"Its rather simple Button. The game will take the course of the week, with each day getting harder."
"Well how long is it gonna be?" Button demanded. Discord held up his hoof, letting it morph back into his claw.
"Five Days, or rather, Five Nights. Each Night the animatronic counterparts will come at you in full force, trying to gain entry into your base area. If they get in...you lose."
"Alright, how do I win?" Button asked, watching Discord carefully
"Each Night will start at Midnight. You'll have to survive until 6 AM when they run out of power. Manage this for the entire Five Nights and you win. No redo, no best out of 40. I'll stop being stuck up about losing and you'll get your reward." Discord held out his claw, grinning like a madman.
"Alright, deal." Button placed his hoof into his rivals claw, giving it a shake. Discord grinned, shifting back into his normal form and snapping his fingers, a Nightguard uniform appearing around Button.
"GOOD LUCK!" Discord cheered with a laugh as he vanished. Button sighed as he wandered the store. He marched down each hallway, spotting security cameras shifting left and right. He would need to know the whole layout of the store if he intended to win.
"Discord said something about a base..." Button mumbled, finding an office in the back. A lone chair sat in front of a large console. He plopped down in the chair, turning the system on.
"Well, this is interesting..." he mumbled, flitting through each camera. Looking to his left he spotted one doorway and to his right was another, two buttons sat next to the door. The first one flicked the light on and off, while the second slammed the door shut and pulled it back open. Experimenting with the system showed an increase of power usage on the console.
"Hm...Wonder what thats about." he thought aloud, flicking through the cameras again. His eyes grew wide as the darkened eyes of Rarity stared at him through one Camera
"See you tonight dear." she grinned, her horn glowing for a moment before she vanished, appearing back in the main area.
"Buck me...this is gonna be tough..." Button gulped.
Button had gone home after doing his bit of exploring, having drawn up a map of the store and where each camera pointed. There were some obvious blind spots, he would have to work through them somehow.
After double checking them to his map he saw the most obvious blind spots were right outside the doors, giving a point to the lights directly outside. A few other blind spots could be spotted through other cameras, but he doubted he would need every single camera.
Every game had its patterns, he would just need to find it. He couldn't help but smile the entire way home. The ultimate game experience, one chance to make it through the entire game. It would be the ultimate challenge! His smile refused to go away even as his mom began to question him.
She had been shocked to hear he had a part time job working at the new parlor that had just opened up. It had taken a few quick lies to explain to her how he got the job.
"They saw how good I was at the games and offered me a job at this new place. I just gotta sit in a chair and make sure no one busts in. I'll be safe mom." he promised. She eventually gave in, packing a lunch for him and setting him off. Button gulped as he stood outside the Parlor. A quick glance at his watch revealed the time.
"11:45. 15 minutes until Discords little game starts. I better hurry." he made his way inside, taking a glance at the Animatronics, his heart beating in his throat as their piercing gaze followed him until he vanished down the hall.
It was pitch black in the store, making it hard for him to navigate through, but eventually he found his way into the office and hopped into his seat. The console booted up and Discord appeared on the main screen.
"Welcome to your temp job at Pinkies Party Parlor! Now, no need to get jumpy or anxious, everything is perfectly safe. Be sure to lock the main door, its the big red button on the console there." Discord pointed down to the button.
"That button is your opponents main objective. Other than shoving you into an animatronic suit of course." Discord grinned.
"WHAT?!" Button yelled, the clock read 11:55.
"Oh, did I forget to mention? Yes, you see, they are being powered by Chaos Energy and as such get a bit grumpy at midnight. Anypony not in an animatronic suit gets placed in one quite forcefully. Which normally wouldn't be such a bad thing if not for all the crossbars and wires and metal skeleton bits inside the suit already."
"Are you trying to kill me?!" Button yelled. The clock read 11:58.
"Yes, no, maybe. You did humiliate me after all."
"And whats to stop me from just quitting?"
"Well one, you'd lose. And Two, remember the button? Yes well. If they get in there where you are and get that button, they'll be free to terrorize Ponyville and your beloved Sweetie Belle." Discord grinned as Button ground his teeth and slammed his hoof over the red button. The clock read Midnight.
"Checkmate Button Mash." Discord cackled, the screen flickering to the Camera Controls. Applejack was already missing from the stage, causing his heart to pound in his chest. A quick check of the cameras showed she was wandering the kitchen. Button calmed down a little, glancing at the clock.
Barely any time had passed at all and already he was regretting his career choices. With measured breathes he cycled through the cameras, eyes wide as Rainbow Dash came bolting down the left hallway. With faster reflexes than he thought possible, Button lived up to his name and mashed the door button as hard as he could, slamming the door in Robo-Rainbows' face, his eyes quickly drawn to the cameras once more.
"2 AM, 63% power left. Crud, am I gonna make it?" Button gulped, flicking the light on the left and finding Rainbow hovering there, staring into the Camera, her Magenta eyes shrouded in black and her mouth open, revealing jagged robotic teeth.
"Craaaap! GO away!" He yelled, gasping as Applejack trotted down the right hallway. He leapt over and slammed the right door shut, Applejack swearing behind the door. Button breathed a sigh of relief, at least until his power suddenly started to drop.
On the Camera he could see Applejack rear up on her forehooves and bash her hind hooves into the door with a resounding CLANG. Each kick drained a bit of power. Button grit his teeth and started smashing the light button.
"Quit it!" he yelled. Applejack seemed mesmerized by the light and slowly but surely made her way from the door. Button blinked as he watched her walk away and start her cycle over again.
"The light is a reset button!" he realized, doing the same to Rainbow Dash, the flier making her way back to the stage. He sighed in relief as he was finally able to open the doors. 4AM, 47%. He was doing good, or at least he felt like it. He glanced up at the cameras and caught Pinkie staring into one, her eyes pitch black and her teeth like a shark.
"We'RE'CoMIng FoR YOU BuTtON" she snarled, causing him to jump, his ear twitched as he heard Rainbow make a dash down the hall, slamming his hoof into the door button before she could reach it. Three quick taps of the light and she made her way back to the stage.
As if on cue he slammed the right door shut, quickly followed by the light to stop Applejack from smashing the door. A grin touched his lips. He could do this. He was catching the pattern. But Discord said each night would be more difficult. Right now he was only dealing with two of six, how many would attack tomorrow?
His ears twitched as the clock rang 6, a quick glance at the camera showed all the animatronics shuffling back to the stage and taking their places for when the fillies and colts returned in the day.
"Congrats on finishing Night One Button. But this is just the beginning. Don't get too cocky" Discords voice filled the air. Button swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly made his way down the hall. He glanced at the animatronics on the stage and they stared back, all with pitch black eyes.
As he opened the door and the morning suns light pierced the Parlor, the eyes shifted to normal and smiles touched their faces. Button chuckled nervously and made his way outside, heading home at full gallop. He zipped into his home, rushing to his room and practically tackling his bed. The colt stared up at his ceiling, stricken with fear and shaking in excitement.
"Sweet Celestia this is the best game I've ever played..."