Tale of a Tainted Mandolin

by Spirit Guide

The Last Slice

“Is this going to lead to a divorce?”

“Don’t be silly; it’s just a lot to take in, that’s all.”

“A lot more, you mean.”

Wildfire nodded. This week was proving to be one of the busiest and most interesting in her life. First her coltfriend gets a job at one of the restaurants her company works with, which leads to him learning and telling her about the strange things he claims the animatronics designed by her company were doing. Finally, there was the meeting planned that night which she would have to attend.

Truly, it was a great deal more than what she was used to.

“I know it’s hard to believe, Wildfire,” Mando admitted. “I had a hard time taking it in too. But it’s really happening.”

“I know, Mando. I know. Surely, you didn’t think that after all the things you told me yesterday that this would be any harder to take in?”

Mando shrugged. “Animatronics improvising music and lyrics for songs and tall gangly puppets repairing robots seemed different to me." He stopped and stared at the mantel. "Am I weird?”

“Course you are,” Wildfire chuckled, throwing herself into his lap. “Everypony is weird. You just keep that in mind during your next show.”

“Hopefully, my new song will be done by then. Bonnie could probably help me finish it up tonight.” Mando looked down at the pegasus lounging on his legs. “You’re acting a whole lot less concerned than you were yesterday, and this news is without a doubt more out-of-program than what I told you before. Why are you acting so carefree?”

Wildfire gave him an innocent smile. “Because, whatever it is, I know that you, MandoPony, will get through it all no matter what.”

“Aww, thanks Sibsy.” Mando ruffled her mane and leaned over, planting a kiss on the mare’s lips. Wildfire replied in kind and together they put aside all worldly worries for a shared blissful moment.

Then they separated. “I thought I'd had it when I was in with Foxy,” Mando said quietly. “That time he had almost caught me in his jump…. I was sure he was going to do me in.”

“Hush, none of that lest it become true,” Wildfire insisted, putting a hoof to Mando’s lips. “Of course, when you put it that way, even I start thinking far-fetched. Foxy is one of the older versions and has less tech shoved into him than the new animatronics. The only way he would have so much sensory and feeling is if there were somepony inside him.”

At this, MandoPony and Wildfire laughed. After all, it really was absurd: how could there be a pony inside an animatronic like Foxy? He was so heavily crammed with wiring; there’d be no room in there.

“I really would like you to come and see them for yourself,” Mando said. “As their creator, I’m sure they’d love to see and acknowledge you. Surely, they’ll recognize you somehow.”

“Maybe from the company’s fliers,” Wildfire offered. “I’d love to come and join you during your shift, but I have a meeting tonight with the designer board. And when I say tonight, I mean during your work hours.”

“Ah, man. Worst timing ever.”

“Yeah, that. Who’d want to spend the night talking to a bunch of old geeky friends when you could spend a romantic night with your coltfriend in an almost-empty pizzeria, with your only company being roving animatronics with the energy and personality of schoolponies?”

The both of them burst out laughing again. “You’re too creative for your own good, Wildfire,” Mando insisted. “No wonder the animatronics act so originally.”

“Better stop pulling my leg, or I’ll break yours. Then what’ll you do for your show?”

“Nyeh.”

Prooofph

“Cut it out.”

“You started it.”

The conversation died down. Mando and Wildfire just sat on the couch, enjoying each other’s company, but individually thinking about Freddy Fazbear’s and the weird things going on behind their glass double doors.

“The meeting should be done around five-thirty,” Wildfire said. “I’ll come to you the minute it’s over.”

“Marcolt locks the doors for security purposes every night,” Mando explained. “You’d have to wait until six before he comes to open up.”

“I’ll wait however long it takes, even if I have to wait on the doorstep until he comes.”

"Then I guess that's everything." Chomping down the last of his pizza, Mando gave Wildfire one more goodbye snuggle and went to the bedroom for his diurnal respite

*

"Animatronics switched to night mode, Marcolt sir."

"Good work, Applejack."

"Lights on minimum."

"Fantastic, Pewter."

Mando arrived at Freddy Fazbear's to find it as busy as an anthill. Every employee was rushing about, flicking switches and arranging tables in a mad frenzy. In the center of the ponystorm stood Marcolt, his hooves pointing this way and that as though he were conducting the madness, which he was.

"Cheese," Marcolt said to the pizza chef, "help Pewter Pie with the tables in Party Room 2. They need to be spick and span for tomorrow."

"Aye aye, cap'n Plier," Cheese responded. He leapt over to a sandy-maned stallion. "Let's go, bro!"

"Truffles, neaten up Kid's Cove, and Mangle too; We've got expectations for tomorrow. Get Applejack to help out."

The unicorn mare nodded. "You got it, chief. Come on, Septickite."

Marcolt shooed away another employee and turned to see Mando entering. "Ah, the star of the show! Welcome back, MandoPony."

"Hello, Marcolt." Mando ducked as two ponies, bearing a table between them, galloped by on either side of him. "What's going on? It looks like every Freddy Fazbear's employee is here."

"It's all hooves on deck for tomorrow, MandoPony," Marcolt said excitedly, his smile stretching across his face. "Someone reserved the pizzeria for a party!"

At this, Marcolt sprang up and danced around the entrance room, and Mando understood why: for almost a month, the pizzeria's credibility had been dropping, as had its customers, partly due to the missing foals case. But a party could be just the lifeline they needed to get them back into business again.

"That's great, Marcolt!"

"I didn't even get to the extra cheese on top," Marcolt continued. "I was getting the details from the pony who was organizing the party—he said it was going to be a birthday party, for a colt—and he told me that one of the reasons he was choosing Freddy's is because of our latest addition to the staff."

Mando blinked slowly, taking it all in. "So that means…"

"It's all thanks to you, MandoPony."

There were few moments in his life that Mando had felt as happy as he did then. Finding out that he may be Freddy Fazbear’s route back to its former glory brought out the deepest of joys. Mando’s feelings were so unbridled, he felt the music in his heart emerge, wild and proud. He leapt onto the stage, drew his mandolin, and strummed.

Within half a minute, every Freddy Fazbear’s employee in the pizzeria had walked, almost trance-like, up to the Show Stage and trained their eyes on Mando and their ears on his music. The tune was simple, that is to say simply right. If music had a tone of voice, this song’s would have been truthful. The mandolin melody spoke of honest feelings, the happiness MandoPony felt in helping Freddy Fazbear’s return to what it used to be.

All too soon, it ended. Mando’s hooves dropped from his strings and the employees all shook, clearing their heads of the enchanting melody. Marcolt, who had been at the back of the crowd, passed through the stunned ponies and walked up to the stage.

“You’ve done us more than a service, MandoPony,” he said to the musician. “You’ve given us genuine hope.”

The employees all nodded and exclaimed their agreement. As they all returned to their duties, Mando and Marcolt went to the Office. Marcolt stood in his hind legs beside the Left Air Vent and leaned against the wall, while Mando took the office chair.

“It’s gonna be a big day tomorrow, huh Marcolt?”

“Mmm.”

“Why so glum, then?”

Marcolt looked up at the musician, his expression solemn. “I never gave up on that case, Mando. I remember those missing foals; they were at the pizzeria that day, with their folks and all. A day later, the report comes up and they’re gone.

“Suspicions abounded, mistrust spread. Any of one us could have been the criminal behind it all. Employees skittered through their chores, wary of one another.” Marcolt turned and put his head against the wall. “I knew we should have invested more in security or even into extra surveillance programming for the animatronics… but the easy street had softened me up and hakuna matata’d me good.”

Seeing the king of Freddy Fazbear so down in the dumps made Mando plain-old sad. Nopony should be sad like that, especially with an important day such as tomorrow coming. “There’s nothing you could have done that you haven’t already, Marcolt,” Mando said, getting up from the chair and going over to him. “Nopony could anticipate something as horrible as foalnapping from such a great place.”

Sitting Marcolt down in the office chair, Mando continued. “Tomorrow’s party is going to take Freddy Fazbear to new heights, greater than ever. In fact, to make it even more so, I’d like to play at tomorrow’s party.”

Marcolt raised his head, eyes wide and mouth corners turning up. “Really? Do you mean it? I thought you had a concert coming up.”

“I do, but as an employee at Freddy Fazbear’s, I feel that it’s my duty to help the pizzeria as much as I can. And I just so happen to be an Equestria-renowned musician. I can do it.”

Glomp

Marcolt nailed Mando with a tackle brohug. “Thank you, MandoPony, thank you!”

Mando accepted the embrace and patted the other pony on the back. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Ha, ‘nothing’ you say,” Macolt scoffed, giving the musician some space. “You’ve given us everything: security guard hours, private entertainment, and hope. And now you’ve even given me confidence. MandoPony, you’ve given yourself to us and we shall not soon forget it.”

“Well…. Thank you, then,” Mando said, feeling his heart fill with the gratitude given.

Pewter Pie entered the Office, wearing a stack of party hats. “Party Room 2 and all the rest have been prepared, Marcolt.”

“Brilliant.” Marcolt turned to Mando once more. “Looks like it’s your show until tomorrow’s. I know you won’t let us down.”

“I won’t let anything deter me from my job of watching the pizzeria.” Except for everyone who's part of the job.

“Good luck and goodnight, MandoPony.”

“Sleep tight, everyone!” Mando called down the hallway as Marcolt and Pewter galloped along it.

“GOOD LUCK, MANDOPONY!” the Freddy Fazbear employees chanted together.

Mando picked up the monitor and watched as Marcolt herded the other ponies out of the restaurant, each one of them visibly in the highest of spirits. Marcolt waved once more at the camera for Mando before exiting and locking the doors behind him.

For a moment there was silence, the only sound that of hooves fading.

Then the whirring began. On every camera where they could be seen, the animatronics flexed their servos and leapt out of their positioned places. Everyone was present and accounted for, not one of them shirking from their midnight stroll.

“Here we go, here we go,” Mando sang out, shouldering his mandolin and running down the hall. He was feeling so free and wild that he ran so fast, he almost hit Foxy coming out of the Parts and Service room.

“Arr, Mando,” Foxy greeted, raising a hook.

“Hey hey, Foxy!” Mando gave the animatronic a playful punch on the leg.

“Och, easy there, matey. I may be made o’ metal, but I can still feel that.”

“Heh, sorry. Guess I’m a bit excited, that’s all.”

“Ye and everyone else,” Foxy remarked. “This partay has gotten the ponies on the high seas an’ their rockin’ with the wind. They even swept out the Parts and Service room.”

“Really?”

“No lies from these crafted lips, Mando. But enough o’ this banter, let’s go meet the crew.”

Mando and Foxy walked down the Main Hall and into the Show Stage room. The other animatronics were all milling about, asking and inquiring of each other. When Mando entered the room, five neck joints turned and allowed the attached heads to see him.

“Mando!” Bonnie cheered, rushing over to the pony, plucking him off the ground and twirling around in place. “Did you hear? We’re gonna have a party again!”

“Party!” Chica echoed, bouncing around the room like a crazy hen.

“Balloons,” BB chanted, a stupid grin on his face. “Balloons for all of them,”

Freddy looked on and took a deep breath. “Tomorrow, Freddy Fazbear returns.”

Mangle was having trouble keeping it, and herself, together. “They’re gonna play with me, they’re gonna reassemble me, they are, they are!”

Only a being such as Mangle could glean any delight from such an idea, Mando thought gleefully. All of them were overjoyed with the thought of tomorrow’s party, as they should be. “So are you all going to be entertaining tomorrow?”

“All of us ‘cept for Foxy,” Freddy explained. “No offense.”

“None taken,” the pirate animatronic replied. “I know me lot in life and I hung with the old crew; I feel honored to see our replacements excel.”

“Sappy stuff aside, yeah, we’re gonna entertain!” Balloon Boy squealed, jumping to Mando’s side. “Freddy, Chica and Bon are gonna do their whole music gig, I’m gonna be dishing out balloons and overseeing the games, and Mangle’s gonna sit there while the foals take her apart.”

“Apart and back, apart and back,” Mangle chanted happily, bobbing her two heads.

“And what about the puppet?” Mando asked casually. “What part does it play?”

A great deal of gear whirring filled the room as the animatronics all turned their heads slowly to look at MandoPony. Their round sensory-type eyes scrutinized him blankly, never changing direction. “What do you mean by the puppet?” Bonnie finally responded, her tinny voice quiet.

“You know, the one in the gift box in the Prize Corner.”

Another moment of silence. The animatronics looked back and forth between each other, as if daring one of them to speak. Bonnie, again, took the reins. “Show me.”

“Anything for you, Bonnie.”

Mando ambled over to the Prize Corner, Bonnie taking her long-legged stride after him. They leapt over the counter and approached the large box slowly, while the other animatronics looked on in silence. Mando crept over to the box like a ninja would, staying to the side, and Bonnie leaned against the counter.

“Are you ready?” he asked Bonnie, a small part of him hoping his questions would be answered on this path.

The animatronic nodded. “Show me,” she said again.

Mando took a breath, stood up on his hind legs and flipped the lid open—

MINE

A wave of alien power whooshed out of the open gift box, washing over Mando, Bonnie and the other animatronics. Mando fell back on the floor, eyes trained on the rim of the box. Slowly, a hoof rose out of the square gloom, resting on the lip of the box. It was soon followed by its partner and then, like a horrifying equine sunrise, the head.

In a single shocking moment that seemed to drag on, Mando recognized the face; it was the same one that had manifested before him on his second night at Freddy’s: a purple-faced pony, with a sleek black mane that seemed to mesh in with the surrounding darkness. The light that Mando remembered seeing around the face last night was there too, originating from above the pony’s head on the horn protruding from the top.

But that face. The unicorn’s face was by-far the most nerve-wracking, heart-stopping feature in Mando’s immediate view. As before, the stretched demented grin dominated the lower half of the pony’s face, and the twin orbs above offered no cover; they were filled with cruelty and love for such. A true mad malevolence.

The unicorn looked down at the earth pony, threw back his head and let loose a true maniacal laugh. “It is soooo good to see the terror on the victim’s face again,” he warbled, his voice as frightening as his appearance. “It has been a while, after all.”

Mando just stared up in shock, silent as the grave. The purple pony gripped the rim of the gift box and heaved himself out and over, landing on the floor with a layered clack. “Oh, a little lost for words?” he asked, looking down at Mando. “Don’t worry; you have nothing important to tell me.”

The purple pony walked around the counter and into the room. Mando managed to rein in his fear enough to heave himself up onto the counter, but what he saw didn’t make him feel better: the animatronics, his friends, stood around the purple pony, making slow jittery movements. Even Bonnie, who stood beside Mando, had her head down and her arms going up and down.

“B-bonnie?” Mando called quietly.

At first, nothing happened. Then, in a quick pale flash of light, Bonnie slowly turned her head toward Mando and the musician gasped: her eyes, those green sensors used for sniffing out suspicious figures, were glowing completely red.

“Did you notice?” the purple pony wondered aloud. “Yeah, your ‘friends’ can’t hear you; they’re completely under my control.”

The purple pony raised his horn and a thick, harsh violet aura appeared around it. Mando squinted into the darkness and saw thin strands of purple trailing off the unicorn’s strangely swirling aura and wrapping around the animatronics’ heads.

“S-stop that!” Mando demanded. “Let them go! Who are you?!”

“So many questions, whichever should I answer first?” the purple pony trilled. “Ha! I’ll choose whether a question is answered or not. But first, let’s get you comfortable.”

Another flash of light filled the room and blinded Mando. He felt his hooves get swept out from underneath him and a tight grip hold his body. Mando struggled and squirmed, but to no avail as he realized Bonnie, who was undoubtedly under the purple pony’s control, was holding him.

With the unwilling earth pony in tow, Bonnie slowly strode over to the purple pony, who stood surrounded by the entranced animatronics. “Ah, the great MandoPony. I was intrigued when you took the night shift here, such a perilous job. One would think you want to get into trouble.”

“The only trouble anypony’s getting into will be you, for tampering with the animatronics’ programming and preventing a Freddy Fazbear employee from fulfilling his duty.” Mando retorted angrily.

“Spoken like a true puppet.” The purple pony cackled at this. “’Puppet’. That’s a good one.”

“Wh-where is the puppet?” Mando finally decided to ask.

“Hm, that old hag? I was sure I’d finished her off right after.”

What is he saying? What does he mean?

“But you shouldn’t be worrying about her, no,” the purple pony insisted. “Oh, you should be worried about yourself.”

Mando did his best to put on a brave face. “What are you going to do?”

The unicorn looked surprised. “Why, I’m going to have you join the party, of course!”

A wave of purple magic flowed out from his horn, washing over the animatronics. Suddenly, Foxy ran down the hall at his frightening speed, while Bonnie handed Mando over to Freddy and Chica, who each grabbed his left and right legs respectively.

“What are you doing?” Mando asked again, attempting to struggle against the animatronics’ combined stiffness.

The purple pony rushed over and put his face close to Mando’s. “Listen and listen well, Charlie horse. You come here, with your goody-goody plans, hoping to help Freddy Fazbear’s out of the junkyard and to finally discover who spirited away those foals.” That last part, the unicorn said in a childish warble. “Foolish foals. Hadn’t their parents taught them not to accept pizza from strangers? Well, too late for them.”

He drew a hoof along Mangle’s snout. “These animatronics are a true magi-scientific marvel. All that circuitry crammed into a large colorful suit; with space barely enough for a little pony to fit.”

“Or is there?”

Using his strange magical strands, the purple pony beckoned Bonnie over to him. The blue lagomorph knelt down, putting her head level with him. The unicorn flicked his horn again, forcing Freddy and Chica to hold Mando’s head straight so that he was facing him and Bonnie.

“Ready?” the purple pony asked, his grin becoming ever-more wicked as he slid one of his hooves into Bonnie’s mouth.

Mando swallowed, but gave no other reaction. He feared what was about to come.

“Okay then!” With a glint in his eye and an unpleasantly graceful flourish, he wrenched Bonnie’s head open, the lower jaw remaining flat while the entire upper part of the head flew back.

What he saw almost made Mando puke: inside of Bonnie’s head, nestled where the wires slinked down her neck, was a little cream filly. Her eyes were closed and her expression was quiet, as though she were asleep. Her tri-colored mane was frayed and disheveled.

No….. no way…..

Things only got worse. The purple pony bent lower and, using his horn, forced open Bonnie’s chest. This time, Mando felt his gorge rise as he beheld the filly’s small form dangling inside the animatronic, her hooves spread-eagle among the circuitry. Splotches of red dotted her cream coat, the biggest of which surrounded a crimson incision on her chest.

That’s where….

“I’m telling you, there’s something invigorating in looking at past wounds,” the purple pony exclaimed. "By that I mean wounds inflicted on others, of course.”

The purple pony laughed, and Mando looked around the room. The evidence was unveiling itself before him. So this is the pony behind the foalnapping. Who is he, to have lured them into the pizzeria to be stuffed into suits, and why?

Then the worst of it hit him. No, not just foalnap. Murder. This freak tricked the ponies into following him and… Mando’s eyes drifted back to the cut, the terrible encrusted cut on the filly’s body.

That must mean… From the still filly’s form, Mando’s gaze leapt from animatronic to animatronic. Sibys was right. All the missing foals are inside the animatronics, maybe even since they’ve been reported missing!

“Why?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Oh, that.” The purple pony turned, giving Mando a view of his profile and, more importantly, his cutie mark. “You see this, mate? This is a drain. At first I thought this meant the greatest thing I’d have in my skill set would be excellent pipe laying and sewer cleaning and stuff like that. Of course, I never desired such a future, or the one I’m living in now.

“It all happened one fall day. I was sitting under a tree, enjoying the cool autumn breeze and wishing I could have a hoof in it like the pegasi. Then, all of a sudden, I hear this loud crack and look up to see a branch falling down toward me. It was a big branch and it would have left me seriously wounded.”

A shame it obviously didn’t, Mando thought bitterly.

“Do you know how I got out of that? It was quite amazing, really. I stood up, almost certain that my end had come, when my horn began to glow and the aura that appeared was swirling, really fast too. I felt this strange push in my horn so I pushed back, causing a huge gust of almost solid wind to burst out of it and knock the branch aside.

“I was astounded, I was; my horn pulled in a force of nature and forced it back out. The wind didn’t even come back until the following day, but I didn’t wait around. I tried my newfound magic talent on all kinds of things: water, light, fire, even plants.

“Then I tried my magic on something else: living creatures. First I used my power on small things like insects and mice and was met with little resistance. Then I moved on to bigger things like cats and dogs, which fought back a bit. But then came my youth’s crowning achievement, when I tried to control another pony.”

The unicorn shook his head. “It was like nothing I had felt before. The pony retaliated with so much power, I was afraid he was splitting my head open. My reaction was even more explosive: I yanked on the pony and threw him against a wall with my magic. When I saw him lying unconscious on the ground, I got scared and ran.

“It was a long time before I tried using my magic again, and by that time I had changed. Touching that other pony and attempting to subjugate him had opened my mind and twisted my reasoning. I had lost myself to the lure of power over others.”

Although it all still horrified him, the purple pony’s tale piqued Mando’s interest. Is he telling the truth?

“So I gave in to the call: I would choose my victims carefully, preferring fillies and colts due to their weaker stamina. I would make them do things: jump around, imitate animals and stuff. Once in a while, it would get embarrassing for them, but that didn’t stop me. Nothing stopped me.

“You wouldn’t understand, MandoPony, the thrill of feeling their fear: their crying, their shouting, their pleading for mercy. I took it all in, and from it built what I am: frightening, horrifying, and drop-dead scary.

“And who better to share this persona with than children!”

The purple pony shoved his hoof under Mangle’s jaw and forced her mouth open. Nestled inside the animatronic’s head, jammed in amongst the wires, was the head of another filly. Her coat was grey and dirty, her braided mane unkempt and frayed. Her blue spectacles rested on Mangle’s manufactured palette, leaning against her muzzle.

Silver Spoon!

If it wasn’t bad enough that he was seeing this reality, Mando recognized the filly who’s head sat inside Mangle’s; she had actually attended his last concert and had come backstage for an autograph and hug, as Mando would do at all his performances. Now that he thought about it, Mando recalled one of the names of the foals who had gone missing in the whole Fazbear incident.

Silver Spoon… no…

“Oh yeah. This one was tricky,” the purple pony said gleefully. “She must have seen me herd the others inside, and then sneaked in after us. After I finished shoving the first brats into the suits, I noticed she was there and reacted. Using my magic, I pulled on Foxy’s arm, the one with the hook, and swipe!” He mimed the act, complete with sound effects. “And there went the head.”

Mando’s eyes bulged. This was getting worse and worse.

“Just kidding.” The unicorn howled with laughter. “Her head was still on, but nothing was getting into it. I realized there were no more animatronics I could use to stuff her in so, using the strength of the other ones, we squeezed the little whelp and her head into Mangle. It was a real mess afterwards.”

Oh, Faust….

“And yeah, that’s it.” The purple pony dropped Mangle’s jaw back over Silver Spoon’s face. “Six lovely dead foals inside six gloriously possessed animatronics.

“And now,” he went on, letting his tongue slide over his lips, “you shall be joining them.”

The purple pony waved his horn, causing Freddy and Chica to rise up, hoisting Mando off the ground. “How’ll you do that?” Mando demanded, forcing his mouth to talk. “There aren’t any…. Any animatronics left. If you k-k-ki….” He couldn’t even finish the question.

“Oh, that? Minor detail, really. But fear not; I have thought ahead.

“To the Parts and Service Room.”

Freddy and Chica marched out of the main room, with Mando struggling and shouting for all he was worth. The purple pony only laughed harder at the sound. “Go, children,” he hissed at the remaining animatronics. “Go and help him into his formal attire.”

As the unicorn’s cackling continued, Foxy, Mangle and Balloon Boy scampered out into the Main Hall after their fellow machines. The pony noticed Bonnie standing there, frozen where he’d left her. “What’s the matter, Bon?” he crooned, stroking her blue fiberglass body. “Don’t you want to witness the assimilation of your new bandmate?”

Bonnie didn’t reply. What she did do was turn her eyes up at the violet unicorn and swing her heavy fist at him. The purple pony leapt nimbly aside and flicked his horn, pulling on Bonnie’s arms and legs like a puppet on strings and smashing her against the wall.

“Still trying to win, hm?” the purple pony gloated, standing over Bonnie. “Well, listen here, whelp. You’re done for. I took your life and imprisoned you inside there; you are under my control. There’s no hero coming to help; the bad guy is the victor here. So unless you want me to rewire your mouth and break your heart properly, just stop it.”

Bonnie rolled her eye at him; her green eye. “You… krk... won’t…. Mando, krtch…. Stop….” her voice box crackled.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

With another harsh laugh, the purple pony waved his horn and teleported out of sight.

The moment he left, Bonnie rose to her feet. As she struggled to regain her balance, her eyes fell on the instrument lying on the floor: MandoPony’s mandolin. He had dropped it when Bonnie, under the purple pony’s control, grabbed him. Looking at the mandolin now brought it all back to the animatronic.

Oh, Mando… I’m sorry.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!”

The ear-piercing scream irritated Bonnie’s artificial hearing and her ears bent in half at the sound. Doing her best to ignore the thoughts leaping through her shared mind, Bonnie sat down with her back against the Show Stage and strummed the borrowed mandolin. The soothing notes calmed her sensors and she nodded her head as the lyrics from last night came to her.

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

Hey there, how ya doin’, nice to meet ya, are ya new in town
Don’t think I’ve seen you befo-ore, it’s great to see new faces around
And if you’d like it, I can give a tour
Of our enchanting wonderland, new and improved without the doors

There's no escape, but then, who would want to leave?
It's a fantastical paradise, and it's not make-believe
I'm so glad to have another member of the band
You're one of us now, so let me take you by the hand

Bonnie strummed the last chord slowly. The words ended, but the tune was still fresh in her mind. Another scream battered her ears, coming from down the Main Hall. Bonnie scrunched up her metallic features and strummed the mandolin again, new words forming deep in her head.

But what is that I spy, with my robotic eye?
I think I see a bit of flesh inside the new guy
Maybe he isn't everything that he seems
Time to investigate what's underneath the seams!

As Bonnie repeated the chorus, she heard a creaking noise. Looking up at the still-open gift box, she beheld the tall thin figure rising out of it. At first, Bonnie saw only the tip of the white-masked face, but the rest of the being slowly followed.

Does it like the music? she wondered. More cries of anguish and pain echoed through the pizzeria, reminded Bonnie of the purple pony’s words and gave her new and unfortunate ideas to work with.

In this world we play, we hope that you will stay
And we will throw a most electrifying soirée
Formal attire is required for you to take part
You’ve got some skin that needs removing before we sta-art

One final strum. The last line. Bonnie let her arms hang loosely, the mandolin sitting askew across her knees. The puppet arched its legs over the counter and approached the mechanical lagomorph. It looked down at Bonnie, its expression frozen.

Save him

“I can’t,” Bonnie replied, her voice smaller than before. “He got away again. I was too weak.”

You must do what you can

“But what more can I do?”

Watch. Watch and remember. It’s not your fault, but you must bear witness with the others. There will be a time for strings again, for both sides, and when that happens you must be ready

Bonnie gazed off into the distance, vision being blocked by the merry-go-round. The scream came again, but it was quieter in a final way. Then for a long time all was silent. Bonnie slowly stood up, the mandolin dangling from her loose grip.

“There’s nothing left. There’s nothing to do.”

Her words fell on no ears; the puppet had vanished and the gift box was closed. Feeling her damaged heart pump electrons, Bonnie shuffled down the Main Hall and approached the Parts and Service Room. She could hear a mixture of heavy breathing and whirring servos coming from inside.

Pushing the door open, Bonnie walked into the dimly lit back room, where the other animatronics were assembled, their eyes returned to normal. Foxy was sitting in the corner, back slumped against the wall and head between his knees. Balloon Boy traced the words on his sign with a finger. Mangle rocked her heads back and forth slowly.

Bonnie approached Chica and Freddy, who stood on either side of the table in the center. In their eyes was a reflected sight: a tall broad form, prone in a resting position, the color of dull gold.

Author's Note:

Oh, did I just do that?
Yes. Yes, I did.

Aria mad?

Comments

[TheUltimateBrony-Class-S]

WARNING: OC FNAF character has been ACTIVATED. Please for safety purposes, we recommend that you RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

*A supposedly deactivated FNAF 4 Nightmare Freddy sits on the ground as three different Freddy Minions appear; one with white fur, one with black fur, and one with grey fur.*
*They climb into it, then it becomes active. It looks at you and it feels like it is smiling at you.*

Well, well, well... this has become interesting. Let's see how this goes.

[first hand account]

Purple pony if that's golden Freddy your fucked
If that's fred bear...a whole shit ton of NOPE for you!!!

[Spirit Guide]

7055459 What if it's neither?

[first hand account]

7055870 ....wut?

[Spirit Guide]

7056777 This is what the blog is for

[first hand account]

7057325 oh i forgot about that...

[The Slending Angel]

LOL

GOLDERN FRERDEH IS AT YU

[ShadeBlitz]

oh... OHHH... SO GONNA DO IT!

Time for the main attraction
The story must be told!
Time for a chain reaction
It never gets old
Some bots get satisfaction
Breaking the mold
Some bots are just distractions
Some bots are Just Gold

SING WITH ME!