“Walking around independently?”
“Yeah.”
There were several things MandoPony loved in Equestria. One of them was, of course, performing, but another was his marefriend. Wildfire was a pegasus with an attitude that could rival that of Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts. Most kept their distance from her as she was known to barrel ponies aside like a charging buffalo, fire igniting in her wake. Because of this, Wildfire spent a lot of time on her own.
When Mando first saw her, his heart skipped a beat. Wildfire’s hot-headedness appealed to him, but he saw a beauty inside her that was missed by all. He followed Wildfire around, watching her for anything he could use to access her emotions and create a new one.
It was on one rainy afternoon when it happened. Wildfire was sheltering under a tree, by herself as usual, but this time she was crying. She knew she had a hard time controlling her temper, but the knowledge was still not easy to live with. It hurt to be alone and Wildfire was alone too much.
Then she heard Mando.
He had followed her to the tree and sat down on the other side of the trunk. He listened to Wildfire’s lamenting and her misery found its way into his heart and down to his mandolin-bearing hooves. The tune that emerged from Mando’s instrument was sad but encouraging, speaking of loneliness, hope and eventual happiness.
Surprised by the sudden beautiful music, Wildfire slowly circled the tree and found MandPony sitting there, strumming his mandolin and vocalizing in harmony. Words flowed from his mouth and Wildfire heard the story of her life, backed up by eight strings. At that moment, Wildfire knew she’d found a friend for life.
After several months of a happy relationship, Mando and Wildfire were now as close as two ponies could be. Mando would write his songs and perform and Wildfire would offer her drawing talents to any buyers. She was the pony who’d help design the animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and it was through Wildfire that Mando first heard of the pizzeria’s situation.
“The animatronics weren’t programmed with emotions,” Wildfire mused. “You’re saying that Bonnie’s expression changed?”
“Yes,” Mando said, about to mention the strange puppet creature that had appeared right at the end of his shift, but stopped himself. “Just before my shift was over, Freddy, Bonnie and Chica all gathered in front of the Show Stage, looking as though they were having a conversation.”
“Did you actually here them talking?” Wildfire asked.
“No. But around that time, I heard some weird voices, almost as though they were disagreeing over something.”
“What did they say?”
Mando leaned back and took a bite of pizza. “One of the voices, the softer of the two, it said thing like ‘come’, ‘save them’ and ‘save us’. And then the other one said, almost in reply, ‘you can’t’.” Mando shivered. “The second voice scared me.”
“It’s all right, Mando,” Wildfire said, scooting up next to him. “Being scared is perfectly normal. Although I must admit, all these things you’ve said about the animatronics is concerning.”
“Is there anything you can do about it?” Mando asked her.
Wildfire got up for another slice of pizza. “I’ll talk to the programmers and the other designers later,” she promised. “Maybe there’s a piece of code I’m not familiar with.”
“If you ask me, it’s more than just a piece of code.”
“Could be. I’ll have them check out the old animatronic versions of Freddy, Bonnie and Chica. Maybe something happened during the reprogramming.”
“Thanks, Wildfire.” Mando pulled the pegasus into a hug. Wildfire rested her head on the musician’s shoulder, returning the embrace. “You’re always there to help me out.”
“Wouldn’t be a good friend if I did anything but,” Wildfire chuckled. She whipped out another slice of pizza. “This is really good. It’s been a while since I had Freddy’s pizza.”
“Really?” Mando inquired.
Wildfire nodded. “Yeah, I think the last time was when the place first opened, when the restaurant commemorated me and the other designers for our work.” Wildfire rubbed her tummy. “Man, that was so long ago. I’d almost forgotten the taste of pizza. Freddy’s is the best.”
“Yeah,” Mando agreed, finishing his own slice. It really was good pizza. He got up from the couch and slung his mandolin over his shoulder. “Right, I’m gonna go get some sleep. I’ve got night shift this evening, my second one.”
“You go rest up,” Wildfire told him. She closed the pizza box. “I’ll save this for dinner; we can eat it before you leave.”
“Sounds great. See you later, Sabrina.”
Wildfire smiled at the use of her foalhood name. She trotted up to her coltfriend and gave him a kiss. “Goodnight, MandoPony.”
Beaming, Mando climbed the stairs to the bedroom, where he propped up his mandolin in the corner and collapsed on the bed. It was rough last night and he needed to get his strength back for the upcoming night.
*
“Welcome back, Mando,” Marcolt greeted upon his arrival. “Glad you’re back.”
Mando could only just agree. Over a dinner of leftover pizza, Wildfire had told him what she’d found out while he slept. No records of any strange behavior having been programmed into the animatronics were found and the other designers were flummoxed. When Mando heard this however, he wasn’t surprised. What the animatronics were doing last night wasn’t something that would be put into a foals’ entertainment system.
“Me too, Marcolt,” he replied, although he wasn’t feeling so glad.
“Your shift will start in a few minutes,” Marcolt reported. “I hope your second night goes as well as your first.”
Personally, I hope it’ll be better than last night, Mando said to himself, but he nodded. Marcolt trotted past the musician and left the pizzeria, the doors closing behind him. Then there was a surprisingly ominous click.
Mando started. He turned towards the door and jiggled the handles. Locked. The doors wouldn’t budge. He looked out through the glass but couldn’t see Marcolt anywhere, nor anypony else. “Well, not the most comforting thought, being locked up in a restaurant with mysterious animatronics,” Mando muttered. He looked down the hallway towards the Show Stage. “Let’s have a look at our hosts.”
He shouldered his mandolin, walked into the room and turned to face the three animatronics on the stage. Freddy in the middle holding his microphone, with Chica and Bonnie on either side of him. They towered above Mando but otherwise looked peaceful, Chica with her feminine features and Bonnie with a bored expression.
What’s going on inside of you? Mando wondered. He felt a chill and swung around. Balloon Boy was standing in the Game Area, smiling open-mouthed as he always did. Mando trotted towards the stumpy figure and eyed him carefully. And you. What’s your deal? You hung around in the Game Area all of last night while the others prowled about. Of course, Balloon Boy didn’t respond.
Mando walked past the Game Area and peered into the Kid’s Cove. Mangle lay sprawled on the floor, spare parts lying about on the floor. Mando recognized one loose part as her second head. He walked over and picked it up. “Those foals sure enjoy playing Frankenstallion on you, don’t they?” he said aloud. He took another look at the second head. Mangle didn’t look right without that piece. Mando stepped towards the robotic creation and, seeing the open spot on her shoulder, stuck the second head on and reattached the wires and springs.
The earth pony stepped back to admire his work. Yes, strange as it seems, Mangle did look better with two heads. Feeling content, Mando left Kid’s Cove and walked to the Prize Corner. He looked over the counter at the big gift box and leapt over to it. Maybe that demon puppet goes to Tartarus every day. But no, when Mando flicked open the box, he found the puppet all folded up inside, the white-faced mask grinning upwards.
“Okay,” he muttered. “So maybe you’re not a demon from Tartarus.” Mando closed the box, shrugged and made his way to the Office, stopping only to peek into the Parts and Service Room, where Foxy still lay slumped against the wall.
Now, that animatronic is an enigma. I almost hope he does move tonight. Mando galloped down the hall and into the Office, taking his seat just as the clock struck midnight.
“All right, then. Night Two, here we go.”