or Mangle, but Bonnie’s lacking the love she deserves.”

“She?” Mando inquired, surprised.

Marcolt nodded in confirmation. “At one point, Bonnie was male and his fur, his suit, was purple. But the designers decided he was too intimidating and went for a more foal-friendly face. Which included making Bonnie a girl. Besides, Bonnie’s more of a filly’s name, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Mando muttered. “I guess.” He stared up at Bonnie again and reached for the mandolin strapped across his back. He’d been through a lot of performances with this mandolin. It was his special instrument and had helped him discover his talent and earn his cutie mark. Nowadays, he carried it around with him everywhere and would hold it for comfort. Mando unslung the eight-stringed instrument and strummed a chord. The soft music emitting from the strings calmed his senses and he let out a peaceful sigh.

Marcolt glanced at the light-gold pony. “You really are MandoPony, the horse-famous musician?” he asked, still having a hard time believing it.

“It’s me alright,” Mando confirmed.

“Well,” Marcolt whistled, “we’d best get on with the staff tour. Can’t have you on guard duty if you don’t know the layout.”

Mando nodded and slung his mandolin back onto his back. He took one last look at Bonnie’s tall form, towering above them from the stage. For a second, he could’ve sworn he saw a shadow cross the cheerful-looking rabbit face, almost like a smile, but dismissed the silly thought. See you soon, Bonnie, he said to himself.

After the Show Stage, Mando was showed Game Area where Balloon Boy offered balloons, the Kid’s Cove where Mangle lay ready for another night, and the Prize Corner where various toys sat on shelves beside a large wrapped gift box. When Mando asked Marcolt what was in it, the light-brown earth pony merely chuckled and said, “What do you think would be inside a gift box?”

Mando laughed along with him, but couldn’t help but feel a strange vibe coming off the box as they left the room. From the Main Hall they checked out the Parts and Service Room, where the old Foxy animatronic lay surrounded by spare metals bits and suits for the animatronics. He was showed the four Party Rooms, each one set up for tomorrow with tables covered in party hats and, finally, the Office where he would be spending his shift.

“The system is pretty simple,” Marcolt explained. “The robots are switched to a free-range mode during the night so that their servos don’t get stuck. They’ll be wandering the halls, sort of like watchmen, just like they do when entertaining ponies that come and visit. There’s a monitor on the desk that you can use to check any of the twelve cameras in the restaurant. All you gotta do is to keep an eye on them in case they have any trouble. You’ve got a flashlight so you could light up the rooms to see better,” he gestured to the large opening through which they entered the Office, “and the fan should keep you nice and cool. So, are you ready for your first night at Freddy’s?”

Sitting in the chair with his mandolin in front of him, Mando felt confident. He’d taken his share of licks but was in no way worried about the night ahead of him. He intended to spend the six hours watching the monitor and working on his new song at the same time. It was perfect.

“I’m set.”

Marcolt held up a security cap, flashlight and badge and offered them to Mando. “Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s,” he said formally. He picked up a set of saddlebags and walked towards the Main Hall. “I’ll see you in the morning. Good luck.”

“Thanks!” Mando called as the earth pony trotted out. He quickly glanced at the monitor, looked through Cam 7 and found Marcolt waving at him encouragingly before stepping out the door.

Mando put down the monitor, leaned back and smiled. “This is gonna be great,” he said. He checked the clock. 11:50 PM. He had some time to kill before he’d get down to business.

*

Mando donned the security guard cap and placed the badge on his chest just as the clock struck midnight. This was when it all started; His first night as a guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. In his mind, Mando saw the missing ponies found, the criminals behind the foalnapping arrested, and the restaurant returning to its formal glory.

With his mandolin in his hooves, Mando looked around the Office. It was spacious and there were two large holes in the walls near the floor on either side. Air vents, Mando realized. But shouldn’t they be covered with grills to keep the foals out?

While he contemplated this, Mando noticed a phone sitting on the desk. He didn’t understand why he hadn’t seen it before, but it was there. It was a pretty average phone, with a basic recording system in it, and was probably for taking pizza orders. Mando was just about to strum his mandolin when the phone suddenly rang.

Who in Equestria could be calling at this hour? Mando wondered as the ringing continued. But before he could answer it, the phone beeped and a voice emitted from its speakers.

“Hello? Hello, Hello? Uh, hey there. If you’re listening to this, you’re probably the new night guard at the pizzeria. I figured sometime after my fifth night that you’d want some insight on the workings, Marcolt knows less about the place then he thinks.”

Mando frowned. Who is this guy?

“Oh wait. I’m rambling now. Right, back to business. Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s, the best pizza joint in all of Equestria. Now I know you’ve probably heard all kinds of things about the restaurant, but let me tell you now: forget anything ponies have been complaining about and pay close attention to what I’m about to say.”

That’s the whole reason I’m here, Mando thought suspiciously.

“Okay. So you probably know how the animatronics are allowed to wander about at night? Well, this may sound ridiculous, but that wasn’t exactly the best idea ever. The robots have some facial recognition programmed into them, good for dealing with burglars, but it’s not fail-proof. That being said, if they see somepony while on their roaming mode, they’ll think he’s a bare exoskeleton and try to stuff him into a suit. All this wouldn’t be so bad if the suits didn’t already have metal bits and wires inside them already, so if you got shoved into one of those, you’d die.”

Die? Mando gulped and gripped his mandolin. Does this guy seriously mean that?

“But don’t panic. Like Marcolt probably told you, you’ve got your monitor and your flashlight to watch the animatronics with, keep an eye on them and if they come near the office, just put on that Freddy Fazbear head under the desk. Pull it out right now.”

Mando bent over and looked under the desk. Hidden beneath it was a helmet-like mask, a lot like Freddy’s. Mando picked it up and looked it all over. It smelt faintly of another pony, most likely the stallion on the recording.

“The characters don’t seem to like this old Freddy head too much. Heh, I don’t blame them. Freddy wasn’t always the friendly bear he is today. Yeah, so the animatronics will sometimes crawl through the air vents. These connect the Office to Party Rooms 1 and 2. I’m still not sure why they do that. Maybe they don’t like sharing the hallway or, like youngsters, enjoy having a bit of fun crawling through tunnel-like places….. Uh? Oh, yeah. Remember that gift box in the Prize Corner? There’s a music box in there which you can wind up through your monitor. Wind it up from time to time. Why?.... Eh, just trust me."

I was kind of hoping he’d tell me what was in it, Mando said to himself.

“Okay, to sum up: watch the robots, wind the music box, don’t go wasting your flashlight battery, and keep the head with you at all times. Also, it might help you if you had some kind of, I dunno, comfort item of sorts, like a security blanket, just so you don’t go losing your nerves at bad times. Right, guess I should wish you good luck now. Have a good watch!”

The machine clicked off. Mando felt a bit nervous now. He knew the animatronics were allowed to walk around, but he never would have imagined that they would stuff ponies into the suits! How did this other guy know? He hadn’t given his name so Mando decided to call him Phone Colt .So, Mando thought, Phone Colt left me this message on the answering machine. The only way he could’ve done that is if he broke in or he already had access to the Office. I’ll continue as though it were the latter. So Phone Colt works at Freddy Fazbear’s, maybe as a security guard. I’ll have to ask Marcolt.

Mando stopped his train of thought as a faint bump echoed outside in the hallway. Remembering the cameras, Mando switched on the monitor and checked the Main Hall. Nothing was there. He switched to the Parts and Service Room. Maybe Foxy fell over. But when he looked through the camera, Foxy was still there, slumped over as if asleep. Mando checked the Game Area and the Kid’s Cove, but Balloon Boy and Mangle were still there, just as they were left when the pizzeria shut down for the night. To finish off, Mando checked CAM 09, the Show Stage. To his relief, Freddy, Chica and Bonnie still stood there, exactly how they……

“What in Equestria?!” Mando couldn’t stop himself shouting, his voice bouncing off the walls and down the empty hallway. He had taken one look at the animatronics on the stage and came to a startling realization: they had moved.

Instead of looking out at the room, their bright eyes were pointing directly at the camera, staring at Mando. Their eyes were bright, no longer dull and lifeless and the suits looked like real fur. Mando wouldn’t have believed what he was seeing if he’d trusted his eyes more than his musician’s ears.

Keep it cool Mando, he convinced himself. You’re just seeing things. They didn’t move. That’s the same position they were in before. To calm his nerves, he strummed his mandolin, causing a soft chord to echo across the restaurant. He checked out CAM 12, the Kid’s Cove, and found Mangle on the floor, looking…. mangled.

I wonder what it must be like to get taken apart and put back who-knows-how at another pony’s whim. Mando flicked the monitor to look at Balloon Boy. The short, husky animatronic still held his balloon and sign, still as a statue. BB has to be the weirdest-looking animatronic of all, Mando thought. What is he even? Never having given it much thought before, Mando declined giving it any at all now. To finish off, Mando took another peek at the Show Stage. Great, Freddy’s still here. Chica’s still standing and... Mando’s eyes grew wide with fear.

Bonnie was not on the stage.

Okay, okay, don't freak out. Mando remembered how the animatronics were on a free-roaming mode, so obviously they’d move. Ignoring the sweat sliding down his face, Mando quickly checked the Main Hall camera and found Bonnie standing in the dim light. The blue animatronic looked odd standing alone in the corridor and it wasn’t moving anymore, but her furry suit looked more realistic and her green eyes were locked on the camera as though Bonnie was looking up at Mando through the lens.

Dismissing the movement as an every-night-occurrence, Mando flicked off the monitor and turned his attention to his mandolin. He strummed the instrument and its chords echoed down the hall and all through the restaurant. The rebounding sound comforted Mando.

Wish I had more time for this, he thought sadly, tapping his mandolin rhythmically, but I’ve got a job to do. Laying the mandolin in his lap, he picked up the monitor and checked the Show Stage. He almost dropped the monitor in fright.

The stage was empty.

His heart in his stomach, Mando quickly flicked through all the cameras, finding Mangle, Foxy and Balloon Boy where they were left earlier. While that relieved him, discovering Freddy at the back of the Game Corner was the new surprise of the night.

So now they’re all moving about, Mando realized. He’d have to pay a little more attention to the animatronics now. He found Chica standing in front of the Main Hall camera, shocked that she’d somehow, somewhy removed her beak and eyes and now looked rather menacing. But the biggest surprise he got was finding Bonnie inside Party Room 2 or, to be more precise, her position and her expression. Bonnie was hunkered down beside the open air vent. Her mouth was a grim line and her brows were furrowed as though she were thinking. It was definitely off.

Okay, she’s probably going to enter the vent, Mando figured, putting down the monitor and looking down the hall to check for the other animatronics. He heard a banging sound coming from his right and picked up the monitor again, checking the camera in the Right Air Vent. Switching on the flashlight inside the vent, Mando got a brilliantly graphic image of Bonnie crawling through the air vent, her face betraying an intelligence she didn’t have.

She’ll be in here soon! Mando realized that he’d have a hard time keeping an eye on the monitor while wearing the Freddy head, so he flipped on the monitor and checked on the other animatronics. Chica had ducked into Party Room 4, looking quite pleased with herself. Freddy was sitting on the edge of the stage, posed as though he was adjusting his microphone. Mangle had finally moved, hanging herself like a spider over the huge gift box in the Prize Corner. Balloon Boy had moved over to the carousel, still smiling and still chubby. Finding Foxy still and prostrate as he had been all night, Mando decided that the reddish-brown canine animatronic wasn’t going anywhere any time soon and he wouldn’t have to check on him, tonight at any rate.

That’s all of them. Now for the Freddy head. Mando picked up the bear head-shaped mask and pulled it down over his own head. His vision was slightly diminished, but he hoped it would keep him safe. He slowly turned his head so that he could see the vent and almost screamed when he saw Bonnie staring out at him.

Bonnie slowly pulled herself out of the Right Air Vent but stopped when she was halfway out and stared at Mando. The pony could only imagine what was going on inside the robot’s mechanical mind. Hopefully, Phone Colt was right about the animatronics not liking the Freddy mask.

After what felt like an eternity, Bonnie blinked her synthetic eyelids and pushed herself back through the vent. When her banging had died down, Mando flipped the mask of his head and inhaled deeply. “That was kind of unpleasant,” he said aloud, getting the thought out. He checked the monitor for the animatronics. Bonnie had zipped into Party Room 3 whereas Chica had ducked into Party Room 1, holding her cupcake aloft. Freddy had wandered into the Main Hall and Mangle was hanging out in the Parts and Service Room, but Balloon Boy was still beside the carousel. Still as a statue.

Why would he go back? Growing tired of being curious, Mando picked up his mandolin and strummed a few chords. Deciding he liked the notes, he started to sing.

Let’s try to make it right
Don’t want to start a fight
And we’re so sorry if we give you all a little fright
We’re not so scary if you see us in the daylight
You’ll be so happy just as long as you survive the night

The lyrics popped into his mind faster than he was used to. Mando was a bit surprised himself. He was a good musician and songs came to him at varying levels of easiness, but these words came really fast. He thought about the lyrics he’d sung and found that they betrayed his feelings, his fear of the animatronics smiling at him in the semi-darkness, walking around on their own, standing outside the Office like Chica.

While MandoPony was thinking these thoughts, he pointed his flashlight down the hall and switched it on, revealing the beakless yellow animatronic smiling eerily at him. Mando almost yelled when he saw Chica. He dropped the flashlight and grabbed the Freddy head, jamming it on his own.

But Chica closed her mouth and started to walk down the hall towards the Office, clearly not bothered by the mask. Mando started to panic and considered throwing the fan at the approaching animatronic, but his hoof instead fell on the flashlight. What the hay, I’ve got nothing better. Mando lifted the flashlight, accidentally brushing the button and the flashlight turned on, shining its bright beam on Chica.

Much to Mando’s surprise, Chica stopped and pulled back. She stared at the Freddy-faced earth pony in the Office, but the light was in her way. She took another step back, raised one animatronic eyebrow and disappeared into the darkness.

Mando sighed. “That was a close one,” he muttered. His eyes fell on the flashlight. I guess even robots can’t resist a bright glare. Maybe it’ll work on the others too. Mando picked up the monitor. Chica had returned to the Show Stage, joined by Freddy and Bonnie. It looked as though they were frozen in a conversation. Mangle had scrambled back to the Kid’s Cove, her odd parts twitching like cat ears. Balloon Boy and Foxy, as before, were right in their places. Why would they all go back to their spots? Mando wondered. Then he didn’t hear it.

The music box. He’d forgotten to wind it up.

His heart beating faster than a racehorse, Mando flicked the monitor to Cam 11 and found the large gift box wide open. He shined the flashlight into the corner, but the box was empty. Freddy, Chica and Bonnie were now looking down the Main Hall. Chica looked bemused and creakily put her beak back on. Freddy removed his hat and brushed it with his microphone, but Bonnie looked unimpressed. She looked towards the camera and Mando was sure she was looking straight at him, her expression remorseful.

What in the name of Celesta’s burning flank is going on?

MandoPony checked the camera in the Main Hall, trying to find whatever it was that the animatronics were so focused on. At first, all he could see was an empty hall, even when he turned on his flashlight. But at a second glance, a frightful figure appeared. Its black-and-white body was tall, towering even those of the animatronics. Mando couldn’t see its face as it was looking the other way, but he could see through the figure like an apparition.

Then the thing turned around. Automatically, Mando strummed a fearful tune.

A pale face, streaked with crimson tear paths, eyes black and empty. It was the face of misery, regret and revenge. This was more than the other animatronics. It was far too thin to have an endoskeleton. At first Mando thought it had strings holding it up because it reminded him of a puppet, but even in the dim hall he could see there was nothing. It only got worse when the puppet creature turned around and wafted down the hall.

“Buck,” Mando cursed, fear and anxiety growing every second. His mandolin sang in his hooves, the tune making the situation even more real than it already was. Then he heard a new sound coinciding with his own melody. It was a little music-box tune , the kind of which a pony might know from their foalhood.

“Where is that coming from?” The question hung in the air, never to be answered. Mando pulled on the Freddy mask and picked up the flashlight, shining its light down the hall to the Office. There was nothing there.

“Phew, that was close,” Mando sighed. But when he clicked off the flashlight, the circle of light was still down the hall. “What in Equestria?”

Mando peered down the hall through the eye-slits in the mask. A very faint form stood in the beam. It slowly became clearer, forming two stilt-like legs, a tall buttoned torso, long stringy arms, and a face like Tartarus.

His mandolin’s ringing had died down to a low strum, drowned out by the sound of the new music-box. Now Mando remembered where he’d seen the creature before. It was the beast that hid in crank-up boxes, playing cute tunes to relax young fillies and colts so that they never expect the horror from within. Except that horror was never bigger than their young legs, was all Mando could think.

The puppet stood in the frozen light, standing pretty firm for a stringy-looking monster. It closed its gaping mouth and looked at Mando with blank eyes. It raised a thin arm and gestured at Mando with its long fingers. The message was clear.

Come.

Oh, Faust no, Mando said to himself. This thing is not serious. But the puppet continued to wave its fingers at him, even taking a step closer. Mando could hear a faint voice echoing in his head.

Come……. Come……. Save me……. Save them…….Save us…….

What is that? Mando wondered. But then he heard another voice in his head, head. A deep, resounding voice with an angry but content drone.

YOU CAN’T.

The two voices, along with the trilling of the music-box, drowned out all clear thought form MandoPony’s head. With the noise in his head and ears and the puppet drawing nearer, he was surprised he was still alive and breathing, but even that might change soon. How he wished that he’d said goodbye properly to-

Ding ding ding dong. Bing bing bing bong.

A bell rang out through Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. All sound and activity stopped at once. The voices died down and the puppet vanished as the circle of light faded, bringing the darkness back. Mando was still, listening to the bell toll. He picked up the monitor and looked into the rooms. All the animatronics were back in their spots. Foxy was limp in the Parts and Service Room, Balloon Boy was still in the Game Area, Mangle lay in the Kid’s Cove, and Freddy, Chica and Bonnie stood on the Show Stage. The gift box was closed, the puppet no doubt inside it.

“What’s going on?” Mando got up from his chair. He glanced at the clock on the desk. 6:00. The night shift was over. Taking his mandolin off the desk, the earth pony trotted briskly down the hallway to the entrance. Early morning light streamed through the doors, lighting the pizzeria with Celestia’s rays.

“I did it,” Mando said aloud. “I survived the night.”

He sat down and pushed his back up against the wall. Marcolt Plier had given him the job of watching the pizzeria during the night and he did. Phone Colt’s message had helped Mando make it through the shift. The animatronics had spent the night walking around, doing who-knows-what while sometimes coming towards the Office. The voices Mando had heard were still clear in his head, but no longer blocked out his own thoughts.

“Mando! Hey MandoPony!”

A key clicked in the pizzeria doors and they swung open. Marcolt Plier stepped inside, followed by two other ponies. “Aw yeah!” one of the ponies cheered, shooting past Mando towards the kitchen. “Time for another day full of pizza!”

“Whoa, Cheese Pie.” the other pony said, trotting after the stallion. “Keep it down over there.”

Marcolt stopped in front of Mando and offered him a hoof-up. “Good morning, MandoPony.”

“Morning.” Mando clopped the floor. “Is it really morning? My shift past by so fast.”

“That’s what all the security guards say,” Marcolt explained. “Ever since the murder, time seems to stretch itself thin over the night shift.”

“So you admit that somepony from the restaurant doing the murder?”

Marcolt looked at MandoPony with a straight face. “I understand your interest and concern in the matter. But every pony on the staff has been questioned on everything, even me. Besides,” Marcolt added, looking toward the kitchen. Cheese Pie was throwing tubs of tomato sauce out of the fridge and the other pony, a unicorn mare named Truffles, was rolling out dough bases for the pizzas. “I trust everypony here. They’re like family to me.”

“I know that feeling,” Mando said, thinking of a certain pegasus mare.

“Anyways, you’d best go home and get some rest. I hope to see you again this evening for your second night.”

“Alright.” Mando slung his mandolin over his shoulder, straightened his guard cap and walked out the door.

“WAIT!”

Cheese Pie leapt over the kitchen counter, bearing a fresh piping-hot pizza. “First pizza of the day goes to the night guard,” he said proudly, offering the pizza to Mando.

Mando took the pizza from the Pegasus. It smelled great. “Thanks Cheese.”

“You’re very-berry-super-scary welcome!” Cheese chanted, turning tail and diving back into the kitchen.

What was all that about? Mando wondered. The words Cheese Pie used were surprisingly unsettling. He hoped that working at Freddy’s wouldn’t affect his sanity or his music skills. “Well, I’ll be off then Marcolt.”

“Okay MandoPony. See you tonight.”

Marcolt went back inside and Mando started his walk home. Before he turned the corner, he looked back at the restaurant where he’d spent the last six hours. It looked a lot more cheerful now with the lights on and ponies rushing busily around inside. The smell of baked pizzas contributed to the scene too. After a night of unsettling sights, the opened active pizzeria now seemed unreal.

Something very strange is going on at that restaurant, Mando said, rolling his shoulders. There’s things to learn and mysteries to solve. But right now, I’ve got a friend to see.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Author's Note:

Thanks to my co-author Cyberspace for going over this before I published it